Starling Travel

One taco joint is pretty much the same as any other. There are so many that it’s impossible to eat at them all. If you are in the San Diego area, you are doing yourself a disservice if you don’t have at least one meal at Lucha Libre Taco Shop.

The highlight of the shop is the prestige of the Table of Champions.

Unlike the rest of the tables at the place, this one is beautiful. It is roped off with velvet ropes. You are served your tacos and burritos on REAL plates with REAL silverware. Your glasses are filled with the wine you ordered. While the rest of us normal schelps watch you eat in style, you are treated like a champion.

Here is a feature on KUSI News – San Diego:

You can see all the photos I took that night here:

• Lucha Libre Tacos – a set on Flickr

Where:

1810 West Washington St., San Diego, CA 92103
Google Map
Phone: (619) 296-8226

NakedJen moved to Salt Lake City less than a year ago and has been eagerly exploring the culinary delights that the city has to offer. Here is her review of Hatch Family Chocolates:

• nakedjen: It’s Better Here

I took a straw. I took a sip. It was so thick, so creamy, it got stuck washing over my tongue and coated my throat like a warm, chocolate flavored river. I couldn’t help but think of Augustus Gloop slurping from the river in Willy Wonka. I thought perhaps that’s why Calvin insisted on the straw?! So I don’t slurp like Augustus Gloop and end up drowning in my eagerness to drink it all.

If you would like to try Hatch Family Chocolates, here is their information:

Hatch Family Chocolates: Hand-Dipped Chocolates, Hot Chocolate
390 4th Ave
Salt Lake City, UT 84103
Google Map
Phone: (801) 532-4912

Hours: Mon-Sat 11am-10pm

Nicole Lee took a trip to Mixt Greens.

She called it a yuppie salad bar and then went on to specify that it was Yuppie with a capital Y!

Their sign says, “Lettuce rock your world.” Yep, that’s the same slogan I used when I ran for 7th Grade Vice President. Still a knee slapper.

Her verdict that the place didn’t live up to its price tag. If you’re looking for more atmosphere than salad, then maybe Mixt Greens is for you. Otherwise, opt for the salad bar at Whole Foods.

Where:

Mixt Greens
120 Sansome Street San Francisco, CA
475 Sansome Street (on Commercial) San Francisco, CA
560 Mission Street San Francisco, CA

firecakes by land_camera_land_camera from Flickr

These delicious cakes were cooked within a campfire. You can find the recipe here:

• bread & honey : a food blog.: campfire cakes (!!!)

They used a yellow cake mix and cooked them in the campfire after hollowing out the oranges. She enjoyed the camping, despite the cold:

I know it’s getting a little late in the season for camping (we froze our butts off!) but if you manage to get out, seriously- I don’t even think I have to tell you to try this.

There is still some good camping to be had, even this late in the season. Lake Mead, in southern Nevada, is beautiful at this time of year, so get out there and let yourself enjoy the outdoors.

Via: Craftzine.com blog: HOW TO – Campfire Cakes

Megan Wallent and her family visited Hawaii and while they were there, they encountered the Burger Nazi.

• The Burger Nazi (But We Liked It – And Went Back!) « M( )

They were hiking in Makena Park and happened upon a roadside food stand. Before they could even order, the Burger Nazi had a speech for them.

“Before you order, let me tell you about my food. I cook everything to order. We have burgers and fish sandwiches with mahi mahi. The burgers are the Kong Burger, which are this big (his hands up as if to hold a sandwich, fingers extended to their full length as if to make a giant ellipse), and they cost $14 each. It comes with cheese, lettuce, maui onion, roasted pineapple, tomato and mustard and catchup. I wrap it in the foil, and if you unwrap it, then it will fall apart. I only cook meat with meat, and fish with fish so if you want both, you’ll have to wait.”

Man, I want a Kong Burger! I’ll wait until you can cook the meat with the meat, I promise!

Click on over to Megan’s site for pictures and more descriptions.

Where: Makena Park, Maui, Hawaii Google Map

I never expect to be able to eat well when I’m in rural areas. I’m perfectly willing to eat in any greasy spoon they offer me, but I am rarely surprised or pleased with the food. Thai Home, in Sandy, Oregon, however, was a delightful exception to the rule.

Mike ordered the Massaman Curry. It was a perfect blend and Mike gobbled it up.

Of course, I ate my Jungle Curry before I could even snap a photo. Yum! It had these peppercorns in it that gave it a spicy flavor.

Our meal came with a sample of this tapioca dish. It was slightly sweet with a hint of cream. I’ve never had a dessert of tapioca, corn and rice noodles, so it was a surprising delight.

If you are visiting the Mt. Hood area in Oregon, you need to eat at Thai Home!

Where:

Thai Home Restaurant 38676 Pioneer Blvd, Sandy, Oregon
Google Map
Phone: 503-668-0779

Every time we go to San Diego, we make sure we set aside time to visit Leucadia Sushi Bar. The best feature of the place is the conveyor belt and constant stream of sushi. I filmed a little clip of it back in 2007:

Download this video for your iPod

You pay based on plate prices. There is a price for each plate, you choose a plate from the conveyor belt and stack up the plates you eat. When it comes time to pay, they count up your plates and charge you for each one. Different colored plates indicate different prices.

At the end, I always spend less on sushi here than I do at any other sushi bar, even though I eat so much!

We LOVE Leucadia Sushi Bar and have a pet name for it: Sushi-Go-Round! I can’t wait to go back to California to eat there again!

Where: 996 N.Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas, CA 92024
Phone Number: (760)635-9312

Business Hours:
Closed on Monday Lunch: 11:30a.m.- 2:00p.m. (tue – fri)
Dinner:: 5:00p.m.- 9:00p.m. (tue – thu, sun) 5:00p.m. – 9:30p.m. (fri & sat)

Megan Wallent and her family recently went to Disney World in Florida and has come back with recommendations for eating there.

• Disney Food Experience « M( )

Yes, you can find reasonable food in the Disney parks (Reasonable: not all fried, some greens or at least fruit, not ultra fatty). Our usual “Don’t eat bad food” rule has to get suspended a bit (note, bad doesn’t mean expensive – it just means to make food part of the experience – trying to eat as local, or at least as well as possible given the locale).

One of the places where they were able to get rotisserie chicken and green beans was Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe. Here is a video of the entertainment at that Cafe in Tomorrowland:

Head on over to Megan’s blog to read about which places in Disney World she considered good food and which were bad.

Megan Wallent visited Paris, France last month and shared her experience with us all:

• Paris – Getting Here « M( )

• A Day in Paris, but no Good Food? (Almost!) « M( )

• Paris Day 2 or “Look, That Kid Has No Head!” « M( )

• Paris Travel Summary (Details to Follow!) « M( )

My favorite entry, A Day in Paris, but no Good Food? (Almost!) talked about how exhausting traveling and getting fed can be:

At this point, Anh and I, in our tiredness, broke one of our rules – always eat good food. We settled for a crappy café, and while edible, was not great. Oh well.

I don’t have a rule like that: “Always eat good food.” Most of the time, I am so absorbed in what I am experiencing when I’m traveling that I delay eating until I’m starving. Then I will eat anything that is nearby. Sometimes, we end up finding wonderfully delicious food from a street vendor, other times… well, you know.

I know the food of a place is just as important as the architecture, museums or amusements, but sometimes I let it fall by the wayside.

Looks like Megan and Anh had a wonderful visit to France and I wish them much happiness.

Shabu shabu is a Japanese broth fondue. You dip thinly sliced beef into the hot broth and it cooks very quickly. Our visit to Kazumi Sushi Bar with friends was a perfect ending to our San Diego trip this year.

They started our night off with a salad and teriyaki chicken skewers.

The highlight of the meal, however, was the shabu shabu. We dipped the frozen meat slices into the hot water and with a swish, swish, we cooked our own dinner to whatever level of rareness we wanted.

Most importantly, the hot pot is a great way to enjoy an evening with friends. You have plenty of time to talk and laugh while you eat.