Crest Cafe

More burgers. I don't know why I am so obsessed with burgers right now, but I just am. Took friends down to Crest Cafe after I hearing a lot of buzz about their Butter Burger. The name alone made my arteries clog, but my mouth salivated with anticipation!

We started off with an Onion Loaf, which is pretty much a big ol' stack of thin well-done onion rings. Not a good choice for an appetizer. Sure they are delightfully crispy, but they are also soaked and dripping with oil as well. Yes I know it's fried, but that does not mean it should be such a gut-buster. I was not that impressed with the beer batter either, which was quite mundane and ordinary. Ritual Tavern and Studio Diner make 'em a lot lighter with a tastier batter to boot.

The Butter Burger
"Half pound of fresh lean ground beef, stuffed with a Garlic, Tarragon, Basil, Parsley Butter... Then we broil the burger and top it with a little more of the butter...Then we top it with some cheddar cheese and melt it...Then we top the cheese with a garlic mayonnaise made with a dash of paprika, cayenne and cumin."

Holy hell this was epic. As I was taking this photo, the top bun began to slowly slide off with the assistance of the lube butter provided. Biting into the burger, I was very surprised to find that it was not the greasebomb that I had expected. In fact, the patty was so juicy all by itself. Parsley butter only compliments the beef and does not overwhelm the burger as the name "Butter Burger" would suggest. Flavors of tarragon and basil add more complexity to the burger, but the mild spice of the aioli really take this burger over the top. Oh lordy this was a real treat. However, after about halfway through, I just couldn't continue eating it. Blame it on palate fatigue. This is a very rich and heavy burger and I highly suggest you split it with someone. Then again, I've heard of some people capable of eating two of these in one sitting...

The Ultimate Burger:
"12oz angus beef mixed with sundried tomatoes, onions and parsley and homemade teriyaki sauce. Topped with bacon, your choice of cheese and sprinkled with our homemade beer battered onion rings."

Another winner. Smokey and sweet with a hint of the sundried tomatoes, the patty totally makes this burger. You could ditch the onion rings (they don't add much other than lending its crunchy texture), the veggies, the bacon and still have a mouthgasm-inducing meat sandwich. Seriously. It's all about the patty in this burger, whereas the butter burger needs the aoili in order to pull through. I'm charting the Ultimate Burger as one of my San Diego burger favs.


I want to drop by Crest Cafe again to try more of their menu items. Despite the appetizer let-down, these two burgers gave me a very good impression of the diner and I am very curious to see if their other burgers are able to measure up to the Ultimate Burger. Then again, the grilled sandwiches and meat entrees sound hella good too so maybe I'd order those next time... *@#&*$%^!! I wish I were able to eat as much as Cpt. Jack, then I could order more stuff.




Crest Cafe

425 Robinson Ave

San Diego, California 92103

619.295-2510

Tioli's Crazee Burger

Oops! I forgot I had a food blog! Despite the lack of posts, I've been quite busy stuffing my face. Diet be damned. As long as I look smashin' in my new UCoB suits and jackets, it's all good.

The following is a series of posts in which I take my friends around San Diego to find our own individual favorite burger joint. We begin with Tioli's Crazee Burger:

This place is pretty interesting. I spotted it while driving down to Ritual Tavern and made a mental note to pay it a visit soon. Not sure how "crazee" you can make a burger, but um...yeah they have 'gator, ostrich, and kangaroo burgers among other things. How fun!

Due to my small appetite that night (this was my second dinner...) I did not order a whole lot of food. Went "halfsies" with a friend instead.


First up is the rather tame and unadventurous buffalo burger. To be honest, this just tasted like any ol' restaurant beef patty. Not particularly remarkable, though juicy. Lean & beefy. This short description is all that is required for this burger. Not much going on here.

Now for some fun!

Gator burger with curry fruit tapanade

This was one wacky burger. So apparently ground 'gator meat is still really chewy and tastes like those Chinese fish balls. I was pleasantly surprised by the juiciness even after chewing my mouthful for about a minute. Okay maybe I exaggerate, but like I said: chewy. The choice of curry fruit tapanade to top the patty is a fantastic idea. The flavors meld perfectly with 'gator. Weird burger that was totally worth $14. Not gonna order it again though. I only had half of this burger and I was getting pissed off about how much chewing it required. Was worth it cuz of the interesting experience I can tell friends about. "Dude, I've eaten alligator meat." sounds hardcore.


Drinking alcohol makes you want to munch.

Brauts. Very good. Very cheap. Order them.

The proprietors of Tioli's are really awesome folks from Germany. These dudes had heads of grey/white hair and were cracking jokes (some awfully filthy ones too...) that you'd typically hear coming out of the average male college student's mouth. Lols. They were nice enough to share a plate of charcuterie with us at the bar, too. Seriously, talk to them if you get the chance. Hilarious bunch of people with plenty of interesting Euro stories to tell.

Interesting meats served here draws my attention, but only because of the novelty. I still have to try a few more of their burgers to get a feel of the place, but so far in terms of taste and overall burger-ing experience, Tioli's does not really top my list. There is an awful lot of buzz around this place, though, so go on and check it out. As usual, I'd love to compare notes. :D




Tioli's Crazee Burger

4201 30th St

San Diego, CA 92104

Get Directions

* approximate times

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Category:

Unverified listing

619.282-6044

Mmm martinis

Life or work got you down?


Have a drink. Or a couple. Hell, I've been averaging about six shots every night in the past week and a half. Mostly in the form of martinis. The half-finished one above is one of my favorites:

1 part vodka
crushed ice
splash Lillet Blanc
lemon twist

Easy to make. add alcohol, ice, stir or shake, then garnish with the lemon twist. I'm still working on how to keep the twists curly. Mine always start off gorgeous n curly and then begin to unwind after a minute or two.


I also really like:

6-8 parts gin or vodka
1 part dry vermouth
crushed ice
splash olive brine
"tipsy" olives

- I like to use gin for this one, but vodka also works. Tipsy olives = olives soaked in vermouth for like over a week. They taste GREAT.
- Alternatively, you could also use the vermouth you use to soak the olives in to replace the olive brine+vermouth.
- If the 'tini is too dry for you, just add more vermouth. A nice "smooth" balance is about 2:1 but I like mine real dry.


Don't shake or stir the martini in ice for too long else you wind up with a watered down drink.

Pastis

My last minute idea of dinner at Grace didn't quite work out, but Pastis was in the area so I dropped by. There was no way in hell I was going to wait until 9:30pm for a table at Grace.

Mimosa is a few blocks away too so you know they'll try to outdo the competition.
Well...at least I hope they'd try. Good chefs at Pastis are constantly getting plucked away by bigger restaurants, so I guess it's hard to be consistent.


Appetizers

Warm Goat Cheese and Artichoke Tart

GOOD. Flaky crust, sweet filling and very mild goat cheese makes this a star on the menu. The salad is impressive as well. The basil infused olive oil and a light drizzle of vinaigrette totally makes the salad.

Steamed Mussels

I tried my hand at making these over winter break, and while they turned out really really well, these mussels made my culinary accomplishment seem like a child's work. I'd put the mussels at Pastis on the same level as Mimosa's. "Broth" is a bit lighter here, though, and more apparent taste from white wine.

Seared Foie Gras

How predictable that I'd order foie gras. At Pastis, they sandwich it between two slices of caramelized pears and place is on the zigzag of some really good sauce. I completely forgot to ask for a copy of the menu so it's kinda hard for me to ID it. Toasted raisin brioche is not to be missed. Mop up the sauce with it! I'd say this is one must-order item.


Entrees

Oven Roasted Cod

My first reaction was: "Wow that is a dinky piece of cod...." After I got over it, I really enjoyed the crispy skin and that deliciously fatty flesh. Portion size in comparison to other entrees still ticks me off a bit though.

I don't know how I screwed up the shot...

Roasted Duck Breast

Medium rare. Kinda tough to pull off without a lot of experience. Undercook it and the meat becomes almost rubbery. Overcook it, and Roger will be even more unhappy. Pastis did a pretty good job here, though it was a tad on the rare side. Regardless, I'd still declare this a winner on their menu. The entree comes with two amazing pieces of duck confit/mushroom/basil ravioli that really should be offered on the entree menu. I don't want to say that it steals the duck breast's thunder, but it is really pushing it. Order this.

Sauteed Skate

Skate is one fugly fish that looks equally fugly on a plate but the meat is soft n sweet. I really like the texture too--a weird combination of soft, springy, and stringy. The dish itself is rather rich, but lemon capers help balance things out a bit with some acidity. This is another must-order item.


Desserts

Peach Almond Tart

I very much enjoyed this dessert. The top layer consists of caramelized fruit, which I'm sure you can imagine, is quite effin' good. As you can notice, the edge of the tart's crust is slightly burnt. While I personally kinda like my crust like this, some people probably don't. It's probably a fluke. Unlike most restaurant desserts, this one was not overly sweet, which again wins it major points. The vanilla ice cream really puts it over the top, though. I've never had such good vanilla before. Scoop some into your mouth and your tastebuds will scream "VANILLA" on the top of their lungs.

Pastis Choclate Profiterolles

Looks like fried baby drumsticks, but they are actually puffs with a rich dark chocolate filling. I wish Pastis would give more than five though.

Assorted Sorbets (mango, lime, raspberry)

Good restaurant with good food and cute servers. I can't decide which restaurant I like better: Mimosa or Pastis. Kinda (barely) leaning toward Mimosa, though because of the availability of daily prix-fixe specials and overall experience. Both are great places for a date, too! Not like that matters to me, but maybe you guys (and gals) would benefit from it :D


Stay tuned for a writeup of Grace.
Also, Will has a new seaonsal dessert platter as well as a VDay event! RSVP FAST since there aren't many tables left.





Pastis
8114 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
323.655-8822