mmm-yoso!!!

Mabel's Gone Fishing - A Quick Look

The Missus had been wanting to check out Mabel's Gone Fishing for a while and after learning the restaurant had earned Michelin Bib Gourmand status, well we just had to visit. Of course, first one had to get a table and because of the accolades getting a reservation was a bit difficult, but eventually, we managed to snag some reservations for an al fresco table on bustling 30th street. While the tables were tiny, we enjoyed watching how excited pooches were going to Dexter's Deli, the "Health Food" pet store across the street.

The seafood focused menu is heavily Iberian-influenced, which really excited us as we've always enjoyed the food and ingredients of the Iberian Peninsula/Coast. It was nice to see Jamon Iberico Bellota, but at $42 a plate....and well, the very nice Server didn't understand when I asked if it was "Pata Negra", the really good stuff I always get when visiting Spain, so we decided to pass.

The menu is designed for sharing which we love, and we got 3 small plates and 2 larger sharing plates. I started with the "G and T of the Month".

Which was clean and refreshing if a bit weak in the Gin department.

The staff was very friendly, even though the place filled quickly.

The first dish up was the Stuffed Piquillos ($16). 

In spite of having bacalao, this dish was quite bland. The peppers lacked the smoky-slightly bitter sweetness with a light touch of "heat" that I'm used to with piquillos. As mentioned earlier, the bacalao with breadcrumbs was really bland. I mean, we had four meals with bacalhau in Lisbon and I would never ever call anything I had there "bland" or in need of salt like these were.

Next up was the Mussels Escabeche ($14).

   First off, the grilled sourdough was fantastic, texturally and in taste. As for the mussels, well the shellfish was tender enough, but the "escabeche" was really weak. I'm used to a good acidic, flavorful escabeche, the addition of paprika for smokiness, more points for garlicky-oniony tones, all of which seemed to be missing here. To be honest, any number of tinned mussels from Tunaville (post upcoming) would be more enjoyable to us then this. But heck, that sourdough was good on its own. On a positive note, this brought back wonderful memories of our lunch at Michelin starred Bell's in Los Alamos, so I went ahead and made reservations. We got yet another road trip coming up!

I was curious about the Smoked Potatoes ($18), since I make versions of smoked potatoes at home.

This was not very pleasing. The potatoes were slightly smoky, really hard in texture, and not seasoned enough. Not sure about the katsuobushi since instead of adding a nice savory component, it brought fishiness to the dish. I think having more smokiness, cooking to where the interior is creamy and the exterior of the potatoes crisp, and seasoning well would do the trick.

At this point in time there was a rather long pause for our mains. I decided to order an Old Fashioned which was quite good.

It was about a 30-minute wait for our larger plates.

The Clam Toast ($26) was up next. And like the mussels the toast was the star of this plate as well.

The clams were decently cooked, though there was a bit of grit. The basil and tomatoes added brightness to the dish, but there wasn't enough of it.  We actually tore up the basil so the flavors could be more spread out in the dish. We enjoyed the red pepper, but the dish could have used more in terms of salt and pepper.

Last up was the Grilled Prawns ($28).

This dish could really have been a winnah; the prawns were a tad overcooked, but the flesh was still sweet, and those heads were perfect for imbibing (aka sucking). Below the prawns was crispy (hard) rice but not enough juice, sauce, or anything to really add flavor to the rice.

In the end, we loved the sourdough. In fact, the Missus is wanting me to visit Secret Sister to get some for Her. It's tough when my two favorite things about a meal is the bread and the Old Fashioned.

The service was very nice, the pacing a bit off, and the food...well, if this visit were in those days of yore, when I would always do multiple visits before doing a post (which I still require for myself for more inexpensive places) these photos would have never seen the "light of day". But things have changed over the last couple of years. As it is, I don't see us returning to Mabel's.

Sad because the Missus was really looking forward to our meal here.

For a different view of Mabel's you can read Soo's post here.

Mabel's Gone Fishing
3770 30th St.
San Diego, CA 92104
Hours:
Tues - Fri 4pm - 10pm
Saturday 10am - 2pm, 4pm - 10pm
Sunday 10am - 2pm

Toulouse - Les P'tits Fayots

After a nice day of checking out the Markets and doing some exploring, we decided to do a bit more walking before dinner.

We also decided to drop by a couple of places I had on my "list" to try and make dinner reservations for upcoming nights. Many of the restaurants I had on my list didn't do online reservations and required a phone call. Unfortunately, my French is beyond hideous, so we decided to try and appear in person to make reservations. Unfortunately, since this was a weekend, it was big time fail. 

On this night though, we had dinner reservations. It was quite a blessing in disguise. I mentioned in an earlier post, that I had tried to get a private tour with Elyse Riven who heads up Toulouse Guided Walks and is often a guest on one of my favorite podcasts, Join Us in France. Unfortunately, Elyse was I believe out of the country at the time, so we downloaded her VoiceMap audio tour. Elyse was kind enough to make some recommendations for dinner and also for visiting Albi, which is where we were headed the following day. 

One of the places she recommended and was on my "list" was Les P'tits Fayots, a nice little restaurant that does small, shareable plates. And they did online reservations!

The location is on a side street, the restaurant quite discreet.

The Missus enjoyed the fact that veggies were well represented on the menu and also enjoyed the wine selection. The service was very warm and friendly. Toulouse is a lot ore laid back than Paris!

The first item up was the Pomme de Terre Confit & Hareng Fume. Wonderfully earthy potatoes confit which was paired nicely with the savory smoked herring.

The mustard creme added a bit of punch and along with the starchiness of the potatoes helped handle the umami-heavy herring.

Next up; the Sable Emmenthal Noisette.

Basically Emmenthal and hazelnut biscuits; this was quite an interesting combination. The celery cream was interesting; we actually enjoyed the greens and herbs the best, nice texture and a touch of bitterness.

Sucrine & Ouef Mollet. You know the Missus and eggs right?

The Missus loved the runny soft boiled egg and even the creamy Mornay Sauce, which was very balanced in terms of butteriness and cheesiness. She also loved the sucrine, a lettuce that seemed like baby romaine, it tastes so clean and the shaved Parmesan and mild sauce added so much savory notes to the dish.

The last dish was actually our favorite. The Langoustine Boullion.

The Langoustine was so tender, sweet, and oceany. And that broth was seasoned perfectly, with just enough salt to highlite the touches of sea faring flavors. Bread with this......

We really enjoyed our meal. It was our favorite of our stay in Toulouse. We loved the service and the food!

Les P'tits Fayots
8 Rue de l'Esquile
31000 Toulouse, France

Road Trip - Dinner at Geronimo (Santa Fe, NM)

We took a short break after our day of hiking and exploring. Our room was very comfortable, I'm sure we'll stay here again next time.

For our "special" meal in Santa Fe, I had originally wanted Sazon, but due to the chef recently winning the James Beard Best Chef Southwest (2022), I just wasn't able to get reservations. So I searched around a bit and saw Geronimo mentioned on many lists. And I managed to make reservations with no problem. 

And deciding to make the 20 minute walk up (and then down) artsy Canyon Road would turn out to be a lot of fun. The street is full of historic adobe houses, most of which have been turned into art galleries. 

Canyon Road is made for strolling, exploring and enjoying all the art.

   I'm glad we headed out early as we spent a good amount of time checking out various galleries and all the wonderful art!

My favorite by far is "Peace Offering" by the late Walt Horton, in which a squirrel offers up an acorn to a sweet looking and curious bear. It looks so wonderfully adorable. You can't help but smile when you see it!

Geronimo is located in a historic 250 year old building. The namesake of the restaurant is not who you think it would be, but rather it is named for Geronimo Lopez who was the house's original owner.

While many folks were seated on the veranda, we chose seats in the warm and classy dining room.

The service was excellent, the perfect mix of efficient professionalism without being snobby or intrusive. Things got off on the right foot with a glass of Champagne.

After perusing the menu; the Missus decided on the four course Vegetarian Tasting Menu  ($80) with a wine pairing ($90). I decided to order two appetizers and a side for my meal.

The Missus's first course was a nice Endive Salad.

Nice peppery-bitterness from the endive, I thought the onion vinaigrette had a good pungent-sweet balance.

Up for me was the Wagyu Beef Carpaccio ($30).

Man, this was so good. The clean, almost sweet slices of Wagyu Beef went so well with the bitter-nutty arugula. The shreds of Parmesan added salty milkiness, while the classic addition of capers provided the right amount of a pickled sour and salt. The herb oil really wasn't needed, but the mustard horseradish sauce was just perfect on this.

Next up for the Missus was the Wild Mushroom and Sherry Bisque.

    In what was a very classy move, I was brought out a cup of the bisque as well since I had to wait for my next course! Super cool! The bisque was decadently smooth and velvety, but the Missus said there wasn't enough earthy mushroom flavor for Her. Of course, She's become quite the mushroom soup snob.

Since I hadn't expected a course, I had ordered an Old Fashioned, which was quite delish.

Next up for me....why I ordered appetizers part 2, the Foie Gras ($30).

   Perfectly seared , this wiggly slice of heaven was delici-yoso, with the duck demiglace adding another layer of rich-savory flavor. The "French Toast" teetered on the sweeter side, but the foie gras nicely brought it back to earth.

I also got a side of Broccolini ($10) which was nicely cooked, because....well, I needed something that actually looked healthy, you know what I mean?

The Missus's next dish was the Risotto. 

Nice basil tones and that Parmesan infusion went so well with the peppery-citrusy flavored arborio rice. The artichokes and asparagus were delicious. But, as is often the case with risotto, some of the rice was still on the hard and chewy side. Still, great flavors overall.

The Missus enjoyed Her dessert, the Meyer Lemon Crepe.

  This was a nice meal, with classy, yet warm and unstuffy service, and worth the price in our mind. The Missus enjoyed the wine pairing. It was a great way to end our time in Santa Fe.

Geronimo
724 Canyon Rd.
Santa Fe, NM 87501

We headed back down Canyon Road and ran into one of the two couples (the one without the pooch) we saw during our hike. They recognized us first and said hello. We all cracked up! They were headed to Geronimo and we told them that they'd enjoy there meal there. We hope they did.

Ambling back to the hotel, in the light of the "golden hour" (the sun doesn't set until after 7pm in September), admiring all the art, gave us time to reflect on how lucky we were to be able to dine at places like Geronimo and enjoy cities like Santa Fe.

And "Peace Offering" will always bring a smile to my face!

Paris (2022) - Musée d'Histoire de la Médecine, Au Petit Versailles du Marais, Dinner at Pirouette, and Some Revisits

After enjoying our croissant at Square Samuel-Paty, I took a look at the time. It was perfect; the museum we wanted to visit, The Musée d'Histoire de la Médecine would be opening in five minutes. We headed on over the two blocks to Paris Descartes University and was instantly confused. I quickly stepped into the local tabac shop and the really nice gentleman pointed me in the right direction. The museum is located on the second floor of the College of Surgery.

The first floor features statues of well known practitioners of medicine. In fact, if you look at this painting.....

And then the accompanying "guide", you might recognize some names.

The building itself is quite impressive. It was  build between 1769 and 1775 by Architect Jacques Gondouin and was the original location of the Medical School which was founded in 1803.

For us, the main focus was the collection of medical instruments. The museum is famous for having the bag and tools of François Carlo Antommarchi which was used for the autopsy of Napoleon Bonaparte. 

I think I'll leave the verbiage here; you'll be able to figure out what all these medical instruments tools were used for. Some are fairly cringe worthy.

And while not quite as enjoyable as the Surgeons' Hall Museums in Edinburgh, this was an interesting stop.

And was well worth the 4 Euro entrance fee.

Musée de l'Histoire de la Médecine
12 Rue de l'École de Médecine
75006 Paris, France

This was back in May and it was a beautiful day.

On the way back to our accommodation, the Missus wanted to stop by what She called a "nice café" that She had enjoyed the previous day when I was taking the baguette class, so we headed on over to Au Petit Versailles du Marais. I cracked up when I saw the sign....

The Missus didn't understand why I cracked up. I told Het look at the sign, it says "Christian Vabret, Meilleur Ouvrier de France". She said "So....." And I had to explain "think of it this way, it's competition for the best in France in different categories." Once you win you hold the title for life. So you found the Boulangerie of a "master". And all by accident.

The Missus then told me; "I was wondering why all these tour groups were stopping by this place while I was enjoying my pastry and coffee.....it was so annoying!"

You gotta love it.

It's a lovely little shop with many temptations.

The Missus made Her selection and we both got coffee.....

And the Missus really enjoyed Her treat!

Au Petit Versailles du Marais
1 Rue Tiron
75004 Paris, France

We then headed back to the apartment for a nice little break. We decided to have dinner nearby. I had read some good reviews on Restaurant Pirouette which was basically a block from where we were staying, so we decided to see if we would be able to grab an early dinner there. Since it was fairly early, there were outdoor tables available.

We ordered 1 entree (appetizer) and 2 plats, starting with the Langoustine "Tempura" (18 €).

Notice the quotation marks around "tempura". This wasn't deep fried. It was also overcooked, chewy, and under-seasoned. The fennel did add a nice anise-crunch and textural contrast. The pesto rosso; sun dried tomato pesto, was pretty much sun dried tomato oil. Not very good.

The Missus got Razor Clams and Cockles (25€).

The white wine sauce was nicely done, it had a nice, pleasant acidity. Unfortunately, there was a good amount of "grit" in this dish which made eating a bit unpleasant. The potatoes were really dry, though the razor clams were tender and sweet.

I got the Lamb Shank, Chard, and Thyme Jus (28€).

The lamb was super tough and there just wasn't enough of the thyme sauce to go around. The leaves of chard were basically uncooked.

Service was a mixed bag; the young lady working was wonderful, but it seemed that the gentleman working just wanted us out of the way.

This was the most disappointing meal of the trip.

Restaurant Pirouette
5 Rue Mondétour
75001 Paris, France

After dinner we took a short stroll, then headed back to the apartment to watch the sunset. We relaxed, caught up on emails and then decided to head on out for a nightcap. We had enjoyed our previous visits to Jefrey's on Rue Grenata. So, we headed there.

I don't know if Covid had really affected things, but the drinks tasted watered down and the service was not as welcoming as on our previous visits.

Jefrey's
14 Rue Saint Sauveur
75002 Paris France

Man, it was kinda sad, we were "oh-fer-two" on favorites of ours during this trip. We headed down Rue Tiquetonne on the way back to the apartment and came across a familiar site.

The Golden Promise Whisky Bar. When waiting for our table at ERH, we'd had a drink here. Hmmmm.....well, we decided to givre it a shot and this time, instead of drinking at the bar on street level, we headed downstairs to the bar. Which had almost a speakeasy like feel to it.

Not wanting to mess around with another cocktail, I just had a Yamazaki Single Malt, which was a nice end to the evening before calling it a night.

It was quite interesting as the other folks at the bar seemed like regulars.

Golden Promise Whisky Bar
11 Rue Tiquetonne
75002 Paris, France

Arriving back at the flat, we decided to get to sleep fairly early. But not before enjoying the sites from the window.

Edinburgh (2022) - Dinner at Restaurant Martin Wishart

We had wanted one blow out meal during our stay in Edinburgh. So after doing some research and then trying to hunt down reservations I came up with Martin Wishart. Even though the one Michelin Star restaurant was in Leith, almost 2 1/2 miles away, we could always catch a cab if we desired. Of course, as things ended up we walked both ways. It was a fairly pleasant walk. Leith was once Edinburgh's seaport and had fallen into disrepair following World War II. But during the early 2000's, the neighborhood has been revitalized and with the mooring of the Royal Yacht Britannia and the conversion of the Ocean Terminal into a shopping center, along with artists, musicians, and designers moving into the area it has been ranked as one of the coolest neighborhoods in the world. Well, we walked on over and the place seemed quite mellow on this Saturday night, we were probably in the wrong area, but we kind of enjoyed the relaxed nature of things.

We were greeted immediately after entering the restaurant. Service was friendly and professional, though the timing of the dishes was inconsistent as there were a few long waits between dishes. The Sommelier though, was outstanding! He helped the Missus pick Her tasting as if he read Her mind and totally understood Her taste and preferences. 

The Missus and I decided to go with the three course "Market Menu" and each had one of the two choices available for the three courses. That way we could taste one of each item available on the menu.

Things started with some delicious bread and the four course amuse bouche featured beetroot and crowdie, cod roe and fennel, potato and smoked egg yolk, and horse radish and celeriac.

The highlite was the smoked eggyolk and potato, the flavors of each component seemed so intensified

The Sea Bream Tartare was nice though nothing really special.

Having both the strong flavor of lemon and the brininess of capers was a bit much. The soy foam was fine. The fish had been perfectly prepared and marinated though, the texture was a perfect creamy toothsomeness.

The Roasted Veal Sweetbread was an amazing "earthy" and textural delight.

The sweetbread was perfectly fried, crisp coating, creamy interior, slightly earthy and mildly sweet with a hint of offal sharpness. The flavors of the morels added another luxurious layer of earthiness with a nutty finish. The broadbeans finished things off nicely along with the wonderful jus.

Another dish that was perfectly prepared was the Roast Peterhead Skatewing.

The Sauce Grenobloise, featuring brown butter, capers, and good acidity went well with the creamy but mild flavored skate wing. There were a couple of escargot thrown in that really didn't add anything to the dish in our opinion. Loved the confit tomatoes which added a deep acidic fruitiness to the dish. The artichokes were surprisingly creamy.

The Roast Saddle of Dornoch Lamb was wonderfully gamy and meaty, if a bit on the dry side. We loved the rub and sear on this.

This version of Pomme Salardaise, basically garlic potatoes with a good amount of fat, was almost like a creamy croquette. Speaking of croquette, that's a wonderfully porky and crisp fried pork belly on the bottom left which almost looks like one, doesn't it? The asparagus was crisp, fresh, and mildly sweet. The jus featured thyme which was used judiciously and didn't interfere with the overall flavor of the dish.

For dessert the Missus chose the Passion Fruit Creme Fraiche Tart.

Which She enjoyed saying it was both refreshing and quite rich.

I chose the Cheese Course (an extra £10 supplement).

   I wish I took notes on the cheeses. That bleu was fabulous! And like I mentioned earlier the Sommelier was fabulous. When I asked for a "Spot of Port" to go with the cheeses, he selected an amazing Tawny that was perfect with the bleu!

We took the macaroons and "stuffs" to go because we were "stuffed".

The Missus enjoyed these during the rest of our stay in Edinburgh.

Overall, professional but not stuffy service. A bit slow and off in the pacing as the evening wore on, probably due to staffing. The Sommelier was amazing.

Restaurant Martin Wishart
54 The Shore
Edinburgh, Scotland

We then hoofed it back to the apartment. Even though it was a Saturday evening things were pretty quiet as we walked back which was unexpected, but we enjoyed.

We had one more full day in Edinburgh, and we'd try to make the best of it.

Thanks for stopping by!

San Miguel de Allende (2022) - Dinner at The Restaurant and a Revisit to Lavanda Café

We headed out for dinner on our second (and last) night in San Miguel. As with our previous dinner I had taken a recommendation and made reservations for the meal. It was a nice, short stroll to dinner, just a short distance from the main square.

Located in a restored mansion, The Restaurant apparently created quite a buzz when it opened in 2008, and has been credited with changing the food scene in San Miguel.

The dining room is situated in the lovely courtyard (so many beautiful courtyards in SME) and the menu is somewhat globally focused.

Since we had a late lunch we would stick to one of our favorite strategies and go with several appetizers and one main to make our meal.

We started with the Beef Carpaccio - $300/MX.

The beef was tenderloin and quite lean, the truffled ponzu was quite pronounced in flavor and to be perfectly frank served better as a dressing for the nice crisp veggies and potato strings. Loved the addition of mint and cilantro on this.

The Charred Octopus ($300/MX) was indeed quite charred and a bit more chewy than we prefer.

The overall bitterness of the charred Cephalopod marred the dish, though the tomatoes were sweet, with the perfect acidity, and the avocado puree helped balance out whatever heat that was provided by the habanero sauce.

I was intrigued by the Shrimp and Scallop dish ($510/MX), which featured curry dusted scallops and shrimp, and a cauliflower puree, with lentils.

This was pretty good as the shrimp and scallops were perfectly cooked, the curry flavor was tempered and really harmonized with the creamy, nutty-lightly sweet mashed cauliflower. Loved the lentils which added a nice earthy flavor and textural contrast to the dish.

The most interesting item we ordered was the Cheese Plate ($285/MX).

Yes, that's right, the cheese plate. Why? Well, it's all local/regional cheeses and except for the bleu cheese....I'm thinking that it's basically based on the type of edible mold from the area, all the others were pretty good.

    The Missus enjoyed the wine selection and the service was professional and accommodating.

The Restaurant
Diez de Sollano y Dávalos 16
37700 San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato Mexico

After dinner we strolled on over to the heart of SME, the Jardín Allende. The Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel looked lovely as the sun slowly set.

And unlike when we visited earlier, the church was open and wasn't having any special event going on, so we went to take a peek inside.

After taking a quick look into the church, we crossed the street to the Jardin and had a seat and enjoyed the passage of time.

It was a nice evening for us.

The next morning we slept in for a bit. The owners of the B&B sent me a text and asked if we wanted them to make us breakfast. Since we were the only customers staying in the place we told them to not go thru the effort. Plus, the Missus wanted to try another pour over from Lavanda Café. So we headed on over a bit before they opened and were the first customers on this morning.

The Missus got Her pour over which She enjoyed.

And we shared a Salsa Verde con Chicharron which the Missus enjoyed.

 The eggs were perfectly cooked, nice tanginess, a bit of heat, a nice, hearty breakfast.

Lavanda Café de Especialidad
Calle del Dr Ignacio Hernandez Macias 87, Zona Centro,
37700 San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Since we were the only folks staying at our accommodation, we were told to just take our time, and that we could check out at noon instead of eleven. This would make things work out better for us in terms of getting to our next stop Guanajuato, which would take around 2 hours via Uber.

It was a pretty quiet morning around the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel.

Since the clock was just striking ten, we decided to check out the Museo de San Miguel de Allende right across the street that opened at ten.

   Most of this museum is dedicated to it's former resident; Ignacio Allende, who became a hero of the Mexican War on Independence. The Allende family was a wealthy family and the museum is housed in the family's former home.

Much of the family's living quarters have been restored and I especially like the replica of the original kitchen.

The first floor contains a history of the region as well.

It was a nice little diversion. And soon enough we had to head back to our room and finish packing; call our Uber, and then we were off.....

Next stop Guananjuato!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wolf in the Woods Revisited

Before we left on our last trip the Missus wanted to have a nice dinner out. Going thru our recent "quick visits" it ended up being between Black Radish and Wolf in the Woods....and Black Radish just seemed to be priced too high...heck, we ate at a Michelin Bib Gourmet listed restaurant in Paris for much less than Black Radish. And WitW starts service at 4pm with outdoor seating, so I ended up making reservations there.

And because we had dinner early, there was actually parking in front of the restaurant and we were the only customers when we arrived.

Our service was just as good this time around. The Missus made sure to ask for a stemmed wine glass as we remembered getting served wine in tumblers. The tables are a bit on the "cozy" side, but since we're used to eating in Europe, the tiny tables really don't bother us too much.

As we'll often do; we made a meal out of just appetizers and we stuck with the one item the Missus loved on our previous visit and tried three "new" items.

Starting with the Calamari ($14). We don't often order fried calamari since it tends to be hard and chewy; but this was light and crisp.

The red pepper flakes was a nice addition....the sliced fried padron peppers and the overly strong sauce were really not necessary. We'd definitely have this again.

The Sweet Corn and Pinon Soup ($14) was just as good as on our last visit.

Lovely, great, not overly sweet maize flavor; loved the smoky-mildly spicy Hatch Pepper powder and the pine nuts just added a nice layer of flavor to the dish.

Next up; the Yellowtail Aqua Chile ($19).

The hamachi was of good quality; quite buttery in texture. I prefer my aguachile to have nice acidic-citrus tones and this was on the weak side. The avocados did well in this dish and the slices of serrano added a much needed punch to the dish.

We finished things off with the Maize and Hen of the Woods Mushroom ($17).

This was a pretty good dish. I wish it had more earthy mushroom flavor. As it was, the polenta and shaved Pecorino ruled the dish.  The addition of Marscapone made the polenta very creamy. Like I said pretty good; though I would have liked more mushroom.

This was a enjoyable meal overall. I do wish Wolf in the Woods was in my "neck of the woods" as we'd be having a nice dinner of appetizers every couple of weeks.

Wolf in the Woods
1920 Fort Stockton Dr.
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 234-2597
Hours:
Tues - Thurs 4pm - 9pm
Fri - Sat 4pm - 930pm
Closed Sun - Mon

 

Black Radish - A Quick Look

*** So here's another of those "quick looks".....

The Missus had really enjoyed Wolf in the Woods, so of course She wanted me to find another place for the following week. I did a couple of searches and up popped a place named Black Radish. Hmmmm......I hadn't even heard of this place. Apparently, the building on the corner of University and Villa Terrace had been restored. It's an area I call the "dead zone"...between Hillcrest and North Park. I probably drove past this place several times and never even noticed it!

So, I made reservations for 5pm during a weekday. Which was great since we were the first customers in the place and there were only three tables occupied when we left.

There's a bar area and various tables; the woman who served us was quite friendly and the Missus enjoyed Her glasses of wine.

There's a prefix dinner option for $69, but we often find that starters/apps are often more interesting; so we decided on something from the "bar snacks menu", 3 starters, and one main to share.

Things started off with a decent amuse; white halibut, which was done in a "ceviche-style".

Nice and refreshing; a good start.

Of course, I just had to try the Beef Tartare.

We enjoyed the basil microgreens and the fruit provided. The goat cheese added a light acidic-milky tone to the dish. I thought the dice was a bit too coarse leaving the beef on the chewy side. I could have used a bit more acidity and some light pungency in this. 

I believe I mentioned that the Missus isn't a big lobster fan; I think She's had too many bad versions. However, I insisted on ordering the Lobster Toast.

 Which was a good move. The lobster was cooked perfectly, so tender, it was oceany-sweet, and the brioche added a buttery-mild sweetness, along with textural contrast. We both enjoyed the leaves of what seemed like radicchio....lovely bitterness that went so well with the brown butter. There was some nice citrus tones as well. This was quite good. 

The item we selected from the Bar Snacks menu was the Roasted Pork Belly.

 In terms of flavor, this was quite good; the Gooseberry Jus was rich and yet had some tartness which helped to cut said richness. The pork was on the "hard" side; not chewy, hard.....too bad because we really enjoyed the combination of flavors.

The Scallop was perfectly cooked as well; very rare, it could have been perhaps seared a bit more; but it was so sweet-savory.

I wish there was more than one! This was very good.

We also ordered the "special" for the evening; the Lamb Chop "Cassoulet"....you know me and Cassoulet!

The lamb chops was cooked to a perfect medium rare; it was nice and mildly gamy. The beans was also cooked to a tongue coating creaminess. Sadly, the lamb chops needed more seasoning and the beans were really bland. I mean, really bland....I could have used some thyme, salt, pepper, garlic, acidity, pungency....well anything. Oh my. As is often our experience when ordering the "plat principle" we are often left somewhat disappointed. Too bad, this really could have been good!

The Missus ordered dessert and espresso which She really enjoyed.

As a whole, we really enjoyed the vibe and service here....it was much more relaxed than Wolf in the Woods. Of course we were the only customers during half of our meal. Of the three recent meals we had; this was the most expensive at $170 for 2. The Missus enjoyed the wine She had; so like Wolf in the Woods, we'll probably return.

Black Radish
2591 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92104
Current Hours:
Wed - Sat 5pm - 10pm

Roadtrip (During Covid) - Coffeholic (West Covina), Eddie World (Yermo), and Dinner at Partage (Las Vegas)

My attempt at using up all my vacation days led us to schedule another road trip a mere 6 weeks after returning from Yosemite. This time we'd be headed to Zion, Monument Valley, and Sedona....with a couple of stops along the way; which included the SGV and Las Vegas, We again stayed at the Courtyard Monterey Park and again ate at Bistro Na's; so I won't even post on that.

The next morning we headed out to Vegas, first stopping for our caffeine fix in West Covina at a place named Coffeholic.

 This shop was in an interesting location; in the Lakes Mall, near Edwards Cinema, near a bunch of shopping center-chain looking places, banks, and offices. Needless to say, at 8am on a Tuesday, there was not another soul around.

So....service was quick, I had my usual....and the Missus got a pour over (of course), which was super cheap at 5 bucks.....and of course, She got what She paid for.

Regardless, we got our coffee sat and sat for a bit.

Coffeeholic
1240 Lakes Drive Unit B
West Covina, CA 91790

Since we hadn't been to Old Town/Downtown in ages.....like over 20 years we also took a stroll down South Glendora Avenue.....it was so quiet here, almost spooky in a way.....hard to believe this is West Covina.

And after getting in our fix, we headed off.....

It used to be that we'd stop in Barstow for fuel and a "bio break"....but the last time we drove up to Vegas, our usual stop, the Barstow Outlets seemed to be getting somewhat run down. So, I decided that our refueling stop should be at place in Yermo named "Eddie World", which is supposedly the largest gas station in SoCal..... And much like Bravo Farms has restaurants, a huge candy shop....

 And all kinds of snacks and "stuffs" that you never knew that you needed. The restrooms were super clean and it was fun walking around checking things out.

Also, we usually bring nuts and beef jerky on our road trips to cure the pangs of hunger should they set in. This time we hadn't brought jerky; so I bought some stuffs from Jedidiah's Jerky in Eddie World.

We then topped off our tank and headed to Vegas.

EddieWorld
36017 Calico Rd.
Yermo, CA 92398

We got to Vegas in good time. As I mentioned before, the Missus isn't a big fan of staying on the strip, so we stayed at the Homewood Suites on the other side of the I-15 from the strip. Man, had it been over 8 years since we'd been in Vegas? And then of course, there was the question of "where to eat"? Of course, there were places off the strip that had been favorites of years past.

But since we'd be staying on or near National Parks and such, there's not a lot of great choices for eating. I figured we'd be back on the "burger bandwagon" again....so like our previous road trip, I set-up nice "bookend dinners" for us.

After doing a bit of research, I found a French inspired tasting menu only restaurant named Partage, located on of all places Spring Mountain Road, Las Vegas's unofficial "Chinatown" where many of the best Asian restaurants in the city can be found.

I had full intended on driving to the restaurant, but of course the Missus had other ideas and decided we should walk the almost two miles to Partage. 

And so it came to be that we walked to the restaurant.

Partage is located in the same strip mall complex as places such as Shokku Ramen, Pho Kim Long, King Fu Thai and Chinese, and Lee's Sandwiches; so yes, it does kind of stand out.

We arrived at the designated time and were seated.

The menu card has the story of Partage.

The Missus and I both took the 7 Course Tasting ($125) menu; the Missus took the wine pairing ($55) and I selected the Foie Gras and Oxtail supplement ($27). Service was quite professional if a bit stiff and our Server was quite sweet but really didn't know the dishes too well.

Thing started with the Amuse - a Pomme de Truffle. Which was delicious.

A crunchy potato round with truffle....man, this was good!

The first dish was the Butternut Squash Veloute with a Coffee-Truffle Foam.

Loved the earthy mushrooms, which also, along with the croutons added a nice crunch. The coffee-truffle foam tasted a bit odd and the dish was perhaps a bit too sweet for my taste.

The Lobster Cannelloni with Leek Foam, and Lobster Bisque was good.

For me, the wonderful bisque was the hightlite of the dish; wonderful sweet-oceany flavors, velvety texture. The Mimolette cheese in the cannelloni added a nutty texture; though I wish the lobster flavor came thru a bit more in the cannelloni.

The Rabbit Boudin Blanc was amazing, while the Rabbit Brulee had a wonderful texture, but was again on the overly sweet side.

Love the seasonings in the sausage and the mildly gamy flavors of rabbit seemed to fit in so perfectly in a boudin blanc.

The Missus and I shared the Foie Gras supplement, which was quite generous in size.

The foie gras was seared perfectly and was so wonderfully decadent. The passionfruit powder was a perfect addition to the dish and the gingerbread wasn't overly sweet. The was delici-yoso!!!!

The Halibut and Sunchoke two ways was a good dish; the hailibut perhaps a bit overcooked, but still moist and tender.

We enjoyed the unique nutty-sweetness of the sunchoke puree and the hazelnut crusted sunchoke was also quite tasty. A nice variation of textures.

The Oxtail Supplement was an Oxtail Croque Monsieur, which like the Foie Gras supplement was worth the price of admission!

Such amazing beefiness! Having the shaved black truffle didn't hurt at all either!

By this point in the meal, the Missus wasn't really wow'd by the wine pairing. We quickly noticed that almost everyone in the restaurant were having cocktails and not wine. And with good reason....they made some very good cocktails.

The meat course for the evening was a pretty much by-the-book preparation of Beef Tenderloin.

The beef was a bit tougher than I prefer; though I loved the sweet-buttery leek confit and the brioche went surprisingly well with the jus. The red wine reduction wasn't overbearing and added to the flavor of the beef as well.

And the Missus enjoyed the desserts.....

Even though the Missus wasn't too impressed with the wine pairing; I think the very innovative pairing from Six Test Kitchen was still fresh in Her mind; this was an enjoyable meal and a nice start to our road trip.

Partage
3839 Spring Mountain Rd.
Las Vegas, NV 89102

While having dessert, the Missus mentioning wanting to walk back to our hotel via the strip and the sweet young lady looked surprised and recommended we take an Uber. But of course the Missus wasn't having any of that......

And so, we walked down Spring Mountain Road and onto Las Vegas Boulevard. We were kid of freaked out at all the folks milling about maskless.......

It seems like Vegas, looked just like....well, the Vegas we remembered.

We walked all the way to the MGM, before heading back to the hotel. Well, at least I got my walking done on this evening, right?

And tomorrow we were headed to Zion!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wolf in the Woods - A Quick Look

*** Here's another one for my "a quick look" week of posts. Hope you're enjoying these posts.

One thing our visit to Wormwood did for the Missus was to inspire Her to dine out again. Yes, we'd be exercising some caution because we're not out of the woods (no pun intended) with regards to Covid yet....so outdoor dining or having early meals seemed to fit the bill. I had read about a place that served tapas style dishes named Wolf in the Woods opening in Mission Hills; so I made 430 reservations for an outdoor table. 

The restaurant is located pretty deep in Mission Hills on Fort Stockton next to a Yoga studio. I can't say I'd ever been around this part of Mission Hills..........

The place was already humming when we arrived, I'm glad we got outdoor seating. It seemed like most of the customers were from the area and the demographics skewed toward an older set.

Our Server was fabulous and even though the table was small, it worked for us as we basically shared small plates. We also loved watching all the pampered Mission Hill pooches walking by.....there were even more dogs to be checked out than what we saw at Wormwood on 30th Street!

The Missus started with a nice white wine. 

We got the Calvados Chicken Liver Pate ($16).

    The Pate was sealed with clarified butter, which the Missus didn't care for, but I enjoyed. The pate was quite good, great texture, just enough richness and balanced delicious, savory liveriness. It went quite well on the brioche toast; the baguette was a bit too chewy (a la typical San Diego style) for our taste. The pate's flavor was so balanced that we didn't need the chutney or salt.....though I'm never gonna turn down cornichons.

The Missus loves Her corn soups, so I made sure to order the Sweet Corn and Pinon Soup ($14).

Whoa....this was our favorite dish of the meal. The soup wasn't overly sweet and had that wonderful mildly-sweet maize flavor. The pine nuts added a layer as well with that distinctive nutty-sweet-buttery taste. The Hatch Chili Powder added some zip and the corn fritter some bulk and texture. The Missus already wants to have this again!

Of course I ordered the Beef Tartare ($20).

This is the classic Beef Tartare I look for, clean and refreshing to the palate. Capers and Shallots for flavor counterpoints a quail egg to add creaminess. The arugula was a nice touch as it added crunch and bitterness to the dish. The Missus thought this was superb; but I graded it as good. This was minced too finely for me, giving the tartare a more mushy texture than I prefer. But the flavor and seasoning was spot on.

The last dish was the only "clunker" of the evening; even though the presentation was quite good - the Harissa Octopus ($18).

First off, the texture was excellent; just the right amount of toothsomeness. The seasoning however was quite weak and the harissa (lining the plate) didn't have enough "oomph" or salt to elevate the dish. The octopus would have been just fine with some textural contrast and the addition of a decent amount of salt, olive oil, perhaps something with a touch of pungency, smokiness, or light sweetness, and lemon juice. Yes, for once I was wanting more salt in a dish. Too bad, because the octopus cooked nicely.

Still, the Missus enjoyed this meal and Her two glasses of wine. The place was pretty busy, but the service was friendly and attentive. I'd say if Wolf in the Woods was in our neighborhood, we'd drop by regularly. So yes, I guess we will be returning....hopefully soon.

Wolf in the Woods
1920 Fort Stockton Dr.
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 234-2597
Hours:
Tues - Thurs 4pm - 9pm
Fri - Sat 4pm - 930pm
Closed Sun - Mon