LMC & Mr. Tall's Culinary Adventures in Santa Barbara: Part 2

What would a trip with LMC & Mr. Tall be without cupcakes! I read about Crushcakes Cupcakery on a cupcake blog (I don't remember which one anymore, or else I would totally mention it!). Not far from State Street, Crushcakes is an adorable little corner-store cupcake shop. Mr. Tall and I ordered half a dozen cupcakes to enjoy later. We got 2 Crush Cakes (their signature red velvet cake with sour cream frosting and topped with a chocolate heart), a Strawberry Blush (strawberry cake with pink frosting and some pink white chocolate shavings, I think), a Buttermilk Crumb Cake (buttermilk cake with cinnamon brown sugar crumble and caramel swirls), a Vanilla Harmony (vanilla cake topped with dark chocolate frosting and mini dark chocolate chips), and a Lemon Drop (lemon cake with lemon frosting and candied lemon peel).

Crushcakes' daily menu offers 10 different kinds of cupcakes and also special cupcakes such as The Elvis (fresh banana cake with peanut butter frosting and chocolate drizzle) among other equally intriguing choices. Mr. Tall and I particularly enjoyed the Buttermilk Crumb Cake and Lemon Drop, but all were moist and yummy. Crushcakes cupcakes had a bit of a homemade charm--each cupcake was not perfectly manufactured and consistent as you may find at Sprinkles, but they were every bit as creative and delicious. Crushcakes looks like the only place around downtown Santa Barbara that is a specialty cupcake bakeshop so if you live or travel to SB and is a cupcake fiend like me, Crushcakes is definitely worth stopping by--hey, you might remember (or get your first) cupcake crush.

After a day of shopping on State Street and enjoying the Museum of Art, Mr. Tall and I had a destination in mind for dinner. We got on the road and drove northeast to Buellton--to The Hitching Post II.

As seen in Sideways, The Hitching Post II boasts its own winery in the Santa Ynez Valley and other Santa Barbara County wine selection, and its famous Santa Maria-style barbecue menu. As you can see (picture below), the structure and the interior of the restaurant are far from impressive, but it is not the ambiance that bring people to this landmark--it's the food culture. A straightforward menu, carefully selected wine list, and the chef-owner Frank Ostini with his signature beard and hat, the HPII is a destination all on its own.

First, I checked out the wine menu and Hitching Post's own 2005 Pinot Noir Highliner caught my eyes, and I ordered a glass. Mr. Tall doesn't like wine so he simply ordered a soda (plus he was driving us back to SB).

Mr. Tall and I started with its most popular appetizer, grilled artichoke -- seasoned with "Magic Dust" (HPII's unique blend of salt and spices) and served with a spicy smoked tomato mayonnaise. Mr. Tall is not a big fan of artichoke, but he really enjoyed this first taste of the Santa Maria-style barbecue. The "Magic Dust" added a lot of flavor to to the artichoke, and the spicy smoked mayonnaise was a great compliment to the smokiness from the grill. We both gobbled that up. Each entree of HPII's menu comes with a choice of organic mixed green salad or today's soup, and Bay Shrimp Cocktail, soup or neither for $2 less. The entree also arrives with rice pilaf, baked potato or French Fries.

Mr. Tall and I both ordered the salad and decided not to get the second course. The salad was nothing memorable--it was doused with your choice of salad dressing (in our case, Ranch) and herb croutons. The Los Angeles Times hailed that HPII's French Fries to be the best in Southern California so Mr. Tall got the fries along with his 10-oz. Prime Top Sirloin, medium. According to its menu and website, HPII purchases its beef from small packers in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, and its steaks among other items (including the grilled artichoke) are grilled on its Santa Maria rotating barbecue, over an oakwood fire, and seasoned with Magic Dust.

The steak was perfectly cooked--slightly charred on the outside, still pink and juice in the center. The French Fries were pretty addicting--evenly cooked to a golden crunch on the outside but creamy and soft on the inside. Each fry was consistently and freshly cooked.

I wanted to get something different so I went with the smoked duck breast--cold smoked and grilled over oak, slightly pink inside, and served with an apricot-ginger sauce--with rice pilaf. This dish was apparently one of the main character of Sideways Miles' favorite dishes along with the Highliner. The duck was tender, and the smokiness did not overwhelm the flavor of the duck. The apricot-ginger sauce provided the perfect amount of sweetness and acidity to the dish. Needless to say, it went perfectly well with the Highliner. Overall, our dinner was definitely worth the 25-minute drive from SB to Buellton.

Also, the service at HPII was nearly as wonderful in quality as its food. Our waitress was sweet and friendly, and any diner will get a sense of loyalty and pride of the restaurant from each of its employee. The Magic Dust and smoked tomato pesto (which is what they put into the smoked tomato mayonnaise) are available for purchase as well as a variety of wine bottlings from HP and other wineries. If you plan on going wine tasting in the Santa Ynez Valley or are traveling near that area, then I highly recommend making a dinner date at the Hitching Post II--you will not be disappointed, and be sure to make a reservation!

The weather in SB was not as accommodating as everything else on the rest of our trip. Mr. Tall and I endured cool weather and lack of sunshine, but tried to make the most of our visit anyway. Case in point: Day 3's picnic at the beach. After picking up some yummy sandwich, salad, and drinks from Panino 3, we drove up to Montecito and set up a picnic on Butterfly Beach. After braving the cold sea breeze long enough to finish our lunch, we headed back to our B&B and walked around Stearns Wharf and the harbor to take in more of the sights and grab some souvenirs for our family.

For dinner on our last full day in SB, Mr. Tall and I just wanted something quick and easy--but still delicious, of course. After a really short drive from our B&B to State Street, we grabbed some burgers at The Habit. With a few location in Santa Barbara, it seems to be a local favorite burger joint. They also have several locations in Ventura County, LA County, and up in the Sacramento area. Their Charburgers are "100 % fresh lean beef" served with mayonnaise, pickle, tomato, shredded lettuce (the best way to put lettuce on a burger), and caramelized onions on toasted sesame seed buns. In terms of quality, The Habit's and In 'N' Out's burgers are probably on the same par, but Habit's burger paddies are not as greasy since they are char-grilled. I got the #1, which is the Charburger with fries and a drink, and Mr. Tall got the #1 with cheese.

Their fries were also comparable to In 'N' Out. Mr. Tall and I enjoyed our burgers while people-watching on State Street, which was a cool setting for our short and sweet dinner. The Habit also offer grilled sandwiches, salads, shakes, and malts, which I would assume are all tasty.

After our very casual dinner, Mr. Tall and I decided to end our last night in SB with some drinks at Opal Restaurant & Bar. I discovered this place reading one of the magazines at the B&B room. The thing that caught my attention was its specialty martini menu, which offered a Thai-Chee-Ni. Located by the Arlington Theater, the Opal reminded me of a local favorite akin to restaurants in South Park or Kensington. Mr. Tall and I sat at the bar, surrounded by happy diners in this charming restaurant. Mr. Tall ordered a beer and I, of course, had to try the Thai-Chee-Ni. This martini is made with a Thai chili-infused vodka and pureed lychee fruit--it was spicy and sweet! A really surprisingly delicious drink--the spiciness was unlike when you eat a Thai chili but added to the warmth and complexity of the vodka. Lychee was the perfect fruit to chill out the punch of the chili. Their other drink specialities sounded interesting (Blood Orange Greyhound and Fresh Ginger Mandarin Cosmo among others), but me being a light-weight, I just got a Framboise (raspberry liquor) and Sprite, and Mr. Tall got another beer to end the night. The next morning, after mailing a postcard for Mr. Tall's grandparents in Wisconsin, Mr. Tall and I departed from Santa Barbara, and what a wonderful trip it was!

Good-bye, Santa Barbara--we'll be back again!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

Coming: San Diego Restaurant Week at Chive and LMC's 24th birthday!

LMC & Mr. Tall's Adventures in Santa Barbara: Part 1

Mr. Tall and I recently went on a much needed vacation and culinary adventure in Santa Barbara. While I was studying my life away last semester, Mr. Tall found a lovely bed & breakfast across the street from the wharf and thoroughly researched interesting attractions in town. We made our way from San Diego, stopped in Los Angeles for one night to have dinner with my sister (at Yabu, of course), and off we went to Santa Barbara.

After checking in to our B&B, Casa del Mar Inn, Mr. Tall and I checked out Stearns Wharf and took in the sights by the beach. Since it was nearly dinner time, we walked over to Brophy's Brothers, which was highly recommended by a friend of mine who's from Santa Barbara. Brophy's Bros is a 2-story restaurant at the Breakwater fisherman's wharf that is very popular among the locals and tourists; the top floor is the restaurant/bar and the bottom floor is its bar/merchantile. Mr. Tall and I waited for 45 minutes (good thing we weren't too hungry) and were seated inside on the second level. There are seatings out on the terrace overlooking the Breakwater; the bar faces and opens out to the water as well; and there are several tables inside.

All the entrees were served with cole slaw, a choice of a green salad or a cup of clam chowder, and a choice of rice pilaf or french fries. Its fresh fish menu changes daily depending on the market availability. Mr. Tall ordered the halibut, which was grilled and served with a curry spice sauce and mushroom, and served with cole slaw a rice pilaf. As for me, I'm not a huge fan of clam chowder (or any cream-based soup for that matter) but decided to try Brophy Bros' version anyway--and I was pleasantly surprised! I have limited experience with clam chowder, but this one had really good balance flavors from the cream and little cubes of potato, and nice chunks of clams in nearly every bite.

My entree was the Thresher shark, grilled and served with a sweet and tangy sauce of red onion and pineapple, and it was delicious! It was my first time trying shark and I really enjoyed it; its texture was similar to a cross between halibut and tuna but more dense and a meatier flavor. The portions at Brophy Bros were extremely generous, and Mr. Tall and I weren't even close to finishing our entrees because our pieces of fish were so huge!

Mr. Tall is not a breakfast person, but luckily our B&B has a lovely selection of breads, pastries, and really yummy homemade blueberry muffins, and a variety of tea, coffee, and juice. Every morning, I woke up, grabbed some blueberry muffins and several tea bags, and avoided all eye contacts with other patrons and ran back to the room because my bed head is not even slightly attractive. The B&B room's kitchenette area is equipped with a mini-fridge, sink counter, and a microwave, which was very convenient for heating up my muffins and hot water.

For our first full day in SB, Mr. Tall and I started the day with an early lunch at Tupelo Junction. Although Mr. Tall did the research for Santa Barbara attractions, I happily volunteered to research restaurant spots. Well-reviewed by the NY Times and Bon Appetit, the Tupelo Junction was a natural choice for one of the restaurants not to be missed. Our water arrived in mason jars, which was a really nice touch reflecting the restaurant's southern-style influence. There were so many items we wanted to try on the menu, but we knew our appetites could not accommodate.

So, Mr. Tall decided on the oven-roasted free-range turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce, cream cheese and lettuce (Mr. Tall dislikes tomatoes in his sandwiches and burgers, among other applications), and served with sweet potato fries. The sandwich was great, but the fries were disappointingly soggy and oily. I went with Tupelo Junction's signature fried chicken salad. Definitely not the healthiest "salad" but with the combination of crunchy fried chicken cutlets, dried cranberries, toasted pumpkin seeds, huge chunks of fresh corn bread croutons, and herb buttermilk dressing (with plenty of dill), every bite was worth it!

Day 1: Old Mission Santa Barbara & Rose Garden

Day 1: Santa Barbara Botanic Garden--definitely our favorite attraction in SB!

After a fun-filled first day, Mr. Tall and I headed to the State Street area for dinner at Los Arroyos. Once we entered this restaurant, we ordered our food at the cashier and sat down to enjoy fresh tortilla chips and a selection of salsas at their salsa bar. I am a big fan of horchata so Los Arroyos's homemade horchata was a delicious choice, and Mr. Tall went with his usual Jarritos tamarindo. Mr. Tall's Burrito Mojado--a burrito filled with steak and black beans topped with salsa roja, cheese and sour cream--served with rice, was very filling; the steak was flavorful and not too fatty, unlike most carne asada; Mr. Tall really liked it.

I ordered a special item of Tacos a Mano Rajas con Queso--two soft tacos of homemade tortillas with chorizo grilled pasilla chiles and onion, topped with Monterey Jack and queso fresco--it was absolutely delicious! Their soft taco plates come with a side of rice and black beans or Caesar salad, which was good but not as memorable as the tacos themselves. Mr. Tall and I enjoyed Los Arroyos so much that we returned for a second time for a shared plate of Maria's Enchiladas--two enchiladas with carne asada topped with salsa verde, cheese and shredded lettuce.

It was a mighty tasty afternoon snack! Los Arroyos is undoubtedly one of our favorite restaurants in SB. They also have another location in Montecito, which is a short drive from the State Street area. If I lived in SB, Los Arroyos would have a place in my heart like Mama Testa does!

On our second day, Mr. Tall and I decided to take a leisure day of walking and shopping on State Street as well as visiting the museum. Another favorite spot on the trip is Blenders in the Grass. It's sort of like a Jamba Juice with a dozen locations from Santa Maria to Oxnard. Mr. Tall really enjoyed the Red Cranberry, a blend of cranberry juice, strawberries, non-fat plain yogurt and raspberry sherbet, which was a special item on the menu that day. I also enjoyed the Tropical Guava, which blended guava juice, strawberries, banana, non-fat frozen yogurt and pineapple sherbet. They have menu items like a date-based smoothie among other interesting and seasonal choices. They also offer a wide variety of free supplements such as bee pollen and spirulina to boost up any of their 24-oz smoothies. Their Blenders in the Grass jingle on the radio is pretty catch, too--"Give me a Blender!" I will boldly say that their smoothies are much better than Jamba Juice--give me a Blender now, please!

Day 2: Santa Barbara Museum of Art

I was trying to consolidate all of our adventures into one post, but I'm getting a bit A.D.D. so please come back soon for part deux of SB!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

LMC Eats LA: Yabu

When Mr. Tall and I visit Los Angeles, there are three things we always do: visit my sister at UCLA, lunch in Thai Town, and dinner at Yabu. Located on West Pico Boulevard in the West Hollywood area, Yabu is a small and inconspicuous gem of a restaurant. The place probably seats only 25-30 people so the tables and sushi bar are always occupied, but we have managed to get a table without too long of a wait as long as we don't get there too late.

The first time Mr. Tall and I visited Yabu was for my sister Pinnerton's birthday. There is a set menu, but the daily special changes depending on the availability of seafood. We started with an order of crispy fried Japanese black-back sole. The fish was so fresh, simply cooked, and simply delicious. The best part was probably the fish's bones--crispy and yummy!

Mr. Tall is not a fan of sushi and sashimi, but my sister and I are so we tried some new dishes we had never had. First up was the Suzuki, or the sea bass sashimi. It's no Blue Fin tuna, but the fish was fresh and beautifully cut to nearly translucent, paper-thin slices. Mr. Tall ordered the next dish, which was the Japanese-style chicken wings. Probably not the most authentic dish, but still absolutely delicious.

The chicken wings, simply broiled and sprinkled with Japanese sea salt, went fast.

Mr. Tall steered clear of this one: Santa Barbara sea urchin. I thought it was creamy and fresh, but Pinnerton didn't really enjoy it very much. My sister and I are always up to trying new things so that was probably our adventurous dish of the night.

Although the seafood is well known at Yabu, its soba dishes are the most renowned because the soba is made in-house every day. My sister and I have tried a cold soba dish, but we enjoyed soba soup dishes the best. Our favorite was the Tanaki, or soba with tempura batter vegetable paddy. There are a variety of other noodle dishes, but soba is definitely the way to go. The "before" picture on the right ...

And here is the "after" ... We devoured it and licked the bowl clean. The soup was flavorful and the soba was amazing. A must-try.

Mr. Tall was quite full yet so we order the broiled black cod with shitake and enoki mushroom. This dish was such a wonderful preparation, and we all enjoyed it very much.

The birthday girl had to have dessert--even though I had baked her a dozen Lemon Poppy Seed cupcakes, which were awaiting in her dorm room. The green tea parfait consisted of crispy corn flakes, red bean, green tea ice cream, and whipped cream, of course. Yabu is undoubtedly one of our favorite restaurants in LA. It is unpretentious, reasonably priced, and served delicious and straight-forward food. The food culture in LA is greatly diverse, and there is a vast availability of all sorts of restaurants around the city. Yabu is truly one of a kind and worth a visit if you're ever in the area. Have a happy 4th of July!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

Coming up: vacation and good eats in Santa Barbara with LMC & Mr. Tall and San Diego Restaurant Week!

LMC Eats LA: Thai Town

My sister is attending her first year of undergrad at UCLA so it was inevitable that Mr. Tall and I occasionally explore the good eats in Los Angeles during our visits.

The place we always stop by for lunch is Thai Town. Located on Hollywood Boulevard (between Normandie and Western Avenue), Thai Town stretches several blocks down the street in a bit of a sketchy part of the city. Our favorite spot is definitely Ruen-Pae. Located in a small, strip-mall-like complex, between a donut shop and a Japanese restaurant, Ruen-Pae offers a very wide range of Thai dishes--from noodles, traditional side dishes to rice, and many offerings that you will not see on a menu of a typical Thai-American restaurant. The menu can be a bit overwhelming since it is so large, but if you take sometime to peruse through it, everyone is bound to find something they might like. Since I can generally get Thai iced tea at most Thai restaurants, I always opt for longan juice when dining at Ruen Pae. Made from dried longans, longan juice is sweet and refreshing with a subtle longan flavor. Other drink offerings include Thai iced coffee and sugar cane juice.

During one of our visits, my sister ordered Guay-taey kua gai, or stir-fry noodles with chicken, egg, bean sprouts and preserved squid. In Thailand, the dish is usually topped with little crispy Chinese donut, but I don't think it's made anywhere here in the U.S. (at least not that I have seen anyway). This dish was simply mediocre, and I don't think we would order it again. There are so many other things on the menu that are more traditional and tasty--including kao mun gai. As Zane Lamprey nicknamed it on the Food Network's "Have Fork, Will Travel," wow mun gai is one of Mr. Tall's favorite Thai dishes. Kao mun gai has a Chinese origin and has found immense popularity in Thailand. The chicken is boiled with some garlic and herbs. The rice, or kao mun, is cooked with garlic and chicken broth, giving the rice a depth of flavor and a little glisten! The chicken is served over the rice and with a nam jim, or a sauce, of fermented soybean, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and ginger.

Wow mun gai-licious!

Call me a creature of habit or just a girl who knows what she likes, but I always get the same 4 dishes--som tum, larb, koh moo yang and kao neuw. The som tum Thai, or papaya salad, is made of shredded green papaya, cherry tomato, green beans, dried shrimps, palm sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, chilis, and peanuts (of course). Traditionally, all the flavoring ingredients are mashed in a mortar (usually a wooden one), then the papaya and vegetables are combined and finished with peanuts. There are variations on som tum, including one with salted, preserved little crabs called som tum pbooh, which Ruen Pae also offers.

With the som tum, I usually order koh moo yang (grilled pork neck) or larb (spicy ground meat "salad"). The menu lists koh moo yang as simply barbecue pork, but it is really the pig's neck portion grilled. The pork is quite fatty, but the sweet marinade and spicy nam jim work to balance the fattiness. This is arguably one of my favorite dishes ever (oh, and one of Mr. Tall's favorites, too). Seriously, if you have the opportunity to go to Thai Town or visit Thailand, be sure to try some grilled pork neck--you will thank me later.

My other favorite is larb. Larb is a relatively common dish offered in some Thai restaurants, but the rendition at Ruen Pae is pretty much like any larb you would get in Thailand.Larb is usually made with ground pork, cooked with ground toasted rice, shallot, cilantro, green onion, spear mint leaves, fish sauce, lime juice, and dried chili peppers. Larb is usually enjoyed along side som tum and kao neuw, or sticky rice. These dishes are Northeastern specialities that have long garnered extreme popularity in Bangkok. I could honestly eat som tum, larb or koh moo yang, and sticky rice everyday and be a happy Thai camper.

There are other places in the same complex as Ruen Pae that are worth checking out. My family usually visit Ganda, which is on the other side of the complex and offer a variety of prepared dishes for take-out, desserts and snacks. I have gotten take-out from Ganda once before and it was pretty good, but the "B" rating from the health inspection keeps me from going back; although I occasionally pick up some desserts and snacks from there. Another place that is a must for sweets lover is Baan Kanom Thai, or literally house of Thai desserts. It offers a plethora of homemade Thai desserts, imported snacks (durian chips anyone?) and so much more! My sister and her friends visit other places in Thai Town such as Krung Tedd, but Mr. Tall and I always end up going back to Ruen Pae because the food is always authentic and the service always courteous. I also pack my cooler full of to-go orders to take back to San Diego--usually some spicy basil stir-fry, curries and grilled pork neck (I really do love it that much).

I have yet to find Thai food in San Diego as authentic as the food in Thai Town. Nonetheless, my philosophy for Thai food in San Diego and the rest of California is that even if the food is not authentic, if the interpretation is genuine and flavorful, then I can't complain too much. So, if you can't make it to Thailand, then you'll definitely want to visit Thai Town for authentic Thai food with very reasonable prices. Thai Town holds a celebration of Songkran, or Thai New Years, on the first Sunday of every April with food vendors and entertainment along the streets. Wat Buddhajakramongkolratanaram, a Thai temple in Escondido, also holds an event for Songkran with food stands and entertainment.

School had been really busy this past semester, leaving me no time to do many leisure activities. Even though I'll be working full-time this summer, I hope to update the blog more often.

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

Coming up: more good eats in LA and vacation with LMC & Mr. Tall in Santa Barbara!

San Diego Restaurant Week 2008: Currant Brasserie and Trattoria Acqua

The first installment of San Diego Restaurant Week in 2008 lasted from January 27th to February 1st. Mr. Tall and I did not visit any restaurants last year, but we did go to Top of the Cove in La Jolla in 2006. Top of the Cove is currently still under construction (as it has been for nearly a year), but I hope to visit it again when the place re-opens. This year, I managed to have 2 occasions to enjoy Restaurant Week. The first occasion was for my law school partner in crime Anika's birthday, and the second was just a Friday night date for Mr. Tall and me.

For Anika's birthday, we went to Currant Brasserie at the Sophia Hotel in Downtown. We parked at Horton Plaza--I must add that the new self-validate system there is much more efficient--and walked over to the restaurant.
After we ordered, a brown bag (a really cute touch) of freshly baked sourdough with rosemary rolls accompanied by butter arrived. They were still warm and a great start to the meal. For our first course, Anika had the Bibb Lettuce Salad with red teardrop tomatoes, rendered pancetta and Point Reyes blue cheese vinaigrette, and I had the Caramelized Five Onion Soup with braised short ribs, black truffles and marrow toasts. The soup was very light yet flavorful, although the essence of the black truffles was merely detectable. I have never had marrow before, but I thought it tasted much like butter so I had no problem with that.

For our second course, Anika had the Roasted Jidori Chicken with warm Tuscan bread salad with currants, pine nuts and braised greens, and a drizzle of natural chicken jus. I ordered the Hibachi Salmon with green tea soba noodles, shaved vegetable slaw, and mandarin orange coconut butter. The portion of the Jidori chicken was very generous (about half a bird), and the birthday girl said that she enjoyed the dish. For me, the salmon was perfectly cooked (not overcooked, for once!), and as interesting as the mandarin orange coconut butter sounded, it actually married all the ingredients together quite nicely. Overall, I liked this dish.

Anika ordered the Pumpkin Cheesecake with orange mousse, cranberry jam, and pecan gremolata, and I had the Apple and Sun-dried Currant Canneloni with apple cider sabayon. The birthday girl enjoyed her dessert especially a lemon-y sauce that accompanied the cheesecake. The waiter informed me that the canneloni was not a regular offering, which compelled me to try it, and I was definitely satisfied. The diced apple and sun-dried currant were sweet yet tart, wrapped in a phyllo dough-like pastry and drizzled with the wonderful sabayon. In other words, it was yummy!

Overall, the food at Currant was delicious, and the ambiance was sophisticated yet unpretentious and casual. The service was very attentive as our courses came out in a timely manner, and our water glasses were never empty. You can also view the activities in the kitchen from the outside of the restaurant. So, if you find yourself in Downtown and want something different than what are typically offered downtown (steakhouses, etc.), then head over to Currant and you might be pleasantly surprised.

For Little Miss and Mr. Tall's date, we went to Trattoria Acqua in downtown La Jolla. Mr. Tall and I have fond memories of La Jolla as it was where we attended our undergrad at UCSD, enjoyed our first few dates, and we like to visit the Cove for nice beach-side walks. Located on Prospect Street, Trattoria Acqua is one of the restaurants on that particular row with an ocean view. Unfortunately, we couldn't see much of the ocean at night, but it still provided a nice backdrop. (Side note: if you want what Mr. Tall and I consider the best view in downtown La Jolla, try having dinner at George's Ocean Terrace, and you will fall in love!) After we ordered our meal, a basket of slices of sour dough baguette arrived along with a white bean hummus, which was delicious--I had to remember not to ruin my appetite.

Let's get to the good stuff (beware, my courses were very protein- heavy): for our first course, Mr. Tall had the Zuppa, a rich broth of four onion soup topped with a Gruyere cheese souffle, and I had the Carpaccio di Manzo, thin sliced Filet Mignon carpaccio garnished with daikon sprouts, Parmegiano Regiano, toasted pistachios and a lemon white truffle vinaigrette. Mr. Tall is generally not a big fan of onion flavor so the Zuppa was light enough to please his palate; he said he liked it but that it was not great. I thought the carpaccio was delicious and well accented by the grated cheese and toasted pistachios for texture; although, I would have preferred more of the vinaigrette (it tasted almost as if they forgot to put it in) because the acidity would have united the whole dish a bit more.

For our main course, Mr. Tall ordered the Fagiano, oven-roasted pheasant served atop a ragu of Italian Coteghino sausage, crispy sage and assorted Tuscan white beans and finished with au jus. I ordered the Cassoulette (Anthony Bourdain would have been proud), Muscovy duck leg confit adorning a lamb stew with Italian sausage, imported butter beans and tomatoes. Mr. Tall enjoyed this course because the pheasant was cooked very well leaving the skin crispy and the meat moist. It was my first time trying something confit, so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. But the duck leg was crispy on the outside and very moist on the inside; however, the whole dish was just over salted. That just sort of killed it for me. I did manage to eat most of the dish (my grandma taught me not to waste food!), but it was definitely not as good as I had hoped.

Finally, for desserts, Mr. Tall had the Cannoli Della Nonna, Grandma Agnese's (um, I'm guessing it's the owner's or chef's grandmother?) homemade Sicilian cannoli filled with sweetened ricotta and chocolate chips, and I had the Tiramisu, espresso soaked ladyfingers, in between layers of mascarpone cheese, chocolate and cocoa. Call me boring, but the other desserts just sounded a bit too heavy for me, considering how much meat I had eaten! The Tiramisu hit the right spot and ended the meal on a better note for me than the previous course. Mr. Tall had never had cannoli and had no complaints about it.

To accompany our meals, Mr. Tall ordered a red Italian beer (we don't remember the name anymore), which he liked, and I ordered a glass of Estancia Pinot Noir that didn't disappoint. All in all, Mr. Tall and I enjoyed our meal at Trattoria Acqua--the ambiance was warm and romantic (but not too cheesy), and the service was good. There was a couple at a table right behind us that Mr. Tall was facing, and the woman kept complaining the whole time about how much the service sucked and kept coughing with her mouth open--disgusting! We were glad that they finally left during our meal. So, despite the inconsiderate neighbors, Mr. Tall and I had a nice time, but the food will not likely get us to go back. Trattoria Acqua is a lovely place for a date, and I wouldn't doubt that perhaps their regular menu may fare better than the Restaurant Week selections.

If you did not get a chance to check out San Diego Restaurant Week the past week, there is a list of restaurants that is extending their offerings of Restaurant Week menu. The second installment will be from June 22nd to June 27th, so hopefully Mr. Tall and I will get the opportunity to visit yet another restaurant (or two).

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

Coming up: LMC's culinary adventures in Los Angeles!