You and Yours Gin Distillery
Years before she could legally drink, Laura Johnson was seriously into spirits. Encouraged by her parents, whom she describes as open and relaxed about alcohol, she began mixing up her own concoctions...
Now Open: You & Yours Distilling Co is Now Serving Local, Seasonal Small Plates Alongside Craft Cocktails
Your favorite place to drink might have just become your new favorite place to eat.
You & Yours Distilling Co has made a name for itself as San Diego’s first urban distillery, and this summer, after building a kitchen in the back of the tasting room and bringing on chef Cecilia Valencia, they’ve launched a menu of small plates to pair with their cocktails.
The expansion from distilling to food was a natural progression from owner Laura Johnson. “I’ve always loved to cook and create flavors. I used to fake sick to stay home from school and watch the Food Network and when I saw that distilling allowed a similar measure of culinary creativity, the opportunity to create flavors in a spirit, I was hooked.”
The menu, described as “Southern-ish”, taps San Diego farms and purveyors for seasonal ingredients.
You & Yours works closely with Trish Watlington's half acre farm, Two Forks, in La Mesa. The summer menu featured Two Forks cherry tomatoes, edible flowers, herbs, and arugula.
"The most important part of being locally sourced is the relationship that you have with a local farmer,” Watlington said. “You took the time to visit to the farm, we talk about what might grow well at certain times of the year. You change your menu to accommodate the seasons. Just-harvested, responsibly-grown produce tastes better."
You & Yours also works with local cheesemongers Venissimo Cheese, seafood experts Catalina Offshore, and Specialty Produce from whom they source ingredients from local farms like JR Organics and Black Sheep Produce. The result is a small, but thoughtfully created, menu that defies genre.
What to Order
Dishes are served as small plates, so order three to five dishes for two people.
Any secret lover of Taco Bell (I wont tell, if you don't!) must try the “Taco Bell” egg rolls. While Taco Bell doesn’t have an egg roll on menu, You & Yours was spot on in their homemade replication of the chain’s signature hot sauce and seasoned beef, elevating the sum of the dish’s parts with microgreens and edible flowers.
For a cocktail pairing, they recommend a Do You Want That Spicy blend of Sunday Gin, grapefruit, lime, cucumber, and sea salt with optional Serrano bitters.
The house take on a poke bowl sources salmon from Catalina Offshore, mixes it with spicy mayo, and avocado, then tops the dish with JR Farms breakfast radishes and crispy nori.
The spice in this dish is cooled with their suggested cocktail pairing, the Oh Snap! featuring Sunday Gin combined with sugar snap pea, lemon, honey, egg white, peach bitters, and mint.
For a lighter dish, try the arugula salad with Two Forks arugula, chard, and violas, mixed with Petite Basque, chicory, pink peppercorn pecans, and dates with a honey mustard vin.
Pair it with their London Dry G&T, which uses East Imperial Burma Tonic Water.
For a heartier dish, try the southern-inspired fried chicken drizzled with buffalo sauce served atop Two Forks’ seasonal greens.
To double down on the veggies, pair it with the Little Bunny Foo Foo cocktail, a healthy blend of carrot, turmeric, ginger, and lemon mixed with Sunday Gin.
Keep an eye out for new seasonal cocktails and dishes throughout the year.
Plan a Visit to You & Yours Distilling Co
1495 G Street, Downtown/East Village
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