Maye's Bistro, Bonita, San Diego, CA

So it's a sunny Sunday afternoon, my fiance and I are headed over to her parent's house to help clean up a few things for our reception a few weeks from now. Still a bit tired from my morning run I race down the highway to Bonita, wondering what I can possibly stuff in my face without going through a drive-thru, but that won't take forever to prepare. That's when I remember a little empanada place a friend happened to mention the day before. Sure, I think, it's not like you can really screw up empanadas. Little flaky, pieces of dough stuffed with anything you can imagine, and that is where Maye's Bistro (pronounced Mai yeh according to the friend who recommended it)shines.

You'll have to look hard for it. Maye's is located in a little strip mall off Bonita Rd. While the outside may be nothing to talk about the inside is somewhat quaint. There are only two tables inside, as most people prefer to grab their empanads to go, but the tables are clean and come with a few condiments, hot sauce (first time I'd seen Tapatio in a packet), and BBQ sauce to name a few. A flat screen TV sits above the front counter, and on the wall as you enter are a few pictures of the owner, and a plaque from the city business commission. Behind the counter is a a little oven used to heat the empanadas if you feel like eating them there. Besides that the room is dominated by two refrigeration units with clear glass allowing you to look in at the flavors of empanada that are there that day.

My fiance and I took a seat by the window perused the menu as we waited for the lady in front of us to finish ordering. It was there that we amazed by the sheer number of empanadas available. I was expecting things like the Pollo con Papas and Carnitas, but there was also Hawaiian Rib, Meatball, Scampi and Linguine, even Lobster (if in season). Not what I was expecting at all. When our turn came we decided on a few different empanadas to split between us. We got the Pollo Chile Verde, Carne Con Chile, Shepard's Pie, and the monthly special Corned Beef and Cabbage. For desert we got a Mango Pineapple and the Blueberry with Blackberry. Then we sat down and waited for them to warm.

As we sat a wide variety of people came in and I was impressed with the the customer service. Polite and hard working there was only one woman working the front and another woman, who I believe was Maye herself coming out if things got too busy. Explanations on how to warm up the empanadas at home, and recommendations on what was good, or at least the staff's favorite. Simple things that some of the larger eateries forget are important.
Finally our food came out, and I both took a bite. So the play by play is like this: the Shepard's Pie was good but had a bit too much potato in it for me. The Carne Con Chile was great, just stuffed full of meat, but became perfect with a dash of hot sauce. The Corned Beef and Cabbage was surprisingly good, and I was amazed on how they were able to capture the that taste of the dish in such a little package. Finally Pollo Chile Verde was my favorite. The chicken was perfectly cooked, and the Chile Verde was not too spicy. I even enjoyed the taste of the black olives, and I usually am not a big fan. As for the desert empanadas my fiance's was good. There mango and pineapple were definitely fresh and tasty, but they tasted a bit heavy and lacking in complexity. My Blueberry with Blackberry had just the right amount of tart to it, with the cream cheese smoothing out the flavors to create an ideal dessert.

Satisfied we got up ready to tackle our afternoon of heavy lifting. I will definitely be heading back to Maye's, I have my heart set on trying some of the more unusual empanadas (Captain Kids with chicken mac and cheese or the Nacho Bites with ground beef, seasoning, cheese, and jalapeno), and definitely the Mole. Mmmmmm, mole...

P.S.: Make sure to get there early as they only make so many empanadas per day.

Maye's Bistro
4240-A Bonita Rd.
Bonita, CA 91902
(619) 479-0251
Mon.-Fri.: 6:30 AM to 8:00 PM
Sat.: 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Sun.: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
http://www.mayescabistro.com/

Cafe 21, University Heights, San Diego, CA

I eat breakfast, really. I know everything I’ve posted so far has rotated around fine dinner dining or light but tasty lunch items, but I adhere to the saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It just happens that I, like most people, have to fit it in those scant moments between waking up and running out the door to work. Yes, I always have it, and most of the time it is healthy and somewhat tasty meal for me, but it isn’t until the weekend that I get to luxuriate in the meal.

This weekend I managed to drag my girlfriend out of bed and head off to a little place in University Heights by the name of Café 21. Not much of a moniker, and looking at it not much of a location. It’s parked in a strip mall and sits next door to a liquor store. No, not the ideal location at first glance, but come in and sit down and you will be amazed by just how nice an atmosphere can be created with some pretty decorations and a friendly server.

Despite a slight chill in the air we sat outside, and instantly the smiling faces of the staff and the other diners put us at ease. Our server Derek (I apologize if I’ve spelled your name wrong), actually seemed happy to see us. Not pretend happy like a lot of servers put on, or efficient happy, but happy happy, like a man who honestly enjoys what he does. My girlfriend ordered a coffee and I got a large orange juice while I perused the menu. It looked smaller than the first time I had been there. Gone were the Green Eggs and Ham, and I noticed the item I’d had last time, the Salmon Diamonds, had been downsized to a sandwich. My eyes were drawn to a series of breakfast cakes, not the sweet kind, but the savory. My eyes were lingering on one with shrimp when I heard Derek say “lobster.” I instantly sat up and paid attention as he told me the special of the month was a Lobster Cake with a brown butter citrus sauce. I resisted the urge to tell him he had me at lobster. I ordered, and my girlfriend surprised me by getting the Monte Cristo.

We waited a short while passing the breeze and taking in the local color. Despite a view dominated by cars and pavement the outdoors area of Café 21 is really quite comfortable, almost homey. There is relatively little noise from the road, a pleasant but not overpowering breeze finds its way through the front dining area, and the music… well that is a matter of opinion. If you find yourself sitting in the front patio area you might hear the not so gentle sounds of techno wafting through the air. It doesn’t dominate the conversation, but it is definitely not something you can tune out. I found it quite pleasant, a needed change from the muzak that you find in the bigger chain restaurants. My girlfriend, well, she was not so much a fan of it. Still it did little to deter our enjoyment of the food.

Which thankfully arrived in a relatively short amount of time. I looked down and was pleased to note there appeared to be just the right amount of food on my plate. I must admit to a moment of trepidation as I saw a distant diner receive their Lobster Cake combined with a shudder that I had been lured into ordering another great tasting meal in a very small portion. Still in my moment of weakness I had asked Derek for a side of grilled prosciutto, which after some consideration was not a bad addition to the meal. My first bite was heaven. The whole thing was like a superbly modified Eggs Benedict balanced on a perfectly made cake with bits of visibly recognizable lobster. That along was the butter citrus sauce culminated into a perfect pairing of complimentary flavors and consistencies. I knew I’d found the right dish when I found myself consciously eating my food slowly, savoring each bite.

I glanced over at my girlfriend’s plate and received a smile that told me it was alright to try some of her Monte Cristo. Now, I should say that I prefer my Monte Cristo’s fried, sometimes even deep fried, and was a bit hesitant to take a bite when I saw what looked like it had just been grilled, but upon taking a mouthful I knew I’d finally found a great grilled Monte Cristo. The center was warm, but not hot, the bread had a nice crust to it, and again I had to stop myself from snatching my girlfriends plate off the table and making a run for it. Still I ended up eating half of her Monte Cristo in addition to my lobster cake, and mopped up the rest with a few pieces of grilled prosciutto.

I would not hesitate to say that Café 21 is one of the best places to pick up a delicious breakfast on a quiet Sunday morning. The staff is friendly, the food is great, and the environment is serene. You won’t notice the electronic soundtrack in the background, you’ll be too busy ooing and aweing over the food in front of you.

Café 21

2763 Adams Ave

San Diego, CA 92116

http://www.cafe-21.com/

The Hungry Cat, Santa Barbara, CA

Sometimes food reminds you of happier times, times when you were care free, and adventurous. I call this vacation food. On a vacation you don’t count calories, or worry about nitrates, or ponder the ramifications of dining upon non-renewable forms of seafood. You simply point to something on a menu, and enjoy. On my last vacation I went up the coast, and on my way back I stopped at a little restaurant in Santa Barbara called The Hungry Cat, where I had some of the best vacation food of my life.
It was on the advice of my boss that I made the reservation, she had gone on and on about how amazing the food was there, and this was a woman who knew her food. So the last day of my vacation I asked my girlfriend, who was coming down with a cold, if she felt up to dinner. Being the amazing woman she is, she dressed warmly, took some cold medication, and asked what time our reservation was for. Yup, she’s a keeper.

Later that night, we walked into a small, intimate, and very trendy restaurant a street away from the main drag. On the wall was a chalkboard with a list of wine, local seafood, and specials (not that you were going to save any money on them, but that didn’t matter to me because I was still on vacation.) Looking around I was happy I had made reservations ahead of time, the place was packed with a fair amount of people, a combination of locals and tourists, usually a sign of good food, or at least a pleasant atmosphere. Very quickly we were greeted by a pretty man with a large smile who showed us to a comfortable seat by the window.
I made a pretense of looking at the menu, but I already knew what I wanted, the chorizo and clams, the perfect combination of spicy and sea food. My girlfriend, who is not a big fan of seafood choose the burger. We passed the time reminiscing on the last few days, and watching the sun set quickly replaced by a light drizzle as the night descended. I stared passionately into her eyes, and then our food arrived, and for a short amount of time I forgot all about her.
My chorizo and clams, with shell beans, sofrito(very small aromatic ingredients braised in cooking oil), black kale (fancy cabbage), and a side of grilled toast was one of the best things I’ve ever put into my mouth. Everything was cooked perfectly, the chorizo was spicy, but not unbearably hot, the clams were soft and not rubbery, even the beans, which I thought I would not like, were full of flavor. I slowly devoured my meal and had just enough room left to taste a bite of the burger. It was cooked medium, with bacon, avocado, and blue cheese, and was one of the better burgers I’d eaten. Still I stopped at a bite, because I did not want to lose the taste of my own meal.

After that we finished our cocktails (don’t ask me to remember them, I’m not a mixologist, but they were good) and went back to our hotel. I fell asleep to the sound of rain hitting the windows, the smell of the sea on my skin, and the sound of the TV on the Food channel, and I dreamt of my beautiful girlfriend and my tasty tasty vacation food. Two things that still bring a smile to my face.




P.S.: For the life of me I can’t find a picture of the front, which is too bad because the Hungry Cat is a bit hard to find by car. We eventually just stumbled onto it.

The Hungry Cat
1134 Chapala
Santa Barbara, CA
(805) 884-4701‎
http://www.thehungrycat.com/