mmm-yoso!!!

Eddels - Who you calling Puto???

*** Eddels has closed and is now Chibugan.

With a name like Eddels Deli, you'd think perhaps a European Deli....bakery.....hmmm... And that   name does look out of place on the sign for Vinh Hung Super Market on Mira Mesa. Though if you've taken the opportunity to check out Eddels, you'd know that it's a Filipino turo-turo (point-point, steam table fast food) and dessert joint.

Oh yes, In fact, you don't have to walk through Vinh Hung Market to get to Eddels....you just follow the sign:

Yes, that little sign.

You'll enter the little turo-turo joint and your senses may be overwhelmed by the various wonderful fragrances wafting through the air. The signage says that Eddels specializes in Cebuano Cuisine, food from the island of Cebu. And though I've had some of the specialties like Tinola, I'm far from an expert on regional Filipino Cuisine.

The fairly dark, interior of Eddels has that slightly organized, but disorganized, look that many turo-turo joints like Point-Point Joint have, the ubiquitous television running FTV soap operas, the Pepsi clock, the large map of the Philippines, next to a hanging planter with faux plants.....

To say that the prices at Eddels are reasonable would be an understatement. 1 item and a starch is $3.99, 2 items and a starch, is $4.99, and looks something like this:

First off, let me just say that I like the Pancit Bihon at Eddels. I think they use a good amount of broth or stock to flavor the pancit...even the Missus thought it was pretty good. Texture was decent, not mushy.

On this day I had some Paksiw na Baboy. Paksiw, if I recall correctly is a way of cooking that utilizes vinegar-sugar-soy, and usually uses leftover pork or lechon...or even pata. This version had nice sweetness, if a bit short in in the flavor of vinegar. And though the pork was a tad on the tough side, I enjoyed it.

Of course, once I saw the Sisig, I had to have that as well:

The Sisig was very moist, and not oily. There was much more "stuff" like red bell peppers, a few chili peppers, than I'm used too. And though Cebuan cuisine is known for the use of sili (Chili Pepper) I didn't find this to spicy at all. It was not bad, not great...too little vinegar and spices, but not bad. This version of Sisig, as is typical in San Diego uses left over Lechon....it just struck me, I ate two dishes of leftovers! It was very good leftovers though!

I had been told that Eddels was also known for their Puto...no NOT that kind of Puto....this kind of Puto:

Basically a rice cake, in this case steamed in a banana leaf. The Missus really enjoyed it, I didn't get a shot.....in short She told me, the "flavor of the banana leaf, and the fact that it isn't too sweet, and very moist makes this."

There's another version, that is caramelized, available as well. Both are $1.99:

The people at work enjoyed this version, but the Missus prefers the steamed-only version. Regardless, I've been told, this really good Puto!

On another visit this is what I decided to get:

To bad the Lechon Kawali had all the life sucked out of it by the heat lamps. It was more like dry, flavorless chicharron.

On this visit the really nice lady who appears to run the place started handing me samples. Noticing my non-Filipino-ness, She told me, "You know, I make the best BBQ" while handing me a piece of BBQ pork on a toothpick. And it was indeed pretty good...so I had some of that as well.

A bit on the sweetish side, and maybe too chewy, but overall not bad.

In case you aren't totally fried on the food at Eddels....here's BBQ Chicken and Pork Adobo:

The pieces of pork in the adobo was cut too big, making it very dry, and the meat flavorless. I also enjoy a bit of black pepper flavor in my adobo which this lacked.

The BBQ Chicken was okay, and bit too tough and dry this time. I enjoyed the nicely flavored charred bits though.

I wish I had brought my camera along on a subsequent visit...I was starving, and had a wonderful Kanding Caldereta(goat stew). I'll bring my camera next time...and hopefully they'll have that caldereta.

The Lady who runs Eddels is very warm, always smiling and nice. The Gentleman who works there is a bit of a grump, but is okay. The prices are very reasonable for the area(Mira Mesa) and portion size. For less than the price of a bowl of Pho at most places in the area...you can have 2 meals.

Eddels Deli
10550 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

(858) 527-0072

Hours to the right: 

Tacos El Compita

*** El Compita is gone....to where who knows.....

I'll let you in on a little secret right now. If I'm deeply engrossed or otherwise distracted....perhaps concentrating on the ratio of soup to meat in a Xiao Long Bao, or some other similar task,  there's a way to get my complete, and undivided attention.....you simply whisper "Barbacoa de Borrego", "Birria de Chivo", or maybe "Cabeza" into my oreja, and you will have an attent, straight backed, wide eyed, slobbering, taco lover on your hands. Or you could simply wave a banner....perhaps like this one, in front of my face:

My eyes were instantly glued to this sign.....affixed.....in fact, I'd even say that my head rotated a complete 360 degrees as I drove past, a la the Exorcist. At that moment I knew...that I must, no needed, to check this place out. I had driven by the corner of 25th and Imperial dozens of times, but never noticed this taco truck. Probably because it is covered with a tarp when not in service.

I parked on a side street, and walked toward the taco truck. As I entered the parking lot, I saw the 6 tough looking gentleman sitting at the portable tables set-up in front of the truck stand up, all eyes were fixed on me......I noticed that none of them were eating, which made me a tad uncomfortable. The first thought that crossed my mind was "uh-oh, this must be a front for some illicit business." One of the Guys starting walking up to me, and I quickly said "you have Barbacoa????" The Guy stopped in his tracks, stared at me suspiciously, tilted his head, and said, "Si, goooood Barbacoa!" He turned and walked into the doorway into one of the strip mall's "offices". I could hear a flurry of Spanish, and soon enough a lady walked out, and started talking to me....and I couldn't understand a darn thing, She didn't speak English...... But once it got to food, I had no problems, "Dos Barbacoa.......Cabeza, Lengua." She walked into the taco truck, opened a container of masa, and proceeded to make tortillas with the skill of an Itamae making Nigiri sushi.

So here they are......2 Barbacoa de Borrego, 1 Cabeza, and 1 Lengua taco - each cost a mere $1.25! Four tacos - 5 bucks.

First off, these were the best tortillas I've had in a while, great texture, great flavor. The cabeza had a nice beefiness to it, but was a bit on the dry side. The Lengua was a bit too greasy for me, but had decent beef flavor, and some gelatinous goodness. The Barbacoa de Borrego was nice, very moist, mildy "wild"....great roasted flavor. The one thing that the meat lacked was salt, but with the addition of one of the salsas it was very good.

Four different salsas, and the usual garnishes are provided on what looks like a retired taco cart. The only problem I had was that the onions look to be a bit on the "sour" side. Still, these tacos were very good, and well worth the price.

I had visited on a week day during the Christmas long weekend. On a recent weekend, I decided to head on down to El Compita. On this day, the woman was working on the "cart", and the Taco Truck was empty.

As I waited, I could see the various trays in the steam table being opened, and the wonderful aroma of the various roasted meats hit me, which got my salivary glands going.

On this day I ordered 2 Barbacoa, 2 Birria de Chivo, and 1 Adobada(marinated pork):

I saved one Barbacoa, and one Birria for the Missus, and consumed the other 3. I found the Adobada to be a bit too oily for me, and the flavor was surpisingly mild. The meat was very tender and moist.

The Birria de Chivo was nice and gamey, but lacked the spicy bite that I've had with other versions. As with all the other meats, it was very moist and tender.

The Barbacoa on this occasion was even better than my previous visit, rich, moist, tender...with a nice dollop of salsa, some onions and cilantro...things don't get much better than this. In fact, though the tortillas were not as good this time around, I'd say all the meats were much more succulent. Looks like weekends are the way to go. And I'll be sure to be back soon.

Overall, it's hard to feel ripped off when you pay $1.25 for tacos. And these are much better than those that start with the word 'Del' or end in 'Bell'. Light years better.......in fact, it is of a completely different universe.

Tacos El Compita
2586 Imperial Avenue
San Diego, CA 92102

Monterey: Cafe Fina on Fisherman's Wharf

Welcome to mmm-yoso!!!, Kirk's wonderful food blog, featuring the culinary adventures of Kirk and his friends. Today he is letting ed (from Yuma) post about a meal he had on Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey last summer.

Perhaps some regular reader mmm-yoso!!! may recall that I claimed to have gone to two different tourist oriented, Fisherman's Wharf area restaurants on my last visit to Monterey. Although I was able to post about The Sandbar and Grill last summer, before I could describe my second touristy meal for my friends at this blog,  my real job interfered, leaving you all (I am sure, of course) eagerly awaiting the posting about the other Fisherman's Wharf restaurant that I visited. Luckily, I have tasting notes and pictures because at my age the memory ain't what it used to be.

After asking all of my gourmet/gourmand/foodie friends in the Monterey area about which wharf restaurant they would eat at, assuming that they were forced to eat at one, the consensus pick was Cafe Fina, owned by Dominic Mercurio, one of the men who had originally founded Dominico's, the Wharf's most famous restaurant (though according to my friends, no longer the best restaurant there). The two-story restaurant is rather narrow and small by Wharf standards and is located western/northern (left) side of the Wharf not far from the entrance to the dock. Except for the couple of hours before sunset (when we were there), some tables at the back of the restaurant would have a nice view of Monterey Bay and hundreds of boats.

The first thing to arrive at our table - well, after the cheerful young server brought us our menus - was a loaf of French bread accompanied by whipped herb butter:

At first taste, I began to regret my decision to play tourist, as the soft bread was closer to supermarket French bread than to the wonderfully rustic, European-style breads that are regularly available in the Monterey area. While the whipped herb butter was flavorful and matched well with the softness of the bread, I did not think that this was an auspicious beginning to the meal.

The wine list also seemed somewhat limited (although there was a page of very expensive choices in case I had won the lottery recently), but I did select a bottle of Sicilian white wine, Regaleali Bianco, which turned out to be an excellent white wine, particularly considering that it was less than $30 on the wine list:

The next thing to show up at our table was the complimentary appetizer; Steve and Helen are slightly acquainted with Mr. Mercurio, so we felt special to get this freebie. Little did we know at that time, that anyone who visits the Cafe Fina website may print themselves a coupon for a complimentary appetizer. This particular evening, the appetizer was composed of two parts. The first were fresh Monterey Bay sardines grilled over a wood fire:

These fish were something new for me; every sardine I had ever eaten up to this time had come out of a can. I wasn't even sure how to eat them though I quickly learned that the bones were too substantial and crunchy to eat along with the flesh. I am just glad I didn't start at the head end. However, by simply placing a fork alongside the spine I was able to pull off a complete sardine fillet. These fishies were solid, mildly but distinctively fish flavored, slightly smoky, and very basic in taste. I can imagine old fishermen eating these on some Mediterranean beach a hundred years ago. A truly primal flavor.

Alongside the small whole fish, sat several discs of eggplant, each one composed of roasted eggplant flesh inside of a concave holder of eggplant skin:

Again, this item tasted traditional and basic. Although I found the mild flavor of the eggplant (mostly tasting of olive oil) a bit lacking for seasoning, Helen happily scarfed up most of this half of the appetizer.

We had decided on sharing a Caesar salad, and all of us were very happy with this version of the traditional preparation. So happy, in fact, that the salad was half eaten before I remembered to photograph it (oops):

In contrast with the second-rate salad from the Sandbar and Grill, this version is what I expect in a Caesar salad in a restaurant. The flavors of garlic, Parmesan cheese, and anchovy came through the creamy dressing. A whole anchovy fillet that lay across the top of the salad quickly found its way into my mouth. Yum.

Even better was the clam chowder that showed up at about the same time - one of the best clam chowders that I have had in years:

This chowder met all of my requirements. The broth was neither pasty nor gelatinous; instead, it was creamy with hints of salt pork and intense clam flavor and with a decided herbal undertone. Pieces of potato, small chunks of carrot, and a large quantity of clams added to my delight. Of course, you need to take my word on this as all clam chowders look pretty much the same in photos.  Then, trying to document how clammy  and good this chowder was led me to take perhaps the worst photograph of my entire life (and given my limited photographic skills, that is indeed saying something):

As you can see, this picture is uniquely awful. While I was trying to show how large some of the discs of clam meat were, all I succeeded in showing was that someone should never take a close-up photo of a soup-spoon sized pale colored clam slice, covered in cream colored broth, posed over a white bowl of light-colored soup. The fact that, in addition, my shaky hands blurred the photo probably neither added to nor detracted from the results.

After this photographic debacle, it is nice to turn my focus and my memory to our main courses. Steve had opted for one of the evening's specials, halibut cheeks in a brandy and cream sauce: 

The firm, somewhat stringy halibut cheeks were nicely accented by the lightly flavored sauce. I thought my entree, halibut fillet in a marsala sauce with shallots was even more successful:

This fillet was wonderfully tender, moist, and not overcooked, and the flesh broke apart at the touch of a fork. The marsala sauce, while more assertive than the brandy sauce, still did not overwhelm the fish. Both of our entrees were accented with dollops of dark caviar and bits of chopped roasted red pepper and were accompanied by a savory mound of homemade orzo pasta (toothsome if not aggresively al dente) and by zucchini strips sauteed in olive oil with a touch of marinara. Both Steve and I were very pleased with the mains and the side dishes.

Helen had ordered her old favorite, called here Pasta Fina: 

This traditional Californian combination of small shrimp and chopped fresh Roma tomatoes,  California olives, and green onion, served on top of fresh homemade linguine, was the best version of this dish I have ever tasted. In particular, the flavors of the various ingredients were brought together by the light seafoody sauce full of garlicky shallot flavor. This picture does not properly show how gigantic this serving was. Helen was also amazed by the quantity of toppings on the noodles. This was not a huge pile of pasta lightly covered with toppings, but instead, the portion of shrimp, in particular, was huge. She took home most of her entree and happily reheated it as an early dinner the next night.

Overall, we agreed that this was a good meal. Unfortunately, I have lost the receipt, so I don't have a specific idea of what each item cost (though the web site gives entree prices at around $20), but we felt that we had received good value, considering that Cafe Fina is a Fisherman's Wharf restaurant. In addition, we were told (a number of times by our friendly waitperson) that the restaurant grows most of its own vegetables organically on its own farm. Similarly, all the pasta served in the restaurant is homemade. While Cafe Fina is certainly a tourist oriented restaurant that sticks to the basic Mediterranean/Italian flavors common to most old-school Monterey restaurants, the three of us agree that the dishes that we had had were generally tasty and interesting. Heck, I would happily go back there and play tourist again.

Cafe Fina, 47 Fisherman's Wharf #1, Monterey CA, 1-800-THE-FINA (843-3462).

Da Kine's - Liberty Station

**** This location of Da Kine's has closed

Recently, whenever I need to make a trip to Trader Joe's, I've headed down to the new store located at Liberty Station, the former Naval Training Center in Point Loma. It never seems too crowded(except on Sundays when Church services next door let out), and there always seems to be abundant parking. So, it's only natural that I'd visit the new location of Da Kine's located in Liberty Station. Liberty Station itself is very large, and I've noticed that there is a severe lack of signs. Due to the barracks-like nature of the place, you may have some problems finding your destination. For instance, if I didn't tell you where I was headed, what would you make of this.......

The actual sign for Da Kine's is pretty small:

So don't blink...you might miss the place.

On the day of my first visit, I wasn't quite ready for a full on plate lunch. And an item on the menu, the Linguica Burger fascinated me. In Hawaii, we call Linguica "Portuguese Sausage", an island staple that is so incorporated in Island Cuisine that McDonald's serves it! In fact, there are several brands of Portuguese Sausage that "compete" for the Hawaii market share. In case you're wondering, The Tasty Island did a Portuguese Sausage Comparison, as did San Diego's own Barefoot Plumies.

Anyway, the Linguica Burger($5.00), comes with fries:

While waiting for my burger, I noticed that everyone else was getting their food before me. One of the women working, came to me and told me, that the Linguica Burger takes a bit longer than other burgers because, "it is made fresh." Perfectly fine with me, I'll take a hand made, cooked to order burger over something preformed any day of the week. The burger arrived steaming hot. I noticed the odd shape of the burger, and the flavor hinted at Portuguese sausage, a much leaner, and not as spicy version of Linguica. To me it headed more in the direction of chorizo.....the meat was moist, and overall was fine for 5 bucks. The fries were 100% processed, and just an after-thought.

The only complaint was that one edge of the burger was charred, and tasted that way.

About a week later, I found myself doing a Trader Joe's run again, and this time I was in the mood for a plate lunch. To try and check out as much as I could, I ordered the "Wop Yo Jaws"(I'm still kinda uncomfortable saying that...) which is the 3 item mixed plate($8.75):

  The first thing I noticed was that the portion size, and "look" of the plate lunch was more toward the late Pacific Beach location, than the now also defunct, Mira Mesa location. The Katsu, was the signature Da Kine's Katsu, thin sliced chicken, creating a larger breading to meat ratio. The katsu was cooked to crisp perfection.

I don't know why I ordered Kalua Pork and cabbage....I'm usually disappointed, but in this case, it wasn't too bad. There was a good amount of pork(much of it was under the katsu), it was moist, mild smokiness, perhaps a bit light on "porky sweetness", but not overly salted. I was pleasantly surprised. Also, there wasn't much cabbage in this.

The Macaroni salad was the best that I've had at  Da Kine's, the mac salad actually had a decent amount of mayo and flavor for a change. If you look at the photo to the right, you'll notice what I didn't enjoy. The teriyaki chicken was very dry, like it had been sitting for a very long time, and hardly had any marinated flavor. I almost broke my knife trying to cut it. The rice was improperly made, and I encountered several hard, indigestible grains. This lunch had started well, but ended badly.....

To me, if you can't make rice, you have no business serving plate lunches. This had to be a fluke...even though I always thought that Da' Kine's PB location always had rice on the mushy side, this was really bad. So just to be sure, I recently had another plate lunch....

This is "Da Buggah".....sheesh(Two item mixed plate - $8):

The rice was fine, so the last visit must have been a fluke, but the macaroni salad was gladly, not a fluke. The Teriyaki Beef was the less sweet, more soy in flavor "local style", and in spite of being low grade meat with lots of connective tissue, it was more tender than it looked. The teriyaki chicken was better than the last time, but not much, this time it was more tender and moist. Though it was hotter than the last time, I still think that it is under marinated, and the grilling process does not lend enough flavor to the chicken. Even the extra sauce provided doesn't do much for the chicken.

I like the decor at this location of Da Kine's.....it seems to be a combo of warm woods and sports bar. There's also a simple outdoor eating area which will be pretty nice when the weather gets warmer, it already seems to be a favorite of the "lunchtime kids". One last thing, there's a Woman who works here, who is a bit older than the others, who is very nice, always checking to make sure everyone gets what they need.

After overhearing some conversations, I got the impression that Nelson Ishii doesn't have much to do with this location....and reading this on Da Kine's website, perhaps "semi-retired?" I wouldn't blame Him, Nelson is considered by many as the "Plate Lunch Pioneer" in San Diego.

Da Kine's Plate Lunches
2400 Historic Decatur Rd
San Diego, CA 92106

Check out the Doggie Parking Station at Trader Joe's:

A Tale of Two Karaages

Are you a collector? Or maybe a pack rat? I was looking at my recipes folder the other day and realized that, gasp....I'm a Chicken Karaage recipe pack rat. I've got at least a dozen different recipes for Chicken Karaage, Japanese Fried Chicken. I don't know how I got these recipes...god knows I'm not a "collector".......Though I come from a long line of pack rats, I consciously try not to be one. I can understand that living on an "island" with the possibility of shortages and strikes made having a back stock of necessities a requirement way back when....but sometimes it seemed like my Mom never threw anything away. I remember cleaning up after my Mom passed away back in the mid-nineties, and being amazed at the stuff she kept; jars of pennies, buttons("you never know you might need one "), a drawer full of pens - most not working(I never knew Tanoue's Saimin had pens), and even more touching, every single card; Birthday, Mother's Day, you name it, from the construction paper-crayon doodles of a first grader, to the silly one that played, or used to play, some silly tune.  But among all those little things was about the equivalent of 2 cases of toilet paper stacked neatly, filling an entire closet(let's not get into spools of thread, or boxes of Kleenex). You know........just in case. I guess for previous generations, a modicum of hording was the norm.

So I thought I'd relieve that collection of notes and text files, at least by a bit, and post 2 of the Chicken Karaage recipes I have. The first is my standard recipe, the one I normally use, the second is one that I thought was a bit more interesting.....

Here's a photo of the first recipe.....

Looks like 2 recipes, doesn't it? It's actually the same recipe, but just to illustrate how changing one thing can change the entire dish.

This is the second recipe...... 

Looks kinda the same, but a bit different, doesn't it? I don't know where I got this recipe, but the oyster sauce gives the dish a different, albeit maybe a bit odd, umami sweetness, and the lemon juice adds a bit of tart sourness. Mixed with garlic and ginger......the Missus thought the flavor to be "strange". I think it need perhaps a bit more sweetness.......

Chicken Karaage
1 1/2 - 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 1/2" cubes
1 1/2 cup potato starch

The Marinade (1):
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
3 TB Sake
1 TB finely grated ginger
4 cloves garlic finely minced
Togarashi to taste
a dash of Allspice/5 spice

Combine ingredients and marinade chicken for 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from marinade and drain.

Version 1 - Put 1 cup potato starch and 1 tsp baking powder into a pan or large bowl, add the chicken cubes and coat well.

Version 2 - Dust the chicken with potato starch, mix lightly.

Deep fry chicken in 350 degree vegetable oil until cooked and cubes are crisp and golden - drain and serve with lemon wedges.....

Marinade (2):
2 TB grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 tsp soy sauce
2 TB olive oil
4 TB oyster sauce
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 TB mirin
2 tsp sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Combine marinade ingredients well; taste and adjust salt and pepper. Add chicken, mixing by hand and gently massaging sauce into chicken. Let sit about 10 minutes.
Coat chicken in potato starch. Deep fry in oil heated to 350 degrees, until lightly brown.

For an even more crunchy coat, use the double frying method, remove chicken when pieces float, let rest for 1 minute, and return to oil for about 30 seconds.

I hope you enjoyed the recipes. I can now put them away for a while, next to my folders of take-out menus, and my box of POGs..........

Filibertos Mexican Food - Linda Vista

This location of Filibertos (not "that" location) always struck me as the Teal and White Taco Shop looking for an edge:

First off, they have a menu that rivals some of the larger Vietnamese establishments I know of. Than they started the $1(now $1.25) "Mexico City Tacos". And recently, they've put banners up advertising their "Panaderia", specifically fresh bread. I'm trying to figure out whats coming up next!

 

Being a sucker for good tacos, I dropped by on a recent weekend morning. The interior of this location of Filibertos is rather large, but on the dingy side, not necessarily a bad thing for a taco shop.  On one side of the long counter is the bakery case, and on the other the drinks/aguas frescas, and the salsa bar.

I ordered a Suadero(Beef Shoulder), Lengua(beef tongue), and an Al Pastor(marinated pork). Each cost a mere $1.25:

  I don't know if I chose a bad day, or what...the suadero had a decent beef flavor, but was very dry, the lengua was gummy and greasy, and the Al Pastor was under flavored and tough. Even for $1.25 a piece, these weren't very good tacos...heck for a quarter more I could get these right down the street in a few hours.

One thing did get my attention. As I was leaving, I noticed several groups of Hispanic males eating Menudo. I made mental note to return at a future date, which I did. Unfortunately, they were all out of lengua....so since they've been "advertising" their bread, I ordered a Torta....actually, I think I ordered a Carne Asada Torta, but the Gal at the counter told me, that I had ordered a Al Pastor Torta($3.96):

In this case the flavor of Al Pastor was even worse than the last time....just really bland. I was floundering, looking for a "silver lining", and I finally found one....the bread was indeed good, fresh, placed on the griddle and toasted, even the charred edges couldn't spoil the bread. Even the faux liquid butter  flavor couldn't spoil the bread.....I scraped off the contents of the sandwich, and just ate the bread.

For now, I think I'm going to give this location of Filibertos as "rest"...though I'll try to be back for the menudo...maybe.

Filibertos Mexican Food
2399 Ulric Street
San Diego, CA 92111 

Postscript - For those that think you can't get good tacos for a "buck-n-quarter"......I was expecting something more like this - Two Barbacoa de Borrego, one Cabeza, and one lengua Taco, in tortillas made fresh while you wait - total $5.

It can be done.......

Coming up in a future post.

Dublin Square - Breakfast

**** Dublin Square has closed

I wish I could remember the name of the person who told me that Dublin Square, one of several Irish Pubs in the Downtown/Gaslamp area serves Irish Breakfast. So first off, my sincere apologies for not remembering, I went through my old emails trying to find the rec, but couldn't find it. And it was an interesting series of emails, the first making a recommendation, and a week later a follow-up, letting me know that the food and service on the second visit was not up to par, and expressing some reservations about the recommendation. I had to give the emailer credit; She really took Her recommendations seriously!

So a few months ago, I decided to have breakfast at Dublin Square.

As I've noted in previous posts, I enjoy walking around the Gaslamp on weekend mornings. The  contrast between the hectic workday crowds and tourist/nightclub scene is quite drastic. Beyond the lysol, and other "post-nightclub" smells, things are fairly mellow.

I arrived at Dublin Square at about 715am.... I was the first customer(surprise !) on this Sunday morning. The sleepy hostess walked me to a table, where a much too cheerful(for 7am on a Sunday) and smiling Server handed me a menu, and a drink list the size of a good sized book. As much as I tried, even using the "it's noon somewhere in the world" rationalization, I couldn't bring myself to order a drink.

After placing my order, I had a good chance to look over the interior.

Much like The Field one block away, from the panelings and decor, Dublin Square aims for a "genuine Irish Pub" look. At least in the minds of many, what a genuine Irish Pub should look like.

After perusing the menu, it didn't take me very long to figure out what I was going to order........It was going to be the Irish Breakfast($12.95), of course, enough food to last me a whole weekend.

From the eggs to the white and black sausage, this was, beyond any doubt a major cholesterol and fat fest.

So lets see, where to start....well the basic "full breakfast" is basically bacon and eggs. In this case, the eggs, ordered easy over were fine, though I enjoy mine with a bit more "color" around the edges.

The "bacon" was according to the menu Irish Bacon from Ireland:

And this was indeed lean pork loin, much like what we know as "Canadian Bacon" or back bacon. The flavor of this was very mild, and not overly salty, it was quite tough and chewy.

The baked beans were full on canned....it had Heinz written all over it.

  The "Banger" or sausage, was very meaty, and moist, but tasted very much "Jimmy Dean-ish", and was nothing special. I'm a big fan of good Black Pudding, which this was really not. No richness, no nice flavor of herbs and seasonings. It was much better than I thought it would be though.

I'd never had White Pudding before, this one tasted mildly of oatmeal, and was quite "grainy".

The fried bread was crumbly and greasy....funny thing, all of the sausages were not greasy at all, which I thought was rather nice, but that fried bread was a bit too oily for me. I'd preferred soda bread.

The roasted potatoes were okay, nothing special, but I haven't met too many potatoes that I didn't like. In case you were feeling a bit of guilt over the food, some fried tomatoes may help sooth your mind....or maybe the one piece of lettuce garnish?

Since I was the only customer until just before I left, my coffee cup was always filled, and I was checked on several times. In the end, I really couldn't complain at the amount of food for the price(especially for the location). It wasn't quite what I expected....but what did I really expect? I did return home and entered into a very deep hibernation. So the next time you're up to, or need your entire weekend's fat and cholesterol in one meal, you may want to check out the Irish Breakfast at Dublin Square.....I think it is enough for two.

Dublin Square Irish Pub & Restaurant
554 4th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101

Serving Breakfast M-F: 7am - 2pm 
    Sat-Sun 7am - 3pm

Ozoni (That only kinda sucks....)

"You're not going to make me eat ozoni again, are you....'cause your ozoni sucks..."

So sayeth the Missus, when I told Her of my plans for New Years breakfast. And I wouldn't blame Her for feeling that way, my previous attempts at Ozoni did indeed "suck". Though I did have ozoni every New Years breakfast growing up, it was one of those things that I never really tried making until I moved to the mainland. My previous attempts at what I thought my Mom made were pathetic, and after searching out recipes, became even more confused and pathetic over the years. For it seems, there as many different ways for making ozoni as there are stars in the heaven....chicken stock, dashi, ginger, no chicken stock, no dashi, no ginger, bamboo shoots, kamaboko, shoyu(soy sauce), no bamboo shoots, no kamaboko, no shoyu....the only common thread is mochi! So after being spun around, and confused, I stopped making it all together. Until I received an email from a FOY(friend of yoso), AlanN who inquired as to why I've never posted on Ozoni...it being such an important New Year's dish....to which I had to reply, tail between my legs, "because, ahem, my Ozoni sucks...."

At which time I became obsessed with making ozoni "that only kinda sucks." Driving my 2 existing braincells into overdrive, I worked trying to remember the flavors of Mom's. The only thing I really remembered was chicken broth, well at least I thought it was chicken broth.....but I also remembered the broth being very clear.....which the canned stuff is surely not. So a few days before New Years, I made a nice clear chicken stock from some carcasses I had in the freezer.....and I was off. While putting everything together, it hit me...this wasn't one of those Chicken stock OR dashi versions....it was a chicken stock AND dashi version. Which is what I made. When the Missus tasted the Ozoni She told me, "not bad, this only kinda sucks......." After so many really terrible versions, I'll take what I can get!

Ozoni(That only kinda sucks...)

8 Cups Clear Chicken Stock
1 Tsp Kosher Salt
1 Tsp Soy Sauce
1 Tsp Dashi no Moto
6 Mochi
Slices of Kamaboko (fish cake)
Mizuna, Shungiku, or Horenso(spinach)
Thinly Sliced Daikon and Carrots (optional)

1-Combine first 3 ingredients and bring to a boil, remove from heat, add dashi no moto, combine well, and strain.If you really want to be like my Mom strain through a coffee filter - I didn't do this.
2-Bring broth back to a simmer and add daikon and carrots(do not boil).
3-Broil Mochi.
4-Place mochi in a bowl, and poke holes into mochi to allow for saturation.
5-Add kamaboko, and greens to bowl, and pour soup over ingredients.

This past New Years eve was a bit different for us, for the first time in eons, we actually went to a party. And after stuffing ourselves silly, we decided to keep our New Years days meal, "light(er)".

So for once, nothing fried, and no rice on New Years...that's a first!

Soup Weather! A revisit to Palomino's-yes, soup but not pho.

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog.  The bloggers are friends.  The bloggings vary and are mildly interesting, informative and sometimes bizarre.  Today, its Cathy, with her blogger-ish perspective of  mildly interesting food.

Hi again. We are having lots of rain storms this weekend.  If you are daring to venture out of the house and driving about and maybe want soup, but *not* pho...well, there are options, you know. Here are a few choices. Really. If you are going to any taco shop, you may have noticed (and ignored) the "soup" part of the menu. This weekend (and any time, actually) would be the perfect time to try some.

You may recall I did a post about non-pho soup abou this time last year, but that restaurant (Los Michoacaños) is in Santee and so this time I am doing a more central location, and showing more of the variety Palominos has to offer, just on the "Soups" (or "Caldos") side of the menu.

There are 11 caldos listed on the menu on the wall above the cash register and I will only show you five, however know the "basics" of pozole and menudo have been extensively enjoyed by The Mister and myself, are plentiful and really good.

These first two photographs are of Caldo Talapeño ($5.99)..Yes, chicken soup...but there are three "chicken soup" choices listed on the menu board-the bottom one that is simply called "chicken soup" for $5.99 is just the "American" menu listing of Caldo de Pollo-the third soup I will be telling you about-below.

This soup was made with all chicken breast meat and had hominy as the starch.

As you can see, a LOT of chicken breast meat.  There was no "add in" plate to top this soup.  There was a chipotle pepper in it and that added enough spice. The usual vegetables- carrot, and celery as well as zucchini are in large chunks and barely cooked (i.e, not mushy).  Also, there were a smattering of garbanzo beans, same size as the hominy at the bottom of the bowl. All in all, a good, home made chicken soup stock base topped with sliced fresh avocado.

The Caldo de Camaron(Shrimp Soup)($8.50) is an absolute delight!  There are more than 15 of these large, juicy plump, flavorful shrimp in the bowl and the broth, tomato based, was a deeply rich and flavorful seafood stock and quite filling. The vegetables in the soup were carrots and celery. A simple and wonderful meal.

This side plate of cilantro, onions, limes, pepper and dried herbs(a mix or marjoram, thyme and some oregano) as well as a choice of corn or flour tortillas accompanied this soup.  You can mix in at the start, or after you are eating.  I usually enjoy the initial soup "plain" and then do add ins, to give myself a whole new soup later in the meal.

This is the Caldo de Pollo ($5.99), yes, a different, more basic chicken soup which comes with the sides plate, above, as well as the tortillas and the cup of rice as the starch, although, as you can see, there are corn, carrot, zucchini and potatoes in the soup...as well as a *lot* of  dark, flavorful thigh meat.  I really kind of was hoping this soup would have had more broth, but am not complaining.  It is the same base stock as the first chicken soup (caldo de talapeño) pictured above.

Caldo de Res (Beef Soup) ($6.25) By far, the deepest, richest broth of those shown here.  Plenty of non-fatty stew beef, potatoes, carrots, zucchini, corn and cabbage, served with tortillas and rice. This broth will satisfy you even more than the chicken broth if you are losing your taste buds due to a cold or flu. There also was almost too much meat in the bowl. Again, not complaining.

I'll just end this post with the traditional Albondigas Soup ($5.99). At least five of these large meatballs, made with rice, celery and onion as well as the dry spice mix(again, mostly oregano) and in the mix, corn, potato, zucchini, cabbage and carrots. The broth of the albondigas is the same as the pozole broth(not pictred and usually what I have for breakfast when I come here)...kind of what I call "hollow" and absolutely the only broths here that I feel I have to add in those side items to give it a deeper flavor- the lime automatically enriches the flavor and the onions, cilantro and pepper flakes give the depth needed, especially on cold, wet days such as are in our midst right now.

To summarize: there are five main broths for ten soups: chicken, beef, seafood, the pozole/albondigas broth and the menudo. All are used for homemade, flavorful and filling soups. So, don't be afraid to enjoy the soup at any of your local taco shops - not at all your everyday "Taco Shop" meal. If you are on Clairmont Mesa near the Registrar of Voters office, stop in at Palominos.  Parking is tight at lunchtime, but not in the morning or after 3 p.m.

Palomino's #2 9353 Clairmont Mesa Blvd, suite I San Diego 92123 (858) 292-8470 Mon-Fri 6:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m., Sat 6-9, Sun 6-8

Soltan Banoo

**** Soltan Banoo has closed

Every few months, I'm able to break away, and have a nice lunch with the Missus. On most occasions, I'm still in a bit of a rush, so lunch will usually consist of soup from Mien Trung, or something similar. Still, there are those days....when the planets seemed aligned, which are too few and far between for my tastes, where the Missus and I are able to have a more leisurely meal. Over the last 6 months, we had the pleasure of having lunch at Soltan Banoo twice. Located on Park Avenue, Soltan Banoo, is a small, cozy, colorful restaurant which seems to embrace you as you enter.

In a former incarnation, Soltan Banoo was the Cafe Caspian, the tiny hole-in-the wall across the street next to El Zarape. Mahin, the warm and welcoming Owner of Soltan Banoo, has always been on hand when we've had our meals there, and is quick to explain the various dishes on the menu. You can tell that there is a great deal of pride in the food that Soltan Banoo serves.

The menu is small but diverse, with an interesting sampling of dishes, ranging from the usual(hummus) to more fusion fare(Salmon and tofu dishes). But to us, Soltan Banoo excels in the various stews on the menu. Like the Friday lunch special, Gourmeh Sabzi(with lamb - lunch $8.95):

This wonderful savory stew of greens, scallions, kidney beans, and preserved lemon, was nicely flavored without being overpowering. The quite generous potion of lamb was very tender. The basmati rice with saffron-rice drizzled on it was cooked to perfection. The stew was not salty, but still full of flavor. We noticed right away that the fare at Soltan Banoo was on the lighter side. The Missus had picked a winner, that fared better than my Koubideh Kabob(lunch - $8.95):

Though this was a good amount of food for the price, especially for lunch, I found the Koubideh, while moist, to be under seasoned, and a bit on the bland side. Not wanting to salt the meat, I ended up hitting it with a good amount of Sumac. The shirazi salad (cucumber-tomato salad), was nice, though again, a bit under salted. The roasted tomato was not ripe, and thus very bland. Overall, this was a pretty large amount of food for lunch.

And that Gourmeh Sabzi was enough to draw us back for another lunch several months later. This time I had my eye on a few other items. I started with a cup of the Ash Anar, Pomegranate Soup ($2.95):

 

The sweet-tangy-sour soup initially shocked my tastebuds, but the more I ate...the more I enjoyed it. It went well with the slices of pita provided. The soup was both hearty and delicate at the same time...very nice, I'd have it again! The Missus's Chinese-based tastebuds also suffered from the same shock, but didn't recover.......

I had the Baghali Polo (stewed lamb with dill-fava bean rice - lunch - $8.95):

How good was it? Well, once the Missus saw my plate, She grabbed the lamb shank, and sucked the meat off it like it was a chicken drumstick....the only point of reference I have is Fred Flintstone...... Did I mention that the Missus loves Fava Beans? It was gone...totally gone....

The Missus had ordered the Zereshk Polo with Lamb Shank($9.95):

The sweet combination of dried cranberries, barberries(aka berberis), orange zest, and carrots proved a bit too much for the Missus. The lamb was very soft and tender, but lost in all the strong sweet-sour flavors. I didn't mind it too much, though I did think that the dish went a bit far over to the sweet side, but that is probably based on my taste preferences.

I've found the fare at Soltan Banoo to be lighter, and less salty than what I've previously experienced. The service was very warm and friendly, though it is not a place for a quick lunch. We adore the Owner, Mahin; on our first visit, she came over and chatted about the food, and knowing we weren't from the neighborhood, asked us if we'd be back....our answer was a definite "yes". When we returned a few weeks later, She greeted us with a warm smile, and said, "you know, everyone says they will come back, but you really returned......" And we will return......when the planets are in alignment again!

Soltan Banoo
4645 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92116