mmm-yoso – Page 399

Tsuruhashi Japanese BBQ

April 29, 2007 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

I was overjoyed a few months ago when I learned that we now have not one (Suzuya Japanese BBQ), but now 2 Yakiniku restaurants in San Diego. That would be a 200% change since this time last year. I was especially excited about the opening of Tsuruhashi. Why, you may ask? Well, if this Tsuruhashi is in any way affiliated with Tsuruhashi in Fountain Valley, I was in for a taste of pretty good Yakiniku. Yakiniku for the uninitiated, is translated to "Grilled Meat", and is basically the Japanese version of Korean BBQ. Yakiniku back home in Hawaii can mean many things, it could mean a regular Korean BBQ, or a version of a more traditional Japanese style BBQ. Tsuruhashi itself is a district of Osaka well known for the large Zainichi (ethnic Korean residents of Japan) Korean population. Tsuruhashi is also well known for….what else, Yakiniku.

I had been trying to get someone to check out Tsuruhashi with me for a few months, but to no avail. It seemed that everyone familiar with Korean BBQ, like Ed from Yuma balked at the fact that most Yakiniku meals came without the "free" Panchan. In most traditional Yakiniku restaurants, panchan is ordered off the menu, and you are charged for it. Problem number two…..a few people mentioned how "expensive" this place was….so what I’ll do, is not detail how much we paid, until the very end.

I also did a bit of "research". I knew someone whose roommate worked at Tsuruhashi, and he provided some advice, which in one case turned out to be pretty handy, and in another case might have been useful, but was not.

We arrived a bit before the usual 5pm opening time. Piece of advice #1, either get there at opening or be prepared to wait. Tsuruhashi is a fairly small restaurant.

There are only 11 tables in the restaurant, and in one section, 3 of the tables are "movable" for large groups. Since Yakiniku is a leisurely experience, and Tsuruhashi does not accept reservations, the wait for a table can be pretty long if your timing is not right.

The Manager who runs the place is a really stoic, serious Gentleman, who can come across as downright stuffy….unless you speak Japanese, or are a regular customer. This was the only time I saw him smile the entire evening, so I had to take a photo.

In some ways I don’t blame him, I’m sure he gets a variety of questions and queries from people who have no clue. There were two older women who sat across us, who obviously didn’t have a clue, asked a ton of questions, made demands, and only ordered two plates, one of which were vegetables, before hurrying out.

A quick word about the "grill". Because the two ladies hurried out post haste, we got to see the hard working Servers replace the "grate", and low and behold…the gas burners are supplemented with charcoal. I’m not quite sure if it was Binchotan, but it was without a doubt lump charcoal and not briquettes.

Piece of advice #2…get there early(sound familiar?), Tsuruhashi will often run out of what they call "top tier" meat. When you peruse the menu, the cuts of meat are divided into sections, and items like Short Ribs have several "grades", each priced differently. This piece of advice was not of any use to us on this evening, as the restaurant was out of the top two tiers of "Kobe" Short Ribs, and "Kobe" Cap Rib Eye. So we had to "settle" for USDA Prime Grade Meat (insert sarcastic "poor thing" here).

One more thing before I (finally)get on to the meat. With this style of Yakiniku, some of the best quality meats are served unmarinated(though there are many exceptions), and unsalted, unless specified. In the case of Tsuruhashi, you are provided 2 "sauces" initially, and additional dish-specific sauces are provided as necessary.

I had a notion of dividing up this post into two, since it is very long….but the Missus told me to "stop being a tease, and show them the food…o-Kay!" So here we go.

We started with some Kimchi….well since, I just had to have some.

And though I think this was fine, you can get better in most any Korean Restaurant…or even out of a bottle in some cases.

Pork Cheek.

Looks a lot like Toro(fatty tuna belly) doesn’t it? This was served with spicy bean sauce and lettuce for wrapping. The meat itself was served with only a light sprinkling of black pepper. In retrospect, we should have gotten the Pork Belly, as this was on the tough side, but still if grilled to a crisp state, it was decent. It was also the cheapest meat we had all night, so I’m not complaining much.

Prime Cap Ribeye.

This almost qualifies as food porn…. In case you’re wondering, the "cap" is the small bit of meat right at the top portion of the Rib Eye. This came unseasoned, and was very tender. It would be an absolute crime to over cook this piece of meat. Just think, this is what is considered "second tier" on the menu.

Salted Prime Tongue w/Shiso:

Four wonderful rolls of thinly cut and well marbled prime beef tongue wrapped around Shiso. This was so soft I almost thought it was thinly sliced prime rib eye! This was served with a little bowl of Ponzu sauce. The Missus would have wished that this tasted a bit more "wild"…but it’s hard to complain about beef that melts in your mouth.

Seafood Combination.

Where to start? Everything was ultra fresh. I enjoyed the Tako (Octopus), when grilled it reminded me of days at the beach, spearing Tako, turning it inside out to kill, pounding it against the lava rock to tenderize, and simply grilling over charcoal! The Ika could almost be considered entertainment, as it would "puff up" when placed on the grill. The very fresh salmon was problematic as it stuck to the grill, and tended to break apart. The shrimp were very good, fresh and sweet, we devoured it shell and all.

But the best item were the scallops.

These were sashimi grade, you could just have eaten them raw. We just barely grilled them. I did cook one a bit more to see if they shrank, a good sign that they had been injected with brine. These kept their size and shape. Good stuff!

Beef Tongue Marinated in Miso:

The Missus’s favorite of the evening. A thicker slice of beef tongue marinated in a Aka(red) Miso marinade. Nice flavors, and more of a chewy texture.

Prime Short Ribs:

To think, this is the lowest grade of Boneless Beef Rib Meat on the menu. To be honest, it was a bit tougher than I anticipated, so I’m still looking forward to the first or second tier choice.

Beef Tail(Oxtail) Soup:

To be honest the Missus was disappointed in this. She thought the broth way too salty, and the Oxtails way too tough. We had kind of ordered this as an after thought, and should have left it that way. It was a bit cheaper than similar versions at various Korean Restaurants though.

Quite a bit of food, huh? Before I reveal the bill, why don’t you take a wild guess……

Kimchi – $2.50
Pork Cheek – $5.50
Prime Short Ribs – $6.25
Prime Cap Rib Eye – $8.25
Salted Prime Tongue w/Shiso – $7.95
Beef Tongue Marinated in Miso – $5.95
Assorted Seafood – $8.95
Beef Tail(Oxtail) Soup – $7.25
Rice – $3.00 !!!
Hot Tea – Free

With tax about $60. It might seem really pricey….but come to think of it, our recent dinner at Seoul BBQ was just about $4 cheaper! That doesn’t mean that everything is very cheap…the tier 1 Kobe Short Ribs are $14.95, and the Kobe Cap Rib Eye is $16.95, and I’m assuming that the portion sizes are the same. The seafood combination is a bargain in our eyes, as are the pork offerings, most are priced at $5.50. Beef heart, tripe, liver, and intestine, are priced under $5. Chicken Leg meat, either salted or miso marinated is $4.25, and there was a large group of young men who ordered maybe 10 orders of the stuff with beer.

The service was very good, efficient(our tea and water refilled) and friendly(except for the Boss), and rather unobtrusive. This location of Tsuruhashi is affiliated with Tsuruhashi in Fountain Valley. I’d advise going early, as we left there was quite a long waiting list.

Tsuruhashi Japanese BBQ
3904 Convoy St (In the same strip mall as Sakura)
San Diego, CA 92111

Hours: Thurs-Tues 5pm-Midnight

Closed Wed.

I’m thinking we’ll be back very soon……

Thanks for hanging in there, I know this post was really quite long!

Midweek Miscellanea

April 25, 2007 mmm-yoso Blog

I just thought I do a quick post with some updates…and other "stuff".

Thien Thanh Closes Down:

Thien Thanh, one of my favorite Vietnamese Restaurants has closed. Last week, I decided to check out Thien Thanh, when I drove into the parking lot, the restaurant was closed, and an "opening soon" banner was posted. I guess this was inevitable. We never saw more than one table occupied on any of our many visits.

The name of the new restaurant will obviously garner many laughs….and hey, maybe Pho-King needs to check out possible trademark infringement??????

RIP Thien Thanh, we’ll miss you….especially the Bun Cha Hanoi.

Some Housekeeping:

I recently received two emails asking if I would link to all of my recipes from the main page. Apparently, scrolling through all of my recipes looking for the desired post was inefficient, and I’ve been told that the Google Search doesn’t always work right. So I’ve summarized my recipes on the bottom left hand sidebar. I hope it works okay….but who the heck want to copy what I cook?

Heck, so long that it makes you happy, I’ll do it…. we aim to please!

Not really about food, sort of….

Now for some mid week levity, it’s really not about food…..

A few years back, when we still lived in LA, we were attending a concert at a small club called The Hop in the City of Industry. The opening act was a Country Rock band playing a bunch of covers. During one of the songs, a cover of Can’t You See, by the Marshall Tucker Band, the Missus turns to me with a puzzled look on Her face and asks me,"What kind of music is this?"

"It’s Southern Rock." I answer….

A look of understanding comes across Her face, and she exclaims, "Okay, that makes sense now!"

Now I’m confused…"What do you mean?"

She responds with, "that’s why they’re singing about fried chicken!"

"Say What!!!"

It turns out that I’m hearing, "Can’t you see, can’t you see, what that woman lord done to me…."

She, on the other hand is hearing this(here’s a hint):

Yes, She’s hearing…."K-F-Ceeeee, K-F-Ceeee"

Shades of "Sam Woo the Killer Whale"……funny, I can’t help but crack up anytime I hear that darn song!

Hope your week is going well! We’ll be back with another restaurant tomorrow!

Seoul BBQ Restaurant – A Revisit. Sometimes it’s all about timing

April 24, 2007 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

*** Seoul BBQ has closed

Sometimes it's all about timing…… The Missus was in the mood for some Korean BBQ, something that doesn't happen very often. We had thought about a visit to Buga, but decided on a revisit to Seoul BBQ.

I had thought about Seoul BBQ for a couple of reasons; first off, the marinades at Seoul tend to be on the sweeter side, which the Missus enjoys, and the wide open interior makes for good ventilation, another plus in the Missus's book.

We were seated without delay, and looked over the menu, made our choices, and soon after the panchan arrived.

Along with a small salad with a Asian Pear/Garlic/Vinegar based dressing, which was refreshing, and not short on flavor.

The panchan(8 dishes), on the other hand was very unremarkable, and other than the Oi(cucumber) was very pedestrian overall. I don't know what it is with my luck with panchan recently, but I haven't had anything I've really enjoyed for a while now…….. More panchan left unfinished, sigh……

As is standard operating procedure for Korean BBQ restaurants, in order to use the brazier you need at least two orders of meat.

We decided on the Hyuh Mit Gui(Haemit Gui on this menu – beef tongue $18.99):

Though not as marbled as the version I recently had at Dae Jang Keum, this version had a much stronger gamey flavor, which the Missus enjoyed. Nothing like crisp grilled beef tongue.

We also ordered the Bulgogi ($18.99):

Grilled, and wrapped in a lettuce leaf along with a slice of garlic, this was pretty good. As I noted before, the marinade at Seoul BBQ is a bit sweeter, which is why many of the Ex-Pat Kama'aina's I know like the Kalbi and Bulgogi at Seoul.

Another thing I noticed are that the prices at Seoul BBQ are now in the same range as Buga and Dae Jang Keum.

We also ordered the BiBimBap($9.99):

Which ended up being mostly lettuce, with very little minced, flavorless beef.

Though unlike my previous lunch visits, there was no "dump and duck" going on, there was something which was kind of bothersome. Everytime one of the ladies passed by our table, they would "fiddle" with the gas grill, turning it off a few times, leaving the meat to congeal on the grill. We had to flag down people to turn the gas back on a few times. Though we still think that Seoul BBQ is just a step below Buga, our meal did "hit the spot", it was one of those moments where we had just the perfect amount of what we were craving, at just the right time. As they say…."timing is everything".

Seoul BBQ Restaurant
4344 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

19th Annual Lao New Year Celebration

April 21, 2007 mmm-yoso Festivals & Events, Lao Restaurants

Yes, it’s that time of the year again…all of the various festivals are starting, it’s a fun and delicious time of the year. Thai, Cambodian, and Lao New Year fall on the same dates every year. I think we may have missed the Cambodian New Year Festival this year, I hope not, but I haven’t heard or read anything about it. "Sao" had mentioned that the 19th Annual Laotian New Year Festival is taking place, and when I asked him about it, he was kind enough to email me the information. The festival is taking place at Martin Luther King Recreation Center on Skyline Drive.

Because of last night’s storm, we initially had some doubts about attending, but today was such a nice day that we decided to check it out. We arrived at MLK Rec Center at about 1pm, and found this little festival in full swing.

I don’t know if it was the really wet weather we had, or if it was the norm, but there were only 2 food booths.

This first booth had a nice selection of grilled items.

Of course we had to have some papaya salad($3), and that grilled sausage($2) was calling to me.

This papaya salad was ordered at medium spicy, but was still quite hot. The gal making the salad was also very generous with the fish sauce, making the salad quite pungent. The sausage? Who doesn’t like grilled sausage?

This booth had a sizable line, mostly for drinks and such.

The Missus grabbed a papaya salad($3) from here as well.

This was ordered "medium" as well, but was also very spicy. This version was a bit sweeter.

If you’re interested, the Lao Festival runs through tomorrow.

19th Annual Laotian New Year Celebration

April 21-22
11:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Martin Luther King Recreation Center
6401 Skyline Drive
San Diego, CA 921114

Admission $2

Latin Chef Part 2

April 19, 2007 mmm-yoso Latin American Cuisine, Peruvian Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

**** Latin Chef has closed

In my waaaay too wordy first part, I think I spent too much time on “stuff”, and not enough on the food, so I’m hoping to rectify that with part 2. After my very enjoyable first visit, I knew I had to convince the Missus that Latin Chef was worth a visit…it really wasn’t very hard!

So a few evenings later we found ourselves having dinner at Latin Chef.

We started with the usual Canchita, and the Missus had a glass of the Chica Morada($1.50), the very sweet drink made from Purple Maize.(Sorry no photo) We started with a bowl of Sopa a la Criolla(“Creole soup” – $8.50):

This very mildly spicy, tomato and cream based broth was rich, but not heavy. The soup contained angel hair pasta, and a few pieces of shredded beef. The Missus, as is Her M.O., took ownership of the fried egg…and declared it “delici-yoso!!!”

I ordered the Aji De Gallina(“Chili chicken” – $8.50):

This is one of the “standard” Peruvian dishes. The sauce is made with Aji Amarillo(yellow chile). Aji Amarillo is the most common chile in Peru, when young the chile is green, and is used in sauces. At the “ripe” stage the pepper is yellow in color, and is used in Aji de Gallina. When fully mature the chile is a deep orange-red color, and is at it’s most pungent state. Cream, bread, cheese, and usually walnuts make up the rest of the sauce, which is served with strips of chicken. The sauce was thick, and on the mild side, which I livened up a bit with some “Aji”, and not as “nutty”, nor a spicy as another version I had several years back. The chicken was fine, if a tad on the “dry” side.

The Missus ordered the real “winner” of the evening, the Arroz con Mariscos (The daily special, Seafood Rice – $10.00):

Beyond the nicely flavored rice, and wonderful roasted vegetables, what really impressed us was the preparation of the seafood. The calamari was soft, and very tender, as was the octopus. This was quite good, there was one request that the Missus mentioned to Freddie for the next time she orders this…she asked if next time she could get some chopped Papas Fritas(french fries). To which the always obliging Freddie said; “no problem…we’ll make one up special for you!” You gotta love these mom and pop places!

One thing did bother us on this visit, the place was totally empty the entire time we ate. We started worrying about Latin Chef surviving. But all such thoughts evaporated when we visited on a recent Sunday. On this day, the place was packed to the rafters, with no seats available in the tiny restaurant, but we decided to sit outside and enjoy the sun.

I had designs of starting our meal with some Papa a la Huacaina(Potatoes with Huacaina Sauce), after all the potato was first cultivated in the Peruvian Incas. I was over-ruled by the Missus who loves Yuca, so we ended up with Yuca a la Huacaina($6.00):

The pieces of Yuca were fried to perfection, slightly crisp on the outside, and nice and starchy, without being too dense in the interior. The Huacaina sauce, basically a cheese sauce, with Aji Amarillo and cream, was a bit too cheesy for the Missus. This version was made with Parmesan cheese, which made slightly more salty than what I’m used too.

For my entree, I went with a classic “Chifa” (Chinese-style) dish, Arroz Chaufa a la Carne ($8.50):

If you think this looks a lot like fried rice, you’d be right, that is exactly what it is. This version was a bit more simple than the Arroz Chaufa Especial that I enjoyed from El Rocoto in Gardena. While the beef was on the dry and tough side, the scrambled egg had been mixed with soy sauce, and I believe there was a hint of chile as well, making it very tasty.

On this occasion the Missus again did a fine job ordering the Pescado a lo Macho (again the daily special, Fried Fish with Mixed Seafood – $10.00):

A breaded and fried white fish fillet was smothered with a very mildly spicy tomato based sauce and mixed seafood. Like our previous meal, the seafood was cooked well, the Octopus was especially good, with an almost melt in your mouth texture, without being mushy. Whatever means of marinading and tenderizing is done, it is done well.

After this experience, I’d recommend reservations if you’re planning to have lunch on a weekend. At this time Latin Chef does not have a liquor license, so sorry, no Pisco Sours, if you want a Cerveza, you’ll be directed to the liquor store down the street. The service is very friendly and accommodating, keep in mind that this is a one chef in the kitchen restaurant, so you may have a bit of a wait for your food, but chances are it would be worth it. There are at least 2 “specials” daily that add a nice variety to the menu.

On the bottom of the sign to right it says, “Warning, Peruvian food is addictive!” At the least, the food at Latin Chef does not lack flavor.

Latin Chef
1142 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109
(858)-270-8810

Kudos to Ed from Yuma, another great find!

You can find part1, here.

Midweek Dim Sum-mary…. Silver Ark and Jasmine

April 18, 2007 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Xiao Long Bao

We recently had a hankering for Dim Sum, and during the course of one week revisited a few places we've posted on before. So I'll keep the verbage to a minimum.

Silver Ark

*** Silver Ark has closed

I recently received an email from "TerryY" telling me that Silver Ark had a new Dim Sum Chef, and that the prices had been lowered for some items. I recently had a weekday off, and we happened to be in the area. Like a previous visit we arrived on the late side(130pm), so I took that into consideration while eating.

Due to our late arrival there was only one cart, and a fairly limited selection. One lady wanted Char Siu Bao, and was told it would be a 15 minute wait.

Here's what we got. The Shrimp and Chive Har Gow:

Unfortunately, these were cold, and the wrappers too thick. Nice flavor, though.

Bean Curd Roll.

This was served piping hot, and overall was probably one of the better items we had. Nice flavor, moist, great textures.

Shrimp and green onion dumpling.

This was also pretty cold, the wrapper was too brittle, though again the flavors were decent.

Shrimp Cheong Fun(this was a "special" $1.99 – thanks for the recommendation Terry).

Noodle a bit too thick and gummy, very large shrimp, sauce too watery, but not too bad.

We tried finding something else we liked, but the selection was on the scarce side, so we finished up with Har Gow:

Not bad, at least these were hot. Nice plump shrimp, wrappers were a bit too thick.

Still, all of this came out to just $13, with tea. Not bad at all! To be fair, the room is on the smaller side, and we arrived a bit late in the day, so I think a revisit on a weekend is in order. The service at Silver Ark, has always been very nice and accommodating, and that's one of the reasons we'll keep coming back.

Silver Ark
8993 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Jasmine

For some reason, that same weekend the Missus had a craving for Dim Sum……and wanted to go back to Jasmine again. On this Saturday morning, we decided it to give it a go mainly because it was early enough (10am) to beat the crowds. As we entered, Jasmine was fairly empty, and we were whisked away to our table without a word, and water and hot tea were silently delivered(this will be interesting later on). Soon enough the carts arrived, and though the selection was not as large as during peak periods, the Cart Ladies were in a good mood, smiling and even somewhat chatty. And we started on our way.

The Tripe.

Possibly the best item of the day. The tripe was crunchy, yet not hard, the flavor was a nice condensed chicken and mild ginger. I usually enjoy a little chili in my tripe, but this was very good.

Shrimp Cheong Fun.

The Cheong Fun was excellent, neither too thick, nor too thin, soft and velvety. The shrimp may have been on the small side, but the sauce was just about perfect, not too sweet, not too salty. Good stuff, best I've had in a long time.

The Pei Dan Jook(Congee with Duck Egg).

Singularly, the most bland, boring, and thin Jook I've had in a long time. Very, very runny, with hardly any preserved duck egg in it.

The Dried Scallop Jook with Xiao Long Bao.

If there was something even blander than the previous dish, this was it. It was not as thin and runny, though there was barely a whisper of scallop flavor. And when will I learn…never order Xiao Long Bao in a Dim Sum restaurant? Barely any soup, the filling tasted like regular pork dumpling filling.

Chicken Feet.

These "jumbo size 13 chicken feet" were well flavored, with just a touch of chili. The skin was soft, and perfect for sucking all the good connective tissue and such. The size of these made me wonder if they are now raising specially bred chickens just for their feet!

About this time it started getting a bit more crowded, and you could start to feel a palpable tension in the air. The Cart Ladies had also started getting a bit more testy, as in, when asked about a certain dumpling, they'd reply…."it seafood, it all seafood, okay!!!"

Well the Bean Curd Roll was "not" seafood.

The broth was fabulous, but the bean curd was on the hard side. It was also falling apart, and a bit messy.

The Shrimp and Chive Dumpling.

Dry wrapper, but very nicely flavored filling.

The Shrimp Dumpling.

The shrimp in these were very large, and the flavor excellent. But just as on our last visit the wrappers were really gummy and stuck to every thing. Hey, isn't this where I came in last time?

All in all, not bad. The damage? $33. Here's an interesting tidbit, I noticed that every table had tea delivered to it whether it was ordered or not. We had tea and ice water delivered without asking, it just arrived. Now we would have ordered tea, but I thought that was interesting, mainly because most Dim Sum restaurants in San Diego would ask if you wanted tea. Even more interesting was an automatic $1 charge per person for tea. So tea is automatically delivered, and you automatically pay. I have no problem paying for tea, mind you, I expect to be charged. In this day and age, not everyone has tea with Dim Sum, so I've always noticed that Dim Sum restaurants in San Diego ask if you want tea, or even better what kind of tea you want with your meal. Or maybe this is just the first time I've noticed?

Service was professional, if a bit curt, but I expect that from Jasmine.

Jasmine Seafood Restaurant
4609 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

My previous post on Jasmine can be found here.

At last! Clayfu’s…ummm, La Princesita Taco Truck

April 16, 2007 mmm-yoso Food Trucks, Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

Several months back, my good blogging "buddy", Clayfu, sent me an email telling me about a Taco Truck located in the parking lot of Joe's 99 Cent Store on Linda Vista. Now understanding Clayfu's, ummm, how shall I say it, rather "frugal" ways, when he described this Taco Truck as being really good, well I had to check it out! I did find the Taco Truck to be pretty good, though sometimes a bit inconsistent. I had a few meals, and took a few photos, and decided to wait until Clayfu did a post on the Taco Truck, since it felt like the right thing to do……and waited, and waited, and waited. Until finally Clayfu did his post on Friday the 13th of all things. You can read his post here. Now I won't pretend to be like the His Royal Highness of Taco Trucks, Bandini, but I did develop a fondness for Taco Truck cuisine during my little road trip to Yuma, thanks mostly to the one and only, Ed from Yuma.

Recently, the old Taco Truck has been replaced with a updated version. But luckily the food is the same.

Few things beat the smell of Carne Asada grilling at sunset! The drill is you walk up to the window and place your order. In addition to tacos, the truck also makes burritos. Once you get your tacos, you load up with Pico De Gallo, Salsa Roja, Salsa Verde, Lime, among other things……

This Guy is always very nice, and cracks me up!

On this night, the Missus and I were after a snack, and ordered Cabeza(beef head/cheek), Lengua(beef tongue), and Al Pastor(marinated, and in this case grilled, pork – all tacos $1.50). Lest you think this may be a bit expensive for Taco Truck fare, the tacos are loaded with meat.

The photo to the right is kinda odd, I guess I was focusing on the last taco in line, so it came out bright and clear, and the rest blurred…oh well, back to the tacos. On this night, the Lengua was numero uno! Very moist, with a nice beefy punch, and a mild gamey aftertaste. The Cabeza, was very moist and fatty with nice bits of gelatin, but lacked the condensed beef flavor of really good cabeza. The Al Pastor had a nice bit of caramelization, and was on the chewy side, with only a mild chili flavor. What you'll notice with these tacos, are that there's a lack of saltiness, so the true flavor of the meat comes through.

Here's a photo from way back when. On this evening, they were out of Cabeza and Lengua, so I settled for 2 Carne Asada and 2 Al Pastor.

I brought these home with me, with all the various garnishes and salsas in little sandwich size bags which are sometimes available. I started dressing my tacos, than remembered to take a photo, after these two photos, I was too hungry, so I just said the heck with it, finished loading up my tacos and ate them.

The Carne Asada was decent, fairly moist, with a nice salty, slightly citrus flavor. The Al Pastor on this evening was on the very chewy side, but had a really nice chili flavor.

So if you're in the Linda Vista area during the evening, and want some better than most Taco Shop tacos…just follow your nose!

La Princesita Taco Truck(well trailer actually)

In the Parking lot of Joe's 99 Cent Store
6882 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92111
Clayfu has told me that the hours are from 6pm to 11pm daily, but I've seen the trailer there from as early as 5pm…as to when they close, hey at my age, I'm usually done for by 11pm!

Thanks again for the recommendation Clayfu!

Latin Chef Part 1

April 15, 2007 mmm-yoso Latin American Cuisine, Peruvian Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

**** Latin Chef has closed

During a recent dinner with Ed from Yuma, just before our panchan arrived, Ed brought out a nicely folded sheet of paper from his pocket. What he had was a menu from a new restaurant in Pacific Beach called Latin Chef. When I read the menu, I almost fell off my seat. The menu was predominantly Peruvian, with a few Brazilian dishes. One of the things I miss about living in Los Angeles are the Peruvian Restaurants. There must be over 2 dozen Peruvian Restaurants that I know about….I say at least, because if you have 5 Peruvian Newspapers, as LA does, you must have a rather large Peruvian population. Our luck with Peruvian food in San Diego had not been very positive, so needless to say I was excited.

So of course there I was the next afternoon, at about 4pm for a early dinner.

I managed to find parking on Garnet avenue, no easy task! I was greeted by a smile and hello by the very friendly young lady, and told to have a seat anywhere I wanted in this tiny restaurant.

A one page menu, similar to the one that Ed had shown me was handed to me. A though I did look over the menu, one of the dishes I had read the previous night stuck in my head. You see, one of the reasons I think we enjoy Peruvian food so much, are the almost Asian flavors and cooking techniques that are used. I had always wondered about the use of soy sauce in Peruvian food, until I saw one of the episodes of Cheuk Kwan’s wonderful documentary series, Chinese Restaurants that tells the story of the Chinese diaspora through the Chinese restaurant. During a screening of the episode called Latin Passions at the San Diego Asian Film Festival, I finally had a few answers, and also some motivation when I got home, to try and find some information for myself. If you have a chance, don’t miss screenings of this wonderful series. I’ve seen two episodes so far, and will probably purchase the whole set this year. Anyone who has read my post on Asian Noodles, and my fascination with Ma Mon Luk, or even my posts on Al Pastor and the “Trompo”, understands my fascination with this subject. So, some interesting data….Chinese first arrived in Peru during the middle of the 1800’s til the mid-1870’s. These immigrants arrived to work on the sugar plantations, and to work on the guano mines. Another wave of immigrants arrived after the establishment of Communist rule in China in 1949. And though many Chinese fled Peru during the rule of Juan Velasco Alvarado, there is still an estimated 4 million Peruvians of Chinese Ancestry in Peru.

Each meal at Latin Chef starts with some Canchita.

The young lady was fairly surprised when I exclaimed “aaah canchita…” Canchita is a very popular appetizer/snack(beer food), that is corn kernals that are roasted or fried until just before popping. This version was nicely salted, crunchy and addictive.

With the influence of the Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, and Inca people, I find the eclectic cuisine of Peru to be full of fascinating flavors. Getting back to the Chinese influence in Peru. The word used for Chinese food in Peru is “Chifa”, I’ve read that it is based on the Mandarin phrase to eat, “Chi Fan”. Chinese restaurants in Peru are called “El Chifa”, and one of the two oldest Chinatowns in Latin America is located in Lima, “Barrio Chino de Lima”. I’ve read that there are over half a million Peruvians of Chinese Ancestry currently living in Lima. One of my favorite Peruvian creole dishes is Lomo Saltado, and without fail, it is usually the first item I’ll try at any Peruvian restaurant, Latin Chef was no different.

The version of Lomo Saltado at Latin Chef($8.50), was quite good. Don’t let the “papas fritas”(french fries) scare you as it did a few on Chowhound. Papas Fritas are an integral part of Lomo Saltado. Though these large crinkle cut fries are a bit distracting. I’m used to having the potatoes fried with the rest of the ingredients, and later on asked the proprietor, Freddie about them. He told me that they will do it either way, so I’ll make sure to ask for them to be fries with the Carne, and the rest of the ingredients next time. I found the beef to be pretty good, as with most versions of Lomo Saltado, I found the lean beef to be on the tough side, though in this case the slices of beef were very moist. Where this Lomo Saltado separated itself from very pedestrian versions is the very flavorful sauce, both a bit salty, slightly sweet, and tangy, this was a nice rendition.

The tomatoes were sweet and tangy, and the onions added a nice flavor to the dish. I enjoy a bit of heat, so without fail I’ll always request some “Aji”(red chili sauce) with anything I order. This version added some nice heat.

This was a very nice, and reasonably priced meal. And I knew that I’d be bringing the Missus along for the next one….

Now I realize I’ve been very wordy so I’ll stop here for now…..part 2 is coming up!

If you want to grab a meal in the meantime:

Latin Chef
1142 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109
(858)-270-8810

Closed on Mondays…the hours are a bit strange. The menu says Tues-Fri 3pm-10pm, Sat-Sun 11am-10pm. But they really don’t open until 1230pm. So I’m not quite sure.

Those that live in San Diego, and the PB area will get this joke….someone asked where this restaurant was located on Garnet, and I replied it’s right before the 7th sushi bar on Garnet after Ingraham…..sheesh! I guess there’s a local ordinance that says 1 coffee shop on every corner, and one purveyor of California Roll on every block!

Part 2 coming up!

Saturday “Stuffs”

April 14, 2007 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

On a recent road trip to The O.C., after surviving the food court in the Mitsuwa Marketplace, we were staggering back to our car……shell shocked by the massive crowds. But on the way out, the Missus smiled with glee when She saw, the one we can only call…The Yam-Man!

I know that these are actually sweet potatoes, but Yam-Man does have a ring to it, doesn’t it?

The Missus, faced with one of Her childhood favorites, roasted sweet potatoes could not help but purchase a few. There were some communication problems…but these were overcome by simply pointing and choosing. The gentleman was also very kind and patient…..

When the perfectly roasted tubers were revealed to the world, you couldn’t resist the fragrance of the cedar wood and sweet potatoes. These were not cheap by any means….1 large, and 1 small cost us $5. But it was worth it….

The Missus said it was the best She’s had in years! It sure brightened up Her day.

Made me think about those times when all the planets are aligned, and whether it’s a matter of timing, the environment, the company, or whatever……makes you sit back and go, "man, life is good".

I guess those moments could be caused by anything. Perhaps it’s the right "brew" at the right moment:

It could happen while having a guilty pleasure, in one of those chain restaurants.

Or perhaps having a big messy burger…..

Or something a bit more simple…..

Let’s all just sit back and go…"man, life is good!" I hope you have many of those moments this weekend!

Giving it up for the Guilty Carnivore.

Or ‘GC’ as we call him…..always cracks me up. But one of the things I enjoy are when he posts on interesting "finds", there’s one item in particular….

A few months back we purchased some after reading his post, and though I enjoy a hot dog with a more natural casing, man, these were really good! The way to go for us with these are to cook via steaming.

So naturally when I saw this post, I knew I had to give those Spicy Thai Kettle Chips a try.

The Missus and I both loved the texture, but She really didn’t care for the flavor. I enjoyed them. To me, the taste was like a cross between Ginger Senbei and a potato chip.

Great work again GC!

Phil-Am Kitchenette

April 12, 2007 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants

*** Phil-Am Kitchenette has closed. It's now Homestyle Hawaiian

I'd seen a sign similar to this one countless times while waiting for the traffic light to change at the intersection of Mesa College Drive and Linda Vista Road.

And I've probably made a mental note to check this place out just as many times, only to file it in the nether regions of my grey matter……

During a recent lunch hour, I decided to grab a bowl of Pho, only to find the restaurant closed when I arrived! Somehow, two of my lonely three remaining brains cells managed to rub against each other, and produced a memory of said sign. I arrived to a little shop that looked like a small convenience store located in a strip mall on Mesa College Drive.

With some hesitation, I entered the small and dark shop, past the shelves of Boy Bawang Cornicks and other snacks, and up to the little steam table set-up. I had also snuck up on the poor lady behind the counter and scared the crap out of her in spite of the fact that I set off the entrance "chime" when I walked in. The steam table held 8 trays of various items, some of which looked pretty good, some of which looked a a bit off….in fact the heating lamps for the steam table was turned off, doing their part to conserve energy perhaps? But when the lady saw me she smiled and turned the lamps on.

I chose a 2 item and rice combination, which went for the standard price of $5.50.

Along with the huge amount of rice, I'd ordered Longanisa(Filipino sweet sausage), since I figured that if you can't make Longanisa, you really can't make anything…

The sausages done well…no burn marks, fully cooked through. You can't really go wrong with Longanisa. I also opted for the Pork Tausi.

Now if you think this looks strangely like Pork with Black Bean, you'd be right…."Tausi" is fermented black bean…also known as "Dau See" in Cantonese. Of course the similarities in name are not coincidental. The pork was tender and had a decent, not overly salty flavor. One other thing, it was not as fatty as most versions of Tausi I've eaten. Also, even though the portion sizes were not as large (obscene) as those at Tita's Kitchenette, it was more than enough food for me, in fact I shared some of the food with our Filipino Administrative Assistant, who thought it pretty good as well.

I also grabbed a handy dandy pseudo-menu….

What I really enjoyed was the daily menu portion…."great, I can plan my lunch around what's on the menu…" Until I read the bottom portion(always read the fine print) which listed "alternate" dishes that may be substituted. I think there were 15 or 16 different dishes. To me this meant that they'll make what ever they feel like…I mean they could substitute every item on the daily menu twice over if they decided, right? This really cracked me up!

The other thing on the menu that caught our eye was the coupon, a buy 2, get 1 lunch free deal. Baaaarrgain City! Which meant a few days later we were back at Fil-Am. The problem this time was that we arrived at about 1115 am, and not everything was ready. It was a Friday, but there were only 2 items that matched the scheduled "menu". We still made the best of it….$11 for 3 plates is a bargain.

This time I got the Pork Adobo. The cubes of pork was fairly tender, and the flavoring was on the milder – black pepper side. In keeping with my previous visit, it was also less fatty, and not as salty as many versions at Turo-Turo(Point-Point) places.

The Nilaga Baka had a mild flavor, but was passable.

The meat was tender, and the veggies surprisingly were not over cooked. Best of all we got another coupon!

So, being the ravenous bargain hunters we are, we returned on another day. As before, most of the items served did not match "the list". But we did manage to find items we liked….You know I can't turn down Lechon Kawali(boiled than deep fried pork belly).

The lechon was on the "tough" side, the "skin" very hard and chewy, and the meat on the dry side. What really tasted good was the Beef Mechado(Beef Stew). (And it's not even mentioned on the menu!)

The chunks of beef were very tender, and the "sauce" was full of tomato-y goodness, nice and rich, not overly fatty. This was great with rice. No more coupons for us after this trip…I think we used up our quota!

To sum things up, the food a Fil-Am Kitchenette is a mixed bag, you never know what's on the menu for any given day(except Longanisa), but some of the dishes are prepared well, and have lots of flavor. The portion size is decent, as is the prices. I don't know if I'm the only one who noticed that the food is not as rich as most turo-turo places. For example check out this 2 item combination plate from Tita's Kitchenette:

So much food(at least 3 meals), so rich, so fatty, so good…so much guilt!

The two ladies at Fil-Am are very nice, and I'm pretty sure you'll find two items to your liking, I just wouldn't follow the listed daily menu. Fil-Am fills a void in an area filled with Pho restaurants and Taco Shops, not a bad thing necessarily, but it's nice to have choices. Fil-Am also serves breakfast, according to the menu:

So if you're in the area, and are longing for some Longsilog and Garlic Fried Rice…..