*sigh*

Okay, here goes…

The trendy San Diego neighborhood of Hillcrest (Trendy, of course, meaning “gay”) is home to some great food.  I’ve covered several places in Hillcrest on this here blog.  Located just a mile or two away from Balboa Park and right next to my favorite night club, Heat is a small place that offers Seasonally-inspired, all-natural cuisine crafted from local fresh ingredients and culturally infused.  We had a rather large group but they were able to offer an outdoor table to us:

Aimee-Roommate since the 90’s, BFF, allergic to hot dogs and therefore labeled a commie by many

Amy B-Vegetarian Belle, Author, Event Planner

Amy J-Rocky Horror performer, Michigan football loyalist, a common floozy

Chris-Attorney, lifelong food snob, loves good Scotch and gay jeans

Craig-Jackie’s lucky and mysterious other half, picture unavailable

Harry-Wise guy, master of the grill, loves camping for some reason

Jackie-Awesome Soprano, fellow East Coast transplant, Has a Vegas story or two

Joey-Future music professor, Sazerac drinker, makes a mean cup of coffee

Kelsey-Project manager, Advanced level foodie, Has been known to drop it like it’s hot after a few cocktails

We ordered damn near the entire drink menu so I’ll try to keep the details as accurate as possible.  Harry had a Manhattan.  Aimee had the Peaches and Bubbles (Brokers Gin, Pavan Liqueur, fresh squeezed lemon, Peach Puree, a dash of Angostura Bitters, Brut Prosecco and lemon zest).  She said it was really good and beautifully blended.  Most importantly it was strong.  Joey and Chris both ordered the Divine Aspect (Apple wild Turkey Rye, Gin and Apricot Liqueur).  Chris described the drink as “Mind blowingly good” but when he ordered a second one, it arrived over an hour later and it was inconsistently mixed, making it a whole different drink.  Joey described his as “really satisfying”.  Chris followed that with Amy J & Kelsey, who got the Blacklist Punch (Dark and white rum, Mahoney & Powell Pomegranate, fresh squeezed Ruby Grapefruit, Bitters and a dash of Nutmeg), which they seemed to enjoy.  Amy J followed with an Amaro Smash (Svedka Vodka, Averna Amaro, fresh squeezed lemon,  orange wedges and Agave nectar), which she said was tasty as well.  Kelsey and Amy B had the Sam’s Smash (Bourbon, Briottet Creme De Mure, Passion fruit puree and simple syrup with a pinch of lemon and mint) followed by an American Mule (American Harvest Vodka, passion fruit puree,  fresh squeezed lime, ginger syrup & dash Angostura).  This drink unfortunately seemed to be “mostly ice”.

For appetizers Harry ordered the pickle plate (or as Joey hilariously called it, “A brine-y plate”).  Joey and Kelsey had the Flatbread Du Jour (Pork, onion and Dr. Pepper Barbecue sauce)  and the Quinoa and Farro with Beets, Goat Cheese, Dates, Watermelon Radish, Olives, Arugula, Citrus Vinaigrette.  Joey enjoyed it but felt the dish would be better served with a different cheese and the Dr. Pepper got lost in the sauce, whereas Kelsey pretty much dubbed anything “Dr. Pepper” flavored a misnomer, especially barbecue sauces.  Amy J had the soup du jour, which was a tomato basil soup.  She didn’t actually order this but it was brought to her and she seemed happy to have it.  Chris ordered the Cheese and Charcuterie plate as well as the house special fish tacos.  He really enjoyed the olives and meat cuts but felt the fish taco was unimpressive.  I had the potato chips with smoked sea salt aioli.  They were pretty standard and tasty.  I’m a sucker for a good aioli.

Here’s where the problems really started kicking into high gear.  The food took a long time.  Like, a really long time (like, all-told, we were there for more than 3 hours, long).  The place wasn’t terribly busy so we were never actually sure what the hold up was.  When the food did eventually arrive, there were issues.  Harry ordered the Mac N’ Cheese with Duck Craklin’s.  He hated it.  It was bland and said “Kraft Blue Box is better than this atrocity”.  This was the first (and only) place in this challenge that he had to ask for Salt and Pepper.  Aimee had the Duroc Natural Pork Chop with soft polenta, charred raddichio and apple raisin persimmon Chutney.  She said the porkchop was overcooked.  While the polenta was okay, the raddichio was extremely bitter.  She found the whole dish to be way over priced.  Joey and Jackie both ordered the Local Mussels and Fries Sake with confit garlic, shallots, aioli sauce and fresh herbs.  When Jackie’s arrived, it had sat out so long it was cold, so she sent it back.  Joey’s did not arrive for more than an hour after he ordered it and when it did show up, it had no spoon, no additional, plate, no side items and no fries.  Jackie’s second order arrived and she said they were good but nothing special.

With a small amount of vegetarian options available, Amy J had the Quinoa and Farro appetizer as her meal.  She said it wasn’t great but it was okay.  The dish could’ve used more cheese and dressing.  She worried that Heat’s angle of “Healthier food” may be the cause behind some flavor sacrifices.  Amy B ordered the Melange of Seasonal Vegetables with soft polenta, pickled shallots, Piquillo peppers and shaved parmesan.  She felt the dish needed Salt & pepper.  While polenta (much like Aimee’s) was decent, the uncooked yellow squash was just “meh”.  Kelsey order the grilled Flat Iron Steak with potatoes pave, cauliflower, creamed swiss chard, baby carrots and Bordelaise sauce.  Kelsey said the steak had good flavor but was way overcooked.  The potatoes were flavorless and raw.  While the cauliflower and creamed spinach were good, the carrots were overcooked to complete mush.

Some of the rare highlights of the main courses were Chris’s Maple Leaf Duck Breast with Duck cracklings, Farro, roasted cauliflower, sauteed greens, dates and sherry gastric.  He really enjoyed it.   Craig and I both ordered the Heat Natural Burger with Bacon jam, Gruere, Peppery greens, House fries and jalapeno Aioli.  Craig added a fried egg to his burger and I didn’t because ew.  I thought the burger was pretty solid.  Juicy and a little messy (like a good burger should be) but hardly a stand out from anything you could get elsewhere.  My fries were cold and gross.  They had obviously sat out for a while.

So where did it all go wrong?  This place came highly recommended to me.  The Yelp reviews are impressive.  It didn’t make any sense.  We came to this place as lovers of great food and drink.  We wanted to like it but the whole night was a mess.  So we had to do something we’ve never done on this challenge: we had to speak to the manager.  I am loathe to complain but I, like several other people at this table, have experience in the restaurant industry and knew exactly how badly the ball had been dropped.  Especially considering we had reservations and dropped some serious cash (scroll back up and have another look at that bar tab) to have had such a negative experience.

The mark of a good restaurant is how they take a bad situation and make it right.  In addition to knocking 50% off our bill, the manager had the kitchen prepare 4 different desserts for the table, gratis.   This meant another 30-45 minutes but we love dessert and were eager to put a positive spin on the night.  Among the dishes they brought us were Strawberry Shortcake, Banana Bread Pudding with Cinnamon ice Cream and a S’more’s-style dish.  I’m pleased to report that these were all pretty fabulous.  A bitterwseet end of sorts.

The problem was this may have been too little too late as, of the 11 people in the group, only Craig and I would be willing to return to Heat in the future.  I’m no glutton for punishment, despite what my dating life would suggest, I’m just super curious to see if this bad experience was an isolated incident.  Chris wisely pointed out to the manager that there were bright spots on the menu and if they could get a handle on the kitchen, Heat could have real potential.  The problem is just that for a lot of people, the best food can sometimes be overshadowed by a bad service experience.

My hopes, they were higher.

Further reading: http://www.heatbarandkitchen.com/index.html

To see all of the pictures from this week’s restaurant, be sure to follow The Boy who ate San Diego on Instagram