Charles C.
Yelp
The Black Radish was not on my radar until I was reading through Yelp reviews one day and one of my Yelp Friends reviewed the Black Radish. It sounded intriguing, so I decided to book a table for that very evening, a Wednesday.
I like the old corner building in which the Black Radish is located on a prosaic stretch of El Cajon Boulevard. There is a large black radish made of intertwined black Iron that hangs above the entrance door like a happy lantern. Parking can be a challenge, for is street parking only. Because I was dining early midweek at 5:30 p.m., I easily found a spot a block away to stash my chariot.
I was the first person in the dining room that evening. I was seated at a table along the robin's egg blue velvet banquettes on the right. However, along the windows on the opposite side of the dining room are a series of tables with "lounge" like chairs, that give the ambiance more the feel of an all-day hang-out coffee house rather than a proper restaurant. There was good jazz music on the restaurant's soundtrack, including haunting melodies by Billie Holiday.
While it was still quiet in the room, a woman wandered in and a full job interview was conducted right at the bar. I heard all about as to how she had been a manager at a South Park restaurant and her employer had cut her hours, so she was looking for work. I must say that 15 minute discussion at full volume in the middle of the dining room was an interference of mood.
The initial server assigned to my table was not particularly pleasant, despite the fixed apparent smile underneath the formidable mask [which all staff wear]. For example, after I was served the amuse bouche of hummus, although my server had previously described all of the ingredients, I had forgotten them, so I inquired of a passing busboy. He responded "Hummus". I said, "do you know what else?" To which he responded "No". I then asked him if he could find out for me. He disappeared into the kitchen.
Thereafter, my server approached, stating "So, I heard you were curious as to what was in the Amuse Bouche". I responded, I was not "curious", I just wanted to know the ingredients. To that, she said "well, it's the same thing!" [being "curious" and "wanting to know"]. She then rolled her eyes, told me the ingredients, let out an exasperated sigh and turned on her heels to greener pastures.
Happily, the initial server never returned, as it appeared that as the restaurant filled with patrons, she was assigned to the other side of the room near the windows, so I no longer had to deal with the eye rolls and sighs. The new server, Elyse [sp?] was charming, knowledgeable and friendly.
As is became darker, I noticed a busboy going about the room lighting the votive candles on the tables. As he walked from table to table doing so, he would toss the stick lighter in the air where it did a twirl and swirl between each table, just like a circus juggler. I am not sure if that manner is in sync with the restaurant's ambitions.
A man wearing blue jeans with long blond hair covered by a pink scarf who was behind the bar walked by my table numerous times. Even though I was the only customer in the dining room and he was walking literally two feet from me, he never so much glanced my way. Why? Happily, later, he DID stop by. He told me his name was "John" and he identified himself as the owner. Once we spoke, I found him to be a gracious host and we had a nice little chat as I left the restaurant.
As to the food, I ordered the four-course prix-fixe dinner. I found all the dishes to be quite superb and delicious. There was even some wonderful hot sourdough bread served with one course in which John takes particular pride, and rightly so. I like the fact there was a plat du jour not on the printed menu that could be ordered as part of the prix-fixe dinner with no surcharge. I am a "specials" guy, since I have found that all good chefs show their best in the nightly specials. On my evening, it was a rack of lamb atop cassoulet, which was perfect.
The reason The Black Radish cannot yet attain five stars is because currently the wine list is inadequate to complement the complex and refined cooking emanating from the kitchen. Elyse mentioned something about the restaurant partnering with a wine bar in Little Italy, so hopefully the wine list will be expanded with some interesting wine selections. The wines are currently stored in a shelf behind the bar. My red wine was served too warm and not at cellar temperature, so we had to chill it for a while. That is something to watch out for, and should be corrected by the restaurant.
But more than the wine list, the restaurant has to also offer wine service. If you are going to feature $140.00 bottles of wine, the customer expects the server will pour that wine throughout the meal---that is what the inflated restaurant prices of of wine are to encompass. However, on the night of my visit, after the initial pour, there was ZERO wine service.
