Markets & Grocers – Page 35

Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego – From Nijiya Market

September 17, 2005 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Markets & Grocers

Today while shopping for ingredients for Sukiyaki at Nijiya Market I noticed quite a few "Local Kine Stuffs". Luckily, I had my camera, and took a few photo's of the "stuffs".

One of the most important "local" cooking ingredient for me is 'Alaea, a red/orange sea salt:

From what little I can remember; this type of unprocessed seas salt is mixed with red clay which enriches it with ferrous oxide. The Hawaiians used to reserve it for important feasts and ceremonies, and the salt was said to hold special medicinal properties. The salt has a mellower salty taste, with a touch of sweetness. This is an indispensable ingredient for my Kalua Pork and Poke. Alaea also adds a nice flavor to steaks, and grilled meats. The price at Nijiya is quite high, and I'll usually pick mine up at Marukai, but it's good to know that I can get some if I'm in a pinch.

Hawaiian (sea) Salt is also sold at Nijiya:

And there's actually two brands available, "Kama'aina" and "Old Time". I've never used Kama'aina brand, and have always used Old Time; don't ask me why – it's just brand loyalty. In the 1800's salt provided income to the Hawaiians. If you're interested in a Food Anthropologists take on salt, or Hawaii's Culinary Heritage, Rachel Lauden has a interesting book called The Food of Paradise.

In the "snack" isle I found two items of interest. The first were the boxes of Kauai Kookie:

I've actually started to see this in other Asian Markets in the area. I'm really not much on sweets, so this didn't make much of an impression. The other item did though:

I was amazed! They actually had Diamond Bakery Saloon Pilot and Soda Crackers. Diamond Bakery was founded in Hawaii in 1921, and is probably the only company that still makes Saloon Pilot crackers; large, round crackers which I understand was based on Hardtack and sea biscuits. Ah, Diamond Bakery Saloon Pilots, the sweeter Cream Crackers, and the crispy Soda Crackers, were staples of my "small kid time", back home. These soda crackers are not as light and crisp as the standard saltines that most are used to, but thicker, and better designed to withstand the humidity. I'm sure most kids from Hawaii would remember sucking and chewing on Soda Crackers and mushing them up in your mouth, calling your Mom or some other victim, opening your mouth to show the world its contents!!! I didn't buy any because of the price. And frankly, a case of crackers would probably last me a decade; I'm better off buying the single packages from Marukai, but the memories were nice.

One final little story that I'm sure some will relate to. Soda crackers and 7-up was one of the universal treatments for Gastrointestinal ailments (I'd put it in simpler terms, but it would be kinda gross) when I was growing up. 7-up, or any carbonated beverage was not the norm in the household of my youth, so I'd actually not feel so bad when I got sick, since then I'd be able to drink some "soda". Another "special" elixir of my youth was 7-up with a special "medicine", which was the treatment for chest colds and such. Well I never found out what the medicine was, but it sure made me feel nice and warm, and most of all made me sleep comfortably. Fast forward about a decade. While at a party, a friend of mine hands me this "sissy-drink", telling me to try and taste this, that it's not really half bad. So I take a sip, and something goes off in my head. This really tastes familiar….then "Damn, this is my medicine-drink"!!! So I asked them what is it that I'm drinking. It was Southern Comfort and 7-up! Tasted terrible, but exactly like my medicine. It's really funny if you knew my Mom. She was a a complete teetotaler, and allergic to alcohol. How she figured this would work was beyond me. But it sure worked, I guess…..

Road Trip – Marukai Costa Mesa & Meat Jun in the OC?

September 14, 2005 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Orange County, Road Trip

Returning to San Diego from Market World, I noticed that the traffic was unusually light, so I decided to take a chance, and head on over to Marukai Costa Mesa. This was done in typical SoCal fashion, that is, via multiple freeways. So it was the 60 East to the 57 South, to the 5 South, to the 55 West, to the 405 North…..that was easy, wasn’t it!

I found Marukai Costa Mesa on busy Harbor Blvd, in a building that was obviously some other Supermarket in a previous life. The parking lot was busy, and so was the market. I just took a short trip around the perimeter, and the "Hawaiian" section caught my eye:

All of the usual suspects where in display; the Hawaii Miso, Portuguese Sausage, Zippy’s Chili, etc. The one thing that really caught my eye was the Park’s Brand Chili Pepper water, a real rarity here on the mainland.

Over in the fish department, there was very fresh Maguro and of course, Ogo!

Since the Costa Mesa location of Marukai is a little closer I may end up shopping here instead of driving to Gardena. The selection is good, and I was surprised at all of the "Local Kine" people everywhere.

After doing a bit of shopping I stored all my "Stuff" and took a walk around the Food Court. Suddenly I was caught totally off guard and surprised:

Not by that sign, but by this:

Yes, that is Meat Jun that you see on the "menu board". I’ve never seen Meat Jun on the Mainland! I was fairly surprised, after all I had always been pretty sure that Meat Jun was more or less a Hawaii thing. Meat Jun is marinated rib eye beef, coated with an egg and flour coating and fried. It is usually served with a sweet-salty dipping sauce. Reid on his site Ono Kine Grindz has a great photo of what Meat Jun should look like.

So, overcome with nostalgia, I had to order it ($5.95). And what I ended up with was this:

As you can tell the Meat Jun is totally burnt! Can you imagine how egg batter tastes burnt? Bitter, and totally gross. The Jap Chae had no flavor. The only thing edible on this plate was the egg and rice. "The Boyz" ended up with the meat; I had to scrape all the batter off before they’d eat it though! I guess they really DON’T make Meat Jun on the Mainland…..

A funny note; if you’ve ever "read" any of my other posts, you’ll notice that I try to include a picture of the store-front of all the places I visit. I tried to do this as I was leaving; but a very persistent Security Guard kept following me around. He kept looking at me and talking on his "radio". I’d stop, and he’d stop, and start talking on his radio. Never said a word, but he really creeped me out! I felt like I was at Fuddruckers again!!! So I just decided it was probably best to leave without photographing any "state secrets", geeez!

Marukai Costa Mesa
2975 Harbor Blvd
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Korean Kitchen
Marukai Market Food Court
2975 Harbor Blvd
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Road Trip: Hannam Chain Market World – Diamond Bar

September 10, 2005 mmm-yoso Los Angeles County, Markets & Grocers, Road Trip

Had to make a quick trip to Los Angeles today. I was able to make it there in almost record time, and picked-up what I needed. Since it was still early, and I had already had a quick lunch, I decided to drive around the "old neighborhood" to see what changes have been taking place. Driving up Colima Road, to the point where it turns to Golden Springs, I noticed Market World:

I entered this huge, and packed Super Market. I immediately zeroed in on the produce department and noticed the Jujube’s:

Though not of the best quality, the price was right so I quickly "bagged" a pound.

Next up the "noodle" section, and I grabbed a package of the "instant" Naengmyun, at least that’s what I think it is:

I just went on the pictures, there were no English labeling, so we’ll see what happens. I immediately picked up a scent (Whooo-ah! ), of something being fried. Following my nose I came up to a "deli" section, and noticed a new batch of fried crab being wrapped:

This being a "solo" trip, I knew I needed "offerings" for the omnipotent deity, that is the Missus. I knew this would fill the bill.

The selection of items is staggering, you find yourself walking in circles in a complete daze forgetting what it is that you’d been thinking of getting just the minute before. Then turning the corner you come upon the shelf of Korean "pancake" mix (Pa jun).

Ohh-Kay….There were at least 9 different brands/varieties. I ended up getting the one with English instructions. This may be a mistake, but I don’t have the slightest idea how to make this, so I’ll need to start somewhere.

Of course no Market could survive without the isle of snacks:

Floor to ceiling, brand after brand. No one could possibly survive without those twenty brands of Corn Puffs Marketwor08 , right?

And of course the Panchan "bar". The selections looked good and fresh, though I did not partake.

There are also two "restaurants" within Market World. The one at the East end, was positively "rocking". Too bad I’d already had lunch. I’ll give this place a try next time, every dish I saw people eating looked good (except the sushi…)

There was a Woman rolling out dough and making Mandoo by hand. I’m definitely trying this next time!

This was an interesting and fun time, though I shudder at thought of the "damage" that Jo and Mills could do here! The crabs were a success, all gone in a few minutes, I also purchased some "Flaming File Tiles", and other items. Market World is definitely worth a visit!

Hannam Chain Market World
21080 Golden Springs Drive
Walnut, CA 91789

United Oriental Food Market

September 7, 2005 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

*** United Food Mart has closed.

If I need Thai ingredients, or produce like galangal or ngo gai(saw leaf) I'd head over to United Food Mart:

Though a bit worse for wear, United Food Market carries a pretty large selection of canned and fresh Thai, Laotian, and Vietnamese Food. This is also one of the few Markets where I can always get Kaffir Lime leaves. The prices are very reasonable, and there's an added bonus:

On weekends there's some satay action going on in the parking lot. The drill goes like this – go into the cashier and tell them how many you want. You pay the cashier ($1.25/ea), take the receipt outside to the barbecue Guy, and hand him the receipt. He'll ask you (sometimes very hard to understand) if you want chicken or pork. He then grabs the number of skewers purchased, wraps it in foil. Places it in a sack with some napkins, and you carry on. Today, I bought three ($3.75):

You'll notice only two here; well the Boyz and I got to one before I remembered to get my camera. The chicken is fairly tender and moist, though I found a bit of gristle. There's the distinctive taste of lemongrass and galangal, though very mild overall. Not bad really. These two "sticks" with some musubi (onigiri/rice ball) made for a nice dinner. Untied Oriental Food Market also now has a "hot table" with a variety of food items, I'll probably check them out at a later date.

Oh, and I did actually buy some stuff to justify my stopping here!

United Oriental Food Market
5349 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115-4730
(619) 582-8999

Road Trip: Shopping and Snackin’ in LA – Hong Kong Plaza Squared

August 27, 2005 mmm-yoso Desserts, Los Angeles County, Markets & Grocers, Road Trip

We had an appointment in Los Angeles this afternoon, so of course there would be some eating involved. And knowing our luck it would also just so happen to be the hottest day of the year. Geez! We left at a quarter after nine, and made great time getting to our first destination at about ten till eleven, too early for lunch (restaurant not open till eleven). So we decided to take a walk around, even though it was stifling hot.

Our destination – Hong Kong Plaza in West Covina. This huge mall didn’t even exist when we moved from LA 4 years ago. So it was quite a shock to see this huge mall here. This outpost of Hong Kong Supermarket was also a shock. We lived down the street from Hong Kong Market in Rowland Heights, and it was basically a Chinese Market. This branch was different and looked to be directed at the Southeast Asian population. It was fun walking down the isles and finding items like the frozen Mangosteen:

One isle was totally dedicated to various packaged seasonings and mixes, many of which I’ve never heard of:

After picking up some nice looking lychee (99 cents/lb – a great price), rejecting the jujubes (dry and looking old), and picking up some packaged snacks I went to the check out, paid and headed for our lunch destination. All the time counting my blessings – I got out spending under twenty bucks.

Hong Kong Supermarket
987 S Glendora Ave
West Covina, CA 91790

After lunch and our appointment, we headed to the "other" Hong Kong Plaza, and our "stinky tofu" destination; Shau Mei Restaurant. While waiting for our tofu, the Missus ordered a Taiwanese Shaved Ice with 3 "items" ($2.50):

Basically 3 items – in this case Lychee, sweet rice balls, and Mango Mousse, covered with a pile of shaved ice with some syrup. You can also order this with condensed milk or juice for an additional cost. In about 5 minutes it looked like this:

The mango mousse was terrible BTW. Standing in the suffocating heat, with a large bag (3 orders) of stinky tofu in my hand was a bit much for me, so I returned to the car to store the tofu while the Missus browsed through a pile of CDs and DVDs. I returned and considered myself lucky; she only bought 3 Andy Lau CDs for $3. She had spotted this sign though:

99 cent Boba – Bargain City! How can you resist a 99 cent Boba? So after a sharp right turn we headed into the snack shop and got a Taro Shake with Boba (Boba in a shake 25 cents). I’m not a Boba drinker, but took a sip. It tasted like a Taro Shake. The Missus said it was a bit sweet, but the Boba was good. So this was obviously worth $1.24.

So done with our short reprieve from the heat, we headed out into the parking lot, and suddenly realized why we like San Diego so much. We miss all of the options available to you in Los Angeles, but really don’t miss the 100 degree plus temps and the psycho drivers and traffic.

Here’s the sign of the day:

You too can go where the "Implants Hang Out"!!!

What about our lunch? That’s for tomorrow, when I’ve recovered from my heat stroke.

Nijiya Market – Our Dependable Standby

August 25, 2005 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Markets & Grocers

The San Diego location of Nijiya Market is our good dependable standby when we’re unable to decide what’s for lunch and sometimes dinner. Though both Nijiya and Mitsuwa Market are within a mile of each other, we usually chose Nijiya. I think the bentos are better and the prices are also better here. It wasn’t always that way though; Nijjiya moved to this location from a really small location across the strip mall (this used to be an Autozone), a few years ago, and the selection and quality has improved.

We’ll just stop by and pick up a bento (or two):

And of course a few snacks; though Mitsuwa has a better selection of snacks, you can’t leave here without getting some Pocky or arare:

This location of Nijiya features a bakery that bakes fresh bread daily, a tempura/fu-rai bar, organic produce, and of course sushi and bento’s. Though I don’t buy any sushi with raw fish from a market, I’ll purchase Kappa Maki (cucumber rolls) or inari sushi on occasion.

There are three bento’s that I’ll usually get here; the Chicken Katsu, the Chicken Karaage:

The chicken karaage has a nice shoyu flavor, and though not very crunchy by the time we usually get it, it still has alot of taste and is pretty moist. I also like the homemade kurobuta (pork) sausage that are sometimes included in the bento. Don’t ask me what the organic rice thing is, I ignore it. After all I can’t taste the difference.

Sometimes I’m in the mood for a combination bento ($6.99), which always includes a few croquettes, some nimono vegetables, and a main okazu(dish to eat with rice). A real quick hint; the best time to “hit” Nijiya is at about 11am, or thereabouts. Most of the varieties of prepared food is available and the crowds haven’t arrived yet.

In our opinion Mitsuwa features a better selection of snacks and other items, and they have wonderful “events and festivals”, other than that I’ll chose Nijiya most of the time.

Pretty clinical post, huh? Well of course I can’t end this way. I’ll add a very shameful secret. Most of the cashiers at Nijiya think I speak Japanese. I’ve fooled them to this point. I understand some Japanese, but will never speak. But 75% of the time I’m there I’m spoken to in Japanese at the check-out. So as they speak to me, I just nod, with an occasional “Hai”, “domo”, or “credit-to no” (credit card), but that’s it! Of course the Missus is standing next to me whispering “you’re such a fake”, and other terms of endearment….but I think I got ’em fooled here! Of course there is shame in living a lie! Go-men-nasai!!!

Nijiya Market
3860 Convoy St Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

Road Trip – Marukai Gardena and Harry’s Aloha Chop Suey

August 1, 2005 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Markets & Grocers, Road Trip

I made my way to Marukai Gardena from the Torrance Farmer’s Market. When I got there just at opening time, it was already quite warm, seems like it was going to be a "hot one".

Almost as big as an airplane hangar, Marukai Gardena is located right on Artesia Blvd. I remember the first time I entered this place; it had almost everything I needed. I had indeed reached the Ex-Pat food "Mecca". Redondo and Purity Portuguese Sausage, S & S Saimin, frozen Zippy’s Chili, Diamond Bakery Soda & Creme crackers, and Aloha Shoyu, to name a few, can all be found here. One of the first things you’ll notice when you enter is that for a place so large, it’s really somewhat cramped.

It can really get crowded in here, so we always plan to get in and out ASAP. The "wall of snacks" here is daunting.

There’s just so much here, I won’t go into it in too much depth. Just enough to say, it was a quick stop today, no maguro, no ogo for me. Just some snacks and alot of nice memories. Marukai is a membership market, but a daily membership ($1.00) is available – it’s cheaper than Disneyland, and almost as fun! So I shopped quickly loaded up my bounty, and headed back to my hotel room for a quick rest and to check out.

Marukai
1740 West Artesia Blvd
Gardena, CA 90248
Summer: Monday – Saturday, 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. & Sunday, 9:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Winter: Monday – Saturday, 9:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. & Sunday, 9:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.

*** Harry’s Aloha Chop Suey has closed

I than decided to hit Harry’s Aloha Chop Suey for a quick bite before hitting the road.

The definition of "hole in the wall", with only 6 tables, Harry’s has a small menu featuring hot table combinations (beef stew, fried chicken, etc.), cooked items (chop steak), and Saimin and Won Ton Mein. Call it a case of saimin insanity, today I decided to order what’s probably the most expensive item on the menu – a large size "Super" Saimin ($9.00).

There was a ton of Char Siu, several slices of kamabuko, what probably amounts to half a head of napa cabbage, carrots, and won tons. The best thing about the dish were the noodles, perfectly cooked, saimin (not ramen) noodles. The crunchy texture triggered many a memory of bowls of saimin and teriyaki beef sticks. The broth on the other hand was nothing to write home about, weak and almost flavorless, shoyu was a necessity. The other item I was thankful for was the watery "chinese mustard", just like back home. A swirl with the chopsticks to get a bit of mustard on it, place into the spoon, grab noodles and place in the spoon, consume – delici-yoso! I finished just about everything, enough to get a comment of "you did pretty good".

So great noodles, not the best broth, great service, and everything under $9.00 (actually most items are under $6.50). Not as good as I remember from my last trip here, but still worth the culinary trip down "memory lane". Enough so that I was willing to eat this even though the weather outside was clearly "heatwave" in nature.

Harry’s Aloha Chop Suey
1721 W Redondo Beach Blvd
Gardena, CA 90247

LA Road Trip – Marukai West Covina and Shau Mei Restaurant; Ogo and Smelly Tofu?

July 16, 2005 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Markets & Grocers, Road Trip

*** Note: Marukai West Covina is now Tokyo Central

Feeling really ambitious, I decided on a Road Trip to LA. The objective; Ogo from Marukai. I left at 715, and actually got to the Marukai in Gardena, 10 minutes before opening time (115 miles in 90 minutes – talk about making great time!). I decided to call the fish Dept and ask if they had Ogo; well they told me that they were out, and so it seems was I, out of luck that is! Well, just to follow-up I called Marukai in West Covina, and was told that they had Ogo. So I decided to go for it! What the heck, another 40 miles really wouldn't make a difference. When I drove into the parking lot of Marukai I noticed that there was alot of work going on the storefront.

I walked in, and there it was, Ogo – $7.98/lb. So basically a package of ogo cost less than 3 bucks. One really good thing about the West Covina branch of Marukai is that they are less busy and thus able to give really good service. I looked at the tuna in the fish case and none of them looked really good, plus all were less than 3/4 of a pound, and I wanted a larger quantity. So I asked the fish cutter if I could get a piece that was about a pound or more. His response "of course", and went and cut me a fresh piece. I also picked up a few goodies like One Ton Chips.

After grabbing a pretty huge lunch, I was ready to hit the road! But I decided to take a drive down Colima Road, through our old neighborhood of Rowland Heights, and there have been a ton of changes since I'd been here last. But Hong Kong Plaza was still there, and crowded and bustling as usual. You basically take your life into your hands when trying to park here on a weekend. We lived a half block away and used to walk here. In Hong Kong Plaza is the Taiwanese Deli Hsia Hsia Shau Mei Restaurant, home of the smelliest of the smelly tofu I've ever encountered!

So smelly, I can't even eat it! But the Missus loves it. This little deli/restaurant serves "hot table" dishes, has a menu of over 100 items, and also serves an array of Taiwanese "shaved ice", drinks, and snacks. Watching me place my order, was the stuff sitcoms are made of! You see I realized, that in all the times we'd been here, I had never placed an order, I let the Missus order in Mandarin. Also I don't really speak any Mandarin! So I tried to place my order for "Cho' Dofu", "huh?", "Cho' Dofu", she shakes her head and holds her nose, "No you don't want!". So I laugh and go, "than i want 2 order", and she laughs and rings it up (fried tofu w/odor, $3.50/ea). It was quite a wait, I really don't know why, everything else here is really "fast", but it must be something to do with the preparation. Come to think of it I really don't know much about Smelly Tofu at all. Here's a scientific article on "stinky tofu" courtesy of eatingchinese.org. She handed me the bag of Cho Dofu and I walked to the car and gingerly placed it far from everything. Unfortunately, some of the smell of the tofu had come off on my hand, ick! So what's the smell like? Well, if "Faces of Death" had "smell-a-vision"…. I arrived home and one order of tofu was devoured in a minutes flat, amazing! While reading the menu my wife noted, "hey look, they now have "Hot & spicy fried tofu w/odor", great, a double whammy…..

A couple of notes on Shau Mei, most of the business is conducted in Mandarin. Prices for most dishes range from $3.50-$6.00. We've received some really rude service here on occasion, especially when it's busy, most of the time it's just indifferent, today it was really nice. Don't let my story of Smelly Tofu deter you from trying this place. I've had many dishes here and some have been pretty good. I've also had smelly tofu at other restaurants, and have enjoyed it. It's only that this version is a bit much for me.

Hsin Hsin Shau Mei Deli
18438-1 East Colima Rd
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
626-964-1833

So what happened with lunch and what about the poke? Well I had the worst commute I've ever had on the '5' returning from LA – 3 hours! So I'm a bit tired, I'll post the other items in the (very) near future!

Homemade Tapenade

July 10, 2005 mmm-yoso Cooking, Markets & Grocers, Recipes

After eating my Muffeletta the other day, I developed a craving for some Tapenade. Nothing says summer like a nice Tapenade. So I marched over to the neighborhood market, which for us is an IGA; Keil's. They happen to have an olive bar with a nice selection:

When we first moved into this area I scoffed at the existence of Keil's, it really doesn't look like much from the outside, and I would make the extra trip to go to one of the major chain supermarkets. But when I finally did shop at Keil's I was thoroughly surprised. They carry everything from Boar's Head Deli Products to Tiparos Fish Sauce. Though I'm not impressed by the produce, Keil's is one of the few places where I will purchase ground beef. During the summer weekends they even have a smoker going with ribs, chicken, and corn for sale.

So I grabbed some pitted Kalamata olives and some Niscoise olives and the other ingredients and headed the few blocks home. Now in the days BFP (before food processor), if I wanted to make a tapenade I would have spent a good portion of the evening pitting the olives, than chopping everything, before finally mixing. Now that I can get decent quality pitted Kalamata's (I still have to pit the Nicoise) and can use the food processor, my time is cut by 80%.

Here's the recipe – all measurements are approximations. I basically "eyeball" everything, and go by taste:

Tapenade
2 cups good quality olives pitted
2 TB capers drained and dried
2 Anchovy filets
1/3 cup artichoke hearts preserved in brine – drained
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes in olive oil – drained
Zest of 1/2 lemon
2 TB Fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup of Good Quality extra virgin olive oil

Separate half the olives and pulse 1-2 times in a food processor until you have larger chopped pieces of olive, remove to a bowl. Add the other half of the olives, capers, anchovy, sun dried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts, and pulse in the food processor. Add to bowl with olives. Add olive oil pouring slowly while mixing. Add lemon zest and lemon juice and mix. Refrigerate. Will keep up to a week tightly covered in the frig.

Slice ciabatta loaf in half, spread tapenade on bottom. Add a double layer of genoa salami, followed by a single layer of provolone cheese. Top with a double layer of Cappicola. Wrap sandwich in saran, place between 2 plates and press down; or use some other "pressing" method. Eat until olive oil oozes out of your pores, repeat as necessary.

Mardi Gras Cafe & Market Place

July 7, 2005 mmm-yoso Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, Markets & Grocers, Sandwiches

**** Mardi Gras Cafe has closed.

I’ve driven by this place several times, so finally decided to stop by and see what this place was all about. This tiny “Cafe” and Market is located on Midway Drive near the Sports Arena.

What got my attention was the sign “New Orleans Muffulettas”. So like any sucker(?) I decided to give it a try. As I walked in the there was a huge “Wall of Fire over 300 Hot Sauces” sign, this immediately tripped all of the tourist trap alarms in my head. But by that time I had walked into the store and committed myself; retreat was not an option. The menu on the wall listed about a dozen sandwiches, Po’ Boys, Jambalaya, Gumbo, Shrimp Creole, and Crawfish Etouffe among other items. I stepped up and ordered the large “Specialty New Orleans Muffuletta” ($10.99). The counter help is very friendly, but S-L-O-W, so while waiting for my sandwich, I had a chance to look around and saw this sign; at least I know where to go if I have a sudden craving for Alligator Filets; it might be a long time coming though. There is also a healthy stock of Cafe Du Monde Beignet Mix and Coffee, Pecan Rolls, Pralines, and Zapp’s Potato Chips. As I looked over the menu/flyer, I had a little chuckle – it claimed the “Wall of Fire” had over 400 hot sauces, so that means sometime between the time the flyer was produced and when I placed my order, something had happened to “over 100 hot sauces”. About that time my sandwich was ready, I grabbed the bag and almost fell over, but righted myself and headed home. At home I unloaded the sub, it had been cut into four pieces, so I put them back together and took a picture; the darn thing was the size of a small pizza! What I did next was get some info on the muffuletta, not knowing what the “real thing” was like. Than I proceeded to eat. First of all I noticed that this sandwich suffered from TMB (Too Much Bread) Syndrome, and thought it would have no flavor. I was wrong, as the olive spread and the salami gave it a nice taste. I did not taste any capers, celery, or onions in the olive spread, but the taste of the sandwich was not bad. Also, there was regular ham in the sandwich instead of Cappicola. The bread was also a bit stale, which didn’t help the sandwich too much. But to put everything into perspective, this sandwich is easily two meals, and is more tasty than I thought it would be. So I haven’t ruled out another trip. The Alligator Sausage Sub($7.99) has gotten my attention, so I may give it another try. What has happened though, is that I’ve resolved to get to New Orleans soon to try the “real deal”.

MARDI GRAS Cafe & Marketplace
3185 Midway Dr Ste E
San Diego, CA 92110-4542
(619) 223-5501