San Diego Restaurant Week 2014: Tapenade

Our third and final stop for Restaurant Week was at Tapenade. We opted to get the wine pairings with our meal which even though on the online menu states $58, turned out to be $60 (which is really a steal since our cocktails at The Marine Room were $15 each). 

For our appetizer, we got the soup and the duck pate. The soup was really interesting tasting. It tasted like some of those herbal remedies my mom used to make me drink when I was a child. I couldn't put my finger on what it was though.. The duck pate was actually quite tasty. The only thing that I didn't really like was the nuts in the pate. Other than that, it was pretty tasty. The pickled vegetables were really good as well but I'm a fan on pickled anything so.. lol. 

For our main entrees we got the Wild Boar and the Maine Diver Scallops. I had a small forkful of the Wild Boar and it tasted super homemade. If you've watched Ratatouille, it was like the end of the movie when the guy eats the Ratatouille and has those visions of his childhood. The scallops were COOKED TO PERFECTION. Honestly, when we went to The Marine Room on Sunday and had the scallops, I thought they were slightly overcooked. I wasn't completely sure until yesterday night when I had these scallops. They were 100x better than The Marine Room (although The Marine Room might have been having an off night? They looked completely slammed.). As soon as I pushed my knife and fork through the scallops I knew they would be melt-in-your-mouth good. The risotto was not extremely flavorful but it went well to not overpower the taste of the scallops. Would highly recommend getting the scallops here.

For dessert we got the Petite Pot au Chocolat and the Profiteroles (which I had to Google to find out what it was lol). I'm not a huge fan of sweets especially chocolate pudding of sorts so I didn't have much of the Petite Pot au Chocolat. The small spoonful that I had tasted like melted Ghiradelli's chocolate. The Profiteroles were actually quite tasty despite the fact that I didn't enjoy the Grand Marnier ice cream. I think it was the slight hint of orange-flavor that just confused my taste buds a little too much. I would have much preferred the cream puffs with French Vanilla ice cream or even Butter Pecan (lol I like the old people ice cream flavors lol. So sue me :P).

Overall, I would give it 4.5 stars out of 5. The wine pairings were a bit mediocre, especially the dessert wine. I don't remember specifically what the wines were since they did not put them on the menu (that may have been a red flag lol). The duck pate and the scallops were my favorite part of the meal. I would probably come back to try some other seafood dishes since I was super impressed with their scallops. Again, for the price of $45/person and $60/person with wine pairings, I would have much rather spent it at Amaya. Nonetheless, it was nice to go out and try out a different place. 

That concludes my San Diego Restaurant Week posts! Hope you enjoyed them and aren't too hungry! I hope you all have a great weekend!

San Diego Restaurant Week 2014: NINE-TEN Restaurant and Bar

Second Restaurant Week stop was at NINE-TEN Restaurant and Bar. Tony and his friends had gone there previously but due to work I wasn't able to attend. He said good things about the place so when my friend Christine asked if I wanted to try the restaurant, I jumped at the opportunity. The entrance to the restaurant is actually inside this hotel so if you end up going there you don't have to look like the noobs we were.

We were seated right when we arrived even though we were early for our reservations. The menu had some variations from the Restaurant Week menu that was posted online. 

We started with the Hamachi sashimi and Jamaican jerk pork belly. The Hamachi sashimi was good and had decent flavor. I'm a big fan of vinaigrette so it was good lol. Apparently the Hamachi sashimi and Jamaican jerk pork belly are the signature dishes at the restaurant that they never change. According to the waiter, the head chef Jason Knibb actually grew up in Jamaica so it should be pretty authentic. I didn't get to try it but from what I heard from my friend, it was quite tasty.

hamachi sashimi

jamaican jerk pork belly

For the main entree, the three of us opted for 3 different dishes. We went with the Swordfish, Scallops, and Beef Short Rib. I had the Swordfish and it was decent but I think I might have gotten sick from it. It wasn't that it was bad quality but I've noticed that anytime I get grilled fish (besides salmon), I literally have to run to the restroom so I just don't think it goes well with my system. The dollop of white sauce on the side (not sure what it was lol) was really good and added a lot of flavor to the swordfish.

grilled swordfish

sea scallops

beef short rib

Lastly, we ended the night with the Caramel Apple Custard and the Half Baked Chocolate Cake (which is supposed to be another signature dish). The Caramel Apple Custard was definitely not what I had expected in presentation or taste. It wasn't too sweet which was good for me since I'm not a huge fan of sweets. Its one of those dishes you'll probably have to try out yourself to see if you like it. It's interesting to say the least lol.

caramel apple custard

half baked chocolate cake

dinner with friends old and new :)
thanks christine and tram for a great dinner date!

Overall, I would give the restaurant 4 stars out of 5. My favorite dish was the Hamachi sashimi which is interesting since it's not a sushi restaurant or anything. Again, there were no stand out dishes that were must haves but I only had the 3 dishes. I think I would definitely want to try to Jamaican jerk pork belly if I ever returned to the restaurant. Also, next time I would probably get the wine pairings with dinner. In comparison to my dinner at Amaya which was also $45 and $65 with wine pairings, Amaya tasted MUCH better and was much more worth it. 

Hope you've been enjoying these food posts! I have one more restaurant week post and some catch up on some month in reviews! Stay tuned!

San Diego Restaurant Week 2014: The Marine Room

First stop for San Diego Restaurant Week was at The Marine Room. Recommended to me by my friend Christine for their spectacular views, I could not resist making a reservation.

Started the night off with some drinks: Dan-hattan and Sassy Mule. Both were very strong so I guess you could say there were worth their hefty $15 price tags :P.

Next up were appetizers. We ordered the Prawn Duet and Mushroom Bisque (see menu above for complete details). Very flavorful. I'm a lover of soup and their mushroom bisque did not disappoint. In fact, Tony had stop me from actually doing my Charles Dickens impression of "Please sir, I want some more" to the waiter. I was thinking of even asking to trade my dessert for some more soup. Yes. It was good. I had read on their Yelp page that their Lobster Bisque is really good also so I'm sure I'll probably be back to try that (maybe if they have that on the next Restaurant Week menu? Purty please?!).

For our entrees we ordered the Diver Scallops and the Filet Mignon. Scallops were good but definitely not the best I've had. The sauce was light yet flavorful. The scallops themselves were pretty tasty but Tony ended up biting into a huge piece of sand lol. The Filet Mignon we got medium rare and even still it felt tough. Ever since I discovered rare plus (which isn't quite rare but just a notch below medium rare), medium rare just isn't the same anymore. I guess I like my cows moo-ing. I also felt like the sauce was a bit overpowering. I really couldn't taste the flavor of the meat with all the sauce slathered all over it. Still, I think the next time I order steak it'll have to be rare plus.

Finally, for dessert we had the Trilogy. The cacoa was definitely SUPER rich. I couldn't eat all of it. My favorite of the three was probably the gelato. Nothing that really stood out or was to die for.

Overall, I would give the food 4 stars. The standout of the night was the mushroom bisque. The ambiance of the restaurant is super romantic as you watch the waves crash up to your window. Maybe next time we'll make a reservation close to sunset. I also requested to sit next to the window but we ended up sitting 3 rows back from the window so I would suggest getting there earlier for the best seat (we got there 5 minutes after our reservation because we got lost).

San Diego Restaurant Week - September 2013

My current picks:

Just took a look at the list of restaurants. Not sure if they'll be adding more but a lot of the restaurants I was thinking of going to are not on the list :(. Here are some possibilities:

• Firenze Trattoria (Encinitas) - link - $40
• includes Tiramisu
• The Fish Market (Del Mar) - link - $30
• includes Creme brulee
• French Market Grille (Rancho Bernardo) - link -$40 (which by the way is the EXACT same menu as Hexagone... same owner?)
• Nobu (Downtown SD) - link - $40
• La Bastide (Scripps Ranch) - link - $40
• Blue Ribbon Rustic Kitchen (Hillcrest) - link - $30
• Island Prime (Pt. Loma/Harbor Island) - link - $40
• includes Filet Mignon
• Vigilucci's Ristorante (Coronado) - link - $40
• includes Tiramisu
• includes Filet Mignon
• Mille Fleurs (Rancho Sante Fe) - link - $40 (menu coming soon)
• Leroy's Kitchen + Lounge (Coronado) - link - $30
• 4 stars on Yelp
• The Red Door (Mission Hills) - link - $30
• Wild Note Cafe (Solana Beach) - link - $30
• George's California Modern (La Jolla) - link - $40