out and about: dora

We were so excited to try dora. It’s been on my list since it opened last november in the ucsd theater district. Which is 10 minutes away from us, and close to several of our regular haunts. Always love to add another restuarant to our rotation… and spoiler alert? Dora makes the list.

Dora is named after the chef’s grandmother and her sister restaurant Cori in north park, is named after his wife and partner. The nod to grandma continues throughout the menu, and the restaurant decor itself is said to be nonna-chic.

I can’t tell you how excited all of this makes me. Especially know that all pasta and bread are made in house. It’s like we took a teleport to southern italy without leaving our ‘hood.

prosecco: doc extra dry, montelliana

First up, we were greeted with apertivo’s of prosecco. So nice, and if you know me… bubbles! It was crisp, dry, and the perfect start to our meal. Jamie wouldn’t even share, which tells you all you need to know about how good it was.

carpaccio di tonno: local bigeye tuna carpaccio, tangerine evoo, arugula, capers, fresno chili

We started with the tuna carpaccio, because, hello? It’s us. While the flavors were no where similar it reminded us of our favorite tuna carpaccio from days past at herringbone. The same fresh fish that really doesn’t need any overpowering flavors to compete or mask the flavor of the fish. Just clean ingredients that taste fantastic. Which frankly is why we love a good carpaccio. And this was a good carpaccio.

giardino di nonna: 18 gin, luxardo del santo, basil roasted and clarified tomato, lemon

ipa: fermosa raceway, carlsbad brewery

If you’ve been following along, you’ve probably noted my newest obsession: tomato water. So it was kinda a no-brainer that I was gonna try the giardino di nonna. Who doesn’t want to drink grandma’s garden? Especially when you take the other step a fully clarify your tomato? Like hello. I’m am all in. And it was so worth it. Delish. And how pretty (and tasty) is the roasted tomato garnish. Olives? never need them in my gin again. Give me tomatoes all day every day.

Also, seeing that there was only one ipa on the menu… and the only other beer choice for jamie was a pilsner (iykyk), we all knew what he was gonna order. And he really enjoyed this ipa. So add anothe one to his “will drink” list. Yay.

prosciutto & melone: 18mo. prosciutto di parma, cantaloupe, arugula, melon vinaigrette

Pretty much since we discovered proscuitto wrapped melon during our wedding dinner tasting, we’ve ordered it if on a menu. Partly for the nostalgia, and partly just because it is one of those perfect pairings. And this was no different. Light, airy, perfectly complimenting. A fantastic starter all the way around.

ravioli: ricotta & spinach, salted butter, sage

Holy crap you guys. And pardon my french. But I have never had a pasta that was so light and airy. Perfectly cooked, not heavy, and just the perfectly simple vehicle for the spinach and cheese. No joke. Prolly in my top two of all pasta dishes I have ever had. Ever. Including my own. 10 out of 10 will eat this on repeat each and every time we come back.

pollo arrostito: mary’s farm half chicken, summer squash, chicory, charred peaches

So we had no idea when we ordered the chicken, that it would be a ballentine situation. We just loved all the flavors and ingredients that were offered - because who doesn’t want to eat seasonally with what is fresh. But it was a ballentine situation. And it was phenominal. I typically shy away from ballentines, just because the cook is not always uniform. That can be hard to do when you are rolling and wrapping and deconstructing. But that was not the case here. The chicken was perfectly cooked, full of flavor, no dry spots. Just excellent flavors.

amaro flight: rossa, braulio, averna

We enjoyed an amero flight experience which was a fun way to bridge the gap between mains and dessert.

Traditional italian apertif’s if you will. And all three were from different regions, parts of the italian life. We started with one from sicily, that was blood orange flavored. Yum.

The second one hearlded from the other side of italy and was used almost as a type of medicine, featuring hearbs and fresh mint. This was jamie’s favorite, and also felt like he was drinking a pine tree in a glass. Which tracks, since it was also featured in bormeo during the olympics.

The last was coffee forward, and probably the most famous one you would find. It was created in 1860 from a monk. This was my favorite.

mousse al limone: meyer lemon, local strawberry, meringue, bitter orange

If you are into lemon forward desserts, than this is the dish for you. I can’t tell you enough how light and fresh this was, without being cloyingly sweet like a sorbet would be. Seriously the perfect sweet bite where everything works perfectly together.

cioccolato, cioccolato, cioccolato: chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache, chocolate gelato

Finally a chocolate dessert that isn’t a molten lava cake, or layered cake. This was decadent without being overly rich, tastey without being too sweet, all while being light, fluffy, and not making you feel full.

And that’s what we loved most about these desserts - as we aren’t typically dessert people. They were light. They did not leave you stuffed and wishing you had eaten less. They were taste and delicious. Gave you that sweet after dinner hit without making you uncomfortable. Which could be it’s own problem, cause who doesn’t want to order dessert if it balances the meal, not ends it.

Here’s my other problem. While we have 100 percent committed to adding dora to our regular food rotation, I loved the dishes we had so much, it’s gonna be hard for me to not order them again… but there were so many other dishes on the menu that I had to be held back from ordering, and want to try. What’s a girl to do?