glutton / bakersfield restaurants, dining, food, eating... bakersfield ca & its environs

valley farms hitching post, 36005 hwy 99, traver, ca, 93673

2007-03-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

food: 4/5; price: $. if you're heading north on 99, stop off here. traver is north of visalia, about 5 miles south of kingsburg (30 miles south of fresno). driving along, you'll see plenty of signs letting you know valley farms is coming up. the one that always grabs my eye reads "date shakes." DATE SHAKES?!?! sccrrrrreeeeeeechhh!!
the hitching post restaurant is in the same low-slung barn that houses valley farms. the latter sells specialty nuts, candy, olives, sauces, dried fruits, souvenirs and the like, similar to casa de fruita near gilroy or charlie brown's in the high desert or many other places like that. these specialty items are a little on the high side, but you won't be disappointed cause it's all delicious. if you've got people visiting from out of state, here they'll find mementos that'll help them remember the san joaquin valley.
the eatery was open for once (we usually come thru too late in the evening), so we grabbed a bite. the decor is absolutely charming, nostalgic-friendly, with corny humorous signs blanketing the walls, 40s pin-up girls, old-fashioned beer & soda logos, down-home witticisms, etc. we sat up at the bar & were waited on by a large-framed fellow, handsome as a movie star, with charming mexican accent & friendly manner. the waitress, too, was mighty nice. the place was bustling with what my spouse called "farm folk" - it looked to be a popular spot with the locals.
the menu was large & through the swinging doors leading to & from the kitchen, we saw cook & wait-staff smiling, laughing, dishing up food. is this a family operation? i don't know, but no one looked disgruntled, which always helps my food go down smoother. overall, the vibe was positive, as our friend in santa cruz might say.
the restaurant is housed in an old-fashioned garage: the owners open & close two or three garage doors for business, so if you're not at the bar, you sit at wooden tables & look out on the orchards across the road while you eat & visit. a big sign announced happy hour & the setting is a great one for that, i'd think. i'm a teetotaler, but had romantic thoughts of sitting for lazy hours, getting a little lit in the golden afternoon while laughing with compadres & gazing out on the sleepy fields & highway...
our date shakes were scrumptious; we split a club sandwich. the bill was quite reasonable & we left happy.

prime cut meats & eats, 9500 brimhall, bakersfield ca 93312

2007-03-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

food: 3/5; atmosphere: 4.5/5; price: $ 1/2. the prime cut has been in biz locally for decades, owned by a husband & wife team. recently, i got the inside scoop on the new location: the owners wanted to deck the place out like new orleans. yes!!!! i still think for all the restaurants we have in kern county, too few focus on atmosphere... i'll eat most anything & be happy if the digs feel fun, glamorous, exciting, relaxing, mysterious, etc... dining out, even if you don't drink & be merry, can be real entertainment, if the place is done up right - you can nearly feel like you've traveled someplace special. however, most often when i go out to eat locally, the most interesting sites are tv sports, beer signs, cornball signs & the like. there's gotta be more.
the new prime cut is working on it. my aunt kept saying, "they're gonna get better." i know the new location was rush-opened, & the place was quite busy when we ate there for lunch. i imagine the owners are plenty overwhelmed in their new location, which is 3 times larger than the old. i liked the atmosphere: walls made to look like an old barn with faded brick & distressed wood; nostalgic LPs & NOLA signs on the walls; parade beads; a big mirrored bar; and best of all, recorded zydeco & cajun blues music playing behind it all. the last time i heard beau jocques in a restaurant was in austin - this was nice!!! i put my two cents in, too: "if i had a restaurant, it'd be darker & there'd be more **** on the walls & lights, too - the kinda place you go in for a beer & come out nine hours later, feeling like you've been someplace." a restaurant's music choice can really make or break an eating experience for me - once i had to leave a steak house at the market place, which was blasting country pop music, the worst of the knee-jerk pablum, nearly losing rather than indulging my appetite... on the other hand, prime cut's music was on par with the lovely & exotic stuff you hear in mama roomba's - i'll be back just to wash in the sound of "laissez les bon ton roulet!" i learned, too, that the decorating is not quite finished, so i hope that when i return, there'll be more neat stuff to look at.
prime cut sells mostly meats - tri-tip, shredded beef & chicken, ribs, & the like. there's a butcher shop attached to the restaurant, but we didn't go in. i know prime cut's reputation precedes it - the local paper has used much ink to sing the praises of the "merv burger," for instance.
the sides offered at this point are small: chili beans, macaroni salad, fries. "they need to have more of them," my aunt commented. right now, the place seems to be split - atmospherically, it's going exotically southern (that is, louisiana-mixed rather than oildale), but culinarily, it seems aimed at the tailgate crowd. i believe the menu'd benefit from adding on sides: greens, corn bread, mac & cheese, yams - the tasty extras that make J's Southern and Phine's over-the-top delicious & special local eating experiences. i know the new prime cut already is leaning more toward the southern - jambalaya every day, etoufee & gumbo, too. i hope they continue to add on, so the food's not only good, the atmosphere special, but the food choices special, as well.
we went plain - hot tri-tip sandwich for my aunt, shredded chicken sandwich for me. the bread was homemade, but way too much for me. i was certain the menu said my sandwich, with chicken as soft as tuna, came with BBQ sauce, but i had to go ask for it. my aunt said her meat was delicious, but "needed something - it's too dry," so i got her sauce, too. i ordered cajun fries, but was told "we only have regular ones right now." i imagine these are all kinks that will be worked out. we were happy enough with our food, appreciated this was a brand new place trying to offer something different to the locals, & like i said, i'd come back, anyway, just to hear that music someplace other than at home coming out of my own stereo.

la mina cantina, 4001 auburn st, bakersfield ca 93306

2007-02-05T13:29:00.000-08:00

food: 3.5/5; price: $ 1/2. i am a huge (in both senses of the word) restaurant goer, but still manage regularly to miss many of the popular local places. la mina has been one. i finally went with family members to this northeast mexican food spot today and am still foggy-brained from the overeating experience, all the blood i would need to think & write clearly being in my stomach right now. this is a quite pretty, colorful, large restaurant with high ceilings, leveled floors, wide central area resembling a patio, lovely carved chairs and tables, tile floors, wall hangings, etc. there's a bar i'd bet is a fun place to go get plastered, large, dark, with margarita goblets and loaded soldiers lined up and ready for action.
la mina abounds with pasteled, festive, restauranty-romance. a visit here feels a little like going to a party.
mom and auntie ordered bowls of albondigas soup with a side of rice, the soup being, my aunt told my mom, "the closest i've had to how mama made it" (high praise) - it came with something extra, green bell peppers. mama, who hasn't been feeling well, slurped her whole bowl up, which made me like la mina that much more. i got the extremely reasonably-priced lunch buffet, under $7, and ate like a porker. the food was plentiful, pleasant, nothing outstanding, but two hours later, still stuffed to the gills, i have no stomach ache, and that's a good sign for me. the buffet included big, tender pieces of BBQ chicken; chicken fajitas with grilled vegetables; beef quesadillas; rice and beans; menudo with all the fixin's; tortillas; some kind of deep-fried fish (took all three of us tasting it to figure out what it was) with french fries; and more, but my memory's poor right now, as i said... add to this the salad and fruit bar, desert table, and (saving the best for last) rice pudding con canela and flan. the flan was delicious and i ate three squares before realizing that i'd pay for my gluttony if i didn't stop right then and there.
lunch for the three of us, minus tip, was $28. it would've been cheaper, but we got the extra side of rice and drinks, the latter of which, in restaurant-bars like this, always brings the tab up $4-$7. la mina serves large portions of standard food, nothing outstanding, but in a lovely environment, and for the overall experience, i'd recommend it. you could bring the family here for an uncle's or other family member's birthday and have a grand time, or come in with work buds for happy hour: both experiences would satisfy just plenty.

la herradura restaurant, 7101 rosedale hwy, bakersfield ca 93308

2007-01-27T17:03:00.000-08:00

rating: 4/5; price: $. this place is easy to miss, a storefront restaurant on the south side of rosedale hwy in a still-industrial section... inside is an ordering window and a cozy dining room with stocky, comfortable new mexican tables & chairs hacked from (looked like) entire blond pines and ranchito artwork of horse, mexican village, gaucho, and such. the big tv murmured futbol and other diners chatted politely in spanish. the waitress said they were out of ice cream when we tried to order a coffee milkshake, but then, after walking away to another table & maybe composing the english sentence in her mind, she returned and smiled, "i promise we will have it the NEXT time." i liked that friendly touch, as well as the hearty food. we had nachos, sopes, and tortas all stuffed with or topped with carne asada (it had been a bad day for us both and we needed a serious pigging out session). the torta was the biggest thing i'd ever seen, like a child's catcher's mitt, except delicious (unlike the mitt - i suppose i didn't need to write that part...). all our food was very tasty and the nice young waitress kept the sodas coming. at other tables, we spotted giant bowls of soup, siete mares, and other tasty looking plates that will tempt us, along with the cozy mexican-western atmosphere of la herradura, to return.

tony's pizza, 4130 california ave, bakersfield

2007-01-08T09:44:00.000-08:00

price: $; food: 5/5.
as kids, we'd go visit our grandparents in delano. they lived across the street from the grape orchards, where grandpa, who rarely left his recliner, his TV baseball, and his iced tea, would steal over and rustle grapes (the little sweet green thompsons seedless you can't get in stores anymore)... if we were lucky, we'd get a dollar to walk over to thrifty's and the three of us could get an ice cream. if we were REAL lucky, our extravagant aunt would give us a fiver and we'd go to tony's pizza for a slice and a coke. i don't remember much at all of my life, but i remember the pizza - thin-crust, topped with big big circles of ham, not too greasy, delicious.
yesterday, we walked into a newly-opened tony's pizza in bakersfield, located in the mervyn's shopping center on california (east end of mall). the place is new, very clean (unusual for local pizza parlors), not decorated with sports teams (also unusual)... the theme is firefighting: the comfy blue walls and historical pictures feature old fire engines and houses; the most interesting picture (to me) shows firefighters' uniforms, how they've changed over the past century-plus. fancy brews include amber bock (involuntary drool) and firehouse ale, with proceeds from the last going to firefighter causes. beautiful poinsettias and other deep-red plants really spruced the place up further. i couldn't believe it; a beautiful pizza parlor! "give it time," my hubby said, but i'd like to think that tony's will stay clean...
they sell slices! three different sliced pizzas rotated in a warmed glass compartment... slices started at just $1.50! that's much better than the three-bucks-plus you'd pay at the mall... i noticed, too, small cokes were just 75 cents. drinks are usually where restaurants will gouge you - particularly at bar-restaurants, which'll charge up to three bucks for a soda, if you don't watch it... these prices seemed reasonable.
excited, as a semi-joke, i called my delano cousin (now in texas), sister, and aunt. "guess where i am?" i said. "TONY'S PIZZA!"
the man behind the counter smiled... did he look familiar?
the pizza arrived. how can a pizza look familiar? yet, it did. i went to the counter. "i remember there was a tony's in delano," i said to the young woman now there. "yes," she replied. "it's the same family."
wow! thought i... what a nice coincidence! 25 years later, here we were, back at tony's.
the pizza was just terrific, as i knew it'd be just by looking at it: not greasy, covered with giant, thin slices of sweet ham and plentiful pineapple (we always order this, if it's available. we're from california, you know)... even though sports played on the flat screens, the volume was low enough that it sounded a bit like calming surf... i was not even disturbed by the 10 video game machines, all with hunting and killing themes, rationalizing that somehow maybe that was related to peace officer training... the small pizza with two toppings, $8, was just right for the two of us gluttons; we even brought home a slice. it was still delicious later as i scarfed it from in front of the refrigerator. when we go back, we might try some of tony's specialty pizzas, like mexicana (with chorizo and spices) or chile verde... or maybe we'll just stick with the delicious ham/pineapple (their offical hawaiian pizza is topped with bell pepper, too)... also on the menu are bread and pizza sticks, salad bar, and sandwiches, as well as the beer bar i mentioned.
instead of china buffet next door, visit tony's pizza for good prices, delicious pizzas ranging in price from just $6.50 (small cheese) to $22 (x-large with four toppings), and very pleasant and clean atmosphere.

pour house, 4041 fruitvale, bakersfield ca 93308

2007-01-08T09:35:00.000-08:00

food: 3/5; price: $. although it's still open, absorbed into the bbq factory at the garces circle, we miss the old highland cafe in oildale. no partier these decades, i'm still a bar fly and love the darkness, the clinking glasses, the mirrors, the lights, the odor, the blinking tvs inevitably showing sports or country music videos, the jukebox tunes of these places... at the old highland, the bar atmosphere was absolute romance for me and my spouse... at the new location, the food's good, the service is nice, but, well, it's a restaurant.
we went to the pour house, where "guys from the oilfield go," i was told. the pour house, unlike the old highland, is more bar than eatery, but it satisfies the desire for dark and dingy... our stressed-looking waitress, dealing with her (seeming) boyfriend at one table and some jerk at the bar who told her to "stop throwing food at me," brought us the special, chicken fried steak, as well as a grilled cheese. we poured from what we thought was ketchup, but it was pepper. at least this made the waitress laugh... the food was good and probably the more we go here, the more friendly people will get. that's what happened at the highland, and it became one of our favorites...

honolulu hawaiian bbq & chinese express, 1201 24th st., bakersfield, ca, 661-323-6888

2006-11-02T11:14:00.000-08:00

food: 5/5; price: $.
before i went to hawaii some years back, i read here & there while researching what to do, where to eat, & kept reading, basically, that the food was nothing special & don't get your hopes up. what did this mean? no haute cuisine? nothing high class & high-falutin'? i don't know... when i got to hawaii, since i had no expectation (kind of like when i went to paris, was told the people hate americans, then, braced for the worst, was pleasantly surprised to meet nothing but nice folks) i was in heaven!! : not just to enjoy the beauty of the smaller islands' native culture & geography, but the food...
what i ate while on "the islands" seemed to combine asian (chinese, japanese, filippino), mexican, & american comfort/soul food. nothing spicy, nothing too chewy or fibrous, lots of sweet & savory flavors, simple ingredients, what some people might even call "ghetto food" - rice, chicken, eggs, cabbage, mayonnaise salads, nuts... and spam??? yes, spam is very popular in hawaii and parts of asia. spam is atrocious to really contemplate, way too salty, but guilty-pleasure good - like the "cheesecake chimichanga" my cousin in texas called me recently to confess she'd eaten. anyway, i don't know if hawaiian food has any equivalent of expensive wines and caviars, but i liked it plenty...
even poi!! the best meals i had were macadamia pancakes topped with tropical fruit & served with kona coffee; manapua (hawaiian for steamed buns, or bao); japanese-style bento box lunch; and hawaiian-style plate lunches.
locally, there is another place that advertises serving hawaiian food, but i've been disappointed by it - its menu seems mostly chinese. this new place, at the west foot of the 178 freeway on 24th, downtown, in the newish village town centre shopping centre featuring starbucks, juice it up, flame & skewer, & more, features the most hawaiian-like menu i've seen locally! at least, hawaiian in the way that i experienced while there...
honolulu hawaiian bbq is a large, clean, bright, fast-foodish kind of sit-down restaurant. they have breakfast specials, 7-1030: 3 dim sum-kind of rolls, buns, or breaded pieces containing fruit, fish, meat, etc. for 99 cents. three for 99 cents! you could really go to town sampling this and that! i plan to go tomorrow morning...
meanwhile, i had my favorite plate lunch. what is a plate lunch? basically, a main dish served with two scoops of rice and macaroni salad. "they created them for the surfers," mom said. i didn't check this. the plate lunch seemed a bit messy to handle with chopsticks, or to roll up & eat while jogging out to the surf, but what do i know? i got my favorite plate lunch, which is called "loco moco" (i imagine like locomotion, but that name sure made my two little hispanic kid friends laugh their butts off, since "loco moco" loosely translates as "crazy booger" in spanish slang...). loco moco is the best - a hamburger steak on a small bed of cabbage, topped with two eggs and a delicious brown gravy. this food, as my sister would say, is GRUB!
the price was a little high for this cheapskate, six bucks, but was a very large portion: my mom & i noshed away at it for quite a while, then i brought it home and cooked it up, adding an extra egg, & my spouse & i ate the rest. if the other plate lunches are as large, you could feed two people with one, i think, or just be a glutton & stuff the whole thing down! go to town!
other flavors of plate lunches include satay, pineapple, or curry chicken; kalua pork with cabbage (tea leaf, banana leaf, sea salt); honolulu bbq, seafood mix, pollock & bbq chicken combo, and... GRILLED SPAM MOCO! HHB&CE also serves spam musubi, which is spam wrapped in seaweed, sort of a sushi-like hors d'oeuvre, but island down-home.
HHB&CE also has a big drink menu of fresh juices (including delicious watermelon juice), milk shakes, hawaiian canned drinks (oolong tea, strawberry guava, etc.) & asian-style specialty drinks (slushes, boba, blended teas).
this restaurant served interesting, unusual, & delicious food for reasonable prices and deserves to be supported by local diners. and, as i've said of other places i've reviewed, if you don't want to go exotic, there's always the standard fare - burgers, salad, chinese food. hope you check it out today, & enjoy a happy, tasty, ono-rific meal...

i beat pete!! fabious' corner, 13061 rosedale hwy (at allen), bakersfield ca 93314

2006-10-25T11:37:00.000-07:00

food: 5/5; price: $ 1/2. pete tittl at the cal is having his review of this place published tomorrow... that announcement kicked me in the rear to get this one out, though only 1/1000 of the readers who'll see pete's will see this one! i don't care; i ate here years ago, last summer, & each time have thought, i have to spread the word! yes, pettiness can spark positive action, in some cases, and if this review draws just a few more folks to fabious' corner, i don't care if you think i'm small... just go!
this is a delicious BBQ/soul food storefront that used to be on union, nearby phine's cafe (a wonderful, wonderful soul food, comfort food spot at union/4th, highly highly recommended by glutton, who knows a good meal, though little else)... EVERYTHING is great at fabious' corner, and unlike another bbq/soul food place i went to on rosedale (since closed down and attempting to reopen at a huge location on union), fabious' actually had the menu items that were on the menu!! we had giant turkey legs, smoked chicken, and smoked brisket. everything was succulent, dripping off the bone, smoky, out of this world!! side dishes included macaroni, greens, sweet potatoes (or were they yams?), rice, bread. fabious himself served up this sinfully scrumptious food... or was it heavenly? this obviously is a "christian run" business, judging by the decor and piped-in holy music, so you have been warned: if you dislike prosyletizing interior decorating, stay away... however, most of us locals are used to such sights, living in california's bible belt, and only the walls and radio will preach the word, so why not just go, anyway? if you stay away, you'll miss the friendliness, the good food, and then the best part of fabious' fabulous menu: DESSERT!!!!! EVERYTHING is great!!!! cobbler, sweet potato pie, 7-Up cake, and best of all, coca cola cake. COCA COLA CAKE!!!! everything is moist, sweet, mouth-watering, wonderful, southerny, comforting, nostalgic... fabious is fabulous, family owned, fantastic. i think you should go there today. enjoy!

water bubbles and teriyaki bowl, 2600 oswell st, bakersfield ca 93306

2006-09-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

water bubbles, rating 3.5/5, price $; teriyaki bowl, rating 4/5, price $. (both businesses are located at the nw corner of oswell & bernard, south of 178.) my 12 year old niece, like many kids, is obsessed with japanese and asian pop culture, so she was excited to stop off at teriyaki bowl when we picked her up for the evening. teriyaki bowl has been in town about 15 years, with locations on ming west of the plaza and panama lane, too. it used to sell solely japanese fast food, but now has a lot of chinese fast food, too. it's in a tiny storefront, decorated with orientalia. price are still quite cheap, with various types of rice bowls in the $2.50-$3 range. they also sell miso (the fishy-tasting variety), a good glutinous egg flower soup, & limited sushi (california rolls, when we were there). i usually get rice and egg flower soup, but others say they enjoy the teriyaki and curry bowls. you can choose different meats to top your bowl, but there are no specifically vegetarian options. this is a convenient spot to grab a filling meal en route to home from work or bc, or just a place to stop for something cheap and tasty, if you're a northeaster or east-sider. (tip! if you go to the teriyaki bowl on ming, get your food, then get your drink and extras at the adjacent asia market, which is a wonderful place to get cold teas and all kinds of specialized groceries. their chao siu bao (bbq pork rolls) are delicious!)
at the opposite end of this same strip mall-let is water bubbles: boba and exotics drinks, a brightly painted shop selling purified water, electronics, and "boba + slushies + coffee." the very cheerful man working the counter told me business was slow the first year, but is "doing better now." the drink selection is smaller and the prices a tad higher than at boba buck on union. he laughed heartily when i asked if he was the owner and was very friendly. this always counts for a lot with me!
adding boba (starchy, slightly sweet, chewy tapioca balls) to your "indulge drink" is 30 cents extra, although free at boba buck. "indulge drinks" come in more common to westerners fruit flavors and also lychee, star fruit, and taro. under blended drinks, you can choose the regular flavors as well as blended thai tea, which my spouse REALLY liked. other special add-ins (coconut jelly, green mango bits, oreo, caramel) also add 30 cents to your drink price. hot drinks include cocoa, tea, coffee, and french coffee. i would go back to support this business because of the counterman's friendliness. the drinks, too, were quite tasty, as you'd imagine. the fellow insisted on giving my fourth, free drink, although i hadn't quite earned it yet. water bubbles offers a "buy 3, get one free" drink deal, pretty generous compared to many specialty beverage places. i'd go back. the dessertish drinks complement teriyaki bowl's food pretty well, together making for quite a heavy, indulgent, though less-greasy-than-other-possibilities fast food meal.

a couple of "ehs" - ralene's filipino cuisine & juice it up

2006-09-05T11:25:00.000-07:00

ralene's filipino cuisine, 704 oak st, bakersfield, CA 93304, (661) 322-9200: rating: 3/5; price: $. i don't know much about filipino food except for the lumpia that sometimes would show up at our grandparents' house in delano when one of my aunts returned from harvest holidays or some other special event... i think the flavors are an acquired taste to a stranger to this type of chow, sort of like the cow-hoof-flavored dessert at saigon restaurant.
the interior of ralene's is colorful, cheerful, & diners seemed happy. you pick your food from a buffet line. the young man behind the counter was VERY helpful & friendly, letting us sample various dishes before choosing. the food textures were in general mushy & the food itself not at all spicy. i had a whole, dried milk fish, which he said was only available on special days, along with a plate of mung beans, which were hearty-tasty... the fish, eyeball & all, was very salty & pretty good, but my spouse wasn't able to eat his mixed vegetables, which were greasy-waxy & sweet-spiced. if you're someone who didn't grow up eating it, the vegetables must be some "acquired taste" plate, is what i think.
i suppose this is kind of filipino soul food & that if you already enjoy filipino food, you'll like ralene's. if this kind of fare is unfamiliar to you, but you seek out novel dining experiences, why not go to ralene's? who knows - you might enjoy it more than we did. the friendly young man certainly makes it worth at least one trip.
juice it up, village marketplace, 24th & L sts., bakersfield CA 93301. rating: 2/5; price: $$. this is basically jamba juice in central bakersfield, but the drinks are not as cold. it's located in the new shopping center at the western end of hwy 178, the side that dumps into downtown from the eastside. eateries already here are the excellent flame & skewer (middle eastern fast food); starbuck's; hawaiian bbq; & probably more. the drinks i've had here haven't been cold enough for my liking. when i let my guard down & spend 4-5 bucks for a shake-like drink, i want it to be ice-cold, at least, but these haven't been. kind of puzzling!
in addition to the dairy- and non-dairy-based juice beverages, juice it up sells wheat grass, tea, cocoa, & "free boosts," like jamba juice does - vitamins & herbs that can be added to your drink, depending on whether you want more energy, memory, fat burning, calcium, or etc. they have some food items, like muffins and healthy snack bars. the interior is small, cute & cool & there's a chalkboard you can write on. the blended juice drinks are calorie-heavy, enough for a full meal, but the ones at jamba juice seem heartier and more filling. for my money, i'd go someplace else, though certainly if you want healthy, juice it up offers that.

lina's sandwiches, 333 union ave (at saigon plaza), bakersfield ca 93307, 661-324-5470

2006-08-18T07:14:00.000-07:00

rating: 5/5; price: $. THIS PLACE IS GREAT!!! it's in the saigon plaza on union, by the giant flagship "asian" grocery store. there are two restaurants here, too, adjacent to one another; i haven't been to them, but notice one's usually full and the other's not. maybe a reader will write one or both up... my sister & i broke from indentured servitude for a half hour so i could take her to lina's, right by her work. she loved it, too!! what's not to love, unless your favorites are el torito and olive garden and the ilk (& you're probably not reading this, if they are, or maybe i'm just being a snob)? lina's is a little storefront joint featuring "the first [local] vietnamese/french combination sandwiches." they have fresh duck and fresh baguettes daily. yes, they make their own bread!!! duck's too rich for my palate, but i appreciate them serving it fresh daily, not the norm around here!
lina's has vietnamese banana leaf-wrapped pork. they have special cured bacon, imported cheeses, and french butter coffee. (no, i didn't like the last one. too rich, too sweet... but exotic, certainly! and it pepped me up, like good coffee should!) they have boba and jelly drinks, a huge menu of bubble teas and milk teas and slushes with standard and perhaps-exotic-to-the-puritan flavors. this drink menu is as big as the "asian k-mart"'s in the san gabriel valley. the drinks are cheap for being so fancy, flavorful, & refreshing: about $2. compare that to starbuck's!
the sandwiches? well, aah: the sandwiches are just delicious! and cheap, too, all under $3, but most just $2.25. they come wrapped in paper and secured with a green rubber band, a nice utilitarian touch. the piroguey-fat baguette is crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and fresh fresh fresh. every sandwich i've had here has been wonderful! lina's sandwiches don't need to be blobbed with condiments: the veggies and meats are ultra juicy and stand well alone. my sis the epicure said, between intent munching & exclamations of joy, "it's nice to eat at a place where they know how to do vegetables..." i would never say such a thing, being a mere glutton, but she knows her kitchen.
"let's see," said sis, still masticating, peering in the sandwich: "cilantro, green onion, chard?, some kind of chinese noodle in yours, vietnamese pickles, cucumber, green peppers..." the sandwiches are chock full of crunchy, delicious, spicy, tart, sweet, aromatic greens, a refreshing & bracing treat-departure from standard supermarket-stock lettuce and tomato. my "special combination" also featured three kinds of meat and a thin layer of liver pate. i loved it! i know liver's not for all, but it always reminds me of our dear, sweet, departed grandma. you can order something else!
my sister's sliced pork roll featured curled bits of bbq-style pig; she loved it, too, and continued to sing and comment with delight throughout her meal. other sandwiches range from cured bacon to grilled pork, beef, chicken, meatball, pork skin, sardine, and pate. you also can get "euro" sandwiches (more the usual): ham and cheese, for example, and veggie sandwiches in three flavors. lastly, you can order more traditional combination rice plates, that is, "chinese food to go." but why, why god, would you do that when there's so much more interesting choices at lina's????
so next time you're around the area and hungry, be sure to stop in to lina's for a delicious sandwich and specialty drink. or you can get the chinese combos, if you really have to. (who knows - those are probably delicious, too!) but don't miss out on this memorable, scrumptious, and affordable place, the kind of family-owned business we need to support here in bakersfield. bon appetit!

elephant bar, 10100 stockdale hwy, bakersfield ca, 661-663-3020

2006-08-16T07:01:00.000-07:00

price: $ 1/2; food: 5/5. this is another chain place i really like. it's cavernous, cool and clean inside. it has a weird make-believe jungle-"africa" theme, with big fake palms, fronds, copper-colored elephants, and thick glass partitions cut to resemble (maybe) the north african atlas mountains... the african theme makes little sense because the menu features foods from "asia, the tropics, and sensational regional favorites." i guess the decor is meant to evoke the feeling of being someplace exotic (and tacky, which definitely adds to the fun). this restaurant has become very popular, so go early or late, or be prepared to wait. it's far out stockdale hwy, with a california pizza kitchen adjacent.
the huge menu features about 20 entrees for under 10 bucks. the "1/2" above is if you include a drink. elephant BAR, being a restaurant bar, charges a lot for sodas... anyway, on to the food. i've eaten here several times & have always been quite happy. tofu pad thai: delicious. shrimp spring rolls in rice paper: wow (tho they seem to have shrunk recently). "adventure side salads" for under four dollars - all wonderful. these salads, plenty big for a whole meal, have names like "jamaica mojo" (with candied walnuts) and "tropical citrus." my favorite side salad is the simple iceberg wedge - a "half head of lettuce," as my spouse called it, covered with bleu cheese crumbles, tiny chunks of tomato, bacon bits and more. i get it with the spring roll dressing on the side, which is a sweet, tangy soybean-tamarind sauce. the chilled lettuce hunks, tiny rich bits of cheese & bacon, and sugary, spicy, fresh sauce make a terrifically tasty combination for four dollars! you also can get full salads for closer to a sawbuck, but i imagine you'd be taking food home, or wasting it.
burgers run standard, southern (different BBQ sandwiches) or more exotic (i.e., teriyaki or fire grilled mahi-mahi). "pacific rim specialties" also go from the more standard, cantonese dishes you'd find at local chinese restaurants to seared vegetable pad thai or macadamia nut salmon. regional favorites are varied, but lean toward the heavy and slightly unconventional: kona pork ribs, jambalaya, fettucini, fajitas, fish tacos... even steaks and chicken, if you don't feel like going even a tad wild. they have a fairly good creme brulee dessert, as well as a puddingy chocolate cakelet with ice cream that made my sister weak with delight, also berry confections and other nice cappers, if you're feeling magnanimous or just desirious of sugar after polishing off your meal proper. jambo.

mimi's cafe, 4025 california ave, 93309 www.mimiscafe.com

2006-08-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

rating: 4/5; price: $$. this is a busy, kind of foofoo, kind of creole/american eatery where you frequently have to wait to be served. it's popular. it ain't no pappadeaux seafood kitchen as far as new orleans-hued chains go. you can't get beignets, grits, biscuits and gravy, or even corn bread, but you can have shrimp omelettes, jambalaya, stuff like that, as well as the standards like cheeseburgers and soup and pancakes. today we all went and had a mimi's eat to celebrate our cousin's visit from out of state. a lot of meals come with these big muffins. i'm no muffin fan, but if you are, they have flavors like blueberry, cream cheese lemon (tasted like lemon cake), honey bran, oatmeal. the muffins are huge and served with little pats of margarine. my best mimi's moment was when i failed to run the sacramento marathon due to having pneumonia. i hauled my sick carcass up there, anyway, and bad omens abounded: spouse broke tooth on clif bar, my temperature went up to 102, torrents of rain began to storm down, the wind began to blow, i twisted my ankle. i was so ill i kept forgetting to eat, then weak with fatigue, we staggered through the storm, freezing and hungry, and came upon a warmly lit mimi's. inside, the heaters were on, people were smiling, and while we waited we had hot cider and banana bread, both of which were laid out for free. anyhow, i'm quite tired, but can say that mimi's is that kind of place - warm, friendly, corporately and therefore cleanly french quarter themed, safe and satisfying, the food equivalent of mervyn's or kohl's or someplace like that. it'll do for now and definitely is a place you could take your folks and know they would eat well and be treated nicely.

barbecue factory, 1616 30th st # 200, bakersfield 93301

2006-07-26T22:58:00.000-07:00

rating: 4.5/5; price: $$. today it was 115 degrees. i suggested to my spouse that we go get an early, preferably frozen dinner. we ended up at barbecue factory. we used to love the old highland cafe, in oildale; it has been moved here and opened under a different name to big success. the ac was pushing the cold stuff great and the young servers were very very friendly upon our arrival. it was too hot for many diners to be out, so we were shepherded to the bar, which i preferred to the main dining room: the bar was dimmer, cooler, cozier on this hot afternoon. spouse got a giant cheeseburger with bleu cheese on the side (both crumbles and dressing); it came with big steak fries sprinkled with season salt. i had a giant iced tea along with the kids' meal portion of pork ribs. the ribs were delicious even without bbq sauce, sweet and tender. the sauce sent it over the top flavor-wise - spicy, luscious, smoky... i dipped everything in the sauce, which no longer comes at the tables. however, the nice young waitress readily brought us extra bbq and bleu cheese.
we shared a dinner salad with more of the bleu cheese dressing (don't know if they make their own, but it sure is pungently tasty!), large, thinly sliced tomato, and lots of crunchy, buttery croutons. we were served fresh french bread with real butter upon arrival. i told this in reverse order, but i'm tired. barbecue factory was the place to be today, & we appreciated our very filling and scrumptious, hearty meal in its chilled and clean environment. barbecue factory hit the spot on a broiling bakersfield early evening.

mama roomba, 1814 eye st, bakersfield 93301, 661-322-MAMA

2006-07-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

rating: 5/5; price: $$. i love mama roomba! this place has the most colorful decor of any local eatery. it is romantic fun to eat at mama roomba, and the cuisine is exotic and delicious. the waitstaff is beautiful, wearing rich-hued guayaberas and (the women, anyway) red painted lips. the little space, a former shoe repair shop at the western corner of wall street alley, has a cantina feel, festooned with magenta, turquoise, red, green, mexican tableclothes, pottery, and artwork. in the women's bathroom, a photo of carmen miranda beams festively. it misses only the retablos, candles, and other religious decorations of pan-hispanic caribbean places in big cities, such as chachacha in LA. mama roomba has pretty, inviting atmosphere! that goes a long way for me...
if i'm in a great-looking place, but the food's not so hot, i can live with it. but the food in lovely mama roomba's is swell! you order tapas - little plates of food, served family style. two people could share 2-3 tapas and be satisfied. the portions look small, but they satisfy due to rich flavor. you don't want to gobble this food! i love sauces, and each tapa comes with a different one. the empanadas (little pies) are filled with ground beef, cuminos, green olives, raisins and you dip them in a sweet-spicy sauce... yum!!! small corn-cakes are filled with a thick white cheese and are served with a relishy salsa. fried plaintains are drizzled with sour cream; the sweet potato fries (mouth-watering) come with a kind of honey-hot sauce ketchup. at various other times we've had beef on skewers, peruvian ceviche (a pico de gallo like relish served with shrimp and avocado), black beans, rice, pressed pork sandwich, delicious salad with cilantro, cuminos, fresh tomato, and chunks of olive-oiled cotija cheese... adjacent to the dining room is a cozy bar where mojitos (bracing, minty potions) and sangria (fruity wine) are served... if i were a drinker today, i'd be in that bar enjoying these exotic, intoxicating refreshments.
i think a lot of what makes mama's food so tasty is the way they use spices. their website (www.mamaroomba.com) says this: "Each dish is cooked with different spices grown on the Islands... cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, allspice, and cloves. Other distinctive flavorings include ginger, garlic, coconut, and rum. These flavorings make our dishes more flavorful, enjoyable and fun!" fun, i should say: make a reservation for mama roomba's to enjoy a cozy, happy, lively, mouth-watering, dazzling and satisfying meal. :)

sequoia sandwich shop, 1231 18th st, bakersfield, 93301, (661) 323-2500

2006-07-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

rating: 3/5; price: $ 1/2. (well, doesn't THAT look confusing!!) the owners have hit the jackpot. this yuppie-ish sandwich spot is open til only 2 pm, closed weekends, & regularly has lines out the door at lunch hour (11-2 pm here)... it's an OK spot, maybe popular because sequoia can whip up big call-in orders for the downtown office crowd... the sandwiches are good but not too interesting, in my opinion, in the $6 range. the cheapest sandwiches are the vegetarian and the 3-cheese, both satisfying enough. the bread is fine; i don't know if they make their own, as does the too fat sandwich shop, which has two locations downtown (1825 F and 721 18th)... too fat's bread is dense, moist, chewy, a little sweet, very tasty. anyway, sequoia moves the orders out efficiently, with a hustle and bustle, so maybe it's this clean busy-ness that appeals to downtown workers, or maybe it's just convenient. the food is fine, the atmosphere is, like so many local spots, little to zilch, but you don't have to worry about getting rolled or jumped here -- very safe. (that can be a slight issue some places in town, but let's all be brave because after all, we don't live in baghdad.) the cheapest lunch is this: get a side salad (75 cents, in a tiny cup) with a warmed french roll with butter (50 cents) and a cup of water. it's really enough food, if you eat slowly. if you're reading this, it's likely you know where your next meal's coming from, anyway. sequoia has other locations at 9160 rosedale and 9500 ming.

root beer king, 11000 main st, lamont 93241; 24th st cafe, 1415 24th st, 93301, & clark's coffee shop, 8101 e. brundage ln, 93307 (both bakersfield)

2006-07-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

ROOT BEER KING, Lamont: rating: 4/5; price: $. my young friend & i were done with an artsy stint out in lamont & were meandering home when we drove past a retro-silver bullet diner, shiny in the blazing summer sun, with a sign reading "root beer king." i did an immediate u-turn & we were both very pleased. this place is spotlessly clean, the young ladies at the counter were nice, the ac was blowing full blast, the nostalgic 50s decor was corny but happy, and the rootbeer freezes were cold, sweet, icy-thick, & delicious. if i were a kid living in lamont, i'd live in root beer king, bringing my friends, comic books, secret writings, or whatever else there to appreciate the cool air, the clean environment, and the wonderful malt shop food. burgers, fries, the like... and ROOT BEER!

24th STREET CAFE: rating: 4/5; price: $$. closes 2 pm; long lines on weekends; bring a gas mask if you're gonna wait outside because the traffic exhaust can be heady.
maybe most bakersfieldians have been here, maybe not; i live in the old town center, so i've been many times. it has the most big city menu of any non-chain breakfast place, with fancy & "daring" offerings at times (omelettes with wild game or wild veggies, or unusual spices, or scones & pancakes with fancy nuts, or cajun this or french that; the menu goes for more sophistication than, say, zingo's or clark's). my sponsor likes to go and have just one pumpkin pancake, for instance. the pancakes are delicious, more on the crispy side so that they don't soak up too much syrup & become gut-bombs. but one time i had a taco salad and was not pleased. the meat was heavy, greasy, crushing the lettuce, and the salsa was not at all spicy, little more than pureed tomatoes. gross.
when i've had regular breakfast combos, though, i've always been pleased by 24th st cafe. they also put homemade preserves on the table so you can eat all you want. the decor is diner nostalgic and the bathroom is full of neat antique-shop items; i always have to remind myself that i don't steal anymore when i go to the can & am tempted.
anyplace where the waitresses are friendly to my mom, my aunt, & my cousin, i'm happy. i like this very popular place & recommend it.

CLARK'S COFFEE SHOP: rating: 4/5, price: $. you can get a full-on meal, from drink and salad on through bread, soup, entree, side dishes, and dessert, for eight bucks!!! this is a fun place to go if you're in the east part of town, right off 58 at the brundage exit. it's a classic truck stop (we took two young west LA hipsters one time & they yucked about how "authentic" and "country" the place was), much smaller than zingo's but quite friendly. i always feel a little like i'm going on a road trip when i go eat at clark's. they have great pancakes, too (description above applies).

mexicali, 5601 california ave, bakersfield, ca 93309, 661- 327-5201

2006-07-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

rating: 2.5/5; price: $$$. why? why do people go to mexicali??? ... our dear friends were visiting from the carlsbad area & we were all at a big meeting when other friends invited us all to hop on their lunch wagon to mexicali. as we drove over, my spouse & i said good, positive things, trying to be upbeat, but remembering mexicali as a uber-bourgeoise, overpriced place, heavy on the melted, greasy orange cheese. (well, i already broke the snob window with that last sentence!) i'm strictly hoi polloi, but i've enjoyed some hoity-toity places, & when i got to mexicali, i realized that mexicali aspires to be high class, not aimed at the sweating masses... our friend bill, a handsome guy who used to be on soaps, wore a tank top & had to borrow a white waiter shirt from the cloakroom before we could go in! ok, i admit, in a weird way, that was a little cool, being somewhat nostalgic, but the egalitarian me disliked the dress code thing, or maybe just the idea of being restricted, then giving the restricters money! i know, we could have walked out, but our friends wanted to eat there, & it was just weird, but i'll drop it... anyway, mexicali has nice atmosphere, & i like that they don't seem to have changed any of the decor in 35 years. it's a little cheesy in a herb alpert tijuana brass / "my family is spanish, not mexican" kind of way, but spotlessly clean (except for the dirty bathroom. ha! that was weird!)... then the menus came, and everything was way overpriced, and the chips came with a good salsa spiced with oregano, so that kinda balanced matters until the food came.
i'll just say it. yecccch. if you like lots and lots of greasy cheese, go to mexicali. my friend liked her chile colorado, but it looked like a bowl of ketchup. the tortillas were from the store. what restaurant makes them by hand here? still, you can get better, thicker ones at other places like 24th st cafe, for goodness' sake. also, when my spouse and our friend started telling nerdy, dirty jokes, i felt a little uncomfortable, like people were looking over their menus at "those people" with distaste. i'm sure it was in my head, but the feeling was real.
in short, not my kind of place, i guess. but if you like it, well, this has just been my opinion, & you know what they say about those. for my money, el taquito on north chester or taqueria los altos on south chester are much better. and i long for the day when we get a oaxacan restaurant here. with bako population predicted to hit 1 mil+ by 2025, it can't be long! one inevitable result of overpopulation will be diversity. therefore, it'll be hell, AND it'll be swell! buen provecha!

bread shoppe, 1230-A H (at 13th) st., bakersfield ca 93301

2006-07-13T11:06:00.000-07:00

the bread shoppe is coming! the bread shoppe is coming! the quaint sign, with its old-fashioned spelling, caught my eye as i drove around one afternoon... it's in the same shopping center as the old la fonda (which burned down; there's a different mexican food place there now): one street north of california, on the east side of the street opposite BHS, with dewar's just around the corner. ahhh... plump, chewy, comforting bread... thank goodness the high protein craze is over, giving kidneys a rest and emotional eating its deserved spot again. bread represents home, safety, indulgence, basic sustenance, luxury... a carb-heavy hunk can even get a person loaded, if the metabolism's tweaked that way (obviously, mine is). go to bread shoppe first, follow up with dewar's, then make sure you've got a designated driver!
the bread shoppe will open this coming monday, JULY 17, said the nice young woman who opened the door. the window advertises "delectable cheesecakes," "sweet treats," "irresistable desserts"... and, i hope, lots of bread.
another bread shop to tide you over is the world famous pyrenees french bakery at 717 e 21st st, bakersfield, 93305, (661) 322-7159 where you can get loaves of sourdough and sweet dough bread, specialty breads topped with seeds and more, and even day old.

andria's seafood restaurant & market, ventura harbor village, ventura, ca

2006-07-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

rating: 2/5; price: $$$$. don't go here!!!!! i mean, i guess it's ok, but i hate when people tell me how good a place is and then it's not just 1) expensive, but 2) not so special on the tastebuds, and 3) doesn't have nice employees. andria's was expensive (fish and chips starting at 10 bucks and fish/shellfish combos going up to 40 BUCKS and kids' meals [ONLY for kids] starting at $7)... i've been to plenty of expensive seafood places and personally i'm a great fan of fish (despite it being maybe the filthiest creature you can eat due to having the least-stringent fda and environmental restrictions), but don't tell me a place is "the best," then not have friendly employees, or a view. the view is part of the price, right? we sat outside at wooden tables with a view of some guy's boat and a sliver of harbor water. whoop-dee-doo. it made me wistfully remember being in maine 4-5 years back with family. uncle henry drove us to this really terrific lobster boil in a beautiful nature setting, at the same kind of wooden table as ventura, but in this instance we were helped by grinning friendly locals and picked out our lobsters (this kinda traumatized my little niece, so we had to make simpsons jokes, from the episode where homer ate his pet lobster pinchy). they cooked them up, and we absolutely gorged on fresh corn on the cob, boiled potatoes, fresh lobster with butter, steamed clams on the shell, cold sodas and cervezas. the lobsters were about six bucks each. for the whole crustacean. that is a lot of chow!!!... i don't know why i'm writing this except it sure made andria's look pale. don't go. if you're in ventura, get mexican food on the avenue, or fun retro food at the busy bee on main street.

manny's discount grocery outlet, 522 19th st, bakersfield ca 93305

2006-07-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

rating: 4/5; price: $ !!!!!! ... i was crying in my coffee again about how much i missed the grocery outlet (canned food warehouse) on pierce road (b. owens blvd) when my friend asked, "haven't you been to manny's grocery outlet?" no, said i. she gave me directions. i had to call her again, en route, to find the place. it's on a corner on the north side of 19th st, between union and baker, by where the old RAD thrift store burned down (that was another big boo-hoo for me, until they reopened it on bernard). i walked in full of anticipation, the prospect of bargains making my skin sizzle (or maybe it was the heat). manny's is kind of shabby inside, dark, but like my friend'd said, it sells NAME BRAND FOOD and HOUSEHOLD ITEMS for pennies. quickly i was panting with happiness. don't worry; it's not a "scary" place (though i don't know your definition). i got protein and meal-replacement bars - promaxx, balance, slimfast, clif, etc. -- TWENTY FOR ONE DOLLAR!!!! i even ate one, and true, it wasn't the freshest thing i've ever consumed, but for a nickel???? it was swell!! they sold wheaties, three giant boxes for a buck. i got wheaties for every member of my family. when we opened them later, with slight trepidation, as you'd imagine, not ever having done the manny's thing, the cereal was perfectly fresh and wheaties good. this puts manny's ahead of the dollar store, in my experience! i've gotten a few food items there that were infested (rice, raisins in particular).
i got uncle ben's microwaveable brown rice for 99 cents; more expensive children's cereal, big boxes, stuff like lucky charms and capn crunch, for two bucks; nivea lotion for three; laura scudder's natural crunchy peanut butter for a buck,... i could go on and on with the deals i got: left with two giant boxes of good canned and boxed nourishments and medicines/health & beauty/household stuffs for about 30 bucks. no fresh food here, as you'd guess, but you can get those at the regular grocery store, and save some money getting the other stuff at manny's. you might've guessed, though, it's like other discount places (big lots, dollar stores) in that once an item's gone, it's gone, so hop on down to manny's for a treasure hunt today.
(btw, as most of you probably know, there's still a grocery outlet in town, at 6421 ming ave.)

romano's macaroni grill, 8850 rosedale hwy, bakersfield, ca 93312, 661-588-2277

2006-07-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

rating: 4.5/5; price: $$ 1/2-$$$. my sponsor took my out for my birthday and we wound up out on rosedale, with its many many corporate restaurants, at macaroni grill. sometimes i'm in the mood for these giant sort of generic theme places, and this was one of those times. these places usually are really clean, cool, with lots of friendly wait staff and large menus. you rarely get a hair in your plate at eateries like this, mimi's, outback, etc. etc. (not like the time late one night we all were blasted-drunk at the old baker's square and greg goodsell yelled, "i have a hair in my food!" and proceeded to pull what looked like an entire wig off his plate, dangling it high in the air... they comped us, but still, it was pretty nasty!)
one cheery gal asked, "aren't you a ____?" she was a friend from childhood. imagine that! we're still such a small town, and not just intellectually (bah-dump-dump -- ok, i'll try not to be snotty from here on...). we were seated at a generous-sized table covered with white butcher paper. the waitress came over and began reeling off specials, at the same time palming a table-top crayon and writing her name UPSIDE DOWN with it, with flourish, on the table top. it was a zorro-like thing, very smooth... they brought out a big hunk of bread seasoned with rosemary (i think) and we dipped it in olive oil and chatted... the menu was average sized, with entrees in the $7-$24 range, it looked like. big wine list.
they came to get our order. "do you have gnocchi?" asked i, surveying the menu. no, was the reply. "linguini clams?" i asked, and ended up with something similar, in a soup bowl, with red sauce. the clams were pretty soft and had what i'd call an appropriate odor level, which is good when you're this far from the ocean where the fish dishes can get pretty dicey... i had to ask for a spoon, which was a bit surprising since isn't that one pretty common way to eat pasta? anyway, my sponsor got a spaghetti plate with basil, rosemary, pine nuts, shrimp, and a cream sauce. they ground the cheese atop our plates and swooped away so that pat and i could discuss matters of the universe (and gossip). macaroni grill was large, clean, quiet on this early afternoon, not too brightly lit (i just hate that speed-freak lighting some places have), with hardy food (the portions were quite large). i didn't try the loo, but i'll bet it was clean, too. i'd go back.

don pepito's 1201-1/2 chester ave bksfld ca 93301 661-326-1250

2006-07-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

rating: 4/5; price: $ (one pupusa, enough for a medium sized meal = $1.50 to $2.50). i met my high school friend (haven't seen her in years) and we drove to don pepito's: go to the palm's liquors sign at the corner of california and chester and there you'll find it. i had freshly made, cinnamon-sweet, icey horchata and we both ate pupusas, which are salvadoran stuffed tortillas, "the national snack of el salvador." these ones were round, heavy on the oil, fried, plump, lightly crispy. stuffed inside both were beans. i chose two pupusas, loroco and revuelta. loroco is a flower and this pie had a mild flavor. revuelta just means mixed; this one contained frijol, white cheese, and pulled pork. you cover pupusas with curtidos, which is a cross between sauerkraut and coleslaw, then blast on some mild salsa. in addition, my friend ordered a fish taco. i didn't try any, but it sure looked good, covered with greens, large chunks of avocado, a white dressing. best of all (in my opinion), the fish wasn't battered. overall, what a swell meal. we stuffed ourselves for under 10 bucks. the atmosphere, too, was pleasingly down-home: huge sticky-ish booths, bright, primitive murals of mountains and pastorale, world cup blasting on the spanish television. young servers, too, were plenty friendly and accomodating.

the filling station / barbecue

2006-07-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

(reprinted by permission of the author from www.theblackboardfreepress.com)

The Filling Station at 24th and F sells only fair trade, organic tea and coffee. My friend scoffed when I told him they advertise carrying only the top 3% of the world’s beans – Starbuck’s, by comparison, uses the top 10%. Well, I say the difference is obvious once you taste Filling Station’s coffee, which evokes hackneyed, though true, descriptions: full-flavored, robust, rich, etc. I recommend the blended green tea or blended Carmelo, though I’d bet all drinks here are tasty. You can drive or walk up for now; a restaurant seating area’s in the works.

Though we miss the old Highland Café in Oildale, owner Steve Nation’s not singing the blues. He moved to the spot just west of the Garces Circle (attached to the Elk’s Club) and now is doing “quadruple the business,” he says. The ‘cue is expensive, as is all Bakersfield BBQ, but it’s the same menu you may’ve enjoyed when Nations was down on North Chester. Some might find this heretical, but I like that the sauce is on the table so you can pour it on, like chocolate syrup over a sundae. Speaking of Sundays, Nations hosts a great feed/dance (it’s billed as a “Jazz Brunch”) from 11-4 weekly. The time we went, the food and drink was plentiful and the band none other than local legends Mento Buru. (Chesterfield Kings and the Sultans of Swing play other weekends.) With the bar at one arm’s distance, the pancakes, egg dishes, bacon, sausage and ham at the other, and the terrific band up front, it ended up being big fun on a Sunday in B-Town.