mmm-yoso!!!

Midweek Meanderings: BaLe returning to Linda Vista, Trattoria Firenze closes, and what I've been eating.....

Bale returning to Linda Vista:

I recalled seeing a sign at the Tet Festival, but was wondering if it was truly going to happen. Well, after seeing this sign:

It'll be taking the place of Toan Ky.

6925 B Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Trattoria Firenze closes:

I went to buy some produce at Henry'sSprouts on Clairemont Drive and noticed the place was closed:

The sign said it all. Originally, the place was excellent. The chef/owner who worked at the French Laundry made all his own pasta and some major chops. I ate there twice before the chef left....sorry, I usually don't do posts on places like that. I guess Clairemont just wasn't ready for, or prepared to support a place like that. Too bad. He left the place to his parents and it settled into simple, everyday eats.....sometimes a decent place for quick take-out, at other times, well, not so good. The woman who worked there looked really tired and I'm kinda relieved for her. Godspeed......

4421 Genesee Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

I've been eating at home alot.....

I don't know if I'm bored, tired, or if what seems like early summer weather is affecting my appetite, but I've been having stuff like this at home.

Just Tako Sashimi......

Hiyakko Tofu....

And some grape tomato and sweet onion salad with ponzu dressing.....

Of course natto and rice with some boiled eggs suit me just fine as well.....

So, what have you been eating?

Banh Mi from Flavaful Yogurt/Avian Water

It was sunny for a few days there, wasn't it? Before this gloomy weather set in, I stopped into Flavaful Yogurt before doing a bit of shopping for a cookout the Missus was going to (I heard the Char Siu Chicken Wings did well). I'd seen the sign saying they were now serving Banh Mi back in June and feeling a bit peckish I decided to try out one of their Banh Mi.

 

I did kinda hesitate since the Dac Biet was priced at pretty hefty $3.95....sheesh four buck for a Banh Mi? PeterL had told me that the Banh Mi here were pretty good, but took a bit of time. Lord knows, the wait couldn't possibly be as long as I waited for a Banh Mi the last time I was in the area, right?

Actually, this took only five minutes....kinda helps that I was the only customer in the place. The sandwich was pretty hefty weight wise and landed with a thump on the little kiddy table out front.

 

You really can't tell how large this Banh Mi by my photos....

 

I'm thinking that maybe this is a better shot??

 

It just seemed like maybe a bit too much in terms of "stuff"........but was very filling.

 

I'm not quite sure if I enjoyed the pungent onions in the sandwich...though I generally love onions. The pate was very nice and funky, and there a good bit of it. The cucumber played an important role....it helped to cleanse my palate. Gladly, this wasn't over-mayo'd, and even though it's third-party bread, it was toasted well.....not too hard, but just a bit of crunch.

If you enjoy hefty Banh Mi's this might be what you're looking for. It's not bad......

Flavaful Yogurt/Avian Fresh Drinking Water
6937 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

Cali Baguette Express - Convoy

I'd been waiting a while for Cali Baguette Express to open on Convoy. I figured that by the time we returned from vacation CBE would be open.... and we were kinda close; they opened the Saturday after we returned.

 

Banh Mi has been conspicuously absent from this part of Kearny Mesa for years. I know we have Sau Voi Deli in the 99 Ranch Market shopping area.... but I've never been a fan. The Missus enjoys the Banh Mi from Cali Baguette, and the Mira Mesa location tied for first on our MM Banh Mi sampling. The Missus was happy that we wouldn't need to drive down to the El Cajon Boulevard location when She craved a Banh Mi. The shop is bright and sunny; stack of canned Pate stacked up nicely, Cha Gio and Banh Pate Chaud in bright metal pans under the heat lamps.

 

On my first visit I went with, well good ol' #1, the Dac Biet (special - $3).

 

The bread didn't hold up well on my trip home, but otherwise this was pretty much the same as I've always had on my visits to the other locations, save one thing. There was muc more pate on it then usual, which was a mixed blessing....good for flavor, bad for bread.

I'm not sure what time this location opens, and keep on forgetting to ask. I do know when I pass on my way to work they aren't open yet. Too bad, because I enjoy the Banh Mi Trung (Egg - $2.75), which seriously beats out any other "Mc-whatevers" in my book.

 

At the ECB location, I've actually watch the women there crack the egg into the deep fryer! I don't think they do it that way at this location, but the combination of crunchy pickled daikon and carrots, the Maggi (which tastes good on everything), light a flakey Banh Mi really does it for me. This time the bread was very good!

I've never been a big fan of the Banh Mi Xiu Mai (meatball) at Cali Express.... I prefer the version at Saigon Sandwiches and Deli, but I thought I'd give it another shot.

 

And though the bread was perfect, I really didn't care for the crumbled very wet meatball...... the texture was too wet, almost like snot, not great mouthfeel.

Overall, I'm happy to see Cali Baguette Express..... when the weather gets a bit warmer, I'll probably be stopping by quite often on the way home. All I can really say is..... it's about time!

 

I nearly forgot a question I had..... has anyone ever tried the soup or rice dishes at CBE? There's a menu of stuff like Bun Bo Hue, Bun Rieu, and even Bo Kho, but I've never seen anyone (other then the owner, or the owner's kids) eating the stuff.

Cali Baguette Express
4425 Convoy Street
San Diego, CA 92111

Farm Market and Sandwiches

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that Bale on Linda Vista was gone (again) , and in its place was Farm Sandwiches and Market. With a name like that, I almost expected a little mercado making tortas on the side. A bit confused I decided to drop by a couple of days later......

 

And noticed that not much had changed, except the name. The shop still made Banh Mi and the market side, though looking a bit worn was still trucking along.

 

Even the sandwich sign looked the same, as were the prices....... for some reason, I couldn't recollect seeing Bo Dao Phong (a peanut butter sandwich) on the menu before! (no kim chi peanut butter banh mi, though).

 

Since I was here, I decided to order a couple of sandwiches. This might have been my most unfortunate decision of the week. The guy in front of me started snickering when I placed my order. When I asked him what was up, he shook his head and told me he had ordered a dozen sandwiches, and was still waiting for them 25 minutes later. There was one woman who also placed an order for two sandwiches right before me. She was smart enough to leave and returned for her sandwiches later. The poor guy waited another 25 minutes for his sandwiches! Then it was my turn to be the poor guy......

Pacing the floor, I noticed how worn down this place is looking.

 

Half open containers, partially cut fruit, the place looked quite disheveled. Meanwhile, I looked and noticed that there were three people working on making sandwiches. The woman returned for her sandwiches, and still had to wait ten minutes. It really looked like the folks making the sandwiches were walking under-water...... another ten minutes, and my sandwiches were ready. Forty-five minutes for two sandwiches......

Carrying the bag to the car, I noticed how heavy these sandwiches were.

 

I started with the Dac Biet (House special combination - $3.50) first.

 

The bread (from Le Chef..... standing around so long, you couldn't help but pick up on things) for both sandwiches was severely under-toasted. Thus the always pleasing flaky-crusty texture was missing. The sandwich was stuffed with generous amounts of a very bland Cha Lua (defatted pork sausage) and a tough and bland BBQ Pork. The pickles were really cut thick and didn't have much flavor either. I won't even go into the very old and thick cilantro stems.....

I thought I would fair better with the Nem Chua ($3) Banh Mi. Nem Chua, a naturally fermented pork based sausage, is one of my favorite things.

 

In spite of having all of the sort-comings my other sandwich had, this was a tad better. There was quite a large portion of Nem Chua in the Banh Mi. Still, it was a lot milder than the sour-tangy-salty notes I love in my sour sausage.

I must admit, the folks looked to be trying real hard, but really seemed like they were not up to the task. I don't think I'll be rushing back for Banh Mi from here.

Farm Market and Sandwiches
6959 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA

Mira Mesa Banh Mi Tasting: BaLe, Tan Ky Mi Gia, Express Deli (Lucky Seafood), Cali Baguette Express, Corner Sandwich & Cafe, Baguette Up, and Sorrento European Bakery

A couple of weeks ago, while having my SPAM® and Egg Banh Mi and Baguette Up I suddenly realized that perhaps Mira Mesa had the most Banh Mi shops on one single stretch of road in the greater San Diego area. I could recall at least seven places; which sounded just enough to do a super-duper crawl/comparison.

And my good friends, bless their hearts, are always game and up for something different, and have been with me on different food excursions, crawls, and meals. Since I've done a shorter rendition of this before, I pretty knew what I wanted to do. There would be two cars; we'd meet in the parking lot of Lucky Seafood. We'd order the "special" at every stop, and get it just the way the sandwich is served. We'd hit BaLe, Tan Ky Mi Gia, and Express Deli first since it's in the same parking lot.  I handed out pens and sharpies to mark each restaurant with the name and prices. Of course I didn't count on PeterL writing the wrong prices down on a sandwich (it's a darn good thing he's got Angela to keep things straight), but I remembered the prices anyway. There were also some timing glitches since Express Deli seemed to have a thousand sandwich orders and took a while to make our sandwich. We headed off across the street to Cali Baguette Express, while TammyC and MrC headed off to a place I'd seem recently called Corner Sandwich & Cafe, located behind Popeyes in the same mall as Seafood City. We hit Baguette Up, while the other team headed to the finish at the other end of Mira Mesa Boulevard and Sorrento European Bakery. This was our meeting area as the food court is empty on Sundays, giving us ample room to do a tasting.

 

We had come prepared; disposable cutting mats, paper towels, knives, and water. And PeterL was our "cutter" and displayed great skill in cutting each Banh Mi into six pieces. In order to keep things as fair as possible, we ate the sandwiches in chronological order.... not quite FIFO, more like FIFI - first in, first in. I've been told in emails and some comments that the differences in Banh Mi are so small that it's really not worth mentioning. While I've always believed that I could make out differences in various sandwiches. And this tasting bore that out; and I was very surprised at how significant the differences were.

For the sake of time; I'll spend most of the post on the two favorite, and the two that we thought really weren't to our tastes. Strangely enough, the voting was unanimous on the two best, and the two worst.

The two favorites:

Express Deli:

 

Even though our sandwich took forever, and what's up with giving us mostly stems of cilantro(?), we really enjoyed Express Deli. The portion seemed on the small side, meat cut into very thin slices, but you make out the flavors of the Jamon and other meat, and the bread was toasted perfectly, making this heck of a good Banh Mi. Proportionally this was our favorite....plus the pickled carrots and daikon tasted good.

 
At $3.25, it's one of the more affordable sandwiches.

Express Deli
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd (inside Lucky Seafood)
San Diego, CA 92126

Cali Baguette Express:

I like the sandwiches from the El Cajon Boulevard location, but haven't tried the Mira Mesa location until today. Like Express Deli, Cali Baguette Express was either first or second on everyone's list.

 

 At three bucks this was the cheapest sandwich. Cali Express makes their own bread, so even though we noticed that they didn't toast their banh mi, it was still slightly warm when we ate it. The bread is pretty light, and even though it's nothing close to what we had in Vietnam (what is?), the crust was flaky, and the bread to fillings ratio was good.

 
It was a long, but not huge sandwich, which looked the prettiest of them all when unwrapped......

Cali Baguette Express
9225 Mira Mesa Blvd #106
San Diego, CA 92126

And much like the two favorite, the two we enjoyed the least was also a unanimous vote. Sadly, the second to last was.....

Sorrento European Bakery:

 

I've had some pretty good sandwiches here before, but the bread on this day was especially stale....... and having had six sandwiches before this one, everyone noticed right away.

 

We all oohh's and aaah'd at the chunky pate, but it had no taste. The probably from a can pate on the Express Deli sandwich had more flavor. Actually, the flavor of the cucumber over-powered everything else in the sandwich.

Sorrento European Bakery
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd #117 - in the Sorrento Plaza Shopping Center
San Diego, CA 92121

The unanimous last place, and I do mean for all six of us was.......

Corner Sandwich & Cafe:

This was a mystery place, as I've only passed it once. It looked like one of the Viet coffee places with all the older men hanging out outside. The Banh Mi here tied for the most expensive at four bucks.

 

The sandwich itself looked promising when opened up.

 

And then it happened, as we each took our first bite of the sandwich. Starting with MrC, then Angela.... an "whoa, this tastes really fishy". And yes indeed, there was fish cake in this one. The bread also seemed a bit old...... but the fishy taste pretty much overwhelmed everything.

TammyC was the last to have a bite.... she was taking notes, not fooling around, was she? We pretty much agreed with her notes on this one.

 

"Nuoc Mam Taste......fish cakes....bread sucks....." She never finished her slice......

Corner Sandwich & Cafe
9005 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

As for the rest? I'll just keep this short:

BaLe:

 

Bread was on the mealy side, kind of hard overall. PeterL and Angela said they got an "eggy" taste, probably from the spread that BaLe uses.

Ba Le French Sandwiches
9396 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

 

Tan Ky Mi Gia:

Had the most hefty sandwich of the bunch.

 

The crust of the banh mi was too hard and chewy....it was also a bit too bready and dry for us along with not being toasted. This Banh Mi was tied at the most expensive at four bucks. We all liked the choices of meat in this sandwich, but there was just too much bread.

Tan Ky Mi Gia
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Baguette Up:

 

 Even though this sandwich had the nicest looking Thi Ba Chi (roasted pork belly), TammyC in her notes summed it up for us..... "bland". Nothing really there to make this sandwich stand out. I will say, that along with Cali Baguette Express, Baguette Up has the nicest service.....

Baguette Up
8155 Mia Mesa Blvd. Suite #3
San Diego, CA 92126

This was a fun time, and also an eye opening experience, especially for JohnL, PeterL, and TammyC who are Vietnamese and have grown up eating Banh Mi. We never expected such great differences, but each sandwich was very different from the other!

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I've been blessed to know folks like JohnL, PeterL, Angela (whose warmth and graciousness always keeps us going), TammyC, and MrC! So what's next guys????

Baguette Up

A couple months back FOY (Friend of Yoso) Pheth mentioned a new Banh Mi shop opening in the same strip mall as Vinh Hung Market, Luong Hai Ky, et al in Mira Mesa..... I had to chuckle when she mentioned that the name of the place was Baguette Up. How.... umm, well cute isn't the right word, neither is quaint.... witty perhaps? About a week later "Melanie" mentioned this shop in her email about Song Huong. So it was only a matter of time it was "batter up" for Baguette Up (I guess I can almost be as pun-ny).

Baguette Up has its' own doorway, but seems to share space with the Boba shop named Bobalicious (of course...). Actually, the space for the Boba (sorry, I have a limit on how many times I'm willing to type out out Boba-licious) is twice as large.

 

 

For some reason I'm reminded of an ice cream shop whenever I walk in. Even though the menu says, "deliciously different"..... funny, but I don't see anything really different about the fourteen Banh Mi, several of which are "gringo specials" from other Banh Mi shops.

As for the prices; well they're pretty much in line with the other Banh Mi shops in the area as well.

 

So of course I went with the #1, the "special" (aka Banh Mi Dac Biet - $3.50) just to see what their Dac Biet consisted of. There's nary a word in Vietnamese as far as I could see; so it just seemed that this place was trying to distance itself. The sandwich itself seemed pretty small when I got it.

 

The bread itself was very fresh on this visit.... it had that light flakiness of a decent Vietnamese Baguette. Opening up the sandwich I was also pleasantly surprised to see pate, albeit a very mild pate, but I was glad to see that this little shop was actually trying to make a proper Banh Mi.

The overall portions of meat in the sandwich was on the small side; think Express Deli with lower quality protein. Also the pickled carrot, there was hardly any daikon, was not pickled enough, and hardly had any flavor.

 

The one interesting thing was the jalapenos. The jalapenos in this sandwich had some kick, which just about killed off everything in the sandwich. On the good side, it was just cilantro leaves, and not all the tough stems, which was nice for a change.

In the end, I thought this sandwich was not a very good value. And usually that would be it for me. Except for two things; first, the young lady manning the counter has got to be one of the nicest, friendliest, and attentive persons I've had the pleasure of coming across in a while.

Second, before walking out to the car to consume my sandwich, I noticed something which I could perhaps call "deliciously different".... it was lucky #8:

 

After all, I always say "everything tastes better ina Banh Mi" right? (And I do mean everything.) So I returned for a  SPAM® and Egg Sandwich ($3). There was a different young lady this time; but with the same sunny disposition:

 
I mean really, there are few things in my world better than  SPAM® and eggs, and those would be  SPAM® musubis, and perhaps Spam® Katsu Curry? This time, the bread wasn't so fresh, but there were two eggs in my Banh Mi, and with two slices of SPAM® this was fairly filling.

 
And if I wanted to get nit-picky, the eggs were cooked a bit more than I'd prefer, the pickled vegetables were still terrible, and all Banh Mi Trung (egg Banh Mi) should always have a sprinkling of Maggi. Still, this was a decent sandwich. But don't think it was a huge sandwich......

 

Because it was not..... but it would be a good breakfast. Which gets me to my next point; there are three egg sandwiches on the menu, but the place doesn't open until 11am.

So what can I say? That SPAM® and Egg was okay, the special less so. Service was great, prices are in line, not sure if I'll return, but it's always fun checking out a new place!

Baguette Up
8155 Mia Mesa Blvd. Suite #3
San Diego, CA 92126

Thanks for pointing this place out to me Pheth and Melanie, I'd have never found it otherwise! 

Midweek Meanderings

Just a couple of quick items I keep forgetting to post:

Cali Baguette Express Opening on Convoy:

 

In the old Boll Weevil spot, across the parking lot from Chin's. This will be their third location. Actually, I prefer the bread at Cali Baguette to what is served at K Sandwich. We'll finally be getting a Banh Mi shop on Convoy proper.

Ba Ren is now closed on Tuesdays:

I keep forgetting to mention this one.

 

I've been told that this is only temporary, and will only be for a couple of months. Apparently, hte assistant chef is back in China for a few months.

Well, that's it..... I told you it was going to be short and sweet! Be back with more tomorrow!

1 Strip Mall, 3 Banh Mi - Tan Ky Mi Gia, Ba Le, and Express Deli - Mira Mesa

If there ever was such a thing as Banh Mi weather, it would have been this past weekend..... man has SoCal turned me into a weather sissy. Anything over 85 seems just plain scorching. Not feeling like eating anything real heavy, I decided it was time..... for another Banh Mi post. But not just any other Banh Mi post. Last year, I noticed that Tan Ky Mi Gia had started selling Banh Mi. This brought the number of places selling Banh Mi in the strip mall on the 9300 block of Mira Mesa to an uneven three, something I thought was quite unusual. I know that Cafe Dore and Saigon Sandwiches and Deli coexist a few doors from one another, but I couldn't think of another location that had three places selling Banh Mi within fifty yards from one another.

Curious, I thought I'd check out all three during one visit, and kinda see how they lined up side by side. I decided that even though I have my own favorites at Ba Le and Express Deli, I'd go with the good 'ol #1, what's usually the Dac Biet (special). I started at Express Deli in Lucky Seafood.

Hit up Ba Le, then ended things buying my last sandwich from Tan Ky Mi Gia. One of my assumptions was crushed before I even walked to the car and ate my Banh Mi. I'd thought that prices would be pretty much in line because of competition.... I could not have been more wrong. The sandwiches ranged from $3.25 at Express Deli to $4 (gasp!) at Tan Ky Mi Gia. Ba Le came in at $3.50. So here goes......

Express Deli:

Is the little fast food stand in Lucky Seafood which I last posted on in March of 2006. There was nothing defined as "Dac Biet" here, so I got the Thit Nuong, which they call their "French Sandwich". The Banh Mi here was the least expensive at $3.25, which may not be something to celebrate. Back in 2006 it was $2.25!

 
Not surprising was the fact that this Banh Mi had the least amount of meat, which are cut in thin slices. What most surprised me was that I enjoyed this Banh Mi the best out of the three. If all remains the same, I believe the bread is from Le Chef Bakery. It was toasted fairly well. Initially, I thought there was too much "spread" on the sandwich, but it was a decent amount. The jalapenos weren't overpowering, and the pickled veggies had a nice crunch in addition to a good sweet-vinegary flavor.

 
I could have done with a bit more meat(especially since I like Jamon) and even more pate. There's a tendency for the staff to go a bit crazy with the Maggi, but today it was just enough.

Express Deli
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd (inside Lucky Seafood)
San Diego, CA 92126

Ba Le:

 

Over the last couple of years, I've been pretty disappointed in the Banh Mi from Ba Le. I wasn't very enthusiastic about getting a Banh Mi here. Especially since I went with the Dac Biet instead of Nem Cha Lua. Ba Le has a tendency to toast the bread to death, until it feels like you're eating a giant crouton that rips your mouth to shreds. So I opened my Dac Biet($3.50) with some reservation.

Also, the pickled veggies tend to be very thick and crudely sliced. On this day, the bread(thankfully) wasn't over toasted. It was however, a bit on the stale and dry side. This sandwich had the most amount of meat by far, but that BBQ pork was very bland and terribly dry as well.

The jalapeno peppers in this sandwich were pretty spicy..... which means you played that always fun game; jalapeno roulette.

I'm still not particularly enamored with Ba Le's sandwiches. More filling doesn't mean that much when proportion and texture means much more to me. To me, a Banh Mi isn't a over-stuffed sandwich.

One interesting note; it seems that Ba Le serves up Bun Bo Hue on weekends......

Ba Le French Sandwiches
9396 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Tan My Mi Gia:

You really couldn't miss the fact that Tan Ky Mi Gia now made Banh Mi.....

 
 I think I've mentioned how much this place loves signs before. One interesting thing.... even though they have a huge Banh Mi sign hanging from the back of the restaurant.... I didn't see any prices listed. So when the always "interestingly" attired and made up young man told me "four dollars" I was a bit surprised. Oh my, Banh Mi has crossed the four dollar mark! I was brought back to planet Earth when the young man snapped his fingers and held out his hand.... I was taking to long to pay I guess....

 
Honestly, this sandwich had potential. I enjoy the long baguette more than the usual Banh Mi, but this wasn't toasted enough. In fact it was kinda cold, even though I bought this last, and ate it first. It was just not crustly/flakey enough for me.

There was just a scant amount of pate, and the veggies weren't pickled enough. Also, there were almost no jalapenos, but maybe they thought I was not up to the task. The amount of meat in contrast to Ba Le was positively endangered. On the other hand, I enjoyed the choices of meat for the Dac Biet. And you could actually make them out in the sandwich.

Which is why I enjoyed this more than what I had from Ba Le.

Tan Ky Mi Gia
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Perhaps the next time you want a Banh Mi fest, and don't want to make multiple stops........

Sunday Stuffs (from China edition): Guai Wei Can Dou (strange flavor broad beans 怪味蚕豆), Cumin Powder and an addition to "everything tastes better" in a Banh Mi, and other stuff......

Call me strange..... flavored:

No, those aren't some turds laid on our dining room table by some strange insect...... it's my tri-weekly ration of Guai Wei Can Dou - strange flavored broad beans (or horse beans, or fava beans). For me this stuff is addicting.... the Missus has to lock these away.

On our first day in Nanjing, the Missus rushed to a snack vendor when She saw this......

 I had a taste, and it was love at first bite! Guai Wei (strange flavor), is a flavoring unique to Sichuan province. This "strange flavor" is a combination of sweet-spicy-salty, and most of all, courtesy of a good amount of Sichuan Peppercorns; numbing. This version isn't like the package versions we had, it's also a bit chewy and sticky. I think the Missus bought a kilo (or two), and we had these during the rest of our trip.

So naturally, when we hit Chengdu, we went snack shopping. The Missus bought several varieties, two of each, one for us, and one for Her Dad.

So far, we've opened the first and third packages..... I prefer this one.

Of course, we've yet to open this package. While sharing a sample with friends of my MIL, I was asked what made this taste so good...... my reply, "I think it's the crack they add in at the end."

Even though I've seen some pseudo versions of these at the market, they don't look particularly enticing, so I think it'll be a sad day when this is gone. On the bright side, Fuchsia Dunlop has a recipe for Strange Flavor Peanuts in her book Land of Plenty. We may just have to try it out.

Ground Cumin from Sichuan:

To say this package of ground cumin is very fragrant is to say.... well.... let's put it this way: even when wrapped in plastic wrap, given its own ziploc bag, and riding solo in its own pocket.... at no time did I ever say to myself "hmmm, I wonder where that package of ground cumin is???" So naturally one of the first things I made when we got home was my Cumin Lamb (Zi Ran Yang Rou). Man, it came out so good that I've made it three times since.

So the Missus and I were having a light lunch at Cale Baguette Express, and while looking at my Banh Mi.....

And you know I always say "everything tastes better in a Banh Mi", right? So if it's good enough for Uni and Eggs, it'll be good enough for Cumin Lamb.....  

So I went back in and bought one of their Baguettes ($1.25). I sauteed some red bell peppers and onions with minced garlic, cumin, soy sauce, and salt, which added sweetness and a mild crunch. I topped it off with cilantro leaves and sriracha. I gotta say, this was pretty darn good. Next up, cumin lamb tacos anyone????

More fun to come:

Along with all the wonderful tea, we brought back quite a few "gifts", like these wonderful dried mushrooms. A post on the dish I made with these is coming up.

And the wonderful, intensely fragrant 5-spice from QingDao.

Among other things......

It's going to be a fun couple of months....

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Banh Mi.... from Cafe Chloe ???

I usually don't post on these type of restaurants (there are great food blogs, publications, and of course Chowhound to keep you abreast). But on our last visit to Cafe Chloe, I wasn't able to resist ordering something from the menu that I was itching to for a while.....

Located in East Village, this little Bistro has become a favorite of the Missus, and especially of Her "ladies who do lunch crowd").

And other than some rather normal blips in service(when you spend at least $50/60+ for lunch or$70+ for dinner for two, you tend to be a bit more picky), we have always had nice meals at Cafe Chloe. Most of the offerings seem both rich, and yet light at the same time. And of all the gratines, tartines, and amandines (yes, I know it's just a topping of almonds, but it just sounded right), the Missus adores the Meatloaf when it is offered as a daily special. Sorry to say, no meatloaf today.

  Call us predictable, but we always start with basically the same two appetizers, well kinda, sorta, as you'll see. We always get the Charcuterie Du Jour - today it was a wonderfully rich, yet balanced Pork Rillette, a wonderful pork spread, appropriately sealed with a layer of fat on the top.

The mustards and pickles help to cut the richness. We're talking serious good here. No it won't assault your tastebuds with a ton of different flavors going everywhere, but it will make you go "mmmmm".

The Missus enjoys the Tarte Flambe, a classic flatbread, topped with a smear of crème fraîche, caramelized onions, and bacon........ Need I say more????

Though I find the bread a bit on the thick side for a tarte, this is a nicely balanced offering. The bacon, thick sliced, is a far cry from the sodium loaded stuff you buy in packages. If anything, it was bit too mild for my tastes, but the Missus loves this, and orders it everytime. and of course, there are the mixed greens that seems to be on almost every plate.....

The Missus went with the Tartine du Jour - the open faced sandwich of the day. In this case it was a Curried Chicken Tartine:

Before grabbing a bite of this, I really didn't have my hopes up. It was however, very good, it looked over-dressed in mayo, but was not. A great combination of flavors and textures. And I really thought the bread was perfect for this, slightly nutty, with a mild hint of sweetness. I believe that Cafe Chloe gets their bread from Sadie RoseBaking Company, whose products I love. The pasta salad was dressed with a nice balsamic vinegar based concoction, but the pasta was hard and brittle. I guess I just expected a bit more.

So why am I doing a post on Cafe Chloe? Well there's something on the menu that I've been wanting to try......

 
Banh Mi??? In a French inspired Bistro....why not? I mean Banh Mi is undoubtedly French inspired, so why not.... it'll be like going "Back to the Future"!!! I love Banh Mi, and have probably eaten my share of them. And at least for me; it's a far cry from a French Baguette Sandwich to a Banh Mi, though I do think most things would taste better in a Banh Mi, even uni....umm oursins.  

This was a case of the sum not being equal to its parts, and has probably been the only item I've been totally disappointed with at Cafe Chloe. Each item taken individually was good; I loved the crusty baguette, but it was too hard for a Banh Mi, in which the bread stars by being light, airy, and more flakey than crusty. The pate was nice, but very mild, and was totally lost in the sandwich. The Do Chua, the pickled vegetables which adds a crunch along with a palate cleansing flavor were replaced by a variety of greens. There were too many veggies in this, and the watercress and other greens were too bitter, and with the radishes, overwhelmed the entire sandwich, I couldn't even taste the aioli. There is always a nice savory component to a good Banh Mi which was missing here.

As if to really tell me to order something else next time, the Gaufrettes were burnt and bitter...... 

There's alot on the menu to enjoy at Cafe Chloe, steak frites, duck confit, the meatloaf the Missus will kill for. I'm sure we'll be back soon; the Missus would eat here a couple of times a week if She could. I won't be ordering the Banh Mi again, though......

Cafe Chloe
721 Ninth Ave
San Diego CA 92101