Lovely Lebanese Lunch in San Diego

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Lovely, animated Samia Salameh, co-owner of Alforon in San Diego

Lovely, animated Samia Salameh, co-owner of Alforon in San Diego

It’s down a long commercial street, far from downtown San Diego, in a little strip mall next to a hookah store and across the street from a pawn shop. Doesn’t matter. I implore you to make the trip to *Alforon, just for co-owner Samia Salameh’s smile and outsized personality. Oh, and for the out-of-this world Lebanese food.

Samia sits down at my table and after a minute or two of chatting, asks what I’d like. The $7 chicken tawook flatbread (a Mediterranean-style pizza), I say, asking if I should get the extra cheese or peppers. “Don’t worry, I’ll fix it for you. Some fresh lemonade, too? No? We have some unsweetened iced tea.”

Alforon, San Diego

The flatbread is a thing of beauty, with marinated chicken, little dollops of garlic paste and pickles atop undoubtedly the freshest, lightest pita I’ve ever tasted. When I ask if they make the pita, she looks offended. “Of course! What do you think Alforon means? Oven-baked flat breads,” she says, putting down a sampler of falafels to try, followed by a piece of zaatar (wild, imported thyme) flatbread and finished with a potent little pot of Turkish coffee. I’ll tell you, all this fabulous lunchtime food nearly finishes me.

I’m not the only one getting the special treatment. Samia sits at other tables and kibitzes in Arabic with the mostly male patrons, many of them students from the Middle East.

It’s unexpected, joyous experiences like this that make the long miles of road tripping worthwhile.

Not many espressos pack the punch of this Turkish coffee

Not many espressos pack the punch of this Turkish coffee

http://www.alforon.com
5965 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego
Tuesday to Saturday 10:30 am-9 pm, Sunday 11 am-7 pm. “If someone offered us one million dollars, we wouldn’t open on Mondays.”
Alforon on Urbanspoon

A Knotty Question: The Best New Food I’ve Eaten

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The greatest thing since sliced pizza: the garlic knot at Milo & Olive

The greatest thing since sliced pizza: the garlic knot at Milo & Olive

If you’re not feeling that hungry when you enter *Milo & Olive, don’t worry. It won’t last. First, you’re greeted by the sight of a display case filled with gorgeous pastries. The temptations continue as you pass patrons feasting on pork belly sausage pizza and plates of potato gnocchi and pasta artfully arranged in towers. My counter seatmate is moaning about the burrata panzanella salad with heirloom tomatoes.

But what intrigues me, as always, is something I’ve never had before. It’s a garlic knot featuring, get this, plentiful whole garlic cloves roasted in confit fat, wrapped in pizza dough and then cooked in a wood-fired oven till slightly blistered. I tear this trussed treat apart with my hands, dipping chunks of the soft bread in the warm extra-virgin olive oil and a little dish of fresh tomato sauce they give me to try. Oh, my God, is it good, and only $7 for one of the best new things I’ve eaten in a long time. As I watch a chef in the open kitchen make French toast with amazingly thick slices of cinnamon brioche for his cooking buddies, manager Rosemary slips a loaf of said bread into a bag for me to take on my journey. As if I’m ever going to make it out the door.

Try walking past this display case without your willpower completely dissolving

Try walking past this display case without your willpower completely dissolving

http://www.miloandolive.com
2723 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica
Daily, bakery opens at 7 am, restaurant 8 am-11 pm
Milo & Olive on Urbanspoon

Mmmarvelous Monterey, California

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Amazing jellyfish gracefully moving at Monterey Bay Aquarium

Amazing jellyfish gracefully moving at Monterey Bay Aquarium

Monterey is best known for its fabulous Monterey Bay Aquarium, a world-class facility well worth the $35 entry fee for its giant tanks of in-your-face sea creatures of all kinds. But it’s also a surprisingly good place to eat… something that’s not sea food.

Thierry Crocquet starts cooking his authentic Brittany crepes

Thierry Crocquet starts cooking his authentic Brittany crepes

What happens when west-coast California meets something distinctly French? You get *Crepes of Brittany, a terrific hole-in-the-wall shop amongst the carnival that is Monterey’s Old Fisherman’s Wharf. When I visit, co-owner Thierry Croquet is manning three circular grills, pumping out sweet crepes with house-made caramel sauce and piles of fresh fruit. But where these guys really shine is their authentic Brittany savoury crepes, or galettes. They’re made from organic buckwheat flour and left to cook till the crepe is a little crispy and the inner ingredients—like my caramelized onion, spinach and cheese—are hot. “It takes time to make them, and the lines can get pretty long in summer,” says French-born but longtime Monterey resident Thierry. “But everybody leaves happy.” Me, too, especially after he hands me a wonderfully chewy but not too sweet sugar crepe, squeezing half a lemon over it as a finishing touch.

The finished product, an egg and salmon savoury crepe

The finished product, an egg and salmon savoury crepe

http://www.crepesofbrittany.com
6C Old Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey
Monday, Thursday, Friday 8 am-3 pm, Saturday-Sunday 8 am-4 pm
Crepes of Brittany on Urbanspoon

Eight dollars is a little stiff for half a sandwich, I’m thinking, as I line up at the counter of *Compagno’s Delicatessen, a little corner store up a steep residential street in Monterey. Then owner Bennett Compagno cuts a soft, fresh ciabatta loaf in half and starts loading it up… with multiple slices of mortadella (with pistachio), slabs of provolone, red onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and peppers. By the time he’s done, it must weigh nearly three pounds—maybe the thickest sandwich I’ve ever wrestled my jaw around. A big guy in front of me has ordered a whole chicken breast sandwich ($11), and he’s staggering under the load. Compagno’s supports its troops, with military t-shirts pinned to the ceiling and special subs with names like air force, navy seal and the like. After all, any of their fantastic sandwiches could feed a small army. Note: Compagno’s grocery section includes something I’ve never seen before—imported beer from Russia, Romania and Montenegro.

A honking big mortadella sandwich at Compagno's Deli in Monterey

A honking big mortadella sandwich at Compagno’s Deli in Monterey

Compagno’s Delicatessen
2000 Prescott Avenue, Monteray
Weekdays 9 am-6 pm, weekends 9 am-5 pm
Compagnos Market & Deli on Urbanspoon

Blissful Biscuits at Buttercloud Bakery in Medford, Oregon

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David Ouellette strums a flamenco guitar at Buttercloud Bakery & Cafe in Medford, Oregon

David Ouellette strums a flamenco guitar at Buttercloud Bakery & Cafe in Medford, Oregon

I walk into *Buttercloud Bakery & Cafe and am greeted by David Ouellette, sitting in a chair and quietly strumming a flamenco guitar. It’s a wonderful way to be eased into a Sunday morning on the road. And it keeps getting better. I could order a fresh-baked biscuit loaded with egg and bacon (just $5.75) or beef brisket. But I get one unadorned—other than melted butter and fragrant house-made plum citrus jam—so I can savour its delicate crumb. The service is leisurely, but everything’s made to order, and who’s in a hurry? Just then, co-owner Gibson Holub comes by with a mini sample of a goat-pear biscuit, hot from the oven. Bliss.

A fresh, wonderful biscuit and plum citrus jam at Buttercloud Bakery

A fresh, wonderful biscuit and plum citrus jam at Buttercloud Bakery

http://www.buttercloudbakery.com
310 Genessee Street, Medford, Oregon
Tuesday to Saturday 7 am-3 pm, Sunday 8 am-2 pm. Closed Monday

Portland’s Wild, Weird, Wonderful Food Carts

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Sarah serves up an amazing egg/French toast concoction at her Egg Carton outlet

Sarah serves up an amazing egg/French toast concoction at her Egg Carton outlet

There are a staggering 700 food carts in Portland. It may be the food truck capital of the known universe, though in this Oregon city they are stationary and organized in pods throughout the city. I’ll write about this unique food culture in more detail at a later date.

But for now, suffice to say there are some free-spirited, independent cart owners experimenting with some mad food combinations to come up with some amazingly creative, cheap, excellent cuisine. This may be the future of dining out, especially for frugal road fooders looking for something new and exciting. Needless to say, it’s worth the long drive alone. I may never leave this nourishing city.

Got time for only one food-cart breakfast and can’t decide between something eggy or sweet? At *The Egg Carton, enjoy the best of both worlds by ordering the Famous FoPo Christo, a combination of, get this, fried egg, bacon chunks, Tillamook cheddar, spicy mustard and strawberry jam, sandwiched between two slices of French toast. Believe me, it tastes a hell of a lot better than it sounds. The French toast alone, featuring thick slices of Texas toast, is more custardy tender than most conventional kinds I’ve eaten. And the jammy mixture in the middle somehow works. Trust me, just look at the picture and then order it. The Ronald is another popular egg-and-cheese choice along the same lines, this time with a cart-made sausage patty, an English muffin and maple syrup.

French toast/egg sandwich at Egg Carton. You know you want one

French toast/egg sandwich at Egg Carton. You know you want one

The Egg Carton
5205 SE Foster Road (Foster Food Cart Pod)
Thursday, Friday and Monday 8:30 am-2 pm, weekends 9 am-3 pm. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday

I’m waiting for my margherita to come out of the wood-fired oven at the Pyro Pizza food cart. And I must say, it’s a wonderful, 12-inch pie, with a thin, chewy crust, fresh mozza and big basil leaves, all for a ridiculously cheap $7; I’ve paid three times as much for a lot less elsewhere.

$7 for this magnificent margherita pie at Pyro Pizza

$7 for this magnificent margherita pie at Pyro Pizza

Anyway, while I’m waiting, I wander around the southeast Portland food-cart pod and pass PBJ’s Grilled sandwiches. Not bloody likely, I think. But then out pops owner Keena Tallman. “I’m cute and little,” she says, in reference to her name. With a big personality. She’s soon talking me into the merits of grilled sandwiches featuring house-made nut butters paired with jams. While I feebly protest about my impending pizza arrival, she makes me a sample of her award-winning Oregonian—a medley of challah bread, Oregon hazelnut butter, Rogue Creamery blue cheese and house-made marion berry jam (duck is an add on). As I’m wolfing down this “my God, how can this be so good?” grilled sandwich, Keena passes me a little piece of incredible crispy coconut shrimp (it goes with the Spicy Thai sandwich). “Deliciously addictive,” the cart sign says. I’ll say. I’m nut butter in her hands.

Keena assembling my Oregonian sandwich at PBJ's Grilled

Keena assembling my Oregonian sandwich at PBJ’s Grilled

http://www.pbjsgrilled.com
SE 12 Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard cart pod (also at 919 NW 23 Street)
Tuesday to Sunday 11 am-7 pm

Peachy-Keen Beer in Portland, Oregon

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Brewmaster Jason McAdam grills some peaches and Scotch bonnets for a spicy, citrusy beer at Burnside Brewing in Portland

Brewmaster Jason McAdam grills some peaches and Scotch bonnets for a spicy, citrusy beer at Burnside Brewing in Portland

I’m walking down a Portland street, kind of minding my own business, when I see a guy on the sidewalk outside Burnside Brewing grilling some peach halves and peppers on a little Weber charcoal grill. “Whatcha doing?” I ask. “I’m dry hopping our Sweet Heat Ale (an apricot wheat beer, reminiscent of a Jamaican chutney) with these peaches and Scotch bonnet peppers,” says brewmaster Jason McAdam. This special batch needs to sit for three days before being shipped to a beer event in Eugene. Too bad, I say. “Just a sec”, Jason replies, dashing into the brewery to grab me a big, gratis bottle of Sweet Heat, with beads of condensation clouding the glass on this stinking hot September’s day. As I sip the beer from a coffee mug back at the motel, there are definite citrus notes, with some heat kicking in at the back of my throat. Sweet, indeed.

I score a big bottle of Burnside's Sweet Heat Ale

I score a big bottle of Burnside’s Sweet Heat Ale

http://www.burnsidebrewco.com
701 East Burnside Street, Portland, Oregon
Monday to Thursday opens at 3 pm, Friday to Sunday at noon