Food Diary May 23-July 5 Edition: San Diego, LA, Summer Finds in NYC
I only want to eat by the ocean
Welcome to Food Diary, a used-to-be-biweekly-but-will-now-be-monthly issue of my newsletter where I break down where I ate, what I cooked, and what I’m thinking about with regards to food. This post will stay free for a month to all readers and then only be available to paid subscribers.
If you are new here and wondering why the heck a newsletter on writing is talking about food, I have two simple answers: 1) I needed a place to put all my food recommendations so I wouldn’t spend hours of my life responding to those requests. 2) I’m working on an essay collection that centers food. You get glimpses of that process here too.
Since I live in Brooklyn, most food recommendations are for NYC. But I also travel a lot, which means I have diaries/guides on London and Reykjavik, New Orleans, Savannah, Philadelphia, and Burlington. Lima, Peru aka my hometown also makes a periodic appearance.
Food Adventures
Crudo Cevichería and Oyster Bar, San Diego: Confirming my thoughts that I like oysters, as long as they’re drenched in sauce/cheese, and that I have a fondness for aguachiles that is not unlike my fondness for tiraditos.
El Pescador Fish Market, La Jolla: Providing one of my favorite types of dishes—fried fresh fish, rice and salad.
Catania, La Jolla: Though sadly not related to Dolores Catania, iconic RHONJ cast member, this place does have major Real Housewives of San Diego vibes with one exception: the pasta is freakin’ great.
El Salvadoreño, San Diego: One order is big enough for two ravenous people, maybe even three. The ranchero platter came out piping hot and had all the depth of a gently-simmered-for-hours tomato-based sauce.
Leo’s Taco Truck, LA: Say what you want about Los Angeles, but it’s a city that understands the critical importance of the double tortilla in a taco structure.
Alta Adams, LA: California produce, Soul Food energy. I could pair fried chicken, hot sauce and cold beer all day long.
Highly Likely, LA: This is my fourth time in LA and, I have to say, it’s the first time I’ve been impressed with the food overall. I could have come back here based on the Kyoto Bowl alone, such a delicate-but-filling way to start the day with two of my favorite things ever: rice and shiitake mushrooms.
Chifa, LA: After two or so year of Instagram-stalking, I finally made it to the promised land. Specializing in Peruvian-Chinese and American-Chinese dishes, Chifa had one of the better lomo saltados I’ve had stateside and their alfajor, which my fellow diners though would be a bit “boring,”, ended up wowing.
Leland Eating and Drinking House, Prospect Heights: Gave myself a proper welcome dinner at this small but sharp-looking neighborhood joint, which has been gushed about on Grub Street (with good reason) and was blessed by the presence of Chani Nicholas (I died when I saw her). The clams come on a sizzling hot skillet in a pool of garlicky, calabrian chili butter.
CheLi, East Village: Bookmark this for the time you have to take your dead-set-on-NYU cousin out to dinner. Tucked in the co-ed hellhole that is now St. Marks, this find is a treasure of Shanghai-cuisine in New York. The Hunan-style stir friend sliced beef was a juicy dish of vibrant red peppers and cilantro greens.
Beyti Turkish Kebab, Brighton Beach: My friend Casey recommended this with the note that it’s the closest thing she’s had in New York to what she could find in Turkey. Damnit, gotta get myself to Turkey now. Char is on point. Pitas are soft, maybe too soft, or maybe the patties were too big, but it all fell apart after a while but in that way where you’re licking the yogurt running down the side of your hand.
Home Cooked
A few things I’ve made at home:
Draaaaaaanks!
Me, finally straying from my IPA exclusivity, to endorse the Ebbs Lager No. 1 as an excellent beach choice: light, refreshing, clean, bit of a base for a beer cocktail.
One Perfect Bite
No Food Left Behind
I totally took this idea from Tamar Adler’s The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A-Z but: add your jarred hot peppers (like jalapeño slices or pepperoncinis) to chicken or tuna salad. Don’t be shy with the brine either.
Eyes Bigger Than My Stomach
Two of my favorite paintings at Los Angeles’s Broad Museum: “Eyes and Eggs” by Jean-Michel Basquiat and “Couple” by Jeff Koons. I know shit about art so I might be completely way off base with any of my interpretations around it, but I love the spotlight on a line cook aka the regular man in Basquiat’s and the duality of romantic relationships as depicted through the fun-loving pretzel and the sexy-yet-stormy soup in the second.
Reading Menu
I spent the bulk of June reading the pieces my fellow workshoppers submitted to Tin House. These are brilliant, original, memorable pieces and I cannot wait to see their writing out in the world. One day I’ll get to say that I was in a room with these bright, shining literary stars.
Food for Thought
A friend of mine mentioned how much she liked my sandwich-beach pairings on Instagram, which is when I noticed that huh, I really do love a sandwich on a beach. How could I not? They’re portable, easy to eat in the most casual of environments and prime for picking at during a nice, lazy afternoon. Get yourself a beach sandwich!
Send Ines to Tin House!
Thank You For Sending Me to Tin House/Still Time to Help!
I’m still aglow with the bright light that was my Tin House experience. Absolutely worth it despite the financial pressure it put me through! The total cost of room and board was $2,200 plus the cost of a ticket from NYC-Portland, which ended up being $817.70. Tickets to Italy are cheaper, lmao. Thought the tuition has been paid in full, being there did entail extras, like Lyft rides to the airport and a portable fan for the un-air conditioned rooms at Reed College. So if you think your chance to help send me to Tin House has passed, you’re in luck! I’m still fundraising for it through July and after that I will shut up about it. (Kidding, I’ll never shut up about it. But I will stop raising funds for it.)
I want to thank everyone who has booked a tarot lesson, subscribed specifically to support my Tin House workshop experience, and those long-time subscribers who have stayed with me through the freelance feast and famine life. So far, I’ve managed to raise $1,006. An amazing amount of help! You lovely peeps covered my flight and a few of the extras I mentioned.
If you still want to support my experience, here is how you can help:
To help me offset the costs, I am offering donation-based Tarot readings to raise funds. I have two options for Tarot readings:
A virtual 30-minute reading done via Zoom. This is a great way to gain some in-depth clarity around a situation in your life through the Celtic Cross spread. You can schedule one via Calendly. Please note that my schedule fluctuates wildly from week-to-week, which is why you can only schedule a reading two-weeks in advance. However, feel free to shoot me a quick message if there is a specific date you want. I’m sure we can work it out. Suggested donation: $30 via Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle.
A quick and dirty three-card reading done entirely via email. Just fill out this formand you’ll get a response from me in 24-48 hours, including a picture of the spread. This is great for when you want to brighten your day, send someone a fun gift, or simply want to do a vibe check lol. Suggested donation: $15 via Venmo, PayPal or Zelle.
If you’re like “Girl, I just like you and want to support you” then I also have other ways you can do that!
Every subscription payment from April-July will go directly towards paying for Tin House. If you’re already a paid subscriber, THANK YOU. My Tin House experience would be impossible without your support. If you are on the fence, a reminder that paid subscribers get:
Full access to the archive
Subscriber-only posts where I share my accepted pitches, residency and intensive applications, query letters, LOIs, templates and other miscellaneous material that I used to get published.
Access to all the food diaries, my monthly account of what I ate, cooked and why you should too.
If you are feeling extra generous and your last name is Warbucks, you can send me your donations via:
Venmo: inesbellina
Zelle: ines.bellina@gmail.com
PayPal: ines.bellina@gmail.com
I will also gift you a year-long subscription for any donation you make. Please note that when I say “suggested” I really do mean suggested. If you have $2 to spare, I will graciously accept those, thank you profusely, and comp the subscription.
And to everyone who is like “IN THIS ECONOMY”, I totally understand! It’s enough that you read my work. Truly, thank you.