Sunday Stuffs: San Diego Food Blog Search, Who said you can't get crisp sweet potato fries, and I take direction well.

The San Diego Food Blog Search.

I originally saw a post by Krista, whose blog, londonelicious is required reading for yoso. In that post she mentioned creating a Google Custom Search using various London based food bloggers. In one of those "now why didn't I think of that" moments, I thought it might be a nice idea to create a Google Search Engine of San Diego Food Bloggers. There are so many excellent food bloggers in San Diego, and this might be a nice way to see what they think about a restaurant, or even snag a recipe. You'll find the search in the left sidebar, right below the site search. Let me know how you like it.....

And if you're a San Diego Food Blogger, and I have somehow missed you, please let me know.....I managed to add 48 food blogs, but am pretty sure I've missed a few. I know I should do more with regards to making things more useful....but it seems I'm always busy eating!!!

Who said you can't get crisp sweet potato fries?

I sorta-kinda remember a conversation somewhere......

Well, I recently had some pretty darn good sweet potato fries, that were crisp, and tasty.

 

I managed to save some for the Missus, and was even given some specific instructions on how to reheat them. Of course, the Missus disregarded the instructions, but enjoyed them all the same.

So where did I get these?

Well, it was Crab Hut. Very tasty, and kinda reminded me of the sweet potatoes used in Banh Tom. (Here's a recipe from  Wandering Chopsticks)  

Crab Hut

4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
858-565-1678

Open Daily from 12noon - 10pm

Previous posts on Crab Hut can be found here and here.

I've always taken instruction well:

Leave it to the Missus, after my post on Surati Farsan, and my mentioning how Indian Cuisine was something She needed to be in the mood to have....she was suddenly....in the mood. So we headed off for Surati Farsan. 

It seemed like an overwhelming favorite here is the Chole Samosa:

 

The Chole which could be described in the most simplest terms as a chickpea curry, was nice with some savory-spicy overtones. It was perhaps a bit too sweet for my taste, but when I made sure to include the onions in every bite, it became an excellent dish. The samosa was fried to perfection, and filled with vegetables, added more of a nice textural counter-point.

Even though this was pretty filling, I ordered something else I had been wanting to try. I had read an article on Vada Pav, actually it was on a chain called Jumbo King, a chain inspired by McDonald's, which took the Vada Pav, a popular street food in Mumbai, and made it a national phenomenon. You can also read another article here. So without further ado, let me introduce Surati Farsan's Pav Vada:

   

Yes indeed it is the one and only.....potato potato patty "burger". They come two to an order at Surati Farsan.

 

Nice potato flavor, mildly spiced, and crisp around the edges.The bun was quite a simple burger bun-ish, but there was a nice smear of a garlic chutney. You can also get you Pav Vada with cheese! The Missus loved the potato croquettish patty, I loved the chutney, and got many happy returns from it the entire afternoon (too much info, I know). Not quite sure if I'd get this again.....but it was amausing to say the least.

So what did the always adventurous Missus get?

Sigh..... A Masala Dosa. Oh well, at least one of us broadened our horizons a bit.......

Surati Farsan Mart
9494 Black Mountain Road
San Diego, CA 92126

My previous post on Surati Farsan can be found here.

Comments

[Dennis]

Great SD food blog search engine idea Kirk, I can definitely use it! I've always been curious to ask, did you have a food blog when you were back in Hawaii? It hasn't even been a year for me and my older stuff feels ancient already. I can't believe you've been doing this 8 years +!!

[Kirk]

Hey Dennis - Though it sometimes feels like 8 years, or even 80, we've only been doing this for about 4 years! ;o) When I left Honolulu in '97, blogging was not even heard of yet! Let me know what you think of the search engine.

[Lynnea]

I still need to try out Crab Hut, we almost went there the other night, but decided to go to Tofu house instead. Oh well, maybe next time.

[Zach]

Ah missed me and my little SD blog, sustainableevil.wordpress.com

-Zach

[kat]

everything looks and sounds delicious :)

[ed (from Yuma)]

Thanks for the link to the sweet tater fries recipe. A fish shop in my area out here does a credible version. The coating gives the fries a nice crunch to got with the taste of sweet potatoes.

[Carol]

Of all the times I've been to Crab Hut, I still haven't tried their sweet potato fries. The Mister was just saying the other day he had a craving for Crab Hut.I'm getting the sweet 'taters instead of the Cajun fries next time.

I tried making them once and I couldn't get it crisp enough. But I think I'm going to try WP's recipe. I like the shrimp on top idea!

[Kirk]

Hi Lynnea - Yes, check them out.

Hi Zach - Ok, you should be there now.

Hi Kat - As a whole, yes.

Hi Ed - No problemo.

Hi Carol - You should get some Banh Tom from Vien Dong Restaurant in GG, next time you're in the area.

[Passionate Eater]

You are such a SD resource Kirk! I think I am going to have to move in with you and the Missus someday, just so that I can be an SD food blog too!

[Kirk]

Hi PE - Geez, I dunno what to say.... Thanks as always!

[Kristin]

I am also a San Diego based food blogger - love following your blog! http://www.mashedpotatoesandmerlot.blogspot.com

[Kirk]

Hi Kristin - OK, you've been added to the search. Thanks for letting me know.

[Brian Bautista]

I would LOVE to try out Crab Hut but the parking area is like parking in a jungle filled with hungry animals looking for prey lol. It doesn't help when you got Yogurt World, Tofu House, Tapioca Express, and O'briens pub in the same plaza. Grrr :P

[Kirk]

Hi Brian - It is the parking lot from hell.....I park on a side street and walk.

[krista of londonelicious.com]

Love that you build a custom blog search! I **think** you should be able to trim the search box size to fit your sidebar. I remember playing around with it a lot, but then because I wanted something viral, I went with the widget approach so other people could embed it. It's surprising how useful it can be; when you want to check out a place, you can easily see what other bloggers have been there.

Happy blogging, and keep it up!

krista

[Kirk]

Hi Krista - Thanks for the inspiration and tips!

[Wyndham]

My husband LOVES Indian food, especially Chicken Tikka Marsala. Is this a good place to take him in SD?

[Kirk]

Hi Wyndham - I don't think Surati Farsan is what you want, first off it's vegetarian....

If you don't mind a severe lack of ambiance, I'd give Punjabi Tandoor a try:

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2008/07/punjabi-tandoor.html

Punjabi Tandoor
9235 Activity Road
San Diego, CA 92126