mmm-yoso!!!

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 

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!

Road Trip - Lunch at Vinaigrette, San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church, and a Revisit to Kitsune ABQ (Albuquerque)

After spending the morning at Petroglyph National Monument, we headed back to our accommodations to freshen up. It was getting kinda warm so we wanted something on the lighter side. I had Vinaigrette on my list during our previous visit to Santa Fe and recalled that they had a ABQ location as well. Turns out that the restaurant was just a 15 minute walk from the hotel. Plus, we'd be walking thru Old Town and could take our time and explore a bit on the walk back.

The place was almost full when we arrived, but we got the last table outdoor table.

We were glad to get that table as the only outdoor seating still available was this.....I wonder if folks actually sit here?

As you can tell by the name, Vinaigrette specializes in various categories of salads; savory, sweet, "balanced", and so forth, along with some sandwiches and a few sides and soup.

I wanted something refreshing, so I ordered a concoction called the "Pepino", which featured cucumber and lime juice, along with club soda.

This was quite refreshing and not overly sweet.

We also ordered the Kale Fritters.

We enjoyed the crunchiness and earthy tones of the fritters, which went surprisingly well with the Sriracha Aioli. It was a tad on the salty side of things, but was not a bad dish overall.

The Missus got the "Omega".

This was mostly lettuce and really didn't have as much kale as the Missus would have liked. She thought the toasted pine nuts would be great in a salad, though it really clashed with the provided Blue Cheese Vinaigrette. The avocado was just one small piece. This salad needed more acidity added to really balance out all those greens.

I got the Spinach Mushroom which was a much better choice for our tastes.

The earthy, slightly sweet sauteed mushrooms, with savory bacon, and a slightly sweet-sour honey-balsamic vinaigrette was a nice combination. I wish there were a bit more onions for pungency and more boiled eggs to keep the Missus happy, but this was not bad.

The staff was very friendly, the crowd....well, as you can figure, very hipster-healthy-ish. Still, we didn't want anything too heavy and this did the trick....at least for me.

Vinaigrette
828 Central Ave. SW
Albuquerque, NM 87104

After lunch we took our time strolling back to the hotel. There seemed to be more businesses open on this day, but things were still really quiet.

We enjoyed wandering thru the various patios.

There was a definite charm to this place.....

While we had stopped to look at the Cottonwood Madonna the previous day, we had just walked past the San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church.

There has been a church on this site since Albuquerque was founded. The original church collapsed in 1792 and San Felipe de Neri Church was founded in 1793.

There's a museum and gift shop located in the Sister Blandina Convent onsite.

And of course the Cottonwood Madonna.

And if you want to read even more about the Cottonwood Madonna, you can read more here.

As interesting as San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church was, I found something even more interesting down this patio.

As we were looking at various shops, something caught my eye.

So I walked on in.

It was a beautiful little chapel.

This is the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

It has an interesting story and is even said to be haunted.

We enjoyed strolling around Old Town.

We got back to the hotel and relaxed until it was time to head out for dinner. I had made reservations at a nearby Wine Bar & Bistro, but when we walked over our reservations our reservations were MIA. The place was quite busy and we didn't want to wait so we decided to head on back to Kitsune.

And ordered our food and had a seat in the back patio this time.

I found out that the cocktail that was made for me the night before was called the "Autumn" and featured Blue Corn Whiskey.

Smoky, but not overly sweet.

Of course we got the Karaage.

Which was just a good as the previous night.

And we also got the Pork Belly Rice "Bowl".

The rice on this evening was much better than what we had the previous night; though I'm not sure about that mayo. The pork belly was a bit more chewy than I like, but the seaoning and sauce was pretty good; not overly sweet. The pickled onions handled the palate cleansing duties well.

Not bad for two nights in a row.

Kitsune ABQ
524 Romero St. NW
Albuquerque, NM 87104

We then walked on back to the hotel. On the way back, we stopped at a shop and got some liquid refreshment and a snack.

And sat on the porch and watched the action below.

We went to sleep early as we'd be headed out to Pecos National Historical Park , then it was off to Santa Fe in the morning!

Test Kitchen Eatery and Workspace (Grantville)

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog.  Kirk is on vacation with His Missus and Cathy is back to writing a few more posts.  

So, with my job, I usually meet clients at their home or place of business (how I find some interesting places to eat).   Had to go to the Post Office one day while in the Grantville area of San Diego and while driving through the Office Park, saw this feather flag and made a mental note to bring The Mister with me for lunch.

 It turns out that this establishment is a recipe testing, preparation and catering kitchen to the family of New Zealand inspired restaurants in San Diego: Bareback Grill, Queenstown Public House, Dunedin North Park, Raglan Public House and Queenstown Bistro...none of which Kirk or I have visited (yet)

 Walk in and there's the menu on the wall in front of you.  Turn to the left, meet Mack, order, pay and find a seat.   

 I noticed this "Mackstar" beverage ($2) described on the wall and decided to try it-an excellent blend of English Black tea and fresh (sweetened) lemonade.  The liquids are different densities so when delivered to the table, we were able to try the excellent black tea separately from the lemonade; each is good on its own and when stirred, the combination is very nice-could still taste the tea.

 The "Soup and Sammie" ($13) was my choice.  Tomato basil soup with pine nuts and herbs, topped with sour cream-thick with chunks of tomato,so  fresh, delightful.  The bowl is low and deceptive.  There is plenty.  

 Two types of cheese on toasted sourdough with mayonnaise, avocado, lettuce and tomato.  Excellent.

 The Cobb Chop salad ($12.50) was really good; fresh (flavorful; I've been buying some bitter lettuces lately) Romaine topped with warm grilled herby chicken breast, chopped bacon, avocado, tomato, hard boiled egg and Blue cheese chunks.
 The salad was served with fresh made Caesar dressing (delightful, non-burning garlic) or we could have tried the Pepper Ranch (next time). 

There were plenty of call-in/pick up orders happening.  The people who work in the area are really fortunate.  A great place. 

Test Kitchen Eatery and Workspace 4651 Mission Gorge Place San Diego 92120 (619) 955-6844 Open 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Mon-Fri Closed Sat-Sun Website

 

Brothers Family Restaurant (Grantville)

Today's mmm-yoso!!! blog post is being written by Cathy.  Thanks for stopping by to read about food.

Since the pandemic and Covid-19 restrictions, The Mister and I have had to get used to a 'new normal' with some of our favorite restaurants closing, menus and hours being pared down (so many Breakfast-Lunch only restaurants now) and prices rising.  There were so many places took for granted and I didn't even post about, thinking they would just always be there (RIP The Fancy Fish). Fortunately Brothers Family Restaurant has survived, since 1994. 
 When you walk in and see people seated at the lunch counter, know that it's a busy day and you may have to put your name on the Wait List for a table.

 From the breakfast menu, the Belgium waffle with fruit and whipped cream ($9.95) was ordered by The Mister for lunch one day (the Breakfast menu is available until 2 p.m.).  The light crispness of the waffle edges covering the puffy (not cake-like) filling is one of His cravings...plus we share our meal choices, so I was happy.   The cup of soup and half sandwich ($10.99).  I chose roast beef on rye toast and the Soup of the Day was vegetable beef.  Two different types of beef and each very flavorful- the large chunks of stew pieces with the still slightly crisp vegetables in a strong beefy broth really hit the spot.  The sandwich came with lettuce and tomato and mayonnaise and the meal was quite filling.
 The Half Tuna Salad ($11.99) was my choice another day.  The tuna salad is lightly seasoned with finely chopped celery, very little mayonnaise and some fresh herbs.  It is basically all tuna, which I like.  Served on lettuce with tomato and a sliced hard boiled egg, the house made Thousand Island dressing pulls every bite together with great flavors.  This 1/2 size is a good size meal.
 The French Dip ($14.99) is served with a choice of sides, so, of course, The Mister chose onion rings.  Nice, crisp batter surrounding whole onion ring slices (you know, made here and not frozen).  The thin slices of warm roast beef were served on a very soft, freshly toasted French roll.  The au jus is not salty and has some herbs for flavoring.  Quite nice. 
 On days when the Soup of the Day is clam chowder, a bowl is ordered ($5.99).  Thick, creamy, some chopped potatoes and plenty of clam meat as well as clam juice, this is a great choice.  Soup bowls are served with a half slice of that soft French Roll made into a crisp topped garlic bread; delightful.

Brothers Family Restaurant 5150 Waring Road San Diego 92120 Website open daily 7 a.m.-2 p.m.

 As you walk to the seating area, you'll pass the refrigerated dessert case.  Save some room.  (Yes, they make rhubarb berry from scratch!)

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.

Road Trip - Cliff Palace, Petroglyph Point and Spruce Canyon Trail, and Dinner at Far View Lounge (Mesa Verde)

While I had enjoyed our hikes on the previous day, I was really looking forward to our one full day in Mesa Verde. I remember seeing a photo in an old Encyclopedia Britannica when I was little of these amazing looking cliff dwellings. This was of Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in the United States. From that day on, I'd always dreamed of visiting and on this morning we had a  reservation with the first tour of Cliff Palace.

I got up early and then headed on down the road a bit to Far View Terrace. At the time of our visit, this was the only place open in the morning and for lunch. It's a total Food Court-ish set-up. Anyway, I got some (really bad) coffee and (even worse) pastries for breakfast. We should have stuck with the buts and beef jerky we packed!

After returning to our room we headed on out. The lack of Wifi was driving the Missus nuts, so I thought it would probably be best to hit the road. We got to the parking lot on Mesa Top Ruins Road; there was still quite a few open parking spaces. This is one of benefits of staying in the park, you can get to things fairly early.

We wandered around a bit, then headed on over to the meeting area for our tour and waited for our assigned ranger.

We then headed down to the staging area, where I got all excited when I saw the view.....

 There it was, Cliff Palace, I was actually here! Our Ranger was just like all the rest, so knowledgeable, first going over the safety protocols, we'd be using ladders to ascend....five in total. There were a couple of folks that struggled a bit, but for us it was pretty easy.

It is said that Cliff Palace was the "social center" of the collective Mesa Verde communities and was occupied, based on tree ring dating from 1190 - 1260CE. We were told that there are 150 rooms in the dwelling and 23 Kivas in total.

The amount of kivas support the theory that Cliff Palace was the social center for the area.

We were told that the structures were made of sandstone, mortar, and wooden beams.

If you look up, you can see where you started from....

We loved visiting here. It was something I had on my "bucket list" since "small kid time".

Once we were done, we headed back up Mesa Top Ruins Road, then took a right and parked near Soda Canyon Overlook Trail. The trail was quite easy with some nice viewpoints.

And an especially great view of Balcony House.

Once back at the car, the Missus was itching to do some "real hiking", so we headed on over to where Spruce Tree Terrace is located and parked. Here we broke out the nuts and beef jerky we packed and had lunch.

We then ambled over to the Spruce Treehouse Trail where there are two other trails; the Petroglyph Point and the Spruce Canyon trails.

  Petroglyph Point was the more interesting of the two and also the more strenuous. There were several tight squeezes, a couple of drops and some variations in terrain as well. The Missus was loving it.

There are some nice views along the way.

    And truth be told, I was actually enjoying this trail. All the changes in terrain and views kept me visually stimulated.

As for the petroglyphs? Well, don't blink or else you'll miss it. It's along one small fenced off area.

From here it was a hike uphill where we ended up back near the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum.

We took a short breather, then headed back down and took the Spruce Canyon Trail. 

 I thought this trail was easier than Petroglyph Point, but also less interesting. It was quite peaceful as we did not see another soul during our hike.

Again we ventured into a canyon, then did the hike uphill and ended up in a back parking lot? We eventually found our way back to the Spruce Tree Terrace and our vehicle.

At this point, I figured that the Missus's hiking requests for the day had been paid in full. It was time to head on back to the Far View Lodge to relax for a bit. 

When the subject of dinner came up; well, I didn't make reservations for the Metate Room on this evening. Instead, I noticed that the bar on the second floor of the Lodge served the salads we had enjoyed the night before along with simpler items. This sounded like a better alternative to us, so we headed on over. The place was much more casual and the service was much better.

And the salads came out quickly and were even better than the day before! 

I really liked the combination of the Ancient Grain mix with the milky-salty Parmesan and Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette ($10.75).

Though they were still out of pistachios for the Strawberry & Pistachio ($14) salad.

While they didn't have any entrees on the menu, there was a collection of sandwiches and burgers available. The Missus and I decided to split the Short Rib Grilled Cheese ($13.50).

 While the SYSCO crinkle cut fries weren't fried very well and quite soggy, the sandwich was not bad. The bread could have been toasted a bit more, but I liked the fact that they used Parmesan Texas Toast, which had a nice salty-buttery-milkiness. The short ribs were tender and beefy, loved the caramelized onions, and the cheese, which was a Boursin was herbaceous and nice and gooey. This was nice to share.

We found that prices in Mesa Verde where a lot cheaper than in other National Parks.

All in all, we enjoyed eating here than in the more fancy Metate Room. 

Far View Lounge (In the Far View Lodge)
Mile Marker 15
Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330

We had enjoyed visiting Mesa Verde, but I could tell that the Missus was ready to move on. It was time to head on out!

Stay Tuned!

Road Trip - Step House, Far View, and Dinner at the Metate Room (Mesa Verde)

After hiking both the Point Lookout and Knife Edge Trails, we decided to head on down to the Wetherill Mesa area which is only open between certain months of the year. Along the way we stopped at the Park Point Overlook. There's a short paved trail to the highest point in Mesa Verde and the view is wonderful here.

This is where we saw the most people on this day.

The Park Point Fire Lookout stands at the highest point.

And it's still in use today. In fact, there's this interesting photo in the window of the lookout.

   And then we took the long and winding drive down to Wetherill Mesa and easily found parking in the lot.

We decided to do the self-guided tour of the Step House. You basically go down a couple of switchbacks and then take a ladder down to the amazing dwellings! There is a Ranger on duty to answer questions and the area is only open when manned by a Ranger.

This dwelling was populated twice, the first set of inhabitants are called the Modified Basketmakers who settled here around 600 CE. The second set was during the Pueblo III period.

This was an amazing site!

You can tell the difference in the structures of the Basketmakers......

Versus the masonry structures of the Pueblo people.

  You can pretty much linger as long as you want. 

We decided to not do the Long House Tour since we'd be doing Cliff Palace the next day. 

We had lunch in the parking lot. The Missus ate an entire mini-watermelon and we had a couple of terrible tamales from the motel.

We headed then back and then down toward Chapin Mesa. We decided to make a stop at the Far View Sites. This is a rather unique site as it sits at the top of a mesa rather than in an alcove.

Apparently, there were close to 50 villages in this half mile area between 900 and 1300AD.

While the sites, like the Far View House above, which is thought to be the center of the community or the Pipe Shrine House below are quite stunning. I'm guessing folks are expecting those dramatic alcove settlements, which is why we saw no one here, in spite of the easy access.

We then headed further down to Chapin Mesa and made a stop at Spruce Tree Terrace. While both the Chapin Archaeological Museum and Spruce Tree House are were closed the view was.....well, let me say it again, amazing!

We'd stop by again to do a couple of hikes here the following day.

By now, it was getting close to check-in time at our accommodations. We were staying in Mesa Verde at the Far View Lodge, pretty much the only non-camping hotel within Mesa Verde. Of course, after staying at a bunch of these places we knew what to expect; no fridge, definitely no microwave, they wanted to make their money off of you. And while we'd had our own experiences with what we call "National Park cuisine", there were limited options in Mesa Verde. Yet, I'd heard that the offerings at what was described as "Mesa Verde's fine dining restaurant" were pretty good. So I made reservations for this evening.

It's located in the same structure as the hotel check-in and gift shop.

After looking over the menu, we decided to stick with appetizers and salads. And after doing so much hiking, a nice salad sounded good! When we arrived the place was half full and yet the staff seemed to be in the weeds for our entire meal....which took over 2 1/2 hours!

We started off with the "Korean BBQ Chicken Wings". This was the first item out, it took an hour to get to our table.

A basic Cho-jang style sauce, overly sweet, the coating mushy, and worst of all, I think this was refry job since the flesh of the wings, while fully cooked, was cold!

The flavors on the Roasted Mushroom Flatbread wasn't too bad. 

Decent earthy flavors, the arugula a nice foil for the mushrooms and boursin. But that crust was so doughy, like it hadn't been baked long enough.

And while we waited another 45 minutes for our salads, they would be the best items we had.

The Strawberry - Pistachio Salad was quite refreshing.

Though it had no pistachios wince they had run out, so they subbed sunflower seeds, which did just fine. The balsamic dressing added a sweet-acidity, and the greens were very fresh.

I really enjoyed the Ancient Grain Salad.

All the textures and nutty-earthiness of the Ancient Grain mix, cucumbers, sweet carrots, pickled red onions, and salty-savory parmesan cheese did well with the sun dried tomato dressing.

Service was really s-l-o-w, but when it comes down to it; this might be the best "National Park meal" we've had. And the view wasn't too shabby.

Metate Room
Mile Marker 15, 6262 Far View Mesa Verde National Park
Colorado 81330

And here's the sunset from our balcony.....

Which made it all worth while.

Sunrise Deli (Spring Valley)

Here you are, reading mmm-yoso!!! Cathy is writing today while Kirk (and His Missus) are still vacationing.

The Mister and I were out and about, running errands.  We stopped at Frank's Bakery for our weekly fresh loaf of bread (as well as a sweet) and since we parked on the street, walked over to Sunrise Deli for lunch.
 Walk in, order, pay, find a seat inside or outside.
 There are menus above and on the wall as well as physical laminated menus. 
 The Mister ordered a Soup and 1/2 sandwich plate ($10.75)
 He chose a hot half sandwich-grilled Pastrami and Swiss on toasted sourdough (instead of grilled rye). Russian dressing, lettuce and tomato were offered and since this order wasn't traditional, he got it all.  This was very good.
 There are four homemade soups offered here: Chicken Noodle, Chicken Tortilla, Broccoli Cheddar and Clam Chowder.  The chicken ones are priced at $5.50 and $6.40; the vegetarian is $5.25 and $6.15 and the chowder is $6.50 and $7.75 if purchased as an individual cup or bowl.  No extra charges for the combo plate.  Clam Chowder it is, and it is wonderful.  Creamy, rich with clam juice and a lot of clam meat.  Tiny diced potatoes and celery.  Perfectly seasoned (no need to add salt or pepper), this was really the best we've had out here. 
 I ordered a grilled chicken salad ($13.75) with the house made ranch dressing (as you can see, three containers of ranch are given).  The fresh vegetables and nicely grilled chicken made for a really great meal.  

Quality ingredients.  Open for more than 35 years.  Made it through Covid-19.  Sunrise Deli is a great place.

Sunrise Deli 9945 Campo Road, Spring Valley 91977 (619)460-5800  Mon-Sat 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun 9 a.m.-10p.m. Website

Paragon Deli Cafe (Point Loma)

Paragon Deli Cafe closed in September 2024.  It is very much missed.

mmm-yoso!!! will be written by Cathy over this Independence Day weekend; Kirk is doing things with His Missus.

It was three years ago when Kirk first posted about Paragon Deli Cafe.   I had commented about something on the menu.
Recently, I had a craving for tomato stuffed with tuna salad, an old fashioned menu item rarely seen (and very missed), I checked out the menu at Paragon.   First, it was great to see they were still in business.  Second- the tuna stuffed tomato ($10.95) was still on the menu! A wonderful, refreshing, flavor filled version of this simple diner classic.  Served on top of a bed of lettuce with a house made dressing, this is a great lunch.
There is a chalkboard next to the cash register. A bowl ($5.75) of the Soup du Jour (from scratch mushroom)
 as well as a cup ($5) (vegetarian pea) were enjoyed on visits.  The 'everyday' soups (tomato basil and chicken noodle) are priced $4 and $5.25.
 Of course, we wanted to try the Portuguese Francesinha ($15.95), which Kirk had written about in his post.  Wow! Linguica, ham, roast beef, cheese, topped with a runny fried egg and sauce covering it all-including the fries.  The sauce-you can taste the beer as well as the whiskey.  Magical and it makes me understand why Kirk craved (then raved) about this wonderful sandwich.

You will notice on the menu the namesake Pacific Paragon Sandwich ($12.95), which originated at Marston's Tea Room.  Marston's was a downtown San Diego Department Store before being sold to The Broadway in 1961.  This sandwich won a 1960 American Restaurant Magazine award for "Best Sandwich".

 Fresh roast turkey (as in roasted here, today), crispy thick quality bacon, shredded lettuce, house made Blue cheese dressing (excellent) served open faced on rye.  This- THIS sandwich is fancy as well as wonderful.  A similar item (in that there are crossover ingredients) is the California Cobb Salad ($12.95).  Freshly roasted turkey (remarkably good), bacon, crumbled blue cheese, avocado, tomato and pickled egg.
 There is quite an interest in eggs here; deviled egg dishes are used in the refrigerator and there is a collection on the wall above the kitchen.  

Speaking of eggs, Paragon opens at 7 a.m., so there is breakfast.
 The Croque Madame ($13.95) is made with French ham, gruyere and a house made béchamel.  Very tasty and filling.  

 The Eggs Benedict ($12.95) served on an English muffin with ham and a very proper (unbroken) Hollandaise along with fruit and a hash brown patty is also filling and flavorful. 

Paragon Deli Cafe serves quality food and has the friendliest people working here; most are family. 

Paragon Deli Cafe 2724 Shelter Island Drive San Diego 92106 (619) 888-4997 Website Open Mon-Sat 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Closed Sunday

Speaking of Department store restaurants, you might remember this post  or this post or this one, this one or even this different type of Department store with a restaurant inside.