No Web of Deceit Going on at Webb’s Grainworks

 Webb's Grainworks

7 Journey

Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

One of the benefits of Restaurant Week is that it alerts me to restaurants that may have escaped my attention. I try to stay current with the latest and greatest restaurant openings, but some inevitably slip through the cracks. It was incredibly embarrassing when I failed to know about a place four miles from where I live. I'll blame moving twice in the last year and my audiobook obsession. 

It was day three of restaurant week, and I was headed to Webb's Grainworks in Aliso Viejo. The only research I had done before walking in was looking at their restaurant week menu. They were offering a two-course $20 lunch with the choice of one of four entrees. I gathered my good friend Cynthia from work, and we headed to Webb's for a much-needed respite from our annoying coworkers and demanding boss. 

Webb's is next to the Aliso Viejo Ice Palace and a few doors from the City Hall. It's not a spot that would get a lot of foot traffic. You almost have to know it's here, as it's removed from the much busier Pacific Park. Many people must know this place is here, as there's sometimes a 2-hour wait for dinner on weekends and a month after I visited, they were named Best New Restaurant of the Year by Orange Coast Magazine. Good for a restaurant that is practically hidden in plain sight. 

As with many restaurants, Webb's has a great backstory. I got this story from our server, so it might be paraphrased. This space was home to Lew Webb's Event and Classic Car Center until 2013. Lew Webb and his grandson, Jeremy, always discussed opening a restaurant, distillery, and brewery at this location. In 2017, the elder Webb passed away, and Jeremy honored his father by making their dream a reality. Almost all the cars were sold off, and the doors opened to the public in September last year. 

The menu at Webb's is divided into sections by North, South, East, and, you guessed it, West. This is a little odd, as the East and West sections both have burgers listed. The South section includes what I'd describe as Southern staples, but then they go even further south with four tacos listed. Except for two items, everything on their menu is priced modestly under $20. They have also started a $17 special lunch menu with an entree and a side. Cynthia and I were here for the Restaurant Week menu, priced at $20 and included a starter, entree, and a side. Let's see how it all turned out for us. 

Webb's starts every table with their House-Cured Pickles, like chips and salsa in a Mexican restaurant or a bread basket at a steakhouse. I'm always up for pickles, but I do not generally like them in my sandwiches or burgers. They overpower most of the time. These dill spears from Webb's were nicely mellow with an addictive crunch when bitten into. They were not shy about refilling these either. 

Since we both had the Restaurant Week menu, Cynthia and I purposely got different items to try each other's food. We selected the Smoky Corn Ribs ($13) and the Sonoma Goat Cheese Wontons ($14) for our starters. The corn is quartered and seasoned with sea salt and comes with a yuzu kosho mayo sauce. It was a little messy because I added extra sauce to each rib, but it was worth it. The corn was sweet, and the salt and mayo balanced this out nicely. The wontons are something other than what I'd typically order, but there were only two choices on the Restaurant Week menu. These little fried pockets were filled with goat cheese and served with a raspberry sweet and sour sauce and a mustard-based sauce drizzled on the plate. They resembled a cream cheese wonton but without the tanginess that cream cheese can bring. I would have liked to have had the sauce on the side, which would have been easier for dipping. Still, they are solid starters, though.  

Webb's offered four entrees, so Cynthia chose the Straight to the Point Burger ($18), which included a choice of side. The burger was rightly named, as this Smashburger came with two smashed patties, gruyere cheese, mayo, and caramelized onions. The burger was a little bigger than a slider, which was okay with Cynthia, as she doesn't like eating a big lunch and then returning to work. The burger was clean-tasting, and the house bun was soft and pillowy. If I had ordered this, I would have asked for an extra side of mayo. For her side, she got the Cinncinati Chili, which I grew up with but have never seen on a menu in OC. For those unaware, Cincinnati chili has hints of cinnamon and other spices traditionally served over spaghetti with cheese, beans, and onions. This version got the flavor right, but there was no spaghetti, as it came in a mug with green onions, sour cream, and cheese. It cured my Cincinnati chili cravings until I could make it at home. 

I'm always apprehensive about ordering barbecue items outside a barbecue restaurant, but the buzz I read online about the Simple and Saucy BBQ Brisket Sandwich ($19) was too overwhelmingly positive to ignore. The menu states that they smoked their brisket for 12 hours, which tastes like it. The meat is very tender and has a lovely flavor. They added just the right amount of barbecue sauce to the sandwich so it was not too obtrusive to the meat. The house bread did a great job of containing the sandwich's contents, minimizing the spillage I was expecting. This was a sandwich I could not help but boast about for the next few weeks after having it. For my side item, I got the Island Mac Salad. This was another gem. The noodles were nicely coated with the mayo-based dressing and had a subtle flavor. It's one of my better versions of this outside of a Hawaiian joint. 

Webb's was everything I had expected when I walked in. It's easy to see why the funky location will not deter people from visiting and why solid food keeps bringing them back. This is the kind of restaurant that Aliso Viejo has been needing for years now, and from the crowds that descend on it most nights, the people agree. I look forward to trying the Pastrami Sandwich, the Smothered Latkis, and their Chicken Sandwich on return visits. We experienced quick and friendly service, even though we were in no rush to return to work to finish our day. I'm just happy that OC Restaurant Week helped steer me here. 

Out of five paper coffee filters (because I'm not sure what year the Model T is that hangs from the ceiling of this restaurant, but the first year of that iconic car was 1908, the same year as the coffee filter was invented), five being best to zero being worst, Webb's Grainworks gets 4 paper coffee filters. 

For more information about Webb's Grainworks, head to their website by clicking here: https://webbsgrainworks.com/