Surprisingly Good ~ Harborside Restaurant ~ Newport Beach, CA

Drinks at the bar ~ poured strong. Complimentary bread with olive butter (or plain if you prefer) ~ hot, toasty, and delicious. Calamari strips with tempura breading ~ moist and tender. New England Clam Chowder ~ a bowl of creamy heaven. Cesar Salad ~ better than average. Blackened Sea Bass ~ seasoned and cooked to perfection. Orange Coconut Crusted Salmon ~ the best thing I've eaten in a long time. Vanilla Creme Brulee ~ perfectly sweet. Apple Tart ala Mode ~ flaky, tart wonderfulness.

Newport Beach Restaurant Week occurs twice a year. Restaurants offer a Prix Fixe menu for a reduced price ~ three courses for $25-35. To keep our food spending budget down this month, we picked the Harborside Restaurant for it's extensive $25 menu. (Most restaurants only offer 2-3 items to choose from in each catergory: appetizer, entree, and dessert, but Harborside Restaurant had lots to choose from.) I wasn't sure what to expect from a restaurant that offered three courses for $25 but my expectations weren't high. I was oh so wrong!

We made a reservation for 6:30 pm but arrived at 6 to enjoy a drink at the bar. I ordered a dirty martini and didn't realize that I forgot to ask for a higher quality vodka until I saw the bartender poor Kettle One. I was impressed that I didn't have to ask (but if you want a cheaper drink, make sure that you ask for something else). Dan ordered his typical Johnny Walker Black on the rocks.

We checked in with the hostess around 6:15 and she told us that it seemed like a window seat with a view of the harbor was going to open up soon. She could have seated us early but we decided to wait to try for a window seat. While we waited, I wanted a glass of wine and couldn't decide between two (the wine list has great options!). The bartendar poured me a taste of both, which was much appreciated. After a window seat still wasn't open at 6:40 we decided to take what was available. It still had a good view and we were seated quickly upon telling the hostess that we didn't want to wait any longer. Once seated, it took a bit longer than expected to be greeted by the waiter but there was a party of 19 right next to us and another group of 8 nearby. Once he did come over, the waiter was very friendly, our water glasses were always full, and we were offered a second bread basket shortly after we finished the first (and the bread was so good, we took them up on the offer).

The atmosphere is great for any situation. The party of 19 were celebrating a birthday, the group of 8 was three Mom's with their children. This restaurant would also be great for a romantic date or a family dinner.

I'd like to elaborate on a few of the brief descriptions of the food. The calamari was surprisingly tender and the tempura breading was light. As I was finishing my clam chowder, I heard someone at a table nearby say that she could like the soup out of the bowl. I laughed because I agreed completely. It had soft chunks of potato, tender pieces of clam with no sand in them whatsoever, and the broth was so wonderfully creamy that you want to get every last drop out of the bowl. The sea bass was blackened with Cajun spices and complemented perfectly with a chipotle cream sauce and avocado relish on top. The fish rested on a bed of scalloped potatoes. It was a gourmet dish but when I tasted Dan's salmon I was blown away. It was oh so lightly breaded with Panko but the sweet ginger soy glaze was really the star. Perfection! Neither of us could stop from stuffing ourselves because everything tasted so wonderful.

And the best part is, the Harborside Restaurant has a regular special with many of the dishes I've mentioned as options for a three course meal including a glass of wine for $35. We will definitely be back!