Rancho Bernardo Inn’s Chef de Cuisine of Il Bizcocho, 27 year-old Gavin Kaysen, will represent the United States in Lyon, France in January,2007 where hel competes for top honors against chefs from 22 countries to be the first American to win the Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine top honor.
Up the coast Seth Baas (nephew of Padres owner John Moores) and his mom created Blanca, a new venue for north county diners. No view, no waves, but a contemporary, yet cozy restaurant with interesting food and good service. The dining room features booths, tables and banquettes in understated soothing monochromatic colors. With Chef Wade Hageman’s innovative use of ingredients, it’s a place I suspect will be busy all the time.
Here you’ll find a sofa-lined lounge, bar stools worth sitting on for drinks as you munch on a bowl of Wisconsin heirloom black popcorn dusted with Parmesan, toasted black pepper and a hint of truffle oil. Now, before you flip over the idea of anything over and above Orville Redenbacher’s microwavable popcorn, you really have to try this unassuming yet addictive dish. The black kernels pop white and work well with a glass of bubbly.
A sensational Oregon morel soup comes richly finished with leeks, slow cooked until they melt, and crème fraiche (a French version of sour cream). For the more adventurous, wild king salmon tartare (raw and finely chopped) comes topped with a tiny quail egg you mix in with dill oil and eat with brioche toast points. Lounge food prices from $6 to $22, and appetizer prices $11 to $25. Open at 5 p.m., 437 S. Highway 101, Solana Beach, 858-792-0072. First noted in San Diego City Beat, June 2006.
There is something very cool about sitting on the heated patio and hearing the ocean waves at 1500 Ocean in the historic Hotel Del Coronado. The restaurant’s food and the entire experience make this classic beach resort hotel a great destination. Free valet parking for the restaurant is a plus. From the valet, walk along the outside path facing the ocean where you are at once gazing at the sand and sea, swaying palm trees and people having a good time.
From the pathway to the entrance you’ll find an outdoor fireplace and tables for drinks, then the heated patio where I like to sit to watch the sunset and hear the surf. Inside, the restaurant occupies the redone space of the former very formal Prince of Wales Room. And redone it is, in contemporary, simple beige and brown with wood accents, seating with a good mix of tables, booths and banquettes and a bar area at the back of the room with a lit sunset on the wall. Gone are the days of coat and tie for men, as anything goes. On my visits most men were casually dressed in sport shirts.
I confess that I came to know the cooking of Chef de Cuisine Jason Shaeffer when he was at the original Laurel Restaurant & Bar. After a few years cooking in New York, he returned to San Diego and I was delighted to see him at 1500 Ocean. Local purveyors and farmers from Santa Barbara to Mexico supply the seasonal ingredients for Shaeffer’s classic–with a twist–menu. A couple of my favorites: Gnudi (fresh ricotta dumplings) with fresh peas and morels, barely sauced with the mushroom juices, together make an outstanding appetizer. Yellowtail, cured with lime and honey, comes with avocado mousse, shaved jicama and radish and a sweet jalapeno jelly all melding into mouthfuls of subtle flavors and textures; the fish not overpowered by the other flavors. A childhood favorite, toad in the hole, comes to life with an organic egg cooked with its yolk still runny, in the hole of a slice of rich, buttery brioche (bread), surrounded by mushrooms and asparagus tips and some unfortunately soggy hash browns under the bread. It’s a fabulous dish (without the potatoes).
Picky kids (adults, too) will appreciate the classic side dish of mac-n-cheese with spiral pasta and aged cheddar, nothing frou frou here. Finish the evening with a stroll nearby on the ocean boardwalk—it’s spectacular. Appetizers from $12 to $20, Entrees from TK to TK. Dinner only from 5:30 p.m., 1500 Ocean Avenue, Coronado, 619-522-8490, www.hoteldel.com.First noted, June 2006.
The Grand Del Mar, located just off Highway 56 is hotel magnate Doug Manchester’s latest venture. Due to open September 2006 it features a restaurant called Addison, named after Addison Mizner, a 20th century architect known for his fanciful Mediterranean styled designs in Palm Beach and Boca Raton. According to the public relations info, the restaurant will feature photos and other memorabilia from Mizner’s life, in Florida, though he was born in northern California in 1872.
That Mizner’s designs inspired The Grand Del Mar is one thing, but name a restaurant after him? Interesting concept considering we’re in southern California. Don’t expect Florida cuisine however, as Executive chef William Bradley’s menu will feature, what else, California fresh ingredients in Mediterranean style dishes…to complement the hotel’s Florida resort architecture.
Little Italy is one quintessential neighborhood with a unique mix of retail, residential and restaurants, all within walking distance of each other. The heart of this bustling area supports pizzas, empanadas, sushi and a corner pub, Princess Pub & Grille.
Lots of outdoor seating makes for good people watching as throngs of tourists and locals walk their dogs and kids along the street, especially on weekends. The Princess website boasts that it is the original British pub in San Diego, having opened in 1984. Inside you’ll find a large bar with comfortable chairs, lots of pub “stuff” on the walls for décor, and a lot of noise especially with the music turned up and people talking over it. It’s a happening place with a good vibe. Their menu while featuring fish and chips and bangers deviates to also include such things as baby back ribs and blackened Pacific salmon Caesar salad with Parmesan, not exactly my idea of authentic English pub grub. But as my sidekick remarked, they cater to a broader clientele given the location.
We ordered fish and chips and determined the chips, while thickly cut, were too soft and less flavorful than Shakespeare Pub & Grille in lower Mission Hills. For me, the fish batter also could have been crisper. The side of curry sauce for the chips is long on hot chile in the mouth, and reminds me of chile rather than a distinct curry. A meal of chips and curry is $6.50. I did like the Scotch egg as it was served warm, wrapped with flavorful sausage meat, cut in half and served with Branston pickles (a a finely chopped crunchy chutney of carrots and other vegetables flavored with vinegar, onion powder and lemon juice). 1665 India Street, Little Italy, 619-702-3021, www.princesspub.com.
Everything British can be found at Shakespeare’s Corner Shoppe . Should you want a bottle of Branston pickles (a finely chopped crunchy chutney of carrots and other vegetables flavored with vinegar, onion powder and lemon juice), English bone china, pint glasses, boxer shorts of the British flag, Nestle candy made in England (it tastes different than our Nestle) or other English born products, pop into the store across the patio from one of the best pubs in town: Shakespeare Pub & Grille. It’s got it all. 3719 India Street, Lower Mission Hills, 619-683-2748, www.ukcornershoppe.com.
One of my favorites for authentic pub experience, is Shakespeare Pub & Grille, located upstairs among the mini collection of restaurants on India and Washington Streets that include Mexican, Japanese, Thai, Middle Eastern and a wine bar and bistro. This very English pub sports dark wood tavern décor, wrapped with windows and simple wood tables. Out on the umbrellaed wood deck, my pub crawling pal and I sat on green plastic patio chairs and noted the dull roar of the I-5. The noise isn’t bothersome–consider it a version of white sound and inside seating can be noisy.
The menu includes shepherd’s pie (a melange of ground beef, vegetables topped with mashed potatoes and cheese), fish and chips (homemade), a few sandwiches, roast beef and bangers and mash (that would be potatoes and peas), among other things, none of which will bust your budget. Tap and bottled beers along with a full bar, make this venue a good hangout on a hot afternoon.
English chips typically are thick, not the skinny, limp wisps we call fries here in the states. At Shakespeare, those chips are long, crisp, thick and fleshy, and a meal at $4.95. Curry sauce can be ordered separately for $1.50 and must be something the English picked up when they owned India. This mildly spicy dipping sauce comes in a bowl and is a nice change from the usual catsup or malt vinegar. Scotch eggs are served hot or cold, and our server said typically they are cold. Now I happen to like cold sausage, but if you don’t, order it warm, as the sausage is wrapped around the hardboiled egg. Branston pickles with the quartered egg and sausage make a good mouthful. My half pint of black and tan (Bass and Guiness) washed it all down quite nicely. 3701 India Street, Lower Mission Hills, 619-299-0230, www.shakespearepub.com.
The San Diego Pier Café at Seaport Village sits on pilings, more wharf than pier, has a bar, and a slightly more sophisticated and higher priced menu than the other cafes. Open for lunch and dinner, you’ll find nachos, salads and sandwiches, clam chowder in a bread bowl, and more. I prefer the less stylized atmosphere (call it laid back, funky and fun) of the Ocean Beach Pier Café. 885 West Harbor Drive, Seaport Village, 619-239-3968, www.piercafe.com.
Ruby’s Diner, the fixture at the end of Oceanside Pier, is part of a restaurant chain, serving good typical diner food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ruby’s first restaurant opened in 1982 on the pier in Newport Beach. It’s a 1940’s diner atmosphere, with good hamburgers and. As the longest wooden pier on the west coast (1942 feet), you can get a good workout walking to the restaurant. 1 Oceanside Pier, 760-433-RUBY (7829).
For dessert or a pick-me-up espresso with Calabria coffee beans (my favorite roaster on 30th at University) Cow-a-Bunga, at the foot of the Imperial Beach pier, makes fresh ice cream and sorbet. About six months ago, former Loews Coronado executive chef Fabrice Gaunin and his wife Nelly bought the micro-creamery. Let’s just say this is really good ice cream, not overly rich or sweet and worth the visit if you’re in the area. Most popular flavors are, you guessed it: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, though I loved the chocolate chip (lots of chips, not chunks). 10 Evergreen Ave, Imperial Beach, 619-628-0508.