the crow bar and kitchen

Front enterence

Having a daughter, while absolutely incredible, did somewhat hamper Bonnie's and my ability to go out whenever we wanted.  In order to still hang out as just us we try to get together for lunch a couple of times a month.  Our favorite place to do this is the crow bar and kitchen in Corona del Mar.

I first started going to the crow bar back in 2011 for their Pliny the Younger release. In fact one of the pictures I use as my rotating banner was taken during that event.  I had a great time and thought the food was incredible. I'd go off and on for a while, generally if I had people in town I'd take them there for the beer and food.

One day when Bonnie and I were trying to figure out where to go to lunch I suggested we go to crow bar.  Up till that point Bonnie had never been.  Well long story short, she loved it as well and we started going frequently.

Here's a quick breakdown -

Atmosphere - Standard upscale gastropub feel, which we like.  Nice tongue in cheek jokes about pig and pig products.

The menu (beer side of course)

Quality - The food is consistently good, a sign of a quality establishment. The only thing that bugs me in a quality aspect is that they have Craftsman 1903 lager on their menu.

Service - The service for the most part is knowledgeable (on food, wine and beer), fast and efficient. Our favorite waitress Kacie always remembers who we are and makes sure we get our favorite table. She also always lets my wife know if they have Pliny the Elder on tap one way or another.

Selection (beer) - The beer menu is divided into 3 parts; a regular selection of draft beers that stays pretty constant, a "guest kegs" draft selection filled with special beers and seasonals and a pretty decent bottle list which has been a oddly price in the past.

Food - The food is great.  The best item on the menu is the crow ‘black label’ burger ($19) is one of the best burgers in the OC. 8 oz signature meat blend which includes 21 day dry aged prime ribeye served on buttermilk bun w/bone marrow butter and caramelized onions. I save this burger only for special occasions.  Usually we get one each of the daily special, which is generally a taco, grilled cheese and a flat bread and split it, this tactic has never disappointed us.

I need to go check out the crow burger kitchen soon...

Cheers

-SNB

Pictures

Bonnie at our favorite table

Our favorite waitress Kacie

The crow charger

Back wall and specials menu

The main bar

different view of the main bar