NOW SERVING: Life is Sublime for RB pizzeria owners

By PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer | Wednesday, November 26, 2008 10:40 PM PST ∞

RANCHO BERNARDO ---- Ten months ago, James Limjoco was an account executive with JPMorgan Chase, but what he really wanted to do was cook. So the Carlsbad resident cashed in his investments and with his wife, Gail, went into the restaurant business.

While James may not have foreseen the coming crash of the financial markets (which led to the closure of his entire division at Chase), he said he's happy to be immersing his fingers these days in the kind of dough that's still rising.

In February, the Limjocos purchased the former Del Mar Pizza Co. in the 4S Commons shopping center in 4S Ranch. And after months of experimenting with new recipes, imported cheeses, fresh-made sauces, artisan breads, boutique wines and more, they closed it down at the end of July and in one week transformed it into Sublime Pizza, a pizzeria/bistro with reasonably priced gourmet comfort food.

"My food has a lot of love in it," said Limjoca, a self-trained chef who credits his Filipino heritage for his homey cooking chops. "My style is very American-Californian with a focus on great textures and tastes and fresh ingredients."

When he first took over the 1,500-square-foot pizzeria, it was using frozen dough and prepared sauce, but Limjoco got rid of the industrial freezer, the old flour and the old yeast, and began making everything daily from scratch ---- from the tomato basil soup to the bechamel cheese pasta sauce to the roasted garlic aoli dip.

The 44-seat restaurant's new menu offers familiar food items ---- pizzas, pastas, sandwiches and appetizers ---- but with whimsical names and a creative mix of gourmet ingredients.

Pizzas (priced from $7.75 to $18.99) are the restaurant's mainstay, but there's much more than the traditional pepperoni, vegetarian and "works" varieties to choose from. Consider the "First Date," a pie made with spinach, mushrooms and Parmesan in an olive oil-garlic base and truffle oil; or the "Midnight Bacon Cheeseburger" pizza, with ground beef, smoked bacon, red onion and cheese.

Especially popular is the line of 17 gourmet macaroni-and-cheese entrees made with fresh bechamel sauce and topped with crisp Parmesan or gruyere breadcrumb crusts (priced from $4.99 to $6.75). Varieties include the "Serendipity" (with rosemary rotisserie chicken and roasted garlic), "Rapture" (with pulled pork) and "Jubilation" (with red and green peppers, mushrooms, onions and garlic).

There's also grilled panini sandwiches ($5.99-$7.49) made with bread delivered daily from an Italian bakery (like the "Spirited," made with Black Forest ham, caramelized onion, cheddar and homemade honey dijon aoli), and crispy gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches (5.99-$7.49), like the Four Cheese (with cheddar, gruyere, Monterey jack and gouda inside and parmesan crusting on top).

Even the appetizers are elevated. Like the Truffled Fries with Parmesan ($6.99), fresh-sliced potatoes drizzled with truffle oil, dusted with fresh cheese and served with your choice of aoli. The menu also includes entree salads, pastas and more.

To build customer loyalty, there's a frequent visitors club, and all the children's meals ($5.99-$8.49) come with a drink, ice cream dessert and toy. Domestic and imported beers are available ($3.75-$5.75) along with wine by the glass ($6.95-$9.95) or the bottle ($26-$48).

Limjoco, a fast-talking triathlete, serves as head chef and restaurant manager while Gail, a Carlsbad schoolteacher, spends two days a week in the restaurant and the rest of her time caring for their 3-month-old daughter, Ariana Kathleen, who made her entrance into the world just two days behind Sublime.

"We opened the doors on Aug. 8 and two days later we shut down for two days to have the baby," Gail Limjoco said.

Since reopening Sublime post-baby, business has been building steadily with especially big crowds on the weekends. Response to the menu has been, well, sublime, but the economy and location have kept many new diners from discovering the restaurant, Limjoco said.

"People love the food and we get a lot of repeat business. Everyone we ask loves the menu, but because we're off the beaten path, we're not getting a lot of new people coming in," Limjoco said. "But all we need is to get them in here once and then they'll be hooked."

Sublime Pizza

Where: 10550 Craftsman Way, Suite 186, 4S Commons Center, Rancho Bernardo

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily

Phone: (858) 618-3333

Web: www.sublimepizza.com