mmm-yoso – Page 189 – As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.

The Village House Kalina -Ukrainian and Russian (La Mesa)

July 8, 2018 Cathy European Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is where Kirk and Cathy write about food. Today, Cathy is writing while Kirk finishes up some important things at his job.

The first paragraph of Kirk's "Back to the Routine" post was true for The Mister and myself in a lot of ways; the past half year has been filled with changes in schedules and habits and jobs. The Mister and I have been wondering when we could get back to having a 'regular' day. For us, this means driving and stopping when we see signage that looks interesting. We dropped in to The Village House Kalina one afternoon a few weeks ago. "Ukrainian and Russian Cuisine", reads the signage. I had read about The Village House Kalina in 2012, on cc's blog and am glad we finally got around to trying it. (She wrote another post in 2012 also.)

A few tables, eclectic decor, friendly greeting when you walk in and lunch specials( Pick a soup, a salad and an entree for $10.99)
Soft crusted fresh bread, heavy thin slices of rye and garlic butter is brought out.
There are three soups to choose from- this vegetarian borscht is wonderful with its beet/celery/cabbage/ carrot/onion/bell pepper/potato base flavored with fresh herbs.
The Ukrainian borscht is has the same ingredients plus beef and is also wonderful. The third soup, a sour cabbage vegetable based choice has smoked sausage and beef in it. No photo, but I heard it was excellent.
There are five salads to choose from and the Vesna is the 'plainest'. Cabbage, carrots, onions, cranberries and apples with fresh dill make this a flavorful simple salad.
Kavkaz salad: Beets, walnuts, garlic and mayonnaise. This was my favorite.
The Olivier, a traditional Russian potato salad with chicken, potatoes, carrot and mayonnaise could be a meal… it’s refreshing and a perfect blend of texture and flavors.
For the main course, Ukrainian Vareniky (Pirogy) was chosen by our guest. Hand made dough filled with mashed potato and cheese then boiled. Just a topping of sour cream is needed; these were light, fluffy and delicious. Chicken stroganoff: mushrooms, onions, creamy sauce, mashed potatoes. Such comfort food.
"Georgian Eagle" – skinless chicken cooked with onions and tomatoes, basil and mint and a few other herbs. So much flavor. The noodles went well with this.

We want to go back to try the other salads and entrees. This was a great stop I wish we had made sooner.

The Village House Kalina 8302 Parkway Drive La Mesa, CA 91942 (619) 461-1100 Website Open Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sat-Sun noon-10 p.m.

Circling Back to A Chau

July 7, 2018 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

Somehow; after completing all my grocery shopping on this still rather hot Saturday, I ended up in City Heights looking for something to eat at nine in the morning. I'm not sure why I drove up here……I mean it was over eighty degrees already, so the usual suspects were pretty much ruled out. So there I was sitting on the corner of ECB and Menlo, when a car pulled out of a true contender for the worst parking lot in San Diego. I decided to take that left turn and parked in front of A Chau. I figured it must be a "sign" of some kind….I mean; how often do you get a parking space right in front of A Chau? Plus; it had been decade since I last posted on the place, and at least seven or eight years since I last visited.

It was fairly busy and the service….well, what service…this is A Chau after all.

Prices for the Banh Mi are still good here; under four bucks, though the egg rolls, what A Chau is known for are now seventy cents a piece….I remember when they were four for a buck.

I ordered the Banh Mi Pate Cha ($3.95).

I've never been a big fan of the bread at A Chau; it's usually too chewy and doughy and lacking in that crusty-flakiness in a good banh mi. Speaking of flakey; I once went to dinner at a new place with some friends. Unfortunately one of the folks attending was from one of these "community associations", you know, "smooze", kind of aggressive, nosey, everything is good. The place tried to throw everything in a bread and call it a banh mi. When I mentioned the discord in flavor and proportion, she made some nasty comment to me…….after which I bet her that I knew exactly where this bread came from and the short comings…..which she confirmed with the owners…..I then named off several of the places, in her "area", that used the same bread. And just shut her down.

With regards to proportion; this was pretty hefty in terms of cha lua, but short on pate, which was totally wiped out by the unusually large amount of mayonnaise.

There was one slice of jalapeno in the sandwich which was positively thermal nuclear, but the other two were mild.

Can't complain about portion per price ratio; but this is still not my favorite banh mi.

I was quite excited to Cha Gio, which had always been good on previous visits….this is the type with rice paper.

I was disappointed this time around. Instead of the crisp wrapper, with a slight bit of chew; this had obviously been sitting for a while. It lacked the light crispness and was barely lukewarm; even after sitting under heating lamps. The filling was also cold and I think they've changed the recipe or where they source the pork for this as it was much more bland than I recall.

I know there are folks who just adore this place. And when those eggrolls are made fresh; for catering, it's pretty good. This time around; not so much.

And then of course, some guy decided to block me in…….

A Chau
4644 El Cajon Blvd Ste 111
San Diego, CA 92115
Hours:
Open Daily 7am – 6pm

Since summer has arrived; I guess I need to make banh mi rounds again.

What we eat to beat the heat – Thai Papaya by Sab-E-Lee

July 6, 2018 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

**** Thai Papaya has closed

Man was it hot today in San Diego? Man; it was hitting the high 90's over here in Bay Park! And as always with temperatures this high; the specter of fire danger hovers overs us. We hope everyone, their families, pets, and homes are safe.

I've mentioned in previous posts, that's it's not Sab-E-Lee weather for us until it starts getting into the high-70's or 80's. And well; today it surely surpassed that. It had been a while since I'd dropped by. The Missus was going to get home after me today; so I dropped by Thai Papaya for take-out.

Maylee was in the kitchen and came out to greet me with a smile…..things are just better when she's there.

Of course I got the Missus's favorite; the Som Tom Khai Kem, papaya salad with salted egg. Savory-salty, with the acid balancing things out. The duck larb was outstanding on this visit, great mildly-gamey, almost beefy with sweet tones; just enough acid, great with the wedges of cabbage.

And yes; there are several places that make a better Thai Sausage than what SeL sells; but we still order it; it's very consistent and along with sticky rice fills out the meal.

Thai Papaya has changed up their hours a bit. Now closed on Tuesdays and open from noon to eight pm the rest of the week.

Thai Papaya by Sab E Lee
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

Yes, it's just a short post today…….it's probably too hot to be sitting around reading a post. And I'm sure you really didn't want to read about my most recent bowl of pho, right?

Brunch at Urban Solace (and the “secret menu” item)

July 5, 2018 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food

**** Urban Solace has closed

It's kind of strange; I thought I'd done a large post on Urban Solace before, but all I could find was a "burger week" post from back in 2009. Kind of strange since US was a favorite of the Missus for a couple of years. Regardless, the Missus had never had brunch at Urban Solace. And with us both having a nice leisure weekend day for a change, it felt like the right time to reacquaint ourselves.

We found parking rather quickly on Ray Street and stopped a couple of times as we made our way around the block to Urban Solace; which was pretty empty on this weekend morning.

I have to say; the service on this visit was outstanding, genial, professional, and the staff just seemed to have perfect timing.

Of course we started with the biscuits, which we just about perfect this time around.

Moist with a nicely balanced texture, hitting that sweet spot between fluffy and dense. It had a mild cheese flavor, which didn't over-power the biscuit, and we didn't even need the Orange-Honey Butter or Smoked Tomato Jam.

Since it was going to be noon-soon….we decided on some cocktails. The Missus picked something off the cocktail list; while I asked what the "Dealers Choice", basically the bartender's special was. And was rewarded with a refreshing, smokey, slightly herbal Mezcal-Chamomile Spritz. This was super good and not too sweet….in fact, the Missus ended up ordering one as well. Once She finished what She was drinking.

The Shrimp and Grits have always been a favorite of ours here; and this did not disappoint.

While the grits are perhaps…well, too refined (creamy) for my taste, it is still quite good. The shrimp….and there were five good sized ones in that little cast iron skillet were cooked and seasoned perfectly. Overall a very nice dish.

We also ordered the Beef Cheek Hash, which was probably our least favorite dish of the meal.

The beef cheeks were shredded finely, nice beefiness, but there wasn't very much of it. The eggs were cold. The potatoes were nice; but man, we're used to food being too salty these days; but this was a rarity as it really needed some salt! We ended up taking almost all of this home (except for the eggs). I fried up some lardons and added it to the leftovers for lunch the next day. And it still needed more salt!

Our wonderful Server asked us if we were interested in the daily special or per their definition the "secret menu"? As soon as she said "torchon de foie gras", we both answered "yes" at the same time. This was a huge portion and pretty good.

The torchon had a perfect texture; creamy, but with substance. It was a touch too sweet, but asked for some salt which brought the flavor back into balance. The toasts were nice; but for some strange reason; I loved having the foie gras with the biscuits. This is definitely a must order when we return….if they have it.

Here's the deal; when the torchon is available they only have enough product for five orders. I was told to call on the day of our visit to see if they had this or any other "secret menu" items. She also mentioned that for some reason; it's not very popular. Strange…..though I'm hoping it isn't popular the next time we visit!

Excellent service, nice cocktails that aren't overly sweet, and foie gras. Now that's a fairly successful brunch, don't you think?

Urban Solace Restaurant
3823 30th Street
San Diego, CA 92104
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 1130am – 930pm
Saturday 1030am – 1030pm
Sunday 930am – 230pm, 5pm – 9pm
Brunch on Saturdays and Sundays

Bann Cutlet & Teriyaki

July 2, 2018 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

**** Bann in the H Mart Food Court has closed

**** Bann has moved to the H Mart Food Court

I saw this place during one of revisits to Pho 46 (I'll get to that one of these days). It was before eleven am, so I peered at the menu and was intrigued.

So, a couple of days later I returned. The young lady who manned the front counter was very sweet. She told me that everything here is cooked to order.

I decided to order the Kimchi Fried Rice ($9.95).

Which came with some tiny, yet nicely stuffed fried mandu. Closer to the stuff you'd buy in bags at the market, but with much more filling, and a decent pork taste to it.

I enjoyed the fresh green salad; the croutons and edamame were my favorite components. The dressing seemed based on red wine vinegar.

The amount of fried rice was fairly generous. It was scalding hot, topped with a sunny side up egg; crisp around the edges. A good amount of decent quality kimchi; not much fermented flavor, but lots of it. The rice was coated well, though the flavor was pretty one-dimensional.

Still, not bad at all.

On the way from meetings, I did the Spicy Pork ($8.95), a riff on daeji bulgogi.

Man, this was a lot of food. The steamed rice was just perfect……fragrant, fluffy. The pork had been stir-fried with onions and peppers, but it was fairly tender and had a nice savory-mildly spicy kick to it, which kept my interest while eating it. Of course I couldn't finish this, so I shared it with one of the guys in the office.

Totally worth the price.

Since I hadn't tried any of the namesake items….that would be the cutlet or teriyaki; I ordered the Chicken Cutlet Plate ($9.95) on my next visit.

This was an interesting "mixed bag". The rice this time was horrid, dry, with hard pieces.

Cooked to order, this took a while but the chicken cutlet was fried perfectly. Even though it was white meat; it was moist and tender. The breading stuck onto the chicken and didn't peel off, adding that nice crunchiness to things. This was; I daresay, a bit lighter than other versions of katsu I have. On the other side of the coin; those two sauces were terrible; from the runny, what seemed mayo based (hana battah) sauce, to the other, mildly salty, runny sauce….it just didn't stand up to the fried food. I think I just might tell them to forgo the sauces the next time and bring my own katsu sauce.

By this time; the young lady had remembered me, and she recommended I try either the Spicy Chicken or the Marinated Beef Plate. I went with the Marinated Beef Plate ($9.95).

As you can tell by the photo; this pseudo "bulgogi cum teriyaki" was really bland. It had too much vegetables; which really watered down any soy-sweet-savory flavors. The beef was also on the tough side. This really tasted like Bann tried to add to the portion size by cutting it with veggies…..

Pass.

If you consider Bann to be "fast-casual" food; I'd say it's pretty good. The price point isn't too bad, the ingredients are decent, and that green salad quite good. Items are cooked to order and the young lady who works here is very nice.

Also, if you visit, take notice of the certificates from Le Cordon Bleu which got my attention. Yep, it's from Le Cordon Bleu alright…..Seoul. First time I've seen certificates from the Seoul campus. And it's for pastry and boulangerie…maybe why I like those croutons so much and my friend likes the biscotti they sell on the front counter.

For me; coming from a plate lunch and what I call "Korean meat-and-three" background, this isn't too bad.

Bann Cutlet & Teriyaki
9506 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Mon – Sat 11am – 9pm

Talkeetna – Lunch at Talkeetna Roadhouse

June 30, 2018 mmm-yoso Alaska, Bakery, Diner, Travel

We left Seward fairly early in the morning. We had a two hundred-fifty or so mile drive up to Talkeetna where the next part of our trip was taking place. An acquaintance who has been to Alaska several times advised me to be ready for a fairly time consuming drive because of roadwork. And indeed there were two stretches along the way; the first right past Girdwood; where road work created a single lane along the highway almost 7 miles long. And on the Parks Highway, right before Talkeetna Spur Road, where the entire road was….well, gone. Vehicles would escort a line of cars over the dirt and gravel while the road was being rebuilt.

Still, we arrived at Talkeetna too early for check-in. We found some parking along the rustic roadside. Talkeetna is quite quirky. Part frontier town, part an outdoor-artsy haven, part tourist destination, with a definite "hippy" vibe. One thing that was universal (except for the young lady working at our lodge) was that everyone seemed so friendly…..happy even.

Half the fun is people watching.

People were so nice; we didn't mind spending some time (and money) in the arts and gift shops that line the one main street that is Talkeetna.

I'm not sure how many times we were asked where we were from…….and how many times those same folks mentioned visiting San Diego; being last year or several decades ago. From what I gathered, many shops close down during the winter, hence the reason we found people working several jobs during the high season.

After killing a good hour-and-a-half, we headed over to our accommodations. We were still early, so we parked our car and walked up the half mile or so to the mile 13 marker turnoff. We were told the view here is amazing. And yes it was…..

While enjoying the view we heard "hi…….". It turned out to be the two young ladies who sat next to us at Seward Brewing Company the night before! They were here enjoying the view….and chatting up the nice looking young man sitting on the bench. More on these two in a later post.

Let's just enjoy the view, shall we?

We then walked back into Talkeetna….yes, I was definitely getting my exercise, even with the car!

We decided to get something to eat. We figured that we'd grab a late dinner….remember; the sun wasn't setting until 11 pm during this time. And Talkeetna Roadhouse seemed like just the right place. Part "Roadhouse", thus the shared rooms and bathrooms, with a large dining room, this place oozes charm.

It still functions as a "roadhouse" with shared rooms and bathrooms….

Though these days, it probably caters more to tourists like us.

We went simply with the Hungarian Mushroom Soup and the Reindeer Chili.

The mushroom soup was nice and hearty, with a good, earthy flavor of mushrooms….but it was barely past lukewarm.

The reindeer chili was quite bland.

And almost room temp….not very pleasant. It needed some heat and seasoning.

What we were really impressed by was the bread; which was warm, yeasty, and so comforting.

This was so good……to the point that we understood what we needed to do in terms of pastries while in Talkeetna.

Talkeetna Roadhouse
13550 E Main St
Talkeetna, AK 99676

Talkeetna is such an interesting and "colorful" town……….

After lunch we walked back to the lodge which was located on the Susitna River. It was a beautiful location.

And Alaska was turning out to be even more beautiful than we imagined………..

It’s Fry-Day – T.P. Banh Bao and Royal Mandarin

June 29, 2018 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

Here are a couple posts appropriate for any "Fry-Day".

T.P. Banh Bao:

Have you ever headed out for lunch thinking you want something and then suddenly changing your mind at the destination? Such was the case on this day. I needed to take my lunch at a rather odd hour and thought I'd just head on over to R & B. When I arrived, I just didn't feel that hungry….nor did I feel like having any Filipino food.

Looking down the strip mall I saw TP Banh Bao….well, it had been a while, right? I could just grab a couple of Banh Bao and head back to the office.

In order to get the fried pork, salted egg yolk, and sausage Banh Bao, I had to order three. So I got three of those and two of the steamed pork with quail egg and sausage.

Returning to the office; I immediately gave away one of the fried and one of the steamed.

A lot of folks complain about the size to price ratio of these. And they may be right….to a point. You see; there's a ton of filling to the amount of bread. The steamed bao had started to go soggy; though the filling was porky, though a bit on the mealy and dry side. Not enough sausage for my taste as well.

The fried bao, was still crisp as I sliced it in half. Frying ensures that it holds together. I think the frying also intensifies the sweetness of this as well.

The filling was moist, with a decent porkiness; but man, this was so rich. I ended up giving away that last fried bao.

Now I know…at TP; I'm a two bao guy…..

T.P. Banh Bao 3
11271 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Royal Mandarin:

At the end of one of my meetings; one of the folks asked me to come back to her office. She brought me a bag…..I immediately knew the smell of Royal Mandarin's Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings. I just started to crack-up. You see, a couple of months back, we were chatting before our meeting and she asked about what to get for an upcoming pot luck. I told her just be like everyone in National City and get wings from Royal Mandarin…..she had no idea what I was talking about! I told her she was the only person of Filipino descent in National City who didn't know about Royal Mandarin!!!!

I guess she knows now…..

She got me an order of Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings and Shrimp Fried Rice…….an nice ABCDE (American Born Chinese Dining Establishment) meal if there ever was one.

This was way to much food for me; so when I got back to my desk, I made myself a plate, and gave away the rest.

The wings looked a pale in color, but was nice and crisp. That's the thing about RM wings; the crispness lasts. The wings seemed a bit lighter than usual; though the salt-pepper-garlic "crack like" (MSG) flavor was still there. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the shrimp was cooked; plump and moist. This was typical ABCDE fried rice; fairly dry, each grain coated.

Man, has it been nine years since we did our great salt and pepper chicken wing comparison? Seems like yesterday. Time sure does fly…..

Here's to you Howie, Candice, Sarah, Jenne, Mr & Mrs Zompus, and Dennis!

Royal Mandarin Restaurant
1132 E. Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950

Seward – Resurrection Bay and Dinner at Seward Brewing Company

June 28, 2018 mmm-yoso Alaska, Beer, Gastropub, Travel

The first task of the day….well, the second after a simple breakfast was to head up to the boat harbor and the offices of Major Marine Tours to see if any cruises were going out on this day. The Fjords cruises were all cancelled because of storms at sea, but the regular bay cruises were still going out. Folks were really nice and we ended up getting a discount because we were actually staying in town. Our cruise didn't leave until around noon; so there was some time to kill.

I had heard that there was something interesting to see in the boat harbor; so we walked around the building……

And sure enough; there they were……

Two adorable otters….totally oblivious to us.

There's something so amazing about watching creatures who are so graceful in the sea. Every so often they'd dive….apparently the otters enjoy the mussels attached to the docks.

For some reason; it just brought out the inner child in the both of us. We were mesmerized.

We drove back to downtown and spent some time shopping.

Instead of driving back up to the boat harbor; we decided to walk. It was only a mile-and-a-half or so. Plus you could walk along the bay. And even on an overcast day like this one, you sometimes felt like you were viewing a painting.

We passed various campgrounds…..if you parked your RV here; you really couldn't complain much about the view.

You notice a lot more when walking……do you notice something that looks a bit out of place in this photo?

It was a nice walk back to the boat harbor.

This is the Seward Mariner's Memorial, to memorialize all those lost at sea.

We eventually got back to the boat harbor.

We just went and grabbed some coffee and killed the hour or so before the line-up for our cruise.

We really enjoyed the four hour cruise; the captain was wonderful as she and her crew went looking for wildlife. We also got some history as well, learning about the effect the 9.2 magnitude Good Friday Earthquake in 1964 had on Seward. It totally changed the town's shoreline.

We saw the B&B we were staying at as we headed out into the bay.

We travel light these days; without even the DSLR. So no crazy wildlife photos. But we did see Bald Eagles, goats, one amazing sea otter just hanging out in the bay, seals…..

We got "blessed" by one of the many beautiful waterfalls created by water from melting ice from glaciers.

And then it happened. The highlight of the cruise.

A young Humpback Whale! The captain stopped the boat. There are specific rules for approaching marine mammals here, which I really appreciate. The whale seemed a bit curious and really got close to the boat before figuring out we were just boring humans and heading on his or her way.

I've seen whales several times while taking folks around back home in Hawaii….but let me tell you; it never gets old.

We got back to the harbor after about four hours. We were kind of pooped. In fact, there were folks sleeping on the benches as we returned. As much as I would have loved that entire eight hour tour….possibly seeing glaciers calving; I'm not sure how tired we would have been.

We rather enjoyed the walk back to downtown. We decided just to head back. Looking at what was served at the touristy seafood restaurant in the harbor just didn't inspire us.

While we'd obviously be happy with another meal at the Cookery; it was Monday and the place was closed. So we decided to hunt around a bit for a dinner spot….this one was definitely not it.

After looking at a few places…..we decided just to head back to the Seward Brewing Company.

The Missus just wanted some fries. And the "Hangover Homie"; thick cut fries, crisp, topped with that sunny side up egg…….on this evening, there were no complaints.

Bacon….cheese sauce….crema…..gorgonzola……I can handle that for one meal.

Needing something to finish up the evening….and my second beer. I went with the Fried Cauliflower.

Which was way too sweet……

But heck; we could deal with this for one night.

Seward Brewing Company
139 4th Ave
Seward, AK 99664

And then it was off to sleep….sort of.

Revisits – Bistro Kaz and Talavera Azul

June 27, 2018 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Breakfast/Brunch, Italian Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Mexican Restaurants

The restaurant landscape of San Diego sure has changed from when we moved here back in 2001. And while I still complain about the quality and the preference of style over substance…..I'm still not happy "just to have" something; it's sure nice to have some variety available. Here are two examples; one of lunch on Friday, then breakfast on Saturday, in two drastically different areas of San Diego.

Bistro Kaz:

My coworker "SJP" wanted to take me to lunch……how very sweet of her. At first I thought perhaps Korean would great. But the petite SJP is not a very big eater. She was also born in Japan. Even though my last visit to Bistro Kaz wasn't that great; I thought she'd appreciate the food.

The menu here has grown nicely since they first opened. It was a pretty warm day, so I chose the Cold Natto and Mekabu Pasta. The lunch combo came with a nice, refreshing, simple salad, and a passable pseudo egg drop soup.

But it was the pasta I was looking forward to. And it did not disappoint.

The pasta was cooked…well, just about as well as this type of pasta can be. It had a nice pull and was nicely chilled. The natto fragrance wasn't over-powering and combined with the slimy mekabu (the bottom area of the same seaweed that gives you wakame – it gets slimy when heated) gave the whole dish that wonderful "neba neba" sensation that I find satisfying. For some reason, this seemed quite refreshing and the yuzu kosho added a touch of spice and saltiness to the whole, beautiful mess.

SJP had a taste and thought it was delicious….so did I. But you know how much I enjoy natto and the memories it elicits. I think I'll have this again soon.

Bistro Kaz
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Talavera Azul:

Yes, another post so soon. The next morning the Missus wanted Her Menudo Rojo fix. So we headed to Downtown Chula Vista and back to Talavera Azul.

And the Missus got Her menudo. This time around I finally found "my dish" here. The Sonoran Machaca with Easy Over Eggs.

The shredded beef is griddled with onions, peppers, and tomato; adding some nice crunchy bits of very flavorful beef. Who doesn't love drippy eggs (just kidding Jessica). Some beef wrapped in a tortilla with a smear of beans, potatoes, onions and cilantro, and finished with salsa….man, this was good. In fact, the Missus ate more than I did! And it was one of the rare occasions where we finished all the tortillas. The Missus took half the bowl of menudo home with Her!

We returned the following week with the same result. I'm guessing we'll be returning soon.

Talavera Azul
365 3rd Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91910

Seward – Seward Brewing Company and Dinner at The Cookery

June 26, 2018 mmm-yoso Alaska, American/New American Restaurants, Beer, Gastropub, Seafood, Travel

We loved the town of Seward. Tucked in the Kenai Peninsula; this town of about 3,000 had character and charm. Instead of staying at one of the hotels near the boat harbor; we decided to stay at a B&B in the historic downtown area. And driving down Ballaine Boulevard to the B&B indicated I'd made the right decision.

This was the view across the street from our unit.

When we checked-in we found that there were some severe storms at sea and our whole day wildlife tour was cancelled. After travelling for a while you understand that no one controls Mother Nature and you have to go with the flow. We were given some Resurrection Bay alternatives. Major Marine was given as the company to use. We decided to wait until the next morning to book our tour. And headed off to explore Seward.

We were steps from the Alaska Sealife Center, but our schedule didn't allow us time to visit. Though there were some musicians and this really interesting vendor there as we walked past.

Now there must be a story here…….

Downtown Seward had the feel of a touristy-kitschy-artsy-"wild frontier" kind of vibe. It is also "framed" by some wonderful views.

Things were quite mellow when we arrived. We were told that the first cruise ship of the season had just left, so things were quiet until the next one came in.

It was still too early to head to the spot I wanted for dinner, so we wandered around a bit.

It was a bit too early for our dinner destination; so we decided to grab a drink at the Seward Brewing Company.

We enjoyed the vibe of the bar area. The Missus had a white while I had a red ale. Folks here just start talking to you…….

Our bartender was from…….San Diego! Encinitas if I recall. She was here for the summer, working, like many folks we ran into, several jobs during the busy season. Her other job? Well, working at Major Marine. Go figure……

We really enjoyed the Seward Brewing Company and returned the following evening.

Seward Brewing Company
139 4th Ave
Seward, AK 99664

Our dinner reservations was at a place called The Cookery. I'd looked over their menu online, and the small plates seemed like just the thing we'd enjoy.

First off, this place gets really busy, really fast. The crew is quite nice, though they seemed a bit harried. We enjoyed the menu….perhaps a bit hipster, but quite interesting and perfect for folks who don't want to stuff their face.

The Amuse was a ceviche of sorts.

This was quite nice. A good acidity; meaty fish……

I love my oysters so we started with a half dozen.

The Halibut Cove were really briny reminding me of Atlantic/French oysters. The Jakalof Bay oysters were still a bit too briny for my taste, but had an interesting, almost sweet finish. It had been too long since I'd had good oysters, so I really enjoyed these.

The fish of the day was Halibut Cheeks…….how could we not order this?

I actually enjoyed what the light curry sauce and the mango added to the dish. The Halibut Cheeks would have been amazing, except it was over-cooked, therefore losing that rich fattiness that would take this to the "delici-yoso" level.

The Roasted Brussel Sprouts had been cooked well, as in not mushy, still crunchy.

The Missus, who loves Brussel Sprouts simply said; "not savory enough and not enough flavor" in Her assessment.

The "Wild & Tame Mushroom Toast" was a nice dish; nice earthiness, but a bit too sweet for our palate.

I told the Missus to order dessert……but knowing how much I missed oysters…….

We enjoyed our meal at the Cookery. In fact, if hey had not been closed on the following evening, we'd have eaten there.

As is; this was the second best meal we had during our trip to Alaska.

The Cookery
209 5th Ave
Seward, AK 99664

Hours
Tues – Sun 5pm – 10pm