KD's Birthday brunch @ Ocean Pacific Grille

[Sadly, Ocean Pacific Grille is now CLOSED, as of December 2016 - Sadness]

Yesterday, the Educator GF's (me, TORC and D) celebrated KD's birthday...

and as they usually do, let me plan the itinerary for today which brought us to the Gaslamp for brunch...

at Ocean Pacific Grille, located on the southwest corner of 5th and F St. I normally avoid the Gaslamp like the plague, but what made me choose this place was quite specific - this restaurant was co-owned by a Filipino, Charles Andres, who is also the Executive Chef. Had to support a fellow Pinoy you know.  I'd also heard good things about OPG over the summer and felt this would be  a great place to explore their menu for KD's birthday. They open at 10 am for brunch on the weekends. You can park over at Horton Plaza's parking structure, which is just a straight shot a couple of blocks away (free parking with validation). Otherwise, good luck finding street parking because it bites.

We didn't realize there were TWO areas of the restaurant. This was the side that was open, the bar. The other side was their fancier dining area which was closed off for brunch.

What caught my eye were the criss-crossed wooden fork and spoon. I have a giant pair in our kitchen/dining area at home (hanging side by side). I really liked that little nod to Filipino decor.

Their Brunch and Pulutan (finger foods) menus:

We ordered the Filipino Tocino toast, the Pork & Shrimp lumpia, the Braised Shortribs "Kare Kare" from this menu along with the Sisig tacos from the Pulutan menu.


TC's sparkling almond wine and D's coffee. D and I opted not to get drinks (other than water).


The other side of the restaurant held the formal dining area. I'd asked our server if I could "take a look". While doing so, I met Charles Andres (co-owner and Executive Chef), a very nice guy. I also met the other owner, Brian Norris that morning. This side also features an open kitchen as well as a giant fork and spoon!


I love the peacock blue walls and the dark wood accents.

Yeah...loved seeing this.  There is a joke that a lot of Filipino families have this in their home. Growing up, we actually did NOT, but over the years, I've collected all kinds of pairs from small to big (three feet tall) which now are hung in my office at work, in our garage and in our dining area (informal).


I was quite amused by their bathroom sign.

But let's get to the food starting off with the Sisig Tacos (an order normally is '3' but it was $2.75 to add an extra taco, as we found out later on our receipt, heh heh).



The meat was substantial - Duroc pork belly (not the normal chopped up pig face) with truffled ginger calamansi (a Philippine citrus fruit, also known as 'calamondin'). The sauce was what added the twist. The tacos were also nice and crisp and made bright by the citrus flavors.

Pork and shrimp lumpia:


These were quite lovely, cut on the bias. The lumpia wrapper was the way I liked it - super thin which shatters when you bite into it. The sauce was spicy garlic vinegar, but I didn't think it was that spicy.

Tocino toast:


Pork belly with burrata, roasted tomatoes, and balsamic reduction. I wasn't sure if I'd like this since I'm not a fan of balsamic anything and the combination of burrata with tocino seemed strange, but it was surprisingly good!  My parents used to make their own tocino ("cured meat"/"bacon" or pork belly cured with sugar, salt and soy sauce) in the 70's; this was pre-Seafood City days. Everything was made by hand. OPG's version of tocino took me back to those times. The only difference was the lack of super bright red food coloring in the meat (which was a good thing because it was always a bit disconcerting to see that).

The standout dish of yesterday's brunch was the Kare Kare braised shortrib.

Holy $hiz.   Just LOOK AT THIS....

All of the components are there - the rich peanut sauce, the bok choy, Chinese long beans and eggplant (the Filipino kind too, thank you Chef). The meat was so very tender. The bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) was presented in dehydrated form. Normally, it's wet and added on the side. For the uninitiated, the smell of bagoong can be a polarizing experience. vI like it both ways actually but I can see how this dehydrated form would be the "kinder and gentler" way to introduce the salty/funky flavors to Filipino food newbies.


Of the appetizers, we favored the meat in the sisig tacos, while I liked the meat in the tocino toast (minus that cheese). This dish was the clear winner that morning. One of us remarked that she could have polished off that plate by herself.

We were not expecting this, but our server brought over a complimentary dessert for KD since it was her birthday, Churro turon with bananas and jackfruit with coconut ice cream. According to Chef Andres, this is not yet on the menu. He was still debating whether to offer it with ube or coconut ice creams and wondering which supplier to use. We suggested, "Offer a choice of either one" and to consider Niederfrank's, although they don't offer the ube flavor (they do offer 'Cocojack' though).

Normally Filipino turron is coated in sugar before frying. When it comes out, the sugar is hardened and caramelized with a lovely dark brown glaze. In this case, it was the "churro" version, where the turron was coated in sugar and cinnamon. I've noticed that the "churro" flavor has made it's way to the donut flavor world (Donut Panic and Nomad). It was interesting to see it here.  Can you see the strips of jackfruit inside?  Delicious.

Every dish had a beautiful presentation. We enjoyed each and every plate we ordered and appreciated the "twist" on Filipino cuisine.  We also appreciated that the Chef came by to personally greet us and ask us how we were doing. Our server, a sweet young lady also gave us $10 off coupons for our next visit! So nice!

As we left, we noticed more families were starting to come in and I was so happy to see that they were Filipino and multi-generational. It was not just young adult hipsters "in the know" coming here, but whole families including Lola and Lola and even young kids. I really hope this restaurant survives and changes the mindset of Filipinos who normally wouldn't frequent this type of establishment because it's "too expensive" or "I can make this at home; why should I pay for Filipino food", blah blah blah.

Articles:
"Ocean Pacific Grille intros modern Filipino food to the Gaslamp" SD Eater, June 3, 2015
"Hot Dish - Kare Kare at Ocean Pacific Grille" by Darlene Horn, Zagat SD, Aug. 13 2015
plus the Tocino Toast gets a mention on Darlene's list, "The 10 Best Things We Ate in San Diego" Dec. 7, 2015

Ocean Pacific Grille
531 F St.
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 578-2828

www.oceanpacificgrille.com + IG + facebook + reviews from you know where and trip advisor

You better believe that we four are planning to come back for dinner in the very near future! Plus it gives us a chance to dress up too, ha ha.

Check off Brunch on the list for today. Next up...coffee!