mmm-yoso!!!

El Borrego Restaurant

A few months ago we noticed a new restaurant opening on El Cajon Boulevard. You really couldn't miss the colorful paint and signs. And finally this past weekend we made our way to El Borrego Restaurant.

And the clean and bright interior was just as colorful as the exterior.

As were brought our menus, a smiling (and very tall) Young Lady came over to our table, and welcomed us. She also asked us "Do you like lamb?" When we answered with a very positive "yes", she said, "Then I think you'll like us!" She then proceeded to go over the one page menu, that featured, what else? Lamb! The Young Lady whose name was Rodnia explained that Borrego style Barbacoa was the specialty of the house. She explained that the standard Barbacoa was lamb steamed in a "vaporera". We placed our orders and soon enough our Tamarindo and Horchata arrived along with the "condiments" for our order:

The condiments were accompanied by a salsa verde, and a red salsa. Rodnia also gave us a taste of the Lamb Broth:

A nice and hearty dark brown broth, full of flavor. Strips of Barbacoa, garbanzo beans, and rice dotted the consomme'. With a squeeze of lime this was very tasty, and really made us look forward to our food which arrived in a few minutes.

First to arrive was the Mixiote($10).

This seemed to be a seasoned Lamb Leg wrapped in a parchment like paper (papel de mixiote?). We stripped off pieces of lamb and proceeded to make tacos with the fresh tortillas and condiments.

First off, we noticed that every table used the salt shaker provided and took this to be the "norm". The salt was needed because, though the lamb was rubbed with seasoning, the meat didn't seem to have been salted. As good as the Mixiote looked, we both thought that the "rub" took away all the "wildness" from the lamb. I also found out that the salsa verde had quite a bit of "zip" to it.

We also ordered a half pound of Barbacoa($9).

Now with a touch of salt, these made wonderful tacos. The combination of flavors and textures that the onion, cilantro, tortilla, and lamb provided made for a very rich and tasty taco. I showed extreme restraint by only eating 6 of these.

We enjoyed our meal enough to ensure that we'll be back. The only item we really didn't care much for were the tortillas, very mushy and bland, but at least they were fresh.

The people at El Borrego were very nice and friendly, they seemed intent on making sure that we enjoyed meal, and obviously took great pride in the food they served, shown by the amount of time they took in explaining each dish in detail(Of course we kind of stood out). In this day and age when it seems that many restaurants just want to serve you food, really not caring how you enjoyed it,  and then get you out the door, the amount of pride that Rodnia and the others at El Borrego have in what they serve was refreshing. I think I'll have a large bowl of the Lamb Soup($3.75), and a Nopal Salad($1.50) next time, along with the barbacoa of course.

El Borrego Restaurant
4280 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Huo Guo at Ba Ren

I almost feel guilty about doing this post. I mean, I feel like I've done Ba Ren to death. But after an average experience at Kingswood, and a fairly chilly(by San Diego standards) April morning we decided to drop by Ba Ren for "Yuan Yang Guo", the "split" Hot Pot.

The Hot Pot is very hard to find on the menu at Ba Ren, so if you don't speak Mandarin, this is what I suggest: Walk to the counter where the menus are, and pick up the Hot Pot order sheet and bring it to your table.

There are 3 broths available, the clear broth, the spicy, and one with pickled vegetables(we've never tried this). And you check off the ingredients for your hot pot. Meats range from frog legs to shrimp. And vegetables from Napa Cabbage to Baby Bok Choy.

Next your "condiments/sauces" arrive:

Clockwise from the top; fermented bean curd, sesame paste, fermented shrimp paste, and our favorite, leek sauce. The Missus uses almost half the container of Leek Sauce! I just use a touch of fermented shrimp paste with my leek sauce.

A portable stove is brought to the table along with a pot that has a divider in the middle. One side holds a "clear" broth, loaded with various herbs and spices.

The other side contains a red, spicy broth.

Though the broth looks really spicy, I didn't think it was especially "hot". The stove is turned on, and all of the ingredients starts arriving.

Here's a round-up:

2 Orders of Tofu - just regular tofu, not frozen. Still very good in both broths.

Vermicelli noodles, kind of hard to keep track of in the broth. So the strategy is to place it in your "basket" first, then lower into the broth:

The fish (flounder) is pre-marinated with corn starch and wine, and will stay moist and intact when placed in the broth. So tasty, this one belongs in the clear broth.

Golden (Enoki) Mushrooms:

Spinach:

Napa Cabbage. Here's a hint for the Napa, let them cook for a while, they will end up soaking in all the flavor.

2 Types of Lamb - first the "Fatty" Lamb:

The the "regular" Lamb. I enjoyed the regular lamb more, the fat on the fatty lamb became rather tough after cooking. The lamb tastes great in the spicy broth.

Finally, the "premium" beef. We didn't enjoy this as much as the Beef from Kingswood, I thought it was cut too thick.

Whew, this was alot of food. Both broths were excellent.

When we had eaten our fill, we placed everything in the broths to cook. Once that was done, we turn off the heat and let all the herbs sink to the bottom, and ladle out some "soup" to finish.

For a restaurant that doesn't specialize in Huo Guo, that Hot Pot here is very good.

Also, one final note - the base for the MalaGuo is available for purchase if you want to make your own spicy hot pot at home. We've done it before, and it can be fun. Maybe we'll do it in the future for a post.

Ba Ren
4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Golden City Part 3 of 3 - Dinner and Coming Full Circle

Waaay back in September of last year Golden City Chinese Restaurant reopened in a new location. At first I was over-joyed at having one of my favorite inexpensive Chinese Restaurants open their doors again. I was somewhat embarrassed at being the first customer at the new locale.  And as is somewhat normal for any new restaurant, the food was a bit of a let down. About a month later the Missus and I had sampled the late supper specials in Part II. Though the prices were still very reasonable, the food really was just a  "shadow of it's former self."

So, a few months back the Missus and I decided to drop by Golden City and sample a few dishes from the "regular" Dinner menu. We started with the Fish, Preserved Egg, and Cilantro Soup($8.95):

We've had this soup before, and when it's made well, the clear broth is well flavored and comforting, with the cilantro adding a very clean taste. On this occasion, the soup was on the weak side, though the fish was very moist and tender. There wasn't very much preserved egg in the soup. We were slightly disappointed at this dish.

The Peking Duck($18.00 - 2 courses):

The Peking Duck at Golden City is priced right. And though the duck was not as high in quality and flavor as the $18 Peking Duck Special at Pearl, an everyday price of eighteen bucks isn't bad. The buns and duck were a bit on the dry side. What the missus really wants is the minced duck meat with lettuce. She enjoys that much more then the duck skin. Duck meat is stir fried with water chestnut and other items, and provides a nice rich dish when wrapped with lettuce. Whatever we take home usually ends up in a fried rice the next day.

I had intended to end the post here. But I thought it would be fun to try the exact same dish as my first visit again to see if the kitchen had now hit stride. On entering, I noticed that some of the furniture had been moved around.

I again ordered the Pork Chop with Spicy Salt($6.25 - prices had gone up 30 cents), that started with the Hot and Sour soup:

I've always enjoyed the Hot and Sour soup at Golden City, but today it tasted a bit off. I also noticed frozen carrots, and some corn(egad!) in the soup as filler.

The Pork Chop arrived a few minutes later, along with the same lousy egg roll.

This time the Pork Chop was fried to a nice crisp state with a moist interior. The garlic wasn't burnt and overall this was a pleasant dish, a definite improvement over my first visit.

Though we still think that Golden City is a mere shadow of it's previous "self", the prices(especially the late supper menu) are fairly reasonable, and the service has always been good. Golden City is also one of the few restaurants open until midnight in the area.

Part I of this post can be found here.

Part II can be found here.

Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

Open Daily 11am - Midnight

Saigon on Fifth

You know how sometimes you drive past a locale, noticing the new signage, making a mental note to make sure to try the location out....then immediately forgetting about it? Well, this is what happened with Saigon on Fifth.

Until Calvin sent me an Email mentioning His visit to Saigon on Fifth. Geez, (immediate slap to the head) how could I have forgotten. The location on the corner (sort of) University and Fifth has been a kiss of death for various restaurants. First a Rubio's went down in flames, then a pizza joint called Me N' Ed's lasted a few years. Since our office is within walking distance I decided to head over for lunch on a recent afternoon.

I walked in and, oh my, the decor! I must say, I've never been in a Vietnamese Restaurant that looked quite like this. Very nice and upscale, though I must say that the first thought that entered my mind was "well, somebody has to pay for all of this....."

I looked at the menu, and knew instantly who pays for all of this.........guess?

The very nice Server took my order, and soon enough my food arrived, starting with the Spring Rolls ($5.95):

Now I expected maybe a bit more shrimp, or a really refined spring roll, but these were very small, and there were only two small "rolls". There was a bit more pork then usual, but because the rolls were kind of short on vermicelli and lettuce, the pork made the rolls seem very dry. I can get better from Vien Dong market for like 3 bucks for 3.

Now, I had also wanted some nice strong Vietnamese Coffee, but was told they didn't serve coffee, which was fine with me. But just to illustrate the level of service(maybe a bit too attentive), they managed to brew me a nice strong cup of Vietnamese Coffee, which with a touch of condensed milk, really did hit the spot.

Just in time for my "Combination" Pho' ($7.95):

I had never thought that I'd see the day, 8 bucks for a bowl of Pho'! It arrived in a pretty cool, but kinda small "casserole" bowl bolted into a wooden frame. Style points for the presentation, and for being served piping hot, but minus points for the garnish, consisting of a slice of  lemon(!!!), a small amount of bean sprouts, and the most pathetic looking sprig of basil I've ever been served. To be fair, I asked for, and was given more basil.

Also minus points for 3 tough, rubbery meatballs.

As well the too thickly cut, and semi tough meat. Also, the "combination" at Saigon on Fifth is meatballs and beef. So no tendon, no brisket, no tripe, nada! So safe......

The amount of noodles was about half of a usual bowl of Pho' as well. What was really interesting, was the broth. For a restaurant that seemed to want to "safely introduce" Vietnamese cuisine, the broth had quite a bit of oil. Enough to coat the back of my spoon! Other then the oil content, the broth was a medium to light Pho' broth with a mild anise flavor.

Let me say that the service was very good, though maybe a bit over-attentive, but that's to be expected at a new restaurant. Other individuals that have eaten items like the Lemongrass Chicken, and other items, have said that the dishes are good, though the portions small, and rather over-priced. Rather then to go into any more detail about my meal, I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

In fact, I think Calvin says it well: "The kind of dimly lit, classy place you could take your boss for something exotic without risk.  Nothing funky, nothing chewy, nothing to offend your blue-haired aunt.  Service is fawning, but they're still working out the bumps.  Pho is rich, but so tame." Calvin should probably do the writing for this blog, he can describe the entire restaurant in less then a paragraph! Calvin, you da' man!!!

Saigon on Fifth
3900 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Road Trip: Happy Harbor Restaurant - Rowland Heights(Los Angeles)

A few months back I read Elmo's post on Sea Harbor Restaurant on His wonderfully written Food Blog, Monster Munching. I even made to sure to stop by on a earlier visit, just to check it out and could not believe the crowd. A few months ago I heard that Sea Harbor had now become Happy Harbor, but that the Dim Sum remained pretty much the same. I emailed Elmo, and he confirmed that from He understood, Happy Harbor had retained the entire staff. So Happy Harbor became a "must try" on this trip.

We arrived before 10am and were silently "waved to" out table, and handed a picture menu and order sheet. The Dim Sum at Happy Harbor is done "menu style", so there was no jostling around, waiting around for carts "only-the-strong-and-hungry-will-survive-every-table-for-themselves" Dim Sum battles. Also, because the Dim Sum here is ordered off the menu, all Dim Sum strategy is thrown out the window. The key strategy being "timing", which is to plan your arrival early enough to beat the major crowds, but late enough so that the "good stuff" has already made it onto the carts. Arriving too early would often times mean that much of the "good stuff" would not have made it's way onto the carts yet. None of that today for us, since we're assured of getting whatever we wanted no matter how early we arrived.

There are some interesting menu choices at Happy Harbor(no Duck's Tongue, though). Happy Harbor serves up what I call "New Style" (or Nuevo) Dim Sum, the sometimes innovative and interesting dishes that other popular Dim Sum places such as New Concept and Mission 261 now serve up. We placed our order and the server silently walked up, and picked up the order sheet and whisked it away. I could not get over how quiet the combination of sleepy looking customers and totally silent, stoic, Servers were. Somebody on another table sneezed, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned to the Missus and told Her, "I feel like I'm having Dim Sum at the library", fully expecting to be "shushed" by some ruler wielding Spinster.

Soon enough, our dishes started arriving. The first item arriving were the Vermicelli Noodles with Taro and Duck($8.80). I thought it odd that the noodles were served before everything else:

Fried sticks of taro, and slices of duck stir fried with vermicelli, the taro providing a sometimes unexpected "chew" to the dish. Not a bad dish, not oily, though nothing really great about it.

Shrimp and Chive Dumpling:

The shrimp was very, very, fresh, having retained a wonderful mild crunch, and flavor slightly sweet and briny. I could have used a bit more chive, but call it my crude desire for a bit of "oomph". The dumpling wrappers were on the brittle side, though this was a perfectly fine dumpling. Not Earth-shattering, but good.

Shrimp Cheong Fun:

The Missus and I looked at this when it silently floated to our table, and the first thought in our collective minds was; "geez, it looks like the plastic food in the windows of ramen houses". The sweet soy sauce, was delivered on the side, which I thought was a very nice touch. The shrimp was again top notch, no overt gummy cornstarch texture and flavor. The noodle severely lacked "pull", I want my cheong fun to have some pull, and a bit of chewiness to it. This version tore too easy.

Xiao Long Bao:

The Missus enjoyed the Xiao Long Bao, though I thought there was too little soup, and too much meat. The flavors were very nice; sweet and rich porky goodness. I wish there was more broth. This was served with simple black vinegar on the side. I liked the thickness and chewiness of the wrappers; not too thin, not too thick.

"Shark Fin - Phoenix Eye" Dumpling:

This reminded me of Terry Malloy from On the Waterfront saying; "I coulda been a contender." And it truly would've been. First off, most "Shark Fin" dumplings, do not have real shark fin, bean thread or something similar is used. This baby had strands of Shark Fin on it, though this amount of shark fin would not really affect the dumpling much, it provided some nice "eye candy". Under the shark fin laces was a wonderfully sweet slice of scallop, below which was a fairly large amount of perfectly cooked(again!!!) and very fresh shrimp. Talk about delici-yoso!!! The wrappers were the problem, they were very gummy, and sticky, tearing and sticking to everything, it was impossible to remove them from the dish intact, thus the dumplings never made it to our mouth in one piece, but a series of bites which detracted from what would have been one of the best Dim Sum dishes I'd have ever had. It coulda been a contender......

Pan-Fried Spinach Bun with Chicken and Shrimp:

The most interesting looking dish we had all day. A spinach steamed bun, is pan fried. Dig the groovy green! I thought it rather strange to be served with sweet-sour sauce, but it did work! The bun was so nice and fluffy, and not too sweet, with the caramelizing providing a nice mild crunch. I really couldn't taste spinach, but the filling of chicken and shrimp, though on the mild side, worked in conjunction with the sweet sour sauce. Go figure! These were very good.

And the grand finale, Szechuan Style Goose Liver Wontons ($16.80 for 12):

Silently brought to the table and served. I don't know quite what to say, other then delici-yoso!!! Each wonton was comprised of large half slices of shrimp(yes, again), with two to three little slivers of powerfully rich goose liver. Anymore goose liver would have made them too rich to eat. The broth was a simple stock flavored with chili oil, and there was an interesting amount of Sichuan Peppercorn as well(the little black dots). So rich, we could only finish 3 wontons a piece.

The only thing I'd do differently would be to order the "French style" Goose wonton, instead of the Szechuan style. I think simpler, clear broth would be better next time, and there will be a next time!

All told our bill came to $48, and the noodles and wontons comprised half of the bill. But I'm not going to give up those wontons. As we left the restaurant, the noise level had picked up, since tables were starting to get filled. But the strange thing is, from walking into the restaurant, to the delivery of take-out containers, to paying our check, not a word had been uttered to us by any Employee at Happy Harbor.....I guess they must be happy beyond words??? All hail silent Dim Sum service, another first for me courtesy of Happy Harbor.

Happy Harbor Restaurant
1015 Nogales St
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Here are some really lousy menu photos:

Road Trip: Kingswood Teppan Steak House - Rowland Heights(Los Angeles)

Since it was pouring rain, and fairly cool, we thought a nice Hot Pot (Huo Guo) dinner would "hit the spot". We thought about the really popular Little Sheep Restaurant on the corner of Azusa and Colima, but opted for the tried and true Kingswood Restaurant on Gale Avenue.

Kingswood is one of those restaurants that seemed to have been in the same location forever, and is really popular with families. Half of the restaurant is set-up for "Teppan-yaki" style cooking, while the other half of the restaurant specializes in Hot Pot. On this evening we got a rather late start, and there was a crowd of people waiting for tables at Kingswood; but instead of finding a less crowded surrounding, we decided to wait for a table. We were told that there was a 20 minute wait, which turned into 30 minutes, which eventually ended up being about 45 minutes. I think it's the combination of wonderful smells and the very nice and apologetic service that made us "stay put."

Finally, our table was ready, and we were seated and handed the menu.

The premise is simple, you order your broth; in this case we went for the Yuan Yang Guo, where the pot is separated into two parts. One half is usually a "plain" broth, that usually has herbs, stock, and other flavorings. The other half contains a spicy and numbing broth. You then order a variety of meats and vegetables for dipping and cooking in the broth. You are usually provided some dipping sauce, in this case there was only one; a "Sate" sauce, that was very disappointing in flavor, and really didn't go well with the food cooked in the broth.

Items we ordered included frozen tofu:

Freezing, then thawing tofu gives it a spongy texture. Making it that much better for absorbing flavor.

Fish:

The fish was very dry, and would flake to pieces in seconds when placed in the broth. Just plain lousy fish.

Golden (Enoki) Mushrooms and Spinach:

We had 2 orders of lamb:

The lamb was pretty good, though not of the highest quality.

"Special" (Prime) Beef:

Though twice the price of "regular" beef, it was worth it. Melt in your mouth tender; an excellent cut.

The item we probably enjoyed the most wasn't dipped into the hot pot. It was the Fried Bread:

A dense, but still light and slightly sweet bread that is first steamed, then fried. Delici-yoso!!!

The meats and vegetables are really only half the story in a Hot Pot Restaurant. The other half is the broth. In this case the "plain" broth, was just that, very, very, plain. The broth really did nothing to enhance the meal, even though there were fishcake, fishballs, and other items in the broth, it was very bland.

The spicy broth, was just that.....

Just spicy hot, but not numbing, and also lacking in the slightly "herbal" taste that I enjoy with this type of broth.

Overall, we were slightly disappointed in our meal.

But were not disappointed in the price. All of the "stuff" we ate, came out to a shade over forty dollars, which I thought was very reasonable, no wonder there were so many large groups. And to be fair, the service was outstanding, very kind and apologetic, and the Servers took time to help and explain, even amid the chaotic crowds. As we were leaving(about 9pm), Kingswood started emptying out, and things were starting to settle down. I think next time we'll be having Huo Guo at Little Sheep.

Kingswood Teppan Steak House
18900 E Gale Ave #B
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Road Trip: Dumpling 10053 - El Monte(Los Angeles)

After a satisfying lunch at Manie's Restaurant, we drove around the neighborhood, and decided to drive down to Pasadena, where the Missus managed to scratch Her shopping itch at Anthropologie. As we headed back to the car it started pouring, so instead of dealing with the parking lot that is the 210 Freeway, we decided to take Colorado Boulevard, made a right turn on San Gabriel, and a left on Valley(of course). All the while ogling all the restaurants we passed.

As we passed through El Monte my stomach started rumbling so we decided to make a stop at Dumpling 10053 for a "small snack".

Now, the Missus who is from Shandong province would never, ever have Jiaozhi at a restaurant, since She can whip up a few dozen on short notice, or perhaps if She's in the mood. Plus my Mother In Law makes really great dumplings. But once in a while the Missus will humor me. Dumpling 10053 is one of several Chinese dumpling/noodle houses that gets regular mention on Chowhound.

Even though it was 230pm on a rainy afternoon Dumpling 10053 was nearly half full.

Not being very hungry, I "just" had two orders of boiled Jiaozhi.

I had an order of the "3 meat dumplings"; Pork, Crab, and Sea Cucumber boiled dumplings (10 pieces - $5.95):

I thought the thickness of the wrapper was perfect. I'm not into really thin wrappers, for me, the wrappers are a good 50% of the dumplings, adding texture, and helping to "temper" the flavor of the filling. The texture of these wrappers were a different story, I felt they didn't have enough "chew and pull", being a bit on the brittle side, and too easy to tear.

The plump dumplings' filling was excellent. The pork and crab melded together to add a rich, sweet and salty flavor. The use of Chinese celery in the dumpling also added a nice texture and flavor; something we made note of, I think we'll try to use them in a future batch of dumplings. Simply dipped into a vinegar - soy sauce mixture, the dumplings were very good. I'd be happy to have them again!

The Rock Cod boiled dumplings ($6.95 - 10 pieces):

I was pretty excited about trying these since I've read about them for a while. The wrappers were the same as the previous order of dumplings. But I really didn't care for the taste, which I liken to a pretty lousy fish ball, and with a mushy, grainy texture. The Missus couldn't finish one. I tried one using the standard vinegar soy sauce "dip", which made it taste like a sour fish ball. The Missus finally told me to sprinkle the dumpling with white pepper, then dip them into soy sauce, which made them more palatable. I still only finished 3 of them; and if/when I return, I think I'll avoid these.

If I make a return visit, I think I'll try the steamed beef and pork dumplings. We watched an old Gentleman scarf down 4 orders of these dumplings while we ate ours.

The service at Dumpling 10053 was typical San Gabriel Valley, detached and perfunctory, but not rude, nor were we rushed. I walked back out into the rain satisfied from eating those "3 meat dumplings".

Dumpling 10053
10053 Valley Blvd.
El Monte, CA 91731

Road Trip: Manie's Restaurant - Rowland Heights(Los Angeles)

Disclaimer: Those who are depressed about prices in San Diego should probably NOT read this post.

During our last trip to our old neighborhood we spent a good amount of time around Hong Kong Plaza. We used to live right up the block and would walk on over to Hong Kong Plaza almost daily. During our last trip we passed one of the restaurants that had been there for a long while but for some reason we had never taken the opportunity to eat in. What really caught our attention was the signage:

The large crowd on that evening was pretty impressive, the prices caught my eye, and when the  Missus told me it was a Sichuan Restaurant, and started naming the dishes on the poster, I was sold. So this past Friday, I took a day off, and we drove up to Rowland Heights and got to the restaurant just as they opened at 11 am.

After looking over the menu I noticed something and asked the Missus, who checked with the Server, who mentioned that the Chef was from Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan. I had never had Chengdu style Sichuan which I heard was a bit different from Chongqing style Sichuan, so needless to say I was very excited.

We placed our order and was served some clear soup with a pork bone in it. Not great, but pretty good and mild.

Smoked Duck with Chilies ($5.95 - all prices are lunch prices):

This take-off on the classic Sichuan Chili with Chicken, was probably the best rendition of any type of this dish I've ever had. The wonderful, crisp,  sweet-salty-smokey duck was stir fried quickly with dried red chilies, green bell peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and garlic, creating a very flavorful dish with great textures. As hot as this dish may seem, we found it to be more "numbing", then burning hot. There was alot of Sichuan peppercorn in the dish, creating that wonderfully addictive numbing sensation. Very delici-yoso!!!!

Pork Meatballs with Cellophane Noodles($4.95):

The Missus selected this dish off of the specials listed on the wall. I've had this type of pork meatballs with a brown sauce, where it has been silken and rich, and have felt almost decadent when eating these simple meatballs. These were not like those however. The meat was dry and grainy, and I thought the sauce was very bland. The Missus enjoyed the noodles though.

Fuqi Feipein - the famous "Husband and Wives" dish ($5.95), of course I could not go without trying one of my "baseline" Sichuan dishes:

This was another disappointment, very bland. This version was all beef brisket, no Sichuan peppercorns, no peanuts, no tendon, no tripe, no Chinese celery, nothing to help give the beef any flavor. Probably the worse version of this dish I ever had, just having chili oil alone on not very high quality beef made the dish feel greasy.

Chicken with Three Chilies($4.95):

Almost the same dish as the Smoked Duck dish, with some green onion and onion. Much milder then the duck, but very tasty. Watch out for those bones though. Again, not overly spicy, but nice and numbing.

Chung-Do (Chengdu) Cold Noodle($3.95):

I really love Sichuan Cold Noodle dishes. Chungking Restaurant in Monterey Park and Ba Ren make my favorite versions of the dish. Finding this dish on the menu also clued me in as to the origins of the Chef, as it was on the menu as "Chung-Do" style. I really didn't enjoy the noodles dish at first, I thought that it wasn't spicy enough, and used too much vinegar. But after eating a bite of the duck and chicken, then having a bite of the noodle, I discovered how refreshing and palate cleansing this dish was. When eaten in that context, this was very good.

But wait; we weren't finished yet! The Missus ordered the Sticky Rice Cake($3.95):

Called something along the lines of "Liang Chi Ba", this was very, very good! I'm not big on desserts, but this combination of peanut and sesame paste over gooey sticky rice has changed me. What a great way to end a meal.

So what's the damage for a six course lunch with tea and rice(which we never touched)? Thirty-two bucks! With leftovers for at least one or two more meals!

You can tell by the photo what we cleaned up, and what we took home!

Overall, we did find that the dishes at Manie's used more Sichuan Pepper then Chili Peppers, and was more numbing then "hot". This goes along the lines of what I've heard about Sichuan cuisine. Chongqing style is much more spicy and hotter then Chengdu style, which is milder, but more numbing. The other variable that comes into play is, that though the Chefs come from Chengdu, Marnie's (something like Luong Chau Shou in Chinese) is Taiwanese owned, which could change the food. Nevertheless, the food was a bargain, and some of the dishes were excellent.

Manie's Restaurant
18438 Colima Road #106 (In Hong Kong Plaza)
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Trieu Chau - The Meal

In Part I of this post, we made our way to Trieu Chau, and sat, only to open the menu, and discover that most of it was not in English (there was a handwritten section with stuff like pork fried rice). So as the Missus tried to decipher the Chinese portion of the menu, and little plate of Youtiao(Fried Dough, "Crullers") found it's way to our table.

These were cold and dense, not crunchy and light; a very inauspicious start. At this point, the Missus had gotten through much of the menu, but still could not figure out what some of the dishes were. This is when our intrepid "guide" Kathy appeared. She patiently explained that the dishes we were having problems with were dishes with specific types of noodles. She started in English, went to Cantonese, and finally was able to explain some of the dishes to the Missus in Mandarin. At one point, she thought that the Missus was Laotian, so she started speaking in what I think was Lao. Talk about a humbling experience, I barely speak one language well (that would be English), and Kathy just jumps from language to language without hesitation. Needless to say, we were impressed. Finally,  the Missus decided to go the "small plates" route, instead of ordering noodle soup and ordered a few dishes that She had already picked out, and Kathy helped fill out the menu.

First up was the Missus selected the Beef Stew:

The Missus picked this out, because she knew how much I enjoy a good Beef Stew. This was almost a hybrid Chinese - Vietnamese style Beef Stew. Beef colored by annatto oil, nice hints of anise, cinnamon, and garlic. The meat was pretty tender, and the fat content was pretty low. What I really enjoyed about this dish, was the large amount of buttery, melt in your mouth tendon, cooked to perfection. Also, the usual layer of oil coating the top of the sauce, was minimized. An average dish, brought up to good by the delici-yoso tendon.

The Missus also selected the Soy Sauce Duck:

Nice, meaty and tender, soy sauce flavored duck leg, served with pickled vegetables. What made this dish work was that the salty duck was tempered by the pickled vegetables and pickle "juice."

Kathy had selected the rice noodle with seafood for us:

I could smell the fragrance of this dish as it was cooking; thinking to myself; "that must be for us...." Wide rice noodles, egg, bok choy, and seafood, in a brown sauce. First off the shrimp were over-cooked and tough, and the squid was like rubber. The sauce though a tad on the sweet side had quite a bit of garlic which balanced it out a bit. The interesting thing was that I could taste a hint of a slightly smokey flavor in the noodles; I think there was a bit of Wok-hey going on.

Strangely, Kathy also ordered Lup Cheong(Chinese Sausage) and Shrimp Fried Rice for us. I think she was hedging her bets a little, just in case we didn't care for anything else we ordered.

This was the weakest dish of the meal. Again the shrimp were over-cooked, and some of the Lup Cheong were charred, and nothing about the dish stood out. As we were eating, the Missus, said "didn't you make this last night." I had indeed made fried rice with leftovers the night before, and this was no better then what I had thrown together at home. But still, nothing terrible about the dish.

All told the "damage" was $20, for 4 dishes(we had the leftovers for dinner) and tea, not bad at all! The service was very efficient, and Kathy was very patient and helpful. While the Missus went to the Ladies Room, I chatted briefly with Kathy, who recommended the Lemongrass Chicken, and a few other dishes for our next visit. Though I'm sorely tempted to try some of the Beef Stew Noodle Soups......

Trieu Chau Restaurant
4653 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Trieu Chau - The Teaser

While sitting here realizing it's pretty darn late, and that I'll never finish this post before I just plain "crash out", something popped into my "head" (that in itself is a fairly unique event). You see Diet Chili Cheese Fries just sent me something he calls a "teaser" for His movie Asian Stories (Book III). Which led me to wonder if you all would buy into a "teaser" post????? So here goes.....

Recently we had heard of a Cambodian-Vietnamese-Chinese Restaurant on University called Trieu Chau, and finally managed to get there.

Since there was no available parking in the lot, we parked on a a side street and noticed that the restaurant was pretty full. Though the exterior and interior of the restaurant was a bit worse for wear, there were wonderful smells all through the dining area. This was probably due to the configuration of the restaurant, a small "L-shape" with the kitchen separated by a "bar-counter" from the dining area. As we were seated, I noticed the usual condiment tray:

Thing were looking up.....until I opened the menu:

There was nothing in English!!! Talk about cutting this Third - generation (Sansei), only English speaking(I can cuss in several languages), American of Asian ancestry down to size. All items in everything from Sanskrit to Chinese, but not English......wait a minute, there's the Chinese portion of the menu whew! Until, the Missus(born and raised in China) said; "You know, some of this stuff, I can even read, but it doesn't make sense to me. I don't know what it's saying!" Oh-uh........

Talk about feeling a bit nervous.........

So now for the tease. Would our intrepid eaters fail? Would they get kicked out on their butts onto University Avenue? Would they die of starvation? Would they at least get a spot of tea? Would the Missus have a sudden revelation and decipher the menu? Would my facade of Banana-Asianism be revealed? Would the Missus please call Her Mom for some GUIDANCE!!!!!

Stay tuned tomorrow........And RONW, this menu's for you. Can you help us decipher it?

Manila Fast Food and Desserts

The Missus had heard of Manila Fast Food from one of Her co-workers, who told Her that the food there was pretty good, and worth a try. So on a recent weekend morning we headed over to Mira Mesa. Manila Fast Food is located in the same strip mall as the Mira Mesa location of Seafood City.

For some reason I recall another restaurant being in this location.

When we entered the restaurant, there was quite a crowd of people waiting for the "turo-turo"(point-point) type dishes, even though it was 10 in the morning. And they looked really hungry.

We decided on each ordering a single entree plate with rice which goes for $3.49 (Two choices is $4.99), and "something else". On this morning I felt like some Sisig:

As with most of "turo-turo" joints in San Diego, Sisig is usually left over Lechon(roast pork), stir fried with onions, lime or vinegar, and chili pepper or other flavoring. Not to get off the subject, but many Jazz Musicians use something called the "Real Book", which is actually a "Fake Book"(a story for another day), now the "Real Book" consists of a large collection of "standards" that every Jazz Musician should know, usually consisting of only a "lead sheet"(the melody) and the chord changes. After that, it's up to the Musician(s) to decided how to make Autumn Leaves, Alone Together, or Days of Wine and Roses interesting.  Likewise, it can be a real challenge creating a tasty dish from what is essentially "left-overs"(a standard). Like any good "number" performed by a trio or quartet, harmony is important, as is the support(rhythm section), not only is it important that the "lead instrument"(in this case the lechon) be very clear, but the rhythm needs to keep everything in time preventing the whole creation from becoming a "train wreck". The rhythm section should never become the lead except for perhaps a "solo", not only is it important to know what to play, but also what NOT to play. If this Sisig were a Jazz Quartet playing a standard, I'd say that the rhythm section is driving a bit too hard, too much sour and sweet. And the Lechon(the lead) too passive, on the soft and soggy side, I'd prefer the pork to have a bit more "chew" with hints of crunchy "goodies". I did enjoy the spiciness, though I'd say that even that over-shadowed the pork. One the positive side, this version of Sisig was not very greasy.

The Missus decided on Beef Sinigang(Sour Soup):

Though not as oily as versions I've had before, I thought that other then a vinegar "sour"(I prefer more tamarind - tangy) flavor, there wasn't much going on. There was quite a bit of fairly tender meat though.

Of course we weren't through. The Missus also ordered a Crispy Pata ($9.99 + a 15 minute wait). Well, if the Sisig was the Jazz Quartet, this should be the entire "Big Band"!

We got it sizzling hot just out of the fryer and brought it over to our table. The skin was nice and crisp, though there was not very gelatin, nor dark meat. I think this "Baboy"(pig), might have been on a bit of a diet. The flavor was very mild, and the richness somewhat muted. Like all of the dishes we ate, the Pata was not very greasy at all.

In the end, nothing outstanding. No amazing Pat Martino single line guitar solos or Jim Hall harmonic solos. More like a good garage band playing Louie-Louie, but hey, that's a "standard" too, right?

Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Sorry for all the silly analogies.....I don't know what came over me! In case you're wondering if some music was driving me over the edge; yesterday I was listening to Corrinne May, and today Tal Farlow and Lenny Breau, strange how music can affect your posts!

Han Bat Restaurant

A while back, knowing how much the Missus enjoys Korean Black Goat Casserole, Calvin told me about Han Bat. Calvin said he noticed signage in the front of the restaurant mentioning Black Goat Soup. So we made a trip to Plaza Del Sol, and Han Bat.

Han Bat is a fairly small, Mom and Pop type operation, with a brightly colored and well lit interior. In what was a ominous sign, Han Bat was also totally empty, on a Friday evening!

The limited menu had about 20 items, all of them some type of soup or casserole. We saw several Black Goat soups and casseroles, and attempted to order, but was told that they were out of goat. When I asked when they'd have goat again, I got a shrug of the shoulders. So no goat. In one instant, twenty percent of the items on the menu weren't available. We did find something interesting, and placed our order.

The Lady dropped of our panchan, which consisted of only 4 little plates of very routine panchan. Nothing earth-shattering, and a little on the chintzy side.

Since they were out of Goat, we ordered the Duck Casserole for two ($26.50):

A portable stove was placed on the table and a smallish sized cast iron pot of broth and vegetables was heated. First off the broth had a very high oil content, as you can clearly see by the distinct yellow color. Strangely enough, as rich as the broth was, it was lacking in flavor, and spice. The Missus kept adding sea salt from the little jar on the table to Her broth. The duck meat resembled tough slices of beef with gristly, tough, fat. The Missus couldn't bring Herself to eat it, but it was fine to me, though really lacking in flavor. I ended up using all the dipping sauce for the duck and vegetables.

Though we got charged $2.00 for tea, served in a small beer glasses, we never got refills. Even when we asked....

It really did seem that Han Bat was in full cost-cutting mode. Maybe someone else can tell me how good their Black Goat is, I don't think we'll be back. We'll stick with Ko Hayang Jip.

I actually went home and made tacos.

Han Bat Restaurant
4690 Convoy St Ste 108
San Diego, CA 92111

Panda Palace - Another ABCDE in National City

Can you dig the generic Chinese Restaurant name? If it has Pearl, Royal, Golden, Garden, Phoenix,  and Eastern or something similar(dragon, ruby, panda?) in the name, it's likely a circa '70's style Chinese Restaurant, something like "Eastern Pearl Royal Golden Phoenix Garden Restaurant", you'll automatically know it's a Chinese Restaurant. Much like Royal Mandarin across the street Panda Palace Restaurant serves a combination of ABCDE ("American Born Chinese Dining Establishment") and Chinoy Food. However, unlike Royal Mandarin, whose Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings are almost legendary in the Filipino Community, nary a word has been said about it. So the Missus and I decided to see why.....

The bright and generic interior screams last century Chinese.

The menu was filled with San Diego Chinoy favorites, and we proceeded to order a few.

Upside Down Pan Fried Noodles($6.75):

Noodles fried to a crisp, topped with shrimp, chicken, beef, and vegetables. First the good, the noodles were excellent, not over fried to a brittle consistency, the noodles got nicely chewy as the sauce soaked through them. The Beef and Shrimp were well cooked, soft, and moist. The bad? This dish had virtually no flavor, even the beef and chicken had no flavor. Combine these noodles and the cooking technique with the brown sauce from the Upside Down Pan Fried Noodles at Mandarin Canton and you'd have a pretty decent dish.

The Missus has a Shrimp with Lobster Sauce($8.25) fixation:

I have an aversion to gloppy, pale dishes studded with frozen peas and carrots. So I asked the Missus how this tasted. Her verdict? B-L-A-N-D. While waiting for our order we watched in amazement, as a Young Boy poured almost a half bottle of soy sauce on his fried rice. I now understood why. In fact, at this point we were pretty close to needing a refill of our soy sauce.

Finally, we had to try the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings($6.75):

So how did these measure up to Royal Mandarin or Golden Chopstick? Not even close. First of all, not enough salt, pepper, or green onions and garlic topping. Secondly, not crispy enough. One interesting thing; I could distinctly taste a sweet component, either sugar or honey, that made these wings a bit different.

One thing I will say about Panda Palace, our Waitress was super efficient, there was absolutely no wasted motion, from taking our orders, to bringing take-out containers along with our check. As for the food? If we crave some ABCDE grub, I think we'll stick with one of the "Big Three".

Panda Palace Chinese Restaurant
1105 E Plaza Blvd Ste D
National City, CA 91950

One final item - one day soon I'd like to set-up a "taste-test", purely subjective of course, of several (4-5) versions of Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings. So Calvin, Howie, and Jack; you Guys game?

Asia Cafe Part II

The day after a fun and interesting meal at Asia Cafe, we decided to drop by the restaurant again and grab some take-out. This time we were after a few of the more well known Laotian-style dishes. So  I went in and ordered a few.

Green Papaya Salad(medium size-$4.00):

A nice size portion of sliced green papaya and tomatoes. We ordered the heat level at medium, but it was pretty mild. I thought the salad was much too fishy and briney for my tastes, much stronger then the version we had at Vientiane. Also, it was missing the wonderful flavor that peanuts bring to the dish, we had noticed a little jar of peanuts at each table, but apparently if you ordered the papaya salad "to go" you were on your own. I didn't care for it, but surpisingly the Missus enjoyed it, and scarfed it down! For those who have not had this style of Papaya Salad, please be aware; much more fish sauce is used, and not as much sugar or lime juice, making for a less sweet and more salty and "fishy" salad.

Beef Laab:

A very nice rendition of a classic dish, chock full of herbs, not dry, but not watery. The rather mild flavor let the texture of the slices of beef and tripe stand out, while letting the flavor of the herbs take a front seat. Beware the green peppers; they are very hot! The Missus didn't enjoy the slightly bitter flavor of the tripe, but that didn't bother me in the least. The overall flavor was on the mild side, but I enjoyed being able to taste all of the herbs.

The Missus had me ask about about the wonderful Laotian "Fried Rice" dish that she enjoys so much. So I described the dish to Johnny, who informed me that it was called Nem Khao. When I asked Him if they served it here, He told me "We'll make it for you, no problem!"

This wonderful dish of rice, fried garlic, pork, sausage, and other goodies, rolled in a lettuce leaf was delici-yoso! Slightly salty, with a nice nutty flavor, a very simple yet complex dish, and throughly enjoyable.

I needed one more dish, and Johnny recommended the Laotian "Beef Jerky":

I'm sorry that my photo doesn't do this dish justice. Wonderfully marinated and seasoned beef, slightly salty, slightly sweet, this was wonderful. The way to eat this is to have a piece of jerky in one hand, and a handful of sticky rice in the other.

So good! Since I went on recommendations and ordered items that weren't on the menu(as far as I know), all I can tell you is, that all four dishes and sticky rice for two(it's alot of rice) was $24.

Some Notes: There isn't a whole lot of parking in the small lot, though we never had a problem finding parking. The service is very helpful, both Johnny and Scotty want to make sure you enjoy your meal. Scotty told me that there are many dishes and daily specials that are not on the menu; we spied a fried fish with herbs and lettuce dish that another table was enjoying.

Asia Cafe
4710 Market St
San Diego, CA 92102

Asia Cafe Part I

Set on the gritty corner of 47th and Market Streets, right behind an Auto Repair shop is Asia Cafe.

Asia Cafe had been on my "list" for a while, but after driving past the strip mall one Sunday morning, I had my doubts. No, it wasn't the bars on the doors and windows, or the location behind the auto repair, nor the somewhat rundown appearance. It was the 2 people sleeping on the sidewalk, and the other people who were hanging around that made me feel nervous. But this past weekend, we decided to give Asia Cafe a shot. The only thing I could think of when we entered Asia Cafe, was "what took me so long?"

The fragrance of garlic and herbs floated in the air through the small restaurant. From all of the discussion going on in the restaurant, it was pretty obvious that all of the customers were "regulars", a very good sign. We sat at a table and a Young Gentleman brought us a menu. The Young Man's name was Scotty, and he told us it was his Mom cooking the food in the back. After fumbling around the menu, we made our selections with the help of Scotty.

A soup called Kao-Lao($6.00):

A fairly lite lemon infused broth, with cilantro, fried shallots, green onions, and garlic(yum). There was alot of beef slices, some tripe, and a ton of meatballs in the soup. I enjoyed this much more then the Missus, who didn't care for the meatballs which she said were rather rubbery. Of all of the dishes served, this one most closely resembled "home cooking."

Scotty had recommended the Yum Asia($6.50):

Scotty also had this made in a "special" way for us; he had this wonderful refreshing seafood salad served on a bed of cellophane noodles which soaked up all of the delicious fish sauce-lime juice-lemon grass-sugar-sweet chili sauce "dressing". Mint, basil, and peanuts gave the dish that extra "zip". All the seafood was prepared in an excellent manner. A wonderfully flavored, yet balanced dish, not too sweet, not to salty, not too spicy, just good eats.

Black Tiger Shrimp($6.50):

Perfectly prepared shrimp in a garlic and black pepper sauce, topped with cilantro. But totally pedestrian compared to the Yum Asia. Unanimously unremarkable.

The Seen-Nam-Toke($5.00):

As we were eating the Yum Asia and Shrimp, the wonderful smell of meat "grilling" filled the restaurant. When the dish arrived I was rather surprised, I had though this was a salad, but instead, it was a perfectly cooked, well seasoned medium rare steak. Obviously quickly marinated in lemon juice and fish sauce, the steak was beautifully caramelized. I realize, that the cut of steak was not the best, but the slices were pretty tender and the flavor was excellent; I barely needed any of the dressing. I could eat this almost every day. I was impressed, it's not easy to make, a two-dollar steak taste like a hundred bucks!

The Missus never really cared for sticky rice other then for desserts, so she ordered steamed rice, I on the other hand love sticky rice, and made sure to get an order($2.00):

The sticky rice was served steaming fresh, still slightly moist, and very fragrant. In fact, the Missus had never had sticky rice served perfectly cooked, and she enjoyed it so much that she put a pretty big dent in it! The steamed rice sat uneaten; I think She's changed Her opinion of sticky rice.

Overall, a good fairly inexpensive meal.

The Missus also purchased this for dessert:

It's a large bag of Fried Bananas($5.00). Unfortunately, Asia Cafe doesn't make these with sugar. No problemo, when we got home the Missus made some simple syrup, and coated the fried bananas with the simple syrup, and let them dry out a bit, and had a nice dessert:

While munching on Fried Bananas we talked about how enjoyable our meal was, and also how friendly and helpful the service was. We also decided to return the very next day, for a few more "traditional" Laotian dishes.

To be continued.......

Asia Cafe
4710 Market St
San Diego, CA 92102

Lucky Pho'

During my visit to Lucky Seafood Supermarket, I noticed the adjoining restaurant.

And so I made my way to Lucky Pho' during a recent weekend. The dining area is fairly large and there is pretty good spacing in the wide open dining room.

I was seated very quickly; and on this visit was handed a menu, and the Gentleman stood pen and pad ready for my order. I hadn't even opened the menu yet, yet he stood there with an deadpan inscrutable look on his face, ready for my order. Ooookay! Two can play this game! I slowly opened and glanced through the menu, and took my time. And placed my order, the #1 Pho Dac Biet(Large Bowl - $4.75):

Everything arrived within minutes, and at the same time; my garnish, tea, and Pho. The amount of garnish was adequate, not the most I've ever had, and not a skimpy amount. Ngo Gai was also provided. I've started trying to really "taste" my Pho' broth, so instead of adding all my garnishes, I always taste the broth. In this case I kept slurping spoonful after spoonful, and made myself stop. The slightly dark broth was very hearty, but not rich or oily, but I could make out hints of clove, anise, and what almost tasted like cinnamon. I must say that I really enjoyed the broth. After adding the basil, Ngo Gai, bean sprouts, and peppers, I started working on the rest of the bowl. The portion of meat provided was adequate, though short on tripe. The fat on the brisket was on the tough side, though the meat itself had good flavor. The rare steak was okay, and the tendon had some overly tough, and crunchy parts.

The noodles were a perfect al' dente, slightly chewy, with a nice "pull" to them, and was in a "loose" clump in the bottom of the bowl, which is an improvement over the tight clump of noodles that is the standard at most places. I must say I really enjoyed this bowl of Pho'; the flavor was really "to my taste". Some may enjoy a light, "refreshing" Pho', some may enjoy a broth heavier in oil, or maybe a very rich dark beefy broth, this bowl was to my taste.

I returned recently with My Buddy Jack, for a quick lunch. Jack had Pho', but I ordered something I saw someone else eating during my last visit; the Beef Stew($4.50):

The beef stew was served in a small bowl with a baguette. The beef stew may scare some people off, since there is a layer of oil lying on top of the "broth". The portion size may seem small, but there was enough fork tender and moist meat, combined with the very rich anise and curry like broth. The meat was not overly fatty, and not inner-tube tough like version I've had in other restaurants.

The cilantro and onions helped cut through the oil, though I'd really have enjoyed some lime and mint; I think I'll see if I can get some next time. Though this seemed like a small dish, the combination of bread and meat did the job of filling me up.

On this visit, the service was completely normal. We weren't rushed to order, and were provided with as much time as we wanted. Jack must really have scared them!!!

I really enjoyed the Pho' here, and will be sure to have it again in the near future. Good prices, good broth are a nice combination!

Some notes: It gets really crowded here on the weekend. And as noted service can be somewhat abrupt at times.

Lucky Pho' in Lucky Seafood Supermarket
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Ooops, I almost forgot - thanks to "Minote" for the initial recommendation!

Ko Hayang Jip Part II

We were mulling over heating up our leftovers from our previous night's meal at Ko Hayang Jip, when we decided that it would be to our benefit to gather even more leftovers..... So we found ourselves back at Ko Hayang Jip. We had made mental notes of a few items that we wanted to try, and so placed our order. Being a real Mom-and-Pop operation, the Lady who I'm assuming is the Owner, recognized us immediately. Also, I don't think they get very many non-Korean customers. As with the night before we were given 8 plates of panchan.

No lotus root this time; but at least we got the green peppers, I don't know the Korean name for this, but we call it Shishito Peppers. Makes a really good panchan.

I also enjoy the potato salad. This version has quite a bit of boiled egg in it; but very creamy and rich tasting.

The Missus ordered the Spicy Beef Soup($8.50):

The broth was similar to a slightly beefy and not as spicy jjigae style broth, very velvety in texture, and not as spicy as it looked. A boiled egg, gosari(fiddlehead fern), dangmyeon (sweet potato starch noodles), and a few thin strips of beef stood out. The Missus thoroughly enjoyed Her soup, though she's not a big fan of the Korean style "mixed"(black and short grain) rice that is served here. She even asked for white rice, but was told that they only serve this type of rice here. Also, she was told "it's good for you".

I ordered the Dol Sot BiBimBap($10.50):

This version was served on a hot cast iron plate, with a small portion of bulgogi, mung bean sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, and other vegetables, all topped with a sunny side up egg. We both thought the portion size was quite small, and the overall taste was pretty much on the bland side; I ended up using up the entire dish of Gochujang provided. I much rather have my BiBimBap served in a hot stone bowl which forms a really nice crust; we weren't too impressed with this.

Overall, Ko Hayang Jip provides a pretty good alternative to all the other Korean Restaurants in town. The ingredients are fresh, the prices in line, if not a bit more inexpensive, and I also noticed that except for the Mandu, all the dishes were not oily at all.

We didn't have the chance to try the Korean BBQ at Ko Hayang Jip, but Calvin was kind enough to provide a photo for our viewing enjoyment:

Ko Hayang Jip Part I

One of the really nice things about having a food blog are the recommendations that I get. Recently, I received an Email from Calvin informing me that a new Korean Restaurant had opened on Convoy St. Having exchanged Emails with Calvin in the past, I knew Him to be a very knowledgeable and credible source. So on a recent wet and cold evening we made our way to Ko Hayang Jip (aka Ko Hyung Jip).

 

The interior of this Mom-and-Pop restaurant was small, yet somewhat "cozy."

Looking at the cover of the menu, I had to laugh at the Homer Simpson-Dilbert looking character on the cover.

After looking over the menu, we placed our order. And then the panchan began to arrive, 8 plates all told.

The panchan consisted of many of the usual suspects such as moo(daikon), namul( marinated bean sprouts), and baechu(napa cabbage) kimchee. But there were also a few items that I hadn't seen before.

The hit of the evening were the marinated lotus root with a slightly sweet-soy sauce-light sesame oil flavor and in spite of being marinated, the lotus root was still quite crunchy.

We started with the Gum Mandu($6.95):

The Mandu were really not very good, oily, bland filling, and the wrappers hard and thin. They reminded me of the frozen gyoza that you buy at Nijiya. The Jap Chae($8.50) arrived next. At first I was disappointed at the small portion size. But the Jap Chae was pretty good, and not oily in the least bit.

Even though the signage says Ko Hayang Jip features Korean Barbeque, we saw something on the menu which we haven't had since we moved from Los Angeles. Black Goat Casserole (Black Goat Meat w/Vegetables and Broth) for Two($28.50). A portable stove was brought out, and a wide pot was brought out and placed on it.

Once bubbling, we mixed the greens into the broth, and starting eating. The broth was very warming and spicy, but not as spicy as it looked. There were chunks of slighly gamey, but not too fatty goat meat, onions, and other veggies in the broth. The greens were crunchy with a slight peppery bitterness that cut through any heat that the broth had. So hearty, healthy, and delici-yoso!!! Served along with "Black Rice" this was more then enough food for us, and we had quite a bit left over for lunch!

So good, on a cold and rainy night. Coincidentally, that night I received an Email from Calvin regarding Ko Hayang Jip. Here's what he wrote about the Korean Barbecue:

"We got the standard bulgogi, which they cooked at the table on a hot iron griddle and later kept moist with broth. I also got the chicken bulgogi variant, which came on a platter pre-cooked. Both were a tad underflavored compared to Boocho, but tender and yummy."

Thanks for the recommendation Calvin!

We knew we'd be back soon, but didn't realize it would be the following night!

To Be Continued...........

Ko Hayang Jip
4373 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Porkyland

With a name like Porkyland, well.....the food better be good! Located in Barrio Logan(and also La Jolla - go figure!), on the corner of Logan Avenue and Sampson Street, and right down the block from the landmark that many consider to be the "heart" of San Diego's Latino Community, the colorful Chicano Park, resides Porkyland Restaurant and Tortilla Factory.

Once in Porkyland (The Happiest Place on the Planet?), you'll notice that the kitchen area takes up over half of Porkyland's space. The menu is limited, but still has a pretty good variety of the "usual suspects."

I did have my mind made up, and with the help of the very friendly Young Lady, I placed my order. I originally ordered a pound of Carnitas, but the Young Lady, told me that for $8.99, I could get the "Carnitas Special." Which consists of a pound of carnitas, fresh tortillas, beans, cilantro, and onions. this being a mere 50 cents more then the price for a pound of carnitas she won me over. Of course, she then had to ask me, with a giggle, if I'd be eating this here! I think she was joking.........

For those who are used to the roasted then deep fried, greasy, and salty carnitas; these will surprise you. These carnitas are very tender, and the flavor is slightly smokey; rich, yet not greasy or overly salty in the slightest. Though the carnitas at Carnitas Michoacan have a much more assertive flavor, these are soft and mild, yet you know you are eating "oink".

I usually chose not to "defile" good carnitas with too many "accouterments", and prefer just some onions, cilantro, and a good hot sauce, on one of the steaming hot fresh tortillas. Delici-yoso!!!

The fresh tortillas were decent, with slight elasticity, and not brittle in the least. But not even close to those I had in Yuma, which had a nice rich corn flavor. The beans were good, slightly chunky, and not too salty or greasy.

Price wise, this was a bargain, about a dozen fresh and hot tortillas, a pound of carnitas, a container of beans, for $8.99. Enough for the four of us (Me, the Missus, Sammy, and Frankie), with a bit leftover.

The menu at Porkyland also features Rolled Tacos, Carne Asada, and even Salads(at Porkyland!!!), by if you make the effort to get there, you might as well get at least a Carnitas Burrito!

Porkyland Restaurant
2196 Logan Ave
San Diego, CA 92113

Pho Viet Cali

Ok, let's see we got Pho' Hoa Cali, Pho T Cali, just plain Pho' Cali, and now here's Pho' Viet Cali! What we actually have here is a whole lotta' confusion. So much confusion, that I really don't even remember what brought me back to this Mira Mesa Strip Mall. But like Ed from Yuma says(I'm paraphrasing, of course), "I can't remember very much from a month ago, but I remember just about every meal I've had in the last 10 years!" It helps that I carry my handy-dandy camera around as well.

Viet Cali is located right next to Sorrento European Bakery, and the Plaza Sorrento Food Court that Amarin Thai is in. The interior of Viet Cali is what I call generic "Formica Pho' in design. Clean tile floors, generic tables with "numbers", large "bar", that is used as a counter, and of course the requisite cash register counter. And like many of these types of restaurants Viet Cali is alot smaller then it looks like from the outside.

Despite the seemingly generic beginning, Viet Cali was the scene of a first for me. The first time I've ever paid  more than 6 bucks for a bowl of Pho'. Yep the Large Pho Dac Biet (combination), was $6.15. But first here's the garnishes:

Pretty skimpy, and no Ngo Ngai, only 2 slices of Jalapeno. The Pho' arrived piping hot, topped with a good amount of green onions and cilantro. The broth was very much the generic broth, and nothing in the flavor of the broth stood out. The most interesting item in the Pho' were the presence of "meatballs" which were nice and "meaty". The rare steak (6 slices) were also quite quite tender and not in the least bit dry. I did think that this was probably the largest amount of "meat" I've had in any bowl of Pho' to date. Check out the "clump" of tripe:

Unfortunately two of my favorite "cuts", the brisket and tendon, were pretty scarce. Speaking of clump; as I am finding is pretty much the norm, the noodles were located in a large solid clump in the bottom of the bowl.

Luckily they weren't cold, and still had a very nice "pull" to them. Though this is a pretty expensive bowl of Pho', there is a bit more meat then the usual bowl, and I enjoyed the meatballs. But other then that, the broth, noodles, and overall flavor didn't set this bowl above those bowls of Pho' over a dollar cheaper right down the road in Mira Mesa.

I also noticed that I was the only Asian eating in the dining area, but many Asians dropped by to pick-up take-out orders, consisting of mostly Banh Mi. This past Saturday, I had a pretty late start, and all of the places I wanted to eat at on Mira Mesa Boulevard were either filled, or had people waiting outside. So I decided to grab a Banh Mi at Viet Cali. I choose the Banh Mi Thit Nguoi, at $2.95, it was a bit more expensive then the sandwiches I've had in the past.

On the positive side; the bread was nice and crusty, and the pate, head cheese, and pork sausage was fine. Also, the cilantro in the sandwich consisted of mostly leaves and thin stems removing the irritating "stringy" and tough texture. On the negative, there was a large slather of mayo on the bottom of the sandwich which overpowered all the other flavors. The portion of pickles was very small to render them inconsequential, ditto for the cucumbers, not only affecting taste, but texture as well. I also lamented the lack of hot chilies in the sandwich. The sandwich was also on the small side, about 7 inches long.

This Banh Mi was not bad, but the version at Kim Chan was much better. And about $1 cheaper.

Pho' Viet Cali
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd. #113
San Diego, CA 92121

Hours - Mon-Sat 830am-9pm
Closed on Sunday

Island Boy Grille

You could say Island Boy Grille and I have had a star-crossed relationship. No matter how hard I tried I could never make it into the front door of Island Boy. When I was doing consulting work in San Diego in the late 90's I'd heard of two "Local Kine" restaurants. One being Da Kine's, and the other being Island Boy Grille, at that time located in the Gaslamp Quarter. But try as I might, I was never able to make it to Island Boy Grille, the one time I tried, I couldn't find any metered parking, and wasn't about to pay $5 or more for parking to grab a plate lunch. Once we moved to San Diego, I tried to find Island Boy, but had found that the Gaslamp location had closed down. I did find out that there was a Sorrento Mesa location, so I checked out my Thomas Guide (what we used before Mapquest), and drove up. But alas, it was a Saturday, and they were closed on weekends. On another occasion I drove up after work to find....them closed. They had changed hours and were no longer open until 630pm.

Finally, I recently took a vacation day, and had an opportunity to make to Island Boy Grille during their regular business hours, which are 11am til 230 pm. Talk about Lunch Wagon hours! I arrived at about 1pm and looked over the menu.

During which time the Gentleman behind the counter impatiently waited for me to make up my mind. Talk about pressure, I felt forced to blurt out what I wanted. Funny thing is, right next to the menu is the usual "Please Be Patient" sign; I guess patience goes only one way in this case.

I placed my order and took a seat, and had time to admire the cool Primo Beer memorabilia.

I had ordered the "Wasa" Plate($8.99), essentially a mixed plate with two menu items. The plate comes with rice (of course!), a green salad, and a choice of one "side". I ordered Chicken Katsu and Grilled Teriyaki Chicken as my entree items.

I had forgotten to tell them to not include the pineapple ring on my teriyaki chicken. Those pineapple rings bring back all those negative connotations of when Hawaiian Food was ham with a pineapple ring on the top. Anyway, the Grilled Teriyaki Chicken was very dry and leathery, and was not well marinated, as it also was quite bland. I felt like the chicken was sitting around in a pan for a while. The Chicken Katsu was fine, moist and tender, but because the "katsu sauce" was applied when the plate was put together, the panko crust was soggy by the time I managed to eat it. (20 minutes) This doesn't really make sense since a container of katsu sauce was included with the plate.

Thankfully, this was Japanese-style Katsu Sauce, not the lousy, gloppy sweet sour stuff that many Hawaiian Barbecues serve.

The best item on the plate was the "side" I ordered, the Chicken Long Rice:

Though short on chicken, the long rice(bean thread) was well flavored. Nice poultry flavor, with a mild ginger taste.

I of course also ordered a Loco Moco($6.95):

If you are a regular reader; you know of my love of Loco Moco's. I'm also sure you would like to know how this "Loco" measures up. Even though Bruddah James of Big Island Grinds is in the process of modifying His Loco Moco Scale, I'll use my tried and true "Modified Rubio Scale."

BURGER: The Good; hand formed and grilled patty. The Bad; very dry and bland, also tasted "old" like it had been sitting around for a day or two. 2.0

EGGS: I really "dug" the heart shaped styling, but the eggs weren't seasoned and were overcooked, with the yolks solid. 2.0

RICE: Good, and cooked perfectly. Sorry to say this was the best part of the loco. 3.0

GRAVY: Nice and dark, but almost totally tasteless. 2.5

STUFFS: The macaroni salad wasn't bad, the green salad along with the dressing was unremarkable. 2.5

TOTAL: 11.0 Funny thing, this was almost a splitting image of the Loco at Da Kine's, though the portion size was larger(and priced higher).

In the end I felt like all of the energy expended in my quest to have a plate lunch at Island Boy Grille was for naught. But I'd never had known if I hadn't tried, right?

Island Boy Grille
10066 Pacific Heights Blvd
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours: Mon - Fri 11am-230pm

For those that don't want a somewhat irrelevant and silly story; it's time to leave.

Way back when, a group of "us Guys" had just finished an evening of libations and other "activities" at an establishment called "Steel Wings", does anybody remember this place?(I'm really dating myself here) We were having our "post-club" breakfast at McCully Zippy's, when my Buddy spotted a Young Lady he had been vigorously pursuing at the nightclub sitting at a nearby table. He caught his breath as She smiled, stood up, and starting walking up to us. As she reached our table, she stuck a cigarette in her mouth, and in the worst, fingernail on chalkboard, loud high pitched squeal, asked my friend:

"AAAAY, YOU GET ONE MATCH, HUH?"
As my shocked and speechless friend nodded that he did not. She turned and walked away and concluded the one way conversation with:
"KAY 'DEN, LATA'S"
Then unsteadily turned to her friends, and said; "AAY, TIME TO BAG OUT....."
I almost fell out of my seat, but I was mesmerized by the cigarette wobbling up and down in her lips as she spoke. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how she could talk so loud and keep that unlit cigarette in her mouth. I felt soooo bad for my Buddy, as I watched his "dream" crushed before my eyes!

Just goes to show, that sometimes the pursuit of a goal is just not worth it!

Saigon Restaurant

Even if you're a neophyte when it comes to Vietnamese Restaurants in San Diego, I think you'd know of Saigon Restaurant on El Cajon Boulevard. In fact, other then Phuong Trang, Saigon is the Vietnamese Restaurant that is most often mentioned to me in conversations.

Over the years we've visited Saigon quite a few times. Mostly because of the huge menu and reasonable prices. Don't ask me to have the Pho' here though! The two times I've had the Pho', the dark broth had an extremely strong anise flavor, and the noodles were terrible.

The interior of Saigon is not huge, but very cavernous, with murals lining the walls near the ceiling.

I need to warn you, though. That if you suffer from "Vietnamese Menu Overload Syndrome", the 340+ items on the menu will send you into immediate convulsions, or at least a severe case of indecision.

On this visit we started with the usual Cha Gio(Vietnamese Egg Rolls - $4.95):

Interestingly enough, in our previous visits here, I'd never ordered these. The Cha gio were served with the usual plate of lettuce and mint. These innocuous looking egg rolls, felt rather cool to the touch, but were molten hot inside, and almost burnt my lips off. In fact I saved one till the end of the meal, and it was still super hot inside! These Egg Rolls were more like Chinese Style Egg Rolls, in that there was mostly stringy shredded vegetables, and almost no meat, or bean thread. The Nuoc Mam(Fish sauce) was really good though, nice and spicy, and not overly sweet.

I was also curious about the "Spicy, Sweet and Sour Shrimp, with Garlic Hot Sauce"($9.95). Sounds great doesn't it? Well here it is:

This dish tasted exactly like a bland Chinese Sweet and Sour Shrimp, except for some nice julienned strips of ginger. The one thing that saved the dish from being a total loss, were the perfectly cooked, plump, and soft shrimp.

Clams with Basil($8.95):

A bubbling hot pot of clams were delivered to the table. The clams were very plump and fresh, and not overcooked, and falling out of their shells. In fact, the clams passed the Missus's "clam inventory". The Missus claims that we often get served more shells then clam meat in our dishes, and has now started to keep a "mental count" of clam meat versus shells! Back to the dish. There was a good amount of basil in the "brown sauce". The sliced Jalapeno added some nice "middle-tongue" heat, that is, a non-numbing, quick "burn". The Missus thought the sauce wasn't salty enough, but I though that there was a nice balance of salty and mild sweetness in the dish. Pretty darn good.

This past Saturday was a very cold(by San Diego standards), and rainy(ditto) day. So we decided to drop by Saigon again.

Of course we got clams again. But this time it was the Clams with Ginger and (Green) Onion($8.95):

Same dish as the basil, except with green onions and the flavor of ginger. This dish also used dried red chilies instead of Jalapenos, which provided heat at the back of my throat(slow burn). I also detected garlic in the sauce today as well. Otherwise, same brown sauce. Again, pretty good.

Earlier in the morning I went to pick up a cup of coffee from Sandwich Emporium, and of course got into a conversation about....guess what? Food of course, with one of the "Twins" (I still can't tell them apart). I told Him we were probably going to drop by Saigon, and was told to give one of the "Banh Tam" dishes a try. So I ordered the Banh Tam Bo Nuong("Round Rice Noodle" with Char Grilled Beef - $6.50):

What arrived was a bowl overflowing with "stuff", there were seven pieces of beef, rolled tightly around a scallion to create a sausage effect. The beef though maybe a bit on the chewy side, was well marinated with herbs, fish sauce, and the like, and nicely grilled. The Missus kept saying, "Man I wonder what the pork must taste like!". In the bowl was a variety of julienned vegetables, like cucumber and carrots, as well as bean sprouts.

Also provided were bowls of Coconut Milk and the really good Nuoc Mam:

You are supposed to pour the coconut milk and nuoc mam over the bowl, mix it together, and dig in. The Missus however, didn't care for the coconut milk, so I poured the bowl of nuoc mam(and asked for another bowl, which I proceeded to pour over as well) over the ingredients, and mixed them. I used the coconut milk for dipping. During the mixing process a layer of lettuce and wonderfully palate cleansing mint was revealed.

The noodles though, were very disappointing. They were simply cold vermicelli rice noodles, stuck together to form a "cake". Tasteless and brittle, they brought nothing to the dish. I'd have this dish again though, in spite of the noodles.

On our previous visit, an odd thing happened. Our Server actually struck up a conversation with us. Something that had never occurred to me in a Vietnamese Restaurant before. He recommended this dish:

Can you figure out what it is? In that bubbling sauce is the Sauteed Catfish($6.95). 

In the brown sauce (a recurring theme?), were green onions, garlic and lot's of black pepper, which made this sauce really stand out. I'd have rather had fillets then cross cut fish, where bones can make the eating process messy and somewhat ponderous. The flesh of the fish had a nice buttery texture, but was a bit too muddy for my tastes, but that didn't bother the Missus at all, who loved it. I just enjoyed the sauce on my rice, which was delici-yoso!!!

Apparently there's some good eats on that menu of 300+ items. You just gotta keep "digging away" at it.

Saigon Restaurant
4455 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Sun-Thurs 8am - 10pm
Fri-Sat 8am - 11pm

Dede's

Before there was Ba Ren, we used to go to Dede's fairly regularly for Sichuan Food. Though if we really wanted Sichuan Food we'd still do the 100 plus mile drive to Chung King in Monterey Park. But of course Ba Ren changed all of that. But that's not to say the food at Dede's is bad, it's not. Just perhaps not to our taste.

I believe that "Dede's" inherited their English name from the previous business that occupied the space; a Tea and Boba joint. The Chinese name of Dede's indicates that Chongqing style Sichuan food is served here.

We decided to drop by Dede's, to see what had changed in the last 2 years since our last visit. The colorful interior of Dede's belies it's Teahouse past:

On this afternoon Teresa Teng(the late Deng Li-Jun) videos were playing on the big screen television. We also noticed that, many of the "specials" on the placard had taken a larger turn away from Sichuan Cuisine.

Though all the old favorites are still there:

On this visit we ordered the Spicy Fish Slices with Golden Mushrooms($8.50):

This interesting dish was like a combination of two classic Sichuan offerings, the Water Boiled/Boiled in Hot Sauce and Pickled Pepper type dishes. This was a nice hot, but not numbingly hot dish, though the amount of oil was fairly low. Battered and lightly fried fish lay on a bed of Enoki Mushrooms and was covered with "Hot Sauce", Zhacai and other pickled vegetables were also featured in this dish. Good, but not great.

I also ordered one of my favorite Sichuan snack type dishes Spicy Cold Noodles($4.99).

This was pretty horrible, a failure from all angles. The noodles tasted like they were uncooked store bought noodles, very hard and brittle. The sauce lacked sugar, and almost tasted like just Black Vinegar. Usually there would be at least a mild sesame paste flavor as well, but not this time. Not even a bit spicy to me as well. The peanuts were half peanuts, and not coarsely chopped. This was just bad eats!

Luckily, we ordered my favorite dish from Dede's; Cumin Flavored Lamb($8.50):

As far as I know, this isn't a Sichuan dish, but it's still good eats. Fragrant, slightly nutty cumin dry fried with thin slices of lamb and onion, and topped with cilantro. Delici-yoso!!! You can tell that high heat was used very successfully in the creation of this dish by the lack "oil" that would be created if the lamb was stir fried in a conventional manner using inadequate heat.

Dede's offers an alternative to Ba Ren; most of the dishes do not use quite the same amount of oil, and is not as spicy. We do think that the flavors at Dede's are not as complex as Ba Ren's. There is also a lack of the layering of heat that we appreciate, and Ma-La(numbing hot) is lacking in many of the dishes. All the "usual suspects" of Sichuan food are available, and we've tried most of them; Rice Crust dishes, Dishes Boiled in Hot Sauce, ChongQing Red Pepper dishes, as well as Cold Dishes like Fuqi Feipein. We also noticed that in the last few years Dede's has added Sichuan Hotpot(Malaguo) to their menu, with a Buffet available at $20 per person.

Dede's Teajuice City
4647 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

I Finally Got Around To....

Well a sign is worth a thousand words:

Especially if you live in SoCal. "Tommy-burger" has a real following here in SoCal, you either love it or hate it. As with most burgers of a similar vein, there are stories of the effort that people will go through to get a "Tommy's chili or burger." We had a "Tommy's" right down the street on Fullerton when we lived in LA, and I had a friend come and visit....He had to have Tommy's for breakfast...for 3 days straight! That's right, Chiliburgers; it ain't just for breakfast anymore.....

Tommy's has finally opened here in San Diego, with little mainstream fanfare, but alot of "rumbling" on the Internet. Those who love Tommy's must first profess unrequited love for grease, but delici-yoso grease. The Missus loves Tommy's chili. Alas, the chili does not love Her back, it gives her heartburn! Her inability to painlessly digest Tommy's chili will then make her look upon the chili in a negative light, with the liberal use of that horrible culinary four letter word; "lard". As in "it must have lard in it...." I, on the other hand do not suffer from any immediate adverse reaction from Tommy's, thus to put it into the words of the Missus, "Next life, you be me, Ohhh-Kay!"

I finally got around to Tommy's on a recent weekend. In order to "earn" my Tommy's, I first swept and mopped the house, scrubbed and cleaned the bathrooms, raked the backyard, did 6 loads of laundry, and other various sundry tasks. All self-imposed. As I entered Tommy's the first thing I noticed was that even though it was 3 in the afternoon the dining area was pretty full. The second thing I noticed was that there were several "Guys" eating a Tommy Burger with a fork and knife! Say what! Hey, fork and knife Guy, be a man! You eat the burger like a burger, with no regard for personal hygiene, with your hands. Overwhelmed by my presence in a real Tommy's in San Diego, I had problems even deciding what to order. Yeah, I should have a problem at a place called Tommy "BURGER". I eventually just ordered a #2 combo($5.70):

A double chili cheeseburger, fries, and a drink. I of course ordered the burger the way I wanted it - no pickles, extra onions....but received my burger with pickles anyway. Not that it made any difference. I felt like my burger was a little short on the chili though! The chili on a Tommy's is a gloppy, fairly mild chili "con carne", that has a texture similar to refried beans. I enjoy the acid that tomato provides on the burger, though I wished I had a bit more chili. I hope you enjoy the sheen of grease reflecting off the burger photos:

Though I don't crave Tommy's like many Angelinos, I enjoy a Tommy Burger every once in a while.

The fries I received sorely missed chili, cheese, and onions:

I felt I was committing a crime by eating these without the requisite "parts". I'll make sure to correct this next time!

There's a part of me that believes that burgers have supplanted hot dogs as being the quintessential American food, though that may be heresy to some. But think about it, be it White Castle, Krystals, In and Out, or Fatburger(my fave, though San Diego's Fatburger's have been mediocre); we all have our favorites. I still have fond memories of my beloved W & M Burger. Be it sitting in the car, on the curb, or wondering what wine to match with a Tommy's, burgers have become an obsession for many. I distinctly remember the first time I had a Tommy Burger, though I don't even express a great fondness for them. So strangely enough, Tommy Burger is on that "first time I tried list" along with Foie Gras, Peking Duck, Escargot, and other items....go figure!

And there ain't nothing wrong with a Tommy's once in a while.......

Original Tommy's
7415 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Postscript: I've been assured that there ain't no Tommy Burger, like the one served at the "Original" Original Tommy's at Beverly and Rampart.

Vientiane Food To Go

*** I've posted an update on Vientiane on March 15th ***

I had heard about a Laotian Restaurant called Vientiane from one of Sam's (of Sammy Sushi) Assistants. After a brief discussion and some Otokoyama he gave me directions to Lao Plaza on the corner of Imperial and 47th Street.

Blink and you'll miss the very non-descript building, that is Lao Plaza. If you manage to snag a parking spot you'll see the sign.

There it was, Vientiane Food To Go. I believe Vientiane is also the Capital of Laos. This small building holds a few "stalls" that sell everything from sunglasses to jewelry, to Laotian video rentals. The people here were also extremely "camera-shy", so I refrained from taking photos. We did get the "you're not from around here are you" feeling as we walked past the various stalls.

At the South End of the Building there is a small doorway, walk through the doorway and you enter Vientiane. To your right is a kitchen area, and we could smell the scent of soup simmering. In the middle section is a refrigerator, which is a snack and drink stand. To the left is a simple window, with various fried and hot table items. The dining area is a bit worse for wear, with Laotian Music Videos playing on the television mounted above the doorway.

I was totally lost trying to read some of the menu. I know that "Tom" are soups, as I believe "Keng" are, but as to the details, I really wasn't sure.

Luckily, the Lady working the window was so very nice and helpful. And after brief discussion we placed our order, and the lady started working on Her Mortar, preparing our Papaya Salad.

The Papaya Salad was very spicy, the papaya fresh and crisp. What I have found with Laotian style Papaya Salad, is that the sauce for the salad is very dark, and the fish sauce flavor is fairly strong. This was no exception. There was a small amount of salted blue crab at the bottom of the salad. Not bad, I'd have this again.

We also had two orders of "Sticky Rice":

To go along with the Fried Quail, that looked like they were about to up and run right off the plate.

I love steamed sticky rice, somewhat nutty in flavor, though the quail was on the dry side and fairly bland. I think I'll try the Beef Laap here next time.

The Missus also got some Fried Rice with Sausage(very delici-yoso!!!) for later, and a drink, all for $15, not bad!

My experience with Laotian food has been limited to Papaya Salad, Laap(yummy Beef Laap), and Laotian Sausage. But I'll be trying a few more dishes at the various Lao Restaurants in the area.

Some Notes: The Lady working "Food to Go" was so nice and helpful. The neighborhood can seem a bit scary, but we've never encountered any problems and you'll get a neat little cultural experience walking among the stalls in Lao Plaza. There is additional parking in the rear of the building.

Vientiane Food To Go
Located in Lao Community Plaza
110 47th St
San Diego, CA 92102

Intersection of 47th St and Imperial Ave

Gunco Ramen/Kanpai

Ever since we moved to San Diego, I've been searching for a good Ramen Shop, not that Chopstix or Tajima is bad. But I want something along the lines of Daikokuya or one of  Shin-Sen-Gumi's Ramen Houses. During a recent visit to Hogetsu Bakery, I asked the Friendly Lady there about a a place I've passed on every visit. Gunco Ramen:

I was told, that the clientele and style was "very Nihon", and to give them a try. So that very afternoon I paid Gunco a visit. The first thing I noticed when I entered was that Gunco, and Kanpai, as basically one restaurant, separated by a doorway. They even have 1 menu.

The Server was very nice, and brought me my tea and ice water immediately. I decided to order something that I hadn't had in years; Champon($7.50).

Now, the variations of Champon I've had in the past, were basically a fiercely boiled pork-chicken bone broth, very rich, topped with stir fried vegetables, and some boiled seafood, usually shrimp and squid. Champon itself, was supposedly invented in Nagasaki, and Chinese in origin; created by a Chef originally from the Fujian Province named Chen-Pingshun, in a restaurant called Shikairou. Or so they say....... Today, the Champon, was a bit weak in flavor, not rich at all, causing all the stir fried vegetables and seafood to be flavorless. The one saving grace were the noodles, which were a perfect 'al dente, both elastic and mildly chewy.

And despite the rubbery shrimp(pretty much a norm for champon IMHO), I enjoyed the dish enough to give Gunco another try.

On my return visit, I was seated on what I think is the "Gunco" side, facing a "Bar Counter".

Again, the service was excellent, and a Gentleman, who I think is the Owner, engaged me in some conversation, starting with the familiar(to me) question; Are you Korean? "Ummm, no..."

On this visit I ordered the Tempura Appetizer($5.50), and the Hakata Ramen($5.40). To my surprise, the Ramen arrived at my table first:

I've had what was described as "Hakata Ramen" once before, in a now defunct Restaurant in Honolulu. The broth was Tonkotsu-style, that is the deep-boiled whitish pork bone based broth. The noodles, which were supposedly imported from Hakata, were quite thin, and very straight. This variation had basically the same broth as the Champon, but today the broth had much more flavor, and a nice quantity of oil. The interesting addition of "gari"(pickled ginger), added a nice palate cleansing element to the ramen. The two thin slices of Charshu, though a bit fatty, had some flavor. The noodles were exactly the same as the Champon, and again I enjoyed them.

Though the bowl of Ramen was on the small side, I still rather enjoyed it, though I wished that the broth had a richer "tonkotsu-shiru" flavor.

As I was in the process of eating my Ramen, my tempura arrived:

All in all quite mediocre and forgettable, and a bit undercooked(except for the broccoli, which was scalded), the batter being very pale. Not worth the $5.50. Kind of sad, on my last visit, I saw an Older Lady demolishing a very delectable looking plate of tempura.

What was interesting was a "side door" to my left. Apparently, the tempura was made in the "Robata and Sushi" restaurant next door, also part of the Gunco/Kanpai "complex".

Overall, great service, reasonably priced food. Though it seems "Your Mileage May Vary" here.

Gunco Ramen
305 Palomar St
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Kanpai
301 Palomar St
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Brians' American Eatery

The Missus isn't really a "breakfast person" in the conventional sense. That is, She sometimes craves breakfast for dinner. And on a recent evening She had a craving for Wheat Germ Pancakes from Brians'. And Brians' serves breakfast all day.

Yes, it's called Brians', not Brian's, after the two Owners, who are both named Brian. I did a quick "handbag check", the Missus had rotated out the "Dior" and replaced it with a Fendi, so hopefully the Dior curse hadn't followed us. We drove up to Brians' which is located on busy Washington Street in Hillcrest, and is one of those popular and sometimes very crowded neighborhood diners.

We have always had very friendly service at Brians', and today was no exception. Since it was still fairly early for dinner, and the sun was out, we decided to sit on the patio.

The Missus ordered Her Wheat Germ Pancakes, but they were out, so She had the Whole Wheat Pancakes instead($5.99).

The full stack of whole wheat pancakes consist of 3 plate sized ground wheat pancakes. The pancakes were slightly nutty, and not overly sweet. The texture was slightly dense, but not as "chewy" as regular pancakes tend to be. With whipped butter, and maple syrup, the Missus stated that these were delici-yoso!!!

I've had a few dishes at Brians', and have found that the portions are always generous, but it's been hit and miss. Though today I decided to pull out all the stops, and order something interesting from the menu.

Yep, I got a Frankie Burger($9.89)! A 1/2lb burger topped with bacon and jack and cheddar cheese. But most of all it's got peanut butter on it! The menu says; "Don't be afraid!"

I'd say that you'll either immediately like or hate this burger, there's no middle ground. Though I'm not a peanut butter lover, I enjoyed the burger. The not overly sweet peanut bitter added a nice creamy richness to the burger, which was pretty darn good on it's own; seared on the outside, moist and tender in the interior. The peanut butter balanced out the saltiness of the bacon and cheddar cheese. The acid from the tomato helped cut through the richness.

The burger came with two sides and I chose fries:

The "natural style" fries, were "bleh", okay, but they got real soggy very quickly and needed alot of ketchup.

I also got the potato salad.

Red potatoes with a light coat of mayo, the salad had a huge amount of "pickle juice" that would have been off-putting on it's own, but in this case, the vinegar helped cleanse my palate of the peanut butter-cheese-bacon richness. I don't think I'd enjoy these as much with anything else. After eating all this I was stuffed silly!

I have always enjoyed the service at Brians', I also like the no-nonsense stuff. For instance we ordered coffee, and of course had ice water. And instead of having to flag someone down for refills they always leave a pot and a pitcher for our refills.

There are items on the menu at Brians' that I do not enjoy, but overall I consider Brians' to be a pretty good neighborhood diner, and the Missus loves those pancakes.

Brians' American Eatery
1451 Washington St
San Diego, CA 92103

Postscript: In case you're wondering why I ordered a Frankie Burger, it's because of our own little "Frankie Burger" - meet Frankie(burger....):

Pho' Cali

No it's not Pho' Hoa Cali, nor Pho' T Cali, nor related to any other Pho' something Cali's in San Diego. It's just Pho' Cali.

Around the time of the Tet Festival we started noticing all these little signs on almost every corner announcing "Now Pho' in Mission Valley!" As if this event was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I mean really, there are two Pho' places right up Ulric Street in Linda Vista, Pho Hoa Hiep and Pho' Hoa, not ten minutes away. Well, call it great marketing if you will, but a few weeks ago, I decided to pay Pho' Cali a visit.

I was impressed with the bright and clean interior.

This being Mission Valley, I was prepared for the higher prices, so about a buck more for Pho' didn't bother me. But don't turn the page of the menu; the Banh Mi here is $4.99!

Being the creature of habit that I am I ordered the Pho' Dac Biet(Combination - $5.99). In this case a bowl of Pho' with rare steak, well done steak, flank, brisket, tendon, and tripe. I ordered, and the garnishes arrived.

The most skimpiest amount of garnish I've ever seen! One sprig of basil! There was however, one leaf of Ngo Ngai. It was tucked away under the bean sprouts, in almost an apologetic manner, as if embarrassed to be associated with such a meager amount of bean sprouts.

I will say that the Pho' Cali served me the fastest bowl of Pho' I've ever had; it arrived at my table in less then 5 minutes after I ordered. Almost beating my ice water and garnish.

I started my Pho' eating ritual; first tasting the broth before adding anything to it. My observations? Nice amount of oil, yet the broth was not very rich, with a slight anise flavor and mild garlicky undertones. Not bad, not good, and pretty generic. There was a fairly small amount of meat, and I didn't find any well done steak. The rare steak, though sliced nice and thin, was tough, as was the tendon. The brisket had no flavor. I even almost chipped a tooth on a tiny piece of bone.

The worst thing was the giant clump of noodle on the bottom of the bowl:

This was why the Pho' arrived so quickly! I separated the noodles, and found that the noodles in the interior portion of the clump was cold! A big no-no. Also, the noodles were mushy, and had no "pull" to them. This was the second worst Banh Pho' I've ever had. I never finished the noodles, though I did a pretty good job on the broth, which tasted much better as the flavor from the garnishes, green onion, cilantro, and sriracha I added started to fuse together.

In the end, the best thing about Pho' Cali was the pond right outside.

I don't know if you'll notice. Normally, I'd visit any Pho' Restaurant at least twice before posting. In this case I see no need to do that. I guess Pho Cali is pretty great compared to the "Chain Restaurant/Fast Food Purgatory" that is Mission Valley. But I'd rather just drive up the street to Linda Vista.

Pho' Cali
1400 Camino De La Reina #105
San Diego, CA 92018

Open 9:30AM- 9:30PM Daily

Broken Yolk Cafe - And the Curse of Dior....

I'm not a a very superstitious person. Although, I wouldn't do anything that would bring me "ba-chi", Local Kine Japanese slang for "bad luck" or "bad karma". I also will not remove lava rock(really bad luck), cut my toenails at night(Dey goin' rob your house), and as a child wouldn't touch a match ("you play wit match, you goin wet da' bed, so I goin know you play wit matches!"). But other then that, I'm really not superstitious at all! Except, that I think the Missus's Christian Dior Handbag is cursed. You see, we've never had a really good meal whenever she's brought that darn bag along. And the curse seems to extend to anything related to food; once we went shopping together (pretty rare event in itself, the Missus hates grocery shopping), and the simple act of finding a dozen eggs took me like 15 minutes. I sorted through carton after carton of cracked and broken eggs, finally finding what seemed like the only carton of "intact" eggs in the market.........

Broken Yolk Cafe, has always had an odd attraction to the Missus. I think it's the long lines, and crowds of people crowding the sidewalk during weekends. After all; all these people must know something, right?

Broken Yolk Cafe, is a very popular Breakfast and Lunch destination open from 6am to 3pm daily. Crowds of people Young and Old feast on omelets and burgers, and sip mimosas. The numerous  Omelets and Burgers have names like, The Cisco Kid (Four Egg Omelet with Ortega chilies and jack cheese topped with guacamole and sour cream), and Patty Melt Down (Ground beef, American cheese, and grilled onion on rye).

On this sunny, mild, weekday we arrived at about 1pm, after all of the breakfast chaos, and were seated upstairs.

We were served quickly and professionally, and our orders were taken, coffee and water quickly provided, and we were on our way.

The Missus decided on a Rosarito Beach Burger($7.19):

The slightly oblong burger(supposedly 1/2lb), was served on a French Roll, and topped with 2 slices of bacon and guacamole. The Missus, as is Her norm ordered the burger with no mayo, She wants to taste the "beef". This was a bit of a mistake; the burger was very dry. I took a bite and darn if I didn't bite into a "toenail".... that's what I call a piece of bone or other inedible hard piece of "something". The burger came with a pretty large portion of crinkle cut fries:

I really felt like these had been "re-fried", the interior were cold and the fries were very dry.

I ordered the Omelet called the "Border Check"($8.29):

This was a 4 egg omelet with Beef Chorizo, Jack Cheese, Jalapeno Peppers, and topped with guacamole and salsa. I thought the omelet was decent, and enjoyed the heat of the jalapenos, though the Missus thought that the flavoring of the chorizo over-powered everything else. I ordered the "Home Fries", that was more like scalloped/gratin potatoes; pretty bland stuff. I'm taking the Blueberry Muffin home; to use as a paperweight.

Not all was bad about Broken Yolk; I thought the service was good. Our coffee and water was kept refreshed, and our Server was the epitome of efficiency and professionalism. I felt really quite guilty about Her having to walk all the food up the stairs. When I mentioned this to Her, she told me "It keeps me in shape". If you're feeling especially ambitious, Broken Yolk serves something called the "Broken Yolk Café Special"($18.99). It's a dozen-egg omelet served in a pizza pan, with mushrooms, onions, American cheese and smothered with chili and cheese. On the other half of the pan is homefries and two biscuits. Eat it all within an hour and it’s only $1.98 and receive a complimentary T-Shirt. Angioplasty not included..... Good Luck!

In the end, I think I'll blame it on the "bag". Not that I'm superstitious, right?

Broken Yolk Cafe
1851 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

Finally: Lee's Garden

As indicated in My previous post, we were searching for Lee's Garden when we got side tracked by Ly's Garden. And after that very inexpensive lunch, we traveled a bit further down the road, and came across Lee's Garden, though the signage really didn't make it easy.....

Nor did the rather battered storefront, Lee's just looked alot more rundown then I remembered, how sad:

We decided to eat at Lee's this past Sunday, and arrived at about 4pm for an early dinner. We were walked to our seats immediately by a very friendly Gentleman. We passed one of the other tables and noticed that the Vietnamese Family there were eating 4 different versions of clams, so I made a mental note while we were seated. As is typical for these Vietnamese/Chinese Restaurants, the menus are huge, and analysis paralysis set in:

After what seemed to be a very long period of indecision, we placed our order. Starting with the Clams with Basil($8.95):

These clams seemed to be cooked a bit too long, the clams somewhat tough, and many of them really "gritty". Also, many of the clams had fallen out of their shells and settled into the bottom of the earthen bowl, making this into a search and destroy mission. This led the Missus to state; "I swear, there are more shells than clam meat in this dish, I think we're being ripped off!" I of course disagreed, but felt strangely aware of what seemed to be an abundance of empty clam shells..... This dish was flavored with a good amount of basil, and some jalapeno peppers, but seemed a bit flat in taste. I think it was the lack of garlic in this dish, in addition to perhaps some sweetness to balance out the anise like flavor of the basil.

Seafood Hotpot with Duck Feet(leg - $11.95):

See that kind of yellow/brown strip of meat to the right of the pot? I think that's duck "meat", but I'm not quite sure. I almost never take a salt shaker to my food, but in this case I came pretty close. The dish was very bland, and insipidly boring. Even the shrimp had no taste, the only item in the pot that had any flavor were the shiitake mushrooms.

The best dish of the evening was the Fish Fillet with Black Peppercorn($7.95):

The slightly sweet, salty, gooey sauce, full of pungent black pepper was oh so good. The fish, on the other hand was not. First off, the fish was dry, now I believe that one of the real benefits of battered and fried fish is to keep it moist. But in this case, the fish was dry as if overcooked, probably due to lack of freshness. Also, the batter did not keep any of it's crispness, it seemed to be either under fried or fried at the wrong temperature. Too bad, this could have been a really great dish.

As we were leaving, Lee's started filling up, and everybody seemed to be getting the clams, so I'm guessing it's one of their more popular dishes. We did enjoy the excellent service, and the prices weren't too bad, but I don't know if we'll be back anytime soon.

Lee's Garden
4055 54th St
San Diego, CA 92105

Lee's, Um No It's, Ly's Garden, Or Is It?

Recently, we've been eating at all of our regular Chinese Restaurants; China Max, Ba Ren, and yes, even at the "ABCDE" special, Mandarin Canton. For a change of pace, and for the sake of "material" for a new post, I needed to find someplace new to eat. Just then it came to me, let's try Lee's Garden, we hadn't eaten there in years. The Missus was game, so off we went for a nice weekday lunch. As we took the turn at 54th street, the Missus grabbed my arm and said "turn around, turn around, you just went past it!" Me: "Are you sure?" The Missus:"Turn around I just saw it on our right!"

So I did two U-turns, and drove into the seedy strip mall parking lot. And there it was:

Or was it? This was Ly's Garden.... I mentioned this to the Missus, who responded; "How many Ly's/Lee's Garden do you think is going to be on this street?" "OK, I just thought they were on the other side of the street."

We entered the Restaurant, and surveying the cavernous, but slightly run down interior, I knew immediately, that this wasn't the "Lee's Garden" I was thinking about. But the display of roast pork and duck hanging in the display was calling to me. We were immediately seated by the most cheerful server, and opened the menu. And oh my, the prices..... Just to keep this interesting, let's play a little game. I won't reveal the prices of each dish, and we ordered alot of food, until near the end of the description of each dish.

We ordered a bowl of Won Ton Soup, which came with a plate of bean sprouts and lemon:

The steaming hot bowl of soup was delivered, with a few slices of fishcake, lots of fried garlic, green onions, cilantro, and even some Gailan. And it was a good thing; the broth was on the mild side and needed a little "help".

The wontons were typical Vietnamese-style wontons, very dense pork meatballs. There were 8 wontons in this decent bowl of soup, that cost us.....guess, 4 bucks, maybe $4.50? Well........

It was $2.75!!! Yes, less then 3 bucks for won ton soup.

The Missus also ordered Porridge with Pork and Preserved Egg:

The porridge was served steaming hot, but was on the watery side, with hardly any preserved egg. Also, the Missus noted that the pork in the porridge was almost like ground pork, not the strings of pork She is used too. The Missus noted a lack of pork flavor and velvety richness that a good bowl of Jook has.

The price? Yep, $2.75......

I ordered one of the most expensive items on the menu. 3 Meats with Steamed rice. While waiting for my lunch this arrived on the table.

I asked the Server what this was, and was informed that it came with the roast meat dish. So hey, another meat. This rich beef-pork broth, along with the soft meat from the pork shank was delici-yoso!!! I'd be happy with just a bowl of this. The broth had the flavor close to that of Pho', but with a bit more "oil" and richness.

As I was polishing this off, my plate arrived:

I had ordered Roast Pork, BBQ Pork (Char Siu), and Roast Duck, all of which came on a bed of Jasmine rice. The BBQ pork was moist, but really too mildly flavored, lacking any of the sweet-beany-saltiness that good BBQ pork has. The duck was also underwhelming and the meat lacked the rich flavor of good roast duck. The Roast pork was pretty good, the skin portions crunchy, the meat slightly sweet and very moist.

This set me back......$4.50!

The Missus, not believing how inexpensive the food was, had to get something else, and went to the deli case and ordered the Shrimp and Chive fried dumplings($2.95):

These were fried up, and arrived on our table a few minutes later. Though a bit on the oily side, the chive and shrimp filling was quite good. And no skimping on the chives either!

In the end we spent $14(without tip), for 4 dishes! Bargain city.......

Some notes on Ly's: The service here was very nice and friendly. The parking lot looks a bit dicey, but there were 2 Security Guards walking around. The atmosphere is quite "divey", but the good service made up for any shortcomings. All prices are for lunch, I think that prices are a dollar more during dinner.

Ly's may not be a "Foodie" destination; but if you're in the neighborhood, and short on cash, Ly's is worth a visit. You will get what you pay for.

Ly's Garden Chinese Restaurant
4350 54th St # B
San Diego, CA 92115

After lunch we drove further down 54th St, and to our left, there it was, Lee's Garden. A Ly and Lee on the same street? Talk about confusion! Guess where we'll be headed next? To Be Continued.......

Alborz Restaurant

Earlier in the week we did a little window shopping in Solana Beach, and on the way back, I was quite excited to have a chance to have lunch at Alborz Restaurant, which came highly recommended by several People. Located in a strip mall overlooking the I-5 freeway Alborz can be a bit hard to find unless you're actively looking for it.

I approached the Restaurant positively excited over eating Persian Food. I've only had Persian Food in San Diego, at Bandar, Sadaf, and Parsian Market. And my knowledge is pretty much limited to Chelo Kabobs, Shirazi Salads, and the like.

The humble facade hides a a very nice and well appointed interior. We were seated immediately, and looked over the menu. And flat bread was immediately delivered to the table.

Along with very pungent and strong raw onion. The large shaker of sumac was also a good sign.

We placed our orders, and were brought some nice lentil and rice soup; well flavored with cilantro and tomato, I really enjoyed the soup.

Up next came our appetizer. Now this is where I made a mistake. An acquaintance of mine told me to order something called Panir Sabzi($6.99), telling me it was a "salad" with goat cheese and walnuts. And me being the doofus that I am at times, really didn't do any research, and was kind of confused when it was delivered to our table.

There was a small cube of feta cheese, some really good walnuts, scallions, mint, basil, and leek. The Missus and I looked at each other in pregnant silence, until we both broke out laughing. We were waiting for "something else". Having a total lack of any experience with this dish, and having had it described to me as a "salad" I was totally caught off guard. The last time I was served a plate of herbs like this, it accompanied a bowl of Pho'! My bad..... Finally we figured out that you slice off a bit of feta and walnut, roll up the herbs in the bread and eat it. The feta was too mild and totally lost, and the green onions overpowered everything else in the dish.

The Missus ordered the Lamb Shank($10.50):

The green bean rice was on the bitter side, and the salad was decent, though mild and in need of a good quantity of sumac. The lamb shank was delivered separately:

The lamb shank could have used a bit more cooking, but the texture wasn't really bad, though the overall taste was a bit on the mild side. The sauce was well flavored and slightly rich, and the Missus enjoyed this the best.

I ordered the Lubia Polo($8.99):

The Shirazi Salad(tomato-cucumber salad) needed a bit more lemon/lime for flavoring, I ended up sprinkling alot of sumac on the salad. The tomato rice was delici-yoso when mixed with the layer of saffron rice, I finished it up in no time. The ground beef kabob was very moist, though very bland, again in need of alot of sumac. The charred tomato was quite bitter.

Though the food was decent at Alborz, I really didn't think it's worth making a special trip for. I did Email Howie from A Foodie's Eye View, asking Him what he usually orders. He informed me, that He enjoys the Kobideh, Chicken Kabob, and the Eggplant Borani. I also asked a Co-worker who is Persian and lives in Del Mar, She also seconded the Kobideh, and also enjoys the Kebob Barg. I was also told that the food at Alborz is decent but very "tame". So maybe I'll order one of those dishes if I'm in the area and decide to have a meal at Alborz again. Or maybe one of you can do that for me, and let me know how you like it.

Some notes on Alborz: Service was excellent and very friendly. I was amazed at how quickly we were served. As the pictures detail, the portions are pretty large, especially for "Lunch Specials".

Alborz Restaurant
2672 Del Mar Heights Rd
Del Mar, CA 92014

Chinese Garden Restaurant

Don't you love the name? After all even if there wasn't the word "Chinese" in the name, all it would need would need is "Garden", "Dragon", "Imperial", or something similar - I'm sure you all will be able to think of a long list, to tell you it's a Chinese Restaurant. Actually, Chinese Garden is our neighborhood Chinese Restaurant, located in our local, a bit worn, stuck in the 70's, strip mall, with the usual fast-food(Carl's Jr, Mickey D's, Subway), and similar type establishments (Hometown Buffet, Mountain Mike's Pizza).

Truth of the matter is, I'd only visited Chinese Garden once, right before we purchased our Home in the area. It was raining, and a bit cold, and I thought, I'd grab a quick bite before doing a walk through. I went in a had the buffet($6.45 - lunch), and have never been back since. Let's just say the food was appropriate in taste and texture for the majority of the customers I saw. See the building hovering above the "Chinese Garden" marquee? It's a Senior Living complex. 'Nuff said.

But during a recent afternoon; I needed to return some DVD's to Blockbuster(in the strip mall), and decided to walk the three blocks instead of driving. And since it's been a bit on the chili side, I thought I'd give Chinese Garden another visit. Not to punish myself, but to attempt to become one of the "Millions of Happy Customers!"

 

I always smile when I see that sign. Though the menu says Mandarin, Szechuan, & Chinese Cuisine, I always ask myself, isn't Mandarin & Szechuan Chinese? Oh well, as you can probably figure with items like Chop Suey and Hawaiian Delight(???), on the menu, Chinese Garden is an  ABCDE (pronounced abb-cee-dee - American Born Chinese Dining Establishment).

The decor of the brightly lit interior is pure time capsule 60-70's Chinese Restaurant, from the large Koi painting, to the faux hanging lanterns.

I decided not to partake of the buffet (with good reason), and instead went for a bowl of War (Wor) Wonton Soup, which was fairly inexpensive at $5.75. I'm not quite sure what the origins are of this soup, to me it's plain ABCDE.

After a short wait, the Server brought me a pretty large bowl of soup. The first thing I noticed was the abundance of "canned items". Lot's of bamboo shoots, water chestnut, and button mushrooms. Also the broth was very under flavored. Even more strange, only the whites parts of Napa Cabbage was used. However, the shrimp still had flavor(5 pieces), and there were seven large wontons in the crowded bowl. Even though the appearance of the wontons kind of reminded me of brain matter, they were very soft, not like the dense pork meatball I was accustomed to. I'm wondering if this was due to a larger amount of filler? The flavor of the wontons were mild but acceptable. Overall, an okay bowl of soup for the price. Hey, I may even stop by again, but won't stray too far from Wonton Soup, or maybe Fried Rice.

The service was very nice, even though they forgot to bring me chopsticks after I asked for them. And even better, I got nice little walk, and a view of Fiesta Island as I walked home. They've started working on moving the phone and electricity lines underground in our neighborhood. I can't wait for the nice unobstructed views.

Chinese Garden
3057 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Mr Peabody's Burgers & Ale

We were shopping at Saks in Fashion Valley Mall this past weekend, um well, the Missus was shopping, I on the other hand was guarding my wallet with one hand, and wiping the sweat off my brow with the other. You see we were in the handbag section, and the Missus was making me squirm and sweat. "Which one do you like better, Dior, or Ferragamo?" "Ummm, how about none of the above?" "No, you have to choose one." "Why?" "Because.... I SAID SO, okay!"

Of course, the Missus was just kind of kidding me (I think), and we made it out of the mall unscathed. As we were leaving, the Missus asked me the most important(at least in my opinion) question of the day. "So, what do you want to eat?" "I'm not quite sure, but how about Peabody's?" And off we went.

When we moved to San Diego in 2001, we followed what I think is a fairly common migratory pattern. We bought a Condo in Mission Valley, home to a seemingly unending amount of Apartments and Condominiums. On the positive side, Mission Valley is centrally located, and is home to several major malls. Unfortunately, Mission Valley is not known for good eats, and the traffic and crowds can be outrageous. So after a few years in Mission Valley, we finally purchased a home in the Bay Park area, and thus left the Valley. If I were to come up with a list of  things I miss about Mission Valley, Mr Peabody's would be on that short list. Located on the corner of Via Las Cumbres and Friars Road; Peabody's is a fairly lively Neighborhood Bar, with a pretty diverse clientele, ranging from the Students and Staff of USD to residents of Mission Valley, there is always a variety of people in Peabody's.

We used to live 2 blocks from Peabody's which was great for my psyche, but probably not so great for my liver.

We also enjoyed the food at Peabody's, which is reasonably priced and pretty tasty. And today we took that trip down memory lane and ordered the old usual, a burger, with no cheese ($3.99):

When you order a burger at Peabody's, the cook will open the reefer drawer and pull out a large ball of ground meat, form it into a patty, and cook it on the griddle. If you're sitting at the bar you can watch them make it, a nice spectator sport of sorts. No frozen preformed pattys here! The burger is seasoned with "spiced wine", salt and pepper, and served on a sesame bun. You add your own spread. The burgers are very dependable, taste fresh, and are very moist.

We also got a basket of "Fries & Rings" ($3.99):

The fries at Peabody's are served in a large basket, and are usually enough for two people. In fact, it used to be quite common for perfect strangers sitting at the bar to split a basket of fries. Today's fries were just as good as we remembered; thin cut, crisp, and nicely salted. The onion rings, were lightly breaded, and also good. We didn't even have to use ketchup.

The Missus also ordered a Cheese Quesedilla, easy on the Cheese (? - $3.79):

It came just the way she likes it. Crisp, almost crepe like tortilla, with a thin layer of cheese. She particularly enjoyed the Guacamole with chunks of Jalapeno in it.

One thing about bar grub that we often enjoy; is that the food and drink is direct and to the point. Take the Iced Tea, the Missus ordered:

When they brought Her the Iced Tea, they also dropped off a full pitcher refill. No muss, no fuss, no running around asking if She needed a refill, and we don't have to flag down the Server for more Iced Tea.

Peabody's features the usual list of domestic bottled beer, along with several draft selections, including Guinness and Widmer Hefeweizen, which tasted very nice and refreshing.

Some notes on Peabody's: As with any popular neighborhood spot, Peabody's can get really loud and crowded, especially during the evenings from Wed-Sat. In what I think is a fairly interesting idea; Peabody's serves breakfast from 9am on Saturdays and Sundays. Parking in the corner lot can be at a premium, but there is additional parking in the lot right past the strip mall on Via Las Cumbres.

Mr Peabody's Burgers & Ale
6110 Friars Rd Ste 108
San Diego, CA 92108

Industrial Espionage? Hsu's Szechwan, and a Case of "Photus Interruptus"

Hsu's Szechwan on the corner of Clairemont Mesa Blvd and Ruffin Road, was the scene of one of my more "interesting" encounters since I've been doing this Food Blogging thing. I'd been to Hsu's once or twice before, but never had the Mongolian BBQ, so a few months back I paid Hsu's a visit for lunch.

I'm a big fan of decent Mongolian BBQ, where you can grab some really nice thinly sliced meat, pile on fresh veggies, and add flavorings(give me lots of onions and garlic), and various sauces and have it cooked on the super hot griddle. I've always hesitated getting it a Hsu's, and have never been very impressed with the food, which struck me as very generic American-Chinese-Sichuan.

The Lunch Specials are well priced at Hsu's, ranging from $5.55(Vegetable dishes) to $6.75(Shrimp w/ Green Beans). The Lunch Special Mongolian BBQ is priced at $5.95 including an Egg Roll(all wrapper, hardly any filling), Won Ton(bleh), Fried Rice or Steamed Rice(Hint; get the steamed rice, the fried rice is D-R-Y soy sauce rice w/frozen peas and carrots), and Soup. On this day it was Hot and Sour Soup which was pretty good, nice and gooey with strip of bamboo shoots, though not spicy at all, the soup was not bad at all. So having ordered I walked up to the Mongolian BBQ, and selected some Lamb. For lunch the meat is pre-portioned in an overly small bowl. You add on additional vegetables, spilling most of it on the floor or counter, and head toward the "sauces".

The sauces are disappointing. All of them are watered down, the garlic is actually a few cloves of chopped garlic in a container of water, and so is really garlic water, same with the ginger. Looking at the "formula" placard explains all.

Try and do this with a group of people waiting in line behind you. Having no one behind me, I doubled everything. And headed over to the high heat griddle, handed the bowl over and the Young Man started cooking. I now understood why the sauces were so watery. The "Cook" just stir fries the ingredients, and doesn't add liquid(I've seen a combo of wine and water used), just mixes around the ingredients and dumps it on a plate.

This is where it gets interesting. As I was reaching for my plate I heard "Hey, you, you no take pictures!" And turned around to find a little older Chinese Lady holding a stick in Her hand behind me. I instinctively raised both hands to shoulder height(guilty as charged Your Honor) and the voice in my head told me to "step away from counter". So I put my camera away, "okay, no problem". "You no take pictures here!" My response, "fine, no problem, my food is getting cold, I'm just going to eat". As I grabbed my plate I asked Her why she didn't want me to take photos, I'm not placing any individuals in any of the pictures. Her answer? "You going to steal our secrets and open same kind restaurant across the street!" WHAT!!!! Yeah, I'm going to take photos of watery sauce, and a generic Mongolian BBQ, and open up another Mongolian BBQ in the same little strip mall on Clairemont Mesa Blvd???? OK, industrial espionage, I got it..... If anyone requests that I not take photos that's fine with me, no problemo! But as I was walking to my table the Lady asked, "So what you take pictures for?" So I explained that I had a website(foodblog) about food in San Diego. At this point She smiled and said, "You go ahead and take all the pictures you want". Uh-uh, by this point my food is getting cold, and the dining room is pretty dark anyway, I've put away my camera, and it ain't coming back out.

So the food? A pretty simple plate of stir-fry like veggies and lamb. The Lamb was decent and fairly gamey, the Young Man overcooked the veggies though. I also had to add soy sauce for more flavor. Still, for $5.95, this ain't that bad. Not that I'll be back soon, but it's not terrible, just mediocre.

Some notes: Hsu's also offers all you can eat Mongolian BBQ during dinner for $9.95 per person. Most of the menu is Americanized Sichuan; Kung Pao Chicken, Mu Shu, and such. Prices are pretty reasonable as a whole. The service overall is professional, though not very friendly. I'm still looking for decent Mongolian BBQ in San Diego, any rec's?

Hsu's Szechwan Cuisine
9350 Clairemont Mesa Blvd # S
San Diego, CA 92123

Garden Grill

On our visit to Saffron we noticed that "Falafel King" was gone and replaced by Garden Grill.

One look at the menu and we knew that we'd have to make an effort to return.

The menu is quite extensive, and I took these photos especially for RONW at Hotel Waikiki, I know he has a "thing" for menus. So here ya' go, these are for you RONW! So we returned and found some primo street parking on India Street - not an easy thing by any means.

We both "eyed" out what we wanted and went to order. My plans were scuttled when the Missus ordered the Mixed Grill($8.99), which was what I had in mind:

Man it was good! The Chicken Kabob was moist and tender, the flavors of the herbs used to marinate the chicken came through very clearly. So delici-yoso!!! The Kufta Kabob was also tasty, the meat for the kabob was more coarsely chopped than finely ground which gave the meat an excellent texture. The Greek Salad was a bit short on Feta, but the Romain was very fresh and crisp, the simple dressing also followed the light and crisp theme. The Hummus was routine, and short on garlic, but the tabbouleh balanced out the hummus by being very garlicky. The plate also came with a whole pita that was nothing special, but perfect for scooping up the tabbouleh and hummus. We both thought the rice was kind of mushy for basmati, but we'll be having the Mixed Grill again.

I ordered a simple Lamb Kabob($7.99):

The Lamb Kabob plate came with the same accoutrements as the Mixed Grill. The Lamb was so tender with a lemon and herb flavor, but not quite as gamey as I enjoy.

On a recent visit, we weren't feeling very hungry, and so stuck with a salad and appetizer. Here's the Greek Salad($6.45):

The Romain lettuce was so fresh and crisp, the dressing very light! Still not enough feta, though.

I got the Baba Ganouj/Hummus appetizer($4.99):

At first glance it was hard to tell the difference between the Baba  Ganouj and the Hummus, other then some visible seeds in the Baba Ganouj. I really enjoyed the Baba Ganouj, which was filled with garlic flavor, and a bit on the chunky side. The Hummus was routine, but very nice with my pita.

The indoor seating is quite cafeteria like, but we rather sit outside. Parking on India Street can be a challenge, the parking meters are also on the expensive side. I always crack up at the "time allowance" of 4.48 minutes per 10 cents!! While we were leaving, an obviously rented mini van parked in an open space. As the Gentleman walked up to the meter His eyes opened up wide, His Wife walked up and simply said "Wow"! He quickly turned to his kids and said "Hurry, we're going to have to eat fast, I've only got fifty cents, that's 24 minutes!"

Garden Grill is also a favorite of Kady of Gourmetish. Who knows, maybe you might run into one of us there!

Garden Grill Restaurant
3715 India St
San Diego, CA 92103

Bai Yook Thai Cuisine

When we first moved to San Diego, Bai Yook was one of our favorite Thai Restaurants. I had always enjoyed the Grilled Beef Salad(Yum Nua) at Bai Yook; and though we had a found a few Thai Restaurants we enjoyed more, we still used to return to Bai Yook every so often. Still, we hadn't been back to Bai Yook since we moved a bit farther away from the Hillcrest area several years ago. Our not so great visit to Saffron had kind of left us reeling, and also craving some decent Thai Food, and Bai Yook came up in the conversation. So we decided to have dinner at Bai Yook a few nights ago.

Located in a fairly quite corner in the busy Hillcrest Shopping Colonnade, Bai Yook is a small but quaint and relaxing little restaurant. Sitting in the dining room of Bai Yook, you wouldn't even know that a few doors down is a Starbucks, Ben & Jerry's, or Lalo's Al Pastor Taco Shop.

We arrived at about 530 and found the restaurant to be completely empty, we requested a table outside, and was quickly seated. As we looked over the menu we noticed many changes since or last visit. A few of our favorite dishes, like a seafood clay pot dish were missing.

But at least my "old favorite" Yum Nua(Grilled Beef Salad - $7.95), was still on the menu. I eagerly awaited my old favorite beef salad; nice and tender grilled beef on a bed of lettuce, crisp cucumber, slices of tomato, julienned carrots, lot's of  thinly sliced onion, cilantro, all in a spicy lime and fish sauce dressing. The coup de grace was the nice sprinkling of  roasted ground rice powder that would add a nice nutty flavor to the salad. What I got brought me down to Earth :

I could literally smell the salad before I saw it! Waaay to much fish sauce, made the dish quite salty and fishy, and not enough lime to balance the dish. The lettuce was a single wilted leaf, on which lied sliced beef that looked pan fried, and though very soft, left an oily film on your tongue. The oily beef was surrounded with two meager slices of cucumber and tomato "lying in state". There was a bit of rice powder, but the overwhelming amount of fish sauce blocked everything else out.

I still had Pad See Eew on my mind, so I ordered the Pad See Eew with Shrimp ($8.95):

Now on the menu I read that the Pad See Eew was prepared with "black bean sauce" and came with Chinese Broccoli. I dunno, maybe this is a new type of Chinese Broccoli(Gai Lan )? Sure looks like ordinary (Brassica oleracea Italica) broccoli to me. The Black Bean Sauce should have scared me off, but unfortunately, it didn't. These really weren't black bean like I know it, but some other fermented bean that was extremely salty, bitter, and astringent. To quote the Missus; "it tastes like Chinese medicine". Too bad, the shrimp were cooked to a nice tender state(and fortunately hadn't absorbed the bitter taste), and though not fantastic; the noodles were also cooked well. I drank three glasses of water trying to finish this.

The Missus had wanted the Salmon Curry($10.95), but they were out of salmon, so we got the "Choo-Chi", a Fried Fish (we were told it was snapper) Curry($12.95).

Though the peas kind of threw me off, and I found the "curry" to be very watery, this dish was by far the best of the evening. The fish fillets were breaded and fried to moist perfection. The curry though thin and runny, was passable, though a bit heavy on coconut milk and salt. We did finish this dish, so it must have been pretty good.

As I licked my salt-chapped lips, I wondered what had happened to my beloved Beef Salad? What happened to Bai Yook? And even with more dread, I remembered that I had recommended this place to more then a few people! Yikes!

Bai Yook Thai Cuisine
1260 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Monday - Friday Lunch: 11:00 a.m. -  3:00 p.m.
  Dinner: 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Saturday 12:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sunday   4:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Tacos El Panson

El Cajon Boulevard can sometimes seem like an ocean of restaurants, arriving wave after wave. After passing the twentieth Pho' or Mexican Restaurant your senses can shut down. And in the end, I'll end up at an old standby. But once in a while something will catch my eye. At El Panson, it wasn't the generic sign, that got my attention.

But it's that Baby on the right that grabbed me. That's a "trompo" or "top", a vertical spit of meat, typically Al Pastor. This meant of course, an immediate right turn and a search for parking. For the uninitiated,  cooking with a vertical spit was supposedly brought to Mexico by Lebanese immigrants. And the cooking style has been adapted, using a "roll" of thinly sliced pork that has been marinated and rubbed with herbs and spices, called Tacos Al Pastor(Shephard style tacos). The meat is turned and shaved off, much like Gyros, and made into tacos. During that visit, the Missus and I had several good tacos, but the photos never really came out(see photo on the right). And now with the weather a bit warm for February, I wanted to grab a few tacos, and decided to see if my camera would work this time. On this afternoon, El Panson was quite busy, and the sounds and smells of various herbs and spices hung in the air. One Gal was hard at work on tortillas, while one Gentleman flew around in the small little space filling orders.

I ordered three tacos(all tacos $1.50), and had a seat. After a short wait, a Young Lady popped out of the door and into the small dining area and I had my tacos:

I quickly hit the salsa bar, and grabbed some pico de gallo, and some of the extra hot salsa, and some lime, and I was good to go. I'm not one for over garnishing my tacos. As I learned on my trip to Yuma, the flavor of the meat really needs to come through. As per standard, these tacos came on small corn tortillas, which gave the flavor a little boost.

Here's the run down on the various tacos. First up Tacos La Cabeza:

Tacos De Cabeza, or "head tacos" are usually made from beef cheek meat. Most versions of Tacos De Cabeza in San Diego are horrible. Made from undercooked waxy, fatty, and stale tasting chopped chunks of mystery meat. The version at El Panson was very moist and soft, with no greasy and waxy texture. The meat was lacking the intense "beefiness" that I've experienced in good Cabreza, but was pretty decent. The onions and cilantro added flavor and crunch to the taco, and the other garnishes made it complete. Overall, pretty good, not oily or greasy, and lacking the rich beefy flavor I enjoy, but mile above most of the Cabeza I've had in San Diego.

The Adobada.

I guess I get confused, I know it's Al Pastor, I even order it as Al Pastor, but it's on the menu as Adobada. I watched the meat sliced from the trompo, juices flying everywhere, and vaporizing as it hit the heating elements, I had high hopes for the Adobada. In the end, the flavoring was much too mild, though the meat was very soft and moist, and the caramelized "bits" added some nice flavor. I enjoy my Al Pastor/Adobada seasoned a bit more aggressively, though I'd happily have this again.

Birria De Res

So what I've learned is Birria De Chivo is stewed goat(yum!), and Birria De Res is stewed/roasted  beef. On my first trip with the Missus, the Birria had a good bit of spice, and the flecks of chilies could be seen in the meat. The Birria was also much more moist. Today, the meat was much milder and not as juicy. Still enjoyable, but not great.

What 's really interesting is, that because the various meats are quite rich, you'll find that three to four tacos, with garnishes may make you quite full. Portions can be deceptive.

Here's one of the surviving photos from our first visit. The taco with Guacamole is the Carne Asada, and it was quite dry and tasteless.

If you're in the area, and want a nice snack El Panson might fill the bill. BTW, I understand that El Panson means something like 'Fat Man'.......

Tacos El Panson
4433 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115
OPEN DAILY
Sun-Thurs 10am - 12am
Fri - Sat 10am - 3am

Saffron Noodles and Sate & Saffron Thai Grilled Chicken

Su Mei Yu's two very popular and successful restaurants reside on busy India Street. For those who don't know who Su Mei Yu is, she's the Author of the most enjoyable cookbook, Cracking the Coconut which I have on my list of cookbooks to purchase, she is also a regular contributor to Fine Cooking Magazine and the San Diego Union Tribune. In fact, I've had some success with Her recipes in Fine Cooking, but unfortunately, have not had very good meals at Saffron. I had first heard of Saffron Grilled Chicken while I was doing consulting work in San Diego back in '99, and made sure to stop by there, and wondered what the big deal was about. In fact, I dropped by 4 times in the following months, and really never did figure out what the fuss was about. When Saffron Noodles opened we tried it out, but was again disappointed, the Pad Thai was overly sweet and the noodles were overcooked, the drunken noodles were okay, but no better then I've had in a many other places. So I beg the question; can you enjoy someones cookbook and recipes, yet not enjoy the restaurants they own? So in my dogged determination to find some redeeming dish at Saffron, we decided another meal was in order.

Saffron Noodles and Sate is the newer of Su Mei Yu's two restaurants. While Saffron Chicken is more of a take-out "joint", Saffron Noodles has a very nice dining area, adorned with artwork, and very relaxed, though the restaurant personnel are some of the fastest I've ever encountered.

Noodles and Sate features, what else, many noodle dishes:

As well as many specials. The Missus decided to order the "Duck Soup Special", according to the sign, people wait the entire year for this soup which is only served for a limited time($7.00):

A small pile of moist and tasty chopped duck lay in the middle a medium sized bowl of soup. The thin rice noodles were a bit strange, kind of mushy, they reminded me of somen. After a quick taste of the soup, the Missus exclaimed; "Oh my God"! I responded with; "Wow, is it that good". The reply? "This is terrible, it tastes like soy sauce water, and the noodles suck!" A quick taste verified what she said. No amount of fried shallot, Thai basil, or anything could save this watery broth. We finished the duck, and left most of the soup and noodles. The most revealing comment? "I'd rather have 100 bowls of Pho' than this!" If you've ever noticed; most of my Pho posts are done solo.......

I ordered Pad See-Eew with Chicken($7.70):

A very small plate of noodles with 5 florets of broccoli, as well as cross cut stems. The chicken was very moist and tender, though. Though the menu had a "chili pepper" on it, this dish was not spicy at all, but that could be based on my palate. In my mind, Pad See Eew is a deceptively easy dish. Simply, rice noodles flavored with soy sauce and/or fish sauce, sugar or other sweetening agent, and broccoli. But Pad See Eew also represents a sort of an understanding of the cuisine, and when done well, is delici-yoso beyond words. The best Pad See Eew I've had so far were at Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas, and Krua Thai in West Covina. I've not yet experienced the ultimate "wok hay" version that Elmo, from Monster Munching has, but maybe someday. To be very brief, the Pad See Eew was very mildy flavored (I dare say bland), and very tame. I found the portion size to be very small.

I left hungry and we ended up at Gaglione Brothers.

Still convinced that Saffron must have something going for it, I recently went to Saffron Grilled Chicken during a recent lunch hour.

What I found interesting was that a rotisserie is actually used to cook the chicken. The "Guys" working here are super fast, I was in and out in 3 minutes flat!

I ordered the 2 Thigh Chicken Combination($5.70):

I choose the "Peanut sauce" for my chicken. I'd been disappointed in the Sriracha and other sauces I had before, and was told that the peanut sauce was the way to go. Basically, the sauce is a red curry, peanut, and coconut milk based sauce, and tasted pretty good. The chicken, even though it was dark meat was on the dry side, and tasted very bland without the added sauces. Just to confirm I had another co-worker taste the chicken, and asked Her if it was better then Costco's Rotisserie Chicken. The answer? "No way!"

The best item on the plate was the "Cambodian Salad", a nice mixed salad of cabbage, carrots, in a very refreshing sweet-sour dressing. Too bad, I only got a small container of it, but I'd come back just for that.

I also ordered a skewer of Chicken Sate, without checking out the price - it was 4 bucks!

What I got were two very dry chicken tenderloins, seasoned with what seemed to be a yellow curry based sauce.

I really want to enjoy Saffron, but have always left disappointed. I'm sorry to say I think we're done here.

Saffron Noodles and Sate'
3737 India Street
San Diego, CA 92103

Saffron Thai Grilled Chicken
3731 India St.
San Diego, CA 92103

Woodies Chili Dogs

My phone rings, and the voice on the other side goes, "Hey, you want a Woodie...hehehehe?" Geez, no wonder we have to take Sexual Harassment Training classes every year! Though I'd always give in to temptation and answer with something like "I'd do just about anything for a woody".  The conversation would eventually sink into the depths of deprivation, which I won't go into. Once we get our act together we'll head off to Woodie's. Woodie's Chili Dogs is located right off Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in the sprawling Clairemont Town Square shopping center.

The menu at Woodies is fairly small and basic, and makes for easy ordering.

There are some very interesting items on the "retro" menu, like Frito Pie($2.75) and Corn Dogs($1.75).

Though I usually go for the cholesterol bomb combo. That would be the #2($7.00).

It starts with a Pastrami "Sandwich", we'll use the description of sandwich very loosely here. For me it's pastrami, mustard, pickles, and kraut in an hot dog bun.

The bun is really an afterthought, and I'm always glad that I'm given lots of napkins with my sandwich, because the bun disintegrates after one or two bites. The pastrami ends up being two-fisted fun! Not very oily, and with a passable fat content; the pastrami at Woodies is pretty decent. Though lacking in the slight fatty sweetness that pastrami from The Hat has, it's also less oily, and not as salty. That also makes the pastrami at Woodies less "rich".

But it's still passable, though I find the kraut to be a bit too mild for my tastes. I end up eating the sandwich with a fork...well who am I kidding, I inhale the darn thing, and eat up the remains "Ethiopian Style", using the bun as I would Injera. I don't think it's the best pastrami in San Diego, but it'll do in a pinch.

I really enjoy the fries, thin cut and usually fried to a golden brown.

The pictures are worth a thousand words. You need to eat them right away, they'll get pretty limp after a few minutes, and you really don't want a "limp Woodie"......

Finally, I know you've all been waiting to see my Woodie.......errrr, Kraut Dog($2.50):

The Dog is thin and a little on the small side(I can't wait for the comments on this one), the Dog has a natural casing that gives it a nice "snap". The dog has a nice mild flavor, though again the kraut is a bit too mild, though always nice and crisp. The dogs at Woodies is not everyone's cup of tea. The Missus doesn't care much for Woodies....hehehe, she much rather have the woodies Hot Dogs from Costco of all places.

Overall Woodies is a nice little stop.

So, let me ask you, "do you want a Woodie?" LOL!

Some notes: On many weekends during the Summer Woodies will host many car "cruises". I haven't had the Frito Pie, but it always tempts me. I've had the onion rings, and thought they were pretty good as well. You can also sneak your Woodie(LOL!) into the theaters, they are much better then the mystery meat hot dogs that you get at the movies nowadays.

Woodies Chili Dogs
4250 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Ohana Hawaiian BBQ

It's been a while since, I've done a plate lunch post. I've been mainly sticking to Da' Kitchen, but I decided that I needed to branch out a bit and took a drive down to National City and dropped by Ohana Hawaiian BBQ.

Ohana Hawaiian BBQ resides in the same busy mall as Seafood City, Golden Chopsticks, and Asian Noodles. Whenever we're able to find a parking spot on our first go-round, the Missus will say, "hey, it's your lucky day, did you buy a lottery ticket?"

The interior of Ohana seems very lively with splashes of green and orange to go along with the bright lighting. The word "Ohana" in the broadest sense, means "family". So I would guess that I would be treated as extended family by eating here. So as I walked up to the counter I was greeted with a "Yeah".......no hello, no can I take your order, but just "yeah"...... Well if you think about it, we actually do greet each this way in my family. So maybe Ohana is trying to make me feel right at home. What was interesting was that the entire time I was waiting for my food, a Gentleman and a Young Lady were hunched over a calculator, intensely "crunching numbers"! I guess he was trying to figure out how feed His "Ohana".

Of course I ordered a Loco Moco($5.95):

The first thing I noticed when I opened up my Loco Moco was all of the little grains of black "stuff" on the eggs. Now what causes that? Answer! A grill that hasn't been cleaned! Believe me, Wok Hay is great stuff, but I've never heard of wok hay from a griddle. The eggs tasted of burnt soy sauce.

So the grade on the Rubio Scale? Here goes:

BURGER: Pre-formed mass production burger, bland, dry as heck, cold, and obviously been sitting around for a while. -  1.0
EGGS: Over cooked, the yolk was solid, any respectable Loco Moco should have soft cooked yolks. Crunchy, bitter, charred black bits all over the egg. Terrible! - 0.5(The only zero is if they forget the eggs all together, or I get food poisoning)
RICE: Well cooked; I also enjoyed the placement of rice under the eggs, burger, and gravy. - 3.0
GRAVY:Dark and smooth, but under seasoned and on the bland side.- 2.5
STUFFS: Good macaroni salad. - 3.0

Overall score; 10 points, the lowest so far.

I also ordered the BBQ Chicken all Rice($5.99):

As I opened up the container, I knew where the black crunchies came from. I think the eggs had been cooked on the remnants of the chicken. Not good eats! The chicken was well seasoned, though on the dry side, but nicely caramelized, and though the outside was nice and warm, the interior was quite cold. In summary; an average Hawaiian BBQ chicken, no better, no worse then what I get from any other Hawaiian BBQ.

Ohana Hawaiian BBQ, is pretty much an L & L knock-off. Though there are some interesting items on the menu like Mochiko Chicken, Volcano Chicken, and Spam Loco Moco. I don't know if I'll be returning though.

Ohana Hawaiian BBQ
1430 E. Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950

Pho Ca Dao - El Cajon Boulevard

I had attempted to have some lunch at Pho Ca Dao's El Cajon Boulevard location several times. But each attempt had been aborted due to a line of people waiting outside the Restaurant's doors. But recently, after reading Jenne's comments recommending Pho Ca Dao on my Pho Hoa Hiep post, I decided to make another attempt to get through Pho Ca Dao's doors.

For some reason I had thought that Pho Ca Dao was a fairly large restaurant. But after parking I found that Pho Ca Dao shared half of the building with a coin laundry, so the restaurant was actually half the size I thought it was. Now I understand the "lines".

I was silently seated, and ordered the Combination Large Bowl(Dac Biet - $4.95) of Pho. The garnishes quickly arrived, and as Jenne informed me it did contain Ngo Ngai:

Though the quantity of herbs and garnishes was rather small; the Ngo Ngai was very fresh. I tasted a small bit and the peppery-cilantro flavor was quite strong.

The Pho arrived in a large bowl, hot and steaming.

The broth was light brown in color with a large amount of green onions, cilantro, and thin sliced onions floating in it. Much like Pho Hoa Hiep, this was a very balanced and well flavored broth, though perhaps a bit richer then the version at the afore mentioned restaurant. The "hits"? The tendon was perfect; as you initially bit into the tendon, it was soft, and the resistance gradually increased as you bit through it. So nicely gelatinous, and yet somewhat smooth, unlike the crunchy, tough, almost inedible tendon that I often encounter. The brisket was also fairly good, though there was too much fat. There was one piece of brisket that belonged in the Guinness Book of World Records. As I unfolded the slice, it extended from one side of the bowl to the other, and almost covered the entire bowl of Pho!

Too much "net-like" fat though. The noodles were the status quo; a large clump in the bottom of the bowl; though it was a very generous amount of noodles. The bowl was lacking in tripe, and the rare steak was dry, flavorless, and tough. I enjoyed this rather substantial bowl of Pho, and would have it again in a heartbeat.

Of course, I had to check out Pho Ca Dao again, and have one of my favorite soups; Bun Bo Hue. I went earlier this Sunday morning and had the Large Bowl of Bun Bo Hue without Blood($5.10):

And before I knew it; this large bowl of bright red red soup arrived at my table. Actually, I could smell the Bun Bo Hue, before I saw it. As I've noted, every version of Bun Bo Hue that I've had has been unique. Versions from Convoy Noodle House and Pho Hoa Hiep included a little dish of fermented shrimp paste and chili oil/paste. In the case of Pho Ca Dao, the shrimp paste and chilies are already in the broth, and I'm not complaining. All that I needed to add was a few squeezes of the lime that was included with the garnishes, to smooth out the flavors.

The garnishes with this Bun Bo Hue included shredded cabbage(I still don't really know what to do with it - if someone knows, please clue me in), which I dip into the well flavored broth and ate. The mint added a touch of sweetness, and I even threw in couple of slices of Jalapeno to take the heat up a bit. This by far was the best Bun Bo Hue broth I've had thus far, the generous amount of spaghetti like noodles were also good, al dente, with a bit of "pull". The pork foot was totally inedible, just rubbery skin and bone, I enjoy a bit more meat. The well done beef was fine, though maybe bit too fatty. The tendon though, was again excellent.

I knew from the first sip of the broth(I always taste the broth before adding anything), that this was the best Bun Bo Hue I've had thus far. Spicy, rich broth, and a generous amount of noodles, made for a satisfying dish. Approach this dish with caution though, if you can't tolerate spicy, or do not care for fermented shrimp/fish sauce, I would order something else.

Pho Ca Dao is worth a try, and the prices are in line with most other Pho restaurants. The portion sizes are good, I left full after each visit. Service is status quo, the norm for Pho restaurants. Thanks for the recommendation Jenne!

Pho Ca Dao
5223 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

The Greek Cafe

Located in the same Mission Valley  strip mall as Tandoor Indian Cuisine and El Portal is The Greek Cafe. 

More of a "casual-fast" style restaurant, the Greek Cafe serves everything from Lamb Shank to Spanakopita. But the item I usually order is the Gyros Sandwich($4.85)

Though I can get a pretty decent sandwich with salad and fries for $4.95 at Mediterranean Cafe in Hillcrest, the Gyros Sandwich at the Greek Cafe is not too bad. The sandwich is served on a large toasted pita and I enjoy the really thick and creamy tzatziki that is slathered on the sandwich. On this visit the roma tomatoes were especially ripe and added a nice sweetness to the Gyros Sandwich. Other then that, it's a purely routine Gyros sandwich, whose taste faded into memory almost as soon as I devoured it. Not good, not bad, but still better then any of the fast food options available.

On a recent visit I decided to order something different and had the Beef Souvlaki Sandwich($4.85).

Same toasted pita; though the tomatoes were not as ripe. But what threw me off was the lack of Beef Souvlaki. As the old commercial used to say; "Where's the beef?"

Here have another look. Can you find it? Seems more like a veggie pita, doesn't it?

But after some digging, I did discover some beef. The Beef was very mildly flavored though very tender, but totally "lost" in all of the slightly bitter iceberg lettuce. What a waste.

I did learn a valuable lesson. Sometimes it's really not worth trying to find a "hidden gem", in an environment that really wouldn't seem to support such efforts. After all, it seems that The Greek Cafe is just Casual Fast Food, nothing wrong with that. At least there is another option that adds some variety in the "Fast Food - Chain Restaurant Purgatory" that is Mission Valley.

The Greek Cafe
5618 Mission Center Road
San Diego, CA 92108

Bully's East - Carnivore's Feast

Every once in a while, maybe once or twice a year I get a major red meat craving. And for me, the best way to quench said craving is to get a nice piece of prime rib. If we're having steak, unless it's something along the lines of Fleming's or Ruth's Chris, I'd rather make it at home. But prime rib is another story. I just want one meal, so making a whole prime rib roast just doesn't make sense. So last night we headed over to a real "old school" San Diego establishment; Bully's.

Now Bully's has been at this location, just South of the 8 Freeway for over 30 years, and the bar is a favorite with "locals" for Happy Hour. From the dark red leather booths to the wood paneling, to the dim lighting(please excuse the lousy photos); Bully's screams "Old School". Even though the decor may scream staid and stuffy, the atmosphere is definitely casual. Though we thought there would be no problem getting a table without reservations at 5 pm on a Tuesday evening, we were lucky. The bar area was packed, and we snagged one of the last open tables.

Though the menu at Bully's includes everything from King Crab and Lobster to Chicken and Ribs, there's only one reason I come to Bully's. It's the prime rib.

Wanting to pay undivided attention to my red meat, we didn't order any appetizers, or sides, and just got down to business.

The Missus ordered the Bully Burger with Bacon and Avocado($9.50). And of course I ordered a prime rib. But first came our salads.

A nice old fashioned green salad with ranch dressing on the side since we had to watch our calories....yeah, right! The salad was fine, fresh and crisp, and the croutons were very crunchy. There must have been something right about the salads, we both finished ours.

The Missus's Burger:

The Missus enjoyed the thick cut bacon and avocado. The burger was formed into an oblong shape to fit the bun. The burger was under seasoned and lacked a beefy punch, but was so very moist and tender, and cooked to a perfect medium-well. The fries were mediocre and a bit soggy.

I had ordered a 22oz Prime Rib($28.95), the 32oz cut had tempted me, but I showed amazing restraint. My cut arrived on a platter, along with a light au jus and horseradish sauce.

Cooked to a perfect medium rare, this piece of bone-in prime rib was fork tender(I tested it), and nicely flavored. I didn't need any of the condiments provided, and scarfed this baby down in about 10 minutes flat. I slowed down after the Missus threatened to call National Geographic. Need I say it? Very delici-yoso!!! The Garlic Mashed potatoes were slightly chunky, and very garlicky, and also under seasoned. I get the feeling that sides are pretty much an after thought at Bully's.

The damage? Not bad $44 total. And a bone for the Boyz!

Bully's provides decent quality, reasonably priced Steaks and Seafood, though some dishes(especially the "sides") may seem a bit dated and tired. And fills that niche, above the usual Neighborhood Steakhouse(i.e. Black Angus), and below the quality and the sometimes eye-popping prices at Morton's and Ruth's Chris. It's not a bad niche to fill! Also if you've got a craving for a prime rib at 1130pm, Bully's might be the place for you!

Bully's East
2401 Camino Del Rio S
San Diego, CA 92108
Mon-Fri 11am-1215am
Sat-Sun 10am-1215am

El Dorado Mexican & Peruvian Restaurant

One day on a trip down to Hogetsu Bakery, I noticed El Dorado, sitting in a strip mall on the corner of Palomar Street and 3rd Avenue in Chula Vista:

The Missus and I had nice memories of Peruvian in Los Angeles, so we had to make a trip down to Chula Vista for a visit. We arrived during a week day for a lunch, and found the colorful restaurant completely empty. Looking around we started to realize that this visit may be a bit of a mistake.

The decor and signs screamed out "Sports Bar". But we forged ahead! The very friendly and helpful Waitress, took our order and brought over some chips and Salsa.

The chips were not oily and tasted fresh, with a nice corn taste. The salsa had a nice spicy and sweet flavor; for some reason it reminded me of Trader Joe's Roasted Garlic Salsa, except fresher and more spicy. Things were looking up! While we were waiting for our order, we watched the Young Lady who served us cleaning with complete awe. I'm talking about really clean, really fast, and really thorough. If we could give her a "letter grade" Ala DOH, she'd get an 'A+'.

Finally our dishes arrived. I ordered the standard Lomo Saltado ($5.50):

Lomo Saltado, is a traditional Peruvian "stir-fry" dish, with strips of beef, onions, tomatoes, and most of all french-fries, yep french fries! A carb lovers dream! The dish usually has a touch of heat provided by some hot pepper. This version was a major disappointment. The steak was tough, dry, and tasteless; giving new meaning to the term "two-dollar steak". The onions and tomatoes were over-cooked and mush, as were the french fries. Though the taste of remnants of the onions, fries, and tomatoes(skin) was fairly tangy, there was a lack of any heat. The rice with frozen peas and carrots,was really dry. 'Nuff said.

The Missus really surprised me and ordered Anticuchos($5.50):

Anticuchos is a skewered meat; in this case beef heart, marinated in vinegar and chilies. This was served with a pretty weak "white" sauce, the thin slices of heart were decent; slightly gamey, but not too rubbery. The thick slices tasted too much like liver, which I don't care for, and was much too dry. Overall, the beef heart was really under seasoned and bland. The best part of the dish was the slice of deep-fried yucca. Crisp on the outside, with a dense and starchy interior.

We had pretty much written off this meal when the Deep Fried Plantains arrived($5.50):

We were a bit turned off at the almost black, charred appearance when the dish arrived. But the plantains were just darkly caramelized, and were sweet, tangy, and rich. The condense milk like "leche" helped to smooth out the flavor. Unfortunately, the plantains are not reason enough for us to return. The menu is quite extensive, with dishes like Cau Cau (tripe stew) and Arroz Chaufa (Peruvian Fried Rice), but we'll leave that for others to explore.

El Dorado Peruvian and Mexican Seafood & Grill
311 Palomar St
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Tandoor Indian Cuisine

Many consider the Mission Valley area North of the 8 Freeway stretching from Fenton Parkway until Old Town to be Chain Restaurant and Fast Food Hell. In fact, Ed from Yuma in one of His most inspired moments described a certain area of Mission Valley this way; "From a chowhound standpoint, Hotel Circle may as well be one of Dante's circles of Hell." Has to be one of the best lines I've heard. At first glance all you see is PF Chang's, California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory, Carl's Jr, Bennigan's, Fuddruckers, and the Food Courts from the 2 shopping centers that occupy a large portion of the valley. But there are a few interesting choices in Mission Valley. Tandoor Indian Cuisine, formerly KC's Tandoor, is located in the Ralph's and Long's strip mall bordered by Mission Center Road and Friars Road.

In fact, this was the restaurant that made the Tandoori Chicken that the Missus was so infatuated with, and eventually burned-out on that I mentioned in an earlier post. Now, with Indian food back in our rotation, we finally paid a return visit to the latest incarnation of this Indian Restaurant. Tandoor Indian Cuisine, is one of several little restaurants huddled together forming a "food court" of sorts in the middle of this strip mall. As a matter of fact, a new location of El Portal is a few doors down from Tandoor.

Though the ownership of the restaurant had changed, other then an expanded menu, just about everything else seemed the same. Unfortunately, this includes the aloof and sometimes downright rude service. As in: "can you hurry up and make up your mind and order", when there's no other customer in the restaurant except me. I guess it's "Mission Valley Burnout" caused by crazy lunch hour traffic. "Don't go away mad; just go away...." You know, I rather enjoy eating meat, but don't take pleasure being treated like a piece of it!

On this visit I had 4 piece Tandoori Chicken Combination($7.99), with Rice Pulao(Basmati Rice), and Dal as my side orders:

All combination plates also include a piece of Naan. There were 2 small thighs and 2 small drumsticks, that were moist and tender and cooked in the tandoor located on one side of the restaurant.(White meat .75 more each piece) Today, the slightly charred areas of the chicken tasted good (cancer be damned!!!), though the overall flavoring of the chicken was somewhat bland, and not as good as we recalled. The distinct mildly smokey taste we remembered was missing. As the Tandoori chicken here has never been especially spicy nor herbaceous, any missing flavor component was especially evident. The rice was dry, and the Dal, was well dull, just overly watery.

The Missus ordered the Lamb Curry Plate($6.79):

Along with the Lamb, the plate included Naan, Rice, Dal, and Raita(yogurt and cucumber dip). The lamb was very soft and tender, the Missus enjoyed the flavor of the lamb and curry, which I thought was a bit on the watery side and found the tomato based curry a bit odd.

The hit of the day was the Garlic Naan($1.99), which we ordered in addition to the Naan included in the plates:

The Naan was rolled out and cooked in the Tandoor to order and you get it hot and crusty. It also helps that there is always a generous amount of garlic and herbs on the naan. I usually enjoy watching the Naan cook in the Tandoor, but this time the Cook gave me an annoyed look when I moved over to watch him. I guess the attitude was transferred along with the ownership of the restaurant. We probably won't be back, at least until we're prepared to deal with the attitude again, which may be a while.

Some Notes: Tandoor is not a sit-down restaurant, but closer to a "fast-casual" style eatery. There's a Saturday Dinner Buffet and Sunday Brunch for $7.99. The menu is quite extensive with over 70 items. The strip mall that Tandoor is located in can be a real zoo during lunch hours and during holiday season. Getting back to Friars Road from the parking lot can also be somewhat frustrating at times.

Tandoor Indian Cuisine
5608 Mission Center Road
San Diego, CA 92108

Open Daily 11:00 AM to 9:30 PM

Luong Hai KY Restaurant

I first noticed Luong Hai KY Restaurant on a visit to Chopstix. On a recent visit I had noticed that all the "Servers" had disappeared; as I was leaving Chopstix I saw half of them sitting and smoking on the sidewalk, and the other half were eating in Luong Hai KY. The funny thing was, I'd never noticed the restaurant before. Probably due to it's location in the rear of the strip mall.

On a typical "soup weather" day, I dropped by Luong Hai KY. As I looked over the approximately 100 items on the menu I realized that this was a Chinese-Vietnamese noodle house; in the same vein as Minh KY. The interior of the restaurant was deceptively large, with about 25 tables and large fish tanks lining one side of the dining area. The dining room and tables were also very clean.

On my first visit I ordered a simple bowl of Won Ton Noodle Soup($5.00):

A modest bowl was brought out, with topped with a "shrimp cracker" and green onions. The won tons (6), were almost identical to those at Minh KY; very dense pork meatballs, with a small slice of shrimp placed on one side. Three small slices of well flavored Char Siu, along with the typical "ball" of crunchy egg noodles occupying the bottom of the bowl. What made this bowl of noodle soup stand out was the tasty, quite dark broth. Obviously a mildly intense chicken based broth, there was a bit more going on; slightly salty, but without the "parching" MSG effect, a hint of sweet, but most of all a interesting savory flavor. When I paid at the counter I inquired as to the nature of the broth. I had a feeling that perhaps shrimp, or some other flavoring was added, but was told that there was no seafood in the broth.

Having enjoyed the soup, I returned for an encore, just to see if the broth was consistently flavored. I ordered the "carb special"; Won Ton & Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup($5.50):

Again, the portion size was nothing to write home about. This time there were 4 won tons and 4 "dumplings".

The dumpling wrappers were a bit thicker than the won tons, and were flat in shape. The filling was ground pork along with crunchy strips of "Cloud Ear" fungus. Though the broth was a tad milder on this visit; it still had alot of flavor. And I never really had to touch any of the condiments provided. Notice the strange bottle of French's Mustard in the background, every table had a bottle. French's Mustard? I don't quite know what to make of that......

On my last visit; not being in the mood for noodle soup, or rice, and being a sucker for thin egg noodles; I ordered the Combination Fried Egg Noodles($7.50):

In stark contrast to the modestly portioned noodle soups, this was a pretty generous portion of egg noodles, along with a variety of stir fried cabbage, carrots, onions, and other vegetables. The meat consisted of a few shrimp, and some really tough beef. The noodles, though stir fried well, were pretty bland, and I ended up reaching for the bottle of soy sauce and white pepper.

So I think I'll stick with the noodle soups at Luong Hai KY, though the menu is fairly large, and there is quite a bit to choose from.

Service at Luong Hai KY, is typical for these type of Restaurants; fast and efficient. I enjoyed the tea served here, it was Jasmine. Though on my first two visits, I received a small pot of tea; on my last visit I only got a single cup! At least I was never charged for tea. In the end, Luong Hai KY, is really not worth going out of the way for, but if you happened to be close by, well maybe......

One other observation; it has to do with the rather odd taste in the Music I heard here. On my first visit, it was the Carpenters Greatest Hits. On my second visit it was a strange cacophony of pseudo-Asian-classical music blaring away so loud, that I swear I was headed upriver with Willard to terminate Kurtz with "extreme prejudice"! On my third visit, it was a strange mandolin-like muzak, imagine a swarm of bees playing The Girl from Impanema, and other elevator standards, quite strange. The hard surfaces in the restaurant, made the music even louder, and it kind of drove me nuts. Though at least there's no music pumped into the restrooms. There's nothing weirder then "doing your thing" hearing Phil Collins singing "Can you hear me....can you hear me calling....."

Luong Hai KY Restaurant
4633 Convoy St Ste 107
San Diego, CA 92111

Open 10am to 10pm Daily

Road Trip: Wat Thai Temple - North Hollywood Part I

The weekend "food court" at the Wat Thai of Los Angeles, the largest Thai Theravada Buddhist Temple in the United States has long been a food destination on my "list" of places to see and eat. After seeing various posts on Chowhound; Monster Munching, and Professor Salt's blog, You gonna eat that?; and several years of coaxing and cajoling, the Missus finally gave in to a "short" road trip up the I-5, from San Diego to North Hollywood for a Saturday eating frenzy.

We left fairly early and made what could on some days be considered an ill-conceived 130 mile trip in a brisk 90 minutes. Once off the freeway, and taking the turn at the corner of Cold Water Canyon and  Roscoe Boulevard, you immediately see Wat Thai Temple looking quite out of place, looming above this land of auto repair shops, service stations, and the adjoining residential neighborhood. We had purposely chosen a fairly early morning during winter, that didn't coincide with any festival, so that we would not have to compete with the masses for parking or seating, nor have to wait in lines for any long period.

At 915 in the morning, all the vendor stalls are open but there are no lines:

And the fragrance of ginger, garlic, fish sauce, and Thai herbs are floating in the air. Noah seems to have designed this "food court". There are two of everything. Two stands making papaya salad, two "sausage/meat" stands, two stands making soup, and so forth.

The Vendors take no cash; instead you go to one, or more of the "token" booths and exchange cash for tokens.

After exchanging our cash for tokens; the Missus went off in one direction, and I in another. I made a beeline for this booth in the middle of the food court:

I had already pretty much knew what I would be ordering, but since there were no crowds I could take my time, and I looked over the larb and other sausages.

But my sights were set on having a Papaya Salad($3.00), even in the dead of winter.

And so while the Lady was hard at work at the mortar, I had time to look around.

And ordered a chicken satay($1.00):

Perfectly grilled; slightly charred around the edges, moist and mildly flavored, this was very good. The Missus was very surprised at my display of restraint; I didn't order any beef or pork, or any other of the satays.

I did order this interesting "sausage"($2.00):

If someone knows what this mystery meat is called, please let me know. It's a nicely formed rectangle of "meat", spotted with garlic and rice, with a slightly crunchy, almost tripe like, gelatinous strings going through it. The sausage was dense, garlicky, and slightly sour. And not the slightest bit salty; I had expected "Spam on a stick", but this was not even close. I really enjoyed the flavors and textures of this "mystery meat".

I also slid over to the booth next door and ordered a grilled sausage skewer($1.00):

Very similar to a"formed" sausage patty; this was nicely flavored, and quite dense. Nice pepper and garlic, and a slight sweetness throughout the sausage.

Finally, my Papaya Salad was ready:

As I sat, I took time to admire this melange of ingredients; green beans, peanuts, julienned green papaya, and tomato were readily visible. Along with a generous amount of Blue Crab.

The salad was as close to the most perfect Papaya Salad I've ever had! There was such balance and harmony(in such an appropriate venue) between the fish sauce and lime juice, the tomatoes added a touch of sweetness and kept the sour lime juice in check. The interplay of textures between the papaya, green beans, and peanuts was excellent, if on a menu, it could be called "crunch, three ways". The crab added at briny, salty component, that was tempered by the lime juice. The "heat" was perfect; I'd gotten medium. Spicy, but not so spicy as to block out all of the other flavors. This was delici-yoso!!! Even on a winter day, where everyone around me was having soup and porridge, this Papaya Salad was King.

I ate half of everything, and saved half for the Missus. But where was the Missus?

To be continued.......

Madras Cafe - So What Did we Eat? I Don't Know, But it Tastes Really Good!

This is going to be a bit of a different post. It's mainly because most of the time I had no idea what I was eating at Madras Cafe. But that doesn't mean it wasn't good! Madras Cafe resides in Little India Center, along with Ashoka the Great Cuisine of India, and the Ker-Little India Megastore among others. The difference is that Madras features Southern Indian vegetarian cuisine. I managed to take photos on two separate visits. The first with the Missus, the second with Ed from Yuma.

The only thing I really knew about Southern Indian were Dosas:

A thin crepe-like pancake made from rice and lentil flour. The regular menu features Dosas "stuffed" with a variety of items. Since we were eating from the buffet, we were served plain Dosas, nice and warm, and very much crepe-like in texture.

We were also served piping hot Idli with our meal:

Idli is a steamed rice and lentil "cake". It almost reminded me of Chinese steamed rice cakes but with a mildly grainy texture, and I enjoyed these.

On the visit with the Missus we were served this:

It was a "balloon" of crust! I have no idea what is was; and as the restaurant was quite busy, I really have no idea what this was!

Here's a photo of the Onion Chutney:

Very loose, but very tasty, especially with the Idli.

As the Missus and I discussed the food we noticed that the same North-South dichotomy that existed in China, certainly existed in India. The North part of the Country featured many wheat products; while it seemed that South Indian dishes seemed to be rice based.

We also appreciated the metal plates and compartments that separated the individual dishes, so they would not mix together; allowing for us to taste each dish individually.

On the visit with the Missus we enjoyed the Eggplant dish, nice and mildly spicy, with a slightly sweet and somewhat "earthy taste". We also enjoyed the Okra dish(on the right of the Eggplant dish above), which at first tasted very sour, yet very "clean". But as we kept eating, the sour taste kept getting stronger until it started tasting almost bitter. Funny thing  was that I mentioned how much we enjoyed the Eggplant while paying and asked what the name of it was, and was told, "It's Eggplant with sauce". Oohhhkay, I'll have no problem with that one!

My next visit was with Ed, and we enjoyed the buffet as well. What was interesting was that the items served where completely different from my previous visit!

Here are a few:

The two rice dishes were good. I enjoyed the version on the right which was a bit spicy, over the mild basmati rice with beans on the left.

My favorite dish was this version of "peas and carrots" with curry:

The melding of textures, in addition to the curry flavor and spice, made this so delici-yoso!!! Among the best peas and carrots I've ever had, and I hate peas and carrots. This changes any preconceptions of peas and carrots I've ever had.

Ed's favorite of the day was this spicy, tangy "Sambhar"(sambal):

At least that's what the Gentleman serving us called it. Basically a spicy, slightly sweet, and tangy stew. I found that most of the dishes at Madras were alot "looser" then the Indian food I've eaten before; and alot less "rich". While Ed was visiting the "facilities" our Server told me that the tangy flavor was imparted by the use of lemon and tamarind.

Here are a few of the other items served in the buffet.

A nice lentil and vegetable fritter.

I remember that I kept asking Ed "what are we eating?"

And Ed responding, "I don't know, but it's really good isn't it?"

Madras Cafe is worth a try. Even though the dishes are vegetarian, they are all very well flavored, and it seems that the dishes change from day to day. Regular menu items feature various Dosas and Idli, but the small (14-16 items) lunch buffet is priced right($6.95), and worth your attention. I've been told that the food is so hot as to be unbearable, but I didn't think so. But remember, I love spicy food. I'm sure that someone will provide some information as to what we were eating........

So what did we eat? I don't know, but some of it tasted really good!

Madras Cafe 
9484 Black Mountain Road
San Diego, CA 92126

Lunch: Tue-Fri 11:00 am-2:30 pm
Sat-Sun 11:30 am-4 pm
Dinner: Tue-Sun: 5:30-9:30 pm
Closed on Mondays

Post #201 - Ba Ren...Again

Wow, time does fly. 7 1/2 months and 200 posts later, and I'm still here. Since I missed post number 200, I thought I'd do number 201 covering Our (still) favorite restaurant Ba Ren.  I guess I've mentioned this restaurant in almost every conversation I have regarding Restaurants in San Diego, to the point that it even got mention in San Diego Citybeat. I really wouldn't mind at all if you're all pretty tired of my mentioning Ba Ren. But here we go again.

Fact is, I rarely ever bring my camera to Ba Ren anymore. Recently, we had a "meeting of appetites" at Ba Ren, with Ed from Yuma, mizducky who posts on Egullet, and the wonderful Gayla, who wrote up our Chowhound Feast at Ba Ren. And guess what? I didn't even bring my camera; though I can tell you we had Ed's favorite Rice Crust w/Three Delicacies(#181-$11.99), Gayla's favorite Fish Flavored Eggplant(#201-$7.99), mizducky chose the cold appetizers - FuiQiFeinPein, Smoked Pork Tongue, and Dried Beef  w/Sichuan Peppercorn(3 items-$5.99). You can view a few of them here. I got to choose the Sichuan Pot Roast(#127-$12.99), a not very spicy but very rich stewed pork shank and broth served in a clay "cauldron". The most amazing pork meatball also occupied the clay pot, oh yes, and Gayla, the round fishcake looking item was actually a boiled egg! Ed was looking for a fish dish that I figured out was the Liangfen fish (#409-$10.99), a spicy casserole with fresh red peppers, vinegar, and black pepper providing the palette of flavor.

So on this visit I brought my camera along; and guess what? We order almost the same items as my first post on Ba Ren. Oh well, here goes, I'll just do photos without too much text:

Rice Crust w/Sliced Chicken(#184-$9.99):

Hot Pepper Prawns(#426-$14.99). Ba Ren's Shrimp version of the Chongqing Style Chili with Chicken:

Don't let the chilies scare you; yes it is spicy, but the smokey flavor of the seared chilies, and a slightly sweet flavor comes through.

Stir Fried Dry Beef(#324-$12.99). Ba ren's version of the famous Sichuan dish Gan Bian Niu Rou Si, that uses the distinct gan bian ("dry frying") technique, unique to Sichuan cooking:

The heat hits you on all three parts of the tongue. The Sichuan Peppercorns numbs the front, the dried chilies the middle, and the chili oil gets you right in the back. Nice layers of heat.

And the meal is finished off with Eight Treasure Black Rice Porridge(Ba Bao Hei Mi Zhou):

Refreshing and soothing, a nice way to complete a spicy meal. The food at Ba Ren is Chongqing style, much hotter, and with a much more assertive flavor then food from the much more refined Chengdu style. Some other of our favorites at Ba Ren:

#135 Cold Chicken w/ Spicy Sauce
#141-#148 The classic dishes Boiled in Hot Sauce(often called "Water boiled")
#151-#158 Dry Cooked Dishes
#161-#171 Dishes cooked with Pickled Pepper
#193 Fish Filet Casserole(not spicy)
#403 Fish Flavored Chicken
#410 Twice Cooked Fish(A totally awesome dish)
#501 Ma Po Dofu
#552 Sichuan Cold Noodles
#563 Won Tons w/Hot Sauce

And many more......

But to quote a saying in Fuchsia Dunlop's wonderful book Land of Plenty:

"China is the place for food
But Sichuan is the place for flavor"
"Shi zai zhong guo
Wei zai si chuan"

Ba Ren
4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Finally, I'd like to send out a most sincere Thank You to everyone who takes the time out to read my humble posts, I realize I'm not a food writer or food critic, and it's not my intention to be one. I'm just a "food eater". I hope I'm able to keep this up for another 200, or more posts. Once, during an exchange of Emails with Howie of A Foodie's Eye View, I mentioned my worry that I may actually run out of Restaurants in San Diego that I'm interested in. His response was, "You'll never run out of restaurants in San Diego, but you may run out of good restaurants, but I hope not". I hope not either......

Mahalo!!!

Pho Hoa Hiep

Now that Southern California winter has finally hit(that is a joke folks...); I can start making my rounds of the local Pho' restaurants again. Also, in addition I though I'd try the Bun Bo Hue at restaurants that I'd only had Pho' at and visa versa. Since I was in the neighborhood I decided to stop by Pho Hoa Hiep.

Pho Hoa Hiep, located in the same Linda Vista strip mall as Vien Dong Supermarket, can be somewhat hard to find. First off, the Restaurant is located in the far Northeast corner of the mall, away from Vien Dong, and across a Coin Laundry. Second of all, there's another Pho' eatery in the same strip mall called Pho' Hoa, which can cause some confusion.

I usually have the #4 at Pho Hoa Hiep, which is the well done steak, flank, brisket, tendon, and tripe. But I had heard from Howie of A Foodie's Eye View, and he had recommended the Bun Bo Hue as well. So I decided to get the Bun Bo Hue(small-$4.75):

Bun Bo Hue is a spicy, pork and beef vermicelli noodle soup, that originated in, where else, the city of Hue. Most of the Bun Bo Hue that I've had in Orange County, San Diego, and Los Angeles have been similar in several ways; the broth has almost always been a clear, fairly light broth dotted with chili oil, with spaghetti like vermicelli noodles, and always topped with cilantro and onions. Oh yes, and one more thing. It almost always comes with jellied blood; which I usually ask to not have added to my soup. I really don't enjoy the gritty texture and metallic taste of blood.

Where Bun Bo Hue differs from Eatery to Eatery are in the garnishes. In this case a "salad" of greens, along with cross sliced jalapenos and a wedge of lime accompanied my soup:

And of course the shrimp paste with chili oil is another staple of Bun Bo Hue, I use it to dip my meat in, and to flavor my noodles and broth.

So how was this? The broth was nice and light, and though there looked to be alot of chili oil in the broth, it was not as spicy as I expected it to be. The noodles were "cut" into short strands, but that made it much easier to eat. The noodles also were a bit on the mushy side.

The meat in Bun Bo Hue usually includes a thick cut "brisket" slices or other well flavored beef, as well as either a pig's feet or thick slice of pork leg. Pho Hoa Hiep delivered several slices of beef with a good amount of tendon, but overall quite tasteless. However, the slice of pork "leg" was very tasty and quite soft. Still, a pretty good bowl of Bun Bo Hue.

I also ordered the Goi Cuon(spring rolls - $2.80):

The spring rolls were  "longer" then what I'm used to; almost 7-8" in length. Both the flavor of mint and a fairly large amount of shredded pork were very prominent as I took the first bite. These spring roll were much improved over my last visit.

During my latest visit, I reverted back to form and ordered a bowl of Pho'. Though this time I went with the extra large bowl of  "Dac Biet"($4.75):

The Pho' broth at Pho Hoa Hiep, is much lighter and less "oily" then most other Pho' Shops, and very balanced in flavor. In many cases the flavor of ginger, anise, or cloves may stand out in a broth, at Pho Hoa Hiep, the flavor is slightly beefy, and you are really able to taste the pungent peppery-citrusy cilantro and the scallions. People who enjoy the Pho' at Pho Hoa Hiep call it "refreshing". I'm not quite sure if that's a particularly apt description, but there's one thing for sure; the Pho' here really depends on the garnishes:

Which includes lemon(?), bean sprouts, basil, and surprise(!) ngo gai(hallelujah). I rarely see ngo gai(saw-leaf herb) served with Pho in San Diego, so having it available is always a treat. Ngo gai has a taste much like a more pungent cilantro. Today, it really added nothing; I tore off a piece and had a taste, and it was much more "soapy" in flavor then what I'm used to. I added all the basil, ngo gai, and bean sprouts to my bowl of pho'. The noodles were the customary pho' noodles, clumped up in a bunch at the bottom of the bowl.

As for the meats, I now remember why I usually don't get the "rare steak" at Pho Hoa Hiep - it is extremely tough and dry. The tendon slices though, are cut to a nice width, and both crunchy and somewhat gelatinous to the bite.

Overall, not a bad bowl of Pho' and also not a bad price. Between Convoy Noodle House and Pho Hoa Hiep; I'd say it's a wash. Pho Hoa Hiep is also a bit cheaper. If you'd like to see what Bun Bo Hue in Vietnam looks like; Noodlepie has an example on his wonderful Blogsite that looks nothing like any bowl of Bun Bo Hue I've ever had. MEalcentric took a trip to Vietnam in August of last year and also did a post, and even posted photos. I've come to a conclusion regarding Pho' and Bun Bo Hue. Though many of the ingredients are the same, no two restaurants taste the same. I guess I'll just say "Pho', it's a state of mind"........

Pho Hoa Hiep
6947 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

9910 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92131

Olympic Cafe

Sometimes, no, change that to many times, some really good eats can be had in one of those little neighborhood diners. Maybe you've passed them many times, next to the coin laundry, the Chinese fast-food joint, or maybe next to one of the many "Hair/Nail" places. Olympic Cafe is located on the busy corner of University Avenue and Texas street, and though we've always noticed the cafe, we really never paid much attention to the modest storefront.

That all changed after a recent conversation with Ed from Yuma. The topic of all things was Ed's "delici-yoso" dance. Ed was telling me a story of how He had dropped by a former employer of His, and the one of the "Old-Timers" still working there mentioned Olympic Cafe, and said that "the food is so good, you'll close your eyes and do that hand-thing of yours". (AKA the Delici-yoso dance!!!) Well anyplace that would make Ed do the delici-yoso dance, is a place worth trying.

So the Missus and I arrived on a Saturday at about 1035am, during that strange period that is the transition between breakfast and lunch. The Restaurant looked to be emptying out, and we went in and sat. The interior was as expected cheap furniture and very spartan. But the menu was indeed interesting; everything from Diner favorites like Grilled Cheese Sandwiches to Greek favorites like Avgolemono Soup. Because we had arrived before 11, at the "dead" time, I wasn't sure if we'd be able to order lunch. But my question, was answered with a very pleasant, "Of course, you can order lunch, no problem."

This being Saturday, the Missus ordered the "weekly special" for Saturday, the Lamb Shank($9.25):

The plate came with rice pilaf, a Greek Salad, Lamb Shank, and basket of pita bread. The one item the Missus fell in love with was the mattress of Feta Cheese on top of the salad.

Though the rice and the salad did not particularly thrill Her, I got the distinct feeling that she would have loved another thick slice of feta, to stick some lamb between, making a feta-lamb "sandwich".

The Lamb was well braised, very moist and tender, and mildly flavored.

I got the Gyros and Souvlaki Combination($8.65):

This plate also came with rice pilaf, which I probably enjoyed more then the Missus, because all the drippings from the Souvlaki had gotten into the rice. The greek salad, with a mildly creamy greek dressing was okay, though not very memorable, as was the pita bread, and the tzatziki. The gyros meat was very moist, most of the time gyros meat is cut and refried and ends up being quite dry. In this case it was very moist and the edges were nicely crisp. The Souvlaki was very nicely flavored with lemon and garlic. Though the meat was a bit on the tough side, the cubes of beef had been grilled well, and a nice tasty crust had been developed. Overall, pretty good food, and an excellent value.

Good portions sizes along with good prices(nothing over $10) and pretty good food means we'll be back to Olympic Cafe. I'm especially interested in breakfast with Gyros and Village(Greek Sausage, Mushrooms, &Feta) Omelettes, and Souvlaki and Eggs. Now that sounds really good. Service is also very efficient and friendly. Olympic Cafe is the type of Restaurant that every neighborhood needs. The Restaurant serves everything from Burgers($3.55-$4.55) to Greek Style Pork Chops($8.65). Maybe no delici-yoso dance, but good food at affordable prices.

Olympic Cafe
2340 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

Open 7am - 930pm Daily

Lalo's Tacos Al Pastor, Etc

I can hear you all now...."oh no, not another taco shop!" Believe me, we've said that a time or two. But one of the great things thing about San Diego is that there are Taco Shops everywhere.  On the other hand one of the bad things about San Diego is that there are Taco Shops everywhere. In certain neighborhoods, it is possible to find a Taco Shop on every corner of a given block, and very mediocre Taco Shops at that. But sometimes it's either a Taco Shop or some Fast Food joint, in that case, I'll usually take a Taco Shop. After a recent shopping excursion to Trader Joe's in Hillcrest, we were a bit hungry, and stopped by Lalo's.

There always seems to be a few people in Lalo's, and the menu is pretty extensive, with everything from Flautas to Torta's. In fact, there's so much "stuff" on the menu, that Vietnamese Menu overload can occur.

After staring at the menu for about ten minutes, we took the easy way out and ordered the "specials".

The "Hillcrest"($4.99):

The plate featured four "mini" Al Pastor tacos, refried beans, and rice. Quite alot of food for $4.99! The rice was rather dry and tasteless, but I rather enjoyed the taste and texture of the beans after I added some salsa from the Salsa Bar to it. The four tacos had a nice amount of Al Pastor in them.

The good; the Al Pastor was seasoned well, with a nice chili flavor, and good caramelization. The bad; the Al Pastor was pretty dry, and the Guacamole flavorless and "gluey", the tortillas were fairly crumbly. The tacos tasted much better without the "Guac" and with just a squeeze of lime. If I ever have these again, that's how I'll get them.

The "Uptown"($4.49); featured a Fish Taco, Two Rolled Tacos(1 beef, 1 chicken), and same beans and rice.

I'm glad that the Fish Taco had cabbage, instead of lettuce. Though it looked like a large piece of fried fish, the taco actually contained two "fish nuggets", and there was a "gap" between the pieces of fish. The fish was well fried, and tasted okay with the salsa from the bar. The Rolled Tacos (taquitos) were very bland, with very little filling. I really couldn't tell which was the beef and which was the chicken.

In the end Lalo's really didn't stand out from the plethora of other Taco Shops in San Diego, though the prices are fairly reasonable.

Lalo's Tacos Etc (Yes, "Etc" is part of the name)
1266 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Postscipt:

When I typed the word "plethora" above, a really weird conversation entered my "stream of consciousness". I guess this is kind of dated, and pretty un-hip....

El Guapo:  Jefe, would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?
Jefe:  A what?
El Guapo:  A "plethora".
Jefe:  Oh yes, El Guapo. You have a plethora.
El Guapo:  Jefe, what is a plethora?
Jefe:  Why, El Guapo?
El Guapo:  Well, you just told me that I had a plethora, and I would just like to know if you know what it means to have a plethora. I would not like to think that someone would tell someone else he has a plethora, and then find out that that person has "no idea" what it means to have a plethora.
Jefe:  El Guapo, I know that I, Jefe, do not have your superior intellect and education, but could it be that once again, you are angry at something else, and are looking to take it out on me?

Island Spice Jamaican Restaurant

I first noticed Island Spice while attending the Japanese Cultural Bazaar at the BTSD. We soon ate there and really enjoyed the food. But as fate would have it, after starting this Food Blog, I started trying so many different places that Island Spice kind of just faded into the background. But my memory was jarred when Jay on His Blog Casing the Joint mentioned Island Spice as part of His "rotation". So we decided to head back there for a late lunch.

Island Spice is located on Market Street, in a building that though perhaps a bit worse for wear, has a definite tropical feel; with the Tropical Plants fronting the restaurant, to the Bamboo and wood interior. There's even the requisite Bob Marley"banner" in the front window, and signed photos of various celebrities posted above the front counter.

The menu at Island Spice features less then twenty items; but each offering has it's own personality.

Our favorite items at Island Spice?

The Oxtail, is a velvety smooth and savory dish. Tender and "beefy", mildly and simply seasoned, I especially love the gelatin that surrounds the bones. Just to give you an example of the hospitality at Island Spice; we ordered an Ala Carte order of Oxtail ($5.00), and were served this perfectly decent, and quite substantial plate of food. But the "Chef" was not satisfied with the portion size, and did not charge us for it! We made sure that we covered it in our tip, but were really impressed with the hospitality.

Here's what a large "dinner" of Oxtail($10.00) looks like:

It includes wonderfully starchy and mildly sweet deep fried plantains:

And we usually forgo the Beans and Rice, and get a plate with "all vegetables". The vegetables include a wonderful braised green that reminds me a bit of collard greens, with an earthy, sweet, and slightly bitter flavor; a green bean that reminded me of soy bean, corn, and cabbage. So very wonderfully full of different flavors:

My personal favorite is the Curry Goat(Ala Carte - $5.00):

I was initially surprised at the lack of "heat", this Curry is much milder but full of spices; and totally different from other curries I've had. The mild curry proved to be a perfect palette for the mildly gamey goat. Dotted with potatoes, the curry was very tasty.

On another visit we ordered an "regular" Jerk Chicken entree($7.00):

First off, the rice is rather bland and flavorless. It was after eating this; that we decided to stay with the wonderful veggies. The Jerk Chicken was covered with the wonderful "brown" sauce. The chicken seemed to be flavored with a mild rub; and roasted. The dark pieces were pretty good, with the sweetness and taste of the spices coming through. However, the white meat was very, very dry, a hard to swallow dry. Another thing that surprised me was the lack of "heat". Every version of supposed Jerk Chicken I've had before, was quite hot and spicy. So I'm not quite sure of how Jerk Chicken is supposed to taste.

The Fried Fish (Ala Carte - $5.00):

Simply flavored with salt and pepper, with a slight hint of sour(vinegar??), and perfectly fried; the fried fish was a nice appetizer for us.

The Brown Stew Fish (Ala Carte - $5.00):

It seems to be the fried fish pictured above, with a tomato based sauce. This is quite tangy, and more then a bit salty, though really good with rice. We had no problem finishing this! The onions and spices made for a decent "rice dish".

Some Notes: Many acquaintances of mine are a bit afraid of the neighborhood, but we've never had any problems. Island Spice seems to have many "regulars", and seems to be a "neighborhood joint" of the highest order. It also appears that most Customers order take-out. I was a bit surprised at the lack of heat in the various dishes, but I'm not an expert on Jamaican Food, and the Oxtails and Curry Goat are delici-yoso!!! Other Jamaican fare like Callaloo, Ackee, and Jamaican BBQ are also offered.

Good "homestyle" food and great prices make Island Spice worth a try.

Island Spice Jamaican Restaurant
2820 Market St
San Diego, CA 92102

Taqueria El Guero

I've always noticed the "Farmers Market" sign while driving on the 5 Freeway when passing the exit for the Coronado Bridge. I've also passed the structure on Imperial Avenue, and have wondered just what was in this large brick building.

The main business in the building is the Plaza Del Sol Market. But walk East past the Market and enter through the doorway, and you'll enter another world.  This half of the building contains a huge collection of stalls, selling everything from Car Insurance to Carnitas. Among the many food stalls, on the far east side of the building among the crowds eating even at 2pm on a Sunday lies Taqueria El Guero. I decided to stop here, mainly because many of the other stalls were either packed or closing down. But "El Guero" was going strong, except for the empty Trompo(verticle spit, that holds and cooks Al Pastor). The trompo was enough to make us stop and grab some tacos.

All tacos here are $1.16 each, ad include items such as tripas(intestines), buche(stomach), and carne asada. The drill is, a Gal with a order pad meets you at the counter and you place your order; in our case Cabeza(cheek), Al Pastor(marinated and rubbed pork, grilled on a verticle spit), and Carne Asada. We had originally wanted lengua(tongue), but they were out. When your order is ready, you get just tortillas with the meat on it. You walk over to the "salsa" stand, and load up on what you want, from radishes to onions. (Sorry, no sour cream!!!!) Walk on over to a empty table and eat. Be careful, there are pigeons in the rafters, and they create the major pigeon by-product, you really don't want that on you, or your taco!

We really don't put much on our tacos, at least these type of tacos. The well marinated, or well stewed meat has alot of flavor. In this case the Asada was too mild, and the Cabeza was pretty good, but a bit too waxy, and not cooked to the moist tenderness that I enjoy. The Al Pastor, was excellent though, very moist, and slightly spicy. The Al Pastor needed no additional flavoring, though perhaps it could have been a bit more caramelized, but I think that's the product of our late arrival.

3 Tacos and Horchata for 5 bucks ain't bad. The Al Pastor makes this place worth another visit.

Over the next few weeks I'll cover the other eating stalls within the Farmers Market, especially Carnitas Michoacan, which besides selling carnitas in tacos and tortas, sells carnitas by weight and "part"(i.e. leg, shoulder, skin). Today we arrived late and there was only leg and "skin" left. Though we were the only Non-Hispanic people I saw in the market, most people(except the tamale guy) speak English.

So if you have a chance, go ahead and enter another world at the San Diego Farmers Market.

Taqueria El Guero in the San Diego Farmers Market
2100 Imperial Ave.
San Diego, CA 92102

Minh Ky Restaurant

Minh Ky is a small Chinese-Vietnamese Noodle and Soup shop located on the corner of El Cajon Blvd and Menlo Avenue. In fact, Minh Ky shares the same strip mall with A-Chau, and a Vietnamese Market.

About 12 tables are lined against the walls and through the middle of the spartan interior of Minh Ky, and Chinese or Vietnamese music is a always blaring away. The one thing Minh Ky could use, is a revolving door for the steady stream of people entering and exiting the Restaurant.

I normally pay Minh Ky a visit during weekend mornings when I'm in the mood for some soup. Minh Ky is a good choice since they open at 8am on weekdays, and 830am during the weekend. And as strange as it may seem, I do enjoy a nice bowl of Combination WonTon Soup($4.75):

The Combo Soup, comes with a good portion of veggies, fishcake, shrimp, char siu, chicken, and most of all won tons. Today's soup had 10 Won Tons in it! The fillings of the won tons at Minh Ky are pretty dense pork meatballs with a slice of shrimp; and are almost like siu mai in texture. The broth is a clear and mild chicken broth, I usually add a touch of soy sauce and some white pepper. Overall, a pretty good start to a Saturday for me.

There is a really amusing thing that happens to me at Minh Ky. Because most of the clientele is Vietnamese, I kind of stand out. And because I only eat here during the winter and spring, there is a "cycle of familiarity" that occurs during my initial visits. It usually starts with "Are you Korean?" And a short and fun conversation normally takes place, where I explain I'm Japanese, and so on..... It happens with most of the Employees, one by one. "But you look Korean......" And sometimes ending in "so you don't speak Japanese" with a smile and a short negative shake of a head.

Once in a while I'll get the Won Ton Egg Noodle Soup($4.25):

Again, a simple broth, lettuce, nappa cabbage, green onions, char siu, won tons(8), and thin crunchy egg noodles. A decent bowl for the price.

On this visit, the Young Lady found a novel way of taking my order. She was filling chili oil containers on a adjoining table and saw that I was ready to order. She proceeded to lean back on her chair, balancing on two legs, with a container of chili oil, smiling and turning to me said "combination won ton soup?" Okay, call me a creature of habit! "Um, no just wonton egg noodle soup, today." Show them who's predictable..... And a free acrobatic/gymnastic show to boot!

On a recent visit, I even opened the menu past the first page and went over some of the 225+ dishes, and ordered the Combination Crispy Noodles($6.25):

I should've stayed with the soups, the thin egg noodles were over fried, powdery and brittle instead of crunchy. The beef was really tough, and there was too little of the sauce, which was very bland. I'll stick with the soups.

It just so happens that Minh Ky is also a favorite of Howie of A Foodie's Eye View of San Diego's Restaurants. When I Emailed Him and asked what he enjoyed at Minh Ky, Howie stated: "I pretty much just order the rice porridge. It's far and away my favorite porridge in SD. I always get it with the Chinese donut. It sounds boring, but it's more flavorful than most Chinese congee. The broken rice, ginger, & fried shallots really help it. Great comfort food." So it looks like Jook and Youtiao for Howie. Thanks for taking some time to reply to my Email Howie. In appreciation, I'm starting a new category, called "What Howie Eats", I'll include places we've discussed, and any recommendations that Howie has.

Some notes on Minh Ky: The strip mall that Minh Ky is located in has one of the worst parking configurations in San Diego. One of the aisles has no outlet, you have to back out of the parking stall, which leads to some interesting situations. I've seen a car trying to back out, while a car is waiting for the parking stall but because of the single aisle, the waiting car is essentially blocking the exiting car in. Nothing like a nice little showdown between two 3-4 thousand pound vehicles to start off the weekend! Many times vehicles will exit right over the sidewalk, straight onto El Cajon Boulevard. I usually park in the back, though you'll need to avoid the large potholes and abandoned furniture. The back parking lot can also be quite scary at night. I usually order "tea" with my meals and they serve me a whole pot, and I've never ever been charged for it.

Oh, and as I was at the register paying...."Are you Korean?" You gotta love it!

Minh Ky Restaurant
4644 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Ch-Ch-Chain: Chipotle

Chi-poodle, um, Chipotle is one of the "regular stops" for our office. To the extent that we've won a few "free lunches" for the office. You know how those work, you throw a business card in a glass jar, and they make a weekly drawing. And sometimes you do win! Chipotle is one of those "Fast Casual" chains, and subsidiary of McDonald's Corporation, that serves modified "Mexican Food".

You can tell when a restaurant becomes a regular part of the work rotation when you give it a nickname. I've started calling Chipotle, "The Poodle", as in "Chi-poodle". Not to slight Chipotle, but if you like a salty, drenched in sour cream, burrito stuffed with rice and beans, and pay 6 bucks for it, Chipotle is your place.

One of the great things about Chipotle, especially for our office is that you can fax in your order by filling out one of these handy-dandy order sheets:

When I order form Chipotle, I'm strictly a vegetarian, yes, VEGETARIAN. I've tried all of the "meats", and really don't care for them. So what I get is a Burrito "Bowl"(you can tell how much I love the tortillas here), with Black Beans, Corn Salsa, Hot Salsa, Sour Cream, Guacamole(extra $1.40), Cheese, and Chips(45 cents).

Can you imagine all of that in a Burrito, along with some "meat", sheesh! I mix everything together and use it as a "dip". The only thing is, that it costs me almost 7 bucks! To be perfectly honest, this veggie bowl is alot better then some other "Fast-Casual" offerings I've eaten.

I do enjoy the rather large portion of chips that have been flavored with a lime-salt. Nice and salty, and tastes rather good with the "Veggie-Bowl".

So I'm satisfied just to be able to fit in, at least I know I can order something from "The Poodle".

Question - The quickest way to turn me vegetarian?

The Answer - Keep ordering from all these "Fast-Casual" restaurants.

Chipotle - Coming to a neighborhood near you!

Jamillah Garden

When we lived in Los Angeles we enjoyed more then a few Islamic Chinese meals at either VIP Chinese Restaurant, which was located just two blocks from our apartment, or Tung Lai Shun in the humongous San Gabriel Square(Focus Shopping Center). In fact it was at VIP Restaurant where I started learning that there was much, much more to Chinese Cuisine then the usual Cantonese fare. I distinctly remember a Chicago pizza size Da-Bing(sesame bread with Green onion) being delivered to our table, as I stared at it in amazement.

So we were obviously thrilled when Jamillah Garden opened up.

Unfortunately, our experiences at Jamillah Garden has been quite a "roller-coaster" experience. The flavors of dishes have fluctuated wildly, and the same dish would vary wildly from day to day. We've already given up on the Dao Ko Chicken(Home style roast chicken), one of my favorite dishes. At Jamillah Garden it's so mildly flavored, a mere shadow of what Dao Ko Shao Gi should be. We've pretty much settled on a few dishes that Jamillah Garden does well, and stick with those. So, on this rainy New Year, we decided to pay a visit to Jamillah Garden.

The interior of Jamillah Garden is clean and bright, and very "warming" on this cold rainy day.

And started with our "Green Onion Pies" (Scallion Pancake,$2.25), a very basic Northern Chinese "bread":

Today ,this was rolled very thin; almost like Naan, and in a large rectangular shape, not the pancake "oval" that we were used too. But it was fried to a perfect crisp. We tasted, but waited until this arrived; our Lamb Stew "Warm Pot"(Lamb Hot Pot, $15.95).

The Lamb Warm Pot is the dish we usually order at Jamillah Garden. Though we've had the quality vary, from very bland and watery, to superbly gamey and rich. Today, it was the latter, both with the earthy flavor of lamb, with a touch of anise flavor, cubes of tofu, thick sliced cellophane noodles, cilantro, nappa cabbage, and most of all, lot's of lamb! The Missus and I both love the gamey and somewhat "wild" flavor of lamb, and today's dish was no disappointment. If it's lamb, it should taste like lamb, one of my pet peeves is lamb that "tastes like chicken".

Today, it's rated as Delici-yoso!!! And oh, so comforting.

We also ordered the Homemade Noodles - Three Flavor Dough Slice Chow Mein(!!!) - $6.95. This is actually a classic Northern Chinese dish - Knife-Cut Noodles. In short, dough is prepared and rolled into a "ball", and the noodles are cut by hand right over a bowl of soup, or right before stir-frying.

Without sounding too strange, I'd just say, that this type of noodle has "body". The noodles are of varied width, and lengths; I've been told to represent the uneven, rough terrain and life in Northern China. The noodle is chewy and doughy, much different from the typical noodle. It can also be an acquired taste. Though the Missus grew up eating this type of noodle, I prefer it more then she. The dish itself is very simple, a stir fry with beef, eggs, shrimp, and green onions; with the flavor of sesame oil, soy sauce, and black pepper. The portion size was quite large, though those who are looking for alot of "meat" will be a bit unsatisfied with the dish; it's mostly about the noodles. I'll do the Niu Rou Mein from Jamillah in a future post!

To its' credit; Jamillah Garden serves "Halal Meat", prepared in accordance with Islamic requirements that I'm not really sure of. And in keeping with that, Jamillah Garden aims to provide appropriate Chinese food for the Islamic Community. This means that Jamillah Garden tries to cook all types of Chinese, from Beef with Broccoli to Kung Pao Chicken. Many times with limited success. And even though the "classic" Islamic Chinese dishes have been inconsistent, today they were excellent; and worth a try.  Just stay with Northern-Beijing Chinese, and you'll do fine.

Jamillah Garden Chinese Islamic Restaurant
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Kim Chan Sandwich Shop

It has been a fairly warm December, with temperatures reaching into the mid-70's to low 80's on certain days. On one of those days I decided to give Ed from Yuma's favorite Banh Mi shop a try. Though the address is El Cajon Boulevard, Kim Chan is actually located on 47th Street, next to a coin laundry, Vietnamese Video Shop, and Currency Exchange.

It's a fairly small shop with two small tables; a majority of the space is taken up with refrigerators and deli-cases. Most of the menu is in Vietnamese, with only 5 items written in English. At least there wouldn't be any of the indecisive paralysis brought on by too many choices here! Kim Chan is truly a Mom-and-Pop operation. There were two people ahead of me on my first visit; and though my order was taken quickly, I had to wait about 20 minutes for my sandwich.

I ordered the "combination" (Dac Biet) which cost only $2!

This sandwich really had "pate" on it, not just a "sausage pate", a pork "loaf", and "head cheese". Though the sandwich was smaller then those at K Sandwich at about 7-8 inches, the circumference of the sandwich was a perfect fit for my mouth. What set this sandwich apart from many of the mediocre versions, is that I could really taste the meats, the salty, mildly gamy, and sweet fillings. The amount of vegetables was perfect, and added a nice crunch, along with a vinegary touch to the sandwich. The slightly hot chilies was a nice touch as well. But it was not a perfect sandwich. Tough stringy cilantro stems are a pet peeve of mine. Also though the crust of the bread was good, the bread portion was mushy and doughy, and frankly tasted a bit "stale". As a whole the sandwich was not crusty enough for me.

Since I enjoyed the Combination Sandwich, except for the bread, I thought I'd pay Kim Chan another visit. This time I ordered the BBQ Pork($2.00) sandwich:

Since I was the only customer in the restaurant, I got my sandwich in about 5 minutes. The BBQ Pork sandwich contained a single layer of  BBQ Pork sliced to about 1/8th of an inch thick, Instead of the usual thin sliced pork, the pork in the sandwich looked like it had been "cut" from a larger piece. The vegetables and green chili were again portioned perfectly for the sandwich, this sandwich also had fried shallots added which was a nice touch. This time the bread was perfectly toasted, and nice and crusty. I really didn't care for the pork, which was nice and tender, though quite dry, and also very "fishy" in taste.

I think I'll stick with the Combination Sandwich, with the nice flavors, and hopefully will get a "good" baguette. The sandwiches at Kim Chan are a bit smaller then most Banh Mi, but are portioned well, so that all of the different tastes come through. And at about 2 bucks($2.50 for BBQ Beef), the price is definitely right.

Kim Chan Sandwich Shop
4712 El Cajon Blvd Suite N
San Diego, CA 92115

El Potosino Mexican Food

I had heard that El Potosino Mexican Restaurant in Lemon Grove made good Cabeza(Beef Head/Cheek) tacos. So we took a drive down to the strip mall near the intersection of Federal Boulevard and College Ave. You could say, I really work hard looking for some........cabeza.

Entering the large and "breezy" dining area, we looked over the fairly large menu that included Mojarra (usually deep fried tilapia), Cosido De Res(Beef Shank Soup), and all the usual suspects.

We decided to try several of the "meats" and the best platform would seem to be ordering several tacos. We started with Shredded Beef($1.89) and Cabeza($1.89) Tacos. First off these tacos were pretty large. The shredded beef was served in a fried corn tortilla "shell", and overall was pretty bland, and forgettable.

We had made this trip mainly for the Cabeza, so the Cabeza Taco was the focus of my attention. The Cabeza taco was served up in the traditional way, with onions and cilantro, in a mediocre, brittle double corn tortilla. The portion size was fairly large. This cabeza was just okay, fairly gamy, but lacking the condensed beef flavor I was looking for, and not nearly as tender as my favorite Cabeza tacos. The meat was very much like head cheese, and cut into chunks, and more waxy than moist. Not bad, but not good.

In order to "cover" the meal, in case the Cabeza and other tacos are horrid, we will always order a few standard tacos, like the Beef(above) and a Carne Asada($2.29), along with a Adobada($1.89). The Carne Asada, was moist and tender, but flavorless. In fact, this tasted like a guacamole/pico de gallo taco.

The Adobada was the real winner. I had thought that Adobada was pork stewed in a "red" sauce, that included oregano, vinegar, and chipotle. But this Adobada seemed really close to Al Pastor, the dry rubbed, and sometimes marinated pork, usually grilled on a vertical spit(trombo). In fact this would qualify as a real good Al Pastor in my book. The meat was nicely grilled and caramelized, with a balanced "chili" flavor, slightly spicy, with some sweet hints. Delici-yoso!!! I enjoyed the additional taste the onions and cilantro added to the taco, and a squirt of lime brought it all together. If I ever return I'll have an Adobada Burrito, maybe an Adobada with Rice Burrito.

Overall the adobada made this a successful trip. The tacos here seemed to be on the expensive side but were quite large. In fact we left El Potosino more then satisfied. As is the norm, a red and a green hot sauce is served with the tacos. The hot sauces are pretty unremarkable, the green sauce has a better flavor.

El Potosino Mexican Food
6929 Federal Blvd
Lemon Grove, CA 91945

Thai Cafe

At this time of the year, with all the hustle and bustle, it seems that there are occasions when we are only allotted time for a quick bite. And yet, our appetites may betray us, and require a more substantial, yet quick meal. In cases like this Thai Cafe is a Godsend.

Most Customers arrive at Thai Cafe with intentions of chowing down on the well priced ($6.50/lunch, $8.99/Dinner), which features about 25-30 items.

The quick drill goes like this. We walk in, and as the Server is walking up to us, we stage whisper, or raise fingers with the amount of people in our party. In this case two, the Server walks us to our table, while we give him our drink order. And instead of sitting down, we set off to the buffet.

If you expect "warming tray hell", you may be slightly surprised, that most(you'll figure out what doesn't rather quickly) dishes do rather well. And during slightly more busy times, the dishes are turned over quite promptly. By this time a whole 3 minutes has elapsed. After a few visits, you develop a Thai Cafe "strategy". You actually do two "plates" before sitting down. The first is a plate of "salads" and fried items. On any given day the Papaya Salad can be a good choice.

Very simple and without dried shrimp or crab, it's still features good "heat" from the chilies, along with the crunchy papaya, it's actually not bad at all. On this visit, the Larb(in this case ground chicken) Salad was just brought out, and thus didn't have the chance to dry out. The taste of lemongrass, and cilantro stand out. On many visits the larb salad has been dry, so we'll usually pass.

There are two noodle dishes that are usually dependable; the Spicy Noodles (Drunken Noodles):

Or the Pad Woon Sen (Bean Thread). As you can tell, these a quite short on the meat, but all carb lovers would probably enjoy them. On any given day, one could be better then the other; but an "educated" eye, can determine which to choose. There is also fried rice(ok), and what I consider to be terrible Pad Thai as well.

There are several curries, usually a spicy fried catfish, or something similar, salt and pepper squid(not bad), orange chicken, Pad Prik King(Green Beans)and a fried chicken with peanut sauce(I get just the chicken, and make my own sauce). During the evenings there is also a mussel, and a shrimp dish as well.

At 8 minutes, I've got my two plates, grabbed my sauces, and have started eating:

Since we eat fairly quickly, we can usually polish off everything in about 20 minutes:

Not bad, a meal under 15 bucks, and your out in under 25 minutes. Unless you really get mesmerized by those Soy Sauce Eggs.

It's not fine dining Thai by any means. But it's fast, and tasty, and much better then some of the cheap Chinese Buffets, and way better then many Chinese Fast Food options. At least everything does not taste the same and use the same "sauce". When we're in a rush, or really hungry and can't wait. We often times will drop by Thai Cafe.

Thai Cafe
4722 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Lunch Buffet - $6.50

Dinner Buffet - $8.99

Ray's Mexican Restaurant - And the Post That Didn't Want to Be....

Ray's is a neighborhood taco shop located on El Cajon Boulevard, whose delivery service is very popular with one of the Departments that the Missus works with. Everytime she's there they order from Ray's, but it's always been delivery, and the funny thing is, none of them have ever set foot, nor do they even really know where "Ray's" is located. I guess it's called legacy ordering. Maybe once in the past a former Employee was a regular customer of Ray's and would always place an order, and said practice has perpetuated itself, now becoming a ritual.

That said, trying to create a post about Ray's has been the bane of my existence. On our first visit I forgot my camera, and thus you missed a very tasty Birria(Goat) Soup, nice tomato flavor and slightly spicy, though a little short on the goat meat. The Missus had the house specialty Mojarra($5.99), which turned out to be a whole deep fried Tilapia(I thought it was a kind of ocean perch, but found out later that the term is also used for Tilapia), served with beans, rice, salsa fresca, and tortillas. I must say, even though I really don't like tilapia, the fish was fried perfectly, crunchy on the outside, with a moist interior, and not muddy tasting at all.

Then last week, I had finished my post on Ray's and Typepad crashed........ So now like a Phoenix, or at least a Tilapia, my Ray's post has risen from the ashes. No thanks to Typepad though. I had to recreate it from scratch.

What really keeps those people ordering from Ray's is the Carne Asada and the Shredded Beef. And on our next visit, the Missus ordered Soft Shredded Beef Tacos($3.95), with no cheese(go figure):

Nicely moist and slightly stewed shredded beef filled some corn tortillas. Unlike other versions, these were quite tasty, and with the provided Salsa Verde these were nice a flavorful. Tomato and oregano flavors stood out. I have gotten used to cabbage in my tacos though, and have a problem going back to lettuce.....

She also ordered the Carne Asada Nacho Deluxe($5.50), with no sour cream and other stuff(sigh....)

The Carne Asada at Ray's is fairly tasty, with nice lime overtones. Though not grilled I still enjoy the Carne Asada here more then Santana's.

I ordered the Texas Burrito($3.99), something I first heard about from Howie of A Foodie's-Eye View.

Basically Pollo Asado ("Grilled" Chicken), Potatoes (most version have french fries, but these had cubed potatoes), Salsa Fresca, Sour Cream, and Guacamole. Actually very tasty, and slightly artery hardening. Though moist, I found the chicken to be not as flavorful as the carne asada(of course, you dummy...). The potatoes were nicely salted and fried, and is of course a starch, 'nuff said. And need I to say, quite filling.

On our next visit the Missus tried the Fish Tacos($3.95):

Ordered no sauce and no cheese, just bleh....we'll stick with El Zarape.

The 3 Rolled Tacos($1.95):

We ordered 1 Beef, 1 Chicken, and 1 Potato. I guess this is great if you got two bucks and are really hungry. There ain't much in them taquitos, only the potato tasted like anything.

My advice? Stick with the Carne Asada Burrito($3.75), maybe a bit on the salty side, but at least not bland. Make sure you get the "green"(salsa verde) salsa, tangy and spicy.

Or maybe the Mojarra. Ray's is a good example of a San Diego neighborhood taco shop. Perhaps not outstanding, but with good prices, and some pretty good food.

When the Missus mentioned to Ray's "Satellite Customers" that she had actually been here, they had one major question; was it a dump, what did it look like? Ray's is definitely not a dump. The interior is well lit and clean. Service is very efficient. And the one Gentleman always working (Ray?) is very nice and friendly. Yep, that's Ray's a nice neighborhood Taco Shop.

Now hopefully this post will finally see the light of day.....

Ray's Mexican Restaurant
2885 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104

Open Daily from 8am to 10 pm.

Ashoka the Great Cuisine of India

The Missus's latest obsession is Indian Food. After years of  laying dormant; she now craves it again. So one recent morning she told me she wanted to eat "Indian again", but "I want to try something else", so we set off for the Little India Center on Black Mountain Road in the Miramar area, and settled on Ashoka the Great.

Though Ashoka seemed a little shop-worn on the outside, the interior of the restaurant was quite large, clean, and well lit.

Of course, many Indian Restaurants feature a lunch buffet, and Ashoka is no exception. And being absolutely starved, and not wanting to wait, we went for the lunch buffet($8.95).  There were about 20 items featured, with vegetarian items such as Saag Paneer, the spinach and cream dish featured in almost every Indian buffet I've ever seen. The meat dishes featured Chicken Makhni, Lamb Curry, and Tandoori Chicken.

While we were going through the buffet line, our Naan arrived at our table:

The Naan was much too doughy and bread like, and not charred enough on the outside for us.

Overall, the vegetable dishes at Ashoka really outshone the meat dishes. The Chicken Makhni was really much too mild and somewhat watery, the Tandoori chicken while well caramelized, and very moist, was very bland. The we enjoyed the version we ate at India Princess alot more. The "curry" portion of the Lamb Curry was very tasty and herbaceous, if not a bit too watery, but the chunks of lamb were not gamey and rich enough. You really couldn't tell you were eating lamb.

There were two vegetarian dishes that were very good. The Malai Kofta, which can probably described as a vegetable, potato, and nut fritter in a creamy-curry sauce. The combination of flavorings and texture made this dish stand-out. The Bindhi Masala, sort of a stir fry of okra, onions, and tomato, with the distinct flavor of ginger and garlic, was another very tasty dish.

A nice little bowl of Kheer(rice porridge), was a nice refreshing finish to the meal:

I also had a glass of Mango Lassi($2.95) to help clear my palate between tasting the different dishes. This version had less of an yogurt/milk flavor, but the mango flavor was much more intense.

The food at the buffet at Ashoka was pretty good, with the vegetable dishes outshining the meat dishes. We'd visit again in the future to try some of the other items on the menu. In the meantime, we noticed several other restaurants in the plaza which we'll try in the near future.

Some notes; the service at Ashoka was very nice, relaxed, and laid back. Though the buffet at Ashoka is $8.95, compared to India Princess at $11.95, drinks are not included, so in the end it's a wash.

Ashoka the Great Cuisine of India
9474 Black Mountain Road
San Diego, CA 92126

A Uni-que Dinner at Sammy's

A few weeks back, I made mention of a Live-Uni meal at Sammy Sushi, my regular, neighborhood sushi joint on Chowhound. At that time I was thinking of a setting up a small "set menu", with Uni as the centerpiece. Well as things would have it, after exchanging Emails and discussion with Sam, we seriously expanded the menu. We still tried to keep the price down, and purposely tried to keep to a small party (9 or so). I knew that Ed from Yuma was going to make it. Due in part to the busy Holiday season, people started dropping out. Until in the end it was the wonderful Annie, fellow food blogger, from Green Beans in Writing, her Beau, Ed from Yuma, and Myself. No problems though, it is the busy time of the year! I arrived about a half hour early; to a "Ooooh, Kirk-San, I got some reaaallly GOOD Stuff!" Sam immediately started showing me the live lobster, and all the other "stuff".

Ed arrived and soon after Annie and Her Mister arrived, and the meal started. Let me just say that this was pretty funny. Every dish fell victim to 3 digital cameras. I finally felt a bit "normal"!!! I've always had problems taking photos in Sammy's, and this time was no exception. My photos really won't do justice to the food. I'm hoping that Annie's come out better, and she does a post, which I'll link here.

We started with a Salmon Skin Salad:

A nice small portion of mixed greens with with toasted strips of crunchy, chewy salmon skin(think bacon), sprinkled with tobiko(Flying Fish "caviar"), dressed with the tangy, salty-sour ponzu sauce. As we were eating the salad, we could see Sam and his Assistant "working" on the live Uni. First perforating the shell, then cleaning, and arranging the wonderful "gonads" on a Shiso leaf in the Uni shell on a bed of ice. Sorry for the bad picture; I'll go back soon and try to take a better photo! For all you Uni haters out there; the flavor of  "fresh Uni" is a far cry from "wood/styrofoam Uni". If anything, the taste is milder then w/s Uni, yet sweeter, and the texture is like a velvety custard. I watched Ed close his eyes tightly, as if to imprint the taste in his mind, he started raising his hand, almost to delici-yoso dance level, but he caught Himself in time. I'd mentioned the delici-yoso dance to Annie, so I guess Ed was feeling a bit self conscious. The bad thing about live Uni is, once you've had live uni, it's really hard to eat the "other stuff".

The next item was a portion of Misoyaki Gindara(Black Cod/"Butterfish"):

The moist, buttery fish, had a very smooth and slightly sweet miso taste. The fish could have stood for another day of marinating, and perhaps a bit more carmelization. But as a whole pretty good.

Next up was the Awabi(Abalone) Sashimi, one of the items that Sam added to the menu. Ed & I shared a whole small abalone. I thought this was just ok. The abalone was very fresh, I saw Sam opening and cleaning it when I arrived. The taste was not as sweet and the texture, not as soft as I expected. Honestly, I'd have preferred Mirugai(Giant Clam/Geoduck).

The Nigiri started arriving, first with Maguro and Kanpachi:

The Maguro was excellent, but the Kanpachi(Amberjack) was fabulous. Nicely ivory-pink in color, with a taste and texture that can be best described as a firmer Hamachi. Sam mentioned that this was Big Island Kanpachi, by telling me; "Kirk-san this Kanpachi swam all the way from Kona to have dinner with you tonight!" Ed actually did a three-quarter delici-yoso dance; he stopped when we started laughing, I'm sure it would have been a full delici-yoso dance had we not started cracking up.

Kaki(Oyster):

Two plump Washington State Oysters with ponzu and tobiko, one of my "regular" dishes! Today I could really taste the brine and freshness.

More Nigiri:

That's nice and fatty toro, sweet and crunchy Mirugai, Salmon rubbed with a bit of lemon. We also had Amaebi(sweet shrimp), as well as the fried Atama(head), in my opinion, the better part of the shrimp. As we were finishing up, we started watching the show; a new reality series called Sammy versus the Lobster. At times it seemed that the lobster had the upper hand, but finally one, then the other lobster gave in, and the Lobster Sashimi arrived. I'd never had lobster sashimi before, but this really didn't "wow" me. There was the same faint essence of "cooked" lobster, with a very faint sweetness. The meat is quite dense and rich, and very filling. After trying several different flavor combinations, I settled on a squeeze of lemon.  This was a nice experience, though I don't think I'll have it again.

To finish up this decadent meal, we had a Lobster Soup:

The head and claws of the lobster is simmered in a mild dashi-miso broth, and makes a rich, slightly salty broth. Now this is delici-yoso!!!

So the hits to me? Live Uni, Salmon Skin Salad, Kanpachi, Oysters, Toro, Mirugai, and the Lobster Soup. Just goes to show you that looks are deceiving, there are places that are hidden gems everywhere. Oh, the damage? Without alcohol about $70 a person!

Thanks for being great company Ed & Annie!!!! Hope to do this again in the future.

Manila BBQ & Grill

Back in November my Buddy Jack told me that a new Filipino Take-Out had opened up in Point Loma. So on a recent Friday that I had off I decided to pay Manila BBQ and Grill a visit.

I found the little take-out place in a stand alone "Food Court" in Point Loma Plaza. In fact, no permanent "signage" was yet in place.

I don't know what the "seafood" sign is about, there's no seafood on the menu! I looked over the menu and went to order. Unfortunately, my first two choices were "not ready" yet. I'd come a bit too early(1045am), and many items were not ready yet. So I finally settled on a Combo Meal with Teriyaki Short Rib BBQ (I find the Teriyaki and BBQ to be a bit redundant here), and Pork Adobo($6.50):

There were two cross cut short ribs and several large chunks of Pork Adobo served over a large bed of rice, a pretty good size portion of food. The short ribs were tender and moist, with a nice bit of carmelization, but fell "short" in flavor. In fact, the ribs were pretty bland and unremarkable. In comparison to say, L&L, I'd say, much more tender then L&L, but L&L's "Kalbi" had much more flavor. In fact, I really don't consider this "teriyaki" by any means, not even Hawaiian Style Teriyaki. It's closer to Hawaiian BBQ.

Many consider Adobo, along with Pancit and Lumpia to be one of the quintessential dishes that represent Filipino Food. Pork Adobo for those who do not know, is pork cooked in vinegar and soy sauce, and seasoned with bay leaves, garlic, and my favorite in adobo, a touch of black pepper. This version had a pretty good sauce, with a nice touch of vinegar. But the downfall of the dish were the overly large chunks of pork. The smaller pieces had absorbed the flavor of the sauce and were nice and tender. The larger pieces did not have enough flavor and were also on the dry side; a big no-no when it comes to adobo. Also the slight hint of black pepper I enjoy was missing. On the good side, was that the Gal who put this dish together placed the adobo over the rice, making the rice very tasty.

I had made up my mind to do a follow-up visit. And so a month later I paid Manila BBQ & Grill another visit. Now open about 2 months, I was pretty sure that all the wrinkles would be pretty much worked out. I dropped by and ordered a Combo Meal($6.50) with Teriyaki Chicken BBQ Skewer(wow, talk about a mouthful), and the Chicken Adobo.

Talk about deja vu all over again! The chicken adobo were really large pieces of chicken that really didn't absorb some of the flavor. The sauce was the same as the last time, and really not salty enough. As large as the pieces were, it was mostly bone, except for a whole drumstick. As a whole I wish the adobo was placed on the rice as the last time, since there was a huge pool of sauce with nowhere to go at the bottom of the container.

The BBQ Chicken looked beautiful, and were nicely grilled. But don't lose that little container of teriyaki-ish sauce, as a whole these were under-flavored. The chunks of chicken were moist and nicely grilled, but the overall flavoring was quite weak, though I'm pretty sure I tasted a faint peanut-butter flavor. I did pour the sauce over the chicken for flavor.

If I were to return, I'd order the Pork Adobo with the BBQ Chicken Skewer. In retrospect, I wonder if this place would survive in National City or Mira Mesa? But they have the market cornered for Filipino food in Point Loma and are probably better then some other options. The portions are large and service is very nice and friendly. So if you're in Point Loma, and really need some Filipino "grinds"; Manila BBQ & Grill is nearby. The menu is short but feature other items such as Pancit, Grilled Pork Chop and Beef Steak(I think it's probably Bistek).

Manila BBQ & Grill
3615 Midway Drive Suite C
San Diego, CA 92110

India Princess Royal Indian Cuisine

This past weekend, the Missus's long Indian food hibernation came to an end. We were walking past an Tandoori restaurant and she turned to me and said, "you'll think this is funny, but I want some Indian food". My reply, "so you want some corn and berries" earned me a dirty look. It's kind of a long story but, during my time doing consulting work in San Diego, the Missus became obsessed with Tandoori Chicken from a certain restaurant in San Diego. So I would have to pick up two to three orders when returning from San Diego. After four cycles of this behavior, the Missus had pretty much burned out on Tandoori Chicken and Indian food as a whole. That was five years ago. During that period we've kind of lost touch with Indian food, but it's a good thing that many Indian Restaurants feature lunch buffets; and India Princess is no exception.

This tiny storefront on Fourth Avenue is pretty deceiving. And it's a looong walk to the dining room.

Since it was the weekend, we went for the Champagne Brunch($11.95). While I went to place the validation ticket in the parking kiosk across the street the Missus got things underway. The buffet is set-up in 3 parts. A garnish, salad, chutney, and dessert section.

A middle vegetable and starch section, and a meat section.

While we were checking out the offerings our Garlic Naan arrived. The Missus forever being proactive had ordered this(it comes with the brunch) while I had stepped out. The Naan was just ok, we've had much better at other places. We enjoy ours more "toasted" and with a much more pronounced garlic flavor.

As with all buffets, there are hits and misses, Indian Princess was no exception. We both loved the Keema Mutter, basically ground/minced lamb with curry, peas, and other spices. We ate the Keema Mutter mixed with the Mint Chutney, making it delici-yoso!!! Surprisingly, I enjoyed several of the vegetarian dishes, the Zucchini Aloo was moist, mildly garlicky, with an almost buttery texture. The Channa Masala, had chickpeas(garbanzos) in a spicy tomato sauce, and was very enjoyable. We both enjoyed the Tandoori Chicken, though a bit on the milder side, was very moist, even the white meat portions. We also enjoyed a type of leavened "bread", the name of which I don't remember, but it reminded us a bit of Chinese steamed buns.

And of course there were the items that were less than satisfying. Specifically the Fish Maharani, in a coconut and curry sauce. The fish was grainy, dry, and tasted "off". It was obviously fish that had been frozen for a pretty long time. Both the Chicken Curry and Chicken Tikka Marsala were on the bland side.

Since we didn't desire any champagne, we got Diet Cokes and a Mango Lassi instead. This "sweet" yogurt drink was very refreshing, and palate cleansing. After tasting a specific dish, we'd take a sip of the Lassi to clear our palate.

If you're well versed on Indian food, a buffet may not interest you. For the fairly uninitiated, like us, a buffet allows us to get some culinary "footing". It also helps if the staff is as helpful as the Gentlemen working at India Princess. One of them actually went down the line,  explaining every item to the Missus, and was oh so helpful! It also helps to go a bit early before the restaurant gets too busy.

Some notes: Indian Princess serves a buffet lunch for $8.95 from Mondays through Fridays. The Champagne Brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays for $11.95 from 11am to 3pm. The staff is very helpful and efficient. During the evenings and weekends there is validated free parking in the Medical Office Building across the street. The drill is, you park your car, and when you are seated you are given a "ticket"; you then go back out and across the street and place the ticket in the appropriate parking kiosk slot.

We had such a good time, and after eating 4 plates of food were so full that I forgot to take a photo of the storefront. So I went back to get one later on:

India Princess Royal Indian Cuisine 
3925 Fourth Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103

Taste of Italy Hillcrest

When we first moved to San Diego in '01, Taste of Italy in Hillcrest was a part of our rotation.

Not for the Pasta(ok), or Pizzas(borderline lousy), but for the Sandwiches, especially the Chicken Pomodoro Sandwich. The sandwich was excellent, served on a crusty toasted roll, with moist chicken, and  provolone cheese, in a slightly spicy tomato, garlic(lots of garlic), and basil, sauce. It was Delici-yoso!!! And priced right, $5.95. After about a year, the price was raised to $7.95, and fries were added. We still thought that the prices were ok. But after about six months the price was increased to $8.95, and we had hit our limit. And so Taste of Italy had dropped off our radar, until last week, when we decided to pay a visit to Taste of Italy in Hillcrest for lunch. Even though it was 1120, there was no one in the restaurant. As we walked in we kinda just waited around, no one even attempted to seat us! How very odd! Finally, someone dressed in "Kitchen Whites" motioned to us, to have a seat. Meanwhile several people were milling behind the counter and just ignored us. We sat, and in a few minutes, a Young Lady, walked up to us, and kinda did nothing....after telepathy ordering failed, we had to ask for our menus, which we finally got:

And Holy Crap, the sandwiches were now 10 bucks! But since we were here, we had committed to this meal, and who knows, maybe the sandwiches were a whole lot better! Next funny thing; the Gal came up and asked us if we were ready to order, which we were. But she then grabbed the menus and walked away without taking our order. How very strange..... She came back about a minute later with an ordering pad and we proceeded to order. We were asked if we wanted soup or salad, and I thought, "hey, adding soup or salad, and raising the price maybe ain't so bad". So we placed our order. Another odd thing; at about this time we noticed that we didn't have any napkins or silver, and none had been delivered. We mentioned this to the Gal when she brought our water. Soon our salads arrived; I ordered mine with Balsamic Dressing:

When the salads arrived, I asked for napkins. The Gal apologized and said that the Server for the lunch shift had not come in yet(it was noon), and She's the Cashier(I guess there's no cross training). But at least she brought us water. After several minutes I got up and walked up to the counter and asked the Gal for napkins, she gave me a stack of 10 - I guess she wanted to make sure that we didn't run out of napkins! Back to the food; the dressing waaaay to sour, but the worst thing about the salad, was that there was a rather deep pool of water at the bottom of the bowl, the greens had not been drained properly. When we were through(notice I didn't say finished) with our salads, the Young Lady came up to use and oddly asked if we were ready for our sandwiches. I thought that was odd, until I heard and realized that she was telling the kitchen to start firing up our sandwiches! She then came back and cleared the salad bowls. So after another rather long pause our sandwiches arrived. The Missus had ordered the long awaited Chicken Pomodoro Sandwich($10):

First thing I asked, was where are the "Italian Chips", the menu clearly states that all sandwiches come with chips. Well, we come to find out, that it's a choice of soup, salad, or chips, even though the menu doesn't say that. Oh, and the sandwich was fairly terrible. The former sauce, had been replaced with some mushy sauteed tomatoes, of which only the skin was left, the garlic taste was lacking, there was very little basil. And worse of all they put mayo on this sandwich, which really made everything taste terrible. The chicken was very dry and tough. And still no silver, so anything that fell out we would have to pick up with our hands and eat, but we usually just let them lie in state on the plate.

I ordered the Salsiccia Sandwich($10):

This was an Italian Sausage Sandwich with sauteed onions and peppers in a Pinot Grigio Arrabiatta sauce. Looks pretty good doesn't it? Well the other half of the sandwich looked like this:

All of the sauteed veggies were placed on one half of the sandwich. Which would have been no problem since I could just move them myself; IF I HAD GOTTEN AT LEAST A FORK!!!!! But I guess they think using our fingers would just suit us..... This sandwich was not bad, the arrabiatta sauce was quite tasty, and the bread was well toasted, and the peppers and onions were well flavored. But the sausage was really not very good, and quite dry to boot. At the end of this so called "meal" we didn't even get our check; the Missus went up to the counter to ask for and pay our bill. I pity the ONE other table that was there. I wonder what happened with their lunch. I did see one of the Gentlemen actually walk to the counter and get water for the others at the table. Seems like the Taste of Italy had become a self-service institution.

I retrospect this was almost so pathetic as to be funny. I know that the Young Lady is the "Cashier", but apparently common sense was on Holiday. So what happens when your Server doesn't show? In places I worked, the Manager takes over, or someone is called in. Or maybe, God forbid, she was the Manager!!!!! I almost told the Young Lady not to quit Her day job, but then I realized, it was Lunch, and this could possibly be her "day job". In the end Taste of Italy, became a waste of time and money. We won't be back.

So here's the info for Waste Taste of Italy:

Taste of Italy Hillcrest
1013 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103

Saturday "Stuffs"

Here are a few follow-ups of places (new and old) from our rotation.

We finally made it back to El Salvador Pupuseria y Restaurante on a weekend and had a chance to try the "weekend soups". There are two Salvadoran Beef soups features on the weekend.

The Sopa De Res(Sabado y Domingo - $6.95):

A nice rich semi clear broth, featured squash, yuca, a huge hunk of cabbage, and beef still on the bones. This soup tasted very "clean"  and soothing, with bay and cilantro overtones, though the meat was rather tough.

I ordered the Sopa De Pata($6.95):

This soup was a direct opposite of the other soup. Thick and tomato based, with bay and black pepper flavor. There was a reason this soup was so thick. You see this is a "gelatin" lovers dream. There was really no "meat", just bone and lots of gelatin - which I happened to enjoy. as with the previous soup, there was a piece of squash, yuca, and cabbage. There was one item in each soup that we didn't enjoy; the piece of corn was really tough, and almost broke my teeth! These soups are served with Salvadoran Tortillas, which were just like pupusas without filling. A very filling meal.

Of course we've been going back to Da' Kitchen. Here's the Chicken Cutlet I had today:

It was the "triple-decker" Chicken Katsu, with a brown gravy, topped with mushrooms and onions. I bought it with "all rice" today; and there were 3 scoops of rice, with one scoop hidden underneath! Delici-yoso!!! (And the Missus finished a whole Fish Tempura Plate by herself!).

Finally, I guess there comes a time that we all have to face our fears. This year the Missus wanted one of these(but I'll be the one using it):

Yep, that's a Pressure Cooker; for some reason I'm terrified of pressure cookers, and have never used one in my life. I've got those stories of exploding pressure cookers, although I've been assured that newer models are extremely safe. So we'll soon see how I handle the "pressure".

Dum-te-de-dum-de-dum-dum..Under Pressure....

Rickshaw Corner

The mention of Rickshaw Corner to many people I know elicit comments such as "you'd never catch me dead eating there", and "WHAT, that's like one step above Panda Express".  I guess part of the problem is the sign that says "Chinese & Japanese Cuisine", that scares people off, and smacks of fast food.

The interior doesn't really do anything to change your opinion. Nor does the plastic "menu", a plastic sheet with "Chinese Menu " printed on one side, and "Japanese Menu" printed on the other.

So what makes Rickshaw rise above the usual neighborhood generic Asian restaurant?  I usually visit Rickshaw once or twice a year, when the weather gets a bit colder, and only get one dish. The spicy Chow Ma Soup Noodles(Chow Ma Mein-$5.95):

Now I haven't had this at any other restaurant, so have not  developed a "baseline" for comparison. The Missus has heard of Chow Ma Mein, but has never had it. So what's to like? The nice spicy broth has a real "Korean" flavor, like the broth in Soon Tofu. I'm not a real fan of food being first stir-fried and then dumped on top of a soup, but in this case it's not too bad. Mainly because the pork, shrimp, bamboo shoots, and other vegetables are stir fried with dried chilies that adds another layer of heat. In addition there are large slices of garlic and several pieces of Zhacai (Sichuan preserved vegetable) that help give the soup even more "zip". The Bad? Well the noodles pretty much suck, no better then brittle "spaghetti" in broth. And of course there