mmm-yoso – Page 289

A Week of Sushi, Starting with the “Old School”: Sushi Bar Kazumi

January 28, 2013 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

**** Sushi Bar Kazumi is no longer

For some reason, I'd accumulated a small collection of photos from visits for sushi over the last couple of months. Each place had it's own personality. I thought it would probably be appropriate to start with my visit to what I call "transplanted Kazumi", now located in Moby Dick Fishmarket. Before there was Sakura, Kaito, or Shirahama, there was Sushi Bar Kazumi. Kazumi was actually the first sushi bar I ate at back in the late 90's. My clients were located in the Hillcrest area and Kazumi was within walking distance. And to take things even farther back, from what I've been told, the current location of Sushi Yaro, was the original location of Sushi Bar Kazumi, before it was Ishikawa. After moving to San Diego proper, I always found parking to be a hassle in the area, so I didn't return until about early 2005. By then Kazumi had started looking a bit run down and the sushi I had that evening kind of reflected that. Eventually he closed down……Zo-san, who I seem to run into all over the place told me that Kazumi was looking to reopen in the Convoy area. But I never expected him to reopen in Moby Dick Fishmarket and Grill. The concept seemed a weird marraige of fishmarket, pseudo fast-food, combined with sushi bar in the evening. Still, I was delighted when reading Kirbie's post on Kazumi, it seemed he had returned to form. Nothing nouvelle about it, but good, solid, old-school sushi.

I had made reservations and I arrived finding the sushi bar empty, but groups of patrons, "roll-a-holics" all on the tables in the restaurant. I took my seat and saw Kazumi moving at the speed of light, a one man show, with a single Server, efficient, and just friendly enough.

He had a pile of fish sliced in front of him when I arrived and I just told him that I'd take whatever he thought was good, and not to worry and rush. To my surprise, he immediately started making nigiri of the fish in front of him, stopping only to cut two pieces of engawa, and within minutes things were started with a rather shabby looking eight pieces of nigiri.

When I asked, I was told that the tuna was Bigeye, aka Ahi, and what my relatives called "mebachi". That explained the rather lean chu-toro….which still looked like it had part of the dark blood line it in, making it look rather unappetizing. The akami was dry and had broken into pieces before being placed on the rice. The hamachi was dry and stringy…..not a good start at all. Though the engawa, the dorsal fin muscle of the halibut was very good, very mildly sweet, with a nice chew, it was also cut in a rather haphazardly way.

To me, this just seemed like "neta ( the topping of nigiri) fail" and just kind of sad overall. Yet Kazumi was working like a madman putting together roll after roll, even handing me a negi-toro (fatty tuna-green onion) temaki.

The chu-toro in this handroll was actually better than what was on the nigiri…..I love negi-toro and negi-hama, so this pleased me. I was once told that temakiwas actually invented in the United States! I also noticed that Kazumi's sushi-meshi was not quite as strong in the vinegar department; though time could be a factor here.

After a few minutes, the dust had settled and things had slowed down a bit. Kazumi then got down to work……opening and cleaning a Hotategai(scallop) and creating a combination of scallop nigiri and hotate-uni gunkanmaki.

The gunkanmaki seemed a bit sloppy and the uni was not of the highest quality, but it was not bad. Kazumi had not put any wasabi on the hotate nigiri, which was an excellent choice, as the wonderful sweet and mildly briney flavor came through quite well. That was quite a treat. Kazumi had wound down a bit and started making conversation with me as well……I still enjoyed his wit and sense of humor.

I enjoyed the saba-kazunoko (fish roe) temaki.

Great combination of textures.

I love shiromi, white meat fish, but the hirame (halibut) I was served was dry and on the gummy side.

Amazingly, only 40 minutes had passed at this point…….but I was just about totally gassed, so I gave the sign for "just one more"……which ended up being pretty good. This was a cured-"smoked" salmon, which I really enjoyed.

This was something that all the "old school" places used to serve ages ago, but I don't see much nowadays. I asked Kazumi about this prep……..he mentioned salt and hickory, but not smoking. Then I realized, this is cured in a combination of salt and liquid smoke! Man, I got to figure this one out.

Dinner ended on a high note, and I'm sure that he'd do a good job if not inundated by orders for 6 California Rolls and 5 crunchy rolls at a time. Also, this dinner ended up being the most expensive of the four at over $80, so I'm not sure I'll return, especially in this format/ locale.

Sushi Bar Kazumi (Inside of Moby Dick Fish Market & Grill)
4805 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
(619) 988-6522

Djerba (Tunisia): The Houmt Souq Fish Auction and a cup of Cafe Express

January 27, 2013 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers, Seafood, Travel, Tunisia, Tunisian Food

After visiting El-Griba Synagogue and Borj El K'bir Fort we headed into the village of Houmt Souq, the largest town and the capital of the place Odysseus called "Land of the Lotus Eaters".

The little town is quite charming and the architecture quite unique. Most of the buildings in Houmt Souq have that Mediterranean whitewashed look, but are square and somewhat formidable looking. I was told that this was because of the location of Djerba there used to be a constant fear of attack.

The alleyways and distinct vibe made us wish that we had stayed here instead of on one of the resorts on the island.

Houmt Souq literally means "the marketplace" in Arabic….so of course that would be Marche Central (the Central Market).

By now, Ben understood that we were interested in the food and cuisine of Tunisia. He led us through a small portal and into a courtyard. At the end stood the fish market.

Here amongst the fish stands one can witness the daily fish auction…..no it's not the havoc and craziness of Tsukiji Fishmarket, but rather something on the other end of the spectrum….very relaxed, casual, and amazingly laidback.

As you milled amongst the booths you noticed that chairs were being hoisted up upon the very counters that held the fish….this happened in a very subtle way, without any fanfare. Older gentleman then climbed up, sometimes with a bit of help and sat at their mighty fish "throne". A person to the left would then "show" a string of fish, octopus, or other type of seafood, then hand it up to the person who is auctioning the fish off.

The folks who had been milling around then suddenly all come together……some I guess to bid, other maybe just to watch?

The process seemed fairly quiet and calm……

And after the highest bidder got his prize, the crowd would slightly disperse and the whole thing started over again.

In the case of something that there was something no one wanted, the crowd would simply thin out….folks losing interest.

Until the next "juicy" item came up for bid…….

There was something mesmerizing about the whole thing. We decided to stay and watch for a little while longer and let Ben off the hook. This was where we parted ways, we'd catch a cab back to the Green Palm.

After watching for a few more minutes we decided to move on…..we found a coffee shop in the middle of Marche Central and sat down to just take in the whole place with a cup of "cafe express" – espresso.

Aah…..now we were really doing things at our pace…..

Of course, there was the question of "what's for lunch?"

Recently Consumed

January 25, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking, Sandwiches

I haven't done one of these for almost a month…..so here's a post for a wet Friday here in San Diego.

I noticed how much was lost when we fried merguez from Whole Paycheck….so trying to get the most out of it, I first pan fried the lamb based sausages, then pan roasted potatoes in the rendered fat from the merguez. Man….this was really good.

Here's an interesting fun experiment…..pinenut crusted halibut.

Man, I wish our broiler worked….I'm sure we'd have gotten some better carmelization. As served, this was so moist….I think the Missus know understands that you can do some nice fish in the oven. The drizzle of black garlic olive oil I made was a nice touch.

Then during the middle of our coldest evenings….we had Oden.

You gotta love those portable butane stoves….I think every household should have one. If just as part of their "disaster kit".

Of course I made too much broth…..adding this to some major laziness means that I availed myself of whatever dried product I had on hand.

So wakame, dried mushroom went in………there was some tofu in the fridge…..I poached some of the Missus' dandelion greens for some pungent bitterness. But this didn't become complete until I made an omelet with Chinese preserved radish.

I've been kinda lazy the last two nights…..so while I've made stuff the Missus wanted to eat for dinner, I've stuck with making sandwiches for me.

So last night was beer braised veal bratwurst which I then wrapped in bacon and browned. This was really nice on some sauerkraut seasoned with some oregano over melted Swiss cheese and Dijon Mustard. Some sweet pickled red peppers completed the sandwich. The Missus had a bite and now wants me to have this during the weekend.

Tonight was a simple steak sandwich…after all, I need to use up those rolls.

It was the bed of peppers and onions sauteed with a touch of white balsamic that really made this tasty.

So what have you been made at home recently?

COMC Calorie Bomb Edition: Carmen’s Mexican Food, Harry D’z BBQ, a Caliente Burger, and one repeat

January 24, 2013 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, BBQ, Burgers, Mexican Restaurants, Plate Lunch, yoso-silly

I know that my timing tends to suck……I have a tendency to do these posts right after the New Year. It’s really not on purpose…really. What happens is that I try to close out the previous year and always seem to have some of these “one-off” type photos, so I basically have stuff for a “COMC” (Clearing Out the Memory Card) type of post. So anyway, here’s some “stuffs” from the last quarter, of last year.

Carmen’s Mexican Food:

A couple of folks have mentioned Carmen’s to me and I tell them that I had eaten at Carmen’s back when they were located in Linda Vista, across from what is now K Sandwich. I really wasn’t impressed with the food, which seemed more Am-Mex, then Mexican. Eventually that whole area was razed and Carmen’s was gone. I did feel a twinge of sadness, because even if I didn’t care for the place, a lot of folks did. Then a couple of years ago, Babylon Cafe closed down, and Carmen’s reopened in that location.

I was still not really motivated to eat there, but more than one person mentioned how good their Carne Asada Fries were. After my post on Yesenia’s, I actually received two recommendations for Carmen’s. So after a short CAF recovery period, I decided to drop by for lunch.

The crew here was friendly and all the customers seemed to be regulars, talking about kids, vacations to Disney, Disney cruises, relatives, not seeing “so and so” for a while….you know, that kind of stuff. I actually kind of felt like an outsider, but this gave me an understanding of how the place has cultivated a customer base over the years.

Everything was cooked to order so it took a couple of minutes before my Carne Asada Fries were ready.

This really wasn’t my cup of tea. First, thought I love my dinner fries, I’m not fond of them in my CAF. Since there’s always some guac-crema-salsa action going on, I prefer a higher ration of crispness. Second the guacamole was kind of pasty with no flavor. Third, the carne asada was a lot more tender then it appeared, but was rather tasteless. I’m sure they make their own salsa here, but for some reason it reminded me of Pace Picante. Nothing against Pace, but several decades ago I had a coworker whose second favorite hobby was….how shall I say it…partaking of the “cash crop”. We’d go over for beers and would instantly know when he was enjoying himself….he’d be having this concoction of melted Philadelphia Cream Cheese mixed with Pace Picante and chips. Ick……

The rather substantial pool of oil at the bottom of the plate could either be an added treat or not…depending on your point of view.

Still, like I’ve said many times…there’s a big difference between “favorite” and “best” and I understand that. There are many reasons why folks hold a place close to their hearts and the food may not be the main reason(hey, I’m just as guilty). Based on the rapport between the two guys working on this day and the regulars, I’m thinking this is one of those places.

Carmen’s Mexican Food
4937 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Harry D’z BBQ:

During one of the early days of the Morena’s Farmer’s Market…..having not been back in a while, I’m wondering if it still running? I passed a couple of weeks ago and na-da?? Anyway, it was getting close to evening and I hadn’t had lunch and this little stand looked interesting.

Actually, there should be some kind of law against sticking pork in front of a starving man’s face…..

So I decided on the pulled pork sandwich, which was a reasonable $6.50.

The pork was quite moist, but I had a hard time believing it was really smoked based on the mild flavor. The sauce was too sticky sweet and what seemed molasses heavy for me……

The Caliente Burger at Tommy’s:

**** This location of Tommy’s has closed

I’m not sure what it is about San Diego’s Tommy’s, but it just doesn’t seem to be the same as the Tommy’s back in LA…even the one in our old neighborhood. But there I was, standing in line at Sprouts and the two customers in front of me were going on and on about this “new” burger at Tommy’s that was “oh so good, but so spicy”. Now what kind of bonehead would actually go visit Tommy’s after overhearing two women talking about something “oh so good”??? Hello, I’m bonehead, nice to meet you……

The young lady at the counter was really friendly and told me that they top the chili burger with pickled cascabel chilies and chipotle cheddar. She was very nice and even gave me a little tray with some extra chilies in them. Funny, these reminded me of the bottled Del Monte Chilies I used to eat when I was a kid.

The burger was actually better then I had during my last visit, maybe five or so years ago now. The chilies weren’t really that hot. I’ve kind of noticed that the chili at this location is heading into two divergent directions….as it becomes more and more like refried bean glue in texture, the flavor becomes more watered down. Right now it just seems like heartburn fuel…..though I’ve only had heartburn once in my life(a funny story) and it wasn’t from Tommy’s

Serves me right to eavesdropping on folks in the grocery line……

Original Tommy’s
7415 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

So there you go….man, that’s more then enough calories and saturated fat…sheesh.

I think I’ll go and quietly have my plate lunch in the corner now.

Las Vegas: Aburiya Raku Restaurant Four Years Later Part 2

January 22, 2013 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Las Vegas, Nevada

We had really been enjoying our meal at Raku, but I sensed an upcoming lull waiting for the item the Missus was looking forward to having. So I decided to just kind of go for it, ordering some sashimi from the specials board. Having really enjoyed the Shima Aji (striped jack) during my lunch at Mitch's, I wanted the Missus to have a taste.

Along with the pristine slices of fish was a small bit of nice tartar featuring avocado, cilantro, along with the shima aji. The fish was quite good, firm, with a mild sweetness. The Missus just loved the fresh grated wasabi and was actually eating the stuff straight up! I really didn't think much of the sashimi and fish dishes at Raku on our previous visit, but this changed my opinion.

I then decided to take a bathroom break……now why would I mention this……a "TMI" moment. But if you recall, I thought the restroom set-up was quite unique the last time we were here. The faux grass and stone path to the potty are now gone…..but the greenery on the ceiling of the restroom and tweeting bird sounds are still there. I also enjoyed the photo collage of various dishes on the wall.

And of course there are still flower petals lining the floor…….

As I returned, one of the dishes I'd been waiting for arrived……the foie gras with tare. With the ban on foie gras going full steam in California, I needed my fix. The Missus thought I was insane ordering a $16 skewer of foie gras, but what arrived was pretty impressive.

I was surprised at how good this was…….it was really ready to melt. The look on the Missus's face when She had Her first bite was just priceless. So luxurious……I told the Missus that this was so good I wanted "to kick myself". We took our time on this, enjoying every single morsel. When the server came to take the plate away, I thought the Missus was going to do bodily harm on the very efficient guy. The empty plate remained on the table….I actually thought the Missus was going to lick all the rendered fat off the plate!

The final dish of the night was the sake kamameshi, the salmon and ikura iron pot rice. It was a chalkboard special the last time we ordered this and at $35 was probably the most expensive rice dish I can recall ordering. Now you can order it by the cup….well, the Missus ordered 3 cups! That's three cups of uncooked rice……which came to $30 bucks anyway!

This was just as wonderful as on our previous visit. The Missus had the extra bonus of pouring off all the rendered foie gras fat on Her bowl of rice. This was way too much for us to finish of course, but like last time, they made us onigiri with the leftover rice. Which I had as a snack over the next two nights.

The service was reserved but nice. The one male server was pretty amazing in his efficiency. He would pick up on every tiny drop of spilled sauce and get things cleaned up and plates changed and removed with great speed.

It could be that we understand what we enjoy at Raku, making this visit more enjoyable than our last……but I honestly think Raku has improved over the last four years. I can't wait for our next visit!

Aburiya Raku Restaurant
5030 Spring Mountain Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89146
(702) 367-3511
Hours: Mon-Sat 600pm – 300am

Las Vegas: Aburiya Raku Restaurant Four Years Later Part 1

January 21, 2013 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Las Vegas, Nevada

Man, time sure does fly, huh? It seems that it was only yesterday that we had a wonderful meal at Raku. But time had indeed marched onward and it was time for the Missus to renew Her certifications….which strangely, you aren't able to do in San Diego. Not that I'm complaining mind you, not in the least. This was actually fairly last minute, but I've got a wonderful manager and a great team who had no problem covering for me in spite of the rather late notice. This time, instead of the Missus flying out and I meeting Her a day later, She just picked me up at work and we drove up to Vegas. Of course this meant that we'd be getting in rather late, but since I usually get into the office before 6 (pssst, what they tell you about needing less sleep as you get older seems to be true!), She could pick me up at a bit after 3pm. In need of a late dinner, Raku, open until 3am immediately came to mind. We made reservations for 10pm, but actually got in before 9, checked in…..it was easy since we weren't staying on the strip….the Missus isn't fond of the crowds, cigarette smoked, and the noise of the strip. We arrived at Raku early to see if they could take us…..and being a rather quiet Wednesday, they had no problem.

Combined with the chalkboard items, the robata-ya, oden, and the rest, there's quite a bit to choose from at Raku. Luckily, we'd been here before and knew what we enjoyed….and more importantly, what we didn't. It made ordering….well not easy because of all the great stuff we had before….but perhaps a bit easier.

We'd had a long drive, so I thought the "Raku Tofu" ($4.50) would be the perfect way to refresh ourselves. Plus, Kirbie made it look delicious.

As per the program, the very nice Server told us to have this first with the matcha-shio (green tea salt), then with the whatever we wanted. While the matcha-shio experience was nice, this was just plain heaven with the house blended soy sauce…..nice mild hints of ume in it. The tofu, while soft, is not quite silken, but still wonderful and I thought the Missus would actually start chugging that shoyu……

Next up was what the Missus thought would be an interesting combination……it wasn't strange for me, but She thought the "gooey on gooey" would be different. Thus we ordered the Poached Egg with Sea Urchin and Salmon Roe ($9). This was really a nice combination. I've always been a fan of the ikura (salmon roe) that Raku serves….it isn't the overly preserved and salty stuff you see at most places. Here's it's briney with a nice "pop".

I loved how the flavors wrapped themselves around my tongue. You mixed the whole thing up…the tororo wasn't just grated, but a combination of diced and grated, so you got the nice, very mildly sweet effect. The flavors created were so complex, sweet and custard like from the uni, a mild "green taste" from the thin slices of okra that seemed like a bonus everytime you had a slice….you get the point, right?

Then the robata items started arriving. First the enoki mushroom wrapped in a nice mildly smoked bacon.

Then the Kobe Beef Fillet with Wasabi….very tender and beefy, with the wasabi adding that nice fat cutting pungency….much like horseradish…..

The tare was nice, not too sweet.

Then something we had on our previous visit, the Duck with Balsamic Soy.

We'd really enjoyed this the last time….this time around…well, I didn't care for it at all. First, the balsamic glaze tasted burnt and bitter to me and the duck was really tough.

The Missus had never had Pork Cheek robata style, so I thought it would be a nice time to try it.

Well, She liked the flavor, but the texture…….at first bite, just like pork, but then chewy and tendon like, freaked Her out.

At this point, it seemed that the one item that the Missus really wanted was still a few minutes away….so what to do?

Stay tuned!

Pho-raging around Kearny Mesa: Pho T Cali, Pho Mignon and Grill, Pho Cali, Pho Fusion, Phuong Trang, Pho Convoy Noodle House, and Viet Bakery and Pho

January 13, 2013 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple of months ago, I was having a particularly terrible bowl of Pho in the Kearny Mesa area. Thinking I'd try to be especially witty, I texted "aw-pho", sorry, it was a bad pun exacerbated by bad soup, to a bunch of my friends. Which started a terrible round of bad phopuns lasting almost two days….I think it ended when I texted something using "pho-lam-bouyant", yikes! The one sane person in all of this, "Yummy Yummy" set me off on a mission with one profound statement, "yes,it's sad that there's no good pho in Kearny Mesa." Really…..really??!!?? Then I stopped and thought about it…..perhaps she was right. I had to find out for myself. So I ended up going to seven different pho shops in the next two weeks….sorry, at the end, I just couldn't see myself going to Quoc Te….I was "pho-ride"…my apologies for that one!

After all of this, I had to think about how to do a post……I mean really, there was the possibility of maybe 2,000 words (I'm alread past 170). So pardon me if I just kind of blaze through these, ok? Plus, I'm still suffering from P(ost) T(raumatic) M(SG)D(disorder).

Pho T Cali:

**** Pho T Cali has closed

This is the place that got me posting "aw-pho".

Broth that looked, and sort of tasted like dishwater…..salty dishwater, with very little beef flavor, and not much else. Mushy overcooked noodles. Though the cuts in this, flank and brisket especially were decent, but I had to send out a search party for my tendon. Oh, let's add insult to injury, the scallions in the broth were turning brown as well.

Actually, this is almost exactly the same as my last bowl here, so this can't really be a fluke, right?

Formula in the perfunctory service. Sad….

Pho T Cali
7351 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Mignon + Grill:

I gotta say, the service here is nice….perhaps not efficient, but very nice. Still, I haven't had much luck here. It's kind of bad when the best item you've had from a shop with Pho in it's name are the french fries. I've struck out twice on the filet pho, so I went with the "trolley bowl", which according to the menu is "flank, well done steak, tripe, tendon, and meatballs".

Man, there's something about this broth that I find strange, beyond how it's totally defatted. This time around it had a burnt shallot flavor with a "tinny" finish.

The noodles were fine, the proteins mediocre, except for the tendon which was pretty good, and I still haven't figured out why the ngo om with pho? I'm missing something here.

Sorry, I just couldn't do the broth at all……I hate to waste, but this just doesn't agree with me.

I love the idea of craft brews…..the service is sometimes a bit scatter-brained, but always nice. But man, I just don't like that pho.

Mignon Pho + Grill
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Cali & Grill:

**** Pho Cali and Grill is now Pho Duyen Mai

Man, it's been a while since I've been here.

This would have been totally MOR (middle of the road) pho, if not for the super salty broth…..super salty, as in there wasn't enough lime to cut the salt. And the meat being on the dry and tough side.

The noodles were clumped, but fine….but man, this was salty.

Pho Cali and Grill
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123

Pho Fusion:

Man, here's another place I haven't been to in a while.

This really looked like a lighter version of Pho Mignon….I really didn't have high hopes for it. The broth had a very mild beef flavor and was pretty weak overall. The noodles were done well and I gotta say, this was the best tendon I had while doing this. The rest of the assorted protein wasn't too bad, though the flank cuts are on the dry and tough side.

I also should say that the service I received was very good. My water refilled twice and when I looked at the rather skimpy amount of herbs and bean sprouts, the young man told me, "please let me know if you want more, we'd be happy too…."

Pho Fusion
8038 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Phuong Trang:

What to say about the poster child for MOR (Middle of the Road) Pho, other then man, has it really been three years since I had Pho here?

This place has usually been consistent, though on this visit the broth was rather cloudy. The broth is rather light on the beef, but at least you can make out hints of anise-onion-clove. Noodles were fine.

The meat was meh…….flank tough, tripe soapy tasting and scant in quantity, tendon tough and not much of it….you get the picture.

The older gentleman who always used to make me laugh wasn't here. In his place was a very friendly young man……..who I thought was quite charming….until he brought me a fork for my pho? Lets call it what it is….a "pho-pa"….

Phuong Trang
4170 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Convoy Noodle House:

**** Convoy Noodle House has closed

This used to be a dependable stop, but I was sorely disappointed on my last visit. I wondered, was that a fluke? So I had the same thing, #2, well done steak, flank, fatty brisket, tendon, and tripe.

And while the broth had recovered a bit…..slight beef flavor, mild anise, still a mere shadow of what I recalled; the meat, especially the already chewy flank….was almost inedible and without flavor.

The noodles were fine….but I still remembered the pho being much better here. I'm not sure what happened.

Pho Convoy Noodle House
4647 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Viet Bakery and Pho:

*** Viet Bakery and Pho has closed

Based on my previous visits, I really wasn't looking forward to having pho here. But since the place had "pho" in its name (though probably based on pho ga), I thought it only proper to grab a bowl here. The shop had undergone a major overhaul with regards to looks since my last visit. It looks less like a bakery and more like a proper restaurant.

There really fussy menu has been replaced with something perhaps a bit too spartan, but perhaps that's the right fit. And i'm sure you can get any combination of items you really want. I went with the "Pho Viet", with rare beef, brisket, and meat balls.

I really don't like having preconceptions when having a meal at a restaurant, but based on history, perhaps I expected the worst. This was actually not bad….not good, but not bad. The broth was on the cloudy side, but had a decent beef flavor. It was light with regards to the anise-clove component, but at least wasn't too salty.

The meat, being the rare steak or the brisket didn't appeal to me, being tough and dry. The meatballs tasted exactly the same as what Mignon Pho served. The noodles were a bit overcooked for my taste.

Still, this was much better than anticipated.

Viet Bakery & Pho
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

So there it is…….. and after having all these bowls of pho, I can only conclude that "YY" is pretty much correct. And after thinking about it; whenever I think about having a nice bowl of pho, places in Kearny Mesa never come to mind.

What do you think?

Fish 3 Days, Fish 3 Ways Day3: Porcini Crusted Halibut with Truffled Polenta

January 12, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

After having the delicate Olive Oil Poached White Sea Bass, the Missus wanted something a bit more "earthy". Her request for the next day was, "something with mushrooms…..lots of mushrooms……" This one was easy for me….well to conceptualize. Getting it done after work in time for dinner….well, that was going to be fun. This was actually easy since I had about an ounce of dried porcini mushrooms on hand. So for a play-by-play….

Step 1 – Soak about 3/4 of the dried mushrooms in two cups of warm water

Step 2 – Slice cremini mushrooms, 2 shallots, and grate 4 cloves of garlic.

Step 3 – Place the rest of the dried porcini, salt, and pepper in a coffee grinder and pulverize to a powder.

Step 4 – Combine mushroom powder with 2 Tb potato starch and spread all but 1 Tb of mushroom mixture on a plate

Step 5 – Place halibut on mushroom-potato starch mixture making sure to coat only one side, well.

Step 6 – Season the undusted side of fish with Spanish paprika, granulated garlic, salt, and pepper. set aside.

Step 7 – Strain the porcini soaking liquid. Make polenta using all but 1/3 cup of the mushroom liquid, olive oil, and water. Between stirs, chop the soaked porcini, reserving 3 Tb as a garnish. When polenta is almost done, add all but the reserved chopped porcini mushrooms. Finish with truffle oil and set aside.

Step 8 – Pan fry the halibut in a combination grapeseed-extra virgin olive oil. When the fish is almost done, start step 9.

Step 9 – In a dry pan over medium high heat, place the sliced porcini mishrooms. When the mushrooms start to soften and give off their moisture add extra virgin olive oil, shallots, garlic, Turkish oregano, and reserved mushroom powder. When fragrant add reserved mushroom liquid and white wine and let bubble away. The fish should be ready by now. Set aside. Taste sauce and season (remember, there's salt and pepper in mushroom powder) with salt and pepper. Reduce……

Step 10 – Plate the baby up…….

Somewhere along the line, the Missus chopped some parsley for garnish. I also used some of the chopped porcini as well. I test for doneness using a sharp paring knife.

Man, this was really tasty…and moist.

I put the rest of the polenta in a pan greased with olive oil and then unmolded and stored for future use.

I ended up making this again, this time pan frying the "polenta cakes" a couple of days later.

Not bad for a Thursday night……

So there you go…….Fish 3 ways in 3 days. Whew, I needed a break. Though things started up again the next week, but I didn't work quite as hard.

Though this one is just pan fried halibut with a warm white balsamic vinaigrette.

Thanks for reading!

Fish 3 Days, Fish 3 Ways Day 2: Olive Oil Poached White Sea Bass topped with Tapenade

January 10, 2013 mmm-yoso Cookbooks, Cooking, Recipes

I felt rather triumphant, having exceeded the Missus's expectations….basically pulling a recipe out of my….well, you know where, and making something She really enjoyed. The following day, the Missus sent me a text, telling me She, "wanted fish made totally differently from anything I've made before….no salt baked, no fried of any kind, no simmered, no baked, no saute, no stew, no pan fry, no stir-fry." No way!!! Not really knowing what to do, I picked up some olives on the way home…..I really don't know why.

I came home and started leafing through some of my cookbooks……some of the recipes were too elaborate to pull off on a weeknight. Until I went through Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore's Fish Without a Doubt. I found a recipe for Oil Poached Halibut with Gribiche. Sauce Gribiche is a classic French sauce, with cornichons, capers, vinegar, and such. Think of it as an unemulsified tartar sauce if you will….though I've come across recent versions of Gribiche that has been blended and it really did seem to be tartar sauce. Instead of that route, I used the olives, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, and basically made my tapenade minus the anchovies and artichoke hearts.

The fish itself was pretty simple……the one item being, even though I used the tiniest cast iron pan I had, we ended up using quite a bit of olive oil for this. Still it came out rather well.

There are just four ingredients needed to prepare the fish:

Fish
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

– Salt and pepper fish filets and let sit for 45 minutes
– Heat oven to 175 or the lowest temp. Our circa 1959 oven's lowest is called "low" and bottoms out at 190 according to the oven thermometer
– Place fish in skillet/pan and add enough oil to cover. Remove fish and set aside.
– Place pan in oven and heat oil to about 125 degrees. I could still place my finger in the oil and it just felt hot…..you may just want to use a thermometer though. I don't want anyone coming after me after burning their finger!
– Add fish back to pan, cover (I used aluminum foil), and place in oven. Check after 15 minutes to make sure oil is not too hot….i.e. no deep fry action going, just a mild poach.
– Check after 20-25 minutes.I use a very sharp paring knife and insert into the fish. If it goes in cleanly, almost with resistance the fish is done, or will be done by the time you get in on the plate. White Sea Bass is pretty dense. This took about 35 minutes.
– Remove fish, blot dry, and serve.

The fish is very moist…almost melting away in my mouth. The flavors are mild. Texturally, this didn't do it for the Missus, even with the tapenade. It was a nice experience for Her…..even though She probably won't want me to make fish this way again, at least She tried it.

As we took care of the dishes after dinner, She turned to me and asked, "so what are you going to do with the halibut for tomorrow night? I want something really good…….something with mushrooms!" Stay tuned for the finale!

Fish 3 Days, Fish 3 Ways Day 1: White Sea Bass with a Oyster Sauce-Chinkiang Vinegar-Honey Glaze

January 9, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

In my New Year's post, I mentioned the Missus's new found love of shopping and markets….we now share our weekend mornings grocery shopping, something that was a solo job for me less then a year ago. She even shops on Her days off, most Thursdays you'll find Her buying a thousand bunches of kale and chard from the Linda Vista Farmer's Market. Since Catalina changed their set-up, She'll even shop for fish and seafood, often texting me what She thinks is good…..often buying more then She thought….I guess it always looks smaller on the other side of the counter. There is one thing that sometimes makes this a challenge…….She'll often somewhat vaguely request "something good for a change". On the Tuesday after Christmas, She went to Catalina and ended buying a good amount of fish. The wheels were turning…..when I got home from work I received the request. "I want something with Asian flavors that I like….something you've never made before…." On a Tuesday evening?

Luckily, I have some idea of the flavors the Missus enjoys….the "suan-tian-ku-la-xian" thing. Plus, I had a surplus of scallions and a ton of garlic on hand during the Christmas weekend and made scallion oil and garlic oil:

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

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

Garlic Oil (more concentrated then usual):

1/2 cup peanut oil
3 whole bulbs of garlic, cloves peeled, and sliced thinly lengthwise

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

I also had some baby bok choy on hand. The rest was pretty simple and the result was this:

The Missus had bought almost two pounds of white sea bass….nice, meaty, and mild. I used half of it, going for the typical Chinese fish marinade….you could almost think of this as the traditional step one - marinating:

2 Tb Shaoxing Wine
2 Tb Grated Ginger
White Pepper

Add ingredients to fish. Gently coat and let sit for 15 minutes.

Right before cooking, I added 2 Tb potato starch to the fish to coat, the traditional step two.

While the fish was marinating, I put together a simple glaze/sauce:

3 Tb Honey
2 Tb Oyster Sauce
3 Tb Premium Soy Sauce
2-3 Tb Chinkiang Black Vinegar
1 Tb Hoisin

– Soften honey in a microwave for 10 seconds
– Combine ingredients

I pan fried the fish in a combination scallion/garlic/peanut oil. At the end, I poured half the glaze over the fish and carefully turned to coat.

I poured the rest of the sauce over the baby bok choy….I went for a pretty classic, old-school, Chinese banquet dish presentation. I topped the bok choy with sesame seeds and fried garlic saved from making the garlic oil.

She enjoyed t so much…..I made this again the following week. This time with halibut.

I was feeling pretty happy putting this together on the fly on a weeknight…..but this just meant that the Missus had to come up with another "challenge"…….. stay tuned!