Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Mykonos (Greek), Tampa Bay, FL

The hole-in-the-walls of America her their mascot: Mykonos Grill of Tarpon Springs, Florida. This place is ancient, traditional, and well-kept-up, though from the exterior shows that it shouldn't hold much promise. Inside is a Mediterranean wonderland, complete with the staple of the region, great food. Each dish served is seemingly better than the last, from a lemon, rice, and chicken soup to a wine-braised leg of lamb. The service is slower than average, but who minds that when being delivered one of the best meals of their lives? Tarpon Springs' most renowned restaurant has gotten even better over the years, something difficult to do for a restaurant this steeped in tradition. Hopefully, the next fifty years will be just as good as the opening decades. This one will be around for a long, long time.


Mykonos on Urbanspoon

Pizzeria Delfina (Italian), San Francisco, CA

The Italian pizzeria has finally found a home in the city of San Francisco. For years, the Bay Area has had an apparent trepidation towards traditional pizzerias of styles other than Cali-thin. Now, with major hotspots opening up in San Jose and Delfina's rise in The City, the scene seems to be finally changing. And what better restaurant than this is there to spearhead this growing movement? Pizzeria Delfina, with it's local flare and Napoletanian ideals, has become an instant classic in just a few short years of operation. After my first meal there, it received near-perfect marks with it's broad, yet simplistically themed menu containing dish after dish prepared to perfection.


A Funghi Misti combined with a Meyer lemon Aioli was my first impression after a plate of various marinated olives (a perfect starter) was scarfed down in seconds. And what a flawless first choice this platter of fungi was. The Chanterelles, Oysters and King's were bursting with various flavors and textures, only further accented by the aioli and light breading. This initial salvo of delight was quickly reinforced by two distinctly different pizzas - a Salsiccia and a Parma Pie.


The first -  with it's ideal crust, bell peppers, onions, and house-prepared fennel sausage - has to go down in the books as my favorite sausage-based creation. The second, though, was what I crave all the more. Again, a prime crust and crushed tomato sauce awaited the consumer, but what separated it came on top. The beautiful combination of proscuitto and arugula overwhelmed me in every good way possible. Each element - the meat, the greens, the sauce, and the dough - melded together to give me the best pizza experience of my life, only rivaled by that of Pizza Bocca Lupo in San Jose.



But, of course, the sortie was not yet finished. One last course remained: dessert. I ordered the coppa gelato with two flavors, Tahitian Vanilla Bean and Tcho Chocolate. This housemade, traditional gelato hit home. What seemed as a finale for Delfina affirmed it was only a beginning; this dish, and every other, convinced me that many a return trip would be of utmost necessity. Pizzeria Delfina has stolen my heart, and I never want it back.

Pizzeria Delfina on Urbanspoon

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Special: San Jose


San Jose, California's third largest city with nearly one million residents, is not exactly known as a food power. In fact, this gleaming city to the South is better associated as being San Francisco's younger brother, formed around one year after the iconic metropolis to the North took shape. Complete with a height limited skyline and a knack for the unimpressive, San Jose has nothing to gawk at on the surface aside from a perennial Stanley Cup disappointment. But underneath all those layers of excess mingling with poverty, a site seen in many South Bay neighborhoods, there is a budding and booming food scene unlike many on Earth. While I will not invest in San Jose as a food city of present, it has the potential to become one of the nations top stops for a bite to eat.


From the shining facade of the new San Pedro Square Market to the growing contingent of gourmet carts and trucks, this city is exploding; finally catching up to those so far ahead (S.F. and L.A., to name a few). New restaurants are popping up every day, and some already have the first hints of becoming world-renowned establishments. Pizza Bocca Lupo and Bibo's NY Pizza have bolstered the Italian side of the city, while Korean sensations Omogari and MoGo BBQ are sweeping up hundreds of new, returning customers.


Also, San Jose and Santa Clara have taken the food truck boom to heart, unleashing a flood of excellent eateries on wheels, many of which participate in the city's rallies. SJ Eats, Word on the StreEats, and Moveable Feast are just a few of the big-name festivals found here. Some of these rallies have between ten and thirty trucks serving cuisines from Vietnamese to Cajun fusion. Also, San Jose's first sushi truck, (yes, you read right) We Sushi, just hit the streets, adding an element of the Far East never before seen on South Bay asphalt.


They are few and far between, but there are some gems in this concrete jungle. From institutions such as Henry's World Famous H-Life and Original Joe's to newbies like We Sushi and Pizza Bocca Lupo, this city proves it has the range and quality to compete with the juggernauts of California cuisine. San Jose is coming into it's own, just much more slowly than some residents might like. But, really, it already is fairly unique. This place is one where all cultures can combine and mingle on our plates, and where else can you say that but the Bay Area?