Feast and Fareway: public golf course with sliders

“This is our sport,” says Annie, “and don’t you Sassenachs forget it.”

Did I mention? My friend Annie is Scottish. “Sassenachs” (“Saxons”) basically means anyone who’s not Scottish.

We’re standing at the entrance to the Coronado Golf Club, the one with the terrific glass mural of a woman golfer whacking a ball to the sun.

This is a public course, so anyone can come in, hire gear, play. More important from my point of view, you can eat at their eatery, the “Feast and Fareway” (their spelling!), and as of just recently, they have brought their Happy Hour back, post-covid. And things are cheap, compared to the rest of this Admirals’ playground, anyway.

Sun’s heading for Hawaii as we come to the inside-outside restaurant space. I’m surprised at how crowded it is. This is a weekday. Happy Hour has only started half an hour ago. But in the groups, there’s the energy of people who have just been in some major activity. They’re talking loudly in groups, laughing a lot.

This is when I spot these two gents at a table, just outside. “The Bo Tour,” a poster says. “A professional golf mini tour.” It costs $680 to enter, but you can win up to $5,000. Huh. Not on the cards for me. I wouldn’t know a rough from a green.

But Annie’s waiting. I catch her up on the ginormous patio. It looks out across greens and eucalyptus and palms to the blue of the bay with its spiky lines of gray navy ships on the other side. On this side, in the greens, you see players zipping around in their olive green club carts and - whu?? - golf bags on wheels driving themselves in front of their owners as they stroll to the next tee. Annie sees my face. “Shows how long since you’ve been on a golf course,” she says.

“Guess so,” I say.

We sit down at an outside table.

Annie’s already looking at the online menu. Honestly, it’s not bad, for a classy golf club. Breakfast dishes are mostly in the teens. Like, shrimp and cheesy grits with three eggs runs $15. Steak and eggs with potatoes, $16. Omelets are $13. Regular meals such as fish and chips are $12, cheeseburger’s $12, and maybe the most interesting, the truffle burger, with angus beef, tomato jam, portobello mushroom, candied bacon, white truffle cheese, and a sunny side up egg. It runs $16.

But Annie’s in full bargain-hunting mode. “They’d better have this happy hour,” she says. Actually, both of us are a bit strapped.

But no worries. Breanna turns up with an HH menu. Chicken wings are $8, salmon salad (with capers and quail egg) is the most expensive at $12, garlic or truffle fries are cheapest at $4, followed by fried calamari at $6. Then, we’re looking at BBQ bacon cheddar sliders ($9), two fish tacos for $7, a couple of salads - arugula/crispy goat (with sweet goat cheese croquettes) for $10, and the farm salad with spinach, tangerine, and beets, for $8.

Hmm. Annie goes for the fish tacos - and I go for the nachos, because they’ve got chicken in them. Plus, we decide to share the arugula and crispy goat salad, just to get something healthy down. I also order a $6 Coronado Brewing Orange Wit, even though I could have had a Coors or Bud Light for $4. Annie gets a sauvignon blanc for $8.

“Bucolic!” says Annie.

“Maybe you, not me,” I say.

“Bucolic, not alcoholic,” she says. “You are such a peasant.”

Have to say it is great, eating out here, with the bay and all this greenery surrounding us. The gastro-champs of the day are the nachos and the fish tacos. Annie gives me half a taco and the fish is crisp, tender, in tasty mustard-battered cod, helped by the cilantro cream sauce, and at $3.50 each, not a bad deal.

And, surprisingly for me, the nachos turn out to be great too. For starters, with so many big chunks of chicken, these crispy babies are filling. But also great on the taste buds. Black beans, cheese, and red and green sauce add to the flavors, as well as sour cream and guac. And a good chile kick in there too.

So the reason there are all these pumped people at this time of day is they’re part of the Bo Tour, a kind of mini PGA contest.

“My favorite?” says Steve “Bo” Boveri, who, turns out, runs the BoTour pro golf tour, and has eaten here many times. I have just asked what food he likes best here. He’s a burly fellow with a shining gold tooth, a “Cabo” hat, a Hawaiian shirt, and this big fat cigar in his mouth. “I would say the grilled cheese with tomato bisque. Three cheeses, and Gorgonzola’s line of them.”

I see it’s $11, HH. His buddy Keith, army guy, says the sliders (with bacon and angus beef) are above anything else, at $9. Dang, should have had them.

Have to ask how this golf tournament has been going in this last covid year. “Well, I have just had my best year ever,” Bo says. “And it’s thanks to covid! People are getting out and playing golf more than ever. Why? Fresh air! Space. They have discovered the golf course! Just like they did 100 years ago. They can breathe safely out here. And golf is not a team sport.”

Huh. Good point.

“Wanna try?” I say to Annie.

“As I said, you Sassenachs took this sport we invented,” she says. “But sure. We’ll meet here, rent the gear. Expect no mercy!”

Private memo: Come back on own, practice like hell.

• The Place: Feast and Fareway, 2000 Visalia Row, Golf Club, Coronado, 619-996-3322
• Hours: 8am-7pm, daily;
• Happy Hour: 3-6pm daily
• Prices: Breakfast steak and eggs with potatoes, $16; triple bacon omelet, $13; Italian sausage omelet, $13; fish and chips, $12; cheeseburger, $12; truffle burger with candied bacon, egg, $16: garlic or truffle fries, $4; fried calamari, $6; BBQ bacon cheddar sliders, $9; fish tacos (2), $7; arugula/crispy goat salad, $10; farm salad (spinach, tangerine, beets), $8; chicken wings, $8; salmon salad, $12
• Buses: 901, 904
• Nearest Bus Stops: Orange Avenue and Adella Avenue (northbound); Orange and Glorietta Boulevard (southbound)