restaurants – Page 5 – branching out… on a limb

Classic Cocktails: The Sazerac

I like my wines. I know wine, have enjoyed wine in France and local wine from every area of the country that we have inhabited. Red or white, call me a… what’s the word for a wine-lover? An oenophile. Yep, that’s me.

I thought I didn’t like beer, until I realized that it is the hops that I don’t care for… lucky me, hop-happy San Diego will help me avoid swilling too many beer calories, or so I thought until I discovered Ballast Point Oatmeal Stout on nitrogen. Mamacita, is that a fabulous quaff!

Croce's Park West on 5th Ave San Diego — Croce’s Park West on 5th Ave San Diego

Now I want to try classic mixed drinks. Last Friday I tried a Gimlet, and loved it. This Friday I tried a drink that I had never even heard of- the Sazerac. And wouldn’t you know it, the couple sitting in the booth next to us knew all about this drink and its origins. The Sazerac company has a pretty good summary, too, click to read if you are so inclined. It’s birthday celebration time for me, so, off we went to what we have decided is our favorite restaurant and bar- Croce’s Park West.

A classic modern Sazerac has rye whiskey, bitters and absinthe. The drink was SMOOOOOOTH! “The Guthrie,” Croce’s version of a Sazerac, was so nice that I went from complete ignorance to complete fan after one serving.

photo from SeriousEats.com (click to link)

Here’s a great post on SeriousEats.com- “25 Cocktails Everyone Should Know”

This is going to be the list from which I will be choosing new drinks to try!

I don’t know what is worse: I haven’t even heard of half of them, or I have only tried about 7 of the 25.

Time to get drinking.

“Sleepless in Seattle,” meet Sick in Spokane -or-Photography First, Misery Follows

New restaurant last night in a phenomenal setting. Went to the Steam Plant in Spokane with The Boyfriend’s family.

Nutshell- it was great, but to me, even better than the food was the interior and the photo opportunities it provided.

Got back to hotel. Went downhill. Fast. Probably food poisoning, is my best guess. NOT from the Steam Plant. Twelve hours later, I think I can be a human being again instead of a wretched being

No details of the great food and even better company, I’ll just share the photos and the good news that I feel good enough to pound this out. Spokane wasn’t very nice to me on my first visit, but I won’t take it personally.

**UPDATE ** I did want to share a few observations on the food at The Steam Plant. Three of us had the steaks (from a nearby farm, I was told) and they were all a nice size (read: not huge), with a mixed fresh, sautéed vegetable and mashed potatoes. All of it was very nice. I didn’t care for the smokiness of the mushroom sauce on my steak in that it was too… smoky. If you like smokey flavors, smoked cheese or the like, then I’d recommend it since it really was a well flavored pan sauce. I think the winner may have been the buffalo meatloaf that The husband had! wow! That was delicious! It had house made ketchuppy type of sauce on top with a bit of a spicy kick to it, and was really tasty.

Everyone liked their craft beers, too, and I only downed half my stout so I can’t blame my stomach ills on too much drink… despite the fact that the mom of The Boyfriend and I are ready to drink at the thought of our oldest so going off to college together.

Be Flexible- It Could Mean You Get Korean BBQ!

Tonight I had The Family all ready ~~to be forced~~ to come along with me to eat at the vegan restaurant that I tried last month, The Loving Hut.

It was closed. The Boy fairly rejoiced.

He was positively elated when we decided to try the Korean BBQ place nearby. “Because, MEAT, Mom!” was his reason. Actually, this is a restaurant we had been wanting to try for about five years. Sometimes it is hard to get out of your sushi rut, you know?

About eight side dishes... — About eight side dishes…

Shozen Korean BBQ was really delicious, with very helpful servers who are ready to offer all the aid newbies like us need… so we understand what we are doing… so we don’t burn down the joint cooking the bacon. Yes, that is bacon on the meat platter!

The meats we had cooking were brisket, rib eye, tongue (delicious!), chicken, and uncured, unsmoked bacon… and maybe some more. I can’t remember. I’m still in a meat coma. Even though I ate all my salad, the rice, and nearly my entire bowl of Korean Miso soup, that was still a lot of meat. Korean Miso soup at Shozen has several vegetables, meat and large tofu chunks. The miso base was different than Japanese miso soup, too. I wonder if they use red miso? Or maybe miso without the dashi stock? I’ve got to ask someone now… I dig on international foods and their ingredients, if you can’t tell.

The other side dishes included a bean sprout salad, scallion pancakes, broccoli and tofu, kimchi, a cabbage and carrot salad, potato salad (that one surprised me), and a rocking green salad with a home made dressing- spicy, but incredibly delicious. Shozen also has a couple of dipping sauces for your meats, a soy sauce/jalepeño sauce and another of sesame oil with salt and pepper. Both added a nice dash of flavor to the meats that cook on the table top right in front of you.

Shozen Korean BBQ- I highly recommend it.

Missing Friends but Still Eating the Tacos!

Be warned: if you make dinner plans with me and our get-together falls through, I’m still going to go out for that dinner. Especially if tacos are involved.

The smartest (and nicest) people work at El Ranchito

Tonight I learned a new word in Spanish- “antojitos” are “little cravings,” and the word is generally associated with street food snacks. I like how Wiki jives with the exact same thing that the cashier told me. El Ranchito hires the best people as food guides, I tell you.

Antojitos are on their menu, and it comes as two little enchiladas and four small tacos- two each of potatoes and beans, a lot of shredded cabbage, salsa and cream on top to stuff in your tacos. I honestly think that El Ranchito is hands down the best Mexican food in the county!

Boba Tea at a New Thai Shop- Crowded for a Reason

At noon on Wednesday and The Husband and I were near the same neighborhood at the same time so we met at a new-ish spot for lunch. Handy, since I hadn’t decided what new adventure to have for the day. He’s rather accommodating if food is involved.

I really do have a list of things to try or do. I started compiling ideas last summer, probably grumpy after cancelling my plans to do one thing or another… boo hoo, poor me. My pity party got the crabbiness out of my system, and soon grew into the largest note on my phone logging all kinds of various things I have been meaning to do or try, but never seemed to get around to actually doing. I also decided to do what every other person between the age of 10 and 90 seems to have done with any half-baked idea…

I put it into a blog.

Boba Tea- see the big ol' tapioca globs? — Boba Tea- see the big ol’ tapioca globs?

Back to Sab-E-Lee and their Boba Tea-

Know anything about boba tea? All I knew was we see shops selling it everywhere, with the necessary wide straw to suck up the large tapioca pearls that make this such a unique drink. The Husband reported trying it once and that he didn’t like it. I did.

Keep in mind that I like tapioca. Why do people hate on tapioca? Boba tea is kind of like a sweet, iced latte, but with a strong tea instead. I can see why kids like this drink- it is highly interactive what with playing with the super wide straw to suck up the huge tapioca pearls. Interesting note- The Husband admitted that this was much better than the last boba tea he tried, he drank half of it.

Why did he drink half of my milky tea? Because, Sab-E-Lee serves its food HOT! When ordering, you specify the heat level, 1-10. His Drunken Noodles were requested at level #3. This half-Mexican loved his lunch, but admitted that next visit he will drop to a #2. The couple at the next table and the server all confirmed that Sab-E-Lee is one of the hotter places to get your chili pepper fix in San Diego.

Sab-E-Lee was packed at noon, and for a good reason. I ordered Pad-See-Ewe with shrimp (#0!), and I loved it. Big, fat, rice noodles, stir fried with egg, Chinese broccoli, other vegetables and a delicious sauce. Mine was so good, I didn’t even try any of The Husband’s food. He reports that the Drunken Noodles were fabulous.

We will be back.

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