L-O-V-E Fish Public (Kensington)

Tried Fish Public tonight with a girlfriend. LOVED it.

Reviews on Yelp are mixed. Some say: delicious, great service!!!!  Other say:  not great service, food not delicious, and it's much too loud!  So....

The inside is very loud/"hip". And if you didn't order the right things, you might say, what's the big deal? And maybe you didn't luck out with your waitstaff.

But we sat outside: wonderful atmosphere on the patio, could hear eacho ther fine.

We had an awesome waitress: extremely friendly and knowledgeable about menu.

And we had very delicious food and drinks, even if some dishes were stronger than others.

So maybe you don't like it if you're inside and order the wrong things; and you love it if you're on the patio or don't mind noise, and get the right things!! I'm on the L-O-V-E side, very firmly.

DRINK MENU: Crazy delicious looking choices. And the Cape Cod Redo was an absolute home run.  FANTASTIC. Had to meet the mixologist, Dustin, and congratulate him. Lime-cranberry shrub, rose + vodka. A bit effervescent. Y-U-M x 3. I would have bought the bottles to take home if only they would let me.  One of my favorite cocktails in SD, and now one of my favorite restaurants.  My friend very much enjoyed the sangria. Fresh sangria cocktails are everywhere in SD right now, but this was an especially good example (had a taste).  They also have a great mocktail menu, so I switched to a fresh blackberry soda after having a cocktail (drivers have to be restrained!). Otherwise I would have been dying to try something else on the menu, like the Frenemy.

APP:  Salmon tartare: very delicious, with some yummy sourdough crostini (very thin and light)

SALAD: This was the least successful dish of the evening.  Peach, blue cheese, almond, chicory. It wasn't terrible (I liked the dressing and the chicory), but the blue cheese was much too heavy for a summer salad, esp. with peach. Just did not come anywhere near the peach salad I had earlier this week at Davanti.

OCTOPUS APP: I didn't eat the octopus, but my friend said it was very good, and the portion was humongous, not an app size at all.  I tasted the salad, the romesco sauce and the artichoke stems.  DELECTABLE. We would both order the romesco sauce on its own and eat with bread.  One of the best things at the restaurant. YUMMMMM.

FISH ENTREES:  We split sole entree and salmon entree. Both fishes were perfectly cooked.  Sole was tasty but less inventive: straight forward brown butter, almonds, green beans.  Salmon was more inventive and very delicious. Served with fennel cut like sauerkraut (with yummy peppercorns or whatever they were), butter, and grapefruit (though I skipped the grapefruit).

We were too full to have dessert.  Can't wait to try it again (I just need another friend not allergic to fish!)

MY NEW FAVORITE SD RESTAURANT: Grant Grill Review (Downtown)

Am still enjoying my Jeff Josenhans buzz.

Up until today, my fave SD restaurants were:
1. Searsucker = exciting atmosphere + exciting food
2. Alchemy = super-exciting food + relaxed neighborhood atmosphere (favorite chef in city = Ricardo Heredia)
3. Charisma = super-chill atmosphere, reasonable prices and delectable modern Italian cuisine

Well, after a revisit to Grant Grill, they're all getting knocked down a rank:

GRANT GRILL, I LOVE YOU!

Where do we start?

1. Jeff Josenhans = the city's absolute best mixologist. His flavor combos sound strange....they're fantastic!

2 yrs ago, I had a Horton House, a kind of alcoholic chocolate egg cream.

Tonight, I got the bitter betty = fresh muddled blood oranges + gin + vermouth. Don't like gin, don't like vermouth.....The drink was FANTASTIC. So aromatic and herbal, just like the waitress promised.


2. Swanky but luxe atmosphere. Grant Grill has a swingin' bar on Th - Sat. nights, with live music = very atmospheric. But the restaurant part is very fine dining and luxe-y, and quiet. So you have the atmosphere of the hot jazz, and a quiet, fancy atmosphere. LOVE IT!

3. Service is fantastic. Natalie, our server, was super knowledeable, and did not steer me wrong. She very enthusiastically explained more about the 3 cocktails I was considering, and answered every question in a way that left the choice to me, but left me better informed. I had a fantastic meal, with her help.

4. Oh yeah: the food! Would I say that Chris Kurth is a better chef than Ricardo Heredia? Probably not. Ain't got nothin' but love for Ricardo Heredia. BUT there are so many high notes on this menu. First, just like last time, LOVE LOVE LOVE the signature house foccacia. Crazy savory and yummy. Second, my beet plate (not really a salad but a stylish presentation of beets) was yummy, flavorful and light. And Cute Husband's farmer's market salad was delightful - in both of our minds! Third, he really liked his steak, and his creamed corn was yummy. My thai style sea bass (in a light broth, with mushrooms and a bit of sweet potato puree) was very light and tasty - I wouldn't return there just for this dish, and if the restaurant didn't have all of the other things (Jeff Josenhans' cocktails, swanky atmosphere, fab service), this dish wouldn't call me back at all. But it was "nice," and didn't drag the meal (or my buzz!) down.

Finally, the dessert. Rachel King and Jack Fisher: not to worry, you're not getting knocked off as my fave pastry chefs anytime soon! There was nothing legendary or pioneering about my dessert (a lemony mascarpone semolina cake with berry compote and vanilla ice cream). However, it happened to be VERY GOOD, not too big, very perfect. I am not a huge blueberry fan (or a huge lemon one, for that matter), but I scarfed up the perfectly prepared berry compote, which was humble but fantastic. The semolina cake was very nice, and the vanilla ice cream was super well-made and tasty.

Chris Kurth also sends out a little dark chocolate cookie with the bill, on the principle that you should finish your meal with a taste of dark chocolate. It wasn't the greatest little choc. thing I ever ate in my life, but it was a nice touch.

Oh! And I forgot my wine. Natalie helped me decide on a glass of viognier ($11) to pair with my sea bass. It was a generous pour and super delish.

On a M-W night, Searsucker is still probably more swinging and exciting.

And if I'm judging on food alone, I'll still take Alchemy food.

And on price/value/reliable deliciousness, I'd still eat my last meal on earth at Charisma.

But for a package of nutso-creative-delicious cocktails + fab service + swanky fun atmosphere + great food, Grant Grill has rocketed to the top of my list!

(Tonight we used a gift certificate - thanks, Mom! But they also offer restaurant.com certificates too. They're more expensive than any of my other #1-4, so it helps!)

I love mixology (my fave San Diego cocktails of 2010)

Foodgirl is settling down a little: instead of trying to hit new places every time we have a babysitter, we are starting to retract a bit and revisit places we like. One of the things that makes this fun and not boring are the wonderful seasonal cocktail menus at so many places in San Diego these days. I love mixology! Bartenders are using seasonal fresh foods (usually fruits but sometimes veggies and herbs) and so much creativity. Here are some recent faves, in no particular order.

1. Kitchen 1540: Hibiscus Cooler. Yum....that's all I have to say about that.

2. Urban Solace: Better Than Eden's Apple. Well, that drink was better than just about anything. ANYTHING! SO DELISH! Tart, intense, really super yummy.

3. Alchemy: Tempranillo Rose Vanilla Sangria. They had this in the summer, and it's not on the menu anymore. Wowza! My recent cocktail there, a halloween pumpkin-cranberry thing, was not quite as good. I am game for returning to work my way through the season's choices, though!

4. Searsucker: The Peter Rabbit. Ridiculously good: pickled radish, carrots, pimm's, lemonade. One of the yummiest things ever! But it was gone in a flash (almost nothing to it), and it costs $12. The cocktail I had on my next visit, a reimagined cosmo, was creative and interesting, but not in the same league.

5. Clay's La Jolla: A more traditional menu, but they had a great great Mojito with tons and tons of fresh mint and lime. Outstanding.

6. Roy's: something with St. Germain Elderflower. Of course I love everything with St. Germain, so I'm not that picky, but I recall this being good.

Can't wait for the next time we can go out!