Lure Fish

After finding out that I needed to drive my car more to pass my smog inspection, I looked at my Instagram feed to see what places I wanted to try that were more than 30 miles away...Lure Fish Bar has several locations, and Ventura was far enough away but also not so far that my hips and knees would scream from the road trip. Since I had no idea when I would actually arrive, I waited until I was parked in front of the restaurant before calling in the curbside pick up order. They were very nice when I said I was already parked, but I think they forgot about me once the order was done because I saw several tables get served after I was parked and when I called back, they immediately brought the food out to me. Everything was still warm, but it had definitely been sitting there for awhile.

The miso maple bass skewers for $15 were so sweet that they did not need any  extra sauce. I had to take bites of the grapefruit and arugula in between bites of fish to cut the sweetness. The fish was not overcooked and fresh, so as long as you like your fish sweet, you would enjoy this appetizer.

The calamari for $14 would have been fabulous if it had been hot. A very generous portion, with fried peppers, and a nice roasted tomato sauce. Well seasoned, with lots of tentacles (my favorite), I would definitely order this if dining in the restaurant.

The spicy avocado wild shrimp salad for $15 with added grilled wild gulf shrimp for $6 traveled well all the way back to Los Angeles. With romaine, quinoa, red cabbage, grilled corn, tomatoes, queso fresco and a cilantro vinaigrette, this hearty salad would be a great choice for take away any day.

The Seafood Louie for $18 with added grilled wild gulf shrimp for $6 more, was my favorite, with Dungeness crab, pacific white shrimp, avocado, asparagus, 7 minute egg, and tomato, this salad hit all the right notes, textures, and flavors. There was so much seafood that I added more lettuce to make it more of a salad instead of a seafood plate!

Definitely a nice drive out of town and a good stop on the way to Santa Barbara or points further north if you are in the mood for some fresh seafood.

Chifa

Just as they always recommend on airplanes that you place the oxygen mask on yourself before placing it on your child or loved one, I recommend always getting (and eating) food for yourself when you are getting food for someone else :) I was making a personal delivery from Chifa for a friend recovering from surgery, so I ordered something for myself! They offer curbside delivery and two dedicated parking spaces in front for picking up orders.

Since the pandemic, I have not eaten any beef heart, so when I saw Anticucho with a serrano cilantro sauce for $11 on their menu, it was the first thing I ordered. The heart was tender, perfectly grilled and the sauce was just spicy enough to perk it up without lighting my mouth on fire.

I also got a side of their vegetables for $12 and was happy to find an unusual combination that went nicely

with the garlic rice

that came with the Si Yao aged soy poached free range chicken for $25. The order came with 1/2 a chicken, so there was plenty for leftovers if you couldn't finish it all at once ;)

My hearty plate was filled with only half of each item, a marvelous reward for making a delivery across town!

Bakerfield Road Trip

I learned that I needed to drive 300 miles at under 3000 rpm to get my catalytic converter to pass my smog test, so after driving to Long Beach and Camarillo, I took a road trip to Bakersfield to make sure I drove more than 300 miles! 

Of course any road trip must include a food stop or two. New Vintage Grill was in the same small complex as Bakers Outpost, so since it was lunch time, it was also time to have a take out car lunch. Even though they offered both indoor and outdoor dining, there were too many maskless people for me to feel comfortable eating anything other than take out. I was not even comfortable in their take out waiting area inside because of the many patrons either wearing masks covering only their mouths or no masks at all!

Their Greek salad had fresh ingredients and a hearty portion of chicken for $13.59. I found the chicken a bit dry, the sliced pepperoncini a bit strange, and the olives a bit overwhelming, but overall it was a good version made for American palates.

I ordered the avocado caprese salad for $14.59 to take home and it had a sweet balsamic glaze and dressing that were surprisingly good with the fresh basil chiffonade accented salad.

Since Bakers Outpost had just opened and I was tired of baking bread, it was the main reason for my destination pick. This is their sandwich sourdough loaf for $10 which was not as sour as is my preference, but the quality of grains and ingenuity of baking a sandwich sourdough loaf won me over.

The more classic version of sourdough with multiple grains was more traditional and hearty for 410. Again not as sour as my preference, but a great quality loaf for $10.

My favorite item was the coconut cookie that was made with so much care that you could taste the love that they put into this fantastic warm hug of a dessert. I would drive the 110 miles again just to get another cookie!

Moulin

Ever since the pandemic, I have not ventured beyond Los Angeles County, so since I still needed more freeway miles for my car to pass smog inspection, it was time to visit Moulin in Newport Beach. It was easy to find despite the construction detour for the Google maps exit (it's just as easy to take Jamboree to Bristol). The large parking lot and spacious shop and patio made it inviting for those of us who follow social distancing and mask protocols to feel secure. 

By 1pm on a weekday, the cases were already low on some of the most popular items, but there were enough choices to make the trip worthwhile.

They had a few baguettes left, so that alone was worth the drive :)

I got a few croissants for the next morning

a Madeleine for the drive back

a chocolate eclair and 

the fantastic apple tart was my favorite pastry!