I often consult the 7×7 100 Things you should eat before you die list for ideas of fun places, new and old, to check out in the city. I like seeing if an item is truly to die for (or die after, I guess) or if they are more of a political addition to the list. On Tuesday night, my sister and I headed out to check off another on the list and hopefully enjoy a good meal at La Mar Cebicheria. On the list were the pisco sour and the ceviche (non-specific).

Pisco Sour, check

Ceviche Tasting, check

We went straight for the pisco sour and ceviche tasting. I don’t think I have ever had pisco before and I had to be careful to ask for no egg white in mine since I am allergic to eggs. It was quite tasty. More subtle than tequila, but along those lines. I liked it, it didn’t like me. About 30 seconds after reaching my mouth I was covered in red splotches and my temperature had risen about 10 degrees. Either my sister and my pisco sours were made together and then the egg white foam was put on her drink not mine (thus mine still contained eggs) or I just was having a reaction to alcohol, I am not sure. I am not going to cry foul on this because there are too many factors to be sure. Thankfully I am not deathly allergic to eggs. It is also possible that the waiter missed it or didn’t understand. Needlesstosay, after one drink we switched to a pisco sombrero which was spicy and delicious and did not cause the same reaction.

The sombrero liked me as much as I liked it.

The ceviche’s however were not problematic at all. There were so many good ceviche’s to choose from that we simply couldn’t pick just one. So the Ceviche Tasting (Mixto, Chifa, Nikei and Clásico) was definitely in order. The Mixto is Mahi Mahi, calamari, octopus and habanero pepper in ají amarillo
leche de tigre with cilantro, red onion, Peruvian corn and yam and I really enjoyed the spice. Not huge on calamari and octopus texture though. The Chifa was Mahi Mahi with peanuts, scallions, ginger, pickled carrots and daikon, habanero pepper, wonton strips and cilantro in sesame leche de tigree. Since I am a big fan of peanuts and pickled items I really enjoyed this one. It had a complex flavor but wasn’t overly Thai. Clasico you just can’t go wrong with, clean flavors, beautiful fish (California Halibut and red onions in habanero pepper leche de tigre with Peruvian corn and yam). And the Nikei which was my favorite and had Ahi Tuna, red onion, Japanese cucumber, in tamarind leche de tigre with avocado.

Before the ceviches rolled out they brought us 3 types of dip and some sweet potato and plantain chips. There was a mild, medium and spicy one. Each delicious (and all vegan, I believe). They were super tasty with the chips and went well with the ceviches. There were about 4 bites per ceviche, so 8 bites per person for the whole ceviche tasting. It was a nice light, refreshing start to the meal.

Ensalada Nikei

Lomo Saltado

We followed but the ceviches with a ensalada nikei (Mixed greens with green papaya, jícama, soybeans, pickled carrots and daikon, crunchy quinoa, Peruvian purple corn and rocoto vinaigrette) to share and the lomo saltado which is a traditional Peruvian style stir-fry of sautéed beef tenderloin,
onions, tomatoes, cilantro, soy sauce, garlic with fried potatoes and rice. We made good choices that is for sure. I loved the combination of flavors and textures in the salad. It was not a sissy salad and I would have been happy having a huge bowl of the salad and nothing else. Not that the lomo saltado wasn’t good. In fact it was really good. I like the steak and fries done in a different way. It had a much much more complex flavor profile than the usual steak and fries. The portion wasn’t huge to split, especially for the money ($27). It would have been enough for one person after a similar start to the meal (ceviche and 1/2 salad). I didn’t leave hungry, but I wasn’t stuffed either. I was satisfied and everything was delicious. Delicious, yes. Standout, run back, recommend it to everyone as a must try (like I do with Little Skillet)? No. Especially for the price point ($120 before tip), it is not somewhere I am scrambling back to.

I really loved the restaurant space as well and feel it would be a good place for a nice client dinner (for an out of town business person) or something similar. I would say, it would be a fantastic place to grab a drink and appetizer and there are some other items I would be keen to try including the causas and anticuchos. 7×7 is mostly right. I don’t think it ranks as one of the top 100 things I have ever eaten, but I am glad that I did eat it. Overall 3.25 stars out of 5 with no deductions for the possible allergic reaction.

I know I promised. Promised to be a good bloggie and post lots of fantastic recipes to have you zooming around the roads and trails and in life. And smacking your lips and rubbing your belly saying, yummmm that was good. But well, I was busy. Busy sitting on that beach in sunny, warm, beautiful Hawaii. I was there for HURT pacing duties for nearly two weeks and it was fantastic. We enjoyed some seriously good eats. Before the race, we cooked a bunch and discovered an absolutely awesome new staple. I can take, well, 0.0% credit for the dish as the Baker made it and I merely prepared it a few times. Coconut Rice. After eating it once with a beautiful piece of fresh fish (one of the many varieties I have never heard or seen before), I couldn’t think of anything I wanted more in the world.

Coconut Rice ingredients:

1 cup white rice

2 Hawaiian medium sweet potatoes or 1 large (regular sweet potatoes will do, I guess…if we must)

2 carrots

2-3 jalepenos

1 medium onion

1 can organic thai coconut milk + 1 can water

Coconut Rice directions:

Cut veggies up to bite size pieces. Your choice, not too small though. In a large pot with a lid, bring the coconut milk+ water and vegetables to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat and simmer until rice is cooked and veggies are tender. If you want to get really wild and crazy, do it in a cast iron skillet and after it boils, bake it in the oven until the rice is cooked. You will get good crispy bits on the bottom this way. And we all know the crispy bits are the best.

We enjoyed this meal a lot. It was that good. Hawaiian food is notoriously un-Devon friendly (i.e. gluten, eggs, etc) and not really know for it’s healthiness. Before the race, we made the above meal because it was good for ultrarunners stomachs and for its awesome nutritional profile. But after the race…… well that is a different story!

There were fantastic burgers at Kua Aina on the North Shore. I was with 3 post-HURT runners and I don’t think there was even a crumb left on the table. They had amazing looking burgers and even though I didn’t get a burger, my grilled chicken salad really rocked. I just loved that they put an entire half of avocado on the burgers.

There was also a second trip to Matsumoto Shave Ice on the North Shore. We went on my first full day on the island and got Hawaiian Style shave ice with adzuki beans. So delicious. And we got shrimp and rice from a truck.

After the race we also tried out Morio’s Sushi in Wakiki. This sushi place is a natural food grocery by day and a flying under the radar out of this world sushi restaurant by night. It may not be much to look (ok, it is downright ragged looking building) at but the man, Morio himself, was throwing down some amazing food for us. We went 2 times and both times the stuff that was coming over the counter from Morio was amazing and even adventurous (including whole sardines and a natto hand roll). The fish was pretty much straight out of the ocean and every bite was incredible. He was giving hitting us with supreme sushi, brilliant tofu, crab legs! Seriously. It was an experience. Thanks to Gary for the recommendation! Morio’s is BYOB and we brought beer, but we could tell we had made it on to his good side when he was giving us shots (ok the bottle) of Shochu. On our second trip, we made sure we brought a case of Morio’s beer of choice, which we quickly discovered that all the regulars did. We spent 3-4 hours there each time, chatting, drinking, eating amazing food, digesting, then diving in to more great food. And the price, you just can’t beat it.

A final worth mentioning meal was at Helena’s Hawaiian Food. I feel that I am always in for a authentic experience when a local waiting for a table next to you ask, “how did you guys find out about this place, we don’t get many tourists here?” And it was true, the building was no where near anything touristy and not much to look at. But the food was out of this world. We had Kalua Pig, Laulau, Poi (which I didn’t much like), Opihi (on the recommendation of the aforementioned local), Short ribs Pipikaula Style and my personal favorite, Haupia- a delicious coconut milk dessert.

Hmmmmmm, well there you go. A brief recap. Tons of fun in the sun, delicious eats and well, now I have worked up quite the appetite so I am going to throw down some grub!

Walk up window of Soul Food goodness

I have lived in the south two times. And I never had any inclination to get into the whole chicken and waffles thing. The few times I had grits, it left something to be desired and while I had tasty soul food, it was never something I have ever craved. Until that is, I stumbled upon the Little Skillet menu.Little Skillet is a off shoot of Farmer Brown’s Restaurant in SF, which is farm fresh, organic soul food. Little Skillet is farm fresh, organic soul food TO GO. Little Skillet is a window operation down the small side street Ritch in the SOMA area.

Waffles and chicken (as above) are what beckoned me. After picking up that it is a personal favorite of someone, I suggested we check out Little Skillet for a brunch-ish bite on Monday morning. Little Skillet delivered. We ordered a 2 pc chicken+ waffle, biscuit with jam and grits with andouille sausage and cheddar. I expected a large bill with that kind of order, but instead had to stifle a laugh when she said the total was $15. Really $15!!! Nice.

The flavor delivered. The chicken was light and crisp (and topped with Crystal Hot Sauce), perfectly spicy. The waffle with maple syrup was a balanced counter point. The sweet, spicy, crisp, doughy nature of the combo was perfect for me. I only managed to get a few bites away from my cohort. Ok, like one, but it was a perfect bite.

The biscuits were light and buttery, even more buttery when I topped with butter and chunky berry jam. I love chunky jam and butter. Simple pleasures.

The grits nearly caused a riot. I have never ever liked grits. These changed my mind. And when I shared them, the hearty portion came back nearly gone. That is why you never share food with someone who has just run a long ways. Ok, it was a great idea actually so we could try numerous items on the menu. But I was ready with my fork to stab someone in the hand if the andouille started to be gobbled too quick. Needlesstosay, I may be a convert.

I had expected to feel weighed down and stuffed after this meal, but walked away feeling surprisingly light. Sharing helped with that, fresh, quality, flavorful ingredients also helped. It was totally fun to walk up to the window on a quiet side street and nestle down on a sunny bench to share some Southern soul food best I’ve found outside of the South and better than most I found in the South. Check it out! I can’t wait to go back and try a Po’Boy, more waffles and DEFINITELY more biscuits!