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.
We all have our rotation of restaurants that we hit. Not all of them are stellar, but whether it's convenience, price, service, or something else, it ends up on our rotation. And no matter where it is, chances are, unless the place makes just one thing (something that perhaps more places should do), you'll run into a clunker as you work down the menu. The Missus and I always joke about Lotus of Siam which is one of our favorite restaurants. The one funny thing being, that on every visit, we've into one real clunker of a dish. LOS isn't alone in that aspect, as here are a couple of places I really enjoy and have posted on before…..but recently have encountered 1 dish that just didn't sit well…….
Wa Dining Okan:
We've done a number of posts on Okan over the years. Perhaps not as many as Dennis's multi-part offerings, but quite a few….. There are quite a few things that Okan does well, simmered items, some fried items like the chicken gizzards…..
The gobo salad, even the daikon salad……
But once I had to go and order the Salmon Belly Carpaccio……carpaccio?
Granted, I do a maguro carpaccio, but I'd never think of taking a fatty piece of high oil fish and taking a blowtorch to it making it seem slimy and greasy, combined with a sauce that made it seem even more fishy……then throwing capers on it. This was just a bit too much for me.
There is alot to like here…….but that dish didn't do it for me…it more like did it to me…
Wa Dining Okan 3860 Convoy St San Diego, CA 92111
Kayaba:
**** Kayaba has closed
I usually enjoy my meals at Kayaba, which usually consists of Tonkatsu.
It's priced, at least for me, quite reasonably. I was itching for some tonkatsu recently….the Missus was depressed since Sakura was still closed for renovations and She couldn't get Her weekly Ten-don fix. I told the Missus that I thought Kayaba made Ten-don……..I should have kept my mouth shut…..
First off, the tempura were barely room temp and overcooked. It had apparently been left around since we were both surprised that my dish took a good fifteen minutes and the Missus' was up in less than three! The rice was hard and the Donburi tsuyu was really dark and salty….as if they took bottled tsuyu and forgot to dilute it with water.
Man, I'm still feeling the repercussions from this one…..
Kayaba 4240 Kearny Mesa Rd Ste 119 – In the Mitsuwa Marketplace San Diego, CA 92111
I guess like the song goes: "C'est la vie", say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell….. I know it's a Chuck Berry tune, but this is my favorite version…maybe because it has Albert Lee on guitar.
Of course you might be more familiar with this scene…..
I realized on one of our recent trips back to Hawaii that I never did show the Missus my old neighborhood. When we first met, I'd taken Her to a couple of my favorite places to eat, but I'd never really went into detail about it. I consider myself very lucky to have grown up in the Kaimuki/Kapahulu area and it holds a very special place in my heart. Back before our trip to China, I hadn't been back to the area in over a decade and I had wondered how the area had changed. We didn't have much money and my Mom never did learn to drive so everything was either Da' Bus or footmobile for us. In that way, the set-up of Kaimuki was just perfect, even though it's situated on a hill, the main drag, Waialae Avenue is perfect for walking. According to the Historic Hawai'i Foundation's site:
"Kaimuki is a naturally dusty, dry area that wasn’t heavily populated during pre-contact times because of a lack of water supply."
When development started, the main pipe was located along what is now Kaimuki Avenue. Like many now urban neighborhoods, Kaimuki was designed as a suburb, a place where people would live, then commute to Honolulu for work. When the H-1 freeway cut through Kaimuki, the neighborhood became very connected.
Because Kapahulu was literally right down the street, I've always considered it my neighborhood as well. So it was only right that we start our day at Rainbow Drive-In.
Kapahulu sure has changed….Alex's Drive In is long gone, as is KC Drive In (tho' they were never the same after they moved from the Ala Wai) and Love's Bakery has been gone for a couple of decades so is Kapahulu Theatre. But all through that Rainbows has endured and is apparently going strong. I did wonder if things had changed much……I used to recall getting chili here for under a buck.
One thing I noticed right away was a sign that explained the food….say what? Who needs an explanation of Chicken Cutlet…..Loco Moco maybe…why?? When I jokingly asked what was up? The lady at the window told me, "aaah, it's for all da' tourists eva' since the Obama thing." Oh…. I do recall:
“I’m going to get a plate lunch. I might go to Zippy’s. I might go to Rainbow Drive-In. I haven’t decided yet…." Circa 2008.
The Missus wanted a chili dog……while I grew up eating the chili here, I wasn't a big fan of the hot dogs Rainbow uses. It is skinless with a real mystery-meat texture, which strangely reminds me of eating cold Vienna sausages. But whatever, it's what the Missus wanted:
For some reason the chili struck me as being on the sweet side…..I'm guessing my tastes have changed quite a bit since I last had this.
I got a BBQ Beef Sandwich. No it's not slow smoked brisket on a bun……this is a Teriyaki Style Beef sandwich. Local style teriyaki (BBQ) is more salty and less sweet than what is the norm on the mainland.
From the photo you can tell that the meat is not the most tender, but it's what I grew up eating. It's also much better than most of the L&L stuff. For some reason, I've gotten to appreciate the role of lettuce in these type of sandwiches, it seems to cleanse and refresh the palate. Love the mayo and onions too…..
Rainbow Drive-In 3308 Kanaina Ave Honolulu, HI 96815
There are just two requests that the Missus has when in the area; one of them is Leonard's. I still remember the pure bliss on Her face the first time I took Her to Leonard's for malasadas.
Unfortunately, it seems like Leonard's is a major tourist stop nowadays…..two tour buses pulled up as we arrived and there was a line out the door…..
The Missus decided that it just wasn't worth the wait…..so we moved on to Her other favorite stop in the area; W & M Burger…..
Located right off Waialae Avenue, with half a dozen parking stalls, this little joint is a big part of my younger days. This location is actually not the original, I'll have that a bit later on in the post. W&M always seemed on the expensive side when I was a kid, but luckily, one of our neighbors used to work there….so she'd often bring home a ton of burgers at the end of the day. The parking is absolute "horrors", so we always plan our trip to arrive before it gets too busy for lunch. You can take your chances in the City Mill parking lot next door, but leave someone with the car, or hope you have some luck. Just to digress; the location of City mill was where I had my first taste of pizza as a kid; at a place called Chico's Pizza……
Actually, the woman working the counter I recognized from way back when……
The burgers at W&M are basically teri-burgers made from a "secret" blend of soy sauce etc…… Since we were on what was basically a crawl, I ordered a Deluxe, no mayo/sauce/etc, and some fries "extra crispy"……
The Missus wasn't too fond of the fries extra crispy, so I think I won't order it that way anymore. But that burger was a spot on taste of my youth……
It's one of the few things that the Missus says tastes exactly the same as the first time She ate one.
In a nice distraction move, the Missus told me, "don't you have to take a photo of the front." Which I did, only to turn around and find Her chomping away at that burger……..slick move……
W & M Bar-B-Q Burger 3104 Waialae Ave Honolulu, HI 96816
Next stop was right up the street. Dating myself, I'll tell you that this was Crown Drive-In when we first moved from Palolo Valley to less than a block from here. But just a short while later it became…..
I believe that this was the second location for Zippy's (McCully was the first). It is also kitty-corner from my elementary school…Ali'iolani.
Which, except for missing the huge, rickety, auditorium looks basically the same.
I should have ordered chili and rice, but for some reason went with the chili-loco moco……
Man, the chili tasted terrible…..very bland, but almost rancid……
I also had a piece of the fried chicken, which tasted much better than the last time I had it.
I don't quite know what to say….maybe bad day for the chili and good day for fried chicken. Oh well…….
Zippy's 3345 Waialae Ave Honolulu, HI 96816
This is, of course, one of perhaps a zillion locations…..
After this I drove up to Palolo to check out my Intermediate (now called "middle") school….Jarrett. It's a sign of the time I guess, as now there's a fence going around the school.
We drove out of Palolo Valley via 9th avenue and I pointed out what we called the "Jade Building" which we considered kinda swanky for this area when I was a kid. It was pretty much the only high rise in the area. Here are some photos from Jade Circle taken by Ian Lind from his blog. Funny thing is, Ian's wife Meda actually taught a class I took….small blogging world, huh?
On the corner of 9th avenue and Waialae was one of the most important businesses to us. It was a small IGA market called Zane's Market. This market used to deliver groceries if you bought over a certain amount. Since we had no car, it was godsend…..
Right across the street is the original location of W&M Burger.
A bit further up the street is Kaimuki Park, where I wasted a good deal of time as a kid……
Right across the street was my favorite saimin stand Tanoues, now long gone, of course…but the memories remain.
Man, the facade of the old Queen Theatrewas still there. I remember watching movies there when I was a kid…until they started showing porn films, in Kaimuki! Yikes!! Eventually, the place was raided, then shut down. The place is now 75 years old, I'm hoping that it is somehow restored…… unlike Kaimuki Theatre, which used to reside here:
Kaimuki Inn used to be here……
All those places are gone….but as we turned the corner on Koko Head I saw a familiar sign….
What is crack seed you may ask??? It's basically what we called preserved, salty and sweet preserved fruits that the Chinese brought to Hawaii. The most well known being Li Hing Mui. This place has been here for as long as I can remember.
Even more funny, the same guy is still running the place….I'm thinking for over the last 30 years or so??? He was very friendly….though my recollection of him was as a pretty tough, no-nonsense guy. Maybe time has muddled my memory, or he's mellowed over the years?
Of course I got some olive peel (aka Olive Cake) and rock salt plum……
Turning to cut through the municipal parking lot, the Missus chuckled when I told Her that the first place I had "Mexican food" (using a very broad definition here) was indeed at a place called Jose's…..
I was surprised and rather pleased to see that Victoria Inn was still alive and kicking:
After this, I thought the Missus had enough and it was time to head on back. As I gassed up the car, there was one more building I pointed out to the Missus. In that spot was a Food Pantry, which I thought was an odd location on Harding and 11th avenue. I think they still have their offices there. There are quite a few more places…but I think this is more than enough for a post…… And if you actually stuck around to the end…well, thanks so much for reading!
One last thing….if you've spent anytime in Hawaii since 1981, I'm sure you'll recognize this one – Kanipoli Slack Key. Always makes me smile when I hear it:
We've decided to keep things pretty low-keyed for this New Years. Nothing too fancy or difficult for our New Year dinner.
Just some fried shrimp and Karei Karaage, which is kinda becoming a New Year tradition for the Missus. I needed to have some soba since it is New Years eve, so went with some Cha Soba. Marukai had some really lovely young watercress and for some reason I'd been craving it. While putting it together I wondered if the shoyu-mayo dip is a Hawaii thing, Japanese thing….or is it just something my Mom used to do? Regardless, other than tempura, it's my favorite way to eat watercress.
I did the usual rounds of Nijiya, Mitsuwa, and Marukai, and noticed that the amount of Osechi-ryōri to be even less than last year. I'm guessing changing demographics, tastes, and economics are creating less of a demand as time goes by. It's something I really started noticing in 2010. There was just a fraction of the amount at Nijiya.
And even less at Mitsuwa.
As we turn the page on another year, we just wanted to extend our warmest New Year wishes to everyone. It's been a tough year for many, I just hope the upcoming year is a better one.
Thanks for stopping by our blog, mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are taking time off from posting and Cathy is writing today.
This month of December has been particularly busy for me (and The Mister) with some sort of appointment, meeting or party on the schedule every day. I have taken a lot of photos of all the meals we have enjoyed and will eventually share all of them with you.
We were 'up North', in Sorrento Valley, the other day and instead of going to our usual Opera Patisserie for lunch, we went North at the intersection of Mira Mesa Boulevard and Scranton Road and followed the signs to the parking lot of Karl Strauss Brewery Gardens.
This is one of the entrances from the parking lot. We followed a winding path and soon saw the restaurant and were quickly seated. This is a rather plain view of the beautiful wood interior, but the glass wall next to us revealed
the peaceful pond, with many waterfalls and Asian inspired theme.
The one page descriptive menu was brought out and our waiter described the fresh beer available that day.
The Mister ordered a Russian Imperial Stout ($5.95) and it was served in this beautiful glass. Since I was driving, I ordered water, but did have a sip of the stout and it was really good; it had a chocolate-malt flavor.
The Mister chose beer battered fish and chips ($14.95) as his meal. The menu had shown several choices of french fries as appetizer choices(garlic, chili lime as well as 'sweet and stinky') and he was not asked as to a flavor preference and (fortunately) these were plain fries, cooked to a nice crisp and unseasoned. The beer batter on the seasoned Alaska cod was light and fluffy and fried just right- not greasy. This was accompanied by a lemon caper remoulade (not tartar sauce) which was very complimentary. A fresh made broccoli slaw(which was really good except for the addition of some really hot red onions) completed the plate.
I decided to try the 'special appetizer plate' as my main. The charcuterie ($12.95) was quite large and filling. Three meats- in the center a smoked, cured ham- delicately thin sliced yet enough smoking to allow you to taste smoke and salty ham. The fancy cut at 11 o'clock is an aged Sopressota salami-not very strong in flavor at all; it needed the fresh made beer whole grain mustard sauce you see next to the slice of Cambozola cheese to bring out some flavor. I also used some of the fresh pine-nutty arugula pesto you see under the bread and it complimented the meat. The pepper-infused Mailander salami had a lot of flavor on its own and I ate it with some of the crostini- and the apple-fig chutney, which was perfect on its own or with a bite of meat. The combinations of sweet, spicy, smokey and savory made this plate an excellent lunch.
When we finished, we walked the path around the building and grounds before going back to the parking lot. There were some water features in this oasis in the middle of all the office buildings in this part of town. We want to go back to try more of the menu. There are lunch specials (called "Daily Brews" on the menu) Monday-Friday, which cost a bit less and are most likely just as good as the food we got.
Karl Strauss Sorrento Mesa 9675 Scranton Road San Diego 92126 (858) 587-2739 Website
I really became a big tea drinker after our trip to China nearly two years ago. And it just carried on after I returned; I drink tea everyday at work, just placing leaves in a large cup I have and adding hot water as the day goes on. It does help that one of the "big" gifts for Chinese is tea. Here's a bunch of containers I threw together for a quick photo:
All of these are from China. We've also been pretty lucky, everytime we nearly run out we'd get a package or have visitors. The Missus' cousins loaded us up with enough for at least another nine months or so…until we start worrying about running out! It seems that the younger generations don't drink much tea, so we've been the beneficiaries. The packaging of some are quite elaborate, looking like something out of Raider's of the Lost Ark. The reflection on the Missus face when She opened this one also reminded me of a movie.
I'm really just a tea drinker, though I know what I like. We also know when something really stands out, as the tea we were given in the red container to the left did. I took a pack to work and noticed how fragrant this was, the finish to me is a bit sweet. Meanwhile, the Missus did some research and found out that Jinjunmei Black Tea is a famous and very desirable black tea that is supposedly grown from a rare species and only found on the slopes of certain mountains at an elevation of 1500 – 1800 meters in the Wuyi Mountains.
The Missus also told me the stuff selling for up to $180 for 50 grams…50 GRAMS! Of course I was at work and had just gotten my first cup of tea……Jinjunmei tea when She called and told me this. Sigh…..I looked down at my cup of tea, not quite knowing what to do……drink it I guess…..but somehow it just felt wrong. Needless to say, the Missus and I keep telling ourselves that we'll have a nice pot, well, "next weekend…..maybe".
Honolulu Coffee Company:
On our last (thankfully) trip to Ala Moana Center, with the Missus riding high from just purchasing a pair of Manolo Blahniks She wanted, I decided that we should sit and have cup of coffee. The smells coming out of this shop was just wonderful……….
I don't drink a whole lot of coffee anymore, but the thought of some decent Kona Coffee just sounded right. The Missus, asked me what to get…. looking at Her bag with the Manolos in them I told Her the French Pressed 100% Kona of course. At eight buck for a cup of coffee it ain't cheap. The Barista told us it would be four minutes and thirty seconds…not four minutes, not five minutes, but four minutes and thirty seconds. And what we got was the most perfect cup of coffee I've had in ages. Smooth, but not too smooth, fragrant, nice finish…..
The Missus, a regular coffee drinker knew better than to ask me if I wanted anything in my coffee….. The Barista came by a few minutes later and asked what we thought of our cup…..I told him, "I'm far from an expert, but this is the best I've had in recent memory….you could get me started on coffee again." On the flight back I read that the Barista who is head of quality for Honolulu Coffee Company, Pete Licata is the 2011 US Barista Champion and took second place in the World Barista Championship. I'd say the quality is quite good……
Honolulu Coffee Co (in Ala Moana Center) 1450 Ala Moana Blvd, Ste 3066 Honolulu, HI 96814
What I'm craving:
Strangely, I'm craving this:
Man, I haven't had the broasted chicken form there in over ten years now! I dropped by on one of my solo trips a couple of months back, but the place was swamped and they told me it would be 2 hour wait! You gotta be kidding….I could be back in San Diego by then! But maybe I should have just sucked it up and waited…sigh….
I've never really been able to get a half decent lau lau in my time on the mainland and I've tried quite a few. This dish of pork and salted fatty fish wrapped in luau (taro) leaves packaged in ti leaves and steamed for hours seems simple, but here away from home, it ain't. First off, almost every version I've had on the mainland is minus the salted butterfish. Second, many use spinach, though I've seen taro leaves at many Polynesian markets and even 99 Ranch Market a couple of times.
Needless to say, it's one of things that I always mean to get when I go home, from either of my two favorites, Ono Hawaiian Food in my old neighborhood, or Helena's which I understand has moved (and has also won a James Beard award!). Since my In-Laws live all the out in Ewa Beach, finding the time to check out either place when it's not packed to the gills is quite a challenge, one that has gotten the better of me during my last two trips home.
Also, during that time, I'd heard about Highway Inn in Waipahu…which sounded really familiar. I even saw the bit on DDD. During one of our visits, I asked my MIL's former co-worker Melissa, a life long Ewa Beach resident, about the place….and suddenly realized that I'd eaten at the old location on Waipahu Depot Road, near the old sugar mill. Excited, I asked her about the food and was simply met with…."well, it's ok…" Not exactly a seal of approval, but man I wanted some Lau Lau.
So we managed to get some time to check out Highway Inn.
One of the items that folks seemed to be talking about at Highway inn is the Pipikaula, traditionally salted dried beef. The father of a friend on mine used to make a mean version using drying the beef in his front yard in his akule box. Naturally, much of it used to disappear into thin air…….
So the Missus ordered the Pipikaula ($5.45) and a side of rice.
Man, this was kinda tasteless and fairly bland in addition to being sinewy. The version I like at Ono's is more traditional, but not hard like jerky, with a salty flavor that a friend of mine from New York always says tastes like corned beef. The version from Helena's is, I believe made from shortribs and have a real beefy flavor and isn't nearly as tough as this.
Of course I ordered the Lau Lau combo ($10.65):
The poi was a bit too thin for my taste, but I enjoyed the flavor. I'm thinking it was at least a "day old", making it a bit more sour, but I prefer it that way.
The lomi salmon wasn't my favorite, almost all tomato, too salty. It also lacked a good pungency, which is usually provided with some onion. I usually love mixing my lomi salmon with poi….but not today….
I thought the lau lau, though a bit small inside was pretty good, if a bit too fatty.
I love the flavor of luau leaves used on the lau lau; they have a slight bitter taste with a mild sweetness to them, much like collard greens. and when they've been absorbing some of the juices of fatty pork and the savory fish, it's heaven with a dash of chili pepper water which wakes everything up. The pork was fine and I appreciated the flavor the salt butterfish added to the lau lau.
I'm still longing for Helena's or Ono though……
The service was friendly, very local. Folks I know grumble about the portion to price ratio, but I had no complaints. Won't be having that pipikaula anytime soon though.
Highway Inn 94-226 Leoku Street Waipahu, HI 96797
Funny, writing this brought back memories of my favorite lau lau. And it couldn't be bought from any restaurant or store. When I was in High School I worked in a restaurant. One of the manager's was a Hawaiian-Chinese woman who took me under her wings and taught me the ropes. She could be really tough and took no prisoners…in fact, her nieces and nephews used to call her "Auntie Titta". But she was also the type of person who, if she liked you, would go to the ends of the Earth for you. Once a year, the family, most of whom lived in Waianae would get together and have an all day (and most of the night) party at Pokai Bay. Now Waianae back then wasn't the most welcoming place for a skinny, shark-bait, 112 pound Japanese kid from Kaimuki…..but man did that family welcome me! And they had this huge round thingy that looked like a large metal float that had been made into a makeshift steamer………and they made the best, bombucha, lau lau I'd ever had. It was so good that I easily ate two…then, I stopped myself not wanting to be a bad guest. But someone realized that I still looked hungry and gave me another, then another….until I had consumed five! From that day on they always asked her, "hey, Titta, where's your skinny Japanese son…you know, the one who can really eat!" And as long as I knew her, I was always invited to the family luau……
Here's one from the "I need to pay more attention when I'm shopping files." Walking through the produce department at Nijiyatwo weeks ago, something grabbed my attention….. I looked, then looked again, then read thelabel. Wow, it really was fresh chanterelles……..I don't recall seeing them at Nijiya before. I've seen Chanterelles at Bristol Farm and Whole Paycheck, where prices were pretty high. Here they were $9.98/lb, to me, perfectly affordable.
The Missus had never had chanterelles before….and now She loves them. I've had to go back every couple of days and pick up a pound or so.
Instead of chopping, I'll just "peel" the mushrooms ending up with nice sizes pieces.
I simply start the mushrooms in a cold, dry pan and over medium heat let all the liquid out of the mushrooms. After a few minutes I add a good amount of olive oil, garlic, herbs, then white wine bringing it to a nice bubble before tasting, adding salt and pepper, then cutting the heat. What's left can be used as a base for pasta, or perhaps like the Missus enjoys them; simply eaten with bread. Don't know how long these will be available…..but I'm making the most of it. I just saw FOY (Friend of Yoso) "Xiang Jiao" during my most recent visit.
I need to pay better attention, god knows what I'm missing…..
Nijiya Market 3860 Convoy St Ste 109 San Diego, CA 92111
Izakaya Sakura still not ready for business……
I drove by earlier today and it looks like a work in progress.
Saying goodbye to a fellow blogger:
About a week before Christmas, Dennis of A Radiused Corner contacted me with some terrible news. A bit later I read a post on Kat's blog about the passing of Nate, the author of Hwn Pake in Okinawa. I've always enjoyed Nate's no nonsense approach to food and life. Through the magic of blogging I was able to vicariously share in those meals and moments. Nate's "local" sensibility really struck a chord with me, and I can't thank him enough for sharing those moments over the years. Though I never met him, I could really relate to his posts and am thankful that he made space in his life to share them…
The ever-thoughtful Dennis was nice enough to organize a lunch in Nate's memory and kind enough to invite me. It was a nice moment, Dennis, Carol, Cathy, and I were able to share thoughts and memories……..
I did feel that I needed to order something appropriate, so made sure to have gravy all over my chicken cutlet and roast pork.
The really nice looking duck breasts were calling out to me at Nijiya and I just couldn't resist buying them. This lead to something of a problem. The Missus doesn't believe that duck should ever be made without five spice….ever. In fact, until we got married, the Missus actually thought that duck naturally tasted that way! He-he-he…..five spice. While driving home I got the idea of doing the standard pan fry technique that I've used many times. I'd season the duck with salt, pepper, and a decent amount of the anise heavy, somewhat potent five spice we have from Qingdao. I decided to go with a glaze that is somewhat similar to what I make for Char Siu Lamb Chops and Chicken. The problem being, that was more of a marinade and glaze using sugar. I didn't want the texture of sugar, but wanted that strong Hoisin flavor. So I substituted mirin for the sugar, placed it over heat to burn off the alcohol flavor and added Kecap Manis, Honey, Hoisin, grated garlic, soy sauce, five spice, and ginger juice, reducing the glaze by about a fourth.
I cooked off the duck in the usual manner to render off the excess fat and crisp up the skin. At the end, I brushed on the glaze. Of course I spooned extra sauce on it….you can't have too much of it!
I served it with Purple Cabbage Slaw with Sesame Dressing and a namul like blanched watercress with a dressing made from rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, ground chili, soy sauce and water.
The Missus was taking a nap while I put this together…….
I did make an adjustment for the Missus' duck. The meat was pretty lean and much of the fat had rendered off….thus, it had a texture close to that of, say, venison. When I put together Her plate, I made thinner cuts on more of a bias. The Missus really doubted that I could make duck breast into something She'd enjoy…..but one whiff and one bite changed Her mind. And so things ended with the ultimate back-handed compliment; "it's much better than I thought you could do!" heh…..
I'm thinking that we'll be eating a bit more duck breast round these parts……
As darkness settles in on our street…….
And all the Christmas lights come on in the neighborhood……..
After a fairly hectic couple of days in Cappadocia we caught our flight back to Istanbul. We'd be staying one night then heading onward to Athens and Crete. By this time we had the metro and tram system pretty much down pat and made it to Sulthanmet Park and got out and made our way to the Hotel Djem, which is located across the park and the Hippodrome on the opposite side from our previous hotel. We enjoyed this hotel so much that we decided to make it our base for the rest of our time in Istanbul. Walking out into the street, you can see the back of the Blue Mosque rising into the air….there's something so exotic and exciting about Istanbul.
When we arrived the first thing the manager did was offer us tea while he checked on our reservation. The moment he found our reservation he told us to have some breakfast….and typical of Turkey, it was quite a spread.
There was a little guy who worked the breakfast buffet who was constantly in motion….he seemed to always be on a mission of sorts. Watching him work kept us entertained during our breakfasts.
We loved the gentleman who managed the place…when he found out we'd be leaving early the next morning, before breakfast service, he asked, well more like told us that we'd need something to eat…so they would have something ready for us if we wanted. We told him yogurt and some fruit would be perfectly fine….you gotta love Turkey!
While the Missus was freshening up, I asked the young man about cruises on the Bosphorus…….and really appreciated his honest advice. "You just arrived today and are perhaps a bit tired. Personally, I would just take one of the more inexpensive two hour cruises, the all day ones are a bit long……and after a while, all the buildings will start looking the same. You will stop enjoying it." We took his advice…… He would be our best source during our stays in Istanbul.
We caught the tram down to Eminonu as it started to drizzle and looked over a couple of the cruises near the Galata Bridge which I posted on before.
As we boarded it started raining a bit harder…..it was also fairly cold. The chestnut dude was doing great business though!
Here's what the regular ferryboats look like.
It turned out that two hours was just about the right amount of time for us. Here are some of the sights.
The gentleman at the hotel was right….by the time we hit Rumeli Hisari we had peaked and had our fill……though the cruise really highlighted how little we saw of Istanbul during our trip.
There was one thing that kept us form getting bored though….it was this lovely couple…..
Both were middle-aged. Neither sported wedding rings. The gentleman sported a very serious and conservative suit. The woman wore…well, I mostly remember her for the pointy tipped shoes like we saw in the souvenir shops. Both acted like teenagers in love. As the woman walked to the back of the cabin the gentleman trailed her filming her every move. In fact, he filmed just about every move she took. Once, I thought she had her fill and walked out of the cabin….but no, she was just stepping outside so she could do poses right out the window…..yep, you guessed it, just so the guy could film it! It almost seemed like something out of a comedy. It kept our attention for most of the return trip……it was sweet, cute, hilarious, and just plain bizarre all at the same time.
All along the area around the Galata Bridge are boats selling Balik Ekmek, the famous fish sandwich.
The boats have grills installed on them which already gets your attention, but many have eye-catching…well, almost gaudy design and ornamentation. Some of the hawkers even dress up in what I can only guess is Ottoman style garb…all the while yelling out "BAAaaaa-Liiiik". There's an area where several of the boats gather that have a fairly nice looking dining area set-up.
I walked on over and really didn't like the smell of the fish so I passed.
However, as we got off our boat, I noticed this little boat doing some serious business.
So I decided to try one….you can't beat the price, 2.5 TRY, about $1.25! This being Turkey, the sandwich had quite a bit of bread.
I made a mistake when I first got my sandwich; I had a taste of just the fish, undoubtedly mackerel,which tasted just plain fishy and off. Ick. However, when nestled in the bread, the pungency of the onions helped to cut the fishiness and oil. It tasted much better, but I didn't enjoy the aftertaste…it was not among my favorites from this trip. In fact, I'd take "fish curd" and even "fish poo" (fish preserved in it's own intestinal scrapings) that I had in Laos over this any day of the week.
As we walked to the underground crosswalk I saw the infamous mussel vendor. But after my Balik Ekmek I decided to pass…..
Whenever you're near the Galata Bridge, you can't help but notice the wonderful looking mosque across the street, next to the Spice Market.
The name of the mosque is Yeni Camii, "New Mosque", though it ain't that new being built in the 17th century.
In fact, the Spice Market was built as part of the mosque complex to create revenue for the mosque.
We had heard that the Mosque is quite beautiful and though we passed by several times it was suaully around one of the calls to prayer. We wanted to be respectful and not intrude…so perhaps next time.
There are women selling bird seed to feed the thousands of pigeons that flock around the mosque.
On one afternoon, we saw these men performing Wudu the sacred wash before prayers.
We walked back to our warm and dry room at the Hotel Djem, in need of a shower…..
**** This location of Carnitas' Snack Shack has closed
I first heard about this place from FOY (Friend of Yoso) Candice, who mentioned that Hans Cavin was opening a pork-centric farm to table shop in the spot that used to house Vo's at the end of the strip of University I call the "dead zone"….. Now I'm not really a chef groupie, as a whole I really don't follow much of who's cooking where and think that folks are sometimes more interested in the personality than what they're consuming, though who's cooking what sometimes catches my attention. Chef Cavin used to head up the kitchen at Kensington Grill, where the Missus and I had some good meals in the past. Combined with a pork theme (the shop is named after Carvin's pet pig…Carnitas) and a very casual easy to handle menu, how could I not want to check the place out?
I do love what they've done with the al fresco eating space in back of the place; which I found warm (literally so with the heaters on) and inviting.
It looks like a nice neighborhood place for sucking down some saturated fat, especially once the weather heads toward spring and summer.
The menu changes from time to time, though I'm thinking that some of the core dishes will probably be the same. Prices are on the low end for farm-to-table joints, so meat-huggers will love this place. And there was even a vegetarian offering as well.
Of course I could not resist the Pork Belly ($7):
It was a nice slab of belly with a frisee-apple salad as a counter-point. The pork had a nice crust and though it was a tad more chewy than I prefer, it was still nicely done. The glaze, which I didn't find very spicy, has a fruity component which is teeth rattling sweet eaten solo, but actually complemented the pork nicely. The frisee and apple I found too tannic and puckery for my taste. I realize that one would need something to cut the sweet-richness but it was just too much, sending me on this rather unpleasant rollercoater ride……
Having had it a couple of times North of the border, I love poutine. Here ($7) it is seasoned fries topped with pulled pork, a Vermont Cheddar gravy, crowned with a really, really, delicious julienne of bacon.
For me, this was a case of the parts being much more tasty than the sum. The pulled pork itself was very tender with a mild smoke flavor that is completely overwhelmed by the cheese in the sauce…which had attained a glue like texture by the time it hit the table. The fries were nice, but the seasoning just added more interference to the dish and combined with the cheese in the gravy made this pretty salty as a whole. Having bacon just made this a bit too over the top for me…..
I will say that the dishes didn't make me feel like I needed a shower or anything, so that's a good thing. The portions aren't humongous, though that pork belly was more than enough for me.
The woman manning the front counter, whom I believe is Sara, Carvin's partner in the shack, was a joy. I would suggest checking them out, though you may want to go when they open as the place seems to fill up quickly.
Carnitas' Snack Shack 2632 University Avenue San Diego, CA 92104
