Friday, September 2, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
It flopped like a pancake.
The Original Pancake House (Rancho Santa Fe)
When we lived in Carlsbad, for a treat, we would go to the Pancake House for breakfast. We seemed to remember we liked it....well I am blogging about it so we remember next time that we don't.
We were seated after a short wait....nice. Immediately asked if we wanted drinks...ok a bit hasty, but thanks.
I ordered a coffee (that comes with whipped cream) and Steve a hot chocolate. My coffee shows up naked. The hot chocolate comes with whipped cream, but this one came with the cream all down the side smeared and mashed on the cup...not even an attempt to wipe it off before dropping it at the table and scramming.
So we waited, and waited, and waited. Steve said he would let me do the talking for fear what would shoot out of his mouth. At that point I suggested we get up and leave...he hesitated...he really wanted pancakes.
We remained seated, frowning until our poor server showed up at the table. I looked at him and said, Alex, I hope you can make this right. He replaced Steve's hot chocolate and told me the "whipped cream" was actually just their creamer in the little metal dispenser....not whipped.
While he was rectifying Steve's mangy hot chocolate another server came to the table to take our order. Now I'm really confused. We started in the vortex of hell; now we have two people taking care of us?
We ordered, I asked for whipped cream for my coffee and we hoped breakfast would be better than how this event began.
I got eggs and corned beef hash with potato pancakes. Eggs were fine...corned beef hash was mashed up like dog food and tasted like raw onions. The potato pancakes were sweet; it just tasted weird.
Steve ate his chocolate chip pancakes without a peep, but when I asked him later how they were he said: how will remember next time that this place sucks? I told him I'd blog about it!
Ugh. Sometimes I wonder if my standard's are getting higher or if these places are getting worse.
All I know is that it wasn't worth eating there and now it's off our list!
When we lived in Carlsbad, for a treat, we would go to the Pancake House for breakfast. We seemed to remember we liked it....well I am blogging about it so we remember next time that we don't.
We were seated after a short wait....nice. Immediately asked if we wanted drinks...ok a bit hasty, but thanks.
I ordered a coffee (that comes with whipped cream) and Steve a hot chocolate. My coffee shows up naked. The hot chocolate comes with whipped cream, but this one came with the cream all down the side smeared and mashed on the cup...not even an attempt to wipe it off before dropping it at the table and scramming.
So we waited, and waited, and waited. Steve said he would let me do the talking for fear what would shoot out of his mouth. At that point I suggested we get up and leave...he hesitated...he really wanted pancakes.
We remained seated, frowning until our poor server showed up at the table. I looked at him and said, Alex, I hope you can make this right. He replaced Steve's hot chocolate and told me the "whipped cream" was actually just their creamer in the little metal dispenser....not whipped.
While he was rectifying Steve's mangy hot chocolate another server came to the table to take our order. Now I'm really confused. We started in the vortex of hell; now we have two people taking care of us?
We ordered, I asked for whipped cream for my coffee and we hoped breakfast would be better than how this event began.
I got eggs and corned beef hash with potato pancakes. Eggs were fine...corned beef hash was mashed up like dog food and tasted like raw onions. The potato pancakes were sweet; it just tasted weird.
Steve ate his chocolate chip pancakes without a peep, but when I asked him later how they were he said: how will remember next time that this place sucks? I told him I'd blog about it!
Ugh. Sometimes I wonder if my standard's are getting higher or if these places are getting worse.
All I know is that it wasn't worth eating there and now it's off our list!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
"Ortega" some may take it, but I'll leave it.
Ortega's, a Mexican Bistro
I had been working a little later on Monday, so once again our dining options, outside of chain restaurants, were quite limited. Steve decided he wanted Mexican. I can always go for some carnitas, so I was up for the suggestion.
I was telling one of the managers at work that we were going to grab some Mexican food. As he shoveled a tiramisu into his gaping hole, I figured, Ben likes food, he has a large gut, he may know a good place to eat and Steve and I could have a dining adventure.
He suggested Ortega, yes, like the boxed taco shell brand, and at this point, we should have gone to the grocery store for a pound of ground beef and a taco kit.
They were open til midnight. Thought if this was a good experience, we'd have one more late night dining joint to add to our list. You can never have too many.
We were one of two or three tables eating. The rest of the customers were sitting at the bar drinking. I tell you this detail, because this information helps to support my utter dissatisfaction.
I ordered a cup of soup and the carnitas platter. Steve decided to give chicken mole a shot.
The soup came after a very long wait and unfortunately there was a miscommunication and I received the wrong soup. When the waitress finally reappeared, I explained that I may have asked for the wrong soup. She offered to bring a cup of the other. This is when the waiting began. I repeat, A CUP OF SOUP!!
Remember only four other people ordering food in the entire restaurant!!!!
What...you take a ladle and dip it in a vat, pour that substance into a cup, and send it out to the customer...I'll even give the cook time to scratch his ass and type a text....and give the server time to flirt before she runs it to the table....7 minutes tops!
Instead, as I assumed would happen, our food arrived and then shortly after the soup.
So I graciously and semi-annoyed, but trying to mask it, refused the soup. Commented that I really didn't want if after the fact, since my food had already arrived.
We ate in silence; displeased with our entrees. Had a feeling they were trying to have a "nouveau" or should I say, "nuevo" Mexican cuisine from various exotic regions of Mexico, when their cook is probably some disgruntled guy from Tijuana that would prefer to make street tacos.
We declined dessert; let's not add salt to the wound. No comment was made about the soup, but luckily it was not on the bill. What went wrong here? Lots of things!
The food, the expediting of the food, and the servers lack of communication with the customer to create a more positive situation.
So, no, it was not worth eating here....it actually sucked....and now I think Ben sucks too!!!
I had been working a little later on Monday, so once again our dining options, outside of chain restaurants, were quite limited. Steve decided he wanted Mexican. I can always go for some carnitas, so I was up for the suggestion.
I was telling one of the managers at work that we were going to grab some Mexican food. As he shoveled a tiramisu into his gaping hole, I figured, Ben likes food, he has a large gut, he may know a good place to eat and Steve and I could have a dining adventure.
He suggested Ortega, yes, like the boxed taco shell brand, and at this point, we should have gone to the grocery store for a pound of ground beef and a taco kit.
They were open til midnight. Thought if this was a good experience, we'd have one more late night dining joint to add to our list. You can never have too many.
We were one of two or three tables eating. The rest of the customers were sitting at the bar drinking. I tell you this detail, because this information helps to support my utter dissatisfaction.
I ordered a cup of soup and the carnitas platter. Steve decided to give chicken mole a shot.
The soup came after a very long wait and unfortunately there was a miscommunication and I received the wrong soup. When the waitress finally reappeared, I explained that I may have asked for the wrong soup. She offered to bring a cup of the other. This is when the waiting began. I repeat, A CUP OF SOUP!!
Remember only four other people ordering food in the entire restaurant!!!!
What...you take a ladle and dip it in a vat, pour that substance into a cup, and send it out to the customer...I'll even give the cook time to scratch his ass and type a text....and give the server time to flirt before she runs it to the table....7 minutes tops!
Instead, as I assumed would happen, our food arrived and then shortly after the soup.
So I graciously and semi-annoyed, but trying to mask it, refused the soup. Commented that I really didn't want if after the fact, since my food had already arrived.
We ate in silence; displeased with our entrees. Had a feeling they were trying to have a "nouveau" or should I say, "nuevo" Mexican cuisine from various exotic regions of Mexico, when their cook is probably some disgruntled guy from Tijuana that would prefer to make street tacos.
We declined dessert; let's not add salt to the wound. No comment was made about the soup, but luckily it was not on the bill. What went wrong here? Lots of things!
The food, the expediting of the food, and the servers lack of communication with the customer to create a more positive situation.
So, no, it was not worth eating here....it actually sucked....and now I think Ben sucks too!!!
Ventured to the "City" for a nosh.
City Delicatessen
Since I work late, we find ourselves eating at odd joints at odd hours. There is a new york style deli we thought we would give a try and I must say, it was a bit peculiar, but not too bad.
I decided to go with a staple corned beef sandwich with swiss on rye. It was pretty good though the corned beef was a little bit tough....Steve had the pastrami; a much better choice.
It's funny. We eat at these places, try to branch out and try something new. We eat, we're not completely disgusted, but we never suggest returning for another meal. The staff were nice, a bit eccentric, but at 10:30 on a Sunday night, I think they were just happy to have some customers spending money.
Not sure if we'll go back. It was worth eating there, but maybe just once.
Since I work late, we find ourselves eating at odd joints at odd hours. There is a new york style deli we thought we would give a try and I must say, it was a bit peculiar, but not too bad.
I decided to go with a staple corned beef sandwich with swiss on rye. It was pretty good though the corned beef was a little bit tough....Steve had the pastrami; a much better choice.
It's funny. We eat at these places, try to branch out and try something new. We eat, we're not completely disgusted, but we never suggest returning for another meal. The staff were nice, a bit eccentric, but at 10:30 on a Sunday night, I think they were just happy to have some customers spending money.
Not sure if we'll go back. It was worth eating there, but maybe just once.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Going to "Canada" for a gyro was a good idea
Canada Steak Burger
Needed to get a bite to eat and didn't want to spend a lot of money or make it a three act play trying to figure out where to go.
I started out by searching for hot dogs in San Diego; they don't exist. This led to my least two favorite sites: urbanspoon and yelp. And like with any focused search, I ended up looking for places to eat hamburgers.
I came across the site for a hamburger joint with a funny name: Canada Steak Burger and they sell burgers and Greek food....ya got that from the name, right?
We decided to take a chance and go on a little adventure. As we drove through the neighborhood, I noticed there were more "adult stores" than cars on the highway during rush hour. We slowly drove by, craning our necks to check it out before we made a committment. Oh boy, only two guys in there and it looks a bit scary.
We saw it through, parked the car, and heading inside. I couldn't resist #8: the gyro/spanakopita combo meal. It came with a Greek salad and fries and yes, it's like they know me, the tzatziki and dressing were on the side!!!!
We really enjoyed it...and the fact that we ate for under $20 curtailed buyer's remorse. My only disaapointment came fronm the spanakopita. It had really large chunks of onions and red peppers. In all the years and all the spinach pies, I've never encountered on with peppers in it. It was also packed by the time with left....craziness!! As one of my coworkers says "for the money" it was worth eating there. Thanks for the adventure San Diego!!
Needed to get a bite to eat and didn't want to spend a lot of money or make it a three act play trying to figure out where to go.
I started out by searching for hot dogs in San Diego; they don't exist. This led to my least two favorite sites: urbanspoon and yelp. And like with any focused search, I ended up looking for places to eat hamburgers.
I came across the site for a hamburger joint with a funny name: Canada Steak Burger and they sell burgers and Greek food....ya got that from the name, right?
We decided to take a chance and go on a little adventure. As we drove through the neighborhood, I noticed there were more "adult stores" than cars on the highway during rush hour. We slowly drove by, craning our necks to check it out before we made a committment. Oh boy, only two guys in there and it looks a bit scary.
We saw it through, parked the car, and heading inside. I couldn't resist #8: the gyro/spanakopita combo meal. It came with a Greek salad and fries and yes, it's like they know me, the tzatziki and dressing were on the side!!!!
We really enjoyed it...and the fact that we ate for under $20 curtailed buyer's remorse. My only disaapointment came fronm the spanakopita. It had really large chunks of onions and red peppers. In all the years and all the spinach pies, I've never encountered on with peppers in it. It was also packed by the time with left....craziness!! As one of my coworkers says "for the money" it was worth eating there. Thanks for the adventure San Diego!!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Late night "URBN" eating
I know I've complained about the high/drunk food critic giving their disillusioned opinion about food, but if you can't be a hypocrite...then what's the point of having an opinion?
Yesterday was our work party where I ate little all day and then pounded four beers in a hour. Yes, I've still got it, but today I have drinker's remorse. We moved the party to a coworker's house and while commuting to the new party location, Steve commented," maybe drink water for the rest of the night?" I, of course, agreed, but couldn't resist keeping the drunkenness going and indulged in one more beer. Miss Lightweight did a number on herself and then decided some late night dining was in order.
We stopped at URBN Coal Fired Pizza; owned by a fellow New Havener. He has several places; one which used to be our favorite...duh...but slowly got bit by the San Diego critics' need for a thicker crust, more cheese, and less burnt bottom. Whatever!
So I sat my drunk ass down and waited to get my glutton on.
We were so tickled to see they had Foxon Park sodas. We weren't so tickled when we realized we paid $3.50 for that pint size soda.
The salad was delish....capresse meets panzanella...nothing wrong with that!!
The Gassosa soda was gassy and lemony and thirst quenchingly sweet!
The pizza....remember....for San Diego...hit the spot. My only complaint: not charred enough and a bit too salty. Someone went a little crazy with the Romano cheese.
It does sort of break my heart and makes me happy all at the same time. Let's face it..it's a New Haven eatery, not a unique San Diegan restaurant, but it was definitely worth eating there.
Yesterday was our work party where I ate little all day and then pounded four beers in a hour. Yes, I've still got it, but today I have drinker's remorse. We moved the party to a coworker's house and while commuting to the new party location, Steve commented," maybe drink water for the rest of the night?" I, of course, agreed, but couldn't resist keeping the drunkenness going and indulged in one more beer. Miss Lightweight did a number on herself and then decided some late night dining was in order.
We stopped at URBN Coal Fired Pizza; owned by a fellow New Havener. He has several places; one which used to be our favorite...duh...but slowly got bit by the San Diego critics' need for a thicker crust, more cheese, and less burnt bottom. Whatever!
So I sat my drunk ass down and waited to get my glutton on.
We were so tickled to see they had Foxon Park sodas. We weren't so tickled when we realized we paid $3.50 for that pint size soda.
The salad was delish....capresse meets panzanella...nothing wrong with that!!
The Gassosa soda was gassy and lemony and thirst quenchingly sweet!
The pizza....remember....for San Diego...hit the spot. My only complaint: not charred enough and a bit too salty. Someone went a little crazy with the Romano cheese.
It does sort of break my heart and makes me happy all at the same time. Let's face it..it's a New Haven eatery, not a unique San Diegan restaurant, but it was definitely worth eating there.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
I don't think I'll have the "Urge" to eat there again
URGE American Gastropub
We have a couple that we go out with that love and know a lot about beer. We wanted to go with them to Ritual Tavern and check it out, but given time restraints and location, they asked if we'd be willing to go to URGE.
A gastropub; um, I want to be impressed when I go to a gastropub. Why?... because you've taken the time to call yourself a gastropub, you should be more than a place with lots of booze that has some food on the menu.
Our server, well, he didn't really help much. I want confidence and knowledge to exude from my server. I can read a menu, I'm looking to you for more. I've decided from this experience that I might start off with "if I was a New York Times food critic, what would suggest I order?". Who am I kidding, they still won't get it. Maybe my expectations are too high; maybe I am too serious and intense. Oh, I don't know, maybe since I work my ass off in a kitchen that I earn three dollars an hour after taxes, I would like to spend my hard earned cash on something worth while. Just saying; that's all.
I ordered one of the specials. Supposedly it was a hotdog wrapped in wild boar bacon with some fancy beer infused mustard, sauerkraut, and "sport pepper relish". Given my disdain for peppers, I opted not to have the relish and to play it safe, got the mustard on the side.
I will start off by saying I am grateful for the high alcohol content beer I was swigging cause the dog was depressing. The bacon was just thrown on there, the mustard was yellow mustard with little bumps in it, and the hot dog, was well a basic dog, and honestly, there was this weird sour after taste. All this was dumped into a very clumsy, stale bun. Yes, a stale bun. The sauerkraut was good. It came with "house made chips". They were good, in a Lays sour cream and onion chips way.
I decided to drown my sorrows in another beer. Since they took forever to bring out our order, we were offered free dessert. That was edible and ended the night on a decent note. But the frown on my face said it all: it wasn't worth eating there.
We have a couple that we go out with that love and know a lot about beer. We wanted to go with them to Ritual Tavern and check it out, but given time restraints and location, they asked if we'd be willing to go to URGE.
A gastropub; um, I want to be impressed when I go to a gastropub. Why?... because you've taken the time to call yourself a gastropub, you should be more than a place with lots of booze that has some food on the menu.
Our server, well, he didn't really help much. I want confidence and knowledge to exude from my server. I can read a menu, I'm looking to you for more. I've decided from this experience that I might start off with "if I was a New York Times food critic, what would suggest I order?". Who am I kidding, they still won't get it. Maybe my expectations are too high; maybe I am too serious and intense. Oh, I don't know, maybe since I work my ass off in a kitchen that I earn three dollars an hour after taxes, I would like to spend my hard earned cash on something worth while. Just saying; that's all.
I ordered one of the specials. Supposedly it was a hotdog wrapped in wild boar bacon with some fancy beer infused mustard, sauerkraut, and "sport pepper relish". Given my disdain for peppers, I opted not to have the relish and to play it safe, got the mustard on the side.
I will start off by saying I am grateful for the high alcohol content beer I was swigging cause the dog was depressing. The bacon was just thrown on there, the mustard was yellow mustard with little bumps in it, and the hot dog, was well a basic dog, and honestly, there was this weird sour after taste. All this was dumped into a very clumsy, stale bun. Yes, a stale bun. The sauerkraut was good. It came with "house made chips". They were good, in a Lays sour cream and onion chips way.
I decided to drown my sorrows in another beer. Since they took forever to bring out our order, we were offered free dessert. That was edible and ended the night on a decent note. But the frown on my face said it all: it wasn't worth eating there.
Frequenting this place will not become a "Ritual"
Ritual Tavern
We've been meaning to try this place for a while. The advertisements allude to a cozy pub type atmosphere with comforting food and a good beer list.
Well, the beer list was extensive and had choices for all. The menu was limited, but they seemed to put some effort into choosing wisely for the type of food one may like to eat while pounding some beers.
We had a beer and started with the Parmesan garlic fries with "house made ketchup". They had good flavor, but were sort of limp and chewy. Not the terms I like to use for fries, or anything else for that matter.
I got the what the menu described as "Lamb Osso Bucco with fingerling potatoes, market root vegetables, and jus".
The lamb shank was dry. Braised at one point, removed from it's liquid and left on a sheet pan warming somewhere no doubt. The jus was flavorful, a bit much a the bottom of the shallow bowl, and no fingerling potatoes at all.
Thank God for the heirloom carrots, cause I don't like baby turnips; especially undercooked ones!
So I ate the edible parts of my meal; disappointed and frowning that I got gypped the potatoes and spent the rest of the time watching Steve eat his less than satisfying shepherd's pie.
I guess if you ask the person with whom you're dining where they'd like to go for dinner while eating dinner, you probably didn't enjoy your meal.
So I came home after stopping by a very disappointing bakery...won't even go into that one and ate a 100 calorie pack of fudge stripe cookies to try and make myself feel better.
All I can say, is this place only cost us fifty bucks, but it definitely wasn't worth eating there.
We've been meaning to try this place for a while. The advertisements allude to a cozy pub type atmosphere with comforting food and a good beer list.
Well, the beer list was extensive and had choices for all. The menu was limited, but they seemed to put some effort into choosing wisely for the type of food one may like to eat while pounding some beers.
We had a beer and started with the Parmesan garlic fries with "house made ketchup". They had good flavor, but were sort of limp and chewy. Not the terms I like to use for fries, or anything else for that matter.
I got the what the menu described as "Lamb Osso Bucco with fingerling potatoes, market root vegetables, and jus".
The lamb shank was dry. Braised at one point, removed from it's liquid and left on a sheet pan warming somewhere no doubt. The jus was flavorful, a bit much a the bottom of the shallow bowl, and no fingerling potatoes at all.
Thank God for the heirloom carrots, cause I don't like baby turnips; especially undercooked ones!
So I ate the edible parts of my meal; disappointed and frowning that I got gypped the potatoes and spent the rest of the time watching Steve eat his less than satisfying shepherd's pie.
I guess if you ask the person with whom you're dining where they'd like to go for dinner while eating dinner, you probably didn't enjoy your meal.
So I came home after stopping by a very disappointing bakery...won't even go into that one and ate a 100 calorie pack of fudge stripe cookies to try and make myself feel better.
All I can say, is this place only cost us fifty bucks, but it definitely wasn't worth eating there.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
How this came about
So, there I was at work, in the middle of my twelve hour shift, on the Saturday night of restaurant week, plating over 300 desserts when one of the managers walks up to my station. He says, "there is a food blogger out there and she didn't like the pear dessert, so I want to give her a free cheese board, with extra stuff on it". So I tilt my head, smirk on my face, and say, "so you want to positively reinforce her negative behavior?". This of course sparked a very uninteresting rationalization to justify his behavior. Whatever. I felt an obligation to educate him about the limited knowledge San Diegans have about "what good food is". In my usual aggravated tone, with my semi inside voice, I bitched: why does this person wield the power of a New York Times food critic, just because she threatens to post her self-indulgent, self-important, uninteresting opinion on her blog? Is that wrong, is that bad, did I say that out loud? Yep, days later, after a horrible meal in a so called gastropub, belligerently drunk in a two beer stupor, I proclaimed, fuck it, every time I eat out, I'm posting my self-important opinion!
One of these is not like the other
Growing up in Connecticut; especially New Haven, there never seemed a need to search Yelp or Urbanspoon to see which restaurants were worth checking out. How did we find good restaurants? By word of mouth. Now I realize that New Haven doesn't have 1.3 million people like San Diego and it might be harder to get a word of mouth recommendation here, but against my better judgment I keep referring to Yelp and Urbanspoon hoping the masses have actually acquired some knowledge about "what good food is". OH, and for the record, word of mouth sucks around here....big time!!
I keep asking myself, how? why? what's wrong with this demographic? How come the majority think it's a good place to eat? Then it came to me as one of my coworkers thumbed through the San Diego version of "High Times". EVERYONE IS EITHER HIGH OR DRUNK WHEN THEY'RE EATING OUT!!!!
Come on, admit it, you remember what it's like to be "altered" by some type of substance....food tastes fantastic! Heck, the grilled cheese and onion rings I used to get at the Athena Diner at 3am would have earned four stars.
So that's what I believe, no one is eating this food with a critical, sober eye. So curiosity and the need to know what others think of a local restaurant will no longer be the deciding factor for where to dine. I'll just have to take my chances, buy a meal, and see if it was worth eating there.
I keep asking myself, how? why? what's wrong with this demographic? How come the majority think it's a good place to eat? Then it came to me as one of my coworkers thumbed through the San Diego version of "High Times". EVERYONE IS EITHER HIGH OR DRUNK WHEN THEY'RE EATING OUT!!!!
Come on, admit it, you remember what it's like to be "altered" by some type of substance....food tastes fantastic! Heck, the grilled cheese and onion rings I used to get at the Athena Diner at 3am would have earned four stars.
So that's what I believe, no one is eating this food with a critical, sober eye. So curiosity and the need to know what others think of a local restaurant will no longer be the deciding factor for where to dine. I'll just have to take my chances, buy a meal, and see if it was worth eating there.
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