What We Dig

When you have lived in a neighborhood long enough, you have that consistently good local place you go to often and are rarely disappointed with.  The tough thing about writing about food for a hobby is we always feel like we need to try new places.  But sometimes, you gotta stick with the old standby.  A week or so ago, I picked up take out from Arrivederci in Hillcrest, one of our local haunts, and the place was packed.  Line out the door packed.  The interior (seen below) is tight and on a busy night, it has the feel of a crammed Italian restaurant in New York.

Lately, we have been getting take-out from Arrivederci and we have a few favorites we thought we would highlight.  We are fans of the Fettuccine Cleopatra which includes chicken, mushroom, peas and natural juices.  Simple, but flavorful and tastes very fresh.  We also order two items off menu: a classic Capelline Pomodoro with garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, basil and parm and an Orrechiete with sausage and rapini.  Bring any of these home (which although any one is enough for two we always order two because we can’t agree on which one to order) with some of their fresh warm bread, open some red wine and all is good in the world.

We are also big fans of Arrivederci’s Pizzeria (classic Italian thin crust style pies) just a block south on fourth.

-Gil

Arrivederci Ristorante
3845 Fourth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 299-6282 
www.ristorante-arrivederci.com

We received an email today announcing that 3rd Corner (one of our favorite wine shop/restaurant combos in OB) has opened a new location in north county.  The new address is:

In our inaugural column for San Diego Lawyer Journal, we asked local attorneys what their favorite lunch and dinner places were.  A federal judge told us about a place in El Cajon called Greek Style Chicken.  He is of Greek heritage and his mom used to insist on cooking when she visited.  After finally trying Greek Style Chicken, she never cooked again.  With this endorsement, we have been waiting to try Greek Style Chicken ever since.  I finally had a chance to sneak over to El Cajon for lunch yesterday.

The restaurant itself has the look and feel of an old school fast food restaurant.  It is a very simple exterior in a strip mall with a counter for ordering at and a menu above with fixed tables scattered throughout.  Casual.  And there is a drive through.

I wanted to try a couple things, so for $7.95, I ordered the 1/4 Chicken Gyro Combo.  It comes with one side (I went with potato salad) and choice of bread (pita for me).  All the menu options are very reasonably priced.  After a few minutes, they called my number and my order was ready.  It was a lot of food.  There was enough Gyro for two sandwiches, a good portion of potato salad, a pita toasted and sliced into little pies and of course a chicken breast and drumstick.  Humble looks of the restaurant aside, the chicken is really good.  I mean really good.  It is seasoned with lemon and herbs which give it a fresh light flavoring.  It is not clear if the chicken is grilled, baked or rotisserie (though I would bet on rotisserie), but it isn’t fried.  The skin has a nice crispiness and is very juicy inside.  I just kept thinking how much Krista would like this flavorful well cooked chicken that didn’t feel heavy.  

The Gyro was very good, but not amazing.  In my experience, Gyro meat always tastes about the same (with varying degrees of seasoning).  It seems like everyone gets it from the same place!  However, the tzatziki sauce is very fresh and very tasty.  I slathered it on the warm pita bread, threw some Gyro on there and was quite pleased.  The potato salad was solid, but as I saw someone else’s friend zucchini come out, I had serious food envy.  Next time.  

Greek Chicken is that perfect casual relatively healthy fast food option that would be great to have near us.  Sadly, we coastal folks have to drive to El Cajon to pick it up which makes it an unlikely casual weeknight meal option.  For those in the area, use the drive-through and have yourself a tasty chicken dinner with all the fixings for a really good price.

-Gil

Greek Style Chicken
955 E. Main Street
El Cajon, CA
(619) 588-2531

or

1468 Graves Avenue
El Cajon, CA
(619) 401-0700 

Lucha Libra has been getting a lot of good press on Yelp, Chowhound and the UT — all with good reason.   Located next door to the Dynamite Bar on Washington immediately south of India, this new arrival is a welcome upscale taco stand.  Lucha Libre (literally Free Fight or Battle) is Professional Wrestling in Mexican and some other Latin cultures.  You’ve probably seen the masked men with colorful outfits when you run across a Spanish language television station.  

The interior has all the wonderful cheesiness of Lucha Libre — including a “Champions Booth” you can reserve ahead.

Let’s talk about my favorite item… the TJ Hotdog.  Anyone who has not had one thinks, what’s a TJ Hotdog?  And, do I actually want to know what is in it?  Amusingly, Lucha Libre has a sign pointing out it isn’t actually made out of dog meat.  For those who don’t know, it is an all beef hotdog, wrapped in bacon, topped with ketchup, mustard, mayo, grilled onions and peppers.  The bacon jacks up the flavor and gives it a bit of crunch and the peppers and onions add a delicious sweetness.  It is all sorts of goodness.  The best part?  $1.50 each.  We have swung by Lucha Libre on route to a ball game for the TJ Hotdog.  If they had beer (no liquor license yet), it would be heaven.

We have also tried a lot of other items on the menu.  The take away is stick with the gourmet stuff and don’t bother with the classics.  Specifically, we strongly recommend the Surf and Turf Burrito ($6.25) and the Holy Mole Burrito ($5.75).  Krista loves the Surf and Turf which includes Marinated Steak, Shrimp, Avocado Slices, Pico de Gallo, Rice & “Super Secret” Chipotle Sauce.  It is a good size burrito, which Krista claims breast feeding helps her finish it without any help from me.  The Holy Mole is one of my favorites.  It includes Grilled Chicken Breast, Mole Rice, Queso Panela and Sour Cream.  It has a great chocolaty mole flavor with a spicy bite.  

We have also tried the Surf & Turf Taco ($3.25) which is like the burrito sans the rice and on a corn tortilla.  It is a great option if you want the Surf & Turf flavors without the overwhelming size of the burrito.  The QuesoTaco ($3.25) is also quite good.  It includes Grilled Crispy Cheese (imagine putting cheese directly on pan and let it get nice and crispy) filled with marinated steak, topped with more cheese, special sauce and avocado slices.  The QuesoTaco is such a different yet wonderful flavor, that I recommend you just give it a try with whatever you order.

We have also tried a couple classics, Adobado Taco and Carne Asada Taco.  Neither were particularly good and we would just stick with the gourmet stuff and of course the hotdog.

Lucha Libre has an outdoor dining area in the works and it should be ready for summer.  It is very kid friendly and you can pick up orders to go if you really want beer with your Mexican food (we did that our first time there).  If you want upscale taco stand Mexican, this is the place to go.  It is close enough to downtown for lunch and if you work downtown and live in the north it is a good place to swing by on the way home.  And, of course, as noted above, it is a great option for pre-ball game food.

Lucha Libre Gourmet Taco Shop
1810 W. Washington Street
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 296-TACO (8226)
www.tacosmackdown.com

Krista is a huge (I mean huge) fan of Salad Style in the East Village and I am a huge fan of paninis generally.  So we were both overjoyed when Enoteca Style (owned by the Salad Style folks) opened in Little Italy, claiming to be the “Best Panini Wine Bar in San Diego.”  I have been there a couple times now and Krista has picked up some salads to go.  Enoteca has solid paninis, a great beer selection (Chimay by the bottle and Stella on draft) and a decent wine list.  If you work nearby, it is a great option for a casual lunch.

The exterior is unimposing and the interior is modern and open with a concrete bar and tables along the wall.  Enoteca has been empty each time I have been there, but staff assured me they have busy days more often than not.  Paninis run $9.00 and you can get a “Lunch Meal Deal” which includes a half panini, side salad or small soup and a small drink for $9.75.  The paninis are not big, so if you are hungry I would go with a full panini and a small order of soup or salad.

I have tried the India Panini (Proscuitto, Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Tomato and Basil Presto), the Ash (Salami, Mortadella, Provilone Cheese, Pickled Peppers and Garlic Aioli) and the Beech (Grilled Chicken, Gouda Cheese, Tomato, Spinach and Sweet Red Pepper Aioli).  All were well toasted (though I would prefer a little more time on the grill) and full of flavor.  My favorite so far is the Beech — something about chicken and Gouda that just works for me.  Of particular note is Enoteca’s ability to combine a lot of flavors in their paninis without overwhelming the palate.    

Krista has tried a few of the salads which are similar to the salads offered at Salad Style.  She is just happy she can walk to this place instead of driving the 14 blocks to pick up a salad at lunch.  Salads are generally more expensive than the Panini’s ranging from $9 to $16.  Our favorites include the Soba Noodle & Ahi Tuna (which includes Snap Peas, Carrot, Shiitake Mushrooms, Peanuts, Grean Onion and Ginger-Sesame Dressing) and the Peppered Steak (which includes Hearts of Palm, Portobella Mushroom, Oven Dried Tomatoes, Gorgonzola Cheese, Red Onion & Fresh Herb Vinaigrette).

Enoteca also offers Cheese or Cured Meat plates as well as a few Bruschetta options.  We haven’t tried these yet, so let us know if you have and what you think.

If you live or work near Little Italy, Enoteca Style is a nice option for casual lunch or dinner with an alcohol selection.  It is also a great happy hour option.  Sadly, there is no WiFi and AT&T cell reception is bad inside, so it won’t be a new favorite working lunch location for me.  There is also no outdoor seating.

Enoteca Style
1445 India Street (between Ash and Beech)
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 546-7138
www.enotecastyle.com 

Sorry for the lack of posts this week.  I had a trial in San Francisco and was unable to finish up the post.  We’ll be working on it this weekend.  

On the bright side, I had dinner at three great San Francisco restaurants and will be commenting on those in the near future.

For months we have been walking by the Better Half which opened shortly after Maia’s birth in one of Hillcrest’s infamously cursed spots (formerly the Abbey, Russo’s House and the restaurant between these two incarnations).  But the chef has a great pedigree and buzz is abound on Yelp and Chowhound, so we crossed our fingers. Unfortunately, the Better Half is not open for lunch which means we had to wait for a date night when a sitter was available. We were able to get there on a recent Friday night, and it was worth the wait.

Those that have been to prior restaurant attempts in this location know that it is a cozy little house with the kitchen in what must have been a detached garage and the dining room on the first floor. The space itself is tiny with room for less than 40 guests inside and some additional seating outside (this limited space for diners might be a reason for the difficulty prior restaurants have had here). The Better Half’s concept involves serving only half bottles of wine so that patrons can enjoy a good wine even if they only want a glass or so. It also allows diners to order two great bottles — one with the first course and one with the second.

We parked on University west of the Restaurant (which we recommend since parking is a little easier in Hillcrest as you go west away from the heart of the community) and walked to the familiar location. We were warmly greeted by the hostess and shown to our table very quickly. We had a reservation (which we got earlier that day) and we would recommend getting one because by 8pm every table was full.

We were quickly provided some warm sourdough bread rolls (from Bread & Cie is our guess) with herb-whipped butter and water. The wine list, as you can see from the picture above, is fairly extensive with well known and not so well known options. We went with a split of the Morey-Saint-Denis, Frederic Magnien, “Larrets” from Burgundy ($23) for our first course and the Cain Concept Red Blend (~$63) for our second course. Krista was not as crazy about the Burgundy (a little tangy for her taste), but we both really enjoyed the Cain Concept.

Before our first course arrived we were sent an amuse busche of pulled pork, apple sauce and microgreens on a toasted crostini. It was the fanciest version of pork chops and apple sauce I have had. The pulled pork had a nice smokiness and the apple sauce was, of course, an perfect compliment.

For our first course I ordered the Charcuterie Plate ($14) and Krista ordered the Gravlax a la Better Half ($12).  When they arrived we realized we could have simply ordered one of them — they were pretty big and certainly either one would have been enough for two.  My Charcuterie consisted of Handcrafted Lamb Sausage, House-made Pate & Terrine of Chicken and Duck liver with pasticcios wrapped in grape leaves soaked in vodka, a chunck (unsliced) of Pastrami, caper berries (fried), some classic accompaniments like seeded mustard, little pickles and olives with Bread & Cie Crostini.  I really enjoyed this charcuterie.  It was not exactly classic, but the flavors were all excellent.  The sausage was particularly flavorful without being too gamey.  I had never had caper berries and I have to tell you I particularly liked them fried.

Krista’s Gravlax consisted of House-Cured Salmon, Buckwheat Crepes, Dill-Mustard Sauce and Traditional Garnitures like chopped onions and eggs.  This was a great take on the classic bagel and lox dish and the Buckwheat Crepes were flavorful, thin and modernized the dish quite nicely.

Prior to bringing out our second course, we were greeted with little intermezzo of mini-sorbets in cones.  This was a nice touch that elevated the caliber of service.  Yet, it was done in a simple, elegant manner that did not make it seem like the restaurant was trying to hard.

For our main courses, Krista went with the Cabernet Short Rib ($18) and I went with the Pork Scaloppini ($17).  Krista’s Short Rib consisted of Chilean Cabernet-Braised Beef Short Ribs, Cauliflower-Horseradish Mash, Morel Mushroom Cream Sauce and Fried Leeks.  The presentation was beautiful and everything was stacked in layers — Short Rib on top of Mash with the mushroom sauce over that and the leeks garnishing the top.  The flavors were quite good and the Short Rib fell of the bone as you would expect.  We both thought this was very good, but not the best Short Rib ever.  We are partial to Nine Ten’s Short Rib.

My Pork Scaloppini consisted of Sauteed Krobuta Pork, Sweet Potato & Rosemary Mash, Whole Grain Mustard and California Dates Cream Sauce and Tobacco Onion Garnish.  Like the Short Rib this also came stacked.  I love pork and this preparation was excellent.  There is something about pork and sweet potato just works.  It truly is a wonderful combination.  The portion was very generous and the cream sauce had a great depth to it thanks to the mustard.  It took everything in my being not to finish the plate, but I wanted to save a little room for dessert.

With our meal, the Chef sent out a side of Grilled Brussels Sprouts.  It was never quite clear why they were sent out and if this is normal or just something special Chef felt like doing.  I am a big fan of Brussels Sprouts as of late and Krista makes an amazing side dish involving Pancetta.  These were solid, but not as good as my dear wife’s.

For dessert, the restaurant had me at Grandma’s Bread Pudding.  Krista ordered the Flourless Chocolate Cake.  The Bread Pudding was really, really good.  It had a nice lightness to it (I understand that is hard to conceptualize for bread pudding, but if you have had a great one you understand) with a very flavorful, yet not overpowering, whiskey sauce.  Krista’s Flourless Chocolate Cake was average.  It needed something to cut the chocolate a bit — perhaps some creme fresh or ice cream.

The Better Half does not offer espresso, but Moto coffee is served in individual French Presses.  The coffee was quite good, though I always appreciate the option of espresso.

The service was fantastic.  There are a number of servers for this small restaurant which means you get constant attention.  They nicely balance moving swiftly with not rushing you through dinner — something I am impressed with given the size of the restaurant and the obvious need to turn the tables two to three times a night.

Overall, we liked the atmosphere, quality of the food and service at the Better Half and will be back again on some date night in the near future.  Sadly, they are not open for lunch so we can only get there when we get a babysitter.  The space is fairly small and I do not think it would be appropriate for small children given the high-end feel the restaurant is shooting for.  

-Gil

The Better Half
127 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 543-9340
www.thebetterhalfbistro.com

A fellow blogger forwarded this interview he did with Jay Porter from the Linkery.  It is quite interesting and it was surprising to hear he had no prior restaurant experience.

- Gil