Smokeyard offers passable BBQ in a dressed-up mall setting

St Louis Ribs, chicken, and tri-tip

Sunday was an eventful day: I went surfing for the first time in a while and nearly got pulled into the ocean by a rip-current, I accidentally cut myself with my own thumbnail, and I had mediocre Southern California barbecue! Smokeyard has two locations now, one in Mammoth, and the one I visited in the new area of the UTC mall. My last few forays into the barbecue scene here have ranged from wildly disappointing (Phil’s a.k.a. the most overrated restaurant in the country with its copious layers of sickly BBQ sauce attempting to hide the dry, stringy meat below) to surprisingly delicious (Iron Pig Alehouse’s tender brisket… yummy!).

Smokeyard’s interior is incredibly spacious. The ceiling is dotted with different sized sphere chandeliers which keep the restaurant well-lit. Nearly every space is covered in something wood-textured (the light wood floors seem a bit out of place, but whatever). Bathrooms were sleek and modern except for the singly-ply toilet paper and only the bar area has TVs (TV-covered walls are my biggest pet-peeve of local restaurants). The service was friendly, but maybe a bit spacey – we asked for water with ice and she promptly returned a jug of iceless. Not a big deal, but a little head scratching.

In fact, that might be the theme of the restaurant. Everything is nice and acceptable, except for one little detail. We ordered the crispy rock shrimp appetizer – battered, fried, and covered with an American-Chinese Orange Chicken like sauce atop pickled banana peppers and thinly sliced cabbage. It seemed a little out of place in a BBQ menu (I was expected shrimp cocktails) but still delicious in the same way Panda Express takeout is. The main course was, of course, the meat. My dining partnered ventured towards the chicken and St Louis ribs combo while I ordered the beef spare ribs with a side of tri-tip, all slathered with the house BBQ sauce.

Honey butter cornbread

I’m by no means an expert on barbecue. I know nothing about the particulars of the regions, smoking techniques, sauce variations, etc. so I’m not quite sure what I was expecting from Smokeyard. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by short ribs, ribeyes, and the fattier parts of the cow, but my spare ribs were overcooked, well shrunk with barely any meat, and very dry. The sauce wasn’t even applied evenly – there would be a chunk of meat on the side of the bone completely dry and tasteless. The pork St Louis ribs were much better, moist with a satisfying bite but still tender, and the one-piece chicken drumstick and thigh was the star, a juicy and moist compared to the stringy messed served up at other joints. The side tri-tip was chewy and seemed to have sucked in all of the smoke flavor and left none of the juice and seasoned with just a dab of sauce. In fact, the sauce itself was a bit too tomato-y for me, sweet and acidic with a sloppy structure but at least it made the dry meat easier to swallow.

Does Smokeyard finally bring delicious BBQ to San Diego? Definitely not but considering it’s a sit-down restaurant in a mall, it manages to provide a relatively decent experience at an above-average price point. However, it does have some incoming tough competition as Din Tai Fung, True Food Kitchen, and other big-name restaurants open in Westfield UTC this year. We’ll see if Smokeyard’s formula can last. As for genuine delicious barbecue, you can always book a flight to Texas.

TRUST, an experience worthy of its name

All photos are courtesy of Taylor Sandate (@and_her_dog_too)

Lobster risotto with wild mushrooms, poached egg, pancetta, kale, and dill garnish

Right on the edge of Hillcrest and North Park on an awkward three-way intersection sits TRUST, an independent restaurant opened in 2015 and currently run by chef/co-owner Brad Wise and GM/co-owner Steve Shwob. I was a bit hesitant about eating out again after a few bad experiences at other, unassociated restaurants, especially those that boasts top notch hospitality and service (*cough* Whisknladle: the disappointing one-night stand and abusive ex all in one), but you can’t live in the past for too long! It was a quiet Sunday night when my lovely dining partner and I arrived and with so few people dining at the tables and bar, it was easy to score a table. I’d expect we wouldn’t be so lucky if it was a Friday or Saturday night. The decor is a rustic mixed with swanky; the light is dim but just bright enough to clearly see the elegant dishes and while the menu has a variety of wood fired dishes, the walls are either covered in a sleek modern tile or windowed to bring in natural light. What’s curious is the restroom; it was decorated like a college bar with a “Renaissance”-style painting of girls laughing at your man parts while you pee in the urinal and a framed “WT(fork).” Huh? Why? I guess whatever floats your boat, man. Maybe I’m too old to get it.

Some peculiar flair for the restroom experience

As for the hospitality, there was no need to worry – TRUST does have great service. In fact, they might be a bit too polite. We were welcomed in with kind words: “of course!” “no problem!” “first of all, thank you for choosing to dine with us!” The exuberant enthusiasm made it seem a bit disingenuous at first, but once we started ordering it was clear the wait staff wasn’t putting on airs. Our server immediately recommending not getting both the charcuterie + cheese board and the chicken liver with toast, since the board included toasted bread spread with andouille sausage. Good to know you’re on my side, not the owner’s pockets. Wine suggestions, however, were maybe not so great – I was interested in a glass of the Von Winning Dry Riesling 2015 since I’m not a fan of sweet, but it still ended up being a bit too sugary for me (I guess I should have known since it’s from Pfalz, instead of Alsace where the Rieslings are dryer?). My dining partner had a delicious lemonade-based mocktail which delivered a small burst of lemon tartness at the beginning that quickly gave way to a sweet aftertaste.

Assorted charcuterie and cheese board

But hell, forget all the decoration, drinks, vibes, and service – the food is really where it’s at. The charcuterie and cheese board had a healthy variety of in-house cured meats, dairy, jam, and mustard. The thinly-sliced duck ham’s mild flavor stood in contrast with the salty, thick slabs of salami.  The aformentioned toast with andouille sausage was topped with a mountain of chives and added a good bit of heat and spice from the Cajun seasoning. Additional spreads included a fatty pork butter (essentially leaf lard), a sweet and savory blueberry jam, and a whole host of spicy pickled veggies. The fact there were only two cheeses was a bit disappointing, though the two offerings were decent. The blue cheese was young and mellow with just a hint of funkiness. If more blue cheese was like this, I’d eat it more often! The hard cow’s milk cheese was standard – young with quiet flavors but not very memorable.

As for main courses, we were told the plates are small and designed to share so that rich and savory dishes won’t be too filling. How millennial! The hot dishes were absolutely delicious. The Italians use egg to make their carbonara more creamy – why not try the same for the lobster risotto whose poached egg gives the whole dish a pleasant mouthfeel (not to mention the wonderful accompanied wild mushrooms and delicious seafood flavor on every bite)? And why hasn’t everyone made braised oxtail ravioli? The sauce, punctuated with dots of ricotta, still had the acidity from the tomatoes, but had a depth of flavor that can only come from hours of braising. The raviolini wrappers were the perfect thickness and oxtail inside was tender and well-seasoned.

Braised oxtail raviolini (miniature raviolis) with pine nuts, carrots, oxtail ju, horseradish, and whipped ricotta

The seemingly simple and well-executed twists on known dishes and reasonable price points and portions make TRUST a worthy addition to any local top dining list. It’s a restaurant done right; it makes the diner feel comfortable, excited about the food, and (most of all) satisfied with the meal – all for a reasonable price. I’m planning to book another table soon. Maybe I should try their brunch or vegetarian options?

P.S. – The wood smoke from the kitchen fires were barely noticeable when dining, but when I finally got home my clothes had smelled like I had attended a joint bonfire, barbeque, and smoking convention. We were seated right by the kitchen, but still… You’ve been warned!

A not-so-great evening at Whisknladle

A few nights ago, some friends and I went out to dinner to celebrate since one of our friend’s got a new job. I had picked out the restaurant – Whisknladle in La Jolla, CA. It had been recommended by family and other friends, had been around for ~10 years, and was on the nicer side (which fit our bill since we all normally don’t go out to fancy restaurants). I was genuinely excited since I hadn’t eaten out at a nice sit-down place in a really long time and had heard good things about the food and service. Their group owns another restaurant in the area (Catania, also in La Jolla) as well as a wine label and various other ventures in the food and hospitality industry. I thought this was an easy home run and it honestly started out that way.

Decor was modern with a few rustic edges. We were seating in the covered patio area which was incredibly dark (we needed to move around the candles on the table to even see our food), but overall it was a comfortable atmosphere and the noise level was appropriate even for a Friday night. We got a bottle of wine (Carmel Road Monterey Pinot Noir 2015, an peppery, acidic wine with a bit of pepper on the nose 3.5/5) and a cocktail, ordered a couple of starters (delicious mussels with a spicy Gochujang-based sauce and an assorted cheese board with some delicious chicken liver pate), and we each ordered a different main course after finishing one of the starters. Everything up until the main course was delicious and interesting and the service was amazing.

And then, our main courses came out. I had ordered seared scallops with pork belly. The plate had several cubes of pork belly and several coins of scallops. When I took a bite of one piece of the pork belly, it was roughly room temperature. Same with the scallop and the cooked vegetable sides. Everyone else’s food was hot.

My room temperature scallops and pork belly

I had only taken one bite of each item (and one of my dining partners also tried a bite and confirmed the temperature) so I flagged down our server and mentioned my food was room temperature. She immediately said she would fix it and took it away. She came back and mentioned it was being fixed, but wasn’t specific on the details. I think she also made a joke about the scallops still being alive?

After a bit of time, she comes back with the plate. All the meat and seafood were warm, but I noticed that the same scallop and pork belly that I had taken a bite out of were still on the plate (just now hot). When the server came by to double check, I asked if this was the same plate that I had sent back. She went to the kitchen and confirmed – it was the exact same plate. She asked if I wanted a new plate, but I said no since I didn’t want to make a fuss and seem like an entitled asshole after I had already sent the plate back once. We ended up getting charged for the plate as normal.

I left the restaurant really bummed. I wanted to like this dinner and up to that point, it was great! But serving me food I had already taken a bite out of? I understand the need to cut down food waste, but would it be difficult to replace the one pork belly and one scallop piece? Since I don’t eat out often, in the moment I wasn’t really sure what I should have done, but looking back I should have insisted on getting the dish compensated and having a new entree. However, my friends were already finishing up their dishes and it didn’t make sense to have them wait for my dish to be re-cooked and eaten.

The following day (after any threat of stomach illness passed), I went on the internet and got feedback from several people who have experience working in kitchens and they all said any self-respecting restaurant wouldn’t re-serve eaten food. I ended up sending an email to WNL folks and got a quick reply back from the general manager confirming my story and explaining that the server thought I just wanted the temperature brought up on the dish, not that I wanted a new entree. He didn’t acknowledge the potential sanitary risks of re-serving seafood and pork at all, but he did offer a gift card to retry the restaurant. I politely declined – after my experience, I wasn’t interested in dining there ever again and won’t recommend others do either. I think it was pretty obvious I took a bites out of the dish and it’s clear their restaurant policy is okay with serving guests food that was initially sitting there for a while and then re-serving potentially unsanitary food (and charging them for it!).