Sunday, May 25, 2014

Good News, Slapfish is Open in Laguna - CLOSED


Slapfish
211 Broadway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

I have been waiting for this expansion to take effect for a long time now. When I heard that Slapfish would be opening new spots, I felt like a kid waiting for Christmas morning to arrive so I could unwrap my presents. It has taken a long time, but Slapfish is finally spreading the love across the county and even going international. Our long wait is over.

Slapfish has finally opened another OC restaurant, and the lucky city is Laguna Beach. I'm excited because this cuts my drive to their original Huntington Beach spot by at least twenty minutes. This means their chowder fries are closer, their crispy fish sandwiches are within reach, and I can almost smell their lobster rolls if there's a good wind. Okay, that one's a stretch, but you get the point. I'm excited to have a closer Slapfish.

For those of you who need to become more familiar with Slapfish, they describe themselves as a modern seafood shack, one which prides itself on serving fresh seafood from responsible and well-managed sustainable suppliers. They reason that sustainability tastes better, and you can not argue that fact after eating here. Started as a food truck, Andrew Gruel and Jethro Naude opened their first brick-and-mortar spot off of Beach Boulevard in 2012. Now, they are aggressively planning to franchise. They have already opened a Slapfish in the Middle East, with 50 more planned. Along with those, they are also planning on opening more across Southern California, along with the rest of the US. Some local spots I have heard whispers about are Costa Mesa, Irvine, and Newport Beach, but for now, we have Laguna Beach.

This location is right across the street from Main Beach Laguna, in a funky food court, closest to the intersection of Broadway and PCH. They are neighbors with an Asian restaurant and a gas station right around the corner from Carmelita's. This Laguna location is a more stripped-down version of their Huntington Beach restaurant. Yes, they still have a lot of your favorites; fish tacos, lobster rolls, and chowder fries are all still here, and they also have a step-by-step ordering process where you choose your dish (sandwich form, fish and chips, or salad), then you pick the kind of fish you want, and then select whether you would like it grilled or crispy. The night we were here, they offered Hake, Mahi, or Shrimp for the build-your-own meal option. However, these are subject to change based on availability.

This Slapfish restaurant is pretty tiny, with a good majority of the seating occupying the back wall, which features bar seating. There is, however, a lovely patio out front, which will be the place for us quite a few times this summer. I came to Slapfish hungry, so I could not wait to eat. Let's see how everything came out for us.



Something I have never had at Slapfish before but have always wanted to try is their Lobster Dip N Chips ($4). This creamy dip definitely had the lobster vibe going for it. This dip was very rich, with little hunks of lobster running throughout it. I am also a fan of the chips served here. They were fresh, crispy, and seasoned with light chili powder that night. Whatever it was, we made quick work of this delicious dip.



One of the times we visited the Huntington Beach Slapfish, Katie had the Major Crunchy Sandwich ($8), and I remember her giving me one bite and me wanting a lot more. I vowed that this would be the night I had my own crispy fish sandwich. The fish they use here is hake, a relative of the cod family and pretty popular in Europe. This sandwich was as good as I remembered it. Crispy on the outside, and the hake inside was nice and tender. You have six sauces to choose from, but you must have the Awesome Sauce with this sandwich. The sauce is creamy, with just a hint of smokiness. Really a well-made sauce. The sandwich is then topped with lettuce, tomato, and pickled onions and sandwiched between a very well-made brioche bun that perfectly keeps everything together here. The meal is rounded out with some well-seasoned potato chips. This sandwich was so decadent that it filled me up, which is rare.



Okay, Katie and I were similar with our orders that night. It was bad planning on our part. Anyways, she had the Grilled Mahi Sandwich ($9). This sandwich, like mine, came with a choice of sauce, and she went with the Jersey sauce, a creamy lemon herb. This sauce was not overpowering but added enough flavor to compliment the fish nicely. The sandwich was also topped with tomato, lettuce, and pickled onions, just like my sandwich. Katie liked this sandwich and was happy they had a grilled option, which slightly cut down on the richness.

Even though I came here very hungry and only ordered a sandwich and lobster dip, I left full. Not overly stuffed, but very content. The sandwiches at Slapfish are deceptively filling and will satisfy even large appetites. We did not get it on this visit but do not miss the Chowder Fries. You can add a fried egg to it for even more decadence. It sounds like we will be making many more trips here during the summer unless they want to open one closer to our house, like Mission Viejo. No pressure, just a thought.

We would like to thank everyone at Slapfish for the opportunity to come down and see their new place. We are very excited to see what the bright future holds for you guys. We would also like to thank Mona and Talia of Moxxe Public Relations for inviting us to another one of their significant events. We had a great time and will be back soon.

For more information about Slapfish, go to their website here: http://www.slapfishrestaurant.com/

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