November 2012 – Page 3

Revisits to Nazca Grill

November 5, 2012 mmm-yoso Peruvian Restaurants

**** Nazca Grill has closed

After my visit to Panca Peruvian Rotisserie, I made sure to hit up Nazca Grill for a comparison. After uploading my photos, I realized that I've got a bit of a backlog with regards to Nazca Grill, so a post has been a while in coming. I usually include Nazca in round-ups, like the Lomo Saltado comparison.

Over the years the dining furnishings have been upgraded, though the interior is still that dark red tone….

The same gentleman, I believe his name is Wilson, still runs the place. They've been around for over three years now, which is a great sign, though on most of my visits, the restaurant is nearly empty. The prices have gone up, as have most restaurants. My biggest problems with the food as Nazca Grill has been the random inconsistencies encountered.

So I started with something I've enjoyed in the past. The Causa Nazca. A causa is basically a mashed potato "cake/dumpling". Peru is home of the potato, if you ever have the chance to visit, you'll find it in so many shapes and forms, from the delicious and basic papa amarilla the yellow potato, to the chuño a freeze dried tuber that has an interesting texture. The version at Nazca Grill seems similar to the layered Causa Limeña, Lima style Causa. I usually will get the shrimp version.

The causa here used to look like it was cut from a baking pan, but is now presented in a much more attractive circle. It's not over-dressed with mayonnaise, though the aji rocoto sauce is on the bitter side. The shrimp also seemed mushy and watery. This was not quite as good as what I had on previous visits.

On another visit I ordered the Cebiche de Pescado ($12.95).

First off the camote, the sweet potato was really mushy, second the fish had been sitting too long in the "lece de tigre" ("tiger's milk"), the marinating liquid and was getting pretty tough. Third, man, they're using aji rocoto for this, pretty spicy stuff. the length of time marinating made this dish pretty darn spicy overall. I few minutes less "bath time" and this would have been pretty good. Needless to say, there was no drinking of the leche de tigre on this visit.

I did think that the anticuchos I had on a recent visit was every bit as good as the versions I've had at Latin Chef.

Nicely flavored, the beef heart retained a bit of "squeak", but was still tender enough to enjoy. Nice color, probably due to the use achiote and perhaps a few chilies. I wish they'd be a bit more creative with the varieties of potatoes.

I also had a glass of kool-aid, um, Chicha Morada, which I actually enjoyed. For some reason I enjoy the bubble-gum like flavor of Inka Cola, but have never enjoyed Chicha Morada, but maybe things are changing?

Of course the point of this post was the Pollo ala Brasa, the rotisserie chicken. KM at work was wondering how the chicken tasted, so one day I picked some up for us.

Back in 2010 when I did my big chicken comparison, I thought Nazca Grill was "getting better all the time". Flash-forward to fall of 2012 and all I can say is, "the chicken has regressed". This was salty and I'm not sure if they finish it with hardwood anymore. On the other hand, it was nice and moist, but just not anything special, especially for twelve bucks for a half chicken meal.

The Papa Rellena I had a couple of weeks later was pretty good.

The outside was nice and crisp, the potato below well flavored, as was the filling. The salza criolla added a pungent-tangy-acid component to the dish and helped to cut any saltiness or richness I'd have encountered.

I had tried the tiradito, the Nikkei influenced raw fish dish at Nazca Grill and not really enjoyed it. After all these years, I thought I'd check it out again. Meet the latest version of Nazca's tiradito ($11.95):

This was totally different from the tiradito I had previously had here, in presentation and taste. Loved the yuca frito….but when don't I love it? Half the plate was flavored with a aji amarilla based marinade, the other half aji rocoto. I preferred the aji amarilla, it was more creamy, and had seemed to work with the lime flavors a lot better.

The aji rocoto sauce seemed very harsh and bitter. I'm wondering if they use Dona Isabel paste for this, as I've found the aji rocoto paste to be rather bitter and harsh when I tried it out recently.

No complaints about the nice, thinly sliced fish. I ended up pouring what canchita (roasted corn kernels) into the aji amarilla side and eating up as much as I could.

Overall, a mixed bag. Not sure if I'll return anytime soon…..but then again, when it gets warmer and those cebiche pescado cravings return……..

Nazca Grill
4310 Genesee Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Three Oil Noodles

November 4, 2012 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

This is basically a very simple stir fry noodle I make at home. It's what I used to accompany my "Three Day Duck". Three oil noodle – three day duck….get it? OK, enough with the silly stuff. The foundation of this dish centers around three oils – garlic, scallion, and sesame. Premium light soy sauce and fresh Shanghai noodles finish the dish off. You can throw in greens, onions, in this case I topped it with some dried shrimp (more on that later), along with onions, sliced the thickness of noodles and left over pea shoots.

The key are two of the flavored oils….which I'll make when I have too many scallions…we always have too much garlic. Anyway, when I'm bored, I'll make these. Stored in the fridge in an airtight container, it'll keep for 3 months or more. I also use these in stir-fries, especially when using something a bit on the blander side like tofu.

Scallion Oil:
1 cup peanut oil
4-6 bunches green onions, green parts cut into 1 – 1 1/2" pieces, white portion roughly chopped.

– Heat wok until smoking
– Add peanut oil. when oil slightly shimmers, add scallions
– Lower heat. Let scallions lightly fry under low heat until the oil turns a greenish-brown, about 20 minutes. Do not burn scallions!
– Strain into a heat proof container

Garlic Oil:
1 cup peanut oil
3 whole bulbs of garlic, cloves peeled, and sliced thinly lengthwise

– Heat wok until smoking
– Add peanut oil. when oil slightly shimmers, add garlic slices
– Lower heat. Let garlic lightly brown under low heat. Do not burn garlic.
– Strain into a heat proof container. You can use the fried garlic for other dishes.

I'm not going to get all condescending on you and tell you how to stir fry noodles. I'm sure you can do that. Just a couple of key items; don't overcook your noodles and always use a bit more oil than you think. I use a combination of the scallion and garlic oil to get things started. Finish with sesame oil. I topped the dish off with these really tasty, slightly salty-sweet fried and dried shrimp we bought during one of our previous trips to Rowland Heights.

So there you go….real easy, huh?

I hope everyone made the most of that extra hour of sleep this "fall back" weekend!

Djerba (Tunisia): Dinner, El-Griba Synagogue and the “Tower of Skulls”

November 3, 2012 mmm-yoso Travel, Tunisia, Tunisian Food

After an afternoon nap and basically sitting around bored in the Green Palm, it was dinner time. Places like this have a standard dining room, with usually a typical buffet and this didn't seem to be an exception.

We walked through the rather large dining area and found a little veranda out the back of the restaurant, taking a tiny little two top away from the feeding frenzy. Our server was a really nice young man, warm, with a wonderful smile. He spoke little English but we had no problem ordering us a bottle of wine. He would turn out to be one of the typical genuinely nice people we encountered in Tunisia….one of many.

As we walked pass the dishes,we noticed that there was an unusually large amount of pasta dishes…..really overcooked looking pasta dishes. We had gotten into the habit of going after more vegetable oriented dishes along with availing ourselves of the pretty decent olive oil at these buffets. We noticed that many of these typical dishes were rather "scarce". The Missus asked our server why they didn't have mechouia, the wonderful grilled pepper/vegetable salad She had gotten to really enjoy.

The reason? "Tonight is Italian night, no mechouia." Kind of a bummer. He then asked us, "you like mechouia?" Of course we answered "yes, it is very good." He pointed to the ground and said, "tomorrow, Tunisienne night…..still…." And pointed to the ground. So, that was the deal; there was a theme to every night's dinner, and tomorrow was "Tunisia night". We nodded and went on with our meal. About ten minutes later he walks up to our table and drops off this plate….of mechouia! We're just flabbergasted. He tells us, "I tell chef de cuisine, you really like mechouia, so we make you some." Say what? Shades of Vientiane! Say what you will about the politics and religion, but I've always asserted, we as people, are much kinder then the borders built by flags and rhetoric, and more alike than different. This gesture alone, made staying here a pleasure. On our way out, we wanted to thank this young man….the only thing we could think of was giving him like 20 dinar.

On our way out, the Missus noticed a line in frontof the cheese station….which by the way, was stocked with some pretty decent cheeses. So of course, my crazy wife decided to man the station….walking up and starting to serve the guests their cheese….much to the amusement of the young man who returned to find one of the guests, albeit a slightly off center one working his station.

Walking out of the restaurant, we noticed this bulletin…..listing the "themes" for each night's dinner.

I was just glad we weren't here on Tuesday ("Mardi") for "Oriental night".

There wasn't much more to do during the evening, I went down to the bar for a beer and worked on getting photos uploaded and working on a short post. The next morning we woke early, Ben would be picking us up for the last half day portion of the tour…….this being Houmt Souk and some outlying areas.

The sun was already shining brightly, but the restaurant was completely empty except for us. I'm guessing most folks were sleeping in after a night of partying. When I went upstairs to our room the previous night, folks were coming down to go to the nightclub in the resort.

Breakfast was simple and light…..I've come to enjoy the tomato-cheese-olive and bread type of breakfasts.

As usual, Ben met us promptly at 8 am and we headed off. The first stop was the town of Midoun. This was Friday, the day of a large market in the town.

We arrived pretty early, so many vendors were still setting up……most of the booths were just filled with tourist stuff. I'm guessing many of the tourists some here in cabs from the resorts to buy souvenirs……

Our next stop was on a sleepy street in the town of Erriadh, also known as Hara Seghira ("small ghetto"). Many people are not aware that Djerba once had a rather large Jewish community which some say dates back to 586 BC, following Nebuchadnezzar's taking of Jerusalem, making this one of the oldest outside of Israel. El Ghriba Synagogue, located in Erriadhis the oldest in North Africa and the site of a major pilgrimage in May of each year.

After arriving, we had to wait across the street from the Synagogue for a detachment of soldiers to arrive and the "Fat Man" who held the keys to the place. Each visitor has to go through a metal detector and possibly some screening before visiting. The reason is written on the right; on April 11th, 2002 a natural gas truck fitted with explosives drove past the security gates and detonated; killing 19.

Though the first Synagogue was first built here when a "holy stone" fell from heaven and a mysterious woman appeared instructing people to build the synagogue, this building was constructed in the 20th century.

The colors are strikingly Mediterranean, with bright blues and whites. The interior is also full of the striking blues, but is somewhat tempered by its design.

I was told that one of the oldest existing Torahs is kept here and also the story that, "when the last Jews leave Djerba, the keys to the synagogue will fly to heaven……."

After this rather somber visit, we headed off to Houmt Souk, the largest town on the island. We stopped at Borj El K'bir Fort, also known as Borj Ghazi Mustapha.

This fort was the site of a huge massacre in 1560 when Dragut (Turgut Ries) the Ottoman Commander defeated a coalition army of Phillip II of Spain, over-running the fort.

According to the story, there were about 6000 of the garrison killed and their skulls were stacked up on the shoreline as a warning. The monument was taken apart in 1848 and the bones buried and this was placed at the site.

You really wouldn't give it but a brief glance if you didn't know what once stood here.

Ben told me that to this day, Houmt Souk is never shown on any tourist maps in Spain. not sure if that's true, but it sure makes for a heck of a story, huh?

Pasadena Farmers Market and lunch at The Slaw Dogs (Duarte)

November 2, 2012 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Hot Dogs, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

You are reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy blog here, with the primary subject 'food'. Today, Cathy is blogging, because Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are just plain busy.

This is a continuation of our Saturday road trip to watch a road test of the 2013 Rose Parade floats. When we got to Euro Pane, The Mister grabbed a few of those free newspapers stacked at the door and was reading while we were eating while I was checking my phone for spam on the blog. He saw that The Pasadena Farmers Market was held on Tuesday and Saturday and we knew the exact location- in the parking lot of Pasadena High, on Sierra Madre Boulevard, where the Rose Parade floats line up end to end, after the Parade.

So we drove until we saw vehicles parked on the street, parked, walked across the median and into the vendor area.

and enjoyed the vast selection of fruits and vegetables in the two long aisles of booths.

I must say, the selection and prices were overwhelming- we walked through, noting prices, taking a few samples,
enjoyed the three musicians (two with guitars and one playing a zither) spread out in separate areas,

as well as checking out the fresh seafood vendor-

There was one 'taco stand', several vendors selling baked goods, one egg rancher, one olive oil stand and a honey vendor.

Then I saw these, and learned what fresh picked jicama looks like! We made some purchases and started driving East, knowing we were heading home.

At some point, we were on the Original Route 66 and in Duarte. I spotted this building

drove two blocks and turned around. The name alone…

We walked in and looked at the menu…and it was overwhelming. Because the possibilities of combinations of available ingredients and preparations is overwhelming.

-There are five dog types(1/4 lb Vienna, natural casing Vienna, 1/4 lb turkey, Kosher beef or veggie)

-Six choices of links (Vienna Jumbo 12" all beef, 7" spicy Polish, 1/4 lb spicy chicken or chicken apple, 1/4 lb Bavarian bratwurst or 1/4 lb ghost pepper pork hot link) types, three preparation choices(steamed, charbroiled or 'ripped' (deep fried and the casing bursts).

-Then there is a choice of 11 Sauces: ketchup, mustard, BBQ, curry ketchup, spicy sesame aioli, chipotle mayo, roast garlic aioli, horseradish mustard, dijon and buttermilk ranch

-Three from a list of 15 (or 39¢ for more than three) toppings: diced onions, grilled onions, relish, pickle chips, dill pickle spear, jalapeños, sport peppers, pepperocini, sauerkraut, cole slaw, diced tomato, celery salt, chopped Romaine, garlic salsa verde or habañero pickled onion…

-And you can choose from 23 custom toppings for 99¢ each: Beer chili, veggie chili, bacon, pastrami, ground beef, jalapeño bacon, fried egg, Cheddar, Pepper Jack, Parmesan, Nacho cheese, Goat cheese, Feta, Blue, Kimchi, avocado, guacamole, mushrooms, sauteed bell peppers and onion, olive mix, truffle oil or roast garlic pieces.

Fortunately the menu is not only "Build Your Own", but does have a choice of ten 'Slaw Dogs'. Of course, we decided to share "The Traditional"

1/4 lb Vienna beef dog, beer chili, cheddar, mustard, onions and slaw ($4.99) (the only choice was between Cole Slaw or Thai Slaw, and we decided on Cole Slaw).

A cross section view- the chili was really good and the slaw was excellent- crispy and lightly dressed with mayonnaise and a bit of spice (The flavor could have been Lawry's Seasoned Salt…very pleasant and mild)

Then there were Sides available. Not only fries and sweet potato fries, but onion rings, tots, potato salad, slaws, chili cheese bowl, small tossed salad…but 1/2 skin on fries 1/2 sweet potato fries as well as chili cheese fries, truffle fries, parmesan fries, garlic fries or, our choice…Kimchi sweet potato fries ($5.99) (yes, more than the Slaw Dog). Sweet potato fries, perfectly nicely fried and topped with spicy sesame aioli (the 'spice' may have been Sriracha)bacon pieces (large, real bacon pieces), fresh made kimchi (not too spicy; a great version) and an over easy fried egg.

There were burgers and salads on the menu also- the salads all came with a choice of butterflied, chargrilled link. The kimchi fries was a perfect melding of flavors and textures and was a meal in itself. So glad we stopped.

When leaving, I asked about breakfast , since the sign out front advertised it Friday, Saturday and Sunday only…not only French Toast, pancakes (buttermilk or seven grain), oatmeal, and egg dishes (all served with fruit and either rosemary potatoes or potato tots), but some of the omelet selections contain available links (a Ghost Buster omelet using a ghost pepper sausage, with bell peppers, onions and fresh jalapeño and cheddar cheese is $7.99) and the bottom of the list- a Belly Buster scramble (diced pork belly, cilantro and green onions ($8.99)) has the only mention of pork belly on the menu.

The Slaw Dogs 1355 Huntington Drive (the original Route 66) Duarte, CA 91010 (626)358-8898 website

Turo Turo Thursday: Revisits to R&B Filipino Cuisine and Manila Fast Food and Desserts

November 1, 2012 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

Here's more steam table goodness for your Thursday.

R & B Filipino Cuisine:

Being kind of off the beaten track, it's easy to forgot about R&B. One weekend I was driving around Mira Mesa and R&B suddenly came to mind. Not sure why….but it was enough for me to take that right turn on Camino Ruiz……

They were doing pretty good business when I arrived. Taking a quick glance at what was available, it was easy to make a decision.

The beef steak (bistek) had just come out and I recalled that I'd had the tapas on a previous visit and didn't think it was too bad. The meat was pretty tender considering it was pretty low grade round or sirloin. It was too salty for my taste and whatever citrus they had in this really didn't help balance things out. The worst was the flavor I can only describe as "scummy", that weird almost offal-blood like flavor of low grade meat cooked in its own scum.

I also got the sisig (duh), which was nicely flavored, decent vinegar and heat. It was just a bit too bitter and mushy, but not bad overall.

The folks here looked pretty beat on this day, but they were nice enough. I still haven't run into the hamonado my friend's husband recommends, so hopefully one day.

R & B Filipino Cuisine
11257 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Manila Fast Food and Desserts:

I can say with some confidence that Manila Fast Food is probably the busiest of the turo turo joints in the area. Being near Seafood City helps, there are always people in the place, which makes for decent turnover. Looking over things I went with the sisig and beef mechado, easy picks. Though they had just brought out the lechon, which I've had mixed success with here. After talking to Kirbie about her rather recent experiences with the lechon here…..I probably made the right choice.

The Beef Mechado was very mild, but at least it wasn't too salty. The stew quality beef was pretty tough. Overall, it could have used a bit more flavor, perhaps a bit of al onger cooking time.

I've always thought the sisig at MFF had a decent balance of flavor, the sour-salty-spicy. My problem was how watery, mushy, and waxy the whole deal was. Well, no complaints about texture this time around. Unfortunately, there seems to have been a trade off with regards to flavor. The usual bright tones of the dish, especially the spice was now AWOL. I guess you have to choose between flavor and texture with regards to MFFs sisig?

Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Thanks for reading. I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!