It's a good thing...

I didn't see this before Monday night, or I might not have made it to work on Tuesday. Heck, I might have even been arrested if I'd made it to the last step!

Restaurant Week Update and Dinner at Blanca

We just returned from dinner at Blanca - long story short, we really liked it. I also wanted to point out this thread on Chowhound where people are weighing in with their experiences - I'll have a more detailed report up soon with more photos, etc., but since time is of the essence, thought you might like a quick update (especially you Maia!) Update - more photos here!

Here's my post:

Just did Blanca for restaurant week - we liked it a lot. We had a party of 4, and ordered everything on the resto week menu, plus a few things off the menu. My husband had the carpaccio with caesar salad and a veal ravioli dish that was out of this world. We also tried the lobster sausage corn dogs - which were fun and tasty - we especially liked the lavender mustard and green tomato ketchup alongside - we just wished we had more corn dogs to dip in it. The hamachi was also good - maybe a little too much sauce on top, it kind of overpowered the delicate fish. They pour a light ponzu soy sauce over it at the table.

I ordered the salad and scallops off the resto week menu - other choices were a cauliflower soup (though the online menu says chestnut) and a short rib main. I tasted the soup and it was phenomenal. The salad was fine - bitter greens, bleu cheese, pears and candied walnuts. The two mains were both were very good, but I was really blown away by that veal dish - and it's only $26.

Desserts were a butterscotch pot de creme that was actually a pudding and a lemon cheesecake. James also ordered the cheeses, which were AMAZING. Four little indiviudal composed plates with accompaniments and what amounted to practically a whole loaf of bread. After dessert they brought little chocolates as a mignardise.

We really liked the vibe of the room and the service was excellent. Better than Market on Saturday night, though Market's food is probably just as good, technically speaking.

I also had the impression that Blanca's regular menu was more expensive overall with entrees in the 30s - 40s, but I saw many in the 20s. I would definitely go back.

As you might notice, the best things we ordered actually weren't on the resto week menu, so I couldn't say there's any urgent need to hightail it over there just for that. Overall though I think I enjoyed it more than our meal at Market on Saturday. More on that later.

Speaking of Chowhound, I'm joining some of my fellow board-buddies for a good old fashioned "Chowdown" at the Imperial Ave. Farmers' Market this Sat. at 10 AM. I am excited to put faces to names, and of course to sample the great Mexican eats. Should be a good time!

Taste, Tease and Finally Please - Jade Theater, Neighborhood and Lucha Libre, Part II

A couple of days after my visit to Jade Theater, I stopped by Neighborhood for some burgers to take home - since I hadn't been able to make it there yet to eat in, but I really wanted to try it.

A couple of factors may well have influenced my experience, so I'll lay those out. First off, I took the food home, and steaming in a takeout container for twenty or thirty minutes never did a burger and fries much good. Secondly - they had a huge party that had just come into the restaurant, about twenty people, so they were unbelieveably busy. It was so noisy I had to step outside with the server so she could hear me place my order. It's also a fairly small place, and really more of a bar than restaurant. On the night I visited, it was populated by youngsters - I spotted only three people that could possibly be older than thirty. Otherwise, the interior of the place is very nice, with wood tables, lots of windows and a cool mosaic mural of the San Diego skyline in various shades of black, gray and white. I also like their list of all the beers they carry on the front window.

I ordered two Neighborhood burgers, one with fries (otherwise they come with potato chips) an order of onion rings, and a cobb salad. I really only needed one burger and a salad - but I didn't know that at the time. At first they told me it would be a while - 20-30 minutes, because of the large party - but I asked if they could possibly squeeze my order in ahead of theirs because it was to go. Luckily they agreed and the food came out in about fifteen minutes.

The Neighborhood burger is slightly oblong in shape - served on a telera roll, and includes grilled onions, aged gouda cheese and arugula. The meat is advertised on the menu as "100% midwestern grain fed beef" - not sure why they think the midwestern or grain fed designation are pluses - given that many gourmet burgers in town are made with local Brandt beef or grassfed beef (Urban Solace, the Linkery and Burger Lounge among them) - but that's what the menu says.

While I waited I snapped a couple of photos with the iPhone, since I didn't have my regular camera with me, and enjoyed a Ballast Point Yellowtail Pale Ale. They do serve quite a few local beers (it's beer and wine only) and have a happy hour two for one deal featuring a different local beer each night - Stone, Alesmith, Ballast Point, etc.

Having heard the burgers touted as too good for mere ketchup (they don't offer it - even for fries) I was frankly expecting something pretty special. The food we received just didn't live up to the hype in my mind - and I don't think it would have even without the time in the takeout containers. The onion rings were particularly mediocre - they were huge and thick and appeared to be the crumb crusted previously frozen type. The fries are thin, greasy and garlicky. The burger itself was somewhat sweet with the onion topping. The meat was a little overcooked for medium rare, and the bun was fairly hard - considering it's a soft type of roll. The salad was totally unremarkable. It was made with good ingredients, but tossed with a vinaigrette dressing that I could barely taste.

It's possible this was just a one-off experience, with the takeout service problem and the large party throwing the kitchen into a panic. I do want to go back and try it again, and I would definitely eat in the next time. If you asked me right now though, I'd be hard pressed to recommend Neighborhood when there are so many other places to get good burgers in this town - with all the ketchup for your fries you could possibly want.

Neighborhood
777 G Street, on the same block with Zanzibar
Downtown, 92101
According to their posted hours, they are now open for lunch 12-2, then again from 5 on.

Looking for a good burger? For something quick, try Hodad's, Rocky's, In n Out - and Burger Lounge (for the basil turkey burger.) For sit down - Urban Solace, The Linkery, Jayne's Gastropub, Starlite, Kensington Grill and The Lodge at Torrey Pines. The best burger I've had recently though was a perfectly prepared Pug Burger at the Hungry Cat in Santa Barbara.

More Burger Recommendations for San Diego can be found here.

You can read more about Neighborhood on Sign On San Diego or Yelp.

Do you have a favorite burger, or have you had a different experience at Neighborhood? If so, please leave a comment and let us know!

Taste, Tease and Finally Please! - Jade Theater, Neighborhood and Lucha Libre, Part I

Do you hear that sound?

Like popcorn popping?

It's the sound of new restaurants opening in San Diego lately!

This week I checked out no fewer than three, the new Jade Theater Asian restaurant downtown; the not quite so new bar and burger joint Neighborhood - also downtown, and Lucha Libre, a new taco shop at the foot of Washington, where Valentine's used to be.

Jade Theater was kind enough to invite me to their grand opening party, and it looked like they also invited lots of other people who work in the nearby offices. Merrill Lynch is closeby, and I spotted a lot of professional-types. They were all in suits, and they all seemed to know each other.

The restaurant had a buffet set up upstairs, offering Asian-fusion standards including sesame noodles, edamame, sate skewers, and a crab kimchee dish that was sweet, sour and crunchy. They were passing some little cones of ahi tartare and deep fried veggie stuffed mushrooms filled with ahi and crab. For beverages, they served shots of their "mango sake" - mango juice combined with sake - champagne and cocktails.

What they offered was tasty, but I was really hoping to get a little more in-depth preview of what the menu offers. It might have been nice if they had offered some of their korean beef ribs or lamb chops, or even some sushi. Except that it doesn't appear the restaurant actually has a sushi bar - which seems a little odd to me, since Jade Theater's Chef, James Montejano, used to be Executive Chef at Japengo, and sushi is such a big element of Japengo's success.

I was also little surprised by the decor. Given the name and the theme of their website I expected something more dramatic and traditional - more along the lines of an upscale Red Pearl Kitchen - more Buddha Lounge-ish. Instead, the modern interior is very spare and office-like, with gray carpet, white walls and glass everywhere.

The prices also seem a bit ambitious. While many new restaurants in town are keeping entrees under $20, Jade Theater offers only one entree below $30. - a Pho made with Wagyu beef for $26 - rather impertinently named "What the Pho?" All the rest are in the thirties, topping out with the Black Bean Ribeye at $39. The small plates section of the menu, called "Tease," lists edamame and crudite (which many restaurants offer without charge) for $4.00, and a few other items including a yellowfin sashimi, seared albacore and duck go for $7. - $9. The "Taste," or starter section prices range from $10. for soup to $25. for a "lobster trio." Desserts are $9.

Personally, given the fine dining prices, I think Jade Theater should consider offering diners something a little more original or creative than what's on the current menu. (I'd link to it, but there are no prices listed - it's under "Dine" on the homepage.) Much of it sounds an awful lot like the menus Roppongi and Japengo have been offering for years: Spicy Fried Calamari with Sweet Chili Sauce, Tandoori Lamb Chops, Seared Albacore, Tuna Tartare, Lemongrass Scallops, Char Sui Duck, Curry Chicken, etc. While I like that type of food, and it may very well be good - I don't particularly want to pay thirty dollars plus for a plate of it. I think they might have a tough time rustling up enough people who do to make a go of it - especially given their somewhat out of the way location at 7th and C. I wish them the best of luck though. If you're in the neighborhood, I'd recommend stopping by for a drink and a bite of something to check it out, if not a full meal.

a quick note about transparency - though I was invited to this event and I attended at no charge, I was not treated differently from any of the other attendees or customers. I have not been asked to write anything about the restaurant nor did I agree to - everything I have said is my honest opinion, which is all you'll ever get. That I promise you.

coming up next, Neighborhood...

Jade Theater
701 C Street
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 814-5125

UPDATE - Jade Theater has closed

Have you eaten there, or were you at the party too? Leave a comment and let us know what you thought!

Restaurant Week is Coming Up!

I'd be remiss if I didn't say something about Restaurant Week, which is coming up this week, starting Sunday and ending Thursday. This year we also get a second one, from June 22-27.

If you haven't made reservations yet and you're flexible about where to go, Opentable has a handy searchable database, just plug in your date and time and number of people, and it will give you all the options.

This year we're going to Blanca on Monday night - and I think that's it - because tonight we're also going to Market for the birthday of one of my multiple mothers in law (or should that be mothers in laws?) on Saturday night. Anyway - you get the point - which is that I'm not sure I can handle more than two fine dining meals in one week!

Many of the top restaurants in town are now offering $40. meals but there are still good $30. deals to be had. The Guild has a fun sounding menu with three choices per course, and Chive, Currant, Cafe Chloe and Red Pearl Kitchen are all at the $30. level as well. Romesco is also offering a $30. menu that sounds good - I've been hearing good things about that place. Unfortunately, most of the remaining choices at that price level are chains - here's the full list if you want to check it out.

In the $40. category, my favorite from last year 1500 Ocean is on the list again this year, with some of the same dishes listed. Bertrand at Mr. A's also looks promising, and Market also appears to be offering a representative sample of their menu. Interestingly Blanca, where we're going - only has two choices listed per course, fewer than most - but maybe they'll add one or some at the last minute - I will report back.

To read my reports on Restaurant Week last year, click here and here. We had a great experience at 1500 Ocean, and a not quite so great one at A.R. Valentien. They offered a different style of food during restaurant week than they normally do, and though I love their sensibility and the concept - I wasn't very happy with my meal. I would actually go there and spend the money for a regular meal before I'd go back during Restaurant Week.

Happy Eating!

If you have plans to dine out for Restaurant Week or if you already have - please leave a comment and let us know where you're going - or where you went and how it was!

A few random notes...

Power to the people! It appears Chilangos in Hillcrest is reopening - presumably due to popular demand - after several months of functioning as a sushi joint. I never heard anything about the sushi, but I've heard great things about the Mexican food. I hadn't eaten at Chilangos for a long time before it closed so I will definitely have to high tail it over there to check it out. The Better Half, also closeby - is getting raves lately as well.

Also, Brandt Beef is going to begin selling at some Farmers Markets in San Diego in February - I know for sure they are planning to go to Hillcrest, and I believe La Jolla. When I get the full list I will let you know.

Sad, sad news about Heath Ledger yesterday. Some of you may not know this, but his ex, Michele Williams, is more or less a local. She grew up in the El Cajon area and her mother lives in Rancho Santa Fe. You can read an old Union Tribune article about her ties to the area (and her Christian school's feelings about her performance in Brokeback Mountain) here. It's always awful when someone dies so young, but this makes me feel a little more connected to the tragedy in some way. I liked him as an actor too - he gave phenomenal performances in Monster's Ball and Brokeback Mountain, and I always had a soft spot for that Knight's Tale movie. For whatever reason, hearing the news yesterday felt like a sucker punch, and I just haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

Gameday Feast

Well, it's a shame the Chargers didn't win on Sunday - but at least we had plenty of food to console ourselves with!

Our friends Greg and Margie came over to watch the game, so instead of James' usual microwaved platter of tortilla chips and yellow cheese, we served up something a little more substantial. Here's the menu:

Potato Chips with Homemade Sourcream and Onion Dip

Tortilla Chips and Salsa

Pistachios

---

Cubano Sandwiches made with Roast Pork,

Smoked Prosciutto and Swiss Cheese on French Bread

La Milpa Greens with Balsamic Vinaigrette

---

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake

I roasted the pork in the morning using a recipe from the Gourmet cookbook. I was inspired to look for something to make in there after looking at it with Jora the other day - and Margie is the one who actually gave me the book. I rubbed a two pound pork loin with pepper, dried oregano and crushed garlic and marinated it in 1/2 cup orange and 1/4 cup lime juice for an hour or two at room temperature in a zip loc bag - it's as simple as that. After the marinade, it went in the oven with a thermometer installed and cooked to 145 degrees. I sliced it up and layered it on some rolls with a smoky prosciutto from Trader Joes that has a little more flavor than your standard deli ham, and a smear of mustard, mayo and swiss cheese. I didn't put the pickles on the sandwiches - but we had cornichons along side. The greens were simple - tossed with dressing. A good friend of mine brought me an amazing syrupy 18 year balsamic from a place in Laguna Beach called Olivers and I think it might have spoiled me for the regular stuff. I'm going up there next weekend to check out the Wayne Thiebaud exhibit at the Laguna Art Museum, and I'm hoping to check them out while I'm there - they have several different kinds of olive oil and will bottle it for you on the spot.

The dip was ridiculously easy, and very good - I took some organic sour cream and yogurt and a little bit of buttermilk, and stirred in some fresh finely chopped scallions (again from La Milpa) and a bit of sea salt and pepper. You should let it sit for an hour or two - even overnight - to get the flavors to meld. With some good crisp thick potato chips - mmmm... I basically ate it again for lunch yesterday. Bad, I know.

The cake is from a recipe given to me by Leslie of La Milpa - she served it to the group when we were there. Somehow mine did not come out quite as tasty as hers - it's a little too sweet and not quite as flavorful, possibly because I used natural (Scharffenberger) cocoa instead of dutched. I want to experiment with it a bit before printing the recipe, and I'll give you both when I do. It's almost a brownie, but not quite - and has a nice tangy rich flavor. Kind of like a Texas sheet cake, or a saucepan chocolate cake, if you've ever had that.

An aside - we went last night to see There Will be Blood at the Mission Valley theater, and ate at Ruby's beforehand. I don't know if it's just me, but their food seems to get worse every time I go there - which is about once a year. I used to go like it when I was up in Orange County back in the 90s. It seemed like it was pretty good back then, but maybe it was just me, I don't know. This meal was dismal. Gross oily fries, soggy warm lettuce - no chicken on half of the sandwich. It didn't help that James ordered something called a "Birthday Cake" shake, which basically tasted like frozen raw cake batter. Ick! Oh well - at least the movie was decent. "I drink your milkshake!" - but not if it tastes like cake batter.

Dinner at Le Bernardin - The Gourmet Institute

Last October, when I attended the Gourmet Institute in New York City, a Saturday night dinner at one of the city's top restaurants was included as part of the program. We were given a choice of Le Bernardin, Aureole or the Four Seasons, and though I can't say I'd turn down a free meal at any of these places, the choice was easy for me. I've been hearing good things about Le Bernardin for years, and it is the only restaurant in New York City that has earned four stars from the NY Times consistently since it opened in 1986.
The meal was more like a banquet, truly, than a night out at the restaurant - they were closed for our party, and there were large round tables set up to accommodate the group. We received a special set menu - pictured above. At first I was slightly disappointed to see that we would receive only fish - no shellfish, crustaceans or other exotic items, but the disappointment didn't last long. Eric Ripert himself was in the kitchen, and when he came out to describe the meal beforehand with that buttery French accent of his, several of the ladies had to start fanning themselves with the menu. He is quite the handsome devil.

The first course was a yuzu citrus marinated fluke, arranged on the plate like a tiny painting, the thin slices of fish draped next to each other to form a perfect rectangle. The fish itself had a delicate sweet flavor and the crispy rice puffs (the creamy colored fluffy things in the photo) provided textural contrast. The small dark tendrils were a mild, slightly chewy seaweed. We had one person at our table who didn't eat raw seafood, and the servers could not have been nicer in accommodating her. Our service overall was professional but not the slightest bit stiff. It was a special circumstance, this being more of a party than a regular night at the restaurant, but they have a reputation for offering very professional yet friendly service to regular diners as well.

The second course was an olive oil poached escolar, served with sea beans, crisp potato slivers and a delicate red wine bearnaise. I am a bit wary of escolar, having been warned of it's possible adverse health effects. But I trusted Eric not to steer us wrong, and though I doubt poaching the fish in oil reduces it's fat content - neither I nor anyone else I know of suffered any consequences. It could be that the serving was quite small - in any event, it was rich, smooth and delicious, with the slightly sweet crunchy seabeans and crisp potato slices.

The third course was a monkfish filet, with crisp potato crust and potato puree, along with a red wine brandy sauce. The potato puree was more of a creamy sauce than side in this dish - as you can see in the photo above. The monkfish was topped with some sauteed vegetables and served with a pinot noir pairing, and was meaty enough to stand up to all of these accompaniments just fine. It was about this time that I realized we had been served three fish courses without repetition or boredom.

Dessert was a sweet potato tart with tiny balls of crisp meringue and dollops of maple whipped cream, served with some ground pistachios and a red wine caramel sauce. I am not normally a big fan of pumpkin pie or other fall desserts, but this was exquisite.
Dessert was followed by a plate of jewel-like mignardise and the coffee service. After all the wine pairings I chose a double espresso to go along with the mignardise, which were - from left to right - a pistachio/cherry financier, a raspberry fruit pate, a tiny butter cookie with a dot of chocolate, a chocolate truffle, and a passionfruit macaron. Everybody had a plate, and we had fun trading and passing these around the table.

The Gourmet magazine people also dined at the restaurant that night, but in a private room upstairs. I had kind of hoped people from the magazine would be seated at the tables so we could talk with them during the meal - but we had fun chatting at our table. We had an all female group except for one gentleman who was there with his daughter - and one of the ladies was celebrating her birthday. I'm not sure, but I think it might have been my fault that the entire room wound up singing her happy birthday just before dessert. She didn't seem to mind too much, though she did hide the fact that it was her birthday until about 3/4 of the way through the meal.

Though it wasn't a typical dining experience at the restaurant, I felt like we got a comprehensive sampling of the restaurant's fabled French techniques married with top quality ingredients and relatively simple preparations. Though the atmosphere is a tad sterile in the lobby of a mid-town office building, the food and service at Le Bernardin are impeccable. Eric Ripert is one of the few top chefs in NYC who is still in the kitchen regularly - which can't help but have a positive effect on the food.

He also likes good tequila, in case you ever have a chance to buy him a drink!

Le Bernardin
155 W 51st St
New York, NY 10019
(212) 554-1515

Starlite Shines Bright on a Saturday Night

When we stopped by Starlite this past week on the Bistro Tour, it was actually the only place on the tours that I had not yet visited. I had planned to eat there in December when a friend of mine was visiting, but we never made it out of the house. Too much yikkity yak I guess - we hadn't seen each other in almost two years.

When we did the visit, I immediately knew this was the kind of place James would dig - casual but good food, hip but not too cool for us thirty-somethings. So on Saturday, I took him out on a married-people date. You really wouldn't think a date night would be that big a deal for us since we don't have kids, but working full time kind of takes it out of you so we rarely get out during the week. Most weekend nights we have "plans," so we hardly ever go out just the two of us. It was kind of nice.

The first thing I noticed about Starlite's menu is that it's short, and the first thing I noticed about the restaurant is that it's smaller than I thought. Both of those things work for me though. The atmosphere is lively without being oppressive or overly noisy, and the horseshoe bar/counter provides a lot of seating for drinkers. The outdoor back patio - a down to earth, hipster version of those fancy rooftop places downtown - takes care of the overflow.

If you read Chowhound, you've seen me grumbling lately that I'd like to see more casual restaurants that are nonetheless serious about food, a la Portland. Starlite fits that bill nicely, at a very reasonable price point - between $5.00 and $20.00. I had sampled a few of their cocktails and some appetizers at the tasting, so we ordered a few new things. The mixed fry is very good, I can vouch from the tasting, but this time I wanted to try their frites. They are served with a to-die-for aioli (I don't even like mayonnaise, but I could eat this stuff with a spoon.) The fries are delicious - and I can say from experience that it's a dangerous thing to have a large bowl of them set down in front of you while you're hungry. At $5.00 they were a bargain to boot.

We also did the housemade sausage board ($12.00) (the chef who makes the charcuterie learned at Region) and some cocktails - I had the Hemingway Cachaca - like a Caipirinha with Cachaca and lime, ($8.00) and James had a vodka rocks. They also do a nut and olive tray that sounded good for $5.00, and a few other interesting sounding starters, like grilled bread with greens and anchovies. The other entree choices included a jidori chicken served with greens and squash, a "Market Fish" - grouper last night, served with olive tapenade and fennel, and a burger - which I've heard good things about. The menu changes with the seasons and relies on local ingredients, so it will be different by the spring and summer.

For my main course I chose the mussels ($10.00) - actually one of the starters - and James had the Brandt flatiron steak with red flannel hash and blue cheese ($20.00). This seemed to be a popular dish - several people were ordering it. It was an interesting change from the steak frites you see everywhere - the steak sat on a hash of beets, potatoes, onions greens and some sort of root veg - possibly turnips or parsnips. The Brandt meat was delicious and it was perfectly cooked medium rare.

The mussels were excellent - small but plump and served in a chive, white wine and cream broth that was so good soaked up with the bread. The bowl of frites and aioli with a bowl of mussels would be a stellar meal indeed for $15.00 - especially with a glass of white wine.

The wine list was short and sweet, with several offerings unfamiliar to me - we ordered a couple of glasses and liked what we had - James had the cabernet offered by the glass at $10. and I had the pinot grigio. They also serve Zardetto Prosecco, which is a nice moderately priced sparkler.

For dessert they offer a signature ice cream sandwich and a special dessert of the day. The ice cream sandwich features toffee chip cookies and organic vanilla ice cream, rolled in chopped pistachios. The special dessert yesterday was a pannacotta with a kumquat compote, which came in a little glass and looked a bit like pudding. I loved the presentation on the ice cream sandwich - they cut it in quarters (it's huge) and pile them in a bowl. The flavor I wasn't as thrilled with - something about a frozen cookie just doesn't charge my batteries. The coffee I ordered to go with it was some of the best I've ever had in a restaurant though, and hot to boot. I drained my cup, and that's saying something.

Starlite Lounge
3175 India Street
(619)358-9766

The Third Fancy Food Show Tour - An Urban San Diego Bistro Crawl

The third tour they asked me to put together was by invitation only, for a smaller VIP group called the Buyers Circle. I immediately thought about taking them around to some of my favorite smaller restaurants for a progressive tasting dinner with beverage pairings, but I really didn't want to limit them to only one item per restaurant. Ultimately we wound up with more of a hodgepodge - but I think it was a good thing.

The only problem was choosing which restaurants to go to. There are so many good ones, but with only four hours, I had to make some choices. Ultimately I designed a route that started downtown, with a detour to Barrio Logan for the Guild, then came back downtown and up to Hillcrest with a stop at Starlite on the way. We wrapped up in North Park with Urban Solace. Had we the time, I would have loved to take them to Jayne's Gastropub, Modus and the Linkery - but alas it was not to be.

The first stop leaving out of the convention center was Cafe Chloe - where owner Alison greeted us with a platter of smoked trout canapes on crostini with granny apple and horseradish. These were wonderful, sort of like tuna or chicken salad on steroids. We also had some of their famous frites, and some mini vol au vents with chicken and mushrooms. Rich, but very good. They poured a lovely rose wine to go along with. We stayed there for a comfortable period while everyone ate and chatted with Alison about the business. Alison was a wonderful hostess and I think everyone was impressed with the decor and style of the cafe, as well as the food. One person told me the watercress aioli was her favorite thing from the whole tour. After chatting and eating for as long as we could, we moved on to the Guild.

At the Guild, we were greeted by partner and manager Linda, ushered into a private room and seated with menus for a three course tasting with cocktail pairings. First up was the tomato and mozzarella salad with basil foam, served in a little metal casing on a skewer, paired with a shot of good sake.

Next we had a bite of spicy seared sesame crusted tuna with a nice fruity Jade Kiss cocktail - a vibrant green shot of cucumber and lime. Third, we had their Kobe beef sliders - which were just as good as I remembered from dining there if not better.

These were paired with a spicy passionfruit cocktail. Linda talked with us about the design and the restaurant, and answered everyone's questions. Everyone really seemed to enjoy the Guild - a few people even told me it was their favorite stop.

Next, we were off to Currant, where they set aside a nice spot in the bar for us, and we enjoyed a tasting of Buttermilk Fried Frog leg (one of a few things I ate this weekend I had never tried before!) with a saffron risotto, a foie gras torchon with currant orange chutney, and a banana phyllo pastry. Chef Pflueger brought the food out and greeted us, but I think they were busy preparing for service by that time.

There was a little too much chutney on the foie gras torchon, but the frog's leg was surprisingly good. You have to watch out for those little tiny bones though. From Currant we moved on to Starlite, just up India Street.

At Starlite, we discovered cocktails waiting for us on the tables, along with plates of their house made charcuterie. We had some really good fritto misto - including some scandalously good fried cheese - and a sampling of their jidori chicken entree. This was the one stop I had not tried before, but I will be going back.


From Starlite, we scooted up University to Bite, where Chris Walsh greeted us with an array of champagne cocktails and accompaniments - including oysters, foie gras creme brulee with toast points, grilled salmon and cheese sandwiches, and pears wrapped with prosciutto. He opened just for us, and prepared the food himself - how's that for special treatment? He was also a joy to work with in setting this up, I have to say. And that foie gras creme brulee is to die for. Dangerous, actually.

Our next and final stop was Urban Solace, which was in full swing by the time we arrived. Given that the tour ran from about 4-8, our visits to the other restaurants had mostly been before service - and Bite was actually closed that evening. Urban Solace was buzzing. The bar was packed, they had live music going, it was a nice contrast and a good festive wrap up for the evening.

Chef Matt Gordon brought out beef cheek sliders with their tomato jam, a plated sample of their pork rib eye with corn spoon bread which I especially enjoyed, and a small peanut butter and chocolate creme brulee. If you haven't tried this dessert, you really must. It might sound a little cloying but it's absolutely delicious. These were all paired with wines, the dessert with port.

Thus sated, we headed back downtown and dropped everyone off at their hotels. It was fun for me to put it together, and I think the participants enjoyed it - weary as they may have been from their three days of tasting, eating and chatting at the show.

The rest of the photos can be viewed here.

Where we went:

Cafe Chloe
721 9th Ave
San Diego, 92101
(619) 232-3242

The Guild
1805 Newton Ave.
San Diego, 92113
(619) 564-7584

Currant Brasserie
140 West Broadway
San Diego, 92101
(619) 702-6309

Starlite Lounge
3175 India Street,
San Diego
(619)358-9766

Bite Wine Bar and Bistro
1417 University Avenue
San Diego, 92103
(619) 299-2483

Urban Solace
3823 30th St
San Diego, 92104
(619) 295-6464

The Second Fancy Food Show Tour - "A Foodie's Eye View of Urban San Diego"

No time to write much now, but here are a few photos from the tour yesterday, it went swimmingly, and I think everyone had a good time. We went to Northgate Gonzalez for lunch, Extraordinary Desserts, Bread and Cie, Taste (where we did a special beer and cheese pairing) and Eclipse Chocolat. The rest of the album can be viewed here.

Lunch at Northgate Gonzalez

Extraordinary Desserts

The spread Karen put out for us

Eclipse Chocolat Cafe.
I neglected to take photos at Bread and Cie or Taste, but I'll go back and take some of the places this weekend to round out the bunch, so check back for those.

If you're here because of the tour, please say hello in the comments. I'd love to hear what you thought and what you liked or didn't like. I'd also love to hear about your other dining experiences in San Diego!

The rise of the Distavore?

This article appeared in Time Magazine the other day, apparently as a response to the fact that "Locavore" was deemed the word of 2007. The guy is clearly nuts, but I have to admit I could get behind the idea of more iPhone rebates.

This sentence, however, I take issue with - Stein says: "Shipping food in containers is often more energy-efficient than a local farmer trucking small amounts that are then purchased on a separate weekend farmers'-market trip you take in your SUV." Says who, exactly? There are no facts to support this theory, no actual science behind it - it's just one person's contrarian, snarky musings.

Out of season produce is so unthinkable to me now that I can't bring myself to buy strawberries or tomatoes at the farmers market, even though they are available. I can hardly imagine buying asparagus from Peru.

Wonder how it tasted? I notice that he doesn't say.

The First Fancy Food Show Tour - "Sustainable and Local Eating in San Diego"

To fill you in, the NASFT hired me to plan and host three tours for the Fancy Food Show in San Diego this past weekend. It was a lot of work but also a total blast, and I have enjoyed every minute of it. So much so that I'm considering doing it on a more regular basis.

If you're visiting because of the tour - welcome! I really hope you enjoyed it and I am so sorry I wasn't able to do more talking. I had the good timing to get a terrible cold this week, and lost my voice completely the day before the tour. It was back, somewhat - but I wasn't my normal chipper self.

Still, it seemed like most of the guests really enjoyed it, and the participants really did me proud. Jay served up goat sopes and some Brandt Farms Bresaeola, and Barry and Leslie at La Milpa did pizzas for everyone - as well as salad, chocolate cake and delicious mint tea. Stone stepped up and donated three cases of beer, which were a big hit with the guests - most of whom were from out of the area and hadn't tried it before.

From La Milpa, we went back down south to the beautiful Torrey Pines Lodge and were greeted by the staff of A.R. Valentien and ushered out to the patio for a talk by Chef Jeff Jackson and a buffet of prosciutto, cheese, dates, salumi and levain bread.

We left there and headed a short distance up to Waters, where we enjoyed a phenomenal panna cotta dessert - it was sitting on a toffee disk, topped by microgreens - along with some local persimmon, cubes of date cake and a vanilla bean sauce that I believe had some squash in it. It was inventive and delicious. I will email everyone to get the exact information so I can share it with you here. Mary Kay Waters then allowed everyone on the tour to basically loot the store, taking the packaged food, cookies, snacks and desserts! I filled up a bag for the bus driver, who was absolutely great. We'll have him again today.

We were still about ten minutes late getting back, but I think it was worth it not to rush everyone. My biggest problem was my voice. What timing eh? It made it difficult for me to do a lot of "guiding" or commentary, which I felt bad about. I brought Candice Woo of Citybeat and Donna McLaughlin - local Slow Food board member and membership chair with me, and they helped me with rounding people up and hosting duties.

The full photo album can be viewed here.

I've got to run - I have another tour to do today! Tune in later for more about the tours, the show itself, and the tasting event tonight.

Just Like Bacon

Oh man this is great. Thanks, Heather!

Where the Food Show Foodies Go

This coming weekend, San Diego will play host to one of the premier food events on the West Coast, the Winter Fancy Food Show. Normally held in San Francisco, the show is traveling to our fair city this year for a visit. You can read about last years show here and the 06 show here.

The show is open to the trade only, and I have never attended one before. Frankly, it sounds a little insane - over 8000 products to sample? 1000 vendors? The NASFT has hired me to plan and host three tours for the show - but in between those, I think I may have to take some time off to actually check it out. On Sunday evening there is also a "Meet the Tastemakers" event with several local chefs offering tastings - I'm particularly excited about that.

The tours are pretty well finalized, so I think I can spill the beans a little. There are two that are open to the general membership, and one for "Buyers Circle" members, sort of a VIP group. The first one on Saturday is called "To Market We Will Go: Local and Sustainable Eating in San Diego." We're going to the Linkery, then up to La Milpa Farm, where Barry is going to make pizzas for us in his woodburning oven, and Stone is going to pour some beer. After that it's back down to Del Mar, for a tasting at A.R. Valentien. Next will be a short stop at the Del Mar Farmers Market, and a visit to Waters' new takeout shop in Solana Beach.

On Sunday, we'll be visiting some local fancy-food retailers on a Foodie's Eye View of Urban San Diego. We'll start with a visit to the Northgate Gonzalez Mexican Supermarket, then travel back up to Extraordinary Desserts, then head up to Hillcrest to Bread and Cie, Taste Artisan Cheese and the new Eclipse Chocolat cafe. I really wanted to fit more in there, but with only four hours and forty people to get on and off the bus, there's no way we can do more than five stops. Everyone has to be back on time for the Tastemaker event at the venue which starts at 5.

Tuesday's "Buyers' Circle" tour is a progressive tasting through several newer urban bistros, including Cafe Chloe, the Guild, Currant, Starlite, Bite and Urban Solace. They'll be serving tastes of two to three menu items with beverage pairings. It's been a real pleasure working with the restaurants to set this up, they've been so enthusiastic about participating and they're all really putting their best foot forward. Chris Walsh of Bite is even opening that night just for us.

I'm sure that finalizing all of this and last minute coordinating will keep me busy most of this week. I do have some more posts in the hopper, but I'm afraid they'll just have to wait for now!

Looking Back at 2007, and Forward to 2008

When I started thinking about this past year, my first thought was that it wasn't quite as momentous as 2006. It's true that I started this blog in '06, which changed my life far more than I expected (for the better.) I also changed jobs, which was something of a watershed moment. New friendships bloomed and my foodie life blossomed - thanks to the blog, culinary classes and lots of "gastro-travel" to the Bay Area and Santa Fe.

While 2007 didn't have any watershed moments per se (unless you count having your picture taken flanked by Tony Bourdain and Eric Ripert) it was still full of surprises and delights. On the personal front, new friendships have developed and old ones have held steady, my loving husband is as delightful as ever, my parents are well, my grandmother is hanging in there at 91. We did some traveling again - eating our way up and down the Southern half of the California coast on a trip to Big Sur and back, and I managed to wedge in three trips to San Francisco. I also met some fabulous chefs at the Gourmet Institute in NYC, ate some amazing food and took fascinating classes from the magazine's staff.

It was a very good year for food in San Diego as well. Several new and quite notable restaurants opened this year, including Anthology, Bite, Urban Solace, Avenue 5, Currant, Starlite, The Guild - and Jayne's Gastropub really hit it's stride. In the casual arena, the Neighborhood, Burger Lounge, Enoteca Style and the Kebab Shop stepped up. A new Hard Rock hotel opened with a Nobu, and a couple of other newbies have opened that I haven't tried yet, including the Better Half in Hillcrest, Cafe Lavande in La Jolla, and the Pearl Lounge in Point Loma.

Sadly, we lost some restaurants too - including Bud's Louisiana Kitchen Downtown and Asia Vous in Escondido - and some prominent chefs, including Jason Schaeffer and Gavin Kaysen. It does look like the trend is up instead of down though, and I have high hopes for the scene to continue to grow and improve through 2008, even out here in the East County. We just earned a new Rancho San Diego branch of the Hillcrest Italian restaurant Arrivederci (our first takeout meal from there was excellent and it appears to be doing well) and Sammy's Woodfired Pizza has announced they will open a new branch in Grossmont/La Mesa in 2008. The new Fresh 'n Easy Market is also slated to open soon in Casa de Oro. I'm also looking forward to joining friends Dominic and Donna in further developing the San Diego Slow Food network. The Fancy Food Show is also coming to town this month, bringing lots of exposure to San Diego's food scene.

Last year, I did a list of the best and worst of the year, and a rather embarrassing list of new year's resolutions. Just for fun, I'll do some of the best and worst again, but I'm going to go a little easier on myself with the "resolutions." (Maybe that tells you how well last years' stuck!)

Here goes:

Most Memorable Meal (anywhere): Dinner at Sierra Mar at the Post Ranch Inn, as much for the setting as the food, but both were very good.

Best Meal at a Local Fine Dining Restaurant: 1500 Ocean (during restaurant week, no less.)

Best Meal at a Local Neighborhood Restaurant: Tie between Bite and Urban Solace.

Most Promising Newcomer: Currant

Best Dining Experiences Outside of San Diego: Lucques (LA), Delfina (SF), The Hungry Cat (SB), and the Tasting Room (NYC). I also had a stellar breakfast at Norma's at the Parker Palm Springs (those last two are still in the queue.)

Best Surprises of 2007: The excellent food at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. How awesome the Gourmet Institute in NYC turned out to be.

Best Dessert: Warm Chocolate Chipotle Cake with Banana and Caramel Gelato at 1500 Ocean

Best Cocktail : The "Proper Greyhound" at the Hungry Cat in Santa Barbara, and of course, my kick-ass margaritas.

Best New Discoveries: K Sandwiches, Croissants from Opera Patisserie, Guanni Chocolates, Winchester Aged Gouda, Cherimoyas. Eberle and Robert Hall wines (in Paso Robles), Hacienda de las Rosas wines (from Ramona), the rediscovery of the Farmers Market (especially La Milpa and Sage Mountain Farms), Brandt beef, Ballast Point beers, Rancho Gordo beans.

Most Mediocre Dining Experiences/Biggest Disappointments: the flavorless food at Bleu Boheme in Kensington; Bad service and a ridiculously undercooked veal chop at Trattoria Acqua in La Jolla; Bad service, burnt sauce and overpriced steaks at Jack's Ocean Room in La Jolla.

Interestingly, my two most memorable experiences of 2007 were thrilling in their own way, yet could not be more different. One was visiting Esalen and soaking in the cliffside baths, and the other was the Gourmet Institute - particularly the evening I spent having cocktails in the bar at Per Se.

My "Hopes and Expectations" for 2008 are :

1. to branch out a bit with respect to ethnic foods - especially Vietnamese, Indian and Mexican. (My efforts thus far have been mixed, but I plan to soldier on.)
2. to cook "lighter" and offer healthier recipes on the blog, including lightened modifications for most recipes.
3. to eat at Manresa in Los Gatos
4. to continue to eat locally, try the new local restaurants and champion the best of what San Diego has to offer.

Happy New Year!!!