Getting our grub on at Crow Burger Kitchen

There were so many things I liked about Crow Burger that I returned again with more friends after its opening not too long ago. Both the decor and color concept are things that really appealed to me. I also like the patio seating as well as the inside option although, the latter seems like it would get kind of claustrophobic when the place gets busy.

They have an extensive beer menu and the servers will go through them with you — patiently might I add — when you have loads of questions to ask. The menu, however, is pretty simple, burgers, burgers and more burgers. And for those of you who aren’t the burgering type, well, they haven’t left you out — there are enough items on the menu to please.

I’ve had the Green Bean Fries ($5.95) at Crow Bar and these are exactly the same as those from the ones there. To say that they are “fries” is somewhat misleading as they are just grilled green beans served with an olive “tapanade” which is more aioli than tapanade, but it is killer and very delicious I even use them on my fries.

I was extremely partial to the Vidalia Onion Rings ($5.95). Thick rings of sweet onions are well coated and fried to perfection so you end up with a crunchy exterior encasing perfectly textured onions. My only gripe was that there were only six rings and for six bucks, it was kind of steep.

And speaking of fries, I’ve had Duck Fat Fries ($4.95) on both my visits and the first time won hands down over the second. The first time, they were crispy, flavorful and absolutely perfect, everything great fries should be.

The second time, they were soggy, limp and although my friends ate a few, I insist we send them back. When they arrived back, they were better, but still, not as good as they were on my initial visit.

The other great thing was the house-made ketchup. I’m not a ketchup fan because it is usually too sweet, but the one here had the right amount of tartness and not too sweet. Seriously good stuff!

The Spicy Sausage Burger ($9.75) sounded rather intriguing. On the menu it said  Nuerenberger & Spicy Brat sausage, although I think they meant Nurenberger since Germany’s most popular sausage is a Nurenberger bratwurst seasoned with marjoram although I’m not sure if that’s the case with the ones here.

A house-made mornay sauce, whole grain mustard, arugula accompanied on a pretzel bun with the two different sausages. I thought the flavor combo was killer but there was too much juice and sauce (not that I’m complaining) and the inside of my roll became soggy pretty quickly and the whole thing fell apart. Next time I’m going low-carb on this one without the bun.

I tried the Cheeseburger Cheeseburger Cheeseburger ($8.95) consisting of the house-ground patty, black pepper cheese, cream cheese, goat cheese, fried onion, garlic mayo on a wheat English muffin.

I’m not a huge burger fan but the patty was juicy and very tasty indeed and with the three-cheeses to add to the flavor, I proclaimed it a fantastic burger especially with the crispy onion ring giving it a nice crunch. The only problem was again, the wheat muffin wasn’t able to hold up to the filling and completely broke apart rather quickly.

If you want something simple and delicious, check out the Hangover Style ($9.95) burger with the same deliciously hand-ground patty cooked to juicy perfection topped with smoked bacon, a sunny-side-up organic hen’s egg, smoked bacon and sharp cheddar. I would’ve liked the egg cooked just a tad longer as the undercooked egg white clung to the bun which grossed me out a little.

My favorite was The Grinder ($9.50) which is enough to feed two. Generous slices of mortadella, capocolla, genoa salami is stuffed between a “grinder” roll (a white Submarine style roll) with Danish fontina cheese, wild greens, organic tomatoes, oregano dressing and pepperoncinis. It was an outstanding Italian sandwich, one I would order again!!

We decided to try a fish burger while we were at it and Just Out of Water ($7.95) sounded great offering opah either grilled or blackened. Unfortunately, this item failed miserably for us. The fish tasted like it had been previously frozen with the texture mushy and wet (and not in a good way like a moist piece of fish should taste).

We had requested it be grilled but there were no grill marks on the fish whatsoever and the fish looked like it had been nuked for all we know. Horseradish coleslaw, tartar sauce on the wheat bun may have been great acroutrements, but I just couldn’t get past the fish. I inquired but they insisted the fish was fresh and not frozen.

Regardless of the misses, I liked it here. Service is good and the great items are seriously delicious. Just know the right ones to order and you’ll have a wonderful experience. Stick with the restaurant’s namesake — the burgers — and you’ll pretty much leave happy.

Crow Burger Kitchen
3107 Newport Blvd
Newport Beach, CA 92663
Tel: 949-673-2747