whisk + ladle = yum

Last night Buddy took me out to dinner at Whisknladle, one of our favorite restaurants in the San Diego/La Jolla area. Aaaaaahhhhh, soooo gooooooooood. We were celebrating the fact that we had gotten over one of our main deadlines (although we both have a couple more coming up). And what a way to celebrate, it was.

We first went to Whisknladle for Restaurant Week in fall of 2011, and we've been back multiple times ever since. (My parents also really like it there, which is quite a feat.) The food is consistently excellent and the staff is professional, helpful, and friendly. What more can we ask for?

Last night we started off with a Moroccan lamb soup that was spicy and fragrant and with just the right kind of mellow, smoky flavors. And it was so nice and warm. Really tender lamb with spices and black-eyed peas...yum. Which reminds me, it's getting into perfect soup season...

(Actually we'd started off with a glass of Merlot...essential. A little more savory than I'm used to, but it went well with the soup.)

Next we had a hunk of burrata cheese with amazing, amazing toast. It was a very thick slice of light bread brushed (or soaked?) in olive oil and toasted until the outside was crispy and the inside was as fluffy as if it had just come straight out of the oven. And accompanied by marinated shishito peppers and softened bell peppers over a blend of olive oil and balsamic vinegar? ::sigh:: We'll just have to try to replicate that at home some time.

Next we had buttermilk fried sweetbreads, with a lovely sauce colored pink from tender beets. I'm not a huge beet fan, but these beets last night tasted like candy. Or apples. (Maybe the latter is better.)

Around this time we got ourselves a glass of Riesling, in anticipation of the upcoming fish and the dessert course to follow. Thanks, Mr. Server guy, for the suggestion!

So yes, we got seared albacore with warm celery and beets (yet again) on the side. Ah, those celeries. I'm gonna have to pick some up at The Fruit Stand and see if I can make them at home. It all came on a little bit of mustard creme sauce. With mustard seeds, I guess, now that I think about it? Right, they couldn't have been poppy seeds... (And they were nice enough to split them onto two plates, even!)

We went all extravagant and got ourselves two desserts: pumpkin fritters (by recommendation of our server) and maple custard. Oh boy, they were both amazing. If I could cook at all I'd attempt one or the other (or both), but I'm just going to have to go back to eating at Whisknladle some other time instead.

What a perfect beginning to a perfect (long) weekend. Happy Veterans Day, everyone!