It seems that this strip of Morena Boulevard is undergoing a slow but steady gentrification of sorts. It pretty much started with the addition of Bay Park Fish Company a few years back. Soon enough, the seedy Rosarina's Pizza, was replaced by High Dive Bar and Grill(a post is upcoming). To complete the tri-fecta, the fire engine red location of Bollweevil, which has since taken it's blood red colors further up Morena Boulevard to the Bay Ho Shopping Center. As this is being written, KFC is either being renovated or replaced.....
Yes, Off Shore is located right next to Morena Welding......
One day, I decided to grab a bite at Off Shore. I found the interior to have quite a "corporate" feel, which kind of makes sense since Off Shore is owned by MJE Incorporated, who run the Sandbar, and other Bar and Grills in San Diego, and elsewhere.
The bar has a sports bar feel, with plasma televisions mounted everywhere. The patio area is brighter and breezier....with plasma televisions mounted everywhere....
So how's the view? Well, this is the "offshore view", from the patio at Off Shore:
You can watch the waves....of traffic swimming upstream on Morena Boulevard and the I-5. In spite of the whooshing traffic noise, the vibe is very laid back, as is the staff.
The menu is corporate pub grub, a collection of burgers, wraps, fried items, and items like ceviche and salads marked as "healthy". The prices seemed quite reasonable, and I decided to order the Offshore Burger($6.95). Being, a basic-burger kind of guy, I eschewed the bacon($1), and cheese($1). I was mainly interested in how the burger tasted. I was asked the usual "how would you like the burger cooked". I had doubts that my burger would actually be made, the "medium" that I ordered...still, I gave it a shot. The very nice young lady who took my order, seemed somewhat disturbed that I didn't want cheese, mayo, mustard, bacon....... But soon enough, my burger arrived, and it looked pretty good:
The burger was nice and moist, but of course, even though the menu says "grilled your way", which would have been a nice slightly charred burger with a rare streak......it was cooked well done. Not grilled to a dry crisp, but still well done. The burger was bland and tasteless, not that I expected anything more for a 7 dollar pub burger. What I did enjoy was the tater tots...now who doesn't love tater tots? And an added plus...these were Garlic Tater Tots. Now I'd really love some tater tots with enough garlic punch to kill Nosferatu, but I understand that not everyone....or perhaps no one would enjoy that. These were mildly garlicky, with just the right amount of salt, and cooked perfectly.
So, not bad for $6.95, and I enjoyed the Tater Tots. Which was enough ammunition for me to drag the Missus to Off Shore. We took a table on the patio, and soon enough the menus arrived, and we ordered shortly thereafter. The Missus decided on the Grilled Shrimp Wrap with Fries($8.95):
Dry and tasteless, this was not very good at all. The fries are nothing special, nor particularly good.
I ordered that latest darling of the corporate pub-grub menu, "Sliders"(mini-burgers). The Bay Park Sliders with Garlic Tater Tots($7.95):
Boy, talk about a 180 degree turn, the burgers were way too dry, as were the rolls. The garlic tater tots were just as good, or maybe even better than before.
Alas, the Missus is not interested in another visit. Though I may drop by during Happy Hour for some of those Tater Tots(at half price):
We had good service at Off Shore, perhaps a little on the slow side, but our waters, and Iced Tea($2) were constantly refilled. The prices are pretty reasonable, and the place is much less the eye-sore that Bollweevil was. It'll be interesting to see what else will be happening to Morena Boulevard in the future.
Offshore Tavern & Grill
2253 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110
Open Daily 11am
too bad the burgers and wrap weren't good :(
Posted by: kat | Friday, 07 March 2008 at 10:12 PM
Hey Kirk! The garlic tater tots look really good. Have you tried Mr. Peabody's Burger & Ale? I like the one on Friars best. They make a very good burger that really is cooked to order. The onion rings are to die for.
Posted by: Carol | Saturday, 08 March 2008 at 12:41 PM
Hi Kat - Yes.....so sad.
Hi Carol - We used to live 2 blocks from Peabody's on Friars - you get your money's worth there. My previous post:
http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2006/02/mr_peabodys_bur.html
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 08 March 2008 at 09:01 PM
Tater tots instead of fries with burgers?! I've yet to have that combo...o_O!
Posted by: Kathy | Saturday, 08 March 2008 at 09:17 PM
Hi KAthy - There's something about Tater Tots I love.....it probably takes me back to childhood...so imagine Garlic Tater Tots! ;o)
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 09 March 2008 at 04:51 PM
I have been in there a few times and feel the same about the general quality of the food. The tater tots are the most boundary-pushing thing and the level of precision in most of the cooking was on par with a Denny's or IHOP.
Posted by: Marshall | Sunday, 09 March 2008 at 07:56 PM
I used to work at a manufacturing plant with an on-site cafeteria. My cubicle wasn't too far away, so there was no mistaking the smell of freshly fried tater tots! Everyone in my work area would head over to the cafeteria for a morning snack of tater tots.
I don't think I've had decent tater tots since.
Posted by: Sandy | Monday, 10 March 2008 at 10:00 AM
Hi Marshall - When the best thing on the menu are your Tater Tots.....
Hi Sandy - he-he-he....I love the smell of Tater tots in the morning!
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 10 March 2008 at 05:40 PM
I miss the Boll Weevil. It looked so comfortable aged-in-place in that space.
Moreno amuses me: (ex)Boll Weevil, Old Trieste, and the excellent Baci all neighbors.
Posted by: Michelle | Tuesday, 11 March 2008 at 10:22 AM
Hi Michelle - You did? Morena is an interesting mix of businesses.
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 12 March 2008 at 08:17 AM
I tried this place out when it first opened and had a similar experience with the food. I went back last week and was very impressed. They revamped their menu and I have to say the food and service were exceptional. I will be back to Offshore very soon!!!
Posted by: Jim Sparks | Tuesday, 22 April 2008 at 07:07 PM
Hi Jim - Thanks for visiting, and the info. If you don't mind me asking, what did you have on your visit?
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 22 April 2008 at 09:08 PM