The Comfort Food You’re Missing

It’s Raining. The World Has Stopped.

Forgive me, but I’ll take this moment to whine just a bit about the rain. We’re forecasted to get five days of water falling from the skies. My phone notifications have been blowing up with chatter of flash flood warnings and other unfamiliar, act of God shenanigans. The world around me has decided to stay in bed or drive at a snails pace, riding their brakes on every freeway and road sprinkled upon. GRANTED… There were some rough patches during the drive of torrential downpours but we weren’t driving through a hurricane for goodness sake. While much of San Diego preferred to hide under the blankets and hermit away indoors, I had things to do. So into the cold, wet world I went. (I fondly think of the FB posts I’ve been seeing all week of my friend Torrey who has thoroughly re-ignited the art of pj’s and movie nights.)

A Gal’s Gotta Eat | Comfort Food

After meetings, emails and calls, my mom called to ask me to meet her and my aunt who had just arrived from Philippines for lunch. I am one of those people who CAN get caught up in work during the day and forget to eat but when your mom wants you to eat… you do. I needed to keep close and my mom likes to eat well. Luckily, I know of a few good restaurants in town. 😉 The Red Door was the pick for today and it was exactly the right choice.

The pouring rain beckoned me for comfort food, something warm and inviting, so I texted the address to my mom and headed in. Being the first to arrive I ordered the flat bread and a glass of Pinot Noir suggested by my waiter (whom by the way, delivered EXCELLENT service). I thought that having a nice little something warm on the table for my mom and aunt would be a good way to soften the rattled nerves of the annoying drive.

Chef Miguel Valdez recently returned to The Red Door as the Executive Chef where he has stepped right back into the swing of things. His talents are fully suited to utilizing the incredible quality of product from the carefully chosen purveyors of the Red Door.

Today’s flat bread was made of a fluffy, slightly crisped on the bottom crust, topped with a mildly salty cheese, kale & a perfectly bright, fresh egg. Flaky. Buttery. Light. Perfect. (The wine went very well, thank you.)

Two desserts were ordered for the table with coffees all around. The baked chocolate mousse was cold and difficult to cut through so it didn’t quite do it for me on a chilly day but the cobbler!!!!

Oh the cobbler! It was a thing of beauty. Each bite of the warmed persimmon with the crunchy, almond crumble was cherished. THAT was the perfect distraction from the rain and cold outside.

Sometimes you need to go out to come in from the rain. A tasty excursion indeed today reminded me of the silver lining we can all manage to find in a day no matter how glum it might seem.

~ Marie Tahan Daniels, A Gal & Her Fork