mmm-yoso!!!

yoso-greedy:Eastman Outdoors Big Kahuna Burner

I had a package waiting this afternoon; no it wasn't the Baklava from Jo, it was the Eastman Big Kahuna Burner that I ordered from Amazon.

I'd been waiting for this for a while. It's basically a heavy duty wok ring. Supposedly able to handle up to 50 lbs, and heat up to 55,000 BTU's, I'd be able to finally cook using high heat, perfect for Chinese cooking and other stir fry dishes. In other words the "I can't get the wok hot enough" excuse wouldn't "fly" anymore.

So I opened the box and uh-oh, the dreaded words "assembly required", along with an instruction manual; this was big trouble. So I read the instructions, and amazingly, I put it together in about 15 minutes. And guess what? No leftover pieces! I hooked up the propane and did the "soap test", then turned the control valve on both the Big Kahuna and propane on and lit it and - KA-BOOM!!! Just kidding! It lit up and I cranked it up, and my god it was hot, I could feel it 15 feet away! I was still surprised that a notorious "brok-chanic" like me could actually do this so quickly. So my initial impression? Very sturdy, easy assembly, good price ($49.95 + free delivery), and hot as heck. Too bad we already had dinner; the virgin stir-fry would have to wait. But this is the 4th of July weekend, so I'm sure I can come up with something.........

Bale Linda Vista - Completing the Banh Mi Tri-fecta

*** Ba Le Linda Vista has closed.

To complete the Banh Mi "tri-fecta" I stopped by the old dependable Ba-Le Sandwich shop in Linda Vista. I say dependable mainly for the simple reason that I had been a regular customer of Ba-le back "home" in Honolulu. As a matter of fact, the first Banh Mi I had ever had was from Ba-Le.

 

This franchise of Ba-Le had changed hands over the last year or so, and the new owners have made alot of improvements, including an upgrade of the menu, and a renovation of both the storefront as well as interior. Of course to pay for this prices have risen, though a 25-50 cent increase on something that costs two-bucks isn't really that bad. The one thing that I do lament is that I'm unable to order extra veggies or meat anymore. Today I purchased the Banh Mi Dac Biet - or Deluxe Sandwich as well as some spring rolls. The damage all told - $5.25.

The interesting thing about Banh Mi is that I've found, no two are the same. This version's roll was basically "all crust", almost as if the bread portion had been torn out, "po' boy style". The roll was decently crusty, the meat was very thinly sliced, tasty, but a bit dry. The "veggies" were flavored well, but the cilantro was a bit of a problem. In this case the stems of cilantro were included, and you'd basically have all the cilantro pulled out by the fibrous stems during the first two bites. The peppers included in the sandwich were not very spicy, but the sandwich was still a bargain at $2.75! All other sandwiches, including an "egg" sandwich are priced right at $2.25. If I read the sign right; you buy 9 you get the tenth free. So far no really bad Banh Mi, and there are a few more to try! I think in the end I'll do a comparison chart for the Banh Mi in San Diego, as they vary so much in size, taste, and even bread! I'm looking for recommendations.....BTW the spring rolls were OK, the ones in Viet Dong are better IMHO, but that's another story!

The Other Two: Cafe Dore' and A' Chau.

Bale French Sandwich Shop
6937 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92111
858) 565-8057

Cafe Dore' - Banh Mi Amore'

Since my Wor Won Ton Mein quest had pretty much been a wash-out, I focused my attention on my Banh Mi craving that had been hovering in the background waiting for a chance to break-out.

I decided to ask the Gal at the Dry Cleaners for a recommendation, and I listed off the Banh Mi places I've been to, all of which met with a slight negative nod, after which She told me to try Cafe Dore', saying "they are kind of slow, but do a good job". Which means, you might wait a while but it's worth it. She gave me instructions, and I found Cafe Dore', in (another) strip mall in City Heights, located next to a Vietnamese "Deli" and coin laundry.

There was a group of Vietnamese men having coffee and chatting. I drew alot of stares as I passed them. I entered the cafe and there were 4 tough looking Vietnamese guys sitting around watching the television. One of them stood up and simply said "yes?", they obviously thought that I took a "wrong turn" somewhere. I mentioned that I had been told that they make a really good Banh Mi; there were instant smiles all around....and the Gentleman pointed to a small flyer listing 5 sandwiches all ranging from $2.00-$2.50 under a piece of glass on the counter - this was the only "menu" in the whole place! I finally figured that this was actually a Vietnamese Coffee Shop, not really a restaurant.

After a short wait he handed me a package with my sandwich ($2.50) in it.

To say that this was a heck-of-a-sandwich is an understatement. The baguette was crunchy and fresh, the pate, BBQ pork, and "ham" combined with the veggies to create a very tasty and balanced flavor. The cilantro and cucumber was palate cleansing. My only (small) gripe is that they went easy on the hot green peppers - maybe going a little bit "easy" on me. This was easily the best Banh Mi I've had in San Diego so far!

The location is on the corner of Marlborough Ave and University Ave. Cafe Dore' has no English signs in it, no menu, except for the sandwich list under the glass counter, so I don't know what else they serve, but will find out. The strip mall also has a Vietnamese BBQ, a Seafood Shop, a Market, among other things. Might be a nice place for the adventurous to explore! This was one heck of a Banh Mi!

Cafe Dore
4135 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
(619) 563-3525

Between Marlborough Ave and 41st St

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Roasted Beef Tenderloin

Today I had to take care of 2 birthdays - of my two "Boyz"....

Every year we celebrate both their birthdays with a cake from Paw Pleasers, and usually a filet mignon. This year though we wanted our share. So I got up this morning and drove over to Iowa Meat Farms. Now I can't say enough good things about this place! Great service, great meat, and a knowledgeable staff. The cutter actually showed me a whole tenderloin, asking how many I would be feeding ( I didn't tell them about the boyz...) . He than trimmed, tied, and cut me a 2 1/2lb Tenderloin, man this was a work of art!!! Now I didn't want to be spending the whole morning, drool dripping down my chin, waiting for the tenderloin to finish roasting. So I cut it in half and seasoned very generously with Alae'a, fresh cracked pepper, granulated garlic, and a small amount of dried oregano.

I heated a pan to till smoking, and seared the tenderloin on all sides, than placed in a 350 degree oven.

While the tenderloin roasted I caramelized some onions:

Caramelized Onions
2 large onions sliced
1/3 - 1/2 cup mirin
1 - 2 Tb Sugar
Salt
Pepper
1/2 Tb Butter

Place sliced onions in a non-stick pan. Using medium heat, allow onions to "sweat". Once onions start to soften season with salt and pepper and 1 Tb Sugar. Stir onions, when onions start to caramelize, pour in half of the mirin, and allow to reduce, stirring periodically. Add butter and saute until onions are golden brown. Add additional mirin and sugar if onions are not sweet enough. Sweetness will vary based on the type of onions used.

Horseradish Sauce
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
3 Tb Prepared Horseradish
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and Pepper.

Mix all ingredients until smooth. Chill.

When the internal temp of the roast hit 125, I removed and rested. The roast was so soft I could cut it with a fork. And the seasoning was "right on" I probably could've eaten the butcher's twine and not think twice about it!

So what to do with leftovers? On a nicely toasted French Dip roll, 2Tb Horseradish sauce, 4 slices beef tenderloin, caramelized onions, Roasted Mushrooms, and Arugula!!! delici-yoso!!!

Oh, yes, "da boyz" enjoyed their share as well....Happy Birthday Sammy & Frankie!!!

Roasted Mushrooms - Now What?

I've decided to actually do some cooking during the upcoming week. Problem is, I'm not quite sure what to make?

So while aimlessly wandering down the isles of Trader Joe's I grabbed a couple of packages of sliced mushrooms. I usually purchase whole mushrooms and slice them myself, but I had decided to make roasted mushrooms, so the pre-sliced crimini and white mushrooms would do.

Whenever I really can't figure what to do I'll go for one of my "ingredients". These roasted mushrooms can be used many ways, for pasta sauces, they can be pureed and used as a thickener for soups, as sandwich topping (ice cream topping???, guess not), and dips.

Any type of mushroom can be used, I've used enoki's, portabellos, shiitakes, oyster( be sure to remove stems, need to be careful with these they tend to liquidize). I decided to go with plain buttons and crimini's. I think the recipe is originally from Charlie Trotter - I don't have the original, but as with most recipes, I made adjustments to accommodate my taste, and have added ingredients (soy sauce, red wine) as well.

Roasted Mushrooms:
1 1/2 - 2 lbs Mushrooms Sliced
1 Medium Onion Finely Chopped
4 Cloves Garlic Minced
1/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Red Wine
1 Tb Soy Sauce
2 tsp Kosher/Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Dried Basil

Place all ingredients in a baking pan, mix together, cover well, and roast at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool in liquid and refrigerate, mushrooms will last up to 1 week in a covered container.

Now what am I going to do with this? Stay Tuned........

Hong Kong Restaurant

After my last "bu-bu" and with my craving for Wor Won Ton Mein unfulfilled I set out again at lunch today. But the only place around the office with Wor Won Ton Mein is Hong Restaurant.

So I went in and sat down and ordered the Wor Won Ton Mein ($9.00). I had heard that it was pretty good. I received a huge, I mean huge bowl, with 9 won tons (I counted), pork, chicken, shrimp (4), noodles, bok choy, and Napa Cabbage. The won tons were fat and flavorful, but alas, the broth was so weak I had to pour a ton of soy sauce into it! The texture of the pork and chicken were great, but was very bland. The shrimp was very flavorful. But the broth was very weak and watery, like diluted chicken broth.

As I walked back to the office, disappointed once again, a Range Rover pulled into the Sav-on Parking lot, followed by 5 blue-and-whites. As the SUV pulled to a stop cops got out of the car several with shotguns. And it sounded just like TV, "driver, exit the car, place your hands on your head and intertwine your fingers.......etc, etc,". It was really interesting to see people walking out of Sav-on totally oblivious, right into the cops with their guns out, than making a REAL quick U-turn to safety.

When I returned to the office I called my Won Ton Mein "connection" and explained how bad the soup was. I was assured that this could not be true! Oh well, back to the drawing board....

I've had food from Hong Kong Restaurant before, and it was ok 60's Chinese Food, the one saving grace is that the place is open until 230am during the week and 3am during weekends. I've driven past late at night and the place is packed, this kinda tells you about the sorry state of late night dining in San Diego. Maybe this is one of those places where the later it is, the better it is....... But based on what the "Won Ton connection" says, I may have to try this one more time.....stay tuned!

Hong Kong Restaurant
3871 4th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 291-9449

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Phuong Trang

Phuong Trang is probably among the most well known of the Vietnamese Restaurants in San Diego. An institution on Convoy St, on any given day the non-Vietnamese clientele out number the Vietnamese customers. Tonight the restaurant was unusually empty, probably due to the weather, and the long days associated with the summer solstice. Many times we'll avoid Phuong Trang at dinner time due to the crowds and drive to Pho Hoa Cali on Clairemont Mesa Blvd instead.

Sometime during the last year or so the interior of the restaurant has gone through a bit of a renovation and modernization, and it seems that the Owner's Daughters now run the operation during the evening.

It's been sunny and warm so no Pho' for us today. We started with the Bo Bia Spring Rolls ($3.25), these are our favorite with pickled vegetables (Ca Rot) like those found in Banh Mi, shredded dried shrimp, basil, lettuce, egg, and Chinese sausage (lap xuong), served with peanut sauce, these spring rolls are both salty, sweet, crunchy, and refreshing. Always a nice start to a meal.

The Bun (Vermicelli Noodle) with Shrimp was nice and cool ($5.95). We asked for extra Nuoc Mam Cham and basically created a cool sweet/salty soup. The amount of shrimp was very generous and were cooked well.

I ordered the "special" Broken Rice ($6.95):

A char grilled pork chop, shredded pork, Fried shrimp/fish cake, steamed egg cake, is served on a bed of broken rice "com tam", along with lightly dressed shredded lettuce & carrots, sliced tomato and cucumber. The steamed egg is my favorite part of this dish, ground pork, cellphone noodles, give this "Vietnamese Chawan-Mushi" wonderful flavor. If I could just get this and the fried fishcake over rice I'd take it! The pork chop is basically a cutlet with bone and well flavored though tough, and the shredded pork though not among my favorite things; was nice and moist, not dry and stringy as is often the norm.

Overall this was a pleasant, quick meal. At times the service at Phuong Trang can be a bit curt, especially when crowded, so we try to avoid those periods. We've had many meals at Phuong trang and found it to be generally good, though the Banh Xeo (Crepe) is greasy, the Cha Gio (Fried Egg Rolls) are excellent. Another thing that Phuong Trang does well is to give a good of amount garnishes with all the dishes served, nothing worse than getting 3 basil leaves and 5 bean sprouts with your bowl of Pho' .

Phuong Trang
4170 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
(858)565-6750

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yoso-lazy: What's in the Frig?

Looks like it's going to be a busy week. Whew, I'm tired already. So I decided to root around the frig. If you're like me there's always "stuff" in your frig.

So what did I find? Well, I've been a "Smokin' Fool" recently using my Stove Top Smoker, if I find it, I've been smokin it. Better keep those shoes in the cabinet! So I had some Hickory Smoked Chicken leg and Apple smoked Shishito Pepper, I made some of those Japanese Cold Noodles with Kamabuko, julienned cucumber, and green onion. So crisped up the chicken leg skin side down in a non-stick, and found some Karakuchi Kyuri and ended up with something pretty good in 15 minutes! So what do you have in your frig?

I always have eggs, tofu, green onions, and ramen.......

Bambu Bistro - A Big Bu Bu

*** Hi everyone, I appreciate all the comments, and respect all of your opinions. I have always enjoyed the "real time" comments and interaction, and do my best to respect everyone's opinions, that is why I don't have moderation turned on, and other than a few "rules", I don't delete comments. But in the last few minutes, I've had to delete a few profanity laced comments. With that in mind, I've decided to close comments on this post and I thought I'd let "Chef Alexandria" have the last word/comment. So let's get back to eating, shall we? Thanks again for taking the time out to read, and comment on my humble little blog. And all of the really kind Emails. I really have no "agenda", maybe that is why many of my posts are not polished, I'm really just looking for a good meal(s), and the result is pretty much my food diary, and I'm always honored to have you visit.

One last item, a few quotes from an Email I received from a San Diego restaurant owner, that I think are insightful:

"this is a tough business and you can work yourself to the bone and still have the food not come out good...but of course they're totally wrong to bash you for blogging your opinion. "

"it's a brutal business which doesn't always bring out the best in people."

So true...............

Our office is located in the basement, so we never really have a true bearing of what's going on in the world around us unless we step out and into the building's courtyard or rise like blinking moles into the sun. So during lunch today I became obsessed with having a Wor Won Ton Mein. I don't know why, but I had to have one! So I left the office in the 80 degree heat and started walking to Hong Kong Restaurant in the blazing sun to get a Wor Won Ton Mein. Needless to say, by the time I hit 4th and University I had a pretty good sweat going on, and that Won Ton Mein didn't look quite as appetizing. But by this time I had also passed all the "regulars" in Hillcrest; now I thought about Bread and Cie, but I could see that it was packed and I didn't want to deal with that, so I turned around and saw Bambu Bistro:

So against my better judgment I stepped into this place, and up to the counter. there was a chalkboard with various lunch specials. The very "chipper" gal at the counter recommended the "Thai Burrito" so I ordered it. The funny thing was that there were no prices written on the board - turned out the lunch special was $8.00 - for this:

Notice the bright colors of the plate, the tablecloth, take notice of the bright and sunny store-front. Take notice of the brown-grey looking "burrito" and peanut sauce. The menu stated that the burrito was wrapped in a cilantro tortilla - does it look like a cilantro tortilla to you? Also, no scallions, as also stated in the menu. Oh well, taste will always prevail IMHO, so I took a bite of the burrito without the peanut sauce, and "BLANK", I mean truly a "blank", very bland, tasted like can chicken stir-fried with bean sprouts, there obviously was some kind of sauce in there, because my burrito "self-destructed" on the very first bite. The peanut sauce seemed just to be pureed peanut and some hot sauce like sambal..... Well, enough of that. the only other person in the restaurant during this time was eating a bowl of "pho'", very loosely defined as pho'. Was kinda small, and I checked the price $7.00! Posted on the counter was a picture of a Banh Mi, with the heading that was something like "The newest thing, blah, blah...". I'm afraid of what might happen to a Banh Mi (I didn't see it on the menu) in the hands of a restaurant like this. And how much would they charge? like $7.00? Scary thought.........

At that point I called it quits, the service had been good and friendly, but the food really needs alot of work if this place is to survive. To me this was the perfect example of "Con-Fusion" cuisine, tasteless and pointless. If somebody has been there, and there's something I'm missing, by all means let me know. I usually will try a restaurant twice; but in this case it would seem to be pointless.

Bambu Bistro
3882 4th Ave.
San Diego, CA  92103

Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour

*** I think most San Diego residents know from the press coverage, that as of July 31st 2006, Farrell's has closed it's doors. A sad day for all.....

Caution, the following post may bring on severe side effects associated with a case of terminal nostalgia!

I don't think that you could've grown up in Honolulu in the 70's and early 80's without having gone to Farrell's at least once! Bright, loud, and rollicking, the pounding of the drums, and the siren going off when a "zoo" was being delivered! Farrell's is very near and dear to the hearts of those raised during that era.

Then, it seems like overnight they all started closing one by one, until I walked by the location of my favorite in Kahala Mall, and found they were gone......

Until today that is. I had read that one of the last two Farrell's(the other is in Santa Clarita) in existence is located in Mira Mesa just about 12 miles North; but I had never made the effort to go there. After all they say "you can never really go back home again".... But I made mention of Farrell's on Ono Kine Grindz, and man if we didn't start waxing nostalgic! So of course, a trip was in order.....

The Farrell's in Mira Mesa is located in a mall across from a Target store, next to a Domino's pizza. The location looked really plain and we almost missed it, how so "Un-Farrell's" - like :

As we walked in, all of the "classic" kitsch-y, faux 90's Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour decor was on display. From the booths to the tiffany lamps, to the red and gold wallpaper, to the player piano, it was all there. The old Farrell's spirit and excitement was missing however. It was unusually dark, and Adults out-numbered children 5 to 1, and it was very quiet. Maybe because it was Father's day, who knows! There were three what looked like Middle-Aged Siblings with a Gentleman who was obviously their dad having lunch and ice cream. We were seated and handed the classic Farrell's Newsprint Menu! With great joy I turned to the back and saw that The Zoo, Volcano, and Pig's Trough, were still on the menu! In fact most of the ice cream desserts that I remembered were still on the menu. On the downside, no Gastronomicaldelicatessenepicurean's Delight, bummer! And in deference to the location there was stuff like Pot Stickers, Asian Chicken Strips, and Tempura Vegetables, on the menu. Very strange. The classic Patty Melt and Whing Ding Hot Dog are still on the menu however.

We ordered a "Crunchy Burger" (not a classic I know) and a Banana Royale (a classic). The burger was pretty good, tasty, well cooked, as good as I remember. The Banana Royale was also good, no frills vanilla ice cream, real good thick fudge, and nuts. The Missus kept asking me why the fudge was so thick, and I had to explain that this is not the thin, runny, squeeze bottled stuff. I eventually showed Her the fudge warmer.

So what's the verdict? I actually enjoyed my burger enough to return. Farrell's is a little worse for wear, and alot of the atmosphere is gone, but those memories are still there. There's a site with an exhaustive history of Farrell's.

Here's to the memories!

Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour
10606 Camino Ruiz
Mira Mesa, CA 92126