Hi my beloved readers,
I know it may seem like overkill, me talking about 237 Ocean Avenue, Chef Leo Bongarra’s new concept that recently opened in the former Breeze & Brews entity. But I’m all about getting these newbie restaurants off the ground and thriving. And I know: So are you. We love these people.
Whenever I talk to our Laguna Beach Chefs in town, we discuss the importance of our local residents.
Of course, we love our global travelers - you add spice and fun and wonder to our little berg.
Of course we love our neighboring city residents - you make the effort to come here to our beautiful vortex of amazing restaurants, and that isn’t necessarily easy.
But it’s absolutely imperative that the locals feel loved, too, because, let’s face it, YOU Laguna Beach residents are the year-round life’s blood to these talented chefs.
Now, I’ve had a few residents kinda get a little sketch with me on this matter.
They feel they’re only loved in the WINTER months when, let’s face it … on the streets of Laguna Beach after 8:00 p.m. in the winter months … you could have an entire John Wick film crew destroying, flipping and setting on fire 19 vehicles AND you could have several simultaneous hand-to-hand battles between Wick and multiple adversaries and NO ONE WOULD NOTICE. (Well, the police and fire department would notice because they’re very good at that. But you know what I’m saying.)
But the savvy restaurateurs here in town - they know locals and our nearest neighbors are, indeed, nearest and dearest. So, here’s what 237 Ocean Avenue has cooked up to keep it fun:
Weekly specials now in play at 237 Ocean Avenue
Most imperative: Chef Leo’s famed multi-award winner, “Best of L.A. Burger” is now in play at 237 Ocean Avenue. For the record, whomever judged that L.A. contest of 7,000 burger entries was not bribed. This is truly a significant burger that you’ll have a tendency to just wolf down. (That’s the video up above. In my Instagram, I coupled it with an audio bit from Whitesnake’s 1987 release, “Is This Love” because this burger makes you feel like you can date a super model and marry her.)
Call it caramelized onions, call it the mix Chef came up with to mold-and-make the burger, call it the “Chef Leo Secret Sauce,” call it the meat, which is actually cured like bacon, call it the house-made fries that just take the nirvana experience even higher …
I can’t put my finger on it, but I can tell you this. This is the kind of burger that, if you decided to move to France or something, you would ask Chef Leo to monthly vacuum-pack 20 and Fed Ex them to you for your freezer in case of visiting dignitaries. And then you’d have to re-order every month because every dignitary in town would be your BFF.
The burger, which I think Chef understatingly refers to as a “German Smokehouse Burger” is on the Lunch/Happy Hour, Dinner Menu and Late Night Menu
Next Most Imperative to Know: Locals receive 15% off every tab, all the time.
Drop the mic on that one. I can’t even add more explanatory words. Well, let me just repeat:
ALL the time.
EVERY tab.
Just present some form of ID that says you live here (preferably driver’s license).
New 237 Ocean Avenue Hours & Specials:
Open every day except Monday.
Sunday Brunch: 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. with live music and $5 Mimosas.
(Happy Hour menu is added at 3:00 p.m. and Dinner menu follows at 6:00 p.m.)
6 Days a Week Lunch: 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., six days a week
6 Days a Week Happy Hour: 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (It doesn’t get pulled in the summer months or on the weekends. Yay for that.)
Dinner Menu: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00ish p.m.
Late Night Menu (for all of us still grieving the loss of Taco Loco): Chef Leo is keeping his kitchen open with plenty of plentiful appetizer (and hopefully burger) options until 12:00 a.m.
Late Night Live/DJ Music begins after 9:00 p.m. with a hearty food-and-drink swank lounge. The lounge is open weekends till 1:00 a.m.
And There’s More:
Nightly Specials
Tuesdays: Craft Beer Night – with new tastings and discounts on every draft craft beer
Wednesdays: “Wine Tour of the World Wine Tasting Wednesdays” – now this got my attention because I happen to like traveling the world and trying different wines. Now, we all have a non-expiring passport on a Laguna Beach trolley ride without all those airport security line hassles and customs lines that never let you keep your wine in the first place.
Each week, from 6:00 p.m. forward, the entire menu changes to accommodate a region or country of stellar wines with Leo’s obliging food pairings. That starts this coming week.
Thursdays: ArtWalk (first week of month) and ongoing 237 Ocean Avenue “Night Out” for every remaining week of the month to celebrate our fine town’s beginnings. The team’s artsy/crafty craft cocktails are all discounted throughout the evening.
Fridays: I’ve nicknamed these “Aloha Friday Gatherings” because you know how you just want to be with your favorite person or people on Friday afternoon and evening to celebrate the end of the week? Chef Leo and friends are also our favorite people because their stellar wines are just $5 all evening.
Lastly … though sports fans won’t think this is a “lastly”
The new 237 Ocean Avenue is manned by Argentinians, remember. So, expect to see all the great soccer and rugby matchups with (requested) sound on during Lunch & Happy Hours, and with sound off (but still doing their thing up there) during Dinner service.
In a phrase: A great gathering place for you and your special people
Gotta admit, I love the vibe of the new 237 Ocean Avenue. Plenty of specials with menu pricing that’s special even before the specials.
But the most special (I used that word again) bonus: The food and craft cocktails are absolutely first class.
This is a Chef who’s here to stay in Laguna Beach. Let’s do what we can to make his concept fun for him, too.
237 Ocean Ave. introduces "Local Love"