FOODIE FRIDAYS: Hot Rods and Duck Confit

During the Summer hot rods and woodies invade Encinitas every 3rd Thursday.  There's surf music playing, tons of cool classic cars, and when you're done there's plenty of great places to eat.  Sounds better than staying home and watching Wheel of Fortune, doesn't it?  Time to hit up Third Corner, a wine bar/retail wines store/bistro restaurant.

When I go out I like to get stuff that I can't do better at home.  Duck confit is one of them.  Man oh man, the crispy duck skin, the tender succulent meat, the so-hot-I-burned-the-top-of-my-mouth beans with sausage, the only thing that made this not as good as Paris was the lack of frites on the side.  Wait, what are you going to order?  Yes, yes, good choice!

My wonderful wife ordered the mussels and frites, another Paris memory and done up great at Third Corner.  May I please have a fry?  Oh wow, nice and crispy, I would come here just for the fries.  I love fries, in case you didn't catch that.

Both entrees were fantastic and fairly priced - around $16 for each one.  Plus you can check out the wine store and for $5 they open any bottle for you.  A bottle of La Crema Chardonnay is $17.50, plus $5 for corkage, making it way cheaper than getting wine by the glass.  What does The Brigantine charge for a tiny glass of La Crema?  $9?  Get real!

After dinner there's nothing better than a walk on the beach, and that's just what we did.


NEXT UP:  SUNNY SUNDAYS, PICS FROM AROUND SAN DIEGO

WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY: Encinitas Boat Houses

What in the world? On 3rd Street in Encinitas you'll find one of the oddest of all oddities, the infamous Encinitas Boat Houses. Built in the 1920's by who was possibly the craziest guy in town, these "boats" were never meant to be at sea. They were the product of the keen imagination of Miles Minor Kellogg who had a knack for taking old building materials and creating something new and unique. With a sea captain for a father, Kellogg's fascination with the sea combined with his skills as a builder was the impetus for creating what has certainly become one of the strangest buildings in America.

Man, I bet his neighbors were mad!

Today the boats are apartments but the people inside are used to cars slamming on their brakes to take a snapshot.  And while you're there in Encinitas, make sure you stop by Keilani's for some authentic Hawaiian plate lunch, 2 scoops of rice with a scoop of macaroni salad and a heaping mound of kalua pork sure sounds good to me.

This is my neighborhood, this is San Diego, and that's What's Up this Wednesday.  Come back in a couple to see what's cooking on Foodie Fridays!

TACO TUESDAY: Casa de Bandini and Why Gov Gray Davis was Recalled

I have to give a shout out to Diane Powers, the owner of Casa de Bandini in South Carlsbad.  She got her booty unfairly kicked out of Old Town by our not too smart Gov Gray Davis in 2005.  He decided that Old Town with it's festive umbrellas was politically incorrect and turned it into a drab sepia toned disaster.  Well, he got recalled and we sent him on his way but Old Town has yet to recover.

Diane lost Old Town but she ain't no fool.  She bought up the rights to the names of the two popular Old Town restaurants, Casa de Bandini and Casa de Pico, and has recreated the fiesta atmosphere outside the park.  Bandini is constantly packed, just like the Old Town restaurant was, and if the food isn't very authentic no one seems to care.

In fact, the food isn't the point at all if you dine at Casa de Bandini.  Girlfriends gossiping at lunch, families at dinner, the focus is on the scene.  The restaurant is lively and the food is exactly as I remember it from Old Town, meaning good but not great.  The salsa was tasty but a bit too salty, the rice had peas and carrots in it, the taco stuffed with cheddar and jack cheese and a generic "Mexican style" shredded beef, heck, the beans were even served in a molded tortilla cup.  The chicken enchilada was sliced pieces of breast meat rolled in a tortilla and topped with sauce.  Is El Torito down the street scared?  Maybe.  Juanita's Taco Shop on 101?  No way, they're probably laughing at the gullible gringos paying good money for this stuff!

If you get roped into coming here by friends who want to get together and have a watered down margarita, go ahead and go.  You'll have a good time and won't even care that the food isn't authentic.  But if you want real Mexican food, if you crave the complex flavors of the real deal, get back into the car and head down the coast to any number of way better options.  Fidel's Little Mexico, Tony's Jacal, La Especial Norte and El Callejon all come to mind.  Or just go local and hit the taco shops like Karina's, El Torito Market (an authentic Mexican market with take out food, not to be confused with horrible El Torito chain restaurant), Roberto's, or Juanita's.  All better.  Way better.

You think maybe Gray Davis was right and just wanted a decent taco in Old Town?  Hmmm.

SUNNY SUNDAY: Adorable Cute Babies at the San Diego Zoo

"Can I hold you baby?"

If a big koala is cute, a baby is even cuter!

Doesn't the baby look sort of like a watermelon?

Seriously, not sure if this is a real baby panda or someone tossed a stuffed animal in the tree, but everyone was taking pictures so who knows?  So cute, wish he was sitting on my sofa.

Remember, come back to the blog on Tues for my TACO TUESDAY mexican restaurant reviews! 

FOODIE FRIDAYS: Big Decisions at Jakes Del Mar

It's not as bad as buying a car but deciding what to order for lunch is a big decision!  Nothing's worse than being encircled by beautiful plates of scrumptious food and looking down at what you ordered with pangs of regret.  This, by the way, happens to me a lot so I thought I'd help you out by showing you some food from my recent visit to Jakes Del Mar.

If you haven't been to Jakes you don't know what you're missing.  Right on the beach, the view of the suntanned bodies is almost as distracting as the food presentation. It's a chain restaurant but with siblings like Dukes, Kimos and Hula Grill you know it's got the right DNA for great food.  The plate above is the Seafood Trio with tangarine glazed fish, a shrimp and a scallop. Good pick.

Next up was the burger.  What, someone ordered a burger in a seafood restaurant?  Yes, and were we jealous.  Grilled onions and enough cheese to cement that heart attack, perfectly cooked fries, another standout winner.  My buddy who ordered it raved and he's a foodie guy so order with confidence.

Alas, the rare ahi tuna sandwich was just OK.  A bit too healthy for me.  If you are intent on ordering this one, ask for a side of wasabi and soy sauce to drizzle on top and forget about those ridiculous legumes and get some of those fries!  Seriously, it's not just that I love fries it's that the plate needs some contrasts in textures.  Everything was too mild.  I'll give this dish a passing grade, but do it my way and you'll love it.

Here's the dish I was originally going to order and wish I did.  Pecan crusted seabass with rock shrimp cous cous.  I don't usually like giant cous cous like this but man did this look good!  By the way, if you love rock shrimp and live locally here in San Diego you can get them at Seaside Market in Cardiff.

Last plate to arrive was the macadamia nut crusted salmon on top of Asian style veggies and mushrooms.  Personally I thought there were too many veggies (the texture contrast thing again) but the person who ordered it licked their plate clean so what do I know? 

Jakes is a cool place.  Sure, it could probably use a bit of updating but I suspect most people don't look at the carpet when you have a view this good.  If you go, get there earlier than you think as the valet parking fills up fast and when it does your only other option is the $4/hr lot across the street - and trust me, you'll be so relaxed you might spend a few hours here.  Oh, I forgot to tell you about their great beers on tap and the ridiculously good Hula Pie (macadamia nut ice cream on an Oreo crust with hot fudge) that brought me right back to Maui.  Felt like vacation....ahhhhh.

Let's Try Something New

I just figured out that people looking at a blog on San Diego actually want information and stories about San Diego!  So let's try something different - for the Summer of 2010 or until Global Warming destroys the planet (whichever comes first), you can count on me to give you actual San Diego content!

TACO TUESDAYS:  Pics and mini-reviews of my favorite Mexican restaurants and taco shops!
WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAYS:  Cool things around San Diego, discover things around town that you might not know about.
FOODIE FRIDAYS:  My newest food finds, my favorite recipes, see what's showing up on my backyard grill.
SUNNY SUNDAYS:  Pics of San Diego, best beaches, sunset views, or shots from my weekend adventures.

And don't forget, get daily deals and updates at http://twitter.com/localwally.  So start following my tweets and subscribe to this blog for your Local Wally fix!

Thanks All, and hope to see you all around!


Local Wally
The original locals guy guide to San Diego... since1996

Happy 4th of July, let's blow up something then eat some Cambodian food!

It's the Fourth of July so let's celebrate with illegal fireworks!  When I was a kid fireworks weren't illegal.  Like LSD in the 60's, we didn't know they were dangerous or addictive.  We just knew they were fun and only years later realized that the government was right (they are always right, I'm told) and that we should never, ever light fuse and get away.

My favorite was the Red Devil Piccolo Pete.  It shrieks like Mariah Carey and then, if you modify it a bit, it explodes!  Wait - you can modify a Pic Pete?  Yes, yes, just take a pair of pliers and squeeze the cardboard tube right around the midpoint at the bottom of the fuel cartridge.  Don't worry, it won't explode in your hand.  Or maybe it will, not sure.  Now when you light it, really seriously get away!  It'll whistle a bit and then KABOOOOOM!  See ya Mariah!  And God Bless America!

Besides fireworks I'm thinking BBQ this 4th, and nothing says I Love America more than some delicious pork ribs done up Cambodian style.  Super simple recipe, here goes -

1 rack of back ribs for 2 people (not baby backs, back ribs are meatier, or use St Louis cut ribs)
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 inches of ginger, chopped up
1 tbs of course salt
1 tbs of sugar
2 tsp of ground pepper

Put in a bowl and smash up with a spoon or pestle.

Now add to the mix 1 tbs of soy sauce, 1 tbs of fish sauce (or lime if you don't have it)

Spread on ribs and wait 4 hours.

Cook over charcoal grill with the coals on one side and nothing on the other.  Put the ribs on the cool side and cover for around 10 minutes.  Take off lid and put ribs back on hot side for around 15 minutes a side, no lid on Weber, and watch them so they don't burn.  Once they look done (they will look delicious versus raw) wrap in foil and place back on grill (if your coals are cooling you can put them directly over the coals, if they are still hot put them to the side) and cover for 30 min or so, it's not critical.  You're just tenderizing them at this point.

To serve you cut them up and squeeze some lime on top.  These Cambodians know what they're doing!  Say, wasn't the United States once at war with Cambodia?  Thank goodness we didn't blow them all up or we would not have this incredible rib recipe.