Good Eats In Escondido

Several weeks ago Fran and I drove out to Escondido (22 minutes from my house, for those of you who think it's in another time zone) to preview our wanderers trip for October. We got an early peek at Grand Avenue, not as grand as it once was, but it's coming back, and a chance to check out a lunch location for our group. There are several new restaurants along the main street of old Escondido, and after talking to several locals, decided to try Entwined, a new eating establishment on Grand Avenue. We were pleasantly surprised, and decided to bring our group of 20 wanderers there for lunch in October. They, too, were pleasantly surprised. Entwined is warm and inviting. The chairs are comfortable and much of the original building has been maintained, like the ornate ceiling decorations. The restaurant has several nooks and crannies, for privacy, near the back of the room. Very cleverly designed. We had just finished a one hour tour of the architecture and history of Escondido and were hungry for a good meal. That's what we got. Entwined has a creative, contemporary menu, using several ingredients that are so popular today: bacon, sweet potatoes, goat cheese, burrata, cured meats. Prices are very reasonable, with all sandwiches, paninis, salads, and appetizers priced from $10-$12. My sandwich was the BLP, which stands for bacon, lettuce and pear. In addition, it had a delicious cranberry relish, and crispy sweet potato fries served with a curry ketchup.(addictive). Others at our table had the sweet potato burger, so big you couldn't get your mouth around it without taking it apart. One of the favorite dishes was an avocado/mango stack, with crab on top. It was beautiful and delicious, and very healthy. Another in our group ordered the cheese and meat platter, with nuts, apricots and figs. Someone else tried the gazpacho soup, another had the grilled turkey melt with fries. There is so much to choose from it is hard to decide. The presentation of the food is superb. Everything is a work of art. The food itself was exceptional, so good in fact, that I would drive the 25 or so miles to eat there. I have not tried dinner yet, but I would expect it to be equally good. It's hard to get 20 women to agree on much, but I think everyone at lunch today would agree that Entwined is a winner.