On the last day of our 3 week vacation (of which 18 days were on the
cruise), we arrived in San Diego for one night and chose to stay at
the elegant and wonderful GRAND DEL MAR resort about 20 minutes north
of downtown San Diego (just east of La Jolla). The exclusive
restaurant ere is ADDISON's with award winning Chef WILLIAM BRADLEY in
charge, who mixes French cuisine with American flair to great
perfection in many cases.
The restaurant itself has a vast feeling with cathedral ceilings
towering above us and giant iron chandeliers draping from them. There
are terra cotta colored tile floors, but the sound level is that of a
church, although at times there was a faint echo of other
conversations at tables not so close (obviously a small acoustic
fault). The booths are big enough to live in and you are lulled into
spa feeling with new age "spa" music, a gigantic fireplace blazing and
if you are there before dark, beautiful vistas over the hills. The
tables had truly ugly brain-size and brain-shaped glass votives.
We were told the water was complimentary and we chose sparkling, which
turned out to be our world wide number 1 choice- BADOIT. It is nice
when things are clear from the start and you are not charged for each
silly little item. Angelo, the sommelier, rolled over the "champagne
in ice cart" and explained the several options offered by the glass.
Tempting, but be sure to ask the prices before imbibing. Will opted
for a $17 glass of PHILIPPONAT BRUT Reserve Rose which had a
distinctive cranberry taste. I went for the drier ALFRED GRATIEN Brut
which was very different from most French Champagnes in that it had a
very pineapply taste and was quite fruit forward; different, but nice.
There were several dining options and wining options as well. The
chef's 6-course tasting was $140, but gave no clue of what was to come
and the pairings were an extra $125. After all the food on the cruise
and a net weight gain of 3-4 pounds at least for me, we opted for the
ala carte which was either $80 for 3 courses or $98 for 4. Wines were
available with these, but at $100 per person for the 4 course (which
we chose), I felt we could devote the $200 or perhaps less to two
wonderful bottles of wine rather than getting 4 small glasses each! I
chose a RUDI PICHLER 2005 Terrassen GRUNER VELTLINER "Smaragd" from
Wosendorf, Austria that had aged beautifully and was now a pale
yellow. The four years in bottle for this old vines wine was just
right and it blossomed as we enjoyed each taste.
The first amuse arrived and was a superb Consomme of PICKLED
CRANBERRIES with BASIL Creme Fraiche that we both oohed and aahed
over, especially with the small bites of tiny fresh basil leaf
garnish. I said it was both tart and sour, yet creamy, while Will went
for the sweet and tart definition. An okay MASCARPONE filled GOUGERE
followed.
A slightly sweet brioche roll was served by a guy who mumbled
something about the butter...
The first course was perhaps the highlight of the entire evening with
Will choosing Baby SEA SCALLOPS (these did not look baby in size to
me) with LEEK FONDUE and GOLDEN CAVIAR, Vermouth and Champagne Foam.
The caviar was actually Ossetra, not golden, though no complaints
there and the entire dish was a dreamy treat. My LANGOUSTINES GRILLES
were served in a Toasted INDIAN CURRY "Scampi" Style with Crispy
Garlic chips. Another divine creation.
The second course did not fare as well with what should have been a
superb CARAMELIZED SABLEFISH with Sweet ONION Mille-Feuille, Miso &
Mustard for Will that he said was too salty. I thought it was nice,
but a bit over-oniony, although the crispy shallots were a nice touch.
My FOIE GRAS POT de CREME with Sesame Seed Tuile, Bacon & Amaretto
Creme Glacee was another oddity that Will said was just too busy. I
thought the basic idea with a foie gras pate at the bottom covered by
a layer of smoked bacon mousseline (the creme glacee) and a sesame
seed tuile on top was headed in the right direction; at least some of
the flavors worked, but it was simply overwhelming.
The third course fared better for Will than me when he chose the RIS
de VEAU Poelee with PARMESAN RISOTTO and Aged Balsamic "Glacage." The
sweetbreads were divine and the dish overall a success, while my LE
BOEUF TAQUINE with ONION MILLE FEUILLE wrapped with 3 year aged
PROSCIUTTO di SAN DANIELE had a big problem. The braised short rib
beef was marred by a thick marmalade glaze that I ended up scooping
off as it was cloyingly sweet and wrecked the meat, which was way too
fatty as well. Two of the tiniest haricots verts I have ever seen on
earth were a wonderful garnish, but alas the only real redeeming part
of this dish was the Onion and Prosciutto. A wonderful brittle of
onion was the mille feuille and it was wrapped in the crispy
prosciutto sandwich-like and simply stole the whole plate away.
We enjoyed the earthiness of THE OJAI VINEYARD "Rolo Ranch" 2004 SYRAH
which probably went better with my dish than Will's. He adored the
fact that there was an OJAI Vineyard of the same name as that in the
TV show Brothers & Sisters.
We were both escorted to the bathroom which was palatial in itself
with huge orchids, marble out the wazoo and gilt edged mirrors.
The cheese tray was rolled over and we saw four cheeses that did not
give us an overall huge impression (cheddar, camembert, blue), but I
loved the look of one small aged goat and the server quickly offered
us a complimentary taste of the SU YOUNG Goat A CAPELLA, which is a
cheese and cheese maker from California I will look for in the future.
Tangy, aged, and divine, this cheese had a huge personality.
The dessert course was preceded by a WILD BERRY SORBET with APPLE
CIDER GRANITA that was sweet on one side and tart and refreshing on
the other.
Will opted for the ENGLISH BUTTER TOFFEE of candied caramel and honey
comb with Creme Glacee which was a superb dish. His only complaint was
that there were two huge toffee brittle triangles and one was enough;
I wish this was our only complaint. My BLACK FIG BRULEE was made of
roasted figs bruleed and touched with gold leaf for a visual touch. A
Cinnamon Creme Chantilly with Pate Brisee and Balsamic were also
present. I liked the biscuit of the pate and the whole assembly
itself, but overall the dish was less impressive than Will's.
The lone post-dessert was a tiny PATE de MENTHE which reminded us both
of a glorified After 8 Dinner Mint, which I have never liked as it is
mint and dark chocolate, two items that I am not truly fond of.
We took our small boxes of chocolates (not yet tasted) and headed
outside to our Mercedes and driver which took us back to the main
hotel about 3 minutes away; a nice touch, but not enough to redeem the
small errors in the evening.
