kalypso

So I stopped by the new bakery Heaven Sent at 30th and University in North Park last Saturday. They've done a masterful job on the remodel of the old space. Everything inside is sleek and trendy; I especially loved their coffee cups which are the "Wave" pattern from Villory-Boch. The desserts looked very attractive. Be prepared for sticker shock, however, when you ask how much the desserts are. $12 for a plated dessert and $9 for most of the rest of them. I don't care how good it's supposed to be, at $12 for dessert in San Diego, in a transitionary/marginal neighborhood, it seems a bit incongruous. Not feeling the need to splurge on dessert, my friend and I ordered a scone, 2 cookies and 2 coffees, which came to $12.......$8.50 of which was for the scone and cookies. The coffee was super, the scone was moist with a light lemon flavor, the sugar crusted gingersnap was really good; I'd order that again in a heartbeat. The other cookie, a sea-salted oatmeal cookie was, well, salty, very, very salty, to the point where it detracted from the cookie rather than enhancing whatever flavor there was. To be fair, when we mentioned this to the server who cleared our table, she thanked us for the feedback and that we mention it to the chef/owner and said they'd replace it if we wanted. We didn't having had our sweet tooths satisfied by the scone and gingersnap. This particular stretch of University has been undergoing a bit of redevelopment and the folks with expendable income are slowly moving into the neighborhood and it will, I'm sure, see a renaissance in the years to come. Heaven Sent has a prime location which will probably help it succeed in spite of the $12 price tag on desserts, which is high for San Diego and very high for this neighborhood. They've also got Cafe Calabria a half block down the street which serves swell coffee and better than average pastries at less than half the price.

Stopped by Da Kitchen Friday for lunch. It's located just East of the I-15 at the Carroll Canyon exit. It's in the same shopping center as Carl's Jr., (which is very visible), right next door to Chez Nous (a worthy lunch stop itself) Think Hawaiian, think Da Kine's or L&L, think plate lunch. There is an extensive menu of salads, sandwiches, rice bowls and lunch combos all centered around chicken or chicken teriyaki, as well as a few pork and salmon offerings, but no spam and no musabi. I happen to like katsu, so I ordered the Chicken Katsu with Japanese BBQ sauce, to-go, $7.95. The plate comes with rice and either macaroni or green salad. I opted for the green salad and wasn't sorry. Crisp, fresh romaine was topped with a generous little pile of juilenned carrots. The salad was dressed with what was billed as their house papaya seed dressing. It was delicious, and there was too much of it, but I would end up being happy about that. The chicken katsu was an overly generous serving of chicken thigh cutlet that had been breaded with panko. It was exquisitly light and crispy, but best of all it was virtually grease-free. I'm not, however, exactly sure what the Japanese BBQ sauce was. It tasted a lot like a generic, tomato based Sysco BBQ sauce that they had tried to doctor up, but what ever they used didn't really meld to well with the tomato base. It didn't have soy notes, it wasn't sugary, it missed being like sweet and sour by a mile, it had some faint curry like flavors, but whatever the ingredients, they weren't a match made in heaven, nor did it do much for the chicken. Seeing that I had extra salad dressing left I stuck a strip of the katsu into the papaya seed dressing. Eureka!! that worked in spades. The dressing turned out to be a perfect compliment to the chicken katsu. I'll ask for that next time instead of the BBQ sauce. There is a large, pleasant dining room as well as outdoor patio seating if take out isn't on the agenda. Portions are enormous, go hungry or be prepared to have leftovers. Da Kitchen is a nice addition to an area with not a huge number or variety of decent lunch options. The food is good, but not spectacular, the atmosphere is relaxing and the staff welcoming which makes it a pretty decent choice for lunch in Mira Mesa.

The restaurant is open and was never closed by the health department, it's the fish market that was within the restaurant that was closed.

Are you thinking of the fish market inside The Fishery restaurant in PB? If so, it was closed a couple months ago by the Health Department for health code violations, which the restaurant owners are (or were) disputing. Have they reopened?

Blue Water Grill has excellent fish. It's a casual restaurant with a fish counter inside that serves as an outlet for the family's fishing biz. Selection is not as large as Point Loma Seafood, but the quality is equal or better. Prices are about the same as PLS, maybe a $1 or so per lb. lower. The fish counter at the Hillcrest Whole Foods (7th & University) is also pretty good, but as with most of Whole Foods, pricey. Did you know that at Point Loma Seafood you can call ahead, tell them what you want and they'll have your order ready to go when you stop by. No having to fight the crowds and long waiting lines. So, if not actually seeing each piece of fish prior to purchase isn't a big deal, this could be an option for you as well. And finally, there is alway Ranch 99 Market up in Clairmont. They usually have a variety of live fish from which to choose and their fishmongers will clean and dress it in 5 of 6 different ways.

Thanks for the update on Tip Top. You confirmed what I'd recently heard about them.

For a really great cheeseburger in San Diego check out Hodad's in Ocean Beach or Rocky's in Pacific Beach. The interior of Hodad's can only be described as beach funky, kind of a hold over from OB's seedier surfer/hippie days. But the burgers are pretty darn good. San Diego also has a homegrown burger chain called (okay, Ed, are you ready for it ;->) Boll-Weevil, which is really pretty good as well. In addition to the downtown/Gaslamp options listed by Carlsbad there is also Tin Fish for a good, quick casual meal. Oceanaire downtown does exceptional seafood in a fine dining environment with prices to match. I think Region is inconsistent, but it's a little like Chez Panisse you either get it or you don't. I've not had great meals there (at Region) but I've been at the very same table where the meal or individual dishes have been superb. And if you go, whatever you do, do NOT order the Let the Chef Decide option, the kitchen randomly sends out dishes that are already on the menu. Did that one night with a friend, her meal was great, mine wasn't. And don't worry about skipping Mexican food in San Diego, it's not very good here. You can find much better in the Los Angeles area.

Iowa Meat Farms and Siesel's are the 2 mainstream choices in San Diego, and has been previously noted, they are both very good. Iowa Meats will special order for you, they brine their own corned beef, the carry real USDA Choice grade beef, they'll give you advice on cooking if you ask, I've purchased prime rib from them, love their thick cut bacon and I've never had a bad piece of meat from Iowa Meats. If you'd rather brave the I-5 and go north to Encinitas there is always Tip Top Market, though I understand that can be a bit inconsistent at times. Isn't there a Gelson's in La Jolla? Also, the butcher counter at Whole Foods is pretty good, especially in Hillcrest, but it truly does give new meaning to their alter identification - Whole Paycheck. If you want a little adventure and slumming it a bit doesn't bother you, there is an Asian chicken shop on Euclid about 1/2 a block south of El Cajon Blvd. Don't worry about the name, it's not in English anyway. It's in a small strip mall which IIRC is named Century Square, but you can't miss the BIG sign that says POLLS-PATOS - VIVOS Y FRESCO in Spanish. They do speak English but be very clear about your order, including size and what you intend to do with the chicken, or you may get more (or less) than you bargained for. They definitely have chicken feet. The butchering process is clearly visible through a plate glass window in the front part of the shop.

Ummm..........when was the last time you went to Guymas? I agree the view is terrific, but I lived in Marin County for 10 years and found the food inconsistent, especially towards the end, not to mention terribly overpriced for what you got. But, it's been around a long time and restaurants are cyclical, so it certainly could have gotten significantly better since I moved, especially if they've got someone really good in the kitchen. I used to take visitors there, but the food got so bad even the view wasn't worth it.

Ah............the food in San Diego only seems less interesting than other parts of CA because it's in transition and flying under the radar at the moment. this is my hometown, but I spent 18 years in the Los Angeles area and 10 years in the Bay Area, and I can say without hesitation that San Diego does breakfast better than either L.A. or S.F. As Kouign Aman noted The Marine Room in La Jolla is fabulous, right on the beach, spectacular view, spectacular food and a pretty spectacular price tag too, for a buffet - $40. At the other end of the spectrum is the Pier Cafe on the Ocean Beach pier, spectacular view, decent food, reasonable price tag But seriously, the best breakfasts can be found at (in no particular order): The Cottage in La Jolla Girard Cafe (or maybe it's Girard Grill, I can never remember) also in La Jolla Rancho Bernardo Inn Cantina Panaderia in Pacific Beach, this is my particular favorite The Broken Yolk also in PB, cheap, high volume, funky, and the food is pretty decent, except, do NOT under any circumstances order the eggs benedict, they're pretty awful. The Mission Cafe - 3 locations, North Park, Mission Beach or La Jolla Terra- in Hillcrest, love this one too The Original Pancake House on Convoy St. in Kearny Mesa Ricky's for waffles in Mission Valley Rudford's on El Cajon Blvd. in University/City Heights Brian's on West Washington Blvd. If you're staying in the Gaslamp District you're in luck. There are probably more restaurants per square inch in the Gaslamp than anywhere else in the city. Surprisingly, a lot of them are really quite good. Since there are really far too many to even attempt to list, here are two links you might find helpful for the -- San Diego Reader and theSan Diego Union-Tribune restaurant reviews. You can search all the Downtown/Gaslamp listings for preferences, both sites have pretty complete listings of what's available. In the Reader, pay attention to the Tin Fork reviews, they generally cover smaller, funkier restaurants, and are usually pretty well on target as far as the food goes. Unlike San Francisco's tourist mecca, Fisherman's Wharf, local San Diegans do frequent their tourist mecca, the Gaslamp, in large numbers and the food there can be very good. Tin Fish, Cafe Chole, Cafe Cerisse and Chive are among the standouts. Contrary to popular belief fish tacos are not indigenous to San Diego, but Wahoo's as mentioned earlier does produce a great fish taco. Even better is El Zarape in University Heights. For Mexican food try Mama Testa's in Hillcrest or Super Cocina in City Heights. Super Cocina is the real deal and about as close to Mexican home cooking as you're going to get in San Diego. For Asian food - which you will find better in L.A. and S.F. - head to Convoy St. in the Kearny Mesa area For drinks and appetizers C Level Lounge on Harbor Island works. Best view of the city, interesting drinks and appetizers. I'll also second the recommendation for Roppongi in La Jolla where their appetizer menu is half price every day from 4 - 6 PM, and it's an interesting, well done, quality app menu. This offer can also be found at Fresh in La Jolla as well since both places have the same owner.

John, I am SOOO living vicariously through your reports I hope the CIA pays you a marketing fee as you're doing such a great job promoting the trip!! The photos are fantastic and doing a great job of conveying an accurate image of everything. Here's the link to Marilyn Tausend's web page, and I heartily agree with your comments that her tours are extremely well run. Almost the first thing I do each morning when I get to work, is to see what you've posted (everything loads better and faster here at work). It's such sweet anticipation to see what you've put up, I can hardly wait to see the rest of your reports

Here you go, the link for Aloha. I've used Aloha for the last 5 years and am relatively happy with it. Almost falls into the TMI category.

Ah, yes..............someone actually set the microwave on fire in our building - which is not insubstantial - leading to a ban on popcorn in the microwave and it was removed from vending mcahines shortly thereafter. Currently, we are involved in coffee wars. Someone has been buying Folgers Half-Cafe for the communal office coffee pot. This stuff is vile I tell you, vile, not to mention virtually undrinkable. Several of us have resorted to making a pit-stop at the Starbucks a half a block away on our way in each morning. Since I am usually the last person out of the office, I eventually pick up some of the Boyd's Cafe Rojas organic (hey, it's free) from one of our units and the half-cafe mysteriously disappears and the more drinkable coffee appears. Now, you can get quite a caffeine buzz from the Boyd's product, and interestingly enough, none of the half-cafe drinkers has mentioned that they notice a difference in either the taste or potency of the coffee from the communal pot.

Hmmm................gotta disagree on this one. I hate to dis my hometown, but San Diego is definitely an innie working on becoming an outie. When I moved back in in 2001 from the Bay Area food culture shock is the only way to describe the experience. I had to go to 3 different stores just to find flat leaf parsely, some things I just couldn't source (like specialty Italian) and the quality level of many items was a step or two lower than in the Bay Area. But, OTOH, I am delighted to say that in 5 short years the situation has improved a lot. It's now easier to find specialty produce/food products and the variety and quality of new resteaurants has been very good. Frankly, if one more person asks me where to find "amazing", "awesome" NY-style pizza, Mexican, Korean, Greek, etc. food "unique" to San Diego, I'm going to slap them into next week. It doesn't exist........yet. San Diego is working on it and moving at a pretty good clip, but the fish taco is not indigenous (San Felipe or Acapulco claims that depending upon who you talk to) to San Diego, in fact with the exception of El Zarape in City Heights ($.99 ea), the fish tacos in this town can be pretty disappointing. A tourist town since nearly it's inception, San Diego was also home to more ex-patriated Iowans than any place in the world (yes, even more than Long Beach, CA), home to one of the largest assortment of miliatry installations and a pass through destination for those immigrating - legally or not - from Latin America. Now, I'm not going to dismiss the cuisine of Iowa because there are some mighty fine cooks there producing some excellent food. Nor, am I going to trash the military presence or weigh in on the validity the current border hysteria. No, my point is that San Diego's recent food history (i.e. the last 50 years) has been one mostly of status quo, safe, middle ground food designed to appeal to the widest range of people and tastes without offending. Safe is often boring, and so it was with a lot of what was available in San Diego. It tasted just fine, but it didn't make you sit up and take notice, it didn't rock the boat, and the taste buds certainly didn't sit up and say WOW that tasted great, or what a great meal. For years San Diego was the largest producer of avocados in the world, and the largest U.S. producer of kiwis among other things and is currently the 2nd largest producer of macadamia nuts, of all things, as well as having organic/biodynamic producers doing some really interesting stuff. A lot of the locally grown produce used to make it to the local markets and I remember as a kid eating great produce. Not so much today, unless you shop at the local farmers markets. So in that regard I think San Diego has actually gone somewhat backwards in development. Luckily for us, well trained chefs have discovered that with an average temperature of 72* year round, 10 inches of rain and an emerging awareness of food, that the quality of life here is pretty darn good. They can be a big fish in a little pond in a big city. Fine dining still has something of a casual flair to it, but it's awakened and is starting to thrive. It's not hard to find a good meal, well prepared and at reasonable prices. And, one thing that San Diego does really, really well is breakfast. Not just the hotel style champange brunch, but interesting menus at restaurants from small to large, msotly for less than $10 and with good coffee. Young, enthisatic growers have discovered there is a market for community supported agriculture and that things grow pretty well here. Let's also not forget that the waters off the San Diego coast produce world class uni in demand everywhere. Slow Food has a convivium here that is doing what it can to develop awareness and it's base of members. No, San Diego is not quite an outie yet, but like the fast pace of life these days, it's definitely and clearly moving in that direction and it's exciting to watch it happen, and of course, eat one's way through it Didn't mean to get off on a tangent or rant. San Diego is a wonderful place to be from and to live. Historically, though, the food hasn't exactly been it's biggest selling point. Everyone's perspective may be different, but the times they are a-changin' in San Diego

Yes, I do know Siesel's and I like it. While IMFs is basically a meat market with a tremendous selection of bottled sauces and upscale condiments, Siesels offers a wider variety of produce and frozen products, plus the carry Diestel turkeys at Thanksgiving. IMFs is very convenient for me, but if I lived in the beach communities I'd probably shop more frequently at Siesel's. P.S. I cooked a flat cut corned beef from IMFs for dinner this evening. It was very good, and not overly salty.

Oxymoron was kind of the first thing that popped into my mind as well. But since we're in the same city here's a lead, Iowa Meat Farms on Mission Gorge Rd. corns their own beef and it's very good. Click on the link to what's new Is it strictly lo-sodium? Probably not. Is it somewhat lower in sodium than the usual grocery store suspects? Probably.

Drat that ADD/Dyslexia $.50/pound is, indeed, a very good price for lemons. I guess I shouldn't add that 10 days ago in Patzcuaro, MEX a Kilo of fresas (strawberries) was going for 5 pesos, which is about $.50. Deep red, fragrant, ripe, large berries, possibly even organic.

It's not the $2/pound lemons that's the amazing price, it's the strawberries at $.99 a basket. Frankly, they aren't my favorite berry but at $.99 a basket I could learn to love them very easily Oh, and I second all the other posts about the fun and adventure of shopping ethnic markets. They're a good deal here in San Diego too, you don't need a huge amount of Spanish to navigate them and the quality on many items is often times better than the big retail chains.

John, what memories I did the CIA trip to Oaxaca 3 years ago and loved every minute of it. It really is a lovely experience, and while it seems pricey on the surface, it's really quite a good bargain for all the information and access you ultimately get. And I agree, Rick's a sweetheart and Richard James is wonderful too. I very nearly went on the trip this year because it was to an area I hadn't visited in nearly 20 years, but I was already committed to a week in Patzcuaro (for an astrology conference no less) on the same dates. CIA Greystone sponsors a seminar each fall - usually the first weekend in November - called World of Flavors that focuses on a particular cuisine or concept that is attended mostly by folks in the food business. In 2002 the conference was on Spanish & Latin Flavors and was a terrific experience, driving rain storm and all. Marilyn also does a very small tour each October/November for chefs and other food professionals (which I did in 2004). Roberto Santibanez and Ricardo Munoz are the two primary instructors and it is a lot more food intensive/recipe/technique driven than the CIA trip. The 2005 che'fs trip was based in Tepotzlan and I am not sure where she's going this Fall, but I'm planning to ask when I see her at IACP at the end of the month. I am definitely looking forward to the rest of your reports and photos

Nor would the Pre-Columbian European diet look much like it does today either, although it isn't really that difficult to find the pre-European roots in a lot of traditional Mexican cuisine, i.e. tortillas and other masa based foods, moles/pipians, abundant fruits/vegetables, fish/shellfish/turtles, and the consumption of insects. Back in 1991 Raymond Sokolov wrote an interesting little book about why we eat what we eat, which takes a look at the impact New and Old World foods had on each other and how the interchange of foods between the continents changed the way the world ate. As to the olives, that was mostly a church thing. Olives - along with grapes - were planted by the various religious orders as a source for holy oil and sacramental wine. Both crops proved to be extremely productive in Mexico, so much so they threatened the economic dominance of both grapes and olives in Spain. The crown eventually prohibited the church from continuing to plant and grow grapes and olives, although it did allow continued production for religious conversion purposes. With that revenue stream curtailed, the church had no real reason to persue grape and olive growing with any gusto, so both eventually faded in importance. Had the olive industry not been artifically repressed, it is probably not unfeasible that they would have developed a more prominent role in traditional Mexican cooking. Tzintzuntzan was the original seat of Purepecha power in Michoacan. When Vasco de Quiroga arrived in that part of the new world, around 1533, his goal was to create a version of Utopia. He began building a new church and included a slew of olive trees. The church is still standing, still in use and a good portion of these 450+ year old trees are still alive and healthy. I think some of them are still producing fruit, but I am not 100% sure. Father Junipero Serra repeated the same process at each of the 17 Missions he established here in California. Each Mission was planted with it's own olive trees, grape vines and orange orchards so that it could provide for all it's needs and be self sustaining. Interestingly, both men are on the sainthood track, tho' not for their role(s) in promoting and developing sustainable agriculture in the New World

Well, the first thing I should tell you is that I shouldn't try to think in English and spell in Spanish while multi-tasking. It's actually Alkimia, not Alquimika. The address is: Av. San Jeronimo 243 Col. Jardines del Pedregal The food is upscale, contemporary Mexican seasonal cooking. It is affiliated with El Centrol Culinario; similar to how The Wine Spectator Restaurant is affiliated with CIA - Greystone. The restaurant is large, open, airy with some vast expanses of glass, grass and water. I found the room extremely comfortable and relaxing. It made me totally forget there were 20 million people just outside the door. Alkimia bills itself as a "Cocina Mexicana Restaurante - Escuela" - and - "La Alkimia de las recetas se hace fundamental en un espacio de fantasias eroticas. Un mundo de texturas y de sutiles transformaciones" Erotic fantasies? Possibly. I know that almost everything I ate there seduced my palate if nothing else. The foie gras soup that arrived with a large noisette of espuma de foie piped into the bottom of a wide soup plate was certainly luxurious once rich beef consume was added. The swordfish ceviche with it's whimsical presentation was as much fun to eat as it was to look at. I'll admit the Tartar de Atun made me swoon. The brandy snifter filled with chocolate mousse bore a striking resemblence to Medusa's head with all the minature churros sticking out of it. It was food and a meal that engaged the senses and made you really take notice of what you were eating, what it looked like, what it tasted like, how it was presented. The starters included the aforementioned tuna tartar and swordfish ceviche as well as a nopal blue corn sope and something else I have completely forgotten. Sopa secas included the foie gras soup, a stellar rendition of tortilla soup, a black bean risotto with shrimp and another forgotten dish. Entrees included a seared tuna, venison, duck, pheasant and beef steak. Desserts were light and mostly fruit based. The ingredients may be traditional to the Mexican table, but the resulting dishes and presentations are anything but traditional. The kitchen cooks seasonally, so what I had in November is most likely not on the menu, or some of the component parts have morphed into something else. Everything we had was extremely well done, but I'd have to say the best dishes were the ones of seafood and game. The breads and rolls produced in house and served throughout the meal were wonderful. 5 months later I can recall most of what I ate, that should be a pretty good indicator of the impression the meal made on me El Centro Culinario also puts out a food mag called Restaurantes Gastronomia y Vino, which can be purchased at Alkimia and usually includes some of their recipes. Because they are an educational operation, their philosophy is to share everything with everybody in an attempt to educate their community.

Here's a link to a review of a pretty good BBQ resto in the South Bay. Read it and see if it's what you're looking for. For Biscuits & Gravy try Rudford's on El Cajon Blvd. or Brian's on the very eastern end of Washington. If you're willing to travel try the Bread Basket in Alpine. And they might be on the Sunday (Jazz) brunch menu at Magnolia's on Euclid next to the trolley tracks. For long time the choice for dim sum was Emerald's on Convoy. They had a kitchen fire last year, which has kind of put a crimp in their pot stickers. Pearl in Rancho Bernardo is owned by the same people as Emerald and the dim sum at Pearl gets pretty good marks, tho' it is priced higher. China Max on Convoy has it's proponents, as does Jasmine. However, the general consensus of the dim sum cognosenti is that you really need to head north to L.A./Monterrey Park, or take a really long road trip to SF.

Well that's a bummer about Troy's. Welcome to the East County Since you're trolling El Cajon Blvd. you might want to check out The Place. Decent Kosher/Jewish deli type of place, best pastrami in SD. I think it's around 63rd or 67th, still in the SDSU neighborhood and well within a reasonable radius of your new place. I like the produce and the meat counter (with butcher and Mexican meat cuts) at the Pancho Villa market on El Cajon where it crosses the 805. You might want to skip the seedier sections of El Cajon, you know, the parts where it's more than just the stop lights that are red. Once you're done with El Cajon Blvd., you can start in on University Ave. In some respects I think it has more interesting food choices from La Mesa to Mission Hills.

Ellen, have you tried Troy's for falafel yet? It's in the shopping center at the dreaded intersection of Mission Gorge Rd. and Friars Rd. There are a lot of people in the east county that swear by it. If you're up for venturing into downtown, you can always try the Athen's Market. There's also a new branch of Pho Hoa Cali in Mission Valley, next to Hooter's, across the street from Target

Is this the CIA trip? If so, you'll have a wonderful time. I did their Oaxaca trip 3 or 4 years ago. Pricey, but I never regretted it. I'm doing a benefit/fund raiser with Ricardo next Friday. He's a real sweetheart.