The Linkery - photo courtesy of Bonzo McGrue, San Diegan, foodie, and traveler.
We’re having a fabulous time here in San Diego. I’ve been pleasantly buoyed by the growing food scene here.
And yet…it puzzles me.
San Diego has long hovered in LA’s shadow, not quite fully grabbing the baton of the west coast city relay (if I may pull an olympic on ya). That’s all changed in the past few years. And in one way, they’ve surpassed my hometown in flying colors.
They’ve developed a food culture not unlike the one we enjoyed in Sonoma - a firm focus on local harvests, local catches, artisinal, small batch, non-commodity meats - without any decline in quality. We dined at a place last night that brews their own beer, cures their own meats, has an amazing selection of California wines, and has a menu that looks like it was designed by the local farm association. That’d all mean squat if it weren’t for the fact that everything was rip-roaringly tasty and presented with gorgeous flair. And on a Sunday night in North Park? It. Was. PACKED. My taste buds confirm it wasn’t locavore hype. They do things differently. These folk (from the chef to the servers) knew food intimately, served it professionally, without a single snark or pause, and lured an audience that spanned the demographic rainbow. There wasn’t an ounce of pretension in the air. It felt like the neighborhood hang out. Don’t mind our stellar gastronomic achievements, they seem to say, just hang out and have a great time - oh and we’ll select a nice pairing for that sweet lemon tartlet you just ordered - I’ve tasted almost the entire drink menu.* Shall I tell you about the eggs that went into the tart? I drove out to the farm to pick them up myself…*
And LA can’t have that because…? Who knows. Maybe the rent’s just that much higher. Maybe the crowd is just that much more Hollywood. Maybe because SD is still relatively young and growing, they have less industry baggage to contend with. Maybe we’ve overdeveloped just that much - LA County isn’t the agricultural juggernaught it once was (SD County boasts that agriculture is their 5th largest industry).
Don’t misunderstand me - the diversity of LA’s food scene is vast, and is certainly a hallmark of its greatness. And there are a few places that give a nod or two to some farmers in a few menu items. But really good, locally-sourced California cuisine is still something that requires putting up with a bit of ‘oo la la’ around here. I long for a Linkery-style paradigm shifter that proves it can be done without wounding the ego or the pocketbook. Really, it’s not a mystery, this is not the grand arena, we can eat well, eat locally, and have a good time doing it. Dream it. Cook it. I’ll eat it.
* real conversations btw…Our server had tried the entire drink menu - in little sips here and there - and had some well-informed suggestions for pairings for both beers and wines. Also, JJ had asked if he could have the egg omitted from his dish and the server convinced him he’d be missing a huge treat, going into a story about her drive out to the farm to make a pick up. He had the egg. And it was good.
EDIT: So before I’m eaten alive by my own kind for speaking my mind - yes, I know there are some restaurants that are local food-friendly in LA. I’ve even eaten at some of them - shocking, no? The diff between LA and SD lies in the culture of the thing. Local California cuisine, proudly made from local farm ingredients or non-commodity meat sources isn’t the driving force here that it is becoming in SD, or that is is up north, in ALL levels of restaurants, from small bistros and bohemian cafes to giant gastopubs built in converted warehouses and fine dining establishments. They’re soaking in it, as it were. This is not a dis against the Angeli Caffe or Josie’s on Pico or the gastro-flamethrowers like Lucques or Rustic Canyon or Campanile. But take a look at the path The Linkery is daring to trailblaze and tell me how we missed that boat? Seriously.
