The Huddle, Mission Hills, San Diego, California

When people say Mission Hills down here in San Diego, they think classy houses and rich people, but buried right off Washington is a little hole in the wall diner.  I actually discovered it by accident when I first made the long drive down to court my wife (wow that sounds old, like I had to offer her father a couple of oxen for her hand in marriage).  Here is my little review of one of the best little places to grab a quick bite in Mission Hills, the Huddle.

Never has the term hole in the wall been more apply applied.  Across the street from Lefty's Chicago Pizzeria , and a few doors down from Brooklyn Girl, is a small glass window next to a small door with a metal screen.  Surrounded by expensive eateries you had to wonder what this place was doing here, but once you taste the food you'll realize that every city needs a Huddle.

The first time we, my wife and I, had gone to the Huddle was when we were taking her ring back to be re-sized.  I had gotten up early for a long run and was starving at this point.  Not wanting to hunt down a fancy restaurant after dropping off the ring we stopped in my wife's old neighborhood, actually a few blocks down from it.  We considered grabbing some pizza but Lefty's wasn't going to open for at least an hour.  Instead we made our way into the Huddle.

Once inside we were greeted with a smile by a giant of a man who I believe was the owner, or at least the manager.  With a big smile he pointed us to a table.  We quickly met our server, and feeling the need to gorge I ordered a Chili Omelette with a side of hash browns and an English Muffin.  My wife got a cheese omelette, country potatoes, and wheat toast.  Then we sat back and examined the decor in more detail as we waited for our food.

Quaint would be a nice way of putting it.  The interior reminded me of the a home converted into a greasy spoon.  Wallpaper covered one wall, and behind the counter stood a large refrigerator that looked like it had been around since the early 50's.  To the right of it was a large flat grill where everything from flapjacks to burgers, to my omelette was produced.  Against the far wall was a single bathroom, and a good two feet away from that door was what appeared to be the pantry.

Our food arrived in less than 15 minutes, and this was on a busy Saturday morning.  The chili was placed in a small container to the left of my omelette which was a bit of a surprise but after distributing it evenly between my eggs and the hash browns I proceeded to wolf it down without a second thought.  Everything I had ordered was delicious and comforting in a way that only the best greasy spoon can deliver.  I even managed to snag a little of my wife's toast and gave their in-house perseveres a try, strawberry, apple, and marmalade.  They were so good that I bought a jar of the marmalade for my dad as he has a weakness for it.

Our waitress and the owner were polite and attentive.  The food was hot and fresh.  The environment was welcoming.  Overall I highly recommend giving this place a chance.  Also if you do go, and have a hankering for something sweet I'd ask for the Shake of the Month.  They made me one of the best chocolate and peanut butter milkshakes I've ever had.

The Huddle
4023 Goldfinch Street
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 291-5950

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/

Hugo's, Studio City, Los Angeles, CA

Today I write of a subject I thought I would never tackle, eating healthy. Oh, how the mighty have fallen! I, who have indulged and overindulged in the most glorious of foods: ribs so tender that one could eat them with a spoon, chocolate cake so decadent a single slice could ruin a diet… forever, and who could forget the pizza large enough for a small child to use as trampoline (see review of Lefty’s Chicago Pizza). I, who have tasted of the greatest of delicacies have fallen, and fallen hard, brought down by the need to be health conscious. Let me relate to you of my downfall.
It was Sunday at around noon. I had just played a good three hours of basketball before a pulled groin took me out of the game. Sweat glistened off my body, I walked with a limp, and the air ran harshly through my lungs as I fought to slow my breathing. I sipped an overly salt and sugar filled energy drink and stumbled into my friend’s car, and wondered where we would eat today.
On previous occasions we have partaken of a great variety of unhealthy fare: the aforementioned ribs above, sweetened Hawaiian royals (concoctions of rice, egg, and a variety of meats to which I will usually add a healthy dose of teriyaki and hot sauce), La Monica pizza (of which I will review in a future installment), and real steak sandwiches, the kind that would put the poor fare of Steak Escape, Togo’s, and every mall based steak sandwich outlet to shame. Where, I wondered, would we end up this time? The answer to my query was Hugo’s
Hugo’s is located in a very non-spectacular building in Studio City that upon arriving reminded me of a glorified Denny’s. Entering the premises I continued this viewpoint, a Denny’s with nicer swag on the walls, but still with the diner feel to it. As my friends and I waited for our names to be called I noticed something about the people who were coming in to the restaurant. As opposed to the slightly opulent figures that strode into Denny’s, the people entering Hugo’s appeared fit and healthy, often sporting tight fitting yoga clothes, or running gear. Even the older women who entered betrayed a healthy glow to their aged and slightly wrinkled skin. Perhaps, I let the thought enter my head, this place was more than just another greasy spoon with a few fresh ingredients (organic Heinz ketchup!), perhaps this was my path to inner enlightenment and health. Perhaps the “healthy” food they served here-in would actually taste good. Oh what a poor demented fool was I.
My friends and I got a table pretty quickly and I set about perusing the menu. On it was a cornucopia of tasty sounding delights, a majority of which either contained many healthy ingredients, or were lacking in an unhealthy ingredient that I had previously found necessary to add flavor to a dish. K. a good friend of a friend and a stand up guy informed us that the burger was great here, so great that one could actually ask for it rare. Upon hearing this, my heart beat faster, and I wondered how much sooner they could get it to me if I asked for it in such a state. Then I glanced over at the people around me in their sweats, and tight tops and had a very strange thought, “Why don’t you order something healthy here?” At first I looked around to see if someone else had whispered the words into my ears, then I realized that everything was fine except that I was becoming delusional, most likely brought on by dehydration and pain from my injury.
Delusional though I might have been I thought maybe I would listen to the voices in my head this time, and so I took the idea under consideration. After a few moments I decided I would try something different, something… healthy. I decided on the Go Green Frittata, which was composed of egg whites, chard, beat greens, kale, spinach puree, broccolini, zucchini, asparagus, quinoa (a type of grain), and extra virgin olive oil, topped with bean sprouts, and an apple-mango mint sauce. Yes, I was definitely stepping way outside my comfort zone. My friends all got the Hugo Burger with a variety of extras (up to four before they started charging you) such as bacon (the best of all additives) regular, turkey, or vegetarian, various cheeses (the second best but perhaps my favorite topping) both vegan and natural, guacamole, mushrooms, grilled chilies, as well as the usual lettuce, onion, and tomato toppings. The waiter then collected the menus and I was left to stew over my choice of food.


Thankfully, I was happily distracted by a plate of Garlic-Parmesan Cheese bread that was indeed a great deal tastier than the norm, with the cheese crusted to the top, and bits of garlic baked into the bread, and a glass of iced tea (which apparently was so good that they could not refill it for free, the cheap bastards). As I consumed these little pieces of bready goodness I thought that if they put so much effort into the appetizer, then what I had ordered was bound to be good. Could I have been any more wrong?
About 15 minutes later I had a plate of something round and green covered in bean sprouts placed in front of me. As I eyed the impressively large burgers my friends had ordered I took my first bite of frittata. It tasted healthy, which is not to say it tasted bad. There was the barest hint of egg in the dish. The taste was more an interesting melody of mixed greens, but to my disappointment the apple-mango mint sauce was barely discernable, leaving me no relief from the overpowering greenness of the dish. So while not horrible, the concoction came off as being ambivalent in flavor. I quickly remedied the situation with a heavy dose of hot sauce, but the damage had been done.


K, perhaps seeing my initial reaction to my food offered me a bite of his. Unlike the others at the table he had chosen to get his burger medium, covered in bacon, cheese, tomato, and lettuce. He cut a small portion off of it, and I took a bite. I almost wished I had not. The burger, while not the usual fatty grease dripping concoction I was used to, was delicious, and perhaps even better for having been made with fresh ingredients. The inside was barely pink, and the wheat Ciabatta bread held the entire burger in place as opposed to the usual white bread the disintegrates into a gooey paste upon picking it up. I would highly recommend the Hugo Burger to anyone searching for a compromise between a tasty and a not incredibly unhealthy burger.

As for my food, I quickly finished it while hiding my distaste. There is a great deal of healthy food that also tastes good, I just haven’t found it yet. Until I do, I will chalk this attempt at expanding my pallet up to an interesting experience, and an excuse to get Korean BBQ for dinner.

Special thanks to K for letting me try the Hugo Burger. Also to Pleasure Palate (http://pleasurepalate.blogspot.com) for the pic of the front of Hugo's.



Hugo's
12851 Rivierside Drive
Studio City, CA
(818) 761-8985
http://www.hugosrestaurant.com/