mmm-yoso!!!

Road Trip - Lucky Luke Brewpub (Lancaster, CA)

So, what were we doing in Lancaster? Yesterday, I posed that question. Well, what happened is that the Missus had found out that the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, a state park, resided just to the west of Lancaster. According to what the Missus had heard, the poppies start blooming in Mid-March, and voila! Here we were. We had a light breakfast at the hotel and then headed on out arriving at the park right before 9am. Unfortunately, we were a bit too early for the poppies this year!

Regardless, we ended up hiking both loop trails, and the views were quite nice.

As you can tell, we were the only folks in the park during our entire stay.

We saw a number of gophers and a couple of Bobcats. And even some wildflowers.

The trails were easy to walk and nicely maintained.

And, as if to tease us a bit, near the end of the trail....well, we saw the first poppies starting to bloom!

We did enjoy the solitude and the relaxing peacefulness of the walk. The Missus mentioning returning one day when the poppies are really in bloom.

We walked back to the hotel and had a light lunch, then headed on back out to explore a bit. Lancaster is quite sprawling and we ended up restocking on water, snacks, and stuff at the Target and Vallarta Market on Avenue K. Then it was nap time, one of my favorite parts of the day during road trips!

Upon waking, we headed back out and walked around the BLVD a bit, stopping into shops that were open. We found many places are closed on Mondays here.

And of course, there's all that public art.

Soon enough, it was time for dinner. I had thought that we'd head to Le Papillon, a more upscale restaurant right across from the hotel, but the Missus just wanted something simple and basic. Which was just across the street from where we were standing.

We liked the outdoor seating. The interior looks very "sports bar-ish". Seemed like locals came by to watch sports and grab a brew.

So, of course we had to get a table outside and I decided to get a Brown Ale.

This was light with a slight sweetness, very easy to drink.

The service was interesting; the woman who initially waited on us really didn't seem to want to deal with folks at tables, She mainly wanted to hang with the folks at the bar. The gentleman who came by and took over was very friendly and efficient.

We had a view of West Lancaster Boulevard and there was something going on for young people at the Performing Arts Center next to the Movie Theatres across the street.

Which was showing Kung Foo Panda???? You gotta love it.

The Missus ordered the Lemon Agave Salad.

Which, except for the pepitas was quite routine. At least the dressing wasn't too sweet, but this is totally something you can get out of a bag from your local grocer.

I got the Pub House Burger.

With Tater Tots.

    The tater tots were nicely fried, crisp, not hard, and the interior slightly creamy. 

The burger came in a brioche bun, which was a bit denser than I thought it would be; but it wasn't overly sweet and held up well to all that cheese sauce. The cheese sauce was much saltier than I'm used to. I also enjoy a bit of pungency, which this lacked. And as you can see; there was a lot of cheese sauce. Luckily, the pickled jalapenos added a nice counter balance of pickled spiciness that I enjoyed. While the bacon could have been cooked a bit more; I prefer it more crunchy, it did add that smoky-savory component to the burger.

The burger itself didn't look like much, but it was fairly tender, seasoned quite well, and did the job. Not a bad burger as a whole.

There was one item on the menu that I could not resist. The Fried Wisconsin Cheese Curds. Wisconsin you say? Cue in to a flashback of my favorite cheese curds, served at The Old Fashioned in Madison!

These were a bit over-fried and too gooey, not squeaky-stringy. The batter was crisp though. The flavor was mild, man what I would have given for some horseradish dip with this! 

Still, this was a decent dinner, in Lancaster. We liked the very laid-back small town feel to this area. At least that's what it was like on this Monday.

Lucky Luke Brewpub
735 West Lancaster Blvd.
Lancaster, CA 93534

After dinner we took another stroll up and down the BLVD area. In the end, I thought I'd put in some decent mileage.

We returned to our room, relaxed, and watched the sun go down on Lancaster.

Tomorrow we'd be headed back to Rowland Heights for a night and an Omakase dinner in City of Industry of all places!

Stay Tuned!

The Money Pit (San Marcos) (again)

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog, is why you are here, so continue to read.  Cathy is writing today, while Kirk remains busy.

I wrote about The Money Pit in September 2023 and have 'been in the neighborhood' a few times in the past month, picking up meals for The Mister and myself before driving home.

 This former bank building seems to always be busy, with many people using the drive-through.  But, I'm still following my 1998 New Year Resolution and continue to not use any drive-through lanes and instead stick to parking and walking into the building.

 Some menu prices have increased.

 There's always something interesting to find in the decor, especially while waiting for a 'to-go' order.

 The "2x2" ($6.10) is an excellent imitation of a Double Double from In-n-Out, served on a toasted bun and is satisfying..
 The Combo Plate ($6.80), listed under "Sides", has a little bit lot of every side-fried onion rings, zucchini, mushrooms and French fries.  It comes with a side of the house-made Ranch dressing.
 One day, I decided to try a Greek Chicken Wrap ($8.95).  It was great!  A greek salad with plenty of grilled chicken breast in a tortilla.  All the flavors and freshness without a fork. 

 Another day, I ordered a Turkey Wrap ($8.40).  Not as interesting as the Greek salad, but still very fresh and satisfying.

 The Avocado Salad ($9.85).  The Thousand Island dressing is made in-house and is really nice.  There is a whole avocado on this very large salad, along with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, cheese and hard boiled egg.  This is a bad photo because of a  person driving a blue F-250 who doesn't know physics mishap in the car while driving home.  
 Here is the chicken strips salad ($10.60). Almost too much chicken to salad ratio.  Another great meal.

The Money Pit 1360 East Mission Road San Marcos 92069  Open daily 7 a.m.  Closes 11 p.m. Friday, 9 p.m. Sunday, 10 p.m. the other days 

Saturday Stuffs - The Burger Joint Replacing SuperNatural Sandwiches and Zhengxin Chicken Steak Coming to Convoy

Just a couple of things for a typical San Diego "June gloom" Saturday.

The Burger Joint Replacing SuperNatural Sandwiches:

While heading back to the office after picking up lunch yesterday, I noticed new signage was up on the now former location of SuperNatural Sandwiches, so I took a quick detour into the parking lot.

 Well, so that gentleman I ran into while checking out what was going on here back in April was right. The location is turning into a burger and beer shop. I cracked up when I noticed "smashburgers" on the sign. I guess smashburgers are this year's birria or K(orean) f(ried) c(hicken)?

As I was leaving the parking lot I noticed the signage on the side of the shop. Both for the Burger Joint and also the Pizza Joint, which is also in this mall. I'm guessing the folks from the Pizza Joint is taking over this space?

Sad to see SuperNatural's run come to an end; after all, I'd been a customer from the days in the San Diego Public Market, but things were not quite the same, at least to me, after new ownership took over. So perhaps this change is for the best.

7094 Miramar Rd. #122
San Diego, CA 92121

Zhengxin Chicken Steak Coming to Convoy:

While driving back from Nijiya this past Sunday, I noticed new signage in the former location of Mochinut on Convoy, so I turned into the parking lot and took a look and a photo.

I made a mental note to check things out online, but didn't need to after reading this on Eater San Diego. According to the post, Zhengxin Chicken Steak has more than 20,000 outlets!

I'm surprised this didn't open at UTC!

4609 Convoy St. #C
San Diego, CA 92111

Hope everyone is having a great Saturday!

Johnny B's (La Mesa)

Yes, you're back at mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food.  Cathy is still writing because Kirk is still on vacation with His Missus. Here's a post about lunch (but they have breakfast on weekends). 

I've never posted about Johnny B's, it's just "always" been there and a regular stop for lunch. 

Since January 1, 1999, this La Mesa bar and restaurant, located downtown on La Mesa Blvd and 4th, has always had a lunch special of a 'Burger and Beer'.  The building has expanded and the prices have, of course, increased.   JB's has made it through Covid-19, keeping the food here very consistently wonderful.

 The interior (there is outside seating) has 33 HDTV's, most showing local sports and at least one showing PAWS-a channel about animals.  I could see 11 televisions from my chair and The Mister could see eight.

 The two-sided menu mentions the weekday Lunch specials, as well as a Monday night special and Happy Hour.  There's also a Tuesday night special of Sliders which flashed across one of the TV screens.  The other side of the menu has weekend breakfast items.

 The grilled chicken salad ($12.95) was topped with a still warm/freshly char-grilled chicken breast.  The bowl is very large and we did take home some leftovers.  The mixed lettuces had tomatoes, onions and shredded carrots and the ranch dressing was a better quality.

 The cheeseburger Lunch Special ($14.75) includes your choice of soda, Bud Light, Coors Light or Amberbock.  You also can choose the type of cheese and also get a choice of fries, chips or a salad.  The burger is large (at least 1/4 lb) and also char-grilled, made with a coarse grind of beef, keeping the meat chunky and moist.  The bun is toasted and those fries have a coating and seasoning, making them very crisp and tasty.

Johnny B's Burgers and Brew 8393 La Mesa Blvd, La Mesa, CA 91942 (619) 464-2465 Open Mon-Th 11-9, Fri 11-10, Sat 930-10 Sun 9:30-9 Website

 More than 20 beers on tap!

Sunday Stuffs - Eat Crispy Burger Coming to Convoy, Bann Korean Cuisine Closes, and News on China Max

A couple of things I've seen during my shopping trips to the Kearny Mesa Area.

Eat Crispy Burger Coming to Convoy:

While passing the building housing Starbucks and Yakyudori, I noticed some window signage in one of the units.

So, I took a quick turn into the parking lot.

So, it seems that a location of Encinitas Eat Crispy Burger is coming to this location. I guess they want to give The Friendly some smashburger competition in the area?

4898 Convoy St. #104
San Diego, CA 92111

Bann Korean Cuisine Closes:

Recently, the Missus needed some cosmetics from the shop in H Mart. I really don't get over there too often, basically because of the parking situation, but we headed on over and scorede a parking spot. While the Missus was paying for Her "stuffs", I walked on over to the food court and noticed that Bann Korean Cuisine had closed.

Bummer. Though I really didn't visit the place as much when they moved to the H Mart food court, I used to visit quite often when they were located on Miramar Road. Perhaps moving to this location was not a great move? It's seems that turnover here might be pretty high as Katzya closed up shop here recently as well.

7725 Balboa Ave. (In the H Mart Food Court)
San Diego, CA 92111

And finally, News on China Max:

In one of my posts last month, I mentioned dropping by the location of China Max's reconstruction. In the comments "FOY" Julie asked if I knew what was going on. Well, this past week Eater San Diego had an answer.

In case you hadn't read or heard; the original owners of China Max had decided to sell the restaurant. The new owners also own Taste of Hong Kong. Per the reporting from Helen I Hwang in the Eater post:

"Its food focus is still developing, but options include Szechuan cuisine, a noodle house, or dim sum and a Cantonese menu similar to China Max."

Not sure how I feel about that. 

Can you believe that it's been almost four years since the fire at the restaurant?

4698 Convoy Street
San Diego, CA 92111

2024 Rose Parade Road Test #5, Breakfast at Bob's Burgers (La Puente)

mmm-yoso!!! is primarily a food blog with sometimes interesting stories about how the food was acquired.  Cathy and Her Mister took a short road trip on Saturday and here's that post. 

Link to 2024 Float Road Test #1

Link to 2024 Road Test #2

Link to 2024 Road Test #3

Link to Road Test #4

On the last Saturday in October, we woke at 4, left home at 5 and after a quick stop at Cream Pan in Tustin, arrived at Phoenix Decorating Company in Irwindale, just in time to see three floats for the 2024 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade being tested for mechanics and maneuverability.

 "Sounds of Success". presented by Coding for Veterans, a Canadian based organization.  The H60 and P35 aircraft are much more recognizable now that the rebar outline is covered.  This symmetric float (same on the camera and off camera sides) looks like it will have giant screens in the center.  The 'keyboards' under the screens are surreal. 

 Unsure about this float, but the 'spotter' in front is easy to see, as is the 'driver' near the back (with the ToR safety evaluator seated next to him). You can see the slot where the Spotter looks out in the above float photo. 
 Also unknown is this float, with an intricate 'skeleton' which may have some interesting mechanics attached.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The road testing was short, the weather was windy and chilly and The Mister and I were not very hungry yet.  We did drive to Porto's and got a few seasonal bakery items and a loaf of cranberry walnut bread (spent less than $11!) and started driving around, looking for 'someplace new to us' for breakfast.

 Well.  Of course we stopped. 

 The walls and ceiling are covered with nostalgia.  After ordering and paying, we got our beverages and found a nice, clean table.  Our food was brought to us.  The breakfast menu is pretty simple.  The complete menu at the Drive Thru has me wanting to return.

 Realizing I haven't had a breakfast sandwich in a very long time, I jumped at the chance to try a sausage breakfast sandwich on rye ($8.99).  flat omelet style eggs on toasted, thick slices of rye with four skin-on breakfast sausages, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise...just a wonderful sandwich.

 The Breakfast plate with a hamburger patty, three eggs (over easy) and real hash browns ($9.99) was The Mister's choice.  Oh, we both really appreciate the char broiling of a patty and the seasoned grill here produces a wonderful flavored burger..  The eggs were perfectly over easy and the soft boiled potatoes, crisp fried on a flat top grill were just wonderful.  Of course The Mister also chose rye toast-an excellent bread, filled with rye seeds.

Bob's Burgers 14952 Valley Blvd. La Puente, CA 91746 (626) 961-2523 Open Fri-Wed 7 a.m.- 9:45 p.m. Closed Thursday  Website

 What caught my eye, on the counter were these Sampuru- fake food models.  But it's not Japanese food  (although apparently the teriyaki chicken and beef on the menu are very popular items).  I've never seen Mexican or American breakfasts, much less burgers and French fries done in this wax style of advertising.  Then again, look at the wall behind the fake food displays... kanji?

 

The Money Pit (San Marcos)

Hey!  Here you are, reading mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food.  Typepad must be up and working!  In any case, Cathy is writing today while Kirk is avoiding computers as much as He can. 

I had heard of The Money Pit, but hadn't been this far North in a while.  Then one day, The Mister and I were in the area.   The Money Pit has Yelp reviews from more than 14 years ago, so it has been around a while and made it through Covid.

This building had been a bank in its original construction and the exterior architecture, Drive Through lane as well as the interior footprint are essentially the same. 

Then again, the interior decor is unique and focused on types of 'money'.

 Walk up, order and pay.  You are given a number and find a seat. 
Here is a close up of the menu.

 "The Mess" ($9.10) Eggs, cheese, hash browns, bell pepper, onion, ham, bacon, sausage and toast. Everything in every bite. A lot of food, a lot of flavor, a lot of texture.  Should be enough for anyone.

 Chili Cheese omelette ($8.90) Three eggs filled with house made chili (no beans) and topped with a slice of American cheese.  A slab of crispy hash browns and toast.  Again a lot of food.  A bowl of chili will be a nice meal when the weather cools down. 

We came back for lunch.  Of course
 We decided to share a side and since it was our first time, a Combo Plate ($6) was ordered.  Fries (not too many; a nice surprise), onion rings (whole onion, not diced), zucchini fingers and mushrooms.  This large platter was served with two large cups of house made Ranch (you can order more for 50¢). Excellent, fresh, proper fry (even the potatoes were nice and crisp) and leftovers.
 A "3 x 3" burger ($6.60) was one order.  Three charred beefy patties, three slices of cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion on a toasted bun.   Excellent, fresh and, of course, large.
 The Chicken Breast Sandwich ($7.75) was a great choice.  Served on a lightly toasted Squaw Roll, the grilled chicken breast has a slight char and is moist and flavorful. Lettuce and tomato is all that was needed to compliment this sandwich. 
 We decided to share a banana milkshake ($4.50) and it was great! 

Definitely worth return visits.

The Money Pit 1360 East Mission Road San Marcos 92069  Open daily 7 a.m.  Closes 11 p.m. Friday, 9 p.m. Sunday, 10 p.m. the other days 
 A remnant from the vault is now part of the decor.

Bunny Chow

Back in August of last year, LouiZiana Food closed and was replaced by Bunny Chow. "FOY" Sandy was quick to let me know when the place opened that it was serving South African food, something that's a bit of a rarity in San Diego. In fact, I only recall being to the stand in the Hillcrest Farmer's Market, Sabor Piri Piri in recent years.

Over the course of the last 9 months, between trips, I managed to visit Bunny Chow a couple of times.

The folks working on all my visits have been friendly and welcoming. The menu is huge and there are "photos" of the various dishes taped to the front table.

The bright yellow color of LouZiana Food has been kept and the tables now have covers with designs on them

All my visits were for lunch and on my maiden voyage into B. Chow land, I went with something that I am somewhat familiar with. I got the Chicken Thighs with Peri Peri ($14.95). I also got a side of Chakalaka ($3) as well. When I unpacked my lunch I was a bit taken aback by the appearance of the chicken.

 It looked like it needed to be airlifted to a burn center; it was so black. A quick taste confirmed things. The chicken skin was incinerated and bitter. The flesh very dry. The peri peri was quite sour and very mild in terms of spice.

I did enjoy the yellow rice, which was moist, tender, not overly sweet, and mildly buttery-peppery. I understand that "Geelrys", the yellow rice, has its origins in Cape Malay Cuisine, firmly rooted in the food brought by slaves brought to South Africa; Indonesians and Malaysians were among those brought by the Dutch.

I also enjoyed the Chakalaka which had nice sour-earthy tones. I was told that this had some spice, but I thought it more tangy-sour than anything else.

It was also much more tender than I expected. One of the guys in the office sniffed the air and asked me what it was? I told him "chakalaka". He said, "what?" I then went off and said, "you know, like Boomshakalaka, Boomshakalaka, Boomshakalaka, Boom!" I got a blank stare, so I added:

"Why'd the chicken cross the road?
To get from the left to the right
He stepped out of rank, got hit by a tank
He ain't no chicken no more"

Of course, I totally forgot, this was before his time. And if this seems strange, you might enjoy this clip for some "clarification"? 'Nuff said.

After this visit, well, I was a bit conflicted with regards to the food. That chicken was terrible, but I enjoyed the sides. I decided to return.

I really wasn't sure what to order and finally decided to go for it and got the Bunny Chow Sampler Platter ($19.95) with an upcharge for Lamb Curry ($2) and a side of Peri Peri - spicy ($1.50). It was $23.45 without tax and tip! It seemed to weigh a ton as I carried the containers back to the office.

 There were two containers involved here. The smaller one consisted of  4 rubbery and overcooked wings, the spicier peri peri helped things a bit, but it still didn't seem very spicy to me. The peri peri was on the sour side and not even close to the version I enjoyed in Lisbon. Again, I enjoyed the rice.

The Bobotie, which came across as a type of casserole, was high on the acidic side of things.

    And the peri peri came in handy here again....though it seemed to heighten a tanginess of the dish a bit too much. I thought the brioche roll, which looked quite dry, added a bit of buttery sweetness and really helped things out here.

The Durban Curry seemed more like a tomato based sauce/stew was also quite tangy and the lamb flavor, which I enjoy was muted. It was mildy spicy, but I still wanted a bit more heat.

So, of course....

   

In the end, I miss LouZiana Food. The folks here are nice though prices trend on the high side of things. Perhaps I'll return in the future to get more chakalaka, but for now I'll give it a rest. Let me know if you've enjoyed the food here and what dishes you enjoyed!

You can read Soo's post on Bunny Chow here.

Bunny Chow
7128 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon - Thurs 11am - 8pm
Fri - Sat 11am - 9pm
Sunday 11am - 7pm

Big Island - Koana Again (Mountain View), Big Island Candies (Hilo), and Village Burger (Kamuela)

After having an encore viewing of Halemaʻumaʻu the previous evening we were tempted to stop by again to check things out in the morning but decided to just keep the amazing visions of the previous night fresh in our memory instead and head on to our next stop of our trip. 

The Missus had enjoyed the Geisha pour-over from Koana the previous day and wanted to have it one more time so we stopped there for our morning coffee.

On this morning a young lady was working. She was very friendly and the Missus got Her coffee.

 I enjoyed sitting right outside the shop. The view of the plantation style houses reminded me of our trips to Honolua "small kid time" to see my grandparents.

I'm sure we'll stop by again whenever we're in the area.

Koana
18-1325 Old Volcano Rd.
Mountain View, HI 96771

As we headed up thru Hilo, we decided to stop by another very familiar place, Big Island Candies. Waaay back when, a stop here was mandatory during our visits to Hilo.

It was right before Lunar New Year, so we made sure to get some goodies for my MIL.

And a bunch of omiyage as well.

And even "stuffs" that well....I'm still not quite sure about

Good lord, we bought so much that we got a free tote bag and a discount! Like I said before, when you visit "make sure to bring lots of money!"

Big Island Candies
585 Hinano St., 
Hilo, HI 96720

From here we headed up the Hamakua Coast, a drive we've made many times, past Honokaa, and finally into Waimea, which we call Kamuela. We were a bit early to check in at our accommodation, so we headed over to the Parker Ranch Center to get some lunch. 
If you've read our posts on the Big Island, you'll find that we really love revisiting favorites. And since we had enjoyed Village Burger so much the last time we were here we decided to grab lunch there.

 We had enjoyed the fact that everything from the pasture raised beef, to the brioche buns, to the mushrooms in the mushroom burger is local. The Missus had really enjoyed the mushroom burger the last time and of course, this being Parker Ranch territory, I needed to have that Big Island Beef Burger.

Of course, a decade has passed since we last visited, so we expected some changes. And yes, the burgers were smaller than what we'd had before.

Still, while there seemed to be a bit more "binder" in the Missus's Hamakua Mushroom Burger ($11), it was still full of earthy-umami goodness.

It used to be served on a sort of ciabatta type roll, but I think the yeasty-fluffy-mildly sweet brioche type roll does quite well to balance out the mushrooms. The Missus didn't order any mayo or mustard, which was a good choice as one could really enjoy the mushroom flavor.

I ordered my Burger ($11) Medium.

  This was cooked a bit past that, but the burger was so beefy! I requested just a touch of mustard, which combined with the wonderfully sweet and acidic tomato really helped to balance out the beefiness. The beef was a bit toothsome; but that's the deal with pasture raised beef made from cuts like chuck and brisket.

We both enjoyed this trip down burger-memory lane.

Village Burger
67-1185 Mamalahoa Hwy
Kamuela, HI 96743

We then took some time to explore Kamuela a bit and do some shopping.

And then we'd walk past a place.......

That would suddenly bring back memories from past visits.

And things just felt "right".

Thanks for stopping by!

Elsa's Kitchen (again)(Greek and burgers)(SDSU area)

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy while Kirk and His Missus are catching up on missed vacationing. 

Yes, I wrote about Elsa's Kitchen in 2007 and again in 2011, The Mister and I have been there many times since and here's another post.  Elsa's survived Covid-19.  Located in a nondescript strip mall with a nice sized parking lot at the NorthEast corner of El Cajon and 73rd, next to the gas station,
 Elsa's Kitchen has been here since at least 2009.

You order and pay at the hole in the wall and soon your order will be ready.  

 The pastrami burger ($6.99)is hand shaped and char-broiled.  I *love* the char broiled flavor.  It's topped with a quality pastrami (not the pepper coated one; a regular smoked corned beef; the Liquor Store next door sells Boars Head deli meats and I think they get the pastrami there) and the usual toppings.  Hefty and very, very good.
 The bun is toasted, both on the top and inside, making for a non-soggy sandwich.
 The large greek salad ($10.99) is a great meal.  Plenty of gyros and very fresh  traditional Greek salad- romaine, tomato, onion, cucumber and Feta, served with a really nice dressing and tzatziki. 
 As always, a large order of onion rings ($3.99) was ordered.  I have mentioned before that all Greek restaurants make wonderful, from scratch, thick cut rings from sweet onions.  No exception here. 

Elsa's Kitchen Greek and American Food 7022 El Cajon Blvd (619) 464-6711 Mon-Sat 9-9, Sun 9-8. (on our last visit, there was a window sign that it would be closed on Saturday and Sunday, so maybe call to check)