Fish 101 - Oyster Bar and Fish House

I had heard good things about Fish 101 - Oyster Bar and Fish House, but Marc and I had not yet made the journey to Leucadia to check it out. For me, part of the reason was that I was envisioning a fancy-ish fish joint where you pay a lot of money for some fancy shmancy fish plate in a quiet upscale setting. Not that there's anything wrong with that particular type of venue for a nice romantic evening, but it just wasn't the vibe that I had been craving lately.

But I was in the mood to try something new, and gave Marc the choice of a couple different restaurants for dinner on a Friday evening, of which Fish 101 was the only location we had not yet been to. So, after a quick debate over what we felt like eating, we found ourselves cruising up Highway 101 ready to experience something new.

I was extremely surprised to find that Fish 101 was nothing like I had expected. It was a much more laid back, relaxed environment. The mood was instantly set by the communal tables on the patio out front and a line of hungry customers line up from the front counter and going out the door to order food. There are additional wooden tables in a patio out back, as well as some limited indoor seating.  This was a definite break from the white tablecloths or frou frou waiters I had thought we would be encountering. In fact, they proudly display shirts over the counter stating that "This place shucks."  And instantly we have character!

Marc and I placed our orders at the front counter where the menu was displayed, as well as the daily specials, on a large chalkboard in the back. They also had paper menus at the entrance, cutting down on the ever annoying customer that waits to decide what he is going to order when he arrives at the counter. Efficiency people! When I am hungry I appreciate any attempts to streamline the process. 

Fish 101 has an extensive local craft beer menu, both on tap and in the bottle. Being focused on fish, the wine menu targeted more white wine than red. Once we placed our order, we were given a number to display and found a table out front that we shared with another couple. I instantly oogled their food. "Damnit! I should have gotten the corn! That looks awesome." I was pleased by the implications of the look of our neighbors food. What hadn't looked exciting to me written out on the chalkboard specials list looked amazing in person.

Despite being jammed, service was quick. Our drinks showed up almost almost immediately after we sat down. I was again pleasantly surprised to find that not only was Marc's beer served in a mason jar, but my white wine also came in a mini mason jar. I'm a sucker for details like that. Nothing bunks pretentious fish house like wine in a jar. The details were all coming together to paint picture of a intimate, friendly laid back fish house. We sipped our drinks in the glow of the heat lanterns, enjoying the communal atmosphere.

No sooner than I had snapped a few pictures of our drinks, our albacore tuna poke appetizer arrived. Marc and I were both impressed. It was fresh, crisp, and the perfect size. We were left properly primed for the arrival of our dinner.

I ordered the mahi mahi, with a side of black beans and the seaweed salad. Marc had the fried shrimp po boy and ordered the seaweed salad as well. Fish 101 states that it sources all its fish in accordance with the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program, which is a huge added bonus that eliminates the necessity of digging out the iPhone app to aid in my decision making. When ordering, nothing was off the table for eco-conservation issues. The fish was cooked perfectly, and that seaweed salad was the perfect accompaniment. If you go, get the seaweed salad. And Marc's sandwich was very well balanced, perfectly fried shrimp, with a good tang from the pickled red onions on bread that had just the right amount of crunch. 

We will definitely be going back. There were plenty of other sides that I want to try, as well to see how their other fish offerings stack up. In addition, we didn't order any oysters, which considering the joint was a fish house and oyster bar was probably a mistake on our part. But now we have something new to look forward to on our next visit. 

The Regal Seagull

I fully admit I am biased towards the coastal north county region of San Diego.  Especially anywhere that I can get to via my beach cruiser. So it's not uncommon for there to be a place on my list of "Must See (or eat, drink, experience, etc.)" that goes sadly ignored for extended periods of time due to it being located more than 5-10 miles from my home base in Solana Beach. So imagine my excitement when finally a place I wanted to go to came to me.

The Regal Beagle is located just on the outskirts of downtown San Diego. I've seen it from the freeway on every drive back from the San Diego airport since I was told by a former co-worker that due to my love (obsession?) with GOOD beer, I had to make my way there. And each time we pass I lean over to my husband and point it out. "That's it! The Regal Beagle. They have good beer. I want to go there sometime." He always smiles and agrees, as if it's not the tenth time I have made that exact statement on this exact same drive.

So imagine my excitement when I overheard some friends discussing a new bar opening in Leucadia called The Regal Seagull. The owners of The Regal Beagle were opening a new restaurant in my part of town. I came home to my husband that night and informed him that we were going to the Regal Seagull. They had good beer. And we didn't have to drive downtown to get to it. Within weeks we called some friends and planned to meet up for drinks and dinner at the new Leucadia bar.

The Atmosphere
One of the essential elements of any dining experience for me, be it drinks, dinner or both, is the atmosphere  I always have an extensive beer and wine menu at home, and consider myself to be a fairly good cook (plus i actually enjoy cooking), so if I'm going switch out of comfy sweatpants to pay good money for someone else's food and beer, I need more than just the food and drink to be good. I need an experience. In that, the Regal Seagull did not disappoint.

The place is relatively small, but there is ample seating at the bar, and a few 4-seater tables along the window that almost entirely takes up the wall facing the street. There are additional tables on a patio out front, which is a huge bonus and something that many local bars are sadly lacking in such a perfect weather city. The menu is printed on a chalkboard that takes up the entire southern wall, and the beer list is found on the wall behind the bar, with each beer offering printed out on individual chalkboards. It was the little things that hooked me in: the humorous descriptions of the menu ("sweet potato fries- voted best sweet potatoes fries - by us" and French Fries that "are actually american"), the binder clip that was used to transport each customer's order along a string connecting the bar to the kitchen, and that for each order from the kitchen, instead of asking your name, the bartender gave you a ticket with a fictional name, anything from Luke Skywalker to Danny Tanner, which would later be announced over the loudspeaker when your food was ready. Great personal touches.


The Food
If you are looking for healthy or vegetarian food, you may want to keep driving (though kudos for having a veggie patty on the menu). If you like sausages and bar food, look no further. The Regal Seagull has an extensive menu of sausages and brats, with multiple toppings and sides. My husband and I started off with an appetizer while we waited for our friends. We waited for our name to be called (Trapper John) and then began to chow down on fried mac'n'cheese. My husband pointed out that the mac'n'cheese was almost certain Kraft, or a close imitation thereof (which I thought was fine but he saw as a negative), but there can be no denying that no matter what type of mac'n'cheese you fry, it's going to be deliciousness. When the rest of our crew arrived, we ordered four varieties of the sausages, plus an assortment of sides, including friend green beans, which ended up being one of my favorite food items of the evening (refer to above, fried = deliciousness). I'll admit to not being a huge sausage fan in general, but to me, with the combination of the unique atmosphere and the solid selection of beer, it worked. And if you aren't in the mood for sausages, the dinning experience was not essential to enjoying what The Regal Seagull had to offer.

The Beer
I was a huge fan of both the selection available and the amount of information at your fingertips to make that selection. Each beer was allocated its own small chalkboard complete with the brewery name, beer name, type of beer, price and alcohol percentage. The staff was knowledgeable about their beers, ready with suggestions and opinions on the various brews. And the menu was not overwhelming, i'd say about 24 options on tap. The beer drinking experience was what sealed the deal for me. It was a place you could feel comfortable grabbing a beer or two, chatting it up with the bartenders at the bar, or enjoying some California sunshine on the front patio. In fact, I was surprised to see that, despite being open only a few weeks, the place already had regulars, including some that used to brave the long trek from North County down to the Beagle just to soak in some of the beer/brat environment. And as convenient as having the Regal Seagull open in my own neck of the woods is, my experience there has only convinced me more that its downtown partner will be worth the trek.