juniper & ivy

we were really excited to be able to get a reservation at juniper and ivy, the restaurant of top chef alum richard blais where executive chef anthony wells creates a very creative menu that would for sure excite the culinary curious...unless vegetarian. i wish restaurants were keeping their menu online up to date because jodi was excited to try their pasta with truffle, but unfortunately it was not there, their menu changing on a regular basis and the waiter did not really come back with options besides what was there written. so i left glad i got to try that place; jodi was less enthusiastic than i was...here is what we had:i did not feel like having a cocktail as we came back from a visit at the san diego distillery and i had enough whisky. so i ended up trying their house made apple juice that was prettygoodand flavorful.

fantastic meal!!! the duck corn dog was sooooo good! another highlight was the beef tongue. but the best was probably the lamb noodles. i also had the biscuit with foie gra butter which wasgood(some people at my table really loved it). this place is great with a group so you can share and try a little bit of everything. to be honest everything was sogoodthere, i would totally go back since the menu changes daily.

"a ok"

solid experience and would be willing to give them a second go next time i'm in town. goodfood marred by a few missteps that add up over the night.

ordered the oysters, which were fresh and paired well with their prepared accouterments. every oyster had large flicks of shell in it. the lamb belly had a delicious flavor but was incredibly over salted. my biscuit was cooked perfectly on the outside but doughy and under done at the bottom.

both cocktails i had were great.

i was super excited to come here and when i did the hostesses were so rude as soon as we walked in the door. second, they gave us the smallest table they could find, which of course, i wasn't going to sit in. the hostess did nothing to change it until a really nice server approached us and saved the night. the food here is very unique and with so many flavors at once, which can be a bit overwhelming. i had about 5 things to share from the whole menu and let me say that my favorite was a potato dish with chorizo and the bbq carrots. the restaurant is really nice and comfy andgoodfood, but i definitely expect better service next time.

fun and different small plates!. we ordered a bunch of small plates. everything was interesting and everything was unique. we shared some deviled eggs and they were made using molecular gastronomy. the creamy filling sat in hard egg white mousse shells. we also had pastrami trout that tasted like pastrami on rye. my favorite plate was the almond wood grilled carrots, they were amazing. i have no idea how they made carrots so special. i liked some things i tried more than other things but every thing wasgoodand service was excellent. atmosphere is comfortable and casual.

my friend alyssa (who used to write for this blog!) recently came back to san diego to visit with her husband, j, and her two adorable little ones. she made plans to go to juniper & ivy and invited me along! i’ve been interested in trying out juniper & ivy for so long and was glad to get the chance to hang out with my bestgoodfriend and to eat tasty delicious things. juniper and ivy is one of chef richard blais’ restaurants, in case you have no idea (though i bet you do). i’ve never watched top chef (i know, that’s probably weird for a food blogger, but oh well) but i know there was a lot of excitement around the opening of this restaurant. the restaurant has a fun, open space and an open kitchen if you’d like to have a show with your meal. we had kiddies with us so we sat in a little corner. we got there quite early (about 5:30pm) and beat the crowds that evening.  instead of fancy white napkins, you get a kitchen towel. i wanted to steal it and take it home with me.  [ juniper & ivy menu ] i poured over the menu trying to figure out what it was that i wanted to order. minion had been here a few months ago and told me about a disappointing dish he tried, which was a pork chop. i scolded him and told him to not order pork chops in the future. most restaurants can’t seem to get pork chops right!  there were no pork chops on the menu this evening. the menu changes so often though that

good stuff. we got lucky with agoodparking spot on a saturday night. keep in mind parking might be difficult, it is in little italy. anyway, the food was great! definitely get the biscuit!! it's just one biscuit, but it's a big biscuit and the smoked butter on it is phenomenal. i would be content with just that. i got the butternut squash agnolotti. delicious. i love squash and pasta together to begin with, but it was really good. not too sweet. my husband loved his po boy, but didn't care for the carne asada. mainly because it wasn't hot. it's served at like room temperature. i didn't think it was bad...service was good. we sat at the bar and it took a while for anyone to take our order, but once they did, the service was great. the place is pretty, and seats more people than it looks. make a reservation though if you want a table.