Real Good Fish - Community Supported Fishery

Our family doesn't eat seafood often mainly because I don't know how to cook fish that well. But calamari, THAT I can do! Thanks to a local business, Real Good Fish, we were able to try sustainable calamari last week. Real Good Fish makes weekly deliveries of seafood from 25 different fisherman who catch from Ft. Bragg to Monterey. The business was started by graduate students on a mission to protect our oceans and local fishermen. Their story can be found here.

I picked up my delivery on a Thursday from the local public library. It felt funny walking into the library with a cooler bag and getting frozen seafood from the periodicals section. But when I chatted with the employee there, she said it was actually a popular program and many people worked or lived close by and picked up their weekly catches at the library. It made me feel good about supporting not just a community business (Real Good Fish) but also a community center like the library. My fish was kept adequately frozen and they offered insulated bags to carry the catch home even though I brought my own.

For more information on how it works, costs, and pick up locations, you can read the Real Good Fish website. I received a one time order free of charge to write this review.

Left: cleaned and gutted squid

Right: Smoked black cod

I started with drying my squid on paper towels. Then I cut half into rings and did a batter. I added cajun spices and other seasonings into a batch of flour and split that into two containers. A third bowl had milk. I battered my rings in this order before frying them: flour, milk, flour, fry.

The fried calamari rings turned out great! The batter was flavorful and crispy. I would cut the rings larger next time so I could taste more squid than batter. If the oil is hot, they cook up super fast. We dipped these in Sir Kensington's Special Sauce with a swirl of Sriracha sauce.

The remaining half of the squid were scored and simply seared on a panini maker in an attempt to get grill marks. I didn't get the grill marks and they were still very tasty. No seasonings, just a spray of Pam on the grill surface. For these, I used Vietnamese nuoc cham (fish sauce) and Japanese ponzu. They tasted best with the nuoc cham.

Here's our whole spread with soba noodles in a soba dipping sauce. Shaved brussel sprout salad in the middle. It was a wonderful dinner and a great way to add variety to our usual rotation of beef and chicken. Deliveries from sustainable fisheries are a great way to support local businesses and ensure we don't overfish from our oceans. You eat what is caught that week and don't create demand for fish from far locations that must be shipped over. For the home cook like me, it helps me practice cooking new recipes that I wouldn't otherwise cook. I hope you check out Real Good Fish and see their offerings.

Business Spotlight - Brad's Bistro

Brad Kunkel is a personal chef who created Brad's Bistro, a weekly meal delivery service based in San Jose. Brad's meals focus on health and wellness, with portion sizes catered towards weight loss and ingredients that are diabetic friendly. He can make slight changes for gluten free meals as well. Brad's Bistro is based in San Jose and he makes deliveries to the South Bay area.

There are a number of people in my life who need to follow restricted diets for health reasons. Some others I know also follow restricted diets for brief or extended periods of time to lose weight. When Brad offered me a complimentary delivery of his metabolic meals, I specifically had these loved ones in mind. 

For $150, you get everything pictured above. Brad has recently started offering a snack service in addition to the meals. When you place your order by no later than 12PM on Weds, Brad will email you an invoice. The delivery is dropped off by Brad on Saturdays and they contain 5 days worth of breakfast, lunch, and dinners. He personally manages all the aspects of his business himself. The containers are reusable, microwavable, and are all labeled with the food item name. I kept the containers and continue to use them to store ingredients I prep for dinner the day before, or to bring lunch to work where I need to separate different elements. They are very handy!

Here's a quick breakdown of what was in that week's delivery. I split off one day's worth to my friend who has diabetes. I wanted a diabetic's opinion of the meal since it is made to suit their dietary needs. I won't be making notes on every item since the menu changes every week. I'll highlight my favorites. The food is pictured in their meal categories.

BREAKFAST

Almond berry oatmeal
My friend said this tasted much better than it looks. The oatmeal texture was spot on. 

Almond flour pecan pancakes

I thought these were some of the best pancakes I've ever had. I never had pancakes with almond flour before and I should be having more of them in the future! They reheat very well, still fluffy.

Huevos Rancheros

Kale mushroom fritatta

LUNCH

Curried tofu waldorf salad

Salmon, chickpeas, and broccoli salad

Pad Thai salad with grilled turkey
Turkey was perfectly cooked, still juicy and moist.

My general note about all the salads is that the home made dressings are all very tasty. They are all unique and you won't find those flavors in bottles on the store. Aside from that, each salad was pretty good. You should follow the order on the menu that comes with the delivery because it does suggest which items to eat first in terms of freshness. This is most important for the salads.

DINNER

Quinoa pasta
Yum! I had this for lunch instead of dinner. 

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

The dinner actually comes with sides which aren't pictured here so your portion is much larger than this.

Pork tenderloin with date walnut sauce
I ate most of my meals at my desk and the only meal I was able to plate and photograph was this one. This is more like the portion size of what you would get for a dinner. Each element is boxed separately.

Chicken mole with dates and almonds
I thought this was the most filling of all the dinner options. The dates, walnuts, and chicken can really fill you up.

Carrot and roasted chili slaw
A surprising hit! The chili is not spicy at all. The dressing has some acidity, and there's no milkiness like the usual slaw dressing. I liked this side dish very much.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

There's no doubt in my mind that Brad knows how to cook and plan meals. Some of the flavor profiles in his dish were spot on. Especially impressive given that he needs to replace certain carbs with healthier options like quinoa and almond flour and I saw very minimal use of sugars. You will notice a lot of use of almonds, dates, and beans to fill out the meals. Having close friends and family members with diabetes, high blood pressure, as well as having gone through a weight loss process for myself and with my husband, I think Brad's ingredient choices and the way he designed the menu is very nutritional and tasty.

His service is great. He cooks everything on Fridays out of a catering kitchen he rents and makes all his deliveries on Saturday. The food will keep well for you up until Friday dinner, given that you follow the suggested order in his menu. The invoice comes to you promptly, and emails are answered quickly. He is very receptive to feedback and can make slight adjustments to your meal if needed. 

The portion sizes are a bit small. They actually look to be appropriately sized for what's recommended if you look at Choosemyplate.gov. However, everyone is a different size with different lifestyles. If you are active like me (I work out for at least 30-60 minutes almost every day), you will need to supplement the diet with more snacks or other small meals. Brad also started offering a snack package with 2 snacks per day. The portion sizes and ingredients choices will at least get you on the right track to a healthier diet. 

I think what Brad's offering is unique and useful to the community. Nothing seems quite as bothersome as cutting out many foods you used to love for health reasons and not having the time or experience to cook proper replacements. His food definitely has that home cooked feel to it while being nutritious at the same time. 

Brad's Website/Menu

Brad on Yelp

Local Business Spotlight: Farmhill - Healthy Food Delivery Service

*EDIT* Kincao is now called Farmhill. Same great fresh food and service! Check out their website here:

https://www.farmhill.com/
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Sustainable and healthy eating is how I try to make my food choices. Most of the lunch options by my work place are anything but sustainable and healthy. Everything good is out of range and options within range are chain restaurants or very heavy fatty foods. Many times I just want a fresh cooked meal with wholesome ingredients to get me through the last half of the work day. My friend introduced me to Kincao, a healthy food delivery service she uses for lunch. She places the order online and they deliver her lunch to her work place. For now, Kincao only services Campbell and Los Gatos but they made a special delivery to my work so I could try their meal.

Not going to lie, it did tickle my heart a little to see my name written on my lunch box. It has that personal touch like your mom writing your name on your paper bag lunch so none of the other kids would steal your food.

The branzino filet was juicy and well seasoned on a bed of herbed quinoa and lentils. Broccoli rabe was in season at the time and I definitely didn't mind having it twice that week if it was sauteed like it was here.

A little bit of cabbage slaw on the side of a baby arugula and sweet potato salad rounds out the box. Finish it all off with ripe persimmon slices for dessert. Don't you feel healthy and well balanced just looking at it? This is my perfect type of lunch: a little bit of many things, not too heavy, just enough food so you don't have food coma at your desk right after lunch.

I recognized the great potential in Kincao and enjoyed their product and service so much I decided to make 2014's first Local Business Spotlight, in video form, on their company. Learn all about Kincao from the founders, Mark and Marc, in this video.

I have been very fortunate in my blogging career to finally reach a point where I can afford to stray from writing restaurant reviews to dig into passion projects. Gone are the days of metaphorically starving for content and now I can create my own opportunities. 2013 was a pivotal year in the progress of my blog as I decided to foray into Youtube with a mission of telling stories that the world would find entertaining or useful. I thank all the viewers of this blog for helping me get to a point where I can produce work that I feel is of value to this world and hopefully for your continued support in the future. With this teamwork, I can host more giveaways so you get free goodies!

Kincao is sponsoring a giveaway to introduce new healthy foodies to their services. Enter the raffle below for a chance to win a $10 gift card to Kincao. There will be 3 winners chosen. Remember to follow Kincao on Facebook and also fill out the Rafflecopter so I know you entered.

Valid only for Campbell and Los Gatos areas since Kincao delivers there. Silicon Valley/South Bay Area entrants only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Introducing Cococlectic - A Craft Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Community

Looking for a Valentine's Day gift for your special someone? Or what's the other name for the pesky February 14th holiday? S.A.D. - Single's Awareness Day

Introducing, Cococlectic, a craft Bean-to-Bar club featuring artisanal cocoa creations. Cococlectic is a chocolate community started by Doreen Leong, a San Franciscan with a strong penchant for craft chocolates. In a few weeks, I will have the chance to review this company and its chocolates. You can count on a thorough review and write up on Cococlectic's offerings. 

For now, you can check out their membership levels starting at $34 per month for 4 dark chocolate bars a month. Cococlectic is currently offering a Valentine's Day special. From now until February 9th, you will receive a $10 gift card and hand written love note with a one time purchase for $34. Check out their website for more details and look forward to my review in February. 

Local Business Spotlight: El Chinito Group - Pop Up Restaurant

Umeshu Sangrias - all you can drink!

One of my friends texted me a cryptic invite to a Sunday brunch located at some random apartment complex. She did not have more information for me than this online menu. We went anyway because we're daring food ninjas.

The brunch was hosted by El Chinito Group, run by Dianna and Kha, fiances and former San Jose residents until they moved to Chicago so Kha could pursue his culinary passions. Luckily, San Jose can reclaim these two as our own. Kha is a graduate of the local Professional Culinary Institute of Campbell. He has worked in famed kitchens such as Michelin starred Plumed Horse in Saratoga, two Michelin starred Charlie Trotters in Chicago, Balena Chicago, and Ovie Bar and Grill. He digs deeper into his culinary journey and inspirations in the transcript of our interview after the break below.

Having spent years in professional kitchens, Kha picked up the nickname "El Chinito" which means "Little China Man" by his Latino peers although he is Vietnamese. The name stuck and he eventually opened El Chinito Group, serving monthly pop up meals with experimental menus. The meals take place at different locations, they can be lunch, dinner, cocktails, or anything in between. El Chinito will list a suggested contribution amount and you can contribute what you can or want anonymously.

For the brunch menu, you actually get a choice between one of two appetizers, one of two entrees, and one of two desserts with bottomless plum wine sangria. I went with a friend and we ordered one of everything.

Tomato Tarte Tatine, strawberries, tequila basil sabayon

I'm not quite sure this dish worked. The separate elements were interesting but the strawberries and cream were sweet and the tomato tarte with phyllo dough was savory. I think they could be taken apart and embellished with something else to become two individual savory and sweet appetizers. Strawberries and cream were good though.

Monkey bread, nori, chocolate

This was less complex and less interesting but a safer option than the tomato tartine. Once dipped in chocolate, you barely taste the nori and its just like eating monkey bread in chocolate sauce. Not too bad.

Clams, boiled egg, chilled soba, mushrooms, Red Boat dashi.

This soba dish was a real stand out star. It is deceptively simple looking and tastes very homely, if you grew up in an Asian household. I appreciate the refreshing and delicious but simple appeal because I have attempted chilled soba dishes with mixed mushrooms before and the results were not like this. I wish I took a picture of the runny yolk in the egg when I broke it apart. The crunchy radish and baby arugula, the pickled celery, the 7 kinds of mushrooms, the dashi fortified with clams...this dish is perfect. I still want more.

Kofte, scrambled egg, smashed potatoes, yogurt hollandaise

This is a lamb sausage with omelet in a crepe and potatoes smashed-not mashed. The hollandaise sauce was made with yogurt and not butter. It was nice to have a hearty and more traditional brunch fare to balance the rest of the menu items.

Cayenne walnut and black sesame ice cream

The black sesame ice cream was good. We finished it quickly. I would not have chosen cayenne as the spice for the cayenne walnut ice cream. The ice cream actually starts off really decadent, sweet, and nutty. In 3-4 seconds the cayenne hits and it's too strong. It's not spicy per se but the cayenne note does not blend well with the rest of the ice cream which was really excellent. It has potential.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

Pop up restaurants are a great way for aspiring chefs to test new menus without commitment or fear of failure. There's no capital costs in buying your own equipment and no overhead cost in hiring any labor. Kha cooked and Dianna worked front of house. Together they also sourced and procured ingredients. It's a two person show for the most part. Without these burdens, the chef is free to experiment and that is exactly what we got: menu items that pushed the boundaries of restaurant offerings, uninhibited by the restrictions of marketability. Does it matter if cayenne walnut ice cream is going to be the big seller when next month's menu will be entirely different? No. It's all about a chef sharing his craft with interested diners who pay what they can or want to and hopefully open their taste buds to new experiences in the process. I'm really glad I made the trek to a random apartment complex on a Sunday morning. How else would I have tried that amazing soba dish?

The next meal sounds even better. It's a sake pairing hosted on Oct 24-27.

Menu here

El Chinito on Facebook

Full transcript of my interview with the chef, Kha Lu after the page break

Local Business Spotlight: Dishcrawl

Three years ago, when this was a fledgling food blog attempting to cover a region that even our own residents did not find interesting, Dishcrawl was an infant start up. They invited me to come out to a local Dishcrawl event but the timing never worked out and we soon forgot about each other in our separate food journeys. When I was in Austin, I met local food bloggers who spoke excitedly about the Dishcrawl events happening in Austin. This was when I realized that the company that emailed me 3 years ago now had a national reach. I owed it to myself to reconnect with them which is what brought you the three South Bay Dishcrawl event recaps: Sunnyvale, Downtown San Jose, and Campbell.

Dishcrawl was established in 2010 in San Jose, originally throwing events to promote the app "Battledish." It has since morphed into a social dining experience and Battledish is now much different than a mobile app. Crawls are held in 125 cities across the United States and Canada. The company has a goal of bringing the community together over food and provide exposure to local restaurants. Diners pay $45 for a ticket to try 4 local restaurants. They are only told what the first restaurant will be 24 hours before the start of the event. 

With a key demographic of 35-55 year old professionals who attend after work, Dishcrawl provides a great opportunity to meet people outside of work in a low key environment. The neighborhoods and cities which host the crawls often have a concentrated area of restaurants. Much of Dishcrawl's popularity is in smaller towns and college towns. This is an example of how a single business can help grow a market in a small town and also educate that market on the concept of social dining. Restaurants are chosen based on the variety it provides to the night's itinerary, new or overlooked restaurants, and local establishments with ingrained roots in the community. Hopefully we see Dishcrawl expand overseas in a few years. It's always amazing to see San Joseans do big things!

On October 5, I am helping to judge the San Mateo Battledish event thrown by Dishcrawl. Use code "sanjosefoodblog" for free tickets to Battledish Beta Tasting in San Mateo. You can cast your vote for the best food truck chef in San Mateo to compete with 74 other chefs in the world for the esteemed title of "King of Battledish." Get your tickets here.