mmm-yoso!!!

We're Back!

Well, after dipping our toes in the "Covid world" of travel by visiting CDMX and other locales in Mexico and needing to use our travel vouchers, we decided to go for it. Being unable to travel had created a large chasm in our lives and we really missed travelling, especially to what had become our favorite city. You know the place, right?

During our last visit, back at the end of 2019, we were supposed to end our travels there, but fate intervened (I'll get to that post, I promise) and we ended our trip by staying at the airport. And then came Covid, so there definitely was unfinished business here.

We started and ended our trip here this time, though there was a "bump in the road" (no, it wasn't Covid) which fortunately didn't affect us too much.

The Missus and I started things off by revisiting some old favorites.

And we got to see early on that things were, well, even more busy than we recalled. It could be that we had gotten used to "Covid vacancy", but it also seems like the demographic had changed for our favorite areas as well. But we were happy to see that cafe culture, which I was worried the pandemic would change was in fact going strong.

And then we were off to our next stops......where the Missus was kind enough to indulge my desire to see some specific "sites".

This city has so much to see and a wealth of history.

And even more fascinating stories......

After being cooped up during the pandemic, we decided to splurge and I booked us a private tour over four days.....

Where I got to try some traditional dishes in the appropriate setting. And I really enjoyed it!

And the next part I set-up for the Missus.....

Which was on a charming island.

Which we really enjoyed.......

And the Missus found Her "spirit animal"....

And She found a dish liked as well......

On our way back to the "big city" we made some interesting stops.

Back in this wonderful city, we got to check off two more places on my "list".

And it also has a San Diego "connection" as well.

And lest you think all we ate was traditional food...well....

People were warm, friendly, and the pace was more relaxed then other municipalities we've visited of the same size.

Back where we started we had a wonderful apartment.....with a view that always grabbed our attention at all hours.

And we got to "feed" some of our food obsessions.

And try out a couple of places in the city we'd always wanted to check out.

Along with eating as we usually do here.....

Along with just wandering amongst all those familiar stops.......

And checking on the progress of other places.....

I even took a baking class.

And while things had indeed changed; we took reasonable precautions and actually did self tests during our stay, what hadn't changed was our love of travel.  And we were relieved to find that our love of this city hadn't changed. 

What has changed is that I'm over two years older...so, while I get over my jet lag, keep your eyes peeled.....

While I recover and get back into "San Diego time".

And we'll see you soon....but right now, we gotta run!

Thanks for stopping by!

Champagne French Bakery Cafe

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Cathy is writing while Kirk is traveling.

 We started driving, took an exit, kept driving, saw cars in a parking lot and stopped.  This is how The Mister and I find restaurants in unfamiliar areas in the early morning.  I remembered seeing a Champagne Bakery in Del Mar when working for the Registrar of Voters, years ago, but never went there.  That location has closed.  
 Walking inside, there are three cases of freshly baked goods, with a kitchen menu along the back wall. 
 When I saw a Jesuite in the display case, I knew I had to order it.  I did not notice the giant poster on the wall until downloading this photo.  
 A Jesuite ($5.29) is a triangular, flaky pastry filled with frangipane (a soft, spreadable custard cream) and topped with sliced almonds and powdered sugar.  The pastry originated in France and the name refers to the triangular shape of a Jesuit's hat.  I knew of it but had never seen this particular pastry in San Diego.
 The pieces of flaky/crisp crust and creamy filling are delicious.  The coffee is Lavazza ($2.69).

But, we were here for breakfast.
 The Mister chose the Breakfast Crépe plate with bacon and potatoes ($11.29).  Two fresh made, thin crépes filled with soft scrambled eggs and Swiss cheese.  The herbed, crisp roasted potatoes and smoky, quality bacon rounded out this meal. 
 I decided on the Le Metro Sandwich ($7.75).  Wow.  A folded omelet, tomato, avocado and herbed cream cheese served on a fresh baked, toasted whole wheat, seeded ciabatta.  Flavors, textures, quality.

I hope we find ourselves back in the area so we can try more of the menu.  

Champagne French Bakery Cafe website 

Two locations: 162 S. Santa Fe Road, Encinitas (760) 944-9446 Open daily 6:30 a.m.-7 p.m.

11925 Carmel Mountain Road Suite 801 San Diego 92128 (858) 613-7767 Open daily 6:30 a.m.-8 p.m.

Natural Style Chicken (Point Loma)

Here you are, looking at mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Kirk and His Missus are really enjoying themselves on their well deserved vacation (I have photographic proof).  Cathy is writing this post. 

I posted about Natural Style Chicken in 2007.  Kirk posted about it in 2014.  It's been more than seven years, the restaurant has survived through Covid and it's time for a revisit post. At the far (Northeast) end of the mall on the Northwest corner of West Point Loma Boulevard at Sports Arena Boulevard, a few doors down from the original location of Gaglione Bros, is the longstanding (more than 40 years) location of Natural Style Chicken.
 The menu is pretty simple, primarily consisting of rotisserie cooked chicken  which you can see spinning in the oven at the front window if you arrive early in the morning.
 A chicken teriyaki plate ($11.99) weighs close to (if not more than) one pound.  Rice, an iceberg salad and chicken- a LOT of boneless, skinless, tender, juicy rotisserie chicken.  Served with a warm, house-made teriyaki sauce that isn't too sweet and not salty; just right.  An easily shared meal.
 But, the owner is Korean and there are both kalbi and bulgogi plates offered.  The bulgogi ($14.99) plate is wonderful, with thin sliced, marinated beef, griddled on a stovetop with cabbage, carrot and onion slices.  So tender and so much flavor!  This day we opted for the vegetable/fried rice (+$2) which was made to order with carrot, onion and egg.  Very good (again, the plate was heavy and shared). 
 There are a few side dishes on the menu.  The onion rings ($4.99) are an excellent choice.  Hand battered, expertly fried, light, crunchy, not greasy.
 Chicken Kyoza (Korean gyoza/mandu)(five for 5.99, ten for $8.99) are also perfectly fried dumplings , filled with chicken and cabbage and served with a tart, vinegar-based sauce.  

You can't go wrong here.  Nice people.  Fresh, tasty, good food.  

Natural Style Chicken 3944 West Point Loma Blvd San Diego 92110 (619) 223-9887 Open daily 11-9

Tom's Famous Family Restaurant #23 (Escondido) (revisit)

Today, mmm-yoso!!! has another post about food for you to read.  It's written by Cathy, since Kirk is still on vacation. 

I wrote about Tom's #23 last November and some things here are pretty much the same, but some changes have occurred. Walk up, order, pay...and you are asked where you will be sitting- the table numbers are tall and visible from the cash register; you aren't handed one to put on your table.  Why? Because your food will be delivered to your table by Tomcat!

   The Mister ordered a chicken fried steak breakfast ($10.99), with home fries and over easy eggs.  Beautiful, orange-yolked eggs.  Perfectly crispy fried steak, wonderful sausage gravy, crispy. skin-on potato chunks. Instead of toasted bread, He chose French toast ($1.99) Eggy, crisp with a fluffy interior.  Really nice. 

 I decided on a breakfast sandwich with ham on rye toast ($5.49).  I nice, thick slice of ham with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise along with the folded egg omelet.

Good food and a fun time. 

Tom's Famous Family Restaurant #23, 505 West 5th Avenue (at Centre City Parkway) Escondido 92025 Open daily 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Breakfast served all day

 Tomcat talks to you, politely (even says "goodbye") and knows when all of your order has been removed from the shelves.
 

Lido's Italian Food (Lemon Grove)

Well, here you are, looking at mmm-yoso!!! again.  Today, Cathy is posting about a restaurant which has been in Lemon Grove since 1955, for good reasons.  Kirk and His Missus are still enjoying themselves in another part of the world.

You may have passed without noticing.  Lido's has been there all along. The architecture on the exterior has remained the same.  As has the interior.

  Notice there are Monday-Friday Lunch Specials.

Specials have a choice of soup or salad.  Of course, only minestrone soup is offered, because it is perfect and there is no need to make any other soup; just like at home.  The salad dressing (again, only one type) is a unique version of Italian.  It is available for purchase.  Lunch also arrives with toasted garlic parmesan bread. Of course, you can order a slice of cheese bread ($2.95) (or a half loaf for $6.95 or a full loaf for $9.95).  A very nice, cheesy 'appetizer'.

 This is a 'full' order of jumbo cheese ravioli ($10.45).  A delightful, fluffy ricotta-herb filling sandwiched between thin pasta and covered in the house marinara.  It's a great meal to share (and have some leftovers).
  The eggplant parmesan lunch ($9.25) here is excellent, though it isn't photogenic.  Thin sliced (but not mushy) eggplant slices, plenty of cheese, and, because it is baked, the marinara has a more concentrated flavor.
  One of our favorite meals when dating was to share an antipasto salad (for two, $10.35) ($8.35 for one).  The triangle slices of mortadella and cotto salami sandwiching mozzarella are found around the bottom of the plate.  Pickled carrot, celery, red pepper and cauliflower complete the lettuce/tomato/olive/pepperocini covered plate. A large sausage and mushroom pizza ($19.25)would pretty much always be our order back then and still is today.  Thin sliced fresh mushrooms, a light dollop of the tomato based sauce, plenty of mozzarella and sausage (!)- mild Italian with the flavors of garlic and fennel seeds.
 The large pizza is thin.  The small is a bit thicker.  For the extra $2, there are more toppings and flavor.  We reheat the leftovers in a fry pan.  

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Ok, so it's an older Italian restaurant.  What makes Lido's unique?

This.  With every eat-in pizza (or for $4.95) you get this.  "Hors d' ouevres"
 The plate arrives looking mildly unusual with hidden joy underneath all of those Cheez-Its: thin slices of American cheese and cotto salami.   It's what makes Lido's, Lido's.

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Local, long time, friendly, fresh, consistent.

Lido's Italian Foods 7252 Broadway Lemon Grove CA 91945  (619) 469-9901 Open seven days 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Website


 The hors d' oeuvres plate also reminds us of this surprising dish, which I posted about in November of 2006.

 

Anthony's Fish Grotto (La Mesa Lunch)(again)

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! while Kirk is on vacation.  Cathy is writing today.

Barely six months ago, I wrote about a few meals at Anthonys, a San Diego mainstay since 1946.  The Mister and I stopped for a celebratory lunch a few weeks ago.  We decided to eat indoors instead of enjoying the outdoor seating.

 Here is the current Lunch Menu. When you are seated, warm ciabatta rolls are served with a whipped tomato butter.  A wonderful treat.
 We decided to share the appetizer calamari plate ($15.95).  Lightly breaded with a herbed 'Italian style' mix, lightly fried to a delicate crisp and topped with Parmesan, the soft-as-butter squid (served with tartar sauce and warm marinara) could be a meal.  But, we shared. 
 The Mister had a craving for fried items and ordered the Quick Catch Fish & Shrimp plate ($15.50).  The five plump, classic-batter fried shrimp along with the piece of classic-battered cod along with the Krab 'n Mac salad was a plentiful meal and flavor-filled in every bite.
 I really wanted the classic New England clam chowder that is made here, but not the bread bowl it is usually served in, so I ordered the 'Salad with Chowder Combo' ($14.75), requesting no bread bowl and chose the wedge salad (could have had a House Salad or Caesar salad...and also could have chosen the Red Fisherman Chowder).  As always, the fresh, cream based soup, highlighted with clam pieces, diced potato and celery was the star of my plate.  Next time, I might ask for the Wedge with the house-made Louie dressing..I'm wild and crazy sometimes.

Another Covid-19 survivor and favorite special meal spot.

Anthony's Fish Grotto 9530 Murray Drive La Mesa, CA 91942 (619)463-0368 Website Mon-Thurs 11:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m., Fri-Sat 11:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Sunday (brunch!) 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m.

Pho and Grill International (Spring Valley)

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog, tries to write about interesting meals.  Kirk and His Missus are researching some very interesting 'worldwide' foods while Cathy is writing about another local place.

The Mister and I were in Spring Valley on a bread-buying/bakery errand (future post) and passed by this new location (about 1/2 mile East of the old location) of Pho and Grill International.  The original location opened in 2015.  This mall also houses Grecian Cafe, where we also stop when in the area.

 The people who work here are very friendly and treat everyone like family.  There is almost always a US Postal Service truck parked in front (because they are having lunch here; always the sign of a good place to stop-read Trent's comment on this post- stopping where local delivery people eat has been how we find great hidden gems).  
 The menu is fairly extensive. 
 59, the Special Combo ($14.95), includes two grilled shrimp (plump, juicy, great grilled flavor), a grilled pork chop (excellent) and a grilled pork patty (very good version) along with the rice and salad.  The menu also listed 'shrimp paste on tofu', which wasn't on the plate (but a fried egg was included and not on the menu).
 The owner came out to check on us and we explained that we thought tau hu ky would be part of the plate.  He apologized and brought out this shrimpy delight, which was very tasty (but not tau hu ky). 
 It was a warm day and I wanted Bun...cold noodles on top of lettuce.  I chose 37- char broiled pork and egg roll (bun thit nuong cha gio)($11.95) (primarily because I wanted a bite of crispy egg rolls without having a full order).  It arrived in this wide, low bowl- deceptively large.
 The lettuce was hidden but definitely there once you mixed things up.  The char grilled pork was wonderful and the crispy, fresh tasting, quite filled cha gio will be a separate order next time; really good.

Another Covid-19 survivor.  Good people work here, everyone seems to know everyone.

Pho and Grill International 9676 Campo Road Spring Valley, CA 91977 (619) 825-8585 Open seven days 9 a.m.-8:30 p.m.

Ramona Cafe (Breakfast)

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Today's post (again, written by Cathy) takes you a bit inland of this 4200 square mile County.

The Mister and I found ourselves in Ramona one morning, saw cars parked on Main Street and knew that we should stop.    (FYI, there is parking and an entrance from the alley)
 The breakfast menu is on one page; lunch on the flip side.  Our friendly waitresses were familiar with just about every patron on this weekday.  (I did not notice the top left corner; next time).
 The Mister ordered the Farmer's Omelet ($12.50) with home fries- and was asked if he wanted onions with the home fries(!).  Hash browns were not an option (which is nice; limited menu) and the fresh, cubed potatoes were crisped and nicely browned.
 The three egg omelet was filled with cheddar cheese and ground breakfast sausage, topped with sausage gravy and more cheese.  A large amount of mild breakfast sausage which went well with the eggs and (mild) gravy.  We ended up adding pepper to the sausage halfway through. 
 Of course, the only 'bread' that The Mister could consider ordering with this particular omelet was a fresh baked biscuit.  (There is also a choice of toast or English muffin).
 The tall, fluffy-interiored, crisp crusted biscuit was quite large and arrived with its own container of honey.  A different type of hand made biscuit, which we shared.
 I decided to order the California Eggs Benedict ($13.50) (a traditional Eggs Benedict with tomato and avocado for an additional $1).
 Nice amount of thicker cut smoked ham on top of a toasted English muffin topped with the avocado and tomato, a light-medium poached egg and house made hollandaise (not very lemon-y but a perfect consistency).  

Another Covid-19 survivor.  We will be back.

Ramona Cafe  628 Main Street Ramona, CA 92065  (760) 789-8656 Website Open daily 6 a.m.- 8 p.m.