Big Star Drive-In (Post 2021.14)

Posted on 7 July 2021 by Ed's Eats

Food from Big Star Drive-In — *A milkshake, burger, and pierogis from Big Star Drive-In*

Place: Big Star Drive-In

Category: Road Food, American, Burgers, Ice Cream

Website: https://www.thebigstardrivein.com/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/big-star-drive-in-stroudsburg

Location: 1833 W Main St, Stroudsburg, PA 18360

Date of visit: 2021 April 6

On April 6, 2021 I started to drive across the country. My first food stop was The Big Star Drive-In in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. It has been in existence since 1949 and is just off of Interstate 80 in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

While waiting in line I started to talking to a few other customers and they said that all of Big Star Drive-In’s food is good, especially the ice cream. I decided to go with a cheeseburger with grilled onions and a side of pierogi. To drink I got a cranberry milk shake. Not a lot of detail is needed on any of these as they are not super-unique but they were all delicious. I really enjoyed burger and the onions were grilled to perfection.

The pierogi was good but if you lived in pierogi country it was probably nothing special. However since I live in California I found it to be a nice treat and I was glad I ordered it. I never had a cranberry milkshake before but it was what you would expected—a vanilla ice cream base with a sweetened cranberry syrup added it. It wasn’t too sweet though and it made a good combination. I’d get it again and if you like cranberries and milkshakes I think you should try it at the Big Star or anywhere else you see it.

Overall it was exactly what I expected for a drive-in established just after WW2. Tasty food served quickly for a very reasonable price but nothing fancy. Definitely worth stopping at a place like this instead of a fast food chain!

Photo of Big Star Drive-In — *Big Star Drive-In located in Stoudsburg, Pennsylvania.*

Blazin’ Bayou BBQ (Post 2021.11)

Posted on 19 March 2021 by Ed's Eats

Pulled pork sandwich from Blazin’ Bayou BBQ Stand — *A delicious pulled pork sandwich from Blazin’ Bayou BBQ stand at the Marina Farmers’ Market.*

Place: Blazin’ Bayou BBQ

Category: Barbeque

Website: http://www.blazinbayoubbq.com/

Yelp: N/A

Location: Mobile (My visit was at the Marina Sunday Farmers’ Market, 215 Reservation Road, Marina, CA 93933)

Date of visit: 2021 March 7

On Sunday, March 7, 2021 I headed to the Marina Certified Farmers’ Market https://www.everyonesharvest.org/marina-certified-farmers-market/ that is held every Sunday from 10am to 2pm at 215 Reservation Road, Marina, CA. I didn’t go in search of a farmer or even produce (although I did pick up some vegetables) but I came in search of southern-style barbeque. The reason why I headed to the farmers’ market for barbeque was that Haley left a comment on a previous Ed’s Eats post that recommended it.

Before going on to the part about Blazin’ Bayou BBQ, a quick word on the Farmers’ Market. It was pretty small and there were only three actual farm stands. I assume they get a few more farmers in-season. The ones that were there though had a nice assortment of produce including some things you don’t find in a typical supermarket. ’I didn’t see any fresh meats for sale. There were a number of craft vendors and an assortment of food vendors including a taco truck, a sushi truck, kettle corn, and others food vendors. It probably isn’t worth the ride from a distance if you are just going there for vegetables but if you are in the area it is worth a quick stop.

Blazin’ Bayou BBQ specializes in southern-style BBQ. They had smoked pulled pork, smoked brisket, smoked ribs, and Louisiana Hot Links on the menu. They also had a crawfish boil special (at least I think it was a boil, I didn’t the special on camera so I may be wrong but I know it was crawfish because I almost got that instead of my sandwich because I haven’t had crawfish since moving away from Alabama).

*Blazin’ Bayou BBQ Stand at the Marina Farmer’s Market.*

Although all of the menu items were tempting, I decided to go with the pulled pork sandwich which is probably what I get most of the time when it is available from a BBQ place. The brisket really looked good though! The pulled pork was delicious. I’d say it was in the top 10% of pulled pork sandwiches I’ve had and I’ve been to a bunch of BBQ places. It was definitely the best pulled pork I’ve had in California. It was tender and flavorful. Blazin’ Bayou BBQ put a large amount of meat on their sandwiches which is nice but the sandwiches are not inexpensive. I think it was either twelve or thirteen dollars for the sandwich. The amount of meat made it worth it, but as I said it is not a cheap sandwich. As far as service goes, the staff were friendly and made my sandwich right away so no complaints there.

Overall, I was quite pleased and I will definitely get food from them again. Besides the Sunday farmers’ market in Marina according to the website, as of this writing, Blazin’ Bayou BBQ also goes to Moss Landing near Power Plant Coffee on the weekends. However, as with all mobile food vendors, it is always good to check with them to be sure before driving there. Thanks for the recommendation Haley!

La Papa Baked Potatoes & Roasted Corn (Post 2021.10)

Posted on 7 March 202115 March 2021 by Ed's Eats

Place: La Papa Baked Potatoes & Roasted Corn food truck

Category: Food Truck

Website: https://www.facebook.com/La-Papa-Baked-Potatoes-Roasted-Corn-106680274139511/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/la-papa-baked-potatoes-and-roasted-corn-salinas

Location: Mobile, Sand City, CA 93955

Date of visit: 2021 March 3

On Wednesday, March 3, 2021 I went to Post No Bills Craft Beer House in Sand City but this is not a review of the best beer bar in the area. If you haven’t been to Post No Bills and you like beer, you should check it out. They have a nice selection of beer on tap (including almost always a quality German beer) and a good bottle selection. They also usually have a cider on tap if you are gluten free. While they do not sell hard liquor, I believe they also have wine.

Before the pandemic Post No Bills would often, but not always, have a food truck parked out front because they don’t have a kitchen. You could also bring your own food. However, with the current restrictions requiring them to sell food if they want to be open for anything besides to-go, they need to have a food truck in order to serve beer for the patio. One thing that is nice is they have a variety of food trucks and not the same one every day. I don’t think any of them have been bad, but of course it always depends what kind of mood you are in which ones are better.

On this day, they had a new-to-them food truck: La Papa Baked Potatoes & Roasted Corn. I have never had food from this food truck elsewhere so I decided to give it a try: after all I am a big fan of baked potatoes. I should state for the record, this food truck was not an actual truck, but an oven on a trailer and a tent but I consider any mobile food option that is not a hot dog cart a food truck for purposes of Ed’s Eats.

I got the standard potato which comes with sour cream, cheese, bacon bits, spring onion, and pickled jalapenos. I got mine without sour cream for the simple reason that I do not like sour cream. The potato itself was perfectly done. I expected a really good potato because you can’t expect to make any money with a baked potato food truck if you can’t make a good baked potato. However it exceed expectations. It was almost creamy inside. I am not sure what their trick is but if you like baked potatoes you will enjoy it.

The toppings were tasty and they put a good amount of them on the potato. They also offer meat on top of the potatoes for an added price. I believe they had both asada (beef) and carnitas (pork). I think if you are hungry you should go with one of these. While I didn’t try either, they looked good and of course, would be more filling than the regular offering. I didn’t try the corn so I can’t comment on that but I heard the roasted corn was also very good.

Service was quick and friendly and I’d say the price was fair: maybe not a bargain but definitely reasonable for what they offered. I think next time I partake one of La Papa Baked Potatoes & Roasted Corn’s offerings I’ll try one with meat on it because as I mentioned above they looked really good. As I said above, definitely check them out if like baked potatoes.

Bella Bee Coffee (Post 2021.9)

Posted on 4 March 2021 by Ed's Eats

Place: Bella Bee Coffee Truck

Category: Food Truck, coffee

Website: https://www.bellabeecoffee.com/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bella-bee-coffee-seaside

Location: Mobile, Monterey, CA 93940

Date of visit: 2021 March 2

On Tuesday, March 2, 2021 I tried the Bella Bee Coffee food truck for the first time. I have been following them on Facebook since I decided to start Ed’s Eats and they often post photos of homemade baked goods that look amazing so I was looking forward to trying them but the timing didn’t work out until now.

The special the day when I went was Sesame Orange Blossom Loaf. They also had an Orange Blossom Latte drink special. As people who know me would guess, I went with a regular coffee instead of a fancy latte but I was talking to someone waiting for their drink and they told me the special drinks are always delicious. My coffee was really good. The Sesame Orange Blossom Loaf was good as well. You can tell the person who baked it was a talented baker. It probably wasn’t my favorite choice for a baked good just based on my general taste (and nothing to do with the preparation). However I still very much enjoyed it.

I would definitely get food and coffee from Bella Bee Coffee again. I will keep on following them on Facebook and if they have a fresh baked treat that seems like something I enjoy I will hop in my car and drive to their truck. Because Bella Bee Coffee is a food truck, they change locations but typically, at least as I write this, they spend an hour or so on Cass Street in Monterey and an hour in Ryan Ranch outside of Monterey Spine and Joint but check on their website or Facebook page to find their current times and locations before going.

Tita’s Pupuseria Lonchera (Post 2021.8)

Posted on 22 February 202121 February 2021 by Ed's Eats

Place: Tita’s Pupuseria

Category: Mexican, Salvadoran

Website: http://places.singleplatform.com/titas-pupuseria/menu

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/titas-pupuseria-buttonwillow

Location: 20645 Tracy Ave Buttonwillow, CA 93206

Date of visit: 2021 February 20

On the evening of Saturday, February 20 I was driving home from Bakersfield and wanted to grab a bite to eat. I took exit 257 off of I-5 to find something. This exit, besides having a few gas stations with cheap gas, has a TA truck stop, various fast food restaurants, a Starbucks, and some local restaurants. One of them is Willow Ranch which has great breakfasts and other food. However, instead of going there or one the fast food places (despite the temptation of a Shamrock shake), I decided to pull over where there were two food trucks. Only one of the two was open and that turned out to be Tita’s Pupuseria.

On Yelp Tita’s is listed as having Mexican and Salvadoran food. I was originally going to get tacos but I saw a gentleman with a huge burrito sitting at a picnic table so I changed my mind and ordered an asada (beef) burrito. The burrito included meat, rice, cilantro, and lettuce. I went with beef because carnitas (pork) was two dollars more for some reason. The asada burrito one was quite good and I’d get it again but next time I might try the carnitas (or perhaps some other option).

Since I recently wrote about another burrito I got in King City one might ask which was better. I’ d say they were different. I can see some people liking Tita’s better but for me, I liked Tacos La Potranca De Jalisco. That said Tita’s was really good and better than your run of the mill burrito. If I want a quick meal while driving past Buttonwillow I would definitely stop there before the Taco Bell down the street and I recommend you do the same.

La Sala’s Bi-Rite Market (Post 2021.7)

Posted on 21 February 202121 February 2021 by Ed's Eats

Exterior of La Sala's Bi-Rite Market. — *Exterior of La Sala’s Bi-Rite Market in Monterey, California.*

Place: La Sala’s Bi-Rite Market

Category: Sandwich Shop

Website: https://www.lasalasbiritemarketca.com/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/la-salas-bi-rite-market-monterey

Location: 250 Casa Verde Way, Monterey, CA 93940

Date of visit: 2021 February 8

On Monday, February 8,2021 I went to La Sala’s Bi-Rite Market for a sandwich. I’ve heard good things about La Sala’s since shortly after moving to Monterey a few years ago but I never went there basically because there are a number of other sandwich shops that are really good so I didn’t find a need to try another one. However, with the main goal of Ed’s Eats being to visit a different new-to-me restaurant or other prepared food place every week, it was time to finally get to La Sala’s Bi-Rite Market.

Did I like it? Well, let’s say I went back the following week for another sandwich, so yes! I don’t think it will replace any of the other sandwich shops I go to but it definitely found a place in the rotation. Other sandwich shops in the Monterey area that I enjoy include Randy’s. Mundo’s, Valnizza’s, and Jersey’s Original Subs. The first two are within walking distance so besides have great sandwiches, they are quite convenient for me.

On my first visit I purchased a pastrami on rye with mustard. It was delicious. Now it wasn’t Katz’s deli https://katzsdelicatessen.com/ or Shapiro’s https://shapiros.com/ good, but it was still delicious and I will be ordering it again. The rye bread they used was better than most rye bread I’ve had in California and the meat was really tasty

As I mentioned I went back the following week to try a tri-tip sandwich on a sesame role which I heard good things about. I enjoyed it but I definitely liked the pastrami better. Don’t get me wrong, the tri-tip was really good but I just liked the pastrami better. Also, I would say I’ve had better tri-tip at other places. In particular I

am thinking about various auto racing tracks that have a BBQ grill such as Ocean Speedway in Watsonville and Perris Auto Speedway in Perris. That said, if it is lunch time and I’m in the mode for a trip-tip sandwich I’ll head to La Sala’s Bi-Rite Market.

Tacos La Potranca De Jalisco (Post 2021.6)

Posted on 13 February 202121 February 2021 by Ed's Eats

Place: Tacos La Potranca De Jalisco

Category: Mexican

Website: hhttps://www.tacoslapotrancadejalisco.com/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tacos-la-potranca-de-jalisco-king-city

Location: 201 Broadway St, King City, CA 93930

Date of visit: 2021 February 7

On the afternoon of Sunday, February 7, 2021 I found myself in King City, California after going backpacking. I was pretty hungry so I decided to stop at Tacos La Potranca De Jalisco for lunch. While there looked to be a number of good places for lunch in King City I chose this place because I liked that it was a walk-up window and there were some tables out front. After backpacking I was probably pretty smelly and was kind of warn out so this seemed like a good option.

I ordered a burrito and two tacos for a total of $10.98 (including tax). Because it was the day of the big football game they had a special were they were also giving customers a free fountain drink. You might think at first glance that $10.98 is not very cheap, but if you saw the size of the burrito and the tacos you would know that it was enough food to feed two people. The burrito, especially, was huge!

Tacos La Potranca De Jalisco offers a wide range of meat choices as well as vegetarian options. While I didn’t go for a vegetarian option, a person behind me in line did and she said it was really good. I went with an asada (beef) and a pastor (bar-b-que pork) taco. The burrito I ordered was filled with carnitas (shredded pork), rice, beans, onions, cilantro, and salsa. Other meat options include pollo (chicken), lengua (beef tongue), cabeza (beef head), tripas (beef intestines).

As I already mentioned the tacos and burrito were huge. They were also delicious! I think they may have been the best I’ve ever had. If not, they were right up there. All three meat options I tried were great. It is hard to a favorite but I’d probably say I liked the pastor pork the best of the three. The food was also served with pickled carrots which were really good as well. I almost was going to ask if they would sell me a container of the carrots to bring home.

photo of burrito — *Carnitas burrito from Tacos La Potranca De Jalisco in King City, CA.*

Although I don’t find myself in or near King City often, I will definitely go to Tacos La Potranca De Jalisco again. I probably won’t get a burrito and two tacos though because it was too much food. I was stuffed after eating them. Would I suggest someone to drive an hour from the city City of Monterey just to go to Tacos La Potranca De Jalisco? No, that would be silly considering he number of places to get tacos nearby. However, if you are ever driving past King City on 101 and want to get something to eat, I highly suggest you give it a try.

Taqueria Zarape (Post 2021.5)

Posted on 31 January 202121 February 2021 by Ed's Eats

Taqueria Zarape's buildine — *Photograph of the exterior of Taqueria Zarape.*

Place: Taqueria Zarape

Category: Mexican

Website: http://taqueriazarape.com/

Yelp: https://yelp.to/T86mL63Fvdb

Location: 1107 Fremont Blvd. Seaside, CA 93955

Date of visit: 2021 January 31

On Sunday, January 31, 2021 I went to Taqueria Zarape for the first time. I really have no excuse for not getting to this place before because it has always been on my list since I moved to the area. The old time drive-up style building is very inviting. I think the main reason I haven’t been here before is I tend to acquire my tacos from food truck so had no need to go get a taco elsewhere.

While we are once again allowed to dine outside in Monterey and Taqueria Zarape had a few tables set up, I decided to get my food to go. I ordered a taco and enchilada combination platter for $9.99 before tax.. The combination platter came with beans and rice as well as some salsa and chips. I noticed that they have a salsa bar which was obviously closed due to the current circumstances. However, I’m intrigued.

*Taco and enchilada combination platter from Taqueria Zarape*

Taqueria Zarape has a wide range of meat options. For the more adventurous readers choices include beef tripe, beef tongue, and pig stomach. I was not that adventurous and got a carne asada (beef steak) taco and a carnitas (shredded pork) enchilada. They also have a couple of chicken options, a couple of other pork options, and chorizo.

The taco was pretty big. The carne asada filling and the toppings were delicious. The enchilada was also a good size. The carnitas inside was cooked perfectly and the enchilada sauce was tasty. I really enjoyed both and don’t know which one I liked better. The chips, beans and rice filled out the meal nicely. They all tasted good and between all the food I was fill by the time.

As usual it is hard to judge customer service when getting take out but I definitely have no complaints. The staff was friendly and there was no delay in getting my food. Instead of ordering ahead, I ordered when I arrived. It did not take them very long before my food was ready—I was actually surprised it was ready so soon!

I definitely will be bag to try some of their other foods and different meat choices. I doubt I’ll be adventurous enough to try the pig stomach or the beef tripe but perhaps I’ll give the beef tongue a try. I also noticed they have some breakfast platter and breakfast burritos for reasonable prices. I really haven’t found many breakfast places I like in Monterey. There are some places that have great food but they are not all that cheap. Perhaps Taqueria Zarape’s breakfast offerings will fill that void for me.

East Village Café (Post 2021.4)

Posted on 23 January 202123 January 2021 by Ed's Eats

*A colorful Nepalese tuktuk displayed inside of East Village Café.*

Place: East Village Café

Category: Coffee, Café

Website: https://www.facebook.com/eastvillagecafemonterey/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/east-village-cafe-monterey-2

Location: 498 Washington St., Monterey, CA 93940

Date of visit: 2021 January 22

On Friday, January 22, 2021 I went to the East Village Café for the first time. Some of you may ask how can a coffee lover living in Monterey for over three and a half years not have been to the East Village Coffee Lounge before? But therein lies the catch: the East Village Coffee Lounge has been sold and has been rebranded as the East Village Café. With new ownership and a slightly different name, I figured it is a big enough change to be considered a new place for Ed’s Eats to visit. So far there has not been many changes but once COVID restrictions loosen up it sounds like their will be some tweaks according to an article on Edible Monterey Bay.

*Spinach & Mushroom Quiche from East Village Café.*

I decided to order a drip coffee along with a spinach and mushroom quiche. I am not a huge fan of quiche but I like it once in a while. However, the person behind the counter said she really liked them so I decided to give it a try. I am glad I did because it was really good. If more quiche tasted like this and had as good of a texture maybe I would become a bigger quiche fan. They had various pastries and croissants that looked really good as well.

The coffee was hot and tasty and hit the spot. It was what you would expect as far as quality and flavor from a café of this type. Next time I’ll probably try a latte or some other type of fancier drink but on a rainy morning I wanted to go with the tried and true American drip. I look forward to when I can go back there and enjoy my coffee inside while using their wifi to work on Ed’s Eats posts!

The staff were friendly and made my coffee and heated up my quiche right away so good marks on customer service.

Marina Donuts & Bagels (Post 2021.3)

Posted on 18 January 2021 by Ed's Eats

*Boston Cream Donut from Marina Donuts & Bagels.*

Place: Marina Donuts & Bagels

Category: Breakfast

Website: n/a

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/marina-donuts-and-bagels-marina

Location: 266 Reservation Rd Marina, CA 93933

Date of visit: 2021 January 9

On Saturday, January 9, 2021 I went to Marina Donuts & Bagels for coffee and, shockingly, a donut and a bagel. I have to admit to being skeptical about the bagels when I saw the sign and decided to give the place a try because outside of Montreal, Ottawa, and New Jersey/New York I have not really found many good bagels. I had a little higher expectations for the donut because there are good donuts here in California.

I decided to sample a donut and a bagel to see how much I liked their namesake products. I went with a Boston cream donut and a buttered toasted poppy seed bagel. I also got a coffee. The coffee was better than expected but it wasn’t like going to a fancy independent coffee shop but it definitely could compete with chain coffee shops as far as flavor.

The Boston cream donut was stuffed full a lot of Boston cream—much more than you normally get. The cream was very tasty as was the donut itself. The chocolate frosting was also delicious. It definitely tanks with the best Boston cream donuts I have ever had and would highly recommend it. As with most (all?) donut shops they had plenty of other choices so perhaps I’ll try a different kind when I return but it will be very hard to pass up their Boston cream donut.

Poppy seed bagel — *A toasted and buttered Poppy Seed Bagel from Marina Donuts & Bagels.*

As you can see in the photo, they are not at all stingy with the poppy seeds. Do not get this bagel if you do not love them! As I said I was skeptical going in due to the fact I never had anything better than a satisfactory bagel in California. I am no longer a skeptic! The bagel was good enough that it could have been a New Jersey bagel! (Not a Montreal or Ottawa bagel, however because they are a bit different). I will definitely go back next time I am in the mood for a bagel.

They also had muffins and some other breakfast pastries and they sell bagel sandwiches. One pastry that caught my eye was the cinnamon roll but I wanted to stick

to the donut and bagel for the review. I also noticed they had a bagel hot dog. I might try that next time as a hot dog stuffed in one of their bagels must be good.

The process of ordering and getting my food was fast and friendly but seemed a bit chaotic to me with multiple people behind the counter taking parts of my order. While it seemed chaotic to me, the chaos did not cause a delay or any other issues with my order; it was efficient and it did not take very long to get my items. I guess everyone that worked in their just jumped in to serve people as quickly as they could as the place was quite busy. They obviously understand the chaos much better than me as a first-time customer!

As you probably guessed from the review thus far, I will definitely be back. I’m actually thinking I could go for one of their bagels right now!