** Red Café has closed
A few months back; Red Card Café brought on a new chef. Looking at the Chef's Bio we were intrigued at some of the places mentioned. We had enjoyed our New Year dinner at Red Card and was already happy to see things were looking up in our neighborhood. So with this news we decided it was time to head back to Red Card. Instead of making just one or two visits; we've been back almost ten times as we found the menu interesting, at times a bit strange, but with some really good dishes.
The current menu; which was fully implemented in August is much more grown up. It also seems more seasonally focused.
Over the last five or six years, we've often found that appetizers and small plates are the way to go for us. Kitchens will often take a bit more chances and stretch out a bit. Our strategy at Red Card was no different.
So, what are our favorites?
The Missus's numero uno, to the point that She's had it probably four times is the Braised Spanish Octopus ($13).
The octopus has always been perfectly fork tender, though on one occasion it was too salty. The Missus is a big fan of puy lentils and these have always been cooked to a pleasing texture, holding their shape well, with a slight green-peppery flavor. The Romesco sauce is nicely balanced; not too much garlic, but very nice. The only thing we think is just okay are the toasts which have been really hard on several visits.
We enjoy the salads….pick one; we've enjoyed them all, though I think the Missus's favorite is the Arugula & Stone Fruit ($9).
Perfectly dressed; the white balsamic dressing had that hint of sweetness, the crisp arugula and the frisee balanced the scales with peppery bitterness. I'm not a big fan of fruit in my salad; but I thought the nectarines really added a bit of tart-sweetness to the salad. I'm also glad that feta was used with some restraint.
I realized that I said I'm not a big fan of fruit in my salad; but my favorite is the Prosciutto and Fig ($10).
Great salty and complex fruity-sweetness, along with the wonderful nuttiness of the pistachios made this very enjoyable. The cheddar wasn't too sharp and added a little milky-smokiness to the salad.
We also enjoyed the Beet Salad ($10).
Sweet beets, tart-sour-anise-crisp pickled fennel; frisee nicely dressed.
I mentioned how much we enjoy the salads here and was told the produce comes from Chino Farm.
An item on the menu that caught my attention was the Watermelon Poke ($10). I've seen it floating around on websites; a trendy take for vegetarians on the poke bowl. Frankly, I didn't expect much, but this was better than I thought it would be.
Kinda looks like fish, huh? The cubes of watermelon had been transformed and the flavor of sesame oil and a touch of sourness (ponzu sauce) had been infused into the watermelon. Seems like perhaps sous vide at work? The watermelon ends up being only slightly sweet with nice savory tones. The Missus didn't care much for this…….the texture and the flavor kind of threw her off. Hence, you know why there's not too much molecular gastronomy going on in the mmm-yoso household.
The Duck Liver Mousse ($8), seemed perfect for us.
There is however, the concept of "too much of a good thing". The mousse was very rich with a pronounced sweet-livery flavor.
A bite or two would have been perfect. A jar of it was way too much and it became a bit of a chore trying to finish it.
Also having only four crostini for a jar of this size was too little….you'd be basically having to eat one-fourth of a jar of the mousse on every slice of toast.
Fine at first……way too much at the end….even when trying to use the cornichons and cherry jam (the mousse was already sweet and the jam took it too far) to cut the richness.
The Umami Wings ($9) were a bit interesting.
Actually "strange" might be more apt since the "secret" seasoning really tasted like some versions of Guai Wei Can Dou (guai wei = "strange flavored") I've had.
The powder seemed to detract from the crispness of the wings. These were also a bit too salty.
As you can tell, these are smaller wings, which I don't mind since the skin to meat ratio is increased.
On one of my solo visits I ordered the Cauliflower Gratin ($10).
There was too much cheese for my liking in this and the overall dish came across as too salty. In fact, the overall milky saltiness reminded me of the Mousse tiede d'epoisse we had at Aupres du Clocher in Pommard. Again, too much of a good thing. As luck would have it, I also ordered the Beef Tallow Fries ($6). Which when dipped or mixed into the gratin tasted really good. How ironic; my dish ended up being sort of a potato gratin in the end. This was so rich that I finished only about a third of the dish.
There's only been one item on the menu I totally didn't care for. The Spam Mususbi Arancini ($9). Now, coming from the islands, I was kind of interested to see how this would turn out.
First off, as you can tell, these were fried too "hard". To me arancini should be crisp with a certain lightness to it. The breading was hard as rock. Second, I couldn't taste the Spam….I really didn't like the salty-teriyaki flavor. The sriracha mayo just made things worse as it covered up all the other flavors…….pass.
Still, once we've found the items we like at Red Card, it's been smooth sailing.
There's a nice neighborhood feel to the place. The owners and staff are very friendly. The food sure has risen to another level. It's great to see things in our neighborhood are looking up.
Now, I'm wondering if they're going to have New Year's dinner this year? I hope so…..
Red Card Café
4140 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117
