Sniff sniff.. Is that LOVE in the air?
The most romantic day of the year falls on a Thursday this time..most of us had work or school or busy getting ready for the weekend. Feeling some weekday romance spark I decided to pay my special someone a visit in San Diego.
No dinner plans made since I wasn't going to get there til later in the evening BUT, still have to do something special right? Knowing a girl can't turn down dessert, you know where I'm going with this...
...Swoon Dessert Bar was where I'm taking Her. A new North Park dessert concept that brings unique very-seasonal innovations to the table. Having access to the Art Produce Gallery's backyard edible garden and the neighborhoods' weekly farmer's market nothing pre-made here. Everything was made and assembled right in front of you, and it kind of reminded me of the nearby D-Bar which have a much similar vibe and offering. The space is designed to replicate a 'sushi bar' but way more hip and modern. The 1,100 square foot urban-loft space is airy and spacious due to its large floor to ceiling windows and minimalist furnishings. Two things particular that caught my eyes were the hanging light fixture and the spider web/mosaic-esque place mats on the table.
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Opened for service just a few days before Valentine's Day they put out a special menu for the night. A 5 course pre-fixe along with a few extras before and in-between priced at $30 per person. A handful of well selected coffee and tea is available to accompany the desserts. I also been told that a beer and wine license is in the works.
To my surprise when we arrive around 9:15pm the place was fairly empty. Still in its opening week so I was expecting some glitches on service or maybe even chaos of people looking to check it out. Beyond some minor confusion upon arrival everything went smooth (We were seated and didn't get any instruction on ordering or menu explanation being our first time here). Serviced by a few courteous and well trained staffs we sat at the bar with a friendly dining crowd. Our chef for the night was Ian Smith who spent four years working at SD's cute Wine Vault Bistro prior to his leading role here at Swoon.
Onto the the food or dessert in this case:
Talk about local and seasonal ingredients I would never have guessed what is in this spoonful of palate igniter. Cara Cara Oranges, a cross between the Washington navel and the Brazilian Bahia navel. Well balance texture, the white chocolate dots on top added an extra layer of depth. A long tangerine/citrus aftertaste, refreshing and a perfect start to the tasting. Wow!
This was my least favorite dessert of the night the sponge cake came off too dry and the zesty lemon I was looking for was not there. The elements on the the plate feels a bit disjunctive and although I know everything is fresh something just didn't taste quite so? I would have liked more sweetness of the strawberry to balance out the tart of the gelee and the salty-ness from the creme fraiche. Overall this dish needs more work.
Opposite of the last dessert..this was a harmony of texture and flavor. I LOVE panna cottas, a must order if it presents itself on any dessert menu. Although it did not beat my all time favorite from Delfina in SF it is still fairly delicious. The pink peppercorn really gave the kick it needed without overpowering the subtle blood orange taste. Finally, the shortbread rounded off the dessert like Parmesan cheese on a pasta dish.
Savory desserts? not my first and definitely not my last. A excellent progression here by switching up the palate. Chef Ian really hits the mark with this one. The goat cheese taste was strong yet subtle and it lingers effortless in the mouth and the fluffy pastry really anchors everything together. Smart and innovative choice to use kumquat as a counter balance to all the rich flavors. This was my favorite of the night.
The most interesting of the night award goes to this palate cleanser. According to the chef this was also his favorite thing to make for the night. What we have here is lavender snow, Chamomile?, cara cara essence, vanilla, maple syrup. Pretty fun and easy to eat.
Now its time for the heavier courses. I can see we sort of got a citrus theme going on, not sure if it was planned that way or coincidence. The tangerine was confited, I was educated by the chef that when something is cooked using a confit method, most commonly seen done to duck legs, it means "cooked in its own fat". In this case the tangerine has no fat so they cooked it in its own juice and/or simple syrup. It gave the bitter mouse a burst of citrus flavor. The dark strip you see underneath is star anise the unique flavor profile of the spice really highlighted the dessert.
Moving on the the last course of the tasting. Very fitting to have coffee in the finale to close everything out. Interesting choice of serving ware, a snifter was used I guess to accentuate the smell. So i enjoyed it accordingly, On the nose I get this 'Cinnamon Crunch' smell and with a bread pudding mouth feel, must be the tres leches, which in Spanish means three milks cake. Never had cardamom on its own so not sure how much it impacted the overall dessert. A little sweeter than I would like it to be but the espresso notes still set a strong favorable tone at the end.
San Diego, CA 92104
Neighborhood: North Park
(619) 528-0875
Ending note~
P.S. I LOVE YOU and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to the best GF in the world!!
The most romantic day of the year falls on a Thursday this time..most of us had work or school or busy getting ready for the weekend. Feeling some weekday romance spark I decided to pay my special someone a visit in San Diego.
No dinner plans made since I wasn't going to get there til later in the evening BUT, still have to do something special right? Knowing a girl can't turn down dessert, you know where I'm going with this...
...Swoon Dessert Bar was where I'm taking Her. A new North Park dessert concept that brings unique very-seasonal innovations to the table. Having access to the Art Produce Gallery's backyard edible garden and the neighborhoods' weekly farmer's market nothing pre-made here. Everything was made and assembled right in front of you, and it kind of reminded me of the nearby D-Bar which have a much similar vibe and offering. The space is designed to replicate a 'sushi bar' but way more hip and modern. The 1,100 square foot urban-loft space is airy and spacious due to its large floor to ceiling windows and minimalist furnishings. Two things particular that caught my eyes were the hanging light fixture and the spider web/mosaic-esque place mats on the table. Opened for service just a few days before Valentine's Day they put out a special menu for the night. A 5 course pre-fixe along with a few extras before and in-between priced at $30 per person. A handful of well selected coffee and tea is available to accompany the desserts. I also been told that a beer and wine license is in the works.
To my surprise when we arrive around 9:15pm the place was fairly empty. Still in its opening week so I was expecting some glitches on service or maybe even chaos of people looking to check it out. Beyond some minor confusion upon arrival everything went smooth (We were seated and didn't get any instruction on ordering or menu explanation being our first time here). Serviced by a few courteous and well trained staffs we sat at the bar with a friendly dining crowd. Our chef for the night was Ian Smith who spent four years working at SD's cute Wine Vault Bistro prior to his leading role here at Swoon.
Amuse Bouche:
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1st course: Lemon Sponge Cake/ Strawberry Lemonade Gelee/ Creme Fraiche
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2nd Course: Blood Orange Panna Cotta/ Shortbread/ Pink Peppercorn/ White Chocolate
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3rd Course: Goat Cheese Tart/ Kumquat/ Sous Vide Fennel
Savory desserts? not my first and definitely not my last. A excellent progression here by switching up the palate. Chef Ian really hits the mark with this one. The goat cheese taste was strong yet subtle and it lingers effortless in the mouth and the fluffy pastry really anchors everything together. Smart and innovative choice to use kumquat as a counter balance to all the rich flavors. This was my favorite of the night.
Intermezzo:
4th Course: Baked Chocolate Mousse/ Tangerine/ Vanilla I.C./ Star Anise
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| My vanilla ice cream melted problem with taking pictures before eating #foodbloggerproblems |
5th Course: Cardamom Tres Leches/ Coffee Gelato/ Graham Crumb
Conclusion:
I like this place very much. The chef, wait staff, and crowd is all very friendly and likeable. North Park is a excellent choice of neighborhood to host such concept. I expect this place to have a lot of locals, returning customers, and pretty busy on the weekends with its ever changing menu(pre-fixe tasting on weekends and a la carte on weekdays). It would be a great spot to catch up with friends, after dinner go-to or anyone that can't turn down great fresh desserts.
Swoon Dessert Bar
3139 University Ave
(between Iowa St & Herman Ave)
San Diego, CA 92104
Neighborhood: North Park
(619) 528-0875
Ending note~
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| My English savvy gf caught this on our receipt..Can you spot the mistake? Lol |
Dining date and time: Feb 14, 2013; 9:15pm-10:30pm
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