mmm-yoso!!!

Montpellier - Green Lab and Place de Peyrou

When planning our most recent trip to France, we knew we'd be spending our final two weeks in Paris, but where to go before then? The Missus wanted to visit places She had never been before and Brittany, Normandy, and the Loire was high on Her list. But I just didn't think visiting those locales at the end of November, beginning of December would be the best time. Nice and Marseille was high on that list, but in the end we thought visiting Carcassonne would be interesting and I'd always wanted to visit Toulouse, but we needed one more "leg" of the trip. We'd already been to the main cities in Provence....those posts never got done because like I mentioned in this post; after Israel, Palestine, and Jordan, we spent a night in Paris before heading to Provence, we planned 5 nights there, but got stranded because of a rail strike and ended up flying from Marseille to CDG and staying at the airport. This was at the end of 2019. So, while I started doing posts on that trip....well, you know what happened, right? Those posts on Provence never got done. Maybe one day I'll just to a COMC thing. Anyway, while I love train travel, the Missus has a "no more than 4 - 4 1/2 hour" rule when it comes to travelling by rail, which is why I have to plan on stays in places like Stuttgart, which is perfectly fine with me as I get to explore. After doing a bit of research, I developed an interest in Montpellier. Now you really won't find much about Montpellier in those guidebooks, but the city looked interesting; from the meandering old town, to having one of the oldest Universities in the world. And I'd read that fully one-fourth of the city's population is composed of students! That contrast would make for quite an interesting visit!

In fact, we could see the contrasts from the time we arrived. The apartment we were staying in was a mere ten minute walk from the train station. We went thru a tunnel that connected the tram line to quite a modern area with a mall. The apartment was in the interesting looking building connected to the Ibis Hotel.

We had a very nice view of the city.

Just steps away to the east was a large shopping mall named Le Polygone. Just to the west is the main square of the city, Place de la Comédie. This lively and lovely square features restaurants, fast food joints ("McDo" does great business with the students), cafe's, a movie theatre, and the lovely National Opera. Because we didn't have a map of the city, we stopped by the Tourist Information center and got the "detailed" map (,50 €) which we used along with Google Maps to get around.

At the heart of the square is the Fountain of the Three Graces.

The square is nicknamed L'Oeuf ("egg") because of its oval shape. From here there are arteries heading in all directions. We decided to take one of the side streets, away from the Ecusson (the old city), down Rue de Verdun for a light lunch at a place I had on my list; Green Lab.

Because of the large student population, I thought that there would be some nice casual eateries with diverse cuisines and with just one notable "fail", these places delivered. Green Lab features Lebanese and Middle Eastern influenced vegetarian and vegan dishes in a "fast-casual" type set-up. You order at the counter and they'll bring out your food to you. The plates looked pretty large so we just ordered the Falafel and Hummus (9,99 €) which ended up being enough for the both of us.

While we didn't care much for the pita, which was too dense, hard, and "bready" for us, we thought the falafel were quite good. Crisp outside, mildy creamy interior, nice nutty herbaceousness, this was actually better than what we'd had at L'As du Fallafel in Paris! The hummus was quite rustic, the nutty - savory tones came thru quite well.

This was actually better than we expected and enough to hold us until our Michelin Starred dinner.

Green Lab Comédie
12 Rue de Verdun
34000 Montpellier, France

We headed back to the square and decided to do some exploring. We headed up Rue de la Loge, one of the main shopping/downtown streets in Montpellier. We had arrived on a Saturday and I had thought that things might be a bit crazy....but we found that Montpellier had a relaxed, fun, community loving vibe to it. We got a kick out of this band with an interesting "cast" of characters playing on Place Jean Jaurès.

And as we headed further up the street, the Missus quickly noticed these tags on the ground.

Well, I didn't know that Montpellier is on the Camino de Santiago!

We enjoyed wandering up the streets of the Ecusson.

And we arrived at this.

Yep, Montpellier has it's version of the Arc de Triomphe, the Porte du Peyrou which was completed in 1693 and is actually modeled after Porte Saint-Denis, which I mentioned in this post. Right past the Porte is Place Royale de Peyrou.

Which has a striking Water Tower designed to look like a Greek Monument.

Which actually used to store water!

With an aqueduct.

That used to route water to the cistern in the tower.

There are gardens and a promenade.

And on this day it looked like a large meeting of motorcycle clubs was going on.

As we walked back toward the Arc we heard chanting and drums.......it was a protest.

Which made its way into Place de Peyrou.

It was interesting, anti hate protest meets biker clubs.......with no incidents. You gotta love it!

On a lively Saturday in Montpellier.

On the way back to the apartment, we started taking notice of the public art along the side streets.

Along with churches and other grand structures down alleyways and side streets. This is the Église Saint-Roch.

Montpellier was turning out to be quite an interesting stop.

Jerusalem (Before Covid) - Dinner at Pergamon

After returning from our tour of Bethlehem, we relaxed and I took a short nap. Before you knew it the sun had set and Shabbat was over. I hadn't made any reservations for dinner on this night. After having the wonderful vegetables during our Shabbat dinner at Mamilla Rooftop; I thought we'd try our luck at a place known for their vegetarian Mediterranean cuisine named Pergamon. So we headed out to see if we could get a table.

We headed down Shamai Street, then crossed Jaffa Street and found the restaurant. And guess what? They had just opened and there were no customers, so we easily got a table!

I started with a "cold one" and the Missus had a glass of wine while we perused the menu.

We started with the Beets with Pistachios. Man, this was good!

The perfectly roasted beets were tender and sweet; the salty-savory-milkiness of the Manchego cheese really balanced the dish out.

The Eggplant was nicely roasted, tender and smoky.

Of course the nutty and slightly bitter tahini is the perfect foil for the eggplant.  The pseudo Tabouli and the peanuts finished off the dish nicely.

The Missus loved the Roasted Butternut Squash and Lentils.

I thought the curried tahini and chilies was a really nice addition to the dish.

They key to the dishes for us here was that the sauces and additions really complemented the main focus of each dish without overwhelming the key element. We were really enjoying the vegetables in Jerusalem.

Pergamon Restaurant
Heleni ha-Malka St. 7
Jerusalem, Israel

It was still pretty early when we finished up dinner; so we decided to walk on over to the Old City.

Entering thru the Jaffa Gate we wandered around David Street......

It was quite interesting as we'd pass something we totally expected.....

And then come across something...well totally unexpected in Jerusalem.....

Roll Tide????

After wandering around a bit more, we ended up at the Damascus Gate.

And decided to head back to the apartment.

I went and picked up a couple of bottles of beer on the way back to the apartment and enjoyed a beer while sitting on the balcony.

As I watched the street below, I still was amazed that I was here; having a beer on a porch.....in Jerusalem.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kindred

And so it came to pass. A couple of weeks after driving past Kindred and seeing the place really busy on a Thursday, the Missus wanted to give it another try. Granted, it was early in the week; one of the benefits of getting into work super early is that on occasion, I can get home rather early. And this was one of those days. We decided to head on down to South Park and see what was going on. We got to South Park at just around 4pm and went and took a walk, returning right when Kindred opened. It was pretty quiet when we arrived and we requested and got our favorite seats....on the outside corner. 

And guess what? Our favorite Server Tracy was working and she remembered us! I guess it's because we always like to sit in the same area. It had been a rough year-and-a-half and it was good to see a familiar smiling face.

We started with some cocktails.

The Missus had the "Octave Museum" which featured Bourbon, Sherry, red wine(???), and green apple.

Which She enjoyed.

I got the "Twist of Faith"...I described my taste to Tracy...smokey, not too sweet, etc......and they did a great job creating me a custom cocktail.

As for the food....well, sadly, they still don't have their "secret menu" item, so I'm not able to get the "Dip".

We started with "Fried and Pickled" ($10).

We both loved the fried pickles, not overly sour, a hint of sweet, perfectly crunchy.....it didn't even need the "ranch dressing". The cauliflower was crisp, but way to sour for me....the Missus enjoyed it though.

We always get the "Skewers" ($10).

And while seiten will never make me turn my back on my carnivorous ways, the texture is fine, and man do we love the layers of flavors from the mildly spicy - earthy harissa, the garlicky chimichurri, and the pungent-punchy horseradish sauce.

I decided to try the "Grill Cheese" ($9).

I don't think we'll be ordering this again....the tapioca mozzarella was really weak in flavor and other than a bit of gooeyness didn't add anything to the sandwich, which seemed a bit too greasy for me. Wish it had a bit more kale and the bechamel just put this over-the-top in terms of rich-greasy textures.

I decided on a La Fin du Monde for "dessert"......man, it's been a while since I've had one.....it hit the spot. We had an enjoyable meal with the friendly Tracy waiting on us. It almost felt normal......

Kindred
1503 30th St
San Diego, CA 92102
Current Hours:
Mon - Wed     430pm - 10pm
Thur - Fri       430pm - 11pm
Saturday        10am - 2pm, 430pm - 11pm
Sunday          10am - 2pm, 430pm - 10pm

And we were oh so thankful!

A Takeout Revisit to Greenhaus Vegetarian Eatery

Ever since I had the Missus have a taste of the chickpea and garbanzo "Happy Belly Plate" from Greenhaus, She's been hooked. We get takeout every couple of weeks for the Missus to either have for lunch (when I'm too tired to make lunch for Her) or to eat at home when I'm not around to cook.

The Missus claims the chickpeas from Greenhaus is way better than what I make from home and I'm willing to agree; if it means I can retire from cooking and prepping garbanzos at home.

The Happy Belly Plate is basically a "protein" (the Spiced Chickpeas in this case), a "sauce" (the Lentils), and two sides....we get Basmati Rice and Naan. All for $12.

It is quite a bit of food as you can see. I'll sometimes supplement the order with a side of the Masala ($4) which I'll have with the naan.

This would be basically two meals for the Missus...or if I'm having the naan with the Masala sauce and perhaps something else like roasted cauliflower/potatoes it will feed the both of us, with enough for another meal for the Missus.

She enjoys the creamy chickpeas, the tender lentils, and it's just salty enough for Her to enjoy.

I've tried other items here as you can read from my previous post as well as the Naan Wrap with Spicy Tofu and Masala Sauce ($9.75).

In this case, I wasn't a big fan of mushy tofu and the naan was a bit too hard and crisp for a wrap in my opinion. A bit too much bread and veg to protein for me as well.

So, we'll just stick to what the Missus enjoys.

The owner is a really nice guy, ordering online from the Greenhaus website is easy, and there are no extra charges. So, I'm more than happy to support another locally owned business and it keeps the Missus happy. Which is very, very, important!

Things sure are changing in the Morena corridor. With the trolley coming in and new development....I understand that the car dealerships have lost their lease and will be slowly moving out.....it'll be interesting to see what happens to the area over the next 4-5 years.

Greenhaus Vegetarian Eatery
1118 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 446-6510
Current Hours
Mon - Sat 11am - 9pm
Closed Sundays

Takeout from Greenhaus Vegetarian Eatery

Back in August while driving down Morena Boulevard, I noticed that the longtime Chinese Fast-Food place, Wok In Express was gone and being replaced by, gosh, of all things a vegetarian restaurant! The first thing that went through my mind was "wow, boy has Morena changed since we moved to San Diego"!

Nestled between JV's Taco Shop, the Donut Shop, and Waters Fine Foods in the cramped parking lot, I made a mental note of the place.

Then, returning from picking up lunch from another place on Linda Vista (yes ST, I'll get that post done soon), I noticed that Greenhaus had opened.

A week or so later, I decided to drop by at around eleven, before that tiny parking lot gets crazy.

The interior of the restaurant had been emptied with two small "two tops" set-up outside....the Covid thing, you know.

With a name like Greenhaus, other than being vegetarian....cause the sign said so; I wasn't sure what kind of cuisine was being served.

A quick look at the menu and menu card straightened things out quickly.

This was one of those "fast-casual" concepts, basically Indian....where you pick sauces, proteins, and a "style"......whether a wrap, salad, plate.....or even tacos(???). There's even a "snack" menu with samosas and such. The owner, whose name, please forgive me if I misspell it; is Gubi was so friendly and helpful. I wanted to figure out what the best combination of Sauce and Protein was for a plate. I was thinking Spiced Chickpeas and a Lentil Curry sauce. Gubi said that would be a good combination. I went with a carb two-fer; getting the garlic naan and basmati rice as my sides for the plate ($12). Gubi also said he put in a sample of the Masala sauce for me to try. I was shocked when I opened my bag.....man, this was a lot of food!

Geez Louise, look at all that rice and all that naan? The basmati rice was perfect in texture and mildly fragrant. The lentil sauce, was basically a milder, lighter, sauce version of green lentil daal. It wasn't super rich, had a nice nuttiness, a decent sauce. The chickpeas were nicely done, I believe they use dried chickpeas, because these weren't overly salty, nor were they mushy. It had a really nice exterior firmness that gave way to a pleasant creaminess. Again mild and not overly seasoned, but not bad. I saved half of this for the Missus who loved it and wiped it all out. So, I guess Greenhaus has a fan.

There was a generous portion of garlic naan provided. It was a bit thinner and less doughy than what I'm used to; but it went well with the tangy masala sauce. Again, this was a lighter, more tangy-acidic version of masala, without all the thick buttery-creamy textures and not very spicy, nor overly seasoned, which worked fine here.

Overall, I hesitate to call it Indian food, let's just stick with "Indian inspired"....a bit lighter, fast-casual in concept. While most of these type of places aren't my kind of thing, we were pleasantly surprised with our meal. It's also quite a good value as well.

I decided to return a week or so later. I wanted to try the "Veggie Meatballs" especially since they were made with garbanzos (chickpeas), knowing I'd have leftovers for the Missus who loves garbazos (see above). I asked Gubi what sauce to get and he recommended the Masala. So I got the Veggie Meatballs with Masala sauce, basmati rice, and a salad.

Again, quite a bit of food. The "meatballs" were very much a milder version chickpea kofta; though it was a bit on the dry and bland side for our taste. The masala this time was less tangy; though much thicker and richer....frankly, I preferred the previous version.

The salad was fresh, the greens sparkling, though the vinaigrette was quite routine and bland.

So, I think we'll stick with the spiced chickpeas....especially if the Missus has a say in things.

Overall, while I'm not a big fan of most fast-casual "concepts"......because frankly, most places just seem to quit at the "concept", with mainly revenue in mind, and let the cards (food) fall where they may. And honestly, I think most folks may have their favorite combinations at these fast-casual places...heck we still order one thing from "Da Poodle" a couple of times a year. I'd say that Greenhaus makes a good quality product and while the flavors may seem on the mild side; I don't think it's bland at all. A big plus is the owner, who is very friendly and helpful. This is more fusion than "con-fusion" and I can live with that. After all; someone's going to have to get the Missus Her chickpeas, right?

Greenhaus Vegetarian Eatery
1118 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours
Mon - Sat 11am - 9pm
Closed Sundays

Sunday Stuffs, the "Works in Progress" Edition - CoCo Ichibanya, Da Nang Corner, and Greenhaus Vegetarian Eatery, (hopefully) Coming Soon

Boy, this past week has been some kind of humid, huh? I'm just going to do a short post today of places that look like are current works in progress.

CoCo Ichibanya:

Last I heard, CoCo Ichibanya was supposed to open during this summer. Well, it's near the end of August. So, during one of my shopping trips to Nijiya, I decided to see what was going on.

Well, doesn't look like much yet. So perhaps it might not be ready for prime time this month? Or perhaps they are using my "endless March 2020" calendar...which would still make it March......176th!

I guess it's a bit too hot for curry right now anyway, right?

4428 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Meanwhile, right next to CoCo Ichibanya was a place I hadn't noticed.

Da Nang Corner:

The restaurant's Facebook Page mentions that the restaurant is taking a bit longer than expected to build out. I'm hoping we get some good Mi Quang?

I'm kinda excited about this place.

4428 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Greenhaus Vegetarian Eatery:

The Missus and I were taking a little drive around the 'hood, when I noticed that the long time Chinese Fast Food shop Wok in Express next to JV's and Waters was gone and is going to be......yep, a Vegetarian Shop! You gotta say.... Morena sure is changing, ain't it?

Now, if we only get a bakery selling really got croissants!

1118 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110

Hope you're keeping cool and staying safe!

Have a great week!

Covid-19 Takeout - Kindred

In my post on Et Voila during the time of Covid-19 "FOY" Lynnea (we love you Lynnea) mentioned that Kindred was doing takeout during this time. I was actually keeping track of what was being offered with what was called the "Greatest Hits" menu.

The other thing was that the cocktails that we wanted were being sold in portions of six (!!!!)…...I mean, I had read that alcohol sales in San Francisco had increaed by 42 percent during the first month of Covid-19! I waited until there was something offered that we had enjoyed during our visits to the restaurant before making the special trip out of the way.

Finally, I saw that the "skewers" were on the menu.....and I had an excuse for heading out of the way......

Which I ordered ($10) along with the Golden Axe ($45). Ordering was easy, on the phone, as was pick-up......I simply walked up to the table to the right of the door and grabbed the packages with my name on it.

The Missus went thru the skewers like a hot knife cutting thru butter.

As for the cocktails, it was provided in a really nice bottle.

I went ahead an measured out, and indeed it was a solid 6 portions of 2/3 a cup for each.

So, shaked with ice. it made a solid cocktail......for three days!

So, perhaps if Kindred offered "the dip", we may do this again.....but man, six cocktails....man, that's a bit more than we wanted.

Though I will say the Missus really enjoyed those Seitan Skewers.

And the Golden Axe....well, was the Golden Axe.

Kindred
1503 30th St
San Diego, CA 92102

Cheers!

Kindred

I think it was my good friend Candice who first mentioned Kindred to me. And even though the Missus is now eating a fairly vegetable heavy diet at home, I wasn't sure about Kindred.....I mean not just vegan food, but a Death Metal themed vegan restaurant? Though the cocktail menu did entice us a bit and then I recommended the place to my coworker "AA" who is a tried and true vegetarian....she absolutely loves the place; it's now her "date night" stop.

So, of course we had to stop by.

We loved the setting and most of all our favorite Server; Tracy!

And now kindred has become a fun stop for us.

We'd tried a host of cocktails; anything with Bourbon, Rye or Mezcal....with names like Psychic Venom.

Most were decent; though some on the sweet side.

All of this came to a stop when one day; I ordered what I thought was a great sounding cocktail and it arrived looking flowery pink!

At this point I enlisted the help of Tracy, who having served us at least three times before already had a bullseye drawn on our tastes and recommended something called the "Golden Axe". I'm usually not a fan of too much saffron or turmeric, but man, this cocktail with Bourbon and Rye is now my favorite.

The turmeric rice nectar adds a touch of bitterness, the ginger, spice, the booze some good smokiness.

The Missus will still order something like the "Horrorchata" or the "River Styx"...but I'm styx-ing with my Golden Axe.

As for the food, over our half dozen or so visits to Kindred; we've only ordered four items......two are winners, one is good, and the last meh..... I will say; we stayed away from items like salads and typical fare. So maybe that's the way to go here.

Both the Missus and I love mushroom; so when Tracy mentioned "the Dip" being something that used to be on the secret menu....and so we should try it; we did.

It's the earthy-salty mushroom jus that makes this for us. Heck, we'd just take bread slathered with the horseradish aioli and we'd be good to go. As it is; the peppered satan seitan, does no damage, and the sautéed pepprs and onions add a touch of sweetness and light pungency. There's also a nice spicy component to this as well. And as strange as it sounds; the tapioca mozzarella has a non-descript, but not terrible flavor or texture. The chips have usually been on the soggy side when we order this. But we're not here for the spuds.

Our other go-to are the Skewers.

Like the Dip, it's the flavors that make this dish for us; garlicky chimichurri, punchy harissa, which kind of leaves the horseradish sauce in the cold here.

The seitan is nicely charred, crisp around the edges, not mushy like other versions I've had. The flavoring of the seitan is covered up pretty well; which I think is the M.O. here a Kindred.

The "Hearts of Palm" is basically a farinata (garbanzo bean flour) flatbread.

The texture is somewhat "mushy - doughy", though it's moist, there's a bit of an earthy flavor to it. Again, it's the Aji Amarillo Aioli and lime that really gives this dish some "umph". It's a decent dish; though perhaps a bit too sour at times.

We've tried the Herb Puffs twice and it really didn't make an impression on us.

While light, on both occasions it was served rather cold and had lost any pleasing crispness.

As a whole, we enjoy Kindred, the staff are great, we've found some favorites, the music......well, maybe I'm too old? Though I get a kick thinking about Bee-Oh-Bee who loves Death Metal....I keep reminding him to bring his lovely Missus here. The food is unique and they don't hold back on flavor either. And that Golden Axe...….

Kindred
1503 30th St
San Diego, CA 92102
Hours:
Mon - Thurs 4pm - Midnight
Friday      4pm - 1am
Saturday    10am - 1am
Sunday      10am - Midnight

 

Nhà Hàng Chay Hoa Từ Bi Tâm

A few months ago, I drove past the latest incarnation of a restaurant at 4591 El Cajon Boulevard.....and did a double take. It looked like yet another restaurant has taken the space; the last three, including a location of Saigon Sandwiches moved in and out so fast I never got a chance to check them out. What got my attention was the "Organic - Veggie" lettering on the sign.

I really wasn't too keen on checking this place out but "FOYs" (friends of yoso) Elle and Phuong both mentioned this place in the comments section of my Banh Mi Boulevard post. So why not? The following weekend, I drove over. Hoa Từ Bi Tâm opens at 8am, so I decided to head over for breakfast.

They've really "greened out" the place and one thing clued me in.....that this was a real "vegetarian" place; there's a bit of Buddhist literature around. This ain't no hipster - tree hugger joint. there's even floor seating available; just don't ask me to do that, I've gone though my lack of flexibility, which has turned into a bit of a phobia over the years. Well, here you can sit on the floor if you want to.

Another interesting thing.....just about everything on the menu (the Banh Xeo is $6) is five bucks!

I decided to start with the Banh Beo, something I hadn't had in a while.

The tapioca - rice cake was way too soft and was ungainly...it also strangely lacked the mild hint of sweetness. While there was a good amount of toppings; it was quite bland and sorely in need of a more savory component. The faux nuoc mam cham was super sweet and amplified the need for something savory in this dish.

In looking over the list of noodle soups; two were quickly eliminated; Bun Mam is only served on Thursdays and frankly, since that soup is a major umami bomb, I'm not sure how things would manage to hold up without seafood or meat, and the version of Bun Rieu which might have been a possibility, was only served on Tuesdays. I chose something that I thought would do well in a vegetarian format; Bun Mang; dried bamboo soup.

The highlights of this soup were the noodles; while the portion was rather small, was prepped perfectly, it shows that they really take care with what is being served. The rehydrated bamboo shoots had a nice crunch and earthy flavor. Unfortunately, not enough of that flavor was given to the broth what was surprisingly salty and on the "sweet" side. The bean curd items were standard issue....and I'm not a big fan of some wheat gluten products; which has a weirdly chalky-"off" meat flavor to me. And those items; especially the faux cha lua tasted that way.

Still; this wasn't terrible and I decided to return this past weekend to try a few other items.

I started with the Bo Bia; Jicama Spring Rolls.

I think these had been sitting a while for a couple of reasons; unlike my previous visit, where things took a while to hit the table, this came out in five minutes. In addition, the wrapper was dried out and really chewy. Third, in addition to the crunch of Jicama, I usually detect a pleasant light sweetness, which was missing here. The dipping sauce; which tasted peanut based was actually quite good; it held up well, and was nice and thick, coating things well.

Not quite knowing what to order in terms of noodle soup, I went with the Hu Tieu.

Which turned out to be a good choice. The broth, while still edging on being too salty, was fine. Because it was on the milder side, I could really make out the flavors; the lightly sweet cauliflower, the vegetal broccoli, the sliced king mushrooms, earthy and meaty. The bean curd items were fine, though I'm still not a fan of the wheat gluten stuff here. The noodles were cooked perfectly this time as well. I also enjoyed a squeeze of lime to tame the sodium and the addition of crunchy bean sprouts. This was not bad at all.....especially for five bucks!

The folks here are really nice. I noticed that all customers were a bit older; except for one table where a very unhappy young lady sat with her smartphone not eating anything while the two older women with her had noodle soup. I'm glad I tried the place; it looks like they already have a decent customer base and are trying to put out a good product. I hope they do well. I just may return one day for another breakfast...

Hey, maybe if they have one of the those "ear cleaning guys" like at Wenshu Temple? Just kidding....once in my life is enough!

Nhà Hàng Chay Hoa Từ Bi Tâm
4591 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115
Hours:
Thurs - Tues 8am - 8pm
Closed on Wednesday

Thanks for the recommendation Elle and Phuong!

Opposite Sides of the Street: Native Foods and Chicken Charlie's FryBQ

I'm still a bit disappointed that all of that development on the corner of Genesee and Balboa has given birth to a slew of chain and chain like restaurants. Still, something did catch my attention which triggered off this Jungian inspired conversation from Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket:

Pogue Colonel: You write "Born to Kill" on your helmet and you wear a peace button. What's that supposed to be, some kind of sick joke?
Private Joker: No, sir.
Pogue Colonel: You'd better get your head and your a$$ wired together, or I will take a giant $^!t on you.
Private Joker: Yes, sir.
Pogue Colonel: Now answer my question or you'll be standing tall before the man.
Private Joker: I think I was trying to suggest something about the duality of man, sir.
Pogue Colonel: The what?
Private Joker: The duality of man. The Jungian thing, sir.
Pogue Colonel: Whose side are you on, son?
Private Joker: Our side, sir.

Two restaurants, polar opposites, one trying to place a large, wet, vegan stamp on the fast casual restaurant business, the other, a favorite among fair goers for frying just about everything, seemed to be wanting to place that stamp in our arteries.

You really couldn't find to more contradictory paths with the same goal....feeding the masses, it seemed quite appropriate that the businesses were across the street from one another. Since both were on the way to and from work and meetings, I thought I should give them a try. And you know me, it meant eating at both places multiple times. So here goes.....

On the North side of Balboa, Native Foods:

To tell you the truth, I'd been curious about Native Foods since I read Elmo's post on the chain over four years ago. Though, to be just as honest, I really wasn't excited enough to drive to Point Loma to try them out.

The set-up is totally fast casual...remove the tree hugger bright colors and this could be Tender Greens or Smashburger.....or any number of fast casual shops.

On this visit, things seemed a bit disorganized....the cashier was busy talking to her customer and going over things while two other girls just kind of milled around. It looked a bit strange to me.... 

Like I mentioned earlier, I'd been intrigued by what Elmo and his pals had from Native Foods, so I ordered the Native Nachos ($6.95) and the Native Chicken Wings - in Buffalo Sauce ($5.95).

The nachos really didn't have any mystery flavors, it was fairly straight forward. My complaints would be that the chips were stale and the "native taco meat" was like eating pieces of organic grit, being hard and dry. Everything else was fine if a bit bland.

The "chicken" was a bit too spongy for my taste, though the "Buffalo"....strange because even though it's the name of a city....it's also a name of a pretty tasty four legged critter...anyway the sauce had a mild kick, the batter was decent, but that "Ranch Dressing" was very runny and tasted watered down.

Not a great meal by any means, but not terrible either, so I returned a few days later. I feel kind of like I cheated here since I ordered a salad.....I mean, a place like this should make a decent salad, right?

What kind of drove me nuts this time around was that I saw my salad come up in the window. There were no other customers and I got it to go. The two guys; one of them obviously the manager were just shooting the breeze, so I decided to use a stop watch after watching this go on for a few minutes.

So, it took over 7 minutes for that guy to reach up and grab my salad which had been sitting in the window. Sheesh, with a manager like that, no wonder folks seem pretty lax here.

I had ordered the Mexican Cobb ($8.95) and I thought it to be a decent salad. The Native Chicken sliced thin with an "Ancho" BBQ sauce, which pretty much tasted like a regular BBQ sauce, no deep smokey-sweet chili flavors, though this was not bad at all. I guess thin slices of the stuff works best. The dressing did have a nice little kick. This was nicely put together, from the jicama to the corn, to the black beans. I'd have no problem ordering this again.

And yet, I kind of felt like I needed to try something a bit different. On my next visit, I again hit an interesting delay. Three girls at the front counter, none of them had access to the register. Common sense dictates that perhaps one should just take my order until they can find the person with the blessed access....but no, I just cool my heels.

At least there was no unecessary waiting for what I ordered, the Native Chili (cup - $3.95) and something the cashier recommended sinceI was just stumped, a thing called the Chicken Run Ranch Burger ($9.95).

Eating chili glue with a flavor that seemed watered down and bland is not my favorite experience. I'm passing on this from now on.

If you see this sandwich approaching you; run, don't walk away from it. Imagine biting into a mushy sponge with dry buns, and liquid that looks like it leaked out of coleslaw oozing out. This was severely bland and I didn't enjoy the textural experience either.

For me, it's the salads here......

Native Foods Cafe
5604 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

On the South side of Balboa, Chicken Charlie's FryBQ:

I thoguht this a fairly interesting gamble for "Charlie". It's one thing to create fatty, over-the-top Fair Food. It's another taking that "fry everything gimmick" and having a brick and mortar shop.

I first went just a few days after opening at a bit of an offf hour so the place wasn't overly busy.

In a rather interesting coincidence, I ordered almost the same items as Kirbie did for her post. The Fried Avocados and a side of Fried Chicken.

I had fried several times here, so I'll just go over it once; these are very low quality bulk fries, lacking in potato flavor and kind of dry. The avocados were the favorite item I had here.......crunchy exterior, creamy avocado goodness....like eating crusted fat. Lovely.

The fried chicken were terrible.

These came out very quickly, so I think they were laying around under some heat source. The coating was soggy, grey, sloughing off like dead skin. The meat was cold to the touch and greasy in texture. It was also strangely under-seasoned for my taste.

The next time around I ordered the FryBQ Ribs, which was probably a mistake on my part.

These were hard as rock and the sauce was much to tangy and "dry", with a bit too much spice. You really couldn't taste any smoke or the ribs for that matter. Perhaps that was by design, but these were not my favorite.

Since I was working within the rule of three, I needed to revisit one more time. So I ordered an item that I enjy when done well, the Frog Legs. Frog Legs are a tricky thing, they go dry quickly if over-cooked. If not fresh, they turn a bit sour with a kind of mushy-sliminess to them.

I believe the photo to the right is pretty much my reaction to the frog legs. The fry job on these weren't good as the batter was soft and just fell of the beast. I'm glad the legs weren't dry, but the flavor seemed a bit off. Not even close to what I had at  Red Rooster Catfish (which I believe has a new location).

And while I really didn't care for much of what I had here; I have to say the service was efficient. I saw Mr Boghosian follow up with customers who seemed ot waiting too long for their orders several times, which was a nice touch.

In the end, for a place that hangs its hat on frying, I thought the deep fry jobs were very uneven. Perhaps Chicken Charlie's forte are the fried sweets like oreoes and Klondike bars. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so I'll leave that for others.

Chicken Charlie’s FryBQ
5407 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111