On Monday night, June 7, a hot and muggy evening at the end of the school year, with baseball tournaments in high gear, people came out in droves to the La Mesa Community Center to see just what the Jewel of the Hills had to offer in the culinary way, which is quite a lot.
On Monday night, June 7, a hot and muggy evening at the end of the school year, with baseball tournaments in high gear, people came out in droves to the La Mesa Community Center to see just what the Jewel of the Hills had to offer in the culinary way, which is quite a lot.
The seventh annual Taste of La Mesa occupied both rooms of the recreation center with restaurants, breweries, casinos, a bakery, wineries, pubs, a coffee house, and corporate chains offering their food with heaping doses of friendliness and community spirit. Put on by the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce, Chamber President Mary England started with only San Pasqual Winery and one brewery. Twenty-seven culinary vendors now attend and offer their specialties, and wines were available from J Pilar Winery, San Pasqual Winery, the Rivera Super Club and The Regal Bar. Sam Adams was on site with their beers.
“This isn’t a corporate event, this is a public event, we’ve reached out,” said Anderson. “It’s just what people want.”
Wall to wall people supported Anderson’s claim and fulfilled the goal of the Chamber, to generate business. The restaurants and their staff enthusiastically handed out the food that is their pride and livelihood, whether they were representing a larger corporation like Rubio’s and Souplantation, or a company that started in the kitchen of a foodie entrepreneur.
Charles Russell of Continental Catering, who has been with the catering company twenty of its thirty-two years in operation, was serving paella. Continental Catering began in the garage of the owner’s home, he explained, and grew into a large, reputable business that currently operates out of their facility on Parkway Drive.
“We do eighty percent weddings, fifty percent corporate, and house parties – birthdays, things like that,” said Russell.
Their paella was authentic tasting, hitting the right notes of savory and spicy. The shrimp and sausage were tender, the rice done perfectly, and the sauce was smooth and tomatoey. Continental Catering is the success story that infuses hope into people who have a knack for something and aim to make a living doing what they love. The flavors in their food prove it they love what they’re doing.
Taste of La Mesa could not disappoint by not offering favorites like Chile Colorado from Hacienda Casa Blanca Mexican Restaurant and Cantina, chicken tikka masala from Himalayan Cuisine, the always tempting salads from BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse and creamy pasta with fresh broccoli from Tiramisu Trattoria. Cupcakes from Grove Pastry Shop and Custom Cakes attractively lined their display, impossible to ignore, particularly the champagne cupcake—a vanilla batter made with champagne, filled with mango puree and iced with mango mousse—airy, but moist and with a delicate, fruity pop.
The braised short rib from Sycuan Casino was hearty, cooked just right. They gave up nothing in quality, though made or the large crowd. The short ribs were served with cornbread and a sweet mustard sauce.
It was the same with the Day Boat scallops offered by the Brigantine, each scallop seared perfectly, meaty but easy to slice in half and enjoy, despite the temptation to devour the shellfish whole.
BO-Beau served such flawless pumpkin bread pudding with cinnamon whipped cream that it was difficult to discern what was best about it—the taste, scent or appearance. The Hills offered their sliders, divine with caramelized onion, moist, slightly pink-in-the-center patty. The bun soft, the cheese melting, the freshly made sliders were everything they were supposed to be, a couple satisfying bites of pure Americana grilled outside on a summer night.
Cali Comfort, which has been a barbecue and sports bar for seven years after relinquishing its former identity as a breakfast house, served peach cobbler and pulled pork sandwiches.
“The barbecue is St. Louis style with a Cali twist, cooked low and slow. We cook everything for a long time,” said catering manager Arnie Valenzuela. “And when it’s gone, it’s gone, just like the barbecue food shows on television.”
Cali Comfort has more than twenty beers on tap and most of them are local. What they have to offer was not a hard sell and their booth had plenty of foot traffic and yummy sounds emanating from its fans.
Taste of La Mesa will be back next year showcasing the culinary hotspots, long time favorites and reliable neighborhood gathering places, but until then, it’s clear that the question “Where should we go to eat?” should be a no-brainer in La Mesa. In La Mesa, whatever diners are in the mood far is not far away.
