San Diego Highlights - May 2019

Last month, I took a semi-spontaneous trip to San Diego to visit friends (hiked up Black Mountain in the morning, board gaming in the afternoon/evening) and see Jenny Lewis perform at the House of Blues (absolutely loving her "On The Line" album, btw).

Of course, I managed squeezed in a bit of sightseeing and some tasty stops as well. Some of the highlights from the trip include:

Menya Ultra's Negi Miso Ramen w "Braized" Chashu - this has been on my to-try for a while after hearing about its numerous regional, national & global accolades. And sure enough, it did not disappoint. Their housemade noodles were toothsome yet tender, the broth was incredibly complex and rich without becoming greasy or heavy, and the thick-cut slices of braised-then-grilled chashu (limited to first 10 orders of lunch & dinner service) were a wonderful meaty addition to an already solid bowl of noodles. I only wish I was able to order fewer slices of the limited edition chashu or just upgrade the regular chashu for this one... just adding three extra thick chashu was a bit of a pork overload!

Speaking of porky, I also indulged in the porchetta tacos at Porchetta Shack (evolution of the former Carnitas Shake Shack spot in North Park); despite a little skepticism, the herb-flavored pork works well in a taco and holds it own against the creamy guacamole & guajillo chile salsa. Definitely a consideration for future SD visits if I'm looking for something a little different than California burritos & seafood tacos.

Having recently read Liz Thorpe's "The Book of Cheese"; I was eager for any opportunity to explore & sample more cheeses to broaden my palate - and Venissimo Cheese was a wonderful spot to make that happen. Besides the picture perfect cheese plate, I loved that its North Park location is co-housed with Bottlecraft Beer Shop - which made for some interesting cheese-beer pairing possibilities. (My favorite of this quartet was Noce del Piave, an Italian cow's milk cheese that's wrapped in walnut leaves and oak barrel aged for two months, giving it intense umami & nutty notes blends beautifully with Enegren's Maple Baltic Porter)

Wicked Maine Lobster's lobster roll is one of my favorites in the West Coast, so a re-visit is almost always in order when I dive down to SD. (And I'm beyond ecstatic that they're planning a LA shop soon!!!)

You&Yours Distilling for their Chai Maple Old Fashioned using their barrel aged gin, which tastes remarkably close to the whiskey original with a delightfully subtle boost of florals & spices. I absolutely adore You & Yours' gins (which I encountered on the regular at SD cocktail bars) and can't wait to add their Winter or Sunday Gins to my collection soon.

For my sweet jaws tooth, I return to the reliable Le Parfait Paris for their Parfait Signature, with crispy almond praline topped with dark chocolate mousse & glaze. Though you really can't go wrong with any of their patisserie creations.

The only downer of the trip, foodwise, was missing Kettner Exchange's dinner service (like most upscale-ish sitdown places, kitchen closes approx. an hour before the bar/restaurant does), but at least I got to enjoy their KPK, their painkiller variation using a blend of 7 rums + passionfruit juice. Fingers crossed that I come back to enjoy this alongside some food next time!

Menya Ultra Mira Mesa

8141 Mira Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA 92126

FB / TW / IG

Porchetta Shack

2632 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92104

IG

Venissimo Cheese North Park

3007 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92104

FB / TW / IG

Wicked Maine Lobster @ Liberty Public Market

2820 Historic Decatur Rd, San Diego, CA 92106

IG

You&Yours Distilling Co

1495 G St, San Diego, CA 92101

FB / TW / IG

Le Parfait Paris

555 G St, San Diego, CA 92101

FB / TW / IG

Kettner Exchange

2001 Kettner Blvd. San Diego, CA 92101

FB / IG

Recipe: Maple Nut Toffee

I don't fancy myself as much of a confectioner, considering how anxious I get over exact measurements and a big role of candymaking is boiling the syrup the right temperature.

So I was rather surprised at how this easy and delicious maple nut toffee turned out, since the recipe is fairly forgiving. Instead of a thermometer (which I don't have), I used the cold water candy test. And it's a lot less stressful than one (including myself) imagine. Just plunge a small spoon's worth of syrup into cold water and use your hand to see what stage the resulting candy is.

Maple Nut Toffee / Brittle
(adapted from California Walnuts' website)
about 50-60 bite-sized pieces

Ingredients:
2 cups of raw, unsalted nuts, roughly chopped (I prefer walnuts, pecans or cashews since their softer crunch is a nice contrast against the snap of the toffee)
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup grade B maple syrup*
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, cut into smallish pieces (for faster melting)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup water
extra cold water for candy testing

*the grades of maple syrup is not about quality, but whether its color (& by association, "mapliness") — for cooking I prefer Grade B since it allows that distinctive busky, woodsy flavor to shine through.

Directions:
1. In a non-stick pan over medium-high heat, heat the chopped nuts, stirring/tossing regularly. Once it starts getting toasty (you'll start smelling the nutty aromas, and the nuts will start to char around the edges), turn off heat and set aside.
2. In a stainless steel pan, combine all the other ingredients and bring to low, gentle boil over medium-high heat, stirring as needed to melt the butter and mix everything together into a syrup.
3. Once the mixture starts to boil, lower heat as needed to bring it to a simmer and allow it to heat for another 15-20 minutes. Do not stir during this time.
4. When the candy color is a medium brown, do a cold water candy test. When it hits the hard crack stage (or when it hits 300 degrees Fahrenheit — if you have a cooking thermometer), turn the heat off and remove the pan from the burner. (Per the linked page, be careful when working with the hot candy syrup)
5. Add the toasted nuts into the syrup and stir to evenly incorporate the two.
6. Pour the mixture into a baking pan (I used a 8"x12") and spread evenly to cover all edges & corners. You can use a larger pan for a thinner layer candy, making it more of a brittle than a toffee.
7. Set and allow to cool for a few hours (or overnight) at room temperature.
8. Break the sheet of toffee into bite-sized pieces to store and enjoy!

Before / During / After the Anime Expo

 

Since Anime Expo usually coincides with the July 4th weekend, it's been years since I've been able to go due to other holiday plans with friends & family (let's just say the last AX I went to was before its current home at the LA Convention Center.) But since this year's long weekend was relatively free of events, I snatched up a ticket and braced myself for a day of serious anime & manga nerding out.  Yes, I only got a one-day pass as opposed to the standard four-day weekender; I figured after a many years hiatus I'm better off easing myself back into this.

To properly nourish myself before the Friday expo, I headed to Grand Central Market, where I skipped the weekend silliness of Eggslut and opted for lox on an everything bagel at Wexler's Deli with an iced almond-macadamia milk latte from G&B coffee. And it made for a divine breakfast - the translucent, silky pieces of salmon were perfectly highlighted, but not upstaged, by the lightly-pickled onions, puckery bits of capers and the perfect amount of cream cheese. Likewise, my latte was just sweet enough to show off the nut milks' natural flavors.

After the satisfying meal, I did a little urbanhike tos the convention center, where throngs of fans were already waiting for the doors to open. Just like the AX I remembered from years past... but larger.

Some other AX observations from this old-school otaku: