San Diego – Page 13 – 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.

San Diego Earthworks- Earth Fair in Balboa Park…

San Diego Earthworks and 400 volunteers held the San Diego Earth Fair in Balboa Park with sights, smells, and spirituality on display today. I wouldn’t doubt the numbers that are said to attend- upwards of 50-70,000 people are estimated.

A view of the crowds... — A view of the crowds…

Grilled burgers and chicken sandwiches and we omnivores were outnumbered by the great vegetarian fare to be had everywhere. At the south end of the park, food vendors were cranking out the treats with some nice music to be heard while you eat- some good folk rock tunes.

I was hoping for more concrete information to be shared by vendors and city agencies. I’d like to know more about water conservation in our very thirsty, very dry state but I found very few of the 300 the booths were of this type. There were more hemp products and shea butter lotions than you could shake a didgeridoo at, many different Eastern religions and philosophies ready to share their beliefs of love and respect, but they greatly outnumbered the booths with active answers. There were some… but nowhere near as many as I hoped there would be. Show me real products that are sustainably produced, give me real statistics how America’s Finest City is doing well, and where we can improve. How can businesses and neighborhoods become more involved? I just couldn’t find these booths.

Once section was dedicated to vendors and educators working with recycled materials- way to go, folks, there were some really nice succulent planters for sale made from repurposed fencing wood. The blog “Cool San Diego Sights” got a photo of this booth, and a couple others that I missed but would have like to see- the Urban Farming activists and the Gleaning Queens in particular are two that I am really disappointed to have missed. Please read about The Glean Queens and ProduceGood.org on Richard’s blog Cool San Diego Sights!

There were alternative cars displayed, from hybrids and electrics to this nifty three wheeler- “an enclosed, soft-sided motorcycle” was one passing comment I overheard.

I didn’t get any photos (kicking myself) as we stood in a short line to enter and ask questions of a Tiny House owner who brought her home for all to see. She shared how she uses her composting toilet, altered a livestock watering tub to use as a shower, and how she used a hand-powered washing device for laundry. “It’s like a giant salad spinner and uses only two gallons of water to wash and rinse,” she explained to a couple of kids. She let one of them scamper onto her counter to access stairs to her loft- his big smile and wide eyes showed how much he liked being allowed to climb on the counter.

An Earth Day festival is usually associated with a lot of smaller movements all coming together to share information about themselves, but I think vendors and public organizations also miss a huge opportunity to educate a large number of people in what we all share- responsibility.

"Our own little bit of L.A." said The Husband — “Our own little bit of L.A.” said The Husband

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.

Desert View Tower and The Old Plank Road

Disgusted that she has to climb up steps. — Disgusted Mom.

I drove my mom to see her mother on Friday. Gramma is fading fast. We stopped along the way to visit a viewpoint that I have meant to stop at each time I drive across the desert to see my grandparents. A very short drive off of Interstate 8, following In-Ko-Pah Park Road is the Desert View Tower. There are caves to explore there, too, but I was lucky to talk The Mom into climbing up the steps to the viewtower. If it resembles hiking or walking that requires any effort, she would rather sit in the car and read her paperback- she never leaves home without a paperback, no sir-ee!

Really... I can't make this stuff up. — Really… I can’t make this stuff up.

We almost didn’t get out of the car, either- not because of desert heat, it was a beautiful 65 degrees with a light wind. We were just too engrossed with trying to send each other baby whale texts. We stink. We don’t make good teen-aged girls.

While in the viewtower shop I found an article written about the Old Plank Road that used to exist between Yuma and San Diego. My gramma told us how she had traveled on that plank road, and how it felt like it took forever with her brother annoying her along the route and their father changing a tire every ten to twenty miles of travel.

Article about the Old Plank Road... — Article about the Old Plank Road…

Can you imagine? She says that over the years tourists took away most the planks after better roads were built, and eventually “the hippies and hobos” used up almost all of the rest to make campfires. Only a small portion remains as a protected landmark, that you can read about here at DesertUSA.com, or if you have good enough zoom capabilities on a desktop computer, click on this photo on the right.

Gramma is very tired, and only sleeping lately. I bet she is a tired as she was while traveling across that Old Plank Road, but at the end of this journey, her father, mother and brother are waiting for her. Safe and blessed travels to you, Betty Gene!

Loquats from Richard (if that is his real name)

I met Richard when we lived in Indianapolis, when he was on a business trip to work with The Husband. A Chinese native, he said we should just use his American name, “Richard.” I remember joking, “Richard, huh. If that is your real name…” and this is how we have referred to him ever since.

Richard (if that is his real name) has a loquat tree, like just about every Chinese person in my neighborhood. They grow like weeds in the San Diego area. I didn’t know these were loquat trees until last week, when he sent some home for us to try, with me saying “So THAT’S what all those trees are.”

Does one peel a loquat? — Does one even peel a loquat?

Big, honkin', deadly, seeds, one to four per fruit — Big, honkin’, deadly, seeds, one to four per fruit

We were brave enough to try these tonight, after looking up a little info online. I stumbled onto Lisa Rawlinson’s blog Full and Content, where she has a boatload of information and recipes about loquats. Some of it is pretty funny… I like her sense of humor. That’s where I read about arsenic in the seeds. I’m surprised The Boy tried a loquat after learning this fact. A little further investigation on the Purdue Extension website, explained the amount is not enough to cause concern. But I didn’t tell him… a mom gets to have fun scaring her kid occasionally, and he’s getting harder to bluff. Teens can be pretty skeptical, sheesh.

Photo from blog Full and Content- click to go to the post about Loquats... — Photo from blog Full and Content- click to go to the post about Loquats…

This usually never happens, but all three of us liked these. We decided to peel them- no blanching, no problem, the peel slipped right off. We decided that loquats taste almost exactly like pears, with similar texture even. I wonder if they would be good in smoothies? That’s what I’m making everyone eat for breakfast tomorrow since I have too many over ripe bananas occupying valuable space in the freezer. No loquat seeds will be added, I promise.

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