• Home
  • About us
  • Advertising
  • Digital Archive
  • Contact
    • Letter to the Editor
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
lgbtq-san-diego-county-news-logo-475x166
  • A&E
    • Art
    • Film
    • Music
    • Books
    • Theater
    • Q Syndicate
  • News & Features
    • News
      • Court News
      • News Briefs
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
        • Mara W. Elliot
        • Summer Stephan
        • Susan Davis
        • Toni G. Atkins
    • Features
  • Food & Drink
    • Hot Dish
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
  • Lifestyle
    • Health & Fitness
    • Travel
    • The Frivolist
  • Columns
    • Conversations with Nicole
    • Big Mike and Friends
    • Life Beyond Therapy
    • Houston We Have a Problem
    • Queer Parenting
    • Notes from Toni
    • Trans Talk with Connor
    • Pozitively Michael
    • Powerful Black Women
    • Lambda Archives
  • Business
    • Best of Gay San Diego
    • Business Profile
    • Wedding Directory
    • Expert Advice
    • Sponsored Links
  • Out & About
  • Calendar
lgbtq-san-diego-county-news-logo
  • A&E
    • Art
    • Film
    • Music
    • Books
    • Theater
    • Q Syndicate
  • News & Features
    • News
      • Court News
      • News Briefs
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
        • Mara W. Elliot
        • Summer Stephan
        • Susan Davis
        • Toni G. Atkins
    • Features
  • Food & Drink
    • Hot Dish
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
  • Lifestyle
    • Health & Fitness
    • Travel
    • The Frivolist
  • Columns
    • Conversations with Nicole
    • Big Mike and Friends
    • Life Beyond Therapy
    • Houston We Have a Problem
    • Queer Parenting
    • Notes from Toni
    • Trans Talk with Connor
    • Pozitively Michael
    • Powerful Black Women
    • Lambda Archives
  • Business
    • Best of Gay San Diego
    • Business Profile
    • Wedding Directory
    • Expert Advice
    • Sponsored Links
  • Out & About
  • Calendar
No Result
View All Result
lgbtq-san-diego-county-news
No Result
View All Result

Monarch Ocean Pub

By Ella James

10/21/2021
in Feature, Featured, Features, Food & Drink, Restaurant Reviews
0
Monarch Ocean Pub
0
SHARES
169
VIEWS

“An impressive array of shared plates, greens, sandwiches, flatbreads,
and entrees to suit any mood”

Two friends left the Del Mar beach, feet sandy and shorts wet. They walked through cottage retail looking for a place where they could get a sandwich and watch the game during sunset. They didn’t find one, so they created their own.

Monarch combines sophisticated comfort food with beach patio flair. The wicker lounge decor is a cohesive take on the last year of a pandemic where we collectively got more comfortable in our own backyards and are now ready to find an uplifting hang out. The wooden patio stretches around a giant bar that invites you to relax. Paddleboards, bicycles, and kayaks hang from the ceilings with a painted sign saying, “Wish you were here!” An outdoor bar and reception area fills the space with live music which can also be rented for events.

My date and I watched the blood-red sunset and sipped a POG mai tai and dragon fruit margarita while we waited for a table. A woman at the bar stood up to read a poem to wish us all a good night to cheers and applause. I forgot to ask if that was a nightly occurrence.

The food was an impressive array of shared plates, greens, sandwiches, flatbreads, and entrees to suit any mood. The wood-fired smoked wings had a dry rub which was not spicy. Their “Secret Spice” was a sweet and savory blend. The chicken was apple-wood smoked and cooked perfectly. It came with two sauces for dipping: a house made ranch and a bleu cheese. I was surprised at how good they were without being drenched in a high flavor sauce.

The server said they are known for their Yellowfin Tuna Poke. The garlic, crisp onion, and light pear combine with hearty chunks of yellowfin for a delicious bite. The purple potato chip almost broke each time I scooped some up, but that didn’t stop me. The chef allowed each flavor to speak without overpowering the fish. I started to notice a sweet-savory trend.

The farmer’s salad included seasonal cali-grown sustainable greens. Ours came with delicious butternut squash and smoked beets. The pistachio dusting gave a candylike finish. If you want the salad as your meal, you could add grilled chicken skewers, toasted farro pilaf, tuna, or Patagonia shrimp.

The mushroom burrata flatbread had a thick fluffy crust and the burrata was moan-inducing. I spent a long time on that flatbread. The dough was perfectly cooked and the cheese was very fresh.

The polenta was a point of contention and my date and I failed our compatibility test. Trust polenta to dish out some conflict. I loved the creamy fall dish with whole mushrooms. It reminded me of home cooking with sophisticated vegetables. My date didn’t enjoy it as much and was looking forward to our mains.

I looked at my date for his reaction to the Short Rib Pastrami sandwich. Envision a thick New Jersey accent as he said, “In the old days if you did something good, you got a pastrami sandwich. If someone gave you this sandwich, you must have saved someone’s life.”

The meat was thick cut, tender and juicy. It was a five-day labor of love. The chef smoked it for hours, and the next day it was firm enough to cut. You could serve this at a traditional deli or a fancy steakhouse. The meat’s quality shone through the chimichurri, aged gruyere, house mustard, pickles and rye bread. The fries were like thick-cut potato skins. Our server said the sriracha ranch was delicious to dip with but you have to ask for it separately. We will both be back for this sandwich.

The server also recommended the Cherrywood Smoked Pork Chops as a popular dish.

I got to compliment the chef on his playful flavors. Chef Craig Jimenez is San Diego born and bred. He opened a few other well-known spots in San Diego like Craft & Commerce. He trained in Nashville with Smokemasters from the Grand Ole BBQ in Flinn Springs, Texas. He brings in island flavors in his recipes like the Hawaiian Donuts: Cinnamon Ube Malasadas with Tahitian Vanilla Gelato. The grouping of dark purple balls was strange but the coconut and sugar flavors were homey and familiar.

As the night got darker, we could see the stars reflected on the ocean. I plan to go back to try all the other menu options and ask about that poem.

Next Post
AHF and Out of the Closet becoming “Roommates” in the Gayborhood

AHF and Out of the Closet becoming “Roommates” in the Gayborhood

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Read our digital edition

Volume 4, Issue 9, February 2023

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

AIDS Memorial Groundbreaking to be Held February 1 AIDS Memorial Groundbreaking to be Held February 10th!. For over 35 years, there has been a campaign for San Diego to join cities across North America to establish an AIDS Memorial honoring and remembering the over 8,500 men, women, and children who have died of AIDS. Read full story on the link below.

http://ow.ly/16rR50ML1EG
The Devil is alive in the United States, and it li The Devil is alive in the United States, and it lives in right wing, Republican driven state legislators. According to an article written by Matt Loffman for PBS, the Human Rights Campaign has identified 30 state legislators who proposed more than 115 bills targeting Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, and Non-Binary rights in their states. Everything from participation in sports to accessing medical care has been attacked. According to a poll conducted by PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist fewer than 3 in 10 people support any anti-Trans legislation, yet the Republic legislators continue to introduce and vote for all of them. It is hard to understand why these Republicans are voted into office over and over when they obviously do not reflect the wishes of their constituents. click link to read more

http://ow.ly/smtK50MIEEA
What started as a personal social media project vi What started as a personal social media project via Instagram during the pandemic, Hillcrest San Diego has become a 10K subscriber resource for news, history, memes, and all things Hillcrest. We caught up with Rick Cervantes the force behind the account to get to know more about the motivation behind it, the plans for the Instagram account and the upcoming inaugural #hillcrestsandiego Honors with its reception schedule for Monday February 6 at Uptown tavern to honor local community members and organizations.
Read the full Interview on the link below
http://ow.ly/OJ9k50MIEBZ
Our community has been built on the need for resou Our community has been built on the need for resources and support, and sectors in our community have also been called to create organizations that enrich and serve their own specific needs. One such organization is the San Diego LGBTQ Coalition.  Read full article on the link below
https://lgbtqsd.news/san-diego-black-lgbtq-coalition-a-stronger-front-for-the-betterment-of-the-community/
Read all our February Issue Articles on our websit Read all our February Issue Articles on our website!
https://lgbtqsd.news

our on our Digital edition courtesy of issuu!
https://issuu.com/sdcnn0/docs/lgbtq_news_february_2023
They are fresh off the press! They are fresh off the press!
The February Issue is OUT Today! Pick up a copy a The February Issue is OUT Today! 
Pick up a copy around town!
We are Welcoming February with a NEW Issue! We are Welcoming February with a NEW Issue!
Black History Includes Black LGBTQ History! Black History Includes Black LGBTQ History!
Load More... Follow on Instagram
lgbtq_san_diego_county_news

© 2019 LGBTQ San Diego County News. All rights reserved.

Navigate our site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • A&E
    • Art
    • Books
    • Film
    • Music
    • Q Syndicate
  • News & Features
    • News
    • Features
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
      • Susan Davis
  • Food & Drink
    • Hot Dish
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
  • Lifestyle
    • Health & Fitness
    • The Frivolist
  • Business
  • Columns
    • Conversations with Nicole
    • Big Mike and Friends
    • Black Lives
    • C…Community
    • Frankly Speaking
    • Houston We Have a Problem
    • Life Beyond Therapy
    • My Good Tootie
  • Out & About
  • Contact
  • Archive
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Calendar

© 2019 LGBTQ San Diego County News. All rights reserved.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In