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Great News! Goes Out..... The Smoking Goat
The Great News! Goes Out article will feature new and upcoming restaurants as Erika (General Manager), Kristin (Cooking School Director), and Kelsey (Cooking School Assistant Manager) sample various dishes around San Diego. Please feel free to recommend any restaurants you would like to see featured.
The Smoking Goat, located in North Park, is a French-American style comfort food restaurant. Chef/Owner Fred Piehl creates his menus based on the seasons with every dish being focused on full flavors in every bite. The atomsphere of the restaurant is rustic and urbane giving one a more intimiate dining experience which is great for getting together with friends or for a date night. We started the night with three different appetizers and then shared a main course meal.
Duck Fat Truffle Fries, need we say more? The portion was perfect for three people to share and this dish was simple yet flavorful with a hint of the truffle oil at the end. It was paired with a mustard aioli but the fries were tasty by themselves.
Next we shared the Beet Salad with grapefruit, toasted hazelnuts, goat cheese, and watercress. The toasted hazelnuts were not overpowering and just as the goat cheese cleared your palate you got an extra bite of grapefruit. A very festive and refreshing dish.
Last but certainly not least, we had the Panzanella which consisted of heirloom tomatoes, shaved red onions, ciabatta croutons, basil, and buratta cheese. This dish was simply to die for. Everything melted in your mouth with the distinctive fresh flavor from all the local produce used to create this tasty dish.
Although all the main entrees on the select menu sounded absolutely amazing there was no way we were going to pass up the Grilled Pork Rack Chop that had been brined for 48 hours. The Pork Chop was accompained by smoked cheddar and jalapeno grits and proper southern collard greens. The pork chop was flavorful, tender, and cooked to perfection and what says southern comfort food more than grits and collard greens?
With three of us sharing all four of these dishes we were comfortably full. At the end of the meal our check came in an old rustic book about the history of California which acted as a guest sign in book. Check out page 178!
The Smoking Goat is definitely a North Park staple and a great place to dine with friends.
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