The Coast News, Nov. 9, 2012

A12 THE COAST NEWS
NOV. 9, 2012
FOOD&WINE
A contemporary spin on Italian
DAVID
BOYLAN
Lick the Plate
It’s been over a year since
I attended the Crush media
dinner and it was about time to
get back and see how they have
settled into the space f ormerly
occupied by Pacific Coast Grill
in Solana Beach.
Partners John Luciano
and Doug Guillan, already successful
with tw o other Crush
locations in Northern
California, set out to combine
innovative, coastal Italian cuisine,
live music, and a wine bar
in coastal North County and
they pulled it off nicel y. It’s a
big space, but it feels warm and
comfortable, with a contemporary
feel.The wine bar features
more than 150 vintages and 10
beers on tap plus some fun custom
cocktails. It should be
noted there is a v ery lively
lounge scene at Crush as well.
Jason Colabove, their
executive chef, developed the
Solana Beach location men u
utilizing local vendors whenever
possible, including Carlsbad
Aqua Farm, Chino Farms,
Central Meat & Pr ovision Co.
and Specialty Produce. It’s
always a good thing when a
restaurant focusing on Italian
cuisine has an o wner and chef
with that heritage.
That is immediatel y evident
in their meatballs aptl y
named “Mom’s Meatballs.”
These are on the appetiz er list
and consist of three, very nice
sized meatballs sitting in a
roasted tomato sauce, sheep’s
milk ricotta and basil pesto . I
am a huge fan of a good meatball
and these were spectacular.
They were moist, flavorful,
VOTED “BEST BREAKFAST”
THE ORIGINAL
“WE’VE GOT HUEVOS!”®
La Costa
7670 El Camino Real
760-943-8182
Open Daily
6am-3pm
Breakfast
&
Lunch
San Marcos
101 S. Las Posas Rd.
760-471-9655
Visit us online at: www.thebrokenyolkcafe.com
Visit us at our other locations:
Pacific Beach • Gaslamp • Eastlake
Mamas Meatballs with roasted tomato sauce, sheep’s milk ricotta, and
basil pesto at Crush. Photo courtesy of Crush
and the combination of sauce,
ricotta, and pesto, combined
with some very nice bread for
scooping and creating mini
meatball sandwiches made for
a very enjoyable experience.
This could easily be an entrée
for one per son but is nice to
split as an appetiz er as w ell.
Twelve dollars is a fair price for
this dish and it should be noted
that Monday’s are “Meatball
Monday” at Crush with $1
meatballs.
Next up was the chopped
Italian salad with green olive
tapenade, salumi, bocconcini,
radicchio and r ed wine vinaigrette.
For those unf amiliar,
bocconcini are small mozzarella
cheeses the siz e of a mini
egg. Like other mozzar ellas,
they are semi-soft, white and
rindless and originated in
Naples. Bocconcini have a
spongy texture and absorb flavors
nicely. This cheese is
described by its Italian name
which means small mouthfuls.
Our helpful ser ver suggested
we split this and w e ended up
with two very nice siz e portions.
Maybe it’s because I
rarely chop my salads at home
but that preparation really
appeals to me. At $10 for a two
person portion this is a hec k of
a value as well.
We made our way into the
entrees next and this is wher e
things got even better. My dining
companion Emily went
with the market fish of the day
and that pr oved to be a good
call. It was a w ild caught
salmon cooked over an oak fire
with a roasted sweet corn gremolata
piled high on top,
served on a bed of crushed fingerling
potatoes with lemon
butter and herbs. I can honestly
say that ordering salmon in
restaurants is not al ways my
first choice. Maybe it’s because
every menu seems to offer it or
I just o ver ordered it in m y
50% OFF
Any Entree
Buy one entree & 2 beverages at
reg. price & get a 2nd entree of
equal or lesser value at 50% off.
Limit 1 per coupon. 1 coupon per
table. No separate checks. Not
valid on weekends, holidays
or w/any other coupons.,
specials, offers or w/private
groups.
50% OFF
Any Entree
Buy one entree & 2 beverages at
reg. price & get a 2nd entree of
equal or lesser value at 50% off.
Limit 1 per coupon. 1 coupon per
table. No separate checks. Not
valid on weekends, holidays
or w/any other coupons.,
specials, offers or w/private
groups.
early dining days.Whatever the
case, this preparation worked
beautifully.
First off, it had a crisp y
crust that surr ounded a moist
and flaky center that held the
oak fired flavor perfectly. All
that, combined with the corn
and fingerlings, made for a
salmon experience that I will
be back for, as it w as not m y
entrée and I had to enjo y it in
small portions.
I went with the Bolognese
tagliatelle with an old sc hool
six hour r agu, sheep’s milk
ricotta and pesto. Anything
that cooks for six hours catches
my eye and this did not disappoint.The
portion was substantial
and the cold lefto vers the
next morning were a very good
thing.
We ended the e vening on
a sweet note with the butterscotch
budino with v alrhona
chocolate pearls, and toffee
crisp. Budino is the Italian word
for custard or pud ding. It can
be thickened with cornstar ch
or cookies to make it more like
a soufflé or ganache. It was my
first experience with it and
wow, it was really good.
Crush has a g reat happy
hour that featur es 50 per cent
off all appetiz ers from 4:30 to
6:30 p.m. daily and plenty of
other good looking promotions
that can be found on their website
at solanabeachcrush.com .
They are at 437 S. Highway 101
in Solana Beach. Call for reservations
at (858) 481-2787.
Lick the Plate can now be heard on
KPRi, 102.1 FM Monday-Friday
during the 7pm hour.
David Boylan is founder of Artichoke
Creative and Artichoke Apparel, an
Encinitas based marketing firm and
clothing line. Reach him at
david@artichoke-creative.com or
(858) 395-6905.
$2 OFF
Any Entree
With the purchase of one entree
and one beverage at regular price.
Limit 4 per coupon. 1 coupon per
table. No separate checks. Not
valid on weekends, holidays
or w/any other coupons.,
specials, offers or w/private
groups.
$2 OFF
Any Entree
With the purchase of one entree
and one beverage at regular price.
Limit 4 per coupon. 1 coupon per
table. No separate checks. Not
valid on weekends, holidays
or w/any other coupons.,
specials, offers or w/private
groups.