April 2015 – mmm-yoso

Malta: Marsaxlokk Harbor, Dinner and Lunch at T’anna Mari Under Their Previous Ownership

April 30, 2015 mmm-yoso Malta, Maltese Food and Restaurants, Travel

There was something very "chill" about Marsaxlokk. The little fishing village made Valletta seem like a bustling city. The top sight in this fishing village is without a doubt the bay which is a natural harbor. Three quarters of Malta's fishing fleet is located in this harbor, which was also where the Turkish fleet was station during the great siege of 1565.

In spite of the rather unsightly power plant located across the harbor, it is still quite stunning.

After taking a nice stroll, we took a short nap. When we awoke, in late afternoon, all of the day-trippers were gone, and it was like we had the place to ourselves.

A nice light breeze blowing, the clouds rolling in, we seemed light-years away from the hustle and bustle of Rome.

Looking closely, you might notice something quite interesting about the brightly colored "Luzzi", the traditional Maltese Fishing Boats.

It's in the eyes……

These boats in design and color is said to date back to the Phoenicians and the "eyes of Osiris" are painted on them to watch over and protect the fishermen while at sea.

One thing you quickly notice about Marsaxlokk are the lack of resorts, hotels, and that sort of thing crowding up the boardwalk. Rather, there are many traditional buildings, which add character to the locale.

Looking for a place to eat, we came upon this rather colorful place. Half restaurant, half gift t shop, named T'anna Mari. The menu was fascinating so we stopped by to eat….twice!

We loved the menu, which featured traditional Maltese dishes; stuff I'd never heard of, ingredients that we love. It was a great change of pace from the multitude of seafood places on the waterfront.

Unfortunately, time passes quickly, and changes come just as fast. T'anna Mari is under new ownership and is now a Sicilian Restaurant.

So I'll do the rest mostly in photos with a few names of dishes and such.

This was called L-Platt Malti and featured a collection of traditional Maltese appetizers.

Bigilla – the traditional mashed beans.

Ful – Broadbeans with Garlic.

Tonn Immellah – Brined Tuna.

Zalzett Malti (Maltese Garlic Sausage) and Ġbejna (Goat Cheeses)

Il Fortizza – Stewed Horse.

Qarabaghli mimli – Stuffed Marrows, that would be stuffed squash.

Dessert.

We loved the meal and went back for lunch the next day. Unfortunately, it was like eating at a totally different restaurant. The food was over salted, fishy, dry……

Fenek Moqli – Rabbit in garlic and wine

Aljotta – Fish Soup

Qarnit bit-tewm – Octopus in garlic and herbs.

When getting ready to write this; I discovered that the place had been sold. That's too bad……the menu was interesting and it seemed like they were really trying to make a go of it. We did appreciate how the menu broadened our horizons with regards to Maltese food. I hope the nice husband and wife team that ran this place are doing well.

Coastal Crave

April 29, 2015 mmm-yoso Beer, Chicken Wings, Gastropub, Poke, Pubs and Pub Grub

**** Coastal Crave has closed

Back in March I noted the impending arrival of Coastal Crave. I was pretty happy, this space had been empty for years. The business was going to run by the owner of the now defunct Skybox Sportsbar, which I'd been to a few times after moving to the area.

Then other news came trickling in….the kitchen was going to be run by the original chef of Common Theory. 'Nuff said. So I held off on coming for a bit, but finally decided to give it a go a couple of weeks back.

It was a Sunday and the bar was full and the really nice patio area was half full….and there was one poor guy running the bar and the dining area, a really nice guy named Danny…..I felt for him.

The beer selection was a bit limited, but had 2-3 items I was ok with. I went with a Port Brewing Shark Attack Red Ale, then turned it down when my food arrived.

The menu seemed a bit pricey, but it's hard to make that determination when you haven't tried anything, so I went full steam ahead. And of course, being from Hawaii, I love my poke, so I thought it would be a good place to start ($9.50). I think for most, this would be ok. Me, well, I'm not a big fan of saku fish….that boned, skinned, pre-cut, vacuum packed, and frozen stuff has a texture I don't enjoy.

I would have appreciated a bit more shoyu and less sesame oil. And I thought the "wasabi pesto" needed more wasabi.

I went with the Garlic Parmesan Wings, which was basically simply fried wings with a dollop of a garlic-cheese paste on them.

The wings were a bit greasy and the flesh dry. There were six wings total….guess how much this was? $11.50……are we soon going to have $2 wings? I rue the day I actually complained about the price of wings at Kyochon!

Man, that was a not so great first visit. Still, I decided to visit again. This time I saw the sign for $1 off draft beer during "Happy Hour" – 4-6pm. It's nothing like, say, Iron Pig's half price happy hour. It was also kind of a bummer when I was told that Sculpin and the Shark Attack Red were excluded from happy hour pricing…..it's only a dollar, but really……

This time around I asked for a recommendation with regards to one of my dishes. Queried about my tolerance for "heat", the Habanero Calamari ($8.50) was recommended.

And this was probably the best item I had at Coastal Crave; tender, nice spice, cooled by a decent aioli. It was on the greasy side….but this is pub grub, right?

I also decided to try the Bone Marrow ($15).

This seemed a bit over-priced and the marrow looked really black. It wasn't too bad, but in spite of the color, there were quite a bit of red, under done parts. This actually made the Wagyu Bone Marrow at Copper Onion seem amazing.

Pretty uneven, almost like the place is over-reaching a bit. I'm glad that it seems the neighborhood folks are coming out and supporting the place, but I wish the food was a bit better and the beer selection more interesting….though I saw most people drinking Bud Light, Corona, and Shock Top……

As you can tell. I was ready to call it quits….but for some reason, I decided on one more try. I saw a nice looking sandwich go out on my previous visit, so I thought I'd order it; the Duck Melt ($13).

I really enjoyed the melted Havarti cheese, slightly milky, creamy, it really added to the sandwich. I thought the duck confit needed a bit more flavor, and the whole thing was super rich. I wish the pickles were a bit more assertive; it would have been just enough acid to cut the richness. The habanero aioli actually detracted from the overall flavor and seemed out of place. Also, the bread had been griddled a bit too long and some of the areas were bitter. The fries were nice and for some reason….maybe the acid component, the ketchup tasted really good.

The folks here seem very nice, though the service can be a bit slow.

I'm glad that places like this are opening in the neighborhood. Like I said about Luce's, I'm not the kind of guy who is just "happy to have xxxx in the neighborhood". And while the menu seems "interesting" (extra " " on this) with stuff like "Gator Cakes" on it. I'm just going to have a burger next time. I'll probably be better off. I hope…..

Coastal Crave
3065 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Leilani’s Cafe Revisited

April 28, 2015 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

Leilani's Café:

If you think it's been awhile since I've had a loco moco, you'd be right. These days the joyful combination of rice-eggs-hamburger patty-gravy is a treat…something I'll have maybe 2-3 times a year. Perhaps it's been about 8 months since I've had a locomoco; it's been over 8 years since I've visited Leillani's Cafe on Cass. I'd been to the now defunct location in Serra Mesa as recently as 2009, but it's been a mighty long time since I've been around these parts. not since I visited Alex's Brown Bag inside Latitude 32.

While Leilani's might be a bit more spiffed up from what I recall; it's still that tiny shop….truly a café. I'd attempted visiting one time before, but the place seems to be doing a nice amount of business. However, on this rainy weekend morning. One in which I sorely missed a loco, there was room for me….and my Hilo Loco:

For some reason; I think the Hilo Loco is better than I recalled. Perhaps time has made the heart grow fonder….but having time between these will make sure my heart doesn't stop mid-beat.

The rice was nice (how's that for a rhyme), nice pieces of Portuguese Sausage give it enough spice and mild heart, making it even more hearty. The gravy is by the book; no complaints here. The hamburger patty is still a bit overworked, too lean, and tough for me.

The eggs….well, while I'd have loved some crisp edges….I'm not going to complain when oozy yolk is staring me in the face.

Leilani has carved out a nice little niche for herself. She even has a shop next door to this cozy little cafe. It's good to know that the Hilo Loco….well…is still a Hilo Loco.

Leilani's Cafe
5109 Cass St
San Diego, CA 92109
Open Daily 7am-3pm

Mariscos Monday: Tijiuana JR Tacos y Cockteles (no, it’s not the lonchera…..)

April 27, 2015 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Seafood, Taco Shops

**** Tijuana JR has closed

This past weekend, I found that I had completed most of my "honey-do" list quite early. I decided to head down to CV for some tacos. I dropped by my favorite loncheras, but found that all of them were quite crowded. Driving on Broadway, I noticed a familiar name:

You might recall my post on the Mariscos Tijuana Jr truck last year. I wondered if this was the same folks? This is the old location of Don Rafa, which has since moved. So I parked and walked on in. I was greeted by a very cheerful young man and a young lady. I was asked if I'd be eating in or taking out….they also apologized for not having any English menus. Really nice folks.

I told them not to worry, I'd do fine with the menus. I asked them if this was the same Tijuana Jr that had the lonchera….he smiled and said "yes…….we sold the truck and opened this place because we want more families…" He pointed outside to the Bounce House with kids having a great time. "You see……we like that noise!"

In a moment some chips (routine) and salsas made its way to my table.

I placed my order and the young man asked me if I wanted some "soup". "You mean consommé?" "Yes…" "Of course!" The soup was on the mild side, but super scalding hot.

I'd ordered tres tacos. A Pescado (fish) – the version at the TJ Jr truck was good, so I wanted to see how it was in current state. A "marlin" smoked fish, and a Gobernador.

When the tacos arrived; the first thing I noticed was that the tortillas seemed different since my previous visit. These were much more fragrant and more hardy.

The fish taco was every bit as good as what I had at the truck. Shiny, crisp, lacquer batter….with even more fish than before. It was good with the lighter, almost thousand island dressing like salsa.

The tacos de marlin was interesting. I tasted the fish alone and it was really salty and fishy. Strangely, when I ate the taco, it just fit in nicely. Somehow the sodium had been balanced out and the fishiness had been over ruled by the pic de gallo, cabbage, and salsa.

The gobernador was better than what I had at the truck, though it's still not among my favorites. Though the tortilla held up nicely and the shrimp were cooked well; it just didn't have enough flavor or onions for me. Still, it's not bad at all.

As I got up to pay my check, and older woman came on over to me and asked me, "Please have some dessert….it's free……flan, cheesecake?" She was so sweet. Though I declined saying that I had more than enough to eat. This is a great indication of the folks here….really friendly and helpful. Now I have an option when all my favorite mariscos trucks are too busy…..or even when they're not.

Tijuana JR Tacos y Cockteles
631 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91910

La Mesa Craft Kitchen (first look)

April 26, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Beer, Gastropub, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for continuing to drop by to read mmm-yoso!!! Today, Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are taking breaks and Cathy is writing.

Over the past six months, whenever we'd stop at Carnitas Uruapan (which is far more often than I've posted), The Mister and I watched the progressing construction of this new La Mesa Gastropub, which opened about two weeks ago. (cc has been here recently; here is a link to her post)The location of Craft Kitchen La Mesa used to be a 7-11. (Look into the distance of the above photo, you can see the new 7-11 location, directly on the other side of Spring Street).Stepping into the front door, the menu board and ordering area are in front of you. There are also menus on the counter and some chairs if you need to peruse. The menu is short.

Order, pay, find a seat…Perhaps decide on a beer or wine to accompany your meal… Then again, there are tasters ($2 each) when you can't decide. Julian Hard Cider and Karl Strauss Mosaic were our choices this day. Other difficult choices were deciding what we wanted to try on this visit (while planning what we want to try on future visits…did you notice there is breakfast…daily breakfast, not just a weekend Brunch…). So, the "Greens " flat bread ($10) was our mutual choice. Fresh made chewy (with a bit of bottom crunch) flatbread topped with Mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, fresh chopped garlic and basil…the flavors all melded wonderfully and went well with each beverage choice.
This quite large (despite the photo) "Strawberry Fields" salad ($11) with added chicken ($2) was also a mutually decided choice, primarily because of the cheese –Burrata– and our general tendency toward trying to have a 'balanced' meal. Spring mix greens, whole almonds and a very nice strawberry vinaigrette combined with the Burrata and good portion of warm/just cooked marinated chicken (the flavors of the chicken were good enough not to need any seasoning additions) made this salad an excellent meal…well, half the salad plus half the flatbread was a great meal.

La Mesa (and its border) is gradually becoming the East County version of 30th Street, with a few stumbles and successes, with established gastropub/regular pub type restaurants. The concept of breakfast at Craft Kitchen will be thoroughly investigated.

La Mesa Craft Kitchen 4253 Palm Avenue (at Spring Street) La Mesa, CA 91941 (619)461-4887 Open 7 days Mon-Fri 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sat 8a.m.-11 p.m. Sun 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Website

Malta: Marsaxlokk and lunch at Ir-Rizzu Restaurant

April 25, 2015 mmm-yoso Malta, Maltese Food and Restaurants, Seafood, Travel

While planning our time in Malta, I thought a side trip to the fishing village of Marsaxlokk. The village of 3500 is well known for their Sunday Market, so I thought instead of heading here for a day excursion, why not spend two nights in a sleepy fishing village? It seemed like a nice way to break up our stay on the island. So we took our time; had a morning espresso and spent most of the morning walking around Valletta.

At about 10 we caught our bus right outside the gates of Valletta. 40 minutes later we were getting off our bus in Marsaxlokk. It was overcast and rainy on this morning and walking along the waterfront, we had no idea where our hotel was……

So we stopped at one of the cafes and asked. As is the norm with places like this; the folks were really nice and the gentleman actually walked us to the hotel, which was tucked away on a side street near the end of the harbor close to the transition to an industrial area.

Our room was ready and waiting for us so we got an early check in, freshened up, then headed off to lunch. It was drizzling off and on, so I decided on just going to one of the most well known seafood restaurants in the village; Ir Rizzu.

As it was noon, the place had just opened.

The dining area is quite large….the service fine, mostly young kids, so it was kind of well, like a place where young kids are serving you……kind of uneven, though they did try.

Things started off with a gratis appetizer. I recognized the "bigilla", basically mashed beans….doesn't it look like something you'd get at a Mexican Restaurant? I did like the "ful-bit-tewm", the white beans with garlic.

There's something about the bread on Malta that I really like. This wasn't as yeasty, nor did it have the wonderful texture of what we had the night before at Il Horza, but we still enjoyed it.

We also went with a bottle of a local white from Pjazza Regina winery. A combination of three grapes, it was nice, light, refreshing, and went relatively well with the seafood.

As is the norm for us; we went with a meal of appetizers; starting with the classic Maltese Fish Soup; Aljotta.

This was like a very fishy bouillabaisse and not my favorite thing in the world. Salty and not enough acid to take the edge off for me.

The Octopus was a workman-like effort.

A bit tougher than I prefer, but the flavors were nice….great salt-herbs.

The mussels were quite large, though still moist. They hadn't cooked it to death.

Simple was probably the prudent thing to do with this. Not bad.

The best item were the "Mediterranean King Prawns". Again, nice and simple, cooked to perfection.

Wonderful flavor, nice and sweet, the Missus loved those heads!

Overall, this was a decent meal. Nothing fancy by any means, but simple, and a nice way to start our stay in Marsaxlokk.

Ir-Rizzu Restaurant
Marsaxlokk, Malta

It was time to start exploring……

Malta: The Palace Armoury, Diet Kinnie, a Concert at St John’s Co-Cathedral, and Dinner at Il Horza (Valletta)

April 24, 2015 mmm-yoso Malta, Maltese Food and Restaurants, Travel

After a light lunch at Piadina Caffe, the Missus decided that She wanted to walk around and do some window shopping. I decided to walk over to the Grandmaster's Palace and check out the The Palace Armoury. As I noted in my earlier post, I had a mild fascination with the Knights of Malta, which started when we visited Rhodes.

Of course, what red-blooded male doesn't want to check out a collection of armor, swords, cannons, and other weapons? It brings out the little boy in me.

What makes this even more interesting is that the entire collection is housed in their original buildings.

Even though the size of the collection is a small fraction of the size it once was….due in part to pilferage by Napoleonic forces during the French Occupation of Malta, it is still quite impressive.

And of course, one could not visit the Armoury without reading about the "Great Siege". In 1565, the Ottomans laid siege to the island. If you recall, back in 1522, the Knights had been defeated and left the Island of Rhodes.

This time though, things would be different. Outnumbered an estimated 8 to 1, the Knights and the people of Malta hung on. Eventually, with morale low within the ranks of the Ottomans, a relief force of Spanish landed, handing the Ottomans a defeat.

It was a great moment in the history of Malta. The Grand Master, Jean de Valette, was Malta's key influential figure during the Great Siege. Indeed, the city of Valletta was built and named in his honor.

We headed back to our dwelling, making a stop at the corner store for some water, diet coke, and something the Missus came to really enjoy; a soft drink produced in Malta called Diet Kinnie. She told me it reminded Her a bit of the beloved Laoshan Cola.

We got back to the apartment and took a short nap.

Awaking refreshed, we showered, headed to the dining "nook" peering out the window to Upper Barrakka Gardens.

We had a bunch of plans for the evening, we decided to leave a bit early and head back to Upper Barrakka Gardens….which was quite busy.

Folks watching the Cruise Ships leave the Grand Harbor.

There goes a huge ship of folks who (hopefully) spent well in Malta.

Remember the rehearsal we saw in St John's Co-Cathedral? Well, we dressed as nicely as we were able and went to the free concert.

It was a really special moment for us….the interior of the cathedral a gleaming golden jewel. The concert was one that had only been performed once before, ages ago, written by a composer from Malta.

The owner of our apartment told us his favorite restaurant is Il Horza….so we dropped by the evening before and made reservations for dinner. It would be one of our favorite meals of this trip.

The location and interior is quite unassuming….the menu is quite interesting as you'll see from the dishes we ordered.

But first there was this bread…..

Yes. This bread. Possibly some of the best I've ever had. Yeasty, crusty, not too dense, just plain wonderful. As with many things in Malta, we'd have another encounter with this bread again.

Our least favorite dish of the night was the Fish Stew with Black Rice and Shellfish.

We could never get into the really fishy flavor they like here in Malta. I mean, I like consommé de 7 mares and all that, but this was too much for us.

The Hay Smoked Barbary Duck Breast with Asian Pork Springroll and Greens was an interesting mash-up of familiar flavors and textures.

The duck was tender and delicious, the springroll crisp, the flavors balanced. Nothing was overplayed and this was a nice fusion of flavors.

The Stuffed Quail with Truffle Mousse Wrapped with Pancetta was delicious as was the very porky, Pork Tongue Croquette. For some reason, we didn't enjoy the shaved fresh summer black truffles, but of course the Missus loved the quail egg.

The Crispy Local Pork Belly was lovely. Crisp initially, then melting away……

The house made smoked pork sausage was also lovely, very tasty, straight up flavors. Quite nice.

The Missus loved the "dessert"; unpastuerized local cheese, milky, yet refreshing.

The service was good, the ambiance very nice and romantic….a very good meal.

Il-Horza
6, St. Christopher Street
Valletta, Malta

We took a walk back to the apartment. As I mentioned before, the streets of Valletta are usually pretty quiet at night….not on this night as there was a concert happening outside a nearby restaurant.

It was kind of neat….anyone could come by and hang out on the steps….maybe buy a glass of wine at the restaurant and chill…….

Malta was full of surprises……

Thanks for reading!

Recently Consumed – the Cobia Project

April 23, 2015 mmm-yoso Cooking

So here's the deal…..there are times when I think Tommy at Catalina Offshore will actually recommend something as a bit of a challenge. Something I haven't heard of….with some hint….in this case it was "the texture is like pork….but the flavor is mild".

I'd really never heard of Cobia….this version was wild caught.

What Tommy told me was "the texture is like pork….the flavor is mild…so go for it smart guy….."

So what I did was a nice seasoning with Kosher Salt, Spanish Paprika, granulated garlic, fresh ground pepper, and Turkish oregano.

The glaze was Balsamic Vinegar and Agave Syrup.

After seasoning, the fish was coated with potato starch(katakuriko) then pan fried.

At the end, you remove from heat and add the glaze.

The texture is indeed like pork belly……

And I lived to cook another day.

Another Revisit: Que Huong Nearly a Decade Later

April 22, 2015 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Que Huong has closed

I'm enjoying getting back up to City Heights again, so here's another revisit post.

Can you imagine that it's been nearly 10 years since I first walked through the door of Que Huong. Little did I know that "Jay" and his sister had just taken over the spot. I've revisited quite a few times over the years, though strangely, the visits always seem to be spread apart. I will say that the place sure looks a lot different these days.

There sure aren't specials written on the mirror anymore!

If you're going to have one item here, it should be the fish sauce wings. Since I first tried them in 2008, it's been a beloved item. In my article in the Reader, I noted how Jay told me he was going through as much as a thousand pounds of wings in a month.

It's still a wonderful, sweet, salty, and sticky…….

The Jackfruit Salad is another standby.

Over the years, I've noticed that they've somewhat refined their dishes a bit. In this salad, I noticed that the whole, hard peppercorns were gone and on this visit the nuoc mam cham was more savory, heavier on the fish sauce than sweet and watered done, which was a welcomed change. Nice amount of veggies, the somewhat citrusy-pungent-cilantro tones of rau ram, shrimp, and pork.

This made for a very satisfying meal.

It's good to know that the food here was just as good when Jay wasn't on the premises. It's also good to see Que Huong last when so many haven't.

Que Huong Restaurant
4134 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Tan Ky Mi Gia (City Heights) Revisited

April 21, 2015 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Tan Ky Mi Gia has closed

Yes indeed, Tan Ky Mi Gia did indeed close. However, there's still a Tan Ky Mi Gia around…..

Of course, this used to be Hing Ky Mi Gia, but before that, it was Tan Ky Mi Gia. Then it became Tan Ky Mi Gia again in 2008.

Now that things are settling down I can make more trips up to City Heights. And revisit Tan Ky Mi Gia.

Man, this place is looking a bit run down.

Still, the place has outlasted the pool hall next door.

Still, the prices are still good….$5.75 for basic egg noodle soup. However, on this visit I saw Bot Chien posted on the wall. It was breakfast time, so there was no doubt I'd be ordering it.

While not in the class of Kang Lac, this was not bad. The crisp parts were nice, though there were some kind of gummy parts to it. It was also pretty big, I ended up taking a good part of it home…the Missus, who basically never saw an egg dish She didn't like enjoyed it. Loved the dipping sauce as well. Overall decent.

A week later I returned in the morning and decided to try the Won Ton and Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup ($5.75).

The broth is not quite where it used to be…..a bit more salty, less body, cloudy. The egg noodles were perfect. I didn't care for the hard as rock dumplings and won tons. It's not like I'm expecting amazing for under six bucks. But this just didn't do it for me.

So will I be back……yes, I've got see what the state of the duck egg noodle soup is like. Plus, it's hard to complain about meals like these…….and heck, there one Tan Ky Mi Gia left.

Tan Ky Mi Gia
5237 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115