Like No Other...

Tradition:

The first definition according to Merriam Webster: “an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action or behavior “.   In our case there are a couple of things that we have fallen into the habit of doing on any trip to San Diego.  According to Merriam, I guess that puts us close to making them a tradition.  One has to be careful of turning tradition into tyranny, as in “damn it, here we are so we have to……”; so far we have avoided that…

Anyway we seem to always find time to visit the timeless Grand Dame of Coronado Island

Which you should know is the Hotel Del Coronado.  It holds sort of a magic draw on us, to the point where a visit to San Diego without touching base leaves kind of a hole in the experience.  I think it has changed ownership a few times since we began visiting years ago, but it remains stately and grandiose.  It just has a majestic feel about it. And part of the tradition is to have a bite and sip on the Ocean Terrace which is now called Sheerwater (why, I don't understand), a restaurant with open air seating completely outside, or on the porch, or altogether inside.  The weather while not balmy, was warm enough to stay outside.

 It is a lovely setting offering views of the ocean and a parade of passerby’s which is always rewarding.  Before I go on, you might notice the ball cap on the gentleman in the above picture.  I will not fault him for this in this instance, because the place is popular for dining to all sorts of creatures.

The avian customers have been a fixture since we first experienced the Del, but by and large the staff and customers shooosh them enough that they are not a huge problem.  We were seated at a table, the water glass immediately filled and presented with menus.  It is a one sheet affair with drinks on one side and food on the other.   Guess which side we looked at first!

It is left as an exercise for the reader to decide who had what drink..  And I guess this is as good as time as any to mention the service there.  Again harking back years and years, the service has always been gracious.  The food may take a while, but the table service is always timely and attentive.  When one thinks of the hordes of tourists and characters that come through the place day after day, it is amazing to me how they maintain the level of friendly servers.   You don’t see inside their minds of course, but outwardly they make you glad you came.

So fortified with liquids we turned the menu over to the food side of things (and I apologize to my support team for the stupid shadow in the picture)

It is a pretty good menu because you can find most anything to suit your appetite and mood.  After waffling back and forth a few times I settled on the penne pasta, and MFO chose a lamb burger (not pictured on the menu) and a side salad.  Somewhere a second glass of the Pinot appeared and we enjoyed the passing scene and reflected on our trip  (living well is still.....).  In the morning we “did” the San Diego Zoo with our friends (more to come on that) so just sitting and sipping was very welcome.  Water was kept filled (with lots of ice, thank you) and pretty soon the food was there.   What’s not to like about pasta…

The rock shrimp were good, there were several kinds of mushrooms not just crimini, and the brandy lobster sauce was true to its description.  The pasta was just nicely cooked, not at all mushy.  I couldn’t finish it all…. because, you have to save room for dessert!  After more waffling (that second glass of wine) we decided on a lemon curd and two spoons.  How’s this for a presentation?

The lemon curd was tart and creamy, berries fresh, and the pistachio merangues were a welcome foil. A cappuccino finished off the meal. I suppose it shouldn’t be a shock, but all the food was very good, nicely served and presented.  In a “crank ‘em out” setting, wandering tourists, some regulars.  Nice job.  The tradition continues..

Speaking of which, another visit that is becoming on the verge of a tradition is a "big deal dinner" in La Jolla at Tapenade.  We have always enjoyed meals there and our hosts suggested we do it again.  No Brainer.  Long time readers will recall I have reported on it before in glowing terms.  This visit gave me no reason to revise my opinion.   I believe the chef may have changed but the food and service have not.  Exquisite in both departments, servers in crisp white shirts, bow ties and black vests, muted tones on the wall, tables set far enough apart to allow some sense of privacy, gleaming crystal, the whole package of what a great restaurant should be.

Our server inquired about drinks and she soon delivered three glasses of Sancerre and a perfectly made DMOTRWAT.  The menu is divided between “Les Classiques” and “Seasonal Flavors” for both appetizers and entrees.  Sort of an imaginative way to give the kitchen some latitude while retaining classic French dishes (Escargots de Bourgogne au beurre d’ail; Bisque de Homard) as well as some seasonal dishes (Celeriac "remoulade", poireaux vinaigrette, truffe; Civet de Sanglier à l'Ancienne).  After enjoying our drinks we got down to food.  

There were tough choices all around.. appetizers were the snails (MFO); Assiette de Charcuterie Maison; Lobster Bisque and Salade de mesclun, croustillant de chevre, chutney de poire.  My plate/assiette contained paté, salami, and prosciutto along with the requisite Cornichons and crusty bread.  For entrees we had a classic coq au vin, MFO also stayed on the classiques side and followed her escargot with Homard au maïs blanc, cèpes et vanille Tahitienne .  I had a lovely plate of roasted loin of venison presented with slices and bacon wrapped noisettes, and the fourth was a ravioli dish.  At this point I have to admit I stopped taking notes as the bottle of Latour 2005 Cote du Beaunes gradually filled our glasses.  At some point you just have to enjoy the food and the hell with the little notebook.  Consequently some of the details have escaped me.   What hasn’t escaped me was the enjoyment of the company of our good friends enhanced by food and service.  When it’s done right, you just flow.   Wonderful..And in deference to the establishment the Canon stayed in the pocket except for a parting shot of a lovely chocolate dessert.. beautiful.

So the tradition continues and grows.  It is nice to know they’ll be there the next time we visit.. and you betcha we were

DFD

Concert Alert

Know this may be a bit tardy, but would feel guilty if you didn't see it and would have liked to attend.  I will be in the audience.  I pass this along from a friend:


I want to invite you to a very special recital this Thursday evening, March 8, at 8pm in St. Mary's Hall (Auerbach Auditorium) on the campus of St. Mary's College. Jonah Yeh, student of Brian Ganz, will give a piano recital, performing the music of Mozart, Chopin & Beethoven.  Brian will join Jonah to perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major.  

San Diego wrap up in work.. well, maybe next to last san diego...

if i see you tonight, you better be

DFM

and if anybody in the SMC music fraternity (is there a music sorority?) see's this I would very much like to lobby for starting these things at 7.. just a thought

Dining (local) Out Two...

Dining out again, but switching cuisines.

It turns out that some other friends were ending their winter stay on Coronado Island, so we arranged to meet them for a brunch on the island.  They suggested meet at Tartine, a little coffee/pastry/bistro kind of place near the edge of the island.  Our friends sometimes got their morning coffee there and liked it. Sometimes, not always when faced with going to a new restaurant the Feeder does a little research to get a bit of familiarity with the place.  I try not to look at menus, I would rather see the place before making any selections.   Anyway, (since it’s on my little phone) one of the places I generally look is Yelp.  I am used to it, and the searching is easy (like the living in summertime).  As is customary with these little sites they contain a number of reviews.  While it seems that a lot of them are more about “me” than an actual review (maybe said the kettle to the pot), it does give one an overview, and I try to see if there are any common threads which might be worth noting.  In the case of Tartine, most said the food was very good (especially the pastries), but service was rated from “poor” to “sucked” with a few snarky comments about being ignored if not perceived as a regular.   So, with antennae raised we braved the San Diego traffic, went over the bridge to Coronado (a lovely place) and found the unassuming place on first street shortly after 11:00.

I’m not sure why that person has to park the car in front of my shot, but I seem to have that experience lately.  Anyhow, we were first to arrive and secured a table inside (there is outside seating, but it was still a big chilly and there were smokers out there).  It is fairly small with only maybe 7 or eight tables.  There is a counter for ordering coffee drinks, but the eye is inevitably drawn to the glass case containing the pastries (and window reflections)

Braced for being ignored we were pleasantly surprised that a young man came to the table almost immediately asking if we would like something while waiting for our friends, and left the menus.  They arrived shortly after this, and we set about catching up, and chatting about things.  During the conversation they told us that the place had changed owners recently.  Jumping ahead, they have either cleaned up their act or have new servers because we were quite satisfied with the service we had, even after we lingered long enough that the place was almost full.  We never felt hustled to leave.

As you may know, Tartine is French for a slice of buttered bread with stuff on it, sort of an open faced sandwich.   The menu reflects that as several sandwiches are offered along with salads, soups, cheese plates, quiches, pates; and generally Frenchish items.  Lots of coffee drinks, teas, etc. on the multi paged menu

After some consideration I chose the “Nicoise Tartine (albacore tuna salad, nicoise olives, sliced tomato and mixed greens served in a warm baguette)" along with a glass of Pinot Grigio (not noon? what the hell); MFO selected a “Bacon Panino” composed of bacon (duhh) tomato, and Gruyere cheese all grilled on a Panino roll.  Our friends ordered the quiche (spinach) and she had a late morning bowl of oatmeal with dried cranberries.

 Absorbed in conversation time passed and the food appeared. 

The tuna and olives were good, but I got rid of the “winter” tomato slices – a bit thick looking don’t you think?  The greens were nicely dressed and pretty fresh.   Although I am still trying to learn the nuances of my new point and shoot camera, the picture still gives you an idea of MFO’s panino

Quiche and oatmeal were also enjoyed.   So with the preliminaries taken care of, it was time to avail ourselves of the pastries!!  We prowled the case of delectable items, trying to come to a single choice.  “oh, that looks good!  I’ll have that!   wait…. over there!”  I finally abandoned the “one of each” thought and settled on the Grand Marnier pot du crème (pictured in an earlier post), while MFO went for the champagne cheese cake (champagne anything always gets her).  It was lovely (and she forked it before I could take out the camera)

And in the blink of an eye

I would concur with the “yelpers” about the food (with the exception of the tomato slices) and especially the pastries.  But at least on this occasion, I would not agree with them that the service was poor.   Nice little spot for a bite and conversation, and not far from a lovely view of downtown San Diego

So if you’re in the neighborhood and want a little treat,  Tartine would be a nice choice.  Being California, and early in the day, who the hell knows what is the proper

DFD

We saw it all…

and this sort of concluded our exploratory "dining out", but we have a couple more to go in the "traditional" category..  Stay tuned

DIning Out (one)

Our first course.....

Hanging around Navy folk in my recent life, I know there occasions they call “Dining In” and “Dining Out” that have various traditional behaviors associated with them, some less savory (non-culinary sense) than others.  But, that doesn’t apply here. During our stay in San Diego, we did both “out” and “in”, meaning we ate in restaurants some times, and at home some times.  As it turned out our expeditions sort of fell into “local” and “traditional” categories.  So, in order not to stun you with verbosity (however clever and entertaining), we’ll just tackle them individually today for "local" one.

When planning our trip I was asked what cuisine we would enjoy while there, I told my friends that I would like “Mexican”, but not the normal Tex-Mex taco/tortilla/burrito smothered in red stuff with smushy beans and blown out rice, rather something “autentico”.  Being food enthusiasts themselves they researched a little and finally settled (and tried) a little storefront, called Ranas  (translation: the Frog) which had fairly recently opened in a non – descript strip mall in nearby Spring Valley.  We stopped by for lunch.

As you can see they feature Mexico City cuisine.  The interior is plain but colorful and there are only a few tables (plus some outdoor seating hidden behind the car).

The owners make it a point to be “out front”, and they are the ones in the yellow shirts.  They both are friendly and easy to talk to, and they stop by the tables regularly to check on you.  There are obviously a lot of “regulars” as they knew many by name.  Always a good sign.  By the way, you notice St. Mary’s County doesn’t have the monopoly on ball caps in eating places.

Anyway the colorful menu offers plenty of choices (they are open for all meals).

 
Although some familiar names appear there are some that were unfamiliar (at least to me).  The “Huaraches” in the upper left are apparently a common dish in Mexico, and are made with a fried masa base with a variety of toppings.  Of course you probably know that the name is borrowed from footwear of the same name, and indeed it takes that shape.  I ordered one “Ranas” style which meant it was topped with Nopales, Carne Asada plus the other stuff…MFO tried a selection called Cochinita Pibil consisting of marinated pork strips in Annato Paste, with freshly squeezed orange juice.  The owner lady cautioned that it contained Habaneras (despite having no little red peppers by the menu item) and would leave them off.  Another Huaraches and an order of Chilaqueles completed our selections.  The ubiquitous basket of chips and little cup of salsa was brought to the table, but the sauce was over my limit. We were checked on frequently, and in all fairness I have to report the phrase “ you guys” was used liberally.  Of course any good food critic is bound to try a margarita in any situation such as this…

It was quite good and filled the void before the food arrived..  led by my "sandal":

 
And MFO’s  Pibil

I don’t remember the last time I had Nopales (Cactus), but it is not unlike a (cooked) green pepper and rather mild in flavor.  The Carne Asada was  bits of very tasty steak, and that had just enough spice that it ran up to my line but stopped short of exceeding it.  The cheese, sour cream, and beans kind of mellowed it.  The “sandal” part was a bit tough to eat, but all in all it proved to be a unique and tasty dish.  The Pibil was also quite nice and different, although it inched a bit closer to my line but the orange juice tempered it some. Besides, MFO’s high heat meter has a larger scale than mine anyway.  The Chilaqueles were also quite good and topped with an egg (one of the options - shown after said egg was punctured by an over eager and hungry eater).

Everything was very good, nicely presented, service was attentive, and it was a lovely lunch with our friends.  I would definitely recommend and go back.   Chain?  HAH!

And it being California, there are helpful signs in the parking lots to direct you to a local feature (hopefully pointing toward LA)

And so was our first “out” experience… more to come.  And although I will never condone a worn ball cap while eating, I suppose most other diners were acceptably

DFD

(Eventually) Going East....

A quick update…from the Admiral’s Club in San Diego waiting for our delayed flight..

As you know, when we're travelling I try to post a few updates during the journey, but this time I have failed, but for very good reasons. It’s funny how this “vacation” turned out. In the end, it may have been the best one we’ve had here. Since this is our “Nth” trip to San Diego, by and large we have seen pretty much what there is to offer. So instead of charging here and there, we spent the majority of it just chatting with our friends, enjoying their company, actually reading books, and taking the odd nap. As I mentioned our host is a great cook, and she supplied a lot of great “in-home” meals. It’s amazing how relaxing it can be. Kind of changes your outlook some

Now I will hasten to add, we DID get out, and had some wonderful food experiences between little known, local places, some better known, and our crowning return to Tapenade for a “big deal” meal. We also had our “traditional” glass of champagne and a bite on the terrace of the Hotel Del Coronado. And with more nerve and the trusty ELPH, so there will be some photos to share. We also got in some birding, visited the Cove at La Jolla (which never gets old), and spent some time at the Zoo. Since good food never gets old (figuratively speaking), we’ll taste some samples in the next few days.. and in case you are wondering, whether we were “in” or “out” we were

DFD

 Just an amuse bouche:

Dessert "Out"

From "Costa Rico Night"; "in"