Dishing It Out Archive

Downtown is really beefing up. Look for a spring opening for Fleming’s Prime Steak House and Wine Bar. Fleming’s will join Morton’s, Ruth’s Chris, Greystone and Rainwater’s, all 92101 purveyors of fine steaks. The restaurant will occupy the ground-floor corner retail space of the Crown Bay Condominium project located at Fourth Avenue and J Street in the Gaslamp Quarter. The 7,000-square-foot restaurant will feature prime steaks with all the usual accompaniments and offer an extensive wine list, with more than 100 varieties by the glass.

This will be the second San Diego area location for Fleming’s. The first is located at the Aventine in UTC.

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Karl Strauss Breweries opens a brewery restaurant this month in Costa Mesa. Located across the street from South Coast Plaza at the Metro Pointe Shopping Center, this 9,000-square-foot restaurant will seat 225 in the main dining room. Strauss Breweries was founded in 1989 by Matthew Rattner and Chris Cramer, both Stanford business school grads. Touted as San Diego’s “Original Local MicroBrewery,” this is the company’s sixth location.

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Tantra Sutra opened last month at the foot of Fifth Avenue in the 13,000-square-foot space previously known as Baja Brewery, and before that, Hotel Bar. (Old-timers will remember the space as “the spot” in the Gaslamp for happy hour.) This newly remodeled restaurant and nightclub features two dance floors with live music six nights a week, fire and tribal dancers, and a block-long outdoor heated deck for dining, with more than 120 seats. Tantra Sutra serves world cuisine from 6 to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and is available for large private parties.

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The Yard House, also Downtown, is under construction and is pushing for an early 2003 opening. It will occupy the old drugstore space at Fourth Avenue and Broadway. The building has been given a complete remodel inside and out. Irvine-headquartered Yard House has locations in Costa Mesa, Long Beach, Irvine and Rancho Mirage. The restaurant takes its name from the early Colonial tradition of serving beer in 36-inch-tall glasses, aka yards, to weary stagecoach drivers. (Yes, they will serve their beer in yards.) The Yard House is known for its vast, ever-changing draft beer list. Signature dishes range from the “California Roll” to the “Crab Cake Hoagie.” Extensive appetizers are available, as well as salads, pastas, steaks, burgers and chops.

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Congratulations to Executive Chef Jeff Jackson and the entire staff at A.R. Valentien, which was recently named one of “America’s Best New Restaurants” by Esquire magazine. A very nice piece about the restaurant, along with a foxy picture of “J2” and The Lodge at Torrey Pines, appears in the November issue.

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For those wondering why they haven’t seen Panevino (in the Gaslamp Quarter) proprietor Alessandro Minutella around much lately, the answer is because the restaurateur is busy in the desert working on his newest project, Panevino Las Vegas. The 40,000-square-foot restaurant and New York-style Italian deli is scheduled to open next month. The restaurant will be located on the south side of the tarmac at McCarron airport. In March, we reported on Minutella’s latest local project, Osetra, the Fish House, located at Fifth Avenue and E Street. The schedule has slipped because of earthquake-retrofitting work. Look for an early 2003 opening.

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Keeping up with the ever-changing restaurant trends, Roy’s of Hawaii (8670 Genesee Ave. in UTC) has made a significant addition to its menu — “Yamaguchi Sushi.” Restaurateur Roy Yamaguchi (along with his cousin and Master Sushi Chef Amy Yamaguchi) add a twist to traditional sushi preparations by incorporating the bold sauces, spices and ingredients that have become Roy’s signature. In addition to nigiri sushi, salads and sashimi, the many maki selections include my favorite, the “Sizzling Rainbow,” New Zealand salmon, whitefish and yellowtail wrapped around avocado, ginger, sprouts and truffle oil. Shakka!

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Last month we inadvertently ran a picture of Roppongi Chef Stephen Window with a caption that belonged with a photo of Chef Bernard Guillas. Here’s the photo we meant to run of Guillas. In it, the Marine Room’s executive chef is hamming it up with a can of his Chef Bernard Guillas’ Fennel Pollen. Readers may recall that fennel pollen was mentioned in September’s review of The Marine Room. It is a very rare seasoning and only one company distributes it in the United States. Guillas has taken this spice and created his own special blends made specifically to enhance certain dishes. For instance, “Hog Heaven” goes especially well with pork, and the “Are You Game?” blend is made for lamb and game meats. For more information about fennel pollen, or to order it, go to www.fennelpollen.com.

Terryl Gavre believes the world would be a better place if everyone worked once as a foodserver. She is owner of Café 222, Downtown, and can be reached at (619) 233-4060, Ext. 316, or food@san.rr. com.