Lunch / Dinner

Hey Guys,

I’ve been wanting to expand this site for a while to include not only my own creations, but also meals I have had the pleasure of enjoying out and about around town. San Diego is a foodie paradise! I know all the OFFICIAL people say the foodie capitals are Portland, or SF or Boston etc. but San Diego has a special sort of food bucket list to offer. For one, we live on the water, which means epic seafood year round. Two, we border Mexico and that provides us access to a variety of flavors from our neighbors. Three, we are just culturally diverse in general. I love how San Diego has become home to so many travelers, immigrants, refugees, students, families, men and women, young and old. In National City you can have the best tacos of your life at Tacos el Gordo. Off Convoy there are more legit ramen places than you can imagine. Down by the water we have our very own Little Italy with the most authentic Italian food I’ve had since moving back from the boot. We’ve got a thriving craft beer scene and with it an ever expanding foot truck crew. You could eat at a new place once a week and only scratch the surface of what San Diego has to offer. Someone has to eat their way through this town and report back to the masses. And that someone should be me. Stay tuned and check back for ongoing updates of the DOs and DON’Ts of city eating, courtesy of a San Diego gastronaut.

Let’s to do this!

Up First- S&M Sausage & Meat <– Click the link to visit their site.

My boyfriend and I went there for a date night on a Saturday, at about 6pm. This was early enough it wasn’t too crowded and we were helped right away. It did, however, fill up quite a bit as the night went on. The staff was very helpful, knowledgeable and polite. The menu was easy to read and understand. The bar was full of GOOD beer. I mean actual good craft beer. And the cocktail list, though a bit pricey, was unique and interesting. There’s lots of seating, with some limited seating outside (dogs are allowed on the patio.) and in the bar section there are TVs showing the Padres game (or enter sport of choice here) but with no sound. This was a perfect way to enjoy a quite date night while still keeping tabs on the score. They have boardgames to play if you need extra entertainment. In addition to a full menu and full bar they have a deli counter where you can order fresh meats to take home. And, of course, they offer lots of bacon. They have bacon as an appetizer. This is good.

The menu, while largely pork-centric, showcases a range of exotic meats such as kangaroo, bison, alligator and boar. They also serve a variety of non sausage/ no meat appetizers including deviled eggs, pretzels, broccolini and mac and cheese (who doesn’t love mac and cheese??)

From their website:

Exotic sausages, a variety of house-made bacon and unexpected game meats will inspire a sense of adventure and push you to the edge of your comfort zone.

Come pull up a bar stool at the Swine Bar and enjoy a full bar featuring 12 taps of unique, hard to find craft brews and our “savory, salty, smoky, spicy” specialty cocktail menu.

Don’t forget to stop at our provisions market counter, displaying fresh, uncooked exotic sausages, house-made bacon, charcuterie, S&M private label sauces, and a variety of local goods will provide you with a quick take-home fix to satisfy impromptu cravings.

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I started the night with this delicious cocktail –

West Coast East Side – St. George Terroir gin. sugar. lime. cucumber. smoked salt. cracked pepper. $11

^^ to say this was good would be an understatement. This was absolutely divine. It was refreshing, spicy, savory, yet cool (as a cucumber LOL.) HIGHLY recommend.

Up Next – Appetizer –

RABBIT POUTINE – pickled red jalapeno. spiced cheese curd. #hashtag fries. caramelized onions. rabbit demi. $15

^^ this photo doesn’t really do it justice. As soon as I saw A. poutine and B. rabbit on the menu I knew I needed to try this. I was NOT disappointed. It was just a bit spicy, but not at all overwhelming. The rabbit was soft and shredded- not at all gamey or chewy. The sauce and the cheese were savory and so full of flavor. TIP – don’t eat from the top down. This dish is clearly assembled in layers and the sauce is on the bottom. I don’t really understand why you would plate this way, but it is what it is. So to fully enjoy the dish, be sure and stir it up before eating.

Also- be prepared to be talked to a lot if you order this dish. We had several customers come up to us and ask what we were eating while we were there. Of course we recommended it to each and every one.

Last- Main Course-

PORK BELLY SANDWICH twice smoked pork belly. sriracha aioli. cucumber slaw. semolina roll $9.5

I was pretty stoked to order this. I mean, read that description. I won’t lie. I was underwhelmed. It wasn’t BAD, but it wasn’t good either. It was just there. I will say for the record my boyfriend loved it, and I let him eat most of my half too. The bread was nice and toasted and the sauce was good but the meat was overcooked, chewy and not very full of flavor. I think if you really love the sauce, which my boyfriend did, it hides a bit of the disappointingness of the meat. I would order a different main dish next time.

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This was a great experience (despite not loving one of my dishes- which speaks volumes.) The atmosphere is relaxed but not dive bar-y, fun but not exhausting, well executed but not pretentious. I’d definitely recommend this to place to any friend (who eats meat.)

HAPPY EATING!!!

-SUSANNAH