It was one of those post-MCAT meals when I knew I should be working on my application, but was too burned out and worried to focus. As it turns out, the MCAT score was fine. Actually, quite good.
It made me mad.
Y'see, my undergraduate GPA is not my strong suit, so I needed a better-than-good score to offset it. Bah. However, I'm not retaking the test and I submitted the primary application. Woohoo!
One of these days, I'll touch on why I suddenly switched from chemistry to medicine, but let's just say that I've waited a very long time to do this. Maybe it's a gut feeling, old age, whatever... but I had this corny idea that I can't possibly look my hypothetical children in the eyes and tell them to chase their dreams when I didn't do the same.
At some point during the post-MCAT haze, D. and I headed to Bankers Hill Bar and Restaurant for a much-needed night out.
A new restaurant by Carl Schroeder of Del Mar's Market, Bankers Hill is more casual and the menu leans more towards classic and simpler dishes. On a side note, I've grown addicted to these menu-on-the-table shots... sometimes it's just easier than trying to photograph the restaurant's exterior.
Speaking of, the exterior looks great, but the interior rocks. Dark wood chairs and tables, tea towels as napkins, and this spectacular succulent mural above their patio.
Ah, iPhone pictures. I haven't purchased any photography apps yet, so if y'all have any to recommend, let me know. Thanks to the bright natural light pouring into a dark space, the pictures turned out vaguely dark and dramatic. I thought it looked artsy and cool, but then again, it's probably just a poorly lit photo.
Duck confit... one of my favorite foods. Served on a bed of mushrooms and peas and topped with a dollop of mostarda. The mostarda was made of currants, but that's an estimation on the part of my tastebuds. Salty from the duck, sweet from the currants, tangy from the mustard, woodsy from the mushrooms... I licked the plate.
Oh, I wanted to talk about the duck confit so much that I'd forgotten that we had an appetizer. D. had chips and I had beer.
Housemade potato chips with a delicious herbed buttermilk dip. The chips were overseasoned to the point where the potato was obscured, but they were nice and crunchy. Went well with this:
With the mood I was in at the time, I might have pulled out a funnel and a tube to drink it. Yes, it was needed. Propriety be damned.
Dessert was predetermined, as I read on Chowhound that the cherry pie was amazing. Amazing is a mild word for Rachel Going's pie. The iPhone's camera clearly does it no justice. I might be blaspheming when I say that I don't particularly care for pie crusts... it's all about the filling for me. Rachel's crust, with it's rustic flakiness, brought new appreciation into a proper pie crust.
That ice cream? Delicious and served on a little bed of butterscotch with crumble topping. Butterscotch. Forget the beer... reserve funnel and tube for vat of butterscotch.
I had to take another menu shot when the dessert menu came out. Something about them just made me really happy and I think it's because they used a typewriter font, which we used for our wedding invites and other signage.
Well, no matter what happens with med school, at least I know I'm going to eat well in the meantime. Check out other reports on Bankers Hill by Alice, Two Foodies, and Gourmands' Review.
2202 4th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101
2 bites:
Our first visit to Bankers Hill, all that was left of my duck confit was a clean bone or two. We didn't try the pie (and I'm sad that I didn't) but the butterscotch pudding was amazing. Yum.
Wow, that looks incredible. We were a little underwhelmed but the desserts on their own are worth a visit, I had the peach pie, which was equally delicious!