Thursday, August 25, 2011

East meets West....Food Style



By Margot Wass


            As many of you may know I am originally a Bostonian. (Although you can’t tell from my non regional accent.) I have now been a San Diegan for almost a year. I am going to be honest, I love Boston, but I do not miss living there. I do not miss snow, humidity, potholes, or defensive driving, but I miss the food.
 Don’t get me wrong I love California cuisine. Everything is so fresh and local. Fish tacos are life changing and whoever came up with putting french fries in a burrito should get an award. But there are things I never knew I’d miss from home. One is a lobster roll with claw meat, roast beef three way, New England Clam Chowder, and steak tips! Now I may have obsessed a little bit over this, but I have found places in Southern California that have this cuisine and….it’s so good you’d think you got it from Gloucester.
First off, the clam chowder thing is a touchy subject. Everyone has different preferences on their chowder. There are variations, we won’t even go into red chowder because we’re talking strictly New England, and it is cream based. But I personally like my chowder creamy, flavored with a little bacon, with potatoes and lots of clams. I’ve tried quite a few but one notable one is PointLoma Seafoods. It’s perfectly balanced and very inexpensive, at only $3.25 for a cup.  

Now, a lobster roll back east is a summer staple. A grilled and buttered roll with lots of fresh lobster meat is heaven on a hot night. A Bite of Boston in La Jolla offers a killer lobster roll. They use fresh Maine lobster, little bit of mayo and celery on a buttered roll. They have two locations and their lobster roll is only $12.95. (That’s cheaper than Kelly’s Roast Beef!)
I have been on the hunt for steak tips. I never realized these weren’t common. I have called butcher shops across San Diego, and you would think I was speaking in code. I have been offered cuts of meat from tri tips to carne asada. I finally remembered a place in Mass that was expanding to California.The Meat House is a franchise. They are a gourmet specialty butcher and market. They have chicken, ribs and most importantly they have four different variations of marinated steak tips.  I personally like the house marinade which is peppery with a hint of lemon. The meat is tender, flavorful and just melts in your mouth. Perfect for a summer BBQ! 

Of course for these mouth watering treats you need something to drink with it. Since I work for San Pasqual winery, I have all this wine at my fingertips. With the clam chowder, the creaminess from our San Diego Albariño complimented the dish perfectly. Our 2005 Syrah has a peppery finish, with the steak tips, it  created the perfect marriage, and the lobster roll….well I won’t lie that goes great with a beer. 


For those of you wondering about the roast beef three way......the search continues. If you know of a place, please let me know! *


*Arby's doesn't count*

Thursday, August 11, 2011

A Little Spice Makes Our Wine Nice!

            Many believe that the habanero pepper is the hottest pepper in the world.  In fact, the habanero pepper is not the hottest, it is however one of the most popular peppers. There is debate on the hottest pepper, some say it’s the Naga Viper pepper, and others claim it’s the Scorpion butch T pepper.  To give you an idea on exactly how hot these peppers are, we will refer to the Scoville Rating system.
            The Scoville Rating is a system of testing a pepper’s heat. What makes a pepper so hot is the oil that is found inside the fruit. This oil is called capsaicin. When this oil makes it inside your mouth, it immediately affects the pain receptors in your tongue. These receptors also cause the burning sensation from alcohol. The rating system can sometimes be inaccurate because it uses a panel of five human tasters. How it works is that they take the capsaicin and incrementally dilute the oil using sugar water. They dilute it down until it has no more detectable heat. If they dilute the capsaicin 100 times, then that is it’s rating on the scale.
            Just to give you an idea of how hot these peppers can be here are some comparisons. Green peppers for example are sweet, so they have a rating of zero Scoville heat units.  A Jalapeño pepper has a rating between 3,500 – 8,000 units.  Habanero is estimated to be around 300,000 units!  The Naga Viper and Scorpion Butch T are estimated to be over 1,000,000 units, which isn’t too far from pepper spray which is over 5 million units. 
            The origin of the habanero is still a mystery. Many believe it is from Cuba, while others think it could be Jamaica or the Bahamas. However, the largest producer of habanero is the Yucatan Peninsula, mainly in Mexico but also in Belize. This pepper thrives in heat, with little water. Making San Diego an optimal growing place for habanero. Indeed it is! The habaneros grown for our Hot Habanero Passion Fruit wine are grown in Escondido. Flavorful, bright and with a nice spicy kick, these peppers give our tangy and refreshing wine a colorful twist.
            Our Hot Passion is a beautiful watermelon color with a nose full of hibiscus flower and passion fruit. The flavor is both slightly sweet with a little heat on the finish. A perfect pairing for sushi, light chicken dishes, and best of all chocolate. We retail this at $15 a bottle and $ 12 for our wine club members.  Dominican priest Francisco Ximenez wrote in 1722,” This pepper is so strong that a single pod would make a bull unable to eat.” This infamous reputation makes the habanero one of the most sought after peppers in the world.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Save on gas! Taste wine in San Diego!

Cordiano Winery in Escondido.
          We are very lucky here in San Diego. Not only do we boast the best weather. We now have a thriving, vibrant wine culture that is in its infancy and growing.  As I explore the back country of San Diego I keep finding hidden vineyards when I’m not expecting it. From Jamul, to the mountains around Julian, boutique wineries are sprouting up all over the county. I am drawn to this. I guess it’s the hidden farmer in me that loves new growth.  But with 50 wineries already established to explore; how do we choose which wineries to try? Well fear not, there is a solution my friends.
   Now that the San Diego Summer Passports are available there is an opportunity to experience full wine tasting at 5  San Diego wineries for only $25.00. This is a great opportunity to sample 5 of our local wineries first hand for half the normal price. This year on the passport are; San Pasqual Winery,  Bernardo Winery, Hacienda de las Rosas, Cordiano and Belle Marie. These very different wineries are all right here in our own back yard. Each celebrating a different expression of wine making, that we San Diegans can call our own. We no longer need to travel to Napa, Santa Barbara, or even to Temecula to drink fun and exciting wines.
Don’t get me wrong I love wine tasting all over California when I travel. But now I have a whole new wine world to explore right here in town.  These wine tasting passports give you an inexpensive option to wine tasting and are valid through Sept 5, 2011. They are available at San Pasqual Winery’s Tasting Room in La Mesa, as well at the main Winery in Pacific Beach.  Enjoy your summer exploring San Diego’s Winery’s with friends or by yourself. I know you will be surprised by the quality of wines, the people, and the fun you will have.
                                        By Darrell Grant