A Night Out for Oysters Turns Into Soo Much More

Last Thursday night me and the family went out on a mission for some oysters once we found out that El Take it Easy in North Park has a $1 oyster night.  Luckily for us, this happened to land on the same day as the monthly 30th on 30th event.  What does this mean?  A lot of delicious small bites everywhere we walked!  For those not very familiar, 30th on 30th is an event on the 30th of each month to showcase restaurants on 30th street with small plates that cost about $3-5.  Along with drink specials and many participating bars/restaurants, this turns out to be quite the event!

So a little background on El Take it Easy.  Like a lot of North Park, they've followed suit on a commitment to fresh ingredients on a cuisine considered to be "New World Mexican."  This philosophy branching off from the fact it's a sister restaurant to Linkery.  The menu reflects traditional Mexican food with modern sensibilities toward preparation.  The decor has that hip North Park feel you'd expect from a newer joint with a full bar, chalkboard menus and local art on the wall.  Definitely a fun hang out spot.

The event special was a $3 ceviche tostada with goat chicharron sprinkled over top.  This was really good!  The ceviche consisted of chopped shrimp and cut yellowtail "cooked," in a mild lemon/lime mixture which tasted great with cucumber and tomato mixed in.  Both refreshing and satisfying with the amount of seafood.  This was all on a freshly made and fried tostada which makes a huge difference in delivering the mild but great flavors the ceviche had to offer.  The real kicker was that goat chicharron sprinkled over top which added an interesting depth of flavor and texture, elevating the whole dish to something a little extraordinary.

   Here we have crispy pig ears, served with an asian slaw and sweet soy dipping sauce.  Seeing this on the menu, we just had to order it.  The pig ear bits looked a bit rubbery at first and I was a bit skeptical if it was really crispy or not but with the first bite you get a nice crispy texture with just enough chew on the inside.  In the sauce you get an asian flair with sweet soy and sesame seeds.  The slaw is mayo based but was mild enough to add contrast to the pork and sweet sauce to create a balanced dish.  If pig ears are your thing, this for you.

 Now we finally get to what we ventured out for, the oysters!  At $1 a pop, we had tempered expectations with only hopes of freshness and quality.  El Take it Easy delivered on all ends with this one.  The oysters were a bit on the smaller side but had great flavor(Not fishy at all,) which reflected a general freshness to the shellfish.  The picture up top is the raw serving, served with a mild lime-mignonette which added that zing without overpowering the oyster like straight citrus would do.  The picture here on the left was the grilled option, served with a mild hotsauce and the mignonette again.  We generally preferred this but that may be because the raw preparation was a little too close to room temperature for our taste.  We prefer our raw oysters to be a bit more chilled and if they were to be served warm, we prefer them grilled.  Maybe this was an off night for them given the event, either way I think it's well worth a try and still good quality oysters.

On our way home we passed by The Ritual Tavern and found them grilling off some porkbelly skewers.  If you know anything about me or this blog, this stopped us in our tracks and became a must try.  Talking to the chef, we found that the pork belly was cut into cubes, skewered and simply seasoned with salt and pepper before hitting the grill.  Where the flavor really takes off is the passion fruit glaze the skewer is doused with right after it comes off the grill.  The glaze has a deep flavor from the fruit with hints of olive oil, garlic, pepper, oregano and other seasoning I couldn't quite put my finger on.  This was a surprise winner for us with a great unique fruit flavor on the meat and of course great quality pork belly with just the right ratio of fat to meat.  The real kicker here was how the chef told us that the fruit was picked from the restaurant's garden which really became a testament to the food's quality.

Before we left tavern, we couldn't help but notice the big sign advertising the mussels cooked in white wine out in front.  We decided to order one to share.

These mussels were AMAZING!  The meat had great texture which I believe is attributed to it's freshness.  The white wine sauce was deep and rich in flavor with shallots and onions rounding everything out on the backend. 

The dish is of course served with crusty bread which we happily sopped the delicious white sauce with.  We were very happy with this and at $13 for the pound, it was money well spent.

So the day was a complete success.  We went out looking for a deal on oysters and were pleasantly surprised by the day's events and food offerings.  Calling North Park my new home, I will definitely keep the 30th in mind as the day to venture out and try some new things and places.  Although a lot of the special dishes I talked about won't be offered every 30th, or even on the regular menus for that matter, it goes to show that making your way out to local events can provide you with some amazing eats and hopefully insight on what an establishment's food is all about.   I barely put a dent on the many offerings of North Park, but if this is any sign of what's to come, we are all in for a treat!

More info on 30th-on-30th

El Take it Easy
3926 30th St
San Diego, CA 92104
(619) 291-1859

The Ritual Tavern

4095 30th St
San Diego, CA 92104

(619) 283-1618