Devilicious
Oh food trucks…how I love thee. Let me count the ways that I love you:
Your food is cooked fresh to order.
You provide me good food without any unnecessary frills.
Most of the time you have me eating with my hands.
You satisfy my hunger and my soul.
Oh food trucks…thank you for completing my eating life in San Diego.
The food truck mania is not just some passing phase people. It is a staple that San Diego has been long behind on and over the last 5 years, that side of the business has significantly grown. One of the oldest food trucks in San Diego who also participated in the Food Network Great Food Truck Race – Devlicious, has been serving our great town for awhile now. Their signature item is the Lobster Grilled Cheese sandwich. So when a coworker and I found them parked just outside our office, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try it for myself:
The lobster grilled cheese comes with a side salad with balsamic vinegar. The sandwich itself: butter poached lobster with melted jack and cheddar cheese and caramelized onions on sourdough.
It is a rich and delicious sandwich. The cheese melted perfectly, nestling in the sweet onions and lobster itself all on two pieces of crispy, fresh bread. I think if it was any other side, it would have been just too much for me to handle, but because it was a salad, it helped bring down the richness. As for the lobster you may be wondering – fresh, soft, sweet, and was not overshadowed in the least. And they gave you a good amount of lobster for the price of $12.
People may think this is “outrageously” expensive, yet a restaurant would have charged you $16-$18, and some places could get away with even charging up to $20 for this exact sandwich portion. Think about it people, how much would it cost you at a restaurant? These trucks have to not only pay for the food supply itself, but even with their bare minimum operations, there are still costs to run a food truck. Have you not seen the show itself? You need to charge every dish to cover your cost of food, overhead (eg. wages, truck maintenance), and still make a profit from every sale.
So come on San Diego! Go out there and support your local food trucks!!! There’s a great website that shows you all the food truck gatherings throughout San Diego called Curbside Bites and their calendar lists out everything. Granted, always check with the truck’s twitter or webpage for any updates on their locations.
Throughout San Diego County (and sometimes beyond)
Ssam Bar (Momofuku)
As far as I’m concerned, NYC is pretty much my home away from home when it comes to woes of my stomach. This city always offers us so much and even after a hard hit to the locals here the past week and still in a tough spot for many.
Despite all the mounting reasons why it would be better for a postponement of a department training, we continued. To make the best I could for my time in the city, I still tried to give my business to the proprietors of the city. This evening, a group of 8 hungry, hungry hippos (yes, it’s a MEGA version of the game) made its way down to East Village for Ssam Bar.
The last time I was at this Momofuku establishment was back in March, but it left a specific memory for myself – we need more people to eat! Last time, it was only my friend KF and myself. We did our fair share of sampling David Chang’s signature dishes, plus staff favorites. This time, we had more than enough mouths to sample even more!
shanghai noodle – chanterelles, hearts of palm, trout roe
This was a cold, small dish of noodles that was dressed in what seemed like some sort of sesame sauce. The roe added the little salt and the hearts of palm seem to freshen up my bite. It was good, but not stellar.
crispy pig ear ssäm – yuzu kosho, umezuki, thai basil
Wow….the pig ear was fried super crispy and seasoned so well that I thought I was eating chips! If you weren’t told you were eating pig ears, you could easily pass this for fried jerky. Yums!
honeycrisp apple kimchi – maple labne, jowl bacon, arugula
This pretty much explains itself: kimchi-ed apples with bacon and arugula. This is served with a maple yogurt that cuts the pickled apples. The reason I ordered this dish for the table was because I remember this dish being the big surprise from my first visit. It was unexpected in how much I liked it!
steamed buns – pork belly, hoisin, cucumbers, scallions
bbq bun – crispy pork belly, coleslaw, smoked mayo
lobster sandwich – sour cream crisps, iceberg lettuce
Yes…we had a LOT of the bun appetizers (actually we ordered all of them). Everyone was floored at how good the steamed and bbq buns were. Seems like the consensus at the table was that the bbq buns were the favorite of them all. I personally had a gripe this time about the steam buns – the bread itself was too dry and just made me sad! The buns used for the bbq version were nice and soft and fluffy. Why?!?! As for the lobster roll…it’s nothing special at all. I would suggest skipping this one and go else where if the craving is lobster roll.
roasted quail – pineapple, spaghetti squash, vadouvan
I didn’t get to try the quail itself, but my colleagues seem to really like it. One even said, “I wasn’t expecting anything and it is better than I thought it would be.” I did try the spaghetti squash that was coated with what tasted like curry and it was good.
spicy pork sausage & rice cakes – chinese broccoli, sichuan peppercorn
This was the dish that I would say, should be the signature entree of the restaurant. It was just as good as the first time – spicy, tangy, savory, cripsy, chewy, meaty, crunchy. There is no way I was going to split one order with 7 other people, so I insisted on ordering 2 of them! Everyone was loving this dish as well and diving into them.
charred spanish octopus – pine nuts, celery, black olive
O.M.G…this dish was MY highlight of the evening. During my first visit, KF and I saw people ordering the octopus and it looked soooo good. That’s why this time, I was determined to get it!! Gee willikers batman! That is a darn good plate of octopus!! I mean…it was cooked perfectly that this was one of two times I’ve ever had octopus in my life when it was NOT chewy (like rubber). One thing I did have an issue with this was that it was overly salted. Other than that, give. me. MOAR!!!!
After two visits during different times of the year, I found Ssam Bar to be addicting and consistent (more or less….fix that dry bun issue!). The staff is attentive but not overly bearing and even took the time to talk to one of our colleagues because she wanted to modify an overly strong drink. Would I be back? Heck. YES.
Ssam Bar | momofuku
207 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10003
Philly Frank’s in San Marcos
Ok, so I don’t normally track up to the San Marcos area for food. Or at all since it is never “on my way” to anything! However, my coworker introduced me to a place up in San Marcos about three weeks ago and my world has been forever changed. (And the realization dawned on me that San Marcos is actually NOT that far away from our office in Rancho Bernardo!)
CB started talking about getting Philly cheesesteaks one day and that got me really hungry. Then he proceeded to tell me the name of the restaurant – Philly Frank’s. Of course, the moment he gave me the name of the restaurant, I went hunting for the place online to see if it was worth my saliva (because I was drooling already at the thought of it). Upon browsing through Yelp’s comments, reviews, and the pictures, I was completely sold!
Since I don’t eat beef, the only “Philly cheesesteak” that I’m familiar with is of the chicken variety. There were good reviews for Philly Frank’s chicken variety and hence, there was an immediate need to make a lunch trip up. Fortunately, for us, the managers were all gone for training during the week and so, it was time to schedule a “long” lunch!
There were four of us who made the trip that one fateful afternoon – CB (the culprit), PY, XP, and myself. Between the four of us, we ordered the following: Cheese Steak, The Works (with peppers, mushrooms, and onions) – Beef (3), and The Work (with everything) – Chicken, two orders of seasoned fries and an order of the onion rings.
Up close shot of my chicken philly
Needless to say, we had a LOT of food for the four of us that afternoon. We thought that we could tackle it without any problems-no that is actually a lie. Once we saw everything in front of us, we knew it would be a challenge that we had willingly accepted!
Unfortunately, I forgot to take an aerial shot of the table, but trust me, put all those sandwiches together and our sides and you’ll get the idea. And by the end, I ended up eating more than 80% of the fries, some of the onion rings, and half of my sandwich. There were definitely some food coma issues for the four of us upon our return to the office. Was it all worth it? HECK YES!!!!
It was so worthwhile, that CB and I made another trip last week with three other coworkers – MW, MB and RC. They too understood why we would risk falling asleep during work hours for this sandwich! Results were just the same as the first time – lots of food, happy eaters, and very tired workers.
Though the sad ending for our second trip, my leftover half of the sandwich was accidently left at the office fridge. It was over the weekend, but there were no notices that the fridge was going to be cleaned out, which is done every now and then. I come back to work on Monday morning, and was going to put my side salad I brought from home to eat with the sandwich, only to find my sandwich was GONE. Seriously, I don’t get people who take other people’s food! Sadly, that meant that I didn’t have the protein I needed for lunch that day and was starving soon after lunch.
This just means that I need to make another trip up to Philly Frank’s so I can have my other half of the sandwich!
Philly Frank’s
151 South Rancho Santa Fe Road
San Marcos, CA 92069
Stacked
There days (or nights) when I want something simple to eat, but if the restaurant can make it entertaining for me too…I can love it even more. It makes me wonder why don’t more restaurants get this??? A distinguishing factor can help a restaurant stick out from the sea of options for patrons.
Stacked in Fashion Valley Mall occupies where the UNO Pizzeria used to be many ages ago. This restaurant is a burger, salad, pizza, sandwich joint. What makes this place different than say, a Burger King or Chili’s?…….It’s self-service, to an extent. There are still servers and cooks, however the servers do not take your orders. You put in your own order on your table’s personal tablet:
I know it seems so trivial and some may even find this annoying that they have to put in their own orders. However, for today’s generation and the current technological culture, this is a welcomed addition for restaurant goers. You can check out their website and see what their menu looks like. And since you place your own orders, you can customize it as much or as little as you want. The control is ALL yours!
With that control, I created this sandwich for myself:
What you see before you is CP’s burger: Brioche bun + Angus Burger + Romain Lettuce + Bacon + Onion Straws + BBQ Sauce + Side of Jalapenos (for me).
My sandwich: Whole Wheat Bun + Blackened Grilled Chicken + Romaine Lettuce + Caramelized Onions + Roasted Red Peppers + Sides of Garlic Aioli and Chipotle Mayo.
And to accompany our sandwiches – a combo of half fresh cut fries and housemade chips. Ketchup for CP and ranch for me!
All of this did not come cheap, so don’t expect this restaurant to be your run of the mill place. With each customization, it’ll cost you – yes, even the sauces which does include the ketchup. However, I will say the idea of having a perfectly created sandwich, cooked to our liking to our exact order is empowering. Also, the housemade chips are just ridiculously addicting, but I would recommend that you request for “less salt”.
To wrap up the evening, I ordered a dessert (another “stacked” item): Scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched between chocolate chip and snicker doodle cookies. The chocolate chip cookie was a little over baked, but the whole dessert was still delicious because you can’t go wrong with ice cream and cookies!
The second time CP and I went, he ordered a customized pizza and it was good too. Not outstanding, nor best pizza ever. At the end of the day, Stacked is fun and good for a simple (or not so simple if you’re technologically illiterate) meal. I think the novelty factor makes it worthwhile to warrant a visit. Go ahead, stack your own meal!
Stacked (Multiple Locations)
Fashion Valley
7007 Friars Road
San Diego, CA 92108
Suite #356
The Red Door
Seemingly appropriate given the holidays are in full swing right now! It has been the first time in the last three years, that I have truly felt the holidays. The past three years had been so ridiculously hectic due to my old job, that I rarely got into that holiday spirit. I have to be honest, I think my spirit was plainly exhausted and maybe even a little jaded. The work before was not only mentally draining, but physically and most of all – emotionally draining, that when it was time to take some “time off”, all I wanted was to sleep.
This year however, it is totally a different story! I can FEEL the holidays growing in my bones and I am LOVING IT!! 🙂
Anyways, the reason why I missed last Sunday’s post was because I was celebrating with friends and family all weekend long. “For what?” You may ask. Well, it was for my birthday! Another year older, maybe another year wiser? Who knows, but I looked back and thought to myself, “Man…what a f***ing year!”
To celebrate with my family, we had a very nice dinner at The Red Door in Mission Hills.
The restaurant is small and cozy. The decor very much a wine country setup and the main dining room has a full wine rack wall. Dim lighting really sets the mood for an intimate evening. I can imagine that during the mornings and afternoons, it is bright and cheery and perfect for a nice, cozy get together.
Now that is enough about the restaurant, let’s get to the real matter of things: the food!
Appetizers:
Signature Cornbread Muffins
Shrimp Creole
I do believe appetizers are suppose to wet your appetite for the main course, but the first course was my absolute favorite part of the meal. The cornbread muffins are made to order, so the waiter will warn you it takes about 15 minutes for the prep. Trust me – it’s worth it. The cornbread is light, fluffy even, with a touch of creaminess from the white cheddar. The muffins also come with a honey-rosemary butter which just helps the muffin to melt more in your mouth.
Then comes the Shrimp Creole in a white wine and cream sauce, spiced with the flavors of the “Big Easy”. Though the portion size is small, the flavors are HUGE!!! A thick tomato sauce filled with smokey, spicy, tang goodness. I used the fried polenta to mop up more of the sauce, then when there was no more polenta, the cornbread went so well with it. Man…this place knows how to start off a good meal.
Wild Mushroom Scallop Risotto
Pork "Schnitzel"
Red Door Burger
Garden Vegetable Plate
Red Door Chicken Roulade
The entrees on the other hand…was not memorable. The scallops were nothing extraordinary. The Schnitzel was not quite what I knew Schnitzel to be (more like fried pork chops to me). CP’s burger though looked juicy enough. My sister’s vegetable plate was as advertised and she liked it. And the roulade was dry…=\.
I feel like the appetizers set my expectations higher than it should have been because the delivery was there in the beginning! Yet, Red Door’s entrees barely raised above an “inside voice” level. The appetizers would be like an opera singer – belting out beautiful notes. Perhaps the encore would help save a poorly performing middle?
Brownie Sundae
Apple Walnut Cobbler
Well…how should I start off? The brownie was probably the winner of the two. It was a DENSE chocolate brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drenched in fudge. Definitely quite delicious. I had a bite and loved it. The cobbler on the other hand…it was nothing specially about it. I’ve had much better cobblers and given that my ice cream was FROZEN solid turned me completely off. One of two, 50/50, those aren’t bad odds at all. I’ll take that any day!
Red Door is definitely worth a revisit, with different orders. I would stick with my appetizer choices, but I would try something else on the menu for my entree. Would I recommend this restaurant? Yes – I would just stay away from the chicken and scallops…you can get much better elsewhere.
The Red Door Restaurant & Wine Bar
741 West Washington St
San Diego, CA 92103
Atlanta, GA – Week 2
After a LONG week of eating in Atlanta, we were all pretty worn down. We were all just very tired and I don’t think we fully digested the first week’s food from our stomachs. Hence, week 2 was much “lighter”…though the highlight of week 2 was on Monday when we visited:
South City Kitchen
Bread basket came with fresh, hot cornbread and biscuits!
After this basket…I strongly believe ALL restaurants should only serve (especially to me) one of the 3 options for a “bread basket”:
- Cornbread and/or biscuits
- Popovers (see Island Prime post)
- In-house made herb bread
And all these options must be FRESHLY MADE and served WARM! Delighted Palate has spoken!
Our appetizers:
Hot Ham & Cheese - H&F bread, pimento cheese, Benton’s ham, pickles
Fried Catfish with minted zucchini slaw and red chili mayo
Fried Green Tomatos with goat cheese and red pepper coulis
Our entrées:
Smoked Pork Chops with spiced carrot puree, Swiss chard, and peanut-green chili pesto
In the words of my colleagues, “The smoke flavor is intense! I don’t know how they got this much smoke flavor into this…I still have the smokey flavor in my mouth after eating!” In other words, this was one kicka** pork chop.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken with "bliss" potatoes, honey-thyme jus and (this one) peas
Though this was not my entree, I had wish I had a second stomach so that I could have ordered this as my second entree!!! This was one of the most flavorful, juiciest, piece of fried chicken I had ever tasted. The chicken, which you can see is primarily breast meat, was so tender and juicy that it boggled all of our minds! I’ll never look at a fried chicken the same ever again (sadly :(…).
Shrimp & Grits with poblanos, tasso ham, in a smoked tomato gravy
Ok, there is no doubt that South City Kitchen knows how to smoke their food. This shrimp and grits was heightened by the tomato gravy to ridiculous levels. The gravy was smooth, tangy, spicy, and smoky. I don’t know how they did it and the only think I could think of was one of two possibilities:
- They intense, smoked the tomatoes before pureeing them for the gravy, or
- They add liquid smoke into the gravy
One way or another, I want this gravy slathered all over everything I eat now! The pieces of tasso ham added saltiness perfectly to each bite, and the shrimps were cooked just right. The grits? Well my friends, they made one smooooth vehicle for all the awesomeness that I had just ranted about.
Desserts:
Chocolate Ganache Torte with toasted coconut and crème anglaise
Banana Pudding - banana pastry cream, ripe bananas, homemade vanilla wafers, fresh cream
Cheesecake Bread Pudding - baked brioche, rich white chocolate and cream cheese custard, blueberry compote
Let’s just say if there was one overall theme to each dessert at SCK – they are sinfully rich and packed with flavors as advertised.
We all walked out of that restaurant with painfully full tummies, and despite the groans and insistence that we will NEVER eat like that again, we were all very, very happy customers.
As for the rest of the week? We revisited Fat Matt’s, then the next two days, we decided that we all needed a break from the eat-a-thon and truly attempted to eat “moderately” again. Thus, I am sad to report – SCK was the true encore of our ATL exploration.
I would just like to thank Atlanta for bringing out the fatties in us, and making us all a little softer, a little rounder, and a lot more of a nightmare for physical check-up at the doctor’s.
Sincerely,
Delighted Palate & Crew
(See Week 1’s post here)
South City Kitchen
2 locations:
1144 Crescent Ave, Atlanta, Ga 30309
1675 Cumberland Pkwy, Smyrna, Ga 30080
Atlanta, GA – Week 1
First job at the new work place turns out to be in Atlanta. Now, you all should know by now, I never travel without doing my research on where to eat. Thank goodness my colleagues are equally open to my gluttonous ways (and frankly encourages it). Behold our week long feasting:
Firkin and Gryphon
This was dinner on our first night because by the time we landed and got to the hotel, nothing was opened. My manager and I managed to make it to a pub, which we thought would still have something to eat. Upon entering, we were told it was the “late night” menu only – aka fried appetizers. Within minutes of sitting, we were told the kitchen was closed for the night to the waitress regret. However, we were set on getting something so I begged for them to at least let us have dessert.
Hence, you see before you the Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding and the Seasonal Cobbler (Strawberry-peach). Both came with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Both were ridiculously delicious and probably not the best way to start our week…or best way to frame the rest of our week.
JCT Kitchen and Bar
Appetizers –
Angry Mussels - Peppered bacon, Serrano chile & onion
Truffle Parmesan Fries
Carolina Gold Rice Aracini - Butternut squash, crispy brussel sprouts
Entrees –
Lamb Shank - spinach-creamed, Carolina gold rice, garlic chips, preserved lemon
Shrimp & Grits - red mule grits, deep fried soft poached egg, smoky tomato “jam”
Fried Chicken - benton's bacon macaroni & cheese, local farmstand vegetable of the moment
Desserts –
Chocolate Pudding - salted caramel, chewy peanut butter cookies
Butterscotch Bread Pudding with bourbon cream
Apple Fried Pie - butter pecan ice cream, bacon-caramel drizzle
Fat Matt’s Rib Shack
Ribs - great stuff
BBQ Chicken (1/2)
Chopped Pork Sandwich
Sides: Mac n' Cheese, Coleslaw, Baked Beans, and Brunswick Stew
Slope’s BBQ
Pork and Chicken Combo with Fried Okra and Jalapeno-Cheese Grits
Pork, Ribs, and Brisket - with Jalapeno-Cheese Grits and Brunswick Stew
Chopped Chicken and Pork with sweet potato fries and baked beans
Seasons 52
Maui Tuna Crunch Salad sushi-grade seared tuna, tropical organic greens, toasted almonds and miso vinaigrette
1. Organic Baby Spinach Salad with sliced seasonal pears, toasted pine nuts and crumbled gorgonzola cheese. 2. Chipotle-Glazed Shrimp with guacamole and tomatillo salsa verde
Gyro Pizza and Chipotle-glazed Shrimp
Pumpkin Pie Shot
Wildflour
Jalapeno Lime Sandwich - grilled chicken smothered with poblano pepper and onion mix, melted provolone, jalapeno lime sauce and pico de avocado.
Fogo de Chao
The Strip
1. Volcano– tuna tartar, cucumber topped with tuna, mango, avocado, Jimmy’s sauce, teriyaki. 2. Dynamite– spicy tuna, spicy yellowtail, masago, seasoned asparagus
Bread Pudding with Ice cream
Googie Burger
Flying South Sandwich - Seven spice crispy chicken breast, topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, signature hot sauce, & blue cheese slaw, with fresh cut fries & sweet tea
Ship & Anchor
Shepard's Pie
Shepard's Pie - Innards
Mitchell’s Ice Cream
Salted Caramel and Rosemary Olive Oil Flavors
And that is just week one. We still have another week ahead…I hope my stomach can hold on.
Firkin and Gryphon
4764 Ashford Dunwoody Road
Dunwoody, GA 30338
http://www.firkinandgryphon.com/
JCT Kitchen and Bar
1198 Howell Mill Rd
Atlanta, GA 30318
http://jctkitchen.com/
Fat Matt’s Rib Shack
1811 Piedmont Avenue NE
Atlanta, GA 30324
http://www.fatmattsribshack.com/
Slope’s BBQ
Multiple locations in Atlanta area
Seasons 53
Two locations in Atlanta
http://www.seasons52.com/
Wildflour
5815 Windward Parkway, Suite 210
Alpharetta, GA 30005
http://www.wildflouratlanta.com/page/page/5668614.htm
Strip
245 18th Street Northwest Ste 5100
Atlanta, GA 30363
http://www.h2sr.com/strip/
Googie Burger
190 Marietta St, (Centennial Olympic Park)
Atlanta, GA 30342
http://googieburger.com/
Ship & Anchor Pub
5975 Roswell Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30328
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ship-and-anchor-pub-atlanta
Island Prime
The other night, CP took me out to dinner just because we hadn’t had a proper date night in such a long time. Plus, with the college football season well underway, a lot more of his free time is consumed by it. When he told me he made reservations for dinner for our date, and wanted to keep it a surprise, it made me wonder where he was taking me to. The only hint he would give me was that it was somewhere we have been to before and that he hoped we could get a nice view of the water. My mind immediately started working out where this mystery restaurant could be. Given that we do live in San Diego, there are a handful of restaurants we have been to that had a “water view”, so I started going down the suspects: George’s, JRDN, 1500 Ocean, Crab Catcher (thought I highly suspected this was not even in the consideration since we had just visited it), Il Farnaio, Point Loma Seafood, etc.
CP would not let me know, only when and where we were to meet up so he could drive us. The suspense!!! (I did ask if I should have a certain type of wear and he said business casual like our workday usual)
The night of our date, we met up and he drove us downtown. Where oh where was he taking me?? Then when he made his way towards the familiar route of when he takes me to the airport, I realized – ISLAND PRIME! In all technicalities, we’ve only ever eaten at C Level – the patio dining area where the menu is a little more “relaxed”. Island Prime is the indoor dining area where the restaurant is more of a steakhouse. Still, a great restaurant (inside or out), and we were seated at a corner, window table with a view of the water and downtown San Diego.
An amazing view to prep us for an amazing dinner:
To start, Island Prime gives you POPOVERS…yes you read that right! Popovers are served warm with whipped butter (read online that it was actually goat butter, didn’t get to ask). And these puppies were freaking HUGE. It was almost an appetizer in of itself. I would have been satisfied with this popover as my appetizer. Warm, buttery, soft layers of sweet and salty that makes you feel guilty for putting on that butter, but it amplifies all the components that I’ve already described to you about the popover itself. I wish all restaurants would serve popovers instead of just plain bread. Sigh…
The “A Study in Lobster” is basically lobster 3-ways: Lobster Bisque, Lobster Grilled Cheese, and Lobster Lollipops. The lobster bisque I’ve had before and tasted just as delicious as I remembered. Smooth, rich, creamy and thick – with little bits of lobster in it and dash of sherry on top. The lobster grilled cheese was ridiculous! Huge chunks of lobster claw meat, with fontina cheese, grilled on a little sourdough slices. I don’t know how to describe this…other than – this ain’t your kindergarten, school yard grilled cheese. This sexy little two-biter is the sensuous, adult version of grilled cheese. Sweet, succulent lobster with the smooth fontina cheese, oh sweet, sweet, baby jebus, I thought I was done for the night with that. Then the lollipop comes along and helps remind me that I can still have fun with a great, luxurious ingredient. The lobster lollipop is a skewer of lobster meat, with a light batter and fried. Fun, delicious, but revolutionary? Naw…but it was still delish.
Island Prime’s Caesar Salad comes with two hearts of romaine, dressed with their house Caesar dressing. They top theirs with marinated tomatoes, Parma, and a dark bread toast with an olive tapenade served as the crouton. CP loved the salad, though it was a little hard to eat due to the plate size and shape.
Can you guess who’s entrée this is? If you’ve read my blog before, or know me at all, you know that I cannot pass up scallops on a menu. It is my Achilles heel because it is so hard for me to steer away from it. Island Prime’s version was little different – seared scallops topped with popcorn snow, on popcorn emulsion, and sweet & sour bacon-corn salsa. Admittedly, I was practically stuffed to the gills when this came out and yet, I could still taste that it was different from the other scallop dishes. The scallops were perfection. The popcorn emulsion reminded me of salt honestly. It didn’t overpower the scallop, but all it was the salty touch to the dish.
CP’s “surf & turf”…or in the words of Island Prime, “Even turf can surf”. I found that to be quite amusing J. This is a 8 ounce filet migon with a fat lobster tail. CP ordered it with the pancetta-peppercorn demi on the side. Although I didn’t have any of his entrée, I could see it was very well done entrée. And considering CP ate it right up, I think it’s safe to say it’s a darn good piece of turf and surf.
Dessert?…I am ashamed to report that I did NOT order dessert (*GASP!!!!*). Yes, I couldn’t imagine eating more and CP’s not much for desserts so there was no way I could have one by myself. So for that night, we call it quits after our entrees.
The food at Island Prime | C Level is superb to say the least. Of all the Cohan Restaurants in our little town, I think this has to be my favorite (and the only one I haven’t been to yet is 33 Pacific up in Oceanside, and Bo Beau in OB after it took over the spot for Thee Bungalow). The service here is exceptional, the food is extraordinary, and the view regardless of the time of day is magical.
Island Prime | C Level
880 Harbor Island Drive
San Diego, CA 92101
Smashburger
My first smash sandwich was not a burger as a friend pointed out. I don’t eat beef so I opted for the chicken option, which was just as wonderful (as a burger…I would imagine).
I ordered the Spicy Baja with pepper jack cheese, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, grilled onion (requested), chipotle mayo, and fresh jalapeno, all on a chipotle bun. The chicken was pounded thin and that helped keep the chicken nice and juicy. This is a technique we use to cook protein at home too because it ensures thorough cooking while being quick. It helps retain the flavor and marinade, and minimizes the issue of overcooked, rubbery chicken.
The only issue I had with this sandwich was that all the ingredients were “wet”, so it all slipped out with each bite. I guess that that means that it was finger-licking good! Other than that minor issue, the chicken sandwich was very enjoyable. Now Smashburger will be my go-to for a quick delicious sandwich.
Smashburger
Multiple locations
R Gang Eatery
The other day, my friend – LA – and I ventured out to Hillcrest for brunch. Naturally, since we had recently visited Hash House, we needed to visit a new spot. Fortunately for us, I’ve been eying a place nearby for sometime now – R Gang Eatery.
This restaurant pretty much looked like it was once a big house, that was converted to a restaurant. Maybe it was because of that, the central air system was not quite up to par to a restaurant’s. It was a hot day by San Diego standards and that place was like a sauna. A tip for you RGE – you may want to look into finding a better solution on your climate control than putting a few fans around that were naturally hogged by those who were positioned closest to them.
Anyways…aside from the terrible heat, our waiter (Chris) was very energetic and super friendly. LA and I were already decided on what we really wanted from this place – their tots! We ordered both of their current specialty tots – the White Trash Tots and the Buffalo Tots.
White Trash Tots
White Trash Tots - Innards
White Trash Tots – tater tots stuffed with diced Spam and Velveeta Cheese, served with “ketchayo” (ketchup & mayo). These were a bit of an oddity. I felt that there could have been more spam, and the velveeta gave it an odd taste. Maybe I’m just not accustomed to the cheese because it is definitely not the Spam’s problem! I LOVE Spam since I grew up on it!
Buffalo Tots
Buffalo Tots - innards
Buffalo Tots – tots stuffed with blue cheese and bacon (!!!), served with garlic-buffalo sauce. These were by FAR both of our favorite tots between the two! Oh mama! The smoky and delicious bacon, with the cool bleu cheese, dipped in the tangy buffalo sauce, made you feel like you were eating a buffalo wings with fries! In my opinion, they could have done with a little more bacon, but still was our favorite. We couldn’t stop eating these despite the fact we still had our entrees coming.
Before that…I must warn you. What I’m about to show you is ridiculously good and totally dangerous!
Ready?
You sure?….
Ok, you asked for it!
French Toast Casserole
Absorb it all in…look at the beauty that is before you. This was not your normal french toast, but rather a bread pudding disguised as french toast. RGE took the regular french toast and elevated it to new heights! (Though they do offer another french toast entree on their menu…but I can’t imagine it being better than this!) There are cubes of what I believe was brioche, baked in a creamy vanilla-cinnamon custard, then topped off with a bourbon caramel sauce and streusel crumbs. Their online menu tells of a different casserole, but I think the one we had is sooooooo much better! Actually, this was LA’s entree and I wanted it for myself! Soft, salty, sweet, melts in your mouth, and with a kick of bourbon to remind you that you are at brunch. Oh sweet, sweet jebus! This was not a brunch item – it was a freaking dessert for breakfast/lunch! All this needed was some vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream…and we’d be set.
My entree on the other hand…was a bit of a disappointment:
R Egg Sandy
The R Egg Sandy – fried egg on a focaccia roll with RGE’s house-made chicken apple sausage, topped with fontina cheese, spinach, and crispy onion strings. Sounded delicious! The actual result was somewhat lackluster despite the size. I wanted something savory, but this did nothing for me. I wanted that casserole more!
All in all, we had a good meal and walked out of there stuffed. My first impressions and recommendations of R Gang Eatery:
- Great, friendly service in a casual and fun environment.
- Could definitely figure out their climate control for those abnormal San Diego weather spikes (whether it be hot or cold).
- Don’t pass up their stuffed tots (especially the buffalo).
- Must try the French Toast Casserole.
- Remember to check-in on Yelp for a special discount on their tots.
- Have reservations regardless of day/time.
I’m curious about their dinner menu and would come back to try, but if nothing else…I’ll be back for that casserole!
R Gang Eatery
3683 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
619-677-2845
Hash House A Go-Go
I have been a resident of San Diego for the past 14 plus years, but I have never been to the breakfast icon of the city: Hash House A Go-Go. Although, their claim to fame is mostly their enormous portion size, which gives their servers the most wicked upper body workout. The reviews I’ve read online and the word of mouth have been somewhat mixed for me. That’s probably why I never made it a mission for me to go.
Then about 2 weeks ago, my friend asked if I wanted to go to breakfast with her since she was craving HHaGG. I decided that there was no better time than now to finally give this place a try! So bright and early (TOO early) on a Monday morning, I met up with my friend to get my first dose of Go-Go!
This is the smoked chicken, sundried tomato pesto, spinach and goat cheese scramble. It comes with a rosemary biscuit, fruit, and choice of mashed or crispy potatoes. The smoked chicken was what made this dish spectacular and my favorite component. The soft goat cheese was tangy and smooth, with the wilted spinach to help cut all the heaviness of the proteins. The potatoes were ok, but I am a hashbrown girl so it cannot be helped. That massive biscuit you see in the back was like a rock, but tasted nothing like one. Loved this protein packed start to my morning!
My friend went for the sweet starter of Apple Cinnamon Flapjack with sides of scrambled eggs and bacon. This flapjack was the size of a manhole cover! Or a steering wheel! Or a hubcap!!! It was BIGGER than either of our heads! To sum it up – it was HUUUUUGE! Crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy cinnamon cakey filling on the inside, with slices of green apples all around the flapjack.
All in all…I’d have to say there was nothing worthwhile to wait for more than 30 minutes for a table. However, if you go early enough during the weekday, I feel that you can have a good breakfast like we did….with lots of leftovers.
Hash House a Go-Go
3628 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
(and several locations in Nevada)
Dim Sum…you want some?
Then I’ll give you some! 🙂
How would it be possible for me to not have one meal which would include Dim Sum while in Hong Kong? That would just not do! Not to mention my fellow foodies would never let me hear the end of it. Even though I have been Dim Sum-ed out over the years, I knew I had to try my hand at least one Dim Sum parlor during my short time in the city that comes up with the truly spectacular mini dishes.
We had our first Dim Sum lunch with my Mom’s older sister, who took us to a restaurant in a huge shopping mall. Do I remember what the place was called or even where it was near? Sadly I do not, but what do have are my glorious pictures to show you the delicious things we ate.
On the left, we have a vegetarian rice noodle roll. There was an assortment of vegetables in the rice noodles and although I prefer the meat variety, the rice noodle skin was superb. Soft, tender, smooth, and thin…mmmm. On the right are BBQ pork pineapple buns. They’re called pineapple buns because of the cracked sugary topping of the bread (or at least that’s how I’ve always associated it). The sweet and salty pork was perfect – little fat, glazed just enough, and tasted fresh (*gasp!*). Man…I don’t really recall ever having any type of pork bun tasting so delicious. And oh! The plate up at the top left is more of that delicious BBQ pork for the bowls of noodles below.
Going clockwise from the top left: “micro-pulled noodles” (x2) and “thin-pulled noodles”. These noodles were ordered upon Dad’s request for them, but when I tried each type, I wasn’t impressed. Thus, I moved on with my eating!
Top left: chiu-chow fun guo – my Dad’s favorite dim sum dish. I took a bite and found nothing special from the usual.
Next, the ma lai gou but in the rolled version (top right), which is A MILLION TIMES BETTER! We used to have this version of the traditional ma lai gou in San Diego, but for whatever reason (cost according to my Dad) they discontinued it. Even in the LA dim sum places we’ve been to, they don’t make it. Soft, moist, and the sweet custard between the rolled layers add another level of decadence that is not usually there.
The bottom plate is what I call: genius. Delicious genius to be exact. Cubed, pan-fried radish cakes, stir fried with onion, pepper, celery, and TONS of garlic. Add a dash of hot chili oil and we had a terrible time of stopping ourselves from gorging senselessly at this dish. By far, it was the most flavorful and unique dish we had that day. And hands down, my favorite at that table.
This was the Szechuan spicy wonton. Do not let the red color deceive you! This was hardly spicy, heck! It was actually SWEET! Much to my great disappointment. I was expecting to be taken to that endorphin-filled rush that one gets from eating foods so spicy that you’re sweating after one bite. Nope…instead, I got a really delicious and well crafted wonton that had a slightly sweet sauce with it. Sigh…
Ok…did this meal help change my mind on Dim Sum? Yes and no…because I know that I could never find something of this level in the states. I have friends and family who go wide and far for good Dim Sum, but they all have told me the same thing over and over again: nothing can compare to Dim Sum in Hong Kong. The true masters of the art of Dim Sum resides in Hong Kong. Whether it be in a fancy, sit-down, air-conditioned restaurant, to a side street vendor. The good stuff is overseas and I am glad I partake in this food journey to something I knew, yet knew nothing about.
Looking back at the food eaten
This past week was my first full week back home, so I finally had the chance to take a look back on all the food that I had partake in during my tour of China, and visit back to Hong Kong. Although I am sure there was much more to try in China, unfortunately the food I ate was all geared towards “tourists.” We were in a tour group, but it still makes me sad that there could be amazing food out there that I never got my hands on. In my recap, I think I want to focus on the items that stood out above all the rest and mediocre.
When I browse through my album and relived all that I ate in the 16 days away, I must say that the one that caught me completely off guard was this:
This simple, hot, sticky, delicious, hot mess was something that I thought I should have thought of…SO WHY DIDN’T I?!?! The snack before you is a sliced, fresh roll that has been toasted and slathered with butter, natural, chunky peanut butter, and drizzled with sweet condensed milk. Yes my friends…this is totally NOT part of ANY diets out there, but it was part of my diet of orgasmic food experiences.
The bread was perfectly toasted on the sliced side, soft on the insides, and natural crust to the outside. It was a perfect vehicle for all the extra goodness to be piled on top!
Now that I know this is a GREAT combo, I plan on making this my special Sunday brunch at home :). I just need to find the right natural chunky PB to match it. Any suggestions?? (or if you know a place in San Diego that serves this, let me know too!)
Tsui Wah Restaurant
All over Hong Kong, Kowloon, and New Territories;
Shanghai, China; Macau
Last Days in Paradise
Day 5
Today, we started our morning with a quick fruit breakfast before heading off to the Pearl Harbor Historical Sites. Other than the Pearl Harbor Memorial, there are also retired WWII vessels that you can visit. The Memorial is actually completely free and a ferry takes you to it approximately every 15 minutes. The other military vessels do cost, but you can buy a package to save some money. CP and I visited the USS Blowfin submarine and the USS Arizona. I’ll let the pictures do the story telling.
After our memorial visit, but before the USS Arizona, we needed lunch and we were not going to settle for a crappy hamburger or hot dog. Instead, we hoped in our car and drove a bit to get to Tanioka’s. This market was recommended to me by my colleague, an ex-pat, for having the best poke and other great bento items.
Once we were there, the large number of choices made it really hard to for us to decide what to get. In the end, we bought more than what we could really eat…but the bounty cost us about $35.
Shoyu Poke
Lomi Poke
Spicy Tuna with Sushi Rice
Fish and tofu cakes
Fried ahi with wasabi aoili
Best things we ate out of this massive pile of food? The Lomi Poke and the Spicy Tuna with the sweet sushi rice. The lomi poke had a subtle sweetness to it, and a hint of garlic or something else. The soft cubes of tuna melted away and the seaweed gave away to a wonderful crunch. Best poke I ever had and not sure how others will hold up to this one.
After that big meal, we had visited the USS Arizona as you saw above. The winded down pretty quickly after that and we headed off to Paradise Cove for our luau. Unfortunately…as we got closer to the east side of the island, the sun we had was going away and we were driving into showers, to rain, to heavy rain. Obviously, the luau was cancelled and we had to reschedule it.
Since that plan went out the door, we decided to head to one of the beaches we saw on our drive the previous day. We already had all our swimming gear in the car in case of anything and good thing we did! So instead of a luau, we had a sunset swim on a secluded beach on the northwest side of Oahu. It was a wonderful way to watch the day end (and to have your honey attempt to block a wave from getting you by doing a head dive as if to take a bullet for me. Except this was water and it just ended up splashing us both completely).
For dinner that night, we ended up at Duke’s Waikiki to satisfy CP’s craving of surf and turf. I wasn’t completely hungry, so we followed CP’s craving this time. One thing that I didn’t know, was that the restaurant company that owns Jake’s Del Mar, owns Duke’s as well. I was a little surprised by this and found it funny we ended up at a place that had a little bit of San Diego too.
CP’s surf and turf – sirloin and lobster tail, with mashed potatoes and green beans. He lapped up his meal with a smile on his face…guessing he really like it huh? J
My lomi lomi chicken with rice pilaf was not amazing, but not terrible. It was just kind of boring and I did not particularly like it. However, not to fear! Dessert comes and saves my night!
The Hula Pie! It is macadamia nut ice cream, sitting on a chocolate cookie crumb shell, covered with a layer of chocolate ganache, topped with chocolate fudge and more macadamia nuts and whipped cream. Man…it was a cold, creamy party in my mouth. Even CP joined in the dessert (he just steered away from the chocolate, which was fine by me)!
Day 6
Our last full day in Hawaii, we headed straight to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling! Unfortunately, we did not bring nor buy an underwater camera, but the experience was surreal. Since we were there early in the morning (granted…it was chill waters for Hawaii given the storms and cloudy start to the day), the fishes were all out and feeding. The waves were really mild, so it made for a great snorkeling experience. We saw many of the species of fishes that we saw also at the aquarium, so both CP and I were super excited about that.
As the day progressed, more sun came out, but the waves started getting a little “rougher” for the bay. It was harder to find the fishes at that point as they most likely took refuge in their coral homes. At that point, CP and I decided that after 4 hours of snorkeling, we decided to call it a day (for snorkeling).
Since we both worked up an appetite, it was time to get another food icon of the island:
YES! Malasadas! And not just any malasadas, but the famed Leonard’s Bakery malasadas! We bought a box of 6 with the cinnamon coating, and 1 haupia filled sugar coated malasada. I was giddy with excitement and joy as I tasted the warm, fluffy, sugary pastry. I felt my eyes roll behind my head as the wonder that is a fresh malasada can do for me. CP was looking curiously at the box and my reactions to eating it, and finally was convinced enough to try one. He was hooked, no questions about it.
After having our fill of malasadas, we went back to clean up and headed off to our luau!
Paradise Cove
Upon entering the cove, you receive a shell or flower lei (depending which package you bought), plus a mai tai or a non-alcoholic beverage. All around the cove, there were free activities that were happening for the guests such as spear throwing and weaving a head band made from palm leaves. Since we bought the basic package, I did not have any flowers on me, I immediately went to make myself a headband and bracelet made from the same flowers.
After properly decking myself out, there were several pre-luau shows that we watched including: the flower drop (a guy climbs up a palm tree and lets out a sack of flowers…and he climbed that tree super fast) and demonstration of how fishermen casts out the nets from the shore to reel in dinner.
Then came the revealing of the pig ceremony and a traditional hula dance:
Finally, it was dinner time! The offerings: kulau pig, baked fish, fried chicken, salad, pasta salad, bread rolls (butter and taro), rice, and poi. Desserts included: coconut jello, vanilla and chocolate cakes, and pineapple.
The food? It was a buffet, what did you expect? I got exactly what I expected: fair to bad food. The pig was good, and that was about it on the savory end. The coconut jello was the best dessert since it’s a lot like what I eat at home.
After we all had our fill, the show began!
That was both CP’s and my first luau and we both had a great time actually. True, it is completely and utterly a tourist attraction, but it was something that had to be done. Would I do it again?….nah, once is more than enough!
Day 7 – Last day :(…
Sigh…like all good things, it must come to an end. I was sad waking up that morning, knowing that it was time to go home. Prior to going, I had to pick up some cookies from the Honolulu Cookie Company to bring home.
I picked up the mix tin box with 15 flavors and a total of 32 cookies. The flavors include: Butter Macadamia, Pineapple Macadamia, Mango Macadamia, Lilikoi Mango, Kona Coffee, Chocolate Dipped Macadamia, Dark Chocolate Macadamia, White Chocolate Kona Coffee, Dark Chocolate Kona Coffee, Triple Chocolate Macadamia, Dark Triple Chocolate Macadamia, Dark Chocolate Lilikoi, Coconut, Dark Chocolate Coconut and White Chocolate Coconut. My favorite? The Dark Chocolate Coconut!
Also, we decided to make one last stop to Puka Dog for a to-go lunch. Just because I wanted to bring something else to eat on our plane ride, just in case that the meal served was not good.
That was our week long adventure in Hawaii. It was everything I thought it would be and at the same time, the island gave me surprises that I did not expect. I can see myself definitely visiting the islands again!
Pearl Harbor Historical Sites
Taniokas Seafoods and Catering
94-903 Farrington Highway
Waipahu, HI 96797
Duke’s Waikiki
On the Sand at the Outrigger Waikiki, Oahu
2335 Kalakaua Ave., Suite 116
Honolulu, HI 96815
Leonard’s Bakery
933 Kapahulu Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816
Paradise Cove Luau
92-1089 Alii Nui Drive
Kapolei, Hawaii 96707
Honolulu Cookie Company
Multiple locations and online ordering available
Day 2 in Oahu
We woke up to clear, blue skies and pristine, crystal waters. So what else would we do, but go swimming!
Trust me…I was very high strung when we arrived, but after going through this routine: dip into the crystal blue waters, lay on the warm sands, soaking in the sun, and repeat – one can see why you can easily get swept up in the lazy attitude. Basically, the only reason we finally decided to do something was because our stomachs were growling. So…it was off to find a late lunch!
Lines of in-house made relish and mustards ready for dispensing
Puka dogs!
PUKA DOGS!!! It is basically taking a Chinese bakery item, that is quite common, and give it a Hawaiian twist. A loaf of slightly sweet bread, pierced by a “puka” or a hot, iron poker, which toasts the bread from inside out. They offer both white and wheat bread and then you get the choice of a polish or veggie sausage. Next comes the hardest part: the choices of many relishes and mustard. I had gone on a store worker’s suggestion (when we asked for directions): mango relish and guava mustard, with Hot garlic lemon sauce, on my polish dog with wheat bread. CP had gone with a polish dog in white, with Mild garlic lemon sauce, and dijon mustard.
Simple and delicious. With the bread toasted inside, it gave it a nice little crunch when you bit into it. My puka dog was salty and sweet, not that spicy (as my spice level is pretty high). It was a mouthful of the tropics and not exactly what I would normally go for, but it was something I had to try and did not regret doing so! CP was equally happy with his choice.
After that snack, we returned to the waters and continued our day with the amazing weather. Eventually, we needed another snack and I needed some shaved ice!! (After all, we were in Hawaii!)
Under not only 1 visitor’s suggestion, but also a local who I work with, I avoided the “tourist trap” and headed to where the locals do:
Waiola Store
This place was literally on the corner of a neighborhood. It isn’t a place where you would “drive by”, nor give a second thought had you driven by. However, under the guidance of fellow foodies, CP and I had ourselves some great shaved ice:
Our respective treats: my azuki with mochi shaved ice, topped with a little condense milk. And CP’s lime and pink lemonade shaved ice. I loved how finely shaved the ice was because you would just put a little in your mouth and before you can even close your mouth, the ice was melted. Next best way to cool off after dipping into the water.
Basically, after this side snack, we took a drive around the island to see the rest of the island:
After we made it back to the hotel, we clean up and by that time, it was dinner time. Where did we head to? Yet, another suggestion by the same 2 foodies:
The best way to describe this place is a Chinese cafe style restaurant with big family portion dishes. We ordered the signature Side Street Inn fried rice and the Miso-yaki chicken. The fried rice was loaded with char siu, bacon, and Portuguese sausage…aka: it was pig with some rice.
The chicken was sweet, savory, and tender. It is what you would want for a good, grilled chicken. The secret: marinating and cook with skin. Mmmm….
It was another great day in paradise!
Puka Dog (2 locations)
Island of Oahu
Waikiki Town Center
2301 Kuhio Avenue # 2
Honolulu, HI 96815
Island of Kauai
Poipu Shopping Village
2650 Kiahuna Plantation Dr.
Koloa, HI 96756
Waiola Store
2135 Waiola St
Corner of Paani St
Honolulu, HI 96805
Side Street Inn (2 locations)
1225 Hopaka St.
Honolulu, HI
614 Kapahulu Ave.
Honolulu, HI
Northern Nevada Trip
So where was my next stop after my time in New York?…
RENO!!!!!!
Thank goodness we also had a stop in Tahoe as well during our visit to the Northern Nevada casino properties. Being my first time in Northern Nevada, I was shocked at the decay of the city of Reno. As we drove through the main road of the city, I could see how this was once the hustle and bustle of Northern Nevada. Now, it is a sadder scene with areas of abandonment and memory of the old days.
However, granted I was traveling with others this time aka – there was no excuse to NOT eat with tons of people and way too much food.
I will just go down chronologically of the meals that we had shared and consumed:
235 N Lake St
Reno, NV 89501
This was a Basque restaurant, serving traditional Basque cuisine. I had never heard of Basque food before and the only time I had even heard of “Basque” was during my travel to Europe and was given a brief history during our drive into Spain from France. So I was excited to see what this food was all about.
First, the dining room reminded me of an old bar or saloon. There were rows of long tables that you would share with other parties when it was a full house. However, that night, the place was already winding down due to the fact it was a late Sunday night. The meals were served family style with a choice of entrée for yourself. The entrees differ each night and so…let the food precession begin!
Soup
Chorizo
Beans
Fries
Lamb Chops
As you can see, they pretty much covered the bases with a soup starter, meats, and starch. The food was good overall, but it did not exactly blow my me out of the water. Still…it was a good start to the trip.
247 California Avenue
Reno, Nevada 89509
The following day, after our morning of walking the floors, we met up with another team working on another property for lunch at The Cheese Board. This place would be considered a casual French/American Bistro. They had sandwiches, salads, specials and of course – wine (which we did not have because we were all on ‘work hours’ and we were being good to stick to it).
Brie
This was so good! I don’t know how you cannot like warm, melting, good quality cheese.
Cheese Board
Because this was the namesake of the Bistro…and the selections were all quite yummy.
Steak Fajitas
Quiche
(It was one of the better quiches that I had ever tried)
Pasta Chicken Salad
Sante Fe Chicken Sandwich
Overall?…A wonderful lunch spot and reminds me that Reno is still alive!
17 S. Virginia St. #180
Reno, NV 89501
Since we had such a nice lunch that day, we hoped that this recommendation we received from a fellow colleague would not fail us. Plus, it sat right by the river so it was the closest “seaside dining” we could muster for Northern Nevada.
Pear & Goat Cheese Crostini
Taste was there, but there was no texture. It was just a pile of mush on mush…sad 😦
Artichoke & Brie Dip
(Just…no)
House Salad
Possibly the best thing I ate there that night. Fresh greens dressed in a delicious vinaigrette (plus there was texture here at least!)
Now our entrees:
Meatloaf
Grilled Salmon
Lamb
Good lamb…even better polenta that was served under it.
Pork Chops
Rib Eye
Desserts (I laugh and make a face as I write/think about this):
River Mud
The way they described it on the menu sounds interesting, yet it came out exactly as I had imagined: a brownie with a Klondike bar sitting on top. =\
Bread Pudding
Disgusting. Let me describe to you why: imagine cubes of stall bread that was pressed together and re-baked with no liquids to make it remotely moist and then try to cover it with chocolate sauce. This was the bread pudding. UCK!!
Crème Brulee
Now for this one – it was scrambled eggs in a dish with caramelized sugar. Yea…
Crumble
(Chuckling) Ok…on the menu it does not tell you what kinds of berries are used, just that this was a berry crumble. So we asked the waitress and she tells us, “It’s a deep berry the chef uses.”
….Did you all catch that? “Deep berries.” If you were like us, you’d be asking (like we actually did): “What (the hell) are ‘deep berries’?” Are they berries deep within a forest? Are they philosophical fruits? What?! Let’s just say the waitress could not talk herself out of this one. (By the way, it ended up being strawberries…because they were out of deep berries apparently.)
My recommendations to you?…Skip the appetizers and desserts, go for the house salad and entrees only.
205 West 5th Street
Reno, NV 89503
The place is pretty self explanatory of what we had for lunch. However, in addition to our bowls of pho, we had orders of the Fresh Spring rolls and Fried Eggrolls
Vietnamese Eggrolls
Fresh Spring Rolls
Now…on to Tahoe!
111 Country Club Drive
Incline Village, NV 89451
For our first night in Tahoe, we joined with the group at their hotel for dinner. Let’s just say we ordered more than what we all really needed. Let the bingeing begin:
Calamari
Pork belly
Quail
French onion soup
Wedge salad
Lamb
NY Strip
Ribeye
Buffalo
Short ribs
Grilled Chicken
Dessert platter
I think the end of the meal was the favorite part of the meal for me that night. Look at that spread of delicious, fatty, sugary goodness. We had (going from left to right): Apple Trio; Mud Pie; Cheesecake; Crème Brulee; Chocolate Pear Nougat; Walnut Tart w/ Dolce Dulce Ice Cream.
My gawd…it was an overboard of sugar and we were all already at our breaking point but we were all very dedicated foodies (and a newly initiated one who was brought on to help us and was floored by the amount of food that we ate). My favorite from the platter? It would have to be the Walnut Tart with the ice cream. By the way…this was the platter at the end:
We CRUSHED this platter!
168 Hwy 50
Stateline, NV 89449
For our last lunch, we headed for some Mexican/Spanish food. However…it was not that good sadly.
Mushroom & Cheese Empanadas
Tacos – Lamb & Carne
Tacos – Lamb & Al Pastor
The meat tasted fine for the tacos, but not astounding. Worst part was that the tortillas were too thick. You needed thinner tortillas to just hold the meats and let the (good) meat do all the talking. This place’s tacos were just a mumble in the air.
1001 Heavenly Village Way #26
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
Our last night in Tahoe, for dinner, we opted for something amazing to make up for lunch, but yet, staying away from the steakhouses (we both needed seafood to balance out all the red meat). Thus, it was Kalani’s that really saved the day.
Lobster Bisque
They were kind enough to split an order into two little cups for us. Thick, flavorful, sweet, a tinge of spice…wonderful.
Pulehu Baby Back Pork Ribs
Sweet, salty, sticky, and fall-off-the-bone tender. Though we both had enough meat the past few days, this was a great addition to our meal.
Pan Caramelized Miso-Yaki Sea Bass
O.M.G. I cannot tell you how much I LOVE sea bass and its buttery texture. This fish really does fall to the slightest force from your fork and melts in your mouth as if it was butter. Amazing piece of fish and cooked with a crispy side to add a little texture. Suberb!
Ahi tuna
The special of the night was an ahi tuna steak topped with sweet, fresh crab meat, served on top of kimchi and “veggie sticks” (aka julienne carrots, zucchini and squash). This was good, but it was not a sea bass.
Coconut Creme Brulee
To round off the night, we finished with this delicious and wonderfully made creme brulee. The coconut flavor was in your face, but pleasantly so. By far…it was our best meal to date during this trip!
953 W 5th St.
Reno, NV 89503
Last day in Northern Nevada…back at Reno to grab a quick bite before we headed to the airport. We wanted something simple and quick. This little café had a great spirit and a hard working woman who I can only assume was the owner. She worked the counter, cash register, and waiting/bussing the tables. Naturally, you see her just running around the little café at great speeds.
While sitting there, you could watch your food be made fresh and also watch them bake their own breads for the menu items.
Morning Cuban
This was toasted bread slice (freshly made in-house), roasted pork, swiss cheese, ham, eggs overeasy, green salsa. With a little hot sauce, it is the cure for hangovers.
Mediterranean Salad
A mixed organic greens salad with tomato, kalamata olives, red onions, red bell peppers, feta cheese, avocado, procsiutto, house croutons.
We kept it simple and clean….well I did with my salad, can’t say the same for my colleague.
Well friends…that was my first time adventure in Reno and Tahoe. Will I be back? If it’s for work, I won’t have much of a choice, but if for pleasure, then I will definitely be back to Tahoe.
Chicago – Again and again
The past two weeks I have been on travel for training and have been getting as much as I could in every aspect: knowledge, networking, and most of all – FOOD.
Last week, I was back in the great city of Chicago and this time, I was actually in the city versus my first trip to the Second City where I was mostly there to sleep. Granted, it helped that my fellow colleagues all wanted to go out each night to get the most we could together.
However, when I first arrived in the city on Sunday night I was on my own since I had yet to know who was in town. I quickly checked in and headed straight out to take the metro to my first food destination: Blue 13.
I found this restaurant from researching online and had great ratings, along with fabulous raves from foodies like myself. When I arrived, it was quaint little restaurant with a warm overall feel to it in its minimalist interior design. As far as I could tell, there was only one server and one host who bus tables when it became busier through the night.
To begin the meal, I ordered a simple Mixed Green salad:
The salad of mixed greens, shaved carrots, and radish tossed with Dijon vinaigrette and topped with a generous amount of pecorino. A great, refreshing start to the meal. There is little for me to say about the salad other than it was a great salad. Plus, the fresh, hot bread that came out along with olive oil to dip in made a delish start to the meal.
For my entrée, as I was dining for one, I ordered the highly recommended “3 Birds” Lobster Pizza:
I know what you’re thinking already. Yes, I did know I was ordering a thin crust pizza in the city known for deep dish. However, if you come here, I am going to echo what I had found during my online research – this is a must have dish.
The crust was charred perfectly and thin so that you would have to do the fold right down the middle to make sure everything stayed on. This is a white pie with a roasted garlic puree base, caramelized onions, chunks of lobster, and manchego cheese to hold it all together with a sprinkling of herbs. This pizza has the sweetness that reminds you of a cheesy, yummy, lobster bisque. It all balances so well together that I couldn’t stop eating it. I pushed myself beyond the point of bursting because it was that delicious. However, I sadly left behind two slices that were stripped of their lobster pieces because my stomach said, “Please…no more!!”
Despite my comatose state at that moment, I still ordered a dessert because how can I call this meal completed until I did?! So of the 3 dessert choices, this was the one that perked my interest: Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Waffle.
Understand that I had no more intention of stuffing myself, but when I saw “candied bacon” I knew I had to try it. What came out was a waffle, drizzled with chocolate sauce, topped with candied bacon and hazelnut, and paired with butter pecan ice cream.
First off – the candied bacon was the best part of the dessert. You’re wondering what did it taste like right? Just imagine breakfast, where you have a side of bacon with your pancake/waffle, and the maple syrup drips over to the bacon. It was sticky, sweet, crispy, and salty. The waffle did not have chocolate chips and needed more peanut butter. Overall, I would suggest you skip this dessert, try a different one, or just order yourself another lobster pizza.
This is the type of restaurant you go to with friends to just catch up, share some good food, and enjoy the evening. The two servers were great and attentive, but when it got a little busier by the time I had finished my meal, the lack of staff was apparent. Still, friendly service and great food is the equation for a satisfied customer who will return.
Blue 13
416 W Ontario St
Chicago, IL 60654-5714
The following night, after our first day of training, a group of us went out to grab dinner at The Publican where if it oinks, it will end up cooked at this restaurant. I loved the open space design which was to resemble a barn. To add to that, their booth seating had little doors to encapsulate diners as if they were in a pig stall. The rest of the restaurant was set up with communal tables where you could be sitting next to a complete stranger on one side and your friend on the other.
We went family style and ordered various dishes off the menu to share. I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking, with a few inserts by me, so enough grazing through the pictures!
Beets with Clementine segments and yogurt – this was my favorite side that we had ordered that night. Sweet and tart, great palate cleanser.
Charcuterie plate: pork pie, trotter-foie gras terrine, head cheese, milano, morteau sausage, pickles & mustards
Turnips with rosemary
Cajun Shrimp with Grits – the grits had soaked up all the Cajun spices and shrimp juices.
Fried Smelt with mustard greens and raw onions
Country Ribs with mustard greens & grilled red onions
Sweetbread with sweet potatoes, black trumpets & green garlic-watercress pesto
Pork Belly with fresh chickpeas and stuffing – decadent and you feel so guilty for eating this fatty yet delicious piece of the pig. (*gurgling sound*)
Lamb Sausage with lentils, mint, meyer lemon & yogurt – I love lamb…I love sausage…I loved, LOVED this dish. The mint and yogurt balanced out the gamey flavor of the sausage and the casing had a great snap to the bite.
Yams
Frites
Apple & Rhubarb Crumble with crème – heaven in one’s mouth.
Waffle with pear butter & plum marmalade – highly suggest that you do not waste your time with this one. It was nothing special at all.
Dark chocolate tart with vanilla ice cream – a darker heaven in one’s mouth. Then again I am the biggest fan of dark chocolate, so if you don’t like dark chocolate (WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!) then this is definitely not for you.
The Publican also has a wide beer and wine selection, as well as servers who are willing to mix you up a great cocktail if you desire it. The restaurant has a fun atmosphere especially for big groups. Just make sure you don’t have any vegetarians in the group otherwise they will most likely go hungry.
The Publican
837 W Fulton Market
Chicago, IL 60607
On our last night in the city, our dining group only grew to an even larger number than the previous night. This time around, upon my insistence on move to more ethnic flavors, we decided upon a restaurant that has several locations throughout the country, but still supposedly made great food. That night…we our taste buds did the samba at SUSHISAMBA!
Once again, we ate family style and tried a little bit of everything.
Edamame organic soybean, sea salt, lime
Tiger shrimp tempura
Salmon sashimi seviche marinated in mizuna, aji amarillo, and orange
This dish was the sunshine of my night (wait…um…yea, I’ll still stand by my description)! It was fresh, bright, sweet, spicy, turns your life around because it was just that amazing. It would even put a smile to the worst Debby Downer that you know! (Unless he/she doesn’t like fish…but even then! This dish may convert him/her!)
Yellowtail sashimi seviche marinated in ginger, garlic, and soy
Tuna sashimi seviche marinated in coconut, lime, and serrano chilies
Of the 3 seviches we ordered that night, this was the most disappointing for me. It didn’t have the vibrant flavors of the salmon nor yellowtail seviches. 😦 However, our fish adventures had just started because out came our platter of various sushi rolls:
(Going from left to right): Spicy Tuna; Bobo - brazil seared kobe beef, avocado, kaiware, shiso, red onion, chimichurri ponzu; Unagi tamago - freshwater eel, zuke tuna, cucumber, tempura flake, wasabi crema;Rainbow dragon - freshwater eel, red bell pepper, cucumber, mango, avocado
Charcoal roasted mussels garlic, white wine, Peruvian chili
Unfortunately, the mussels did not taste fresh (consistently) and so we asked for them to return it and traded for:
Spicy Popcorn Shrimp – sweet and spicy, fried tempura shrimp.
We also ordered the churrasco “supreme” (aka meatfest) with: rio grande grilled hanger steak, ribeye, pork tenderloin, chorizo and linguica. This was served with sides of white rice, black beans, collard greens, and farofa. Additionally, various dipping sauces including malagueta pepper oil and chimichurri:
Meat-palooza!
The Miso-marinated Chilean sea bass roasted organic vegetables is one of those dishes that I still think about. This is the perfect example of a perfectly cooked fish that is so smooth, so fresh, so buttery, so fracking delish that I gurgle as I giggle with giddy.
Whole crispy red snapper spicy red curry sauce, scallion, ginger, coconut rice – the rice was good! The fish staring at me…not so much.
Side of Peruvian corn – it’s like hominy; I wasn’t much of a fan.
And of course, we had to have desserts. Note the plural form of that: desserts. We really went all out for dessert and there were no regrets what-so-ever afterwards because they were all delicioso!
Coco duo: Brazilian dark and white chocolate custard, chocolate pearls, praline
Peruvian hot chocolate served with traditional churros
Rosca: housemade doughnuts, vanilla glaze, chocolate hazelnut sauce
Warm chocolate banana cake maple butter, banana chip, vanilla rum ice cream
Cassava carrot cake brown butter ice cream, cinnamon cream, rainbow carrot chip, orange reduction
Carmen Miranda: seasonal fresh fruit, pop rocks, lemon sorvete…sorry, no pictures for this one :(. I can describe to you what it was: a bowl of fresh berries that included strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, with a sprinkle of pink pop rocks (not enough apparently since the tasters didn’t feel the effects of it) and a scoop of lemon sorbet.
I don’t know which one I liked more, but I did know I had a taste of everything and there wasn’t one that I didn’t like! Even though it is not a local restaurant, this place has a fun atmosphere and serves stellar food with great service. SUSHISAMBA…I think you will have to be part of my favorite small, national chain! One note though: of all the food we ate, it unanimous that the “sushi” part of the restaurant was something that fell short on with the exception of the “seviche.”
SUSHISAMBA
Several locations in the US
Thank you Chicago for showing me yet another good time! 🙂
Revisit to Las Vegas
No, I did not go to Vegas again. However, during Valentines Day weekend, I was up there with CP and naturally, there was good food to be had!
During my short time with my LV colleagues, I’ve grown close with some of them and they’ve become yet another extended family of mine. So when CP and I were up there, I met up with a friend and her husband for dinner. Being that the newest hot spot to be at on the strip is the chic Cosmopolitan, JP and CG both suggested we try Jaleo. It was a Spanish Tapas restaurant and apparently very popular currently, which was quite apparent. The restaurant was PACKED. Even with reservations, we still had to wait at least 25 minutes while they went to get the table “ready”.
Once we were seated, I had time to look around and I really liked the simple, clean lines of the restaurant. Just the way I would like my restaurant to be designed. Now…on to the menu! (I’ll let the pictures do the talking…with the occasional insert by moi)
A toast to start with sparkling wine sangria! My favorite part? The fruit after it’s been soaking in all the wine! ;)…
Nicely toasted, crusty bread to hold the sweet tomato spread, drizzled with olive oil. Such a simple creation…yet so very declicious.
Our order of the manchego cheese! Yum Yum!
Chorizo wrapped with potato. When we read that…we all wondered what we would really get, but our curiosity was part of the fun! And to add to the fun, it came in a miniature fry basket. Turns out (as you can see), they are mini chorizo sausages, wrapped with a thin potato shaving that was almost like a chip. It had a nice spicy kick and we gobbled these right up!
The grilled skirt steak. Again…will have to defer to my friends and CP’s opinion on this one: 3 standing ovations! And underneath the steak were roasted peppers which I did try and the flavors from the steak were soaked up into the pepper. Let’s just say I could’ve eaten a plate of that roasted red pepper.
The garlic shrimp were by far…one of the BEST dish from that night. All 4 of us could NOT get enough of this dish. Just look at it. Beautifully butterflied shrimps that have been cooked with olive oil and garlic and it felt like…that was about it! They weren’t sauteed…more like poached or even…ceviched (is that even a term? Eh….who really cares? It was DAMN good! So good, that we had to get a second order!
Thinly sliced fluke cooked in hot oil, drizzled with a basil oil. It was my least favorite dish just because I did not enjoy the taste of fluke. However, since I had never tried it before and when JP/CG suggested it, I wanted to try. Will I get it again? No. Would they? Yes. So it really depends if you like fluke.
And our grand finale, the paella of the evening: Lobster Paella! And they weren’t joking around with their special because a whole lobster came out, sitting on top of our paella. Quite frankly…I’ve had much better paella. It was slightly disappointing because we had to wait so long for our order and when it came….it fell to meet our expectations.
I had a great evening with my friends and CP. Would I choose to come back to Jaleo? Yes! However, I would know what NOT to order during my future visits. And I must say….DAMN this place was opulence to the max! This hotel so expansive and extravagant…that I could understand how the first investors went bankrupt from this project. However, the end product was a gorgeous hotel.
Jaleo – The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
3708 Las Vegas Blvd South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Bertrand at Mister A’s Valentines Dinner
On Valentines Day, CP and I had originally planned on spending the whole day together but we both had too much work to get done. So we both begrudgingly went into the office that day. However, CP had planned a wonderful dinner which was a surprise until a couple weeks before when he told me. I don’t know who broke down first: me in asking and curiosity taking over, or him because he really wanted me to know. Either way, he was able to get an early dinner reservation at one of the restaurants with the arguably best view in San Diego: Bertrand at Mister A’s. The reservation was much earlier than I would normally eat dinner, 4:45pm, but it was just perfect to watch the sun set!
It was our first time at the restaurant and apparently, according to CP, he had been trying to get a reservation here for other Valentines Day which fills up quite quickly. Once we step foot into the dining room, we both knew why. The whole west and south side of the dining room had a panoramic view of downtown San Diego and the harbor. It was absolutely gorgeous. The restaurant must definitely factor in the view into their prices because you are getting superb food and the best view of the city.
For Valentines Day, Mister A’s had a separate pre-fixed menu:
Once we decided on the items for the night, we moved to the bread:
The selections for the evening were sliced sourdough and baguette. This came with room temperature butter. It was perfect for spreading onto the soft and tasty bread. I normally refrain from eating too much from the bread basket, but the fact that the nice, warm bread with soft butter melting just right…it was hard.
The amuse bouche helped me break away from the bread. It was a small, savory pancake topped with a slice of smoked salmon, creme fresh, and capers. A nice play on lox and bagel. I really enjoyed it and wished we had more, but then…I suppose that the amuse bouche did its job! 🙂
First course, my appetizer was the House Made Maryland Blue Crab Ravioli with Crawfish Tarragon Sauce And Leek Fondue. The appetizer was actually quite generous in portion. There were 5 decent size raviolis stuffed with blue crab meat and no fillers! It was straight up blue crab and the sweetness of the crab played wonderfully with the crawfish tarragon sauce. In the middle was a pile of chopped, sauteed leeks. A perfect bite had a little of everything together and it was absolutely delicious. The raviolis were cooked just enough and the shellfish as well.
CP’s appetizer of Crispy Baby Calamari And Fresh Black Tiger Shrimp drizzled with Roasted Pepper Oil. This came with a side of Basil Aioli Sauce. Ok…first off, this dish looked great! However, it goes against 1 of the 2 rules I have with eating which is that I cannot eat something that is still staring back at me. I’ve said it many times that if it wasn’t for the fact that I love animal proteins so much, that I would be a vegetarian. I don’t like to see how the animal that is on my plate was once alive. I know they were once alive, but when I want to eat them…that’s the last thing I want to think about!
Anyways…back to the dish! CP loved his appetizer. I tried the calamari and loved it too. However, I wonder why they pair it up with this aioli sauce? I think it would have been just as good without the sauce, but that doesn’t mean I did not think the sauce was not good either! I was just wonder…
For my entree, I had the Pan Seared Maine Diver Sea Scallops with Saffron Emulsion and Bell Pepper Polenta. I apologize for the bad photo…I realized it doesn’t really do much for this dish as I was cataloging my pictures. Let’s just go from the main to the supporting players: The scallops were seared and cooked perfectly so it was not tough or chewy (nothing worse than that, it gets me real angry when I get an overcooked scallop). However, the downfall to this wonderfully cooked shellfish was that it was over salted!! I was so sad that I kept hoping it was just one scallop that got over salted, but alas it was not! Also, I think the foam topping it was made from basil or parsley and it was not necessary in my opinion.
The supporting polenta on the other hand actually the unexpected surprise. It was smooth with just a little texture from the grains of cornmeal, mixed with the saffron emulsion, it was absolute, pure delight! I wanted to pick up the plate at the end to lick it right off the plate. The subtle sweetness danced like merry little lambs across my tongue! Loved, loved it!
CP went all out and order the surf and turf: Grilled Prime Angus Beef Tenderloin “Rossini” with Cabernet Sauvignon Sauce and Maine Lobster. Ok, even I had no idea what “Rossini” was and had to research this one. Turns out that it’s a style of cooking that includes foie gras, truffles, and a demi-glace sauce. This now makes perfect since as you can see, front and center: a beautifully grilled tenderloin, topped with foie gras and shaved black truffle. Talk about decadence! I’ve never tried foie gras and CP just couldn’t get himself to eat it, so I wasn’t going to let it go to waste! I knew it was rich, so I grabbed a slice of baguette and ate it with that. I was expecting myself to be torn by the taste, but found myself really liking it! So instead, I was torn on the fact that I liked it! Well…it is not like I will be getting this everyday so I just let myself enjoy the fatty, smooth, goodness.
I really did not try most of CP’s dish, so I took his word that he told me the lobster (all 1/2 pound of it) was sweet and delicious. The beef was cooked to medium just as he likes it. Oh! I did try the mashed potato stack that was with the dish. It was mashed potatoes mixed with (oh look..) more black truffles, and sitting on top of little hash brown crisps! At first I thought it was Parmesan, but to my surprise, it was potato! It was seasoned just right and I really liked the idea of how it was presented. Maybe I’ll use this one in my next dinner party ;).
Finally, as all good things must come to an end, our dessert courses were shared between CP and myself:
Red Velvet "Napoleon"
Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches
By far, the biggest disappointment of the whole meal. So we had the Red Velvet “Napoleon” with Cream Cheese Mousse and Sweet Cream Gelato, and the Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches. Where should I start with my sadness?…The “Napoleon” was just 2 slices of dry red velvet cakes with a not so stellar cream cheese mousse, topped with meringue. The cake was much too dry and the mousse could not save it at all. The best part of this dish? The sweet cream gelato and even then I’ve had better.
The Macaron ice cream sandwiches came in 3 flavors (left to right): chocolate, pistachio, and raspberry (with vanilla ice cream). Ok…first off, the macaron shells were way too thick and cakey to be a proper macaron. A macaron should be light, airy, and moist. Yea…these were none of the above. It was the right vehicle for the ice cream which was too icy! UGH! The dish kept failing at every turn! Even the flavors of each ice cream tasted artificial and I was just over it by then.
Thank goodness for these views to save the evening!
I had a wonderful night with CP and with views like that, I can overlook little things that brought me down during the meal. Since I had my love with me, I was literally on top of the world that evening! Thank you love XOXO
Bertrand at Mister A’s is a great restaurant, romantic feel, impeccable service, and…hm, what was it? Oh yea! BEST VIEWS EVER! I would highly recommend the restaurant for very special occasions because they will treat you right. I think this will also be a great place for lunch or brunch during the weekends! Maybe I’ll come back later this summer to try it out again (skipping desserts this time).
Bertrand at Mister A’s
(on the 12th Floor)
2550 Fifth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
Chez Nous
One afternoon of running errands after the holiday weekend, I wanted to grab lunch. However, I had no idea what I wanted and I was driving already towards home. I knew I wanted nothing near my neighborhood, but then I remember having read about Chez Nous on Yelp.com before and their hours just did not work with my own. Yet on this day, it was perfect! I pulled off the 15 freeway onto Carroll Canyon Road.
By the time I pulled into the little strip mall area, tucked into a business/forest area, it was already past the “standard” lunch time, so it wasn’t too busy. There were still a good number of people finishing their lunches, waiting for their to-go orders, and those (like me) coming in for a late lunch. Since it was my first time at Chez Nous and all I had to go on were the reviews I read beforehand about their fan-favorite sandwich.
The Spicy Chicken Melt is basically a hot and spicy explosion of AWESOME. The magic to this sandwich is quite simple: take 2 slices of jalapeno bread, put pepper jack cheese, pulled chicken with a deliciously spicy sauce (kind of reminds me of buffalo chicken), and then grilled to perfection (with butter of course). Afterward, put a couple slices of tomato and voila! MAGIC in your mouth!
I loved, loved, LOVED it! When it comes to spicy foods, I am a total sucker for it. And whenever you have butter in the equation, you KNOW it’s going to at least make something not so good to ok. In this case…it sent the entire concoction to a higher level. Now…if you do not eat spicy foods (you really should start :)) I will warn you now that this will be a “hot” sandwich.
Every sandwich needs a good companion and since it was a cold day, I ordered a cup of soup as well:
The Southwestern Corn soup is a pureed corn with a little stock and spices. Given that it is a “southwestern” soup, there was some chilies, cayenne pepper, cumin, and I’m sure lots more. It was a nice thick, yet not too heavy soup and perfect for a chilly afternoon.
Everything I tried that day was on the ball and packed with flavors promised as described on their menu. Unfortunately, they don’t have a website so I can’t point you to the menu but this is mostly a sandwich, soup and salad shop. As I was eating, I watched other people’s lunches and everything looked amazing. I will be back and try another sandwich…that is if I can somehow keep myself from getting the Spicy Chicken Melt.
They are open from the morning til 3pm during the weekdays and late morning til around 1pm on Saturday (closed on Sundays). Also, they’re a cash only business so remember to bring the cash and change!
Chez Nous
9821 Carroll Canyon Rd, Ste E
San Diego, CA 92184
Bud’s Louisiana Cafe
For lunch one afternoon, I met up with CP to head to Bud’s Louisiana Cafe. I had heard of this little cafe serving up a taste of New Orleans and had it on my ever expanding list of places to try out. It was actually CP’s idea to go for lunch when I could not for the life of me figure out what to eat and I couldn’t have picked a better place!
We arrived at the restaurant just a little past 11:30 am and there were plenty of tables already seated. The restaurant is a small place and tucked in the business area hidden in the forest of Kearny Mesa. I can see why this place would get filled up quite quickly at lunch and even dinner time.
After being seated by the window, CP and I dove into the menu which was small but had a good sampling of New Orleans. There was the usual suspects of Po Boys, Jambalaya, Gumbo, Red Beans and Rice, Fried Catfish and Étouffée. I did my research and read up on what other customers liked and I knew what I wanted before even setting foot in the restaurant.
People insisted on others getting the Jalapeno Cornbread muffin and from just all the great reviews, I had to order one to try. Also, considering that they were just only $0.50 a pop didn’t hurt either! The cornbread was not bad at all, but it wasn’t life changing. It was not one of those dull, dry, hard as a rock cornbread that I could use as a paper weight. The muffin was soft, not too dense, and it crumbled away in your mouth as you bit into it or pulled it piece by piece. I can see this going very well with the Seafood Bisque (that I didn’t get to try this time around), but I wouldn’t get it again on its own.
For my entree, I ordered a sample of 3 classic Cajun dishes: Red Beans and Rice, Jambalaya, and Gumbo. Bud’s offers either a cup or a bowl for their patrons and if you were like me, never had set foot into the restaurant before, I would highly recommend ordering a cup of everything to try!
Starting off the meal was the cup of Red Beans and Rice. My, my, my…I sure do enjoy my beans and rice! The dish was hearty, rich, and flavorful. Even from my picture, you can see the creamy beans was a nice and thick. The stew was cooked with ham hocks to give it a rich and salty flavor (got to love anything cooked with pig!). For the cup serving of Red Beans and Rice, you get a slice of the spicy Andouille pork sausage. I love Andouille sausage, but the beans was so well seasoned that I didn’t even miss the sausage!
Next up for me was a cup each of the Gumbo and Jambalaya! Yums…(I am actually really hungry right now staring at the pictures).
The Seafood Gumbo was jam packed again with flavor! The gumbo was spicy from the Andouille sausage and sweet from the chunks of shrimp and crawfish. The gumbo is more like a soup and is not as thick yet nevertheless hearty and hits you straight at your inner core. Maybe this is the true idea of “soul” food. When you eat something that can warm you inside and out without having someone complain about their mouth being incinerated by spices. Yet, this was actually the least favorite of the 3 for me.
Since CP ordered the Jambalaya entree (which comes with a salad starter), I’ll show and talk about his plate:
Gorgeous right? As if the other dishes were not good enough, this Jambalaya stood out for me because it was the spiciest dish out of the 3 and for everyone who really knows me, I am a fiend for spicy foods! The rice was cooked just right since you could pick up one grain at a time. However, that would take way too long to eat and I could just hold up the plate and devour it without even utensils! The Jambalaya was packed with Andouille sausage, Tasso (Cajun smoked ham), caramelized onions, celery, green peppers, and Creole seasoning. The fact it had both Andouille and Tasso, the smoky, spicy, and peppery tones were the most forefront flavors of the dish!
Bud’s Louisiana Cafe was basically an overload of your tastebuds and senses! “Flavor town” would be the best way I can describe it. Next time I’m in the area and it’s cold and I’m wondering what to eat, I think I will know the answer to my question!
Bud’s Louisiana Cafe
4320 Viewridge Ave, “A”
San Diego, CA 92123
(In the Balboa Business Center)
Kansas City – there’s no place like home
Once again, I find myself up in the air wanting nothing more than to come home and nurse my misery of allergies (or maybe I really was just sick). The past week, I was in North Kansas City for work and I guess there’s really “no place like home”.
Kansas City is a mid-west city all around and what can one say? It’s nice, friendly, with lots of open areas and random buildings. All I knew about Kansas City was the one thing I had set my mind towards: Barbeque! So when the guys picked me up from the airport and asked what’s for dinner, naturally I jumped and said, “Barbeque!!”
We headed back into town and straight to one of the only establishments I had heard of before:
Arthur Bryant’s BBQ
I could smell the delicious meats when I stepped out of the car. My mouth salivating and I told myself that I control was in order because I hadn’t even met 3/4th of my team! Control was so hard…
Once inside, my eyes were a bulged as I looked up at the menu board at the possibilities. You have to understand…I really, REALLY like barbeque, so I went a little overboard…
That right there is a total of 3/4 lbs of delicious, smoked, tender, practically illegal how meats. I had 1/4 lb each of (left to right): pulled pork, turkey, and sausage, with a side of baked beans. My gawd I was in heaven!
Granted, I love Phil’s BBQ in San Diego for the reason that they make a good pull pork sandwich…in San Diego! Pull pork can taste very differently depending on its maker. And the maker here knows his oinker. The sausage was not my favorite of the 3 since my memories of the smoked sausage I had in Oklahoma City was still fresh in my mind. The turkey was good too, could have been a little more moist but this time…the sauce really did the trick. As you will find (while reading on), the Arthur Bryant spicy BBQ sauce was absolutely DELICIOUS. Omg…never had I wanted more and more of BBQ sauce. I wanted to have the sauce straight up and drink straight out of the bottle. However, since I was with other people and in public…my better judgment took over (thank goodness). Instead I washed it all down with some refreshing sweet tea.
After our first day at work, we were all in need of a good meal (lunches are usually a pretty excuse of a meal most of the time). During the entire day, whenever I had a client meeting, I would also end by asking for suggestions for dinner. I had my handful of suggestions and in order to avoid BBQ fatigue, I took a highly recommended local Italian restaurant suggestion.
Garazzo’s
The location of the Garazzo’s that we went to was nestled into a neighborhood and we were wondering if we were going to someone’s grandmother’s house to eat. That would actually be quite interesting and fun, but nope, we finally found the restaurant.
There must have been several parties that night because it was a Monday night, at 8:30pm and the place was still packed. However, I had made reservations and so we were seated in no time. However, we were all starving even before we were seated so thank goodness one of us took the initiative to order us an appetizer to start off.
The garlic bread with cheese was made sliced crusty bread, with melted parmesan, sprinkled with basil. The bread that they used was a little too soft and would have done better with a French loaf, sliced open and then divided into smaller portions. It was still good, but it was nothing exciting.
When I ordered my entrée, our waitress had given me fair warning, “Now you know that our pastas run on the larger side and this one is our largest order on the entire menu.” I merely smiled and silent laughed as if to say, “Don’t underestimate me!” Little did I know the plight I would find myself in later once the plate arrived…
Now this was a true spectacle. This monstrosity was not meant for 1 person to go up against on her own without any backup. Ladies and Gents, this is Garazzo’s “Three Way Pasta”. On a plate that was the size of a steering wheel, we have: tomato sauce, spaghetti, rigatoni, meat ravioli, topped with parmesan cheese and Italian sausage. The plate could have easily weighed about 3 lbs.
The true depth of what awaited me was not fully realized until dug my fork into the gigantic pile of carbs. I think the me on the inside was something like this:
I barely even scratched the surface of this mountain of carbs before I threw in the towel. When I stopped eating, it didn’t even look like I had any of it! How did it taste? It was fine. The pasta was cooked well, the sauce was a little bland and weak, and the Italian sausage left me wanting more. This was one matter of quantity versus quality.
This is why I had to have a dessert to end the meal:
This was not the worst, nor the best Tiramisu I’ve ever had. Oh Garazzo’s, I have a feeling that I would love you more if I had something else from you. Now I will never know…
Our eating and gorging didn’t stop even after our way too filling Italian food from the night before. (This is mostly due to fair, to sub-par lunches.) The clients told us that when you’re in Kansas City, the all time question when it comes down to barbeque: Arthur Bryant’s or Gates. How could I not take up this challenge and find my answer?!
Gates BBQ
This may not seem like a lot of food nor very nutritious, but boy oh boy. This was good! I had the ham sandwich with onion rights and iced tea. In the back is my sampling of Gates’ bbq sauces. Let’s take a closer look at the star of the tray:
The sandwich was simply 2 slices of Wonder bread with thinly sliced ham and the original sauce. Normally I don’t like flimsy sandwiches. I prefer toasted bread or crusty bread, but c’mon! I’m eating bbq and there’s no place for such things! The ham was so delicious that it made angry. Angry that was subjected to mass produced, packaged deli meats that tasted like the meat (if it really was meat) cured in chemicals. This was a simple ham sandwich and it had me giddy!
As for the answer to the question: who does a better Q? Arthur Bryant’s or Gates? It was a hard call since I had different types of meats. However, I can definitely say that I preferred Arthur’s BBQ sauce more than I liked Gates. So that’s one point more for Arthur than Gates, but I would jump to eat at either one of these establishments anytime.
Unlike Gates, I wouldn’t step foot into this next place. We had a really, REALLY long day and more to come later that evening. We stayed on property and tried:
The Range Steakhouse (Harrah’s)
Ugh…now just thinking about this place makes me angry. Never had a seen a sadder meal than this one.
Scallops are one of my FAVORITE shellfish to eat. This place practically killed it for me. Just seeing this picture, thinking back on it, made my head pound in pain and misery. These babies may not have been the freshest scallops, but the poor attempt to hide it made it even WORSE. See that orange pool? It was some sort of a butter bath for a poorly seared scallops. :(…*to the scallops* it’s ok…it wasn’t YOUR fault. Best thing on the plO_Oate?…the mushrooms and the water (you can’t see it in the picture).
After that horrendous meal, I was a bitter person. I was in a bad mood not only from the course of the day, through many factors plus a terrible meal, I needed something to change it all around. Thank GAWD there was a savior!
Piropos Restauarnt
One of the guys had gotten a recommendation to this place from the person next to him on the plane. We all needed a break from the “regular” and this was perfect! The restaurant was elegant and beautiful. It was started with nice fresh bread and crisps with 3 dipping sides.
Clockwise from the bottom left: multi-colored peppers and onions in oil, vinegar; chimichuri; and garlic dip. My favorite of the 3 had to be the peppers and then the chimicurri. This was a very good start!
I was at an Argentinian restaurant so how could I leave without trying an empanada?! I had the Empanada del Mar, which was filled with shrimp, scallops and tilapia, with red peppers and onions. The filling was fresh and it all worked with one another. It was a small tasting of the ocean on my plate. My only criticism was the wrapper they used. It didn’t give me the flaky pastry that I have come to expect for empanadas. This was more of a wonton/eggroll wrapper that was deep fried. Trust me, flaky (in a pastry) = goooood eating.
As I had no desire for anymore seafood or pasta at the moment, and I didn’t have the stomach for lamb that evening, I went with the chicken. Thank goodness their chicken entrees were just as appealing and this one sounded just scrumptious!
Ruedas de Pollo: this was stuffed chicken breast with gouda, ham, spinach, mushrooms, and red peppers. Served with these rolled chicken of yum, were julienned veggies and rice, all in “argentine” garlic sauce.
My goodness, that sauce was ridiculous. The flavors were so intense that all I wanted was more of the sauce (even though there was a heavy hand in butter) and rice! Mmm…so good. The stuffing for the chicken was great, but the chicken was a little dried out. However, given how good all the other components were, I could over look the dried chicken.
By this time, I was thoroughly content with everything I had so far. However, during the entire meal, I had watch waiters walk by carrying a cake and I knew there was no way I would walk away without it.
This my friendly blog reader, is the Pastel de Banana. A luscious banana cake with a whipped cream cheese frosting, in a pool of crème anglaise, and just because I had to go all out: a special request of a scoop of the vanilla bean ice cream. The cake was truly a banana lover’s delight because it was packed full of banana flavors. You could see the specks of the banana that was mashed in order to make this cake possible. The cake was light and moist, which was not the case with the frosting. Granted, it was a good whipped cream cheese frosting, but it made the dessert overall too dense.
This could be the dessert for someone, but I had my likes and dislikes. The ice cream though was great and it really did help lighten the plate. I really wanted ice cream so I asked our waitress nicely if I could get a scoop even though the dessert did not normally have it. So I ended the night on a wonderful note! Thank you anonymous flight passenger who gave the suggestion!
This was my time out in Kansas City. Although my time here was short, I made ever effort to eat beyond my limits. As we have joked many times in our work: “If you can’t make the ‘cut’, you don’t belong on this team.” Aka…if you can’t eat like a champ, then you will not last long with this group because we will put you right into a coma. 😉
Arthur Bryant’s BBQ
3 locations in Kansas City, MO
Garazzo’s Ristorante
Multiple locations: 2 each in MO and KS
Gates BBQ
Multiple locations in MO and KS
The Range (Harrah’s)
1 Riverboat Drive
North Kansas City, MO 64116
Piropos Restaurant
4141 N. Mulberry Dr.
Kansas City, MO 64116
Chicago Part Duex
My colleagues and I unfortunately had to work a little during this weekend. Normally, it would not be an issue but the fact is that we were in Chicago for goodness sake! I was about to chuck my laptop out the 19th floor window being stuck indoors, in a city that I had never been to!
“What the shit?!…”
That was the phrase of the week, literally. This is why I took the initiative in deciding for the team as a whole that we needed something great to break up this crappy start to the weekend. Thus, I ordered for us the Chicago icon: deep dish pizza!
Gino’s East
We were staying in downtown Chicago and Gino’s East was not all that far away! Turns out that the place actually delivered to hotels and so we had an order of the Cheesy Bread with marinara:
and Gino’s East Supreme deep dish.
The crust had to be at least 2 inch high, which was needed for all the ingredients that were piled into this gorgeous break to a crappy day. It had chunky tomato sauce, mushroom, peppers, onions, and half sausage patty, half pepperoni. Of course, there was an oozy, gooey cheesy layer buried underneath all of that. It was so delicious!
Leonidas Chocolate Cafe
Sometime between lunch and dinner, a pick me up was needed. I was going to get coffee at first yet ended up going to Leonidas Chocolate Cafe because I needed ice cream or gelato ASAP! It felt like an emergency and all the alarms in me were going off shouting, “I. NEEDED. THIS. NOW!” So…
My medium cup of gelato was HUMONGOUS! I got half toasted coconut with almond and fudge, and half Belgium chocolate. I realized as I was eating this was that: my gawd I was so terribly depressed and this is why I am enjoying this even more. Secondly, I should have gotten all Belgium chocolate. It was smooth, creamy, and bittersweet. The best chocolate gelato I’ve had in some time.
Now also in passing, I saw a plate and bags of macaroons being displayed at the cafe. How could I ever pass up the opportunity?!
They looked much better than tasted sadly :(…I should have just stuck with the gelato and maybe some chocolates. Oh well, how could I have known until I tried it for myself? Live and let learn!
Later that evening, when the guys decided the stay in for the night, my new friend/colleague (PR) and I went out for dinner. We were both craving tapas all week and decided we both needed it! However, since we didn’t have the car, we walked the 2.5 miles through downtown to the restaurant. It was actually a really nice walk except for a certain area we had to walk through, but we were both quite hasty in getting to the restaurant so nothing exciting happened.
Tapas Valencia
The spread included (starting from the top and going clockwise): lamb tenderloin with caramelized onions and mushroom, stuffed mushroom caps with cheese, and stuffed peppers with goat cheese.
Goodness gracious….it was an explosion of flavors! PR and I have been feeling trapped with the choices of food we have been eating and desperately needed this change up in our diet. However, just 3 tapas would never satisfy the two of us, so we had an order of the vegetable paella!
The paella was good and it was what we both wanted: something flavorful, fresh, and light too. I had 2 criticisms about the dish: 1. not enough crust! This is the best part of paella in my opinion! Also, when one thinks of paella, one would think saffron being the key spice for the rice yet this one was more tomato base. The entire meal was the best meal we had since arriving to the city!
The following day, PR and I went on an architectural river boat tour which was very informative and fun! I love learning the history of a city and I realized even before the tour, how beautiful the buildings were in the city. After our tour, we met up with the guys to grab a late lunch.
Portillo’s
We had another staple of the city that was not all that far from the hotel again! Portillo’s had a fun atmosphere and there were so many options to chose from. However, what I wanted was an Italian sausage, onion rings, and a milk shake! And that was exactly what I got:
Look at the glory that is the delicious, greasy, fatty food that you know you shouldn’t have but you just can’t help it because it has been quite “shitty”.
The Italian sausage was typical, but the bun was a soft crusty bread that was so much better than a hot dog bun! I wish I had grilled onions and peppers to go with it :(…The onion rings were fried super crispy and even though I would normally complain at the number of rings I got that day (very few), it ended up being just enough. The milkshake was a chocolate milkshake with chocolate cake pieces mixed into it. W.O.W. Talk about chocolate overload! It was so rich that I couldn’t finish it and had to recruit my colleagues to help out. Overall I enjoyed myself again with this meal and would do it again in a heart beat.
That was pretty much my time in Chicago. I wish I had more time in the city, but we did our best in between work and commuting. I would definitely be coming back to Chi-town (hopefully not for work) for more!
Gino’s East
Multiple locations
Leonidas Chocolate Cafe
59 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
Tapas Valencia
1530 s. state st
Chicago, IL 60605
Portillo’s
Multiple locations
May-chan
Delighted Palate 