Get Used to Buckets o’ Lobster, Baja Style

When I sit down to a lobster dinner, I expect to see fishnets, clapboard walls and a couple of crusty old fishermen, not the bright colors of Mexico, but that’s just the New Englander in me. Out here, we’re right next door to Baja California. Ergo, Rockin’ Baja Lobster.

You just have to get used to eating lobster out of a bucket. This busy Newport restaurant specializes in Baja-style slipper lobster, crammed onto a platter with shrimp in the shell, carne asada and grilled chicken, all brought in a giant metal bucket.

Rockin’ Baja Lobster’s Mexico theme also means frozen margaritas in huge glasses, sides of rice and beans and a variety of creative salsas such as jicama-mango and pineapple-papaya. Add a team of waitresses clad in black shorts and T-shirts emblazoned with the tasteful slogan “Best Tail in Town,” and you’ve got your basic Newport hangout.

The twist is that this one actually has a few good things to eat. It’s not going to put the nearby Crab Cooker out of business, but most of the dishes are fun. The Newport Pier area, once so restaurant-poor, is beginning to offer choices.

Not that the Rockin’ Baja Lobster concept is wrinkle-free. When this place gets crowded, the service, close to nonexistent when things are slow, gets astonishingly aggressive. There are some unpleasant restaurants in our part of the world where waiters “push” the wine--they overfill everyone’s glass in order to finish off the bottle and then immediately ask the host about ordering another. How rude. At Rockin’ Baja Lobster, they push mixed drinks.

Boy, do they push. One waitress (who seemed miffed that only two people at our table ordered cocktails) came back at least seven times in 10 minutes to check and recheck the status of the margarita glasses. She kept asking whether we needed more drinks virtually until we ordered dessert. When dessert arrived, she started pitching us on after-dinner drinks.

For the record, they pour exceptionally generous drinks. The terrific Rockin’ Baja Rita, for instance (made with Reales anejo tequila, Cointreau, Grand Marnier, orange juice, lime juice and sweet-and-sour mix--did I leave anything out?), could easily serve two.

When it comes to the food portions, expect a similar sensibility. You may pay more for a lobster dinner here than you do in Puerto Nuevo, but believe me, it isn’t that much more, considering how much you get. The “lobster bucket”--tastily seasoned pieces of Pacific lobster with rice and beans and a creamy Caesar salad on the side--is only $11.95.

With all these buckets and platters of food, it would take a very big eater to order appetizers as well, particularly because most of the appetizers are standard chain restaurant fare. If you must have a starter, you might order the B.S. platter, which includes Buffalo wings, chicken fingers, taquitos and chili poppers (deep-fried jalapenos that ooze a cream cheese filling when punctured). An even better idea might be the lobster queso skillet, where lobster meat and chorizo combine with a mass of gooey cheese.

Lobster is the center of the action, and you can have it several ways: in a taco, seared with spices and stuffed into a quesadilla or (my choice) topped with bacon and avocado in the surprisingly delicious Rockin’ Lobster Burger. This last is shredded slipper lobster meat shaped into a patty and crammed into a good, yeasty bun. I know of no lobster preparation to compare with it at anything like $7.95 this side of the border.

The most popular menu choice is the restaurant’s “Big Baja Bucket” (note the copyright sign on the menu), which serves two. This is some lunch pail: a good half dozen slipper lobster tails--softer and chunkier than I can remember eating in Baja--along with grilled chicken, a slab of lean carne asada and some Baja-style shrimp. This is one kitchen that is not afraid to turn up the heat, by the way. The shrimp are especially piquant and peppery.

There are many other possibilities, should you wish to order more simply. Many, however, suffer from Rockin’ Baja’s obsession with excess. The pastas (huge portions, big enough for two) would be a lot better except for a careless overabundance of sauce and ingredients.

Likewise, rock shrimp Veracruz (among its ingredients: sauteed prawns, artichoke heart, cilantro, capers, olives) has nice flavors, but there is just too much of everything. Ditto the Santa Fe chicken, tossed with sweet peppers (in three colors, natch), red onions, cilantro and a jalapeno lime cream sauce. The good ingredients metamorphose into a vague mush.

There are, however, a few reasonably sized items you might consider. They include fine guacamole with chips and salsa, properly lean and grainy carnitas (have them in a taco shell) and tacos del patron: three tacos with fillings of lobster, seasoned shrimp and grilled beef.

The desserts are better left alone, particularly the gummy Key lime pie and the refrigerator-hard cheesecake. Of course, you can always try one of those after-dinner ice cream drinks. Don’t worry, someone will remind you about them.

Rockin’ Baja Lobster is moderately priced. Appetizers are $3.95 to $9.95. Pastas and burgers are $5.95 to $10.95. Party buckets are $11.95 to $25.95 (for two).

* ROCKIN’ BAJA LOBSTER

* 2104 W. Oceanfront, Newport Beach.

* (714) 723-0606.

* Open daily 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

* American Express, MasterCard and Visa accepted.

* Times Link: 808-8463

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