DISH: Punch Drunk Brunch
DISH: By David Nelson Photography by Martin Mann
Punch Drunk Brunch
DON’T SHOW ME THE WAY to go home. I’m not tired and I sure don’t want to go to bed. I shared a bowl of punch about an hour ago, and it sorta went to my head.
On weekends, brunch-time is party time at Little Italy’s coy and clever Craft & Commerce, and if the beverages are not necessarily more interesting than the cuisine, they make everything seem more interesting. Like the attractive groups of 20-somethings having fun all around the room, and such décor details (which a guest called “steampunk”) as an antique animal-skin trophy fixed upside-down to the rough wood ceiling.
Crafty Commerce manager John Resnick prowls eBay to snare translucent, milk-glass punch-bowl sets, which Anchor-Hocking ceased manufacturing in 1956. Bartender Ryan Fischer (inevitably nicknamed “Fish”) blends bowlfuls of colorful libations like Mothers Ruin punch, which rains upon partakers a ruination of various parts gin, vermouth, spiced tea, champagne and citrus juices. One recent Sunday, five cheerful brunchers grew ever merrier downing cups of The Kingston, a wicked whirlpool of Jamaican rum, cognac, absinthe and Dickensian-sounding falernum (a flavored syrup). The $35 bowls serve four to six, but two guys who shared the deeply pink, utterly delicious Bitter Sunday punch (Campari, citrus, champagne, bitters) weren’t the worse for wear. The punch paired brioche French toast with caramelized apples, suave duck-leg cassoulet and glamorous brûléed grapefruit (broiled until the rock-sugar topping bubbles) as successfully as a pun in a punchline…
STRIKE ME PINK, as the Brits would say, those Ferrari cocktails shaken at the bar of Kitchen 1540 race over every taste bud as they lay tracks along the tongue. Crafted to preface Scott Thomas Dolbee’s playful menu at L’Auberge Del Mar (his appetizer of “oyster cocktails” consists of three briny, boozy beverages), the “Signature Selection” drinks veer widely across the course. One called Pomodoro flavors vodka with tomato syrup, lime, basil and Tabasco. Maybe not. But the Ferrari hums powerfully with Grey Goose, Drambuie, a lemon twist and just enough Campari to make it blush like a young driver making his virgin appearance at Indy…
MIKE MITCHELL, probably the best GM in the local restaurant trade, called one recent Sunday to report that restaurateur Dan Shea had just recruited him to head Donovan’s Prime Seafood. With Mike’s arrival, Shea’s Gaslamp eatery wins a management trifecta: Mitchell, chef Kemar Durfield and maitre d’ Jack Meacham…
HEY, THAT’S MY TWO CENTS WORTH! Cavalier attitudes towards small change proliferate at trendoid feederies, like one in Hillcrest where a server rounded a check for a $10 plate and $.78 tax up to $10.80. Not a big deal, but still…
SOME ACRONYMS were meant to be, and SOL, which also is Spanish for “sun,” is one of them. At Point Loma’s Liberty Station, SOL Market and Bistro crunches Seasonal Organic Local into a memorable name for a cute place that peddles small-farm produce. Locally and California-crafted gourmet goods also are featured (couldn’t resist a jar of Kalamata olive spread with capers), and in the bar/bistro, former Ritual Tavern chef Brandon Brooks whips up casual, market-driven plates to go with wines and local beers…
LESS THAN A BEER BOTTLE’S TOSS AWAY, the lengthily monikered Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station is set to open, oh, one of these days. If it enjoys half the popularity of the Escondido original, the acres of free parking on the former Navy base will seem less plentiful. CEO and co-founder Greg Koch recently said that his favorite product, Arrogant Bastard Ale, “told me what its name should be” when he tasted it, although it’s been suggested a mirror was involved. The toast he proposes when tipping a glass: “Here’s looking at me…”
YOU MAY REMEMBER Galileo 101 for the oddity of its name, but otherwise, this long-gone restaurant at the base of downtown’s Harbor Club towers wouldn’t be recalled for much. Great location across from the Convention Center, though, and it’s finally been taken. Serenity Restaurant & Lounge claims a philosophy that “brings a sense of peace to the table through a delicate balance of flavors and aromas that envelope the senses.” Ambitious. Chef Joshua Hernandez, formerly of burger-and-brewski-oriented East Village Tavern & Bowl, aims to inspire serenity with an Asian-fusion menu characterized by fried rice with crab, caramelized bacon, eggs and peas, and chocolate-sauced quail with a stuffing of quinoa and black currants…
JUST ACROSS THE WAY, the San Diego Marriott Marquis and Marina invested a stag-gering $10.6 million in Marina Kitchen, a vast, multi-space restaurant that sprawls through 19,000 square feet in the hotel’s south tower (originally the Intercontinental, you might re-call). The behemoth new eatery serves three meals a day (gotta sell a lotta pancakes to earn back $10.6M), and may accomplish what predecessors in this hotel mostly have failed to do: attract locals…
BIGGER AND BETTER, the new Waters Fine Foods gourmet shop and eatery occupies a sunny Morena Boulevard corner in San Diego’s design-oriented Bay Park neighborhood. With double the seating of its previous location (which was just around the corner), Waters features a friendly, modern setting that includes a rustic, wood-topped communal table. The expanded menu offers freshly baked pies, quiches and artisan pizzas, along with handcrafted gourmet entrées. The insistence on quality extends to details like albacore salad made with pole-caught fish.
