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Tuesday night, I got together with one of my dear friends, Anita, to celebrate her birthday at the Lumberyard Restaurant in Laguna Beach.

Little did I know that they do a Tuesday night half price special on their entire wine list by the glass.

Now, honestly, I like the Laguna Beach Lumberyard. One or two critics have commented that I might be some paid entity touting the Lumberyard Restaurant’s food fare, and I’m not sure those few critics . . . .

a.) have any idea I do these writeups for free,  pay my own tab, and am anonymous to the chefs and servers at these places I review, or

b.) have visited the Lumberyard themselves in the last year.

I LIKE the Lumberyard. They have decent food (the crab cake salad is the best salad in town), they have friendly servers, fantastic bartenders who actually remember your name even if it’s been a while, and they have a 50% off wine list on Tuesday nights that no other restaurant in town can beat. Seriously . . . Rombauer Chardonnay for $10 a glass instead of its usual $20/glass? “The Sum” Cab-Syrah for a mere $7 a glass? Someone wants to whine about that?

Combine that 50% off wine list with a Monday-Friday happy hour appetizer menu at just $6 per appetizer and, let’s face it, it’s a pretty cheerful event (their signature zucchini planks with lemon aioli shouldn’t be missed).

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Suddenly, we’re not paying Laguna Beach prices for the privilege of being in Laguna Beach. Bonus points to The Lumberyard for making that happen.

Where to find the Lumberyard: The Lumberyard Restaurant in Laguna Beach is at the end of Forest, 2 blocks up from Main Beach. It’s intersecting street is, ehrm. Forest (don’t ask).

Hours of operation: Lunch: Monday – Sunday: 11:00am – 3:00pm
Dinner: Tuesday – Saturday: 4:00pm – 11:00pm, Sunday – Monday: 4:00pm – 10:00pm
Brunch: Saturday – Sunday: 11:00am – 3:00 pm

© 2011, Diane Armitage, LagunaBeachBest.com