I tried to get my fill of noodles before our trip; here's a rundown of a few of those revisits:
Ristorante Kaz:
It had been over a year and a half since I visited "Sakura's Son of a different Mother", the Japano-Italian Ristorante Kaz. I'm not super fond of that fusion. Though, while I thought having the same type of pasta for almost every dish a bit tedious, I did enjoy a couple of items I had. So I decided it was time for a return.
It's good to note that the lunch prix fixe menu still has a base price of $12 for a salad, soup, and pasta. There are upcharges for various substitutions for each course. This means that top price for the lunch would be about $18....kind of pricey.
I decided to try some of the substitutions this time around, starting with the marinated vegetables in the place of the standard salad, a $1 upcharge.
I'd say save your money here; this is more like a couple of grilled vegetables and one that should have been roasted (the red bell pepper), but was not, with some vinegar and olive oil thrown on it.
The potato soup ($1 upcharge) was not bad.
This version was a bit less thick and creamy, lighter in texture overall. It needed a bit more salt.
I went with one of my favorites here the Shishito Pepper and Mushroom with "Citrus" Flavor.
The pasta, as in my past visits was nicely done. I did notice some fairly significant changes; there was a lot less shishito and mushroom. I also think they aren't using much, if any yuzukosho, as I couldn't detect anything but a very strong and bitter white pepper flavor which detracted from the dish.
Too bad I guess. I will say that when I left the place was packed....with women and infants; the Japanese National version of "women who do lunch" with strollers, highchairs, and such. Perhaps they've found their niche. For me, it was just a bit too much carbs.........
Ristorante Kaz
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Mien Trung:
Yes, yet again, for maybe the zillionth time.
Mom was less heavy handed with the MSG this time around and the lemongrass flavor and the spice up front.
The Hen Xuc Banh Trang - Stir Fried Baby Clams with Rice Crackers was a spicy-peppery joy to eat. The left-overs come home with us and we eat it with rice the next day......I believe this was the last time I ate rice until tonight, something like 6 weeks!
Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111
Pho Lucky:
Yeah, I know, yet another post on this place. This time was different though. We both thought they went a bit too far with the MSG.....I know that San Diego is notorious for glutamic overload, but this was the first time I noticed it here. I hope this was a one-off....otherwise I'll have to stick with the Bo Kho.
Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
not so lucky :(
Posted by: kat | Tuesday, 10 June 2014 at 12:58 AM
Have you tried Cafe Hiro? Quick search yields, no. I think their uni pasta is heavenly. The Berkshire pork katsu was yum, panna cotta yum. Well I haven't been disappointed yet.
Posted by: nhbilly | Tuesday, 10 June 2014 at 06:18 AM
That about sums it up Kat.
Hi Billy - No I haven't, but it's on my ever growing "list".
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 10 June 2014 at 06:22 AM
My friends and I had another discussion on MSG in pho the other day. We all debated on how 'too much MSG' made one feel. The one side effect we all agreed upon was 'feeling sluggish and blah'.
Posted by: Faye | Tuesday, 10 June 2014 at 06:05 PM
Why just pho Faye? Did you ever think about how much msg are in those butter wings??? You can actually see it....
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 14 June 2014 at 10:44 PM