We were going to try something different since we've normally gone out mainly for lunch. This time it would be an early early dinner...
The dark brown building, which is Polite Provisions (post to follow) is located the corner of 30th and Adams at either the outer edge of North Park or the western edge of Normal Heights or even the eastern edge of University Heights, I DON'T KNOW! I'm confused! Our dinner destination would be Soda & Swine, the white building next door with the "Meat" sign. Both restaurants are connected.
We got there before opening time, 4 pm and parked across the street. I always have a fear of not finding good parking so I'm super anal about getting to places early.
While waiting for Soda & Swine to open, we amused ourselves by watching the workers scoop out the meatballs...
Finally, we were in! We mulled over our decisions before ordering at the front counter.
The interior is very rustic, with communal tables (except for the one we snagged by the front window). Sharing seats with strangers makes anti-social me cringe with horror and curl up into a ball like an armadillo. Down at the end of the space is a fireplace complete with a fire! If you walk down to the end, you will find the bathrooms. If you hang a left, you will be at the back end of Polite Provisions.
If you look up, you will notice that the space is open to the elements. I wonder what they do when it's cold or rainy? I mean, it's fine now that it's Spring and getting in to summer but...
Their menu is simple: meatballs, sides, pie, and soda.
That's the Antique Row Cafe located kitty corner from here.
Our quaint "number" in the Mason jar...
Their menu which can also be viewed online here. You choose your type of meatball and decide the "style" (slider, sub, etc)...
Sides (which we ordered) and pie (which we didn't get since I had a different place in mind for dessert):
Despite their many varieties of sodas, D was the only one who got one, the Abita root beer, which she enjoyed. TORC and I were saving our beverage craving for something alcoholic next door. Of the sodas on the list, I've tried was the Jackson Hole Huckleberry soda (which I had at Pop Culture in Vancouver, WA). I remember that it was super sweet since it had 45 grams of sugar! Yikes!
Part one of our early dinner. Our sides were served in a cute cast iron skillets and serving dish.
Hand Cut Twice Cooked Fries with malt vinegar aioli ($3). The fries had a healthy sprinkling of parlsey and garlic. I couldn't really taste the malt vinegar in the dip to be honest. These were quite good.
The Crispy Polenta with Burrata and Arrabiata Sauce, topped with basil ($5). KD really liked this. I normally don't eat polenta anything, but having that contrast of the crisp exterior with the creamy cheese was quite nice.
Our other side were the Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon ($4). Of the six sides we eventually ordered, this was my favorite. The bacon was a bit salty, but hey, it made the flavor of this dish pop.
We ordered the first four types of meatballs as sliders ($3/one meatball on a brioche bun), which I had to divide into fourths. That was fun. I'm glad my friends are trusting of my hygiene and handwashing habits.
Gosh, these all look alike to me, but I believe this was The Swine - smoked pork with chipotle and pepperjack.
Next up was The Hog - chorizo, chipotle and mozzarella. Of the meatballs that we tried, this was our least favorite. We didn't like the flavor and texture of the chorizo, which was dry.
Next up, the Hen - chicken with mushroom cream and provolone. Of the meatballs, this would have been my favorite, if I could have eaten the whole thing. Remember, we all only ate 1/4 of these. I wish there were more mushrooms in there as well. We really liked the creamy sauce.
This was the Bovine - beef with marinara and mozzarella. This was all right, but not OMG, I want it again good. That would be reserved for the Swine and Hen meatballs.
This side came a little bit after we got the sliders, the Fried Pizza Knots ($4), served with grated parmesan and marinara sauce.
There's that bacon fat....
The piza knots were just okay. They tasted a bit too oily for me.
The polenta...
Our last two sides plus one last meatball (which didn't even have meat in it):
This was the Scotch Egg ($4) with Dijon aioli. Their version of a Scotch Egg was very disappointing because I didn't expect the meat surrounding the boiled egg to be chorizo, our least favorite meat from the slider we had earlier. The egg yolk was a bit runny which was also a surprise because I was expecting it to be hard boiled. The amount of meat covering the egg was also skimpy. I've made Scotch eggs before using the traditional pork sausage and the layer was much thicker, patterning it after the version we had at Shakespeare's Corner Shoppe and Tea. Scotch Egg with Chorizo meat = gross. This was the only unfinished item we left on the table.
Our Apple Salad with Manchego cheese, celery, watercress, and toasted hazelnuts ($4). The dressing was a very light vinagrette (lemon with olive oil, I asked!). This was very light and refreshing. I felt we needed to get something relatively healthy and this salad served that purpose. I liked that they cubed the cheese too. I'm thinking of making this at home since I liked it so much.
Our last slider of the day was The Grain which was quinoa with pesto and feta.
I am not a quinoa or feta fan, but this was ordered so we could say we ordered one of each type of meatball. Also, KD was really curious to try it. I only had a tiny taste of it (with a piece that didn't touch the dreaded feta cheese) and didn't like it. There's something about the texture of quinoa that really grosses me out. The way it feels when I chew it reminds me of tiny insect shells (not that I have ever eaten insect shells). The flavor doesn't do it for me either. The Grain slider was still a hit with TORC, KD and D and I'm still glad that we gave it a shot.
Who else went to Soda & Swine?
Darlene went here shortly after they opened a couple of months ago
Spending My Free Time at Polite Provisions and Soda & Swine
Soda & Swine
2943 Adams Ave
San Diego, Ca 92116
(619) 269-7632
sodaandswine.com
Additional reviews/articles:
Meatballs Done Your Way at Soda & Swine (Candice Woo, SD Eater 1/31)
Urban Dish: Polite Provisions and Soda & Swine (Dayna Crozie, Urbanist 2/14)
First Look at Soda & Swine (Ian Pike, SD Reader, 2/15)
Of course we couldn't leave without going next door for some drinks...
Up next...slammin' some stiff ones (drinks, that is) at Polite Provisions!
6 comments:
Happy Anniversary of your twenty-first birthday CC!
The meatball sliders look awesome and so do the sides! The polenta + burrata sounds heavenly to me (I really like burrata). But the chorizo around the scotch egg?? What! I don't think chorizo was a good choice for that. But oh well - everything else looks awesome! What a nice start for birthday fun!
I've been wanting to try this place out! I love that your group ordered so much because when I was looking at the menu, I wanted to try almost everything. Now I can kind of narrow some things down based on your post. Bummer about the egg. I was excited to see the scotch egg on the menu but it looks like it's not worth ordering. Happy Birthday!
hi kirk - thanks! ha ha!
my bday is actually tomorrow, so i'm not Blankety Blank years old yet!
mary - the slider were good but hard to cut up for 4 people. the sides were also quite good except for that scotch egg. the chorizo as the meat layer was just not a good choice. they also should have indicated that on the menu because we were so disappointed when we got it.
kirbie - yes, you guys should go! go early before it gets crowded too! and skip out on that crappy scotch egg.
ACK! It's your birthday?! Happy birthday my dear! Hope you had a great one. I'm quite a sliders fan, so I'll have to try that place...and I'll steer clear of the chorizo and Scotch egg, I promise!
xoxo
Cyrillynn
hi sigh- yes, it's today girl! thank you! had a fab day w/the family...dinner + desserts at home.
hope you and your husband get to try S&S!
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