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I opened up an email entitled “Taste of Gaslamp! This weekend,” and imagine my surprise when I see a picture of myself in mid-chow-down. And that’s why I post this entry… not so much to inform you of the event that is going on this weekend, but merely to advertise my most recent claim to fame, my last brush with stardom being in the 1st grade when two classmates and I were interviewed for our local paper (and by local, I don’t mean LA Times, I mean those free weeklies that arrive at your doorstep without a subscription).

But, if you must know, this event is not a bad way to spend a weekend. As you can guess, though, it’s difficult to get a good read on a restaurant based on buffet style food because it is prepared in mass quantities and must sit out all day long. Sub-prime condition for a taste test, I’d say. You can definitely get your money’s worth, though, if you stop by most of the restaurants and if you make sure to drink up at the beer garden. You’ve got to constantly be on the move because it’s a task trying to get to all the restaurants within the three hours that they allot for the event, think of it as more of a sprint rather than a marathon. Some places go all out with their samples. Last year Mister Tiki’s included a mini cocktail with their food sample. Soleil @ K served up a ginormous scallop. However, McCormick and Schmick’s doled out measly little smoked trout on cracker snacks, so the samples have a wide range in regards to quantity and quality. And beware, lines can get long for the more popular restaurants.

It looks like tickets for Saturday have sold out, but Sunday is still available. Check the website.

Escargot… how can you not enjoy snails drowned in a delectable butter sauce? No longer do you have to pay those exorbitant prices at pretentious French restaurants. I made my own escargot, and they were delicious. I could’ve gone the extra step to cook the canned critters in decorative shells, but I passed on the presentation, preferring quickness and ease. There’s no need to force yourself to partake in extra clean up or effort (I personally do not possess those tiny little sweatshop fingers necessary to clean inside those diminutive shells).

I did some research (aka Googling), and found that most of the escargot that we eat at restaurants is……… wait for it……………canned! Blasphemous, right!? Well, I was actually slightly relieved because I’m not sure I would have had the desire to prepare and consume live snails. I’m sort of a city slicker, and I prefer to live in a state of ignorant bliss regarding the origins of certain foods that I enjoy.

Here’s the proof that canned snails are the way to go. I found a blog that re-printed a quote from Anthony Bourdain’s Le Halles cookbook:

“I could lie to you, I could tell you to use fresh snails, implying that we, of course, use only fresh ones at the restaurant. The truth? I don’t know any restaurant, have never in twenty-eight years seen any U.S. restaurant-no matter how good or prestigious-use fresh snails. Oh, a lot of them have snail shells, but they stuff with with snails out of a can.”

And there you have it. Even Anthony Bourdain, aka Travel Channel food show host, bad ass judge on Top Chef, and sometimes chef, says canned snails are OK.

The can of snails that I used were purchased from Barron’s Marketplace- a market that is less upscale than Whole Foods, but still carries similar specialty items. Canned snails, by themselves, don’t look particularly appetizing. They’re brown and, though a seemingly dubious claim, look both slimy and dry at the same time.

At this point I did not have a recipe, so I went the classy route and used the recipe that I found printed on the can. I sauteed some garlic and shallots in butter and parsley. I then poured the sauce over the snails that I had placed in a shallow pyrex dish. It went into the conventional oven until the butter started bubbling (about 13 minutes, I think at around 350 degrees F). Delicious buttery goodness… the escargot tasted just like they do at the nice restaurants!

The snails, all naked and shriveled in their pre-dressed and cooked stage. Not so picturesque.

Some herbs, butter, and such to brighten things up:

The final dish, straight outta the oven. One can of escargot serves 3-4 people as an appetizer.

Genre: New American

Pricing: $$

Rating:

Everyone says that Urban Solace is the bomb, but, my logic spins that into “OMG, Urban Solace is sooo good because it is uber cool, and kinda trendy because it’s totally in North Park.” I was a bit skeptical about how good the food could be, but I still admit that I had an inner longing to eat there. I can’t even count how many times I had been in the area and would go out of my way to check out the menu posted right near the door. Everything always sound appealing… and at a relatively affordable price for an uber cool, kinda trendy place.

Well, my fantastic friend came into town this weekend and, after dropping off our newly engaged amigos at the airport, we drove/walked pseudo aimlessly all over San Diego. By about 4:30, we had walked ourselves into a state of hunger. Urban Solace is closed from 3-5 on Sundays, so we had to mosey around the neighborhood for a half hour longer.

Apparently, reservations start at 5, so our only options were to eat in the patio (chilly, so not gonna happen) or the bar (check, matey!). Umm, and those ‘we’re too busy’ claims were all lies, as the dining area was not even half way full when we left over an hour later. Though, I don’t doubt that it gets quite busy during prime dinner hours. It’s all good, though. The bartender was quite nice and friendly.

We decided to split the one entree (dungeness crab pot tart, $17.25), a starter (pan roasted black mussels, smoked tomato butter, $9), and a side dish (mac ‘n cheese with bacon, $6.50). The mussels came out first, and HOLY MOLY they were delicious! So plump, so juicy, so fresh! And that sauce…smokey goodness that I just wanted to down like a Mr. Olympia does raw eggs. Whenever I order mussels, there’s always a slight fishy taste. But these mussels did not have that flavor.. they had to be the freshest tasting mussels I’ve ever had!

We waited an inordinate amount of time for the crab pop tart, but it does make sense that a crispy, flakey pastry would take longer too cook. The pop tart was very good, much better than I had expected. It was served with a spinach salad with what I deduce to be fennel and apples. The pop tart was reminiscent of a chicken pot pie, but with crab. The pastry was golden brown and flakey, and there were no overpowering flavors, which allowed the crab meat to stand out nicely. Very very good stuff.

The mac n’ cheese side portion with bacon, was slightly above average. My friend noted that it was reminiscent of cafeteria style mac n cheese. It had a sort of casserole style texture. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I do prefer mac and cheese that’s a little more creamy/cheesy. The bonus was that, like all the dishes, it was served steaming hot. It’s got bread crumbs on the top, and thick cubes of bacon pieces (I think a nice touch, preferable to thin slices). It was good enough, but not something that I would order again.

Overall, Urban Solace was a top notch dining experience. I wouldn’t be surprised if everything on the menu was delectable. I know that I’m definitely going to order the mussels on my next visit, but every other dish is fair game.