San Diego's North Park resto's feed body and soul

I was sick of the freezing cold rain in San Francisco, so when I spotted a dirt cheap ticket to San Diego where one of my best buds lives (who's always calling to brag about their perfect weather) I was all over that puppy.

Unfortunately, when I got to S.D. it freezing cold and raining! The only good thing to do in that kind of clime is to eat and go to movies. So I called Joan, who's always down for a good meal or three, to see if she was game. After perusing a dozen of North Park's eateries, we chose Urban Solace for their Bluegrass Brunch, took a movie break ( we saw Armored just because the times worked, but it was excruciatingly bad in spite of a decent cast) and then returned for dinner at Sea Rocket Bistro.

Urban Solace

We LOVED everything about this place! The kitschy yet charming outside balcony and ironwork curlicues are reminiscent of New Orleans’ French Quarter. The inside has a completely different vibe going on with warm mahogany wood loaded with cheery modern art brightening up the buttery walls. A tempting dining room, particularly on a cold afternoon, but sticking to the plan, we scurried through to score the last available patio table (loaded with heat lamps-phew) where a local trio was playing some lively foot-tapping bluegrass (note: the musicians change weekly.)

We immediately put in our order for two spicy Bloody Mary’s and I knew we were in for a treat when the waiter brought us an extra bowl of freshly grated horseradish so we could heat it up to our lil’ hearts content. Then we got down to bidness and did some serious menu negotiating since we were going to be sharing. Urban Solace features New American Comfort Food at extremely reasonable prices with a great beer and wine list…you gotta love that, so there was tons to tempt us.

Two bloodies later, a consensus had been reached and we were just getting ready to order the:

EBLT: Brown Sugar Bacon, Fried Egg, Thick Toasted Egg Bread, Lemon-Thyme Aioli, Sweet Potato FF

and the Monte Diego: Baked Egg Bread, Smoked Ham, Fontina Cheese, Grilled Pears,with Strawberry-Currant Jelly.

Then, dang, the waiter delivered a “Really Good Home-Made Buttermilk Cinnamon Roll with Cream Cheese Frosting. Everyone should start with one of these puppies!” to the next table and that's all she wrote.

“Waiter, we’ll start with two of those…one with that extra side of pecan butter, please.

And for a healthy touch, we’ll try the Baby Spinach, Warm Sherry Vinaigrette, Bacon Lardon, Medjool Date, Hazelnuts, Goat Cheese, Basil Salad (even more delish than it sounds).

And then we'd like the Pan Roasted Black Mussels, Smoked Tomato Butter ( Impeccably fresh and generous portion) followed by the Eggaroni: Cheesy Macaroni and Egg Baked Casserole with Smoked Ham and Charred Tomatoes (as down-home as it gets, with lovely crunchy, burnt edges. A bit under-seasoned for my taste –although I could have burned off all my tastebuds with the Bloodies. However, when we poured on the leftover smoky tomato sauce, the dish was smoking.)

If Urban was in my nabe, it would be my go-to place morning, noon and night. It's kind of like stopping in for a big, warm, edible hug!

Shout out to Chef Matt Gordan, an extremely talented chef (formerly of Sonoma County's heralded Willi's Wine Bar) who works closely with local famers to bring you the freshest and bestest. He even offers a Gluten free menu.

P.S. If you’re going for dinner let me know how their famous Duckaroni: Mac n’ Cheese with Blue Cheese, Duck Confit, Roasted Garlic, Arugula, Scallion tastes.

Urban Solace

3823 30th St. North Park, San Diego

619.295.6464

Break for crappy movie. Then back to the fab foodie ghetto of North Park for dinner at:

Sea Rocket Bistro

Sea Rocket Bistro is a farm-to-table restaurant that’s about at PC as it gets. One of the local fishermen they work with says they are "boat-to-throat". They’re sooper green (the owner uses a new zero motorcycle-the clean air kind- when he calls on his vendors and the ceiling is lined with recycled egg cartons to muffle the noise) and focus on local produce, sustainable seafood and all that other good stuff to “provide a more physical connection between our guests and the food we eat.”

The menu changes often to bring you the freshest fish available such as yellowtail, mahi mahi, white sea bass, rock cod, snapper, yellowtail, California halibut, swordfish and opah. They also feature a rotating roster of local beers and offer a flight of four draft beers for $8.00 which makes for a fun pairing.

Sea Rocket’s Caesar Salad is consists of mixed greens with shaved gouda and topped with

fresh sardines, which our server explained had been threatened by population decline, but are experiencing a rebirth—who knew?

We thoroughly enjoyed our half & half bowl of Steamed Mussels and Clams in a ultra-flavorful broth and the freshly shucked oysters ($1 each on Tuesdays) but they really lost us on their infamous sea urchins.

Game for anything once, I ordered Mitch’s Fresh Sea Urchin, “Live Uni direct from the divers at Driscoll Wharf “although the side note, “Warning-it’s spikes may still be moving” made Joan more than a bit queasy. She did agree to try the Point Loma Sea Urchin Bisque, served in the spiky purple shell, but after one sip, passed it to me. I don’t know what went wrong since I adore uni sushi, but my live urchin was completely tasteless and the bisque didn’t do it for me either.

The Lamb and Pinquito Bean Chili was a completely different story—rich, spicy and immensely satisfying when scooped up with the accompanying tortilla chips.

We were too full for dessert but the Bittersweet Chocolate Porter Cake served with tangerine sauce sounded like a winner.

P.S. If you wanna belly up to the bar and try the sea urchin for yourself, they have just introduced Sea Urchin Shooters. “Try some of our fresh Point Loma sea urchin in a shot of shuchu, champagne or draft beer every Thursday in December.” Certainly a unique way to end the year.

Sea Rocket Bistro

3382 30^th Street, North Park, San Diego
619.255.7049

http://searocketbistro.com/

Comments

Joan 2 years ago

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Yes, loved Urban Soltice so much took my 16 year old back for dinner friday night. We sat at the bar and enjoyed the warm and bustling crowd. I went with the mussels again and spinach salad - both excellent. Jord had the mac'n cheese which was perfect comfort food for the cold, rainy night. But the best was the cheesey- herb biscuits! Crisy on the outside, cheesey gooey on the inside - just yummy! Will definately go there often. On a side note, the club next door, which shares the kitchen with Soltice, was bustling.
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