It was only 6pm but we were cold and famished. We were out when the sun was still warm, and before we knew it, the cold had set in. We were by the beach and passed by this joint, thinking that it was just another pub at the street corner called The Joint but it said, "Sushi and Tapas" underneath. We contemplated a little but we were hungry and the place was packed so we went in. The menu was very extensive, they have all sorts of cuisine, a large menu doesn't always guarantee decent food but we thought, what the heck we could just snack a little and if it's too bad, we'd just leave. So we ordered only 2 things. After all, we still have a dinner appointment at 8pm.
Oh my god, when I saw this plate of fish tacos, I was very impressed. I'm rarely impressed by fish tacos but my oh my these little dainty tacos are so pleasantly yummy. They used Salmon in this dish. The combination of lime, salsa, radicchio is just so amazingly yummy. The flavors and the textures are just right, it's so satisfying!
Then we ordered this sushi roll, the main attraction was the green apple used in the roll. Similar to the tacos, this roll awakens the palette. When I was savoring this sushi, I could clearly taste the freshness of the fish, rice, avocado and the rest of the condiments. It's been a while since I have had good sushi and most of the time, the rice overpowers the rest of the ingredients but this one is just pleasantly nice and delicious.
Eventhough we had snacked on sushi, our friends still wanted sushi for dinner. After making the reservation, we still had to wait about half an hour. Shino had a really good review on Yelp, the place is small and unassuming that one might doubt the quality of the food (mainly because the place looked so new and so un-Japanese restaurant like). When we went in, it's mostly Japanese so we thought this place must be good.
Oh boy, it was really REALLY good. I don't even know how to describe it. When I put the sushi in my mouth, the rice breaks apart and the sashimi just melted! Frankly, I haven't had such good sushi before! It really felt like there was fireworks in my mouth because everything was bursting with flavors. Every one that ordered the special sushi plate was crying with joy because they're so good and fresh. The uni was also highly rated but unfortunately it was sold out by the time we ordered it. So I can't review that.
Another pleasant surprise was the plum wine ice-cream. I've only had green tea ice-cream in Japanese restaurants but not this flavor. Yummmsss.....The other roll which was also highly rated - the Bomb, but it wasn't that great, it was soft shell crab wrapped with Kobe beef. I know, it's Kobe beef, it should be good but the thing is the flavor wasn't as 'authentic' as a sushi should be. The Bomb was too complicated with deep fried crab, meat and some very strong flavored sauce. So the sushi is really highly recommended.
And my last dinner in San Diego, Italian pasta. When we walked in the owner of the restaurant was so friendly and he gave us complimentary Prosecco. The perfect drink to start off the new year! We ordered a lot of food, most of us had ordered a 3 course meal - salad, main and dessert. But I just want to highlight this simple pasta dish- Bavette al Granchio del Ristorante “Tre Pini”. It's hot and spicy linguine pasta with crab meat in a smooth rosé sauce. It's so simple (so I think), just pasta and cream sauce, but it's so yummy. The wonders of simple and fresh ingredients.
I had so much fun this trip. The food was amazing, the company incredible, it was priceless to spend precious time with loved ones.
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