San Diego Alternative Idea

Pan Fried Chicken

Last weekend we wanted to go to the annual December Lights in Balboa Park.  Not a good idea at 6pm!! As we got on the surface streets near the park we came to the conclusion that this was a very bad idea.  Time for an alternative idea we were downtown and JoAnn suggested  Craft & Commerce near Little India.  Good idea it is close and I do not need to spend $20 on valet parking in the Gas Lamp.  Craft and Commerce is a real urban environment, when you walk in the hostess is sitting on the Patio with her IPad interface to their reservation system.  The interior is very hip there is a lot of use of all things estate sale.  Hard Back Books, Wild Animal Taxidermy, Broken Antique Mirrors.  At 6pm it was pretty full we ambled up to the bar and ordered one of their "Craft" drink creations Paloma de Perez which is a Habanero Margarita and the Local Stone Pale Ale.  So the Craft part is their variety of drinks 30 local and global brews on tap that rotates daily and well drink creations.  After 20 minutes we get seated to order with our hostess Vanessa.  I would describe the menu as American Comfort Food.  We started with Fried Pickles (Very Juicy) a habit I picked up earlier this year when I was in Charlotte (Very Southeast), we finished with their Pan Fried Chicken... Now that I think about it these were not the healthiest choices in concept but I will say that they were delicious.  More about the Craft, In asking Vanessa we found that the restaurant prepared and created many of the items from scratch.  They made their own pickles, sausages for their Hot Dogs on a Stick and so on.  The Commerce part is the actual transaction.  The Bar area has a Steel fascia that has series of 4 numbers laser cut and back lit with different color lights these signify the 4 digits in a credit card.  OK here is my summary Cool Environment, Great Service (Thanks Vanessa) Great Food and above all Great Value.