Pizza Nova

I stopped in for dinner while on a business trip to San Diego. It’s a nice place, friendly staff. I was seated right away.

I asked about their beer offerings, and the hostess seemed to struggle over what they had. I had asked for a red or brown ale and was told they didn’t have any at this time.  She did get me a sample of one type of beer (I think it was a Shock Top seasonal), which I didn’t really like. It seemed odd to me that everyone kept saying they had an IPA on tap. It almost seemed like they weren’t really familiar with the different types of beer. Finally, the waiter told me they had Moose Drool on tap (it’s a brown ale brewed in Montana).

I ordered a Moose Drool and an Italian meat pizza.

The waiter asked if I would like some garlic bread balls. I hadn’t eaten since early in the morning, so I thought it might be a good idea to have something with my beer while I waited for dinner.

If you have ever read any other reviews I’ve written, you know I take issue with covering hamburger buns and other breads with any kind of oil or butter. My main complaint is I have a beard and mustache. Any oils/grease on the outside of breads gets all over facial hair and causes a most unpleasant situation.

So, instead of doing what hundreds of other Italian Restaurants do, and providing a plate with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, they coat the outside of the bread with oil. It causes anyone with facial hair to run to the nearest bathroom for a quick face wash.

Dinner came pretty quickly, but I can’t decide about the pizza.

On the plus side, the toppings were really good, however, they didn’t distribute them evenly across the pie. The result was large piles of one single topping, not a homogeneous combination of flavor.

The big issue was the crust. The pizza is wood fired at a pretty high temp. That is great for the top of the pie. The issue is when you place it on a plate, all the steam and grease from the meats pools up under the crust and causes a soggy mess in the center. In this case, the center of the pie almost returned to a liquid state. Just a bit gross.

Not my favorite pizza.

BTW Skip the bread balls, the bread isn't bad, but instead of serving with olive oil and balsamic, they coat with oil, just plain messy.

Umami Burger

I was thinking about what to write about next, an I remembered this little gem I wrote a few months back and didn't publish.
 
I wondered, just what is an Umanmi Burger? I looked it up and found this:

“Umami /uːˈmɑːmi/, a savory taste, is one of the five basic tastes (together with sweet, sour, bitter and salty).

A loanword from the Japanese umami can be translated as "pleasant savory taste". This particular writing was chosen by Professor Kikunae Ikeda from umai "delicious" and mi "taste". The kanji are used for a more general sense of a food as delicious.”

Sounds good, right? So when we were looking to eat at the Packing House in Anaheim, CA, and every restaurant had long lines waiting to be served, we figured, why not! It’s almost next door, and it is in the same building as our final destination for the evening, the Anaheim Brewery.

We walked across the park, and went in the Unami Burger. We were greeted as soon as we walked in by a very friendly hostess. We told her we were looking for something to-go, and she handed us the menu and let us know the bartender would take our order. We walked up to the bar and took a seat. The bartender came right over and introduced herself. She was very upbeat, good attitude and personality.

I noticed that there weren’t too many people in the restaurant, even though just a short walk away, every restaurant in the Packing House was, well, packed. Perhaps this should have been a clue.

We ordered the Throwback burger and a Cali Burger, got our order and walked over to the Brewery.

The Throwback is a double cheese burger with miso mustard, Umami house ketchup, soy pickles and minced onion.

The Cali has butter lettuce, roasted tomato, caramelized onions, house spread and house Cali cheese.

Let’s start with the Throwback. I guess it’s supposed to be a tribute to the double burgers of the 50’s diner era, updated and enhanced. It sucks. I’m not sure if it’s the miso mustard, the house ketchup or a combination of the two, but the result is a bazaar taste that made it impossible to eat the entire burger.




As my wife unwrapped the Cali burger, a strange look came over her face. She mentioned the large amount of grease in the wrapping paper. She took one bite and looked at the burger in her hand. She stared at it for a moment, and grudgingly took a second bite. She placed the burger on the table, and said, “That’s disgusting.”



She pointed out that the entire burger was so covered in grease, everything just kept sliding out of the bun. It was so bad that the bun its self, had turned into a gooey glob of mush. The roasted tomato was a piece of tomato skin, that’s it no actual tomato flesh, just skin. The lettuce looked like it had been dipped in grease and tossed on the flattop until limp.

I have been married to this woman for over 30 years, we have eaten at thousands of restaurants all over the United States. Never has she had this reaction to a meal.

This was not my first experience at Umami Burger, I was having a beer with my friend at the Anaheim Brewery. I was getting hungry and told him I was thinking about giving the Umami Burger a try. When I asked him if he wanted anything, he declined. I tried the Truffle Burger and was pretty underwhelmed.

I thought I would give Umami Burger a second chance, they failed again.

Maybe by “Throwback” they mean you should throw it back in the bag, throw it in the trash, and go over to the Packing House and wait in line.

Welcom to the Bagdad Café

First off, I feel a deep seeded need to answer the critics of the Bagdad Café. The most common complaint I’ve seen is that its old and run down. No shit, Thanks for playing along, your traveling down Route 66 in the middle of the Mojave Desert. What are you expecting, the Ritz Carleton?

The whole point of exploring Route 66 is to get a feel for what it was like to travel the real Mother Road. Seems that Americans just don’t get it. However, visitors from Europe do. While we were there, the other customers in the cafe were from Serbia, Germany and two families from France. I’ve noticed this for years, Europeans know our history better than we do.

That said, I love the Bagdad Cafe. They service was prompt, friendly and everyone seemed happy to be there.

My wife and I both had the Buffalo Burger, and it was pretty good. Basic good burger, fresh vegetables, grilled onions (a plus) and a solid bun.

If I had one request, it would be to have a double burger. Yep, I vote for more meat. Big surprise.

The beer selection is very limited, but what would you expect. First time in years I had a bud.

Had a great conversation with the owner, she is really passionate about preserving the experience of Route 66.

Stop in, sit a spell and enjoy.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

When you walk into the Five Guys you are instantly assaulted by dozens of signs proclaiming their superiority to all other burgers in the Free World. In fact, the excessive self-congratulation signs are the only décor. Well that and sacks of potatoes.

Don’t get me wrong, the burger at Five Guys is good, just not the best ever.

Places I like the burger better:

In and Out, Anywhere in CA, NV, AZ
Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain, Pasadena, CA
Bagdad Café, Newberry Springs, CA
Woody’s Burgers San Diego, CA
Eric’s on the Pier, Avalon, CA
Oggie’s, Apple Valley, CA

Just a few that come to mind, all near the house. I have also had great burgers in Wyoming, New York, Washington DC, Boston and many other places.

I had the Bacon Cheeseburger, I did like that they chopped up the bacon, it makes it easier to eat without pulling the entire slice out of the burger. That said, the bacon was a little tasteless.

The bottom line: Five Guys Burgers are good, just not great. I did like the fries, real potatoes, cut fresh and cooked very well.

Ludlow Café

I’ve been exploring Route 66 in the local area, and have wanted to stop into the Ludlow Café for some time. 

Today on the way back from MLB spring training, we dropped in for lunch.

Now, let me be blunt. Most of the attractions along the “Mother Road” are small Mom and Pop places. People with high expectations of some Disney fed fantasy of what Is out there, are setting themselves for disappointment. This is not your child’s “Radiator Springs.”

If you want to see, travel and feel the Mother Road, drop the thought of anything fancy early.

Route 66 is about the basics. It was the excitement of the open road, the wind in your hair, and trying to find a bathroom that was acceptable to the wife. 

A real trip on Route 66 is going to have some rough edges. That said, let get on with the Ludlow Café.

The café was exactly what I expected. It’s an old building, and I guessing most of the staff has been there for years, if not decades.

The service was good, not great, but acceptable. I thought the food was pretty good.

I had a bacon cheese burger. It was well cooked, the bacon crispy, with a great smoky flavor. The lettuce, tomato and onion were fresh, the bun passable. It was simple a burger, well executed, in a timely manner. 

Next time, I plan on trying the Bagdad Café, just down the street.

Sgt Schroeter

Several months ago, I posted about the re internment of a Medal of Honor recipient from the Indian Wars.

We had the Full Honors Memorial a couple of months ago, it was something to see. I think we did right by Sgt Schroeter.

Now if we can only get his battle buddy, Pvt Sumner moved. Things are looking up, seems to be some interest from some pretty well placed individuals to make this happen.

6000 Viewers

Wow,

The blog hit a milestone this week, over 6000 views. Not bad.

I'm thinking about changing a couple of things.

A friend of mine says I should expand on the reviews I have been doing for TripAdvisor, might just do  that.