So day two of our staycation found us down in San Diego. Jumped into the Mustang after church and took off for a day trip. Just because we could. Spent the afternoon doing a little outlet shopping. Also just because we could. And for dinner…
We found ourselves here.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! (Long time fans of chef Richard Blais.)
I forget what drink ordered but it was very, very good. Haha, I am not normally a drinker (really!) but something about a table for two always makes me feel like ordering something fun. And so we commenced to do what we do best: EAT. Starting with these cute little jalapeno cheesy breads.
Buttermilk biscuit with smoked butter. Yum. But we gotta remember to quit filling up with bready items when there is so much we want to have room to try.
Deviled eggs with a gochujang sauce, some kind of tiny mushroom, crunchy thingies, and some other stuff. Heh heh, this one’s not on the current menu so I forget now what all went into this dish. But I love me a deviled egg and these were great.
OYSTERS & PEARLS- FENNEL APPLE MIGNONETTE / HORSERADISH PEARLS. Phil liked these, I tolerated them. This is our usual m.o. when it comes to raw oysters. I think it’s because I always get a really sandy one and that kills it for me.
Lightly fried zucchini blossom. We both really enjoyed this one. Not on the current menu so I can’t remember what all went into it but it was one of our favorites. Inspired me even to buy a few zucchini blossoms at the farmer’s market recently to try at home. We also enjoyed those too, though they weren’t nearly as complex.
SLOW ROASTED BEETS- BARTLETT PEAR RICOTTA / MARCONA ALMOND / MISO HONEY VINAIGRETTE / LIVING KALE. These were really good and I normally can’t stand beets!
CARNE CRUDA ASADA- QUAIL EGG / COTIJA / JALAPENO. Phil really wanted to love these but we both found this one to be on the bland side. Those cute little quail eggs were adorable, though.
Gnocchi I think with bone marrow, carrots, and snap peas. Delicious, but very rich tasting. This one ended up getting boxed and coming home for the next day’s lunch. Too full.
Ravioli filled with a corn-cheese sauce and dotted with huitlacoche (corn smut). This one we both really enjoyed. The huitlacoche was very subtle but had some funk to it.
Ribeye (I think?) with carrots and onion rings. We were much too full by now to eat this one. So we tasted a bite, ate the onion rings (because who likes soggy next-day onion rings?), and had the rest boxed up.
Wanna try a bite?
My cutie pie hubs.
And dessert. Panna cotta with a citrusy sauce and crumbled macaroon cookie. Nice and light and just enough for a sweet bite at the end.
Sadly we didn’t see Richard Blais in the restaurant that night, but we left with his picture all the same. A signed copy of his cookbook which I was all excited to make something out of but then all too soon the kids came home, real life kicked back in, and so for now it sits on the shelf waiting for our next kidless adventure.
Not to worry though because I’ve got three whole days left of our staycation to relive!
