Let's focus on two great meals from this past week's short jaunt down to San Diego. Wednesday night at Kingfisher, Thursday night at ARTIFACT at Mingei, very different cuisines, very enjoyable experiences. I love when meals out are so terrific that I can happily write blog entries to spotlight them. That's the case here, so let's dive in!
I've been to Kingfisher
a few times now. We knew of it through a Maestro connection. Van (same spelling, different pronunciation from our Van) was a much-beloved bartender at Maestro for years, but he eventually left and is now part of the team at Kingfisher.
We duly asked for seating at the bar so that we could chat with him when possible. And you know that he took very good care of us. The cocktails were the star of the show, but I'll say that the food was terrific as it has been before. The Restaurant Week menu was a great price, so we opted for that and left with full bellies. A run down of what we ate and drank, then...
- The Saigon Moped, a refreshing, light, not-too-sweet cocktail to start with.
- Kampachi crudo and beef tartare to start with. I enjoyed both, especially the tartare which came with fresh herbs and lettuce and rice crisps to make rolls or tostada-like bites.
- The Water Buffalo. The weirdest drink I've had in, oh forever. Very umami, and I find that I am responding to more savoury flavours in cocktails these days. It was made in part with clarified Phở reduction. I don't even know how they would have come up with that. I liked it, for the record, but I couldn't stop trying to figure it out, and so more than liking it, I was excited and intrigued by it.
- Congee with wild mushrooms and delicata squash. I love porridges, and congee is no exception. And yes, I willingly ate mushrooms because I could trust this restaurant that they were good mushrooms.
- Black cod. Such a tasty sauce, and mustard greens! Honestly, if they had sent it out without the cod and with the buttered rice it came with, I would have been perfectly content.
- The Sesame Soiree. My dessert cocktail. I've had this one (and the Saigon Moped) previously, and I was happy to have it again.
- Vanilla flan with a Vietnamese coffee syrup and black truffle ice cream. I liked them, and the black truffle ice cream lived up to its name. Very funky and weird, and we devoured it. I'm glad Conrad liked it as well.
- Then Van sent out a serving of bread pudding with roasted banana ice cream. And that, too, was a delight, but boy, were we stuffed. We couldn't refuse it, and it was tasty, but belly-clutching time after that.
We said our goodbyes shortly after that, happy to have been back to Kingfisher, and headed to our hotel.
Thursday night we headed up to Balboa Park to Mingei, one of the museums, and to its restaurant, ARTIFACT. ARTIFACT is usually only open for lunches and afternoons, but it does Friday dinners, and it has hosted a special monthly dinner for four years now. We learned that last bit when one of the chefs/co-owners dropped by the table to say hello and chat a moment. I had been fishing around online for where we should have our other San Diego dinner, and I stumbled upon the availability of the special dinner. And the theme? Nordic! In view of this being a Christmas present trip for my husband who is descended from Swedes through all of his grandparents, this was a no-brainer. He was tickled when he learned about it, and we were looking forward to a lovely meal.
Friends, they did not disappoint. The space was very spare,
but the dining area was totally occupied. People kept coming in right up until 8:30, so clearly the dinners have a good reputation. We chatted with both chefs, and the other staff were all very nice and appropriately attentive. And we liked the food. Oh, sure, we can absolutely quibble over how Nordic some things were, but we looked at it as an interesting interpretation using local products and from a kitchen that doesn't normally cook this way. Fully authentic? No. True in spirit? Yes. Enjoyable? For sure! Course by course, then...
- Conrad opted for a martini from the simple bar, and it was quite fine. I tried the Fjord and Field, and it was surprisingly tart. Not overly so, but it used cranberry and meant it. A good drink to begin. We opted for wines by the glass after that although Conrad didn't care for the second glass, the merlot, all that much.
- Danish smørrebrød, both rye and crispbread. Toppings were cultured butter, boiled egg with cured cod roe, caramelized sunchoke and browned cream, and shrimp salad. The butter was butter, the egg was a tasty egg salad, the shrimp were briny rather than sweet, and the sunchoke was eye-opening. I asked Conrad what he thought of his first taste, and he had the same reaction: it was like peanut butter. And we mean that in a very good way. Oh, everything was good, honestly - I actually really loved having a smear of butter then some of the egg. But that sunchoke was such a terrific surprise.
- Seaweed cured california halibut crudo with boiled potato, pickled mustard seed, celery root buttermilk sauce, and sorrel. From a good start to an even better second. Get a little of everything on your fork, and it was superb. It was also a nicely generous portion.
- Smoked bison with leek top and kohlrabi puree, red currant demi, and red cabbage. Again, get some of each on your fork, and it all made a lot of sense. I also appreciated that it wasn't an overly generous portion as it was a little heavier and richer.
- Cardamom vafflor (Scandinavian waffle) with rosehip sauce and an almond and honey mousse. Waffles, like pancakes, are a tricky thing to serve because of they sit, they become less fluffy and delightful. I sort of felt that happened with the waffle here. The star of the plate was the rosehip sauce, though, and there was plenty to mop up. I didn't love the dessert, but it was fine.
We kind of wish we went to San Diego more often so that we could take advantage of these dinners. We really loved it. A quick Uber back to the hotel after that, some reading, and Conrad was snoring away by 10:30. Our two San Diego dinners were an utter success.
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