En Jolla La Jolla

We love our friends even when they live on the wrong side of town.  Monday night, our friends from East Shorter held a birthday dinner for a member of our gang at La Jolla.  Accordingly, we held our breath and somehow got past the cameras at the Vaughn Road/East Boulevard intersection and snuck through the rear entrance of East Chase to meet for cocktails and dinner with 16 of our closest friends--one of whom just turned [CENSORED].  Because some in the group turn into pumpkins at 9 p.m., we met at 6:30 p.m. and had the only big table in the bar to ourselves until the "beautiful people" filled the bar stools.  Before the meal we enjoyed martinis with Ketel One at $8 a pop. Mine was not "straight up" as I ordered but the other ingredients requested were present so I went with the ice flow. A minor inconvenience.

Among our crowd are some fairly finicky eaters known to send back entrees at the drop of a hat for the slightest variation from expectations.  However, except for one "so-so" rating, most of the entrees were rated very good to excellent.  I ordered the wedge salad ($7) and the Grouper Yvonne with crab, scrimp, shrooms, 'chokes in a Hollandaise sauce ($23). The salad was better than most wedge salads you get in the area.  I liked the blue cheese dressing.  The fish tasted fresh and the sauce made the dish. My friend next to me loved the Blackened Elk Chops ($32) and, knowing they have a place in Jackson Hole and eat Elk, Red Deer, Buffalo and other western meats often, that rating registered as probably solid. The Grilled Beef Ribeye ($32) to my left was so large it survived the rather large appetite of another friend who said it was well prepared and a good piece of meat. At that price it definitely should be. A friend that does not like seafood although she grew up in St. Pete, ordered the Pork Scaloppini with lemon soy butter on a house-made pasta ($21) and declared it delicious.  So the verdict was 15-1 in favor of a high rating for the food.  The service was very good for a large group with 8 checks.  Our check was correct the first time and the 20% gratuity was clearly already added although you could add a tip to the check if you wished.

Some of our "outside the Gump" friends confided that La Jolla was their favorite restaurant and I could not argue the point.  If it were located closer to town I would no doubt visit more often.

Some fine desserts are available but the staff kindly let us bring in a birthday cake (prepared by one of our male members who loves to bake). I do not know if they charged a "corkage fee" for the cake but they did kindly cut and serve the cake for every one at the table after the [CENSORED] candles were blown out.

This was actually about the fifth-sixth time I had eaten there and I cannot remember a bad meal or experience.  A little pricey, but arguably one of the top five places to eat in the area.  If you are ready to spend about $100 per couple (with drinks), you will probably be pleased with your experience.  Actually, I am a little surprised that La Jolla has a rather low rating on Urban Spoon.  It must be the expense that turns some people off as the food, at least Monday night, was darn good.

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