mmm-yoso!!!

Road Trip: Sakura Saku - Huntington Beach(OC)

On a recent trip to Orange County, I was beset by hunger. Not really quite sure if I should make the trip over the 405 freeway to Westminster, or just keep driving in what seemed to be fast food and chain restaurant hell. When out of the corner of my eye, I spied a little restaurant next to a Michael's.

My curiosity piqued, I decided to pull over into a parking space in this vast strip mall parking lot, and check the place out. I was still wondering what drew me into this little restaurant....it sure wasn't the Hello Kitty motif, but there was a kind of charm and a quaint kind of vibe to the place. Looking over the large menu, it became clear that this was a little mom-and-pop Japanese Fast Food joint, with items like Salmon Onigiri, Vegetable Curry rice, and Oyako Donburi on the menu.

The really nice older Gentleman, took my order, and I had a seat. Meanwhile two groups of young people entered, they ordered quickly....they had obviously been here before and knew what they wanted.

I started(yes, started....I was starving) with Pork Cutlet Combo(Tonkatsu Combo $7.00). When the food arrived I was a bit disappointed with the portion size, which seemed on the small side(except for the rice).

The small pork cutlet was nicely breaded though on the tough side. It was covered with a good amount of katsu sauce. The "salad" was shredded iceberg lettuce, with a mild mayo based dressing...I've had this salad many times, mainly from Bento-ya's back home in Hawaii. The yakisoba was a stroll down memory lane.....it tasted almost like my Mom's! Mildy salty, with just a touch of sweetness, not the most amazing Yakisoba, but it brought back nice memories.

I had also placed an order for a side of Chicken Karaage($3.50). Compared to the Tonkatsu, this was quite a bit of food for a side order....three large pieces of chicken thigh, marinated, dusted with a corn starch-flour coat, and deep fried.

This really tasted home made...like it came from the kitchen of someone's Mom. The flavor was sweeter than most versions of chicken karaage, but it was still pretty good. In fact, I would have done well with a couple of onigiri and a side order of this....or even a Chicken Karaage Combo($6.00).

Meanwhile one of the young men on a nearby table was eating the strangest bowl.....it smelled like taco meat.....and when I inquired, I was told, it was something called "Taco Rice", which was taco meat topped with cheese, tomato, and lettuce on a bowl of rice! I was told that the "young people like it." Now why didn't I think of that??? The menu also features versions of shaved ice, Udon, Curry Rice, and other items......all created with a home made touch.

The food at Sakura Saku won't set the culinary world on fire, in fact based on the tonkatsu I'd say YMMV(Your mileage may vary), but in the vein of fast food, it is a more than worthy alternative to all those chain fast food places. Nice folks as well. Heck, I wish we had a Sakura Saku in our neighborhood....I know I'd be eating there often. 

Sakura Saku
7572 Edinger Ave
Huntington Beach, CA 92647

Hours: Mon-Sat 11am-9pm

Postscript: Food blogger extraordinaire Elmo of Monster Munching, went ahead and had the Taco Rice. You can read his post here.

Tori Tori Japanese Restaurant

*** Tori Tori has closed......

"I miss you like the space where my tooth used to be......."

Is that one weird term of endearment or what? That short phrase is one that the Missus and I use when one of us is gone for a few days. The message pertains to how we don't miss something until it's gone. Remember when you were a little kid.....and were about to lose a tooth, or have one taken out? Now most of the time you couldn't wait to get rid of the darn tooth, because in the end there was some benefit, either monetary(the good 'ol tooth fairy), or pain relief as a reward. But dangnabit, as soon as that tooth was gone, there was some strange force that would inevitably draw your tongue into the space where your tooth used to reside! On some level it seemed like you really missed that tooth. And so it seems when couples have been together for a long time, you get used to having each other around...the little habits, quirks(and there are many!), and other "stuff". But once that individual has to go on a business trip, or maybe a vacation with the girls(or guys), man do you miss them. And you find yourself doing things automatically, just because it has become a routine......just like the magnetic pull that space where your tooth used to occupy has on your tongue.......

So how does this apply to this little Mom and Pop Japanese Restaurant on El Cajon Boulevard? When we first moved to San Diego, Tori Tori had only recently opened. The Missus and I thought the food was good, not great, but good and worth the price. And though the fish was "buffet grade", Tori Tori was just about the only place where I'd actually order a California Roll.....why? Well, the California Roll was made with real crab, was light on the mayo, and was perhaps the best Califonia Roll I'd ever had. The Missus loved the Katsu Don, the sauce was light, yet full of flavor, the texture of the chicken was to Her liking, and it was prepared well. But as things happen so often, whether because of economics or other factors, things changed, the California Roll was replaced with the usual blah, the price of the Katsu Don, at first $5.95, was raised to $6.95, than $7.95, and in the end well over 8 bucks, all in what seemed like the space of 18 months! At which time Tori Tori was excised, just as that tooth..... Though we'd pass Tori Tori, and that magnetic "pull" would start drawing us in, we'd resist. But recently, I decided to drive into that strip mall, and see what happened to Tori Tori.

I'm not sure how many owners Tori Tori has gone through since I've last visited, but the interior looks the same, though perhaps a bit more worn around the edges.

With the addition of Bulgogi and Kalbi on the menu, and over hearing conversations, I assume the current Owner(s) are Korean.

Since I was here, I thought for "old times sake", I'd order the Katsu Don(Chicken Cutlet Rice Bowl - $7.45). This came with a choice of Miso Soup or Salad, and I selected the Miso Soup, which was on the salty side.

The fairly large, but very deep bowl arrived steaming hot.

  First off, what to do with the zucchini and mushroom? I enjoy my Katsu Don with just onions, green onions, and beni shoga(pickled ginger). Second, the sauce didn't have much flavor, no soy, not sweet, just maybe the barest hint of dashi. Third, the chicken katsu had been over saturated in the flavorless sauce depriving me of at the least some textural enjoyment. The piece of chicken, though moist, was on the smallish side, though the egg was fine. What there was is a great abundance of rice, I mean a ton of rice.......that even the carb lover that I am could not finish.

"I missed it like the space where my tooth used to be......."

That being the case, I decided to give Tori Tori another try, and for some reason decided to order the Bulgogi Lunch Special($7.95).

I'm sure that just on portion size alone you're pretty much getting your money's worth by San Diego standards. Again the Miso Soup was on the salty side, the huge hunks of iceberg lettuce was a ponderous thing to eat with chopsticks, and the dressing for the salad didn't have much flavor. Frozen mass produced Gyoza.....and two slices of bleh California Roll...'nuff said. The four pieces of vegetable tempura was a mixed bag, the onion slice was perfectly fried, and the sweet potato excellent! The Kabocha skin was too thick and hard, and should have been peeled, and the very large broccoli floret was burnt on the outside, and cold on the inside.

The Bulgogi was pretty good, though the quality of the meat was low, which meant tough pieces of "sugi", a slang we use back home in Hawaii, relating the texture of connective tissue to nylon fishing line. The meat was well marinated, even though the flavor was closer to Hawaiian BBQ than Bulgogi....... What made me laugh, was how Bulgogi was described as "Roast Beef" on the menu!!!

There are a bunch of lunch specials ranging from $5.95(your basic teriyaki chicken) to $9.95(kalbi), and it looks like at least portion-wise you'll get what you pay for. Sushi is also served. The service is basic, I saw my Server 4 times, once when I arrived for the menu and drinks, drink delivery, food delivery, and when the check was dropped off.

I don't know if I'll be back, because frankly, knowing how much we used to enjoy our meals at Tori Tori, this was kinda depressing. God knows, "I miss it like the space where my tooth used to be......."

Tori Tori
1905 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104

Mon-Thurs - 1130am-2pm 5pm-9pm
Friday -    1130am-2pm 5pm-930pm
Saturday -  5pm-930pm
Closed on Sunday

Sushi Diner-Japanese food in Linda Vista- Very Very Good (but we didn't order much sushi...)

mmm-yoso!!! , the blog, is not on vacation.  Neither is Kirk...he is merely indisposed and Cathy is a-bloggin away, in between cleaning, changing air filters, dusting and more cleaning after the fires...

Hi.  The location of this place should be fairly familiar to you, if you read this blog.  It is right next door to Mein Trung, and worth a visit when you are in this area/parking lot and not craving other Vietnamese meals or sandwiches.

Sushi Diner is on and facing Mesa College Drive, just a bit from the corner of Linda Vista Road.  If you park in the K-Sandwiches parking lot, you can walk over.

The menu (you can click and enlarge) is fairly simple, a good sign, and there are some lunch Bentos that are excellent and less than $7.  This is a dinner we had not too long ago.

We started out with some hot tea (no charge)  which was brought out in thermoses, a very nice touch.

We also ordered a "small plate" of edamame ($2.00) which were freshly boiled and had kosher salt sprinkled on the exterior pods and so the interior soybeans had a very pure and fresh flavor, enhanced by your salty fingertips.  A very nice way to eat these. 

We did get one order of yellow tail nigiri sushi($1.80) and one order of albacore ($1.60).  Both cut larger than I expected and both fresh and with a good clean taste and the ability to almost melt in your mouth.

The Special Fried Tofu Roll ($4.50) was tofu pockets filled with crab and topped with fried crunchies.  I was very good an fresh.  The tofu pocket had that sweet taste and I needed to dip the pocket in soy to make the sweetness even out. Different and good.

The miso soup that came with our combination meal was excellent.  Not instant, made with yellow miso paste and deeply richly flavorful.   The soft tofu bits were very tasty also.

The combination plate also came with a choice of sushi rolls, and I opted for the spicy tuna roll- very, very nice soft, buttery tuna with a spicy sauce that complimented the flavor of the tuna and did not overwhelm it.  The rice and seaweed were very fresh tasting.

The fried calamari combo plate ($6.50) (which came with the above noted miso soup and spicy tuna rolls).  The calamari was in a cornmeal batter, and the seafood within was not too tender-a little chewy. Still it was good, but when the owner/chef came out and asked us what we liked, we told him about this and he said he would try to make the calamari in a tempura batter, or for us to just ask that the calamari be made with tempura batter next time. The side of tartar sauce seemed to be house made, or was just a very good brand and the side salad , which was topped with a rice noodle salad that was made with cucumbers, carrots, ginger, garlic and mayonnaise was addictive. 

I also ordered a small dish of two vegetable croquettes ($2.75) which were light crusted and the only vegetables were soy beans, carrots and corn...in a mashed potato base...and the flavor was really good.  These were served with a "Bulldog" (thick, sweet, on the edge of BBQ) sauce.

Finally, we also had ordered the mixed tempura small plate ($5.50) which included two shrimp, a calamari ring, broccoli, squash, mushroom...all really good, very flavorful in a very light crispy tempura batter.  The calamari ring really did melt in your mouth and this is the way I have requested calamari be made when I have gone on a return visit. The side of teriyaki sauce was warmed and good.

All in all, the price to food quality ratio is excellent here.  You should try it.

Sushi Diner 7530 Mesa College Drive San Diego 92111 (858)565-1179  Lunch:Mon-Fri 11-3, Dinner: Mon-Th 5-9, Fri 5-10 Sat 4-10

San Mateo: In Search of the Holy Grail.... Filled w/ Ramen!

Hello there! It's Vicky again... Blogging about the latest act of gluttony.

In my previous post, I blogged about Gluttony Partner and my trip up to Point Reyes to gorge ourselves on oysters. (And speaking of Gluttony Partner, after a short conversation with him, he's willing to forgo whatever anonimity he has remaining and is allowing me to use his name. Voila! Now we're both going to ousted as societal gluttons. Muahaha!) We had lunch at the ever elusive Long John Silver's (Yes... what is up with that anyway? I remember seeing all these ads for them on tv when I lived in SD, and even when I moved up, I'm continuously flooded with blown up pictures of fried goodness. Yet, there was never a location convenient to me. Argh!)

Fortunately, I found out there was a new one that had just opened up in South San Francisco so that was where we made our second stop for food.... the first being a donut shop in Half Moon Bay. I did mention it was a trip of gluttony right? Sadly to say, in our hunger and elation of finding Long John Silver's I forgot to take the pictures of the food prior to gobbling it all down. We just have a few silly pictures of us wearing the paper cut out pirate wannabe hats, which if you even glance in the mere direction of, is enough to make you blind. Hence, they're not posted.

So after a breakfast of donuts and milk (yes... we are the poster kids of the healthy food pyramid....) and a lunch of fried seafood at Long John Silvers (man... I'm making my nutritionist mother proud!)....and a pit stop at a farmers market fruit stand (oh yes. must have our one peach to balance out all the fried goodness! See! I know how to eat healthy!)... and over 50 oysters at Hog Island...we finally made it to dinner. Thank god this little restaurant closes at 11! We finally drove out of the Point Reyes area around 930pm and made it down to San Mateo. Sam and I absolutely love ramen. We constantly need to get our ramen fix. I had introduced him to this restaurant after a hike we took in the San Mateo hills and needless to say, it was the perfect way to end a great day of excercise. I shall now present to you.... HIMAWARI in downtown San Mateo. The main thoroughway of downtown is 3rd Avenue. Himawari is located a little off to the side on 2nd.

We walked in and got seated immediately and ordered our usual appetizer. I absolutely love the Buta Kakuni ($7.95)  appetizer they have. Early on, Sam had cooked me an amazing meal of Dong Po Rou (Braised Pork Belly), and ever since then, after discovering our mutual liking for fatty cuts of pork, I've been raving about the Buta Kakuni here. Unfortunately, in our eagerness to polish off the dish, I forgot to pull out my camera and take a lovely picture. All I have to offer the dear readers is a picture of the last piece of Buta in the precious death grip of Sam's chopsticks, with of course, his upper body cropped out. Don't worry, he doesn't really look headless in reality. 

I think Himawari just has large vats of this braised fatty goodness bubbling behind the counters. In the appetizer version, they take the cubed pieces, lightly dust them in what I think is Mochiko powder, and fry them so that the outsides are dry and crispy. Placed on a bed of thinly sliced onions and topped with scallions, they serve the Buta Kakuni with this tangy and slightly sweet soy based sauce. Absolutely divine!! The textural contrast of this dish is amazing. The outsides are dry, crisp and fragrant, and the center of the cubes are braised to the point where the fibers of meet are falling-apart tender. Yes... you read that right, it is a fried piece of cubed pork belly. No, I do not care to know how bad it is for me and how clogged my arteries are. They do a very good job of rendering out most of the fat from the meat during all the braising so I'd like to think that most of it is cooked out.... Thank god Himawari is around half an hour away from us. Otherwise we'd turn into roley poley's from eating this all day long. This stuff is so good, that all I have to do is mention "Hima..." to Sam, and I can see his eyes glaze over and images of this dish dancing like sugarplums above his head.

While Sam was busy polishing off the last treasured piece Buta Kakuni, our server brought out our other appetizer. Make sure you take the time to read the cover of the menu. They post up their seasonal specials and this was one of the ones available during our visit. I now present to you, Seared Hokkaido Scallops w/ Wild Mushrooms on an Artichoke Tapenade ($10.95). (Now say that ten times fast!) These plump little babies were GOOOD! The restaurant definately did not skimp out on the quality of the scallops. They were sashimi grade -  sweet, fresh, and tender. I really enjoyed the twist on surf and turf. The earthiness of the wild mushrooms contrasted nicely with the slight hint of sea from the scallops. The mushrooms were cooked in a sweet mirin/soy base and that went well with the tapenande. The tapenade had a very unique texture - being that it was made from artichokes... It was slightly tangy, reminscent of yuzu, and really pulled the entire dish together. Now if only I could have this for breakfast...and lunch... and dinner...

Patience, dear readers, we're not even onto our main course yet! This is yet ANOTHER appetizer we ordered: Asari Garlic Butter Clams ($6.95). I'm guessing it is the Japanese version of clams cooked scampi style. The clams are cooked in their own juices, and the broth tasted strongly of clam essence. It was balanced out with just enough sake and sweet butter. Oh the glory my tastebuds were in! The clams were firm and al dente, combined with the wonderful broth they were swimming in, I really wished I had a loaf of crusty ciabatta to dip.

That is my bowl of Shoyu Ramen with Extra Bamboo ($7.95 + $1 for the bamboo). Himawari also offers the Deluxe Ramen which comes with 3, yes THREE pieces of the braised (unfried) buta kakuni and extra toppings for a price of $10.95. The ramen was cooked to a perfect bite and the hot steaming soup warmed us right up. The broth carried  a lot of depth and hinted at all the bones sacrified in the making of the soup. I honestly would not be surprised if they snuck in a couple spoonfuls of the braising liquid from the buta kakuni. Needless to say, it was a great way to have dinner. (And if you are wondering... we did have dessert after this... at Hong Kong Style dessert place around the corner. And no... we're not trying to set a new guiness record for stomach capacity...)

Himawari
202 2nd Avenue

San Mateo, CA, 94401

650.375.1005

Mon-Thu 11:30 a.m.-11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 11:30 a.m.-12:00 a.m.
Sun 11:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m.

Mr. Wasabi- been seeing the sign for years. Finally stopped to eat.

Mr. Wasabi has closed.

mmm-yoso is the blog.  It  never goes on vacation.  Cathy is talking today while Kirk does other stuff.

Hey there.  I've had a few meals that I haven't talked about because Kirk has been talking about his wonderful Peruvian vacation.  I love his prose and photos and ..um...his courage to drink spit and eat deep fried rodent like creatures as well as everything else that has kept those Peruvians going for thousands of years.  I kind of play it safe, although have eaten everything that has ever been presented to me...by safe I mean staying out of foreign situations for the most part.

So, anyhow.  If you have driven on Mira Mesa Boulevard near Interstate 15, ever,  you've seen this sign on the south side of the street.  If you click and enlarge it, you will see the unlighted portion at the bottom-$1 sushi and $1 sake.  Those prices are for a single piece of the 'regular' sushi- salmon, tuna, shrimp, etc.  The sake is from a box but I think you can get it hot or cold...not a bad deal if you are in the area  for Happy Hour- 5-6 p.m. Tues-Fri (Mr. Wasabi is closed on Mondays).

So, we decided, after years, that we would have to go here for a meal to see if it was any good.

Oh, it is.  There is a reason it has been here for kind of forever.

A simple menu, fresh food, attentive service.

We decided to start with the calamari salad ($6.25)- this easily could have been a meal and if I added a miso soup, definitely filling.  Good thing The Mister and I were sharing.

Wonderfully light tempura coated perfectly fried large pieces of fresh squid on top of a lot of salad lettuces and shredded cabbage, served with a side of house dressing, which definitely had onion in it and I thought needed a touch of soy added, but was otherwise so absolutely perfect.

Both of our meals came with miso soup and salad (same dressing) .  The miso was very good, rich and not salty and had large pieces of seaweed and small cubes of a good, firm tofu in it.   We each ended up putting the extra lettuce from the calamari salad into the salad bowls since there was a bit too much dressing on those individual salads. It worked out.

I saw the Chirashi Sushi on the menu as a main course ($13.25) and had to try it.  Assorted sashimi served over vinegared rice...  maguro (tuna), sake (salmon), shiro maguro (albacore), hamachi (yellowtail), amebi (sweet shrimp), the fake krab stuff (which tasted good), ikura (salmon roe) and tamago (sweet egg cake) with wasabi, pickled ginger, cucumber and shredded daikon radish on top of the wonderful vinegared rice.  So fresh, so delicate and a wonderful portion of sushi.  Well worth the price.

The Mister ordered the #13, Teriyaki and Tonkatsu meal ($10.95 plus $1 for the beef rather than chicken teriyaki).  Extremely high quality tender beef topped with a wonderful teriyaki sauce that was not salty nor too sweet.  The tonkatsu (lightly breaded deep fried pork) was tender and moist and topped with a more strong ponzu sauce, kind of on the edge of being too vinegary, but not quite.  These were served on a bed of lettuce (which went well with each sauce) and the rest of the plate filled with edamame (boiled soybeans) and a bowl of rice on the side. 

Excellent quality food in quite large portion sizes.   They don't charge for tea and it is a better quality loose green tea.  Don't drive by, drive in.

Mr. Wasabi 9379 Mira Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92126 (858)530-2546 Lunch 11:30-2:30 Tues-Sat, Dinner  5-9:30 Tues-Sun

Curry House-a ch-ch-ch-chain...and, no rules- we didn't order curry!

Curry House has closed.

mmm-yoso!!!, the blog.  About food.  Cathy still blogging about food eaten around San Diego.  Ed eating but not documenting in Yuma.  Kirk eating and eventually documenting from Peru.

Hi. Cathy here with maybe some better photos of this meal. Lunch at Curry House. It says 'Curry and spaghetti' on the front signage.

There are plastic bowls of plastic food in the front window, and menus displayed.

There has been a coupon in the papers lately- buy one and two beverages and get the other menu item free. With a week of meals eaten out, as well as trying to have something interesting to blog about, a coupon was a nice deal. We got a hot tea, which came with a just right size pot of water to make three cups and high quality Japanese green tea bag and a coffee, which happened to be fresh brewed since The Mister apparently was the only person drinking coffee in a Japanese restaurant, and it was served with a little pitcher of real cream (each $1.75).

Then we got the menu and I wanted to try all the other items on the menu and not the curries, mainly because Kirk has already blogged (and so has Guest Commenter Vicky, who blogged a bit and moved North earlier this year) about Curry House and they must do that well, right? The restaurant is owned and run by House Foods, a major supplier of all kinds of goodies,  from curries and sauces to tofu 'noodles'. So, the menu items are kind of all made from Asian Grocery Store staples, and are a selling point for the restaurant...but wow: excellent.

So, we decided to try out a bowl of corn potage($2.60)

...this is not corn chowder, but corn soup. Excellent corn soup. Whole corn niblets are in it and it is ...oh...more like corn pudding in richness of flavor, but not too thick.

Then there was a hand out that came with the regular menu-  a single page with new stuff on it-and photos-...

So anyhow, Seafood with yam noodles. ($9.50)

Sort of in an Alfredo sauce- but not. Thinner sauce, hint of curry heat under, but white.  Excellent rich flavor.  The yam 'noodles' were wide- we have had skinnier yam 'noodles' that fell apart, but these 'noodles' held up. There were squid rings, fish, mussels, shrimp and broccoli and onions in this *large* bowl. Excellent flavor, unexpected high quality of seafood. I don't know why we thought it would be not great, but this was *really* good. Not Italian seafood fettuccine, but a nice Japanese version and the menu said lower in calories that regular pasta (550 calories versus 900).  Like I care about calories.  It is flavor I care about.

I decided to splurge and get the crab and shrimp salad($12.75).

We had to wait a bit because they were cooking and peeling the crab and shrimp to put on top of this salad.  Yes, they were warm (and sweet/fresh tasting) on top of the mixed greens, cabbage, tomatoes and radish sprouts served on the icy cold plate.  While we waited, we noticed the advertising set on the table and the House salad dressing was available for sale for $3.50 and the sign said "no preservatives".  We asked and the waitress said it lasts only abut 10 days.  Fresh made...oh my.  It was rich soy sauce, garlic and ginger flavored, deep and wonderful.  I am definitely going to buy some when I hit one of my "daily must eat greens" phases, which happens every few months.  The combination of flavors was really good.

I saw some side dishes that you could order, ostensibly with a curry dish, on the menu and asked if I could get a potato croquette($1.50).  I usually get fresh made croquettes at Nijiya Market, in the same parking lot, but  I wanted to try this one. It was a nice, plump, moist potato, lightly breaded with panko and with a light fry- delicate, yet crusty.  Kind of a nice side to go with the salad, although I could have added on a cup of potage and bread for $1.50.

Also, even though Red Berry is in the same parking lot, it was dessert time and, since it was still a week-o-birthday meal,

we shared a red bean ice cream ($2.95-which was comped by the Manager once He knew it was our birthdays, via an inadvertent mention to our waitress; unexpectedly nice).

All in all, excellent non-curry food.  I didn't follow my own rules to 'order what the name of the restaurant is about' and was not at all disappointed.  Very pleasantly surprised.  They make tasty food.  There are daily lunch specials noted at the front of the building and lunch prices range from $7-$14.  Not bad at all for the quality and attentive service.

Curry House San Diego 3860 Convoy (in Nijiya Center) San Diego 92111 (858)278-2454 M-F 11:30-2:30, 5:30-9:00  S-S 11:30-9:00

Sakura-Izakaya Yet another post

mmm-yoso is a blog about food and Cathy is having a busy week.  Kirk is somewhere and did e-mail her from "some God forsaken internet cafe in some alley in Lima".  He is alive, but not able to post His vacation eatings just yet.

Hi.  I have had an unusually busy week and so this is another short post.  I have kind of been eating fast, or while driving (which is not an easy thing to do in a manually transmissioned vehicle) AND it is kind of a special week- The Mister and I have birthdays seven days apart and our "tradition" is to eat out every day-He gets to choose the three days including His birthday, we both agree on the middle day's eatery and then I get the last three days, ending on my birthday. (By that point, by the way, I get really tired of going out to eat and just want a comforting bowl of chili or soup at home).

So, Sakura.  My choice. Izakaya style Japanese food. There are a ton of posts here about the restaurant, but mostly about its Sushi Bar.  Izakaya style is ...more substantial than tapas...but are still small plates of food, prepared in various manners.   Kind of a meal of large appetizers/snacks (otoushi).  Actually, alcohol is a primary draw of Izakaya shops, but the last thing I need now is to sleep in on any morning this week, so none for us- hot tea is perfect with this meal.

The meal starts out with a oshibori (wet towel). These are prepackaged and kind of nice and luxurious.

These are fried squid legs($5)- we did get eight, but I forgot to take a picture of the plate. 

Lightly breaded, fresh and chewy (but not too chewy) legs.

The spicy fish salad ($8).  Kind of a Japanese "poke" with a variety of fish- skate, tuna, squid, halibut, salmon and something else, chopped and in a spicy and sesame oil sauce with tomatoes, thin sliced mild onions and spicy radish sprouts.

There is, of course sashimi on the menu, but we figured this way we got something cold and raw and a few vegetables...

Gosh, we can justify anything...

Soft shell crab ($6).  Fried in a different batter than the squid legs.

Light batter, large and juicy crab,  cut into five pieces.

Served with a warm dipping sauce and shredded daikon (radish) that I put into the sauce to add flavor.

Yakisoba ($7.50).  Buckwheat noodles stir fried with beef, cabbage, carrots in a light sauce.

I always like yakisoba and this was a nice surprise, since we never had ordered it here.  Earlier in this  week-o-food we had a very strange sauced yakisoba, which I will comment on in a future post...

Beef in sesame sauce ($8). Wow. 

A completely different flavor and tenderness level than what was in the yakisoba.  Wonderful, tender, flavorful beef.

The sauce was more of a sesame paste, not at all a sesame oil, which I was expecting.

This is one you should have every time.

I wanted to try the savory pancake ($8)- fresh made bread/pancake on the bottom (more pizza crust like than a batter pancake, but you need that thickness because the toppings are heavy) topped with 'octopus, shrimp and vegetables'. 

The vegetables were mostly tomato, but there were pieces of cabbage, and of course topping of shaved (and dancing from the heat) bonito flakes.  Kind of sweet; it needed that mayonnaise with some of the bites.

We knew we needed some vegetable with all of this food, so ordered a plate of spinach and mushrooms sauteed in garlic butter ($5).  Oh you could taste the butter...

All in all, a very nice, quiet Monday dinner.  It was not busy at all (one other table) so my photos a blurry because I did not want to use flash.

Total damage was $47 without tip.  It was nice and relaxing.  We enjoy the Izakaya style -in all cuisines- Oh, you've seen I have made a meal of appetizers elsewhere.

Don't even ask how old we are.  It is best left to your imagination that I am your age.  In any case, I got carded the last few weekends when I went to Pacific Beach Bar and Grill, and I love the security people there...

Izakaya Sakura.  It is on Convoy Street in that mall that has the Original Pancake house in it and there is no signage.  Go to the back of the mall, next to the Military Recruiting storefront and the neon "OPEN"  sign  is the entrance.  Really.

You can find the plethora of other posts about Sakura on this blog by scrolling in the left column and clicking onto "Japanese restaurants"

Sushi Hut- a local (3 store) ch-ch-chain

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog and Kirk is on vacation.  Here is another post of what Cathy ate one day.

Hi. I'm back with a short post.  The Mister and I went to one of the locations of Sushi Hut (in Mission Valley) around March of this year and were not overly impressed.  I even deleted those photos from my camera, planning to not talk about it, primarily because I didn't want to bother going back to try different dishes. Not bad food, not great food, just...food.

We were on Clairmont Mesa Boulevard the other day and saw a couple of places inside the parking lot Kitty Corner from the Rockler Store (and Cheetahs..the men reading this know where I am now, right?) and Lo and Behold, another Sushi Hut.  A chain- who knew?

Well, we were hungry; there is a Mexican place and a Boba place a few doors down, but we thought we could try Sushi Hut one more time, just to see if it was still...meh...just food, or something better.  We were pleasantly surprised.

The paper menu says that all photos and slogans are copy written, so I won't post a photo of the menu here, but you can look at it on the Sushi Hut website,

Basically the menu has sushi, rolls, Bento Plates, Bowls and wraps, along with some Combinations thereof.   They also make some beautiful looking Party Trays.

I decided to let another wrap come into my life- second one ever - I don't know where have been, but I wanted to try this version.  Teriyaki chicken, steamed vegetables and sweet rice.  ($4.59)It was a Teriyaki Bowl in a tortilla, and pretty good.   The chicken was all white meat, the Teriyaki sauce was not overwhelming (and I added some 'spicy teriyaki' from the condiment area after my first few bites), the vegetables were crispy/fresh steamed/not soggy and the rice was a good sticky rice.   The serving was quite large for me.

The Mister tried the Bento #2 Platter ($5.29) pretty much katsu chicken cutlets, rice, two fried shrimp and seaweed salad.   We recalled that on our first visit at the other location, they told us they were out of seaweed salad, which has become one of my cravings this year for some reason- I have to try the seaweed salad whenever I see it on a menu or for sale in a market.  This seaweed salad was good with a few different types of seaweed and a light sesame dressing and good, fresh crunch.  The chicken cutlet was lightly breaded and fried and topped with a Ponzu sauce and sesame seeds and the fried shrimp were  lightly breaded with breadcrumbs and light fried so that you could taste the sweetness of  the shrimp. 

All in all, Sushi Hut has a good fast service and fresh food.  The rolls are numerous and made fresh to order and some selections come in two sizes if maybe you just want to try a few. We were not impressed with the rolls the first time we got them at the Mission Valley location and did not want to try them on this visit.  If you are in the area, stop and try a bite. (This is my subtle way of saying don't go out of your way to try it).

Sushi Hut 8058 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92111 (858) 874-5803

5624 Mission Center Road San Diego 92108 (619) 6889214

8240 Mira Mesa Blvd San Diego 92126 (858)689-2475

Website -Click here

Izakaya Masa - A Quiet Place for Lunch

Izakaya Masa is a little Mom and Pop Izakaya, located in little strip mall(with even less parking) on Fort Stockton Drive in Mission Hills. It used to be Teriyaki Cowboy, a nice teriyaki and bento shop, that was always pretty empty. Like a Phoenix rising out of the ashes. Teriyaki Cowboy has reinvented itself, and is now Izakaya Masa.

I visited Izakaya Masa when it first reopened, and well, though the menu had been expanded, and there was more sushi to be had, I really was not too impressed. I also didn't bring my camera along....and than came Naomi Wise's review for the Reader. Being not too fond of crowds I decided to let Izakaya Masa "rest" for a while, before finally settling in for a few lunches over the last couple of months. The little restaurant is reasonably close to work, and I enjoy the lunch time vibe, very relaxed, and quiet.....though the selection of Sake, Shochu, and Chu-hi is quite impressive and tempting.

Maybe you need a closer look:

An nice variety of Sake's on the list including Kubota Manju ($19/glass, $130/bottle), and Kubota Hekijyu ($12/glass, $80/bottle).

But since I'm here for lunch..........

My favorite lunch dish at Izakaya Masa is the Katsu Don(In this case chicken - $7):

I enjoy the sauce for the Katsudon, it is neither too sweet, nor too salty/fishy. The chicken is usually moist, and the Katsu is not over saturated and mushy. The one problem is with the breading technique as the panko will tend to peel off the chicken, which if the Missus was here, would be a no-no. Still flavor-wise I enjoy the Katsudon at Izakaya Masa. Of course the flavor that Beni shoga(sliced pickled ginger), and the green onions add cannot be denied.

A few weeks later I had the pleasure of grabbing a bite with JosephE, very active Chowhounder, and FOY (friend of yoso). Since he had not tried Izakaya Masa, we decided on grabbing a meal there.

Since Joseph had not tried Ankimo(monkfish liver), I decided to start with that.

This version was a bit on the hard side, in fact it had a bit of "squeak"(think almost cheese curds) to it. I'd have preferred the Ankimo to be a bit more creamy and rich. The flavor was very faint, though not too bad.

Joseph ordered the Tempura Bento Box ($8):

It looked like a nice variety of tempura, along with miso soup, green salad, and rice. I'll let Joseph take it from here: "I remember being pleased by the crispness of the coating and the delicate cream color, which suggested fresh, hot oil and good timing. There was no greasiness or coating of oil to mar the finish. I liked the variety of vegetables and thought the shrimp was still tender. I remember being particularly fascinated by the shiso leaf tempura, which was crisp as if it had been frozen in a dusting of snow." There you have it!

I ordered a dish that was from the old Teriyaki Cowboy menu, Masa's Fried Chicken ($7):

This is basically a spicy Chicken Karaage, I had wondered what changes, if any had been made since I last ate this dish. After a bite of the chunks of deep fried dark meat chicken, I could detect no difference. The batter had a mild spiciness(almost like something made with Kimchi base), and was not too salty. I also quickly found out that the batter was not crunchy, and the chicken was inexplicably tough and dry......

Portion-wise, throwing in the standard miso soup, gohan(rice), and green salad with a tangy ginger based dressing, and this was a pretty large lunch.

A few weeks later, I dropped by, in need of a fried-food fix, and ordered the Kushi-age Lunch($8):

Kushiage are basically skewered(Kushi), fried(Age) items. This is one of the more interesting lunch items on the menu at Izakaya Masa. For lunch, a variety of 4 panko breaded items are served. On this day, it was Renkon(Lotus Root), Shiitake Mushroom, Pork, and Dark Meat Chicken, all served with a bowl of Katsu-sauce.

The Renkon had no woodsy-earthy flavor to be found and was hard. To me was just a vehicle for the sauce.

The Shiitake Mushroom...tasted well, like Shiitake Mushroom, and was a bit on the tough side. I had expected a contrasting texture between the breading and the mushroom.

The chicken was moist and tender, if a bit mild in flavor.

The best item was the Buta(pork) Kushiage:

I expected tough and fatty, but got moist and soft, with just a touch of fat for flavor. Combined with the slightly tangy-savory flavor provided by the Katsu sauce, this was an excellent combination of flavor and texture.

Finally, recently I tried the Tonkatsu Curry-Rice($7). After ordering, I could hear the pork cutlet being pounded and tenderized, the sound of egg being beaten for my cutlet, by the time I heard the sizzle as the cutlet hit the oil I could have tried out for the part of one of Pavlov's Dogs . Here's what arrived at the table.

Nice tender pork cutlet, though again the breading would peel off the meat. I didn't care for the curry, it was too thin and runny, and though it had a bit of spiciness, the curry flavor in itself was very mild. The sauteed veggies dumped onto the cutlet didn't really impress me much either. I think I'll stick with the Katsudon.

And to answer your question before it's asked, no Izakaya Masa in not in the same league as Izakaya Sakura. That said, Izakaya Masa is more inexpensive. Overall Izakaya Masa is a nice little neighborhood "chochin" (red lantern) Izakaya. If I lived in the neighborhood, I'd probably be a regular like Gil and Krista. For now I'll settle for a nice quiet place for a reasonably priced lunch.

Some notes on Izakaya Masa: There are only 8 or so parking stalls in the strip mall, so parking is at a premium. The street parking (metered during the day) may be your best bet. If you want to sit at the "sake counter" you should make reservations.

Izakaya Masa
928 Fort Stockton Dr
San Diego, CA 92103
619-542-1354

Tues-Fri 1130pm - 230pm
  5pm - 10pm
Sat  5pm - 10pm
Sun      1130pm - 230pm
  5pm - 10pm

Sakura for lunch

mmm-yoso, the blog, is never on vacation.  Cathy is writing.

Hi.  This sort of is a repeat post, except I have never talked about Izakaya Sakura .  Kirk has blogged the Bento Lunch recently.  He has enjoyed a meal or two with Ed here and blogged it a few other times and all three of us recommend it to friends, co-workers and complete strangers online and, well, it is assumed and known that it is just good. The first time I met Kirk (and Captain Jack), it was here, for lunch... Gosh almost a year ago.

This is it-click onto the photo- see the "open" sign?  That is all the outdoor advertising you will ever see here.  Not on the large billboard on the street nor on the building (it is in the back of the parking lot where the Original Pancake House is located).

Very friendly, not too large, a limited menu- which they will give while explaining what is sold out already.  They do have sushi rolls at lunch on weekends and the lunch menu is good until 4:30 on Sunday (opposed to 2 p.m. the other days of the week) and, as always, everything is wonderful and fresh.

We started out with a cold tofu appetizer ($2.50).

I forgot to take out my camera and had to re-assemble this beauty..three medium sized pieces of a firm, fresh tofu, topped with sliced scallion greens, a thinly sliced okra-like vegetable and some freshly shredded horseradish (tasted like wasabi) and surrounded by a lot of large bonito shavings.

I liked the tofu plain but then when mixing bites of it with the wasabi and bonito and onion (the okra like vegetable was not pickled, not salty..it was sliced thin but could be considered crunchy but otherwise added not much flavor-wise) it brought out so many flavors.  It was just "fancy tofu" for me.

The Mister wanted something crunchy for his meal, so he got the "mixed tempura" ($7.50) Two pieces of shrimp and one piece of fish, along with 

tempura'd green beans, kombucha squash, thinly sliced Japanese eggplant and onion.  Light, crisp, fresh. Served with Japanese pickled veggies, salad with a homemade fresh ginger based creamy dressing, 

rice, fresh made (hot) tempura dipping sauce and some really good fresh made miso soup.  I assume the soup was made with a miso paste; it was so rich/deep flavored and had two small pieces of the firm tofu in it along with fresh seaweed.

I would like to add that piece of watermelon must be one of those Dulcinea seedless personal sized ones that costs quite a bit at the grocery store-it was packed with flavor.  The Mister put it aside and saved it for us to share for dessert.

At this time of year, Hiyashi Chuuka ($8.75) is available.  I had to...(in fact, I had to yesterday when we went to Chopstix for lunch...but I digress). Cold ramen noodles on the bottom in a light rice vinegar based sauce, topped with cold pork, bean sprouts, corn, shredded cucumber, sliced cold egg, ginger, fresh seaweed and top-topped with dried seaweed seaweed shavings and served on the side, a squirt of Kewpie Mayonnaise and hot mustard.  You basically mix it all together and eat.  Kind of upgraded leftovers and a real treat.  When you consider I do not crave noodles yet I will eat this two days in a row...well, you know I must love the stuff.  Oh, I got  side of pickled vegetables also.

The one thing we always get at Sakura- night (Izakaya) or at lunch (side order) - is Karaage ($3).  A simple, unassuming tidbit of 4 pieces of skinned chicken leg meat deep fried in a light flour breading and served in a bowl of fresh made sauce (not as salty as the tempura sauce) and a pile of shredded daikon radish.  At dinner it is not served with the sauce, but I enjoy mixing the remaining tart daikon with the sauce and slurping it up.

That's it.  Lunch. Sakura.  Good.

Izakaya Sakura 3904 Convoy, #121 San Diego 92121