Blaze Pizza: Ultimate Custom Pizza Experience

Blaze Pizza, why hadn't I discovered you sooner? If you've never been Blaze Pizza, you owe it to yourself to try it, especially if you're a pizza aficionado. Blaze Pizza is a California-based pizza chain that allows you to customize your pizza with whatever ingredients their restaurants have to offer. You can receive a whole personal pie all to your liking! Doesn't that sound wonderful? Well, it is. I wasn't too fond on the concept of integrating a pizza restaurant with a Subway, but in this case it works. And it works terrifically.

I initially experienced Blaze Pizza after winding down from a long day at Universal Studios Hollywood. I first learned about Blaze Pizza from viewing a video from BuzzFeed's "Worth It" series. When I laid my eyes upon the Blaze Pizza logo burning bright with neon lights, I knew I could not miss my chance to eat there.

Ordering your pizza at Blaze Pizza is a relatively simple affair. First, you can choose the type of crust you want between thin and thick crust. They also offer gluten-free dough. Then, you select any of their signature pizzas, including a build-your-own option. After that, you work your way down the assembly line choosing from the multitude of ingredients they have to offer to add to your pizza (unless you ordered a "Simple Pie", which does not offer extra toppings). You can add as many or as little toppings as you prefer to your pizza for no extra charge!

I had ordered a "Meat Eater" pizza which consisted of pepperoni, meatballs, red onion, mozzarella, and red sauce*. The savory meatballs and pepperoni worked well in cohesion with the rich flavor of the mozzarella cheese. The red onions gave the pizza a very nice snap to the texture. I also topped the pizza with oregano which enhanced the fragrance of the pizza and added an herby note to the flavor of the red sauce. The best part about this pizza was the crust. Pleasantly thin and crispy. I wouldn't have expected a very good crust from a chain pizza restaurant that bakes your pizza in an astonishingly short amount of time.

I enjoyed the pizza at Blaze Pizza so much that I later decided to search up any nearby Blaze Pizza restaurants in San Diego. Luckily, I found one in Clairemont. In that location, I tried a different pizza called the "Link In". This pizza had Italian sausage, roasted red peppers, sauteed onions, mozzarella, and red sauce*. I also added bacon, raw red onions, and oregano. You can't go wrong with adding these ingredients for extra flavor, texture, and fragrance. For this pizza, the crust was marvelously thin and crispy like the other pizza I had. Also, the pizza also had deliciously meaty, herby, and rich flavor.

Blaze Pizza is amazing for what it is. Quality fast personal pizzas at an affordable price. If you're looking for a pizza experience with the most customization, Blaze Pizza will take care of you. They let you have your way. That I can appreciate.

*Ingredients taken from www.blazepizza.com

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What Happened to Bao's Awesome Burgers and Sandwiches?

There once existed a restaurant whose burgers I could say were the best in San Diego. That honor belonged to Bao's Awesome Burgers and Sandwiches, or Babs for short. Unfortunately, the year of 2016 was not a good one for Babs as they officially closed down on March 14, 2016. Every moment I pass by what was once a magnificent burger joint brings about a wave of disappointment. The view of the now empty restaurant is a stark contrast to the neighboring ramen and boba tea establishments filled with bustling customers.

Exactly how great were the burgers at Babs? Well, let me ask you a question. How would you like an incredible melt-in-your-mouth sensation that would temporarily send you to a dream land? If you answered "yes" to that question, then Babs' burgers would have rocked your world. The burgers at Babs were incredibly rich and succulent, completely brimming with flavor. My preferred burger was called a "White Hot Burger". Unsurprisingly, this burger was "an extremely hot burger". If there's something spicy on the menu, it's really hard to resist. That's particularly the case if there's a spicy burger. This burger was topped with a sauce called "monster blood sauce", possibly to scare potential eaters, and sauteed habaneros. Now, the superb thing about the burgers at Babs' was how all of their burger patties were injected with melted cheese. When I first ate their burger, it was as if a cheese-filled dynamite went off. A torrent of rich and savory flavors had engulfed me. The combination of a perfectly juicy patty and melted pepper jack cheese injected inside of the patty exuded an amazingly succulent flavor.

In addition to their regular offerings, Babs actually had a food challenge that I regret not trying to this day. This challenge involved eating a burger called the "Number 11". This burger was even spicier than the White Hot Burger. My own cousin told me his entire body perspired when he had attempted the challenge. I could just imagine the extraordinary burning session this burger could have given me. I'm confident that I could have beaten the Number 11, especially after surviving through the Carolina Reaper. Unfortunately, I will never have the opportunity to conquer this challenge.

Overshadowed in a domain ruled by Asian cuisine, it's easy to say that Babs could not be as successful as its neighbors. Yet, it's hard to suggest that to be the real reason why Babs permanently closed down. The burgers were simply too good for Babs to close down for a reason like that. I won't dwell too much on the reasons. However, it is a crying shame that I may never experience this aspect of my childhood ever again.

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Does Rocky's Crown Pub Have The Best Burger In San Diego?

My old high school teacher once told me of a fabled burger that he heralded as the best burger in all of San Diego. This burger belonged Rocky's Crown Pub in Pacific Beach. The story of that burger was so significant to me that I still remembered it to this day! With every daydream of this burger, the saliva in my mouth quickly accumulated. Back then, there was one caveat that prevented me from eating that burger. Unfortunately, I had to be in the twenty-one-and-up club. Oh, how that fifteen year old anguished over every single realization of that fact. For over six years, I had to wait for the opportunity to try this legendary burger. And after six years, the opportunity had finally arrived.

On one fine evening after one fine beach party, I needed some food to alleviate my buzz. Sometime before the day of the party, I had already planned to go to Rocky's Crown Pub after the party ended. After all, it was only minutes away from the location of the beach party. I couldn't let the chance pass by. Thus, several of my friends and I trekked to Rocky's in order to try their famous burgers. The moment I was granted access to the pub by the doorman, I was barraged by thoughts. This is it. This is the moment of truth. i finally get to taste this burger that has been in my dreams for a very long time. Now, this small dream of mine becomes a reality.

Inside was a casual bar loaded with people. I could tell at first glance that this was a popular spot among the locals. Despite the bar table being completely filled, I was able to order my half-pound hamburger with a surprising amount of ease. After a few minutes of waiting, what came to me was a modest hamburger with tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and mayo with sliced pickles on the side. What I had imagined long ago was a spectacular-looking burger that shined from every angle. However, this burger was a very no-frills burger. No special sauce, no special bun, no special toppings. Just a plain, old hamburger. After fully inspecting the burger, I had assumed that Rocky's must have utmost confidence in their burger.

So was it a good burger? Yes, it was. It was decent portion and the patty had an acceptable amount of juices spewing out. With the addition of some sriracha sauce, the burger gained a little bit of spiciness that complemented the burger well. While I can say that it was satisfying, it left me wanting more. There was nothing striking to me about the burger, like something was missing. It was not as rich with flavor as I had expected it to be. I felt that I could make a similar quality burger myself. As a result of this, I was left slightly disappointed. Perhaps some bacon could have done it some justice.

Now on to the question of the century: does Rocky's Crown Pub have the best burger in San Diego? The answer to that question is an honest no. I feel that I have had at least two or three burgers in San Diego that were better than the one I had at Rocky's Crown Pub. Maybe it wasn't a good day. Maybe it was better way back when. Maybe I should have gotten the cheeseburger instead. Still, I was expecting more. Unfortunately, the burger at Rocky's Crown Pub is not the burger I had dreamed about for so many years.

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Beauty Hunan: Oh So Spicy, Oh So Delicious

If you know me, you know that I love spicy foods. You would probably know that if you read my blog post on the Carolina Reaper. When people think of spicy Chinese food, they will typically point to Szechuan cuisine. Szechuan cuisine is known for the pungency of its food offerings, but Hunan cuisine takes that to a whole new level. Hunan cuisine implements higher amounts of chili peppers in comparison to Szechuan. As a lover of spicy foods, Hunan cuisine is hard to ignore.

In celebration of my father's birthday, my family decided to eat out for dinner in an area known as "Convoy" in San Diego. We first decided to go to a Taiwanese hot pot restaurant, only to discover that it was completely packed. The wait for a table could have exceeded an hour. After a few minutes of ponderous decision-making, we departed for a slightly obscure restaurant by the name of "Beauty Hunan."

Entering the restaurant, we were greeted with a massive fish tank filled with a variety of beautiful fishes ranging from goldfishes to silvery arowanas. After admiring the fishes in the tank, we were quickly seated. Unlike the hot pot restaurant, many of the seats in Beauty Hunan were empty by comparison. One reason for this could have been due to its relatively non-busy location. A sign of that was the fact that parking for Beauty Hunan was simple while parking for the Taiwanese hot pot restaurant was problematic. I was a little concerned about the emptiness, but that didn't deter us away from the establishment.

Ordering at Beauty Hunan was very pleasant. The menu was easy to navigate, and was abundant with many different options. The waiter was courteous and well-informed about the menu items. When asked a question about a dish, they answered kindly and accurately.

 Hunan cold dishes. Spicy beef, pork ears, and duck tongues.

The first dish we received was a combination of Hunan cold dishes. The dish consisted of spicy beef, shredded pork ears, and stewed duck tongue. The spicy beef was what I would describe little bits of spicy and oily goodness. The pork ears were a bit chewy and shared a similar flavor profile to the spicy beef. The stewed duck tongues were spicy and oily as well. However, I didn't care too much for the duck tongues because the presence of bone in the tongues was a little unpleasant. Overall, this was a very decent appetizer to begin the course.

Next came the cuttlefish dry pot and fried rice. First and foremost, let's talk about the fried rice. There is not much to say about the fried rice because it was your typical Chinese fried rice. However, it was a good complement to the overall course. The more significant of the two dishes was the cuttlefish dry pot. For those who don't know what a dry pot is, it can be described as a hot pot without the boiling hot broth. A major difference is the fact that all the ingredients come to the table pre-cooked and already in the pot. The dry pot is warmed over a heat source at the table in similar fashion to a traditional hot pot. As for the cuttlefish dry pot, it was placed over a wooden vessel with a cast iron top containing a small flame. This was a visually pleasing enhancement to the presentation aspect of the dish. Inside the cuttlefish dry pot was a wealth of ingredients including broccoli, cauliflower, chili peppers, potatoes, onions, and of course, cuttlefish. Without reserve, my family and I commenced our attack on the dry pot.

Cuttlefish dry pot. A perfect balance of flavors.

The first bite of the cuttlefish was intensely flavorful. Perfectly seasoned, perfectly spicy. The savory and spicy flavors enveloped my tongue in a pleasingly piquant hug. The saltiness and spiciness were in a perfect harmony akin to the two Chinese divers diving in the 2016 Rio Olympics synchronized diving event. The texture was pleasantly tender and similar to squid. All the other ingredients in the dish were delicious as well, but the potatoes in particular stood out. These potatoes were gloriously salty, just slightly crispy on the outside, and moist on the inside. They reminded me a little of the most decadent of potato wedges. It was hard to restrain myself from ignoring basic civility and completely devouring all the potatoes like a Neanderthal.

Boiled fish in spicy broth. An acquired taste.

The final dish served was boiled fish in a spicy broth. The first thing I noticed about this was how fragrant the dish was. The scent of peppercorn completely dominated my olfactory senses. The fish, as one could probably guess, had the strong taste of Szechuan peppercorns. This put a numbing sensation on my tongue that strangely turned sweet once the sensation settled down. The fish was moist to the point where eating it was almost as easy as chewing air. I feel that this dish might have an acquired taste because the flavors stemming from the peppercorns are profoundly intense.

For a person that has never tried Hunan cuisine, it is hard to not recommend this restaurant. It is especially hard not to recommend this restaurant to lovers of pungent and spicy flavors. Not too long ago, I was disappointed to learn that my favorite Chinese restaurant in Convoy had closed down. After learning the unfortunate news, I toiled in my search for another enjoyable Chinese restaurant that could possibly replace my now-closed-down favorite. After coming to Beauty Hunan, it's safe to say that I've found my replacement, and a very good one at that.

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Wedding Hors d'oeuvres

It's hard not to appreciate hors d'oeuvres at a wedding. When the servers come to you and ask if you would like so-and-so, it feels like it's your birthday! Of course, that wasn't the case here. My favorite hors d'oeuvres at this wedding I attended was most definitely the coconut butterfly shrimp. It may have seemed simple, but the taste was ever so good and ever so familiar. The asparagus wrap and mini beef wellington were decent as well, but could not match the coconut butterfly shrimp.

Deep-fried shrimp coated in coconut flakes? Now that's a winner!

Asparagus wraps. Not bad.

Mmmmm...mini beef wellington.

 

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I ate a Carolina Reaper.

Yes, I ate a Carolina Reaper. Why, you ask? That is because I live for the challenge. Specifically, spicy challenges. I'm no stranger when it comes to eating dangerously spicy foods. For instance, I once ate a taco labeled the "Death Taco" from a restaurant called "Genkiyaki". Now this taco was absolutely filled with habanero extract, which is worse than the actual pepper. A few seconds after my first bite of the taco, I quickly reached for my soda and attempted to bring down the heat. However, my attempts were futile and I had to endure the pain for however long it lasted. The pain felt as if my tongue was suffering from first degree burns. However, this pain was nothing compared to what I had to suffer through with the Carolina Reaper.

The Carolina Reaper is considered the spiciest chili pepper in the world as of this writing with a Scoville rating (which is used to measure spiciness) of up to 2,200,000 Scoville heat units! That's more than two times as hot as the famous ghost pepper! My cousin Derek showed me the pepper early in the morning the day of my other cousin's wedding. I was very hesitant to try it. There was no way I was missing my cousin's wedding ceremony, and I definitely did not want to show up to my own cousin's wedding while I'm dying a spicy death. I pondered for hours during the wedding ceremony and reception. Is it worth going through immense pain to say you ate the Carolina Reaper, the hottest pepper on the planet? Are the bragging rights really worth it? Do you want to die? To the first two questions I answered, "Hell yeah."

After the wedding was over, I headed home to take on the fiery challenge. No one could convince me not to take the challenge at that point. I sat down on the couch in my living room with Carolina Reaper in hand, anxiously waiting for the moment I was ready to take a bite. After documenting the beginning of my death on camera, I, with brave stupidity, tore the chili pepper off the stem with my teeth and swallowed.

A few seconds passed before I felt a sudden, rising burning sensation on my tongue. The pain had arrived much quicker than I had anticipated. Within a minute or so, I had to make a dash for the milk (or rather, the coconut milk). Unbeknownst to me, there was only about an eighth of a carton left. How unlucky I was for this to happen. I had to get water immediately. I knew it would probably make the heat worse, but it would at least cool my mouth down for a second with each swig. With a water cup by my side, I prayed to the heavens on a floor mat for my survival. Only later was I informed that there was ice cream in the freezer. The lords have saved me! Unfortunately, the vanilla ice cream was completely frozen and tough to scoop. I could only scavenge a meager amount of ice cream on a spoon, but it was just enough to help cool my tongue. A few minutes after, the burning in my mouth started to cease. I had to thank my high spice tolerance for shortening the time I had to endure intense pain from eating the Carolina Reaper. In reality, that was only the beginning.

About fifteen minutes later, the burning sensation that was on my tongue transferred into my stomach. It was not good. I sprinted to restroom in hopes of finding salvation. However, it would not come no matter how hard I tried. An hour later, I felt as if I was going insane. Running around the house like a deranged lunatic, writhing on the floor in incredible agony. It felt as if someone had ignited thermite from within my stomach. My stomach could have replaced the knives in those 1000 degree knife videos! I was forced to take my shirt off as the heat was making my whole body sweat. Finally, the pain reached an incredible level that was no longer bearable. I forced myself to violently disgorge my stomach contents into the toilet. As a result of this, I could feel extremely intense acidic burns throughout my stomach, esophagus, and mouth. Moments later, I suddenly passed out.

Thirty minutes later, I woke up finding myself on the bathroom floor. The pain was now reduced to a lingering burning feeling in the stomach. Compared to what I had to go through, it was absolutely bearable. Leaning of the bathroom door, a feeling of relief encompassed me. I had survived the Carolina Reaper.

In retrospect, do I feel that it was worth it? My foolish pride says yes, but my stomach says no. The Carolina Reaper gave me the most excruciating stomach pain I had ever experienced in my life. Would I do it again? Maybe. I'm definitely not doing it alone however. I will say this to conclude this writing. I fear that there will be a new chili pepper in the future that bests even the Carolina Reaper in terms of spiciness. I cannot wait for the day of its conception to come.

P.S.

I plan on releasing video footage of my experience sometime in the future.

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Crispy Fried Chicken: Best Fried Chicken in San Diego?

One fine early morning at 1:30 AM, I was feeling extremely spontaneous. I suddenly wanted to have a get-together with my old group of friends. We had not hung out with just ourselves in a very long time due to a variety of reasons. So I thought, why not bring my old friends together with some fried chicken? After all, fried chicken is the premiere food to bond over. Everyone loves fried chicken, right?

I picked up my friends and arrived at the fried chicken establishment in the afternoon. The place was called "Crispy Fried Chicken". Now that's some creative naming sense right there! The name made it blatantly obvious what was served there, which I can actually appreciate. It makes life easier when you have less things to think about.


Anyways, my friends and I entered Crispy Fried Chicken and were greeted with a hole-in-the-wall environment. The windows were lined with vertical window bars for security. Being in a less prosperous area of El Cajon Blvd., the bars only made me feel a little more disconcerted than I already was being in the area. One of the friends I brought (let's call him "Habibi") was joking that a person could come into the shop and pull a gun out at any moment. An obvious exaggeration on Habibi's part, but I wasn't overly comfortable with the area myself. One noticeable feature of Crispy Fried Chicken was the viewing window where you can see the fried chicken resting on top of racks. It was honestly a beautiful and glorious sight to see. Other things to note were the addition of gumball and gachapon machines, along with an old-school arcade machine. Overall, Crispy Fried Chicken looked like your typical and understated mom-and-pop shop.

You can see your fried chicken resting on the racks at the viewing station. Neat!

 A closer look at the viewing station.

After checking out the shop, I proceeded to order fried chicken gizzards and five of pieces of fried dark meat chicken from the generous Asian lady at the counter. At first glance, the chicken gizzards looked similar to popcorn chicken. However, the texture was far from it. The chicken gizzards had a tough texture that was reminiscent of the cartilage found on the end of a drumstick. Oddly enough, they worked oddly well deep-fried and were wonderfully salted.

Now for the main course. The five pieces of fried chicken. After finishing the gizzards, I could not wait much longer to dig in. The first morsel of fried chicken I bite into had a crisp superior to that of your normal fried chicken chain restaurant. The moistness of said fried chicken were up to my standards as well, and was pleasantly juicy. The fried chicken shared the same, salty flavor as the fried chicken gizzards. Dipped into some honey mustard, the fried chicken pieces were even more palatable than if eaten plain.

Overall, the fried chicken experience at Crispy Fried Chicken could best be described in one word: CRISPY! Actually, they can be described better with more words. While the fried chicken was definitely crispy (which is good considering the establishment's name), the fried chicken was also well cooked and well seasoned. In addition, I was surprised but how much I enjoyed the chicken gizzards. They were arguably just as tasty as the regular pieces of fried chicken. Even with my positive feelings regarding Crispy Fried Chicken, I couldn't help but feel like something was amiss. I was very satisfied with the fried chicken, but I wasn't particularly blown away by it either. I felt like there needed to be something added to intensify the flavor profile of the chicken. Perhaps adding cayenne or paprika to the batter would do just that. However, that's my just my opinion. It's not quite on the level of the Crack Shack, but it's hard for me not to appreciate another great spot to experience delicious fried chicken here in San Diego.

P.S.

Sorry for the poor quality images! My new phone doesn't take great-looking photos.

P.P.S.

KFC or Popeyes, please sponsor me! I want to eat your fried chicken!

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