Tag: seafood

Mary, Recipes, Products

new england style clam chowder / cast iron pot review

I recently received the opportunity to review one of Martha Stewart’s enameled cast iron pots. My dad helped me out with this one as he’s the one that made this really deliciously simply New England Style Clam Chowder. With just a few ingredients, this soup together comes together really easily and is super tasty.

The cast iron pot helped to keep this chowder warm for hours after it was made, too. Impressive!

I choose the smaller 3 quart enameled cast iron pot for its size and versatility. They also have 6 quart and 8 quarts pots and I can only imagine how hefty those suckers are. The smaller 3 quart is a perfect size – and not too heavy to lift.

The enameled surface creates a beautiful rich color (if you know anything about me, you’d know that I would of course pick a green cast iron pot. “Hmm, what color should I get? Is green available? Hells yeah!”). The coating also prevents rusting and you don’t need to season the pot like you do with traditional cast iron.

Besides the pretty green color, the cast iron pots are available in red, blue, orange, purple, white and yellow – all gorgeous colors!

Okay, enough talk about the pot – onto the chowder!

We’ve had this huge ass can of chopped sea clams for awhile now. It was high time that it get used. This is a 51 oz can of clams – you can get this at Costco (Dad says it comes in a two pack). You will need the whole can!

You’ll also need a couple of bay leaves. If you’re like us, you’ll just go out to your backyard and get a couple from your bay leaf tree.

What? You don’t have a bay leaf tree? You should get one.

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Multiple Locations, Coronado, San Diego County, Mary

the brigantine / coronado – san diego, ca

As a San Diego native I’m a little embarrassed to say that I’ve never dined at the Brigantine before! It’s a local chain of seafood restaurants and for whatever reason… I just never went. Probably due to the fact that the most of the people I hang out with are opposed to seafood for some ungodly reason. Oh, little sea creatures, come fill my belly with your delicious ways!

Ahem, you can just ignore me.

So, I was invited to come dine at the restaurant recently and I took Laura with me, since she’s my one seafood-faring friend who lives nearby. We met up at the Coronado location for a night of seafood treats!

[brown bread (wheat, rye & molasses) and sourdough]

Though we did start our seafood adventure with bread. I am not one who turns down bread. In fact I’m having a cheese and bread party very soon for my birthday, because, well… why not?! Bread and cheese, my two great loves. Mmm.

This complimentary bread was very tasty – served fresh and warm with a little vial of butter. The sourdough was crisp and the brown bread was delicious with that touch of sweetness from the molasses.

[lemon press – lemonade and ginger beer]

I wasn’t in the mood for any “hard” drinks, so I opted for this Lemon Press drink – a mixture of lemonade and ginger beer (or ginger ale… I can’t remember which, fairly sure ginger beer). Really delicious and crisp drink – a tad on the sweet side, but not overbearing.

Overbearing sweetness is so… overbearing.

Stop rolling your eyes at me.

[virgin mango margarita]

Laura wasn’t in the mood for the strong drinks either, probably because I wasn’t, and opted for this virgin Mango Margarita. I had a little sip of this frothy looking drink – had a good punch of flavor and was definitely very mango tasting. A bit sweeter than my Lemon Press. Maybe a touch too sweet.

[prince edward island mussels and littleneck clams in garlic wine broth]

We started off with appetizers after trying not to eat that whole basket of bread (it was hard). We started with this mixture of mussels and clams in a garlic wine broth. You have the option, too, of getting just clams or just mussels, if so desire. We so desired to have both though.

The clams and mussels were very nice with a tenderness and a slight chew. The garlic wine broth was a little on the weak side – I would have preferred a richer tasting broth with more garlic – but I’m kind of a garlic fiend. It was still satisfying though in it’s own way (though maybe I prefer Anthology’s version of this dish a bit more).

[crab & shrimp fondue with garlic toast]

Oh wow, I ordered something with cheese in it? What a surprise!

NOT!

If you put something with a lot of cheese on your menu, I’m gonna order it. I think I have a special stomach just for cheese.

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San Diego County, Mary, Lemon Grove

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.

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Del Mar, San Diego County, Mary

del mar rendezvous / san diego restaurant week preview 2012 + giveaway

San Diego Restaurant Week is nearly upon us again – and one restaurant is putting together a sweet deal for San Diegans to get out and get a great meal this September. Del Mar Rendezvous is celebrating restaurant week over three weeks instead of the usual one week and it starts this Saturday, September 8th and runs until September 30th. They have a special $30 prie fix menu and a slew of wine, beer and sake specials to go along with your special meal.

In addition to the special menu, they’re also teaming up with Uber for a $30 Uber ride. Uber is a personal driver service that you use with your iPhone or Android phone to request driver service in a luxury vehicle. I tried out the service when I visited Del Mar Rendezvous last week – check out the end of this post for my recap (and a special giveaway)!

[peek at the SDRW menu – see full options here]

I was excited to be invited back to Del Mar Rendezvous for more delicious treats and offerings. Since I’ve visited in the past, I’ll try and just touch and recap on the newer items I tried this time around. For this visit I invited my dad to tag along with me to try all of the delicious offerings.

[steamed dumpling sampler – 2 ha gau (shrimp), 2 su jiao (veggie) and 2 xiao long bao (pork)]

I adore dumplings in all forms and sizes and couldn’t pass up trying out their Dumpling Sampler which is featured as one of the first courses on their SDRW menu. You get 2 of the shrimp, 2 veggie and 2 of the pork soup dumplings for tasting. Having recently had really excellent dumplings in Irvine, these kind of fell short of my exceptions. I thought they were just okay – maybe if I hadn’t so recently had such tasty ones these might have seemed better in my eyes, but they lacked in the flavor department just a little bit. I’d definitely try the Honey Glazed Spare Ribs if you’re coming for the first time here rather than the dumplings, were are just okay. They not as soft, supple and tender as other dumplings I’ve had but they’re also not the worst. They’re just okay.

[three-cup chicken – chicken thigh meat, sauteed with fresh basil, garlic, ginger and red chilies served in a sizzling clay pot]

The Three-Cup Chicken is a traditional Taiwanese dish that is a restaurant week exclusive dish. This is a dish that the chef usually prepares at home for his family and also served only to the staff at Del Mar Rendezvous. This special dish is cooked over high heat to release the bone marrow and then simmered over low to allow the dish to concentrate all of the flavor into the chicken and sauce, producing a rich and flavorful dish.

This dish reminded me very much of my mom’s chicken adobo. The long period cooking time allows the flavors to develop and deepen and creates a very flavorful dish. The meat is fall off the bone tender with pieces of whole garlic cloves and other intense flavors. I enjoyed eating this with bits of brown rice to help soak up the flavor. A very hearty and tasty dish!

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Mary, Downtown, San Diego County

kelvin at the w hotel / downtown – san diego, ca

Writing this post is making me hungry just reliving this dinner! I brought Stacey in tow with me to experience the food here, having no idea what a treat we were in for that evening. I had been invited to sample the menu at one of the new restaurants Downtown – Kelvin, which is situated inside of the newly renovated W Hotel. This new restaurant is headed by executive chef Kevin Harry. Chef Harry took the time to talk with us and present each dish to us to explain the dish which was a really nice personal touch. He pretty much fed us until we cried uncle – and it tempting to keep going, but there’s only so much room in your stomach… unless we’re talking about dessert. There’s also room for dessert!

[Dining room at the Kelvin in the W Hotel]

[Crazy pretty light fixtures]

One thing I can say about the Kelvin is that is pretty. And it’s cozy. And I love the light fixtures! I love the use of colors here.

[Complimentary bread and Pomegranate Mojitos]

Stacey and I started the night off with some tasty complimentary bread and some very minty pomegranate mojitos – that had pomegranate seeds floating through the drink. It was a nice fruity and minty way to start a meal.

After getting our drinks, we were introduced to chef Kevin Harry who asked about any allergies or diet restrictions. I told him of Stacey’s aversion to seafood but assured him that he could still bring seafood for to me.

Mmm, get the seafood into my belly!

And with that, we let Chef Harry take the reigns and bring us whatever he felt like putting before us to stuff into our faces.

[compressed watermelon with point reyes blue cheese, cilantro and saba drizzle]

The first thing Chef Harry brought out was this dish with these bright, colorful cubes. The cubes are compressed watermelon – the air is taken out of the watermelon to intensify the flavor of the watermelon. It’s paired with a rich, creamy, salty blue cheese and drizzled with saba, which is made from grape must (yeah, I had to Google it).

The sweet, refreshing watermelon paired so well with the blue cheese that I was really taken by surprise. It’s a unique twist on a salty-sweet combination that I found to be so original and refreshing.

[polano corn soup with spiced popcorn]

Our next dish was one of my favorites – a corn soup with popcorn! There’s a little drizzle of a spicy oil in for a nice kick and the creamy soup was simply delicious. The popcorn kernels adorning the top of the soup gave a little crispy element to the soup. The bottom started to soak up the flavor of the soup but was still crisp and crunchy enough to give that fun texture. Chunky pieces of potatoes and corn are in the soup contrasting with the creamy, rich broth.

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Del Mar, San Diego County, Mary

trifecta feast at flavor del mar

Opening Day at Del Mar is apparently a big deal.

I’ll be honest – I’ve never really paid attention. I’ve seen the commercials though – the ones singing about Del Mar. And I’ve heard about the “hats” that women wear for opening day. But beyond that, I don’t know a thing about horse racing. All I know about it is from what I’ve seen in the movies Seabiscuit and Secretariat.

But this post isn’t about the races – it’s about one of the after parties that happened in Del Mar celebrating Opening Day at the racetrack.

At Flavor Del Mar they had a special menu prepared for the day – a Trifecta Feast – with a three course meal to help you bask in your post-win celebration at the races.

[Trifecta Feast Menu]

Here’s a little peek at the menu and the offerings!

[Flavor Del Mar dining room – do you spot some hats?]

Laura and I started feeling a little under dressed as more people trickled into the dining room that evening for their Trifecta meal. It was great for people watching – seeing people all dressed up in suits and dresses with4 the ladies wearing their finest hats and high heels.

[Bread, butter, and fancy salts]

We started our fancy feast with some bread. This was a bit fancy though as we had a little tray of various salts laid down before us. The tiny little spoon for the salt just killed me, too. So freaking cute!

No one explained what the salts were to us – but I suspected the far right one was some kind of pink salt. One was also a bit gray-ish in color but the other two I wasn’t sure of. They were all coarse grained salts and I got a little over-eager and put too much salt on one slice of bread. Oops.

The bread was a whole wheat type of bread. I found myself wishing the bread had been warm but I loved the tray of salts.

[Crispy, spicy shrimp with crazy frisee & arugula on the bottom]

For my starter dish, I chose the crispy, spicy shrimp. The shrimp was in light, crispy batter and definitely packed a punch of heat. It wasn’t the lingering kind of heat though – just a passing through heat. The spiciness managed to enhance the whole dish without taking away from the shrimp – a welcome surprise for someone who has shunned heat and spiciness for a long time! I ignored most of the frisee and arugula on the bottom. I had a taste of the frisee, but it just really isn’t my thing. And, it seemed more like a garnish than anything else – the shrimp is the real star of this dish.

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Travel, Las Vegas, Mary

top of the world at stratosphere – las vegas, nv

At the top of the Stratosphere hotel in Las Vegas, there’s a restaurant called “The Top of the World”. It rotates very slowly around the top, giving you a tip-top view of the entire city in just over an hour. We got there right before the sun started to set and were able to see the Strip go from day to night in the span of a couple of hours. It was breathtaking!

We started out on the Strip side when we sat down – this was our view from the table.

There are signs up warning diners about possible skyjumpers – just so you don’t freak out as they jump off the edge while you’re dining. We happened to see a few but I wasn’t able to get a shot of any of them jumping!

The view really is just right there in front of you. It’s hard to tell that you’re even moving since it rotates so slowly. It’s subtle. And awesome!

Jake’s pointing out Fremont street in Downtown Vegas, right after the sunset.

[Bread Basket]

We were given a basket of breads to start off with. There was a large Parmesan crisp, and a variety of bread rolls.

[Flavored butters]

We were also given some flavored butters to go with our breads. The one in the back with the sprinkle of green color in it was an herb and garlic flavored butter. The orange one in the front had a ginger flavor to it and I believe the last one was plain. There were four of us at the table (Jake, Chris, Laura and I) so we got two plates of the butters to share. I honed in on the herb/garlic butter and used as much of that one as possible. I didn’t dig the ginger butter quite as much. It had a bit of a tart flavor, but it was fun to try.

[Corn and Plantain Soup – $11]

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San Diego County, Mira Mesa, Mary

fuze restaurant and lounge / mira mesa – san diego, ca

Mira Mesa has gotten a new addition to the neighborhood: Fuze, a Korean restaurant located where “Mr. Wasabi” used to be. They haven’t changed the name on the signage yet, but you still spot the restaurant when you’re driving west on Mira Mesa Blvd. I was invited to come in and try out the restaurant not too long ago. I actually went in early to do a “sneak peek” on one of my lunch breaks before I came in. For this trip, my cohort was my dad.

We there about 5PM on a Wednesday evening. No other guests to speak of. Our hostess/waitress showed us to a table and we sat and started to peruse the menu. Sadly she wasn’t totally well versed on the menu so I felt it was a little lacking there since she gave us half-hearted suggestions. No matter, we ordered a few things and were off!

[pajun – korean style scallion pancake]

I’m not well versed in Korean food at all. This was described to us as sort of a “seafood pancake”.

It’s a large pancake-like appetizer with lots of scallions and little shrimps. The outer edge was a bit crisp (though not too crunchy) and the inside was very doughy. Our waitress said “it’s supposed to be like that” but it sort of tasted like the inside wasn’t cooked all of the way. I did not really like the consistency of the inside of the pajun and mostly just nibbled on the outer edges and a few pieces of the shrimp.

[fried calamari with wasabi ranch and house tarter sauce]

The fried calamari was a more familiar dish that we tried – I was mostly curious to see what kind of twist (if any) they would put on one of my favorite dishes. The calamari are cut into rings and then fried in a coating of batter, resulting in a light, crispy calamari. I love that they’re served on those noodle things (I can’t remember what they are called! argh) giving them a fun, visual appearance. The wasabi ranch wasn’t too god-awful hot and the tarter sauce was just okay. I kept nibbling on these babies sans sauce, cause that’s how I roll. They were tender with a very slight chew and a nice, crisp outer texture.

[bulgogi – sauteed sliced rib eye, onion, asparagus, bell pepper, mushroom and basil]

My dad ordered the bulgogi – or Korean barbequed beef – for his meal. I tried this previously for lunch and my dad and I both agree that this is a very good dish. My dad said that this reminded him of “something your mom would make” – a meat and mostly veggie dish in a nice sauce with some rice on the side. The bulgogi has a nice seasoned flavor and I love the veggies that come with it (especially the mushrooms – I lub you, mushrooms). The bulgogi is tender and the marinade/sauce is slightly sweet and delicious. They also serve bulgogi philly cheese steaks and bulgogi sliders, two items I surely want to come back and try in the future.

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Mary, Del Mar, San Diego County

shimbashi izakaya / del mar – san diego, ca

Shimbashi Izakaya is a Japanese restaurant located in the heart of downtown Del Mar, CA. They serve a variety of “tapas” style menu items as well as sushi, noodles, and other Japanese dishes and seafood. I recently had the opportunity to try Shimbashi Izakaya for myself and was happily treated to a wonderful line up of delicious Japanese foods.

Shimbashi Izakaya is in such a pretty spot with a nice outdoor patio.

There’s an ocean view and if you’re lucky (ie: not dining in May or June), you’ll be treated to a sunny, ocean view. Our sunset was a little cloudy that evening and it was a bit chilly by the coast, but Laura and I were not deterred in the slightest! Also: heat lamps are a wonderful invention.

This is their menu – it looks like a picture book! I loved this idea, especially for cuisine that I’m not very familiar with. It’s so helpful to see photos of the items you want to order.

[Lychee Martini]

Our hostess pretty much convinced me to try this drink. I wasn’t going to have any alcohol, but with a little pushing and prodding you can get me to try a lot of things.

I admit, it didn’t really take much prodding. But, she did have them split our 1 Lychee martini into two glasses. This was very sweet – and I detected no alcohol, which is a crazy combination. The flavor of the lychee comes shining through on this martini. While I thought the drink was good, it would have been better if it was a little less sweet.

I loved the wooden skewers with the wooden flower bead – so cute!

[Baked Mussels]

After perusing through their large menu, Laura and I decided to get a few appetizers to start. One was this: the Baked Mussels. The mussels come back in their shells, grilled and topped with cheese and onions. Almost like a mini baked casserole in a shell.

I liked the flavors of the mussels but I wasn’t too crazy about the type of cheese paired with it. It wasn’t bad, but I didn’t think the flavor of the mussel went that great with the cheese.

[Pri-pri Ebiten]

I first saw this on Leanne’s post about Shimbashi and I already knew I would order it. Gigantic shrimp? In a honey glaze? FRIED?! Well damn, sign me up!
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San Diego County, Mary, North Park

anniversary dinner at alexanders / north park – san diego, ca

Hoo boy, I am behind in posts! My laptop issue isn’t quite solved just yet, but hopefully in a few more days I’ll be back to work using my own laptop instead of someone else’s (aka, my dad’s laptop). Using another laptop is not quite the same as using your own. Things are different and everything’s in a weird place and you don’t have your usual programs. Arrgghhh, frustrating.

Anyway, let’s talk about something fun! As in my 5 year anniversary dinner last month with Jake!

I had grabbed a coupon for a swanky little spot in North Park called “Alexander’s on 30th” to celebrate our special occasion. The place is definitely full of swank with their all-white decor inside on the restaurant. It creates a cozy, comfortable and romantic feel to the restaurant.

[Swanky interior in the daylight]

We got some bread in a basket to start with for our lovely anniversary meal.

[Crusty bread]

Jake let me pick out an appetizer to start with. He wasn’t much into it, but told me to “order whatever I wanted”. I was tempted to order something I would usually like (aka, something with just cheese, like their roasted garlic and brie) but instead opted for one of their crostini’s.

[Goat cheese bacon and honey crostini]

I don’t remember the exact name of this one – I don’t see it on their menu anymore – but it was a crostini with goat cheese, crispy bacon, herbs and a drizzle of honey. The bacon was super crispy (just the way I like it) and the creamy goat cheese gave it an intense flavor constrast. It was very light on the honey – I would have actually preferred just a tad more honey to balance out the richness of the goat cheese. While I did enjoy this, I found I couldn’t it too much of it since the flavors here were so intense.

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San Diego County, Mira Mesa, Mary, Multiple Locations

new shrimp items at daphne’s california greek

Daphne’s has undergone a transformation, becoming Daphne’s California Greek last year and offering more and diverse items on their menu. One of their newest additions are their new shrimp items.

[Crispy Shrimp Pita Sandwich with two sides]

The crispy shrimp has been on the menu before, but never before in a pita sandwich. I got the Shrimp Gyro meal with two sides – greek salad and rice pilaf.

The shrimp itself was nicely done – crisp with a bit of herbs that are in the batter. It’s kind of unwieldily to eat a shrimp pita though, since the shrimp like to keep jumping ship and falling right out of the sandwich. While it was good, I’d still prefer to get the shrimp “on the side” and not eat it in a pita.

[Mango Shrimp Salad]

One of their other new items is the Mango Shrimp Salad. I went with the grilled shrimp this time and am happy to report that the grilled shrimp is quite tasty. They’re fairly good sized shrimp and the grilling gives the shrimp a nice, distinct flavor. I took them off the skewer to eat with my mango salad. The salad itself has hand-made mango salsa with a hint of smoky chipotle flavor, mixed greens and feta cheese with a balsamic hummus dressing.

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San Diego County, Mary, Little Italy, Downtown

dinner and a show at anthology / little italy – san diego, ca

I was recently invited to Anthology to try out their newest menu items by Chef Todd Allison. I’d always been interested in going to see a show at Anthology. This proved to be a stellar way to try out some new eats and to catch a show all in one.

Anthology is set up with three different levels – the main floor near the stage, a second level with just a few booths, and a top level. There’s also an upper level GA admission area with no view of the stage and monitors instead.

Laura and I arrived well in advance of the crowd and snagged some nice seats up front on the floor, near the stage. Getting there early was nice since we were able to chat and eat most of our food before the show began. The waiters are pretty good about letting you have your space when the show begins and only come by to check on you when necessary.

I had picked a date arbitrarily and we ended up seeing a band called the Robert Glasper Experiment – a mixture of jazz, soul and a little hip hop all thrown into the mix. I can honestly say it was like nothing else I had heard before with the mixtures of genres all rolled into one. It didn’t quite make me a new convert, but I enjoyed seeing them and experiencing something new. I’ll leave the music reviews to others.

[Sake Steamed Black Mussels – Ginger, Mint, Basil, Hearts of Palm]

We started off with these steamed black mussels, which our waiter told us were locally grown from Carlsbad. I had never had mussels before, but I was feeling adventurous – and I’m glad I was because I ended really liking these! The flavors of the ginger, mint and basil all showed through giving them a really deep and wonderful flavor. The mussels reminded me of oversized clams – similar texture with a nice, sweet flavor.

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