Recently in Restaurant Food Category

Last week Chilebrown of Madmeat Genius offered up a new place in Berkeley for some tempura fare, he mentioned Tempura Cheese Pizza. Yup, it's like that.

He and Ms. Goofy (his wife) stopped by at noon on Saturday to haul my lazy ass out of the house and on a food adventure. I figured downtown Berkeley, noon, on a Saturday would be something of a snarl for traffic & parking. Traffic caused us to hit the back streets, but parking was right around the corner. We entered!

Sumo Grub is nice, clean, cute and had a handful of tables for in-house dining. The menu to the left was done on a chalk board, it was laid out well, very legible. Under burgers they have their 1/4 lb Angus beef and something called, "Vegan Meat", I thought that was very cool. The woman running the front was exceptionally kind, helpful and cheery. The best part though? Is that they have a backyard for outside seating! It was awesome! Loved it.

The prices are exceptionally affordable, probably due to the location directly across the street from Berkeley High. So, ordering a bunch of goodies is of no concern for those of us that haven't attended such a school for 30+ years. I ordered a cheese burger with onion rings, tempura mac & cheese and bottled water.

I really liked the onion rings, but the burger fell short. The poor beef patty was cooked beyond its life expectancy. But after meeting the owner and chef, I'm sure he's working out the kinks and won't hold that against him. I was the one that ordered a burger in an Asianny restaurant. Other than that, the bun was absolutely stellar along with the lettuce, and the green fleckled sauce stuff.

Here's a shot of Chilebrown's Chicken, Apple Sausage Tempura.

Here's the Tempura Mac & Cheese. I'm a hard core mac and cheese guy, if it ain't a home made southern mac & cheese, I'm not interested. I should be reviewing on its own merit, but I can't.

When we were nearly done with our lunch, Chilebrown got up and ordered us a Tempura Heart Attack for dessert, it serves 3? This would be Tempura Oreos, Twinkies and ice cream.

I really liked the Oreos and the ice cream, the Twinkies were good. The owner really knows how to Tempura anything. This was the piece of resistance, what really tied it all together. The bread crumbs varied from item to item.

To sum it all up, Sumo Grub really shines in a few areas and I will go back to try some more dishes that compliment his skills.

Sumo Grub
2235 Milvia Street, at Kittridge
Open Monday through Saturday from 11am until "The freaks come out"
Closed on Sunday

xo, Biggles

A week ago or so Meathead's mother came to town and my sister Kallisti offered up the Boilerhouse as a nice, new destination restaurant to visit. It's only a few minutes from either of us and neither of us had been, it was time.

The Boilerhouse is located at the old Ford Motorplant that was producing vehicles back in the '50s, very industrial. It's out near the harbor and the Bay Trail ends right at their front door. You have to drive out near Pt. Richmond, then head out and actually be checked in by a guard at the gate.

At first glance we were all impressed they'd kept and worked with such an industrialized area and old buildings. The place isn't huge and the day we were there they were hosting a high school graduation. It all worked seamlessly. While it does seem somewhat upscale, it's more inviting than that. A seating for 7 was easily dealt with, the servers were well groomed and attentive. The menu simple, pointed towards burgers. Burgers!

Ground beef from Niman Ranch and hand patted, cooked to your specification.

I got the Texas burger cooked medium raw. Gently packed with home fried red onions, bread roll was soft yet chewy. My father got the Jalapeno burger, said to be as awesome as well.

All of us ordered drinks and burgers, all were satisfied. The Boilerhouse really succeeds to down scale a great meal in a wondrous atmosphere of old industrial manufacturing. It's going to be tough for them to bring business their way considering where they are, which is why I wanted to stop by and let you know this is a place worth visiting!

The restaurant opens up directly on to the harbor, marina and the bay. The view is epic, go now! Just to let you know how awesome it was, as we finished our meal the disco version of Star Wars emptied in to the audio system, everyone got dreamy eyed and fell in to a trance.

Go now, go soon. The Boilerhouse in Richmond.

xo, Biggles

Alright, gather close. Raise your hand if you've driven by a restaurant or food truck and swore to yourself that you really need to stop by and see what they're up to? Yup, nearly all, myself included. Okay, how many of you drive past the same place day after day, week after week, then year after year saying the same damned thing? Oh, comon, tell the truth. Yup, nearly all, myself included.

Back when they started up, in the parking lot of Mel & Son's Muffler, they were in a stark white catering trailer. Even had tables set up outside for people to enjoy their food stuffs. They spent 7 years there, and a few years ago moved in to a brick & mortar building right next door. I drive past anywhere from 4 to 6 times a day, watching & waiting. What a noodle, why not just stop the hell by and see what's going on?

It wasn't until I saw a smoker on a trailer puffing mightily away that I started twitching and biting my lip. Okay, I give up, you got me.

Parking is a little odd what with being surrounded by auto related service stations, not a biggie though. The place is exceptionally bright and clean, very inviting and well taken care of. A few tables in the center with the kitchen facing you in the back. If Pops is there, the conversation is boisterous and all smiley. Earlier in the day his son is in the kitchen, I hear his daughter comes in later in the day. Ordering was easy because the son helped, me. I mentioned I'd never been and looked lost. He suggested the Lunch Delight with 2 pieces of catfish, 3 hushpuppies, slaw or fries for $7.25. And it comes with a soda !!!

Ain't that somethin'? The cornmeal coating on the fish is thin, tasty and has a nice toothy crunch. The meat is firm, yet yields, then goes down quickly. I've been 3 times now and so far I've never just received 2 pieces, it's always been a bit more. The hushpuppies were perfect in every way, crunchy on the outside, creamy steamy on the inside with nice savory wafty flavors. On the first one I did the fries, having 3 fried things at once was too much. On the second visit I ordered the slaw, was good, had raisins in it, didn't ask if they make it er not. Oh, make sure you ask for an extra hot sauce packet or two if you're getting it to go. It comes with 1, 1 is not enough and they're happy to oblige.

All in all it was an uplifting experience with really tasty catfish & hushpuppies. Heck, I'd pull off the freeway for those 'puppies! Oh, and the best part? I've always been the only white boy in there!

Mississippi has other items on the menu as well, snapper, prawns, wings (I think) and L&D BBQ Thursday through Saturday. Start with the catfish, yes start there and move your way around the menu as you see fit. I'll get to the que as my budget and time see fit.

xo, Biggles

Mississippi Catfish, inc.
12440 San Pablo Avenue
Richmond, CA 94805
510.682.5377

While the good Reverend Doctor Biggles spends his days hunting and hopefully trapping his muse, we bring you some travelin' meaters.

My sister Kallisti, and her husband Meathead are right now in New Orleans. She lived there for maybe 4 or 5 years many moons ago and wanted to revisit. I've got a sneaking suspicion this was taken not too terribly long ago, what with how the internet and fancy phones be.

xo, Biggles

Editor's Note: Ya know, nobody has ever accused me of being current. Here we find JLee, on her birthday (over a month ago), at the Grub Shack in West Texas. Joe Bob is doing all the fancy shootin' with his electronical camera rig. Check it out, it's a trailer with an awning out in the middle of fricken nowheres! JLee says:

I had been reading about this place on a blog, The Field Lab and then I saw Betty Doyle on youtube and knew we'd have to come here. A tiny place out in the middle of 360 degree desert eye candy, serving up hearty, filling food. This was by far the best breakfast of the trip. Egg, sausage & bacon on Texas toast, mmmmm. A couple of the 'regulars' were having biscuits and gravy, cracking on each other and life in general. Not a hipster or laptop in sight, aaaah.

JLee

The Grub Shack
Hwy 118 & Terlingua Ranch Rd

Editor's Note:

If you're interested, or not, you really should visit The Field Lab link up there. I'll bet it's a lifestyle in a place you ain't at or livin' in. Here's one of my favorite links on The Field Lab, it's labeled Poop. I find it pretty humbling when I feel so high and mighty about buying locally grown and ranched food, then read about how someone has taken it about 10 steps further to do well by the planet. Cheers!

Annnn, since this picture was taken, Betty has packed up and headed out to take care of some sick relative. The Grub Shack has new people serving up the food action today. I don't know yet if Betty plans on returning any time soon.

Biggles

Urp, sorry. Saul's Restaurant & Deli has been open since 1986, doesn't seem too terribly long. But for anyone to has enjoyed the faire, it feels as though it's been a lifetime. My mother frequented it so often that if anyone she knew would come to eat, the waitresses would send home cookies for her. My sister and her husband Meathead go all the time, I'm sometimes in tow, pried from underneath from my rock.

It's a little on the large side for a "deli", but perfect for a restaurant. Saul's has gone out of their way since the beginning to bring their customers not only an excellent Jewish Deli, but also the best in local, sustainable and organic ingredients. In-house made pastrami? Yup. In-house made pickles? Yup. In-house made tons of other goodies? You bet!

Your grandmother would be grins from ear to ear to be served their, "Chicken in a pot." A home-made chicken soup that contains it all, and about half the size of the Titanic. One of my favorite parts though is their policy about NOT trimming the fat off their pastrami brisket. Pretty cool, eh?

To be perfectly honest though, the reason I go back is the fact is that the quality of their ground beef is so high they can offer their burgers cooked rare. That's right, rare.

The burger is so perfect, so wonderful. It's served on an Acme bun, resting by itself. Next to it lay nestled good leaf lettuce, thin red onion and tomatoes so read they hurt your eyes. You can order cheese and/or pastrami as a topping, I chose pastrami this time. Sure you can get real french fries, potato salad or whatever. I find they detract from the burger. When cooked rare, I suggest you do not lay it down. Once you hold it how you want, eat it. The juices are the one you want in your mouth, not on your plate.

I love Saul's, as do many. If you're looking for destination burger and pastrami, Saul's is the place to seek. After your meal, you're left to wander Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto with The Cheese Board and Chez Panisse and many others.

Saul's Restaurant & Deli
1475 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94709
510-848-DELI

Biggles

Editor's Note: Here's another installment of JLee and Joe Bob's trip to West Texas. They've been back now for a week or so and we've got some insight to what's going on in BBQ there. Pretty cool trip, eh?

Remembering McBee's in Hondo, a very swell brisket. Very moist, proper smoke. Lotsa side carbs here. Appears I am eating off Joe Bob's plate, pacing myself. I'm wondering if we're just getting lucky, or if there's better cows this year. This sauce was sublime. Joe Bob ended up putting it on the beans even. Requisite Dr. Pepper, if there's no RC Cola.

JLee & Joe Bob

Hot Pit BBQ
309 Avenue F
Del Rio, TX 78840
(830)775-3883

Editor's Note: This just in directly from Hondo Texas. Joe Bob and JLee are meandering their way through Texas as we speak. Texas Barbecue is on the menu and Shiner's Mesquite Smoked Lager Beer is the grail. Will let you know when the holy grail is discovered.

Meal was great! some of best brisket we ever had. Really good Polish sausage too. chicken was chicken but amazing skin like turkey and rub of some sort. we kept leftovers for later and they did not last long. Brisket had killer smoke ring and crusty outer layer. Most....not that tired dry stuff you normally find on the tour de Texas.
This is brisket country no doubt. No pork yet but we keep searching. Tried another place in Del Rio but that come over tonight. We in Marathon now at cool hotel, RV park and got last room. Now we off to James Evans gallery and French Grocer store. Searching hard for Pearl Beer !! (Search for Shiner you knob!)

Joe Bob

McBee's BBQ
1301 19th St
Hondo Texas 78861
830-426-4045

I grew up in Albany, went all the way through Elementary, Middle and High School, seemed like forever. Back then, Albany was a sleepy little town stuck in time and Solano Avenue (the main drag) was no exception. It wasn't uncommon to visit stores, shops, pharmacies, offices and diners that'd been there for 50+ years. As a teenager it drove me crazy and ended up taking a bus in to Berkeley (right over there) for a little fun and merriment.

Today, one of the last strongholds of that era, was Walker's Pie Shop. I was sad to see it go for posterity reasons, but honestly the food didn't keep me coming back. Wondered what would replace it?

Bistro 1491, babeee !!!

Keeripes! I just checked the last time I wrote about Taqueria Del Palmar and it was fricken' over 3 years ago! Weren't we just 23? No, huh.

It was soon after that the food seemed to fall off kilter, I think I had 5 off meals in a row. Big D wasn't impressed either. So, we let it go for a while.

Well, Mr. Owner Guy is back and the last few weeks have been pretty fricken' good. The warm house-made tortilla chips fried in lard seem to be as good as they should be. The meat is tender, flaky, full of good flavors and plentiful. The red sauce on the Burrito Especial is also house-made. Everything, so far, is spot on and I will return again this week and more than a few times next week.

Plus, get this. I noticed their prices are lower, at least on the burritos. Yet another reason why I stopped going. I mean, nearly 10 dollars for an All Pastor Burrito? Yes, the size of the rig is down as well, but that's fine by me. It's still way large enough for a 220 pound, 6'2" tall man to get a good lunch down, perfection. If you haven't been in a while, it's worth a return trip.

Taqueria Del Palmar
11252 San Pablo Avenue
El Cerrito, CA 94530
510-307-4312

xo, Biggles

Whoa, whoa whoa, hold on there Tex. I'm a complex man and I got my reasons for posting this. Just hang on a moment and give me a chance. Besides, the damned place ain't even open yet.

Some of you may or may not know, it could very possibly be, a vegetarian dish could be worth eating. Even enjoying, no really. Remember, a large percentage of the world's population eat vegetarian. The deal is tho', they have many dishes per meal, not just one plate o' shrimp.

I love traditional cafe's, always have. Some of my fondest memories are breakfast meals coated in some non-descript gravy. It's the first thing on my mind, "Where's the gravy?". First on my lunch list would be the Hot Turkey Sandwich, oh man. The older I get though, I find that my body can't take that much sodium, oh well. It still doesn't stop me from making a hard left and pulling in to a homey town cafe and ordering up a nice breakfast.

For months I delivered and retrieved Boy #1 from school and would drive right on by The Squirrels, closed in the early afternoon. I knew that some day I would be early enough, and have enough time to stop by and poke my nose in the door. From the outside I could see it had booths, and counter space to sit and enjoy. The tall ceiling sported some cool, hanging, globe-ular lighting, neat! Oh, and the colors. Kinda lightish, brownish, yellowish 70's inspired vinyl upholstery, trimmed with plastic wood veneer. Put Stimpy in your mind rejoicing, "Happy Happy, Joy Joy !!!".

An opportunity knocked, and I answered. "Hello Ren."

Last year I wandered in to Joya de Ceren and bought this little, tiny red box full of fried chicken. It was 10 bux for just a few pieces, and not freshly prepared. On the side was this little chicken made up like a cowboy with the words, "Pollo Campero" on the side. Country Chicken, that is. As near as I can dig up, it's a chain of places dear to the hearts of our brothers and sisters down south. It's a little slice of home and that, means a lot.

We ain't got that here, so someone decided to make their own! And they live just down the street, oh yes.

Taqueria Las Americas has reopened and is now serving their own version!

Here is my first review of Pit Boss BBQ.

Early this morning, about 6:10am, Tiny E was hacking, coughing and not feeling well. This means ol' Papa will be tending to his smallish ward, for the day. He wandered off to his corner and I spent the morning cleaning, cleaning and doing more, cleaning. I'm behind in my chores, eh.

About 11 my tummy let me know it was time to start thinking about lunch, Pit Boss! I needed another meal to finish out the review and this was my perfect opportunity. Not only could I get my meal, but Tiny E could try their hotdog with fries. Most excellent. 22 dollars later, we were at home with the above meal. This would be a 2 way combo of Carolina Pulled Pork Shoulder & Death Row Ribs. The sides were tater salad, fries and the corn bread. And of course a plain hotdog children's meal.

I'm a bad restaurant reviewer. So, I don't do many. What's my problem? I want to love every restaurant and meal, nearly to a fault. What do I mean?

When I dine at any time, at any restaurant I'm giddy. The look, smells, service and menus, I love it all. The images dance, no skip, through my mind with the greatest of glee. And after ordering my meal I wait for the love to pour. To this end I offer ...

Well, first off I want to thank Dagny for bringing this restaurant to our attention. While its location scares me to an absolute shivery death, the food is most certainly worth the adventure. I had my doubts until the chips & salsa slid ever so carefully on to the table with the red & green. What followed gave my spine carnitas pimples for the next 35 minutes. Yeah, even if we didn't order carnitas, I knew it was lurking out there to excite.

I believe the words appropriate for my feelings for El Tazumal #2 are, In Love.

I don't consider myself a worldly type of guy, I'm okay with that. But if I had to judge a country by their people, El Salvador is right at the top. The restaurant & grocery next door are family run, the shopkeeper is always there. Not only are you greeted with smiles, but if nearly any type of conversation ensues, he'll ask you would like to see pictures of his country? And it isn't pronounced, el salvador. Throw out your hands and chest and exclaim, EL SAL VA DOR !!! Pound on that last "dor" there. The twinkle in his eyes is very apparent as he pulls out a ragged coffee table book and flips through it. "Here is MY country!" And continues, with huge amounts of pride, to show you around. His voice drops and as he says that politicallly, "It's not so good." All I was looking for was a simple lunch and I feel as though I should run home and pack my bags and visit, EL SAL VA DOR !!! In Love.

Nearly 10 years ago JLee and I would make a special trip in to Berkeley and visit Pepito's Deli. All we wanted was a pint of their Chile Verde, a load of warm tortillas and some cheese to grate. We'd fly back to work and just stand there loading up our tortillas and slurping away. The elixir of the gods. It was always the finest we could find, wasn't cheap though. This pint of goodness was 16 bux, worth every penny too.

Seasons passed and one day we pulled up to find it had closed. We weren't close enough to the staff or owners to know why, but it was gone. Gone until today that is!

Yup, it's my birthday week and I took yesterday off. I didn't have much planned but a nice lunch at a new BBQ joint out in Antioch with Chilebrown. He sent me an ad a week ago and thought we should go check it out, considering who we are and all. They'd opened July 31st, so after only being open a week we didn't know what to expect. It was a day to throw caution to the wind and head out for an adventure.

A few days before, CB's co-worker made a trip to Oregon for bacon. Apparently he'd filled 2 giganticus sized coolers full of bacon and bacon like products. Some of which I knew CB had asked for and hopefully a little would trickle down to me, heh. This also means we get to have a bacon tasting before lunch, how nice.

I showed up at CB's early, about 11am. He tossed 2 cast iron skillets on his fancy commercial range and removed a plastic bucket from the fridge. He pulled back the top and said, "Here's 14 pounds of pork belly curing for bacon." It sure was, dang. After the bucket was out of the way, he removed about 3 or 4 huge sized bags of bacon. First up he sliced some of Redmond Lockers & Custom Meats Inc bacon, oh man. The fresh porky smell along with sweet smoky wafts was wonderful. Next to slice was the A&B Meat Market bacon, both of which are belly bacon. Each got its own skillet, we have to make sure the flavors of each are preserved!

The gentle caress of the gas range gave us the the bacon doneness we needed. Little bit chewy and a little bit crunchy. This way we can see where it comes and where it goes. I need to taste the cool white smoky fat and the crunch of the belly, it's all good. I went for the Redmond bacon first and CB did the A&B. It was a moment held in time, we both stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter. Ghod the Redmond bacon was good, excellent sweetish flavor with a smoky pork finish. I grabbed a slice of the A&B while CB grabbed a piece of the Redmond. Munch munch. Lordy. The A&B was a little milder on the sweet side, but the smoky goodness along with the excellent pork meat flavor was an contender as well.

I veered towards the Redmond bacon and CB was very happy with the A&B. But when it comes down to it, they're both amazing hunks of cured smoky goodness and get four thumbs up. That was the appetizer, now for lunch. Ready to head out to Antioch to Applewood BBQ?

Another one of those multi-colored pizza flyers showed up on our doorstep a few weeks ago. In the past I would have tossed it. I'm not a fan of these franchised or cookie cutter establishments that show up for a year or so, then disapear as quietly as they arrived. But after Rworange from a local food related forum started checking these local Richmond places out, I had to see what they had.
Come on, you just gotta know what's in this sammich.

Here I find myself calmly stalking Poulet. The intersection of Virginia & Shattuck is nearly void of traffic, perfect for my approach. Sure is a totally badass day to be out.
I don't normally leave my box, it's tough pawing my way though my psychosis. Then how did I manage to find a path away? Shuna of Eggbeater asked me to, that's how.
Wanna come see?

I've been working in this area for nearly 16 years, a long time for most. While I believe this is a good thing, having to find lunch in the same area for 16 years can get just a tad lonely, boring and mostly leaves me feeling more than melancholy. Especially when this area is Richmond. So, when a new anything moves in, I am so there. Round eyed, bouncy and ready for anything would probably give you a good idea as to my demeanor when ordering, poking and reading. Just picture Tigger and you'd about have me nailed.
Recently RW posted something about a new Torta place on a local foodie forum, I marked my calendar and the map. You most certainly want to read further, oh yes.

As I sit down to write, Chilebrown is on his way from California to Idaho stopping at every damn smokehouse in his way. He said he only took 2 coolers, I mentioned he may want to consider getting another 2, dang an junk. The results of this trip should be pretty insane.

This makes up the second and last entry for our 2nd Meat Adventure. If you missed the fist part, please visit the 1st part and get yourself aquainted.

By the time we arrived at Uncle Franks, literally around the corner from Dittmer's, we were ready for food and drink. Both CB and I were on a high from scoring so hugely at Dittmer's, we absolutely couldn't believe our luck. As we walked up to Uncle Frank's, it said, No One Under 21 Allowed. Cool! The front part of the building is nice Old Man's bar with 2 pool tables, ahhh time to relax. CB ordered a draft and I the same with a shot of bourbon. The bartender wanted to know what kind? It's been over 3 years since I've been in a bar (I do my drinkin' at the smoker at home) and I couldn't remember what to say, so I just stood there looking blank. The kind of blank that said, "Uh, er, uh, you know? The brown liquidy bourbon that stings my lips and makes me say, NICK NICK and doesn't cost too much." I think it's called a Well Drink, whatever. CB and I sat at the bar for a moment, he watched basketball on the tv and I kinda stared blankly at everything. I realized in about 5 minutes that my drinks were gone and I was still hungry. Time to go sit down in a booth and place our order.

It was dark out and the sign was lit. Chilebrown, Ms. Goofy, Mama and myself headed out to Rodeo to the new Mazatlan taqueria to celebrate our Dueling Briskets contest the previous weekend. It's been a month or less since it opened and being 1 of 2 Mexican restaurants in town, we just had to go see. Hopefully it doesn't suck as much as the other one.

It's better you don't directly SEE the 'burrito'. Let Depth of Field be our friend today.

First off I want to apologize to Dr. Wallach, he stressed a low sodium diet and this ain't within those boundries. Then, I would like to apologize to all of you, sort of, but not really. You see, when Emil handed me this ad for a Chili Cheese Fries Burrito from Wienerschnitzel I just couldn't resist. I wouldn't have gone for a corn dog, I wouldn't have gone for the Chili Cheese Meal Deal that includes a chili cheese dog, a chili cheese burger and chili cheese fries. Nope, I steer clear. But a chili cheese fries burrito? For 99 cent? I was so there.
If you feel strong of heart, click on to read the rest of the story.

Is 3rd time the charm? If not, it was going to be strike 3 and you're out, that's for sure. As you all know, I've given Jones' BBQ 2 chances in the past to come through and each time it was a flat out bust, except for the potato salad. Which is good if you like potato salad, but if the word BBQ or Barbecue is in the name of your joint? You should have some decent smoky meats and sister, or brother, Jones' has not delivered me this. I've received a few emails and comments from close friends and complete strangers over the last year saying that Jones' BBQ isn't about the BBQ, it's about the fried chicken. Aroo?

CORRECTION 6/27/2005: Palmar has been open for 2 years, not 1 month as stated in my review, please take note.

UPDATES available, see end of post. 6/29/2005

Tuesday afternoon I was driving to get something to eat after going home to water my new 'mater plants (thanks Chilebrown!). I'd pulled close to Potrero Avenue and was going to visit Rick's Quality Meats and get a dumb sammich. The closer I got the madder I got and decided I just couldn't eat another sandwich. This is when I made my turn, away. And I'm glad I did because yesterday's lunch was just as good as today's. Read on if you care ...

Today hasn't always looked tasted this good. Earlier today Big D got some bad news about the funky transmission in his '95 4Runner. It was fried and as it turns out, the transfer case is built in to the transmission. This means it has to be rebuilt/replaced as well. All told it'll take about 25 hours in the shop and will cost upwards of 6 grand. Big D quickly turned to Sad and Depressed D. But wait, it gets worse. I decided to cheer the guy up by coming by and taking him to lunch. Sounds easy enough, right? Nope. Travinos was closed, who knows why. Not only was the news about the tranny depressing, but our lunch plans were flying right out the window. We decided to head down San Pablo Avenue to see if anything piqued our interest, Mc Donalds? No. Church's Chicken? No sir. Our next place would have been Wienerschnitzel, I detoured and headed to the Barrio. Enough was enough, we needed something rich & satisfying. We found it! Portumex Family Restaurant on 23rd Avenue in Richmond. YEAH !!!

Joe Bob sends us another wonderful treat from Denver. Hooboy it looks good, darned good.

For years I have been meaning to stop in at the famous Kapre Fried Chicken on Welton Street down in Five Points. Then when I did, turns out they have been shut for some time. The guys next door in the shoe repair store said if I wanted fried chicken just go across the street. Across the street turns out to be Welton Street Café. This is it's 4th or 5th local in about 17 years. They know how to do fried chicken. I had the dinner with 2 sides and iced tea. Man was it worth it....$10.95. Of course I got the okra, red beans and rice and corn bread.

This semi-new local restaurant, Wailiki Hawaiian BBQ, has sparked easily the most heated discussion amoung our immediate circle of friends & family. Apparently my sister and her husband, Mr. & Mrs. Meathead visited this place a month ago and were served nearly inedible food. The food I received was worth returning to. My co-worker EarAche wasn't impressed with the one in Hercules, the L&L Hawaiian BBQ . Why do these two restaurants have identical menus? Why are there no vegetables? Except for the strands of cabbage under the fried food? I've never been to Hawaii and it took a few days to sort things out. For those of you concerned, it's called Plate Lunch.

Since the late 1960s little Eddy has been a Green Bay Packer fan. I enjoy watching a few games during the season, but I wouldn't call me a fan of the game. You'll catch me out grilling food, roasting food or eating food during the game, that's where you'll find me. Last season Ed, his sister and a few others would drive many miles to a sports bar in Pleasant Hill. That got a bit tiresome and it wasn't cheap. So, this year Ed & his crew found a local place to watch the game and have a few cool freshins'. Not only did he find a place, but he found a place where the owner locks him IN the bar & restaurant and goes home for the afternoon. Only to show up hours later to open up for dinner. That's right, little Eddy gets the run of the place for the duration of the big big big big big game. Count me in as one of the attendees!

(disclaimer: Sorry no photos. I really am sorry too. Because this really deserved a photo treatment)

Sometimes you spend too much time in a favorite restaurant establishment.

I've been working at the same company now for a bit over 14 years. I like that part, but as cool as it might seem, consider the fact I've been eating at the same places for lunch all this time. So, when I overhear someone talking about a semi-local place I haven't been to and it sounds worth while, I'm outta here. Within a few minutes Big D was here and we were OFF.

Tower of Del Monte Canned Goods at The Cannery, San Francisco

My mother in law was in town for a few days, so Mr. Meathead and I took the opportunity to take her to some of our favorite restaurants, and even one new place! Not all the pix are even half top notch, but all the food was reeeeeal good.

Hi, I'm Mrs. Meathead and I will be your hostess for today.

Today, the Friday before Labor Day, I am "working from home." And usually when I'm "working from home" myself and Mr. Meathead take the opportunity to go out to fancy lunches we normally wouldn't have the opportunity to have. Our recent favorite restaurant is just behind our house, "Saigon Seafood Harbor." We have the great pleasure of having the parking lot to the Pacific East Mall in Richmond as our backyard. Well "Saigon" isn't in the mall, it is next to it. So we drove there. It is huge, with lots of parking. And they need it because this place hops. For lunch, go no later than 11:30am, for dinner, no later than 5:30pm. Or you will be cranky.

Here we find ourselves with August coming full on. Which means most of the day it is either overcast or foggy with some blust. Today around mid day it was sunny, El Yay !
Mid day around these parts also finds the Good Dr., hungry. A handful of months ago a new restaurant opened up around the corner. It's an odd little place attached to Rose & Mike's liquor in Richmond. Grandma K and Grampa were able to check out the place a few weeks ago. They found the experience quite favorable, which drives the interest higher. Today it was time to visit 3 Hermanas (3 Sisters), my wife agreed and off we went. To the bank, cause I didn't have any cash. After the bank though, we were there.

There are a few things one shouldn't attempt after a large meal, one of them that comes to mind is swimming. The other, not quite as obvious is making a blog entry. I'm a bit muddled by the intake of El Salvadorian food, really good El Salvadorian food. I'll take it slow and we'll see if we can make sense of this wonderous spread.
I am by no means an authority of people and food south of California's border. But I do enjoy a good meal and am interested to see what others have to offer. One of the things I notice about our local El Salvadorian eateries is their Pupusas (hand made somewhat thick corn tortillas stuff with cheese/pork/beef/chicken and then grilled with manteca (pork fat). These are about 4 or 5 inches across and are absolutely delightful. Something else comes to mind are their tortillas, they tend to be a thicker more homey type rig. A far cry from those dry paper thin things in the grocery store. I keep having to tell myself that a lot of what we try here has to have been "americanized" to some degree. Even so, it's worth our time to go see.

Hey ever'one. I just figured I'd stop by say hi. With this last weekend's birthday meat fest my inspiration for cooking hasn't returned. Just plain wor'd out. Sure I could write a column about something, but that isn't what I do (clearly). So just hang tight until I can get back on the home cooking trail and we'll get you some pretty pictures of tasty foodses.

Today was Eric's day to have his Country Fried Steak Breakfast at Sukie's Country Kitchen. I've posted about this before, so do a search on MeatHenge and you'll find contact information if'n you're interested. Suffice it to say that Sukie's is one of the last strongholds of the traditional 50's style American ... well you get the idea. At this moment they are nearly surrounded by new construction (dirt and big trucks everywhere), they promise they aren't closing. The old booths look as though they might have been updated sometime in the early 80s with that funky pastel blue and pink and brass (shudder here). But they are booths nonetheless and mostly filled with seniors passing the time with friends. Sukie only employs real waitresses (quick, efficient competent staff) who've been there for years. It is always a great time.
This time was no exception. 3 of us headed out in search of an individual 'splatter'. Take a close look at E's lunch (above). There must be a new cook, because you can SEE the food. The previous 'splatters' have been absolutely swimming in white country gravy. Here we can clearly see the hash browns and fried eggs. Oh and look, you can see an edge of the steak. Neat. I don't know which is better, but I know Eric cleaned his plate pretty darned well each time we've been.

I've never met Sukie personally, but if I met her today I would have given her a big hug. My sister and brother in-law went out for lunch today (Sorry Dennis) at Sukies and had a wonderful lunch. There was a happy cook back there in the kitchen because each meal was perfectly proportioned, tasty and delivered promptly to our table steaming hot. 45 minutes later I have that funny overwhelming urge to drink a lot of water ... perfection !!!
Just look at that Hot Turkey, Hot Roast Beef and Country Fried Steak Club sandwich.
Sukies is a real treasure for when you need to have some old American standard meal, served on a white platter in a booth. That's right, we got to sit in booths !!

Well, keeping with the fast food jag that Meathenge has meandered lazily into...

"you've got to have stuff that sucks so that you know when somethings are cool. I mean... if everything was cool all the time you wouldn't know it was cool. And that would suck."
-Butthead

Mrs. Meathead and I went to The Crazy Chicken place.

I just got back from Rick's Quality Meats in El Cerrito and he's smoking 10 chicken halfs. He brined them in an Apple / Cherry Mixture. I've had it once before and it is well worth the effort. They'll be ready after 4pm today and certainly by tomorrow, that's when I'm going to go get mines. Remember, sometime on January 13th head over and get in line.

Rick's Quality Meats
510.233.9390

1600 Liberty Street
El Cerrito, CA 94530

Yesterday I was invited out to a sports bar in Pleasant Hill somewheres to watch Greenbay battle Philidelphia. I don't get out much so it was really nice to get out and do something a tad different on a Sunday. The company was great, the food was just fine (plenty of fries) and the beer was cold. Although it would have been nice to have the Packers win for Ed's 40th birthday, oh well.
Happy 40th ED !!!

A crazed butcher or crazed grill meister? Either way Rick's customer's walked away this drizzly Friday afternoon with a belly full of smoked pork shoulder sammiches. If you have a few moments to make your way into El Cerrito on Fridays you'll be rewarded with a smoked meat treat.

MeatHenge's crack reporter Cindy heads off to Mobile for a late in the year meat treat. This time though, there's been a change in the menu! There's a new rib place in town. She and her friends pile into the Winnie and head out to find out whose ribs are best.
Please look to your left and under "FEATURED ARTICLES" you'll notice the two entries for the Rib Off v1 and v2.

I had the pleasure of making it out for breakfast this morning by invitation of a friend. She suggested a newish restaurant at the 4th Street area in Berkeley. All she would say is, you just gotta have the tamales. Just gotta.
The building was a nice large industrial type with some neat angles to the walls. The tables and bar areas were all refinished recycled wood, so they had some patina left to them, quite nice. I perused the menu up on the wall a bit, but came back to the first item, chorizo with scrambled eggs. Oh and a tamale and a cup of blue bottle coffee and half and half and that would be plenty thank you.

The chorizo and eggs were right on the mark. Not too damn greasy, in fact they weren't greasy at all. The heat came in to say hello, and the cilantro cleaned it all up fancy. I don't like to admit it, but I'm not a fan of the black bean. I feel pintos are the way to be, but these were worth not leaving on the plate. Especially with the crumbly mexicanny cheese. Now take the chorizo egg love, a smoosh of beans and apply to the home made corn tortillas ... and you have one of the best breakfasts of the year. But wait, it gets better. The Blue Bottle coffee compliments food. Their brew isn't a dark roast such as what Peet's spews (that stuff is a meal within itself). It was a complete joy to have with a meal.

Look, it's a fresh shredded pork tamal with a sweetish red sauce. It was nice of the chef to set the tamal on a bed of husk. That way the sauce wouldn't be disturbed by unwrapping the sucker, ah hell if the husk was on, the sauce wouldn't have been there.

The scrambled eggs over tortilla chips slathered in red sauce with crema, crumbly cheese and white onions was ... well really tasty as well. I had some of all.
Again, I can't stress enough how nice it was to take a few minutes out of the day to sit and have a nice meal. There wasn't anything I could have added to this meal, oh wait. Yes, actually there is something I could add. It would have been nice to have a smidge of fruity goodness. But other than that, total success.

Where are most of you? Working I would hope. Today I was just way too hungry and needed a little something to tide me over. Well, this certainly fit the bill. In fact, it was a bit much. Some omelette thing with mushrooms, onions, peppers, maters and some link sausage. AND HASHBROWNS !!! I LOVE HASHBROWNS. Sure they were a bit mushy, but that's how Sukies goes.

It's been one of those days. You know the ones. A few hours longer than you expected, a co-worker shows up with homemade iced coffees that have enough cafeine in them to kill a moose (you have two), the chinese lunch repeats for maybe six hours worth of nasty garlic filled grease. Yeah, that's the day. So what is the last thing you wish to do? Cook dinner, let alone eat dinner. But the kids are hungry and the wife is expecting something tasty. My solution? Fast food. What kind? Well, it's hot, it's july, the obvious choice is FRIED CHICKEN! In this part of the country, Popeye's is really the only choice for edible fried chicken. So there it sits, in the oven keeping warm. Zachary is having a bite and I'm sure M will have a piece. But it scares me. See? Isn't it scary?

Meathead and Mz. Meathead went to Sukis last weekend and we got these yummies

SKILLET

and PORK

and of course I love a detail shot.

Another file meal served up at Sukie's Country Kitchen in San Pablo California. Yum.

Thank you Sukie! For this 'delightful' repast consisting of goodies such as BACON ... bacon friend.

Okay, so I'm dying already. Here it is 7:30 Thursday morning and this is what I find in my Inbox. I know it was probably meant for dinner or a huge lunch, but am now thinking BREAKFAST.
Thanks Joe ?

This is just in case you were wondering what it looked like close up.

Wow, look at all that ... uh food.