El Balcon: Alta Cocina in San Felipe (Baja, Mexico)

Unlike the more metropolitan Tijuana, there aren't too many high end dining options in San Felipe, a sleepy town during the off-season. Still, there is at least one, and a very good one at that.

El Balcon Cocina Artesanal opened in Jaunary this year by Chef Julio Cesar Gonzalez Zetina who had previous worked at the Ritz Carlton in Cancun and researched Mayan culinary traditions for the university there. Now he also teaches the subject at the local university after a recent move from Ensenada.

El Balcon wasn't a fancy restaurant, just a few cute tables outside on the second floor of La Plazita, and an outdoor kitchen. Thick tortilla chips are accompanied by a bold housemade salsa.

Our lunch tasting began with an Aguachile de Cazon (dogfish marinated in burnt chili sauce and green sauce, smoked tuna, sea asparagus and "Huaxes" (toasted seeds), grasshopper, verdolaga

We have had plenty of bounty from the Sea of Cortez, but this was the first time in San Felipe that we had it raw. The fresh dogfish carpaccio reminded me of kanpachi and both of the chile were so good that despite not being able to eat that spicy, I had to finish the entire plate (while downing plenty of water).

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Cebicheria Erizo (Tijuana, Mexico)

Chef Javier Plascencia from Tijuana can be likened to Wolfgang Puck in Los Angeles, dominating the Tijuana dining scene with numerous restaurants. Capping off the weekend-long Baja Culinary trip this past year was a tasting at one of these restaurants, Cebicheria Erizo, specializing in fresh seafood (including, of course, ceviches). Seafood from fish to octopus to clams are displayed in refrigerated cases as you enter; daily specials written on the blackboard above it. For our visit, though, we left it up to Chef Plascencia to serve us whatever he wanted.

To whet our appetite was a shot of leche de tigre with cucumber, fish jerky, and sea urchin (erizo de mar, the restaurant's namesake) hidden at the bottom.


Following up was a bowl of lightly spicy callo de hacha, Baja scallops with chicharrones

Instead of scooping up ceviche with tortilla chips, why not take it to the next level with chicharrones? Better yet, can we replace salad croutons with chicharrones from now on?

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Mariscos El Teto's: A Gem of a A Seafood Trailer

Mariscos El Teto's isn't a food truck. It's a food trailer.
Parked throughout the day in front of a floor demolition store on Lankershim Blvd in Sun Valley, a couple of foldable chairs and table sit at the edge of the curb.

Street Gourmet LA has shared his find months ago and brought plenty of bloggers here, including me, to enjoy the amazing Ensenada-style seafood (I just never got around to blogging until now).

The real reason I made the trek to Sun Valley was this: the sea snail (caracol). I haven't had sea snail since my first trip to Baja where we encountered La Guerrerense. El Tetos will cook your sea snails concha preparada (in the shell) many different ways and they were well worth the drive.

The manta ray tacos with black olives, octopus, cilantro, onions are another reason to visit El Tetos. A meaty, seafood experience in your hands.
A table on the curb holds all the salsa and condiments, onions, and lemons.

El Tetos have a "large" menu though for the most part they are different preparations of the same protein.

The fish taco here can truly stand up on its own, challenging Ricky's as the best Baja fish taco in town - perhaps the only one around who can.

If manta rays aren't your style, they also have a solid carne asada ...
... and crispy empanadas rather overwhelmingly topped with chopped tomatoes and cabbage.

Bill and I were just talking about this amazing marlin "ham" he had in Baja, and all of a sudden, what did they bring out? Marlin ham!
This "ham of the sea" was like nothing I had tasted before. Its meaty and flaky, like you would expect from this type of fish, with a whiff of the ocean naturally, but it was the smokiness that made it so very special. I think this was a rare treat for Bill and I was lucky enough to be there. I'm not sure how often they'd have something this special there again. Hopefully I'll get to have some more in the near future.

For most of us, Mariscos El Teto's is far, but it is undoubtedly worth a try. As always, props to Street Gourmet LA for driving all over the state finding gems like this.

Mariscos El Tetos
8854 Lankershim Bl.
Sun Valley, CA
(818)335-3157

Mariscos Chente: Getting Borracha on Seafood

When Street Gourmet LA found out that Gastronomy Blog and I hadn't been to Mariscos Chente before our winter menu tasting, he promised he'll come with us again and introduce us to their biggest hits, so to speak.

Mariscos Chente is a Sinaloan seafood haven that garnered an extraordinary amount of buzz in the past year.
We all met up for lunch on V day for a major seafood feast.

Street Gourmet LA said that while traditionally different people specialize in manning the grill, preparing the raw seafood, cooking the soups or the tacos, Mariscos Chente's chef Sergio Penuelas seamlessly moves between the disciplines and produces excellent dishes across the board.

As a starter (and the first of a slew of shrimp preparations that day) was Camarones aguachile- ("chile water", $11). These are raw shrimp flash marinated with lime, salt, and a chile (Sergio uses jalapeno).
What a start. The shrimp flesh was wonderfully chewy and the combination of the tangy lime and spiciness works very well. I can see this being too tart for some people, so do keep that in mind (although I personally loved it).

The owner/mother, Maddalena, travels to Nayarit every few weeks to get seafood and brings them back to LA on a bus so she can prepare these dishes with the traditional ingredients, and as we eat the camarones aguachiles that long trips seem to be so worth it.

Camarones a la pimienta ("Peppered Shrimp", $11)
Most of the dishes were garnished with cucumber slices, which according to Street Gourmet LA is a signature Sinaloa/Nayarit garnish and make up your vegetable consumption!
This was also the only shrimp dish to come with rice, as it had such bold flavors that needed to be cut with some rice.

Chicarron de pescado ("fish skin", $15) chunks of tilapia panfried with the skin on in worcestershire sauce and lime.
Being the first time I had a non-pork chicharrones, this was rather interesting. The blackened skin is crispy as chicarrones should be yet the rest of the chunks are meaty.

Camarones a la diabla ("Deviled shrimp", $12) is cooked in a blend of chile de arbol (tree chiles), and nuevo california dried chiles.
A bit of heat in this one, but luckily I can still handle it since it would've been sad to miss out on this great dish. Fresh, sweet shrimp in the spicy chile sauce was a great example of why the Nayarits garnish their dishes with the cool cucumber.

Soon came the impressive tour de force:
Pescado Zarandeado ($20/kg) - this is a whole grilled snook and is the state dish of Nayarit and Sinaloa.
This perfectly butterflied grilled fish tasted so fresh and sweet, especially the tender and fatty cheeks. The edges are wonderfully crisped, highlighted that grilled flavor.

The traditional simple marinade consists of either olive oil, mayo, or butter, with lime, spices, and garlic, but there are many recipes for this marinade and of course Sergio has his own secret recipe.

This is served with a side of worcestershire sauce.

Camarones Borrachos ("Drunken Shrimp", $12) is cooked in a tequila based sauce with garlic, cilantro, spices, and margarine.
This was my favorite dish of the day. With the most subtle sauce (compared to the other three), I can really appreciate the freshness and the flavor of the shrimp itself, yet enhanced even more by the amazing buttery, garlicky tequila sauce.

Street Gourmet LA claimed that he had gone to every Sinaloan seafood restaurant in LA, and that Mariscos Chente was hands down the best. I certainly haven't made my rounds, but I can believe it that this is the best. Well, it doesn't matter anyway as Mariscos Chente's food will speak for itself. I don't know why I took so long before going there, but if you're one of those who are taking even longer, get yourself there already.

Mariscos Chente
4532 S. Centinela Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(310) 391-9887

Marea: Seafood, Pasta, and My Latest Fave NYC Lunch

Oh, Marea ... Your Michelin 1-star, NYT 3 stars, and best new restaurant are all well-deserved.

But that wasn't why I went. I went because Sam Kim of LAist said I should, and I'm more than glad I did.

Business lunch at Marea runs $34 for 2 courses and the bright and spacious restaurant across from Central Park was a pleasure to dine in.

My lunch buddy got a tasting of three crudos for the first course ($8 supplement).
All three of the crudos we chose were wonderful but in particular I really enjoyed the delicateness and simplicity of the PASSERA which is the long island fluke with lemon thyme and olio nuovo.

For a better view: SEPPIA and PASSERA

I (surprise, surprise) ordered the ASTICE containing Nova Scotia lobster, burrata, eggplant al fungheto, basil and basil seeds.
Get it. Get it, get it. The burrata and the light basil seed sauce wonderfully accentuates the fresh lobster. Never overwhelming in any way, this was a lovely and balanced dish.

Moving into a more flavor-forward dish with the POLIPO (grilled octopus, insalata di riso, fava, yellow tomato).
Another highly recommended dish with the chewy and meaty octopus. The rice salad nicely mellows out the saltiness of the octopus and if that wasn't enough texture contrast for you, combine it with the pine nuts on the side.

In contrast to the delicate and meticulous plating of our first courses, the pasta courses looked decidedly simple but they were just as masterfully executed.
For my second course: Spaghetti with Santa Barbara uni, crab, and basil.
The creaminess of the uni really shone through with this al dente pasta. This was a dish bursting with flavor.

You can actually get some meat or fish dishes as your second course, but we both got our pasta this late afternoon. My companion had the equally delicious MARE (acquarello risotto, scallops, gulf shrimp, lobster - $5 supplement).
A much more subtle dish than the uni spaghetti - this is perhaps the best risotto I've had in a while.

Both of the desserts we initially ordered were nice but they were shadowed by the brilliance of our two courses.






The dessert portions were small and we were somehow unsatisfied, and so we ended up getting another one. Our server recommended the Torrone and it proved to be more satisfying than the first two.
Still, since the desserts range about $14 each, if you're like us foodbloggers trying to squeeze 50 eating places in a 5-day NYC trip, you'd be better off getting your dessert elsewhere.

For their crudi, antipasti, and pasta, however, there is no reason not to go to Marea. Just go.


Marea
240 Central Park South
New York, NY 10021
(212) 582-5100
www.marea-nyc.com

Hot and Soupy #5: Mariscos Chente's New Winter Menu

Mariscos Chente made a big wave in the past year in the Los Angeles low-brow dining scene with their much lauded Sinaloan seafood cuisine. Recently they rolled out a Winter Menu and Street Gourmet LA, a long time Chente supporter, set up a small blogger tasting. Throughout the dinner, Street Gourmet LA guided us each dish, and where they come from , etc.

To get authentic Sinaloan seafood, the owner Maddalena routinely buses down to her hometown of Nayarit to procure some fresh seafood!

Tortilla chips and salsa while you wait. Watch out for the green salsa - it was way spicier than the red!

Our first soup was the Albondigas de camaron(shrimp albondigas), a common Sinaloan dish. Albondigas is meat/shrimp balls and is in fact a national dish that varies throughout Mexico. Seafood albondigas are typically found on the coasts. The broth consisted of shrimp stock, tomatoes, oregano, jalapeno, cilantro, and vegetables.

The albondigas were firm and chewy. The broth has quite a kick to it, and on that foggy night near the ocean, this hot soup was quite a treat.

There are three other seafood soups they're offering, which uses a common broth (made of fish stock, tomato, jalapeno, vegetables) but just varies in the seafood proteins they put in them.

The fish soup contains moist and tender pieces of seabass, including the skin and jowl.

The 'mixto' contains shrimp, fish (seabass, same as above), and octopus.
The octopus in this soup was so chewy and delicious I would highly recommend getting the mixto over either the fish or the shrimp (which they also offer). The broth here is not as spicy as the albondigas but I personally prefer it because it was richer and flavorful (though the rest did prefer the albondigas' broth).

Mariscos Chente is also offering a series of seafood tacos this winter.:
The deep fried fish(halibut) and shrimp tacos are topped with cabbage, tomato, onion, and homemade Thousand Island.
The batter here isn't as crispy as I would like, but the thousand island dressing is a really nice touch.

The highlight among the tacos was the Gobernador, a specialty of Mazatlan which consisted of sauteed shrimp with Monterey jack cheese, peppers, and onions in a flour tortilla finished on the grill.

Sweet and rich, these nicely grilled tacos packed a punch.

To wash it all down, we had Maddalena's special jarritos (also known as Palomas) which is typically made with Squirt, salt, and tequila but she squeezes in some orange in there for a flavor boost! Served in these clay vessels, the drink was quite refreshing and addictive. Mariscos Chente doesn't have a full liquor license so you can order this as a "virgin drink", but if you want to sneak your own tequila into the jar, I'll keep mum ;).

Who knows how long they would keep the winter menu up, so you might want to hurry and taste the Gobernador and their soups for yourself.


Mariscos Chente
4532 S. Centinela Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(310) 391-9887

Mario's Peruvian: Great Seafood

After my trip to Peru last summer, I fell in love with Peruvian cuisine, but I haven't managed to try many of the Peruvian restaurants in LA. One of the ones I've had my eye on is Mario's but since it's kinda far it's hard to drag someone there. When I finally had the chance to do so, I immediately went. There was a wait and the small restaurant was packed. We waited about 30 minutes - since it was cold I waited inside but felt kind of in the way of all the servers bringing food/dishes in/out.

By the time we got seated, we already knew what we wanted to order.
We wanted something light with seafood, so instead of going with the deep fried stuff, we went with the Siete Mares soup ($13.00)The seafood was fresh, and the broth was very delicious! The name siete mares means "seven seas" so I tried counting the number of seafood types: squid, crab, shrimp, clam, mussels, fish, octopus. This is a relatively light dish - again, I Loved the broth. Do give it a try sometime!

I ordered the lomo saltado ($11.25) since I've been craving it for a while! Lomo saltado is beef sauteed with onions, tomatoes, and french fries.
The meat was a little tough, but the flavors were excellent. I love the fries also and kept eating them with the fragrant rice! Next time I might try out the seafood version, saltado mariscos, so I can avoid having my beef overcooked and yet still get to taste the delicious flavor of saltado.

For good measure we ordered dessert: Crema volteada/flan ($3.00)
This is a pretty heavy duty flan! Rich and dense - a bit too dense for my taste although it's still tasty. Eat in moderation :P

Overall I loved Mario's. The food was excellent although I would stick with the seafood as the meat can be tough and overcooked ... The line can be long during dinner time, so go early or just prepare to wait! (It's worth it!!)

Mario's Peruvian & Seafood
5786 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323)466-4181

Eat Lots A Fish!

Lately I have been driving down to Orange County way too many times to appease a friend of mine who keeps complaining about me never visiting (I don't know why she says that, I visit ALL the time ..)
But at any rate, being stuck in OC where I think there's always not that much to do, we have to keep coming up with potential good places to eat.

Recently, my friend suggested the Crab Cooker (with their motto Eat Lots A Fish!), either the one in Newport Beach or the restaurant in Tustin. I didn't need any additional reason to cut my driving time if at all possible, so I obviously picked Tustin. So, this review is only of the Crab Cooker Restaurant and I don't know how representative it will be of the Newport Beach location.

We came in with high expectation since apparently this place had raving reviews and supposed to have best crab cakes.

The Crab Cooker Restaurant is tacky in a charming way. The outside is painted all red, and the inside is decorated with various ocean-related knick knacks.

We started with the famous Maryland crab cakes ($9 for 2)
The crab cakes were good, but they weren't anything special. I guess they were cheaper than if we had gone to an upscale seafood restaurant? Anyway, the taste was good, but it wasn't as chock full of crabs as we would have preferred.

We ordered that day's special appetizer: Sweet Spotted Shrimp.

In my opinion, fresh seafood is best when prepared very simply :)
This was followed by some King Crabs
They look very fresh and delicious, don't they? :) They were.

For our main meal we ordered the Australian Lobster, Crab Cooker style.
The lobster was a little chewy, but fresh and tasty nonetheless. The sauce was pretty good, but I think I still prefer it the plain and simple way. (Or steamed with ginger, garlic, and scallions the Chinese way :P )

All in all, I think the main reason I posted this review is because the pictures turned out so well. The seafood they had was definitely fresh and good, but I don't think it's worth driving down from Pasadena just for that. If you happen to live/find yourself in the Tustin area though, and can't seem to find a good place to go to, I would definitely recommend the Crab Cooker.

The Crab Cooker
17260 E. 17th Street
Tustin, CA
(714) 573-1077
www.crabcooker.com