Fun times at the GLASS DOOR in Little Italy (top of Portofino Hotel)! It was annoying that regular food was not available til 5 pm (no salads or entrees, only appetizers or desserts! - there was not much for a vegetarian who wanted a snack besides bread for $4). However, who can beat the view here: the airport, downtown, and the beautiful sunset? So glad we finally got here for Happy Hour - it's super reasonable (1/2 off = $5 for their signature cocktails or a little more for things not on their regular menu). Delicious blackberry mojitos too ($8/each). And the bread was very good for $4: nut/raisin, plus very good EVOO and shaved parm cheese.
Then onto PAPALECCO in Little Italy for Panini. The melanzane panini was ridiculously tasty. Don't forget to look at the menu. We thought at first the only choices were in the display case but there are a lot of sandwich and other options they make in the kitchen. YUM!!!
Fun outing, and very reasonable!
Showing posts with label view. Show all posts
Showing posts with label view. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Eddie V's Review (La Jolla): Nice view, ho hum food
We heard raves about this place.
Must be folks from Omaha or something, or anti-foodies. Food wasn't bad....it was fine, well-prepared. But it was not inventive in any way, very ho hum.
Bread: maybe the best part of the meal, warm and tasty
Cocktail: Green Dragon Mojito, fine
Appetizer: Ch didn't like his corn soup; my salad was good enough
Mains: CH not very impressed with his steak. My salmon with veggies was well-prepared. Nothing remarkable about it. Certainly not cravable.
Side of corn: meh.
Dessert: Very boring choices, circa 1985. Chocolate "Godiva" lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream was the least old-fashioned on the menu (ha!). It was fine. Wasn't oohing or ahing. But it was relatively tasty.
Service: A little too intrusive. It's better than being inattentive, but they always seemed to be fussing with things at the table. But good overall.
Bill: $$$$$$$$$
Table was comfy, had quiet conversation, so a nice evening. No need to go here or recommend it, though if someone else is paying and you're not craving exciting food it's not bad.
Must be folks from Omaha or something, or anti-foodies. Food wasn't bad....it was fine, well-prepared. But it was not inventive in any way, very ho hum.
Bread: maybe the best part of the meal, warm and tasty
Cocktail: Green Dragon Mojito, fine
Appetizer: Ch didn't like his corn soup; my salad was good enough
Mains: CH not very impressed with his steak. My salmon with veggies was well-prepared. Nothing remarkable about it. Certainly not cravable.
Side of corn: meh.
Dessert: Very boring choices, circa 1985. Chocolate "Godiva" lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream was the least old-fashioned on the menu (ha!). It was fine. Wasn't oohing or ahing. But it was relatively tasty.
Service: A little too intrusive. It's better than being inattentive, but they always seemed to be fussing with things at the table. But good overall.
Bill: $$$$$$$$$
Table was comfy, had quiet conversation, so a nice evening. No need to go here or recommend it, though if someone else is paying and you're not craving exciting food it's not bad.
Friday, February 22, 2013
La Gran Terrazza Review (USD): Yum!
Quick take on La Gran Terrazza. Beautiful! Beautiful view! Limited menu (3 choices per course on this weeknight), but very yummy.
Enjoyed: very fresh, tasty caesar salad.
Nice fresh bread, especially the asiago bread.
Decent sangria.
DELECTABLE salmon with hazelnuts and cabbage. One of the best fish dishes I've eaten in SD in a while. Simple but very well-prepared and great flavors.
Dessert: very pleasing lemon ginger panna cotta.
Service: occasionally got a dish confused but otherwise extremely professional and warm.
My visiting Mom declares it is her new favorite restaurant in SD. I wouldn't go that far, but I would be happy to return. (We had great company too, including the ever-fun Dr. T.!).
Enjoyed: very fresh, tasty caesar salad.
Nice fresh bread, especially the asiago bread.
Decent sangria.
DELECTABLE salmon with hazelnuts and cabbage. One of the best fish dishes I've eaten in SD in a while. Simple but very well-prepared and great flavors.
Dessert: very pleasing lemon ginger panna cotta.
Service: occasionally got a dish confused but otherwise extremely professional and warm.
My visiting Mom declares it is her new favorite restaurant in SD. I wouldn't go that far, but I would be happy to return. (We had great company too, including the ever-fun Dr. T.!).
Friday, March 2, 2012
Harbor Fish and Chips (Oceanside)
SB and I recently met a friend visiting from LA in Oceanside. First we hit Red Velvet yogurt (lots of delicious choices, and a convenient location near the beach, the Amtrak station, and lots of parking make it a great place to hang out and wait). Then we hit the pier - the playground is gone for repair!! - but the swingset is still there. SB tired himself out running up and down the ramp.
Then our friend wanted seafood, so we headed over to Harbor Fish and Chips, a place recommended on Yelp. We're not in the 92130 anymore! This place had an authentic old school feel rather than a shiny new facade. I took one bite of my friend's fish - too deep-fried and gross for me. But my grilled fish was fine. Both portions were ridicuolously enormous for under $10, and they came with two sides (I picked sweet potato fries and salad). SB announced that it smelled like dead fish outside (it was a harbor) but he was ok inside -lots of cool murals on the wall, fake spiders hanging from the ceiling, lots of things to catch a preschooler's eye. Certainly a decent choice in the area - beautiful view outside of the harbor and sunset too!
Then our friend wanted seafood, so we headed over to Harbor Fish and Chips, a place recommended on Yelp. We're not in the 92130 anymore! This place had an authentic old school feel rather than a shiny new facade. I took one bite of my friend's fish - too deep-fried and gross for me. But my grilled fish was fine. Both portions were ridicuolously enormous for under $10, and they came with two sides (I picked sweet potato fries and salad). SB announced that it smelled like dead fish outside (it was a harbor) but he was ok inside -lots of cool murals on the wall, fake spiders hanging from the ceiling, lots of things to catch a preschooler's eye. Certainly a decent choice in the area - beautiful view outside of the harbor and sunset too!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
The Shores Restaurant Review (La Jolla)
Reasonable amount of hype on The Shores Restaurant, since Augie Saucedo left and Amy diBiase has come on board: she formerly of Laurel, formerly of Roseville, formerly of the Glass Door, formerly of the Cosmopolitan.
Despite the bad luck she hit at Cosmopolitan (crazy owner, if the U-T reporting is accurate), she's still considered one of the top chefs in town, even if we were never 100% crazy about her food (it was always good, never cravable for us). And since she has settled in at The Shores, with a beautiful ocean view and reasonable prices, I've been meaning to try it.
Verdict:
I loved it!
Cute Husband: not so much!
I ordered from the "Sip and Savor"menu. Great deal, I think - 3 courses for $30, add wine pairing for $15. Lisa Redwine (ha!), the sommelier at the Marine Room, also does the menu here (this is the jr. restaurant of the Marine Room).
APPETIZER: me: very tasty kumbacha squash soup with tangerine infusion, paired with a very respectable and yummy French rose
CH: green salad with goat cheese and sherry vinaigrette: I thought it was very good, he thought it was ok
ENTREE: me: cocoa nib crusted albacore etc. Fish was perfectly well cooked, yummy rice, spectacular pickled bok choy. Otherwise it would have been a cliched Asian-style seared tuna with bok choy. The pickled vegetable really elevated the dish. I ate the whole thing up. I had a choice of pairing it with an excellent Chardonnay, or a Spanish grenacha. The nice waiter let me taste both - it was a tossup, but I went with the Chardonnay, which was the sommelier's set pairing. Worked nicely.
CH: herb roasted chicken breast. He thought it was ok. He was not crazy about the celery root and artichoke gratin it came with. I thought it was rich, but very tasty.
DESSERT: trio with mixed results.
--"Brandied cherry white chocolate parfait": a bit of a hot mess; I couldn't remember what the menu had said, and I thought it was rice pudding with some red stuff and a bunch of sticks of crispy pastry dough sticking out, til I checked the menu again
--"milk chocolate chai pot de crème": sorry, didn't taste the chai - was a decent enough chocolate pudding
--dark chocolate peanut butter truffle: this was the yummiest part. Amy diBiase was roaming (was fun to meet her - she's so young and accomplished!) said this was a family recipe.
--not a fan of the madeira it was paired with, but then I don't like madeira! I gave it a try but still no dice, even paired with chocolate.
ATMOSPHERE: CH is right, that it seems very upscale 50s motel. Really, they need to redo this if they want to elevate the restaurant.
SERVICE: Very nice, came by when we needed them, checked on us, hostesses also pitched in when needed. Certainly better than Flavor (and rivalled Grant Grill).
OVERALL VERDICT: I loved my fun dinner and fun wine pairings (though dessert was the weakest link, the pudding was fine and the truffle was yummy). CH thought it was meh. I would have loved for this to be our new pre-La Jolla Playhouse spot, but CH is vetoing that idea. We are still on the lookout for new openings in the Shores/UTC area!
Despite the bad luck she hit at Cosmopolitan (crazy owner, if the U-T reporting is accurate), she's still considered one of the top chefs in town, even if we were never 100% crazy about her food (it was always good, never cravable for us). And since she has settled in at The Shores, with a beautiful ocean view and reasonable prices, I've been meaning to try it.
Verdict:
I loved it!
Cute Husband: not so much!
I ordered from the "Sip and Savor"menu. Great deal, I think - 3 courses for $30, add wine pairing for $15. Lisa Redwine (ha!), the sommelier at the Marine Room, also does the menu here (this is the jr. restaurant of the Marine Room).
APPETIZER: me: very tasty kumbacha squash soup with tangerine infusion, paired with a very respectable and yummy French rose
CH: green salad with goat cheese and sherry vinaigrette: I thought it was very good, he thought it was ok
ENTREE: me: cocoa nib crusted albacore etc. Fish was perfectly well cooked, yummy rice, spectacular pickled bok choy. Otherwise it would have been a cliched Asian-style seared tuna with bok choy. The pickled vegetable really elevated the dish. I ate the whole thing up. I had a choice of pairing it with an excellent Chardonnay, or a Spanish grenacha. The nice waiter let me taste both - it was a tossup, but I went with the Chardonnay, which was the sommelier's set pairing. Worked nicely.
CH: herb roasted chicken breast. He thought it was ok. He was not crazy about the celery root and artichoke gratin it came with. I thought it was rich, but very tasty.
DESSERT: trio with mixed results.
--"Brandied cherry white chocolate parfait": a bit of a hot mess; I couldn't remember what the menu had said, and I thought it was rice pudding with some red stuff and a bunch of sticks of crispy pastry dough sticking out, til I checked the menu again
--"milk chocolate chai pot de crème": sorry, didn't taste the chai - was a decent enough chocolate pudding
--dark chocolate peanut butter truffle: this was the yummiest part. Amy diBiase was roaming (was fun to meet her - she's so young and accomplished!) said this was a family recipe.
--not a fan of the madeira it was paired with, but then I don't like madeira! I gave it a try but still no dice, even paired with chocolate.
ATMOSPHERE: CH is right, that it seems very upscale 50s motel. Really, they need to redo this if they want to elevate the restaurant.
SERVICE: Very nice, came by when we needed them, checked on us, hostesses also pitched in when needed. Certainly better than Flavor (and rivalled Grant Grill).
OVERALL VERDICT: I loved my fun dinner and fun wine pairings (though dessert was the weakest link, the pudding was fine and the truffle was yummy). CH thought it was meh. I would have loved for this to be our new pre-La Jolla Playhouse spot, but CH is vetoing that idea. We are still on the lookout for new openings in the Shores/UTC area!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Flavor Del Mar Review: One thumb up, two thumbs way down
Flavor Del Mar has gotten a lot of buzz lately. It's in the Del Mar Plaza in the old Epazote space. Jason Maitland was the opening chef. We didn't like Arterra after he took it over from Carl Schroeder, so saw no need to try it when it opened. But the new chef, Brian Redzikowski, is getting lots of raves from critics and Yelpers. So we gave it a try.
PLUSSES: I found the food very flavorful! I was ready to add it to my fave restaurants list (maybe at #5) after the first course.
Bread was delicious (whole-wheat, warm and yeasty, with a quartet of flavored salts).
Salad looked humdrum/plain but was spectacular. Super-fresh greens, very light dressing. Peppadew peppers: never ate one, so delicious - just perfectly spicy. Nice mozzarella. Huge portion for $9.
Wine: yummy and super-generous pours. My glasses (of viognier and albarino) were $12 each, but they were very good and I was pleased.
Tuna tataki: This was a very good dish, and totally carb-free (and cold and a little small), but very nice.
Dessert: liked the "chocolate bar," though it wasn't humongous.
NEGATIVES
Very slow service: Waitress was friendly but spend a long time at each table and there weren't enough wait stuff compared to bussers. So you would wait forever for her to finish at a table and have to flag someone down with requests. My salad arrived before my wine - I had to wait another 8 mins. or so for it to show up. Not cool.
CH's sous-vide jidori chicken: He thought it was nasty - tough and and weird tasting. he ordered another dish (steak), which was fine, but the aftertaste of the bad chicken is still with him hours later and he thinks the place is vile.
More on the service: after 25 mins. of waiting for our (cold) dessert, they finally brought it with apologies - and comped it. I'd still give them another chance on this basis, but this was the last straw for CH, who was still grossed out by his chicken and wanted to go.
Bill: At first, they charged us for the chicken AND CH's replacement entree. As soon as they saw us looking unpleased and trying to flag someone down, they figured it out and brought a replacement bill. But this was definitely not top service.
Cocktails: I'm sorry - the mixologist may be doing very respectful farm-to-table this time of year. But the whole list was citrusy and did not call to me. Didn't want a tangeriney, orangey or grapefruity cocktail. The only other alternatives were not appealing (cinammon apple? sounds like dessert).
I'd try Flavor again at lunchtime with a girlfriend, esp. because they take passport. But CH won't be returning with me ever.
For Valentine's Day we're heading to Grant Grill, where we haven't been in almost 2 yrs. Hope we have a spectacular dinner, with great service, fantastic cocktails (Jeff Josenhans, don't let me down!) and delicious food like last time. I still remember the wonderful bread and quiet chill atmosphere.
PLUSSES: I found the food very flavorful! I was ready to add it to my fave restaurants list (maybe at #5) after the first course.
Bread was delicious (whole-wheat, warm and yeasty, with a quartet of flavored salts).
Salad looked humdrum/plain but was spectacular. Super-fresh greens, very light dressing. Peppadew peppers: never ate one, so delicious - just perfectly spicy. Nice mozzarella. Huge portion for $9.
Wine: yummy and super-generous pours. My glasses (of viognier and albarino) were $12 each, but they were very good and I was pleased.
Tuna tataki: This was a very good dish, and totally carb-free (and cold and a little small), but very nice.
Dessert: liked the "chocolate bar," though it wasn't humongous.
NEGATIVES
Very slow service: Waitress was friendly but spend a long time at each table and there weren't enough wait stuff compared to bussers. So you would wait forever for her to finish at a table and have to flag someone down with requests. My salad arrived before my wine - I had to wait another 8 mins. or so for it to show up. Not cool.
CH's sous-vide jidori chicken: He thought it was nasty - tough and and weird tasting. he ordered another dish (steak), which was fine, but the aftertaste of the bad chicken is still with him hours later and he thinks the place is vile.
More on the service: after 25 mins. of waiting for our (cold) dessert, they finally brought it with apologies - and comped it. I'd still give them another chance on this basis, but this was the last straw for CH, who was still grossed out by his chicken and wanted to go.
Bill: At first, they charged us for the chicken AND CH's replacement entree. As soon as they saw us looking unpleased and trying to flag someone down, they figured it out and brought a replacement bill. But this was definitely not top service.
Cocktails: I'm sorry - the mixologist may be doing very respectful farm-to-table this time of year. But the whole list was citrusy and did not call to me. Didn't want a tangeriney, orangey or grapefruity cocktail. The only other alternatives were not appealing (cinammon apple? sounds like dessert).
I'd try Flavor again at lunchtime with a girlfriend, esp. because they take passport. But CH won't be returning with me ever.
For Valentine's Day we're heading to Grant Grill, where we haven't been in almost 2 yrs. Hope we have a spectacular dinner, with great service, fantastic cocktails (Jeff Josenhans, don't let me down!) and delicious food like last time. I still remember the wonderful bread and quiet chill atmosphere.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Another visit to Poseidon (Del Mar)
Another out-of-town guest: another fabulous meal with Super-Toddler in tow at Poseidon in Del Mar!
ST: Quesadilla + fruit cup + surfers and trains to watch + lemonade + chocolate gelato for dessert = one very happy and well-behaved Super-Toddler (though some of his silly faces and antics did provide lots of amusement for neighboring tables)
Me: Wild halibut + fennel + edamame + parsnip puree + kalamata olive sauce = one very happy high-protein, low-carb-eating me! (oh - and their house salad is also good, but I loved the sunset margarita I ordered too)
CH: Chicken stir-fry: he thought it was ok, not great.
Always happy to go to Poseidon!
ST: Quesadilla + fruit cup + surfers and trains to watch + lemonade + chocolate gelato for dessert = one very happy and well-behaved Super-Toddler (though some of his silly faces and antics did provide lots of amusement for neighboring tables)
Me: Wild halibut + fennel + edamame + parsnip puree + kalamata olive sauce = one very happy high-protein, low-carb-eating me! (oh - and their house salad is also good, but I loved the sunset margarita I ordered too)
CH: Chicken stir-fry: he thought it was ok, not great.
Always happy to go to Poseidon!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Three cheers for Poseidon (Del Mar)
We go to Poseidon a few times a year. The combo of the view/setting on the beach + the creative and well-executed food is very appealing, esp. (though not only with) out of town guests. Service isn't always great, though.
Three cheers for them last night. We took ST and his nanny out to dinner. Wonderful service and large selection of reasonably priced choices for him. They gave us a prime table on the patio. Excellent atmosphere for him to stay put (and bang on the concrete without disturbing anyone). One of the best kid-friendly fine-dining places in San Diego! (in fact I'm not sure I can think of a better place for dining out with a lively toddler boy).
Three cheers for them last night. We took ST and his nanny out to dinner. Wonderful service and large selection of reasonably priced choices for him. They gave us a prime table on the patio. Excellent atmosphere for him to stay put (and bang on the concrete without disturbing anyone). One of the best kid-friendly fine-dining places in San Diego! (in fact I'm not sure I can think of a better place for dining out with a lively toddler boy).
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