New tiki-style eatery redefines the perfect summer lounge
By D.K. Crawford 06/25/2009
Flip Flops
2800 Harbor Blvd.
Oxnard
815-3317
$9.95 - $16.95
Channel Islands Harbor’s newest restaurant invites you to kick off your shoes, relax and eat dinner on a stick.
Flip Flops is the brainchild of Gary Richards, the Brit who opened the English-themed pub The Lookout in 2008.
Flip Flop’s atmosphere is the opposite of the pub — it’s light, open and textural. Inside are a rock wall fountain, a gas fireplace, cushy chestnut chenille couches, and painted floors and ceilings that depict sandbars and billowing sails on a sunny day.
Upbeat musical mixes of rock, reggae, folk and hip-hop are played. The menu, a large paper placemat, is styled with bright, beachy graphics that would appeal to kids. Everything in Flip Flops is served on plastic or paper so you can walk around barefoot and never worry about stepping on a piece of glass.
Outside are cozy fire pits surrounded by pristine white sand and Adirondack chairs. You can sit back, kick off your shoes, enjoy the warmth of the fire and play with the sand between your toes.
The menu is simple — skewers and a salad bar — but the choices are unique. A few of the offerings are Alaskan wild salmon, mozzarella-stuffed eggplant, pork with mango marinade, king crab legs, lobster, and herb cheese-stuffed chicken breast.
There are also several beef choices.
Three skewers come per plate and range between $9.95 and $21. There is no kids menu but you can order individual skewers for $3.50 each. They are cooked to order on a large grill outside, and sumptuous smells waft from the grill into the restaurant.
The salad bar costs $3.50 if you add it to your dinner. It has romaine, red leaf and iceberg lettuce, baby spinach, tons of fresh berries and fruit, toppings, dressings and the requisite pasta salads. There weren’t any unusual dressings, but everything was fresh and looked and tasted great.
When we first sat down, a waitress brought us a plate of grilled wheat pita bread and a small container of hummus. The hummus was lemony and, combined with the warm pita triangles, was a great beginning bite.
Gary the bartender was ebullient. His infectious enthusiasm made cocktails seem as exciting as when I first turned 21. Each night, a different cocktail is featured, but I wasn’t in the mood for the Wednesday margarita and chose one of the signature piña coladas to go with the tropical ambience.
My frosty drink arrived in a plastic cup with a Matterhorn of whipped cream on top. It was creamy and fresh — not quite as fresh as in the Bahamas, where the bartender shook a coconut out of the tree above us and blended it — but it was the best
I’ve had locally. What a great start to summer! Gary also makes strawberry or coconut rum mojitos for a fun twist.
We ordered a variety of skewers to share. There were hiccups with the order since the new restaurant was still finding its stride, and the management handled them well. We ended up trying the waitress’s recommendation and ultimately experienced some luscious tastes of beautifully grilled meat, veggies and fruit.
By far, the Hawaiian skewers consisting of combinations of lamb, beef, chicken, red onion, oranges, bell pepper and pineapple were our favorites. The meats were tender, juicy bites. We also enjoyed the Meat Lovers skewers, particularly the tri-tip and the petit filet.
For those of you following the Zone diet or trying to cut down on carbs, Flip Flop’s menu is the ultimate, as the only carbohydrates offered are the pita appetizer and a couple of pasta salads on the salad bar. But be careful! Just as our companion from Scotland pointed out, having so few carbs can make cocktails go right to your head.
I am not a purist and still believe in the virtue of a well-prepared starch. I found myself wanting something more — a rice pilaf or grain to accompany the skewers, and a bit of dipping sauce on the side, though I get that they are keeping it simple.
The atmosphere is an ideal summertime escape, and once they perfect their dishes, it’ll be a great asset to Ventura County. There’s already quite a crowd showing up. We had a teen with us who looked as though she might be moving in for the summer. It has a cool vibe that makes for a great place to mingle.
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