Whiskey & Comfort Food

Wednesday was not a typical hump day that’s for sure.  A few of my VAVI friends told me about a Macallan tasting downtown San Diego.

My cocktail of choice is Whiskey & Coke but drinking it straight is not something I ever do.  But a whiskey tasting, sure why not!?  I know it’s right up Todd’s alley.

The tasting started in a cocktail setting with Macallan 10 years.  Not bad, I can do this!

Along with the 10 years there were a couple hors d’oeuvres.  The first one is some sort of apple & cinnamon tart.

The next one was duck confit with some other garnishes that was pretty amazing.

After cocktail hour we were seated in a big warehouse building.  We sat & listened to a presentation by the US Ambassador for Macallan.  We learned all about the country of Scotland as well as the whiskey making process.

The only reason we sat & listened to the presentation was because we knew there was more whiskey to come..

During the presentation we sampled the 12 year, 15 year, 17 year & 18 year.  The 12 & 18 year are aged in Sherry Oak barrels while the 15 & 17 in Oak.  The different woods & how they are seasoned affects the color, aroma, & taste of the whiskey.

I can’t tell you which one I liked best but I can say I tried drinking it ‘neat’, with an ice cube & even with a bit of water poured on top.  I liked the water addition, it made it very smooth.

After tasting 5 different Macallans, I can say I learned something.  I am no expert & I wouldn’t say a huge whiskey fan (without a mixer) but it was an experience & we had a great time!

Dinner was a very unexpected treat!  On my list of restaurants to go to was Urban Solace.  I have been to Urban Solace during 30th on 30th awhile back but I’d never sat down there to eat.  Urban Solace features New American Comfort Food sourced from only the best.  Local, organic produce, naturally produced hormone & antibiotic free meat, seafood that meets the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Watch List Best Choice Item, no high fructose corn syrup & Boylan Bottling Co. natural sodas on tap.

Urban Solace supports Bottlehood’s recycled glassware.

We started with the Cheddar Biscuits.  The biscuit was pretty good but I still prefer Broken Yolks.

Todd & split the Albacore Chop Chop.  It was a mixture of fish, avocado, pine nuts, etc etc.  It was ok but I think I’d prefer it to have more fish.

I’ve heard about their duckaroni which is their mac n cheese with duck confit with blue cheese.  I knew it was going to be very rich so Todd & split a side of it.  How can you get comfort food without mac n cheese?  This was definitely rich.  Couldn’t eat much more than that.  A little too rich I think.  I hate to say it but I still like my ‘blue box’ mac n cheese.

For the entree, we split the Niman Ranch Burger with bacon, avocado & mushrooms & french fries.  This dish was amazing!  The french fries were some of the best we’d ever had & the burger was awesome.  Wow, looking at this photo makes me want another!

 

I have to say, I am not typically a ‘comfort food person’ (if that really exists) as I try to eat lighter fare.  But, I don’t like to limit myself.  It’s all about moderation but sometimes a burger & fries with a side of mac n cheese & biscuits is acceptable.  Only if it’s preceded by whiskey.  🙂 At least I know my food was locally & humanely sourced.

I highly recommend Urban Solace.

Wow, not a typical Wednesday but awesome!