San Diego Reader March 30, 2017 41
Lucky for us
For the latest reviews from Reader writers and a complete searchable list of 2000 restaurants, please visit
SDReader.com/feast
Pork chop star The Farmer’s Table, 8141 La Mesa Boulevard, La Mesa. The Farmer’s Table restaurant in down- town La Mesa had only been open a week when my mother invited us to try it out with her. When we arrived, the line was out the door, and the seats at the bar were all full. Lucky for us, I had made a reservation, and that was a first — making a reservation at a La Mesa restaurant. The large room was
already bustling at 6 p.m., and the former Sanfilippo’s Pizzeria has never looked better. Now it’s decorated as an old farmhouse, with rusty chandeliers hang- ing from the ceiling and a 1940 tractor in the bar and plants everywhere. Some of the benches and tables are made from old car parts, tires, and vin- tage suitcases. The vibe was noisy and fun, but our table outside was a little more conducive to catching up with my mom after we had been traveling for a month. The menu boasts fresh
the taste was fresh and light. All children would eat their carrots if they tasted like the ones created by executive chef Vincenzo Loverso. My mom ordered the soup of the day, but-
FEAST!
ternut squash with fresh herbs and ratatouille risotto. My husband and I shared the kurobuta pork chop (“hog” in Japanese) and roasted corn mashed potatoes with dried apricot and balsamic reduction. When the food arrived, I felt as if we were sitting at a farmer’s
table, reaching over each other and sharing tastes of the dishes like a bunch of rubes. Mom’s soup was so creamy. The oregano stood out the most for me. We both vowed to find the recipe and recre- ate the flavors. The pork chop was
The taste of oregano stood out from the other herbs in the butternut squash soup.
large, juicy, and marbled with a slight red color. The potatoes were fluffy, and the subtle taste of the corn was unique. But the chop was the star. The risotto had a creamy but chewy texture, and the fresh farm-to-table vegetables in it were bursting with flavor. Watching the cars drive
food from local farms, and so we started off with the burnt carrot salad — mainly because the name sounded fun. Our server brought us a plate of pretty baby carrots, not burnt at all, served with small portions of red onion, avocado, and feta. Everything about the dish was delicate, and
slowly past our table as the sun set, I realized that with the addition of the Farm- er’s Table, downtown La Mesa’s longtime makeover may be complete. by Candice Reed
A 1940s tractor is the centerpiece of the room.
Chicken pot pie bliss-out Betty’s Pie Whole, 155
Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas. When Pop Pie Co. opened in University Heights last fall, its single-serving pie concept roused a social media
sensation that drew lines out the door. But it’s not alone in the pie- as-entrée space. Bett y’s Pi e
Whole has been at it since 2014. However, rather than the contem- porary design concept of a third-wave coffee roaster, this pie “saloon” steers its look the opposite direction. It cops an old-West flavor, complete with swinging saloon doors entering a decidedly rustic, wood din- ing room. The small specialty shop sits off the
parking lot of decades-old Encinitas nursery Sunshine Gardens. Counter service includes a display counter showcasing the pies on hand. Selec- tions include a baked take on a meatball sub, a cheesy spinach-and- mushroom veggie pie, and Eggy breakfast pies (quiche sounds too fancy in this place). You can get in the standard, nine-
A look inside a personal pot pie
“Chocolate shortbread…filled with Belgian chocolate pudding, house-made marshmallow, brownie chunks...”
inch diameter family-size pie for 28 to 30 bucks — some with the option to take and bake. If you’re dining alone, nine dollars will get you an individual pie roughly the circumference of a compact disc. I asked for the latter, and to no one’s surprise they steered me right to a classic — Grandma Lucy’s Chicken Pie, aka the chicken pot pie. How classic is the pot pie? This style of pastry
was common throughout medieval Europe and said to be invented by Roman soldiers. Also, my mom made them for me as a kid, so I think they’re pretty awesome. I probably picked around the peas and carrots
back then, but these days I can enjoy them. Espe- cially when they’re in such a thick, sage-forward gravy. Between the chunks of white-meat chicken and crunchy, gravy-soaked crust, I blissed out before I even got to dessert.
There are simply too many dessert pies to men-
tion, though I will say I came close to choosing either the cookie-dough pie or strawberry rhu- barb. Then I got a look at the Mississippi Mud. Here’s how it’s described: “Chocolate shortbread… filled with Belgian chocolate pudding, house- made marshmallow, brownie chunks, butterscotch swirls, and finished with two kinds of choco- late drizzle!” It looks even more decadent and delicious than
that sounds, so I added $6.50 to the bill for the pure indulgence. Those chunks and swirls and marshmallows delivered one texture after another, one sweetness after another. Given the sugar-high potential we’re looking at here, it’s little wonder Mom never baked anything this rich for eight- year-old me.
by Ian Anderson
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
