Thanks for stopping by our blog, mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are taking time off from posting and Cathy is writing today.
This month of December has been particularly busy for me (and The Mister) with some sort of appointment, meeting or party on the schedule every day. I have taken a lot of photos of all the meals we have enjoyed and will eventually share all of them with you.
We were 'up North', in Sorrento Valley, the other day and instead of going to our usual Opera Patisserie for lunch, we went North at the intersection of Mira Mesa Boulevard and Scranton Road and followed the signs to the parking lot of Karl Strauss Brewery Gardens.
This is one of the entrances from the parking lot. We followed a winding path and soon saw the restaurant and were quickly seated. This is a rather plain view of the beautiful wood interior, but the glass wall next to us revealed
the peaceful pond, with many waterfalls and Asian inspired theme.
The one page descriptive menu was brought out and our waiter described the fresh beer available that day.
The Mister ordered a Russian Imperial Stout ($5.95) and it was served in this beautiful glass. Since I was driving, I ordered water, but did have a sip of the stout and it was really good; it had a chocolate-malt flavor.
The Mister chose beer battered fish and chips ($14.95) as his meal. The menu had shown several choices of french fries as appetizer choices(garlic, chili lime as well as 'sweet and stinky') and he was not asked as to a flavor preference and (fortunately) these were plain fries, cooked to a nice crisp and unseasoned. The beer batter on the seasoned Alaska cod was light and fluffy and fried just right- not greasy. This was accompanied by a lemon caper remoulade (not tartar sauce) which was very complimentary. A fresh made broccoli slaw(which was really good except for the addition of some really hot red onions) completed the plate.
I decided to try the 'special appetizer plate' as my main. The charcuterie ($12.95) was quite large and filling. Three meats- in the center a smoked, cured ham- delicately thin sliced yet enough smoking to allow you to taste smoke and salty ham. The fancy cut at 11 o'clock is an aged Sopressota salami-not very strong in flavor at all; it needed the fresh made beer whole grain mustard sauce you see next to the slice of Cambozola cheese to bring out some flavor. I also used some of the fresh pine-nutty arugula pesto you see under the bread and it complimented the meat. The pepper-infused Mailander salami had a lot of flavor on its own and I ate it with some of the crostini- and the apple-fig chutney, which was perfect on its own or with a bite of meat. The combinations of sweet, spicy, smokey and savory made this plate an excellent lunch.
When we finished, we walked the path around the building and grounds before going back to the parking lot. There were some water features in this oasis in the middle of all the office buildings in this part of town. We want to go back to try more of the menu. There are lunch specials (called "Daily Brews" on the menu) Monday-Friday, which cost a bit less and are most likely just as good as the food we got.
Karl Strauss Sorrento Mesa 9675 Scranton Road San Diego 92126 (858) 587-2739 Website
It’s been a few years since I’ve eaten at this location. I used to get the salmon salad all the time for lunch and I still remember when they used to make their own root beer.
We’d never been here, Carol. It was so nice and very good. I would have tried home made root beer if it was on the menu-a favorite soft drink of mine…
I’ve been wanting to visit this location to see the garden, but with the Carlsbad location being closer to us, we just haven’t gotten around to it.
Hi Alyssa. We’ve never visited any KS location, so it was fun to be in the middle of an office park with the beautiful and quiet surroundings as well as great food.