February 2010 – Page 2

It’s Burger Week (again) – The Counter – Carlsbad

February 15, 2010 mmm-yoso Burgers

**** This location of the Counter has closed

*** An updated post on The Counter can be found here.

Let's see….. it's mid-February, about the time most of us have said, "what the heck" and have let those New Years resolutions fall by the wayside. Or perhaps you're like FOY and fellow food blogger Masa Assassin, and have already reached your goals for the year! Hmmm, don't you hate people like that??? Just kidding…. I just figured it was time for another burger week. So hang on, loosen up the ol' belt a coupla notches, and let's get going.

I first read about The Counter when Kat of Our Adventures in Japan ate at the Kahala location during one of her visits home. The first thing that struck me was how good the onion strips looked, I was literally wiping drool off my chin. The second thing that entered my head was, "wait a minute, Honolulu gets a location of The Counter, and we're left high and dry in San Diego?" Talk about burger envy….. If that wasn't bad enough, Rosa, The Catty Critic, did not one, but two posts (make that three posts) on The Counter. But like most food bloggers, Rosa is quick to lend a hand and provide information. The Catty Critic quickly informed me that The Counter had opened in San Diego….. I quickly found out that The Counter had opened… all the way up in Carlsbad! Sigh. Then it struck me… I have no problem driving down to Chula Vista for tacos, which is about the same distance as Leucadia, so why would I make a big deal about driving up to The Forum in Leucadia?

The Missus and I haven't been back up here since Anthropologie opened up in Fashion Valley. I believe this used to be Sushi on the Rock. We arrived just as the shop opened and were led to a seat. The ceilings of the restaurant are pretty high, and all the hard surfaces make for a pretty loud space.

The menu at The Counter is pretty interesting, you can select a "signature burger", or go through a six step process to design your own burger. It's a BYOB (Build your own burger) process.

It's really not that complicated…. you don't need to be like the guy sitting next to us who had to read each step…. and each item out loud, in his "outside voice"!

Of course, I just needed to try out the onion strings, so we got a "fifty-fifty" of onion strings and fries ($4.95):

First off the BBQ sauce tastes pretty artificial and didn't go real well with either item. The "ranch" was very watery….. ketchup was the way to go for us.

I loved the onions strips, which were thin, crisp, with a good ratio of batter to onion (for me), was basically a bit greasy, but in the most fulfilling way.

The Missus prefers breaded onions rings, so She didn't enjoy these as much as I did. It also struck me that this will be great as a burger topping….. and it is offered as a premium topping ($1 more).

The fries were of the thin-cut shoestring variety, which makes for maximization of a crisp exterior.

the fries had a nice crisp texture, but were way over-seasoned. The potatoes were so salty it tasted metallic and bitter. Even the Missus, who loves salt could only eat a few fries.

The Missus wasn't feeling like a burger, so She got a 2/3 lb Veggie Burger (!) in a bowl ($1 more), with organic mixed greens, etc, etc….. All I can say, is that it looked like a pretty huge salad ($11.50):

The Missus enjoyed the 2 veggie patties and the pesto. The Danish Blue Cheese was very salty, and would probably have fared better inside two buns. This was a good amount of food, and the Missus couldn't finish it.

Even though I was quite taken by the menu and options, I'm in the habit of minimizing all the toppings and frills the first time I have a burger at a restaurant. Not wanting to get fancy, I got a 1/3 pound burger (medium), on a hamburger bun, with Gruyere, red onions, lettuce mix, and tomatoes ($8.50):

The Gruyere was nicely melted over my burger, it was creamy and mild. When I cut my burger in half I was over-joyed!

Finally, a perfect medium burger…. at a chain no less! Those of you who have read my previous posts on burger joints will remember what a hard time I have getting a medium burger. Many places will ask you how you want you burger, but you'll always get it well done, or over-done. I've started to call that the burger "shibai". This on the other hand was a good burger, moist, with a nice char on the exterior. The char added a nice flavor, and good resistance when first biting into the burger. The beefiness of the burger was better than another burger chain which serves grass-fed beef. Man did this hit the spot.

Now that I've got the first visit over-with, I'm ready for the next step… hmmm…. onions strings? A fried egg? Soft ripened brie perhaps? Heck, maybe I'll just have the same simple burger again, because it was sure hit the spot.

Some final thoughts…. you ever know where all those yuppies went to when they had kids and hit middle age? Carlsbad… The service is kinda hit and miss, one young lady was very nice but spaced out, another young man was very efficient. The counter, has a counter ( bar), and it looks pretty well stocked. We saw two women boozing it up pretty good…. at 11 am! These are "gourmet burger" prices, but I felt we got what we paid for.

The Counter
1923 Calle Barcelona
Carlsbad CA 92009

Blue Cheese Potato Salad with Capers and Mint

February 14, 2010 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

Xin Nian Kuai Le, Cung Chúc Tân Xuân (or is it Chúc Mung Nam Moi maybe someone can tell me?), Happy Valentines Day, and happy President's Day, all rolled into one! That's one heckofa holiday weekend that much is for sure. As is usual for us, we're kinda laying low, and will have our big meals a bit later on….. or perhaps the Missus actually believes me when I say, "but honey, every day can be Valentine's day!" Hmmm, probably not…..

Still, the Missus gets whatever She wants to eat today, and what She wanted was a BLT with thick cut bacon and sprouts on sourdough, and a potato salad! Huh? I can however, understand Her thinking….. the temperature today was in the mid-seventies, more like late spring than mid-February weather…. so you want a BLT, fine! Of course the potato salad wasn't going to be your basic potato-mayo combination salad. The Missus was thumbing thru Wanda Adam's The Island Plate II (I really can't say reading, because She's just looking for photos), and saw the recipe for Beau Soleil's Aegean Potato Salad. Which is sorta what She wanted…. I'll say sorta, because of course there were adjustments…..

The Missus wanted to use Blue Cheese instead of Feta, and told me to lose the Italian Parsley, but add scallions. I was interested in making the salad because it used both capers….

and mint….

Items that I've never used in a potato salad. Also the lack of mayo was something different for me as well. In order to have a reasonable portion for the Missus and I, the amount of potatoes was cut in half, but the amounts of other ingredients have been kept the same (or increased), since the salad sounded a bit bland to me, and my hunch was right. I really enjoyed the salad, the flavor of the mint was faint(if you were a poet, you could say, it was a "hint of mint"), and if you didn't know it was in the salad, your mind might be asking you, "what is the flavor, it's familiar, but I can't place it."

What was an even bigger coincidence was that I was born and raised in Kaimuki, and I have taken food to go from Beau Soleil when it was located on Waialae Avenue! Sorry to say, Beau Soleil moved back to Manoa, then closed down a couple of years back.

Blue Cheese Potato Salad with Capers and Mint.

1 1/2 lbs red potatos cubed
4 tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2-3 tb Red Wine Vinegar
1/3 Cup crumbled blue cheese
3 tb capers, rinsed, drained, and coarsely chopped
1/2 medium red onion minced
2 tb chiffonade of mint leaves
4 tb chopped green onions
Salt to taste

– Cook potatoes in salted water until tender.
– When potatoes are tender enough to pierced with a skewer, drain in a colander. Rinse immediately with cold water to stop cooking and remove excess starch, and drain.
– While potatoes are still warm, gently mix together all ingredients. Don't forget to taste, and adjust seasoning. Also, remember that flavors will be more intense after the salad "sets".
– Serve at room temperature or cooler.

So while the Missus had Her BLT and potato salad….. I had me some refreshing Cold Sichuan Noodles (Sichuan Liang Mian):

And I made this…..

Can you guess what it is????

Would you believe that it's dog food??? Yes, it's true, I cook for Da' Boyz, and for the next 4-5 meals it's be lean chopped pork and carrot rice with their kibble. We've noticed that since we've started cooking rice… usually rice with white meat chicken for Da' Boyz, Sammy's fussy stomach issues have not been a problem. Of course it could be that they are Asian Mutts! Still, for some reason I find the fact that Sammy and Frankie consume Three Ladies or Buddha Brand Jasmine rice, or Koshihikari rice a bit strange……

I hope everyone is having a great multi-holiday weekend!

Gomoku Takikomi Gohan – Five Ingredient Rice

February 13, 2010 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

As I mentioned earlier, I'd made a pretty large amount of dashi around the holidays and needed to find a way to use it up. I decided on making a pretty common mixed rice dish called Gomoku Gohan. In fact, I've seen various frozen instant version of Gomoku Gohan, but making it yourself is pretty easy….. after all, it's just rice, right?

The basis of the dish, at least the version I make is mushrooms, and I was quite impressed with the quality of the Gobo (burdock root) available this year, so I thought why not….

There a couple of key points I follow when making this dish; first, for once, I actually follow the rather draconian rules for making rice. That would be rinse, then drain the rice (koshihikari in this case) for 30-40 minutes in a colander. I also parcook the vegetables in my dashi-soy sauce-sugar mixture before mixing with the rice. I do my chicken separately. This is so I can taste the simmering liquid of the vegetables, and make adjustments. The flavoring of the rice can be pretty bland, so getting the simmering liquid up to your tastes is imperative.

Gomoku Takikomi Gohan:

3 Cups Rice, rinsed, drained in a colander for 30-40 minutes
1/3 lb bones skinless chicken thighs cut into small cubes
1 medium carrot julienned
1 Gobo, skin scrapped off, julienned
4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in 1 1/2 cups hot water, sliced.
1 cube of konnyaku, quickly "rinsed" with boiling water to remove smell, sliced

For the vegetables:
1 1/2 Cup dashi
1 Cup mushroom soaking liquid
3-4 Tb Shoyu
3-4 tsp White sugar
1 Tsp Mirin
Salt

– Place the liquid in a pot, add vegetables and simmer.
– Add 3Tb Shoyu, 3tsp sugar, and mirin and simmer for 1-2 minutes.
– Taste and adjust flavors. Add salt to taste.
– Place a sieve or strainer over a large bowl or pot.
– Pour the contents of the pot into the strainer, letting the simmering liquid drain into the bowl.
– Let everything cool completely.

For the chicken:
1 tsp sake
1 tsp soy sauce

– Rub the chicken with sake and soy sauce and let stand for 10 minutes.

Put it all together:
– Place the rice in the cooker.
– Add the vegetables and chicken, and mix lightly with the rice.
– Pour the simmering liquid into the rice pot, until the correct liquid level is reached. Use dashi if more liquid is required.
– Once rice has cooker has turned off let the rice stand covered for 15-20 minutes.
– Mix the rice well before serving.

Top with green onions, sesame seeds, nori, etc, etc,……..

Pastrami Sandwich research- Antonelli’s Deli, El Cajon

February 11, 2010 Cathy Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog, mostly written by Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy. A few others contribute as well, all of us writing about food we eat and sometimes the reason why we like it, or don't. Today, Cathy is writing about something she likes.

Hi. One of my earlier posts, about decorating Rose parade floats and having a pastrami sandwich at The Hat, mentioned… a pastrami sandwich. Which I really liked. I got a question from "H", asking me where good pastrami sandwiches were to be found in San Diego, because her hubby is a sucker for them, and realized I pretty much always order pastrami (smoked corn beef) sandwiches whenever it is available, although I like sandwiches of all kinds. I don't make this type of sandwich at home. I did mention pastrami in my post about BMH Italian and remembered again the other day, when I was driving in an industrial area of El Cajon, just off Highway 67 and Fletcher Parkway and saw this sign:
and pulled into the lot. I have been here, but it was years ago (it opened in 1984, back when the Unemployment Office was still next door) and had basically forgotten about it, only stopping in when I was buying tires, looking for plumbing supplies or somehow stayed on Magnolia instead of getting onto the 67. Silly me. The food here is great.
Nice and clean inside. You walk up, order and pay, grab a beverage if you ordered one, then sit down. Your food will be brought out to you. Eight tables (all of which are filled from about 11 a.m. on). They serve breakfast sandwiches all day and also have two soups of the day and make a very nice chili with cheddar cheese and onions ($3.50/$4.25).
I ordered a pastrami, no cheese, on rye with kraut. $7.05 with tax. A very flavorful, soft rye bread (the website states all breads are made fresh daily-wheat, white, rye, sourdough, sqaw and sub roll). It comes with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, Mayo, mustard, salt and pepper.

An excellent amount of flavorful pastrami with a nice amount of fat, grilled to some crispness and warmed sauerkraut. Of course served with a pickle.
Just the right amount of juice and not too peppery. There are breakfast sandwiches and an excellent cold liverwurst sandwich served here also. This is just a Pastrami Post. Thanks for "making" me have to do this research, "H"!!! I shall continue to post about every one I can find in the county.

Antonelli's Deli 1354 North Magnolia (south of Bradley) El Cajon 92020 (619)440-8460

website Open M-F 7-4, Sat 8-4, closed Sunday

Hal Mu Ni (Hal Mo Ni or Halmouny) – More dishes

February 9, 2010 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

Over the last month or so, with all the rain and wind, Korean food just seemed so warm and comforting. So far this year it seems that we've been hitting up Hal Mu Ni (Grandma's) quite often. I thought I'd do another post to go with my first post, showing a few other dishes.

Of course there's panchan. Nothing fancy here, but most of it is fairly solid.

There are usually five to six items, and the portion size is decent. On the last two visits, we've had our panchan refilled without request…. very nice!

The young ladies working here are sometimes not the most efficient in terms of motion and service, but they are very nice, and do handle some of the details…. such as providing little containers of Cho Kochujang, or other sauces when we have leftovers to take home without having to request them. Perhaps that's what keep us coming back.

The Bulgogi ($11.99) here is served sizzling on a hot cast iron plate.

The meat was just tender enough, and thought the marinade for the Bulgogi ran on the sweet side, I enjoyed the dish. Enough so, that I've had it a couple of times so far. By itself or in combination with a soondofu dish. We also found this to be a little less oily then the typical Korean BBQ served on a sizzling plate. As comparisons are concerned, this has head and shoulder better, in quality and flavor then the Bulgogi at Chon Ju Jip.

Speaking of Chon Ju Jip……. one of my favorite local food blogs is Kirbie Cravings. One of Kirbie's posts included the Dolsot Bi Bim Bap from Chon Ju Jip. Frankly, the Dolsot Bi Bim Bap at Chon Ju Jip is terrible, mainly due to the fact that it is served on a metal plate instead of the usual stone bowl. This means that you never get the great crust provided by a stone bowl. It doesn't help that dolsot is literally the name of the stone bowl/pot. In Kirbie's post it became apparent that the recommendation had come from a list of "50 things to eat in San Diego before you die." Well, here at Hal Mu Ni the Dolsot Bi Bim Bap ($9.99), like most other Korean Restaurants in San Diego, is actually served in a dolsot:

Lest you think that a stone bowl isn't very important…. check out the crust that develops after a short time.

After eating stuff like sannakji and dduk, I've become convinced that textures are of supreme importance in Korean Cuisine… from that creamy oyster combined with the firm mu kimchi you bite into when having bossam, to the varied crunchiness of different panchan… finally to the crisp texture of the rice crust combined with the rest of the Bi Bim Bap. As Bi Bim Bap goes, this is not bad…. the Bulgogi has flavor, there's a raw egg hiding below the nori providing richness to the dish. The only negative item that really stood out, was how weak the Cho Kochujang (the sauce) tasted.

One evening we sampled the Kimchi Chigae ($7.99):

Like just about everything here, it arrived bubbling so wildly that expect it to overflow. If you order this, be prepared….. this was pretty sour, salty, and there's some fatty pieces of pork floating around. As Kimchi Chigae goes, this is ok, though the Missus loved how sour it was.

When this arrives at your table, you know what's coming next, right?

It was for the Soontofu, part of the Soontofu/Bulgogi combination ($12.99):

I never got a taste, but the Missus told me it was on the fishy side flavorwise.

During one of our meals, the young lady working brought us small bowls of bone soup:

I really enjoyed the richness. The broth had that nice collagen-ny, mildly coating my tongue, without being too rich and oily.

Which led me to order the Seolleongtang(Sullungtang – $7.99).

Lest you think this boiling cauldron is not very hot, see the photo to the right. I just couldn't get a photo without steaming up my lens. At first I thought the scum floating on the top of the bubbling broth would be a problem, but it was not. The soup was full of slices of beef, and had the usual mild beefy flavor. The appropriate addition of sea salt brought the dish up, and made it into comfort food for the Missus, who ended up eating a good amount of it.

The Missus has often told me about Her Parents or Grandmother making bone soup to provide calcium for the family, or as a tonic when She was ill. So it goes without saying that once a spoon of this made its' way into Her mouth, She'd want more….. comfort food….

One evening I order the Spicy Galbi Jjim ($14.99).

I have mixed feeling about this dish…. I had hopes of getting the same wonderfully tangy-spicy sauce that I had with the Galchi Jorim. And that was delivered, with the addition of some beefiness. The thick cut ribs were much too tough, and very hard to eat though. I'll probably order this again in the future to reassess.

The only dish I've had here that I haven't enjoyed was the Haemul Pajun (Seafood Pancake – $12.99):

There wasn't much seafood in this, and it was on the greasy side. The batter was gummy and tasted like raw flour, and indeed the middle of this wasn't cooked.

As you can tell, Hal Mu Ni has become a regular stop…… the prices are in line with other similar restaurants in the area (i.e. Chon Ju Jip), and we think the dishes are prepared adequately. The young women working here have always been nice. The interior may still look like a steam table Chinese fast-food joint, but the food is definitely not.

Hal Mu Ni Soon Dubu
4425 Convoy St. #217
San Diego, CA 92111

Road Trip: Yun Nan 168 Restaurant – San Gabriel (Los Angeles)

February 8, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

**** Yun Nan 168 Restaurant has closed

On a recent trip to the SGV, while driving across San Gabriel Boulevard on Valley, I noticed a new restaurant had sprouted up. What was once a Spike's Teriyaki Bowl, is now something called Yunnan 168.

Even though it was pretty early, we decided to stop by and grab a "breakfast" of sorts. The interior looks brand new but kinda generic….. and of course the 'B' DOH Restaurant rating was hung with care…. as if it was a badge of courage.

Like the other Yunnan Restaurant we've been to, there's a a table of cold appetizers.

Much of it looked delicious, and all the usual suspects were in view, from the Pao Jiao(pickled pepper) chicken feet to the bean curd noodles.

And much like the other "Yunnan" Restaurants we've been to, the menu seemed very "Sichuan" with dishes like "ChongQing Fried Chicken" and "Ma Po Doufu". We did start with a nice plate of appetizers:

The Missus was overjoyed at seeing pickled long beans. These were good, not as salty and spicy as the Hunan version, but very nice. My only problem was that the beans were diced into fairly small pieces, which made eating them a rather laborious task. Think of eating a bowl of peas with chopsticks. Still, quite good, and even better as a part of our leftovers (more later).

The sliced bean curd "noodles" were good as well:

Other versions of this dish are sometimes bland and dry, often breaking when attempting to eat. These had some mild spice, with a bit of tartness to them.

Of the three cold dishes, the eggplant was the best, with a nice garlic-chili-vinegar punch.

The texture was yielding, but not mushy. If anything, this could have used a touch of salt, which was ironic based on our main courses.

While choosing the cold dishes were hard enough, with all the offerings, selecting two dishes from a menu consisting of almost 200 items was quite a task! Looking thru the menu, I noticed something translated as "Yunnan Fried Rice Cake". I was curious, and had a feeling this was a Nian Gao dish. I had the Missus ask our Server, who confirmed my hunch. Having just made Chao Nian Gao at home I was interested to see what Yunnan Nian Gao ($6.95) would be like. It didn't disappoint:

The use of ground pork along with "ham" was a good choice, since the dish teetered on the edge of saltiness. The ground pork helped to level the flavors a bit. I loved the pungency that the chives added to the dish, and the occasional bite of preserved vegetable made this a pretty complex dish with regards to flavor, in addition to adding a bit of crunch. The rice cakes were cooked adequately, with a touch of "wok hay". Since we had a few places to hit on this visit, we packed a good amount of this as leftovers. The next day, I mixed the pickled green beans into this dish before heating….. and it was even better!

We saw a gentleman enthusiastically slurping a noodle dish on one of the tables across from us….. it just looked (and sounded) so good we decided to order it; Yunnan Noodle with Special Sauce (Yunnan Da Lu Mian – $4.95):

From my experience Da Lu Mian is usually a noodle dish with various toppings in a "gravy", and this filled the bill. However, as good as the Nian Gao dish was, this was ten times as bad. The noodles were water-logged on the bottom, like they had not been drained well, residing in a pool of pinkish water. Perhaps it is supposed to be served that way. The noodles were also a tad over-cooked. Even worse, the meat topping was extremely salty, almost inedible. The pork was hard and grainy, and in spite of the looks it had very little for the palate except for the saltiness. The Missus barely finished a bite.

The noodles also came with a clear broth with pea sprouts. This was meant to be eaten separately(we asked).

I'm not really into chlorophyll flavored salt water…….

Still, we had enjoyed the Nian Gao, and the cold dishes were pretty good….. and of course there's Guoqiao Mi Xian (Crossing the Bridge Rice Noodle Soup) on the menu, among another 190 or so dishes. We may return in the future….gotta watch that salt though!

The place is very clean, and the folks working here were very helpful and enthusiastic. It sure ain't no Teriyaki Bowl restaurant……

Yun Nan 168 Restaurant
1530 South San Gabriel Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776

Sunday Stuffs

February 7, 2010 mmm-yoso Cooking, yoso-silly

For once I wasn't a jinx:

You can tell who I was cheering for in the Super Bowl by the ingredients in the photo to the right. I made some Red Beans and Rice for a potluck the Missus had to attend on Saturday. And I guess this time I didn't jinx the team I was hoping would win.

What's your comfort sandwich?

Peanut butter and jelly? Grilled cheese perhaps? You may find mine a bit strange….. it's Tuna on toast…..

But as long as I can remember I've loved this. It used to be only tuna salad made with celery and onions, cucumbers, and tomato slices. Over the years, I've found that I enjoy sprouts in my sandwich. It can't be a tuna melt……… Also, in a classic example of brand loyalty, the mayo has to be Best Foods. One other strange example of brand loyalty, and maybe just a bit of weirdness, the tuna has to be Coral Brand.

You'll never see me ordering a "tuna salad" anywhere…. I need to make it myself. I guess you could say, I just don't trust anyone else with this. The sandwich isn't "stuffed" and oozing tuna salad as proportion is important to me.

Strange I know……

But I'm sure I'm not the only one….. ummm, right?

Keith’s Restaurant – Miramar

February 6, 2010 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Diner

**** Keith's has closed

I'm pretty sure if you've driven South on the 15 freeway, you've seen the sign for Keith's.

The Missus, who loves diners just could not fend off the pull of this sign forever. So I just knew that we'd eventually be eating here.

On the day we visited Keith's we'd arrive right before what would be considered a normal dinner service. We grabbed a table, and soon enough our menus arrived.

My first thought was that the prices were a bit higher than others, but that could've just been my imagination.

The Missus who loves breakfast for dinner, or lunch, or even a midnight snack went for the two eggs combo. Now, there's just a couple of things that make a diner, well….. a diner for us. Two of them are eggs and potatoes. And though the Foodanistas will criticize something that they think it's below them….it's the potatoes(namely the usually perfectly executed SYSCO hashbrowns) that makes a place like Perry's Cafe (which we hope reopen soon). This is what arrived at our table:

The eggs were an adequate over-medium, though the toast could have been in the toaster a bit longer. The hashbrowns were a letdown. They weren't crisp enough on the exterior, I just don't think enough oil was being used. We really don't go to a diner for "healthy" hashbrowns. The strands of potatoes under the semi-crust were hard, and not good eats.

The entree I ordered started with a Macaroni Soup:

This was really just "meh" for me, but at least they used enough salt in it. The Missus enjoyed it more than I did.

Now one of the other items that makes a diner for us is gravy (and club sandwiches but that's another post). On the basis of a recommendation I ordered the Chicken Fried Steak ($11.79):

Now the steak was fairly good, it was tender and had been processed properly. The flour based coating could have used a bit of seasoning. I expected the vegetables to be mushy and bland, and they were. The fries (potatoes) were a disappointment, as fries with gravy of any kind is weakness of mine. The were the faux "natural" style fries, but were limp, dry, and bland. So on to the gravy….. how can I put this….. think of the texture of thick glue, very gummy…… it actually stood on my upside-down spoon. It also lacked flavor and was badly in need of salt. A disappointment overall.

The woman who served us was very nice…. and even tolerated the two guys who came in later and started asking question about how the mushrooms were sauteed, and stuff like that with good humor….. geeez, this was a diner, not Pampelmousse! We also noticed all the older folk who started coming in while we were living….. what does it say when one has dinner before the "blue plate special" crowd? Oh well, unless someone has a fantastic recommendation, I don't think we'll be back.

Keith's Restaurant
9449 Kearny Mesa Rd
San Diego, CA 92126

Open 24 Hours

The Chao Nian Gao (炒年糕) Experiment

February 4, 2010 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

I gotta say, that the first time I had Chao Nian Gao(stir fried rice cake), I wasn't too impressed. It was kinda sticky-gooey, and sank to the bottom of my belly and seemed to "camp out" for a good long period of time. It was interesting, because I'd never had rice cakes prepared in that manner. I did however have Korean Ddukbokki many times. Over the years, it has grown on me, and now I try to order Nian Gao whenever I see it on the menu. I usually see it on Shanghainese menus, though I recently had a version from a Yunnan Restaurant (post coming soon) that I thought was excellent.

On a whim, during a recent visit to 99 Ranch Market, I picked up a package of dried Nian Gao disks, you can also find the rice cakes rolled into a rod like form, and cut your own, though you can substitute Dduk….. So I purchased my Nian Gao, and did nothing with it. Finally, the Missus, tired of waiting, told me to make the darn thing…tonight….

The problem being that the instructions say you need to soak these for at least 16-20 hours. So it was going to be a looooong wait for dinner to get on the table.

I decided to go ahead and soak these overnight…. which became two nights when we got occupied doing other things. On the third day I figured I'd better get round to making these. What follows is a basic outline of what I did, not a proper recipe. I used only what was on hand in the fridge and cupboard.

I had just finished off my Oxtail Soup, and had leftover greens.

They call these "Shen Lee" at 99 Ranch Market. They have a mild bitter-mustardy flavor.

We usually don't have pork on hand, but always have dried shrimp in the refrigerator. We will use shrimp as a pork substitute in many of our dishes like Dried Fried Green Beans 干煸四季豆. It handles heat well, and will crisp up, tasting like shrimp bacon. So I used a couple of tablespoons of dried shrimp.

Instead of the standard lighter Shanghai version, I went with three types of soy sauce for flavoring, a dark, dark mushroom, and premium light soy sauces because, well, I just felt like it. 1 tsp each dark soy sauces and about 2 Tb light soy sauce. I also added a dash of white pepper. In retrospect, I should've also added some Sichuan Preserved Vegetable, but forgot I had some in cupboard.

And of course the Nian Gao:

Which had been soaking for 60 hours or so! I used half the package, a bit over 8 ounces dry. I made two batches of Chao Nian Gao over two days.

The cooking technique used is, of course Chǎo(炒), a method of stirfying. As mentioned above, I made two batches of Chao Nian Gao. On my first attempt, I cooked on the stovetop to allow for mistakes and adjustments. Here's how it turned out:

Good but a bit more chewy then I would have liked.

On my next try, I broke out my Big Kahuna (now why does that sound so wrong???) and let her rip at 55,000 BTUs. What came out was delicious…….with some decent "wok hay":

Man, this was good. It had turned out better than I thought it would. It was still pretty heavy stuff, it fills you up pretty quickly and you'll stay full for a while. I guess I'm adding this dish to my Big Kahuna Files. It is as a whole just a basic stir-fry, and quite easy to make.

In fact, I just bought another bag of Nian Gao. This one says to soak for only two hours…….

Road Trip: Sushi Go 55 – Los Angeles

February 2, 2010 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Sushi and Sashimi

I recently took a day off from work, and we headed off to…. well, where else, LA. We hadn't been to Little Tokyo in quite a while. So we decided to start there…… And it had been a good long time, things seemed a bit different, and there's a new transit stop…. or maybe not so new since I don't think I've spent much time here since my (Rail) Road Trip at the end of 2006!

We decided that some sushi and sashimi would make a nice lunch… nothing fancy, just some decently done sushi like we'd get at Sushi Komasa, which isn't open for lunch. Sushi Gen was discussed and rejected because we've grown weary of the lines, and feeling rushed through our meal. So we decided on Sushi Go 55, a shop that's been around for a while, located on the top floor of Little Tokyo Shopping Center.

We had arrived at about 11am…. a few minutes ahead of the 11:15 (11:15???) opening. So we wandered around a bit. We hadn't been here since the Little Tokyo Shopping Center had been sold. As the Missus and I walked through the deserted supermarket (very nice BTW) we fondly remembered when it was first Yaohan, then Mitsuwa. Last year, Mitsuwa Marketplace closed, and was replaced by the Little Tokyo Galleria Market which is quite nice, and stocks both Japanese and Korean grocery items. It was just a bit depressing that the place was pretty much deserted. Here's a photo of parts of the second and third floor, which was totally deserted.

At 11:15, an arm reached out, and turned the sign out front over…. and Sushi Go 55 was open. We were greeted at the door by a very friendly gentleman who recognized us from the parking lot, as we had parked just a few cars apart.

We looked over the menu, and made our decisions. There was an interesting moment when I turned to the back page of the menu. Here there was a copy of a handwritten page with something called the "New Economy Lunch Special"…. 10 pieces of sashimi, rice, and miso soup for $12.75, which is a bargain. We decided on other things though.

We placed our orders, and in very efficient fashion, some sunomono and miso soup arrived to keep us occupied while waiting for our main courses.

Along with a nice cup of green tea, this gave us some time to relax and check the place out a bit. The restaurant is a bit larger than it looks, with a small dining area, along with a pretty sizable bar.

We also noticed that the place had started filling up, with folks trickling in. By the time we started to eat, hte place was two-thirds full. The demographic was interesting; mostly older couples and business people, folks who like to take their time during meals.

Soon enough my Sashimi Lunch ($16) arrived. A chawan of rice, along with a plate of various sashimi.

The first thing I noticed was that this place uses real wasabi, not that reconstituted green horseradish stuff. On my plate were 2 huge slices of Hamachi, which was probably the best item. The worst being the very tough Tako (Octopus). The three slices of maguro were just ok, while the three slices of Albacore were excellent, very moist. Albacore has a tendency to be dry, but these were soft and moist, and just brushed, not drenched in Ponzu sauce, and topped with onions. There were four large pieces of salmon, which were also quite good, firm yet soft. Nothing exotic, but very solid…. I did notice that these were pretty large cuts of fish, especially the Hamachi and Salmon. The two pieces of Tai (snapper) were on the dry and too chewy, even for Shiromi (whitefish). The quality seemed a bit higher than what we've received from Sushi Gen on our last visit.

I had heard some good things about the Chirashi Lunch Special at Sushi Go 55. At $17, it seemed priced right. It is pretty impressive sight when it arrives as two lacquered boxes, one stacked on the other arrive at the table. I'm sorry to say my photos won't do it justice, but let's just say the Missus really enjoyed Her lunch.

The top box contains all the "scattered" items. (Chirashi Sushi basically means "scattered sushi). I think it would be more appropriate to say the overflowing items…..

The second box held the rice, nori, and other items…..

Let's just say that the Missus couldn't wait to dig in……… and was pretty stuffed, and very satisfied at the end of this meal.

We found the service to be efficient, and that gentleman who worked the front of house was very nice, and even stopped and chatted with us when we were through. He said he was flattered that we came all the way from San Diego to eat here, and wished us a safe drive back home. While the fish was not "top tier", what was good, was very good. The prices are very reasonable for what you get. And the Missus said She enjoyed this more than the last couple of bowls of Chirashi at Izakaya Sakura, so I guess we'll be back.

I found out that the family that owns Sushi Go 55 also own Haru Ulala, which I thought was interesting. Another interesting item, were the copies of the sheet to my right found around the restaurant. I was even asked if I wanted a copy…. maybe next time……

Sushi Go 55
333 S. Alameda Street
3rd Floor of Little Tokyo Shopping Center
Los Angeles, California 90012

It was fun little visit….after lunch we headed downstairs and did a bit of grocery shopping, then moved on to Japanese Village Plaza and walked around a bit, noting some changes since our last visit, and grabbing some manju from Fugetsu-do. We returned via the 405, stopping in Gardena, and did some shopping at Marukai….. I made Poke, steamed some Lau Lau, and grilled Shishamo for dinner. I think you can call that a pretty nice day!