STINGAREE

454 Sixth Ave. (619) 544-9500

Recently I was queried about my position on the foie gras controversy.  My position is seated.  As in seated at a table in front of several seared medallions from those fabulously bloated livers, fork in hand, ready to indulge.  Oh, and God bless the folks at Hudson Valley Farms for good measure.  It should be no surprise then, that I was thrilled when I received a tip from Gil at What We Dig about a tasting menu, being hosted by  Stingaree, that was celebrating foie gras.  The concept was to feature six local celebrity chefs, each charged with creating one of the six courses, to form a foie gras themed menu.  There was no way I was going to miss out on that.  Let the foie gras gluttony commence.

The first item to arrive was an amuse bouche by Antonio Friscia of Stingaree.  The amuse bouche consisted of a Rougie Foie Gras "Torchon", with Tangerine Brioche, Fig Marmalata, and Prosecco.

The terrine style torchon was poached to perfection, and had a lusty, rich liver flavor.  Using the French Rougie Farms product was an interesting twist, but I could not discern any quality advantage over stateside Hudson Valley's offerings.  The brioche had a nice tangerine flavor, and the fig Marmalata added a sweet component when married with the foie gras.  Chef Friscia did a great job of getting the meal started.

The First course was conceived by Chef Andrew Spurgin of Water's Fine Catering.  It consisted of Carmel Glazed Foie Gras with Peppered Brioche and Pear, a Cider Reduction Kumquat-Huckleberry Salad, and a glass of Beaumes-de-Venise wine.

The caramel glazed, seared foie gras with pear was the perfect combination of rich, tart and sweet.  The salad was enjoyable, and the Beaumes-de-Venise was an excellent pairing.  I really enjoyed this offering.

The second course was by Molly's executive chef, Brian Sinot.  He featured Pasta, in the style of Acquerello, with Madeira, Sauce Foie Gras, and Shaved Black Truffle.  Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, there is no photograph.  I indulged in the Ridged Pasta with Foie Gras and Black Truffles at Acquerello during my December trip to San Francisco.  It is a wonderfully rich pasta dish, and I enjoyed Chef Sinot's interpretation.  I mean, what is not to like?  Truffles and foie gras, my two favorite culinary entities.

The third course was created by Christian Graves of JSIX.  It was Meyer Lemon Poached Petrole Sole with House Made Sauerkraut, Sonoma Artisan Foie Gras Sauce, and Spaetzle.

Although the portion size of the sole was not large,  it was cooked too a perfect, succulent, medium rare.  The sauce was fantastic and surprisingly light, not weighing down the delicate fish at all.  I also loved the house made sauerkraut and spaetzle.  This offering was a lot of fun.  I would love to see it on the JSIX menu.

The fourth course was the brain child of Brian Malarky from Oceanaire Seafood Room.  It was Confit of Duck Two Ways, one with Blood Orange Gastrique Reduction, the other with Broken Pomegranate Vinaigrette.

 

Chef Malarky's duck had a nice crisp skin, with very tender and moist meat.  The Orange gastrique had a good concentrated orange flavor, with a solid natural sugar component.  The tartness of the pomegranate lent itself well to the vinaigrette.  The two ways complimented each other nicely.  This was a solid duck confit I would happily order again.  Maybe Oceanaire will add it to their menu (hint, hint).

The final dessert course was by the Chef of Modus, Nathan Coulon.  It was a Foie Gras Creme Brulee, with Tarte Tatin.

The crust of the creme brulee was perfect.  The obvious intrigue here was the foie gras flavoring of the custard component.  I liked it a lot.  It will not replace the traditional creme brulee flavoring, but I believe it stands on its own unique merit.  The apples in the tarte tatin had good texture and were nicely caramelized. The crust was rich and buttery.  Chef Coulon turned in a solid performance with this dessert offering.

Stingaree provides an interesting setting for dining.  It has the feel of a chic Manhattan loft with its exposed brick, neon lights, and modern bar.  On this Thursday evening there was a live jazz band.  My table was fairly close to the bar which gave me the feeling that I was part of a happening scene.  If you are looking for quiet conversation, you should consider dining earlier, at a table further away from the bar.  I had an 8:30 pm reservation and the bar started filling up during the course of my meal, upping the noise level noticeably.  Personally I enjoyed the hip, bustling vibe, but that is just me.

What do you get when you combine a sleek new restaurant, six talented chefs, and luxurious foie gras?  One hell of a good time, that's what.  If this event was held once a month, I would be there every time, with bells on.  Having events like this show up on our sleepy berg's calendar, bodes well for San Diego's culinary future.  2006 saw San Diego grow substantially as a fine dining destination.  The Foie Gras Dinner hosted by Stingaree was a great way to kick off 2007.

$80 per person

$30 wine pairing

San Diego Restaurant Reviews

Comments

[Kirk]

Hey CJ - Sounds like a real dream come true for you! I know how much you love Foie Gras.....

[Jim]

My goodness Jack! The food looked too pretty to eat. How about the portion size?

And to think some clown on Chowhound thinks food in San Diego sucks...we both know better!

[Gil]

So glad you were able to make it and jealous that I was not! At least I got to experience it vicariously through you.
Great write up!

And Jim, I read that guy's post on Chowhound (as well as Chowhound staff's ridiculous statement to keep discussion north of the border when someone mentioned Laja -- clearly they are not from our border town where some of go across to eat now and then) and couldn't agree with you more. We have great food here, you just need to know where to find it.

Gil

[Captain Jack]

Hey Kirk,
I know, how cool was that? I had to pinch myself a few times during the meal to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

Hey Jim,
Portion size was the usual for a high end tasting menu, on the smallish side. As we were leaving my buddy Norman said "let's hit another restaurant", and I was like "bring it". So we had our driver Bobby take us to Tajima where we both had a Hamburg steak, and Mixed Seafood Okonomiyaki. That little bastard can really eat and he is half my size.

As far as mangiatore on Chowhound, he (she?) is just some philistine stirring up trouble. First he talks trash about SD dining acting like he is an expert on high end restaurants. Then later in the thread he admits he has to think long and hard about which place to try first, and I quote "I only have so much $". How can you be an authority on something you can not afford to do on a regular basis? He also claims "I have lived here for quite some time" yet he has not dined at the usual suspects like Tapenade, Nine-Ten or El Biz? Yeh, this person's opinion really matters. I would have pointed this out on Chowhound but they would just delete my comment and ban my IP address.

cheers

[Captain Jack]

Thanks Gil,

And thank you also for tipping me off about the event.

When it comes to high end restaurants here is my take on U.S. cities.
Rank:
1 NYC (undisputed champion).
2 Tie, San Francisco, Los Angeles (both big hitters, just different).
4. Las Vegas (who would have thunk it 15 years ago)?
5 Chicago, but on shakey ground with the ban of foie gras.
6 New Orleans, with the provision that it is very one dimensional.

Past that, San Diego can take on all comers. We have improved by leaps and bounds in the past few years.

Perhaps even more significantly, we have several high end restaurants that would be competitive in any of the above mentioned markets.

[SwissherChef]

Foie Gras tastes like dishwater that has been reduced to a muddy puddle w/ a little roux thrown in!
Oceanaire Seafood has a limited menus and requires very little culinary skills, look at the background of the chef, why is it successful? Location, my friend and it is a safe menu!!! Blahhh!

[Captain Jack]

SwissherChef,

Foie gras is a culinary treasure, and your ignorant comments indicate to me, that you took time out from your "Swiss Chef" duties manning the fryer at Denny's to bore us with your useless drivel.

Oh, and I am not your "friend".

[Jim]

Oh, but I am your friend!

Dude, you guys went from Stingray to Tajima?!?! What a culture adventure in the same night!

[Captain Jack]

Hey Jim,

We tried Rainwater for big ribeyes first, but they no longer stay open past 11pm. So Tajima it was. Have you checked out the forum on WhatWeDig.com yet? If not, I encourage you to do so. This could solve our Chowhound problems, at least at a local level. And yes, you are a valued friend. Just no BFF OK? That crap never lasts.

[Alice Q. Foodie]

This is too funny! I'm glad you got to go to this Jack, I probably would have too, but I had cake class.

One of these days we're going to have to have a foodie get-together, so we can bash these idiots in person! :-)

[Captain Jack]

Sounds like fun Alice Q., let's do it. Did you see we both received some media attention in the San Diego Reader this week? (page 187) I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts A.R. Valentien wishes they had a do-over for San Diego Restaurant Week.

[Chubbypanda]

Chowhound is moderated by tight-assed cretins, which is why they keep deleting requests for a San Diego board. It's like they're determined to ignore the fact that there are *three* major dining cities in California.

I'm with you on the foie gras. Food is food. Foie gras production isn't any different from how eggs are produced or how beef cattle is raised. We're omnivores. Our hands are already bloody. At this point, it's just a matter of degrees, and anyone who believes otherwise is a hypocrite. So, let's lift our forks and enjoy!

[Captain Jack]

CP,
Look at you gettin' all philosophical and shit. Seriously though, you have an extremely valid point. Folks need to stop screwing around and decide, you either eat animals or you don't. I am all in. Give me milk fed veal, foie gras, and the cute little bunny rabbit. Hell, I drank fresh snake blood, ate domestic cats, dried scorpions, young, black, male dogs, and poisonous cobra when I was in Guangzhou. I think the Chinese have a healthy way of looking at animals (and insects for that matter) as a food source. If they can catch it, they will eat it. Let's lift our forks indeed.

[Gil]

Great press in the Reader CJ.

Chubbypanda, I wrote that exact post in Chowhound and it was gone within 4 minutes. That is a big reason we just opened up a forum at www.whatwedig.com specifically for San Diego. We are hoping it will catch on for locals discussing food.

[Katrina]

Disgusting. I find your comments to be offensive, pompous and arrogant. It's one thing to eat meat, which has been slaughtered humanely... That's quite the oxymoron... slaughter? humanely?? But to eat something that has been literally tortured for human consumption is nauseating. You obviously have zero tact and even less compassion. At least by checking this site, I know where NOT to dine. I would starve before dining in the same restaurants you do.

[Captain Jack]

Katrina,
If God didn't want us to eat foie gras he wouldn't have made it taste so good.

Feel free to starve away.

Should anyone desire to comment directly on Katrina's PETA dogma diatribe you can contact her at:

spectregh@yahoo.com
IP address 70.190.231.52