mmm-yoso!!!

Happy New Year!

Ah yes, another year passes and we turn the page to 2025!

Just like I've been doing every NYE morning since way back in 2005, I went to check out what was going on at the various Japanese markets. These days, it's mainly Nijiya that does Osechi.

It seems that Mitsuwa does preorders and I'm not sure about Tokyo Central, which didn't have anything out when we visited.

I got some stuffs from Nijiya as well as Kinpira Renkon, Konasu Karashi, and Karashi Mentai Takana from Niitakaya, the Tsukemono stand in in Mitsuwa. It made for a nice lunch.

Instead of having this as basic okazu, the Missus wanted a salad. So, I put one together.

This was a nice lighter lunch. We would be having NYE dinner at Et Voila, taking JJ along. I'll get that post done in a bit.

While walking on Adams, we noticed a wedding taking place at the Adams Avenue Theatre. On New Years Eve???

Well, the groom ain't got no excuse for not remembering their anniversary date, right?

Anyway, as we upend the calendar for 2024, and turn the page to 2025, we'd like to wish everyone a wonderful, safe, and delici-yoso New Year!

Happy New Year!

Banh Mi Bo Kho from Pho Lucky

I was recently craving some Bo Kho.....something nice and beefy during the last cold spell. Of course, Pho Lucky came to mind as during the last few years, I preferred the Bo Kho to the Pho there. Of course, the place changed ownership in 2022 and when I visited there was no beef stew on the menu and the pho was mediocre. In doing a bit of research, I found that they had added the bo kho back on the menu. So, I decided it was time for me to return.

It was mid-morning when I arrived and though the parking lot was kinda crazy....I think the opening of Aldi in the strip mall has something to do with that. 

I walked in and took a look at the posted menu and yes; there was Bo Kho on it, both the pho and the banh mi versions, priced at $13.95.

So, I decided to check things out. I was waved to a table. I have to say, they've done a pretty nice job renovating the place.

My banh mi bo kho arrived pretty quickly.

   This was a pretty large portion. I was a bit puzzled by the bean sprouts as I don't recall those being provided before? Not sure about all that stringy crunchy stuff and also that it was ice cold which dropped the temperature of the beef stew.

The stew was thinner than I recall, though fairly beefy and tangy, it didn't have as much black pepper as the what I'd had here under the previous ownership. I did enjoy adding the basil to the stew as it provided a nice layer of anise-citrus flavor. The cilantro also is a must. The carrots were long strips; almost like you'd buy in a bag at the grocer. It was also not cooked thru. 

The banh mi was delivered nice and hot. It was light and yeasty and just perfect for sopping up the stew.

  The crust was thin and crisp and that interior so airy! It might have been my favorite part of the meal!

The proteins were decent; the beef on the leaner side, but adequately tender. The tendon and connective tissue more tender than in the versions I've had here before. There seemed to be more meat than I recall as well.

 All-in-all, not bad. Granted, it's a bit thinner, but the flavor was decent. It's better than I thought it would be and I'd gladly have this again. Though I will be on a search for better versions.

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Daily 8am - 845pm

Milan - Osteria Da Fortunata and a Stroll Around All Those Familiar Places

After our lovely Aperotivo, we walked around the corner to a place we'd passed on every evening. There was always a line. In the morning, when I would take a walk, I'd see the hard working Sfoglina making pasta by hand.

So, this is where we decided to have dinner. We went a bit early and there was still a short line but we got in after a ten minute wait.

Now, when I had done a bit of research, I found that Osteria Da Fortunata is based in Rome. So, I went with one of my favorite pastas; Strozzapreti, in a typical Roman style, that would Carbonara. The Missus ordered the Tagliolini Pomodoro Fresco.

The service was very friendly and warm; totally NOT like Rome at all.

The pasta was a bit more doughy than I prefer; though the strozzapreti did a wonderful job of "holding on to" all the creamy-cheesy-savory sauce. I was surprised at the amount of pepper on this, but it really heightened the dish.

The texture of the Tagliolini all 'Ouvo (egg noodles) was just perfect. While a bit rustic looking, it had a wonderful stretch.

The sauce had a nice fruity-acidity.

While not a fancy meal, this was a nice, fairly inexpensive dinner, right in the heart of Brera, which the Missus enjoyed so much that She had me cancel reservations we had at Ratana on this evening. And like I said, we really liked the service.

Osteria Da Fortunata - Brera
Via Fiori Chiari 13
Milan, Italy

After dinner, we headed on out for a stroll, it was drizzling, but we enjoyed seeing all those now familiar places.

The Duomo sure is lovely at night!

And the Missus enjoyed the lively, but not crazy streets of Brera.

It was interesting to walk those same streets in the morning. Such a contrast.

It was so peaceful and mellow.....

We had a light breakfast, then caught the metro to the huge Milano Centrale Train Station.

Next stop? Liguria.....

Milan - The Last Supper, Museo Pietà Rondanini, and Aperitivo at Cinq

**** No food in this one; just a Masterpiece by Leonardo, an unfinished work by Michelangelo....oh, and a nice aperitivo....

We'd had a pretty busy morning exploring the Duomo di Milano. But, our afternoon was going to be pretty amazing as well. After having a nice self catering lunch at our apartment in Brera, we headed on out. Our next stop was about a 20 minute walk away.

We arrived at Piazza di Santa Maria delle Grazie about 45 minutes before our assigned time and I went into the ticket office to exchange my voucher. There were actually folks trying to get tickets but they were told that everything is sold out for the three months and that it was better to buy it online! 

So, what was so in demand as to be sold out for months? Well, it's to be found in what used to be the dining hall of this church.

To minimize exposure to humidity only 30 visitors are allowed in at a time for exactly 15 minutes.

Yes, it's the The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.

The renowned work which depicts the final meal that Jesus shared with his apostles, at the moment when Jesus said “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”

You can see the shock, the confusion, the disbelief on the faces of the Apostles.

Leonardo has Philip asking Jesus, “Lord, is it I?”

And then there is Judas, thirty pieces of silver in hand.....

The composition, the expression, the detail....the story being told in front of us. 

It was just amazing to see this in person!

Not to be outdone, on the opposite wall is the Crucifixion by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano.

Pretty dramatic in it's own right. While the Last Supper took three years, this took three months.

On an interesting note, there are two images at the sides of the fresco that Leonardo added.

Our fifteen minutes was up in the blink of an eye.

We did take some time to check out the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie.

Which was built in the 15th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight.

It is said that Donato Bramante designed the dome of the Church - Convent.

An interesting side note about the church. It is said that Milan was the most bombed city in Italy during World War II. On August 15, 1943 a bomb hit the church. To quote Monuments Man Deane Keller, "Leonardo's Last Supper may be in ruins." But the Last Supper would not be destroyed this way as a few months later the iconic masterpiece was found intact!

Once done, we headed back in the direction of our apartment, past busy Cardona Station.

As we passed the distinctive Sforza Castle.

Francesco Sforza, the Duke of Milan, built this castle in the 15th on the ruins of a fortress that dates back to the 14th century.

The distinctive tower was reconstructed in 1905. There was one museum I wanted to check out; the Museo Pietà Rondanini. In this relatively quiet space that dates back to the 16th century resides Michelangelo's last work. An unfinished "Pietà", the Rondanini Pietà, which Michelangelo was working on at the time of his death.

It's quite interesting to see as it provides an example of how Michelangelo created his sculptures.

Also on display is one of two busts of Michelangelo, based on his death commissioned by his nephew from Daniele da Volterra.

And also the funerary altar upon which the Pietà was placed until 2015.

Quite an interesting place to visit.

We then headed back to the apartment and took a break.

After our first evening in Brera, the Missus had me cancel the dinner reservations I had made for our last evening before heading to Liguria. She really enjoyed the area and just wanted to enjoy the neighborhood. We'd be passing thru Milan on our way back, but were staying only a single night in a total different area.

Another things we had taken to was Aperotivo time. So, before having dinner, we decided to do what so many Milanese do...it was time for an Aperotivo. During our dinner and Aperotivo the following evening at Rosso Brera, we had notice a steady flow of folks at the place next door named Cinc. So, we decided to try the place out.

We really enjoyed the folks here; they were quite friendly. My Negroni was very good, fairly stiff, great herbal-fruitiness.

A nice prep for our dinner!

Cinc
Via Marco Formentini 5
Milan, Italy

Of course, the question remained, where were we headed for dinner?

Stay tuned!

Pho Ban Mai Revisited - A Com-Tam-Plation Part 3

So, after visiting two "old school" places for Com Tam Dac Biet - Nhu Y and Phuong Trang, the Missus wanted to try a "newer place". Well, after some "com-tam-plation" (yes, me and my "dad" jokes), Pho Ban Mai came to mind. I though it would be interesting since it had been over 7 years since my last visit! Yikes.

So, we headed on over. It was before 10am, so the place wasn't busy at all.

We entered and waited to be seated...and waited....and waited. Finally, a young man, pointed to a table and marched away. This was pretty bad since the place had only one other table with folks on it. He seemed to want nothing to do with us and avoided customers at all costs during our visit. We looked over the menu using the QR code but the young lady working walked over to take our order. Not saying a word. Hmmm, is this the "Gen Z - Millennial" version of the pho shop "deal the menu and hover in silence"? Or perhaps it was just a "bad day"? At 945 in the morning.....

The Missus ordered the Com Tam Dac Biet, this was the most expensive thus far at $17.95. We'd had a decent version of the Banh Xeo here before, so I decided to try that again  ($16).

   While this might have been the smallest in terms of portion size thus far, it was the Missus's favorite to date. The broken rice was very fragrant and moist.

The strong points were the crisp bean surd with shrimp was crisp and very tasty and the nuoc mam while on the sweet side really helped things along. The steamed egg was moist and the pork flavor came thru nicely. The grilled pork was toothsome but a nice salty-savory-sweet; the chicken was fairly tender and held the same flavor.

The only weak point was the bi as the pork was sliced too thick and it was really cold.

Oh, and the Missus really enjoyed the pickled veggies.

As for Banh Xeo, which we had enjoyed on previous visits. Well, it was a disappointment.

   While veggies and herbs were very fresh, the crepe was on the soggy side. The fillings were even worse; first off, there was barely any shrimp in this. What was present was a ton of raw bean sprouts. What shrimp there was tasted on the muddy side. 

The nuoc mam and fresh herbs could not save this.

Kind of a bummer.

Still, the Missus enjoyed the Com Tam, so hopefully I'll find something else on the menu to enjoy. Please let me know if you have any recommendations. Yes, I guess we'll return in spite of the price and (lack of) service, I asked to pay and a check was dropped at our table and no one came for payment. I ended up waiting at the cash register where the young lady used the mobile credit card reader. After all, the Missus wants Her Com Tam Dac Biet.

Pho Ban Mai
8991 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Sun - Thurs 9am - 845pm
Fri - Sat        9am - 945pm

Merry Christmas

Yes, it's yet another Christmas in the books.

This one has been kinda busy! Well, I've had some technical issues as I noted in my previous post. But there's one other....well, wonderful reason!

But first, here are some photos from our usual evening to check out the Christmas lights. As I noted back in my 2020 Christmas post, during the heights of Covid, this was something we'd do every year with Sammy and Frankie.

And even though Frankie left us in 2021 and Sammy in 2017, it's something we still try to do every year.

Though this year was special. You see, we did it with this little guy.....

Meet JJ. After Frankie's passing, folks were asking us about adopting another little one. But we just couldn't do it. We just couldn't conceive of replacing family, you know? We just could not think of doing that.

Then, the Missus's coworker sent Her a photo of the little guy above, barely two months old. And he just seemed like "the one"..... So, we cancelled all our upcoming trips and on Halloween night, he joined the mmm-yoso family.

So, say hello to JJ.

He is quite the character, a little ball of energy, full on puppy mode, very smart, loves to eat (like daddy!), so FOMO, and seems to have an opinion on everything.

He also looks like a grumpy old man....so the Missus says we now have "two of them" in the household.

He is growing fast and has doubled his weight and grown so much since he arrived.

We last had a puppy in the house back in 2003........man, I don't know how we did it back then!

JJ is quite the character and really likes people and car rides, so you may be seeing an influx of posts on dog friendly places. Things have changed a lot since we had Sammy and Frankie.

And so, this year it's JJ, the Missus, and I who would like to wish you and yours the most wonderful and safe Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Takeout Revisits - De Cabeza/El Único and Phuong Nga

Sorry about the lack of posts. Seems that my over 10 year old PC has finally seen its last days. So, I ended up getting a new desktop and then had the fun of setting things up and then moving files over. 

So, here's a post for today. Two places that we love to do takeout from; especially when the weather is cooler. I've posted on these places a bunch of times so am going to keep the verbiage to a (hopefully) minimum.

De Cabeza/El Único:

The Missus was missing the de cabeza en su jugo, so we decided to head on over and do some takeout. So, sorry to say, as much as we loved the mollejas here on our last visit, that will have to wait until we dine in again.

Jesus was again in attendance and like usual greeted us warmly. We got our usual two orders with everything.

 This delivered as usual. The tortillas were still warm when we got home; such very nice corn flavor, pliable, yet hearty.

The caebza en su jugo is rich, beefy, has a bit of spice, pungent tones, the flavor is quite complex for a fairly humble soup. The meat is quite tender.

   It is so hearty and comforting. It really has that "aaah" appeal. Nothing like rich, beefy, soup dripping out of a maize-y tortilla down your arm and then your throat on a chilly day, right?

And as we were leaving, Jesus came on over and gave us a nice little keychain, telling us "Happy Holidays"!

De Cabeza/El Único
1043 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Phuong Nga:

I know most folks go to Phuong Nga for the Banh Cuon. For us, it's been our choice for Bun Rieu ever since "FOY" Elle recommended that we try it back in 2018.

And after not enjoying the Bun Rieu from Mien Trung on our last visit, the Missus insisted on doing some takeout from Phuong Nga.

It seems that the dining area is now fully open and was quite busy, but we still did takeout.

 

   The Bun Rieu is now $13.99, but is totally worth the price. A generous amount of very fresh herbs and veggies. And look they still provide a good amount of shredded morning glory, though there's a bit less banana blossom these days. 

The amount of bun provided is also generous. I used to request that they just give me one order of noodles, but they always gave me two anyway, so I just stopped trying to do that.

For some reason, on this day, the broth seemed even more flavorful than usual.

   So savory, with nice porky-seafood tones. The tomatoes added a perfect amount of acidity. The pork ribs were quite swiney, though a bit more chewy than usual. And the Missus enjoys the tofu a lot. The broth just seemed so good, perhaps it's because we hadn't been back here in almost a year-and-a-half? I didn't even use the mam tom! And the soup wasn't overly salty either!

So, I guess we'll be headed back again soon!

Phuong Nga
4016 54th St
San Diego, CA 92105

Hope you're having a wonderful Christmas week!

Odds and Ends

Just a bunch of "little stuffs" for a pretty chilly Friday! Yes, I know, it's San Diego......

It's the Sukiyaki time of the year:

Yes, the Missus has been requesting Sukiyaki again. These days I use two grades of meat.

I use a basic sukiyaki grade - from Nijiya for cooking with the veggies and stuffs. It adds the requisite beefiness to the dish. And then I get about a quarter pound of prime or wagyu (when it's "Meat Day") for dipping.

I have a feeling I'll be making this again this weekend.....

Salad in December?:

Yep, the Missus said She wanted a salad.... But, of course it wasn't just a simple salad. After all the requested ingredients it looked like this.

Everything from roasted cauliflower and sweet potatoes, boiled eggs, etc.....

And then I had to come up with an "appropriate" dressing. I settled on making a Bacon Vinaigrette.

So, the Missus has been wanting a version of this salad like four days in a row.......

Meat Jun?:

In my post on making Okra Kurogomae, I mentioned serving it with some Meat Jun I made. "FOY" Kimo emailed me asking me for a recipe. Well, I'm not it's ready for prime time. The biggest issue is finding the precise cut of meat I want. Both Zion and H Mart cuts their rib eye quite thin. Though I've made due with marinating the meat a specific way. As for the recipe; it's a cross between an old recipe from Wanda A. Adams wonderful cookbook, the Island Plate and of course, the Kathy has a version on Onolicioushawaii as well. With a couple of adjustments and personal touches as well.

It ain't the prettiest thing.

But our neighbor, who is originally from Manoa liked it as did the Missus, who specifically requested that I make this after having it twice during our last trip "back home". Strange thing, this stuff keeps ok and actually heats up well in the Air Fryer? Anyway, maybe I need to make this a couple more times, right?

Yep, so that's what's been cookin' here.

Hope everyone is keeping warm during our cold spell!

Finca

So, the Missus wanted an early weekend dinner/happy hour and was thinking of revisiting Tribute Pizza. So, we drove on up and found parking on North Park Way. We were a bit early though and Tribute was still closed. We went and did some strolling thru the area and headed back toward our vehicle when I noticed this shop in the newish apartment complex on the corner of Grim and North Park Way. I then recalled our good friend Candice had mentioned the place, named Finca to me and thought we might enjoy it.

Turns out that Finca opens at 3pm on weekends with a Happy Hour from 3 to 6 pm. We decided to give the place a try. This was before the recent super cold spell, so we had a seat outside.

The folks working were very friendly! We were handed a menu, with some items that looked quite "hipsterish", but interesting to us. There were some featured small plates which were $10 during HH.

The Missus started with some red sangria, which was $10 during HH. She enjoyed it and followed with the house red; which She also enjoyed during our meal.

Since I saw Beef Tartare on the menu and it was priced at just ten bucks during Happy Hour; you know I had to order it, right?

Well, this wasn't a good start to our meal as the beef was mushy; over dressed; though we enjoyed the pickled green beans and the pungent-savory fried onions. The item we least enjoyed was the cardboardish, hard, flat bread, which had no flavor at all.

Things completely changed with the Bone Marrow ($16). Ah yes, you know me with beef tartare and bone marrow, right? We really weren't sure when the bone marrow arrived, with a layer of red pepper jelly smeared on it.

Loved the yeasty grilled sourdough, which went so well with the beefy-tallowy-buttery bone marrow. We made sure to get every single drop of the rendered fat. No wonder there's an option to do a Bone Marrow luge to finish! The red pepper jelly had a hint of sweetness, sour, and acidic-spice to complement and cut the richness. This was quite good.

We also got the Lamb "Chorizo" ($18) which were more like lamb meatballs.

The meatballs were very tasty; more African-Middle Eastern flavors to use, cumin...that sort of thing. It was enjoyably gamy, nice "flavor of the pasture" as it were. The "soubise"; basically a bechamel based like sauce was a bit too sour and sweet for us.

We managed to take a look inside the restaurant-bar before leaving.

Stylish; somewhat moody.

We really liked the service and the food, especially the bone marrow was quite enjoyable. So, we decided to return a couple of weeks later. Again it was for an early dinner on a weekend.

The Missus again enjoyed the Sangria, followed by a glass of the house red. The service again was warm and friendly.

We started with the Red Wine Spanish Sausage ($17). 

Now this was the one dish that really reminded us of Spain. Yes, there's grits on this; which were quite tasty, and that black garlic sauce wasn't too sweet, but along with the shallots added some nice pungency. The sausage itself had great flavor....there seemed to be hints of coriander and other spices; which just took me back to Seville for some reason.

And of course we had the bone marrow again.

Which was even better this time around! The fat was even more rendered and we could make out a hint of salt which heightened the flavors!

We had one last dish for the evening; the Chicken Liver Mousse ($15).

The mousse was quite runny, very metallic, almost bitter. Not a fan of the very dry milk bread and the dish goes a bit overboard with sweet items. The pork cracklins ' were super hard instead of crisp...heck, I almost "cracklin'd" my tooth on a piece. We'll pass on this one in the future.

Yes, I said in the future. While I'm sure we'll make that revisit to Tribute soon, we enjoyed that bone marrow and the wonderful staff enough to return again! When we're in the mood for California-ish "tapas" with Middle Eastern and Asian, hipster-modern touches. To us, this is what BoujieManacould be!

Finca
3066 North Park Way
San Diego, CA 92104
Current Hours:
Tues - Thurs 5pm - 9pm
Friday            5pm - 10pm
Saturday        3pm - 10pm
Sunday           3pm - 9pm
Happy Hours:
Tues - Fri       5pm - 6pm
Sat - Sun        3pm - 6pm
Closed on Mondays

Finca also features a bottle shop which opens at 3pm

Circling Back to Mien Trung

Man, has it been a year since I last visited Mien Trung? Sheesh. Mien Trung had been a fairly regular stop since I first visited over 17 years ago! I always think about the late "Ed from Yuma" when I visit. It was always a favorite of his. Of course, much has happened over the years; "Mom" who made the soup "Dad" who ran the front of house have both retired. There have been times when the Bun Bo Hue just wasn't up to par. Still, over the last couple of visits, things seem to have been corrected. With the recent cold spell, I had been wanting some Bun Bo Hue and even the Missus, who stopped going when Mien Trung changed the noodles for Her beloved Bun Rieu and then She found that She enjoyed the Bun Rieu from Phuong Nga more. Well, She decided to come along to see how the Bun Rieu fared these days.

We dropped by at 10am on a Sunday for an early lunch and were the only folks in the place.

The Missus ordered a small Bun Rieu ($12).

   Which the Missus didn't care for. The noodles used were those for the Bun Bo Hue, not the typical thin bun used for Bun Rieu. The broth lacked the crabby savoriness and mild sweet-acidity of tomato the Missus enjoys. It was fairly high in the MSG department. Other than the saltiness, it was quite bland.

While the plates of sprouts and veggies was large; we lamented the lack of banana blossom.

I guess I'll be heading back to Phuong Nga again soon?

My Bun Bo Hue (small $12.10) was perfectly fine.

Nice spice, assertive lemongrass tones, a hint of beefiness dancing on your tongue, perhaps a bit high in the MSG department, but quite savory. The rustic proteins like I'm used to. The noodles slippery and firm. I do lament the lack of banana blossom, but since I can't find a bowl of Bun Bo Hue I like more in San Diego, this will do fine.

Though it looks like I'll be back to doing solo visits here again.

Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr.
San Diego, CA 92111