mmm-yoso!!!

Monday Meanderings - Mister Falafel and Mi Pana Closes, Dinner with Friends at Kingfisher

Recently, I got some bad news from two of my "FOYs".

Mister Falafel Closes:

"ChrisR" sent me an email saying that Mister Falafel had closed! Whoa, now I hadn't heard about this one! Of course being that Mister Falafel is a bit hidden from the street and is mainly a warm weather location for garlic paste, I hadn't really dropped by in a while. So, on the way home from errands I decided to see what was going on. And sigh.....yes, the place has been gutted. It seems Mister Falafel is no longer.

The folks here were so nice!

First La Miche, now Mister Falafel. This is so sad. When will the bleeding stop?

4461 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Mi Pana Closes:

This one is from our good friend "Ale". She sent me a text directing me to Mi Pana's Instragram. And yes, there it was.....

I really enjoyed my meals at Mi Pana and probably should have revisited.

This seemed so sudden and even caught "Ale" by surprise as she had just been there recently.

2241 Highland Ave.
National City, CA 91950

Dinner at Kingfisher with Friends:

I know, you want a post and I don't blame you. Especially with all the accolades Kingfisher has gotten since they opened, the 50 Best New Restaurants by Bon Appetite listing, a Michelin New Discovery Listing, and with the chef being a James Beard Semifinalist. I'll say that the food was excellent and I'm sure to be back. But this dinner was more important than me doing a post.

You see, this dinner has been over four years in the making. There's a part of me that Covid had eaten away. The part that enjoyed spending time with my friends. Friends that have shared many fun times together, like bringing a whole roasted pig to Karaoke or celebrating Thanksgiving in August, or doing a trolley scavenger hunt. We've gone to dinner roadtrips and even a wedding in Ciudad Obregon! We've been thru births and weddings.

My good friend Candice had been trying to set something up for months and finally, we were all together! It had been so long! I didn't realize how much I missed them all (and you too TFD!).

And as often happens when good friends meet, the conversations, jokes, and laughter all came together seamlessly. It was if we had just seen each other yesterday.

And while the food was fabulous, catching up on things was more important on this day. I didn't even take photos of all the dishes, but here are a few.

Yes, it's as good as it looks, but I'll wait to return when I can spend more attention on the food before doing a real post.

So, here's to friendship and making up for lost time. Thanks for setting things up Candice!

Kingfisher
2469 Broadway
San Diego, CA 92102

Have a great Valentines Day everyone!

Mi Pana - Makes Me Say Dame Más (Give me more!). Venezuelan Comfort Food in National City.

**** Sadly, Mi Pana has closed

Sometimes I get really lucky. Recently, I was searching for some Colombian food options when I came across a place that just opened in National City named Mi Pana. Even though there were Colombian dishes (and Mexican) on the menu; I quickly noticed the Venezuelan dishes....arepas of course; but other items I hadn't heard of. I quickly contacted Frankie's Auntie "Alle" who is part Venezuelan and has spent a good amount of time living in Venezuela. Looking over the menu; she got even more excited than I did!

So of course I had to head on down ASAP to check the place out. The restaurant is located in a little strip mall on Highland Avenue.

It's a tidy little shop, with the Venezuelan flag in the logo; so any thoughts of ordering Colombian dishes went out the window.

The very sweet young lady working was so nice and friendly....having very little experience with Venezuelan cuisine (other than arepas), I knew I was out of my depth, so I asked for a recommendation. Something other than arepas. She asked me if I liked plantains, which I answered with a very enthusiastic "yes". So she recommended I try the Patacon, the fried plantain sandwich. So I selected the Carne Mechada, shredded beef version.

Several salsas were provided for me. The nice young lady seemed to really enjoy explaining things to me. She pointed to the bottle on the left and told me "that's wasakaka, it's really traditional Venezuelan, and my favorite!"

I tasted the wasakaka, which was like a garlicky, creamy, slightly citrusy sauce, I was sold. The cilantro based sauce; that was like a nice chimichurri was also quite good.

And then my Patacon arrived.

Man, that fried plantain was delici-yoso; slightly sweet, crisp edges, the interior was soft, almost bread like. The shredded beef was nicely seasoned, with a pleasant toothsomeness. The cheese was mild and milky; much like mozzarella. As you can tell; it was a messy sandwich, which dictated eating it with a fork and knife. It perhaps had a bit too much greens and mayo; but overall a very satisfying sandwich. Especially if you enjoy sweet and savory together.

By the next time I'd seen Alle; she had been to Mi Pana. During one of the days the Missus had to work, we decided to meet up and have breakfast...and what a breakfast it was. She already had her favorites and other items she wanted to try, so I let her start the ordering.

Alle loves Cachapa, panckaes made of sweet corn, so we started with that. She ordered the "classic version" stuffed with cheese.

She loved this, but it was bit too sweet for me. I did enjoy the cheese though; which had a slight salty-milkiness.

Next up the Mandoca con Queso, a sweet cornmeal cake with cheese and Tequenos, think of a white cheese, soft and a tad saltier than mozzarella, wrapped with pastry......oh man, did I love the salty-yeasty-mild sweetness.

Man were those Tequenos good!

Our arepas were still being made as we finished up our...ahem, starters, so the really nice woman delivered some Pan Andino with Coffee to us....on the house!

The Pan Andino is fairly dense and sweet. It's great with coffee or tea....as a light dessert. It was nice gesture as well.

Apparently they make their own bread. On my previous visit; I saw a guy buy five loaves of this bread!

If you've never had an arepa; think of an unleavened "bread" that looks like an English Muffin......but if made well (and they do it well here) that's where the resemblance ends. These arepas taste oh so "corny" and I believe a nice amount of fat is used, which makes these arepas more moist than their Colombian counterparts which I've had.

Alle had ordered her favorite breakfast Arepa; the Reina Pepiada; an arepa stuffed with shredded chicken mixed with mayo and avocado. Think of it as a wonderful chicken salad. Also, Alle recommended getting the arepas griddled (asada) instead of fried; which really created a firm, but moist and bready texture. The corn flavors came through quite well.

Alle wanted me to have a taste of her arepa, so I grabbed the knife and fork; but she told me to put those away saying: "you're mi pana, so grab it with your hands and have a bite....no; two bites." I came to find out that "Mi Pana" means "My Friend" or "My Buddy" in Venezuelan slang. Loved the flavors; perhaps a bit on the rich side, but not overly salty, slightly milky from the cheese; the flavor from the arepa really stood out.

I decided to get what I was told was a breakfast classic....because well, I'm classic (old) and all that. The Perico.

Perico are scrambled eggs which are spiced up and mixed with onions, tomatoes, and peppers. With the pile of cheese, this was a pretty hefty breakfast. This was good; though not as wonderfully satisfying as the Reina Pepiada.

Man, what a breakfast. I asked the woman working if they could wheel me to the car. She said, "I think we can find a wheelbarrow somewhere around here!" I love these folks. Meanwhile, Alle had a nice discussion with the cook talking about where her family lived in Venezuela and all that.

And so; I thought I had enough for a post. But I guess my stomach thought otherwise. I was really craving the Tequenos and really wanted to try the Arepa Pabellon. The young lady who was working on my first visit was here and was so happy to see me....I really like these folks.

And those Tequenos were even better!

More crisp, more yeasty....man, bread wrapped cheese...….

I decided to get my arepas "frita", fried this time around, which entirely changed things. Just like the difference a frame can make around a painting; this crisp and crunchy arepa added a crunchy texture. The shredded beef was delicious and the black beans really upped the ante with regards to overall flavor. The slices of plantain really added a pleasant creamy, light sweetness and the cheese on this arepa, which was like a crumbled cotija was a bit more salty and stood up well to all the other flavors. I'll definitely get this again.

On this visit; I noticed this sign near the menus.

Which reminded me of what Alle said while we were having breakfast; "Venezuelans love sweet with their salty; it creates a balance."

Well, if Mi Pana keeps making sweet and salty dishes like this....I'll definitely keep coming.

Mi Pana
2241 Highland Ave.
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Mon - Fri 10am - 8pm
Sat - Sun 9am - 8pm

It's always great trying new cuisines and dishes I've never had. And even better when the food is good, I have a great guide like Alle, and the folks making and serving the food are gracious and nice like at Mi Pana.

Sabores Colombianos

In the comments section of my post on Tamales from El Salvador Pupuseria y Restaurante; "Black Belt Jonez" (BTW, I love the Handle - I actually saw the movie starring Jim Kelly at the old American Theater on Hotel Street in Chinatown) mentioned Sabores Colombianos which was close by. Funny thing, I had just noticed the place on the drive up to El Salvador Pupuseria. So, I put the place on my "list" and managed to visit a couple of times over the last few months.

The restaurant is located on the corner of University and 37th street. If I recall, this used to be a Thai Restaurant for a while. The folks working here always seemed so friendly and welcoming; though timing and service can be a bit spotty. The dining room is simple and functional.

Part of the strangeness is that the register and reception area is in a totally separate room, so if you walk into the dining area, they might not even know you're there for a while. These days, I grab a menu by the door and just walk to a table.

On my first visit; I went with a favorite from Antojitos Colombianos; the Lengua en Salsa. Here they give you a rather large bowl of soup to start.

Man, this was pretty hefty for an accompaniment. Nice chicken flavored broth, with some whole potatoes and a couple of crunchy, but pleasant pieces of tripe. Decent flavor, not too salty.

The flavor of the Lengua en Salsa was good, the tangy sauce and vegetables; the condensed beefiness of the tongue. The portion size was quite large.

On the other side of things; the tongue was a bit more tough than I enjoy and the yucca frita wasn't crisp. The plantain was delish and I enjoyed the creaminess the avocado brought to the dish.

A few weeks later, I was in the area and thought I'd drop by for a snack....which would be anything but a "small bite".

The experience took on a rather strange tone as this woman walked up to the front of the place and started to display some rather odd behavior; like praying to the trash receptacle, then making stabbing motions at the telephone pole. Then, gasp....she saw me inside the restaurant and started making strange faces, then turned her back and started making bizarre hand signals to me. Since there was no one else in the place, I changed tables. Soon after, the police arrived and sent her along her way....apparently she was bothering some other folk as well. This is sad. I hope she gets some help with dealing with whatever demons she is dealing with.

I ordered an Empanada and also without really thinking the Arepa con Chicharron.

The empanada exterior was light and slightly crisp, though perhaps a bit more chewy than I prefer. The beef filling was tasty, but the shredded beef was a bit tough and stringy which meant that in one bite you'd take some of the nice crust, but pull all the filling out. The salsa was a nice, tangy, not very spicy addition.

I'm not quite sure why I ordered the Arepa con Chicharron. Perhaps it was a moment of weakness. But man, that was so much pork, for such a small arepa.

The arepa was quite nice; this wasn't stuffed, just a plain, moist corn cake. The pork was a mixed bag; the rind was super hard and tough, but everything else was a nice, fried, porky place. I used the salsa from the empanada, along with the lime to combat the richness.

We had a couple of fairly "cool" days this past May and on one my "shopping Saturdays", I decided to drop by Sabores Colombianos for some Ajiaco, the chicken and potato soup.

 The portion size was quite large. Plus, it came with rice, capers, green salad, and the ever present half avocado. The soup had a distinctive grassy-bay leaf-artichoke flavor. When I asked, they told me it was a herb known as guasca, a traditional flavoring component for dishes like Ajiaco. There was a generous portion of shredded chicken and quite a bit of potato in this soup. Great flavor, but my only complaint was that it was served a bit too cold and quickly started to develop a "skin".

Still, quite a hearty meal in a bowl.

A couple of weeks later; after returning from our trip to Lima, Santiago, and Easter Island, I decided to take the guys to lunch. I thought they'd enjoy trying out some Colombian food, so we headed up to City Heights and Sabores Colombianos. I had them try some empanadas and also ordered a Papa Rellena.

  This version was filled with beef, which was on the chewy side and could have used a bit more seasoning. Still, that crunchy crust, with a nice potato flavor with the boiled egg. This was quite filling.

Calvin got the Lengua en Salsa and I decided on the Sobrebarriga, which was flank steak with basically the same sauce as the Lengua en Salsa.

This was a bit more tender than the lengua, but was also no the stringy side. I do enjoy the tangy tomato based sauce. The yucca was as before, on the gummy side.

So JohnF is quite the eater, so I ordered the Bandejas Paisa for him.

Which he said was delicious and to both Calvin and my amazement polished off; after having an empanada and half the papa rellena! Good lord!

On one of my visits, I saw a gentleman who I believe was one of the Servers at Antojitos Colombianos. I'm not sure if there's any connection, though the food is a bit different. In my mind, I thought the dishes at "AC" were a bit better, but its been awhile, so perhaps I need to revisit. Still, I thought the food here was good in a rustic, homestyle kind of way and I don't think you'll leave hungry.

Sabores Colombianos
3695 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

Antojitos Colombianos revisted

I had been wondering how Antojitos Colombianos was doing. It had been a while; over a year since I last visited the place. It could be that the relatively heavy, hearty, and let's just put it straight "gut-busting" Colombian food served here is not something one eats alone. In fact, on my last visit, over a year ago, I had the good fortune of having Kirbie and DH helping me out.

Still, I was wondering how they were doing, so I managed to talk my good friends, Candice and JohnL into joining me for dinner the week before Christmas.

It was nice to see the familiar faces of the folks working here....it was even more gratifying to see that they had a steady flow of customers. The place looks a bit more spic n' span, but is still that collection of poster and other "stuffs" that first endeared the place to me.

We started with the empanadas, which were nice and light.

I do prefer them fried to a bit more of a crisp texture. The beef filling was fine, but it's all about balance for me and having it just that much more crunchy would have done it for me.....

Of course I had to order the softball sized Papa Rellena.

Stuffed with saffron rice and chicken, along with a boiled egg...I love the crisp exterior and the potato....though I need to remind myself to ask for something picante to have with it the next time.

The Lengua en Salsa is still the best item here in my opinion.

The deep beef flavor along with the tangy-acidic flavors just make this a wonderful dish. I forgot to request yucca frita instead of the stewed yucca....won't forget next time. Still, this dish is still a winner.

I also decided to order the Picada.......a fried pork and carb lover's dream.....or perhaps nightmare.

So the score on this one is four to three....four types of proteins....most of it deep fried; chorizo (Mexican), carne, chicharron, and the best item costilla....deep fried pork ribs. Three types of carbs; arepa (griddled corn cake), french fries (papas), and patacones; deep fried green plantains. In this case the green you see is really for presenation only and that tomato was carefully placed to distract you from thinking about all that other stuff.

Since JohnL got here late, I had the pleasure of ordering for him......since he's a growing boy, though these days more horizontal than vertical, I ordered the gut busting Bandeja Paisa. "Don't worry" the young lady told JohnL when he looked upon this....."we're open for two more hours, so you have lots of time" as she laughed and walked away......

I got no complaints from him...... The chorizo on this plate is the one usually served with the arepa and was really tasty.

We ended with a flan........

As we headed toward the finish line, the owner Javier came out front and thanked us for coming, shaking our hands. It's these touches that makes me want to return....I'll make sure it's sooner than a year this time.

Antojitos Colombianos
2851 Imperial Ave
San Diego, CA 92102
Open Daily 11am - 7pm

 

 

Antojitos Colombianos

*** You can find an updated post here

A couple of months back, I was doing one of my "drives" to check out what's new....this time it was on Imperial. I hadn't been around since they started construction on the "Farmer's Market" site which is going to become a Wal-Mart. During my drive east on Imperial, I noticed some of the food stalls that used to occupy the market, like El Guero had set-up shop on the street. Then something caught my eye. Right next to El Salvadoreno was what seemed to be a Colombian Restaurant, called Antojitos Colombianos.

Actually, this was the original location of El Salvadoreno way back when. I mentioned the place to the Missus and even one of my coworkers, "AaronF" who is from Bogota. It took us a while, like three months, the shop closes at 7 pm, so it's hard to hit after work sometimes, but we finally made it there a couple of weeks ago.

There was one woman working the shop that day...doing everything, taking orders, bussing, making the food, but man she worked impressively! She also seemed a bit unsure of us when we entered, but soon warmed up to us. In fact, during our meal, she came by a couple of times to tell us (as much as she could) about how things were made, while still serving the other two tables, cooking, and cleaning....amazing.

We just had to start with the Empanadas ($1.50 each), which were a nice yellow and still sizzling when they hit the table.

The empanadas looked a bit greasy at first glance, but were not. The texture was crisp at first, with a bit of a chew. The filling, a combination of seasoned beef and potatoes, with hints of spices like cumin was very tasty. The aji that came along with the empanadas was more sour than spicy. I enjoyed the extra dimension it added to my empanada, this Missus just loved Hers straight up.

The Missus also loved the Chorizo con Arepa ($2.99).

I half expected the arepa to be stuffed with a chorizo mixture, but even though it was not, the Missus loves Her cornmeal products and that arepa went down in a second. This chorizo was also quite good, more of a firm sausage, with a mild smokey heat from peppers, along with other good seasonings. Had me wondering where they got this from....I wanted some for my own stash!

The Missus also ordered a true Colombian dish Aborrajado ($2.99), basically a fried plaintain stuffed with cheese.

The plantain was very ripe...which the Missus loves. Me, I'm not a big fan of sweet-milky-sour flavors, so this wasn't my thing. On a future visit, the plantain wasn't quite ripe enough and it was very starchy which the Missus didn't care for, but I didn't mind.

I went all in and order the Bandeja Paisa($12.49), the classic Colombian gut busting platter(bandeja) of protein and carbs that many consider the national dish of Colombia. One does not fool around with a plate of food like this.

The first thing the Missus said when this arrived was, "there's nothing green on the plate!" Of course, I quickly pointed out the avocado, which also provides over 20 essential nutrients I might add! As a whole this was much better then the version I had at Tropicafe. I was probably most impressed with the carne de res....the slice of beef, which looked like it was going to be shoe leather, but was surprisingly tender, if a bit under-seasoned. The chorizo on this plate was more of a Mexican style sausage and totally different from what came with the arepa, which we preferred. The Missus poached the plantain, which She loved. The fried egg was a fried egg, the chicharron on the hard side, but still better than Tropicafe's version. This was served with rice and peruano beans which had nicely absorbed all the flavor of it's cooking liquid....which also nicely included bits of pork.

The woman working really made us feel at home as did the food, so we decided to return for another dinner. This time there was a gentleman working the kitchen who greeted us from behind the counter when we arrived. When we sat, a well dressed man brought us menus...we thought he worked there but he was just another customer who wanted us to feel at home....this is the kind of place Antojitos Colombianos is.

Of course we had to have the empanadas, which were even better this time around.

The Missus also ordered Aborrajado which I mentioned earlier disappointed Her as the plantains weren't ripe enough for Her. The Chorizo en Arepa was still good though! The Missus also ordered this baseball looking thing......

 

 Which is the Papa Rellena ($3.99). The exterior was nicely crisped, while retaining the wonderful potato flavor. The filling was rice and chicken, which could have had a bit more flavor. But this was still good. I was told that the filling can vary from day to day depending on what's available.

Meanwhile, a nice tall gentleman whom we saw on our last visit entered. I believe he's the owner...he smiled and came over to shake our hands and chat.

Earlier, I had asked the friendly gentleman cooking what I should order, the chuleta (pork cutlet), sobrebarriga (flank steak), or the lengua? He smiled looked me up and down and said, "the lengua, you will like the lengua". So I ordered the Lengua en Salsa ($11.99).....

This was indeed the right decision. The beef tongue was very tender, mildly gamey, with that condensed beef flavor that well prepared lengua has. Missing was the waxy texture with a strong offal taste that poorly prepared lengua has. The onions, peppers, and tomatoes added pungency and acid to the dish. The yucca frita was crisp and almost light and disappeared quickly into the Missus's mouth. In fact, the "non-meat eater" in the family loved this as well and almost finished half the lengua!

As we left the place, the Missus told me, "you know, we just had five different starches with this meal. Corn, plantain, potato, rice, and yucca. So much for the plate lunch three starch rule, huh?" In spite of eating a seemingly vast amount of food during our two meals, at no time did we feel stuffed, which is kind of strange.

There's a homey, friendly kind of warmth that we feel when eating here. I'm sure we'll be back again.

Antojitos Colombianos
2851 Imperial Ave
San Diego, CA 92102
Open Daily 11am - 7pm

Bandeja Paisa from Tropicafe

**** Tropicafe has closed

I'd had a couple of requests to check out Tropicafe in Chula Vista, mostly from folks who I really didn't know. So a couple of weeks back, I spoke to a co-worker AF, who lived in Colombia from the age of 8 to 18. He'd been asking me if I knew of anywhere that had Colombian food on the menu...anyplace but Tropical Star. I told him I'd heard of a place in Chula Vista called Tropicafe, but hadn't tried it out.....AF told me he'd check it out and report back. Then I didn't see him for maybe a month or so. when I finally saw him, he told me, "the food is pretty much the real deal, but not everything is great. It's worth a try, just stay away from the Mexican food, which is on the menu because they need to make a living." Asked for a recommendation, I was told, "everyone needs to have the Bandeja Paisa the first time. There's better things on the menu, but that's the national dish."

So there I was, taking the Main Street off ramp in Chula Vista and driving into one of the "garage strip malls"......and right across from Juan's Auto Repair and the Mercedes Engine Exchange was this tiny shop.

The place opens at 930 am, and I'd arrived pretty early. The restaurant is pretty small, maybe five tables....I was thrown off by the chafing dishes when I entered, but it was part of a display advertising their catering business. The drill is simple, I walked to the counter and ordered, which I'm sure is not the way, or maybe the way, since half the folks coming after me sat and ordered when the menu arrived and half just sauntered to the counter like I did. The woman in the kitchen in the back smiled and gave me the "peace sign".

Naturally, since I'm very good at following instructions, I ordered the Baneja Paisa. After having a seat, the young man told me there was a problem in the kitchen and my order would take about 20 minutes. I was asked if I wanted something else. I had nothing really to do, so I told him I'd wait, which turned out rather well for me......

As I sat and checked my text messages and emails folks started filtering in. After about ten minutes, the young man delivered a fragrant cup of soup to my table. He apologized for the wait and said 'please try the Caldo de Costilla".

A nice hot, mildly thick soup, the flavor of beef and cumin really stood out. I later read that this is Beef Rib soup and popular breakfast item. The main starch item being potatoes. It was very hearty soup which I enjoyed.

About five minutes after finishing my bowl of soup, the young man came by and dropped off a little plastic basket telling me, "your food is almost ready, but here's one of our empanadas for you to try......"

The color of the empanadas was almost a bright yellow. The out crust was quite crisp, but there was still some heft to it. The main flavor in the filling was of seasoned potatoes, which was very good. The meat really didn't have much flavor and I believe it was chicken based on that. The Aji/Salsa had a nice kick to it. I'm thinking there was some habanero in it.

Soon enough my plate arrived. The name is derived from the people of the Paisa region of Colombia, thus it is the "Paisa Platter", I'm figuring the folks of this area had historically worked some major manual labor, because the Bandeja Paisa ($10.50), along with being Colombia's National Dish, is a major calorie bomb.

If God were Vegan, I'd have spontaneously combusted on the spot....... The look on my face got laughs from the folks on the other table as I stared down this amalgamation of fat and protein. I turned to them and said, "I'm going to need a nap after this...." Which drew some good natured laughs. As for the food....

My least favorite items were the beef which was really dry and had a texture like cardboard; and strangely, the chicharon, which was nice and crisp but without much flavor

The fried egg was nice, but I noticed that they food wasn't salted. I enjoyed the patacones (tostones), basically fried green plantains, very mild and not sweet, but also nice and crunchy. The Aji added a nice punch here. The chorizo reminded me of a spicy Longanisa, it had a nice sweetness, but a little punch as well.

The one item I really enjoyed was the beans, which were seasoned well, with a nice pork flavor and a mild sweetness.

I like that the beans weren't overcooked and went real well with the rice (hiding under the egg). The menu description also mentions an Arepa, which is sort of like a pupusa, but I think I'd have been near death after that. The other table was having a few, so I think I'll save that for next time.

Yes, there will be a next time. Probably some rib soup, arepa, beans and rice. Or maybe some other soup. I really enjoyed the friendly folks working here, if not everything in the Bandeja Paisa.

Tropicafe
2530 Main St
Chula Vista, CA 91911

 

Hours:
Wed - Sat 930am - 6pm
Sunday   930am - 5pm