Letter to Gulf Coast Grill

Manager
Gulf Coast Grill
4130 Park Boulevard
San Diego, California 92103

Phone: (619) 295-2244

Dear Sir or Madam:

We started going to your restaurant in late 2007 and have been there several times for lunch and dinner. Our first experience was great. We sat in the dark dining room and ordered drinks from the Specialty Cocktails menu. The Mint Julep (Jack Daniel’s and Fresh Mint Syrup) and Raspberry Mojito (Bacardi, Chambord, Housemade Mint Syrup, sugar, fresh lime juice and a Splash of Sprite) were both good, refreshing cocktails. The Gulf Old Fashioned (Knob Creek Whiskey with muddled sugar, cherries and oranges with a splash of soda) is a favorite of ours. We often order drinks from your Specialty Cocktails menu and are happy to see that they are not $15, which is becoming more common in restaurants and lounges.

The Fat Tuesday (Meyer’s Dark Rum, orange juice, lime juice and ginger ale) and Voodoo Punch (Malibu, Captain Morgan’s and Meyer’s rum with tropical fruit juices) are like desserts in a glass. We certainly didn’t need more than one. We also like your beer list, which is small but contains Abita Amber (from New Orleans) and locally produced Stone Smoked Porter.

Our waiter recommended the fried green tomatoes to start. The batter on the tomatoes was light and packed with flavor and the tomatoes were tender and juicy. The greens the tomatoes were served on were nicely dressed. We always order this dish when it’s on the Specials board and would like to see it on the regular menu.

For an entree, we split the Cajun Combo (seafood gumbo, jambalaya and hushpuppies). The jambalaya was spicy and savory with shrimp, andouille sausage and house smoked chicken and crawfish. The seafood gumbo was thick and hearty with well cooked white fish, scallops and shrimp. The hushpuppies were our favorite part of this dish. They were fresh out of the fryer, crispy and brown on the outside and soft on the inside. The “housemade remoulade” served with them was rich, creamy and spicy. We now start every meal at your restaurant with the hushpuppies appetizer.

We have since ordered the ½ order of jambalaya at lunch and found it to be not as good. Recently, it has been served somewhat dry and the bell peppers and chicken have been overcooked.

The Crawfish Chile Relleno (Anaheim Chile stuffed with goat cheese and minced crawfish on a vanilla black bean puree) was good overall, although the cornmeal coating on the chile was dry and crumbly. We very much enjoyed the vanilla black bean puree as well as the flavor of the goat cheese and crawfish stuffing.

The Fish Po’ Boy had crispy breading and tender white fish but was a little dry overall. However, we ordered extra remoulade, which made all the difference. We suggest serving your Po’ Boys with more remoulade because the bread is too dry without it. We enjoyed the optional side of “housemade Dos Fuegos habanero sauce,” which we also spread on the Po’ Boy. It added a strong, sweet and spicy kick to the sandwich.

The Black & Bleu Burger was juicy, peppery and seared to a perfect medium. The salmon tacos were decent but a little under-seasoned for our taste.

We definitely will be back for your hushpuppies and a cocktail. We also noticed you have some great happy hour deals ($3.50 pints and well drinks and reduced food prices), which makes it affordable for people to sample numerous menu items. We were pleasantly surprised to see that your Monday night happy hour lasts until Midnight.

Gulf Coast Grill has a warm, relaxed atmosphere and friendly service and it’s one of the few restaurants in Hillcrest that people can go to without encountering a parking nightmare. Almost the entire menu is very reasonably priced and your portions are substantial. Whether we are there for lunch, dinner or happy hour, we are always made to feel welcome by your staff.

Yours Very Truly,

San Diego Restaurant Review


http://www.gulfcoastgrill.com/