Ever notice how some of the most scrumptious little food spots are tucked away in some obscure spot? The best food always is.
We have been hitting this spot known simply as “The Grill” for years. Brothers Henry and Edwin Bautista and their crew do a fabulous job at packing the parking lot of a tiny strip mall behind the Sorrento Valley Coaster station. Good luck trying to get to it and our favorite coffee shop, Zumbar. And you know what? It pleases me to no end that the difficulty of successfully navigating your arrival to this place is directly proportional to the deliciousness of these two joints. That’s how The Universe of Great Food works. I figure that only really interested people will try to find their way here… consider it equivalent to buried truffle that only the most persistent dogs and pigs can locate.
On Wednesdays, The Grill serves a home made Albondigas Soup- Mexican Meatball Soup. They make a mean bowl of Albondigas and if I’m eating lunch with The Husband on a Wednesday, this is our spot. I love soup.
But I’m also the knucklehead who, back in January, announced that I would be doing something new every day in 2015. So, instead of my favorite soup I tried a different dish off the specials board- “Forest Mushroom Ravioli with Homemade Pesto.” The pasta was great, not blown out with over cooking. The ravioli’s stuffing is just right for the amount of pasta and full of a really lovely minced portobello mushroom. Homemade pesto took the stage, however, and I’ve enjoyed enough good pesto over the years that I could tell that they weren’t using pine nuts, but for the life of me, couldn’t tell what they used instead. Henry is nice- he didn’t torture me by withholding the info- he shared the almond secret. It would have driven me nuts trying to figure it out (ha- nuts… see what I did? LOL!)
Really, I can’t say how glad I am that I’m sticking to trying new things. I can’t tell if it has been more rewarding or more delicious… maybe both? There is still a lot more to 2015. Here’s to rut-busting!
branching out... on a limb 