Seafood – Page 11

Lima – Revisiting El Veridico de Fidel and Heading Home

April 15, 2017 mmm-yoso Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Lima, Peru, Peruvian Restaurants, Seafood, Travel

I'm not sure why I take so long doing "last" posts on places we visit. Perhaps it's because I really didn't want our trip to end….or maybe I'm just too darn lazy? Go figure. Anyway, since I just posted on our last meal in Madrid, I figure I need to get Lima done as well.

The Missus's favorite eating spot on this trip was El Veridico de Fidel. She enjoyed Her meal so much, that before we left, we made reservations for dinner on our last evening in Lima here.

In contrast to our previous visit, which was during an early lunch, the place was humming!

When we arrived; the really nice young lady….the only one who we noticed that spoke English saw us, waved, and immediately came over….dropping off our menus, canchita, and even aji limo! I guess She remembered we enjoyed things "picante"! Great service.

As I mentioned earlier; our last visit was for a pretty early lunch. This time though…..we had no qualms about getting some beer and a pisco sour of course!

The Missus requested Her Pisco easy on the sugar and She really enjoyed it.

The Missus went straight for the Cebiche Lenguado; basically sole, and She really enjoyed the bracing, yet, not too sour leche de tigre.

The fish had been marinated well; it wasn't too "cooked" by the citrus and still had a nice tender, yet toothsome texture. Nice flavors all around. The Missus enjoyed a touch of the aji limo, which added a decent amount of fragrant heat to the dish.

Much had changed since our last trip to Lima all those years ago; I hadn't remembered seeing the interesting, creamy "leche de tigre" type dishes on menus before. Like a chilled, creamy, citrusy, savory cold soup. I had enjoyed the version eaten on my previous visit. So this time went with the version with chicharron de calamari. Basically, fried calamari….something I'd usually avoid in most restaurants.

Of course the Missus poached the camote (simmered sweet potato). The fried calamari was quite tender, the crunch of the batter and the texture of the squid really set a nice contrast to the refreshing; tongue coating, slightly tangy-sour leche de tigre. It was so refreshing and satisfying.

One of the "new dishes", that is, something I don't recall seeing during our first trip to Peru back in 2007 is Tacu Tacu con Lomo Saltado. Our Driver, Benjamin, introduced this dish to us on the way back from checking out the Nazca Lines. I saw that on the menu here and just had to try it.

First off, the beef was really tender and we loved the flavor of the peppers, nicely sweet. The flavor of the tacu tacu was quite mild and not very "beany" and the sauce could have had a bit more umami and saltiness for our taste. It was very filling and we were done after this dish.

We really enjoyed El Veridico de Fidel and will definitely return if/when we're back in Peru. Hopefully, it won't take another ten years!

El Veridico de Fidel
Calle Colon 246
Lima 18, Peru

We took a very roundabout way back to our hotel. I think there was a football game going on that day; this group of folks seemed to be celebrating something.

Strangely, at least for us, our flight didn't depart Lima until 1255 am. Luckily, we were flying Business, so we were able to take advantage of the Sumaq Lounge at Jorge Chavez International Airport. Based on how crowded the lounge was at 10pm; I'm guessing there are quite a few flights that depart at that rather late time.

The spread at the lounge was ok, but good golly, after being to a couple of these, I'm amazed at the feeding frenzy. It seems that folks are so focused on getting what they assume to be their money's worth I guess? I mean, really, do you actually need to have six mini-hamburguesas? Well whatever….to each their own……

I got a fair Pisco Sour as my "goodbye to Peru" gift…..for now!

Thanks for reading!

Revisits – Bay Park Fish and Spotted Cow Viet Kitchen

February 11, 2017 mmm-yoso Seafood, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple of revisits for a sleepy Saturday.

Bay Park Fish:

I've been trying to revisit places in my 'hood recently. I thought I'd start with Bay Park Fish, hard to believe that it's been almost five years since I last ate here. On this evening, every place was packed, and while BPF was busy, there was still room for one at the bar. So I had a seat, watched the game, had a brew, and decided to order an old favorite of ours; the smoked fish; which is now called the Smoked Fish "Stack" ($12).

They now "supplement" the smaller portion of smoked fish with romaine lettuce and avocado. It's still not bad. Decent smoked flavor, fairly balanced seasoning; a bit more mayo, celery, and stuffs than I recall.

Rather routine tortilla chips.

I'm not sure that this place has aged well. I know they've had to add, ahem, "sushi rolls" to the menu and they gave up on the fish counter years ago (you can find it at Catalina Offshore). The preparation of the fish here has never been my fave, but it's nice to see they are still going rather strong. After all, when we moved into the neighborhood, there wasn't much, and when Bay Park Fish opened in 2005, it was a big thing.

Bay Park Fish Company
4121 Ashton St
San Diego, CA 92110

Spotted Cow Viet Kitchen:

**** Spotted Cow has closed

I actually went to see what was going on with Myung In Dumplings now that they are under new ownership, but got there too early and I had no time to dawdle. Spotted Cow was open and even though the place had never been a favorite of mine. I'd pretty much had all of the noodle soups served here….and thought the perhaps the best of them was the BBQ Pork Egg Noodle Soup….and since I wasn't in the mood for a banh mi that's what I ordered.

Man, does this place like to top off their soup with a ton of greens. Like way more than the last time I had this here. I guess it's there to distract you from the thin, small slices, of pork, which, unlike the previous time I had this, was now a couple of slices dropped on the side of the bowl….which, while flavored nicely, was quite dry and tough. The ration of sprouts were attaining a nice brownish color, so those were left out………. the "Mi", egg noodles, which were prepared in sight was nice, just enough "pull" and a slight crunch. The noodle portion size was also decent. The broth was really bad though…..basically salt water with very little flavor at all.

I'm sorry to say that, based on my previous visits, this was what I expected……though I had hoped for more.

Someone did mention that the Banh Xeo here is fantastic; but I didn't see it on the menu. I'm wondering if any of our intrepid readers have had it?

Spotted Cow Viet Kitchen (in the Zion Market Food Court)
7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, California 92111

Lima – Cevicheria Bam Bam

February 2, 2017 mmm-yoso Lima, Peru, Peruvian Restaurants, Seafood, Travel

The recent sunny, post storm(s) weather had me thinking about Lima again. And then I realized; man, I better finish up those posts.

So what to do after having sanguches de chicharron for breakfast, then walking the pork off at Mercado de Surquillo? Well, if you're with the Missus, you'd understand that She'd be wanting more cebiche. There's a shop in the back of the Mercado that I'd heard about named Bam Bam. And upon finding the little shop; it became apparent that Gaston Acurio likes the place as well.

The place was just opening when we arrived and we had no problem getting seats at one of the tables. The woman who served us was nice and professional; though the chips and the canchita tasted like they were mass produced. Still, we weren't here for those items; we wanted some cebiche and perhaps tiradito….and heck this place is known for the conchas negras, so why not get the combination?

Which is precisely what we did. Not being super hungry, we decided on splitting this; just getting a taste of four different items.

The best by far was the conchas negras; the perfect texture, toothsome, but not tough, the bitterness of the clams muted, with the brininess just perfect, nice acidity, the onions adding just enough pungency. This was very, very good.

The cebiche classico was next.

A nice rendition, we still prefer the version at El Veridico de Fidel, but this was solid; balanced acidity in the leche de tigre, the fish perhaps a bit too stringy for my taste, but a nice even flavor. And of course; the Missus can never get enough choclo.

That scallop in the cebiche mixto was delicious and the texture of the squid was amazing.

But the leche de tigre here just wasn't enough and this came off as being strangely mutes in taste. I even think it could have used some salt….more acidity. But the textures of everything except the shrimp, was fantastic.

I found the fish did much better texture-wise in the tiradito, but found the aji amarilla based sauce to be too thin.

It seemed like the basic house leche de tigre with some aji amarilla paste in it. This could have used a bit more oomph.

While we preferred this to La Mar and Punto Azul, it lagged behind El Veridico de Fidel in our minds. I'd still eat here again in a heartbeat…..man the conchas negras…I've never had them taste so good and the texture so perfect.

Cevicheria Bam Bam y Sus Conchas Negras
Jr. Luis Varela y Orbegozo 213
Lima, Peru

In he mood for taking a nice long walk before our standard afternoon nap; we walked all the way from Surquillo back to Parque de Alfredo Salazar.

And while it turned out that we preferred the newish Courtyard by Marriott to our previous favorite place to stay in Miraflores, the JW Marriott, we still enjoyed the vibe around here.

From checking out Larcomar…..

To the views of the Pacific.

It's just that Miraflores "thing" I guess…..

Thanks for reading!

TJOyster Bar (location #3)

November 2, 2016 Cathy Seafood, Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

All of us at mmm-yoso!!! wish you a good November. It's the time year with chilly mornings and evenings and clear blue, nicely warm daytimes. Kirk is still on vacation and Ed (from Yuma) is busy out there. Cathy is writing another short post.

In 2012 and again in 2014, I wrote about a favorite small spot for Mexican seafood. A second location had opened around the corner on the same block in August 2012, with table service, more space and a slightly different menu. Then in October 2014 this third location, a few miles South, in Chula Vista, opened.Located in the same parking lot anchored by a Ralph's grocery store as well as a McDonald's, both the parking and seating situations are larger/better than the original location.

The menu at the first and third locations are about the same. Some items are served on paper plates, but most items here are served with reusable plates and cutlery.

The grilled fish salad ($9) here is quite large and filling. The mildly seasoned and grilled fish is on top of a good size bowl of Romaine and has a Caesar-like dressing, about 1/3 avocado and basic salsa (chopped tomato, onion and cilantro) as topping. Since we also ordered tacos with this, we decided to share a side of refried beans ($2.50), which were surprisingly good. Unless you are ordering a plate, no items here come with refried beans (unlike at other taco shops, with beans and other items mixed in the burritos) and these were a really nice addition.
The grilled fish taco ($3) was made with the same seasoned grilled fish, onion, cilantro and a dab of white sauce. Again, enough to satisfy. Simple, fresh, beer battered and crispy fried ($1.50/each) fish tacos are what started this business. Always good and quite large. Fried calamari appetizer ($8) is not overly large, lightly dusted with a seasoned flour and fried properly:lightly crispy with tender squid as the final outcome. The fish ceviche tostada ($4) is quite satisfying, marinated in lime juice and mixed with the basics of tomato/onion/cilantro, it needs no additional condiments. The 'fish chicharron' appetizer ($13.50) is basically breaded and fried fish nuggets, served with a savory fish sauce based onion filled dipping sauce and always good to share. On chilly days, a bowl of shrimp soup ($9.50) hits the spot. Plump, fresh shrimp in the tomato based, slightly spicy (just enough; not too much) broth, topped with cilantro is enough to ward off a chill. I'm almost always ordering a Pescadilla ($9) at every visit and the craving for smoked fish was overwhelming one day. Combined with the melted cheese, this really hit the spot.

Always good and fresh here. cc has also been to this location and ordered different items.

I hope your week is going well.

TJ Oyster Bar 601 East Palomar Street Chula Vista, CA 92111 (619) 421-4787 Mon-Sat 10-9, Sun 10-7 Website

Phoenix 2 – Buck & Rider; Crudo

October 27, 2016 ed fromyuma Italian Restaurants, Phoenix/Scottsdale/Chandler/Central AZ, Seafood, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Kirk is on a special adventure, Cathy is really busy, so Ed (from Yuma) talks about two restaurants in Phoenix today.

Buck & Rider

Just as they were opening at 11 AM, Tina and I drove up, parked the car, and came in through the side entrance:

The restaurant is a large, festively decorated space with high open ceilings:

but the weather was so nice we sat outside in the patio area:

As we were looking over the menu, we ordered a glass of white wine to share and were very pleased that our helpful young server brought it out in two glasses: In fact, we were thoroughly happy with the service at Buck & Rider even though our waitress confessed it was her first day on the job. She smiled a lot, worked hard to do well, and kept our water glasses filled.

The fried calamari with Thai dipping sauce showed up first:

This was good. The tender rings of baby squid were nicely crunchy and went well with the sauce. A pleasant amount of chili heat. At first I thought that came from the dipping sauce, but as we worked our way down to the bottom, we discovered a bunch of deep-fried jalapeno slices:

The gumbo followed the calamari, and the server split it into two bowls, so this is a half portion:

There is a lot to like here. Look at the thick dark roux, which was redolent with the flavor of filé. The sausage was excellent. In fact there was really only one shortcoming – a couple of my shrimp tasted off. They weren't terrible, and Tina said hers were okay, but still . . .

The meal ended on a better note with the smoked trout salad (again, this is a half portion):

Good stuff. The trout was nice and smoky, the lettuce fresh and crisp, and the avocado sweet and creamy. Pieces of olives and fennel added some complexity to the excellent preserved lemon vinaigrette. Tart enough, but not acidic. A good lunch overall.

After lunch, we were reminded that we were in the big city. We had parked adjacent to an area that said "FREE CHARGE." It took me a few seconds of puzzlement (if you're charged, how can it be free?) before I figured out what that meant. Anyway, when we came out, we found our RAV4 parked next to 2 Teslas on one side and a Bentley on the other. "Toto I don't think we're in Yuma anymore."

Buck & Rider, 4225 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85018, (602) 346-0110.

Crudo

For dinner that evening, we went to Crudo, a place with a contemporary approach to Italian food. It fronts on the backside of a shopping area and presents a green and rustic exterior:

Inside, it is spacious, clean, modern, and well lit:

The seating along the sides of the room, where we sat, combined booth and chairs in a way that allowed for large groups or couples like us:

Upbeat 60s, 70s, and 80s soul tunes played in the background adding to the ambience. Tina and I chuckled because Buck & Rider had virtually identical music. Pleasant and friendly.

Our server, likewise, was pleasant and friendly as well as extremely competent and helpful. She brought us glasses of ice water, which were kept filled throughout the dinner, and Tina and I split a glass of vermentino while we looked over the menu:

The entrée items are divided into four categories, crudo (raw), mozzo (cheese), cotto (cooked), and griglia (grilled). While you could just order one or two entrées by themselves, any three choices per person were available for $35, four for $45, and five for $55. And it made no difference which categories.

As we were trying to sort things out, our server told us that the restaurant was offering a charcuterie plate as an appetizer, so of course, that's where we started:

And what a good start it was. Closest to the camera was a mild chicken liver mousse topped with the dice of pickled vegetables. Smooth and crunchy with a nice balance. On the right side of the plate, pork rillettes lay on apple marmalade. Again a pleasant combination. On the left, rustic pork pâté was covered with mustard sauce. A garlic aïoli and pickled peppercini slices sat on either side. Very tasty and enjoyable. The sauces complexified but did not overwhelm. Of course, the crunchy toasted slices of Italian bread went well with everything.

Speaking of going well with everything, we selected an unusual white wine to accompany dinner:

Luisa from the Friuli region of northeastern Italy is made with the rare ribolla gialla varietal native to the region. It tasted smooth and fresh, its fruit flavors and minerality going with the entire dinner.

Our two raw plates showed up at the table next. This is the albacore:

The tomato, cucumber, citrus and olive oil topping highlighted the freshness of the fish.

But the rich slices yellowtail were even better – controne, a flavorful Italian dried chile, gave some spice, bits of bottarga added a fishy saltiness, and chopped chives provided color:

After eating sushi and sashimi for over 30 years, these presentations were delightful.

The squid ink risotto tasted much better than it looked:

The dish had a good spicy seafood flavor, chunks of tuna adding taste and texture to the slightly al dente rice.

The house-made gargati pasta and mussels were served in a sauce made from uni and tomatoes and topped with basil and mint leaves:

Another unusual preparation that worked.

The semolina gnocchi was next:

The dumplings themselves were like little soft pillows, and the main flavors came from the topping of braised lamb neck and nectarine. Again an unusual flavor combination that enchanted my palate.

The dinner concluded with pork belly with smoked tomato agrodolce along with creamy polenta:

Another amazing plate. The richness of the polenta and pork contrasted with the sour/sweet spicy agrodolce that reminded both Tina and I – with our German backgrounds – of well prepared blaukraut.

We were stuffed and we were delighted. Overall a great meal. At a fair price:

Crudo, 3603 E. Indian School Rd., Suite B, Phoenix AZ 85018, (602) 358-8666.

Beerfish and Point Loma Seafoods- Clams two ways

October 25, 2016 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Seafood, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk and His Missus are doing something somewhere right now. Ed (from Yuma) and Tina are relaxing after a really nice little vacation. Cathy is writing this post about some meals she had with The Mister right here, in San Diego.

Briefly mentioned at the top of this post, it was 'birthday week' for The Mister and myself not long ago. A week apart, Mondays this year. Once I started writing about our eight meals out, I had noticed commonalities in our respective choices. Opening in June, there was a lot of buzz on various media sites about Beerfish, a small (1500 square foot interior, 1300 square food outdoor patio area) seafood centric restaurant on Adams Avenue. Walk up, order and pay and your food is brought to your table. There are 30 taps serving local craft beer and also a few wine selections. The limited menu is ever-changing based on availability of fresh seafood. We were here for clams and not beer.

First, our side order of fresh made onion rings ($4) (beer battered, of course) was delivered to the table, accompanied by a fresh, but plain, aioli. The batter was crunchy, not greasy and the onions very mild; really nice in textures but it needed something. I ended up putting Mexi Pep (and eventually some salt) with the aioli to get a complimentary flavor that I wanted. The one item I had been reading about, Clam Toast ($10.90) was my choice. This was a mix of flavors: too many flavors for my palate, unfortunately. Each item was good on its own: sourdough bread (fresh and toasted), topped with a lemon mayonnaise, (very fresh, plump) chopped clams, mixed with a good amount (almost the same amount) of meaty chopped bacon along with grilled sweet onions and topped with fresh herbs, microgreens and fresh chopped garlic. Quite a bit of garlic. This would have gone well with some beer. The Mister ordered the steamed mussels and clams ($13.90). Again, there was a tremendous multitude of flavors, which may have gone well with beer as well as separately. The four mussels and dozen clams were plump, fresh and wonderful. The broth had two whole lemons, shallots, leeks, herb butter and, again, a tremendous amount of fresh chopped garlic. All this was served with a flavorful, fresh sourdough (with an unsalted, whipped butter-which are just right together).

The freshness is there, the clams were what I wanted and I enjoyed them-plain. When we go back, we will have to share a glass of beer and perhaps ask for less or no garlic and perhaps other items on the side.

Beerfish 2933 Adams Ave San Diego, CA 92116 (619) 363-2337 website Open seven days 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.

The Mister's birthday meal choice was fried clams fromPoint Loma Seafoods, a place I blogged about first in 2007, again in 2010, 2011, 2012, and most recently in 2014 The fresh, lightly battered, perfectly fried Ipswich clams are in season in September, (about $19 for the plate) and just the perfect childhood food memory for The Mister. I got the fish and chips plate ($12), which is my own 'fish friday' childhood memory. This was really good, as always.

Point Loma Seafoods 2805 Emerson Street San Diego, CA 92106 (619)223-1109 website Open Mon-Sat 9-7, Sunday 10-7

La Resaca – Curatela de la Cruda in Yuma

October 13, 2016 ed fromyuma Mexican Restaurants, Seafood, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk and Cathy are doing something else today, so Ed (from Yuma) is posting.

Yuma is blessed with numerous Mexican restaurants, but seafood places are not common. Of course, there is Juanita's and usually one or two other seafood trucks, but Mariscos Mar Azul has been the premier local seafood house ever since it opened. But now with La Resaca, Yuma has two excellent options:

Located somewhat off the main drag on 3rd Avenue, where the Mad Greek used to be, La Resaca has a large main dining area with many modern booths:

a bar area with more tables:

and even a small stage for music some evenings:

When you sit down, you are soon served whole crunchy tostito rounds, a few saltines, flavorful and spicy salsa, and a bunch of lime wedges:

On my first visit, I decided to start with tacos:

They were served with a mayo based basic crema and a chipotle flavored one:

The shrimp taco was excellent, the flavorful fresh shrimp nicely breaded and perfectly cooked:

Similarly, the fish taco was about the freshness of the flavorful breaded fish rather than crunchiness:

And the mantarraya was also nicely prepared, full flavored but not too salty, fishy but not funky:

Food this good I wanted to share, so the next evening Tina and I showed up for dinner.

As appetizers, we picked tostadas. One was ceviche:

the other octopus:

The octopus was sliced well and had just the right amount of chew and mollusk flavor. We were especially impressed by the ceviche. The fish and vegetables tasted very fresh and the whole tostada had a very pleasant flavor and multiple textures.

That evening we also tried a couple of cooked seafood entrées. Tina chose the albañil, shrimp grilled with bacon, poblano and jalapeno peppers, and onions, served on corn tortillas:

The shrimp were well-prepared (not over-cooked) and the bacon and grilled vegetables really added to their flavor. Tina loved the abundant avocado, The rice was okay and the salad had no dressing – though I suspect we could have asked for some.

I had the pescado Veracruz:

I liked the fish preparation. There were four or five little filets of tilapia, lightly breaded and nicely grilled, covered with a very mellow Veracruz sauce, much like a ranchero sauce with onions, celery, green olives, peppers, and a lot of carrot slices. Good food.

On my next visit, I had to try a seafood cocktele; after all, La Resaca specializes in cruda (raw). They come in three sizes with your choice of mariscos – shrimp, octopus, oyster, scallop, and/or snail. I ordered a medium "campechana," a combination:

That is a nice looking cocktele:

The cooked shrimp were pristine and juicy. The scallops clean and fresh tasting. The octopus was fine. And the snail pieces (you can see one hiding under the scallop in that picture) added some chew if little flavor to the contents of the sundae glass.

I was especially impressed by the quality of the cocktele water. Smooth flavors of the sea, with a little lime tang, balanced by a touch of ketchup sweetness. My only complaint would be the lack of an oyster in the cocktele.

So when I got together for lunch with Greg, I made sure to order a half-dozen oysters:

They were very fresh and pristine, mildly flavored but distinctively oyster. Next time I will try some of the 10 bottles of salsa on the table to see which goes best.

That day Greg selected the house special tostada:

You can see why the folks at La Resaca choose this tostada for the first page of their menu. It is a combination of their basic cold mariscos along with avocado slices, onion slices, and a dice of vegetables . As tasty as it is attractive.

My first version of this post ended right about here, but Greg called me soon after I was finished (so I thought) and we decided to go back to La Resaca the next day. We tried three more dishes.

The first was fried calamari:

This was pretty standard stuff, might even have come from a Sysco truck. Strips of squid steak, decent texture but little flavor. The breading substantial and crunchy. Served with the chipotle crema and a first-rate cocktail sauce. Not bad at all.

Aguachile – the original red version – came next:

The cool lime and chile broth was just right for my tastes, tangy but not sour, picante but not fuego. There was plenty of avocado, sliced red onion, and seeded cucumber, but the real star of the show was, of course, the wonderful raw camarones:

Their fresh clean taste matched their impeccable white color.

Last to show up was caldo de siete mares (seven seas soup):

The best version I've had in the United States, for sure. And well presented. A good seven seas soup needs to have claws, legs or tentacles projecting out from the bowl. The seafood and tomato flavored broth contained sliced red onion, sliced poblanos and jalapenos, chunks of carrot, and chopped cilantro. Along with those veggies and that crab (what kind of crab is that?), the soup contained shrimp, mussels, clams, tilapia, octopus, and sea snails, and yes, that adds up to seven seafoods. It was good enough to remind Greg and I of our first bowls of siete mares over 25 years ago in a restaurant overlooking the Pacific right by Bufadora park near Ensenada.

As you can tell, I am delighted that La Resaca decided to locate in Yuma. With other locations in Calexico and El Centro, the restaurant has the experience to know how to do things right. The menu is large and interesting, everything I've eaten has been tasty, and the service and decor are good as well.

La Resaca, 1725 S 3^rd Ave, Yuma AZ 85364, (928) 276-3280

Lima – El Veridico de Fidel

August 25, 2016 mmm-yoso Lima, Peru, Peruvian Restaurants, Seafood, Travel

As much as I enjoyed Easter Island, I was thrilled to be back in Lima, as I really enjoy the food in this city. For the Missus it was all about Cebiche. For me, it was noticing the interesting way that the cuisine has changed here since we first visited back in 2007. Back then, it was places, which are still around like, Astrid y Gaston, Pescado Capitales, and El Fayke Piurano. On this trip, we'd already seen the evolution of "Nikkei" cuisine at Maido, but were on the fence about our meal at La Mar. The Missus wanted Her Cebiche….a good and pure cebiche, which for Her is the ultimate taste of Peru.

We landed at Jorge Chaevez airport ontime at a shade after 11am. Like before, our driver from Taxidatum was waiting for us as we cleared immigration. It was too early to check in at our hotel, we were staying at the rather new Courtyard Miraflores. So we dropped off our bags and headed out to find some lunch. I knew the Missus really wanted cebiche, so we headed off to one of the places on my list. A place named El Veridico de Fidel.

Located rather close to Maido, Calle Colon is fairly quiet, as was this place when we arrived.

No English menu, just one very sweet young lady who spoke English, I guess she gets any tourist who visits. It was our kind of place. An unfussy menu, which started off with some canchita…..which was decent, but not as good as what we had earlier at La Mar.

On the menu, it said….in Spanish of course, that the "Nuesto Plato Bandera" was Leche de Tigre…..leche de tigre? Now, I love the liquid used as the base for classic Peruvian cebiche….but a dish based around that? I had to try it. I saw "erizo" on one of the versions of this and had to get it, the "Leche de Tigre Super Especial" (28S/$8.50). In case you don't know what "erizo" is, the picture is worth a thousand words.

Yes, it's uni…and a nice fresh and sweet scallop with roe, and nicely marinated lenguado, whitefish, in an interesting broth. Not quite as sour as chugging straight leche de tigre; but creamy, tempered, flavored with cilantro…this was so refreshing, I just loved it. The Missus poached the camote (simmered sweet potato) which She enjoyed. Man, this was good.

The Missus got the Ceviche Clasico (38S/$11.30 US).

The Missus loved the lenguado; She said it was perfectly prepared and flavored for Her taste. We told the nice young lady that we do enjoy "picante" so she brought us some aji limo, which were spicy, but quite sweet and floral. I gotta get my hands on some plants. The Missus of course enjoyed the camote (sweet potato) and the corn. She was less enamored with the concha negras, which were a bit too bitter for us. Still, She loved that ceviche.

I also wanted to try the Causa, so we ordered the Causa Langostinos.

Which we really didn't enjoy too much. The potato portion was a bit too dry for our taste and there was too much mayo.

On the funny end, I hadn't tried Chicha Morada in years! This "Kool-Aidish" style drink was quite sweet, but we still enjoyed this as it made us feel like we were really in Peru.

The place filled up fast. What we noticed was the customers in this faux patio were all limeños having lunch.

Simply put, this is the kind of place we enjoy. It's really no fuss, no muss, straight forward food. Quite good…the Missus loved the place. So we made reservations. We'd have our last meal in Lima here at El Veridico de Fidel.

El Veridico de Fidel
Calle Colon 246
Lima 18, Peru

So….we managed to finally get into our room at the Courtyard rather late. And they did a nice thing and we got upgraded to a corner suite.

And in spite of not everything making sense in the room; for instance, the "espresso pod" machine was on a shelf that didn't pull out, so you had to actually unplug the machine, then put in on some table, then plug into run……..it was quite a comfortable room.

And when it came down to location, this was great; a nice convenience store across the street, a nice view at night. Or even during the day……

Thanks for reading!

Ceviche House

August 22, 2016 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Seafood

**** Ceviche House has closed

The combination of super hot and muggy weather and missing all the great cebiche we recently had in Lima, where we cebiche 6 times and tiradito 3 times in four days, finally gave me a chance to visit Ceviche House. Located on a quieter part of 30th street, close to Fall Brewing and the new location of Chris' Ono Grinds (I still have to check them out), the place just kind of slipped my mind.

I finally made it a point to visit Ceviche House. It was mid-afternoon and I'd had breakfast earlier, so I thought a light lunch would be great.

The shop is tiny, with a few tables outside….roasting in the hot sun on this day.

The young lady working was very nice, she did a great job with customers who had questions, and was wonderful to deal with.

I went with the Gobernador Tostada ($8), which looked nothing at all like the Gobernador tacos I enjoy, which are rustic, yet so delicious.

This was a rather small appetizer sized tostada, though the shrimp a la plancha was nicely done, very tasty, moist , and plump, though there wasn't much of it. Enjoyed the Chipotle Cream sauce which was smoky, with a light kick. The young lady also brought me some extra sauce, a very nice touch. The avocado and the micro greens added nice texture, though I wished for some pungency and perhaps some sweetness. The fire roasted cheese cubes really didn't do it for me. I kind of missed that nice layer of queso at the bottom of the tortilla shielding it from all the juices. Still, this was quite tasty.

So, I returned the next day….still the weekend, still scorching. This time I got the Ceviche, the "Acalpulco" ($6.50).

The fish, a whitefish that was nice, perhaps a bit more tender than the usual Lenguado (sole) that is the staple of the Peruvian Ceviche I enjoy so much was marinated well. It had spent the perfect amount of time in the marinade preventing it from becoming too "cooked" and mushy. Enjoyed all the ingredients, which added nice textures. My one problem was with flavor….this was really mild, with hardly any flavor. However, I was given a small container of "aguachile" sauce (mmm aguachile, another one of my favorites), which turned out to be too much too sour for this ceviche and even with the chips to temper the flavors, kind of sent things in the wrong direction for me.

Still, the service was great as always, so I decided on one more visit. I'd see one of my favorite dishes, tiradito, a product of the Nikkei Perujin, on the menu. Every version of tiradito I've had has been different, but this, the Yellowtail Tiradito ($12) might take the cake for the oddest…..not in an over-the-top way as the Tiradito at Alfresco in Miraflores was, nor even this version which we recently had in Lima at Punto Azul; the one on the right was made with a parmesan cream and was actually pretty good.

I'm used to the type with a slightly creamy aji Amarillo based sauce; like this version from Cevicheria Bam Bam in back of Surquillo Market in Lima.

No, this might be the oddest "Tiradito" I've ever encountered….because it basically looked like plain old sashimi with microgreens over bean sprouts and avocado.

The yellowtail was dry and too chewy for my taste. The sauce was a very sour-salty-spicy soy based concoction that edged on bitter and seemed oddly out of place on everything but the blanched bean sprouts……where it made it taste like a very sour namul. It really didn't do the avocado any favors. The cut was a bit too thick even for the traditional "usuzukuri" cutting technique used on yellowtail. And frankly, I prefer the more traditional thinner cut strips fish, which is sometimes then flattened a bit with the knife to tenderize, but that's just me.

I did love the Sparkling Grapefruit drink which kind of revived things for me.

Overall, very nice service, though the flavors seemed to be a bit out of synch with the food. Well, I'm not sure it's worth going out of your way for. They told me that a Peruvian style ceviche with leche de tigre was in the works….but after having that tiradito, I'm not quite sure.

Ceviche House
4594 30th St
San Diego, CA 92116

Vancouver – Dinner at Miku Restaurant

August 14, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Canada, Canada Food and Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Seafood, Sushi and Sashimi, Travel, Vancouver, Canada

We took a short nap after our poutine lunch. It was pretty warm in Vancouver and the sun didn't set until 9pm, so having dinner fairly late (for us) sounded like a great idea. Upon waking and freshening up, we decided to take the long way to dinner. So we headed Southeast on Robson, then down Richards, and back onto Georgia, where we came across this impressive structure.

This is the Vancouver Public Library. I loved the distinctive design. From here we took a left down Cambie Street, the neighborhood started looking a bit more gritty, though still much cleaner than Seattle.

This is the Cenotaph in Victory Square.

The main reason for walking down Cambie Street was to view the Gastown Steam Clock. I pointed to it as we headed down the street. At first the Missus said, "that's so puny, what's the big deal?" Until we walked up to it and She saw puffs of steam coming out of the top of the clock.

For some reason She was smitten as were a good number of tourists. This being "Gastown", the steam clock might seem to be a remnant of some bygone era. This was actually built in 1977. Gastown much like Pioneer Square in Seattle is the oldest neighborhood in the city. It has all of the kinds of things that these type of neighborhoods have; tourist shops, boutiques, bars, restaurants, and a good number of homeless. Still, the Missus really enjoyed the character of this neighborhood and we'd return to visit Kit and Ace and Lululemon….and even walk down Alexander to the Alibi Room. But that's for another day.

We walked to the waterfront, the views were quite nice, the air clean and crisp. Looking away from the water, here's a photo of Harbour Centre.

I had made reservations for dinner at Miku and we were trying to find the entrance. There was quite a bit of construction going on and the signs pointing to Miku lead to a locked door. A nice young man saw us and asked, "are you looking for Miku?" How the heck did he know? Anyway, he provided some directions and we found ourselves at the quite busy Miku Restaurant.

I gave my name to the hostess at the stand, who looked, frowned, and asked us to wait a second. A few minutes later, a very nice young man came up to us, and introduced himself as Kevin. I believe he was managing the front of house. He was so pleasant, shook our hands, then told us that they'd missed something on our reservations. I'd requested their kaiseki dinner when making reservations and immediately had reservations about doing so. Kevin explained that they would do the best they could to put together something for us, but I told him not to worry, we'd be perfectly happy ordering from the menu. He smiled and said, "great……I'll make sure that you both get one of the best tables we have!"

I saw this fellow waiting for his mom or dad outside Miku while we waited for our table to be prepped.

Poor guy. Folks kept taking photos or trying to comfort him, but he wanted nothing except his owners. He was adorable.

We loved the view from our table.

In case you're wondering if Miku was one of these touristy, overly fusion, pan-Asian, type restaurants…..you might be partially right. You see Miku is owned by the Tora Corporation headquartered in Miyazaki, Japan. I believe they own a number of Kaitenzushi (conveyor belt sushi) and Aburi/Oshizushi type restaurants in the Miyazaki area. I was quite intrigued by a aplce specializing in aburizushi. I've had a nigiri or two of aburi sushi at a number of places, including Urasawa, though in most American style sushi joints it's kind of a gimmick.

Anyway, we were on vacation…in Vancouver….it was time to relax and have a cocktail….or two.

There were a few interesting custom cocktails along with some standards like a Moscow Mule and Pisco Sours…which I ordered. The Missus looked at me and told me to "not be so boring…." So I relented.

The Missus ordered the Genmai's Tea, which included green tea infused vodka and cucumber. It was fine, but nothing special. I ordered the Shiso Mojito which we both love….shiso was a natural for a mojito, as this tasted so clean…..it also seemed fairly low in alcohol as well. Delish!

We started with the Aburi Beef Carpaccio, which was everything we expected and more.

The torched beef was very beefy in flavor and the texture was fantastic. The sousvide egg added a wonderful creaminess and the yolk tasted delicious. Nice, not too sour ponzu, with a mild kick. The Missus felt that the baby greens was a bit of overkill, detracting from the overall flavors of the dish; though the Asian Pear added a nice mild sweetness and crunch, like in a good Yukhoe.

The Missus had never had Tori Nanban, which I thought was kind of strange….but thinking back, I usually order the stuff for lunch. So I decided to get that.

I was surprised at how much She enjoyed the rice vinegar tones and mild sweetness in this, though She could easily leave the tartar sauce out. The chicken was light and crisp outside, very tender and moist. I was told that they get their poultry from Fraser Valley Chicken in BC. Very nice.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Oshizushi on the menu at Miku. As I've mentioned before, oshizushi is a bit of a specialty. There are three aburi versions here at Miku; Salmon, Ebi, and Saba. Now for me, Battera is the classic pressed sushi. The Missus isn't the biggest fan of saba as in most places it's oily and fishy….though for some strange reason She loves sardines and some anchovy. I convinced the Missus to try the saba version and am glad we did.

The prepared rice was pressed well, though it was rather mild in vinegar tones. The saba, which had cured inhouse and torched was really good, not too fishy, but with a nice cured-cheesy flavor to it. The torching provided a touch of pleasant smokiness. The miso sauce was nice, slightly sweet, savory, but not too salty.

By this time, I needed a drink. Kelsey, who was our Server was fantastic, efficient, pleasant, friendly, but not overly so, suggested something by a local brewery; Strange Fellows. The ale was very nice….the Missus actually loved this and we'd be getting their brews every chance we had.

We finished our meal with a foursome of aburi nigiri. Clockwise from the top left; Hotate (scallop), Wagyu, Toro, and Hirame.

All of the seafood was fantastic and the beef decadent. The one problem for us and since this is nigiri it was a major issue was the rice which was really mushy and formed with too much pressure……I'm figuring most folks wouldn't notice; but any nigiri lover would immediately pick that up. The hotate was tender and sweet, with the torching adding a wonderful touch of flavor. The hirame was very fresh, but the toro was just fantastic as it melted in your mouth as did the wagyu beef which was out of this world.

Night had settled in as we finished up our meal. We marveled at how the service and pacing here at Miku was just perfect for us. They struck the perfect balance in terms of service, friendliness, and made us feel very comfortable. Kelsey was quite knowledgeable and his recommendations, after asking us a few questions, were spot on.

And while Miku looks like one of those stylish-hip places, the food delivered, and the atmosphere was totally not stuffy.

There are times when you just have a great experience….where a place just seems like a perfect fit for you. Miku did that for us. In terms of price; our meal, including drinks came out to something like $115 US……which I thought was a bargain. I've spent more at Sushi Yaro for dinner! I'm sure we'll be back to Vancouver. And we will definitely be back to Miku.

Miku
200 Granville Street Suite 70
Vancouver, BC V6C 1S4, Canada