[Update - Sophy's is now Cambodian Town and Food Music]
During last week's road trip, we found ourselves in the Long Beach area. It was a bit strange not having TC with us. She was probably happy that her parents weren't around so she could yuk it up with the cousins. As for us, we felt almost like we were dating again. Woo hoo! We had a long itinerary ahead of us (courtesy of me, because I'm super anal)...
The weekend's weather was summerlike and we read that there would be Santa Ana winds, which we would experience later on today. But first thing's first...remember when I mentioned restaurant rec's from Elmo? I'd originally asked him for seafood places but also mentioned we'd be going to Long Beach. Since I knew that Long Beach had one of the largest Cambodian populations outside of Cambodia, I definitely wanted to try something from that culture. Seemed like most of the places were on Anaheim Street. Elmo recommended Sophy's on the PCH (not on Anaheim Street!) in Long Beach...
We got there around 9:30'ish. The sign outside read "Closed" although they were supposed to be open at 9:00 a.m. WTF?
The restaurant had a private parking lot in the back and the sign said 'Open'. Their door was open too. Hell, we were going in! Look, there's Bert!
The entry way through the back is flanked with benches and framed articles about Sophy's as well as photos of celebrities who'd eaten there. You'll see those later...No one seemed to be around.
Bert called to someone in the kitchen to let him/her/them know we were there. The restaurant is deceptively small looking outside but is quite large once you get in. There's a big dining area on one side plus booths in the middle which is where we sat.
See the booths? Those face outwards onto the main stree, E. PCH.
This is the front entry...very cool eh?
We were planning to meet up with a fellow FANHS member later for lunch so we wanted something light...
Here are their specialities...and even though they offered "Thai" food here, we came for the Khmer food. You don't really see much of this kind of stuff in San Diego. There is Trieu Chau on University but I don't think it's anywhere near as nice as this place.
More of their menu...
There was even more seating down the other end of the restaurant. The white display case held desserts. Bert said he saw Sophy herself get in to work. I must have missed that.
The 2nd container held crushed chilis which you can sprinkle or pour onto your food. Be my guest, it's your colon. Otherwise, sugar, salt, pepper, hoisin, some sort of chili sauce and of course, Sriracha.
I ordered an iced coffee for my breakfast drink.
While Bert's idea of a breakfast "drink" was Chang beer from Thailand. It's never too early in the morning to get your buzz on!
Hmmmm, you can see a preview of our first morning "snack" behind the beer...
This was the
Such Koh Ngeat - Beef flank jerky marinated in red wine, then fried, then baked until dry. Oh. My. God! This beef jerky kicked ass on the flaky strips we had at Yoma Myanmar last month. It was almost better than the Lao beef jerky at Asia Cafe, wait, it was better! These were big hunks of meat my friends!
The jerky was served with a vinegar and garlic dip. We only ate one piece between the both of us, intending to save the rest for later.
Along with the jerky, we also ordered the
Neoum Such Meoung with Bong Keah (Khmer Chicken Salad). This was shredded chicken, cabbage, carrot, cucumber, glass noodles, shrimp, basil leaves with a sweet and sour vinaigrette with crushed peanuts. The salad was refreshing (good for a hot day) but we couldn't eat a lot of it. Again, we were going out for lunch in a few hours. We wanted a mini-sampler "taste" of Khmer food.
Our waiter was very helpful, answering our questions about the cuisine and ingredients. He seemed like a really nice guy. He talked about the Cambodian community's humanitarian efforts to raise money for this toddler who needed a heart transplant. There were Visa problems and they were trying to raise money for the toddler and her father to come to the US for the surgery.
Here's that article on Sophy on the back entry wall...
And another one about their beef jerky. Looks like the jerky used to be served atop shredded lettuce or cabbage?). It's better unadorned since the greens are just there to prop them up and most likely will go uneated and therefore be wasted.
Okay! Here's a celebrity photo I didn't expect to see! Matt Dillon! Remember him in "Little Darlings", "My Bodyguard" or (sigh) "The Outsiders"? He's still looking pretty good for being 45!
Hello! What's this? Matt Damon? This is Bert's Brokeback Mancrush! It's Jason Bourne with Sophy!
We spent a leisurely hour and a half at Sophie's before heading over to the Belmont area of Long Beach to meet up with my new friend and her husband. But before I end this post, check out the cool handpainted sink and faucet in the women's bathroom at Sophy's.
For more on Sophy's, check out an
old post at their old location from the blog
Pleasure Palate, a more recent
OC Weekly article, a short review
here, and the mixed bag reviews on
Yelp. Glad we checked this place out. We'd definitely come back here with bigger appetites next time!
For breakfast, my friend and I walked over to the Chocolate Spoon bakery in the neighborhood. It's a Brazilian place, believe it or not. She wanted to get Brazilian cheese break to eat with her coffee. I ended up getting a fresh-out-of-the-oven ham and cheese pastry.
Here's the cheese bread. It looks like a lumpy biscuit.
But inside, there is a white cheese that just melts away in your mouth. Quite tasty!Not sure what kind of cheese it is though. Bad foodie.
This time, N and I went out to the city while L stayed home with their dogs. We passed by the San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy (it's a week long).
Since I didn't really have an agenda, we just walked around. Since we were in Little Italy, N wanted to buy some pecorino cheese at this place, Di Palo's.
Once you step in, you take a number. Hers was 93. They were on 78, but the lind seemed to be moving quickly. I believe this place was on some program about NYC on the Food Network because it seemed familiar to me. There are all kinds of dried/cured meats hanging from the ceiling. Ham, sausage...you name it. The shop is quite small and it was very crowded. I looked up this place on yahoo later that night and found out that DiPalo's is family run and owned and is known for their excellent customer service. Even if the line is out the door, the employees treat you like you are the only one in the store. They really do pay attention to you and you alone.
My friend wanted to get some pecorino cheese. The guy brought out two different types and explained, in great detail, the difference between the cheeses. He also gave her some samples as well as for me too. I was hanging out behind her trying to be inconspicuous, but I was impressed that he offered me some cheese as well. The first cheese we tried was really good - but the second cheese was even better. He explained that there was a grainy texture because the curds are chopped up during the cheese making process. My friend bought a little of both. Sold!
We were on our way to the Lower East Side but had to pass through a section of Chinatown, where we saw this Durian stand.
The vendor was cutting a piece out for a customer. I wasn't close enough to smell it. I still have bad memories of the time I tasted a durian popsicle ($1.99 for a box of 4 at Ranch 99). I wanted to scrape my tongue with sandpaper after that briefly horrific taste. Mind you, the durian popsicle flavor probably was a watered down version of what it really tasted like too. To me, it tasted like rotten onions. Shudder. 
After some wandering in the Lower East Side, we chanced upon this place...
Kampuchea is a fairly new Cambodian restaurant. The decor was bar height dark wooden tables with tall square stools. 
The menu was very short, sweet, and to the point. They serve small plates style here.
My friend ordered the Cambodian Savory Crepe. The filling was catfish, ground peppercorn, ground sesame seed and tofu. It came with a side of lettuce and cilantro along with a dipping sauce with peanuts reminiscent of nuoc cham.
I, on the other hand, ordered the Chilled Flat Noodle which was served with seared chili tiger shrimp, crispy pork belly (there's that pork again), chives, cucumber, lettuce hearts, mint, sliced red onions, and hoisin sauce. The sauce was pooled on the sides (you can see it at the bottom) of the bowl. The toppings covered the medium width rice noodles. It reminded me of bun but without the chopped vegetables on the bottom of the bowl. This was a refreshing dish, especially since it was a super hot day (heatwave!). 
We shared our dishes. I really liked how my shrimp was seasoned and my friend's catfish wasn't so bad either. I'm not really a big fan of catfish but this time, it didn't taste like mud! The portions were also just right. Not so overwhelming but not insubstantial either.
I was determined to go to at least one place on my list of "must eat" places. I was kind of bummed the other day when Lombardi's was too crowded, but my disappointment was short lived because of that awesome street pizza. So...we headed over to Il Laboratorio del Gelato which is on Orchard Street, and also, right next to a museum dedicated to the history of the tenements of this particular neighborhood. Okay, this gelato place had a long ass line. In fact, we waited 30 minutes in this line! Lotus recommended this place in one of her blog posts and Robyn from "The Girl Who Ate Everything" blog raves about this place...
Former tenements across the street from Il Lab...
There really is a lab in there. It's a tiny store front but there is some serious gelato making in the back! With this place, you can't really see the list of flavors until you get right up to the window. I think it would be better if there was a posted list outside so people could make up their minds ahead of time what flavor they want.
Sucky picture...but here's the gelato and sorbet bins beckoning me:
My friend had the Espresso and Green Tea. One cone with two flavors $3.25.
My cone was Blackberry and Pear. All four flavors were awesome! Especially my pear! You could see and taste real pear flecks in it. Although it was so damn hot and the wait seemed interminable, it was worth it!!!
