The Bar at Eureka! features craft beers and small batch whiskeys to enjoy
The new kid on the block in Huntington Beach’s Bella Terra is Eureka! American Craft Grill. Nestled in the base of one of the residential buildings in the plaza of Bella Terra, with a stunning patio and waterfall to enjoy on those nice SoCal days, the location makes for a nice plate to meet friends for lunch, dinner or their new Happy Hour. Eureka! combines several concepts that work especially well for the Bella Terra mixed-residential development, making it not only a great destination for an afternoon or evening out but also a place where the residents can just come down the elevator to and have a quality place to enjoy a meal and drinks. It is only 11 minutes to the beach, making it a great choice for enjoying drinks and dinner before heading back to Los Angeles. The emphasis at Eureka! is on locally sourced foods with most items like breads, dressings and sauces made in-house.
Eureka!’s Old Fashioned, a drink that has never gone out of style. Photo by Edward Simon foir the Los Angeles Beat
Eureka! already has some dishes which are well on their way to being ‘must get’ items. Eureka! prides itself on obtaining craft beers and whiskeys, preferably from local sources, for use in their bar. A good way to evaluate a new bar or bartender is to order a standard cocktail and see what they do with it. With the emphasis on whiskey as a preferred beverage for their bar, the Old Fashioned seemed like a very good choice. When it came the cocktail was attractively garnished. An interesting touch was that it only had one large ice cube in the glass. The logic makes sense; when you have a single cube there is much less surface area and therefore much less melting of the ice. Of course, that results in a drink that stays fresh longer without becoming watered down after every sip. It is admittedly a small detail, but one that shows that Eureka! has recognized that those details often make a big difference. The bottom line was that the drink has a nice balance between sweet and sour as well as a nice balance to the whiskey. It was a delicious, very smooth and enjoyable drink and certainly a nice start to a meal.
The Osso Buco Riblets at Eureka! are full of flavor and fall off the bone tender. Photo by Edward Simon for the Los Angeles Beat
Naturally, appetizers are a popular item to snack on while enjoying some adult beverages. The chefs at Eureka!`have taken several appetizers and put their own spin on them. The Osso Buco Riblets were made of short pieces of pork ribs, yielding a tiny rib about the size of a thumb. A pile of them was served to our hungry table. The ribs were delicious, the “Osso Buco” term implying that the cooking method is a slow braise, concentrating flavors and making the ribs extremely tender. These riblets were so tender that the meat indeed easily fell off of the bone. Taste wise, they were wonderful, with the Asian sauce coating them at with a tasty sherry based firecracker aioli, just spicy enough to add a little kick. The firecracker aoli added notes of citrus, soy and chili paste.
A plate of Truffle Fries covered with a Havarti Cheese Sauce. Photo by Edward Simon for the Los Angeles Beat
Another appetizer that seemed to be showing up on a lot of tables was the Truffle Fries. These also came on a platter so several guests could share it. A big pile of handcut fries was cooked to a nice crispy exterior. They were mixed with a sauce that combined truffle oil and melted Havarti cheese into a creamy coating for the fries when were then served with chopped fresh green onions. They were really delicious with the slight earthiness of the sauce and kick of the sweet onions. Because of the mild topping, the fries would also go well with several other of the Eureka! Appetizers such as wings, steamer clams and lollipop corn dogs.
Eureka!’s chef has created a line of beef burgers made with 100% vegetarian fed, hormone and antibiotic free beef. All the burgers are hand-packed at the restaurant. The burgers are available with some unique flavor combinations. A Jalapeño Egg Burger adds some interesting elements to the basic burger, while the Pearl Street Blues burger adds melted blue cheese, sauteed mushrooms and grilled onions to the sandwich.The Cowboy Burger tops the beef patty with shoestring onion rings, cheddar cheese and nice slices of bacon. There are choices that are not beef-based also. A Catalina Bison Burger was a nice, lower fat and cholesterol alternative.
The Veggie Beat Burger is a satisfying vegetarian sandwich. Photo by Edward Simon for the Los Angeles Beat
A good vegetarian choice is the Veggie Beet Burger. The homemade patty is a blend of red beets and beans, yielding a patty that has a nice bite to it. Grill marks on the patty added a perfect amount of char to this burger. The first bite of it provided a delicious, slightly sweet flavor with good texture. Normal toppings of tomato and red onion went along with some delicious zucchini pickles and peppery arugula tossed in a very light lemon vinaigrette. The house Kennebec fries accompanied the unique healthful alternative.
The Fresno Fig Burger, totally unique and absolutely delicious. Photo by Edward Simon for the Los Angeles Beat
One of the most interesting burgers that is on the Eureka! Menu is the Fresno Fig Burger. As an FOF (Fan of Figs), I knew immediately that it would be my choice of burger. I asked for the burger medium rare. When it came to the table, it was cooked to a perfect medium-rare. The grill cooks certainly know what they are doing, since at many places the doneness can be all over the temperature range. A melted goat cheese, some beautiful slices of bacon and the topping finished the burger off. On the upper half of the toasted bun, a nice layer of homemsde fig marmalade covered it. No need for other condiments on this burger! The taste was superb, with the nice beefy burger complemented by crisp peppery arugula and the slightly sweet fig marmalade. It was a tasty burger and went well with the Honey Cinnamon Sweet Potato Fries. Again, restraint seems to be the word in Eureka!’s kitchen, as the honey and sweet potatoes together were not overly sweet.
Beer Braised Duck sausage with Panko Breaded Onion Rings at Eureka!. Photo by Edward Simon for the Los Angeles Beat
Entrees at Eureka! Include salmon, crab cakes, braised short ribs, a grilled Portabello or Angus Hangar steak and a pulled pork sandwich. Chicken is available either as Fried Chicken sliders, sautéed chicken Saltimbocca, a grilled sandwich or as one of the many entree salads such as Cobb or Strawberry Salad. One of their signature entrees is a Beer Braised Duck and with the description it had in the menu, for a duck lover this was an easy choice. The duck sausage, infused with bacon, was charbroiled nicely before being braised in a stock of beer and orange juice. Caramelized onions, porter mustard and cheddar cheese topped off the sandwich after it was placed on a brioche bun. For the final touch, a corn relish was put over the sausage, adding nice texture to the dish. The casing had that nice snap to it and the caramelized onions were extremely sweet and well-flavored. The onions were done just to the perfect point that brought out their sweetness. The signature handcut fries were great n the side, although they can be substituted at a slight charge by other items. We chose the Panko Breaded Onion Rings and were amazed by the size of these rings, easily twice the thickness of most others. The panko breadcrumbs made a nice coating on the onion rings which were so freshly cooked that they steamed when first cut into.
Butterscotch Rum Pudding is a great way to end a meal at Eureka!. Photo by Edward Simon for the Los Angeles Beat
There is only a small choice of desserts at Eureka! But there is a lot of flavor packed into those choices. The Chocolate Espresso Soufflé coffee cup cake seems like it would have enough to satisfy the most devoted chocoholic. The Goldengate Butterscotch Rum Pudding is much the opposite, rich, but with subtle flavors topped off by homemade whipped cream and a nice sprig of fresh ment. My pudding was very satisfying and proved to be the perfect finale to the meal. It was one of those dishes that you;ll scrape the bowl to get every bit of goodness out.
Kim Nguyen, Assistant GM and Shawn Luseski, Mgr in Training, at Eureka{‘s Bottle Shop. Photo by Edward Simon for the Los Angeles Beat
No trip to Eureka! is complete without a stop at the Bottle Shop. This is one of Eureka!’s unique concepts. At Eureka!, you can not only get some amazing boutique wines, small batch whiskeys and craft beers, but if you find one you really like, there is no asking the waitstaff “so where can I find this?”. Eureka! has their own Bottle Shop near the entrance where you can buy many of the beers, wines or whiskeys that you have just enjoyed. It is a great way to be able to taste some fine beverages to you. Eureka! Even has tasting samplers such as a four whiskey sampler to help you see the differences. This really is a great way to find something nice to bring home.
Eureka! Huntington Beach is located on 7631 Edinger Ave, Huntington Beach, California 92647 at Bella Terra outdoor shopping center. Hours are from 11 a.m. to midnight daily.
