out and about: dukes la jolla

While jamie frequents duke’s lajolla on occasion for work “meetings,” due to it’s close proximity to home, and stellar views, I, in all honesty, have never been for a full meal. I’m always a little wary of any place that features pineapple in most of their dishes and drinks. It’s that whole allergy thing.

But we recently decided to throw caution to the wind, and see what we could navigate

boomers margarita: herradura silver tequila, watermelon puree, with duke’s house made jalapeno sour

Started off with a view and some cocktails. The marg was right up my alley, and current obsession with watermelon…

And can i tell you about the people watching. There was a nice man and his daughter having dinner, until we realized it wasn’t his daughter. Then there was a child with no parents who was let loose in the restaurant to run around tables screaming. He may or may not have been a distraction for the woman who came in from the street to pose for pictures at the rail… except no one was taking her picture… as the staff repeatedly asked her to leave. It was… different.

poke tacos: fresh raw ahi, shoyu, maui onions, chili flake, avocado, wasabi aioli

Started out with the poke nachos, which were excellent, albeit a little saucey, and a whole lot of messy.

Definitely one of our favorite apps - and it reminded us of the now-shuttered herringbone, and their ahi tacos, which was a nice trip down memory lane. Happy to know we can still indulge in that bite when we crave it.

scarpetta: brut rosé, vino spumante, italy

Took a brief interlude to order some drinks, while we perused the menu and decided our next plan of attack.

korean sticky ribs: crispy compart family farms duroc pork ribs, spicy gochujang glaze, fresh herbs, lime

Jamie was insistent. We must order the ribs. His favorite item.

They were a little hot for me. Which is saying something because I like spice. I' think I also just expect sticky pork ribs to have more of a sweet and sour, spicy give and take. So it may just be a matter of personal preference.

I’ll say it again. These are jamie’s favorite item on the menu.

steak and lobster: 13 oz. center cut new york steak, pineapple demi glaze, roasted tristan lobster tail, drawn butter, parmesan herb fingerling potatoes, citrus herb roasted carrots, kale & zucchini add seared scallops

We were there on a thursday evening. Which happens to be surf and turf night, complete with a specialty menu with new items.

So what are you going to do, but order the surf and turf. Of course the surf and turf special we wanted was served with a pineapple demi-glaze, but we were able to ask for just a regular steak, considering I have a pineapple allergy, and they were happy to accommodate.

The steak, lobster, and scallops were all great. And it was nice to have a combo to be able to sample a few different things.

All in all, I’m definitely glad we came out to check it out. I’m still leery of the bounty of pineapples surrounding food and drinks, and the worry of cross-contamination, but so far so good.