I kind of love the San Diego neighborhood of South Park.  It’s got small town charm with hipster-y pubs and bars plus a yummy ice cream parlor.  There’s also a number of great places to eat in this section of town.  Among them is a place many of my friends have been going to for years but I’d never been to.  Several people were shocked to hear I’ve never been to Alchemy to which I always responded next time invite me, bitches  I guess the timing just never worked out.  Oh well, that’s what this here challenge is all about.  Joining me in this week’s adventure were:

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

Amy-Vegetarian Belle, Author, Event Planner

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

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

Suzanne-My Italian soul sista, Can throw down in the kitchen, the cultured one who pronounces everything correctly.

Until we come back here and get a photo of all of us staggering drunk after sampling the entire drink menu, this shot will have to do.

The atmosphere at Alchemy is nice.  There’s books on ceiling.  I’m not sure why but it’s a quirky touch that I enjoyed and most importantly, not a single one fell on my head during dinner.  That’s a good thing,  as my ability to injure myself in unusual and hilarious ways is at damn near Wile E. Coyete levels.  Alchemy, as to be expected from their name, has a rather enormous drink menu.  Our group made good use of it here.  Aimee had the white Sangria, which she loved and applauded the fact that it was served without ice.  Amy ordered the Alchemist Mule (grapefruit-lime cordial & ginger-beer with Vodka) and later the Southpark (Gin, barrel-aged satsuma shrub & burnt orange).  She felt the real strength of this place was in their drinks with their interesting and different options.  Joey echoed those sentiments, adding that the cocktail menu was super thought-provoking and one that he’s eager to explore further.

For appetizers, Kelsey had the Shrimp Cocktail.  She found it nothing to write home about with a runny sauce.   Amy had the Pepita y Limon Ensalada (english cucumber, shaved radish, house blend red chile powder, arbequina olive oil,  micro cilantro)  and a bowl of Watermelon Gazpacho.  She said the salad was nice &light but could use a touch more chili powder.  In contrast, she loved the gazpacho and said it was fantastic.  Suzanne, Joey and I all ordered the Thai Corn Fritter (white corn,  chick pea flour,  fish sauce,  green curry,  micro cilantro & sweet chili sauce).  Joey called it delicious with a perfect pairing in the chili sauce but wouldn’t have minded a heavier hand with the fish sauce.  I really liked these.  The corn was fresh and sweet.  They were fried a little harder than I like but the flavors were all there and the sauce was insanely good.

I would build every course around this sauce… Which would get really awkward come dessert…

For main courses Aimee ordered K.C. BBQ Pork Spare Ribs, Cheddar cheese grits with apple wood smoked  bacon and cheddar bay biscuits with wild flower honey-butter.  Aimee  said her ribs were delicious; tender but not overdone with a great sauce.  Of less note to her were the sides, stale white bread and “grocery store quality” cole slaw.  Pretty standard sides in her estimation.  Her grits (which were strangely missing bacon) were good, which is high praise from an Alabama native raised on such fare.  The real star aside from the ribs for Aimee were the biscuits and honey butter, both of which she absolutely loved.  Suzanne had the Sancocho Columbiano (stew pot chicken,  carrots,  plantain , yucca,  sofrito,  avocado & micro cilantro).  This was a dish Suzanne grew up eating.  Alchemy’s approach was a little different from how she knew the dish but she enjoyed their take on it.  The temperature at which the dish was served was a little extreme and she’d never seen the dish served with bone-in chicken but she really enjoyed it and the soffrito based, which they seemed to nail.

Joey had the Watermelon Cod.  While the dish was light and fresh, Joey felt the flavors were lacking.  The seasoning that was there was noticeably uneven from bite to bite.  The pickled watermelon on the dish could’ve been stronger in flavor but the radishes offered a nice texture component.   Kelsey ordered Braised Beef Cheek with Ricotta Polenta and cheddar bay biscuits with wild flower honey-butter.  While she felt brown gravy was an odd choice for the dish, she did enjoy it but felt it was under seasoned and nothing she couldn’t make at home.  We’ll file the last part of that sentence under “things you’ll never hear me say unless a cereal restaurant opens somewhere”.

Amy ordered the Farro Risotto with heirloom tomato, broccolini, shaved golden beets, almond cilantro pesto & almond parmesan.    She was very impressed with the Farro.  Most places that offer a vegetarian or vegan options (Alchemy has both) tend to be limited and unimaginative in their offerings but Amy was really happy to see all that they offer.  She said Alchemy really knows how to make a good vegetarian dish.  “They get us.”   Harry had the shoe string frites & Larb Goong (shrimp tossed with lime, mint, bibb lettuce cups & peanuts).  Harry, like most of us who tried it, was crazy about the curry ketchup offered with the fries.  The curry spice with the tomato was kind of perfect.  Even Joey (a notorious ketchup detractor) seemed to like it.  Harry said the Larb Goong was really good with a nice, nutty flavor.

At first I resisted ordering the Fish & Chips as it seemed to be a very pedestrian choice.  I’ve noticed as time has gone on with this challenge, I’ve gotten used to ordering more unique dishes so this felt like a step back.  On the other hand, it was what I wanted so I went for it.  The portions were huge!  3 pieces of giant fried fish in newspaper.  That having been said, they were pretty delicious.  The fry went a little more well done than I prefer but it was super tasty and moist.  Then we have the chips.  THANK YOU SWEET LORD OF POTATOES!!!!  ACTUAL. STEAK. FRIES.  THIS is what I have been wanting for WEEKS!!!  Thick cut, done to perfection.  Floppy, moist and fluffy (also the names of my imaginary pet Llamas)  The garlic aioli was outstanding.  I’m sure the curry ketchup would’ve been pretty bomb with these also but by the time this occurred to me, the garlic aioli and I had already cemented our monogamous relationship with one another.  Seriously awesome.

Yes the fish was good but THEM FRIES, THO.

After dinner, Harry and Suzanne kept the drinking theme going with a flight of Ports.  They seemed to enjoy them very much.  Suzanne called them a great finish to a really nice meal.   Alchemy’s dessert menu is by no means large but we sampled some of it.  Aimee & Harry had the duo of house-made gelato (The featured flavors were Lime/Cherry and Pink Guava).  They were both very tasty but the portions were a bit small.  Just a scosche above tasting portions.     Amy ordered the Blueberry Bread Pudding with bourbon caramel, strussel and cinnamon gelato.  This one was pretty deadly.  Sweet in all the best ways.  It evokes flavors of every great kind of blueberry baked goods and the cinnamon gelato was outstanding.

The big Blueberry finish.

Overall I would say Alchemy lives up to the hype.  It seems like it would be a great place to stop in for a cocktail and some small plates at the bar.  Their brunch is also highly touted and this place made a good enough impression on me that I’m eager to return and see how many of those steak fries I can eat at try their brunch.

Further reading: http://alchemysandiego.com/

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