Last weekend I was pretty much holed up at home getting over my cold. On Sunday I insisted we go out and grab something to eat and we headed up to Rancho Bernardo to check out a place called Brothers Provisions.
We got there right after opening so it wasn’t crowded at first. By the time we left, people started to pour in. They had some specials going on for San Diego Beer Week.
They’ve got a patio at Brothers Provisions so you could bring along your furry friend!
Here’s the interior. The walls are lined with tons of different kinds of beer.
They’ve also got a big cheese case! Someone will pop out from behind the counter to ask if you have any cheesy questions.
They also sell a variety of little foodie accoutrements such as jams, jellies, crackers, honey and honeycomb, cookies, and other little snacks.
Hi dessert case. I’ll be with you later.
Brothers Provisions offers a variety of sandwiches. I was tempted to get one of their meat and cheese boards. Really tempted!
Salads, snacks, and sweets side of the menu.
This side options menu is over by the counter when you order.
My dad came with Jake and I for lunch and he ordered the Brothers Pastrami [$11] with a side of Tomato Bisque [$2]. I had a spoonful of the creamy soup and it had a nice flavor to it. Super creamy! It tasted kind of like pasta sauce in a bowl though. I don’t normally eat tomato bisque so I don’t know if that’s what it’s supposed to be like.
Dad was not impressed with their pastrami. He felt it was sliced too thick and that the meat was dry and flavorless. I didn’t try it.
Jake ordered the Kid’s Grilled Cheese [$6] which just has one kind of cheese (cheddar) and comes with a bag of chips. I thought this was kind of a sad looking grilled cheese. The bread looked to be barely toasted. They use a panini press to grill the sandwiches and I felt the grilled cheese needed more time in the press. A nice golden crust was never achieved and it didn’t the sandwich enough “oomph”. The cheese was just to the point of melting and I thought it could have been hotter/more melted. The bread was fine, the cheese was good, but I felt the execution was lacking.
I choose to get the Pig in a Pretzel [$11] sandwich which came with smoked pork loin, cheddar, caramelized onion, and apple jam. Also pickles, but I took those off and threw them onto Jake’s tray. The pretzel bun was excellent. It was soft on the side with a slight chew on the top and was lightly toasted. The combination of smoked pork loin, cheddar, onion and apple jam made for a wonderful combination. The pork was tender and I loved the sweetness from the apple jam and onions. Yum!
I also got a side of Chicken Orzo Salad [$3]. There were sneaky black olives hidden in here that I had to fish out and discard. There was a heavy dill flavor to this salad which I enjoyed but overall I thought this could use a bit more flavor. It tasted kind of plain despite having chicken, feta, and veggies in it.
Jake ordered a few desserts for us to share. He got us a slice of Vanilla Bean Cheesecake [$6.50], a Lemon Bar [$4] and a Peanut Butter Bar [$3.50]. The cheesecake was superb. It was incredibly creamy and light. The hints of vanilla bean gave it an extra luxurious flavor. The lemon bar was just okay. It had a good tart flavor but I didn’t really enjoy the crust that much. The peanut butter bar was delightful. The peanut butter had a coarse ground texture like it had ground up peanuts in it. The thin layer of chocolate on top was a nice compliment to the bar. It was very firm and hard to cut into but I loved it.
It was a bit of a mixed bag experience. My dad and Jake weren’t impressed but I liked my sandwich and some of the desserts here!
Brothers Provisions
16451 Bernardo Center Dr.
San Diego, CA 92127
(855) 850-2767
