The Roxbury Deli, Port Hueneme

The Roxbury Deli

443 W. Channel Islands Blvd.

Port Hueneme, CA  93041

Back in LA, I loved going to Canter's Deli on Fairfax. Open 24 hours with a wide variety of good tasting food, it was a a great place to go after hitting the clubs in Hollywood, or any time that I wanted to look cool on a date. Occasionally a celebrity could be spotted dining-I saw members of Guns n' Roses, Nicholas Cage, and Rodney Bigenheimer (who became a regular after the closing of Ben Franks). More often, I'd see people that looked familiar-the character actors that got enough screen time to make a living. But really, being a 20 something in LA, I prided myself on having a handful of go-to places open 24 hours-a-day (Tommy's, The Harbor House Cafe, Gorky's, The Atomic Cafe) that weren't Denny's spread all over the city.

I don't really need that knowledge anymore, but I never lost my taste for a good deli. I'm a regular at Danny's Deli and have been since it opened. It's across the street from my church, and we go at least one Sunday a month. And though they're friendly and fast, I don't know that they are really good. Convenient, yes, and certainly edible, but not really good.

Roxbury Deli opened in Hueneme about the same time I moved to the area 18 years ago,  and though I've driven by, I've never had occasion to stop. It's across from the SeaBee base, and I'm just not down that way very often. But my daughter wanted a sandwich for lunch, and we were nearby, so we pulled in and gave it a try.

It was a good call.

There were only a handful of diners on a recent Saturday afternoon, and we were seated, interestingly, in a booth that backed up to another booth of diners, instead of being spaced out, like I expected. That being said, the space is filled with Broadway play posters (I've seen this at other delis, being some sort of New York thing, I think, but having never been to New York, I can't say for certain), and what seemed to be a zillion TV screens showing college basketball. Service was fast and friendly-my water glass was kept constantly full, and the menu was extensive.

Even though I had eaten at the Oinkster earlier in the week, I opted for the half pastrami (watching my figure, you know) which came with an option of fries, cole slaw, potato salad or fruit. My daughter went with a half BLT, and we split an appetizer of garlic and parmesan fries.

Service was quick and friendly, and my half sandwich was quite good. Not Oinkster good, mind you, but good, and with the coleslaw, which was much better once I added salt, certainly was plenty. My daughter said her BLT was good, and the fruit, fresh.

I have to confess that I was a bit disappointed on the garlic and parmesan fries. I expected the flavors to be blended more, but it seemed like they cooked the french fries, and then put garlic and parmesan on top. The french fries weren't bad, but tasted like french fries with garlic and parmesan on top.

That being said, I'll certainly come back. I saw a pizza at another table that looked quite good, and some of the other plates looked tasty too.

WPA Era Post Offices Ventura and Oxnard

WPA Era Post Offices

Ventura

675 E. Santa Clara St.

Ventura, CA

Oxnard

1961 N. C St.

Oxnard, CA

When I started this blog, this is really the stuff that I wanted to put into it. 

If you were paying attention in your US History Class, then you heard about the Great Depression of the 1930's. The short version is this-if you want to get your country out of a depression, you put everyone to work. Governments have been doing this forever, and it's important to note yet again-the government jump starts the economy by putting as many people as possible doing whatever work they do. 

One of my favorite examples I discovered inside the Hoover Dam when the family was on a 'Dam Trip' a few years back (my kids loved that part of the trip-"Can we go to the dam gift shop?""I want some dam souviners""Look at the dam clock,""What's the dam tempature?" My wife wanted to go to the "Dam car," but the kids and I explained that we didn't have a "Dam car," that those were inside the dam. At least I think that's what she meant). Inside the Hoover Dam, where almost no one can see it, is some really amazing tile work and terrazzo floors, because the people who did those things needed work, too. Thanks to Jennifer Roberts and her Flickr account for this excellent picture from inside the Dam.

And another example is the murals that ended up inside many post offices and libraries. Ventura and Oxnard both have examples of this work. 

This sign from the Ventura Post Office explains as well as I can. The pictures were taken with my beat up iPhone 4, the same one I use for my "Pictures of Ventura Churches" blog.

I really should get the iPhone 6 if I'm going to do all this picture taking.

I found a website that lists all the WPA Post Offices in California.

Oxnard Post Office

I knew the Oxnard Post Office was from the same era, and I was expecting to see the same type of murals when I went in, but there was only one, and it really wasn't very interesting.

The craftsmanship of the building, however, was impressive, with lots of wood and tile. I also noticed that what appears to be a second floor from the outside is actually just a row of high windows, and I imagine that the idea there was for cooling in the time before air conditioning. Hot air rises, and would be blown out by the afternoon winds of Oxnard.

February 5, 2015

Santa Barbara Post Office

836 Anacapa Street

Santa Barbara, CA

I initially wrote this because the Oxnard and Ventura Post Offices reminded me of the Post Offices of Bell, Maywood and Huntington Park, where I grew up. All of those cities grew around the turn of the 20th Century, and were all hit hard by the Depression, which necessitated Roosevelt's WPA building projects.

The Santa Barbara Post Office is of the same era, but reflects the Mission Style that all of the cities' public buildings display, including the great City Hall. In the lobby, though, everything is Art Deco, including the six plaster reliefs, entitled "Transportation of the Mall." The doors and tables have some great craftsmanship, and it was worth the few minutes that I stopped.

Missy's Cupcakes Creations, Oxnard

Missy's Cupcake Creations

3900 W. Channel Islands Blvd.

Oxnard, CA 93035

Though I've worked there for the last 18 years, I seldom go very far into Oxnard if I can help it. It's not that there's anything bad about Oxnard, really. In fact, in an episode of Nickelodeon's Sam and Cat, the title characters refer to Oxnard as "the most beautiful city in the world." And who am I to argue with Nickelodeon? 

I just equate Oxnard with work, and who likes to go to work?

But my daughter's water polo games required a trip to Hueneme High, and we had to pass by Channel Islands Harbor. Missy's Cupcake Creations is in the Channel Islands Harbor Fisherman's Wharf. 

I found the menu a bit odd. Along with cupcakes, Missy's serves hot dogs and nachos and other snack bar food. Still, while we were waiting, a couple of young guys ordered just that-hot dogs and nachos.

But what drew us in was the cupcakes, and that's what we had. I took it as  a good sign that when we placed our order, the counter person didn't just hand us cupcakes out of the case, but instead went to the back to frost them. I had the Chocolate Cheesecake, and my daughter went with the Snickerdoodle. 

Mine was quite good, though a touch small for the $3 tab. It was moist, and the frosting had a definite cheesecake flavor. My daughter's Snickerdoodle, though, wasn't really that good. The frosting tasted canned, and the cupcake was a bit dry. The small snickerdoodle cookie that topped the cupcake was ordinary at best. And though it could be just me, a cup of coffee would have been nice. The counter person did offer to brew one for me, but it looked just like industrial coffee shop coffee and I passed.

Like potato chips and pizza, though, a bad cupcake is still a cupcake. It wasn't worth a special trip, but it was still a cupcake.

Missy's also sells handmade goods and gifts as well.

Tacos de Barbacoa El Guero

Tacos de Barbacoa El Guero

Corner of Vineyard and Simon Way

(El Rio) Oxnard CA

I don't get to the El Rio part of Oxnard too often, and seldom am I there when I'm hungry, but on this particular day lunch was only two Taco Bell Doritos Tacos, which I enjoy but obviously don't think of as Mexican food, and I knew there'd be a few hours before dinner. 

This taco truck, parked in the parking lot of the Vecinos Market Indoor Swap Meet looked sufficiently clean, with a small line in front. So rather than find another Taco Bell, after getting my taxes done I swung in for two tacos, and two tacos only.

With 'barbacoa' being in the name, that seemed an obvious choice, along with the lengua (tongue) that I normally get. Taking a look at Wikipedia to see what 'barbacoa' actually is, I don't believe that their meat was cooked slowly in hole, nor do I believe it was made of whole sheep. I guess I could have asked, but my guess is that the meat was steamed cattle heads.

The barbacoa taco was fried in a tortilla, and cost slightly more than the other tacos. It was moist and flavorful, and quite good. The lengua was moist as well, but didn't have much flavor. It was covered in a red salsa that wasn't bad, but didn't blend with the meat. It was just on the meat. The grilled onions on the side were good, too, but I wasn't brave enough to try the pepper. 

So, two tacos for under $5, one good and one okay. If I have more time, I'll have to poke around the indoor swap meet, too. Not worth a special trip, but certainly eatable.

Pizza Rev, Oxnard

Pizza Rev

1831 Rose Ave

Oxnard, CA 93030

The idea seems like a good one, and I've been there a half dozen times already. It's simple, get your crust, pick your toppings, and away you go.

The thing I like about Pizza Rev is that I can add three anchovies. I like the saltiness of anchovy, but I can't handle a pizza full of them. At Pizza Rev, I ask for three anchovies, spread around the pizza. Then, I add all the other things that I like. The dining room looks like the dining area for those 'fast casual' places, meaning it's totally okay to sit in the dining room by myself reading. Most pizza places, it seems, cater to the big crowds sharing a pizza pie.

The pizza is a 9 inch thin crust. You can pick your sauce-I generally go with a white sauce-and mozzarella with a touch of feta cheese. Then you can go to town on the toppings. After your choices are complete, they slide the pizza into an open flame, stone pizza oven, bringing it to your table when finished.

Of course, they have the usual, pepperoni, olives, sausage, canadian bacon, pineapple, but they also have some fun stuff, like artichokes, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and last month's special, potatoes.

White sauce, mozzarella and feta cheese,
beef pepperoni, crispy bacon,
mushrooms, red onions, sun
dried tomato, olives, double garlic
artichoke hearts, and 3 anchovies

At $7.99, it's not bad for a small pizza with whatever you want. Add two bucks, and you can have one of the zillion soda options from the fancy soda machine.

So for me, it's great. My kids only seem to agree on canadian bacon and pineapple pizza, which is a big step up from the years of cheese and olive, but not the way I'd load a pizza up. To bring the family, it would defeat the purpose of going for pizza, which is to feed everyone for cheap. Figure $10 bucks a person, which starts to add up. And where I order all sorts of things, my kids most likely wouldn't venture beyond the basic.

Santinos, here in town, for instance, offers a family special (the best pizza deal in town) that has an extra large pizza, four salads and and drinks for just under $30, and Pizza Man Dan's has large specialty pizzas for about $22.

But, if you want something exotic that you don't have to share, Pizza Rev is a great choice, and when I feel like a pizza just the way I want it-with three anchovies-that's where I go.

They also serve salads, a dessert pizza, and have a kid's size meal.

They currently have seven locations around So Cal, with fourteen more about to open around the country soon. The Oxnard location opened a few months ago, and I think the chain has been around for just a few years.

Tacos La Placita, Oxnard

Tacos La Placita

437 C Street

Oxnard, CA

I had heard of Carnegie Libraries and had even seen one someplace in Arkansas, but I didn't realize that there were some in California. I grew up in Bell and Downey, and though both are old enough to have applied for Carnegie Libraries, Andrew Carnegie funding libraries from 1883 to 1929, neither did, and it wasn't until I got to college that I had ever heard of one.

Oxnard though, has a very impressive Carnegie Library, though it isn't a Carnegie Library any more. It sits on top of a small hill, by a park and across from one of my favorite lunch spots. It's now the Carnegie Museum, and sometimes has interesting art shows.

Tacos La Placita sits across the street from the Carnegie Museum, and is important to my personal taco history for one reason. It's the place where I had my first truly enjoyable "street taco." 

17 years ago, when I first moved to Oxnard, I would run by this place. They had a sign out for tacos for 75 cents, I think, and it would smell so good that I finally tried one. Before that time, I always wanted the big, crunchy tacos that my mom would make. My mom would fry corn tortillas to make a shell, and then fill them with ground beef, tomatoes, lettuce and cheddar cheese. Street tacos, those smaller ones with just meat, onion and cilantro, seemed so tiny and poor in comparison. 

But the smell coming from this stand was amazing. I wasn't very brave, and just had asada, but it was good. Eventually, I would try several of their tacos, and find them all to be quite tasty.

The same old couple have run the place the whole time, though occasionally one of the children will be working the stand. The tacos have gone up in price, to all of a $1.50, but they're still good.

And by good, what do I mean? The meat is always moist and full of flavor. Usually, I'll have an asada, a lengua (tongue), a cabeza (head), and a carnitas, along with a Pepsi, which came out to about $8. The tortillas are soft and warm. Onions and cilantro, of course, but they also add a moderately spicy red salsa, along with some chilis that are always too hot for me to do anything more than nibble, and some grilled onion. It looks to me like they keep big pots of meat on their stove, and with the lid on, it keeps the meat moist.

Orders are done quickly, and though I've noticed that they have several other things on their menu, including hamburgers, all I've ever had are the tacos. 

Why eat something else when I know tacos make me happy? A great, inexpensive place when you happen to be in Downtown Oxnard.

Burrito Express, Oxnard

Burrito Express

230 South Ventura Road

Oxnard CA

(805) 385-9700

Burrito Express in Oxnard is one of those places that is successful because it does what it does well. They make Mexican food in a traditional fashion with a nod to local tastes. They support local youth groups and teams, as evidenced by all the "Thank You," plaques around the dining area. It's a family run restaurant, and they'll happily talk about the teams their kids are on and the local school that they attend. Tiles in the dining room were made by local school children. 

But above all, the food is good.

$7.75 for the whole meal!

On a recent visit, I had a ceviche tostada and a asada taco, along with an Orange Whip. The tacos are larger than the standard street taco, something to remember when ordering. The ceviche was fresh, with a side of chips, and the Orange Whip was all you can drink from the self serve fountain. There is a soda fountain, too, and some Jarritos and Mexican Coke in bottles. No beer or other spirits, which is fitting for the family style atmosphere they have. 

Burritos are large and filling, a larger variety of tacos are made, tortas, and other specialties fill out the menu and menudo on the weekends, all served quickly. There's a large dining room (they took over the space that was once occupied by a Quiznos), which is always clean, a fresh salsa bar, and it looks like they are preparing a salad bar section and ice cream as well.

My ceviche and taco meal with a drink and chips came in at under $8, and was certainly filling.

Taco de Mexico de Ventura

Tacos de Mexico de Ventura

Taco Truck

Oxnard

October 12, 2012

I love a good taco truck! I look for the ones that are clean and well lit, where I can easily look inside the windows and see everyone working.

Tacos de Mexico de Ventura is generally parked on the corner of Gonzales and Ventura Rd. in the evenings, tucked behind the gas station in Oxnard. I've been stopping in for about a year, shortly after I noticed the truck there. Back then, there was always a yellow Hummer nearby with an old man sitting inside, and people said that it was the owner, watching his business, adding to the mystique of the suddenly appearing truck. Tacos with a variety of meat, burritos, tortas, quesadillas and a couple of other things are on the menu. There's always a line, which is surprising in Oxnard, where there seems to be a place serving tacos on every corner.

Last Friday, I went with a burrito, with cabeza, rice and beans, for $5. It was a good, fat burrito which is exactly what I looking for. My son had asada tacos at $1.50 a pop. There was a generous serving of meat on the usual small corn tortillas. I've had the tacos before and thought they were good.

A worthy stop in the middle of Oxnard.