Fuss if you must, but Neighborhood's burgers and beers are mighty fine

By Peter Rowe
STAFF WRITER

June 26, 2008

Here at cranky critic corner, I'm bringing the hate to the Neighborhood Restaurant, the downtown burger-and-beer bistro. Couple things about this place really frosted my mini-wheats:

It's too dark. I tried to read the menu by the light of a glowing red ball we found on the tables here. They're cute. In a useless, 1-watt sorta way. Gimme a break and a candle.

It's too noisy. Lubricated yuppies, an all-sports-all-the-time flat-screen TV and a parade of boomer-friendly hits (“It Ain't Me, Babe,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Wonderball”) erect a sonic barrier between you and – say what? – anyone else at your table.

It's too popular. There's always a mob between me and Neighborhood's varnished wooden bar, and the top-flight kitchen staff has an unfortunate habit of tending to other people's orders, briefly delaying my own house burger.

My fellow fussbudgets, go ahead and seek out niggling problems at Neighborhood. But if you undertake this mission nearly impossible, be careful – drop your guard and you'll have a great time.

For a polished yet unpretentious hamburger joint, Neighborhood is perfect.

the buzz > > > > > > > > Neighborhood Restaurant 777 G St., downtown San Diego; (619) 446-0002 Open 4 p.m. to midnight daily THE FOOD: Updated pub food. THE SCENE: Sophisticated and relaxed; the room is hip, but you don't have to be. Check out the floor-to-ceiling mosaic, a moody vision of San Diego's skyline. THE BOTTOM LINE: Appetizers, $3 to $8; entrees, $7 to $12. DON'T MISS: The burgers, especially the spicy Cajun-rubbed version ($10); the Ricotta Gnudi in a brown-butter glaze ($8); the smart beer selection.

Almost. I've dined here on three occasions, always coming away full and happy. But one night, the short ribs were unavailable. Worse, the grilled Gruyere and American cheddar sandwich was bland, lacking bite and this-side-of-briquette toastiness. On another occasion, the tomato bisque was merely decent, without that vine-fresh zing.

Such misfires were rare, though, as we happily munched through the menu. The jalapeno mac and cheese was creamy and sharp, the noodles pleasantly al dente. The onion rings, fried in pale-ale batter and then dipped in a piquant mustard – another winner.

The appetizer champ, though, is the Ricotta Gnudi, pillowy cheese dumplings, tart, sweet and little smoky. Each is two bites, or one gluttonous mouth-stuffer.

But Neighborhood's bread and butter are burgers and beers. Testifying to this fact are the walls, hung with portraits of notables (Jesus, Freud, Jimi Hendrix) in mid-nosh, and the large, frequently updated beer list. I can think of three or four places in the county with more selections, but none where the list has been more intelligently assembled. (Arsalun Tafazoli, Neighborhood's cheerful owner, has been guided by beer consultant Lee Chase, Stone's former brewer.)

I paired a Cajun burger with a Green Flash Extra Pale Ale. The latter was refreshing, clean and overmatched by the meat's fiery sauce, a seductive blend of roasted red bell peppers and jalapeno, sweet red onion, pickled capers, lemon juice and Italian parsley. Eating this patty, thick and grilled to perfection, was thirsty work. I finished the Flash, then ordered Coronado Brewing Company's Point Loma Porter. Its firm malt backbone and cocoa-like sweetness deftly offset the spicy ground beef.

My companion, who suffers from a mood-darkening disorder commonly known as “adolescence,” silently inhaled a Neighborhood burger topped with caramelized onions, arugula and blue Gruyere. Without pause or conversation, he then demolished a mound of crisp-yet-tender Idaho fries, scooping up gobs of garlic herb mayo.

How was it?

“Good,” he raved.

Curmudgeons of all ages agree: Neighborhood is almost perfect. But who are we to complain?

Dining reviews appear weekly in Night & Day, monthly in the Currents Food section and frequently online in the Entertainment Guide at dining.signonsandiego.com.

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