November 2016 – Page 3

What’s My Craving Redux – Banh Mi Bo Kho from Pho Lucky

November 7, 2016 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

Near the ending of our trip; I received a text from Cathy (aaah the joys of modern technology). Pho Lucky had finally reopened….and just to add that little twist of the knife; Cathy had visited and had what I had been craving…..the Banh Mi Bo Kho. So, of course after returning Saturday evening; having to take care of my "Honey Doo" list….I headed straight to Pho Lucky for my fix.

There was one small problem……this past Sunday morning was the time change….we'd already experienced the time change while in France the week before….so I basically ignored my phone….I was focused, and the clock in the car said 915, when I arrived….it was actually 815 and Pho Lucky wasn't opened yet. The irony of it all…..

Luckily (no pun intended), it was only about 15 minutes until the place opened, so I went and did a couple of things….and returned at 845. After all, I really didn't want to appear to excited about having the Bo Kho here, right?

Both Cathy and Alan from Clairemont (in an email), mentioned that Lucky really didn't look much different. I noticed the change in the colors of the walls; but the same somewhat sticky tables were the same as was the configuration.

Still, who really cares….I was here for one reason.

The Banh Mi Bo Kho is now $7.25. I think this is a slight increase in price; but really can't remember.

The standard issue bread was nicely toasted though nothing special.

The broth was a bit thinner than I recalled; maybe they've got to get things back in orders; though it was nicely beefy, but with a bit too much black pepper in it this time around. Not overly salty, hints of anise, the carrots were decently tender; the slightest touch of lime to adjust the flavors….all was right in the world. At least for the moment.

The rather large pieces of beef were well flavored and while it could have been a bit more tender did well….ditto for the rather gigantic piece of tendon.

All in all, this was better than what I'd had while Lucky was closed. And my craving was taken care of…….after two months mind you….but heck, I did get my fix.

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Phoenix 3 – MIM; Tratto

November 6, 2016 ed fromyuma Italian Restaurants, Phoenix/Scottsdale/Chandler/Central AZ, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Kirk and Cathy are too busy resting or working, so today Ed (from Yuma) is busy writing.

MIM

The Musical Instrument Museum is a marvelous new Museum sitting out in the desert just off the 101 outerbelt northwest of Scottsdale:

In the Main Lobby, a large display features the motto of the Museum, pictures of people making music, and screens showing music making in action:

When you enter the museum, you are given headphones. Whenever you come up to a screen, the headphones let you listen to whatever music, whichever instruments are being played on the screen.

While there are areas devoted to Arizona music, famous musicians (like Elvis, Pablo Casals, “King” Sonny Adé), mechanical music, and special exhibits, most of the Museum is organized geographically. On our previous visit to MIM, Tina and I explored African and European music and were amazed by the range and depth of the presentations.

On this visit, we began with the Asian area – which like Asia itself – is huge. To give you a specific example of how the museum works, look at this picture of traditional Korean bells and gongs:

These amazingly large devices are modern versions of traditional temple instruments. The screen between them shows similar bells and pyeongyeong being played.

Just to the right of those, is an area that shows instruments from Korean Court music and folk music:

While many of the instruments in the museum are modern versions, you can see that some of them are historical. The museum explains and dates all items, so you don't confuse something made in 2009 with something made in 1009. On the screens, you can see several different short clips of the instruments being used in performance.

I was especially taken with these old Tibetan horns, which were so large that I couldn't get all of them in one photo:

After a morning wondering through Asia, we were hungry, and fortunately the MIM has a nice eatery, Café Allegro, which tries to use fresh, local, organic ingredients whenever possible.

I had the marinated chicken salad:

The chicken had a pleasant lime/cilantro marinade, the lettuces were very fresh, the chunks of tomato extremely flavorful, and the cauliflower, pepper, and zucchini added nice contrast. Sad to say, I don't remember the tomato vinaigrette (?) but I do remember really enjoying the salad.

Tina ordered the chicken breast sandwich:

She liked the pesto sauce and the freshness of the veggies. And the lightly battered sweet potato fries were excellent, flavorful and crunchy.

All in all we had a very good time at the Musical Instrument Museum.

MIM, 4725 E. Mayo Blvd, Phoenix AZ 85050, (480) 478-6000.

Tratto

For dinner that evening, we had reservations at Tratto, also known as Tratto Bianco because it is owned and operated by pizza superstar Chris Bianco. After we returned from the long weekend, we found a story in the New York Times about him, the health struggles that forced him away from flour and ovens, and the opening of his latest restaurants. Worth reading.

On a previous visit to Phoenix, Tina and I had lunch at Pane Bianco, his sandwich shop in central Phoenix, so we were eager to try his latest venture. He opened a new Pizza Bianco in the Town & Country Center in Phoenix, and right next to it a trattoria, connected by two food preparation areas. This one on the pizza side:

this one on the Tratto side:

Tina and I began our meal with a delightful vermouth cocktail:

which gave us time to look over the simple one-page menu:

and to enjoy the complimentary pecans, walnuts, green olives, and cheese:

Let me apologize for some of the photos in this post. I forgot to do an exterior shot, and the restaurant was packed (we arrived before 5:30) so this is the only interior shot I can use:

If you are interested in looking at the interior/exterior, I recommend the Tratto website.

Also, as evening wore on, the ambient light decreased, so some pics are substandard – even by my standards.

Anyway, back to the food. We started with a salad – lemon cucumber, celery root, parsley, and red onion with a pleasant mild creamy vinaigrette:

Interesting and subtle. It's amazing how much taste parsley can have when it is not overwhelmed by other ingredients.

The bread, I love good bread and this was superb. A crunchy crust with a slight charred flavor reflecting a super hot oven; the crumb was excellent as well:

To accompany the dinner, we selected a Renato Ratti Nebbiolo (2014). While made from the same grape and from the same general area as a Barolo, this wine was fruity and not overpowering, going well with all our courses:

The next dish tasted a whole lot better than it looks in this picture:

The pasta, four long and thick candeles, had a nice firm chew, but the real hero of the dish was the pork Genovese sauce. The slow cooked onion based sauce was full of rich and tender braised pork. A real treat, something I've never had before, but something down-home and comforting nonetheless.

The lamb was one of the two mains that we ordered:

Again, much better than the picture. Braised leg of lamb had been placed in an extremely hot oven to sear the exterior, adding another dimension to the overall flavor. The large chunks of meat were fork tender and tasty. The fennel and radicchio added some texture and contrasts, and I'm sure the anchovy/lemon sauce contributed also.

The other main was a small chicken with a honey/chimayo chili glaze seared in one of those hot ovens:

It was extremely moist and wonderfully flavored. Since we had ordered so much food we went into a triage mode and saved most of this great chicken for our next night's dinner in Yuma. Day-old and cold, it was still great chicken.

As a side dish we had large slices of zucchini – again showing the effects of the oven – served with squash blossoms and mint:

It was okay.

The dinner concluded with a pear poached in port with a small scoop of Gorgonzola on the side:

It was a simple classic conclusion to our Tratto meal. While not everything was amazing, I was impressed by the quality of ingredients, the excellent service, and the food that felt 100% "authentic" and very innovative at the same time. Tina and I left full and smiling.

Tratto Bianco, 4743 N. 20th St. at Town & Country, Phoenix AZ 85016, (602) 296-7761

Onami (all you can eat Japanese)- lunches in Mission Valley

November 5, 2016 Cathy Buffets, Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog, is where you have found yourself. Kirk is still vacationing (literally at the top of the globe), Ed (from Yuma) is just East of us, enjoying his retirement and mini vacations in places other than California and Cathy is writing this post.

My job is odd, I can meet with clients at their home, office or in a public place. The 'ambiance' of an all you can eat buffet is such that there is less pressure to turn over a table quickly (unless there is a line out the door waiting to get in, which usually isn't the case during the week). One client in particular enjoyed (very much) the now closed chain of Hometown Buffet restaurants in the county, and I would meet him there primarily to eat all the fried chicken with the unique side dish 'Spinach Marie' that I could.

There are still 'all you can eat' places around, mostly Chinese buffets and San Diego based Souplantation.

My client discovered Onami, the all you can eat Japanese sushi/seafood buffet at the Westfield Mission Valley Mall. While waiting to be seated, you can see a 'Ramen and Udon Bar' just to the left. You can have a bowl prepared and a choice of five (do it yourself) toppings are available. Right around the corner is a cold noodle area, which offers the only toppings needed: green onion and shredded radish.
Seating areas are varied and interspersed next to the variety of hot and cold food areas.
Near the back of the restaurant are the hot foods, with many seafood choices.

There is an area where you can choose various vegetables, fish pieces and shrimp to be freshly battered and fried.
There is a cold area with a selection of twelve prepared salads. Along the other side is the sushi area, with item choices being prepared and refilled constantly. Then there was the dessert area, with a tremendous, portion controlled selection available.

Everything was fresh and tasty and quite nice. The space is quiet enough in some areas for conversation. The cost for weekday lunch was less than $15 each, which I though was good for the quality and variety.

Enjoy your weekend!

Onami 1640 Camino Del Rio N Ste 206 San Diego, CA 92108 Phone number (619) 295-9774 Hours: Mon-Thurs 11:30 am-2:30 pm, 5:30 pm-9 pm Fri 11:30 am-2:30 pm, 5 pm-9pm Sat 11:30-9:30 Sun 11:30-9

Where in the world are we part deux

November 4, 2016 mmm-yoso France, Hot Dogs, Iceland, Iceland Food and Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

We finished up our time in Paris visiting…..well, those must see locales.

And capped things off with what might be one of the best meals we've ever had.

We then headed off to our current location. A place where you can experience the power and wonder of nature. Now a very popular destination during the summer. It is still impressive during the slow season.

In a single word……breathtaking.

And the cold and rain hasn't dampened our spirits as we've gotten to see some amazing things.

The food here is distinctive. With items like minke whale…..

Trout smoked over sheep dung.

Cod head……

Fermented shark.

Mashed fish……they make fabulous rye bread here too.

They also claim to make one of the best hot dogs in the world too.

The sun is setting on our final day here.

Tomorrow we head to an interim destination then home. It's been an unforgettable trip.

We haven't had a bad meal yet. I hope this last one will not end the streak

Thanks as always for reading!

Marie Callender’s and San Diego Chicken Pie Shop- chicken pie two ways

November 3, 2016 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog with daily posts ranging from the unusual to common foods, is back again today with a post from Cathy because Kirk is very far away right now, too busy eating than writing, while Ed(from Yuma) is busily composing a post while eating.

This is yet another post of the coincidental birthday week foods enjoyed by The Mister and myself. We enjoy a meal out each day, beginning on His birthday and ending on my birthday (Mondays this year) and there have been coincidentally similar foods ordered by each of us when we had our individual choice of birthday meals.

I've never written about Marie Callender's, a restaurant chain which is headquartered in California and had its beginnings here in the 1930's, selling pies. It used to be considered a 'fancier' family restaurant we stopped in to visit regularly, which fell off our radar years ago. The fireplace in the back room has been overtaken by a television set! We were here because The Mister was wanting some of that old fashioned 'comfort' food as His birthday meal. As always, a large piece of still warm Marie's famous cornbread with whipped butter was brought out to the table before we even ordered. I remember when Marie's began selling a lot of their products on the shelves and in freezers, especially cornbread mix. It's nice to enjoy some of that memory evoking food at home. On this day, I decided to try the lunch special quiche and salad sampler ($8) choosing a Caesar salad and spinach-based Lorraine quiche. Out of the oven fresh and warm, with the light, flaky crust, this quiche was a filling, custard based, spinach filled, cheese and bacon topped great meal. The mini pot pie meal ($10.99). A classic pot pie (with only a golden crust on top) is quite large and also served piping hot. The filling with cubed white meat chicken, peas and carrots in a not-salty gravy is the same as always, comforting.It's called a 'meal' because not only do you get a pot pie and salad, but also your choice of a slice of one of the famous dessert pies (there are more than 20 available daily) is included! After much discussion (of what I called The Misters meal choice a 'pie-pie' meal), we decided to share a slice of double cream lemon pie for dessert. So tasty, creamy with that perfect crust. A great birthday meal.

Marie Callender's , multiple locations. Website

One morning The Mister reminded me it was a was 'my' birthday day (it does get boring going out to eat daily, especially near the end of that week, closer to 'my' day). We started driving,

noticing that the San Diego Chicken Pie Shop, which I had only written about twice, was already open. This classic diner, open in San Diego since 1938, began in 2009 serving breakfast from 10 am-noon on weekdays and 8 a.m.-noon on weekends. The Mister was not in a 'pot pie' mood and ordered a Hot Turkey Sandwich ($7.29), which is typical: turkey surrounded by white bread, topped with the same gravy placed on top of the chicken pot pies and served with mashed potatoes.

We had walked in while the breakfast menu was still available. I wanted breakfast, but also chicken pie; 'The Neighborhood Grind' ($9.25) was my choice. There were choices of egg prep, gravy and breakfast meat. The Grind is a classic Chicken Pie Shop chicken pie (which is filled with chicken, turkey and gravy; no vegetables), topped with two eggs and country gravy, accompanied by hash browns. My choice of sausage instead of bacon was great! Those sausages were tasty, large, fresh and something I will order again; hash browns were perfectly crispy; the pie, fresh and as I remember. The eggs on top of the pie and eaten with the crust were a great taste combination and the whole plate was extremely satisfying.

San Diego Chicken Pie Shop 2633 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego 92104 (619) 295-0156 website

There you go, six birthday meals in only three posts. We hadn't planned our cravings and realizing the coincidences, a pleasant bonus. I hope your week has been going well.

TJOyster Bar (location #3)

November 2, 2016 Cathy Seafood, Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

All of us at mmm-yoso!!! wish you a good November. It's the time year with chilly mornings and evenings and clear blue, nicely warm daytimes. Kirk is still on vacation and Ed (from Yuma) is busy out there. Cathy is writing another short post.

In 2012 and again in 2014, I wrote about a favorite small spot for Mexican seafood. A second location had opened around the corner on the same block in August 2012, with table service, more space and a slightly different menu. Then in October 2014 this third location, a few miles South, in Chula Vista, opened.Located in the same parking lot anchored by a Ralph's grocery store as well as a McDonald's, both the parking and seating situations are larger/better than the original location.

The menu at the first and third locations are about the same. Some items are served on paper plates, but most items here are served with reusable plates and cutlery.

The grilled fish salad ($9) here is quite large and filling. The mildly seasoned and grilled fish is on top of a good size bowl of Romaine and has a Caesar-like dressing, about 1/3 avocado and basic salsa (chopped tomato, onion and cilantro) as topping. Since we also ordered tacos with this, we decided to share a side of refried beans ($2.50), which were surprisingly good. Unless you are ordering a plate, no items here come with refried beans (unlike at other taco shops, with beans and other items mixed in the burritos) and these were a really nice addition.
The grilled fish taco ($3) was made with the same seasoned grilled fish, onion, cilantro and a dab of white sauce. Again, enough to satisfy. Simple, fresh, beer battered and crispy fried ($1.50/each) fish tacos are what started this business. Always good and quite large. Fried calamari appetizer ($8) is not overly large, lightly dusted with a seasoned flour and fried properly:lightly crispy with tender squid as the final outcome. The fish ceviche tostada ($4) is quite satisfying, marinated in lime juice and mixed with the basics of tomato/onion/cilantro, it needs no additional condiments. The 'fish chicharron' appetizer ($13.50) is basically breaded and fried fish nuggets, served with a savory fish sauce based onion filled dipping sauce and always good to share. On chilly days, a bowl of shrimp soup ($9.50) hits the spot. Plump, fresh shrimp in the tomato based, slightly spicy (just enough; not too much) broth, topped with cilantro is enough to ward off a chill. I'm almost always ordering a Pescadilla ($9) at every visit and the craving for smoked fish was overwhelming one day. Combined with the melted cheese, this really hit the spot.