Chris V.
Yelp
Deli, bottle shop, beer bar, wine bar, sports bar, coffee shop, hangout spot... did I miss anything?
Provisions Deli & Bottle Shop is a cool spot in Old Towne Orange. If you haven't been to the area, think small town downtown / "Main Street" but with plenty of restaurants and bars, including this one. They have a Portola Coffee Roasters kiosk right inside, shelves full of interesting beers (and some wines) which can be purchased to-go, and fridges on the other wall for the more perishable beers.
I was actually more interested in the beer bar. They have 20 taps full of interesting local beers from LA to San Diego. Fans of IPAs, sours, and stouts can all find something to enjoy. This is going to be a beer-only review, so skip a few paragraphs if you're not into that sort of thing.
I started with a flight. The leftmost prices on the beer menu item cards are the flight prices and vary from $3 all the way up to $12. Those upper prices do partially make sense because they're for more expensive, high-ABV brews, but I was struggling to see how some of them are only priced at $1 less than the full 6 oz pours. Even if the taster glasses go all the way to 5 oz, that's really not a great deal. Also, I was a bit annoyed that it sounded like I had to order four beers. I'm pretty sure most places are more flexible with the number of tasters you can order, and if it's not convenient for the bartender to pour one at a time, it surely isn't for the customer either.
Anyway, all of the offerings in my flight tasted fresh. Green Cheek's Drinks With Mom, Pure Project's Murk of the Beast, Arrow Lodge's Best Buds, and Highland Park's Pillow landed in the $3.25 to $5.25 range. We could go over flavors and mouthfeels, but most or all of these beers are probably seasonal and therefore won't be relevant in particular unless you're reading this review very shortly after I've written it.
The two other beers which I ordered toward the end of my visit were both boozy stouts and both apparently 6 oz pours. Mikkeller's Bourbon Barrel Aged Beer Geek Maple Vanilla Shake ($10) and Bottle Logic's Jam The Radar ($8) were both quite delicious and sweet, but neither was overly sweet. Considering that I can't seem to find these two anywhere else via a certain beer app which Provisions Deli and other bars/shops use to list beer menus, I'm very glad that I was able to locate and enjoy these relatively rare beers.
Service is fine and counter-only. The bar seating area is really tiny, so I felt fortunate that I was able to grab a seat. Water is available on the counter of the cheese/meat section, which you can find between the bar and the refrigerator. Parking is in streets or lots, and I wound up on the curb outside a seemingly free parking garage two blocks west.
I will definitely keep an eye on what Provisions has to offer the next time I'm visiting the area. Their beer offerings are extensive, and maybe I'll even get around to trying the food at some point.