Brians' American Eatery

So today was cold and with a wind chill factor of "are you freakin kidding me?" you might not think I'd want to go to Brians' American Eatery for brunch.  There's always a line and it gets pretty crowded with people trying to wait inside, but, it's worth it!  They have parking, but you may have to park somewhere else and walk when it's really busy.

First of all, no, I'm not spelling it wrong.  It's Brians', not Brian's, because it's 2 guys named Brian.  Brians' is in Hillcrest, on Washington between Lincoln and Cleveland.  This location used to be an old coffee shop that never changed.  When it became Brians', everything changed.  It's still got a vintage coffee shop feel but now it's on purpose.  There's also a heated patio on the side for when it's not raining or windier than heck.

Brians' is all about good food and lots of it.  I'm not kidding.  If you consider yourself a big eater you might be surprised and you'll definitely be satisfied.  You're never going to go there and get "a little bite" of something.  I've never finished my whole meal.  They offer breakfast, daily specials and a big variety of entrees and sandwiches and everything is good.  When you order a cup of coffee, they leave a full pot on the table.  Same thing with hot tea and they bring a honey bear with it.

Not only is the food really good and really big, the staff is great.  If you leave Brians' unhappy, it's probably your own fault.  Everyone is friendly and attentive and eager to make sure you get everything exactly the way you want it.  

For breakfast I like their Country Benedict; a biscuit topped with sausage, scrambled eggs, country gravy and green onions.  I love that I can get grits instead of potatoes.  I also like that they put fresh fruit on many of their plates.  Other favorites include Fried Chicken and Waffle, Hey Ricky!, Nachos El Brian or any of the burgers.

Brians' is absolutely my first choice for Sunday brunch.

Make sure to get one of their frequent diner cards!

Review - Crab Hut

Kind of disappointing…Crab Hut

I was really looking forward to going to Crab Hut. A friend of mine who usually has similar tastes to mine recommended it enthusiastically. Even though the name of the restaurant is Crab Hut, they describe themselves as a Louisiana crawfish kitchen. Seems weird to me but that’s not important. What’s important is when I read that description I was immediately craving Cajun crawfish with all the fixings. Unfortunately that's not really what I got.

So, having said that, the place is cute and the wait staff is friendly. It’s decorated to feel like a casual seaside eatery. There are nautical signs and decorations and the cash register area was covered by the façade of a grass roof. The acoustics of the dining room make it quite loud which is fine considering the fun and casual feel. Surprisingly there wasn't a wait for a table when we showed up even though it's not a very large restaurant. Tables are covered with paper and there’s a roll of paper towels and a little table sign which shows the prices for the day. One of the waiters comes around with a bowl of lime wedges and plunks some down on the table. Another came around with a pail full of little plastic containers with salt and pepper in them and he gave us plastic seafood bibs with a picture of a lobster (odd since lobster's not on the menu) holding a slice of lemon in one of the claws and it reads “Let’s get cracking”. Very cute. Your entrée is brought to the table in a plastic bag which holds in the flavor of the sauce and shells are left on the table. Another thing I thought was cute is the t-shirt our waiter was wearing. It had a picture of a crab with a halo and said “Holy crab”.

What did I get?

We started with the Cajun fries which are basically crinkle cut fries sprinkled with hot chili powder. Not bad but not as spicy as I was expecting and they needed salt. Next we tried a bowl of clam chowder. It was fine but not anything special other than the bowl it was served in which was square and black. For our entrees I ordered the crawfish with the Cajun sauce, medium spice and my roommate ordered clams with garlic butter, mild. This is where the disappointment comes in. The menu says the crawfish comes with corn and sausages. I was expecting crawfish boil like I’ve had many times before at other restaurants with a whole cob of corn and a whole piece of sausage. Most places also include potatoes. There was a small cobbette of corn and 2 thin slices of smoked sausage, it wasn’t even andouie. Expecting to see an actual sausage, when I got my food I didn’t think there was any sausage in it so the waiter brought me some. He said he gave me 4 instead of 2 because of the mistake. Once I got close to the bottom of my pile of crawfish I realized there was sausage in it. Oops. The sauce was spicy enough but it really needed salt. Adding both containers of salt and pepper that they gave us helped a little but it would have been better if it had been incorporated in the sauce. Other than the quality of the crawfish itself I didn’t enjoy this nearly as much as the Louisiana steam pot at Joe's Crab Shack, even though I usually don’t tend to eat at chain restaurants.

My roommate’s clams were pretty good. The sauce was definitely garlicky. My biggest complaint here is it seemed there were too many empty shells considering you’re paying by the pound.

What's cool?

The atmosphere is definitely fun. I’m always up for eating seafood with my fingers and leaving the shells on the table. They also offer sweetened or unsweetend iced tea which isn't common around here. Their sweet tea must not be as sweet as you would usually get in a Southern restaurant because I ordered it half sweet & half unsweetened and there was just a very light sweetness to it. That works for me. Most places that offer sweet tea make it way too sweet for my taste.

Rating...I’d give it a pass and go somewhere else.

Review - Bangkok Spices

Inexpensive Thai food...Bangkok Spices

Bangkok Spices is the go-to place for inexpensive Thai food to go. The food is good, there’s a great selection on their menu and you can order almost any dish with whatever protein you like. They offer a few different vegetarian protein options including mock chicken and mock duck. You can also order beef, pork, chicken, seafood and duck. Like many Thai restaurants, you can order your food with whatever level of spice you want on a scale of 0-10. I’ve never been disappointed with any of their entrees, noodle dishes and curries. I haven’t found most of their appetizers to be very good though. I prefer to order to go. This place doesn’t offer much in the way of ambience, just good food. The building they’re in was originally a Pizza Hut and you can still tell it was. Brick walls and floors and wood paneling don’t read as Thai. The music they have chosen to play is easy listening and singers and standards. I find the look of the place and the music they play to be incongruous with the food they serve. They serve wine and beer and of course Thai iced tea. You can never go wrong with Thai iced tea.

What do I get?

My usual order is sweet basil with duck. The first time I took a friend of mine there I ordered my usual and after tasting it he ordered the same to go several times the following week. I’ve tried a couple of their curries and they were both very tasty. I also like their Pad Thai and Tom Yum soup.

What’s cool? They have duck! Their Thai iced tea is good, not too sweet but not watered down.

What sucks?

As mentioned earlier their appetizers have almost always been disappointing. In addition, they don’t have a web site so I suggest getting a copy of their menu to have at home. You’re going to want to order by phone for pick up. If you order there, you might have a bit of a wait.

Rating…Order to go and eat in your sweats or pajamas with a friend

Review -The Tin Fish (Imperial Beach location)

Good food at the beach...The Tin Fish

The Tin Fish is just what I thought had been missing in San Diego; Good sea food without fuss or high prices. They have several locations in San Diego as well as a few locations outside of California. The Imperial Beach location is completely casual. Just the right vibe for a sunny weekend day. The restaurant is at the end of the Imperial Beach pier. There are a few tables outside, stools at a counter on both sides of the front wall and a few more tables inside. Orders are taken at the register and numbers are called to advise diners to pick up their food. The menu offers alternatives for those who don't like fish but the fish is what it's really about. Their menu calls their fish & chips famous but they not only serve the traditional cod, but also swordfish, salmon or halibut & chips. You can also order various seafoods with chips, several types of fish tacos and burritos, fish sandwiches, fish/seafood soups and grilled fish selections.

What did I get?

Clam chowder and fish & chips. The clam chowder was good. The fish is battered then dipped in what I'm assuming is corn meal before frying giving it a unique texture. The chips, while not traditional are really good. Instead of a thick cut french fry they server crisscut fries that are really crunchy. They even held their crunch after being drenched in malt vinegar. On the side came cole slaw. Their version is different from other cole slaws I've had. There is nothing creamy in the dressing, just vinegar and seasoning. Unusual but good. Their serving sizes are hearty. Their were two of us and we shared a bowl of clam chowder and an order of fish & chips and both of us were satisfied. Actually, I was pretty full.

What's cool?

You can order 1/2 orders of some of their items. I really thought that was great because the fish & chips came with five pieces of fish. I never could've eaten that much. I also loved being able to sit outside and watch the surf while we ate. Luckily we had lunch rather late in the day so we didn't have a problem getting an outside table. All their seating is at a premium during the usual busy periods.

What sucks?

Unfortunately their iced tea was terrible. Since I'd never been their before I don't know if that is usually the case or not. It was over brewed, way too bitter. Even after adding some water to try to tone it down and some lemon, which I don't always use when I drink iced tea, it was still pretty bad. I wound up throwing more than half of it away after we finished eating.

Rating...Definitely the place to go if you just want some good, unpretentious fish and seafood in San Diego.