Local Yummy
A few days I had the pleasure of trying out Linner (Lunch/Dinner) at Local Tap House; an eclectic restaurant located in Oceanside. The restaurant services though who would like to enjoy the outdoor sun (including your furry animals) and those who would like to enjoy a meal outside. You may also sit inside at their high top tables or sit at their fully stocked bar.
The most important thing, other than delicious food, is a drink menu. Especially in today's industry, a well crafted cocktail comes at a price, and it better be damn worth it. The cocktail list (which you can find here ), as well as the beer's on tap and wine list are excellent. They do have one cider on a tap, and one cider on a bottle, which is nice for someone like me who does not really enjoy beer - but enjoys cider. I personally stuck with the wine, and ordered a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc (can't go wrong).
I will start off by saying that I have mostly frequented this place for Brunch, which leaves me feeling like a heavy, champagne filled wheelbarrow. So the decision to go from Linner came at a surprise, but a very pleasant surprise. We were a table of 4, with appetites for a table of 7 - the photos below are an accurate representation of our meal, although I do not like to admit it.
We started off with the Brussel Sprouts, topped with Bacon (please dear lord, if your Brussle sprouts do not have bacon bits on them, are they really brussel sprouts?), garlic aoili, pomegranate seeds, candied pistachios and blue cheese on the side. This is seasonal, so sometimes it comes with crispy onions and a Honey Hot sauce instead. We also got the Shrimp and Chorizo Egg Rolls; filled with avocado, corn, poblanos, cotija, cilantro and tomatillo and topped with chipotle ranch. An explosion of freakin deliciousness in your mouth, one that I never thought I would enjoy, and enjoyed enough to go back for seconds.
As we let the wine swirl around in our bellies, and the appetizers fester, we ordered food...yes more food. Those at my table ordered the WTF Fries, topped with an egg and short rib, the CAB Burger (which stands for Certified Angus Beef for those of you like us that did not know), the scallops and udon, which i am coming back to - and I ordered the quinoa burger.
Lets talk quinoa burger and Scallops. The quinoa burger i ordered lettuce wrapped, because I decided to get french fries and add fried onions to the top. Balance right? It was delicious, and the quinoa was done so well that it actually stayed together like a burger, which I really enjoyed. The one thing I didn't like, was that I did not order the Scallops. The scallop dish consists of toasted coconut, baby corn, garlic and cilantro on top of a bed of udon noodles and scallops. My mouth was dripping when this came out. Unfortunately I just recently had an allergic reaction to scallops, which might be some of the most devastating news ever, but we will move on and conquer. If you like scallops, I would HIGHLY advise this dish.
Overall, I think that this one of my favorite meals I have had in a while. It also helps that the company was great, but the food was really delicious and the waitstaff was nice and accommodating. Its nice to look up and see the restaurant is packed, but is not noisy and loud (even with a sports bar vibe at the bar). I will continue to eat here, and you should try it out. They do not take reservations, so come early or come not hungry and be prepared to walk a couple blocks to the beach and wait it out!