Flying into Another Hockey Season at Green Cheek Beer Co.

 Green Cheek Beer Co.

2957 Randolph Ave. Unit B

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

It's that time again, the time of year when we pick our Ducks tickets. We split the 41 home games with my parents and our good friend Steve. Usually, the upcoming hockey season is a time for optimism, but our beloved Ducks have been in rebuilding mode for the last five years and have failed to make the playoffs all of those years. They have good young players, but it's still anyone's guess whether they will meld well together and transform into a Stanley Cup-caliber team. Time will tell, but I was less hopeful than I have been. 

When we pick our tickets, I like to choose a place in the middle of where we all live. That puts us in the Huntington Beach or Costa Mesa area. I also want to pick a place where I have never been, and they must serve beer because Steve and I like to imbibe with a few drinks as we choose the games we want to see and catch up with each other's lives over the preceding year. This year, I picked Green Cheek Beer Co. as the meeting place for our ticket swap. 

I had not heard of Green Cheek until my Yelp search led me to its existence. My craft beer game is less strong than my restaurant game, as I usually like to eat my calories rather than drink them. Green Cheek must be doing something right, as they now have four locations (Orange, Sunset Beach, Oceanside, and this one in Costa Mesa) in just seven years of existence. They produce beers, lagers, stouts, and seltzers and have won numerous awards here and abroad. All of their locations have a rating of four stars and above on Yelp, so I was excited to experience what they were all about. 

We arrived at Green Cheek on a Sunday just before 3pm. The place was packed, but there was ample seating in the room adjacent to where you order both food and drinks from the people behind the bar. The weather was perfect for outside dining, so we grabbed a picnic table on their partially covered patio in the back of their space. The crowd was friendly and relaxed, enjoying the last few minutes of their Sunday Funday activities before the realities of the looming workweek invaded their minds. 

The menu at Green Cheek is small, but the staple items are here; a trio of starters, burgers, and chicken sandwiches. They also have about a third of their menu dedicated to plant-based items. Nothing on their food menu is priced above $18, which is a nice change of pace when considering that a typical combo meal at your favorite fast food spot is going for just a dollar or two less. Before picking the Ducks games we would suffer through this year, we ordered food and waited for our buzzer to spring to life. Here's how it all came out for us. 

I've been on a real tater-tot kick lately. Wherever I've eaten lately, I've ordered these tiny little barrels of fried potato. At Green Cheek, we started with their Cheeky Style Tots ($10). This is also available with fries, but I like the crunch of the tot a lot better. Tots are also a lot easier to eat with a group of people. This is their version of animal-style fries, but it's way better than what you can get at In-N-Out. For one thing, bacon is added here, and the grilled onions are in bigger chunks, so they are more pronounced. I'm not usually a fan of cheese sauces, but this one was unobtrusive and went well with the other items on the tray. The tater tots held their crunch way longer than any french fry would have. 

Katie is usually a casual bystander while picking our hockey tickets, only occasionally reminding me that I shouldn't choose a particular game because we have a previous commitment that would conflict with going to a hockey game. My little social coordinator selected the Grilled Chicken Club ($16) for her meal. From where I was sitting, this was a good-looking chicken sandwich. It came with herby lemon mayo, thick-cut bacon, lettuce, tomato, and Swiss cheese on a brioche bun. She also added avocado for an additional charge, but I did not note how much extra it was. Katie liked the freshness of everything involved here but thought the sandwich was missing something. The chicken itself was moist and seasoned well. The avocado and bacon were on point, but the lemon mayo did not shine here. It was too mellow and did not stand out. The fries were nicely done, with a light and crunchy breading. They went well with the provided ranch dressing. 

Smash burgers are all the rage right now, even appearing at fast food joints, but Green Cheek was doing them when they opened 7 years ago. Trendsetters apparently. I've mentioned many times on this blog how my parents are not big eaters, and that was evident again at Green Cheek when they split the Burger For the Kiddos ($9). This single three-ounce beef patty came with just American cheese on a potato bun and a small serving of fries. My parents were quiet this early evening, so I only really got their reaction to this burger and fries when I asked them a week later. My dad claimed he liked the burger but had to get some ketchup packets at the condiment stand set up outside to put on the burger. I bit my tongue so I wouldn't say that's probably why you shouldn't order a kid's burger, but I held it in. 

I, of course, went for an adult burger. The Classic Double Smash Burger ($14) comes with six ounces of beef, sliced American cheese, grilled onions, and burger sauce. I liked this burger, but it did have a few flaws. The bun was squished and did not hold its form very well while I ate my burger. The inside of the bigger was enjoyable but would have been better with more of their burger sauce, which they applied sparingly. The beef, cheese, and bacon ratio were excellent. Asking for an extra side of the burger sauce will be my priority the next time I'm here. 

Ultimately, Green Cheek Beer Co. was a great place for us to meet. The atmosphere was nice and relaxed, the food was good, and getting together with my parents and Steve was also excellent. They were very affordable, which you can only say about a few spots these days. On my next visit, I'd like to return and try their wings or the buffalo chicken sandwich. I hope the Duck's season goes better than I imagined, but since I'm writing this well into hockey season, I know it will be challenging for our local hockey team. 

Out of five soccer balls (because green cheek parakeets are found in the wild in Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil, all of these countries are rabid about soccer), five being best to zero being worst, Green Cheek Beer Co. gets 3 soccer balls. 

For more information about Green Cheek Beer Co., head to their website by clicking here: https://greencheekbeer.com/#home