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Rippin' Skirt Steak is a specialty at Wipeout Bar and Grill in Greenbrae.
Wipeout: What a bitchin' yet bogus word to use for a restaurant name. It's what happens in the ocean when a surfer goes under, smashed by a wave. Since the Wipeout Bar & Grill in Greenbrae pays homage to surfing and American beach culture, that makes sense. But as slang, wipeout is also about erasing something and it's a synonym for exhausted. Other meanings include demolished, killed off or suffering ruinous defeat or failure.

A restaurant better be pretty boss to overcome the worst meanings of wiping out. Hopefully none of those things will happen to anyone over any meal at this two-month-old theatrical, wacky setting for American chow.

Created by Belvedere resident Scooter Simmons (he opened one on Pier 39 in 2005), it's in the same location where, in 1987, he launched the second of the well-known Chevy's chain of Mexican restaurants. Wipeout is more of an overall-concept theme restaurant than Chevy's was. And it's cleverer than the dining Disneyland it feels like when you walk in.

The decor screams beach. Sit awhile, and the little details whisper, 'Wow, this is effective." (Even the vintage rock 'n' roll on the sound system, which I was dreading, is played at a low-enough volume so it adds to the overall ambiance without wiping out conversation.)

Crowds should pack the outdoor patio come spring and summer. They'll get a great view of an orange Volkswagen bus, halved and jutting from Wipeout's exterior wall.

Guests who hang out or dine at the long indoor bar get to perch on lifeguard-style wooden chairs while other stools cozy up to tables made out of surfboards.

In the main dining room, a huge blow-up shark is suspended from a pool of blue bubble-printed glass. The largest restaurant television screen I've ever seen dominates the room with smaller screens to back it up; these play soundless, endless clips of surfers at Maverick's and other world wave hot spots. They're mesmerizing, and I love surfing films. So I found it hard to take my eyes from the giant combers and concentrate on my companion.

A quartet of boomers couldn't stop staring at the screen as they left.

"I've never seen anything like this," one of them said.

Condiments on the table are in cardboard beer cartons. Covering the front of the semi-open kitchen is a pale-blue beach shack. There are plenty of tables and chairs as well as comfy tangerine-toned booths - seating inside and out is for 200. Some parts of the ceiling are covered with boardwalk planks, making dining feel like the famous 1964 Drifters' song, "Under the Boardwalk."

And as the lyrics says, you can get hot dogs ($9.95 for a chili cheese dog) and French fries ($6.95 for chili cheese fries).

The menu is small but offers something for just about everyone. I liked the coconut shrimp, six smallish prawns skewered in groups of three and breaded in-house. They're fresh-made rather than the standard frozen versions available in most restaurants; that's a plus. I wish they had a stronger coconut flavor, though it was pleasant enough. The lively sweet chili dipping sauce accompanying them was similar to what's served with fried dishes in Thai restaurants.

Chicken quesadilla ($7.95), two chipotle tortillas stuffed with five cheeses, chunks of chicken and zigzagged with a jalapeno cream sauce, tasted fine and was rich. The texture, though, was floppy. Ideally, it should have been griddled. (In a phone conversation with Simmons following my meal there, he mentioned that they are now being crisped on a grill before being served. I'm sure that helps.)

Typically I prefer starters to entrees whenever I dine out, but at Wipeout Bar & Grill I was most impressed with the main dishes.

Baja-spiced salmon ($15.95) was a generous hunk of Loch Duart salmon, a good-quality farmed fish grown sustainably in Scotland. Dry-rubbed with a flavorful mix of spices that was about taste rather than heat, it had been perfectly grilled to yield a moist interior with a translucent center. It came with fragrant, chewy coconut rice, saut ed broccoli, carrots and zucchini that hinted of garlic and a small dish of sweetish yet refreshing cole slaw. These components made for a balanced, filling entree.

Those same sides came with rippin' skirt steak ($17.95). For its price and that it's a cut of Meyer beef - hormone and antibiotic-free - this was a great meal. The steak was cooked on the rare side, exactly as we'd ordered and was butter-tender. I've had more expensive steaks in Marin that were less flavorful, fattier and not as purely enjoyable as Wipeout's version.

Norman Rockwell could have painted with the all-American flavors in the kitchen's version of macaroni and cheese ($9.95), a large chafing dish piled with penne thickly coated in a six-cheese sauce, studded with smoked ham and sanded with bread crumbs. The portion's enough for four people. While the flavors were mild and comforting, the top could have used a much deeper bronzing - and I'm not talking Hawaiian Tropic here.

Desserts included a peach-raspberry crisp with Breyer's vanilla bean ice cream ($5.75). Like the main dishes, it was a huge portion attractively presented in an individual crock. An oddly metallic aftertaste made me push it away after two bites. (Simmons says that has since been corrected.)

House margaritas, at 14 ounces with 21Ú2 ounces of tequila ($7), were a good deal. I found mine too sweet, though they're made with good ingredients, including a sweet-and-sour mix house-made with agave nectar. For a more assertive tequila flavor, order one made with one of the 40 varieties of tequila at the bar ($2 more and up) and you'll get a 12-ounce version lighter on the syrup.

Other dishes include Baja tacos made with pulled pork and grilled onions ($10.95 for two); fish and chips with mango cole slaw ($10.95); teriyaki chicken bowl with grilled pineapple ($12.95); chili-seared ahi tuna ($9.95); salmon BLT with pesto mayonnaise ($10.95).

Service was excellent. Our server, Vanesa, was attentive, friendly and solicitous when I sent my margarita back for a second try at less sweet.

Conceptually, Wipeout Bar & Grill is one of the most entertaining restaurants in the county. The fact that it's so young and is already dishing out satisfying, reasonably priced chow is a good sign. As it matures, it should be, like, killer.


Wipeout Bar & Grill

Address: 302 Bon Air Center, Greenbrae

Phone: 461-7400

Web site:

Cuisine: American

Service: Good, lively

Noise level: Tolerable to noisy

Recommended dishes: Baja-spiced salmon, rippin' skirt steak

Liquor selection: Full bar, wine and beer

Corkage: $10

Heart-healthy and vegetarian selections: Few

Parking: Free lot on site

Wheelchair access: Yes

Hours: Open daily 11 a.m. to 9 or 10 p.m., depending on business.

Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover

Summary: Brash, inventive, relaxing and fun, Wipeout Bar & Grill is more than just a surfing- and beach-themed restaurant. The huge television screens playing footage of Maverick's big wave competitions are mesmerizing, while the small but nicely balanced menu offers dishes made with surprisingly good-quality ingredients.

Leslie Harlib can be reached at