Pelican Isle is worth the paddle

DINING REVIEW

From high up in my captain’s perch, I barked orders to the crew while

gingerly navigating my luxury water vessel through a cramped

Huntington Harbor, en route to a docking at Peter’s Landing.

After successfully disembarking, my entourage and I headed on

shore to Pelican Isle restaurant for a late lunch of broiled lobster

tail, Alaskan king crab legs, and Cristal champagne.

Ahhhhh, if only this were the way the afternoon truly unfolded.

In reality, my luxury water vessel was a rented kayak and my

entourage consisted solely of my buddy Eric. I barked no orders, but

did girlishly wail for Eric to steady my kayak while docking so I

wouldn’t plunge into the harbor when getting out.

We did lunch at Pelican Isle, but had sandwiches in lieu of

lobster and crab (which, at $36 and $44 respectively, would have

imploded my lunch budget), and Newcastle Brown Ale in lieu of

Cristal.

It was a pleasant 20-minute paddle from Sunset Rentals (where it

only costs $10 to rent a single-person kayak for two hours) to the

courtesy dock in front of Pelican Isle. Open just three months,

Pelican Isle serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in a tranquil

waterfront setting.

The interior dining room, with its nautically decorated walls and

colonial-styled wooden chairs, is reminiscent of a Cape Cod eatery.

Nonetheless, you’re committing a grave injustice if, during daylight

hours, you don’t sit out on the harbor-front patio and relish a view

folks from Kansas can only dream about. In mid-afternoon, the harbor

glistens and the boats sparkle as the sun warms your back.

Possessing the skills of a speed-reader would be most advantageous

when perusing Pelican Isle’s seemingly boundless menu of more than

one hundred items. Eric and I gorged on steak, seafood, chicken and

eggplant -- each in a varied form of sandwich.

The grilled eggplant on focaccia bread was by far our best

selection. Medallions of eggplant mix with sauteed onions, red bell

peppers, mushrooms and melted mozzarella cheese to create a

Mediterranean delight.

The single-level chicken club on overdone white toast was a

pork-a-palooza of ham and bacon that overpowered a nicely grilled

chicken breast. And what’s with a single-level club? To me, the lure

of a traditional club is that it’s two sandwiches in one -- part BLT,

part turkey and ham.

Our larger-than-expected grilled halibut melt was served on an

elongated, remarkably buttery croissant, spread with a tangy chipotle

mayonnaise. The long fish filet was draped in melted cheddar cheese

that flexed its flavor muscles.

Riddle me this Batman -- when is a sandwich not a sandwich? When

it’s an open-faced rib-eye steak sandwich. Let’s face it, hardly

anyone ever eats the bread, and the sandwich cut of meat is usually

inferior (in this instance, too thin and too fatty) to be an entree

steak. If you’re going to use a fork and knife, you might consider

ordering their baseball-cut top sirloin.

Every sandwich comes with your choice of side dish. The fries,

onion rings and salad were typical, the pasta in marinara sauce was

bland, and although the garlic-rosemary mashed potatoes tasted of

neither garlic nor rosemary, I really enjoyed this lumpy mound. My

thick, peppery cup of New England style clam chowder was absolutely

fantastic.

They were sold out of the peach cobbler I was anxious to try for

dessert. Vinny (female), our chummy server/bartender, sensed my

disappointment and quickly substituted a piece of chocolate cake she

fancied with ice cream and chocolate sauce. Nice recovery.

Although Eric is ready to venture back for another eggplant

sandwich, it’s the meal-sized clam chowder served in a sourdough

bread bowl that’ll get me paddling again.

NOTE: I’m in search of Huntington Beach’s best breakfast burrito

and need your help. Please e-mail your suggestions to

[email protected].

* JOHN VOLO is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have

comments or suggestions, e-mail [email protected]