One of the things I look forward to the most whenever my in-laws are in town are date nights with Tuan. On Wednesday we decided to try something new and went to The Smoking Goat in North Park. The restaurant takes reservations but we didn't bother to make any since it was a Wednesday night. We arrived around 6:00 PM to take advantage of their Happy Hour menu and were seated promptly by the host.
We sat on the patio since it was a nice day out and the dining room seemed really dark. It was nice to soak up the summer sun while enjoying a $4 glass of Malbec and an order of the baked brie. The artichoke and leeks really elevated the brie and made it special. I tried to be good about my carb intake but I couldn't stop myself from eating two slices of the toasted ciabatta.
[Baked Brie - artichoke and leeks cooked in wine with ciabatta $6 on the Happy Hour Menu]
A few minutes after we finished the brie, our waiter brought out my pork chop and Tuan's ribeye. What a feast for the eyes! Both dishes were beautifully seared and I snapped a couple of photos before we dove in. My pork chop was good not mind blowing. Maybe I don't really like pork chops? While looking the menu over, I was drawn to the chicken but hello it's date night. I eat chicken almost every single day. I wanted to eat something I normally don't eat. Result? I should have ordered the chicken. I will say that the tomato sauce the pork chop came with was delicious and really complimented the meal.
[Brined Pork Chop -
fingerlings, Suzie's bush beans, smoky tomato sauce, preserved lemon chipotle butter $24]
Tuan's ribeye was very good but the duckfat fries were the star of the plate. The fries were extra crispy, topped with pecorino romano and served with a mustard aoili. So good. We are both french fry addicts and these were some of the most addicting fries we've had. Next time, we will probably just get a large order of the fries. I can eat those all day.
[Ribeye - duckfat truffle fries, little salad, herb butter, red wine sauce $30]
[My hot date. He's so patient about my picture taking. Haha]
After we finished our meals, we snuck a peek at the dessert menu but decided to skip on it since we were so close to Swoon. If you are near Swoon, you have Swoon. Sorry, Smoking Goat. I'm sure your desserts are just as good as your food but Swoon was calling us.
3408 30th Street
San Diego, CA 92104
619-995-5295
Swoon is hands down my favorite dessert place in San Diego. The flavor combinations of their desserts are exciting and the portions are generous without being overwhelming (ahem Extraordinary Desserts). Tuan and I like have chef surprise us with the Chef's Choice 3-Course for $18. It's always a fun experience and we don't have to have the "So, what do you want to get?" discussion. Chef creates each dessert on the spot behind the dessert bar and they are delivered one at a time by the hostess. Each dessert we tried was delicious but my favorite this time around was the melon gazpacho. So refreshing! I can't wait to go back again.
[Galia Melon Gazpacho with plums, pickled grapes and carrot sorbet]
[Strawberry Ice Cream with charred strawberries, marshmallow fluff, fudge and graham cracker crumbs]
[Oven roasted Peach Ice Cream with summer berries, corn bread and black pepper honey]
3139 University Ave.
San Diego, CA
619-528-0875
Swoon needs a real website. Why does their website link point to a Facebook page?
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