Rogue bills itself as a local ingredients-first restaurant dedicated to sustainable farming & sourcing methods. It’s located in Half Moon Bay, a quaint small town on the ocean that needs a few more restaurants like this.

The irony is that i couldn’t find anything roguish about this restaurant. Perhaps it’s a sign of old age setting, but i just don’t buy this anti-establishment story. First, they are part of the same local-ingredients-first story that 1/3 restaurants in this area subscribe to – nothing rogue there. Second, don’t all higher-end restaurants go through great pains to source from farmers who use near-artisinal methods (since the food tastes better) – maybe they’re trying to distinguish themselves from the lazy middle-tier who may pay lip service to sustainable agriculture & artisinal dedication? And third, the food is straight-forward ingredients-focused cuisine w/ nary an experimental edge to it.

All fine & dandy but i think they need to hire a different marketing consultant. They aren’t off-the-grid, they’re in Half Moon Bay.

I didn’t take notes so i’m missing some of the accompaniments.

1. Ahi Tuna “Sticks”
Tuna wrapped in nori and then quickly seared. The tuna was average at best – that slightly chewy variety w/o much taste. The concept was decent but the very average quality of the tuna was a let-down – if this is the quality of the ingredients, we might be in trouble.

2. Chicken Confit
Decent taste but you’d expect something a bit more intense.

3. Meatballs
Yum, they had some fairly intense seasoning & spice. Very good, I wanted more. I would definitely order again.

4. Chard & Cherries Salad
Served in a cylinder. Unfortunately, I only got a bite but the interplay between the bitterness of the chard and slightly tangy cherries was excellent. A definite winner.

5. Seared & Roasted Halibut w/ Ginger Risotto
The fish itself was just… plain. I think it was a touch overcooked since it was just slightly mushy (but that is really splitting hairs) but nothing too exciting. The ginger risotto was an excellent idea with a vibrant, but not overpowering, ginger taste; but it was too pasty for me.

6. Meatloaf
A bigger version of the meatballs. If i hadn’t been swayed by the idea of ginger risotto when ordering the previous dish, this would have been all mine.

7. Pork Chop
I didn’t taste this but our dining companion complained it was too tough. Doesn’t sound like the Farmhouse Inn porkchop i had a few weeks ago.

8. Bread Pudding
Excellent – scarfed it down.

Overall – tough call. If i lived in HMB, i would eat here semi-frequently since there are few dining choices and you could run across some good stuff. However, Cafe Gibraltar is just down the road and the food is much better for the same price; if i need to make a trek from the city or work, i’d rather just eat there.

http://www.roguechefs.com/

- chuck