Sonoran Hot Dogs at Papa Locos in Tucson

If you need a quick bite to to eat in Tucson, a Sonoran hot dog is a pretty good way to go. Coming west into south Tucson on I10, we took a quick detour north to check out Papa Locos.



Papa Locos lives in a little side addition next to a Valero gas station's convenience store. There are a variety of items on their menu, but the Sonoran hot dog was our focus.

Sonoran hot dogs (named after the Mexican State where they originated) are Tucson's version of the bacon-wrapped hot dog. To me, the primary factors that differentiate the Sonoran dog from its cousins are the addition of pinto beans and jalapeño sauce and the distinctive bun (which has the texture of a standard hot dog bun, but is shaped more like a bolillo).



Probably the most well-known place for Sonoran dogs in Tucson is El Guero Canelo, but I found Papa Locos' version to be superior in pretty much every way. The meat, beans and chile sauce each have their own intense flavor, and the combination is fantastic.

Papa Locos' Sonoran dogs go for $2.99 a pop. One each wasn't quite enough for lunch, so Sherry and I split a caramelo (a kind of mini-quesadilla) to pad out the meal.

Highly recommended.

Papa Locos
8201 South Rita Road
Tucson, Arizona
(520) 663-3333 ‎ 

Green Chile Cheeseburgers at Monroe's and Blake's Lotaburger

Road tripping through New Mexico means that Green Chile Cheeseburgers are very much on the agenda. This trip, we had two.

First up was Monroe's, in Albuquerque. I chose Monroe's because it was well-reviewed and within walking distance of our hotel (Casa de Suenos, which I highly recommend). When we arrived, the place was pretty dead. Undeterred, we entered into the harsh, florescently-lit room and sat down.



You can see the green chile cheeseburger above, served with sweet potato fries (I ordered regular fries). Overall, it disappointed. Not enough green chile for the flavor to really come through, and the burger itself was the thin, frozen puck style you would buy at Costco. It was decently prepared, though, and I had no trouble eating it. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said about their carne adovada, which we also tried - way too salty, and lacking in flavor.

Overall, it was a pretty bad dining experience. Monroe's seems like a place that has seen better days, and it would be hard to recommend based on our visit.

The next day, we had a much better meal at Blake's Lotaburger in Deming:



We wrote about the green chile cheeseburger at Blake's a few years ago, and this visit was nearly identical. Here is the Lotaburger with double meat, add cheese and green chile:



The amount of green chile was perfect, with tons of chile flavor and a good amount of heat.



There is nothing complicated about this burger - just a better-than-average fast food burger, well prepared, and with the key addition of chopped up Hatch green chile. If someplace in San Diego puts a burger like this on their menu, I will happily give them my money on a regular basis.

Monroe's
1520 Lomas Blvd. NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 242-1111

Blake's Lotaburger
600 North Gold Street
Deming, New Mexico
(575) 544-7302

Ska Brewing's 16th Anniversary and Breakfast at the Durango Diner

After a few days of camping and hiking in Canyonlands National Park with our friends Elise and Tom, we all headed out to Durango for a few days of relaxation.

As it turns out, it was Beer Week in Durango, and to cap off the week, Ska Brewing held a party to celebrate their 16th anniversary. Ska has a great facility, with a nice tasting room and grassy grounds.

Headlining the appropriately ska-themed band lineup at the party were The Toasters, who were celebrating their 30th anniversary. Ska brewed a special black IPA for the occasion, and it was quite tasty.



Also playing were the Nuns of Brixton - a band dressed as nuns covering Clash songs. Very entertaining.

The next morning, we needed some nosh before heading out of town, so we stopped into the Durango Diner.



The place was jam packed. They were serving food not just for the diner, but also for a bar down the street. Despite the mayhem, the staff did a great job of managing the situation.



I'm not sure how much of it was hunger and how much of it was the food, but when I finally got to tuck into my green chile breakfast burrito, I was a very happy man.



Smothered in green chile sauce (mostly mild, but with the occasional kick from a chunk of chile), the burrito was filled with beans, ground beef and egg. Probably not up there in my breakfast burrito hall of fame, but it made for a very satisfying breakfast in a friendly local spot.

Ska Brewing Company
225 Girard St
Durango, Colorado
(970) 247-5792

Durango Diner
957 Main Avenue
Durango, Colorado
(970) 247-9889

Boccalone Salumeria and Acme Bread - A San Francisco Ferry Building Picnic

The day after having dinner at Incanto, we were craving some more cured meat from Boccalone. The solution? Head to their storefront in the San Francisco Ferry Building.



It was worth the visit just to peer into their curing refrigerators. Yum!



We decided to get some more of our favorite item from the Incanto antipasto platter - their capocollo. Here is a 4oz portion, freshly sliced up:



Salted pig parts now in hand, we just needed a delivery vehicle. Lucky for us, Acme Bread Company was only a few steps away:



There we purchased what might be the best baguette I've ever tasted. Deliciously crispy on the outside, delicately airy on the inside and perfectly seasoned. Paired with the capocollo it made for the perfect sandwich.



For "dessert", we stopped by the San Francisco Fish Company and snagged a few of their smoked scallops.



They were fantastic - something we definitely need to try making.

Boccalone Salumeria
Shop 21, Ferry Building Marketplace
San Francisco, California
(415) 433-6500

Acme Bread Company
Shop 15, Ferry Building Marketplace
San Francisco, California
(415) 288-2978

San Francisco Fish Company
Shop 31, Ferry Building Marketplace
San Francisco, California
(415) 399-1111

Incanto - San Francisco

On one of the nights we spent recently in San Francisco, we hopped the J Church streetcar and escaped Union Square - heading out to the Noe Valley neighborhood for dinner at Chris Cosentino's restaurant, Incanto. Being big fans of pig parts served up in any and all forms, Incanto is a place we've been wanting to visit for a while now.

We shared three appetizers and a small pasta. Here's the rundown:

Antipasto platter for two

In addition to Incanto, Chris and his business partner Mark Pastore run Boccalone, a salumeria located in the San Francisco Ferry Building. The antipasto platter is a selection of Boccalone meats along with some veggies. This incarnation had french country pâté, mortadella, capocollo, and coppa di testa, served with breakfast radishes and roasted carrots, shallots and garlic. There was also a dollop of Boccalone's house-made mustard.

The star of the show for us was the capocollo (they favor the Neapolitan spelling) - paper-thin slices of ruby-colored pork, striped with clean white fat. Beautiful and very, very tasty. We also really liked the mortadella - velvety textured, faintly aromatic with spices and studded with the occasional pistachio and peppercorn. It was probably the best rendition I've had. The only disappointment on the plate was the coppa di testa - a complete lack of seasoning prevented any of the flavors from coming through. On the balance, though, a very good dish.

Calf's brain, porcini, Douglas fir & mugolio

This was probably our favorite dish of the meal. The bites of calf's brains had a light, crisp coating and were nicely set up. The porcini were quite mild in flavor, but were very visually appealing and had good texture. The complex sauce brought everything together. Our first brain experience, and definitely not our last.

Trotter cake, red wine braised snails & watercress

Sadly, this one was a clunker. The interior of the trotter cake had a pleasant gelatinous texture dotted with small bits of meat, but the expected porky flavor was muted due to a lack of seasoning and the outside of the cake was thick, gummy, and unpleasant. The snails dotting the plate were rubbery and neither the red wine nor the watercress sauce had much flavor.

Spaghettini, Sardinian cured tuna heart, egg yolk & parsley

We really enjoyed our final selection of the evening - perfectly cooked pasta that was generously topped with deeply flavored shavings of salty, cured tuna heart. Nestled in the center was a fresh egg yolk waiting to be mixed through. As a follow-up to the under-seasoned trotter dish, the salty flavor here was quite aggressive, and very welcome.

Along with our food, we enjoyed several wines from their Italian-centric list - comprised of an interesting selection of regions and varietals that we don't often drink. Service (we sat at the bar) was friendly, pleasant and efficient - provided by the bartender who also ventured out as sommelier for the rest of the restaurant.

Overall, a very enjoyable if somewhat flawed meal. Providing an ever-changing menu with a nose-to-tail focus is, I am sure, something that is difficult to execute consistently. The promise of an exciting new dish is well worth the risk of having a poor one, however. We definitely plan to eat here again.

Incanto
1550 Church St.
San Francisco, California
(415) 641-4500

Fish - Sausalito

We suddenly broke into clear blue sky as we headed over the golden gate bridge out of an overcast San Francisco. It was perfect weather for lunch along the water in Sausalito, so we stopped in at Fish.

Fish, as you might expect, specializes in seafood. The place is casual, but given the location and their emphasis on sustainability, the food isn't cheap. Tax is included in the prices, however, and since you order at the counter gratuity is tip-jar style.



The menu has a selection of permanent offerings - chowders, fish & chips, sandwiches - as well as a daily selection of several fish that can be served as your choice of salad, pasta or on an Acme roll.

We started with a cup of their Portuguese Red Chowder:



If they had just called it a tomato-herb soup, I would have been completely satisfied. As a "chowder", however, it was a bit lacking - giving short shrift to seafood flavor. Nevertheless, it was still very good.

Next we had their ceviche:



I forgot to ask what fish were used, but their were at least two, and maybe three. We guessed halibut and tilapia. The marinade was an orange base, and fairly sweet. While I think I prefer the more standard lime/lemon as the citrus it was a nicely done and a fun change. The fish wasn't firmed up quite as much as I like, but it tasted wonderful and fresh.

We rounded out our lunch with one of their "fish of the day" selections - Monterey Sardines served as a salad:



It was generous portion of both sardines and salad. The sardines were great - nicely butterflied and grilled, and the salad was sparingly dressed with oil and vinegar just the way I like it.

Lovely day, great location, very nice meal. Highly recommended.

Fish
350 Harbor Drive
Sausalito, California
(415) 331-3474

Zen Yai Thai, Rose Cafe and the Santa Barbara Farmers Market

While The Hungry Cat provided our best food in Santa Barbara, we had other nice meals as well. We had a surprisingly good Thai dinner at Zen Yai - a little place right on State Street (pictured above during lunch service the next day).

We started with their papaya salad, which was nicely done and had a decent heat level. Then we had an eggplant/chile/basil dish with chicken. I can be mixed on eggplant, but this was very nicely cooked. We also had their "Massaman Salmon". Generous chunks of crispy salmon in a rich, flavorful sauce.

On our way out of town, we stopped for late breakfast / early lunch at the Rose Cafe, a Mexican greasy spoon a few blocks east of State Street.



When we arrived, a few people were finishing up breakfast, and some older gentleman were enjoying coffee and a newspaper at the counter. Definitely a neighborhood joint.

I had huevos rancheros and Sherry had a pork burrito and a chile relleno. Everything was good - nothing particularly special, but quite enjoyable. Combined with friendly service and the nice local feel to the place, it makes a good casual breakfast or lunch option in the area.

On Tuesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, they shut down two blocks of State Street for a farmers market. We happened to be in town for the Tuesday market and took a stroll down the line of booths. We immediately had farmers market envy.



While we love our local farmers market, the Santa Barbara market was pretty impressive in comparison - with easily twice as many vendors. Like our market, it is all farm-produced products - nobody selling jewelry or snacks on a stick. Truly a great resource for those living in the area.

Zen Yai Thai Cuisine
425 State St.
Santa Barbara, California
(805) 957-1102‎

Rose Cafe #1
424 E Haley St.
Santa Barbara, California
(805) 966-3773‎

The Hungry Cat - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara has always been a difficult food city for us. Admittedly, we generally stay in the touristy State Street area, so this might be like someone visiting San Diego, not leaving the downtown gaslamp district and complaining that they couldn't find any good food. Unlike San Diego, however, Santa Barbara doesn't seem to be big enough to have other, more foodie-friendly neighborhoods.

Fortunately, this visit proved much better than usual. A big contributor to that was The Hungry Cat. Located just off State Street, The Hungry Cat serves up a small, but appealing seafood-centric menu.



We arrived toward then end of happy hour (3pm - 6pm, half-priced cocktails and draft beers) and snagged the last two seats at the end of the bar. I was a "homer" had had a Green Flash West Coast IPA. Sherry had their special cocktail of the day - a Plum Gin Rickey:



It was very tasty - lots of fresh fruit flavor.

Foodwise, we decided to make a dinner out of appetizers. We started with tea-smoked ahi with mango salsa and cucumber slices in a cilantro water:



We loved everything about this dish. The tuna had a light smokiness and was well seasoned, the mango salad was bright, but only slightly sweet and the cucumber and cilantro water added a nice freshness.

Next up was a cold pea soup with dungeness crab and meyer lemon crème fraîche:



Again, everything was just perfect. The soup was light an flavorful, the generous portion of crab tasted great and the lemon lemon crème fraîche added a cool richness that matched very well with the crab.

Our third dish was hamachi sashimi with orange, watermelon radish and shiso in a celery vinaigrette:



Very nice, delicate flavors with the citrus and celery complimenting each other nicely. A little bit of heat might have been nice - maybe some fresh chile. No complaints, though.

Our final dish of the evening was grilled baby octopus and bucatini with bitter greens, chile flake, garlic and olive oil:



We'd been watching this dish being prepared all evening (our bar seats were right across from the grill) and knew we wanted to end with it. While listed as an appetizer, it was an entrée-sized portion. The bucatini was cooked perfectly, the octopus had great flavor and texture, and the bitter greens rounded things out nicely.

Along with our food, we had a couple of carafes of white wine. Their selection was interesting and well-priced.

All in all, a very enjoyable meal. We won't hesitate to come back the next time we are in Santa Barbara.

The Hungry Cat
1134 Chapala
Santa Barbara, California
(805) 884-4701

Beachwood BBQ - Seal Beach

We're off on a quick road trip up the coast - ambling along at a nice leisurely pace. The first leg of our trip was just a couple of hours north to Seal Beach, a little community just south of Long Beach. We immediately liked the place - it reminded us a lot of our own neighborhood in Pacific Beach.

Our destination in town was Beachwood BBQ, a place known for passable barbecue (hey, that's a compliment in Southern California...) and one of the better selection of craft beers in the greater L.A. / Orange County area. The place is pretty small, and is split into two sections: a bar area and a separate seating area with 10 or so small tables.



We generally prefer to sit at the bar, but it was 5:00 on a Sunday and the place was packed - we had to wait a bit for a table. The crowd in the dining area was decidedly food and not beer focused, with the demographic being largely families with kids and older couples. After an appetizer and some drinks, we left for a while and came back later to sit at the bar. Much better.

On the beer front, our visit to Beachwood was definitely a success. After trying the Deschutes Hop Henge (which we quite liked) we moved on to some Belgian selections - the Houblon Chouffe Dobblen IPA Tripel (a favorite of ours) and the Maredsous Triple 10.



The Chouffe was very nice, as usual, but the star of the evening was the Maredsous. It poured with a beautiful, creamy head that lingered nicely. Although a bit maltier than what I think of as typical for the style, I thought it worked really well.

So, what about the food? I have to admit that we did more drinking than eating, but we did try a few of their offerings. They have a set of their sauces at each table:



We had an order of the bbq chicken nachos, which we quite liked - a good sized portion of smoked chicken with some nice guac and salsa. We were intrigued by their "fish sticks" (made with cold smoked ling cod), but they were just ok. The fish had some smoke flavor, but overall was under seasoned and didn't really grab us. Ditto the fried green tomato salad - fine, but fairly bland.

Beachwood is definitely an oasis in the craft beer desert north of Camp Pendleton, and certainly a worthy destination.



Between our two separate stints at Beachwood, we took a sunset stroll on the Seal Beach pier. The view looking north was a fascinating contrast between the serenity of surf and sand, and the industrial and urban sprawl of the Long Beach harbor and skyline.

Beachwood BBQ
131 1/2 Main Street
Seal Beach, California
(562) 493-4500‎

141 Posts Later...

2008 was our most active year ever on Menu In Progress. Ok, that's mostly because it was the first full year of the blog, but still, it was quite a year.

Last January, we headed down to Mexico for a fantastic couple of months.



We spent about half of our time in Mexico City, a crazy sprawling metropolis that we have come to love. Pictured above are the canals at Xochimilco, the salsa tray that accompanies Tacos al Pastor at El Tizoncito, Ceviche de Pulpo at Salón Corona, and "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park" by Diego Rivera.

From Mexico City, we traveled to Oaxaca where we spent a few weeks.



Queso Fresco at the Etla market, the characteristic stall-front of a Oaxacan carneceria, toasting pumpkin seeds to make Pipían at Susana Trilling's Seasons Of My Heart cooking school, and one of the near-constant celebrations in the streets of the city of Oaxaca.

We also traveled to both coasts - west to Puerto Escondido, and east to Veracruz.



Living la vida tranquila in Puerto Escondido, coral walls at 16th century fortress of San Juan de Ulúa, a breakfast of Huevos Cubanos, and drinking Café Lechero at the Gran Café de la Parroquia.

Our second big trip of last year was a road trip from the west coast out to the east coast and back.



We ate well in Louisiana. A bucket-full of crawfish at Don's Seafood Hut in Lafayette, the Oyster Po'Boy at Acme Oyster House, a fantastic demonstration at the New Orleans School of Cooking, and late-night eats at places like the Clover Grill.

Barbecue was a big theme on the trip.



We had the best brisket of our lives at Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas, Memphis ribs to die for at the Bar-B-Q Shop, and both Eastern (Allen & Son in Chapel Hill) and Western (Barbecue Center in Lexington) North Carolina barbecue.



And we had plenty of other local specialties along the way, such as the aptly-named Hot Chicken at Prince's in Nashville, Chori-Migas at Habanero in Austin, our first breakfast at Waffle House (in Lexington, Kentucky), and the Green Chile Breakfast Burrito at Frontier in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

We didn't neglect the beverage side of the equation, either.



We reveled in the local beer scene in Asheville, North Carolina, and made the pilgrimage along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, with stops at Jim Beam, Woodford Reserve, Four Roses and Maker's Mark.

Inspired by the awesome barbecue we had on the road trip, we bought a Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker when we got back home.



So far, it has produced a cornucopia of tasty treats like Andouille Sausage, Homemade Bacon, and of course the requisite Smoked Ribs and Pulled Pork. We've only scratched the surface of what this little guy is capable of, and we're looking forward to more smokey goodness.

All in all, a very flavorful year indeed. Bring on the next course, please!