Offaly Indonesian: Brains, Lungs, and Feet

It all started with Sinosoul's comment on my IndoKitchen post. "Where are the brains?" he asked, so I shot him a quick email. I know just the place for Indonesian cow brains.

Sinosoul and his lady, Wandering Chopsticks, Kung Food Panda, and Food Marathon joined me at Raso Minang, a food court outpost in the Hong Kong Plaza all the way in West Covina.
Raso Minang is the only place in the area I know of that specializes in this regional cusine from Padang in West Sumatra. Padang food is typically known for its spicy dishes (although here it is of course - to the dismay of some - toned down some). Padang food is also usually cooked at the beginning of the day, and left out in small portions on display so that the customers can grab and pay for what they want. Raso Minang being at a food court though, does it the typical food court way. Cooked items are on the display case and you order a "combo" served with rice and cucumber:
1 item $ 6.99
2 items $ 8.50
3 items $ 9.75

I got a typical Indonesian dessert drink while waiting, Es Doger ($3.50)
It is typically shaved ice with condensed milk, syrup, cassava, and coconut but here the ice and syrup has been blended into a smoothie.
Raso Minang also sells whole coconut (in the shell).

What we all came for: Beef Brain Curry (Gulai Otak)
Pieces of beef brain in flavorful yellow curry. This dish is full of spice but not spicy, the curry is rich and creamy from the coconut milk, and the brain ... well, think sweetbreads. Did I think of mad cow when I was eating this? Of course. But that won't hit til years from now :P

The other items we got was the Beef Rendang (left) and Beef Feet Curry (Gulai tunjang).
These are both spicier than the brain curry, although not as spicy as Food Marathon wanted it to be :P I quite like the rendang here, it's pretty tender and spicy and doused in curry as it should be.

I also got a side order of one of my favorite Indonesian dishes: pempek (fish cakes with vinegar sauce)
This is quite a good rendition of pempek, with chewy and flavorful fish cake with crispy fried skin. A hit with the table and perhaps the best version I've found in LA to date.

West Covina is pretty far, so I wouldn't come here often, but if you're looking for good Padang food in the LA area, or have been dying to try brain curry, well now you know where to go!

Raso Minang
989 S Glendora Ave #15
West Covina, CA 91790
(626) 939-3333
http://rasominang.com/default.aspx

SF: Lunching at Pizzeria Delfina

Even before they opened at noon, people were already waiting in front of Pizzeria Delfina. The good thing about being there as they opened though, is that you get seated pretty much immediately. The crowd filled up seats minutes after the door opened, both inside and on the sidewalk of 18th St.

Then again, that also means they're suddenly starting to cook for a full house, so we waited for food staring at our condiments plate in anticipation. Can't wait til I can put this stuff on my pie.

The fried sand dabs we got as appetizer (special of the day) came out first.
Piping hot and crispy sand dabs were topped with crisped spinach. A drizzle of lemon made these pieces of fish amazing. Definitely a great start to my Delfina meal. I would watch out for these babies on the menu next time and will definitely get them again.

The first pie: Napoletana (tomato, anchovies, capers, hot peppers, olives, and oregano - $10)
Delfina's pizza is a saucy thin crust pizza - thin enough to put the focus on the sauce and toppings but not too thin that the pizza would fall apart.
The Napoletana here is a great representation of the classic where great ingredients are put together well. My only complaint with this pie is that it was pretty burnt at parts. Luckily this didn't happen on our second order.

The second pie: The Purgatorio (spicy tomato sauce, pecorino romano cheese, 2 eggs)
Everything with eggs is good I'd say and this is quite an interesting pizza. The runny yolk does well at cutting the spiciness of the tomato sauce and sopping up the remaining yolk with their delightful crust was pretty amazing. Not burnt either. We were all quite happy with this pizza.

It was a very satisfying lunch on a Sunday afternoon. They had desserts and they probably would've been good, but with Bi-Rite across the street ... tough choice but this time around we opted for Bi-Rite.

Pizzeria Delfina
3611 18th St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 437-6800
www.pizzeriadelfina.com

Product Review: POMx, Iced Coffee with Antioxidants?

Being a foodblogger, I occasionally get samples of some interesting food products. I'm no Rumdood who has half of his living room floor covered with samples of rum or LA&OC F00die who gets dessert bars delivered, but still, once in a blue moon ...

Like when I was asked if I wanted to try POMx Iced Coffee spiked with antioxidants from POM. POM made iced coffee? Yep, guess they do now.
POMx Iced Coffee now comes in three flavors: Vanilla, Cafe au Lait, and Chocolate and is advertised with a cute slogan: Healthy Buzz! The iced coffee tasted lighter than Starbucks' bottled frappuccino and goes down quite smoothly. I'm sure you're not surprised but I especially like the chocolate one - sweet, chocolatey, and smooth. Do I feel healthier? It's impossible to tell with just one bottle unfortunately!

If you want to make things more interesting, you can always mix it with some ... whiskey perhaps? I'm calling this the Very American Whiskey, with all that Americans love: Jack Daniel's, coffee, and antioxidants.

Do 1 oz of JD on the rocks and top it off with POMx chocolate iced coffee - remember, the taste and body of POMx iced coffee is pretty light, so if you use too much, the taste of the Jack will be overpowering.