VGood, Sort of a Ch-Ch-Chain, Pretty good, too!

The Santee location of VGood has closed.

mmm-yoso is not on vacation, but Cathy is blogging now, while Kirk rests for a few days.

Hi.  It's been a while. People who know what my line of work is know what has been going on with that as well as some other crises in life.  The rest of you may not have even noticed I hadn't blogged.  It isn't like I haven't been eating, though.

So, you all know I am the Token White Girl who lives in East County.  Santee, to be exact.  We are not out of the loop out here, let me tell you.  The Green Trolley Line does end here, though..or maybe, it *starts* here.

There it is, right next to one of three Starbucks we have out here (OK, two are stand alone stores and there is one inside the Vons...). Across from the Starbucks is VGood, Japanese Grill and Sushi.

Kind of innocuous, but an interesting menu, and a few Law Enforcement types seem to frequent this place. (The Sheriff Substation is less than a 1/2 mile away, as is Los Colinas, the Women's Detention facility made famous on a Episode of The Real World-San Diego) (sorry, digressing...).

Anyhow, last Sunday and this Sunday, The Mister and I were once again hungry, but not wanting to cook at home, nor drive very far for food.  So this is where we decided to eat. 

A kind of small menu, mostly with rolls, which most people were buying, but the idea of cream cheese with rice is not appealing to me, and the menu spells crab with a 'k' instead of a 'c', so I just wasn't in the mood to waste some calories on that food.  There is no sushi bar, but sushi and rolls on the menu... you just walk up and order, pay, get your own beverage and utensils and wait for your number to be called. 

The interior is clean, painted a happy Home Depot Orange, along with one yellow accent wall (learned that terminology on HGTV..whoo hoo)  and has 5 low tables and 6 bar height tables, plus you can walk out into the courtyard where there are tables, and the water display and eat outdoors if you want to.

Editor's note:  I have been informed that the color is officially "CalTrans orange" and *not* "Home Depot orange".  Sorry for any confusion.

So, we ordered.  We tried the two item VGood Value Combo Plate with teriyaki beef  and katsu chicken ($6.99- usually $5.99, but $1 more for the beef)  which comes with a choice of miso soup or salad of the day. 

The salad this Sunday (and last Sunday for that matter) was made with iceberg, jicama, chopped cucumber, chopped red pepper, parsley, mango and a nice, spicy dressing.  The heat of the dressing hit when we got to the bottom.  It was quite refreshing.  The katsu was nice and light-crispy, came with a sweet dipping sauce that tasted different than the teriyaki sauce on the very tender, medium rare cooked beef.    A good portion of rice was served with the plate.  There were two layers of both the beef and the chicken.  Last week we got the fried fish and teriyaki chicken and the fish was exceptionally nicely fried.  However, thinking the same thing would happen this week, I ordered the fried squid.($3.99)

You can see by looking at it that it was overcooked.  However, the breading was still light and though slightly crispier than I think it should have been, had some nice spices in it.  It was OK but all of the other fried items I have had here have been lighter fried. 

I wanted to try some soup today and the Fried Dumpling Udon Noodle Soup ($4.99) sounded good.  I had wanted to try the fried dumplings anyhow and they served them on the side with the soup-perfect!

The soup broth was oily, rich tasting in one way and too salty in another way.  The noodles were good and chewy.  There could have been some more vegetables, but the cabbage and carrots were good.  I did not finish the broth, and usually I do.  The dumplings had a nice, thin skin and were fried correctly.  Enough filling, but not over-filled.  Very good.

However, my most favorite stumbled-upon food here is the innocuously listed on the back page under "Side Orders":'Lettuce Wrap(4 pieces) $3.99 '

That is four large pieces of iceberg lettuce rolled up in plastic wrap, a good 1/3 pound (probably more) of cooked filling and a lot of nice, light crunchy rice noodles.  It is served with a spicy Teriyaki sauce on the side.

The filling is a combination of chopped chicken, sausage, leeks and mushrooms, topped with some green onions.

Both times we ordered this, the meat lasted more than the lettuce did. Here is a service I made for myself with 1/4 piece of lettuce.  The flavors are excellent.

I call this 'sort of a a chain' because there are two locations.  It is locally owned and They don't even have a website. 

VGood Japanese Grill and Sushi

9862D Mission Gorge Road Santee 92071 (Across from the Starbucks at the Trolley Stop) (619) 258-8288

16625 Dove Canyon Road Suite 108 San Diego 92127 (858)385-1628

Both Locations Open 7 days 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Comments

[Umberto]

Hey, we live close by here the food is not always consistant, but it is not too expensive. I never thought I would see it on the internet.

[Captain Jack]

The wraps look tasty Cathy. I would order those.

[Cathy]

Hi, Umberto. I'm trying to show a variety of stuff I eat and VGood is one of those places. East County has a plethora of interesting eateries. Thanks for stopping by to comment.
Hey, CJ! The wraps were a very pleasant surprise. I didn't expect any kind of sausage, since there isn't any anywhere else on the menu, but it makes the wraps even more tasty...not plain old chicken with some spicy sauce...

[nhbilly]

Looks simple and filling. Some reason that chicken katsu just aching for some tomato sauce - wah-la chicken parmesan.

[Cathy]

It was a nice katsu and I tried a variety of sauce combinations with it...even the Sriracha mixed with teriyaki...you are right, Bill, it kind of needed something...hmm, chicken parmesan, eaten with chopsticks... yeah, I could see me doing that. :)

[nhbilly]

My in-laws use chopsticks to eat spaghetti.

[Cathy]

Well, we all use chopsticks as well as a spoon with Bun Bo Hue, Bill...so, noodles and chopsticks...heck, I have a pair of extra chopsticks in the car door slot...you never know. They are an excellent tool.

[Mar Kardenas]

I loved reading this post!
Gigi, the owner, is a great lady.
I talked to her yesterday about catering a vegetarian lunch to the athletes participating in the World Harmony Run on May 21st and she said she will not only do it free of charge but she will feed the teachers at the schools that are participating in this awesome event.
The athletes are running through 80 countries and will be doing a music program during their stay in Santee, right in front of VGood, in the new amphitheater!
Please help me pass the word about this.

Peace,
Mar

[Jennifer]

Would you happen to know their corporation phone number? I saw a lady there cleaning, ringing up people, and handling food without changing her gloves :-/

Gross.