Jake's Del Mar

This a was sudden plan. My hubby and I have not been out for sometime now. Ever since we bought our home, we have mostly been at home having 'take-out' from local restaurants, or I cooking at home (I LOVE my new kitchen!). We did go out occasionally, but no place really great. Then last month we got our dog, and since Freo came to our lives, we became almost like new parents - every moment we stayed away from the 'little one', we were thinking of him and wondering if he is lonely. It's been a month since he arrived, and it seems that he is now settled in, and we feel confident to leave him home alone in evenings.

So, we went out on a 'date' yesterday. We decided to try Jake's in Del Mar. We had previously been to Posiedon and was very disappointed. Jake's is right beside it. I have often driven by it wondering if it was any good. The reviews and website looked good, so we thought this may be a good one to try for our first dinner date this year. We called ahead and made a reservation.

It was a full moon night and the moon was quite close to the horizon and BIG - quite romantic. It was not too cold, we took our Mini with the top down, and I even wore a skirt! It was a lovely drive towards the ocean. We were seated promptly , but unfortunately not near the tall glass windows overlooking the beach and waves. We were told that for those seats, there may be a wait of an hour or so. Our seat was the third row from the window, but on a little elevation from the other two rows and so we could see the ocean. It was lovely.

The menu was just two pages. I like that. I do not like restaurants with more than two pages (e.g. Cheesecake Factory) - gives an impression that they are not serious about their food. The need to satisfy everyone is not required. What is required is a few dishes and get them perfect, every time.

For appetizers, we ordered Grilled Prawns with basil and prosciutto and dijon vinaigrette. Hubby got his usual, a Bombay Sapphire martini, stirred and not shaken - the right way to have martinis. I got a Peter Lehmann Shiraz. For dinner, I got the Macadamia Nut Crusted Salmon with wasabi mirin reduction, baby bok choy & hon shimeji mushroom stir fry. Hubby got the Brandt Farms Filet Mignon “oscar style"with creamy polenta, cauliflower cheddar gratin, and marrow butter.

Martini: He wanted two olives, but it came with one. He also thought the martini had a little too much vermouth and not enough gin. But overall, it was good. Infact, we were happy that they listened to him and stirred instead of shaking. (Oh! Bond spoiled it for Martini lovers. Did you know that Mr. Flemming had created that drink as a joke?)

Shiraz: What can I say, I am a Shiraz fan. Living in Australia only reinforced it. We were able to taste the best out there. This one was not among the best, but quite nice.

Grilled Prawns: Loved it. Five succulent prawns wrapped in prosciutto and grilled. They were served on a plate with shaved radicchio, cabbage, and Italian basil and drizzled with yummy dijon vinaigrette. I tasted a bit of the orient in the flavoring, but it may have been just me. The combination was excellent - a perfect balance of sweet and savory.

Macadamia Nut Crusted Salmon: Superb! The fish was cooked perfectly, not too dry and not too soft. Cooking fish is tricky, and I have been to several reputed restaurants where a dry lump had been served to me. People often forget the the principle of residual heat. You see, the fish will continue cooking for several minutes even after it's removed from the heat source. Hence fish should be cooked until it's medium, then removed the from the oven, microwave, stove top, or grill and let stand for few minutes to finish cooking. This restaurant seemed to have got it right.

The macadamia crust was both moist and crunchy. Underneath the fish was the baby bok choy and hon shimeji mushrooms, and further below was wild rice cake. The plate was drizzled with the light pink wasabi mirin reduction and the rice and vegetables had soaked up the sweet flavor very well. I was not able to taste the wasabi, just a hint of it's fragrance. The mirin was quite evident in the light sauce. I found the rice a bit greasy, may be it could have done with a tad less butter. The mushrooms were lovely - I am a big fan of mushrooms, so I loved to bite and taste each piece. The baby bok choy added a nice layer to the dish, the vegetable has a delicate 'watery' flavor and when you bit into the stems, it cleaned out your flavor palette so that the next bite of other food was again a sensuous discovery.

Brandt Farms Filet Mignon: Superb again! Oscar style is crabmeat, asparagus, and sauce béarnaise on top of the fillet mignon which came on top of the creamy polenta. The cauliflower cheddar gratin was served in a mini bowl - the kind one would serve french onion soup. Marrow butter is new to us, but it sure tasted great, with a delicate aroma of marrow (I would like to make it one of these days). Lets go bottom up. First, polenta - soft and creamy with a granular texture, a bit bland but perfectly complementing the steak, and soaking up the marrow butter flavor. The steak was cooked medium, red in the inside and juicy, full of flavor. The crab meat was delicious. The asparagus seemed to be grated in the crab meat, adding a nice crunchiness against the soft meat. The Béarnaise sauce was also distinct and rich - after all it's not your common Hollandaise! The cauliflower gratin was a bit of bland for our taste buds.

Service: Very disappointing! Yes, I know, what a shame, especially since the food was so good. Our server was Joe. At first he was late, we sat there twiddling our thumbs for quite a while. After taking our appetizer and drinks order, he vanished. No drinks for a long time. We sat there speculating that they probably were flying down to Oz to pick a bottle, or may be to France to get the vermouth! Eventually we got both the drinks and the appetizer. He forgot to tell us the specials and we had to ask for it. He took our meal order and then, you guessed it, vanished again, that too with our appetizer plates, forks, and knives. When the meal arrived, we did not have any silverware except for a fork each. We sat there exasperated, looking for him to ask for knives. I could still manage my fish with a fork, but how could P have his steak without a knife? We had to flag down another waiter and request a knife. Then, there was no refill for water, we had to again flag down another waiter. The food here is brought to the table by someone from the kitchen, and thank God for that, or else we would not have had anything to eat!

At the very end of the meal he came at last to ask us if he could take the plates away and get us the check. No questions whether we liked the food, or even polite courtesy. He also had this annoying habit of placing his hand on P's chair when talking to us. No good restaurant waiters do that! - this is Not a casual dining place, please! I was quite a bit mad at him. I also felt bad for the restaurant owners, with such a nice establishment, this waiter was literally killing the experience. Well, I am no great food critic, but this kind of behaviour will cost the restaurant some major demerits by the big guys! I was so mad that I made it a point to mention to the waiter that he provided us with bad service and that we had to wait for him a lot. He was slightly apologetic and quick to run away. We wrote about our disappointment on the check.

Bottom-line: I will give it 8.5/10. The food had the perfect balance of texture and flavors. It actually deserves a 9.5/10, but the waiter hurt the ranking. I hope the management will give the waiter some good training. I will however go there again, I loved the place. I would also like to meet up with the chef, his creations are superb!

After dinner, we went for a stroll on the beach. The waves were beautiful, white against the deep blue of infinity. But it was cold, the sand and the wind. We could not stay out there for long - our feet were freezing!

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PS: Yes, the format is a bit different. I am changing it.