Blue Ribbon Rustic Kitchen
530 University Ave. (Hillcrest)
619-501-6795
Prices: Starters, soups and salads, $7 to $14; entrees and pastas, $15 to $28
By Frank Sabatini Jr. | Restaurant Review
The owners of Blue Ribbon Rustic Kitchen don’t give a hoot about Canada’s National Non-Smoking Week. Nor are they raising awareness for rare brain conditions like transverse myelitis or hydranencephaly, which blue ribbons also represent. Instead, the Hillcrest newcomer is wowing customers with prize-worthy dishes that you won’t find on other local menus.
With its self-awarding name, the intimate not-a-bad-seat-in-the-house restaurant arrives to Hillcrest as the third venture of Wade Hageman and his wife Kristi, who operate two successful kitchens in Encinitas: Blue Ribbon Artisan Pizzeria and Craftsman New American Tavern.
For Rustic Kitchen, they completely remodeled the space formerly occupied by Bayu’s Authentic Ethiopian Cuisine, adding brick walls, custom-built wooden tables, warm lighting and retractable front windows. The bar has been kept, though it’s now wrapped in metal and includes a narrow parallel-running perch to accommodate additional loungers. From front to back, the cozy design incorporates a compatible mix of raised banquettes and relaxed table seating.
Hageman and his executive chef, Marlaw Scrapi, shared kitchen experience at the acclaimed, now-defunct Blanca Restaurant in Solana Beach, Calif. Their menu of contemporary American-Euro fare at Rustic Kitchen reflects their combined culinary pedigrees, not to mention Hageman’s penchant for making fresh pasta daily.
A sizable bowl of puffy black-seed popcorn as an appetizer is among the contenders that could easily fetch a first-place ribbon. Seasoned with black truffle sea salt and truffle butter, it is no wonder that customers return to smuggle it into the nearby Landmark movie theater. Nuttier tasting and less prone to sogginess after they’re popped, the gourmet kernels hail from Wisconsin, where Hageman grew up.
Salmon tartare received some tableside action as the server blended in to the mound of diced, raw fish the surrounding streaks of minced hardboiled eggs, cucumbers and watermelon radishes. The outcome tasted refreshing, though we thought the arrangement looked meticulously prettier before it was manipulated.
For an order of blistered Padrón peppers, the Spanish organics had run out so they were replaced by shishito peppers, a close equivalent in terms of their mild heat level and melt-in-your-mouth texture. The dish is trending lately in many restaurants, but the twist here is that the peppers are finished with tangerine oil, striking one of the most remarkable flavor pairings I’ve recently encountered.
Proceeding to corn soup with chives and chili oil, it became evident that the kitchen sources seasonal and sustainable produce. The soup tasted like super-fresh corn on the cob to the second power. It was simple, sweet and velvety, and will likely disappear from the menu by autumn.
What followed were dishes deserving of giant blue ribbons trimmed in gold, all from the pasta section. It’s been difficult to forget the “signature cannelloni” that bewitched our palates with creamy ricotta and mascarpone cheeses oozing into meyer lemon beurre blanc. Though at the same time, they registered slightly as dessert because of their butter-sautéed crepe casings, spiked also with lemon. From a list of protein add-ons, we chose shrimp as a prime match to the citrus. Good luck finding anything like it elsewhere.
Based on fanfare I’ve heard expressed over the ravioli stuffed with braised short-rib meat, we gave them a go despite the fact they’ve become very 2010. But here’s the genius catch: they’re punctuated with a most intriguing horseradish beurre blanc containing some of the meat drippings. When Hageman says that he puts recipes through weeks or sometimes months of taste testing, I fully believe him.
Just when you thought that fettuccine Alfredo couldn’t become more of a cholesterol monster, along comes this alluring version topped with a slow-cooked egg and all contained within a highly edible Parmesan basket. Yes, the noodles are house-made (from organic flour and semolina) and no, you probably won’t be able to finish the dish if appetizers and other entrees come in to play.
Request a doggie bag also if you plan on salted butterscotch pudding or lemon meringue pie for dessert. They’re served in those little glass jars we’re seeing everywhere.
In many ways, Blue Ribbon Rustic Kitchen is clearly keeping up with the Joneses with its craft beers, creative cocktails and heavy use of sustainable ingredients. For restaurateurs that don’t, they might as well take their kitchens to the Ozarks. The difference here, however, is that originality generally upstages hipster conformity. What appears at first like copycat recipes actually result in imaginative dishes that taste dynamically novel.
Special note: the restaurant offers happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m., and 10 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Sunday. More than a dozen menu items served in reduced portions are priced at $6 each, along with $5 well drinks, craft beers and wines by the glass.
