Roy Get's an A, then Flunks Out

THE PLACE:  ROY'S OF HAWAII (La Jolla UTC)

THE VIBE:  DA ISLANDS

THE PRICE:  EXPENSIVE 

I first dined at Roy's when I was in Hawaii.  The food was upscale yet unpretentious, fresh and inventive, and I've never been disappointed.  So when my wife asked me where I wanted to go to dinner for my birthday, without hesitation I said "Roy's". 

We arrived around 730 on a weeknight and the place was popping.  Roy's can get a bit noisy but it's not so noisy that you can't hear each other at the table.  It was a special occasion so let's start with a special cocktail.

The pinky drink in front is the 1988, a tribute to the date they opened their first restaurant in Honolulu.  It's made with ABSOLUT Ruby Red Vodka, SOHO Lychee Liqueur & Patrón Citrónge Liqueur, a bit sweet but the perfect vacation drink.  The drink in the back is the Hawaiian martini made with  Maui pineapples drenched in SKYY Vodka, Stoli Vanil Vodka & Malibu Coconut Rum.  It's sort of like a high octane pina colada, very tasty.   To go with the drinks they brough a complimentary bowl of edemame dusted with spices, nice touch.

We had a very disappointing salad the other night at Bleu Boheme.  A boring salad reminds me of being a kid and being told to eat it because it's good for me and dammit, if I don't eat it I don't get the good stuff.  So I wasn't that excited to get a salad tonight but my wife wanted one so we split the salad with rock shrimp on it.

Wow!  This is proof that you can make a salad taste as good as an entree.  This was without a doubt one of the best tasting salads I've had in a long, long time.  In fact, remember that crazy expensive dinner at La Valencia's Sky Room I wrote about?  This salad was better.  And bigger.  The split salad was still a good size and the shrimp, mmmm, A+.  

If you're a Local Wally fan, you know I love ribs and I've said in the past that Roy's Szechwan Spicy Grilled Ribs are some of the best ribs I've ever had.  I know, don't roll your eyes!  I've had ribs all over the US and I'm an amateur ribmaster myself and these ribs are incredible.  I usually order them as an entree (not on the menu but if you ask they will do it) but decided to go with the appetizer tonight.  Let's see them.

OMG, these ribs are tasty!  Glazed in a sticky Mongolian sauce, the subtle smoke comes through and the sauce is not too spicy but just enough to balance the sweetness.  I love these ribs, A++.

The last time I was here I had one of the most incredible steaks so decided to go for it again.  This is always a mistake as there's nothing better than the first time, but the ribs have been so consistent that the steak seemed like a good bet.  Here it comes!

What?  No bone?  Wait, this isn't the same killer steak I had before!  That's right, I learned a valuable lesson here.  Read the entire description of the entree before ordering.  That's good advice.  Because the steak I had before was super delicious and fatty goodness.  This boned out ribeye was dense and lean and lacking flavor.  I had to ask for salt!  And btw, I sure wish restaurants would bring kosher salt and cracked pepper instead of a crummy salt and pepper shaker that looks like it was stolen from Denny's.

The sauce was OK, but nowhere near as flavorful as the ribs, and the fries were as soggy as the ones I used to get from the junior high school cafeteria.  These were bad fries that had more in common with frozen "cooked in the oven" fries than something you just paid $30 for.  Oh Roy, I love you but I have to give this dish a C.  

 My wife ordered the scallops and we were both surprised when the waitress asked how she would like them cooked.  We have seen enough Food TV to know that the only right answer is "have the chef prepare them the way he thinks they should be cooked".  Unfortunately for my wife, the chef must have taken a break and put the sushi chef in charge because the scallops were served seared and raw inside.  I mean it, raw inside.  

Now I might not know everything about food so perhaps this IS the right way to cook them, but raw scallops are not very tasty.  The texture is weird, the flavor strange, and this dish gets another bad score - D.  I know that seems harsh, but it was nearly inedible.  We took the leftover scallops home and I cut them in half and yes indeed, they were raw. I seared them again and they were delicious!  Sigh...

But in the end Roy's comes through with dessert.  I love free dessert on my birthday!  In fact, I've been sort of fuming that The Sky Room didn't do anything special for us when they knew it was our 30th wedding anniversary, especially since we dropped $350 there for dinner.  So Roy, thanks for the nice free dessert.

And of course, you cannot go to Roy's without getting the molten lava cake, often imitated but no one does it better than Roy's.


So what's the deal?  Roy's report card is looking like the straight A kid who discovered drugs in his Senior year. How do you get an A+ for salad, and A++ for appetizer, then drop to a C and D for the entrees?  As they say on Top Chef, all chefs have bad nights so maybe, hopefully, this was the deal with Roy's.  I would go back, but next time I would stick to the tried and true (ribs, ribs, ribs!) or the $35 prix fixe dinner (hard to get too mad over an app, an entree, a dessert for $35).  Let's keep a cautious eye on Roy's and hope it returns to form soon. 


PLAN YOUR SAN DIEGO TRIP WITH LOCAL WALLY! 

French Kissing in Kensington

THE PLACE:  BLEU BOHEME (web)

THE VIBE:  FRENCH CAFE

THE PRICE:  MOD - SLIGHTLY EXPENSIVE

OK, this has nothing to do with FRENCH KISSING or anything remotely connected with SEX.  But look, you're reading this so you might as well keep going.  My wife and I found ourselves in Kensington last Saturday night and looking for a place to eat.  We saw this cool French Cafe and wandered in.

Candlelit tables, French writing on chalkboards, the only thing that told you this was San Diego was the chick at the bar texting on her phone instead of having a flirty conversation with her date.  Maybe she's flirting on Facebook - LOL.  Tip to anyone under 40 - put the phones away when you are in a romantic place.  Oh well, not my problem, she's not my date.  Let's look around a bit.

Really, this looks like Paris.  It's hard to believe it's in Kensington.  But can the food match up to the romantic ambiance?  Oh, slight problem - I'M NOT HUNGRY!  Yes, this is the same day I ate that big burger at Union Kitchen & Tap so I had no business going to dinner.  But I checked out the menu and look, Carlsbad Mussels and Frites done up a bunch of different ways.  You can order a large order for around $20, or a half order for $12 or something like that.  A large order is big enough to split but I got a small order for myself and a salad.

Let's get serious - this is a pretty salad but was meh, meh, meh.  Not dressed enough, and the dressing had virtually no flavor.  Big miss, I choked it down but it wasn't the least bit exciting.  But look, here comes the mussels.

The mussels had fennel on top in a saffron cream sauce and IT WAS FANTASTIC, better than France, better than Third Corner, better than just about any mussels I had ever had.  Fresh and clean tasting, not the least fishy, these are not the same oldie moldy mussels you and I buy at Henry's.  Maybe it's the radiation from the Carlsbad power plant but these are the best mussels anywhere.  Get them.  Now, go get them!

To go with them was a dinky, mini, itty bitty plate of odd fries.  Now I know in the picture the serving looks decent but in reality it was the size of the $.99 cent bag at McDonalds after the kids swipe a few when you're not looking.  And weird, really weird, they had lavender on them that made them first taste like they were dipped in Vicks VapoRub, then a bit like they were coated in Pine Nuts.  But then, even weirder, they sort of grew on me and I ate them up and really liked them.  These are not the best fries in the world, but the oddest - in San Diego, at least.  And darn it, not hot!  OK SAN DIEGO, one last time - fries should be hot.  No more mister nice guy, you serve me not-hot fries and I'm calling you out.

 

Luckily, the mussels made up for it.  The food around us on the other tables looked delicious as well and I think Bleu Boheme deserves to be on your short list of romantic and spontaneous dinner spots.  Just go there, get the mussels, slip the waiter a 5 and say "make sure the fries are hot" and I dare you to say I told you wrong.

I LOVE YOU WALLY www.localwally.com

Could Union Kitchen & Tap Be the Ultimate Encinitas Restaurant?

THE PLACE:  UNION KITCHEN AND TAP (Downtown Encinitas)

THE VIBE:  Local hangout, loud and vibrant, great open view to Highway 101, lots of beers

THE PRICE:  Moderate

In Napa there's a place I love called Rutherford Grill.  OK, so it's not exactly the best food in town (come on, who can compete with Thomas Keller?) but there's no place better than a seat at the bar to do some people watching and dine on some good grub. 

But I live in Encinitas and this town looks like the mafia owns it with by the sheer number of Italian restaurants.  My least favorite of the Italian mob was When In Rome, a stuffy and old fashioned restaurant that was about as inviting as a horses head in your bed.  It's resurfaced recently as Union Kitchen & Tap, a casual place that focuses on beer and solid, unpretentious food.  With the front of the restaurant open to the street, it's oh so inviting and oh so Encinitas.  But would the once dead restaurant rise to the location, or join the restaurant catacombs filled with themed restaurants and mediocre food?

Let's start with the exterior.  They were smart to totally redo the front, making it urban and cool. The front windows are open to the street and prime seating.  And here's a tip - the main area is open seating and has the best tables so scan the room when you enter and grab some chairs if you see something open.  When this was When in Rome, this was the deadest part of downtown but now look at the foot traffic. 

Wow, this isn't Rome anymore!  See, this is the open seating area.  On the chalkboard is a listing of their beers along with the alcohol content, which is a good thing to know with some beers now in the 9% range. So the vibe is friendly and the setting lively.  In fact, romantic dining this isn't.  It is loud and vibrant, so get ready to turn up the volume to be heard over the music and crowd.  If you can't handle the noise, stay home.

Friendly bartenders, which is essential if they want to keep the local crowd.  I love going into a local joint and having the bartender say hello like he knows me and I think this place could wind up like that if they keep up the effort.  Look at all those beers on tap!  The only complaint I have is when I was watching the big screen TV in front of me and commented on how great the golf match was going and then the bartender (not the guy in the pic) promptly turned the channel to baseball!  What???  But it's a new place and the staff is still breaking in so just this time I'll give this guy a mulligan.

Lunch is around $12, dinner around $19, a burger with housemade chips is $13.  Chips??? Wait, we'll get to that.  I ordered a couple of beers.  The first one was a wheat beer and pretty tasty, the second was Orange Wit which tasted like cat pee.  I clean the litter box so I know what I'm talking about, but maybe you'll like it.  To go with the beer I ordered a "Mushroom Onion Burger" with roasted shrooms, caramelized onions and Maytag Blue Cheese.  Look, here comes the food!

What's wrong with this picture?  Why, that's the weirdest looking burger I've ever seen.  That's because it's a PORTABELLO MUSHROOM burger, a vegetarian delight to be sure and PETA approved, but not what I ordered.  But to show you how much class these guys have, after apologizing they said for me to keep it and try it while they fired up a meaty substitute.

So even though I find the idea of a vegetarian burger to be sacreligious (though I have no problem with the surfing Madonna art down the street), I bit into it and it was, well, good.  Not meaty good, but if you're the sort who believes that cows should rule the Earth and plastic is better than leather but paper better than plastic, this is your burger.

Then the real burger showed up and I promptly tossed the porto burger in the trash and dived into this tasty delight.  The tang of the cheese, the quality of the meat, I wolfed it down in about 3 minutes.  Delicious, worth the $13 (and you know how much I hate overpriced burgers).  I would get this again.

But...

Yes, I do have a complaint.  Chips are not fries.  A burger should come with fries.  A hot dog can come with chips, a sandwich can come with chips, but a burger MUST come with fries.  That's the law, or at least it should be.  Because even though the homemade chips were good, they were not hot and oily and sizzling on the tongue (The Brigantine's bar does fresh chips, oh my gosh they're good!) but rather precooked and tossed on the plate as an afterthought.  I don't care if I have to pay more, I want fries and if you order a burger, make sure you swap them out or you will have PBD (Post Burger Depression) like I did after seeing the person next to me get a bucket of fresh and hot fries.

So here's the verdict.  The place can get packed so be forewarned, and the staff could use a bit more time to break in.  But when was the last time you went to a restaurant and told your friends all about it and wondered if going back the next day was too soon?  It reminded me of Rutherford Grill in Napa, a place where locals and tourists sit side by side at the bar and discuss the weather and other important things as they dine on unpretentious food and enjoy a cold beer. Union Kitchen & Tap has all the potential to become that sort of spot and I'm keeping an eye on them.  Save me a place at the bar.

WALLY KNOWS BEST!  www.localwally.com
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The $350 Dinner Splurge (versus the $3.50 rolled tacos)

I love rolled tacos.  In fact, I've often pondered whether good food needs to be expensive.  Is a $40 piece of foie gras better than chicken livers wrapped in bacon and tossed on the grill?  Is lobster better than shrimp?  It's coveted more, but is that due to price and thus scarcity (meaning it rarely makes my dinner table), or are we all just conditioned to like something that's expensive?

The other week I found myself celebrating a BIG anniversary with no where to go.  The French Laundry was too expensive, the trip to France even more so, so I settled for a trip to La Valencia and the famous Sky Room.  Let's see if expensive food is worth it.

The Sky Room gets great Yelp reviews with people suggesting it's the best restaurant in town, best view, that sort of thing.  With only 11 tables, it's certainly exclusive dining.  We arrived at 645, the only time available, and the restaurant was pretty empty but we still got seated in a table next to the tiny bar.  If I could do it again, I would hand pick my table ahead of time and get a window seat on the north or west side of the restaurant.

The meal started with an Amuse Bouche - a tiny appetizer shot glass of a cold ginger and carrot soup (it's supposed to be cold, I'm not complaining!) and it was delicious.  Clean and subtle, a nice start.

The salad was next - it's a citrus avocado with pecorino cheese, some olives and marcona almonds.  It was superb, and when was the last time a salad knocked your socks off?  It could have been a mite bigger, perhaps twice as large, but this was a tasting menu so I'm flexible.

We did the wine pairing menu and they served the salad with a nice, dry riesling.  Now I know, you're thinking YUCK and sweet, syrupy riesling, but these guys know what they are doing.  The wine was outstanding.

Before we continue, let's check out the view.  Not too shabby. You might be able to see my house from here.  Look closer.  Well, maybe not.

Here's the view in the other direction.  Man, this is some view!  I love this town!  But forget the view, let's get back to the dinner.

Stop drooling, this scallop is mine.  Roasted asparagus, grapes (of all things), walnuts, some garlic, this was some tasty scallop!  I wanted more - maybe 5 more, please.  Super delicious.

A nice Trefethen chardonnay, buttery to go with the buttery scallop, a great pairing.  Ahhh, remember when Pizza Nova used to pour Trefethen?  Times sure have changed.

Roasted Sonoma duck breast, Temecula honey, onion filled with farro, cherries, sweet onion jus, all pretty tasty except it needed salt.  Damn, and even though I have no issue asking for salt when I'm at Denny's, I guess I've watched too many cooking shows to know that it's poor form to ask in a fine restaurant.  OK, so I'll come clean... I was too embarrassed to ask.  But I should have.  Did I tell you this was a $350 dinner??

Darn it, a blurry shot of a very fine pinot.  This wine went great with the duck, the cherries in the wine mirroring the cherries in the duck.

This is the "intermezzo", which in Hawaii is called "dinky portion of delicious shaved ice".  It was fresh and citrus-y, very tasty, and if they sold these in the lobby in giant cones they could make a fortune.  

Another Big Wow, as we used to say as kids.  This Charecropper's wine was outstanding.  If you see it, buy it.  And it went so well with.....

Wagu New York, braised greens, mushrooms, melt in your mouth deliciousness.  But.... ummm, pass the salt?  Darn it, the salt monster strikes again.  A bit of crispy finishing salt would have made all the difference in the world on this dish.  But it was very good nonetheless.  The person at the table next to me got the Wagu as her main course and it was a huge cut, so if you like steak (and only want to pay $40 for dinner, cheapskate) it's a good pick.  (tip:  bring tiny salt packets from McDonalds with you).

And finally, the dessert (sorry, too lazy to Photoshop for you).  It's prosecco zabglione, Chino's strawberries, pistachio shortbread, and some other delicious ice cream and tart thing.  I was a bit bummed out that they did not do the "Happy Anniversary" thing on the plate.  I know it might be cheesy, but even Roy's of Hawaii does a great celebration plate so I was sort of expecting it.

As the sun sets, the bill arrives.  Darn, how unromantic!  No, just kidding.  But I thought you should see just how wonderful the view is.

So the big question... WAS IT WORTH IT?

That's a tough question.  I think for overall food quality, George's at the Cove's fine dining restaurant has it beat.  I was a bit surprised they didn't make a bigger deal of the special anniversary - no champagne on the house, no chef coming out so say hello, that sort of thing.  We dined at George's for a recent anniversary and the chef actually made us something special (seriously, no one else got it) and treated us like royalty.  And I didn't really like that they seated us next to the tiny bar next to the extra chairs - not for $350.  And if I'm really going to get picky, the ambiance could use a bit of updating.  But the view was incredible, the food and wine pairing fantastic, and the overall experience very good.  I'd give it an 8, a solid 4 stars on Yelp. 

I don't think I'd go back for the tasting menu, but glad I tried it. I think I would go back for the standard menu, bring my own bottle, and next time I won't be afraid to ask for salt.

WALLY WALLY WALLY!  www.localwally.com

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When Good Restaurants Go Bad (and the amazing Street Fair jacket!)

It's sad when a good restaurant goes bad.  It's even sadder when that restaurant is iTrulli Trattoria in Encinitas, once the shining star of the coastal downtown strip. I used to come here a lot, waiting over an hour for a table on a cold night but convinced it was worth it.  And at one time, it was. 

 But that was a long time ago.

Now I love a nice lunch with a glass of wine.  About a year ago my wife and I ordered a bottle, an appetizer, and decided to split an entree.  And then the waiter said "We charge a fee to split plates".  I was taken aback by that.  After all, at that point I was a regular and a big promoter of this eatery.  And I had already racked up a pretty good lunch bill.  But OK, I agreed to the fee.  But when the food arrived it was so over salted that it was nearly inedible.  I told the waiter this and got a shrug.  I assumed he would remove it from my bill but there it was at the end.

It took me a long time to go back.  But last weekend was the Encinitas Street Fair so I decided to give them another chance.  We ordered 2 glasses of wine to start.  I said 2 glasses of wine... to start.  HELLO, I SAID I WANT 2 GLASSES OF WINE TO START!!  There really is no excuse for a wine order to take so long when a restaurant is not busy.  15 minutes?  The bar is 10 feet away.  My wife tells me to relax.  So after a long wait, here comes the appetizer.

Now I know, it looks pretty good, doesn't it?  But it was cold and rubbery.  Like chewing a rubber band with tentacles. It was almost like this was a reheated order.  And like the wine, it took forever to arrive.  Fail.  Epic fail. 

What's the first thing you notice about this pasta?  It's that the cheese isn't melting.  Why is that?  Because the dish arrived lukewarm.  After another 20 minute wait it's not even hot?  And the flavors were nothing special, the pasta and sauce no better than what I buy at the supermarket. Buca di Beppo Fail.

There was a time when the owner would smile when we walked in and bring us free dessert.  But those days are obviously over.  Lunch cost over $60 and I left depressed over just how bad iTrulli has gotten.  I  walked down the street and took a look at the booths at the street fair.

Dammit, this would have been way better than iTrulli!  Look, it's hot!  That's already better than my lunch. I get depressed when I get a bad meal but one thing did cheer me up.

It's the AMAZING 10 WAY JACKET!  You flip the collar one way and it's jacket 1, another way and it's jacket 2!  No one at work is going to figure out you only have one jacket!!  And look, men and women can wear this.  And that 80's look is so cool with the shoulder pads and high flipped back collar. I'm going to wear this jacket to the next big business meeting!  I'll flip it around during the break and wait for people to say "Did you change your jacket??"  Only you and I will know it's the same jacket!

Ahhh, the things that keep me amused.

Have It MY Way! Local Wally Creates the Ultimate Burger

I think we've all gotten stupider in the past few years.  Why else would Trader Joes sell pre-cooked white rice in frozen little cups?  And seriously, who buys those pre-cooked hard boiled eggs?  I mean, how much longer before there's pre-packaged hot water ("Just Heat In Microwave For Steaming Hot Water!")  This all comes back to my belief that it's not hard to make a good burger but somehow we've allowed ourselves to be duped into thinking it's as impossible as building a submarine or doing the Macarena all the way through.  We gladly pay $9, $13, even more for a burger!  Well Local Wally is going to save you from BS (burger stupidity) and show you how it's done.

Start with good quality meat that's at least 15% fat.  I used natural grass fed beef.  It has sort of a lamb-like flavor but if you want regular mad cow style meat, go for it - as long as it's a) fatty, b) not preformed, and 3) not frozen.  Costco premade burgers?  You making burgers for the soccer team picnic?  That's the only reason to go that route.

Now form burger into patties.  Do not handle it too much, do not compress it, keep it loose, baby.

FOODTV MYTHBUSTERS:  No, you do not have to put butter in the middle to keep it moist.  No, you don't have to fill it with cheese to keep it moist.  Sorry Bobby Flay, busted.  And FoodTV, do we really need all those shots of FoodTV hosts washing their hands?  WE GET IT ALREADY!

Salt and pepper it.  Use Kosher salt and don't be too skimpy with the salt.  What, you've got high blood pressure?  Give it up, we're going deeper.  What's that delicious smell? 

Why, it's bacon.  Cooking in a frying pan, not in a microwave.  If you haven't cooked bacon the old fashioned way in a while, try it today.  Nothing better than cooking in fat.  Which brings us to the next step.  Let's cook them burgers in some of that bacon fat.  What?  Wait? No grill?  No charcoal?  Nope, cook old school.

Sizzling in fat, your house should now smell like an old diner, the smell in your clothes and hair should have every dog dog in the neighborhood following you.  Whatever you do, don't overcook it.  It should still have some pink in it.  If you want it well done, forgetaboutit! Time to assemble.

Wait, I forgot to tell you about the bun.  Don't buy those crummy $.99 cent buns.  Don't buy those ridiculous giant $4 buns.  Buy Kaiser rolls and cut them in half yourself, buttah them with real butter, and place butter down in a frying pan to melt and crisp.  Crisp.  Got that?  Now pile on the condiments.  I like a bit of Thousand Island but at this point it's pretty hard to screw it up.  Look at that bacon!  Look at that cheese!!  Look at that fat dripping off the meat into the bun!!

Look at it.  It's a work of art!  Look at all those great textures, from the crispy bun and bacon to the succulent meat and gooey cheese.  Let's see the other burger to check quality control.

Oh no, it was built upsidedown!!!  Put that burger down and let's get one last shot before the first bite!

Oh man oh man, some healthy oven baked fries to balance out the meal, this is looking darn good.  You can tell just by looking at that bun that this isn't going to be some crummy dry burger.  What, you want the fries recipe?  OK, cut potatoes into small fries shape, toss with veggie oil, put in oven on pre-oiled cookie sheet at 425 degrees and toss now and then.  Not quite as good as real double fried fries, but not bad at all.  So let's do it, the money shot!

Best burger I have eaten in, well, maybe my entire life!  And I did it at home just using a bit of common sense and not worrying about whether it's healthy (it's not) or good for you (it's not).  Sure, it's probably about 35% fat and 1,200 calories (maybe more!) but when was the last time you had a burger this good?  I bet never.  Go do it.  Tell your spouse you're going to make a special meal and when you come home from the store with stuff to make burgers and get that look, just smile and know that by the end of the night you're going to be promoted to the Real Burger King.

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