Wednesday Wanderings.......

CrawDaddy's Opens:

They say that imitation is the best form of flattery, so I guess since a second Crawfish Restaurant has opened in the former location of Jamillah Garden, just a block or so away, Crab Hut must be a smashing success.

Unfortunately for me, on the day I visited they were closed. So I'll visit on another day. For those interested here's the posted menu:

The address is:

4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111.

Here's another restaurant that I just noticed during my last visit to Ba Ren.

Not quite sure what to make of it......

Bud's Louisiana Food Shoppe Closes:

Last week, I was in the Little Italy area, and noticed that the sign for Bud's Louisiana Food Shoppe had been covered in tarp. Here's the sign posted in the window:

The good news is they're looking for a new location, so I hope they find one soon. More info by Gil on What We Dig. Here's what's opening up in the spot.

A burger place....next to the Waterfront Bar & Grill?

It's Sanma Season....or at least that's what it seems like. I don't remember the last time I had Sanma Shioyaki (salt grilled Sanma). For those who don't know what Sanma is; it is Pacific Saury, more commonly called Mackerel Pike.

Though I've never developed a taste for the intestines, I love simple salt-grilled Sanma. Good oils, great flavor, the oceany skin..... So your trusty neighborhood sushi place should have, or be able to get Sanma. This one is from Sammy's.

One of these days soon, I'd like to try my hand at this:

I've been seeing raw monkfish liver, otherwise known as Ankimo at a few Japanese Markets, and it seems a pretty easy thing to make.

Still, I would feel really bad if I screwed it up....if you've had bad Ankimo, you'd know what I mean! But, good Ankimo! Sigh...... The Missus calls it a cross between the best salmon pate and crab eggs. Maybe....just maybe....

I hope everyone's having a great week! More restaurants tomorrow!

Comments

[Kathy]

Hey Kirk!
I get somewhat wistful for SoCal everytime I read your blog! I've only moved from Claremont just a few months ago, but already it already feels like years.
P.S.
You're SGV posts are my favorite! :)

[Ed]

Where is that ANKIMO??? I'm here in SD now (yayy!), so I hope one of the Japanese supermarket staples has it now...

[nhbilly]

WoW that's a big piece of liver. I hope you were successful.

[GoBears!]

Bud's closed?! Funny thing is that in that link he mentions he's opened 8 restaurants (usually sold to employees) and I've been to all 3 of the California ones. I hope he's able to open again because I really enjoyed the place.

[yummieyummy]

Hello Kirk,

I'm looking forward for your post on...you know which one I'm talking about. My sister and I went there a few times already. Happy holidays!!!

[clayfu]

i passsed by crawdaddy's a few weeks ago, utterly empty =(

[Kirk]

Hi Kathy - Actually, I'm the one who is really enjoying all your NYC posts!

Hi Ed - Check out Nijiya, in the back where they keep the fish. If not, ask, they will often have it or bring it in.

Hi GB - I hope so too.

Hi YY - Yes, I'll be sure to check it out soon.

Hi Clayfu - Only time will tell....plus that parking lot is horrible.

[Rachel]

Hey Kirk! I hate when a restaurant you know serves good food closes down ... so sad. I had a few do that on me in Sydney recently. One of them even served the cool kimchi with oysters served with the pork belly and lettuce leaf wrap ... its criminal when people don't appreciuate good food enough to support it locally. I would have gone there more often if I lived in the area!

Anyway ... thanks for your other bits and pieces ... I love teriyaki Sanma but have only had it in Singapore.

The monkfish livver looks yummy and I wonder what Babylonian food is like :)

[rob]

Kirk-

Ankimo is pretty simple to make. I use a recipe from the Nobu cookbook. Email me if you are interested and I will send it to you.

I walked to Bud's yesterday for lunch. We a bit taken aback to find that they closed. Bud's was one of my lunch spots. Oh well, ended up going to the Waterfront for a tasty burger and a pint.

[Trent]

I had the grilled saury at Izakaya Sakura last weekend, and it is really good right now if anyone is looking for it. I didn't have the intestines, but what appeared to be the liver was intact and very good.

[Kirk]

Hi Rachel - It is sad isn't it.

Hi Rob - I've got that recipe, among a few others, but thanks for offering. The problem is this...ankimo isn't hard to make...GOOD ankimo is. I've had terrible home made ankimo several times.....come to think of it, I've had terrible ankimo in sushi bars many times as well.

Hi Trent - The intestines and stomach are really bitter.....

[SK]

I tried making my own ankimo last year. It turned out just okay... I get the impression it takes some skill to really get it right. Maybe better to have Sammy Sushi make it for me :P

[Dan]

oh man that's like a huge foie gras!

I saw Iron Chef with chef Michiba cutting the monkfish on a meat hook...man that fish looks terrible like those deep sea anglers. Like a demon head and a wrinkled body. Maybe tastes better than it looks as in a stew.

I hear the flesh tastes mellow like fugu...

[Kirk]

Hi SK - Even Sam makes some lousy batches now and then......I look for a creamy, yet firm texture, and a flavor like salmon pate of the Gods.

Hi Dan - They don't call Monkfish the poor man's lobster for nothin' - the flavor of the flesh is very mild, and when it's good fish, slightly sweet.

[Ed]

Making some steamed ankimo as I type this (thanks for the lead, btw). I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Kirk]

Hi Ed - I'm glad you got what you needed - by all means let me know how it turns out.

[Ed]

It was really good, although there were some smelly blood spots on the surface of the liver. No matter, though, it still tasted like good salmon pate crossed with crab eggs. Since I didn't have any yuzu, I squeezed a little bit of kalamansi and put a drop or two of soy sauce on the liver - that was really tasty!

[Ed]

I've just gotten some maitake (on sale, no less!), so I think I'll make some maitake tempura tomorrow...

[Kirk]

Hi Ed - sounds like you're really enjoying San Diego!!!!

[noromdiam]

I went to Crab Hut tonight for the first time and thought it was a great bargain.

It appears that crawfish is in season, the crawfish had two tiers of pricing: $5.99/lb for frozen crawfish, $8.99/lb for fresh crawfish. We ordered the frozen crawfish and it was fantastic, very tender and full of roe and tomale. We also got blue crab at $11.99/lb, that was less of a bargain. We ordered 1 lb and got two crabs that taste like they've been dead for a while.

We also ordered rice and potatoes to soak up the sauces.

The 7 of us ate 5 lbs of seafood and assorted carbs/calamari + beers. It came to $13/person including tip.

It'll be interesting to see how the crawfish wars of San Diego will turn out. Hopefully customers will be victors in this war.