Double your holiday fun at Beer Company

DINING OUT

It’s Auld Lang Syne to 2003 and welcome to 2004 as you climb the

steps of the Huntington Beach Beer Company to celebrate the double

holiday of New Year’s eve and day.

A mug of Huntington Beach Blond comes from the big steel brew vats

facing you as you enter Peter Andriet’s second-story bar and grill to

find a place on the balcony, heated by tall lamps and alive with

conversation.

But the Beer Company is more. From the balcony, past a small bar

is a long dining room offering pizzas and burgers, salads and pastas

from a kitchen run by chefs Pedro Espanza and Pablo Gutierrez since

it opened in 1992.

It would be hard to find better beer-battered, pub-style fish and

chips ($10), the restaurant’s best seller, anywhere, even in England.

The fish, three pieces of firm mahi-mahi, has an elegant light crispy

coat fried in Canola oil that is not the least bit oily. It’s piled

atop a huge serving of steak fries on a warm plate. Be sure to order

coffee with it in a big bowl-sized cup. Life doesn’t get better than

that.

The Huntington Beach Beer Company has nine pasta choices ($9 to

$13) -- everything from Surf City penne pasta ($10), with mushrooms,

artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes, to my friend’s choice, a

spicy Thai chicken fettuccine ($10), with big sauteed chicken pieces,

carrots and sprouts tossed with thin flat egg-noodle fettuccine in a

sneaky-spicy peanut sauce. It’s a big serving that’s easy to share on

triangles of cheese-topped, wood-fired, pizza-style garlic bread.

There’s a casual hometown feel to the Huntington Beach Beer Company

after the summer tourists have left that goes with home -- brewed

beer, pasta and conversation.

It’s from this section, on another visit, that I had rosemary

chicken ravioli, which stole my heart. Six tender round pastas filled

with bits of ricotta and cream cheese in a silky orange tomato sauce

are sprinkled with fresh rosemary, an herb with a strong flavor

reminiscent of lemon.

Each day of the week features specials, like $2 taco night on

Tuesday and live entertainment with no cover charge from 8 to 11 p.m.

on Saturday. There’s a Sunday night football special with Turf’s Up

steak and skewers of tiger shrimp. While Mom and Dad watch sports on

the 100-inch screen, kids can find a wrapped toy to play with in the

toy box nearby.

Huntington Beach Beer Company fits on Main Street. It’s more than

a unique ocean-side resort with a fabulous view -- it’s a lifestyle.

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have

comments or suggestions, call (562) 493-5062 or e-mail

hbindy@latimes.com