local farmers. It's a trend, and its good for
the local economy.
I plan to follow up on a sweet
connection with CAFE CERISE's
Chef/Proprietor Jason Siebert.
Cafe Cerise, 1125 Sixth Ave.; 619-595-0153;
http://www.cafecerise.com.
You can read more on the Celebration of Craft Blog
about this trend:
http://curezone.com/blogs/m.asp?f=92&i=1915
Here is more:
Making the most of San Diego's agricultural bounty
By Stephanie Avnet Yates, special for USATODAY.com
Once decried as an anachronistic outpost of boring steak-and-potatoes fare, San Diego has been racking up foodie points with a welcome parade of stylish — even trend setting — restaurants and award-winning contemporary chefs. Fine quality seafood still distinguishes this port city, as well as authentic ethnic offerings from Thai to tapas that reflect a new generation of San Diegans.
In recent months, culinary conversations have centered around the way high-profile chefs are crafting their menus around San Diego County's agricultural bounty, marrying creativity with fresh products and artisanal specialties in a style that's often called "wine country cuisine" elsewhere in California. Diners here are learning about the "slow food movement," where fine (often organic) ingredients — in a departure from the flashy high-heat cooking of the 1990s — are gently coaxed into releasing their optimal flavor. There's even a tasty annual event each fall that showcases the area's best; it's called "Celebrate the Craft," and this year featured local toques like Region's Michael Stebner, Parallel 33's Amiko Gubbins and Jeff Jackson from the Lodge at Torrey Pines.
The hot spot —— It's been a year since chef Michael Stebner left Nine-Ten, the upscale kitchen he reinvented at La Jolla's Grande Colonial, to open the deceptively simple Region in the heart of the Hillcrest neighborhood a few minutes north of downtown. Stebner and a practiced team that includes pastry genius Jack Fisher truly shine, delivering a short but delectable nightly menu of what he dubs "pure and simple cuisine." It's the embodiment of San Diego's new culinary personality, a style that celebrates fine organic ingredients above all else; a chalkboard in the dining room announces the farms whose produce is featured (recently there were apples from Crow's Pass and fennel from Chino Farms). The simple and warm room provides encouragement to relax with house specialties like and ever-changing take on bruschetta (the fall seasonal offering topped garlic-rubbed toasts with tangy treviso, hazelnuts, and aged vinegar); an organic deboned half chicken cooked under a brick and served atop savory Brussels sprouts, lima beans and other greens; or hearty flat-iron steak surrounded by sweet potatoes and parsnip pureed into a rich velvet. Desserts are always inventive without being too rich, and there's usually a creme fraiche panna cotta accented with market fresh fruits. Prices are moderate; reservations recommended on weekend. Region, 3671 Fifth Ave.; 619-299-6499.
Notable newcomer — At the downtown hot spot Cafe Cerise, chef/proprietor Jason Siebert has taken a vintage space back to its roots and created a stylish French-style bistro where the region's clean flavors and fresh produce are paired with European comfort-food techniques. Located where the Gaslamp Quarter spills north of Broadway, this turn-of-the-century building was a trailblazing health food cafe and "pharmacy" from the 1930s to the '80s; today the Deco-retro interior shines with modern touches, intimate dining alcoves and a skylit mezzanine cocktail lounge that overlooks the entire scene. The menu is entirely handcrafted, featuring housemade pates, sausages, flatbreads, slow-cured pickles and delicate mustards. The menu changes daily, with profound seasonal adjustments. House specialties include tenderly flaky parchment packets that can hold tarragon salmon or rabbit pot pie, herb-stuffed free-range chicken with a black olive vinaigrette and a variety of inventive soups like cauliflower-fennel with Gorgonzola and apples. Prices are moderate; reservations recommended on weekends. Cafe Cerise, 1125 Sixth Ave.; 619-595-0153; http://www.cafecerise.com.
Other photos from the 3rd Annual Slow Foods Event
are here:
http://aliceqfoodie.blogspot.com/2006/08/3rd-annual-taste-of-slow-food-san.html
Interesting website:
Jason Siebert's Place:
http://www.cafecerise.com./index.php
Yum! This creation by Jason Siebert
of Cafe Cerise was one of my favorites
at the Slow foods event. It was a watermelon
gaspatcheo, (sp?), had a sweet, satisfying taste,
but was uniquely different.
Other local Chef photo, and food:
Jason Knibb:
http://curezone.com/blogs/m.asp?f=92&i=1849