|
Looking back on last year’s restaurant receipts, my eyes flashed dollar signs and I realized that I had eaten the cash equivalent of a new car. Perhaps not a Mercedes S-55, but a transportation vehicle nonetheless. In fact, I guess I don’t have anything tangible to show for all that cash. But as a restaurant lover, food writer and self-proclaimed chowhound, I have to bear in mind that I dine out for many reasons other than to assuage an empty stomach. For me, and others who live to dine, a restaurant is like the theater, an opera or a museum — it provides a cultural and aesthetic experience. I am often asked, usually by my accountant, “Is all the money you spend eating out worth it?” Sometimes, if you catch me on an off day after a “bad clam,” the answer might be iffy. But more and more often, especially as the food climate continues to heat up in San Diego, the answer is “yes.” Here is a list of recently opened and noteworthy restaurants. Whatever type of diner you are — and the industry needs us all — you should be able to find a great place to please your palate without displeasing your pocketbook. If this coming year is anything like the last for new restaurants in San Diego, the scales just might tip in 2001. BERTRAND At MR. A’s Bertrand Hug’s renovation of the landmark restaurant Mr. A’s last year turned the former relic of a restaurant atop the Financial Building into an elegant and engaging respite from the bustling city some 12 floors below. Executive Chef Todd Davies, a protégé of Jeremiah Towers and former partner to Bradley Odgen, is the man behind the menu and his self-styled “New American Fare” borrows from the Mediterranean, Asia and France. Some have said that the new Mr. A’s got off to a rocky start. Bertrand, the consummate professional, has since mended the seams, tightened up bolts and put a fresh coat of polish on the service. In my book, Bertrand at Mr. A’s remains a luscious lure for those seeking the simple pleasure of eating simply superb American fare.
BUCA DI BEPPO This is the chain restaurant famous for not advertising, being a bit off the beaten path and yet perpetually packed. Buca Di Beppo serves up tasty Southern Italian fare along with singing, hand clapping and all around “much ado.” The restaurant name means “Joe’s Basement” and the charming interior design featuring “pleather” booths and year-round Christmas lights set a perfect stage for the hearty platters of “Spaghetti Marinara” and “Nine-Layer Lasagne” that the kitchen pumps out with fast-food precision. Don’t be fooled, this is good food. It is well-prepared, well-presented fare. The portions are served “family style” so Billy, Bobby and Betty-Jo need to come to an agreement on their courses, otherwise all will be toting home a shopping bag of leftovers.
CHIVE Proprietress Tracey Borkum mixes the business of good design with the business of socializing in this sleek, chic, Downtown setting. The minimalist rather cool interior design is a vast contrast to the haute cuisine Chef Henry Freidank specializes in at Chive. One of my favorite meals of 2000 was the “Ponzu Chicken with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes.” This dinner-only restaurant (lunch was bagged a month after opening) always is busy, and weekends are booked solid. Borkum’s vision of a New York-hip-yet-neighborhood-friendly eatery truly has been realized right here in the Gaslamp Quarter. DAVE AND BUSTER’S A “Chuck E. Cheese on steroids for adults,” or a “Family Fun Center without the family,” this coinless, practically kidless video land is heaven on earth for those who never got Space Invaders out of their system. Designed for adults between ages 21 and 44, this arcade in a casino atmosphere is definitely worth the trip for a look-see. Dave and Buster’s San Diego location, which opened in November, is number 29 in the chain. Calling it “adult entertainment” or even worse “adult video entertainment,” would be most misleading because other than a few over-the-top shoot-‘em-up video games this place is just good clean fun. The operation offers more than 40,000 square feet of state-of-the-art video and virtual reality games including NFL Blitz and Virtual Tennis. The venue also features a billiard room, a mystery dinner theater, a sports pub and a restaurant. Rather than wander around the room with a pocket full of tokens or coins, guests purchase a “Power Card” that enables them to play games with an easy ATM-style swipe of the card. Points for “virtual victories” are credited to your card (a bit more dignified than walking around with all those tickets) and added to your playing power. At Dave and Buster’s there is no law against drinking and race car driving as there are switches on all the games to signal a cocktail server that your glass is empty. Hell, they’ll even bring you a plate of buffalo wings if you ask for it. HASH HOUSE A GO-GO Andy Beardslee is the man behind this fabulously funky new Hillcrest neighborhood cafe. Hash House opened in late August of 2000 and has been jam-packed since. The lengthy eclectic menu lives up to its name as it does indeed feature several “Hash” dishes. The “Smoked Salmon Hash” brings down the house daily as does the “Sausage Biscuits and Gravy” each morn. When supper rolls around, try the “Pan Seared Chicken Breast” served with fried polenta or the “Pork Tenderloin” with bleu cheese mashed potatoes. Locals rave about the “Snickers Bread Pudding.” Gotta get me some.
J TAYLOR’S If only all transitions could be so seamless and so satisfying. The former Dining Room at L’Auberge Resort and Spa quietly closed for a few months last fall and with a $500,000 interior design investment was transformed into a warm and elegant backdrop — at last a room suitable to feature chef Tom Atkins’ cuisine. Diners settle back in comfy settees, warm and golden walls meet French doors that open onto flowery patios while a fireplace crackles, pops and hisses, adding yet another layer of atmosphere to the dining room. Atkins has been heading up the kitchen at L’Auberge for nearly five years and this, I have the feeling, is his year to shine. The menu, which seems more like him than some in the past, features a foundation of seasonal local ingredients. What makes his menu so interesting is his willingness to incorporate imports such as Sonoma quail, truffles and foie gras. Entreés such as “Curried Lobster Risotto with Asparagus tips and a Saffron Emulsion” or the “Porcini Dusted Halibut” will surely beckon you to this restaurant with a new name, new room and new menu by the same chef with a new lease on life.
KING’S FISH HOUSE
University Restaurant Group, which also boasts such successes as Ocean Avenue Seafood in Santa Monica, the Water Grill in downtown Los Angeles and Clearwater Seafood in Pasadena, was founded by cousins Sam and Jeffrey King in 1993. The group opened King’s Fish House in San Diego in late 2000. It’s a 7,500-square-foot freestanding brick building situated in the heart of the Mission Valley Shopping District. This American style seafood menu offers fish prepared any style you like (charbroiled, grilled, fried). King’s serves pizzas, pastas and sandwiches as well. The portions are generous and the service is for the most part pleasant and polished. King’s is a family restaurant — think casual and come hungry.
ROYALE BRASSERIE AND BAR A Francophile’s dream come true, this grand bistro newly opened in the Gaslamp pays homage to the traditional brasseries of Paris. The menu offers the likes of house-made charcuterie, beautifully composed salads and exquisitely prepared roasted Halibut. Executive chef Hans-Trevor Gossmann, truly a rising star, spent the better part of the past six years at Le Cirque before creating the menu and opening Royale for the University Restaurant Group. (They also opened King’s Fish House this year in Mission Valley.) Gossmann seems to have mastered the intricacies and nuances of traditional French cooking, favoring preparations such as grandmère and au poive. TAMARINDO
Spirited ethnic food shines at this perpetually packed downtown La Jolla eatery. A corner location with a see-and-be-seen patio, Tamarindo is the latest brain child of restaurateur Sami Ladeki. Sadly, Tamarindo won’t be the Ladeki darling for long, as Prime 10 (Sami’s new steak house in Del Mar) opened less than nine weeks later and is sure to steal this babe’s thunder. Therefore, I will try to give Tamarindo all the love and attention it deserves before her big beefy brother lumbers onto the cuisine scene. The mostly Latin yet multiethnic menu reflects the travels and tastes of both Ladeki and executive chef Jeff Moogk. The quesadillas are a perfect example of what I mean by “multiethnic.” They range from a “Three Cheese” which combines: Oaxacan, pepperjack and bleu (three cheeses that couldn’t have less in common) to a “Roast Pato,” duck with hoisin (borrowing from the East), panela cheese (the Southwest) and tomatillo salsa. The menu offers almost 70 dishes, all of which can be shared tapas style including a “Specialty” section which offers some larger entrée sized plates as well. PRIME 10 STEAKHOUSE Here we go again, adding another feather to the Ladeki cap. This time it’s a steak house, ladies and gentlemen. Prime 10 opened the last week in December, just in time to book itself for New Year’s Eve. Masterful, that Sami. Once again Ladeki combined a well-designed space with an adventurous menu in a killer location. (This is the space that for years was known as the Southwest restaurant Cilantros — it enjoyed a nearly 15-year heyday). The menu strays from the typical, almost prerequisite steak house items. Instead it offers such appetizers as “Chopped Chicken Liver” with flatbread, “Ceviche” and “Scottish Smoked Salmon Tartare.” Sure there’s steak, everything from a “T-Bone” to “Tofu Steak” to “Steak and Lobster,” but Prime 10 is about seafood and poultry too. The red meat-opposed will have no problem choosing from such items as “Roasted Breast of Duck,” “Crispy Maryland Crab Cakes,” or “Seabass Oscar.” The buzz: Get to Prime 10 before it is overrun with fancy people and the rest of us can’t get a table.
|
Home | Features | Info | Cover Story | About Us | Back Issues | Search
