Dining Out

Mary Furr

They say you can’t go home again. But you can when you go to Arbor’s

Steakhouse on Warner Avenue and Springdale Street in Huntington Beach. It

recalls the dinner-houses of the 1970s’ -- subdued but glamorous with

white brick arches outlined with tiny lights, cloth-covered tables and no

booths. Arbor’s is the restaurant of your youth that doesn’t grow old --

just spruced up with dramatic burgundy walls, quiet bar and dance floor

that on Sunday nights features the Sunset Jazz band playing songs of the

1940s.

We chose soup and half a sandwich ($5.75) for a quick lunch stop. The

soup was an excellent lentil of medium thick broth and a piled-high roast

beef sandwich was filling and quick. Another time it was the New York

Reuben ($7.95) with loads of sliced corned beef stacked with tangy

sauerkraut grilled on deli rye bread, the soup was a thick creamy clam

chowder.

Besides hamburgers and sandwiches the lunch menu has salads. A must

try is the balsamic Mediterranean ($8.95, half $5.25). It’s a chopped

salad of crisp greens and red cabbage filled with the intense flavor of

sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, Roma tomatoes and walnuts sprinkled

with feta cheese. The zesty flavor is hard to beat and the crunchiness of

the walnuts an unexpected addition.

Shrimp and pasta pair well in a great seafood special ($12.50), the

creamy sauce seasoned with capers has slender linguine (Italian for small

tongue) strewn with at least a dozen fat shrimp -- it looks quite mild

but has hidden punch. Chef Virgelio Bustamante, who had been at Arbor’s

as a line cook for some time before becoming kitchen manager and head

chef, has the touch that really makes a dish.

At a steakhouse there is no better choice for me than filet mignon

(petite $16.95, regular $21.95) flame broiled and served with a classic

bearnaise sauce. According to co-owner/manager Jane Nourse, Arbor’s uses

only choice Black Angus top of the line beef, firm but still tender and

very good dipped in the wine-flavored butter sauce. It’s served with lots

of carrots, broccoli flowers and sliced yellow squash and rice or potato.

The desserts at Arbor’s are love at first taste. Our choices from the

tray brought by server Jamie were pecan pie ($4.50), a slender slice with

big whole pecans in a thick bourbon-flavored sauce with two scoops of

vanilla ice cream. The pie was warm and the ice cream cool. What a

combination. Another is Bailey’s cheese cake ($5.50) with a top layer

like cheese cake, then a light cake layer with a thin jam layer next.

This is cake of varying texture and just sweet enough.

Nourse had been youth director at St. Wilfred church in Huntington

Beach when she joined her friend Bill Van Solingen, whose father owned

Arbor’s but was ready to sell to his son.

The warm friendliness of Arbor’s is reflected in the diners who have

been meeting at the steak house for years, greeted by name by the owners

and hailed by friends at the tables and bar.

Seniors have a special on Sundays with 20% off all entrees and 25% off

“early bird” entrees daily from 5 to 7 p.m. Arbor’s enjoys children under

12 so much that they eat free on Tuesdays. Arbor’s Steakhouse is on its

way to becoming a neighborhood staple.

Arbor’s Steakhouse, 6060 Warner Ave., (Warner-Dale Square), Huntington

Beach. (714) 842-5111. Fax (714) 843-5768. Hours: Lunch: Tuesday through

Friday 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner: 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday;

5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Monday. Full bar, live music and

dancing Thursday through Sunday.