Wilfrid Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 One free night in San Diego and I have selected The Desmond for dinner. It's ten minutes walk from my hotel and has a beef cheek on the menu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 I would have hoped they'd have wiped it off before distributing it to customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted October 9, 2023 Author Share Posted October 9, 2023 Now I have to change my pants again. As it’s San Diego I should probably think about the local fish of the day, but I had halibut at Francie last week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 I can't be too hard on them. In my kitchen, the food gets all over everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted October 11, 2023 Author Share Posted October 11, 2023 Tacos El Gordo recommended by a local. Lengua, good; I was surprised that the tripa was crunchy. On closer inspection of course it wasn’t tripe (English) or callos (Spanish) but what Dominicans call tripitas. Intestines slow cooked then crisped on the grill. Very good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voyager Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 (edited) Tripas is very prevalent in NorCal taquerias. As you say, no relation to tripe. Edited October 11, 2023 by voyager Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted October 12, 2023 Author Share Posted October 12, 2023 So The Desmond was a dinner of two halves. On the second floor of a Kimpton Hotel, it had the look of fine dining… The service was the over-enthusiastic, cheerleading kind. My server explained that the menu had ingredients from many cuisines and offered to help me with my “vocabulary.” She congratulated me on picking her favorite wines. That kind of thing. I decided to ask the captain about the “floral congee.” I told him I knew what congee was, but what was floral about this one? He didn’t know. He thought it might be how the “rice cake” was garnished. I think he needed help with his vocabulary. Anyway I ordered the dish. Dungeness crab with what (happily) was a congee. Not much flavor to anything. Some nigella seed crackers that seemed stale. The wine list was mysterious. Items called “red blend.” No vintages. Two Coravin selections, one a red at $30 a glass. I looked it up and it’s $28 a bottle. Maybe this was a prized vintage; wouldn’t know from the list. Then it all turned on a dime. The beef cheek was excellent, served on a thick, unrefined but tasty guajillo tomatillo sauce. You could make “tacos” by wrapping it in Moroccan baghrir, freshly made pancakes with crisp edges; unsuitable for my diet but quite delicious. A glass of Inniskillen for dessert. I even started liking the service. The cost was better than I expected but I was probably comped (knowingly or not) at least one glass of wine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 I thought the beef cheek was served on a menu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted October 13, 2023 Author Share Posted October 13, 2023 You are paying my dry cleaning bill. Still here, sitting in a bar, watching the Phillies and listening to fools. I love travel. Tomorrow home to Harlem as they say. Weather is nice though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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