KATHY MADER -- DINING REVIEW

The temperatures are in the mid-70s. Gray May will soon give way to

June gloom. The down comforter causes more discomfort than comfort, and

your plants need watering every day. It’s just about that time -- summer!

And not much marks the beginning of summer more than patio dining. Well,

that and the accompanying sunburn. The end of school used to be the great

marker, but being so many years have passed since my last three-month

vacation, I now use that tool of ancient scholars, the sun.

The sun is plentiful, both beating down and shining off the water at

Ruby’s at the end of the Balboa Pier. Don’t be afraid to be a tourist in

your own town, I say. And one place where I absolutely, without fail,

take our out-of-town guests is this Ruby’s. I go there without them too.

You can sit on the roof, a toasted sourdough/Parmesan/avocado burger in

one hand and a beer in the other, and really truly understand what it

means to be in Southern California. Surf, sand, ice cream soda and a

sense of being -- an epiphany, Newport style. You can’t get this in

Nebraska.

Nebraska also doesn’t serve an $8 cocktail, like those on the

bay-watching patio at Newport Landing, right next to the Fun Zone. But

then again, not much bay to watch in Omaha either. The location of

Newport Landing’s patio is perfect. You can watch the locals and the

tourists, and spend not much time wondering which is which. You can also

watch the ferries, the yachts and the kayaks, the seals and sailboats. It

is all in good fun. So fun in fact, with the great music and traditional

tropical drinks, that people set up shop at Newport Landing. So this is a

good place to come early and stay late -- something only possible when

the sun doesn’t set until 8 p.m.

For the more genteel set, the patio at the Garden Cafe, off of Antique

Row on 17th Street in Costa Mesa, provides both the blooming beauty and

the sandwiches of summer. Sit on the quiet and quaint country patio

surrounded by roses, azaleas and ficus trees, listen to the trickling

fountain, and snack on those summer favorites: lemonade and tuna

sandwiches. Of course they serve a fine iced tea and turkey sandwiches

here as well. I have mentioned before that this is a wonderful place for

those summertime parties too; ideal for birthdays and baby showers.

But if you are really into celebrating the coming of summer, hit the

festive Picante Martin’s on Balboa Island. While they don’t really have a

patio to speak of, they do open the doors wide so you can see who is

coming and going as you eat some serious “homemade” Mexican food. Try the

tortas, taquitos and tamales. They are all great. You can call out to

your friends on the sidewalk (if Martin hasn’t already) and have your

friends join you as they walk by, and what could be more summer-like than

that? If you don’t know anyone, yell at me. I’ll join ya.

The Back Bay Cafe on the water down near the Dunes Beach is one place

that is all summer to me. They have a huge patio (with umbrellas for the

sun-sensitive and for those who get crabby sitting in it) where you can

enjoy a simple but good breakfast and watch the skilled and unskilled

load and unload their water craft at the boat ramp. Classic riverlike

entertainment and great iced tea. Come back for their award-winning clam

chowder at dinner time and and officiate your own impromptu sunburn

contest.

Another excellent people-watching place is Charlie’s Chili, at the

very base of the Newport Pier. Their patio sticks halfway out into the

boardwalk, and the chances of an inexperienced in-line skater falling

into your chili fries is not unheard of. I call Charlie’s Chili great

hangover food, and I mean no disrespect by this. Their onion rings, chili

omelets and chili dogs can cure whatever ails you, but I have found them

to be particularly effective after a night of overdoing it. If you have

eaten there once, you will eat there again. But their massive chili

burger is also just the thing after a long day in the sun and surf.

We are so lucky. Newport Beach is really the perfect place to

celebrate the coming of summer. Summer itself, for that matter. All eight

months of it. And with all of the restaurants and all of the patios and

all of the sunshine, it is no wonder that the real tourists come. Treat

them with respect. They may be sharing that very same patio with you.

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