Classics Malt Shop

I was going through all my food photos and realized that I never did a post on the Classics Malt Shop, even though it's one of my go-to lunch spots.
This little gem is located in a food court on Midway Drive, next to Chase Bank.  Although their menu offers more exotic type burgers like ostrich and buffalo, it is not so overwhelming that it distracts from a good ol' fashioned regular beef burger with all the fixins.
I usually go for the Cheeseburger with fries and a regular soda.  Their shakes are also really good, made with real ice cream and can be a meal in itself.
The patty is well-done, but is juicy with the slice of American cheese melted right on.  The veggies and pickle are always crisp and fresh.  That all comes on a standard sesame bun.  The skin-on french fries are crispy and always hot.  Ketchup, mustard and mayo are available at the counter.  You can also ask for ranch dressing.  Nothing fancy, but just consistently good simple food and great service.
The place is family-owned and operated.  The guys who run the place are related to each other as brothers and cousins.  The chosen decor of the place reflects their love for classic cars.  Every now and again you'll see some mint condition classics in the parking lot.  Childhood pictures adorn the walls of this little place.  Try to guess who's who.  I always love this place because of the simplicity of the food, not to mention the warm and friendly service.  These guys make you feel like old friends everytime.
There's also more seating in the courtyard, which is surrounded on all sides by the other eateries in the food court.  And they ask if I want a free refill on my drink everytime as I get ready to leave.

Classic Malt Shop
3615 Midway Dr
Ste B
(between Fordham St & Kemper St)
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 226-1600

www.classicsmaltshop.com

Petrushka

Last night VT and I decided to check out Petrushka, a new Eastern European restaurant that just opened up between Pomegranate and Dao Son last night before heading up to Stone Brewery for a birthday celebration.  There was a guy manning the skewers of meat on the grill outside of Pomegranate.  My tummy growled in response.  What a great advertising technique. There was a long wait for Pomegranate as we walked by.  We got seated as soon as we walked into Petrushka.
The decor is very rustic trendy with a warm, welcoming feel.  Artisan lamps at every table.  The menu hinted that Petrushka was somehow related to Pomegranate, which serves Georgian-Russian dishes.  There are plenty of good vegetarian options on the menu that sounded so good that even carnivores like me would enjoy with out missing the meat.  Main dishes ranged from $10-20.

Our server made sure we knew that this was a cash only establishment as he filled our water glasses, which looked like a smaller version of mason jars, with ice water and lemon wedges.  When I asked if they had a drink menu, he replied: "Yes, that is me."  All 30 selections of Eastern European beers, California wine and Australian Malbec was stored inside his head.  Or so he claims.  I was tempted to ask him to list all the beers from light to dark.  As this thought entered my head, he started naming all the countries of beers they had.  That list alone overwhelmed me.  I told him I liked dark beer.  He started his detective work to figure out how dark by asking me if I wanted something like a stout or a porter.  Obolon Okcauumobe, the 5.3% Ukranian beer he recommended to me had a sweet, caramel malt flavor.  I wonder where I can get a whole case of this.

VT got what I think is called the Balkan coffee.  It seems more like an espresso drink than just coffee.  It came in a cute little metal pitcher and she was brought a little espresso cup and saucer.  It had a hint of sweetness and wasn't as bitter as regular espresso.  Very yummies.
We munched on some sweet and dense darkly colored pieces of bread and a mini loaf of soft white roll with a crusty outside that came with herbed butter.
VT was going for a sliced steak dish, but got talked into the chicken special instead.  I ordered a chicken dish that I couldn't pronounce.  A different server delivered our food and I think that he might have given me VT's dish and vice versas.  I got a plate that consisted of two skewers of seasoned ground chicken with couscous, savory tomato sauce and slices of green bell peppers.  VT got a plate of pita bread w/ a piece of skinless boneless fried chicken thigh (?) and thick slices of roasted red bell peppers sitting on a mix of green peppers and onions.  VT thought her chicken could have used more seasoning.  Since the piece of chicken from her plate that I tried was cooked to a golden brown on the outside and juicy on the inside, I thought a little salt and pepper would have saved it.  Or maybe the idea was to put a little of everything on the pita bread so that the flavors would be mixed together.

My chicken skewers were very flavorful and moist.  The only other time that I've had couscous was when I tried to make it from a box.  What I made tasted like cardboard.  Petrushka's couscous was much better.  It was seasoned with what looked like finely chopped dill and cilantro.  I felt fine afterwards, which leads me to believe that I was wrong about my dill allergy.

After about my second bite, I realized that the menu description of my dish included roast red bell peppers.  I mentioned to VT that I think we might have gotten each other's dishes, but she rejected my theory.  Since I was happy with what I ended up getting, I didn't disagree with her.
When I asked for a box, I got a styrofoam container.  The menu boasted the restaurant's sustainable food policy and I had expected one of those biodegradable to-go containers.  Other than that, the food, service and atmosphere was great.  On our way back to the car, the guys manning the grill outside of Pomegranate asked us what we got and what we thought of the food.  I still have yet to try Pomegranate, but this is becoming my favorite block in this town.

2312 El Cajon Blvd.
(between Louisiana St & Texas St)
San Diego, CA 92104

Mitch's Seafood

A couple of months ago, my boss treated me to lunch at Point Loma Seafood.  After lunch, we noticed Mitch's Seafood, located on the 1st floor of a 2-story building sitting by the water.  My boss and unofficial boss decided to treat me to lunch again this past week.  We decided to head over to Mitch's and found a whole lot of construction going on over there.  The building that houses Mitch's was also under construction.  Thankfully, they had a sign up saying that they were open during construction.  We went for an early lunch, so there were only 2 tables taken up when we walked in.  The menu is written on a chalkboard above the counter.  There is a decent selection of local beers on draft.  Too bad it was a work day.  There is a great view of the water and boats.  The girl at the counter was very nice and offered to answer any questions.  They had 3 different types of fishes on special: yellowtail, corvina and something else I can't recall.  I asked what corvina was and the girl said it was a mexican sea bass.  I was very close to ordering a grilled corvina fish taco, but then I spotted the calamari platter on the board.  My boss got the fish and chips and wasn't too impressed with the portion size.  There was 3 or 4 large pieces of fish in his order, which would be okay if you didn't compare his platter and mine.  Unofficial boss got 2 grilled yellowtail fish tacos.  Nice sized fillets that looked grilled to perfection. We ordered and paid at the counter and the girl brought the food to our table.  It looked great.  I love that they gave you a choice of batter fried or grilled fish for your tacos.  I always preferred a grilled fish taco.

My calamari platter was enormous and cooked perfectly.  Underneath all those crispy fried tentacles and tender rings, were crispy golden french fries.  The cocktail and tartar sauce didn't taste like they came out of a jar.  I couldn't decide which I liked more, so I alternated.  The homemade coleslaw was crunchy, not too soggy.  Though I could have used more acidity.  Not bad for $9.50.  I managed to finish off all of the calamari, but couldn't stuff more than a couple of pieces of fries.  This would be good to split with another person.  Oh, how I wish I could have ordered a beer to go along with this.  As it got closer to noon, construction workers and fishermen started drifting in for lunch.  Still, not as crowded as Point Loma Seafood.  The food came out within minutes of ordering and the prices were also great.  I definitely look forward to coming back.
Note: This place does not share the free parking lot with Point Loma Seafood.  There is an ACE parking lot in front (right across the street from Captain's Quarters).  The first 1/2 hour is free and then $1 per hour after that.  We only had to pay $1.  I can't wait to come back an try everything else on their menu board.

1403 Scott St
(between Fenelon St & Garrison St)
San Diego, CA 92106
(619) 222-8787

www.hudsonbayseafood.com