I Eat Nueve Out of Seven Days a Week

Wow ... literally months now since my last post, like, wow.  Anyone still there? Of Course You Are! HI EVERYONE! Don't think I have forgotten about my blog I just simply turned out to be less active during the Summer which is when I thought I would be most active ... Oh well, I am here now and have been saving up so much quality information and food to share with you all for the next many more months to come.

Aside from being with my parents and not having to work or study or do anything like that, one of the best things about being home for Summer, as many students will agree, is being able to eat out at restaurants with parents.  Not only do my parents pay (I THANK THEM FOR TAKING ME TO FOOD SO MUCH), but they are both very adventurous when it comes to food and when we go to a new place, we usually like to try a little bit of everything... remember my post "Rolls on Rolls on Rolls" - oh yea! And since I am who I am, I was perpetually hungry throughout Summer and was always ready to eat more food.

That was me not too long ago

Anyway, so one of the places I went to was a new Mexican Restaurant that opened up back in the bay in San Bruno on 851 Cherry Ave. that has managed to turn Latin Cuisine into an exciting adventure through their various menus depending on your choice of dining during breakfast, lunch, or dinner hours. 

Me Too Ed, Me Too

My mom and I went to lunch and absolutely fell in love with it's deliciousness and I insisted we come back to try their breakfast and dinner menus on other days.

So although we ate lunch first and then came back for breakfast and then dinner another day, I'll write about the meals in the order they TYPICALLY go in an American day.

BREAKFAST

Somehow, I managed to convince my whole family to go to brunch after nagging them and it was AMAZING - I think their breakfast menu may very well be my favorite of their menus. Let's start

Huevos Divorciados ("Divorced Eggs" lol)

Basically it is as if two separate over-easy eggs decided to get a divorce but still had to share their plate together as they figure out their lives.  Honestly, I hope they realize their divorce is a mistake because together the eggs in chile verde and the eggs in the tomatillo sauce when mixed together and topped with some twice-cooked beans your mouth is surprisingly not overwhelmed but rather welcomed to a good mixture of flavor, spice, and bang!

Carnitas Hash

This was my plate and was recommended by our waiter, I was not disappointed.   Eggs, carnitas, tomatillo sauce, and carnitas con rajas are served atop a shallow bowl of tasty black beans that combine with just the right flavors mixing.  Carnitas can oftentimes be unnecessarily mushy and wet but these carnitas are cooked and served to a perfect crisp and moisture with great flavor and spice in this dish.

Chilaquiles

A classic dish that is no stranger to Latin Cuisine especially on a Mexican Breakfast Menu.  Really enjoyed this plate since the chips were slightly crunchy and not mushy as some restaurants have the tendency to drown them in sauce and ends up turning it into nothing but salsa.  With the eggs and beans the combination of the three in this dish have every texture and flavor one needs to satisfy the palette.

Horchata Pancakes

OH. MY. LORD. Not trying to impose a religion on you all but this dish was an outer body experience that took me to heaven, slapped me silly, and sent me straight back to finish up what goodness I had started.  Fluffy, drizzled with caramel, and topped with freshly glazed bananas these pancakes not only melt in your mouth but send your taste buds on a roller coaster of sweet blissful greatness. THE BEST DISH OFFERED AT NUEVE

LUNCH

oh yes, there's more

Carne Asada Torta

Oaxaca, Roasted Bell Peppers, Caramelized Onions, Chipotle Aoli, Carne Asada.  The torta buns are grilled to toasty perfection being crispy on the outside and fluffy enough on the inside to hold together all this banging flavor.  The meat is cooked just right and the combination of bell peppers and onions is accentuated with the chipotle aioli as opposed to simply being roasted vegetable atop some slabs of meat, it is much more than that.

Hamburguesa Torta ("Hamburger Sandwich" basically)

This badass piece of art is the hamburger sandwich to shut down all hamburger sandwiches everywhere.  Chorizo, Queso Fresco, Mole Poblano, Red Onions, Cilantro, Pickled Jalapenos, Avocado Slaw, a Crispy Onion, and Chipotle Aioli fill crispy buns with flavor, spice, and crunch - enough to fill your mouth with juicy tender meat, roasted flavors, and sweet spicy goodness.

Nueve Fries

Go back to those two lunch dishes and you will find the best fries I have had in my entire life.  I know I sound dramatic when I describe food sometimes, but just sit there, read, and understand what made these fries better than the grease served up in other places.  These fries are layered with jalapeno jelly, topped with cilantro, and then graced by delicious cotija cheese.  The fries are sweet and savory, but a type of sweetness where we could not quite figure out how they could taste glazed to perfection and were delightfully pleased to hear about the jalapeno jelly. Crispy. Sweet. Savory.

DINNER

Last, but DEFINITELY Not Least

Horchata

Kickin' the dinner menu off nice and easy with something that has to be shared.  Now that you read about the Horchata Pancakes, you can now rest peacefully knowing they DO serve normal Horchata not in bread-form and they DO serve delicious Horchata - Mexican Approved

Queso Fundido

In my mind, Queso Fundido is the unsung hero of Mexican Appetizers; most people understand simple Chips & Salsa as being what people eat before a meal, but Queso Fundido (melted cheese) can be much more satisfying, and is definitely necessarily satisfying at Nueve as the chefs mix the Queso with mushrooms, chorizo, poblano peppers and served with fresh flour tortillas for you to spread the melted cheese over and devour allowing the savory melted cheese to ooze in your mouth.

Spicy Camarones al Ajillo

Test your taste buds with this dish and see just how much you enjoy spicy food.  To me, spicy food is nothing if it does not have flavor.  The Spicy Camarones al Ajillo are served with Guajillo chili and garlic pan roasted prawns with cilantro rice kicking your taste buds right where they can feel it but packing them as well with so much spice and absolute flavor that you will not forget just how good spicy goodness can taste without having to absolutely destroy your taste buds.  Spicy food can be savory and tasty, not murderous and vengeful.

My goal in the beginning of the Summer after having lunch at NUEVE was simply to try the breakfast and dinner menus at the location.  Maybe it was just because of the unknown of what this tasty place had to offer.  But I think that it is because I was so satisfied that lunch session with those sweet crispy fries that I needed more.  

We were surprised and impressed with the Horchata Pancakes the following weekend, and pleased with the dining we had a few days later for dinner making NUEVE a Latin Cuisine spot we frequent.  Now that I am back in San Diego, it is hard to write about this place as this is back home and even though we are SO CLOSE to Mexico, I have yet to find Horchata Pancakes.  Perhaps I'll bring them down here, but either way, I will definitely be returning soon

Rolls on Rolls on Rolls

So before I start this week's post about delicious amazing delectable food (because that is what the majority of my posts are about as you may have noticed), I want to share with you all an awesome blast of spontaneity I had just a couple of weeks ago.  I am going to Tokyo, Japan for the first time in just a few weeks and am absolutely STOKED to not only go to a new country for the first time but absolutely indulge myself in all of the traditional cuisine the Japanese culture has to offer.

So, to honor this trip and keep myself sane since I am so freaking excited for it, this post is about a great find in San Francisco my friends treated me to not too many days ago where the Japanese Food that was offered only got me more eager for my trip.

This place was AMAZING!  The fresh sushi, variety of savory appetizers, and delectable entrees had me so entranced by their flavor that although I ended up taking my family there for dinner the following weekend to get some more delicious Japanese grub.

So what is this place I keep blabbing about without even actually talking about it? UMAMI. You can find it on 2909 Webster St, San Francisco, CA 94123.  It's not as casual as a small sushi bar in a downtown small city where you can just drop by for a quick bento box (especially since it's only open for dinner) but also not that fancy that you will be dropping $30 for a single hand roll, it's a good middle ground of deliciousness

Since I went twice in the same week it means I was able to try a few different food items and especially since I raved about how good it was to my parents, my Dad was more than willing to try out a good number of different plates and they were legit. Let's start with them appetizers.

Ahi "Poke" Tacos

Within a fried golden wonton shell these awesome mini taco things had yellowfin tuna with yamaimo, avocado, tobiko, & cilantro sprouts and were gone in just one bite where I could fit like two of them in my hand and although I've never been too big of a fan of raw fish this was very tasty and I figured if I'm going to Japan I needed to keep an open mind and it paid off

"Kobe" Steak Tartar

Another plate I was hesitant to try at first but kept an open mind about after my friend was raving about it as we looked through the menu on what to order was this treat which is masami ranch ""washugyu" steak with spicy miso-mustard, toasted peanuts, fresh wasabi & a QUAIL EGG and served with taro chips.  Needless to say this uncooked meat concoction was a little scary to try at first but carried a LOT of good flavor I've never felt combined in such a way before.

"The Original Umami" Sliders

These little guys were obviously mini burger sliders with but with spicy aioli, crispy shallots, & gingered pickles on these soft delicious steamed buns

Edamame Hummus

I think this one is self-explanatory and absolutely delicious

Potstickers

By now, in the world we live in most people have tried some potstickers at least once in their life and these included chicken & shitake "gyoza" dumplings with rice vinegar red chile dipping sauce & spicy sesame kimchi and although these are smaller than some of the ones I had had before, these are definitely of the Top 5 potstickers I've had before.

Yep, those were just the appetizers we've tried at this place so you can see how starting off with these awesome dishes only got me excited for what the main course would come to bring.

NOW IT IS TIME FOR THE SUSHI

So I'm not gonna lie, I don't remember which roll is which and I probably should have tried to remember them better somehow but for right now these are the rolls I know we ordered but I just don't know which are which so just kind of look at them, appreciate how delicious they look, and trust me that they were good.  Here's the names of some we ordered and what was in them but I can't exactly tell which is which, maybe you can

• Dojo - Snow crab & avocado/bbq eel, eel sauce, tempura flakes, tobiko & scallions
• Midori - salmon, negi albacore, jalapeno, & avocado, tempura flakes, tataki sauce
• Bakudan - snow crab, spicy tuna, shiso & avocado /tempura style with sweet-spicy aioli, tobiko & eel sauce
• Pretty sure there's a Spicy Tuna Roll in there too and the last one is a Shrimp Tempura Roll, both are more of Classic Rolls and good too but the place is known for their Specialty House Rolls so definitely go for those

By now we must be full right? But then the waitress creeps on over, slips us the dessert menu, and further ruins any ideas of being healthy for the day ... but who can blame them, because you do not want to miss out on these desserts.

What we tried for dessert that I had not seen anywhere else and were absolutely in love with were the new take on what a roll could be as UMAMI offered these awesome Cookie Dough Rolls - yep, you read that right.. instead of seaweed, rice, and raw fish, it was basically bits of heaven, cookie dough, ice cream, and everything nice in the world 

The Classic

My favorite of the desserts we tried (which says a lot since between both visits I tried everything on the menu), this had Vanilla Bean Gelato within a rolled sheet of chocolate chip cookie dough drizzled with caramel, chocolate sauce, and topped with chopped peanuts

S'mores

Mocha chip gelato wrapped in graham cracker cookie dough and chocolate sauce this plate was also good since it also was topped with a toasted marshmallow and a light addition of smoked whiskey, although it does not taste like a traditional s'mores dessert, I still recommend it

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

Obviously this isn't a Cookie Dough Roll anymore but it should still be mentioned because it was bomb.  This one is prepared and served with Vanilla Gelato and a Black Sesame Tuille (that wafer thing) and is acceptable when eaten separately but make sure to get a bit of the pudding, ice cream, and crumbs all in your spoon to get that full blast of flavor - so worth it

Creme Brulee

A classic dessert at any restaurant that is more than just a casual dive and it is just as good here as it is in most other places but carries a different twist to it.  With tapioca pearls at the bottom and mascerated berries, this dessert actually ended up tasting a little bit like Froot Loops in our opinion which was really good, so we approved and finished it off very quickly

It's easy to say my family and I will be going here again in the sometime near future whenever we want to treat ourselves or if we ever have some visit come and want to try some good food but basically this place got me really excited for my trip to Japan, filled me up to the brim with food, and somehow even inspired me to write probably one of my longest and most detailed posts so I am not just writing about this place just because, it really is good.  

Maybe I should not have written this before lunch though because I am really hungry and craving sushi now 

I Pledge Allegiance, to the Pies, and All Things Just as Good

It's Summer!

And I am finally back to my blog and finally have free time!

Now what is it that I am going to first write about in my Summer Collection of blog posts? Well, if you know me at all or have noticed a trend in what is I especially like to post about (or if you just so happened to already read the title of this post) then you will know what this is going to be all about...

FOOD!

So Let's Begin...

Yes indeed, this post is about PIES! More specifically though, Republic of Pie, an awesome coffee shop in North Hollywood with So Much Amazingness all concentrated in one area.

On Magnolia Blvd in North Hollywood, CA is quaint but cool cafe carrying a very relaxed and respectable atmosphere filled with scents of fresh coffee and nothing but sweet pastries as the first things you see when you walk through the door.  After you order in the front some coffee, pastries, slices of PIE, or some hearty and delicious breakfast options, you can go ahead and head to the back of the coffee shop and pull yourself a seat.  They have a wide assortment of couches, seats, stools, tables, benches, and other comfortable spaces where you can just have your meal, a cup of coffee, a sweet slice of pie and either have a good conversation with a friend, read a book, or get some work done. 

Similarly to Young Hickory which I wrote about a while ago, this coffee shop has a great atmosphere to it all and although I don't live in the area, if I did, I would definitely spend a lot of time here reading, writing, hanging out, or just indulging myself in delicious pieces of pie.

So by now you're probably DONE with me only mentioning all the delicious food here and not showing you what it looks like, so let me show you what this place is all about.

So as I mentioned before, once you walk in you will see all the savory pastries they have to offer especially since you have to walk past the earlier customers sitting at a the few couches they have in the front and refrain from drooling over them as you see the sweets they had already started enjoying.

To the right is the counter displaying Nutella Turnovers, Almond Danishes, Jam & Cheese Danishes, Apple Turnovers, a Variety of Croissants, Lemon Bars, Macarons, Coconut Bars, Lemon Tarts,  and SO MUCH PIE!

Peach, Apple, Strawberry Rhubard, Marion Berry, Chocolate Cream, Espresso Almond, Chocolate Banana Cream, Key Lime, Cookies & Cream, Banana Cream, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Coconut Cream, Pecan, Pumpkin, and SO MUCH MORE!

And just in case you don't wanna feel TOO guilty starting off your day with something sweet, you can kick off your day with some delicious breakfast plates such as these...

 But please make sure to grab a cup of coffee too because this stuff is good, their drip is fresh and tasty and their specialty drinks are so savory.  And just LOOK AT THEIR LATTE ART!

I went with my sister and because we didn't want to feel like we were just starting off with something sweet, I ordered the GRILLED BREAKFAST WRAP which had egg, bacon, mozzarella, potato, avocado, pico de gallo, and jack sauce... Seriously, this was Delicious!

My sister took the higher road though and ordered the yogurt with fruit and granola which was very tasty too and not absurdly creamy or tart

BUT OF COURSE WE GOT A SLICE OF PIE ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!

The two of us after having our individual breakfast plates shared a slice of ooey gooey creamy whipped Cookies & Cream Pie and I say unto you we indulged in such a delectable piece of heaven, And. It. Was. Good.

2.4 seconds later of nothing but me looking like this gif

BOOM

The next time I was in the area my sister and I tried to convince my mom for us to go there again but noooooo we figured it would be good to explore another breakfast place.  Although I was initially bummed because, I mean come on you saw the pies, the other place turned out to be pretty good.  But back to Republic of Pie, if you are in the area, or even just somewhere in LA and willing to make the drive to North Hollywood despite LA traffic, do it! Or if maybe you live in the area and need a study spot or just some good pie go ahead and make your day with some delicious pie.  Maybe you could even bring a book and just kind of listen to the sounds of a real coffee shop.

I miss this place and I miss the coffee shops I came to love in San Diego I can't go to right now during the Summer so hopefully next time I come back to the blog I will have a coffee shop similar to this one I can go to near home

Ugh, me too

Practically Perfect in Every Way

I have no idea why I have not posted about this yet but Disney's Saving Mr. Banks is one of my top top top movies that YOU need to watch and I am always down to watch.  I have no idea why it was not nominated for more Academy Awards because it is Awesome! Not just because it's Disney and not just because Tom Hanks plays WALT DISNEY ...but it definitely helps

So for those of you that don't know first off, Saving Mr. Banks is based on the process Walt Disney went through to convince P.L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins (played by the lovely and amazing Emma Thompson), to get the rights to make the movie.. drum roll please... Mary Poppins!

As tale comes to tell as portrayed in the movie, P.L. Travers was not very easy to convince and she had to have it HER WAY in making the film adaptation OR ELSE NO RIGHTS, but because Walt too was a stubborn man and would LOVE to have Mary Poppins join his ensemble of characters he considers to be his family, the conflict between the two gets to be pretty good as Mrs. Travers just about shuts down every idea they have while making the movie.

You can imagine how bad THIS LINE is when creating the movie adaptation because of a certain other word that is so iconic in Mary Poppins ... Spoiler Alert...it's Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Emma Thompson KILLS IT as P.L. Travers and you basically wanna give her a piece of your mind throughout the entire movie as she rips apart just about every song they come up with, every detail in the script, and what seems to be every remaining detail in the story.  Did you know she did not even want there to be any hint of attraction between Mary Poppins and Bert?

Please, those two are perfect for each ... practically perfect in every way

But the movie is not just some Disney movie with a bunch of sing-along-songs throughout and dancing animals (that ends up being in Mary Poppins, duh), this movie is actually a drama with A LOT of depth and emotion which is probably why I love it so much (I like those types of movies)

I mean just LOOK at the movie poster! You just know the movie is gonna be good and magical and everything everybody needs and would enjoy so you need to go along now and watch the movie.

Furthermore, I wanna talk a bit more about Mary Poppins.   I made my roommate watch Saving Mr. Banks a few days before my birthday and he liked it a lot too and so did my other friend and it just reassured me that the movie is great... but I mean, even if they didn't like it I still would have loved it because it is good and no one can tell me otherwise.  Anyway, for my birthday, he got me the original book version of Mary Poppins

I read the book ASAP and thought it was a lot of fun and definitely an easy read, you should go read it.  Like really, if you can read my posts, the book is gonna be a piece of cake.  The book is however very different from the movie, whether or not that was what Walt wanted or what, I like both definitely.  They're both different but they are both pleasing, enjoyable, and can teach you a lot while having a lot of fun.

Now my apartment-mates and I have been itching to rewatch Mary Poppins and basically complete the tri-fecta of Mary Poppins goodness.  Book, Movie, and Movie is great and just about as perfect as Mary Poppins ... but not completely ..

(Now you understand the title of this post?)

But yea, so whether you want to relive your childhood (Watch Mary Poppins), watch a good drama with a great cast and good humor (Watch Saving Mr. Banks), or have a good easy read that anyone in your family could enjoy (Read Mary Poppins), Mary Poppins can be there for you at any time of the day at any time of the year.

Any of those three are really just as sweet as a spoonful of sugar

.