Dishcrawl Carlsbad - Gregorio's, Knockout Burger, Relm, Swirlicious

Date of Dining: 6/12/2013 
Price: $45 per dishcrawl ticket

The Quick Bit:

+ great event to meet fellow foodies

+ vibrant upbeat atmoshphere

Δ Some restaurants could have taken the event more seriously

Disclaimer: I was provided with a free media pass to the dishcrawl event.

I was surprised to receive an invitation to Dishcrawl Carlsbad as I have not been so active in blogging lately, but I was happy to attend the event and brush off my camera lens to take some food photos.
Dishcrawl is an event organized by foodies for other foodies; it occurs throughout many cities in the US and is growing. During a Dishcrawl, participants always pay $45 for a ticket and get to sample dishes from 4 restaurants along the way. During the Dishcrawl, participants also have the opportunity to talk with chefs, owners, or managers of the restaurants in order to gain some additional insight to the restaurant. For restaurants, Dishcrawl is a great way to showcase culinary specialties to those from out of the area while maintaining and strengthening support with loyal local customers.
I was surprised that our event included 29 participants and that restaurants in the Carlsbad Village had agreed to serve the foodies. Participants of the Dishcrawl ranged from cosmopolitan Carlsbad Village locals to wayfaring gastronomes from Hillcrest and Temecula. Overall, the group was vibrant and had a lot of energy. It was great to have the opportunity to chat with many others who were devoted to cooking and eating well-prepared food.

Gregorio's Italian Restaurant

Location: 300 Carlsbad Village Dr, Ste 208

website

The Dishcrawl started at Gregorio's, a favorite of the locals who have all long visited and developed favorite dishes. Gregorio's prepares a rustic Italian homestyle cuisine that strives to be "your kitchen away from home." Further, Gregorio's donates all profits to charity including the Boys and Girls club four nights a week! These actions of giving back to the community has really resonated well within the community.

shrimp aglio e olio - shrimp, linguini, olive oil, lemon

The shrimp dish was what the restaurant considered its signature dish - it was a healthier take on a shrimp scampi with some additional pasta. The dish contained a healthy amount of garlic that was pervasive throughout the palate. As a minor critique, the dish could have used a little more salt.

eggplant parmigiano - fried eggplant, mozzarella, pasta

The eggplant parmigiana is considered the most popular dish at Gregorio's and it was also my favorite of the trio. I really enjoyed the different layered textures within the dish as well as the rich complexities within the interplay of the eggplant and cheese.

sicilian chicken - chicken, breadcrumbs, fusili, vodka cream sauce

The final dish was the Sicilian chicken, which is another popular dish of the restaurant. The chicken was pounded and deep fried and combined with a fusili made with a vodka cream sauce. I thought that the vodka cream sauce was very well made and served well to cut the richness of the fried chicken. However, I also thought this dish needed some additional seasoning, especially within the breadcrumb batter itself.

Overall, I feel that Gregorio's was a great place for locals to enjoy. While there is nothing fancy about the food, it was still simple food prepared well. It is also amazing that the restaurant can donate profits to charity four days a week.

Knockout Burger

Location: 2971 Carlsbad Blvd

Knockout Burger is a local burger watering hole that is themed around boxing. It's an alternative to In-n-out, but also slightly more expensive.

Knockout Burger was a restaurant that totally didn't take the Dishcrawl seriously and lacked professionalism when dealing with such a crowd. While I can understand that the restaurant happened to get busy prior to our arrival, it still took more than 45 minutes for them to prepare the food for the group. It also seemed unreasonable that they felt all the food needed to be completed at the same time. For a small burger restaurant trying to serve 30 people, they simply should have prepared whatever food they could in whatever time they could and sent it out as it was completed, completely fresh.

Further, the restaurant could have provided some food during the long wait such as fries or free beverages as those are generally low cost items that would not impact sales margins. The way it worked out - the burgers were not completed until after we had already reached the next restaurant and finished the food at that establishment.

cheeseburger

The burger seemed to be a frozen patty as it was largely tasteless and lacked any caramelization that is traditionally expected from a burger. Further the lettuce was wilted and the sauce was waterlogged creating a completely washed out flavor. Finally, the meat to bun ratio was completely off as the "flavor" from the processed white breaded bun completely overwhelmed what flavor was left from the patty. To add insult the injury, the fries were chalky lumps of starch that had somehow managed to survive past their intended half-life.

chicken sandwich

The only thing worse than the fries was the chicken sandwich. The chicken was completely dry, and the waterlogged lettuce completely washed out any flavor whatsoever. The only redeeming quality to the chicken was that it was fully cooked so that I know I'm not going to be infected with salmonella.

Overall, the only good quality of knockout burger was it's name; the food knocked me out, and I'm actually surprised I didn't have to visit the hospital. Perhaps I'll need to send them a bill for cleaning out my toilet though. Stick with In-N-Out which is both cheaper and tastier, or better yet visit the gastrobits favorite fast food burger Elevation Burger while in Carlsbad.

Relm Wine.Beer.Bistro

Location: 2917 State St, Carlsbad, CA

website

The third stop of the Dishcrawl was Relm Wine.Beer.Bistro. I would classify the establishment mostly as an adult lounge as much of the seating is comfortable leather sofas that are spread throughout the room.

Relm's owner Rene Fleming serves as the establishment's curator, sourcing only special boutique wines in the restaurant. These wines are all small production, hard to find wines that have all passed the grade of Mrs Fleming's discerning palate. Most importantly, Relm is an acronym for relax, enjoy, laugh more and epitomizes the experience the Dishcrawl had while at the establishment.

mediterranean salad - strawberries, mixed greens, kalamata olives, cucumber, perponcinis, cherry tomatoes

The salad was a standard salad, but was still put together very well. All the ingredients were fresh and the flavors amalgamated in a satisfying combination even without the dressing.

hummus 

The hummus was a milder variation of hummus in that it didn't contain a lot of garlic. However, I found this to be good because garlic doesn't really go well with wine.

hot spinach artichoke dip

The dip was hot and went together well with the other elements. It also paired better with wine in comparison to some of the other offerings. I enjoyed that there were actual artichoke hearts within the dip.

Overall, Relm was my favorite stop of the Dishcrawl; the atmosphere was extremely comfortable and relaxed and the service was top notch. When the initial food ran out for the Dishcrawl group, they immediately re-filled all the food; the management was more concerned with satisfying the customer than padding their pocketbooks. I was also happy with the selection of wines at Relm as they truly seemed unique. I would definitely stop by Relm again if I was in the area, but in the meantime, I will hope for an outpost to open closer to where I live.

Swirlicious Frozen Yogurt

Location: 2992 State St, Carlsbad, CA

website

Swirlicious is a local spin off of the popular frozen yogurt places that have opened all around the country lately. While the owners have modeled the establishment after some of the more Asian yogurt establishments in San Diego, Swirlicious adds its own distinct ideas to the establishment as well.

At Swirilicious, one gets a cup and then fills it with as much yogurt and toppings as they desire. Yogurt flavors change monthly while toppings vary more frequently. From what I noticed, some of the toppings were truly unique; there were juice poppers which are pearl-shaped balls that contain flavored juice and a nice pop when chewed. Adding this topping would create a nice textural contrast against both the yogurt and other more traditional toppings.

swirlicious yogurt

I opted for a healthier yogurt selection as I got mostly the tart yogurt and filled up with fruits and nuts. The yogurt was very well flavored and all the toppings were fresh and added a unique flavor to the entire product.

Swirlicious is nice yogurt establishment that adds a dimension to the community that otherwise cannot be found. 

Conclusion

Overall, I found the Dishcrawl event to be a success. Many times when eating, it is not necessarily about what the food tastes like, but moreso about the company you enjoy while eating the meal. With a group of enthusiastic foodies, the experience was a great one as I was able to make many new friends and explore an area of town I have never been to otherwise. Further, there was easily enough food for everyone to enjoy.

Note: For the restaurants that participate in a Dishcrawl, it is important to keep some perspective - the participants of the Dishcrawl will be members of media, influential local food-lovers, and potential foodies from further away. When one takes the Dishcrawl seriously and delivers a good experience, the rewards are obviously. Conversely, by not taking the customers seriously, the consequences seem just as predictable. 

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Slater's 50/50 (Lake Forest) - Interrupt

Date of Dining: 2/10/13 
Price: $5 per appetizer, $9-18 per burger
Location: 24356 Swartz Ave, Lake Forest, CA 92630
website

The Quick Bit

+ knowledgeable and friendly service

+ same great Slater's 50/50 brand in a new location

+ great customization of burgers

Δ some small kitchen kinks still to work out

Disclosure: I was invited to attend a preview night event for this restaurant and the food price was comp'd

I recently visited Slater's 50/50 in San Diego for the first time, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The Slater's brand provides gourmet burgers in a casual and relaxed atmosphere along with over 100 beers on tap, specialty cocktails, and beer cocktails. It is the brainchild of owner Scott Slater and Executive Chef Brad Lyons (read more about them in my previous coverage). When I received an invitation to attend the "preview night" of the new Lake Forest branch, I thought it was a great opportunity to re-live the experience.

brand new condiments

One thing I thought would be interesting was that due to my familiarity with Slater's 50/50, I was likely to know more about the menu and concept than my server. To my delight, my server ended up being great at his job; he knew the menu very well, he was friendly, and very responsive to any request. If it wasn't for his obvious nervousness with being an opening, I would have thought he was actually a veteran server from another location.

take 2 - french fries and beer battered onion rings

Perhaps the only mishap of the night was the take 2 appetizer. It is normal to expect some kinks to any new restaurant and our appetizer seemed to have been friend long ago and died under the heat lamp. However, the bacon ketchup and pumpkin sauce were so good that they almost rescued the dish.

design it - 1/3 lb angus, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, green chile, horseradish sauce

The design it was cooked to the desired temperature, and the horseradish sauce was an absolute hit. Rather than use store-bought horseradish, it was clear that the kitchen had made their own sauce as it was kicking strong and really complemented the flavor of the beef patty. The green chile also added that great pepper flavor without the heat to add an additional dimension to the burger.

burger of  the month - "pizza burger" hawaiian - 1/3lb 50-50 angus/sausage patty, mozzarella sticks
grilled pineapple, ham, marinara sauce

I elected to try the burger of the month, as the concept of the pizza burger sounded interesting. Overall, I was really happy with the burger as it really did taste similar to pizza, except that it was much better. The flavor of the 50/50 beef/sausage patty was extremely exciting. Coupled with the sweetness of the pineapple and the crunch from the mozarella, and the entire burger was enjoyable to eat.

cococarma - toasted coconut, caramel, chocolate cookie, ice cream

The cococarma features a warm cookie topped with ice cream. Just like the other place that serves a similar dessert, this was just as delightful. If you could have a warm girl scout cookie somoa topped with ice cream, the result would be the cococarma.

Conclusion

While many new restaurants need up to 3 months to catch their stride, I truly believe Slater's 50/50 in Lake Forest will be running full speed inside a week. In the mean time, enjoy the selection of beers and exciting burgers.

With the ability to translate the great Slater's experience so quickly and seamlessly, Slater's 50/50 is awarded the bit award.

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Slater's 50/50 (San Diego)

Date of Dining: 12/1/2012
Price: $5 per appetizer, $9-18 per burger
Location: 2750 Dewey Rd, San Diego, CA 92106
website

The Quick Bit

+ selection of over 100 beers

+ comfortable relaxed atmosphere

+ responsive and high quality service

Δ some technical execution issues

Δ no reservations accepted, so wait times up to 2 hours on busy nights

After opening in Orange County in 2009, Slater's 50-50 has quickly expanded its Southern California empire to San Diego. Slater's 50-50 burger containing 50 percent beef and 50 percent bacon was named Orange County's best burger of 2010 by OC Weekly, which gave the restaurant momentum to open in San Diego. The accolades have continued to pour in from San Diego, being named Best Burger 2012 by San Diego Magazine and Fox 5 News. 

Slater's 50/50 was founded by owner Scott Slater and Executive Chef Brad Lyons - both alums of San Diego State University. Although they started Slater's in Orange County, the location in San Diego was inevitable as each desired to return to their hometown. Chef Lyons started in the culinary industry at the age of 16 and trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Los Angeles. The 50/50 burger was his creation.

Appetizers

pick 2 - beer battered onion rings, sweet potato fries

The appetizers contain a standard assortment of 6 appetizers that can be ordered alone or combined into a larger plate. We settled with just two of the fried items. To spice up the selections, special sauces are included with the order; we received a bacon ketchup and a pumpkin sauce. I found the pumpkin sauce to go well with both fried selections, but especially liked the combination with the onion rings because the added sweetness enhanced the onions to be similar to vidalia onions. I also liked the combination of the sweet potato fries with the bacon ketchup as the savory bacon flavor in the ketchup complemented the natural sweetness of the sweet potato.

Also included with each table was a condiment tray that had an interesting item:

Although named as bacon salt, I felt that there wasn't too much bacon in the salt. There was enough to add a little bit of flavor, but the color likely included some smoked paprika in the mix.

Burgers

When one orders a burger that is not off the standard menu, there is a paper menu to make several selections such as size of patty, type of bun, and toppings. (This process is very similar to The Counter) At the end of the burger design process, one is asked to name their burger creation.

When the burger is brought to the table, they contain a knife stabbed through the center as pictured below

2/3 lb beef (med rare), honey wheat bun, cucumber, tomato, grilled onions, swiss, green peppers,
fried egg, baconnaise

Unfortunately the first burger I ordered medium rare suffered from some execution issues:

"medium rare" burger

I thought this was closer to a high medium as most of the pink was gone (and all the juices were gone).

real medium rare burger

After a quick refire, I got the burger juicy just as I expected. While the patty was not grass fed, I felt that there was some nice beef flavors in the mix as I didn't think it had ever been frozen. I enjoyed the over easy egg yolk that ran in to mix with the beef juices as well.

2/3 lb 50/50 burger (medium), alfalfa sprouts, mixed greens, smoked gouda, tomato, corn and black beans

We also tried a 50/50 burger whose lowest cooking temperature was medium

"medium" 50/50 burger

While this burger seemed cooked to medium well, we weren't sure if the 50/50 burger was supposed to have any color so we didn't send it back. The burger did have a distinct bacon flavor throughout the patty, but we weren't necessarily sure that it was a good thing. After sampling the medium rare patty versus the 50/50, most of us preferred the juiciness of the beef patty. The 50/50 burger was surprisingly low on fat, which was really missed.

Conclusion

With San Diego's appetite for all varieties of burgers, Slater's 50/50 fits right at home. Slater's adds some innovative ideas such as the 50/50 burger as well as special "burgers of the month" that utilize the Le Cordon Bleu training of Chef Brad Lyons. Perhaps the best quality of Slater's is its diverse selection of over 100 craft beers. While Slater's 50/50 may not have the best burger in San Diego by my opinion, it was certainly a fun and enjoyable experience despite the one hour wait for seating.

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2011 Gastrobits Awards

As 2011 is now over, it seems only natural to have some sort of concluding post to round out the year. While some other bloggers have done some form of 2011, I decided to go ahead and do the "geeky" thing and give a bunch of different awards.

Kitchen 1540 - Seared Foie on Volcanic Stone

Before I get to the awards, I'll go ahead and give a preview of what is in store in 2012. For most of the past year, I've only done one post per week. Starting sometime (soon) in the next year, I'd like to start updating twice a week. While I would love nothing more than to give the same detailed review coverage twice a week, it's probably unlikely that I will be able to. To that end, I've come up with two new "types" of blog posts:

1. The Flash: The Flash will be a smaller review. Sometimes I go to a restaurant by myself and I only order a few things. I mean to go back and visit and order more things, but I don't get around to it. Rather than sitting on these reviews, I'm going to start giving some coverage of these places. Restaurants featured in The Flash will not be eligible for awards until they have been flashed at least 3 times.
2. Interrupt: Besides the initial posts on China, I've largely kept my coverage San Diego based to this point. The interrupt will feature coverage of restaurants outside of San Diego (primarily in Orange County and LA). Some interrupts will be longer and feature full tasting menu reviews while others will be more like a flash. Restaurants featured as an Interrupt are eligible for awards.

In the new two-update per week format, my tentative plan is to have one post be the same full-length review that I have been posting up to this point, and the other post be either a flash or interrupt.

The Awards:

Now that the business is out of the way, let's go ahead and get to the awards. Some of the content you will see will likely be things that you haven't seen in a post up to this point, and may be featured in a post in the near future. Being geeky means that I'm going to have to have a ridiculous amount of awards, so here are the award categories: Note - Items featured in one category are not eligible in another category

• Best Protein Encased by Carbohydrates - This award is meant to encompass any form of sandwich, taco, burger, or other meaty filling surrounded by some sort of carb.
• Best Savory Baked Carbohydrate with Toppings - This award is meant to name the best pizza, flatbread, or similar concept food item.
• Best Ethnic Indian Dish
• Best Ethnic East Asian Dish 
• Best Ethnic European Dish
• Best Ethnic Latin Dish
• Best American Dish
• Best Dessert
• Best Food Truck
• Best Random Unexpected Item
• Best Overall Raw Dish
• Best Overall Cooked Dish
• Best Progressive Meal
• Best Overall Dish

Best Protein Encased by Carbohydrates

Winner:

Blanca - Lamb Burger

The lamb burger from Blanca was the winner for me in this category. The lamb was a grass fed, happy pastured free range lamb from Bakersfield, and was cooked medium rare and juicy. The bun was baked in house, lightly buttered, toasted, and the correct bread to meat ratio. The cheese was a truffled pecorino that added a large amount of flavor to the dish. While this burger was originally going to be showcased in the fine dining burger shootout, I never did manage to go to enough fine dining restaurants and just order a burger. Also, I figured it wouldn't be fair to feature this burger in that category any longer as Blanca is long closed...

Runner-Up:

Devilicious - Soft Shell Crab Club

The Soft-shell crab club at Devilicious features a soft shell crab with bacon wrapped in a cheesy sourdough sandwich. What really makes this dish for me was that the soft shell crab is of high quality and fried just right so that the flavor of the roe in the crab is still retained.

Best Savory Baked Carbohydrate with Toppings

Winner:

Pizzeria Mozza - Fennel Sausage Pizza

The fennel sausage with the leeks and fennel pollen really brought out all the flavors in this dish. Combined with the legendary Mozza pizza crust and this pizza was easily ran away with the victory.

Runner-Up:

Pizzeria Bruno Napoletano - Brunoverde

While Pizzeria Mozza had an excellent pizza, the Brunoverde still holds the top spot for me of San Diego pizzas. The Brunoverde has the exact correct balance of richness and pepperiness, and was a white pizza on top of it.

Best Ethnic Indian Dish:

Winner:

Surati Farsan - Dahi Puri

The Dahi Puri contained exceptional balance of flavors, and really surprised me that I could find a dish of that caliber in a (relatively) small mom and pop place. The key to this dish for me was the tamarind date mint water.

Best Ethnic East Asian Dish:

Winner:

Da Dong - Peking Duck

The Peking Duck in Beijing was exceptional. The way the skin was fried along with how well the rest of the duck was cooked to maintain flavor and moisture was a real surprise for me. I also enjoyed how Da Dong had three different methods for eating the duck.

Runner-Up:

Ikko - Black Truffle Uni Chawanmushi

The flavor of the uni permeated into the entire Chawanmushi. Above the top layer, there was a layer of black truffles that added an amazing richness to the entire dish.

Best Ethnic European Dish:

Winner:

Cavaillon - Black Truffle and Scallop Veloute

While I was underwhelmed by some of the other dishes at Cavaillon, this dish left me completely satisfied. The richness and purity of flavor in the veloute was extremely impressive to me. Alone, the veloute was already amazing, but coupled with some raw slices of scallop and black truffle, and this dish was elevated to a higher level.

Runner-Up:

Blanca - Charcuterie Selection

I was ready to award this for just the Ciccoli, but then I remembered there was a charcuterie that contained duck mousse, lamb speck, and even a chicharrone. This plate was almost too much to hope for and contained an amazingly fine selection of high quality charcuterie.

Best Ethnic Latin Dish:

Winner:

Super Cocina - Birria Soup

The goat soup at Super Cocina contained a healthy dose of that low and slow gelatinous broth as well as some very tender goat meat. The combination of spices in the soup was a great flavor combination and contained just the right level of spice to compliment the goat.

Runner-up:

La Playita - Super Crazy Tostada

This ceviche from La Playita contained all of the various seafoods available at the restaurant - fish, octopus, scallop, shrimp. While it was a huge portion, it had an amazing combination of flavors and was well-prepared.

Best American Dish:

Winner:

Whisknladle - Maine Diver Scallops

The Maine Diver Scallops were loaded with flavor and cooked perfectly. The capelin roe that topped each scallop was a truly amazing touch as the saltiness of the roe added a nice taste of the sea and contrasting textural element to the dish

Runner-Up:

Blanca - Sous-vide Brisket

The sous-vide Brisket dish at Blanca was one of my favorite dishes of the year. One of the best ways to sum up the dish was a comment I heard about the dish from another diner - "Wow, is this what beef is supposed to taste like?" The preparation of the dish really highlighted the grass-fed flavor of the beef along with a great meat to fat to chewiness ratio.

Best Dessert:

Winner:

Nine-Ten - Strauss Yogurt Panna Cotta

The Strauss Yogurt Panna Cotta contained the best overall composed dessert. The panna cotta had the correct texture and the additional elements on the plate added a balance of sweet, sour, and crunch to round out the dish.

Runner-up:

Blanca - Goat Cheese Semifreddo

What set this dessert apart from the rest of the field was the inclusion of the fizzy melons with the dessert. This allowed the dessert to act as a palate cleanser along with being a great dessert in its own right. However, the fact that it was also a palate cleanser is what kept it from being just the best overall dessert.

Best Food Truck:

Winner:

As the only food truck to get a dish into another category, it comes as no surprise the Devilicious was my favorite food truck of the year. The only real question to me is if any other truck can knock them off the pedestal in 2012...

Best Random Unexpected Item:

Winner:

Rancho Valencia - Ramp Butter (top)

Not only was the ramp butter delicious, fellow blogger Gourmand's Review and I still talk about it in hushed reverent whispers. It's a shame that I didn't get a good photo of the butter in the foreground.

Runner-Up:

Blue Point Coastal Cuisine - English Pea Veloute

While the veloute wasn't a real surprise, the syringes that it came served in was a big surprise, and it was a lot of fun to eat. To add to the surprise factor, the coating of espresso at the nozzle added a great touch of flavor and really elevated the dish.

Best Overall Raw Dish:

Blanca - Still Life of Local Waters

The Still Life is one of Chef Gavin Schmidt's signature dishes, and it is well deserved. The still life has a great deal of umami from the dashi covering that completely complements the high quality seafood items encased. The smoked avocado puree adds the great smoky depth of flavor which is contrasted from the sweetness of   the apples.

Best Overall Cooked Dish:

TBL3 @ Georges - Onion

The Onion at George's was a huge surprise to me. Each layer of the onion peeled and contained a slice of black truffle, and the entire dish was cooked in a precise technical manner. The dish really captured the essence of the truffle. The comte provided a great contrast in saltiness and milky flavor. Another truly wonderful element of the dish was the aroma, which was entirely of the truffle.

Best Overall Progressive Menu:

Blanca - Last Supper

With the way the awards were stacking up, it should come as no surprise that Blanca earns top honors. On attending the final meal at Blanca, I was treated to a his/her menu containing one of every item off the menu at Blanca. In terms of breadth, this menu was extremely impressive. However, what was more impressive was simply that every dish was extremely well executed and tasted amazing.

Best Overall Dish:

Blanca - Dumpling

To find the best overall dish of 2011, you have to go all the way back to the first tasting menu I had of the year. The pork dumpling with foie gras and black truffle was easily the best and most memorable dish of the year for me. The dumpling was brought out in small cups with lids that when lifted completely enveloped the room in the wonderful truffle aroma. To top off the richness, the inclusion of foie gras threw this dish over the top. The dumpling itself was well constructed and the dumpling skin was hand rolled of the exact correct thickness.

Conlcusion

With the start of the blog in 2011, I truly had my best eating year of my life. I met many wonderful people and had many great experiences. It will be tough to top the year, but I'm excited to try and make 2012 even better than 2011! I hope you loyal readers have enjoyed the ride so far in the year and will continue to follow me in the future. The comments I get about my blog from the readers is what inspires me to continue. Please don't hesitate to add some feedback now and again to keep me going. :)

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