Caliano by Spinelli Take 2 - Monday Nights at Fall Brewing - North Park - USA

https://www.facebook.com/calianofoodtruck

Mario is back, and back with a vengeance in North Park.  

Well, to be a bit more accurate WE'RE back at Fall Brewing, and it's a Monday night so that means Pizza Truck night!  (Mario hasn't gone anywhere...)

For those of you that missed this one the first time around please allow me to re-introduce you to Caliano by Spinelli, one of the best tasting, and absolutely coolest pizza dude, truck, event anywhere, anytime in San Diego and beyond.

If you didn't get it from the post title or the lead-in, Mario is at Fall Brewing in North Park EVERY Monday night dolling out his fresh and tasty offerings.  Pizza, sandwiches, salads, and more.  Great tasting fresh food, cooked in one of the coolest vessels ever built.

Our front row seats give us the feel of sitting in our backyard enjoying a BBQ with friends, and beer...  And no one has to do the dishes!

I need a pizza and I need one now.  There are a few special offerings tonight, along with all of the familiar ingredients that you could or would ever want on a pizza.  The house made sausage is one of my favorites and it also happens to be in one of the specials of the day, the sausage, mushroom, and truffle oil pie.  Feast with your eyes  :-O

A sprinkling of red pepper flakes and this pizza isn't going to be around long.

As Mario places the pie in front of us we are overwhelmed by the aroma of truffle and sausage, and dough and yeast and every fricken thing else that is bubbling on this plate.  In typical DVA fashion I dive in WAY too early, not waiting for the molten cheese to cool a bit.  Ehh, the skin on the roof of my mouth will grow back in a few days.

Perfection in dough form.  A perfect balance of toppings to sauce to crust.  Not one individual ingredient overpowering another.  Firm bottom (what?!?!) yet fluffy and light and with plenty of tooth, if you know what that means, and you should.  Please don't misunderstand my point of ingredient ratio.  It's not sparse by any means, it's just right.  Every bite leaves you wanting another, almost teasing your palate, tempting you to eat more.  And that's just what we want, MORE! 

So we order another one of the other specials of the day, The Meatball Sandwich.

The promotion of this item by Mario has me really looking forward to it.  I want this to be good.  Because I'm hungry, yes, but also because there are a lot of bad meatball sandwiches out there.  Some have great tasting meatballs but the wrong bread/roll, so it gets super soggy.  Or the bread is right but the balls suck and/or it's dry, or too much/not enough cheese.  Something, there's always something that makes it less than awesome.

I gotta believe that this dude knows his stuff.  At least I'm really really hoping he does.....

Mama-Mia!

This thing is loaded with delicious balls!  

I don't know who selected the bread (that's not true, it has to be Mario!) and I don't think he's making it, and he really doesn't need to because this is the perfect roll for this ball-sauce-cheese combo.   

Amaze-balls!

Just look at it!  Stuffed to the gills with meat!  And flavorful to say the least.  

The best part of all is that this is only $5

Yeah, $5

Crazy.  HG and I split one, and also a pizza and we were totally stuffed.  But stuffed with happiness.

Fall Brewing and Caliano by Spinelli

Mondays you can get both in one shot.  Any other day of the week and it's up to you to find them.  One thing is for sure, both are a must have.  If you aren't lucky enough to live within walking distance take an Uber, get a ride, take the bus, just get over here.

Great beer, great food, a comfortable environment with nice, happy people that are genuinely happy to see you.

Way to go Fall.

See you soon Mario!  

DVA

Rip Current Brewing and Sublime North Park - Beer and Food - San Diego - USA

http://ripcurrentbrewing.com/home/

Welcome to our new favorite brewery in San Diego.  Well, to be honest, it's only one of our new favorites being that there are always soooo many to choose from.  

Nestled in fairly central North Park on a larger than normal site is the second location of Rip Current Brewing, and more of a tap room than the original San Marcos location.  They have a decent selection of their own brews and a half dozen or so guest taps.  Now for those of you that know me you know that I'm not an IPA guy.  I love saisons or ales (the non-IPA type) of all types.  However, with that said, and with the advice of our new best friend Andy, photo not included, Andy gently steers us towards their flagship beer, the Lupulin Lust San Diego Style IPA.  A beautiful melange of fruit and hops, sweet and bitter, but just the right amount of both.  If a saison and an IPA had a baby we'd have to name it Lupulin Lust (no frick'n idea what a Lupulin is...but I bet Google does...).

The back wall is adorned with a small portion of the owner's beer can collection, the balance of which is at their San Marcos location.

Hi HG!

Occupying the rear of the property is Sublime North Park.  

Sublime is also a brewery in San Marcos and they are pal's with Rip Current.  Rip Current hasn't evolved into offering they own tasty niblets yet, and they may never will, so they have contracted with their good ol' buds Sublime to bring the meal to your mouth.

Sublime North Park, Gourmet Comfort Food....  OK, I really hope so....  :-O

http://northpark.sublimealehouse.com/home/

Sublime has a fairly extensive menu, from salads and starters to burgers, sandwiches, and pizzas.  

As I approach the ordering window a large mound of bacon stares back.

And here's the deal, we are super starving and have been planning this visit for a while.  We've been here before for the beers and loved them, and this time we're totally looking forward to checking out the eats. One of their "specials" is the Sizzling Sisig.  It reads great on the menu, so what the heck, let's start with that.  Braised pork and onions and jalepeńo, cast iron pan, Hawaiian rolls, yeah, gonna crush it.

And then this arrives.

Gourmet?

Maybe in San Marcos this passes as gourmet, but not here, not many places for that matter.  It looks absolutely terrible, not appetizing, pretty gross in fact.  Did they totally burn the shit out of it and say "serve it anyway, maybe they won't notice!"?????  Well, sorry to break this to you Sublime, we noticed.  Anyone one would notice.  

And then the smell hits us.  Deliciously porky and greasy.   We're 3 beers into it at this point, so we split some rolls, load them up, run them through the grease, and in the mouth they go....

And wowzer, does this taste good?  It tastes really really good.  Although I see no sight nor smell of any onion  or jalepeńo, I taste them, all of them.  It's as though the pork, during it's annihilation over excessive heat, has become one with the veg.  Napalm has fused all of the ingredients into oneness.  A delicious singularity.  Toasty, sweet, greasy and crispy. 

Let's review:

1)  Rip Current Brewery kicks ass.  I love them and can't wait to return.  I love their beers so much that I bought TWO growlers so I can have this stuff at home as well.  Thanks for coming to the hood Rip Current!  See you soon.

2)  Sublime North Park, your presentation needs help, a LOT of help.  We will return and we will eat again, but we'd love for it to look half as good as it tastes, which amazing.  All you had to do with the Sisig was through some fresh onion and jalepeńos on top to finish it.  I want to see the ingredients, even just a little, fake it if you have to, but do it, please, it needs it.

3)  There is no #3.  Thanks for reading or at least looking at the photos.

Peace

Love

Good Food

Good Drinks

DVA

Cali Baguette Express, Kearny Mesa, San Diego, USA

http://calibaguetteexpress.com/index.php?a=1

Hungry for lunch?  It doesn't matter where you're located, how much cash you have, or even what day it is, Cali Baguette Express can give it to you just how you like it, when you want it.

$3.50 a sandwich.  Baguettes made on the property.  Fresh ingredients.  Open every day.  Heck, they are even open till 9 pm so come on in for dinner!

For those of you unfamiliar, please allow me to introduce to you the Banh Mi. 

Banh Mi in Vietnamese simply means sandwich.  Period.  There is a classic expression of this generic name though that should normally include at least cucumber, fresh sliced jalepeño, cilantro, and pickled carrot/daicon (radish).  Over and above these standard ingredients feel free to load in whatever you like,  from rotisserie chicken to paté to the vietnamese take on headcheese and ham.  Pork, beef, fish, veg only, there is no limit or rules other than it must be fresh and delicious.

This baguette was baked within the last few hours and is light and fluffy on the inside and crispy and crackly on the outside.  A perfect French baguette to make a perfect Vietnamese sandwich.  Also, if you are unaware and wondering why the Vietnamese are making baguettes, the French occupied Vietnam from 1887 to 1941 when it fell to the Japanese during WWII.  Independence for the Vietnamese came a few years later.  So, not only is the baguette a big part of the Vietnamese culture but many other cultural and architectural influences from France exist today in Vietnam and with their people.  Possibly there will be more on that in an upcoming post :-O

Here is the traditional #1 Banh Mi at Cali B E.  Headcheese, pork, veg.

A little cock sauce and this sandwich isn't going to be around long.

Fresh and light and delicious.  I really can't emphasis enough how satisfying this is, and not overly filling either.  Looking at the size of the sandwich and the amount of bread it contains can be quite deceiving.  For me at least, it's just the right amount for an individual meal.  A meal with a big explosion of flavors.

 This is the rotisserie chicken, the # 5 I believe.

I hired a hand model for this next shot.  I wanted the sandwich to be held at the perfect angle, thus displaying the melange of ingredients in a fashion that best represents the internal combination of palatal delights.

Thanks ma'am.

The chicken in this Banh Mi is something altogether new and different to me.  Although the name implies juicy and roasty, turning gently over an open flame, this chicken has the fantastic flavor and texture of Carnitas, but made with chicken.  The bite is more dense than I expected, and I liked that it was.  The chicken was not hiding in this bread, it's plays an equal part to the bright fresh veggies, but there is an undeniable fried/Mexican element that really jumps out to you.  Very delicious.

This is the turkey with pesto.

What more can I say?  Awesome, amazing, terrific, can't wait for lunch again.

To reiterate, again and again and again, as many times as need be until you try this place.   No matter where you are, or what time it is, or how much cash you have, this is the place for you.

A true one of a kind find where everything, including the bread, is made fresh, on-site, to order, for you.

Do something good for your body

Cali Baguette Express

Eat it

DVA