The Wit's End

With the opening of Hamilton's in South Park, the San Diego bar scene, especially for hipsters, seems to be shifting. The importance of dives, NuNu's, Scolari's, and the Tower, is waning, while bars centered around beer, especially craft beer, is rising. San Diego has always been a good town for brewing, with Alesmith, Stone, and Pizza Port all producing nationally-regarded beer, and this emphasis seems to be affecting bar culture as well. But while Hamilton's has become the favorite destination for the bulk of drinkers who only recently hung up their trucker caps, it doesn't serve food.

And the food at The Wit's End (420 Robinson) is arguably its strength. While the bottled beer selection is tremendous, there are a limited number of (well-chosen) taps. And the bottles are on the pricey side, outside of the 4:20-7:20 happy hour (so timed because of its address, rather than any pharmacology). Despite the way The Wit's End advertises itself, I would recommend looking elsewhere for your craft beer needs (Hamilton's, as well as the estimable Liar's Club), and look to The Wit's End as an honest-to-goodness public house.

Such tremendous resources exist for reviewing beer, that I'll leave it alone, and concentrate on the food, the space, and the people, in reverse order. The service varies tremendously, and I can't figure out what drives the changes. Sometimes, everyone is friendly, quick, and open. Other times, a sensation of...interruption...permeates the room. The restaurant is very much a family operation, and I think the service reflects this for both good and ill. When it's good, it's very good; when it's not, it resembles an awkward family dinner.

The familial vibe extends past the proprietors and to the patrons. Everyone seems to know everyone else. The obvious comparison would usually be "Cheers," but the clientele differs enough for that comparison to hide more than it reveals; rather than the lovable losers of that Boston bar, the patrons of The Wit's End are younger, in their late twenties and early thirties, more affluent (at least in terms of social capital), and further on the left.

In fact, it's hard to talk about this restaurant without bringing politics into the discussion, and not in the way Carlo Petrini would, for example. The Wit's End is a self-consciously lefty space. On the one hand, nearly everywhere in Hillcrest is, at least tacitly. On the other, few restaurants in San Diego have as direct a connection to a partisan position. Me, I find this invigorating, but it's my politics that's being reflected. Republicans, I'm sure, could still get served, even served non-tainted food; but, the Daily Show and Colbert Report are the only shows on the television that will pass un-muted, punctuated by occasional cheers and laughs by all.

Onto the food. It's terrific, almost uniformly. The menu, like any proper pub, emphasizes sandwiches, many of which are grilled on a panini press. They're great. I usually edge towards the pesto chicken, meatloaf or BBQ chicken myself, but the ahi sandwich is good as well.

But don't overlook the salads, especially the grilled ahi salad. I especially recommend the Hawaiian dressing, a lighter option than the traditional creamy dressings. One of the heartiest, cheapest meals on the menu is a large bowl of rice, layered with meatloaf, covered with soup. Sadly, unlike the sandwiches, Gary's Bowl (as it's called) lacks a side.

The soups, by the way, are frequently not-to-be-missed. Fresh, flavorful, and most of all, unexpected. The watermelon gazpacho, when available, is spiked with powerfully tart herb notes courtesy of a surprisingly bright cilantro.

And, unlike most pubs, the food is quite friendly to vegetarians, perhaps courtesy of the above-mentioned lefty slant. A good amount of the sandwiches are centered around fresh veggies, and these are well-designed, not afterthoughts. A few quesadillas and salads round out the non-meat selections.

Overall, it's a great place to meet a friend (although not a group -- the space simply won't fit groups larger than seven at the outside, and usually not more than four) for a casual, tasty meal and a drink.

Baby Back Jack's

With Phil's closed for what has come to seem like an eternity (at least for those of us who miss the smell alone -- I understand some of its neighbors fall outside of this category), the search for good BBQ in San Diego continues. Each of the local places has it adherents, and BBQ seems to fall outside of objective judgment. For each fan, a BBQ restaurant will surely have a cognate who dislikes it. I didn't grow up in a BBQ household (both Midatlantic and kosher), so my preferences seem to diverge significantly from the midwestern set. Take that into account when calibrating your tastes.

I've come to enjoy Baby Back Jack's out on University (by The Alibi) quite a bit, in part as an antidote to Phil's. Where Phil's was (and, I suppose, will be) a chaotic mess of a restaurant, all shouting and waiting around communal tables, Baby Back Jack's is quiet and relaxed. Neither Phil's nor Baby Back Jack's is BBQ proper, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. Phil's accomplished terrific things with its meat, and Baby Back Jack's works just fine as well, albeit in a different vein.

The first thing to notice is the crowds. There aren't any. Oh, the space is rarely empty, especially around the dinner and lunchtime rush hours. But the space seems to fit the crowd nicely. This is helped by the large outside patio, facing onto University. Positioned as it is vis a vis the bar scene, the people-watching opportunities are high indeed, useful, since the food will take a few minutes to come to you.

The service, in the meantime, is quick and friendly. Counter service rarely impacts me enough to notice it, but in this case, it's hard to avoid. The staff are invariably pleasant and friendly. As often as not, in fact, they sneak in an extra side or dessert for me and the Little Lady, or any guests who we bring.

The menu is relatively small. Ribs, chicken, some sandwiches, including three burgers, and some salads. Note, vegetarians should eat elsewhere; the salads are chock full of meat, and unless you're making a meal of French fries and onion rings (as one of our party did the last time we visited) you will go home unhappy (as the other vegetarian member did). The side dishes, while usually tasty, especially the pineapple-y coleslaw, but not the slimy, slippery onion rings, are a little on the pricey side, unless bundled with a meal.

I'm not sure where this trend has come from, but it's not my favorite. Both here and at the inimitable Crazy Burger on 30th, fries come separately. Who gets a burger without some side? Frankly, who gets a burger without fries? The fries (and burgers) in both cases are excellent, worth paying attention to on their own. But they need not be separated on the menu for them to be separated in our minds.

The ribs are fall-off-the-bone tender, with good flavor and little extra fat. The broiling method, while not as enriching as a long, slow, smoking, produces excellent meat, especially well-browned. The chicken is moist and flavorful, even the white meat; this is one of the few places that ordering the breast side makes sense. The burgers are terrific, and pass my bun test with flying colors.*

The chopped sandwiches are where the meat really shines through. Tangy sauce, just flavoring the meat enough without over-moistening it, good solid meat taste and, more importantly, meaty mouth-feel, while remaining tender and avoiding chewiness. I tend to avoid the au jus, and just go straight for the gusto. The rolls, again, are well-chosen, so that they neither disintegrate not overpower.

This all does come at a price, though. A burger, fries, and a soda will set you back around $10. While there's normally a special, this does seem to be on the high side. That said, the same meal would get into the same money at either Crazy Burger or Phil's (or Lucky Buck's, across the street). If you're looking for the basics, you may want to try Lefty's, which has a surprisingly good burger (and which I'll probably review in a later column). And while the patio is delightful, the indoor accomodations are modest at best.

*The bun test: Buns and patties must be well-calibrated to one another. If the bun falls apart, bad sign. If significant bun is left over once the patty is consumed, bad sign.