Anyone been to the Tractor Room yet? Its the new spot by the Hash House people. I went in last night. Great old school drinks and decor. Had an appetizer of Wild Boar egg rolls which were pretty tasty. Should be a great late night dining option.
Hayday
Dec 29, 2006 08:07PM
Who's Talking?
Create and share lists of your favorite lunch spots, favorite local eats, dream road trip and more!
Create a new
list now!
CHOW Pick, posted November 18, 2008
Food Media, posted November 19, 2008
Green, posted November 18, 2008
Wine and Drinks, posted November 18, 2008
I saw the blurb in the U/Ts Night & Day section yesterday. I'd driven by it a couple times before I realized it's the old Rice Jones location. I was wondering what this place was all about.
I was intrigued by the descriptions in the U/T. What else was on the menu other than exotic meats, did you eat anything else other than apps and are the portions as enormous as Hash House a Go Go (a big minus in my book)
Permalink | Reply
A Carnivor's Dream and Big Portions, Yes! All apps can be eaten as a full meals, and if you order any of the main courses, split a side with your fellow dinners and probably skip the appetizers. All in all, everything is good here! Stand outs are the Elk Ravioli, Criss Cross fries w/ Buffalo & Aged Smoked Cheddar, Cornbread, BBQ Lamb Shank, and both stews. My favorite thing is the bourbon, whiskey, scotch list!!! If you enjoy any of the three previously mentioned, get ready for a treat and a nice selection. Try to hit the happy hour Wed or Thurs from 5-6:30 to get 50% off all Bourbon, whiskey and scotch.
Permalink | Reply
I read about it in the UT, too, but I was confused because they make it sound like a very weird place to dine, with dark colors and deer heads on the wall? Personally, I love deer heads and don't think it's an odd decoration for a meat/steakhouse.
I am curious about the food, though. Is it great because of the different kinds of meat or are the dishes really tasty? Is it written up because of the "odd" decor and ambience? Do their dishes focus on the exotic meats or is it more like switching meats into mainstream foods (like egg rolls)?
Permalink | Reply
Honestly I didnt get a good look at the menu but from what I saw coming out it looked like a more gourmet version of the HH fare with more standard portioning.
The decor and details were very special and thoughtful. This was my favorite part.
Permalink | Reply
Sounds great. Where is the Tractor Room located and what is the U/T?
Permalink | Reply
San Diego and Union-Tribune, the local newspaper
Permalink | Reply
The Tractor Room is located in Hillcrest on 5th Avenue near the corner of Pennsylvania on the east side of the street...near Busalacchi's. I've been watching them redo the place since Rice Jones closed (I live a block away!), but have yet to read anything that would take me inside except for, perhaps, sampling exotic meats.
Permalink | Reply
Do they have a website?
Permalink | Reply
http://www.thetractorroom.com
Permalink | Reply
The sister restaurant, Hash House a go go has a website:
http://www.hashhouseagogo.com/home.html
but the tractor room doesn't have one yet.
Permalink | Reply
I was actually rather skeptical about the Tractor Room myself, but I went there for brunch on Saturday and had a pretty good meal. My friend and I split the elk sausage hash, which was reasonably priced and very good. Overall, it was worth a visit. Another plus is that they have a great cocktail menu. It might be worth a visit just for drinks and apps. Just my 2 cents.
Permalink | Reply
I tried the Tractor Room for brunch just after it opened (instead of waiting 45 minutes for a table for 4 at 8:30 am on a Sunday at Hash House!!). I was definitely impressed. I had the malted waffle with blueberry compote - I would order that every day over the Hash House monster flapjack. Yummm! Others in my party had the lamb hash (two thumbs up, though the lamb was a bit dry), the elk hash (two thumbs up), and the wild boar hash (eight thumbs WAY up - everyone at the table had to have some!).
I also had the closest thing to a REAL bellini I could find in San Diego (white peach puree topped with champage), and the "Highland Mary" (bloody mary with whiskey instead of vodka) was superb.
As for the portion sizes, they were smaller than the Hash House, but still big enough to have leftovers.
One other note: the music was about 20 decibels lower than it usually is at the Hash House - a HUGE plus for me! I hate coming away from breakfast hoarse because I had to shout over the music!
Permalink | Reply
I went to Tractor Room just after they opened. It definately had the cool factor, however, I felt squeezed in sitting at a table next to the bar. It was also very dim, which made it difficult to read the very extensive drink menu. I think the waitress stopped by the table 4 times before I finally ordered the english breakfast martini (I think that's the name-it was a bit ago) served with crackers(very misplaced and unnecessary). It had very good flavor but I have to wonder if the drinks will be consistent...they didn't have some of the ingrediants for several of my other choices after. My friend ordered the old fashion-it was very poorly executed, he couldn't even drink it. I do like the fact that they are trying new things at the bar, which is more than I can say for a lot of places in SD.
Permalink | Reply
When to the tractor room on Friday night. The dining area is very, very small and dark. A twist on a supper club and a speak-easy. We also had possibly the worst table in the restaurant, right next to the front door and the bar.
After a little mix-up, our food came about 30 seconds after we got our drinks, the service was great. Our waitress took our food back and let us have some to enjoy our drinks, order wine and savor the cornbread.
The drinks were great. Had the union-hall and my date had the moonglow. Our waitress advised us to stay away from the fig-thyme drink, even though it sounded interesting. The wine list, even though it's called a library, is pretty small. Still it is reasonably priced and offers some good wines that go well with game.
As for dinner, the elk ravioli is amazing. The meat is tender and juicy and the ravioli skin are wonderfully crisp. I don't know why it is under the appetizers, because it is a large portion. The mac and cheese is also very good. Creamy in the middle and wonderfully crispy on the top. Also, the cornbread that comes with the meal is great. It isn't overly sweet, like most cornbread that is served. We also got the venison meatloaf, which we could have avoided. The meatloaf wasn't terrible, it was just underwhelming. A bit dry and bit too salty. Still the food was good enough to make us forget about our terrible table.
We will definitely go back.
Permalink | Reply
This may be a silly question but are there any vegetarian options or fish?
Permalink | Reply
there is a salmon dish with gooseberries, it sounded delicious and some salads on the menu. Can't remember if there was any more vegetarian items.
Permalink | Reply
I would love to try it for brunch one of these days, but it's not a great dinner place for my palate. Most of the dishes are on the exotic side -- buffalo, venison, boar. The service was very attentive and our server explained the dishes thoroughly which was nice. The decor is very cool as others have mentioned.
We had a party of six and tried several side dishes (cornbread -- good but a bit dry, mac 'n cheese -- same as most comfort food places, green beans -- really good/very fresh, criss cross fries with buffalo & cheese -- heavy) and almost everyone chose different entrees. I had the smoked salmon rock shrimp cakes as my entree although they were listed under the appetizers. They were on the dry side and had no distinctiveness to them. I couldn't really taste the salmon or the shrimp -- just kind of generic seafood. My husband had the Prime Burger which he judged just okay, and maybe not even that good for the $14.50 price tag. My friend who did order the buffalo stew found it fabulous.
I think the sticker shock really affected our take on the place. Stew for $19, filet skewers for $24 and then add drinks and sides (since they pulled the Ruth's Chris a la carte structure here). Suffice it to say it was much more expensive than we had expected.
Permalink | Reply
I went there about three weeks ago for some drinks and appetizers with some friends. The appetizers were great and I agree that they can be used as a meal. They're that big. Also make sure to site out on the deck.
Permalink | Reply