This story was reported for San Diego News Network on September 15, 2009.
These days dining out at a restaurant with tablecloths and good service seems like a luxury for many. That’s why San Diego Restaurant Week – which offers the chance to have a three-course dinner for $20, $30 or $40 – is such a fine time to let someone else do the cooking.
But with more than 150 restaurants to choose from, the hardest part may be deciding which restaurant to visit first. To help make your choice easier, SDNN Food Editor Maria C. Hunt and staff editors Hoa Quach, Eric Yates and Joseph Peña headed out to four hot tables and reported back on what they experienced on the first nights of Restaurant Week.
Market Restaurant + Bar
by Maria C. Hunt
It’s not such a secret, but some chefs do a watered down and less expensive version of their regular menu for restaurant Week. But Carl Schroeder of Market Restaurant + Bar isn’t one of them. The $40 restaurant week menu we tasted on Monday night was just as playful, creative and satisfying as any meal you might have at this restaurant that specializes in creative and seasonal California fare.
We settled into a table in the restaurant done in warm tones of chocolate, cinnamon, and paprika with modern drum lights overhead and tried to choose among the tempting choices for the three-course menu. The evening started with an amuse bouche – a surprise morsel from the chef to tantalize your palate. It was an oversized housemade potato chip sprinkled with seasonings that made it the classiest barbecue potato chip ever. Topped with smoked salmon, creme fraiche and chives, it was a combination of rich flavors that hinted at the fun in store. The combination was even more sublime with the prosecco – a sparkling wine from the Veneto in Italy, that our attentive and professional waiter Roger selected for us.
Schroeder likes dreaming up inventive things to put in a soup bowl, and the corn soup we tried was no exception. The pale yellow soup was naturally sweet and slightly frothy, studded with kernels of corn and roasted red peppers. In an homage to the versatility of corn, the soup was paired with a taco in a delicately crunchy corn shell stuffed with tender shredded pork and guacamole. I could eat a taco like this every day. The other irresistible starter was the warm and creamy blue cheese souffle- one of Schroeder’s signatures. The salad on the side changes according to the season; now it’s Waldorf-inspired mix of ref grapes. crisp apple, candied walnuts and tender Bibb lettuce.
Perhaps the heartiest entree was the Wienerschnitzel, two thin pork cutlets covered in crispy breading and drizzled with a choron sauce – a tomato hollandaise – along with fresh cherry tomatoes and broccolini. Short ribs were melt-in-your mouth tender, succulent morsels of beef napped in a richly burnished Cabernet wine sauce and paired with cippoline onions roasted to intense sweetness. The salmon was excellent too, served in a buttery Meyer lemon sauce and accompanied by fat tortellini stuffed with corn, shrimp and crab.
After a pause, it was time for dessert. Chocolate lovers should dive in an order the Market Bar, an intensely fudgy terrine that combines milk and bitter sweet chocolate, peanut crunch and a swoosh of bananas in caramel. Our favorites though were the seductive lemon pudding cake, a moist pouf of cake capped in a cloud of lemon curd that was balanced by a huckleberry sauce and a strawberries and cream semifreddo that offered a fleeting taste of summer.
Market is usually busy – the complimentary valet parking lot thick with Benzes, Bentleys and other conveyances of the monied clientele – and Restaurant Week is no exception. There are just a few reservations left at Market for Restaurant Week ending Sept. 18; fortunately, the restaurant will be offering the same $40 menu for an additional week.
El Vitral
by Eric Yates
On May 1, El Vitral opened downtown with little fanfare. As a sucker for quality Mexican food, I was thinking I was going to be a “fan” of their “fare.”
The upscale Mexican eatery, which sits behind the “Park at the Park” section of Petco Park, is on the roster of establishments for San Diego’s annual “San Diego Restaurant Week,” Sept. 13-18. But for my money, El Vitral is only very good, but not great.
The appetizer options for the SDRW pre-fixe menu included flautas de pollo, quesadillas, and ceviche de mahi mahi. I had the flautas and came away unimpressed. For starters, a corn tortilla was used, essentially excluding them from being “flautas,” which are made with flour tortillas. I assume a restaurant trying to put forth a certain image has a hard time putting “taquitos” on the menu though. The fresh cotija cheese was flavorful, but aside from the homemade chipotle aioli, there was little to separate these rolled chicken tacos from anything you’d find at your neighborhood taco shop.
The entrees offered include mole poblano, ravioles de nogada, and enchiladas de pato (duck). The enchiladas were definitely delicious. The duck is perfectly tender, after being slow-braised for six to eight hours in fresh apricot and plum juice. It creates a sweet contrast for the enchiladas, which are covered in a guajillo chile and cotija sauce, the perfect salty complement for the succulent duck meat. The highlight of the meal by far. For connoisseurs of fine tequila, El Vitral has more than 250 options, the majority of which are artisan crafts, with very few major label brands.
Service started off on a negative note. Upon arrival, there was no hostess present as my party and another larger party were waiting for nearly five minutes, crammed into the doorway.
But Cory, one of the lead servers, could not have been more accommodating. He made thoughtful and frank suggestions about the food, was very knowledgeable about ingredients and cooking processes, and had great command of the menu. You could tell immediately that he takes a lot of pride in his restaurant.
El Vitral was relatively empty, even for a Sunday night. The decor was very contemporary with lots of metal and aluminum design and architecture, but also integrating exposed brick, giving it a comfortable ambience. The highlight is undoubtedly the restaurants back patio, which sits directly behind Park at the Park. During the game, diners have a view of the right field and first-baseline stands, and can hear all of the natural ballpark action. During the off-season, it no doubt loses its appeal. The interior is beautifully decorated with various colored stained-glass windows, which appropriately is what “el vitral” means.
For more information on making reservations for Restaurant Week, call (619) 236-9420 or visit www.opentable.com and search San Diego and “El Vitral.”
Delicias Restaurant
by Hoa Quach
It doesn’t have a swanky décor by a New York designer – in fact, its interior reminds you of a restaurant you’d see in 80s sitcom Golden Girls. It isn’t easily accessible either – you have to drive miles off Interstate 5, through hills and windy roads.
Is Delicias worth the trip though?
From a vegetarian stand-point, I’d say so. In the heart of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. lies an inimitable dinning experience complete with fresh organic veggies and meats from free-range animals. To top it off, the setting is cozy enough that it makes you want to sit with friends over glasses of wine for hours . The employees welcome your patronage too, as they take their time to serve you and explain to you what each ingredient on your plate is – a service you couldn’t find at a bustling restaurant in the Gaslamp.
One of two spots that advertised their vegetarian offerings for San Diego Restaurant Week, – it was effortless to choose Delicias. Executive chef Michael Knowles offers veggies-only-eaters an interesting mix for the first course. Simply named, Chino Farms Chopped Salad (after the farm three miles away where Delicias picks up its beautiful produce) – the plate is full of about 10 different vegetables including zucchini, carrots, kidney beans and perhaps, a little too much parmigiano reggiano.
But if I had to eat the first course before I could have the second, it was worth it. Added to the Delicias’ menu just two months ago – The Vegetable Garden was delectable, to say the least. A savory tart neatly plated with heirloom tomatoes, eggplants, squash, caramelized onions, herb puree and heavy goat cheese. Typically, I wouldn’t prefer goat cheese but Knowles created such a perfect combination, that I’d spend an extra 30 minutes on the Stairmaster for another.
The desserts were admirable and comparable to those of Extraordinary Desserts. They included a chocolate baby cake, dulce de leche brownie and vanilla bean crème brûlée. We were also privileged enough to try the summer berries’ cobbler on the regular menu, which my dining companion loved.
For carnivores – my dining companion thought the hand-cut prime beef tartare was mediocre but the corn chowder was tasty. As a second course, the pork wiener schnitzel was out of the ordinary. A pork cutlet breaded in panko crumbse, heavily breaded was topped with mustard sauce, and struck us as unique.
— Gregory Roller contributed to this report.
Suite & Tender
by Joseph Peña
Suite & Tender’s Restaurant Week menu doesn’t showcase the restaurant’s best work, but it amply whets the appetites of diners and makes them anxious to return. In short, the meal – albeit scant in portion – is a success. Among the specialty cocktails poured tableside, the (G)integrity and the Passion win big – they’re crafty, unpretentious and delicious.
From its Restaurant Week starters menu, the Kobe Beef Carpaccio and the Vine Ripened Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella are recommended; the Maple Syrup Glazed Bacon was cooked well, but a bit fatty, and a touch too sweet – delicious, but nothing stunning.
From its entrée list, my dining companions and I had no complaints – aside from craving larger portions. The Alaskan King Crab – paired with Veal Tenderloin- is rich, buttery, and perfectly prepared as was the accompanying veal. The Lobster and Braised Short Rib duo, complemented by a garlic potato puree and buttered corn, was incredible. We passed the third option: Diver Scallop and Braised Pork Belly. Dessert won rave reviews. The S&T Cheesecake won the highest praise, and the Warm Chocolate Truffle Cake was in a close second place. The Kiwi sorbet accompanying the cheesecake provided a tart counterpart to the rich dessert. The total package – food, cocktails, service and atmosphere – wins.
Our attentive, informative server delivered speedy, efficient service – with one little hiccup early in the evening, attributed more to a miscommunication than to his accommodating nature. Kind and clever, our server never hovered, but was on hand when needed. Tableside cocktail service is anticlimactic and failed to deliver the intended “wow” factor; as did the select-your-own steak knife process. Overall – if a bit pretentious and far-reaching – the service is stellar and first-class.
The luxury hotel that houses Suite & Tender – the Se – is stunning. The restaurant is no exception. The heavily textured, moody space is well lit and inviting, spacious and simultaneously intimate. There is a sense of exclusivity, but it isn’t fostered by the friendly, accommodating front of the house staff, whose uniforms – unfortunately – err the side of being distasteful, and detract from their bubbly, welcoming demeanor.The drawback: the restaurant’s windows overlook a stark white parking garage and a Hollywood Tans storefront, a contrast to the dark, sexy space. Of course, the unisex restroom generates a good deal of the buzz and lively dinner conversation. It’s a must see for guests.
Make your Restaurant Week reservation for Suite & Tender here.