Azul

As one of the big players in Downtown La Jolla for the past decade, Azul serves innovative Californian coastal cuisine in a warm dining room that offers a sweeping view of the coastline. While the dinner menu is tempting (lobster pot pie and muscovy duckling, anyone?), Sunday brunch is by far more relaxed and leisurely. Arrive early, snag a coveted table next to the windows and enjoy a quiet meal to unwind from all the crap you had to deal with during the week. Arrive late and you might be greeted by a loud and jolly crowd.


I personally like to take my meals in a more serene environment to take a break from my posh, glamorous lifestyle as a penniless student and amateur food blogger. Gotta get away from all those cute co-eds who hound me 24/7. You understand.

Not my table. It had better lighting. Hindsight: 20/20.

Sunday brunch at Azul comes with complimentary fruit and pastries as well as your choice of beverage--champagne, mimosa, orange juice, or bloody mary--to sip on as you choose a plate from four main categories on the brunch menu: breakfast entrees, french-style omeletts, savory selections, and wood oven fired flatbread. Prices average out to a very reasonable $15.

One could easily make a breakfast from this tower.

Warm crab & artichoke pastry: topped with two poached eggs and lemon hollandaise.

Remembering how much I enjoyed the salmon/apricot pastry from Jer-ne, I ordered this pastry. It did not disappoint. "Melt in your mouth" is a hackneyed expression used to describe food and I never use it. Today, however, I will make an exception. This pastry is so flaky and buttery that it really does (almost) melt in your mouth. (You know. Because butter melts at about 32 °C.) It is a perfect housing for the well balanced crab/artichoke stuffing, whose flavors work very well together and do not overwhelm the other ingredients--or each other, for that matter. Scoop up some egg and hollandaise along with a bite of the pastry for a creamy treat. You'll be glad you ordered this.

Not food, but you can eat it if you really want...

There are only seven tables next to the window. Each seat four. Want a table? Get to Azul early. Brunch starts at 10am. Hope to see some of you there! I know I will definitely make a revisit.




Azul, La Jolla
1250 Prospect St.
La Jolla, CA 92037
858.454-9616

Party time!

Friend and blogger Charlie hosted a helluva wine tasting party and with his infinite generosity allowed guests to taste some pretty fantastic stuff from his collection. Of course, a party ain't a party without food so everyone pitched in to assemble a feast of cheeses, prosciutto-wrapped cheese-stuffed figs, a very refreshing salad (with strawberries!), bruschetta, cheesecake, and meats to slap on the grill.

We racked up quite a calorie count...

Condensation ruined the labels' appearance.

Here are some of the wines we tried on top of two bottles of bubbly. Yeah that's what I call champagne. Got a problem wit dat?

Because I'm still an amateur, you'd best talk to Charlie about the wines. Don't get me wrong, I took plenty of notes, but mah man Charlie can provide SO much more information.


Beautiful rack of lamb sitting on top of some flank steaks. Sausages not pictured. Because I couldn't get used to the idea of spitting, my memories of the evening are really fuzzy. Want the recipe we used for the meat? Sorry I don't remember it. The only details I remember are from my wine notes. Amazing how legibly I write even when intoxicated...

Let's look at the lamb again:


Did you know we have five taste sensations? Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Salty, and Umami. Chomp into a well grilled hunk of meat like the lamb here and you'll see what umami tastes like. That meaty "sweetness" really jolts my nucleus accumbens. Lookit me using my neurobio knowledge from last year.

So at this point, I had a good buzz going and was beginning to move onto the drunkeness stage, hence the lack of additional pictures to show the collective effort that dinner required.
But I must give credit when it is due!
Many apologies to:
1. Sharon, whose stuffed figs looked as delicious as she. (Oh they tasted great, too.)
2. Chris' gal pal (::grumble:: I TOLD YOU I'm horrible with names and you looked at me like I was silly) for the great salad and bruschetta. LOVED the dressing, btw.
3. Chris for the additional two bottles of wine.
4. Frank for those franks and endless entertainment. You tasted avocado in the Burgundy huh?



In case you are wondering why I have deviated so much from my usual writing style...

Yeah I'm kinda buzzed right now.


Thank you once again, Charlie.

3rd Corner

Before we begin, I would like to thank Charlie for introducing me to this fabulous wine bar. Isles of wine, affordable food, and comfortable seating make 3rd Corner a perfect hangout for wine fans. Don't feel singled out if wine isn't your thing. It's worth it to come here just for the $10-20 entrees and charcuterie/cheeses.



Appetizer:

Charcuterie plate
selection of cured dried meats and sausages.

Very good starter to share with one or two other people. I think 3rd Corner charges a buck per loaf of bread though, so keep that in mind, carb lovers. The cold cuts were pretty good and my favorite is the spicy one on the far left (next to pickles).


Wine: (1 of 2. Missing the 2nd)

Yummers. A 'lil spicy and fruity.


Entrees:

Mussels
steamed in white wine, garlic, parsley, and butter.

Mussels at 3rd Corner are not as epic as the ones I had at Mimosa (they are on the average/small side), but are still delicious nonetheless. 3rd Corner makes up for it by serving you a TON of them, though. You'll get bored eating a plate of these, so I recommend sharing. Also, the broth at the bottom should not be wasted! Soak that up with some bread.

Pan Seared Scallops
tomatoes, garlic, nicoise olives, capers, green beans & roasted potatoes in a white wine lemon sauce.

This entree was a real winner. My friend Ricko totally cleaned the plate and scrubbed up the sauce with bread. I'd do the same if I ordered it. Sorry guys, but I don't remember what this tastes like. I'm going to get my own plate on the next visit. You go on and try it too. We'll compare notes.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin
mustard sauce, mashed potatoes, and vegetables.

I was a little hesitant about ordering this entree, but went ahead and got it anyway. I figured "Hey, if they can make a plain entree taste great then they can do everything else well too?" Turns out I made a pretty good prediction. The slices of tenderloin don't look it, but they are super tender and well seasoned. The mustard sauce was more mayonnaise than mustard, which was a big disappointment. Yah I scraped it right off. I make a better sauce at home.


Dessert:

Chocolate Marquis + paired wine

Not a very memorable desesrt. Essentially a slab of dark choco-cake. The next item is much more exciting.

Goat Cheese Napoleon

Hot damn the goat cheese napoleon was good. This is pretty much two layers of almond brittle with goat cheese and a drizzle of honey sandwiched in-between the layers. Strawberries and raspberries offer your toungue a short breather from all that goaty cheese. (Is "goaty" a word?)

Creme Brulee

I've had creme brulee from a lot of restaurants, but most places make it way too sweet for my taste. 3rd Corner does creme brulee right.






3rd Corner Wine Shop & Bistro
2265 Bacon St.
San Diego, CA 92107
619.223-2700

897 S. Coast Highway, Ste. F-104
Encinatas, CA 92024
760.942-2104

Eclipse Chocolate: Five Course Pan-Asian Dinner

The ever-so-generous Will invited me to photograph this event. An invitation I gladly accepted! Food for photos was the agreement. Thus, the original and uncropped pictures below (I usually crop them) are now property of Eclipse Chocolat and I will not modify them for my own use. Those in-the-know are familiar with many of Will's themed meals and their creative flavors. ...At least I feel that they are unique. Will keeps assuring me that they are quite common.

I know what you're thinking. "Roger, shut up already and tell us about the food, gaddangit!" Yes. I do have a tendency to prattle on and on.



Starter:

Chicken Satay with Chile-burnt Caramel Peanut Sauce

Good marinade and good grill timing makes for juicy flavorful chicken. Duh. Okay now dip it in the Chile-burnt Caramel Peanut Sauce. Did you have a mouthgasm? Of course you did. Eclipse Chocolat often uses the Chile-burnt caramel sauce and with good reason. It. Kicks. Ass. Although Will's rendition of this well known Southeast Asian street food lacks the signature glaze and isn't grilled over charcoal or wood, I sure as hell enjoyed the chicken skewers.

I can't even begin to imagine how amazing these could be if Will one day re-introduces this with the glaze and grill... Definitely would become a hit.


First Course:

Fresh Spring Rolls
napa cabbage, sprouts, and mint with black bean chocolate sauce

I don't know how other food bloggers deal with their own food-preference biases, but I'm going to come clean and say that onions and spring rolls are on the top of my Dislikes list. These rolls are pretty much like the vegetarian spring rolls you'd find in Vietnamese restaurants or delis but could use some tightening.

The accompanying sauce is interesting (tastes exactly like the description), but my two lovely dining companians--Autumn and Christina--discovered that dipping the spring rolls into the chile-burnt caramel sauce made for a better flavor profile. Don't get me wrong, the black bean chocolate sauce is good, but if you have a sweet tooth like me, you're gonna want to try Will's chile-burnt caramel sauce.

Did I mention how great the chile-burnt caramel sauce is?

Second Course:

Curried Carrot Soup
with coconut milk and lemongrass

My table deemed this the winner of the night. The flavors are so well balanced that I found it incredulous when Will sheepishly exclaimed that he just simply threw in ingredients. Hm. Actually, maybe it's not so hard to believe. Will has a knack for mixing flavors together. He's only going to get better as the years pass. This soup is a great example of what Will is capable of. Subtle "spicy" flavors of curry and carrot are balanced out by the sweetness of coconut milk and lemongrass. As much as I hate onions, I grudgingly admit that the green onions add another level of "sweetness" to the soup, creating a more complex flavor. While it is true that Thai curries also use the curry/coconut milk combination, I assure you this tastes nothing like it.

Nice refreshing cool soup for the summer. A+.

Third Course:

Stir-fried Long Beans
with candied cocoa nibs

The third course is my second least favorite dish of the evening. Long beans I've had at home and Chinese restaurants are really tender, but these were really tough. Maybe it is a different species than what is sold at 99 Ranch. I don't know. Candied cocoa nibs were great to nibble on, though.

Surprisingly, there were diners who found the long beans to be their favorite dish of the night. Maybe our differing viewpoints originate because I come from a background that has this veggie a lot.


Fourth Course:

Sake & Cocoa-Glazed Beef
with green onions and black sesame rice

YES! Finally some meat! Sake, cocoa, and ginger make for a nice sweet steak sauce. The onions? I took an obligatory bite, and made a face. Seriously. I hate onions.

Fifth Course:

Spiced Black Rice Pudding
with milk chocolate-cinnamon creme

Here we have yet another example of Will's ability to create exceptional desserts. Items like this rice pudding keep me coming back to Eclipse. As with all of Will's desserts, this one is not reliant on sugar to satisfy your sweet tooth. He presents a tastier option instead: flavor--something I don't find often in dessert cafes. Cinnamon hits your tastebuds first, then subsides as the creamy milk chocolate takes over as the dominant flavor. Good stuff.




Don't miss the next dinner: Five Course Prix Fixe Southern Comfort Dinner.
Check the blog for updates (RSVP soon!)