By Frank Sabatini Jr.
After nearly two years in the making, Carnitas Snack Shack has brought its passion for swine to the Downtown waterfront in a sleek, walk-up pavilion that is part of the newly revitalized North Embarcadero project.
Since captivating consumers for the past five years from their original North Park location with dishes like glazed pork belly, bacon-heavy BLTs, and “triple threat” sandwiches stuffed with three different styles of pork, chef Hanis Cavin and his wife, Sara Stroud, have expanded their shack concept to Del Mar as well. Although their latest venture at the Embarcadero puts them in a hotter spotlight by tourists from all over the world.
It’s just what this stretch of promenade needed, an aesthetically graceful structure sporting colorful glass panels and an outdoor bar and dining space that you can’t miss when strolling between the Star of India and the USS Midway Museum. On either side of the lot are landscaped areas offering additional seating. The added luxury is that you can consume your onsite, alcohol purchases within them.
Customers order food from a double-service window, which they can bypass in lieu of an express counter if buying only desserts or non-alcoholic beverages. Purchases of craft beer, wine and cocktails are made at the bar or from a waitperson.
The “sun-beet” is perhaps the healthiest libation I’ve encountered anywhere. It dominated our palates with earthy beet juice before finishing softly with the flavors of white rum, lime and absinthe. With nearly a dozen other specialty cocktails in the offing, plus mules, margaritas and mojitos, the presence of live DJs in the bar section on weekend afternoons and evenings makes solid sense.
Except for a pair of standard fish tacos we ordered (available only at this location), our lunch choices were all about the hog.
A pile of crispy pork skins (chicharrons) were puffy like rice snacks but exceptionally tastier given their saturated fat content and dusting of chili spices. Fried to order, our only disappointment was they had cooled down in the short timespan of arriving to our table.
The “pork belly app” is a hefty cube of prized meat and fat draped in Asian glaze and served with a lively frisee salad. Although as any fan of these sumptuous belly cuts will attest, they’re temperamental in texture, ranging from buttery soft to incorrigibly tough.
This was somewhere in the middle, due largely to its extra-thick girth that fought at times with our plastic knives. Yet from a flavor and portion standpoint, we were pleased.
The “triple threat” sandwich remains my favorite item at Carnitas Snack Shack, despite its over-the-top piling of pulled pork, bacon and breaded schnitzel. Available at all locations, the assumption is that if you like one of these meat preparations, you’ll love them combined. As a sinful treat about once a year, I certainly do.
Other menu faves include carnitas tacos that are juicier and porkier than most, and the BLT, which carries a payload of bacon and grilled ham, complemented by lettuce, tomato and house aioli on hearty brioche bread.
If pork isn’t your weakness, alternative choices extend to rib eye and crispy chicken sandwiches, a beet terrine with goat cheese, and a white cheddar burger that sneaks in a smear of bacon jam. I’ve yet to try any of them.
There’s also a brunch menu available from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. It features machaca tacos, breakfast burritos, Tater Tots and more.
As a final lure to its new location, and particularly fitting once June gloom fades, the Shack sells soft-serve ice cream extruded into cones or cups. We chose it in a cup and caved into a fabulous topping of bacon-whiskey truffle crumbles — our final calorie splurge before hiking back to the car parked almost a mile away. But we didn’t kid ourselves. No amount of flat-surface walking would have burned off this meal.
Note: Parking in the area can be challenging, although Carnitas Snack Shack validates for three hours at a cost of $7 when parking in the garage across the street at Marriott’s new Springhill Suites.
—Frank Sabatini Jr. is the author of “Secret San Diego” (ECW Press), and began his local writing career more than two decades ago as a staffer for the former San Diego Tribune. You can reach him at [email protected].
