CROW BAR AND KITCHEN

PICTURED (top to bottom): Restaurant Sign, Restaurant, Republic of Tea- Ginger Peach, Republic of Tea- Pomegranate Green Tea, Crow Black Label Burger with Gruyere Cheese and Duck Fat Fries, Kitchen Sink Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing, Sweet Potato Fries with Aioli Dipping Sauce, Crow Black Label Burger with Havarti Cheese and Duck Fat Fries.

We had been to the Crow Bar and Kitchen in Corona Del Mar a couple of years ago and decided to try it again during Orange County Restaurant Week. We remembered it being a fun place to eat with good food and a very pleasant atmosphere. Our server was very attentive to start, but her shift ended mid-meal and we were left alone and part of our order lost in the shuffle.

When the ladies inquired about the kinds of tea they served, they were delighted to find Crow Bar carried their favorite, Republic of Tea. Sweetie Pie ordered the Ginger Peach and her mother the Pomegranate Green Tea. I opted for a Coke. My wife and I both ordered the signature Crow "Black Label" Burger made with 8oz. of ground prime rib eye, grilled onions and bone marrow butter. She added Gruyere cheese and I had mine with Havarti. We both added the Duck Fat Fries, with Aioli dipping sauce. Wow- these are probably the best fries in town! The burgers were quite large and very good. The meat was very flavorful and tender, and cooked just right. Overall the burger was a little dry, and needed something. We asked for a sauce to add and were offered a minute dollop of aioli (which added a dollar onto our $19 burgers).

Sweetie's mother ordered the "Kitchen Sink" salad with blue cheese dressing and asked to have a chicken breast added to it. She also ordered a side of Sweet Potato Fries, which were delicious (almost as good as our Duck Fat Fries). Well, she thoroughly enjoyed the salad. But it arrived without the chicken breast, because the server forgot to write it down. She left to put the order in, but never returned, as her shift had ended. Her replacement finally brought the chicken breast, freshly grilled, as we were almost ready to ask for the check. No apology was offered.

Overall, the food was good, but the service was not! Tonight's Crow Bar dinner gets one and a half thumbs up from the 3 Tubby Tummys.