2008

Good Bye to 2008!

Cilantro Live!

This past weekend, after we attended the exhibit of the Dead Sea Scroll, Girl and I went to Cilantro Live! Restaurant in Hillcrest. I had been casing the joint for a whole week now...looking inside early in the morning, visiting their website and stuff...

I live in the Southbay and unfortunately, the 3rd Ave location in Chula Vista is now closed??? I hope not, but like Girl said, we thought it was another Mexican Restaurant.

I decided to go out that night in a pair of jeans that was covered with paint and Girl was not happy with me. Cilantro seemed down to earth enough that neither of us felt very bad about it though. The Hillcrest location seemed to me very earthy and the waitress reminded us both of our friend Regina.

Cilantro is a Vegan/Organic/Raw restaurant, so I was really curious about what that would be like... and even though I sort of knew what I was getting myself into, I was still caught off guard by their food.

For example, we ordered the Vegan Cheeseburger which was very weird... Instead of using bread, they used this clay-like thing that actually resembled beef patties. It was brittle and hard at the same time, really chewy and a bit tangy. The "burger" part was also kind of a dry play dough like texture. Their "cheese" is made from nuts of some kind.

I bet it was really good for me but I didn't think it was necessary to go so extreme on the burger...that's my opinion. They could have used a mix of rice and vegetables or tofu to make their patties... You know, whatever it is that they usually put in a vegetarian burger patty clothed in a beautiful artisan bread? That would have been great! I'm not sure if that would have de-veganized it...

Next we had the Vegan Lasagna which was Raw. Raw meaning that it was warm, not cooked over 105 degrees. This was to preserve the nutrients. It came out green and clearly, it's hard to simulate pasta without egg? It was also hard to get used to for both of us. Both dishes accompanied a side of salad which were outstanding.

Lastly, we had the Avocado Soup, served Raw, or luke warm. It was very good. It had a creamy texture of blended avocado and some kind of citrus, I think? A cracker made entirely of flax seeds accompanied the soup.

I shall try them again. Next time I will try to stick to Salads and Wraps... I am curious about their spring rolls too. I will also try their fresh juices. And I will report on my following visit as well!

Weakness for Blonds

Is it love at first sight...? Or is it pure lust? Who cares.

Beer!

Those of you that know me...lately... would recognize that my thing, for the last couple of years has been centered around Beer. (Luke got me into wines years ago and ever since, I have taken stuff like wine and cheese and now Beer quite seriously...) I love it, study it, and have failed at developing a weight loss program with it. ...but I digress... For those of you that share the level of interest that I have for beers, here's a very useful link to a knowledge base for beer that's also entertaining! Craft Beer Radio... It's a Website where you can download their Podcasts and they are a lot of fun to listen to! They drink like 3 to 4 beers per episode and give comments about them, while they dispense a vast array of beerology and current events in beerworld. Towards the end of the show they are really loosened up (toasted)...fun to drink and listen to!
(...Like I am now listening to episode 95)You don't need an ipod to listen to a podcast, but a good way to enjoy a podcast is to download iTunes for free and just listen to it off of your home computer. (That was for the benefit of my older friends...Luke...) At the moment, I am enjoying a Chimay "blue label" grande Reserve. It is soooo good. A must try for anyone into brew. It's cold outside and for some reason, I'm enjoying more flavorful beers around this time of year. Anyway, I hope I'm getting some traffic for this website now... I have recruited some new people to contribute to this site. Both youthful and experienced and we will try to give you heads up on interestin trends. I am looking for contributions from new sources all the time and would appreciate ideas and reviews...(I'm gonna work on Luke, 'cuz he is a classy guy...a straight Tim Gunn). More to come...

Food and Beer Blog

I need to food and beer blog on a dedicated blog, I'm thinking...

So I think this blog will be featuring my beering and food eating at restraunts and stuff.

My idea is to get other foodies and beer people to contribute writings for this blog since there are too many places to try...

Okay, so if you want to contribute, please contact me and we will talk!

Mark

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