All aboard

Oh, sweet! It’s a basket of Station Tavern’s sweet potato fries.
- Photo by Jenny Montgomery

Though occasionally I try to deny it, I am a grownup. And being a grownup means I can complain about taxes and back pain and say things like “What exactly is a Ke$ha?” And yet, the kid in me still can’t pass a McDonald’s without thinking, “Sure, your food is slowly killing us—but dang if that Playland doesn’t look fun!”

I don’t have kids of my own, but I’m an obnoxiously enthusiastic aunt to twin 3-year-old boys with the appetites of the dinosaurs they insist they are. So, when they recently came to visit, I knew it was the perfect time to check out Station tavern in South Park.

Station came highly recommended by parents I know who want to get out of the house for a meal, and occasionally like to bring their kids along. But when your little T-Rex gets ants-in-the-pants and wants to run around and burn off energy, what are your dining options? There’s, of course, Mickey D’s: One Billion Type 2 Diabetes Patients Served. Then there’s everybody’s favorite Land That Purell Forgot: Chuck E. Cheese’s. Station fills a woefully large hole in the dining scene: little-kid-friendly with a stylish menu and atmosphere.

The restaurant hugs the corner of Ivy and fern street in the heart of South Park. When the hippest among us grow up and have babies, South Park is where they nest. Station epitomizes the neighborhood ethos, with a socially conscious attitude and respect for local history. According to the tavern’s website, 30 percent of Station’s power is generated from rooftop solar panels. Its expansive picnic-table-filled patio features a play area for kids, complete with miniature trolley—a nod to the line that used to cruise down fern Street. And the place just looks flat-out cool. The San Diego Architectural Foundation agreed and granted Station a Grand Orchid Award in 2009.

But let’s get to the food: The menu is incredibly simple, with a few things on buns and variations of fried potatoes and dipping sauces. Everything is delicious, and though food should always come first when it comes to a restaurant, it feels like just one part of what makes Station such a great ’hood hangout.

The burgers come served on soft and sweet brioche buns, which somehow manage to keep a juicy burger in its delicate embrace without getting too soggy. The meat is well seasoned and cooked to order and can certainly hold its own against the best backyard barbecue burger you and your grill can whip up.

I really enjoyed the turkey burger, which I usually find to be too dry in most restaurants. This bird must have been plump and happy, because the meat was moist, flavorful and delightful to gobble up. Since I had the little guys with me, we made sure to try an order of tater tots (they loved them) with a cilantro-lime dipping sauce. Thanks to Napoleon Dynamite, tater tots are showing up on uber-cool menus everywhere. But at Station, there’s no inside joke; they’re just tots. They arrive in a bountiful basket, full of fresh little bundles of potato shards complete with crispy outer shells and soft mealy insides.

Don’t miss the sweet potato fries with bleu cheese dipping sauce. The stinky chunkiness of the house-made bleu cheese went perfect with the sweet gentility of the just-crispy sweet potatoes.

Garlic-lovers and vampire-haters alike should definitely check out the garlic fries. The heaping pile of spuds comes covered in shaved parmesan, underneath which you’ll discover pasty smears of garlic and soft, whole-roasted cloves snuggling with the potatoes.

Whether it’s the unexpected playground or the plentiful beer selection, Station tavern offers something for kids big and small.     


Write to jennym@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.