A quickly rising neighborhood of San Diego is one I hold near and dear to my heart; North Park.  It can be hipsterific (even the name is ironic.  It’s South of me and it’s almost impossible to find a place to park).  Back in the day, North Park was the place to go for dive bars, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, hole-in-the-wall adult book stores and some well-stocked thrift shops.  In recent years, they’ve cleaned up their act and several hip, upscale eateries have surfaced all over the neighborhood.  I’ve covered a few on this here blog already so basically I’m running out of things to say about North Park.  Waypoint Public, the brainshild of Executive Chef Amanda Baumgarten, is one of the newest additions to the ‘hood and I was ready to see what they had to offer with my trusty companions.

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

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

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

30 beers on tap? I nominate these men as tribute.

The design of Waypoint Public is definitely bar-centric, with just a few picnic tables in the open-air space.  There’s even a cute little play area for kids (or, I would imagine, drunk adults.  Don’t quote me on that.)  The vibe is cool and while it was pretty crowded, it wasn’t so loud I couldn’t hear anything.  As I am not a beer fan, Chris, Harry and even Aimee decided to take the hit for me and ordered themselves some drinks.

Aimee ordered an Anthem Pear Cider, which she described as “very yummy”.  Having tasted it myself, I can completely get behind that assessment.  The 1st beer Chris ordered as the Haandbakk; a Flanders oud Bruin from HaandBryggeriet.  He tried to pronounce it and injured his tongue.  Not in a dissimilar way to how I injured my tongue when I tasted it.  Gross.  He, on the other hand, quite enjoyed it.  Harry had a Midnight Sun Beserker.  He said it was really tasty.  Heavy dark and nice.  It also did its job with the alcohol.

For starters, I was told by someone who’s opinions I trust on such matters to order the pretzel.  It comes out hot, fresh and covered in salt.  It’s also served with 2 different types of mustard; a sweeter one and and one with peppercorns.  The peppercorn kind was the best.  The pretzel, however, wasn’t quite the showstopper I was hoping for.  The one I had a South Paw Social Club a few months back was far superior.  It was still good, though.

Hot, fresh and terrified to see me. Same way I likes my dates!

For main courses, Chris ordered the Shrimp and Chorizo Arrabiata with House Made Tagliatelle and Spicy Tomato Sauce.  He was not particularly in love with this dish.  While the flavors were on point, he felt a $16 plate should come with more than just the 3 shrimp he found on his plate.  I thought it had a really good flavor and I’m a sucker for fresh pasta.   Aimee had the Mussels with Pork Belly with Kale, Tomato Sherry Broth & Grilled Bread.  She says this dish was AMAZING.  Perfectly steamed mussels with broth and bread delicious enough to make a return visit.  She also quite enjoyed the service (which I have to say was excellent).  Our server saw she had eaten most of her bread and offered to bring her more.  Nice touch.

Harry ordered the cassoulet, a classic french dish with duck, pork skin, haricots verts and beans.   He deemed it nothing short of incredible.  A flawless blend of simple favors that came together perfectly.  Chris was also raving about it.  He said it Cassoulet encompasses everything there is to love about French food when done right and Waypoint Public did it right.  I ordered the Crab Pot Pie with red potatoes, assorted veg  and crispy pork skins baked inside a flaky crust.  It was rich, warm and tasty but the number one flavor note I came away with from the dish was salty.  It was very salty but still enjoyable.

Added charm: None of the plates match.

We also enjoyed some side dishes with our meals.  Chris and Harry had the sauteed baby broccoli, which they said was decent enough but nothing Earth shattering.  I ordered a side of Jalapeno Mac & Cheese, which was rich, tasty and delightfully zesty with a nice heat to it but nothing compared to Aimee’s side order, which I have to take a moment here to focus on because it one of my favorite parts of this meal:  The Fries.  Sounds strange, I know but i took one of Aimee’s.  Then another.  Then another.  I then stopped our server to order a plate of my own.

You guys, these are THE BEST FRIES IN SAN DIEGO.  I have lived and eaten here for more than 16 years and I totally stand by that statement.  I mentioned in my review of Alchemy how particular I am with my fries.  I love thick cut steak fries but these were on another level.  Thick cut, well seasoned and floppy.  Yeah, I said floppy.  I love floppy fries.  These were everything I love about french fries and the whole batch of them were like that.  I’m in love.

These french fries are the Prince guitar solo of food. (That means they were my favorite thing)

In closing, our experience at Waypoint Public was a really good one, particularly for our beer lovers in the group.  Chris mentioned that the beer list alone was reason enough to return.  I would happily accompany him just for those fries.  Maybe some Cassoulet too but fries.  Seriously, I dream about them.

Further reading: http://www.waypointpublic.com/

To see all of the pictures from this dinner, be sure to follow The Boy who ate San Diego on Instagram!