Yenchim Garden Restaurant

Those I am close to know things have been rough lately emotionally; lots of travel, a disappointing marathon finish (yeah, I know how could that be disappointing), craziness at work, etc. Because of this, at some point it had occurred to me to find the menu for this place and see if there was even anything on the menu I could eat before venturing out. I never did find one, so much to my delight I attended what was a very nice evening.

Now, as a vegetarian, there was not much truly vegetarian to choose from. As I have found in most Chinese restaurants, even though it's only vegetables, it's typically prepared with a fish or chicken broth. I believe that to have been the case here as well, but since the man was nice enough to prepare a vegetable chow mein for me, I just sucked it up this time. I was pretty hungry by said dinner, so it really hit the spot.

Service was maybe too prompt, in that the waitress pretty much hovered nearby and anticipated our every move. Water was replenished quickly and regularly.

Proximity to Starbucks was, oh, 50 feet. It probably gets an added couple of bonus points for being nearby a frozen yogurt place, even though we didn't make it there.

Alicia and I discussed how we really enjoyed the round table aspect of the meal. The lazy susan was a neat addition; although, I had to retrieve my plate from it quickly as Mara was determine to spin it not realizing I was filling my plate. :)

Sadly, Janet was unable to attend this week and she was missed.
Mara, thanks for the lovely earrings!

Next month is the holiday gathering! $20 limit, no gift cards. Steph traded with me since I won't be here in January. I'm hoping for something a little unique and/or festive.

Cheers.

Tracy

October 08 - "Brunch" at Urban Solace

By Alicia

I'm using quotes around brunch, because, it was technically breakfast. :-)

Urban Solace is billed as "new american comfort food." I've been there a couple of times for dinner and drinks at the bar. I highly recommend that. Had great service the other 2 times. This time, not so much. Our server made it seem like we were more of an annoyance to her than anything else. She did turn on some charm at the end, just before the bill came. Well, played mam, well played.

Anyway, service aside, I've really enjoyed every dish I've had at Urban Solace. This MR visit, I had the butter pecan french toast. It was good but pretty much something you could order for dessert. Which means, it was a bit heavy for brunch. I did enjoy it though. Coffee was good, but again with the less than good service... we had to constantly ask for more cream, sugar, coffee, etc. (I'm the one that wanted to give the server exactly 15%, but due to lack of change, she got more... oh well. )



(photo credit)

Overall a thumbs up. I like the atmosphere, nice bathrooms, usually good service. I will probably stick to the bar for future visits.

Urban Solice by Tracy

October MR was at a neat location. I had been there once before for dinner and LOVED it; so I was happy to return for brunch!

The waitress: consensus is not too pleasant; well, until she brought us the check and new a tip was coming. One of our members even suggested not giving her as much as was originally in the pile. Ouch! That = not good service. I was slightly tardy and exhausted from a host of other activities the few days prior, so I just figured I was not quite awake yet.
The food: Yummy! Just what I ordered, no unmet expectations and no disappointment. I ordered the Eggaroni, which is basically macaroni and cheese with egg and ham; only I got it sans ham as I don't eat the meat. I ended up splitting it with Heidi for half of her French Toast, which too was DELICIOUS! Mmmm....cinnamony walnuts...yum.
The company: Motherly, sporty, chatty as usual. Even some guest appearances by Aiden and William! William even tried to have a blowout on me, but no such luck! ;) Whew.
Vicinity to Starbucks: Hmmm, we did not venture for dessert as we had brunch this go round, but I think the closest one is about 1/2 a mile. I cannot picture one in the near vicinity, but there are lots of other great places nearby.

This place seems to always be busy, so get there early to beat the crowd! Or plan to wait.

Happy Ragiversary!

We spent our six year ragiversary eating at Andres Cuban Restaurant on Morena. The service was very friendly and they stayed open an extra forty five minutes to accommodate our lallygagging. (thanks, Andre) However, I was slightly disappointed with the food. First, they were out of the Arroz con Pollo, which sounded really good, so I settled for the Camerones con Spanish word for Garlic Sauce. The shrimp was very dry and really not worth eating. The rice and beans were very good though.

Afterwards, we headed to the Starbucks where we learned about Deb's bizarre late night television watching and I tried to teach everyone how to pop their gum wrappers in the air. (Throwing it up as you hit it doesn't count.)

As usual, I had a great time. Happy Ragiversary, girls.

Six years.
72 Restaurants.
1 Cooking school.
6 Babies.
Lots of interesting and fun conversation.

Steph

PS What's with no picture taking last night? P'shah!

Pomegranate Russian-Georgian Restaurant

by Tracy

This was a delightful choice!

The location is slightly mysterious if you're not familiar with the area, but what a treat once you walk inside. The smell of the spices radiating throughout this quaint location was incredible!

The restaurant is filled with as many tables and chairs as it could possibly fit, with tons of artifacts representative of its heritage. The walls are covered in writings from patrons in many languages, thoughts and colors. The cultural music booms in the background, and the atmosphere really made me feel as if I were in another place.

It was very much a relaxed atmosphere. The waitress waited for all parties to arrive before bringing out our water (which she gingerly placed a slice of cucumber in each glass before pouring), and then proceeded to inform us of the night's specials. I think at most other restaurants I might have been a little put off by this, but suddenly it seemed so polite to wait for everyone before beginning. She was an assertive girl, one whom if she weren't obviously from a different culture could easily be stereotyped as pushy; but I thought she was great! She got what she needed, when she needed it, and was very helpful.

We started with fresh bread, white loaf and pumpernickle-looking pieces, accompanied by a seasoned butter. Appetizer was potato-cheese/onion dumplings, one dish of each to share. They were very tasty. I'm not sure which I preferred more, the pot-cheese or pot-onion. I love me some cheese, but the flavor of the carmelized onion was really good.

From there I had the Vegan Borscht for dinner. A soup/stew type dish, consisting of beet root, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes and spices. It included a dollap of sour cream and various fresh herbs sprinkled on top. It radiated with flavor and smell. I was too full to finish it, but I only left behind broth and button mushrooms which aren't my favorite anyway.

Sometime after we were done eating and were sitting enjoying each other's company, a sharp wolf-whistle comes from the staff to which my immediate thought was 'Whoa, crap, they're gonna kick us out!" Turns out, there was a birthday in the house that we were all requested to sing to. Happy Birthday Constantine (sp?) Fun!

No dessert to speak of this night; althought I'm told the Toad Sweat Ice Cream is recommended -- NO THANKS.

We did have a super neat treat with the public appearance of the sweetest little baby boy Teglia! He's a doll; so teeny tiny and scrunchy; his arms tell me he could be the next Michael Phelps! ;)

All-in-all, a great choice and experience!

July - Tender Greens

(by Alicia)

Tender Greens
Liberty Station (NTC)
Pt. Loma

I walked by this place a couple of weekends ago and thought it looked cute (patio seating). Thought it'd be worth checking out, especially since we'd never been to Point Loma for MR.

Quick Review: Thumbs up!

• Fresh
• Simple menu, delicious, simple food
• Relatively cheap, good portions
• Order at counter
• Clean

I guess it's only been open for about a month... we're so cutting edge with our dining. Anyway, it's a salady kinda place. Lots of greens, hence the name. Overall, I really liked it. At first I was worried that the girls would be put off by having to order at the counter, but it worked out well. (No issues over having correct change at the end of the meal!)

I had the "hot plate" which consisted of a side salad (spinach, hazelnuts, goat cheese and champagne vinaigrette), mashed potatoes and choice of protein. Good sized portions on all items. I forgot to say "light on the dressing" but thankfully, it wasn't too heavy. And unlike some spinach salads, this one didn't leave that yucky spinach film feeling on my teeth. Bonus! Oh and it came with the crunchiest piece of toast/overgrown crouton I've ever almost broken a molar on. All this, for only $10, so you can't complain.

A couple of the girls had the tomato soup and it looked really good too. The beef on my hot plate was very tender but I think Heidi and I would've preferred it cooked a bit more. They had a decent little wine list served in stemless glasses. I'd totally go back, especially for lunch.

Notable discussions at dinner: Mary Kate Olsen says "pucker" or something like that when her picture is taken so she always has this look:(That's Janet's "pucker" face... I love it!)

Notable discussions at coffee afterwards: News & Events. Specifically, transsexuals having babies. Which is where we found out that Mara has an interesting thought process. So, we're talking about the pregnant man-woman from Oprah and Mara exclaims "Oh, guess what!? " (I'm thinking she's going to tell us she used to be a man or something) when she continues, "I got cute new shoes." *pointing*

Transsexuals reproducing -> Cute new shoes -> Uncontrollable laughter and tears












Deb, it's your pick next month! Hopefully it'll be before Janet has Bob Jr. :-)

Spread - by Heidi

I just wanted to share my thoughts about Spread.

I loved their appetizer plates so much that I couldn't resist taking photos with them (neither could Steph).

Also, it reminds me of an Outkast song. "Spreeeaad. Spread for me...." You'll have to look it up. I know, dirty.

Finally, despite my fears that it would be all form and no substance, the food was delicious. The small portions were rich enough to fill you up. And I like a place that puts a salad in my cocktail. Healthy!

I've already suggested this place to my vegetarian friends, but the quality and creativity of the food appealed even to those of us who like our meat.

Sorry I didn't get pics of everyone, but here's one of Janet and Tracy and one of Deb and Janet.

-Heidi

Spread -- Sounds dirty, doesn't it?

By Steph

Last night we ate at Spread, an organic vegetarian restaurant in North Park. It was Tracy's choice. I wasn't sure if I'd like it since I'm not usually big on veggies, though I know I should be. When we arrived and the waiter began pretentiously describing items from the one portable chalk board menu ("Stone fruits are fruits with pits...Pharaoh vegetables were the first vegetables on our mother earth...Heirloom grains are hundreds of years old and have never changed from their original form...We only serve three drinks and they share the same essence as our menu items."), it took everything in me to remain in my seat and resist the temptation of running out the door to find the nearest In N Out Burger.

There were only six items on the menu and they were served family style. Since there were six of us (sadly, Mara was sick), we decided to get one of each. To my surprise and to the delight of my tastebuds, everything was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! Even the green Sangria and the red mohitas that the crazy girls shared were amazing. I thought that it was one of the top five best Monthly Rag destinations. I never knew veggies could taste so good.

At the end of the night, we shared a peanut butter/chocolate fondue with fresh fruits. Yum.

When the bill came, I realized that they undercharged us by $30, so they gave me a free jar of their dark chocolate almond spread. YUM.

In a locally-grown organic nutshell, my opinion of Spread changed 100% from the moment I walked in to the moment I stepped out. Spread gets two thumbs up from this MRer.

Afterwards, we went to the dessert place down the street for something much more unhealthy.

Great choice, Tracy!

PS The only downfall from last night's meal was that my system isn't used to all that fiber. Therefore, there was an unusual amount of tummy rumbling last night.

The Barrel Room - by Tracy

The good news or the bad news first?

Bad News: Service -- Considering that I was half an hour late due to a prior commitment, I didn't miss a thing. In fact, I was there about 5-10 minutes before the waitress came up to get our DRINK ORDERS!!! In all fairness, it was very busy; however, seemed to me like this was not uncommon; therefore, in my opinion could have been handled better. I caught on to the "How is everything?" and leaving before getting an answer myself which was bizarre. Maybe she was having a bad night. We tipped her generously in spite of our frustration, so hopefully that enhanced somebody else's service after we left.

Good News: Everything else! -- Now, in the past we have spread the word to avoid restaurants due to poor service -- one restaurant even successfully went out of business, no doubt due to their poor service-related business practices -- but I wouldn't say to avoid this one.

I had one of the white wine flights, which was yummy and plentiful! I had the caprese panini and fresh fruit. It was delicious and fresh, as Alicia mentioned. And dessert was delicious. I admit, I reluctantly shared it, but that's because I had been thinking about it all day long and was gorging myself. :\ Hot apple pie a la mode.....YUM!!

It is in a peculiar location, but doesn't seem to affect it's popularity at all.

Good times, as usual.

March 2008 - The Barrel Room

Last week, Janet picked The Barrel Room. Even though it's out in Rancho Bernardo, I'd totally go back. I was shocked to see how busy it was a for a Tuesday night. It was pretty small, but was really cute considering it's location (next to Big 5, down from Jack in the Box in a strip mall). It looked like a good mix of wine enthusiasts, local diners and post work/happy hour folks. Although wine is their thing, only Heidi and Tracy had any wine. The wine flights looked pretty healthy too and only $10ish for 3 samples. Not too shabby.

I enjoyed my french onion soup and panini with fries. Should've had the fresh fruit instead, because it actually looked fresh. It was pretty reasonably priced too. $9 for a sandwich and side. The built your own panini option looked interesting, but I'm too indecisive, so I went with the Spicy Chicken and some pesto, sun dried tomato and artichoke sandwich (or whatever it's called). I heard Janet say her chicken was a bit dry. Must. Resist. Joke. But I've had drier... *averting gaze*

A highlight was the fact that their coffee is brewed at the table using a french press. No weak coffee here. I didn't have any but the Steph, Heidi and Tracy seemed to enjoy it. The desserts looked good too. Shared at the table, an apple dumpling and a creme brulee cheesecake, which didn't last long.

I thought the service was lacking a little bit. Just seemed like they were too busy to be really that attentive. For example, our server asked, "how is everything?" and then walked away before getting an answer. I hate that. Why bother asking?! Kids these days...

*waving my cane* Get off my lawn! Turn down that damn rock n' roll!

Which reminds me, the Barrel Room was pretty loud. It was often hard to hear each other, but once the crowds died down, it was much better.

I'd definitely go back with a smaller group and have some wine appetizers or share an entree.

Thumbs up for me!

-Alicia

February 2008: Calypso

Last month we ventured to Calypso in Encinitas. It was okay if you like finding hair in your food and watching middle-aged drunk couples making out. The brie appetizer was tasty and the music was okay, but too loud for easy conversations. The brie was free with a coupon and Mara's dinner was free thanks to the hair she found in her last remaining ravioli.

The highlight of the night was checking out Heidi's swanky crib.

-Steph