Board & Brew

Board & Brew – Ocean Ranch in Laguna Niguel
By Shelley Hudson

Board & Brew’s newest location is off and running in Laguna Niguel’s Ocean Ranch Village Center, and not a minute too soon. The eighth restaurant in the growing San Diego-OC chain started shredding and slicing in late March for a built-in following—namely, the overflow from the line-out-the-door at its San Clemente shop.

Founder Tom Powers started Board & Brew in 1979 in Del Mar with a simple idea—to provide the freshest, highest-quality food at the best value. Staying true to Tom’s formula of never cutting corners has paid off. The low-key vibe and menu of classics-with-a-twist entices customers looking for good food fast. The open-air patio, curated slate of local artisanal beers and the Baja-reggae-surf setting encourages diners to hang out for a while. The restaurant is outfitted with skateboard decks, surfboards of all shapes, coastal art and a sweet fiberglass-topped bar that faces the open kitchen. The atmosphere is busy, but laid-back and fun.

I stopped in for a quick lunch and to get The Local Dish from Zen, one of Board & Brew’s owners. “We have a full-service kitchen that only prepares sandwiches,” he explains, “We’re ‘prepping’ all day because everything is fresh. Our bread is delivered every morning—in fact, we sometimes sell out of a bread option late in the day. Our roast beef is certified, grass-fed angus; we even rotate vendors throughout the year to ensure absolute freshness.” He said Board & Brew’s typical customer is difficult to identify. “We have families grabbing dinner before seeing a movie next door, businesspeople coming in for weekday lunches, kids meeting up after school, and everyone in between.”

Zen recommended I try B&B’s most popular sandwich, the Turkado. This creation was piled high with smoked turkey and topped with sliced tomato, shredded lettuce, sweet red onion, jack cheese and creamy avocado. It was served with a side of “secret sauce,” which beautifully enhanced the flavors of the whole stack. Zen said the sauce recipe was adapted from Tom’s mother’s macaroni salad dressing recipe—a sauce with a story! The sandwich was hearty and delicious. I washed it down with passionberry iced tea from the self-serve station, but next time I’ll go for an ice cold Artifex Honey Blonde. I’m also eager to try one of the daily soup specials like the lentil-vegetable or fire-roasted tomato.

Take a ride through the menu at BoardAndBrew.com and be sure to check out Board & Brew’s daily happy hour specials!

Board & Brew – Ocean Ranch
32371 Golden Lantern, Laguna Niguel
949.207.1007
BoardAndBrew.com