Little Miss Contrary's Culinary Adventures

SDRW: Café Chloe

2011-11-06T22:43:00.000-08:00

This past September was another San Diego Restaurant Week, which is a great opportunity for Mr. Tall and I to try new restaurants. Mr. Tall and I initially wanted to go to Market in Del Mar, but could not get a reservation (a week in advance!). So, our second choice was Cafe Chloe in the East Village. This restaurant has been on our radar for a few years, but we just have never made it there until now.

The ambiance of Cafe Chloe is fantastic--it really captures the look and feel of a chic, Parisian bistro. When we stepped into the restaurant, it was a bit confusing at first because there was no host/hostess; but we were quickly greeted and seated once someone spotted us by the door. The SDRW menu had a nice selection of 3 options to choose from for the appetizer, main, and dessert courses.

Mr. Tall started with the classic French Onion Soup served in a darling ramekin. Sweet and savory caramelized onions in a rich broth, topped off with a piece of baguette crouton and cheese--can't go wrong with that.

I started with the Warm Crottin Goat Cheese and Fig Salad, which was simple and delicious. The Crottin goat cheese was coated in breadcrumbs and lightly fried. The warm goat cheese went really well with the perfectly ripe and slightly sweet fig. My only complaint was that I could have used more figs than one sliver of it! Nonetheless, the meal was off to a good start.

On to the main course: Mr. Tall again went for the classic choice of Steak and Frites. The steak was served with herbes de provence butter, a side of roasted corn and peppers, and, of course, a stack of pomme frites. Mr. Tall thought that the steak was cooked well, but tasted average and underwhelming. Not sure if it was just not the best cut of beef, but the only flavor came from the herbes de provence butter. (Cafe Chloe's website says that they use products from local and sustainable sources, so I do wonder where the beef came from ...)

I have a soft spot for mussels and seafood stews in general. So, the choice was obvious for me to go with the Mussels Belgique with Pomme Frites. The Belgian-influenced dish was nice, but the cream-based broth was a bit salty and one-note in flavor. Maybe I could have used more white wine or lemon in the sauce. Anyway, I can't hate on the dish though because I pretty much devoured all of the frites.

To end our meal, Mr. Tall went with the Bittersweet Chocolate Pot de Creme served with vanilla bean whipped cream and a brandied cherry. The pot de creme was good, a bit dense, but he enjoyed it.

I chose the Apple Galette with Creme Fraiche Ice Cream. The apples were not overcooked, and the ice cream was delicious and not overly sweet. However, the galette crust dough was way too thick and not flaky, so the crust was disappointing for me. Overall, Mr. Tall and I did enjoy the meal and the ambiance of Cafe Chloe--a great place for date night! And you can't beat the SDRW price tag of $30 for a 3-course offering!

Two weeks after our visit to Cafe Chloe for SDRW, we went there again to meet some friends for a weekend brunch. I had the House-Cured Salmon Gravlax Tartine with Creme Fraiche and Cucumber-Dill Salad, and Mr. Tall had the Two Eggs with Bacon, Baguette and Herb Butter. We really enjoyed the brunch, and would definitely go back to Cafe Chloe again for brunch and at least once again for their full dinner menu. They also have "Urban Tea," which I will have to try one of these days because I absolutely adore high/afternoon tea.

Enjoy,
LMC

Coming up next: LMC's Culinary Adventures in Los Angeles!

The Marine Room

2011-06-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

While I was studying for the California Bar last year, Mr. Tall had promised that when I pass the Bar that we would celebrate at The Marine Room. Even though the July 2010 Bar results came out in November (yay, I passed!), Mr. Tall and I decided to wait until summertime for a better sunset. Also, Mr. Tall was saving his change for almost a year for us to go to there. So, finally, the time came a few weeks ago for us to finally go to The Marine Room.

The evening didn't start out perfectly. Mr. Tall made reservations for 7:00pm on a Saturday, which was not the best idea because that is apparently the middle the restaurant's dinner seating, so we were not able to get seated at one of the tables by the windows (which obviously have the best ocean views). If you plan to go there, I would recommend making an early reservation for 5:00-6:00pm or a later reservation at 8:00-8:30pm (but you will likely miss the sunset with a later reservation). But without further adieu, here is the rundown of our dinner.

I started with the Ocean Trilogy Tasting--Vanilla Lobster topped with Spanish Trout Caviar, Plum Tuna Tartare in Sesame Cone, Yellowtail Sashimi, and Lemon Myrtle Aioli. The tuna tartare was probably my favorite tasting, followed by the yellowtail sashimi and then the lobster. The tuna tartare was prepared impeccably--each piece of tuna was diced perfectly; the plum sauce had the perfect sweet and salty balance; and the sesame cone provided a tasty, crunchy vessel for the tartare.

Mr. Tall started with the Ancho Cacao Rubbed Brandt Farm Beef Carpaccio served with Winchester Cumin Gouda, Watercress, Fig Vincotto, Tamarind Pate de Fruit, and Horseradish Oil. There was also a toasted rye cracker and cocoa nibs. As you can see, the presentation is impressive (and the portion size was quite generous as well). There were so many unique components on the dish that you don't usually see with beef carpaccio. But once you put them all together, each bite was amazing and flavorful.

For the main course, I ordered the Lemon Verbana Annatto Basted Lobster Tail, which was served with Plaintain Timbale, Habanero Mango Sausage, Tangerine Lace Canton Ginger Butter, and seasonal vegetables. It was getting dark, and the photo doesn't do the lobster justice. The lobster was cooked just right, and the ginger butter was absolutely delicious and well-balanced. The dish was not as innovative as the appetizers, but really well executed.

Worth noting that The Marine Room has an impressive wine list with many wines by the glass and bottle, as well as classic cocktails. My appetizer and entrée went really well with a glass of Voignier (my new favorite type of white wine), and Mr. Tall enjoyed a Pimms Cup No. 1 (which is dangerously delicious considering how much liquor is in the cocktail).

Mr. Tall ordered the Midwestern Center Cut Filet Mignon, served with Hazelnut Potato Pie, Tilston Point Blue Cheese, Moutain Berry Chutney, all atop Mustard Seed Garnacha Sauce. He was initially going to order a halibut daily special, but they were out by the time we ordered. The filet mignon was cooked to a perfect medium, and the sauce was deliciously savory with a hint of sweetness.

Of course, we couldn't pass up desserts. We ordered the Spindrift Cobblestone Pie, which is definitely their most popular dessert item. It is essentially a gelato pie with a chocolate cookie crust, layers of Vanilla and Espresso Gelato, topped off with toasted hazelnuts and Myer's Rum Butterscotch. The pie was good, but nothing to write home about--and the butterscotch made the dessert too sweet.

We also ordered the Organic Cordillera Chocolate Bomb with Gianduja Crunch Crust, Griottes, and Red Currant Coulis, served with a shot of Pomegranate Aquavit. This is definitely the dessert for chocolate lovers--it was deep, rich, dark chocolate--and the more sophisticated dessert of the two we ordered. Mr. Tall and I took sips of the Aquavit, but it was powerful and had a really strong taste of cardamom.

The Marine Room is undoubtedly one of the most romantic and best fine dining restaurants in San Diego, so Mr. Tall and I definitely had high expectations. Our waitress was knowledgeable, friendly, but not intrusive, and the service was first-class as expected. The Marine Room didn't exceed my expectations because I was expecting perfection, and The Marine Room was perfect.

Enjoy,

LMC

Sunshine Means Strawberry-Lime Yogurt Pops

2011-05-02T21:32:00.000-07:00

Since the weather in San Diego has been warming up, it was finally time to bust out the Zoku Quick Pop Maker, which Mr. Tall's mom got me last Christmas. I remember making popsicles using sodas and various juices when I was younger, but this Zoku Quick Pop Maker made the process, like its name, quick and easy--you can have popsicles in your hands in less than 10 minutes!

Strawberry-Lime Frozen Yogurt Pops (Makes about 5-6 pops)
1-7 oz. container of Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
4 teaspoon agave nectar (add more to taste)
4 strawberries (de-stemmed and hulled)
A couple of tablespoons of milk

Blend all the ingredients in a blender and add milk until mixer turns to a pourable/smoothie-like consistency. I followed the instructions on the Zoku, which required the Zoku itself to be frozen for about 24 hours prior to use. These yogurt pops actually took about 12 minutes to freeze, but I think it generally takes less time (8-10 minutes) when it is a juice-based pop recipe. The tang of Greek yogurt is stronger than regular yogurt, so you may want to add more strawberries and agave nectar to balance out the flavor to your taste.

I can't wait to make other kinds of popsicles. I love acai, so I'm going to try and incorporate that into a popsicle recipe. I like the Zoku, but my popsicles will come close to the incredible and gourmet popsicles of Viva Pops.

Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather!

Enjoy,

LMC

Happy V-Day 2011!

2011-02-13T22:12:00.000-08:00

I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day because it is such a Hallmark holiday, so Mr. Tall and I don't really celebrate it. But it sure is a good excuse for me to bake!

I made these heart-shaped Glazed Butter Cookies--they were super easy and fun to make!

Butter Cookie Dough (Cook's Illustrated, Holiday Baking 2007)
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup superfine sugar (or granulated sugar put in the food processor for about 20 seconds)
1/4 teaspoon table salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces, room temperature
2 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature

In bowl of standing mixer, combine flour, sugar, and salt on low speed, and add butter 1 piece at a time with the mixer still running on low until mixture looks crumbly. Add vanilla and cream cream, and mix until dough just begins to form large clumps. Knead dough in the bowl to form a mass, then turn out onto counter top, divide in half, form into two 4-inch disks, wrap, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes (or up to 3 days).

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out 1 dough disk to 1/8-inch thickness between 2 large pieces of parchment paper and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutter. (Cook's Illustrated suggests that you refrigerate the dough after it's rolled out and before it's cut out, but I didn't and it still baked up fine.) Bake until light golden brown, about 10-12 minutes, and cool on wire rack.

Glaze
1 tablespoon cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Whisk cream cheese and milk until combined and no lumps remain. Wish in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Drizzle or spread glaze on cooled cookies.

I sprinkled rainbow baking sugar on the cut out dough before baking the cookies that I didn't plan on glazing--a colorful and festive option if you don't like the glaze. Although I like this glaze recipe because it's creamier and less sugary than most recipes, so it's worth trying the cookies with the glaze.

Happy Valentine's Day--however you spend it!

Enjoy,

LMC

Travelogue to Greece, Part II: Meteora and Santorini

2011-02-03T23:05:00.000-08:00

After some sightseeing in Athens, my family and I traveled to Meteora. During the road trip, we made a pit stop where I enjoyed my first slice of Baklava.

The baklava had layers upon layers of crispy phyllo dough, bits of nuts, all drenched in syrupy Greek honey. It's definitely a dessert that you need to sit down with a cup of coffee, espresso, or tea--and to be shared--because it is so sweet.

While in Meteora (which in Greek means "in the heavens above"), we visited many monasteries that were literraly "suspended in the air," or set atop of hill tops and rock formations. We hiked up to a few monasteries, but others like the one in the picture below are not really by the public.

For lunch, we visited the simply named Cafe Meteora, which is family-owed and operated.

The place was so charming and had a lot of character--they even had a torch from the 2004 Olympics in Athens!

Every diner was invited to walk through their kitchen and see huge pots of stews, rice, and potatoes. We got a few different dishes, including lamb meatball stew served with rice. It was delicious and hearty.

The better dish though was this stewed lamb. The lamb was so tender and had a wonderful depth of flavors from the time it spent on the stove.

After a wonderful visit to Meteora, we went back to Athens for a night before we flew out to Santorini. We decided to keep things relatively low key and went to Athens' Old Town, Plaka, where there are many shops and tavernas. Because there are many tavernas, we didn't really quite know where to go, so we just chose a random taverna in one of the alley ways in Plaka. The ambiance was really nice, candle-lit tables, and an acoustic guitar band serenading the diners.

We started with this grilled Halloumi cheese. I'm not sure if this was just not the best Halloumi since I've never had it before, but I was not a big fan of the dish.

My sister Pinnerton really wanted to try the Dolmadakia, which are grapevine leaves stuffed with rice and vegetables. Pinnerton thought it was good, but I was really put off by the briny and sour taste, so I really did not enjoy this dish.

And the meal went down hill from there ... We ordered this sad looking plate of stewed lamb, and shared even sadder looking plates of chicken Souvlaki and stew that I don't even want to post.

Finally, we made it to Santorini! After a short flight from Athens, we are ready for lunch. My mom had read somewhere that a little gyro restaurant by the tourist information booth is supposed to be good.

The gyro pita sandwich was a bit disappointing. The meat was not as good of a quality as the gyro we had in Athens.

The Souvlaki suffered the same fall of low quality meat, which made the dish not as enjoyable as it could have been. But who cares about the food, when you're in Santorini--I mean, look at the view!

Santorini is even more beautiful in person--the blue ocean's contrast with the white structures is so breathtaking. If I thought Athens was hot, Santorini is ten times as hot! We were practically drenched in sweat just walking around.

After wandering around the island, we needed to cool down. So, we stepped into this little cafe and sipped on some deliciously strong iced coffee. I don't even drink coffee, but it was so good!

Here's another gorgeous view of this Greek island.

After we watched a beautiful Santorini sunset, we enjoyed our last dinner in Greece at a rooftop restaurant. I ordered yet another lamb meatball stew--I can't help it, I love lamb and stews! It was not the best meal of the trip, but we were so exhausted by that point that we just wanted to sit somewhere and take in as much of Santorini as we could.

I would definitely want to go back to Santorini and the other Greek islands, but am not sure if I would return to Athens. Overall, Greece was a fantastic experience!

Enjoy,

LMC

Travelogue to Greece, Part I: Athens

2011-01-30T21:02:00.000-08:00

After the nightmare called the Bar Exam, most people take the obligatory post-Bar trip as the last hurrah before their law school career officially ends. So, of course, I went back to Thailand to see my family, and off we went to Greece! We arrived in Athens, checked into the hotel, and wandered around the historic city. After a bit of sightseeing, my sister and I needed a little snack. Restaurants all over the city offer street-side gyros served on pita bread--yum!

Most places offer lamb gyros, but some also offer pork and beef. Definitely a tantalizing sight and smell as you're walking around the city!

Here is our official first lamb gyros sandwich of the trip--and probably the best! The gyros had a nice crust and caramelization from the lamb rotating on the vertical spit. The creamy Tzatziki (cucumber yogurt sauce) and fresh tomato perfectly complemented the gyros on the delicious pita bread.

We wandered around Athens a bit more, stopping at some outdoor market. The Greeks sure love their dried fruit, nuts, honey, cheese, and yogurt!

Some apricots and oranges preserved in honey. After looking at all the beautiful food, we were ready for a real meal!

We walked up to a little restaurant and ordered a couple of dishes. We got a plate of lamb Souvlaki, or marinated lamb grilled on skewers, served with the staples--pita bread, tomatoes, red onions, and Tzatziki (excluding that sad handful of fries).

We also got a pork gyros pita sandwich, which came with fries inside. It was like a Greek equivalent of a California burrito--not too shabby!

My sister Pinnerton ordered this dish of grilled eggplant, generously topped with dices of tomatoes and crumbles of feta cheese. I was not a big fan of this dish because there was no texture contrast--everything was just mushy.

After lunch, we visited the National Archaeology Museum of Athens where we got a taste of how much history is in this country.

The museum housed, among many artifacts, the famous Gargon's Head (350-325 B.C.!), which represents the head of Medusa, the most famous of the three Gargons.

We spent the first evening in Greece on some dinner and a show tour (I believe it was called a Night in Athens), which was just awful. I wish we would have stayed away from that and just checked out a local taverna in Plaka (Old Town).

Our first full day in Athens, we did a lot of sightseeing. We visited the Syntagma Square and made our way over to the Acropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The most famous structure at the Acropolis of Athens is undoubtedly the Parthenon. The architecture and history were reflective in this impressive sight, and, as you can see, they had started a wide scale restoration of the temple and other structures in the Acropolis.

By the way, Greece is scorching HOT in August! I think we nearly died of exhaustion and heat stroke hiking up to the Acropolis. The blood orange Powerade was definitely a much needed replenishment of electrolytes!

Since we were starving and exhausted, we just stopped for quick lunch at cafe atop the Acropolis Museum.

I ordered the sandwich with salami from Lafkada with Cretan gruyere cheese, rocket (arugula), and virgin olive oil. A simple and tasty sandwich that showcased local products.

My parents opted for a smoked trout sandwich with celery and lime. I think they enjoyed it, but I'm not a big fan of smoked trout and celery, so I didn't bother to try any. The cafe at the Acropolis Museum was a nice way to take a breather and enjoy a view of the ancient city.

After a day of sightseeing in the heat, we took it easy for dinner and just walked over to a mall in Athens where there is a small diner on top of the building with a nice view of Athens. My sister and I tried our first ever Moussaka, which is a traditional dish layered with ground meat, eggplant, and bechamel sauce. It's like a Greek lasagna, but I thought this one had a little too much bechamel sauce.

Part II of LMC's travelogue to Delphi, Meteora, and (the best part) Santorini is coming up next!

Enjoy,

LMC

The HI Life: Part II

2011-01-23T15:29:00.000-08:00

After spending Day 4 snorkeling and laying out in the sun at Hanauma Bay, Mr. Tall and I headed to Ono's Hawaiian Food for dinner, which is a very popular restaurant for locals and tourists alike in Waikiki.

The restaurant is in a quiet, commercial area, with a nondescript store front. There was a little bit of a wait, but nothing that would deter most people away, as the place seats only about 20-something people at a time.

Mr. Tall and I ordered the Kalua Pork, Pipikaula (way better at Helena's), Lomi Salmon (which the owner of Ono's joked was the only way that Hawaiians get their vegetable, i.e. onion and tomato), and, of course, my personal favorite, Lau Lau. We also got a side of Spam fried up on the cooktop, and it was salty Spam goodness! While at Ono's, you felt as if you were at a neighbor's home who were cooking up some delicious authentic Hawaiian food. If you're visiting Waikiki, Ono's is a must if you don't want to venture out as far as Helena's for some good local cuisine.

Before Mr. Tall and I knew it, it was our last full day in Oahu. We decided to spend it just hanging out on the beach of Waikiki. For lunch, we walked over to Puka Dog--it's hot dogs with Hawaiian flair!

I got a veggie Puka Dog with lilikoi mustard and habanero garlic lemon sauce, and it was so good! I loved the combination of the sweet lillikoi mustard with the heat of the habanero garlic lemon sauce, all melded together with the perfectly salty dog, held together in a soft bun. I wish we had one on the mainland!

To end our Hawaiian vacation on a high note, Mr. Tall and I started the evening at The Halekulani.

The place to be in Waikiki for cocktail hour(s) is undoubtedly at House Without a Key at The Halekulani. We sipped on the classic Mai Tai and Ambrosia, which came with complimentary house potato chips. We also ordered an appetizer of chicken swekers to go with our cocktails. A full lunch and dinner menu is served at House Without a Key, but most patrons, like us, were there for the pre-dinner cocktail hour and the unbeatable ambiance.

We sipped our cocktails while enjoying the view of Diamond Head, the Waikiki shores, and traditional Hawaiian music and dance under the century-old Kiawe tree. The evening got even more beautiful as the sun set.

I got another cocktail called the Chi Chi, which for someone who's not a big drinker like me was great because it tasted like a coconut smoothie! If you can afford it, I would stay at The Halekulani. But if you can't (like us), definitely visit House Without a Key at least one evening, if not every evening, while you're in Waikiki. The classic cocktails, traditional Hawaiian music and dance, and the Waikiki sunset--it was a beyond perfect way to start our last night in Oahu.

Mr. Tall did some Yelping before we went out that night, which was how we discovered Yakiniku Hiroshi. There is a wide selection of Japanese restaurants in the Waikiki area as there are many Japanese tourists who visit Oahu, and, boy, we we glad we found Yakiniku Hiroshi!

You can order a selection of various (pretty pricey) meats or a la carte for fewer items (and to keep the costs down), and grill the meats yourself at each table's yakiniku grill. I don't remember what the cut above was as it was one of the specials that night, but it was so freakin' delicious.

This was the paper-thin steak grilled up and served with green onions, cripy garlic chips, and Ponzu sauce--totally mouth-watering!

Mr. Tall's favorite of the night was definitely the US Kobe "Toro" Kalbi served with Hiroshi's Special Marinade. The ridiculous marbling made for some of the most tender and flavorful beef we had ever had! If you are a quality meat lover, don't miss Yakiniku Hiroshi!

With all the good eats during the trip, Mr. Tall and I somehow didn't manage to find any Spam Musubi. So, on our way to the airport in the morning, we stopped by 7-Eleven for me to pick up a couple of them. I know that there are probably better Spam Musubi out there, but these were quite tasty, convenient, and satisfied my craving! Since our trip, I have made Spam Musubi at home several times, which is super easy thanks to my Musubi mold.

Unfortunately, there aren't very many good Hawaiian restaurants in San Diego to satisfy our cravings. There was a Leilani's Cafe that opened near Mission Valley, which I thought had the best Hawaiian food in town, but it closed after a very short time (there is still the original location PB). We have found Chamorro Grill on Mission Gorge, which serves Guamanian food but offers many familiar Hawaiian dishes like Kalua Pork and Spam Musubi. Mr. Tall and I have already been trying to figure out when we can make another trip to Oahu or another one of the islands--we definitely left our hearts in Hawaii.

Enjoy,

LMC

Coming next: LMC & familia travel to Greece!

The HI Life: Part I

2011-01-22T18:50:00.000-08:00

After my law school graduation and before the Bar prep course, Mr. Tall and I decided to take a trip to Oahu, Hawaii. Neither of us had been to Hawaii, so it was an easy choice for a fun and food-filled vacation. Approximately five and a half hour later on a non-stop flight on Hawaiian Airlines from SAN to HNL, we were there!

Our first stop as soon as we arrived in Oahu was Helena's Hawaiian Food, which is located in a residential neighborhood in Honolulu. The founding chef of Helena's Helen Chock received a James Beard Award in 2000, so needless to say Mr. Tall and I were very excited to try this place.

We ordered Menu D, which included Pipikaula Short Ribs, Kalua Pork, Lomi Salmon, Poi, and Luau Squid (that green bowl that looks like cream spinach). Of course, it came with a side of Maui onion to eat with chili water and Alaea salt, and Haupia (coconut dessert) to finish off the meal. The first and definitely the best Hawaiian meal of the trip!

For dinner during our first day in Waikiki, Mr. Tall found a Japanese restaurant in the heart of Waikiki called Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin. Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin doesn't just specialize in Tonkatsu, they specialize in Tonkatsu made with Kurobuta, or the Kobe beef of pork.

First, you grind up toasted sesame seeds, as coarsely or as finely as you'd prefer, to add to their house Tonkatsu sauce.

The Kurobuta Tonkatsu was tender and well cooked--almost as good as Maisen in Japan! Day 2 in Oahu took us to the top of Nu'uanu Pali and the beautiful beach of Lanikai. For a late lunch, Mr. Tall and I went to Young's Fish Market, which is such a great Hawaiian plate lunch/takeout spot.

I tried my first Lau Lau, which is a traditional Hawaiian dish of pork and butterfish wrapped inside taro leaves, and was hooked! The dish sounds a bit strange and doesn't exactly look appealing, but the saltiness of the butterfish with the mild yet slightly bitter taste of the taro leaves made the dish so delicious and comforting.

Mr. Tall got the Kalua Pork, which like other lunch plates at Young's, came with 2 scoops of rice and a side of purple sweet potato, which he really enjoyed. Although Mr. Tall thought the Kalua pork was relatively good, it was his least favorite of the trip. After a quick lunch at Young's, we made our way over to the Shimazu Store for some shave ice!

Mr. Tall got the Rainbow Combo with (blue) vanilla, strawberry, and banana syrup, and vanilla ice cream on the bottom.

I ordered mine with lilikoi (passion fruit), lychee, and green tea syrup, topped with sweetened condensed milk, all on top of Azuki red bean! It was the perfect afternoon treat after the day at the beach. The Shimazu Store is a small, family-owned operation, which is totally different from the empire of Matsumoto Shave Ice. Even though Mr. Tall and I didn't make it to Matsumoto, we prefer our experience at the Shimazu Store because of its personable service and handmade quality of each order of Shave Ice.

On Day 3, Mr. Tall and I visited the USS Arizona Memorial in the morning, and hiked up Diamond Head in the afternoon. The USS Arizona Memorial site was a great place to visit and reflect on the sacrifice the men and women in service have made and continue to make. For lunch, we stuffed our faces with some more Hawaiian food at the Rainbow Drive-In. We were so hungry that I forgot to take any photos!

Not too far from the Rainbow Drive-In is Leonard's Bakery, the home of their famous Malasadas. Malasadas are Portuguese donut confection that are super popular in Hawaii.

The Malasadas are simply fried dough rolled in granulated sugar or cinnamon sugar. We got half a dozen of them to enjoy after the hike up Diamond Head, and for dessert after dinner that night. Mr. Tall and I headed to the Ala Moana shopping complex to walk around and do a little shopping (taxes are much lower in HI than in CA!). We didn't have any dinner plans, so Mr. Tall did a little Yelping while we were shopping and found that Alan Wong's Pineapple Room is conveniently located inside the Macy's. We started with a Chinese Roast Duck Quesadilla, which was probably the best thing of the night (and that isn't saying too much).

Mr. Tall ordered a mango and Macademia nut-crusted, apple curry glazed Kurobota pork chop served with Kabocha pumpkin and Mascarpone cheese puree, and he thought it was good. He sure ate a lot of Kurobota pork that week!

We had been eating a lot of heavy dishes, so I thought I would order something light like the seared peppered Ahi with Asian slaw. Although the Ahi was fresh, the whole dish was a big letdown. The prices at the Pineapple Room were high for what I thought was mediocre food--or maybe we just ordered the wrong dishes. The place left me disappointed especially considering the fact that Alan Wong put his name on it!

That's it for Part I; Part II will be here tomorrow!

Enjoy,

LMC

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T20:19:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday despite the June gloom in San Diego. I don't really have time to celebrate or enjoy the fireworks by the harbor this year since I'm still studying for the Bar, but I did have time to make this super quick, super simple, and super delicious No-Bake Chocolate-Raspberry Cream Pie.

Raspberries are so abundant this time of the year and this recipe does not require you to turn on the oven, so it is the perfect summer pie. I made it for Mr. Tall's mom when she visited us last summer because she loves raspberries, and she really enjoyed it. One thing though: Mr. Tall and I could not find chocolate wafer cookies anywhere. We substituted it Oreo cookies (minus the cream) last time, and this time we used some chocolate wafer "snacks," and they both worked fine.

Enjoy,

LMC

Out & About: Urban Solace

2010-05-30T20:36:00.000-07:00

Many things have happened in the past few months for me, including graduating from law school. I recently started studying for the California Bar, so I will be a hot mess from now until the end of July. In any case, I need study breaks to keep me sane. So, Mr. Tall and I try to go out to dinner (or the movies) once a week, and I signed up on Yelp to write occasional reviews of our culinary adventures.

I just wrote my first review on Yelp about Mr. Tall and I's recent visit to Urban Solace (US). Mr. Tall and I use Yelp very often, but I have never written a review on their until now. So, I've posted it here--sorry, no pictures though!

Mr. Tall and I went to US the other Friday night for dinner. We tried to make a reservation that afternoon for a 7:00pm dinner, but the only time slots remaining were at 5:45pm or 9:00pm. The restaurant suggested that we just walk in, and they would likely seat us in the patio area which is not subject to reservations.

We arrived at around 7:00pm and were seated in the patio after about 15-20 minutes. I ordered a Plantation Ice Tea (ice tea and pineapple juice), and Mr. Tall ordered an Arnie Palmer (ice tea and lemonade). Both were refreshing for a summer day and good alternatives to their cocktails.

We shared an order of Sweet Potato Fries with Maytag Blue Cheese-Buttermilk Dressing as our starter. US uses a different type of sweet potato for their fries, not the yam variety you would find at most grocery stores. I'm not sure what kind of sweet potato it is though; it has more of a yellow flesh, as opposed to the orange color we're familiar with. Although the fries were fresh, they were a bit mushy and not quite crispy--presumably from either not being cooked at the right temperature, or not being cooked long enough. They tasted fine, but it could have been a lot better in comparison to sweet potato fries I have had elsewhere.

Mr. Tall ordered the "Not Your Momma's Meatloaf" Ground Lamb, Figs, Pine Nuts, Feta Cheese with Fig Jus, which he enjoyed but it wasn't anything to write home about. I tried a couple of bites, and I thought it was pretty moist but the texture could have been better.

I ordered the Bacon Wrapped Sustainable Idaho Trout, stuffed with Spinach and Mushroom, and served with Lemon Butter and Roasted Potato. I was not a fan of this dish at all. First, the bacon was not cooked very well and not at a high enough temperature to create a good crust for the fish. Bacon almost always makes everything better, but, in this case, it just made a chewy, unappealing crust. To make matters worse, the skin of the fish was left on underneath the bacon. Ultimately, the dish ended up with the trout's slimy skin, barely cooked, stuck on the bacon. Not a pretty sight and not a tasty combination.

The best thing about our dinner at US was the dessert: Salted Caramel Pot de Crème, topped with Dark Chocolate Cap and Cocoa Nib Crust. The combination of the sweet and salty caramel was irresistible, and the dark chocolate perfectly complimented the smooth custard. I may be slightly biased because I adore anything with caramel and sea salt/fleur de sel. Regardless, the Pot de Crème was so delicious that it redeemed the shortcomings of the fries and the entrées.

Overall, the ambiance and service was good. I have been to US for dinner a few times prior to this and once for lunch. So, I have come to the conclusion that, in terms of the food, US is a better place for lunch, or their Bluegrass Brunch may be worth a try.

Enjoy!

LMC

A Food Travelogue: Tokyo and Yokohama, Part II

2010-04-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

During our fourth day in Japan, we explored the hectic streets of Tokyo. I had researched for a place for us to do lunch while we were district-hopping around Tokyo, and found the perfect place--Maisen in the Shibuya. Maisen is famous for its Kurobuta (more commonly known as the black or Berkshire pork) Tonkatsu. Although Maisen is hidden behind the Omotesando Hills shopping area, it was relatively easy to find using our city map.

The bottom level of Maisen consists of the bar area where most solo diners are seated; and the upper level is the seated dining area. My family and I were quickly seated upstairs, and I knew exactly what I wanted.

We started out with the Korobuta Siu Mai (my parents' selection, above), which was decent, but not anything special.

My parents also shared the Katsu Don (above). While my sister went for the "regular" Tonkatsu, I went for the real deal--the Kurobota Tonkatsu! And it was perfection.

The Kurobota pork was extremely moist and flavorful, and the panko breadcrumbs had the most amazing crunch. Maisen, of course, makes their own Tonkatsu sauces. My Tonkatsu came with its own sauce, which was a big deviation from what we're used to in bottled sauces and Japanese restaurants in the U.S. I could not decipher what ingredients exactly were in their sauce, but I would imagine that it had finely grated dikon, maybe some ginger, among other things. The sauce was sweet, savory, slightly tangy, and perfectly complemented the rich and crispy katsu. This was undoubtedly my favorite meal in Tokyo.

After lunch, my family and I wandered over to the Meiji Jingu, where we witnessed an incredible part of the country's spirituality and history from the Meiji era.

We finally made our way to the heart of Harajuku, where we sampled its immensely popular crepe from one of the packed crepe shops.

Before heading back to the Tokyo Dome Hotel, we asked around for suggestions of where to have dinner, and were kindly directed to a nondescript ramen shop behind the Harajuku subway station. And, boy, were we happy to have found it! Like many ramen shops in Tokyo, there was the usual "vending machine" where customers conveniently order and pay for their ramen selections.

After you purchase your ramen, then you are seated individually in a carrel stacked in rectangular arrangements. The servers operate in the center of the carrel arrangement, and you never see their faces! (See LMC's Mama above in a carrel about to dig into her rame.) It was a very anti-social dining experience, but the ramen was amazing!

I really don't remember what I had ordered exactly, but it was even better than any of the Ramens we sampled at the Ramen Musuem. The ramen was one of the smaller noodles with a miso-based broth, a few slices of pork, and a generous sprinkle of scallions. Definitely, my second favorite meal in Tokyo--so much fantastic food all in one day!

On our last day in Japan, LMC, Pinnerton & Co. visited another must-see tourist destination, the Asakusa Namamise. After wandering around Sensoji, or the Asakusa Temple, I was excited to try some of the food vendors in the Namamise--and there were a lot of vendors!

We started with Amazake, or sweetened hot sake which is served during the winter season, then moved on to various kabidango, or sweets--they were all so good!

Finally, we took departing photos at the Kaminarimon Gate.

That's it for LMC's culinary adventures and travelogue in Japan. More traveling and good eats to come!

Enjoy,

LMC

A Food Travelogue: Tokyo and Yokohama, Part I

2009-05-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

Pinnerton and I, along with our folks, traveled to Japan recently. Upon arriving to Narita, where we would be spending our first night in Japan, we were in need of a light lunch. We took a quick cab ride to the Aeon shopping center.

After walking around for a while, we settled on a casual Japanese restaurant--we were lured in by the nifty faux food.

The first dish we shared was some sort of rice bowl topped with chopped sashimi of salmon, tuna, and shrimp, as well as tamago, cucumber, and scallions. It was served with a warm broth that tasted like some mirin or rice vinegar. Light and refreshing.

The second dish was like a fish katsu in a hot broth. This one was very tasty. None of us had any idea of what either of the two dishes were called because we basically pointed to a picture on their menu and nodded. At least things worked out well so far with that strategy.

My first encounter with the amazing Japanese toilets. Among the nifty toilet technology, there were washing or spraying options to clean your tush and water sounds to facilitate your toilet experience.

The Japanese are definitely known for their efficiency and clever product design. They are also known for their emphasis on convenience. Case in point: ice in a cup. Genius, right? Why have I not seen this in American supermarkets? They also had sake in a cup among other equally intriguing supermarket or convenience store items.

After spending the night in Narita, we made our way to Yokohama to do some sightseeing, including the San Diego Friendship Fountain.

The highlight in Yokohama was probably the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum. It was a bit of a tourist trap with exhibitions about the history of ramen, but it was also a good place to sample various, unique types and recipes of ramen. Above is a nifty ramen vending machine in front of each vendor: insert money, choose your ramen, and grab your ticket and change. Again, efficiency and convenience are key.

The ramen man at Yamagata Ryuhanhai skillfully cooking the ramen noodles.

Yamagata Ryushanhai: miso-type ramen--chicken, pork, and seafood-based soup with medium-shaped noodles, topped with slice pork, and chili, miso, and garlic paste. This was the most amazing bowl of ramen I have ever had--the broth was extremely flavorful; the noodles were fresh and perfectly cooked; and the chili/miso/garlic paste added the last punch.

Kumamoto Komurasaki: tonkatsu-style ramen--chicken, ginger, and pork-based soup-- with thinner-shaped noodles, topped with sliced pork, seaweed, and a boiled egg. The broth was visibly cloudier and richer than the miso ramen. The bowl was also huge! Pinnerton and I shared so we were able to enjoy both types of ramen. I don't think I can have ramen state-side ever again ... It's just not the same!

I wish we could have gone to all the 9 vendors at the ramen museum, but unfortunately the tour must go on. We went on a boat ride then on the Hakone Ropeway (an aerial tram) to the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, where you could still see the remants of Mount Fuji's volcanic activity. Above is the Owakudani Boiling Valley--known for the "black eggs" (the eggs turn black when boiled in the hot springs due to the sulphur level), which is supposed to add 7 years to your life. We didn't make it there in time to consume freshly boiled black eggs, but we did purchase some pre-boiled eggs in a vacuum-sealed pack. My sister and I tried the black egg soft serve ice cream. It tasted just like any other ice cream, but hopefully its longevity benefits will still translate in the ice cream application.

A view of Mount Fuji.

After a wonderful stay at the Hotel Fujihana and a relaxing onsen (traditional Japanese hot spring) experience, my family and I traveled to Oshino Hakkai, where there were spring pools flowing from Mount Fuji. My camera ran out of battery so no picture from there--bummer! After checking into our new hotel, we went exploring around Tokyo and visited the Imperial Palace (above). Unfortunately, it is only opened to the public for a few days a year, and we were not so lucky.

While we were exploring Tokyo and its many famous districts, we made a stop at the iconic Herzog and de Meuron's Prada structure located in the Omotesando district. We also stopped by the Commes des Garcons flagship, but it wasn't opened yet. I tried finding the BAPE store, but we gave up after wandering the streets to no avail. Apparently, the store is purposely hard to find--well, they succeeded.

That's it for the first part of LMC's culinary adventures in Japan--way more food to come in the next travelogue including the BEST tonkatsu in Tokyo and amazing food vendors at the Asakusa Nakamise.

Enjoy,

Little Miss Contrary

A Food Travelogue: From Copenhagen to Helsinki

2009-01-24T22:12:00.000-08:00

Hej! (That's "hello" in Danish and Swedish!) Last year, when my sister and I made our usual trip back to Bangkok, our wonderful, globe-trotting mother planned a whirlwind trip for us (and our Dad, of course) to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland in 9 days. The weather was relative mild and pleasant across the countries, except for our visit to Nordcapp (or the North Cape) in hope to see the midnight sun. I took about a million pictures from all of our sightseeing, but I will exercise restraint and share a little Scandinavia travelogue through its sights and cuisine.

We arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark, and visited various sights such as the Amelienborg Palace and the famous Little Mermaid statute. After some sightseeing, we got on the Scandinavian Sea Way cruise line to make our way to Oslo, Norway. We enjoyed an expansive Scandinavian buffet on the boat, which included a variety of seafood, breads, cured meats, cheeses, desserts, and a whole bunch of other usual buffet items.

The cold seafood spread on the Scandinavian Sea Way.

Once we arrived in Oslo, we visited a Viking museum, which was really neat because they have exhibits of recovered Viking ships and other voyage objects.

The best part of Oslo was probably the Forgner Park, which contained the amazing Vigeland Sculpture Park.

After Oslo, we traveled to Sweden and spent the night in Karlstad. It was this quiet town and we stayed in this really cute boutique hotel that had the best buffet spread. All of their food items were local and/or organic. I had the most delicious local sausage and organic cheeses there!

We left Karlstad and made our way to Stockholm, which was probably one of my favorite cities on this trip. It was a large, urban city that reminded me of San Francisco. The following day, we wandered around Old Town Stockholm, and I attempt to find kringle to no avail. Above: I couldn't resist a little Lakka, or cloudberry, ice cream--yum!

After a whole lot of walking, my sister and I needed a snack, of course. We couldn't help but make a beeline to a street vendor, and got ourselves a "French hot dog." I don't know if the French are aware of this culinary invention, but it's pretty ingenious. It's essentially your choice of a hot dog stuffed inside a French baguette, condiments optional. We may have just been a little famished, but it was pretty tasty.

In Stockholm, we stayed at the coolest hotel called Clarion Hotel Sign. When I first heard Clarion, I was sort of like eh, lame, just another hotel chain, but I was very pleansantly surprised to find a fun and modern, boutique-style hotel ... AND the home of Marcus Samuelsson's Aquavit Grill & Raw Bar. We couldn't afford the time in our schedule (or money, for that matter) to eat there, so I just admired the restaurant and menu from afar. The next morning, my family and I ate breakfast in the hotel, and lo and behold--Marcus Samuelsson sitting there, presumably with his wife, eating breakfast a few tables away from us! He seemed caught off guard that anyone would recognize him. After I profusely apologized for interrupting his breakfast, he kindly obliged for a photo-op. The photo on the left is Pinnerton with Mr. Samuelsson. So cool, huh?! While were were in Stockholm, we also visited the incredible Stockholm City Hall where the Nobel Prize banquets are held.

A display of the table-setting for the Nobel Prize banquet.

After a fantastic time in Stockholm, we took the Silja Line ship to Helsinki, Finland. From there, we immediately flew Ivalo, then rode in a bus for several hours to Honningsvag, Norway, which was a sleepy but the most populated town closest to the North Cape. After dinner at the hotel in Honningsvag, we took yet another bus ride to the North Cape. I was so excited to see the midnight sun to only find out that visitors have about 10% chance of actually witnessing it, but the North Cape was still eeriely lit at midnight. The picture above is the globe at North Cape.

Even though we didn't get to see the midnight sun, we enjoyed a little champagne and caviar to celebrate the journey.

The next day, we traveled back to Ivalo where visited the Sapmi park, which recreated the Sami culture, and we saw a bunch of reindeers! And for dinner, we ate them! Well, not the reindeers that we saw, but we really did enjoy a local delicacy of braised reindeer, served with lingonberry sauce and mashed potatoes. It was surprisingly not too gamey and tasted pretty good because it may have been braised with a good amount of butter. The lingonberry sauce complemented the reindeer meat really well--just like turkey and cranberry sauce! Oh, the Finnish also enjoy bear meat because we saw canned bear meat at the airport. I almost picked one up but wasn't sure how it would make it through customs.

We flew from Ivalo to Helsinki and spent our last day there. We only spent a couple of hours sightseeing, but there really isn't much to see in Helsinki. We did visit the Sibelius monumental park, which was created in honor of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, most famous for Finlandia, Opus 26. Our bus driver played the piece for us since none of us had heard it before. Apparently, according to Wikipedia, "Die Hard 2" ended with Finlandia because the director was Finnish. Interesting factoid, eh?

Before we departed, we also visited the Temppeliaukio Church, which is a truly unique site because it is a church built into a giant rock (and is supposed to have amazing acoustics). Everyone was so exhausted after this trip because our schedule consisted of very long bus rides and just non-stop traveling. And as much as the cuisine of Scandinavia was intriguing, we couldn't wait to get back to Bangkok and the flavors of Thai food!

Enjoy,

Little Miss Contrary

Coming next: LMC's culinary adventures in Tokyo and Yokohama!

LMC's 24th Birthday Dinner

2009-01-14T09:25:00.000-08:00

Happy belated 2009! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. I usually don't make new years resolutions, but I do resolve to blog more often because I love taking photographs of my culinary adventures and sharing them with the world! So, let's get to it. Among the events of 2008, I turned 24. For the occasion, Mr. Tall and I went to George's Ocean View Terrace in La Jolla. The Terrace is comfortable and casual, whereas the George's California Modern, located below, is much more formal.

We had been there once before when I was mad at Mr. Tall (neither of us seem to remember what it was about). He took me there--and everything was forgiven and forgotten. Like our first visit, Mr. Tall planned it so that we would be dining during sunset. By the way, reservations are highly, highly recommended because there is always a long wait to get a table since the Terrace area is quite small. Mr. Tall and I were seated right at the edge of the Terrace with the most beautiful view of La Jolla Cove. As we basked in the spectacular sunset, we started with the Charcuterie Plate with La Quercia prosciutto, Pecorino Crotonese, fig mustard, and grilled bread. Mr. Tall and I unanimously agreed that this was the best starter we have ever eaten at a restaurant. I realize that's a big statement, but everything about this charcuterie plate was perfection. The prociutto and cheese were excellent, the fig mustard was absolutely divine (with huge chunks of figs)--putting all the elements on the perfectly grilled levain was simply foodgasm.

For our entrees, Mr. Tall went with the Penne Pasta with Braised Lamb--braised lamb shoulder, artichokes, roasted tomatoes, peas, olives and minted ricotta cheese. He really liked the dish but said that the he could have used less of the ricotta cheese because it was a bit overpowering to the rest of the flavors.

I was in a seafood mood, so I ordered the Mediterranean Seafood Stew with calamari, clams, mussels, and "fresh fish" in a boullabaisse-style brother, served with grilled levain and rouille. I really enjoyed the stew--the seafood was fresh, the broth was very flavorful, and the rouille, the usual garnish atop a boullabaisse, just pulled everything together.

I think the dessert offerings vary. That night Mr. Tall had a banana, chocolate, and pecan tart, and I enjoyed a decadent warm chocolate cake topped with vanilla ice cream. Both were yummy! It's worth mentioning that the Terrace had a quite extensive list of wine by the glass. With our server's recommendation, I went with the Albarino from Condes de Albarei in Rias Biaxis, Spain. It was such a lovely and light white wine that went very well with the Seafood Stew. Mr. Tall, not being a big fan of wine, enjoyed a white beer of some sort. All in all, I had a fantastic birthday dinner, and George's Ocean View Terrace is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in San Diego. If you want a casual yet refined dining experience, and an amazing rooftop ocean view to boot, then make a date for George's.

Enjoy,

Little Miss Contrary

Coming next: a little food travelogue to Scadinavia and meeting Marcus Samuelsson!

SDRW at CH1VE

2008-10-25T22:45:00.000-07:00

The saying about law school goes: "They scare you to death your first year; work you to death your second year; and bore you to death your third year." So far, that's pretty accurate. That's really no excuse for blogging about July's culinary adventures in October, but I guess I prefer to rock this retro-blogging thing. This past summer I worked full time as a law clerk at a civil litigation firm, actually got paid, but didn't exactly have the greatest time. Nonetheless, there were many moments this summer definitely worth remembering.

During the San Diego Restaurant Week in July, Mr. Tall and I visited Chive, located in Gaslamp Quarter. I am usually skeptical about Gaslamp restaurants as more often than not they fail to impress and overpriced, but Mr. Tall and I were hopeful about Chive since it was voted by San Diegans as Best of the Best of moderately priced restaurants, tied with Jsix at Hotel Solamar (also located downtown). Chive is one of the three San Diego restaurants under the directin of restauranteur Tracy Borkum. The urban, minimalist decor is pleasant but not particularly impressive--and not as innovative as its cuisine. The small-plate or tasting-style menu, created by Chef Joe Magnanelli, is contemporary American. Many food critics and bloggers usually cringe at the concept of "contemporary" or "fusion" as it usually translaters to "confusion." However, Chive was far from confused. Its usual menu offerings consist of “Small Plates to Begin” (appetizers), “Medium Plate to Share” (entrees), “Extras for All” (side dishes), and “Sweets to End” (desserts).

Mr. Tall and I perused through Chive’s Restaurant Week menu and decided on our three-course choices as well as an additional medium plate to share. From its regular menu offerings, the Crispy Duck Spring Rolls was the first to arrive. Perched on a bed of watercress salad, the crispy spring rolls, filled with duck prosciutto and drizzled with wasabi cream, was surprisingly light and delicious. Mr. Tall’s first course was the Sweet Summer Corn Soup, brought in a cast-iron kettle and poured into a bowl tableside over candied lemon yogurt and smoked maple bacon. The soup had an amazing essence of corn and its flavor brightened by the refreshing lemon yogurt. My first course was Chive’s signature Beet Terrine with goat cheese, toasted hazelnuts, and port gastrique, topped with micro-arugula and a taro chip. The terrine was as beautiful to look at as it was to eat—it is a must-try dish.

Mr. Tall’s next course was the Korubuta Pork Tenderloin with Japanese cabbage cake dumplings, Fuji apple compote, and black bean preserve.

This had an obvious Chinese and Japanese influence; the pork was not overcooked, and the dish was well executed as a whole.

My second course was a Pan-fry Salmon with mushroom and fingerling potato mash and topped with wilted Chinese broccoli and a tart cider reduction. The salmon was slightly undercooked, but the other components had a nice balance of flavors to help redeem the dish.

Finally, the “Sweets to End” were Rice Pudding topped with green tea crème brûlée and fresh berries and Bittersweet Chocolate and Hazelnut Mousse Torte.

Both desserts were enjoyable but nothing particularly spectacular. All in all, for an unpretentious contemporary American dining experience, Chive is a unique eatery among the dizzying choices of steak houses and Italian restaurants in the Gaslamp District.

Enjoy,

Little Miss Contrary

Coming (soon): LMC's 24th birthday dinner at George's Ocean Terrace and Scandinavian culinary adventures--and meeting Marcus Sameulsson in Sweden!

LMC & Mr. Tall's Culinary Adventures in Santa Barbara: Part 2

2008-07-27T16:18:00.000-07:00

What would a trip with LMC & Mr. Tall be without cupcakes! I read about Crushcakes Cupcakery on a cupcake blog (I don't remember which one anymore, or else I would totally mention it!). Not far from State Street, Crushcakes is an adorable little corner-store cupcake shop. Mr. Tall and I ordered half a dozen cupcakes to enjoy later. We got 2 Crush Cakes (their signature red velvet cake with sour cream frosting and topped with a chocolate heart), a Strawberry Blush (strawberry cake with pink frosting and some pink white chocolate shavings, I think), a Buttermilk Crumb Cake (buttermilk cake with cinnamon brown sugar crumble and caramel swirls), a Vanilla Harmony (vanilla cake topped with dark chocolate frosting and mini dark chocolate chips), and a Lemon Drop (lemon cake with lemon frosting and candied lemon peel).

Crushcakes' daily menu offers 10 different kinds of cupcakes and also special cupcakes such as The Elvis (fresh banana cake with peanut butter frosting and chocolate drizzle) among other equally intriguing choices. Mr. Tall and I particularly enjoyed the Buttermilk Crumb Cake and Lemon Drop, but all were moist and yummy. Crushcakes cupcakes had a bit of a homemade charm--each cupcake was not perfectly manufactured and consistent as you may find at Sprinkles, but they were every bit as creative and delicious. Crushcakes looks like the only place around downtown Santa Barbara that is a specialty cupcake bakeshop so if you live or travel to SB and is a cupcake fiend like me, Crushcakes is definitely worth stopping by--hey, you might remember (or get your first) cupcake crush.

After a day of shopping on State Street and enjoying the Museum of Art, Mr. Tall and I had a destination in mind for dinner. We got on the road and drove northeast to Buellton--to The Hitching Post II.

As seen in Sideways, The Hitching Post II boasts its own winery in the Santa Ynez Valley and other Santa Barbara County wine selection, and its famous Santa Maria-style barbecue menu. As you can see (picture below), the structure and the interior of the restaurant are far from impressive, but it is not the ambiance that bring people to this landmark--it's the food culture. A straightforward menu, carefully selected wine list, and the chef-owner Frank Ostini with his signature beard and hat, the HPII is a destination all on its own.

First, I checked out the wine menu and Hitching Post's own 2005 Pinot Noir Highliner caught my eyes, and I ordered a glass. Mr. Tall doesn't like wine so he simply ordered a soda (plus he was driving us back to SB).

Mr. Tall and I started with its most popular appetizer, grilled artichoke -- seasoned with "Magic Dust" (HPII's unique blend of salt and spices) and served with a spicy smoked tomato mayonnaise. Mr. Tall is not a big fan of artichoke, but he really enjoyed this first taste of the Santa Maria-style barbecue. The "Magic Dust" added a lot of flavor to to the artichoke, and the spicy smoked mayonnaise was a great compliment to the smokiness from the grill. We both gobbled that up. Each entree of HPII's menu comes with a choice of organic mixed green salad or today's soup, and Bay Shrimp Cocktail, soup or neither for $2 less. The entree also arrives with rice pilaf, baked potato or French Fries.

Mr. Tall and I both ordered the salad and decided not to get the second course. The salad was nothing memorable--it was doused with your choice of salad dressing (in our case, Ranch) and herb croutons. The Los Angeles Times hailed that HPII's French Fries to be the best in Southern California so Mr. Tall got the fries along with his 10-oz. Prime Top Sirloin, medium. According to its menu and website, HPII purchases its beef from small packers in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, and its steaks among other items (including the grilled artichoke) are grilled on its Santa Maria rotating barbecue, over an oakwood fire, and seasoned with Magic Dust.

The steak was perfectly cooked--slightly charred on the outside, still pink and juice in the center. The French Fries were pretty addicting--evenly cooked to a golden crunch on the outside but creamy and soft on the inside. Each fry was consistently and freshly cooked.

I wanted to get something different so I went with the smoked duck breast--cold smoked and grilled over oak, slightly pink inside, and served with an apricot-ginger sauce--with rice pilaf. This dish was apparently one of the main character of Sideways Miles' favorite dishes along with the Highliner. The duck was tender, and the smokiness did not overwhelm the flavor of the duck. The apricot-ginger sauce provided the perfect amount of sweetness and acidity to the dish. Needless to say, it went perfectly well with the Highliner. Overall, our dinner was definitely worth the 25-minute drive from SB to Buellton.

Also, the service at HPII was nearly as wonderful in quality as its food. Our waitress was sweet and friendly, and any diner will get a sense of loyalty and pride of the restaurant from each of its employee. The Magic Dust and smoked tomato pesto (which is what they put into the smoked tomato mayonnaise) are available for purchase as well as a variety of wine bottlings from HP and other wineries. If you plan on going wine tasting in the Santa Ynez Valley or are traveling near that area, then I highly recommend making a dinner date at the Hitching Post II--you will not be disappointed, and be sure to make a reservation!

The weather in SB was not as accommodating as everything else on the rest of our trip. Mr. Tall and I endured cool weather and lack of sunshine, but tried to make the most of our visit anyway. Case in point: Day 3's picnic at the beach. After picking up some yummy sandwich, salad, and drinks from Panino 3, we drove up to Montecito and set up a picnic on Butterfly Beach. After braving the cold sea breeze long enough to finish our lunch, we headed back to our B&B and walked around Stearns Wharf and the harbor to take in more of the sights and grab some souvenirs for our family.

For dinner on our last full day in SB, Mr. Tall and I just wanted something quick and easy--but still delicious, of course. After a really short drive from our B&B to State Street, we grabbed some burgers at The Habit. With a few location in Santa Barbara, it seems to be a local favorite burger joint. They also have several locations in Ventura County, LA County, and up in the Sacramento area. Their Charburgers are "100 % fresh lean beef" served with mayonnaise, pickle, tomato, shredded lettuce (the best way to put lettuce on a burger), and caramelized onions on toasted sesame seed buns. In terms of quality, The Habit's and In 'N' Out's burgers are probably on the same par, but Habit's burger paddies are not as greasy since they are char-grilled. I got the #1, which is the Charburger with fries and a drink, and Mr. Tall got the #1 with cheese.

Their fries were also comparable to In 'N' Out. Mr. Tall and I enjoyed our burgers while people-watching on State Street, which was a cool setting for our short and sweet dinner. The Habit also offer grilled sandwiches, salads, shakes, and malts, which I would assume are all tasty.

After our very casual dinner, Mr. Tall and I decided to end our last night in SB with some drinks at Opal Restaurant & Bar. I discovered this place reading one of the magazines at the B&B room. The thing that caught my attention was its specialty martini menu, which offered a Thai-Chee-Ni. Located by the Arlington Theater, the Opal reminded me of a local favorite akin to restaurants in South Park or Kensington. Mr. Tall and I sat at the bar, surrounded by happy diners in this charming restaurant. Mr. Tall ordered a beer and I, of course, had to try the Thai-Chee-Ni. This martini is made with a Thai chili-infused vodka and pureed lychee fruit--it was spicy and sweet! A really surprisingly delicious drink--the spiciness was unlike when you eat a Thai chili but added to the warmth and complexity of the vodka. Lychee was the perfect fruit to chill out the punch of the chili. Their other drink specialities sounded interesting (Blood Orange Greyhound and Fresh Ginger Mandarin Cosmo among others), but me being a light-weight, I just got a Framboise (raspberry liquor) and Sprite, and Mr. Tall got another beer to end the night. The next morning, after mailing a postcard for Mr. Tall's grandparents in Wisconsin, Mr. Tall and I departed from Santa Barbara, and what a wonderful trip it was!

Good-bye, Santa Barbara--we'll be back again!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

Coming: San Diego Restaurant Week at Chive and LMC's 24th birthday!

LMC & Mr. Tall's Adventures in Santa Barbara: Part 1

2008-07-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

Mr. Tall and I recently went on a much needed vacation and culinary adventure in Santa Barbara. While I was studying my life away last semester, Mr. Tall found a lovely bed & breakfast across the street from the wharf and thoroughly researched interesting attractions in town. We made our way from San Diego, stopped in Los Angeles for one night to have dinner with my sister (at Yabu, of course), and off we went to Santa Barbara.

After checking in to our B&B, Casa del Mar Inn, Mr. Tall and I checked out Stearns Wharf and took in the sights by the beach. Since it was nearly dinner time, we walked over to Brophy's Brothers, which was highly recommended by a friend of mine who's from Santa Barbara. Brophy's Bros is a 2-story restaurant at the Breakwater fisherman's wharf that is very popular among the locals and tourists; the top floor is the restaurant/bar and the bottom floor is its bar/merchantile. Mr. Tall and I waited for 45 minutes (good thing we weren't too hungry) and were seated inside on the second level. There are seatings out on the terrace overlooking the Breakwater; the bar faces and opens out to the water as well; and there are several tables inside.

All the entrees were served with cole slaw, a choice of a green salad or a cup of clam chowder, and a choice of rice pilaf or french fries. Its fresh fish menu changes daily depending on the market availability. Mr. Tall ordered the halibut, which was grilled and served with a curry spice sauce and mushroom, and served with cole slaw a rice pilaf. As for me, I'm not a huge fan of clam chowder (or any cream-based soup for that matter) but decided to try Brophy Bros' version anyway--and I was pleasantly surprised! I have limited experience with clam chowder, but this one had really good balance flavors from the cream and little cubes of potato, and nice chunks of clams in nearly every bite.

My entree was the Thresher shark, grilled and served with a sweet and tangy sauce of red onion and pineapple, and it was delicious! It was my first time trying shark and I really enjoyed it; its texture was similar to a cross between halibut and tuna but more dense and a meatier flavor. The portions at Brophy Bros were extremely generous, and Mr. Tall and I weren't even close to finishing our entrees because our pieces of fish were so huge!

Mr. Tall is not a breakfast person, but luckily our B&B has a lovely selection of breads, pastries, and really yummy homemade blueberry muffins, and a variety of tea, coffee, and juice. Every morning, I woke up, grabbed some blueberry muffins and several tea bags, and avoided all eye contacts with other patrons and ran back to the room because my bed head is not even slightly attractive. The B&B room's kitchenette area is equipped with a mini-fridge, sink counter, and a microwave, which was very convenient for heating up my muffins and hot water.

For our first full day in SB, Mr. Tall and I started the day with an early lunch at Tupelo Junction. Although Mr. Tall did the research for Santa Barbara attractions, I happily volunteered to research restaurant spots. Well-reviewed by the NY Times and Bon Appetit, the Tupelo Junction was a natural choice for one of the restaurants not to be missed. Our water arrived in mason jars, which was a really nice touch reflecting the restaurant's southern-style influence. There were so many items we wanted to try on the menu, but we knew our appetites could not accommodate.

So, Mr. Tall decided on the oven-roasted free-range turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce, cream cheese and lettuce (Mr. Tall dislikes tomatoes in his sandwiches and burgers, among other applications), and served with sweet potato fries. The sandwich was great, but the fries were disappointingly soggy and oily. I went with Tupelo Junction's signature fried chicken salad. Definitely not the healthiest "salad" but with the combination of crunchy fried chicken cutlets, dried cranberries, toasted pumpkin seeds, huge chunks of fresh corn bread croutons, and herb buttermilk dressing (with plenty of dill), every bite was worth it!

Day 1: Old Mission Santa Barbara & Rose Garden

Day 1: Santa Barbara Botanic Garden--definitely our favorite attraction in SB!

After a fun-filled first day, Mr. Tall and I headed to the State Street area for dinner at Los Arroyos. Once we entered this restaurant, we ordered our food at the cashier and sat down to enjoy fresh tortilla chips and a selection of salsas at their salsa bar. I am a big fan of horchata so Los Arroyos's homemade horchata was a delicious choice, and Mr. Tall went with his usual Jarritos tamarindo. Mr. Tall's Burrito Mojado--a burrito filled with steak and black beans topped with salsa roja, cheese and sour cream--served with rice, was very filling; the steak was flavorful and not too fatty, unlike most carne asada; Mr. Tall really liked it.

I ordered a special item of Tacos a Mano Rajas con Queso--two soft tacos of homemade tortillas with chorizo grilled pasilla chiles and onion, topped with Monterey Jack and queso fresco--it was absolutely delicious! Their soft taco plates come with a side of rice and black beans or Caesar salad, which was good but not as memorable as the tacos themselves. Mr. Tall and I enjoyed Los Arroyos so much that we returned for a second time for a shared plate of Maria's Enchiladas--two enchiladas with carne asada topped with salsa verde, cheese and shredded lettuce.

It was a mighty tasty afternoon snack! Los Arroyos is undoubtedly one of our favorite restaurants in SB. They also have another location in Montecito, which is a short drive from the State Street area. If I lived in SB, Los Arroyos would have a place in my heart like Mama Testa does!

On our second day, Mr. Tall and I decided to take a leisure day of walking and shopping on State Street as well as visiting the museum. Another favorite spot on the trip is Blenders in the Grass. It's sort of like a Jamba Juice with a dozen locations from Santa Maria to Oxnard. Mr. Tall really enjoyed the Red Cranberry, a blend of cranberry juice, strawberries, non-fat plain yogurt and raspberry sherbet, which was a special item on the menu that day. I also enjoyed the Tropical Guava, which blended guava juice, strawberries, banana, non-fat frozen yogurt and pineapple sherbet. They have menu items like a date-based smoothie among other interesting and seasonal choices. They also offer a wide variety of free supplements such as bee pollen and spirulina to boost up any of their 24-oz smoothies. Their Blenders in the Grass jingle on the radio is pretty catch, too--"Give me a Blender!" I will boldly say that their smoothies are much better than Jamba Juice--give me a Blender now, please!

Day 2: Santa Barbara Museum of Art

I was trying to consolidate all of our adventures into one post, but I'm getting a bit A.D.D. so please come back soon for part deux of SB!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

LMC Eats LA: Yabu

2008-07-04T23:11:00.001-07:00

When Mr. Tall and I visit Los Angeles, there are three things we always do: visit my sister at UCLA, lunch in Thai Town, and dinner at Yabu. Located on West Pico Boulevard in the West Hollywood area, Yabu is a small and inconspicuous gem of a restaurant. The place probably seats only 25-30 people so the tables and sushi bar are always occupied, but we have managed to get a table without too long of a wait as long as we don't get there too late.

The first time Mr. Tall and I visited Yabu was for my sister Pinnerton's birthday. There is a set menu, but the daily special changes depending on the availability of seafood. We started with an order of crispy fried Japanese black-back sole. The fish was so fresh, simply cooked, and simply delicious. The best part was probably the fish's bones--crispy and yummy!

Mr. Tall is not a fan of sushi and sashimi, but my sister and I are so we tried some new dishes we had never had. First up was the Suzuki, or the sea bass sashimi. It's no Blue Fin tuna, but the fish was fresh and beautifully cut to nearly translucent, paper-thin slices. Mr. Tall ordered the next dish, which was the Japanese-style chicken wings. Probably not the most authentic dish, but still absolutely delicious.

The chicken wings, simply broiled and sprinkled with Japanese sea salt, went fast.

Mr. Tall steered clear of this one: Santa Barbara sea urchin. I thought it was creamy and fresh, but Pinnerton didn't really enjoy it very much. My sister and I are always up to trying new things so that was probably our adventurous dish of the night.

Although the seafood is well known at Yabu, its soba dishes are the most renowned because the soba is made in-house every day. My sister and I have tried a cold soba dish, but we enjoyed soba soup dishes the best. Our favorite was the Tanaki, or soba with tempura batter vegetable paddy. There are a variety of other noodle dishes, but soba is definitely the way to go. The "before" picture on the right ...

And here is the "after" ... We devoured it and licked the bowl clean. The soup was flavorful and the soba was amazing. A must-try.

Mr. Tall was quite full yet so we order the broiled black cod with shitake and enoki mushroom. This dish was such a wonderful preparation, and we all enjoyed it very much.

The birthday girl had to have dessert--even though I had baked her a dozen Lemon Poppy Seed cupcakes, which were awaiting in her dorm room. The green tea parfait consisted of crispy corn flakes, red bean, green tea ice cream, and whipped cream, of course. Yabu is undoubtedly one of our favorite restaurants in LA. It is unpretentious, reasonably priced, and served delicious and straight-forward food. The food culture in LA is greatly diverse, and there is a vast availability of all sorts of restaurants around the city. Yabu is truly one of a kind and worth a visit if you're ever in the area. Have a happy 4th of July!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

Coming up: vacation and good eats in Santa Barbara with LMC & Mr. Tall and San Diego Restaurant Week!

LMC Eats LA: Thai Town

2008-05-08T18:53:00.000-07:00

My sister is attending her first year of undergrad at UCLA so it was inevitable that Mr. Tall and I occasionally explore the good eats in Los Angeles during our visits.

The place we always stop by for lunch is Thai Town. Located on Hollywood Boulevard (between Normandie and Western Avenue), Thai Town stretches several blocks down the street in a bit of a sketchy part of the city. Our favorite spot is definitely Ruen-Pae. Located in a small, strip-mall-like complex, between a donut shop and a Japanese restaurant, Ruen-Pae offers a very wide range of Thai dishes--from noodles, traditional side dishes to rice, and many offerings that you will not see on a menu of a typical Thai-American restaurant. The menu can be a bit overwhelming since it is so large, but if you take sometime to peruse through it, everyone is bound to find something they might like. Since I can generally get Thai iced tea at most Thai restaurants, I always opt for longan juice when dining at Ruen Pae. Made from dried longans, longan juice is sweet and refreshing with a subtle longan flavor. Other drink offerings include Thai iced coffee and sugar cane juice.

During one of our visits, my sister ordered Guay-taey kua gai, or stir-fry noodles with chicken, egg, bean sprouts and preserved squid. In Thailand, the dish is usually topped with little crispy Chinese donut, but I don't think it's made anywhere here in the U.S. (at least not that I have seen anyway). This dish was simply mediocre, and I don't think we would order it again. There are so many other things on the menu that are more traditional and tasty--including kao mun gai. As Zane Lamprey nicknamed it on the Food Network's "Have Fork, Will Travel," wow mun gai is one of Mr. Tall's favorite Thai dishes. Kao mun gai has a Chinese origin and has found immense popularity in Thailand. The chicken is boiled with some garlic and herbs. The rice, or kao mun, is cooked with garlic and chicken broth, giving the rice a depth of flavor and a little glisten! The chicken is served over the rice and with a nam jim, or a sauce, of fermented soybean, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and ginger.

Wow mun gai-licious!

Call me a creature of habit or just a girl who knows what she likes, but I always get the same 4 dishes--som tum, larb, koh moo yang and kao neuw. The som tum Thai, or papaya salad, is made of shredded green papaya, cherry tomato, green beans, dried shrimps, palm sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, chilis, and peanuts (of course). Traditionally, all the flavoring ingredients are mashed in a mortar (usually a wooden one), then the papaya and vegetables are combined and finished with peanuts. There are variations on som tum, including one with salted, preserved little crabs called som tum pbooh, which Ruen Pae also offers.

With the som tum, I usually order koh moo yang (grilled pork neck) or larb (spicy ground meat "salad"). The menu lists koh moo yang as simply barbecue pork, but it is really the pig's neck portion grilled. The pork is quite fatty, but the sweet marinade and spicy nam jim work to balance the fattiness. This is arguably one of my favorite dishes ever (oh, and one of Mr. Tall's favorites, too). Seriously, if you have the opportunity to go to Thai Town or visit Thailand, be sure to try some grilled pork neck--you will thank me later.

My other favorite is larb. Larb is a relatively common dish offered in some Thai restaurants, but the rendition at Ruen Pae is pretty much like any larb you would get in Thailand.Larb is usually made with ground pork, cooked with ground toasted rice, shallot, cilantro, green onion, spear mint leaves, fish sauce, lime juice, and dried chili peppers. Larb is usually enjoyed along side som tum and kao neuw, or sticky rice. These dishes are Northeastern specialities that have long garnered extreme popularity in Bangkok. I could honestly eat som tum, larb or koh moo yang, and sticky rice everyday and be a happy Thai camper.

There are other places in the same complex as Ruen Pae that are worth checking out. My family usually visit Ganda, which is on the other side of the complex and offer a variety of prepared dishes for take-out, desserts and snacks. I have gotten take-out from Ganda once before and it was pretty good, but the "B" rating from the health inspection keeps me from going back; although I occasionally pick up some desserts and snacks from there. Another place that is a must for sweets lover is Baan Kanom Thai, or literally house of Thai desserts. It offers a plethora of homemade Thai desserts, imported snacks (durian chips anyone?) and so much more! My sister and her friends visit other places in Thai Town such as Krung Tedd, but Mr. Tall and I always end up going back to Ruen Pae because the food is always authentic and the service always courteous. I also pack my cooler full of to-go orders to take back to San Diego--usually some spicy basil stir-fry, curries and grilled pork neck (I really do love it that much).

I have yet to find Thai food in San Diego as authentic as the food in Thai Town. Nonetheless, my philosophy for Thai food in San Diego and the rest of California is that even if the food is not authentic, if the interpretation is genuine and flavorful, then I can't complain too much. So, if you can't make it to Thailand, then you'll definitely want to visit Thai Town for authentic Thai food with very reasonable prices. Thai Town holds a celebration of Songkran, or Thai New Years, on the first Sunday of every April with food vendors and entertainment along the streets. Wat Buddhajakramongkolratanaram, a Thai temple in Escondido, also holds an event for Songkran with food stands and entertainment.

School had been really busy this past semester, leaving me no time to do many leisure activities. Even though I'll be working full-time this summer, I hope to update the blog more often.

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

Coming up: more good eats in LA and vacation with LMC & Mr. Tall in Santa Barbara!

San Diego Restaurant Week 2008: Currant Brasserie and Trattoria Acqua

2008-02-03T16:25:00.000-08:00

The first installment of San Diego Restaurant Week in 2008 lasted from January 27th to February 1st. Mr. Tall and I did not visit any restaurants last year, but we did go to Top of the Cove in La Jolla in 2006. Top of the Cove is currently still under construction (as it has been for nearly a year), but I hope to visit it again when the place re-opens. This year, I managed to have 2 occasions to enjoy Restaurant Week. The first occasion was for my law school partner in crime Anika's birthday, and the second was just a Friday night date for Mr. Tall and me.

For Anika's birthday, we went to Currant Brasserie at the Sophia Hotel in Downtown. We parked at Horton Plaza--I must add that the new self-validate system there is much more efficient--and walked over to the restaurant.
After we ordered, a brown bag (a really cute touch) of freshly baked sourdough with rosemary rolls accompanied by butter arrived. They were still warm and a great start to the meal. For our first course, Anika had the Bibb Lettuce Salad with red teardrop tomatoes, rendered pancetta and Point Reyes blue cheese vinaigrette, and I had the Caramelized Five Onion Soup with braised short ribs, black truffles and marrow toasts. The soup was very light yet flavorful, although the essence of the black truffles was merely detectable. I have never had marrow before, but I thought it tasted much like butter so I had no problem with that.

For our second course, Anika had the Roasted Jidori Chicken with warm Tuscan bread salad with currants, pine nuts and braised greens, and a drizzle of natural chicken jus. I ordered the Hibachi Salmon with green tea soba noodles, shaved vegetable slaw, and mandarin orange coconut butter. The portion of the Jidori chicken was very generous (about half a bird), and the birthday girl said that she enjoyed the dish. For me, the salmon was perfectly cooked (not overcooked, for once!), and as interesting as the mandarin orange coconut butter sounded, it actually married all the ingredients together quite nicely. Overall, I liked this dish.

Anika ordered the Pumpkin Cheesecake with orange mousse, cranberry jam, and pecan gremolata, and I had the Apple and Sun-dried Currant Canneloni with apple cider sabayon. The birthday girl enjoyed her dessert especially a lemon-y sauce that accompanied the cheesecake. The waiter informed me that the canneloni was not a regular offering, which compelled me to try it, and I was definitely satisfied. The diced apple and sun-dried currant were sweet yet tart, wrapped in a phyllo dough-like pastry and drizzled with the wonderful sabayon. In other words, it was yummy!

Overall, the food at Currant was delicious, and the ambiance was sophisticated yet unpretentious and casual. The service was very attentive as our courses came out in a timely manner, and our water glasses were never empty. You can also view the activities in the kitchen from the outside of the restaurant. So, if you find yourself in Downtown and want something different than what are typically offered downtown (steakhouses, etc.), then head over to Currant and you might be pleasantly surprised.

For Little Miss and Mr. Tall's date, we went to Trattoria Acqua in downtown La Jolla. Mr. Tall and I have fond memories of La Jolla as it was where we attended our undergrad at UCSD, enjoyed our first few dates, and we like to visit the Cove for nice beach-side walks. Located on Prospect Street, Trattoria Acqua is one of the restaurants on that particular row with an ocean view. Unfortunately, we couldn't see much of the ocean at night, but it still provided a nice backdrop. (Side note: if you want what Mr. Tall and I consider the best view in downtown La Jolla, try having dinner at George's Ocean Terrace, and you will fall in love!) After we ordered our meal, a basket of slices of sour dough baguette arrived along with a white bean hummus, which was delicious--I had to remember not to ruin my appetite.

Let's get to the good stuff (beware, my courses were very protein- heavy): for our first course, Mr. Tall had the Zuppa, a rich broth of four onion soup topped with a Gruyere cheese souffle, and I had the Carpaccio di Manzo, thin sliced Filet Mignon carpaccio garnished with daikon sprouts, Parmegiano Regiano, toasted pistachios and a lemon white truffle vinaigrette. Mr. Tall is generally not a big fan of onion flavor so the Zuppa was light enough to please his palate; he said he liked it but that it was not great. I thought the carpaccio was delicious and well accented by the grated cheese and toasted pistachios for texture; although, I would have preferred more of the vinaigrette (it tasted almost as if they forgot to put it in) because the acidity would have united the whole dish a bit more.

For our main course, Mr. Tall ordered the Fagiano, oven-roasted pheasant served atop a ragu of Italian Coteghino sausage, crispy sage and assorted Tuscan white beans and finished with au jus. I ordered the Cassoulette (Anthony Bourdain would have been proud), Muscovy duck leg confit adorning a lamb stew with Italian sausage, imported butter beans and tomatoes. Mr. Tall enjoyed this course because the pheasant was cooked very well leaving the skin crispy and the meat moist. It was my first time trying something confit, so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. But the duck leg was crispy on the outside and very moist on the inside; however, the whole dish was just over salted. That just sort of killed it for me. I did manage to eat most of the dish (my grandma taught me not to waste food!), but it was definitely not as good as I had hoped.

Finally, for desserts, Mr. Tall had the Cannoli Della Nonna, Grandma Agnese's (um, I'm guessing it's the owner's or chef's grandmother?) homemade Sicilian cannoli filled with sweetened ricotta and chocolate chips, and I had the Tiramisu, espresso soaked ladyfingers, in between layers of mascarpone cheese, chocolate and cocoa. Call me boring, but the other desserts just sounded a bit too heavy for me, considering how much meat I had eaten! The Tiramisu hit the right spot and ended the meal on a better note for me than the previous course. Mr. Tall had never had cannoli and had no complaints about it.

To accompany our meals, Mr. Tall ordered a red Italian beer (we don't remember the name anymore), which he liked, and I ordered a glass of Estancia Pinot Noir that didn't disappoint. All in all, Mr. Tall and I enjoyed our meal at Trattoria Acqua--the ambiance was warm and romantic (but not too cheesy), and the service was good. There was a couple at a table right behind us that Mr. Tall was facing, and the woman kept complaining the whole time about how much the service sucked and kept coughing with her mouth open--disgusting! We were glad that they finally left during our meal. So, despite the inconsiderate neighbors, Mr. Tall and I had a nice time, but the food will not likely get us to go back. Trattoria Acqua is a lovely place for a date, and I wouldn't doubt that perhaps their regular menu may fare better than the Restaurant Week selections.

If you did not get a chance to check out San Diego Restaurant Week the past week, there is a list of restaurants that is extending their offerings of Restaurant Week menu. The second installment will be from June 22nd to June 27th, so hopefully Mr. Tall and I will get the opportunity to visit yet another restaurant (or two).

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

Coming up: LMC's culinary adventures in Los Angeles!

Farewell Agent 2-007!

2007-12-23T23:49:00.000-08:00

Well, I have officially finished my first semester of law school and am currently enjoying a much needed break. So, I would like to post some of the memorable good eats and sweets captured from the last few months of 2007. Let's get to it!

While visiting my sister at UCLA, we enjoyed some really fantastic Indian fare at Ambala Dhaba in Westwood. So, if you're ever find yourself in the Westwood area and craving Indian food, I highly suggest Ambala Dhaba.

During the same LA trip, my sister, Mr. Tall and I also waited in line for an hour (!!!) to get some Sprinkles cupcakes. We bought half a dozen cupcakes, which cost nearly $20. We got Red Velvet, Strawberry, Black & White, Dark Chocolate and Vanilla Chocolate. The shop was quaint and stylish (and located right next to a Monique Lhullier boutique). In my humble opinion, I thought the cupcakes' flavor offerings were creative, and their signature look of the dots and sprinkles definitely made them more fun and unique. They were all tasty but my personal favorites were Strawberry and Black & White.
I would wait in line for maybe 15-30 minutes for them but would think twice about waiting any longer than that. I am a cupcake fiend though so who knows I might just tough it out the next time I'm in LA and get some anyway!

Mr. Tall returned from the mall once upon a weekend while my head was buried in the books and had a sweet, little surprise of a Sprinkles Pumpkin Cupcake Mix from Williams-Sonoma ($14). The mix makes a dozen cupcakes and also includes their signature sugar dots and a recipe from Cinnamon Frosting. The cupcakes were almost as delicious as they ones from the shop so if you don't make it to LA or don't feel like waiting in line, the cupcake mix is the way to go!

It was not Sprinkles that LA Magazine named the best cupcakes in LA, but it was Dainties "It's All About the Cream" cupcakes.
Right after I told her about this exciting news, my sister brought some down with her from LA when she came to visit for Thanksgiving, to my pleasant surprise! All their cupcakes are chocolate with various creams which is topped as the frosting and also inside the cakes. I believe we had Raspberry, Mint, Banana, Caramel, some sort of candy bar cream, and chocolate chip, I think. Anyway, the cake itself was good and the creams were all very delightful, especially the raspberry and mint ones, but my only complaint is that if it's "all about the cream" then they should give you more cream! My sister said that she pre-ordered the cupcakes on their website, after which the chef personally emailed her to confirm the order--and the owner even gave her some extra cupcakes to take home with her order!

Is that a good-looking turkey or is that a good-looking turkey?! I am officially declaring Mr. Tall the Turkey master because so far he has handled our Thanksgiving turkeys like a champ! This year, we went for a fresh turkey instead of a frozen one, and I think it tasted a little bit better. Mr. Tall had a simple dry salt brine, which made the turkey flavorful but not salty. Since we invested in a roasting pan that came with a "v" rack, our bird turned out with the most wonderfully crisp skin, and with the meat thermometer we were able to ensure that it wasn't overcooked.

Our little feast for 4: creamy mashed potatoes (recipe from Tyler's Ultimate), brussel sprouts with crispy procuitto, mashed acorn squash with butter and brown sugar, and, of course, whole cranberry sauce. Oh, we also enjoyed homemade pumpkin pie and apple-cranberry pie. Yum!

My plate: I made a vegetable gravy (a recipe from Cook's Illustrated) to accompany the mashed potatoes because it is relatively healthier and lasts longer for leftovers than traditional gravy made from drippings. I could use another plate of that right about now!

Mr. Tall and I had a small, celebratory 2-year anniversary dinner at The Prado at Balboa Park. (We actually had to postpone the dinner plans because it was during the fires.) Mr. Tall was a little hesitant to try a Cohn Restaurant for many blogs did not greatly review them, but we thought that the atmosphere at Balboa Park should help make it a romantic dining experience. For the first course, I enjoyed the Warm Farmer's Salad (romaine hearts split and grilled, drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette with pickled red onion, feta cheese and marinated tomatoes) and Mr. Tall got the Tortilla Soup. I really liked the salad because I love the acidity not only from the balsamic dressing but from the pickled red onion, and Mr. Tall liked his soup as well.

For our main course, Mr. Tall ordered the Adobo Braised Pork Osso Bucco served with sweet plantain mash, sauteed white corn, tomato and zucchini, with tomatillo cilantro sauce. Although osso bucco is traditionally made of veal shanks, Mr. Tall thought that this Latin-inspired version was flavorful and the meat was moist, but the presentation of the mash and sauce underneath the shank was a bit messy. I ordered the Roasted Sea Bass served atop organic baby argula, roasted fingerling potatoes (I'm a sucker for fingerling potatoes!), and a white truffle infused beet puree.

The dish was delicious, and even though the beet puree was more like a sauce and did not have as much of the white truffle essence as I would have liked, I still enjoyed it. The acidity from the beet puree and the peppery argula perfectly complimented the meaty fish. I also had a glass of a dry and delightful Pinot Grigio with dinner, which was just a great accompaniment to the meal. We ended the lovely evening with the Chocolate Souffle Cake served with triple espresso gelato capuccino with bruleed Italian meringue peaks (those were so good!), raspberry coulis, and tuille cookie spoon.

The combination of the warm cake and the cool gelato were fantastic, but we could have totally done without the tuille cookie spoon. All and all, Mr. Tall and I enjoyed a nice dinner with a reasonable price tag and a lovely view of the wishing well and terrace of The Prado.

A friend of mine was visiting San Diego on a business trip, so Miss Andrea suggested that we go to Urban Solace in North Park because she had read so many good reviews on Yelp and I had also read a few raves on other blogs as well. We started with the Sweet Potato Fries, which by the way is my new, absolutely favorite thing! This version was awesome and its accompanying Maytag Blue Cheese-Buttermilk Dressing was mild enough not to overpower the sweetness of the fries.

Wisconsin White Cheddar Mac n' Cheese topped with caramelized bacon and (not so) charred grape tomatoes

Sweet Corn Spoon Bread

Potato Gratin. Not your traditional scalloped potato au gratin, but it was still delicious.

Char-Grilled Hanger Steak with homemade steak sauce, caramelized parsnips and celery root mash. Unfortunately, I didn't get to try this as there was so much food on my own plate (and the sweet potato fries were tempting and filling). But Andrea said that it was very good.

Cinnamon Brined Center-Cut Pork Chop served with braised Swiss chard, shallot sauce and sweet corn spoon bread. The pork chop was well cook and tender. Mr. Tall and I will definitely be making a trip to US some time this week as I am craving the sweet potato fries, and Mr. Tall wants to try their take on the American comfort food trend.

I shall end 2007 with a toast of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie Low-Fat Frozen Yogurt with fresh raspberries--cheers!

Happy 2008,
Little Miss Contrary

Retro-Blogging: Summer, Part 2

2007-10-22T13:31:00.000-07:00

Told you I'd be back sooner than later! Unfortunately, the reason that I can afford to blog today is because school was canceled as many others are due to the fire disaster around San Diego County. I hope everyone and their families are safe and evacuated if necessary. Where I am located, visibility is fine but the air quality is bad. As soon as I step outside, I can smell the burning. This reminds me of the fire storm in 2003 when I was still at UCSD--I remembered that it was snowing ashes and burning debris, and school was canceled for 4 days. I am thankful that my friends and their families, despite the threats to their homes, are safely evacuated. Mr. Tall's office is also closed so we are both home intently glued to the news on TV. Please stay safe out there!

Continuing on from the last post of my summer in the Motherland: at the beginning of my trip, a girl friend of mine from UCSD had the opportunity to stay with me in Bangkok for a few days, so we took a boat tour through Chao-Praya River and visited the Koh Kret (Kret Island) community. Koh Kret is known for their traditional, handmade pottery and delectable sweets. One of my favorite things that you cannot find anywhere else but Thailand is Ka-Nom Buong. It's sort of like a crispy, mini-pancake filled with coconut cream and Foy-Tong (golden and very sweet dessert made of egg yolks and sugar). The first four pictures show how they make these delicious morsels.

At last, the Ka-Nom Buong are gently folded into a taco-shaped, bite-size dessert.

As we rode around the Choa-Praya, we made various stops around the Koh Kret community. We also saw that the floating community and lives subsisting on the river are still vital in this day and age in Bangkok. We made a stop at small shop with various homemade handicrafts as well as fish cakes--Tod Mun Pla. The fish cakes are uniquely Thai because they are spiced with curry paste and served with the sweet chili sauce vinaigrette and cucumber.

The fish cake lady frying up the hand-formed fish cakes in the ginormous wok.

These fish cakes are served hot in a banana leaf bowl and topped with fried sweet basil.

One of the truly traditional Thai delicacies is Kao-Cher, or rice in iced Jasmine water. I know that sounds really weird, but it's really quite refreshing and delicious. The restaurant along the river that we visited was renowned for its Kao-Cher and traditional Thai desserts. It was actually my first time eating Kao-Cher and I really enjoyed it. The cooked rice are served with iced water that has been fragranced with Jasmine flowers. The rice is served with a variety of sweet and savory sides such as Mee-Krob (sweet crispy noodles), fried Kra-Pi (fermented shrimp paste), and pickled vegetables.

The desserts, including the one that is inside the Ka-Nom Buong, are made with egg yolks, flour and sugar and cooked in a large copper wok filled with syrup. The desserts are all hand-made. Unfortunately, when we got there, they had already finished the batch for the day (we went on a week day so it wasn't too bustling) so we could only see the finished products. They also make a variety of other desserts that you can take and enjoy at home. Because such desserts are so popular, there are other shops that hand-make their desserts in massive quantities.

The Tong-Yip is one of the egg yolk-sugar desserts. The dessert names have "tong" which means "gold" in Thai because of the golden yellow color of the sweets.

The neatly folded bunch of golden goodness are the Foy-Tong, resting before they are packaged. Here are some of the other beautiful desserts there:

Tong-Aek: bite-size sweets made of ground yellow mung beans and topped with gold leaves.

Sum-Pun-Nee: similar ingredients as Tong-Aek but colorful and usually molded with flower imprints.

The next stop we made was at a dessert house that produced a massive amount of Foy-Tong and Tong-Yod. One of the really cool things there were these old-fashioned candy that my mom was really excited to see. From old-fashioned gum to candy bars, my mom grabbed a few things for herself and my grandma to enjoy. The mass production of the desserts was really amazing. They are all still handmade but with the help of some interesting small machinery to help drop the Foy-Tong and the Tong-Yod into the boiling syrup. They sell kilos upon kilos of these desserts to retailers in Bangkok and all around central Thailand. We bought a kilo of the Foy-Tong to share with the family. The desserts are delicious but are quite sweet so one person could only eat so much before you are overdosed with sugar.

The Tong-Yod machine dropping bite-size rounds into the boiling syrup and then transferred into a resting pot.

The Foy-Tong man handling a load of the golden strands desserts.

Man, this entry is getting quite lengthy. I shall end with a handful more pictures from the rest of the trip to Koh Kret. I just realized that I took so many pictures from this trip that you'll all have to read about it for the next entry or so!

Handmade pottery before being fired up at Koh Kret.

Deep-fried flowers at a vendor.

One of my favorite non-foodie pictures: a pagoda at a Koh Kret temple.

I shall leave you with floating vendors serving noodles on the riverside. More good eats in Thailand to come!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

Retro-Blogging: Summer, Part 1

2007-10-07T23:09:00.000-07:00

This post is long overdue ... I have been meaning to post about yet another fantastic trip to Thailand this past summer, but law school has been life-consuming that I can't seem to find time to do much else. But here is a photographic summary of what I ate and enjoyed in the Motherland:

One of my first dinners at home: kao lad nah gai--simple and hearty chicken, mushroom and coagulated chicken blood (it's good--don't let the sound of it scare you!) gravy over rice

Moo satay--pork satay (you can hardly find chicken satay--pork is the meat of choice), served with peanut sauce and cucumber vinaigrette

Grass jelly dessert with lotus root, sweet plum, and ginkgo nuts--really cool and refreshing on a hot, humid day, which is practically everyday in Bangkok

There is a family-operated noodle house (which is literally in their house) nearby our house, where they hand-make Chinese noodles and use fresh crab meat in their absolutely simple and delicious dish.

One of my childhood favorite dishes: kao mun gai--"greasy" rice (rice cooked in chicken broth) with fried chicken, served with a side of sweet chili sauce and chicken soup

Yum Som-O: pomelo salad with shrimp and dry roasted Thai chilis (a Blue Elephant recipe)

Ka-nom Jeen (rice noodles) and red curry with chicken, coagulated chicken blood, and winter melon

Fresh mung-kut--mangosteen

Miang-kum: a traditional Thai snack of leaf wrap with peanuts, lime, red onion, ginger, chili, dried shrimp, toasted coconut, and topped with a sweet yet savory sauce

Noodles with stewed duck meat and Thai iced tea--a perfect lunch

Noodles soup with stewed duck

Kanom-Krok--coconut milk custard

Various cocktail desserts at a wedding

Foodie break: pwong ma-lai--traditional flowers for any Thai auspicious occasions

Meals on wheels--almost!

The traveling pan, frying up some glorious chives cake and dumpling

Coconut ice cream topped with taro, sweet sticky rice, and toddy palm seed

I've got many more pictures to share but I'll just end this first anthology of pictures with my I'm-a-selfish-sweets-addict-I-can't-just-choose-one-flavor birthday cake. I'll be back soon with more, I promise!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

Retro-Blogging: Out & About

2007-07-10T04:06:00.000-07:00

After almost an entire year of living in Hillcrest, I finally made it to Arrivederci a few months ago when Mr. Tall’s parents were in town for a visit. Mr. Tall and I have gotten takeout at the sister Pizzeria on the next block and their pizza was quite tasty. So, we expected the original location to be quite impressive as it is always, always crowded. It was a relatively early dinner on a Friday so luckily we beat the crowd. We were quickly seated right in the center of the restaurant.

It is very quaint and you just have to get used to the fact that there is an apparent space limitation. But that’s what is so homey and rustic about the restaurant. They had a very nice wine selection but I believe Mr. Tall’s parents enjoyed the house white wine that they ordered. For appetizers, Mr. Tall’s parents got a salad, which they said was good, while Mr. Tall and I shared the fried calamari. The dish came with some fried zucchini as well topped off with a squeeze of lemon and tangy marinara sauce; it was probably the best calamari I have ever had! The batter was light; the calamari was fresh—producing a crispy and easily enjoyable appetizer. I probably could have asked a bottle of their marinara sauce because it was so tasty. I love when the tomato is fresh and light, and not weigh down with that tomato paste consistency.

I was definitely not counting my carbs that night because I dove right in to the Spinach Gnocchi with a velvety cheese sauce (the dish was recommended by the waiter). The gnocchi were like little pillows of heaven! I barely ate a fraction of my plateful of food because they were very filling. Mr. Tall got the very rustic dish of Lamb Ragu. The addition of peas and carrots to the sauce made it light and not too tomato-y—just how Mr. Tall likes it.

I was polite and did not take pictures of Mr. Tall’s parents’ dishes, which means that I don’t remember what they ate—sorry! We were incredibly stuffed or else I would have definitely tried some of their desserts. Overall, Arrivederci was memorable and I hope Mr. Tall and I will return for another meal.

Several Saturdays ago, Mr. Tall and I were out on our usual Saturday adventure. We were at Fashion Valley and already picked up dessert at The Cheesecake Factory—Lemon Raspberry and Oreo Cheesecakes. Captain Jack’s San Diego Restaurant Review visited Limonz in Pacific Beach and I was salivating. So, after a day of shopping, we decided to check it out. Mr. Tall ordered the Half Roasted Chicken, which included tortillas, garnish, salsa and tops.

It’s a bit overwhelming at first because there are so many options, but having read Captain Jack’s review already, I knew what I wanted. Mr. Tall chose cilantro, lettuce and cheese for his garnish; cilantro rice and black beans for his tops. I went with two soft tacos—chicken and pork carnitas. I enthusiastically ordered the tops of poblano rajas and spicy pasta, achiote and mango habanero salsas. I don’t actually remember which went into which but they were all quite flavorful. The salsas were more like sauces, but tasty nonetheless.

I really enjoyed the tops and choices of the salsas; but I think because the restaurant is still relatively new, the traffic was not frequent enough (we were there early Saturday evening), the food was not as freshly cooked and heated as we had expected. Limonz definitely has a lot of potential so I hope that the word of mouth spreads that it is an innovative and delicious place to try. If only parking in PB wasn’t such a pain, I would visit there again. But I guess most places in San Diego with a good culinary selection don’t exactly have the most convenient parking. In short, Limonz = good, parking in PB = not so good, and needless to say, dessert was yummy.

A friend of Mr. Tall and I, Will, wanted to try this Thai restaurant to see if it lives up to my authentic Thai standard. Spices, located on Mira Mesa Boulevard, was a small yet welcoming
without being too cheesy or tacky with the “Thai” decorations. Will, Mr. Tall and I ordered the food and shared family-style—Pad Thai, Crispy Duck and Bangkok Chicken Curry. Like many Thai restaurant, the spice level was numbered. We ordered all the entrees to be at level 6, I think—the boys couldn’t handle as much spiciness as I could. The prices at Spices are a few dollars more expensive than most Thai restaurants, but the portions are worth it especially if you go with a large party. The Pad Thai was decent and had a good kick to it, but nothing impressive.

The Crispy Duck, served on a bed of fried noodles and topped with a spicy basil sauce, was actually pretty good—not so good as leftovers though as the fried duck became chewy. The Bangkok Chicken Curry was huge! The serving size literally had the entire breast, practically half a chicken, which lasted me 3 days of lunch after the meal! The yellow curry with chunks of potato, carrots and bell peppers was mild yet flavorful.

Typically, curries in Thailand are never served with carrots, bell peppers and the likes but I think that these vegetables have adapted well in these Thai dishes. My philosophy in enjoying Thai food is that unless you hit up Thai Town in Los Angeles, your food is not going to be entirely authentic. However, I approach each meal at a Thai restaurant as to whether they attempt to be as authentic with the availability of the ingredients, and adapt the recipes so that they maintain the integrity of the Thai soul of the dish while pleasing the palate. As much I often feel put on the spot and embarrassed to bust out my Thai in restaurants, it really does help because most of the staff I have encountered are very helpful in suggesting (or not) the dishes my friends and I would enjoy.

Now, I will leave you salivating with some of the sweets I recently indulged in, not all by myself, of course, at Extraordinary Desserts (Hillcrest location).

New York Cheesecake – The cheesecake was not so New York because the NY style is usually dense and heavy but this Karen Krasne’s version was so light and delightful.

Chocolate Croissant Pudding, served with Chocolate Ice Cream – My absolute favorite special—I can never resist ordering it when they do have it!

Viennese – White chocolate cheesecake layer sandwiched between two walnut cakes—not one of my favorites, I must admit.

Enjoy,

Little Miss Contrary

P.S. They're opening a Pinkberry in Hillcrest around the corner right from where I used to live on 4th and Robinson--talk about timing!

Happy Summer!

2007-07-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July to all! I found myself again back in the Motherland. Many adventures to come ... As soon as I can find that damn USB cable--I swear, I thought I packed it ... Anyway, please enjoy a hot dog, or two, for me!

In (and Out) of the Kitchen with Mr. Tall and Little Miss Contrary, Part 2

2007-05-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

Mr. Tall and I have a usual rotation of convenient takeouts from pizza and Mexican to Greek and Indian. We got a good tip from Sam the Cooking Guy (Mr. Tall can attest that I turned embarrassingly red and was incredibly star-struck when we ran into him at a Ralph's) for the best place in San Diego for carnitas--Porkyland's. I'm not sure how many locations there are in the county but there happens to be one conveniently located in downtown La Jolla on Torrey Pines and Girard. Mr. Tall and I usually order the Family Meal (which is supposed to serve 3-4 but we usually polish most of it off, with some leftovers I take to work for lunch). The meal comes with a generous portion of carnitas (diced onions and cilantro as well) and sides of rice, beans and salsa of your choice (we like the salsa verde), and their homemade tortilla (your choice of corn or flour). Definitely a good deal and our favorite spot for a quick takeout.

My new favorite place for a quick dinner (or lunch) is Panera. Mr. Tall's parents had mentioned that they love the one in the Bay Area for their variety of paninis, soups and salads so we tried out the San Diego location in Mira Mesa. I don't remember what Mr. Tall got, but I ordered the combination of French Onion Soup, which was so tasty, panini and potato chips. What is so fantastic about Panera is that all their breads are baked in-house so they are absolutely fresh and delicious. I would try going there on the weekdays or weeknights because the complex tends to get very crowded on the weekend.

Although soup season is over since the cold weather seems to be disappearing, you can still enjoy chili--it's not soup, right? Mr. Tall and I enjoyed this light version of White Bean and Chicken Chili recipe that we found in one of his cookbooks. It was super quick and super delicious. We served it with some toasted bread and topped with grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream--and Tapatio, for me, of course! I am quite fond of chili and this definitely hit the spot.

Not too long ago, while waiting for my tires to get rotated at UTC, I made a stop at one of my favorite places, Crate & Barrel. Mr. Tall knows well that nearly every time we go to the mall, we have to make a stop at C&B. Usually, I just like to browse the store, but this time I got lucky! My absolute favorite Food Network personality (right next to Tyler Florence) Giada DeLaurentis' Family Dinners cookbook was on sale so I decisively made the purchase. What I love about Giada's recipes is that they are so simple yet incredible tasty. Most of her recipes requires only a handful of ingredients and this cookbook was no different.

The first thing that Mr. Tall and I decided to make was Flank Steak with Red Wine Sauce. We got the steak from Bristol Farms (of course) and I had just enough leftover Pinot Noir to turn it into the velvety wine sauce. Mr. Tall and I paired up the dish with a rendition of a recipe from the cookbook--Broccoli with Meyer Lemon Olive Oil. Since Meyer Lemon Olive Oil was not so easy to find, we finely grated lemon zest from 1 lemon, heat it up with some olive oil in a skillet, stir in lightly blanched broccoli florets and just a squeeze of lemon juice--and you've got a simple and refreshing side dish.

Mr. Tall is not a big fan of seafood (what a shame!) but we would occasionally throw in some salmon for dinner here and there. Also, from Giada's book, we broiled up some salmon with garlic, mustard and herbs, and sauteed green beans with tomato and basil. The salmon recipe called for dijon mustard, but Mr. Tall loves honey mustard so we compromised and got honey dijon mustard. Every relationship is about compromise, right? Again, the recipes were so simple yet very flavorful.

Giada's book also had a recipe for a Quick Marinara Sauce that Mr. Tall and I made and stocked in the freezer. To change up the usual spaghetti night, we made Linguine with Chicken Ragu. Instead of the typical ground beef, the recipe utilized some chopped chicken, which made the sauce a little lighter and healthier. We have also used Italian sausages or even ground turkey to change up the usual Bolognese. As you can tell, I adore Giana DeLaurentis and love, love, love her recipes. They are fantastic and anyone can make them, really!

One last addition on this leg of the culinary journey with Mr. Tall and Little Miss Contrary, we made a stop over at Lucky Buck's in Hillcrest. I had read about it in the Union Tribune and I couldn't resist the sound of their burgers. This relatively new burger joint also serves burritos, but Mr. Tall and I both opted for their burgers. I think Mr. Tall ordered the standard burger with cheese and bacon while I went for the Hawaiian with grilled pineapple. All the burger combinations come with criss-cross cut fries, which frankly I'm not a big fan of. They're neither potato chips nor fries--eh. Lucky Buck's version did not impress me either. The buns were freshly baked and soft; the patty was fresh but tasted like some thing that I could have put together at home. Decent burgers but nothing that I would go out of my way to try again. My love for burgers is devoted to In N Out and Island's. Island's have the best fries, by far, and I love The Hawaiian, of course. In N Out is just plain good. I need to make some burgers at home soon--I feel a craving coming on.

Well, I hope you enjoyed some of the food that Mr. Tall and I have shared. More culinary adventures to come!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

In the Kitchen with Mr. Tall & Little Miss Contrary, Part 1

2007-04-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

I am taking full responsibility for personally abandoning to update this for more than a month! As promised in my previous post, I wanted to share some of the culinary adventures Mr. Tall and I have experienced. I consider myself very fortunate to have found someone who understands (more so, tolerates) my love for all things gastronomy. Mr. Tall knows the drill that we can not dig into our meals until I have photographed the food. He has maintained an open heart and stomach to try things that he might not have tried before, for which I am grateful. He has also introduced me to some of my favorite places and things such as Mama Testa, crock pot cooking, and chilaquiles, which is a Mexican breakfast dish consisting of tortilla chips cooked in red sauce and topped with fried eggs, and copious amount of cheese and sour cream (pictured right). Breakfast of (Mexican) champions!

I do take some credit for introducing him to Thai food and the likes. Our very first date was actually his first "real" Thai cuisine experience. We dined at Spice & Rice, which is conveniently located close to UCSD in Downtown La Jolla. Although it wasn't love at first bite, we reminisced with Thai food 6 months later at my favorite Thai spot, Celadon, in Hillcrest (shh, even though, I have ties with Taste of Thai). I guess, food sort of brought us together since Mr. Tall and I officially connected over a discussion about a favorite artist of ours, The Roots, at an on-campus convenience store/coffee shop where he worked.

Since we both have been working full time for the past year, Mr. Tall and I try to cook at least once or twice a week, and when we're lazy we go out to eat or get take-out about twice per week. One of the things that we have made before and are yearning to cook up again is Beer-Can Chicken and Mashed Potatoes. I purchased a potato ricer a while ago, which according to Jeffrey Steingarten of "The Man Who Ate Everything," is the best method to creating mashed potatoes.

One of our favorite things to do is to pick up a cut of meat, pork or lamb from Bristol Farms and put it on the grill. Mr. Tall is definitely the master of the barbecue grill. One of this best works must be when we grilled up some Porterhouse steaks, served with salad and mashed potatoes, of course. That small segment of Filet Mignon put this cut over the top. On to something a little more rustic: Mr. Tall had a recipe for Pozole. I had tried it at the Old Town Cafe and loved it so naturally I was stoked for this soup.

The pozole recipe turned out a tomato-based broth, stewed with chicken, chunks of tomatoes, and, of course, hominy. Everything was simply thrown into a pot and simmered. It is served with a squeeze (or several for me) and topped with shredded cabbage, cilantro and tortila chips--and hot sauce if you like spicy. Instead of serving it with a Mexican beer, I picked up Phuket Beer from Thailand, which was light and went very well with the spices of the soup. It is definitely one of my absolute favorite soups of all time. I forgot to mention another thing that we have also picked up from Bristol Farms is the lamb kabobs. They are already pre-marinated and ready to be thrown on the grill. The only Bristol Farms location in San Diego is on Genesee near UTC. So, if you're ever in that area or live nearby, I highly recommend checking out their meat department. They also have a very friendly and helpful "sommelier" (I'm not sure what they would be called outside of the restaurant) that will give you handy tips about wine pairing and even cooking tips.

One of Mr. Tall and I's new favorite thing to make is Giada DeLaurentis' pizza that was featured in Gourmet magazine. The pizza dough is really simple and takes only an hour to rise. We also love the topping that Giada featured: three cheese with pancetta and crimini mushrooms. The combination of Fontina, Parmesan and Mozzarella is perfection; pancetta and criminis are fantastic together as well. The first time we made it, we got a bit zealous with the cheese but the second time around we learned and put the right amount of cheese and toppings. The dough is fantastic and, I would say, fool proof. Giada DeLaurentis is not only one of my favorite Food Network chefs but her recipes are also simple and wonderful.

This post is getting a bit lengthy so I shall continue on the next one. Plenty more to come about all the cooking and eating for Mr. Tall and I to share!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

The Land of Thai, Part 2

2007-03-10T11:12:00.000-08:00

It's been too long since my last post, but I must blog about the rest of my culinary adventures in the motherland. One of the things I miss for breakfast in Thailand is kao tom or rice porridge. The thing I most enjoy about it is that you have a variety of side dishes, or kub kao, to eat with the porridge. My personal favorite must be my grandma's steamed minced pork with broth, or moo nuung. Eating it was so nostalgic; I was reminiscing about my childhood in Bangkok when my grandma used to have to run around and feed me, or distract me to eat while I pretend to do the dishes. Anyway, this time around I willingly sat down to have porridge breakfast with moo nuung, and a variety of small sides--salted egg, soy fermented tofu (tasty stuff!), preserved Chinese cabbage, and pork sung.

Side note: I have a random story about pork sung. On my flight back from Bangkok, one the meals that was served on the plane was breakfast and I had chosen the Chinese-style option, which was with porridge. One of the things that came with the meal was a packet of pork sung; however, on the packaging, it said that it was "pork floss"! I wouldn't necessarily associate pork and floss together, but it's just funny when some Chinese items are translated into English.

Anyway, back to Thailand. My mom, as usual, drove me around every where. Ironically, I don't particularly enjoy the offerings of McDonald's stateside, but one of the things that I always have to eat when I'm back in Thailand is the Pineapple Pie! The pie "crust" is ultra crispy and always piping hot; the filling has small chunks of sweet pineapple. On another excursion, my mom and I went to a bustling shopping spot of Soi Lalaisup, which literally means the street to dissolve your wealth. Also know as Khang Bank (because it is physically next to the Bangkok Bank), it is always busy with various food, clothing and miscellaneous vendors.

By the food court area, there is a lady whose vendor has a large selection of various Thai desserts. From coconut kanom, or sweets, like tah koh (right corner of the picture), and sweet sticky rice with banana and black beans wrapped in banana leaves, to the large pot full of diamond-shaped sweet bean dessert. But my all time favorite has to be kanom quey, or literally green sweets (they're in the tray closest to the vendor's hands). A couple of vendors away was the banana lady who had all sorts of, what else, bananas! She had peeled, grilled banana, barbecued banana, and, of course, banana with coconut milk. The Thai bananas are slightly smaller and more stubby than the ones we see in American supermarkets, but they are equally if not more tasty.

Since I had such a limited time in Thailand, my mom (always the tour guide) arranged for she, my dad and I to travel to Trung for a few days. After a one-hour flight from Bangkok, we arrived to the southern province. A local tour guide picked us up from the Trung Airport and was kind enough to make a short detour downtown for us to pick up the province's famous moo yang, or grilled pork. We stopped at a corner shop, which looked like an old coffee shop. The moo yang vendor faced the street, luring in customers by the hunks of meat!

Check out the killer knife and the ginormous piece of pork! The meat is liberally seasoned with a sort of sweet and sticky marinade and grilled until the generous amount of fat has formed into a nice crust. After picking up more than a kilo of moo yang (my dad was greedy!), we finally made our way over to a pier to take a boat over to the island. Koh Sukorn, which means Pig Island in Thai, is located off the shores of Trung about a 30-minute boat ride with a handful of surrounding smaller islands.

Since it wasn't during the peak, tourist season, my mom, dad and I were the only ones at the small resort on the north side of Koh Sukorn. We stayed in a bungalow (a couple of pillows, sleeping cushions, basic amenities, running water, and electricity from 7pm to 7am), which was barely 20 steps from the beach. We had an amazing snorkeling tour guide, and probably the best snorkeling I have ever experienced in Thailand. The folks running the resort were locals on the island, and they made every single meal just for the three of us! Our last dinner on the island was a seafood feast--crabs, steamed whole fish, grilled squid, seafood Poh Tak (hot and sour seafood soup, similar to Tom Yum Koong) and seafood fried rice.

In Bangkok, it is not easy to find roti vendors so whenever we travel out of town, like this trip to Trung, I always have to cure my cravings of roti. Roti is essentially very thinly hand-rolled dough, fried in a large skillet with oil AND margarine to a crisp brown, then removed from the heat and dressed with drizzles of sweetened condensed milk and sugar. Does that sound indulgent enough for you? It's probably one of my favorite sweets ever since childhood. Most roti are simply rolled up in paper and eaten on the go; some people like it with banana or even eggs cooked inside the roti. I usually enjoy mine plain or with banana. I would kill for a roti right now.

And I shall leave you with a few more random photographs of the rest of my trip to the motherland.

Kao soi, a Nothern Thai speciality, consists of egg noodles and coconut curry and either minced pork or beef, topped with a variety of toppings such as crispy noodles, diced red onion, preserved Chinese cabbage, ground chili, and lime juice.

Some Thai instant noodles at the Taipei International Airport on my transit back to San Francisco. The lady at the restaurant inside the terminal was nice enough not only to fill my cup of noodles with hot water but also gave me a bowl and chopsticks.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of one of my meals on the plane. This one wasn't as bad as it looks. Steamed rice with minced pork and gravy, along with the usual dinner roll and fruit. The calamari and rice vermicelli salad was actually decent and the mochi was not bad of a dessert at all. Although I still mostly avoid airplane food and stick to my Thai instant noodles or whatever I manage to sneak in my carry-on luggage.

Coming soon: Little Miss Contrary & Mr. Tall's culinary adventures in and out of the kitchen!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

The Land of Thai, Part 1

2007-02-11T12:43:00.000-08:00

Since I began working, gone are the days of winter and summer breaks. I finally accrued a week’s worth of paid vacation time, so it was time to head back to the motherland. For exactly 11 days, with the help of my dearest mother chauffeuring me around and planning an island trip, I was able to squeeze in as much I could, food and all. It was a good thing I usually do not have new years resolution because if I had made one about eating less and healthier, my resolutions would have already been broken. As soon as I arrived, to my very pleasant surprise, my sister was still in Bangkok! Although she was supposed to depart from Bangkok the afternoon I arrived, there were some glitches with her paperwork, which fortunately (or not) extended her stay. My first meal did not involve the usual papaya salad due to family obligation of attending my little cousin Naime’s 6^th birthday party; no pictures from the affair but I did enjoy some good chicken red curry with curds of pork’s blood and winter melon, which topped off kanom jean (hand form bundles of soft, round and white rice noodles served in Thailand usually with a variety of curries) and grilled cow’s tongue (I’m not quite sure why people are particularly fond of grilling those up but I guess it’s more for the texture than flavor).

My first dinner was a feast of royal Chinese traditions with my dad’s side of the family. After killing some time with light shopping at Siam Square with my mom and sister, we headed off to a family-owned and operated restaurant noted for its royal Chinese cuisine. One of my uncles took the liberty to order their set menu consisting of 7 courses. The dinner began on a disappointing note of some lackluster, cold appetizers. The next course got really interesting as they brought out stir-fried sea cucumbers with Thai basil, chili, garlic and minced pork. It was the first and only time I will ever try sea cucumber. The texture was jelly-like, and without the strong flavors of basil, chili and garlic, the sea cucumbers alone would have been tasteless.

The third course was the Chinese delicacy of the shark fin soup. The dish’s environmental and political correctness is debatable, but I still ate it anyway. My sister and I usually resist the dish because we don’t agree with shark fin hunting, but I took one for the food blog and had to try it to write about it. The soup was slightly thickened chicken broth, flavored with soy sauce, and had plenty of bits of shark fin. The protein came in a form of venison, Chinese-style, stir-fried with button mushroom, vegetable and chili. It basically just tasted like beef, nothing impressive. My favorite course of the entire meal was, of course, the Peking-style whole pig. The skin was crispy and beautifully brown, eaten on top of sliced white bread with sweet soy sauce. The remnants of the pig are cut up, and friend with some garlic. The other courses include steamed, whole fish with soy sauce and scallions, fried noodles, and sticky rice with taro and ginkgo nut for dessert. Last but not least, we polished off the meal with some very strong black tea to wash all the greasiness down.

The next day, my family and I made a trip to our old neighborhood for some papaya salad and grilled chicken. We ordered the usual Som Tum Thai, but it was unique because instead of plain peanuts, it was made with peanut brittle, which added to the sweetness of the palm sugar.

We also enjoyed Nua Namtok (spicy beef salad), Larb Moo (spicy minced pork salad), Tom Saab (spicy soup with pork tendons), and, my personal favorite, Ko Moo Yang. The grilled pig’s neck is known for its glorious fattiness, served with a delicious condiment of a sweet base with chili and fish sauce.

Here are some other offerings I enjoyed during my trip:

A breakfast in Bangkok--Jok, rice congee with minced pork, topped with ginger, cilantro, chili & vinegar and crispy Chinese donuts.

Green beef curry with Thai eggplant on top of crispy roti.

Nam Prik Ong--chili paste with tomato, garlic and minced pork, with pork rind and fresh vegetables.

Tom Yum Koong--hot and sour soup with shrimp and a splash of coconut milk.

That is all for this post, but there are many more pictures to come from my trip to the motherland!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

My Favorite Things of 2006

2006-12-31T19:39:00.000-08:00

I'll admit it, I really like Oprah. I wish I had time to watch her show, but it’s unfortunate because it’s on way before I get off work. Anyway, once a year, she does a "favorites" show where she showcases (and gives away!) her favorite products. I guess this is my foodies take on Oprah's favorites show, minus the free stuff part. Sorry, folks.

In no particular order:

Raisin Nut Bran Cereal
I must credit Mr. Tall for this first item on my favorites list. I had never had Raisin Nut Bran cereal before in my life until a few months ago when he had it at his apartment. I was starvation central one morning so I just had a bowl of the cereal, and I was pretty much enamored. Crunchy bran flakes with slivered almonds, and the best part is the plump raisins covered with a sort of subtle nutty coating. I am a bargain shopper so most items I purchase at the grocery store are on sale. And Raisin Nut Bran never goes on sale! When they are ever on sale, I jump at the opportunity and buy at least 4 boxes at once. I always contemplate stocking up more, but I would not want to hog the cereal for other Raisin Nut Bran lovers.

Bristol Farms' Meat Department
If you want some fresh and high quality meat with very knowledgeable service to boot, check out Bristol Farms. Forget Ralph's, Vons or even Whole Foods, Bristol Farms has by far the best selections of all sorts of meat and poultry. Mr. Tall and I have explored some amazing choices from pork loins to Porterhouse steaks. The price may be slightly higher than Ralph's or Vons, but the extra bucks really come through in the quality of their products and selections.

Wine from Trader Joe's
Whether it’s the usual 2-buck-chug or other varieties, I can usually find wine from every continent at TJ's for more than reasonable prices. I love to drink wine; I’m not a wine connoisseur or anything, but I remember buying a bottle of Chilean white wine for a mere $3 and it was damn good.

Anything Mint Chocolate
I think that's pretty much self-explanatory because it is one of the best sweet flavor combinations ever.

Trader Joe's Joes Joes
They can be described as Oreo with a peppermint crunch filling. It is perfect for the holidays with just a glass of milk or even a mug of hot cocoa.

Crate & Barrel
Every time I visit the mall, I always have to stop by Crate&Barrel. I don’t always purchase something (the last thing I bought there was the potato ricer), but Mr. Tall knows very well by now that I just love to go into that place. I remember when Mai randomly asked me if I ever get married, where I would register, and without hesitation I answered, "Crate & Barrel."

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Again, I must give credits to Mr. Tall for reigniting my love for grilled cheese sandwiches. It's so simple yet enjoyable. You can put just about any sorts of cheese in between whatever bread you have on hand … maybe throw in some BBQ sauce or even pesto … The possibilities are endless! And, of course, grilled cheese sandwiches pair so well with soups.

Crepes
I have loved crepes since my days at UCSD at the Farmer's Market every Tuesday. Bibby’s crepes booth was my favorite, next to the local fruit stand, of course. There is a crepe station in Bristol Farms where you can get made-to-order sweet and savory crepes. Even the 7, 8, 9 Dinner Club whipped them up! Crepes are so easy to make and absolutely delicious—sweet or savory!

Ghirardelli Hot Fudge Sundae
Most people who know me know that I have been spreading the gospel of the Ghirardelli Hot Fudge Sundae since the first time Mr. Tall took me to Ghirardelli in Downtown San Diego. I had never been a big fan of hot fudge sundaes, but after a big of Ghirardelli hot fudge, my life was changed. Honestly, if you haven't had a Ghirardelli Hot Fudge Sundae, you have not experience real hot fudge.

Almond Roca
What can I say—the combination of buttercrunch toffee, chocolate, and almonds is perfection.

My Favorite Restaurants, again in no particular order:

Mama Testa
The best taco shop (and more) in San Diego. Period.

Celadon
Good ambiance and good Thai food.

Monsoon
The best Indian food in San Diego.

Sushi Deli 1
Cheap and tasty sushi.

George's Ocean Terrace
Spectacular view and excellent food.

Happy 2007 to everyone ... Keep on cooking and eating!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

The Adventures of Pinnerton and Little Miss Contrary

2006-12-21T22:10:00.000-08:00

It has been unbearably long since my last post. Not by choice exactly. I just did my second and last round of the LSAT (because I sucked the first time around), so all of my free time was devoted to burying my head in prep books and sample tests. But now that’s over with, I’m free as a bird! Well, almost, now I get to worry about law school applications. Oh, what fun!

Anyway, I have been meaning to blog about so many things! First and foremost, Mr. Tall’s dad was in town a while ago, and he graciously took us out to dinner. Mr. Tall took him to Mama Testa the first night, which he really enjoyed. Can I please mention just one more time about how much I am in love with that place? Because I am! The next night, Mr. Ornelas took Mr. Tall and me to Rei de Gado, which is an all-you-can-eat Brazilian barbecue restaurant. Mr. Tall had taken me there once before for lunch. The price for lunch is less expensive, but the dinner generally runs about $35 per person. And let me tell you, I got my money’s worth. Although lunch was more of a bargain, the dinner had a much larger selection of meats and salad bar offerings. If you have never been to a Brazilian barbecue, waiters walk around with a large metal skewer with a freshly cooked chuck of meat and cut you an individual serving right at your table. Each table is equipped with a wooden knob of red and green on opposite ends—green if you want more meat your way and red if you’ve had enough of the protein. The salad bar is probably more than most would expect. It has a variety of vegetables, sides, fruits, etc. But the best thing at the salad bar is definitely the fried baby banana. They’re probably pan-fried without a batter; what you get is soft but not mushy little banana that are great as a break between the proteins or to end your meal.

Among their variety of meats were chicken, lamb, pork and various cuts of beef. One of their popular items if probably the filet mignon wrapped with bacon, but my absolute favorite this time was the garlic roasted lamb. It was so good beyond what I would ever attempt to explain to you. They also offer desserts in addition to the all-you-can-eat meal, but even a dessert lover like me does not have any room after I shook down, Kobayashi-style, the last fried banana.

The following week, my sister visited for an entire week for her Thanksgiving break. Yes, I know Thanksgiving was so long ago; I’ve obviously been lagging on updating my blog. Anyway, it was so fantastic having her around, and we indulged ourselves quite thoroughly. After Mr. Tall and I picked her up from the airport, we took her to, where else, Mama Testa! Of course, I got my usual Mojados de Carne (see previous post for its gloriousness) and I think my sister had the Bistec (grilled steak tacos). Pinnerton really enjoyed the food, especially the salsa bar.

From a coupon in the Uptown Magazine that we receive at the apartment, my sister and I did Sunday brunch at the LEI Lounge, located in the heart of University Heights. Upon entering the restaurant, the front is fully exposed into the bar area with a wall of waterfall. Once we passed the bar section, we enter the rectangular, hard-wood floored patio with table and booth seatings. The tables are draped with white table cloths and topped with a pink lei. The atmosphere was very lovely and chill … You feel as if you’re vacationing in Hawaii. I ordered the Ahi Tuna Benedict with a Gorgeous Geisha, which is a cocktail of champagne, strawberry liqueur and lychee juice. Pinnerton ordered the Stuffed Brioche French Toast with a side of sausage with a cranberry spritzer aka cranberry and soda water. The Ahi Tuna Benedict was served on an English muffin with poached eggs and topped with a generous amount of chipotle remoulade, which I really enjoyed. Pinnerton’s French Toast was served with a variety of berries, rum raisin syrup, and whipped cream. We both shared the dishes and enjoyed them thoroughly. My only small criticisms are that the food wasn’t particularly warm enough for some reason (even though the food arrived relatively promptly) and the sausage was far from impressive. Oh, and the Gorgeous Geisha wasn't as tasty as I had hoped; I could barely taste the strawberry liqueur and lychee juice. Overall, I would definitely make another trip to LEI Lounge (they also have an attractive dinner menu).

On Monday, I took my sister to audit a class at UCSD and made a stop for lunch before heading to the San Ysidro outlet. And guess where we went? McDonald’s! For some reason, I remembered having a McRib a long, long time ago, and for some reason, liking it. Pinnerton and I both order the McRib meal, and all I have to say is that I’m definitely never ordering it again. For those of you who don’t know what a McRib is—it’s basically processed pork, pressed into a shape of a small piece of rib, slathered with barbecue sauce, and served with onion and pickles on a bun. So for those curious about the McRib, I think the only thing that attracts people to them is the fact that McDonald’s only sells them for a limited amount of time. I’ve concluded that I am not a fan of the McRib or McDonald’s for that matter.

Since I know my sister likes sushi, I definitely wanted her to try Sushi Deli. We walked over to Sushi Deli 1 from my apartment (it's only about a 10-minute walk), but there was a very long wait so we decided to order for take-out. While they were preparing our order, Pinnerton and I made a grocery trip for some Thanksgiving items. Definitely a good use of our time. We got a couple of rolls (I don't quite remember), the Hot Hot California Roll (my personal favorite), and the Dynamite seafood appetizer (picture shown). The sushi were good as usual, but the appetizer was very disappointing. The seafood was mostly pieces of fish and imitation crab. Still, my sister was amazed with how much food we got for the money. That's a Sushi Deli deal for ya. Some people may not like the Americanized style of sushi that they serve, especially when sushi is slathered with the spicy sauce (I believe it's a combination of Sriracha chili sauce and watered down mayonnaise), but I love it! My sister and I both share the love for spicy foods so much that we used Sriracha, instead of wasabi, with soy sauce to dip our sushi-it was actually really good! I agree that perhaps the quality of the sushi at Sushi Deli may not be necessarily be premium, but for common folks like myself, the prices keep you going back.
Finally, our Thanksgiving dinner arrived! Our small celebration consisted of Mr. Tall, Taurin, my sister, and me. Mr. Tall was responsible for our 10-pound turkey, and I was responsible for the sides and dessert. He brushed it with melted butter and seasoned simply with salt and pepper, and just threw some herbs in the body cavity. It took only approximately 2 and a half hours to cook, and it was actually, really good! The sides were relatively simple. I cooked up some green beans, sweet potato casserole with lots of butter and brown sugar, and Brussels sprouts with pancetta (a recipe from Giada DeLaurentis’ Every Day Italian). And a must-have item was the whole-cranberry sauce from Trader Joe’s, which is my favorite. Taurin brought over some sparkling apple cider and whole wheat dinner rolls. We ate almost the entire turkey! Pretty impressive. We ended the meal with Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Pie with freshly whipped cream, which was quite tasty especially for the pumpkin lover, Mr. Tall. All in all, we had a very nice Thanksgiving.

Before my sister departed, we made yet another trip to Mama Testa. Apparently, they started having lunch specials! There were about 5 items, with a side of rice and beans, and a drink—all for $5.95! I had to order my usual (I really think I am addicted to it) and the lunch special of a Steak "Cesar" Salad. The salad was a very good size topped with a grilled thin strip of steak, tossed with a kicked up Caesar dressing. It was definitely more than a good deal. I am officially declaring myself an ambassador of Mama Testa!

I’ve got more foodies to blog about, but it shall be the next post! Coming soon—Little Miss Contrary’s Favorites List of 2006!

Enjoy,
Little Miss

Tres Cochinitos

2006-11-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

So many culinary adventures, so little time to blog! That has been the sentiment for me as of late. Two weekends ago, my cousin Jeff made a trip from Santa Barbara with his girlfriend Marisa and her friend Stephanie. They arrived in San Diego Friday evening, and we headed out to dinner downtown. We went to The Yard House and the place was packed with at least an hour wait. Our party of five was too famished to wait so we headed over to Rock Bottom, and fortunately—for our stomachs and our patience—we were seated within 5 minutes on the patio. We could tell that service was not going to be particularly attentive because it was prime dinner time on a Friday night. We all got a variety of beers from their brewery offerings. Mr. Tall ordered a brown ale and I got their honey ale, which I thought was very light and delightful. For appetizers, we all shared Titan Toothpicks, which were smoked chicken, Jack cheese, peppers and onions in hand-rolled, fried tortillas, served with guacamole, sour cream, fresh salsa and, my favorite, Chipotle BBQ sauce. They were fried to a crispy golden brown and were perfect with our beers. Everyone ordered burgers for their entrées, except for me. I ordered one of the specials, which was stuffed portabella. The mushrooms were stuffed with cheese and roasted peppers, and topped with warm diced tomatoes, spring greens, and balsamic vinaigrette. The dish was actually better than I had anticipated. It was quite flavorful and each component went well together. No pictures from this dinner though. I don’t usually frequent Rock Bottom unless it’s Happy Hour, which they have really good deals on beers, drinks, and appetizers. Although their menu isn’t diverse and beer offerings aren’t as extensive as The Yard House, it’s still a pretty fun place to chill out after work.

While my cousin and company went to the Zoo and saw some male-on-male gorilla action, I had to attend a civil litigation seminar for work the entire day on Saturday for the second and last time—thank goodness. We walked around my neighborhood for a bit before decided to get some Chinese for dinner. We got take-out at Taste of Szechuan located on University in the complex next to the entrance of the 163-North. The last time I got Chinese take-out was with the 7, 8, 9 Dinner Club from the less than impressive Hong Kong Restaurant. My roommate Emily was loyal to her favorite of Sweet and Sour Chicken, I ordered the Orange Chicken, Marisa ordered the Walnut Shrimp and Jeff rounded out the meal with Szechuan Eggplant. We share all the entrees along with a large order of half steamed rice and half fried rice. The first thing that I must share about Taste of Szechuan was that the service was very friendly and attentive. Even though we were only ordering take-out, the adorable Chinese gentleman in the front was quite helpful and even joked around with us while we were deciding on the entrées. He also informed us that the Szechuan-style dishes could be made with any spice level that we desire since the Szechuan region is quite known for its spicy tendency. While waiting for our order, we made a quick trip for Stephanie to pick up some pizza from Pizza Nova. I had never been there before, but Stephanie ordered a small Cheese Pizza and seemed to have been satisfied with it. I guess it’s kind of hard to mess up a cheese pizza. I’m not quite sure on how good Pizza Nova is but it seemed to be relatively popular as more of a sit-down place than Bronx Pizza. Anyway, back to Taste of Szechuan. The restaurant itself was rather effortless in its attempt to be contemporary—can you tell that was a sarcastic comment? But who cares about the décor of the restaurant when the food can justify itself. Let's just say that I will be frequenting Taste of Szechuan for my Chinese take-out fix.

Before Jeff, Marisa and Stephanie departed from San Diego, I had to take them to another favorite of me and Mr. Tall: Mama Testa. Mama Testa is a true taco shop. The menu is filled with regional variations of every sort of tacos beyond your imagination from Mama Blanditos or soft tacos to Mama Cesta or steamed tacos. The first thing you would notice once you enter the restaurant is its colorful décor. Red, yellow, and green dominate the unique furniture; napkins at your table are sandwiched between colorful, plastic salt and pepper shakers and macho libre toys. You walk up to the register to order and with your food you get a basket of chips. One of the best things about Mama Testa is its salsa bar. There are always at least a dozen different types of salsas from the favorite with red onion and tomatillo to the more interesting variation of parmesan and peppers, and the mild of mango and papaya. And if you’re like me, you’d go crazy and fill yourself up with condiment cups full of at least half of the salsa bar. The food quickly arrives just before our party gorged ourselves too much with the complimentary chips and salsa.

I convinced Jeff to order my absolute beloved dish: Majados de Carne.
Let me break this down for you:
4 Rolled shredded beef tacos
+ Delicious, spicy beef broth
Topped with onion, cilantro, queso fresco and lime
= Absolute foodgasm
How mouth-watering does that look and sound! I usually overload mine with fresh squeezed lime--I love my limes so leave me alone. Jess ordered De Aire, simple rolled crunchy tacos, and Marisa ordered De Bandera Morena, or rolled shredded beef tacos, all along with the usual fixin's of lettuce, salsa fresca, sour cream and queso fresco.

Mr. Tall usually goes with one of the soft tacos—this time he got the Tres Cochinitos, or carnitas soft tacos. And, of course, I always have to round out my meal with horchatha and his usually with tamarindo. He and I have sampled most of the offerings (except for desserts) and can conclude that practically everything on the menu is tasty.

Well, that's all for the weekend with Jeff and company. My sister is currently visiting this entire week for Thanksgiving, and I will most definitely be blogging about Little Miss's adventures with Pinnerton!

Enjoy,
Little Miss

Cupcake Love

2006-11-15T22:50:00.000-08:00

Due to the recent events of birthdays and Halloween, I found myself back in the baking business, which I do not mind at all. Mr. Tall had a Halloween potluck up at his company's headquarter in Tustin, so I volunteered to bake up something for him to bring. I was delighted by the fact that the potluck also entailed a food competition because, as much as I hate to compete, I love the thought of prizes. I had a few cans of pumpkin puree left over from the Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake so I thought I'd bake something that had pumpkin in it. I had found a fantastic recipe on Posey’s Party Cakes's blog of Pumpkin and Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.

The recipe was so enticing not only because the cupcakes contained pumpkin but also because Mr. Tall is a big fan of Mexican chocolate. The recipe was simple and combined ingredients that I would have never thought would go together well like pumpkin and Mexican chocolate. The cinnamon cream cheese frosting topped off the soft cupcakes nicely especially with the hint of spice from the Mexican chocolate. I just sprinkled the cakes with shavings of remaining chocolate, and it was ready for the potluck. Unfortunately, the cupcakes didn't win the top prize, but I still thoroughly enjoyed making them. I think I would like to bake up this recipe again because I had read on another entry of Posey's Party Cakes that if you toast the cinnamon before combining it for the frosting that it releases the essential oil of the spice so the cinnamon taste is stronger.

Round two of cupcakes galore was for my co-worker Nishanthi's birthday. She is a self-confessed peanut butter lover. I also knew that she loves Resse's Peanut Butter Cup so I thought what would be better for her birthday than Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Frosting! I found the recipe on the Food Network website. It was so simple and made a perfect batch of 12. The cupcakes combined chunky peanut butter, which gave them a very tasty crunch, and just the right amount of chocolate chips to not be overwhelmed by the rich, chocolaty ganache frosting.

When I was still in school last year, I had a lot more free time and was able to bake quite often. But now that I'm working, all I want to do when I come home is veg out on the couch and get hypnotized by the television. But baking is definitely one of the things I will always truly enjoy. I love cooking and baking for others; I must have gotten that personality trait from my grandma, who would always made sure that our family was always well fed. Like most children, I was a picky eater, and one of the few things that my grandma was able to get me to eat was rice and pineapple. What an odd combination, I know. Interestingly, it's really reflective of the inclination of my taste buds toward things that are sweet and sour.

Anyway, if anyone wants any of the recipes that I have experimented with and can't find them online, let me know and I can post them.

Enjoy,
Little Miss

A Good Year

2006-11-01T13:52:00.000-08:00

Last Friday was the big 365-day anniversary for me and Mr. Tall. Pretty exciting, I know. We didn’t really want to do anything grand so we just decided to make a date to Monsoon. Mr. Tall got the idea for Indian food because he had never had Indian food before until last weekend when, on his company field trip, they took everyone to an Indian buffet. And he really enjoyed the food. The first time I had Indian food was actually in Bangkok. During my summer internship a few years ago, a friend of mine’s family manages a hotel in downtown Bangkok. The hotel is noted for its fine royal Indian cuisine (it’s called the Rembrandt Hotel if any of you ever make a trip to Bangkok). From then on, I fell in love with Indian food. I had been hesitant about trying Indian food anywhere else for fear of being disappointed. Until Jess, Mai and I went to Monsoon. We were at a great advantage during that visit because Mai and Jess’s close friend, Michelle, was the head waitress at the time and she pretty much hooked us up big time.

We definitely overindulged on the garlic naan along with the chutney sampler of sweet mango, mint, and raita. We asked Michelle to order for us since she knew the food best. I’m not quite sure what we got, but I believe we had the Murgh Makhani (butter chicken) and a lamb dish.

We ended the meal with mango mousse with strawberry rose sorbet. But the best part was that our dessert spoons were cooled in a small dish of ice and rose water. I hadn’t eaten that much since my girlfriends and I hit up the buffet in Vegas.

After being greeted with a bouquet of colorful daisies (my favorite flower) and even a card, oh my, Mr. Tall and I headed out to Monsoon. I had requested on the online reservation to be seated next to the curtain of waterfall in the middle of the restaurant, and they willingly complied with our request. Mr. Tall and I started with, what else but an order of garlic naan served with a small ramekin of garlic and cilantro chutney. He also got the India Special Reserve Beer and I got my absolute favorite, iced Chai tea. What makes the iced Chai at Monsoon so special is that it is nothing like what you would get at Starbucks or Peet’s. It is real Chai brewed with fresh spices—you can truly taste the blend of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and of course, the mild heat of the ginger.

For our entrée, we shared the Lamb Vindaloo, which was cooked with a little vinegar with chunks of baby potatoes in a tomato-based curry, and Murgh Tikka Tandoori Chicken, which was marinated in yogurt, ginger, Garam masala, fresh lemon and cilantro. We order the tandoori chicken with a tomato-based sauce that really highlighted the mild and tender chicken. Even though my first visit to Monsoon was very memorable, this visit exceeded my expectations. The Lamb Vindaloo is by far the best dish I had enjoyed there. You can tell the lamb was carefully prepared because the spices really hid the gaminess of the meat, and the curry complemented the tender chunks of meat perfectly. The entrées were served in mini brass pots along with a side of basmati rice. At the end of the meal, I just wanted to pour the rest of the curry on my rice and eat it just like that—it was so good! I am officially declaring Monsoon one of my favorite restaurants in San Diego. I will definitely have to check out other Indian joints soon to see how they measure up.

One tip that I’d like to share with diners out there, check out www.opentable.com. I was introduced to it last year when I was making reservations for Top of the Cove during the San Diego Restaurant Week. There are many restaurants in San Diego, which you can reserve for your party through OpenTable. It’s easy to do and you can collect points through your reservations.

You know it’s officially fall when all the bakeries and cafes begin to make pumpkin or maple products. Mr. Tall, for one, is a huge fan of pumpkin. If it’s got pumpkin in it, he’ll eat it. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffin, pumpkin bagel … and if it’s got maple in it, he’ll eat it, too. Maple sausage, maple syrup …
The Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake is probably one of the best recipes that combines his love for these two ingredients coupled with the fact that he really enjoys cheesecakes. So, naturally, I made him a Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake for his birthday. The recipe called for real maple syrup, and I highly recommend investing in a bottle of the Canadian maple syrup goodness. Just a couple dollars more and you get the real maple taste without all the heavy, artificial sweetness.

It was my second attempt at the Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake. I was bummed out because my first "test" round turned out to be better than my second, which saddened me since it was for Mr. Tall’s birthday. It’s pretty bad news when a cheesecake is undercooked. Unlike cakes, in which you can poke a knife and see when it’s done; being an amateur cheesecake baker, I cannot accurately gage when it is done. I am determined to make another attempt at cheesecake—successfully! The cheesecake still tasted good, but quite soft in the center. But, Mr. Tall being the clever man that he is, decided to freeze the cheesecake, and who would have thought ... frozen cheesecake is pretty damn tasty!

For dinner, from one of my favorites on the Food Network, Tyler Florence (I pretty much love him), I got a recipe for his Ultimate Fried Chicken. The chicken turned out slightly more brown than what we would have liked due to the pot that we had used to fry the chicken. We also cooked up mashed potatoes and green beans to go with the fried chicken. The potato ricer came in handy once again, and our mashed potato was even better than the last time. Because I am a bit of a perfectionist, I was quite disappointed with the way the chicken looked and the way the cheesecake was undercooked. But, Mr. Tall, being a good sport and appreciative boyfriend that he is, still enjoyed the meal. The fried chicken, overall, had a subtle spice level to it, and soaking it in salt water prior to cooking it helped to maintain that juiciness in the meat. Mr. Tall and I intend to fry up some chicken again, and I am positive that it will be better the next time. This weekend was nearly perfect. I say nearly because, well, it wasn’t as flawless as I had anticipated. But, all in all, I am content because, as Mr. Tall reminded me, it’s the thought that counts.

Enjoy,
Little Miss

Just Because It Has Peanuts in It Doesn't Mean It's Thai

2006-10-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night, David and I grabbed some dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. We had wanted to go to BJ’s but as expected, there was a long wait, and we didn’t want to deal with that. So, we proceeded to CPK; there was a bit of a wait but we utilized our time wisely and made a quick trip to Tower Records, which, by the way, is having a going-out-of-business sale. Good time to stock up on CDs, DVDs, and even magazines. Anyway, I’m sure most people have seen if not been to CPK. I was never really a big fan, but I had nothing against the restaurant chain. In other words, I wasn’t expecting much. Mr. Tall ordered a cup of tortilla soup and a Sicilian Pizza, which was topped with Italian sausage, Capicola ham, julienne salami, Fontina, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Being the pizza fiend he is, he was pretty satisfied with the pizza except noting that it could have been left in the over for a little longer so the dough and the crust would be, you know, crustier. Surprisingly, their tortilla soup was pretty good. If I do go back to CPK, I’d probably stick with their tortilla soup and variety of pizzas. I made the mistake of ordering the Jambalaya pasta. I was craving a Jambalaya dish because my co-workers had ordered them during lunch—bad choice. Not only was the pasta over-peppered and way too oily, there was no good balance of flavor. There was plenty of crawfish, sausage, and chicken in the dish, but I had to throw a lot of hot sauce on to make the dish tolerable. By the way: people, just because you throw some peanut sauce or peanuts on something, it doesn’t mean that it’s Thai. One good thing was that at least our service was pretty good. I didn’t really care to take any pictures (because I didn’t have my camera) and I don’t think I’d be going to back to CPK any time soon.

Mr. Tall had a work field-trip up in the Inland Empire all day Saturday. So, I finally got the time to make the test round of the Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake. I had made cheesecake twice before, and it is quiet a process. The recipe was from a cookbook, The Best 125 Cheesecake Recipes, that Mr. Tall had gotten as a part of my Christmas gift. More like a ploy for me to make him cheesecakes. I will share the recipe and pictures of the cheesecake in my next post.

Later that day, after Emily, Jess, and I played a round of tennis, Jess and I ventured to this Thai restaurant I had read about on a food blog. Thai Village is located on Mission Blvd. in Pacific Beach. It is a quaint place with cheesy, beach-scene décor, but it reminded me just a little bit of Thailand. The restaurant was actually quite busy because there was a big party of a couple of parents and a bunch of 10-year-olds—seemed sort of a random location for a birthday party or something. Anyway, our poor waitress was the only one working and after I retrieved the menu myself, she brought us some ice water. There were some interesting items on the menu such as green curry with avocado and fried rice with mango among others. I decided to stick to the more traditional offerings. I asked the waitress if she was Thai, and, of course, she was. I started asking her about some of the food selections, particularly the papaya salad, som tum in Thai, because I had been craving that for ages. Som tum is a very popular dish originating from the Eastern region of Thailand. Shredded papaya is the main ingredient; sliced tomatoes and string beans are added along with palm sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, and chili. It is traditionally made in a larger stone or wooden mortar, in which all the ingredients are pounded and mixed together. The versions of the som tum that I’ve seen here are generally tossed like a salad.

Our waitress told me that the som tum was Americanized, but I decided to go for it anyway since Jess had never had it before. Since Jess hadn’t had Thai food for a long time, I decided that we should go with more familiar dishes. In addition to a small papaya salad, we ordered the Panang Curry with beef and Pad Thai with chicken. A must-have addition to the meal was the Thai iced tea. The som tum quickly arrived. It was very simple, with shredded papaya, some shredded carrots, small wedges of tomatoes, and peanuts sprinkled on top. The salad was not as flavorful and complex in ingredients as the ones I’m used to in Thailand, but it had a really good kick to it. Warning, the som tum will give you mad garlic breath until the next day. But, I personally, thought it was worth it. Next time, when I order it I would just tell them to maybe omit the garlic or maybe put just a sliver of a clove. The Thai iced tea was nothing spectacular. I suspect that they might be packaged Thai iced tea, but I don’t particularly care too much.

Our entrees soon arrived. Along with the curry, we got a side of Jasmine rice, which was served in a large bowl with a big plastic spoon for scooping. The mismatched plates and bowls and other small quirky details of the place really reminded me of small restaurants in Thailand. Because I had been conversing with the waitress in Thai, the waitress asked if I wanted a spoon because if you’re Thai, you eat with a fork and a spoon—one in each hand, ready to tackle the meal. The curry was quite flavorful, although a little too watery for the panang consistency but the bell peppers really spruced up the dish. The Pad Thai was simple and tasted like a dish off the street vendors in Bangkok, which was quite reminiscent for me. The food was simple with no frills. The dishes all tasted as if your grandma in Thailand had made them. Don’t expect anything grand because Thai Village is really just about reasonably priced and delicious Thai food. I am definitely taking Mr. Tall there next time.

Enjoy,
Little Miss

The 7, 8, 9 Dinner Club

2006-10-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

One of my really good friends and former roommate, Mai, is currently pursuing a nomadic lifestyle in Uganda. But before her departure I was able to bond with my current roommate Emily and one of Mai’s fantastic friends from high school. The three of us, Emily, Jess, and I, have been able to get together on a weekly basis to form what we call The 7, 8, 9 Dinner Club—well, that’s what I’ve dubbed us anyway. The 7, 8, and 9 originated from each of our lucky numbers, which coincidentally happened to be consecutive (only Jess was initially observant of this).

So, every Tuesday, Jess comes over to our apartment and we just cook up a feast. Our first dinner date, Mr. Tall joined us. We shared some edemame, and I cooked up an easy chicken and vegetables stir-fry with sweet Chili Thai teriyaki sauce, and brown rice. I personally prefer brown rice to white rice not only for its superior nutritional value but its textural appeal as well. Brown Jasmine rice is the best. Okay, enough about rice. [That's Jess and Emily with their stir-fry.]

Our second dinner date, I cooked up a simple homemade Bolognese sauce with whole wheat spaghetti. Emily put together a lovely salad tossed with her Grandma’s recipe of balsamic vinaigrette. And you can’t forget some super-garlic butter on whole wheat French bread. Good, simple comfort food. (Sorry, no pictures from this date.) The week after that Jess was craving some Chinese take-out, so we went to this place down the street from our apartment on 4th called Hong Kong Restaurant. We ordered some fried wontons as appetizers, chow mein with pork, sweet and sour pork, Schezuan tofu. I am personally not big fans of the typical chow mein and sweet and sour pork dishes so I was really hoping that the tofu dish would do it for me. Although the sauce complimenting the tofu was flavorful, I was disappointed that they used friend tofu instead of the firm or silken tofu. My favorite part of the meals was the green tea mochis (yes, I know they’re Japanese but they are so delightful)—so good!

The following week, we were still in a take-out mood, so we called up Bronx Pizza and ordered for a pick-up. After about half an hour, we walked down to Washington and picked up our entire pie for a mere $15, and it was plenty for us three gals. The New York-style pizza was thin and slightly crusty. We ordered half eggplant and red roasted pepper, and half artichokes and sausage—very good choices, indeed. My personal recommendations for pizza places around San Diego would be Bronx in Hillcrest and Hoboken in Pacific Beach. Both are New York-style so if next time you’re in the mood for some pizza I would suggest trying those instead of the more familiar, usual delivery places. Mr. Tall is a pizza enthusiast. We like to call in and order an entire pie for pick-up. We had traveled to NYC last spring and there is definitely no comparison to the real thing, but Bronx and Hoboken get pretty damn close.

Anyway, back to the dinner club: on our next date, we decided to make it a fiesta! Literally. Emily cooked up some chicken soft tacos with all the fixin’s. Ever since Sun God, my guacamole has gotten some rave reviews even though it’s the easiest thing to throw together—no cooking involved. My secret ingredient is Tapatio and lots of fresh lime juice. If you know me, you know that I pretty much pour hot sauce and chili on practically every savory dishes. But definitely the best part was Jess’s green alligator piñata filled with candy goodness. Our predicament was that we had nowhere to hang up the piñata. But being the smart cookies that we all are, we improvised, and decided to the just toss the damn thing and hit it like a huge baseball. It turned out to be so much fun! We had some awesome pictures from that night, but Emily’s camera got screwed up and lost all of the pictures. That was a big disappointment.

Just as I thought things were going well for our dinner club, they just got even better! For the past Tuesday, Jess came up with the idea to make crepes! We found the recipe online:

4 eggs * 1 cup of flour * 1/2 cup of milk * 1/2 cup of water * 1/2 teaspoon of salt * 2 tablespoons of melted butter [recipe makes about 12-14 crepes]

We blended all the ingredients in a blender, which made for very easy pouring and clean-up. It was so simple and enjoyable. We didn't have a fancy crepe pan but our frying pan worked just fine. For our savory crepes, we filled them with sautéed button mushrooms with peppered smoked turkey and cheese.

For our sweet crepes, we had, what else, but Nutella! Well, aside from Nutella, we filled them with raspberries and sliced banana. Nutella is probably one of the best food inventions ever. I love it. Jess had brought over the film "The Triplets of Belleville," but we were not in the mood to watch it. The one thing we’re always in the mood for was "Sex & The City." We figured we’d watch the last season when Carrie is wooed to France to go with our Parisian dinner theme.

I must add that the best addition to our dinner dates is definitely the music. I love cooking with some really good background music. I really think music enhances the whole culinary experience. I have so many more good eats to share with you so I think I might have to start posting twice a week to catch up with the materials I’ve collected so far. More foodies to come later this week!

Enjoy,
Little Miss

Wedding Weekend

2006-10-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

Apparently, sitting on my bum all day at the office is quite exhausting. I come home and cannot get myself to write a first real post. But I have mustered enough energy and motivation today to share some of my recent culinary activities.

This weekend Mr. Tall came up with the genius idea to make beer can chicken and mashed potatoes. Since we were only cooking for two, we got a young chicken (I know that might not sound to appetizing but it’s really just a small chicken). Slapped on some salt, pepper, and herbs, sat that baby down on a half-full can of PBR and popped it in the oven for over an hour. And voila, we had ourselves one of the juiciest roasted chicken I have ever had!

It was our second time cooking it and I must admit we most definitely did better. As our side dish, we made mashed potatoes with a potato ricer I had purchased from Crate&Barrel.

I don’t know if it’s just because I’m Asian, but this was the first time I had ever made mashed potatoes from scratch. Let’s just say the potatoes ricer made the process pretty fun … and would you like some butter with those potatoes?

On Saturday evening, Mr. Tall, against his will, and I met up with Andrea and Erika, and their plus ones to drive up to Pomona to attend a wedding. If you know me, you know that I was looking forward to the food and, more importantly, the cake. Both the ceremony and the reception were at a church. The ceremony was beyond spiritual to say the least. And the only thing I can say about the reception was that, to my disappointment, it was dry and there was no dancing. The cake was lovely but nothing spectacular. It was what Andrea and I called "Asian Cake." If you're Asian, you know what I'm talking about.

I blame "The Food Network Caters Your Wedding" for hyping up the culinary importance in nuptials for me. Mr. Tall knows that if and when I get married, my priority is to have a cake that not only looks but tastes to-die-for. And, of course, really good food, open bar, a rockin’ DJ/band—basically, a kickass party … How did this paragraph evolve into my wedding plans? Screw marriage, I’m just going to have a life partner, like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. I kid, I kid … Well, perhaps.

Nonetheless, the best part about the occasion was the Brown Eyed PEAS reunion. Parada, Erika, Andrea and Spencer (get it?) finally reunited and here is a picture from the reception for us all to reminisce … after our glory days at UCSD. One of my favorite restaurants in San Diego is undeniably Mama Testa in Hillcrest. Mr. Tall had discovered the restaurant while searching for an authentic Mexican joint while his dad was in town. Since then we have been devoted to Mama Testa for nearly a year now. They serve every sort of tacos in every way unimaginable by the average San Diego patrons. For most who are familiar with offerings at burrito shops or Mexi-Cali restaurants, Mama Testa is like no other. Here is their website if you’d like to check it out: www.mamatestataqueria.com. Mr. Tall and I stopped by there the past Sunday, but I was too starved to take any pictures. But, no worries, we will definitely make another trip there soon so look out for that in the near future.

Coming up: The 7, 8, 9 Dinner Club!

Enjoy,
Little Miss

First Taste

2006-10-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

Testing ... One, two, three ... Little Miss Contrary's Culinary Adventures--coming soon!