mmm-yoso!!! is the blog. The bloggers are friends. The bloggings vary and are mildly interesting, informative and sometimes bizarre. Today, its Cathy, with her blogger-ish perspective of mildly interesting food.
Hi again. We are having lots of rain storms this weekend. If you are daring to venture out of the house and driving about and maybe want soup, but *not* pho…well, there are options, you know. Here are a few choices. Really. If you are going to any taco shop, you may have noticed (and ignored) the "soup" part of the menu. This weekend (and any time, actually) would be the perfect time to try some.
You may recall I did a post about non-pho soup abou this time last year, but that restaurant (Los Michoacaños) is in Santee and so this time I am doing a more central location, and showing more of the variety Palominos has to offer, just on the "Soups" (or "Caldos") side of the menu.
There are 11 caldos listed on the menu on the wall above the cash register and I will only show you five, however know the "basics" of pozole and menudo have been extensively enjoyed by The Mister and myself, are plentiful and really good.
These first two photographs are of Caldo Talapeño ($5.99)..Yes, chicken soup…but there are three "chicken soup" choices listed on the menu board-the bottom one that is simply called "chicken soup" for $5.99 is just the "American" menu listing of Caldo de Pollo-the third soup I will be telling you about-below.
This soup was made with all chicken breast meat and had hominy as the starch.
As you can see, a LOT of chicken breast meat. There was no "add in" plate to top this soup. There was a chipotle pepper in it and that added enough spice. The usual vegetables- carrot, and celery as well as zucchini are in large chunks and barely cooked (i.e, not mushy). Also, there were a smattering of garbanzo beans, same size as the hominy at the bottom of the bowl. All in all, a good, home made chicken soup stock base topped with sliced fresh avocado.
The Caldo de Camaron(Shrimp Soup)($8.50) 
is an absolute delight! There are more than 15 of these large, juicy plump, flavorful shrimp in the bowl and the broth, tomato based, was a deeply rich and flavorful seafood stock and quite filling. The vegetables in the soup were carrots and celery. A simple and wonderful meal.
This side plate of cilantro, onions, limes, pepper and dried herbs(a mix or marjoram, thyme and some oregano) as well as a choice of corn or flour tortillas accompanied this soup. You can mix in at the start, or after you are eating. I usually enjoy the initial soup "plain" and then do add ins, to give myself a whole new soup later in the meal.
This is the Caldo de Pollo ($5.99), yes, a different, more basic chicken soup which comes with the sides plate, above, as well as the tortillas and the cup of rice as the starch, although, as you can see, there are corn, carrot, zucchini and potatoes in the soup…as well as a *lot* of dark, flavorful thigh meat. I really kind of was hoping this soup would have had more broth, but am not complaining. It is the same base stock as the first chicken soup (caldo de talapeño) pictured above.
Caldo de Res (Beef Soup) ($6.25) By far, the deepest, richest broth of those shown here. Plenty of non-fatty stew beef, potatoes, carrots, zucchini, corn and cabbage, served with tortillas and rice. This broth will satisfy you even more than the chicken broth if you are losing your taste buds due to a cold or flu. There also was almost too much meat in the bowl. Again, not complaining. 
I’ll just end this post with the traditional Albondigas Soup ($5.99). At least five of these large meatballs, made with rice, celery and onion as well as the dry spice mix(again, mostly oregano) and in the mix, corn, potato, zucchini, cabbage and carrots. The broth of the albondigas is the same as the pozole broth(not pictred and usually what I have for breakfast when I come here)…kind of what I call "hollow" and absolutely the only broths here that I feel I have to add in those side items to give it a deeper flavor- the lime automatically enriches the flavor and the onions, cilantro and pepper flakes give the depth needed, especially on cold, wet days such as are in our midst right now.
To summarize: there are five main broths for ten soups: chicken, beef, seafood, the pozole/albondigas broth and the menudo. All are used for homemade, flavorful and filling soups. So, don’t be afraid to enjoy the soup at any of your local taco shops – not at all your everyday "Taco Shop" meal. If you are on Clairmont Mesa near the Registrar of Voters office, stop in at Palominos. Parking is tight at lunchtime, but not in the morning or after 3 p.m.
Palomino’s #2 9353 Clairmont Mesa Blvd, suite I San Diego 92123 (858) 292-8470 Mon-Fri 6:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m., Sat 6-9, Sun 6-8