Vagabond Part 2

[Closed as of early 2014 - It was replaced by Brabant, a Belgian restaurant which is now closed. It is now a hipster Mexican eatery as of 2016]

Yesterday, I went to Vagabond to help celebtrate the birthday of a good friend. There were three of us although one was missing. This was almost the same group who went to Calypso Cafe in Encinitas last month. Every month we all get together for lunch or dinner.We decided to surprise our friend and take her to lunch at the hot new restaurant on 30th in South Park: Vagabond. I had gone there last month to celebrate my co-worker's birthday. It was nice going in the daytime because it wasn't as crowded. Plus the weather was just perfect. It was about 30 degrees cooler this week than last week's heatwave. When I went last month, it was packed with people and you had to shout to be heard across the table. This was much more relaxed and casual. We could hear our conversation without raising our voices. The service was also better because last time, we had a real biyatchy receptionist.
The decor is eclectic but leaning more towards Moroccan. This is the bar area. Two of us ordered $5 glasses of wines for lunch. I had a salneval albarino from Spain while my other friend had vinho verde (green wine) from Portugal.
We were served a light crusty bread with garlic aoli. Our appetizer was the calamari served with a garlic aoli dip (correction - $7.50 not $6.50 as posted earlier). According to reviews I've read, this particular dish was inspired by Vietnamese street food vendors who serve this with fried garlic and green onions. I wasn't too crazy about the rings because they were a little too soft. I like my calamari really crispy. Unfortunately the limes were dry. When we tried to squeeze them, hardly a drop came out. The fried garlic was a very nice touch and I ended up eating most of it (the garlic).
My friend had the Steak Frites (correction - $12.50 not $13.50), which was served with shoestring potatoes sprinkled with chives and black pepper. I think they forgot to give her the aoli dip for this. I don't know if that's a pat of herb butter on her steak or not. I'll have to ask her later. Our birthday friend's entree was the Prosciutto Pesto Tortellini (I forget the price but it was under $10. CORRECTION - it was $11.50; I'm looking at my receipt). She really liked her entree but was saving room for dessert later.Yours truly had the Shrimp Black Ink Linguini($12.50). The linguini is black because it's colored with squid ink (perhaps that may gross you out, but that's what enticed me to order this dish); it was served in a light sauce with manchego cheese, chorizo and garnished with chopped peanuts and chiffonade of basil, while the outer rim of the plate was sprinkled with chives and freshly cracked black pepper. I wished the dish had more than four shrimp in it though. I really like this photo because you can see the steam rising from my forkful of linguini noodles. I only ate half of it and saved the rest for Bert. Actually, TC had a bit for dinner last night and really liked the black noodles and shrimp. In fact, she finished most of it off!
On our way back to the car, we passed by (but didn't enter) a small boutique called "Mistral", which sold baby items, soaps, books, and candles. I spied this book in the window...
Another building on the same block had a gray tabby that meowed plaintively as we walked by. Translation, "Hey, let me out of this hell hole!"
With our neatly packaged leftovers in tow, we got into my car so we could have dessert at...

Heaven Sent revisited...

After lunch at Vagabond, we traveled north up 30th Street to the North Park area. Our destination? Heaven Sent Desserts .

You can see their version of the pink "Snowball". The long tray has white chocolate dipped shortbread cookies covered with crushed pistachios. The covered cake dome next to it has macaroons, I think.

Here is another dessert case with their delectable pastries. The middle of the top row has my choice, the Heavenly Halo (which I blogged about last month). There are also some mini tarts , cookies, and brownies as well. Everything looked really good, but I liked the Halo so much, I ordered it again.


It was nice seeing this place in the daylight. There were only a few customers in there. Last time, at night, it was more crowded. Because there was more light, I noticed that the walls were a terra cotta orange and flower arrangements (both real and artificial) were everywhere.

When they take your order, they give you an old book with a number as a bookmark. Customers are free to write their comments in the books. I noticed some wrote their favorite quotes by various authors. I chose a random spot in the middle and wrote (in cholo graffiti fashion), "DEL SOL -R- Y QUE NO MAS!" We also liked the book title.

It was our friend's birthday (the one who wasn't there for the Calypso cafe dinner) and she chose the Dutch apple pie with ice cream. If this looks familiar, it should. This is the dessert that Lotus had.

Our other lunch companion had the creme brulee. It was so cute in it's tiny shallow ramekin. The crunchy sugar topping and the raspberries were delicious. Everything was so light and fresh.

We sat in a banquette in the front corner where we had a lovely view of the hustle and bustle of University Avenue, as well as the drunk homeless guy screaming profanities at hapless passers by. He was right behind me, just separated by a few millimeters of glass window.

I thought this lamp was beautiful. It's right above the foyer by the dessert case. In all, it was a gorgeous day. The weather was perfect - high 70's. It was warm, but not burning hot nor humid either. We had fun driving around South Park to get to North Park, admiring all of the beautiful homes along 30th St.

Red Sea Ethiopian Restaurant

Man, these posts are late...

This was last Friday when HotFudge and I went out for Ethiopian...this time at Red Sea on University Ave. The wall hanging near our table...Dude's got some majorly puckered lips. Perhaps he is a former king.

When you walk in the restaurant, there is a section on your right hand side that is roped off with curtains. There is a curio table filled with Ethiopian baskets, jewelry and other artifacts. Do you see the red and green woven basket with lid on the floor? The lid is taken off, the basket is filled with injera and your choice of foods, from which you and your dinner party eat. Dining is supposed to be a communal experience. It is also considered "respectful" to feed your companions by hand. Because people eat with their hands, it's not noisy in an Ethiopian restaurant because of the lack of clanking silverware. There was an Ethiopian family behind the curtains (to your left, but you can't see them) watching TV and eating from one of those communal baskets. I decided to forgo meat this time and ordered the Vegetarian Combo ($6.99), which is a combination three out of four vegetable items. They actually gave me all four! Pictured left to right are: Yegomen Wet which are collard greens steamed and seasoned with garlic and green pepper, Ye'ater Alicha, which are split peas with onions, seasoned with garlic and ginger, Yemisr Wet (lentils in red pepper sauce seasoned with assorted spices, and Yeatikilet Wet which are steamed and seasoned vegetables consisting of cabbage, potato, carrot and onion. In addition, a green salad was also included in this meal. This was all served on top of injera, the spongy unleavened bread that comes with every meal and soaks up the juices. I really liked the variety of vegetable dishes and thought the price was quite reasonable. The salad was not so great because it had some vinegary dressing on it. Those of you who know me know that I eat my salad plain. I just kind of picked at it. This was a pretty filling meal and I ended up taking half of it home. This is what HotFudge had, the Meat Combo (I think it was either $7.99 ot $8.99). Pictured left to right in this order: Yeatikilet Wet (steamed assorted vegetables) , Yebbo Siga- the spicy beef, Yebeg Siga Wot - mild Lamb stew, & Yedero Siga - spicy chicken along and green salad. HotFudge is a true carnivore! I had some of her spicy beef, which was very tasty. I passed on the lamb because I just am not into the "gamy" flavor. Her chicken wasn't too bad either. She noted that everytime she orders the meat combo, it's always a chicken LEG, not any other chicken part. Also, the placemats here are cool. They have a map and facts about Ethiopia along with the different types of food. I like how Red Sea educates their customers with their laminated placemats.There were a few people when we arrived but it cleared out soon after since we came after the lunch hour. There are travel posters on the wall and pictures of their past rulers.
The blue building was Red Sea. This is the view after we left. HotFudge drove that day.
Oh yeah, this is Bati beer from Ethiopia ($3). I got this for Bert.
I also had the Yebbo Siga (spicy beef) to go for Bert. This lasted for 2 days. It was a huge portion.
It also came with these two gigantic circles of injera.

Comic Con Part 3

The guys at this booth have been at the Con for the past couple of years. They're these Filipino dudes who make robots and other creatures out of spare metal parts. You can see a scorpion on the edgeof the table as well as R2-D2. These are some of the small sculptures.

Son of Jor-El, KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!!!

I never knew that Zod was played by "The Limey" (aka British actor Terence Stamp, who was also the old drag queen in "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and Supreme Chancellor Valorum in the awful Star Wars prequel "Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace"). But I digress...Here's that Vulcan I mentioned earlier, complete with ears and all. This was earlier while we were waiting for the floor to open. This guy is sporting what is called a Utilikilt. Yes,you read that right. There was a booth selling these "Utilikilts". According to their website, "Utilikilts are progressive, alternative, handmade kilts made out of tough, functional fabrics, from cotton camoflauge to canvas duc cloth, ideal for men who are active and like the freedom of motion an unbifurcated garment can afford". Hmmm...okay...

From what I recall, solids and various patterns were offered for sale, as well as the traditional plaid. I just checked the website. You can buy a leather one for $700! Yikes! This fellow here has good ole camo' on. Some models of the Utilikilt are equipped with a plethora of straps, pockets, and metal buckles and shit so as to make the wearer appear more MANLY and not like a tranny. Who wants to look femme? Not this guy!!! There's a difference you know! Hey, those pleats must be a bitch to iron! Bounty Hunter Boba Fett...
Cuddles the Rabbit from the show Happy Tree Friends.

This is San Diegan Bobby Rubio's booth for "Alcatraz High". He's Filipino American and has worked for Disney and currently works for Nickelodeon. He's a story board artist for "Avatar - The Last Airbender". He drew a picture of Katara (one of the female characters) for TC on Sunday. He has 3.5 issues out of Alcatraz High and named his son after Han Solo. Actually, he named him "Harrison".

Oota Toota Solo?

(translation, "Going anywhere Solo?)

Thus were the last words spoken by the hapless bounty hunter Greedo (a Rodian) before being gunned down by Han Solo at the Mos Eisley Cantina.

Break from Con photos

Last Saturday, Bert and I went to see the Hawaiian Comedy Tour at Humphrey's. It was headlined by Augie T. who we saw last month at the Sheraton in Waikiki. The dude is funny!!! We didn't stick around for the musical band that played afterwards, so instead of heading home (it was only 9 pm), we wanted to watch a movie.

That movie ended up being Clerks 2 at Fashion Valley. Click here to see the trailer. Unfortunately, the movie was just "so so". It wasn't that great, and we both like Kevin Smith flicks too so we kind of expected it to be better. The dialogue was stilted and the chemistry between the two male leads wasn't the same as the first groundbreaking movie back in '94. One of my favorite parts was when they discussed the merits of the sacred Trilogies (Star Wars & Lord of the Rings) and basically reduced the Lord of the Rings series as "movies about WALKING".

SPOILER ALERT: Do not watch this movie if you are easily offended or hate shittily made flicks or seeing Jason Mewes pull a "Buffalo Bill" dance move (full frontal tucked in!!!). Actually, that part made me laugh! You may also want to skip this film if you find "interspecies erotica" disturbing! Anyways, the first Clerks will always be the better flick of the two.

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Our bedroom furtniture set up is almost complete. We got the nightstands and tall dresser last week. The pseudo-entertainment center (way cheap at IKEA) was obtained a few days ago. The bed was picked up today and still remains in its box.

Speaking of boxes...the empty box for our tall dresser is now TC's "Rocket Ship". It's standing tall in the empty corner of our family room. There is a door cut out at the bottom (it's not really a cut-out, but more like a child/doggie door that flaps up) and windows that Bert cut out on the side. It's already outfitted with our sofa pillows and a blanket. I hope we don't keep it for almost a year like the box our club chair came in. That particular box was her "fort" and we had that damn thing in the loft for about 10 months! But it was fun and her cousins and friends enjoyed cramming in there and playing "monster" or "space ship" or whatever!

We still need to get a new mattress and TV. Well, not that we "need" it but because our old TV is pretty crappy and it's high time to get one with a clear picture and channels that work! One of my faves, the Food Network channel is totally blurry upstairs. : (

Comic Con Part 2

Here are some more pix from last Thursday's Con visit. This sign was on a stuffed mannequin with an animal head...I thought it was quite funny. This was spotted at the Slave Labor Graphics (SLG) booth which is an independent comic book company that specializes in offbeat, dark-humoured gothic stuff. I used to buy Roman Dirge's "Lenore - The Cute Little Dead Girl". SLG is also home to "Johnny the Homicidal Maniac" by Jhonen Vazquez.

Here are a few enthusiastic fans. You can see a rather un-buff
looking Aquaman with the black Wonder Woman. Gosh, I
don't know who the woman in the purple mask (Black Canary? Bert's guess) is supposed to be as well as the top hatted person next to her (Miss Majestic?). You can see Batman and some figure in green. Superman, help me out here! Green Lantern? I know, sacrilege. I know I'm wrong! Wait, Bert says it's " The Spectre". All right now....cue the theme for the "Imperial March"...Darth Vader here passing through...Make way for his Imperial Blackness. Man, this formatting sucks! Or is it me who lacks the proper HTML skills? I think this next photo is Voltron. Wait a minute, EXCUUUUUSE ME!!!! It's OPTIMUS PRIME from the TRANSFORMERS. Apparently, he's the head honcho of the Transformers. Geez, I can't help that I never watched this stuff back in junior high. Maybe it's because I wasn't a 12 year old boy! Thanks to Bert for the correction.

Don't look! You'll turn to stone! It's Medusa from "Clash of the Titans"!It's the Ugly Dolls booth...Several new characters were introduced. See the cute Ugly Dolls here. I bought three on Sunday: the very cute OX (pink version), Ice Bat and Target. TC and I will share our new playthings.
Toys on sale....who buys this stuff anyways? You'd be surprised!
The Ugly Doll creators, David Horvath and his wife Sun-Min Kim signing at the Ugly Dolls booth.
On Thursday, the trashbins were overflowing with Ugly Dolls. By Sunday, they were half-filled.

Comic Con Part 1

Freed from the responsibility of attending jury duty last Thursday July 21, Bert and I were free to attend the biggest pop culture event in the U.S. and the biggest convention event in San Diego, the Comic Con International (formerly known as the San Diego Comic Con and heretofore referred to as the "Con"). We got good parking since we left early after dropping off TC at school (we took her that following Sunday). Saw our friend Supe in line ahead of us and he was gracious enough to leave his hallowed spot 30 feet ahead of us in line to join us peons. Actually, it was quite nice having a friend there with which to spend the time. We had more than 1 hour and a half to kill while waiting for the Con to open at 10 am. While in line upstairs, we saw many in costume, including a black Wonder Woman, a slighly pudgy Vulcan, and various Superman and Spiderman get ups. We saw more elaborate costumes later on the Convention floor.

Aargh I'm having trouble posting pics... Here's a few from last Thursday. This booth is Mile High Comics where Bert found some of his compilations (correct me if I'm wrong). Unfortunately all graphic novels were only 20% off. You have to really hunt for bargains (50% tables).

My mission was just to get the newest issue of Adrian Tomine's Optic Nerve (#10) at the Drawn & Quarterly booth. At the Fantagraphics booth, I found out I already had #23 of Eightball by Daniel Clowes. I did not really buy anything that day.
I loved this cartoon "The Tick" when it used to be on Cartoon Network in the early 90's. They will finally be releasing all episodes on DVD in late August (correction - they wil be releasing Season 1, but only 12 out of 13 episodes due to an unauthorized use of Cindy Crawford's image). The guy who mans the booth is from the Massachussetts area. He has a major New England accent. Long live The Tick and his trusty sidekick, Arthur! Spoon!!!

The entrance near section C. This was right before we saw the Elvis Stormtrooper. I'll be posting his pic later. Damn formatting.
A view outside of the Convention Center. As you can see, construction of overpriced condos is happening all over the Gaslamp quarter. It was pretty hot that day too, about 80+ degrees.

Here is another view of the convention center from across the trolley tracks. This is when we took a break to eat lunch.

Here's a T-Shirt that I will NEVER buy for TC. FK the Disney princesses and all that they stand for.

Check this out...

Oh my God! This looks so good...Thit Heo Nuong (Vietnamese pork chops) ...

Here's the recipe and a delicious photo!

Thanks to Reggie of Kau Kau Time! (food blog) for this recipe --->it's one of the links on my sidebar (see?)

You can buy lemon grass at your local Seafood City or Asian food market. Unfortunately, I don't think they would have it at Vons, Albertsons, Henry's or Ralphs.

I think I'll make this for our next get together besides Kalbi ribs.

Five Things

My First "Meme"

Five Things in My Freezer :
1) edamame beans from Costco
2) a box of absolutely horrible tasting popsicles (Durian flavor---bought on a whim at Ranch 99 with the thought that it might actually taste good! Ugh!)
3) Magnolia ube ice cream (yum!)
4) strawberries in a ziplock bag (for use in a future smoothie)
5) teriyaki chicken breasts (also from Costco)

Five Things in My Closet:
1) at least 30 pairs of shoes (95% of them black)
2) an ironing board
3) a hanging sweater organizer filled with anything but sweaters
4) a motley assortment of purses I don't use that I should get rid of
5) three stacked laundry baskets

Five Things in My Car:
1) my new Joe Bataan "Afrofilipino" CD
2) a sticky and dirty penny in the drink/cup holder
3) a half-filled mini lotion container
4) various pens that may or may not contain ink
5) scotch tape

Five Things in My Purse:
1) my everpresent MAC lipstick (shade: Media) & cheap NYX lipliner (shade: Y2K)
2) a rat tail comb
3) my cheap Mossimo wallet from Tar-jay
4) a mini dental floss from the goodie bag my dentist gave me
5) a compact mirror in the shape of Chococat's head

Heaven Sent Desserts

After dinner at Cucina Italiana last Friday, we decided to try the new bakery on the corner of University and 30th St. in North Park. It was a freaking hot day and we ended up eating at a table out front and watched people traverse the streets of North Park.

Shogun and I had the same dessert. It was the "Heavenly Halo", which, according to their menu is: a "chocolate drizzled pate a choux ring with hazelnut and whipped cream" ($4). It was like eating a fluffy cream puff cloud. Quite delicious indeed. Bert and I shared this together.

TC wanted two chocolate covered strawberries (D'oh! at $2.75 each! Ouch!). She enjoyed dipping the strawberries into the chocolate dots. I wonder why one was more sparsely decorated with dots? Hmmm...
Their coffee cups were quite curvaceous.

Lotus' dessert was the Dutch Apple Pie which consisted of "cinnamon spiced baked apples in a flaky crust drizzled in cajeta sauce; served with vanilla ice cream & melted sugar halo decor" ( the sugar halo had cinammon in it); this was $6.50. That crust was good!