Chu On Dish: San Diego Area, California 2014 (various eateries)

A recent visit to sunny San Diego opened my eyes to more delicious offerings. It seems that the artisanal food world keeps expanding year after year in this fair-weathered city. Not only are there what seems like hundreds of breweries, there's amazing food to be had as well. Below are some of the things I enjoyed on this trip.

Beer
Brewed locally in Santee, Manzanita Brewing Company had these two beers available at a local grocery store.
http://www.manzanitabrewing.com/

To the left, Rustic Horizon Red Ale, which was a very well-balanced beer. With mild hops, and a dry finish, this beer would pair well with any food.

To the right, Chaotic Double India Pale Ale had a fabulous bite with an onslaught of hops and citrus aromas. An excellent beer for this hophead.

Urge Gastropub
16761 Bernardo Ctr. Dr., San Diego, CA 92128
http://urgegastropub.com/
A search for San Diego spots with beer and good food brought me to this place. They, literally, have a book of beers in bottles and an extensive list of beers on tap.

A trip to the restroom brought me to this wall of taps. Quite nice.

Punishment by Stone Brewing. It's basically their Lukcy Basartd Ale with peppers added and aged in boubon barrels. Has a pretty good kick to it, but still has all those nuances of flavor from their Ale.

White Rascal by Avery Brewing. Very light, crisp, refreshing and has a clean finish.

Lavender Ale and Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout by Stone Brewing. These were very cute tasting glasses. The Lavender Ale was a bit hoppy with a very subtle lavender aroma. The stout was full bodied and malty.

Potato Chips. House-cut and fried in small batches. These kind of potato chips are pretty much the only kind I eat now since they are so fresh and delicious. Very crunchy and served with aioli.

Vegan Garden Minestrone Soup. Made with organic tomatoes, carrots, yellow onion, green beans, and Ditalinni Pasta in a tomato broth and fresh oregano. This was savory and delicious.

Wild Boar Burger. Perfectly medium rare and loaded with aged white cheddar, applewood smoked bacon, baby greens and a smoky aioli all encased in an artisan bun. On the side were pickled onions and chili garlic broccolini that had a nice kick. Very tasty.

Vegan Burger. A house-made patty made with veggies and pan-fried till crispy on the outside. Served with pickled onions, kalamata tapenade and wheat grass. An excellent option for herbivores.

Bread Pudding. Custardy and not too sweet. Topped with caramel sauce and an edible flower, this was a delicious dessert.

The Smoking Goat
3408 30th Street, San Diego, CA 92104
http://thesmokinggoatrestaurant.com/
This little bistro is one that I would rank up there with some high-end San Francisco eateries. With a Chef that was trained in Paris, one should expect good things. They definitely delivered with the delicious offerings made with organic, local, hormone-free ingredients. The craft beer and fine wines were also a plus.

Chateau Cantelaudette Graves de Vayres Blanc Prestige. A very light and crisp French wine.

Suzie's Farm Roasted Beet Salad. Made with local organic beets and greens, walnuts, humbolt fog goat cheese (on the side) and lightly tossed in a champagne vinaigrette. Very fresh.

Winter Squash Ravioli. Creamy squash were enveloped inside al dente pasta. Over the top were brussels sprouts, cauliflower, pepitas, hon-shimeji mushrooms, sage, pecorino romano and aged balsamic. Very nice.

10 oz. Grilled Brant Ribeye Roll. Expertly prepared and perfectly medium rare, buttery ribeye. Served with Duck Fat Fries, which were crispy and savory, herbed butter, red wine sauce and a side salad. So good.

12 oz. Pork Chop. Served with cheesy creamy polenta, Be Wise Ranch dino kale, seasonal root veggies and herbed butter. The grilled bone-in pork chop was tender and juicy and the accoutrements were also very well prepared.

Pear Crisp. Warm with a crumbly butter crust and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, this was a wonderful dessert to share.

Crème Brulee. Creamy custard with that nice crunchy coating on top. Lightly sweet and very good.

Rancho Cocina
1830 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., San Diego, CA 91207
http://ranchoscocina.com/
This Mexican restaurant has something for everyone. Serving carnivores, herbivores and omnivores alike with meat, veggie and vegan offerings. The place was pretty packed. It was not disappointing; quite the contrary.

Sangria. This was a very unusual way of serving Sangria. It was very thick with what seemed like lots of mango puree in it. It was a bit light on the wine, but very fruity and tasty in and of itself.

Chips and Salsa. Warm and freshly fried corn tortilla chips served with a delicious salsa that had a bit of a kick to it.

Pescado a la Veracruzana. A nicely prepared piece of pan-cooked white fish with a very savory Veracruzana sauce with green olives, red peppers, onion, mushrooms and lots of garlic. The sides were well prepared as well with fresh guacamole dolloped on top.

Vegan Chorizo Burrito. An enormous burrito stuffed with beans, rice, lettuce, tomato and vegan chorizo, which did not taste like real chorizo, but as a whole, this burrito was quite tasty.

Batter Up! Cupcakes
16769 Bernardo Center Drive, K1 San Diego, CA 92128
http://batterupcupcakes.com/
This was a fantastic place for cupcakes that are well-balanced, have good cake to frosting ratio and are not too sweet.

Fauxstess. Looks a bit familiar but tastes so much better. This little bite of chocolate madness had a moist cake, chocolate frosting and cream in the middle.