Soup Girl

It is funny the ways that you bond with your children as a parent. For my father and I bonding usually meant going to old school Italian places like Little Joe's on Broadway in San Francisco or rafting down the Guadalupe River in pool flotation devices. For my four year old daughter and myself it is enjoying a bowl of Won-Ton Soup.

Now every Chinese place is going to have a bowl of Won-Ton Soup (maybe even a Vietnamese place for that matter). I've tried hundreds and generally they are a fairly lackluster combination of chicken stock, MSG and some grisly pork wontons. However a few places do Won-Ton Soup right and the best of those has to be Mike's Noodle House in Seattle's International District.

Mike's in the International District

My daughter and I visited Mike's right after they opened at 9:30am and the place was already jumping. Families and groups of friends were enjoying Congee and Chinese Doughnuts. Now Congee is just one of those things that I can't get into and I doubted that the little one was going to be game either so we went for the Beef Brisket Won-Ton Noodle Soup ($7.55 for a large) and the Chinese Doughnut($1.90). The staff was friendly and helpful for this type of establishment. They provided me with a pair of scissors to cut the noodles for my munchkin. When the soup arrived it was a revelation. The broth had the usual MSG/chicken stock elements but also a faint trace of star anise and ginger that gave it a greater depth of flavor. The beef brisket was tender and fatty and also carried the taste of star anise. The wontons were a combination of a whole shrimp and a minced pork filling forged together in a wrapper. My only regret with the soup was that there were only three wontons which meant one and half for each of us...not enough. My daughter was a happy camper and had over two servings of the soup including seconds on the brisket

The Chinese doughnut was a big disappointment however. It was a cold, greasy, doughy blob that didn't really satisfy on any level. Maybe the gringos got the shaft but I am not sure why it would be cold twenty minutes after the place opened. I wonder how long it had been sitting out. Maybe yesterday's special?    

After bonding over soup, we left Mike's and checked out the international district. There were lots of dim sum places around which isn't all that common in Seattle outside of this neighborhood. We will have to try one next time and bond over pork buns....another mutual favorite.

Albondigas, Albondigas

Long ago in the land of Long Beach, there was a magical...Mexican restaurant. Well, I don't know how magical it was, but it seemed special as a little kid. It was one of those traditional dark windowless Mexican restaurants with mariachis and tacky decor. My family went there frequently even though we nicknamed it El Stinko. The only thing that I remember about the food was the albondigas soup and the lollipop bowl at the front of the restaurant. My love for albondigas soup stayed with me throughout my childhood and well into adulthood. Something about the rice meatballs and the chili spiked broth that worked for me.

Finding albondigas soup became something of a quest for me. "El Stinko's" went out of business sometime in the mid-80's and in the fajita/enchilada world of Texas' Mexican restaurants there was no albondigas soup. Once we moved to California, it was menudo and caldo del mar that dominated the soup menus of the taquerias of Watsonville and Santa Cruz. It wasn't until I went to Old Towne Mexican Cafe in San Diego that I got to taste my beloved albondigas soup. It was the only place that I knew that served the soup for years. Then all of the sudden a couple of years ago it began appearing on menus at Mexican places in the East Bay.

Quality varied but I was happy to have this classic back. Now that I have a selection to choose from, I can make a judgment call on who has the best. And the winner is...Mi Pueblo Supermarket on High Street(Oakland). It is a rotating special at their taqueria/market that I have had on Wednesday. What made their albondigas special was not the meatballs themselves, but the broth that got a smoky, spicy kick from generous helping of chipolte peppers left whole in the broth. For meatball quality, I would have to say La Carta de Oaxaca in my new home of Seattle is the best however the thick heavy broth was a negative for me. Albondigas should have a light smoky/spicy broth.

I have listed a link below for a recipe that is a good approximation of what is available at Mi Pueblo. The broth can be a bit tricky. I have had it turn out too oily and rich, which makes the soup difficult to eat as a main. The recipe does not use chipolte peppers but still has that smoky kick to it. The poblano peppers adds a new dimension to the meatballs.

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/01/poblano_albondigas_with_ancho_chile_soup

Japanese Markets and Ramen

Japanese food has fascinated me since my childhood. Once I had my first bite of freshly made tempura at Tempura Kiku in Disney's Epcot center in 1987, I was hooked for life. The focus on achieving perfection within the narrow guidelines of tradition has always impressed me about true Japanese food. My trip to Tokyo ten years ago showed me that the Japanese apply that philosophy to every aspect of their lives-even the knickknacks at the souvenir shops there are of high quality. Unfortunately, Japanese food in States is rarely ambitious. More often than not a restaurant will serve up a lackluster grab bag of various Americanized Japanese staples including powered miso soups, frozen pre-made tempura, and some absurd maki filled with substandard fish and stale sushi rice. However, there is a growing number of Japanese restaurants in the States that achieve near-perfection by focusing on a couple of dishes and doing them extremely well. Santouka Ramen in the Mitsuwa Marketplace-San Jose is one of those restaurants.

 Santouka is a Japanese Ramen chain that in the US can commonly be found in the Mitsuwa mini chain of Japanese markets. The Mitsuwa marketplace off Saratoga Rd in San Jose is in a nondescript strip mall that is slowly being transformed into a series of Japanese stores and restaurants. Once inside, the market has to be one of the least impressive of the chain(certainly does not compare to the palatial Torrance flagship)  though it is still probably the largest Japanese Market in the Bay Area. Santouka is located in the front of the store with no English sign(always promising).

I arrived at the market 30 minutes before Santouka opened and perused the aisles looking for Japanese food wares that I didn't really need but looked cool(i.e.Yuzu-Pepper Sauce on sale for only $2.99!). Upon completion of my shopping trip, I headed over to Santouka and got in line. Contrary to the posts that I had read- there wasn't an crazy line to order but a good mix of Japanese clientele and foodies. The menu was fairly straight forward with four main ramen selections(Shio, Shoyu, Miso and Toroniku) and three different sizes for each. Since Santouka is cash only and I was only sporting eight dollars, I had to settle for a small Shio Ramen. The brings up another point-Santouka isn't cheap. Most of the bowls are in the double digit range for the regular sizes. However, the place next store charging $5.95 for a large bowl of ramen was empty. Clearly something special was happening at Santouka and I was about to discover it for myself.

When the bowl of ramen arrived I was pleasantly surprised by the symmetrical arrangement of all the ingredients. The broth was a salty and rich pork-based concoction. At your standard ramen joint the broth is usually salty but lacks the richness that one finds here. The broth was so rich that the small was actually very filling. I couldn't imagine trying to down of the big bowls...my already poor blood pressure would probably go through the roof. The real mark of quality was the cha shu or roasted pork slice in the soup. It was melt in your mouth tender as opposed to other ramen shops where it is overcooked and dried out.  The noodles were well structured and slightly al dente. Overall a fantastic bowl of ramen worth the drive to the South Bay.

I have built a list of US based Japanese restaurants that best exemplify the Japanese devotion to quality below. I have eaten at all of the establishments below and most them focus on one aspect of Japanese cooking instead of going for the grab bag approach. Not all of them are Japanese owned and operated but the devotion to the food is there. 

Yakitori:

Ippuku
Home to the infamous Chicken Sashimi, but all the yakitori here is incredible. The sampler is a good and relatively affordable way to start.  

2130 Center St
(between Shattuck Ave & West Entrance)
Berkeley, CA 94704

(510) 665-1969
ippukuberkeley.com

Sumika
The best oyako-don in the Bay Area and I heard their yakitori is top touch as well. A bit of a trek as it is buried on alley way in very random downtown Los Altos. Expensive but not as bad as Ippuku and a lot less attitude.

236 Central Pl
Los Altos, CA 94022

(650) 917-1822

www.sumikagrill.com

Udon:

Sanuki No Sato
The best udon in the US hands down. No exactly anglo-friedly (no English sign, cold service) but the perfect udon more that makes up for it. Worth the detour if you are in LA. It is right off the 405(two or three blocks) so it is easy to get to. 

 

18206 S Western Ave
Gardena, CA 90248

(310) 324-9184

www.sanukinosato.com

 
Sushi:

Sebo
Worth the hype and the expense. My brother and I ate here and only of the nigiri sushi was super fresh(or course we were the first customers on Tuesday when the fish comes in from Japan). We were impressed with the skill of the chef and the insane variety of fish/shellfish available. Not a place to go expecting crazy rolls or other such nonsense. Unlike other high end sushi places, Sebo is very approachable.  

517 Hayes St
(between Octavia St & Laguna St)
San Francisco, CA 94102
Neighborhood: Hayes Valley

(415) 864-2122

www.sebosf.com


Tempura:

Komatsu
With all of the specialty Japanese restaurants these days you would think that there would be more tempura places but this is the only one that I know of.  Doesn't approach the quality of the places in Japan like Ten-Ichi but is better than anything else in the states. Invokes memories of the departed Tempura Kiku and my first Japanese meal for me. Don't get the $45 dollar tasting menu...unless you enjoy some serious heartburn.

1644 W Carson St Ste B
Torrance, CA 90501

(310) 787-0787 

Food Carting it in a Dreamer's Marketplace

Portland January 2011

My wife was on a mission to find a house but I had another agenda in mind. See I had been to Portland on two separate occasions but on neither occasion had I ventured to one of the city's legendary food carts. I was aiming to rectify that. While traveling up MLK in Portland, I was informed by my Curbside Food app that a stand called Wet Hot Beef(insert joke here) was approaching on the horizon. I quickly told my wife that we had stop. Unfortunately her desire to see the house was going to postpone our stop, but I knew that with persistence(and incessant reminders) that we would be going there later.

After looking at a perfectly fine house, we traveled back to the food pod (what they call a grouping of food carts...it's a Pacific NW thing) that Wet Hot Beef supposedly belong to. However, Wet Hot Beef was no longer a member of this particular pod called Dreamer's Marketplace(your app sucks-Andrew Zimmern!). After looking around at the desolate lot of about six food carts of which four were open, I settled on Viking Soul Food.

Viking's Soul Food specializes in Norwegian Lefse sandwiches/wraps. I had never had Norwegian anything but thought this one looked interesting in midst of the other more standard looking food carts. The menu consisted of several wraps including one with Dungeness Crab and a couple of dessert lefse with lingonberries. However the wrap consisting of meatballs, carmalized onions, and Norwegian cheese caught my eye. At $4.50 it was cheap enough that if I didn't like it, I could always pick up something at another cart.

Once I took a bite I immediately knew I made the right decision. The combination of the onions and cheese added a whole new dimension to meatballs. The lefse was warm and tender but held the ingredients well. If the Ikea Meatball plate represents the low point of this Scandinavian treat, this wrap lies at the other end of the spectrum. It was light enough that I was able to try some of the other offerings at the Dreamer's Marketplace.

After returning to the studio that we were staying at I did a little more searching online and found a site that accurately detailed every known food cart in Portland and its location. After discovering that there were more than 200 food carts in the greater Portland area, I knew that this could be a dangerous place live. But for tonight I will be dreaming of food carts and the endless treats that I could be eating.  

Info:

Dreamer's Marketplace
2737 MLK Blvd
Portland, OR 97212

Viking Soul Food
www.vikingsoulfood.com

A great resource for Portland Food Carts that includes maps, location, reviews, and commentary:
www.foodcartsportland.com