ELYSSE VALDEZ’S PICK Saigon Dreamer @ Realm of the 52 Remedies Picking up on the after-hours cues, Harland Brewing Co.’s chef at the South Park tasting room offers up a libation packed with power. “When I think of the perfect cocktail, it is easily the Saigon Dreamer,” Valdez says. It’s a whiskey-coffee cocktail that hits citrusy notes and, according to Valdez, that “not-too- sweet” bullseye. Espresso martini, who?
PERFECTE ROCHER’S PICK Aleppo Chicken @ Callie
“Usually, if I go out, I try to go to Thai or Chinese or Ethiopian places—not places everybody goes,” Perfecte Rocher says. But who can deny the call of Callie when it beckons with its unique (and Michelin-recognized) take on Mediterranean flavors? Callie’s chef and owner Travis Swikard says, “The Aleppo Chicken is our marathoner.” The team makes 50 or 60 plates of the dish per night. Swikard gets succinct with it: “[It’s] juicy, crunchy, salty, spicy, sweet, and [an] umami bomb. What more could you ask for?” Um... a fork and knife, please?
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CHRIS LEE’S PICK Baja Striped Seabass @ Kingfisher
“It [is] super well-balanced, crispy, and juicy,” says Lee, lead bartender at Realm of the 52 Remedies. Based on chef David Sim’s mother’s caramelized catfish, it’s a glow-up of the traditional, opting for fattier sea bass with caramelized fish sauce, while staying rooted in tradition with the classic combination of rice and mustard greens—but it’s not just any rice. “The butter rice is another umami factor in the dish,” Sim adds. Balance, indeed.
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VINCENT SCHOFIELD’S PICK Mapo Tofu @ Fortunate Son
A man of the people, Schofield says, “I love what all the chefs are doing, and I try to support them as much as possible when it comes to really satisfying my craving for something.” And what is more satiating than unfolding the lapels of a white take-out box full of a chili-bathed protein of your choice? “I think they do a fantastic job on the mapo tofu, in particular,” Schofield says. CH Projects’ culinary director Perfecte Rocher notes that the tofu— swathed in black vinegar, garlic, soy, ginger, chilis, and green onions—is a stab at tradition. “It’s a very classical Chinese dish, but Fortunate Son does it a little more Americanized,” he says.
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DAVID SIM’S PICK Spaghetti & Clams @ Catania
“I love the Whisknladle group,” Sim says. His “favorite bite is at Catania,” Whisknladle’s La Jolla perch full of Mediterranean swagger. Using fresh pasta (of course), this dish belies its simplicity with the addition of “white wine, chili flakes, garlic, Manila clams, butter, and spaghetti made in-house,” says corporate chef de cuisine Vincent Schofield, adding, “People enjoy its simplicity, and we love it.”
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