juniper & ivy

wow, wow, wow!!!. i'm so glad richard blais decided to open a restaurant insandiego!!! this place is the bomb. from the moment you step in the front door you know you are somewhere special. beautiful, creative, upbeat urban decor - fun, friendly staff - incredibly creative cocktails and a menu that is so interesting and complex. i went with a group of girlfriends - we shared several dishes and bottles of wine and while the plates were small and pricey - everything was delicious, seasoned to perfection with flavors that totally pop - like nothing i've ever tasted. i recommend the carne cruda asada (raw seasoned chopped sirloin/filet? jalapeno, etc., on grilled toast with raw quail eggs) and the lamb pappardella with fresh peas and mint. yummy!!! (oh, the fluffy buttermilk biscuit is awesome too)

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 thesandiego distillery and i had enough whisky. so i ended up trying their house made apple juice that was pretty good and flavorful.

definitely asandiego! the menu is always changing and always to die for! modern creative and delicious. i’ll be back every time we are in town!

overall an outstanding meal that did not disappoint. the warm cheddar and chive biscuits at the start were perfectly salty, we had the roasted carrots with chimichurri and peanuts - perfect fall side dish!

i went with the snapper in a dashi broth with radish and mushroom. my husband had the socal chicken. we also shared the shrimp and pork rigatoni.

we paired with a sancerre and couldn't go wrong. we will be back next time we visitsandiego! service was top notch.

may 28th is the date to set all diets aside because calories don’t count on national burger day.  if you want to go the extra mile, you could say they don’t count the entire month of may, since the whole month is dedicated to america’s fascination with the hamburger.  grab your napkins and discover the very tastiest burgers in all ofsandiego. from a spam topped hawaiian styled patty to another complete with bacon and a fried egg, there’s a little something to whet your burger appetite!

let me start by saying that juniper & ivy is my favorite restaurant insandiego.  they opened in march 2014 and i’ve been 9 times already.  we always seem to take new people with us each time, exposing them to the culinary delights that this restaurant has to offer.  this time we brought our friends marybeth, philip, and veronica.  i do love when we take an odd number of people because that means extra pieces for me…lol!  the restaurant is located on kettner between juniper and ivy (hence the name).  the first thing you notice is the ambiance; the space is very modern and has a lofty feeling but with wood accents that give it a very warm and inviting vibe.  you’ll also notice that it is very busy, this is one of a few new places in little italy that has opened in the last 12 months that is helping to invigorate the sd food scene.  the big open space of the restaurant and bar has one small downside — it can be a bit loud here.  if you are sensitive to background noise, ask to sit on the outside patio.

last month, s and i celebrated our six-year anniversary! we chose juniper & ivy, richard blais’ first restaurant insandiego, as our celebration spot – both of us were big fans of chef blais on top chef and have been wanting to try j&i for quite some time. we requested to be seated at the chef’s table (or counter) when making the reservation, and we were lucky enough to get a spot there so that we could watch all the action going on in the kitchen!

this is my very first 5-star restaurant review! i've given 5 stars to one bar and one coffee house, but c'mon, that's a much easier scale. i have to say i'm so delighted to have found a place that lives up to every bit of its hype!

my absolute favorite things we had were our first and last courses: the smoked biscuit to start, and the yodel for dessert. the smoked biscuit smelled like a campfire in the very best way possible, and every bite of the yodel was like a gastronomical treasure hunt -- you never knew what you were going to find inside the delicate chocolate shell! we decided to split several small plates, and they were all excellent. i absolutely loved the heirloom tomato with "feta ice cream" and the socal burrata with plums. we also split the sausage and prawn rigatoni; it was a bit on the al dente side for my taste, but that's totally a personal preference so i can't dock 'em for it :)

again, everything from the food (most important, duh), to the service to the atmosphere and decor lived up to the hype. i went in to this meal feeling skeptical, and left a believer. if you live insandiego or are even just visiting, you have to put this place on your must-try list!

having been a fan of top chef richard blais, i didn't pass the chance of trying his 1st restaurant in the west coast. with most of his restaurants in atlanta, i was ecstatic when i found out that he just opened insandiego. blais is known for his love for molecular gastronomy and it's present in several of his dishes, some obvious, some not. like his deviled egg merengue is a must try, as well as his steak, which is in my list of the best steaks i've tried ever. and don't miss out on the yodel cake dessert! it's an interactive presentation! :p all in all its familiar dishes with just a touch of molecular science, but not hard core. there's still a lot of heart in the dishes, just how it is in the south. definitely a must try when you're in sd!

my friend alyssa (who used to write for this blog!) recently came back tosandiego 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 best good friend 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

u-tsandiego recently named juniper & ivy 2014 restaurant of the year. according to the paper, chef blais can be found working in the restaurant up to five nights a week, when he is not off shooting “top chef” or his new show “the hungry games.” chef blais has put his mark on this exciting restaurant, and i’m elated about the opportunity to eat his food.

there are any number of solid reasons why culinary master richard blais won bravo’s top chef all-stars challenge. having recently dined at juniper & ivy, blais’s newsandiego restaurant venture, it just so happens that my tastebuds have solid proof of his credentials. if you’ve not yet dined here, you really should be very envious right about now. however, in the event that you require more testimony to mr. blais’s credentials, here is a sneak peak at his impressive resumé:

san diego cool. warm wood surrounds. staff is attentive and easy on the eyes. food was prepared with extremely high attention to detail. exceeded my expectations.
olives in a bag for app
shaved asparagus andsandiego chicken were impressive to even this seattle foodie.

great place for friends at the bar or date to impress.

highly recommend

daveg