{"id":250703,"date":"2016-09-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-09T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/where-consistency-rules\/"},"modified":"2016-09-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-09-09T07:00:00","slug":"where-consistency-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/where-consistency-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Where consistency rules \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Por Frank Sabatini Jr.<\/p>\n

A culinary interplay of nostalgia and innovation has presided over Bankers Hill Bar + Restaurant from the time it opened six\u00a0years ago. Then and now, patrons are afforded a steady hand in crafty libations and seasonal cuisine within an aesthetically solid atmosphere that remains the aspiration of new restaurateurs today.<\/p>\n

Indeed, exposed wood and other repurposed materials flow throughout the three-room operation, but in a fashion that corresponds naturally to the bones of the building, which years ago was home to the long-running Liaison French restaurant.<\/p>\n

\"Soft<\/a>
Soft shell crab lettuce wraps (Photos courtesy of Bankers Hill Bar + Restaurant)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Its cobblestone flooring and paned windows were kept intact, adding old-European charm to what can\u2019t fully be achieved inside glassy structures and drab strip plazas, no matter how much barnyard lumber goes into them. With little ornamentation and low lighting (perhaps too dim, depending on where you sit), the design speaks confidently for itself.<\/p>\n

So does the food, which comes as no surprise in a restaurant spearheaded by industry veterans, Terryl Gavre of Caf\u00e9 222 and Bake Sale Bakery, and Carl Schroeder of Market Restaurant + Bar.<\/p>\n

Both are culinary maestros in their own respect: Gavre\u2019s recipes for pumpkin waffles and other casual fare have been spotlighted over the years by national magazines and the Food Network; and Schroeder held gigs at distinguished restaurants across the country before nabbing the honor of \u201cbest hotel chef in the country\u201d by the James Beard Foundation for his previous work at Arterra Restaurant in Del Mar.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Chef de Cuisine Tyler Nollenberger came to Bankers Hill from Market, where he absorbed Schroeder\u2019s penchant for constructing contemporary meals derived from seasonal ingredients.<\/p>\n

His dishes have entered the menu quietly amid signature items dating back to the restaurant\u2019s birth before they became trendy, such as deviled eggs festooned with arugula and Parmesan, and house-made potato chips dusted in lemon pepper and served with herbed ranch dressing.<\/p>\n

\"Roasted<\/a>
Roasted corn with tomatoes and shishito peppers (Photo courtesy of Bankers Hill Bar + Restaurant)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The restaurant\u2019s original house burger my companion ordered is another untouchable. Garnished with pickled red onions and tomatoes, the patty is cloaked in aged white cheddar, completely shrouding the meat like frosting does on a layer cake, right down to the plate. Given the sharpness of the cheese, it\u2019s exceedingly tangier than your everyday burger.<\/p>\n

Nollenberger recently devised a chilled cucumber-avocado soup that might stick around a couple more weeks if he isn\u2019t swayed already by some early-autumn ingredient steering him into serving warm pottage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like spontaneous change,\u201d he said, despite the raves he\u2019s undoubtedly receiving for the soup\u2019s graceful meshing of the main ingredients with cilantro-marinated shrimp, Serrano chilies, cherry tomatoes and spiced croutons. All combined, the flavors were downright relaxing.<\/p>\n

Quarter cuts of a soft-shell crab were the centerpieces of four lettuce wraps, brightened astutely by green papaya and bok choy slaw, plus lemongrass vinaigrette and chili glaze. Our only caveat was that the crabs were slightly inundated by a salty seasoning.<\/p>\n

As far back as I can remember, the menu has featured some commendable version of a chile relleno. Nollenberger\u2019s plunges deeper into Mexico by bridging the pasilla pepper to a filling of Oaxaca cheese, polenta, clove, cinnamon and star anise. Plated with a sauce of tomatillos, onions, garlic and other chili peppers, and sold as a side dish, it\u2019s simultaneously comforting and complex \u2014 tempting enough to order twice in lieu of a main course.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The house burger swathed in aged, white cheddar (Photo by Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An entr\u00e9e of chipotle-peach baby back ribs compensated for the lackluster few I had elsewhere over the summer. These were tender while maintaining a smidgen of precious texture. Better yet, the sauce struck a perfect spicy-fruity balance, which can be tricky when working with the cloying flavor of ripe peaches.<\/p>\n

Fresh corn served alongside was deliciously distracting. The sweet kernels were tossed simply with charred shishito peppers and cherry tomatoes, and hiding perhaps a little cotija cheese. Aptly rounding out the plate was watermelon-cucumber salad accented with cilantro. Think backyard barbecue with a gourmet touch applied to everything.<\/p>\n

Other entrees include local sea bass bouillabaisse with saffron; braised pork tacos; and a roasted half chicken with summer squash and chili butter.<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a>For dessert \u2014 not counting the \u201cKongkiller\u201d cocktail made in part with Malahat Spiced Rum and cr\u00e8me de banana we had early in the meal, and which tasted exactly like banana bread \u2014 the butterscotch pudding is a winner. It\u2019s served with lightweight shortbread that disintegrated in our mouths as the unusually rich pudding decadently coated them.<\/p>\n

Bankers Hill Bar + Restaurant has capably kept up with times without dabbling in overly trendy reinventions. At six years in, it doesn\u2019t need to.<\/p>\n

\u2014Frank Sabatini Jr. es el autor de \u201cSecret San Diego\u201d (ECW Press), y comenz\u00f3 su carrera como escritor local hace m\u00e1s de dos d\u00e9cadas como miembro del personal del ex San Diego Tribune. Puedes localizarlo en <\/em>fsabatini@san.rr.com<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Por Frank Sabatini Jr.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":816,"featured_media":250704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Where consistency rules \u00a0","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11551,11550,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-top-stories","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250703","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\/816"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}