Duckaroni

Last week I traveled to San Diego and for my very first meal I dined at Urban Solace. Urban Solace is a beautiful little place in the North Hill neighborhood, near Balboa Park. Although kinda swanky looking inside, the atmosphere is relaxed. There was live music on the patio and a number of people sitting and chatting at the bar.

I first heard about Urban Solace through another food blog and the menu item that jumped out at me was their Duckaroni. I guess it's well known among foodies in the San Diego area. Duckaroni is exactly what it sounds like: Duck Confit in Mac&Cheese. It was delicious. The thing I enjoyed most was all the unusual tastes that jumped out. They used blue cheese with garlic and onions and the duck itself had a lot of flavor as well. It's not something I would recommend for the unadventurous, Urban Solace has a separate mac&cheese for them.

The Duckaroni was just a side dish for me, although you can order the meal version too. For my main course I got the Monte Diego. It's Urban Solace's take on the Monte Cristo. (Which as some people may know, is one of my favorite dishes.) Fontina cheese was used in the place of swiss, and they added grilled pears. The dipping sauce was the traditional strawberry jam. I loved it, and the Monte Diego even made good cold leftovers the next morning. (I only ate half so I could save room for dessert.)

And for dessert... the S'more. I saw this item on their online menu and it was love at first site. Here's the description: "Hazelnut-Almond Butter S'more, Homemade Malted Milk Marshmallow."

This was one of the most memorable desserts of my life, and believe me, I am well acquainted with dessert menus. It was simple, but every bite was savory goodness. The marshmallow was warm and fluffy and the chocolate inside was rich and dark. I seriously considered ordering a second one. As wonderful as the other desserts on the menu sound, I truly believe you are missing out if you do not order this item.

*It's worth mentioning that Urban Solace also has a great wine list and decent beers on tap. I didn't order any alcohol but Kevin got the Airdale Dark & Stormy Stout. Airdale is a local brewing company- I took a couple of sips and it definitely met with my approval.