Pensare Globale, Mangiare Locale!

Last night, Dave said something that perfectly summed up how I was feeling:

"Now I understand the allure of a vomitorium."

While Dave had misunderstood the meaning of the word, his intentions were clear; this food is so freaking good, and I want to continue to eat every delicious morsel until my plate is licked clean,

but I am Stuffed!

We continued to eat anyways. Food that amazing can not be wasted.

Last night I took Dave to dinner at a restaurant that I have been hearing tremendous things about.

A restaurant with over 1100 reviews, and none of them under 4.5 stars.

A restaurant that has been heralded as putting San Diego on the culinary map.

Needless to say, I had high expectations, and a concern that I would be met with slight disappointment.

Can anything live up to this kind of hype?



Cucina Urbana: can I just say how much I love the decor?!

 OK, before I get into the food, let me discuss how they do wine. And how I now believe any smart restaurant should do wine. CU is also a wine retail shop, and a pretty decent one at that.

When you dine there, and inevitably want some vino with your meal, you purchase a bottle at their retail price and then simply pay a $7 cork fee. What this means is, no ridiculous restaurant mark-up!  

We were able to enjoy a very nice bottle of Santi 'Solane' Valpolicella Ripasso for a whopping grand total of $27. And it was good. Really good. For those of you that dine out often, you know that a mediocre wine usually runs around $35 on a restaurant menu.

These CU peeps really know how to do things right.

Now on to the food!

We partook in the Prix Fixe menu they were offering. Usually, Dave is not a fan of the prix fixe, he feels that they are too limiting. And they usually are, offering only a couple of choices for each course. But at CU, there will be none of that. Each course had a several options to choose from, 6 for the secondi piatti alone.

What I like best about this type of dining is that instead of trying a couple plates, I got to sample six, Dave's 3 choices plus mine.

We began our tantalizing taste bud tour with a Farmer's Chopped Salad (Dave) and some Sage and Brown Butter Ricotta Gnudi (mine). The salad was quite pleasant; loads of flavors, crisp vegetables, hearty meats all dressed in a nice light roasted garlic vinaigrette. As salads go, it was delightful.

But the star of the starter course had to be the Gnudi. 

I always forget to take the picture in my excitement to eat the food.

I know it doesn't look like much but let me tell you, these little pillows of perfection were heaven in my mouth. The ricotta was so soft and light, with a perfectly crisped exterior giving way to the creamy center, all doused in warm herby brown butter and topped with crispy fried sage leaves and a sprinkling of parmigiano.

That could have been the entire meal and I would have been a happy girl.

But alas, there was so much more wonderfulness to come.

As we relaxed in between courses, I took some time to notice an equally important component that

contributes to a pleasant dining experience: The wait staff.

While I can't speak for the entire entourage, I can say that our server was attentive, friendly and inconspicuous. This last one is important. I believe that a good server is one who can sweep in and out of service without interrupting the conversation of the table. If you can sneak in to refill my dwindling wine glass without me noticing, that is impressive. Our wine glasses were always full, our water never less than half, and when I had questions about menu items, he was there with a true opinion, not just lip service. We were never rushed, the time between plates was leisurely without being too drawn out, and when dinner was finished, they did not present the check immediately to get us out and another table in. Bravo!

Back to dinner...

For our main courses, the decision was tough. Everything sounded incredible.  I chose the roasted 'jidori' chicken with fontina polenta, asparagus, swiss chard, pistachio pesto and a poached hen egg. Dave chose the short rib pappardelle with crimini mushrooms. Both were perfection.

The pappardelle was soft yet firm, and those generous pieces of short rib meat were sinfully flavorful. It was like a rich, hearty stew with pasta. The perfect fall dish to warm your insides and fill you with happiness.

My roasted chicken made me want to cry. Why can't I ever make a roast chicken that moist and tender? The skin was crackly crisp like a potato chip, and the meat cried little tears of juiciness as I sliced it. Under the chicken breast was an array of some of the most wonderful accompaniments I have ever eaten. A polenta so creamy I wanted to use it as lotion. Smoky swiss chard that tasted like it had been kissed by fire. And a perfectly poached egg that looked like a ball of fresh mozzarella, but when i cut into it, oozed a rich golden liquid across the plate that blended with the pistachio pesto to make a sauce that approached the divine.

It was quite possibly one of the best meals I have ever eaten in my life.

And I've eaten a lot.

Molto bene Cucina Urbana.

If you have ever dined with me when I am truly enjoying something, you have inevitably heard the audible moans I am unable to suppress. It is totally subconscious, I don't even hear myself until it is pointed out to me. But last night, even I was aware of my noisiness. Every bite was followed by sound. I heard it, I tried to stop, but I was absolutely unable to. The food was that delicious. It actually evoked moans of pleasure.
Every.
Single.
Bite.

As if all this gluttony wasn't enough, we still had dessert to get through. And I say get through, because at this point, I was so tremendously stuffed that I was considering removing my cardigan to place over my belly just so that I could undo the buttons of my pants. But I pushed on and persevered.

Dessert was a confectioner's delight of crisps and cremes. We chose the Granny Smith Apple and Quince Crisp and the Bittersweet Chocolate Bundino (think Pots de Crème). I do not feel that I can properly pay homage to these desserts, as I was so tremendously full that I could not truly immerse myself in them. What I can say, is that they were beyond yummy. The crisp was tart and sweet and cinnamony with a crunchy crumbly top that offered wonderful texture and was softened by a spiced ice cream that melted over the top. The bundino was rich and decadent, and enveloped every corner of my mouth with its chocolaty velvet.

2 spoonfuls of each and I was done. I had reached my limit.

Just in case you missed the point, I absolutely recommend Cucina Urbana. If you live in San Diego, pass through at any point, or are planning a visit in the future, you should make it a point to visit this amazing restaurant.

Keep in mind, all of this deliciousness wasn't even their complete menu, which you can drool over here.

As we were leaving, and feeling of melancholy began to set in with the realization that I may never eat this well again, I remembered that in just a few weeks, my parents are coming to visit. Having learned my appreciation of great food from them, I already knew where we would be dining while they are in town and happiness returned.

Ti amo, Cucina Urbana.