How to Visit Paris (without leaving San Diego)

An actual Paris Bistro in Paris.

French bistros are all the rage in Paris.  OK, that's sort of obvious but maybe not so obvious to most Americans is what a bistro is.   For example, PF Chang's calls it self a "bistro", but that's about as accurate as calling Applebee's "fine dining".  A bistro is a casual eatery, moderately priced, serving up rustic comfort foods.  In Paris they're on nearly every corner with the tiny tables (cleverly called bistro tables) facing the street for people watching.  Parisians spend hours in their bistros, slowly dining and enjoying the time.  Maybe we Americans have it wrong with our fast food and dining in the car while racing back to our cubicles.  

Cafe Chloe in San Diego.  Not Paris, but an incredible simulation!

THE PLACE:  CAFE CHLOE

THE VIBE:  Urban, lively, Very Paris-like

THE COST:  Moderately and fairly priced

THE LOCATION:  Near Gaslamp

The other weekend I was wandering around San Diego's East Village.  What?  Where?  Ahhh, long time locals might know this area better as the area of town where you prayed your car didn't break down.  Located east of the Gaslamp District, it was Bum City for a long time but has really turned itself around since the opening of Petco Park.  In fact, it's downright trendy these days.  And look, there on the corner is Cafe Chloe, looking a lot like a real French Bistro.  Let's go check it out.

Sorry for the butt crack shot.  Is that a tramp stamp?  Don't look!

The outside tables are hard to get but inside it's light and airy.  The bar might be a good spot on a busy day but we got the prime table next to the kitchen.  I know some of you might think I'm crazy but I love watching the food hit the pass and the waiters hustling to get it out to the tables. 

The view from my table.  Superb!

OK, so Cafe Chloe passes the bistro test with it's atmosphere, lively setting and urban vibe.  But how about the food?  Let's digress a bit and take a look at the real thing.

Actual food from a real Paris bistro.  Steak Frites and Duck Confit with duck fat fries.

French salad with a poached egg, lardons and croutons from an actual Paris bistro.

The real French bistro food was elegant and expertly prepared.  This isn't from some fancy restaurant but a random bistro we stopped in at when we got hungry.  Now let's see if Cafe Chloe can pass the test.

Cafe Chloe's steak frites.

I love a good steak.  As you read in my recent adventures, I was really bummed by the steak I got at Island Prime, the Cohn restaurant high end (and high priced) steakhouse.  I was craving a good steak and was blown away by the steak at Cafe Chloe.  It was some sort of hanger steak, more tender than a top sirloin and bursting with savory flavors.  Crave it.  Now.  Let me tell it to you straight - this is a damn good steak.  Don't waste your money at a fancy steakhouse, just get this steak!

Dipping sauces for the fries.  Delicious!

And here's a tip - ask for the dipping sauces for the fries.  Super delicious, you'll be licking the ramekins clean.   And if you happen to order something that doesn't come with fries (God forbid!), don't even think about not getting a side order.  They're that good.  Trust me, I love fries and these are great fries, even if they weren't fried in duck fat. 

Money shot for you carnivores.  Nice and rare, perfectly cooked.

The salad with the egg on top at Cafe Chloe.

The salad was nearly as successful, perhaps knocked down a notch due to the sloppy presentation of the egg, but trust me when I tell you that the flavor was spot on.  Hey, what are they eating at the table next to me?

That looks good!

Mussels!  Bread to dip into the juices!  Oh man, that looks really good!  In fact, everything here is good and the prices fair, making this one of my favorite San Diego restaurants.  So here's the verdict - Cafe Chloe is about as close as you're going to get to a real French bistro in San Diego.  The food is superb, the atmosphere fun and lively, the wait staff and owner friendly, the next time you find yourself wondering what to do on a weekend afternoon just head downtown and waste the day enjoying your time at Cafe Chloe. 

What are you doing this weekend?  Ahhh, going to Cafe Chloe.  Mmmmmm.

MORE WALLY!  Local Wally's Guide to San Diego

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Escalating Burger Wars

NEWS FLASH LA JOLLA:  A recent surge has caused major escalation in the Burger Wars in San Diego as hundreds of restaurants continue to offer their take on the humble hamburger.

"My mom could make a better burger than this and she can't cook worth sh&^t," said one local who asked to remain anonymous since his Mom was standing next to him.  Angry protesters on street corners shouting "End the War Now" has only increased the tension as chefs everywhere battle it out.  And right in the middle is Local Wally, the original San Diego local guy who just wants a bite to eat. And he's hungry.

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There I was.  La Jolla.  Lunchtime.  At the iconic George's at the Cove Ocean Terrace, the upstairs al fresco restaurant.  The dinner menu is a glorious collection of delights, but the lunch menu is as sparse as a Gordon Ramsey menu makeover.  There are salads (boring), a few pastas (been there, done that), and some ho-hum sandwich selections.  Oh, and fish tacos but can you really beat the $2.75 taco at The Brig?  No, no way.  So I had a drink.

George's makes a Bloody Mary that's so spicy that your eyeballs might pop out of their sockets.  See what looks like an olive in the glass?  That's actually my eyeball!  They infuse the vodka with peppers.  Maybe too much pepper.  But if you like your Mary's hotter than licking a piece of lit charcoal, this is your drink.  I'll give it an A for effort, a B for overall deliciousness, and a mental reminder to think twice before getting that one again.  

But George's main draw has always been the view, and today it didn't disappoint.  Want to see it?

Kayaks, snorkelers, and water clarity that looked like the Bahamas.  This is why we love San Diego.  And look, there are seals!  I love the seals, but who doesn't?  Don't forget, email the Mayor

and tell him you support the seals before those crazy anti-seal people bulldoze the beach so their snot nosed kids can take over.  Really, the seals need your help.

So now I'm sauced up with vodka and peppers and my eyes are watering and the sun is so hot so I look at the menu one more time and see... can it be?  A Hamburger.  With Cheddar Cheese and Bacon.  Time for George's to battle it out as I continue my search for the Best Burger in San Diego.

 And here it is, a heavyweight of a burger.  What is that, a half pound?  Maybe more.  Disturbingly huge and way bigger than my mouth could open.  Oh, I forgot, the waitress asked if I wanted a salad or fries with that.  What?  Was that a serious question?

You can't have a salad with a burger.  And these fries were darn good.  Not as good as Bouchon in Napa Valley, nor as good as The Third Corner in Encinitas, but respectable.  Stay away from my fries.  Grrrrr. 

STEP ONE:  Look inside.  Looking good.

STEP TWO:  Pick it up.

STEP THREE:  Stop eating, people are staring.

So how was it?  Pretty good, though a bit under seasoned  Thankfully they actually had Salt and Pepper shakers on the table!  I hate it when you have to ask for salt and the waiter looks at you with scorn.  Pass the salt.  So the burger was slightly overcooked (I ordered medium) and it was packed a bit too dense, but it was still pretty delicious.  Best Burger in Town?  No, not ready to call this one.  I've got a lot more burgers to eat first.  Are you with me?

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When is a Sandwich Worth a 2 Hour Drive?

THE PLACE:  BUSY BEE MARKET

2413 S Walker Ave
San Pedro, CA 90731

(310) 832-8660

THE VIBE:  Neighborhood Market near the Beach

THE COST:  Cheap

Does good food have to cost a lot?  I mean, seriously, let's pretend that the entire US became this huge hippie commune and you could have a steak, or a lobster, or a sandwich for the same price.  I know, you're thinking the steak or lobster is the ticket, but here's where I prove you wrong.

Now before we get to the sandwich, the day before I was treated to a really expensive dinner at Island Prime in San Diego, one of the Cohn restaurants on Harbor Island.  A view to die for and a $40 a la carte steak, I was expecting a worthy competitor to Fleming's Steakhouse or Ruth's Chris but dammit if it wasn't even as good as a $6 steak from Stater Bros cooked by me on my BBQ.  It was tough, it was under-seasoned, and the waiter was a college kid who knew nothing about wine.

I know it looks delicious, but it was tough and underseasoned.  Meh.

After that disappointing meal, I was ready for something fantastic.  I was in San Pedro last week - don't ask - and a buddy started telling about this oddball of a place called The Busy Bee that used to be a neighborhood mom and pop market but now just sells sandwiches.  The rest of the store has chips.  That's it. Sandwiches and chips. Bars on the doors, a line when you walk in, this was definitely Anthony Bourdain territory.

We each ordered a sandwich for around $6.50 and headed out to the beach down the street.  Now I don't know nothing about San Pedro so was pleasantly surprised to see the view.  Want to see it?

OK, screw the view.  Where's the sandwich????

 The sandwich, I want to see the sandwich!!  You have to wait.  Subway Sandwiches is like Internet Porn, no substance, no style. This is like '70's porn where you have to wait a few minutes before you get to the action.   Hey, anyone have a VHS machine I can borrow?  Just kidding.  OK, you've waited long enough.  Let's unwrap this baby!

Man, this is a MESS!  It's the roasted pork sandwich, tasting a bit like Chinese pork smothered in sauce.  It was good, but not worth a 2 hour drive.  Let's move on to the next one.

Oh man, this is the real deal!  The pastrami was first drenched in a sauce to heat it up and then tossed like a wet porn star on the bun, making it a bit like a French dip.  Tons of meat, spiced perfectly, this the sort of sandwich you dream about.  Really, really good!  Ready for the money shot?

There you go.  And you should go to Busy Bee Market the next time you're around San Pedro or Long Beach.  They prove that good food doesn't have to cost a lot, the entire lunch costing less than the tip we left for the night before. Skip out early from that boring business meeting and go taste some real food.  Get the pastrami!

San Diego's Secret Burger Place

The other day I was at a Happy Hour and saw Kobe Beef sliders on their bar menu.  They were pretty good, but at $9 for two bites I wouldn't exactly call them a steal, unless stealing from me qualifies.  A few days later I went to The Counter, a good burger but damn if it wasn't $9 ..... without fries!  It was good, but should a burger with fries really cost $13?  I think not.  And a cupcake shouldn't cost ten bucks either, but that's another blog.

My quest for the best San Diego burger continued at a most unlikely place, Tobey's 19th Hole at Balboa Park's municipal golf course.  What?  Seriously?  Let's check it out.

Man, this is old school.  I'm guessing it was last remodeled when Jerry Mathers (as "the Beav") was still cute, before his head got so big.  Looking back there is no way he was Ward's son, no possible way. But that's also another blog.

This isn't Mr. A's, but the view is really good.  The waitresses aren't hotties from state but are friendly enough and the other patrons seem like regulars.  SPEAK INTO MY GOOD EAR!!  LOUDER!!!  Sorry for shouting, that was the table next to me having a conversation.  But don't get me wrong, lots of young people have discovered this place too so the mix is eclectic and diverse.  Let's see that view from the patio.

Holy cow, that's the view?  Fantastic, isn't it?  Balboa Park Muni is the sister course to Torrey Pines and a hidden gem.  If you golf you're going to want to check this out.  But I'm here for the burger so let's eat.

The menu has lots of classics like Chicken Fried Steak with eggs, the sort of thing you might see in one of those trendy "comfort food goes upscale" places but this isn't upscale, this is the real deal.  The burger and fries was $5 bucks!  Total. And the fries were fantastic!  Sorry to get so excited but look, see that pitcher of beer?  It was $8.50.  Not per glass, for the pitcher!  I spent $9 the other night for one beer at some fancy pants pizza joint so I was pretty happy.  Ready for the money shot?

There you go, a perfect burger!  So it's not kobe beef, it's not a fancy restaurant, but it is one of the best burgers in town.  Stand in line at Hodad's?  Fight for a table at Rocky's?  No way, I'm going to Tobey's with my friends and I'm watching the sun set over the San Diego skyline while dining on the BEST $5 burger in town. 

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TACO TUESDAYS: Old Town is Getting Old

THE PLACE:  La Pinata 

San Diego Old Town

LOCAL WALLY REPORT CARD: 

Atmosphere:  A-

Food:  B-

Teachers Comments:  Good place to take tourist friends, bad place to take Mexican friends

You guys owe me big time.  I'm getting sick of Old Town.  I know there has to be some good Mexican food somewhere in Old Town.  I mean, there's a ton of restaurants there selling tacos and margaritas, isn't there one that isn't taking lessons from El Torito?  I went looking for it at La Pinata.  With their funky cool interior and nice Summery patio, I had high hopes.   Wait!  What's that noise?

Damn, the mariachi band!  Quick, stop drop and roll under the table or they'll be singing Besame Mucho at jet plane decibels in front of your table and asking to be paid to to stop tormenting you!  Shoo, shoo, go away, no speak English.

On to the food.  You can tell a lot about a Mexican restaurant by their margaritas and let me just say that my heart sunk with the first sip.  It wasn't that it was bad, it just wasn't good - it tasted like the gallon jug of mix with a splash of tequilla.  Chips and salsa were OK, also not great.  

Carnitas burrito.  Well, not bad.  Funny think is I like burritos from my taco shops just fine "dry", but in a restaurant I sort of like them "wet" with sauce. 

And here's why - the carnitas was a bit dry, not fatty goodness but stringy nonsense.  Augghhhh, why do I do this??? Why did I say I would find the best Mexican food in San Diego????  Luckily the beans were pretty good but the burrito was average.

The final verdict - good enough for tourists (maybe even great for tourists), not bad for locals looking for a fun setting with friends, not so good for those looking for authentic Mexican food. 

WALLY WALLY WHERE ART THOU?
Local Wally's Guide to San Diego
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Coming Soon!  Local Wally's Guide to Sonoma and San Diego Homegrown Music to Save the Seals

Local Wally's Rocky Start to 2011

I'm pretty superstitious about starting a year off on the right foot. 2010 was a pretty good year and I have high hopes for 2011.  Really, I'm actually optimistic! 

Going out on New Years Eve is for chumps.  Get a DUI - bad way to end the year, really bad way to start.  So I like to cook an extravagant meal at home and dine in front of the fireplace.  The meal started with oysters.  I got this cool "safe" oyster shucker thing that helps, but so help me I can never get through a dozen oysters without some bloodshed. See the diagram?  Notice some blood on the guys hand?  Well, that was MY blood!  Damn! 

Luckily I wasn't fired and was able to complete my quickfire challenge without any other mishaps.  Looking good!

Want to know why most nice restaurants don't allow dogs? This is a very bad dog.

If the recession has taught me anything, it's how to cook really good food for cheap.  I found these ribeye steaks mismarked as T-bones at Ralphs and got them for about $5 apiece.  Some dry rub and lots of pepper and onto the Weber charcoal grill.

Tell me that doesn't look good!  Let's plate it up for full foodie impact.

Some au gratin potatoes, spring salad with homemade dressing, and a fat juicy steak.  Like the herb butter on top of the steak?  See, I know what I'm doing.  Steak was so big that I couldn't even finish it.

On New Years Day we decided to go to Rocky's in PB.  What?  Didn't the doctor say No Red Meat?  I know, bad me, but I promise to eat really good this week.

Packed as usual, fight for a table, but $5.75 gets you a 1/2 pound burgers and $15 gets you a pitcher of beer. Want to see the burger?  Of course you do.

Is it the best in San Diego?  Well, hmmmm, no.  I think the kobe beef burger at C-Level is better, but it's also $16 or something obscene like that so I'm a liking this burger.

The scenic drive home along the coast took us along Windandsea. What are those guys doing down there?

Look, it's the friendly Game Warden checking out the catch of the day.  Note to self - make sure you measure abalone before you put them in the bag and come ashore. Not saying these guys did anything wrong, just glad I'm not them.

And so starts a new year with Local Wally.  Hope you stick with me and watch as I grow my little empire.  It's going to be a great year!

MORE WALLY, MORE WALLY!
Local Wally's Guide to San Diego
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Local Wally's Guide to Sonoma (coming soon!)

Anti-seal La Jolla Group ATTACKS Local Wally!

Who doesn't love the seals on the beach in La Jolla?  I found out for myself when I was minding my own business with my daughter as we watched the seals and I made a pro-seal comment.  Before you knew it, some LUNATIC is IN MY FACE telling me I didn't know what I was talking about.

DON'T CALL US ANTI-SEAL, WE'RE PRO BEACH ACCESS!!!!!!

Yeah, right.  Tell that to the seals.  Come on dude, there's a lot of beach in San Diego. Where?  Umm, how about 50 yards in either direction?  It's not like terrorists have taken over Casa Beach.  It's not like Rosie O'Donnell is on the beach in a bikini!  They're seals!  They're cute!  And they were here long before you were so get over it.

YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT A LOCAL!!!!  I USED TO DIVE HERE.  ASK ANY LA JOLLAN!!!!

Hey buddy, you really think you speak for all locals and all La Jollan's?  I've lived here nearly my entire life and sorry, I vote for the seals.  Look, I'd rather look at some cute seal basking in the sun than your fat angry face. On a scale of 1 to 10, seals rate a 10 and you rate, well, is zero too high?  And really, when Ellen Browning Scripps dedicated the seawall to the children, I don't think she mumbled "and F-Off seals".  In fact, I bet she would be pretty pissed off if that lunatic was in her face telling her she didn't know what she was talking about.

No matter how hard I tried to get this guy out of my face with comments like "Hey, I don't want to debate" and "Look, leave us alone" he would not back off.  This guy was from the lunatic group that wants to ban the seals and all I can say is they should check his meds and maybe next time leave this clown home.  Who knows, maybe this is part of their strategy to scare off the pro-seals people and tourists.

So here's my strategy - don't get into a fight with these guys.  But do get involved by emailing the City Council members and Mayor telling them you support turning this area into Marine Mammal Park.  Go to http://lajollafriendsoftheseals.org/help.html to get the email addresses. Even if you're not a local, write them and support the seals.

And maybe ask them to help us keep the lunatics like the ANTI-SEAL ACTIVISTS out of our faces by putting them behind a rope - far, far away.

SUPPORT THE SEALS!  http://lajollafriendsoftheseals.org/
Pass this message on!  Help the seals remain on the beach!