April 2012 – Page 3

Roadtrip: Touching bases with Beach – Pho 86 and Kang Lac Bakery – Westminster (Orange County)

April 3, 2012 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Orange County, Vietnamese Restaurants

Man, it had been quite a while since I had a chance to visit my good FOY (Friend of Yoso) "Beach". It had been over three years since I last saw the man who introduced me to the joys of Binh Dan. We'd tried meeting up a couple of times before but something always seemed to come up. Last week, I had a day off and I wanted to make sure to drop by and see him, just to touch bases since it had been so long. As usual, Beach was ready with a handful of places…..but I really just wanted to see what was up, so we ended up hitting two of his recent favorites. Places he'd drop by for breakfast…….

Pho 86:

This location of Pho 86 is squeezed in next to Pagolac, another place Beach took me to several years back…..never posted because my photos didn't come out. I'd really never noticed the place even though I've driven past it quite a few times.

The tiny restaurant was fairly busy when we arrived, so we ended up sitting at one of the larger, almost communal tables that you'd end up sharing with other customers as they straggled in. Beach has a good understanding of my tastes and preferences, so of course he ordered…the guy taking his order knew him pretty well….he told me he stops by two or three times a week.

As to be expected in the highly competitive world of Pho in Little Saigon, things had to be pretty good. The sparkling herbs, bean sprouts, peppers and lime were a testament to that.

And the Pho was also lovely……

The "Tai", rare steak was especially impressive since I'm used to the thin, dry, and cardboard-like stuff that is the norm here in San Diego. The broth is clear, very balanced and mellow, with decent fat, mild anise, and not overly salty.

Of course, I was soon distracted. I was looking at the guy behind the window to the kitchen area lifting out two delicious looking leg bones and putting them in a bowl. Beach turned, took a glance, and told me, "don't worry, that's for us….." And indeed it was.

I wish I took a photo of the bones lengthwise so you'd get a better look, but I just wanted at the tendon and all the beefy goodness. Man, this was like a tendon lover's dream. You just keep cutting pieces of tendon with meat off the bone and keep eating. It was, without a doubt, delici-yoso…… I only wish I knew how to order it since it's not on the menu. I'm sure Beach will let me know.

Nothing like hole in the wall Pho with Beach….

Pho 86 Restaurant
14576 Brookhurst St
Westminster, CA 92683

Our next stop was a little further down…..all that tendon just kinda sits and I just can't eat like I used too. I needed to make one short stop (a later post) and Beach had just the place for a small "snack" right next door.

Kang Lac Bakery:

I do have a special place in my heart for those "old school" places that may have a large menu, but do certain things well. According to Beach, Kang Lac makes a good Bot Chien, which I'd never had before.

The dish is basically cakes made of rice flour that are pan fried till crisp, then eggs and scallions are added, much like the Chiu Chow Turnip Cakes with scrambled eggs. The bot chien had attained that wonderful crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside texture and the eggs added a richness, the scallions a mild pungency.

Beach proceeded to pour some fish sauce into a small dish and added some Sriracha and told me to dip the bot chien into that. I loved the fish sauce, which added a nice salty-savory component to the dish. I think I'll pass on the hot sauce next time…no need for that. Actually, this dish is right up the Missus' alley, She loves stuff like this. I'll make sure to bring Her here next time.

Kang Lac Bakery
9301 Bolsa Avenue
Westminster, CA 92683

I had to be back in San Diego for an appointment, so I had to leave sooner than I wanted. Still, the morning was full of lively conversation. I noticed something as we were chatting….it used to be so much about food….now that we're getting a bit older it was about other things, travel, how well Beach's children are doing in their career and school, life in general….yes, we still talked about food, but there was so much else. As always, I had a great time. I've got to make sure that it's not another three years before meeting up again.

Thanks for another great day Beach!

¿Pupusas en Yuma? ¡Si!: Pupusas Maria

April 2, 2012 ed fromyuma Salvadoran Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk deserves a day off and Cathy is seriously occupied, so ed (from Yuma) has a report (from Yuma).

When Pupusas Cabañas closed, I was pretty sad. Then last year, I discovered a tiny truck parked occasionally next to a hair salon on Eighth Street:

While the hot dogs they served – at least the one I tried – were mediocre Sonoran style dogs, the pupusas here, served with cabbagey crudito and tomato water, were well made, cheesy, and good:

Recently, however, I have not been able to find that little truck. If anyone knows where it's hiding, please let me know. The good news is that a new larger truck has appeared in a much better location on the north side of Eighth Street about a half block east of Avenue B. Called Pupusas Maria, it is owned and operated by Maria, a friendly woman who used to cook at Cabañas:

I still love the pupusas – this one covered with the slightly sour cabbage, carrot, onion, and jalapeño crudito and a lightly picante tomato water:

The tamales, wrapped in banana leaf and tinfoil, are especially rich and moist:

And filled with a lot of chicken and an un-fried french fry:

On weekends, specials are sometimes available. The chicken is stewed in a thin tomato sauce until it falls apart. Sometimes it is three legs served with a cabbage salad and rice:

On another occasion, a leg and a thigh with macaroni salad and rice – damn near a plate lunch:

On Sundays and other special occasions (like last Christmas Eve), the special is Sopa de Pata (the bowl is Tina's):

This is a fine version. You can see part of the hoof with its tendon, a nice selection of Salvadoran vegetables, and pieces of rich flavorful tender beef tripe, all swimming in a savory broth: muy rico.

Pupusas Maria, near the Northeast corner of Eighth Street and Avenue B, open 4 PM until it closes. Tuesday through Sunday (I think), 928-304-9577.

Pho-raging around Escondido: Pho Saigon Express and Lena Pho and Grill

April 1, 2012 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Looking back, I guess I do about one of these a year. In 2009 it was Pho around Rancho Bernardo in 2010 it was Oceanside. 2011 just came and went so quickly, so to get back on track, I decided to drive up to Escondido to try a couple of places a few folks, like my buddy JohnL and occasional commenter DavidD mentioned.

Pho Saigon Express:

This is probably the one I hear about most often. I'd actually been here before, but my photos didn't turn out. So it was time to head back here again.

Having been here before, I knew that the "Tai", rare steak was pretty much the standard for the San Diego area….tough and dry. So I went with the Flank, Brisket, Tendon, Tripe. A small bowl here runs $5.99.

I was a bit surprised when my herbs and bean sprouts arrived…actually, it was more like herbs and bean sprout. Who hit the tightwad button? I asked for more sprouts and never got them. Sigh….also whats's with the lemon instead of lime? It's kind of sad thinking that I got more basil and sprouts in Madison than here.

The Pho itself is not bad.

The noodles were quite mushy, but other than that, this was a decent bowl. The broth was light and could have used a bit more beef flavor, but it wasn't too salty. The various cuts were the highlight, well flavored and tender. Against stereotype, there was also a good amount of tripe in this as well.

Overall decent Pho, lousy service…….

Pho Saigon Express
605 N Broadway
Escondido, CA 92025

Pho Lena & Grill Vietnamese Restaurant:

****Pho Lena has closed

A bit further East on East Valley Parkway is Pho Lena and Grill Vietnamese Restaurant….man, that's a mouthful. The restaurant looks quite new and compared to Pho Saigon, the place was empty when I arrived. Looking at the menu, I noticed something strange……the exact item I ordered at Pho Saigon had exactly the same number (P4) and price ($5.99) here……

The plate of herbs and sprouts was much more than Pho Saigon and there was even a sprig of Ngo Gai, albiet a pretty old looking leaf…..

The broth here was much darker here, though still on the light side with regards to oil. The portion size was quite large for a small bowl.

The broth was pretty salty, good thing they actually have lime here. I got a strong onion flavor along with a sort of burnt flavor from the broth. The rather large portion of noodles was prepared well. The meat wasn't quite up to what I had at Pho Saigon in flavor a texture, though as you can tell by the amount of tripe, there was a decent amount of it. The one item that was better here was the beef tendon, which was sufficiently tender.

Overall, I tihnk it's a bit of a wash between the two places in terms of broth. Meat goes to Saigon, portion size to Lena. Service was much nicer at Lena.

Pho Lena & Grill Vietnamese Restaurant
1535 E Valley Pkwy
Escondido, CA 92027

So there you go, two more down…… so where to next? Vista? I know there's Pho San Marcos? You tell me……