Newport Brew Co

Danielle

I’m always leery going into Newport because for me, it is hit or miss with the crowd and "scene." However, since it was the play-offs/Final Four, I suggested Newport Brew Co in hopes of finding a lively crowd and bar food. 

We got there right about the time that one game was ending so options for seats were limited but we did find a seat in a great location inside for “people watching.” [There is a patio in the front which seems perfect for a nice afternoon.] The crowd was great—a mixture of all sorts of people of different ages. I love the camaraderie of sports fans during play-off games. We brainstormed a way to meet more new people and find out more for our single readers—a mini interview for men! It gives us a way to break into sausage fests crowds of men and get the scoop. We get to meet new people and find out the “scoop” from a variety of guys. Win-win! We tried it out on our first subject—thanks Mike for obliging us inaugural interview!

As for as food goes, it was as expected in terms of "bar food." The nachos with chicken were great. I’m a wings critic and was unfortunately left unimpressed with the wings at this spot. The service was fabulous and we were well taken care of by Dave. 

My experience was a bit skewed. I left annoyed as one male patron wouldn’t quite depart from my side quickly enough at all. I was offended by him from the get-go. First of all, he bought me a drink which was very nice. I appreciate this gesture and have done it once myself (perfect way to hint and put out “feelers”), but there are unwritten rules that accompany this gesture (in my opinion). When you buy a drink for someone, there are no expectations. The guy came over and chatted. I thanked him for such a nice gesture. He asked a few questions to which I answered. I wasn’t interested but I love chatting with new people. Then, the offense happened. For some reason he said “you sound like you don’t know what you want out of life.” What?!?! For those who know me well, I know EXACTLY what I’m doing –far more than most people. I don’t remember all the details of the convo because at that moment I shut off mentally and was bored with this individual. I’m not sure how he “profiled” me from a few minimal answers to his superficial inappropriate questions. Men, don’t make blanket statements to people you don’t know. What ever happened to normal convo? How could that assumption be made 5 minutes into a conversation? I’m sorry, I’m not your average blond perched up on a barstool in Newport Beach so proceed with intellect please. Later, I was getting ready to leave and he looked irritated that I was leaving a full beer. Apparently, he bought me another (without my permission) while I was in the bathroom. Based on this experience, I’m reminded of what I feel the “rules” are with this:

• Send over the drink with no expectations. Allow the other person to come thank you when he or she is ready. If he/she doesn’t, forget this rude person.
• You may even ask the bartender to send what SHE (or the person of interest) is drinking—not your drink of choice.
• Before buying a 2^nd one, ask permission. Don’t get disgruntled if the person does not want another drink or isn’t in the mood to drive home drunk. It may not have anything to do with you, but you don’t want the person feeling obligated to drink it just because it’s there. Maybe don’t buy a 2^nd one—you also don’t want to be someone’s drink caddy and be used. 

All in all, it was a fun experience and I’d go back again on a sunny afternoon and sit on the patio. 

Food: ★★★☆☆

Service: ★★★★★

Price: ★★★☆☆

Ambiance: ★★★★☆

SFactor: ★★★☆☆

Overall: ★★★☆☆

Candice

Okay, so this was not our traditional Thursday or Friday night happy hour excursion, but Danielle and I considered the type of patrons that would attend the Final Four NCAA Basketball game- and additionally I wanted to be amongst those rooting for my Buckeyes (sorry Buckeyes, it was close!)- so we opted for a blog research makeup on a Saturday afternoon during the games.  Brace yourselves my fellow readers, this may be one of the juiciest I have to offer you yet…

For starters, as I walked in just past the entrance of the door from the parking lot, the scene did not disappoint from the get-go.  Sure, there were men and women of varying age ranges, but more importantly, plenty of testosterone seeping among the crowd.  Fortunately, we found a nice little bar area to seat ourselves and view the incoming and outgoing crowd for the remainder of our lengthy evening ahead.  We settled in during the transition between games and watched as one crowd rolled out and the other rolled in.  Just a quick interjection of the food…well, we are at a sports bar so my expectations were not all that high.  The food did its job to fill my stomach and coat it well as I took in plentiful rounds of cider.  We ordered the Brewery Nachos with chicken and I gambled on the Original Chocolate Calzone.  Admittedly, I would likely choose alternative starters and specialties should I return.  Anyway, back to the more entertaining portion of the evening.  I would say that based on our history of happy hour blog “research,” sporting event times at a sports bar or similar bar seems to consistently provide the best viewing opportunities.  This was a particularly enjoyable evening for me as I seemed to be captivated by a particular few.  The room was full of energy, the crowd was lively, our service was wonderful (thanks Dave!), and I was enjoying keeping my eye on the game. 

As the night wore on, Danielle and I decided it was time to develop a mini-interview for men so as to assist with our ability to better serve our blog readers.  I was sitting at the end of the bar and Danielle was fortunate enough to sit next to a very polite and mellow guy who was willing to be our first interviewee (thanks for the help Mike!).  We managed to obtain our necessary answers and the evening wore on with further developments of conversation amongst patrons, including a pleasant conversation that I held with our first interviewee.  Needless to say, maybe I was biased that he was an Ohioan, but I was also struck by his sincere character, mellow demeanor, down-to earth sense of humor, and of course striking appearance, but… I have been “trained” since moving out to California to not hold my breath especially when something may be too good of a thing.  (And for those of you who are interested how this story progresses, given that I am writing this blog well in hindsight, it is with disappointment that I say that it was a good thing I was trained well…).  It did get a little juicy for me a bit in between my state of awe and wonder and then to disappointment, but I am currently back to delving into the single scene of happy hours.  Overall though, it was a good night to be out and about and it did something to both spark my soul and re-energize my spirit in hopes that someday, somewhere, I will be fortunate to finally meet that genuine individual who simply won’t let me hold my breath anymore…

Food: ★★★☆☆

Service: ★★★★★

Price: ★★★☆☆

Ambience: ★★★★☆

SFactor: ★★★★★

Overall: ★★★★☆