San Diego Food

Anh and I went to visit one of the only Russian/Ukranian places we’ve been to in San Diego.  The other that has similar food (to us at least) is Pomegranate.  The decor inside is very interesting and there’s a ton of little random nick nacks scattered throughout.  It does sort of feel like a village house even though I by no means am the authority on Kalina village houses.  If anything the different furniture and tables make you feel homey and welcome.

With so many different items on the menu we couldn’t pronounce we asked our waitress and this is what we got!

It may sound like this is our first time here but we had been before and we always get the Ukranian borscht.  Neither Anh or I are fans of beets but for whatever reason they know how to stew them and make them taste good.  On a whim we got it our first time and it makes it into our bellies every time we visit.  Something of this color would probably get Blade very excited but to us humans, it isn’t the most appetizing looking.  But fear not, there are recognizable chunks of beef underneath and the first bite will send you to beet heaven.  The cream on top also adds a nice touch and mixed in with the herby goodness makes it even better.

You can get rice or pasta with main entrees so we got one of each.  The rice itself is actually sweet and if you aren’t one to mix sweet and savory then I suggest getting the pasta.  I enjoy eating the rice on its own since it is so sweet and seems to overpower whatever I’m eating with it.  The pasta is just plain old pasta, unseasoned, which is perfectly fine because the entrees are all very bold and strong on their own.

With the rice we ordered the zharkoe which is a beef stew with onions, carrots, and prunes.  This too was a little sweet, but not over the top.  The meat was tender and paired with the pasta tasted good.  The little sweetness for me is enough for my internal meter to get out of whack.  If that sweetness was replaced with a little bit of salt and spice I’d be set.

The second entree we ordered was the chakhokbili which had chicken, tomatoes, onions, basil, mint, and a ton of other herbs.  Super aromatic!  Wow.  There’s nothing better than fresh herbs and spices complimenting a dish.  The use of all of these herbs for me was borderline offensive.  It’s like they wanted to slap me in the face with them and really show you they know how to infuse those herbs into the chicken…a little too well.  Was it a little much?  Maybe.  But the chicken fell right off the bone and perhaps my palette is not trained to appreciate such a powerful combination of herbs busting its way into my mouth.  Even though the chicken may not have been my favorite, it’s always an experience going here and there are plenty of other items to choose from that I’m sure any food person would appreciate.

The Village House Kalina
8302 Parkway Dr.
La Mesa, CA 91942
(619) 461-1100

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Hello peoples!  Ever been to a pubcrawl but wanted food served along the way?  Well is there a treat for you coming your way next Tuesday, May 7.  Dishcrawl!  The same concept of a pubcrawl except its focus is food!  Dishcrawl is relatively new in San Diego and Lindsay is the brave soul responsible for planning and organizing this event in North Park.  She has plans for many more events so stay tuned for those.  Dishcrawl started in the bay area and has expanded to many different cities across the country.  Lucky for us we get to experience it as well.

There are four restaurants featured on the Dishcrawl and they are slowly revealed as the date approaches.  So far the first two have been unveiled: Sea Rocket Bistro and Swoon Dessert Bar.  This differs from a Taste of event in that it is much smaller and more intimate.  There’s going to be a limited number of people because the restaurants have to cater to everyone at the same time.  But it will give each restaurant a chance to showcase their signature items and the chefs an opportunity to interact with the guests a bit.  Everyone meets at the first location and they move onto the next until bellies are full to the brim!

Tickets are $45 pp and can be purchased here: http://dishcrawl.com/sdnorthpark/  Check Twitter and Facebook for more updates on the last two locations.

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It twas a random San Diego weekend, and not a person was stirring.  But Anh and I decided to go on a picnic to relive our Promiscuous Fork memories.

Bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers.  Could I make this at home?  Yes, did I want to? No.  It tasted just fine sitting near the ocean with popper skewer in one hand, and Anh’s hand in the other.  Fairly spicy but not unbearable.

But we came for the sandwiches!  Awww yes, the best damn chicken sandwich is a permanent menu item now!  It tasted close to how I remembered and I thank them for it daily.   From the perfectly grilled chicken, to the crispy bacon, and the cheese and ….. it should be called a sandbliss.  They didn’t quite match the first time we had it.  But that is a tough feat to accomplish and even though it wasn’t as perfect as the first time, doesn’t mean we’re going to stop coming back.  

Anh’s crab/pastrami melt is not far behind and aims to please.  The first time it was good, but a distant second for me compared to the chicken sandwich.  This time the flavors came together better and seemed a little more polished.  Both are great choices!

The Promiscuous Fork
6984 La Jolla Blvd.
La Jolla, CA 92037
(858) 454-3663

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You may have heard that Lay’s has three special flavored potato chips, being sparsely dispersed at local drug stores or markets.  I’ve actually tried to get a hold of these over the last few weeks and finally found the last flavor the other day.  I don’t even like potato chips that much, but the different flavors and challenge of finding them kept me going.  The three flavors are chicken and waffles, cheesy garlic bread, and sriracha.

These three flavors are going to be available for a limited time.  I think they will stop selling them sometime in May.  You have a chance to vote for your favorite flavor and whichever one has the most votes will be included in normal production and will be available just like the rest of the Lay’s flavors.  The other two will presumably disappear, never to be seen again.  I think I found my first sriracha bag at the Ralph’s in Mission Valley.  The sriracha was easier to find for Anh and I.  She was able to pick a few up at Stater Brothers.  We happened to be in a CVS and found the cheesy garlic bread.  And last the chicken and waffles were at a Vons.  They don’t always have them and I think they are purposely releasing a small quantity at a time to try and keep the buzz up as much as possible.

Where to begin.  I’ll start from left to right.  Ah the garlic cheesy bread!  The aroma of the garlic cheesy bread is spot on.  But I couldn’t help but think of cold, stale garlic cheesy bread when I took a whiff.  The taste itself is a lot less potent than the smell.  I actually was disgusted of the smell and started to conjure up images of moldy cheese.  The taste itself is not distinct enough for me to want to try it more than once and I don’t want to have to hold my breathe either to enjoy what I’m eating.

Now I was excited about the chicken and waffles.  Mostly because I miss Roscoe’s in LA and it was the hardest to get my hands on.  The smell is that of maple syrup.  I couldn’t really detect any fried chicken smell.  When you first put it in your mouth and started chewing you get hints of fried chicken, but shortly after you get a sweet sensation followed by a slight chicken/herbal/spice aftertaste.  I’m not one to mix my savory and sweet.  I do love my chicken and waffles, but prefer to eat the chicken first and then the waffles.  Maybe that means I don’t really like chicken and waffles.  I just like chicken and I like waffles.  Details details details…  As far as the chips go, again I don’t think I’d go out of my way to get these on the regular.

Last up is the sriracha.  I enjoy my sriracha sauce with different dishes but I don’t put it on chips like the person that offered up this idea to Lay’s did as a child.  First impression is it’s a little more tangy and vinegary than the sauce version.  You get a spicy aftertaste but not too much.  All in all, I quite enjoy them.  They’re unique enough to warrant a purchase every now and then and not so off putting like the other two.  So there you have it.  My winner is the sriracha.  Try them for yourself and let us know your favorite!

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Last week Michael and I tried a new place in North Park out called Heat Bar and Kitchen.  We went around 6:30pm on a Thursday and there were folks that started trickling in.  They have a small outside area on the side you can eat on a nice day and the inside is simple but clean.  They definitely are sticking with their heat color scheme throughout.

The menu is very simple and they don’t clutter it up with unnecessary items that confuse the eater.  We were provided warm bread to start with which is always welcomed for hungry hungry cousins.  

We started off with Suzie’s Frito Misto.  We should have known better but this did not come with calimari.  I don’t think either of us bothered to pay close attention.  In any case, these deep fried veggies were pretty good.  They were fried quite well and were crisp and juicy.  I’m assuming they came from Suzie’s Farm or someone named Suzie was lucky enough to have the dish named after her.  I think we got broccoli, broccolini, carrots, and mushrooms in the mix.  The sauce was creamy and contained cilantro.

We also got the Daily Crudo which was prepared with local rock fish, dried coconut, pomegranete, blood orange, and a jelly of some sort.  There was a decent sized portion of fish here which usually isn’t a bad thing.  I would have liked a little more acid provided by a few more slices of  blood orange.  The fish was a little fishy but other than that it was super light and fresh.

The amount of chicken in the Thyme Roasted Chicken was no joke.  I was only able to eat about half of it.  The other side that you can’t see very well in this picture are mashed potatoes and a salad.  The chicken itself was very moist and flavorful.  One of my favorites of the night.

[Michael here...] I got the churasco steak which was cooked perfectly medium rare (just as requested).  Overall it was quite good, but it would have been exceptional if there were a little more flavor from the meat or chimichurri.  The portion size was decent and the plating was nice.  I polished off the entire dish and didn’t go home hungry.  :-)

I ordered the Smoked 70% Dark Chocolate which was exactly like smores.  I wasn’t expecting the marshmallow to be so gooey and thin.  It actually surprisingly overpowered the chocolate at first.  But a few bites in, with the graham crumble mixed in, the balance I was looking for was there.  Oh yeah, and I can’t forget to mention the smokey aspect which permeates in the aftertaste and beyond.

[Michael here again...]  I ordered up the poached anjou pear with rice pudding.  I really enjoyed this dessert.  The pear was poached perfectly and wasn’t too sweet.  The natural acidity of the pear balanced perfectly with the sweeter rice pudding.  The pudding was a nice creamy consistency, but not too heavy.  And again, the presentation was great!

Heat Bar and Kitchen treated us well and was a great first experience.  The place was packed when we left around 8pm and everyone seemed to be having a good ole time.  One of the owners stopped by our table to say hi and the servers were friendly.  The last thing to note are the prices which are very reasonable for dinner.  A few days before, Michael and I went to The Great Maple which isn’t very far from Heat and we almost had a heart attack looking at the lunch menu pricing.  So if you happen to be wondering which is a better deal out of two new establishments, look no further than Heat Bar and Kitchen.  Special thanks to Stephen over at Alt Strategies for making the arrangements.

Heat Bar and Kitchen
3797 Park Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92103

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