February 2012 – mmm-yoso

Nahrain Fish and Chicken Grill (with a short visit to Shakira)

February 29, 2012 Cathy Bakery, Desserts, Iraqi Food and Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome (back) to mmm-yoso!!! the blog of food. Sharing meals with you is what we do. Today, Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are lurking while Cathy is sharing.

Hi. The Mister and I have noticed signs for Nahrain and Shakira while on Main Street, whenever we are going to Valley Foods Mediterranean Market, where we shop (and eat in the store) fairly regularly and finally decided to stop one day. This is the view from the parking lot, but from the street, while stopped at the signal light at Ballard, you may only notice "Shakira", the top sign for the mall right next to the parking lot flower stand. Shakira is a bakery.

Over there, to the right, on Main Street is Nahrain- the blue sign.

When you walk in, the fresh fish are in the counter next to the cash register. Those on the far end, next to the catfish, under the tray of shrimp are yellow pompano, which are only served fried with rice according to the menu. All the other fish are sold by the pound.

To the far left are the very large Grass Carp fish.

On the side of the dining room is…a fountain.

It's filled with even fresher fish.

Just so you know, the live catfish are $8.99/lb, the ones in the counter are $5.99/lb. The live tilapia are also $8.99/lb and the ones in the counter are $6.99/lb. Strip bass are $8.99/lb, Grass Carp are $5.99/lb and the red snapper are $7.99/lb.

On our first visit, we weren't certain what to order, asked about the tandoori chicken (because we noticed a Halal certification for the restaurant) and were told it would take 40 minutes to prepare, so we ordered this side of hummus ($3.99) was very good, fresh and not too large.

Then we each ordered a sandwich. These were served on fresh sammoon bread.

My Chicken Cream Chop sandwich ($4.99) was freshly fried and crispy. Cream chop is a chicken breast (or beef ) marinated in a seasoned cream sauce and 'chop' means then rolled in bread crumbs and fried (I've seen potato chop on menus). The rest of this sandwich was onions and tomatoes. All the flavors melded perfectly.

The Mister ordered a beef tikka kabob sandwich ($4.99). Finely ground beef mixed with onion and parsley and seasonings and grilled. This was very moist and flavorful. This sandwich was served with all those pickles, tomatoes as well as onions and flat leaf parsley.

When we were leaving, the owner came over and told us we can always call in and order a tandoori chicken, masgoof chicken or masgoof fish and it would be prepared and ready by the time we got there.

Masgoof. We had to research. Masgouf. The national dish of Iraq. The fish(or chicken) is split down the middle, leaving the back intact, sort of a large circle. Then the animal is coated in olive oil, salt, turmeric and tamarind then cooked over fire. (Masgouf was the downfall of Saddam Hussein)

We called in that Friday, telling them we were driving in and would like a tilapia, around 2-3 pounds; that there would be two of us sharing a meal inside the restaurant. We arrived pretty quickly and the food wasn't quite ready and so we decided to order a salad. We could not decide on fatoosh or Arabic salad, and since both are $3.99, we were offered half of each.

The Arabic salad, on the left, is mainly lettuce, cucumber, green pepper and tomatoes and a delightful dressing that has fresh mint. The Fatoosh salad has fried pita bread croutons and an equally delightful, fresh and different dressing. This is a large plate.

Soon, a giant flat folded wheat bread as well as plates and sides and hot tea (which was brought out early because we asked, but it is included in the meal and usually brought out at the end)

The condiments (in that cute fish shaped platter) are tomatoes, onions and pickled mango…mango chutney..salty and not too sweet and it is complimentary to the fish:

The tilapia was proudly presented to us by the chef. Beautifully cut, seasoned and cooked, this meal was wonderful, fresh, filling and..less than $20. Yes. Everything is included and the fish ($6.99/lb) was less than three pounds.

Here is (the now) obligatory photo of The Mister's fancy fish carcass cleaning work. The skin of the fish was not as tasty as other fish skin I've had, but the fins were crispy good. Also, this was tilapia, a fish with a double skeleton going on…so not as easy to eat as other fish.

So. We walked next door, to Shakira and were overwhelmed with choices. We were not hungry after that awesome meal-but knew at some point we would be hungry again.

We decided to take home one of the cheesy flatbreads. This is not as large as the bread that accompanied our meal, but more the size of a very large pita bread. It is $1. It was a fresh and soft bread topped with a soft mild cheese. There were several differently topped flatbreads, all vegetarian and all $1 each. I will be returning.

Then we exercised restraint and each of us chose one sweet piece of dessert. The top/square piece is filled with chopped pistachios and topped with shredded filo. The bottom round one has whole pistachios. Sold by weight ($8/lb) the price for these two pieces was $1.08. These were not too sweet and made with a light syrup rather than honey. The filo dough remained crispy until the next morning.

All in all, this is yet another great place to eat in El Cajon.

Nahrain Fish and Chicken Grill 1183 E. Main Street #A El Cajon, CA 92021 (619) 334-3222

Shakira Pastry 1183 E. Main Street #B El Cajon 92021 (619)440-6068

Rocky Port Grill and Fish Market-Mariscos in El Cajon

February 27, 2012 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, Seafood, What Cathy Eats!

Rocky Port has closed

Link to another visit to Rocky Port Here

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!!. Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are just too busy to blog today, so Cathy is sharing another meal with you.

The last rainy days we had, I was craving a bowl of fish soup and The Mister and I headed to El Titanic in El Cajon, which I have posted about twice. We hadn't been to El Titanic since September (as one of my birthday week meal choices). Sadly, we saw it had closed. Happily, it seemed to have turned into another mariscos place.

The interior has been cleaned up and all the drawings of sinking ships were painted over. New tables and chairs filled the room.

The area where the pool table had been has been replaced with a fresh seafood counter, offering some pretty good prices on the seafood.

Fresh chips and salsa, along with a bowl of limes and a nice size sample of fresh fish ceviche were brought out to the table with our menus.

The bowl of fish soup ($10.95) was filled with large pieces of fish, green peppers and tomatoes and cooked in a very flavorful broth. This was quite large and very filling.

The menu offered whole fish, grilled with garlic or fried and the red snapper and snook are sold by the each for $16.95. The smaller tilapia were $10.95. Larger fish from the counter were sold by weight. This is a fresh red snapper that I chose to have fried. It came with unlimited corn tortillas (which were layered/flaky fresh and very tasty) and the salsa, rice and salad shown. This was a very good preparation and the fish was moist and really tasty.

We ate every last bit of it, and the soup.

The menu has a good variety of seafood choices, including lobster (griddled or grilled), fish plates, seafood cocktails and the other usual suspects of tacos, burritos and shrimp plates-all served with a choice of preparations and sauces. There are also daily specials and even a kid's menu. This is a bit nicer and pricier than El Titanic and a very nice addition to the neighborhood.

Rocky Port Grill and Fish Market 1771 North 2nd Street El Cajon 92021 (619)593-0637 Website

Cafe Hue- crepes!

February 26, 2012 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

The mmm-yoso!!! guys, Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are both having a busy time this week, so Cathy is going to blog, since she has been eating and taking photos the last few weeks while they were blogging and has a few meals to share. This post is short.

Hi again. If you've been in the parking lot at the corner of Convoy and Ostrow, which is a mall housing an international compendium of eateries anchored by Nijiya Market, Mignon Pho+Grill, Okan, Sage French Cake, Spicy House and Koon Thai Kitchen as well as Sunrise Buffet, Subway and Palomino Taco Shop #2, you have probably seen Cafe Hue (and it's predecessor in that space, Red Berry Yogurt).

I have been fascinated by the "Lunch Crepe Special" sign hanging over the doorway and decided to finally stop in. [Actually, The Mister and I had stopped in when Cafe Hue first opened a few years ago and shared a pretty lousy snack consisting of a cup of stale espresso and a stale, warm waffle topped with whipped cream. I didn't want to write a post about that experience.] So we walked in and ordered (and were asked to choose from a variety of sauces when we ordered the crepes; most salad dressing flavors), paid and sat down.

A very good cup of espresso was prepared, a good sign of things to come. The interior is filled with tables, chairs and a few couches along with board games and books for people to share.

The description of my order, the "healthy veggie" ($4.25), mentioned lettuce and spinach and so I figured there was a small salad on the side…but the salad was inside the crepe and my 'sauce' order of balsamic Italian was spread on top of the lightly cooked flavorful batter crepe.

Actually, there was a light layer of cheese cooked into the crepe and then the lettuce, spinach and corn-yes corn- was placed inside the crepe. Unusual and a very nice little lunch.

We also had ordered the $3.95 crepe- ham and cheese and (not knowing) asked for Thousand Island as the sauce. This combination of flavors did work. The photo of a cross section of this crepe didn't work.

Anyhow, I am still on my quest for a perfect crepe and the ones at Cafe Hue are in the running. They serve a great variety of beverages, gelatos, crepes and waffles. It's a nice place to sit and catch up with friends.

Cafe Hue 3860 Convoy, Suite 106 San Diego 92111 (858)571-7947

Breakfast of Champions: Lana’i Edition Part 1 – Canoes Lana’i Restaurant and other stuffs

February 23, 2012 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Lanai, Loco Mocos, Travel

I have a special place in my heart for Lana'i, though I really haven't visited much since "small kid time" and having not visited for probably about 17 years. My dad was from the island and I still have family there, though I kept this visit on the "down low". Over the years, I've taken the Missus to just about all of the main 8 islands, I'd been to all of them, well except for Kahoolawe, though I've set foot on Niihau. I've taken friends to Lana'i a couple of times, once we rented four wheel drive vehicles and drove to various sites and beaches on the island through the Garden of the Gods all the way to the beautiful and secluded Polihua Beach. In a couple of days we managed to hit all the places, Shipwreck Beach, pass the ruins of abandoned Keomoku Village, even making it to King Kamehameha's Summer Retreat, the remnants of the fishing village of Kaunolu. Still the Missus hasn't been to Moloka'i or Lana'i so I thought a nice relaxing getaway of two days or so might be just the right thing. In the old days, only cessnas made the flights to Lana'i, now larger planes do, but I thought the Missus might just enjoy flying in one of these.

Of course it all kind of starts getting fun when they ask you to jump on the scale to see how much you weigh….in case they have to balance the plane. And then of course, they take you out to the tarmac to board. This is when the Missus said, "that plane looks so tiny….."

Other than the pilot and co-pilot (on the way back there was only a pilot) there were only two other people on the flight.

One of the benefits of having a light load and being early was that the really nice folks took us on a extra pass and we went over and past Shipwreck Beach.

Yes, there really is a "shipwreck" stuck on the merciless reefs of Shipwreck Beach. However, even though the reefs here have been the end of many a sailing vessel, this one is not technically a shipwreck. It is a World War II vintage "Liberty Ship", a concrete ship that was wrecked on the reef along with several others as a means of disposal. While the others broke up and eventually became one with the reef, this one decided that resting on the reef would be its fate for now.

It proves to be a rather haunting landmark, or perhaps I should say "seamark"?

As for Lana'i Airport? Well, here it is…….

You don't really need a car on Lana'i if you want to just hang out and visit th two resorts or the beach. There's a shuttle that runs between the Lodge at Koele about a half mile out of Lana'i City, the Hotel Lana'i, and The resort at Manele Bay. You pay a one time fee of $35 per person, usually tacked on to your hotel bill and you get unlimited use of the shuttle during your entire stay.

I heard that the two Four Seasons Resorts were wonderful places to stay, but I wanted something a bit more, well, unique, in more of a Lana'i sort of way. I booked two nights at the Hotel Lana'i. We used to call this the "lodge" and I think many old-timers still do. It was built in 1924, originally to house Hawaii Pine management and visitors to the island.

But instead of staying in a regular room at the hotel, I went ahead and booked the cottage, located to the left of the hotel building.

Being a couple of yards away from the main hotel, up the walk and separated by hedges from the parking lot, it provided some wonderful privacy.

There was even a deck…….

There's a nice living area and a separate bedroom…..and as another big plus; this was the only room in the entire complex that had a television! The woman at the front desk jokes about the possibility of having me rent out TV time to the other guests. If you've never been to Lana'i, you'll quickly notice that Lana'i City, at the elevation of 1600 feet is a bit cooler than many other locations.

The main businesses in Lana'i City run along two streets, Seventh and Eighth, with Dole Park between them.

One thing you'll notice right away are all the pine trees on Lana'i. That in itself is a quite a story. Perhaps I'll tell it one day.

It's hard for me describe life's pace in Lana'i, so I tend to use examples; like the speed limit is 20 miles an hour, there are no traffic lights, only 17 miles of paved road, 10 of which is from Lana'i City to the Four Seasons Manele Bay!

Even though I hadn't been here in almost two decades, things looked eerily the same. Timeless in a way…… I could easily say these photos of Eighth and Seventh avenues came from a different generation.

We had arrived fairly early and I thought a nice breakfast was in order. I knew just the place I wanted to check out.

This place is now known as Canoes Lana'i Restaurant, but growing up it was the location of S&T Properties. It was probably the most well known and popular diner on the island.

**** Sadly, Canoes Lana'i Restaurant has closed

The Misuse and I decided to split a Delux Loco Moco, not cheap at almost $13, but this was Lana'i. It arrived looking quite good.

Deluxe because it came with fried rice, very local style with calrose rice and full of goodies. The Missus really enjoy the fried rice. But there was another reason for me coming here……the hamburger patty.

You see, the Tanigawa family had a secret recipe for their burgers and it was sold to the current proprietors of Canoes. I was told many years ago that this was the first burger I ever ate, so of course I had to try it. The burger is very soft and moist, very, very soft, like a good part of it is filler and mayo. In a way it makes sense, after all, Lana'i was fairly isolated back then and beef was probably quite expensive. You needed to figure out a way to stretch things while still keeping it sworth a couple of bucks. The patty literally melts in your mouth. The Missus ended up loving this as well, so after a couple of bites, I let Her have the rest. I'd had a couple of bites of my history, it was only right that the Missus get some too……..

Recently Consumed…….

February 22, 2012 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Japanese Restaurants, Turkish Food, Vietnamese Restaurants

After a long day, it's always nice to enjoy a good meal….here are some photos of items recently consumed…..

Though not all of it was great…..

I never left hungry.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Los Pueblos

February 21, 2012 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants

*** Los Pueblos has closed.

I noticed that this shop had replaced the taco shop on the premises a couple of weeks ago. I stopped mainly because of the "Regional Cuisines of Mexico" sign. The place was closed but I looked over the menu, which was interesting. It's been kind of busy so I promptly forgot about the place, until I read something on one of my all too rare visits to Chowhound. The folks running the show were the former owners of Chilango's, a place we used to enjoy every once in a while when we first moved to San Diego. This made it a required stop…….I went in with the purpose of getting some take-out.

Though the menu seems vast, it is built around several protein offerings and a couple of vegetarian offerings. The tall, somewhat distinguished gentleman named Jeremy was very chatty and indeed confirmed that he was part owner of Chilangos, though it might not be the Chilangos you remember. They sold the restaurant in 1996……way before we moved to San Diego.

Having not been here before, I'm not sure how much they've done to the place, but it was clean, had a flat screen playing a slide-show of Mexican sites and there's a salsa bar in the back.

I went with the Chicken Pibil Plate ($10):

This was a good amount of food, the corn tortillas were decent and still quite hot when I got home. The rice was on the dry side but quite fragrant and decently flavored. The Missus had the guacamole and thought it was quite good. I had doubts about the black beans because the place doesn't use manteca (lard), but though a bit on the bland side, I enjoyed the texture. The chicken was a bit of a surprise since about all the pibil I've had (all pork) have been roasted. In fact I recall having read that "Pib" is the name of the traditional name of the Mayan oven. This was obviously grlled.

Being that this was white meat chicken, I expected it to be on the dry side, which it was not. Pretty tender too. The flavor was lacking in the sour-citrus tones that I enjoy and I expected a bit more flavor. But it was not bad.

The Missus really enjoyed the Tortilla Soup (bowl – $5.50):

Which meant we returned a couple of nights later when the Missus was in the mood for some soup. This time around the missus went with the Black Bean Soup (bowl $5.50). Loved the flavor of the crema, much more ocmplex and creamy than the usual sour cream you get. The soup itself was much too salty this time around.

I got the special, 3 potato rolled tacos with rice, beans (black), and a agua fresca. The agua fresca, a tamarindo was watered down and bleh. The rice, guac, and everything else was fine……

The rolled tacos were a bit over-fried and too crumbly, the rolled tacos looked to have unraveled a bit and there didn't seem to be much potato in one of them. Not that great in my opinion. Though that would be made up by the third item we ordered……

Mole sampler with Huarache Chips ($6):

The Missus, now a sworn masa lover enjoyed the thick huarache chips, sort of like a crisp flatbread. The Mole Verde was ok, not very memorable. But the Mole Poblano was quite nice. Most recipes for Mole Poblano start at about 25 ingredients, Jeremy told me theirs has 30. Whose counting, right? The mole was nice and complex, though the flavor of cinnamon might be on the strong side, I'm thinking that it was me. Mildly sweet, very creamy, with a light spicy finish. Man, this had wishing they made Mole Poblano de Guajolote, a famous turkey dish from Puebla, one of the items on my "bucket list". Still, the Missus wasn't far off when She told me, this would be great on something…..

And that something happened a day later. I got the Pork Adobado Plate ($10) with Mole Poblano ($2) on it.

I gotta say, I'm not sure how the pork tastes without the mole, but it was moist and tender, and quite delicious, if not a bit too heavy for lunch. It made me want to roll up into a ball in the corner and take a nap. I'm sure to have this again.

Overall, we found the some winners among the dishes at Los Pueblos. There's some unevenness, but hopefully that would be ironed out. The dishes are pretty gringo-friendly, as in somewhat mild and toned down, but the quality seems good. As you notice by one of our meals, you can do vegetarian options quite easily. It is a great option in the area which is pretty full of standard taco shops. The prices are a bit above the usual taco shop, but the fare is also better.

I hope they do well, we need more of these type of eateries in the area.

Los Pueblos Regional Cuisines of Mexico
7081 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Hours:

11 am – 230pm, 5pm – 9pm Daily.

Sunday Stuffs: Zion Market moving and Yuma’s (not so) new taco truck ambassador

February 19, 2012 mmm-yoso Blog

I was going to combine this with yesterday's post, but decided to do it separately. My apologies, another restaurant post is upcoming.

So what's with the photo of Sear's Essential's on the corner of Convoy and Clairemont Mesa? If you recall, this was also K-Mart….. Well, multiple sources have told me that Zion Market is moving here. Which is great news if you've ever gone during peak hours…the parking, aggressive customers….there was always the "bloodbath" potential. This is a good move for the market as I'd heard rumors of a large Korean supermarket like H Mart coming down to San Diego for a couple of years. The space is huge, so I won't be surprised if there'll be a mandu shop and a couple other food vendors in the store. I also won't have to drive as far when making my weekend morning shopping rounds……

7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

As for the (not so) New Ambassador of Taco Trucks in Yuma, you know who that would be, right? Anyway, check out this article from the Arizona Republic.

Anyway, I thought I'd leave you with what must be the ultimate "all-Asia" restaurant. I had an appointment in La Mesa and saw the sign and couldn't help stopping and taking some photos.

Amazing, Sushi, Dim Sum, and Thai Food!

But like the infomercial says…..that's not all.

Let's not forget "American" food…….

I guess this sign sums it up……

And no, I didn't stop and eat. I might though, if anyone can recommend anything that's NOT Sushi here……well, make that might……

Ba Ren is closing at the end of the month

February 18, 2012 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Ba Ren has closed

I first heard about this yesterday and dropped by the place for lunch to today.

It looked like business as usual, no signs, nothing…….until one of the Chef's sons Roy came over to chat while I waited for my take-out. Yes, Ba Ren is indeed closing at the end of February. The Chef and his family is going to take a break and decided what they want to do next.

I gotta say, I'm still kind of shocked….so I'll do a longer post later on. As I sent out texts to my friends and on Twitter, the usual first reaction was…."where am I gonna get my xxxxx, after Ba Ren closes?"

I'd say, make the most of the next eleven days or so…….

I know I'm going to………

Beijing: Quan Ju De and the Missus’ old neighborhood

February 16, 2012 mmm-yoso Beijing, China, Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Travel

During the homestretch of our trip to China, we returned to Beijing. Of course we had to have Bei Jing Kao Ya (北京烤鸭), aka Peking Duck. In doing my research, I'd come up with a short list which included the old favorite Quan Ju De and the very popular Da Dong. So what we did was poll the Missus' and my Mother In-Laws friends and acquaintances. It seemed an interesting divide, the older generation, more steeped in tradition told us to go to Quan Ju De established during the Qing Dynasty(1864) and long the gold standard for Peking Duck. The younger generation preferred Da Dong, lighter, less fatty, using more modern techniques. To make matters more difficult, there was the possibility of Bian Yi Fang, home of the other Beijing Kao Ya, also established(1855 or 1885) during the Qing Dynasty. The differences in the duck are vast, Quan Ju De makes what they call "hung-roast duck" where the duck is roasted in a wood burning oven fueled by, if I'm to be believed what I was told date wood. Bian Yi Fang makes "closed oven" or "braised" duck. In the end, after being told that, "If you intend to return to Beijing, I'd suggest Quan Ju De, it is considered the original and most famous. Next time, try whatever is most popular, be it Da Dong or whomever might take its place." Which made sense, plus the Missus had Her first Beijing Kao Ya at Quan Ju De and I thought this would be a nice touch to a day where we'd explore what was left of "Her" Beijing.

We took the bus over to the Tiananmen area and walked over to Quan Ju De. We arrived and were escorted up the elevator to the dining area, which was quite busy.

Our Server went over the whole, long-winded spiel about the age and heritage of the ducks served here….maybe even the family tree for all I know. At the end, the Missus ordered.

When our duck arrived we were handed a card with our duck's serial number and some information. I made sure to tell the Missus, "it's ok, only a number….if our duck had a name, we wouldn't be able to eat it."

Our duck arrived and was carved for serving……

I recall being amazed at the waves of rendered fat rolling off the duck as it was being carved. This was going to be one rich meal…..

We both loved the Tian Mian Jiang, also known as sweet bean paste, sweet noodle sauce, or plain sweet duck sauce. It's not hoisin, Tian Mian Jiang is more savory and much more salty than hoisin.

The pancakes for the duck were very thin, you could almost see through them and had a fine mild stretch.

You are of course, waiting for the duck photos, so here goes:

As is customary with this type of duck service, the meat was carved and placed on a plate. Slices of meat covered by skin. I gotta say, this wasn't the neatest presentation I've ever seen.

The really crisp skin was placed on another plate….this was really great stuff.

Crisp, yet light, after the first "crunch" it almost melts in your mouth. The rest of the duck was rather oily and a bit on the rich side, but the meat had a nice flavor to it.

We also each got a small bowl of bone soup, something the Missus usually really enjoys, but this one was too funky for Her, having a strong almost offal flavor.

I kinda liked it…..very thick, with a real "wild" flavor.

We also needed something with a nice crunch and a bit of bitterness to offset the rich duck so we went with some simple gai lan.

No big deal…..
Overall, this was a mixed bag…not quite as good as expected, except for the crisp skin. The Dan Bing and Tian Mian Jiang were excellent.

As we finished our meal, the Server told us to go upstairs where we could see the ducks being prepped to roast. For me, this was actually the highlite of the meal.

The ducks were hung getting ready for the ovens which still burn fruit wood. A couple of years back there was a big uproar when Quan Ju De made the decision to go with electric burning ovens. The backlash was so bad that the decision was reversed and the chain still uses the wood burning ovens for roasting the ducks.

After lunch we got on another bus as the Missus tried to find our way to Her "roots" in Beijing. I've done earlier posts on the Missus and QingDao, where She spent Her childhood. The Missus ended going to high school in Beijing, so we set-off in search of the school, heading down streets turning into various hutongs. We first managed to find where my Father In-Law first taught in Beijing. Originally Furen University, formed by the Order of Saint Benedict, Furen eventually merged with Beijing Normal University. The Missus made sure to stop and take a couple of photos for Her father, telling me that this is one of the few places that looks almost the same as She recalled.

The Missus was able to gain Her bearings from the front of the university, leading me down the narrow alleyways of the hutong, along a path She walked everyday about 20 years ago. Her "compass memory" took over as we walked pass doorways and little shops, winding our way through the hutong, the Missus telling me that this was among the last bit of the Beijing of Her memory that still exists.

After one of the turns, She stopped in front of these gates…….

These were the dormitories, where the Missus lasted a whole week before moving back in with Her parents. Having room-mates just isn't Her thing. I sometimes marvel at still being in one piece after all these years……

After a couple of more streets, alleys, and turns we stopped in front of these gates.

This was Beijing High School number 13, Her high school. As the Missus looked past the gates, I read the sign that said this was the former residence of Prince Tao….

"You went to high school in a Prince's palace?"

"Yeah, I totally forgot….."

"Man, that's pretty neat, kind of cool….."

"Not really, I mean it wasn't important enough for me to remember…."

Just then we were jarred out of our reverie by the ringing of bicycle bells. A hoard of pedicabs came to a stop. Turns out that Prince Tao's Mansion, aka Beijing numer 13 High School is a stop on the "Hutong Tour".

For some reason, this tripped a wire and set off my somewhat weird sense of humor. I just found it funny in a odd way. Like your high school being a stop on a Hollywood Map tour kind of way…… I still chuckle when I think of it…..my wife went to high school in a former Prince's Palace that is a stop on the Hutong Tour….I know, you had to be there……..

Say Cheese Part 3: Philly Frank’s, Monkey Paw, and McGonagle’s

February 15, 2012 mmm-yoso Cheesesteaks, Sandwiches

I guess part 3 was inevitable. Every so often, I do want a nice gooey cheesesteak. I really don't know what it is. Funny thing is, when I've visited Philly, it's always been the Roast Pork Sandwiches that I go for…… After having already done two posts on cheesesteaks in San Diego, I figured that would be about it. As I mentioned before, I prefer my steaks with provolone, which probably was the original cheese on cheesesteak sandwiches since "whiz" wasn't even invented until 1953 and Pat's claimed tohave invented the sandwich in 1933. As far as Pat and Geno's is concerned, having eaten there twice….well, I wasn't super impressed with either sandwich and the locals that I knew always thought of them as more icons than purveyors of great cheesesteaks. And for that guy who claimed to serve an "authentic" cheesesteak because he read all about it on the internet…hey, I watched a bunch of Bruce Lee movies growing up and I couldn't do what he did no matter how hard I tried…..they'd probably call my version Jeet Kune Do-Do……

Emails and comments from FOYs Candice and Liverbomb had me craving a cheesesteak again, so I checked out the places they recommended and even saw another while driving in National City. So here's a trio for you.

Philly Frank's Steaks:

This one was a recommendation from Liverbomb. I was in the San Marcos area and decided to check the place out. Located in a fairly non-descript strip mall, Philly Frank's looked decidedly low keyed.

But the interior was full of Philly….well, "stuffs" is what we'd call it back home in Hawaii. The place was also doing a pretty good business.

The prices here aren't cheap, with a full sandwich running close to ten bucks. The two women running the counter really knew their stuff. When they saw a line forming one of them stepped into the dining area and started working the line taking orders.

I got a mushroom steak with provolone.

I wasn't too thrilled when I picked up my sandwich, which looked dry. Frankly, I'm just not impressed by the mere sight of an Amoroso roll anymore since both US Foods and SYSCO carry them….though they are par baked and loses something. It just didn't look very impressive. However, one bite fixed that……..the meat was very tender, not mushy, but tender. This was probably the most aggressively seasoned cheesesteak I've had in San Diego, a good thing in this case, since most cheesesteaks tend to be fairly mild in flavor. In spite of the seasoning, you could still make out the beef flavor. The cheese was molten and gooey, not totally incorporated into the meat, though the weather caused it to firm up rather quickly. The roll wasn't ice cold….all of which made this a very nice sandwich.

As always, Liver picks winners…..

Philly Frank's Steaks
151 S Rancho Santa Fe Rd
San Marcos, CA 92078

Hours:
Mon-Thurs 10 am – 8 pm
Fri    10 am – 9 pm
Sat    11 am – 9 pm
Sun    11 am – 8 pm

Website

Monkey Paw:

**** Monkey Paw has closed

This is Candice's pick for cheesesteaks and beers. The creation of Scot Blair owner of the very popular Hamilton's, this place has a almost dive bar look and feel, yet has a great selection of local and inhouse brews. Located in the East Village, you usually won't find me at these places because, well, I'm just not hip enough…….

One the days I visited you basically just ordered at the bar and the woman working there made sure you got what was ordered.

I actually went twice; the first time I met friends and Candice was nice enough to stop by. We had a great time, but I really ended up not paying much attention to what I ate. I had to return on another late afternoon when the Missus met Her friends for a girls night out. On my previous visit, Candice recommended the "Blair Steak" which came with White American Cheese, sauteed onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers. It also came with one of the two items (the other is tater tots) that San Diego just can't seem to get enough of….waffle cut fries.

This was a nice cheesesteak, gooey, slightly messy, the meat perhaps a bit more thickly cut than Philly Frank's. The green bell peppers added the flavor of "pyrazine", that very mildly bitter, "green" taste that goes so well with beef. The onions added a touch of sweetness, all very nice. In some ways the flavor was prototypical cheesesteak, quite mild in flavor. For nine bucks (with waffle cut fries) plus a couple more for a Sweet Georgia Brown, this made for a nice meal.

One that I'd gladly experience again…………

Monkey Paw
805 16th St
San Diego, CA 92101

McGonagle's:

McGonagle's has closed

I was driving down (up?) Highland Avenue in National City when I passed McGonagle's and had to laugh at the sign over the front door.

I went and parked in the back of the restaurant and entered…..what would be a strange neon sorta cheesesteak world.

The interior was the same orange color as the exterior, seating on the dining area was a bunch of picnic type tables.

And man, this place loved signs….there was one that had "rules", a la Pat's King of Steaks in Philly. Not sure if they really mean this, or if it's some kind of kitsch.

The place had a strange kind of vibe for me, I guess because the A/C was blasting and the place was totally deserted. Not feeling sure what I would get, I ordered a 6" "Authentic Philly Cheesesteak" ($5.75, a 12" is $8.75).

After a couple of minutes my cheesesteak number was called…..

I really didn't enjoy this too much; the bread was ice cold, the meat bland, dry, and tough……'nuff said. I'm glad I didn't get this with whiz….well maybe not, it would have covered some of this up. While I ate the sandwich I read the "eat three sandwiches and win" sign……..seems like everyone is trying to cash in on the Man versus whatever thing. I just can't imagine trying to eat three double meat cheesesteaks from here. But perhaps I just visited on a bad day…….perhaps.

McGonagle's
1231 Highland Ave
National City, CA 91950

You can find part 1 here.

Part 2 here.