Saturday, February 21, 2015

Havana Kitchen of Temecula. CA

We tried Havana Kitchen just off Old Town Front Street (a couple of doors uphill from the Palomar Hotel) in Temecula this afternoon. The restaurant features authentic Cuban cuisine.

The tables aren't very comfortable,  but the food and red sangria are to die for!  OMG! I had the roasted pork didh, which comes with rice, black beans, and sweet fried plantains. The sauce on the pork is simple sautéed sweet onions and garlic.

I was in Heaven.

My wife had the Cubano sandwich,  which is ham, mayo,  mustard,  and swiss cheese. Perfection.

The sangria is fantastic.

We walked out thoroughly pleased.

9.5/10

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Los Molcajetes Tomales Of Wildomar, California...


I loved this place from the minute I saw it passing by on the way to Ortega Highway as I was cutting through the mountains between Temecula and Orange county. The place was jumping off the street at me, and I've been wanting to stop there for months. Today was the day.

Molcajetes is independent, not even a web site or email, but that's fine with me. They have a full menu, not just tamales, but when it says "tamales" on the side of the building, you can bet that's what they're known for!

There is a small seating àrea inside, but I was in a hurry and had to take my tamales to go. I tried three kinds.

The pork and chicken tamales were generous of size and perfectly-made, a wonderful treat and I would recommend Molcajetes for that alone.

That said, OMG THE PINAPPLE-COCONUT TAMALES ARE AMAZING!!!

I have never had anything like this dessert tamale, and it is spectacularly wonderful! A little larger than the generous dinner tamales, they are ample. The texture is different, a little more like cornbread cake than the teaditional "fried polenta" texture of dinner tomales. I suspect that has to do with the coconut in them. The coconut must be ground, not shredded. It doesn't get between your teeth, which I hate. The flavor was a subtly-sweet and gentle blend of corn, coconut, and pineapple that is warm and wonderful and melts in your mouth. You have to taste it to believe it!!

The restaurant was staffed by a pleasant 30-something couple that I think are the owners. I will definitely be back to find out!

Go, and pray that they always have these wonders of the pineapple dish kingdom!

I am in love.

Dan

Friday, February 6, 2015

Jupiter Ascending...

Jupiter Ascending:

S-P-A-C-E S-O-A-P!!! *With giant echo effect* EPIC battle scenes. Intergalactic court intrigue. Murderous reptiloids. Murderous skitchy little grey aliens. Heavy dialogue. Heavier dialogue. Heavier yet breathing. Flowing space gowns and crowns over glowing stars and planets. Sly little cameos. An intergalactic antique Rube-Goldberg penny-smusher. Lots and lots of cool space ships. Drama heavier than Jupiter's gravity. Antigravity ice skates. Did I mention the epic battle scenes? Did someone smush The Last Starfighter, Back To The Future, the 90's Star Wars prequels, Black Hole, and the 80's Flash Gordon flicks all together in a rotating black hole and then do bong hits with the evaporating Hawking radiation? This was so Nebula-tastic that my ray gun almost went spastic. 5.1915/10 - but fun as all get-out-of-the-gravity-well if you're a space-scene junkie like me. You can't take it serious, but you should definitely take it with popcorn...lots and lots of corn.

Dan

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Imitation Game...

Imitation Game:

Loved it. Cool old electronics, mind-bending intrigue in a way, phenomenal acting from the two leads, (especially Benedict) and a great story. Very glad we went. 9/10 & pass the popcorn.

Dan