Kensington Grill- Kensington

Kensington Grill, a member of the Urban Kitchen group and sister restaurant to Cucina Urbana, is a gem of a neighborhood restaurant. Rustic, warm decor with a California cuisine inspiration, sustainable and locally sourced ingredients are made available whenever possible to create a fantastic dining experience. Restaurant week was no exception.

An arugula and prosciutto salad with shaved manchego cheese and drizzled balsamic

Roasted trout cooked to perfection, with spinach, sliced carrots and sprouts in a lightly gingered ponzu sauce

The pan roasted jidori chicken, A marinaded chicken inroasted tomatoes, onions and celery in a vegetable and chicken broth

A braised short rib, served on top of bok choy in a lemongrass ginger jus

the pear and cranberry cobbler... crisp with oatmeal layers

homemade ameretto cheesecake.. light and fluffy with chantilly cream



http://www.kensingtongrill.com/about

Toast Enoteca- East Village SD

The latest creation of sister restaurant Acqua al 2, Toast opens its doors in the up and coming East Village neighborhood in SD. Located a block away from the ballpark and across from Basic Pizza, Toast offers a small scale wine tasting experience. A modernized wine tasty venue, bottles are plugged into automatic dispensers, load up a refill card and taste by ounce or by glass.

But the interior decor, a modern rendition of a cool loft with concrete exposed walls, abstract art and low-lit light highlighting the reds, blacks and dark wood bins holding wine bottles. The food menu is focused.. salads, panini's, pizza and a handful of main plates.

The baby arugula salad with shaved Parmesan and cherry tomatoes was fresh, aromatic and drizzled with a good load of a light dressing, giving it a slight nutty flavor:

The wood fired pizzas are a must try. Flat thin crusted baked fresh to order pizzas have delicate crusts with bubbling burnt effects that give it an extra crunch. The pizza bianca came topped with fresh mozzarella, grilled guanicile, an Italian bacon and potatoes. Yes, the combination worked well:

With a restaurant rewards program and a wine saving card program, Toast is making an entry into the East Village


http://toastenoteca.com/foodmenu.html

MerK - downtown SD

MerK bistro has reinvented itself as a rustic Italian cuisine with an american flare. Settled underneath the boutique Keating hotel and enjoying an all new interior decor by famed Pininfarina (think Maserati and Ferrari design). With its hues of red and black with brick and glass, colors and textures enhance the dining experience.

A beet and burrata salad comes with both yellow and red beats, herbed salad and hazelnut vinaigrette:

Pizzas are also offered, Veggie, cheese and sausage come out served on a paddle of wood:

The pan seared local seabass came adorned with Carlsbad mussels, tomato broth, spinach and miniature potatoes:

Yelp check ins receive and automatic 30% off on wine!

http://themerk.com/menu.asp

Truluck - La Jolla

If you are in the mood for seafood with a Texan spirit, head on over to Trulucks.  A subtle dim lighted interior with dark red booths, black wall interiors layered with  fish icons and tables enhanced with selective overhead spotlights  to accentuate your food creates a casual yet sophisticated environment for dining. Trulucks restaurant has branded from its Texan hold to establish itself on the west coast with a grand entrance. Bringing along with it, its epic portions.

From supersized Alaskan king crab to large claw snow crab, this is definitely a place to come to for quality crab. Crab cakes are solid lumps of crab, specially packaged into a seared perfection. No fillers, no bread crumbs, just pure luscious crab, served on top of a light garlic aioli, spring greens and lemon to drizzle. Fabulous.

The salmon and tuna tartare duo, also equally impressive.

fresh lumps of tartare, sprinkled with black and white sesame seeds, adjacent to a wasabi cream and a side serving a pickled cucumbers.

For a main course, the miso baked seabass was the specialty of choice. A healthy portion of seabass, served with shredded carrots and squash, piled on top of a crab fried rice and decorated with a sweet miso circle.

The dessert was beyond extraordinary. A chocolate bag filled with pound cake, berries, and ice cream. Standing 8-10inches tall, the chocolate bag was literally molded out of thick delicious chocolate. After a minor procedure, the bag was opened up to reveal its inner goodness:

Aesthetics aside, the inner mounds of pound cake, berries, ice cream and cream all mixed heavenly with drizzles of molten chocolate. This little bag of goodies was more than a hearty table of 6 could endure!