mmm-yoso – Page 356 – 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.

Recently Consumed

April 13, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking

Here's some stuff we recently ate at home.

Man, it was almost like summer there for a couple of weeks, wasn't it? Last weekend, I really didn't feel like cooking so I dropped by Con Pane for some baguette and Bristlol Farm for some Truffle Mousse. Combine that with some Blue and Gorgonzola Cheese, vegetables, olives, and a nice Saison……..

The next night, the Missus wanted Ebi-don. I thought it was a bit too hot for that. The Missus got Her rice bowl, I made myself an Ebi-Furai sandwich using the rest of the baguette, vegetables, and I even made some Russian-ish dressing.

Tommy Gomes at Catalina Offshore is a great guy. He's really funny in a gruff kind of way….but we all know he's a pussycat, right? Anyway, he's always making recommendations of new stuff to try, like this.

The problem was….what to make? This screamed for crab claw cocktails, but that seemed like the easy way out. I thought of doing something like my Smoked Portobello Mushroom with Crab, Avocado, and Smoked Corn salad, but there was no corn to be had.

In the end, I did kind of take the easy way out, making a very basic Sherry Wine Vinaigrette for a chopped salad of sorts.

This is one of few times it would be appropriate to bring a hammer to he dinner table with you….

I'm not sure what's up today. It's sort of the "May-grey" a couple of weeks early. Wasn't quite sure what to do with some halibut I got today. The Missus was craving Mok Pa, so why not. It tasted much better than it looked.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Plate Lunch Week: Chris’ Ono Grinds Island Grill

April 11, 2013 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

***Unfortunately, this location of Chris' was lost to fire in 2015. Here's a post on the North Park location.

Here's one that I heard about a while back, but just didn't have a chance to visit until recently.

The location can be a bit challenging; off of Mission Gorge Road, head east on Mission Gorge Place in sort of a business park area. Once you go down Mission Gorge Place a bit you can't miss the sign….unless it's not out. Then it just looks like one of hundreds of business strewn around the area.

The interior is interesting, though kind of cold, looking more like an Hawaiian themed bar serving food, than an actual restaurant. Here's where I noticed some interesting things. A decent beer selection, but nothing on tap.

The really nice gal told me to sit anywhere I wanted. Menus are simple take-out type pamphlets. Here's the next observation, I couldn't find anything fried on the menu, which might not be a bad thing, so I'm thinking this place doesn't have a fryer. Lot's of fusion-hip type of things like sliders, guava BBQ wings, "street" tacos, and nachos, along with tuna melts, BLTs, and smattering of plate lunch type items under "entrees".

I went straight for the artery and ordered the Loco Moco ($9.49), to add to my loco moco collection.

Though it doesn't look it, this was a good amount of food.

Let's start with the eggs, which were over-cooked….I do love my runny yolk. I fully understand how folks can be with runny yolks, but places who serve eggs that way will usually ask me how I want my eggs. Which is over easy, with a little char on the edges.

The burger looked real good, but noticing how it had been grilled, I could tell it was going to be pretty tough, which it was. The flavor was decent though.

I thought the gravy was kind of odd. First, it was runny and thin, almost like a bisque. Second, a flavoring, like French onion soup mix over-powered the whole thing and there was a bit of a metallic-sour finish to it.

The one saving grace and a big one at that was the mac salad. It was very simple, but mac salad should be simple. It wasn't over-dressed, the macaroni was cooked to perfection, there was just enough other flavors to keep me interested, and most importantly, it was seasoned well and nicely chilled. This might be my favorite mac salad in San Diego.

So the mac salad and the really nice young lady was enough to get me to return. I looked over the menu when I got home. There was another interesting item on the menu; Huli Huli Chicken. Huli-huli means to "turn-turn". Ernest Morgado, head of Pacific Poultry is credited with creating the "king of fundraisers", at least when I was growing up. You can read more about it in Mr Morgado's obit here. Let me just say, I loved this stuff when I was growing up…..so I was interested in what Chris' Ono Grinds Huli Huli Chicken ($9.49) was like:

Most Huli Huli Chicken recipes I've seen use a good amount of ketchup. Funny thing is; I don't recall it tasting strongly of it.

The sauce on this version was more like a barbecue, not as in "Hawaiian BBQ", but BBQ sauce. It was more of a sticky glaze than a nicely charred huli huli chicken grilled over Kiawe. That doesn't mean it wasn't good. This was pretty decent, perhaps a bit too fruity and sweet, but other than the piece of bone, in the supposedly boneless pile that nearly cracked my teeth, this was decent. The chicken was decently moist and fairly tender. Not bad.

The best thing was, the mac salad was the same as before.

I may not been chasing down this place like I did fund raisers back in the old days, but I think Chris's Ono Grinds has some potential and will probably return one of these days. Mainly because I used to make Guava BBQ Chicken (Hawaiian style BBQ) and he has chicken wings with Guava BBQ sauce.

Even though the feel of the place (and some of the menu) is rather "Mainland – local themed", don't want to use the "H" word, it looks like they are trying to make good food here. This is not another shibai Hawaiian BBQ money grab. That and the nice folks here are enough for another visit.

Chris' Ono Grinds Island Grill
4651 Mission Gorge Place
San Diego, CA 92120
Hours:
Mon – Sat 11am – 9pm

Plate Lunch Week: Ohana Cafe

April 10, 2013 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

**** Ohana Cafe has closed

I'd heard about this place a while ago, but took my sweet old time getting there. The little shop is located on Pearl, right past La Jolla Boulevard. I've never been a big fan of getting there and the parking situation, but I gotta say, on the days I visited this little corner it was pretty quiet.

Though the other side of the shop fronts the busier side, I like this area by the one parking stall.

The interior is quite larger than what this little storefront would make you think.

The breeze really goes through the dining area…..so it's probably great during the late spring/summer, but kind of chilly on the days I visited.

On my first visit, the yong lady manning the counter seemed like perhaps the owner's daughter? She was very nice, even though there were probably a thousand other things she could have been doing. I ordered the loco moco and much like much of Honolulu, Ohama Cafe offers brown rice and even coconut rice for an upcharge. You know me……..unless the Missus is breathing down my neck, it white rice all the way. By the way, you won't forget that this is La Jolla, as this is what you get for $8.50.

Still, we're all trying to exercise some portion control nowadays, right? As a loco moco, this wasn't bad, the egg was nice and runny, with some crisp edges, the gravy a little short on flavor, and a bit of "powderyness" to it, and was just barely ok. The rice was cooked well, but I really didn't take to the burger. It was crumbly and it tastes like they add something to the meat made it taste like onion soup mix.

Perhaps I should call this a "petite loco"…….but I guess "small crazy" sounds kind of strange, as if loco moco didn't sound weird enough already. The woman who came out of the kitchen was very nice, telling me hello and dropping off some brownie samples.

So I thought that I should return. This time around I ordered the "mix and match" with Kalua Pork and Teri Chicken.

This time the rice was on the dry and hard side. It was by-the-book oven kalua pork, something I make a couple of times a year. The pork was on the dry side and could have had more flavor. The chicken was decent, not too dry, but on the bland side. The drizzle of over-reduced, again by-the-book teriyaki sauce could have been a spitting image of Kealani's.

The mac salad was plain, but nice made, he macaroni was done perfectly, and the seasoning and he amount of mayo was good as well.

I really like the folks here, they are really a nice group. But it takes a bit more than a shade better than L&L level food with petite portions and La Jolla pricing/parking to get me to return. Though the breakfast menu (Sat/Sun) looks decent, so maybe…….

Ohana Cafe
456 Pearl St
San Diego, CA 92037
Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 8pm
Sat – Sun 9am – 8pm

Plate Lunch Week: Revisits to Island Style Cafe and Kealani’s

April 9, 2013 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Plate Lunch

Here's a couple of revists for plate lunch wee;

Island Style Cafe:

Man, has it been almost five years since Island Style Cafe opened? Time usre has flown by. In preparation for plate lunch week, I thought I'd do a couple of revists. Though I really enjoy the Kaloko Moco here, the plate lunches have just been ok.

For this post, I decided to put my biased choices to the side and actually try another plate lunch here. After all, it is plate lunch week. Good thing it's not loco moco week….I might not survive that one!

Island Style Cafe had renovated since my last visit; nice booths giving the place a warmer feel.

I ordered the Korean Mix ($10.95), a combo with the Kalbi and Korean Chicken. I quickly noticed that the portion sizes seemed to have gotten a bit larger than I recalled.

Having not ordered a plate lunch here in ages, I'd forgotten about the mac salad. They put tuna in this; not my favorite version, but at least it was nicely chilled.

The kalbi is sliced very thin, which made it quite crisp, and perhaps a bit too charred. Still the flavor wasn't bad and the crisp char makes you forgot about how tough this can be.

The flavor for the Korean Chicken, which is pretty close to Dak-Galbi, is nice.

The chicken was cooked perfectly, personally, I'd prefer something with a bit more of an interesting texture to it. There's a component of many version of Dak Galbi that creates a bit of a mushy texture, which was also the case here. Still, this was not bad.

Personally, I think the food is getting better, as is the decor. Still, this won't make me forget about ordering the Kaloko Moco next time……….which, according to my arteries is quickly approaching.

According to the signs, the menus have been revamped a bit, so if you haven't checked them out in a while, you may want to see if there's anything you'd find interesting.

Island Style Cafe
5950 Santo Road
San Diego, CA 92124

Kealani's:

**** Kealani's has closed

Talk about a long time between visits. With Kealani's it's been almost seven years! So I made it a point to truck on up (when was the last time you heard that?) to Encinitas to check out Kealani's.

It seems that the place hasn't changed much in the last seven years.

Since the place seemed stuck in time, I decided to order two of the items I did last time. They call the mix plate Mt Ka'ala here. For you trivia fans; if I recall Mount Ka'ala is the highest spot on Oahu, part of the Waianae Range. I guess just saying "mix plate" is too boring. So my two protein combo ($8.50) consisted of the teri chicken and sweet sour spareribs.

Even though it doesn't quite look like it, there's more than enough food here. There's another scoop of rice and a good portion of pork under the two pieces of chicken.

I recall thinking the sweet and sour spareribs, even though it looks like pork butt, and is more sweet-salty, than sour to be not bad. The flavor is heading more toward rafute than sweet-sour spareribs, which isn't a bad thing. Unfortunately, this was super dry….I mean really dry.

I know they serve up what we call "dipped chicken" here. The trick is to not make it seem like precooked chicken that is reheated and dipped in sauce.

This didn't. The flavor was decent, not too sweet or salty, but like the pork, it was quite dry and tough. That teriyaki sauce on the side had been reduced too far and had a bit of bitterness to it.

Personally, I'd still take Kealani's over most of the L&L's…..probably over all of the L&Ls on the mainland.

Kealani's
137 W D St
Encinitas, CA 92024

Plate Lunch Week: Homestyle Hawaiian opens in Chula Vista

April 8, 2013 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Plate Lunch

I thought I'd get back to my roots this week and do just "local kine grindz". One of the main reasons for starting the blog back in 2005 was to list all the places you could get local "stuffs" and food. Of course, soon enough L&L tried to take over the world, often with a very low quality product, and the intent seemed more of a money grab then anything else. Gladly, time has weeded out many of these places. I recall Eddie Flores Jr, the founder of L&L once stated in a interview that:

“In five to 10 years, we won’t call it plate lunch but Hawaiian barbecue,” he says. “Only old-timers will remember the plate lunch.”

Not so fast charlie……

Sadly, the last time I did a plate lunch week was almost 6 years ago! And all of those places have closed! Of course, Mo's has moved and become Homestyle Hawaiian. Still, six years since my last plate lunch week? I think much of it is due to, well, age. I just can't put it away like I used to, nor do I really want to eat that much food anyway.

The real impetus for this week occurred when I did drop by Homestyle Hawaiian and saw this sign on the register:

I recall slinking away with my Chicken Katsu plate in hand thinking, "my coconut wireless sure don't work like it used to!"

I even did some catering with Mo and he didn't say anything to me? What's up with that?

Anyway, I jotted down the address and I finally had some time to get down there this past weekend.

I guess this used to be a hot dog joint? When I arrived the place was already busy. Mo was happy to see me and told me it's been crazy busy since opening. He's training an all new staff….though he's got some pros with him. His two daughter's were there to help out. I remember when they were in diapers! I've been doing this blogging thing for too long now. Anyway, Mo mentioned that they've been selling out of everything daily and he's trying to get a handle on things….

The place was chaotic, but I got my order in and things settled down soon enough. Mo's little one had no problem with taking my order, a combination Korean Chicken and a Chicken Katsu with Gravy (aka chicken cutlet in local terms).

I saw Mo make my plate so I knew it was going to be what I was used to getting at the other location.

As I closed my plate, taking a good half of it home for dinner, Mo asked me what I thought. I told him from what I understand of the demographic in this location, "if you can keep up, you'll do great!" Hopefully he'll be able to do that.

Homestyle Hawaiian
1558 E H St
Chula Vista, CA 91913
Hours:
Monday 11am – 330pm
Tues – Fri 11am – 7pm
Saturday 11am – 330pm

A handy hint. Mo is a slow starter and takes a bit of time to warm up. I'd recommend getting there at about 1130, especially since he's training all new staff.

Roadtrip: Brodard Restaurant – Garden Grove (Orange County)

April 7, 2013 mmm-yoso Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants

The Missus and I got up pretty early after spending the night in Hacienda Heights. After some contemplation, we decided to head on to Little Saigon for some breakfast then head on home. The Missus was missing Da' Boyz and all that.

We decided to stop in at a place we hadn't been to in years, the renowned Brodard's.

We always think about stopping in when we're in the area, but the place is usually packed to the gills with several lines, folks practically tripping over each other, the service being very perfunctory as the folks working here often seem like they are just trying to survive. Frankly, I'm too old for the circus.

But, since it we got there right when they opened (8am), the place looked like this. I bet you've never seen Brodard's this empty, have you?

There used to only be one reason for coming to Brodard's. It was for the Nem Nuong Cuon and the Chao Tom Cuon, the pork sausage and the shrimp paste spring rolls.

It had been years and I wondered if Brodard had aged well. We ordered the combination ($7), which included two of each.

There was of course, the signature crisp egg roll wrapper in the center of the spring roll, which adds wonderful texture and is also a sign that these are made to order. The wrapping is done perfectly, neither too tight and stretched like Joan River's face, nor too loose and falling apart.

There was one thing I did notice. For some reason, both the shrimp paste and the nem nuong seemed really bland. It seems like something had changed over the last, oh, almost a decade. I can't put my finger on it, but these were nowhere as tasty as I recall.

The Missus really wanted to try the Banh Khot ($6.95) and I'm happy we did.

The Banh Khot were light and crisp, the shrimp moist and plump. The Missus went crazy with the greens and herbs and really enjoyed Herself. I thought this was an enjoyable version of Banh Khot. I'd gotten used to dry and tired looking Banh Khot and this was definitely not that. I'm thinking that arriving before the mad crush of bodies may have been to our benefit this time around.

We had a decent meal and made it back home before lunch.

Brodard Restaurant
9892 Westminster Ave
Garden Grove, CA 92844

Tunisia: The Bakery, What’s behind the “door”, and Carthage

April 6, 2013 mmm-yoso Desserts, Markets & Grocers, Sidi Bou Said/La Marsa, Travel, Tunisia

the benefit of spending a couple of days in a single location is that you're able to get into a routine. In Sidi Bou Said the daily routine included a stop at this little neighborhood bakery in a cul-de-sac right downstairs from busy Habib Bourguiba.

At places like this, you select your snacks and pay by weight. The very mild-mannered, soft spoken gentleman running the place got used to seeing us, greeting us with smile on our visits.

On our last evening in Sidi Bou Said, the Missus was relaxing, doing stuff on the iPad. I went to the grocery, then stopped by the bakery. I was asked where my wife was….they had gotten used to seeing us together. I told him She was "resting". I placed the pastries the Missus wanted on a tray and carried it for weighing. I told the gentleman we were leaving in the morning and thanked him for being so nice. He placed everything gently in the box, weighed it, then went back to the pastry case and placed a good half dozen more pastries in the box, turned to me, placed his hand over his heart and said, "this is from me….thank you." Folks like this gentleman and Sophie really made our stay in Tunisia just that much special.

The other regular stop was the grocer on Habib Bourguiba. On our first visit, we noticed the "door"…..a door that usually had a line of men waiting.

Of course the Missus couldn't help herself. She kept wondering what was behind this door. Everytime we dropped by to purchase water or whatnot, the Missus would see the line and be beside Herself. We just didn't feel comfortable standing in line for the unknown…..

On my last trip to the market, I found the door open……opportunity knocked!

So what was behind the door?

In Islam, alcohol is forbidden, so I guess to be sensitive to Muslims, all the booze is kept in a separate room.

When we first decided to visit Tunisia, the first place that came to mind was Carthage. I mean really, Carthage. You'd be surprised at how many people I've met who have no idea that Carthage is actually in Tunisia. Then of course, there's how I first heard of Carthage when I was a child. There's the story of how Hannibal crossed the Alps with his army which included elephants!

Carthage itself is just a a couple of kilometers from where we were staying, so on one rather bright morning we headed off down Avenue Habib Bourguiba….to Carthage. The first thing that was obvious when we arrived was that Carthage was a pretty upscale neighborhood. Think of having several ancient ruins in, well, La Jolla……it was pretty strange overall. The signage was kind of ambivalent as well. After the drama of El Djem, Sbeitla, and Ksar Ghilane, this was pretty tame. Anyway, the site we enjoyed the most was the Antonine Baths, the third largest Roman bath complex in the world. According to what I've read, bath houses were very important in Roman Society and this seaside setting surely reflects that.

Most of what remains is the foundation and what I'm assuming are the underground network used to heat and move water.

I gotta say, the Roman really understood "location, location, location….."

The other locations we visited were somewhat non-descript. Some had trash strewn about. We decided to that a visit to the Byrsa Hill and the Musee de Carthage would be in order. It was really interesting trying to find the museum. Eventually, we found a sign and scrambled up this hill to the museum.

That building to the left is the beautiful Saint Louis Cathedral.

Which was not open to the public.

The view from the hill is dramatic. You can easily understand the importance of this location….

The museum itself, less so, as it seemed unorganized and haphazard. For me, the best display was of these two sarcophagus dating back to Punic times.

For some reason, even though it was still morning, the heat was getting to me……sort of like this mutt.

We headed down the hill to the TGM station and caught the light rail to La Marsa. After all, it was just about lunch time…….

Thanks for reading!

Falafel Friday: Gyros N Kabob Cafe

April 5, 2013 mmm-yoso Afghan, Mediterranean Restaurants

*** Gyros N Kabob Café has closed

I noticed a while back that Aria Kabob had closed. Then a couple of months later it reopened as Gyros N Kabob Cafe.

Still, I wasn't very motivated to try the place. Finally, I went in last month just to see what was up. The interior has changed a bit, but the "bones" look the same. I also quickly surmised that this was still an Afghan-style restaurant at it's roots.

In fact, the same gentleman who used to run Aria, runs this place too. There are still many of the other items I've tried at Aria on the menu here….borani bonjan and bolani gandana for example.

On my first visit, I decided to go with the Falafel-Gyro Platter ($10.99), opting for the lamb gyro.

This was a load of food! The falafel were not to my liking, dry and very bland. I did enjoy the lamb gyro though. I could tell that it was cut then heated, but the flavors were really good, nice spices, a bit gamey. Perhaps a bit on the dry side, but still, the flavor was right in the pocket for me.

Plus, they still serve the tangy and mildly spicy "chatni", which just makes everything taste better.

A couple of days later I was craving that chatni again, so I stopped by and ordered the Lamb Gyro Sandwich ($5.99).

I couldn't believe that this came with all those fries…..typical fast-food fries, but altogether not a bad value. I really enjoy the labni like, thick, strained yogurt on this sandwich, but there was a bit too much of it. The lamb gyro meat was kind of overshadowed by everything.

But hey, the really nice guy serving me knows I love the chatni so he made sure to get me a bowl. I ended up buying a bottle for home use…..the missus loves the stuff.

I recently returned for a lamb gyro fix and just stayed with the Lamb Gyro Plate ($8.99).

I think this is what I'll order from now on. The gyro is on the dry side, but I like the flavor, the labni and chatni help to moisten the gyro meat and the pile of rice below….heck, this kind of looks like a plate lunch, huh?

Sadly, I'm not sure how long this place will be in business. I've never seen another customer during my three visits. I gentleman who runs the place has always been nice to me, though food can take a bit longer since it's often a one man operation. I do need to return to see if the borani bonjan is still as good as I remember.

Gyros N Kabob Cafe
8010 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mon – Sat 10am – 8pm
Sunsay 11am – 7pm

Roadtrip: Take-out from Shufeng Garden and Easy Earthen, plus some other stuffs

April 4, 2013 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

**** Both Shufeng Garden and Easy Earthen have closed

As I mentioned in my Tasty Noodle House/Torrance Farmer's Market post, we had decided to spend the night in Hacienda Heights on the way home from Vegas. We didn't plan much at all, we had lived in the area for a good chunk of time, long enough for it to be considered to be perhaps my "third home". We just wanted to see what the neighborhood was like over a decade later. Sure, we've stopped by quite a number of times over the years, but we've never spent a good amount of time in the area since we left.

We both felt sluggish and tired, Vegas has a way of just sucking the energy right our of us. So the Missus thought it would be a nice idea to just do take-out and eat in our room. We'd take a drive and maybe even a walk after dinner.

I successfully lobbied for some of my favorite take-out in the area; from Shufeng Garden. So we drove on over, placed our order and since this was one of those "just eat as much as you want" moments, we walked less than a block over and went to Easy Earthen, Earthen Restaurant's smaller, more "fast-casual/take-out" shop. There was a funny moment at Easy Earthen….the Missus just naturally spoke mandarin to anyone in a Chinese restaurant in Rowland/Hacienda Heights. She walked up to the counter and spoke to the young lady behind the counter, who replied, "oh, sorry, I don't speak Chinese". The Missus was so thrown off She just said "oh" and walked away from the counter! We had noticed some subtle changes in the neighborhood, like more folks actually walking, but this, a Chinese who spoke no Mandarin or Cantonese, this was something totally different for us. I gave the young lady the knowing "third generation" look and proceeded to order. It was nice seeing old haunts; Nijiya was still there, though some, like the Albertson's on the corner of Colima and Azusa were gone.

We made our way back to the room and dug in. Of course, the Missus doesn't eat chicken, so I had the entire half "Shandong Chicken" to myself. This was good, but even with an entire container of sauce, it just didn't have the assertive tones that I recalled. It tasted watered down. The chicken was good though, fairly tender.

The stuff from Shufeng was as good as always and we finished everything………

Easy Earthen
18303 Colima Rd
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Shufeng Garden
18459 Colima Road
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Feeling fat and happy after dinner, we took a short walk to the 99 Ranch Market on Azusa where I always used to see the most interesting "Engrish" signs, the best one being a very interesting rendition of "six pack coke", you can imagine how they spelled "coke", right? Of course they didn't let me down. I'm sure this was just for old time's sake:

I think someone should buy them a vowel. Though if you said it "Bunnuts andsedsandberries" it sounds kinda neat.

The area is constantly changing, old businesses leaving, new ones coming along, like the new 85 C Bakery. Here's one that caught our eye.

Maybe next time……

The Corner of First and Main Part 2: Cafe Secret

April 2, 2013 mmm-yoso Peruvian Restaurants

**** Cafe Secret has closed

Lately I've been noticing that "firsts/appetizers" on menus are often times more interesting than main courses. Like the Blind Burro, I found that to be true at Cafe Secret as well. Cafe Secret is named quite well, though located on Camino del Mar, it's really easy to miss, especially at night.

I hadn't seen my good friends Howie and Jenne in a while and Candice suggested we get together. I believe it was Jenne who picked Cafe Secret. I hadn't had good Peruvian Food in a while, so this was a good choice.

The tiny dining area could be described as either cozy or cramped depending on the foot traffic on the sidewalk that the dining area straddles and the customers.

The staff here was nice enough, though there were forgotten place settings, glasses, and an appetizer that arrived after all the entrees had almost been finished. Still, one can't complain when a dish of canchita (roasted corn kernels), something that I really enjoy.

The night started with drinks; I got a Cristal, and the girls Pisco Sours. Which took me back to the musty bar of a hotel in Lima Centro. It was a nice way to start a meal.

I decided on ordering three appetizers, while the rest of the group went with a cebiche and mains. It would turn out to be a good amount of food for us all.

The first item to appear was the Cebiche Mixto ($17). I believe this was the best dish of the night.

I really enjoyed the balance of the leche de tigre, the "marinade" or sauce if you will that is used to flavor the dish. It had a nice balance of sour and briney goodness. It's been a while since I've had cebiche this good. I only wish there was more of it, along with some spoons for scooping up the leche de tigre and canchitas. The lenguado, white fish, was marinated perfectly, too long and it get mushy, too short and it's tough. The calamari also was very tender. I'd gladly have this again.

The Tiradito ($15) was a different story.

There's always a sense of adventure in ordering tiradito, a dish often credited to the Nikkei Perujin, the Japanese who had immigrated or were born in Peru. Every version I've had was different; from the fantastic, full flavored, and wonderful Tiradito en Crema de Rocoto I had at El Fayke Piurano in Central Lima, to the garlic and lemon tones of the Tiradito Alfresco at Alfresco in Miraflores, it can be an interesting ride. This fish in this version was cut thick, almost like a tweener, the thickness of hirazukuri, but at an angle like usuzukuri. I've found that my favorite versions of tiradito are when fish is cut in thin strips, or thin like carpaccio. This was a bit too thick for me. The sauce was almost a weird tropical-asian incarnation, mildly fruity, but with ginger-sesame tones. This isn't my favorite preparation of tiradito, as the flavor just didn't keep me interested.

I also ordered the Shrimp Causa, which seemed a bit over-priced at $15 for what is basically mashed potato.

I will say that I liked the presentation, the shrimp was cooked to perfection, and this was nicely flavored. Rich, but not over-the-top, with a little kick. This was good.

Candice ordered the Chupe; basically a seafood based chowder. Think of it as being a richer version of Mexican Caldo de Mares, but with less of a acidic-oregano kick. The broth had a nice ocean flavor, tough I would have appreciated a bit more acid and salt. I'm not sure about the rest, but Candice seemed to enjoy it.

Howie ordered the classic Peruvian dish Lomo Saltado ($18).

Made with tenderloin, this was very tender. It just seemed to fall short in flavor. There seemed to be components missing with regards to flavor. It was missing salt, an herbaceous tone, huacatay is often used in Peru, and perhaps some alcohol or vinegar for zing. Overall, very flat in flavor.

Jenne ordered the very unmacho, Macho ($22), basically Pescado a lo Macho.

What I tasted of this dish was pretty bland.

The entrees were almost done and I wondered what happened to the Papas and Yucuitas a la Huacaina($10), so I asked. Without blinking an eye, they told me it was being prepped. Now, this is an appetizer, basically fried potatos and yuca with a cheese sauce…….they could have told me they forgot, but what the heck.

I've had versions of this that were made with a ton of parmesan…making it super salty. This was all the way on the other end of the spectrum, being quite bland. The sauce was a bit too thick and seemed to be getting thicker by the moment. Of course I love yuca in all forms, so I wasn't complaining.

We ended our meal sharing a very well made alfajores ($3):

It was great hanging out, we actually hadn't had a meal together in over a year! There was a ton of catching up to do and I don't think that was fully accomplished, so I think we'll have to di this again soon!

As for Cafe Secret, next time it'll be cebiche, cebiche, cebiche……that's probably worth a revisit on its own.

Cafe Secret
1140 Camino Del Mar
Del Mar, CA 92014