Bankers Hill Bar and Restaurant

Earlier this week, Bert and I had an extremely RARE "date night" on a weekday.

TC was away at 6th grade camp and we wanted to try something different...

We were originally going to to go another more casual place for dinner, but after getting some recommendations from a co-worker, decided to go here instead...

What sold us was the butterscotch pudding that I saw on their online menu (which changes seasonally). To be on the safe side, I called the restaurant and yes, they still had it on the menu.

We got there early enough (a little after 6 pm) and got a table without a reservation (the receptionist told me earlier it would be fine around that time)...

I recognized this place as the old Modus which I hadn't been to in years. When Modus was still around, my co-workers and I had skipped out on going to prom (haha). We'd had dinner in Kensington but went here for cocktails and belgian frites. Well, the time flew by and we ended up staying there a few hours instead.

Bert's Stone Smoked Porter (made by a local brewery; it's also the beer used in the Stoned Portzilla cupcake from PubCakes) and my Gutzler Reisling...

Our spinach salad with avocado, bacon, roasted tomatoes, and cheese with dressing was on the side (balsamic and ranch). There was also a fried egg on top. It was like having a breakfast salad. Loved the bacon and the egg here. The bread was a nice crusty sourdough served with softened butter.

Bert's New York Strip Steak with arugula salad, mushrooms, roasted beets, croutons, and blue cheese. I liked his steak (juicy!) but wouldn't have liked it more without the blue cheese (but that's just me).

My boneless Beef Shortrib with roasted carrots, brussel sprouts, and mashed potatoes with sauce which I loved. There were three big pieces of tender beef in there and I managed to finish just one. I really wanted to eat the leftovers the next day! Even the brussel sprouts! Plus, I wanted to save room for our desserts (notice that was plural)!

We decided to go for it and ordered two desserts...

The Butterscotch Pudding was the winner of the evening. It's one of Bert's favorite desserts (along with anything caramel and peanut butter) made even better with a crunchy topping of pecan toffee, served with a side of three shortbread fingers.

I ordered the cookie assortment (knowing I'd be taking most of it home). I took apart the pb cookie with the banana ice cream because I wanted to eat the ice cream first, instead of eating it as a "sandwich". My favorite on the plate were the salted chocolate chip cookies. I didn't really like the brownie or Meyer lemon bar (too blah). I wonder why they gave two of the chocolate chip. It might have been better if there was another type of cookie so there would be even more mega-variety on the plate.

The salted chocolate chip cookie...

Afterwards, we made a quick stop at Eclipse so I could use my Groupon.We took the scenic route to El Cajon Blvd...

I wanted to stock up on my Eclipse chocolate bars - Sea Salt Nib is one of my favorites!

Who else ate at Bankers Hill?

Alice Q. Foodie - June 2010 (she has some really nice photos in this post)
To Dine For - July 2010
and Two Foodies One Journey - June 2010

Official Website of Bankers Hill
plus reviews from yelp and urbanspoon
Plus a short article from San Diego Magazine about Rachel Caygill, the pastry chef and her signature dessert, the Butterscotch Pudding...Yowzah!

It's been awhile since Bert and I ate at a really nice place. I know this may not be "fine dining" for some folks, but for us, it's out of the ordinary and an excuse to go whole hog (appetizers, drinks, entree, and desserts).