mmm-yoso!!!

Lido's (Lemon Grove) (revisits)

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy, while Kirk and His Missus are busy with a wonderful vacation.

I did write about Lido's in May of 2022.  Easy meals out with leftovers for another meal seem to be how The Mister and I are operating these days; neither of us wants to cook at home.  The well-established (since 1955) pizza parlor, serving Italian food as well as cocktails is open for lunch in nearby Lemon Grove.  A bowl of the house made minestrone ($4.95) really hits the spot.  Vegetables are still slightly crisp (not mushy, except for the zucchini) and broth has a nice deep herb filled flavor.  You can order a 'double bowl' for $7.35.  We often share a double bowl as our 'appetizer'. 
 A large (for two) antipasto salad ($9.95) was shared for an appetizer.  Plenty of mortadella,  salami and provolone along with pickled vegetables and parmesan.
 The Italian Salad Bowl ($7.95) is always a good shareable 'appetizer' for us.  Don't be fooled by the camera angle- that is a very large, deep bowl (it's the same bowl used for the 'double bowl soup'). Lettuce, tomato, mozzarella, olives, pepperocinis and all of that pepperoni could make a nice low carb meal.  But we've been ordering large pizzas lately.
A large sausage-pepperoni pizza ($20.45) is one choice.  Neither of us wants too many ingredients to take away from the beautifully flavored dough.

Every large pie is served with a complimentary plate of "hors d' oeuvres"- Cheez-It's, salami and American cheese squares.  A delightful (and tasty) combination of textures, flavors and saltiness. Tradition. (You can order a separate plate for $3.95).  As I added in my last Lido's post, here is a link to a subtle ode to the use of Cheez-It's as a restaurant food (last photo of the post).

 The large sausage-mushroom pizza ($19.25).  More of a favorite.  You can see the thin crust.

A great, local place. 

Lido's Italian Foods 7252 Broadway Lemon Grove 91945 (619) 469-9901 Open daily 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Website

 The 'Bar' area is a bit closed off from the rest of the dining area.

HitH - Farmers Table (Bay Park) Revisited

So, there I was minding my own business.....when I noticed some comments on a post from back in 2019 on the Bay Park Farmers Table location from "FK". To be perfectly honest, I rarely receive comments on older posts. And to be even more honest, I (we) had never been compelled to return after our last set of visits. I had not however, tried the flatbreads at FT. So there's that. Plus, this location of FT is like less than three blocks from our house, so it wouldn't be hard to just take a walk on over to the place and return after three years, right?

I guess it was about time for me to do some H(anging) i(n) t(he) H(ood), right?

The place was pretty mellow during my visit; which I liked.

I must say, I found the service much more friendly and efficient that on my previous visits. I did notice a big difference when I received my menu. It seems all the dishes I've tried before are no longer available here.

When I did a quick check, some of those items, like the beef tartare are available at other locations. So, I'm guessing that BP customers don't like stuff like that? Well, I was here for the Truffle Flatbread anyway. Which I ordered ($20).

 Man, this was pretty big. Crust was nicely charred. Though the first two bites gave things away. The slices weren't cut all the way thru and the resulting dough was tough and saturated and not in a good, Neopolitan Pizza way. Nice truffle fragrance, but no truffle flavor. There was a ton of tasteless mozzarella. The crust, while nicely charred wasn't very yeasty, but was too salty. I liked the bacon, that almost had a flavor of jamon, which gave the pizza almost all it's flavor, but there just wasn't enough of that to overcome all that cheese. Too little radicchio or carmelized onion to make much of a difference.

I still think the food here is quite "corporate" and some folks like it that way. The service has definitely improved, though I still don't think the food is to my taste.

Farmer's Table (Bay Park)
3055 Clairemont Dr.
San Diego, CA 92117

One good thing that came out of this visit. There are places within walking distance that I haven't posted on in ages. The Missus wants me walking more, so one of my New Years resolutions? More time to "Hang in the Hood". So you'll hopefully see a couple of those posts coming your way.

Riding the San Diego Trolley and a Visit to UTC

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog written mostly by Kirk.  But since He and His Missus are on a month-long vacation, Cathy is helping out.  All of our posts are about food, either directly or indirectly.  Today is another indirect post. 

In September, I received the dreaded notice in the mail-Jury Duty.  This notice was not like the others received during Covid-19 times (call a phone number after 5 p.m. starting on a specific Thursday until the following Wednesday or upon being called in to the Court).  No, this notice gave me a date to show up-Downtown.  Since I hadn't been on the Trolley in years, knew it had expanded to University Town Center in November 2021 and was curious after seeing the 'new' extension being built over the years, then seeing some banners advertising a "Ride the Trolley Free Day" happening in a few days, The Mister and I decided to make a day of it to get me re-acclimated to this mode of transportation. We started at the top right corner of this map (Green Line), changed to the Orange Line and after getting downtown, changed again to the Blue Line going North, ending up at the top left of this map. (Going home, we changed from the Blue to the Green Line)
 It was sunny leaving Santee.
 Then it got a bit cloudy when we hit downtown.
 Many people left the Trolley at this stop, since it was closest to the Ballpark and the Padres had a playoff game.
 By the time we were headed on the 'new' line, alongside Interstate 5, there was full fog.
 We stayed on until the last stop, followed signage (and the other people who exited) to the Mall (through the parking lot) and eventually got to the Food Court, which overlooks the Ice Rink.
 After checking all of the Food Court offerings, we decide on a meal and went off to order.  The Mister stopped here, at Craft Pizza.
He ordered a Calzone with ham, sausage and mushrooms; an item going back to our dating days.  This was excellent.
 I went over to Kebab Grill and ordered a 'Lunch Special' advertised behind the cash register to the left in this photo.
 Salad and
 Lentil soup.  Each was really good and made for a filling and complete meal. Then we started walking around the mall. 
   The Mall has remained about the same, with new stores taking the place of old ones.  There were some interesting vending machines.
 Then we saw this.  Had to stop.
 A great selection of cookies, cupcakes, pastries and ice cream as well as hot and cold beverages.  
 We shared a cup of coffee and a Jesuite pastry (Napoleon/flaky pastry filled with an almond custard, topped with almonds) (Triangle shaped  like a Jesuit Priest hat).

Then we headed home, enjoying a different route.  
 It was still overcast changing from the Blue Line to Green Line in Old Town. Passing the new Snapdragon Stadium and back to sunshine by the time we got home.

Jury Duty was at the new Courthouse, which has scaffolding and canopies all around because windows have been mysteriously shattering.  It's very nice; has a good cafeteria. I wasn't called, so expect another notice in the mail next year.  

Soo rode the trolley, too!

Lido's Italian Food (Lemon Grove)

Well, here you are, looking at mmm-yoso!!! again.  Today, Cathy is posting about a restaurant which has been in Lemon Grove since 1955, for good reasons.  Kirk and His Missus are still enjoying themselves in another part of the world.

You may have passed without noticing.  Lido's has been there all along. The architecture on the exterior has remained the same.  As has the interior.

  Notice there are Monday-Friday Lunch Specials.

Specials have a choice of soup or salad.  Of course, only minestrone soup is offered, because it is perfect and there is no need to make any other soup; just like at home.  The salad dressing (again, only one type) is a unique version of Italian.  It is available for purchase.  Lunch also arrives with toasted garlic parmesan bread. Of course, you can order a slice of cheese bread ($2.95) (or a half loaf for $6.95 or a full loaf for $9.95).  A very nice, cheesy 'appetizer'.

 This is a 'full' order of jumbo cheese ravioli ($10.45).  A delightful, fluffy ricotta-herb filling sandwiched between thin pasta and covered in the house marinara.  It's a great meal to share (and have some leftovers).
  The eggplant parmesan lunch ($9.25) here is excellent, though it isn't photogenic.  Thin sliced (but not mushy) eggplant slices, plenty of cheese, and, because it is baked, the marinara has a more concentrated flavor.
  One of our favorite meals when dating was to share an antipasto salad (for two, $10.35) ($8.35 for one).  The triangle slices of mortadella and cotto salami sandwiching mozzarella are found around the bottom of the plate.  Pickled carrot, celery, red pepper and cauliflower complete the lettuce/tomato/olive/pepperocini covered plate. A large sausage and mushroom pizza ($19.25)would pretty much always be our order back then and still is today.  Thin sliced fresh mushrooms, a light dollop of the tomato based sauce, plenty of mozzarella and sausage (!)- mild Italian with the flavors of garlic and fennel seeds.
 The large pizza is thin.  The small is a bit thicker.  For the extra $2, there are more toppings and flavor.  We reheat the leftovers in a fry pan.  

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Ok, so it's an older Italian restaurant.  What makes Lido's unique?

This.  With every eat-in pizza (or for $4.95) you get this.  "Hors d' ouevres"
 The plate arrives looking mildly unusual with hidden joy underneath all of those Cheez-Its: thin slices of American cheese and cotto salami.   It's what makes Lido's, Lido's.

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Local, long time, friendly, fresh, consistent.

Lido's Italian Foods 7252 Broadway Lemon Grove CA 91945  (619) 469-9901 Open seven days 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Website


 The hors d' oeuvres plate also reminds us of this surprising dish, which I posted about in November of 2006.

 

Patio Dining at Tribute Pizza

You might recall in one of our posts from back in June, that the Missus was missing Her visits to Tribute Pizza. As we passed by back in June, the nice fellow told us that if things worked out right they'd be reopening for dining in July. And it did take a while, but Tribute did reopen....but then the Delta variant attacked and we put things on hold. As our latest road trip approached, we understood that we'd be eating in various restaurants along the way and Tribute had started taking dining reservations for both dine in and patio seating. So, we decided to go ahead and make some reservations for the patio......on a Wednesday, which would be slower than, say....the weekend, at 4pm, the earliest time. 

 We arrived right at the appointed time and were seated on the patio. The woman who was our Server was fantastic and we saw really good processes in place; almost everyone, except the bartenders were masked....there were three parties after us all of whom were dining in; they were all seated at different ends of the restaurant. 

The Missus went straight for one of Her favorites here; the meatballs made from grass fed-finished beef and pork. 

This was a bit different than what we'd had before; the meatballs are still very tender and a bit lighter than what we'd had before. The sauce had a mild tanginess; though we really couldn't make out the roasted peppers and onions this time around.....we missed the sweet-vegetal-pungency. The Parmigiano Reggiano added the requisite milky-saltiness to the dish....which went nicely since the meatballs aren't overly salty. Funny, everytime I get a sniff of Parmigiano Reggiano, it takes me back to Emilia-Romagna and one wonderful day where I learned so much. The texture of the bread was wonderful....they do bread pretty well here. The only downfall was the olive oil used for the bread, which seemed to be rather low quality to us.

Speaking of bread, you know I had to get my favorite here; the Sea Salt Foccacia with the Sea Salt Foccacia with 'Nduja.

As my good friend "Alle" who is Italian-Venezuelan says; "this isn't foccacia....but who cares what it's called, when it's this good." Wonderful texture, love the mildly spicy, slightly funky 'nduja, though over the years it's become thicker....it still reminds me of a good pork spread with Harissa.

As mentioned a bit earlier; there's something different with the olive oil these days........still, that didn't detract from how nice the foccacia was.

And of course, we needed to get a pizza and so stuck with the Biancoverde with Prosciutto.

For some reason, this seemed much larger than what we recalled. The crust, well was ice and yeasty, light, though perhaps I'll request it a bit more charred next time. Love the combination of flavors; the bitter-peppery arugula, savory-almost cheesy prosciutto......nice textures; though after the meatballs and "foccacia" there wasn't much room left.

We enjoyed the service, which was warm, friendly, as it always is at Tribute. And while we're still picking our spots; heck the only other place where both the Missus and I "ate in" at in San Diego was Prime Grill back in June when things were looking good here in San Diego. I'm hoping we can stay the course, we do miss eating out.....

Tribute Pizza
3077 North Park Way
San Diego, CA 92104
Current Hours
Wed - Thurs 4pm - last seating 8p
Fri - Sat 4pm - last seating 9p
Sunday 4pm - last seating 8p
Closed Monday - Tuesday
Patio seating available by reservation

Red Devil; I know you've been waiting to visit; have you made it back to Tribute yet?

Funny thing, you can tell we're missing travel so much......for some reason, my love of culatello came up......oh man, it was just love at first bite, I just couldn't get enough of the stuff when we were in Emilia-Romagna. Of course, the funniest thing was when I mentioned this to Massimo Bottura during our dinner at Osteria Francescana and to our immense surprise he called out to the kitchen and personally brought us a plate of his own 46 month aged culatello which he makes for his staff and himself. I love to watch the Missus roll Her eyes when I do the old man thing and say; "did I tell you about the time Massimo Bottura served me culatello"? Sigh.......we're looking forward to the day we feel comfortable travelling internationally again. 

Hope everyone is safe and in good health!

Frazier Farms (La Mesa) (Grab and Go)

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog.  Kirk is very busy with work and Cathy is writing today.

Family owned Frazier Farms Market opened in 1971 in Escondido.  It expanded and contracted over the years and now has three San Diego County locations.  In September 2020 the La Mesa location on Fletcher Parkway at Jackson (in the former Circuit City building) made its debut. The grocery aisles have a variety of natural and organic products as well as standard selections with very good prices. However, it's the 'edge' of the store where we stop for a snack before shopping. (There are a good number of picnic tables at the shaded front of the building).  Yes, there is pizza by the slice.  Two for $6 (only on Tuesdays the slices are two for $5).
  The white slice is always good. The red sauce is not spicy; a good tomato sauce. The sausage is remarkably good. Vegetables are fresh and really kind of perfect.  The crust is not thick and is good meld of crispiness with chewiness. 
 There is a sandwich area. You can pick one of the standard choices (filling out a paper listing items you might not want). The Frazier Cubano is made with smoked pulled pork, ham, Swiss, pickles and mustard and butter as well as strawberry preserves and, of course, panini style. 
 The sweet saltiness as well as crisped bread and plenty of meat filling makes this sandwich enough to share.  The same with the Ranch Chicken sandwich, made with warm chicken breast, bacon, Meunster, tomato, onion, dill, lettuce and Ranch dressing served on white (ask for the bread to be toasted). 
 Those above sandwiches are $7.99 each, you can order a half sandwich for $3.99 and you can also 'Create Your Own" for $5.99 (adding cheese is another 50¢) and my only advice would be to ask for the bread to be toasted.  The rye here is a very good quality (flavor) and I really like the pickles.
 There is an area with sushi rolls and bowls being freshly made.  During the pandemic, a variety of sides could be found, pre-packed. There are also a good variety of salads in the deli counter. There is only one potato salad made here(there seem to be way too many varieties of potato salad in other deli counters) and it is really good; eggs as well as potatoes with just enough mayonnaise based sauce.

As of last week, a by-the-pound salad bar has opened. (You wear disposable gloves to handle the utensils).  There's a juice and coffee bar, offering organic coffees and smoothies and açaí bowls. It is located near the entrance next to the bakery area and also the refrigerated bakery area.
 The Ricotta filled cannoli ($2.50) is a perfect snack to go with a cup of coffee.
  The carrot cake ($3.99/slice) is kind of perfect.  Again, enough to share.
 There is also a gelato bar area.  The flavors are a good variety and a small is, again enough to share.  
 Not photogenic, but a good combination was the banana gelato along with butter pecan; a sort of fancy banana split in each bite. 

Family owned, quality products.  A great store.

Frazier Farms. 8401 Fletcher Parkway, La Mesa, CA 91942 (619) 309-4024 Open Daily 8 am-9 pm Website

 

Midweek Meanderings - Harland Brewing Opens in Bay Park, IsaBella Changing Locations, and Sushi Hachi by Kimura Closed (Were they ever open?)

Just a quick post for a post time change Wednesday.

Harland Brewing Opens in Bay Park:

As I mentioned back at the end of November, Harland Brewing was taking the place of the short lived Benchmark Brewing on Napier off Morena. Well, I understand that as of Monday they've opened; serving food from Poseidon Project.

I gotta admit, with San Diego moving into the Red Tier as of today, the timing is pretty good.

Harland Brewing - Bay Park
4112 Napier St.
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Mon - Wed   3pm - 9pm
Thurs - Sat 12pm - 9pm
Sunday      12pm - 7pm

Isa.Bella Changing Locations:

Closing the loop on this one was pure luck. About two weeks ago, I dropped by the strip mall off Morena, I noticed that IsaBella Pizza was gone. It had taken the place of Bollweavel back in 2014.

I really had only been back twice after doing my post back in 2014 and really wasn't too impressed.

Then last week, I happened to be in Clairemont Town Square when I noticed an ABC application on one of the doors.

And lo' and behold....it looks like IsaBella will be opening here. It kind of fits in the mold of places right outside the theatres at Clairemont Town Square.

4705 Clairemont Dr.
San Diego, CA 92117

Sushi Hachi by Kimura Closed (Were they ever open?):

I noticed this when I finally went and did takeout from the place with the most posts on our little blog.

Which was included in the same post where I mentioned Harland was opening in Bay Park.

A notice of ownership change. Perhaps they were torpedoed by Covid…...sad. 

Which led me to wonder.....did they ever open?

3904 Convoy St #117
San Diego, CA 92111

Anyway, that's it for now. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Times "BC" (Before Covid) - Remember Brunches? Tribute Pizza, Nate's Garden Grill, and Dan Diegos

The Missus and I aren't real breakfast/brunch kinda folks......especially the pancake/omelette/etc...… A simple croissant will often do. I know, the "most important meal of the day" and all that stuff. Still, breakfast will often make the Missus feel tired, lazy, and sluggish....so there's not much of that going on in our household. However, when we do want to have brunch (and then probably head back home for a nap) we enjoy something that's not quite conventional as you will soon see.

At the end of 2019 and during the beginning of 2020 I was starting to work on a collection of these brunches....and then Covid-19 hit. And who knows when we'll be happily munching and brunching away next? I was just going to delete these photos.....but since these places are still open for takeout; I thought why not just go ahead and do a "COMC" (Clearing Out the Memory Card) kind of post.

So here goes:

Tribute Pizza:

A favorite of the Missus had started serving brunch and we thought we'd try it out. And we really enjoyed it....this was our favorite of the four.

The Missus loved that kale with pesto, that I started making a similar item that's a staple for the Missus's lunches. (Photo on the right)

We really enjoyed this brunch. We haven't been to Tribute since the pandemic started, but will hopefully rectify things soon.

I'm hoping when the pandemic is resolved they start up brunch again.

Tribute Pizza
3077 N Park Way
San Diego, CA 92104
(619) 450-4505
Takeout Hours:
Mon - Wed 4pm - 8pm
Thurs     4pm - 9pm
Friday    1pm - 9pm
Saturday  12pm - 9pm
Sunday    12pm - 8pm

Nate's Garden Grill:

I've enjoyed my breakfasts at Nate's.

I think I mostly enjoy the vibe and setting.....

The brunches have always been quite rustic and hearty.

And I believe they are doing brunch for takeout on Saturdays and Sundays from 9am - 3pm

Nate's Garden Grill
3120 Euclid Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
(619) 546-7700
Takeout Hours:
Wed - Fri  1130am - 8pm
Saturday   9am - 3pm, 4pm - 8pm
Sunday     9am - 3pm
Currently Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays

Dan Diegos:

And here's one from my 'hood. I hadn't been in a while.

Man, this was soooo much food.....

And that huge bowl of gravy went straight to my arteries.

So, of course the fruit bowl made me feel much better......right?

Really nice folks here. More about diner/pub grub and portions....but every once in a while....

No longer serving brunch, but open for takeout.

Dan Diegos Pub
2415 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Takeout Hours:
Mon - Thurs 330pm - 930pm
Fri - Sun   1pm - 930pm

So there you go....one from the memory card. Who knows when we'll be brunching again. And even though it's never been a priority for us.....I do miss it.

 

 

Man, was it warm enough for you the last couple of days?

So, I'm kinda stewing in my juices here wondering what post I should do...….

After sitting for a while....I just decided to cut my losses and grab a pizza.

That's a pesto chicken pizza from Poseidon Project.

And have a cold one.....I had a couple of cans of Avery Brewing Ellie's Brown Ale.....I really just got it because I loved the pooch on the can.

And that's it for today.

I'm glad things will be (hopefully) cooling down the next couple of days....this dry heat and the Santa Ana's have meant some pretty dramatic bleeding from my nose the last two days.....not a great look with a mask on.

Be safe and have a great rest of the week!

 

Eating (and Drinking) in the Time of Covid-19 - Take-Out from Poseidon Project and Wa Dining Okan

A few more take-out orders....

Poseidon Project:

My favorite weekly "pau hana time" stop is now doing take-out pizza, beer, and family meals. So, how can I not support the place?

Mostly stopping to pick up a couple of beers now and then; though the Missus has really taken to the Wild Barrel Vice with Passion Cactus Dragon Fruit. I knew the Missus would enjoy this Berlinerweisse the first time I tasted it. I'm happy to get it for Her while they still have it in stock.

And once in a while; one of their pizzas will hit it out of the park.....

Poseidon Project
4126 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110

Bentos from Wa Dining Okan:

If you're standing in line to get into Nijiya, you can't miss their signs.

I called while waiting in line at Nijiya and ordered the Karaage Bento. When I finished my shopping, I popped in.

While the karaage didn't hold up over the trip back home; I thought this was pretty good.

In fact, I kinda prefer this to my recent sit-down lunches.

And the miso soup was perhaps the best I've had from Okan.

I decided to order again on my last trip to Nijiya and this time ordered the Buta Kakuni.

And while I wish the eggs weren't cooked so much; the pork was surprisingly tender and full of flavor.

I might do this again while waiting in line at Nijiya.

And this post on Okan goes out to "FOY" (friend-of-yoso) ChrisR, who is always the first to gently remind me via email, of how wrong I am whenever I type a negative word on Okan. I hope you and yours are safe and in good health Chris!

Wa Dining Okan
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Take care everyone!