ConFusion Sushi Roll Tacos Truck

ConFusion

Sushi Roll Tacos

Food Truck

A recent Friday had me driving by the Pacific View Mall, inadvertently passing by on the third Friday of the month-Food Truck Friday! I was hungry, and knew there'd be no dinner at home, so it was the perfect chance to get a bite to eat.

All summer long, I'd been passing by the ConFusion food truck, and there it was. Usually, I see it parked on Main Street across from the mall, but every time I passed, I was either going someplace or simply wasn't hungry. So, though many interesting trucks were parked in the lot, ConFusion was the one that I most wanted to try.

The friendly counterman greeted me, and I figured I'd start at the top-the $9 Taco Combo. A quick look at the fillings list led me to pick the bulgogi cheese steak with onions and peppers (Korean style marinade) and the more adventurous candied bacon with napa pineapple slaw and citrus chipotle sauce. The plate came with corn, beans, and surprisingly, a 24 oz. drink.

It took a few minutes longer than I expected, especially since there was no crowd at the time, and was warm but not hot. It wasn't a whole heck of a lot of food, either. Still, it wasn't bad. And sure, if I had continued further on to the Avenues I could have had four tacos and a Mexican Coke for the same price, but it was nice to mix it up.

I didn't find the bulgogi to be all that amazing. It had different  flavor than regular asada, but not necessarily better. The candied bacon, though, had a sweet/spicy mix of flavor that wasn't bad, and something that I'd order again. I think the flavors might have been more pronounced if the food was warmer, though. 

The corn and beans were okay, too, and would also have benefitted by being warmer.

In the end, if I saw this truck again, I'd give it another try.

Diddy Riese Cookies, Westwood, CA

Diddy Riese Cookies

926 Broxton Ave.

Westwood, CA  90024

When I arrived at UCLA in 1984, I looked forward to seeing lots of this particular image. I remember it being around the house of the older couple that had babysat for me back in the early 70's. Old Ray Ortega was a huge UCLA fanfollowing UCLA basketball and the glory of the John Wooden days. Ray's son my Uncle Paul and all of my cousins in that branch of the family still keep the UCLA faith, more so than me, though I'm the only UCLA grad in my family.

I didn't follow college sports much though, and in the 80's, the glory of UCLA basketball                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           was long gone. I did have some classes with future Pacer legend Reggie Miller as well as NBA journeyman Pooh Richardson, but even with those great players, it was easy to get tickets to see the team play at the old Pauly Pavilion during the Walt Hazzard years. 

Along with a less successful basketball team, UCLA changed mascots, and the Joe Bruin that I remembered fondly from my youth metamorphosed to this. I worked at the ASUCLA bookstore, and on one wall there was a framed poster of Vintage Joe Bruin that I would look at longingly, no longer for sale, and no possibility of me ever owning it. I would complain about that, along with the school colors and several other things, all masking the fact that I personally unhappy and couldn't get my act together to take advantage of all the great opportunities that surrounded me.

The sticker on my car is one of the old Joe Bruin.

But just before I got to UCLA, Diddy Riese had opened in Westwood. At the time, I remember enjoying Mrs. Fields cookies, and I'd pilgrimage to Famous Amos on Sunset in the early 80's, so it took me a while to warm to Diddy Riese. But when I finally went in, I was hooked. For starters, it was much cheaper than Mrs. Fields or Famous Amos, an important consideration to a starving undergrad. But along with that, the cookies were really good. The turnover was such that cookies were always being baked, so the shop smelled amazing walking in. The cookies were always warm and fresh, and if memory serves, they were just a quarter.

Five or six years ago, my wife and I were in Westwood to see a play, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that Diddy Riese was still there, still as good as I remembered and still cheap. So on a recent Sunday, after visiting the ASUCLA Bookstore to buy a new sticker for my car and a new UCLA Water Polo t-shirt, I took my daughter and her friend to Diddy Riese for an ice cream sandwich. For $1.75 you get to pick out any two fresh cookies and some Dreyers Ice Cream which they will then smash together for an ice cream sandwich. I've paid a lot more for desserts much less satisfying, and needless to say, my daughter, her friend and I were all very happy.

They have a wide variety of cookies, all baked fresh and all $0.35 each, or three for a dollar. Expect to wait in line whenever you go, but it is worth it.

Breakfast Paradise

Breakfast Paradise

1070 E. Front St.

Ventura, CA 93001

I've been driving by Breakfast Paradise for a couple of years, and always see a big sign about a breakfast special for $5.99.  There always seems to be a few customers on the outside patio, and generally places that aren't very good go out after a year. This one seems to keep hanging in there.

So today, I gave it a try. 

The first thing I noticed is that they have a large, tile-topped bar just inside the door, and my youngest immediately decided that would be a great place to sit. We pulled up a couple of the big, bar chairs, and sat down. Today's newspapers seemed to fill one section, and a bunch of change was piled next to it, as if it was being counted and the counters were called away for something else. The tile top was missing grout in some places, so crumbs filled in those gaps. I wouldn't say it was dirty, just that it hadn't be cleaned since opening that morning-we were there at about 11. The interior reminded me more of a wine bar, with heavy wooden chairs and tables, a painted concrete floor and walls painted deep earth tones-great for evening cocktails, but a bit odd for a breakfast place.

The other customers at the counter seemed to be regulars, the waiter commenting on the newly cut hair of one of the older female patrons, casual chit chat among locals. Our menus were brought quickly enough, though they were a bit beat up, again out of character with the walls and furniture. 

My daughter found something that made her very happy-a ham and cheese omelet on the kids menu. She likes ham and cheese omelets, and usually will try to talk someone into splitting one with her since she still doesn't have the appetite for a whole omelet. One on the kid's menu made her very happy, and she ordered that with a chocolate milk. 

I was torn, but eventually decided on the "Texas Bowl," an omelet with sausage, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cheese and spinach, with some coffee. The other thing that I was looking at was empanadas, of which there were several pictures on a couple of different signs throughout. It seemed an unusual item to have, and if they were making a big deal about it, I thought they might be good. But the Texas Bowl won out.

The order took a little longer than I expected, but not too bad. The two servers engaged in long chats with one another, and with the regulars, but not so much with us. Still, my coffee was kept full, and that's really what makes me happy. While sitting there, I noticed that several of the patrons were older, which I thought was odd, but might just reflect the part of Ventura that we were in.

When our order came out, my daughter was happy, and quickly powered through the omelet and hash browns.  My Texas Bowl was okay-the eggs were actually very good, light and fluffy, but the rest of the ingredients didn't quite mesh, like perhaps it was cooked too quickly and didn't allow the flavors to combine. It wasn't bad, just wasn't quite as good as I thought it could be. 

So when I eat at a place like this, my first thought is would I bring the whole family back. On that, the answer is yes. The next is should I bring the whole family back, and on that one, maybe not so much. It wasn't bad, but it also just wasn't that good.