![\"Empanadas](\"https:\/\/missionvalleynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Empanadas-web.jpg\")
<\/a>The overall design is a nod to world soccer, with the \u201cred card\u201d used customarily by referees for declaring player penalties. Here, a mini version of the card is slotted into your check holder as a fun embellishment. There are also a few flat screens used for streaming seasonal soccer matches as they occur.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoccer ties into international street food,\u201d Sternberg explained of her menu, which was created by Chef Drew Lopez, a culinary graduate of the Art Institute of Colorado.<\/p>\n
Lopez makes everything from scratch, and brings to the caf\u00e9 a broad spectrum of food knowledge after working in a number of San Diego restaurants that included S&M Sausage & Meat, Green Acre, and the former Lei Lounge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was ready for this opportunity,\u201d he said, while pointing out a few spins he gives to certain dishes.<\/p>\n
For his French onion soup, capped with coveted, gooey Gruyere cheese, he de-glazes the onions after they\u2019re cooked with sherry vinegar. The unexpected tartness tasted akin to fresh citrus, diminishing to a degree the sweetness of the onions.<\/p>\n
The pork shoulder comprising his Cuban sandwich is brined in lemonade for two days, yet without robbing the meat of its desirable, succulent flavor. The acidity factor was inconspicuous, just enough to balance the generously buttered baguette roll, which also captured Gruyere, house-made pickles and creamy Dijon mustard.<\/p>\n
Argentina is represented by empanadas filled stoutly with braised beef hiding customary green olives. Their house-made dough casings were glossy, light and skillfully crimped. Served alongside was a robust dipping sauce of guajillo chilies, tomatillos and smoked paprika. A few dabs were fine. Beyond that, the admixture committed something of a penalty kick in playing with these half-moon beauties.<\/p>\n
We then diverted to China with an order of char siu pork buns accented with cabbage slaw and ginger aioli. Their texture and flavor scored better than any I\u2019ve had all year \u2014 airy and spongy on the outside, sweet and tangy inside \u2014 and without the inundation of five spice I often encounter by other American chefs that attempt them.<\/p>\n
A return to Europe landed us in Italy with a most memorable bowl of house-made basil linguine tossed in almond pesto, basil oil and chili flakes. Lopez hits the dish with a little marinara sauce, which tempers the monotony of basil\u2019s sweet, peppery essence. Thank you, chef, for catering to folks like me who love the herb, but don\u2019t want it governing every strand of soft, precious noodle coiling my fork.<\/p>\n
The menu reveals a good deal of wanderlust in other dishes we didn\u2019t try, such as chicken mole tacos, Hawaiian poke in yuzu juice, Jamaican jerk chicken, North African lamb sausage (merguez), plus a few stateside dishes such as a bacon-wrapped hot dog, a bone-in pork chop with green apple sauce, and a roasted turkey sandwich with avocado, pickled red onions and alfalfa sprouts.<\/p>\n
Lopez doubles as the caf\u00e9\u2019s pastry chef. We tried the seasonal-berry tart sporting a velvety, lemon curd, plus lip-smacking chocolate mousse amplified by a strong measure of espresso. No need for a cup of jitter juice if you get it.<\/p>\n Condensed into one dinner sitting, Red Card Caf\u00e9 affords visitors an extensive journey filled with some of the tastiest, most celebrated foods the world has to offer \u2014 and achievable without packing a suitcase. It is open seven nights a week and also serves lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and brunch from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays.<\/p>\n<\/a>