mmm-yoso!!!

Zion Market-new location (finally!)-first look

Welcome to mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog.  Kirk is vacationing-following plans, ed(from Yuma) is planning for a vacation and Cathy is writing today about something unplanned.

Yesterday I was talking with a friend I hadn't seen in a year.  We were (of course) talking about food and somehow the conversation went to the new Zion Market, which she told me was going to open today. Finally!!! (Kirk wrote about Zion Market in 2005 and again when announcing it would be moving (look at the date when he knew it would be moving). (Zion is a Korean Market, in case you didn't know)(I've posted about the 'food court' area inside the old Zion).

I hadn't planned on the market ever opening, and had a major assignment Friday morning, but managed to make it here in the afternoon. Located inside the old Kmart/Sears building on Clairmont Mesa at Convoy, the parking lot is able to handle the crowds. 

I don't exactly remember the footprint of the old Kmart, but when I walked in, this place seemed a LOT larger than I recall! To the right will be the many individual run shops and franchises.  None are open yet.  

 To the left when you walk in - the grocery aisles. 

Wide aisles that run far to the back of the store.  

 A refrigerated wall runs along the front... 

 Items for sale are the usual suspects.  Quite a few sale items are located interspersed in the store (not necessarily on the end caps). 

The seafood and meat counters dominate the back wall... 

 as well as a really large refrigerator of panchan... 

 Sort of near the center back of the store is an 'island' area that looks like it will have ovens going all the time. 

for now, the surrounding counters are holding the pre-cooked grab and go items.

The produce area is at least three times larger than at the 'old' Zion.  

There is so much extra space and a greater selection.  This Zion has 12 cash registers. The overhead lighting is all LED, not florescent (probably what took a bit of time in getting this space ready).

This is the view from the cash registers to the 'other side' - the storefront area of the building...see all the storefronts to the left? I cound eight.

 

If you look to the right from the checkout registers, you can see the soon to open Paris Baguette store.

 

Today was the first day and so things are a bit of a frenzy, as I would think will be happening all this long three day Memorial Day weekend. 

Zion Market 7655 Clairmont Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92111 (858) 268-3300  Website

La Casa Blanca-La Mesa

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog.  You somehow found your way here, either from a Bookmark or a Google or a Bing. In any case, stay a while and read a post from Cathy, who is writing today. 

In the middle part of very large San Diego County, in the City of La Mesa, which some people consider "East" is a nice sit down Mexican restaurant serving homemade/grandma's recipes of simple Mexican foods.  La Casa Blanca has been here, parallel to the I-8, next to the Charcoal House, just East of Grossmont Center since 2007. { Yes-charcoal and blanca-The Mister and I sometimes say 'do you want to eat at black or white?' once we park the car.}

There is plenty of parking behind the restaurant, not too much right in front. 

There are three tables in front and about eight in the front room. The Cantina is to the back of the building.  Not too large, always neat and clean, with friendly waiters. We feel at home here.

Fresh house made salsa and fresh, warm corn chips are brought to your table while you peruse the menu.

This is a lunch special- the Mi Amigo plate ($6.95).  Three mini tacos (tortillas made here)one topped with carne asada, one with pollo asada and the third carnitas.  This comes with a choice of rice or beans...and the beans here are very good (lard). The meats are all very good, moist and properly seasoned. 

The lunch soup and salad ($5.95).  Chicken tortilla soup.  Excellent, magical chicken tortilla soup.  This always hits the spot for me. It's another one of those deceptive bowls; quite deep.

An a la carte chile relleno ($3.95).  Made here.  Light, crunchy eggy crust on a fresh Pasilla chile stuffed with a fresh Mexican cheese topped with a house made sauce. We always order something with cheese.

...The Queso Fundido appetizer ($6.95) Melted cheese, topped with either chorizo (this version) or rajas (roasted sliced Poblano chiles; my Friday/meatless choice). Served with the house made tortillas. Cheesy gooey spicy goodness.

A simple Caesar salad ($7.95). Sometimes this large serving of crisp lettuce topped with garlicy goodness is shared along with some other item.

The shrimp coctele ($10.95).  

I particularly like the seafood here.  The shrimp for the coctele are large, butterflied and plentiful in the very fresh lime-tomato-cucumber avocado topped broth.

La Casa Blanca is very nice, family run restaurant that serves good fresh food.  If you happen to be in the area, it is worth the stop.

La Casa Blanca 9570 Murray Drive La Mesa, CA 92042 (619) 466-2912 Website

Reds-Point Loma

Hello (again).  You're (back) looking at the food blog named mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and His Missus are enjoying their vacation in Portugal (and other places).  ed(from Yuma) and His Tina are venturing around Yuma and making plans for their next vacation. Today is another post from Cathy and The Mister and their staycation.

The other day, we drove West on the 8, then South, somehow ending up near the Marina. We had passed several restaurants and decided to take a walk. Neighborhood clientele as well as yacht owners hang out near the South end of Rosecrans.

The jacaranda trees are in bloom and just beautiful.

We decided to stop here.  It's right across the street from The Living Room, which I posted about last year. Let me just say I wish we had stopped here sooner.
Grabbing a menu, we sat down and...I smelled fresh-fresh coffee...

Slightly confused, because I saw all these pump pots, I ordered a cup of coffee and was told they roast all the beans right here(!)-that's why I smelled fresh coffee.  Organic, free trade and bird free, roasted in small batches coffee.  We ordered and I took a small (1/2 pump) taste of each of the three coffees that interested me (decaf and a vanilla something flavored coffee are not anything I'd choose, ever). Ultimately, I preferred the middle selection-"Mad Red".

After ordering from the lunch menu, which had an admonition of "We guarantee 'same day' service. Thank you for your patience in preparing your handcrafted meal.  Delicious not pretentious slow food."  I walked around the small, ten table large interior, finally comprehending the theme.
 There was also a very nice outdoor seating area in the back.


Beads on the ceiling, Mardi Gras masks, skeletons and skulls, voodoo.
Combined with some of the French named and Cajun spiced items on the menu...the synapses connected-New Orleans.

 

 

Of course, the eclectic condiment selection on every table was also a clue.

It did not take too long for our food to be brought out.  I must say that every person working here was helping on all the tables and each one was very friendly.

 

When we ordered, I only slightly mentioned that The Mister and I would be sharing the sandwich and salad we had ordered, and the sandwich was brought out in two baskets. Nice.  This was under the 'grilled cheese' part of the menu- a "Cochon" ($9) Provolone and Swiss cheeses...with pulled pork, ham and artisan pepper bacon, on sliced brioche. It's served with a house made jalapeño strawberry jam. No, not a Monte Cristo, not a Cuban, just a great, wonderful, fresh, pork-ham-bacon-cheese wonderful tasty sandwich. The menu has pork belly on it and I suspect the bacon comes from the same place; it was not crispy bacon, but thick sliced, lightly peppered and excellent. Toasted seasoned bagel slices as a side was a very nice, different touch.

The Paleo salad (large, $10). Mixed super greens (kale and spinach and other lettuces) avocado, tomato, a boiled organic free range egg, walnuts and sunflower seeds and the artisan peppered bacon that was on the Cochon sandwich. This photo does not do it justice, but the salad bowl was HUGE and  more than enough for us to share.

When we went to pay, I noticed some very nice looking pastries next to the cash register, probably wonderful also.  We are already planning a return visit. 

Reds 1017 Rosecrans Street San Diego 92016 (619) 523-5540 Website open 6 am-11pm

 

Where in the world are we?

So where the heck are we this time?

After visiting Turkey and the Greek Islands two years in a row, we needed a change of pace. Myanmar, Laos, and Yunnan beckoned but after having some sausages the Missus made up Her mind. I threw in another location and we added another as sort of a hub.

Our first stop is a lovely city with warm and friendly people, tons of history, bright colors.....oh, and lots of hills. My calves were killing me for the first two days.

History runs deep here. People talk in terms of centuries. Do the photos give you a clue yet?

Plus, you gotta love the food here. At it's best are items like a simple pork sandwich.....for breakfast.

Eaten standing up, along with a beer. Man, this was good.

 

And who wouldn't want a some suckling pig? Crisp skin, moist, flavorful. And for breakfast too!!! All washed down with a glass of beer.....for breakfast! Well, all that pork and beer.....we're obviously not in a Muslim Country.

All that hearty and heart stopping food doesn't mean that this city can't pull off Michelin Star quality when it wants too.

Still, it seems that the cuisine here is at it's best in more simple forms.

The reach of this nation once spanned the globe. There are dishes that you'll find as standards on menus around the world that started here......

And in the grand churches, cathedrals, and monasteries.....

Though more modern expression is used almost everywhere as well.

I think you've figured out where we're at, right?

I think I'll leave you with a version of that nice sausage that got us started.

And a couple of other photos as well.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

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Green Acre - a real hidden gem

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog.  Kirk is vacationing, according to solid plans. ed (from Yuma) is relaxing, according to fluid plans. Cathy is blogging, according to general plans of achieving a post for you to enjoy.

Everybody has to eat.  If you are at home and don't want to cook, you go out to a favorite neighborhood place.  If you are at work, there's going to be a place that is close. People don't like to drive very far when they go out, unless maybe for a special occasion. People who work in the "scientist" area of town -near Sorrento Valley and UCSD- where not many lunch options are available, *do* have a great, healthy, tasty option but it isn't easy to find...

This is what you are ultimately looking for.  

Raised bed gardens, in the middle of an Office Park (the Nautilus Life Science Campus area). These fresh vegetables and herbs will be part of your meal, picked that morning.

Straight ahead is the front door to Green Acre.

This is what you see from the parking lot. See the umbrellas to the right?

There are plenty of marked parking spaces, if you'd like to come here for breakfast or lunch and don't work here. It's only open Monday-Friday...like the office park. (I'd be here every weekend if it was open.)

When you walk in, there's a chalkboard listing the daily specials.

There's an area to eat inside, also.

When you are waiting in line to order and pay, the wall advertising other restaurants related to Green Acre- those run by San Diego's Top Chef Season 3 Cheftestant Brian Malarkey, is your only clue that this place is related to those "fabric themed" (Searsucker, Gabardine, Burlap, Gingham and Herringbone) restaurants around town, which are heavily promoted and very popular.

The menu board is hanging above the cash register area, where you order, pay and get a number. Then you take your beverage, find a seat and soon enough, your food is brought to you.  

My first visit here was a meet up with fellow bloggers caninecologne (who posted after that first visit)(two posts, actually)  and Dennis.  Dennis has been here many times, since he works close by (as I said at the beginning...)  

One of the things I really like about Green Acre is that just about everything is recycled and recycle-able.  The paper straws are more than just cute. When you return your tray, the trash area is marked for food mulch, paper and plastic recycling and 'other'.

The food is brought out on jelly roll pans lined with brown butcher/craft paper.  This is Dennis' Grass fed beef burger, topped with leek, slow roasted tomato and Marin County Brie served on a fresh pretzel bun($12) it comes with the fresh-fresh salad, topped with a herb infused dressing...oh, and the pickle is definitely not from a jar. The Russett fries ($3) are served with a 'tomato jam' that tasted more like a marinara than catsup...The fries are quite nice.

caninecologne was not going to let this long drive North go to waste and ordered two full meal items.  She took home more than half of each. This is the "Drunken Mary" panini-a chicken salad made with smoked almonds and  brandied cherries ($7).  I had a taste and it was really good. The side salad, again very fresh-fresh was very good.

This is caninecologne's other main course meal- the 'Corn Cobb' ($9). A very nice, very large, very fresh Cobb salad,  made with  chicken, avocado, bacon, cheese (she asked for a substitute of the standard Bleu cheese) and topped with a corn vinaigrette. This was very good. 

My salad- the 'Nice!'-(a play on Nicoise) ($10) Lightly seared albacore, a perfect soft boiled farm egg, and instead of beans, fresh peas and instead of potato, freshly fried potato skins on top: whatever is fresh and in season... The lettuces, tomato, vinaigrette were memorable as to their freshness. 

I had to bring The Mister here, so one weekday in April, we drove out here (it's easy, take the 5 to Genessee, go West two lights to John Jay Hopkins, turn (you can only turn North) and the first street is General Atomics Drive- the first building on the right -go behind it through the parking lot).  I decided to try one of the items from the "Brick Oven Bar"- a 'Purist' half pizza($6).  Again, it comes with the salad, all on the brown paper lined jelly roll pan. A simple, perfectly baked mozzarella/basil/tomato pizza.  This combination is *so* good, I didn't want to stop eating it and am glad I only ordered a half...just to appear polite. 

The Mister ordered the Nice! salad, based on my incessant obsession with my previous experience (this version had a few small potatoes in it, so no potato skin toppers;potatoes were able to be harvested) and also ordered  a Daily Soup ($4), which this day was a wonderful vegetarian spring root vegetable chowder.  This hit the spot with the slightly chilly overcast outdoor seating spot we chose. It was a nice blend of root veggies and kale, not too spicy and not a thick broth, but a very flavorful one.

We've tried other menu items here.  The breakfasts are pretty basic (omelettes, wraps and paninis as well as yogurt and fruit cups) and extremely fresh. The menu is small and changes based on what is available.   Green Acre serves very fresh, very high quality food without any hype.  I really like it here.

Green Acre 3535 General Atomics Court San Diego 92121 (858)587-6601 M-F 8am-6pm  Website

 


  

Cafe Marché - Bird Rock/La Jolla

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog, written by a few friends: Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy do the majority of posts here, but a few others have helped out as well.  Today, it's Cathy's turn to write while the guys are 'researching' in various parts of the USA and world.

It's that time of year when The Mister and I just get in the car, drive and stop when one of us is hungry. The other day, we found ourselves in South La Jolla on the fairly new La Jolla Boulevard that has added circles in the middle of the road, so you have to drive slowly, zig zagging at 15 miles per hour, instead of stopping at every corner.

It's the area commonly known as Birdrock.

As I drove slowly, we saw this- Café Marché.  It used to be a different restaurant where we had never stopped.  This time, I found a parking space (the parking lot has green lines painted in it, but is labeled 'Customer Parking Only' and not '15 minute parking' as are green lined spots on the street).

I didn't get a photo of the counter when we walked in, but a good variety of freshly prepared deli items and flavored popcorns are available to grab and go.  

 

We sat near the front, and had a nice view of the painted Bird Rock on the wall.  The breakfast and lunch menus were brought to us.  

 

 

 

The Mister ordered coffee ($2) and a thermal pot was brought to him. It was a very good, fresh brewed French roast coffee.

The Mister's order came with a 'small salad', which was quite large and served with a very nice herbed balsamic dressing.  

Short story: The Mister and I had just been reminiscing about late night stops at Denny's after the UGLi (undergraduate library) closed, and how we always ordered a "Super Bird", a sort of Monte Cristo sandwich...

So, when the Monte Cristo Crépe ($8.50) was on the menu at Cafe Marché, He had to order it.  I must say, this was *wonderful* and had a good amount of ham and turkey and cheese inside the *very* perfect, thin and flavorful crépe.

When I looked at the menu, I could not decide, asked what the soup of the day was and was told that in addition to French onion, the 'soup' was actually a chili. ($5).  I had to try it and was very, very happy I did. Our  (very nice and attentive) Waiter said it was his Mother's recipe...and I want that recipe!  Ground beef, black, kidney and garbanzo beans, corn and a perfect blend of spices, topped with cheese and a dollop of sour cream and...a perfect meal.  It was accompanied by grilled Focaccia, which was so very fresh and apparently what is used for sandwiches here...sandwiches which I'll order next time. 

What a great place.  So glad we stopped here.

Marché Café 5550 La Jolla Blvd La Jolla CA 92037 (623)332-3505

Recently Consumed and it's that Time Again!

So here's some stuffs that I made recently........

A cumin and five spice crusted halibut...with that Purple Cabbage Slaw.

A Garlic Shrimp Po' Boy.

This one went to the reject pile. It was totally "ma-la" - numbing hot. But the Missus rejected it because it wasn't "red" enough. So it's back to the drawing board with the Chili Oil Won Tons.

Still, it was really spicy....

I still get embarrassed when the Missus requests "spicy tuna". So I sheepishly submit this Spicy Ahi Salad.

If you decide to make this, don't forget the tobiko and the avocado. I served this on mizuna, which added a nice mildly bitter counter-point to the dish.

And finally........

Tommy from Catalina Offshore recommended some fresh sardines, which had just come in that morning. The timing of which is excellent. It's that time again. Hopefully, by the time you read this, the Missus and I will be on our way to our next destination(s). So where are we going? Well, the photo leaves a clue.

I'll try to post once in a while while we're gone, but until then, everything is in the fine hands of Cathy!

Thanks for reading!

J&T Thai Street Food

On one of my trips to Ballast Point on Linda Vista a couple of months ago, I noticed this little restaurant had opened.

The name conjured up memories of the cornucopia of street food we encountered in Thailand, the breath and depth of which was impressive.......wonderful whiffs of fried goodies wafting down streets and alleyways in Thailand.

We already have The Original Sab E Lee feeding us Issan style food.....could this be the place for true Bangkok style street-food.

Even though I try not to let first impressions set the tone, the interior screams of "fast-casual"......in fact, I started calling this place Thai-Chipotle.

The place is going for that somewhat slick and modern vibe, using "Thai Street Food" to make the Veggie Pad Thai and Grilled Salmon Salad sound exotic and different.

Still, there were some items on the menu outside the restaurant that seemed interesting.

The Pork Leg Stew Rice, which I'm assuming was Khao Kha Moo looked like a must try, until I entered the restaurant and found that it was no longer on the menu....the one inside the place.

Still the steamed chicken rice ($7), sounded much like Hainan Chicken Rice which is called khao man kai in Thailand, so I thought I'd give that a try. Admittedly, I was thrown off when the chipper young lady asked me if I wanted my chicken with or without skin.

Upfront I'll say this was way better than the version at Noble Chef, the chicken tender, the rice not dried out. On the other hand, the flavor was on the mild side, almost a caricature of sorts that had me wanting something like what I had in Chiang Mai. The flavor was a bit too watered down and gabacho for me. The sauce was basically a sweet chili sauce with garlic, a bit too sweet for me. The tones that ginger adds to this dish was missing as well.

The good thing about these type of places is that you don't spend a mint on your meal. This means that you, like I can give it another go a few weeks later. This time I was famished and started with the Chicken Wings, not a bargain at $3 for three wings.....they gotta fix the sign outside, it says four wings.

The wings were served with the same pseudo garlic-sweet chili sauce that was served with the chicken on my previous visit. Gladly, the wings didn't need the sauce. I thought these were quite good. The wings were moist, the skin crunchy, with a nice balanced seasoning, salty-peppery, with a touch of heat. Not cheap, about the same price as wings from Kyochon and not quite there in terms of execution and taste. Still, not bad.

I wish this carried over onto my Duck Noodle Soup ($7).

This was one of those dishes that could be represented with the phrase, "the good, the bad, the ugly...."

The good, well, the decent was the pretty generous portion of duck, which was tender if not particularly memorable in terms of flavor.

The bad was the broth, which was an insipid combination of watery faint five spice and sugar flavors. Everything else was null and void.

The ugly were the noodles which were mushy and overcooked.

Well, at least it was steaming hot, right?

In terms of prices, this place is not bad. In the context of gringo/student Thai Food, ditto. Is it for me....well, other than those wings, probably not. I usually don't go to Chipotle when I'm craving Mexican Food, but I don't hold it against those who do.

J&T Thai Street Food
5259 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92110