Without it, I'd be a monster!

OK, if CUPS (thank you, Linda and Jonna) did not exist, many, many UCSD employees like me would be monsters. Trust me on this one.

For some odd reason, UCSD doesn't have an on-campus Starbucks (which is good, if you do not support the Walmartization of coffee). Bad for Starbucks, good for Linda and Jonna, co-owners of the franchise, CUPS. I first encountered CUPS last year when I was running to a class in Warren College, and I bumped into the CUPS cart near the Jacobs School of Engineering. Their coffee actually tastes better than Starbucks, because it doesn't have that aftertaste that Starbucks tends to have (I shouldn't say that--a former CUPS employee, and friend of mine, now works for Starbucks). While they don't serve frapuccinos (I was schooled by one of their baristas--Starbucks has copyrighted the word, frapuccino), they do serve pretty good blended drinks.

Cheaper than Starbucks, and their coffee is on-par with Coffee Bean (which, I think, is better than Starbucks).

CUPS
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla CA 92093

Just ask any student wherever you are on campus. Even if you're at the hospital in Hillcrest, at Torrey Pines North, at SIO on La Jolla Shores, or at upper campus--you'll find a CUPS!

Jewel once sang about hands...

And that song was beautiful...but it is my belief that cooks should not openly handle meat, cheese, and other food items that are not going into the fryer (I think I misspelled that--oh well!), the pot, or an oven. Even if the cook is in tip-top shape. No no no.



I decided I would try El Charro on Avenida de la Playa in La Jolla because it was the closest Mexican food place within walking distance of work. Some old man totaled my Volvo by crashing into it while it was parked. Now, I have to walk everywhere.

Someone from work suggested El Charro, so as soon as I arrived, I really expected a lot. The prices were a lot more expensive than most Mexican restaurants, but that was probably due to the fact that the restaurant was in La Jolla, instead of a neighbourhood like, Linda Vista, or East San Diego. So, a burrito that would cost you $3.00 in Santee costs $6.95.

I ordered my usual fare of carne asada fries. This was first introduced to me by a "stalker" from the past, Big Sean (long story). I immediately fell in love with it, and order it every chance I get--unless, of course, the Mexican food restaurant doesn't make it (like Fins, also of La Jolla).

What bothered me first of all was the fact that they do not accept debit or credit. Everything had to be paid for in cash. I understand some restaurants still do not do this, but most of their competition in La Jolla does. And although there is an ATM inside the restaurant, it charges $1.00. I had to withdraw $20.00, with a $1.00 charge. ICK.

I watched the cook prepare my food--basically, all he did was grab a handful of shredded carne asada that was already pre-cooked, some cheese, fries, sour cream, and guacamole. Now, what also bothered me was the fact that he was using his bare hands. I can understand, again, if the food was going into the oven, a pot, or even a microwave, but it was just going into my to-go box! The fries were hot (coming from the fryer), but he still should have used gloves.

Their selective service also did not sit well with me. By selective service, I mean the cashier only asks certain people if they wanted salsa. The rest of us (me included) had to get our own. Perhaps if I learned Spanish, and called them mija as soon as I entered the restaurant, things would have changed.

As soon as I arrived at my office, I poured my green salsa all over it, and ate. Nothing to write home about, but it was pretty good. I have, however, had better that didn't cost $6.95.

Lesson learned--those hole-in-the-wall places in neighbourhoods that I normally do not frequent are perhaps better than El Charro. I think they're charging for the location.



El Charro
2175 Avenida de la Playa
La Jolla CA 92037
858-459-7900

What the Pho?

Ok, so the name of this Pho place isn't as funny as



But it was the closest thing we could find. Peter was hungry, so on our way to the movies, he had stated that he had a craving for Pho. So, we drove to Pho Hoacali Express right by my house. Many years ago, the pho places in San Diego all seemed to have the same name (Hoacali). I think they were all owned by the same group of people who all decided it would be best if they weren't all business partners any longer (kinda like why the gays who owned Hamburger Mary's and Margarita Mary's started suing the hell out of one another so that now, neither restaurant possesses the name Mary--and they were all friends at one time!).

Pho Hoacali was able to keep its name, but unlike the other pho restaurants, this one was quite tiny.



The waiters didn't bother telling us there was a waiting list, so Peter and I, along with this rather cute white guy, Jimmy, and his Asian "date" just stood there until we saw a woman put her name on the list, and cut ahead of us!



(that's her--GRRR!). We ended up getting the table next to her and her husband, who would just let his chair hit mine whenever he'd need to get in. Elderly Asians have this belief that the younger ones need to show respect by shutting their mouth and letting the older ones treat us like crap when they feel like it. I really felt like telling the man I was right next to him, but eventually he just sat down and ate his food.



The food really was just OK in the end. It wasn't something that I would have thought to be spectacular, but it did come to my table quickly. The broth tasted OK, again, nothing that I haven't tasted before...but it was cheap. And the portions were quite big (I wasn't able to eat half of the bowl!).

If they would tell us next time that there was a waiting list, and if the other customers weren't so rude, perhaps the experience would have been better.



Pho Hoacali Express
9170 Mira Mesa Boulevard
San Diego CA 92126

Like...Pho Shizzle!

San Diego doesn't have a shortage of Asian restaurants. The funny thing about San Diego, however, is that although we have more than our fair share of wonderful Vietnamese, Thai, Filipino, Japanese, and Korean restaurants, there isn't a decent Chinese restaurant anywhere. None. Unless, of course, you're satisfied with calling Panda Express authentic Chinese.

Two of my best friends being Vietnamese has certainly done a lot for my taste in Asian food--one, I've actually begun liking authentic Asian food. For years, I was satisfied with eating home-made Filipino food, and, of course, the occasional items from Panda Express or Rice King. My friends, Peter and Vi, actually showed me that Asian food can be served in a restaurant. And it can taste authentic--not that Americanised crap at Panda Express.

Last weekend after the gay pride festival, Peter, his partner, Mike, and I, decided to eat at Pho Pasteur. Now, we don't go there for the pho (there's another restaurant for that)--we go for seven-course beef. The restaurant will basically bring you seven courses of beef that is cooked in a hot plate in front of you. While service isn't really their specialty (they kind of leave you alone after a while, which is a bit disappointing), the food is great!



I never noticed that beef can taste different with each serving. It was probably in the way the beef was prepared originally, but each course tasted different. Some of the meat was actually sweet, while the others, salty...

Pho Pasteur should seriously consider upgrading its service to actually exist in order to please lazy-asses like me. Otherwise, it's great food.

Pho Pasteur
7612 Linda Vista Road
San Diego 92122

...but the view is nice...

Having to park my car on the street at work, and having to consequently compete with surfers over parking, I decided one day to just buy my lunch from the "infamous" Snackropolis. Now, Snackropolis has been around the premises of Scripps Institution of Oceanography for quite some time now--many of the people who work in the offices began serving their time at SIO as student workers in Snackropolis. In fact, Snackropolis was awarded one of Sunset Magazine's BEST awards, so it has quite a following.

On my way to Snackropolis (a mere three doors), I bumped into two employees merrily chatting away about retirement. One of them had purchased a sandwhich by the inch, which she had let me photograph:



This woman who shall remain nameless has always been dissatisfied with not only their service and food, but with how the manager, according to her, treats the employees. I decided to ignore these warnings and just...buy the food.



I wasn't hungry for much, so I only ordered chicken tenders and fries...


(I had to, of course, douse it in hot sauce!)

I ordered my food at around 12:25, but it still wasn't ready until 12:45. I guess that's understandable, since the wait was long, and there is only one person at the register, and one person at the grill...and about two others doing nothing.

I waited. And waited. And waited...with these lovely people:



And realized that they left out the tomato-based hot sauce under the sun:



Many people who've gotten food poisoning by foods with tomato in it (like me with spaghetti back when I was 7--I was hospitalized) swear by the fact that it was the acid in the tomato juice/paste that was being cooked by the sun. Hmmm... People have complained about this fact to Snackropolis, but they haven't thought of moving the condiments to the other side, where there is no direct sunlight.

At last, my food finally arrived! Now at this point, I thought it would be served on gold leaves, and that the chicken and fries would taste fresh.

Nope--the chicken and the fries both tasted OK, but both had that taste of food that had been frozen for many, many days, and then thawed out only earlier that day so that it could be fried in the deep fryer. Nothing special, nothing noteworthy, nothing that really deserves an award for San Diego's Best. Perhaps, the reviewers for that magazine thought that it deserved that award because of the view, because the view from Snackropolis is perfect, but...



Close, but no cigar =P

Snackropolis
8200 Discovery Way
La Jolla, CA 92037

I've Got Seoul But I'm not a Soldier

After going to the beach, my friends and I, hungry as a pack of wolves, decided to drive to Clairemont and eat at Luong Hai Ky, the cheapest, but one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in San Diego.

Upon arriving there, however, we found that it was closed for the day. Damn it! Peter had the idea to drive across the street and eat at Tofu House, this Korean restaurant specializing in...(as if you haven't already guessed) Tofu.

The restaurant was packed, which is pretty much how it is every day (and this was on a Sunday night). Our party of five was seated quite quickly (they probably sensed that we were hungrier than a pack of wolves), and the waiter came and took our orders.

The menus were cute, and peppered with mistakes that are similar to the ones I had seen in China (the Chinese called it Chinglish--I like to call it Engrish). After much deliberation, the party had settled on what they were going to order--I wanted the mushroom soup with brown rice...

Before long, they had arrived with the appetizers (Kimchi, pickled cucumber...), which were quite tasty. Some were sweet, most were spicy, but all were cold.

After about fifteen minutes, the orders arrived--two of which, were wrong. Anh's soup was wrong, and Peter had to ask for the Kalbi beef TWICE! I had noticed, however, upon trying other people's soups that Korean tofu tastes pretty much the same; the same broth is used for all of the soups. The only difference is the meat. After waiting for about an hour, the Kalbi beef (Korean BBQ) finally arrived--and while the menu had it listed for $15.00, the pieces looked about as small as if they had been a third of that price. The meat wasn't as tender as I had expected, but perhaps that had to be attributed to the fact that Peter had to request the Kalbi from this waiter TWICE.Normally, their service and food are both excellent, but tonight wasn't their night. Not only did everything taste the same, the Kalbi arrived late (and wasn't as good as it normally is), and the service was terrible. The server had to be reminded three times that their food is spicy, and we needed water.

Other reviews posted about Tofu House raves about the quick service that I did not encounter on this particular visit (though I have encountered above average service at this restaurant before). Most agree, however, that the free appetizers that arrive at first are one of the highlights of the meal.

Tofu House

4646 Convoy St #116

San Diego CA 92111

858-576-6433

Food In China...

Perhaps this is cheating, but I must talk about the food I encountered in China during my two-week visit.

Despite what many people told me about how well I will eat in China, I was sorely disappointed. I guess after having been spoiled on the MSG-flavouring overload one encounters in Chinese restaurants here in the United States, I found food in the northern parts of China (Beijing, Xi'an, and Shanghai) to be bland. The food looked interesting:



...but somehow, I felt like the southern restaurants (Hong Kong, and the other regions to the south) had tastier food. A co-worker of mine from the southern region agreed with me (this is perhaps due to her being from the south!), and also told me that the western regions were famous for spicy food (Szechuan). Hmmm...too bad we didn't go there!

I did encounter a wonderful restaurant in Beijing on our last night there, called "The Red Capital Club." It was decked out in 1950's, with actual furniture from the red Capitals. Outside the restaurant was a Mercedes limousine used to drive Mrs. Mao around Beijing.

The food I encountered there was perhaps the best I had tasted in all of China (and perhaps the best-presented, as well)

Outside it looks innocent in this photo, but inside it's quite the hangout.

OK, I lied--the Peking duck at the oldest Peking duck restaurant in all of Beijing was the best, but the Red Capital Club had that restaurant beat on its presentation.

The Red Capital Club
No. 66 Dongsi Jiutiao
Dongcheng District
Beijing 100007

I only swallow it if I like it...

...well, that's not really true. I have been, or have made myself swallow food that I didn't necessarily like. The way I see it, there are starving people everywhere, and if there's food, I will finish it--especially if I had to pay for it!

A note on the name--I am not a character out of Pixar! Not the creepy Anton Ego from Disney/Pixar's Ratatouille. At least, I am not that mean. I guess the one thing Anton Ego and I, Anton (Alter) Ego have in common is that we have somewhat high expectations when it comes to food, especially to restaurants that seem to keep getting these high ratings from critics all over San Diego. I am starting to think that either the critics warn these restaurants when they will appear, hence these restaurants threaten their staff to prepare their best meal, or face torture, or the critics are just too nice and afraid to offend the owners of these restaurants. Of course, I know several restaurants in San Diego, where employees will not hesitate to add their own variation to the dish (SPIT pea soup, anyone?)...

I love food. I love to sample food, I like to take risks with food, and as some co-workers might say, I blow all $40K of what I make a year on eating out. Might as well write about it, right?

I am still looking for that dish that'll make me cry. For food that is so tasty, so delicious, that I can feel what the chef is feeling the moment he is preparing the food. After having partaken in artistic endeavours myself, I believe that food can be like a beautiful painting, a song that transcends all styles, a classic novel, or a poem that is accessible and deep, all at the same time.

I have yet to find that. Most often, I eat my meal, and will respond with a "that's good..." or, "ick..." I want to find my Nadia Comaneci of chefs...the perfect 10.