A Letter

Dear Internet,

As a food blogger, I have a certain "food lifestyle" I am supposed to live up to. When people come over to my house, I cook great things. When friends talk about the hip new restaurants around San Diego or the rest of the world, I have generally heard of these places and share in their excitement. When Ruth Reichl tweets about dining at Lupa, I get excited because I ate there on my most recent trip to New York. Considering all of these things, oh Internet, can you please explain to me why I had an ant on a log (singular), half a cup of 60 calorie chicken noodle soup, and a glass of Chardonnay for dinner tonight?

Eagerly awaiting your response,

Kristin

Bronx Pizza, Revisited

One of my favorite things about a life devoted to food and drink is introducing, and being introduced to, new delicious places. A few weeks ago I found out my friends Mary and Caitlin, both fellow eaters and lovers of all things lactose, had yet to experience Bronx Pizza. My newfound obsession with Bronx Pizza, documented in this post, instilled in me the need to introduce these ladies to the worthy of burning the roof of your mouth flavors I love so much.

What better time to welcome a New York pizza joint than immediately following exercise? The three of us ran and walked through Balboa Park and decided a perfect ending to the evening was a slice of Bronx. Or, to be more accurate, 9 slices of Bronx. Here is the pie we ordered.


Half pesto and roasted bell pepper, half pepperoni and green bell pepper. After 8-10 visits, I am almost positive pepperoni and green bell pepper is my favorite topping combination. The vegetable to cheese to pork "meat" ratio is excellent. The only way to make the pepperoni green bell pepper pizza better is with a light sprinkling of crushed red pepper.


I am happy to say both Mary and Caitlin loved their Bronx Pizza experience. Just look at this smiling face! Now we need to plan another running date so we can justify a 2nd round of gluttony.

Bronx Pizza
www.bronxpizza.com
111 Washington Street, San Diego, 92103

Mango Sticky Rice

I had heard of the fabulousness of Mango Sticky Rice for several months now, but unfortunately do not spend enough time at Thai restaurants to have experienced it until TODAY!

Caitlin and I met for a workday lunch in Kearny Mesa at a restaurant called Thai House Cuisine. In my opinion, when it comes to Mexican, Asian, and African foods - the less original the name, the more authentic and delicious the food. Thai House Cuisine did not disappoint. I had a hard time finding it knowing only the address, so I had to call Caitlin to ask her what the building looked like. "The outside looks kind of like a castle, and it's right next to the Coral Rock Store" was her response. This made me giggle. I have no idea why the outside of the building looks like a castle, but it does. Once you get inside, however, the room is buzzing with people and no one looked like they were pursuing a career at Medieval Times, so don't let the castle scare you off.

Caitlin ordered the Crispy Bowl - a bowl made of noodles and then fried and filled with delicious fresh vegetables, shrimp, and chicken. I ordered the Drunken Fish, which I had read was excellent, and it was. Two fresh fish fillets, breaded and fried, swimming in sweet and tangy Thai sauce. Both entrees were quite tasty and fresh, and also well under $10 which was nice for our mid-day meal.

I mentioned to Caitlin that I had never tried mango sticky rice but had heard good things, so she was a true friend and ordered us a portion to share. I am not sure what the mango sticky rice is like at other restaurants, but it was most fantastic at Thai House Cuisine. It was exactly what I expected, yet surprising at the same time. Sweet, extremely sticky rice that appeared to have been cooked in coconut milk, topped with a perfectly ripe mango. So simple, so delicious, so sticky.

Thanks to Caitlin for a fun lunch date, and to Thai House Cuisine for some seriously yummy Thai food. I will return to the castle in the near future.

Looking Forward

I know every post is supposed to have pictures. Pictures are fun, pictures make people want to read what you wrote about them, pictures are full of life and color, bla bla bla. I don't have any pictures but I still want to write, so I'll just try to keep this post short and give you a preview of the week ahead.

Sesame encrusted grilled ahi

Granny smith apples with peanut butter and sharp white cheddar (a favorite snack)

Mixed grill - fresh sausages, rack of lamb, marinated chicken breast, pork tenderloin

Hazelnut semifreddo

Seared tuna tacos

Orechiette with fresh mozzarella (my pre-10 mile carbo load, if you will)

See you on the other side of the weekend!