Huge Happenings at Oceanside’s Local Tap House!

1
Huge Happenings at Oceansides Local Tap House!
2

• I thought Id be cruising in under the radar on a
  Wednesday night to grab a quick bite of the
  newest Chef Daniel Pundik creation at Local Tap
  House Kitchen, one of Oceansides dining
  mainstays the last few years and huge local
  favorite.  Instead, I got waitlisted, ate
  enough to feed a family of four for a week and
  left with my head spinning and mind working in
  overdrive to fill in the blanks regarding the
  huge news Daniel adamantly refused to share with
  me.

3

• I have to admit, I dont get by LTH as often as
  Id like, for no other reason than I tend to stop
  a little farther down the road at Wrench and
  Rodent for my sushi fix whenever I make it to
  Oceanside.  Ive loved Daniels food from the
  first time I tried it and that opinion is not
  likely to change in the near future.  Its always
  flavor forward, in an Americana, recognizable
  way.  Theres also a complexity to the food that
  exists in direct contradiction to its simplicity.

4

• And, in this case, complexity is a good thing.
   For me, complex dishes fall into two
  categories.  One is more confusion than
  complexity, resulting in a what the hell is this
  and why would I ever put it in my mouth again?
  experience.   Dishes from the Local Tap House
  kitchen, thankfully, are of the other ilk.  

5

• The one that manifests itself simply, as a mouth
  and palate full of proportioned ingredients and
  married flavors, punctuated by shortness of
  breath and maybe an occasional choking sound
  resulting from continuously cramming food into
  your mouth so as not to lose any flavor explosion
  momentum while dining.

6
(No Transcript)
7

• Its like Grandma went to culinary school the
  spices are big, the flavors are huge, the
  ingredients came out of the backyard and bring
  the truck, cause youll need it to take home the
  leftovers in.  Theres an ethereal sense that if
  you ordered the same dish minutes apart, they
  might be subtly, perhaps even vastly different,
  as Grandma might have decided that a dash more
  paprika, an extra pinch of salt or pepper, a
  couple more jalapenos or another handful of
  cheese might be appropriate the second go-round
  because, welljust, because.  And, are you really
  going to tell Grandma shes wrong?

8

• And, the fact that I dont make it in as often as
  I would like is apparently no detriment to
  business at all, as the 800 p.m. crew on a
  Wednesday night had every seat in the dining room
  and outside patio with a booty in it.  How do I
  buy stock in this place?

9
(No Transcript)
10

• The diversity on the menu at Local Tap House is
  always astounding, especially considering that
  the menu is almost completely revamped every
  three to six months.  Locals can choose from
  numerous meat and potato style standards like
  short rib pumpkin gnocchi, Grandmas buttermilk
  fried chicken and jalapeno cauliflower mac n
  cheese.  

11

• Theres also plenty on the menu to appeal to the
  more adventurous foodie, including local tuna
  ceviche with taro root crisps, scallops with
  coconut curry udon noodles and the newest dish
  that was posted on social media, prompting my 30
  minute drive across the county at 800 p.m. on a
  Wednesday the lobster, red shrimp, andouille
  and puff pastry pot pie.

12

• The pot pie, yeah, it was worth the trip.  Bowl
  lined with baked to perfection puff pastry,
  mouthfuls of lobster, whole red shrimp and
  andouille sausage, a gravy that kept on coming
  like Hulk Hogan chasing a vial of steroids and a
  mirepoix that swirled its way from the bottom to
  remind you that it had a missionwhich happened
  to be fully accomplished.

13
(No Transcript)
14

• But that wasnt the highlight of the evening.
   Chef Daniel stopped by the table for a little
  chit chat and, somehow, probing questions were
  asked, vague statements were made and real
  answers are still absent from the scene of the
  crime.  But, heres what I was able to piece
  together in the limited cranial space I have left

15

• A new building has been purchased.  Im guessing
  its in Oceanside, because, what successful,
  inventive, artistic, cutting edge chef or
  restaurant owner in their right mind would move
  out of the hottest, fastest growing food scene in
  San Diego County these days?

16

• A 50/50 partnership agreement may have been put
  into place between owner Gabe Hogan and Daniel
  for the new place.  If its true, who didnt see
  that coming?  There are not many owner/chef
  relationships Ive seen that embrace the
  camaraderie, respect and singular vision for
  success that these two share.

17

• A contractor has been hired and the search for an
  architect is ongoing.  Gabe built and renovated
  Local Tap House himself, with the help of a few
  local craftsmen, but probably wants the new place
  to have a bit more of a wow factor.  Besides
  that, hes a busy and successful restaurateur,
  now.

18

• Taking the liberty of filling in all the words
  that Daniel wouldnt say out loud, using my
  sub-par deductive reasoning skills, Im gonna
  summarize like this  The new restaurant may open
  around April or May of next year,  but even with
  accurate info, thats a stretch and a guess, as a
  lot of factors can impact and delay restaurant
  openings.  And, as more information leaks out,
  were going to find out that this project will be
  huge, at least in concept.  

19

• The cuisine will no doubt be top notch, judging
  from the vast array of dishes Daniel has created
  at Local Tap House over the last few years.
   Wednesdays nights will still be busier than a
  lot of other places Saturdays, but there will be
  more seats to accommodate.  I dont see them
  getting away from what theyre good at, which is
  laid back Oceanside style service with a flair,
  delicious, inventive, filling meals and local
  ingredients prepared to serve local people.

20

• To know more information, visit us

https//www.thefoodiewhisperer.com