|
Turkey complements San Diego chefs are gearing up for Thanksgiving by providing special treats to get you out of the kitchen and to complement your holiday meal. Marla Reif and Fay Nakanishi, chefs for The Mission, are baking bread. Choose from a giant 2-pound loaf ($6.50) of rosemary, squaw or cinnamon bread; or, to stuff the turkey, get a 2-pound bag of Mission Stuffing ($4) — a mixture of the breads with selected seasonings. Best of all, the recipe card is included. Matt Rimel of Rimel's Rotisserie in La Jolla is offering a limited number of whole, all-natural turkeys (9-12 pounds; $50), mesquite-cooked on the rotisserie and served with sides of mango-cranberry sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and gravy, and, of course, stuffing. Sides are $3.75-$5.95 per pint. Daily's Restaurants serve nutritious food with 10 grams or less of fat, such as sweet potatoes served with a non-fat, yogurt-based cream of maple syrup and spices ($1.95/serving). For a low-fat vegetarian main dish, try the lentil stew ($4.25/serving) or the brown rice (95 cents/serving). Tutto Mare's soup of the day and fresh vegetable soup made without chicken stock are good meal starters at $4.50-$4.75 per serving. Add Tutto Mare's mashed or roasted potatoes, your own turkey, and finish with Tutto Mare's freshly baked pumpkin cookies, carrot cake or pumpkin pie. All desserts are $4.95 per serving; a whole pumpkin pie costs $45. For the ultimate in decadence to top off a holiday meal, stop by Karen Krasne's Extraordinary Desserts in Hillcrest and take home a 24-kt. Chocolate Mousse Torte (6-inch, $24, serves 6-8; 8-inch, $28, serves 10-12; and 10-inch, $36, serves 14-16); Holiday New York Cheesecake (pumpkin with a touch of cranberry; $35, serves 10-12); or the Pumpkin Pecan Croissant Bread Pudding ($32, serves 10-12). For something not quite as rich, taste the Cranberry Ricotta Loaf ($16, serves 12-16), or the 24-kt. Pumpkin Apple Pecan Loaf that just happens to be covered in chocolate ($24, serves 12-16). *** Tastes, tastes and more tastes: Along with the crisp fall air comes the semi-annual Taste of Uptown and Sidewalk Sale, Nov. 2, 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Tickets ($15) entitle guests to samples of foods from more than 28 Hillcrest restaurants, special fall savings at several Hillcrest retail shops and live music at Village Hillcrest. Participants walk, skate, bike or take advantage of the free shuttle service. *** Chefs on the move: Riko S. Bartolome is the new executive chef at Torreyana Grille in the Sheraton Grande Torrey Pines. Previously, Bartolome was executive chef of the Crown Room at the Hotel del Coronado. Prior to that he was at the Nikko Hotel in Beverly Hills, the Grand Hyatt Wailea in Hawaii and the Hyatt Regency La Jolla. He replaces Anthony Layton-Matthews. Brian Rutherford has joined Kobé in Hillcrest as chef. Rutherford and his family recently moved from Napa Valley via Woodland, where he was chef at Morrisons Upstairs. Rutherford replaces Steven Ginsberg. *** Sue Scudder, a restaurant manager before being blinded in an accident, owns Dot City, a company that binds together menus written in large print and in Braille, enabling blind or visually impaired diners to make their own choices. The large-print menus offer a nice alternative to turning up the lights. The menus can be found in pizzerias such as Pizza Nova, fine dining establishments such as Anthony's and Peohe's, and many hotel restaurants, including those at the Hotel del Coronado. Hotels including Loews Coronado Bay, Le Meridian and the San Diego Hilton Beach and Tennis Club provide Braille and large-print room service menus. Participating restaurants list the special menus on the regular menu, put a sign on the door, or have the staff mention it when seating guests. Scudder is negotiating with Chart House to put the menus in all 63 of its restaurants, and with The Nordstrom Cafes. *** Two of San Diego’s most talented chefs, Deborah Helm and Fay Nakanishi, have teamed with San Diego restaurateurs Philip Mossy Jr. and Thomas Fitzpatrick to form a new company, Eclectic Inc. They will introduce MiXX, a new restaurant at the old Stefano's site in Hillcrest, featuring cuisine with no ethnic boundaries, in mid-November. Helm, most recently in San Francisco, was formerly chef at Elario's 515 and The Abbey. Nakanishi, chef/owner of The Mission, was the executive chef of Croce's restaurants from 1987 to 1995. Fitzpatrick was Croce's g.m. of operations, and is now co-owner of Bayou Bar and Grill with Mossy. *** Guests will dance in the aisles, and chefs from 20 local restaurants — including Anthony's Star of the Sea, Fio's Cucina Italiana, Hyatt Regency La Jolla, Sally's and Triangles — will create culinary delights, at the grand pre-opening gala at Whole Foods Market, 8825 Villa La Jolla Dr. , Nov. 11. *** Laurel Restaurant & Bar was given the Award of Excellence for Outstanding Wine List by Wine Spectator Magazine. Laurel is one of only 1,444 restaurants throughout the world to receive this coveted award. Laurel is the second creation of Doug Organ and Gary Parker, joining their WineSellar & Brasserie in Sorrento Mesa. *** Sammy's California Woodfired Pizza Restaurants is partnering with Tokuju Co. Ltd. of Japan. Tokuju gets exclusive license and the franchise rights to Sammy's Restaurant in Japan, where it will open a minimum of 20 restaurants within 25 years. Staff will be trained in the United States, and the original recipes, menu style and logo will be used. *** Roman Shaloman and Arkadiu Shamuelov sold their kabobs to a long line of customers at the Kobey's Swap Meet for more than 2-1/2 years before achieving their goal of owning a restaurant. Now they've opened Kabob House at 1125 Sixth Ave., and are serving their native East Russian cuisine for lunch and dinner. The menu offers local favorites from the Uzbekistan area, including Lagman (a mixture of homemade pasta), beef and vegetables, borscht, Tashkent rice and sautéed lamb. The restaurant, featuring woodwork hand-carved by the owners, provides authentic Russian entertainment Friday and Saturday evenings. *** When Bob Dole came to San Diego for the Oct. 16 debate, Windsock Bar & Grill provided all of the food for his flight out. Windsock, a "truck stop" for pilots of private planes, is located at Pacific Highway, on top of Jimsair Aviation. Breakfast begins at 7 a.m., and the restaurant is open for dinner through 8 p.m. The bar stays open even later. Windsock's renovated dining spot claims the greatest view of San Diego. *** The Trolley House has opened at Mission Valley Hazard Center, in the former Tony Romas' location. Its menu includes salads, sandwiches, ribs and seafood. *** The San Diego Marriott and Marina received the Gold Platter award for the second consecutive year. The Marriott says it is the only hotel in San Diego to win the award given by meeting and convention planners for high quality and standards. *** Congratulations to the gang at Cervecerias, La Cruda Brewery (The Hangover Brewery), for winning a gold medal at The Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Cervecerias, La Cruda's Makanudo Porter beat out 64 other porters judged by a professional blind tasting panel to win as the best robust porter in the country. Makanudo Porter, one of four house drafts, is heavy with just a hint of chocolate and toffee, says brewmaster Troy Hojel. Marilynn Boesky has written about, worked for, and eaten at restaurants in San Diego and around the world for the last 10 years. |
