Rama Thai San Diego: Taking Thai Food To Another Level

I was first introduced to Thai Food when living in LA… and it was love at first bite!

Then I was introduced to Rama.  And my love affair with Thai Food was taken to another level!

There is literally nothing I have eaten at Rama that has not been totally, irresistibly delectable. And as you’ll see through the course of this post… I’ve had a lot of things!

Above you’ll see their fresh tofu, vegetable spring rolls, a deliciously light way to start your meal at Rama, then, there it is, the absolute most delicious thing ever.  Pan Fried Roti Bread with Yellow Curry Sauce.  Holy cow, there is nothing I don’t love about this simple, little appetizer!

I am so beyond grateful that my friend PK ordered this the first time I ever dined at Rama, now it’s my go-to appetizer!  It also inspired my first homemade curry sauce recipe in my Indian Chicken Curry Pitas!

When the owner found out I wanted to do a “Restaurant Rave” on the spot, he generously brought out some samples of his favorite dishes, in addition to my regular “go-to” items!

First was the Thai Steak Salad, thin slices of beef top delicious mixed greens, mint, scallions, green onions and thai chilies for one meaty, scrumptious salad!

Next, was the Vegetable Tofu and Eggplant with basil, garlic, bell peppers and onions.  The perfect meal for all my vegetarian friends out there!

Next, he brought out a couple of tasty seafood dishes, the Coconut Lemon Grass Grilled Tiger Prawns and Pan Seared Scallops in Chili Sauce.

Is anyone else’s mouth watering?

Both seafood favorites were packed with flavor, while still maintaining a light, fresh taste.  I would highly recommend the scallops, like really highly!

Last but not least was my other “go-to” dish, the Drunken Noodles with Chicken.  A simple Thai meal, turned into one of my favorite dishes of all time at Rama!

Now it’s confession time.

• Confession #1: I was alone at lunch when all of this food appeared on my table.
• Confession #2: I was sitting on their sidewalk patio and people walking by looked at me really funny!
• Confession #3: I ate 90% of this food.
• Confession #4: I wish I had worn looser pants so I could have eaten 100%

If you’re in San Diego or visiting in the near future, do not miss this unforgettable Thai food!

My aunt was recently in town for a conference and said this was the best Thai she has ever had. One of my best friends that lives in Miami said this is his favorite restaurant in all of San Diego. So if you don’t believe me, take their word for it

Rama is located at: 327 Fourth Avenue, San Diego, CA. 92101 (Between J & K St.)

Chef Inspired Dish: Bailiwick, Grilled Oysters

After reviewing the delicious Brunch at Bailiwick, I knew I had to return for my next “Chef Inspired Dish” segment with Chef Konstantin Plavnik!

Instead of brunch, we decided to re-create their most popular happy hour and dinner menu item, the Grilled Oysters with Thyme, Sake, Jalapeño Brown Butter.  Check it out!

Ingredients

• 6 large oysters
• 2 tbsp sake
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• 1/2 jalapeño (de-seeded & minced)
• 4 slivers manchego cheese

Begin by shucking the oysters.

Next, add the sake to a small skillet over medium heat, cook until the sake begins to bubble then remove from the heat.

In a separate pan, add the butter and melt, next add the thyme and jalapeños. Brown the butter for 2 minutes. Bring the sake back up to a boil, then add the butter.

Next place the oysters on a grill over high heat. Spoon the sauce over the oysters,  cover and cook for 10-12 minutes.

Don’t worry if they catch a little flame, that’s supposed to happen

Add the cheese on top of the oysters, cover and grill for an additional minute, then remove from the grill and serve.

For my first Grilled Oyster experience, this one was epic!

Thank you to Chef Konstantin Plavnik, Ali Grant of Be Social Public Relations and everyone at Bailiwick! Also a special thanks to the amazing videography work of Eric Lingle at Web Video Solutions.

To enjoy these delicious Grilled Oysters prepared by Chef Konstantin, visit Bailiwick at 756 5th Avenue San Diego, CA 92101.

Brunching at Bailiwick: Champagne in Bath Tubs, Chandeliers in Bird Cages and Chorizo in Poussin

On Friday night I ventured into the rainy streets of downtown San Diego, stilettos and all, for the Details Matter launch party!  The party happened to be at a new, local, totally unique and totally awesome venue downtown, Bailiwick.  Of course, I was not at all surprised, a cutting edge app must have a cutting edge launch party at a cutting edge venue, obvi!

Oh yeah, about that cutting edge app, you all should download it on your iPhone or Android!  Just search: Details Matter in the app store, you’ll love the design and the app itself gives great ideas for dates and fun things to do! You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter!

Now back to that amazing venue, they had me at “we have champagne in a bathtub”, but I was totally hooked after meeting their chef Konstantin.  He was fun, friendly and excited to talk food with me (which wins me over every time!)

He invited me back for brunch the next morning and I immediately accepted!

As you stroll into Bailiwick, you can’t help but notice all of the details in the decor.

From the giant chandelier hanging at the entrance to the peacock kicking it on the wall behind the bar!

Oh, and I love the sign, “Work Hard and Be Nice”, pretty much my life motto!

Also, what’s more unforgettable than a bathtub full of champagne?

Maybe a chandelier in a birdcage?

All around awesome decor, then you throw in $15 bottomless mimosas on top of the amazing ambiance… winning!

Oh, and now you’re going to tell me the food is amazing too? Yes, yes I am!

We started with their Breakfast Cheese Plate consisting of Toast, Mango, Dragon Fruit, Honey Yogurt, Swiss and Ricotta.

The combination of salty cheese, sweet mango and tart yogurt was delicious!

For the main course I ordered Chef Konstantin’s recommendation, the Chorizo Stuffed Poussin with Quinoa and Bourbon Maple Syrup. That pretty much just sounds like one delectable plate of food, right?

And it was!

I swear, I could eat the skin on that Poussin all day, add the added sweetness from the Bourbon Maple Syrup, amazing!

Both friends I came with ordered the Omelet with Pancetta Tots.

Salty pancetta, potatoes, eggs, veggies and toast, it’s the traditional breakfast plate, kicked up a notch!

Just when we thought we were finished our friend who launched the app Friday night strolled in and sat next to us.  He then proceeded to order Mini Waffles, which we obviously then had to have!

We’ll just call this the “dessert portion” of brunch!

Between the service, ambiance, food and drinks, this place is firing high on all cylinders and I can’t wait to go back and enjoy dinner here soon!

If you would like to visit Bailiwick to check out all of the awesome things they have going on, they are located at: 756 5th Avenue, San Diego, California 92101.  You can also visit them online at Bailiwicksd.com, Facebook and Twitter!

Little Italy Farmers Market Favorites

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, such as Chalk Art Paintings, Live Music and Delicious Food at Little Italy Festa!, I live in a beautiful and vibrant neighborhood in San Diego that is extremely lively with a ton of local events for its residents.  One of everyone’s neighborhood favorites is the Little Italy Mercato that happens every Saturday from 9 AM – 2 PM.

It’s a great place to grab a coffee, breakfast and shop for the weeks groceries!

This week I stopped by Suzie’s Farms to pick up some fresh produce.

Suzie’s Farms provides most of the produce for Quality Social, a local restaurant and the location of my first “Chef Inspired Dish” interview! I decided to make the dish super authentic, I would pick up my ingredients at the same place they buy theirs! (Look for that post coming this week!)

They have everything from beautiful squash and beets, to gorgeous colorful carrots!

With food, the more color, the better!! I talk about the amazingness of eating purple vegetables in my Adventures at the Farmers Market post. (Similar concept, different farmers market, different city!)

They also sell a variety of sprouts that look super yummy!  I didn’t pick them up this week, but they’re now on next weeks list!

My next stop was to visit my girls over at Tea Gallerie.

I was lucky enough to meet Krizia, the marketing rep for the company at my San Diego Bloggers Happy Hour. She was sweet enough to give me some samples of their amazing tea!

They were all amazing, but I am now completely addicted to the Masala Chai!

As you can see, they have a lot to choose from, and just check out all the benefits of drinking tea!

Delicious and healthy is my favorite combination!

Next, I went to pick up some fresh herbs to add to my growing window sill garden.  Now that I’ve kept my little basil plant alive for almost 3 months, I was confident enough to give it a couple of friends!  Meet Rosemary and Cilantro!

I’m going to take the advice of the sign and grow them

Although I wasn’t quite confident enough to purchase a larger plant today, I still had to get a picture of this beautiful purple kale!

I then cruised by some of my favorite spots, like the lemonade people!

Seriously, this lemonade is amazing y’all!  When shopping at the Mercato this summer in the warm San Diego sun, this lemonade saved my life!

Then I cruised by the “Goat Cheese Guy”.  Of course, being the Goat Milking Girl I am, I would have a goat cheese guy in every city!

Their Lavender Goat Cheese is killer!!

I concluded my lovely day in Little Italy with a delicious coffee at my favorite local shop, Pappalecco, where I sit to write this post to you now!

Happy Saturday Everyone!  Make it a beautiful day and remember “When Nothing Is Sure, Everything is Possible!” – Margaret Drabble

Chopped Challenge Thursday: Boudain, Wasabi, Candy Canes and Shrimp

This weeks “Chopped Challenge Thursday” kicked 2013 off with a real bang!

The combination of Boudain (I’ll explain later!), Wasabi, Candy Canes and Shrimp, gave my culinary mind a run for its money, but I came up with something pretty delicious and super spicy to kick off the new year!

After googling “Boudain” I found out that it is a Cajun sausage typically made of rice, spices and pork, but can also be made with crawfish or shrimp instead of pork.  I then yelped “where to buy Boudain” and found my newest adventure.

This morning I headed to east San Diego to “Mardi Gras Cafe and Cajun Market” to purchase the now infamous Boudain.

The owners were an extremely sweet couple and very helpful.  I purchased my Boudain, then they proceeded to show me some of their favorite sauces (of the over 100 they had in stock!)

I can’t wait to grab a couple of bottles of these before my annual Super Bowl Party!

In addition to a variety of Boudain sausages and walls of hot sauce options, they also sell alligator meat and offer a full restaurant menu. I can’t wait to go back and try their Louisiana home cooking!

Now back to that Chopped Challenge! I decided to combine Japanese and Cajun flavors into a Jambalaya fusion recipe topped with a Sweet and Spicy Wasabi Mayonnaise made with crushed Candy Canes! The result was a spicy, peppery, unique and flavorful dish!

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion (diced)
• 1 jalapeno (diced)
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 12 oz boudain sausage
• 1 cup mushrooms (sliced)
• 1/2 cup cucumber (diced)
• 1/2 cup rice
• 1/2 tsp wasabi
• 1 tsp sriracha
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 candy cane
• 1/2 tsp fresh ginger (grated)
• 1/2 cup wasabi mayonnaise
• 8-10 large shrimp
• 1 tsp sesame seeds

(Just ignore any of the other ingredients that snuck into the picture above, this was an experimental recipe and not all of the ingredients made the cut )

Begin preparing the dish by heating the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onion and jalapeño to the heated oil and sauté for 5 minutes.  Next, add the garlic.  Sauté for an additional minute then remove the boudain from its casing and crumble into the pan.

Next, add the mushrooms and cucumber.

Then add the rice, sriracha and wasabi.

Finally, add the beef stock and stir all of the ingredients together.

Cover with a lid and allow to simmer for 45 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the Sweet and Spicy Wasabi Mayonnaise to top the jambalaya.  I’m not going to lie to you all, it wasn’t bad, but the jambalaya definitely doesn’t need it.

Pretty much unless you have a bunch of candy canes on hand and some extra wasabi mayonnaise lying around that you feel like experimenting with, this step can be skipped

If so desired, break a candy cane into a small food processor, then add the ginger and wasabi mayonnaise and mix well.

Now, back to the jambalaya.  After the dish has simmered covered for 45 minutes, most of the liquid should be gone from the pan and the rice should be tender, now add the shrimp to the pan and continue simmering for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Remove from the pan and top with the sesame seeds and a little drizzle of the Sweet and Spicy Wasabi Mayonnaise.

I also sprinkled a little fresh parsley on top to add some color and served the dish with a couple of lemon wedges to mellow out the super spiciness of the wasabi, sriracha and hot boudain!

This was the perfect warm dish on a cool San Diego winter day!

After all my hard work on this very unique Chopped Challenge dish, I couldn’t wait to dig in!

♣ Vegetarian Option: Replace the shrimp and boudain with extra rice, mushrooms and cucumbers for a vegetarian alternative.

♦ Gluten Free Option: This recipe is gluten-free (just make sure the beef stock you use is gluten-free!)

♥ All pottery seen on the littleleopardbook can be purchased by visiting www.longaberger.com/muffetbond or e-mailing keepsakebl@sbcglobal.net.