Eating and Drinking in San Diego

Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum
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There are several variations of San Diego threads with no central repository like we have for other cities so given I had my best non Japanese meal ever in San Diego last night I thought I would start one!

Chef Travis Swikard moved from NYC to San Diego to start Callie in 2020. He has an impressive background having worked in Paris and with Marco Pierre White and over 10 years at for Daniel Boulud. His final position was culinary director of Boulud Sud, Bar Boulud & Epicerie Boulud, I really like Callie and was so happy when it arrived on the San Diego scene as I really struggle with the food here. I have eaten there several times and done a very successful large work event.

Fleurette is his latest restaurant and it is absolutely stunning. He is cooking what I would describe as Modern French with Mediterranean and Californian influences. Every dish exhibited his excellent training and technique while still be extremely light, vibrant, fresh. He utilizes the best ingredients he can find which in California means something. He is very driven and it shows. Chef told me he has been in the restaurant every day since they opened. I was the last person to leave and who comes around the corner with my suitcase that I checked but Chef Travis! The wine list is small but growing. I had a riveting 2023 Wasenhaus Bellen that was close to retail pricing for NYC.

The restaurant reminds me a lot of the new French cooking that is surging in NYC, places like Le ChĂŞne. Coincidentally he uses the same Chickens as Le ChĂŞne.

I really can’t recommend this restaurant more highly! @Michel_Abood

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Funny enough I am taking my wife there in early May for our anniversary, looking forward to it even more after this review. Also, Eric Ripert was just there a few days ago and raved about it.

And you’re not the only one who struggles with the food scene here, even people in the industry wonder why, with our abundance of amazing produce, most of which is organic/biodynamic, the restaurant scene is meh, aside from a few bright points (especially Japanese). We eat primarily at home using the available produce, as the restaurant scene in general is just not worth the money (especially after having been in NYC and Paris for most of our lives). Our town recently celebrated the arrival of yet another burger/beer place (a local chain) on the town Facebook page, and when I pointed out that we deserved better considering the great farms nearby, I got my ass handed to me. People are just too accepting of mediocrity around here, for some reason.

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It was so good!

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I don’t think it’s unique to around there - happens here, too, right down to the neighborhood Facebook page exchange. Most people like high impact food - salt, fat, sugar - and if it tastes good to them, it must be good food. Sigh. I try not to get into it anymore, but God forbid I should criticize the new poke place that is “SO YUMMY.”

But back to topic…I was in Carlsbad for a conference recently and had one night for a quick bite solo. I ended up at Wolf in the Woods, and had an overall good experience. Service at the bar was friendly and competent, decent little wine selection, and the dishes were quite nice, though hardly mindblowing. Seemed like a very successful neighborhood place that I’d be happy to have near me.

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Next time you’re in the area, give Jeune et Jolie a go.

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Thanks - I have been there before (and liked it), so I wanted to try something different this time. I found them about the same level of enjoyable.

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Hereare a few from recent work trip with no previous research and limited time to travel. Staying in little Italy

Morning Glory - Breakfast - up early on first day so ono wait. Nice outdoor space but obviously going for instagram vibe. Souffle pancakes were good and jalpeno maple syrup on bacon was nice. Not worth $40 or a wait however and understand it gets long waits.
Breakfast - Great Maple - weekday so not busy - very good food, great staff

Wolf in Woods - nice upscale spot that maintains neighborhood feel, interesting location and seemingly the only thing around in a residential neighborhood. Like the review above, had high expectation and while it was good I was a bit underwhelmed. Had very high hopes for the soup and it was merely good but was missing something. Aguachile good but nothing special. The Pork Shoulder main was good and really hit the New Mexico flavors that should make this place unique but would have been better to split but I was alone at the bar.

Others in little Italy - all fine but nothing special - Herb & Wood, Roman Wolves (Italian), Born & Raised (Steak - do love the roof setting / scene), burgeon (brewery with above average food)
Mexican - did Oscars, La Perla Cocina (calirito), Nicos (breakfast) and La Casa Verde in Little Italy. All good and probably in rank order

Added Roberts recommendation for my next trip

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Callie downtown and now Fleurette are the best I have found, same Chef.

And Yakitori Tsuta is excellent.

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That was going to be my rec as well, though on my last visit it felt like they were rehashing some old favorites and resting a little on their laurels (though the cocktail guy was hilarious after I inquired about a new gin on the list from the North Fork - he ended up bringing most of their artisanal stuff out and sitting with us for part of the dinner, sending us off with 2 bottles of Phony Negroni). I’ve heard good things about Wolf in the Woods but haven’t made it there, the overall dining scene is so lackluster that we just don’t venture out too much. I know we should, but it’s so disappointing sometimes. In Solana Beach we have a decent new place called Lana that is good for “I don’t feel like cooking tonight” type meals. Nothing special, but good enough, and the prices are decent (that’s another pet peeve, NYC pricing in general for not-so-NYC quality).

Mexican and Japanese are where it’s at around here.

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Robert, love your reports and takes on restaurants around the world. Went with my wife and daughter to Callie a couple years ago. Beautiful space, wonderful service, an intriguing wine list, well chosen and a fun and interesting arrangement. Unfortunately, I was a little unimpressed with the food. Two pasta dishes were heavily over-salted, a beef dish, which looked very nice, was uninspiring. I walked out thinking I had overpaid for what we got.

We spend enough time in SD, and have been exploring the “finer dining” restaurants. You can eat well, but at this point it’s not quite at the level of the Bay Area. We tend to lean on old standbys, particularly Mexican.

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Hello Alan,

Thanks for your kind words. That is a bummer about Callie. Sorry to hear that. I still would not hesitate to recommend that you try Fleurette. As @Michel_Abood Chef Eric Ripert raved about it as well.

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One experience, two years ago, so certainly not definitive. But it did not persuade I need to go back soon. We will give Fleurette a look.

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As a transplant San Diegan - I’m happy to hear this report. We will be heading there for my birthday in a few weeks. Thanks for sharing.

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Mabel’s gone fishing

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Great weekend recently to getaway and visit False Idol:

  • Sushi Ota: tuna and sea urchin sashimi were fantastic
  • EE NAMI had a great yellowtail collar special and the katsu curry was a standout
  • Soppressata subs at Mona Lisa Foods
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Try Lilo, quite amazing coastal CA cuisine.

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I surprised my wife with a dinner at Fleurette last night to celebrate our anniversary. It was, as @Robert_Dentice mentioned, fantastic, from start to finish. I had alerted them that it was our anniversary, so the front desk congratulated us when we arrived. Then, when we got to the table, a little hand-written note in an envelope awaited us. So the night started off nicely.

Since this was a special occasion, we decided to start with a glass of Champagne Bérêche & Fils, Brut Réserve that was absolutely lovely (though TBH I don’t need a special occasion to open a Champagne). It went well with our apps, the house-made Duck Liver & Bone Marrow Pâté with fennel marmalade, citrus, and brioche toast (fantastic), as well as the Sweetbreads à la Meunière (outstanding texture and taste, not too salty, just really balanced). We had the simple green salad to make ourselves feel like we were eating somewhat healthy…

For our mains, we chose the Olive Oil Poached Wild King Salmon for me and Seared Yellowfin Tuna for my wife. Both were outstanding, and perfect foils for the bottle of Ligurian Vermentino (who’s name escapes me this morning) that the lovely somm, Traci, recommended. The wine was slightly rich with beautiful balancing acidity, minerality, and tons of salinity. Just the way I like my Ligurian Vermentinos.

Desserts were a comped lemon sorbet with a vanilla cream (surprisingly not too sweet), and a Strawberry & Yuzu dish with crisp meringue, almond wild fennel & pernod gelato. Both were just what the doctor ordered to end the meal.

After, Chef came out to say hello, as we had sold wine to Bar Boulud when he and Michael Madrigale were there. We had a great time catching up, and the whole evening was just special. Service was on-point across the board, plating and presentations were just right (most high-end places in San Diego are still doing the late '90s stacking made popular by Gotham Bar & Grill ), and the interior room was warm and inviting. We sat in their covered outdoor terrace, which had some strange color combinations but was a great way to be apart from the main room.

One thing to note if you go: it’s in the middle of an office park and can be hard to find from the main road, you have to go into the parking lot to get to the drop off. The decor outside has soft green grass beds, making you easily forget the towers around you, but still it’s an odd location. Still, it’s a great addition to the local dining scene for special occasions.

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Thanks for the write up - heading there on Friday for the first time. When I googled the location I thought it was a bit strange - I used to work around the corner. It’s such a corporate office building area - hopefully it does well!!

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If they can make it a destination dining experience then it could work. The quality is definitely there, that’s for sure, but that doesn’t always guarantee success, sadly.

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So glad you liked it. It is nice to have a NYC oriented Chef in San Diego. Happy Anniversary!

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