mmm-yoso – Page 323

Cappadocia – Goreme: Goreme Open Air Museum and Dibek Restaurant

August 21, 2011 mmm-yoso Cappadocia, Travel, Turkey, Turkish Food

The flight from Izmir to the large (1.2 million) city of Kayseri seemed to happen in a blink of an eye. The hour and a half ride from Kayseri to Goreme felt a lot longer, though the views were sometimes quite stunning. Goreme, a town of about 2,500 resides in Cappadocia an area renowned for "fairy chimneys, underground cities, and it's moon like terrain. The unique landscape was reason enough for us to include the area in our itinerary….who can resist the pull of fairy chimneys?

I chose the Arch Palace Hotel for our stay in the area.

No, it's not four star or even three star, nor located in a fairy chimney. The rooms were large and priced right at 50 Euros per night…no lift, but the best shower we encountered during our trip.

The main reason I booked our stay at the Arch Palace was the reputation of the owner, Mustafa Yelkalan. He is just about everything you'd ever want in an owner of this type of hotel. All the great reviews and recommendations you read online are correct, Mustafa makes wonderful recommendations and is a one man tour guide, concierge, you name it. More on that later……

When we arrived, Mustapaha met us on the terrace of the hotel, looking at the view of Goreme really gave you could not help but feel that you were in an exotic locale.

After getting squared away, Mustapha suggested that we head off to Goreme Open Air Museum, also known as Goreme National Park, a UNESCO Heritage Site. Mustapha told us that we should do it this afternoon since there was some major rain headed our way…. it was already pretty darn cold, temps in the fourties, so we could imagine what freezing rain would be like.

We headed off in the direction of Goreme Open Air Museum oohing and aaahing at the sites along the way…..

It was already getting pretty windy and chilly….. but that really didn't deter us. We headed through the gauntlet of tourist shops and hawkers in the parking lot…… the one that really made us laugh were the folks selling Turkish Ice Cream, dondurma. They screamed out what they were hawking at the top of their lungs in English……. but instead of "Ice Cream", they all seemed to inject a pause after the "I", and it sounded like "I SCREeeemmmmm, Iiii SCREeeeeemmmmm", the ironic absurdity of it all still makes the Missus and I crack up.

Goreme National Park is a monastic settlement carved into the eroded rock formations. This large complex of churches, chapels, refectories, and a convent is dotted with frescoes, many quite well preserved.

Our favorite was the Elmali (Apple) Church….. photos aren't allowed in most indoor areas, so you'll have to take my word on how beautiful and for me, quite haunting the whole experience was.

There is some climbing to be done here……

Many of the areas are lit only by natural light…. like the eating area within the refectory.

So when groups of tourists enter the place becomes almost pitch dark.

The sky was quickly turning dark and it started to drizzle, so we decided to hike down and head back to the hotel.

Of course the sky unloaded on us……

Then in a moment of what can only be called temporary insanity, he Missus stopped on at the sign for Zemi Valley and said, "let's check this out"! The trail was a river of water, it was raining cats and dogs, heck, it was raining lions and pitbulls….. After a couple of minutes, I convinced the Missus that we still had a couple of days left, and perhaps we would enjoy it a bit more if we didn't have to worry about swimming for our lives!

Returning to Arch Palace, I was ever so thankful for the wonderful hot shower. We dried off, rested for a couple off hours….night falls quite suddenly in Cappadocia, and we headed off to dinner. Getting dinner was one of those situation where Mustafa proved his worth. I told Mustafa that I really wanted to try a "real" Testi Kebab. A Testi Kebab is a stew, not a kebab, that is sealed in a pottery jar and cooked over an open fire. According to Mustafa, there are only a couple of places that do justice to the testi kebab. Earlier in the day he wrote down a list of five places…. I recognized the name of one of them; Dibek Restaurant. Mustafa immediately got on the phone and ordered a testi kebab for us for dinner…….an advance reservation is needed to get one of these at Dibek.

Later that evening we headed down the hill, dodging raindrops to the location of Dibek. You get a feeling that the restaurant actually envelops you as you enter, and the mild mustiness belies the age of the building, which is 475 years old. This floor of the building used to be stables and a wine storage area…..

We walked down the passageway to the front desk and eventually someone took notice of us.

The serious looking gentleman walked over and asked, "did you call…did you make reservations?" I started by saying "no….." and never got to "but", before I was told, "sorry, we are full…..we are full every night this week, maybe you write your name down and we can call and let you know if we have space." At this point I mentioned, "Mustapaha (who happened to be his cousin), called and reserved a testi kebab for us." Ah, instantly the clouds parted and the sun began to shine through. "Ah, Mustapha, lamb test kebab, right? Follow me this way….." We were lead past all the crowds to an area in the rear of the restaurant and to a sunken dining area.

The food started arriving soon after….starting with the standards, Coban Salatsi (Shephard's Salad), et al…..

Then a very friendly older gentleman arrived at the table carrying at ceramic container. He placed it on the table, left and brought back a plate with pickled cabbage and rice on it.

Holding the container firmly with one hand, he gave the pottery a good whack while turning around in a circle. Eventually, the top gave way…. we could literally smell the wonderful fragrances as he poured the stew onto a plate.

There was quite a large portion of the stew in that container, and it was very tasty.

A wonderful, almost smokey flavor had permeated everything in the piece of pottery. The lamb was still fairly chewy, but very tasty…you knew you were eating lamb. The vegetables literally melted in your mouth. This was one of the more memorable dishes we had during our trip.

I'm glad we took the time to make sure we ordered this; the rest of the dishes at Dibek were average at best….most of it sorely lacking in salt.

That testi kebab made up for any other shortcomings the meal may have had…… we could not stop dipping the bread (and since this was Turkey, there was a lot of it!) in that wonderful sauce! We left satisfied and ready to hit the sack.

Tomorrow was going to be a busy day!

Scenes from the Linda Vista Farmer’s Market

August 19, 2011 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market

A couple of weeks ago, my good FOY (friend of yoso) Candice forwarded an email to me…. lots of info there. One of the items that caught my eye was the announcement of a farmer's market in Linda Vista from 3pm to 7pm on Thursdays. A few weeks went by and I finally managed to drop by this past Thursday. This small farmer's market is located in the parking lot of the strip mall that houses Thuan Phat (Shun Fat) Market, Flavaful Yogurt, Pho Hiep, Pho Hoa Huong, et al….

And even though the market didn't look particularly packed at 430pm…..

The parking lot sure was. I ended up finding an open space down by the library.

Though were just a couple of produce booths, I ended up spending much of my time at two of them. The one Asian vegetable stand was predictably the busiest, with some major elbowing going on as women jostled for position.

Even though it was only 430, much of the choice greens and herbs were already gone.

I managed to sneak my way in and get some eggplant, getting out mostly unscathed.

There also was a organic vegetable stand, manned by some really friendly folks…….

After inquiring about some of the more interesting vegetables…. I picked up two types of kale and some pretty interesting cucumber.

There was also two stands selling Asian type fruits, rambutan, jujubies, and jackfruit. There was also a stand selling different varieties of heirloom tomatoes from Valley Center.

There were a couple of food stands present…..

But I had to be on my way home………

I'll have to leave the other stands for my next visit.

And I will be back. Even though the offerings seemed a bit limited at first, I appreciated the quality of what I did purchase…..some really good grapes, nice, fresh eggplant, these…..

Can you guess what they are???

They call them Lemon Cucumbers……

And of course the kale……

The Missus wanted them simply sauteed…… so that's what I did. Sauteed in bacon fat, with some red chile flakes, garlic. salt, pepper, and a dash of sherry vinegar…. the Missus loved them.

So I guess I'll be back for more kale……

Linda Vista Farmer's Market

In the parking lot of Thuan Phat Market

Thursdays from 3pm to 7pm.

Brunch at Kitchen 4140

August 15, 2011 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch

**** Kitchen 4140 has closed

Last fall, I noticed a somewhat unusual site on the strip of Morena Boulevard just North of Balboa, amongst the various shops a place that seemed to be named Chef Kurt Kitchen was opening up.

I was curious and dropped in soon after they opened, and found out that the official name of the place is Kitchen 4140 Bistro and was the headquarters of Concept Catering. The restaurant was all organic and a look at the menu had me interested. This part of Morena was in dire need of a nice dining choice. Sadly, at that time the place was only open for weekday breakfast and lunch. The Missus and I did manage a visit during a monday holiday day….and were underwhelmed. The Kobe Beef Burger ordered medium was tough and overcooked. It was also on the greasy side, and really looked like the preformed "Wagyu" burgers one can buy at Seisel's…….

The Missus had the special, the lamb chops, also ordered medium…. also overcooked, and bland.

The fries were also greasy…..

The vegetables however, were perfect and the prices really weren't too bad. The young lady working here was so nice and cheerful…..so I stowed my photos and we placed Kitchen 4140 on our "try again" list. Easier said than done as we just couldn't find time to revisit. Until I found out that the place served brunch on Sunday from 9 til 2. The menu for Sunday brunch combines both breakfast and lunch menus giving one a a nice variety from which to choose.

I had the poached eggs with the sage-truffle buerre blanc, applewood smoked bacon, and breakfast potatoes ($11):

The eggs were perfect, the beurre blanc was light and mild. The bacon was tasty without being too salty or over-powering. It could have been a bit more crisp. Sopping up the drippy egg had me wishing for more of the wonderful toast. The potatoes were unremarkable and had me wishing for the fries on the Missus plate.

Speaking of the Missus, She picked a real winner, the Smoked Salmon Sandwich ($14):

This was a very nice dish; the avocado creme fraiche along with the capers added a nice rich-tangy edge to the sandwich, the heirloom tomatoes on the sandwich were very tasty. The arugula added a nice light bitterness. The salmon itself was very moist, perhaps a bit light with regards to a smoke flavor, the then I'm used to very aggressive smoked flavors.

These fries were totally different from what I've experienced on our previous visit. I couldn't get enough…..nice potato flavor!

We really enjoyed our meal….and the Missus is craving that salmon as I'm typing this post. So I guess we'll be revisiting on another Sunday in the near future.

Kitchen 4140
4140 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Banh Mi from Flavaful Yogurt/Avian Water

August 13, 2011 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches

It was sunny for a few days there, wasn't it? Before this gloomy weather set in, I stopped into Flavaful Yogurt before doing a bit of shopping for a cookout the Missus was going to (I heard the Char Siu Chicken Wings did well). I'd seen the sign saying they were now serving Banh Mi back in June and feeling a bit peckish I decided to try out one of their Banh Mi.

I did kinda hesitate since the Dac Biet was priced at pretty hefty $3.95….sheesh four buck for a Banh Mi? PeterL had told me that the Banh Mi here were pretty good, but took a bit of time. Lord knows, the wait couldn't possibly be as long as I waited for a Banh Mi the last time I was in the area, right?

Actually, this took only five minutes….kinda helps that I was the only customer in the place. The sandwich was pretty hefty weight wise and landed with a thump on the little kiddy table out front.

You really can't tell how large this Banh Mi by my photos….

I'm thinking that maybe this is a better shot??

It just seemed like maybe a bit too much in terms of "stuff"……..but was very filling.

I'm not quite sure if I enjoyed the pungent onions in the sandwich…though I generally love onions. The pate was very nice and funky, and there a good bit of it. The cucumber played an important role….it helped to cleanse my palate. Gladly, this wasn't over-mayo'd, and even though it's third-party bread, it was toasted well…..not too hard, but just a bit of crunch.

If you enjoy hefty Banh Mi's this might be what you're looking for. It's not bad……

Flavaful Yogurt/Avian Fresh Drinking Water
6937 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

Xi’an – Guan Tang Baozi from Jia San (aka XLB from Jia Brother’s)

August 10, 2011 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, Travel, Xi'an, Xiao Long Bao

Most of the time I'll do our travel posts in chronological order….well, because it's the most logical I guess. But looking at the photos of the Guan Tang Baozi from Jia San made me kinda skip to our meals at two of the locations. We actually ate the Guan Tang Baozi, unlike the Shanghai style soup only Baozi, these were like Xiao Long Bao….and just about one of the best things I ate on our trip to China. In fact we ate GTB (sorry can't help the abbreviation thing) three times! The Missus just couldn't get enough.

I've heard that Jia San has several locations, we ate at two of them in the bustling Muslim Quarter in Xi'an. A stop at Jia San was a must based on the recommendations from my MIL's classmate. One location, the one we ate at twice was on a super congested side street……

This one has a small downstairs dining area…..

With an open kitchen facing the street.

You know you're at the right place when you see the photos of local celebrities on the wall.

On our first visit we ate upstairs which was also packed…. and the young lady and the young man working the area were constantly screaming at each other…..bowls seemed to be flying about, and the service was perfunctory at best. For some reason the noise, clutter, and craziness reminded both of us of a place in Hanoi.

In a funny moment, the girl just finished screaming out some orders to the young man….the Missus walked to the counter and asked for something, the girl started answering in a shrill scream, until she realized that this wasn't her coworker, but an actual customer and caught herself!

The other location is right on the main road into the Muslim Quarter, right on Bai Yuan Men Jie and looks much more modern.

Looking very much like a proper restaurant. The dining area is large and well lit.

With a large kitchen in the back. This location was better staffed and there seemed to be an army of people marching out of the kitchen with ponderous stacks of obviously scorching hot bamboo steamers piled high. I wish I got a clear photo of someone carrying one of those stacks, but the best I can do is show you a typical 14 steamer stack…..folks were actual carrying twenty of these out at a time.

It also seemed like folks were eating much more at this location……..

We ate just one thing here….the mutton Guan Tang Baozi……

The mutton in the baozi was so light, it melted in your mouth. Of course it was so hot that it melted the top layer of tissue in your mouth as well. The filling was both wonderfully gamey and sweet, with a balanced amount of "soup" to meat.

The wrappers were very nice, it had a bit of pull, but unlike the glutinzed over-worked dough of most XLB, these had a gentle pillowiness to them as well.

Ever since She's had these, the Missus can't bear the tougher lamb filling in the Lamb Jiaozi from Qing Dao Bread Food, sigh……

I swear; if we stayed in Xi'an for fourteen days, we'd be eating here for at least twelve of them!

The only thing we couldn't figure out was how inconsistent the sauce for the Baozi was. It tasted different on each visit! The first time it was slightly spicy, devoid of any other flavor, and left a layer of oiliness coating the inside of your mouth.

The second time, it was mildly spicy, but also had what seemed like mutton broth in it. This was the best version.

The third time, it looked like dirty dishwater, and tasted like watered down salted broth. Well, we didn't come here for the dipping sauce did we?

To this day, all I have to do is mention the Guan Tang Bao from Xi'an to the Missus and am rewarded with an instant Pavlovian response……

Nam An Vietnamese Restaurant – A first look

August 7, 2011 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Nam An has closed

I'm not sure why; but for some reason I'd been drawn to the "coming soon" sign in Plaza del Sol for some time. I really have no explanation for it……..but something told me that this place wasn't going to be your typical Pho or Mi joint. A couple of weeks ago, I'd heard about a place opening on Convoy that made their own Banh Pho from scratch and thought "well that's nice…….". Visions of great possibilities doused by poorly a executed concept, a la Mignon Pho came to mind, so I tempered my expectations a bit. Still, it seemed like eons before I saw the Grand Opening sign for Nam An.

Unfortunately, I'd already eaten lunch and was headed to Chicago/Madison the next day. And things had been kinda "blah" for me foodwise since we returned from vacation. This time the blahs seemed to be hanging on a bit longer than usual….so I wasn't really too excited about another Pho shop in the area. Until…….. I received a text from "Yummy Yummy" about eating at Nam An. In the text she mentioned one specific dish. This got me pretty excited about coming back…..

It would be a while until I was able to free up some time for a visit to Nam An. My timing, however would be quite fortuitous. This past week, Ballast Point Brewery had a special tasting for International IPA Day, so with PeterL and his lovely wife, Ange in tow we attended the tasting. Feeling a bit peckish afterwards, I suggested hitting up Nam An…..

We arrived to fairly empty restaurant and were handed some menus….. I really wasn't looking for Pho, Com Tam, or Com Chien… where the heck was the "good stuff"? And then it arrived, the drinks menu…. but it's not the beer and soju that grabbed my attention, it was this:

And there it was……. Seeing Vietnamese dishes that I'd never had in San Diego before….. Peter was pretty shocked as well.

And so we started off…. the Surf Clam Salad ($6.50):

This was the spiciest dish of the evening….it had some kick. I loved the watercress, though I don't think Peter and Angela were quite as fond of it. There was a bit left at the end of dinner, so I took it home to the Missus, a fan of watercress, who just loved it.

About this time we had our first encounter with the very friendly and gracious Carolyn, whom I believe is one of the owners. She explained that the "appetizer" menu is only available from Thursdays to Saturdays, since she has to go to LA and Orange County to source what she needs. Thus, the menu changes every week, and they run out of items…. So no Muc Don Thit, stuffed squid…bummer.

The Deep Fried Calamari was very tender and fried well, but no consolation.

Next was the dish I'd been looking forward too Be Thui ($9), rare, almost raw veal, dusted with roasted rice powder.

Since this is veal, it's quite toothsome and the rice powder gives it a somewhat nutty flavor. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoy it. I've usually had it served with Tuong Cu Da, a fermented bean and soy sauce with ginger. This one was served with a sauce made with Mam Tom….very pungent and heady, but also with a touch of fruity sweetness to it. On a later visit, the Missus asked Carolyn what gave this sauce the fruity edge. Carolyn was happy to oblige, and told the Missus it was pineapple. Good dish…..

The Sea Snail Green Mango Salad ($6) was delicious….. man these snails must have been humongous.

The snails were fairly tender, with a mildly buttery texture like large abalone. The green mango added a bit of a "tannic" – puckery feel to the dish, Rau Rama anise-pepper-bitter-mintiness.

Rare Steak Marinated in Lemon, called Bo Tai Chanh ($4.50).

Wonderfully tender rare filet mignon slight "cooked" by the acid in a fish sauce-lemon juice based sauce. Onions added a bit of bite to the dish, chilies a mild heat, the rau ram gave it a nice herbaceousness. Personally, I'd like this even more "rare", but it is quite good. If it sound scarey to you, and it shouldn't, think of this as being similar to Thai Beef Salads.

The Bloody Clams in Tu Xuyen Sauce ($10) is a favorite of mine.

The clams are small and have decent flavor, opening them are sometimes rather ponderous….but that sauce. I told Carolyn that I could lick the plate….she told me "no, there's no licking the plate here, I'll give you more sauce!" I believe the base of this Nuoc Mau, the basic Vietnamese Caramel Sauce, there's fish sauce, and also I believe garlic in these. It is a messy, sticky dish, that gives true meaning to "finger licking good"! You'll need to wash your hands afterwards, but it is well worth it.

Seeing how much Peter, Ange, and I were enjoying our meal, Carolyn gave us some Oc Cha, some wonderfully flavored snail based "sausage". The snails added a nice toothsome sweetness to go with the smokey flavor of the leaves it was steamed in.

We left quite satisfied, this is well prepared Vietnamese "beer food". After being married for a while I have a good idea of the Missus's taste preferences, so I made sure to bring Her for a visit "stat". She loved the food and I think we have a new restaurant for our rotation. Carolyn told us that she "wants to serve good food with great ingredients." She would rather not have an item on the menu than serve a subpar dish. As the night wore on, I noticed that younger folk were bringing in their parents and grandparents…..a very good sign.

This led me to ask Peter a question…..his Mom is a fantastic cook. I asked Peter if he'd bring his Mom, also a pretty finicky eater here. Without hesitation he said, "yes, of course….." I think that says quite a lot.

And I still haven't gotten around to the Pho yet, have I?

Nam An Vietnamese Restaurant
4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Currently, the "bar" menu is only available Thursday thru Saturday.

Breakfast at the Stadium Club

August 5, 2011 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch

A couple of weeks ago I had to drop my car off for servicing in the Mission Gorge area. Usually, I'll take the shuttle to work or home after getting squared away. For some reason, I decided to wait for my car….. one problem, though, there didn't seem much to do at 7am on a Saturday morning. Most everyone headed off to Starbuck's or to walk the aisles at Home Depot. I decided to wander around a bit and look for some breakfast. Now all of the Taco Shops seemed to be open, but for some reason a divey looking place on the corner of Fairmount and Twain. I was surprised that the parking lot was full……

Now I wasn't quite sure about the place…….especially since the sign says they open at 6am! Geeez, this was obviously a bar…..but open at 6am! I mean we have the Silver Spigot and Champs(I have an interesting story about my one visit there) in our neighborhood, but at least they don't open until the more genteel hour of (ahem, ahem) 8 am…..

But the faded sign did say, or I believed said "Breakfast Sat & Sun 7am". And the place did seem, well, oddly charming….

And what the heck, who knows, maybe I'd want to get in a game of "Bumper Poo"!

So what the heck….. I walked into the somewhat musty smelling, dimly lit, "Bar and Grill" (definite emphasis on bar here). Man, the place was pretty busy, most everyone was closer to fifty (or at least looked that way) than twenty, so I should right at home. Everyone seemed either to be getting an "early start" or having a liquid breakfast…..

On the promising side, there was a woman grating potatoes for hash browns at the smallish kitchen area to the right of the bar. She was very friendly, I believe her name was Linda. Of course after asking my name, I had to put up with Star Trek jokes for the rest of my meal, but other than that I was left alone to have my $5 breakfast in peace………

Five bucks got you toast, two eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon…….. you really can't complain about that, can you? I've had much worse……

The atmosphere is perhaps not as colorful as Lucky's, but as everyone else seemed like regulars, I had a real "fly on the wall" experience…….and folks were telling some pretty colorful stories. There were two older men, both in walkers who would slowly make their way out the side door every couple of minutes to get their tobacco fix. The whole experience was strangely relaxing in a way for me…….I'm not sure why. And for the price of a latte, I got breakfast. I may never go back, and it's not everyone's cup of tea…. but on this early Saturday morning it just seemed right…..plus you sure won't hear what I heard in Starbucks!!!!

Stadium Club
6065 Fairmount Ave
San Diego, CA 92120

Open Daily at 6am
Breakfast Saturday and Sundays 7am – 12noon

Selcuk: Isa Bey Mosque and dinner from Ejder

August 2, 2011 mmm-yoso Selcuk, Turkey, Turkish Food

After grabbing more than our share of food form the Saturday Market in Selcuk we had a well earned nap. Waking later in the afternoon, we headed down the hill to Isa Bey Camii (Mosque) built around 1375, it is one of he few remaining Anatolian Beylik structures.

The Mosque was almost completely destroyed by earthquakes, but after serious refurbishing reopened in 1975. As it is a functioning mosque we approached it respectfully….

I walked up the steep and worn stairs and took a few photos of the courtyard.

Soon enough the call to prayer began, and we decided to leave the mosque to the faithful……. plus, I was getting hungry.

We walked up then back down the hill to the center of town, which is a pedestrian only area…..

Lest you think this a tourist only area, you'd be wrong….this is literally the center of town, and this was where all the older men hung out, drinking tea and coffee, playing backgammon, reading the paper, talking politics and what not……..

After looking around a bit, we decided on a restaurant called Ejder. The owner was very friendly and when the Missus requested a selection of mezes, was happy to oblige.

Seating in the public dining area across the restaurant we were soon joined by some very eager guests.

Can you see the remnants of the aqueduct in the background?

I went with, what else, the Adana Kebab (12 TRY – $9):

The kebab was very moist…. in fact almost all the kebabs we had in Turkey was way more tender and moist than most of what we get here in the states. This one was slightly gamey but not very spicy. The rice was too wet for my tastes. The grilled peppers were wonderful…..the char brought out some sweetness and some were a very sneaky hot.

The Missus's selection of mezes were pretty good, especially the red pepper dolomar (stuffed pepper).

The ezme was too watery and mild in flavor, I liked the beets, but the missus thought they were too sour.

Overall, this was a satisfying meal, the food was far from bland and put me in a good mood. The very friendly owner who came over to check on us several times also made for a pleasant meal. I even gave the cats some of my adana kebab….. I was a bit worried that the spices would be bad for them, but they seemed to love it!

We returned to the hotel full and happy, and had a wonderful night of sleep. We woke early the next morning and headed down the street past the parked tractors……

And caught our train to the airport in Izmir. Of course, no one in Turkey can even think of going a morning without simit (sesame bread), thus the vendor who got the train at one stop walking thru the cars selling bread, then got off a couple of towns later.

Selcuk and the surroundings sure had charm……

But it was time to move on to our next stop……

Stay tuned….

Thanks for reading!

Manic Monday COMC: Izakaya Sakura and Tsuruhashi

August 1, 2011 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

Mostly COMC (Clearing out the memory card) this Monday. I've posted on these places many, many times, so I guess there's not much else to say!

Izakaya Sakura:

I don't think we've quite as many posts on Izakaya Sakura as my fellow food blogger Dennis, but we've done more than our share over the years. Anyway, here's a few more…….

Tako Wasabi:

The Uni – Ikura Don, a special they have every so often:

Perhaps too much of a good thing?

One night I had to get the Oxtail Soup:

Perhaps a tad small for $6.45. This is a pretty deceptive bowl…. it had some kick. There were jalapenos in the broth….and some pretty spicy tiny orange bits that tasted strangely like Habanero….

A favorite of mine, the Gyokai Natto Don ($12), not really on the menu, but you can order it anytime……..

You can get it sans rice as a side dish for $6.45. There always seems to be a decent amount of fish in this, usually hamachi, maguro, hirame, and ika.

Of course there is the Ten Don ($12):

Make sure to request extra donburi tsuyu as it tends toward the dry side.

Last but not least, the Soft Shell Crab Tempura the Missus just had to have…..

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

Tsuruhashi:

Another place I've posted on a couple of times. I mentioned how much I enjoyed the Yukke in my last post on Tsuruhashi. But I found something nice that doesn't have to be put on the grill, and makes for a satisying but light snack or meal:

Yep, it's a rice bowl, but what type of protein tops the bowl?

Here have another look.

It's the Yukke Bi Bim Bap…… a new favorite of ours. Doesn't that raw rib eye look like maguro?

Tsuruhashi Japanese BBQ
3904 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Chicago: Franks N’ Dawgs

July 31, 2011 mmm-yoso Chicago, Hot Dogs, Travel

**** Franks N' Dawgs has closed

On my last visit to Chicago, I had an inkling of going to another sausage joint after Hot Dougs. But I was so stuffed (and in major need of a shower) after eating my Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage and Duck Fat fries, that there was just no room left…..

So this time Franks n' Dawgs went to the front of the line. Picking up my rental at O'Hare, I made a beeline for the Lincoln Park area and Franks n' Dawgs. Really, after hitting up Hot Doug's, how could I not check out the creations of Franks n' Dawgs….. featuring sausages like the China Town Duck ("Chinese 5 spice duck sausage, pickled lotus roots, scallion radish slaw & Mae Ploy chili sauce"), Truffle Mac 'n' Cheese Dog ("Bratwurst sausage, truffle mac ‘n’ cheese with parmesan, brioche bread crumbs & thyme"), Black Sheep ("Toasted black pepper lamb sausage, black pepper oyster sauce, buttermilk vinaigrette, macerated figs, red onions & basil"), and Triple Truffle Fries? The menu will either have you drooling, or scratching your head in wonder ( The "FU" – "Marinated tofu with grilled eggplant relish, caramelized portabellas, Italian salsa verde & chèvre").

Things didn't start out real well for me…..there's a door on the street side, and a note saying to go through the alleyway for an entrance. But there I stood like a dummy trying to figure out how I'm supposed to get in, until I regained my English comprehension skills (at least temporarily) and finally read the sign. I had a game plan with "target sausages" that I wanted to try, but for some reason that all went out the window when I walked up to the counter and read the part of the menu that said "Iron Dawg Competition". Over a period two well known chefs create a "dawg", competing on the basis of sales. If I recall correctly, whomever has the most sales survives and goes on to the next round against another challenger. So I went with one of each…..not cheap since each sausage costs almost ten bucks! This little shop does some major business, and was pretty full, but nothing like the masses at Hot Dougs.

There was one part of my visit that really cracked me up. The really friendly guy behind the counter told me to "pick your photo from the Wall of Shame"……. there are photos with a wooden backing and a strip of velcro on the back. You attach these to your table instead of numbers so the young lady in the dining area can bring you your order. It seemed like all the good ones (like Nick Nolte's mug shot) were taken. The young man, seeing that I was having a problem choosing, told me, "too bad these aren't ready yet, these would be easy choices", and held up photos of Casey Anthony and one we can call "the Weiner". In the end, I chose this famous mugshot:

The first sausage to arrive for this little piggy was This Little Piggy ($9.50):

This looked a bit overwrought with butter pickled red onions, though the remoulade added a nice bit of rich "tang" to the whole thing. The salt and vinegar chip crusted oysters tasted somewhat fishy and seemed out of place on the sausage. I loved the lobster style rolls, they just seemed perfect……richly toasted on all sides and able to stand up to these fairly rich sausages. The sausage, a garlic pork sausage seemed pretty mundane sans all the garnishes and sauce, I loved the casing which had nice snap, but the sausage itself was pretty tough.

I preferred the "Boar'n to be Wild" ($9.95):

This was a wild boar sausage topped with fried onions (it's called tempura onions, but they looked plain fried to me), pieces of fried sweet potatoes and yellow peppers. I could make out the flavor of lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, and Thai basil. This sausage was more tender and reminded me of a milder Thai or Lao sausage. It wasn't bad, but not great.

I was quite full after this meal, there's a good amount of richness in these sausages. I did regret getting side tracked and not ordering what I had planned. So I'll have to make sure to revisit in the future…. after all I just gotta get those Triple Truffle Fries, right?

Franks n' Dawgs
1863 N Clybourn Ave
Chicago, IL 60614