San Diego: Herringbone

By Erica H.

Herringbone is the latest offering from former Top Chef contenstant (and haver of the world's hardest-to-type-without-punctuating-with-an-exclamation-point name) Brian Malarkey. As I am living the fancy-shmancy life in La Jolla, CA for a few brief days, I ate there. And I took some pictures for you. This one is of a tree.

You're eating indoors but also next to a tree. Did I just blow your mind? I tease, but I actually found it quite enjoyable. It's sets a mood! An arboreal mood. If you check out the website, you'll immediately see that this is one of your higher-end establishments, boasting both "fresh dishes" AND "hand-crafted cocktails." No stale food or robot-mixed drinks here. Am I now wishing that there had been a robot mixologist behind the bar? I most certainly am. But the human hands that crafted my Rob Roy and Dan's Missouri Mule did a fine job.

These adorable little heirloom tomatoes were "Compliments of Chef Amanda," who was also on Top Chef and of whom I did NOT take a picture, because come on you guys, be cool. Instead, I spent the entire meal staring at her through the big look-at-the-kitchen windows like the awestruck country bumpkin that I am. So you don't have to! You're welcome.

Being so very near the ocean, it seemed logical to order something from the sea. We shared an order of Wood Roasted Oysters, which either 1) were really excellent or 2) benefitted from my still being on Central Time and half-starved because it was like TEN PM TO MY STOMACH. Or possibly 3) both.

When perusing the menu, my eye was obviously drawn to the Pancetta, Egg, Lamb's Quarters, and Fontina Pizza because EGG! On a PIZZA! Yet weirdly, I was not in the mood for that particular combination, so I opted instead for the Cured Salmon, Leek, Bacon, and Goat Cheese.

I made my husband get the egg.

They were both nice flatbread-style pies. We were the only people at our large table to ask for a to-go box, as they seemed too lovely to waste. The heavily en-cocktailed gentleman across the table from us loudly suggested that the leftovers would be disappointing, but happily he was mistaken. Fancy cold pizza is in fact a delight.

So there you have it: indoor trees, free tomatoes, and an opportunity to gawk at a reality television participant. All in all a pleasant experience, lack of robots aside.