Showcased eats for Newport Beach Restaurant Week

Crow Burger’s mac and cheese burger is five ounces of prime beef, cooked medium rare. It is covered with bacon and house macaroni and cheese and served on a brioche bun, according to the menu. (Sasha Baharestani / Lariat)

January marks the start of a new year, and has undoubtedly also become synonymous to the idea of new beginnings and new introductions. Newport Beach has followed this concept closely, having created 10 years ago what is now known to many Orange County residents as Newport Beach Restaurant Week.

Restaurant Week ironically takes place over a two-week span having started Monday, Jan. 18 ending Sunday, Jan.31. Many of the participating restaurants come together and create a set menu showcasing some of their favourite items at great affordable prices. Essentially Newport Beach Association started it as a way to introduce hidden gems known most only by Newport residents. One of these hidden gems having participated in restaurant week includes the burger restaurant known as Crow Burger Kitchen.

Heading into Crow Burger Kitchen for the first time, you’re immediately and unexpectedly greeted with the over typical décor of exposed lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling along with the combination of exposed brick, wood and steel.

With an open seating plan easily adaptable from the afternoon to evening scene, Crow Burger has every bit of the urban restaurant presentation, yet still manages to lend itself perfectly to a low pressure, relaxed environment. “It has a really laid back and cool atmosphere” said an anonymous customer.

It is evident that Crow Burger Kitchen aims to be set apart, as notable through their menu selection. Each item on the menu is completely unique and completely different. Starting with their names, one example being the Bird Burger, which “is my favourite” according to supervisor Casey, “I honestly can’t pick a favourite though…it really goes back and forth every week.”

Other gourmet burger sites tend to try too hard, but at the crow burger kitchen, everything is straightforward, especially with the presentation of the meal, which is brought out as neat and simplistic. No disguises and no surprises, just a fresh made-to-order burger with quality defined by their ingredients. “We have accounts with farmers across the state, all of our meat is grass fed, we house ground our meat, we make all of our own sauces from scratch and we also bake our own bread” said supervisor Casey.

The size of their burgers are perfectly sized to be able to be paired with some duck fat fries or one of their many varieties of ice cold craft beers. They have options that satisfy every eater, with a choice of a lighter organic garden burger to the heavier mac’n cheese burger complete with bacon to seal the deal.

“I would definitely go back. The burger I had was perfect for me. I’m a picky eater, so the mac n’ cheese burger was the best thing that could have ever been put in front of me” says anonymous customer.

If planning a spontaneous weekend trip to the beach or elsewhere, Crow Bar Kitchen sits at a perfect location that allows for a quick bite before heading off to an only 2-minute drive to the Newport beach pier or even down a bit more on a less than 10 minute drive to the Balboa fun zone.

In other words, when weekend studying becomes too overwhelming, take a tip from Newport Beach Restaurant Week and try out a restaurant in Newport. Its truly the perfect dining destination that satisfies every need and want of a stressed college student. Choose to embrace the fact that as a college student, dining out has not only become the sole commonplace for social interaction, but also a necessary escape from the pressured realities being faced every day.

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