Finbars Italian Kitchen

Finbars Italian Kitchen
620 Pacific Coast Hwy
Seal Beach
562-430-4303

This location of Finbars used to be a Chinese Buffet, that closed down about five years ago. I went to Finbars about two years ago for their happy hour and thought the food was pretty good. So today, I was in the area and dropped by Finbars, to try their happy hour again.

Monday-Friday, Finbars offers a $5 happy hour menu- that includes, pizza, calamari, some pastas, and shrimp- in the bar area.



I got the coconut shrimp, $5, which was pretty good. The batter was filled with coconut, was pretty crunchy, and, while a bit thick, it was good. The shrimp was fairly good sized and sweet. This is a steal, six good sized shrimp for $5. It was served hot, I'm guessing they were sitting under heat lamps, until somebody ordered them.



Another steal is the calamari. A ton of calamari, again, not served hot, sitting under heat lamps, was good. Nice batter, not salty, crispy. The calamari was fresh. It wasn't rubbery and chewy.

The marinara sauce was mild, not spicy or tangy.

Service, at the bar, was very good. The bartender was nice and friendly.

I would go back to Finbars for their happy hour. I have not tried any of their Italian dishes but may give it a try.

Beachwood BBQ

Beachwood BBQ
131 1/2 Main St
Seal Beach
562-493-4500

Quite frankly almost all BBQ places in Orange County suck. They cater to the pretentious, jerk white people that litter OC. So I wasn't thrill nor did I make an effort to go to Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach, two to three years ago, when Beachwood BBQ first opened.

But I went tonight to have dinner with a good friend, who I haven't seen in a long time. Damn did she look hot!!!

As you might figure, this being white, Orange County, they do not have spare ribs, but the only baby backs. I got the half slab of baby backs, $16, with creamed corn and corn on the cob. After a few minutes I got a rack of ribs with some noticable fat, you can see the fat in the second picture above, not a good way to present ribs. And of course the thing you always look for a BBQ place is the smoke ring. As the third picture clearly shows, there wasn't any smoke ring.

But I cut the fat off and dug into the ribs. Beachwood "smokes" their meats with oak, apple and pecan. But the ribs were hot to the touch but they lacked any grill marks. So I'm guessing they are "smoked" in an oven. So they did have a nice smoke flavor. The ribs weren't that meaty but the meat was tender. Duh it is baby backs.

The creamed corn was bad. Instead of being sweet, it had more of a country gravy flavor. Not good. The corn on the corn was OK, not that sweet but cooked right.

Service was good. We got to sit in the table by the front window. So we saw everybody walking and waiting for a table. Our server was nice and friendly and even though we were kind of out of the way, she came by often and we didn't lack for anything.

I wouldn't call this a true BBQ, that smokes their meats. But Beachwood BBQ is pretty good. I would consider going back, if I'm in the area.

Walt's Wharf

Walt's Wharf
201 Main St
Seal Beach
562-598-4433

I've been by Walt's Wharf and always wanted to try it but never made the journey into the restaurant. So finally I went and I was wondering, why I took so long to go there.

I ordered the orange roughy with papaya and red chile salsa, scalloped potatoes and asparagas, $28.95. The orange roughy was nice and flakly and cooked just right. I didn't care too much for the salsa, if I got this dish again I would ask for no salsa. I loved the scalloped potatoes, they seemed to be homemade and not from a box. A wonderful dish.

Service was good. I wasn't lacking for anything and the server was friendly.

I would go back to Walt's Wharf anytime. Good food and good service.

BlackBoard Bistro

BlackBoard Bistro
1198 PCH
Seal Beach
562-596-9556

Housed in what used to be a school, BlackBoard Bistro is a nice place to enjoy lunch. BlackBoard Bistro and Finbars, an Italian place a few block west, ued to be owned by the same person. But now a different owner bought BlackBoard Bistro.

I've only been here for lunch and it's a great place for fresh sandwiches. I ordered the tuna salad sandwich, $8.29, on wheat, with tomatoes and lettuce. The sandwich is so fresh it seemed as though the tuna was in the ocean that morning. They added the right among of mayo to the tuna. The wheat bread was very lightly toasted and the tomatoes and lettuce was very fresh. The sandwich comes with your choice of fries, fruit, or cole slaw. I got the fruit and the strawberries, pineapple and cantulope was very fresh.

Now service is below average. I've actually went to BlackBoard Bistro twice. The first time I didn't have my camera and we sat down and ate. That was not good. We sat in the patio and they were very, very slow. The server very rarely came around to refill drinks and ask if we needed anything. He also never bothered to clear the dishes from the other tables around us. He was friendly but just wasn't attentive and just gave the impression he didn't care. I understand that the NCAA tourney was going on and everybody has March Madness but damn, do your job.

The second time I went, I didn't forget my camera and the service was good. Maybe because the owner or manager was helping me. He was nice and friendly. I got my order quickly and then I tooked the pictures.

I would and have gone back to BlackBoard Bistro. But I think I would much rather order something to go and then enjoy the sandwich on the Seal Beach Pier. If you can deal with below average service, BlackBoard Bistro serves very fresh food at good prices.