Greer's OC

Dining

BEACH PIT BBQ, CHEF JOE AND THE BACON SANDWICH

02.04.11

Review By Sheryll Alexander

What happens when you take an already good barbecue restaurant and let a fine dining chef tweak the menu? Pure country goodness, my friend.

Yep, Beach Pit BBQ owner Tim DeCinces and former Savannah Chop House and Chat Noir Chef Joe Youkhan (who now has a mobile gourmet food truck in The Wooden Spoon OC) have teamed up to overhaul the menu from top to bottom and to create some new menu items for the Beach Pit’s six OC locations.

First up on the new menu is the bacon sandwich. No, we are not talking BLT here. Chef Joe cures pork belly for three days and then smokes it for eight hours. When ready to serve on your sandwich, the pork belly is cut, sautéed on the grill and then stuffed on a hamburger-like bun with fried pickles, lettuce, tomato, avocado and Joe’s new “California gold” mustard sauce. We tried the bacon sandwich and it was tender and crispy and smoky and creamy all at the same time. Yummy!

Some other new menu items worth noting are the super creamy macaroni and cheese, the really-good-for-you tender collard greens and a house made blueberry lemonade that smacks of tart sweetness.

Chef Joe has also changed up the way Beach Pit’s ribs are seasoned, mopped and smoked. We were impressed with how the new ribs are super tender and don’t need any sauce to cover up the already perfect spices. These “new” ribs at The Beach Pit are definitely finger lickin’ good!

For Sunday’s Super Bowl, Beach Pit BBQ is offering a Pig Skin Party Pack, which feeds 10 hungry football fans. Costing just $5.99 per person, the package features three pounds of pulled pork or beef brisket, 10 sandwich buns, a pint of barbecue sauce, two quarts of sides (either beans, potato salad, cole slaw or macaroni and cheese) and 20 hot wings (with ranch or bleu cheese sauces).

You must order 24 hours ahead of game time by calling one of six Beach Pit BBQ locations:

Costa Mesa, 1676 Tustin Ave., Costa Mesa., 949-645-7427

Old Town Tustin, 560 El Camino Real, Tustin, 714-929-7427

Old Towne Orange, 128 N. Glassell St., Orange, 714-633-7427

Downtown Huntington Beach, 301 Main St., Huntington Beach, 714 374-3033.

Laguna Niguel, 32371 Golden Lantern, Laguna Niguel, 949-496-7427.

Aliso Viejo, 926541 Aliso Creek Rd., Aliso Viejo, 949-362-7427.

Sheryll Alexander is a lifestyles writer based in Costa Mesa, California.

CLANCY’S CLUBHOUSE FOR TRUE COMFORT FOOD

02.03.11

Review by Sheryll Alexander

Sitting amongst a sea of corporate restaurants in Anaheim’s Disneyland Resort district, Clancy’s Clubhouse is a rare and beautiful thing.

Owned by longtime OC resident Cheryl Clancy, this sports bar and restaurant offers a casual place to watch the game, to drink some brews, to play billiards and to eat real American comfort food at reasonable prices. Just opened this summer, Clancy’s Clubhouse was built to take advantage of the nearby Disney tourist and convention traffic, but is really out to please the locals.

My beefy husband, who is a fan to most any sports bar, remarked that he was “pleasantly surprised” by the atmosphere here. “I expected it to be touristy,” he said. Nope, you won’t find any Disney or even Anaheim Angels kitsch at Clancy’s.

What you will find is a convivial spot to enjoy the game (and free wireless for web surfing!) with cozy booths, lots of four-top tables, a friendly bar and no less than 36 flat screen TVs.

Proprietor Cheryl says she worked closely with Chef Francisco Rincon to build a menu full of American comfort food with fresh flavors and low prices. Did they succeed? Yes!

We started with a plate of very fresh and very crispy chicken wings ($9 for a pound!), which came with traditional Buffalo-style sauce (although you can also get teriyaki, barbeque, Cajun, mango habanero or spicy diablo sauces). The terribly tender calamari ($7.50) was also perfectly cooked and came with three different sauces on the plate.

Surprisingly, each entrée such as a delectable and light chicken pot pie ($10) came with a cup of soup or salad. The cup of clam chowder was light and very tasty with super fresh clams, onions, carrots and celery. The accompanying Caesar salad was, again, very fresh, crisp and perfectly seasoned with a tart-and-tangy dressing and lots of Parmesan cheese.

My picky husband was very skeptical about ordering an expensive steak here. However, the $32 filet mignon, he said, was tender and flavorful and he could not stop talking about the delicious creamy polenta (rather than boring mashed potatoes).

Other tempting dishes on the menu we did not try include the New England-style pot roast ($13.50), an entire burger menu ($8-$9), zero trans-fat fried chicken ($9-$17), a turkey dinner with all the trimmings ($10.50), grilled calves’ liver ($14), braised short ribs ($19), herb-crusted Prime rib ($21-$28) and a pan-fried bologna sandwich ($7.50). Other dishes worth noting are the daily $10 blue plate specials such as shepherd’s pie, beef stroganoff and fried chicken with country gravy.

As for dessert, the kids will love the brownie sundae, but adults may veer towards the hand-crafted bread pudding with Bourbon vanilla bean sauce.

Because Clancy’s Clubhouse isn’t yet well known in OC, it may be the perfect place to watch the big game. Yep, this Sunday starting a 2 p.m., you and your buddies can pay $20 each for two raffle tickets, one free entry on the $500 game board and a $20 food credit. (Raffle prizes include an iPod, personal TV, sports memorabilia, tees, hats and Clancy’s gift cards.) Although the regular menu will be available, game-day specials include $5 appetizers, $2.50 beers, $3.50 house wine and $4.50 margaritas. Reservations for preferred seating must be made in advance.

Clancy’s Clubhouse, 2191 S. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim, 714-750-7500, [url=http://www.clancysclubhouse.com]http://www.clancysclubhouse.com[/url].

Open Mon.-Tues. at 4 p.m. and Wed.-Sun. at 11:30 a.m.

Sheryll Alexander is a lifestyles writer based in Costa Mesa, California.

Dining

BEACH PIT BBQ, CHEF JOE AND THE BACON SANDWICH

02.04.11

CLANCY’S CLUBHOUSE FOR TRUE COMFORT FOOD

02.03.11

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