17 posts tagged “san diego”
There's a new chocolate cafe in North Park, University Heights, and after reading the Eclipse Chocolat blog, I had to try it. So after work last night, the honey and I stepped into the ultra-loungey Red Fox Room for a quick dinner. Side note: if you want the ultimate in dark 50s loungey steakhouse, this is it. Go on Fridays or Saturdays so you can hear the band, complete with accordian player! There's even dancing. Oh, and the grilled cheese is great.
After our grilled cheese & steak kabob dinner, we stepped into the light once again, and walked about a block over to Eclipse Chocolat to satisfy my Exotic-Choclate-Brownie-Craving.
O.M.G. So Good.
Seriously, read the Eclipse Chocolat blog. I chose the muscovado brownie and chile burnt caramel (there are also espresso brownies and walnut brownies, and a blood orange olive oil chocolate sauce). This comes with vanilla bean gelato and their house-made vanilla bean marshmallow, toasted with one of those little blow torches.
The muscovado brownie has a sort of chewy texture with a hint of molasses taste. Spectacular. The chile burnt caramel was really delicious, although I think they could have upped the chile amount to make it stand up to the fairly heavy brownie flavor. (But on something lighter, perfect as is).
If I wasn't about to explode from my steakhouse dinner + brownie sundae, I would have bought one of their cupcakes, maybe the pink peppercorn creme fraiche cupcake, which looked beautiful. Btw, I never say something looks "too good to eat". "Good enough to eat," maybe. They also have a dessert sampling plate which would be nice to share with the honey (and by share, I mean that he gets to lick the plate after I'm done).
I'll be going back.
Yesterday I ran in the San Diego Mud Run with a couple of girlfriends. The honey was originally slated to run also, but due to a slight injury, was our cheerleader instead.
We were team GLOM - the Gorgeous Ladies of Mud (credit to the honey for conceiving the name).
The honey made the best cheerleader ever (although he couldn't do high kicks):
The race was held in Rancho San Diego, and started at noon. It was about 95 degrees and dry as a bone. We were a little afraid. However, during the race you get hosed off a number of times and the mud was cool, so the temperature wasn't a problem. Here we are pre- and post- mud pit:
I don't care how old you are, there's nothing like playing in puddles! My friend K has been an athletic superstar lately, and finished the 5k in under 31 minutes (including all the obstacles and having to walk certain parts where the track was crowded). That's K propelling herself over the last hurdle.
I'd recommend the race to anyone. It wasn't super-competitive, so if you are, get in the front. But for slackers like me looking to get back into shape, it's perfect. There was a 500-foot ascent in the middle of the track that was pretty tough, even for the super-athletes. I walked it... and didn't really have much choice because everyone in front of me was walking anyway.
The best costumes I saw (besides our super-cool GLOM shirts) were the rainbow crew (rainbow tank tops, knee socks, and shorts that said LOVE across the back) and The Wizard of Oz crew (yep, you guessed it, all men... Doroty had a beard). Little Toto was caked with mud. Props to the tin man for wearing the silver lame pants through the entire race... he looked hot. Hot as in 95 degrees.
Here's our super-strong finish:
Last night I dined with a bunch of friends at North Park's Ritual Tavern. I was intrigued by a review on a food blog by Cap'n Jack.
What first piqued my interest was Cap'n Jack's mention that Ritual Tavern makes their own condiments. Someone told me long ago that homemade ketchup is supposedly worlds above the store-bought stuff. And wow, is it ever. You can actually taste the tomato, for one thing. It's not quite so sweet and syrupy. I may have to attempt at making my own!
This review will be brief, since Cap'n Jack's was right on the money. Ritual Tavern is a homey place, and the staff is super-friendly. They serve pub food, but pub food done right -- with lots of locally sourced ingredients. It's obvious that they put a lot of thought and care into dishes that are totally bland at mediocre pubs.
If you are a beer lover, Ritual Tavern is a must. I enjoyed a pint of the special Stone IPA cask ale. It was extra hoppy, but not bitter at all. On the contrary, it was floral and aromatic. They have an extra smoky Stone porter, too, which I like but thought would be too overwhelming for my food.
I ordered the onion rings and cheese board as an appetizer to share with the table. The onion rings were perfect. The cheese board was quite good, although it's not the sent-from-heaven cheese plate that I've gotten from real fancy places like Blanca. But still a good buy. For an entree, I got the Shepard's pie. Again, pub food done right. My friend said his Niman Ranch burger was flavorful and juicy. For dessert, I shared the beer cheesecake (it was a little strange, but quite good), and the chocolate gelato (nothing to write home about). There was one not-so-great entree at our table, which was the Chilean sea bass with potato croquets and vegetables. The vegetables were done in oil, which was overwhelming because the fish was already too oily.
Anyway, Ritual Tavern is a terrific place to get a casual dinner that's not overpriced, and is served in a nice ambience. Also a great place to just go for a beer (though the bar is small).
The final word
(1-5 rating: 1=BAD, 2=mediocre at best, 3=ok, 4=wow, pretty good!, 5=one of my all-time favorites)
Food (Taste, Quality): 4.3
Value: 4.8
Service: 4.8
Ambience: 4
Memorable Experience: 4
Price: $10-15 per entree
Menu recommendations: onion rings, you must try the condiments, cheeseburger, oysters, beer specials
Notes: Pub fare done right
Would I make a point to go again, paying full price?: YES
Friends and neighbors, you know that restaurant dining is one of my favorite activities -- so it is with great joy that I announce that the annual (now semi-annual!) San Diego Restaurant Week has kicked off! I jokingly refer to it as "my favorite holiday."
If you're not familiar with SDRW, here's the low-down. Participating restaurants offer a 3-course meal for either $30 or $40. It's a good chance to try expensive restaurants on the (fairly) cheap. It was really cool when they were all just $30, but hey, I'll take what I can get. I try to go to restaurants that I haven't tried before, figuring that if they end up being a dud, at least I've only wasted a portion of what I would have, if they were full-price.
So, a confession: I'm woefully behind on posting my restaurant reviews. So I am going to start off with a review that wasn't during restaurant week. It was actually a few months ago.
The Linkery
The Linkery is a little restaurant in North Park that focuses on locally sourced foods and has really great sausages and beers. The Linkery is the place to go if you want to know what farm every single ingredient on your plate came from. They source more than any other restaurant I've been to. You'll see a lot of the following menu descriptors:
- House-made
- Organic
- Fresh
- Community
- Craft/ handcrafted/ craftsman
- Local
- Artisanal
The Linkery is pretty casual, with a hipster vibe that North Park is known for, but not so much that it's obnoxious. It's a great place to go with a group of friends. I'd recommend you try a beer you've never had before, as all of the ones we tried at our table were teriffic.
I'm not really a huge sausage fan (boy that sounds funny...), but of course what I had was incredible. If I were to go again, I'd order a regular entree and just sample some sausage from everyone else's plates.
The prices range from $13-18 for an entree. More than fair in my book, but if you're expecting regular ol' sausage prices, well, that's an unfair comparison.
Oh, and I've decided to add a summary at the bottom of my reviews to make them a bit more consistent and comparable. You won't see the "5" rating very often, because I reserve that review for the best of the best. Feel free to suggest additional categories for "The final word" section.
The final word
(1-5 rating: 1=BAD, 2=mediocre at best, 3=ok, 4=wow, pretty good!, 5=one of my all-time favorites)
Food (Taste, Quality): 4
Value: 4
Service: 3
Ambience: 3 (cool decor, but a bit on the noisy side, and it was smoky)
Memorable Experience: 4.5
Price: $13-18 per entree
Menu recommendations: Beer, good place to try something new.
Notes: Fun place to go with friends, hipster bars nearby
Would I make a point to go again, paying full price?: YES.
Upcoming reviews:
Delicias
Nine-Ten
Milles Fleurs (2nd review)
What's the current hottest restaurant in your city? Have you tried it out yet?
Here's the Hapa breakdown on some San Diego hotspots and well-kept secrets:
Bertrand at Mister A's
Banker's Hill
Same owners as Mille Fleur. Has the feeling of a fancy restaurant from the 50s - big, open dining room on the top floor of a downtown building. Good food. For the money, I'd rather go to Mille Fleurs for the intimate atmosphere, but if you love gorgeous city views, this is the place.
Chive
Downtown
Good food, but inconsistent quality, and mediocre service and ambience. Not a waste of money, but I wouldn't make a point of going back. If this restaurant wants to stay in business, they need something more.
George's at the Cove
La Jolla Cove
Very good food, very good service (even during restaurant week), and a gorgeous view perched over the ocean. The best dining and service is in the fancy restaurant downstairs. The bar and the more casual grill restaurant upstairs are good, but the downstairs restaurant is a special experience. La Jolla Cove tends to be a bit nouveau riche for me, but this restaurant still scores great points with me.
Harry's Bar & American Grill
La Jolla - UTC
Good, consistent food and service. Not particularly romantic or stunning atmosphere, but the central location and reliability make it good for a business lunch or dinner.
Indigo Grill
Little Italy
If you like "different", this is your place. The food combinations border on strange, but I think they work, and they taste great. This is the only place I'll order a vegetarian plate ("Good Things Growing") because on flavor, it competes just as well with the meat dishes. It's in a good location, because you can stroll to a nearby Italian place for dessert and coffee. Gelato, anyone?
The Marine Room
La Jolla Shores
Romantic, and a beautiful view; it's like you're sitting in the ocean. The food is good but inconsistent -- some dishes are wonderful; others fall flat. It's pricey, so I'm not in a rush to go back.
Mille Fleurs
Rancho Santa Fe
The most romantic restaurant in San Diego. It's tucked away in a quiet, fancy, dark neighborhood (be sure to get detailed directions if you've never been there). The inside of the restaurant is like being in a French country home (with a fireplace). It is oh-so-cozy. You could really fall in love here. The food lives up to the ambience; it is flavorful and beautifully presented. The service is top-notch old-world. I would love to go back here... this is one pricey restaurant that actually earns the price tag.
The Pamplemousse Grill
Solana Beach
I was disappointed. The food and service were mediocre at best, and the ambience was poor. It was crowded and a little snooty. Granted, I went during restaurant week, but a good restaurant doesn't make excuses: it's just good every time. I wouldn't bother going back.
The Turquoise Cafe
Pacific Beach
A fairly well-kept secret. Spanish tapas in a fun atmosphere - candles and live music. Sometimes the place is too loud, but it's a great place to go with friends, or for happy hour, or to get a snack before/after going out. The owner loves his food and loves Spain, and it is apparent here.
The Wine Vault & Bistro
Mission Hills
I almost hesitate to write it here because it's San Diego's best kept secret... but then I remembered, well, not that many people read my blog anyway. The best night to go is one of their themed wine dinner nights, which they have a few times every week. On other nights, the menu is very limited (but good). You cannot beat the deals here. Anywhere. For around $50, you get about a bottle's worth of really good wine per person, and 4-7 courses of really great food. All this, with the friendliest restaurant owners to boot. The husband and wife owners know their wine, and like to greet everyone, talk about wine, and sip a little with the patrons. The Wine Vault has won me over.
Wine Sellar & Brasserie
Sorrento Valley
Another well-kept secret, tucked away in a business park. It's really a wine shop with a restaurant upstairs. The ambience outside is pretty bad, but inside it's quite nice and the food is terrific. Great place for a business lunch, or to show off to people by showing them your hidden place.
Oh, and the Hapa review for the best Vietnamese food? Hit up Phuong Trang or Pho Cali in Mira Mesa. Convoy St. is your best bet for tons of cheap, good ethnic food (Vietnamese, Japanese, Persian).
This is my new favorite part of the year in San Diego. The Del Mar races have ended, Labor Day (the last of the summer 3-day weekends) is gone, and with it, the tourists. Mind you, I have nothing against tourists. I love that people like to visit my city.
But, oi, the traffic! I live just north of Del Mar, in Cardiff by the Sea. A quaint seaside town. It's about a 10-minute drive home right now, with a gorgeous ocean view half the drive. In the summer, though, it's 30-60 minutes. I don't understand how the Los Angelenos can handle it.
Now my life has returned to a blissful sense of calm. Ahhhh.... :)
Last Friday was my 2-year anniversary with my honey, boyrfriend, or unmarried live-in partner, however you'd like to characterize it. We didn't plan anything big, but decided to go out to dinner with some friends that evening to Chive. Chive is owned by the same group that owns Laruel, Urban Kitchen, and Kensington Grill.
We arrived in time for Chive's "6 before 6" happy hour -- 6 menu items for $6 each before 6:00. The restaurant was empty, save for 2 patrons at the bar, when we got there. Our hostess seated us at a table inside and gave us our happy hour menus. When our waitress came, she informed us that we had to sit at the bar or outside if we wanted to partake in the happy hour menu. I thought that was a little strange, since the place was wide open, but it wasn't much of an inconvenience.
We stayed until 8ish, and the restaurant was pretty empty the whole time. Hmmm....
We ordered:
Crab mac n' cheese -- as I read on a yelp review, it's more like "essence of crab" then crab, but nonetheless it was pretty good if you're a mac n' cheese fiend like me. However, mac n' cheese isn't too difficult, so I have higher expectations. Doesn't come anywere close to my favorite.
Surf n' turf dumpling -- on Friday, it was shrimp and chorizo. Chorizo was good, but you can't really mess up chorizo. Shrimp, a little plain. My friend's order of the dumplings mysteriously didn't include any filling so we had to send them back.
feta fries - yummy! Perfect fries dish.
cheese plate - great selection and accompaniments, but as I've often found with other restaurants, not enough bread
banana spring roll - OMG good. Perfect if you aren't a big chocolate eater. Fried bananas in a phyllo type dough, with lychee and coconut ice cream, I think. It was great.
chocolate lava cake - I was tempted by this dish, though I find it overused, because it had a chai ice cream and blood orange syrup with it. It was heavenly. There was also a caramel with a slightly salty flavor beneath the cake, which was the perfect touch.
Conclusion: Not bad, but I wasn't bowled over. I'm glad we went there and tried it, but I wouldn't make a point of going back, because there are so many restaurants in San Diego that DO bowl me over with the food and service, not to mention all the new places I haven't tried. Food was good, value was just OK, service was acceptable but far from spectacular. The ambience, with an empty restaurant and uncomfortable outdoor seating arrangement, was sub-par.
P.S. Despite my idea of it being a "low-key" anniversary, the honey surprised me with gorgioso sapphire earrings.... WOW! He had, apparently, been secretly holding on to them for months. Swoon.
Typically, I don't like eating out on holidays, because you don't get the bang for your buck like you do on say, a Tuesday. It's crowded, you get worse service, and sometimes even the food isn't as good, or like on Valentine's Day, they stick you with an overpriced prix fixe menu with limited selection.
But, Friday was St. Paddy's Day, and I had to celebrate my Irish heritage.
So, I headed to The Field in the gaslamp.
If you're unfamiliar with San Diego: much of the downtown "gaslamp" section is closed down for any holiday. You might call it an excuse to party and drink in the streets. For the St. Paddy's "Sham-Rock" there was a line a couple of blocks long just to pay the $25 cover and get in. Once in, you had to wait in lines at every bar, too. Hmmm... not my thing.
Luckily, The Field was not part of Sham-Rock. There was a 45-minute line to get in, though. The honey approached the bartender and asked if they were serving dinner. Since we got a table, we didn't have to wait in the line at all, and were seated immediately. Awesome.
The Field has an authentic old wooden bar that was literally shipped piece-by-piece from Ireland. The food was similarly authentic. I enjoyed a corned beef sandwich with melted swiss, while the honey had boxty with Irish bacon. They were both delish, and the corned beef sandwich rivaled my all-time favorite sandwich of the universe, a corned beef sandwich from the Brown Bag Cafe in South Boston on St. Paddy's 2003 (you don't get more authentic Irish outside of Boston than in Southie). I tried providing a link for you, but what, are you kidding, this Southie deli doesn't have no stinkin' website.
Anyway, service at The Field was prompt, attentive, and courteous. The waitress completely defied my no-eating-out-on-holidays rule. They poured your typical Irish beers (alas, they didn't pour the clover on my Guinness, not that I would expect it, it was really busy after all).
I'll be going to The Field again at some point, I'm sure, perhaps when they've got a good band playing...that would make for an unbeatable atmosphere. Erin go bragh!
Lest you think, dear reader, that I rave about every restaurant I visit, this week I've got two mezza-mez reviews (that's so-so in my best Italian-American slang). I'll admit, I have to really love my dining experience to give a rave review. I like to try new restaurants, but I have a limited budget. So for me to return to a restaurant I've already been to requires a really special experience. If it just didn't blow my mind, I wouldn't bother going back -- there are too many great options out there to settle for mediocrity.
I went to La Vache last night. It's a casual French bistro, with a nice ambience. On Tuesdays in Hillcrest, a lot of restaurants offer a prix fixe menu at a great price, and so it was with La Vache. For $17.50, I got a shepard's salad, chicken pasta provencal, and chocolate mousse. I also had the brie tartine as an appetizer, which turned out to be too much food. The appetizer was simply ok (nothing special done to the brie, although the brie itself was good enough). The shepard's salad was the highlight of the meal. It had a tasty but not overwhelming amount of blue cheese and a light "goat cheese flan", shaved pears, walnuts, and the salad was pretty big. The chicken provencal was good, but nothing really interesting going on there - a basic tomato sauce with capers and chunks of chicken. It needed...something. The service was good, but not particularly inviting. Overall, it was a good deal for the price, but I wouldn't make a pilgrimmage there.
I visited Crest Cafe a couple weeks ago, which I had been wanting to try for a long time. It's a "comfort food" diner open for late-night eating. One of the first things I noticed when walking in was a sign that said something to the effect of, "we won't seat you if you're on your cell phone." Hm. I'm the first person to advocate muting your cell phone in a restaurant -- I think it's important to have uninterrupted experiences, and not ruin anyone else's dinner. But, another important part of manners is to not be obnoxious about enforcing them. A restaurant should give you a feeling of warmth and welcome when you come in, not holier-than-thou elitism. I mean, don't seat people if they're on the phone, fine, but I don't think you need to announce it with a sign, MOM.
Anyway, after a semi-long wait, we were seated... cute decor, but the restaurant is cramped. One of my dining companions had to get up when the couple next to us was seated, just so they could squeeze into their table. I ordered a mac and cheese, which was baked with white cheese and jalapenos. It was really delicious, coming pretty close to my favorite mac and cheese of all time, bar none.
What really stops me from giving this place a great review isn't the food, but the service. Terrible. A long wait to start off, then the waiter got the order wrong, and kind of accused my dining companion of making the wrong order (I heard her, she was right). He hassled her about bringing back the dish and getting the right one -- which is pretty unacceptable to me. It took a while to get the food, but not the check! I was halfway through my mac and cheese when the check appeared. That's a pet peeve of mine. What if I wanted dessert? I'm trying to spend money here... help me help you! Geez. Well, the arrival of the check turned me off to the idea of staying for dessert anyway. If it weren't for the service, I'd go back.... but I just don't feel like enduring that hostile waiter again.
Last Friday, I had an outing with some friends (which was really supposed to be "let's just go out for a couple of drinks and call it an early night). Lots of friends showed up, we were having fun, and well, we kept on.
We started out at Lei Lounge. As some of you may know, I'm a big fan of all things tiki. So of course I liked this adorably chic bar/restaurant in University Heights. But it's not just for tiki fans. The restaurant area boasts beautiful, romantic cabanas, fire pits, and beautiful nature scenes projected on the back wall. Good date place! The drinks are tasty. These aren't just overly sugary tiki concoctions. They are well-thought, nicely presented, and especially during happy hour, won't break the bank. Our first order (three cocktails) was $10. They're usually $10 each. I don't really go to the same haunts over and over again, but I think the Lei Lounge is one of the rare spots that will be in frequent rotation. Oh - and the happy hour appetizer menu looks delish.
Afterwards, we went to the Turf Club, but the wait for dinner was horrendous--over two hours. If you want to go to the Turf Club on a Friday night, get there early.
On to Bar Dynamite. I used to love this place, because it attracts a diverse, funky crowd. They usually play a good range of music, different then your typical top 40. You get the feeling that you could be wearing any kind of outfit and feel comfortable there--it wasn't a "see and be seen" type of place. But this visit changed all that. I doubt I'll ever go back. First, they charge a cover now. It seems a little overly gaslamp-esque to me. I mean, it's not like the bar is really cool and trendy.... it's next to a cheap liquor store and the inside is dive-y. But $5, ok, I'm over it, I want to hear some music and dance. The bouncer was the worst example of "little people with power" that I've ever run into. He wasn't little physically, just figuratively. He truly enjoyed hassling anyone wearing jeans, sneakers, or a hat, and wouldn't let them in. When my friend said, "$5? Geez." the bouncer wouldn't let him enter, even though half of us were inside already. He hassled us when we tried to get refunded -- he acted like my honey, a gentle gentleman if I ever met one -- was out of line for asking for our money back and wouldn't even talk to him (we were inside for under 3 minutes, mind you). We did finally get our money back, after the bouncer talked to the one guy in our group that he knew - and told him that he didn't want him back at the bar again. Wow, I've never experienced that before.
The next morning we were craving a big breakfast. We went to Hash House a Go Go, which I still haven't tried, but the wait was long, and their sister restaurant, the Tractor Room, was open with no wait. WOW - what a breakfast! The restaurant is kitschy and retro; their tagline is "Honest meats and cocktails." Everything in the restaurant has an element of design... very cool and schwanky. But they're not all gimmick. Their breakfast menu was big on game meats; my honey had wild boar hash with goat cheese and basil (delish). Elk sausage was also available. And did I mention the portion sizes? GINORMOUS. My friend K's french toast was about a loaf of bread. Manhole pancakes. I had biscuits and gravy. The two biscuits were the size of large cupcakes, smothered in pork gravy, with two over-easy eggs on top, all sitting on potatoes. I was really full. I'd like to return to the Tractor Room for dinner.
