It’s not very often that I travel up to North County, but when I heard about Nick & G’s opening in Rancho Santa Fe, I was so excited to make a special trip to try it out! Nick & G’s is serving up Mediterranean/Italian fare with well thought out and creative dishes, killer desserts, and cocktails that pack a punch! The interior of this space is truly beautiful, and they offer live music seven days a week!
Nick & G’s
6106 Paseo Delicias, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067 www.nickandgs.com
By the time my date and I arrived we were both starving, so we decided to start with Calamari Gremolata with lemon caper aioli and checca sauce, Chilled Jumbo Shrimp with pickled onion and charred pepper sauce, and Crispy Parmesan Brussels Sprouts with balsamic molasses and toasted Marcona almonds. While all three of these appetizers were very good, I’m going to focus on the star of the evening — the Brussels sprouts. I can’t even explain to you how delicious these were… you are just going to have to take my word and go try them for yourself! I love Brussels sprouts but can rarely eat them at restaurants as they are usually paired with a meat like bacon, so I was so excited to see this fresh take. The Marcona almonds make this dish so interesting, and the balsamic molasses had me basically licking the bowl.
While we were happily munching away on our appetizers, it was time to figure out our cocktail selections. I decided to keep it simple with a Vanilla and Elderberry Mule, because who doesn’t love a mule? This cocktail was perfect, light and refreshing as a mule should be, but unique thanks to the additional flavors. We also were lucky enough to have bar manager Kevin bring us out a special dragonfruit martini made with local dragonfruit. It was so beautiful, I would come back just for that!
For my main dish, I opted to go with the Seared Atlantic Salmon served with artichoke ravioli, spinach, and tomato tarragon butter. I know it would appear that I am on some crazy salmon kick right now, but the real selling point of this dish for me was the artichoke ravioli, and I was definitely happy that I let it lure me in. This salmon was cooked perfectly and paired with all of the right accompaniments.
Moving on to my favorite part of any meal — dessert! My date tasked me with the insanely difficult dessert decision, and after much careful deliberation, I landed on the Carrot Cake. This cake was plated so perfectly, was moist and dense as a carrot cake should be, and had a not too sweet frosting that I couldn’t get enough of. Since I had such a hard time choosing between the carrot cake and the Butterscotch Pecan Bread Pudding, the kitchen brought us out a bread pudding as well as a special treat! While the carrot cake was delicious, this bread pudding is out of this world good.
Everything that Nick & G’s is serving up is exactly what you dream of your neighborhood joint offering: live music, killer ambiance, and delectable eats and cocktails! I know that whenever I find myself in this area, this will be my go-to spot. I suggest adding it to your list as well!
Thank you to Alternative Strategies for setting up this tasting at Nick & G’s.
