Andrew Gruel's Slapfish is slowly conquering the world. One opened in LAX's Terminal 2 this summer and when the planned Brea outpost opens sometime soon, the count will hit about a half dozen places around OC where you can get its gigantic fish tacos, lobster rolls, and half-crab-half-lobster grilled cheese—all of it, of course, sustainably sourced.
But here's something I've only seen occasionally at the Irvine branch: its chowder toast. The chowder toast is just that—half a roll, toasted and buttered, smothered in chowder and showered with pieces of crispy bacon, served on a tray. That's it.
It was, quite frankly, one of the strangest things I've eaten in a while because, as soon as its served, the chowder quickly congeals and becomes a sort of milk-and-clam-flavored gravy. But somehow it worked. In fact, it made more sense to me than Slapfish's chowder fries—one of its most popular items—because, to me, bread and chowder has always made more sense than French fries and chowder.
4249 Campus Dr b148, Irvine, CA 92612, (949) 737-2090; slapfishrestaurant.com
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.