{"id":247236,"date":"2014-04-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-25T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/here-today-gone-tomorrow-2\/"},"modified":"2014-04-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-04-25T07:00:00","slug":"here-today-gone-tomorrow-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/here-today-gone-tomorrow-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Here today, gone tomorrow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seasonal organics chefs can\u2019t resist<\/p>\n

Frank Sabatini Jr. | Uptown News<\/p>\n

Springtime signals some of the best produce that Mother Nature has to offer. The season also excites the heck out of chefs, who race to incorporate the organics into their dishes while the bounties are still young and tender and full of nutrients.
\nThis year\u2019s yields are no exception to the rule, despite our ongoing drought that has either forestalled or sped up the growing cycles of certain crops. Below is a partial list of seasonal \u201cnewborns\u201d fresh from the soil and where to find them when dining out in Uptown.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"In-season<\/a>
In-season fiddleheads reveal their coiled structure in a recent duck special at Brooklyn Girl (Photo by Scott Basile)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fiddleheads at Brooklyn Girl<\/b>
\nChef Colin Murray has seized upon these coiled, premature leaves from the fern family, which hail largely from the Northeast and have a very short season. He\u2019s already used them in vegetable beddings for seared duck breast and plans on tossing them into risotto that he\u2019ll pair with another protein in the coming weeks.
\n\u201cFiddleheads are very curious looking and they have a green, springtime flavor like asparagus, and with a nice crunch,\u201d he noted. \u201cI like using them with minimal ingredients so that they stand out.\u201d
\n4033 Goldfinch St. (Mission Hills)<\/i>
\n619-296-4600<\/i><\/p>\n

Heirloom carrots, kale and fava beans at Cucina Urbana<\/b><\/p>\n

\"<\/a>
Look for roasted heirloom carrots at Cucina Urbana. (Photo by Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sweet, multi-colored heirloom carrots are the star ingredient in a new salad with radicchio and burnt orange vinaigrette, a dish that Chef Joe Magnanelli says could potentially disappear by late May.
\n\u201cThese carrots are babies and they come in all different sizes. It\u2019s the imperfectness of them that attracts me,\u201d he said.
\nFor Caesar salad, he\u2019s snagged a fresh bumper crop of kale from a farm in Oceanside that he describes as \u201cthe most flavorful and tender kale you can imagine.\u201d
\nThe kitchen has also seen the arrival of newly sprung fava beans, which set the stage for roasted Jidori chicken and house-made ricotta gnudi.
\n505 Laurel St. (Bankers Hill)<\/i>
\n619-239-2222<\/i><\/p>\n

Green garlic and ramps at Heat Bar & Kitchen<\/b>
\n\u201cI\u2019m all about green garlic from Suzie\u2019s Farm,\u201d said Chef Joe Herrmann, who sweats out the young cloves, purees them and spreads the fragrant mash onto flatbread. The green version, he said, is sweeter and milder than regular garlic and doesn\u2019t carry the pungent bite.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re also using fresh ramps that are out right now \u2014 in a couple of pasta dishes and on flatbread,\u201d he added.
\n3797 Park Blvd. (Hillcrest)<\/i>
\n619-546-4328<\/i><\/p>\n

Sunburst squash, ramps and morel mushrooms at Prepkitchen<\/b>
\nEarly-season Sunburst squash, touted for its sweet zucchini-like flavor, recently landed in Chef Ryan Johnston\u2019s leg of lamb, roasted with garlic and parsley. \u201cI also taste a hint of sweet corn from the squash,\u201d he said.
\nRamps are among his seasonal favorites as well. He\u2019s currently sourcing the leek-like bulbs from Specialty Produce and serving them with beef heart carpaccio. Next up: morel mushrooms, which Johnston will begin purchasing in a couple of weeks to use in roasted form on toast.
\n1660 India St. (Little Italy)<\/i>
\n619-398-8383<\/i><\/p>\n

Mustard greens at 100 Wines<\/b>
\nThese leafy, spicy greens are just beginning to sprout and Chef Miguel Valdez has already pre-assigned them to mixed salads and for balancing out an appetizer of bone marrow.
\n\u201cI\u2019ll start getting them in another month or so and they\u2019ll last until the end of summer,\u201d he said, at which point he\u2019ll begin focusing on radishes, turnips and other root vegetables that follow in fall.
\n1027 University Ave. (Hillcrest)<\/i>
\n619-491-0100<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Green tomatoes and watermelons at Urban Solace<\/b>
\nThough never meant to ripen, green tomatoes are nonetheless a little behind schedule because of the drought, said Chef Matt Gordon, who expects their arrival in the coming month. Once in, he will offer them coated in organic corn meal, pan-fried and served with chimichurri sauce and feta cr\u00e8me fresh.
\nJuicy, ruby-red watermelons are also coming soon, allowing the return of Gordon\u2019s famous seasonal watermelon-tomato-cucumber salad, which he has added to the menu each year since opening the restaurant in 2007.
\n3823 30th St. (North Park)<\/i>
\n619-295-6464<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Large,<\/a>
Large, delicate asparagus finds its way into three dishes at Uptown Tavern (photo by Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Asparagus at Uptown Tavern<\/b>
\nChef Dana Francisco is smitten with springtime green asparagus because of its snappy texture and onion-y flavor. The early harvests sourced from regional farms are currently being roasted for flatbreads; pickled and used in braise for St. Louis-style pork ribs; and served grilled alongside flatiron steak.
\n\u201cWe change our menu every three months so we\u2019ll get a full season out of it,\u201d he said.
\n1236 University Ave. (Hillcrest)<\/i>
\n619-241-2710<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

White beets and cucumbers at The Red Door and Wellington Steak & Martini Lounge<\/b>
\nRare, albino beets have begun appearing in home garden of Trish Watlington, who owns the adjoining restaurants. With little time left before they stop producing, Executive Chef Karrie Hills is taking full advantage of the crispy root vegetable by using them in various salads on random nights.
\nShe is also awaiting the first yields of \u201csnack cucumbers\u201d from a North County grower, which she says have less seeds and thinner skins than Persian cucumbers.
\n\u201cI use them for a lot of things and I\u2019m out of pickles right now, so I\u2019m excited to get them back soon.\u201d
\n741 W. Washington St. (Mission Hills)<\/i>
\n619-295-6000<\/i><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seasonal organics chefs can\u2019t resist Frank Sabatini Jr. | Uptown News Springtime signals some of the best produce that Mother Nature has to offer. The season also excites the heck out of chefs, who race to incorporate the organics into their dishes while the bounties are still young and tender and full of nutrients.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":247237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Here today, gone tomorrow","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}