Crocker's The Well Dressed Frank
★★★★☆ 4.3 (363) • $$
"A jaw-dropping experience. Yelpers have rated this one so correctly. Crocker's is a simple, hole-in-the-wall kind of place with such a fun, friendly vibe. The fact that it is smack dab in the middle of the adorably touristy island of Balboa makes it even more special in spite of the insane parking situation.I am not sure what caught my eye first. The decor: walls, plastered with millions of defiled one dollar bills, that a person can barely resist taking a sample (but don't!) or the bakery cases full of freshly baked sweet and savory goodies that will most likely turn your brain into mush while you are trying to calm down long enough to choose only one, or submiting to the urge to buy one of everything. But, we truthfully came for lunch, not sweet things.Their menu may sound very common, but once the food started flying out of the kitchen, and quite fast, I might add, we knew we had made an excellent choice coming here. There is nothing ordinary here.The burger was cooked to perfection. Juicy, big, full of quality ingredients, and crowned with a tender brioche bun. The one side my son chose was their homemade, red potato salad that ended up bringing tears of joy to his eyes. His strawberry milkshake was the final straw. Real strawberries, rich ice cream, not overly sweet, and topped with whipped cream and a cherry. Usually a silent eater, he could not contain himself with their praises.And then he tasted his wife's clam chowder. Complete melt down. And fun to watch as he scraped the container bare in between moans of ecstacy.This clam chowder ranks at the top of my list, too. I sure hope you love creamy! This is unadulterated, ultra creamy, and loaded with tender clams, potatoes, with a lightly herbed taste. This is my idea of the perfect clam chowder I have searched for over many years.My lunch choice, the grilled cheese sandwich, caught me by surprise. I love grilled cheese, but this one, in all its simplicity, soared to the top of my happy, grilled cheese dreams. Two kinds of cheeses, slices of tomato, sandwiched between two large pieces of sourdough, buttered and coated in parmesan, then grilled to a toasty finish. I could only eat half, but I sure had to resist the urge to become a glutton. I picked a green salad with their balsamic dressing for my side. Should I mention that the potato salad's siren call was unmercifully directed at me as well? I nibbled surreptitiously in between sanctimonious bites of baby greens.Last but not least was the foot long hot dog ordered by my hot dog loving husband. Although spectacular looking, he had regrets. If he had to do it over again, the hamburger would have won his heart. As it was, he was pleased with his award-winning potato salad. And, after sampling the clam chowder, he placed two large orders for chowder to go, knowing that our daughter and granddaughter back home would be the happy recipients of some of it, but not all.Now, the curse of eating inside their tiny eatery, besides having only a few tables, is the fact that those bakery cases are right in front of your nose. It's brutal torture. And our family is not known for self-control in that department. These bakery cases did not display ordinary stuff either. Every item they offered was unique and screamed of homemade goodness. Needless to say, we staggered out of there with a shamefully big bag filled with 4 irresistable baked delicacies, two full containers of chowder, and leftovers, to be split three ways.Bottom line? When in Newport, this is THE SPOT our family will instantly gravitate towards. No argument there!"
"This is our second time eating here and it was just as good as the first time. The food was fresh and hot (even though it was very cold outside on the patio where we sat) and was delivered quickly. I also tried the blackberry limeade mocktail and it was delicious! Even though we waited for 30 minutes for a table (it was a Sunday, after all), our server was attentive and kept checking in with us. Thank you!"
"Stopped in for lunch at the bar. Ordered a Chimay and delicious lamb burger ($19), medium well. Bar is a hidden gem with a wrap around bar top, vibey ambiance and good bartenders. Captain approved."
