De La Hacienda Taqueria

Have you ever heard about a place, but never managed to get over there? De La Hacienda Taqueria was one of those places for me. I'm happy to report I finally made it there for lunch and was glad I did!

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Located on the corner of Laurel and Washington, it's across the street from the Louden Nelson Center. It's small inside with under ten tables, but if you like Mexican food, you need to get here.

My first item from any new Mexican place for me is always nachos. What else covers the plate with all the essentials and topped with melted cheese, salsa and guacamole?

Their "guac" was actually sliced avocado, to which I was not displeased. The Chicken Nachos ($7.25) was very generous with meat, beans and chips. And the salsa is served in bottles on every table. It's much like the salsa at Tacos Morenos. Rumor has it that they have the same owner (I haven't confirmed this), but the salsa is fantastic!

My brother, Mike got the Super Carnitas burrito ($6.50), which was as big as his head. It had meat, cheese, beans, cabbage, avocado and sour cream. You can see how he liberally used the salsa bottle. I have to admit, the "take a bite, splash with more salsa" technique is a winner. Notice the grill marks on the tortilla - this is key to better flavor - no steaming this burrito!

I stopped by later in the week to treat myself to another lunch and picked up a regular Chicken Burrito ($5.50). The chicken was so tender and juicy, I almost didn't need salsa... almost. Chips are $1.75 and they have cans and bottles of soda for $1.25. There's also cerveza por favor!

Scores out of 10:
Food: 9
Service: n/a
Atmosphere: 6 (small but clean)
Value for price: 8
Overall: 7.75

Betty's Noodle House

Seth, my friend and co-worker turned me on to this place, right by the downtown Metro station. So it's only fitting we go to lunch and write it up. He lives downtown and was very happy when this place opened a few years ago. As he says himself: "I love soup!"

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For a smaller place, they have an impressive menu of soups, salads, noodle and rice bowls. There's only room for 20 diners or so inside, but they have some tables on the patio too.

When you walk in, go right to the back wall to see all the choices up close. Each dish has a picture and description along with if it's vegan, contains peanuts, etc. You can get tofu, chicken, pork, veggies, shrimp or beef in each one too. If you are like me and can't decide easily, you may be there awhile.

Check out the candy wall! More distractions. So many cool things from overseas here - Pocky, fruit gels, Hi-Chew and more. Good thing we were just focused on lunch. We ordered at the counter and then got some water from the self-service station. There were forks and napkins, but we used the chopsticks at the table. The food was done quickly and the chef brought it over.

First up was the Spicy Vegetable Dumplings ($6.50), which were surprisingly softer than what I expected. They looked like pot stickers, but weren't fried. These must have been boiled or steamed since they almost fell off my chopsticks. Inside was chopped cabbage, carrots, corn and scallions. Outside was a sticky, sweet and spicy ginger sauce. Very good!

Seth got the Coconut Curry Noodle Soup ($7.95) and it was huge. He had to take the second half home and it filled up a quart container (provided by the chef). There was a perfect amount of noodles to broth and he enjoyed every slurp. I have gotten that before and it's a flavorful experience of a curry kick and coconut sweetness.

I got the String Bean Noodle Bowl with tofu ($7.95) and everything was placed separate in the bowl. Why you do this? I prefer it mixed up and luckily, there was plenty of sauce to cover the noodles and sprouts. The beans and tofu were cooked well and the sprouts provided a nice crunch.

Betty's, not to be confused with the burger joint farther down the mall, is a good, quick lunch spot. There aren't many noodle shops in downtown, so it's good to know you can get your fix here. Next time, I will try the Pho and Pad Thai. Great variety, great eats!

Scores out of 10:
Food: 8
Service: n/a
Atmosphere: 6
Value for price: 7
Overall: 7

Sushi Totoro

Lunch time with my brother and sister-in-law at one of their favorite places, Sushi Totoro on Mission Street. You may remember Totoro from the adorable Studio Ghibli anime "My Neighbor Totoro". He's a big, furry, blue cat-like creature. Sort of like my brother...

Yelp website

This is a popular place for college students and has lots of whimsical decorations as well as pictures of past customers on the walls. I think they are going for a party atmosphere, which is good for smaller sushi place.

It was about half full when we got there mid-week and the waitress was quick to give us menus and drinks. Mike, my bro, said we're getting the stuffed peppers appetizer. Sure, sounds good...

The Little Bomb ($7.95) was filled with tuna and cream cheese, deep fried and covered in roe and sauce, it was quite the starter. The sweetness of the fish and sauce balanced the spicy jalapeño and finished with a crunch. I'm a fan!

Next, I ordered my old standby, a California roll. Some things never go out of style. Did you know it was invented in LA in the 70s? Ichiro Mashita, a sushi chef, replaced tuna with avocado and it was an immediate hit. This version was fresh with lots of crab, but I didn't taste the cucumber.

Mike ordered his favorite, the Big Boy ($16.95) has tuna, salmon, spicy tuna, avo & cream cheese and it was double-sized. It too was deep fried and then covered in roe and sauce. The other roll was the TNT Special ($9.95), which had spicy tuna and cucumber. Even though fried, both weren't greasy and we could taste all the ingredients.

The last roll we ordered was the Philadelphia Special ($13.95) with salmon, cream cheese and avo. I guess the specials are all deep fried with sauce and roe. You can get them without, but why would you want to? They make for a more filling meal.

Sushi Totoro is a cozy place that has a great menu and good food. There are other places in town for bigger parties, but for a quick lunch hour, it fits the bill.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 7
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Value for Price: 6
Overall: 6.75

The Panda Inn - Aptos

Ever since starting this food blog, I have been getting suggestions on new places to eat. Santa Cruz has no shortage of wonderful dining destinations and even more in neighboring cities. This one is from my mom and her favorite Chinese food in Aptos... The Panda Inn.

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Nestled in the Deer Park Center, up around back - follow the signs, you'll find the Panda Inn. Once you enter, prepare to see pandas peeking out at you from everywhere. On the walls and hanging from baskets, you can't escape! Luckily, none were found on the menu...

My lunchtime companions included mom, dad and the offspring - all Chinese food fans. Let's see how my mom's recommendation does with this crowd.

Starting with the hot and sour soup, it was good, but much like others I've had around town. It did step up with its generous helping of chicken pieces throughout. It could be more like a meal in a bigger portion. We all ordered waters to drink and they were refilled without a thought - nice.

The lunch menu ($8.95) comes with soup, rice and an egg roll. Kelly got noodles, just noodles without any vegetables. I have failed to convince her that veggies are good for you. Well, she probably knows, but still avoids them at all costs. She did like the huge helping... "they go on forever!".

Mom got the Chinese Chicken Salad ($7.90) and it was big! She said a nutritionist had told her once that this was the healthiest meal in town. Who is she to argue? Loaded up with lettuce, almonds and chicken, it had a nice lemon soy vinaigrette dressing. The crispy bowl wasn't greasy at all.

Dad went healthy too with a custom order of fish and broccoli in a garlic sauce. It's a good thing when places let you customize what you want. He ditched the rice and got a bit more fish I think. He gave it a thumbs up.

One of my measuring sticks for Chinese is General Chicken. Most every place has it and I think it should be crunchy, spicy and sweet. The Panda got it right! I will say the dark, sticky sauce was less runny than most and slightly vinegary, but still very good. I missed mixing the sauce with the rice, but I'll live. The egg roll was also crunchy and cooked well.

I can see why The Panda Inn comes recommended. A cool interior with bamboo and pandas everywhere, good quality food and the service was no-nonsense.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 7
Service: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Value for price: 7
Overall: 7.50