As we prepare to board a ship for a 30-day South Pacific cruise we chose a
well-known haunt here in San Diego for the one night we had here. Bertrand at
Mister A's (www.bertrandatmisteras.com) sits atop an office
building with wonderful views over the city and the Pacific. The service is
pretty good, although I had to pour our wine once; which is not something you
expect at a fine dining, linen, crystal and silverware type place.
Samuel declared the Strawberry Lemonade better than the one had that
afternoon at our hotel and we liked the Frank Family Vineyard(Napa) 2010
Chardonnay which had hints of citrus and oak. They seem to have lots of French
wine here, but we were in California.
An amuse of butternut squash soup was nice and we all liked it; this puree
thick soup seemed to appear on many plates throughout the evening :-))
Will's Seared Grade A Ahi Tuna with Avocado and fresh Hawaiian palm was
nice; I always keep telling him my tartare is better.
My Maine Lobster Strudel with Cognac Lobster Sauce and Forest Mushrooms was
the hit dish of the night. Not too rich, just right, loaded with lobster and
super tasty.
Samuel had the Oven Roasted Baby Rack of Lamb with Rosemary scented red and
yellow peppers, very blasé potato puffs and a fab side of their famous Truffled
Fries with Parmesan. The meat was superb and that squash puree was there
again.
It was also on my plate of Maine sautéed Scallops with Caviar beurre blanc
and very gooey olive and lime risotto and crispy broccolini. The scallops were
fishy and overall the dish only impressed on the garlicky broccolini.
A glass of Trinitas Estate Chardonnay was nice with this and Will had the
Tantara Cuvee Bertrand Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara with his Duck Breast
accompanied by Turnips and Turnip Puree(the highlight) and a dry confit.
We were full and tired so skipped dessert and headed back to our hotel to
crash early.
Time changes always mess me up.
It will be a while until we report again as we are at sea, but I may
squeeze in a dinner or lunch report from Hawaii or Tahiti on the way.
Happy New Year!
