**** El Jardin has closed
We were a bit fascinated when El Jardin opened in Liberty Station a few months back. The Missus is starting to enjoy Mezcal, so that was a draw. The menu seemed quite diverse; El Jardin literally means "the garden", which seemed interesting. In the various posts in Eater San Diego, there's one thing that caught my attention, the Chef's definition of the menu as "Grandma Chic". The product of travel through seven regions of Mexico with locally sourced products and ingredients.
Well, we decided to visit, and to this day, El Jardin is basically a monthly treat for us.
And while the dining area is perfectly fine; we've only eaten inside once.
We prefer the al fresco, outdoor area….even with the recent cooler weather. The only major issue is the darn planes flying over every 20-30 minutes, which drowns out all conversation.
We will often go early; the bar area opens at 430. We get on the list for a table, usually sitting outside; often in our favorite Server's area. His name is Ille and is the friendliest, gracious, Server you could ever want. He also got on the Missus's good side on our first visit by recommending the Bozal Ensamble, a wonderfully smokey Mezcal which was served in a pretty Copita. On a revisit with my good friends, MrQ really took to this as well. Like my post on Soi 30th; I'm not going to reference that visit, since it was just about good times.
One of the main reasons we visit El Jardin are for the cocktails. They make a mean Mezcal Old Fashioned. The Missus loves the Mazateca Swizzle (to the right) with a nice smokey Mezcal instead of the Rum. The folks manning the bar are usually very good and the drinks aren't too sweet or watered down. They're priced competitively at $11-13.
They've also made me a pretty good Mezcal Negroni a few times as well; which I prefer to the traditional Negroni. Yes, even more than a Negroni in Florence where the drink was created.
I also enjoy the Plaza Sesamo; which uses Toki Japanese Whiskey, Black Sesame, Mole Bitters, as a base.
When it was a zillion degrees out….like this past summer; I'd often just get a nice Michelada.
The menu at El Jardin is constantly changing, which is a mixed blessing because once in a while you'll find a dish you love and then it'll vanish, never to be seen again. El Jardin is also not cheap; we never get out for less than eighty bucks or so, but of course we'd rather spend it here for an interesting dinner with cocktails to our taste than, say Cloak & Petal.
So here's a run down of dishes; from our favorites, to stuff we really didn't care for.
But first, a few words about the supporting cast. Of all the salsas, we enjoy the smokey and spicy salsa made with chili de arbol. It seems to have peanuts or something like that in it that just ups everything. The tortillas a decent, but we've definitely had better. The tostadas are amazing, light and crisp, with a texture like a perfect chicharron…..
Da' Winnahs:
Octopus Tikin Chic ($28) - Yes octopus. Holy smoke, this was fork tender, and the seasoning, an amazing recado rojo, slightly sweet ("like char siu" said the Missus), citrusy, with a nice touch of spice.
The soul of the flavor took me back to a certain dinner we had in Flores, Guatemala. The, what seemed to be something like an almost cheesy celriac puree was great at tempering the flavors of the octopus. Yes, this octopus might even be better than our favorite restaurant in Chania.
The Yucatan Style Castacan ($29) was another winnah!
Nice pork belly; crisp outside, tender and moist inside. The Sikil Pak, pumpkin seed salsa was delicious, nutty, with a nice kick. Ille told us that they use some habanero in this version. The green beans were super firm and crisp, with a nice "green" flavor and a mild sweet finish. Unfortunately, we only saw this once on the menu.
Another item that we came across only once; albeit as a appetizer special was the fried smelt.
If you read our blog regularly, you know the Missus loves Her shishamo. This was so crisp, clean, and light; which just a touch of rich brininess; like we were eating the crisp soul of the smelt. We actually had two orders of this.
A regular on the menu; the Res en Salsa Verde ($23), pairs a confit of beef belly, with confit of beef tongue….talk about a combination of beefy flavors!
The salsa verde isn't too sour and bracing. And the Missus really enjoys the very firm, frijoles de olla….very beany.
Dependable Standbys:
Jalisco Style Pozole Rojo ($17).
The bowl with the beans, pork, corn, radish, avocado, et al; is served first, then the broth is poured over at the table. This is hearty and all the various textures come through.
Carne Apache ($17); rib eye tartare.
I didn't care for the sloppy pile of raw meat on the plate….and I love beef tartare! I missed the silken textures of an egg or something similar. This was fine; the beef a bit too chewy, the ancho mayo distracted from a nice, clean, finish.
The Missus loves the Albondigas de Chipotle ($26).
The meatballs are slightly smokey and very tender. Those things that look like mushrooms are actually chochoyotes, wonderful dumplings of masa, so full of corn flavor. My main issue with this dish is that the two times we've had it; it arrived at the table less than lukewarm. It didn't stop the Missus from scarfing it all down.
Another nice appetizer; Totopos Emmolados ($10); basically tortilla chips, in this case super crunchy, freshly fried, thick tortilla chips topped with a mole negro.
I loved the fact that the mole wasn't overly sweet; it just had a nice balance of sweet-salty-mild spice. That cheese was interesting; it was mild in flavor, with a texture of yogurt. we were told it was Cashew Cheese. This was actually a pretty large portion size.
Not Our Favorites (perhaps we'll try them again):
Carne en su Jugo ($26). The brisket was a bit too fatty and that "beef dashi" was kinda watery, with a strange flavor.
Not Having Again:
The Cazuela de Chilorio ($26) featured dry and stringy pork shoulder in a Chili Colorado sauce that was on the cold side making it greasy.
The beans were also on the colder side as well. Pass.
The Vuelve a la Vida ($19) is also something we won't have again.
First off; this was a really tiny portion. Second, the trout roe was too salty, third the uni tasted a bit "off", and unlike the other octopus dish, in this it was quite tough.
And our least favorite dish; which seems like a regular item on the menu. The impressive looking Barbacoa Lamb Shank ($26).
This was just unpleasantly sweet for us…….to the point that you really couldn't taste the beans, nor enjoy the lamb shank.
In case you're wondering; there is a "garden" at El Jardin.
So for us; the strategy is simple.
Go early, grab a cocktail (or two), get a table outside…explore the garden a bit while waiting on your food. Enjoy the amiable, yet professional service. Pause your conversation between planes flying over.
Just enjoy….life is too short.
El Jardin
2885 Perry Rd
San Diego, CA 92106
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 5pm – 9pm
Fri – Sun 1030am – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm
The clean 'Mexico City' decor has televisions scattered throughout and it's not busy in the early morning. The Mister and I returned a week later. This post shows both visits and breakfasts ordered.
The first menu page (top, far left) is 'breakfasts', but both menus are served all day. 
We ordered a Chicharron de Queso ($6.50). Simple grilled, rolled cheese along with simple guacamole. Excellent.
Al pastor ($2.50), costilla (rib meat)($2.75) and chuleta ahumada (smoked pork chop)($2.65) tacos. We liked the al pastor best; the spit grilled, pork based, chili/spice marinated, pineapple topped meat was moist, flavorful and satisfying. The costilla was good, basic quality meat, needing some of the tabletop condiments at some point. The smokiness of the chuleta was nice, but pretty much smoked ham (which I love, but this, too, needed some hot sauce to taste 'finished'). 
After having Alambres at Tako Factory, The Mister and I were curious to see what this version was like. We were able to choose two meats, so thought the bistek along with the smoked pork chop (The Mister loves smoked meats) would be good ($9.75) and we did add cheese ($1.25) just because. Well, the freshness of the tortillas, meats, bacon, grilled onion and peppers along with the creamy cheese was just about perfect. I can see why Kirk's Missus likes it here.
A mollete is a a fresh, split, toasted bollilo topped with beans and cheese ($3.75). You can add chorizo for $1 and we did (on both visits, choosing the milder green chorizo)(description of green chorizo is on this link-scroll down to Mexican Chorizo) (basically, tomatillo, chiles, cilantro and garlic). I remembered fondly having a mollete at Tropifruit, in 2014 and the version here is great. 
