mmm-yoso – Page 372

Soy Sauce Chicken Drumsticks

January 25, 2009 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

Walking along the meat department of 99 Ranch Market, I was in search of something to make for dinner. Something easy and low stress…..when my eyes happened upon these:

The humble chicken drumstick. As I stood and stared(obviously mouth agape – good thing there were no flies around) at the styrofoam tray of poultry, my mind took me back to the joys of the drumstick. Has there ever been anything more perfectly designed than natures own "meat-on-a-stick?" And as a child, I adored them. So on this day, instead of the chicken legs, or whole fryer that I had been contemplating, I returned home with 8 drumsticks.

But what to do with them…….would it be a simple "fry-job"? Or perhaps a dijon based baked drumstick? There seemed to be a infinite number of options…… As I put away my groceries, direction became pretty clear. I had purchased some Gailan (Chinese Broccoli), so the direction would have to be Asian. And so I settled on doing a basic "Soy Sauce Chicken" recipe. Something I've been making for years. After all, I was doing drumsticks, so isn't there anything more basic than doing a simple soy sauce braise?

So here you go, a simple, Sunday, soy sauce, dish. You may want to make it on Saturday, and heat it on Sunday, it will taste better.

Soy Sauce Chicken Drumsticks

8-10 Chicken Drumsticks, or 3lbs various chicken parts, ORRR 1 whole fryer.
2 cloves of garlic smashed
2 3/4" pieces ginger smashed
2 star anise
4 scallions, white parts only, bruised
2 cups water
1 cup light soy sauce
2-3 Tb dark soy sauce
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup Shao Xing Wine

1 – In a wok or dutch oven combine water, ginger, star anise, garlic, and scallions, over medium heat.
2 – When water starts to boil, add soy sauce, sugar, and Shao Xing. Stir to dissolve sugar. At about this point, I always taste my braising liquid….if you've never done that before, please do…it may taste "yuck", but after making dishes over time, you'll be able to better predict how things will turn out, and make adjustments.
3 – Add chicken to wok, turning several times to make sure chicken is fully coated for about 5 minutes.
4 – Turn heat to low, and simmer chicken, turning every 8-10 minutes until done. These drumsticks took only 20 minutes. Do not overcook, the chicken will fall apart and get mushy.
5 – Serve with a little dish of the sauce.

You can take this in many directions….soy sauce eggs anyone? I found this to be close to the salty edge, so I made up a Ginger-Scallion Oil, just like what I make for my cold ginger chicken, which cut the salt and fat real well:

I hope you had a great weekend!

San Diego Tet Festival 2009

January 23, 2009 mmm-yoso Festivals & Events, Vietnamese Restaurants

Wow, where did time go? It's time for the San Diego Tet Festival again. The venue this year, is the same as last year, Balboa Park.

I decided to check things out on the way home from work, so that I could get a post in tonight. That way, if you're interested, you'll still have tonight, Saturday, and Sunday to attend.

This year, it didn't look like the weather was cooperating, but by the time the Festival opened at 4pm, the rain looked to have moved on, and the sun was shining.

Things were a bit wet, but I'm hoping that doesn't dampen spirits.

As with all the previous festivals, various vendors, businesses, and community organizations are represented.

And of course all of the rides.

Of course, I know you're really interested in the food, right?

It was nice to see some of the old regulars, who are here every year.

And many that I don't recall seeing before.

To me, it seems that every year, there seems to be an interesting food theme. In 2006, it was Cha Gio everywhere. In 2007, it was salads. Last year, it was Nem Chua and Banh Kot. This year, in keeping with the weather, it's soups, stews, and rice porridge (Chao).

And every year, there's something a little more adventurous.

Here's a closer look:

And just in case you aren't in the mood for Vietnamese (gasp!), there's the usual Kettle Corn, Hot Dogs, Tacos, and maybe a few not so usual suspects:

The meat grilling in back of the booth smelled heavenly. Too bad they weren't quite ready.

Only a few booths were open, and this booth was the busiest:

And though all folks ahead of me were getting Eggrolls (Cha Gio), or Fried Bananas, I had my sights dead set on something else…. Bun Rieu!

I ordered my Bun Rieu($5), and the very friendly young man manning the booth asked me to wait a few minutes. And what should appear, but a large fast-food plastic tray, and a proper large bowl of Bun Rieu. I was shocked…..

I had expected a small styrofoam bowl, but this was larger than many bowls of Bun Rieu I've had in restaurants. No garnishes other than lime, but this was better than expected. And while it was a far cry from Mien Trung, the Bun Rieu sure hit the spot on such a damp day. I was so stuffed after finishing this off, that there was no room for anything else.

Which might have been a good thing, since many booths, like this one, which will be serving Banh Kot, were simply not ready.

So if you visit, let me know what you enjoyed!

Fourth Annual San Diego Tet Festival - Balboa Park.

Fri 1/23/2009: 4pm – 10pm
Sat 1/24/2009: 10am – 10pm
Sun 1/25/2009: 10am – 8pm

LV Sandwiches and Restaurant

January 22, 2009 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

*** LV sandwiches has closed and has been replaced by Toan Ky, you can find a post here.

While I was paying too much attention to the opening of Thuan Phat Market and the soon to open Yum Cha Cafe, LV Sandwiches opened right under my nose last week.

LV Sandwiches has opened in the spot formerly occupied by Le's.

We'd have never noticed except for the grand opening sign….

And buy 2 sandwiches, get 1 free is a great deal in my book!

Other than the sandwich menu, not much has changed.

And the restaurant has kept Le's Vietnamese-Chinese-Thai menu, along with the mediocre food, like this combination Com Tam. Underwhelming and overpriced at $7.95.

I had never been a big fan of Le's, and holding over the old menu items, which seem to number in the hundreds….

But of course we were here for the sandwiches! On our first visit, things were a bit disorganized, but the folks, and especially the woman who looked to be running the place were very nice. We had a seat, and ate our sandwiches inside the restaurant. Of course the Missus ordered the Banh Mi Bi (shredded pork – $2.75):

The Bi was mildly flavored, but on the dry side, I likened it to eating sawdust. The bread on the other hand was good, warm, crusty, but not hard, and airy. Instead of slicing the baguette in half, adding margarine, than toasting, creating what I call the "crouton effect" (I'm sure we all love croutons…but try chewing on a baguette sized crouton and attempt to preserve the skin lining your mouth), LV toasts the whole baguette. Also, as we were to find later, eating in, has its benefits.

Strangely, the Missus ordered the Banh Mi Chay (vegetarian – $2.75):

Turning over a new leaf for the New Year? hmmm… When our sandwiches arrived, they were cut in half for consumption……and I really couldn't figure out what this was. It tasted pretty darn good….with not a hint of the usual deep fried tofu, nor "plastic meat" in sight. There was some nice flavor, the addition of fried shallots and garlic gave the Banh Mi a nice kick. What was the most surprising, and impressive was the quality of the "faux" Cha Lua (defatted pork sausage – think bologna!!!). The texture was pretty good, and it didn't have an artificial flavor. When we inquired about this, we were told that they make their own "mock meat" in house. The Missus had found Her favorite at LV.

We took the Dac Biet (Special – $3.25) home with us.

I was surprised at the amount of meat in this sandwich. The Thịt Nguội (Ham – Jambon) was lean, and the Cha Lua had a mild smokiness to it. I believe they make this inhouse as well. The Pate had a strong livery "funkiness"to it, which ranks up there with BaLe on University, but went well in this sandwich. The bread had gotten chewy, and the crust hard by the time I arrived home. Still, we had gotten 3 sandwiches for a tad over $6. A great deal in these cash-strapped times.

A day later, the Missus wanted another Banh Mi Chay, so in addition to the Dac Biet, I got a Trung Lap Xuong (Egg and Lap Cheong – $3.25):

Not much in the egg front, but a lot of sliced sausage. The sweetness of the sausage, along with the pickled vegetables was a nice combination.

And soon enough, it was another day, another Banh Mi Chay for the Missus. This time we decided to have our sandwiches at the restaurant. And we verified that the sandwiches were much, much better eaten ASAP. The bread for each of the sandwiches were a bit different quality wise. The Missus's was a bit more mealy, close to getting stale.

While the bread for the Banh Mi Xiu Mai (meatball – $2.75), was a bit better, it seemed to have some mileage on it.

The ground pork was very rich, almost oily, and combined with the Pate sent the sandwich into pungent overdrive. It was a bit much for the Missus, and was too rich for me. Even the pickled vegetables, which are cut a bit on the thicker side, and tend toward the sour side of the spectrum, didn't cut the richness.

The bread for the Banh Mi Ba Chi (cured pork belly – $2.75), was about as good as it gets in San Diego. Light, and pulling almost to the flaky, instead of overly crusty, this was some good bread. We still miss the airy baguettes we had in Vietnam. For us, they seem more suited to the Banh Mi, than the dense and heavy baguettes we sometimes encounter.

I didn't enjoy the tough and stringy cilantro in this particular sandwich. T LVSandwich14 he pork belly was very mild in flavor, and it was almost all texture. The Missus though the texture was similar to eating raw bacon. And though I really enjoy some versions of this sandwich, I had to agree with Her.

So what's to like at LV? First off, they aren't heavy handed in the use of Mayo and margarine. Second, I like the Thịt Nguội and Cha Lua. Third, when the bread is right…it is right. Fourth, the folks here are really nice. Fifth, the sandwiches have much more flavor than their "Gringo-ized" brethren. Sixth:

Can you really beat buy 2 get one free?? And it's not like Paris Bakery where you have to get all Dac Biet. So check them out………

LV Sandwiches and Restaurant
6925 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Did you think we ate enough Banh Mi????

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Road Trip: Ajisen Ramen & Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center – Irvine (OC)

January 21, 2009 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Orange County, Ramen, Road Trip

**** This location of Ajisen has closed

I had purposely not gotten a large bowl of Pho at Pho Thanh Lich, so that I'd have a chance for another meal on my way back from the 'OC'. Plus, I wanted to check out the new Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center. I had decided a nice bowl of ramen would do the trick, and selected Ajisen Ramen.

Now, I know that Ajisen is a Chinese run Ramen chain, with over 300 outlets around the world, that according to Rameniac has strayed far from its Kumamoto roots. Still, I'd gotten a few recommendations, so I thought I'd check it out. At the time I arrived there were only a few tables occupied in the place. The dining area was ind of cramped, and not in the cozy ramen shop-izakaya kind of way.

The second thing I noticed, was a lack of a certain sound….slurping. There were folks having bowls of ramen, but not a single one of them were slurping….which made me feel a tad uncomfortable. You see, over the years, I've gotten used to, and now, relish the noise that a good bowl of ramen makes. It's almost like you can hear a great bowl of ramen before you smell or see it. I once knew a very proper Japanese girl named "Reiko". Now Reiko-chan, would never think or even conceive of slurping down some Chow Mein, or Spaghetti, but place a good bowl of ramen before her, and she would be instantly transformed into a slurp machine befitting of a certain truck driver many are familiar with.When asked why, she explained thusly: "Kirk-san, you cannot help it, when it tastes good, you must!" 'Nuff said….

All I wanted was a basic bowl of Ramen, so Iordered the Ajisen Ramen ($7.50), which also was the most inexpensive ramen.

Being used to Santouka portion sizes, I found the bowl that arrived to be pretty large. There was also quite a bit of cabbage, wakame, and hijiki in the broth, and the scent and flavor of the garlic oil, wakame, and hijiki, wiped out any subtle flavor the broth would have. The broth was lukewarm, which would usually be a real a no-no with a rich tonkotsu style(rapidly boiled pork bone based) broth, but in this case the broth was so thin it didn't really matter. No matter how cold the broth got, I doubted that a "skin" would ever develop. From what I've read Kumamoto style noodles are known to be softer than the more well known Hakata Ramen, and yes the noodles were a bit softer, and lacked a nice elasticity that I enjoy. The chashu (braised pork) had a nice caramelization, which added some texture, and tasted a bit on the sweeter side. It was probably the best part of the dish.

The service I received was curt, but professional. And the young lady managing the front was really very, very, nice, almost respectful….probably because I seemed to be at least (at least) a decade older than anyone else in the room.

The restaurant had filled up by the time I left, a mere 30 minutes later. Without a doubt, Ajisen is quite popular. Still, tilting my head toward the mass of ramen eaters, I could here nary a slurp….and that says a lot in my book.

Ajisen Ramen
2700 Alton Pkwy
Irvine, CA 92606

Elmo article from OC Weekly, here.

Ajisen Ramen is located in Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center which is a far cry from the typical LA Asian Stripmall, or even Focus Plaza, in it's size, and breath:

The focus is multi-cultural, and perhaps multi-con-fusional, with Crepes de Paris, next to Capital Seafood, next to BCD Tofu house, across from BBQ Chicken, which is next to a Greek Restaurant, with Tokyo Table on one end. In spite of the rather large parking lot, I think this place must be a zoo. Especially since there is only one small parking lot entrance. In fact, as I left, the parking lot was full, and the mall is only half occupied.

The mall is anchored by an outlet of the Korean Supermarket Chain H Mart, which strangely enough, has a fairly small parking area allocated in front of the market.

For those who fear the sights, scents, and sounds of Asian Markets, H Mart is for you. No worries of seeing or smelling piles of dried squid or dried filefish here. In fact, the first thought that came to me when I entered H Mart, was….. Whole Foods:

Everything is nicely wrapped, or behind glass, with no odors assaulting you.

Things are tidy, and the store is very clean. The prices of the produce seemed on the high side, but I found the meat, and other items to be reasonable.

And yet, I felt something was missing……but it was probably just me.

Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center
2700-2750 Alton Parkway
Irvine, CA 92606

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Luong Hai Ky Restaurant – Mira Mesa

January 19, 2009 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

As noted in the comments of this post, Luong Hai Ky's second location has finally opened in Mira Mesa. And about a week after their opening I found myself in the area, so I thought I'd check out the home of, ahem, "The Original Chinese Noodles". I'm pretty sure I don't need to elaborate…..

The Owners have done a pretty nice job with the interior…..down to having the now standard plasma televisions mounted on the walls….

I could tell that the level of disorganization was still running pretty high, I was asked for my order three times, by three different Servers. My hot tea didn't arrive until I was almost done with my soup (though this was not as bad as what happened later), and so forth. Being in the midst of a "grand opening" make such problems reasonable……

I stayed with my usual, the Won Ton & Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup ($5.75):

After making a brief stop at another table, the bowl of egg noodle soup arrived. The soup was piping hot, but much like my last visit to the Convoy location, lacked the nice rich flavor that I had encountered on previous visits. I'm guessing this is the standard broth at LHK now…bummer. The won tons were a bit softer than the norm, and the dumplings even better, toothsome, but not hard, and the shrimp flavor came through.

Still, this was enough to warrant another visit, this time with the Missus in tow. On this evening the Missus ordered the Combination Fried Rice ($7.50):

We both thought the shrimp were excellent, the rice had been cooked well, with a nice caramelization. But for some reason, the rice had an overly sweet taste. The Missus had to add fish sauce and soy sauce to balance out the flavor.

I ordered the Combination Crispy Noodle ($7.95):

Not enough sauce…which again ran on the sweet side. This meant instead of the nice combination of crunchy, to chewy, to soft and tender textures, I felt I was eating stuff from a can. The veggies were done perfectly, nice bit of crunch and weren't overcooked, and much like the fried rice, the shrimp was the best thing about the dish. The accompanying soup was fine, if a bit heavy on the sodium.

And than there was the tea…or lack thereof. We ordered hot tea with our meal, which never arrived. We inquired about it when our food arrived, and were assured it was on the way. I figured it was going to be like my previous visit, and end up at the table later on, but it never made it. When our check arrived, I asked what happened to our tea. The Server gave me a puzzled look, looked at the bill (even though it was written in Vietnamese, there were 3 line items). Seeing that they had forgotten the tea, we were told: "that's ok, no charge for tea anyway!" And walked away….. I guess because tea is free it's ok to not serve it when ordered? Having been caught off guard by that answer, we couldn't help but laugh……..

One other thing, it does seem like prices are going up rather quickly. I noticed that both locations of Luong Hai Ky share the same take-out menu. So if this is accurate, I paid $5 for Won Ton and Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup around November 19th, of last year. It's now $5.75, these "Mi Gia" noodle houses are getting out of the zone of cheap eats rather quickly. In the end, even if I don't believe that Luong Hai Ky is "The Original Chinese Noodles", I sure received a pretty original excuse for forgetting part of our order!

Luong Hai Ky Restaurant
10606 Camino Ruiz #2
San Diego, CA 92126

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A Burger Week Epilogue: Urban Solace

January 18, 2009 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Burgers

**** Urban Solace has closed

Urban Solace has become one of the Missus's favorite restaurants. So it's probably about time I did a post. You can get a pretty good feel for the restaurant from the many food blog posts out there, by Alice Q Foodie, Clayfu , Gil, and Beth. And though I've not been "wowed" by some of the items I've tasted in the past (such as a really greasy and salty pastrami), I've long coveted the burger. It just looks great arriving at the table. So burger week provided a great opportunity.

I like the dining area at US, the ceiling height, colors, and lighting strike a nice balance. The menu consists of what Urban Solace calls "New American Comfort Food", basically American food with a twist, like the "Duck-a-roni".

As much as I wanted to complete this post, it almost did not see the light of day. On this visit, we sat out in the courtyard, and the bright sunlight and the surroundings ended up giving all my photos an orange hue. But in the end, here I was all dressed up and nowhere to go…..

On this visit we started with a favorite of the Missus, an order of the Cheese Biscuits ($4.25):

Personally, I'd prefer a bit more cheese flavor, or any flavor, to my biscuits, as these are very mild in flavor. I like the texture of these, they are moist, and soft, without getting to close to foccacia, and also have a nice mildly crisp (though not very flaky) "crust" that does not head into "scone-land". My personal preference is for the salty over the sweet, so I'd have preferred a really nice and light butter, rather than the overly sweet and salty Orange Honey Butter that is provided, though I can understand that this would be a good compromise for some…….

So of course I had the burger, which, like many of the menu items are plain, downright reasonable in price ($9.25). I was asked how I wanted my burger, which was medium, and hey, for once, my burger arrived "medium". I had pretty much written off the perfunctory ritual of asking how you want your burger done, as just "shibai", so it was nice to have my faith restored.

As AliceQFoodie notes, the burger comes fully dressed, with a mild cheddar, thousand island dressing, and the produce. The bun had a mild and pleasant sweetness to it, but it was too large upsetting the meat to bun ratio. This burger had a bit too much dressing, which overpowered the flavor of the beef. And, because it seemed that the burger had either not been rested, or had been brushed with a ton of butter, the combination of the dressing and the "juices" just made the bottom bun turn into mush in addition to making the whole thing seem a bit too rich and oily….a bit more acid would help cut the richness. I scraped some of this off, so I could taste the burger, which had a pleasant beefy flavor.

As for the sweet potato fries, they are delicious, but arrive limp, wrinkled, and seemingly on the edge of rigor mortis, which makes eating them less pleasurable. The only semi-crisp sweet potato fries I've ever had or made, were baked, so I think Urban Solace would do just fine with regular fries, which I'm sure they'd pull off well.

The Missus ordered Her current favorite at Urban Solace, the Chicken and Dumplings, which at $15.95 was one of the more expensive items on the lunch menu.

I'm not a big fan of Chicken and Dumplings, so I'll just say, nice, tender and moist chicken, too much cream, and waaaay too much salt. And even though the Missus has been known to body slam a Moose to get to its salt lick, she ended up drinking 2 bottles of water on the way home. I'm sure She'll still order this again the next time.

The service at Urban Solace was very nice on this visit. Except for one strange thing. It seems like our Server has an interesting concept of "personal space". He really didn't want to get near us….to the point that I checked to make sure my 12 hour deodorant hadn't hit hour 13. He placed every dish on the opposite side of the table from us. So we had to stretch over the table to get our food. Nothing bad….just a bit odd.

As you'll notice from the menu on Urban Solace's Website, the prices a very reasonable.

Urban Solace Restaurant
3823 30th Street
San Diego, CA 92104

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It’s Burger Week (again): High Dive Bar and Grill

January 16, 2009 mmm-yoso Burgers, Pubs and Pub Grub

About 2 years ago, the "High Dive" opened in our neck of the woods. And from the beginning this "not so divey" bar has drawn some pretty good crowds.

And though I drove by nearly everyday, this was about as close as I got to the High Dive:

There always seemed to be a postal truck parked outside….and you know what they say about Postmen. Like Cops, they know where the decent cheap eats are in the neighborhood. And still, I never made it to the High Dive. Maybe the close proximity to home lulled me into a state of "it'll always be there." Burger week, and overhearing several comments about the "meat in a bun" served at High Dive, finally roused me from my state of neighborhood catatonia, and I decided to grab lunch at High Dive.

I arrived to see two neighborhood dogs playing outside the bar, and three Postmen having an early lunch inside.

The interior is on the dark side. There are several beers on tap, mostly the usual suspects, except for the Boddington's. Several large screen plasma televisions gave this place a sports bar feel.

Since it was a beautiful sunny San Diego day, I decided to have seat outside in the patio area. I gather that this is also the smoking area, based on the sign posted. Since the patio was empty except for one other table….I decided to park my "butt" here.

The menu is mainly burgers, pizzas, and the usual San Diego pub grub suspects (i.e. Nachos, Chicken strips, etc…) Not feeling particularly famished, I went with the "High Dive", a quarter pound burger, topped with grilled onions. It comes with fries. With a bargain basement price (for a pub style burger) of $6, I decided to add some gorgonzola for 75 cents more. Mustard, ketchup, and other sauces soon arrived in the now ubiquitous recycled six-pack holder.

Soon enough, my burger arrived:

The burger looked on the smallish side, but there was a ton of fries. The bun was a standard issue hamburger bun, the same as you'd purchase at the supermarket. Lettuce, tomato, and pickles, were served in the usual bar-burger way, on the side. The grilled onions, were more like caramelized onions, and had no flavor. In fact, it only served to make the burger seem more greasy. I missed the nice crunch and bite of sliced onion.

The gorgonzola made the burger seem much richer, and really didn't bring much to the table. American cheese would have done just fine. All of this made the bun disintegrate into mush about half-way through. What made this burger decent was the moisture level which was excellent. It was also very soft and tender, and not mealy in the least. And because I wasn't asked how I wanted my burger done, I'd expected something cooked to death. How wrong I was. The burger was cooked barely well done, about as perfect as a well done burger could be cooked.

The fries are coated in what seems to be flour and cornstarch, and are served skin on. They are crisp, and seem light, though I couldn't finish them off. Go figure!

In fact, I felt more stuffed here than I did after eating at Hodad's

I found the service efficient and friendly, just as you'd expect from a neighborhood bar. My diet soda was refilled, as was my water. I was in and out in 45 minutes. All for under $10, which was pretty good. The crowd seemed a bit yuppie-ish.

All of these types of pubs offer daily specials, and High Dive is no exception. As for the burger; it's no Rocky's, but the burger was fine. Because of the location, I'll probably be back.

High Dive Bar and Grill
1801 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

Mon-Thu. 1000 am – 1200 am
Fri-Sat. 800 am – 1:00 am
Sun. 800 am – 1200 am

It’s Burger Week (again): Hodad’s, or is there life after bacon?

January 13, 2009 mmm-yoso Burgers

Ah yes Hodad's, the mere utterance of that noun will bring instant declarations of "Best Burger in Sam Diego"…if not the world, as the sign says:

The burger at Hodad's and Rocky's Crown Pub are at the epicenter of the OB (Ocean Beach) versus PB (Pacific Beach) burger wars. To me, they are two totally different burgers. Rocky's is a simple, hand formed, soft, and beefy plain burger. Hodad's is a crusty, messy, stuff dripping down your arms, kinda burger. There's more than enough room in San Diego, of not in my stomach for both of them. Personally, my relationship with Hodad's has been of the love-hate type. I long ago figured out what I loved about Hodad's burger; it was the bacon. Plain and simple, griddled until just teetering on the edge of burnt, with a nice greasy saltiness. Remove that bacon, and it was just a rather plain burger smothered in a ton of mayo, mustard, and ketchup. I'd visited Hodad's a few times when doing consulting work during the late 90's, and when we first moved to San Diego. My last 2 visits were not very good, the sandwich had become a soggy mess, with more iceberg than what sank the Titanic. Add to that the really rude "Hodad" attitude, I'd decided that enough was enough, and hadn't been back in years. Following our last burger week, several readers asked….nay demanded, that Hodad's got equal time. So here we are, over 2 years later….it's burger week.

The crowd at 5 minutes after opening, sure says something about Hodad's timeless popularity.

And though the crowds seemed the same, I noticed that many of the customers, at least on this day seemed a bit older. The menu looks the same, though the prices have gone up a bit over the years.

On this day, a really nice Young Lady was my Server, and I've got to say, it was probably the best service I'd ever had at Hodad's. She was friendly, efficient, refilled my Diet Soda once, and asked one other time. It's the most I could ever ask for at a joint like Hodad's.

Of all the items on he table, the salt, ketchup, hot sauce, and so on, the one you'll need to intimately familiarize yourself with, are the napkins. You'll be using many of these. So make sure to introduce yourself early on.

Looking over the menu, I suddenly realized that I had never sampled the onion rings at Hodad's, so I had a half order ($4.25):

They looked nice and golden brown, and were lip searing hot. I found the breading to be too hard and shell-like for my tastes, but these weren't bad by any means.

As for my burger, I decided to forgo the bacon, and go with a straight-up Double Cheeseburger ($7.50). Meet the leaning tower of burger:

An aquaintance of mine says that Hodad's "artificially" (his term, not mine) inflates the burger height with its own set of platform shoes; the lettuce. And though I believe I've encountered this before, it was not on display today. There were 3 tomatoes in my burger, but it was not "over-iceberged." I quickly noticed something, do you see it? Here's a closer look:

Yes, it was a little piece of bacon hanging on for dear life, as if to tease me!

For me, the burger at Hodad's is all about the crust of the patty, combined with that familiar flavor combination of American Cheese, pickles, ketchup-mayo-mustard, and tomato. It always takes me back to the burgers I ate growing up. Meat sizzling on the griddle until a nice crusty exterior is developed.

I kept eating and eating, until I hit a crossroads. It was the opportunity cost moment. Which will it be the onion rings or the burger? Well it was the onion rings that had to go. It did seem as if I kept eating, and hardly made a dent in the burger. In the end, I was quite pleased with the mess I had made.

Now this was the Hodad's we all know…….

As I waddled up to the register, the same nice young lady saw me rolling along and cracked up and asked me, "did you get enough to eat?" To which I replied, "I don't know what happened, I used to finish this with no problem…." Her response; "well, that happens sometimes……." Hmmm, maybe there is life after bacon at Hodad's…….

Hodad's
5010 Newport Ave.
San Diego, CA 92107

Hours:
Mon-Thu. 1100am – 900pm
Fri-Sat. 1100am – 1000pm

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It’s Burger Week (again): Bare Back Grill – Pacific Beach

January 12, 2009 mmm-yoso Australian/New Zealand Cuisine, Burgers

It's been a while since we've done Burger Week, so we thought it was time to it again. I real ize the timing may not be the best….. New Year Resolutions and all. So we apologize in advance, and hope you'll join us for this work-week collection of burgers.

It was FOY and fellow San Diego Food Blogger, Captain Jack who first mentioned Bare Back Grill to me a few years back. Along with the various "brokeback" jokes threw in for color, CJ mentioned that the burgers were of good quality, organic, and pretty tasty overall. That Bare Back Grill was located right on super busy Mission Boulevard in Pacific Beach really dampered my enthusiasm. But I had placed Bare Back Grill on my "list", and because I wanted to do another Burger Week, it was only a matter of when. Timing was everything, and the Missus and I decided to check the place out right after the Holidays, which meant we'd find parking without a problem….. right in front of the place.

The sign says "New Zealand Burgers and 'Wiches". According to what I've read, the Owners of Bare Back Grill were "trekking" through New Zealand when they came across a very popular Sandwich Shack. In love with the burgers and sandwiches, they got the owner to sell them the recipes, and the rest is history. Bare Back claims to sell %100 organic New Zealand grass-fed beef, ground fresh daily.

The interior of Bare Back, is wide open, very beach-bar-ish, and you'll sit on wooden chairs. During the winter, it can get a bit breezy.

The menu is short and sweet, and laminated…..on slabs of wood located on each table. Burgers range from $6.99 – $12.99, sandwiches and "other" grub $6.99 – $9.99. And as much as I wanted the Bare Lil' Lamb (Lamb Burger), I thought I'd stick with a burger.

During the workweek lunch hour, the best deal at Bare Back Grill is the Lunch Special, which is one of four different offerings, fries, and a drink (soft drink or draft beer) for $9.99. I went with the "Average Joe", which is a basic Cheeseburger.

The burger arrived, looking pretty good. I wasn't asked about "doneness" so there was no disappointment. I found that the very mildly milky swiss cheese added flavor without overpowering the burger. The patty was moist, and fairly tender. The flavor was mildly beefy, I had expected a bit more "ooomph" because it was grass fed beef, but the burger was not over seasoned. The roll was nothing special, but held up pretty well.

The fries at Bare Back are different….they are thin cut, and crisp…perfect in texture. But the addition of sugar freaked the Missus out. I guess Her Chinese palate wasn't able to deal with them. The aioli was a horseradish based deal, which really didn't bring much to the fries. So if you don't mind grainy sweetness on your fries you'll enjoy these.

The Missus ordered the Grilled Bird ($7.99). Basically chicken tenders. When the chicken arrived, I thought the Missus would be disappointed at having only 4 tenders in the "basket".

The tenders were coated with what is called "BBG" sauce, the "house dressing"….a tangy, tomato based sauce, halfway between chutney and BBQ sauce. The tenders were very soft and moist, a nice surprise, since tenders are usually dry and tough. The Missus enjoyed these.

Overall, a nice experience, and since I just have to try the Lamb Burger, I think we'll be back. Lack of parking, and the general traffic, both of the two legged and 4 wheeled variety will make timing very important. I'm making sure to include the Google map and address for Bare Back Grill, so you won't be a doofus like me and do a Google search on the words "bareback"……sheesh!

Bare Back Grill
4640 Mission Blvd
San Diego, CA 92109

Thanks for the rec CJ! hope to see a new post from you soon!

Luang Prabang: Somchan Restaurant and more……

January 8, 2009 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Laos, Luang Prabang, Travel

One morning, walking out of our hotel to watch the "River of Orange", squinting in the early morning darkness, we noticed what looked like an impromptu food stand had been set-up right next to the Chang Inn overnight and was going strong. Not paying it much mind, we had our usual walk through the morning Fresh Market, and our coffee and noodle soup breakfast at "Same-Same". Upon our return we were surprised to see that canopy had been raised on the other side of the street. And soon enough, there was some major partying going on.

Apparently, the so-called "food stand" was actually folks preparing food for the party. They had started the evening before. It was indeed a festive event, with a live band, singing, food, dancing, and I'm sure that the "laolao" (the local moonshine) was flowing freely.

During the course of the day, we would check the progress of the party everytime we returned to our room. It was fun watching the usually quiet and very low-keyed folks having a good time. We sat on the steps watching the party slowly build in momentum, hit a peak, then fade away into the evening. The folks at the hotel told me it was a big birthday bash. We watched the woman who made the food, stagger her way back and forth across the street, providing food for everyone. You really couldn't help but smile….and the local pooches loved the "slow dance."

Later in the afternoon, even the Monks stopped and stared at this extravaganza on their way back to the Wat:

This enterprising mutt, worked his way between the tables picking up scraps. It must've have been a bit salty, because he walked off looking for some water……

The party wound down at about 9pm, and clean-up went on through the next day. It was nice seeing this side of local life…… as I like to say, "we are all more alike, than different."

Somchanh Restaurant:

Somchanh is a restaurant we came across while walking along the Mekong. It is located pretty much at the end of the Luang Prabang Peninsula, where the road parallel to the Mekong slowly turns away from the river. The dining area of the restaurant, like many of the riverside restaurants, jutts out over the shore. This being pretty much the end of the road, means some very nice views. Especially of the sunset.

Even though this little restaurant, with the kitchen located in a shack covered with tarp, looked a bit makeshift, it became the Missus's favorite restaurant. We eventually visited three times during our stay in Luang Prabang. We even braved the rain, and walked the 1 kilometer for lunch. When the thunder clouds finally burst, the staff moved quickly(something uncommon in Luang Prabang), and set-up tarps over us.

As with many eateries in Laos, there's the ever present wash basin. Since your hands are the most important eating implement, it makes perfect sense.

Though this was the Missus's favorite eating establishment in Luang Prabang does not mean that everything was good. Being a small, family run restaurant, dependant not on the "Sysco" delivery, but instead on what is available for any given day, meant some interesting, and sometimes quirky dishes. Like the time we were served "brown" sticky rice, which we had never seen before. It tasted a bit more nutty, and had more chew to it.

We also learned quickly that Somchanh did better at vegetable dishes. The Fish Patpet for example (35,000 Kip – $4/US), was not particularly good, especially the mushy fish.

Unfortunately, a few of the dishes will go undocumented. As you can see, it gets really dark, and the white tablecloths reflect the flash. But have no fear; there is one main reason the Missus loved Somchanh:

It was the Salat Nyam (Luang Prabang Salad – 15,000 Kip, $1.80/US). This was by far Her favorite version of this dish. She even had me try and duplicate it, after returning home. And though the egg yolk based dressing can be copied, and you can find really good tomatoes, and sometimes cucumbers. There is one item that can not be found here in the States:

It's the tender, slightly sweet, and mildly bitter Luang Prabang Watercress. Everytime the Missus sees a photo of this salad She wants to jump on a plane and head back to Luang Prabang.

This salad sometimes took a while to be delivered to our table. And we quickly figured out why, the eggs topping the salad are boiled to order. And during our visits, they were always perfect.

There was one slightly humorous exchange that took place during one of our visits. As you see on the menu, there is "Luang Prabang Watercress Salad, right above "Lao Salad". We asked what the difference was. The answer, "oh, same-same". The spelling in Lao looks different, and it is listed seperately….but I guess they are the same thing?

Another item we enjoyed was the Cucumber Salad (10,000 Kip – $1.20):

This pungent, yet refreshing salad was the shredded-seeded cucumber version of Papaya Salad, and in a way we enjoyed this even more.

The best version or "Aulam" (Orlam) we had from Somchan, was the Vegetable Aulam (20,000 Kip – $2.50):

Rich, but perhaps not as thick as I would like; this version had long beans and cloud ear fungus. The Missus never developed an appreciation for the tree bark looking, bitter-numbing-puckery Sa-Khan (piper ribesioides), but I started enjoying it.

The vegetable Patpet (Curry), was also the best of the 3 different versions we sampled (15,000 Kip).

That we found the cheapest dishes on the menu at Somchanh to be our favorites is slightly ironic. What was also interesting is that the large bottle of Beer Lao is 10,000 Kip, about $1.20. The same price as in the little mini-marts.

And did I mentioned the sunsets?