D Bar

[Closed as of December 2015]

I'm glad that I ate light earlier that day at Moby Dick because later that evening I would be meeting with some friends to celebrate a belated birthday...

My friend, who I shall dub Mr. TJ (TJ for "tight jeans") wanted us to try the newly opened D Bar in Hillcrest...(Heh heh, I wanted to type D Bag)

We got lucky by snagging a space right across from the restaurant. Some of us San Diegans may remember this place as the former parking lot next to Corvette Diner (which is now the breakfast spot "Snooze", located right next to D Bar; same owners).

So let's cross the street now, shall we?

Romesco

[Man, I'm finally posting this after two weeks! It's actually 12/10!]

After watching "Twilight" for the 3rd time, my friend and I ate here...

Romesco's is on Bonita Road and opened up about 2 years ago and used to be the site of Tomatoes Plus. It's right next to Baskin Robbins and McD's. Yeah, classy. But seriously, this is a classy restaurant. They serve a lot of unusual items that you won't find elsewhere. It's a bit on the pricey side though. (click photos for larger view of menu items)

(click photos for larger view of menu items)

We chose to sit in the back room where there were no crowds or drafts from the front door. When you walk in, it's narrow with booths lining the right side. There were a lot of people there and we (okay, I!!!) didn't want to sit near a bunch of old white farts.

The bar area in the back room where we sat.

The bread - crusty French baguette with butter:

Fried Calamari appetizer with marinara sauce and spicy aioli:

My friend ordered the Paella. This had everything! Shrimp, squid, mussels, clams, baby octopus, chicken and a pork rib! This was a lot for just one person. I'm sure it was meant to be shared, unless you are a sumo wrestler.

Here's one of the baby octopi...cute little thing!

This was my entree - The Slow Cooked Beef Short Rib with braised fennel, Cabernet sauce sitting atop a bed of Yukon Gold mashed potatoes with a side of glazed carrots.

This was so delicious! Because I was full from the bread and calamari earlier, I only ate about one half. The meat was so soft!!!

Our dessert was Warm Apple, Pear and Berry Cobbler with Tahitian Vanilla Bean ice cream with homemade caramel sauce. I'm not a fan of mixing hot anything with cold. I hate having ice cream melt with pie. So, I'm not an a la mode kind of girl. But that crust was really flaky though! Yum! I'd rather eat crust on pies that the filling.

The Guild

[Update - Closed]

I meant to post this earlier but am actually doing this on Sunday 11/25 (more than a week later). TC had a long dance practice that day so we decided to have lunch at the Guild while she learned her new dances for the upcoming Parol Festival. Here's the view under the bridge from the I-5 to Cesar Chavez Parkway.
Make a left on Cesar Chavez Parkway and a right on Newton...
where you will end up at 1805 Newton Ave - The Guild in the historic neighborhood of Barrio Logan . Here's the review from the local paper, and from yelp .

Their menu is folded in half around a wooden board. They have Brunch on Saturdays from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm. The bottom half was their regular lunch menu and the left half (which is folded under) were the drinks menu.

Turns out that the owner of this place is also a furniture designer. He designed all of the ultra modern decor in the restaurant. Check out their chairs - you can see the "G" is incorpated in the design. While the chairs may look "cool", they are a bit heavy and hard to maneuver. Since we came for lunch, there was plenty of space and seating (mostly in tables that seat two, I noticed). We're not into the whole "going out at night" deal and I heard that you needed a reservation a week in advance just to eat here for dinner. Hunhhhh. There were a few other folks there at the same time but they were sitting in the back. The restaurant is small, but there is also an upstairs area (also small). The guy working at the bar who greeted us was pretty friendly. He looked like a young Filipino American dude (finally, brethren!) Our waiter was Daniel who was very knowledgeable about all aspects of the menu and each dish. He was friendly and not pushy at all.

The utensils lay atop a black napkin and were held together by a thick metal ring (cut off in the photo). Bert ordered the Soju Espresso ($9). Our waiter said that was the way he liked to start his mornings - a shot of Soju (which is Korean hard liquor/vodka) in his coffee. Seems like soju is the latest "it" mixer for these Yuppy/Urban Hipster places. You can get Soju, sometimes spelled 'shoju' at Zion pretty cheap. I didn't care for it, but Bert thought the bitterness of the espresso masked the alcohol flavor quite well.

I splurged on a Strawberry Lemonade ($4). Sorry for the crappy quality of the photo. Each table has a dangling pendant light with kind of screwed up my lighting, so I took this without a flash and it wasn't much better. This drink was quite refreshing. I normally don't drink a lot of liquid (yes, I know that is bad for me), but I nearly finished this glass during this lunch.

Some fancy ass water from some spring in Wales. We didn't drink it. The restaurant didn't offer tap water. We ended up drinking the melted ice (at the end of the meal). Yeah, we're cheap.

One thing about this place - don't expect huuge portions. I knew what to expect since I had read all the early press when this place opened midyear. I had been curious to try it but didn't have the opportunity until today. Anyways, the plates are meant to be shared (kind of like Bite's setup). Don't come here expecting chain restaurant portions. For starters, our waiter recommended a salad for us to share - the Pressato (forgot the price):

The salad was layered into a ring mold and consisted of arugula with an olive oil balsamic reduction, sauteed crimini mushrooms, toasted pine nuts (as well as pecans), and topped with aged asiago cheese. I normally eat my greens "dry" but the balsamic reduction was actually quite nice. I liked the different tastes and textures in this salad - with the crunchy nuts and the cheese and the bitter arugula. The portion was a bit on the tiny side, but it proved to be just right for a shared starter. This salad also had a bit of a kick to it and when asked if there was a spice, the waiter told us that it was "pimenton" or smoked Spanish paprika. There are threw types- mild, sweet and hot. This one was hot. Lucky for me, I have a small tin of pimenton ahumado (smoked paprika) when I checked out Pata Negra (the mini Spanish market next to Costa Brava) earlier this summer. I'm going to try to replicate this salad at home.

Bert had the Seared Sesame Yellowfin with microgreens ($12). His dish had six tiny squares of seared Yellowfin tuna with a sesame crust. The dipping sauce was a spicy chili/sesame mixture and the dish was scattered with microgreens. They even had a glob of wasabe shaped like a fish!

Here's a close up of that sweet and spicy chili sauce. Bert liked his yellowfin while I declined to taste it. I don't really like raw fish. Yeah, I'm a wimp like that.

My Mini Kobe Beef Sliders with Frites and dipping sauces ($11) . I wish this dish had more than just two mini "sliders". They were unwieldy to eat unless you hold the tiny burger with both hands and eat it in one bite. I was trying to hold it but was afraid the meat would shoot out so I ended up dissecting it on my plate. The meat was cooked pretty rare, which I did not like. They didn't ask how I wanted it done either. Instead of the conventional bun, the beef is served on buttered and toasted (grilled?) circles of artisan bread. Inside, there is a basil leaf, a slice of hothouse tomato and a bit of Humboldt fog cheese, which I hate. I knew the sliders came with this type of cheese, but no matter, I just scraped it off and gave it to Bert. I cannot stand any type of cheese that smells like feet (all blue cheese). The sauces were some sort of a pesto and housemade ketchup, which tasted like it also had pimenton in it. The frites, while nice and thin, were too thin. They were just crunchy sticks. I liked the frites at Modus better. They are a little thicker and you don't feel like you are eating a bagged snack food.

The mini sliders:

The deconstruction of the slider:

The cool sink in the unisex bathroom:

They even had their custom made chairs in here!

Our dessert - the Butterscotch Pot du Creme with Chocolate Sauce and a trio of Tempura fried Marshmallows:

This was quite good! I normally don't like pudding type desserts. Anything soft and gooey is normally avoided by me, but the other choice was a flan which to me, is ho hum. So, we went with this and I must say, the butterscotch flavor was really smooth. It was even better with the rich chocolate topping the glass. The marshallows were dipped in a tempura batter, fried and speared on sticks. The sugar from the marshmallow caramelizes to make a nice crust.

Gooey:

After lunch, we headed back to National City to pick up our daughter from practice...

We passed by the famous murals at Chicano Park to get back on the 1-5 South. Varrio si! Yonkes no!

Would we go again? Yes, for lunch, not dinner since we're not fans of the night scene. Lunchtime is more relaxed and less pretentious. There were a few other items I wanted to try on the menu. For the most part, we liked our dishes (except for my rare meat and gross ashy cheese). The portions could be a tiny bit bigger, but we're not talking about supersizing it or anything! Our service was great and we enjoyed the ambiance. They were playing a mix of 80's music. Man, I hadn't heard "Straight to Hell" by the Clash (from "Combat Rock) in a loooong time!

Bite Me!

So off we went to the porno shop:
Just kidding.

We were on our way to Bite, the new Bar & Bistro in Hillcrest. Read the Night and Day review here and a couple of other blogger's reviews here and here. My friend had suggested this new place after reading about it in last week's Night & Day in the paper. Bite doesn't take reservations but our name was still put on a list. I was concerned that we would find a long line outside because it was a Friday night in Hillcrest and it was Pride weekend. We originally meant to be there by 5:45 but arrived 15 minutes late due to no parking spots in this congested part of town. We eventually found a spot 3 blocks away and fortunately for us, the restaurant had many open tables, much to our relief! Our receptionist was a doll and he seated us immediately. Below, in the car heading west on University Avenue, about to go under the Georgia Street Bridge .
Bite is located at 1417 University Avenue and is the site of the former Living Room. It occupies both 1417 and 1419 (next to Mama Testa) and has an outdoor patio, a lounge area in the front complete with a fireplace and plasma screen (we snuck in a few minutes of John Waters' "Hairspray" on our way out) and ultra sleek and clean lined furniture. The Chef, Chris Walsh was formerly at California Cuisine (another excellent restaurant, just down the street from Bite), Cafe W and Confidential, recently opened Bite on May 5th on University near Richmond. A busy street which is home to many other eateries, a dance club (Rich's) and a bar (Alibi's is just on the corner), Bite is sure to attract many customers with it's tapas style menu boasting Northern Italian and French influenced cuisine, ultra modern decor and great service. The color scheme was a deep red, dark espresso with crisp white and cream accents. The leitmotif were circles which are repeated in many forms such as painted patterns on the wall, a stand in the women's bathroom (maybe the men's too?), mirrored circles and starburst mirrored decorations (for lack of a better word).
Sorry for the blurry quality - I didn't have the flash on. Empty at 6 pm, but it picked up steadily as the night wore on. We spent a good two hours here! The waitstaff was just fabulous. They were attentive, knowledgable about the menu and made personal recommendations but weren't pushy about it (like how some waiters could be if they are trying to sell you something expensive). With a mix of Amy Winehouse and some 70's oldies playing in the background (points for playing Heatwave's classic,'Boogie Nights'), we were seated in the booths against the wall just three tables away from the front window.

Blurry. Perhaps the W on the wall is a holdover from Chef Chris Walsh's days at Cafe W?

Our complimentary amuse bouche was tuna tartare on cucumber rounds garnished with chopped chives and served on two chive slivers: My Strawberry Mojito ($7.50) which I nursed this evening. I probably could have had another, but I'm not a heavy drinker and I wanted to enjoy the food.

My friend's Bellini ($8.00), made with fresh peach puree on the bottom, some sort of Italian prosecco (forgot the brand) and a scoop of peach sorbet, garnished with a peach slice! This was quite the sexy drink! Tasted smooth with the sorbet mixed in. I just realized, my friend used her knife to mix the sorbet in her drink (only forks and knives are provided); the drink could have used a swizzle stick.

The menu was divided into four sections: Field (salads and appetizers), Farm (meat), Ocean (seafood) and Sweets (desserts). We started off with our Cheese Plate ($13.00) - crackers below:

The cheeses were Humboldt Fog, a bleu cheese (forgot the name) and a cheese made of sheep's milk served with assorted fresh sliced fruits and candied pecans. I'm not a fan of bleu cheese or Humboldt fog, but I wanted to be open minded, so I tried a piece of the Fog...It tasted like stank feet. I think I would rather eat a balut than eat bleu cheese or Humboldt Fog. Maybe I don't have a sophisticated palate, but I like what I like and I didn't like this! I did enjoy the champagne grapes and sliced nectarines though! There was also a small block of fig paste (lower left hand corner) that went well with the crackers and fruit.

Our Grilled Flatbread served with white bean cannelini "hummus" ($8.00), which wasn't really a hummus because it wasn't made with garbanzos. The flatbread was nice and crisp. The garnish in the dip bowl was a sliced red pepper with sprigs of lemongrass.

The first of our Ocean small plates was this--- "PEI " (Prince Edward Island) Black Mussels in a saffron tomato infused broth served with focaccia toast ($10.00). This was sooooo good! We used the bread to soak up the broth. This could have been a meal for just one person! That was the fun part about tonight - we got to have a little bit of everything by sharing our choices. Check out the steam!The second plate was the Bay Scallop and White Corn Fritters served with a passionfruit vinaigrette ($8.00). The little green leaves you see are lemongrass sprigs (I asked); the stems were hidden. I never would have thought of using that because when I've used lemongrass in the past, I just smash the lower portion (the woody part) to infuse broth. I had a nice conversation about the garnish and the plates we had so far with a gentleman whom I believe was Sam, the co-owner (and former partner at Cafe W) while waiting in line for the bathroom. (FYI - he told me the bathrooms are unisex even though the doors are labeled 'Men' and 'Women' - I actually contemplated using the Men's room while waiting for the Women's side to free up. Fk that gender separation, if you gotta go, you gotta go!). He said the Chef liked using unusual but edible garnishes. The fritters were light and crunchy and not overly greasy. They were great for mopping up the passionfruit vinaigrette. Light and fresh, this was quite different using passionfruit for a sauce instead of some sort of citrus. Our first Farm choice was the Dolcetto Braised Beef Short Rib paired with polenta and mascarpone cheese and grated parmesan, served with haricorts verts and bacon ($15.00). Another waiter, towards the end of our meal asked us which entrees we enjoyed the most and when we mentioned this, he suggested pairing the dish with the same wine in which the meat was braised. Tip for next time! The Night & Day reviewer last week didn't like the polenta - said it was "too buttery" and couldn't take another bite. This didn't taste too buttery to me. I liked the coarse mouth feel of the polenta paired with the creamy mascarpone. We wanted more!

Closeup of that mouthwatering and oh-so-tenderbeef short rib:

Our other Farm plate was the Grilled Flat Iron Steak served with pommes frites and bearnaise sauce ($14.00). The steak was too rare for my tastes so my companions finished that off. The frites were also too salty and a tiny bit soggy:

As for Sweets, we each ordered one! My dessert was the Bittersweet Chocolate Tart with Espresso ice cream garnished with fresh fruits ($7.00). As with our mini plates, we all shared and enjoyed our dessert choices. Again, I got this particular dessert for the crust and because it was chocolate! I love crust! Although I couldn't finish this dessert, I did finish off the ice cream and most of the crust. The chocolate was definitely bittersweet, the way I like it, and was NOT warm, which is a plus for me. I do not like hot desserts like pies. I liked how my ice cream wasn't a melted puddle midway through the tasting.
My other friend had the Farmers Market Strawberry Cobbler with Vanilla ice cream ($7.00) which she enjoyed very much and proclaimed it as her favorite dessert that night:

Our other friend had an item that wasn't on their online menu, the Bread pudding with a scoop of Lemon Blueberry sorbet on top($7.00). I wish I remembered the "official" name for this but the only thing that pops up in my mind is 'bread pudding'. Two of our waiters said it was their favorite. It was good, but I'm not a bread pudding fan. That sorbet on the other hand was quite intense - yum!

Bite will definitely get another visit from me which is great because Bert and I can try some other items on their menu. The prices were reasonable given the high quality of the ingredients. The presentation of their dishes was meticulous and again, I stress the quality of the ingredients. I like this trend of small plates as opposed to honkin' big-ass portions that most restaurants tend to serve so as to give the diner the feeling that they're getting "more for their money" (like all chain restaurants). What good is it if your meal is bland and flavorless?

As Blaine Edwards and Antoine Merriwethers from "Men on Films" would say...
"Loved it! Two snaps up in a Z formation!"