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FeedCafé Bleu & The Better Half
Review
Café Bleu
location > 530 University Avenue, Hillcrest
phone > 619-291-1717
chef > Stephen Clickner
The Better Half
location > 127 University Avenue, Hillcrest
phone > 619-543-9340
chef > John Robert Kennedy
THERE WAS ONCE A TIME in San Diego when you couldn’t find two wine bars in the same ZIP code, let alone on the same street. Our glasses may have been half-empty then, but they’re running over now. Of late, Hillcrest’s vibrant University Avenue offers new food-and-wine pairings extraordinaire: two places specializing in the pleasures of both grape and plate.
Café Bleu has a red-hot concept. It offers 60 wines by the half-glass (as well as glass and bottle), so guests can sample their way through white, rosé and red over the course of a meal without ending up in the pokey.
Owner Ric Libiran took over the former Crush late last year and opened Café Bleu with two smart staffing choices: his daughter Deyna as sommelier/manager and classically trained Stephen Clickner as chef. Deyna, who’s finishing her formal sommelier training, has assembled a thoughtful list that ranges from Rioja, Rueda and Rhones to Pinots (Grigio, Gris and Noir). With half-glasses (generous 3-ounce pours) starting at $3.25, you’d be foolish to stick with your favorite Chardonnay.
And while Clickner’s menu isn’t strictly French, it’s got a great accent. His Gallic-style small plates and entrées deliver authentic bistro flavors at prices as low-key as the service and ambience.
For $17.50, you get duck two ways: rare roasted breast and crispy leg confit, both impeccably prepared and ample for two as a light repast. For $15.50, the long-simmered coq au vin is also delightful, though you don’t often see this classic stew paired with Yukon mashed potatoes and roasted root vegetables. Believe us: It works.
Other notables include a phyllo tart topped with sweetly caramelized onions, meaty olives and pesto ($7.50); a terrific salad of spinach, roasted beet and goat cheese ($7.50); simple but capable takes on Caesar salad ($6.50) and onion soup ($5.50); moist, meaty crab cakes (but a pretty spendy side at $12.50); and steak frites ($16.50). Skip the pasty heirloom tomatoes with mozzarella ($8.50) until summer is in full swing.
Desserts go for $6.50, but we’d rather take advantage of the ever-changing cheese selection. About a dozen offerings are posted on the board; at three for $6.50 or five for $10.50, it’s a fine way to dabble.
The updated surroundings include cushy couches and sturdy wood dining sets, replacing the old bar-height tables. The dramatically blue-lit bar, from the Crush era, offers a full liquor selection as well as wines galore. Cheers, Café Bleu, and welcome to the neighborhood.
DOWN THE STREET, The Better Half takes a tack some will applaud and others will not: Wine is sold strictly by the half-bottle, not by the glass or 750-milliliter bottle.
Restaurant owner Zubin Desai (former general manager at Blanca and the University Club) has the admirable goal of offering wines that might otherwise be too expensive or too unfamiliar for the average diner to purchase in 750-milliliter size. Along with standards like Guigal Cotes due Rhone ($16) and Murphy-Goode Fumé Blanc ($13), the list showcases more than 100 of longtime sommelier Desai’s favorites, with prices that can top $150. Trust his recommendations; the gentleman knows his stuff. If you insist on bringing your vino, corkage is an extremely kind $5.
In the kitchen, chef John Robert Kennedy (whose mentors include Thomas Keller and Charlie Trotter) deftly mixes up influences old and new, French and Californian, into something wholly his own.
Meat in myriad forms gets a starring role, the better with which to savor your hearty Vacqueyras or Barolo. And it’s not just tossed on the barbie. Kennedy’s lovingly long-braised short ribs incorporate Cabernet and crushed peppercorns, woodsy morel cream, frizzles of fried leek and lush cauliflower-horseradish purée on the side ($18). This could be the best dish here. But there’s serious competition from the sliced Kurobuta pork sauté in a sumptuous date-mustard cream ($17) and the exquisite duo of duck confit and fresh pasta paired with quickly seared rare duck breast ($22).
On the lighter side, quiche of the day paired with greens ($9; we tried the leek and Gruyère number) is a fine choice, as are frog legs, dusted with Cajun spices, deep-fried and presented can-can style in a cup ($16).
Vegetables here deserve more than passing mention. Kennedy’s shimmering tower of diced green beans and fresh tomato mingled with red and yellow beets and white balsamic vinaigrette ($10) is a don’t-miss. So are the signature sautéed Brussels sprouts brought to each table. Try ’em; you’ll like ’em. And while a restrained roasted-tomato soup served tableside tastes a bit too healthful ($11), his baby-greens salad ($12) comes with enough melty, bacony pork belly to make a cardiologist scream——then polish off the whole thing.
Service in the Craftsman-style dining room, separated from the kitchen by an open-air patio, is well-informed but quite leisurely. By necessity, this is a place to savor your meal, not to rush. Larger tables would be a nice touch; ours was seriously undersized for our party of four, leaving us juggling glasses, plates and tableware.
That aside, Better Half is among the best new restaurants to grace the San Diego scene in quite a while. Champagne, anyone?
Café Bleu serves dinner nightly and brunch on Sunday at 530 University Avenue in Hillcrest, 619-291-1717; cafebleusd.com.
The Better Half serves dinner Tuesday through Sunday evenings at 127 University Avenue in Hill crest, 619-543-9340; thebetterhalfbistro.com.
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