BROPHY BROTHERS The copy might be better than the original?

Could the new Brophy Brothers at Ventura Harbor possibly be as good as the original Santa Barbara institution?Not likely.I mean, few things in this life are as glorious as smelling the sea air dockside while enjoying hot creamy clam chowder and a cold beer.There is always a wait, but so what,you are at the Santa Barbara harbor,right?While you wait for your table,take a look at those starfish for Pete's sake! Inside you hear clanging pots, clinking glasses,hissing steam and my favorite sound in the world...steamed shellfish being dumped in a bowl.Not to mention that the staff are all incredibly good looking.Seriously !In 18 years of frequenting this establishment, I have yet to be served by a member of their staff with so much as a zit or wrinkle, male or female.The crowd, is usually a great bunch of people, and that is a good thing because you literally will be squished next to strangers as closely as you would be riding the bus in a 3rd world county. These kind folks are smiling ear to ear and saying things to each other like"I can't believe we live here."The atmosphere at Brophys is strangely exciting , like something happens to you as you climb up the stairs making you instantly much cooler than you were before......
Sometimes at night I am haunted by dreams of Garlic baked clams.They call to me across the mountains. All the fish is great and fresh (although not necessarily local.) Any burger or sandwich on the menu comes with their homade Thousand Island dressing.... I like to smuggle a bit home to pimp up regular boring turkey sandwich's for work days later.Oyster shooters are our standard way to start a great meal at Brophys (Much better without adding vodka to pickle the flavor.)Finally, the crown jewel, that tastes exactly like you imagine it will at Brophy Brothers is the Cioppino.Dip the hot sourdough bread in that Italian tomatoey goodness and you are in heaven.

So whats wrong with Brophy's at the SB location?NOTHING and that is the problem!You see, unfortunately, I am not the only one who loves this place and traipses their out of town guests here.....EVERYONE comes here.Management has sought to accommodate the growing public craving without skimping on quality and has added a downstairs "faster" clam bar and a streamlined seating system , complete with a light up vibrating thingy to let you know when your table is ready. This is nice and I'm glad for their success, but it reminds me of the Rainforest Cafe!The tourists have taken over.
So they have made a sister restaurant now at the Ventura Harbor.Very skeptically , we ate there this weekend. It was the same great food, the same khaki shorts on the waitstaff, the same bread, the same (or same lack of) decor, and the same seagulls. The view from the tables are of the boats in the Ventura harbor, (they look the same to me as Santa Barbara boats.)
The only difference I noticed at the Ventura location is that we parked right in front of the entrance and we were seated immediately.We had our perfect Brophys experience complete with Garlic baked clams, oyster shooters and everything else with our kids happy and were on our way within an hour.
The original will always have a special place in my heart and when I have all day , that's where I will go....but for a great seafood meal with my family when traveling to points south, Ventura harbor Brophy's is where we will eat. I'm not that cool anymore , anyway.