mmm-yoso!!!

Panaderia La Moreliana

I'm a bit under the weather, so just a short post tonight. Thanks for bearing with me.....

If you are a regular reader, you already know that I don't have much of a "sweet tooth". That's why various desserts and sweets don't have much coverage. For that coverage, please visit Kirbie's and CanineCologne's blogs. And though I know that Captain Jack has a real weakness for Mexican Desserts...... in fact, we had to make a stop at Panchita's after our recent South Bay Taco Crawl. And as usual the pastries were just not to my taste. Too much sugar, too much Manteca??? Who knows..... That's why I find the fact that I'm doing a post on a Panaderia kinda odd, because I'm the last person in the world to stop at one.

In this case it was the sign that got my attention.....

 Seen from 3rd Avenue in Chula Vista, off the main street on Quintard Street. For some reason, on one of my visits to Internacional 2000, I decided to drive by and check the place out.

After seeing the front of the bakery, I decided to walk in a grab some stuff.

 The "tradicional Michoacan" signage got me to walk in. This shop specializes in bread and pastries from the Michoacan region of Mexico. I was curious, mainly because I had read this post on Mexico Cooks. To quote a line in that post, the "people of Michoacán consume a million pieces of artisanal bread per day...." That's a heck of a lot of bread. Unfortunately, there were no "birotes" (what they call Bollilos in that region), I'm guessing they had sold out. There was also about four people in line picking up cakes. 

Since these Panaderias usually put out some pretty inexpensive stuff, I decided to grab a few items for the Missus. And though the selection wasn't that large, there were most of the usual suspects.

And on subsequent visits there always seem to be something different.

Subsequent visits???? Well, I found something that I knew the Missus was going to enjoy... the Coricos:

Light and crumbly, very mildly sweet, with a nice savory "masa" (corn) flavor, the Missus likes this version...... I've got to grab some pumpkin turnovers on a future trip.

I guess you never know what you'll find when your driving around..... you might find some coricos!

Panaderia La Moreliana
275 Quintard St
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Big Joy Family (Bakery & Cafe) (dot com)

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog, mostly written by Kirk, along with some friends.  He is almost at His vacation destination with The Missus and has no internet access.  You get to read about what Cathy eats in the interim.  The title of this post has to do with their signage...

Hi.  Not long ago it was the "seven days of feasting" when The Mister and I celebrate the week between our birthdays with at least one meal out a day...he gets to choose the first three days and I get to choose the last three.  The middle day we have to both agree upon.  So anyhow it was his turn.  Again.  He likes sweets. Why play games?

If you have ever been to Phuong Trang, you've seen this place.  It is right next door.  We would pass by, after having our fill of (middle of the road) food and look through the window.  For years.  We took a chance one day...and return here as often as we go to French Cake. The influences here are Japanese and Korean, an interesting mix.

If you haven't been paying attention, I do not crave chocolate. Don't expect to see any in this post. I chose this cream filled stick ($2.25) It is about 12 inches long and since we were eating in, it was served to us cut into six pieces. A non-sweet whipped fresh cream inside a light slightly bread-dy textured, faintly sweet tasting shell.

I, of course, got a hand drip coffee (large $2.95).  Served with real cream and whatever that stuff in the colored packets is...

The Mister wanted a mango banana smoothie (large-$3.95) served in this very cool looking tall glass. It is made with Monin mango syrup and a real banana. He also wanted a small plain frozen yogurt ($3).

I decided I wanted to try a red bean topped flaked ice (small-$3.50) which is also topped with tapioca like cubes, small rice cakes (mochi) a red bean powder and a scoop of very nice, rich vanilla ice cream.  This is more than enough for two.  The large is served in the same size bowl but has two more scoops of ice cream.  You can also get fresh fruit and green tea powder as optional combinations.

The real reason we came...on Friday and Saturday only, the bakery makes an organic raisin walnut bread.  $2.75.    We ate one loaf, sliced for us and served with an *excellent* salted creamy butter.  We got another loaf to go.  It has a crispy crust, with a soft textured, light, non bulky wheat interior, filled with plump raisins and crispy nuts. 

All of this food was less than $22 total, served to us, fresh and wonderful. We did not go out to dinner that night.

You can see other items made here on the website.  The cakes are beautifully decorated.  Just walk in and try something.  There are comfy tables and chairs and free wifi M-F.

Big Joy Family Bakery and Cafe 4176 Convoy San Diego 92111 M-Sat 9:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Closed 1st and 3rd Mondays each month. (858)627-0888

Paris Bakery, and everything tastes better on a Banh Mi, right?

Our frig is a bit over-loaded with left-overs, so what to do??? Well, I'd been told that, "anything is good in Banh Mi..." So I decided to Banh Mi-size my left-overs..... Being in the neighborhood quite early in the morning, I stopped by Paris Bakery on El Cajon Boulevard.

I dodged several women carrying paper sacks full of bread out to their cars left running on El Cajon  Boulevard......I don't know why they were in such a rush; but perhaps they felt a sense of urgency that only hot, steaming, Vietnamese Baguettes can exercise.....

I went in grabbed a bag of 4 Banh Mi($1), which I opened and let breath once I got home. The bread at Paris is pretty good, with a good bit of crackle without being crumbly, and there is some bread in the Banh Mi, it is not "all crust", the bread is a bit chewy, which I enjoy in a Banh Mi.

Paris Bakery also makes sandwiches, which I'll post on a bit later on. I'm not quite sure what time they open, but getting their the earlier, the better.

Paris Bakery
4481 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

So what did I do with the Banh Mi?

Glad you asked....well, unless you're really interested in the left-overs in our frig, perhaps you should leave now. So let's see if you can figure this out....

Its......Fuqi Feipian from Ba Ren, along with some shredded cucumber, and cilantro leaves. (If you've read my posts on Banh Mi, you know that one of my pet peeves are the stringy stems of cilantro, so I guess I can't be a hypocrite, can I?) This tasted pretty good, the flavor of the Fuqi Feipian stood up well to the bread.

Next one:

This is an easy one.....it's the left over Cumin Lamb from Dede's, along with thinly sliced red onion, and cilantro leaves. This sandwich tasted fairly good, but was missing something...... The solution was quite simple, just as some people believe everything tastes better on a Banh Mi, most people know that everything will taste better with Maggi Seasoning Sauce. The savory "umami" that the Maggi brought to the sandwich was discernible.

So, does everything really taste better in a Banh Mi?

Its story time; at one of my first jobs back in High School, one of the Security Guards used to bring his own "special" sandwich to lunch several times a week. This guy loved this sandwich...the aroma rising from the sandwich was quite unusual, I thought that I could make out the individual ingredients, but didn't believe anyone would eat that combination.... So one day I asked, and yes indeed, it was.... A peanut butter and Kimchi sandwich! With mayo! Elvis had nothing on this guy. Apparently, he acquired a taste for this while stationed in Korea. Over the years, I've mentioned this unique sandwich to many....and beyond the "ewwwws", wrinkled noses, and gagging noises, I couldn't find anyone who'd ever heard of such a combination. Earlier his year, for reasons still unknown to me, I did a search on "Peanut Butter Kimchi Sandwich" and did find an actual article that mentioned it, though only in passing.

So to finally see if everything tastes better on a Banh Mi, I decided to make a:

Peanut Butter and Kimchi Sandwich, sans the mayo! But with Maggi of course...in hopes that it would make anything taste better..... As per instructions I received several decades back, I used "Chunky" peanut butter......

So what's the verdict? Not as bad as I thought, the kimchi overwhelmed the peanut butter....sort of kimchi upfront, with a peanut finish. The Maggi actually brought out the savory fishiness(in a good way). The Missus could not sit in the same room, with me while I ate this, and while I don't think I'll have it again soon, it wasn't too bad at all.

So maybe everything does taste better on a Banh Mi? What do you think?

You can find Guilty Carnivore's Kimchi Banh Mi(albeit a bit more conventional) here, along with a BBQ Pork Banh Mi here.

Fellow San Diego Food Blogger mscinda, has a home made Banh Mi post here.

And of course Wandering Chopsticks has home made Banh Mi posts here and here.

And if you really want a silly sandwich, this was seen walking along Clairemont Drive this afternoon:

I guess I was destined to do a sandwich post today!

Sage French Cake and Coffee-quality food and a New Year Resolution I have kept!

mmm-yoso is the blog, written by a bunch of friends about food we eat, sometimes with some side notes about other things we do while eating.  Today, Cathy is blogging.

Hello.  Cathy here.  Part of my New Year Resolution for 2008 was to take time to relax every day.  Even if only for a few minutes...an hour a least I think I told myself.

So, the other day The Mister and I were shopping at Nijiya Market and finally got ourselves over to French Cake, located in the same parking lot.  Many people have told me to try it here, and I have said I would...and now, finally, in 2008, I have. 

Should have done it sooner.

We tried the banana split mousse ($3.75)- a very gelatinous, firm mousse, with very strong, rich flavor  of banana and blackberry syrup with a dense flavored thin slice of chocolate cake on the bottom and an unsweetened whipped cream on top.  Perfect flavors for me- I don't crave sweets and do appreciate the true flavors that were in each bite. Even the cocoa in the cake.

We  got regular coffee from the pump pot.  It was strong flavored and fresh.

One of my recommendations from Yummie Yummy was to try the tiramisu ($4), and I am so glad we did.  An excellent rendition that was very fresh and very non sugared down, with fresh marscapone with cocoa and cake which was perfectly textured.

I will be stopping here regularly, as part of my wanting to stick to my New Year Resolution to relax for at least one hour daily- and not eat or drink in the car while driving...

Yeah...I made a New Years Resolution and somehow turned it into a reason to stop at a bakery at least once a week...I don't want to hear it...

Sage French Cake and Coffee 3860 Convoy Street, Suite 112 San Diego, CA 92111 (858) 571-3484  Tues-Sat 10-8, Sun 10-6, Closed Mon

Midweek Meanderings

Just some stuff to help get "over the hump(day)".......

Thang Thang, A Family Restaurant?

A few days ago, I noticed that in the place of the former Happy Chef, which Cathy posted on, and new restaurant was opening, called Thang Thang:

When I asked Sam about it, he told me that this was going to be a Korean drinking/pub grub joint, a la Min Sok Chon. What had me puzzled was the wording on the sign that said "Family Restaurant"....when I asked Sam about it, he just shrugged his shoulders, so I guress we'll just have to wait and see.

7905 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Some closures:

As noted by "Joe" in the comments, it looks like EZ Take-Out Burger has closed:

Strangely enough, the Marie Callender's 2 blocks over has closed as well.

The Missus is getting into the act:

I purchased a new memory card for my digital camera, and the Missus decided to help me test it out, and break it in. She decided that her manju from Hogetsu Bakery would be the perfect subject:

Yes, "Her manju".....at least this time She took a whole 3 days to finish it up.

2 weekends ago, I don't think it it made it to sundown.....

I sense another obsession in the works!

Hogetsu Bakery
1210 3rd Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Open Tues-Sat 10am-6pm

The Revised Rotation

I've been blessed by blogging. Through our humble little food blog, I've gotten to know so many wonderful, kind, and generous people. It's also great to know that I'm not the only (slightly...) food obsessed person out there. I'm very happy to call Howie, who does the Foodieview, a friend.

Case in point, over the last year (yes, year...) I've received a few emails and comment, asking me when I'm going to update "My Rotation". Those would be the restaurants the Missus and I think about when we make plans to eat, whether it's the two of us, or dinner with friends, or something similar in nature. I had thought that a post was in order, but didn't quite know how to approach the whole thing. Suddenly it came to me(though it could have been gas....but we'll never know), I remembered Howie's post on embedding restaurant maps in posts. I thought it was pretty neat, and Howie was nice enough to demo what mmm-yoso's map would look like.....it did look like 300 map links stacked on one another....it seemed like I've been eating in the same place like a couple of hundred times! Now, I know Howie's a really busy guy, but I mentioned updating my rotation to Him, and sent him a list of places on our revised rotation, and to my surprise a short itme later I received a response. And there was a map! You can see a more detailed map with info here. So without further ado, here's Howie's work:

Pretty cool, huh?

Solunto Bakery in Little Italy- Breakfast and snacks and baked goods

mmm-yoso is being blogged by Cathy today.  Kirk is doing something else. Ed is sweltering.

Hi, again. The Mister and I were downtown early on Saturday morning and wanted breakfast.  We have a few "regular" spots we like to go to before the crowds (and parking meters) kick into gear, and since I do blog about the foods I eat...here we go!

Solunto Bakery on India Street.  Been there forever.  They supply the bread to most of the Italian restaurants- in a par baked form- so it is always fresh.  We go to the source.

Technically the food area in the back is "Honey Bee Ltd." It is run by the same ladies who work in the bakery. They use the same cash register.

The red menu is the breakfast menu; the middle one is the sandwich and specialties menu and the third, more yellow one is the bakery items price sheet. (Click onto any photo to enlarge)

I got the spinach and cheese two egg omelet ($6.95) It comes with the potatoes and a fresh roll and butter.  You can watch the ladies crack the eggs and make the omelet and grab a par-baked Frenchette roll and warm it in the convection oven.  (You can buy the par baked frenchettes for 40¢ each or $4.35/dozen).

   

You can see from this cross section that there is plenty of fresh spinach inside the omelet.  The cheese was a mild cheddar. The potatoes are nicely crispy on the outside and flavorful, soft on the inside...olive oil for cooking, Not overly buttery.  Of course the Frenchette is excellent. Crispy outside, with a great sesame flavor in every bite.

The Mister saw the calzone in the refrigerator case and asked if we could have one heated up for breakfast...of course we could! ($5.95)

As you can see, it is filled with ham, pepperoni and capicola as well as the nicest, creamiest, freshest ricotta and mozzarella I have had in a long time, surrounded by that wonderful handmade crust.  The sauce for dipping was a very nice tomato based one, with  a slight amount of garlic and olive oil added.  Just right. Tastes so fresh.   

The regular coffee here is, meh, and the cappuccino is better with breakfast, but we knew we were heading to the New Downtown Albertson's (it has a Peets inside) and so we just got a regular coffee on this day.

We always get something par baked ( panini are 55¢ each or $5.75/dozen or  a demi loaf $1.75), but I didn't take a picture and since it is Tuesday, well, it's gone.

Occasionally, as it says on the menu, they have Sfingi for 25¢ each or 5/$1 and I grab them up when I can...(basically small fried donut holes, made with orange and lemon zest- usually eaten for the Feast of San Guiseppe- and sometimes stuffed with a ricotta mixture if you get it from a Good Italian Home)(The Mister and I had some from this teensy bakery in Naples, still warm, and it brings back good memories to taste the warm orange/lemon flavoring in a lightly fried dough...)

Solunto Bakery and Honey Bee Ltd. 1643 India Street San Diego 92101 (619) 233-0881

Arely Again-A revisit to a really good French Bakery Cafe

mmm-yoso, the blog.  This is it.  Cathy blogging today; Kirk is resting; Ed is in Yuma.

Hi again.  I've been under the weather, because of the weather, and didn't feel much like eating out anywhere in the last week (let's politely say phlegm was involved and leave it at that). 

Looking at Kirk's post about his Bun Bo Hue dossier, I noticed he mentioned his "regular rotation" and started thinking about it.  The Mister and I eat at Arely a lot, not for the atmosphere (5 tables, plastic plates and cutlery) but because of the food.  It is very good and quite authentically French.  In fact, the last time we were here (a couple of Saturdays ago), three people in front of us all were speaking in French to each other, ordering in accented English and then while we were waiting for our food, another group of three people also speaking only in French were also getting food to eat there. Lots of people get food to go, many cakes are preordered and picked up.

Here is a link to my previous post on Arely.  I noticed I said I would talk about breakfast and so here is the follow up.    

Here is a copy of the glossy menu you can pick up inside.  (Click on any photo to enlarge).  It's the same menu as is on the wall that I had in the previous post.

Let's start out with something simple, basic.  An almond croissant.   Sure, I sort of cut it open to show you a cross section in this photo.  You can't feel the weight of it or the fact that it was still warm, with crispy layers-delicate layers of dough, the sweet layer of homemade marzipan-honey mixed with finely chopped almonds, or..oh, look...that filling...it is chopped almonds.

  Here, how is this photograph? Hand chopped, thin slivers of almonds, still crispy, sweet. Oh, did I say it was still a warm pastry at 10 a.m. on a Friday morning?...hmmm...what did I forget to tell you?  Oh, it costs all of $1.50, as do the muffins, apple turnovers, danishes, scones, and walnut raisin snails.  The 'fancy' Deserts (Napoleons, creme brule, tiramisu, eclairs (chocolate and vanilla) St. Michele, raspberry chocolate mousse, horseshoes, montmartre, opera cake and cheesecake and a chocolate mousse cake) are each the staggering price of $2.95. It is all made here. Fresh.

This loaf of multi grain bread is$2.60.  It is very good bread. Hearty, chewy.  Different from the baguettes, which have a nice crispy crust.  Fresh.

I know, it is not "extraordinary" as far as the location and ambiance goes.  You pay, dearly, for that privilege.  This place has excellent, fresh made food and pastries and breads.  I shant discuss other bakeries here.  I know what is good as well as what is excellent and what I will pay for good and excellent.   

Ah, breakfast- here are two omelettes

Each costs $5.95 and came with the 5 slices of baguette and side, as shown.

The one on the left is with the fresh fruit (melon, cantaloupe, strawberries, orange slices and apple slices).  Each fruit was extremely flavorful and at its peak.  The cantaloupe was the most flavorful one I have had this year.  The omelette on the right is shown with the side of home potatoes (sauteed with skins on with some onion and..hmmm... I think it was butter).

Ah, innards.  

This one is the ratatouille - eggplant, zucchini, tomato and Herbes de Provence .  Really good Herbes de Provence- as in you can taste the lavender herb quite clearly. Fresh herbs, fresh sauteed vegetables.

The omelettes are made with real eggs; I did bite on a piece of eggshell near the end of this meal.  It just was reassuring that my taste buds, realizing how fresh the egg tasted, were not playing a trick on me.

This is the 'why play games?' omelette-  spinach and blue cheese.  Oh yes.  You kind of need those pieces of baguette to fully appreciate the melted blue cheese.

Please look at the previous post to see the French Onion Soup as well as quiche and sandwich choices we had one day.  Then, just go.

Arely French Bakery Cafe 4961-A Clairemont Drive 92117 (next to Pick Up Sticks and Woodie's- you can see the Krispy Kreme and Outback just across the parking lot) (858)270-1910 Mon-Sat 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Sun 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Maui: Home Maid Bakery

There is a Japanese tradition of giving gifts when returning from a trip, these gifts are called Omiyage. In Hawaii, the tradition is deeply rooted, and goes beyond ethnic and cultural differences. In fact, when making a trip from say, Honolulu, to Hilo, your mind automatically starts ticking off what you need to bring back for Omiyage...., Mochi from Two Ladies Kitchen, or something from Big Island Candies. The tradition even works in reverse; when taking trips to Lanai, Manapua(sort of a steamed Char Siu Bao, but bigger), Pork Hash(Siu Mai), and Pepiao from Char Hung Sut was a required gift. Maui seems to have more than it's share of Omiyage items, though the list seems to be getting shorter(of the stuff I know) as time goes by. Long gone are the Maui Hot Dogs and Shishido Manju. But several sources of Omiyage are going strong. One of those sources is located in Wailuku on Lower Main street, Home Maid Bakery.

The bakery is not that hard to find, but parking can be. Though it might not be a long wait since cars are always leaving as quickly as they are entering the hilly, uneven, slightly pot-holed parking lot. And Home Maid's hours are very convenient, they are open from 5am to 10pm daily.

Once in the bakery, you'll notice all of the bags lined up on the back counter; those are the orders waiting for pick-up, mostly for people on the way to the airport. There are a variety of  various pastries available, and most of it is self-serve. But on this trip to the airport to pick-up the Missus's parents, we decided to try the malasadas, those wonderful Portuguese fried donut like pastries. I'd been warned of the sometimes surly service at Home Maid, but on this day, the Older Lady working the counter was very nice. And we got a dozen to go($6.60):

You'll notice only eleven malasadas in the box. That's because, in order to stop a certain someone with a growling tummy from salivating all over the box(not me...), I had to open it up, and that malasada was inhaled. Overall, these were not too bad, they lacked the yeasty goodness of the malasadas from Leonard's Bakery, but were not a bad substitute for someone who had not had a decent malasada in 5 years. The confections were slightly crisp, very hot, and sugary. Please note that malasadas are only available from 530am to 930am, and 4pm to 10pm daily. When I kiddingly asked the Lady why that was...She looked up with a total deadpan expression and said, "cause no mo' malasada man!" And proceeded to crack up.......

But what Home Maid Bakery really is known for are the Crispy Manju, which unlike traditional Japanese Manju, has a crisp pastry crust (Think pie crust). So I had to make sure to buy a couple for snacking pleasure.

I picked up the Imo (sweet potato) and Crispy Manju Deluxe(lot's of azuki). The Missus really didn't care much for them, She's much more of a traditionalist, and while I still enjoy the buttery sweetness, I thought these seem to be much more greasy than I remember.

My Mother In Law on the other hand, who obviously eats this much more often than we do(living in Honolulu) loved them. And we made a stop on the way to the Airport so they could grab a good selection as Omiyage for their friends and the people at work. The MIL says, the Coconut is really good.

So on your way to the airport, don't forget the Crispy Manju from Home Maid Bakery.

Home Maid Bakery
1005 Lower Main Street
Wailuku, HI 96793
Open 5 a.m.-10 p.m
7 days a week,

Malasadas Available
530am - 930am
4pm - 10pm

Saturday Snack - Ono's Cafe

A while back I heard of a small coffee/tea/dessert shop in the Bonita area called Ono's (love the name) that supposedly served Malasadas. Yep, Malasada's.

Now nothing can make an Ex-Pat Kama'aina as homesick as the thought of hot and fluffy Malasadas from Leonard's Bakery in Honolulu. For those who don't know what a Malasada is; think of it as a Donut without a hole, fried to a nice golden brown crisp on the outside, with a light and fluffy interior. Served piping hot, there is nothing that quite compares to it in my book. Though Portuguese in origin, Malasadas has long been an Island favorite. So naturally, this made Ono's a "must-try".

Ono's is tucked away behind a branch of Well Fargo on Bonita Road. Though hidden from the street, once in the parking lot, you can't miss the "statue".

The decor is a tasteful Asian-influenced tropical, with "New Age" Asian instrumental music piped in. On this day the Cafe was quite full, with people having tea or coffee, and various desserts like Kahlua Cheesecake.

I did find a sign for Malasadas, 9 for $3.50! Now that is very, very inexpensive. I placed my order, and was told that it would be an 8 to 10 minute wait. Soon enough, a small white package was delivered to me. I opened it as soon as I got to the car.

Though the donuts were golden brown, and smelled heavenly, these looked more like donut holes then Malasadas. I guess that explains the price. As I took a bite, I noticed that the interior of this small donut was cake-like and pretty dense. Overall these tasted pretty good, since they were served hot and fresh.

The texture was somewhere between a Malasada and Andagi, the dense Okinawan "donut". These really weren't Malasadas in my book.

Even though I was expecting Malasadas, and these didn't fit the bill, they still tasted good when "hot". Though I wouldn't go out of my way to visit Ono's in the future, I'd probably drop by for a cup of coffee or some dessert if I'm in the neighborhood.

Notes: Service was friendly and efficient. There are a number of desserts, smoothies, and other drinks available.

Ono's
4154 Bonita Rd
Bonita, CA 91902