August 31, 2006

Bluewater Grill offers three locations for your dining pleasure: Redondo Beach, Newport Beach and Coming Soon to The District in Tustin!. What's your favorite location and why? Post your comments below:

Posted by Shawn | 01:08 PM | Email >Comments: 45

Comments:

B. Button said:

We love your South Coast location. The bartenders are great, the shuttle to the OC Perfoming Arts Center is a great way to see a show and it is easy to get to!

12:45 PM | January 02, 2007

David C said:

I love the dock at Newport Beach. Nothing like eating the best seafood in California right there on the water. When's lunch? My mouth is watering!

10:05 AM | January 05, 2007

Chris said:

We had dinner the other night before an OCPAC play, your staff was exceptionally helpful in helping us get there on time, the food was delicious & Unique - had the Ahi Oki, and the shuttle was convenient. Thank you.

3:58 PM | January 05, 2007

Jim "U" said:

Thank you for the feedback. The shuttle is great so you don't have to fight (or pay) for parking in the structure. The Ahi Poke is new and it is nice to get positive feedback on new items since we don't have a sales track record to confirm that people enjoy the new item!

1:44 PM | January 09, 2007

sm said:

I am crazy about the Redondo Beach location. We are usually there weekly for dinner and drinks.

7:11 PM | January 31, 2007

Jpops said:

The grill has been our lunch place of choice 4 last 5 years!!! We enjoy the welcome, food & service. The food is always consistently gud.

8:33 AM | February 01, 2007

Jim U said:

Jpops Thanks for the KUDOs. I will pass the word on to the crew!

10:34 AM | February 14, 2007

Diane L. said:

I only wish your Redondo Beach restaurant was closer to Marina Del Rey so I could go every week. LOVE your spinach salad, oysters rockefeller and generous drinks!

3:51 PM | February 15, 2007

Jim U said:

Thanks...find us a location in the area and we would love to open near you ! On a different note, I thought it was important to mention the recent news coverage by investigative reporter David Goldstein on Channel 2. David was trying to expose restaurants that intentionally substitute a less costly fish when Red Snapper is ordered. He failed to mention that Red Snapper is one of the cheapest fish out there to start with and that several restaurants (BWG and Walt's Wharf) had DNA results turn up their "red snapper" as Mahi Mahi. HE failed to mention that Mahi Mahi is actually a much costlier fish than Red Snapper (so the restaurant would have no financial reason to substitute except to lose money). He also failed to mention that cooked red snapper (which is potentially any one of 13 local California rockfish) is EXTREMELY difficult to type when using cooked fish. There is merit to this type of journalism when businesses doing bad are exposed. For example, substituting inexpensive fish like Atlantic Salmon for Copper River King or Local Sole for English Dover Sole or Farmed Fish for Wild Caught fish or frozen fish for fresh. I applaud the intent of Channel 2 but this story had a "fishy", malicious intent. I always say, "never let the facts get in the way of a good story!"

5:22 PM | February 16, 2007

Travel Dennis said:

Love your South Coast village location. Bill the bartender is one of the best around. Do you ever get in gulf coast red snapper? For those of from the south, there is no comparison.

7:33 AM | March 08, 2007

Jim U said:

We generally only feature local Red Snapper which is any one of 13 types of local rockfish. Gulf Red Snapper is a "true" snapper and is fairly rare due to overfishing by commercial boats and expensive. We have decided not to feature this fish until stocks have recovered. We do support recreational taking and eating of the fish since rod & reel is a much more sustainable form of catching these fish. So you will need to go to the Gulf Coast and go fishing, what a great excuse to go!

11:49 AM | March 09, 2007

Oneofthegirls said:

We love Chef Brian. We have had several girly get togethers and Brian was always helpful in choosing items pleasing to everyone in our group/s.

11:30 AM | March 28, 2007

Bob P. said:

My wife and I love Bluewater Grill. We're from Boston and have visited both Newport Beach and Costa Mesa locations about 4-5 times over the past 6 years. The dinners we have had there are as good as or better than any seafood dinner we've had here in New England!! Such blasphemy!! We'll be out there in early May and we're already planning our visit to the Newport beach Bluewater Grill. Looking forward it!!!!!

11:43 AM | March 28, 2007

Mike C. said:

Jim Your 2/16 blog says journalists should expose restaurants which substitute "inexpensive fish like --- Wild Caught fish for farmed." I'd heard the opposite, that wild caught fish is more expensive - than farmed. In addition, that wild tastes better and is better for you. Please comment. Thanks.

11:52 AM | March 28, 2007

Jim U said:

Mike C you are correct. I made an error and reversed the farmed and wild so I corrected the comment in the blog listing above. The intent of my comments are that unethical restaurants have a financial incentive to substitute less expensive products for expenssive ones. This applies to many of the new food trends which tend to cost more such as "organic, free range, fresh, wild, USDA Prime, etc." items. The best guideline is to support restaurants that have a commitment to "Truth in Menu" like Bluewater Grill. I welcome anyone to audit our invoices or tour our back of the house to show them the integrity of our products.

1:09 PM | April 02, 2007

SRM said:

Redondo location is a great place for dinner and drinks. Leo the bartender is great- always service with a smile.

6:16 PM | April 05, 2007

Jim U said:

Thanks...I will make sure to tell Leo how much you appreciate his service ! Look for some changes to the bar at Bluewater Redondo..We will be re-doing the bar to make it NEW and improved!

4:14 PM | April 09, 2007

Bill F said:

Nice sampler treats at boat show during the radio program. Is that your boating radio show?

3:30 PM | April 24, 2007

Jim U said:

Bill We have a great relationship with the boating community in Newport Beach and the host of Boathouse Radio is Mike Whutehead, an old friend and true Bluewater addict. He can be found at the Oyster Bar eating lunch with some of his buddies that also work in the marine industry. Due to our unique location at the center of the marine business in Newport Beach, we get yacht brokers, shipyard workers, boat dealers, dock builders, fishermen, boat captains, charter company operators, well you get the idea. We count among our regular guests the Bellport Group, Chuck Hovey Yachts, Ardell, the Schock family, Olympic Boats, Valley Detroit Diesel, Sail California, American Yacht Charters, Bayport, Crow's Nest, Fraser, Dimen, Lido Shipyard, Wayne Johnson and Gary Stevens to name just a few from memory !

4:04 PM | April 30, 2007

Michael W Ramos said:

Loved eating at the REdondo location and fell in love even more after finding out my favorite tv show was filmed there!! Bring Back The O.C.

8:23 PM | May 05, 2007

Jim U said:

We just finished our most recent tasting event this week featuring Steamed Shellfish Three Ways and it was a huge hit. WE got over 100 people to turn up and sample our Manila Clams, Green Lip Mussels and Prince Edward Island Black Mussels cooked three ways. First, we did them with a dry white wine, garlic, butter, shallots and parsley just like they do them in Paris. Second, we went to Thailand and used coconut milk, Thai Green Curry, cilantro and onion and finally we took a trip to Spain with marinara, linguica sausage some hearty vino tinto, garlic and smoked paprika. We served plenty of crusty bread for dippin' and featured the delicious wines of Firestone Vineyards...Chardonnay, Johanissburg Reisling and Sauvignon Blanc. Yum me !

12:13 PM | May 12, 2007

Bob P. said:

My wife and I just returned home to Massachusetts after vacationing in CA. Naturally our vacation wouldn't be complete without dinner at the Bluewater Grill. This time we ate at the Newport Beach location. It was super. Like I've said before the seafood we have had at the Bluewater Grill is equal to or better than any we've had back here in New England. My wife did have one question though......how is calamari steak made to look like calamari steak? I know that sounds strange but back here all the calamari dishes are the little rings and tentacles but never anything looking like a whole steak. She absolutely loved it but couldn't understand how it got to look like a steak.

12:28 PM | May 15, 2007

Jim U said:

Clamari steak is cut from the body of a giant squid. These babies are 1-3 feet long but can grow up to 20 feet from tip to end of tentacle. They cut the body which is "cone" shape and flatten it out. After removing two layers of protective "skin" they can cut steaks out of the meat. These steaks then need to be pounded until paper thin and floured and breaded and pan sauteed. I did a piece for Inside Sportfishing TV and could email you the info if yoy send me a note at info@bluewatergrill.com. You can Google "Giant Squid" images and see some cool photo's of these beasts from the deep.

1:17 PM | May 22, 2007

Laurie M said:

What day and time is your boating radio show and what station? Do you have a part talking about cooking fish or seafood?

9:24 AM | June 01, 2007

Jim U said:

I was referring to the Mike Whitehead "Boathouse Radio" Show on Saturdays from 12 to 1 on AM 830. We did a "Live Remote" at the Newport Boat Show with Mike and he is a regular at our Newport Beach location.

9:59 AM | June 11, 2007

SAM S said:

I was told that Costa Mesa is now closed when I called there last week.

2:36 PM | August 03, 2007

Doug said:

What happened to the Costa Mesa location? We went there today and it's being converted to a Corner Bakery. What gives? We miss it!!!!

3:56 PM | August 03, 2007

Theplanner said:

I am planning 8 events for several ladies groups between now and Christmas and was interested in having The Bluewater host again. We all loved the last 5 we had at your Costa Mesa and Newport locations. I'm dissapointed now because although I've sent several e-mails I gotten no response. Is business that good?

8:05 AM | August 06, 2007

Jim U said:

Please e-mail me at info@bluewatergrill.com. You must be sending the e-mail to the wrong place because we would LOVE to host you again.

4:49 PM | August 09, 2007

Jim U said:

Yes, we did close our Santa Ana property. See my comments in the Tustin area of the BLOG...we are relocating and opening in November.

4:50 PM | August 09, 2007

Bob said:

Having trouble opening the Tustin area of the BLOG.

5:20 AM | August 20, 2007

Suzy said:

I recently enjoyed your great Happy Hour. Very nice selection of 1/2 appetizers. When discussing great Happy Hours I always recommend Blue Water in Newport.

4:39 PM | August 31, 2007

Rich said:

Recently I enjoyed a faboulous Wine Dinne at the Newport Beach Blue Water Grill put on by the Orange County Wine Society. We had a wonderful selection of Entres. The food was excellent as well as the Wines that evening. Many thanks to the wait staff and the Management there for such a fantastic evening.

4:44 PM | August 31, 2007

Jim U said:

Bob..try Tustin again it should work... Rich Thanks for the compliments on the wine dinner...we always love the OCWS because they appreciate the way white wine pairs with some of our most subtle offerings...smoked fish, oysters, seared tuna. It is easy to pair a big Cabernet with a steak and far hard to match a dry rieling with one of our kumamoto oysters ! Bravi. Thanks

8:04 PM | September 21, 2007

Dennis H said:

Nancy and I eat at the Newport location at least 3 times a month, We love it. Please get some razor clams! They are so delicious! We go as far as Morro Bay to eat them, it's the only restaurant we ever found with razor clams on the menu.

2:47 PM | October 05, 2007

Jim U said:

I will talk to our chef regarding Razor Clams...I know they are quite rare and pricey but we can bring some in and give them a try..

3:46 PM | November 21, 2007

Jim U said:

Our new Alaskan Halibut special to celebrate the opening of Alaskan Halibut season is a smash hit! The halibut is lightly tempura battered with some slivers of yam and flash fried so the fish looks like a beautiful spikey masterpiece. It is topped with a sweet chili glaze and served with a glass noodle salad with Thai basil & mint. People are RAVING about it.

10:06 AM | April 25, 2008

Bill F said:

My wife Debbie and I have been going to Newport for years. It is the family favorite for fish. I love the sward fish. It is the BEST.

5:56 PM | May 05, 2008

Herb M. said:

We visit the Redondo location at least once a week. After returning from vacation,we were disappointed to find the bread had been changed.Why would you go from the best bread in the South Bay to merely average. We have sent many friends to the Bluewater with the promise that they were never going to eat better bread. Alas,no more.

8:27 PM | May 28, 2008

Fishy said:

BlueWater in Redondo Beach, Big up's!!!

5:53 PM | May 31, 2008

Real eyez said:

I love eating at the bluewater grill in redondo, the specials are great and pasta are out of this world!

5:54 PM | May 31, 2008

SM said:

HI- Truly enjoy your Redondo Beach location! Family and friends are there almost weekly for dinner and drinks. Leo is a great bartender!!

5:37 PM | June 06, 2008

Jim U said:

It's the same bread, just a baguette instead of a round...perhaps it was not cooked and crispy enough...our bakery stopped producing the roundette (the round loaf). Sorry you think it is not good, please give it another chance.

9:56 PM | July 02, 2008

Bob said:

Jim, Will you be responding to inquiries posted on the Tustin blog? I posted a question there back in May but it looks like there's been no activity there for quite awhile. Thanks

8:31 AM | July 28, 2008

Jim U said:

Yes, just getting around to it. See my answer on the Tustin Blog. It is John Wayne.

11:54 AM | July 29, 2008