April 2012 – Page 2

Crete – Iraklios: Wandering Central Crete, Arhanes, and lunch at To Spitiko (I think…it’s still Greek to me)

April 17, 2012 mmm-yoso Crete, Greece, Greek Food, Iraklios, Travel

After leaving Peza, the Missus pretty much just pointed the way to go, we just kinda headed off, passing through village after village…..

Every so often the Missus would tell me, "stop….stop now…." And I'd oblige.

Of course I would stop….after all, we were in the middle of Crete, it's not like I had anywhere to go, right?

By that time, the Missus had found Her calling for this little jaunt; She wanted to photograph every single church in every village along the way…..really!

We'd be driving and She'd exclaim there's one, hurry, like the church was some kind of rare bird that would grow wings and fly away into the horizon.

After a while I seemed to enter a bit of a daze as the villages we drove through, Astraki, Mori Agarathou, Apostoli, Evangelisimos, all faded into one. We passed through the village of Thrapsano, famous for their pottery…did we stop to check out the shops? No, although I think there's a photo of the church around here somewhere.

Looking at these photos I noticed something interesting…..

Do you notice that all of the photos seem to be somewhat tilted one way or another?

The Missus would rush out of the car, set-up and quickly snap a photo, run back to the car and tell me, "ok, ok, lets go….." It's not like the sun was setting on Kastelli or anything.

By the time we hit Lyttos I was fried….plus the smell of fresh manure was strong in the air. It was surely a sign to turn around and head back…..

But not to Iraklios, oh no, weI had to find the village of Arhanes…which actually wasn't that hard to find.

We found parking above the village, then walked down the street to the very photogenic and relaxed area near the square. As we walked along, it was hard not to stop and enjoy the wonderful houses, full of plants and flowers.

It was hard not to just slow down and relax……..

By the time we reached the square I was starving. It seemed that most places weren't open yet…perhaps it was too early in the season? We made our mind up on one of the restaurants right on the square. I think the name was To Spitiko, but can't be certain, after all, "it's all Greek to me….."

The place was empty and three was a very nice woman working the front of house. Of course the Missus had to have Her half liter of red wine. She was deteremined to have wine with every meal in Greece. Thankfully, breakfast was the exception….god knows if She'd tried to do that!

Of course the bread arrived and the Missus got Her "rusk".

We started with the "Spitiko Salad", which was a hefty salad featuring boiled eggs along with the standard Greek salad items. That rusk was used as "croutons" just made the Missus enjoy it more.

The Fava Skordalia was very thick though without a strong bean or garlic flavor.

The horta, boiled wild greens had a nice bitterness, though were on the "water-logged" side.

The woman recommended the Bekri Meze, literally "Drunkard's Meze", which is made with red wine.

Though the pork was on the tough side, the sauce was a nice combination of salty-sweet-spice which we sopped up with the bread.

Overall, this was a decent meal, after which we walked back to our car and headed to Iraklios. Past those scenic wine groves…..

We saw an older woman hanging off one of these tractors, probably hitching a ride to the next village on the way back. I wish we were a bit faster with our cameras….

Speaking of on the way back……one thing I noticed as we made our way into Iraklios; things looked different. We didn't pass Knossos, nor the hospital as we did on the way out of town. We were confused and perhaps a little disoriented…until we saw McDonald's (remember I mentioned the importance of that landmark in an earlier post?). Getting back to the hotel was a piece of cake after that….though we'd have to find parking on the street. If you've ever tried parking on the street in Europe you'd understand. Actually, the Missus was quite impressed with my parallel parking skills as I made it into a slot barely bigger than the car itself. It was time for a nap……then maybe i'd be ready for dinner!

South Bay Taco Run: Birrieria’s La Guadalajara, Mariscos El Pescador, El Gallito Tortas Ahogadas, Tacos El Kiki, Birrieria El Prieto, and Mariscos El Prieto

April 16, 2012 mmm-yoso Food Trucks, Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches, Seafood

Recently, my good FOY (Friend of Yoso) TammyC requested a "taco crawl" something that I've done a couple times before…once even with this group of folks. This time, YY and her husband MrQ had to be done by 1230, so this would mean a fairly close proximity…..I pretty much had the plan done. I knew this small group would be game, after all we already had done a smaller Chula Vista taco crawl and had both the Mira Mesa Banh Mi tasting and the Amazing Graze behind us….but with a short itme period this could turn out to be pretty brutal.

First stop was a restaurant. It would be nice for the five of us to get to a relaxing start. I chose….

***Birrieria's la Guadalajara has closed.

Birrieria's la Guadalajara:

We started with a Tacos Rojo – Borrego:

I also ordered the Borrego a la Plancha, Birria de Chivo, and Cabeza en su Jugo, which MrQ absolutely loved. Folks were encouraged to pace themselves and here leftovers would be ok. TammyC had never been a fan of lamb or goat….until now.

Of course, the food here is major roll back into bed food, so it was kind of a tough start….all of those fresh tortillas just sit in your stomach.

Birrieria's la Guadalajara
1310 Third Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Next stop was a double whammy…first was:

Mariscos el Pescador:

The consomme here always delivers.

I only went with a fish taco…lots more to come up after this. The fish taco here beat El Peito's hands down on this day. Nice portion of better flavored fish. The only thing El Prieto had on this was the crunchy batter.

Mariscos El Pescador (In the parking lot pf RTA/Toys R Us)
1008 Industrial Blvd
Chula Vista, CA 91911

The next stop was right across the parking lot…..

El Gallito Tortas Ahogadas:

I'd been here a couple of times and while I loved the bread had never really been impressed.

However, the #1, traditional Tortas Ahogadas had been pretty spicy and MrC really loves spicy food….I mean he eats Ghost peppers for fun. So we got the traditional at a heat level of 10.

I had a fourth of the sandwich, TammyC a fourth, and MrC half. I gotta say, this was much better than I recalled. The bread was great as always, but the pork had fine flavor. MrC's verdict, "not bad, the heat does creep up on you."

YY and MrQ, who often order Thai food at heat level "1" (is there such a thing?) had the #2 at heat level 5, which they had no problems with.

I also had a fourth….I prefer the more traditional sandwich.

By the way, based on all the photos around the truck, I guess Andrew Zimmern stopped by and the place will be featured on one of his shows. So if you're curious, get there before the show airs and all the "Zimm-heads" blow the place up.

El Gallito Tortas Ahogadas
1008 Industrial Blvd
Chula Vista, CA 91911

We jumped back in our cars and headed down Industrial and onto Main for our next stop:

Mariscos Y Tacos El Kiki:

I just recently posted on the place and things are pretty much the same. So here's a photo of the Taco Perron I ate along with more consomme:

Mariscos Y Tacos El Kiki
Corner of Main St and Hollister St.

We decided to take a breather and headed across the street to a shop that sells spices, chilies, and snacks called….

El Ruisnor:

I'd noticed this place the last time I ate at El Kiki.

You can smell the spices when entering the shop…there are bags of the stuff lining the shelves.

There are also bulk beans and snacks sold.

Interesting shop.

El Ruisenor
2260 Main St
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Then it was back across the street, into our cars and we were off east on Main, stopping at the final "double whammy" location…..

Birrieria El Prieto:

I'd noticed this truck, parked right across from the Mariscos El Prieto truck a couple of weeks ago and had been waiting to check the place out. This El Prieto "twin" did birria, quesotacos, al pastor, and the like. The sold is "res", beef.

I ordered a birria and cabeza taco to try things out. YY, MrC, and MrQ had hit the wall and were not participating…..

The birria was dry and rather tough and short on flavor. The cabeza was very moist and tender, but a bit short on the condensed beefiness I expect from rendered cow head.

Of course right across the way is the El Prieto Mariscos truck.

Even though MrQ could not eat another bite of a taco, he still had room for more consomme.

Another funny thing I noticed……El Prieto now has a parking attendant….for eating at taco trucks! I just found this amusing.

In the end, only TammyC (one) and myself (two) could manage to finish the three tacos ordered.

While we both loved the batter, very nice and crisp, the tacos had only little slivers of fish in them. This wasn't the way it was on previous visits. I'm hoping this was just a fluke.

Mariscos El Prieto
and
Birrieria El Prieto Trucks
3031 Main St
Chula Vista, CA 91911

I noticed that it was just past 12….YY and MrQ had to get going. We'd done pretty good with regards to both time and calories. Whew……I went home and had a two hour nap to recover. Still, it was great fun as always, friends and food just go together so well.

Not Duckin’ the Subject – Roadtrip Edition: Lien Hoa BBQ (Westminster – Orange County) and Monterey Palace BBQ (San Gabriel – Los Angeles)

April 15, 2012 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Road Trip

I've often lamented the quality and consistency of take out Roast Duck in San Diego. It is after all, one of my favorite food groups. But for a change, instead of me whining about the whole thing, here are two winners. Unfortunately, both are not in San Diego County.

Lien Hoa BBQ – Westminster:

A while back FOY "DavidD" mentioned that this shop made the best roast duck. So I made sure to mention the place to Beach during my last visit. Beach told me he's being going to Lien Hoa for thirty or so years (looking at the sign, they opened in 1981) , knew the owners, and that this was indeed the best place for Chinese BBQ in all of Little Saigon, or even in Orange County.

The place is actually right next to Kang Lac Bakery, so we went in before having Bot Chien.

The shop is tiny with a small and cramped walking space. It's a no frills place, just up my alley…the other thing up my alley? A whole roast duck here costs just $15.50……bargain city.

After arriving home I opened the very heavy foil container took take a peak and a taste or two of the duck.

If you want a meaty duck, this would be the one for you. Personally, for me it;s all about a combination of factors; the skin, the flavor, fat content, and so on. The flavor of this duck will be a surprise for many raised on roast duck in San Diego. It is mild, with anise hints, and not salted to death to cover up the lack of expert preparation. The skin on the top layer was, perhaps a bit too "rubbery", but good overall. Sadly, they poured a ton of "jus" over the duck. There was about two cups of it in the tray (I measured). This meant the skin of the duck on the bottom layer was taut and the meat had started to be mushy. Gladly, even the juice wasn't too salty. I think I'll have them go easy on that stuff next time.

So, if you're passing through, or if roast duck matters enough to you to be worth a drive (like me), this place is worth a shot. And the prices are very reasonable.

Lien Hoa BBQ Deli
9299 Bolsa Ave
Westminster, CA 92683

Monterey Palace BBQ Fast Food:

A little over a year ago, we were driving east on Valley Boulevard. right past Focus Plaza, I noticed that a new shop had opened in a location I believe was some kind of bar or nightclub before.

The name of the place was Monterey Palace BBQ, which got me thinking that this place is affiliated with Monterey Palace on Garvey?

The place was bright, spanking new and turned out to be an interesting shop.

As you enter you basically meet the BBQ, followed by a section which is set-up for steam table foods, a la Sam Woo, nothing surprising there. The interesting thing is a bit past the hot foods section is a poultry and meat set-up, with several different types of chicken, duck, even rabbit.

The first time we stopped by and bought the roast duck, I really enjoyed it.

It isn't as meaty as the duck from Lien Hoa, but the skin was nicely lacquered and the flavor of bean paste was forward without overwhelming everything.

We have been back two more times since. On the second visit, the skin of the duck was wrinkled and it was too fatty…signs that temperature control was poor. One the third visit, things were back ot how they were on our first visit.

For now, Monterey Palace has replaced Sam Woo in Alhambra as our "duck stop". I'm hoping that we've found our place for take-out roast duck for now.

One downside to the location is that as far as I can tell, there's only street parking. There are only three spaces on the street in front of the place….so in case you're being tailgated by some aggressive retard like I was and have to stop and park, you may have to deal with the half peace sign salute and screaming from an idiot who was trying to get around the other cars and probably didn't know or didn't care (probably the latter) that you could indeed park on the street in front of the place. I'd forgotten how wonderful drivers were in the SGV…thanks for the reminder, moron. I've found that the best defense in such a situation is to look at the person and give them a big smile…A BIG SMILE…..

Anyway, he had to wait until all the cars drove past to merge into traffic and I got my roast duck. Seems like I got the better of the whole deal, right?

Monterey Palace BBQ Fast Food
118 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776

Crete – Iraklios: Saying “no to Knossos”, breakfast at the Galaxy Hotel, Peza Union Museum and Shop, and driving the wine country

April 14, 2012 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Crete, Iraklios, Travel

We had really enjoyed our previous day in Iraklios. But the city is a pretty busy modern one, the fifth largest in Greece. Now the one reason that had me planning a stay here is the ancient Greek city of Knossos once the capital of the Minoan civilization. Located 5 kilometers from the Iraklios, it's probably the main reason tourists come here. But it turned out that by the time we arrived, the Missus had developed "ruin fatigue" and adamantly refused to visit Knossos….in other words, She said "no to Knossos."

The Missus had been cooking up another plan. She wanted to drive around the central wine region of Crete. By drive meant that I'd be the driv-er. Now having seen folks zooming around on the street, I really wasn't too enthusiastic about driving around Crete. Plus I was pretty sure that the car we arranged for was a "stick". Not really a big problem I guess, my last car before I moved to the mainland was a 4×4 and I used to drive delivery trucks and flatbeds….but it had been at least 15 years since I drove a stick. Of course, the Missus had Her own spin on the whole thing, "it's like riding a horse, right?" Of course how many times you fall off that horse when you get back on factors into the equation. "I hope you feel the same way when I kill the thing in the middle of the busiest intersection of Crete." "You are so negative….."

Of course, the natural place for such conversations would be breakfast. And we really enjoyed the spread at the Galaxy hotel. Of course, we'd not have been so happy if breakfast wasn't included, it would have been an extra 22 Euros a day and as good as it was….well, it wasn't that good!

The Missus had fallen in love with rusk, the twice cooked bread, which was as hard a crouton, but struck a nerve with Her. And tis place had an area with traditional Cretan items.

Of course, if you're a regular reader, you know the Missus loves Her eggs. Here the boiled eggs were lined up in rows, front row 3 minutes, middle row 6 minutes, back row 9 minutes. Which led to a bit of a quandary for the Missus, "I'm wondering how long the three minute eggs has been sitting in the salt……is it more like a nine minute or six minute egg?" Trying to end this mental stalemate I told the Missus, "while you're contemplating carry-over cooking, there's a line forming behind you……"

It was the orange juice that got me………it tasted so wonderfully fresh squeezed…….I actually would have three glasses with breakfast.

We really enjoyed our breakfasts here……

When we met with the rental agent, the Missus told him, "I want a small car, one of the itty-bitty European cars, the smallest one." The agent humoured Her and gave assurances that we'd get the tiniest car available. After breakfast, we picked the keys up at the desk with information on how to find our car….it was parked on an adjacent side street and how to return it…..try to find parking on a side street. To the Missus' disappointment, the car wasn't "itty-bitty" enough, but I'm sure She forgot about that as we headed out of Iraklios, past the hospital and Knossos……and hit wine country.

About 15 kilometers out of Iraklios we passed the village of Peza. Peza is known as the central hub for Wine and Olive in the area. Right past the town we came to the Peza Union Museum and Tasting room. There was one tour bus parked outside, so we decided to stop….the Missus really wanted to taste some of the local olive oil. I read somewhere that Crete has the highest consumption of olive oil per capita in the world, something like 30 kilos per person per year!

The folks on the tour was just finishing up when we arrived, so we had the place to ourselves.

We wandered the displays showing the history of wine and olive oil production in the region and stopped to taste some wine.

Some of the wines tasted really "raw", but we found a bottle we liked and bought it. We'd later have it one evening in Chania.

Of course the Missus was here for olive oil. There were five available and the woman manning the counter talked to us about flavors and acidity.

When it came time for tasting, we asked to taste just the straight olive oil….this was when the fun started. We expected a little splash of olive oil and maybe some bread. Instead the woman poured a shot of the stuff into a little dixie cup and handed it to me! She then started pouring another cup of it for me! We frantically stopped her….man, there ain't no way I could do five good sized shots of olive oil. I guess the folks in Crete do consume the most olive oil in the world. We indicated using our index fingers and thumbs how much to give us……it surely wasn't like 2-3 ounces of the stuff. In the end, we loved the highest quality olive oil, called 24K gold and bought a bottle. You can see it in a photo on this post. Man, could you imagine me drinking like ten ounces of olive oil……… It makes for a funny story though.

After making our purchases we jumped back in the car…….the Missus now told me what Her mission was for this roadtrip…… stay tuned!

Eating on the Hood of Your Car: Mariscos Y Tacos El Kiki Truck

April 12, 2012 mmm-yoso Food Trucks, Mexican Restaurants, Seafood

In a recent morning I'd just finished a quick bite at one of my favorite stops in the Chula Vista area and was headed to another. As I was about to make the left turn on Main street and the Industrial boulevard I glanced to my right and noticed at Taco Truck…….

Even though I recall seeing a Birria truck next to the El Prieto Mariscos truck, I decided to put that off and see what was up here.

The name of this one is Mariscos Y Tacos El Kiki and though there's everything from Birria de Res to Quesatacos on the menu, this fit the profile of a mariscos truck to a tee…..and by glancing around at what others were eating, this was a mariscos truck.

I placed my order and was handed a cup of consomme….this one was fairly light, with a mild briney flavor, boosted by a lot of celery.

Since the fish tacos here were only a buck (even El Prieto is now $1.25), I decided to try that and order the Perron #1 taco as well.

The fish in the tacos de pescado was really buried in there. It was pretty bland, the batter not very crisp. Yes, I guess it's worth a buck, but nothing especially good.

The perron is a combo of marlyn (smoked fish) and camarones (shrimp) sauteed in a chipotle based sauce which added some kick. The shrimp were ok, nothing special and a bit rubbery, but I really enjoyed the marlyn, which was smokey and salty……almost driving me to bacon-bliss.

To me it was worth the four bucks. I noticed how firm the taco was and turned it over….it's SOP for these type of tacos to have a layer of cheese on the bottom to protect the tortilla, which is then placed on the griddle allowing the cheese to melt.

This was nice….I'll probably get a tacos de marlyn the next time. And perhaps a gobernador too. One thing, there ain't much room in this parking lot……

The fellow working the counter told me they were at this location from 8am to 7pm seven days a week. So we'll have to see. He also spoke perfect English, which saved me from doing my usual butcher job of the few Spanish words I know.

Mariscos Y Tacos El Kiki
Corner of Main St and Hollister St.

Crete – Iraklios: Arrival, The Galaxy Hotel, and dinner at Pantopoleion (aka, it’s all Greek to me…)

April 10, 2012 mmm-yoso Cheese, Crete, Greece, Greek Food, Iraklios, Memorable Meals, Travel

We arrived at the Nikos Kazantzakis (whose book I'm sure you've heard of) International Airport ready to go. The airport was indeed fairly small for an international airport. We made our way out of the airport and caught public bus #1 asking the driver to drop us at the stop near Dimokratias Avenue. The hotel we were staying at was outside the city walls, but Iraklios didn't seem like that large a city and we were a bit away from the main tourist tract. Many of the signs were just in Greek (ελληνικά) so we were a little confused. I stopped and asked the very tall soldier with the big gun (there were a couple of riots recently) and he smiled and pointed us on our way. By its looks the Iraklios Galaxy looks like a business hotel, but the room were probably the most modern of our entire trip, most unlike the B&B stops we had. It was fairly large, had great A/C, the television actually worked and had the BBC….and the Missus loved the breakfast (more on that later).

Several of the staff here were very nice and we depended on their recommendations for two of the best meals we had on this trip.

Staying the in nice air-conditioned comfort of our room was tempting, but hey, we were in Crete! So after freshening up we headed down the road parallel to Dimokratias, Ethniki Antistaseos past the McDonald's (this will be important in a later post), down to the harbor and past Bus Station A, which is where we'd have to catch our bus to Chania in a couple of days, all the way to the Old (Venetian) Harbour.

Which leads to the Koules Venetian Fortress which was called "Rocca al Mare" or Sea Fortress by the Venetians.

I've read both that the fortress held out for over 20 years of attacks by the Ottomans and that it played little or no role in the invasion. Which is true, I'm not sure. But under Ottoman rule it became a prison.

Under the influence of the blue sky and ocean I guess it's pretty easy to get in touch with your inner child….or perhaps the sun was getting to the Missus……

By this point we'd made it down the shoreline to the Historical Museum of Crete.

The Museum is small but interesting. It also has the famous painting Modena Triptych by El Greco who was born Doménikos Theotokópoulos in Crete. I also loved all the different Coat of Arms of the Venetian and Greek aristocracy in first Chandax, it's name during the Byzantine Greek era, then Candia when it was bought by the Republic of Venice.

After being refreshed by our visit in the cool confines of the museum we headed back out. The Missus was searching for the Morosini Fountain in Lion's Square which was built in 1628. We headed in the general direction of the center of the walled portion of the city, up streets, then back down street, sometimes turning around at dead ends….part of the fun is the trip, not necessarily the destination. And in this was certainly true in this case as the fountain itself was a bit underwhelming for us.

Just off to the side of the fountain is 1866 Street, named after the year of the famous Cretan uprising against the Ottomans. The narrow pedestrian street that is the site of the Central Market. There are tons of stands, restaurants, and shops along the street. This is where I got my first glance of the famous Cretan snails which was supposed to be delicious.

Eventually we turned around and headed back toward the hotel, cutting right through the middle of town and out through the city walls. Back at the hotel we asked the really nice gentleman at the front desk for a recommendation for dinner. He recommended a place called Pantopoleion, where he oftens dines after work.

The name was said to mean "Market of good tastes" or something like that and we were told it was right down Ethniki Antistaseos, the street we had walked down in the morning. However, I could not, for the life of me, find the place. Until the Missus saw a sign that said "ΠΑΝΤΟΠΩΛΕΙΟΝ", and told me, this must be the place. Now how the heck She got Pantopoleion from that I'll never know, but we found that She had a knack for reading street and business signs. And She was without a doubt right in this case.

You want to eat at a popular restaurant in Greece? Go around opening time and there won't be a soul in the place, as was our experience here. Of course, the Missus immediately ordered some house red wine.

Our next challenge was when we were handed our menus. This was indeed more of a locals place….the entire menu was in Greek….with no translations! This was really funny….it really was "all Greek to me!" Lucky for us, the young lady serving us, whose name was I believe "Helene" was so funny, good natured, and full of pep, decided that to get maximum enjoyment, she would read and describe the entire menu to us…all four pages, well three minus drinks! And so she started with an "ok lets go…." Laughing all the way, we asked her to stop and with a few hints, asked her to order for us and she proceeded to bring us what was probably one of our top three meals on this trip.

Of course everything started with bread…..

The Missus had already fallen in love with "rusk" the twice baked bread that is very crisp and toast like.

Helene arrived with a sampling of cheese she selected for us.

The two thin slices on the top were just plain fantastic, intensely flavored, just plainly great. When we mentioned this, Helene beamed and told us that this cheese isn't on the menu. It's a local artisan cheese that they use in another dish she ordered for us, but it's flavor is so unique she decided we should taste it.

The roasted vegetables with fresh tomatoes and goat cheese was quite delicious…this is where the Missus started eating roasted vegetables every couple of weeks.

The least favorite dish of the evening were the stuffed mushrooms.

Stuffed with something that tasted like panchetta, these weren't bad, but paled in comparison to this:

Horta is what the Greeks call wild greens and there are literally hundreds of varieties. We'd come to really enjoy simple Horta Vrasta, simple boiled wild greens, never knowing exactly what we'd get, but tasty all the time. Funny that the first taste of horta would be in the form of very tasty fritters paired with goat cheese.

But my favorite dish of the night was the pork chop stuffed with the cheese we'd tasted on the cheese plate and sun dried tomatoes.

This was so tasty and as far form the "other white meat" as you can get. It had that great pork flavor and the flesh near the bone was barely opaque, as it was moist and cooked to perfection. Even the Missus, who had sworn off pork ages ago couldn't help but have a couple of slices and gnaw on that done. It was one of most memorable dishes.

It was a fantastic dinner, thanks to this young lady:

We would come to love the traditional digestif that accompanies dessert (usually free) which is normally a cheese pie. It's called Raki, the stuff "that makes you dance on the tables if you drank enough". Made from grape skins, it has a nice bite, but goes so well with sweet-creamy-mildly savory items. Usually something like this would KO the Missus….but for some reason, having all that wine, then finishing with Raki never touched Her in Greece.

As we were leaving Helene gave me a copy of the menu……the all Greek menu that we could keep "to remember".

Pantopolian Gefseon (ΠΑΝΤΟΠΩΛΕΙΟΝ ΓΕΥΣΕΩΝ)
Ethniki Antistaseos 72
Heraklion, Greece

We had spoken about returning for dinner the next night, but were told that they were closed on Tuesdays. I'll make sure to drop by if I'm ever back here…….

After doing some post-dinner walking we returned to our room. As I looked out onto busy Dimokratias from our balcony, I thought to myself, "man do I love Crete……"

Thanks for reading!

Viet Bakery and Pho

April 9, 2012 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Viet Bakery and Pho has closed

Viet Bakery and Pho opened pretty quickly, at least I thought they were open before they actually were. The Missus was in the mood for something new and She wanted to check this place out. Located in the same strip mall as Izakaya, Sakura, The Original Pancake House, Swabummm Shabu World, and Yokohama Yakitori Koubou, among others, this place is literally bursting at the seams and now has a parking problem to boot as the Missus and I parked on street a few yards away.

I really didn't know what the "bakery" portion of the name of the place meant….would it be a Banh Mi and Pho joint, or what? Well the bakery really does sell Vietnamese baked goods, though there are just four shelves lining part of the wall on the west side of the place.

To my surprise the menu was full of interesting items like Banh Cuon, Banh Bot Loc, and Banh Beo in addition to Pho. Unfortunately, they didn't have a couple of things on the menu, the nice young man serving us had to check to see if they had the items we ordered. I finally relented and took his advice for what I ordered. The folks looked confused and for a good amount of time were gathered around the cash register….I'm guessing trying to figure out how it worked I guess? They were constantly looking at the rather small menu, trying to remember dishes…..things that should have probably been worked out before actually opening to the public.

Luckily they had what the Missus wanted, the combination of appetizers – Banh Beo, Banh Duc, Banh Bot Loc, and Banh It ($5.99). When it arrived we were a bit puzzled by the look of some of the items.

We especially found the Banh Beo, something we've had many times, both in San Diego and in Little Saigon were just plain odd to us. Not enough dried shrimp for a nice savory flavor, the usually toothsome discs were gelatinous, like eating plain rice cake. The Banh It, which I haven't had in a while had a greasiness to it. The best of the lot was Banh Bot Loc the tapioca flour dumpling stuffed with shrimp, which was still on the bland side and missing the smokey, tea like flavor of being steamed in banana leaves. The best thing was the nuoc mam cham, which was surprisingly spicy with a nice fish sauce kick.

After going back and forth a couple of times I settled on the Com Goi Ga, the Rice with Chicken Salad – Com Goi Ga Xe Phai (Ga Xe Phay – $6.99). This came with some broth and supposedly garlic rice.

I say supposedly, because that has got to be some of the worse rice I've had in a while. I ended up pouring the broth over the hard and dry rice, then stealing the Missus's nuoc mam. The chicken tasted, well not to be insulting but the only thing I can really think of is…….dead, it really was bland and not very pleasant. On the good side, the salad was full of banana blossom that was fresh and shiny, likewise the rau ram and other herbs. It did have too much onion in it, the Missus kept telling me to eat breath mints the entire way home….but it was good.

In the end, I didn't think it was good to not visit again….we could possibly write this off to opening jitters; the young man who brought me my order was shaking so bad we thought he was going to drop everything……when I tried to pay with a twenty they suddenly found themselves without changet. I can only imagine how stressful it was….we saw customers coming back in with orders that were incorrect or missing items.

So I decided to return and this time got what I had wanted in the first place, the Banh Cuon Dac Biet ($6.75). This time, even though the place was pretty much full, things were moving much better, but alas, what I ordered was not.

Everything fried on the plate was dry, limp, and greasy, like it had been fried at the wrong temperature. The Cha Lua, defatted pork sausage was chewy, but had a decent flavor. The Banh Cuon were on the thick side and fairly dry. Unfortunately, I'd place Quoc Te and even Song Huong ahead of this. Heck even a middle of the pack Little Saigon joint like Banh Cuon Tay Ho is miles beyond this…to say nothing of what we had in Vietnam.

It's kind of sad, the young folks working here are really nice, ut they don't seem to have any restaurant experience or someone to train them. We really do need a place in San Diego that does the type of dishes we tried well. Hopefully, they'll get better…..

Lunch and dinner is now 30% off so you may want give them a shot and let me know what you think. After I sent a text to my good FOY "Xiang Jiao", she asked me if I tried the Pho. The only reply I could send to her was, "right now, I'm not brave enough……."

Viet Bakery & Pho
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Easter Dinner: Short Ribs Braised with Red Wine, Rosemary, and Porcini with Garlic Confit-Scallion Truffled Mashed Potatoes

April 8, 2012 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes, yoso-silly

Actually, I really didn't plan it that way….the Easter Dinner thing that is. The Missus requested Her Mushroom Risotto fix. We didn't have any plans this weekend, so I thought I'd relax by….well, braising. The Missus did get Her mushroom risotto….with pan sauteed halibut and a porcini jus. I'd been wanting some short ribs, that weren't kalbi for a while. So here's another one from All About Braising.

Now the Missus doesn't eat much red meat anymore, so I don't have many chances to make rather large braised beef or pork dishes. But I figure once every couple of months would be ok, right? Plus, the Missus' coworkers would get the benefit of the left-overs.

The recipe turned out well, though to be honest it's the mashed potatoes I made with garlic confit mixed with heavy cream and finished with truffle oil that I really enjoyed.

There were some really nice small eggplants on sale at Sprouts of all places. So I roasted them using the olive oil from the garlic confit along with a half dozen cloves.

If I were to change a couple of things with the short rib recipe, the first would be to add a bit more garlic(I had already doubled what was in the recipe) and I'd go with more porcini, maybe a whole ounce with more fluid and adding the mushrooms near the end of the recipe. I did use a whole bottle of wine for this, a Syrah that was on sale for under five bucks….it did ok. I'd also go with more rosemary…even though it's not among my favorite herbs it was very mild. I also kept out the cloves…mainly because I forgot them. In case you do want to try the recipe, it calls for 3-4 whole cloves in the marinade.

Overall, this was a pretty rich dish………

Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs with Rosemary and Porcini:

4 lbs English Style Short Ribs trimmed
Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper

The marinade:
3 Tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large onion coarsely chopped
1-2 carrots coarsely chopped
1 celery heart coarsely chopped
4 cloves of garlic smashed
1 bottle dry, low tannin red wine
2 Bay Leaves
8-10 black peppercorns
1 Tb sea salt
3 allspice berries crushed in a mortar

– Combine the bay leaves, allspice, peppercorns in a cheesecloth and tie with twine.
– Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and saute until softened.
– Add the wine and spice, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes.
– Remove from heat and cool
– Once the marinade is cool, marinade ribs. (I used a extra large zip loc 0 turning every couple of hours)
– Marinade overnight.

The Braise:
1/2 ounce porcini mushrooms
3 Tb extra virgin olive oil
1 large onions thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 14 ounce can whole plum tomatoes
3 sprigs fresh rosemary

– Soak the porcini in 1 cup warm water
– Remove the short ribs from the marinade and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper.
– Strain the marinade into a bowl. Reserve the sachet of spices.
– Preheat oven to 325.
– Add two tablespoons oil into a Dutch Oven and brown the short ribs over medium heat (don't crowd). You'll probably need to do in two batches. Remove to tray when browned.
– Drain the mushrooms reserving the soaking liquid. Chop the mushrooms coarsely.
– When done browning the meat, discard the fat from the pot.
– Add the remaining oil to the pot and saute the garlic and onions until softened.
– Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, soaking liquid, and marinade and bring to a boil.
– Return the short ribs to the pot in a single layer. Add spice sachet and rosemary.
– Cover the pot with parchment paper until it almost touches the meat and hangs over the edges of the pot. Cover well and put into oven.
– Check after 10-15 minutes. If the braise is boiling, turn down the heat about 10-15 degrees.
– Check and turn every 45-60 minutes until it is tender but not falling to pieces. For me it was about 2 1/2 hours.
– Once the ribs are done remove to a plate and cover with foil.
– Degrease the braising liquid then transfer to a saucepan and bring the liquid to a simmer. Check for seasoning and reduce until the texture of a thick vinaigrette.

It turned out rather well.

You know I kinda like to have fun with Sammy. He acts like such a proud little mutt. No bunny ears this time. Sammy has a bit of a sweet tooth and loves peeps. So I call this one, "Sammy and his Peeps"…poor guy!

Happy Easter!

Greece: Meteora – The Holy Monastery of Saint Stephen, Holy Monastery of Roussanou (St Barbara), and lunch at Estiatorio Meteora (Kalambaka)

April 6, 2012 mmm-yoso Greece, Greek Food, Travel

In spite of a terrible tourist buffet dinner at the hotel, the Missus and I slept quite well. The rain had really cooled things down and the previous day had really been long…….sitting in a bus for six-seven hours just isn't our thing. But here we were, the Missus had always wanted to visit the Eastern Orthodox Monasteries perched on sandstone pinnacles (Meteora literally means "suspended in air"). Even the rain didn't dampen Her spirits….She was ready to go. We did wake hungry, of course this was the same type buffet type affair of that dinner was, so we kept it simple and didn't eat much. I'd always thought that you couldn't get terrible goat cheese in Greece….but this meal proved me wrong.

Of course, our first stop was to a bit of business……

No hard sell at this shop of religious icons. I was entertained by the dog out front who just loved any and all attention……..she would come up to someone and just roll over begging to be rubbed. She was adorable.

You might recognize the structure in this photo at one of our first stops. Especially if you're a James Bond fan. This is the Monastery of the Holy Trinity.

Quite dramatic, even on a cloudy drizzly day, huh? It was said to have been established around 1438, but there are manuscripts indicating that men were living the monastic life here in 1362. The main church was built in 1475.

I think it deserves another photo……

Our first stop was at the Holy Monastery of Saint Stephen, whose existence dates back to 1192, but was officially built in 1545. It's now the Holy Nunnery of Saint Stephen…and we were told, I'm not sure if it's true, but apparently a while back a Canadian tourist came to visit and she was so taken and inspired by the place that she became a nun!

There is a museum on site and the icons and artwork is absolutely stunning. We respected the request of no photos, so you'll just have to visit and see for yourself.

We were told that the skull of Saint Charalambos is kept at this monastery and still works miracles to this day!

During the German occupation, the monastery was bombed and damaged. The Nazis believed that the monastery was harboring resistance fighters.

The view from here is amazing…….

What interesting is that this monastery is only one that doesn't reside on a peak.

If you're wondering what all those folks are taking photos of, it's this…….

There's beauty everywhere…….

The bus picked us up then dropped us off a bit further down the road. From that spot we'd walk down a path to our next stop. But not without taking one more photo of Saint Stephen.

It was a nice walk and we got glimpses of some of the other monasteries. I believe this one is the Holy Monastery of Varlaam.

At the gates of our next stop, the Holy Monastery of Roussanou, this little fellow was waiting for his master. He was so well behaved.

This monastery is also known as the Holy Monastery of Saint Barbara, who is the patron saint of artillerymen! This nunnery is dedicated to the transfiguration, one of the miracles of Jesus and takes up the entire peak…which really ain't that big.

You walk up some stairs……

And across a walkway, which used to be a drawbridge. We saw the ancient pulleys and cranks that were used ot retract the old bridge to keep the occupants safe. In fact, we were told that before the advent of roads, the only way one could make it up to many of the monasteries were by net. You were cranked up or down the peak. Man, talk about isolation and asceticism!

The nuns have a little shop where we bought some olive oil soap and other stuff.

One thing I forgot to mentioned was the rules of modesty. Everyone, including men need to have their knees covered. Women need to wear long skirts. The Missus had some slacks on so She had to go with one of the "one-size-fits-all-wrap around skirt" thingys at each stop. They really are one size fits all; She had to wrap it around Her four times!

After spending a bit of time here, we walked a bit further down and met our bus. We stopped one more time at the site of some abandoned monasteries. Apparently there were a great number here, but only six survive to this day. If you closely to this photo, you can see one of the defunct locations on the right side of this peak.

That town you saw in one of the photos above is Kalambaka the closest town to the monasteries. So of course we stopped there for lunch. Based on the previous night's dinner and this morning's breakfast I had my doubts about what we'd be having. But it turned out to be not bad.

The place we ate as was Estiatorio Meteora. Here you walk into the kitchen and get a choice of two veg and a protein. You pick what you want from the pots lined up for you.

Drinks are extra….but hey, this was Greece and the Missus just needed Her red wine.

The food is hearty, stick-to-your-rib stuff that will keep you going for a while. It was nothing particularly memorable, but after what we had previously, this was a feast.

We finished lunch (and the wine) pretty quickly, which left us with some time to explore the town. I swear this was a Chinese restaurant….but I found out that many tailors and retail clothes shops had Chinese lanterns in front of them in Greece.

What really stood out was how the presence of Meteora loomed over everything in the city.

For some reason, the ride back to Athens didn't seem quite as long. Though we were pretty tired by the time we got back to our hotel. Our dinner was at a nearby diner/restaurant which was totally forgettable. What we did remember was that we needed to catch the 5am bus to the sirport and our next stop, Crete, where we'd have the best meals of the entire trip.

The Missus really enjoyed Meteora. It gave Her a glimpse into a different time…..a totally different world.

Thanks for reading!

Oh, and please read fellow San Diego Food Blogger Little Miss Contrary's posts on Meteora and Greece.

Meals with Friends: The Lion’s Share, Okan, Savory Garden, Santouka, and Izakaya Sakura

April 5, 2012 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Memorable Meals, Pubs and Pub Grub

It seems that I've been having quite a few meals with great friends of mine recently, so here's a rundown:

The Lion's Share:

Ange, Peter, and John wanted to meet up for a bite and some cocktails….not really a specialty of mine, but I thought why the heck not. I got to choose and went with The Lion's Share and new Gastro- Craft Cocktail Lounge (Gastro-lounge???) that features a good amount of wild game on the menu. It did help that the four month old restaurant/lounge stood right around the corner from the Orange Line's Seaport Village stop. No drinking and driving for me……

I actually took the photo of the building because of the fellow in the photo to the right. He's come out everytime a trolley would stop and watch the folks getting out of the trolley, head turning left and right, then walk back in….until the next trolley would arrive! Quite entertaining…..

I usually don't post on these type of meals in San Diego, there are more than enough coverage of most of them, but what the heck, I actually took my camera out for a change while John and I waited for Peter…..

I decided to try one of the cocktails….this one was called Fernet About It….featuring Scotch and Fernet Branca….fairly strong, but nice and relaxing. Soon enough John arrived and we just chatted for a while…….. Peter was running on "Peter time", so we just kinda hung out at the bar…..

Finally, we just figured to order some food….we really didn't know if Ange and Peter were actually going to make it. I ordered two starters and an entree, figuring we'd be heading somewhere else after……

First to arrive were the Antelope Sliders ($12).

Even though sliders are now kind of cliche, I gotta say these were very good. Slightly gamey, cooked to a perfect medium, seasoned, but not too heavily, the sweetness of the red onion marmalade cut any strong gamey flavors. This was the best item of the night.

Strangely, the Buffalo Bolognase with Bone Marrow ($18) arrived next before our second starter……

I should have given this better thought and chosen better…….this was very bland, except for the cheese which killed everything…the bone marrow gave the dish a strange greasiness that I didn't enjoy. It was rich in a rather unpleasant way for me…..

While we were digging, the Potato Puffs($7) arrived.

These were basically mashed potato croquettes….which were seasoned nicely, but not crisp enough for me. The malt vinegar aioli tasted like what you'd think a mildly sour mayonnaise would.

By this time Ange and Peter arrived and they were able to sample the food as well…before we took of to our next destination to meet up with even more friends.

Overall, those sliders were very good, but if I ever return I'll pick a different entree. I did enjoy my drinks ($11) and the guys manning the bar were very friendly. The place is pretty dark and the space gets very loud very quickly.

The Lion's Share
629 Kettner Boulevard
San Diego, California 92101
Open daily 4 pm – 2 am

Lunch at Okan:

My Buddy Dennis has done a great job covering lunch at Okan and our very own Cathy has done a couple as well. I recently met Candice for lunch and we decided that Okan was the perfect spot. I ended up ordering the Buta Kakuni Lunch Combo ($9.50).

I had mentioned being somewhat disappointed in the Buta Kakuni in a previous post and wanting to try it again. Well, this just confirmed it…..a bit too tough and dry with regards to buta kakuni for my taste. It's also on the bland side. The boiled egg was also dry and the yolk way overdone.

It's time to move on to better things on the menu. The conversation was much better than the food and it was nice chatting to Candice before her upcoming trip to Paris.

Wa Dining Okan
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Lunch at Savory Garden:

**** Savory Garden has closed

I got another chance to meet my good FOY (Friend of Yoso) "MrZ", the Zompus for lunch at Savory Garden. Since I'd only had the Niu Rou Mian here, I thought this would be a nice chance to try something else. I went with the Pork Chop Lunchbox ($7.49).

In terms of portion size, maybe a bit more pork would help. It was fried nicely and seasoned fairly well. The best thing on the plate were the vegetables, a nice sweet and sour. The topping on the rice tasted bitter and I could have done without that and the egg was overcooked and rubbery. There were two tables of customers during our visit, during peak lunch hour….I'm not sure if this place is going to survive.

Savory Garden
7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Lunch with Ed from Yuma at Santouka:

I've been here and posted on the place too many timesto even bother………it's the same 'ol, same 'ol.

I don't think I've seen Ed from Yuma, in a while….the last time I recalled he basically sucked down a baklava from Sultan so fast I thought the plate was going to take off! It was nice seeing an old friend. What was really interesting, was to see that Ed has pretty much hit rockstar status…..when he's not taking writers from the Arizona Republic on Taco Truck tours he's meeting with his adoring public. There was a nice woman having ramen next to us….when she got up to leave she said, "excuse me for interrupting….but are you Ed from Yuma? I really enjoy reading your posts!" Pretty soon Ed will be beating them off with a stick! Seriously, it was nice meeting you Yoshiko (please correct me if I got your name wrong!) and thanks for reading!

Santouka Ramen
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd(In the Mitsuwa Marketplace)
San Diego, CA 92111

Dinner with my best friend at Izakaya Sakura:

Well, you can pretty much guess who that is, right? Yes, there are times when I feel She's my only friend, so who better to spend a nice mild evening with at Izakaya Sakura. In the mood for something I hadn't had from the menu I went with the Sara Udon, which Dennis posted on here.

I love most crispy noodles (except for those that are almost powdery) and this "bari men" thin pan fried noodles did the trick. The "gravy" was quite flavorful; in fact, the Missus kept poaching stuff of my plate. The shrimp and baby squid were cooked nicely. Kind of pricey at $12, but the portion size was fairly hefty…..I'm probably going back to Gyokai Natto Don (which is now on the menu) the next time, but this was a nice change of pace. And who better to spend the evening with, right?

I also got confirmation that they are taking over the space previously occupied by Chilies Thai for a Japanese-Italian Restaurant.

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111

So there you go….some meals with friends…perhaps the food may not have been the best, but the company is always great. A nice way to end our Thursday and take us into Friday!