Sbicca

Review #41

No, Sbicca hasn’t moved to Encinitas. We have moved to Del Mar!  Well, for the next two weeks at least.  The flood in our house was so bad, it swept us all the way out of Encinitas and down the coast.  But it’s spring break and there could be worse places to be stranded, so no complaints here.  Instead of shlepping the whole 8 miles back to Encinitas, we decided to take our blog out on the town in our new neighborhood.  It’s the first night of Passover, but instead of having a seder, we decided on Sbicca.

From the outside, Sbicca looks like a small, hopping bar filled happy vacationers.  If you can get a spot here for happy hour, you can’t do much better.

Sbicca has been recently remodeled.  The building used to be a conglomerate of apartments and offices spaces, so the lay out is a bit funky.  Our hostess took us through the bar area, past a dining room, then upstairs into a large but cozy room with ocean views and a fireplace.

I would like to say we stayed away from the bread and marinara brought to our table.  Good Jews are only eating matzo tonight, not levened bread.  Blew that one.

There were only three of us tonight, so the Crab & lobster cakes with red mustard greens, fennel, beets, avocado, pesto & chili aioli, sounded perfect to start.  Of course they were delicious, just look at this plate, but not the best crab cakes I have ever had.  That was at The Oceanair Seafood Room in the San Diego Gaslamp.  I only had them once, but those I will never forget.

Being Passover, I tried to weave a little Judaism into our meal.  We did sit in a reclining position.  We sort of leaned to the left as we drank.  Although our ancestors escaped from slavery, and we are only escaping from our flood, our thoughts were with our people.  They were also on our delicious entrees coming up.  Hubby got the Sauteed jumbo shrimp with creamy polenta, wild mushrooms, spinach, green onions & Cajun butter.

I ordered the King salmon with marinated artichokes, baby carrots wild mushrooms & herb chimichurri.  Do you know what chimichurri is made with?  Parsley, also referred to as the “karpas” on a seder plate.  Jews dip the karpas into salt water to represent the growth and rebirth of spring mixed with the salty tears from being slaves.  My salmon was so good, I felt reborn and almost cried salty tears of joy!

We had to share a plate of Crispy brussel sprouts with pancetta, shaved Parmesan & butternut squash because I can never say no the sprouts!  These were delicious.  Let’s face it.  There ain’t no place at a Seder for pancetta.  I left mine on the side.

Christine wanted a burger, but at Sbicca it’s not just a burger.  It’s a “bistro burger” with with sharp cheddar, red onions, tomato marmalade, bib lettuce & tomato on a brioche bun. Actually, it really just looks like a burger.  But she said it was great.

Although Elijah never came, we did leave him a place setting at our table just in case.

Bottom Line:

Sbicca is a great place to go with friends for food and drinks, right in the heart of Del Mar.  The prices are steep, but not unexpected at a place of this caliber and location.  The wait staff was exceptional and our food was delicious.  We will do Jew tomorrow night, at our real Seder.  And maybe next year in Jerusalem.

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Tonight’s blog is cancelled at

Zel’s Del Mar

Sunday, April 15th 1:00 lunch

Pacific Coast Grill