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Truffle Salt
Truffle salt is expensive but well worth it. I found some at Market Place in Rockridge. I ended up making a fresh slightly seared ahi tuna salad with fresh heirloom tomatoes and aged balsamic vinegar. I then got a fresh white fish (I forget the name) and lightly seared it topping it off with fresh truffle salt, and a side of pan fried blood orange olive oil, balsamic vinegar, purple corn, and fava beans. Delicious meal.
Thanksgiving in Palm Springs
We celebrated Thanksgiving in Palm Springs. Here is the lowdown on the food there.
For Thanksgiving Dinner we had a good meal at LG's steakhouse. Courtney wanted at least something that reminded her of Thanksgiving so the mashed potatoes would do the trick. We had Cesar salad made at our table, which was good, though I think they used prepackaged grated Parmesan cheese, and I always prefer huge slices of fresh parm for my salad. Courtney had Filet Mignon while I had the Rib eye. The Rib eye had more flavor than the filet though nothing is quite as good as HOPR still. Their sides were nothing to write home about either, the mashed potatoes were eeh, the mushrooms were mushrooms, and the green beans tasty dirty and underdone. The wine was okay but WAY overpriced.
The next day was a complete turnaround. We started out at the Cafe Des Beaux-Arts which had one of the best french onion soups that I have had. The soup consisted of real stringy cheese with a rich onion flavor that had a strong garlic base. The rest of the meal was okay. I had mussels mariniere that didn't have much flavor.
For dinner we tried out Zin, which was recommended on Chowhound. That was our best meal in PS. We started out with a duck foie gras with apples and figs that was simply delicious. I had the cream of wild mushroom soup with truffle oil while Courtney had the french onion soup, which was nowhere near the previous FO soup. I ended the meal with a Kobe Sirloin with haricot verts (the real way green beans should be) and peas and carrots, both delicious. To top it off I had one of the best Zins, a 2001 L'aventure Zinfandel from Paso Robles. If you can find it, get it.
Now off to LA for a wedding, Disneyland, and some dining.
B is for Taco
I finally got around to adding this item. B is for Taco at Taco's Barajito located on West Grand and Adeline. It looked really promising and as usual I had the Al Pastor and the Carne Asada tacos. I'd have to say that both were really lackluster and didn't really have anything special to write home about. The al pastor was niether sweet nor sour and the carne asada didn't have much flavor at all. Typical prices but not worth your time or money.
B is for Taco
Originally uploaded by hoonhkim
Taco the town - A
Taco the town - A
Originally uploaded by hoonhkim.
So after searching for a while, I have finally found my "A" truck. I will be doing a series of taco truck taste tests going alphabetically in order (of course ignoring the moniker taco, taqueria, el, or la, or similar participles). I will be mainly trying out the al pastor (if they have it) and the carne asada. Now onto "A"
Tacos Alonzo is located on Foothill Blvd in Oakland about 4 blocks from Fruitvale Ave. The service was very friendly. The tacos were above average with good flavor in both the al pastor and the carne asada. One great perk was that I was given extra salsa and a fire roasted jalapeno as well. Nothing to write home about but if you are in the area and want that extra jalapeno with your taco, then I would recommend it.
Kang Tong Degi
Before having a chowdown dinner at Kang Tong Degi, Peter and I went for part 2 of the pojangmacha
crawl. We opted for the Korean bacon and sirloin which we grilled at our table. Instead of the usual lettuce wraps, we were treated to a type of wide flat short noodle instead. It was chewy goodness. The Korean bacon was light and tender. The sirloin was not as tasty but still adequate. You could either wrap it in the noodle or dip it into sesame seed oil, or a spicy mixture. Bacon, Beef, Noodles, Beer, and Soju. What more could you ask for?
What tasty treats will I have in store during the chowdinner? Stay tuned.
BBQ in GGP
Surprisingly enough Golden Gate Park Golf Course has really good BBQ. I opted for the Pulled Pork brisket sandwich. The meat was really tender and the sauce was slightly sweet but not overpowering. The bread did not get watered down. The weather was also perfect for a BBQ. Overall a very tasty sandwich.
OB Oriental BBQ Chicken House
After coming back from Korea, one would think that Korean food would be the last thing that I would want, but it was. It only spurred on my fervor to seek out authentic Korean food in the Bay Area. My friend Peter and I checked out this local hot spot popular with the Korean exchange students that go to UC Berkeley. It was once called KoKo House, but the owners were caught one too many times serving alcohol to minors, so it shut down. It was closed for a while, but then OB Oriental BBQ Chicken house opened it's dimly lit doors.
Like many other Korean drinking/eating places (Pojangmachas), the menu differs from regular Korean restaurant fare by concentrating on Korean "pub food". Since chicken is its specialty, the menu was heavy on ... BBQ chicken dishes. I ordered the Fire Chicken, while Peter ordered the Seafood mixed Fire Chicken (same dish but with calamari, clams, and shrimp). I'd have to say that this is one of THE spiciest meals that I've ever had! Peter first started to make fun of me by saying that my tolerance had gone down, however 2 more bites into his meal he was complaining as well, comparing it to one his mother's super spicy Vietnamese peppers.
The chicken was very tender and whatever flavor was left after the spiciness numbed your taste buds, was not too sweet and pretty delicious. It was hard to judge, so I will have to be back and order the mild to better assess the food. However, the extra pitcher of beer to cool our tongues and the general atmosphere did make for a pleasant dining/drinking experience. Time for a
Pojangmacha crawl to see which one will reign supreme!
