alexandra’s kitchen: Captain Mauri's: New Favorite Lunch Spot

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Captain Mauri's: New Favorite Lunch Spot

The Avocado N' Jack sandwich at Captain Mauri's:

So, I've created a nice little routine for myself: I wake up at a leisurely hour; I make coffee and a pot of oatmeal; I walk to the library where I find free wifi and a quiet place to "work"; I break for lunch around 1:00; then return to the library (to continue my job search) until dinner time.

Now, thanks to a little spot on Avenida del Mar called Captain Mauri's, lunch has become the highlight of my day. On Monday, having had a late breakfast and in the mood for a light lunch, I decided to try an acaí bowl — a bowl of acaí puréed with a little juice, topped with granola, sliced bananas, apple and chopped pecans. I might have preferred just banana and granola, but the mixture was delicious anyway. Yesterday, I savored the above pictured avocado and jack sandwich and today, the veggie wrap, pictured below. All of the sandwiches are served with mayo, lettuce, tomato and sprouts on squaw (? — never heard of it either —) bread, and the wrap was filled with a vegetarian pattie, cucumber, zucchini, carrots, balsamic vinegar and sprouts — yum! Thanks Cousin Jay for another great recommendation.

And I should also mention that on Sunday, before shopping at the farmers' market, Ben and I stopped by Captain Mauri's for a cup of coffee. As we placed our order, we spotted a baking tin sitting by the register filled with bran-like delectable-looking muffins, which we couldn't resist trying. Made with zucchini, blueberries and oatmeal, these muffins are like none other I have ever tasted. I found them moist and delicious too. My husband, however, unable to determine the muffin's identity — sweet or savory — instantly found them offensive, but he persevered nonetheless, finishing his half, leaving not even a crumb for the birds hovering around our bench to taste.

Captain Mauri's
149 Avenida del Mar
San Clemente, CA
949.498.8098
Open daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Veggie Wrap at Captain Mauri's:

The Eggmobile

The eggmobile houses laying hens. It follows the herd of cattle, arriving to grass they've grazed on four days earlier.The hens peck at the four-day-old cow pies, eating various insects, larvae and parasites - rich sources of protein - and accomplishing a whole lot more along the way: By eating the fly larvae and parasites, they rid the land of potential pathogens and disease; by scratching through the droppings and spreading them across the grass, they enable the manure to sink into the ground and fertilize the soil; and by eating the pesky insects, they reduce the presence of one of the cows' biggest irritants.

The Barn

Joel Salatin stands in the open-sided shelter where his cows spends a portion of the winter. During the winter, the cows eat hay (dried grass accumulated throughout the growing season), and live on a bedding consisting of woodchips, sawdust and old hay to absorb the cows' excrement. When the heavy cows tread on their nitrogen-rich manure and on the carbon-rich bedding, packing it together, they allow the mixture to ferment (anaerobic composting). By adding corn to the bedding, Salatin entices his pigs to turn the bedding into compost: When the cows return to pasture in March, the pigs dig through the densely packed bedding, searching for the tasty fermented corn, aerating the pile and turning it into compost for the spring.

Corn Pudding