Tonight, I went to one of the closest #YelpElite events that I could ever possibly go to thus far: The Dive SKC right down my street. I RSVP’ed more because it was close than anything else. I ate here twice already and liked it. Why not go again if given the chance, especially for free? XD
One interesting fact I learned from this chef: they already have their first location in Gaslamp, San Diego!!! Whaaaaat! Their ambiance is more lively to accommodate the night life there too. There was a live band tonight and that’s supposed to be a thing the chef wants to incorporate into his vision for his restaurants. There’s a live band in San Diego’s location too! I will need to try their first location now.
Right when we checked in, we were given the opportunity to write Christmas cards that’ll be sent to hospitalized children in the area. I thought that was very sweet! Even as a nurse, I almost forgot that many people, especially children, will be spending their holidays in a hospital. That is so sad.
A friend and I were personally seated at the same table right next to each other!!! We RSVP’ed to the same event and even ordered the same entree in hopes that we would be seated together. The original plan was that we were supposed to share the entree with someone.. That was obviously not the case as I am insinuating right now haha!
How cute! Each seat was Yelp themed! We each got a name tag, some pins, some stickers, some pins..
Some sourdough bread and cold butter to start…
A glass of white Chardonnay for me..
Between the 7 of us at that round table, we were allowed to pick 4 appetizers to share. We decided to pick 4 different ones so we can try more of a variety! It’s always nice to eat with other foodies. We think alike! š
Soft shell crab. Lightly battered and fried, sprinkled with Cajun seasoning and served with remoulade sauce. Delicious! Served warm and lightly crispy and chewy.
Chowder Fries. Crispy Cajun fries smothered with the Dive’s creamy and chunky homemade New England style clam chowder topped with melted cheddar cheese, bacon bits, red onions and tomatoes. This was actually my favorite appetizer out of all the rest to follow! This makes me want to come back to just try their bowl of clam chowder by itself! The fries were nicely seasoned and not soggy. The clam chowder sauce was creamy and thick and savory.
Truffle Mac. Truffle oil drizzled sharp cheddar cheese melted over rotini pasta with a crispy Panko crust. When they brought this dish to the table, there was a strong aroma of truffle that floated by everyone’s noses. We all were instantly drawn to the deep and inviting smell of truffle.
Shrimp & Grits. Creamy country style grits dressed with an andouille sausage sauce and topped with Cajun seasoned shrimp. The presentation was beautiful. The shrimp was delicious and juicy. The grits were perfectly cooked.
So we were supposed to share our entrees with a partner. However, something happened with the ordering and we ended up lucking out with a whole entree to ourselves! I barely made a dent in mine and most of us had leftovers for the next day.
Lobster pan roast. Their specialty pan roast is a tomato based cream sauce mixed with celery, onion, and green bell peppers; served with jasmine rice. Hmm. I have to be honest about this dish though… this wasn’t as good as the first two times I’ve tried their pan roasts here. It just wasn’t as creamy? And definitely not spicy at all even though I picked a level 8. I think it was because after the misordering, the chefs were hurrying to make the rest of our dishes in like 10mins!!!
I think the servers accidentally mis-served. The chef kindly made everyone else left waiting their own entrees. Very nice of head chef and owner! So I forgive.. haha!
Bread pudding. Baked to perfection served with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel. What dinner is without dessert to end?
Beignets. Fluffy French donuts generously covered with powdered sugar with berry compote. So the head chef claims that his beignets are as good as Cafe du Monde’s beignets. You know what? Almost!!!! The berry compote was definitely an extra sweetness that enhanced the fluffy and dry sweat pillow of beignets. I loved it.
Thank you Yelp Elite for another enjoyable yelp event! And I was over stoked about the tumbler given actually!!! It is soooo cute and so practical and so cute!!!! I had fun tonight! Yay! š
