The Cork & Craft

Since I’ve returned to San Diego, The Cork & Craft is my most exciting find.  It is a neighborhood restaurant in Rancho Bernardo with a cool, downtown vibe and refined quality of cooking.  We eat there at least once a month.  On Thursday, my friend had potato & corn ravioli with cherry tomatoes, cotija (a traditional Mexican cheese), arugula and brown butter.  He found the sweetness of the corn a bit intense, but he ate every bit of it.  My other friend had to stay home, so we brought her the appetizer size of lobster & corn ravioli.  This was entrée size for her and cost $15, an excellent value.  I had one of my favorites salads there – the heirloom tomato panzanella.  A panzanella is a traditional salad made with torn up bread.  At The Cork & Craft it is made with tiny biscuits of sun dried tomato and basil.  It’s a good example showing how they give an interesting twist to a recipe.

The open kitchen

Brewing beer

Corn & Potato Ravioli

Panzanella with ricotta and heirloom tomatoes

Room for a glass of house port

Lobster & corn ravioli

For dessert, I tried their chocolate berry port.  It was rich, delicious and very chocolate-y.  I’m new to dessert wines.  They are a light alternative to typical pastries.  I’ve sampled many of the desserts at The Cork & Craft and they have all been excellent.

The Cork & Craft is also a brewery and they blend their own wines.  I always order their “Abnormal” Sauvignon Blanc.

They have a nice small plates menu.  It’s a relaxing place to join friends for drinks and share honey maple Brussel sprouts or grilled street corn.

The location is in a small light industrial park off Rancho Bernardo Rd.  It isn’t a place you would notice driving by, but well worth a special trip or if you work in the many businesses in the area.

From the fall menu: sea bass with pomegranate beurre blanc

My delicious maple duck

I had the beet chocolate cake, but my photos weren't great.  Excellent!