SDMA Sculpture Court Cafe
1450 El Prado (Balboa Park)
619-702-6373
Prices: Salads and tapas, $4 to $16; pizzas, sandwiches and burgers, $10 to $16
Art break
By Frank Sabatini Jr. | Restaurant Review
Sculpture Court Café breaks the mold of other museum eateries in that it doesn’t bust your wallet after encountering the brilliance of Dali and Monet. The mostly European-inspired dishes are constructed with locally sourced ingredients along with olive and truffle oils imported from Italy. A canteen slinging overpriced Saran-wrapped sandwiches this isn’t.
Located just outside the San Diego Museum of Art, the café was taken over several years ago by chef-caterer Giuseppe Ciuffa, a native Roman who cooked at resorts throughout Italy before emigrating here.
Ample seating extends from an entrance patio that flows into a spacious dining area capped by a high canvas ceiling. Out back, the May S. Marcy Sculpture Garden is kept in view. Abundant sunlight, gentle breezes and an occasional pigeon waddling past your ankles give the impression of dining al fresco no matter where you sit.
The “Neiman-Marcus” of prosciutto, called San Daniele, appears on a tapas board with fig chutney and manchego cheese, as well as on a handcrafted pizza crowned also with wild arugula and truffle oil. The paper-thin ham isn’t as salty or fatty as regular prosciutto, thus the reason why it practically melts in your mouth before you can chew it.
We tried it on the pizza, which arrived with tepid mozzarella and didn’t seem to contain the Parmesan Reggiano listed in its description. But thanks to the prosciutto and a nice chewy crust, the pie nonetheless won us over.
A bowl of hearty lentil soup and a generous serving of fingerling potatoes drizzled in garlic aioli barely preceded the pizza. Receiving salads and appetizers in conjunction with main courses is a persistent service flaw I keep encountering in San Diego restaurants, even nice ones such as this. To all of the servers and cooks out there guilty of this crime, please slow down!
The potatoes delivered the goodness of the popular Spanish tapa known as “papas bravas,” which is exactly what they’re named on Ciuffa’s menu. The difference is that you get a double piling of them, cut into meaty barrel-shaped pieces and priced at only $4 a skillet. A threesome can easily feed from one order.
Other starters include imported burrata cheese with tomato jam, fire roasted peppers with caper berries and a grilled Portobello mushroom accompanied with red pepper hummus.
My companion’s main course was a thick slab of grilled ahi tuna tucked into a super-fresh ciabatta roll. Ciuffa gives the fish a refreshing Mediterranean spin by inserting into the sandwich artichoke-olive tapenade and mild garlic aioli, the same used on the potatoes. It also features butter lettuce, a sensible choice of lettuce since it matches in texture the velvety, ruby-red tuna.
In a previous visit, I tried the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich that used to contain a layer of the San Daniele prosciutto. I’m not sure why the chef removed it, but the foolproof combination of Swiss cheese, Vermont cheddar and basil pesto remain.
Another noteworthy sandwich still on the menu is the Mary’s Farm chicken ciabatta, which paints a vivid masterpiece with roasted tri-colored and wild arugula poking out from its sides. There are also leafy salads, including one spotlighting Cabernet-poached pears, and a “bistro burger” using hormone-free beef.
Ciuffa’s menu is generally light, but it provides substantial sustenance for refueling after wandering the gallery halls or the pathways of Balboa Park. Cocktails, wine and draft beer are also available from a central bar inside the restaurant. And for those arriving before the lunch rush, tapas and drafts are half off their regular prices between 11 a.m. and noon.
