KATHY MADER -- Dining Review

I admit it. I mourned the loss of Chili’s on West Coast Highway. I

used to love to go in there on the weekends, hang out, eat some of what I

label “American comfort food,” maybe have a drink and watch a game, but

most of all, just be out and about on a casual Saturday afternoon.

My Saturdays have had a certain lackluster quality to them until

recently, when I found that the Newport Beach Brewing Company on the

peninsula is not just a bar but a real restaurant that serves a good

Saturday kind of food and makes good brewed-on-site kind of beer.

Another important thing the Brewing Company offers is a key location.

It is almost the gateway to the peninsula; you see it going in, and you

see it going out. If you are not in the mood for stopping in on the way

to the beach, you certainly might be considering a “Newport Beach Blond”

or a “honey” after leaving the beach. I am talking about the handcrafted

ales, silly.

The outside of the Brewing Company is stylish and ornate, with a

terrific patio for year-round outside enjoyment -- otherwise defined as

people-watching. A bonus for this place is that it has its own parking, a

big deal on the peninsula. Inside you will find “The Wedge,” “The Duke”

and “Brewhounds” -- not surfers, John Wayne or a live band of teenagers,

but all house specialty beers made on site.

The patio, my favorite place, is large, filled with heat lamps and has

been clean every time I’ve been there. In fact, the entire restaurant,

which serves as a fairly packed bar at night, is clean and does not smell

of old beer. Nor does it have a sticky floor.

This is high praise for a restaurant with beer as its main theme. The

focus at the Newport Beach Brewing Company is food and beer, beer and

food, but never bar, then beer, then food. If that makes sense.

The inside of the restaurant has tiled floors with polished dark-wood

beams and ceiling. It doesn’t get too dark because of the multitude of

large windows and the sun shining off of the giant silver and copper beer

vats. I am sure my husband wouldn’t mind a “light” like that in our

house.

There are several televisions for sporting fans, yet they don’t

overpower the restaurant unless it is like, say, the Super Bowl. Every

television in the house was tuned in for Sunday’s game.

A friend of mine recently had her wedding rehearsal dinner there, and

the Brewing Company suited that kind of occasion perfectly. The service

was friendly and fun, and the place was casual and noisy in a “we are

celebrating a happy occasion” kind of way.

This is not where you would bring your grandmother for her birthday,

but you would definitely consider it for your husband’s early retirement

party. The Brewing Company offers several large party menus to choose

from. Almost everyone is guaranteed to go away happy.

This is not your standard “pub grub.” While they do serve an upscale

version of some of your favorite pub foods -- chicken tenders ($5.29)

made of white chicken meat dipped in beer batter, deep fried and served

with ranch dressing; and buffalo wings ($5.29) in a tasty hot sauce,

among others -- these kinds of foods are not the main focus.

The Brewing Company offers an interesting, adventurous and full-scale

menu presently being revised to include that Southern California staple,

Mexican food.

The current menu offers everything from brick-oven pizzas such as the

carne asada pizza ($8.99) and the garlic ranch pizza ($8.49), both a must

on my next trip, to a seafood calzone ($8.99). The mushroom ravioli in a

garden sage brown butter and Southwest Pasta Caliente -- pasta with

seafood, peppers and onions in a spicy cream sauce -- elevate the Newport

Beach Brewing Company’s menu to a place where Chili’s could never

compete.

However, all your “American comfort food” is right there too, from

fish and chips, fish tacos and hickory burgers to a broiled ahi tuna

steak sandwich. An item I particularly enjoy is the steamed clams ($7.79)

served in lemon butter and wine sauce with beer grain bread for dipping.

This and a honey ale is why God put Saturdays on the calendar.

Being that beers are what inspired this restaurant, I must mention

them. However, this section of the menu is a much more interesting and

colorful read than I can provide here. Suffice it to say that the beer

sampler, small beakers of beer ranging from the pale blonds to the hearty

brunets (a definition which also fits any Friday night at the Brewing

Company) is the way to go, as a lead-in or, as in my case, the finale.

* KATHY MADER’s dining reviews appear every other Thursday.

FYI

WHERE: 2920 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11:30 a.m.

Friday and Saturday to 1:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

HOW MUCH: Moderate

CALL: (949) 675-8449

WEB SITE: https://www.nbbrewco.com