Food I Miss

Because food and thereby, restaurants, tend to be regional, I knew when we came out here that I would be sacrificing some of my beloved culinary addictions. Since I'm hungry and in a sentimental mood today, I'm going to share a list of some of the centers of my food universe that I no longer get to frequent. I do try, however, to eat at every single one of them when I'm home to make up for it.

Ted's Cafe Escondido: The best chips and tortillas I have ever had. The rest of their food is pretty good too. They also have a great lunch menu with very reasonable prices. This is an absolute can't-miss when I'm home.

El Chico: Not the best or most authentic mexican food on the planet, but the main draw here is that they also serve Kraft mac and cheese and corndogs, so the kids will actually eat without whining that there's nothing they like. Prices are also quite reasonable, and their queso is fairly good.

Chipotle: I like that you can see it as they make it, it tastes great, it's pretty fresh, and again, affordable. I like to get the soft-shell tacos. The closest one is an hour away, which beats 10 hours, but is still too far to go frequently.

Tarahumara's: a family-run joint with the absolute fastest service anywhere. On Earth. One time I had my food within five minutes (and it was perfectly cooked, too.) I don't think I've ever not cleaned my entire plate when I've been here. It's so good I literally can't stop eating til it's empty.

Poblano Grill: this chain opened up about six months before we moved, and I immediately became a fan. Apparently lots of other people feel the same, based on the ratings.

Taco Bueno: (sensing a theme yet?) Again, not the best or most authentic, but for fast food mexican, it's fresher and better than most. Excellent for when you're broke but still want good food. I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't like Bueno.

Pei Wei: the cheaper, faster version of PF Chang's. Marvelous Asian food and a great variety at reasonable prices (unlike Chang's itself.) Another can't-miss.

Johnny Carino's: My favorite Italian place ev-ah. Their bread is awesome, their food is awesome, their service is awesome, their atmosphere is awesome. Soldier Boy and I ate our first meal together here. Again, there is one about an hour away, but that's a lot of fuel just to go out to eat.

Braum's: this is THE place for ice cream at home. My favorite is cherry limeade sherbet. They're probably also just as well known for their burgers, which are big and delicious.

To be fair, there are a couple of new places out here that I have become attached to; I will probably miss them when we leave, but not enough to want to stay out here. They are:

Hungry Howie's Pizza: the pizza itself is fairly good for an inexpensive carry-out/delivery-only place, but the flavored crust is the big deal here. There's something like six different flavors to choose from and all the ones I've tried have been great. The kids love it too.

Longhorn Steakhouse: on the pricey side, but no more than Carino's or Ted's. It has a real "Texas" vibe to it, but then again, if it didn't, I couldn't consider it a real steakhouse. Good steaks, good bread, good sides. They have coupons, too, which is unusual for a steakhouse, but endears me to them even more.

And we all know how important coupons have become to me recently.