Category

Dick’s Last Resort. Pasta

I remember sampling this dish and asking Dennis “Is this only pasta?” His reply was that he had eaten the one tiny piece of meat that they had served on our sampling tray. As for the part that I did taste, the pasta was not that special.

The Wild Thyme Co. Miso Honey Martinis, H20 melon gazpacho shots and poke bites.

This was one of the restaurants entered under the “raw food” category. We weren’t particularly fond of any of these dishes. I couldn’t stomach the strange pink gazpacho shot and thought the sauce surrounding the ahi was quite salty!

Baleen Restaurant (left). Pineapple and Thai chile glazed pork with buckwheat, bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, pineapple and mushrooms. Atoll Restaurant (right). Hawaiian braised beef short ribs.

For a dish that was served in asian take-out boxes, this one was surprisingly quite delicious! This made our favorites list instantly as we dug into the tender pork, pulled out long strands of noodles, and nibbled the complimenting vegetables! As for the short ribs, there wasn’t as much flavor in the meat as I would have preferred.

Brandt Beef (left). Indian spice rubbed beef carpaccio. Molly’s Restaurant (right). House dry aged leg of lamb loin carpaccio, pine nut, sultanas, preserved lemon, local organic spinach.

Neither Dennis nor I have really eaten carpaccio before but it definitely wasn’t to our taste. What we did notice was that the beef from Brandt Beef was a bit icy, as if they forgot to let it thaw a little more before serving. We can’t really comment on the food anymore with our unfamiliarity of this type of food.

Morton’s The Steakhouse. BBQ beef burger with mayo…?

Are you kidding me?! With all the fancier dishes out there, this one did not seem to be a good representation of a STEAKHOUSE. We took one bite of the sandwich and well… it just tasted like some kind of boring meat wrapped in bread, with only mayo to season it!

Jake’s Del Mar (left). braised short ribs on a tiger shrimp couscous with a pomegranate reduction. Oceanaire (right). Seafood sausage. (three types of seafood)

I’ve eaten at Jake’s before and the food is generally tasty but the sample didn’t turn out as well for me. Dennis and I, as well as many other guests we spoke to, loved the seafood sausage from Oceanaire though! It felt like a healthier yet still yummy version of sausage to me! Not to mention, it was wonderful that the chef and the servers were dressed from the 40’s era!

Flemming’s (left). Sirloin carpaccio fillet tenderloin with pickled sweet onion, mixed greens, striped beets, pumpkin oil and arugula oil. Esquire’s (right). Chicken gumbo.

I don’t remember this one too much but now that I know what carpaccio is, I’m guessing that we didn’t like it too much either. As for the gumbo-like soup, I felt like I would have rather had the jambalaya from the Taste of San Diego. This one was a bit lacking and I hardly wanted to eat it.

Gringos Cantina (left). Fillet mignon with a chipotle glaze. Clay’s La Jolla (right). Tiger Prawn skewers with bok choy pine nuts red cabbage onions and a honey creole mustard.

The beef from Gringos tasted tough and did not have much flavor in it, other than the sauce around it. In fact, the picture looks similar to a brownie or something! The tiger prawn skewers were definitely one of our favorites of the day. We absolutely loved the robust flavor of the bacon penetrating into the shrimp. The shrimp sauce was a little too sweet for my taste though.

California Cuisine (left). Tea sandwich with a sweet potato brios fougra taurine apple compote arugula candy kumquats. Sally’s Restaurant (right). Something with Salmon.

The tea sandwich was definitely something new that we had never tasted before and was quite on our ‘dislike’ side of foods. It tasted too sweet and fell all over the place as we ate it. As for the salmon dish, this one must have been decent because I remember helping to clean off the plate.

Chive (left). Szechwan peppercorn dusted duroc pork tenderloin with Japanese cabbage cake fuji apple compote black bean preserve. Moondoggies (right). Shrimp ceviche and chips.

We were thrilled with the shrimp ceviche here! It were fantastic!

Bondi. Australian lamb cutlet with apple mandate chutney and rose beet and green bean salad with goat cheese dressing.

This one was easily among our favorites. Lamb, in our experience, seems easy to mess up but this one turned out splendid! We nibbled every tasty morsel off the bone.

Beach City Market. Backed mussels with cavier and crab meat.

I don’t eat mussels too often but the overall taste was decent to me.

Beach City Market (left). Smoked mussel with salsa fresca and Maui onion. Mediterranean Bar and Grill (right). Salmon roulade, has goat cheese smoked salmon capers mayer lemon and micro arugula.

I wasn’t as much of a fan for the smoked mussel dish. We also ate food from Buster’s Beach House, but forgot to take a photo of it. It looks like the food from last year’s festival. Dennis remembers the coconut rice the most.

Quarter Kitchen. Caviar taco.

We somehow missed the caviar taco booth the first time around but when we arrived a bit after 3pm, the food was already out! The chef did pull out a hidden sample in an ornate holder from under some napkins but he didn’t let us have a taste! We’ll just have to imagine that it was wonderful and that we would be able to sample them next year.

Another exciting year at the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival!
http://www.worldofwineevents.com/

Lynn and I attempted to cover over 50 restaurants in 4 hours this year!

Concept Catering by CK (left). Smoked Salmon Potstickers with Mango Relish infused with truffles. Arterra Restaurant & Bar (right). Duck confit with marinated cucumber and tangerine chile glaze.
We really liked the salmon potstickers with their unique fishy filling, but unfortunately the skin was soggier than normal due to the portable stove and a rush to quickly serve the growing crowd. The relish added a bit of sweet yet healthy touch to the dumpling but we thought it was a slight out of place for this appetizer. -L
The duck confit immediately became one of our favorites after we popped the succulent sandwich-like sample into our mouths. The flavor of the duck had the perfect sweetness and the fresh cucumbers around it balanced it out by working as a compliment. -L

Two Peas in a Pod. A sweat pea hummus with a little bit of yogurt pancetta and fresh mint on a crostini.

The hummus definitely had a nice slightly creamy feel in the mouth with a decent sprinkle of the pancetta bits and green. All in all, it wasn’t too bad of an appetizer but the ratio of bread to topping led to a slightly drier mouth after consuming the samples. -L
Sage Cafe. Butterscotch creme brulee.

This was a fabulous dessert! After piercing the crystalized sugar top layer, we dug out the creamy sweet insides and it melted in our mouths! -L

Rice Restaurant (left). Butternut squash lobster crepe with amaretto cherry and grand marnier orange reduction sauce. Romesco Baja Med Bistro (right). Taco.

The crepe sounded interesting enough and it tasted pretty good too. The Romesco taco was surprisingly good. The meat was extra tender and the sauce had just the right amount of spice to it. -D

ChileCo. Moroccan “scotch” quail egg, quail consomme-cider sip. Wild sage n’ elderberry smoked quail breast, quail confit n’ coconut shu-mai.

These items were presented on flat bamboo stalk with a slight concave dip in center. The shu-mai and smoked quail breast had some great flavor to it. Thats all I remember about it. -D

Jade Theater (left). Spicy tuna crab, stuffed shiitaki tempura style with a sugar spice with a thai vinaigrette and a sate sauce with a daikon salad. Harbor’s Edge (right) at Sheridan Hotel in Marina. Asian braised short ribs.

Jade’s spicy tuna crab was one of my favorites at the festival. I had to go back for seconds later in the day! The braised ribs were just so-so. -D

Terra Restaurant and Catering. Kabocha squash and dungeness crab flan with chai tea smoked arctic char.

I didn’t like this one at all. Besides smelling like it just came out of the sea, it even tasted like it too! There was this strong saltiness to it and a strange tangy flavor that reminded me of ham… -D

The Guild Restaurant and Lounge (left). Thai inspired ceviche with seared hamachi carpachio. The Shores Restaurant (right). Braised kobe beef short ribs. Maple sweet potatoes. Micro chive sprouts and old vine Zinfandel sauce, chile oil.

I can’t remember how the ceviche tasted. Instead of chewing and savoring the flavor, I downed the whole thing like a shot. Probably not the correct method of eating it… but it was fun! As for the braised kobe beef, it was tender enough but was lacking flavor. -D

Sammy’s Woodfire Pizza. Beets and lettuce?

I wish they had served pizza instead! -D

Roppongi (left). Maine diver’s sea scallop. Daikon dashi tempura green beans. Dynamite aioli, green tea salt. Pacific Del Mar (right). Maine lobster cocktail. Layers of napa cabbage poached maine lobster meat topped with kimchi foam garnished with micro cilantro sprouts and sesame cracker.

Roppongi’s sea scallop was super tiny. That photo above is about the actual size of it! Luckily the tempura was good enough to make up for it. It wasn’t soggy as we expected it to be. Pacific Del Mar had a tasty lobster but that was it. The cabbage tasted plain and the cracker was average. -D

Oasis Bar & Grill. Grilled stripe bass with grilled finnel. Tomatoes and picholine olives with aged cherry vinaigrette.

Lynn and I couldn’t agree on this one. I liked it because of the vinaigrette flavor but Lynn didn’t like it because of it. But the one thing we did agree on was the awesome little trays the stripe bass was presented on! -D

Sweet Cheeks. Carrot Cake.

The carrot cake was a good snack between tasting the other foods. -L

Blanca Restaurant (left). Day boat diver scallop with vidalia onion-potato rosti, butter braised smoked onions nueske’s bacon beurre blanc. Bernard’s Restaurant (right). Orange zest sea ursin flan, center cut ahi tuna, lobster consomme, califlower mousse and orange tuile.

The scallop was good but we didn’t care much for the potato underneath. The bacon flavor was an interesting element. I just wish it was a bit more subtle in flavor. The orange zest sea ursin flan was weird. Weird bad. I thought it was supposed to be traditional flan but it was some kind of soup with ahi bits in it. -D

Horn Blower’s. Sweet Potato carrot confection.

JRDN Restaurant (left). Braised lamb with eggplant caponata plus shaved manchego cheese. Dussini Mediterranean Bistro (right). Grillle and marinated red deer with swiss charred and roasted Montreal mushrooms.

Braised lamb was somewhat boring. The shaved manchego cheese didn’t help. I thought the marinated red deer was interesting though. I can’t really judge the quality of it because I’ve never had red deer before but I liked it. -D

http://burgerlounge.com

1101 Wall St, La Jolla, CA 92037. (858) 456-0196
4116 Adams Ave, San Diego, CA 92116. (619) 584-2929

I bought a gift card at Costco which I can use at over 100 restaurants in San Diego. Burger Lounge was one of the restaurants listed and it caught my eye. Unfortunately, when I went, I did not have my camera. These pictures are from a cell phone.

Grilled Lounge Burger with American Cheese ($6.95). “All natural beef, crisp iceberg lettuce, tomato, and house-made 1000 island.”

1/2 and 1/2 Onion Rings and Hand Cut Fries ($4.95) and Grilled Turkey Burger with Fresh Basil and Cheddar Cheese ($6.95). I did not like the traditionally made French fries. They are extra crispy on the outside which makes it seem like they’re hollow inside. The portion was small. I’m not a fan of onion rings, but these did look larger than others. Both burgers were plentiful. My turkey burger was dripping with juices. It was delicious, but I’ve had others which were just as good and less expensive.

We also had a Chocolate Shake ($4.95). It wasn’t a thick shake. It was a little watered down. Chili’s has a thick and frosty chocolate shake with chocolate sprinkles for under $4.

I’m sorry, but I do not expect to pay $25 for burgers for two at a place where I walk up to the counter to order. Also, the menu is limited. They offer 3 burgers, chicken tenders, fries, onion rings, and 3 salads. For about $7, you can go to Carl’s Jr and get a Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger with large fries and a large drink. The service will be faster and you’ll save some money.

Taste: 7/10
Presentation: 3/5
Service/Atmosphere: 3/5
Total: 13/20

http://bleuboheme.com/

4090 Adams Avenue, San Diego, CA 92116. (619) 255-4167

Ever since the Taste of Adams, I have been waiting for Bleu Boheme to open.  The sign said mid-July.  Well, it was a busy summer and you know how it goes…  Here we are in October and I finally made it to their French Restaurant.

Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah, JP Chenet 2004 ($6.50) - “spicy deep and flavorful with a great body and a lingering finish.”

Carre d’Agneau Provencal, Ratatouille et Pommes de Terre au Gratin ($21.50) - “roasted Rack of Lamb served with Nicoise Ratatouille and Gratin Potatoes finished with a Rosemary Jus.” Edmund says it was cooked just right, but he’s dying to go back and try the mussels. Someone at another table ordered the mussels and as it came out, we could see a mountain of steaming hot mussels. I tried some of the potatoes and they were great.

Saumon en Papillote sur lit de Ratatouille ($17.50) - “filet of Salmon, wrapped in Parchment Paper over a bed of Ratatouille.”  When my dinner was presented, I definitely thought it was interesting.  The parchment paper was twisted in a pretty fashion, but it hid my salmon.  There was intrigue…

The salmon was moist and delicious.  Part of the reason why I ordered this was because I’ve never had ratatouille before and having watched the movie, I felt like I needed to try it.  The potatoes were good and hearty, but I didn’t try the eggplant.

Plateau de Fromages, Miel en Cire d’Abeilles ($8.50) - “assorted French imported cheeses served with honey comb.” I was disappointed when the honey comb turned out to be just a little container of honey. I can’t remember the exact names of the five different cheeses, but one was a soft Brie and another was some sort of blue. There was a really strong cheese and I made the most horrific face as I tasted it.

Tarte aux Fraises ($6.50) - “Strawberry Tart.”  This isn’t normally on the menu.  For some reason, the souffle wasn’t available so they substituted with a strawberry tart.  I was looking forward to dessert, but there was nothing spectacular about the tart.  It was very ordinary from the crust to the custard and strawberries.

The staff was friendly. They wore white shirts with blue jeans. I’d recommend making reservations. When we showed up, the only available seating was outside and it started to get a little chilly. The decor inside seemed very rustic. It can be romantic with all of the candles that were lit. There’s a bar section that seemed quite popular. They have a pretty long wine list.

Try something different… Try some French cuisine… Try Bleu Boheme!

Taste: 8/10
Presentation: 4/5
Service/Atmosphere: 4/5
Total: 16/20

http://www.venissimo.com/

2710 Via de la Valle #B138, Del Mar, CA 92014. (858) 847-9616

754 West Washington, San Diego, CA 92103. (619) 491-0708

Cheese, please! This little store is one of San Diego’s best kept secrets for cheese lovers. Upon entering the store, you are greeted with the most horrendous stench. The phrase “Who cut the cheese?” now makes sense. They offer numerous cheeses from around the world. They have cheeses made from the milk of cows, buffaloes, sheep, and goats.

The employee was very knowledgeable and offered me different samples. I’m not very adventurous and wanted to try a creamy cheese. She recommended Fromager D’Affinois from France ($14.50 per pound). It was definitely creamy. It’s made from cow’s milk and double cream. It’s like spreading soft butter on bread.

I also tried Ossau-Iraty from the French Pyrenees ($20 per pound). It is a hard cheese made from ewe’s milk. It tastes like a very strong Mozzarella.

Here are some of their refrigerated cheeses, including Cashel Blue from Ireland, Grayson from Virginia, and Tete de Moine from Switzerland.

They also offer a selection of hard cheeses, including Mona from Wisconsin, Serena from California, and Roncal from Spain.

The cheeses are sold by weight. Of the cheeses that I saw, the range was $14.50 to over $30 per pound, but according to their website, they also have cheeses that start from under $10 per half pound.

Give them your name when you buy a cheese and they’ll store the name of which cheese you bought in their database, which is a good thing if you go back to buy some more, but you can’t remember what the name of the cheese is.

They also offer a small selection of accoutrements, such as salami, crackers, baguettes, and chocolate. Visit one of their two locations if you want to sample a few cheeses or you need to order a party tray. You can also visit their online store and join the Cheese of the Month Club. They also offer classes and tastings.

Join them this Saturday, October 27, 2007 from 2 - 4 pm in the Flower Hill Mall for a Happy Halloween Cheese Tasting for only $8.