Koberl at Blue, San Luis Obispo

We had a delightful evening at Koberl at Blue in San Luis Obispo.  We had just attended a terrific Opera performance of Verdi’s Flastaff in a live simulcast presentation from The Met shown at the Cal Poly Arts Center.  It was incredible to see Ambrogio Maestri in his 202nd lead performance in Falstaff!  It is worth your time to check out the upcoming shows at the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center in SLO.  We have seen several already and have been quite impressed!

So on to our dinner adventure.  Dining in the bar at Koberl gives the feeling of being in a Chicago style bar exuding style and history.  We love sitting at the high top tables enjoying the view of the city out of their grand picture windows.  We began our evening with fun cocktails and a couple of appetizers.  I selected their Truffled Alexander drink made with Brandy, White Creme de Cocoa, Pama & a Touch of Cream.  Robert had his standard gin martini that came with hand stuffed blue cheese olives.  Yum!  My drink was delightful with what I would consider a bit more than a “touch” of cream.  You might want to try this selection with your dessert instead, but it was a delicious blend of tart and sweet.  The pomegranate flavor leveled off the sweetness quite nicely.

For appetizers, we shared an order of Seared Sea Scallops and Beef Filet Carpaccio.  Both were presented wonderfully, however for taste; the scallops won hands down!  There were 3 large scallops served with artichoke duxelle, bacon brown butter & radish sprouts.  The sauce was incredible and warranted bread dipping and a difficult refrain from plate licking:)  The carpaccio, we felt lacked flavor although was elegant and decent.

For our main entree’s, we ordered Pan Roasted Chicken Breast and the Grilled Pork Chop.  The pork chop was served with fingerling potatoes, corn, fava beans (my fav!) cipollini, pancetta & watercress with a tarragon mustard sauce.  The array of vegetables was creative, plentiful and deliciously prepared.  The pork portion was generous, but we felt it was slightly overcooked as it was a bit dry.  I thought that a little brine might have helped it retain it’s moisture or a little less time on the grill.  We sensed a similarity in the preparation of the chicken breast.  The skin was roasted to a beautiful color and crispness, however the meat was ever so slightly dry.  However, the base of artichoke risotto with the marsala cream sauce and almond gremolata provided the necessary flavor and moisture to knock this entree over the top!  The addition of skinny grilled asparagus was a pleasing accompaniment to the dish.  I enjoyed a delicious glass of ’09 Adelaide “Keeper”, a blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah, Cinsault and Counoise.  It went very well with my meal and would have also been delicious completely on it’s own!