Mmmmm...Messy Burgers - Update

Back on March 20th, I reviewed Slater's 50/50.  I got a comment from J about the PB&J burger.  Well, I am happy to report, I tried it!  I had to break my rule about going to a restaurant twice in one year, but possibly, this was worth it!

Its formal name is the Peanut Butter and Jellousy.  A beef burger with peanut butter and strawberry jelly, and they throw on a few slices of bacon just to put it over the top!  I thought it was fantastic.  Not much more to write...just enjoy the picture....

Zip Fusion Sushi, huh?

I know I know, what am I doing at a sushi place?  Well, not eating sushi, haha.  K wanted me to try a dish at a local place in Del Mar, near where she works.  Zip Fusion has a ton of different kinds of interesting and exotic sushi, but what we were getting today was a Korean dish, Bibimbop.  To be more specific, Hot Stone Beef Bibimbop.  This dish comes in a big stone bowl that is blazing hot.  Even after you have finished the food inside, it is still too hot to touch.  You pretty much have to give every mouthful 30 seconds to cool off, so needless to say, you can't eat it in a hurry.

We had to ask the waiter how to pronounce Bibimbop before we ordered it, and he was very patient in explaining, "Try to say every syllable, beeee-bim-bop".  So there you go.

Inside the stone bowl is rice, covered with many Korean vegetables.  I asked what they were but all I could get was Korean vegetables.  Then there is a small amount of beef, topped with a raw egg.  You mix the raw egg into everything else and it cooks, making sort of a fried rice effect.  Trust me, this food is so hot the egg will cook.  There is also a spicy sauce you can mix in.  I mixed a small amount of sauce in, and K mixed in 2 small bowls worth.

I thought the Bibimbop was super tasty!  When you get down to the bottom, the rice is crunchy from the heat of the bowl, interesting and good. 

So, I can't vouch for the sushi, but if Bibimbop sounds intriguing, give Zip Fusion a shot!

Breakfast in La Jolla

Out Geocaching on a beautiful Sunday morning, when our tummy's started to rumble.  Luckily we were right near a place that's been around forever serving great breakfast food, Harry's Coffee Shop.  Harry's has been in La Jolla for over 40 years, and I have passed by it on occasion, but never stopped in.  The friend I was with this morning, K, has been here before, but many years ago.  The décor is what you'd expect, old fashioned, but that doesn't seem to stop anyone from eating here, as the place was packed.

It took a while to browse the huge menu, but on a recommendation from the waitress I decided on the B.W. Benny for $10.95.  Ok, are you ready for this?  This is a waffle with bacon inside and on top, grilled ham and poached eggs, topped with Hollandaise sauce.

They also give you a side of warm maple syrup to pour on, if you are brave.  I was.  I cannot tell you how awesome this was!  Well, actually I can...it was awesome!  And I finished the whole thing!  It was kinda like a sweet and salty thing.  Wow.

K ordered Harry's nutty pecan banana pancakes for $9.75, and added some extra blueberries.  She said they were great!  You can also get this in the form of a waffle or French toast.

Harry's has a great menu filled with breakfast and lunch item...sandwiches, soups, salads, burgers and milkshakes.  They are open daily 6:30am until 3pm.  I'm sure I will be making it back soon!

Have you ever heard of Harry's?  Let me know if you go!

 

3 Quick Reviews #1

Meat.  I love meat.  And "Meat" just happens to be the nickname for a restaurant I have been going to for years...Alborz Persian and Greek Cuisine in Del Mar.  This place is kinda on the pricey side, unless you can go at lunch time during the week.  For this visit on the weekend, I had found a 2 for 1 coupon, so the price was pretty reasonable.

The menu has a ton of great items, but I usually get my favorite:  Kebob Barg.  This dish is marinated and charbroiled steak, and it's always tender and juicy.  You get a large portion and it's served with Basmati saffron rice and charbroiled onion, peppers and tomato.  The lunch plate also includes a small salad.  All meals come with thin cracker bread and butter.

My friend K has her favorites also, but tonight she decided to try something new...Fesenjon, which is a pomegranate and walnut stew.  Sounds weird, right?  It's chicken in kind of a sweet and sour sauce.  It was quite tasty and I think she was glad to have tried something different.

Eating at "Meat" reminds me of another place I love...but that's a review for another time!

Have you tried Alborz?  What did you think?

3 Quick Reviews #2

Most everyone knows about D.Z. Akins Delicatessen and Bakery in La Mesa, but sometimes you forget about it and how good it is, so I am here to remind you!  This place has a huge variety of food.  The menu barely fits on the table and is about 6 pages long.  If it's your first visit, it will take a while for you to read it all.  They have breakfast, appetizers, soups, sandwiches (102 different kinds!), dinners, desserts, shakes and more...just about anything you could want.  They have great hot meals, but I would say they are more known for their deli sandwiches and cold fish platters.

There is a bucket of chunky pickles on every table, and I start munching on these as soon as I sit down.  I normally get the same thing every time I go, haha, I just love it in it's simplicity...#55 (shout out to Jr.).  It's turkey, jack and avocado.  I usually have to re-make the sandwich after I get it, just so I can actually eat it!  Along with D.Z. Akins wonderful home made potato salad, this meal is a real filler.

My niece R, got a steak salad.  Tons of lettuce, avocado and tender steak piled high.  She enjoyed it very much.

You will not leave D.Z. Akins hungry!  Luckily (since there is never room for dessert) there is a bakery in the lobby so you can get a variety of cake and cookies to take with you.  There's a also a cute gift shop to browse in before you go.

Have you ever tried D.Z. Akins?  How did you manage to eat your sandwich?

3 Quick Reviews #3

I found Du-pars Restaurant and Bakery on Sports Arena Blvd. a few years ago using a Restaurant.com coupon.  Since then I have come back again and again for a wide variety of home style meals.  Du-pars started in LA, where there are still a few restaurants, there is only one location in San Diego.  They have been around for 60 years, and it would seem the decor hasn't changed much in that time, but don't let that deter you from going and enjoying some amazing dishes at this diner.

On this occasion, I was dining with my niece R, and while we really wanted to get to dessert, we decided to eat some "real" food first.  She had a bowl of clam chowder, which she loved.  I had a cobb salad, which was a little bigger then expected, and very good as well.  I have also had a lot of other things here, including sandwiches, burgers, omelets, "world famous" pancakes....and nothing has disappointed.

 Now, on to dessert!  I am a big fan of bread pudding and Du-pars is excellent.  You get a huge piece served with ice cream and dripping with rum sauce.  The bread pudding is moist and contains an ingredient I haven't had in any other, coconut...no complaints here.  R had the chocolate fudge brownie, which comes warm and heaped with ice cream, chocolate syrup and whipped cream.

 

Almost forgot to mention that Du-pars is open 24 hours.  I would certainly stop here if I was in the neighborhood at 3am!


Have you ever eaten at Du-pars?  What did you order?

The Food of My People on Easter

Kaiserhof is a favorite restaurant of my family, serving great German fare for many years.  Located in a cozy themed building on a corner in Ocean Beach, you have probably driven past it 100 times.  My mom and I decided to go for Easter Brunch, and since we made reservations, were seated right away at a nice window table.

The Easter Brunch came with rolls/butter, a soup/salad buffet, a side dish and mimosas.  The buffet is small and crammed into the lobby area, where it can get tight, but you'll find all good salad fixin's and some German potato salad there.  My mom ordered the Wiener Schnitzel, which is breaded veal, sauteed in butter and served with lemon.  As her side she chose mashed potatoes.  It looked and tasted delicious!

 I ordered Jagar Schnitzel, which is sauteed veal with a mushroom cream sauce.  My side was fried potatoes.  Mine was just as good as my mom's!  We didn't have room for dessert this time, but I can tell you they have some good ones....Apple Strudel and Black Forest cake are favorites.

I have eaten at Kaiserhof many times over the years, and I like to try a variety of things.  Every meal I've had has always been served hot and had that great homemade taste to it.  The servers are all friendly and efficient.  I highly recommend it!

Have you eaten at Kaiserhof?  Let me know how your experience was!

Mmmmm...Messy Burgers

Anyone that knows me knows I love burgers.  Loves them!  So when I heard about Slater's 50/50 restaurant yesterday at work I HAD to try it (Shout out to J and A).  It's located in Liberty Station on Rosecrans, the only location in San Diego.

Apparently there's usually a line to get in, but at 6:30pm on a Tuesday, R and I walked right in and were seated.  We were handed a menu, and also a check box sheet, for "designing" our own burger, including choices of the patty...50/50, beef, turkey, chicken, veggie and more.

The menu has a ton to choose from...appetizers, mac and cheese, salads, already created burgers and some other sandwiches and desserts.  The 50/50 Burger gets it's name from the patty, which is 50% beef and 50% bacon.  Now I love bacon as much as the next guy, but I already knew that this is something I wasn't going to try, at least not today.  You can also "design" your own milkshake, using a variety of about 15 ingredients, which I wasn't going to try today either, but I will definitely come back for in the future!

I started with a combo appetizer plate of deep fried pickles with mustard sauce, and mac n cheese and bacon balls, with ranch dressing.  They do the usual fries, sweet potato fries, and onion rings, but I thought I would try something different.  Both of these items, delicious!  There was a lot on the plate and could have easily been split 4 ways, but R and I managed to eat a healthy portion of it (or, not so healthy!).

I decided to design my own burger using the check box sheet.  I chose a 1/3 pound beef patty, with a Bacon Pretzel bun.  I topped it with Vampire Dip (garlic, cheese and artichoke), pickles, red onion and avocado.  Wow, have to say, top 3 best burgers I have ever had in my life.  The beef was good and perfectly cooked, great tasting bun, and while my add-ons weren't so unusual, everything tasted fresh and yummy, not greasy.  You also get to name your burger, and I named mine The Nausiator, but it was anything but!

R also designed her own burger.  She chose a beef patty with Bacon Pretzel bun.  She topped hers with Mozzarella cheese, cole slaw, grilled pineapple, red onion, tomato, thick cut bacon and Sriracha mayo.  She loved it!

I'm sure I will be coming back to Slater's 50/50 again, because there are so many other things I want to try!  At between $10-$15, a slightly pricey burger, but it was definitely worth it!

Have you tried Slater's 50/50 restaurant?  What did you design?

Downtown for Chinese

K and I had stopped at Horton Plaza for some all important shoe shopping, when we realized we were hungry!  Luckily, we were only a few steps from the Panda Inn.  Well actually, we were a few long hallways, stairways and sidewalks away, but close enough.  (You will know what I'm talking about if you have ever been to Horton Plaza)

We glanced at the menu and decided to share an appetizer of Lettuce Cups, an entree of Cashew Chicken and a side of braised garlic string beans.

The lettuce cups arrived and our waiter made them for us, great!  They came with a delicious plum sauce and spicy mustard.  They were an excellent start to our meal.  Then came the Cashew Chicken.  Super tender and flavorful with a side of brown rice. Sorry, I had already started to wolf down my great looking food before I remembered to take a picture!

 

Last, along with the bill, came Panda Inn's signature fortune cookies dipped in white chocolate.  So good....and I might be making a new friend this week!

Great service, and plenty of food even though we split everything.

Have you been to the Panda Inn?  What did you try?  How was it?

Cozy Italian in La Jolla

Found cute little La Dolce Vita Italian restaurant in La Jolla because of a Travel Zoo coupon...I love coupons!  They have a special dinner menu that's $90 for 3 courses, for 2 people.  My coupon was for half of that, or $45 for 3 courses, for 2 people.  Even if you don't have a coupon, their regular menu is filled with all the classic Italian dishes for you to try, including pizza, ranging in price from $12 to $20, with lots of appetizers and salads you can add on.

La Dolce Vita is kind of a small place on the inside, with nice murals of Italy decorating the walls, and a small patio outside tucked away amongst some small touristy shops.  I was dining with my friend K, and we chose to sit outside on the patio, next to the fountain, and the large heater. We got a complementary basket of bread, along with a bowl of dipping sauce.  I believe the sauce was olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic, and it was very tasty!

I started with a Caprese salad, the usual tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil drizzled with olive oil, with an added bonus of roasted peppers.  It was great.  K had the tomato, basil and cream soup and she loved it.

Next course I was on to Chicken Marsala, served with veggies and pasta. All delicious. K had Butternut Squash Ravioli and she said it was quite good, and had enough to take home for another meal. The service was excellent and we loved our friendly waiter that spoke with an Italian accent.  We also thought it was great when another server brought our dinner and left us with an "Enjoy huh" in classic Italian style.

And finally, dessert.  I chose the warm Brownie ala mode, and K had the Cannoli Siciliani...perfection!

Nothing but good things to say about this restaurant, and I very highly recommend it to all!

Buon Appetito!


Have you tried La Dolce Vita?  Tell me what you thought!

Andres - Cuban and Puerto Rican Cuisine

Cuban Cuisine....not something I bet anyone would think I would like.  But guess what, I do!  I went here the first time a few years ago because I had a Restaurant.com coupon, and also it was close to my house.  I had no idea what kind of food to expect, or if I would find anything to eat.  What I found was food so good I keep coming back again and again!

On this visit, I tried the Chuletas de Puerco, which is marinated pork chops, served with steamed riceand Puerto Rican-style red beans, I also got the add on salad, and all entrees come with a basket of garlic bread for the table.  It was quite good...meat tender and juicy, rice flavorful.  To drink I had a pineapple soda, my usual when I come to Andres.  I don't think my pictures do the food justice...

On previous visits I have tried their other roast pork dishes, and they have all been delicious.  Other dishes have come with different kinds of rice, different kinds of beans and some with yuca and plantains. Just depends what you like.  My preference is for pork over beef, but Andres has many beef dishes to choose from,  and also chicken.  I always say I'm going to try something different, but the pork with garlic sauce keeps calling my name.

I have also been to Andres for lunch, and enjoyed a Cuban Sandwich which was really, REALLY good.   Accompanied by a Papaya shake, doesn't get much better than that!

Next to Andres is Andres Market.  A cute little store where they sell many international items such as spices, meats and desserts.  They also sell their pineapple (and coconut) soda there ;)

I said I was only going to eat at each of my restaurants once this year, but Andres is the one place that might tempt me to break my rule!

Have you eaten at Andres?  What did you order?  What did you think?

Restaurant Week at 94th Aero Squadron

A friend of mine was craving good creme brule, and from a previous dining experience, I knew where to get some!  It was Restaurant Week, and the 94th Aero Squadron on Balboa Ave was participating, but we didn't know that until we walked in.  We got a regular menu and a Restaurant Week Menu, 3 courses for $30.

We picked out appetizers, a main course and dessert on the Restaurant Week menu.  Soup for K, salad for me, and we both decided to have the Prime Rib.  I then decided just to take a glance at the regular menu...and was so happy I did!  There on the menu, under Early Bird Flights (4-6pm) was the exact same dinner.  Appetizer, entree and dessert for $15!  The only difference was that dessert was a scoop of ice cream, but you could pay $5 for any dessert you wanted...so still a savings at $20.

My salad was fresh and crisp, and K's french onion soup looked and tasted delicious.  Our prime rib was cooked to perfection and very tender.  Most nights you get creamed corn, "compliments of the chef", and tonight was no different.  I adore the creamed corn!

I got chocolate cheesecake for desert and it was great, and K's creme brule was all she had hoped for.

All in all,  a highly recommended dining experience.

Have you eaten at the 94th Aero Squadron?  Tell me what you thought!

Happy New Year at Nicky Rottens

I happened to be in Coronado on New Years Day, and what better way to start the year then with a big, yummy cheeseburger?  Enter Nicky Rottens Bar and Burger Joint.  I had never heard of this place, but it looked pretty nice from the outside.  There is also another location Downtown.

My dining companion, K, and I were seated in the bar area, and it was pretty noisy due to all the football games going on, but we were still able to carry on a conversation.  Lots of young people here, sort of a sports bar atmosphere.

It was Happy Hour, so we ordered 2 half price appetizers, Sweet Potato Fries and Tator Tots.  The Sweet Potato Fries were served with maple syrup.  I've always kinda wondered what you dip Sweet Potato Fries in...or do you just eat them plain?  Well, after dipping them in maple syrup, I now know what I will be doing from now on....yum!  The Tator Tots came one of two ways, pesto aioli or garlic.  I, of course, chose the garlic.  They tasted good, but were not garlicy enough for me.

Now, onto the burgers.  I got the Breakfast Burger:  Over easy egg, potato cake, cheddar cheese and smoked bacon.  This is only the second time I have eaten a burger with an egg on it.  I had heard a lot of people say how good they are, but it never sounded good to me.  The first time I decided to try one was at the Corvette Diner, and as a mini-review, I have to say it was one of the best burgers I have ever eaten!  So, I decided to try one again.  After getting my burger,  I immediately looked under the bun and took the potato cake off...it didn't look appealing.  The burger was tasty and I was only able to finish half.  Unfortunately, I was comparing it to the Corvette Diner burger, and it didn't measure up.  K got the Pastrami Burger:  Pastrami, Swiss cheese, onions and mustard.  She really liked it, and was not able to finish hers either.  We had wanted to try dessert, but neither of us had room.
 

At  $11.95 a burger, I wouldn't say this is the most economical place to eat...and that is partly due to the location in Coronado with a Bay view.  On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate my burger a 6 or 7, so along with the price, I will have to say I won't be rushing back any time soon.

Have you eaten at Nicky Rottens?  Let me know what you thought!

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my Food Journey.  I will be posting reviews, pictures, tips and more of the many restaurants I visit.  My goal is to not visit the same restaurant twice in one year!  Hopefully my readers will get some helpful information about places they might like to try.  I will also occasionally feature Guest Reviewers,  and take suggestions of restaurants you would like me to visit.  I wish you happy dining!!