What you notice first when you slide into a booth at Calabasas' newest eatery, Wolf Creek Restaurant & Brewing Co., is the buttery light, as the main room has a glow about it thanks to the hammered copper bar. The sunlight pours in from their southwestern-facing windows overlooking Malibu Canyon in their elevated spot at the Summit, the new shopping center at Lost Hills and Agoura roads.

Nice Feng Shui aside, this is a very comfortable, casual restaurant that takes eclectic pub food menus to new culinary California fusion heights. It is also the second spot for owner and operations manager Laina McFerren, who has crafted a superb menu that has something for everyone.

The restaurant hangs their hat on the exceptional microbrews they craft up in Santa Clarita, beer varieties which cover astringent and bitter India pale ales to amber beers, sweeter and creamy ales that were particularly appealing for me.

A must for any newcomer, their beer sampler brings six smaller portioned glasses of the house brews, so you can hone in on the style that appeals to you.

The day I was there, my sampler included: Golden Eagle, a blond ale that was ultra smooth; Diamond Back Session IPA, which finished with a citrus and floral hint thanks to its unique hops; and the subtle Howlin' Wolf, a wheat-based beer that McFerren described to me as the "anti-beer beer," for its distinct clove, apricot, and banana notes that made it intriguing to no end.

My favorite of the lot was Wild Angels DubbleTrubble, an ale with immense undertones of caramel. The next varietal for me that was aces was Calabasas' own beer, Mountain Hawk Red. Yes, we now have an official city red ale that has a nice balance of hops and caramel.

Wine enthusiasts will feel the love here too, as a nice selection of Napa valley and local vineyard cabs, pinots, sauvignon blancs and chardonnays are featured. Bonus for the oenophiles: Forty percent is taken off every bottle of wine in the house on Tuesdays.

But of course, this is a brewpub, which means food is also on the menu. For appetizers, I ordered the Taos egg rolls, which were plated in a perfect pinwheel formation, garnished with a spicy barbecue sauce and served with a light avocado whipped dipping sauce that cooled the kick in this amazing little meal.

Visible chunks of white meat chicken, avocado, corn, red onion, red peppers, and a blend of just the right amount of cilantro and Jack cheese made this one of my new cravings. It had a nice heat to it, and this dish, along with the complimentary superb crusty French bread served with a complex creamy house Tapenade dip that was lavender in color, augured well for the rest of the meal.

The menu is split into categories of appetizers, pizza, chicken, steak, ribs, salads, pastas, and all are followed by their on-site pastry chef, Meghan Launier's off the hook desserts, more on that later.

After the beer sampler and the egg rolls, I ordered one of the twelve salads on their menu; I went for the oriental chicken salad.

It was garnished with mandarin orange slices on the edges, ideal for me, as I am not a fan of fruit mixed into a green salad. Stacked seven inches high, the salad could not have been more cleverly constructed for a finicky salad eater, as each ingredient was chopped to the right size and not overdressed with their perfect sesame ginger blend.

The eye-pleasing salad was made with more lettuce than cabbage, perfectly slivered green onions, carrots and tarted up with the right amount of crunchy won-tons and rice noodles. This will be a regular dish I order from them in future visits.

Next to order for my lunch was a sandwich, and at my server's suggestion I was steered to the vaquero steak sandwich, a beautifully stacked manly meal of flat iron steak grilled to perfection, with a layer of goat cheese over grilled onions, grilled asparagus and a cilantro pesto dressing on their own light Ciabatta roll (all food is made on the premise, all bakery items, dressings and sauces).

There are a lot of savory flavors going on here, and this generous sandwich can be split by two as a meal. The goat cheese combined with the asparagus and grilled onion was a nice addition to the flavorful steak, and the cilantro pesto balanced and pulled these elements together in a tantalizing way. 

This dish is served with an enormous side of crispy Cajun spiced French fries, cut on the skinnier. 

Vegetarians will be in hog heaven for the Caprese Sandwich, which is the same light fluffy Ciabatta roll stuffed with shaved tomato, grilled eggplant, basil, baby greens and finished with a tart and sweet sun-dried tomato pesto. The flavors all pop, and the creaminess of the fresh mozzarella make it a standout selection.

Burger lovers can order the Wolf Creek burger, which is made of ground Angus beef, dressed with caramelized onions, tomato and cheddar. The turkey and avocado melt was recommended to me by another neighboring diner who raved about their made-on-the-premise bakery sourdough bread used, and Wolf Creek's garlic mayonnaise and tomato and onion topping that separated it from the crowd.  Wolf Creek offers a lunch combo for the indecisive who want a serving of soup or salad and half a sandwich, or all three for just an extra $1.

The next item I ordered (yes, I was getting looks by now) was a specialty pasta dish. The pasta fresca is a penne-style pasta that is decorated by freshly sautéed broccoli, red and green pepper, pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes in a light olive oil, garnished with dollops of creamy fresh goat cheese that was out of this world.  Yes, I am slinging the hyperbole for the pasta, as this item was a lovely, satisfying Italian country-style dish.

I soldiered on, told by my server that the desserts were always complimentary for a first-time diner, and that Meghan, the on-site pastry chef, always had a fresh cheesecake, Meghan's Famous Chocolate Cake, a Grandma-styled dense chocolate cake with a sour cream frosting. Additional daily selections include crème brulée, carrot cake, red velvet cake, pies, tarts, lemon bars, chocolate truffle brownies, raspberry streusel bars and more.

So I ordered the crème brulée and the chocolate cake, because when you label it "famous" you have my attention. The crème brulée was made of pure rich vanilla bean and velvety custard, topped with plump, perfect in-season berries, real whipped cream (not from a can) and a crackling hard brown sugar crust in a nice-sized ramekin that was made to be shared.

The chocolate cake, made with Callebaut chocolate, was piled near six inches high, frosted to perfection in a fudge-like sour cream frosting that enrobed the two thick layers like a glove. This is a no-miss, hands down winner for the chocolaholics among us, and the portion size makes it a for the table dessert. It made my eyes roll back with pleasure upon first bite.

There were no missteps in this incredibly diverse lunch meal that allowed me to try a swath of items across their large menu, and I would love to hear your experiences below from your meal with them. While I perused their menu, the savory and sweet breakfast and brunch offerings stood out for me, and will make Wolf Creek a destination on Sunday for sure.

I feel for the ambiance, money and menu quality, this is one of the best restaurants in all of Calabasas. I would highly recommend taking out-of-towners visiting for the Holidays here for a meal to impress.