The Sundry Tomatoes

I’ve noshed my way up the Pacific Coast Highway, and by now, you probably may think I’ve loved everything I’ve eaten from San Diego, through LA, Santa Barbara, up to San Francisco. Which isn’t exactly the case, I just tend to blog about the golden nuggets I’ve eaten along my west coast travels. (Mmm nuggets.) I had high expectations for a good fried fish, whether it was a fish taco, fish sandwich/roll, or fish & chips. After a week and half of fresh but not quite perfect fish tacos and rolls… enter The Codmother Fish & Chips . Located closely by Fisherman’s Wharf , this shining blue food truck stands strong in all the seafood glory. The Mr. & I did the tourist thing around Fisherman’s Wharf, ate some lobster rolls, crab rolls & clam chowder. Pleasantly edible but nothing memorable to mention over there. Afterwards, we walked somewhat off the beaten path to a street filled with several food trucks and stands, some with a small seating areas. But worry not, it’s

Think old New York in Times Square, before it was tourist and family friendly, minus the flashy lights, and gentrification wasn’t even in present-day vocabulary. Off to the Tenderloin district in San Francisco, there was a Vietnamese pho restaurant we were curious about that sounded very promising, based on our research. We quickly were starting to doubt our decision on the car ride there. Even our Lyft driver couldn’t wait to get out of this part of town fast enough before we stepped out the car and he bid us a humorous but dry “good luck”. As we stepped out the car and onto the dim streetlight corner of Miss Saigon , our New Yorker mentality couldn’t keep us from feeling a bit unsettled at what exactly did we get ourselves into. It wasn’t until we walked through the doors of Miss Saigon we felt that we entered a comfort haven unbeknownst or maybe just unperturbed to the gritty streets outside its doors. So nothing else could be more comforting than a bowl of pho at that moment. I

Hi guys, I'm two for two this week! Just doing a quickie review while I've got the writing bug. Since yesterday there was no dinner, today there was no leftovers to bring for lunch. So I went to a spot I've been to a bunch of times but I hadn't reviewed anything. I was in a bad moods so I ordered carbs. Chilaquiles with carne asada. So what are chilaquiles? I've had them several different ways but essentially it is a bunch of soggy tortilla chips with green chile salsa, cheese and sour cream. Then you add whatever other delicious junk to modify it. The very first time I had this dish was at my Mexican friend's mom's house. As a guest in someone's home I tend to ask very few questions about what's served in front of me and at first glance I was pretty excited about what they were cooking up. They had some chips in a pot and they were layering some cheese and stuff and then they threw in some jalapeños. At this I began to contemplate how high my heat

You guys! It's been a long minute since I've shared about my gastroadventures. I do have some good reasons for being absent for so long. I've missed you all so much. Living in a new city, making new friends, finding a job I love all while missing my friends and family is a lot harder than I anticipated. The last year in my new town has been filled with ups and downs and most days I just wanted to enjoy my company and savor the moment along with the food. Secondly, Jeanne and I took some time to update the look of our site and set a nicer table for our readers. We wanted to take it from plastic picnic table cloth to trendy linen table cloth. And on to the food! Out of the blue one day everyone on yelp was talking about Poke Bowls. I thought it was a trend I'd missed out on and in one of those lazy moments I thought meh I'll get to one eventually. I'm the worst at keeping up with trends. A coworker did bring one in and he let me take a nibble. It was prett

DATE: Summer 2015 LOCATION: La Super Rica Taqueria 622 N Milpas St, Santa Barbara, CA 93103 It may be dangerous for this sweeping statement I’m about to make but - La Super Rica Taqueria by far may have been the best Mexican food I’ve ever had to date. (And it’s been almost 2 summers ago that I’ve been here. 2 years and the food there still sticks out in my mind. Now only if I could get another morsel back on my tongue and in my belly!) So it wasn’t a surprise to me when I found out that this location was also raved and faved by THE famous Julia Child. Driving to this white and teal-trimmed taco stand, it looks like a regular, local corner-neighborhood spot. It's casual and unassuming, a no frills atmosphere but plenty of seating room. (Actually, it's so unassuming that they don't even have a website.) Grab a table while you wait to claim your food from the pick-up window, also where you'll grab extra salsa and hot sauces. Horchata I ordered t

DATE: April 21st, 2017 LOCATION: Socarrat Paella Bar 953 2nd Ave New York, NY 10022 b/t 51st St & 50th St I almost wasn't going to blog about this one because I have fewer words (than normal) to say about this, but I couldn't help at least share this delicious photo. It's Arroz Negro from Socarrat Paella Bar in midtown east NYC. This was a great seafood paella, the rice made with squid ink and chock full of shrimp, calamari, scallops, white fish, piquillo pepper & fava beans . The last time I had squid ink paella was at Boqueria, a restaurant where I generally enjoy their Spanish tapas cuisine. But Boqueria’s paella during a weekend brunch a few months ago did not impress me. So I was skeptical when a restaurant like Socarrat Paella Bar puts a specialty in their name. It has a lot to live up to and after my last letdown of a paella experience, I put this "paella bar" at an even higher expectation . Expectations definitely were met,

DATE: Quite Awhile Ago LOCATION: Santa Barbara Shellfish Company 230 Stearns Wharf Santa Barbara,CA 93101 If you’re ever out in Santa Barbara and make your way to Stearns Wharf, head straight over to Santa Barbara Shellfish Company and write your name down on the clipboard in front, because the wait for this place is long. Then take some time to stroll the pier, maybe grab a scoop of ice cream and enjoy the lovely sunset. There’s no waiting room inside the place, so be sure to also pack a light cardigan or jacket as you wait outside on the pier for your party to be called. I’m glad we were troopers and stuck out the wait, because I’m about to tell you what was so AH-mazing about this place. Usually I like to save the best for last but I really can’t, so here it goes. Best New England Style Clam Chowder!!! It’s a sad irony that one of my favorite New England clam chowders ever was in California. But it’s true. It had the perfect chowder consistency and texture, no

Hello my foodie friends! Happy New Year and Happy Valentine's day and all that junk. My buddy is in town this week and we have definitely hit up some nifty nosh spots, and I'm back to tell you all about it. First up a Texas staple: Whataburger . Fail. That meat patty was so floppy and thin! I like my burgers thick. This burger is 90% bread and toppings and 10% meat. no no and no. Where was the beef!? The fries were boring and generic. Only upside, the bill was dirt cheap. Ah well, live and learn on that one. On the other hand, a few days later my buddy and I had JewBoy Burger food truck and that was much tastier. I ordered the Jewboy Burger because I'm boring with burgers and like it served the most classic way available. This has meat I could actually get a measurement on and seasoned like a good home-made burger. The bread was a little bit too big and I don't like it when my last 3 bites just bread and ketchup. Last one or two bites of bread are okay, 3 is