Albondigas

I grew up with my grandmother, she was from Chihuahua, and grew up in a small town in the Sierra Nevada’s in Northern Mexico. I could tell you all kinds of cool stories about her and food, she used to go pick wild mushrooms with an Indian, and he would tell them which were edible and which ones were not. But those stories are for a different blog, right?

She was a super cook and made the best Albondigas Soup. She taught me how to make a lot of delicious things, but Albondigas was not one of them, thus the quest for the best Albondigas in the SGV began.

What is Albondigas you ask? A delicious soup that usually will have zucchini, potato, carrot, onion, tomato, celery and meatballs that are very light and fluffy because they use rice instead of breadcrumbs and a secret ingriendient; the broth is flavored from all the vegetables and my grandma always added a small can of tomato sauce which gave it more flavor.

I have tried this wonderful comfort food at almost every Mexican restaurant I go to. So far I have tired Max’s in Azusa, Caberra’s in Duarte, Peppers in Arcadia, La Nueva Posada in Pasadena, Mijares in Pasadena, Los Gueros in Monrovia and Sergios in Azusa, and probably more. That is not counting mi abuelas.

So is there a clear winner? Not really. I liked the meatballs at Caberra’s but the broth had no flavor, the broth at La Nueva Posada was fantastic but the meatballs were a little dense and there were no potatoes. Sergios vegetables were way to mushy, Max’s had a good average on everything, but probably the best was Los Gueros, everything was good but there were no potatoes. Obviously I have my perfect soup all picked out. I will order one of my favorite comfort foods again at Los Gueros, Max’s and La Nueva Posada, but after that the search is still on.

Can you recommend the perfect bowl?

Los Gueros 313 West Huntington Dr., Monrovia (626) 358-0200

Mexican Fried Chicken

Ok, so the best Mexican food in the SGV is Babita’s, but I have not been there yet! So this rant will review some other place that you call Cal-Mex for the most part. I can’t contend with “The Great Taco Hunt's” level of taste tests. This post has been spurred on by my recent discovery of Mexican Fried Chicken, at La Nueva Posada in Pasadena.

Yes that is what I said, “Fried Chicken”. We, my S.O. (significant other) and I decided to try someplace new for Mexican food. What we were actually craving was a good margarita, but we figured if the food is good so are the drinks, right? (go figure) Well sorta, the margarita was ok, I have had better. The menu of margaritas at El Cholo, and The Border Grille, that used to be in the Paseo (gone now) has yet to be beat in the SGV, at least from my tasting. BTW Babita serves beer and wine only, so we have no idea what alcoholic concoction could come out of that kitchen!

Saturday night, the place is packed, lot of kids too. I look at the menu, same menu different place, until I spot Mexican Fried Chicken. Hmmm. I ask the waitress, she says it takes 30 minutes because they make it to order, and it is very good; this is a good thing!

My immediate hunger is placated with some really good albondigas soup, chips and salsa, good but nothing to write home about. I liked the texture of the salsa, although it needed a little more zing. When the chicken shows up at the table it is sitting in a thin red sauce, I assume it is the marinade. It is a half of a chicken with the breast cut in half. The chicken is moist and full of flavor, without being spicy. The meat actually has flavor, not from the skin or the sauce, it was actually marinated! I let my cut bites soak up more sauce before I pop them in my mouth; moist, crunchy, not greasy, full of flavor. Yum! How charming. I wonder who thought that recipe up! It was good but could have used more sauce on the side, don’t want ruin the crunch with soggy. I even ate it cold the next day, it was still good. I am wondering how this chicken compares to Dino’s chicken, which is a mariachi band playing in your mouth!

I would definitely go back for the chicken, the carne asada looked tempting. I might try that, and would definitely go back for albondigas a great big bowl!

La Nueva Posada 2835 E Foothill Blvd Pasadena, CA (626)793-7191

French Onion Soup

I love Soup and one of my favorites is French Onion. I almost always order it if it is on the menu, sometimes even in the heat of summer! Because I am not always sure where to find it, I posted a request at CHOW on the best soup in the LA area. I got lots of responses of which I will share with you.

I however have the places I have tried and I want to share those with you too! I live in Sierra Madre and work in Azusa so most of the places I have been to are either lunch places near my office, or in Pasadena. So many of the suggestions which are in LA, I have not had the opportunity to try, yet!

For lunch Village Eatery in Glendora has a decent bowl, the flavor is good, the croutons can be disappointing though. Last time I had it they used some weird breadstick as a crouton, and the cheese doesn’t cover the top.

My favorite is at The Golden Spur also in Glendora, a really retro steak house (leather booths, everyone drinks martinis at lunch). Consistently good, lovely crock topped with a thick chewy layer of golden brown cheesey love and crunchy croutons; I always order it, and it is always on the menu.

I also had a bowl a Bistro de la Gare in South Pasadena, it was good, but not what I expected. Not the rich dark broth that is traditional, it was a light almost chicken broth. The flavor was different yet good, and cheese and croutons yummy, but for some reason it left me wanting more. It wasn’t what I expected and my palate was set on that dark rich soup that I adore.

Now for the CHOW hound recommendations! Morton’s, it is on their lunch menu only, Doughboys on 3rd, both of these were mentioned several times so I am sure that they are worth trying out. The Crepe Vine and the Raymond both in Pasadena, I am not sure if the Raymond has the soup on their daily menu or it is a seasonal thing. You can read the whole thread here if you would like!

The Golden Spur 1223 E Route 66 (Foothill) Glendora, CA 91740 (626) 963-9302

Birthday Lunch

Yesterday was my birthday. Some of my staff, who are a great group, took me to lunch at the only Zagat rated restaurant in Azusa. Now don’t get me wrong, Azusa has a lot of good places to eat. But they are just that, places. No real restaurants. Not that this restaurant, even though it is really delicious, has a five star ambiance! It is next to the only porn shop in Azusa, The Red Panty.

Any how so much for panties, Tulipano’s is very good. The owner greets you and kisses your hand (feminists beware). I consider myself a liberated woman, but I enjoy his camp attitude, and silly jokes and dotting at the table. The lunch specials are plentiful and usually delicious.

My favorite thing is the fresh brushetta that is brought to the table as soon as your drinks are served. It is very garlicky, and delicious. I had the fish special, a light sautéed sea bass, may I emphasize it was not over cooked!!! With a delicious fresh tomato and pepper sauce over it, served with some pasta and vegetables. Another special was a half and half homemade ravioli’s with a cream sauce and a manicotti stuffed with cheeses with a marinara sauce. It looked good, but disappeared before I was offered a bite! Chicken ravioli with a fresh tomato pomadora was also served to one of the group, it also looked delicious.

Every one of us (6) were pleased with our lunches, my only regret was not ordering some soup. There were 3 varieties, and you know how I feel about soup!

Tulipano's 530 S. Citrus Ave. Azusa, CA 91702 626-967-6670

Soup is Good Food

My favorite thing to eat on a cold winter night is soup. But not out of a can!!! I make some decent homemade varieties, but they always are an all afternoon affair, and not something that can be “whipped up” after a long day at the office. I have found two restaurants, inexpensive and ethnic, that offer some delicious soups.

Young’s Gourmet is a hole in the wall Chinese place in a little strip mall in Duarte. I go here for lunch at least once a week.

My favorite dish is the “Chicken Noodle Soup”. It is a huge bowl of steaming rich chicken broth, filled with ramen noodles, vegetables and chicken. The flavor of the broth is consistently perfect; the vegetables are stir fried to order and placed on top of the ramen, and the ramen is cooked perfectly, not mushy or hard. What I like about this is when you order this “to go” the broth is kept separate from the remainder of the fresh ingredients so nothing gets over cooked or soggy on the ride home. YUM. Their Won Ton Soup is also very good, and I love the Mu Shi Pork (not soup). This is not on the lunch special menu, but can be ordered anytime.

The service is always good, and the waitresses Annie and Lena are exceptionally nice.

Young’s Gourmet 1340 E. Huntington Drive Duarte 626.358.8763

If you prefer something south of the border try Ranch los Magueyes, or as the locals call it “Max’s”. Max is always there to great you, and makes a killer margarita. They have some soups on the menu you don’t find at Mexican places everyday. I especially like a soup called Fideo. It is a chicken tomato broth, flavored with onion. In it is simply fideo noodles, vermicelli, which are toasted in oil before being cooked in the broth so they will not get starchy. It’s one of my favorite comfort foods, I make it at home, and Max’s is as close as I have found to my home made. They also offer Cocido (vegetable soup made with beef bones), Sopa de Albondigas (meatball soup), Menudo every day not just on the weekends.

Rancho los Magueyes (Max’s) 248W. Foothill Blvd. Azusa 626.334-9695