Restaurants

My favorite Fishetarian Meals in Ventura

October 22, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

In May 2010 I stopped eating land animals for humanitarian reasons. I don’t know if it will stick… it’s been 5 months now and so far so good. I know that Vegans would still think me incredibly cruel to continue to eat fish and cheese. I get it but hey it’s a sliding scale and at least I’m doing something, right?

It used to be that as soon as I opened a menu I looked right to the beef or pork dishes and stopped there. So this “fishetarian” diet has really helped me discover some good meals I would’ve otherwise missed. I wanted to share those with you here.

Grilled fajita burrito with tofu instead of meat at Sharky’s
Cheese enchiladas with green sauce at El Rey Cantina
Cabo Fish Tacos at Nature’s Grill
The unbelievably good clam chowder at Spencer Makenzie’s
Grilled cheese with fries at In-n-Out for a quick fast food meal
Eggplant Parm sandwich or the salmon tacos at Meridian’s
Yellow curry shrimp at the new Rice Thai place downtown
The shrimp capellini and scallops with fennel at Tutti’s

What am I missing? What are some of your favorite Ventura vegetarian or fishetarian dishes? Please let me know!

Filed Under: Fishterian, Living Locally, Restaurants Tagged With: fishterian, Restaurants

My Florist Cafe – The Bjork of Ventura Restaurants

March 2, 2010 By webmaster Leave a Comment

I want so badly to like the singer Bjork. Her music is tantalizing, I love her costumes and her stage shows are very creative . But then she opens her mouth and it’s over for me. I just can’t enjoy the shrill sounds that come from her head in most of her songs.

I feel the same way about My Florist Cafe in Ventura. I love the ambiance: the lighting is perfect, the have a fantastic patio with a big-screen projector, and it’s the only restaurant here where you’ll hear Thievery Corp while you dine (when the piano player takes a break). The half priced wine special isn’t bad either… they actually don’t mark it up 4x to give you half off. I compared the prices to other outlets and they’re very reasonable. But then the food comes, and on one occasion it all came out at once (cheese plate, salads and entrees together). The food isn’t terrible so it may sound like I’m making too much out of it, but it doesn’t live up to the expectation that the atmosphere builds. The only thing I’ve had there that I would completely avoid is the chicken and dumplings, which come out as a very watery broth with some small dumplings and chicken at the bottom. My favorite entree so far has been the meatloaf, which is quite tasty especially when you pair it with the Firestone IPA they have on tap. My friend had the lasagna which garnered an “ehh” response, as did the other entrees ordered at the table.

Such a pity because the potential is there to be so much more. The wait staff is unpolished (except for the bartender) but they’re friendly enough to make up for it. I do hope it’s still a work in progress… Ventura needs a restaurant like this where the food matches the style.

Filed Under: Living Locally, Restaurants Tagged With: Ventura Restaurants

What happened to Ventura.com?

July 21, 2009 By webmaster Leave a Comment

John Dickson, where art thou? Ventura.com was my favorite page to go to for a quick summary of Ventura restaurant reviews, but it hasn’t been updated in over a year. I suppose it gets tedious having to read and approve all those reviews. There’s also stiff competition out there with Yelp.com but still it was a valuable resource. Maybe I should’ve clicked on more ads when I had the chance!

There’s another blog I’ve started reading for info and reviews of local restaurants: VenturaFoodHappenings.com. Check it out.

Filed Under: Restaurants Tagged With: Restaurants, ventura

El Rey Cantina

July 13, 2009 By webmaster Leave a Comment

3/10/11 UPDATE: El Rey just keeps getting better and better. The new taco menu has some unique flavors and totally rocks. There is a new high-def projector over the bar making this now also my favorite place to go watch a big game. Staff is still as friendly as ever. It’s been almost two years now since my first visit… hard to believe.

12/15/10 UPDATE: It’s been well over a year since I first visited El Rey and I’m happy to say that it’s still one of my favorite places. I love to kick off the weekend with the Mexican mood changer (a shot of tequila and a cold Modelo) and some chips and guacamole. It’s also a great place to watch sports with the new projector they put over the bar.

From 7/13/09: Well now we’re getting somewhere. It’s been too long since I visited a restaurant for the first time and felt like spreading the word. That long dry spell came to an end in a big margarita and bowl of great salsa at El Rey Cantina in downtown Ventura. We worked up an appetite on Sunday looking at all the Ferraris and Porsches at the Ventura Sports Car show so we headed down the street to find a cold drink and some food. I liked everything about this place the moment I walked in – the decor (it’s like walking into a velvet Elvis painting), the friendly staff, the tequila bar, the bras on the chandeliers and the big booths. But it’s easy to create a funky space in Ventura, the hard part is getting the food right (I’m looking at you again, Fiore!). This place gets it spot on. Even basic chicken enchiladas have a rich flavor that I haven’t tasted since I moved here from Texas. For something different we ordered the Ahi burrito which is served “sushi style”: sliced up and served like a sushi roll. Clever presentation and it tastes great. I don’t think I’ll order it as an entree again though… it would make a better appetizer. I won’t go on because I know this is sounding like an infomercial. I’m just so glad to have a casual downtown Ventura restaurant that I actually look forward to visiting again.

Filed Under: Restaurants Tagged With: mexican food, ventura