Dishcrawl Carlsbad - Gregorio's, Knockout Burger, Relm, Swirlicious

>> Thursday, June 13, 2013

Date of Dining: 6/12/2013 
Price: $45 per dishcrawl ticket

The Quick Bit:

+ great event to meet fellow foodies
+ vibrant upbeat atmoshphere
Δ Some restaurants could have taken the event more seriously

Disclaimer: I was provided with a free media pass to the dishcrawl event.
I was surprised to receive an invitation to Dishcrawl Carlsbad as I have not been so active in blogging lately, but I was happy to attend the event and brush off my camera lens to take some food photos.
Dishcrawl is an event organized by foodies for other foodies; it occurs throughout many cities in the US and is growing. During a Dishcrawl, participants always pay $45 for a ticket and get to sample dishes from 4 restaurants along the way. During the Dishcrawl, participants also have the opportunity to talk with chefs, owners, or managers of the restaurants in order to gain some additional insight to the restaurant. For restaurants, Dishcrawl is a great way to showcase culinary specialties to those from out of the area while maintaining and strengthening support with loyal local customers.
I was surprised that our event included 29 participants and that restaurants in the Carlsbad Village had agreed to serve the foodies. Participants of the Dishcrawl ranged from cosmopolitan Carlsbad Village locals to wayfaring gastronomes from Hillcrest and Temecula. Overall, the group was vibrant and had a lot of energy. It was great to have the opportunity to chat with many others who were devoted to cooking and eating well-prepared food.

Gregorio's Italian Restaurant

Location: 300 Carlsbad Village Dr, Ste 208

The Dishcrawl started at Gregorio's, a favorite of the locals who have all long visited and developed favorite dishes. Gregorio's prepares a rustic Italian homestyle cuisine that strives to be "your kitchen away from home." Further, Gregorio's donates all profits to charity including the Boys and Girls club four nights a week! These actions of giving back to the community has really resonated well within the community.
shrimp aglio e olio - shrimp, linguini, olive oil, lemon
The shrimp dish was what the restaurant considered its signature dish - it was a healthier take on a shrimp scampi with some additional pasta. The dish contained a healthy amount of garlic that was pervasive throughout the palate. As a minor critique, the dish could have used a little more salt.
eggplant parmigiano - fried eggplant, mozzarella, pasta
The eggplant parmigiana is considered the most popular dish at Gregorio's and it was also my favorite of the trio. I really enjoyed the different layered textures within the dish as well as the rich complexities within the interplay of the eggplant and cheese.
sicilian chicken - chicken, breadcrumbs, fusili, vodka cream sauce
The final dish was the Sicilian chicken, which is another popular dish of the restaurant. The chicken was pounded and deep fried and combined with a fusili made with a vodka cream sauce. I thought that the vodka cream sauce was very well made and served well to cut the richness of the fried chicken. However, I also thought this dish needed some additional seasoning, especially within the breadcrumb batter itself.

Overall, I feel that Gregorio's was a great place for locals to enjoy. While there is nothing fancy about the food, it was still simple food prepared well. It is also amazing that the restaurant can donate profits to charity four days a week.

Knockout Burger

Location: 2971 Carlsbad Blvd

Knockout Burger is a local burger watering hole that is themed around boxing. It's an alternative to In-n-out, but also slightly more expensive.
Knockout Burger was a restaurant that totally didn't take the Dishcrawl seriously and lacked professionalism when dealing with such a crowd. While I can understand that the restaurant happened to get busy prior to our arrival, it still took more than 45 minutes for them to prepare the food for the group. It also seemed unreasonable that they felt all the food needed to be completed at the same time. For a small burger restaurant trying to serve 30 people, they simply should have prepared whatever food they could in whatever time they could and sent it out as it was completed, completely fresh.
Further, the restaurant could have provided some food during the long wait such as fries or free beverages as those are generally low cost items that would not impact sales margins. The way it worked out - the burgers were not completed until after we had already reached the next restaurant and finished the food at that establishment.
The burger seemed to be a frozen patty as it was largely tasteless and lacked any caramelization that is traditionally expected from a burger. Further the lettuce was wilted and the sauce was waterlogged creating a completely washed out flavor. Finally, the meat to bun ratio was completely off as the "flavor" from the processed white breaded bun completely overwhelmed what flavor was left from the patty. To add insult the injury, the fries were chalky lumps of starch that had somehow managed to survive past their intended half-life.
chicken sandwich
The only thing worse than the fries was the chicken sandwich. The chicken was completely dry, and the waterlogged lettuce completely washed out any flavor whatsoever. The only redeeming quality to the chicken was that it was fully cooked so that I know I'm not going to be infected with salmonella.

Overall, the only good quality of knockout burger was it's name; the food knocked me out, and I'm actually surprised I didn't have to visit the hospital. Perhaps I'll need to send them a bill for cleaning out my toilet though. Stick with In-N-Out which is both cheaper and tastier, or better yet visit the gastrobits favorite fast food burger Elevation Burger while in Carlsbad.

Relm Wine.Beer.Bistro

Location: 2917 State St, Carlsbad, CA

The third stop of the Dishcrawl was Relm Wine.Beer.Bistro. I would classify the establishment mostly as an adult lounge as much of the seating is comfortable leather sofas that are spread throughout the room.
Relm's owner Rene Fleming serves as the establishment's curator, sourcing only special boutique wines in the restaurant. These wines are all small production, hard to find wines that have all passed the grade of Mrs Fleming's discerning palate. Most importantly, Relm is an acronym for relax, enjoy, laugh more and epitomizes the experience the Dishcrawl had while at the establishment.
mediterranean salad - strawberries, mixed greens, kalamata olives, cucumber, perponcinis, cherry tomatoes
The salad was a standard salad, but was still put together very well. All the ingredients were fresh and the flavors amalgamated in a satisfying combination even without the dressing.
The hummus was a milder variation of hummus in that it didn't contain a lot of garlic. However, I found this to be good because garlic doesn't really go well with wine.
hot spinach artichoke dip
The dip was hot and went together well with the other elements. It also paired better with wine in comparison to some of the other offerings. I enjoyed that there were actual artichoke hearts within the dip.

Overall, Relm was my favorite stop of the Dishcrawl; the atmosphere was extremely comfortable and relaxed and the service was top notch. When the initial food ran out for the Dishcrawl group, they immediately re-filled all the food; the management was more concerned with satisfying the customer than padding their pocketbooks. I was also happy with the selection of wines at Relm as they truly seemed unique. I would definitely stop by Relm again if I was in the area, but in the meantime, I will hope for an outpost to open closer to where I live.

Swirlicious Frozen Yogurt

Location: 2992 State St, Carlsbad, CA

Swirlicious is a local spin off of the popular frozen yogurt places that have opened all around the country lately. While the owners have modeled the establishment after some of the more Asian yogurt establishments in San Diego, Swirlicious adds its own distinct ideas to the establishment as well.
At Swirilicious, one gets a cup and then fills it with as much yogurt and toppings as they desire. Yogurt flavors change monthly while toppings vary more frequently. From what I noticed, some of the toppings were truly unique; there were juice poppers which are pearl-shaped balls that contain flavored juice and a nice pop when chewed. Adding this topping would create a nice textural contrast against both the yogurt and other more traditional toppings.
swirlicious yogurt
I opted for a healthier yogurt selection as I got mostly the tart yogurt and filled up with fruits and nuts. The yogurt was very well flavored and all the toppings were fresh and added a unique flavor to the entire product.

Swirlicious is nice yogurt establishment that adds a dimension to the community that otherwise cannot be found. 


Overall, I found the Dishcrawl event to be a success. Many times when eating, it is not necessarily about what the food tastes like, but moreso about the company you enjoy while eating the meal. With a group of enthusiastic foodies, the experience was a great one as I was able to make many new friends and explore an area of town I have never been to otherwise. Further, there was easily enough food for everyone to enjoy.

Note: For the restaurants that participate in a Dishcrawl, it is important to keep some perspective - the participants of the Dishcrawl will be members of media, influential local food-lovers, and potential foodies from further away. When one takes the Dishcrawl seriously and delivers a good experience, the rewards are obviously. Conversely, by not taking the customers seriously, the consequences seem just as predictable. 


Unknown June 24, 2013 at 11:35 PM  


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