My friend Scott and I met up to give it a whirl. He has eaten there previously and raves about their celery mash; I just keep reading blogs and reviews on the place and figured it was due time to try it myself.
I'm a T-Shirt and jeans type of girl, which this atmosphere ISN'T, by the way. It's a bit higher scale; good thing I actually had a blouse on....Uppity as it may seem, it's the perfect atmosphere for chatting, and the decor is beautiful.
We decided to order something hearty, and Scott was after the Braised Beef and Celery Mash he had before. However, their menu had changed and Scott mentioned that he only recognized a few of the entrees.
Note this: if you like an entree, let them know. If not, it could easily disappear. I asked the waiter how often they changed the menu. He wasn't sure. He said seasonal entrees come and go, but couldn't give us a straight answer for why Scott's favorite dish was gone.
Anyways, we decided to stick with red meat and we both ordered the Grilled Hanger Steak (I got a little cheese biscuit on the side <3).
After a small wait, our meal was brought to us. BEAUTIFUL Presentation! I couldn't wait to get into it!
As beautiful as it looked, with it's spinach and caramelized onion topping, and it's tasty mashed potato pairing, this dish needed A LOT of salt.
It was beautiful, but bland without it. They included this cute little salt and pepper dish pair, so that you could pinch up the spices and sprinkle it on your food, but I had to add salt 3 times. :(
The homemade steaksauce had a brown sugar sweetness to it as well; I was expecting something tangy along the lines of.....you know....STEAK SAUCE.
Scott made a good comment: there were a good variety of tastes in the dish, great presentation, great ingredients, but it tasted boring. What you see is what you get.
I guess I am a little biased; rarely do I EVER eat American Cuisine. Actually, I NEVER eat out at an American restaurant. I always crave thai, japanese, mexican, etc. That being said, I think I will have to come back and try another dish. I walked by in the afternoon and saaw a lunch special of theirs that caught my eye: Battered fish and sweet potato fries. Mmmmmm...next time.
On a positive note, the meat was everything red meat should be: cooked to perfection, juicy and FILLING. I don't know why I ordered dessert after eating the dish. I was full to the brim. Ugh. I would have enjoyed the dessert more on an empty stomach.
Scott made the wise choice and topped dinner off with a cup of tea. THIS was a high point: they serve Harney & Sons teas, wich is one of my absolute FAVORITE brands of tea. They have a tea called Bangkok, which is a green tea with coconut and lemongrass. It tastes even better than it sounds. <3
Scott opted for a cup of green; I tried the Peanut Butter & Chocolate Creme Brulee. Oh lord, how I love Peanut Butter & Chocolate....MILK chocolate. The chocolate in the dessert was of the dark variety, and the bitterness of the creme brulee topping wasn't helping me at all. I'm not much of a fan...It was alright.
Overall, I give it 3 out of 5. I'm sure that could easily change with the choice of a different dish. It was worth a try, and I will try again soon. :)
Urban Solace
3823 30th Street
San Diego, CA 92104
For Tomorrow,
Sade
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