Offering excuse to eat out

Jim Walker says he won’t make a dime off Newport Beach Restaurant Week, but that isn’t stopping him from offering a three-course meal for $35 during the five-day campaign at the Bungalow restaurant.

“It’s a way of marketing and it’s a good deal for guests, and I think it brings in new people who want to try something new,” Walker said.

The average meal at the upscale Corona del Mar eatery runs about $45 to $50 a person, Walker said, so the prix-fixe Restaurant Week menu is a steal.

The Bungalow’s Restaurant Week menu features grilled Atlantic king salmon, shrimp scampi and prime rib-eye at a fraction of what it would usually cost.

The Bungalow’s dark interiors have a Craftsman theme, with rich, velvet-covered booths. The patio has a stone fireplace.

Walker was born into the restaurant business, as his parents ran a cluster of diners in Los Angeles when he was growing up.

He purchased the Bungalow, 2441 E. Coast Hwy., in 1999 from the original owners, who opened it in 1987.

“I couldn’t understand why they wanted to sell it,” Walker said. “It was a beautiful restaurant in a great location, and I’m having a blast running it.”

Walker says the good food and friendly staff are what keep people coming back to the eatery. He also recommends trying the Australian lobster tails.

“I’m blessed with a great staff, and we try to do it right,” he said.

Walker stays active in the community, he’s a board member of the Newport Beach Restaurant Assn. and is active in both the Newport Beach and Corona del Mar Chambers of Commerce.

“I think a business shouldn’t just take from the community; it should play an active role, Walker said.

Sage restaurant chef and owner Richard Mead holds a degree in economics from Ohio Wesleyan College, so he’s philosophical when it comes to the recession.

“It’s beginning to feed on itself, and more people get in their little bunkers and won’t go out any more,” Mead said.

He’s even got his own economic stimulus package — 20% off at both of his Newport Beach restaurants on Monday nights.

Both of Mead’s restaurants, Sage, 2531 Eastbluff, and Sage on the Coast, on the Crystal Cove Promenade at 7862 E. Coast Hwy., are participating in Restaurant Week.

“I think it’s funny, you talk to a lot of customers and they enjoy it because they’ll go to restaurants they might not have been to in a long time,” he said. “It gives them an excuse to eat out.”

Menus at both of Mead’s restaurants feature seasonal cuisine with fresh ingredients.

The $35 Restaurant Week dinner menu at Sage features a grilled barbecue half-chicken, grilled corn relish, mashed potatoes and Swiss chard, a favorite of Mead’s.

Mead took a job at the U.S. Treasury Department at the IRS in Washington, D.C., after college, but eventually fled the Beltway for the snowy slopes of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., where he worked as a cook to support his skiing hobby.

He opened Sage at an Eastbluff shopping center in 1997, and Sage on the Coast opened in 2004.

“It’s a business but it’s a fun business, and it’s creative,” Mead said. “It fulfills something in my life.”

IF YOU GO:

Newport Beach Restaurant Week

About 75 local restaurants are participating in the five-day event, which runs Sunday through Thursday. Participating restaurants offer prix-fixe menus during the week.

Visit www.newportbeachdining.com for a complete menu, a list of participating restaurants and to make reservations.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].