Luck on cheese ran out @ The Yard SM

I've mentioned before that I have an issue with cheese. Not lactose intolerance (not all Asians are lactose intolerant) but rather gag reflux from having bad cheese. Anyway in the past year, I have surprised myself by shrugging my fears aside. Slowly but surely, I was introducing a little more cheese into my diet by having a slice of pizza here and there. Still no Pappa John's (barf) but I did enjoy Mozza and Bottega Louie. So when I saw a king crab mac and cheese with leeks at The Yard in Santa Monica, I was ready to take the next step.

The Yard is a gastropub by 3rd street Promenade in Santa Monica. They have a couple good local SoCal beers on tap and a food menu that changes regularly.

The night started off well with cocktails. My favorite is the Backyard Lemonade with gin, lemon basil, St Germain and ginger ale. So drinkable that it's so dangerous.

The culprit- King crab mac and cheese with Parmesan, cheddar, kale and topped with breadcrumbs
I like mac and cheese with a nice layer of browned breadcrumbs. I thought to myself, how perfect, this version included Parmesan and Cheddar, two of the only cheeses that I can handle somewhat. I dug my fork into the ramekin. Cheese flavor was not too strong. Good. After a couple bites, I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I think it was the combination of cheese and the king crab. I don't usually have an issue with shellfish but somehow the fishiness of the crab with the cheesy mac put me over the edge. I looked over at my friend, my face turned pale white. I spit out my last bite. Yes, not very classy but in my defence, I did do it discretely. Oh no, what did I do to myself? I had recently somewhat overcome my fear of cheese. Unfortunately, I think I might have taken my adventure with cheese a little too far too soon. Just the sight of it made my nauseous. I'm back to square one- cheese is repulsive.

The braised short ribs with beet puree and candied kumquat didn't help take again the pain. The meat wasn't as tender as what you would expect from braised short ribs. It was a little hard to cut.

Smoked Brussels sprouts and apple puree and pickled radish came next. I quickly chewed off as many of these little sprouts in order to erase the cheesy-seafood flavor in my mouth. The sprouts were rather good. They were caramelized so there was a sweetness to the vegetable. The texture was a little waxy though. But this didn't bother me. Anything right now would be better than cheese.

I ended the night disappointed with myself. Damn you cheesy cheese! Sign, I'm back to a no-cheese diet again. It was a fun run while it lasted. Glad I got to try Mozza just in time.

The Yard SM
119 Broadway,
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 395-6037
www.theyardsm.com