Kat's 9 Lives

I love it up there in San Gabriel where if you hop a few blocks over you will find yourself in another city full of yummy goodies. In El Monte there's this place called Tito's Market that's well known for their empanadas and sandwiches. The area can seem a bit sketchy but you know what, Tito's Market is the safest place around with 4 cop cars parked in front and another one pulling in as I pulled out. This place must be a hot spot for cops, so don't worry because it's super safe with tons of people coming in and out grabbing their food to go.
The ladies are very friendly and the prices are very reasonable. Everyone is very polite. The Beef Empanadas are $1.79 and they are a pretty decent size that's filled with tons of meat. I have been here twice and yet to try the Chicken Empanadas, so be sure to come earlier because that always seems to run out first. The first time I had the Milanesa as well but I wasn't that impressed with the sandwich but I did really like the empanadas so this time I had to stop by since I exited from the 60 Freeway on Rosemead. It's great for a quick grab and has that wholesome feeling.
All in all a great local eatery that's priced very reasonably. They have a huge menu that's worth looking into if you lived nearby. As for me, I am just there for a "snack" on my way to a multiple meal fun night!

Tito's Market
9814 Garvey Ave
El Monte, CA 91733
(626) 579-1893

What's a girl to do when she hated the Foodbuzz seminar because it was boring and no food was provided? Well let me tell you... I just leave and do my own thing! If you are not going to entertain me, at least FEED ME!! Ms. Lin an I just left and headed down to Macy's to shop and decide where to grub before meeting up with fellow bloggers. She suggested Frontera Fresco from Rick Bayless. Sounded good because I have been wanting to try his real restaurant but I haven't quite made my way there yet and this was a great way to cheat and cut corners. O=)
First off the bat, Ms. Lin wanted their Raspberry Prickly Pear Limeade ($1.95). At first I was skeptical because it had raspberries and I detest the taste of raspberries. IN the end it was refreshing and sweet, so a good choice on her part.As soon as I saw that they offered a Sweet Corn and Green Chile Tamale ($3.95), I had to have it! Mine! It's made with fresh Corn, Roasted Chiles, Creamy Goat Cheese, Ricotta and topped with Tomatillo Salsa. The tamale was well made and they loaded it with cheese. This had a lot of potential if it wasn't served luke warm/cold! The bites with sauce or cheese were colder because the tamale itself was barely heated. An extreme let down because I love tamales and to be made with sweet corn is what I always look for!
Ms. Lin and I decided to share the Roasted Chicken Quesadilla with Salad ($7.95). Man! Can that quesadilla be any smaller or flatter? If this was a "real" meal and not a snack, it would take almost 3-5 orders of this to fill me up. At that rate I might as well hit up a high-end restaurant for real food! Again, the quesadilla was not hot and the cheese was not melted. Huge negative points there because the whole point of quesadillas is to eat melted cheese! The flavor was decent but it's comparable to what I can get at Del Taco or Taco Bell really. We tried the different sauces and they were good but if I have to use sauces to pep up the dish... there's something wrong there too.
All in all not impressed. I am glad I tried it but not worth the $15 for this. Cold and unfulfilling are not words I would want my food to be described as.
Frontera Fresco
170 O'Farrell St
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 296-4349

Growing up in So Cal all my life has given me the wonderful opportunity to have delicious and as close to as authentic Mexican food outside of Mexico as possible. I don't know if Cafe Río would really be considered super authentic and definitely not a mom and pop shop, but to my surprise I actually really liked what I got. For the longest time I saw the corner of Rockfield and El Toro of a store under construction and bright vans with the Cafe Río logo parked there. It finally opened up recently and I had wanted to check it out since it seems like a pretty big space with vibrant colors. They had been in the back of my mind for a while but I haven't been in a Mexican food mood until recently when the age old question of where to eat came up again with MBA. I gave her the choices of Thai or Mexican and she chose to try out Cafe Río since it was new.

When I walked in, I was a little hesitant to find that it is a chain restaurant and resembled Chipotle. The food is mostly already prepared and the food is made in an assembly line. I felt like I was in Rubios almost with a few touches of other chain restaurants for the decor. Still, I was already there and had to try out the food. While we were in line I saw that they offered fresh made tortillas and there was a lady making them right in front of us. I had to video tape this down. The fresh tortillas looked yummy and were pretty tasty, but I am jumping ahead.
There were signs posted everywhere talking about the supposed famous Cafe Río Salad with Pork Barbacoa. I was taking a big risk since I just had salad for lunch and I am not easy to please when I have to ingest healthy food. O=9 To my surprise the salad was actually full of flavor and had a lot of bite to it. The salad comes in a large fresh Flour Tortilla that's toasted with Mexican Cheeses. They start off by putting Rice in. Then they start adding Pork Barbacoa, followed by tons of Crisp Romaine Lettuce, a few scoops of Pico de Gallo, a small scoop of Guacamole, Tortilla Strips, sprinkles a little bit of Cotija Cheese, Cilantro, and finished off by adding a slice of lime in. I opted out of the beans because I detest beans, but asked for it on the side so that MBA could enjoy them. You get a choice between Pinto and Black Beans. For the dressing you can choose between Creamy Tomatillo or Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette. The lady recommended the creamy tomatillo, which was very rich and flavorful. I would only recommend those who like sweet dishes to try the pork barbacoa because it is pretty sweet but full of flavor. It is like your typical carnita but sweet. All the components come together like a party in your mouth. There is a touch of citrus with a huge chunk of sweet, but all of it is balanced and toned down by the lettuce. The crispy tortilla chips and lettuce add a crunch and bite to the palate along with the soft tortilla that is flavorful by itself. Everything in the dish worked together. Even without the dressing they all exploded in flavor, but adding the creamy tomatillo helped take it to a new level. I am sure that dressing is super unhealthy because it was tasty by itself.
My only qualm is that the salad was so huge that I found it hard to mix all the components together without making a huge mess. Luckily all the components are good by themselves. I even brought the leftover salad home and shared it with my aunt the next night. She is now a fan and I think we will probably be going there for dinner tonight. They gave me a stamp card where you get a free meal after 10 stamps. If my family gets addicted, I am sure it won't be hard to get that free meal. O=P
While I was paying, I saw that they offered Fresh Fruit Frescas, Agua Frescas. I was so excited by the prospect because I had the best Strawberry Fresca in SF recently, which I will post soon. Ever since then I had been dreaming and thinking about when I can get something that good again and cheap too! Here it wasn't cheap nor pricey, $2.50 a cup. That day they had Papaya Mango Fresca so I thought to myself that you can't go wrong with that mix of flavors. Alas it was not what I had imagined it to be. The drink was fine but I didn't think it tasted anything like papaya or barely had any mango flavor. It tasted like a sour lemonade mixed with pineapple juice. I even left it out for the night and it went even more sour which really brought out the pineapple flavor. Even though I wasn't impressed by the drink this time around, I will probably try them again if they have another appealing flavor.
Another item that caught my eye was Cafe Río's Famous Tres Leches. One of my favorite new desserts these days is tres leches. I have been eating it from CA to FL these days. Mmm Mmm Good! How is it here? Mehhh. Not bad but nothing to write home about. The outer layer was moist but the inner layer was a bit flavorless and a lot drier. For $3.50 I can get better cake elsewhere, but if you are here already for the meal it would not be bad to add this on. They asked if I wanted whipped cream and I said yes, but then they said they were out... lame!

All in all I was quite surprised at how good that salad was and MBA really enjoyed it too. My biggest issue with this place is that it is poorly run. The people were friendly but some seemed like they didn't know what they were doing. Also, the food is served pretty fast because everything is pre-made. So why the long line?? Well, they only have one slow person working the cash register when they have TWO registers. All their people are busy doing the food but no one is there to take the money! Even when pick-up orders come they are rung up by the same register, which pushes back the customers waiting in line already. Not a very solid plan, but hopefully they will fix that snafu and run more smoothly. Still, I liked the salad enough to overlook all this and will be back soon to take the family.

Cafe Río
24312 Rockfield Blvd
El Toro, CA 92630
(949) 334-9292

So what do we need to try when we are down in San Diego? Well I am getting closer and closer to the border so I really need to try some of the Mexican restaurants in the Gas Lamp district. Ms. Lin looked up some rave reviews about La Puerta so since we couldn't really settle upon a decision, we decided to listen to the internet! ^_- We almost went past this place because there wasn't a clear sign for the restaurant's name. You just walk through a big door, hence La Puerta I guess. lol
We were starving and sore from walking so this was a great relief. They brought out water and I thought it tasted a little weird. Maybe I am not use to SD's filter, tap water? They brought out fresh Tortilla Chips and Salsas. We gobbled them down immediately. The chips were warm, thin, and crispy. Their salsa had a strong kick of spice and was really good.
One of my favorite things is Carne Asada Nachos and when we saw that they had Carne Asada Fries here, how could I resist! It's French Fries, Carne Asada, Cheese, Sour Cream, Guacamole, and Pico de Gallo. Everything was perfect! The flavors were on point and the fries were so crispy despite everything piled on it. It was definitely one of the best Carne Asada Fries I have ever had. Am I drooling onto my keyboard? I will definitely be back to order this again!
Okay I have a secret to tell... I have never had Mole! So when I saw Chicken Mole Enchiladas on the menu I had to give it a whirl! It's Grilled Chicken Breast, Ancho, Pasilla, Mulato, Chipotle, Mexican Chocolate, Sesame Seeds, and Sour Cream. This was definitely different and I can't really compare it to since I haven't had this dish. Still the flavor was a little odd but it grew on me. It tasted like a thick smoky gravy with a kick. I think it's interesting enough that I would want to order it again.
I chose to try the 3 Street Tacos combo with Carne Asada, Carnitas, and Ranchero Shrimp. The flavors were decent but I don't think this was anything special. I really wished I had ordered another Carne Asada Fries instead because that was so good. Ms. Lin ordered the Carne Asada Burrito. It's Steak, Guacamole, and Pico de Gallo. This was decent but for the same price, I would rather get the fries! The burrito was a little bit fat for my liking because it makes me think that it barely has any ingredients inside. I want my burritos brimming with ingredients like the fries were! Yum!
All in all it was not a bad place. Prices were around $9 and up. I will definitely come back for the Carne Asada Fries... if it weren't for that dish, the review would be lower.

La Puerta

560 4th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101

MBA and I went to El Torito after a long discussion on where to eat. She was looking at Italian restaurants, but suddenly we decided to go to El Torito. All my talk about their yummy sweet corn cake made MBA want Mexican food. So we drove over to Laguna Hills Mall and went to the El Torito near by. Too bad we didn't decide earlier that we wanted El Torito because they have a pretty nice brunch buffet on Sundays. I am curious how much it is nowadays and if it's as nice as I remember. Lets just say I haven't been back since my teens or even earlier.
They brought fresh chips and salsa to the table. It's a little bit different from El Torito Grill, where they give fresh tortillas with butter and salsa. I really love the tortillas, but the chips here are good too. MBA had to come to this place to get her all time favorite dish there, Chicken & Sour Cream Enchiladas. It's tender chicken simmered & smothered in a savory sour cream sauce with melted jack cheese and served with refried beans & rice.
MBA recommended that I get the Macho Combo so I could try it all. It comes with the four most popular items: Chile Relleno, Chicken & Sour Cream Enchilada, Shredded Beef Crispy Taco, and Handmade Carnitas Tamale. The chicken enchilada was the best out of the four. It was light and flavorful. The carnitas tamale were WAY TOO SALTY! I only took a few bites and took the rest home for my parents. I guess I didn't know what a chile relleno was and now that I know, I won't ever get it again. The beef tacos were decent, but nothing special. I think I should have gotten the same as MBA or the chicken flautas. Afterwards I told MBA it wasn't that great and how come she recommended it. She said that it would give me more to blog about >=P. What I suffer through for my website!
The best thing of the night was of course the SWEET CORN CAKE!! WHEEE! I love it! Although they were drenched in oil that night. Normally I think the more fattening an item is, the better it tastes. This was almost borderline. Nonetheless, I love the sweet corn cake. I could order a whole meal of it and I should really do that some day! All in all the place was good, nothing spectacular but a solid chain I guess. I will definitely be back for sweet corn cake. MBA and I will be back around that area so she can try Lonestar Steakhouse, which I have been. We also have a coupon! O=)

After we got back to the starting point we had some juicy oranges that Dr. A kindly bought and everyone had their own snacks to munch on. Since we only did a half day trip, we didn't get the free yummy food they were serving. Instead, we drove down a little bit and decided to try Serrano's Mexican Restaurant. We sat outside looking out to the river. It was a very nice and breezy day. Unfortunately I sat in the sun so that wasn't too fun for me, but it was nice to see everyone and get to chat more. Eating outside has it's ups and downs because nature comes into affect.
They brought out fresh tortilla chips and spicy salsa. The chips were very good and addicting. They brought us more as we finished them off. I chose to get the Mariachi Special. It's chicken breast and slice of top sirloin steak covered with a sauce made of onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and shrimp. I hate beans so I just got a double portion of rice and it also came with flour tortillas. This was only decent. Everything was way over cooked and sort of dry. The sauce was not bad, I actually wished there was more rice to match the amount of food given.
J ordered the Pescado Sarandeado. It's a whole tilapia grilled with seasoned vegetables, served with special sauce along with rice & vegetables. The presentation was very nice and colorful. It's a very generous portion. The flavor was good and the bones were easy to take out. There were many pieces of shrimp atop the fish as well. The shrimp looked dry too, but the fish was tender and moist.
V ordered the Enchilada Veracruzana. It's a shrimp enchilada made with a large flour tortilla topped with special sauce and sour cream. V said there was way too much cheese inside the enchilada that it was overpowering. Personally, I love love cheese but it did seem like the whole enchilada was just cheese with a speck or two of shrimp. I am a meat or seafood lover, so the enchilada wouldn't have been fulfilling for me because it lacked content.
All in all the food was decent. The place was mainly convenient and a good place to trade rafting stories as we were still looking at the river. Burumun's advisor kindly volunteered to pay for everyone's meal, which was extremely generous of him since there were some of us who weren't his students. Dr. A offered to share the cost with them, so the both of them kindly treated the rest of us to lunch. It was a lot of fun just relaxing and chatting with everyone. Too bad I didn't get the chance to chat with everyone else since we were sitting at a long table. Hopefully I will get a chance to see everyone again. Maybe we will all meet up again next year! ^_~

Monday was hot! The weather was nice but the temperature has been rising. I am going to miss the cooler days! As you can see from the picture that the sky was beautiful and clear. If it was only cooler, it would be perfect! I came around 2pm to Albertaco's and it was packed! This place is like home to me. When I used to attend Capistrano Valley High School, I'd come around 6AM for breakfast or to study or I'd come after classes. The food has always been good and inexpensive! To be honest this is NOT the cleanest place, the kitchen was within view and that looked decent but dining was another story. They don't really have anyone come out and clean the tables, so the dining area can be quite unkempt please keep that in mind.
Food is always great and the best deal in town. This place is why I criticize all those supposed "Mexican" restaurants. It's more authentic than those places. I love my Carne Asada Burrito! Their prices have increased, as did everything else in the world. One huge burrito for only $3.77 with taxes! Can't be that price! It's packed full of meat, guacamole, and salsa. Mostly meat actually, even better! It's packed full of flavor and you always grab the fresh salsa to load onto the burrito, which I count as my daily dose of vegetables! The burrito was truly huge too, I would say at least 1ft, and filling. If you are really hungry, then I recommend the ever so yummy Carne Asada Nachos! I pack it FULLY of salsa and it can feed almost 3 people for around $5!

Mango, Coconut, and Banana Split were back for more Mexican food! Aren't we a fruity bunch! I also have to pay homage to Tofu for the name Banana Split. So after the fiasco with Taléo Grill, we decided to get Mexican food again. This time we ventured over to the Kaleidoscope for some El Torito Grill. Their decor was very festive and colorful. As you will see the dishes were plated on very colorful plates. The ambiance was very similar to a family restaurant, down to earth. Service was friendly and pretty prompt.
A great thing about this place would be the free delicious fresh flour tortillas with sweet butter and fresh salsas! There's no limit to how much you can get too. They really do a great job with the tortillas. It's soft, chewy, and flavorful! I love buttering the tortilla and dabbling some salsa then wrap it up to eat it like a taquito. Watch out for drippage!
Mango had to have her favorite dish the Lobster Quesadilla. Tender lobster, jack & cotija cheeses, pastilla chiles, mango salsa and chipotle sauce in a flour tortilla served with fresh guacamole. It's an appetizer but the size was tremendous. You can definitely make a meal out of it and more! Mango was in heaven and wants everybody to know that the dish was superb. I have had this dish before a long time ago and I can't really recall much about this dish except that it was huge. If you don't share it with a big group, then it's really a meal in itself.
Coconut ordered Carnitas Soft Tacos. Two flour tortillas tacos with carnitas inside served with homemade beans, avocado relish, and sweet corn cake. She opted to substitute the beans for rice, which they made a mistake of the corn cake and took a while to get the rice. I guess the good thing was she got more of the corn cake!
I ordered the Carnitas Yucatán to see how they measure up here at El Torito Grill. Tender pork with garlic, achiote, fresh lime, orange juice, and spices that's slow roasted and later topped with citrus-habañero marinated red onions served with red & black beans, rice, avocado relish, and sweet corn cake. If you don't all know yet, I HATE BEANS of any sort. So I definitely had to substitute and what better place than here! I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE their sweet corn cake! It's almost like a sweet corn tamale, which is one of my favorite things. I just love the sweetness that the corn has and the soft texture of the cake. It's a blissful blend of flavors. Man I want to go back again soon and just eat plates & plates of the sweet corn cake for a meal! For people who know me, it must be good for me to forgo meat and want to eat this!
The carnitas were decent, definitely better than the ones at Taléo Grill. At least the carnitas here looked like carnitas, the other place just looked like a big drumstick de-boned. The meat was a little bit saltier but blended well with the compliments. I didn't really like the sauce at the bottom because it was heavy and smokey. This was almost the exact same dish as Coconut except that I had to wrap my own tacos/burritos. The dish was good enough that I'd get it again, but I think I would substitute the rice for more YUMMY sweet corn cake!
All in all this place was good and reliable, consistent. I haven't really found a dish that is to die for in my opinion, except the awesome tortillas and sweet corn cake! Who can say no to free delicious tortillas? What really sells me is the fabulous sweet corn cake! Overall it's a good place for group gatherings, a quick bite, or just 'cause you crave the sweet corn cake. Can you tell I love the sweet corn cake yet? O=9

I apologize to Mango & Coconut about the place I suggested. It looked good and had some good reviews online but what a let down. We went to Taléo Grill in Irvine. The decor was very nice, it was a wooden furnish. Definitely a nice ambiance, but to be honest I am only there for the food and company of my friends. I hadn't eaten all day and this was my first meal of the day, dinner, you'd think food would taste wonderful when you are starving. So what does it tell you when your starving and food still tastes bad, it can get a lot worse if you are not hungry. Warning again about my pictures, do not be deceived by them! I try to make it look good despite what I think of the food.
To start off the night we ordered the Queso Fundido. A rich and thick cheese dip of melted cotija and Reggiano cheeses with roasted poblano peppers, sautéed mushrooms and chorizo served with fresh-made tortilla chips. Also available vegetarian-style with sautéed spinach and mushrooms. It might sound good and cohesive as a whole, but man did they miss the mark! The tortilla chips were very fresh and hot, but they were WAY overloaded with salt. The dip itself was salty enough and using salty chips really ruined the dish. You would think that the dip would be thicker but it was very runny. There wasn't any flavor really except salty, we had to add the salsa to give it a kick. I wouldn't recommend this dish to anyone.
Mango got the Ahi Tuna Salad. Thinly sliced pan-seared, rare sushi-grade tuna filet served alongside crisp mixed greens, oven roasted tomatoes and herbed potato rounds with a creamy avocado vinaigrette. The slices weren't that thin and the fish did not look too fresh. It staill tasted good. The dressing was actually pretty good. I liked the crunch that the tortilla chips gave to the salad. Overall I liked the concept of the salad but only if the fish was fresher. I have to say this though, WHAT THE HECK IS THIS DISH DOING IN A "MEXICAN" RESTAURANT!!!!!!!!! This should tell you this place wasn't that authentic and you shouldn't expect much!
Coconut, borrowing this from what Tofu called you, ordered the Tacos al Carbon. It was two soft, flour tortillas filled with grilled filet mignon, topped with thinly sliced cabbage, roasted pepper rajas, pico de gallo, salsa and guacamole. Served with frijoles charros and Mexican rice. The filet mignon was a little dried out but still tender and flavorful. The portion was kind of small in my opinion for $16. I guess you were paying for the tender beef. Personally, I would rather go to Albertaco's for cheap eats! As you can see, my curve of quality versus quantity for Mexican food is skewed towards quantity! Especially in the state of California there is PLENTY of yummy Mexican food for cheap!
I decided to try their Carnitas. It's prepared with Chef Jose's family recipe of tender pork carnitas caramelized to perfection, served with guacamole, escabeche, frijoles charros and Mexican rice. Flour or corn tortillas. Ever since I had this dish at El Cholo in Santa Monica, I have loved it. I don't think this place measure up to El Cholo. It was decently flavored, but the meat wasn't very tender. This was the first time that I have seen the meat to be a leg meat. Sadly, I think my dish was the best of the night and it wasn't that great either. The tougher meat on the outside had the most flavor but you lose the tenderness. I wouldn't get this dish again if I went and it was pricey.
I substituted my frijoles charros with Purée de Papas. Okay, I have to say that was dumb that they make mashed potatoes sound "fancy" by changing the name. It was good, but I mean it's mashed potatoes. The server was nice and I am glad she allowed the substitute since I HATE beans. I hate all types of beans!
The reason I really wanted to come try this place was the dessert. I have been looking for the perfect Pastel de Tres Leches. White cake soaked with three sweet milks, topped with whipped cream and fresh berries. We shared this dessert. The cake was very moist. I actually liked this dish, it didn't wow me but the flavors were good. It wasn't too sweet and was light so it complimented the fruits. You can probably eat a whole cake of this and not feel weighed down.
All in all the food wasn't the greatest and prices were kind of high. The service was good and the interior design was very nice. This definitely was not your typical Mexican restaurant. There wasn't any authenticity at all. I still had a great time with my friends though, but that was because of their company! ^_- I don't think I will be back here because there are TONS of great Mexican food in Southern California and this place definitely does not fit the profile. A lot of people gave it high ratings but I think they just don't know what good cheap Mexican food is! They probably like the Americanization and fusion aspects. Oh well! I go to Albertaco's for my yummy $3 Carne Asada Burrito or the oh so wonderful $5 Carne Asada Nachos! For a FRACTION of the price we spent I can get tons of yummy Mexican food!