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.