With the success that A La Carte owner Estrella Harrington has had with her Laguna Beach location, it was surprising she didn’t venture out of that city sooner.
That location has been satisfying south Orange County residents for 22 years, but Harrington opened the Newport Beach location only three months ago.
Let us all hope it doesn’t take that long to expose another part of the world to her incredible mix of salads, sandwiches and soups.
She has transformed a storefront into a European-type bistro. It functions more like a gathering place than a restaurant. There is a counter you see when you walk in, and to the immediate left is a high table and chairs for people to enjoy coffee. The eight tables are directly left and separated from the front of the store.
What I found so refreshing about Harrington’s operation are the small touches — like the red candles on the window ledge that mix so well with the mustard-colored wall, or the white serving dishes that are so bright you can see your reflection in them.
This is a place I wish were closer to my house, but I am certainly going to utilize it for both dining in and taking out. I have already planned a picnic basket for the Hollywood Bowl.
On this, my first visit there, I started with the famous crab corn chowder, which is made daily. It was thinner than I expected; I was thinking it would be creamier, but it was very good.
The corn was very fresh and popped through the other ingredients. There were sufficient amounts of crab that were accompanied by small chunks of potato, but not too many, which is the sin of many chowders.
Also in the soup were shreds of carrots, diced celery and flecks of pepper, all of which added to the flavor.
I then had half a ham sandwich, which, considering the other sandwich selections, seems a little boring, but the ham is premium and made in-house.
The more adventurous sandwiches are the grilled ahi, which has sushi-grade ahi mixed in a teriyaki sauce. The Cajun fried chicken is a great choice if you like spicy.
The grilled chicken breast is dressed with Cajun spices and served with a jalapeño jelly. If you really enjoy pain, get the Rajun Cajun, which puts jalapeños along with the jalapeño jelly.
