Located in Hillcrest, R Gang Eatery is a restaurant owned by former Top Chef contestant Rich Sweeney. The restaurant is open for brunch and dinner and is most known for its house-made tater tots.
The restaurant been on my to-do list for nearly a year, and with the end of 2014 approaching, I finally made my way over.
R Gang Bloody Mary
It’s not often that we have time for a relaxing brunch, so we made the most of it. I love Bloody Mary drinks that include a mini meal, so I just had to order this. The cocktail had quite the spicy kick to it, though it was a little weak on the alcohol. My favorite part was the meat and cheese on the stick, which they call “R Meal on a stick” and it can be added to their other Bloody Mary variations for an additional $2.
Cheddar & Chive Tots
My main focus of this visit was the famous house-made tots so I made sure we ordered some. These arrived piping hot, crunchy, and filled with melted cheese mixed with potato bits and chives. They were served with a chipotle ranch dipping sauce. We quite enjoyed the flavor of the tots and since most brunch places do not make their own tater tots, it makes R Gang’s version more special.
Buffalo Tots
This was their special tater tot of the day. Unfortunately, I wasn’t a fan of these. They were stuffed with bits of bacon which I found to be too chewy and some kind of herb which really overpowered the other flavors. Mr. K actually really liked them though.
South of the Border Bennys with Chorizo
The poached eggs were served on a deep fried corn and cheddar cake which I really liked. One of the eggs was slightly undercooked. I was pretty full by this point so I only tasted a few bites, but Mr. K seemed to thoroughly enjoy this.
Overall, we had a pleasant meal here. The service was attentive, the brunch menu is fairly extensive and I like that they offer house-made tater tots. Nothing really blew me away though, and I do wish they had a few more flavors of tater tots offered each day.
R Gang Eatery
3683 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
Oh, housemade tater tots! The cheddar/chive ones sound like they would be my pick, too. The fried corn cake looked like chicken fried steak to me upon first glance.
i really liked the fried corn cake. heehee, fried stuff is so delicious!