Pho-Ever

Today before going to basketball I felt in the mood to eat out. On my way I remembered that there was a restaurant near the basketball game called "Pho-Ever" (a pun on forever and pho the Vietnamese soup) that my mom told me was good so I decided to try it out.

"Pho-Ever" is a small restaurant located in quiet shopping district in Vista. The restaurant inside is very clean, orderly and pretty well lit with large windows on the sides of the store. The whole place seemed kind of laid back at the moment as there were no customers there except me and one other guy.  They also had two large HD TVs in the room and free wireless internet which made the wait for my food a lot more enjoyable. So overall it was a pretty nice place to stay in.

There I ordered rice vermicelli with pork which cost 7 dollars, not bad, but I would still like it to be a little cheaper. I am however satisfied with the meal because the food was delicious and had a lot of flavor. They gave me a large portion that was fresh and vibrant. Also they did not skimp on the meat which I was glad to see. Thus it seems that you get what you pay for and in this case the higher price definitely translated to higher quality and taste. Now I am not sure with so many other Vietnamese restaurants if this will be my one of choice but I defiantly would not mind coming back here again.

I give "Pho-Ever" 4 out of 5 stars"

Angelo's Burgers

Today I was in the mood for a burger but I did not have the ingredients at home to make one, so I decided to go out to eat. The problem though was that I did not want to get some nasty commercial processed burger at a fast food place. So I went to Angelo's burgers in downtown Oceanside near the beach. Although Angelo's is a technically a fast food restaurant, I figured that the burger that I would get from there would not be all that different from one I would made because I am pretty sure they mostly use fresh unprocessed ingredients in there food. 

The burger itself however was not all that great, for about 3 dollars I got a 1/4 pound burger which seems to me like a pretty good deal, however between the buns was mostly lettuce and tomato instead of meat. Additionally the tomato in the burger was not just too big but mushy and watery, which was unappealing. It also kind of tasted like it had some kind of Mexican spice on it which I did not like either and felt out of place on a burger. Despite all of this the burger still had pretty good quality ingredients and for the most part filled me up and satisfied my burger craving. Though with better burgers around I do not think I will be coming here back for a burger.

I give Angelo's Burgers a 3 out of 5 stars

Flippin Pizza

Today on my journey to find pizza that is good enough to be from New York, I went to a pizzeria in Encinitas called "Flippin Pizza".

"Flippin Pizza" is designed, like most California pizzerias, similar to the ones in New York. Its small, doesn't have a whole lot going on in the shop just a few wooden chairs and tables, some pictures on the wall and a glass display next to the cash register showcasing a wide variety of pizzas on different platters. Like most of these places instead of making a new pizza when you order they simply take the pizza that has been sitting on the platter and re-heat it. Thankfully I had gotten there not too long after they made the pizza so it was pretty fresh.

There I had bought a slice of pepperoni pizza and a slice of artichoke heart pizza and paid $6 for these and a small fountain drink. Not too bad of a price but I have been to other places of similar quality that cost less and gave you more pizza. Now the artichoke pizza was pretty good the only thing being that they put the sauce on the top of the cheese and not under it and in one big spot instead of being spread around, though this was a very minor problem. The slice of peperoni pizza I had was really good, a quality true to New York style pizza. They make all the pizzas thin with crispy crust and they seem to pride themselves on only using fresh, natural, high quality ingredients and it certainly shows in the pizza they make. All this being said this is not as good as the great pizza places one can find in New York but it is still a pizza place worth trying out if you have never had it before.

I give "Flippin Pizza" three and a half out of five stars.

  



 

*Though the "Flippin Pizza" I went to was in Encinitas there is also one in Vista

Pit Stop

Today I  was in the mood for some fish and chips so I decided to try out the "Pit Stop" in Oceanside a kind of 50s diner style restaurant that serves a wide array of American type food, to get some.

For 3 pieces of fried fish, fries, a small salad and a medium fountain drink the total came to $5.75 which is okay I guess but it was enough to fill me up so im satisfied with the price.  The fried fish in the meal was fairly tasty it but it was a little bit undercooked for my taste. Also they seem to have fried the fish in breadcrumbs instead of the more typical beer batter, which I like more. The fries also seemed alright nothing really special going on there. The tartar sauce that came with it however tasted a bit weird so I barely used it on my fish (normally I will use a good amount of it). The salad had cheese, bell peppers and a bunch of other junk on it but underneath all of that was a bunch of iceberg lettuce, so when I saw that I decided to just skip the salad.

In some contrast with the food the decor of the restaurant is quite elaborate and unique. It consisting of license plates arrayed across the walls, gas pump and road sign props, and the most interesting part a large car parked in the middle of the restaurant from the same era the restaurant takes inspiration from. In the end though the food simply was not that great and I am not really all that keen on coming back here again, especially for fish and chips.

                                          

I think I will give the "Pit Stop" a 3 and a half out of 5 stars.





Luk's Kitchen

Today I got hungry and realized that my parents were not going to make me anything to eat so I decided to go to "Luk's Kitchen" a Chinese restaurant near my house.

I would always pass by this place when driving around my neighborhood but never bothered to try it out

Well I was not missing much

Luk's Kitchen is a small hole in the wall place seemingly owned a operated (at least from what I could tell) by two people, only having about three sets of tables in the restaurant and despite its lack of noticeability and size it was a fairly clean and orderly place. There I had ordered some beef Chow Mein which I admit was fairly tasty but compared to all the other places I have had Chinese food was really just ok. The noodles like most Chow Mein noodles where somewhat greasy and the food seemed to be a little bit on the salty side. However this is nothing I did not expect from this meal. They did give a good balance of beef, noodles and vegetables in the Chow Mein, which I was happy for (as opposed to getting a lot of noodles and very little meat). The price for the meal at about 6 dollars was not bad seeing as how the amount of food I got was enough to fill me up, though I wouldn't say it was a deal. Overall however the food from this restaurant was just kind of average so I do not think I will be coming back here anytime soon.

I give luk's kitchen 3 and a half out of 5 stars

My Quest For NY Pizza in Oceanside

Aside from soul food (which I will cover later) it seems that one the most difficult things to find in Oceanside and Southern California in general is good pizza. Now I absolutely love pizza, it is just about my favorite food. There is just something about how the tomato sauce, cheese, dough and pepperoni come together that creates one of the most delicious eating experiences. As all of you probably already know the best place to get American style pizza (the type that I like and I am looking for) is in New York City. All it took was one bite of a slice pizza (only good NY slice I have ever had actually) from a completely forgettable hole in the wall place for me to know that New York City has the best pizza. Ever since then like a person newly addicted to drugs, I searched the local area and southern California for a recreation of that first experience and on this blog I will chronicle my journey to find NY pizza in southern California.

BTW
I use the word "American Style Pizza" (I am not clear on what term to use for pizzas) to describe pizzas like this:



as opposed to something like this:

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