March 2014 – mmm-yoso

Jin’s Pot

March 31, 2014 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

***Update: Jin's Pot has closed and is now Xian Kitchen ***

I was quite fascinated by the opening of Jin's Pot; serving Yunnan Cuisine here in San Diego. Admittedly, I really don't know a great deal about true Yunnan cuisine as most of the places I've been to even in the SGV, seem to be a combination of Sichuan….or perhaps it is Northern Yunnan which borders Sichuan, cuisine. With over 20 different indigenous ethnic groups in the "Kingdom of Animal and Plants", Dian Cai, the cuisine of Yunnan seems to be quite diverse.

I first visited a couple of days after I did that midweek post. The place was really empty; the older gentleman who greeted me, hardly spoke English, but seemed very nice. Eventually, a younger man entered, very friendly, and things got under way.

Things started with some boiled peanuts….not too salty and pretty good overall.

The one Yunnan Dish that I have had several itmes is the well known Crossing the Bridge Rice Noodle ($11.99).

I must admit, just like Kirbie it seems like there was quite a bit more to this compared to versions I had before. Thinly sliced chicken breast, mushroom-pork "meatball", bean curd skin, all went nicely with the dish….the luncheon meat wasn't Spam, I'm kinda wondering if this was a substitute for the famous xuānwēi tuǐ – the prize winning ham of the region?

The soup was fairly hearty, with a decent salt content, being a bit higher in fat and collagen it retained heat quite well. The rice noodles also held up well.

This was a pretty decent bowl of noodle soup, though not worth the $11.99 price, even with a 10% grand opening discount, I thought it over-priced. Consider that you can get a Kotteri Tonkotsu with a side of Kakuni Pork from Yamadaya for the same price….

A few weeks later, my coworkers, "YZ" and Lily were nice enough to join me for lunch. Since YZ is from Shanghai and Lily from Shanxi, we'd have no translation problems.

We started with a "Cold Dish Combo" ($11.99), various liang cai.

This really wasn't a good value……the bean curd was bland and terrible, the stewed beef (in the back) was the best of the bunch….but we found the flavor to be on the mild side.

We were told that the "Sour" version of the hot pot was the best so we went with that.

It was kind of scummy, but the flavor was decent, very similar to the broth for the Crossing the Bridge noodles, though not as thick ….not too salty, nor too sour, good white pepper, fairly hearty….YZ enjoyed it the most.

I had read that papaya is used quite extensively in Yunnan cuisine……because we had ordered the hot pot, I decided we should have the stir fried chicken with papaya.

This dish seemed very homestyle. The flavor was sharp and sour, but nothing really stood out. Some pieces of the chicken were on the tough and dry side and the dish had a certain greasiness to it.

The meal came out to $38, kind of pricey for what we got…..I wouldn't complain if the preparation and execution of the dishes was top notch, I'm all about quality trumping quantity, but this was pretty simple homestyle food and thus fell short in both the quality and value category.

The young man serving us was very nice; though I don't think we'll be back anytime soon.

Jin's Pot
4690 Convoy St. Suite B109
San Diego, CA 92111

You cna read Kirbie's post here.

Green Shallots Thai Gourmet Express

March 30, 2014 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

**** Green Shallots has closed

Yes, even though I noticed this place back in August of last year, I took my time checking it out. For osme reason, the "Thai Gourmet Express" portion of the name made me think of bad mall food court Thai…..

Gladly, this was a "steam-table free" zone. It seems to be using the now somewhat redundant "fast- casual" model…the Chipotle-ness of the world continues. And yet, Thailand has some of the best of what I'd consider "fast food/food court" cuisine. I mean Khao Karr Moo – stewed pork shank, in a Hospital Food Court?

There was a wok station where an older gentleman did his thing….the place was shiny, clean…..

I liked the menu; it's simple, tight, poultry driven. They even sold Thai BBQ Chicken by the piece, so I started with that ($2).

I pretty much got what I expected……standard rotisserie chicken with some lemongrass flavor. It was moist, the skin a bit too rubbery for my taste, lacking the complex, nuanced flavor of good Kai Yaang; garlic, cilantro, fish sauce, sweetness from sugar and perhaps a bit of honey or something similar. The flesh was "American soft"; I actually enjoy a more toothsome and flavorful bird for dishes like this.

Seeing Roast Duck on the menu, I decided to get the Roasted Duck Thai Fried Rice – medium spicy.

The guy working the wok looked like he knew what he was doing, but the rice was on the mushy side. There was a nice amount of roasted duck, which was on the mild side in terms of flavor, but was passable. Not enough fish sauce, lacking in sweetness, the heat was one-dimensional coming via crushed red pepper flakes. Just average.

The gratis soup……well, I'd rather do without.

I wanted to give that wok chef another shot so I returned and ordered the ever so deceivingly simple Pad See Ew with Shrimp($8):

This was not terrible, at least the noodles weren't overcooked and mushy. It did lack enough color, soy sauce flavor, pungent white pepper and the very mild sweetness I enjoy in Pad See Ew. Also, the shrimp 41-50 in size were cooked to death and very rubbery. I also wasn't thrilled that they didn't use Chinese broccoli, at eight bucks for a rather small portion, I think they could have at least done that.

Overall, this isn't the Panda Express of Thai Food, but in my opinion, its bit too "gringo" for my taste. The food is prepared fresh to order. I didn't expect Sab E Lee and this place was definitely not. Like I said about J & T Thai Street Food, "I usually don't go to Chipotle when I'm craving Mexican Food, but I don't hold it against those who do."

Still, the couple on one of the tables was ooooh-ing and aah-ing about the Roast Duck Larb….so maybe someday.

Green Shallots Thai Gourmet Express
5447 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123

Porto: The Ribeira and dinner at O Caracas

March 29, 2014 mmm-yoso Porto, Portugal, Portuguese Food, Travel

After stuffing my self with a Francesinha at Cafe Santiago, the Missus decided that I needed a walk….a rather lengthy walk. So we walked back down to the Ribeira….the "riverbank".

One quick look at the Ribeira and you instantly understand the importance of this location on the Douro River estuary. The Romans obviously understood the importance of the location, establishing the town of Portus. Though the focus has shifted from commerce to tourism, seeing the "Barcos Rabelos", traditional Portuguese boats used to transport goods, bobbing in the water, it's quite easy imagining that long ago time.

And while the waterfront is full of tourists, it's quite laid back and relaxing….. We didn't encounter various touts doing the "hard sell". It was a very low stress area, with dozens of little alleyways and arcades, lovely, colorful buildings……a very nice place for a stroll.

Across the river is Vila Nova de Gaia, home of all the Port Wine "Lodges".

You can read the signs from this side of the river….beckoning you to come on over and have a taste…Sandeman, Calem, Vasconcellos….

At the east end of the Ribeira towering over the Ribeira is the Ponte Dom Luis I, a metal arch bridge. When it was built in 1881, it was the longest of its type in the world.

The upper deck carries the metro and there's a pedestrian walkway; the bottom is for automobiles, with a pedestrian sidewalk.

The City Centre of Porto is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so there are undoubtedly hundreds of stories, like the one memorialized in the plaque to the right….The Ponte das Bracas disaster. This occurred when Porto was surrounded by the French during the Napoleonic Wars. Citizens attempted to cross the Douro on a pontoon bridge, the Ponte das Bracas. The bridge collapsed under the weight and some say up to 6,000 lost their lives. More on the disaster can be found here.

We enjoyed spending the "golden hour" at the Ribeira, but soon enough it started getting dark. We were looking for a place to have dinner; not too much after all, I'd had the Francesinha earlier in the day. I opened up the tourist map….don't you love these? We usually don't even give them a glance, but João had indicated a handful of places, some of them touristy, some places he takes his family on occasion. I'm glad I didn't lose it….it's a nice memento from our time in Porto:

One of these was a places noted on the map was called O Caracas.

So we wound our way up one of the side streets and ended up on a residential square. We had no idea where we were….I went and asked one of the women for directions, but she waved me off….she spoke no English, until I said "O Caracas"….she started laughing and pointed to the window right behind us….there was no sign, but a menu. O Caracas serves but two dishes and evening.

We entered, and ne of the owners, who are twin sisters told us they had no tables. So we turned to leave….she said there was one table, in the corner, away from everyone, next to the beer cooler….which was perfect for us, quiet, intimate….just perfect!

We enjoyed watching folks entering and leaving….most of them looked like locals. When one of the twins had to change the beer keg….she is tiny, like under five feet tall, I had a blast helping her change the beer keg. The place just kind of embraced us.

We mentioned that we'd be sharing…..which was no problem. We were told to come and take a look in the kitchen to see what "Mama" was cooking. And there mom is really cooking here……no kidding.

For me, the most fascinating item during the meal was that very dense, moist, dark brown bread. It was quite substantial, but I loved the flavor, which had rye tones. I later learned it is called Broa de Avintes and we sought it out for self catered meals.

This dinner was like many of the homestyle meals we had in Portugal, soulful and hearty.

The acorda au arroz primavera, basically a bean-vegetable stew thickened with bread and rice, was hearty and far from bland…..a very "stick to your ribs" dish.

The fried fish was simple, but very clean tasting and also quite filling. I was told we were given extra as an "offering"……for helping them with the beer keg. An offering……it still brings a smile to my face.

This is typical of the hearty food we came to enjoy in Portugal…plus it was truly made by "mom". You can't beat that. I'm glad we shared; there was no way I could have finished this myself. The price was right, under 15 euros for dinner and drinks. I'd gladly return…..

O Caracas
Rua das Taipas 27
Porto, Portugal

We walked back down the winding street to our apartment, warm and happy. It had been a fun first day in Porto.

COMC – Never made the cut, the travel edition

March 28, 2014 mmm-yoso Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Burgers, Food Trucks, Hawai'i - The Big Island, Honolulu, Madison, Wisconsin, Oahu, Poke, Travel, Tunisia, Tunisian Food

Not everything makes it into a post, I've deleted many photos for posts that never got started….that Mariscos place where I got ill, that very good fine meal with no lighting….though unless we're travelling, I usually don't even break out the camera for those type of meals. And the one's I just never got around to…. I've done these "Never Made the Cut" posts before. Here's another batch…..

Recently, "Kha" sent me an email for some Hawaii recommendations, which included some requests for the North Shore…….

One of the places was Mackey's Shrimp Truck…….I sent him a photo and realized I never posted on the place.

Which made me realize that I had photos from meals during our travels that I never posted on. Too much time had passed…..

Sometimes I even had a very good meal, but the lighting was just too bad……like this revisit to The Old Fashioned.

Pickled Pork Hock…pickled egg…..

Nice burger…..and cheese curds of course….

And an adorable Server…….

But that lighting….ick……

I just plumb forgot about our revisit to Fresh Catch….

We enjoyed the poke much more this time around….

The Missus loved the really aged poi…..which was a surprise…..it was really funky.

This last one is from Tunis. It was a surprisingly decent meal……

This was pretty inexpensive as well…. in the Airport in Tunis! Airport staff and flight crew were on the other tables….so I guess this is the place!

So that's it….another Clearing Out the Memory Card post! Have a great weekend!

Roadtrip: Dinner at Wakuriya (San Mateo)

March 27, 2014 mmm-yoso Fine Dining, Japanese Restaurants, Memorable Meals, Road Trip, San Francisco and Silicon Valley

Yeah, I know, perhaps I should mention something about the Michelin star in my title. But I figure there will be folks who know of Wakuriya and perhaps people "skimming" would spend enough time to read the first sentence of the post. I'm not totally sold on the Michelin Guide, it is after all a tourist guide. The one thing I've found with all the Michelin Starred Restaurants I've been to, the last one being The French Laundry, when I was young and thought it was all about expense and prestige, is that service in these named establishments have always been excellent…..sometimes a bit too much, but still excellent at its core. To be honest, it's not what the Michelin Guide said that drew me to Wakuriya, but the pedigree of the husband and wife team that runs the place. Katsuhiro & Mayumi Yamasaki both worked at the legendary Kaiseki restaurant Kitcho in Kyoto. The place has been on my list for quite a while. The restaurant takes only about 15 customers per evening, it's a small intimate experience. You call for reservations starting at midnight 30 days before. Knowing we were finally headed back up to the Bay Area, though only as North as Daly City, the Missus was all for a nice dinner…… So I called when I woke on a weekday morning 445 am, called an left a message for a reservation. And receiving a call back later in the day telling me, in the most polite Japanese way, "nice try, but you better try a bit harder if you really want to eat here…." I went home and told the Missus. Now usually, She'd be a bit irritated and decide the effort was not worth it….but for some reason, She was quite interested. So interested that She woke up just before midnight and called for reservations right when the clocked flashed 12:00…….and got a busy signal! She hung up and called back and left a message and later that day we found out that we'd gotten two seats at Wakuriya.

The tiny restaurant is situated in the most discreet and low-keyed locale….in a strip mall (of course – my kind of place) that contains a Safeway. It was the week after Thanksgiving; which turned out to be the coldest weekend of the winter. It was drizzling and pretty darn cold. As we walked to the door; we got the earliest reservations possible, 630, and had arrived a bit early….the door opened and Mayumi Yamasaki opened the door, saw us, and when we told her we had reservations, she asked us to come in because it was just to cold.

The interior is spartan; a couple of tables and a long wood bar. I don't know if it was by plan or just our timing, but we were seated at the bar, which only had two seats. We loved where we were, isolated from all the customers who would come in later, and able to watch the operations of putting together dinner take place.

I enjoy getting in early at restaurants…..though at time the kitchen hasn't hit its rhythm, I find the service and pacing to be much better, as was the case here; we got nice explanations of our dishes and even had time to chat a bit. Mayumi does the front of house…..this is basically a two person operation which means all of the front of house, Katsuhiro does all the cooking and most of the food prep. He works in silence. We heard him speak twice during our entire time in the restaurant…as we left; a "thank you" and "goodnight".

As you might guess the meal is in the style of Kaiseki, seasonal, much of it local, juggling taste and appearance, and was served in a fairly traditional order. I guess I'd call this "Modern California Kaiseki". Things started off with an apéritif, a wonderful infused nigori sake.

There are sake, wine, and other drinks available. We went with two of the tasting flights.

The Missus went with the "Fruity Flight"…the name still makes me laugh, with Yuzu Omoi – bascially yuzu infused sake, Kome Kome Shu – a light and tart "Riesling" like sake, and the Missus' favorite the Ume Shu.

I went with the premium sake flight; mainly because it had my favorite, Kubota Manju……

It is typical for a Kaiseki meal to start off with a Sakizuke, basically a small appetizer, almost like an amuse-bouche. In this case it was a fairly size-able oven baked "goma-tofu" topped with uni.

Goma tofu is not tofu in the classic sense; it is made with sesame paste and a thickening agent. Loved the rich flavor of sesame with the rich though refreshing flavor of the uni. This was actually a pretty good size appetizer.

The Zensai – the true appetizers featured three items; the lobster with egg yolk dressing and avocado.

The Missus is not the biggest fan of lobster, but this was tender and sweet, the ikura (salmon roe) added a perfect briney balance.

Fried Fresno Satoimo with miso two ways…..

This was served "dengaku" (topped with miso) style. The milder, sweeter, and less salty Saikyo miso version was a winner.

The grated apple on the Madai (Red Snapper) nigiri was a revelation….I would never for the life of me think of this combination.

The Onmono, which I thought of as "Futamono" was a nice, clean, dashi based broth with wonderful rich and velvety, kamo dango of sorts…duck meatballs.

So comforting on such a cold night.

Next up, the Sashimi Tsukuri. This was done in the form of a salad with a citrus dressing….

Nice, crisp, refreshing….the Missus said the Hokkaido Scallop hidden under everything might have been one of the best bites She's had in a while.

The Mushimono – steamed dish was a steamed black cod with sesame sauce.

Nice fish prep, the Missus isn't the biggest fan of sesame paste, so other than the brussel sprouts, this wasn't a favorite.

Some gelato to refresh….Satsuma Granite with sweet ginger syrup

By this time, 730 had arrived and all the other tables were full. Still, we had a bird's eye view of the proceedings. Things were never rushed, questions were always answered, and things moved like a well choreographed dance……no words between husband and wife, the magic of spousal instincts with regards to movement and order.

The next dish, the heaviest and most substantial was actually our least favorite of the evening; the wagyu no miso sukiyaki.

The meat was very tender, but had a strong metallic tinge to it; the miso sauce wasa bit too salty for my taste.

The end of the meal (except for dessert) was a typical Gohanmono – the rice dish. There was a choice of two offered, so of course we got one each.

The ebi no tempura donburi – fried shrimp over rice was nice, the shrimp tender, though the Missus enjoys a lighter, more crisp batter…..I loved the tsuyu which had a perfect balance for my taste.

The "Tai Chazuke" featured snapper with sesame paste and dashi over rice.

To me, this is comfort food elevated…….for the Missus, it had more sesame paste than She enjoys.

As for dessert, matcha and and white bean mousse with petit “tai-yaki”……

Well it must have been good since the Missus ate both of them!

We both really enjoyed our meals. The service was excellent, not only was our hostess efficient and knowledgeable, but also quite gracious….and those little things were apparent. When my first dish arrived, the settings were on my right….but after I ate it with my left hand, all my settings were placed on my left. The matcha to end the meal was as perfect as I've ever had…..we watched Mayumi preparing the tea; she added some hot water, then took a pause to check the temperature by feel, it was apparently too hot so she waited and then added water waiting to serve us until she thought it was the correct temp……..which we got to see since we were seated at the bar.

While not quite in the league of Urasawa, I'd say this meal is well worth the $95 price tag (minus drinks). With 15 settings a night, you know this isn't a money grab……

I'm positive we'll try to return during another season….if the Missus can get through on the phone line!

Wakuriya
115 De Anza Blvd
San Mateo, CA 94402

Midweek Meanderings: Ready for Cowboy Beer Restaurant (????), Bun Bo Hue (aka Mien Trung) weather, and “Dirty Chip”

March 26, 2014 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Chinese Restaurants, yoso-silly

Some odds and ends for "hump day"……

Cowboy Beer Restaurant?:

Driving on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard the other day, I turned on Diane Avenue, much like I did in 2003, and just like then, a sign caught my eye. However, I don't think this will turn out to be much like the restaurant wqe saw that day, which turned out to be Ba Ren. Instead, this place is becoming something called "Cowboy Beer Restaurant", really? Say it isn't so……

Say those three words slowly, cowboy……beer….restaurant and try to make heads or tails of it.

After Ba Ren and before this, the place was a "Hunan" (please take into consideration the quotation marks) restaurant trying to disguise itself as a Sichuan shop.

I actually visited…once. I tried to order some of the dishes on the menu, Steamed Preserved Meat and Suan Do Jiao Chao La, among others….no bueno….you gotta be kidding.

I ended up getting a mediocre rendition of La Rou Chao – the one classic Hunan dish they actually seemed to have.

The preserved (smoked) pork – La Rou (waxy meat) was terrible. It had that slight camphor like flavor and the hard texture of something from a package. The stir fry technique was terrible, some of the vegetables were still raw…..it was also bland….very bland, which Hunan cooking is not!

Sad……

So now I'm sitting here wondering if a place called Cowboy Beer Restaurant will actually be an improvement……..

4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Am I the only one glad the weather is kind of cool and gloomy right now?:

Except for the weekend after Thankgsgiving and one wet weekend, we seemed to have totally skipped winter. So I'm kind of glad the weather is cooler, with a chance of rain (which we really need). Much like the seasonal rain totals, my ramen totals are down this season.

I'm going to try to take advangtage of this….we started last night with some Bun Bo Hue.

From you know where, right?

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

Dirty Chip?:

So said the sign…….

Man, this made me crack up. Two words….so many possibly implied meanings?

Hope you're having a great week!

Circling back to Tajima Ramen House

March 25, 2014 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

Well…Tajima is another one of those places I've been kind of down on for a while. Perhaps not as much as Dumpling Inn, but as I mentioned way back in 2006, I enjoyed the food put out by the previous owners. But that's almost ten years now, time to turn the page.

There are some aspects of Tajima I appreciate……the refresh that took the restaurant from looking like a student hangout with shelves of manga and games, to the more grown up, pub like atmosphere, craft beer on tap. On all my visits the place has been staffed adequately and each Server, while perhaps not the most efficient have always been affable and nice.

I was also told that I've focused too much on the ramen at Tajima in recent years and not enough on the other food served. Fair enough; it was time to circle back and see what Tajima had to offer in 2014. As with all these circling back posts; I make several revisits; in this case five! Just to see what's up.

I just let my feelings be the guide, though there were several dishes I was eager to try….those that the "old" Tajima used to make well.

One thing I noticed is that the miso soup here is decent; perhaps on the salty side, but not insipid like "throwaway versions" elsewhere.

I decided to start things off with something I've never been fond of – Pork Mayonnaise, along with an "old Tajima" favorite; minchi katsu.

This just verified that Pork Mayonnaise is not for me…..it's way too rich, kind of greasy in a nauseating way. The pork was tough making this a rather unpleasant dish. The minchi katsu could have used more filler,I can't believe I'm writing that. It was dry and tough and seemed to have been fried for too long. Though I'm a fan of breaded and deep fried "meatloaf"…..I'm not particularly fond of this. Still, this is quite a bit of food, if you throw in the rice, miso soup, and green salad for $8.95.

It took a while for me to recover, but I returned a couple of weeks later and ordered the hot mess called Kimchi Pork Udon ($9.95).

I do mean "hot mess" in the most endearing way. This was probably my most favorite dish during these visits. Being Japanese style kimchi, it was more sour than fermented and spicy; the pork was tough and I'm glad there wasn't very much of it. I'm a sucker for nice drippy egg and the noodles were prepared as well as low grade Nishimoto Trading udon can be…..decent chew…nice and slippery. The benishoga (pickled ginger) and bonito flakes actually made the dish kind of interesting in some ways as well. Though it looked like this was cooked up in some dorm room, I enjoyed it. Of course I couldn't finish it all…..I ended up eating the leftovers for dinner.

After these two gut busters, I changed my strategy a bit. I went for an early dinner and stuck to two appetizers; no rice.

I love beef tataki and I'd never had it at Tajima, so I went with the interesting sounding Beef Tataki with Jalapeno ($7.95).

I should have just stuck with the regular Beef Tataki. The meat was on the chewy side, not a bad thing with tataki. There was an abundance of ponzu sauce; again, not a bad thing……it refreshed and adds a nice peppy, sour flavor. The jalapenos and the fried garlic just didn't do it for me. The Jalapenos added too much of a not so spicy, slightly bitter "green taste", I'd prefer a few thin slices of a more fruity pepper; perhaps some bright and vibrant Thai Chilies? The fried garlic was too bitter….I'd prefer something more upfront and pungent….heck garlic paste would do the trick….I was even thinking, since the onions did add some decent pungency; why not roasted garlic……add a level of sweet to things?

I've always thought the Chicken Karaage ($4.50) to be gummy and bland……

Let's give it up for consistency! There are two ways I look at Chicken Karaage, either it's light and crunchy, with mild flavor, or it can be softer with a nice salty-soy-slightly-sweet-mildly gingery flavor. This was neither. Huge portion for the price though.

A week later I decided to return and order the one dish that "old Tajima" did really well; the Okonomiyaki ($10.95). After the ownership change, the okonomiyaki went downhill, eventually leading me to make my own. I was interested to see what it was like in 2014……..

Man, this sure looked good…….but as they say, "the devil is in the details". I was on the look-out for shrimp…..I really couldn't find any large pieces….could those tiny reddish pieces be minced shrimp? I did find two squid legs and a very sparse amount of pork. Other than that, this was a pile of egg noodles and dough…..which wasn't completely cooked in the middle, topped with a load of bonito flakes and okonomiyaki sauce. Man, I couldn't do more than a couple of bites and took this home. It was still hot when the Missus tried a bite, after which She was done. She completed the search and rescue for seafood and found nothing.

Still, not to be discouraged, I went back for one final lunch…..and went with a favorite of mine Katsu Curry ($8.95).

After all of the rather large portions at Tajima, this dish was surprising. The pork was wafer thin and tough, when I bit into it the texture wasn't right….turning the cutlet over I noticed that it wasn't fried completely on one side. This should have been done at a higher heat, faster. The curry was on the salty side and not very good.

I think I've had enough for now…….

So what's up with Tajima? Well, maybe if I was in my early twenties, having consumed more than a couple of beers, this stuff would look great with "beer goggles"…… But I'm not in my twenties and it's all about a different combination of quality and quantity. I can find a better version of just about everything I had at Tajima elsewhere. Still, Tajima does certain things well…..I like the folks who work here; they are really nice. Tajima is open late…San Diego still seems to be a "close by 9" town, though things are changing. And yes……I still think the best thing Tajima currently makes is the ramen….though Tajima may not be even in my top 5 for that.

Tajima Japanese Restaurant
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Mariscos Monday: A quick visit to Mariscos la Perla Negra

March 24, 2014 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Seafood

I mentioned that Mariscos Godoy had closed in a recent post. Though it was quite a shock, we had noticed that the food there had changed a bit over the last year, much more salty, unevenly prepared, the music seemed louder than ever…….. And yet, we were sad, and a bit shocked to see it was gone and now replaced by "the Black Pearl". The Missus was interested to see what the new shop brought to the table (no pun intended), so we took a weeknight drive down to Chula Vista to see.

At first glance, the place looked pretty much the same, as did the menu…we were later told by our Server that the menu is 98% the same as Mariscos Godoy. The twp per-cent? I'm not sure as the menu looked the same.

Things started off with chips…..

The consomme and salsa……I did notice that the "fish dip" was missing……

I also noticed that the consomme. which was decent, was less salty than before….also, the music was played at a moderate volume……

The Missus and I decided on ordering just two items….which was just enough for us. Starting with the smoked marlyn stuffed peppers called Toritos.

Light and more crisp than what I recalled, the smoked fish wasn't as salty, but still had more than enough smokey flavor to satisfy. This is still a favorite.

We also ordered the Langostinos Zarandeado. The price ($24.95) is the same, but there's one less whole langostinos.

Still, this was less salty and greasy than what we had during our last two visits to Godoy. The "squat lobsters" were grilled perfectly, still plump, tender, and full of flavor – garlic, chili, nice savory flavors. There was much less in terms of portion, side dishes (no beans), and condiments, but the food seemed prepared better. What did throw me off was the flour tortillas……. I'd never had flour tortillas at Godoy. I thought that perhaps we were "gringo'd", but then noticed the other tables had flour tortillas. Go figure…..

This was a much more relaxed place that the fiesta atmosphere of Godoy….though I did notice that the have live bands on Saturday and Sunday……. I am hoping the Mariachi and the "Gorilla" has been retired though…..

Yep, once I got ambushed on my birthday….once I saw them do a version for kids….the gorilla used milk instead of a Corona!

Anyway, I'm sure we'll be back to check them out again; though probably not on "band nights".

Mariscos la Perla Negra
651 Palomar St
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Sunday Sandwiches – the Condiment Edition: Balsamic – Mirin Onion Jam

March 23, 2014 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes, Sandwiches

Nothing takes a sandwich beyond the level of being just something between two slices of bread, then a nice complimentary condiment…..mustard, ketchup……"secret sauce", sweet onions……

Or perhaps something like this…..

Recently, I had to smoked some chicken for the Missus to take to work.

After the chicken was done, I decided to take advantage of the smoke and try some of these really cheap thin cut shoulder chops….

In what seems a lifetime ago…well, at least the mid-90's would be for some of the folks who read the blog, I was in Atlanta, off and on, for over a year. I usually stayed near Emory University and right up the street, past the CDC was a place called Dusty's BBQ (which sadly closed down in 1999 after 27 years). I remember having lunch there one day and striking up a conversation with a very nice gentleman who it turned out was a professor at Emory. The one thing I recall him saying was, "it's amazing what smoke can do to the cheapest, simplest, cuts of meat." So I decided to smoke the cheapest ($1.09/lb) cut of meat I could find.

I also wanted to raise things a bit….not by adding BBQ sauce or anything, but just by adding one thing…..I love making Mirin Caramelized Onions, so I went for Balsamic Onion Jam.

I used some of my pork rub to tie the flavors together…….I don't use much salt in my rub, so that's why I will adjust the salt at the end. Don't use the good balsamic for this, the cheap stuff you get from Trader Joe's will do…… I do something kind of different, I start in the dry pan….yes, you do lose liquid this, but you also get more of a stronger flavor. It does seem like a lot of sweet stuff, but it really tastes great with, say, pulled pork? But what doesn't taste great with pulled pork?

Balsamic – Mirin Onion Jam:

2 large onions sliced thin
2-3 Tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tb pork rub (optional – you can use a combination of smoked paprika, oregano, granulated garlic, etc)
2 Tb turbinado sugar
1/4 cup mirin
2 Tb grated or minced garlic
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

– Head a thick bottom pan over medium heat.

– Add the onions, let caramelize for 20-30 seconds, stir and let sit for another 10-2o seconds. Stir once more.

– Added olive oil, turbinado sugar and seasonings (pork rub), lower the heat and stir occasionally until the onions start to color.

– Add the mirin and garlic. Keep stirring periodically until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the onions or burnt off.

– Add the balsamic vinegar and repeat.

– One reduced, taste and adjust salt and pepper.

Will keep for a least a week stored in an air-tight container in the fridge……

Porto: Sé do Porto and meeting a “Little Frenchie” (Francesinha) at Cafe Santiago

March 22, 2014 mmm-yoso Porto, Portugal, Portuguese Food, Sandwiches, Travel, yoso-silly

After lunch at A Grade, the Missus decided that we should take a walk along the Ribeira, the scenic waterfront….though She didn't quite have the usual walk in mind.

I really loved the vibe that Porto gave off……

There was a no nonsense feel to things, a wholesomeness, hard working, honest, "from the gut", in that way, it strangely reminded me of QingDao.

Anyway, instead of the usual walk along the waterfront, the Missus decided we should head up to the the Porto Cathedral….but not in the usual manner….nooooo. Instead, we headed to the end of Rua Infante Dom Henrique and through the tunnel…

Ending up under the iconic Dom Luís Bridge.

Here the Missus ordered me up stairs…..after marching up and down the hills of Coimbra, my walking legs had gotten into shape. Still, I had on idea where we were exactly, but we kept heading up those steps, under windows with hanging laundry and some buildings that had been….well…modified to accommodate the bridge.

I'm wondering when this "modification" was done since the bridge opened in 1886……surely when the brisge was perhaps retrofitted?

Eventually….after "heading to the light" we made it top side, and found our way to the Porto Cathedral.

Much like the Cathedrals (Sé) in Lisbon and Coimbra, the Cathedral of Porto was an imposing Romanesque structure, almost fortress like in appearance. Like its counterpart in Lisbon, construction of the structure began in the 12th century and features the classic "Rose Window".

As intimidating as this building might be, for some reason I really took to it…perhaps because there was a wedding ceremony taking place at the time of our visit. I really wanted to leave….because who wants their wedding ceremony viewed by a bunch of uninvited tourists?

We quickly made for the ticket station, paid, and headed to the cloister. Like much of Porto, there's so much wonderful Azulejo work. I was told that much of it depicted the "Song of Solomon".

This is worth the price of admission.

In many ways. the medium is binary….blue and white. and yet, the textures, the shading, the expression, never ceases to amaze me.

The Sacristy was a sudden shift to what seemed an almost baroque theme, but no less impressive.

If you needed any other reason for heading to the Sé in Porto, how about the view?

And then there was the wedding….I'm not sure how I'd feel about having my vows done in front of an audience of perhaps a hundred tourists, but this couple didn't seem to mind.

And the Missus took these adorable shots…….

As we walked away from the Cathedral, I saw São Bento Station and suddenly realized….Porto was now getting a bit smaller for us.

Within the area Northeast of São Bento Station is Rua Catarina, the main shopping area in Porto…pedestrian only streets; with iconic locales like Cafe Majestic.

Fairly close to this area was the shop that João told us would make a good Francesinha, the local specialty sandwich. It seemed to me that Portugal was full of these wonderful "sandes" from the Bifana in Lisbon to the Leitao Sandes it just seemed that there was a knack for pork based sandwiches.

So we ended up at this shop called Cafe Santiago….which looked more like some fast-casual restaurant. The place was empty except for a couple of "old-timers" having espresso in the corner, watching the television.

I'd read a bit about the history of the Francesinha; which is based on the Croque-monsieur. There are three versions at Cafe Santiago; I went with the basic version.

Not much more to say……until you see what this thing looks like.

It almost looks artificial……I was told that many people judge the sandwich on the sauce, which in this case was a light, thin, tomato-beer based, with mild spice. I thought it tasted like tomato soup….the Missus hated it.

Cutting the samdwich in half reveals the true evil that is the Francesinha, in the meat department; salsicha fresca – a hot dog like sausage, linguica, bife – sliced roasted beef, mortadela, and fiambre – ham.Two types of cheese were used , melted inside and melted over the thing.

I kinda liked it in a "calorie-bomb" kind of way. The Missus was totally disgusted, She wouldn't let me have another during out time in Porto…even though I wanted one. I should have ordered the "Francesinha a Santiago", which had fries and was topped with an easy-over egg!

The service was kind of gruff, but the place was clean, and I don't recall ever having a sandwich quite like this….this is definitely not a Croque-monsieur!

Cafe Santiago
Rua Passos Manuel 226
Porto, Portugal

Well, here's another dish to cross off my list!