mmm-yoso!!!

The Elephant in the Room-Donut Shops

You are reading mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food.  Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are busy with things right now and Cathy is blogging today because she is caught up with things.

You know how when you are told not to do or think something, it turns out the only thing you want to do is dwell about that something-the elephant in the room? Well, almost two years ago, everyone around me seemed to become overly aware of their glucose levels, carbohydrate intake and 'eating healthy'. Ever since then, I went from eating one donut a year to stopping at any place with "Donut" and/or "Bakery" in its signage at least once a week.  This post is a compendium of some of my favorite Donut shops in different parts of San Diego County. 

Let's start in the center - Mira Mesa.

This is the only 'generic' strip mall Donut Shop where I go out of my way to stop - If you've been to Lucky Seafood at the NE corner of Mira Mesa Boulevard at Black Mountain Road, that's where you've seen Donut Stop. It's open from 4:30 a.m. until 10 p.m., in case you have a craving. 

What I really like from here are the whipped cream filled donut holes: Little light puffs of angel breath. They call them 'cream puffs' but the dough is soft, not crispy and they are topped with just a dusting of powdered sugar. The raised glazed donut is an automatic purchase and always nice.  Simple, not crazy sweet and perfect.

Donut Stop 9330 Mira Mesa Blvd San Diego 92126 (858)271-8751

When we head to West to Pacific Beach, Linda's Donuts, on the NW corner of Grand at Lamont, doesn't look very fancy...

It's small inside, but just like Donut Stop, the donuts are constantly being made and there is something ready to eat- even at 10 p.m..

The Boston Creme and French Cruller.  Both here are made perfectly. They are 'normal' sized donuts and the Bavarian is quite heavy with filling.  If I lived closer, the cruller, with its soft layered interior and crispy light exterior, would be my morning ritual.

Linda's Donuts 1888 Grand Avenue San Diego 92109 (619) 274-4004

 Now, heading South-  

All the way in Imperial Beach, at the spot where Palm Avenue turns into Highway 75 (the Silver Strand) at 7th Street.  In your mind's eye, you can see the signage here used to be "Stardust Donuts" "Fresh"... My friend, "caninecologne" introduced me to Stardust -or at least she tried to; they were closed that one day and have random hours, but now when I am in the area, I make an effort to stop here, in case they are open.

The thing to get here is a cinnamon roll.  Again- a 'normal size' with light glaze, not "County Fair" huge with dripping frosting- and a buttermilk stick cake donut are perfect to satisfy your sweet tooth.  

Stardust Donut Shop 698 Hwy 75 Imperial Beach 91932 (619) 424-6200

Heading North on the 15, to Escondido, take the Centre City exit then jump onto Escondido Boulevard to the South West corner of Ninth...

Peterson's Donut Corner.  Open 24/7 (except it's closed from Christmas Day until January 3rd).  Form three lines and you can see the selection walking on the outside of the building, through all the windows... 

 

  

There is outdoor seating and pretty much always a line of people ordering, even in the heat of Summer.

On this day, we got the maple frosted Vienna Kreme, another Cruller and an apple spice cake donut (the flavored cake donuts are different each day).  The Vienna Kreme donut is HUGE as are all the filled donuts here.  There is always a great variety (blueberry...just get something blueberry) and I don't think the kitchen ever closes.

Peterson's Donut Corner 903 S. Escondido Boulevard, Escondido 92025 (760) 745-7774 

 Then there is "my" Donut Shop- the one I can walk to (although walking home is uphill)- also open 24/7 (including Christmas Day).  

Mary's, on the South West block of Mission Gorge Road at Fanita, one block East of the 125...if you've been to Santee, you've seen it.

 There's a small eat in area, the walls are plastered with photos of patrons.

The filled donut holes here are covered in powdered sugar and need coffee to cut the sweetness.  The French Cruller is just light and crispy with an eggy interior and ...perfect. It really is one of my cravings.

Mary's Donuts 9031 Mission Gorge Road Santee 92071 (619) 448-4800

I hope everyone is having a good weekend.  Take some time to enjoy a treat before those New Year Resolutions kick in!

 

 

Paris Baguette (inside H Mart)

You have navigated your way to mmm-yoso!!!, the blog about food.  Today, Kirk as well as ed(from Yuma) are each doing something that requires focus.  Cathy is multitasking, so here's a blog post.

I think we all know that the San Diego location of H Mart opened on November 17 -less than two weeks ago. In case anyone didn't know, I will do just about anything to avoid crowds.  Therefore The Mister and I decided to wait until things slowed down to shop and check out offerings. The day after Thanksgiving was that perfect day.

Yes, there were empty parking spots at 10 a.m..

H Mart,  a Korean Market, has great deals on fruits, vegetables, panchan, kim chee, meats and fish. Everything is fresh and clean. We were very happy walking around while being able to push our shopping cart and not having to navigate around and between shoppers and their carts.  When we got to the far end of the store, next to the exit door, we saw the signage- 

Similar to other H Marts and Korean Markets in general, you can observe the workers behind glass.

In typical Korean bakery fashion, grab a tray, top it with a paper liner, grab tongs and select your choices from behind and on top of glassed doored cases, stand in line, order beverages and pay.  

On this visit, we picked out a good snack of sweets selection. 

The round 'donut' ($1) was a very large rice ball/mochi, filled with smooth pumpkin and deep fried. It collapsed when we cut it, but biting into it can give you a cross section view.  It was really good and quite large. The almond pastry - basically a croissant ($1.90)- was so light and flaky with crispy almond slices and had a good amount of almond paste filling. The other pastry (listed as a 'one bite' on the receipt, for $1, but on the display had $1.25 as the price) was essentially a puff pastry cup filled with delicious custard and topped with an apricot half.  So good-each flavor distinguishable and the various textures made this a perfect snack item.

So, after we got home, there were daily discussions of which items at Paris Baguette  we wanted to try and when we we went at around 2 p.m. on a weekday, there was zero parking in the lot in front of H Mart and only a few spaces in the back parking lot.  However, hunger and curiosity won out and there were new sales inside the store and a few cart navigation incidents, but once I got to the far side of the store, Paris Baguette wasn't overly busy and I chose a good variety of items for a late lunch. The 4 box of baby chox ($2) was a perfect, soft version of choux pastry filled with real whipped cream which managed to make its way home.

The ham and cheese croissant ($2.25) was a perfect light and flaky pastry filled with just enough ham and cheese to make this sandwich an easy choice in the future. The other item in the above photo is a canele ($1.80) which I haven't seen around here.  There was a nice story board on the counter telling that canele was first made in Bordeaux, where the wines are clarified with egg white, leaving yolks behind...

which are used to make the custard filling of this small, dense, caramelized cake. It is unique and wonderful.

The "Crunch Sandwich" ($5.95) which we found in the refrigerator section was very interesting.  The package was heavy and ingredients listed are chicken salad, green leaf lettuce, honey mustard  and pan croissant. The chicken salad was very nice, made with onion, walnuts and dried cranberries and wrapped in the 'pan croissant' which was a surprisingly nice, dense and chewy flat bread/flat croissant.

We've liked the food and service here and my only criticism is that the line where you wait to pay is along the the coffee, condiment/supplies and trash bins, which makes it awkward to get to the half and half/napkins/forks and knives or to clean your table when you leave. 

Paris Baguette is a franchise and another location will be opening inside the new location of Zion Market on Clairmont Mesa and Convoy, when Zion opens (probably in January).

Paris Baguette (Inside H Mart) 9440 Mira Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92126 website

The hot beverage cups are cardboard covered in foam and don't need a cardboard 'sleeve'.  I've brought both home and am going to use them for something...just pretty...

 

2013 Rose Parade Float Road Test-and breakfast at Euro Pane Bakery (Pasadena)

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy do things and eat, just like you.  Today Cathy is writing about why, where and what she had for breakfast.

As you (may) know, The Mister and I grew up back East watching the Rose Parade from our snow covered homes on January 1 (or 2nd, if the 1st was a Sunday) for most of our childhood.  At some point, we were able to fulfill one of our "when I grow up" goals.  We have volunteered decorating floats for a few years now and know that the parade does not happen overnight.  Planning for next year starts almost as soon as the parade ends.  One of many steps is the "road test" of the floats.  I've posted about the July and the August road tests from this year and skipped writing a post in September, but did, once again, wake at 4 a.m. (so the dogs could all be let out) before leaving our home in East County so as to be on Raymond Street in Pasadena at 7 a.m. to view the floats. We did it all over again on Saturday. So, here are some photos of the September and October road testing..and our breakfast. 

 

The Banner Float-the first one you'll see, showing the Theme of the 2013 parade.  It will have so many different items to match and contrast all the colors painted on here as guidelines.  

The LAX float was just a shell of rebar in August.  That's the new Tom Bradley Terminal, which will open in March.

The HGTV float last time was kind of difficult to picture, but now, all the different home styles are clear.

This little guy, in his own home, will be on the "camera" side of the float.

So those were the 'completed' floats from September.  

After we saw all the road testing, once again, we stopped at Lucky Boy and pretty much ordered what apparently has become our "usual".  I didn't think you'd be interested in another post, especially containing the same meal...

But I did think you might be interested in seeing a September road test of the rebar-only floats and the resulting October completed floats...

All we knew about this float was that it was the Farmers Insurance Group entry in the parade. It looks like some sort of centerpiece or that something will be featured on the top of the vessel. 

It turns out that one lucky couple will be getting married on this float during the parade! (There was a contest to pick the couple, entries ended October 14). The people are on the float to test how it moves/turns with weight, as there will be people riding on the float during the parade. 

In September, seeing this...

pulling this, with our only clue being this was the RFD-TV float, had us guessing what was what (other than we knew the front item was a tractor). 

Amber waves of grain- so surprised to see such a beautiful result.

Here's the "camera" view...

The Donate Life float appears to be one long mobius ribbon forming hearts along the float.  The riders will all be recipients or families of organ donors, as always.

<--This is a closer look at the float, while the riders were exiting on a fire drill.

There was only one 'bare' float being tested and I'll save it for next time. (Hint: Honda) 

After this early day, we headed out to seek breakfast 'somewhere on Colorado Boulevard'.

and since it was before 9 a.m., only had to look where we saw vehicles parked...and Euro Pane Bakery looked like a nice place.

Not very large inside (I counted 12 two person tables, and one that could seat eight).  When we arrived, only five tables were occupied.  

The two photos show all of the display cases and breads available (those are very large macarons in the photo above).  Of course, I didn't want any sweets, and chose a slice of spinach quiche:

It came with a currant filled eggy roll... fresh-soft and lightly chewy, which went well with the unsalted butter.

The quiche is very spinach-y, without addition of other flavorings (i.e., no onion or nutmeg).  The custard part of the quiche was smooth and eggy, like flan (there was an opposite of a custard:spinach ratio in the pieces near the edge). The crust was light and flaky...and gosh, so fresh.

The Mister saw this item on the counter and asked what it was and the nice Lady said "ham and cheese". Turns out there was also bacon, onions and carrot inside this fresh, crispy crust.  It was very much like an Alsace Onion Tart (or the Tarte d'Alsace sold at Trader Joe's), but rolled and inside a crust.  The onion was a carmelized sweet and inoffensive (The Mister only eats onions if they are battered and fried or in French onion soup and he did eat some of these, although a nice stack was on the side of the plate when we traded.).

Both items were heated-in an oven in back-for us and brought out to our table. Heating made the flavors even better. I neglected to take the receipt and only know that these two items plus one coffee cost a bit less than $13.  I must say the quality was there and the sandwich menu board looked extremely interesting...and now I wish I had grabbed a sweet, or a loaf of bread...

Euro Pane Bakery 950 East Colorado Boulevard, Suite 107 Pasadena, CA 91106 (626) 577-1828

 

 

PL Bagels-(Point Loma)

This is mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog.  Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are out and about running errands today. Cathy was out and about running errands and this place caught her attention. She is writing about it today.

A few years ago, I was working in the Point Loma area on an Election Day. When I had time to take a break, I stopped in this parking lot on Voltaire Street, anchored by this Stumps Family Marketplace, a 'fancier' Market.  The Mister and I now make regular trips here, mainly to purchase their various house made sausages, which are coarse ground and have just the right amount of spices.  

It's a very nice market, selling a good variety of items and I would shop here regularly if I lived closer. On the same block, but around the taco shop and in the next parking area East (closer to Point Loma High School) I discovered this humble looking bagel shop.

 

It's owned and run by a very nice Asian family who make what I think are the best bagels in the County.

Eight tables inside the building. A limited menu.  A limited number of bagels made daily- usually sold out before 1 p.m. (the store opens at 6:30 a.m. daily). Bialy (my favorite) are made on weekends only.  Mini bagels available for 35¢ each.  These are not huge, fluffy, chain store bagels; each one does have a hole in the middle. Handmade, with great chew yet soft and always fresh is what is served here. I have heard people say the bagels here are as close to New York Style as you can get on this coast.

Toasted and with butter is how I've always enjoyed a bagel.  You can see the size on these smaller (6 inch?) paper plates.  The Mister's (on the right) is his favorite- a salt bagel. Mine is a (wheat) everything (white everything is also available).  (I order an everything as a default because I am easily overwhelmed when  having to choose, and an everything has a bit of...everything... on it.)

What really sets these bagels apart from others is this- this is a photo of the bottom of each bagel.  The 'toppings' are really 'surroundings' of flavor.  Just perfect.

I hope everyone is have a good weekend!

PL Bagels 3704 Voltaire Street, Suite 107 San Diego 92106 (619)223-4788 Open daily 6:30-1:00

Pangea Bakery Cafe

Welcome (back) to mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy usually share their adventures in eating here. Your being able to vicariously experience is a bonus.  Cathy is writing today.

Well.  The Mister and I were some of the first people to go to Pangea Bakery Cafe when it opened, in about May of 2011.  We went here a few times and I was ready to post and looked around on the interweb and it seemed that just about every San Diego blogger had done a post.  So I put the photos in a very special place. Finding some of them brought back some memories and since The Mister and I chose this for one of our eight days of birthday snack stops, more recent photos should make this post complete.

Located on Convoy Street, just south of Engineer Road, right next to Tea Garden the visible storefront has a small driveway where you can park for 15 minutes if you are just running in to pick up a snack. Otherwise, passing through the gauntlet of cars leads to a small parking lot.  The one way parking lot exits onto Brinell Street, which usually has plenty of parking (depending on the day and time you are there) and since the lot is small, the walk isn't bad.

When the store first opened, the display racks of baked goods were pushed up against the walls and a small center island contained breads and trays. This Taiwanese bakery is filled with an ever changing variety of baked goods.

The display racks have now been brought inward and tables and chairs line the glass walls

and the center table now mostly holds day old baked goods.  In this above photo, you can see a heated glass display case on the coffee/check out counter in the background.   

On the other side of the cash register counter are refrigerated cases. 

 

On the inner display racks are trays with individually wrapped selections. The above are garlic knots. Buttery...

Although, from this 2011 photo, you can see that items were not always individually wrapped. 

There are trays stacked at the end of the cases are so you can place your selections separately without crushing any of the delicate pastries. 

Above is what we ordered on our very first visit. There was a paper sign at the register after we had selected the sweets we wanted, offering pan fried dumplings and a choice of beverage for $2.49. Beverage choices were coffee, tea and hot soy milk.  We chose the soy and also a coffee (there is (and was) an extensive list of espresso drinks available).

Above is a cross section of the dumpling.  It was wonderful, crispy and not gummy, filled with ground pork, cabbage, carrots cooked in sesame oil. At some point, they stopped offering the beverage special, as well as the dumplings.  You can still order a hot soy milk, but it isn't listed on the menu.

Here's a cross section of a cheese filled pastry.

Above is a photo of our birthday snack- at 12 o'clock is a red bean paste filled pastry, the item at 2 o'clock is pineapple filled and in the 6 o'clock position is a hot cheese pastry which came from the heated case on the countertop, next to the register. Fresh, still warm and all very good.  Sometimes there is more of a pizza in the hot tray; it's good.

Above is a little snack/meal we brought home the other day.   The 11 o'clock item is another red ben paste filled goodie, in the 5 o'clock position is a three pack of almond puff pastry...and that item placed at 1 o'clock

is a quite large loaf of ham and cheese bread.  We can get 3  nice slices from this bread and always grab it when it's available.

The prices here are reasonable (the puff pastry was $1.25 and the cheese bread was $2.50). There is a lot of seating and it's a nice place to share a snack and talk.

Pangea Bakery Cafe 4689 Convoy Street, Suite 100 San Diego 92111 (858)560-0688 website

Oahu: Leonard's and Oxtail Soup from Kapiolani Coffee Shop

During my visits home, mornings are "my" time. I'll take a drive, fill gas, pick up stuff for lunch/dinner, find a wi-fi connection, and basically just drive around........at 5-6am. I really wanted the D's to enjoy some of the "local" food I grew up eating. Of course, being raised in the Kaimuki/Kapahulu area, Leonard's is on that list. I'm still quite flabbergasted when I see tour buses and even a limo pull up to the very non-descript bakery that is Leonard's and the lines we experienced on our last trip home were just not fun. I'm sure you can go later in the evening.....but for me, malasadas were made to be eaten early in the day. The Missus and I tried the malasadas from the Leonard's wagon in Waikele and really didn't care for what they sold....cold, greasy, somewhat gummy. So it had to be a trip to Kapahulu. I didn't expect to encounter too many lines at 530 in the morning.......

There was a line, but only four folks in front of me. It seems that Leonard's is popular with the military as two groups of men in fatigues dropped in while I waited in line. There's something about the heavenly smells when I walk  into Leonard's that just takes me back to "small kid time".

Over the years, Leonard's has expanded their line of malasadas to include filled versions. Being the old fuddy-duddy that I am, I still go for the original plain sugared version. Though I also bought a half dozen haupia filled as well.

Man, these always take me back...... MrD enjoyed having his with soy milk for breakfast, telling me it was like a sweet youtiao! You know, I never thought of that.....

Leonard's is one of those iconic places that you should check out at least once if you're ever in or around Honolulu. Here's a neat little trivia thingy, Leonard's is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year. Did you know that the original location that Leonard Rego opened his bakery is actually in the building where Ono Hawaiian Food (another iconic eating establishment) is located?

Leonard's Bakery
933 Kapahulu Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816

The trip for the day was Dole Plantation. Maggie seemed to really enjoy the maze......

This is the Ohia tree and the blossoms are called Lehua. I stopped Maggie from picking these, by telling her the legend of Pele and Ohia.

The story goes that Pele (the Godess of fire) fell in love with a handsome man named Ohia whom she wanted to marry. Ohia, however told Pele that he was in love with a maiden named Lehua and turned her down. Well, as you imagine, this didn't sit well with Madam Pele....she turned Ohia into the twisted looking Ohia tree. Lehua became heartbroken and the gods took pity on her by turning her into the Lehua blossom, so that she and Ohia would be inseparable. To this day, it is said that picking the Lehua blossom will cause rain.....tears falling because Ohia and Lehua cannot bear to be separated.

The late afternoon meant another shopping trip and my in-laws took the D's to a luau. I dropped them off and went to pick-up dinner. I had been wanting to check out Kapiolani Coffee Shop for their oxtail soup a long time favorite since reading about it on Reid's blog back in 2004. Never let it be said that I'm not a patient person.....since that time, Kam bowl has closed down and the shop is now located in Waimalu Shopping Center.

 Based on the menu, I'm pretty sure that this is one of the originals when it comes to oxtail soup.....

Funny thing is, I remember having my first bowl of oxtail soup at a restaurant on Kapiolani, next to where Aloha Motors was......could it be? I couldn't find any information on that.

The restaurant is quite small and very, very, old school.

The oxtail soup ain't cheap, almost $14 for a bowl, which comes with two scoops of rice....oh, as old school at KCS is, they did ask me if I wanted brown rice! Man, my soup arrived at my table in like two minutes.....

The standard condiment is some grated ginger and shoyu(soy sauce). I thought the broth was a bit too salty, even for me, very mild anise tones, and frankly, I prefer a bit more "fat" in my broth. This one was very clear. Lots of cilantro and green onions.....

The oxtails were excellent....not falling to pieces, but just tender enough. Personally, I prefer some nice fatty bits and gelatinous goodness, these had been prepped to remove a good amount of that stuff.

I still prefer the oxtail soup I had at The Alley to this and the portion to price ratio seemed a bit on the small side. Still it was good to be able to finally get that oxtail soup off my "list". Plus, I enjoyed the old school feel of the place.

Hey.....is that waitress calling me an Ox?

Kapiolani Coffee Shop
98-020 Kamehameha Hwy
Aiea, HI 96701

Hans and Harry's Bakery-Bonita

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog with varied daily posts.  Today, Kirk is resting from the heat as is ed (from Yuma).  Cathy is writing about another bakery she has enjoyed for years.

Hi.  I've mentioned that one of my first jobs was working in a corner Polish Bakery in Detroit.  Working there made me appreciate baked goods, both breads and pastries.  There is one bakery I make certain to drop in to for a sweet treat whenever I'm near.  Since I live in Santee, I am not near it very often.  

Hans and Harry's is located in an out of the way mall, East of the E Street/Bonita Road/Plaza Bonita exit...way East, in the area where Bonita Road goes down to one lane each way, just past where the unimaginatively named Bonita Golf Course veers North from Bonita Road at Central (there is a Starbucks at that corner of the mall).  The mall is pretty large, and has gone through many businesses and was very popular about 20 years ago. This was Old Bonita.  The parking lot now is pretty empty and you can find Hans and Harry's easily, even though it is not right on a curb.

There are a few tables outside and inside and the selection of pastries are exquisite. 

Real whipped cream cakes, fruit strudels, pies, tarts...all very fresh

as well as individual sized selections, including cupcakes, cookies, brownies, scones...pretty much any type of baked pastry. I can say nothing bad about this place.  The freshness and quality are consistent. If you get here near clsing, the close to 100 daily available selections are down to a handful.  Every day. 

This is a $2 almond croissant that made it home. I enjoy the crispy sliced almonds on top of the crispy fresh pastry. The pastry is flaky and sweet on its own.  Not too sweet, though.  

Just the right amount of home made almond paste in the flaky layers.  Just enough; it is not overstuffed; the way I like pastries. Because the pastry is the star. Very crispy exterior...

This is a $1.85 bear claw.  This is a soft pastry dough filled with a layer of the almond paste and a cinnamon paste.  Again, not too sweet. The softer, fresh pastry is a bit more sweet than the almond croissant pastry.  .

Then there is the Danish for the undecided ($1.95). Soft Danish dough and filled with both cherry pie filling and the home made Bavarian Creme that makes this German Bakery famous.  Looks kind of small?

NO!  This is a pie shaped piece of Danish, the pie part being filled with the fillings.  

Hans and Harry's is worth the drive and a stop. 

Hans and Harry's Bakery Corp 5080 Bonita Road, Bonita, Ca 91902 (619) 475-2253 M-F 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m, Sat 6:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed Sunday  Website

 

K Sandwiches- more than sandwiches

mmm-yoso!!! is the Food Blog you have stumbled upon.  Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are not blogging today, for various reasons. Cathy has no reason to not be blogging.

If you go to the "Search" box at the top left column of this blog and put in "K Sandwiches", you'll get 2600 links to mentions of it on this blog.  Between all of us blogging here, we haven't even written 2000 posts yet.  Apparently we at mm-yoso!!! post about it, or places near it, using this former Bank Building on the intersection of Convoy where it turns into Linda Vista and Mesa College Drive where it turns into Aero Drive as a Point of Reference/Landmark as well as posting about the food here. 

The parking lot is not this empty very often; such emptiness is unusual. 

Inside, there is a small area with fresh baked breads, rolls and croissants.

As well as a "steam tray" area, with rice paper rolls and various other savory choices.

There is also a small area of fresh made dessert items(I don't have a photo, but there is Vietnamese yogurt here; it is different and very good).

Here is a view of the cash registers from a table against the wall. You order (the menu is just behind and above the cash register area-straight ahead when you walk in) and/or pay for items you have picked up.  The steam tray and all the other above photographed area is just on the other side of the registers.

This is Sandwich #25- tuna salad ($3.99).  The simple tuna and mayonnaise mix is spread on the fresh baked large croissant and filled with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and pickled jalapeños.

One day we picked up (from left) two shrimp cakes (50¢ each), a pate chaud ($1) the shrimp spring rolls ($2.50)and two eggrolls ($1).  All fresh, light and crispy and filled with the corresponding meats.

Our latest 'must get' is from the steam trays- the chicken curry ($4.99).  When you get it to 'eat here', it is served in this glass pie plate.  The chicken is tender, and the curry sauce is fascinating- coconut milk is definitely part of the base, along with those chilis you see in the photo...and it is served with a fresh, hot, crispy roll. Lately, we make sure we get here before noon, so the curry won't be gone for the day.

Then there is another current obsession.  Sandwich #7- the sardine banh mi ($2.85).  A fresh crispy roll. The sardines -in a tomato sauce- are heated, crushed and served on the sandwich with the standard accoutrement-pickled daikon, carrot, cucumber, fresh cilantro (still on the stem...a bit annoying, but expected here) and raw jalapeño. It is perfect. The flavors are complimented by the hot cafe ($1.75)-strong coffee- I added half and half to it...and new/not on the menu but taped near the registers- mung bean milk (iced or hot, $2.75).

Always an adventure ending in a great meal. I hope everyone is having a good start to Summer. 

K Sandwiches 7604 Linda Vista Road at Mesa College Drive San Diego 92111 (858)278-8961

Kneaders Bakery & Café: Yuma and Elsewhere

At this moment Kirk is eating somewhere in this world, Cathy is eating somewhere in San Diego, and ed (from Yuma) is still eating somewhere in Yuma. This post is from him. 

You know how sometimes you just don't get around to doing something. I have been eating at Kneaders Bakery and Café and taking pictures of the food now for over four years. Of course, I've wanted to do a post about the place, but I just haven't gotten around to it until today. I guess it's about time.

 The Kneaders restaurants in Yuma are part of a small chain centered in Utah (12 locations there and one in Idaho). They seem to specialize in small town locations desperately in need of good bread and sandwich shops – hence the chain’s only two Arizona locations in Yuma. The first one is in the southwest part of town on Avenue B and 28th St.:

The newer location is at the South West edge of Yuma Palms shopping center, close to the 16th St. exit off of I-8 (and close to Ninja Sushi):

Not only do both locations look pretty much the same, they also share a general layout. If you enter from the side door, you are immediately in a line that leads to the cash registers where you place your order. As you can see, there is often a line of customers:

While this line sometimes goes slowly, it has the advantage (for Kneaders, at least) of allowing everyone to salivate over the delicious looking desserts:

You also can choose a loaf of one of their European-style, natural breads baked in an Italian hearthstone oven:

The bread is what keeps me coming back. Although the baguettes ($2.59), French country sourdough ($4.99), and Paisano ($3.19) are perhaps not as good as at Bread et Cie, they are certainly better than other breads available in Yuma. In particular, I love the Rye bread ($4.79):

It is dark, rustic, and flavored nicely with caraway seeds:

The breads are also a key ingredient in the generally excellent sandwiches at Kneaders. The Chicken, Cheese and Ham on Ciabatta ($6.99) is very tasty:

Here you can see the ingredients, which include lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, Swiss cheese, ham, grilled chicken, and honey mustard sauce:

The roll has been lightly toasted and the cheese slightly melted.

 My favorite sandwich is called Turkey Bacon Avocado on Focaccia ($6.99):

I remember first ordering the sandwich and wondering if the sandwich had turkey bacon on it or if turkey and bacon were separate ingredients – as they are. Even with the confusing name, I order it often and have numerous pictures of it, such as this one:

As I was thinking about this post, I realized that I needed to talk about some sandwich that doesn't involve chicken or turkey, so I had an excellent excuse to try the French Dip on Baguette ($5.79):

As I feared, the beef was nothing special:

Clearly, this sandwich was also not a messy sloppy drippy decadent French dip, but it was actually pretty good. It had a nice beef flavor, and the barely melted Swiss cheese contributed a certain balance. And the baguette was perfect– very flavorful with a nice complex taste from the levain and a crusty crust that was not too hard and crunchy. The steaming hot jus came in a generous portion and was not one dimensional or too salty. It added to the taste; it didn't take over. All in all, a satisfying sandwich.

 Kneaders also has Panini, which are served with a dill pickle spear and extremely good, thick crunchy Parmesan chips. Here's what they call Chicken Pesto on French Country ($7.19):

The chips are really excellent. However, I find this sandwich a little underwhelming and rather ordinary. The menu says the sandwich has pesto sauce, but whenever we've had it, the pesto sauce consists of basil leaves:

A better Panini, to my palate at least, is the Turkey Artichoke on Focaccia ($7.19):

Kneaders’ focaccia bread is quite good and seems to match up with turkey nicely. As on all their turkey sandwiches, this is actual roasted turkey, not some reconfigured turkey breast product:

I also enjoy the interplay between the turkey and the marinated artichoke heart, but often I wish there was a little more of everything on the sandwich:

Sandwiches are also available on croissants, such as this turkey cranberry ($5.79):

As you can see, the croissant sandwiches are served with a small side salad. There is plenty of cranberry sauce as well as lettuce and Swiss cheese:

A range of other sandwiches (called Café sandwiches) are available as whole sandwiches or halves, such as this BLT:

You can also make various combo meals by adding chips or a side salad or soup:

Though I do not know about them personally, Kneaders serves breakfasts of various kinds from 7 AM until 11 and a range of "Gourmet Salads" at lunch:

As you can tell by this post, I focus on the sandwiches mostly. Well, okay, also on the often irresistible desserts. Look at these German chocolate brownies, for example:

And I love the tarts ($1.99), including the mixed fruit tart:

Or the lime tart:

Strawberry anyone?:

And my favorite – available only in season – the peach tart with cinnamon:
I don't remember what these chocolate, coconut,  nut and gooey cupcakes are called, but I think I gain a couple of pounds just looking at them:

Overall, Kneaders contributes significantly to the quality of eating in Yuma. In my mind, Kneaders is the best bakery in town. The breads, desserts, and sandwiches are generally good. They do catering for business get-togethers or parties. Unfortunately, no beer or wine is served (it is a chain out of Utah, after all), but sodas, coffee beverages, and tea are available.

Kneaders Bakery & Café, 2851 S. Ave. B #33 (928-726-9700), and 1651 E. Castle Dome Ave. (928-783-4099) – both in Yuma AZ. The location in Yuma Palms is open daily, the other location is closed on Sundays.

25 Forty Bistro and Bakehouse (Old Town)-revisit for lunch

Well, you've found mmm-yoso!!! and we'd like to welcome you to our blog about food. Kirk usually blogs here and sometimes so does ed(from Yuma). Cathy usually chimes in about meals she has enjoyed when the guys are busy. Today, it's Cathy.

Hello again. I posted about a few lunches at 25Forty Bistro last year. 25Forty has changed since then; it's still open for Brunch and dinner on weekends, closed on Mondays and now is open for lunch on Thursday and Friday only. As part of that lunch offering, one of the menu choices is an all you can eat buffet at an affordable price of $8.

A few weeks ago, The Mister and I had some time and drove to Old Town for lunch here. The seating outside is the same, as are most of the tables inside, but along the back wall is a small buffet area.

We started lunch with iced tea and water. The water, as always, is brought out in glasses and with a large chilled bottle for refills at will. The iced tea is a good, strong brew.

The Mister ordered the All You can Eat buffet. As it was crowded, I did not want to get up to take a photo of the buffet area, but it is not large and on the tables looking like a nice buffet you'd have at a friend's home over the Holidays. This is a bit of everything available: cheeses, olives, pasta salad, salad with chicken, sliced ham, plain salad ) I do like the dressing here), rigatoni with meat sauce (very nice), roast pork (excellent) and mashed potatoes (perfect). The plate is very large and The Mister's second trip to the buffet area only brought back a bit more cheese and walnuts, which he said was his dessert...

I chose the $10 lunch combination, which includes a beverage, a baked dessert and either a salad or sandwich. As in my other post, I chose the steak salad, which I crave. The meat is so tender and perfectly seasoned and placed on top of balsamic dressed mixed greens. The heirloom tomato had wonderful flavor.

The selection of desserts was slightly overwhelming. I walked over to the counter and saw a selection of cupcakes as well as pastries. I noticed that people can order a coffee beverage to go (there were 'to go' cups stacked next to the espresso machine) as well as pastries and apparently lots of people do so. After a bit of time, I chose this Nutella® filled pastry.

As you can see, the pastry was fresh and flaky and filled with the chocolate-hazelnut spread. We shared this. It was a delightful end to this pleasant lunch. We walked around Old Town and "played tourist" before returning to the car. San Diego is a very nice place where we are fortunate to live.

25Forty Bistro and Bakery 2540 Congress Street San Diego 92110 (619)294-2540 Closed Monday. Website