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San Diego, and since San Diego is only a two hour drive from my house, it was easy for me to visit him. I met D in Alhambra on a Thursday morning at Baccali Cafe & Rotisserie in Alhambra. D had come up to L.A. the evening before and stayed with an old friend of his from HK. The basic plan was I would eventually drive him back to base in San Diego after all our fun and games were over. Eating at Baccali immediately reminded me of all the early morning breakfasts D and I would share at Chi Cafe here in Chicago. Good memories :) From what D's friend, MM, told me, Baccali Cafe was a popular place for breakfast and late night dining. What I Ate  1. Congee. My apologies, I don't remember exactly what was in it. I do, however, remember that it was hot, good, satisfying, and I pretty much polished off the whole bowl.  2. Chow Mein. I loved the thin, fried noodles. So did my friends who helped themselves to generous portions of the dish! I also tried a half and half beverage consisting of milk tea and coffee, as recommended by my buddy, D. It was good. I don't remember exactly how much the cost was. (It seems I can't remember anything!) I can tell you that it wasn't all that much. The cost must've been something like 7 USD for everything I ate. What a deal, huh? MM paid for our meal and he shelled out like 20 USD for the three of us. I love HK-style breakfasts :) Parking: Baccali Cafe & Rotisserie shares a parking lot with a neighboring business. Pay attention to the signs posted. I would imagine the lot gets crowded during busy periods, but there are streets nearby that you can park on if you have to. My Rating:  out
of four stars (good). Baccali is open Sunday to Thursday, 8 AM to 1 AM,
and Friday and Saturday, 8 AM to 2 AM. Credit cards accepted. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
After breakfast, D, MM, and I headed over to Westfield Santa Anita to kill some time before MM had to go to work. We shopped around for an iPhone case for myself and for some girly products at The Body Shop. (What? We like to have healthy, well-hydrated skin like everyone else.) Once we took care of these things, D and I bid adieu to MM and then we began to drive south towards San Diego. On the way, I needed to buy some gifts for friends at Knotts Berry Farm and Downtown Disney, both of which are just off the 5 Freeway. At Downtown Disney, I was surprised to discover a renowned sandwich shoppe that I had eaten at before: Earl of Sandwich! I thought to myself, "What luck!" I just had to have an Original and I persuaded D to get one, too. What We Ate  The Original 1762 (6.99 USD): Freshly roasted beef, sharp Cheddar, creamy horseradish sauce. I am sorry to say that I was a bit disappointed with the sandwich I had that day. It was good, yet it didn't match the one I had at the Las Vegas location. The sandwich didn't quite come together into a magical whole. Maybe it was due to the high volume of customers at Downtown Disney, leading to a decline in quality? I have no idea. It just wasn't the same and in my opinion, a crucial element that either makes or breaks a chain restaurant is consistency of product across all stores. D was also underwhelmed, especially after I had talked up the sandwich so much to him. My bad. The Bill: 19.35 USD. My Rating: out
of four stars (good). Open for business Sunday to Thursday, 8 AM to 11
PM, and Friday and Saturday, 8 AM to Midnight. Credit cards accepted. www.earlofsandwichusa.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
D and I finally drove down to San Diego on I-5. Quite predictable, the traffic was murder. It didn't help that we left at what probably was the worst time - during rush hour. Actually, the tortuous drive reminded me of the time I went down to SD with The Original P, when we ate at Five Guys in Hillcrest. When we reached San Diego, I think both of us were pretty worn out. Therefore, some good comfort food was in order. From my days living in the area, I remembered Mitsuwa Marketplace and the food court there, so I decided to take D there for some quick, delicious, and cheap Japanese food at Kayaba. What I Ate  Katsu Don (7.50 USD): Rice bowl with katsu, onions, and egg. Served with miso soup and pickled Japanese vegetables. This rice bowl hit the spot for me. I especially liked the pickled vegetables, which cut through a lot of the richness of the katsu, egg, onion, and soy-dressed rice combination. Here's a closeup of the katsu don for you:  Really good food at an amazing price! Parking: Plenty of it in the shopping center's fair-sized lot. The Bill: 8.08 USD. My Rating: out
of four stars (good). I imagine the restaurant must be open whenever
the supermarket is open, lunchtime and dinnertime for sure. Call for
hours. I believe it's CASH ONLY here. www.mitsuwa.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our final stop, before I returned D to his base, was Extraordinary Desserts, located in the Little Italy neighborhood of San Diego.  The first time I came here was with a couple - now happily married - as part of a hare-brained California Burrito run to Super Sergio's over in Kearny Mesa. Extraordinary Desserts is run by Karen Krasne, a Cordon Bleu alum, and it's become a San Diego standby and favorite. The location in Little Italy is always busy with tons of patrons and for good reason: the desserts are extraordinary! Check out the display case:  Too sexy. What We Ate  1. Extraordinary Carrot Cake (7.95 USD): Carrots, of course! Golden raisins, orange zest, chunks of pineapple, walnuts, and coconut are enveloped with a light cream cheese mousse. Light, nutty, and intensely full of flavor. This carrot cake was moist, flavorful, and paired well with the sauces on the plate. I must say that it comes really close to beating my own recipe for carrot cake, but not quite, heh heh. I think I have the best recipe out there, by the way. I'm still ambivalent about Krasne's use of flowers in her cakes. I think they're more of a distraction than an inspired addition.  2. Torta Misu: Espresso soaked ricotta cake layers and Italian mascarpone rum cream finished with fresh whipped cream and dusted with cocoa powder. This was D's order. I didn't try any because my stomach was past full at this point, however, I must say that the cake looked like a definite winner. Parking: Metered street parking. I think parking in the evening doesn't cost anything. I didn't have to feed the meter. The Bill: 17.13 USD. My Rating:  out
of four stars (very good to excellent). Karen Krasne & Co. make
some pretty damn good cake! Extraordinary Desserts in San Diego's
Little Italy is open Monday to Thursday, 8:30 AM to 11 PM, Friday, 8:30
AM to Midnight, Saturday, 10 AM to Midnight, and Sunday, 10 AM to 11
PM. Credit cards accepted. www.extraordinarydesserts.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, that was my whole day with D - foodwise, that is. After cake at Extraordinary Desserts, I drove him a hop-and-a-skip down to 32nd Street. I was sad to say goodbye and see him walk towards the front gate in the dark. D, I miss you. Happy sailing and God bless you until you return from your deployment :) The Last Word ... Next time on Woo!Food, some eats from my time back home that I forgot about.  blog comments powered by Disqus |
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