foodies: a southern california food blog

Smashburger is continuing on their quest to infiltrate San Diego with additional store openings. They just recently opened up another location in Del Mar and this week they are preparing to open their third location in Mission Valley.

They are hosting a Sneak Peek Event on Wednesday, September 1st. Are you interested in going to the sneak peek party at the newest Smashburger? Sign up online for a chance to be entered into the party – click over here to put your name into the pool.

You can read my previous review of Smashburger to get a feel for what you can expect at the Sneak Peek Event!

The Studio Diner is a little joint in the middle of Kearny Mesa’s business section. It looks kind of out of place, with this chrome-metallic look. It almost looks like it was haphazardly placed here in a parking lot, waiting for hungry business people to crawl in and enjoy it’s diner treats. It’s also one of a handful of places open 24 hours – I have been here very late at night, too, happy that I was here instead of Denny’s.

I recently scored a half off coupon from one of the many coupon/groupon sites I check daily (I think it was BuyWithMe). I went solo on this mission because I already knew what I wanted to get and my coupon would just cover my meal for $22 (I think I paid like $10). What wonderful treat do they offer here at Studio Diner that’s very hard to find on the West Coast? Fried Clams. Ohhh. Fried Clams, I love you.

Fried Clams are really an East Coast/New England thing. The best fried clams I’ve ever had are in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, a tiny little town where my dad grew up about 50 miles outside of Boston, MA. The place is called SS Lobster Ltd and I’ve been there with my grandparents and my dad on several trips out to the East Coast (I also went to college there). The fried clams (and most of the other food) at SS Lobster are delicious (and so much more affordable). Sometimes I miss Boston and sometimes I miss fried clams. But there are a few places in San Diego where you can get them, for a hefty price.

Studio Diner is one of those places. They fly the clams in from Ipswich, MA, making these the real thing.

These are whole belly clams, my friend. Not those dinky little clam strips that have virtually no flavor and all you can taste is the breading and some hint of clam. No, no. These are sweet, taste of the sea, and so delicious. The familiar bite and bit of sweetness was a welcome memory to my senses and I thoroughly enjoyed this meal while I sat and read from my book. This a pricey little item though, about $18 for the meal (though on the menu it says “Market Price” so it can vary), but to me it was very worth it.

I also got this cool looking Arnold Palmer with Pink Lemonade. I loved the colors so much before I mixed it. Pretty, pretty drink.

I’ve had this dish before and it’s a nice trip down memory lane. Eating fried clams reminds me of the East Coast, of warm summer nights, of college days, of a time that now seems a world away.

Studio Diner
4701 Ruffin Road
San Diego, CA 92123-1611
(858) 715-6400
Open 24 hours

I reviewed Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern earlier this year and now you can try it out yourself for cheap! SignOnSanDiego’s daily deal is $19 for $40 worth of food at Jimmy’s. I highly recommend you get the only dessert they have on the menu:

So. Good. Get this deal and get one of these into your belly!

I went to Manny’s TJ Tacos again last night to try the TJ style hot dog and to confirm their times. We got there just after 8PM and the sign was outside, but there was no set up outside yet. We popped into the Corner Market and found that they had just started setting up. They told us they start setting up at 8PM (not 7PM like it’s listed on Yelp). We had to wait for a little bit while they set up, but we didn’t mind. We got our first tacos around 8:30PM and that’s when the line started forming behind us.

This time we tried the TJ style (bacon wrapped) hot dogs ($3.50).You can’t really tell from my crappy cell phone picture, but this all beef hot dog was HUGE, thick, and crisp. The bacon was nice and crisp, too, and you almost got like a crisp crunch after each bite. I got mine with grilled onions (grilled peppers also available) and topped mine with a tiny bit of mayo, ketchup and a bunch of mustard (my favorite hot dog topping). These hot dogs are brought in from Los Angeles and they buy all of their own stuff. They cook behind the deli counter in the market, but they don’t use any of the products sold in the market. These are much bigger (and in my opinion, tastier) then the ones you can get at Lucha Libre.

There you have it – it’s best to get here a little after 8PM if you’re planning on getting a few tacos before wandering around to one of the local bars.

Manny’s TJ Tacos
3350 Adams Ave
(between Felton St & 34th St)
San Diego, CA 92116

For some reason, I really like Chicken McNuggets. They’re crunchy and crisp and all strangely the same shape and size. It’s not natural. It’s fried. It’s bad for me. But I like them anyway. I know they’re not good for me but every once in a while I really crave them, dipped in honey. I try to quell this crazy desire by making my own version of chicken nuggets. My chicken nuggets are all different shapes and sizes and much more flavorful then their McDonald’s counterparts – and they’re baked in the oven. I know exactly all of the ingredients that go into them – who knows what they do to the chicken to make them uniform in size and appearance! Gah!

I made these awesome little treats for dinner the other night and Jake and son really enjoyed them. Jake has come a long way from his days of eating out all of the time. He says I’ve spoiled him with my homemade cooking and I for one am not sorry one bit.

If I had the time and inclination, I might have soaked my chopped of pieces of chicken breast in buttermilk for a few hours (or overnight). But, I didn’t, so I opted to just season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and let them sit in some regular milk for about 20 minutes while I mixed up my coating.

For my coating, I used part flour and part panko bread crumbs (the Japanese variety). I used a number of spices here: onion powder, garlic powder, sweet paprika, italian seasonings, salt, and pepper. I shook up my mixture really well and then using a slotted spoon, I scooped the chicken out of the milk bath and into the bag to get coated. I placed the pieces on a baking sheet that had been sprayed with Pam and continued until my pan was full and all of the chicken was coated.

My oven was pre-heated to about 400 degrees. I stuck the nuggets in and after about 10 minutes I took them out and flipped them over and cooked them for another 10-12 minutes. This is chicken breast, aka white meat, aka I-like-to-dry-out-if-you-overcook-me meat. If it was chicken thigh meat then there would be no worries, but chicken breast is mighty finicky.

Ta-da! Golden and delicious. Though, some parts of my nuggets look kind of floury. I would try maybe spraying some Pam directly onto the chicken to see if that could get eliminated, but it doesn’t bother me too much. These nuggets are full of flavor, you can pronounce all of the ingredients in them, and every single one is a different shape and size. It’s kind of homey and relaxing. Sorry, McDonald’s, even though I do like your nuggets, these homemade ones are a different story all together. Full of yum!

Recipe below, my measurements are approximate since I measure with my eyes.

Mary Chicken Nuggets

2 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
milk
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon Italian herb seasonings
salt
pepper

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray sheet pan with Pam. Cut chicken into cubes and season with salt & pepper. Soak in milk for about 20 minutes.

In a plastic baggie, combine the rest of the ingredients (plus additional salt & pepper). Coat chicken in the panko crumb mixture until chicken pieces are well coated. Place on baking sheet and cook for about 10 minutes. Take chicken out and flip the chicken over, cooking for another 10-15 minutes (until golden brown and cooked all the way through).