January 2008 – mmm-yoso

CrawDaddy’s

January 31, 2008 mmm-yoso Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, Seafood

*** Crawdaddy's has closed, and is now a Karaoke/Shoju joint.

It's kinda amazing how the mind works…….most days, I can't remember where I park my car…but at any given moment, I'll remember all kinds of stuff…like opportunity cost. Where the heck did that come from? Sheesh…opportunity cost is one of the 2 things I still remember from Econ class(the other being Elasticity…like you really wanted to know). Opportunity cost often hits home when trying out restaurants……every decision has a cost. In order to try 'A', you give up a chance at lunch at 'B'. When it comes down to it, this can be a pretty depressing way of looking at things….

On a Sunday a few weeks past "Mr S" called and asked if I'd like to check out CrawDaddy's the new Asian Owned Crab/Crawfish boil restaurant that recently opened in the spot formerly occupied by Jamillah Garden.

Mr S and I arrived at about noon, and found the restaurant to be empty.

The interior of CrawDaddy's is neat and clean, and in an interesting touch, the butcher paper covering the tables seem almost discreet.

The place has a sports bar kind of feel. Brown woods, high ceiling, but really cold A/C.

Mr S is a fairly big eater, and started ordering right away. Starting with a pound of Crawfish(market price – on this visit $8.99/lb) with Spicy Cajun seasoning:

Based on my previous experience with Crab Hut, I almost freaked when Mr S ordered this seasoned "spicy". When the bag of "bugs" arrived I was ready to have my lips burned off….but this was mild, very mild……that is not to say there was not flavor, we both thought the flavoring pretty good…. But Mr S ended up dumping half a bottle of Hot sauce on this. The Crawfish were not the best….the meat was watery and mushy. I asked if these were live or frozen, and was told these were "fresh"(not live or frozen, but "fresh"). I know that Crawfish aren't very big this time of the year, so I can understand that these were on the skimpy side…but it didn't seem to be cooked correctly.

Large Shrimp(1lb – $10.99/lb) seasoned with Garlic Butter:

Again ordered "spicy" these were also really mild. Not enough garlic flavor, and too much butter. The quality of the shrimp was good, and these were cooked to perfection; plump and juicy.

When Mr S ordered the Jambalaya($10.95), I had my doubts:

When the plate arrived, I perked up. This "red"(uses tomato) Jambalaya looked promising! This was a mixed bag…the seafood; shrimp, crawfish, et al, were tasty and cooked to perfection. I could actually make out the slightly smokey flavor of the sausage. On the down side…this was much too dry, there was not enough spice, and other than the seafood and sausage this was fairly bland. I expected the zip of some cayenne, the hint of some oregano and thyme, and some smokiness beyond the sausage.

The Seasoned Fries($3.50):

These fries were on the dry side, and also confirmed that the Cajun Spice used was much too mild. I did enjoy the Cajun Aioli.

Of course I had to have the Fried Okra($5.95):

Nice creamy okra in a crunchy cornmeal batter. This was by far my favorite of the day. My only complaint was that the okra were haphazardly battered, and some pieces had a huge coating of batter, while some pieces had barely any at all.

At the end of the meal, Mr S shook his head, and said, "maybe we should have gone to the other place." Yes, opportunity cost…. Still, I held on to this post for a while…because, well, the young men working here were very nice, and I really wanted to like the food. So I decided to give it another go. This time solo.

I ordered the Fried Catfish($7.95):

This was quite a generous portion of food, five large catfish fillets, crusted with a thick ground cornmeal batter, making for some major crunch. Again my major problem was with the execution, three of the fillets were decent, flaky, yet moist…two of the fillets tasted a bit off, slightly sour, and very muddy. Well….it was a bit too much food for me anyway…

This time the fries were seasoned a bit better, and were crisp on the outside, and moist on the inside:

In the end, I enjoyed the very laid back atmosphere at CrawDaddy's. The Guys working there do a good job. Perhaps the laid back attitude also reflects the inconsistencies I perceived with regards to the food. The portions are generous, and the prices very reasonable.

CrawDaddy's
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Oh yes…opportunity cost:

Mid-week Miscellanea

January 30, 2008 mmm-yoso Blog

Just a few mid-week meanderings…..

Cay Nhan we hardly knew ye:

I was preparing a post on a Vietnamese soup shop called Cay Nhan, located at 4155 University, when I realized that I hadn’t taken a "front shot" of the restaurant. So this past weekend, I drove by to get a shot…imagine my shock when I realized the restaurant was gone!

On the good side, Asmara is reopening after an absence of a few years. On the bad side, Cay Nhan left us much too soon. The Missus and I had questioned whether Cay Nhan would make it…the dishes were of high quality, but more expensive, but we loved the decor, and thought the Owner was so very nice.

So here’s a few photos, just for the heck of it….

Good Mi(egg noodle), and decent Hieu Tieu, the Owner once told me that She could take up to 3 days to make the broth for her soup. She was very proud of the food created at Cay Nhan….

Here’s hoping that Cay Nhan re-emerges someday soon.

Totoya we never knew ye:

I had heard of an Izakaya/Yakitori joint that had opened up in Chula Vista, and a few months ago I drove past Totoya:

Unfortunately, while I was in the area this past weekend, I found that Totoya was no more. This is going to be the new location for Sushi a la Kaz.

Where in the world is Captain Jack?:

I had gotten a few emails, regarding my Urasawa eating Buddy, Captain Jack of San Diego Restaurant Reviews. Well, I thought I’d just everyone know not to start checking milk cartons yet. Captain Jack…aka CJ is just taking a short hiatus, and wanted to let everyone know that rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated. CJ has been very busy with work, and has a healthy backlog of posts for us to enjoy. So look for a return soon. Like I told CJ on the phone yesterday, "it’s bad enough that people are wondering how you’re doing, in comments on your blog. But when they start emailing me asking if you’re ok……well, something has to be done!"

See you soon CJ!

Anna’s Mondu – Garden Grove(OC)

January 28, 2008 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Orange County, Road Trip

**** Anna's Mondu has closed

This ever happen to you? I'm having dinner at Sammy's, and in keeping with the neighborly atmosphere I start up conversation with a nice young fellow, whom I've never seen before. And of course, the conversation drifts to food…..and to Orange County(where this young man is from), with sights directly set on Garden Grove(where this fellow lives). During the conversation, he mentions a little hole in the wall that makes hand made Mandu(aka Korean Dumplings). Talk about getting my attention…not having paper handy, I quickly scribble the name down on the back of my hand near my wrist. Oookay, I get home, grab some paper, and as I'm ready to write down the name of the place….and I notice that part of it is smeared…so it looks like "Ahn's Mandu" or maybe "Ann's Mandu". No problemo, the Internet is such a great tool, so I start typing this stuff in, and several combinations, and nada! So I check all my favorite Orange County Food Blogs; Chubbypanda, Monster Munching, Wandering Chopsticks…but again, nothing! Egad…what to do?? I'm left crying over smeared ink, or lost mandu….like two dumplings passing in the night….. After stewing for a few weeks, I finally had to make a trip down to Orange County, and vaguely recalling the directions; "22 freeway West, exit Brookhurst, it's on Garden Grove", I arrived in the area I call "Koreatown South", the Korean Business District that runs along Garden Grove Boulevard. Boy, is this place growing like crazy….looks like at least 2 new "gallerias", as they call 'em, are under construction.

After a short drive on Garden Grove Boulevard, I see this sign:

Geeez no wonder…..it's spelled Mondu, not Mandu like I'm used too. And right in the front window was a large laminated copy of Gustavo Arrellano's OC Weekly Article…… I entered the tiny hole-in-the wall, the dining area consists of 4 tables, 3 four tops(I'm being very generous with the term "four"), and one sorta, kinda communal table. There was one young man reading a magazine, and an older woman with a warm smile who greeted me in Korean….to which my response was a fumbling, "sorry, I don't speak Korean", etc, etc, etc….. The woman smiled and pointed to the "menu" posted on the wall:

I recognized a few items like Dduk Bo Ki and Kimbap(think Korean futomaki), but I had come here for Mandu, or if you prefer Mondu. So I asked the lady, who half answered, half pointed to the "combo A"($7.95), as well as the nice photo on the opposite wall. Which looked great to me.

I had a seat, and a battered old tea pot with a tea bag tag sticking out arrived. And after a while, the young man's Dduk Bo Ki arrived, as well a a couple of dishes of panchan. A few minutes later a large steamer arrived at my table:

As I removed the steamer lid, the smoky-woodsy smell of a well seasoned bamboo steamer met my nose…a scent so warm and comforting, that I wanted to give that 'ol steamer a bear hug. The steamer contained 5 pork and vegetable steamed mandu, and 4 large rustic looking mandu that I've never had before. Later I would learn that these are called Wang Mandu.

Along with the steamer, 3 plates of panchan arrived:

The best of the lot was the Water Radish Kimchi, which was so very refreshing.

The wang mandu is sort of like Baozi, the filling was a pretty tasty combination of various vegetables and pork. I'd have preferred my dough a bit more light and fluffy. The steamed mando was also pretty good, nice wrappers were a bit on the dry side, but there was nice home made feel to it. These were fine with a light dip in soy-vinegar-chili powder.

For me the best item was this:

Once, a friend of mine back home in Hawaii, made some home made Fried Mandu for my Birthday, the likes of which I'd never had before. This was the closest I've ever had in terms of texture; initially crunchy, with a good chew, and well flavored filling to boot. Not the most photogenic mandu, but I loved the rustic and home made look. The woman, who I'm assuming is "Anna" enjoyed watching me eat….and asked me how the food was several times. When I mentioned that everything tastes good, and hand made, she stuck her hands out palms down and said with a proud smile, "yes, everything made with this…."

While I continued eating, "Anna" sat down with what looked like some Japchae, and started eating. A minute later she, asked me, "you eat squash?", and proceeded to pass me a little bowl of panchan. Sticking her hand out and putting her index finger and thumb parallel with a space of about an inch-and-a-half between them, squinting one eye, she told me, "this small squash".

This was actually squid, and it was delici-yoso, spicy, sweet, umami…..surprised that I enjoyed it, my bowl was refilled twice…..just like Mom would!

The damage….a grand total of $8.50. I left Anna's stuffed and satisfied. For me, decent hand made mandu is a rarity. And I thoroughly enjoyed the homestyle service. This was a one man, or more accurately one woman show, at least on my visit. Things may take some time…..but you wouldn't rush Mom, would you?

Anna's Mondu
9972 Garden Grove Blvd
Garden Grove, CA 92844

Marukai San Diego now open

January 27, 2008 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Markets & Grocers

**** Updates for Marukai San Diego can be found here.

Well, as reported by FOYs (Fred and Carol) in comments to this post, Marukai has gone forward with a "soft opening" to shake out bugs and get people trained. The signs out front still say "Opening February 1st", but as the Missus noted this past Friday in a hurried cell phone call, "the lights are on, and people look like they're shopping."

I drove by later that evening and saw people pushing shopping carts filled with grocery bags in the parking lot. This meant one of 2 things; either Marukai had gone the soft opening route(as the West Covina did years ago), or this was one heck of a training drill!

Having a full plate most of the weekend, I managed to drag my wind-burned and rain soaked self to Marukai this morning. I arrived at about 930am, to find the place empty. I grabbed a shopping basket, and started walking……

On my first lap, I just did a quick check of "what wasn't there"….fish department and prepared foods. I've always had good luck with the fish I've purchased at Marukai, and was a regular at West Covina, where I could ask the Fishmongers to cut my maguro, or hold ogo for me when we lived in LA. The meat department didn't look fully stocked either.

After looking through the Japanese offerings – 3 brands of Shiokara, anyone? Which was adequate…and the prices which are as a whole cheaper than the other 2 large Japanese markets in San Diego. I started going through my mental lists of "Local Kine Stuffs"…….

Purity and Redondo's Portuguese Sausage – check.

S & S Saimin – but no Okuhara's – but Sun's Okinawa Soba – maybe three-quarters of a check???

Frozen Zippy's stuff – check.

Frozen Okuhara Kamabuko(it doesn't taste quite the same…but it's still ok) – check.

2 Brands of Lau Lau(both of which I hate….but if it floats your boat) – check.

Coral Tuna – but only water packed, not oil packed – one-fourth of a check.

Pa'akai and another brand of Hawaiian salt – but Auwe! No moa' Alaea! (red sea salt) – kinda, sorta a check!

Aloha shoyu and other sauces – check!

Hawaiian Sun Jam and Jellies – check!

Malolo Syrup – but all lemon lime, and one lonely strawberry – a reluctant check.

Diamond Head Bakery Soda and Saloon Pilot Cracker – check.

Enough Chocolate covered Macadamian Nuts, cookies, and sweets, to keep all of San Diego's Dentists in business till the next century.

No moa Maebo's One Ton Chips which I was looking for.

No Halm's or Park's brand stuff either……

By this time the handles to the shopping basket were digging into my hands, and I got tired of shooting my photos one-handed, so I decided to call it a day.

Tonight I'm taking a trip back into time, and having something I haven't had in years:

Something simple…..it is just frozen stuff, and some pretty bland Char Siu, but for a somewhat homesick Ex-Pat Kama'aina…a little slice of heaven.

Marukai Market
8151 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

A couple of notes: Marukai is a membership market, though you can pay $1 for a one-day membership. The manager on duty said that I didn't need a membership to shop on this morning, because I wanted to renew my card. But after speaking to Cathy today, I found that they had her purchase a membership – which is $10/year(and in my mind more than worth it) so I dunno. This parking lot is going to be a horror……it is not nearly big enough for Daiso, Marukai Living, and Marukai Market…… The Manager also told me, that not everything has come in yet, so there are more items to be stocked.

El Roberto’s, The Battle of the ‘berto’s, and a contest

January 26, 2008 mmm-yoso Taco Shops, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats, yoso-silly

If you’ve been in San Diego long enough, or are an ex-pat San Diegan, all you need to do is mention the name of a taco shop that goes “Something” – berto’s……be it ‘Ai’, ‘Roi’, or the one and only Roberto’s, and the first thing that will come to mind will probably be a representation of the quintessential San Diego Taco Shop. Serving up stuff like California Burritos(carne asada & fries), Rolled Tacos(aka Taquitos), and the classic Carne Asada Burrito…or what Jay, proprietor of The Linkery, calls the ‘CAB’. I guess it just shows the power of branding….you can just add whatever prefix you want(within reason – I don’t think Rodent-O-Bertos would work real well, though the name Shigella-bertos has a ring to it), and suddenly you are a San Diego Taco Shop. Just looking at a list of current “Something” – berto’s goes to prove my point….they range from rather tasty(Hamberto’s anyone?), to something with a bit more action(Ramberto’s), to places I may give thought to before entering(Rigoberto’s). I can’t think of anything else quite like this….I mean there is 97 Supermarket, which looks strangely similar to 99 Ranch Market, and perhaps a few other examples, but nothing to the extent of the berto’s. I’ve personally tried to cook up a few similar schemes that have never panned out. I had the idea to hire a bunch of surly Chinese wait staff, buy as many “San Gabriel” sticky tables as I could, and bring in white paper-hatted Cooks with questionable hygienic habits, and open my Chinese BBQ, calling it Sam-my Woof BBQ, but that never panned out. I had the great idea(or maybe it was just brain freeze) of selling super tart fro-yo…..2 oz frozen yogurt, which you top, nay bury, with 6 ounces of various toppings (which you can buy in bulk from Henry’s), and selling it for $8 a cup….calling it Pink-buried. But as with many of these bright ideas…it just never took off.

Which leads me to El Roberto’s:

There I was minding my own business, in a strip mall on the corner of Murphy Canyon Road and Aero Drive, when I saw this sign:

Geez, I didn’t know there was a Roberto’s here…..my stomach started growling. As I walked up to the shop, the truth was revealed:

Hmmm, I didn’t see an L, um ‘El’ in front of Robertos on the large sign in the front of the restaurant. I got a chuckle out of that. Still, I decided, or my stomach decided, to grab a bite. The interior of El Roberto’s is simple, but man is that counter built high…..

The menu listed a good 15 or so burritos……..

I decided to order a Texas Burrito($4.10). A Texas Burrito, by San Diego Taco Shop standards is a Pollo Asado(chicken) and French Fry(yes, french fries) burrito, sometimes with Pico de Gallo(basically a tomato and onion condiment), and sometimes guacamole.

This was not a very good version of a Texas Burrito. The fries were fine, but finding any chicken in the burrito was an experience akin to finding “gold in them dere hills”…… What was worse was the very sour hot sauce….

But heck….something more than the “Something” – berto’s name keeps this place in business, right?

El Roberto
3755 Murphy Canyon Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

Have I told you about my latest project? It’s a chain I’ll call Cuy-potle, specializing in burritos featuring free-range, alfalfa fed, Cavia porcellus, humanely slaughtered. The burritos contain 1 ounce of Cuy meat, along with 16 ounces of various pseudo-Mexican sauces, rice, beans, and salsas..creating a boat-sized burrito that defies the term healthy eating! Hmmm, looks like I’ll need some help with this one…maybe the team of wordsmith Elmo Monster and marketing genius Eatdrinknbmerry will come on board…..we’d be unbeatable!

The Battle of the Berto’s:

So what about the Carne Asada Burrito at L El-Roberto’s, you may ask? Well, I did manage to try the CAB at El Roberto’s…recently, the one and only Howie who does the excellent A Foodie Eye’s View. Invited the Missus and I to what he called the Battle of the Bertos. We managed a tasting of 10 different Carne Asada Burritos, from random “Something” – berto’s around San Diego. It was a fun and interesting time…though I don’t think I’ll be having another CAB for a while!

So to quote Howie; “Which Berto Reigns Supreme?” You’ll just have to check out the results here. You can also vote on your personal favorite “Berto”. In case you were wondering, the Missus(otherwise known as The Missusberto), and yours-truly-berto came up with almost the exact same results in our blind tasting…..

And to add even more “cred” to the project, the Arbiter, was a vegetarian! Who deserves major props for first, dealing with a group of “crazed carne asada Psychos”. And secondly, for dealing with the “smell of grilled beef” permeating our very being……

And just in case you wanted to know what the post-bertos scene was like….this is the aftermath:

The Name Your (Faux)Berto Contest:

I’ve always poked fun at the proliferation of these “Something”-berto places. It is quite entertaining when driving to think up stuff like:

Vito-Bertos – “You better like our meatball burrito, or else….”

PETA-Bertos – At least you can be sure that the fur growing in your burrito didn’t come from a living creature…I’m sure that would be comforting!

I’m also sure you’re much more creative than I am, so come up with your best “Something” – berto’s name and tagline, and/or menu item, and send it to me via email at mmm-yoso@hotmail.com, I’ll pick my 3 favorite names, and I’ll also forward the list to Howie, to pick his 3 favorites…and I’ll send the winners a Peet’s Ecup of coffee. One winner per IP address, and try to keep it clean, ok? I’ll list the winners mid-week. The contest closes midnight on Sunday, 01/27/08…after all, I know you’re all creative geniuses, with an unending flow of ideas….and my personal CPU can’t deal with that!

So let’s see what Faux-berto’s you come up with.

Bolsa Vietnamese Restaurant

January 24, 2008 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** After many years Bolsa has closed

All these photos……sheesh…… After looking through them, and realizing that many had been languishing for months, I thought that I'd better get my act together and post now, or not at all. Bolsa had been recommended to me several times by various people, so I thought I'd better give it a try. Located in a strip mall(what else) on Mira Mesa Boulevard, Bolsa has been around for quite a few years.

The menu at Bolsa is quite large……120+ items! Talk about Vietnamese menu overload! At least the folks here have always been pretty nice to us, and it's not the "dump the menu on the table, and stand right in front of you with pencil at the ready" type of place. The menu has everything from Banh Xeo(Vietnamese Crepe) to Rice Dishes(Com Dia) to Porridge (Chao) to Egg Noodle(Mi) dishes. And of course there Pho' which I had on one of my visits, (Pho Bo Dac Biet – the special, $5.95):

The garnishes were very fresh, but on the skimpy side.

One person I know describes this Pho as "fresh", in fact I've heard many people describe their Pho of choice as being fresh…sorry, but if you want your Pho really fresh, drop some beef bones into water, and go at it. I'll take mine simmered for hours. This broth was light, low oil, and pretty middle of the road as flavor goes….nothing really stood out. What did stand out was the amount of meat I was given:

By far the most meat I've ever had in a bowl of Pho. The rare steak was okay, and not too tough, the best by far was the brisket, which was moist, tender, and had decent beef flavor.

One this visit, the "appetizer sin" occurred…that is, my Pho arrived before the Goi Cuon(spring rolls – $3.75) arrived:

Which I thought was odd, since the wrappers were on the dry and tough side. No wonder they provide a serrated knife. Other than wrappers, this was fine, decent amount of herbs in addition to the standard lettuce, and the Bi(pork skin) had nice flavor.

On another occasion I tried the Bun Thit Nuong, the Cold Vermicelli with Grilled Pork($5.95):

The char grilled pork looked lovely, the flavor wasn't bad, a mild sweet-salty, it was tough as heck though. I enjoyed the addition of Bi(pork skin), in the bowl, especially since it wasn't listed as part of the dish on the menu. As a whole a decent amount of food, fairly refreshing, and nothing to really complain about.

On a recent visit, the Missus was driven to analysis paralysis by all the items on the menu, so She asked the Owner what to order. She recommended the Pho Ga (Chicken rice noodle soup – $6.25), telling us "everybody come here to eat my chicken soup":

This time they were generous with the garnishes…I guess they liked the Missus!

The soup was nothing special, lots of onion flavor, but the Missus said, "you can do way better at home…." There was a good amount of chicken, all white meat, very moist, very tender, though quite bland.

I decided to just order the Bun Cha Hanoi($6.95):

Our wonderful experiences with Bun Cha Hanoi has been covered before both here and on other food blogs. And things did look right, lots of veggies, grilled meatballs, grilled pork, bun, and so forth.

But the devil was in the details…the bun was too soft and mushy, the meatballs too lean, and not well marinated, the nuoc mam cham too mild for my taste. The grilled pork was exactly the same as what was on the Bun dish I had on a previous visit, and though really chewy, tasted fine…I had a feeling that those meatballs pulled at least "double duty" and was used for other dishes as well.

The Missus thought it was pretty good, I thought it to be mediocre…..but I had expected mediocre so you could say I wasn't disappointed. It did fill me up, but didn't do much for my Bun Cha Hanoi craving.

You could spend a few months working through the menu at Bolsa, and you may find a few gems….if you do, let me know!

Bolsa Vietnamese Restaurant
9225 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Open 9am – 9pm Daily

Sushi Porn 2: The Sequel from Sammy

January 22, 2008 ed fromyuma Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

*** On October 11th 2008 Sammy called it a day.

Welcome to mmm-yoso!!!, Kirk's blog on the wonderful world of food from San Diego and beyond. Sometimes, he lets one of his friends post here, and today, ed from Yuma will share some more salacious sushi pics.

A few weeks ago when I was preparing my first excursion into the fishy world of sushi pornography, I was surprised by how many of my favorite raw pictures were of items from Sammy Sushi, not Sakura.

After I thought about it for a while, I began to understand why. Ever since I first wandered into Katzra, where Sammy was then employed, on a rainy night many years ago, I have been impressed by Sammy's skills as an itamae. Not only is his fish usually fresh and tasty, but he creates an atmosphere of warmth and friendliness in his sushi bar. Over the last few years he has honed these skills (as well as a number of knives, I suspect) at his own place on Engineer, about a block away from Convoy.

While Sammy's kitchen does not turn out the wide range of tasty izakaya treats like Sakura, he does more than just sushi. For example, the salmon skin salad is a wonderful combination of crunchy, fishy, and smoky flavors:

In addition, Sammy's appeals to me because it is a great American neighborhood sushi bar (in the best sense of the term). The friendly atmosphere and reasonable prices attract a lot of regulars. If one wants to watch a World Cup game or a baseball playoff, Sammy has no problem turning on his television set. Similarly, Sammy's menu contains a wide range of America's favorite rolled sushi. Sometimes it's nice to tuck into something like a spider roll or rainbow roll, though in general, my taste in rolls runs to the more traditional, as in this beautiful albacore roll:

Sammy also creates pressed sushi, using the mold somewhat like a plastic ice cube tray to create oblong cubes of densely packed rice and raw fish:

As you can tell from this close-up, this version contains maguro and some crunchy items along with the rice, presenting a mix of flavors and textures:

Sammy also does a wide range of nigiri sushi. The salmon and mirugai shown here were both excellent:

Some days, the sushi at Sammy's crosses over the line into the obscenely good. This display of naked fishflesh (hamachi) makes me want to eat my computer screen:

Similarly, I cannot imagine any connoisseur of crustaceans not being aroused by this gorgeous display of amaebi, split wide open, its pearly moist luster beckoning the viewer into serious indulgence:

Of course, in my mind, no post on such an erotic and exotic topic would be complete without a look at some fresh uni. Here the sex organs of a sea urchin lie exposed above the rest of its body:

In the tradition of fine pornography (so I am told), I feel it is completely appropriate to end with a close-up of this kinky echinoderm, a picture that leaves nothing (except the rich creamy flavor) to the imagination:

Now that is truly obscene.

Sammy Sushi, 7905 Engineer Road San Diego, CA 92111

Nha Trang Vietnamese Food

January 21, 2008 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Nha Trang has closed.

On a recent trip to Asia Cafe I noticed that a Vietnamese Restaurant had opened up in the strip mall across the street. I don’t think there are too many Vietnamese Restaurants in the area, so I decided to check it out.

The name of the restaurant is Nha Trang, and is located between a donut shop and Mexican Bakery. The interior had obviously been recently "freshened up", and though the furniture seemed a bit on the crowded side, the restaurant was nice and clean.

The menu is small, and consists of mainly Pho Bo(beef) and Pho Ga(chicken). The gentleman running the place dropped off a menu, basically a two page laminated sheet, and I placed my order.

I started with Goi Cuon(spring rolls – $3):

This version came with a little dish of Nuoc Mam Cham, which was nicely spiced, if a bit on the sweet side. The ingredients of the spring roll was very fresh, and you could tell it was rolled when ordered. I thought the spring roll was short on herbs, and was almost all lettuce and bun(rice vermicelli), making it rather "blah". It was also rolled too loosely.

As is my habit when trying Pho for the first time at any restaurant, I ordered the Dac Biet (special – large $5.25). Based on the Goi Cuon, I was ready to be underwhelmed. And when the bowl arrived I was not dissuaded in the least bit:

My initial reaction was that this bowl was on the small side, and the broth looked very light and low in oil. The very skimpy amount and variety of garnishes was also uninspiring.

But as I dug into the bowl I noticed something….though the broth was not especially "rich" it was also not heavily salted, and I could taste a hint of a pleasant sweetness. The noodles were perfect, and though in a clump, the texture was great, a bit of pull, and not mushy. The meat, other than the tough and rubbery meatballs, was excellent….the slices of rare steak were soft and tender, same with the mildly beefy fatty flank. The two tiny strips of tendon was soft and buttery, I only wished that there was more of it.

I managed to speak to the Owner, who is very nice and pleasant. He and his wife used to run the Chinese Fast Food restaurant at this location, but decided to go back to their Vietnamese roots. He also told me that they take pleasure in serving fresher foods, and were planning to expand their menu. Since they had only been open for 2 weeks at the time of this visit, I’m sure they are still straightening things out. I just may check them out again in the future.

Nha Trang Vietnamese Food
4676 Market St
San Diego, CA 92102

Sunday Stuffs

January 20, 2008 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Just a random "potpourri" of stuffs……

The latest sign at Marukai:

The latest sign says February 1st for Marukai Market. I hope so.

Chilango’s Reopening?

When we first moved to San Diego, we visited Chilango’s in Hillcrest several times, and really enjoyed ourselves. I was getting a post ready, when I found out that the Owners of Chilango’s had hired some Itamae, and opened up what amounted to a Japanese Fast-Food restaurant. Today, during the usual trip, I noticed the sign was gone, and the Chilango’s sign was back up!

So is Chilango’s reopening? A second "I hope so" for this one.

The Bard of Banh Mi:

One of the FOY (Friends of Yoso) who often keeps me informed of his various adventures in Bun Bo Hue, and Banh Mi is Jon Oropeza, IT pro by day, writer by night. He recently sent me this, which tickled me….you can also find it here. I now proclaim Jon, the Bard of Banh Mi:

bánh mì gà

i surprise the woman
by ordering ‘bon-my-gah’
because that’s what I want
a chicken sandwich.

the alien lah-dah-lahs
of her man on his cell
yelling about a smogging –
‘la la la Test Only
do doe way Test Only,’
he’d say –
‘Test Only.’ ‘nah-no Test Only!’
‘gue go way you-win’ –

(my blabber transcription)

‘ – la lo mben Test Only.’
‘la mben do doe-lay’.

we think of languages discrete,
they’re melanges aren’t they?

French sandwiches and tenseless Khmer
like a grid shaking hands with a sphere.

in the rear their gorgeous
stick-figure daughter
wriggles on her chair
agog by my big bites into
Chicken, Gà, same
Viet-name and my

Thanks for sharing, and the dedication Jon. I forgot to ask, where the inspirational Banh Mi was from, so I took a photo of a Banh Mi Ga Nuong from Song Huong(now costs $2.50). I’m guessing it must be Song Huong?

Finally, a funny YouTube from Andy the ABC:

He even mentions mmm-yoso!!! Enjoy:

Thanks Andy! We love it! And one day we hope to be in Taiwan, though I’m not quite sure I’d have what you did…….

You never know what you’ll find on Imperial Avenue:

I was driving along a few weekends ago. I’d already grabbed some tacos from El Compita, but in the parking lot of the former El Comal, now called something like Casa el Pepe(2822 Imperial Ave), was some major Polo asada being grilled. If I hadn’t already grabbed some tacos, I’d have stopped. I did manage to snap a quick photo:

I’m hoping to check it out in the coming weeks……

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Thai Style Chicken Cutlets – And how tastes change over time

January 19, 2008 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

I remember when I was little, call it "small kid time" as many of my friends would say. We didn’t have much(and many times no) money, barely enough for survival. So eating out was a real treat; just having Chinese take-out was a something saved for Birthdays, and other "special" occasions. One of my favorite memories was splurging for the fried chicken from the now defunct Woolworth’s(aka F.W. Woolworth’s). It may have just been a thigh or drumstick, but when you bit into that wonderfully juicy chicken, it was like you’ve just had your own little piece of heaven. Woolworth’s you may ask….I know it sounds strange, but I faintly remember something along the lines of "You do the pickin’ when you buy chicken at Woolworth’s"? Of course time marches on, and Woolworth’s became sort of an after thought….until I heard that Woolworth’s was closing down, at which time I marched myself down to Woolworth’s to grab that one last piece, and it was terrible, icky, tasting like that Banquet frozen stuff you reheat. Which made me wonder, had the food quality and recipe deteriorated so much over the years, or had my tastes and preferences changed? I think it was probably a little of both. I had sort of the same dilemma a few years back, albeit not to the same extent when I tried the Chicken Alice recipe. As with all things…time and taste move on. So what does this have to do with some Asian fusion-ny chicken cutlets?

More than a few years ago, there was a series on the Discovery Channel called Great Chef’s of the World which I used to make a point to watch every chance I had. I really enjoyed that series, and I guess it’s still shown….but I haven’t run into it in a few years. One of the fun parts was watching all the "local" chefs from Hawaii, like Alan Wong, Roy Yamaguchi, et al cooking up some really interesting stuff. During one segment I saw this recipe, it was called Crispy Thai-style Chicken, and seemed like something even I could pull off, which I managed to do pretty successfully. For some reason, I hadn’t made this since we moved to San Diego, now almost 7 years ago. So when the recipe recently reared it’s head in the mass of confusion called my Grey matter, I thought it would be an interesting study of just how much our tastes have changed.

As I started making the marinade, I noticed something right away…..it smelled really mild, so I decided to use a whole bulb of garlic, and double up the amount of fish sauce. The dressing needed a bit more zip so I added some chopped onions.

Thai Style Chicken Cutlets

Marinade:
2 stalks lemongrass finely minced
1 bulb garlic minced
1 Tb grated ginger
4 Tb Thai Fish Sauce
6 stalks green onions(white parts included)finely chopped
2-3 Tb cilantro minced
1/2 Mochiko(sweet rice flour)
2 Tb cornstarch
1 tsp Salt
2 Egg whites

Dressing:
1 Cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 Cup sugar
1/3 Cup water
1/3 Cup Thai Fish Sauce
1/2 onion, minced
2-3(or more) Tb chili paste

2-3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Canola Oil
Finely Sliced Green Onions for garnish & Salt to taste

– Combine marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well.
– Add the chicken, make sure all pieces are well coated
– Marinate over night
– Heat about 1/3-1/2" oil in a saute pan
– Fry chicken cutlets, 5-8 minutes each side, until the chicken is completely cooked
– Combine dressing items, and mix until sugar is dissolved.
– Remove chicken from oil, drain, plate, and drizzle a few tablespoons(or more) over chicken. Use the remainder as a dressing for a green salad.

After frying up the chicken, I thought it looked as good, or better than what I made before….all those years of chicken katsu had paid off! The chicken was very moist and tender. However……man did it taste really mild to us, even with a ton of the dressing. The Missus agreed, it seems our tastes have changed sharply over the last 7-8 years. Nothing was more telling than when I turned to the Missus and said; "you know, I’d take a marinade with Vietnamese fish sauce, a batch of Nuoc Mam Cham, like we had a Beach’s for a "dressing", I’m sure Wandering Chopsticks must have a recipe, along with a good amount of "Bun"(Rice Vermicelli), and some really fresh herbs along with the greens in the salad….and it would be Vietnamese style Chicken Cutlets……

Since a good friend of mine has called my mind a "cesspool of useless information" here’s another one for you…."don’t cook tonight, call Chicken Delight!!!"

Hope you’re having a nice weekend!