Bolsa-Mira Mesa (lemon beef salad time)

Well, well, here you are again, looking at mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Kirk is still overwhelmed with lists of things to do.  Ed (from Yuma) has lists of places to see.  Cathy is writing today, with a list of favorites.

It's about time for me to rotate locations and cuisine to Mira Mesa and Vietnamese.  Bolsa has been located in this same mall that holds the storefronts of QT Pot and Tapioca Heaven at the SouthWest corner of Mira Mesa Boulevard at Black Mountain Road for more than ten years.  Kirk wrote one post about Bolsa in 2008 and he didn't like the pho.  Let me say that after 7 1/2 years, the pho here still is not the best.  But so many other menu items are. The interior is always clean and we've always been seated immediately.The fried squid appetizer ($9.95) can be a meal or can be shared. Lightly seasoned and breaded and properly fried, the crispy batter combined with the tender squid is always a good choice.The version of cha gio ($6.50) are made with my favorite, rice paper skin.  The deep fried egg rolls are filled solidly with a variety of vegetables and just bit of pork. Six are served with a good amount of fresh mint and lettuce; more than enough for wrapping.  The nuoc cham dipping sauce here really has the sweet, sour, salty, savory and spicy hints of flavor that compliment the rolls.Then again the order of spring rolls ($4.25) are also multi vegetable filled, tightly wrapped in fresh rice paper with my preferred filling of pork ball and the accompanying peanut dipping sauce.Banh Xeo ($7.95) is ordered before opening the menu.  The crispy sizzling rice batter, flavored (and colored by) turmeric needs some extra time to make.  The filling of sliced pork, shrimp, bean sprouts and mung beans are all part of our 'ritual' of cutting up the savory pancake and placing a bit of everything on a piece of lettuce along with some mint and dipping the wrapped morsel into the nuoc cham sauce.  

It's gotten to the point that one of the waiters merely tells us that they have begin preparing the Banh Xeo because they saw us in the parking lot...The version of chicken curry ($6.95) here is excellent.  Savory with some sweet, the curry sauce is thick and always has such deep flavor.  Served with a warm loaf of banh mi that is used to soak up the sauce after eating the (large amount of) chicken along with the onion, carrot and noodles that are in the bowl, this is a great meal, especially on a cooler day.The turmeric marinaded fish ($13.95) is so good.  The accompaniments in the upper photo include lettuce, sesame leaf, cold noodles, peanuts and sesame studded rice cracker...but those are hardly necessary for the first bites of these fried thicker pieces of moist fish with a light turmeric seasoned crust and fresh cooked dill.  The flavors of just those basic pieces could be enough, but I end up making small lettuce filled bites using all the other ingredients to continue the enjoyment of the flavors.Last summer, my obsession was lemon beef salad.  The version here is called lemon sauce beef ($9.95) and is listed as an appetizer.  The salad, with its lettuce, onion and mint along with some crushed peanuts and the lemon cooked thin slices of beef seems to be exactly what I crave on hot, humid days.  However, I still seek out other versions, just to be sure I have found my favorites.There's also a 'Stir Fried Egg Noodle' section the menu.  You can ask for the noodle to be deep fried instead of stir fried and sometimes (like rainy days) the crispy noodle, topped with a combination of everything ($9.95)...beef, pork, shrimp, squid and vegetables..along with the addictive flavorful gravy is just perfect here.

 Bolsa 9225 Mira Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92126 (858) 693-3663 open 9-9 daily

Comments

[caninecologne]

I like that they know what you want (banh xeo!) but no purple perilla on the veg/herb plate. The fish with dill..is it ha ca thang long? I love the presentation of the dish and its accompaniments.

we haven't been here in awhile. the last time we went, the waiter referred to TC as a baby (even though she was actually 7).

[Cathy]

The paper menu is half English, half Vietnamese and yes, that is Ca Thang Long. The leaves on the plate are purple underneath, cc (look at the top right of that photo just above the ca thang long) and seen them labeled as 'sesame leaves' in the Produce section. The food here is a bit more varied than at other Viet places, which are more 'pho' oriented. {'Baby' is an endearing term...some older people call me 'mama' when The Mister and I are out...}

[caninecologne]

Ah, missed the purple perilla. I like those. Was thinking of buying a plant at the Mission Hills nursery but the plant kind of looked too straggly. I remember the service at Bolsa being really nice and friendly here.

Oops, meant 'cha ca thang long'.was typing too fast. I like seeing the huge rice cracker discs at the Vietnamese markets. Then they get broken up when you eat them with certain dishes.

[Faye]

I think Bolsa makes the best chicken pho ever (with the ginger fish sauce). The lemon beef salad looks so light and amazing. I haven't tried the salads here.

[Cathy]

I think it all depends on your microclimate, cc. Your neighborhood may be able to handle perilla. Still it's not expensive at Vietnamese/Asian markets. I know about typing too fast, too...
I started trying the salads and 'other than pho or bun' after I was introduced (by Kirk) to the great menu variety at Que Houng, Faye. My favorites are at Pho Pasteur Anh Hong...you know the same parking lot where K Sandwiches used to be :(

[Ed (from Yuma)]

As usual a good post. Those dishes look great. Kirk has expanded my range of Vietnamese dishes and choices also, but I would be content with a banh mi or a bowl of decent pho about now.

[Cathy]

Kirk has really helped educate us on the subtleties of what to order and how to eat it while understanding the flavors we are tasting, hasn't he, Ed? I understand your frustration...not so much the pho in this heat, but I was pretty addicted to K sandwiches, dropping in at least twice a month and now can't.

[Lynn @ Oh-SoYummy]

I'll only been here once but I'm not a fan of their banh xeo, a little *too* crispy for me. dennis warned me since he had been here before but i ordered it anyway. is that how it is when you have it?

we had two other items but i no longer remember what they tasted like. i think i have notes written somewhere.

[Cathy]

I see what you mean, Lynn. I kind of prefer 'burned/crispy' crusts ( I eat bread crusts and end pieces, burned potato chips and baked potato skins, not the insides) . Some the the banh xeo I've had is not quite 'baked' enough and sort of still raw batter, making the small mung bean mushy texture not my favorite. The crispy pancake from Bolsa wrapped in lettuce with just a bit of the filling and dipped in the fish sauce is my favorite part.