Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

A Carlsbad Farm-to-Table Restaurant: Bistro West

Wow, I’m so glad that I write about food for the Reader! Otherwise, Saturday night without our daughter could have ended with cereal at 11:00pm. Instead, we actually got dressed up and headed out the door for a 7:45pm reservation at Bistro West. Ah, a Saturday night out…it was busy. The buzz of the crowd and the bustle of the staff felt like we were in a happening spot! The atmosphere of Bistro West is upscale despite being the less expensive of the pair of sibling restaurants- West, which is next door, is about twice the price.

Our server, Ozzy, was the epitome of politeness itself. Since we hadn’t been there before, he told us about the ingredients used in the restaurant: about 70% organic and many of the vegetables and herbs are from the restaurant’s Carlsbad farm. I later found out that the entire restaurant staff works at the farm as well, so that they are really close to the food they’re serving. The menu offers salads, burgers, pastas, pizzas, meat, and seafood options. However, going with the restaurant’s emphasis on garden fresh vegetables, I ordered the Carrot, English Garden Pea Ravioli. ($16.95) Mark chose the Grilled Flat Iron Steak. ($22.95) We also ordered a Caesar salad to split. ($9.95)

The server brought three small sourdough rolls with a small dish of butter. The flavor of the bread was fine, but not enough to make eating the whole roll a must. I appreciated the fact that when our Caesar salad came out, it was divided onto two plates, which allowed us to focus on eating rather than dividing. The salad was lightly dressed with shaved Parmesan. I realized that using shavings of Parmesan on a Caesar allows the flavor to come through much more so than shredding it and made a mental note.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/24/26753/

We had enough time to enjoy our salad before our entrees were brought out. Looking at my dish, I couldn’t find the ravioli. Then I realized that the ravioli were the color of carrots and peas. The presentation was lovely and the whole dish felt very light. The scallops were small, but plentiful. The vegetables were cut into small pieces, with the tomatoes being especially juicy. And the pasta was accompanied by the sage butter sauce, rather than drowning in it. It was excellent.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/24/26754/

Mark’s steak and mashed potatoes looked appetizing with a rich marinade pooled on the sliced meat. It tasted as good as it looked. I did think the green beans looked over-cooked, but he said no. Before his plate was taken away, I happily scavenged the summer squash he chose not to eat. Unfortunately, the portions were large enough to prevent us from enjoying a dessert. Foiled again!

Bistro West 4960 Avenida Encinas (I-5 & Cannon Road) Carlsbad, CA 92008 (760) 930-8008 http://bistrowest.com/

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Filmora 14’s AI Tools Streamline Content Creation for Marketers

Next Article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents

Wow, I’m so glad that I write about food for the Reader! Otherwise, Saturday night without our daughter could have ended with cereal at 11:00pm. Instead, we actually got dressed up and headed out the door for a 7:45pm reservation at Bistro West. Ah, a Saturday night out…it was busy. The buzz of the crowd and the bustle of the staff felt like we were in a happening spot! The atmosphere of Bistro West is upscale despite being the less expensive of the pair of sibling restaurants- West, which is next door, is about twice the price.

Our server, Ozzy, was the epitome of politeness itself. Since we hadn’t been there before, he told us about the ingredients used in the restaurant: about 70% organic and many of the vegetables and herbs are from the restaurant’s Carlsbad farm. I later found out that the entire restaurant staff works at the farm as well, so that they are really close to the food they’re serving. The menu offers salads, burgers, pastas, pizzas, meat, and seafood options. However, going with the restaurant’s emphasis on garden fresh vegetables, I ordered the Carrot, English Garden Pea Ravioli. ($16.95) Mark chose the Grilled Flat Iron Steak. ($22.95) We also ordered a Caesar salad to split. ($9.95)

The server brought three small sourdough rolls with a small dish of butter. The flavor of the bread was fine, but not enough to make eating the whole roll a must. I appreciated the fact that when our Caesar salad came out, it was divided onto two plates, which allowed us to focus on eating rather than dividing. The salad was lightly dressed with shaved Parmesan. I realized that using shavings of Parmesan on a Caesar allows the flavor to come through much more so than shredding it and made a mental note.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/24/26753/

We had enough time to enjoy our salad before our entrees were brought out. Looking at my dish, I couldn’t find the ravioli. Then I realized that the ravioli were the color of carrots and peas. The presentation was lovely and the whole dish felt very light. The scallops were small, but plentiful. The vegetables were cut into small pieces, with the tomatoes being especially juicy. And the pasta was accompanied by the sage butter sauce, rather than drowning in it. It was excellent.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/24/26754/

Mark’s steak and mashed potatoes looked appetizing with a rich marinade pooled on the sliced meat. It tasted as good as it looked. I did think the green beans looked over-cooked, but he said no. Before his plate was taken away, I happily scavenged the summer squash he chose not to eat. Unfortunately, the portions were large enough to prevent us from enjoying a dessert. Foiled again!

Bistro West 4960 Avenida Encinas (I-5 & Cannon Road) Carlsbad, CA 92008 (760) 930-8008 http://bistrowest.com/

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Dinner

Next Article

A romantic deal makes Cesarina impossible to ignore

Handmade pasta dishes come alive, even packed into to-go containers
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
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader