Saint & Second is a beverage list with a restaurant attached — a very good restaurant, mind you. But in sheer heft, the beverage list far outweighs the menu.

The menu takes up a single printed page, and not even the whole page, since a box on the upper right corner offers six house cocktails “From the bar” with names like Out of the Shell (Dingle Gin, housemade pistachio syrup and a “whole egg”), Whiskey & Cola (Journeyman Last Feather rye whiskey and housemade cola syrup), and Cucumber Blossom (Luxardo Bitter Bianco and Crop Meyer lemon vodka).

The beverage list, by contrast, comes in a heavy leather folder, embossed with the restaurant’s logo, beginning with a table of contents, followed by 17 pages of liquid refreshment. There are sections dedicated to classic cocktails, a “mimosa tray” (a bottle plus three juices and fresh berries), seasonal cocktails, spirit-free drinks, whiskey flights, beers, a page of white wines, two of red wines, two pages of spirits, a page of Scotch whiskey, another of Irish whiskey, two of American whiskey, another of “other whiskies,” and finally non-alcoholic options, tea service, and coffee and espresso.

There’s even a page dedicated to explaining why the beverage is spelled “whisky” in Scotland, Canada and Japan, and “whiskey” everywhere else.

There’s a less-demanding wine and beer list on the flipside of the paper menu, which is where you’ll find wines by the glass and draft beers. Pabst Blue Ribbon is not among them. No Budweiser, either. But you have a craving for a Pizza Port Mongo Double IPA, there it is, on tap.

The original Saint & Second is in Long Beach, named for the intersection of Second Street and St. Joseph Avenue in Belmont Shore. It’s the latest incarnation of The Hofman Group, which has given us Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que and the Hof’s Hut chain, both of which have built their reputation on being imminently family friendly.

Saint & Second is family-friendly, too. But mostly, it’s a place for parents to go to bend an elbow, chew on a prime flatiron steak with duck fat fries. If you bring the kids, make sure they’re on their best behavior. This is not Chuck E. Cheese with duck liver pâté.

By the way, that duck liver pâté is found on a Saint & Second option called “The Board.” It follows the foodie trend toward sundry small tastes served on a … board. In this case, you have a choice of two items for $16, three for $19 and four for $22, drawn from the pâté, four cheeses (Humboldt Fog, Truffle Brie, Bandaged Aged Cheddar and Oregon Blue) and three charcuterie (salami, soppressata and prosciutto), served with housemade blackberry-fig compote, whole grain mustard, caper berries and grilled sourdough. All of which go very well with, ahem, wine.

The kitchen is open to view through a glass window — a beehive of chefs, cooks and runners, moving nonstop to satisfy the needs of a very large restaurant, with not just a considerable interior, but a considerable exterior looking out on the manic shopping underway in this Village that’s not so much a village as a refuge from the traffic on Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

After finding parking (self and valet), I felt a sense of, what? Relief? Peace? Home? (An acquaintance, visiting Los Angeles for the first time, asked where to go to experience the life of the region. Without hesitation I said, “The malls.”)

As with most New American restaurants, the menu is a cornucopia of culinary influences, along with dishes that are hard to cubbyhole. What is one to make of the charred avocado hummus made from white beans topped with French feta cheese? Is it Middle Eastern? American vegetarian? Mediterranean?

What it is uniquely good, though the charred avocado is a curious experience. (The jury is still out.)

How about the truffle fries, which are so much more than truffle fries, with the addition of a gruyere fondue and parmesan. These are fries on steroids. Even the normally straightforward roasted Mary’s chicken comes with a cherry mostarda and black garlic, along with amazing creamed cornbread. I admire the kitchen’s desire to push the edges.

I’m also soothed by the pleasure of finding Americana like Parker House rolls brushed with butter and salt. And a great “signature” burger of ground brisket and chuck with thick-sliced bacon, crispy onions, Cabot white cheddar and horseradish cream on a potato brioche — as good a burger as you’ll find in SoCal. It goes better with beer than with wine. But then, for me, beer is one of the essential food groups. Especially with duck fat fries.

Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.