The Linkery

We ate recently at The Linkery. At last. This spot has long been on my list to try – plus it is the only restaurant in the world that is vaguely aware that this very blog even exists. (The Linkery blog has links to all San Diego food blogs.)

Again, no pictures so lets just have at it with the eats: we started off with their herb salad: mixed greens, mint, cilantro, clementines and pine nuts, dressed with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and topped with cotija cheese. ($6.50) Really good and a large size for a small.

My wife got the pan-seared wild Mexican huachinango (aka Pacific silk snapper) with fresh organic cranberry, grilled organic sugarloaf squash, and greens in a tangerine vinaigrette ($15.50). It was okay but we thought…

…that my entree was a real winner: I got the grilled pork tenderloin with sautéed crosnes, snap peas, and red beets, and a goat cheese and quince puree. ($13.50) That puree was Excellent with a capital E! The pork was medium rare so damn to you trichinosis! Actually, it isn’t much (if any) of a problem anymore so I’ve read. (And as a sidenote: What the heck was a eating? A crosne? Now I know!)

So then dessert: we had a piece of their Mexican chocolate mousse pie and their strawberry something cheesecake (I don’t quite remember the fruit combo). Both were delicious. ($5.50 each.) Obviously, a big thumbs up to The Linkery. We’ll be back!

(There is a great little blog post on The Linkery from Josh at FoodGPS with lots of pictures.)

I can’t think of another restaurant at this price point (a simple neighborhood restaurant) that cares so deeply about the food they serve, that uses regionally grown ingredients, small farm raised meats, that has an always changing (and interesting) menu to feature what is fresh that week. Maybe there are some, but owner Jay (Hi Jay!) does a great job of promoting this philosophy at his website, on the menu and in person.