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Nice UT shout out for Terra - http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/f...

Wish he'd fix the acoustics tho', the place is noisier than H*ll

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  1. I felt the article was a poorly written HUGE fluff piece. To insinuate the place is packed full of college kids ( not directly stated but trying to claim some buzzy bar scene) watching sdsu games at the same time families are dining is over blown to say the least. There are people watching games there but it is about as rowdy as a geriatric ward. It is definitely a family restaurant and does that well. It can also get loud but not say bankers hill loud.
    I recently moved out to La Mesa in the last year and am very close to Terra to the point I go a lot since it's close (walking distance) and it's a culinary wasteland out here for the most part with not too many quality options - bo beau is a welcomed addition to the area for sure. Service is decent, they're trying hard. Terra is an ok place but would not survive if further out west and is not at any time a destination restaurant like some of the other neighborhood places the writer is trying to comparing it to(Farmhouse for example is a restaurant worth driving to). It is also a far cry from what Terra was in Hillcrest. It's literally a different restaurant with the same name.

    That being said it scratches an itch and Rossman has definitely figured out the formula for what will work in this area - large portions at cheap prices. Gotta be happy with complimentary 3 mimosas, ok maybe 4-5 mimosas if you get a good server, for Sunday.

    My big gripe with the place is there is no "love" in the food. Plate presentations look like someone is just dumping from the pan to the plate. Doesn't need to be art gallery plating but a little effort I think would be well received. I doubt there is much tasting from the line cooks on a regular basis, dishes aren't consistent in flavor, ever. For example that Mary's chicken dish. Sometimes bland sometimes spot on, usually nice and moist to their credit though. But, the veg side for the chicken has been just a wedge of poorly roast squash, that's it. Weird. Walnut and shiitake pasta ends up being a huge pile of minced walnuts about half way through. The burger.... Just try to get through more than 1/3rd of it without totally falling apart into a huge mess. Chicken liver pate with a red trolley is tasty though but for the most part the food is flat and under seasoned. I think the bottom line is Terra is doing good out here now because competition in its niche is thin but Bo Beau is looking like a big success for the cohens (and I'm sure already eating into some of Terra's business)which is going to get the attention of other local restauranteurs and make for even more competition. Terra has done a good job it seems at establishing themselves at this point but they're going to have to evolve with the competition if they want to keep going strong. But guys, don't stay stagnant, patting yourselves on the back too long. You're in a great position to look at yourselves, tighten up the screws and be a better restaurant for it. I hope they do, it's an easy walk over for me