Hi everyone.
In order to make our last night in San Diego a memorable one, my friend and I searched for and found a special restaurant called “Juniper & Ivy” which became the perfect finale of our trip. The restaurant helped us change what we initially thought about San Diego. The city is not as big as LA where we are from, but it has a feeling of timeless leisure and calm which some people may consider to be boring depending on their taste. The purpose of this article is to share our experiences at the restaurant in San Diego.

안녕하세요. @CityhasSoul 입니다. 지난 샌디에고 여행 포스트에 이어 이번에는 여행중 정말 맛있었던 레스토랑을 소개해 드리려고 해요. 샌디에이고에서의 기억할만한 저녁을 원했던 우리는 열심히 서치한 끝에 레스토랑 "Juniper & Ivy" 로 향했습니다. ‘여유로와 보였지만 조금은 심심한 작은 도시’ 라는 기억을 ‘맛과 멋으로 가득찬 신선하고 세련된 도시’라고 바꿔준 곳이었어요. 그 곳에서 무엇을 ‘경험’했는지 소개해드릴게요.

A celebrity chef by the name of Richard Blias who was a winner of a hit TV show called ‘Top chef’ opened the restaurant in Little Italy of San Diego in 2014. ‘Little Italy’ is very a lovely town that I couldn’t help but fall in love with as soon as I arrived there. [I am planning on introducing Little Italy in a future post so stay tuned for that]. Inside the restaurant I could see the confidence and pride of ‘Chef Blias’ through his wide-open kitchen, and the names of each of his team members’ on his restaurant menu.

2014년, 리틀 이탈리아 지역에 문을 연 “Juniper & Ivy’는 ‘탑쉐프’라는 TV 프로그램에서 우승한 스타 쉐프 Richard Blai 가 이끄는 곳으로 샌디에이고에서 주목받는 곳이었어요. 주변에 멋진 바와 레스토랑이 많고 멀리 항구가 보이는 리틀 이탈리아 에 위치했는데 이 곳은 다음 포스트에 올릴 예정이예요. 스타 쉐프를 전면에 내새우고, 오픈된 키친과 메뉴에 팀멤버들의 이름까지 올라와있는 것을 보고 이 곳의 자신감을 느낄수 있었어요.

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We actually decided on what we wanted to order before we arrived there (we did our research through the reviews on yelp and trip advisor, and we studied the menu and decided on what we wanted to eat, and approximately how much it would cost). Once we arrived at the restaurant we realized that none of the dishes we were looking forward to eating was on the menu. The server told us that they change the menus seasonally and depending on availability of the ingredients so that’s one thing you should note when using this article to decide on what to order. This was the menu of ‘that day’ when we went. You should also note, that they have an 8-course chef ‘Tasting menu’ available only on Thursdays for $150 per person. I would like to try that the next time I go there.

사실 yelp며 trip adviso등에서 열심히 연구해서 미리 메뉴를 모두 정하고 갔었는데 우리가 정한 메뉴들이 없었어요. 물어보니 재료나 철에 따라 메뉴를 바꾼다고 하네요. 참고하시고 이 건 그날의 메뉴였어요. 8코스로 나오는 쉐프 테이스팅이 있다는데 목요일에만 가능하다고 해요. 다음에 목요일에 가게 된다면 꼭 먹어보고 싶어요.

Deviled eggs

When our table server arrived to take our order we couldn’t help but over hear the table next us raving about their “deviled eggs” and how amazing it was. That was one of the items we were looking forward to that wasn’t on the menu so we asked our server about it. We were delighted to hear that although it was removed from their menu for that day, one deviled egg per person would be served free of charge! They served us their famous ‘Deviled Eggs’ and I must admit it was amazing. It was recommended that we eat it in one bite, and when proceeding to do so, I could feel the texture of the silky egg yolk that was soft and creamy which melded beautifully with the white pastry crust that was shaped and made to look like the egg white. Combined with two different types of yellow and orange caviar, it was an explosion of flavors which I had never tasted before. I always had problems with eating egg yolk previously, but this version left me wanting more. It was a really good start to our dinner, and it made us have high expectations for the other dishes we had ordered.

가장 먹어보고 싶었던 ‘Deviled Egg’가 메뉴에 없어서 당황했는데 물어보니 오늘 메뉴에는 없지만 맛보라며 프리로 주었습니다. 계란 노른자 맛의 크리미한 무스가 파삭한 칩과 재료들의 씹히는 맛이 어우러져 기대한만큼 무척 맛있었어요. 전에 전혀 맛보지 못했던 새로운 맛이었고 계란 노른자를 잘 못 먹는데도 전혀 부담이 없었습니다. 시작이 너무 좋아서 앞으로 나올 음식들이 무척 기대가 되었어요.

cocktail - The Dubs Tickler

We ordered cocktail instead of wine on that particular evening by the name of “The Dubs Tickler” (Ingredients - Rye Whiskey, Mezcal, Lemon, Ginger Cassis). The ginger flavor was strong, but it was good choice because it made my mouth feel refreshed and reset between trying the other dishes.

칵테일 The Dubs Tickler 를 주문했습니다. 생강이 들어가 맛이 강한 것 같았지만 덕분에 음식을 바꾸어 먹을 때 입안이 상쾌해져서 좋은 초이스 였다고 생각합니다. 음료 담당 서버가 따로 나와 칵테일을 서빙했고 바 메뉴나 인테리어에도 신경을 많이 쓴 티가 났어요.

La Jolla Uni

This is their “La Jolla Uni”. Each and every ingredient were so fresh and tasty! The fresh clamato sauce with uni (sea urchin) was a very unique combination. I must admit that the clamato and vegetables took away from the amazing taste of the sea urchin, so I ended up eating the uni separately on its own to enjoy its natural freshness and sweetness, then eating the vegetables in clamato sauce to wash everything down. The dish was definitely worth every penny with the amount of sea urchin along with the quality and freshness of each ingredient.

다음으로 나온 건 주변에 아름답기로 유명한 바닷가 La Jolla 의 이름을 딴성게알 요리인데 모든 재료들이 매우 신선했어요. 컬러풀한 토마재료들이 무척 먹음직스럽게 조화되어있었구요. 토마토 베이스의 Clamato 소스에 래디쉬와 아보카도 소스, 그 위에 정말 신선했던 성게알이 올라갔는데 그 조합이 무척 독특했습니다. 토마토맛이 그리 강한편이 아니었는데 성게알이 워낙 신선해서 성게알 따로 다른 재료들 따로 먹는 것이 더 맛있기도 한것 같았어요.

Baja Yellowtail

The next dish that arrived was their “Baja Yellowtail” which came highly recommended by our server, and it did not disappoint. We had this seemingly normal combination of Yellowtail Tuna on a mini corn tostada which was amazing. The texture of the fish was firm and fresh, and combined with the sweet red onions and fresh guacamole, the combination was ‘to die for’.

다음은 서버가 추천한 "Baja Yellowtail" 인데요, 보기엔 평범해 보이였지만 친구가 뽑은 베스트 디쉬였어요. 바삭한 토스타다 칩 위에 양파와 과카몰레 그리고 방어를 올린 것인데 정말 굉장히 맛있었습니다. 무척이나 신선했고 씹히는 질감이 훌륭했습니다.

Our Buttermilk Biscuit

This is one of their signature appetizers – ‘Our Buttermilk Biscuit’. Our server brought this mysterious dish in covered in a clear glass bowl which she opened at our table to release a mist of mysterious steam. Inside there was hot biscuit in a mini cast iron pot which was crunchy and hard on the outside, but it was amazingly moist, cheesy, and buttery on the inside. This appetizer was only $5 and it was the cheapest dish that we ordered, but it also had the best presentation of the night. This reminded me to never judge a book by its cover, or by its price for that matter.

이 곳의 시그니쳐 메뉴 중 하나인 버터밀크 비스킷. 하얀 연기로 가득찬 유리볼을 가져와 뚜껑을 열면 김이 모락모락 나는 뜨거운 비스킷이 나타납니다. 겉은 파삭하고 안은 말그대로 버터 밀크로 촉촉합니다. 사실 평범한 메뉴이지만 자신있게 내세운 이유를 알 것 같습니다. 점심시간에 이 비스킷과 커피만 마시러 와도 참 좋겠다 싶었습니다.

White Sea Bass

The next dish was one from the small plates section – ‘White Sea Bass’. It was sea bass with a coconut thai curry type of sauce. The ingredients on sea bass dish included red curry causage, mussels, coconut broth, cilantro, and lime juice which was a creative combination of flavors. During the time we ate at this dish it felt quite underwhelming, but we ended up thinking about this dish again the next morning so it was definitely very good.

두 개의 메인 메뉴를 주문했는데 그 중 하나인 농어 디쉬입니다소시지, 홍합등을 넣은 태국 커리 소스에 얹은 농어요리였는데 저희가 태국 커리 요리를 너무 좋아했던 터라, 강하지 않은 태국커리맛이 조금 아쉬워서 이건 꼭 안시켜도 되었었겠다. 했는데 다음날 눈뜨니 이게 제일 먼저 생각 났어요. 지금도 생각하니 그 맛이 느껴지는 듯 합니다.

Hanger Steak

The next dish we ordered was the “Hanger Steak”. The rules were simple, first scrape the sweet roasted bone marrow onto the perfectly cooked medium rare steak. Then dip the loaded steak and some king trumpet mushrooms onto the savory corn pudding steak sauce and experience the explosion of flavors in your mouth. We loved this dish and enjoyed it to the very last bite.

또 다른 메인 메뉴는 Hanger Steak 입니다. 먼저 커다란 뼈 사이에 있는 marrow를 작은 스푼으로 긁어서 완벽하게 미디엄 레어로 구워진 스테이크에 바른 뒤 포크로 버섯과 함께 찍어서 고소한 옥수스 소스에 찍습니다. 무척 고소했고 고기와 모든 재료들이 잘 어울렸어요.

yodel

Although we were already full, I couldn’t miss out on this restaurant’s famous dessert called ‘Yodel’ – aka their Devil’s Cake as a chocolate lover like myself. Our server poured freshly melted milk chocolate onto a plate filled with freeze dried berries a mysteriously looking chocolate lump. The milk chocolate melted the lump to release the hidden treasures inside. The dish had flavors of hot, cool, sweet, sour, crunchy, and soft all at the same time. It was a truly unforgettable taste and experience that I recommend everyone should try at least once if they can.

이미 배가 불렀지만 초콜렛 매니아로서 Yodel - Devil's Cake 을 주문하지 않을 수가 없었습니다. 매거진등에서 획기적인 디저트로 등장한 이 곳의 대표 디저트인데요, 길고 동그란 초콜릿 바 위에 뜨거운 초코릿을 부으면 겉이 녹아 내립니다. 뜨겁고, 차갑고, 달고, 새콤하고, 바삭하고 부드러운 각양각색의 맛을 느낄수 있었어요. 초콜릿을 너무 사랑사는 저로서는 이 것만 먹으러 다시 샌디에고에 가고 싶을 정도입니다.

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Of course, I can’t say that this is the number one restaurant in San Diego as there are many restaurants I have yet to try there. However, I can confidently tell you guys that this is definitely one of the best restaurants there, and I highly recommend ‘Juniper & Ivy’ if you are visiting the area or even if you’re just passing by.

Thank you for accompanying me on my short but memorable journey and for taking the time to read my article. If you enjoyed my post please feel free to follow me, and I would appreciate any comments or upvotes. Also, please feel free to leave me any advice that would help me write better articles in the future.

Until we meet again, bon voyage!~

물론 여행객으로서 많은 곳을 가보지는 못해서 이 곳이 샌디에고 최고의 레스토랑이다. 라고 할 수는 없지만, 샌디에고에 가시면 꼭 한번은 들러볼만한 곳이라고 자신있게 추천하고 싶습니다. 좋은 건지 나쁜건지, 이 곳에 다녀와서 새로운 맛에 대한 욕구가 더 생겼습니다. 샌디에고에 가게 되시고 기억에 남을 레스토랑을 가보고 싶으시면 한번 들러보세요.
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그럼 다음 포스트에서 또 함께해요. Bye~