Spike Costa's Profile
Sada's Sushi in Newport, OR
Local Ocean is by far the best seafood in Newport. It's informal, usually crowded, somewhat noisy and reasonably priced.
Authentic Fish Tacos - San Diego
I had some doubts about a campground concessionaire but I tried Bull Taco Saturday and was pleasantly surprised. Had a good ahi taco and a predictable but large quesadilla. Good salsa.Very good tortillas. Service was friendly but slow (in fairness it was lunchtime.) They also had lobster and crab tacos, abalone, and other interesting things. Ingredients seem to be fresh and of good quality. Someone here knows food.
I went back this morning to get a breakfast burrito. It was also good and a great deal for $6. Service was not as friendly this morning; not quite rude but the sole employee didn't seem too happy to be there or to see a hungry customer.
They open at 8:00. I'll brave the early morning attitude for the food. And, as SDG mentioned, the location is as good as it gets.
Oceanside - What's great?
Ocean Thai ( dinner takeout is better than lunch in),Beach Break, and Los Tacos (on Vista Way and Jefferson) for El Pastor.
Hacienda de Vega Escondido
The patio is nice when the weather is good. The only memory I have of the food is a large platter of melted, bland white cheese served as a dip.
Chilango reopening??? (SD)
I was elated to hear that Chilango had reopened. Went Thursday at noon expecting a line. I was surprised that we were the only diners and remained so for a long lunch. I too, was surprised by the tricolore chips; I had seen those only at tourist places in or near Old Town. I do like their salsas.
Just before they closed I had been impressed with the pear and shrimp relleno. So I ordered that. It was very good; the combination of sweet and hot is wonderful. But it was a little too sweet, heavy on pear and light on camarones, and not as interestingly spiced as I remembered. My friend had a big chunk of pork in a red sauce. He liked it; I didn't taste it.
I assumed that we would be charged full price since we had only nonalcoholic drinks and was pleasantly surprised when the check arrived with half-price entree charges. Even if the food is not (yet?) up to speed, this is interesting high-quality Mexican food at bargain prices. I'll be back.
Indonesian in San Diego?
Indonesian is my favorite cuisine. I love the heat and the incredibly complex blend of spices. Bali Thai is OK; there are better places in LA but not by much. Better yet in the Bay Area.
I've never understood why this wonderful cuisine isn't popular in the US, especially in coastal Southern California where people regularly travel to Indonesia for recreation.
Yays and nays from Trader Joe's, lately [OLD]
New Swiss 71% dark chocolate
beats the Scharffenberger and Valhrona
Banana chips
Frozen coho is a real bargain and seems to be very quickly flash frozen. Better than virtually any $20/lb fresh coho or chinook available in So Cal.
Encinitas - New To The Area and Eating Great!
I like Pannikin's Indo Noir, but lately I've been buying Caffe Calabria's beans at E-Street Cafe. The beans make much better espresso in my office machine which generally means they're fresher.
And E-Street Cafe makes by far the best espresso drinks in North County. They are working hard to be a player in the espresso market and are doing well.
Breakfast in SD
I agree about preferring quality over quantity. I think HH quantities approach obscene. But the food is among the better for breakfast joints in SD. And I take two breakfasts home.
Elizabethan Desserts in Encinitas- YUM!
I finally made it over; I live a few blocks away. Had decided to choose only one treat but I couldn't resist the mini cherry pie or the dark Belgian chocolate brownie. Both were wonderful. The brownie was large and mostly made of pieces of the Belgian chocolate. She warned that it was a little on the bittersweet side. I thought it was perfect.
Regarding crust, the best I ever had was made with bear fat. But I can't quibble with Elizabeth's choices. She cooks with butter and the result is really, really good.
What's your favorite sweet in San Diego?
21st Century Cake from Seaside Market deli in Cardiff. Chocolate cake, chocolate frosting and chocolate chips. Much better than it sounds.
And I second the Chuao spicy Maya hot chocolate. I like it better at the shop than mixed at home. Maybe I don't have the patience to let it meld.
Recommendations on the Oregon Coast
Since we seem to be updating this old thread, I highly recommend Wanda's in Nehalem for breakfast. And any of their sweet bakery goods are great to take along for snacking.
Latin Chef: Primo Peruvian in PB San Diego
Ed,
Thank you for the great review. We went yesterday and were impressed. We seemed to be the only non-Peruvians there.
They were not prepared for their popularity. They were packed at 12:30 on Sunday. When we arrived, there was one couple ahead of us. We waited well over an hour for our food. It was worth every minute. The sole server was extremely pleasant given the crowd and her limited English (no worse than my Spanish).
We didn't try the ceviche but a woman who seemed to be a regular told us not to miss it. We did miss it because we wanted to taste the Ajide Gallina and Lomo Saltado. They were both great. Not as refined as Amici (e.g. no Kobe beef and fewer if any walnuts in the ajide). But excellent, and especially good at less than 1/2 the price. I hope they'll do a Saltado de Mariscos.
The aji is not the usual green stuff (which I like a lot) but what seemed to be red serranos in a watery base. No complaints; all the Saltado needed was a little more heat and the aji had that. The fries were not crinkle-cut when we were there. I think the chef might have been shopping while we were waiting.
No more trips to OC for Peruvian. This is a find.
Breakfast and other recommendations for Santa Barbara
Tupelo Junction for breakfast!
best thai in San Diego?
I found Taste of Thai pretty tasteless. No taste, no heat. I like Ocean Thai in Oceanside, (the original Mission location) especially for dinner. Thai Garden is a little less Americanized (more fish sauce) IMHO. I liked Spice and Rice in LJ years ago but haven't been recently.
What is Your Favorite Olive Oil at Trader Joe's
Trader Giotto's Sicilian Seleccion Extra Virgin. Has a light, pleasant grassy taste and no aftertaste. We taste tested with the TJ Spanish Extra Virgin and found the Spanish oil had a decidedly bitter aftertaste.
Best Coffee/Coffee Shop In SD
Starbucks bought them lock stock and barrel. Martin Diedrich has a new place that's much better than the old Diedrich's (in SD county anyway): Kean. On my only trip up there so far, he was at the roaster. Only one location, not on this board.
What's your favorite breakfast?
At home: Quick oats, uncooked with Soy Milk and Mauritian Muscovado dark brown sugar. I started eating the oats raw when I was too young to understand that they're usually cooked. Fruit drink with bananas, oranges, pears, mango, OJ and guava juice.
Out: anything with eggs, jalapenos and good biscuits. FSOJ. Cappuccino.
Looking for good fishmonger in San Diego
Bruce Knecht, who wrote the book on Patagonian Toothfish (Hooked:Pirates, Poaching, & the Perfect Fish. Great read!) wrote a 1/27 Wall Street Journal piece that says the MSC certification is controversial. With Wal-Mart also buying from the "certified" fishery (not a fish farm) there's no way it can supply all the fish that Walmart and Wholefoods will sell.
Knecht goes on to say that the certified fishery supplies only 10% of the legal Patagonian Toothfish. The legal catch is a tiny percentage of the overall catch (hence the title of his book). This fish is still massively overfished.
Check out the WSJ article. Unfortunately you have to buy a subscription to view it online.
Looking for good fishmonger in San Diego
I'm a little skeptical that they buy farm-raised Patagonian Toothfish. I thought it was a deepwater species that takes 10 years to mature.
Trip up the coast-Looking for suggestions
Breakfast at Ramos House Cafe in San Juan Capistrano, next morning at Tupulo Junction in Santa Barbara. Lunches are also good at both.
Taco Temple (inexpensive and looks it) in Morro Bay for creative Mexican
Looking for extraordinary cheeses
Cowgirl Creamery's SF Drake
Wonderful stuff. Here's a review that does it more justice than I can.
http://www.forkandbottle.com/cheese/cheesefind/chfind1005.htm
Looking for good fishmonger in San Diego
I like Seaside Market; I do much of my non-TJ/Henry shopping there. I agree about their deli and their hot turkey Italian sausage is wonderful.
Although their seafood is fresher than the local supers (ugh!), the freshness is not what it used to be. It must be a challenge to keep a large variety of expensive, fresh fish. They're trying but I find I must be much more careful in choosing. They also carry the mostly-pirated and rapidly-disappearing Patagonian Toothfish (marketed as Chilean Seabass).
Food Franchises That Don't Suck
Chipotle. My Platonic meal: Chicken fajita burrito, no rice, hot salsa, chips and Nantucket orange-mango.
Breakfast in SD
Mostly North County coastal:
Beach Break (O'side)
Honey's (Encinitas)
Americana (Del Mar) if they're serving carmelized peach waffles
Hash House except for the crowd and noise
Original Pancake House (In Encinitas, too) for apple and dutch pancakes.
Swami's Cafe has some interesting dishes
Best Burgers and Fresh Fries in San Diego?
Pamplemousse's Kobe Burger is very, very good. Fries are excellent but I'm not sure they need the truffles. Worth $20? Maybe for a splurge lunch.
Oceanside dining suggestions?
I also like Ocean Thai. I have had better food from the original on Mission than the location in the shopping center. And, for some reason, lunches are less consistent than the the takeout I regularly get in the evening. I always get drunken noodles, money bags, and rotate through the curries (the new green bean curry is very good). Haven't tried Thai Garden.
favorite soy sauce brand?
Aloha. Much mellower than the more popular Asian brands sold in supermarkets.
Best Coffee/Coffee Shop In SD
I'm interested more in cappucino than atmosphere. North County has a lot of decent espresso shops, but there's generally more atmosphere than great espresso. E Street (just West of 101) in Encinitas has reasonably good pastries, music in the evenings and espresso that's better than SBx. They are a little more consistent than most of the mom and pops (who always seem to suffer from chronic turnover in undertrained baristas). Like most of the mom and pops, they're understaffed so don't go if you're in a hurry.
However,on weekday mornings there's a tall blond male barista who knows a lot about espresso. If you want a very good cappucino, he's the guy. Sometimes they have him running the cash register and you need to insist that he make the espresso. Better than any I've found in Southern California.
