"You say hello, I say goodbye..." - The Beatles
This will be the last issue of "A Taste of San Diego".
It's not that we're going to quit writing about our culinary adventures here in our new home but that the basic concept is changing and will now cover food on a wider level, everything from my normal rantings about poor service to the larger world of food in general.
And instead of the few people who this goes out to now (everyone we know here, basically), this should appeal to a much wider range of readers and provide a place for my other food related writings, etc.
We still don't have a name for it and welcome your suggestions...
Soylent Green is people...
For instance, have you heard about Hufu?
It's a soy derived product much like tofu only it's meant to taste just like human flesh.
The inventor (I'm not really sure that that's the right word) envisions selling this product to "old school" cannibals in Micronesia to satisfy their cravings for a real Manwich, without the legal hassles involved it trapping and butchering it yourself.
A pleasant thought, no?
He further rationalizes it by saying it's also a product for the culinarily curious, just a wee bit of a stretch in my mind.
Finally, he reports that he came up with the exact recipe by doing numerous interviews with former cannibals to make sure he got it just right.
30 July - Por Favor:
Tonight it was John Horsley (my room mate in college), me, the Boy and John's daughter Ashley.
They're on vacation from Florida.
The Boy and John both had the La Especial de Ramon (Carne Asada, cheese enchilada, beans, rice, guacamole)
And Ashley and I had the Number 4 and the Number 12 (not sure which is which) but one is the beef taco / beef enchilada plate (with beans and rice) and the other has a cheese enchilada / beef taco (and the beans and rice).
John and I both had iced tea, Boy had a Coke and Ashley had a couple of glasses of milk.
The total was $50 and coin, $58 after tip.
The server "shopped the food" meaning he either can't or won't read the ticket to see what order goes to which seat, a real no-no in fine dining.
He was quick with the refills and the kitchen bogged down shortly after we got our food as we were approximately 15 minutes ahead of the herd all getting there at the same time (why we really like being out of synch with the rest of the world)...
7 August - Pat & Oscar's:
Small pizza, salad, breadsticks, sodas, lotsa food
$21.08
8 August - Karina's Mexican Seafood III:
The cheese was lukewarm, rubbery and barely melted in the Boy's Molcajete (I had a bite but it wasn't good).
The wife had 2 fish tacos with beans and rice (I ate the beans)
I got a wretched shrimp cocktail in ice water (I sent it back and didn't order anything else).
We also had the usual chips, salsa and an iced tea for me.
The total was $35 with a minimal tip and it'll be a long time before we come back, if ever...
16 August - Submarina - No. 101:
I thought it was a small, local chain but it turns out that they've been in the business 25 years now and are all over SoCal.
We visited the new franchise model in Santee.
On my first visit, I had the East Coast Sub.
It was way too large for this old man, I should have asked for oregano and told them to go easy on the veggies.
The cucumber slices, lack of oregano, the generic cold cuts and the bland sweetness of the bread made it a little too sweet for my palate.
And it didn't help that I spilled my Pepsi on it but even then, it was too much sandwich (I should have ordered the 6 inch one)
It's very Californian there, with the sprouts, sliced cucumbers, avocado, etc.
And evidently their signature sandwich is the turkey, avocado (it figures) and cheese but since we're having beer can chicken tonight, I had to try something else
The Boy had eaten at the El Cajon location and wasn't favorably impressed so I hadn't tried it until I read the recent article in the paper about them going the franchise route.
Way back in approximately 1975 or so, we had eaten at Togo's 2nd location, in San Jose, and they're been a favorite of ours ever since (have the hot roast beef).
So far, this ain't no Togo's...
See their web site here: www.submarina.com
17 August - Submarina II:
This time, we ordered the 6 inch sandwiches and I had the ATC (avocado, turkey and cheese) with tomato and mayo, small chips and a Pepsi.
The wife had the Italian Sub.
There wasn't a lot of turkey and it was sliced way too thin in their signature sandwich.
And the avocado left a perfumey aftertaste in my mouth.
The total was $12.74
The wife rates it (in order) below Togo's and Port Of Subs but higher than Quizno's and Subway, which sort of falls off the bottom of her chart.
21 August - Anthony's Fish Grotto - No. 102:
Anthony's is right on the edge of El Cajon and La Mesa and right across the freeway from Brigantine, which we checked out last month.
The restaurant itself has nice (if dated) decor, blue and aquamarine paint, fish downspouts on the edges of the building's roof, a, fountain, a small lake, a mural, rock walls, painted concrete floors, rainforest landscaping and appears to have been there a long time.
The fish shaped downspouts, which resemble gargoyles on much larger buildings, constantly spout water into the small lake and the fountain sits in the center, right in front of the dining room windows.
We walked in the door early Sunday evening, right at 5:00 PM, and not unexpectedly, the place was full of senior citizens.
The Boy had a side salad, Coke and deep fried calamari appetizers and it was the Shrimp Cocktail, Crab Louie and iced tea for me
We also had a basket of bread with butter mixed with sun dried tomatoes, garlic, etc
Our total was $37.37 before tip, $43 after.
Good service, mediocre food (too many vegetables in the Louie, 3rd rate crab and shrimp, no horseradish in the shrimp cocktail, etc)
I agree with the Boy when he says the Brigantine is better
Anthony's is certainly no Swan Oyster Depot, one of The City's best restaurants despite the fact it only had a dozen stools at the counter...
Like Anthony Bourdain ("Kitchen Confidential") says, only order the fish on Tuesdays through Fridays...
Where I / we ate this month:
Anthony's Fish Grotto
Arby's - Twice
BK - Twice
Gaglione Brothers
Kip's
McD's - Three times
Pat & Oscar's
Popeye's - Twice
Por Favor
Submarina - Twice
The 'Schnitz (Wienerschnitzel) - Three times!
The Tin Fish
Wendy's
NEXT MONTH:
As you have no doubt noticed, we just completed Phase 1 of our "31 Days" project and will now begin Phase 2, where I will behave myself for a month and only eat regular meals (no snacks) and lay off the beer, booze and the usual late night combination of chocolate and salt.
No cigars either...
I haven't figured out what to substitute for my early morning caffeine and sugar thing yet (we tried substituting English muffins in the toaster and a cup of tea but that just doesn't do it for me). I realize that the level of processed sugar, preservatives, etc in the factory made baked goods can't be good for humans but I'm not a breakfast cereal guy (I can't remember the last time I drank milk), I don't do coffee either and I have to throw something in there just to calm it down long enough for all of my other circuits to come online first thing in the morning...
Any suggestions?
