Thinking of some of these foods, and my inability to get my hands on some of them took me back in time to the places when my hands were firmly wrapped around the item(s) in question and I was with the people who helped define the moment. The moment when a food stuff, usually in my case something completely random, is an anchor point in life. The first experience, the first taste of something truly unique and mind blowing that I think back to it and the events that surrounded the moment many, or not so many moons ago.

Like the night I arrived in Bangkok on my way to Vietnam. I checked into the hotel burnt from a day and a half of travel. Dropped the luggage, hit the bed, rolled over and saw this red, hairy thing in the fruit basket. One taste and I was in love with rambutans.

…or the time after 3 flights + 2 continents and a squeaky 4 hour train ride, arriving at the train station at3 am, only to arrive at the hotel by 5 am…off for espresso at 9 am. Hungry, I sneak into a small cafe in Vietre su Mare and snack on the freshest buffalo mozzarella (caprese) salad I have ever had…

…or the runs up to the top of Texas street for Injera bread from the small Ethiopian cafe here in San Diego…

100 foods, 100 stories, 100 life defining events and 100 moments in time that will always put a smile on my face, no matter how bad the day is or how thick the cr@p is. Food, probably why I became a chef so long ago.

So here is the list. See if anything on it triggers a smile, either from a great memory or a laugh and a WTF is that! If you feel like it, leave a comment, or just a smiley face.

100 things I like to eat;

1. Pho bo
2. Bun bo hue
3. Gai yang
4. Tom yum gai
5. Miang kam
6. Beef bourguignon
7. Crème brulee
8. Rice
9. Ramen
10. Yakuniku
11. Saimin
12. Chicharones
13. Poke
14. Chicken mole
15. Oysters
16. Carpaccio
17. Kobe beef
18. BBQ pork buns
19. On choi
20. Pomfret
21. Skate wing
22. Fois gras
23. Truffles
24. Caviar
25. Smoked herring
26. Wolf berries
27. Lechon
28. Durian
29. Dragon fruit
30. Jujubee
31. Passion fruit
32. Guayaba
33. Lychee
34. Longan
35. Eel
36. Sweet sticky rice
37. Sugar cured bacon
38. Organic bananas
39. Chicken feet
40. Red beans and rice
41. Gumbo
42. Caprese salad
43. Heirloom tomatoes
44. Lau laus
45. Beef tendon
46. Chocolate mousse
47. Tiramisu
48. Diver scallops
49. Octopus
50. Quinoa
51. Amaranth
52. Fish tacos
53. Pistachio nougat
54. Black berries
55. Fuerte avocados
56. Pla ra
57. Buche
58. Paneer
59. Vindaloo
60. Doner kababs
61. Injera bread
62. Morcilla cocida
63. Paella
64. Uni
65. Duroc pork
66. Homemade ice cream
67. Hummus
68. Hot Italian beef sandwiches
69. Chicago style pizza
70. Smoked albacore tuna
71. Som tom
72. Buttermilk fried chicken
73. Hodads hamburgers
74. Beer
75. Laab pla dook
76. Jidori chicken
77. Raw beef liver
78. Fish maw
79. Ceviche
80. Geoduck clams
81. Fresh water prawns
82. Gai lan
83. Dried squid
84. Young coconut
85. Sopresata
86. Caperberries
87. Seaweed
88. Spam musubi
89. Shave ice
90. Biryani
91. Pandan anything
92. Chapulines
93. Caldo de res
94. Menudo
95. Jackfruit
96. Molasses
97. Congee
98. Bunashemeji mushrooms
99. Rice ball
100. Rambutans

Drum roll please…the “new” Porto Vista hotel site is now live! This is a momentous occasion, one that is coinciding with the 1 year anniversary of the Glass Door restaurant. After months of long hours, 7 day weeks and construction dust, it’s almost done and we are ready to lift the veil.

http://PortoVistaSD.com

and the “new” Glass Door section is here,

Glass Door restaurant San Diego

Glass Door menu’s are here.

Breakfast

Brunch

Lunch

Dinner

There are still some images to be uploaded, some content to be massaged and created along with some general site tweaks, but for the most part the site is done. So please, dig around the new site and hit me up with your comments. If you see something that is broken of does not make sense, post a comment or drop me a line.

Now that this is done I can get back to cooking…C ya soon!

chefRob

The Glass Door

From an earlier post you may notice that we have redone the logo…and I am ecstatic! We also have a new menu template which in turn means a new menu.

• 22 Aug Update…logo has been redone again and finalized. Different than the one I posted but new none the less.

New menu. Now that I have the finalized logo I can start working on getting the new menu finalized and implemented. Keep your eyes and ears open for more information on this.

Hotel

• We are in the process of redoing 70+ rooms, all with a new paint scheme. This includes black and white wall murals in each.
• 35 foot color wall mural at the corner of Columbia and Fir streets. This should be up today, 22 Aug. Will confirm when I leave my office.
• Mock sun/rain shade for the Glass Door. Came in during lunch yesterday and attempted to fit the mock up to the hotel facade. When complete will help with the rain/drizzle that occationally falls here in San Diego.
• Jacuzzi removal. We are covering the jacuzzi and turning the area into a loungy kinda space. Removal of the gates/walls surrounding the tub will also go.

Whew…now I can start posting recipes and talking food again…c ya soon!

chefRob

The changes are, new Sous chef, new restaurant logo, new menu…in that order.

• New Sous chef

So it has been a year, a year of solitary confinement (to a chef) of working alone. As much as I will miss working doubles (right…) I could not be more ecstatic that I found Rocio Tamayo, who came with great recommendations to our doorstep.

Rocio has worked at EXY, Dussini’s, Anthology and the Robert Mondavi food and wine center and brings experience to our kitchen with her pastry skills and her overall food knowledge makes a great match for tGD. We welcome her to our family and if you see her around please say hi.

• New tGD logo

So it was bound to happen, right? With the re-branding of the Porto Vista hotel, the current Glass Door logo(well its really just a font) just didn’t really fit the new look and feel of the hotel, so….we are changing it.

so cats outta the bag on this one…whatcha think?

• New menu

Now that we have a new logo and the menu templates I will be working on getting a long awaited menu update out. Since summer is half over, and it is an El Nino year (that means rain folks) we will be doing another change in the fall. To end summer though you will have some new, tasty salads, entrees and small plates to nosh on. When we ge closer to a launch date I’ll let y’all know.

So that’s it for now…long day so I am outta here, have to be back at the crack of dawn to…well cook.

Cheers!

chefRob

OK…so I will probably get in trouble for this one, but…I could hold back no longer. Since we opened the Glass Door the Porto Vista hotel (where the restaurant is located) has been in some state of construction. Much to my relief, that seems to be winding down. We have been working 15+ days to keep up with the increase in business and to nail down some grueling photo shoots for the new site. I am really relieved that this is now passed and I can go back and focus on the restaurant and getting the new menu out.

I am also excited that the Porto Vista is now coming into it’s own and that the site is close to being launched (and that a photo of me is included). The new URL will be PortoVistaSD.com…keep an eye on it, for now it is not resolving but will very soon.

Off to the bay area for a couple of days of sleep and dim sum before comic-con…hope this finds you all well.

Cheers,

chefRob

Props

Props go to Greg Keebler, Mo, Michelle and the rest of the Siry family, Grace, Carin, Kristi, Jennifer Booth, Kevin Sosebee, Patricia, Heather, A2, Troy, Steven & the rest of the LHC/Strato team…not forgetting the rest of our friends, family, regulars and everyone whose name I do not know or remember for coming in. The last year has been a lot of hard work but has also been a lot of fun. I am thankful and glad that we, either directly or indirectly could share some time together, even if you have bashed us on Yelp.

Kudos

Kudos go to Christian, Jonas and John @ Wetstone for the great food and wine after long days @ the Door, April and the rest of our wine reps for picking the best times to come in and do a tasting, to Confidential, Star Bar, Gaslamp & East Village Tavern (what’s up Anna!), Jackson @ Hooters Gaslamp, Teva @ Tilted Kilt, the Fleetwood, Sin, Pete, Draven, Aaron Valero, Ramsey, Planet Rooth, Bluefoot, La Puerta and the rest of the bars, taverns, restaurants and friends who work in them for putting up with myself and other staff members after the 14+ hour days. The food/snacks/refreshments/conversations are appreciated beyond what words can convey. Thanks to all for being there if only for a quick, cold beer/slider/shot of tequila/flatbread/Malbec.

Information

With 4 meal periods running from 6 am to 1 am in the beginning, as most of you know my time was spent here @ the Door. I did not have the luxury of a Sous or assistant chef (this changed last week) so it was one chef (myself) and a few kitchen staff pulling off the opening and getting through the holidays. Then the economy tanked. We have survived are thriving thanks to all the support and feedback we have been getting from you, our guests.

Beginning in Aug I will be conducting bi-monthly cooking classes rooftop @ the Porto Vista hotel, where the Glass Door is located… more information on that soon along with filling you all in on the changes, both recently passed and upcoming that may be of interest.

Hope to see y’all soon,

chefRob

June in San Diego is…well June. A thing we all call “June Gloom” seems to settle in and makes this city, for the better part of the month resemble San Francisco in summertime, minus the chilly wind howling off the bay. Now this is not necessarily a bad thing, but everyone here (including myself) seems to question on a daily basis when the grey stuff will lift and we can start our summertime fun in the sun. Today was your stereotypical June day in San Diego, except for we were making the (horns please) world’s largest Caprese salad!

Now I would think that the first question would be “how big is the world’s biggest caprese salad?”, I know that was what I was asking myself when I opted in to help on this project. Well, let me tell ya…it’s 24 feet, 7+ inches to be exact. Of course once this hits the Guinness Book of World Records it will grow in size and complexity, but for now 3 Little Italy chefs celebrating the 1 year anniversary of the Little Italy Mercado own the title.

So here it was, 9 am on a Saturday morning an hour before I am suppose to help make this salad and it is misting…hard. Suppose it beats the heat and when making a giant salad that consists of buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil and tomatoes the weather was a gift from above. We all met and quickly introduced ourselves and then it was off to shop the farmers market (Mercado) for the tomatoes and basil for the salad.

With the guidance and support from Catt White, the 3 chefs (Eric Bauer from Anthology, someone’s whose name I forget and will post when I find it out and myself, Robert Conaway from the Glass Door) did a meet and greet with the local farmers, snagging some of the finest product I have seen in years here in San Diego and headed for the corner of State and Date streets, where we would be assembling the masterpiece.

With all the fanfare and support from the community, there was a cause behind the making of this salad. Tickets were sold for 3 dollars to support Washington elementary school, the only elementary school in downtown San Diego. So we have 2 great reasons for taking part in this, 1 is to help raise some money for the school, the other is to celebrate Catt’s hard work and determination that has gotten the Mercado through it’s first year…my hat is off to you!

10 am rolls around and the 3 of us commence the coring and slicing of the tomatoes, chiffonading the basil and slicing up the fresh mozzarella cheese. Under dreary skies a crowd gathers, with the help of Little Italy’s honorary mayor whose announcements over the loudspeakers must have been heard at taco stands throughout Tijuana. In little over an hour we were almost done…just spritz some olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the salad and we are good to go…but how is this thing going to be authenticated?

Well…let me tell ya how. Catt breaks out a industrial tape measure and lays it out along the length of the table…24 feet 7+ inches. I had asked one of my staff members to drop off my camera bag so I could get some shots of the final masterpiece…12 or so minutes of fame in a 15 minute world is just fine by me, as long as the cause is good. So without further a do…here is the world’s largest Caprese salad.

Happy Birthday Little Italy Mercado!

cheers!

chefRob

Here is a write-up from our local NBC affiliate, enjoy!

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/around_town/dining/Thatsa-Lotsa-Mozzarella.html

Thanks…chefRob

The Glass Door restaurant has made the top 10 for Best Hotel Restaurant in San Diego! With your help, we can be #1 (and I think we should be, IMHO). Please click the Best of image above and vote once a day for the Glass Door, we have just 5 days until the end of the poll!

Many thanks,

chefRob