At noon, Saturday, April 18, 2015, the Taste of
Hillcrest walking tasting tour took us through the streets of the Hillcrest
neighborhood in San Diego, CA. It was a heavy walking tour along University
Avenue with 33 restaurants, pubs, and wine bars in participation. Shuttle
service was also available for folks that couldn’t make the trek or just needed
to rest their feet while still on the move.
Here are six stops:
7th Ave Pub, inside the Whole Foods Market, prepared
Jalapeno Grilled Cheese (mixture of cheddar and cream cheese, bell peppers, and
grilled jalapeno, and panini-pressed on sourdough) and Basil Tomato Soup. This combination
would be great on a cold winter day. The grilled cheese was done to perfection
with a crispy outside and great sourdough flavor. The jalapeno gave it a slight
kick but was not overpowering. The bell peppers provided a little bit of
sweetness. But if you needed more sweetness, the Basil Tomato Soup was sweet
enough with a taste of fresh ripened tomatoes and herbaceous basil to make it
more savory. Rating: 4/5
100 Wines Kitchen prepared Crispy Cauliflower (with
peppered pancetta, shaved parmesan, balsamic port drizzle) with Honeydew
Gazpacho Shooter. The crispy cauliflower was scrumptious! The mix of parmesan
and pancetta made the cauliflower addictive. This would be a perfect tapas dish
to go along with a glass of sauvignon blanc. The Honeydew Gazpacho was less
exciting. It tasted more like honeydew aguas fresca. Rating: 4/5
Lava Sushi prepared Vegetable Egg Rolls and
Mango Yellowtail (spicy tuna, cucumber, avocado topped with yellowtail,
garnished with jalapeno infused mango puree, pico de gallo, cilantro oil, and
micro cilantro). The egg roll was crispy on the outside with soft cooked
vegetables on the inside. For me, it was an average egg roll, nothing
spectacular. It’s probably a choice for the vegetarian palate, but would taste
even better if there was ground pork inside. The Mango Yellowtail Roll was
beautifully presented and totally worth the wait. The sweet yellowtail on top
was fabulous. The contrasting spicy tuna and creamy avocado on the inside were a
perfect pairing. The mango puree was a little too sour for the mix but added a
beautiful splash of orange yellow color to the plate. Rating: 4/5
House of Khan prepared Chicken Biryani (spicy rice
cooked with tomatoes, mint, cilantro, and chicken). The long grain rice was
perfectly coated with the caramelized tomatoes and spices. It was a little
spicy, just enough to excite the taste buds. The chicken flavor was evident, but
there were no morsels of chicken evident in the serving received. Rating: 4.5/5
Oscar Wilde's Irish Gastropub prepared Mac and Cheese (Harp and
Irish cheddar beer cheese topped with Irish Dubliner cheese). The mac and
cheese dish wasn’t bad, but there was not a hint of the Harp beer flavor. The
cheese base was creamy and cheesy. If ordered in the restaurant, crispy pork
belly and duck confit would be great additions to the mac and cheese. Rating:
4.5/5
Hillcrest Brewing Company prepared Spicy Style Wings, BBQ
Style Wings, and HBC Perle Necklace Pale Ale. The spicy wing was pretty good.
It was tangy in flavor with a comfortable spice level. The bleu cheese dressing
was broken and didn’t work well with the wing. A smoky quality enhanced the BBQ
wing. The Perle Necklace Pale Ale was less than appetizing. Not sure what happened
but the beer did not go down easily. Most of the sample cups left on the bar
were still full. Rating: 2/5
As the 4pm hour creeped up, the Taste of Hillcrest
closed yet the crowds were still milling around either relaxing at their last
restaurant stop or continuing to shop along the way.
Plan on spending the full four hours at the Taste of
Hillcrest. Two hours is just not enough.
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