North County restaurant followers are accustomed to the names and cooking of cooks Chris Idso and Judd Canepari, who’ve each run restaurant kitchens within the area for greater than 15 years.
This summer season, every grew to become the founding govt cooks at new Carlsbad eating places. Idso, who spent a mixed 18 years as govt chef at Pacifica Del Mar, is now heading up Linda DiNitto’s new Fresco Cocina in Carlsbad Village. And Canepari, whose numerous résumé consists of stints on the La Valencia Lodge, Rancho Bernardo Inn and La Costa Glen, is cooking at Mayur Pavagadhi’s new Polo Steakhouse on Avenida Encinas.
I spoke with each cooks about their menus and tried a few of their new signature dishes. Right here’s a style.
The bar inside Fresco Cocina in Carlsbad.
(Haley Hill Images)
Chris Idso: Fresco Cocina
It’s exhausting to think about Pacifica Del Mar with out Idso, who cooked on the seafood restaurant from 2000 to 2014, after which returned in 2018 after a four-year break cooking in Hawaii, Los Angeles and San Diego. However earlier this 12 months, the longtime Carlsbad resident bought a suggestion from DiNitto he couldn’t refuse: The chance to assist open a brand new restaurant in his hometown that centered on Latin delicacies somewhat than the principally seafood-focused dishes he had been cooking for many years.
DiNitto, who additionally owns 264 Fresco in Carlsbad Village, took over the previous KoKo Seashore dive bar at Carlsbad Boulevard and Grand Avenue final 12 months and remodeled the house into an upscale, multistory restaurant-bar with rooftop eating and ample areas for personal occasion bookings. An Italian raised in Venezuela, DiNitto needed the restaurant to have a South American menu, however Idso pushed to develop the cooking canvas with dishes from Southern Mexico, a area whose delicacies he perfected whereas cooking at Estancia La Jolla from 2016 to 2018.
By way of months of menu growth, analysis and tastings with DiNitto’s household, Idso arrived at Fresco Cocina’s menu, which celebrates the cuisines of Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru and Mexico. Diners are welcomed with a complimentary bowl of duros, a Mexican wagon wheel-shaped puffed wheat snack that’s been dusted with powdered mole seasoning. The menu is a mixture of shareable dishes and plated entrees with vibrant colours, textures and flavors that pack some warmth, however not an excessive amount of. Not surprisingly, Idso’s seafood dishes have rapidly grow to be the menu stars.
The roasted Chilean seabass pibil, foreground, and entire roasted huachinango Veracruz, background, at Fresco Cocina.
(Courtesy of Haley Hill Images)
What to order: Idso’s signature dish — and my favourite on the menu — is his roasted Chilean seabass pibil. The seabass fillet is first marinated in a chile achiote paste (pibil), then layered over a mattress of grilled chayote squash and black rice which can be wrapped and cooked in a banana leaf and served with roasted corn salsa on high. The entrée arrives on the desk nonetheless tucked contained in the leaf, which imparts a candy, floral taste to the fish. Idso stated he likes roasting pork in banana leaves and tweaked his recipe to honor the flavour and delicacy of the fish.
The octopus appetizer, served with spiced potatoes, honey-caramelized cipollini onions and chipotle aioli, as one other of my favorites. Idso stated the important thing to this shiny and spicy dish is the preliminary braising, which tenderizes the often chewy mollusk meat earlier than it’s given a ultimate char on the grill. Different noteworthy dishes are the entire roasted huachinango (Mexican snapper) with a Veracruz-style charred tomato, olive and chile sauce, and the Brazilian churrasco, made with marinated Prime skirt steak, contemporary herb chimichurri sauce, grilled broccolini spears, charred onions and fingerling potatoes. If it’s obtainable on the dessert menu, make room for the candy and tangy guava crème brûlée.
Brazilian churrasco skirt steak and fingerling potatoes with chimichurri at Fresco Cocina in Carlsbad.
(Courtesy of Fresco Cocina)
What to drink: Strive the Good Vibes, a refreshing, citrusy cocktail made with tequila blanco, contemporary grapefruit and lemon juices, orgeat (almond syrup) and a splash of Aperol.
Particulars: Open every day for lunch and dinner, with brunch on weekends. 2856 Carlsbad Blvd., Carlsbad. (442) 333-9321. frescococina.com
The caviar service at Polo Steakhouse in Carlsbad.
(Pam Kragen/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Judd Canepari: Polo Steakhouse
Over the previous 25 years, Canepari stated he has labored alongside many younger cooks who finally left San Diego to pursue their culinary ambitions and some earned Michelin stars. He took his profession in a special route, heading up restaurant operations at accommodations in La Jolla and Rancho Bernardo, a Vista well being spa and a La Costa retirement group. These company jobs weren’t as attractive within the chef world, however they provided the Temecula resident the posh of time he might spend at house together with his spouse and kids. However now at Polo, he has developed a novel steakhouse menu that he hopes will lastly deliver him to the eye of Michelin inspectors.
“That is the chance to place all of my work and life experiences collectively on the plate. I’m actually on the high of my recreation and it’s time to raise my workforce,” he stated.
Steakhouses aren’t recognized for profitable Michelin stars due to the conservative simplicity of their menus. So Canepari is taking conventional steakhouse dishes and giving them trendy, molecular and artistic twists, in addition to “zhuzhed-up” plate displays.
The inside of recent Polo Steakhouse in Carlsbad.
(Pam Kragen/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A very good instance is the eye-popping caviar service, which ranges from $65 to $140. The fish roe is served inside a full-size brass crab sculpture from Japan that sits atop a seascape of driftwood with edible seaweeds, bread crumb “sand,” lavender lace “coral” tuile and grains of celery and rock salts. And for diners who order among the greater and pricier cuts of steak, their meal will arrives with the garnish of steak bones that Canepari himself has carved and polished into shapes like forks, knives and leaves.
The escargot appetizer at Polo Steakhouse in Carlsbad.
(Pam Kragen/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
What to order: The intelligent escargot appetizer permits diners to get pleasure from the entire buttery garlic sauce that comes with the gone-too-soon snails. Canepari drills six holes in a heat toasted demi baguette, pushes the snail shells into the bread after which slathers the entire dish with heat garlic and beef marrow butter. If you happen to eat all of the bread, you received’t miss a drop. One other enjoyable starter is the oxtail consommé, a twist on French onion soup and a fresh-drawn pint of beer. The soup arrives in a tall beer glass, with a foamy (nitrogen-induced) head of puréed candy onions and a crispy Gruyère cheese tuile on high.
The gazpacho soup at Polo Steakhouse in Carlsbad.
(Courtesy of Angela J. Lee)
The gazpacho soup is served creatively in a bowl topped with a wide range of contemporary greens. The Prime Angus tartare is served in a hollowed-out beef bone with a custard egg. And the steaks — a mixture of USDA Prime, American Wagyu and Washugyu cuts from completely different farms and priced from $45 to $110 — are served a la carte with only a roasted garlic head and sprinkle of chives. The cheesecake and cannoli desserts are recipes from Canepari’s Italian grandmother.
What to drink: The Polo wine cellar has greater than 1,000 bottles, many inherited from the constructing’s earlier tenant, West Steak & Seafood. Reductions on drinks and the bar bites menu obtainable from 4:30 to six p.m. weekdays.
Particulars: Open 4:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays (opening on Mondays quickly). 4890 Avenida Encinitas, Carlsbad. (760) 930-9100. polocarlsbad.com
Michael’s Zuppa di Pesce, a seafood dish with beurre monte sauce at Polo Steakhouse in Carlsbad.
(Courtesy of Angela J. Lee)
