El Zarape

WOW! And I sang Ranchos Natural Market's praises? Our Richmond-transplanted friend Dennis described the majesty of this magical place a few days ago, and Ashton and I decided to try it out last night before heading to Encinitas for a hangout sesh. Apparently they have fish tacos for $0.99, which of course sold me. Ashton had also sampled their offerings for lunch that day, and told me in so many words that we must make this a go-to-often spot. It's on Park Avenue just north of the University Heights sign on the left, and it's just a small hole-in-the-wall place with minimal seating and a casual atmosphere. They had a pretty extensive menu with a ton of unusual options for very reasonable prices. I opted for the Calamari Burrito, and Ashton went for the Veggie Supreme Burrito.

Let's just say that the Calamari burrito was the best thing I have ever had. I had even noticed that at Ranchos they have calamari strips as an appetizer (random) and verbally wished they could add it as a burrito option. This was above and beyond what I could have expected. Just the right amount of things, and everything tasted FRESH FRESH FRESH. Stuffed full of fried and steamed calamari rings, lettuce, tomato, and a chipotle white sauce. Nothing more, nothing less. I took the liberty of adding some of the thick red saucy salsa from the salsa bar, and was NOT disappointed with the result. They also have an EXCELLENT variety of salsas available at the bar, all of which were superb.

Ashton's veggie burrito was also in the top 10 category. Full of beans, crisp lettuce, ripe tomatoes, sour cream, potatoes, all rolled into a tortilla of delight. Both came with a small sampling of chips as well, so we were able to even further enjoy the salsa selection. Neither burrito was obscenely big or skimpy either, just the right sizes for the price.

They also offer Coke Zero as a fountain drink! Awesome! El Zarape gets 2 enthusiastic thumbs up. Not only is it right around the corner, it's in a hip neighborhood, it's cheap, fresh, fast, and incredibly tasty. I've read a few reviews online, and the lack of seating does seem to make it more of a take-out spot, but when we went at 6:30 it was no problem grabbing a table. I guess it's a case by case scenario. But I can't recommend this enough. I look forward to eating there again VERY soon!

Phony Pho

Ashton and I had big hopes for this one. I really wanted to make a Thai Lemongrass soup, but to our dismay Albertons had no sort of lemongrass or a variety of other ingredients that were pretty necessary to that sort of venture. We altered our plans a bit, and with only the roughest of sketches managed to whip up one of the most delicious things I have ever had. If I had been served this in a restaurant, I would have been incredibly pleased, so to have created it pleased me doubly!

For this we used:
3 cups chicken stock
a few splashes of fish sauce
Chopped cilantro
a generous heap of brown and white mushrooms
Salt and Pepper to taste
Spring onions
a sprinkle of dried basil
a sprinkle of dried oregano
juice of 1/2 a lime
Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 a green chile pepper
splash of olive oil
and although it is not pictured in here, a boiled chicken breast and rice noodles for a pretty hearty soup with an incredible broth. My only complaint was definitely too much cilantro, but that is easily remedied. This was truly our best yet. Incredibly basic, but incredible tasting.

I was especially pleased with this because we were looking at a few different recipes, and none of them seemed to be exactly what we were looking for, so we just altered several to fit what we wanted. Plus, if we were able to create something this amazing without lemongrass, which is pretty key, imagine what we could accomplish with it! Next time we'll plan a little more in advance and go to the Asian Market to make sure we get everything necessary to re-create and enhance this delicious dish.

Pokez

Sunday consisted of a burrito brunch at Pokez, a Mexican/Vegetarian restaurant downtown (not unlike Ranchos in North Park). We'd been once before as newbies to SD, but it made a favorable impression on me and I had wanted to repeat the experience. It was a beautiful day so we rode our bikes the few miles downtown to indulge. I got the Mahi Mahi burrito in a wheat tortilla, and Ashton opted for the bean and vegan chorizo burrito in a wheat tortilla. Honestly, I expected to come out on top of this venture, but surprisingly his was unbelievable. Mine was "good", even "enjoyable", but the chorizo/bean combination was stellar. The Mahi Mahi was grilled nicely and everything was obviously fresh, but the white sauce was not anything special and the salsa fresca was simply okay. The beans and chorizo had a great spice on them and were exploding with flavor. Also, the salsa and chips they bring at the beginning of the meal were first rate. I'll definitely re-evaluate my choices next time.


Of course, in my anxiousness to dig it I realized I hadn't taken a picture until I had dissected my burrito, so here they are in all of their sloppy glory.




Ashton refused to stop eating for me to take a picture of his, thus the fork movement. Coming up next, our Vietnamese soup experiment that possibly is the best thing we've made so far. Stay tuned.