After Jake’s last softball game of the season last Wednesday (which lasts 8 games), we joined his team over at Tiger!Tiger! in North Park for a little post game drinking and eating. Well, I drank an Arnold Palmer and Jake had a Virgil’s Root Beer (which they have on TAP). We didn’t feel like partaking of the alcoholic beverages that evening.
[sausage poutine fries with house made fries, mozzarella curds, pork and sausage gravy / $9.50]
Jake and I shared these entrees since I could not eat these all on my own. The french fries here are made in house and topped with melted mozzarella curds plus bits of pork (tasted sort of like ham or sausage) and the sausage gravy on the side. I really like that the gravy is on the side so that it doesn’t make the fries all soggy and gross and you dip them into the sauce as you please. I hate when things get soggy so I was happy to see they did this. The fries were quite good and the curds were yummy, too (though they only seemed to be on a few spots). The gravy was good – akin to the sausage gravy they put on biscuits but it tasted like it was made with chicken stock rather than milk. In any case, it was yummy with the fries.
[pork belly banh mi with chinese bbq pork belly, cilantro, chili aioli, picked vegetables, cucumber on a baguette with slaw / $10]
We also shared this pork belly banh mi – though, we took the veggie part out since I don’t like pickled anything. I wish I would have thought to have left the cucumbers in though! Oh well. The pork belly was nice and tender and had a bit of a different flavor to it since it was “Chinese BBQ” pork belly. It was almost kind of charred in bits with a sweet kind of glaze on it, very similar to BBQ pork strips that you get in Chinese restaurant. Pretty good paired with the slightly spicy aioli sauce on a nice crusty baguette.
[ricotta cheesecake – $6.50]
They had a couple of different desserts on a board near the beer menu/ordering area and I spotted that they have Ricotta Cheesecake. We got one of those and shared it between us and a few people sitting at the table with it. Ricotta gives cheesecake a completely different flavor than cream cheese does. It’s a more savory taste and not as sweet as traditional cheesecake. In the past I haven’t cared for it that much, but I was interested to see how they did it here. It was a pretty good version, light and a little tart with that kind of savory feel to it which is funny since sometimes ricotta can taste really sweet. It didn’t taste like they added a ton of sugar to it but it was still pretty yummy. The brittle on top a bit on the burnt/bitter end and while pretty, I could have passed on eating it.
Tiger!Tiger! carries lots of craft beers – a little bit of this and that – and you’ll surely find something to your liking here. If you can swing by between 5PM and 8PM, they have select beers available for $3. On Sundays they do Beers & Brunch where they make house made coconut glazed donuts which I have decided I must come back to try. The place has lots of communal tables for seating and a bit of a hipster feel with a “leg lamp” (like the one found in a Christmas Story) and upside down bicycles in the main dining area. There’s a patio outside in the back which just feels like an extension of the inside, with the same look at feel and is mostly enclosed with lots of heat lamps to keep you warm in the winter. It’s a cool place to hang out, relax, try a few new things and hopefully make a few new friends along the way.
Tiger!Tiger!
3025 El Cajon Blvd
North Park, Calif
619-487-0401
I’ve never been to tiger tiger, but have you been to their sister restaurant, Blind Lady Ale House? I think it’s basically the same thing (craft beers/communal tables/lively atmosphere), but with pizzas! Some of the best pizzas I’ve ever had 🙂
Hi Jinxi – I have not been! I’ve been close by Blind Lady… and walked by… but we haven’t managed to ever go in. I noticed they were sister restaurants from the same type of website they have – where it’s nearly impossible to get to the menu on your phone… hah. Jake and I enjoyed Tiger! Tiger! so we’ll definitely need to try out Blind Lady next. Thanks for the tip!
Hmmm, $3 craft beers sound good. Will have to bring Bert with me for that.
@ Jinxi – I’ve been to BLAH once – great pizzas but very pricy. They have “hipster” prices, haha.
Mary, if you go to BLAH, you can have your dessert at Mariposa just a few steps away (homemade ice cream). 🙂
Hi CC – If we had been there during $3 beer hour, I would have gotten a beer, too. But I couldn’t tell what the prices were and I couldn’t tell the beers apart from their board. I wasn’t hipster enough to read it (har har). Ohh, yes, I haven’t been to Mariposa in a long long time. A revisit is necessary.
Why is it called tiger!tiger! ? Makes me envision small children running away from scary tiger in the jungle. Strange.
I LOVE how they put the gravy on the side (for the fries!). Few places do that now a days. Did you have to request for it to be on the side?
How was the parking?
Hi Faye – I didn’t read up on the name so I’m not sure. But it’s funny to me that there are exclamation points after each word. We did not ask for the gravy on the side – that’s just how it comes! This made me very happy. We were there on a Wednesday after 8PM and we actually parked RIGHT in front of the bar on El Cajon Blvd. It’s street parking, basically, and we got lucky. Parking seems to be easier on El Cajon than University in my experience.
I think I’ve heard that Tiger! Tiger also has a really good house donut so maybe it’s time I head over there to check out their poutine as well. I agree that gravy over the fries would kind of ruin it for me too.
Hi Darlene – Yes, I saw on their menu they make coconut donuts on the weekend. I want to try them!
Tasty poutine AND a house made donut? I think I need to start visiting Tiger Tiger more often!
Hi Leanne – I wholeheartedly agree with this statement.