Thanks for checking us out! Feel free to scroll down and see some of our reviews, recipes, and randomness!
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Tkb (The Kebab Shop)
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Bon"quiche"sha
Thursday, October 22, 2015
The Laotian Spot!
Friday, August 14, 2015
Playing w/ Food!
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Sweet Potato Shrimp Fries
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Hot Summer Soup
Boiling Point is a mid to high price range Taiwanese style hot soup restaurant. The ambiance is a bit hipster with black walls and very dim lighting. There was an abundance of staff which was great. They did serve water out of styrofoam cups which I found a bit weird but I guess as long as you get iced water and they did do a great job of making sure it was filled to the brim (for me, this is always a deciding factor as to how much I tip them). The menu is very simple, 10 preset hot soup items made it easy to order. It was a simple as ordering, "Number 9," which was the Japanese Hot Miso Style Soup. After you order you get a choice of a side of rice or vermicelli (thin rice noodles), I ordered the vermicelli. Everything is pretty standard, but something that wasn't standard was the metal stands that they bring the soups out on. These metal stands hold the soup you order and had chipping gel that they place on fire in the bottom of the stand that held a steel wok-style soup pot on top. Then they place it table-side keeping your soup boiling hot for a good 25 to 30 minutes. As you eat the soup you're left with more vegetables and meat then broth so the servers will come around and refill your broth anytime you ask. Service was prompt and we were well attended to so from that aspect this restaurant is great.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Simple Is the Best
So we decided to eat at a place where a majority of my group used to work, Upper Crust Pizza in Vista. I consider the whole group a bunch of foodies so to choose this place to eat is I guess uncommon for us. But we were looking for something quick and simple but not too quick and simple, know what I mean? The picture below is a dish I had a lot in high school while my friends were working there. I decided to order my usual from many years back which was a Roast Beef Sandwich and a Garlic Cheese Pizza Bread. Even though I noticed the staff are all a bunch of people I didn't know, I found the food to be just as good as I remember. This place is very family friendly and all the ingredients are very high quality without that very high quality wallet breaking price. This hot sandwich, which they make with pizza dough and your choice of meat and cheese then finish off in their pizza oven, is one of the best sandwiches I've ever had which I can say with the utmost confidence. First of all, it comes to you warm which is very important and you can tell it was made to order. The dome gives it a great texture having a very crispy outside and it's very soft inside which does well to soak up all the flavors from the juices of the meat. I know not a lot of people tend to hold this in high regard but the quality of their cheese and even their vegetables are great. Not to mention the sandwiches are a lot bigger than I remember as I was only able to finish half of the sandwich and half the pizza bread. Better yet the cost of this meal was a whopping $11 for which I was able to split into two meals. Now on to the pizza bread (I like to call it garlic bread on crack). They actually throw this dough to order and instead of being just bread with cheese on it like most other places, they use their high quality cheese with some delicious house made garlic butter. Paired with their house made ranch, you got yourself a winner not only on the garlic bread but with the hot sandwiches as well.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Down with the Kobe
Starting with the meat it has always been a big debate whether or not to use egg and breadcrumbs as a binder for the burger ir to just simple go with the raw natural flavor of the meat. I think it really depends on the person. When you add seasonings and binders to the burger you tend to get a fluffy texture to the meat plus a great way to retain the juices. Some will argue you are tainting the flavor of the meat by doing so. My compromise was to do the meat with seasoning only and try a Kobe meatloaf coming in the near future to see the difference in taste.
Monday, July 20, 2015
Chicharron Ni Manok
It was a regular day at work this past Sunday. My cook Monley and I were tearing it up as usual, aka working hard, as Monley was prepping the chicken for our Chicken and Dumplings dish for Tuesday evening. While he was cleaning the half chickens, he was saving all the pieces of extra chicken skin and fat. I didn't think much of it at the time seeing as I am trying to stay away from fatty foods because that is what I am myself at the moment, when he then throws a pot on the stove next to me which had water, the extra chicken skins, fat, and some bay leaves and peppercorns. I wondered what he was making and asked him, to which he replied, "I am making chicharron, are you a rookie cook?" I guess he was right because what he made was one of the coolest things I've seen in a while.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Thursday Schmurzday
Happy Thursday my fellow grinderz!
To start of this post I would like to reiterate how much I dislike the I-15 with a picture of my drive to work today at 10:00am when the morning traffic supposedly dies down. Thanks for closing the express lanes by the way!
On to a happier note my sister just recently embarked on a easy to west united states road trip and was kind enough to resupply my ever so important beer supply with a rare west coast find, Yeungling amber lager. First time I had a yeungling was from on of my wolfpack kin #basicbro officer Ralph Villejo. I would describe this beer as follows, "like a budwiser bit tastes great all the way through." This beer is just a smooth all the way through traditional lager, the hops are so subtle and the flavor is so crisp that it just tastes so refreshing. As a matter of fact my sister Trina wanted me to drink one right away even though they were not properly cooled and even though I hate beer that is warm I preceeded to finish the entire beer. It just brings to mind that this beer has been around for such a long time that you could taste all the years experience that has gone into the creation of this product. Wish these were more excessible here in California so I could spend all the expendable income I dont have on this drink. If you havent had the pleasure of trying it please find a way you wont regret it. In the mean time ill find the will not to polish all six of these in one or two days.
Continuing from yesterday's post Mel just sent me this completed art project circa 2008. I remember in her uc riverside days when she started this project that it seemed like she would never finish. Well I was wrong now in 2015 and it looks so good! You can see her change in tastes through the years starting from the top left of the piece and ending with our sons name and our anniversary so cleverly inserted at the bottom right. I do have a few lines and dots that I have to take credit for but I guess ill let Mel have the credit for this artwork! Anyways its almost Friday so keep grinding and I believe in each and everyone of you. I dont care what anyone else says about you!
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Mel Thee Artiste
Monday, July 13, 2015
The Leftover Prodigy
Lump Crab and Salmon Fried Rice Wrap
6oz Lump Crab
4oz Salmon
3 Whole Eggs
1 Ear of Fresh White Corn
3oz Peas
3oz Carrots
4 cups Cooked White Rice (not too wet)
1 cup Ponzu
1/4 cup Oyster Sauce
Salt and Pepper
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 Tbs Sriracha
12 Inch Flour Tortilla
10 slices Wonton Strips
2 Tbs Olive Oil
In a fryer, fry wonton strips until crispy. Set oven at 350, roast the corn for 15 minutes and cut off the cob into kernels. Season salmon with salt and pepper and bake for 10 minutes. In a bowl, mix mayonnaise, sriracha, sesame oil, salt and pepper and set aside. In a wok or pan on high heat, add the olive oil and let heat. In a bowl, beat the eggs and add to the pan and cook about 15 seconds. Add the peas and carrots and saute for another minute. Add cooked white rice and incorporate. Add the lump crab and cooked salmon, break into small pieces, and incorporate as well. While incorporating add the ponzu, oyster sauce, salt and pepper and stir fry until you get some color on the rice (about 5 minutes). In a griddle or pan on medium heat, warm up the tortilla on both sides. Take a tortilla and add some spicy mayonnaise mixture, crab fried rice, and wonton strips. Wrap it up and enjoy!
Mel says, "Why is this so good?!" Try it out and tell me if you agree!
Fried Wonton Strips |
Lump Crab and Salmon Fried Rice |
Fried Rice Wrap |
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Sunday Soba and Brews
Dried soba noodles
Sesame oil
Ponzu
Brown sugar
Pineapple juice
Black pepper
Kosher salt
Vegetable oil
Whole eggs
Granulated sugar
Furikake rice seasoning
Scallion
Friday, July 10, 2015
Channeling the Inner Pinoy
Good ebening eberybodies.
That's my fake filipino accent for clarification. Made a filipino-as-possible dinner tonight which is ironic because I feel like I have the least experience with this region of cuisine. A culmination of my upbringing in my endeavors of filipino food would have to be this conversation that I have frequently with my master chef mother (love you mom!).
Mom - Justin come here and eat now.
Me - Dang mom this food is dank! How do you make it?!?
(Not sure if the kids use "dank" anymore...)
Mom - I dont know I just put stuff in the pot.
Hence I never learned any of my mom's cooking secrets. I am glad to report my mom and I's communication skills have improved to a point where I can actually get what ingredients and techniques are used in her dishes. Hopefully we will improve further and get some actual measurements so I can replicate those flavors. Nonetheless, we all know who the best chef in the whole world is, and that is without a doubt "Mom."
There is this fish my mom left for me from our last kamayan night, which is a dinner where you cover a table in banana leaves, put a row of steamed white rice, a plethora of meats and you eat with your finest utensils, your hands! I'll have to find the pictures from that night. Anyway the fish I was talking about is called Pampano. I've had no prior experience cooking this fish so I went with these flavors as you'll see below and it turned out to be pretty good while tasting distinctly pinoy in my opinion. Here's the recipe:
Broiled Pampano on Braised Spinach with Hibiscus Sawsawan
For Spinach....
Spinach
Julliene yellow onion
Chopped garlic
Fish sauce
Unseasoned rice vinegar
Ponzu
Salt and black pepper
On high heat quickly saute onions and garlic with a little olive oil. Add spinach and seasonings and turn to low and braise for 45 mins. Transfer to a pyrex or steel baking pan
Fish....
Whole cleaned pampano
Cucumber
Cilantro
Lemon
Kosher salt
Stuff the pampano with lemon slices, cilantro and cucumber. Rub kosher salt on the skin of the fish. Place fish on the bed of braised spinach and place into the oven or salamander on HI broil until the skin carmelizes.
For sawsawan (I believe it means to dip, please excuse me I am a coconut filipino, I think you can figure out what that means haha)....
Unseasoned rice vinegar or cane vinegar
Hibiscus tea
Fish sauce
Granulated sugar
Diced cucumber
Salt and pepper
Dissolve sugar in hot hibiscus tea, let cool to room temp and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Serve with steamed white rice.
Mel ate it with the left over lump crab fried rice, I'll post this recipe later!
The dish itself had good flavor and the meat on the pampano was buttery and flaky . What I love about filipino food is you get a very eclectic mix of flavors that hit multiple sides of your pallet. Sugar, fish sauce, and vinegar gives you a salty sweet acidic sawsawan sauce that goes great with the fish. The story on the hisbiscus in the sawsawan is I ran out of sugar and had some hibiscus simple syrup that we were using for our passion iced tea drink Mel and I make and I guess it's a good thing because it adds a great flowery depth to the sauce. I like mixing the spinach and fish with my rice and lettting the rice soak up all that sawsawan flavor. Mel hates fish and she ate a good helping!
Well I hope you like the recipe and remember to always thank your mom for being the greatest cook you know!
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Peaks and Valleys
Welcome!
I am a typical work your way up, school of the hard knocks Executive Chef. I guess you could say I was a late bloomer to the whole culinary scene. Food has always played an important role in my life as I always found myself cooking for my family, friends or for our club events at school (Shoutout APSU!). It wasn't until I realized Community College wasn't for me when I found out that I really wanted to cook for a living. I started cooking at a retirement home in Oceanside and by 21, I was lucky enough to be running the place. I learned a lot about food costs and budgets but was missing the finer qualities of cooking so I was able to land a Sous Chef position at Valley View Casino & Hotel. I had the pleasure of personally running every outlet from the pizza and pho fast food dining, to the 1,200 cover a night lobster buffet, to the fine dining voted San Diego's Best Steakhouse, Black & Blue. I feel I would still be about that life and grinding the long hours but my little baby boy Jacob changed that thought process quickly. I found a job back in my origins of assisted living and I am now an Executive Chef & Director of Food Services. I feel I get the best of both worlds still being able to be involved with my passion of cooking while also being the Father and Husband my family deserves, you know?
URBN Market Catering is my new born baby of a company. Trying to apply all my experience and passion and maybe make a living off of something that I personally made with my own hands and built from the bottom up, that is where I ultimately want to be. This blog seems like a good place to share and record different events and recipes I make. Maybe it will be a place I can vent when I have that bad day. But anyway thanks for stopping by and I hope you find some interesting things on here!