A Darn Good Chop!

Jrdn at Tower 23 in San Diego

Tonight, for my friend Felicia's birthday, a group of us dined at the Jrdon (pronounced Jordan) Restaurant located in the hotel Tower 23 in Pacific Beach.

When I arrived at 6:30 before the others, I dashed to the bar to catch the tail end of happy hour. The bartender served me a Pina Colada Martini decorated with toasted coconut. It was a bit sweet, but the coconut was a great accent. There was a close call of a choking incident, but I did what I learned to do in 2nd grade when choking on anything--cough the hell out of it. THEN, the others arrived, and I was no longer drinking...alone. A cheese plate, a few Dos Equis and toasted cranberry walnut bread came and went. The chef sent a complimentary plate of mini garlic toasts topped with dollops of goat cheese and lemon zest. You might already know that I am not a fan of many cheeses, and my very least favorite cheese is that of the GOAT. It tends to taste of old wet cardboard. However, being the incredibly open-minded invidivual that I am (right, Mom?), I taste goat cheese every time that it is presented to me. I tossed it in my mouth and did not writhe in disgust! The lemon zest and garlic masked the intensity of the deep dimension of soggy cardboard flavor that goat cheese usually imparts. Hats off to the chef for helping me to find a way to move somewhat forward in my efforts to develop a respectably refined pallette. Then our food arrived. Upon request the waiter had suggested the double cut berkshire pork chop. You must know that this came accompanied by brussel sprouts, apples, celery root puree, and cider jus. The brussel sprouts hit my tongue like a strong coffee would. When paired with the bacon and celery root (which tasted like plain mashed potatoes but a little grainy) their staunch texture and deep flavors were tolerable. Moving onto the highlight of my evening--the chop. Oh my goodness! It was a hunk of brown seared meat with a very hot light pink flesh clinging tenderly to the bone, and it was completely surrounded by a deep brown sauce. After slicing through the meat, I brushed it into the sauce. When I tasted the first bite, my table of friends laughed. I was apparently "in heaven"--thrilled and calmed by the light warmth of the meat and celestial combination of apples and spices in the cider jus. Everyone wanted a taste, and everyone agreed that it was a darn good chop--obvious from the pictures that I think really do capture the best of me ;)