San Diego Restaurant Reviews

KAFE YEN

4516 Mission Blvd. Pacific Beach (858) 373-3936

Kafe Yen is an unusual Asian restaurant.  While most Asian restaurants focus on a certain country's cuisine, Kafe Yen's menu takes a decidedly different approach.  The menu features dishes from Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, and Vietnam.  An ambitious plan to be sure, but if properly executed, it could bring a wealth of Asian delicacies to my back porch, right here in Pacific Beach.  It turns out Yen is a tightly knit operation, run by the Thamphan family.  Daughter Pasara Thamphan and husband Jamin Barnes are the proprietors.  Pasara's brother, Off Thamphan, is Chef de Cuisine.  Their mother, Chaisri Thamphan, is a long time Chicago restaurateur, who provides the traditional recipes, and consults on classic Asian cooking techniques. 

At Kafe Yen, you have the option of dining on their sidewalk patio, or in the stylish dining room.

When the owners took possession of the property, they carried out an extensive remodel of the existing dining space.  It now has a sleek Asian-modern feel, blending black accents with warm wood tones and green foliage.  Light colored fabrics are hung from the walls and ceiling, giving an airy, spacious feel.  Asian art pieces adorn the walls, and are illuminated by soft mood lighting, elegantly completing the decor. 

Having been seated at a comfortable table, I was ready to sample their wares.   

From the appetizer list, I ordered the Roti Pancake ($5.95).

 

I received two piping hot, pan fried Malaysian style pancakes, with a cucumber salad, and peanut sauce.  The roti were savory and amazingly tender.  The cucumber salad had a good balance of sweet & sour, and was excellent spooned over the roti.  Peanut sauce and I are old friends, and I enjoyed this housemade version very much.  This is a great appetizer, and I have a hard time imagining not ordering it again on subsequent visits.

There are six soups to choose from (not counting the noodle soups in a separate section of the menu), and I selected the Tom Ka With Chicken ($5.95).

 

This Thai, coconut milk based soup, is one of my favorites.  Kafe Yen's version was alive with the vibrant flavors of galangal, lemongrass, lime, and mushrooms.  There was a lot of complex flavor interaction in this soup that I really enjoyed.

The menu offers a nice selection of noodle dishes from several major Asian cuisines, all of which are offered with your choice of: vegetarian ($9.95), chicken, beef, or pork ($10.95), bbq pork ($12.95), shrimp, or seafood combination ($14.95).  I ordered the Chicken Pad Thai ($10.95).

The pad Thai featured stir fried Thai rice stick noodles, eggs, ground peanuts, scallions, and bean sprouts, with a wedge of lime to squeeze over the top.  The noodles had good texture with a nice chew.  In addition to the above mentioned ingredients, I also tasted tamarind, fish sauce, and red chili pepper.  The flavors were well balanced, and featured the solid fish sauce presence that many American Thai restaurants are unfortunately afraid to employ.  If you enjoy pad Thai, like me, do not hesitate to order it at Kafe Yen.   

The house specials section of the menu contains many intriguing offerings.  I personally was captivated by the description of Extreme Chicken ($16.95).

 

Here the kitchen takes chicken breast, crab meat, egg, spinach, and sesame seeds, wraps them all together, then deep fries them until golden brown.  The result is then served with broccoli, baby carrots, Chinese eggplant, Thai squash slices, and a delicious peanut sauce.  I am not sure where the inspiration for this dish came from (Chef Off?), but hats off to whoever is responsible.  The crispy exterior of the "croquette," gives way to a tender, delicious filling when bitten into.  Add in the peanut sauce, with bites of squash and eggplant, and the result is over the top.  This is a unique dish that I have no qualms about recommending.

I absolutely love fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls ($7.95), so I ordered some to go, planning ahead for a midnight snack.

The first thing I noticed about these spring rolls were their size.  The rolls were almost twice as long as the ones I am used to.  They were filled with shrimp, imitation crab, fresh cilantro, fresh basil, and noodles.  The noodles had good texture, and the rice paper wrapping was cellophane thin and very tender.  As I mentioned before, the housemade peanut sauce is very good, and of course, it went well with the rolls.  These made an excellent snack, and did not survive until midnight.

Kafe Yen is an excellent source for Asian cuisine in Pacific Beach, as well as in San Diego at large.  I so often hear foodies complain about San Diego's Thai restaurants producing "dumbed down food" by skipping key ingredients like galangal, Thai eggplant, and kafir lime leaves, because of their expense.  I am happy to report that Kafe Yen does not skip these important ingredients, even though technically, they are not a Thai restaurant.  Unlike many small Asian restaurants, Kafe Yen's kitchen runs at a professional level seldom found in operations of this size.  The kitchen staff smacks of culinary schooling, combined with industry experience.  The service staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and efficient.

The restaurant's decor and ambiance are well suited for romantic dates, demonstrating the ongoing gentrification of our beach town.  Kafe Yen combines traditional and inovative recipes with high quality ingredients and skilled technical execution,  to produce a plethora of delectable Pan-Asian specialties, all under one roof.

Hours:

M-Th 11:30AM-3:30PM, 5PM-9:30Pm

F 11:30AM-3:30Pm, 5PM-10PM

Sa Noon-10PM

Su Noon-9:30PM

San Diego Restaurant Reviews

BARNEY GREENGRASS

541 Amsterdam Ave. (at 86th St.), New York, NY (212) 724-4707

When it comes to delicatessens, few would argue that New York City's five boroughs set the standard.  With so many fine establishments to choose from, arguments tend to form around such issues as who cures the best pastrami, or who brews the best matzo ball soup.  When talk turns to smoked fish, however, all eyes are on Manhattan's upper west side.  It is there, that legendary Barney Greengrass has been plying their brand of magic since 1908.  Known fondly as the "Sturgeon King," Barney's is also considered to be the holy grail for many other varieties of smoked fish and deli specialties.  My eating adventure in NYC would not have been complete without a visit to BG, which is why I recently found myself there on a cold, weekday morning, lusting after the culinary treasures I knew lay within.

Upon entering, the decor would appear dated to most people.  I believe this is a deliberate attempt to match the dining atmosphere to the "cranky, but lovable" service, producing the quintessential New York deli experience.  Hey, they had a coat rack I could keep my eye on, and an empty table for me to sit at, so my basic needs had been met.  Breakfast for me is rarely about bacon and eggs, and although Barney's does offer these items, that's not where I was going.  My breakfast was going to start with the Homemade Whitefish Salad ($9.00).

The salad is served with sliced tomato, sliced white onion, olives, half sour pickle, a wedge of lemon, and your choice of bialy, bagel, or rye bread.  My selection was the rye.  I absolutely adore whitefish salad, and am constantly ordering it when available.  The problem is, my high expectations are rarely met.  Although the preparation seems straight forward, the devil lies in the details, and in this case, the details are smoked fish.  Being that BG is a master fish smoking house, it was no surprise that they excelled in this dish.  There is a is a rich, smoky, almost sweet subtlety to the whitefish salad that I find irresistible.  Barney Greengrass's smoked whitefish salad is the standard by which I measure all others.  It is the best I have ever had. 

Along side the whitefish salad, I ordered another one of my all time favorite deli items, Homemade Chopped Chicken Liver ($7.50).

Despite being raised Catholic, by the time I turned fifteen, I had been to more bar mitzvahs than I could count.  The sizeable Jewish segment of my community gave me excellent exposure to many of their ethnic delicacies.  I will never forget during graduate school, being invited to Seder at my childhood friend's parents' house.  His mother made the most fabulous chopped chicken liver that I had ever had.  Being an aspiring cook, I asked, "What's your secret?"  She smiled and said, "It's the schmaltz."  For those of you who don't know, schmaltz is Yiddish for chicken fat.  Since then, I have used my friend's mother's chopped chicken liver as the benchmark for comparison. After my last trip to Barney Greengrass, however, I was forced to  admit that I had found a definite contender for the throne.

   

BG's version has the requisite, robust, liver flavor, made even more sinfully rich by a generous addition of schmaltz.  What put this over the top, though, were the chunks of liver permeating the whole mix.  This really added to the mouth feel.  Barney Greengrass's homemade chopped chicken liver is the best!

After breakfast, I sidled up to the deli counter to check out the foodie booty.

 

Seen here are: home made blintzes, kippered salmon,

 

sturgeon,

chubs, brook trout,

 

Western Nova Scotia salmon,

 

gravlox, pastrami salmon,

 

chopped chicken liver, and various traditional salads.

 

Here you can see all the price boards.

 

Photographing the price boards quickly got the attention of Moe, the owner.  He queried, "Who are you working for, are you stealing my pricing?"  I quickly told him I was here from San Diego on vacation, pointing to my cargo shorts.  Moe said, "My god boy, didn't you get the memo? It's thirty nine degrees out this morning."  I informed him that my North Face jacket system kept me warm, and the shorts were a SoCal thing.  He found this amusing, and turned out to be quite a friendly guy.

Barney Greengrass is a Manhattan deli institution that should not be missed on any visit to NYC.  I would pay dearly to have a branch in Pacific Beach (there is one in Beverly Hills, though I have not been).  Take heart, however, this old school upper westsider has an on-line store that offers many of the products that have made, and continue to make, it famous. Barney Greengrass Website  God bless Fed-Ex overnight express.

Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30am-4pm Sa,Su 8:30am-5pm

San Diego Restaurant Reviews