mmm-yoso!!!

O'Brien's Boulangerie Bakery and Cafe (Poway)

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! one more time.  During this busy holiday season, routines are changed and many errands which were simple are now a chore. That's how this post happened.  Cathy is writing today.   

There was a small article in one of the newspapers a few weeks ago about O'Brien's Boulangerie...a wholesale bread supplier to various restaurants, hotels, casinos and country clubs in San Diego, Orange and Riverside Counties which was established in 1989.  O'Brien's had just moved locations and opened a Cafe (there are 20 seats downstairs and more upstairs) and is getting so much wholesale business that they might have to move again.  This Poway location is on Stowe Drive just off of Community Road, a signal light North of Scripps Poway Parkway in a large office park area. I'm so glad we keep notes about places in odd locations.

 Once you find it, you'll think it was an easy drive. 
The bakery display case is tempting.
After you order and pay, you can gather your own coffee (although they have a great selection of barista prepared beverages), utensils, napkins, some water and find a seat. Your order will be brought to you. 
The eating area was filled when we got here so I only took a photo of these seats facing the door.  Quite a comfortable seating area.
 The classic tuna sandwich ($9.50) served on a fresh, soft ciabatta.  This was a substantial sandwich, which was shared.  Lettuce, tomato, onion and mayonnaise along with provolone topped a large portion of quality tuna salad.  (It was mostly tuna, not much filler at all).  Excellent sandwich.  
A bear claw ($3.50) was served warm.
 It was mostly marzipan...almond paste, toasted almond slices, a wonderful buttery, flaky pastry. 

If you somehow find yourself in this area, don't miss dropping in. 

O'Brien's Boulangerie 13615 Stowe Drive Poway, CA 92064 Website  Open Mon-Fri 7-4, Sat 7-3 Closed Sunday
The rye bread ($6.95)  A 1.5 lb loaf.  Excellent crust, nicely seeded, good texture.  Yes. We will be going back.  Soon. 

Mary's Donuts (Lakeside) more than donuts!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Kirk is funny; he thought that after working overtime on both weekend days, that His Monday would be easy..and short.  He was wrong.  Cathy is writing another post. 

I grew up with three bakeries within five blocks of my home in Detroit.   The Mister remembers three local bakeries he passed while walking to school in the Boston suburb where he grew up. There were local owned bakeries we found in Ann Arbor, Pensacola and Norfolk...and on our visits overseas.  But donut-centric shops are a Southern California phenomenon. Go ahead, type in "donut" in the search bar on the upper left of this page.  Over 1000 hits on this blog alone.  

So, we are back at Mary's.  The original location (photo at the bottom of this post) has closed (after 50 years there) and the new location in Santee is in the middle of a strip mall.  That location is within walking distance of home and I've been known to drop in at odd hours of the day for a quick snack.  However the 'new' (since October 2016) second location has a bit of an expanded menu.

 The donut cases are kept filled.  Along the top of the back wall, you'll see prices- the one on the right, a sort of menu, is most interesting.  There's a non-carb choice.Bowls are $5.99.  Scrambled eggs, choice of meat (bacon, sausage or ham) and choice of cheese (Swiss, Cheddar, Provolone).  This was with Cheddar and breakfast sausage and was great- tasty, large portion (three eggs) and so very fresh.  
 Sandwiches here are $6.99.  They come with a choice of bread (bagel, croissant and as of two weeks ago, fresh baked bread), meat (ham, turkey, bacon, sausage, egg), cheese(Swiss, Cheddar, Provolone) and toppings (lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard). Avocado is an additional 85¢.  This Mary's location has just begun baking breads but not daily and I am eager to come back to try a sandwich on the rye.
The donuts.  Look at the top shelf. Why, that's a lot of fritters. Some of those are apple, but...
 Looks like a slice of peach on those on the right (next to the bacon maple bars)Lemon and blueberry.
Raspberry! 
The fritters here are one of the the most expensive donuts in the case...$1.90.  (Those bacon covered maple bars are also $1.90).
 You can see the layers of raspberry intertwined in this beautiful, crisp edged, perfectly fried and glazed fritter.  Of course we've tried the peach; it's excellent. 

If you are out this way, it's worth the stop. 

Mary's Donuts 10101 Maine Street Lakeside, CA 92040 (619)334-5272 ALWAYS OPEN

Pesto Craft Kitchen (SDSU area)

mmm-yoso!!! welcomes you back to reading about food in San Diego. Kirk has been working a lot of (weekend) overtime and Cathy is writing a few posts., like this one.

Customized, wood fired oven pizzas have been a restaurant phenomenon since about 2014. I've written two posts about Pieology and one post about Blaze.  Pesto Craft Kitchen took over what originally was the location of Social Life Neapolitan Pizza in 2016. Pesto offers more than customizable pizza and salads.
The menu is visible when you walk in (this is an old photo with old prices because I apparently could not take a clear picture of it in the last year). (Use THIS link to see current prices on the website)
You walk along the ordering line.
A decadent snack served here are these delightful 'garlic knots', you can purchase 4 or 8 as an appetizer.   
You can sort of see the fire in the oven through the protective glass.
There is an extensive selection of wines and beers.
 We started with the calamari fries ($9.95) These are served with a roasted garlic spicy tomato sauce. Meaty strips of squid, breaded with a herb-y coating.  A large portion, apparently meant to be shared or this could be a low-carb meal.
  When we do enjoy a pasta dish, baked is preferred.In this case, four cheese ravioli ($13.95) which had craft pesto and was topped with marinara and mozzarella. The pasta, cheese fillings, pesto, marinara and even the side of toasted garlic bread were each distinctive in fresh flavors.  This was a filling meal...yet we wanted more.  
I went back in line and ordered a smoked ham calzone ($9.95)
 Mozzarella and ricotta are the cheeses, the wood fired crust had the char that gave the crust flavor and crunch.  The cheeses, the bit of marinara sauce...this was wonderful.  We had a bite in the restaurant and took the rest home for dinner.  A great day of meals. 

Pesto Italian Craft Kitchen  6011 El Cajon Blvd, Suite A San Diego, CA 92115 (619)265-2700 Website Open Sun-Thurs 10:30-9:30, closes at 10:00 Fri-Sat

China Express

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Kirk is working this weekend.  I'm sure He is eating, but really, He doesn't want to write about it; he'd rather sleep.  Cathy is writing this post.

Tucked in the middle of a bunch of storefronts (many of which Kirk and I have blogged about; some are still there and most are gone-it's the mall with the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and a Carl's. Jr. closest to the street) at the South West corner of Clairmont Mesa Boulevard at Ruffin Road (the other side of Ruffin from the new Kaiser Hospital which used to be the Registrar of Voters office) is China Express.You might notice the sign above the entrance with the "3 items & 1 side order w/soup or canned soda $6.49". The small print at the bottom is "choose only from steam table"- this seems to be what most people order. 


The steam table is kept fresh, the side orders consist of steamed rice, fried rice or chow mein. 
The egg drop soup is excellent-very eggy and fresh.  There is also wonton and hot and sour soup.  
All the meals are given in 'to go' containers, even if you are eating in.  This is what the three item combo looks like.  The dark meat is 'spicy chicken'-it has those jalapeño-looking chilis, which are a bit spicy as the heat component.  This chicken is also sweet, I think it's honey. The top left corner is chicken and mushrooms; this was very good.  The bottom left is Szechuan chicken-a different, dried chili, lots of vegetables(bell peppers, those little canned corn things and mushrooms) and quite nice.  Not a bad meal for $6.99 (with tax).

There is also a six page menu...two of those pages list 30 Monday-Friday lunch specials (all $5.25) and 21 party trays and 30 combination specials.  
 Under the 'Chef's Specials' portion of the menu, the Hunan Beef ($10.99) was a good choice.  It wasn't crazy spicy, despite the small chili on the menu indicating heat; it's pleasant.  Since it is made to order, the vegetables are freshly stir fried, still crispy.  There is bok choy, celery, onion, red and green bell pepper.  The beef was thick cut, tender and plentiful (that container is large).  This was a great meal. 
The spice and sweet on the General Tso's Bean Curd ($7.50), combined with the light breading and crisp fry made this (very large) serving a new craving.
 You may recall that The Mister and I like to try Egg Foo Young from each menu where we see it offered (because no two are ever the same).   The chicken Egg Foo Young ($6.75) version here was yet another new experience. The chicken was cut in strips.  The egg and onion mix had peas and carrots and scallion bits.  The gravy was nice-not too thick and not salty. There were no bean sprouts. This version was great. 

It's always fun to find a new (to us) place.  I hope your weekend is going well.

China Express 9353 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego CA 92123 (858)277-2388    Open Mon-Fri 10am-9:45 pm, Sat 11 am-9:45 pm, Sun 3 pm-9:30 pm 

Perry's Cafe (Old Town)

Thanks for reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Kirk has a few busy workdays ahead, so Cathy is writing about food and stuff.

The Mister and I have been trying to walk a bit more (a sort of early New Year Resolution) and there are so many places around San Diego which are not filled with tourists now, that's it's nice to avoid crowds.

Old Town San Diego is a State Historic Park and is filled with tourists during the warm months of the year.  Parking is free as is the ability to visit some original buildings, all with written explanations of their original purpose.

There is something to see and learn about at every turn.  It's a nice place to visit and learn about the History of San Diego, at your own pace.
 Just at the Southwest edge of the park (beyond the Trolley) is Perry's.
Kirk wrote about this old school diner for the first time in 2007 and has mentioned it in other posts.  We were here just past noon; not in a breakfast mood. 
It was crowded on this weekday and we were seated in the large 'back room'.  There is a 'proper' Roman numeral clock (the '4' has four sticks, not three) here. (here are a bunch of theories why).  
We each chose a soup of the day: beef vegetable for The Mister,
 and lentil-pea soup for me.  Each was made in-house, quite flavorful and very satisfying.  One was a meal in itself...
 ...combined with this salad, which was blue cheese dressed (a good quality dressing).  Just enough for a light meal.  (soup and salad, $7.95)
 When walking in the white board special of baked fish ($10) had caught our eye, so it was ordered.  Two large pieces of firm white fish (maybe it was cod) lightly breaded and baked to a crisp crunch.  Mashed potatoes (with a lovely gravy) and green beans completed this dish.  There was enough to share.  
A good meal on a nice day.  {Unlike whatever happened here last night. Rain, floods and power outages!}

Perry's Cafe 4620 Pacific Hwy San Diego, CA 92110  (619) 291-7121 Open daily 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Website

2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float decorating, dinner at Costa's Family Restaurant (Covina)

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog which sometimes includes stories about attainment of the food.  Today, Cathy is writing while Kirk is busy at work. 

This past Saturday, the 'Dry Decoration Days' for the 130th Tournament of Roses Rose Parade at Phoenix Decorating Company began.   Here are some photos of materials and details of what happened.  (sentence descriptions are in order of  thumbprints)  The various colors of statice need to be cut from the stems (after drying a bit).  There are crushed peas, yellow straw flowers, some leftover straw flowers from last year.  You can see black beans which were tediously placed on some signage (those beans have white 'eyes' which need to be placed away from being seen).  There are branches and lunaria ('money plant'-those opaque white circles) and pine cones.  The beans use 'oasis glue' to stick to the foam backing. Green pea halves are glued on the 'Service Rocks' signage. The watermelons have the light stripes covered in crushed green peas and the dark stripes are covered in crushed dry parsley.  More pine cones are taken apart and the individual acicular shaped leaves (sometimes called needles) are individually placed on the edge of a small 'birdhouse'.  Dry materials are stored in large airtight trash cans.
Here's a look at the 'Glue Station' where each type of glue (white and oasis) are picked up (and where unused glue is returned).

Here are some of the 19 floats being decorated here (some floats are still under construction).
The Banner float- first one you will see in the parade. it introduces the theme of "The Melody of Life".  Each float will have some sort of way of showcasing music and/or musical instruments. The Grand Marshal of the Parade is Chaka Kahn.
"Service Rocks" sponsored by Rotary International.  See...the crocodile...and the title includes 'rocks'...I'm guessing 'Crocodile Rock' is the song for this float. 
 "Fezzy's garden of Hope and Healing", sponsored by Shriners Hospitals for Children. It's cute, pretty and will be fun to watch. "Rockin the Vest" sponsored by Lions Clubs International. If you recall, I posted a link to the 2011 Lions Club video (titled 'Rockin' the Vest') which was used to recruit new members.  Lions Club is the world's largest volunteer organization and members wear distinctive yellow vests when performing community service. The United Sikh Mission is sponsoring "A Divine Melody Resonates in All", featuring a Rabab, a stringed instrument from around AD 900. 
 "Garden Fresh" has such a cute float design for a new sponsor this year, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day."Yellow Submarine", sponsored by Western Asset will be. joy to watch as well as hear.  Many interesting materials will be used on this float. 
"Helping Kids Rock Their Future", sponsored by Kiwanis International is a giant 'jukebox'(the underside of those records are covered with either poppy seeds or black onion seeds).
The American Legion, a Veteran association, is sponsoring "Still Serving America" this year.  (All floats have to be able to fit along the parade route in certain areas and so that's why you see 'collapsed' parts, like the eagle head).
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Rebekahs, a service organization, is celebrating "200 years of Harmony" with this delightful calliope featuring flags of some of the countries where they serve.
The American Armenian Rose Float Association is sponsoring another history laden float, "Chanting Stones, Karahunj" and will feature two men dancing atop the 'Singing Stones' of Sisian. The City of Hope is sponsoring "Harmony of Hope", which will be another beautiful float reminding us of The Miracle of Science with Soul. You'll see some DNA strands and other details when the float passes. 
 "Joy to the World, the Lord is Come" is presented by the Lutheran Hour Ministries and will not only have bells and horns on the float, but also a choir! (we volunteer with the Petal Pushers to decorate floats which helps defray the cost of this, the only Christian themed float, in the Parade for the 69th year). 
The entry from Trader Joe's, "Ride, Captain, Ride" has a secret you'll see on January 1. Even without the surprise, it's an attractive float.
The final float in the parade will advertise what's coming up later that day, the 105th Rose Bowl football game. The float is a replica of the bowl and has a replica of the trophy given to the winning team.  
The City of Alhambra's float, "Home Tweet Home"is just so very distinguished and cute.  

I have had posts showing road tests of most of these floats (Road tests #1 and #2...Road test #3...Road tests #4 and #5...and Road Test #6. 2018 has been long and the parade will be here on January 1, 2019 to kick off a new beginning.  

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This is why (most of) you are here...the food portion of this post.  

The Mister and I were exhausted and left the float barn at about 4:30.  We did have lunch and a light breakfast (at the Kolache Factory) and were ready for a relaxing (seated on real chairs) dinner.  We headed back to a spot here we enjoyed breakfasts two weeks in a row-Costa's  Family Restaurant in Covina, a few exits east of our Irwindale entrance back onto the 210.The back room had a few Christmas decorations. 
 My meal came with a salad and I was asked if beets would be OK...of course beets are OK, beets are wonderful!
The Mister had a choice of soups and chicken and dumplings it was...made from scratch.  A great soup. 
The dinner rolls were, of course, home made. 
The Mister ordered the Trout Dinner ($10.49).  Lightly pan fried, skin on trout filet served with a house made tartar sauce, tomato-onion green beans and (real) rice pilaf. This food- all of it was wonderful. 
I decided on a menu dinner special, Prime Rib ($13.49). Got it with the same green beans and a baked potato.   Wonderful, satisfying, most of everything from scratch...what more could we want?
Dessert- included (!) This is a from scratch tapioca pudding.  Vanilla...very vanilla.
Bread pudding...caramel bread pudding.  

If we lived in Covina, Costa's would be a daily stop.  

Costa's Family Restaurant 851 E. San Bernadino Road Covina, CA 91723 Open Daily 5:30a.m. - 9 p.m.

Kura (Conveyor sushi) (revisits)

Thanks for stopping to look at mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food.  Kirk is getting used to the time zone change so Cathy is writing a brief post.

I wrote about Kula the first time in 2015, when we first went to the Rancho Cucamonga location.  The conveyor sushi chain arrived in San Diego in about 2016 and I wrote a post in early 2017.  (Those links have some explanatory stuff in case you've never been).   At some point, the nationwide chain changed its name to Kura (at least on the exterior of the building) and raised the basic price of revolving sushi standard plates to $2.50 each.  There is an outdoor Tablet sign in/wait list or you can reserve a seat using a mobile app.  We usually ask to sit at the counter. 

   This time, I was right at the corner and could see into the open kitchen.  There was a tabletop photo ad of new offerings. 
There is a first plate 'introducing' the following plates, all connected to each other; it helps the kitchen know what to refill. 
I always grab the sunomono when it arrives in front of me.  A perfect balance of vinegar and soy covering cucumbers, seaweed and bits of tamago (a sweet egg omelet which can be a dessert by itself).  Everything on a green plate is $2.50; you slide used plates in a slot in the table when it's time to pay the bill. 
If you end up with 15 of those plates, after insertion in the slot, the Bikkura Pon machine will shoot out a ball filled with a small gift directly on your table.  We've never had that many small plates; tend to order from the Tablet you see at the second level.  Most Tablet items are the same as on the conveyor, but are a bit more fresh; other items are made to order.

 While waiting for an order to arrive (it stops right in front of the Tablet where you placed the order- on a second conveyor belt) I saw the Tuna Yukhoe and wanted to try (yukhoe is akin to tartare; raw.  Though the egg yolk is cooked.) The raw tuna is marinated in soy, sesame oil, garlic and has some sesame seeds mixed in). Kind of poke, in a good way. The garlic steak is quite nice (we ordered from the Tablet, so the steak arrived warm). Crunch garlic on top.

New to us on the menu was shrimp stuffed baked avocado ($3.60).  It arrived with a small spoon.
This will be ordered again.  It was divine.  Lots of shrimp, melted cheese, just warm ripe avocado.  A meal.  

The squid tempura ($3.60) was interesting this time; there were two pieces of chicken karaage mixed in.  All good; light breading, perfect fry.
 Also new on the menu was grilled albacore ($3.60).  The fish by itself was excellent; char grill, a meaty piece that flaked perfectly.  The slices of jalapeño were a 'warning'...those carrots had something mixed in that had a nice kick of spice; it complimented the fish and was good on its own.  The soft shell crab ($4.80) is also one of those items we must always order; it's done right here.  The batter, the fry, the shaved radish with a dollop of yellow hot radish.  Just so nice.    The hand rolls (as you can see, $2.50) are ordered on the Tablet and arrive quickly.  They are offered with soy paper wrap instead of seaweed; a little different in flavor...lots of flavorful sesame seeds and really good; a compliment to the rice and tuna filling.  The dessert we shared ($3.60)-Anmitsu. Vanilla ice cream with a sort of caramel sauce, red bean paste, small mochi, a marinated strawberry.  If you see it, get it-a perfect ending.  

Kura Revolving Sushi Bar  4609 Convoy San Diego 92111 Open Sun-Thurs 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Website

The Lunch Box (La Mesa)(Again)

mmm-yoso!!!  is a San Diego based food blog, writing about places to eat in the City, County, State, Nation and World. Today is Small Business Saturday ( the day following Black Friday and just before Cyber Monday) part of the holiday weekend which began with Thanksgiving Day.  Cathy is writing about a locally owned restaurant. 

Three and a half years ago, I posted about breakfast at The Lunch Box in La Mesa and said I'd write about lunch at The Lunch Box. Here we are. The $5.95 weekday special is now $6.75 because time marches on.  This family owned small business has been a staple on La Mesa Boulevard at Jackson since 2009.  Each time we stop in, neighborhood locals are enjoying breakfast and lunch.

 
  There were whiteboard specials out front this day and the raisin bread French toast with bacon was $8.50 (usually the toast by itself is $7.50 and adding two eggs and bacon is an additional $3.50).  As you may have noticed, I order raisin filled items whenever I can.  This is a regular order and is made so well; crispy exterior and fluffy interior...heavenly, proper French toast.  This breakfast sandwich ($7.50) was also a special noted at the front door (usually the sandwich does not come with spinach). Eggs, cheese (The Mister chose Swiss) and bacon with tomatoes and spinach on a toasted, buttery buttered croissant.  Wonderful.  

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Finally, I am posting about an actual LUNCH at The Lunch Box.  

The menu for lunch is basically sandwiches, wraps and salads.  

All sandwiches come with a bag of kettle chips and a fresh, warm (chocolate chip) cookie...because it is The Lunch Box.

A 'Basic 1/2 Sandwich Combo'-with soup (in this case chili) ($8.50) or pasta salad, potato salad or green salad.  That's the tuna salad on rye.  Yes, it is good. *Really*good- the tuna as well as the bread.
 The chili has beans and lentils and coarse burger and all sorts of great stuff.  Housemade and available each day, a bowl can be a meal on a cold day or on a warm day. The 'Specialty or Hot 1/2 Sandwich Combo' ($8.50), in this case 'The Big Guy' (this as a full sandwich is $10.50) on a torta has roast beef, turkey, ham, bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. Each meat is quality, the sandwich is overfilled, the torta is fresh (and recommended for this particular sandwich).
 the side green salad is very large.  This is a tasty, filling meal. 

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is enjoying this long weekend.  

cc was here in February, anyone else?

The Lunch Box Cafe & Deli 8751 La Mesa Blvd La Mesa 91941 (619)463-4013 Open Tue-Fri 7:30-2, Sat 7:30-1 Closed Sunday and Monday  Website

The Lunch Box Cafe & Deli 8751 La Mesa Blvd La Mesa 91941 (619)463-4013 Open Tue-Fri 7:30-2, Sat 7:30-1 Closed Sunday and Monday  Website

Happy Thanksgiving 2018!

mmm-yoso!!! wouldn't exist without all of you.

Wherever you are in the world, thanks for reading mmm-yoso!!!

TJ Oyster Bar (again)

Here you are reading mmm-yoso!!! on Thanksgiving Eve...or Thanksgiving Day.  Cathy is writing a short post about another regular stop.  Kirk is busy, elsewhere, with His Missus.

There are two locations of TJ Oyster Bar in Bonita with the third in Chula Vista- all East of the 805.  The Mister and I have been to all three, but we keep returning to the original location, even though it is the smallest.
 There are five two top tables and about 12 bar stools of seating inside and two-four seat tables out in front.  The cash register is right in front when you walk in: order, pay, find a seat.
On this visit, we decided to share a fried calamari appetizer ($9).  It was nice that they did give us two forks .  The batter is thin/light and the fry is correct.  The squid is tender and the dipping sauce has a light amount of spice; a complimentary flavor.  I did add salt at the end. 
We had to get the fish tacos ($1.25 each) which are in a beer batter (slightly thicker; good crunch).  The fish pieces are large, the cabbage and salsa and white sauce are just enough (not overpowering).  The corn tortillas have nice light corn flavor and because they were warmed, a good chew.  
The grilled fish salad ($9)is exceptional.  The fish is (as you can see) lightly grilled and the salad served with an avocado half.  The salad was a bed of Romaine (which had not yet been recalled; we were here last Friday) which had a great housemade salad dressing mixed in-in perfect proportions (creamy but not overpowering in any one flavor; not much garlic). 

Just a nice place to stop in for quality Mexican seafood. 

TJ Oyster Bar 4246 Bonita Road Bonita, 92002 (619) 267-4577 Mon-Th 11:30-9, Fri 11:30-10, Sat noon-9, Sun noon-8 

 

TJ Oyster Bar 4246 Bonita Road Bonita, 92002 (619) 267-4577 Mon-Th 11:30-9, Fri 11:30-10, Sat noon-9, Sun noon-8