eats along the 33rd parallel

Food reviews from friends

Bobby: BBQ Chicken

When you think of San Diego and chicken you may think of this guy:

San Diego is not known for fried chicken places.  The common chains are scattered about here: KFC, Church's, and even Popeye's.  However, a new fried chicken place has opened in what used to be Flavor Thai on Convoy.  It is called BBQ Chicken, which is a little misleading because "BBQ" is commonly used as the abbreviation for barbeque, in this case "BBQ" stands for "best of the best quality".  BBQ Chicken is a popular Korean franchise boasting 3500 locations in over 37 countries.  I learned about BBQ Chicken through my friend Peera who is the "unofficial financial advisor" for this location.  Their chicken is cooked in extra-virgin olive oil, so its healthier supposedly.  The chicken we had was seasoned well and tasted pretty good.  I'm picky and don't usually eat chicken skin but this skin was tasty enough for me to eat!  It was served with some shredded cabbage with a tasty thousand island concoction on top and pickled daikon.  Their medium and large portions of chicken are moderately priced.  We ended up paying about $19 for two people.

Bobby: THE EVENT

Jacques, Scott & I do THE EVENT. What is THE EVENT? It's 4 quarters of Souplantation food followed by an overtime period at the participant's own risk.  
 
What can I say about Souplantation food?  It can be healthy if you stick to the salad & bread but if you start going for the pizza, the pasta, and the 'thicker' soups, kiss "healthy" goodbye.  I usually have bad gas after visiting Souplantation, I believe we all did (sorry, TMI).  On this visit, they had some delicious BBQ chicken pizza and this tomato/basil pasta which I haven't had before; pretty good.  I accompanied those with clam chowder, corn bread, some blueberry muffins & then a soft serve ice cream cone.  We spent about $10 each for lunch, except for Jacques who had a coupon from Sunday's newspaper & ended paying around $7.  Pretty good deal.

Miriam: Waffle House

Corey just flew in from New York for a couple days R&R - coinciding with my 5-day Fall Break.  Upon arrival at 10 a.m., we took him to that Southern staple: Waffle House.  I had first heard of Waffle House from my friend Rosie who ate there in Alabama when her man was in Marine training.  I thought she meant that there were many privately owned places that served waffles, not that there was a chain.  Oh, but what a chain.  They are one of the only places open 24 hours, they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and they are known for their hash browns.  I know, I know, it's called Waffle House.  But I've included a snap shot of their menu so you understand the complexity of the hash browns.  Having only been there once before in January, I had wanted to try the hash browns "all the way," but was reticent.  That could do a number on a stomach and not all of the items sound like they would combine well.  Today was the day, though, so as Corey and Aaron ordered a ton of food for $7 each, I just got a plate of hash brown and oh my goodness.  I'm not posting a picture because you wouldn't even be able to make out what's happening, so use your imagination after reading the menu.  I am so full... yet completely satisfied.  I'll need to take some more pictures to show you just how far a buck goes here.  

Here's the review part: while most of the food lacks bold flavor, the all-the-way hash browns are bursting with it!  Chili, cheese, jalapenos, onions, mushrooms, ham, and whatever else they could find combine to make a steaming plate of yummy-yumness.  The waffle batter here is made with vanilla so it has a pleasant, sweet flavor and they are not Belgian.  Belgian waffles always strike me as being cardboard-like, but these are the standard waffles and you can get them done crispy.  Once you butter and and syrup crispy waffles, they still have some crunch!  The grits here made Aaron a convert to the way of gritiness, the coffee is good and strong, and really the only thing I don't like is that they have plain white toast instead of sourdough or 9-grain!  All in all, a worthy choice on any road trip or late-night drunken binge.

Hashbrowns

Miriam: The Worst Film Ever Made (Originally a Five Guys Burgers Review)

Tonight, Collin, Michelle, Big Baby D (aka Delilah), Aaron, and I went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries. It's the closest thing to In-n-Out over here, sans the drive-thru. While I interviewed Collin and took a couple pics, I needed to edit them together and looked around my pre-installed software. Back in the day, I remember the free and mediocre Windows Movie Something-Or-Other, but I did not get that! I received "muvee," small "m" and everything. So here's what it AUTOMATICALLY created; I only changed the text. And I promise: a real video review someday once I get software (or use Aaron's computer).

Bobby: I go tango with Yogo Tango

On my quest to eat a little healthier I visited Yogo Tango.  Upon hearing the name initially, one might think it was a studio specializing in the popular dance. It is actually a frozen yogurt shop which supplies its customers with healthy toppings like fruit, granola, mochi, among others (some not so healthy) for their yogurt.  Yogo Tango's yogurt contains live cultures to help "maintain a healthy bacterial balance in the intestinal tract (research shows especially helpful for those who are lactose intolerant or suffer from irritable bowel syndrome)"-- that's exactly what I'm thinking of when I eat yogurt!!  This was taken from their mission statement.  They only have two locations: Hollywood & San Diego.

I ordered a medium sized "waffle bowl" with half plain & half blueberry yogurt.  I added more toppings than a regular person should & ended up spending around $7.  It is a bit pricey for yogurt but I get so greedy with the fruit toppings.  My buddy Jacques joined me; he paid less for a small container of mango yogurt & some blueberry topping.

Aaron: At Home Along the 33rd

Here's a little something I've been making at home. Yeah, it doesn't really fit in with the whole 33rd parallel thing, as it's not exactly San Diegan, Carolinian or Moroccan, but...it's one of the few things I've remembered to take pictures of.

Anyway, the pasta is nothing special -- though this time it was Newman's Own, so I guess it was our tribute to Mr. N. The real focus is the meatballs: made with ground turkey, parsley, bread crumbs, parmesan, and other stuff. They're delicious. I tend to make them on the larger side, so they end up taking longer to cook.

So, here they are, with pasta and garlic bread:

(download)