What We Dig

It has been confirmed that Crescent Heights has closed. We are saddened by the loss of this great restaurant.

We have also heard that the Chef of Suite and Tender, which we were not crazy about, gave notice and is moving to the French Gourmet. For now, the Sous Chef will take over and we will give the place another try if we hear the menu is substantially changed.

Currant has changed chefs for the third time it appears. We do not know much about the new chef except that he is reportedly from the Dussini Loft Bar which we have never been to.

Broken Yolk is reportedly opening a new place downtown.

We are also looking forward to the opening of the Red Door in the old Parallel 33 location. Hopefully, it will become a neighborhood favorite for us.

-Gil

We have received word from a couple folks that it looks like Crescent Heights has closed.  We are saddened because it was a great upscale downtown option for lunch/dinner and it was right next to my building!  Hopefully, the chef and staff will land someplace near by.

-Gil

I first tried Blind Lady Ale House a little over a week ago to celebrate Alice Q’s birthday.  I have been back twice since, if that tells you anything.  It’s the perfect combo of casual, warm, hip but not too hip, good simple food and drink and if you can believe it, super kid friendly, and very affordable.

Blind Lady is on Adams Avenue in Normal Heights in the former A La Francais spot.  The decor is sort of rustic – long, dark wood picnic style tables, some smaller wood tables, and a bar area.  Big western art on one wall and a huge, old school Pabst ad on another wall.  You place your food order at the bar then they give you a number, you grab a beer, utensils, find a seat and a server brings your food.

Blind Lady serves mainly wood-fired pizzas, but there are also some very good salads and starters.  I have had the local Spinach and Arugula Salad with dates, bacon and Pecerino Romano and the Steamed Mussels for starters.  The salad is super salty, sweet delicious and the mussels are very good and come with perfect garlic toasts.

In terms of pizzas, I have now tried several and my favorite hands down is the egg, bacon, spinach, carmelized onion, pecerino and fontina.  Yes, there’s a fried egg right in the middle of the pizza.  It is hearty, satisfying pizza.  I also really like the pesto (and Maia went nuts for the green olives on top).  And Gil was pretty partial to the House Chorizo which includes Artichoke, Poblano Chili, Fontina and Tomato Sauce (for you Veggies this is also available with Soy Chorizo).  They also offer a nice small sized plain cheese pizza for kids (Maia, however, seems to prefer the bacon and egg pizza – can’t imagine where she got that from).

For dessert, on two visits the ice cream sandwiches were to die for (think homemade nutella ice cream between chocolate cookies with dark chocolate on top).  However, on my last visit I wasn’t wild about the flavors (creamsicle and banana bread dulce de luce).  Gil thought the Banana Bread ice cream sandwich was good, but I was in the mood for (read: needed) chocolate.

The beer selection is excellent – one of the owners is a former Stone brewer.  They do not currently have their own beer available (though it is our understanding it is coming), but their selection is local and microbrew eclectic — we have tried several beers and they have all been delicious.

Like I said, Blind Lady is super kid friendly – lots of high chairs, a kid pizza option, a very vibrant and loud room so a crying/screaming baby/child really doesn’t bother anyone, you get the picture.  It is quickly becoming a favorite family night out spot.  But it’s also a place where adults can enjoy themselves, have some great beer and eat excellent pizza.  We highly recommend it!  Parking is tough on a Friday and Saturday night, so the earlier you get their the better.

-Krista

Blind Lady Ale House
3416 Adams Avenue
San Diego, CA
(619) 255-2491
www.blindladyalehouse.com

Last Sunday was another Cook’s Confab event and these seriously do just keep getting better.  The theme on Sunday was “meat” — it probably should have been called “cow.”  It was meatacular, meatastic… You get the point?  This was not the event for the vegetarian or vegan crowd, but for us omnivores, it was a little slice of heaven.  I had concerns about having 200 or so people eating at Nine Ten because of the size of the space, but the Grande Colonial Hotel pulled out all the stops and opened up its lobby, pool area and meetings rooms to augment Nine Ten’s space quite nicely.  The result was a station only feast where you could go to your favorite chef/dish over and over again.  

The menu was too broad to cover in too much detail here and since it is not a repeating menu, I do not want to make people too sad they missed it.  If you like to torture yourself, you can see the entire menu here.   I will, however, mention a few of my personal favorites.  Above is what I recall being described as Brandt 21 Day Dry Aged Prime Standing Rib Roast with a Horseradish Emulsion by Nine Ten’s Jason Knibb.  The online menu calls it an English Roast and it was served with Jack Fisher’s Popovers.  This was really simple and quite wonderful with a little jus poured on the Popover.  We had a few of these each at our table.  Below is a picture of Andrew Spurgin (Water’s Fine Catering) preparing his portion of one my other favorites which was called Stern to Sternum.  This was made up of Antonio Friscia’s (Stingaree) Braised Oxtail Ravioli/Grana/English Peas and Spurgin’s Grilled Brandt Hanger Steak with Black Garlic Salt Caper “Relish,” Pickled Micro Onion and Roasted Shallot Croustade.  This was all sorts of goodness and the ravioli was delicate and tasty.

Other favorites included Brian Sinnott’s (1500 Ocean) onion soup (which also came with shredded beef inside and a very good Mini Philly Cheesesteak);  Paul McCabe’s (Kitchen 1540) ”Steak and Eggs” which consisted of a Beef Tartare, Egg (a perfectly runny one) in a Hole, Crispy Bone Marrow and Cherry Smoke; and Nathan Coulon’s (Quarter Kitchen) Beef Tataki with Sesame Ginger, Marinade, Yamamono and Pickled Ginger Buds.  And a shout out to Christian Graves (JSix) for his Sweetbreads “Cinnamon Rolls” which provided one of the more creative ways I have ever had sweetbreads.  Think fried sweetbreads with sugar on them… 

The meat was furnished by one of our favorite suppliers, Brandt Farms.  Drinks were provided by AleSmith Brewery (loved the Grand Cru) and a couple wineries that I unfortunately do not have the names of (if anyone has that information, please post it in the comments).

All the food at these events is prepared at a very high level of expertise and so it is always difficult to figure out favorites as it really is all good, but those above were just a few of the ones I went back for seconds for where space permitted.  As I noted last time, the station service with Executive Chefs cooking for you give these events a very Top Chef feeling.  You can walk up and have one our City’s more impressive executive chefs explaining what they cooked for you.  If you have not been to one of these and wouldn’t mind an incredible nine courses of food, I highly recommend it!  You can get information about their next event here.

A couple weeks ago, we had tickets to the SD Symphony. We faced the difficult question we always deal with when we have an event downtown – where to have dinner? We both work downtown so we are pretty burnt out on most downtown restaurants and we hate the Gaslamp scene. But then we remembered hearing from two different people about the “Fashionably Early” special at the Ivy Hotel’s Quarter Kitchen. $30 for a 3-course meal, 7 nights a week between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. We knew we’d probably have to deal with “the scene” but we figured it would be worth it.  We were right!  We were also big fans of Nathan Coulon when he was at Modus and were happy to see his cooking talents again.

We made a 6:15 reservation so that we’d have plenty of time pre-symphony. When we arrived the place was totally empty. There were only two tables seated and its a massive space. It felt pretty sad. Makes sense they are trying to get people in during this time frame as they really need to fill the place up. We later learned from the Chef that the crowd is mostly pre-clubbers, so it doesn’t get hopping until 8 p.m.

And speaking of the club scene, the restaurant clearly caters to this crowd as evidence by the 80’s club music that played throughout our dinner (Michael Jackson circa Off the Wall, New Order, etc). It was pretty strange to dine on a sophisticated multi-course meal while listening to dance songs – perhaps toning down the music for the Fashionably Early set might help get more early diners in the door.  What can we tell you, we are getting old…

On to the food … the Fashionably Early menu offers three choices for each course. For starters, I ordered the organic house salad which was simple, fresh and delightful.  Simple La Milpa (I think) greens and a citrusy dressing.  Gil had the aged goat cheese on brioche with tapenade and sun-dried tomato. It was rich, flavorful and excellent.  The textures were also quite nice as the goat cheese sat on top of a perfectly crisp brioche — you could not see the bread under the cheese.

For entrees, I chose the Cabernet Braised Short Ribs. These are up there with Nine-Ten’s version as some of my favorite short ribs. They were melt-in-your-mouth tender, the sauce was decadent, and the accompanying organic veggies and, of course, mashed potatoes, were the perfect accompaniment.  Gil had the Blackened Hamachi which came with wok fried seasonal veggies and a spicy red miso sauce.  He loved it. It has some serious kick to it.  I thought it was fine but nothing to write home about.

But Gil clearly made the winning dessert choice. He opted for the ice cream sandwiches – 4 mini chocolate chip cookie sandwiches, two with vanilla ice cream and two with chocolate. They were divine. My bittersweet chocolate tarte was good but it didn’t blow my mind.  

We ordered wine by the glass off of an extensive wine list, and we were both pleased with our server’s recommendations. In fact, the staff was excellent throughout.  We had advised that we had tickets to the symphony when we made the reservations and the hostess and server seemed to always check in on time to make sure we made it to the show.  And Gil’s end of the meal espresso was perfect.  The Fashionably Early special is an amazing deal when you consider that both of our entrees alone would have cost around $28.  If you like your dinners early, this is the deal of the century.  And if you do not, the food is excellent and worth the price point on the normal menu.  

As noted above, the atmosphere has a clubby feel to it, so we do not think it is appropriate for children.  There is, however, a private dining room so it might be a great option for a larger high end dinner party or office celebration.  Oh, and after about 9pm, the people watching out front is quite entertaining…

-Krista

Quarter Kitchen
600 F Street
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 814-2000
www.quarterkitchen.com

The first day I went to lunch at Suite and Tender, someone told me I should go to Kitchen 1540 at Del Mar’s L’Auberge Resort instead. Boy were they right.  I made it there a few days later with law school classmate Tommy who was in town for a weekend retreat.  Recently opened as part of the L’Auberge renovation, Kitchen 1540 is bright, sunny and very inviting.  The food elicits ooh’s and ahh’s.  This is definitely a place to try for breakfast, lunch or dinner if you are in the Del Mar area, or just want to get away from downtown.

The interior is what I would call modern California beachy.  Hard to describe, but the interior has high ceilings, light colors and woods making it feel very coastal.

Food wise, everything we had was marvelous.  Tom and I started with the Roasted White Prawns ($15) and combination Artisan Cheese Plate and Charcuterie Platter ($21).  The Prawns were first and foremost huge.  I mean these things were like mini-lobsters.  The Prawns were served with organic greens, toasted garlic and chili oil.  They had nice heat and a very light, but flavorful seasoning to them.  The Artisan Cheese and Charcuterie plate was also excellent.  You can get a Cheese Plate or a Charcuterie, or mix them.  We opted to mix them and got three cheeses and three cured meats, along with bread, honeycomb, apple slices and other small tidbits.  The cured meats are mostly (not sure if completely) made in house.  I had a capicola (I am pretty sure it was capicola) that I could not get enough of.  I will be getting the cured meats every time I go from now on.

For our main courses, I went with the Roasted Jidori Chicken Breast ($18) and Tom went with the Grilled Skirt Steak Salad ($15).  What drew me to the chicken (I tend to avoid ordering chicken in restaurants because it is usually boring) was that it was served with Caramelized Onion Risotto and a Grilled Lemon Vinaigrette.  The chicken itself was tender and juicy.  It had an “under a brick” feel to it, though it was just roasted.  The risotto though, oh the risotto.  Tom took a bite and just closed his eyes and you could hear the word yummy coming from his thoughts.  Though not starving on this particular occasion, it was very difficult for me to stop eating.  The caramelized onions were plentiful and added a sweet texture to the risotto’s richness that was difficult to not love.  Tom’s Steak Salad was also very flavorful with a high quality piece of steak that was cooked to the desired temperature.  He finished every bite before I was able to get a second one.

For dessert, I ordered my usual espresso shot and we split the Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream Sandwich.  I was quite full from the risotto, but still managed to get enough bites of this to appreciate it.  Though, I will admit, I enjoyed the ice cream sandwiches at Suite and Tender a bit more.  The coffee was solid.  Interestingly, Kitchen 1540 also offers Chocolate Truffles by local dessertier Jack Fisher.  I am always complaining that restaurants do not offer enough small sweet bites for those times we just need a couple bites of sweetness after a meal.  This will be a nice option for the next time we go.

If we ever get an excuse to eat in the Del Mar area, 1540 will definitely be at the top of the list for places to visit.  With the exception of a few items, the dinner menu is fairly different and looks quite inviting.  So we’ll come up with a reason to give it a try soon we hope.

Kitchen 1540
L’Auberge Resort and Spa
1540 Camino Del Mar
Del Mar, CA 92014
(858) 793-6460
www.laubergedelmar.com/kitchen1540

We have heard a lot of about the beauty of this new restaurant just outside the Gaslamp and were excited to give it a try. Brother Josh and I visited for lunch and I went back for another lunch with colleague and foodie Chris.  Unfortunately, although the interior decor lived up to expectations, the food did not.  Suite and Tender is sadly not quite ready for prime time and we hope this well located restaurant option near the Gaslamp gets a kitchen refresh sooner rather than later.

Located in the new Se Hotel on 5th Avenue just north of Broadway in downtown San Diego, when you walk in, you can tell that a lot of money was spent on tenant improvements.  There is a beautiful staircase leading up to the restaurant (lined with shells) and plush leather seats throughout.

There is also a version of San Diego Bay in relief….

If all of this was not enough, there is a unisex bathroom a la Ally McBeal.  The designers spared no expense and made even the bathroom a work of art.  The walls and stall doors (no urinals of course) are so ornate that you cannot tell where the stall door begins or ends.  In the middle of the bathroom, is a long sink area that is just elegant.

You can tell I liked the interior design more than the food because of how much space I have dedicated to talking about the look of the place.  Sadly, the food left a lot to be desired.  On my two lunch trips I ordered a lot of different items to try and get a flavor for the menu.  We ordered the Hamachi Fish Tacos ($9), the Mini Kurobota Corn Dogs ($8), the Proscuitto Flat Bread ($9), the Open Faced Steak & Egg Sandwich ($17), the Short Rib Sloppy Joe Sliders ($9), the Spring Vegetable Pasta ($13), the Grilled Vegetable Sandwich ($10) and the Reverse Cola Float and S&T Ice Cream Sandwiches for dessert.

My primary complaint with most of the dishes stemmed from the lack of flavor.  The Steak Sandwich, Spring Vegetable Pasta, Grilled Vegetable Sandwich and Proscuitto Flat Bread were all lacking in seasoning.  The Flat Bread (which has since been replaced on the menu by BBQ Chicken Flat Bread) was the least imaginative.  Mediocore bread that was not crispy topped with proscuitto, onions and some greens.  Hardly any flavor.  The steak sandwich had other problems.  For instance, while the quality of the steak was excellent, it seemed as though the kitchen forgot to put even salt and pepper on it.  And, there was a salsa put on top which also lacked any redeemable characteristics.  I’d lose the salsa, season the steak a little better and let the runny egg do its magic.  The Spring Vegetable Pasta was beautifully presented, but again, was just bland.  Ingredients appear to be of good quality, but the execution of most of the dishes is just lacking.

On the slightly more positive side of things, I thought the Sloppy Joe Sliders were pretty good.  Nothing amazing, but solid flavors and a great portion size.  You get three sliders with a ginger bbq sauce and smoked cheddar cheese.  They aren’t even that sloppy making them a decent lunch option if you are looking for something filling.  The sliders (and all sandwiches) come with your choice of fries or pasta salad.  The fries are a kind of cajun seasoned  style and are pretty good — I suspect they are frozen and purchased pre-made by the restaurant, but that is more hunch than actual knowledge.  The flavors of the Hamachi Tacos were good and the Hamachi was high quality, but they came out in mini-hard taco shells that looked right out of Taco Bell.  Chris and I both commented on how low end that made the tacos look.  We would have preferred some mini street taco style freshly made tortillas.

Perhaps the best item I tried was the Mini Kurobota Corn Dogs.  These were actually quite flavorful and the quality of the pork came through in spades.  At first, I thought this high end pork might be wasted in a corn dog, but because of the simple and light batter, it was not.  We got about six of these little treasures with some gourmet mustard and catsup to dip them in.  These were devoured first and quickly.

Perhaps the best part of both lunches were the desserts.  During my first trip, I tried the S&T Ice Cream Sandwiches which consisted of Brownie Cookies, Homemade Rocky Road Ice Cream and Chantilly Cream.  These were excellent.  Small and yummy and it made me buy Rocky Road Ice Cream the next time I was at the grocery store.  The Chantilly Cream was nice, but not necessary at all.  At the second lunch, I tried the Reverse Cola Float which consisted of Cola Flavored Ice Cream with Vanilla Soda and a Ginger Snap Cookie.  This was creative and quite tasty.  On the particularly hot day I went for lunch, the Float was a very welcome treat.  The Ginger Snap Cookie was also quite good.  For those that like coffee, Suite and Tender makes a pretty good espresso.

Little details like frozen Ice Tea ice cubes when you order Ice Tea (so as not to water down the tea) showed an ability to think through presentation and the diner’s needs.  Once they get the food quality consistently tasty, the restaurant has some great potential.

The staff was well trained and very friendly during both lunches.  Recommended wine pairings were generally good and they didn’t always go for the most expensive options.  One odd thing was that both servers gave me a card with their name on it and asked that I mention them when making future reservations.  I assume they get some sort of reward for return guests?

I will note that the dinner menu is quite different from the lunch menu with no items repeated.  Indeed, the dinner menu gives the place a more classic steak house vibe.  Hence, it is possible that the dinner menu would be better than the lunch menu — though their treatment of the steak in the open faced sandwich counsels against that possibility.  Sadly, given my lunch experience, I will not be back for dinner unless I hear of some change in their approach or a recommendation from someone I trust a lot.  Over all, I was disappointed because the location of Suite and Tender would have made it a nice upscale lunch option for that side of town as well as a good dinner option for anyone attending a concert or performance at Symphony Hall or the Balboa Theater.  And for lunch, Suite and Tender has a decent deal which included a three course meal for  $21 which would be great if the menu was better.  Alas, every once and a while we must be disappointed to appreciate the good restaurants in town.

-Gil

Suite & Tender
1047 5th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 515-3003
www.suiteandtender.com

Readers know that Krista and I are huge fans of Waters Catering, from their To Go Fine Foods shops on Morena and in Balboa Park to their catered events. We are huge fan of Executive Chef Andrew Spurgin’s work.  I had the opportunity to attend Water’s Catering 20th Anniversary Celebration a week or so ago and it was spectacular. 20/20 Event was held at the Diamond View Towers which overlook the ball park. If you ever need to plan a party and have a decent budget, this is definitely a place to consider. The view from the terrace of this venue says it all…

Looks straight down into the ballpark…

The event featured signature cocktails, tray passed food and some pasta samplers. I tried a few of the cocktails starting with the Hendrick’s Gin based drink. I thought it being Gin that it might be one of the manlier looking concoctions. Sadly, it is Hendrick’s Gin shaken with fresh Berry Reduction which makes it a lovely shade of purple. Add the Elderflower Liquor, Meyer Lemon Juice and Rose Petal and well, lets just say I would have fit in really well with the girls on Sex in the City. Pretty factor aside, the drink itself was quite good with a good kick and not too sweet. I also tried the Pisco Capel shaken with house made Black Pepper Syrup, Fresh Lime and Grapefruit Juice and Kaffir Leaves served over cracked ice.  This had an expectedly earthier flavor to it which tends not to be my favorite.  Finally, I tried the Absinth which I am told is a highly diluted version of the stuff that makes you hallucinate.  Everything about that drink, including the pour which is shown below, was made to seem special.  It is poured into an ornate glass from a machine with cold water through a sugar cube.  The result is a cloudy, almost creamy looking, drink that tastes like black licorice or anise if you want to be technical.  

Lucid Absinth Bar/Photo Credit: Boyd Harris Photography

The food being passed around was elegant and delicious.  I was a big fan of two items in particular.  The first was the Yellowtail Sashimi Cones with Avocado, Micro Cilantro, Serrano Chili, Meiwas, Cyprus Black Salt.  These were first and foremost beautiful as the picture below shows.  The Cone was light and airy adding just texture to the flavors inside.  The Sashimi was excellent quality and the combination of Micro Cilantro, Serrano Chili and avocado just danced in your mouth.  I had a bunch of these.

Sashimi Cones/Photo Credit: Boyd Harris Photography

What I ate the most of, however, were the Almond Macaroons with Foie Torchon and Sun Dried Cherries.  I swear I must have eaten a dozen of these little pieces of heaven.  I am a huge fan of French Macaroons and Foie, toss in some sun dried cherries and I am pretty much in my version of paradise.  I am pretty sure the picture below is of me grabbing my tenth or so piece.

Foie Macaroons/Photo Credit: Boyd Harris Photography

Toward the end of my brief time at this event, the Waters staff started preparing samplers of season inspired pastas.  They were Spring – Waters’ Minted Pea Tortelloni, Handcrafted Tortelloni with Bellwether Sheep’s Milk Ricotta, Farmers’ Market Peas, Parmesan, Mascarpone, Mint. Asparagus Coulis, Chive-Spinach Oil, Meyer Lemon Zest, Fresh Origin’s Micro Carrots, Farmers’ Market Fava Beans; Summer – White Corn and Black Heirloom Tomato Tortelloni, Handcrafted Tortelloni, Sweet White Corn, Bellwether Farms’ Cow Ricotta, Parmesan, Roasted Poblano Peppers, Smoked Black Russo Bruno Heirloom Tomato Coulis, Fresh Origins’ Corn Shoots, Crispy Shallot Croutons; and Fall – Pumpkin Ravioli with Roasted Beets, Handcrafted Roasted Pumpkin, Mascarpone and Parmesan, Ruby Grapefruit Oil, Roasted Ruby Beet, Thyme-Lemon Cream Sauce, Laura Chenel’s Goat Cheese, Fresh Origin’s Petite Tarragon. Personally, Fall was my favorite — I am a sucker for pumpkin or squash ravioli and Chef Spurgin did this right with the roasted beets adding a nice freshness to the platter.

Needless to say, we plan on using Waters for the next party we host — which is not planned yet, but we are going to have one just to make sure we get to eat Chef Spurgin’s food again.  We have been to friend’s parties who have used Waters and the food is always a hit.  If you have the need, this is an organization you should definitely try.  Also, Chef Spurgin’s is a member of the Cook’s Confab which is hosting its next event on June 7 at 9/10 Restaurant in La Jolla — so this is yet another opportunity try his wonderful food.

A special thank you to Boyd Harris Photography for letting us use his amazing pictures of the food and Absinth bar.

-Gil

Waters Fine Catering
1105 West Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 276-8803
www.waterscatering.com