Introducing St. Germain’s Lady Chef Series

It was turning out to be an epic evening for the following reasons:

1) It was January and I was dining al fresco.

2) The restaurant is located on the historic 101 in Encinitas.

3) I was lucky enough to preview the Lady Chef series at St. Germain’s Bistro & Cafe.

The Lady Chef series is not a cooking competition like Bravo’s Top Chef television series.  It’s better than a cooking competition because the Lady Chefs chosen for this series have already proven themselves.  Starting February 1,  St. Germain’s is launching the series, featuring a top San Diego female chef.  Every three months a different Lady Chef will create a special dinner menu for St. Germain’s similar to how an art gallery features new artists. The menu will be prepared in collaboration with St. Germain’s own lady chef, executive chef, Kaitlin Ramos. Isabel Cruz is the first Lady Chef featured in this series and is the executive chef and owner of San Diego’s Barrio Star, Coffee Cup, and Isabel’s Cantina. 

Throughout the month of February, diners will savor the bold Latin flavors of Isabel’s cuisine in a specially created menu featuring dishes from her restaurants and cookbook, Isabel’s Cantina. In her cookbook, she reveals how to create healthy, flavorful dishes and it definitely shined in her menu for the series.  Typically, when I think of Latin food, I think of bold and spicy flavors but also rich and heavy food.  The entire menu was bold and flavorful, but heavy it was not.

For starters we sampled seared ahi wontons (I know I said “wontons” and I know I said Isabel is a “Latin” chef – keep reading) and tostones con carnitas (bingo). The seared ahi wasn’t wrapped in a little wonton pouch as we are so accustomed.  Instead, it was delicately placed on a flat and fried wonton and topped with avocado, wasabi cream, and a sweet soy sauce.  No Latin flavors here but I wasn’t complaining. In fact, I was impressed that this Latin chef can expand her repertoire and include items on her menu her guests wouldn’t expect.

The second appetizer was my first glimpse into her Latin flavor profile and it made me excited for what was to come. Tostones is Spanish for “to toast” and is traditionally made with sliced green plantains that are twice fried.  Top that with carnitas, avocado, and salsa and we’ve got a winner app.  It was simple and though half of the appetizer was fried, it wasn’t heavy or greasy at all.

Turkey albondiga (meatball) soup came out next.  This soup was a perfect fruition of her bold flavors and healthy cuisine using turkey meat instead of traditional beef. The meatball sat in a tomato-based broth with veggies that were tender, not soggy.  This soup had a lot of flavor depth and the more you tasted it, the more the flavors unlocked in your mouth. 

The soup was warm and comforting but next up was a dish that made me long for summer. Here I was sitting outside, steps from the beach, enjoying a lovely evening and out comes this salad made of jicama, cucumber, and radish. So simple, yet so tasty. The crunchiness of the veggies were complimented perfectly by a lemon vinaigrette. It was so reminiscent of summer, for a slight minute I thought it was! It was light, refreshing, and also served as a great palette cleanser for our main course. 

After sampling everything so far, I was getting pretty full and started to worry if I could fully enjoy the main course.  I went with the brazil bowl with carnitas (diners have the choice of carnitas, shrimp, ahi, or portobello). The “bowl” actually came out on a plate, but I didn’t judge. It was such a pretty dish I thought it was best displayed on a plate anyway. The carnitas were crispy, just the way they should be (it’s a pet peeve of mine when carnitas are not crispy) and sandwiched between coconut rice and mango salsa, topped with a jalapeno ponzu sauce. The mango salsa was a pleasant and welcomed surprise because the menu made no mention of it. Being the champion eater that I am, I cleaned my entire plate. It was Latin, it was Asian, and it was delicious. When you make it out to Saint Germian’s for the Lady Chef series, this dish needs to be ordered.

My husband ordered the red snapper in a cherry tomato-habanero salsa with coconut rice. He wanted me to let you all know that it was a “well balanced and controlled dish.” We couldn’t really taste the flavors of the coconut rice because the boldness of the habanero salsa, but we didn’t mind that. The spiciness of habanero left a burning, yet pleasing sensation on the palate.  Warning – this is not a dish for those who don’t bode well with spicy flavors but for those who do (yours truly), you will enjoy it. My husband also cleaned his plate (we make a great team).

At this point, we had gone too far to not get dessert.  So we went ahead and ordered strawberry mango cobblers, a decaf  coffee, and a mocha (why not, right?). Full disclosure: I am a sucker for anything “cobbler” and this reminded me why.  The warm strawberries and mango were topped with crunchy buttery goodness that were right up my alley.  The thing about cobblers are that they are usually pretty heavy, but this one wasn’t.  Even the ice cream was light and airy.  My husband described it as “whipped ice cream” and I would have to agree.  For a chef to achieve a “light” cobbler is quite a feat.

I live in Encinitas and I though I was thrilled to hear of a new dinner spot on the 101, I was a little skeptical because I have always known this corner bistro to be a breakfast place.  My husband and I have visited St. Germain’s for breakfast a few times and we were were excited to see what this corner spot had in store for dinner, especially with a top Lady Chef at the helm. I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to sample Isabel’s cuisine before (though I have heard great things about her restaurant, Barrio Star) and now I can’t wait to try her restaurants! But first, I’ll make sure to frequent St. Germain’s in February to take advantage of her special limited time menu and I highly recommend you do the same. Oh, and I should mention they are offering a “Taco Tuesday” menu in February as well.  With or without the Lady Chef series, St. Germain’s would be perfect for a low-key date night or a casual dinner with friends.  Grab a light jacket (there are plenty of heat lamps) and prepare yourself for a lovely evening.

We’re doing a GIVEAWAY for your chance to check out St.Germain’s!  Simply leave a comment below and be entered into a drawing for a gift certificate for dinner. Winner will be announced Sunday, February 5.

Good luck!