J SIX Restaurant

jSIX is located in the Kimptom Hotel in the Gaslamp district of San Diego.  I have driven by it and heard about it but never visited it until last night.

Chef Christian Graves has a great menu with support of local vendors.  Many items are from Suzie's Farm in Southern California.

I head that for May, Celiac Disease Awareness Month, they were offering a Gluten Free 3 course meal for each week.  I figured that if they were doing that they must have a good handle on GF cooking.

We called and they said that the menu is clearly marked which items were GF and many of the ones not listed could be changed.  Although not a separate GF menu, it is easy to see which plates are GF - one star.

We were seated and given our menus and there were many GF options including grilled shrimp, braised octopus, charcuterie, pork chops and roasted chicken to name a few.

Our waitress, Jaime, was excellent.  She knew the menu well and relayed my gluten allergy and celiac disease to the kitchen.  Another star.

I had the braised octopus to start.  It was served with crispy new potatoes and it was delicious.  The octopus was done perfectly - a nice texture, not chewy, and seasoned well it its sauce.

For dinner I had the sea salt and thyme roasted chicken with green garlic bacon risotto.  I didn't get much in the way of thyme flavor but the meat was tasty and moist with crispy skin.  The risotto was well cooked and creamy.

For dessert we split a creme brulee.  It was nice with vanilla and a hint of lemon along side some fresh berries.

When the food came out I did not get any information that the plate was GF.  Once I asked they did confirm it was GF - half a star.

Overall food taste and quality - 1.5 out of two stars.

If you haven't seen my other posts I use the following scale when I go out to eat.

GF Menu up to one star

Waitstaff knowledgeable up to one star
Dishes being served by stating that it is GF (this is going to be hard for each restaurant to earn) up to one star but something I think is important
Food: taste, quality and presentation up to 2 stars

So jSIX ended up with 4 out of 5 stars.  I would definitely go back and we are actually planning to go back in the month of May for their GF Celiac Disease Awareness menu.

For the first week (May 1 - 7) they are offering a $30 3 course GF meal consisting of Lentil Soup, Seared Maine Diver Scallops and a Strawberry Sorbet Float for dessert.

And if you have time visit their outdoor bar on the 4th floor.  It it just a really cool atmosphere.  You can get valet parking right at the front of the hotel (10 dollars with validation).

When it comes to eating out you can't get better than local food, prepared well, with a knowledgeable staff and a cool atmosphere.

Enjoy,

The Un-Gluten Guy