June 2008 – mmm-yoso

Restaurante El Salvadoreno – A Revisit

June 29, 2008 mmm-yoso Salvadoran Restaurants

It sure feels like I’ve been doing this for a long time. I remember doing a post on El Salvadoreno way back in August of 2005. A few months later, the restaurant moved into its new digs right next door. And though I’ve driven past the place dozens of times, I never took the time out to grab a meal until recently.

Here’s what the "old" El Salvadoreno looked like back in 2005.

If you think that is a big change; check out the dining area.

Wow. Here’s the old 7 table El Salvadoreno, which I thought had a nice quaint charm.

Wood siding, nice tile work, it really looks like a very nice and proper restaurant. A far cry from the greasy spoon decor.

About this time I started wondering if anything else had changed….like maybe the menu? If I had any doubts, one look at the menu told me otherwise. I noticed all of the dishes I’d had before. As with the everything else, the sticky two page laminated menu, had been replaced, "now with 100% more color photos!"

Since I had my first Pupusa at El Salvadoreno, I decided to stick with that. Soon enough the hot sauce arrived.

And instead of the usual "communal tub" of Curtido, the lightly pickled cabbage slaw. A bowl of Curtido was brought to my table.

Today the Curtido was crisp and fresh, with a nice oregano aroma, though not as "pickled" as I recalled.

I had ordered a Pupusa Revuelta Con Todo (a mixed Pupusa – $2.25), a Pupusa de Chicharron($2.00), and a Pupusa de Queso and Calabaza($2.00).

The Pupusas arrived steaming hot, and the fillings were molten. The texture of the exterior of the Pupusa was even better than I remembered, slight crunchy and crusty. As you got past the crust, a slight corn-masa flavor hit you, and the "tortilla" got a bit more chewy. The Revuelta was by far my favorite, a nice contrast of flavors, with the jalapenos adding a nice surprise zip now and then. I received the Chicharron con Queso, instead of de Chicharron. It was fine, nice and gooey, but came up short in the "porkyness" territory. The de Calabaza con Queso was very blah. I wasn’t paying attention. I should have ordered the Pupusa de Loroco con Queso. In this case the Calabaza was plain and simple zucchini.

3 Pupusas were perhaps, 1 too many for me. Still, you can’t beat the price, a filling breakfast for under $7. I’ve always received very nice and friendly service at El Salvadoreno. There are those who believe the area is on the "sketchy" side. But I’ve never had any problems in the neighborhood. All of the old favorites, like the fried chicken and the tamales are still on the menu. I need to make an effort to revisit other places that I haven’t been back to in a while.

Restaurante El Salvadoreno
2845 Imperial Ave
San Diego, CA 92102

I keep forgetting to keep some room for this:

Right across the street. Maybe next week?

Saturday Silliness-Some meals Cathy has eaten away from home

June 28, 2008 Cathy Stuff, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!!, the blog about food. Cathy is writing to show you she is alive, taking photos and blogging. Just a little.

Hi. I got some emails asking me if I was OK…I’ve been busy this month. I still found time to eat, while meeting friends for lunch, or working and pretty much took photos of everything I ate. Nothing exciting, just food. So, here you go. Sort of a week in my life. Condensed.

Souplantation for lunch.. Where there are no rules. So I always grab two salad plates-one for the ready made stuff as well as the salad -salad.

OK, this time I grabbed three plates. I had one half bowl of chili also, but didn’t take a picture.

I usually try one of the three pastas available, with the sort of garlic/sort of foccacia bread. This day it was Alfredo sauce and pasta.

I always get the squaw bread. With real butter.

A blue crab, steamed with Old Bay…(excellent fresh flavor) from Crab Hut .

So, my $5 lunch, while working… Fresh Kaiser onion roll, 1/4 lb roast beef, Black tea on sale.

Turns into a wonderful huge sandwich.. I was working on Voting Day and could not leave the area I was assigned. I also got myself a jelly donut for dessert. (Included in the $5 price).

… Dsc01725_2

A really good ceviche tostada from some taco shop where I met a friend.

The gyros salad from Daphne’s .

A $21 meal from Nijiya Market. Soft shell crab on bottom center. Curry croquette, fried squid, chicken Katsu Bento box, some sort of seaweed salad…Total price included the can of hot green tea and the liter of cold coffee as well as that imported banana crepe. We ate it on one of the outdoor tables.

That’s it. Nothing overly exciting. Hope you are having a nice weekend.

The 2008 San Diego County Fair Part Two- A day at the Fair, with food

June 27, 2008 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!. You are here. Cathy is blogging. Enjoy.

Hi. I know you’ve been waiting for this post. The Mister and I met up with Ms. T. at the front gate of the Fairgrounds the other day.

Where Don Diego greeted us, along with an Olympic looking sculpture. We had come in on the Double Decker bus from the free parking area on Via de la Valle, saving us $9 in parking fees. Its a nice ride and kind of fun. There are also a few old yellow school buses, which are…um…smaller than I remember them being. The buses run every 15 minutes and take you right to the front gate, where you can walk in and see the Midway.

There are all sorts of stimulating entertainment, sights and sounds, even at the opening hour (10 a.m.).

The concession stands remind me why I came here… and I must remember why I came here. To blog!

The Mister brought this to the table first. The deep fried White Castle cheeseburger. The innards. It is a White Castle cheeseburger and fries ($~6 for the plate) but we were one of the first orders of the day and I could detect just a slight…um…un-freshness in the taste of the oil used to fry the batter. Not rancid, but not fresh. The fries were excellent though. Oh, and the White Castle (it isn’t called a burger) was, without the batter, just as I remembered. But I usually don’t get it with cheese. The teensy chopped onions and soft mushy bun were good. If I were to grade it, it would get a "C". Passable.

Gosh, the ads on the stands are overwhelming… Ms. T chose the healthiest and best tasting meal we had all day-the chicken kabob with pickled turnips and fresh hummus-with the large refillable for $2 (including tax) at any concession stand beverage, the total was $20. The kabob was wonderful-fresh chunks of charbroiled chicken breast, crispy green peppers and sweet onion chunks with a side of fresh, home made(a little chunky/not perfectly smooth) hummus and fresh a bit salty in a good way pickled turnips this was the best overall meal. Definitely an A+. Oh, you read the signs, did you? Of course I got the deep fried Spam (~$6). This was excellent. the batter was more waffle or cornmeal- The Mister said like corn dog batter (I have *never* had a corn dog in my life…really) and quite pleasant. Four big chunks (half a can, I’d say) and two slices of canned pineapple along with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. Excellent. I’d give it a B+/ A- only because of that health thing people talk about…people like my Family Physician…(Hi Dr. B at Kaiser!)

So, we decided to walk off some of the ‘breakfast’ items we ate and look around the Fairgrounds. The Midway rides look the same.

Home Arts has the quilts displayed so you can’t touch them (apparently there was a problem).

The cake decorating contest entrants were also protected. As were the Crafting winners. The Palomar College student woodworking competition was particularly interesting to me and I liked this small table the best. It is very well made with curved walnut sides and maple.

This was a creative floral design, using a lemon sliced water filled base. There are weekly floral competitions for various flowers. This one was pretty.

Oh, back to some food. Seriously. The foot long hot dog- extremely good quality. Grade: A. With chili (bottom cup)(Grade:B-; It had beans)(About $5) and a $2 Tuesday special 2 ounce sample of the BBQ beef-excellent (grade: A). OK. You can’t tell the size? That’s a Samsung mobile phone on the tray.

The ubiquitous Funnel cake- top is the $2 Tuesday sample, bottom is the $3 with strawberries and whipped cream regular size. (I liked the plain one better). It’s a sweet and was OK, but I don’t crave sweets. Grade: C

The reason I come to the Fair. The cream puffs. $3 regular size vanilla, chocolate mini $2 Tuesday sample.I love the fresh cream and shell made daily. Can’t get it anywhere around here, or I would.

More from The floral design competition.

Finally, an order of Tasti Chips, always a favorite ($5)… Grade:A) I eat the Trader Joe’s Hawaiian chips in the blue bag-regularly. I love good chips.

Then back on the free transportation back to the free parking lot. Another year at the Fair.

You can get discounted tickets at Ralphs with a $10 purchase. ($10 versus $12 standard admission). Most vendors have $2 specials on Tuesdays. I did not try the frog legs. I grew up eating them and just did not want anything else fried. They taste like fishy chicken…Sorry

www.sdfair.com Until July 6

Whatever a meme is- Cathy’s favorite photos of food

June 25, 2008 Cathy What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog about food. Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are not blogging today. Cathy is.

Hi. Yes I blog, but I don’t know all the terminology of blogging (meme?), much less any fancy terminology to describe what I am eating. If it is good, I tell you. If it isn’t good, I tell you.

I pretty much just consider this thing I do with Kirk and ed (from Yuma) to be sort of therapeutic for me. Instead of talking to people in person, I can do it here…sort of writing a public diary…about what I ate… but I don’t really know if you consider me to be a ~~crazy~~ an eccentric person or not, since most of you don’t comment. Blogging is a different way of thinking for me and from what my other job(s) are. I try to write in a creative way about what I ate.

Then there is photographing what I eat….and publishing those photos.

Anyhow, I am considering myself tagged via Kirk’s post and am glad ed (from Yuma)’s post went up before mine. Both of them put up photographs and descriptions.

Since I am known among friends as "Literal Girl", I am following the rules literally- 1. I am posting my favorite food photos. 2. If you are reading this and feel like I’ve tagged you, in some sort of virtual manner, then go ahead and post your ten favorite food photos.

Rules didn’t say I had to describe. I am Literal Girl, remember?

But, there is one special description.

If Kirk had not asked me to blog with him, I would not have been carrying my camera two months later, when this dish was placed in front of me and absolutely *never* could have been able to describe it in words to adequately express what you see here.

Thanks, Kirk, for everything I’ve been able to do here. I am so glad we are friends.

You are seeing a sort of Chex Mix which also included miniature marshmallows and some seasoned croutons as well as limes on top of a bowl of beef bulgogi with sliced radishes, shredded carrots and cabbage on rice. The bulgogi was very good.

Yes, there are only nine photos. There could have easily been 100 photos which evoked great memories for me which were also beautiful and creative. I put them all up and then started deleting and got to these. Maybe I will do another post…

El Rodeo Mexican Food

June 24, 2008 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

I know someone who swears by the Super Sergio’s on Convoy, and El Rodeo Mexican Food, located on El Cajon Boulevard, near the intersection of 69th street. Bad thing is, he has a "convenient bad memory" which I’ll explain a bit later on. What he did tell me was, you get around 69th street, you can’t miss the place. And you know what, he was right. Screaming oranges and yellows, it really does stand out.

I was in the neighborhood, and it was past lunch time on a weekend afternoon a few months back. So why not? I parked the car, check out the murals, and walked to the front counter…..and stopped dead.

At first I thought that perhaps this gal was unconscious, or passed out. At which time she let out a huge snore……at least I knew she was alive. I quietly crept to the counter to order, but could find no one. I could hear music blasting from the rear of the place, but there was no one in sight. I whispered, "hello? hello?" "ola?" And the gal let out a "snort-snort-snort". A bit of sleep apnea perhaps? Not wanting to wake her, I decided to revisit El Rodeo at a later time, and tip-toed back to my car.

About a week later, I was back in the area, so I decided to give it another go. Not knowing what awaited me in the dining area, I peered around the corner, and noticed no sleeping, snoring women.

My eyes were assaulted by the reflection of orange…everywhere. But I managed to order what I came for: a Carne Asada Torta. As I waited, I noticed how busy the phone booth right in front of the restaurant was.

It even rang twice while I was waiting. And 2 different young women walked up to answer the phone. I believe this is probably one of the last remaining pay phones left in the area, but it was strangely busy….and the only persons using the phone were young ladies. Hmmmm…..

When my Torta was ready($4.25), I grabbed it quickly and headed home. The bread on the sandwich was nothing to write home about, there was just too much shredded lettuce, and the Guacamole is pasty and tasteless. But I really enjoyed the Carne Asada, it was nicely caramelized and had a nice overall flavor.

Yes, the bread was heading to the land of soggy pretty quickly, but that could be explained away by the ride home. Soon after, I ran into "MrC" and told him that the Carne Asada Torta was pretty good. He stared at me blankly and said, "Carne Asada? I didn’t tell you carne asada, did I? You have to have the Milanesa."

So back I was for the Milanesa Torta($4.25). This time here was no activity at the pay phone, and there were a few other customers eating in the patio area. I decided to grab my sandwich, and consume it in the car. As I was walking to the car, I was stopped by 2 young women, "we need a ride, can you give us a ride?" My reply? "Ummm no." Which is about as close to a "hell, no, not a chance" as I could muster up. Next request, "can we use your cell phone?" I gave them 2 quarters….I’m pretty sure they knew where the pay phone was. As they walked to the pay phone, I entered my car, sat, took a deep breath and removed the foil from my sandwich.

This was not a very good Torta. First, the bread was stale and crumbly. Second, the Milanesa, which was totally overwhelmed by lettuce, had no taste. I suppose it would have been nice texturally, if there was a bite less lettuce. But the meat, which looked to be breaded pork, was tasteless. It was so bland I couldn’t make out what kind of meat it was.

About a week later, I run into MrC; "hey, that Milanesa wasn’t very good." "No-no-no, not the Milanesa, you should have the Carne Asada!"

Sigh. You gotta love early onset senility. No more snoring young ladies, being accosted for a ride or my cell phone, or that strangely busy pay phone for me for a while.

El Rodeo Mexican Food
6924 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Chinese Style Barbecued Ribs

June 23, 2008 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

How many times have I gone shopping and just threw something in my basket for absolutely no reason at all. Sigh. Of course, eventually you must go home, unload your groceries, and stare at that randomly chosen item, and wonder why you bought it. Buyer’s remorse rears its ugly head. Such was the situation with a recent purchase; a rack of St Louis Style Ribs(aka Spareribs), a cut from the lower portion of the of the pig. I cleaned the ribs up a bit, removing the rear membrane, the meat flap(Da Boyz lucked out on this one), though I left the rib tips on. Though I really didn’t do a very detailed job like this. And in the end, I still didn’t know what the heck I was going to do with these. No smoker at my disposal, and I really wanted to do something "Asian".

So this is what I came up with:

It’s sort of Char Siu-ish, except I used whatever I had on hand(sorry no red bean curd), and I got to play with red food coloring…muah-ha-ha-ha. In retrospect, I could have left the ribs in the oven to caramelize for a few more minutes…..but the smell, oh the smell! You can do without the food coloring…..but there something about the combination of those burnt bits and the red color that sets my stomach off. You may want to bake in foil for several hours before starting the regular cooking to tenderize, but I was too lazy. So here you go…another recipe from you friendly neighborhood hack cook.

Chinese Style Barbecue Ribs

Marinade
1/3 Cup Hoisin
1/3 Cup Light Soy Sauce
2 Tb Sugar
3 Tb Honey
2 Tb Shaoxing Wine
1 Tb Oyster Sauce
1/2 Tsp Five Spice Powder
2 Cloves Garlic finely minced
1/2 Tsp Red Food Coloring(optional)

Finishing Glaze:
3 Tb Honey
1 Tb Water
1 Tb Oyster Sauce

2-3 1/2 Lbs St Louis Style(spareribs) cut into individual ribs

1 – Mix the marinade.

2 – Mix together with ribs in a large ziplock bag

3 – Marinate over night

4 – Preheat oven to 350.

5 – Arrange ribs on a rack above a roasting pan filled halfway with water.

6 – Bake for 40 minutes. Turn ribs and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Baste with remaining marinade after turning. Remember to check your water.

7 – Mix "finishing glaze". I added water because the honey I had was so hard and thick.

8 – Turn oven up to 450. Turn ribs and bake for 10 minutes. Turn ribs and baste with glaze and bake until desired color is achieved (10-15) more minutes.

9 – Remove ribs from oven and baste with glaze one more time.

Serve with rice. It is nice to use the oven, you can have the Big Kahuna reserved for other stuff. In this case, some nice Black Bean Chicken.

And our 30 second green vegetable…that’s all the time it takes on the Big Kahuna. With only salt, slices of garlic, and dried shrimp. High heat does the rest.

A Road Trip from Memory Lane

June 22, 2008 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, yoso-silly

I recently took a vacation day from work. For some reason my internal clock is still a bit off, and I just needed a day of R&R(that would be rest and relaxation, not readin’ and ‘riting). In spite of the recent increase in fuel prices, the Missus & I decided to take a "road trip down memory lane". When we resided in LA, we had a Saturday ritual. Whenever I was in town, we’d start our day with a drive down to the Torrance Saturday Farmer’s Market. I know I’ve posted on this before, in fact, more than once. But this Farmer’s Market holds a special place in our heart; if only because we spent a good many Saturday mornings at the market.

On this morning, we made it to the market in record time. There was a significant lack of traffic. I’m thinking it was combination of the heat, and gas prices. We arrived at about 845am, and the market was just starting to pick up. As always, there was a nice selection of a variety of fruits and vegetables. Because of the heat, all the "bug netting" was up.

With the heat and the bright sunlight, it seemed like it was already noon! We purchased a few items, walked the market, which is one of the largest in SoCal, and headed off to our next "regular stop".

On "memory road", our next stop was Marukai Gardena. And we arrived a bit after the 9am opening, and found primo parking. And though we spent a good amount of time walking the isles(and soaking up the A/C), the main reason we stopped here was to purchase fish. Even though, Marukai has opened in San Diego, one of areas where it is still deficient is with regards to fish. Though that could be said for Nijiya and Mitsuwa as well. Our little ice chest full of super fresh salmon, Karei, and Ahi, we headed on our way.

Marukai Gardena
1740 West Artesia Blvd
Gardena, CA 90248
Summer: Monday – Saturday, 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. & Sunday, 9:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.

My previous post can be found here.

Our next usual stop would be East on the 91, North on the 710, and either getting out on Valley, or as today, East on the 10. Today we exited on Garfield, and ended up at the place we used to call the "center of LA’s Chinese universe", the intersection of Garfield and Garvey…….this was circa the 90’s of course, and much has changed since then. So where did we eat? Sorry folks, but that’s future post. After not one, but two meals(hey, with gas prices, who knows when I’ll be back….and leftovers are always welcome), we headed off "home". Not our current "Home" in San Diego, but our old stomping grounds, Rowland Heights. The Missus had a craving for her Shaved Ice from Shau Mei, and that’s where we encountered a big surprise. While the Missus was enduring severely rude service at Shau Mei, I noticed this sign.

A bit curious, we entered Hong Kong Market, and this is what greeted us.

The produce section had been removed, and now consists of boxes of items being sold……inventory liquidation. The meat and frozen food section was "taped off". You can compare it to my previous post, here.

We were shocked, we hadn’t heard that they were closing. Now over the years, I’ve endured some horrible service at Hong Kong Market, but we shopped here frequently, sometimes 4-5 times a week, when we lived in the area. It was within walking distance. The Missus called Her Dad, who shopped here often when they lived in the area.

I guess time had caught up with this rather run down and seedy market. But we had many memories of the place.

In spite of the horrid service, I’ll miss the place. In keeping with the standard service at HK Market, the Missus went over to one of the cashiers who was standing around, and inquired about the closing. The young lady gave the Missus a dirty look, and in a nasty "it’s none of your business" tone, told the Missus, "there is NO reason". You gotta love it, a final kick to the crotch!

We were still talking about the closing while I was prepping dinner. Wondering what was taking its place, and what it meant to all the other businesses in the area. We had already noticed how much lighter traffic was in the area. It was the topic of conversation as we had a "memory lane" beat-the-heat dinner; Poke’ 2 ways.

The Ogo from Marukai was lousy, but man that Ahi was super-fresh. It took us back to our old "Saturday Night" meals way back when. Time moves forward, but sometimes it’s really nice to taste the past.

I hope everyone managed to keep cool this weekend. Tell me, what are your "eating trips down memory lane"?

10 New Pictures

June 21, 2008 ed fromyuma What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, yoso-silly

This is ed (from Yuma). I thoroughly enjoyed looking at Kirk’s 10 favorite pictures from this blog. I see Cathy is also working on a 10 picture post. I thought it would be fun to do something similar – except with one change – here are 10 pictures that have never before been posted at mmm-yoso!!!

Don’t despair, I will refrain from posting pictures of trees:

And pictures of flowers:

Well, except for those pictures. What follows are 10 of my favorite or most interesting food pictures that you have never seen before.

First, this photo that looks like some sort of abstract modernist painting is actually a close-up of a chile relleno. This was my first experiment using the close-up feature on my Canon:

This next picture is a mystery. It is clearly a bowl of spicy seafood noodle soup somewhere in San Diego, but I have no memory of how it tasted or where I bought it. It had transparent noodles and was served with a sprig of basil, bean sprouts, and jalapeno slices. Any ideas?

For several years, one of my very favorite restaurants in the Monterey area was owned by chef Robert Kincaid and was called the White House. Contrary to what some of you are probably thinking, it was not called that because it served up a lot of baloney and made a hash out of everything. Rather, instead, the restaurant occupied a beautiful old Victorian mansion with a white exterior near downtown Pacific Grove . As well as serving tasty food, most of the dishes there were also beautiful to look at. Here, if memory serves, are two East/West fusion potstickers, stuffed with minced pork and served with an Asian sauce:

On my last visit before the restaurant’s untimely demise, I had a roast pork loin dinner that was almost too beautiful to eat. The operative word, however, is almost:

This next picture makes it into this post not because it is exceptionally beautiful food, but because Tico’s in Marina (a few miles north of Monterey) has served me the best breakfasts that I have had since . . . since? Well, some of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had:

Although I have tasted fluffier omelettes, Tico’s hollandaise sauce is to die for (and no, that is not just what my cardiologist says). The home fries are also the best – perfectly seasoned all over, crunchy on the outside, and moist and tender within. If Leff is right (is that a paradox or an oxymoron?) maybe these good home fries are a trend.

At home, I rarely take pictures of my cooking – and there is probably a reason (many reasons?) for that – but one evening the beautiful colors of an heirloom tomato that I had cut up sent me searching for my camera:
I should add that I love heirloom tomatoes. Now that I can get them April-November (these were photoed in November!), I am nearly in heaven. I just wish I had taken more pictures of all the varieties because I have easily eaten enough that I could have done a post purely of tomato portraits.

Of course, my favorite unpublished pics would have to include at least one featuring raw seafood. Here is a photo with some of the items served in a recent chirashi bowl at Sakura:

Since we’re on the subject of seafood (any segue in a storm), I thought you might enjoy this picture of a shrimp ceviche tostada from TJ’s Marisquero in Yuma:

Right after I moved to Yuma, I read about the basics of Sonoran cuisine in some Chowhound posts by Canon Fowler (no relation to my camera) who grew up in Tucson in the 20s and 30s. Among many other matters, he wrote about Sonoran enchiladas (also called patty enchiladas), but such simple fare is hard to find these days. The best incarnation of them currently in Yuma are the enchiladas del Piso at Viejo Loco, a dish composed of two thick handmade corn tortillas – so thick they are almost corn cakes – set side by side and covered with sauce, cheese, and topping. This day, I ordered it with green sauce and espinaca (spinach). While not a traditional sauce or topping, it tasted very good:

There is only one fitting way to finish this post. As a way of thanking Kirk for sharing his blog with all of us and letting me occasionally post here, I offer up a photo of an actual loco-moco from Yuma:

Banbu Sushi Bar and Grill- a restaurant inside the old Movie Theater complex in La Mesa

June 20, 2008 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is just a humble blog. Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are busy with life today and Cathy is just blogging about yet another meal.

Hi. I’m back again. Remember the old Pacific Theaters on Fletcher Parkway, down the hill from Grossmont Mall? Well, once the theaters were built right inside the mall, those by the Trolley Station were abandoned, but the building stayed…and now look at it!

Inside and outside, it is decorated beautifully- the sushi bar has 12 chairs and could accommodate a few more…there were five sushi chefs (one of them female…) working constantly, and a couple of television sets behind them. We ordered a couple of "basics", staring with the fried calamari ($6.95)…sliced thin and with a very light batter…the flavor was good, but the calamari was a bit too chewy; maybe a bit overcooked because it was sliced so thin. Still, it was tasty and a good sized portion, accompanied by the spicy Sriracha flavored dipping sauce.

The Mister ordered a lunch special, which started with a fairly large bowl of onion soup (miso is also a choice). Very rich, not salty, not too onion-y, with thinly sliced mushrooms and fried onion bits floating in it. Very nice (and different)

The shrimp and vegetable tempura lunch plate ($9.00). The portion of rice is an excellent size and quality. The California rolls were fresh and made with *real* crab. The tempura itself was very well done, not burned, not greasy, lightly crispy. There were two shrimp and two each of some of the vegetables-mushroom, broccoli, sweet potato and one each of a fresh string bean, onion and green pepper. All of the vegetables were crispy fresh and tasty- the frying did not destroy anything. Very good.

I decided to try the seafood salad ($12.50) -opposed to the $17 Chirashi Sushi- Don’t let this photo fool you: I was trying to be non-conspicuous and this was the only photo I could get. The bottom of this salad bowl was *filled* with seafood pieces; the albacore being the best of all. I liked the salmon, hamachi, ika and tuna also. Each piece of seafood was extremely fresh and not just some thoughtless ‘endpiece’ tossed in there. the salad was fresh with a light garlic ginger soy dressing. Again, this was more than enough food. The photo looks small portion but it isn’t.

Oh, the hot tea was *excellent* and free. I also noticed free refills of soda.

Banbu Sushi Bar and Grill 8555 Fletcher Parkway (between Grossmont Center Drive and Nagel) La Mesa 91942 (619)589-0071 (Closed between lunch and dinner M-Sat) Sunday open at 1 p.m. until 9 p.m.

Midweek Meme – 10 Photos

June 18, 2008 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Last week FOY Kat, of Our Adventures in Japan tagged me for a meme, called "10 Photos". I admit that I’m usually not very good with these "meme-things". And have probably unwittingly earned a spot on the "places where memes come to die" map. But since this was a very good FOY(Friend of Yoso), and the theme didn’t sound too difficult, I thought it would be a slam dunk. WRONG!

The rules were very straightforward:
1. Post 10 of your own favorite food shots.
2. Pass the opportunity on to others by leaving a message on their comments page just so they’re aware of it.

No problemo….until I had to actually choose only 10 photos. How the heck do I choose just 10 photos? It’s like choosing 10 of my favorite children! So being the good little soldier that I am, I started thinking up different little rules, only places outside the US, only places inside the US, only places in San Diego, only places in San Diego whose name ends in "Berto". Arrgh! I finally came up with some guidelines for myself(boy, do I need structure or what?). Only photos of stuff I really enjoyed, and only from the last 2 years or so. So, though I really enjoyed the photo of the The Sherry Soused Spinach, 8 Minute Eggs, and Hazelnuts from Park Kitchen in Portland:

I didn’t think it was the best item I had during that meal. (Notice how I’ve already managed to sneak extra photos in already?) So it was disqualified. This ended up being quite hard for me. But I managed to pick a few.

So before my list, why don’t you take a gander at Kat’s 10 photos.

Here goes:

#10 – From the "did this really come out of my kitchen category?" Buta Kakuni:

#9 – From the "nothing tastes better wrapped in a leaf category". Nem Khao from Asia Cafe:

#8 – From the "it looks like it came from Lorena Bobitt’s new cookbook – Man(hood) meets grill" category. Hurts me just to think about it. De Nuong La Lot Mo Chai from Binh Dan Restaurant:

Not ba-a-a-a-ad at all!

#7 – My "MVP – Most Valuable Pescado". Cebiche Pescado from Astrid y Gaston in Miraflores(Lima):

#6 – From the "what’s a Loco like you doing in a place like this" category. The Hilo Style Loco from Leilani’s Cafe:

You know I just had to sneak a Loco Moco in didn’t you?

#5 – From the "so good my arteries stood still" category. Sisig from Ed’s Bistro(how we miss you, though my Cardiologist doesn’t).

#4 – From the "even though I don’t speak Spanish, I’m glad you understood me" category. Tacos from Tacos El Compita:

#3 – From the "swipe my meat" category. Prime Cap Ribeye from Tsuruhashi. Why "swipe my meat"? This photo has been used without permission 3 times.

#2 – From the "kabobs of my dreams" category. Lamb Kabobs from Chef Tony(RIP):

What’s better than some good "meat on a stick"?

#1 – From the "they must be using some highly addictive controlled substance" category. The Cold Sichuan Noodles from Ba Ren:

I dunno why, but I just "MUST" have this at least once a month, if not more often.

Looking at my short list, there sure seemed to be quite a few photos from places that have gone out of business, like Mei Jia Deli

And Thien Thanh

Sorry, just snuck in a few more photos…..it seems like I’m caught in a terminal, obsessive, death spiral….

MUST…STOP….NOW!

Whew, okay, so there you go. As for the tagging, if you feel the desire to keep this meme going, consider yourself tagged!

One last photo, ok? I readily admit, I really don’t know what the heck I’m doing when I take photos. It is just point and shoot(artistic composition? you’re better off trying to get me to breakdance – I wouldn’t know it if it hit me in the head). And all of these were taken with my little ol’ $200 Fuji:

I hope you enjoyed this. And WC, I know I still owe you the 5 Things About Me meme.

Thanks for the tag Kat!