Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Country invades City (Heights)! Nate's Garden Grill

Here you never eat alone. You're surrounded by trees, chickens, turkeys, goats, horse, future salads, and raving locovores.

Walking – again.

This time up Home Avenue. Seeking out the holy grail of locovore cooking.

That’s what I’ve been told, anyway. Also that this place’s happy hour – four to six – has real deals with flatbreads and a whole range of craft beers. If it works out, that’s three for three for me: locovore, happy hour, local beers.

It’s a gentle slope up on a busy road. Maybe ¾ of a mile, till you get an erk!? moment when Euclid tees into Home and takes over, no questions asked. Home becomes Euclid.

I spot the sign right up from these crossroads.

“City Farmers Nursery & Cafe.”

The nursery’s on the left, and a little further up, on a recycled board and corrugated iron building, another sign:

“Nate’s Garden Grill…21 Craft Beers on Tap.”

Alright! You can see a covered outside deck, with more eatery in behind.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47401/

This is at 3120 Euclid Avenue, City Heights (619-546-7700). Behind, a hillside carved with mini-canyons, dotted with trees, animal pens, and dusty farmyards.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47407/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47383/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47385/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47400/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47402/

I mean, suddenly, country! I head up the stairs and into this woody, cozy cabin.

Bottom line: They have a menu that goes from a $4 pan of roasted pistachios to a $10 grass-fed burger to a $14 salumi and cheese board.

Except this is happy hour till six (I’ve got fifteen minutes to spare). Foodwise it just applies to their three flatbreads. Normally they’re $9 each. Right now: 50 percent off, $4.50. The “MeatMen” has pepperoni, mozzarella and tomato sauce; the second one has potato, pancetta (basically pork belly bacon), house-made ricotta, plus harissa, a North African spicy spread; the third has rapini (think lettuce meets broccoli), caramelized onion, blue cheese and a garlic mix.

I go for the potato one, and head out onto the deck.

It’s great out here. Feels like a place you’d find in the country, or where the jocks in “The Right Stuff” would hang out.

Oh, and I see this guy George bringing out a huge cob of corn with its husks flapping, to the next table. Says it’s only $2 right now. Dang. I order one too.

George brings it all out.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47388/

The flatbread is…huge. And popping with chunks of spuds, that pancetta bacon, and white ricotta, all on an oozy, lush bed of red harissa sauce. I can’t believe it’s all for $4.50.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47389/

Plus $2 for the corn.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47390/

Jared and Jim, the guys next door, have ordered a lot...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47396/

...including brotwurst...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47392/

...chili...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47393/

...and pistachios...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47394/

...and a Seamus O'Hara Irish stout ($4.50 in dollar-off happy hour) and a Forêt Organic Saison by Dupont. Belgium ($5.50 HH). Organic beers! Looks like they have interesting choices here...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47395/

Of course organic is big here. Lance, one of the founders, says they try to grow as much of their food right here at Nate’s organic nursery, like veggies and eggs. “Bill Tall, [Nate’s son and the nursery owner] has let us use part of his land to grow food. We just started three months ago, but we’re growing food everywhere we can find space. Like, see that container? We’re even going to be growing tomatoes in a garden on top of that,” he says, pointing to a ship’s container sitting in the dirt parking yard.

I mean these guys are walking the walk. Turns out they have a full-time gardener, George. (Though he helps out in here too.) Plus they’re working with a gal named Kelsey to get milk from the goats that she and her little collective are rearing here at the nursery. Gardeners from the New Roots Community Garden, the one IRC (International Rescue Committee) got going at 54th Street and Chollas Avenue, bring their veggies here. On and on. This is like Futureworld.

I can’t finish my flatbread. It’s just too much. I sure hope these guys don’t lose this feeling of, well, generosity when it comes to food. And so nice to know you’re not eating nitrates and chemical poisons with every chomp too.

Oh, I also have a totally wonderful beer, the Greenjack Ripper barley wine. Happy hour price, $6. But there’s a story attached to that. More in an upcoming Tin Fork.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47398/

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Pet pig perches in pocket

Escondido doula gets a taste of celebrity

Walking – again.

This time up Home Avenue. Seeking out the holy grail of locovore cooking.

That’s what I’ve been told, anyway. Also that this place’s happy hour – four to six – has real deals with flatbreads and a whole range of craft beers. If it works out, that’s three for three for me: locovore, happy hour, local beers.

It’s a gentle slope up on a busy road. Maybe ¾ of a mile, till you get an erk!? moment when Euclid tees into Home and takes over, no questions asked. Home becomes Euclid.

I spot the sign right up from these crossroads.

“City Farmers Nursery & Cafe.”

The nursery’s on the left, and a little further up, on a recycled board and corrugated iron building, another sign:

“Nate’s Garden Grill…21 Craft Beers on Tap.”

Alright! You can see a covered outside deck, with more eatery in behind.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47401/

This is at 3120 Euclid Avenue, City Heights (619-546-7700). Behind, a hillside carved with mini-canyons, dotted with trees, animal pens, and dusty farmyards.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47407/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47383/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47385/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47400/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47402/

I mean, suddenly, country! I head up the stairs and into this woody, cozy cabin.

Bottom line: They have a menu that goes from a $4 pan of roasted pistachios to a $10 grass-fed burger to a $14 salumi and cheese board.

Except this is happy hour till six (I’ve got fifteen minutes to spare). Foodwise it just applies to their three flatbreads. Normally they’re $9 each. Right now: 50 percent off, $4.50. The “MeatMen” has pepperoni, mozzarella and tomato sauce; the second one has potato, pancetta (basically pork belly bacon), house-made ricotta, plus harissa, a North African spicy spread; the third has rapini (think lettuce meets broccoli), caramelized onion, blue cheese and a garlic mix.

I go for the potato one, and head out onto the deck.

It’s great out here. Feels like a place you’d find in the country, or where the jocks in “The Right Stuff” would hang out.

Oh, and I see this guy George bringing out a huge cob of corn with its husks flapping, to the next table. Says it’s only $2 right now. Dang. I order one too.

George brings it all out.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47388/

The flatbread is…huge. And popping with chunks of spuds, that pancetta bacon, and white ricotta, all on an oozy, lush bed of red harissa sauce. I can’t believe it’s all for $4.50.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47389/

Plus $2 for the corn.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47390/

Jared and Jim, the guys next door, have ordered a lot...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47396/

...including brotwurst...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47392/

...chili...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47393/

...and pistachios...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47394/

...and a Seamus O'Hara Irish stout ($4.50 in dollar-off happy hour) and a Forêt Organic Saison by Dupont. Belgium ($5.50 HH). Organic beers! Looks like they have interesting choices here...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47395/

Of course organic is big here. Lance, one of the founders, says they try to grow as much of their food right here at Nate’s organic nursery, like veggies and eggs. “Bill Tall, [Nate’s son and the nursery owner] has let us use part of his land to grow food. We just started three months ago, but we’re growing food everywhere we can find space. Like, see that container? We’re even going to be growing tomatoes in a garden on top of that,” he says, pointing to a ship’s container sitting in the dirt parking yard.

I mean these guys are walking the walk. Turns out they have a full-time gardener, George. (Though he helps out in here too.) Plus they’re working with a gal named Kelsey to get milk from the goats that she and her little collective are rearing here at the nursery. Gardeners from the New Roots Community Garden, the one IRC (International Rescue Committee) got going at 54th Street and Chollas Avenue, bring their veggies here. On and on. This is like Futureworld.

I can’t finish my flatbread. It’s just too much. I sure hope these guys don’t lose this feeling of, well, generosity when it comes to food. And so nice to know you’re not eating nitrates and chemical poisons with every chomp too.

Oh, I also have a totally wonderful beer, the Greenjack Ripper barley wine. Happy hour price, $6. But there’s a story attached to that. More in an upcoming Tin Fork.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/13/47398/

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.