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kalypso

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Everything posted by kalypso

  1. Here's the short list. Please be aware that most of these places are pretty far off the typical tourist track. Some of the neighborhoods are kinda seedy and a little rundown, but they aren't particularly dangrous. You'll definitely be safe. Tacos El Paisa 840 S. 47th St. Actually very close to where National Blvd. intersects with the I-5 La Fachada (truck/restaurant) 20 25th St San Diego Marsicos Godoy 651 Palomar St. #25a Chula Vista Marisco German 2802 Ocean View Ave. Intersection of 28th and Ocean View, can miss it, the building is shaped like a boat Aqui es Texcoc 1043 Broadway Chula Vista This place specializes in lamb barbacoa. Everything is terrific. La Barbacoa 3502 Fairmount Ave Only open on Saturday 8:00am - 8:30 pm and Sun 8 am - 2 pm Does business as the Candyland Dulceria during the week On Friday and Saturday from about 4 pm - 9:30 pm La Barbacoa becomes a cenaduria serving many of the masa based antojitos. Carnitas Uruapan 8035 Broadway Lemon Grove Better for lunch than for dinner Menuderia Don Vicente 2637 Highland AVe National City Not really for tacos but they make a mean bowl of menudo and pozole. This place is really busy on the weekends, so if you go then, try and get there before 10 am or the line will be out the door Super Cocina 3627 University Ave Also not really a taco place, but the best homestle Mexican cooking in SD. Don't be put off by the steam table service. There is a rotating selection of 10-12 items daily and they'll give you a taste of whatever you want to try. You can get combinations with 1 or 2 items. This is Mexican food that you'd be more likely to find in homes and market fondas, not restaurants.
  2. Addison in your hotel is very good. Pricey, but good. You're going to have more options in La Jolla than Del Mar None of these have are on the water but they're all good Market in Del Mar Nine-Ten in LJ Tapenade in LJ As has already been mentioned George's Azul in LJ Whiskandladle in LJ The Cottage in LJ for breakfast Harry's in LJ The Marine Room is literally right on the beach. Fantastic views, high profile (French) chef in SD and the food is really pretty good. The Marine Room is located at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club. It's really old school SD with an older, monied crowd. Everyone is welcome, unparalleled view really. The Brigantine in Del Mar has a view and decent happy hour. I'd probably recommend it more for lunch and happy hour than dinner. Their fish tacos are surprisingly good You can go up Pacific Coast highway from Del Mar and there are a bunch of restaurants on the beach around Encinitas. Most of them are okay, not great, but if you just want a view they'll certainly fit the bill nicely. Taco trucks are not going to be plentiful in the La Jolla/Del Mar area. You'll need to go a lot further South to the Barrio, National City and Chula Vista for those...they're worth the drive if you've got a car.
  3. Yep! But I'd love any recommendation on bakeries/patisseries, too. I'm a big fan of both Tartine in San Francisco and Boule in LA, but other than that... Yep. Basically that was my selfish motivation to post this in the first place. I want to know where eG'ers here go for the good stuff! And if that yields recommendations in other parts of the state, even better! ← In San Diego, Extraordinary Desserts http://www.elizabethandesserts.com/ Not exactly fancy, restaurant-style plated desserts, but incredibly good desserts. It's located in a nursery and absolutely worth seeking out. Truly, as I've said before here, one of the best pastry chefs in SD is (was?) Jack Fisher. He's since gone into chocolates but let's just say if I knew he was in the kitchen I never..ever.. skipped desert Recent news article New and definitely worth a visit, serving plated desserts and a wide range of other specialties is Azucar a Cuban bakery (the mojito cookies - I know, not a plated dessert - are outstanding, not to mention addictive) When Heaven Scent Desserts is on they're very good, they can, however, be a bit uneven at times. The last time I was there they were dead-on perfect. After a rocky opening they've changed pastry chefs several times and appears to have hit their stride with Tina Liu. If you ever get to SD give these folks a try. Extraordinary Desserts is probably the closest to what you're seeking and it is decadent and worth every penny and clorie.
  4. Hmmm.....so it would seem Adam was successful after all. He, apparently,got his own show
  5. Okay, I'm not going to post about trailer trash or drinking water. I am going to post about brunch at the Better Half in Hillcrest. They started doing brunch a few weeks ago. This is their opening brunch menu. I had the house-made pastrami hash & eggs and my dining companion had pork and duck confit monte cristo. Complimentary biscuits with honey butter and cranberry and mustard chutney/preserves are served along with a couple of complimentary beignets. I loved my pastrami hash. It was very lean and the large portion was nicely flavored without being overpowering. I ordered my eggs over medium, and that is exactly how they arrived. I am not a fan of the monte cristo sandwich; I've always thought Monte Greasto was a better name. It's too rich, too dense and all too often too fat-laden and a heavy, sodden mess. I do, however, have 2 friends and a parent that adore this sandwich, so I've had ample opportunity to taste different versions. It seemed to fall out of vouge when attention turned to trendier and healthier food preparations, but I've noticed a ressurgence on menus around town. Cafe 1-3 on Park Blvd. does a perfectly acceptable, and perfectly traditional monte cristo. The updated and trendy pork and duck confit monte cristo at The Better Half (wth foie butter, no less) is also exceptionally good. And, mercifully, it is not a leaden grease bomb. Make no mistake, it is a very filling sandwich but it is not overy greasy. My friend managed to polish off the whole thing in quick order. We enjoyed the chocolate and raspberry beignets with mellow French press coffee. The flavor combination of the beignets changes weekly and the chocolate and raspberry was outstanding. They could have benefited from a little bit longer in the fryer as they were just every so slightly gummy inside, but they were so light and crispy on the outside we were inclined to forgive the interior. Also noteworthy was the honey butter with the biscuits which was not as cloyingly sweet as most versions I've had. 2 brnch entrees and 2 french press coffees, tax and tip set us back $43.
  6. It's tough to be in any business these days, let alone one in CA. I thought the reporter did an awfully good job of quantifying all the factors that are affecting food businesses these days. I've said it before and I hate to sound like a broken record, but I think we're in for a pretty good shake out in the restaurant industry (not only in SD) before the economy turns around enough that operators aren't walking the fine line as much. As for Lucha Libre, the place is a hoot. The fact that the U/T ran the article on the front page - above the fold, no less - is probably going to generate some business. Their food is pretty good, loved their salsas, decent food quality overall, prices are a little on the high end for a taqueria. It's one of the few places in SD that you can get a quesataco. The interior is a lot of fun and the lucha libre theme and decorations are pretty funky, they were even running it on their TV. It's about a block away from El Indio, but way better than EI.
  7. I'm not sure this really fits the profile of this thread because the restaurant certainly doesn't fall into the category of fine dining BUT... I think this article does a remarkably good job of explaining very clearly, and in plain English, the affects that the worsening economy in San Diego and rapidly escalating fuel and food costs are having on indenpendent restaurant operators.
  8. Great photos!! The bay is so photogenic isn't it.
  9. In Larkspur, CA, just over the Golden Gate is Emporio Rulli the quintessential Italian pastry shop. In San Diego you'll get recommendations for Extraordinary Desserts . One of the best pastry chef's working in SD is Jack Fisher. He moves around frequently, but I believe he's still at Addison, which is the restaurant for the Gran Del Mar Hotel. Extremely spendy. ← Thanks Kalypso. I'm now working for myself. My Webpage ← Oh, my god...I'm in trouble You are the king of panna cotta, if only you could find a way to make that available on-line.
  10. I like the show too, except for the parts where he takes too big a bite and gets food all over himself. That's kind of a gross out. But I kind of get a kick out of the show. He's done features on a couple of places here in San Diego and they were actually accurate and not the typical tourist driven spots in a tourist driven town. The places spotlighted are local spots that attract a local crowd and serve up some pretty decent food. Some hosts seem to do better with a bigger, less restrictive venue than the set of a cooking show. I think Guy is one of those guys. He's certainly been the most successful of the Next Food Network Star franchise. And while he's a little over the top, he's certainly far less annoying and more watchable than, say, Rachel Ray, Sandra Lee or the Neelys.
  11. I agree last night was the first watchable episode so far. I enjoyed it, and what a novel concept, they actually cooked I disagree, though, that Lisa will take it. Yeah, she can cook, but she's exhausting to watch and I'm pretty sure that's not why viewers watch a show. Someone needs to take the battery pack out and tell her to lighten up. It may be life and death in her world, but it isn't to us and that kind of intensity is hard to maintain without burning out and over the long haul it's not very appealing or entertaining. Personally, I'd like Aaron to win because he seems to be an inherently likable *every man* type of guy. Low key, honest, straight forward and normal, plus he can cook. But he's not very good on camera and I don't know that he'd ever learn to loosen up in front of it. So that leaves Adam. He hasn't inspired a lot of confidence with his food. Good ideas, poor execution. Raw food on the plate not withstanding, his style of cooking isn't one I seek out, BUT...he is good, very good on camera which makes him much more marketable than either Lisa or Aaron. FTV can work with him to get his food up to speed easier than it can getting Lisa or Aaron to relax in front of a camera. So whether I like Adam's food or not, my money is on him to win
  12. Chef, I'm not in Mexico but I do have an Alto-Shaam double combi at work. The thing is ENORMOUS, about the size of an SUV and my employees find it somewhat intimidating. BUT...we can cook almost anything in it. Perfect lobster? It does that. Roast a chicken in half the time? Does that too. Bake cookies, it does that but our oven cooks s little unevenly so one side of a sheet pan of cookies always seems to come out a little underdone if we don't rotate. Installation was the hardest part of the process for us. We had to have a couple of service calls to adjust some of the internal settings, but once that was done we've had no further problems. If you get one make sure you have the company provide as much training for as many employees as you can get. Because the unit is larger than almost all of my employees (heck it's even way bigger than me) many who needed to use it were hesitant. The training chef from Alto-Shaam in L.A. came down a couple of times and worked with them which lessened their fear of the equipment. With the Alto-Shaam combi we got 2 manuals, one was all the technical and maintenance stuff, the other was a manual with cooking instructions for everything from hot cereal and eggs to roast turkey and fish and a few recipes . The combi will cut the cooking time for most items. We found the suggestions for cooking specific items more helpful than the actual recipes in the manual. You should be able to easily adapt any of your current recipes to combi cooking, with the possible exception of some baked goods. We discovered that cooking times and temperatures in our combi were similar to those in our convection ovens. So now if we're cooking something new in the combi we consider at how we would have cooked in a convection oven and adapt from there. The learning curve on the combis is a little steep, but it's a very short curve. Once cooks and chefs get the hang of using it - which doesn't really take long - they all want to use it because it's fast, easy and yields a nice product.
  13. I had heard the food had improved substantially after he moved. I've always liked Laurel and, really, have never had a poor meal there, although I did think that the kitchen was operating at peak skill level the last time I was there and probably not capable of much more. It's hard enough to manage 1 kitchen and 1 menu let alone two. The fact that he may be managing both Chive and Laurel concerns me. I wonder if he can sustain the quality at both over the long haul
  14. Didn't the chef from Chive recently move up to Laurel? 2 months is too long a time frame, why not say try Chive by the end of July and report back about the experience?
  15. If I were going out for red meat, I'd choose either Bully's East or Cafe Chole, but be forewarned, Bully's isn't everyone's cup of tea. It's dark, clubby and a little tattered around the edges. it is, however, priced below the mainstream steakhouses. Cafe Chole does a really nice steak frites. A lot of people like The Turf club plus it's affordable. For seafood, I'd probably choose either Oceanaire or King's Fish House if I was going medium to upscale and Blue Water Grill for casual.
  16. For steaks you've got lots of options, in no particular order 1) Donovan's 2) The Palm 3) Dobson's 4) Ruth Chris's 5) Bully's East (which is probably better for prime rib, but the steaks are good) 6) Flemings 7) Island Prime 8) Morton's 9) The Turf Supper Club (in Golden Hills, crowd trends young, good cocktails) 10) The Strip Club (cook your own) Almost every restaurant in San Diego has a steak on their menu, usually a flat iron steak, and by and large, they're cooked fairly well. As for seafood, 1) Oceanaire - downtown and probably the best fish house in town right now. Not on the water but terrific oyster bar 2) Point Loma seafood, very casual, best for lunch 3) Blue Water Grill on India, also probably best for lunch 4) El Pescador in La Jolla 5) King's Fish House 6) The Fish Market (one of the few on the water) bottom floor 7) Top of the Market -top floor of The Fish Market 8) Red Sails, Shelter Island 9) Red Marlin, hotel dining, but surprisingly good 10) Baleen, also resort dining but is right on Mission Bay 11) McCormick & Schmicks, downtown 12) Tin Fish, also downtown by the convention center And finally, La Mesa is very close to where you'll be staying in Spring Valley. Anthony's Fish Grotto in La Mesa is one of the oldest fish restos in San Diego. It used to be ALOT better than it is now. It's not on the water, but with some judicious ordering you can get a decent meal at a reasonable cost. There are 3 Anthony's left in SD, the one in La Mesa is the best of the lot, steer clear of the one directly on the harbor. If you want dining with views the two absolute best bets are Peohe's in Coronado or Island Prime/C Level Lounge on Harbor Island. All have spectacular views of the city and the bay, but unfortunately the food doesn't match the views. That said, the food is also not awful or horrible and it is possible to have more than an adequate meal at any of the 3 restaurants. C Level Lounge is in the same building as Island Prime and is probably better for drinks and appetizers on their patio. SD has great weather in September and drinks on the patio at C Level would probably be quite pleasant. Island Prime is an upscale steakhouse that some in SD think is overpriced for what you get. Peohe's is inconsistent, I've had some excellent meals there as well as some real clunkers. Brunch is best and they actually do seafood reasonably well. Enjoy your visit, you'll have many choices in your preferred categories.
  17. My bad, I misread your post.
  18. Rachel Ray on meth. I like it!! As much as this pains me to say it, Lisa's actually showing some potential. Here's my best guess as to how the next few weeks will play out Adam - goes next week Aaron - the week after Adam And then Kelsey Lisa & Shane will be the 2 finalists and Shane will probably win. Shane reminded ever so much of Tyler Florence last night, and you know, that's not really a bad thing. I always like Tyler's shows. He was easy to watch, low key in a good way and almost always demonstrated a solid level of cooking and (the vaunted) culinary knowledge. Would I get up to watch Shane at 9:30 on Sunday morning? Naw, but make that 9:30 pm and I just might.
  19. Some restaurants don't want to spend the $1,000 it costs them to participate, $1,375 if they aren't members of the CRA. Nine-Ten is a very nice, very good restaurant and presentation has always been one of their strong suits. However, the last time I was there for Resto Week (in 2007) the food was good, but not great, and certainly did not demonstrate what that kitchen is capable or producing. Worse was the service which was ATROCIOUS. Now, I happen to like Nine-Ten alot, but if that had been my only experience at the restaurant I would never return. The place was slammed and the staff could not cope or deal with it. The service was amatuerish at best. The abysmal service by inept and poorly trained high school students certainly detracted from the meal. Not to mention the noise level was so deafening that conversation at our four-top was impossible without having to yell at each other. I hardly think choosing not to support restaurant week because it doesn't show off restaurants well hardly makes any of us trailer trash. Why should I pay $30 or $40 for okay food, horrid service and too much noise just because it's restaurant week and we're supposed to support our local restos. My non-restaurant week meals at Nine-Ten have always been quite good with a manageable noise level, though service can sometimes be uneven. They do a terrific and laid back breakfast.
  20. Well with gas going for $4.59 a gallon (current avg. price in San Diego, CA), probably not many more and the current ones probably not much longer.
  21. I kind of agree with Honkman and Estaban. The way Resto Week has evolved in San Diego doesn't really focus on the quality of a restaurant for me any more. It seems more like it's designed to get butts in the seats rather than highlight what a kitchen can do. It also seems that most restaurants participating in RW are now at the $40 level. Now, I am accutely aware that the cost of food has quite literally gone through the roof and most if not all restaurants are really struggling to provide quality food at still reasonable price points. So, I can cut any restaurant some slack for going with a $40 menu if it means they can cover their expenses, alhtough I also know that food companies like Sysco and U.S. Foods are also helping to underwrite the costs of RW for restaurants. But, by the same token, if I'm going to spend $40 on a meal, I'd much rather go ahead and make my own selections rather than limit myself to only 2 or 3 choices per course that may or may not really be what the restaurant does really well. I really liked the idea of RW when it first started because it got me going to places I didn't normally go. However, after 3 years it no longer holds the same allure for me that it used to. With gas at $4.59/gallon, do I really want to drive all the way out to La Jolla, then fight for a parking space or end up paying for valet parking, shoe horn into a place where the staff might not be glad to be working RW, just to eat a $40 prix fixe meal. The bloom is off the rose for me...
  22. I didn't laugh -- because I knew it was coming -- but I cheered when she whined about ruining her shoes and blouse. Great way to turn the audience off! Maybe she'll learn from that and wear shoes that belong in a kitchen. ← I got a pretty good snicker out her complaining about ruining a $300 blouse. One of my first thoughts was "how many FTV viewers can actually afford a $300 blouse", my guess is not many. That wasn't going to win her much sympathy. But...I am very, very surprised that someone in the FTV HR department hasn't talked to either Lisa...er, the Romulan... or the two network officials on the panel about those shoes. Yeah, it was funny to see her take a header, but she's also a walking safety hazard. What if the contents of that container had been a hot liquid, or worse yet, hot oil. She could have been badly burned, and so could anyone working in the kitchen with her. Not only are those shoes a safety hazard they're also a liability with the potential for a BIG insurance pay out if she ever injures someone because of them. Apparently, the risk does not outweigh eatertainement TV. I don't care how good her skills or knowledge of food may be, those ridiculous shoes, $300 blouse and endangerment of others working in the kitchen are a real detriment to any shred of credibility she may have.
  23. I think I'd like to know when this show is scheduled to air...day/time
  24. Do you really think there's a market/client base in SD for molecular gastronomy or avant garde, cutting edge food This is a city where the only foam is on breakers at the beach, not plates on the table. I think either would be a pretty tough sell. ← well the question was geared towards your opinion and explaniation rather then mine, but,... yea I think if it is exicuted well; full circle it would. That goes for any restaurant, avon garde just requires more skill, time and effort to acieve greatness. If there is a market for restaurants there is a market for all kinds all cusine. ← I tend to disagree. Sous Vide is probably already in use in many kitchens around the county, but it's an old and pretty well established technology. I think some of the culinary branches - especially molecular gastronomy - would not be received as anything more than a novelty and would not be sustained for very long. San Diegans would go, eat it once, say "that's very nice", and not return. What techniques, foods, styles of prep/presentation are you classifying as avant garde? I think if it's too trendy and too cutting edge, with the exception of some parts of North County, most of the rest of SD would find it to unusual to embrace with much enthusiasm. Safe and familiar is more the choice of food in San Diego; this is neither good nor bad, safe and familiar can be done very well. San Diego as a city has never been about blazing trails or cutting edge anything. It's been more about the respite and relief from the world of trail blazing and cutting edge.
  25. Do you really think there's a market/client base in SD for molecular gastronomy or avant garde, cutting edge food This is a city where the only foam is on breakers at the beach, not plates on the table. I think either would be a pretty tough sell.
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