Went with to Cork & Craft in Rancho Bernardo for lunch after meeting with my beloved attorneys (eate*up).
I had the potato crusted salmon with a ton of grilled veggies…this was excellent.
This restaurant sits where they brew Abnormal Beer.
I had a very small passionfruit blonde beer which was excellent.
I would of had Iced Tea but it came out of a fountain gun…WTF?!
You brew your own beer but you can’t brew a little Iced Tea?
I would highly recommend this place for lunch or dinner.
That’s hilarious.
Great fish tacos. Even better with an adult horchata milkshake
Glad to hear something about this new place. Love to hear about more places.
Had dinner last week at Fools & Kings in Mission Hills, across the street from Patio on Goldfinch
Small wine list, pours are not generous, prices are moderate to high
Small menu, mostly small plates. A couple salads, a couple flat breads, 5 or 6 apps, 5 or 6 entrees. Food was actually quite good. Service was friendly, not intrusive or overbearing. Vibe is comfortable and relaxed. It’s a good place to chill, have a glass or two of wine and have an actual conversation with friends. Oh, and the chocolate bread pudding is killer
This place looks fab Ipse!
Thanks DD. . .chocolate bread pudding 
Ponsaty’s in the Ranch. . RIP
New chef Brian is a great guy that will be taking over for Patrick.
I checked out Mariscos Chavas (truck) on Morena Blvd today, and it definitely passed muster, except for the tortilla, which didn’t hold up. I’ll ask for two next time. All I had was a fish taco (plus condiments), but that’s my baseline test. If they can’t make a good fish taco, fah-get-abawt-it. (Oops, wrong language.)
Easy to miss. Suggest parking on Viola St.
Wife and I stopped by there when in the area last month and had a pretty mixed result. Not likely to go back since there are so many good options for trucks right now - although not in that area. First complaint is that the truck had no prices posted. Consome was meh. Taco Marlin was excellent, stuffed and good balance. The Pulpo Taco was way too salty as was the Gobernador. Seemed they got too aggressive with the soy sauce in our judgement. Including the drink, it was $20 we’d have rather spent at the Mariscos Alex truck up on University. We didn’t sample any of the coctels or ceviches, those may be excellent for all we know.
Huh. I wonder if we’re talking about the same truck? When I was there the full menu with all prices was posted right next to the order window.
I thought the condiments (hot sauce, pickled red onions) were quite good.
I hear that their aquachile is tasty-- will try that next time.
Checked out Hundred Proof earlier this week. Can’t say that it’s 100% yet.
Drinks were great. Service was fun and efficient
Outside seating is really high off the ground, as are the chairs. If you’re short, you may need help getting in a chair. If you’ve had several drinks you may need help getting out of your chair. The tables, however, are big and wide which makes them ideal for sharing plates of food.
The food was kind of hit or miss. The shishito peppers are really good, just as they are at Trust. The crab dip was good, but the portion is a bit small. The (pork) meatballs are outstanding. The 2 flatbreads we tried were pretty weak. The crust was not particularly good, tho’ the toppings were. The chicken oysters were over breaded and had too much sauce and the sauce was too sweet. One of my dining companions thought everything was over salted, it did not share that opinion.
I think Hundred Proof is a fun spot and I “turst” that they will get their food kinks worked out over time. I plan to go back
Thanks DD!
Whenever I eat flatbread items, the crust better be good but always hungry, if that is all I had.
Man, I could go for a super hot as Hades, aquafresca right now!!
We had a meal at Pisco in Liberty Station this evening and enjoyed it. A little expensive perhaps, but good food in a nice environment – and outstanding, efficient service.
The dominant color here is orange, but there are other bright colors too. The ceiling is “covered” with a large number of small colorful umbrellas hung upside down, which not only add character, but act, I think, to help mitigate noise. It’s a far cry from what it looked like when it was a pizza place.
There’s a very small bar and a stand-up table (where they may or may not serve food). Lots of four tops, both tables and booths, and plenty of outdoor seating in an enclosed patio.
We both ordered their signature drink, a classic pisco sour, which is made with a number of ingredients, including pisco of course. (The ingredients list for this drink is painted on the wall.) In flavor it tasted a lot like a fresh-lime margarita, but with a very frothy head (due to egg whites). It was good, and something new and different – for us, anyway.
We then split three menu items: a classico ceviche, a mixto ceviche, and a half chicken (with rice and potatoes). The classico was tres ordinaire, except for the finely-chopped sweet potatoes and hominy. Not much flavor, but the fish was very fresh. Our server said he chose to bring this one out first because the mixto had some kick to it (spicy-wise). It did, and it also had much more interest, with shrimp, squid, octopus, and a more complex marinade. Both ceviches were on the small side, we thought. My companion commented that she likes Mexican ceviches more.
The chicken was fine, nice and tender, good crust, and came with three tasty dipping sauces. (Chicken Charlie does just as well with the chicken part, though.) The rice and potatoes were meh.
Cost before surcharge, tax, and tip was $56, but that’s for two people, and we didn’t leave hungry. I’m sure we’ll return, and when we do we’ll explore things farther from these baseline items.
We tried getting in last Sunday afternoon but it was packed with a 1/2-hour wait, and it was full again the following evening (a Monday!). So we went very early tonight, and had no trouble getting a table. I’m not sure if they take reservations per se, but you can “call ahead”, so they told us, and they’ll hold a table for you for maybe half an hour or so.
A friend and I had dinner at Pisco last night. Overall nice, pleasant experience.
The drinks are definitely a strong point. My dining companion had a pisco sour variant with passionfruit that was delightful. I had a cocktail called Pisco Ancho, which was smooth, creamy (from the egg white) with a little kick from the Ancho Reyes chile liqueor. Instead of dessert, we had a Pisco Flute cocktail…kind of like a French 88 only with pisco and a touch of St. Germaine.
Let’s just right up front that Pisco is no competition for Q’ero by any stretch of the imagination. The flavors pay only passing homage to Peru.
Like Dr. Chow, we split the Ceviche Mixto and liked it very much. It does pack a good punch with the heat but it isn’t so spicy that it overpowers the dish. The leche de tigre in this ceviche is delicious and we would have liked something to sop it up with, it was that good.
My dining companion ordered the lengua and liked it. It was tender and she liked the flavors. She ordered the Canary beans (we know them as Peruanos) as a side. Fairly forgettable and over salted.
I ordered the 1/2 rotisserie chicken. The chicken was actually very good and the white meat was not dried out. The skin, however, was rather flaccid and I’m not sure what kind of flavor profile they were going for with the congealed sauce that was clinging to the skin. Whatever it was, I didn’t particularly care for it and I don’t think it enhanced what really was a good chicken. The 3 dipping sauces chimichurri, an aji pepper based sauce and one I don’t recall - were all pretty forgettable. I seriously did not like any of them and they didn’t really go with the chicken very well. I had the potato wedges and the garlic choclo rice as sides. I loved the potato wedges, the rice was cold, had very little garlic and even less choclo.
One of the interesting aspects of Peruvian cuisine are the Chufa dishes that so clearly demonstrate the Chinese impact on it. There is once Chufa dish on the menu. In a nod to one of the native grains of Peru, it uses quinoa instead of rice. I’m not sure why the chef wants to mess with a good thing, but I’d be willing to try the Chufa with quinoa, although I think the texture won’t be quite the same.
Service was San Diego-style, meaning friendly, not too intrusive but pretty loosey-goosey and haphazard.
It certainly wasn’t a bad meal, but it just missed in so many instances. I got the impression that this was dumbed down Peruvian food designed to satisfy the mass (and undemanding) market. I think there are better choices in Liberty Station (hello Solare) but for drinks and apps with friends in a friendly, inviting and convivial space, Pisco fits that bill nicely. I would definitely go back if for no other reason than to have the Pisco Flute and Ceviche Mixto again.
Bump!
Going on an impromptu trip to San Diego this weekend (impromptu, as in, made the decision 15 mins ago), will be coming from Las Vegas. I have no idea where we’ll stay, it just has to be near the ocean, somewhere near the I8? (I went to school in SD, I know the area well)
I have no idea where to eat? I’ll also need any recommendation for any place along the way. I’ll be taking the I15 to 76 to I5.
Thanks in advance! I’ll be busy googling the above suggestions. Let me know if they are no good anymore or closed. Thanks! 
Had some good meals at Mariscos nine seas food truck in South Park recently. Like great wow in hillcrest for dumplings. Interesting new place Maestoso also in hillcrest that I’d like to check out. Liberty public market is fun though nothing really outstanding food wise.
We went to Roma Urban Market (Beech & Columbia) and enjoyed a sandwich and wine. The interior is indeed very “urban”, and the layout a little reminiscent of Bottega Americana, in that you get one thing here, another thing over there, and so forth.
Also tried out Katsu Café at the suggestion of one of the chemo lab nurses, a Korean. She suggested the spicy seafood ramen, which is what I got. Good, but not outrageously so, in large part because the ramen noodles simply didn’t stand up to house-made. If they are, I’d be surprised.
A number of other places. So many new openings.
We were at Water Grill, a place I like, on Sunday and had the lobster sandwich. Meh. And very expensive.
Ironside still has their “buck-a-shuck” oysters at HH.
Ototo Sushi keeps getting better.
Patio on Goldfinch has a delicious trout munchie at HH.
Kaiser Zion has a Caffé Calabira coffee stand out front. Amazing.
Solare never disappoints.
Happy hour at Brooklyn Girl is a really good deal. The duck taco is excellent. And it’s quiet during HH.
And Menya Ultra rules, provided you can (a) find a place to put your car, and (b) get seated.
Not been exploring as much as usual, but rather going to the same old same old over and over, it seems – at least for now.
Maestoso in Hillcrest. Pastas and pizza (flatbreadish) were both really good. We went primarily due to a cart they push around every 15-20 minutes with appetizer type dishes (likened to Italian dim sum by them) and which we thought was unique. These dishes were just okay, but the other food was very good.