Review - Hungry Lu's

days and days and days went by that i passed by that random, run down looking sub shop two doors down from lucy's here in OB, and wondered.... "i wonder when thats gonna go under..." and alas. that time came about 4 months ago. and just this past week, its replacement finally opened. Hungry Lu's! its quite the fancy little build out. it looks really nice and clean and what not. its whole deal is that they bake all of their bread in house daily and make lots of fun looking cookies and italian treats in there as well.

now heres my concern with this. this place is FILLED with cookies and pastries and goodies, and yet, i cant imagine this place being SO busy that ALL those goodies will be sold today. or tomorrow. or the day after. so do i think they are baking fresh cookies and shit every day? no. should they? yet. because if youre gonna advertise that you make all this good stuff in house, you might as well do it everyday. well, now that i got that out of the way. onto the good news!

the sandwiches were great! they advertise that everyday they have a 5 dollar sandwich (usually 8 inches) and the past week they have had the torpedo as that deal. jeff got himself one of thems

for 5 bucks, its a helluva deal. it beats the pants off of a subway 5 dollar footlong. i snagged a bite of his sando while he wasnt looking. actually, i just asked if i could have a bite, and he said yes.

now of course for a decent review, i needed to try multiple things. so i got the number 8 sandwich, the Hungry Lu's Special (6.50)

rosemary PORKCHETTA, sweet capocolla, mortadella, havarti cheese, lettuce, tomato, pepperoncinis. this was a yummy sandwich. the meats were flavorful and nicely sliced. the lettuce was crisp, the house baked bread was good. it was soft, a little bit of chew to it, which is nice, and i didnt have it toasted, but i get a feeling that it would be a nicely toasted roll.

it was good.

now also i decided to order one of their 8 inch Personal Pizza's (all 5 bucks), i got the OB Special, it had ham, pineapple, mozz, tomatoe sauce, and a sweet and spicy pepper relish.

it was decent. topping wise it was plentiful and it had good flavor, but it wasnt very crispy on the bottom. the crust was actually fairly soggy by the time i got home to eat it (5 minutes) it felt as if it could have baked at a higher temp for a few more minutes to crisp it up a little more. that woulda been nice. but either way, for 5 bucks, its a good lil personal.

i highly recommend check out Hungry Lu's. i know ill be back and ill bring allison cuz i heard their eggplant parm sandwich is on point. check it out!

Hungry Lu's
4920 Voltaire Street
San Diego, CA, 92107

Review - Rubicon Deli

I AINT DEAD YET, MOTHERFUCKER!!!

i know, i know, ive been slacking. im sorry. ive been busy. i was working 6 days aweek during track season, and now its restaurant week, im just...busy, ok? but im not dead. and i still like food. i havent had many chances to get out and try anything new too recently, but ill try my best in the neat future!!! work is bound to slow down a lil bit and then ill be able to go enjoy (hopefully) some meals.

and now heres something completely different!

ive always seen other people blog and review rubicon deli in mission beach and it looked awesome to me. and god knows i love me some motherfucking sang-wiches. so on my only day off a few weeks ago everyone else was working so i decided to hop on my bike, and ride from ob to mission to go check out rubicon deli. i hadnt ridden my bike that far in quite some time. it was hard. to put it as jake said "you never forget how to ride a bike, you only forget how fucking tiring it is." perfect. so anyway i got there, and there was a handfull of people inside eating, i got up and ordered my sando. i went with a half of a Rubicon Special (6.25)

turkey breast, smoked gouda, roasted red peppers, pesto mayo, lettuce, your choice of bread. my choice of bread was the blue cheese bread. awesome choice. it was really fucking good. the bread was delish, fresh (and baked in house). the turkey and cheese and peppers and pesto all worked together well, and i also liked that the bleu cheese bread give it a lil more tang as well. i enjoyed the sandwich thoroughly. as i was standing there deciding what to order, i was also looking in the glass case with all the drinks n shit, that also housed some made in house pre packaged salads n shit. i grabbed this one.

i think it was like 5 bucks? but i opened it up and it was jam packed with noodles. so much so that the first couple bites i tried to take, i surely looked like a fucking spaz flinging noodles across the joint with my stupid plastic fork that acted as a spring loaded noodle launcher. but i digress. what i noticed in the noodle salad were perfect brunois (tiny dice) bell peppers and green onions. now that made me smile and made me feel like they actually put some thought and love and hand work into this little packaged noodle salad. and it tasted really good. crisp, fresh, tangy, peanut-y. it was good. and huge. the fucking noodles were like a magician pulling napkins out of his sleeve. i wasnt able to finish it and my whole sando. had i not been on my bike with no sort of bag or basket or any noodle holding recepticle, i would have surely taken it home for allison.

over all, i was very pleased with my visit, and look forward to coming back and trying everything else. i guess they have a cafe opening soon in mission hills? i overheard mission hills while i was there eating...

The Rubicon Deli
3819 Mission Blvd.
San Diego, CA, 92109

www.therubicondeli.com

O.B. Torpedo Tastings

i love me some sandwiches, obviously. torpedoes are a top 5 for sure of all different kinds. now there is a decent amount of places in O.B. that makes these sandwiches, and here is a lil post about some of them! first up is Chris's Liquor. People tend to hail Chris's as the best deli in O.B., some say its the best in san diego. its not my top choice, but its a 5 minute walk and it is pretty good. my favorite part about Chris's is that on tuesdays, between 4:20 and 5 oclock, you can buy any of their sando's for $4.20. so i grabbed a torpedo last time i was there.

it was good. the bread was slightly stale and little bit too chewy for my liking. it was tasty nonetheless. and at 4.20 you really cant beat that for Boars Head meats in a sando. the lettuce was a little wilted so i feel like it was cut the day before sore something, but it was a good sandwich.

then about a week later allison and i were hungry for dinner, wanted something simple, and didnt wanna stray far from home, so we went with our usual Poma's stop. now i havent done a Poma's Meatball Sub post yet...YET. i will. because i firmly believe its the best meatball sub ive ever had. the eggplant parm sandwich is killer as well. allison OBVIOUSLY gets that one. i have heard nothing but good things about the pizza there, yet havent been able to make a trip where i could avoid ordering a sandwich. so i forced myself to get a torpedo here since i had the idea for this blog post.

now i asked that they toast it, which is why it looks a little greasy. the oils and fats in the meats and cheeses kinda gave it that glisten. it was a really good sandwich. at i think 6.50 its a huge one and when it comes on an amoroso roll, you can be upset either way. it was a really good sando.

now my first choice of delis when it comes to OB, is of course the Olive Tree Market. the store and wine shop itself is amazing and the deli is even better. i typically go for the hot sandiwhces here (the james dean on an onion roll is my main shit), but i had to roll with the torpedo to round out the holy trinity of OB delis. now when i ordered it, they informed me they were out of the italian roll that it comes on, but the chick said she usually gets it on ciabatta when she eats it herself, so i said do it. she toasted the ciabatta, and it gave me a few minutes to cruise the store, make my difficult chip choice, then peruse the coolers for which delicious drink i would wash it down with (i went with sour cream and onion kettle chips and a berry yerba mate.)

now i really feel like this was the FRESHEST of the group. the meats and cheeses had been very recently slices, and none of the vegetables seemed old whatsoever. the toasted ciabatta was a good choice and honestly, if i get the torpedo here again i will probably request it as such. this was was also about 7 bucks i believe. AND it comes with a pickle!

so my judgment is this, the best torpedo is O.B. issssss.....


.....Olive Tree Market. they were all good sando's, but something about the Olive Tree one just clicked for me. so get out there and grind on some grub.

Chris's Liquor and Deli
2275 Sunset Cliffs
San diego, 92107

www.chrisliquor.com

Poma's Italian Delicatessen
1846 Bacon Street
San Diego, CA, 92107

www.pomasdeli.com

Olive Tree Market
4805 Narragansett Street
San Diego, CA, 92107

www.olivetreemarket.com

Review - Pho Point Loma and Grill

so as you could see from my post about the OB noodle house, i love me some Pho. and as you can tell from my post about Lucky Seafood, i love banh mi. so when i want to sink my teeth into both at the same time, i swing by Pho Point Loma. about a block south west of Rosecrans on Midway, its nestled in between an o'reileys auto parts and a framing shop. i stopped in there probably about 10 months ago to check it out and was very happy with my experience, so i decided i would definatly come back. i have been back a few times since and have had a good meal each time. they have a huge menu, lots of variety, and its very inexpensive. the service is great, its super fast and friendly. now what i have to say about the banh mi is that they are really making stuff back there. they marinade and bbq their own pork,  instead of microwaving premade shit like most places. and all of the ingredients in the sandwich are fresh and copius. at 3.95 per sandwich, its more expensive than most banh mi shops, but worth it.

as you can see in the above picture, the slices of bbq pork are think and delicious. not chewy at all. very tender.

my broth on my pho was delish as always, the meatballs and well done steak were flavorful as always. it was just a yummy bowl of pho. at 5.95 it is a great value.

allisons veggie and tofu egg noodles. cheap and LOTS of them. it was a huge plate of noodles. i actually forgot to try it haha. i kinda had my hands full. for my beverage, i ordered the lemon iced tea, and what was nice is that i see them brewing the tea in the back, and i actually looked over and saw one of the ladies squeezing the lemon for my drink. it was delish.

so yea, i have not had a bad experience here yet on 5 visits. so i would def. reccomend it. its not mind blowingly special, but its good food, great prices, and the service is fast and attentive. check it out!

Pho Point Loma And Grill
2788 Midway Drive
San Diego, Ca, 92110

www.phopointlomagrill.com

Allisons Bday Meal - Eggplant Parmesan

so it was allisons birthday last week, and we didnt really feel like going out. i rarely cook at home to be honest, so for dinner, i decided to make her favorite food. eggplant parmesan. i made fresh tomato sauce, hand-breaded my eggplant, yadda yadda yadda. it came out really good, for having not made eggplant parmesan before. here pictures of it. we also munched on some roasted garlic and cheddar bread and half goat/half cow's milk cheese. and also some fancy spanish wine i got at the 3rd corner. so yea, heres pictures!

mmmmmm.

Just So You Know.

after much deliberation, ive come to the conclusion, that MOST people who blog about food are assholes. they are complete fucking retards who think they know everything about food, restaurants, and how they should be done. they few choice blogs that i link up on here and read on a daily basis are the opposite. keep doing what youre doing. will i continue doing my blog? yes, because im a know-it-all asshole. and honestly i could give two shits if anyone reads it. because the most joy i get out of it is going back and rereading my own words, because im an egotistic fuck. thats the main reason i started it anyway...

For Legal Purposes

all opinions stated on this food blog are only of me, travis clifford, and not of anyone else. they are my personal reflections on meals i have had, and are not to be taken as slander or defamation of character of employees of said establishments. it is understood that unfortunate events sometimes cause negative experiences at such establishments, and that they are in no way a reflection of the entire business, itself.

just had to get that out of the way, i know i talk alot of shit, but as a cook myself, i know that people and places have bad days. i better not get any stupid fucking lawsuits.

Review - Lucha Libre Taco Shop

so. youve heard of lucha libre taco shop, eh? you probably saw it on man vs. food. and youve probably heard about how awesome it is. i sure have. i actually went there once probably about 2 years ago. it was great. i remember everything being very fresh, very flavorful, and everything was cooked nicely. the people were friendly, it was clean. today, i saw that the test of time is a tough one for some places to pass. and that phoning it in is basically the protocol at this once potential-ridden taco shop...

Gourmet Taco Shop my ASS.

it started off kinda rough, upon entry we noticed that the general upkeep was a little lacking. the floor was dirty, the unused tables were covered in crap. the line of people waiting to order was moving fairly slow. once we reached the counter to order, the (white) guy working the register did not ask me what i wanted. he did no say hi. he didnt say anything, he just stared at me with an annoyed look on his face waiting for me to stop wasting his precious time, and so kindly hurry the fuck up and order. i ordered the "queso taco" and the "surfing california" burrito, and added rice and beans with a soda to the burrito for an extra 3 dollars. the disgruntled employee lazily threw down a tray on the counter, lunged some napkins and salsa containers onto it, didnt repeat my order, didnt tell me the price, just swiped my card, put down the reciept, snippily slammed a pen down for me to sign it. then carried on to the next asshole trying to ruin his wonderful day. we sat down outside on the patio and waited for our names to be called, mine came up pretty quickly. now when i went to retrieve my salsas from their salsa bar, i noticed again, general upkeep and cleanliness is a FAIL. dirty as fuck. like i really wanna get salsa from the gross pit of slop that they are held in. im sure the sneeze guard really keeps it clean though. i didnt bother to take a picture though.

my food.

mmmm. look at that! crispy cheese in the taco! oh....and dry...tough...unseasoned steak. and....super acidic cream sauce. and, wait, whats that? boring wedge of avocado with no salt on it either?!?! YIPPEY KAYAY KIYOH MOTHERFUCKER!!! WE ARE REALLY COOKING NOW!!! fuck you. and then there was this.

the surf and turf california burrito. and rice and beans. cold, boring rice and beans. and steak and shrimp and unmelted cheese and hair. wait, what? oh yea. hair? yes. hair. i didnt get a picture of it because i was too busy being so furious that i took it up to the counter and set my plate down, picked up the burrito, grabbed the hair, and slowly pulled it out of my food. it was about 4 inches long. the guy working the counter just about shit himself. i think i could actually hear his asshole tighten up, then release. the fucked up part is that seconds before the hair discovery, i was admitting to allison how bummed i was that the place had gone down hill and i felt like they were just phoning it in. and then, bam. hurr. they all scambled around and about 4 employees stopped to look at the hair, then look at me, as if i had planted it there. they offered me a new one or something. i say, sure, ill take a new one, box it up to go please. they gave it to me. i didnt even look at it. i just deposited it into a garbage can infront of a Chase about an hour later. i figured a hobo would fish it out later at some point.

oh yea, allison got cheese enchilada.

they just look off putting, dont they? same flacid rice and beans. but something about the sauce. it was sweet. like, really, really, really sweet. unbearably so. it was fucking disgusting. allison took about 4 bites and then that was about the time i had the hair incident. so basically, my judgement is this. FUCK YOU LUCHA LIBRE TACO SHOP. YOU FUCKING SUCK. NO ONE EVER GO HERE, THE SERVICE SUCKS, THE FOOD IS SHIT. FUCK YOU. FUCK YOU. FUCK YOU. you piece of shit loser working the counter, grow some fucking balls and have some customer service you fucking low life. ive never been so upset about a meal in my entire life. i hope your shithole continues down the path that its so clearly on, and soon turns into a fucking roach motel, just with brighter colors.

fuck you.

Lucha Libre Taco Shop
1810 West Washington Street
San Diego, CA, 92103

www.tacosmackdown.com

Review - Supannee House of Thai

so. we like thai food. allison LOVES thai food. i enjoy it but its not my top choice of asian food. but i really was stoked to check out this fairly new thai place in point loma, Supannee, which had been getting rave reviews on yelp. all the good reviews claimed that the service was top notch and the food was delicious. needless to say, people seemed to really enjoy this place. so after a few weeks of working 6 days aweek and not being able to go out to eat somewhere, we made it a point yesterday to get over there. located over on shelter island, its located in a small little center, and when you see it, you realize its a tiny little hole in the wall place. i think there was 6 tables inside? oh and a table out front. so we walked in, and sat down at a two top, there was two tables of four, and a table of two, all already eating. the lunch menu is much much smaller than the dinner menu, but with the prices, and the size of the dishes, it was sure to be enjoyable to a certain degree, at least. working the small room was one lady and an older gentleman as well. she came to take our orders, and it seemed as if he was just running plates and clearing tables. to drink i decided on a glass of the Lemongrass Iced Tea (2.00)

neon green and cold, she offered a pot of simple syrup, which i accepted. i like my tea to be sweet. so i really liked the idea of getting simple syrup to mix in, because i hate having to dissolve sugar packets into my iced beverage. the simple syrup had been steeped with somesort of spice as well, i felt like it was clove. either way, this was tasty. very herbal, refreshing. i enjoyed it very much so. as far as food, allison ordered (per usual) the Tofu Pad Thai (6.00).

all lunch entrees come with a side of jasmine rice (except noodle dishes), small salad, and an egg roll. her pad thai was delicious. id say that if i were to ever go back(which may not happen. wait n see.) i may order that myself. it has medium spice, the noodles were cooked perfectly, it was just a really tasty dish. and it was plentiful!

now im always having trouble decided what i want. so i got two entrees. first was the one i knew i wanted, because ive never had it, and its a specialty thing i guess. so i ordered the Green Papaya Salad (7.00)

also delicious. the shredded papaya with cabbage and tomatoes and the delishhhh fish sauce mixture that dressed it out. it was fucking bomb. i was stoked on it. only thing that was off to me was that there was only two little shrimp on it. the picture may not show that the shrimp are that small. but they were tiny. hook it up with the scrimps, yo. then for my other dish i ordered the Hot Basil Pork (7.50)

first off, for 7.50, its a helluva lot of food. and the fact that everything tasted good and was cooked correctly, just made things seem to good to be true. we ate our food, and then when we were CLEARLY done eating. things went south. real fast. two other tables were waiting to be cleared, and one was waiting for their food that was piling up in the window. so you would think that this is when the TWO people working the SMALL 7 TABLE DINING ROOM would just mac shit out. not so much. the lady decided to sit down at a table and talk to this androginous old (wo)man about every single thing on the menu. now runner man was all by his lonesome, fumbling around with checks, trying to read the register, and apparently forgetting about the food being pushed through the window. only until a few plates of egg rolls came crashing down at least. that should make her jump up from her nice little quaint chat and come to superdoof's rescue, right? nay. he just stared at the egg rolls for a minute before deciding to run the food. then he came to the table next to us, who were trying to order dessert, and then brought them their check 2 minutes later. i decided against ordering dessert at that point. so he had to void their shit, and bring them their dessert. our empty plates sat on the table for a good 20 minutes. finally she finished up her chat and realized that shes running a FUCKING RESTAURANT. cleared our plates, dropped our check, and then i bid them a-fucking-dieu. i cant believe the amount of praise the service has gotten on yelp. and the i remember, 9 times out of 10, people on yelp have no fucking clue what theyre talking about. so. i liked the food. and the prices. ill probably phone in an order at some point, but if i want to sit in a small room with strangers and not get payed any attention, maybe ill stop in for a sit down meal.

Supannee House of Thai
2907 Shelter Island Drive, Suite #110
San Diego, CA, 92106


www.sdthai.com

Review - El Zarape

(foreword, this is a review of the El Zarape Taco Shop on Park Blvd, not the sit down restaurant on Adams Ave.)

a few years ago, i asked our pastry chef at Market, James Foran, when he likes to get tacos, he replied with El Zarape. i went there a few weeks later, and now, anytime someone wants my opinion on where to get tacos, i tell them El Zarape. simple put, its amazing mexican food, super cheap, and just all around a good place. they have a HUGE menu, and ive tried maybe 5% of it so far haha. first off, there is a huge discrepancy about where you can get the best fish tacos in san diego. i would say that El Zarape's fish taco is really a top contender. not only is it awesomely simple, but its only 99 cents. all the time.

its perfect. cabbage, sour cream, fried fish, tomatoes. done. and with the plethora of salsas they have there, its amazing. next thing i got, which is what i was origionally reccomended, was the scallop burrito.

the tortillas they use are super soft, the bay scallops are cooked to perfection, and its also super simple, a mayo based sauce, cilantro, rice and lettuce. its amazing.

so good.
now next, allison, my wonderful veggie girlfriend had to get her usual veggie burrito supreme. its essentially a taco bell 7 layer burrito on crack. its really fucking good.

all the veggie fixins, stuffed to the brim. delish.

the fire roasted red sauce is awesome with a nice spicy kick. the green sauce is cool and mellow but my personal favorite. and then the salsa fresca is a step above all usual taco shop salsas.

i HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend El Zarape. its fucking awesome. check it out, im begging you.

El Zarape
4642 Park Blvd
San Diego, CA, 92116