I think I didn't post here when we went a few weeks ago. It's in a strip mall in the UTC area, but very busy and pleasant inside. It's Lebanese, with some Egyptian influences.
We got excellent humus.
Baba ghanoush was very good.
Mujedra (lentils, rice, sauteed onions) was a little bit soupier than I expect (the rice is pureed into the lentils), but it was still super tasty.
CH and SB also liked their food.
Oh - and they let me taste some of their felafels. Excellent spice mix.
Lebanese white wine grew on me a little - I didn't like it first. It's a bit like retsina.
Look forward to trying again.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Sublime Tavern and Sea and Smoke Open Today in Del Mar
According to Eater San Diego (http://sandiego.eater.com/), both restaurants open this week (soft at least). Am curious to know how they are. If you're reading this and get to try one, let me know!
PS: Sea and Smoke menu looks DELISH, esp. for vegetarians: http://sandiego.eater.com/archives/2013/07/10/see-inside-sea-smoke-emerging-tonight-in-del-mar.php#more. Yum - can't wait to try it! (Anything is better than the bland-and-boring Paradise Grille that was there prior, but this is Urban Solace's menschy-yummy chef Matt Gordon's new place, so I'm very hopeful!)
PS: Sea and Smoke menu looks DELISH, esp. for vegetarians: http://sandiego.eater.com/archives/2013/07/10/see-inside-sea-smoke-emerging-tonight-in-del-mar.php#more. Yum - can't wait to try it! (Anything is better than the bland-and-boring Paradise Grille that was there prior, but this is Urban Solace's menschy-yummy chef Matt Gordon's new place, so I'm very hopeful!)
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Quick takes: Katana, Urban Pi, Native Foods Cafe
Some quick reports:
Katana: we are going more and more. It's super kid-friendly. SuperBoy loves the little flashlights they give you with your soft drink, and he also loves their miso soup (with extra seaweed), plus edamame, rice and cubed tofu. I like the ex-boyfriend roll when it's on special. I am exploring their winelist. Had one bad Chard, but the La Crema chard is very good, and the Greg Norman pinot is super delish and not super expensive.
Native Foods: LOVE this place. Want to eat my way through the menu. Last time tried: Moroccan bowl, seitan sub, macrobiotic bowl (super yum, I could eat this often).
Urban Pi: Went successfully with a big group recently. I still believe in staying away from the nasty tomato sauce,but the other food there is good. Mom got a yummy white pizza. I got the delish beet and arugula salad with a yumm vegan corn soup-of-the day. I also like their pomegranate drink.
Want to take SuperBoy to Native Foods so can eat there more!
Katana: we are going more and more. It's super kid-friendly. SuperBoy loves the little flashlights they give you with your soft drink, and he also loves their miso soup (with extra seaweed), plus edamame, rice and cubed tofu. I like the ex-boyfriend roll when it's on special. I am exploring their winelist. Had one bad Chard, but the La Crema chard is very good, and the Greg Norman pinot is super delish and not super expensive.
Native Foods: LOVE this place. Want to eat my way through the menu. Last time tried: Moroccan bowl, seitan sub, macrobiotic bowl (super yum, I could eat this often).
Urban Pi: Went successfully with a big group recently. I still believe in staying away from the nasty tomato sauce,but the other food there is good. Mom got a yummy white pizza. I got the delish beet and arugula salad with a yumm vegan corn soup-of-the day. I also like their pomegranate drink.
Want to take SuperBoy to Native Foods so can eat there more!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
French Pastry Cafe (Encinitas)
Stopped in here for a (yummy) espresso and some (yummy) drip coffee (free after the espresso, and very good!) after my feast at Native Foods.
Used to come here years ago, but I didn't remember that they have BUCKWHEAT CREPES. Must return - LOVE BUCKWHEAT!!!!!
Used to come here years ago, but I didn't remember that they have BUCKWHEAT CREPES. Must return - LOVE BUCKWHEAT!!!!!
Native Foods (Encinitas): Best restaurant ever
Ok, I don't mean there are no restaurants better. I just mean for what I'm trying to eat right now, this place is the best invention anywhere.
All healthy plant-based (vegan) foods.
Tons of choices.
VERY delicious.
Very fast.
Very reasonable
Great servers!
Great drinks!
We enjoyed: lavendar lemonade and watermelon fresca (free refills!!)
Kale jerk salad: yum - sesame and coconut and tempeh cubes instead of caesar dressing, parmesan cheese and croutsin
Scorpion burger: delish, could have been bigger - not enough on its own for lunch
Split pea soup of the day: delish
Also got a double-chocolate brownie: not the most dietetic, but a healthy brownie considering: fair-trade cocoa, maple syrup, and chocolate chips (no eggs, butter, etc.)
Love, love, loved it. Can't wait to go back and try more of the menu!!
All healthy plant-based (vegan) foods.
Tons of choices.
VERY delicious.
Very fast.
Very reasonable
Great servers!
Great drinks!
We enjoyed: lavendar lemonade and watermelon fresca (free refills!!)
Kale jerk salad: yum - sesame and coconut and tempeh cubes instead of caesar dressing, parmesan cheese and croutsin
Scorpion burger: delish, could have been bigger - not enough on its own for lunch
Split pea soup of the day: delish
Also got a double-chocolate brownie: not the most dietetic, but a healthy brownie considering: fair-trade cocoa, maple syrup, and chocolate chips (no eggs, butter, etc.)
Love, love, loved it. Can't wait to go back and try more of the menu!!
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Chef shuffles: Rachel King etc.
San Diego Eater is reporting a lot of moving around among the chefs who worked for Brian Malarkey.
http://sandiego.eater.com/archives/2013/06/21/la-villa-scores-anthony-sinsay-nineten-snags-rachel-king-1.php.
For some reason, they let Amanda Baumgarten go from Herringbone. She was excellent - the food there was much better than the service or the "scene."
My beloved Rachel King is moving to Nine-Ten (the last pastry chef there seemed good, the guy after Jack Fisher's last turn).
Anthony Sensay who was at Burlap is now going to La Villa (which I loved before). I don't know his food very well (I don't think I had savory food at Burlap after he joined there and never went to Harney Sushi when he was there) so I hope he won't change the style and make it less yummy! (Oy, the report says he is redoing their menu - too bad!!!)
http://sandiego.eater.com/archives/2013/06/21/la-villa-scores-anthony-sinsay-nineten-snags-rachel-king-1.php.
For some reason, they let Amanda Baumgarten go from Herringbone. She was excellent - the food there was much better than the service or the "scene."
My beloved Rachel King is moving to Nine-Ten (the last pastry chef there seemed good, the guy after Jack Fisher's last turn).
Anthony Sensay who was at Burlap is now going to La Villa (which I loved before). I don't know his food very well (I don't think I had savory food at Burlap after he joined there and never went to Harney Sushi when he was there) so I hope he won't change the style and make it less yummy! (Oy, the report says he is redoing their menu - too bad!!!)
Romesco (Bonita) Review: Wonderful!!!!! (Worth a drive!)
Finally made it to Tijuana celebrity chef Javier Plascencia's outpost on this side of the border, Romesco Baja Mediterranean Bistro. http://romescomexmed.com/. Fantastic experience!
It is in a strip mall next to a Baskin Robbins.
And yet....once you are inside, it feels like you have escaped San Diego and are in a chic restaurant in a lively Mexican city like Puertao Vallarta - or in a French bistro. Very nice bistro setting. EXCELLENT service (there are no "hey, how are you?" teenagers here - very efficient men in formal wear). Extremely tasty and innovative food.
Theme: "Baja Med" - so a mix of Spanish and Italian, with some Mexican touches.
Wine list: very interesting, lots of choices you don't see elsewhere in San Diego. They gave me a taste of the tempranillo (love tempranillo, but this bottle was ROUGH) and a Spanish red blend which is not on the online menu. It was *delicious*, very fruit-forward, for only $7/glass.
French Bread: Excellent.
Tapas: Very extensive list. We opted to do the regular menu instead, but I tried the mushrooms in garlic sauce which yelpers (and my waiter) recommended. On its own there is too much sauce (like salad dressed too heavily) BUT if you follow the waiter's recommendation and put it on the bread, it is perfect - the sauce soaks down into the bread and the mushrooms can be eaten alone (and the sauce tastes great on the bread).
Salads (free with entrees): Not that impressive. Boring caesar with iceberg lettuce. They have more exciting sounding salads on the menu for extra money.
Soup: Got the spiced pumpkin soup following the recommendations on Yelp. Fantastic! This is why Plascencia is a celebrity chef who gets international attention: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/dining/09tijuana.html.
Entrees: CH got a carne asada plate that he thought was excellent (there's the Mexican food). Too big a portion for him to finish.
--I skipped the pasta (Italian) options and got the fish of the day (escolar) al ajillo. Superdelicious. I liked the preparation too - with just some new potatoes and some baby vegetables, so not too heavy (I wasn't a huge fan of the baby zucchini and yellow squash, but they were healthy).
Dessert: Cute Husband talked me into getting the churro dessert. I'm not a big churro person; he LOVES churros. They turned out to be excellent, a TV-food-show-worthy dessert. They took a basic street food and elevated into something elegant. Perfect churros (crispy on the outside, warm and soft on the inside, and full of a perfect amount of cinammon and sugar), with a dulce de leche dipping sauce, excellent vanilla ice cream (with pistachios or some other sliced nut) and then a little cup of Mexican hot chocolate with whipped cream). CH would have liked a chocolate dipping sauce too but I was too full.
Decor: I was expecting this to be a glam, dress-to-the-nines place. But even though the atmosphere is very romantic, there are well-behaved kids there too. So there were some people like me in dining-out dresses, and others in stylish jeans (with fancy handbags!) along with their children. You can choose how to go.
Overall, this is absolutely worth the drive, and I'm glad to be moving this from my "Places I'm Thinking of Trying" list to my list of places I have been to and can remember to go again!
Oh - and I passed Caribbean Pleasures (the Haitian restaurant) on the way there. I need to figure out a time to go there - and a willing companion!
It is in a strip mall next to a Baskin Robbins.
And yet....once you are inside, it feels like you have escaped San Diego and are in a chic restaurant in a lively Mexican city like Puertao Vallarta - or in a French bistro. Very nice bistro setting. EXCELLENT service (there are no "hey, how are you?" teenagers here - very efficient men in formal wear). Extremely tasty and innovative food.
Theme: "Baja Med" - so a mix of Spanish and Italian, with some Mexican touches.
Wine list: very interesting, lots of choices you don't see elsewhere in San Diego. They gave me a taste of the tempranillo (love tempranillo, but this bottle was ROUGH) and a Spanish red blend which is not on the online menu. It was *delicious*, very fruit-forward, for only $7/glass.
French Bread: Excellent.
Tapas: Very extensive list. We opted to do the regular menu instead, but I tried the mushrooms in garlic sauce which yelpers (and my waiter) recommended. On its own there is too much sauce (like salad dressed too heavily) BUT if you follow the waiter's recommendation and put it on the bread, it is perfect - the sauce soaks down into the bread and the mushrooms can be eaten alone (and the sauce tastes great on the bread).
Salads (free with entrees): Not that impressive. Boring caesar with iceberg lettuce. They have more exciting sounding salads on the menu for extra money.
Soup: Got the spiced pumpkin soup following the recommendations on Yelp. Fantastic! This is why Plascencia is a celebrity chef who gets international attention: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/dining/09tijuana.html.
Entrees: CH got a carne asada plate that he thought was excellent (there's the Mexican food). Too big a portion for him to finish.
--I skipped the pasta (Italian) options and got the fish of the day (escolar) al ajillo. Superdelicious. I liked the preparation too - with just some new potatoes and some baby vegetables, so not too heavy (I wasn't a huge fan of the baby zucchini and yellow squash, but they were healthy).
Dessert: Cute Husband talked me into getting the churro dessert. I'm not a big churro person; he LOVES churros. They turned out to be excellent, a TV-food-show-worthy dessert. They took a basic street food and elevated into something elegant. Perfect churros (crispy on the outside, warm and soft on the inside, and full of a perfect amount of cinammon and sugar), with a dulce de leche dipping sauce, excellent vanilla ice cream (with pistachios or some other sliced nut) and then a little cup of Mexican hot chocolate with whipped cream). CH would have liked a chocolate dipping sauce too but I was too full.
Decor: I was expecting this to be a glam, dress-to-the-nines place. But even though the atmosphere is very romantic, there are well-behaved kids there too. So there were some people like me in dining-out dresses, and others in stylish jeans (with fancy handbags!) along with their children. You can choose how to go.
Overall, this is absolutely worth the drive, and I'm glad to be moving this from my "Places I'm Thinking of Trying" list to my list of places I have been to and can remember to go again!
Oh - and I passed Caribbean Pleasures (the Haitian restaurant) on the way there. I need to figure out a time to go there - and a willing companion!
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