When I heard that one of my favorite local chefs, Jarle Saupstad, had landed at Cbar, a new wine bar and bistro in Carlsbad Village, I made it a point to put it at the top of my Lick the Plate list. I met Jarle when he owned Salt & Smoke BBQ at The Leucadian, which was some of the best BBQ I’ve had anywhere.
After becoming familiar with his background and style, a bistro environment seemed perfectly suited for his skills. Along with owner operator Toni Spilsbury, creator of “The Organized Cook: Weekly Meal Plan System,” plus a successful career in finance, and Mike Cusey, business partner, general manager and sommelier, the pieces are in place for success at Cbar.
After an extensive taste off their offerings recently, I will say they are well on their way. I caught up with Jarle recently to get his take on what’s happening at Cbar.
LTP: First off it’s great to reconnect, and I will admit I still crave your BBQ from Salt & Smoke that you had at The Leucadian. This new venture looks like a good one — how did you connect with Cbar?
Jarle: I met Toni via a mutual friend. After seeing the location and the quaint and inviting space she created, I decided that I needed to meet her. She’s magnetic and her passion for this space and her vision drew me in instantly and aligned with what I’ve always wanted to do.
LTP: I read a piece recently in the New York Times about the proliferation of the “all day cafe” in the restaurant world. Is that the model you have going at Cbar?
Jarle: I think the all-day cafe concept is perfectly suitable as a description. It’s warm and welcoming and adapts to the time of day shown by our offerings. The coffee here is the best I’ve had in North County, and the baristas are just as good. It flows nicely through the day and gives people the option to enjoy one of our three services at their leisure. With food, coffee and wine available all day, there is something for everyone. We often see our morning coffee patrons returning for happy hour and dinner.
LTP: Your new dinner menu is seasonal with some fabulous “winter” offerings. How would you best describe it as a whole?
Jarle: I would definitely describe the menu as seasonal. I want to showcase the best flavors of ingredients and there is just no way to do that best without seasonality on my side. The menu riffs off of the great wine that Mike and Toni are bringing in.
I challenge myself to be “re-creative” in the sense of I want to serve inspired dishes based on the regions of our wine offerings and not trying to push culinary creativity but rather focus on simplicity and technique to offer delicious food without being pretentious.
I love taking “old school” dishes and filtering them through a Southern California lens. Local, fresh, approachable and most importantly, the food is understandable and pairs incredibly with our wine.
LTP: I’ll start with a favorite from the sharable plates section, the mussels in escabeche. Describe that dish as it really was amazing.
Jarle: The mussels in escabeche are one of my favorites. I love big flavor in small bites and that dish delivers. It combines northern- and southern-style Spanish cuisine. I love mussels in escabeche, and nduja sausage is one of my other favorites from Spain. They made sense to me from a flavor perspective, briny, acidic and spicy. Those flavors on our fresh sourdough, to me, play super well together.
LTP: The mezze plate from the salad offerings took me right back to the root vegetables I grew up on in Michigan, with a chef’s touch. Tell me about that dish and the preparation.
Jarle: The mezze plate is going to give us the option to directly showcase local, seasonal produce, and being that its winter, the root vegetables are at the forefront of seasonality. Carrots, parsnips, white asparagus, along with turnips and radishes, will all be showcased in ways that make them shine individually.
Every cooking method will be used per the ingredient to bring it to what I think gives it the most life on the plate. I blanch, pickle, sous vide, grill and marinate the veg in separate ways so they each stand out and serve them chilled along with housemade aleppo spiced labneh and hummus and fresh herbs.
LTP: When I saw the word cassoulet in the Quince Glazed Duck Confit description, I had to have it. Having spent time in France, I developed a near obsession for this seasonal dish. Tell me about your unique and stellar preparation of it.
Jarle: It’s such versatile French stew and works well with so many dishes. I also fell in love with it in my travels and I find it warm and comforting and flavorful. it feels very wintertime to me and is a great vessel to sit the duck on.
This dish is also more of an amalgamation of French cuisine. Between the duck and a simple boudin blanc, the cassoulet not only holds the proteins up but it also shines in its own right. I use Nueske’s bacon to add a great depth of flavor and also gives it a bit of a American twist. I also do my best to not stew the hell out of it, I like the beans to keep some structure so i keep them just al dente, so it has some texture to it.
I’d love to be making my own bacon and hope that I can in the future, as curing and smoking meats is what I’ve become known for. For now, though the bacon is a perfect match.
LTP: The wines that were paired with each of our courses were stellar, so a tip of the hat to the minds behind the wine program.
Jarle: The wines are curated by Toni, the owner, who is actively working on her Level 1 sommelier cert, and by Mike, who is a Level 2 certified sommelier. They both know and love wine and have been bringing in wines that aren’t available at any big box store.
It makes it a blast to create dishes to go with the wine, and Toni and Mike might tell you the same about the food. between the three of us, we’re constantly tasting and coming up with new pairings. The new menu will also comprise suggested pairings with each dish on the menu.
LTP: Let’s not forget about breakfast and lunch. What are some of your favorites from those menus?
Jarle: Salads, sandwiches and flatbread all served on our housemade focaccia will make up the majority of the menu. Again, it plays into the all-day cafe, easy to grab and take with you, or stop in on a lunch break and take a breath and maybe sneak a glass of wine in before you head back out.
We will also be launching a weekend brunch menu in March with dishes like shakshuka with lamb merguez sausage and an over-the-top French toast and a seasonal eggs benni. Braised short rib hash with poached eggs will be on the list as well.
Find Cbar at 2917 State Street, Carlsbad and cbarcarlsbad.com
