mmm-yoso – Page 232

Revisits to Szechuan Taste and Nazca Grill

March 17, 2015 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Peruvian Restaurants

**** Both Szechuan Taste and Nazca Grill have closed

Man was it hot last week! I don't ever remember temps like this in March…….high 80's and low 90's. I'm not looking forward to the summer.

On the other hand, this gave me a chance to have some of my favorite "warm weather" dishes. So here goes….

Szechuan Taste:

At the end of my post on Szechuan Taste in December I wrote, "When things warm up, I'll come back for the Sichuan Liang Mian and the Ko Shui Ji and I'm hoping for maybe some nice surprises." Little did I know that I'd be getting some surprises alright. Anyway, it was without a doubt warm and I do try to keep my word when possible. So here I was……

The young lady who waited on me was very nice and sweet. I ordered those two favorite hot weather dishes….actually other liang cai like Fu Qi Fei Pian are also among my favorites during hot weather, but man, the version here was really bad.

First up, the Ko Shui Ji – "Mouthwatering (saliva) Chicken".

The sauce looked watery and when I pulled the bowl over I found that it was almost hot! I've never had Ko Shui Ji served to me at an insipidly warm temperature. The sauce was actually a broth; below the slick of already watered down chili oil was liquid that resembled chicken noodle soup. The chicken was boneless, skin on thigh that looked carelessly poached. As for flavor, well there was a decent amount of Sichuan Peppercorn, but everything else tasted watered down, not spicy, no salt, no vinegar tones, no sweet….like eating a piece of cardboard with a hint of Sichuan Peppercorn. ick……

As for my Sichuan Liang Mian, well it was a rollercoaster ride. It really didn't look like much when it arrived.

And yet, things look promising when I found the motherlode of sauce on the bottom and mixed everything together. I then took a bite and actually swore out loud….like wash your mouth out with soup loud. In retrospect chewing on a bar of Ivory Soap might have been better than this. Good god, this was eating a mouthful of MSG….it was so salty to the point of bitterness. Also, what's the deal with serving raw noodles that haven't even had the flour rinsed off? I've even had that happen to me at Fu An Garden.

So this is what happened. I felt really bad for the sweet young lady, so I took everything to go. She didn't make the food….. And I proceeded to pitch it. I hate waste, but I just couldn't bring myself to eat this. I felt bad, but eating this stuff made me feel worse. I think I'm done here….. So yes, in the end I did get a "surprise", but it wasn't a good one.

Szechuan Taste
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Nazca Grill:

One of my favorite cuisines is that of Peru. The variety can be stunning, from the traditional dishes like Cuy, to the "Chifa" dishes like Lomo Saltado, it seems that all who came ashore in Peru and stayed have made their mark on the nation. It was love at first bite when I first had Peruvian food after moving to LA. Peru also hold a special place in my heart, it was the first country the Missus and I visited together way back when. In San Diego County, pricy Q'ero probably does Peruvian the best, but it very pricy and a long drive. For lunch, even Latin Chef in PB was a bit too far. Plus, I was looking for that "Nikkei" influenced dish, tiradito.

The place look quite the same since my last visit. Man, it was hot, so I started with the Causa, in the of Nazca Grill, it's like what I would call a Causa Limeña, a layered potato "cake" of sorts. I went with the shrimp version.

The shrimp was kind of watery and a bit on the fishy side. The sauce seemed more like a thousand island dressing than the aji rocoto based sauce I'd had in the past. The presentation sure has gotten better, though I'm not sure the dish as a whole has been improved. I preferred the original version I had in 2009.

The tiradito was passable. In contrast to cebiche pescado, the fish in tiradito (I was told snapper) is not "cooked" in citrus. It's basically sashimi in a sauce. Today it was a mild aji amarilla sauce.

There's was a decent amount of fish in this. There used to be a touch of lime in the tiradito here, but today, it was muted. I did love the yucca frita and the choclo (as I always love). This was fine, if nothing special. It was a bit too mild for my taste…..

I'm afraid we'll have to head back to Peru one of these days….I did promise the Missus that we'll get to Easter Island, so perhaps a Chile – Peru two-fer. Especially since we did miss the Nazca Lines the last time.

Time will tell. Anything can happen. But like I mentioned earlier…..I do try to keep my promises.

Nazca Grill
4310 Genesee Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Sang Deuan Thai & Lao Kitchen

March 16, 2015 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

**** Mekong Cuisine Lao and Thai has replaced Sang Deuan

Back around Thanksgiving, I saw that a new "Thai and Lao" restaurant was opening in the place of The Philadelphia Sandwich Company. The one thing that caught me eye was the Thai and Lao Kitchen portion of the sign. Lao cuisine is a favorite of mine, I really enjoyed many of the meals I had in Laos. So needless to say, I was somewhat excited. Then I heard that this was going to be the sister (brother?) restaurant to Sang Dao, which made things even more interesting. I've eaten at Sang Dao quite a few times; dating back to their old location on National Avenue back in 2005! Ed from Yuma, Howie, Candice, and I had an interesting meal at Sang Dao back in 2009.

So I visited soon after they opened. The place look fairly nice. The interior somewhat "bistro-ish". The young lady who served me during all three visits was quite efficient and reasonably amiable.

I did notice just a handful of what I'd call Lao dishes on the menu; Khao Piak, Papaya Salad, that sort of thing. Nothing like what Sang Dao has. So, I decided to use this visit to see how some of the usual suspects were done

My favorite dish that gauges the stir fry skills is Pad Se Ew. I went with the shrimp version.

This didn't turn out very well. The noodles were mushy and lacking in flavor. As you can tell, there's no "wok hay" no scent, essence, caramelization, nor personality of the use of a hot wok skillfully. The shrimp were dry and the dish really lacked flavor and came across as being kind of greasy.

I also ordered the Nham Tok. Not being asked for a "heat range" can be a mixed blessing. At places like Vientiane Thai Laos in Garden Grove it's great because you'll get served it as spicy as they think appropriate. On the other hand, there's always a chance this happens.

I got "gringo'd"….this was maybe below a 1? The meat was fairly chewy, at least they used roasted rice powder, but the overall flavor was kind of weak.

Man, this wasn't quite the start I thought I'd have here. Before leaving, I asked the nice young lady about some other Lao dishes that weren't on the menu. Apparently, there's a whole world of items that are "off-menu". Among them is my personal favorite Nem Khao, the crispy rice dish made with Lao fermented sausage. So…..in spite of this shaky start, I just had to return.

Unfortunately, when I did return, they had no Lao Sausage, and I was told they "weren't ready to serve nem"…….so what to do?

I went with the Salted fish Fried Rice.

This was pretty good. The salted fish was very finely minced so it wasn't as "in your face" fermented-savory as the version at The Original Sab E Lee, nor was it as salty. It was closer to the milder version at Sab E Lee Santee. It was adequately stir fried, you could count every grain of rice. Decent flavors; not bad at all.

Still, I hadn't gotten what I came for. This only meant that I had to return and give it one more try. This time they had Nem Khao.

Accompanied by a plate of sparkling fresh lettuce and herbs my rice dish arrived at the table. This was a nice dish, less sour and not quite as crisp as my favorite versions, but it had some nice spice and a decent flavor overall. Not bad, I'd have it again.

What I won't have again is the Crispy Pork with Chinese Broccoli. I had optimistically hoping for something like what we get at Yai Restaurant. What I got was this.

While the flavor was decent, that familiar soy-garlic-etc, the gailan was overcooked and the pork was hard, not tough, definitely not crisp, but hard. I'm thinking that the two pieces I managed to swallow are probably still floating around in my GI tract somewhere….well hopefully not.

That said, service was nice, the salted fish fried rice and the nem khao was good…..I'm thinking that they must make the green bean salad that I always enjoyed at Sang Dao……so I guess I'll be back.

Sang Deuan
3904 Convoy St. Suite 112
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Tues – Thurs 10am – 9pm
Fri – Sat 10am – 10pm
Sunday 10am – 9pm
Closed on Mondays

Playing Chicken: A comparison of Karaage/Chicken Nanban – Okan, Izakaya Sakura, Yamadaya, RakiRaki, and Tajima

March 15, 2015 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, yoso-silly

On of my go-to items for lunch is chicken karaage. I just never get tired of the stuff. After returning from Japan I decided to do the rounds and do a short comparison of Karaage and Chicken Nanban(vinegar sauce), commonly served with tartar sauce in these parts. I'm leaving out Taisho and Yakyudori since I recently did a comparison between the two places. So here's how they line up in my opinion.

1 – Wa Dining Okan:

A bit surprising since, I'd been underwhelmed by lunch here at times. The fried chicken with vinegar and tartar sauce was quite good, if a bit rich.

They do have regular chicken karaage on the menu, but I found that the batter on this is different, more crunchy and light. The tartar sauce isn't too sour which helps things.

Wa Dining Okan
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

2 – Izakaya Sakura:

Sometimes a bit inconsistent, as I mentioned in a karaage comparison post back in 2011.

Still, this was crisp, light, though you really had to use that tsuyu to give it some flavor.

Wish they'd pump up the flavor a bit more, but this isn't a bad choice.

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

3 – Ramen Yamadaya:

**** Yamadaya has closed

In spite of not being particularly happy with the ramen here recently, I gave the "Chicken Tartar", a version of Tori Nanban a go. I liked having the tartar sauce on the side as it was really mayo heavy, so a little went a long way. The chicken seemed to be fried a bit too "hard", but that turned out to be a good thing as is stayed crunchy for the whole meal. Love the vinegar tones with a touch of tartar sauce. As I noted in my post back in 2012, there a nice hint of ginger in this which I enjoy as well.

Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairement Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

4 – RakiRaki:

All the posters said "best Japanese Fried Chicken in San Diego".

Of course, I say, most "self promoted hype machine in San Diego". It seems like this place sometimes just throws stuff up on the walls to see what sticks. The flavor, with a hint of curry is indeed unique, but the pieces were huge……very ponderous with chopsticks. It was kind of dry and a lot off the batter had flaked off during the cooking process. The portion size was quite generous, but the Tsukemen is preferred……..though let's say that might be the best in San Diego by default.

RakiRaki Ramen and Tsukemen
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

5 – Tajima:

Usually, consistency is good thing.

But being last in two fried chicken comparisons….maybe not so much. Gummy, lacking in flavor…..to be honest, I'd rather get cold case-bento Karaage from Nijiya. Nothing's changed from my last set of visits nearly a year ago. Consistency…..

Tajima Japanese Restaurant
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Portland: Beer Break – Cascade Brewing Barrel House and Hair of the Dog Brewery

March 13, 2015 mmm-yoso Beer, Portland, Oregon, Travel

Funny the difference one trip can make. In Belgium, the Missus discovered that She really loved beer after all. And now, after all these years, I have a beer buddy….my wife! Anyway, the Missus loves Her sours and our good friend Candice, strongly recommended a visit to Cascade Brewing's Barrel House. We'd had some of the Cascade's Sours before, some of which a ridiculously pricey, that we thought this would be a fun visit…..and of course, we needed to walk off lunch. So if you're keeping score, add another half mile to our walk.

Even though it was just after noon, the place was pretty busy.

We decided to head on up to the bar and have a seat.

I had been taking quick photos and sending them over to my friends; Blue Star Donuts, Tasty N Alder, Olympia Provisions, and now Cascade. Candice texted back writing, "you're doing Portland's greatest hits…."

The list was just absolutely huge…..it was the "Tart Fruit Festival". The Missus was caught in the clutches of analysis paralysis and just couldn't make a decision.

We decided to do tasters, but while I kept searching for styles the Missus would enjoy, basically anything like a Flemish Red, She kept ordering some pretty strange stuff.

So in case you want to see what we tried…..

Our favorite by far was the Sang Noir(far right), fruity, tart, with nice body, but missing that deep almost prune-vinegar sour richness of a Flemish Red. We were told that Cascade uses Lactobacillus which gives it a nice tartness, but not wild yeast which is crazy hard to control. The Missus was obviously missing Cantillon. Still that sang Noir was quite good.

The Missus did enjoy the Cheri D'Amour (left), while I was surprised that I enjoyed the Gingersnap (to the right).

All of this stuff has a pretty high ABV, so we pretty much stopped here. The Missus is still a bit of a lightweight. Still, this was fun and I'd gladly go again.

Cascade Brewing Barrel House
939 SE Belmont St
Portland, OR 97214

**** Hair of the Dog Brewery and Tasting Room has closed

Still, the Missus wanted one more Brewery stop. We'd been thinking of Upright, but they didn't open until 430pm. So we decided to head back (another half mile) to Hair of the Dog Brewery which was close to the Morrison Bridge which we had to cross anyway.

This nice little bar with the sliding industrial doors was doing pretty good business as well.

I loved the names of the beer. The Missus had two tasters; a "Little Dog" and "Greg", which She really enjoyed; made with winter squash and no hops tasting fairly grassy to me.

I had a "Fred", which I enjoyed, slightly sweet, perfect amount of hops, mild booziness. I would gladly have another…..

and since this was Hair of the Dog (which donates a percentage to Guide Dogs for the Blind), you know there had to be a dog, right? This faithful sweetheart was left on the porch faithfully waiting for her master. Whom she obviously adored. You can read her body language….

Oh, he's getting up and walking this way!

Yay, here he comes….we're going for a nice walk home! Maybe I'll get a treat!

Bummer….he was just going to the restroom…..

Hair of the Dog Brewery and Tasting Room
61 SE Yamhill St
Portland, OR 97214

The one thing I wish I took a photo, actually a video of, was the young, thin, well dressed hipster, wearing a Viking helmet who was dancing while doing the edge of the curb "tightrope walk" on the Morrison Bridge. Great hand movement, decent pirouettes, and sadly, we were both too stunned, and entertained to think about taking a photo. Though I can't help but wonder what tune was playing in his head? "You stay weird Portland!"

We took the nice mile and half walk back to the hotel, for a well deserved nap. After all, we'd be walking back this way (sort of) for dinner!

Portland: Caffiene Break at Barista and Lunch at Olympia Provisions

March 12, 2015 mmm-yoso Beer, Caffeine Fix, European Restaurants, Portland, Oregon, Travel

After Donuts and then a Tasty N Alder stop, we were in dire need of some exercise. I took the Missus back through The Pearl and we stopped for caffeine at Barista. No pour over or anything like that available at this location. The Missus had a small coffee and I had an iced coffee while we went over our plans for the rest of the day.

Barista
539 NW 13th Ave
Portland, OR 97217

The Missus had seen a couple of shops She wanted to stop into.

Filson is a well known brand, selling some really good outdoor wear. We took a look at some of the bags and luggage, but ended up not purchasing anything. Still, it was fun to browse.

Right across the street is Keen's Headquarters and a large shop called the Keen Garage which we checked out.

By now caffeine had kicked in and we were ready to head to our next spot. I'd already walked about 2 miles or so that morning. Then we walked up The Pearl.

Our next leg would take us about a mile and three-quarters, all the way down Alder and over the Morrison Bridge. You could tell that spring was on it's way as the Cherry Blossoms were starting to bud. All the "SW" avenues, became "SE" as we headed up SE 2nd Avenue and found our "light" lunch stop Olympia Provisions.

But wait, isn't the place called Olympic Provisions and doesn't the sign say that? Well, according to this from Eater Portland and this from Portland Food and Drink, the IOC has issued a cease and desist and has threatened to sue Olympic um, Olympia Provisions for a trademark violation. Really? Good lord, how many places out there are named Olympic Café/Restaurant/Diner….. look-out? So, according to those posts and OP's website, they are "Changing a Letter and Nothing Else".

Regardless, they still have one of my favorite signs……

This shop tucked away in a restored warehouse-industrial building was recommended to us by a number of folks. And since the Missus is really into Her charcuterie/salumi it became a must visit for us.

We decided on the French Board, since the Missus loves Her rillettes and pates. The pork rillette is nicely made, decent salt, not overly seasoned, and quite porky. The pate was the Missus's favorite.

I actually enjoyed the saucisson, which we much more tender than I usually find around these parts. The flavors, while nicely seasoned and spice, just didn't seem overly salty. The garlic sausage was fine if a bit bland.

Seeing pickled egg on the menu; well, you know me, I had to order it. This was a mighty fine pickled egg, just the right amount of sourness with a nice pickling spice. Great flavor and texture.

The Missus wanted to try a cheese. We decided to get something from Oregon. The only choice was Opal Springs from Ancient Heritage Dairy. Made from raw cow and sheep milk, I was told that this is aged 60 days and the rind is brine washed. It was quite smooth and very mild for a washed rind cheese.

This was very easy to eat, though the mild flavors were wiped out when eaten after the cured meats.

Overall, we really enjoyed this meal. Wish this was in our neck of the woods. We'll be sure to drop by again next time we're in Portland.

Olympic Olympia Provisions
107 SE Washington St
Portland, OR 97214
Hours:
Monday      11am – 3pm
Tues – Thurs 11am – 10pm
Friday      10am – 10pm
Saturday     10am – 10pm
Sunday      10am – 9pm

Bellies happy, we headed off to our next stop….it was time for a beer!

Thanks for reading!

Midweek Meanderings: King Bistro opens and want some Twisted Sushi???

March 11, 2015 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Just a quick post on this beautiful San Diego evening.

King Bistro opens:

Man, this place has been a revolving door since Ba Ren closed. After being Chilli Max, they became Cowboy Beer Bar, and now….King Bistro. A grill place from what I heard……not very good opinions either.

Anyone been yet?

4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Twisted Sushi:

Well, we got a "Fish Attack", so why not some Twisted Sushi, right?

For the blink of an eye, this was JJ's Place, which Kirbie posted on. There's another gringo sushi place right across the street, so am not sure how this will work out.

5487 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

So there you go…..hope you're all having a great week!

Copycat Radicchio Salad (Inspired by Tasty N Alder)

March 10, 2015 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

If you've been reading my posts on Portland, you should know that it would only be a matter of time before I made this. The Missus loved the Radicchio Salad at Tasty N Alder so much, we went twice. The Missus wanted to go on our last morning as well, but they opened a bit too late so we ended up somewhere else. I knew that Chef John Gorham, has a cookbook out named after his Spanish inspired restaurant; Toro Bravo. Taking a quick look at the Amazon page for the book; I quickly saw "Radicchio Salad" in the index….so guess what? I bought the book. The recipe for the salad at Toro Bravo is different from what is served at Tasty N Alder. The book version is dressed with a vinaigrette….though I like the idea of macerating onion in the vinegar for added punch. I'll surely use that idea later on. It also uses a tapenade and is served with baguette. The version at TNA is dressed with mayo with slices of bacon; they call it lardons, but it's a pretty wide slice of bacon. All was not lost however, as there were two take-aways from the recipe in the book; using a microplane to grate the manchego cheese, which makes it light as air and which allows the cheese to incorporate itself into the dressing adding another layer of flavor. The second, soaking the radicchio in ice water to remove some of the bitterness. This was key. The Missus had never taken to radicchio because of its bitterness. In addition, I decided to make my own mayonnaise, a light, whole egg version…..which I call my "three minute mayo"…..like it says, it takes about three minutes to make and is very light and creamy. I also mixed in 3 tablespoons of rendered bacon fat for that extra kick. I'm thinking you can add some anchovy, or some extra acid component if desired. The Missus enjoys this version.

So here's what I made……four times in ten days!

This is what we had twice at Tasty N Alder.

Radicchio Salad (Inspired by Tasy N Alder):

3 slices thick cut bacon

1/4 Cup Mayonnaise (I make my own very light version with whole eggs)

3-4 Tb Rendered Bacon Fat

1 tsp Agave Syrup Salt and Pepper to Taste

1 Radicchio (about 3/4 pound)

1 cup Manchego Cheese grated with a microplane

2 boiled eggs crumbled (optional)

– Cut radicchio into four and remove core portion. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Separate leaves and soak in ice water for 30 minutes

– Slice bacon into 1/2" wide slices. Cook slowly to render off bacon fat and let bacon crisp. Let bacon fat cool but not harden

– Combine mayonnaise, bacon fat, agave syrup. Taste and add salt a pepper as necessary. Chill.

– Drain radicchio and spin dry in a salad spinner. It's important to get the radicchio faily dry. This will let the dressing coat it evenly.

– Grate machego cheese, crumble boiled eggs

– Combine radicchio with dressing, coat evenly

– Top with bacon and grated manchego cheese

– Bring to the table and mix well.

Mariscos Monday: The El Puerto Mariscos Truck

March 9, 2015 mmm-yoso Food Trucks, Mexican Restaurants, Seafood, Taco Shops

I noticed a "new" Mariscos Truck while driving down Convoy two weeks ago name El Puerto. I felt it was a bit too cold for tacos at that time, but what a difference a week makes. Looks like winter has made its way out of San Diego. Bright and sunny days are perfect for "lonchera lunching"…..

So I parked the car…..the truck is located in the small space between Convoy Liquors (4383 Convoy Street) and Wienerschnitzel (4393 Convoy St)….you can't miss it. I walked up and took a look at the menu; much like Mariscos Nine Seas, things looked quite gringo friendly, which sends off alarms bells. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? Pretty straight forward stuff. I ordered a Fried Fish Taco ($1.50), A Fried Shrimp Taco ($2.50), and was overjoyed to see a Gobernador ($4.25) on the menu as well. It was a nice day, so I did as I would usually do….I ate on the hood of my car. Based on how things looked, I expected no consommé and got none.

The fish taco wasn't my favorite….a rather small piece of fish; the batter was on the greasy side and it did not hold up well. It was adequately moist, but tasted a bit more fishy than I like. The fried shrimp was the best of the bunch, the batter, while still on the greasy side held up well, the shrimp were mist and plump.

I've got to say, this was the strangest gobenador I've ever had, also the smallest. You can check out other versions on some of our older posts.

At least the tortillas….not great quality as they all fell apart, had a layer of melted cheese. Basically some stir fried shrimp and a few slices of green pepper (no onions, no tomatoes???) and a couple of slices of avocado. And here I thought the version at the Mariscos Tijuana Jr Truck was different.

The salsas were by the book, decent. The folks running the truck were very nice. Because my order was taking a bit long, they offered me my choice of beverage on the house.

Still, I'd rather drive down South for my Mariscos Fix.

El Puerto Mariscos Truck

Currently parked between 4383 and 4393 Convoy.

Hours:

Monday – Saturday 10am - 4pm

Sunday Sandwiches: Revisits to Best Donuts, SuperNatural Sandwiches, Sweet and Savory Gourmet, and Sandwich Emporium

March 8, 2015 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

I’m not sure if you noticed; between August of last year and January there was a dearth of sandwich posts. The main culprit was a very bad case of TMJ, there was a nice bit of nerve pain and now there’s sometimes interesting crunching noises when I open my jaw too wide….pretty sure some arthritis has set in, but whatever, I can finally have a Banh Mi again.

So since things have settled down, I’ve been doing a bit of catching up…….

Best Donuts Bakery & Deli:

**** Best Donuts is now Barrio Donas

As I mentioned in my previous post on the place, my favorite stop for some breakfast if I’m running early (like 530 am). Perhaps I just visit often enough, but there seems to always be some rearrangement of the equipment or some new signs on each visit.

Being a creature of habit; it was the A la Mexicana – Eggs, salsa, onion, tomato, cheese, jalapenos, and a smear of beans. Nice way to start the day.

Best Donuts Bakery & Deli
4714 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

SuperNatural Sandwiches:

**** SuperNatural Sandwiches has closed

It had been a while since I last visited. It great to see the place is doing well. I went with my favorite, the Siren.

I’m not sure if it’s because I haven’t had this in a while; but this was even better than I recalled….and it was my favorite sandwich here! The brioche didn’t seem a greasy; the tomato flavors came through a bit more sharply; love the sweetness of the wild Mexican Shrimp. It is without a doubt one of my favorite sandwiches…period. Man, these guys sure have come far since the booth at the San Diego Public Market days. Good for them!

SuperNatural Sandwiches
7094 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92121

Sweet & Savory Gourmet:

I think they place makes a decent tri-tip and it’s priced nicely.

This was even better than then the version I had previously. The tri-tip had more flavor and was tender and moist. The ciabatta had been warmed this time around which added to the pleasure. The garlic mayo is still a bit too wimpy for me; but overall, this was a fine sandwich. Kind of a hidden gem with all of the craziness and gimmicks a naerbyt places like Chicken Charlie’s and The Habit Burger….whose tri-tip sandwich pales in comparison.

As noted before; this is a tiny catering shop with limited hours. But very nice folks and a decent tri-tip sandwich.

Sweet & Savory Gourmet
3574 Mount Acadia Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Sandwich Emporium:

Still, after 10 years, still my go-to neighborhood sandwich shop. there should be one of these places in every neighborhood.

Right?

Sandwich Emporium
3054 1/2 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

and

**** SE MM has closed

Sandwich Emporium
8155 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Portland: A Morning Walk, Blue Star Donuts, and Going Back to Tasty N Alder

March 6, 2015 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, Portland, Oregon, Travel

The Missus had worked quite hard in the weeks up to our trip to Portland. I'm a terminal early riser, so I decided to let the Missus get some additional shut-eye, while I took a morning walk.

Much like Seattle, Portland seems to rise late…..it was still a bit dark when I started my walk at the Paramount Hotel.

I headed out for The Pearl, we'd walked around the area a bit the day before and really enjoyed ourselves, and were probably headed here later in the morning, so I thought why not? Though I'd been up this way before, I'd never been up NW 13th Avenue.

A former street full of former warehouses, turned into restaurants, shops, and businesses….I really liked the transformation.

A few streets over, I went to check out Jamison Square. The modern totem public art sculptures called the Tikitotmoniki Totems have always served as a landmark for me.

For some reason, the area seems much more developed than when I last visited.

Walking down Burnside past the North Park Blocks, I descended on the area known as Old Town and Chinatown. Things seemed to have changed a bit since my last visit; it's much cleaner, less (though still a bit) gritty….there seemed to be quite a few bars and art galleries, so I'm certain that additional gentrification might be coming up.

Looking up NW 6th Avenue; I was surprised to see Union Station was a few blocks away! On previous visits; Union Station just seemed much farther away.

Perhaps all those "death marches" with the Missus (I calculated I walked 9 miles on this day…stay tuned) has changed how I calculate distance?

Anyway, walking into Chinatown, I saw that The House of Louie was still there!

And of course, one of my favorite signs……. Hung Far Low. The restaurant, once the oldest restaurant in Chinatown (opened in 1928), is long gone. But I guess there's something, well, unique and special about the sign….it is without a doubt a landmark, and the sign has been preserved. I understand that the city even contributed to making sure that Hung Far Low kept on hanging, high and proud in Chinatown.

Walking past the Chinatown gate, I received a text from the Missus. She was up and about, so I headed back……not directly mind you, there was one stop on the way.

I do wish some of the food carts on 10th and Alder were open for a substantial breakfast….but like their customer base, they seem to wake much later as well.

Seeing food carts in Portland always brings me back to this wonderful post from which Portland Food Carts site was established in 2007. Lizzy Gaston is no longer involved with the little empire that is Portland Food Carts, but I will never forget.

Heading down Washington Street, I came across the SW Portland location of Blue Star Donuts. The Missus isn't a big fan of Voodoo Donuts, so I thought I'd get something from here as a wake up treat for Her.

This was the most folks I saw in one place at this time of the morning in Portland!

The artisan donuts here use a brioche base.

I bought three for the Missus. I don't have a big sweet tooth, but thought the cinnamon and vanilla sugar was the best; the Missus agreed. The raspberry filled with peanut butter powder was our least favorite.

You can read about the North Portland location of Blue Star in Mary's post.

Blue Star Donuts
1237 SW Washington St
Portland, OR 97205

*** Tasty N Alder has closed

So after some donuts, the Missus decided where She wanted to eat Her breakfast…….it was Tasty N Alder again!

So we waited until just before 9am and walked the couple blocks up to Tasty N Alder.

Our Server was the same……so wonderful. She welcomed us back and we explained that we came back for the Radicchio Salad. In a very nice touch, she brought us some coffee cake, telling us, "this is on the house….welcome back…and thanks!" Wow, really?

And so the Missus got Her Radicchio Salad…….half portion ($6)

Of course the Missus loves eggs…..so I decided to order the Cast Iron Frittata ($10).

Good sized….not too big, loved the nettles, the caramelization helped to smooth out the bitterness and develop the sugars, the caramelized onion brought some sweetness, and the asparagus was present in a restrained amount. A nice, light, frittata.

And $16 for a breakfast for 2? And that coffee cake? Priceless……

Tasty n Alder
580 SW 12th Ave
Portland, OR 97205
Hours:
Sunday – Thursday 9am – 10pm
Friday – Saturday 9am – 11pm

We chose a rather light breakfast, because we had our sights set on lunch……….before that; there was a need for some coffee.

Stay Tuned!