LAUREL

505 Laurel St.  (619) 239-2222

A new beginning for Laurel started in spring of 2005.  Tracy Borkum purchased the long standing establishment, adding it to her ever expanding Urban Kitchen Restaurant Group.  Laurel joined Chive, Kensington Grill, and Urban Kitchen Catering under the direction of Borkum.  After months of extensive renovations, Laurel has emerged as a stunning dining space, combining a contemporary design with an ultra hip pre war Paris vibe.

More changes have occured in 2006 including the departure of Amy DiBiasi who has been replaced by new executive chef Brian O'Connor.  Pastry Chef James Hampton has also joined the team.  Traditional French and Mediterranean cuisine has been given a modern twist with Laurel's intriguing, seasonally changing, menu.  Keeping all that in mind, I chose a warm August evening to investigate how all those changes affected the total dining experience.  After consulting with my server Amanda, I began my meal with the Crudo ($14).

Hamachi is first treated to an espelette marinade, after which it is rolled around an avocado, lime mousse.  The rolled fish is plated with red and purple tomatoes, and topped with a dab of lemon marmalade.  Finally the whole plate receives a drizzle of vanilla oil.  The tender hamachi gets spicy heat from the pepper marinade.  The mousse was rich and tart, the lemon marmalade tart and sweet, the oil savory.  Hot, sweet, savory, and tart components form a very complex flavor base that is showcased with the ultra fresh sashimi grade hamachi.  This is a really great offering.  I seemed to discover something new with each bite.  Next came the Hudson Valley Foie Gras Brulee ($16).

Chef O'Connor first soaks the foie gras in milk overnight.  After the bath, he puts the liver in a blender with egg yolks and whips the mixture together at high speed.  The resultant custard is baked until set.  Finally sugar is caramalized on top to form the brulee crust.  The foie gras had a light, foam like texture, with a rich liver taste.  It worked nicely with the sweet sugar crust.  Limousin vinegar added an intense apple component.  Quince plated to the side, worked well to counter the richness of the liver custard.  This is an unusual way to prepare foie gras, but I must admit, it was a lot of fun.  The third appetizer I ordered was the Torta Espanol ($15).

The souffle-like torta is made with Yukon gold potatoes and topped with baby arugula.  It is then served with Spanish sausage, lemon creme fraiche, and caviar, making for a stunning presentation.  The torta was light as air, and rich with the flavor of the potatoes.  Sampling the creme fraiche, caviar and sausage with the torta was thoroughly enjoyable.  I would order this again in a second.  To break up the starters from the entrees I was served strawberry sorbet in Shramsberg blanc de blanc champagne.

This was very refreshing and worked well as a palate cleanser.  The first entree to arrive was Rabbit Two Ways ($30).

The two ways implied in the name are rabbit confit and rabbit pie.  The rabbit confit is cooked in its own fat and stored in a pot covered with the same fat to preserve it.  A sliced saddle is topped with tea infused currants and served along side a leg.  The pie is served atop of a mojo verde.  The pie consists of a confit meat and liver mousse core surrounded by phylo dough, with powdered sugar dusted over the top.  I started with the confit, and it was tender, flavorful, and nicely complimented by the sweet currants.  I found the pie to be savory, buttery and sweet.  It reminded me of a mini bastella made with rabbit.  The pie was fabulous.  I could have eaten several more of these.  The next entree was the Forever Braised Lamb Shank ($29).

The lamb shank is braised for six hours in a liquid that includes espresso beans.  It is served on a bed of sour cherry wild rice and topped with mint crumbs and fried garlic chips.  Braised shanks are generally falling off the bone tender.  This was the case with the bottom half of my shank, but the top half was dried out and a bit stringy.  I am not really sure what happened here.  The portion that was cooked properly had great flavor and was very tender.  I think this offering has potential, and I just received a bad shank.  Next Amanda served the Alaskan Halibut ($28).

The wild caught halibut is coated in a panko parmesan crust, and is served amidst a spring vegetable ragout.  It is then treated to a lemon verbena beurre blanc, and topped with Royal Trumpet mushrooms.  The color presentation was dramatic, green peas, yellow corn, red cherry tomatoes, all highlighted by the purple verbena flowers.  With the first bite of halibut I was sold.  Cooked to a perfect medium rare, the fillet was tender and extremely juicy.  The parmesan crust was phenomenal, crisp, rich and nutty, accented further by the lemon white butter sauce.  I could not get enough of this entree.  This might be the best halibut I have ever had.  The time had come for desert.  The first I tried was the butterscotch pot de creme.

This was essentially a butterscotch flavored white chocolate pudding, with a texture that reminded me of pumpkin pie.  It was very rich and sweet, with an intense butterscotch flavor.  Being a man of appetite, a second desert was in order.  I selected the Ice Cream Sanwich.  Pastry chef James Hampton created an attractive presentation with this offering.

It is constructed of chocolate waffles, caramel ice cream, and macadamia nuts.  All of this is finished with creme fraiche and powdered sugar.  The flavors all worked together nicely.  This desert was a lot of fun.

The renovations at Laurel create a refined and visually stimulating dining environment.

Tracy Borkum, Brian  O'Connor and James Hampton have put together a menu that is imaginative and extremely enjoyable.  Unique ingredients and innovative flavor combinations make for an engaging culinary adventure.  The service is professional, yet not cloying.  The changes implemented by Laurel have taken this venerable San Diego dining establishment to a new level.

Comments

[Jim]

Oh my goodness Jack! And I thought that Kirk and the Missus ordered a lot of food! I hope you stuffed some in your pockets for later.

[Captain Jack]

Heh heh, no doggy bag this time Jim, but I was stuffed. I was still full when I woke up the next morning.

[Alice Q. Foodie]

Spectacular photos! I wonder if the change in Exec Chef has upped the quality of the service. We went twice and had problems with service and food temperature both times, though I like the concept. Everything you had looks great!

[Cathy]

Great photos, Jack. I am hungry looking at them.

[Captain Jack]

Hi Alice Q.
I visited at 9pm on a Saturday and the restaurant was not at capacity (70% or so). That may have speeded up service and kept my dishes from sitting and cooling off. Owner Tracy Borkum reads this blog. Hopefully she will read your comment.

[Captain Jack]

Hi Cathy,
Thanks, they make me hungry too.

[Scott]

Holy sheet! Am I reading this right? 3 (count 'em 3) entrees, a few starters and a couple of desserts? If so, you ARE da man!

[Captain Jack]

Hi Scott,

I really did, no stops for fast food on the way home this time. I was quite full. Thanks for visiting.

[Justine Chipper]

My friends and I had a chance to dine at Laurel's while we were passing through on business. We really enjoyed our main dishes, but the desserts are seriously lacking.

Work on it James! We'll check it out as we pass through again in the fall.

[Captain Jack]

Hi Justine,
Thanks for stopping by! Let's hope it was just an off night for the desserts.