Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Restaurant Review

18 Nov 2009

Mario’s De La Mesa – San Diego (La Mesa)

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If it’s wrong to take one’s current flame to an eatery that was introduced by an ex, then I just don’t want to be right. I believe that good food is meant to be shared under all circumstances, even somewhat awkward ones. Plus, they don’t call it the past for nothin’!

Back in high school, my boyfriend and I used to frequent Mario’s De La Mesa a couple times a month for casual Mexican fare. Curious to see if it could still stack up as one of my favorite restaurants, I returned recently with the squeeze to shame all other squeezes, The Astronomer.

Not much has changed at Mario’s since I last visited sometime back in 2000. The plastic booths were eerily familiar, as were the brass parrots hanging from the ceiling and the faded Diego Rivera posters plastered on the walls. The place was bumpin’ on a Saturday night.

The Astronomer started off with an ice cold Dos Equis Amber, one of his all-time favorite beers. I sipped some ice cold water and dabbled in complimentary chips and salsa.

The Astronomer ordered a fish taco platter. The battered and fried nuggets of white fish were sauteed with onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Fresh corn tortillas, crema, coleslaw, and a plate of beans and rice were served on the side. On the authenticity scale, Mario’s fish tacos ranked fairly low. However, on the tasty scale, it was just what The Astronomer was craving this evening.

My standby dish at Mario’s is the machaca platter, which is served with rice, beans, and a wicked ranchero sauce. Machaca, which comes from the verb machacar (to pound or crush), is comprised of stringy bits of beef that have been seared and seasoned along with bell peppers and onions. It’s an extremely flavorful dish that is usually eaten for breakfast with eggs, but I prefer to have it for lunch or dinner. I like to eat my machaca wrapped up in a warm flour tortillas with a bit of ranchero sauce and a slathering of guacamole (Mario’s house-made guacamole is fantastic). Machaca is the polar opposite of a tender steak, and I love it for that very reason.

Even after exploring the tremendous Mexican cuisine available in Tijuana and Ensenada, there’s still a very special place in my heart (and gullet) for Mario’s De La Mesa and its seemingly timeless machaca platter.

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Mario’s De La Mesa
8425 La Mesa Boulevard
La Mesa, CA 91941
Phone: 619-461-9390

Now Closed

16 Nov 2009

Chinese Kitchen/Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang – San Diego

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If your family is anything like mine, then you’ve probably been dining in the same handful of restaurants for several decades. For as long as I can remember, Pho Hoa has been our go-to joint for Vietnamese beef noodle soup, Minh Ky has been our standby Chinese noodle spot, Lee’s Garden has been our celebratory banquet destination, and so on. We are creatures of habit when it comes to eating outside the home.

While driving to Minh Ky for breakfast one Sunday morning, my mother casually mentioned a hole in the wall Vietnamese restaurant that she had recently noticed and had been curious to try. “They make bun mang vit,” my mom said excitedly. “It’s my favorite.”

Even though the yet-to-be-tested restaurant specialized in my mother’s favorite dish, the comfort of dining in a familiar eatery still appealed to her more. In order to encourage my mama to branch out, I had to strike a deal. If the meal at the new place was terrible, I’d volunteer to foot the bill. However, if the food turned out to be terrific, she’d take The Astronomer and me out. With nothing to lose, my mom agreed to breakfast at Chinese Kitchen/Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang.

The Vietnamese-run restaurant is actually two establishments in one. Chinese Kitchen churns out classic Chinese-American fare like chop suey, chow mein, and egg foo young, while Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang specializes in Vietnamese noodle soups and porridge. By the way, Chi Tu Thanh is the name of the restaurant’s proprietress and nha hang is the Vietnamese word for “fancy” restaurant.

Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang also doubles up as a catering service. Throughout our meal, dozens of people came by to pick up trays of freshly fried cha gio and steaming pots of soup to bring home to eat.

The Astronomer, my mom, and I stuck to the Vietnamese menu during our visit. I ordered a bowl of banh canh tom cua ($5), a soup comprised of udon-like noodles in a sweet pork broth with shrimp, crab, and a fish cake. I used to loathe banh canh as a child because the noodles were too slippery and gelatinous, but now that my chopstick skills have improved markedly, it’s become one of my favorite noodle soups. Chi Tu Thanh’s version was quite nice, with its clear yet porky broth and generous amount of noodles. I would’ve liked a pork trotter to gnaw on, as well as more bits of crab.

My mom was mostly pleased with her bun mang vit ($5), vermicelli noodles in a duck-based broth with bamboo shoots and congealed pig’s blood. The noodle soup’s flavors were completely satisfying, but my mother felt the kitchen was a bit skimpy with the meaty bamboo shoots.

The Astronomer ordered a bowl of chao vit ($3.95), duck porridge. Topped with black pepper, scallions, and minced ginger, the porridge was seasoned deftly and comforting in a way that only porridge can be.

The chao vit was served with tender slices of boiled duck and nuoc mam gung (ginger fish sauce). The portion pictured here includes an additional order of duck for the goi vit (duck salad).

In addition to the slices of boiled duck, the goi vit ($5) included a crisp heap of lightly dressed cabbage and banana blossom.

My mom had such a positive experience at Chi Tu Thanh that she’ll be ordering a big ‘ol pot of bun mam this holiday season for us to dig into at home. Oh, how I’ve missed that wildly flavorful soup!

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Chinese Kitchen/Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang Food To Go
6160 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92115
Phone: 619-286-8778

Recipe

14 Nov 2009

Cookin’ with Coolio: Strawberry Hills Banana Muffins Forever

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After reading Eat Me Daily’s Fall 2009 Cookbook preview, I felt compelled to Tweet my excitement. “Magazines may be dead, but thank goodness cookbooks are alive and well. Fall line up looks tasty. I want Momo & Ad Hoc.” My first 140 character statement was immediately followed by, “I want this one too. Cookin’ with Coolio: 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price. AMAZING. PURE GENIUS.”

Somewhere in the Twitterverse, Betty Hallock of the The Los Angeles Times saw my Tweets and decided to make my “Ghetto Gourmet” dreams come true. Thus, I became the proud owner of Cookin’ with Coolio. It turned out that the newspaper had received an advanced copy of the book and, much to my surprise, no one on staff was remotely interested in it. How could that be? Anyway, thank you, Betty!

For my first culinary adventure with Coolio, I made Strawberry Hills Banana Muffins Forever from the chapter, “Sweet Treats for That Sweet Ass.” The recipe was accompanied by a hilarious anecdote from Coolio:

You might think that muffins are for women, but you listen to me, motherfucker, muffins are for everybody! I ain’t never walked into a studio holding a tray of muffins and not had everybody grab one. From a hardcore rapper to a hardened criminal (like Martha Stewart), everybody needs a muffin, either in the morning or at night. This muffin’ll treat you right.

I couldn’t have said it better myself. The Strawberry Hills Banana Muffins Forever turned out terrific—fragrant, moist, and a pleasure to eat. Coolio has surpassed Dorie Greenspan as my favorite recipe writer. You gotta get up to get down.

A few drops of olive oil
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup chopped strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1 banana, thinly sliced

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a few drops of olive oil to grease up a 12-cup muffin tin. Jarez Sez: “You can also use those little paper liners in your muffin tin, but I’ve seen people eat the muffin without removin’ the liner, so I just suggest you leave that shit out and go with olive oil.”

Combine the butter, milk, and egg in a small bowl and beat it lightly. In a larger bowl, pour in your flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar and gently mix it. Toss in the chopped strawberries and sliced banana, then stir to coat with the flour mixture. Pour in your milk mixture and stir it all up together.

Fill up the muffin cups with your batter, then place in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Let them cool down for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and serve these bad boys up.

Cookin’ with Coolio: 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price will be released this Tuesday, November 17.

[For Printable Recipe Click Here]