Here’s a recipe I found from SlashFood — Baked sweet onions in cream and parmesan.
It seems really close to another recipe favorite of ours, Walla Walla Sweets.
Here’s our take on the recipe; our additions are in [square brackets]:
• one large [sweet] onion per person [if the onions are really big, maybe one onion per two people]
• double cream [heavy whipping cream in the states]
• grated Parmesan [cheese]
• [also grated swiss or gruyere cheese, if you like]
1) Peel the onions and boil in a pan of water for about 25 minutes until tender.
2) Remove and drain then slice in half.
3) Place in an oven-proof dish cut side down and cover with cream and as much parmesan [and other cheeses] as you like.
4) Bake for about 30 minutes [at 350 degrees] until golden and bubbling.
5) [If the cheese hasn't browned to your liking, turn on the broiler for 5 or so minutes (watch it, since it will go from white to brown to burnt within 30 seconds!)]
It’s a really yummy and simple dish that uses ingredients that aren’t strange, and if you ignore the fact that you’re dousing it in cream and cheese, is probably not all that horrendously bad for you. Really. }:>
3795 Mission Blvd., Mission Beach San Diego, CA 92109 (858) 488-9060 Map
University Ave. between Utah and 28th streets, next to Sumner and Dene art gallery (address/phone unknown) Map
The Mission Cafe (of which there are two) combines great American and Mexican breakfasts into an eclectic but good menu that’s good for breakfast or lunch.
The Mission Beach location is usually much busier during tourist season (March through about October/November), and it’s hard to find parking on the narrow Mission Beach strand, but both can be very popular. The North Park location is almost more fun because it’s right next to an art gallery/shop, Sumner and Dene, that sells everything from sculptures to paintings to jewellery, all wonderfully eclectic and fun, and sometimes affordable too. (We’re not normally “art people”, but we’ve bought some pieces from this place.) The best part is that the maitre’d from the cafe will come into the gallery to call your name when your table is ready, so you don’t have to keep checking back every 5 minutes lest your table be given away. This is only at the North Park location, though.
Breakfast includes several interesting pancake types (I’m a fan of the blackberry pancakes), the standard breakfast staples (eggs, bacon, etc.) and some special dishes. The Mission Rosemary is a favorite — a rosemary omelette thing with the famous house potatoes on the side. I also like the Mission Croissant — a croissant with cream cheese, tomatoes, scallions, and eggs. There’s a smoked apple sausage plate as well, and the Zen Breakfast — a vegetarian’s delight with several different kinds of veggies and some tofu.
There’s also a set of Mexican-ish dishes (burritos and wraps), for those who like that style of food, and some smoothies for the liquid dieters. They make a mean espresso mocha, adding chocolate chips into the frozen version of this drink.
Expect about a half hour’s wait for a table, depending on what time you get there, but the food is worth the wait.
420 Robinson Ave., Hillcrest San Diego, CA 92103 (619) 294-4848 Map
The Wit’s End is one of San Diego’s growing number of liberal bastions. A tiny pub in Hillcrest, The Wit’s End serves almost any kind of beer imaginable, US, British Isles, German and others, and also has Guiness on tap. They serve a fairly complete line of beers from the local Stone Brewing Company, as well.
The food is excellent; you can select from salads, sandwiches, appetizers, and other dishes. Neal, the owner, makes all the food himself at one end of the bar, and it’s consistently tasty. You can also add a cup of today’s or yesterday’s soup (there are always two) to your meal, and finish it off with an ice cream sundae or a very yummy ginger creme brulee.
As for the atmosphere, it’s somewhat telling that instead of a game, invariably Comedy Central is on the TVs instead. At 8 PM, everyone quiets down and the volume gets turned up to watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.
For nights when there’s not as much to do, there’s a Playstation 2 on one TV and an Xbox on the other.
This bar has been the site of a couple of local Democratic Party shindigs; an Air America sticker adorns the paper towel holder in the bathroom.
All in all not a bad place; excellent food, fun atmosphere, and a great price.
Website Map
4701 Ruffin Road, San Diego, CA 92123 (858) 715-6400
Studio Diner is more of an upscale joint than a Denny’s. It has a diner feel but without the unhappy kitsch that most 50’s diner replicas have. Their food is pretty good, though a bit pricey.
Located on the premises of the Stu Segall studios in San Diego (where they shoot actual TV shows), they’re open 24 hours and definitely a decent place for late night eats.
Website Map
3628 Fifth Ave, San Diego, CA 92103 (619) 298-4646
Hash House a Go Go is a great restaurant for any meal. We primarily go for breakfast — my favorite is the Sage Fried Chicken Benedict, a tower of food with mashed potatoes, Andy’s famous biscuits, mozzarella cheese, fried chicken, and eggs all stacked and held together by the Hash House trademark spike of rosemary. That, along with a S’mores Mocha (an espresso mocha with a graham cracker soaking in it, topped by brulee’d marshmallow creme) makes it a complete breakfast.
They’re quite good for dinner, too — we’ve never been disappointed by any meal. Always go expecting to take half your entree home with you, though — the platters are two and a half feet wide and filled with food. Our dogs love when we go to this restaurant, too.
Invariably there will be a line of people out the door, but the food is worth the wait (sometimes 1+ hour in the morning, less in the evening).
Website Map
4445 Lamont Street, Pacific Beach San Diego, CA 92109 (858) 270-3060
Hours:
Mon-Fri 5:30PM-10PM
Sat-Sun 5PM-10PM
Lamont Street Grill is a great sit-down restaurant that fits the bill for when you want a nice restaurant with good food but down-to-earth staff and prices.
We’ve been going to Lamont Street Grill for at least 7 or 8 years now; we’ll go on a whim, to celebrate something, and we’ve even had business dinners there. Hidden in a former house between Grand and Garnet in Pacific Beach, it can be full, but doesn’t always get crowded.
The chef at Lamont Street designed all the dishes, and while everything is good, he’s best known for his soups. Every night the soup is different; even if the combination of items in the soup sounds odd, try it anyway, as chances are it’ll be good.
In addition to the food, there’s a full bar, in which they serve an excellent variety of martinis. I had my first chocolate martini at Lamont Street — the bartender was experimenting and gave me something new.
We’ll usually start with at least a couple of the appetizers. Lately we’ve been ordering the bleu-cheese mushroom caps — mushrooms served in a cast-iron skillet filled with sizzling butter and melted bleu cheese. A friend of ours’ favorite is the won-ton-like spinach and roasted garlic cream cheese pillows. The sauces that come with the appetizers are as amazing as the soups, and we’ll often sop up the remainder with the fresh-baked bread that comes with the meal.
You also really can’t go wrong with the entrees. They’ll always have two different specials for the day, but the standbys are great too. We’ve had the filet mignon with roasted garlic whole grain mustard butter, the baby back ribs, baked chicken in a puff pastry, and the sauteed shrimp and scallops with gorgonzola over pasta.
One of our favorites that cycles on and off the menu is a spicy chicken on grilled romaine salad; even if this (or another dish) isn’t on the menu, though, ask your waiter — if they have the ingredients in the kitchen, chances are they’ll make the dish for you.
Last, you must make sure to save room for dessert. There’s a lovely variety, my favorite of which is the kahlua and cream cheese crepes, drizzled in caramel.
Lamont Street Grill is a great restaurant for pretty much any occasion, or no occasion at all, when you want decent food in a nice atmosphere.
