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Restaurant: Torrey Pines Cafe
Location: Phone: (858) 259-5878 Price Range: Lunch $7.25-$11.25, dinner $8.75-$24.00 |
Number of visits: several
Last visit before review: January 12, 2002
Randy has had: TPC salad (baby greens, pine nuts, goat cheese, mushrooms, golden raisins, balsamic vinegar dressing), baby green salad (bleu cheese, apples, walnuts, Dijon vinaigrette), tournedos of beef, tournedos of swordfish, portobello mushroom pizza, smoked salmon on potato pancake with sour cream and caviar, red curry mussels, iced tea.
Jeff has had: TPC Salad, baby green salad, barbecue shortribs, iced tea.
Rating 10 (of 12) Excellent |
Jeff says: I like the TPC salad except for the goat cheese. It's a little strong for my taste. I like the baby green salad better overall, except that the dressing on the TPC salad is better because it's more subtle.
Randy says: The tournedos of beef (filet mignon sauteed with gorgonzola demi-glace, mashed potatoes, veggies) were good. I was a bit disappointed in the tournedos of swordfish from the specials menu. It was a bit bland. I thought from the description (shiitake mushroom merlot sauce, served on artichoke bottoms, with mashed potatoes and veggies) the dish would be more flavorful.
Jeff says: The barbecue beef short ribs (in a smokey barbecue sauce, with mashed potatoes and veggies) is my favorite. The rib is braised and fork tender and the sauce is delicious. The veggies and mashed potatoes that come with so many of the dinners are good. The veggies are a few green beans, a carrot slice or two, and a couple of other things. They're al dente so they still have flavor and texture. The mashed potatoes are moist and smooth (no lumps). They're really good mixed with the barbecue sauce from the shortribs.
Randy says: The beef shortribs are really good. The only reason I don't order them is that the sauce is a bit sweet for my taste and I'm afraid to commit to it for an entire meal (versus a bite or two of Jeff's). On the smoked salmon on potato pancake with sour cream and caviar, the salmon was very mild and smooth, which was nice. The potato pancake was crisp and fresh; not excessively greasy. Really delightful. The sour cream went marvelously with the latke and lox, and the few caviar eggs added a nice salty touch. The fact that there were so few of them worked well with the dish. I was very disappointed in the red curry mussels (sweet mussels with ginger, spicy red curry paste, and coconut milk). The mussels were chewy, the broth wasn't as flavorful as I expected from the description, and I thought it was too buttery.
Jeff says: The meals come with home made bread. I recall this bread once being a squash bread, or bread with some other kind of vegetable baked in. It was good, but a little greasy. The iced tea served is very nice.
Randy says: I don't remember the squash bread, but more recently the bread had herbs in it, and it was very good. I like the iced tea also. On the most recent visit I had the vegetarian special of the day which was a grilled portobello mushroom pizza. It used a giant portobello mushroom in place of a crust. It had cheese and pesto sauce. I thought it was very good. The portobello mushroom was flavorful and the pesto and cheese worked well with the huge mushroom. The whole thing was cut in pieces and room was made on the plate for a salad.
We don't remember how we discovered the Torrey Pines Cafe. It's a bit off the beaten path, across from a marsh. The decor is inspired by the art deco style including light/fan fixtures with square stained glass shades. The service is always very good, and the food is unique and creative. A lot of effort is put into inventing interesting and flavorful dishes, and for the most part it is successful. Along with the always-changing specials, the regular menu has something for everyone, from classic to exotic. We have shared meals at Torrey Pines Cafe with many friends and family, and everyone loves it and asks to go back.
  
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