Wooden Spoon Jesse A. Paul The Wooden Spoon

The Wooden Spoon

805 E. Valley Pkwy. (N. Elm St.)
Escondido, CA 92025
760-745-0266
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An innovative menu, local craft beer and friendly service make this eatery the place to be in Escondido.
Openings: Lunch Wed.-Sat., Dinner Tues.-Sat.

Features


The Wooden Spoon Restaurant Review:


After highbrow stints at Park Hyatt Aviara, L'Auberge Del Mar and Star of the Sea, chef Jesse A. Paul turned a former taco shop in Escondido into a culinary oasis, creating a sustainable, laidback eatery with innovative (and mostly organic) food. A chalkboard above the kitchen relays specials and featured farms. We recommend starting with local roughage --- baby greens with toasted almonds, shaved apples and Persian cucumbers in miso dressing, for example --- followed by the evening's toast, which might be Sadie Rose bread coated with creamy burrata, orange marmalade and wild arugula, served on black slate and drizzled with a balsamic reduction. The Wooden Spoon burger has the city talking about its grass-fed beef (butchered and ground in house); it's served with “baconion" jam, tomato aïoli, smoky blue cheese and arugula. For flavorful fowl, opt for Mary's organic chicken nestled on creamy polenta with baby artichokes and natural jus. Other entrées run from Norwegian steelhead trout to pork porterhouse with braised greens. Paul also happens to be a pastry chef, and desserts include butterscotch pot de crème, baked-to-order chocolate chip cookies, and olive oil cake with pistachio gelato. Top local craft beers and boutique wines line the beverage list, and commendable service elevates the experience even more.