Last week, a few co-workers and I went to celebrate our good friend's birthday. As the birthday guy, among us three women, he chose JRDN at Tower 23 (a swanky boutique hotel) in PB. Because I'm kind of lazy and also because this other post has better pix, check out this review here from San Diego's own Captain Jack . Check out the first photos of the outdoor seating area from that post. See the lower left hand corner? That's where we sat. Very nice. It was an ideal spot because we were shaded underneath three palm trees (you could see the trunk of one of them) and we could observe all kinds of people making their way along the boardwalk. Lots of good looking guys and women, people walking their dogs, rollerbladers, skaters, families riding tandem bicycles or regular bikes, lots of bikini clad women, and one guy who was stoned. I'm sure there were more.
As mentioned earlier, we sat outside on the patio with a great view. We could also see Crystal Pier in the close distance. Although the tables looked sparse, it started to fill up fast. There were a bunch of guys in the bar watching the Euro cup and cheering madly whenever someone scored a goal. Yeah, soccer. Who cares!
For starters, we ordered the Fried Calamari, which was a veritable mountain of squidy goodness enrobed, but not drowning, in spicy aioli and served atop a bed of useless but pretty greens. The calamari, if it were not for the sauce, were bland, but had that satisfying crunch. We did not polish off the plate, since we had appetizers at our friend's place earlier, and were saving room for lunch.
Because we were still reeling from that heatwave last weekend, and experiencing a bit of heat that same day, three of my friends ended up ordering the same thing, the Lobster BLT which is served on toasted brioche with tarragon aioli.
They all liked their BLT's - exclaiming that the lobster tasted really fresh.
I ended up ordering the Shrimp Pasta which featured bucatini (long and thin hollow tubes) with spicy lobster broth and tomato sauce , topped with shrimp and grated parmesan. Maybe I ended up talking too much with my friends, because when I started to eat my entree, it tasted kind of lukewarm. I've never had bucatini before, so the mouthfeel was kind of different for me. It was a bit thick to maneuver on my fork. The spicy lobster and tomato sauce was a bit overpowering. I ate only a tiny bit and saved the rest for leftovers (which my daughter ate and enjoyed later that night).
The bucatini...
I also ordered the Seared Scallop appetizer. Notice that is Singular. Perhaps I read the menu a little too fast because I thought I was getting more than one. My bad. But, no matter! I liked this appetizer much better than my pasta. This was a huge scallop sitting on top of sweet pea puree (The Exorcist anyone?), garnished with thick, glistening slices of country ham with attached fat and chanterelles.
Here's another shot of that tender scallop...it was perfectly done and the sweetness of the peas went quite well with the salty ham and earthy mushrooms.
The dessert menu:
We got the sorbet trio: hazelnut, blackberry and blood orange (back to front). Serving them in these Chinese soup spoons may LOOK cute but they are a pain in the arse to eat nicely, especiallywith 4 people vying for a taste. It would have been easier to just put the whole spoon in MY mouth, but that would look piglike, wouldn't it? Trying to scoop out the sorbet was much easier if you held the cute spoon down with the other hand. The sorbets are all made in house. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the hazelnut. The blackberry was quite tart (but good) and the blood orange's texture was too icy. Mmmm...now I have a craving for some good gelato...
This is the Blade hand air dryer in their bathrooms, which are, by the way, tres cool. You stick your hands in after washing them and your manos are blasted by warm air all around, drying them in mere seconds. I needs me one of these.
I liked our experience at JRDN. I'd like to go again but for dinner in the near future with my husband. They had ultra cool decor, a great view and pretty decent food (taste wise and presentation wise). Plus their bathrooms were way cool too. I even saw the men's one because I made a wrong turn. Urinals? WTF? I didn't see anyone using them though. Maybe next time! Not!
As mentioned earlier, we sat outside on the patio with a great view. We could also see Crystal Pier in the close distance. Although the tables looked sparse, it started to fill up fast. There were a bunch of guys in the bar watching the Euro cup and cheering madly whenever someone scored a goal. Yeah, soccer. Who cares!
For starters, we ordered the Fried Calamari, which was a veritable mountain of squidy goodness enrobed, but not drowning, in spicy aioli and served atop a bed of useless but pretty greens. The calamari, if it were not for the sauce, were bland, but had that satisfying crunch. We did not polish off the plate, since we had appetizers at our friend's place earlier, and were saving room for lunch.
Because we were still reeling from that heatwave last weekend, and experiencing a bit of heat that same day, three of my friends ended up ordering the same thing, the Lobster BLT which is served on toasted brioche with tarragon aioli.
They all liked their BLT's - exclaiming that the lobster tasted really fresh.
I ended up ordering the Shrimp Pasta which featured bucatini (long and thin hollow tubes) with spicy lobster broth and tomato sauce , topped with shrimp and grated parmesan. Maybe I ended up talking too much with my friends, because when I started to eat my entree, it tasted kind of lukewarm. I've never had bucatini before, so the mouthfeel was kind of different for me. It was a bit thick to maneuver on my fork. The spicy lobster and tomato sauce was a bit overpowering. I ate only a tiny bit and saved the rest for leftovers (which my daughter ate and enjoyed later that night).
The bucatini...
I also ordered the Seared Scallop appetizer. Notice that is Singular. Perhaps I read the menu a little too fast because I thought I was getting more than one. My bad. But, no matter! I liked this appetizer much better than my pasta. This was a huge scallop sitting on top of sweet pea puree (The Exorcist anyone?), garnished with thick, glistening slices of country ham with attached fat and chanterelles.
Here's another shot of that tender scallop...it was perfectly done and the sweetness of the peas went quite well with the salty ham and earthy mushrooms.
The dessert menu:
We got the sorbet trio: hazelnut, blackberry and blood orange (back to front). Serving them in these Chinese soup spoons may LOOK cute but they are a pain in the arse to eat nicely, especiallywith 4 people vying for a taste. It would have been easier to just put the whole spoon in MY mouth, but that would look piglike, wouldn't it? Trying to scoop out the sorbet was much easier if you held the cute spoon down with the other hand. The sorbets are all made in house. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the hazelnut. The blackberry was quite tart (but good) and the blood orange's texture was too icy. Mmmm...now I have a craving for some good gelato...
This is the Blade hand air dryer in their bathrooms, which are, by the way, tres cool. You stick your hands in after washing them and your manos are blasted by warm air all around, drying them in mere seconds. I needs me one of these.
I liked our experience at JRDN. I'd like to go again but for dinner in the near future with my husband. They had ultra cool decor, a great view and pretty decent food (taste wise and presentation wise). Plus their bathrooms were way cool too. I even saw the men's one because I made a wrong turn. Urinals? WTF? I didn't see anyone using them though. Maybe next time! Not!
2 comments:
OMG....Everything looks sooooooooooooo gooooooooooood!!!
hi c - and it was!
i'm finally home, trying to get caught up "cyber-wise"
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