Gaglione Brother's mushroom cheesesteak with extra white American cheese
3 November - Home Cookin':
We had intended to use Giada DeLaurentis' "Everyday Italian" recipe for roasted chicken (marinate it in EVOO - extra virgin olive oil - lemon juice, crushed garlic and spices such as rosemary, fennel seed, etc) but ran out of time as we were tied up in rush hour traffic so we did it the usual way, basting the bird with a butter and herb combination and we used the Kenmore rotisserie instead of oven baking it like she did.
We'll get around to doing it that way the next time...
And this is approximately our 7th time using it without frying the motor and we think they finally got it right, no more rotisserie hell...
She also does a nice variation of roasted baby potatoes using approximately the same ingredients as the marinade above.
We had done a similar treatment from Rachel Ray's "30 Minute Meals" but the potatoes were always under-cooked (she said to roast them for 40 minutes at 350 degrees) but "Everyday Italian"says to heat the oven to 400 degrees and cook for an hour, a fairly significant difference...
We used the 400 degree for one hour formula and that worked perfectly.
4 November - Gaglione Brothers Steaks & Subs - No. 85:
Last night, we had the best cheesesteaks we've had since we moved.
In fact, other than what we do for ourselves at home, I'd say it was very likely the best cheesesteak we've had in at least the last 10 years, maybe more, especially if you don't count the trips to our old favorite place in Silicon Valley after we moved to Squarefield back in 1988...
We saw a coupon in The San Diego Reader, checked out their web site and stopped by after the wife got off work last night (6:30 PM).
Our total for two 8 inch mushroom cheesesteaks, small order of fries and refillable Pepsi was only $9.69 with a buy-one, get-one-free coupon.
Steve was large and in charge there and he took the order, took the cash and then did the deed at the grill.
The roll was good, you could see they use steak rather than roast beef like a lot of other places here do and the proportion of cheese, meat and mushrooms was perfect. It was juicy, tender and delicious, heaven in a bun...
They serve other sandwiches (which also look wonderful) but that'll have to wait until our next visit (we plan to take the Boy over there to check it out sometime this weekend).
And it's also in my old neighborhood, where I lived in the early 70's, a couple of blocks down the street from the Sports Arena, approximately a mile out of my way when I drop the wife off at La Jolla Country Club so you can bet they'll be seeing me on a regular basis as I make that trip 4 times a day, 5 or 6 days a week....
See the web site here: www.gaglionebros.com
5 November - Tommy's Italian Deli V - Building the perfect Italian sandwich:
Also $9.69 (or $5.95 or $8.75 or $14.85 depending on how she rings it up that day).
They just don't get it (I'll try once more before I go into it all)...
6 November - Miracle Mile 1969 Delicatessen II:
This time, it was the Boy and I making the trip over to Coronado, almost 20 miles from here, just for some good deli (it was his first time).
Turkey sandwich and fries for him, kosher salami on rye and fries for me, small Cokes for both of us.
And they have some great pickle spears and Hebrew National Deli Mustard on the tables
The total was $18 plus change.
Traffic was light (it was a Saturday) and we were back here before Noon.
6 November - Rick Brown's "BBQ America" on PBS:
Shoots a lot at La Costa Country Club in North County here.
Today it was 1830 Texas Dutch oven cookery: corn bread, cheesy potatoes, roast chicken, cabbage, a cake with at least 6 different chocolates in it, wild boar medallions and the finale was slab of buffalo cut like filet mignon and garnished with thinly sliced black truffles which go for $50 an ounce (Truffle off to Buffalo?).
7 November - Gaglione Brothers II:
Our second visit was for the Boy's benefit this time as I have a nasty cold and can't taste anything...
I had to have them drop the fries again as they were room temperature...
And we all agree they have a pretty fair bun.
Steve was there again, manning the grill (they were busy as it was dinner time).
And since I didn't have a coupon this time, it was just over $19 for both sandwiches, fries and a couple of refillable Pepsi's.
Foot tall 6 layer chocolate cake with chocolate nut frosting and dusted with cocoa powder
10 November - Claim Jumpers:
To start with, Boy ordered the Fried Calamari with cocktail sauce, a lemon for juicing and a small side salad of various greens and vinaigrette.
I'm not much for squid so I had a couple and Boy finished them off.
I had a side salad consisting of a wedge of lettuce with bacon bleu cheese dressing, a little chopped tomatoes and green onions.
The Boy ordered Jambalaya with rice (some great large prawns, andouille and chicken) and I had a bite but he did most of the damage himself.
He'd never had Jambalaya before and was pleasantly surprised by the dish and says he'll order it again.
For dessert, we shared a humongous slice of that foot tall chocolate cake we noticed on our first visit here several months ago. Boy was full and only ate 1 layer; I had 2 layers and he brought the rest (3 layers) home to hide away in the refrigerator in his room.
I had the usual iced tea and the Boy had a Coke.
Everything was excellent, service was more than competent and as we walked right in shortly after 4:00 PM, we were seated immediately (don't try to go during normal rush hours as it is sometimes a 45 minute to 1 hour wait).
The total was $52 with tip.
The Tin Fish at the end of the Imperial Beach Pier
15 November - The Tin Fish:
The Tin Fish is located at the very end of the Imperial Beach Pier, probably the farthest southwest point in this country.
And it's always a good walk from where you park on the street to the end of the pier and back.
Finally, it was the wife's only day off this week (it's like spring out there) and she also wanted to go to the beach (it's why we moved here).
I also shot some photos mainly to make Chris in Seattle jealous as he swears he wants to move here...
The first thing we noticed was that they had replaced the parking spot for the Tin Fish Shuttle with half a dozen tables with umbrellas for some outdoor seating. We didn't see the shuttle (a stretched golf cart with awning, actually) and I've always wanted to ride it once at least. While we waited for our food, I walked around and discovered it parked behind the restaurant, looking towards the Coronado Islands in the mouth of the Tijuana River, the parking space with possibly the best view in the world...
I had the shrimp cocktail for $6.95, the wife wanted the halibut fish & chips ($14.95) and we had a couple of 16 ounce bottles of Sprite as the machine was down, for a total of just over $28. I had a piece of the halibut, a fair share of the fries, a couple of bites of the slaw, the wife had one of my shrimp and did some damage to this year's halibut catch.
The shrimp cocktail never stood a chance (like Custer at an Indian casino), the halibut was excellent (as they would say in Seinfeld country: "The ocean called; they're running out of fish..."), the cross cut fries are always good there, the oil & vinegar (not mayo) based cole slaw was great, tartar sauce, cocktail sauce and plenty of lemon rounded it all out and we ate too much (or very close to it).
The table and counter tops could have used a little cleaning, the side room had a number of flies, the pigeons weren't the least bit shy and would walk right in when the doors blew open with the breeze, the view was spectacular and we'll be back again, the next time someone visits from out of town or when we need a few more 75 degrees at the beach on the 15th of November day photos to motivate Chris (he says he wants to buy a condo on the beach there).
The Tin Fish: www.thetinfish.net
Charley's Famous Hamburgers in Lemon Grove: Since 1973 (the freeway fly-overs came later)
20 November - Charley's Famous Hamburgers - No. 86
Cheap, greasy, a slightly nasty aftertaste but hey, they're open at 9:00 AM.
I ordered the single bacon cheeseburger combo with generic shoestring fries and 24 ounce soda for $5.48 including tax.
No web site or serious online reviews.
22 November - Rachel Ray's Five Spice Beef and Pepper Stir Fry:
We've been looking for a good beef dish to augment our other Chinese favorites such as our Szechwan Shrimp and Cashew Chicken recipes.
This ain't it!
The beef was excellent, the veggies (red & green bell pepper, onions, chopped green onions) were certainly promising but the sauce sucks.
The smoked and salted whole almonds were OK but lacked a little subtlety and I would have used the rest of the leftover slivered almonds from our lunch today, that Tuna California recipe I sent many of you a couple of years ago (served on 12 grain bread, with a touch of mayo, a bed of shredded lettuce, some sprouts and pickle chips and a little curry powder) that the wife learned at The Good Earth, 20 plus years ago now.
The Darla has never been a fan of Five Spice and I generally don't do sweet so this was rather blatant with a teaspoon full of the stuff...
We are going to rework this recipe with another sauce soon.
I'm thinking oyster sauce with garlic, ginger, soy and maybe some rice wine or maybe a few red pepper flakes, something along that line...
This recipe is in the archives section of the TV Food Network's web site if you find yourself nearby or I can email it to you if you'd like...
24 November - Just Grillin' - No. 87:
From: Frank
To: Lee
Subject: Good eats in your neighborhood
I don't know if you're a BBQ kind of guy or not but that guy in the little trailer at the corner of Pepper and Second knows what he is doing.
I discovered the place yesterday on my way to a couple of VW shops just down the road from there.
I stopped by close enough to get a good whiff and realized that he knows how to smoke some serious meat.
I had intended to wait until Friday to try it out but the smell was haunting me so the Boy and I made it over there first thing this evening.
I had the sampler with 2 baby back ribs, beef, chicken and a hot link with beans (done Mexican style with a little cheese on top) and the slaw.
It came to $9.99 and the Boy had the small order of (4) baby back ribs and 2 side orders (beans and macaroni and cheese) also for $9.99.
The sauce is great, with just the right amount of bite in the aftertaste and his prices are very reasonable as well.
The ribs were the best, the beef was good, the chicken was OK (I'm not a chicken guy) and should warn you that the hot link is a little spicy.
By the time I was done, I'd had 2 sodas, went through close to 2 dozen napkins, smeared sauce all over my face and hands and everything was so sticky that I almost had to pry my fork out of my hand...
The side orders really didn't impress us (who goes out for side dishes anyway?) but the meat (especially the ribs) is wonderful...
The owner is Jack Jackson and he's been in the BBQ business for over 17 years now.
He's also the owner of Blackjack BBQ Grills and says he will fabricate any size cooker for you.
PS: If you stop by, tell him Frank sent you.
Note: No photos (we ate the evidence) maybe next time, no web site...
27 November - Gaglione Brothers III:
We had another 2-for-1 coupon so we paid $12.15 for 2 small (8") mushroom cheesesteaks with extra cheese, fries and 2 small sodas.
Everything was excellent, the fries were hot but I forgot to tell them not to salt the fries so they were a bit too salty for me and the Boy...
We love this place!
28 November - Souplantation:
We've eaten at this place a number of times since we moved here (it's a salad bar with a few pasta dishes, large baked potatoes, a few freshly baked breads, soups, chili and a cheap dessert and fruit bar, just like any of a dozen other companies out there doing exactly the same thing).
This time, we were virtually driven there after we watched "Super Size Me' about the guy who ate at McDonalds for 30 days in a row...
It cost a total of $22.15 for Boy and me and I had a huge salad with bleu cheese dressing, a small piece of focaccia, iced tea and a small bowl of soft serve ice cream with a dollop of caramel, a squirt of chocolate syrup and some crushed nuts over the top. The Boy had a smaller salad, some focaccia, a small bowl of clam chowder, some pasta, a Coke and some soft serve ice cream with chocolate syrup.
