busalacchi’s a modo mio / hillcrest – san diego, ca

Busalacchi’s is a pretty well known name around here in San Diego and recently I had the opportunity to visit Busalacchi’s A Modo Mio in Hillcrest for “a modo mio” week – or “my way” – where the chef calls the shots for dinner service. Guests get to choose what kind of entree they want (chicken, red meat, fish or vegetarian) and chef Joe Busalacchi takes care of the rest. It’s a fun and adventurous way to dine and you get to taste a little bit of everything that a restaurant has to offer.

This was the appetizer samplers laid out before Stacey and I for our first course. No messing around here. There’s a little bit of everything, including some complimentary bread with a bruschetta topping (which was incredibly flavorful for something that just looked like tomatoes in a cup).

[garbanzo croquettes]

These little fried croquettes were made out of garbanzo beans and pressed into this square shape. I thought they looked kind of weird and spongy, but they were actually a little crisp on the outside and kind of creamy in the middle (and really not spongy whatsoever). I’ve never seen garbanzos prepared like this before!

[pickled veggies plate with artichoke, olives, mushrooms, sardines, cheese and prosciutto]

We also got this little plate of mostly pickled things. I personally don’t like pickled anything so I was feeling very adventurous with this plate. I did try the mushroom but I didn’t care for it – the marinade made it taste off to me, but like I said… no pickled stuff for me. Prosciutto was fine, a tad salty though.

[pizza bread]

For some reason I have no notes about this except “pizza bread” and “flavorful”.

Clearly I need to take better notes.

[eggplant parmesan]

This dish actually surprised me because I don’t usually like eggplant. But this dish I ended up really liking it and – funny enough – didn’t taste at all to me like eggplant. I just tasted a very flavorful, rich and herby sauce with plenty of basil. The eggplant was tender and just soaked up the flavor of the sauce so I was really astounded I liked it!

[calamari]

Since Stacey doesn’t eat seafood, I got to have this plate all to myself. Wonderfully seasoned calamari, I would marry you if I could. The batter on this version is light and crispy, well seasoned and perfectly fried. The batter did not take away from the deliciousness of the calamari and is one of the better versions I’ve had of this dish.

[frisee pomegranate salad with arugula and pumpkin seeds]

This salad had frisee and arugula in it – and yet I still liked it! The combination of flavors and textures just made this whole salad really shine – from the crunchy bits of pumpkin seeds to the brightness of the pomegranates to the sweetness of the dressing balanced with the peppery arugula. Really packed with flavor and it was pretty and artful. Continue reading “busalacchi’s a modo mio / hillcrest – san diego, ca”

minh ky restaurant / city heights – san diego, ca

We went here because A) the place I originally wanted to go to was cash only and for the life of me, I could not remember my pin number that weekend and B) it had a fairly high rating of over 300+ reviews on Yelp. I’ve learn to take Yelp reviews with a grain of salt though, since people tend to rate with no rhyme or reason (“the parking sucks, 1 star” or “it looks dirty, I walked out and didn’t actually try any of the food, 1 star” or on the opposite end with highly overrated food and other shenanigans). We ended up here on kind of a whim, a second choice location, but as it turned out, it was a pretty good whim after all.

Parking here is actually pretty weird. There’s a tiny, almost unnavigable parking lot in front of the tiny strip mall and a sketchy parking lot in the back, behind the restaurant. We parked in the back since it was the only space we could find, though the area made me cringe with the obscene amount of trash littered about.

We went inside and saw a small, cozy, 12-table restaurant. Every table was full but we must have had a stroke of good luck since we didn’t have to wait long to be seated.

They have an enormous six page menu with over 200+ items on board. A little baffling, to say the least.

Menu Page 1 | Menu Page 2-3 | Menu Page 4-5 | Menu Page 6

There’s also a specials board on the right side, listing about 5 different specials. We decided to try the Shrimp Tempura and BBQ Pork.

[tempura shrimp + bbq pork – $5.50]

Since neither Jake or T like shrimp, I got to keep that all for myself. The shrimp are butterflied and flattened and have a thin coating on the batter with what seemed to be panko crumbs. There was a side of Thai sweet chili dipping sauce for both appetizers. I enjoyed the shrimp – the batter didn’t hide the flavor of the shrimp and the shrimp was nice and tender on the inside.

The BBQ pork was a tad dry but a few pieces were perfectly sweet and tender.

[dumplings and wonton lo mien – $5.75]

This dish actually surprised me since it came out in two bowls – one with the noodles and one with the broth and dumplings/wontons. Lo mien makes me think of noodle dishes, sans broth, and nothing like this.

Here’s the broth by itself – you can see the dumplings and pieces of char sui pork just under the surface with the scallions scattered over the top.

And a closeup of the noodles with a hint of a sauce just underneath the pile of noodles.

Jake started to eat them separately, but me – I put those two suckers together and had myself a little lo mien soup.

I loved the flavor of the broth – it wasn’t overpowering, very nicely seasoned with a good amount of flavor and (as you can see) oil. The noodles were tender and delicious as well and the meaty dumplings were really nice with the broth. I liked the pork pieces in this dish more than the ones we had as an appetizer – they were more tender and flavorful, perhaps a result of sitting in the broth? Continue reading “minh ky restaurant / city heights – san diego, ca”

tropical fruit paradise / mission gorge – san diego, ca

I buy lots of group deals from Groupon, LivingSocial, Amazon Local and places like that. Lately I’ve felt like a lot of the places I’ve been to have been just kind of “meh” and not really impressive with their food or service, so when I finally went in to use one of my coupons to a little place called Tropical Fruit Paradise, I really wasn’t expecting very much. I read a couple of Yelp reviews saying they had good torta sandwiches and that was enough to get me to shell out money to buy two coupons – and as it turns out, this was a really excellent idea.

Let’s say that my first visit was the “scouting trip”. I went here alone for lunch one Saturday afternoon while Jake had to work for a bit. My Amazon Local deal covered $10 – just enough to get me one torta sandwich and one strawberry agua fresca. I had to pay tax and for my bag of chips, all in all a steal.

[steak torta sandwich – includes mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, and sliced avocado with a side of salsa – $6.99]

I ordered just a plain old steak torta, just wanting to try something “basic” and simple here for my scouting mission. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The steak was well seasoned and marinated – cooked perfectly as well. It was juicy and cooked to medium and stacked high with lots of fresh veggies – red onion, tomatoes, green leaf lettuce and slices of perfectly ripe avocado.

The bread on the torta is also really nice – the bread is fluffy with a nice chew and is grilled on the inside. I could tell it was grilled on a stove to toast since the top of the was still fairly soft but had a really nice crunch from the grilling.

Since it’s a pretty large sandwich, I only ate half and brought the rest home to Jake. He ended up gobbling the sandwich in no time and thought – even cold – that it was one of the best torta sandwiches he’s ever had. I think I might have been onto something here.

[agua frescas – strawberry flavored – $2.49, large]

Ever since I got one of these at Frutilandia oh so many moons ago, I’ve loved them. I order them pretty much wherever we go – but I always get the same flavor! I can’t seem to branch out and try a new flavor, sticking with my standby strawberry favorite. The version here at Tropical Fruit Paradise seems a little creamier than other versions I’ve had a little less sweet – but still quite delicious in my book. I ordered one of these on both of my visits to Tropical Fruit Paradise. I can’t manage to tear myself away from them.

Must… have…strawberry water… arrrrgh!

[tostielote – tostitos, nacho cheese and corn – $3.99]

From here on out we’re using iPhone photos since I actually left my camera at home on our second visit. Lordy. Jake ordered this – it sounded totally weird to me, but since he was paying for it, I wasn’t going to complain.

I ate my words shortly after though since I did actually kind of like it. These are served right inside of a bag of salsa flavored Tostitos chips and topped off with nacho cheese, jalapenos and corn. Nacho cheese and corn?! Was this invented on purpose? I can’t see how that’s possible. I honestly believe someone had an open can of corn that got accidentally dumped in some nacho cheese and no one noticed until they started eating it and then decided it was good. I would never put “nacho cheese” and “corn” together otherwise. But for some reason it’s tasty? Even as I ate it I was in disbelief. Still kinda am.

[cubana torta – milaneza, chicken, ham, chorizo, egg, american egg, jack cheese + veggies – $7.69]

Jake and T shared this Cubana Torta – this thing is packed with goodies! Milaneza (which, in this case, it a thinly sliced breaded steak cutlet), chicken, ham, chorizo and an egg… with two kinds of cheese! This is definitely a rich sandwich with all of those layers packed into one sandwich – but you’re still able to wrap your whole mouth around the sucker since everything is thin enough to still make it a decent side.

I did have one little bit and the chorizo seemed to be the most dominant flavor since it had a little bit of a spicy kick to it. I thought the egg made it “too much” – but Jake totally loved this sandwich. We had this last weekend and just last night he told me he had been thinking about this sandwich for three days! I hope I don’t lose out to a sandwich! Continue reading “tropical fruit paradise / mission gorge – san diego, ca”

deep fried turkey and corn fritters for thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is coming up real fast – faster than I would like – and we’re getting heading into “you better decide what you’re doing now” territory for Thanksgivings planning. Until now our only turkey making options have been the bake-in-the-oven variety, but I recently got the opportunity to try out Masterbuilt’s Butterball Indoor Turkey Fryer to try frying a turkey for this Thanksgiving.

I did a test run of the turkey fryer this weekend to try it out before we cook a whole bird. I made fried turkey breast, undocumented french fries and corn fritters. Let’s go on a little adventure and see how this sucker works!

[Dad figuring out the plug with the turkey fryer set up on the stove]

This deep fryer is an electric turkey fryer and can be used indoors, creating a safer and easier option for turkey frying. No crazy outdoors setup with a propane tank with the risk of tipping it over and catching on fire!

[Masterbuilt Butterball Indoor Turkey Fryer]

This sucker is pretty big and can safely hold up to a 14lb. turkey. You use 2 gallons of oil for one turkey and it gets fully enclosed with a drop in basket and a lid to shut the fryer while the turkey is cooking. A thermostat on the front easily let you control the temperature and lets you know when the oil is ready. The timer counts down for you and beeps when ready. The instruction manual that comes with the fryer also has some handy preparation tips, suggestions and other recipes for this fryer (which can also be used as a steamer).

[Filling up the fryer with peanut oil]

Since I was only cooking a turkey breast for my first try, I didn’t need to fill it up to the max line. I went about halfway to max. I used peanut oil since it’s got a high smoking point and imparts a nice flavor to whatever you’re frying. The house totally smelled like peanuts while the oil was heating up!

It can take up to a half hour for a full 2 gallons to get up to temperature – since I used a little less, it took about 20 minutes to heat up the oil to 375 degrees.

[Turkey breast preparation for the fryer dry run]

When preparing your turkey, you must ensure that your turkey is completely defrosted. Ice and water will definitely not mix with your hot oil! I prepped my turkey breast by patting it completely dry and adding salt and pepper all over the outside.

When cooking your bird, you may want to brine it first before doing a deep-fry – and if this is the route you go, make extra sure your turkey is patted dry and free of any brining liquid.

You can also inject the turkey will extra seasonings but I was kind of a lazy pants and just did a plain old breast!

[This turkey breast is getting ready for a hot oil bath]

My 2 and 1/2 pound breast was placed into the fryer basket. There’s a little lip on the side where the basket is held up above the oil. It comes with a lifter to help you ease the basket in and out of the fryer. I recommend trying to lift the basket in and out before you even get to this step just to see how it works. I found that I had to move the basket forward for it to slide easily down and had to practice a few times catching the handle. Nothing too hard, but it’s good to practice before there’s hot oil bubbling angrily in your face.

[bubbles!]

I carefully lowered my turkey breast and watched the bubbling begin! Then I shut the lid and began the short wait until my turkey would be done.

[Turkey fryer’s control panel]

The green light comes on when the oil has reached the proper temperature and is ready to deep fry your treats to a golden brown.

The instruction manual recommended that for turkey breast only, the temperature be dropped to 325 while it’s cooking. This isn’t something you do with a full turkey though – just the breast! I set the timer and cooked the turkey breast for about 17 minutes (about 7 minutes a pound). A normal, full sized turkey will take about 4 minutes a pound to cook and the temperature stays at 375 degrees.

[Freshly fried turkey breast]

The turkey cooked up pretty quickly and when I lifted the basket up, this is what my eyes feasted on – golden, brown deliciousness!

I let the turkey breast rest for about 10 minutes while I also cooked up some french fries (mmm, french fries cooked in peanut oil!).

The first time I did this, I undercooked the turkey slightly (I cooked it for 14 minutes then added an extra 3 minutes of cooking time). I loved the golden, crispy outside skin on this sucker but I really wished I had brined, injected or seasoned the breast a bit more liberally. Salt and pepper alone didn’t quite do this thing justice and since I do prefer dark meat, it wasn’t my favorite turkey… but it was still pretty good. If they just sold dark turkey meat for frying this would have probably been more perfect, but I didn’t see any of that on the shelves. We’ll still be trying out frying a whole turkey for the big day and this dry run helped us to learn what else we needed to do for a flavorful turkey!

[John McLemore’s cookbook]

In addition to the turkey test, I also used the fryer to create a recipe from John McLemore and his cookbook, “Dadgum! That’s Good, Too!“. The cookbook is pretty much created to pair with the turkey fryer, providing a whole section of “fried foods”. A lot of the recipes have stories and photos of John and his family with them, sharing a story behind the recipes.

Flipping through the book for ideas, the corn fritters called to me and demand that I create them. They seemed like an easy side dish to create for a little BBQ we had over the weekend with Jake and his family.

[Corn fritter batter]

The corn fritter batter came together very easily. I kind of wished I had tried this with creamed corn … we’ll save that idea for next time!

[Floating corn batter]

Spoonfuls of corn fritter batter were dropped into the hot oil. At first I put them in the basket and lowered them, but it seemed more efficient to just drop them by the spoonful.

[Starting to get golden brown]

After a few minutes, the fritters need to be flipped over if they don’t flip on their own. I got Jake to do this part for me since I had to stand on my tiptoes just to peer down into this thing.

Curse my short height.

[Pulling the fritters out of the fryer]

It only takes about 6 minutes to get these lovelies to a golden brown. I fished them out with a slotted strainer while I finished up the batch.

[Corn fritters ready for hungry mouths]

A little extra dash of salt and these babies were ready to go! They had a nice, slight sweetness to them and puffed up really nicely.

I think a little extra seasonings would be a fun variation – maybe a little paprika, garlic salt, or cayenne for a spicy mix. Everyone really enjoyed the fritters as-is though, proving it to be a winner!

I also liked how easy and fast it was to fry them – though I don’t think I’d break out this big old fryer for only cooking fritters!

The turkey fryer has a drain valve to easily remove the used cooking oil once your done with all of your frying. Many of the elements of the fryer are also dishwasher safe (your manual will tell you which parts can go in the dishwasher) for easier cleanup.

The one downside I see to the fryer though is that this thing is HUGE. It’s not something we’ll keep on the counter and will probably need to store it in the garage once we’re done with it.

I did like that this unit can be used for more than just deep frying – there were recipes for a low country boil and steaming chicken and veggies – a nice option for large dinners and get togethers that don’t involve frying making it a multi-purpose product.

The Masterbuild Turkey Fryer is available at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Amazon and several other local retailers if you’re thinking of picking one up for your Thanksgiving dinner!

Recipe below for the Corn Fritters!
Continue reading “deep fried turkey and corn fritters for thanksgiving”

gouda stuffed tortilla chip meatballs with cranberry orange ginger glaze | clash of the cooks challenge

I like trying new things and doing new things. This was definitely a new thing in which I’m battling it out with other bloggers in the Clash of the Cooks Challenge, sponsored by Whole Foods Market. You, too, can also participate at home by creating your own holiday inspired meal with the ingredients listed below! Check out the Facebook link for more information!

Monday evening I trotted over to the Whole Foods Market in La Jolla to pick up my basket of “mystery goods”. I had to use all of the items to create a holiday inspired dish!

My mystery basket included: Whale Tails Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt Tortilla Chips, Chicken Stock, Cranberry Sauce and Smoked Gouda Cheese.

My mind started running immediately. Cranberry sauce? I hardly ever eat that. Paired with smoked cheese? Are you serious? And TORTILLA CHIPS? I started walking out to my car in a daze with a number of ideas running through my head.

And to keep on thinking through those ideas, I stopped for a pumpkin cupcake at Sprinkles. I mean, why not? It was right there!

I made my decision on what I was going to make and I needed a few more things – off I went to prepare for the evening’s feast!

Or in my case, the evening’s appetizer.

I decided to make gouda stuffed meatballs with tortilla chips and a cranberry orange ginger glaze. I know, that’s pretty much a mouthful of words right there… I suppose I could have just said something like “savory and sweet meatballs” but that didn’t seem very fun to me.

First things first… let’s make the glaze/sauce thing!

I say it’s a glaze because it’s really thick, but I didn’t want to coat the meatballs in the stuff… I just wanted a little on top. Because I’m not a sauce person. Glaze. Sauce. You know what I mean.

I started off by putting in some brown sugar and chicken stock in a pan and setting it to simmer. Then I added some of my cranberry sauce along with the zest and juice of one navel orange.

I didn’t get all of the steps here in my photo, but also in the mix was some rice wine vinegar, grated ginger and pinch of black pepper.

Once you’ve got all of the ingredients into the pot, you pretty much just need to let it sit back and simmer away until it thickens up.

After about 30 minutes of simmering, you’ll get a thickened glaze/sauce. The beauty of sauces is that if you forget what you’re doing and don’t watch the pot and it maybe goes a little too far… you can just add in a bit more chicken stock to thin it back out! Yes, this totally happened to me. Honesty is the best policy in all things.

Once you bring the sauce together, you’re good to go to start making the meatballs. First thing to do though is to turn on your oven to 350 degrees!

Then, chop up some onion and garlic and saute it in a pan. I cooked the onions until just slightly brown and threw in the garlic for about a minute. Then I took if off the heat to let it cool slightly while I prepared the rest of my mix-ins for my meatballs.

In a big bowl I added in my ground beef, some freshly chopped oregano from the garden, my onion/garlic mixture, a dash of Worcestershire sauce and a good pinch of kosher salt and ground pepper. Time to prep the Whale Tails!

The Whale Tails chips really are whale tail shaped! For some reason this surprised me. Probably because I wasn’t paying attention to the bag. All I thought was, “What am I gonna do with tortilla chips?” instead of really looking at the bag.

The tortilla chips got crushed up under the mighty weight of my rolling pin!

The crushed tortilla chip get dumped right in along with two eggs. Then, it’s time for mixing. I just use my hands – I’m not afraid of a little bit of cold meat. Just squish it all together until it’s well mixed.

Then, cut your gouda cheese into little cubes and start making the meatballs.

The meatballs are about palm sized – just place a chunk of cheese in the middle and wrap the meat around it and form a nice ball.

Continue until all the meatballs are done. Eat any leftover cheese (after you wash your hands, of course).

I put my meatballs on a pizza pan with holes in it, over another baking sheet. This way any fat and grease would drop to the bottom so the meatballs wouldn’t be sitting in its own grease.

Bake meatballs for about 30 minutes until a luscious golden brown.

The gouda cheese got kind of oozy and gooey there – but I think that just adds to the look! Who wouldn’t want to goggle up one of these babies?

These little meatballs are flavorful and delicious – with plenty of cheese to make for the perfect bite of tastiness.

That little square of cheese sure made a difference in flavor!

But pair it up with a good dallop of sauce and you’ve got yourselves a winner! The sweet from the sauce pairs nicely with the savory and cheesy meatball. Perfect thing to appease the relatives and visitors for this upcoming turkey day!

If you enjoyed my recipe and post, please like it on Facebook (using the Facebook like button below), post this on Twitter or share one of the photos on Pinterest. My entry is being judged on the following:

• Originality / Use of Ingredients
• Plating / Photography
• Likes / Tweets / Pins

Every bit helps! If I win the weekly challenge, I will be headed to a live cook-off competition at the Encinitas Whole Foods Market to compete for:

• First place will receive is a Whole Foods Market Pantry Makeover, a Vitamix blender and dinner for 2 at Solace
(prize valued at $700)
• Second place will win dinner for six catered by Whole Foods Market (prize valued at $200)
• Third place will receive a holiday meal for six (valued at $130)

Thanks in advance for your support!

Remember, you can also compete as well – check out the details on how you can join in on the fun!

If you’d like to recreate my recipe at home, then check out the full recipe below! Continue reading “gouda stuffed tortilla chip meatballs with cranberry orange ginger glaze | clash of the cooks challenge”

pete mayo’s waffle burgers / lincoln park – san diego, ca

Waffle burgers. Say it with me – waffle burgers! Why hasn’t anyone else done this? I’m surprised this hasn’t popped up into the consciousness sooner – using waffles as a replacement for buns. The idea sounds awesome… but how’s the execution?

Pete Mayo’s Waffle Burgers is a tiny little restaurant located on Imperial Avenue in Lincoln Park aka not the best part of town. I grew up nearby so I know what it’s like. It’s one of those restaurants you could pass a million times without ever noticing it because it’s in such a weird location right on that busy, busy street.

There’s not much to it once you step inside, either. Two tables at best with a sparse counter and only paper menus to reveal what treats they’re cooking up in the kitchen.

[the menu]

The items are all cheap, too. The most expensive sandwich rings in at $6.25 for a cracked peppered turkey waffle sandwich which you can get served hot or cold.

[the small countertop/kitchen]

Jake actually discovered this one on Yelp with only two reviews to it’s credit. The name intrigued me enough to want to go by. Our first attempt failed when they were not open yet on a Saturday morning with no hours posted in the window. We took our chances this time around one October morning to find them open for business.

[the original waffle burger – $5.50]

I took the plunge and decided to order the “original” waffle burger which comes on your choice of waffle (buttermilk, blueberry, multi grain or cinnamon – I picked buttermilk) with a 1/4 lb patty, grilled onions, bell peppers (I asked for none), lettuce, tomatoes and cheese with a good bit of mayo, mustard and ketchup.

[waffle burger – once bitten, twice shy]

I loved the waffle as the “bun” but this burger could use some improvements. The beef was quite obviously a frozen patty and it was a bit underseasoned and wasn’t the freshest burger I’ve ever had. The condiments were fine, though it was a bit heavy handed on the mustard. Overall I wasn’t impressed, but I didn’t think it was awful either. The idea was more exciting then the execution in this case. On the other hand, there were these chicken waffle sandwiches…

[mayo’s chicken n bacon sandwich – $5.75]

Jake ordered a Chicken n Bacon waffle sandwich with a multiple grain waffle.

Let’s just say that I was jealous of his meal after one bite.

Continue reading “pete mayo’s waffle burgers / lincoln park – san diego, ca”

slater’s 50/50 / liberty station – san diego, ca

It was high time for me to visit Slater’s 50/50. Jake and I had heard kind of mixed things about the place – some people really liked it and some didn’t and some just thought it was okay. I had to decide for myself though and after a few failed attempts at visiting, Jake, T and I went on that hella hot weekend we had a few weeks ago – when it was in triple digit temperatures. We went next door to Ace Hardware just for the A/C while waiting for our table. I do like their notification system – which sends you a text message to let you know when your table’s ready. Very neat!

We were seated in a corner table. Pretty much my thoughts were, “Gee, do they have enough TV’s in this place?” Must be an ADD person’s heaven. Me? I thought it was distracting. But maybe I’m the only one (or maybe that’s the point).

[combination plate – onion strings, french fries and panko fried mac n’ cheese – $6.95]

We decided to get the combo plate for appetizers. Jake and I both thought we were getting regular mac n’ cheese, since it was further below on the menu – we both didn’t notice it was fried mac n’ cheese. Oops.

We each got one mac n cheese ball. It was very crispy on the outer, with a melted, cheesy middle. A little on the bland side. Not as great as I thought it would be, especially since I was expecting just mac n cheese… but that was my fault for not reading the menu properly. These were okay.

The onion strings/rings things were good, I dug those. French fries are french fries. I will say though that we were hoping for fries on our plates, but when we realized we didn’t get more fries, we ordered 2 more orders. One order tasted like they dropped a salt shaker on it, it was so salty that it was inedible. We had that one taken off our order after we told the waitress though but did not get another order – wasn’t necessary. Besides, the fries weren’t that awesome.

[build your own burger – starting at $8.95]

All three of us did the “Make Your Own” sandwich thing. This is T’s creation – which had fried chicken instead of a hamburger patty.

Continue reading “slater’s 50/50 / liberty station – san diego, ca”

chef john’s fish and chips / lemon grove – san diego, ca

Chef John’s Fish and Chips is  tucked in on the other side of Broadway in Lemon Grove, a little bit away from the main drag and the famous giant lemon. It kind of looks like it’s in an old Arby’s or Long John Silvers, but I don’t know for sure if that’s what it was – my days of venturing into Lemon Grove are a bit sparse these days.

Jake and I opted to share a few items to get a feel for the food here. Our order was taken by a very nice Asian lady and was passed onto an Asian chef – I assume Chef John – to make. We could see him making our food to order while we waited in one of the booths.

[squeezy sauce bottles]

We were brought these squeezy bottles full of sauce along with our food. I was amused that they were labeled. I think of lot of places would just make you guess and probably not even bring you ranch unless you asked for it.

[fish and chicken strips combo – $7.99]

We got the fish and chicken basket. Jake is normally not a seafood eater, but he does like fish and chips… go figure. Fried fish though generally doesn’t taste super fishy though, so I get that train of thought at least.

The chicken strips were pretty good for what they were. Nice strips of white meat, not too overly greasy. Lightly seasoned and tasty.

[fried fish inside]

The fried fish was made with cod. It was hand battered and fried to a nice crisp – not super greasy, either. The fish was very tender and came apart pretty easily. I especially liked the crispness of it – nice and crunchy but still retaining the fish flavor. Jake thought this was one of the best pieces of fried fish he’s had.

Continue reading “chef john’s fish and chips / lemon grove – san diego, ca”

grilled hot wings and homemade ranch dressing

The only thing I find interesting about football is football food. The  sport doesn’t hold my interest at all, while thoughts of delicious appetizers make me excited.

Jake wanted to watch a Chargers game and asked if I would make hot wings. Pfft, you barely have to ask me to do such things. “Make something delicious!” he says. “Okay!” I say. That might be the basis for our relationship.

Maybe.

[butter and hot sauce mixture]

I made a hot sauce mixture from scratch and took it to Jake’s house to pour over the wings.

This is the hot sauce mixture inside of butter. Looks kind of gloopy and weird, doesn’t it? It also seems like a hefty amount of butter, but I did prepare four pounds of chicken wings…

Also, it’s only a half a stick of butter. I’m not Paula Deen, y’all.

[pouring the hot sauce]

I want you to know that in retrospect, I would not have not poured the sauce over the wings first. I should have put this sauce on after the grilling since the sauce pretty much evaporated into thin air while cooking.

So basically, don’t do this. I’m showing you an image of what not to do. Just sprinkle some salt and pepper over those wings and don’t do what I did. Or you can try it if you want. I won’t judge you and the recipe police aren’t going to take you way or anything.

You know why? Because they don’t exist! Woo hoo!

My idea was that I was marinading the wings, so I put the wings back into the bag they came and ported these over for grilling at my house. No sense in dirtying up another bag of plastic, right?

I decided that grilled was the best option. It was hella hot that weekend (like, triple digit record breaking hot) and turning on the oven was out of the question. My dad already had the grill on for some ribs he was making, so we just threw my wings on.

Best idea ever!

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