
San Diegans may not experience a dramatic change of seasons, — colorful foliage, falling leaves, crisp air requiring the dragging out of heavy wool sweaters and jackets — but we do undergo our own kind of seasonal transitions. One of the ways in which we ring in the crisper months is with our food, and many of La Jolla’s restaurants are taking the opportunity to introduce their autumnal fare. Here are a few of the menus bringing cool-weather comfort food to La Jolla: • Stephen Window, executive chef of Roppongi Restaurant and Sushi Bar, is introducing the restaurant’s Fall Fireside menu, complete with a variety of dishes and lounge bites featuring the season’s star ingredients — ideal for enjoying next to the restaurant’s outdoor firepit. Perfect autumn items on the menu include the Walla Walla sweet onion soup with braised short rib and tempura scallions. Known for their exceptional sweetness come late summer and early fall, the onions counteract the rich meat in this seasonally inspired soup. Also reaching their peak ripeness in the fall, persimmons shine in the persimmon cranberry crisp dessert with homemade butterscotch gelato. For small bites, the menu offers the papadam Indian cracker with mango chutney and cucumber riata, a burst of sweet and tangy flavors. The menus took the place of the restaurant’s previous ‘Bikini Menus’ on Sept.1 and will run through Dec. 31. All items are available after 3 p.m. For more information, visit www.roppongiusa.com. • Roy’s Hawaiian restaurant is ringing in fall with a new three-course “Fall Prix Fixe” menu. Created by five of the fusion restaurant’s chef partners, the menu showcases each of the chef’s own culinary interpretation of the season. Guests may choose from appetizer choices of crispy potato croquettes, Fuji apple salad or yuzu crab stuffed shrimp. Entrée choices include rown butter seared salmon, Asian-style coq au vin and cherry-stuffed pork tenderloin roulade. The meal finishes off with a decadent dessert course of harvest spice cake or Roy’s signature melting hot chocolate soufflé. “Our chef partners are encouraged to create their own recipes unique to their cooking style,” said corporate executive chef Kiel Lombardo. “This Fall Prix Fixe menu mirrors Roy’s exquisite legacy while also showcasing the chef partners’ cooking styles.” The menu is available through December for $35.95 per person. Roy’s La Jolla is located at 8670 Genesee Ave. Private dining is available year-round by contacting the local group sales manager. For more information, visit www.roysrestaurant.com • Chefs Bernard Guillas and Ron Oliver of The Marine Room are always eager to cook with seasonal ingredients, and fall is no exception. The restaurant is offering seasonal events this fall, including a cooking class featuring instruction from the award-winning chefs on how to prepare a three-cheese mushroom torte, Incan-spiced Washington organic steelhead and a Julian apple and sun-dried cherry cobbler. The class will be held on Oct. 19 for $70 and will include dinner and wine pairings. Additionally, the restaurant is offering its “High Tide Breakfasts,” featuring a seasonal buffet on Oct. 29 and 30 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Nov. 26 and 27 from 7 to 10 a.m. and Dec. 10 and 11 from 7 to 10 a.m. Cost is $32 per person. For more information, call (858) 459-7222 or visit www.marineroom.com. • The Shores Restaurant, also overseen by executive chef Bernard Guillas, is offering its Sip and Savor Dinner Series every night this fall. Diners can indulge in a themed menu designed by Guillas and chef de cuisine Amy DiBiase. During October, the menu features Oktoberfest-inspired dishes, while November will bring a Country Meadow Lamb pairing menu. Cost is $45 and includes wine pairings. For more information, call (858)?456-0600 or visit www.theshoresrestaurant.com. — Kendra Hartmann