Coming up With the Goods in Carlsbad

 The Goods

2965 State Street

Carlsbad, CA 92008

This is a little added bonus Carlsbad restaurant review. Usually, when we pick up a birthday present for Katie, we eat at a restaurant and head back up the 5 Freeway home. This time, however, we did not eat dessert at the restaurant where we celebrated her birthday, so we both craved something sweet. A quick Yelp search yielded many results, but one stuck out a bit and was within walking distance. After a nearly six-minute walk, we found ourselves at The Goods. 

The Goods is an artisan doughnut shop smack dab in the middle of Carlsbad Village. They have been around since 2017 and serve what I term fancy doughnuts. These are places like Sidecar Doughnuts, Oliboli, and JD Flannel Donuts in San Juan Capistrano, where a dozen doughnuts can set you back at least $30 or more. Conversely, Old-school donut places can be found in every neighborhood, and they serve very straightforward, no-nonsense donuts. I love both, although I have a soft spot for the old-school donuts I grew up with. I appreciate the finer doughnuts on occasion when my wallet allows them. 

We arrived at The Goods just before 2 p.m., which is usually when bakeries are selling off their remaining inventory and shutting down for the day. Although they listed their closing time as 4 p.m., they still had a good amount of stuff in their case when we walked into their small storefront. Doughnuts are priced in the $4 range, other pastries are $7, and they have a slew of coffee beverages that go for an average of $5. No coffee for me, as I was all about the baked goods. 

Here's a quick overview of what we ordered while at The Goods. We got them boxed to go, but we did have a doughnut and cookie here for research purposes only. Katie also got an Americano, which she enjoyed on the way home. In total, we spent just shy of $40. Let's take a closer look at everything we had. 

It's a doughnut spot, so of course, I'll start with the Cinnamon Roll ($7). This roll was about the size of my outstretched hand and featured cream cheese frosting. I liked this but had wished it had more cinnamon inside, as it lacked the gooeyness of other cinnamon rolls. The icing struck the right balance of cream cheese to sugar ratio, making people who like cream cheese frosting and those who don't both happy. The base was sturdy and well-made and got a little softer when heated. 

I'm always a sucker for cookies, so I got their Chocolate Chip Cookie ($3) as well. I liked this cookie more than the cinnamon roll. It had the perfect amount of chocolate chips spread evenly through the cookie, and the light touch of sea salt added a nice touch. The outside edge had an excellent crunch, while the center was chewy. The way a chocolate chip cookie should be. I ate this before heading home and should have gotten one for the road to heat it up in the microwave for that just-out-of-the-oven feel. Next time, for sure. 

Katie picked our first two doughnuts. She almost always veers towards fruit-flavored doughnuts. Her first pick was this Seasonal Berry Jam ($4.50). It's a yeast-raised doughnut with berry icing and filled with a jam made up of three seasonal berries. I'm guessing the three berries used were blackberry, boysenberry, and strawberry, but I'm unsure. The doughnut part was soft and had a slight chew to it, the icing was not overly sugary sweet, and the jam inside was a little too tart for my tastes. This was a grown-up version of the jelly donut you can get at your neighborhood donut spot. Very high quality. 

Next up was the Strawberry Shortcake ($4.75). Again, this was a yeast-raised doughnut with strawberry glaze topped with mascarpone, graham cracker crumbs, and a sliced strawberry. Like the doughnut above, this was not overly sweet, but the strawberry flavor was loud and clear. I'm not that big of a fan of mascarpone, so I left most of this doughnut for Katie, who liked this one the best.

The best doughnut I had at The Goods was this Brown Butter Doughnut ($4.25). It was a cake doughnut with a slight crunch when bitten into, a toasted brown butter glaze, and a touch of sea salt. I could have just had this one thing and left very happy. I'll have to try more of their cake doughnuts next time. They are delicious and satisfying. 

This simple Chocolate Ganache ($3.65) was another yeast doughnut dipped into a plain-tasting chocolate ganache. The chocolate on this was too muted for me, and after a few bites, I was bored by it. It was not awful, but I want it to be sweeter if I have a doughnut and the calories to go along with it. 

The Goods truly does make good doughnuts. After a few bites, you can tell they are crafted well and utilize high-quality ingredients. It might have been because we got here late in the afternoon, and they were out of the better doughnuts, but only the brown butter doughnut really popped for me and made me take notice. If we had gotten here closer to their opening, I would have liked to try their apple fritter, Boston cream, Nutella buttercream, or the churro cruller on my next visit. The girls working the counter were lovely and answered all of the questions we had about the doughnuts. Are these the best doughnuts in Carlsbad? We will have to wait until next year for Katie's birthday to find out. 

Out of five creatures (because the city of Carlsbad is home to three lagoons, sadly, none of them include a creature like in the 1954 3-D monster movie Creature from the Black Lagoon), five being best and zero being worst, The Goods gets three creatures. 

For more information about The Goods, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.thegoodsdoughnuts.com/

2,4,6,8 Will We Appreciate 264 Fresco?

 264 Fresco

264 Carlsbad Village Drive 

Carlsbad, CA 92008

We are in North San Diego County, so long-time and observant readers of this blog know that probably means we were down this way to get Katie something for her birthday at the Carlsbad Outlets like we do every year. It prevents me from coming up with something to buy her that she probably would not like, and it also allows us to have lunch or dinner in an area that we usually would not get to. After about an hour of looking at purses and cosmetics and checking out the clearance racks at various stores, it was finally time to eat. This year, we were headed to 264 Fresco. 

264 Fresco is a modern Italian restaurant a few blocks from the ocean and in the heart of Carlsbad Village. I'd imagine that parking could be pretty bad in this area during peak tourist season, but they have their own parking lot, so parking was a breeze. We arrived just before 1pm on a Friday afternoon and were given a choice to sit inside or on their second-story deck. We took the deck option, even though the sun was starting to peek through the clouds as we were seated, and I had forgotten to wear a hat, so a possible sunburn may be in my future. 

I'm not sure how long 264 Fresco has been in business, but the earliest Yelp review I could find was from 2006. I know that this restaurant's owner, Linda DiNitto, also brought Fresco Cocina to the people of Carlsbad in 2022. That restaurant serves what I'd term elevated Latin American cuisine. 264 Fresco draws upon the Italian food that Linda grew up eating, which has seemed to resonate with the people of Carlsbad. This restaurant is the 12th most reviewed restaurant on Yelp in the area, and they have a very respectable 4.1-star rating with over 2,000 reviews posted. 

Modern Italian restaurants sometimes have menus with too few items or try to get too cute with things, and the dishes are unrecognizable to most people. That is not the case at 264 Fresco. They feature thirteen shareable starters, a six-pack of salads, wood-fired pizzas, pasta dishes, and entrees that include beef, chicken, or seafood. They even have a Wagyu Smashburger here (yes, the Smashburger fad has gotten so big that it's invaded even Italian restaurants now). Entrees range between $19 to $44, while pizzas cost in the $20 range. I had, of course, checked out the menu before coming down here, so I knew what I was getting. The birthday girl took a little longer, but we finally got our order in, and here's how everything came out for us at 264 Fresco. 

When I was growing up, the humble Brussels sprout was nowhere to be found on a restaurant menu. They sprouted up in popularity at the end of the last decade, and as a result, you can now find them on many menus—even here at an Italian restaurant. 264 Fresco served a generous amount of Brussels Sprouts ($15) with pancetta and gastrique, finished with some high-quality grana padano cheese sprinkled on top. The sprouts were incredibly fresh, but I had wished for a heavier hand when the rest of the ingredients were applied. I guess they were trying to have the sprouts be front and center. 

Katie usually gravitates towards comfort food when eating in an Italian restaurant for the first time. I was unsurprised that the birthday girl selected this Short Rib Pappardelle ($26) for her birthday meal. The short rib and large pappardelle noodles were joined in this shallow bowl with a fantastic beef au jus, mushrooms, and a garlic confit. Katie loved the comforting combo of the short rib and large noodles but also appreciated the radishes and Italian parsley that helped cut the dish's richness. It would be hard for her to order this again on return visits. 

The baseline for me when judging an Italian restaurant is to try their lasagna first. This entree has all the components that make an excellent Italian restaurant; the sauce, cheese, and pasta. I really enjoyed this version at 264 Fresco. They used bechamel and bolognese sauce, a healthy serving of sausage, and a sprinkling of cheese on top. This was a light lasagne. The sauces were present but did not overpower. The pasta was done perfectly, and the sausage was mildly flavored. A good lasagna for a midday lunch, as it will not put you to sleep after finishing it. 

Even though we only tried three items from the extensive 264 Fresco menu, I can see why this restaurant has met with widespread appeal from the people of Carlsbad and the surrounding area. This is the kind of Italian restaurant you want to visit and eat through the menu to gleam your favorites. We also were very fond of the atmosphere of this rooftop restaurant, with its birds-eye view of downtown Carlsbad. Sadly, there is no ocean view, but you can't have it all. The service was straightforward and to the point, with no real lags during our stay. 264 Fresco added to our streak of excellent restaurants when we came down this way. I'm already looking forward to Katie's next birthday. 

Out of five accordions (because Carlsbad is home to the Museum of Making Music, and one of their past exhibits was about this beloved box-shaped instrument), five being best to zero being worst, 264 Fresco gets 3.5 accordions. 

For more information about 264 Fresco, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.264fresco.com/

A Tip Top Lunch in Carlsbad?

 Tip Top Meats

6118 Paseo Del Norte

Carlsbad, CA 92011

We were in Carlsbad, so you know what that means. It means it's time to get Katie a new purse from Coach at the Outlets of Carlsbad for her birthday. This has been our tradition for the last eight years now. First, we do a little shopping, and then I find a place for us to eat. This year we had my parents with us as well, and I decided it was time to cross another restaurant off of my restaurant wishlist. So we headed a couple blocks south of the Outlets to Tip Top Meats. 

The man behind this spot is John Haedrich, known to his guests and employees as Big John. He escaped from East Germany in 1949, leaving everything behind to come to West Germany for a better quality of life. While in West Berlin, he got his masters butchers certificate, and when he answered an ad requesting a master sausage maker, it brought him to the US. Not wanting to get stuck in the middle of the country, he ventured out to California, opening Tip Top Meats in Glendale. After a ten-year run there, he was on the move again, relocating his successful business to its present location in Carlsbad.  

Tip Top Meats has become a Carlsbad institution. They have been fixtures in this spot since 1967, which is way longer than I've even been alive. Okay, not by much, but still, it's an impressive feat to be in business for 55 years. Not just a restaurant, they are also a full-service European market, butcher shop, and deli counter. 

We arrived at half past one on a Sunday and were met with a pretty long line of people ahead of us. The line moved fairly quickly, though, giving us a little bit of extra time to decide what to have. Ordering is done at the register, and then you are given a number to display at your table. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week. 

The menu is one of the bigger ones I have seen recently. They have plenty of sandwich options, pork, veal, lamb, chicken, and beef entrees, plus German favorites. They also have an option where you pick out your steak from their butcher counter, and they will prepare a full dinner for you for the price of the steak plus $5.98. Speaking of prices, nothing on their menu is over $15, with most items right about the $10 price point. We were all pretty hungry, and lucky for us our food came out way quicker than I had imagined. Let's take a look. 

I went a little out of my comfort zone but embraced my German heritage by trying something I had never had before, the Rouladen ($12.98). This is a round steak stuffed with bacon, mustard, onion, and pickles with brown gravy. Not bad, but I was expecting a little more from the inside ingredients of this dish. The meat was pretty tender, and the gravy added a nice homey feeling. This plate also came with all the fixings, mashed potatoes and gravy, red cabbage, sauerkraut, a roll, and a salad (not pictured). This was enough food for two meals, which I took home and ate later for dinner. The mashed potatoes were fine, and the sauerkraut was one of the most pungent versions I have had. The red cabbage was the best of the three sides, with a slightly sweet and sour flavor. 

My mom is not one to try German food, so she went with the Turkey Sandwich ($9.98). This rather large turkey sandwich was parceled into three parts and included a good amount of freshly sliced turkey but no lettuce or tomato. My mom got this on toasted sourdough with light mayo. The fries are your typical frozen variety, but they did the trick for my mom. 

Tossing aside his German roots, my dad went with a French Dip Sandwich ($9.98) for his midday meal. This sandwich came on a glossy french roll with swiss cheese and a good amount of sliced roast beef. The roast beef was okay on its own but was much better when dunked in the provided au jus. Next, my dad went with the German potato salad instead of fries. He liked this vinegar-based potato salad better than the American mayo-based version. So maybe his German roots did peek out a bit this afternoon. 

Katie was pretty hungry after her birthday shopping excursion, as she got the Reuben ($9.98) and a Side of Spaetzle ($4.49). This traditional Reuben consisted of corned beef, sauerkraut, and swiss cheese on rye. You can see from the picture that they used rye for two sections of the sandwich and swirl bread for the third portion. I'm sure it was a mistake, but Katie did not complain. She might not have even noticed it. I'm not sure if Russian dressing was included here, but it was not mentioned on the menu board, and from the picture, it does not appear like it. None of us were big fans of the spaetzle. It was very bland, and after two bites, I did not really see the point of eating this German pasta. We'd skip it the next time we visited. 

Tip Top Meats is much better than any subpar food options at the Carlsbad Outlets. The meals here are moderately priced, and the portion sizes are very generous. Something that is very rarely seen these days. The plates we encountered this afternoon did not blow us away but were still pretty solid. Our experience here does warrant a return visit, maybe to try their sausages, stuffed pork chops, or breakfast plates. Ordering was a pretty slow process, but we might have hit them during a rush. Once we ordered and sat down, our food came out relatively quickly, and the food runners were continuously circulating to ensure our needs were met. Another successful birthday outing to get Katie a new purse and try a new restaurant. 

Out of five Big Macs (because, like this restaurant, 1967 was also the year that the famous McDonald's burger debuted), five being best to zero being worst, Tip Top Meats gets 3 Big Macs. 

For more information about Tip Top Meats, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.tiptopmeats.com/index.html

Birthday Blowout at Bistro West - CLOSED

Bistro West

4960 Avenida Encinas

Carlsbad, CA 92008

So I guess we have a new tradition when it comes to Katie's birthday. Instead of me trying to guess what to get her, and having her end up returning it, I let her pick out her own gift. I know it's not the most romantic thing to do, but I want her to get something she's going to like and use. So we headed off to the Carlsbad Premium Outlets, and she got to go on a mini shopping spree.

Another part of this new birthday tradition is me picking out a restaurant to take her to. She's really easy when it comes to trying new places, so I went online and looked for restaurants near the outlet stores. I knew I was going to be pretty hungry after dealing with the Sunday crowds down there, and looking at the traffic on the 5 Freeway going north, I knew coming back to OC for dinner was not going to be an option. Best to let traffic thin out a little bit, and try a restaurant in Carlsbad. We decided on Bistro West, which is about five minutes away from the packed stores.

Bistro West is kind of off by itself, on the western side of the 5 Freeway. It's located on the same property as the West Inn and Suites but detached from the hotel. There's plenty of parking for restaurant guests, and there was not too much of a crowd at the awkward dining hour of 4pm on a Sunday, but there was a smattering of people eating in their rather large dining room.

The dining room was classy, but not stuffy, which is a hard balance to attain. We were in casual shopping clothes and did not feel too out of place here. It might be a little different as the night goes on though. For our OC fans, Bistro West kind of felt like the Winery, or maybe even JT Schmid's.

Bistro West is very proud of their own farm, which from what I have been able to gather, is located directly behind the outlet stores. This 3-acre farm ensures that they have fresh items to help them maintain their seasonally revolving menu. Speaking of their menu, it was rather diverse, with many appetizers, salads, pizzas, pasta, sandwiches, burgers, and entree options. I had a hard time picking something, but it was time to make our choices. Let's see what we came up with.

Our waiter, Reggie promised us some freshly baked rolls, and he delivered. These came to the table very hot and freshly baked. They kind of had the consistency of a sourdough roll, but not the sourdough taste I was expecting. Still a solid dinner roll though.

The birthday girl started things off with the small-sized Bistro Baby Mixed Green Salad ($6.95). For being small sized, this salad was pretty big with flavor. This one came with caramelized walnuts, roasted tomatoes, blue cheese, a balsamic vinaigrette, and of course fresh greens. Katie really enjoyed this salad. She liked that there was plenty of blue cheese on here, and the roasted tomatoes were a nice surprise. They were a little light on the dressing, but Katie favors that, as it lets the veggies be the star of the show.

I really wanted to try their Caesar salad, but I decided to buck the trend and have a go at their Ham and Bean Soup ($5.50). Like the rolls, this came to the table smoking hot. It was a very good hearty soup. Lots of flavors, and lots of shredded ham and beans in here. I should have had the bowl for an extra dollar, but I did have more food on the way.

Even though it was her birthday, Katie did not go for the most expensive thing on the menu, which would have been fine. Instead, she had this modest Hot Reuben Sandwich ($16.95). All the usual suspects were here; corned beef, Swiss cheese, house made sauerkraut, and thousand island dressing, all on toasted rye bread. Katie liked this sandwich but was not in love with it. The corned beef was not as tender as it could have been, and they needed a little more thousand island dressing on here to soak up some of the dryness of the meat. The toasted bread was very well done, and the sauerkraut that they make here did not overpower, like a lot of sauerkraut's can. She'd probably get something else on her next visit here. She was blown away by the Asian Coleslaw side that she had. I'm not sure what was in this, but she mentioned this coleslaw at least three times since we have left Bistro West.

I had read online somewhere that one of the burgers here was voted best burger in North San Diego, so I had to give one of them a try. I chose the Bleu Cheeseburger and added Bacon ($15.45). The burgers here are a half pound each, and this one came with caramelized onion, blue cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a sundried tomato truffle aioli sauce. This burger had a very good balance working for it. The blue cheese was strong on this burger, but the added bacon helped to cut the taste of it a bit. The bun here did a great job keeping everything together, it was toasted nicely, and had a nice crunch to it. The burger itself was overcooked though. They asked how I wanted it, and I said medium, but this came out closer to well done. It still tasted good, but I'm sure it would have been juicier if it was closer to medium. I went with French Fries for my side item, and they came out nice and crisp. A pretty good french fry, but nothing that made it stand out too much.

Katie had mentioned that it was her birthday, and our waiter Reggie brought out this Warm Gingered Pear Cobbler ($8.95, but free for her birthday). This was topped with a little bit of a crumble, Tahitian vanilla gelato, and surrounded by two dollops of whipped cream. I'm usually not too partial to fruit desserts, but this one was pretty solid. The pear was a nice deviation from apple that is almost always used. The crust of the cobble could have had more crumble, but the gelato added a little sweetness. Katie has been abstaining from desserts recently, but really seemed to enjoy this one.

Now, this is definitely more my style of dessert. This Bistro West Mud Pie ($8.95) might be misnamed, but it did not detract from its deliciousness. When you usually think of mud pies, you probably think of a cake layered with ice cream, and this was more of a deconstructed version of the classic mud pie. The base of this starts with an Oreo cookie crust with peanut butter, then is topped by coconut and white chocolate chip brownie, and topped with whipped cream and berries, with a coffee stout gelato on the side. The brownie portion of this was very rich, but oh so good. Very moist, and me being a peanut butter lover, this got me from the first bite. I did not really get a lot of coconut or white chocolate here, but I did not mind. The gelato was nice and mellow, and the coffee flavor did not overpower. A few other desserts sound pretty good on their menu, but I can't see myself getting anything else, but this one.

We both left Bistro West satisfied, but not blown away, (except with that last dessert). The food here was good, but we both remarked that we would like to try somewhere else when we come down here again next year for Katie's birthday. Maybe we just ordered the wrong things, and something else on this diverse menu would totally make us want to come back here. This restaurant is very comfortable, the service was good, and there's plenty to choose from on the menu, so you'll definitely find something to order at Bistro West. I'm already starting to do some research for next years restaurant, so if you have somewhere that will blow us away, leave us a comment or shoot us an email. I'm just glad I don't have to head back to those outlet stores for another 12 months.

Out of five golf clubs, (because the city of Carlsbad is home to many golf makers corporate headquarters, like Callaway, Cobra, and Taylormade), five being best to zero being worst, Bistro West gets 3 golf clubs.

For more information about Bistro West, go to their website here: http://www.bistrowest.com/

Hopefully Spirito's Will Move Us

Spirito's

2508 El Camino Real

Carlsbad, CA 92010

The month of May means that I have to start thinking about birthdays. My family has a lot of birthdays this month, and they pretty much continue right through the summer. First up is Katie's birthday, which is only two days into the month. I had a few things in the works for her for our anniversary, so I had to play it cool for her birthday. She's been toting around a broken purse for awhile now, so I told her I'd take her to get a new one at the Carlsbad Outlets. After we got a great deal on a purse, and other things, we had grown quite an appetite. Before we left the house, I had made a mental note of where I wanted to eat, so we headed to Spirito's.

I found out about Spirito's like a lot of people, when they appeared last year on Diner's, Drive-In's and Dives. They were featured about eight months ago, so we waited until the crowds died down a bit, and hit them up. On that episode they showcased their old school way of doing things. They make their pizza dough from scratch, they hand roll their ravioli, and they even bottle their own garlic dressing here. They pride themselves on being an old school Italian restaurant, reminiscent of the owners grandfather's place in New Jersey. With all of this talk of doing things from scratch, I was really looking forward to trying them out.

We got here at the odd time of 3PM on a recent Friday afternoon. Too late for lunch, and a little early for dinner, (unless you are part of the senior set), we hit this restaurant during a lull, but that just meant we had the place all to ourselves. Ordering here is done at the counter, then the food is brought out to you. Because the food is pretty much made from scratch, it does take some time for the food to make its way out to your table. We waited over twenty minutes for our food, and there was no one else in the restaurant during our time here. We were told that this place can get busy during meal times, and after their episode of Triple D airs on the Food Network. Let's see if this will be another hit that we will have to thank Guy Fieri for, or will we wonder why he showed up here.

Not featured on the show, but Katie really wanted to try this Spinach Bianco Pizza ($10) to start with. Since it was her birthday, I indulged her. This non-red sauce pizza came topped with spinach, Gorgonzola, Parmesan, garlic, and olive oil. Not really my favorite type of pizza, but this pizza won me over. I liked the thin crust on this, while the bite from the Gorgonzola kept me interested. This pizza was topped with just enough cheese, and the spinach was well done on this. Having this pizza piqued my interest about the rest of their pizzas, which I look forward to trying on future visits.

What was shown on Diner's, Drive-In's, and Dives was this Spaghetti and Meatballs ($9). This is a real solid version of this classic Italian dish, with a twist. You have your choice of either having a regular meatball, or a Roman meatball, which has pine nuts and raisins tucked inside of them. Definitely get this version. I'm pretty anti-raisin, but here the dried grape added a touch of sweetness that went well with the pine nuts. The meatball was also pretty tender. At Spirito's they do not call it sauce, they call it gravy. Whatever they choose to call it, it was pretty good. The gravy was more on the sweet and mellow side, with the absence of that acidic taste that a lot of sauces have. The pasta was of course really fresh, and this plate was made even better after I added some Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes to it. A very memorable spaghetti plate here at Spirito's.

Not on their regular menu, but written as a special on the butcher paper by the register, this Ravioli with Pork and Beef Ragu ($16) was also shown on TV. The raviolis here are hand made, light, and very big. Some of the biggest we have seen. The meats were pretty tender and flavorful, while the sauce had the same sweetness that the spaghetti dish possessed. The bread served with this was a great vessel for scooping up the rest of the left over sauce.

We ate almost all of this food at Spirito's between the two of us, and did not have that real heavy feeling that you get when leaving an Italian restaurant. I think that can be a testament to them using quality ingredients. Everything we had on this afternoon could best be described as solid Italian cuisine. We would definitely come back when we are in the area. Spirito's is proof that there is definitely some good Italian restaurants on the west coast. With everything being made from scratch, I did not think that the prices were crazy, or absurd at Spirito's. Be advised that they do not have a soda fountain, so all drinks are sold out of the can or bottle. Service was fair during our visit, as it seemed they had a lot of prep work to do in the kitchen, so they pretty much just left us alone to enjoy our meals. Katie was pretty pleased with this birthday dinner, almost as pleased as she was with her new purse.

Out of five skateboards, (not only because Carlsbad is the birthplace of skateboarding legend, Tony Hawk, but the city is also home to one of the first skateboard parks, built in 1976), five being best to zero being worst, Spirito's gets 3.5 skateboards.

For more information about Spirito's, go to their website here: http://spiritositaliandiner.com/welcome.html