While I stand by what I posted yesterday, it’s now time for me to gladly eat a slice of humble pie. The hotel US Grant commands the heart of San Diego’s city center across from historic Horton Park Plaza and the Irving Gill-designed fountain. Built by Buck Grant in honor of his father, Ulysses S. Grant – yes, that Grant, the Civil War hero and 18th President of the United States – the hotel debuted in 1910, setting the standard for this city’s brand of glamor. Sophisticated, opulent, and appointed with original artwork by French artist Yves Clement following a multi-million dollar renovation in 2006, the hotel rightly deserves the moniker grande dame. Tucked behind the main entrance, the hotel’s chic Grant Grill makes a seductive setting for spectacular seasonal cocktails and – you guessed it – farm to table California cuisine, too. Organic produce, Pacific seafood, and local meats and poultry are given the “less is more” treatment by Chef Chris Kurth, keeping natural flavors at the forefront of market-fresh dishes like Dungeness risotto and Niman Ranch pork cheeks with spring fava beans. Now that I’m gladly eating (ever so slightly) yesterday’s words, let me also raise a toast to the Grill’s mixologist for inspired garden to glass libations. The Wildflower Whiskey Collins of cornflower infused oat whiskey, dandelion bitters and fresh pressed Meyer lemon is like drinking SoCal in a glass: sweet, sour, salty and perfumed with flowers, it goes down oh, so very easy.
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