January 2013 – Page 3

Sunday Sandwiches: Supernatural Sandwiches

January 6, 2013 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

***Update SuperNatural Sandwiches now has a brick and mortar shop. you can read an updated post here

**** SuperNatural has closed

Sometimes it can be strange……I'll get an email from and "friend of a friend of a friend"…..inviting me to drop their restaurant/coffee shop/deli….. I try to avoid being put into that position by just not going. Our not doing freebies policy works in our favor as well. It helps us to be honest when no strings are attached. It keeps things simple…."we eat, then write about it."

However, on occasion something interesting comes down the pike. As is the case with "Anthony", who knows my good friends John and PeterL. He and his partners own a stand called Supernatural Sandwiches. Anthony has commented on a couple of posts and shot me an email, which I answered, getting a very….how should I say it, enthusiastic response. Bread from Bread and Cie, fish from Catalina Offshore, produce from Suzie's Farms…all of which sounded great. Even though I haven't posted on it yet, we've been dropping by the San Diego Public Market on just about a weekly basis….so I thought what the heck? Of course there was the issue of Anthony knowing the twins….. which put me into a bit of a position. John assured me that whatever I had to say….or write would not put him or his brother into a bad position with Anthony, and heck, they didn't like him anyway (Anthony, if you're reading this, that's a joke, ok?)!

So on my next trip down to SDPM, I drop by the stand, and a really, really, friendly young man greets me and takes my order. It's got to be Anthony of course. Very nice fellow and all that. Then of course, he asks me my name for the order ticket…….. well, I'm not much of a liar, so I tell him "Kirk" and he doesn't blink an eye and writes my name down on my order. Great…..

The menu is a nice, tight, seven sandwiches….all of them named after mythical water creatures, kind of cute. So of course, all of the sandwiches are based on seafood.

On this day, we had two sandwiches:

And let me first say, I loved the bread, sort of a brioche toasted to perfection, not overly oily or buttery, with a hint of sweetness, and very light.

We started with the "Nessie" ($9), which at it's core is a white fish with a miso based glaze.

The sandwich itself was kind of wet, but the bread held up well. I wasn't too sure about this when I saw that it was halibut….we love halibut, but having made misoyaki style fish just about my entire life, I know that halibut was too dry to stand up to a miso glaze……

So what I had was a sopping sandwich with dry fish and a very mild miso based glaze at its core. It also looked like it could have spent a bit more time on the flat- top.

I'm sure other folks will like this…..I'd prefer something with a bit more oil and fat…..like black cod, which Catalina Offshore often has.

Our other sandwich was the "Hydra" ($9). This one is a blackened tuna (in this case albacore) with a spicy aioli and an acidic avocado based sauce.

After the previous sandwich, I wasn't too sure about albacore, which can be a very dry fish. But in this case I was wrong. It was nicely seared, nice crust, I loved the seasonings, the aioli had a mild "zing" and the avocado sauce tempered the heat.

I really enjoyed this sandwich. It gave me a reason to return……

Last night, John joined us for dinner, and tells me right off, "hey, my friend Anthony told me you dropped by his sandwich stand a couple of weeks ago"……. And I had to crack up. Not too many Asians with a good Scottish name like Kirk I guess….

So earlier today, we're at SDPM, and I stop by Supernatural Sandwiches….of course Anthony is there and we chat a bit. Then one of the guys in the back asks me, "didn't I see you at Catalina Offshore yesterday?" Sheesh….these guys are everywhere!

This time around I ordered the "Siren" ($8), the garlic shrimp sandwich. I know this is made with Mexican White Shrimp from Catalina Offshore, so as long as it's not overcooked it'll probably be pretty good.

And it was. The shrimp were very moist, plump, and sweet. Even the Missus was impressed. The bread was the same, except this time it was expressed in the form of a lobster roll type bun, which was just perfect.

Everything went well, perhaps too much of a good thing with the garlic aioli, but I'm sure most folks will just love that. I'm thinking a bit more acid would help as well. But overall, no complaints.

I enjoyed this last sandwich, so I'll probably be back. And though I'm not one of those preaching "farm to table", I do appreciate the fresh and local ingredients. Sadly, as far as I know, you can only get these on Wednesdays and Sundays at the San Diego Public Market….for now….

Supernatural Sandwiches (In the San Diego Public Market)
1735 National Ave
San Diego, CA 92113

Wed and Sunday 9am – 2 pm

Big Island – Keauhou Farmer’s Market

January 5, 2013 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Hawai'i - The Big Island

We left for Hilo on a Saturday morning, so we decided to drive back to the Keauhou Shopping Center on our way out of Kona. We had read a banner about the Keauhou Farmer's Market on Saturdays and had decided that maybe doing a bit of self catering might be the way to go for dinner. Of course there's still the Hilo's Farmer's Market, but the Missus was really enjoying the local produce…so why not? Also, I thought I'd grab something for breakfast as well.

The market is located in the "Long's side" of the shopping center and didn't seem very large…..but we enjoyed the range of merchants.

The stand that seemed to be getting the most attention was this one.

And with good reason. We bought a bag of tomatoes and a couple of cucumbers…they would be the best we would have on the trip.

Most of the folks here seemed to be regulars….the vendors knew a lot of them by name.

In the end, the Missus and I split up….She went to find some kale and other stuff, while I decided to get something to eat from here.

We didn't have anything in the way of a cooler or anything, but the weather wasn't particularly hot. I decided to buy a saussicon, a cured sausage which would hold up for dinner.

This shop made a nice variety of charcuterie, so I thought why not grab something for breakfast? The had an Asian influenced sausage and made something called a Banh Mi Royale…..I know, I'm not a fan of sticking anything in a roll and calling it a banh mi, but thought why not.

So while th Missus had cucumber, tomatoes, and other stuff, I had the banh mi royale.

The sausage itself was pretty tasty as was the chili mayo, but there was just too much of it slathered all over the rather routine roll. Way too much cilantro as well. The saucisson, however was delicious and would be a nice part of our dinner.

The Missus had found a stand selling this.

It's called a tamarillo, also known as tree tomato. And is also from the nightshade family. It has a very thick skin, which is slightly bitter, the pulp is very much tomato like, nice acid and a bit sweet. We would see this fruit several more times while on the island, so I guess it's being grown here now. Apparently, the fruit, native to South America, is now being grown, harvested, and exported from New Zealand as well. We may start seeing these more in the near future.

We really enjoyed the short time we spent here and will return when in the area in the future. We were eating, sitting on the parking lot wall, and admiring this view……..

Talk about a nice morning……

Keauhou Farmer's Market in the Keauhou Shopping Center
Saturday 8am – 12pm
78-6831 Alii Drive
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740

It’s soup weather: Mien Trung, Ramen Yamadaya, Sushi Yaro, Roseville Cozinha

January 3, 2013 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Italian Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

Is it just me, or does it seem that the weather's a bit colder this year? Brrrrr……. It's obviously time for something like this.

Actually, it's been a hot comforting bowl of noodle soup that I've been craving. My mother nce told me that during the her pregnancy she constantly craved noodles and soup. It's no wonder I was practically screaming for saimin from the time the pediatrician slapped me on the behind!

I've been purposely passing by the local bank every morning. They have one of those clocks-slash-temperature displays. The other morning; I go to work early, it read 39 degrees! 39 degrees! I won't vouch for the accuracy of the temperature, or time (it always seems off 2-3 minutes), but it did seem mighty cold…..especially for us wimpy San Diegans. Still, it wasn't like the hail and frost in Cathy's neighborhood…..but more than enough for me to start hunting down noodle soup! Here are a few recent bowls.

Mien Trung:

When it gets cold and I need a little kick in the pants, I go to Mien Trung for a bracing bowl of Bun Bo Hue. I believe I've hit just about every place that serves BBH in the San Diego area, and Mien Trung comes out on top.

The bowls do vary on visits. Sometimes it's more spicy, there are times when I find they've gone a bit too far with the MSG. But as whole, it always hits the spot. On this day, it was the normal scalding hot that BBH should always be to take care of the shredded greens and herbs, the MSG level was rather low, the spiciness on medium low………

And it was just right for me……..

I was also lucky that I wore dark colors…..no visible little red dots after slurping up those noodles!

Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111

Ramen Yamadaya:

**** Ramen Yamadaya has closed

I had thoughts of going to Yakyudori for some ramen, but my last couple ramen visits haven't gone too well, and I wanted something a bit richer. It had been a while and since it wasn't a zillion degrees outside, I thought it was time for another visit. It's still fairly warm inside; great during winter, but I'm not too sure how things will be when summer rolls around.

Ordering for me was easy…well relatively, I do like the curry here, but it was a warming bowl of rick tonkotsu style ramen I was looking for. I'm not a big fan of the chashu here, but wanted to check it out again. I hedged my bets and went with the Kotteri Ramen, an extra "fatty", I like to use the word rich broth, with a side of kakuni pork. Slow cooked pork belly.

The broth had that nice tongue coating richness I enjoy….not greasy, but nice and rich. It also wasn't as salty as on previous visits. The noodles were too soft and mushy this time around….I'm toying with idea of getting them extra firn next time. The chashu is tragically tough, dry, and low on the flavor scale for me….better to go with the kakuni, which was unfortunately ice cold….guess I'll order the kakuni ramen, kotteri…..

I could go on a bit more….but I won't bore you with the minutae. It did the job, that's the main thing.

Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairement Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Soki Soba at Sushi Yaro:

**** Sushi Yaro has closed

My buddy Sam has ramen and all kinds of other stuff on the menu now. For me, the best noodle soup he serves is the soki soba, an Okinawan noodle soup, served with "soki", simmered spare ribs.

The only other version I've had of this; at an Okinawan Restaurant on Oahu was a bit different and yet the same. The noodles there were wide noodles; here it's udon, but was cooked perfectly. The broth like this was dashi/kombu based. I enjoyed the spicy vinegar provided, it help to balance out the broth, which teetered on the high sodium end. There were two riblets here, though they had pretty much melted to pieces. Still, I was surprised that Sam did a pretty good job with this….I'll have it again.

Sushi Yaro
7905 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Cioppino at Roseville Cozinha:

**** Roseville Cozinha has closed

The Missus said I should give stew some equal time. I think She meant I needed to mention the cioppino She enjoyed recently at Roseville Cozinha.

She loved it……..it had a nice zing to it, but wasn't too rich. Well flavored seafood based broth too. Nice fresh seafood.

She enjoyed the simple, pure flavors of the shrimp in this as well.

But that's not a soup or stew so I can't count it.

Roseville Cozinha
2750 Dewey Rd Suite 104 (Liberty Station)
San Diego, CA 92106

So tell me….what have you been eating to keep warm?

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking, Japanese Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Sushi and Sashimi

Don't know about you, but we've just finished doing the dishes of our New Year's dinner. Nothing fancy mind you, just me and the Missus.

I hope everyone had a most happy New Year!

Like most we've, well I've had a routine on New Year's Eve……I get up early then hit Nijiya, Marukai, and maybe Mitsuwa to see what was going on, something I've done just about every year since our first New Year post. As I've noted over the last couple of years, the variety and quantity of Osechi-ryori, the traditional Japanese New Year dishes has flagged. I'm sure that it will never totally disappear, but what's available has surely gone down over the last couple of years as old traditions fade and new ones replace them.

This year I had a shopping companion….the biggest change in our household over the last year is that the Missus has taken an interest in cooking and shopping……so it was great having a companion when browsing the aisles.

Though there were many temptations….

We decided not to do the time consuming typical Japanese dishes I'd usually make for New Year. Instead, we bought something I don't recall seeing at Marukai……some really nice Argentinian Red Shrimp…not the freezer burnt stuff from TJ's, but some really nice, almost sashimi grade stuff.

I ended up doing a simple salt bake…….

This was so simple. you didn't even season the shrimp…..just make sure not to overcook them. They go really quickly….like 8 minutes over a hot bed of salt in 500 degree oven.

The Missus was in heaven. We paired this with a shaved kale salad, I made some three oil noodles, and also a dish that had been created a couple of days before. Late the previous week, the Missus just wanted to eat fish each day…..so She kind of threw down the gauntlet so to speak and I had to come up with three different fish dishes on three consecutive days….I call it pulling a dish out of my rear end…so to speak. Anyway, one of the winners was a pan fried fish with a Oyster Sauce-Chinkiang Black Vinegar-Honey Glaze on top of mui bok choi.

The flavors were right in the Missus' Northern Chinese flavor ballpark – sour-salty-sweet…..

For dinner we picked up JohnL and headed to our favorite little neighborhood sushi joint.

Loved the "two way ika"……

It was a nice low-keyed evening. The Missus and I almost never go out on the eve, but decided that this would be a perfect new year eve curveball…….and we really enjoyed it.

Sushi Yaro
7905 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Nothing fancy for New Year morning….well, at first glance it would seem so. The Missus had challenged me with coming up with zhōu like we had at Shanghai No.1. So this meant starting the night before….I changed up my porridge technique and soaked the rice the previous evening. The next morning while I got the zhōu started, I warmed some water and soaked 2 ounces of dried scallop. I shredded the scallop and added the strained soaking liquid to the porridge. Then made a very Taiwanese thin omelete of egg and prevserved turnip. After about an hour and a half, the porridge looked close….I added more water and turned up the heat to allow for the total breakdown of the rice….giving it an almost luxurious texture…..

Dried scallop congee…..

Of course I'm of Japanese ancestry, so I needed to have soba as my meal to enter the new year – toshi-koshi soba. I went with a version of Sansai Soba……of course I needed to have some egg with it, right?

Dinner was the other half of the Argentinian shrimp….salt baked of course.

Some salad, oven-blasted cauliflower, and another item whose recipe is coming up soon. Porcini crusted ono, with seared truffled polenta, and a porcini-cremini sauce.

So this is the way we started 2013!

I hope you all had a great New Year, and a most delici-yoso 2013!

Thanks for dropping by!

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