CyberEater Review

Island Prime – A Work Of Genius

By David Rottenberg

David Rottenberg is the editor of Dining San Diego Magazine, a guide to many of the city’s favorite restaurants. He is also a member of the Southern California Restaurant Writers Association and the North American Travel Journalists Association. Dining San Diego Magazine is available free at major hotel and other visitor locations as well as at most major condominiums and large corporate offices.

© 2004 David Rottenberg All Rights Reserved

David Cohn is a restaurant “genius”. He has managed to put together an assemblage of high quality dining rooms that are totally different from each other. They span culinary concepts from The Prado in Balboa Park, where guests dine on exceptional American dishes in an Old World atmosphere to the casual, kid-friendly ambiance of Corvette Diner, a retro-eatery that would be at home in the ‘60s. Even though his restaurants have individual themes, with menus that are different from each other, he and his team operate them very successfully. Local diners have relished his Blue Point and Dakota Restaurants for years. It takes “genius” to be able to create such a variety of businesses and to keep it all together.

Chef Deborah Scott has joined forces with Cohn on several operations --- Kemo Sabe with a Pacific Rim menu with Southwestern touches and Indigo Grill with North American flavors that range from the arctic to Mexico. Both restaurants have achieved success and a legion of loyal diners.

Cohn and Scott teamed up again, genius working with genius, when they took over and rehabilitated a tired familiar restaurant location that has “a view to dine for”. They joined forces to create something new and sensational on Harbor Island, where Ruebens Restaurant once stood.

This location deserves a special restaurant. It has one of our city’s finest, most exciting views of the bay and the downtown and Coronado skyline. Cohn and Scott were up to the task, virtually gutting the interior of the old structure and rebuilding it. Their work product opened its door mid-summer.

In fact, they’ve doubled up, creating two different concepts on the same grounds. Diners who park in the large, free lot have to make a choice when they enter through the huge, finely balanced glass and wood door. They can turn left into the C Level (get it—‘sea level’) Lounge or proceed straight ahead into Island Prime. Although the two restaurants are intimately connected, they have different menus and a different ambiance.

Jeff Pittrof, the general manager confided, “we’re getting customers who were first brought to this site years ago by their parents. It’s nice because we’re developing a whole new generation of customers. They can’t believe the changes.”

C Level Lounge is very popular for lunch or dinner. On warm, sunny days, it is pure joy to sit on the outdoor patio, under shady umbrellas, and to enjoy the views while munching on salads and entrees. Some of the signature items include a Lobster and Shrimp “BLT” and Black Pepper Fettucinni with smoked wild mushroom. Lighter appetites would enjoy Deborah’s “skirts on fire” salad with a spicy skirt steak. Be sure to drink lots of water.

Island Prime occupies most of the building. The entry is lined with volcanic rock that leads to large dining areas that are framed by glass and wood. The effect is rich, elegant and inviting. Outsid, the ocean flows by gently, just on the other side of the glass. During evenings, lights across the water twinkle to orchestrate the dining experience. 

The menu is presented in a slim, dramatic leather folder that also holds the wine menu. The extensive wine list offers some excellent choices, many by the glass. I chose a Keller La Cruz pinot noir with good body to go with my ribeye steak entrée. The restaurant features a large, cooled wine room in which it stores its extensive collection.

One should not ignore the starters (Island Prime Beginnings) or salads (From The Garden). The Giant Shrimp Cocktail was as described --- giant! A Study In Lobster combined lobster grilled cheese with a bisque and lobster corn dog. The simple salad contained delicious beets, candied walnuts and goat cheese.

My favorite starter was the Lobster Kettle Pan Roast, which was really an amazing lobster bisque that was served beautifully in an unusual deep wing bowl. The flavors were rich, creamy and lobstery, with large chunks of lobster floating in the broth. It was simply superb.

Entrees include seafood. The Alaskan salmon was “wild”, not farm raised. The meat was firmer, with less fat, and less chemical exposure.

The beef is “prime” – hence, the name of the restaurant. Prime represents quality aged beef that is chosen from the top 2% of all available meat. It is expensive because it is rare and so good. The huge 18 oz ribeye was expertly grilled and was accompanied by my choice of “compound butter” on top. I opted for the wild mushroom.

The menus for both C Level Lounge and Island Prime were developed by Executive Chef Deborah Scott and Chef de Cuisine Josh McGinnis, who once kept Prego Restaurant alive with his skill behind the stove. Their ideas of creating two menus that let diners experience so many flavors, with so many ways of individualizing their meals the way they want, have found great expression.

Scott’s genius is clearly evident. Her concepts here are so good and so different from her previous work at Indigo Grill and Kemo Sabe.

Island Prime and C Level Lounge are destined to be additional “stars of success” in David Cohn’s constellation. It is expensive to dine there but quality costs money. I wondered how they can afford to sell their food even at these levels. Regardless of much they spend, guests leave happy and satisfied with their experiences.

Reservations are strongly recommended. Call 619-298-6802. Island Prime is located at 880 Harbor Island Drive on Harbor Island. Drive onto Harbor Island and turn left at the traffic circle.

RETURN TO:FEATURES RESTAURANTS GLAMOROUS GETAWAYS