Pacific Beach Bar and Grill. Weekend/College Football Saturday foods.

mmm-yoso is a blog about food.  Cathy is blogging today, instead of cleaning up after the fires.  There will be more ash out there tomorrow anyhow.

Hi.  Here is pretty much what The Mister and I do on Saturday mornings or afternoons, while looking at a bunch of television sets in Pacific Beach.  For those of you who don't know, "Football Saturday" is a tradition followed by students and Alumni of most of the colleges here in the States.   When you are a student, you usually attend the games (or sell the tickets to get some quick cash, since current students have a priority to buy tickets) and after you graduate, move far away, you try to get together with other Alums to sort of re-live that excitement and have some diversion, all without having to go to the Library to study once the game ends.

The Pacific Beach Bar and Grill has been around ..well...forever it seems. The restaurant has daily specials, outlined on their website, however, since The Mister and I have been married, for like, forever, we aren't much into the weeknight bar scene, although I would like to try the food and probably will eventually. For now, here is a typical Saturday with food we eat, while watching the University of Michigan play their games.  You can see the area we sit is is merely a covered patio.

If a game is starting at 9 a.m. (noon back East), the bar is open and there is an all you can eat brunch for only $6.95. (This is on Saturday- brunch costs more on Sunday). Coffee is $1.50 and there is a monthly beer for $2.50 (Sam Adams Oktoberfest right now) and all other pints on tap are $3. Yes, beer at 9 a.m. College Life all over again.

The brunch area was full so I did not take photos of the individual hot trays, but here are photos of a sampling of what we selected.  

There are three different sausages, bacon, at least two different scrambled egg combinations, home fries and hash browns, crepes (this particular weekend had chicken and avocado crepes, but there are beef and sometimes crab crepes in the steam trays), fresh fruit and cookies and muffins, all  made from scratch and quite delicious.

Then there is a separate cooking station, where you can have an omelet, crepes, waffles, pancakes or a quesadilla made for you.

I chose to have an omelet made with cheese, spinach, mushrooms and red peppers. The veggies were sauteed in butter first then the egg added and just before being put onto the serving plate, the shredded cheese was added and the egg and contents folded over it, causing the cheese to melt. I topped it with some slices of avocado from the area where you choose the fillings.

The Mister got a strawberry waffle made for himself. With whipped cream.  There were fresh strawberries on top,, and the waffle is made fresh and hot with a nice batter that cooked up to a nice crispy shell.

If a football game starts at noon here (3 p.m. East Coast time) then there are some lunch specials- $3 off of appetizers with a coupon from the Reader, a free magazine out here and, of course the beer specials. If we are coming for a noon game and hungry, we try to get to the Grill early and get a couple of brunch plates and quesadillas made for us.

On this visit, though, we opted for the Brie appetizer ($8.50 ). (OK, every time it is an afternoon game out here, I want the Brie appetizer...)

A toasted and sweetened hazelnut crusted wedge of a warmed, good quality Brie cheese served on top of a peach chutney (red pepper spicy) with chunks of mango and served with some olive oil toasted baguette pieces... it is soooo good-creamy, warm, salty, spicy and sweet ..

We tried the Ichiban Kabobs ($ 8.95  ), served with "firecracker rice", which was too spicy hot/filled with chili flakes to be appreciated as rice.  The ahi was marinated in a ginger soy sauce, yet overcooked, so kind of dry and not as good as I would have liked it to be.  It was served with some pickled ginger and ancho chili sauce, which just overwhelmed the flavors.

Of course, our beverages of choice are as diverse as The Mister and I are...

The Guinness on draft is mine and the Pear Cider is his...

If there is an evening football game, starting at 4 or 5 p.m., well you don't need a coupon and actually seven days a week, all appetizers are $3 off from 4-8 p.m...so, last weekend, when U of M was playing the Fighting Illini at 7 p.m. (their time, in Illinois), we went crazy for food.

The Seafood Martini ($9.95) is a large martini shaped glass, filled with lobster, shrimp, real crab, cucumber, celery and a spicy cocktail sauce with a little Absolut Peppar (vodka) added.  It was quite filling and very fresh. 

The Mediterranean hummus ($7.25) is made fresh, with garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice and garlic and served with that ramekin of feta, hot pita wedges and a mixed green salad topped with a raspberry vinaigrette. Excellent. Fresh. All of it. 

This past Saturday, it was another game that started about 12:30 San Diego time, so no discounts, except for beer and if you remembered to find the coupon...so we just got the

Hot Crab Dip ($8.95)- fresh blue crab, cream cheese, bell peppers and some spices, topped with green onion and served with warm, thin tortilla chips.  This was excellent, also, with lots of crab.  More than I expected. 

We also got a basket of onion rings ($3.95).  Made with whole onions and fried in a cornmeal based batter, giving the rings a good crunch.  I did ask the nice bartender (we ended up sitting at the bar since it was so crowded) for some Chulula sauce to dip the rings in after a while, since the basket was quite large and ketchup, salt and pepper wasn't doing it for me...

The Pacific Beach Bar and Grill has generously donated a portion of all the income received from the University of Michigan Alumni during these Saturday games to the San Diego Scholarship fund all the years we have been meeting here, and this year we have already raised over $10,000 dollars.  It is nice for a local merchant to be so generous to our little group.

Pacific Beach Bar and Grill 860 Garnet Avenue San Diego 92109 phone: (858)2PB.Grill 

Comments

[Jenn]

Oh, Cathy - you make me huuuuunnnnggggrrryyy. I want the brie and the crepes and the sausages and the hummus and the seafood in a martini glass and the crab dip and,...well,...I want it all! *Drool*

[Jim]

Hi Cathy,

I have not made it there for the Saturday brunch, but did get a chance to enjoy the Sunday brunch a couple of times. What surprised me was the extensive lay-out and food quality. There was food everywhere and many of the dishes were quite tasty.

BTW, I will become the biggest “Blue” fan at the end of the year when they beat the snot out of that “O” team!

[nhbilly]

Talk about munchies!

[Chubbypanda]

Hope you and the hubby are staying safe. At least the weather is starting to help us out.

[clayfu]

wow! i've never been there to eat food (just drink in my college years haha) and it actually looks good !

[Brian Bautista]

I hear ya clayfu! I was always there every Thursday night for their college night specials and always wondered how good their food was! I've gotta try it sometime during the weekend and during the day :).

[Cathy]

Jenn! Are you living vicariously through my posts again??? Glad you liked the photos.
Hey, Jim! The food here is great and I understand the Sunday Brunches are more elaborate. Maybe when it isn't football season we will stop by...two days in a row at the beach is a lot away from home... and...There is only one game a year that really matters you know...
Hi, Bill-yes...just appetizers...no sandwiches, tacos or biurgers for us...oh. Beer too.
Thanks, CP. We seem to be OK for this round of fires. Last time was scary for us, but since it wasn't on tv 24/7, I guess when I told people, they didn't really understand.
Hi Clayfu- yes, the food is excellent and so are the beer and other drink specials.
Hello, Brian-Really, stop by on a Saturday...just be prepared for some noise in the adjoining room...the food is really really good. Actually, if you check the website, every day has some kind of special going on...