PARTNER CONTENT
Rock N’ Roll Happy Hour at the House of Blues Restaurant & Bar is INSANE in the Hurricane!
We arrived at the House of Blues for dinner hungry and happy that the Rock N’ Roll Happy Hour was in full effect! We decided to sit on their gorgeous patio—a prime location for people watching and Friday night chilling.
This meal marked something special for the House of Blues San Diego: A new Executive Chef, Jeffrey Rottinghaus, has joined the Cajun style restaurant. Chef R. (he was so friendly I feel like we are on the shortening name basis—sorry Jeffrey if that’s not the case yet) took time out of his busy kitchen schedule to chat with us about his 17 years of impressive culinary experience. We could certainly taste his commitment to fresh and seasonal ingredients mixed with traditional Southern cuisine.
The Insane Hurricane
We started out with the House of Blues’ take on a New Orleans classic cocktail, the Insane Hurricane. No better way to melt the work week stresses off with a hurricane of alcohol and sugary goodness! This drink had a “I’m on vacation!” feel with its Bacardi spiced rum and Amaretto Disaronno. The fresh orange and pineapple juices provided a refreshing alternative to most premixed sugary fun drinks. The fun continues after you drain the last drop—the souvenir glass is perfect for re-gifting for the rum lover in your life! The awesome manager Ben was great on meal timing and knew just when we were ready for the courses to begin.
BBQ Chicken Flatbread
Next up was the BBQ Chicken Flatbread, which boasted an amazingly flavorful balance of smokey Gouda, mozzarella cheese, sweet tangy BBQ sauce, and extremely tender juicy chicken. Its fresh red onion and cilantro toppings added a crispy texture. I highly recommend this dish as a great pairing with the cool and sweet Insane Hurricane.
Shrimp and Grits
Our eyes got large with delight was we saw our next dish, the Shrimp and Grits! House of Blues makes delicious grits with a modern twist: Their version of this Southern staple is a grit cake. That’s right. Grit cake. The pan seared jumbo shrimp was simmered in their famous garlic cream sauce, and the sweet tomatoes had me reminiscing about our other favorite HOB dish, the Voodoo Shrimp. Next August I’ll be turning 36 years old, and am strongly considering a birthday grit cake. Ain’t no one got time for buttercream any more—it’s all about the grits!
Key Lime Pie
Manager Ben pried away our cleared off flatbread and shrimp plates and brought out a delicious slice of fresh Key Lime Pie! Topped with fresh whipped cream and drizzled with a fresh raspberry coulis in a treble clef design, we have no “treble” eating it all. 😉
Somehow with all of this food we were still able to continue on for the night and check out a Padres game and socialize! This is a testament to Chef R.’s knack for creating comfort food with fresh and light ingredients in a magical, rock and roll kinda way.
Speaking of magical rock and roll, we are stoked to catch The Dead Daisies when they come into House of Blues on Saturday, August 26. Come catch this show, eat some grit cake, and say “Hi” to our friends at 101.5 KGB who are presenting the show!
More details and tickets available here.