Loading ...Tasty Takes – Roast Duck, and Tips on Ordering Dim Sum
Emerald Restaurant is one of my go-to spots for breakfast. Dim sum is not as easy to find in San Diego as in Los Angeles, but if you want to avoid the traffic, parking fees and the chaos of a huge dim sum restaurant, go to Emerald.
Another advantage of Emerald is that it opens at 9 am on Saturday and Sunday, even though it may look closed. If you’re like me and my husband, you know that there aren’t too many restaurants on Convoy Street open at that hour. We’ve spent several mornings driving up and down that street looking for an open restaurant, to no avail. But alas, we found Emerald.
The roast duck is always a treat. The fatty skin that separates from the meat is really the star of the show. It’s juicy and crispy and full of flavor. Don’t expect this meaty indulgence to be as piping hot as our American palate has come to demand, however. After all, it’s been doing laps around the dining room in an unheated cart.
The art of ordering dim sum is about patience. When first seated, the diner may be bombarded with a procession of carts, and women trying to get the table to take one of each item. But keep your composure, use your right to say no, and take your time no matter how much pressure you get.
Unless you have a very large appetite, or you are expecting lots of leftovers to take home, aim for no more than four dishes per person. Decide which dishes you must have ahead of time, and hold out for those. For instance, my husband must have the chicken feet. So we ask for them, and they make sure we get them. Otherwise, because we are not Chinese, we may not always be offered the chicken feet.
Never been to dim sum and don’t know what to order? Here are 
some of my other personal must haves:
- Steamed Spareribs in Black Bean Sauce
- Stuffed Bean Curd
- Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf
- Rice Noodle with Beef
- Shu Mai and/or Dumplings – pork or chicken
- Baked BBQ Pork Bun (trust me, as weird as it seems this is my dessert)
- Sweet Tofu (it comes around in a big pressure cooker pot)
Emerald Restaurant
http://www.emeraldrestaurant.com
3709 Convoy St. Suite 101
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 565-6888
Mon – Thurs: 11 am – 12 am
Fri: 11 am – 1 am
Sat – Sun: 9 am – 12 am
What San Diegans Eat – Skateboarding Legend, Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk is a pop culture icon. The name, Tony Hawk is synonymous with competitive skateboarding. He made skateboarding cool, and then he made being an older skater cool as well. He has a skateboard company – Birdhouse Projects, clothing line – Hawk Clothing, PlayStation video game – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and he even has a rollercoaster named after him at Six Flags- Tony Hawk’s Big Spin. On top of this huge skateboarding empire, he also has four children who he somehow finds time to take care of. One of the coolest things about Tony Hawk, is that he was born and raised in the San Diego area and he still lives here. And he’s a foodie.
List everything that you consumed in the past 24 hours:
Super Steamer at Pannikin (Encinitas) with turkey and avo, large OJ and a large mocha.
Chicken kabob & hummus and Greek Corner Café (Carlsbad), and an iced tea.
Beef Pho from Kim’s Restaurant in Encinitas and an 8oz bottle of Coke (the best way to consume it).
Leftover chocolate shake that I made for my 10-year-old son at home.
List your top 5 restaurants, or favorite meals to cook, or your “rotation”:
- Market Del Mar
- Nobu (as in Matsuhisa)
- Ruth’s Chris
- Flippin’ Pizza
- Roberto’s
Open your fridge and list the first 5 things that you see:
Stonyfield Farms yogurt
Wheat bread
8oz Coca Cola bottles
Sake
Budweiser
Your favorite grocery store:
Jimbo’s
Your favorite meal you’ve eaten in the past month:
Tasting menu at Market Del Mar
What is one food item you could not bare to live without ever eating again:
Double Double
What do you want the readers to know about yourself:
I am a professional skateboarder and a self-proclaimed foodie. I have traveled the world and eaten at some of the finest restaurants, only to realize that Chef Carl at Market Del Mar is one of the best. I’ll eat anything he prepares, even salmon.
What San Diegans Eat — Local fisherman Johnny Law
Johnny Law is the definition of San Diegan. He makes his living from the Pacific Ocean. He has vast knowledge on the Pacific and sustainable fishing practices. He gardens, and he cooks. He likes Mexican food and sushi. If you’ve had live shallow water rockfish from Zenbu, or deep water rockfish from Zenbu, Rimel’s or El Pescador, then you might have dined on his catch. He also fishes for rock crab, spider crab and whelks for Asian supermarkets. Then, during lobster season, he supplies local restaurants with spiny lobster.
List everything that you consumed in the past 24 hours:
Last night, 9 pm — Linguini with diced chicken, red sauce, roma tomatoes, Anaheim chilies, garlic, onions. These were all vegetables from the garden. Three Coors Light beers.
This morning 5 am — One cup of coffee. 10 am — Huevos rancheros with rice, beans and flour tortillas.
This evening — BBQ at the neighbors: Hamburger, Fritos with veggie bean dip, three rice “pillows”, small bowl of olives, three Coors Light beers.
List your top 5 restaurants, or favorite meals to cook, or your “rotation”:
JV’s Mexican Food on Morena Blvd. — Excellent food, large portions, low price, fast service. I can eat my huevos rancheros, read the Reader, and listen to ranchero music coming from the kitchen (unless there’s a soccer game on TV). It always the same and it’s nice to be welcomed by the owner and staff.
Tasty Takes – Produce from Sage Mountain Farms & Deluz Farms
Produce from the CSA Box
Sage Mountain Farms & Deluz Farms may or may not be names you are familiar with. These are two local organic farms situated in the Temecula area. For those home cooks and foodies out there, the promise of a fresh, healthy and delicious home cooked meal with great ingredients is what makes this ‘tasty takes’ shot exciting.
What is a CSA box, you may be asking? CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, the community gives “pledges” and in return, they receive a box of fresh produce every week or two, depending on their pledge amount. There are several “pick up” locations around the county where members can get their box.
Depending on what is in season and what is ripe, the boxes will vary from week to week. This adds to the excitement of receiving the box every week. The CSA box in the picture above contains green bell peppers, carrots, tangerines, lemons, baby beets, juicy ripe Roma tomatoes, different varieties of new potatoes, green onions, red spring onions and a few varieties of patty pan squash. Oh, the possibilities…..
Inland Empire CSA
www.inlandempirecsa.com
sagemountainfarm.com
www.deluzfarms.com
Pick-up locations after the jump:
What San Diegans Eat – Laura Tubelle de González
Laura Tubelle de González is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at San Diego Miramar College with an interest in food anthropology. She is the advisor for the Food and Culture Club, a student club whose mission is to explore the world’s cultures through cuisine. Recently, she took on the Faculty Sustainability Coordinator position at Miramar College and brought local foods to campus with the Inland Empire CSA and a weekly local foods fest. She is the volunteer school garden coordinator at Arroyo Vista Charter School in Chula Vista and enjoys getting her hands dirty with her daughters and their classmates. As a ten-year-old, Laura appeared in a Frosted Flakes commercial with Tony the Tiger, beginning a life-long fascination with food. She lives in Eastlake with her husband, two daughters, and newly-adopted dog, Mochi.
List everything that you consumed in the past 24 hours:
Breakfast: Honey Nut O’s and 2 cups of coffee (I like the organic shade-grown Ethiopian from Trader Joe’s)
Snack with kids: Jicama strips with lime and salt
Lunch: Leftovers from last night’s dinner – Alaskan sockeye salmon filet with sesame apple and jicama slaw (I used apples from my Inland Empire CSA box)
Afternoon snack: Coffee and absurdly large chocolate chip cookie while reading book (Travels in Alaska by John Muir)
Dinner: Homemade calzones filled with chicken sausage, artichoke hearts, garlic, anchovies, ricotta and mozzarella cheese. (For my oldest daughter, who is a finicky eater, I made one with just cheese and sauce and told her it was a Pizza Pocket.) I made the sauce with Roma tomatoes from the CSA box and basil from my garden. Washed it down with half a glass of Stone Smoked Porter.
