Newport Beach | OCBeerBlog

Of the many beer dinners I’ve attended and written about, there’s one thing I learned: Nobody likes to read about them. It’s sad really, with the amount of work put into the beer world colliding with a kitchen, and a staff that is on its toes for hours. I promise keep it brief, and show you pretty pictures, if you’re good.

Notable? The location. A&O Kitchen+Bar is nestled in the Balboa Bay Resort with a relaxing view of Newport Harbor and million dollar yachts parked a food-fight away. Location? Unbelievable. Also notable? The brewery phoned this one in.

It’s smart to preview a beer dinner in advance; look up any specific beers, ingredients or preparations one hasn’t tried. A beer dinner can be a learning experience as much as it is fun. When four out of five beers on the menu are IPA, red flags, flare guns and tornado alarms go off in my head. Even as a hop-head, I will start out by saying 4/5 IPA’s at a beer dinner is ~~horseshit~~ baffling. I do think it is possible to execute such a dinner, preparing dishes that play off subtle hop notes and alcohol intensity. Lets just say I walked into this beer dinner looking for things to improve.

As A&O’s first beer dinner (ever) and my first time there, I’m in media-mode, absorbing the ambiance and jotting down notes. A&O has a brilliant set of servers, smiling, prompt and thoughtful. My +1 for the evening is Chris Walowski, Smog City Brewing’s ex-brewer who recently took up a biomedical job in the area. It’s great to get second opinions on the pairings and always great to chat about beer things with a beer person.

Oyster Shooters, fried chicken skin, fried blue cheese balls (and a bread ball injection thing?) are passed as the sun sets and guests arrive. Chicken skin easily wins round one, but the beer served threw us for a loop. Normally, a beer rep should say “Hi, I’m from this brewery and you’re drinking this.” The guy with a Green Flash shirt sat with a glass twice the size of ours and said nothing during the reception. Although the menu said “Jibe Session IPA”, we had serious doubts surrounding it’s sessionability. With Belgian yeast esters on the nose and some alcohol warming on the finish, safe to say we were served Le Freak, Green Flash’s Belgian IPA (listed as “Le Freake” on the menu for the 3rd course). The beer is mildly oxidized and is not bursting with the usual hop flair Green Flash beers seem to have.

Course two, however, saves the day. “It’s a deep fried Avo-Crab Hushpuppy,” mentions my seat-mate, Priscilla Willis of shescookin.com. Three components of the dish, Sriracha caviar, sweet dundeonous crab and the perfectly fried greenish ball of crab flash chef’s brilliance. Soul Style IPA brings just enough tropical panache to highlight the sweetness of the crab and offer a needed palate cleanse. IPA and Sriracha is always a win in my book.

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Course 2 – The most flavor ever squeezed into a 12 inch space.

Further courses, A&O’s chef Rachel put on a clinic; the beers, not so much. With the second, it made the dish unbearable. Imperial IPA paired with the most flavor ever squeezed onto a plate? The uber-sweet booziness of the beer paired with intense braised rabbit and funky cheese fondue was too much to take. Looking at Green Flash’s portfolio, some of the beers they don’t sell any more (Rayon Vert or Saison Diego) could have paired perfectly. Not only is a beer dinner a chance for a chef to try fun stuff, it’s also a chance for the brewery to do the same. Why were there no Green Flash Cellar 3 beers? Natura Morta Plum for instance, might have had enough acidity to cut the richness of the next three dishes (which were all crazy delicious, but not enhanced by the beers paired).

I do hope A&O continues to get into beer, because wow, chef Rachel brings one hell of a lot of fun to a beer dinner. My only hope is they get a brewery that takes Orange County seriously.

A wise man once said, a deli isn’t something one is willing to drive out of their way for in Orange County, much less wait in line. A workman’s lunch should be close, easily accessible, affordable, predictable and tasty. That wise man was me…until a recent visit to a deli afoot the Newport Beach pier, Dory Deli.

With the sunset backdrop to a thousand selfies, a rare winters wind blew me towards this potential sandwich hot spot. Their bright cobalt lit sign juxtaposed over horizontal wooden planks and a weathervane pointing toward the waves draws me in. Friendly faces smile and welcome me into their warm brick interior filled with family photos and knick knacks.

Expecting ‘Newport Beach’ beer selections, seeing familiar Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Ballast Point Sculpin and Pizza Port Brewing The Chronic, I exhale a sigh of relief scanning their case. Eight taps sit behind the counter with various lagers and local craft beer, some of which is brewed a few miles away.

Food-wise, Dory Deli doesn’t just have personality, it has full-fledged multiple personality disorder. I can’t think of anywhere else in the world where an old Jewish mother, a vegan surfer, a south-Philadelphian and a picky kid can sit down over a proper sangwich, a knish and perhaps a fun craft soda for the kid.

For the post-surf breakfast or pre-yoga sesh, a ‘Yoga Pants’ burrito (Egg whites, peppadew peppers, arugula, Parmesan cheese) would easily square off next to Keen coffee/espresso piped through their rare Slayer machine. For dinner, a Figgy Burger (Fig preserves, goat cheese crème, caramelized onions, brioche bun) would go great with Barley Forge’s The Patsy (rye coconut stout). My pick for meatless Monday would be their buffalo cauliflower (Buffalo Mary) with smoked potato salad paired with an Alesmith Nut Brown Ale. There’s so many combinations that pique my interest, Dory did what I didn’t think was possible. She got in my head. She will make my choice of beach to visit that much easier.

Nine months of the year, parking isn’t an issue with plenty of metered parking right out front. After 6 P.M, the meters are free and there was tons of parking. They’re located at the foot of Newport Beach’s pier at 2108 3/4 Oceanfront Dr. Newport Beach and open from 6 A.M til Midnight. opens 1/26/2015 at 6am.