Restaurant Review: The Third Corner in Ocean Beach

Restaurant Review

The Third Corner
2265 Bacon Street
Ocean Beach, CA 92107
619-223-2700
WWW.THE3RDCORNER.COM

By Judi Curry

At Christmas time, friends gave me a gift certificate for The Third Corner.  I had been there many times before; usually for lunch or their weekend brunch, but never for dinner.  Steve and I decided to give it a try because we were in a celebrating mood.

That mood almost evaporated within the first 10 minutes of walking in the door.  I had made reservations, and when we were shown to our table it was along the wall with the windows facing West Point Loma Avenue; there was a large party just to the left of us, and two women sitting to the right of us.  The large party was so noisy  that I asked Steve to see if we could change tables.  After all, it was only 6:00pm; there were many empty tables, and it did not seem to be a problem.  Well, apparently it was, because the hostess said she could seat us outside, or we would have to keep the table we were shown.

Steve decided it would be too chilly to eat outside, so he said we would keep our table. Additionally, I needed a “booster” chair, because I sat on the soft cushion facing the inside of the restaurant and my head barely came up to the top of the table.  Fortunately Steve changed places with me and the chair was at a perfect height.  I still wasn’t too keen on the party next to us.

The two ladies on the other side of us smiled at us and said hello.  Looked like we were in for the long haul.  (More about them later!)

The menu is quite eclectic – starting out with eleven Starters, a soup of the day and a Vegetarian Wild Mushroom Soup; six Salads plus a lunch special of soup and salad and 4 Accompaniments to the salads; 4 sandwiches and 15 Entrees.  Many items on the menu were marked “GF” – standing for Gluten Free.

Since The Third Corner sells wines – a whole lot of wines – the wine list is enormous.  There is something for everyone.  Additionally there is hard liquor, beer, and either a Red or White Sangria.  Both Steve and I like Sangria but had never had a white one, so we ordered a carafe of it ($16) .

We decided that we should start out with a appetizer also and ordered their Fries – $6.95.  We were not prepared for the size of the order, which was served with ketchup and a Aoili sauce.  The fries were all crispy and hot;  and even when we got down to the last ones they were still hot. And Hallelujah!  The large party was leaving! We got through the appetizer without a blinding headache!

Shrimp Arrabbiata

Making a decision as to our Entrée was not an easy task. There were so many options – Scallops, mussels, Seafood Risotto, Salmon, Cioppino, Shrimp, wild mushroom pasta, chicken, spicy sausage penne, short ribs, duck confit, pork schnitzel, and even a prime New York Steak.

Steve ordered the Shrimp Arrabbiata ($21.95).  It was cooked with bacon, tomato, garlic, capers, white wine, chili flakes, Parmesan and served over a bed of linguine.  It was delicious.  It was a little spicy, probably because of the chili flakes, but it was extraordinary.  There was nothing left on Steve’s plate when he was finished!

I ordered the Day Boat Scallops ($32.95), which was prepared with tomatoes, olives, capers, green beans, roasted potatoes and cooked in a white wine lemon sauce.  The scallops were large; cooked to perfection and absolutely delicious.  Like Steve, I did not leave anything on my plate either!

Day Boat Scallops

About this time we began talking to Jill and Sandy, the two women that were seated next to us.  We discussed our meals, what we were having, and what we have had there in the past.  I asked them if they were locals, and they said they were from La Jolla but came to The Third Corner frequently.  I am not sure how our former professions came up, but Jill mentioned that she was a retired teacher.  Well, so am I.  I asked her where she taught and she said in Poway.  Hmmm. I was an administrator in Poway.  It turns out that she very probably was in the group of teachers that I trained to meet the needs of the individual students in the Poway School District.

She did her student teaching at Painted Rock – a school that I was assigned to my first year to work with all new teachers; she went from there to Westwood Elementary, the next school I was assigned to, etc.  We know many people in common and she is still in contact with some of them to this day.  So we made the “J” connection – Jill and Judi and laughed at the coincidence.  Then I asked Sandy if she was a teacher also. She was – in Escondido, and then left teaching to go to SDSU to pick up a degree in Social Work.  Funny – I also taught at SDSU.  Then we made the “S” connection – Sandy and Steve – and our waiter’s name was Stephen. We were all sure that there must have been some form of Karma involved in our meal, and that is why the hostess would not change our seats!

Crème Brulee

Finally, Steve and I decided to try a dessert and share it. My favorite dessert is Crème Brulee, and they had it on the menu – $10.  It was delicious; the ripe strawberries and blueberries on top just made it a perfect end to our meal.  The sugar had crystalized to perfection.  It was a tasty ending.

Over all our bill, not including the tip was close to $100.  A little steep for Ocean Beach, I thought, but right in line with what other restaurants are charging today.  Stephen, our waitperson, was delightful, happy, and knowledgeable, so with the exception of the flurry at the beginning, it was a delightful time.  As Jill pointed out – The Third Corner is for people meeting people.  If you wanted a romantic evening this seating arrangement would not work.  But the food was of A+ quality; the service also.  We will be back!