Yard House

Not only was The Yard House the third highest grossing restaurant in
the Los Angeles area last year, but they hold the Guinness Book of
World Records for "Having the Most Beers on Tap", 180 choices! I'm
certainly not an expert at beer and, admittedly, I don't really even
drink beer, but it was fun trying them. With enough visits here I could
find some favorites. The waitress said Lindeman's Framboise was her
favorite and was certainly mine. It was served in a wine glass and
resembled a raspberry wine cooler, but better! Their 6-Pack Sampler
gives you a chance to try six of their beers. The house chooses the
beers, giving you a print-out, and the samplers change daily. The
sampling starts with the mellow beer and ends with the darkest. Of the
six we tried I liked the Woodpecker Cider, which tasted much like a
white wine cooler, my husband liked the full taste of the Lost Coast
Raspberry Brown while his brother liked the Humbolt Hemp. I thought
my brother-in-law had his work cut out for him drinking a half-yard of
beer, until I saw the full-yard which sits in a stand on the floor and
stretches above the table! Their menu is varied with clever
combinations, making it hard to choose. They had 19 different
appetizers, 9 different salads as well as sandwiches, burgers, pastas,
meat and seafood entrees. For appetizers we chose the Spinach
Cheese Dip baked with feta cheese and served with crispy flat bread
and Moo Shu Eggrolls which was stuffed with undetectable cream
cheese as well as other good stuff, and served with an apple ginger
plum sauce. The Seared Ahi Appetizer wasn't bad, but a far cry from
the California Roll which was one of my favorites. It wasn't the typical
"cut roll", but was layered with soft rice, snow crab, smelt egg and
topped with sliced avocado and served on a plate with diced
cucumbers and wasabi soy, a very unique presentation and so
delicious! The Coconut Shrimp was another favorite. Usually I love the
idea of coconut shrimp, but it always comes back overcooked, but not
here. The three butterflied shrimp were huge, lightly golden and sweet
served with a sweet chile sauce and cilantro pesto. On both trips here I
couldn't pass up the Walnut Pear Salad, making sure I ordered an extra
side of the candied walnuts and bleu cheese crumbles, it was mingled
with baby lettuce, red onion and balsamic dressing, I love it! I was
able to taste the Penne Chicken Pasta with asparagus spears, artichoke
and roasted tomatoes, and topped with a creamy marsala sauce, which
was good, but light on the marsala. Our only complaint was with the
Lobster Noodles which had great garlic flavor, topped with wild
mushrooms, sauteed shrimp and crab that was a bit past it's prime, but
they were accommodating, bringing us a full order of extra sauteed
shrimp, which was very, very good. My favorite entree so far though is
the Kung Pao Calamari with breaded and golden tentacles tossed in a
sweet chile sauce with carrots and candied walnuts, I was very
impressed, and have to say it's on my list of favorite calamari dishes.
Both times here we ended the meal with their wonderful Banana Creme
Brulee which had melted chocolate chunks on the bottom and sliced
bananas under the layer of crispy caramelized sugar. It was plenty for
two or more.

Prices are reasonable for the quality and portions here. The appetizers
I mentioned ranged from $7.95 to $11.95, while the entrees ranged
from $12.95 to $18.95.

The Yard House guarantees to stay open the times stated on their
menu, which is as early as 11:30 to as late as 1:00 a.m.

The Yard House has five locations; Long Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine,
Rancho Mirage and San Diego. We've been to two of them and so far
prefer their Long Beach waterfront location at Shoreline Village for it's
in and outdoor seating.

Website: www.yardhouse.com