November 19, 2014

La Jolla, California: Nine-Ten restaurant; restaurant review

Nine-Ten  

910 Prospect St., (858) 964-5400.  B-L-D daily; $$$. This exceptional restaurant is situated off the lobby of The Grande Colonial hotel.

interior of Nine-Ten restaurant in La Jolla, California
interior of Nine-Ten restaurant in La Jolla, California


Nine-Ten features lively action and a sidewalk view in a dining area beside the front bar.  Additionally, a sedate back dining room on an open-air terrace provides a modest ocean view.  Chef Jason Knibb is king of the kitchen, assisted by Pastry Chef Rachel King, who is queen of the desserts.  Dishes are highly creative, presentations are beautiful, and flavors surprise the palate.  Everyone gets a basket of superb housemade lavash cracker bread and must restrain themselves from eating every crumb so as to leave room for the feast to follow.

My dinner began with a gorgeous salad composed of beets of many colors.

beet salad at Nine-Ten restaurant in La Jolla, California
beet salad at Nine-Ten restaurant in La Jolla, California


Then came a pretty and delicious and perfectly cooked wild-caught salmon steak with black morels and a bed of sweet corn kernels.

salmon with black morels at Nine-Ten restaurant in La Jolla, California
salmon with black morels at Nine-Ten restaurant in La Jolla, California


Dessert was a refreshing, very unusual, and again pretty and tasty basil panna cotta with blueberry meringue, fresh peaches, and nectarine sorbet.  

basil panna cotta at Nine-Ten restaurant in La Jolla, California
basil panna cotta at Nine-Ten restaurant in La Jolla, California


The entire meal was definitely not the usual.  A bar menu is also available; stand-out items include a charcuterie plate, lamb meatballs, and a burger with housemade pickles.  Happy Hour runs Monday through Friday from 3:30 to 6:30 pm.






images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

11 comments:

  1. The meal looks absolutely divine - especially your beet salad - and what a presentation.

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  2. It all looks good but I specially like the idea of basil panacotta - it sounds so unusual.

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  3. Wow, that food looks stunning and delicious I'm sure!

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  4. These dishes certainly are creative. They look delicious. I love the presentation of the beet salad.

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  5. The name of the restaurant "Nine-Ten" is unusual and it makes me wonder if there's a story behind it. The beet salad is beautifully composed and the rest of the meal looks like so much care was taken to present it attractively. My mouth is watering imagining the salmon and dessert with blueberry meringue!

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  6. The presentation of the food looks simply amazing!

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  7. Most of these exceptional dinners have raised the bar of presentation to an art form.

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  8. I always enjoy a blog on food and great places to find it!!

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