Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Good food for the fourth day
Spike Africa's seafood spot does it right in the Gaslamp
Fresh yellowtail, roasted tomatoes and artichokes, and broccoli slaw at Spike Africa's.
You ever spend a few days with people who are showing you their city and all the hot spots in the tourist guide?
By the time the fourth day rolls around, if you’re lucky and they haven’t thrown you out like Benjamin Franklin once recommended, they may want to take you to seafood.
Spike Africa's in the Gaslamp
Spike Africa's interior
“There’s this place we go to," they'll say. "It’s not fancy, but we really like the food.”
And you end up having the best meal of the trip.
Spike Africa’s Fresh Fish Grill and Bar is like that.
Named after a 20th century sea captain-adventurer, Spike Africa’s is a nice-looking but unpretentious restaurant in the Gaslamp that serves high-quality seafood with a minimum amount of fuss.
Spike Africa's Sand Dancer margarita is made with El Jimador Blanco, tequila, apricot, lime juice and chipotle syrup.
Here’s the thing about seafood: the simpler the preparation, the more likely it is to be fresh.
Yeah, you can get battered fish, seafood pasta, salads and all that, but where Spike’s shines is the fresh fish. Served simply with a choice of sauces on the side.
When I was there, I tried the fresh yellowtail. It was a big piece for $24.75, including my choice of side (roasted artichokes and tomatoes) and a broccoli slaw with cranberries that was nicely zesty.
Grilled shrimp with rice and broccoli slaw at Spike Africa's.
The yellowtail is seared on the outside, but a little rare on the inside — nice! My waitress suggested the red pepper remoulade (which was the right choice), but let me try the balsamic brown butter and citrus butter sauces as well.
I went there with my son, and while they didn’t have grilled shrimp officially on the menu, they did accommodate him with a plate of five nicely-sized, nicely-grilled shrimp served on a bed of rice with the broccoli slaw.
Spike Africa's grilled Brussels sprouts with bacon, citrus butter, and golden raisins.
He was happy about the shrimp and the rice, but a little skeptical about the slaw.
“Hey, just try one bite,” I said.
He did.
“Hey, this is really good. I like the cranberries,” he said, before sucking down more of the Roy Rogers (Coke and grenadine) that I inexplicably let him order.
We were both fans of the Brussels sprouts appetizers as well. They were grilled with bacon and golden raisins and some of the citrus butter. I was also happy with the Sand Dancer margarita I ordered. It was made with El Jimador Blanco tequila, apricot, lime juice, and chipotle syrup, and had the right mix of sweet, salty and spicy.
Fresh yellowtail, roasted tomatoes and artichokes, and broccoli slaw at Spike Africa's.
I was pretty full and so was my son, which is a shame because there are a lot of other items I’d like to try in the future.
But summer’s coming and I’m sure we’ll have out-of-town guests so I can already predict the conversation around the fourth night.
“There’s this place we go to. It’s not fancy, but we really like the food.”
Here's something you might be interested in.
Good food for the fourth day
Spike Africa's seafood spot does it right in the Gaslamp
Good food for the fourth day
Spike Africa's seafood spot does it right in the Gaslamp
Fresh yellowtail, roasted tomatoes and artichokes, and broccoli slaw at Spike Africa's.
You ever spend a few days with people who are showing you their city and all the hot spots in the tourist guide?
By the time the fourth day rolls around, if you’re lucky and they haven’t thrown you out like Benjamin Franklin once recommended, they may want to take you to seafood.
Spike Africa's in the Gaslamp
Spike Africa's interior
“There’s this place we go to," they'll say. "It’s not fancy, but we really like the food.”
And you end up having the best meal of the trip.
Spike Africa’s Fresh Fish Grill and Bar is like that.
Named after a 20th century sea captain-adventurer, Spike Africa’s is a nice-looking but unpretentious restaurant in the Gaslamp that serves high-quality seafood with a minimum amount of fuss.
Spike Africa's Sand Dancer margarita is made with El Jimador Blanco, tequila, apricot, lime juice and chipotle syrup.
Here’s the thing about seafood: the simpler the preparation, the more likely it is to be fresh.
Yeah, you can get battered fish, seafood pasta, salads and all that, but where Spike’s shines is the fresh fish. Served simply with a choice of sauces on the side.
When I was there, I tried the fresh yellowtail. It was a big piece for $24.75, including my choice of side (roasted artichokes and tomatoes) and a broccoli slaw with cranberries that was nicely zesty.
Grilled shrimp with rice and broccoli slaw at Spike Africa's.
The yellowtail is seared on the outside, but a little rare on the inside — nice! My waitress suggested the red pepper remoulade (which was the right choice), but let me try the balsamic brown butter and citrus butter sauces as well.
I went there with my son, and while they didn’t have grilled shrimp officially on the menu, they did accommodate him with a plate of five nicely-sized, nicely-grilled shrimp served on a bed of rice with the broccoli slaw.
Spike Africa's grilled Brussels sprouts with bacon, citrus butter, and golden raisins.
He was happy about the shrimp and the rice, but a little skeptical about the slaw.
“Hey, just try one bite,” I said.
He did.
“Hey, this is really good. I like the cranberries,” he said, before sucking down more of the Roy Rogers (Coke and grenadine) that I inexplicably let him order.
We were both fans of the Brussels sprouts appetizers as well. They were grilled with bacon and golden raisins and some of the citrus butter. I was also happy with the Sand Dancer margarita I ordered. It was made with El Jimador Blanco tequila, apricot, lime juice, and chipotle syrup, and had the right mix of sweet, salty and spicy.
Fresh yellowtail, roasted tomatoes and artichokes, and broccoli slaw at Spike Africa's.
I was pretty full and so was my son, which is a shame because there are a lot of other items I’d like to try in the future.
But summer’s coming and I’m sure we’ll have out-of-town guests so I can already predict the conversation around the fourth night.
“There’s this place we go to. It’s not fancy, but we really like the food.”
Comments