Whisknladle

For my birthday, we went to Whisknladle in La Jolla. I was interested because I had heard good things about the place and they seemed to have some "different" items on the menu (bone marrow and sweetbreads, anyone?).

I like that their menu changes seasonally, they us local produce, and that most items are in small portions so you can sample quite a few. However, this can add up quickly and a few small plates can make for a hefty price tag.

We started with the chorizo date fritters ($11.50):

These tasty morsels were probably my favorite of the evening. They are dates stuffed with chorizo and served with parsley and a spicy tomato sauce. Very tasty!

For the main entree, I had the conchiglie. It contained shrimp chorizo, sweet potato, rapini and piquillo “sofrito.” At $24, I wouldn't describe it as "good value" but it was tasty, if a little too greasy for me.

R opted for the flat iron steak ($29.50) which came with fries, watercress and a béarnaise sauce (soooo rich).

I noticed there were no salt and pepper shakers on the table to been seen and I wondered what the reaction would be had we asked for ketchup. Heh. The service was very attentive, if slightly pretentious.

For dessert, we tried the pumpkin bread pudding ($10). I had read they made their ice cream on the premises and the butter rum ice cream served with the bread pudding was delicious! The bread pudding itself was a little too "bread-y" for us though.

 

I think we'd go back and try a few other items but would have to save our pennies for next time.