As we get older we often yearn for the simpler days of our youth.  Those comforts that bring us right back to our childhood.  Things like board games, playing outside til it gets dark or getting the day off from school to go testify in divorce court with your parents.   We all treasure these memories.  Food can often be great for memory association.  I don’t think there’s a kid alive that doesn’t love tater tots.  Those crispy little nuggets of carb-y goodness fried in sunshine.  And if your kid doesn’t love tater tots?  There’s something seriously wrong with your child.  Take him or her to counseling today and try to pin point the exact moment where your failure as a parent led your kid down this awful path.

I would love to tell you that my need to explore new American urban cuisine in a trendy area of San Diego led me to Empire House but let’s be honest, I’m here for the tots.  Do I look like Giles Coren to you?!  (I wish, what a cutie.)   Empire House specializes in comfort food with a new urban edge.  Kinda like when that first vaguely ethnic family moved into your neighborhood and brought some bomb ass covered dish to the block party that was amazing, wasn’t drowning in mayonnaise and had actual flavor.  You start talking and turns out they love Eight is Enough too!  Your families then become super besties and spend the holidays reassuring relatives that their purses and valuables are still safe when they come over to the house.  I’m starting to think my upbringing may not have been so typical after all.  Let’s compare notes later.

The menu at Empire house offers a wide variety of dishes from burgers, sandwiches and  hot dogs (which they call Haute Dogs.  I died!) to salads and “Tot Pots”, which was exactly why my fat ass is here  appealing to my sense of child-like culinary wonderment.  My friends and I ordered a large cross section of the menu.  “HIGHLIGHTS!”*

*If you read that word in the exact way it’s said in “The Reynolds Pamphlet” from Hamilton, we are now best friends.  I have the soundtrack on Vinyl.  Come over and have Hamilton feelings with me.  There will be singing along.  You can’t be Angelica because I’m Angelica.  And Aaron Burr.  And everyone else.   Just listen to me sing.

On the real, the day I went to Empire House was one of the worst in my entire life.  My world had pretty much been shattered earlier that morning with the death of my favorite musician of all time: Prince.  My music is my life.  Prince is my favorite music.  Therefore my life collapsed in an elevator at Paisley Park where it transitioned to bring an everlasting funky party to another plane of existence.  Awful.  Just awful.  I needed my friends.  I needed a drink.  In what can only be described as divine intervention (and if you think Prince and Divine are not hanging out right now…) Empire House offers a mule called the Raspberry Beret.

Fresh raspberries, mint, ginger, vodka.  Seriously, what more could I want?  Oh right, I WANT PRINCE BACK.  But in spite of the lack of necromancy, Empire House gave me what I needed and it was very tasty.  Also, huge and generously poured because Hillcrest.

In the other beverages department, the beer lovers in my group praised the selection, adding that the bottle selection does edge out the selections on tap.  Good to know if you’re into that kinda thing.

When it came time for the fooding, a real stand out arrived right out of the gate.  Empire House offers something called “Sausage Bread”.  I guessed it would be some kind of cheesey sausage puff type savory muffin-thing.  I was wrong.  Sausage Bread is Italian sausage, peppers, onions, mozzarella and parmesan cheese rolled into house-made dough before being baked and served with marinara sauce.  Based on a dish he grew up with, made by his Mom, Empire House co-owner Larry made some tweaks to the recipe and the results are just fabulous.  You can dip it in the marinara but it seriously didn’t need it.  This small plate was delicious, unique and loaded with awesome flavors.  Worth the trip alone.

So delicious! I never thought of Hillcrest as a place where a guy could find great sausage.

For my main course, I had Tots Magee (Tots covered with white cheddar, bacon, green onions and sour cream.  I added steak).  While it was certainly new culinary ground being broken, it was thoroughly enjoyable.  Several of my friends at the table had a side of garlic Aioli with their meals and they all LOVED it.  I love a good aioli so I also dipped some of my tots in it.  This was a good life choice.

Yes, I know the picture is blurry. Look, I was in mourning, dude. Cut me some slack.

Other items ordered by my friends were met with positive reviews including the “Off the street” steak tacos and some of the burgers.  There were some head scratchers, like the lack of any dessert options but while unusual, I wouldn’t consider it a reason not to go here. Chocolat is right up the street, ready and willing to serve you grief crepes with Nutella so you can drown your sorrows about losing your favorite musician.  Just, trust me on that one.

I enjoyed my meal at Empire House and I am really enthusiastic about going back for breakfast.  Based on the fabulous Sausage bread, it seems comfort food is where Empire House really shines and I’m here for it.

Further reading