83 Degrees Review (Carlsbad Restaurants)

Pricing:

Expensive for what you get.  All the starters are around $10 and the food $15+ per person.  We ordered the shrimp cocktail and got five pieces of shrimp.  For $9.  The cocktails are tasty but, again, expensive.  Expect to pay $10-12 per drink.

Distance:

Right off the Carlsbad Village Drive freeway exit.  Will take most Encinitas residents about 15-20 minutes  to drive there.

Thoughts:

Expensive but not obscene.  This is the kind of place that you would be willing to spend money on if the experience was right.  But it's not.  The service is terrible which makes you begrudge every cent.

We were seated fairly fast considering it was Friday night.  But the efficiency stopped there.  After staring at our minutes for about ten minutes a waitress finally showed up to take our drink order.  Took another fifteen minutes for our drinks to arrive and they came after our appetizer showed up.  After that our food was brought out by a series of lackeys.  We had to bother someone walking by to get waters since we were never asked if we'd like another cocktail.

The food itself was good but, again, this is the type of place where you want to be two cocktails in by the time your $15 burger arrives.  No such luck.  We ate our food... sat around for awhile... the waitress finally shows up to ask if we wanted anything else and we said no.  The check immediately arrives with the waitress all smiles and tries to start some friendly smalltalk with us about the Charger game.  Nice try.

So the concept of this restaurant is good for the location.  Like it serves the type of food and drinks that would be popular in Downtown Carlsbad.  But with the slow drink service, inattentive staff and obviously shoddy management I don't see this place lasting very long.

Ignite Bistro & Wine Spot (Carlsbad Restaurants)

Pricing:

$12-18.  Most of the options being around $15.  A few of the steak options run up to $22.  Fairly typical sit-down dining prices.

Distance:

At the intersection of El Camino Real and Alga.  About a 10-15 minute drive for most Encinitas residents.

Thoughts:

I'm not 100% certain what to think about Ignite.  It's just too.... much.  Too much blatant trendiness, too much of an attempt to be a wine bar, too many types of food... It's so much I'm not sure what unique thing I'm supposed to take away from the experience.

They offer a smattering of everything from fish tacos to pizza to calamari.    The food is good but other places are better.  Plus there really isn't a signature dish.  They don't specialize in a particular type of food nor to they offer a dessert that will induce stage three diabetes. 

They have wine but, surprisingly, this aspect of the restaurant (despite being called a wine spot) is not really emphasized.  Yes, there is an area where you can pick wine.  But it almost looks like it's wine on display rather than for shopping and drinking.  You walk right by it more often than not and the servers rarely drop lines like, "would you care to head over and choose a wine to drink?" (I've been to this restaurant multiple times).

The location is large, sporting tons of indoor seating along with an outside patio and bar.  If you wanted to hang out with friends and get a few drinks, this is probably the best feature about Ignite.  But again, this is not something you couldn't find just about anywhere else.  Right across the street are at least four equally good if not better dining experiences that also offer areas for the casual drinking experience.

So would I pitch a fit if I got invited here?  Nah.  It's not a bad experience.  But would I go out of my way to eat here?  Ehhh.....

Solace & the Moonlight Longue Review (Encinitas Restaurants)

Pricing:

On the slightly expensive side.  You can get exotic cheese plate appetizers that can cost up to $18 and most of the entrees are $18-28.  Couple this with a few drinks and there's no way you're getting out of this place for less than $50.

Distance:

On the Highway 101.  At the E Street and 101 intersection.  About 10-15 minutes away for most Encinitas residents.

Thoughts:

Yet another "trendy" place that I went into with trepidation.  It's on the 101... it's a converted train station... it's right by a set of condos they're trying to sell for 500k... all signs pointed to expensive food that left you wanting for more after everything was said and done.

But I ended up being surprised by Solace.  We were seated in the restaurant after only waiting for a few minutes.  Yes, the cheese plate was expensive but really good.  All of the fruit and condiment sides were very thoughtfully put together so the tastes complemented one another.  And the burgers... this place serves the best burger I think I've ever had in my life.  So, SO good.

Their beer and wine selection was impressive.  They had a nice range of brews that you don't normally see on tap along with a few seasonal 22oz bottles you could buy.  All the wines they had were above average in quality.  Like you're actually buying a nice glass of wine when you're paying $10 and not just a cheap wine with a huge markup.

All in all, definitely worth checking out.  Yes, it was expensive.  But the kind of place you leave feeling like your money was well-spent for a nice evening out.

   

Swami's Cafe Review (Encinitas Restaurants)

Pricing:

Expect to pay about $10-18 per entree whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Distance:

There are several locations.  There's one on the coast highway and the new one that just opened up is close to the El Camino Real/Encinitas Blvd. intersection.  Both places take 5-10 minutes to drive to.

Thoughts:

While there are crossover dishes, the vibe of the Swami's close to the El Camino/Encinitas Blvd. area is very different from the Highway 101 establishment.  This review will primarily focus on the former location rather than the latter. 

While the coast highway location is frequently packed and has a distinct earthy quality, this location definitely took a few cues from Beachgrass (the restaurant that used to occupy that building before Swami's).  In fact, the dinner menu is almost identical to what Beachgrass used to offer.   Expect flat-ironed steak, stuffed chicken and ahi as your food options.

The "Swami's" menu can be seen more during breakfast and lunch.  Along with more traditional omelets and club sandwiches, you can also find a few tofu type of dishes.  Plus, there's the selection of famous Swami's smoothies.

While the view is somewhat lacking, I actually like this new Swami's better than the coast highway edition.   It's closer to where I live and there's never a wait to get inside.  The food is quite good.  So regardless of what time of day you go, it's going to be a fast sit-down dining experience.

My only complaint is the erratic nature in the quality of their service.  This entire restaurant seems entirely dependent on the manager.  If she's there, everything goes well.  If she's not, it's anyone's game.  Special food adjustments won't be made, you'll order sides and get the wrong ones, your smoothie never shows up, your standard entree will be missing ingredients, etc.

So if you are laid back enough to be able to roll with these possibilites, I highly recommend Swami's.  If you're the type of person where you would find this annoying, you should probably go elsewhere.

Wine Steals Review (Cardiff By Sea Restaurants)

Pricing:

Another one of those "artisan" food places (I have theories about that word related to cost).  The food menu consists mostly of pizza, wraps and cheese/meat plates.  You're going to be spending about $25 per  food item (per pizza or per cheese plate).  But the food is kind of an afterthought.  Most people go here to drink.  The wine here ranges from $10-50 with the average bottle being about $17.

Distance:

A Cardiff By Sea restaurant.  Right off San Elijo Ave. and very close to Birmingham as an intersection.  Right next to the Jack in the Box if you're familiar with the area.  5-10 minute drive for most Encinitas people.

Thoughts:  

This place is overpriced.  The pizza is almost forgivable but $25 for a cheese board containing a few sparse chunks of cheese is just ridiculous.  The wine they sell is average.  If you know a little about wine you can find a decent bottle for a good price but most of the options there are little more than table wine.

But, I won't deny that it's a fun environment.  After 5pm most evenings it gets pretty crowded.  On Friday and Saturday nights it's packed and very much a single's bar type of scene.  So you go for the experience.  It's by the beach, it has a great view at sunset... not a bad way to get a buzz and have relaxed conversation with friends.  

If you're not into the overly crowded bar scene, the best time to go to Wine Steals in the afternoon around 3:30 or 4.  No one is there and you can have your pick of table or couch and just hang out drinking wine.  Then it doesn't really matter how crowded it gets later because you've already claimed your spot.

The Cottage Review (La Jolla Restaurants)

Pricing:  

A cute but pricey little breakfast/lunch/dinner place.  Breakfast ranges $10-12.  Lunch is going to be more $12-15.  Dinner starts heading to the $18-22.  The portions are satisfying and tasty but not enormous.  Expect salads and panini for your $12 at lunch.

Distance:

A La Jolla restaurant.  It's right off Prospect St. (as most things are in La Jolla).  From Encinitas, it only takes about 15 minutes to drive to the La Jolla Blvd. exit on the freeway.  Depending on the time of day you go, getting into La Jolla can take a whole lot longer.

Thoughts:

I like this place though it would never be somewhere I go on a regular basis due to the whole price/portions issue.  But the food is very good and is definitely the kind of place I would go to with my mom or friends to have a meal and chat.  

Though it's not a kid-friendly breakfast place, it has a somewhat relaxed environment in the afternoon.  I like that it's slightly away from the main La Jolla streets so you can sit outside and still hear the person you're with speak.

At night, The Cottage goes from a girl gossip haunt to more date-night.  It cleans up nicely and the wine selection is good.  A perfect place to spend an evening getting to know someone.

Blue Ribbon Artisan Pizzeria Review (Encinitas Restaurants)

Pricing:

The appetizers are about $10-12.  For the actual pizza entree, expect to fork over at least $15.  The beer and wine is about $6-12 a glass.

Distance:

An Encinitas restaurant.  On the Highway 101.  5-10 minute drive for most Encinitas locals.

Thoughts:

To me, "artisan" has become synonymous with "overpriced" these days.  But I will give this place credit for all their attempts to mask the pricey-ness with trendiness.  Instead of having actual monetary values on the menu they list numbers such as 15 1/2.  The tap water is given to you in a preserve jar (which is cool...?).  There's a huge chalk board on one of the walls explaining how the sausage they serve is handmade and sustainable (as opposed to non-sustainable sausage).

But all these things are nitpicking details.  As far as a dining experience goes, it's not terrible.  Half of the menu is comprised of salads that will require a knife to eat (because breaking up lettuce leaves is not trendy).  The other half consists of artisan pizza.  While sparse, the options are standard enough to please most people.

The food is good and I have to say that I enjoyed their small brewery selection of beer.  The general atmosphere makes this place a good date night choice.  But at $15 1/2 for a personal sized pizza, I can't help but wonder if Sammy's Woodfire wouldn't have been the better choice.