Gotta get them tacos.
Hi there! Pickle Deli Square is a collection of my experiences living, eating, and traveling the world. Currently an expat based in Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain.
All tagged San Diego
Yummi Dumplings: Frozen Xiaolongbao and Wontons Delivered
Perhaps the first meal we had that wasn’t cooked from scratch, in half a year: a delivery of dumplings from Orange County. Perfect for pandemic times!
Pandemic-era Trip Report: Bye San Diego! SAN-SFO United First
A farewell to my hometown, where I spent just about all of 2020.
San Diego Eats: Make & Makan's Nasi Lemak
From an open trunk in the Mira Mesa High School parking lot, comes the comforting national dish of Malaysia.
San Diego Eats: Qala Peruvian Seafood & Grill
A splurge meal from a new restaurant in La Jolla
Black Cod Tacos
A simple recipe from Bon Appetit’s “basically” series results in some pretty stunning results.
Almond-Crusted Fish Sandwiches
Homemade fish sandwiches, from baked fish fingers to the telera rolls.
Lobster Pasta! Lobster Tacos!
Dining in luxury with more leftover lobster from our haul of California spiny lobsters.
Lobster Rolls made with California Spiny Lobster
From making the New England-style buns from scratch to assembling the California lobster salad.
Local California Spiny Lobsters!
Learning how to break apart the lobster and clean it. Plus, a sampling of different preparation methods: steaming, boiling, and roasting.
Squid!
Looking back at some cooking experiments in June, with the fresh squid from Haworth Fish.
Searing, Steaming, Poaching, Boiling: How We've Liked to Prepare our Local Fish
Learning that perhaps the simplest methods are the best: searing and steaming.
Fresh Local Fish and Seafood from Haworth Fish: a Pandemic Discovery
Finding the freshest, locally caught fish delivered to our door.
Trip Report: San Diego United Club and SAN-IAD A320 United Economy "Minus"
A last minute rebook put me all the way in the back of Economy near the lavatories from San Diego to Washington-Dulles, but I still got my choice of breakfast, and I learned a new trick for watching movies and TV on my phone.
San Diego Indian Eats: Chennai Tiffins and Sitar
Trying a variety of South Indian dishes at Chennai Tiffins, and visiting the Saturday-only dinner buffet at Sitar, hidden away in an otherwise closed and darkened food court.
San Diego Eats: Din Tai Fung has arrived!
San Diego, and specifically, UTC makes it into the big leagues with the highly anticipated opening of the famous Taiwanese xiaolongbao restaurant.
San Diego Trending Eats: Urban Plates
Seasonal dishes, a ton of vegetables prepared in different ways, real china and silverware, fast: I wish I lived near an outpost of this San Diego-based chain.
San Diego Eats: Koon Thai
Thai is one of the cuisines that's kind of hard to find in Spain. Sure, there are "Thai" restaurants that are fast food joints where you choose the ingredients and sauce and the cooks stir fry everything together. Everything comes out tasting about the same despite your choice in sauce - sweet and very salty -, and are about as Thai as teriyaki chicken is Chinese.
A rare bird is a Thai restaurant that serves your typical green curry, massaman curry, etc. And pretty much nonexistent is any restaurant that goes beyond this selection.
So I was super excited to try Koon Thai on Convoy St., where I was introduced to a menu full of things I'd never encountered before, and where they warn you in advance that when you order mild, it is the equivalent of spicy at other joints!
Rolled Ice Cream: Tale of Two Cities
Thai rolled ice cream has taken the world by storm. No sooner than I read about the rolled ice cream stores popping up around California, than I see not one but THREE! rolled ice cream stores open up in Valencia, Spain.
Valencia! The city where kale is still newfangled.
Given the rapid pace of expansion, I wonder if rolled ice cream will be a trend that has the staying power of frozen yogurt and cupcakes, or will it be as fleeting as cronuts?
Coming in to San Diego, I had an extra-long layover at SFO, so I hopped into town and had dinner with the sister (burrito at Taqueria Cancun of course!), finished off with our first encounter with rolled ice cream at Steep Creamery & Tea in SOMA...