Timber.....

The Lumberyard

One of my co-burger reviewers said that he and his "boss" (his perjorative use of air quotes, not mine) would pick me up for lunch today. When I got in the car, one of them said that we should go into Laguna Beach (I will spare you the reason why) and the other said that we should eat outside. I immediately thought of the Lumberyard and its patio right smack dab in the heart of downtown Laguna Beach.

We were seated right out on the patio on a beautiful day and perused the Lunch menu as well as the many forms of body ink on display in the warm sun.

I have been to the Lumberyard for dinner several times and thoroughly enjoy the dinner offerings, but today, felt compelled to sample the Lumberyard Signature Burger.

Described on the menu as a half-pound, just-ground, Angus Chuck patty on a toasted egg bun with bleu cheese, carmalized onions, swiss cheese, bacon, and "mushroom chips," the burger looked incredible. Incidentally, my co-reviewer ordered the plain cheeseburger which is the same setup, but only with cheese (obviously). The Signature was $14 and came with a choice of fries, sweet potato fries, buttered green beans, or sauteed spinach. The plain burger was a lunch special for $10 and had the same side offerings.

We basked in the warm glow of the sun and enjoyed the people watching on the Laguna Beach streets as we waited the short wait for our meals.

When the burgers came out, they looked incredible. Pardon the cellphone camera picture and bad lighting, but see here:

The burger itself had a very crunchy bun, which I enjoyed, but I am guessing that you will hear otherwise from my co-reviewer. Also key to my burger were the incredible bacon and bleu cheese flavors which really stood out. The burger itself had good size, flavor, and composition. Overall, a very good burger.

The fries were passable, nothing special, not bad.

Our lunch mate, the "boss" man, ordered the french dip sandwich and reported that it was also very good. He also thoroughly enjoyed the tattoos of our waitress.

Incidentally, there was a cuban panini special that someone at the table next to us ordered which looked awesome.

Owned by the people who used to own Oysters in Corona del Mar, the Lumberyard is a great American restaurant in an incredible setting.

The Lumberyard
384 Forest Avenue
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 715-3900
Website

Discovery

My experience today at Papa's Tacos in South Laguna Beach was the type of experience I imagined I would have when we started this blog. For me, this blog is as much about discovering new places to eat, as much as it is to find the perfect FT. And I feel like I found a great little "discovery" in Papa's Tacos.

For my entire life , I have driven through South Laguna and passed by Papa's Tacos, located along the eastern side of PCH. It has a very small and unassuming storefront, marked only by a relatively small rectangular sign. I noticed for the last 10 years or so, which I interpret to mean that it must be doing something right. Especially since it is not located along a heavy pedestrian portion of PCH and survived with only metered street parking. Many times have I wanted to stop to peek in and sample, but I had never done so...until today. With my daughter in hand I adventured in to Papa's for a Saturday lunch.

The first thing you notice when you walk in is how small it is. The entire place was about the size of a NYC hotel room (read: small). The counter and kitchen make up 2/3 of the entire store with enough room for 4 worn, wooden stools that were positioned along the large windows facing PCH. The menu offered the standard mexican faire: burritos, enchiladas, tacos, tortas, etc. So I ordered a fish taco, a carne asada taco and rice & beans and settled in with my daughter on one of the stools go wait for our order.

The FTs arrived in a strofoam to-go container. They were healthy in size and consisted of sliced mahi-mahi fish wrapped in 2 medium sized corn tortillas. Melted cheese, cabbage and a small amount of chopped onions (which likely made their way from the carne asada taco) topped off my FT. It was fantastic! The melted cheese on the mahi-mahi along with the errant chooped onions made for a great taste. The fish was very light and flakey but hearty, if that is possible. I saved the hot salsa to the second half of my FT which turned out to complement the FT quite well. The rice and beans (and carne asada taco) rounded out what was a great lunch.

After lunch, I chatted up the owner. He told me that Papa's Tacos has been there for 19 years but he had recently taken over ownership and management. It must have been very recent given that when I was there the cook was "training" him on using the register.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience, from the food to the dining experience in the restuarant (my daughter even behaved well eating lunch on my lap!). I highly recommend Papa's Tacos and I know I will be back.

Papa's Tacos

31622 Coast Highway

Laguna Beach, CA 92651

(949) 499-9822

www.papastacos.com