RESTAURANT REVIEW:

Though I tried as hard as I could, I could not convince my friends to order something different at a recent lunch at the Yard House.

We were at the new location in Fashion Island, which opened the second week of September, and I tried to tell them they should celebrate the opening with something new.

They weren’t buying it. The two have been going to different Yard House locations for years, but always seem to order the same item. The ahi crunchy salad is their favorite, and they weren’t budging. I can see why: The strips of ahi are the size of a matchbox and nearly as thick. There are several pieces of seared fish blended with mixed greens, Asian slaw and wontons tossed in soy vinaigrette.

Despite their stand, I thought today might be different. I first tried to suggest they get something else, but stuck with salad possibilities. I was thinking about having the Thai chicken salad, which is noodles tossed with spicy peanut vinaigrette and Asian slaw with broccoli, carrots, bean sprouts, shredded green and red cabbage and cilantro.

The sauce is quite good and mixes well with the other items. No, they wanted their favorite.

OK, next I tried shaming them. I told them they were one-dimensional and that this menu has a bunch of worthy replacements.

A blue crab cake hoagie was my first suggestion. The French bread is stuffed with plenty of crab and avocado, Swiss cheese, tomato, applewood-smoked bacon and spicy Cajun aioli, which looks like a mayo-based sauce.

One of my friends is a fan of burgers, and the béarnaise burger looked very appealing. The French sauce is poured over the half-pound Angus burger and topped with fried onions.

Couldn’t sway him, so I went to the pizzas, figuring that was a sure thing. I have had the spicy Thai chicken pizza, and though macadamia nuts, carrots and green onions do seem like odd toppings for a pizza, it is quite good. It is one of six pizzas the restaurant offers and I thought I had the two of them convinced to try the four-cheese pizza, but they wavered at the last minute.

I was getting frustrated, but not yet willing to concede defeat. I moved down the menu and went to the house favorites. There I went with jerk chicken with shrimp or angel hair pasta, but both were met with scrunched-up noses, showing their disapproval.

I was close to giving up, but I thought I would take a break and talk about the décor of the new restaurant. There was original abstract art and an urban loft feel with the high ceilings and openness of the dining room. The circular bar is in the middle of the dining room and the tubes that bring the more than 100 different types of beer from the keg room to the oval bar are overhead.

It is very similar to the Costa Mesa location at Triangle Square, but it reminds me more of the Palm Desert establishment I go to every January when I cover the PGA Tour’s Bob Hope Classic out in the desert.

Then it hit me. The restaurants are obviously supposed to be similar in character and that is what attracts my friends to them in the first place. The décor is familiar, as is the food, and they know when they order an ahi crunchy salad, it is comforting to them and will be the same no matter whether they order it here or Hawaii.

My friends won. They got their salads, and I ventured into something I hadn’t had before: the Cuban roast pork dip. The meat was incredible and the French bread was stuffed with tomatoes, pepper jack cheese, pickles, dijon and garlic aioli.

They were happy, as was I, and I learned if people are happy with something, don’t try to change their minds.

Address: 849 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach

Phone: (949) 640-9273

Cuisine: American

Specialty dish: One of the 12 house favorites

Alcohol served: Full bar

Dress: Casual

Family friendly: Kid’s menu with 12-page activity book

Credit cards accepted: Visa, and American Express

Rating: ***

JOHN REGER is the Pilot’s restaurant critic. His reviews run Thursdays.