March 2017 – Page 3

Circling Back to Cafe Dore

March 5, 2017 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Cafe Dore is now Da Nang Restaurant

While heading off to Rolando/City Heights to do some shopping for the Missus, I decided to grab some breakfast. Unfortunately, my first choice had closed up shop. Instead of heading off to the usual suspects, Minh Ky, Ly Heng, Hoai Hue, Pho King, Nhu Y, Tu Thanh, or 777 Noodlehouse (whew…). I decided on heading over to Café Dore. It had been a quite a while since I last visited and even longer since I'd actually had noodle soup there.

Usually the hang out of those Vietnamese "Coffee Guys"……you know, Vietnamese coffee culture, just like they do in the Old Country. There were just a few guys on this day and guess what? No one was smoking….and gasp…all those machines, you know, the ones for "entertainment purposes only" were gone!

I was quite surprised.

I ordered the combination noodle soup that I enjoy, Hu Tieu Mi Nguoi Hoa ($7.25).

Stretchy Hu Tieu and slightly crunchy Mi, I enjoy the contrasts of textures. The soup was passable; a lot of black pepper, not too salty, pretty straight forward…simple. The BBQ Pork was tough and lacked that sweet-savory-salty flavor I enjoy, the shrimp was passable, not the best quality, but not over-cooked and rubbery. My favorite item was the chicken which had a wonderful, deepness to the flavor, sort of like Hainan Chicken. I'd actually come here to try the Hu Tieu Ga, which I was told was good, but couldn't find it on the menu.

Along with the usual sprouts and lettuce, Tong Ho (Garland Chrysanthemum – Shingiku) was provided. But for some reason, the usual "green"-dill taste wasn't very strong. All were crisp and fresh.

Not bad overall.

I'm wondering if this is the "newer and gentler" version of Café Dore. Or did I just happen to drop by on that odd day.

I need to start revisiting some of these places around here…..though my schedule will need to get a bit less hectic to do that.

Cafe Dore
4135 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Saturday Stuffs – Okan Diner Replacing Izakaya Kanpai, Gourmet City Under New Ownership, and Pho 87 Opening Soon.

Here's a couple a of places I passed on my way to and from work and one that I had intended to check out, but had already closed.

Okan Diner Replacing Izakaya Kanpai:

Driving home down Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, I noticed that the signage for Izakaya Kanpai had changed. I took a closer look and to my surprise; it said….Okan Diner!

I guess Okan's Empire is expanding yet again. So now it'll be a threesome, with the original Okan (Mom), Oton (Dad), wouldn't it be funny if they named this shop "Bozu"?

Be interesting to see what the menu's going to be like.

With Havana Grill and Private Kitchens opening in the last two years; the complexion of this strip sure has changed. I'm sure that the parking situation will probably become a bit tenuous as well.

5430 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Gourmet City Changes Ownership:

The sun is rising a bit earlier these days. And on my typical 6am drive to work, I noticed a new Grand Opening sign on Gourmet City.

My sources tell me they now serve Cantonese fare in addition to the previous menu.

5541 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Pho 87 Opening Soon:

A few weeks back, the Missus wanted me to pick something up from Northgate Market. I ended up having breakfast at Café Dore (post upcoming). On my way back home I noticed that the signage for Pho & Banh Cuon Ha Long Restaurant had changed to Pho Huong Viet. And while my sources told me it was still under the same ownership, I made a mental note to check them out. Having to make a return trip to Northgate Market, I turned into the parking lot at the corner of 54th and University.

And found that the place was being renovated. The sign on the door said "Pho 87 Noodle House. Coming soon in 2 weeks."

Man, talk about some quick turnaround since the Van Hoa days.

4016 54th Street
San Diego, CA

Sadly, the rather large spot last occupied by Pho Da Kao still sits empty….man, it's been closed for over two years already!

Hope you're having a great weekend.

Kyoto – Ginkaku-ji, the Philosopher’s Path, Honen-in Temple, and Obanzai at Mimasuya Okudohan

March 2, 2017 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kyoto, Travel

The Missus was rarin' to go during our first full day back in Kyoto. We'd put in a it of mileage on this day, but She did let me (us) catch the Keihan Line two stops to Demachi Yanagi. We got out, had a quick cup of coffee and headed East. Thru a few winding streets somehow ending up at Hyakumanben Chion-ji Temple.

From which we were to get our bearings and head back down Higashioji-dori taking a turn onto Imadegawa-dori.

In spite of being a pretty large street, things were very quiet on this morning, with very few people, and this rather unhappy fellow around.

We knew we were getting close as the street went over the river…..

And then we were on a path with signs…..the beginning of the Philosopher's Path.

Leading us to the gate to Ginkaku-ji.

And a sign I love……"No Selfie Sticks"!

Basically named the "Silver Pavilion", patterned after the Golden Pavilion (we'll get there one of these days), Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu built his retirement home on he grounds.

After Yoshimitsu's death the complex was converted into a Zen Temple. That's the Silver Pavilion above……strangely, there's not much "silver" going on here.

However, we found the grounds to be quite impressive; especially the "Ginshadan".

Actually, we found the grounds to be quite tranquil and lovely……there comes a time when I need to stop typing and just let you enjoy the photos.

Looks just like a movie set.

And the view from the hill behind all the structures is quite pretty as well.

We left feeling relaxed…..

And headed down the Philosopher's Path.

And coming across this sign…..

Headed up the zig-zag road…..

To the gate of Honen-in Temple.

Which seemed to frame the fall colors perfectly.

And spent a few minutes.

Before heading back down that street and to the Philosopher's Path.

The path ends in the Nanzenji neighborhood and we walked on over to Sanjo Dori, crossing over the Kamo River. I was in search of our lunch destination.

Before we were interrupted by Typhoon Vongfong on our previous visit. I had planned having a lunch at a place that did Obanzai; basically a place that made seasonal dishes, many of them simple, rustic, and vegetable based, created to minimize waste. The dishes I saw just reminded me of stuff I ate growing up. this was almost the antithesis of the very popular Kyoto Kaiseki.

Just simple, home style dishes….soul food, if you will.

The place I chose was Mimasuya Okudohan……which had a display of "yasai" (vegetables), displayed outside a typical Machiya in the area north of Nishiki Market and the shopping arcades.

There was no one waiting when we arrived at opening time. The fragrance of steaming rice permeated the air as we were seated.

There was a simple two multi-course menu for lunch.

Like the "okazuya" I grew up doing take out from, things were prepped and set-up for a quick service.

And the place filled up fast.

We got one of each of the two lunches.

So many of the flavors were so familiar to me…and the Missus, since I make quite a bit of Japanese nimono style dishes at home. What we really remember is how good the rice was here….I mean, really fragrant, slightly nutty, just amazing.

And the miso soup….more of a red (aka) miso, with a savory bite to it.

And of course those items the Missus loves so much like Kabocha. I really enjoyed the nasubi (eggplant), which had so much savory and earthiness to it.

One of the lunches came with a not so traditional dessert…..which the Missus enjoyed as well.

As we left, we noticed that quite a queue had developed outside the restaurant. It's nice to see folks wanting to try obanzai. For me, it was like stepping into Baban's kitchen. And that's priceless.

Mimasuya Okudohan
318-3 Sanjocho, Nakagyo Ward
Kyoto, Japan

Bistro Kaz Revisited

March 1, 2017 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Italian Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants

I was having one of those long days….and it was only 1130am! I wanted a bit of solitude during lunch and wondered where to go. I just got in the car and drove….thinking of maybe Sakura or Okan. But those places were just going to be too hectic for me. I pulled into the parking lot and walked past Bistro Kaz and turned around and headed right on in. It had been a couple of years since I last visited. And it looked like there was now some overlap on the menus between Kaz and Sakura; but the place was quiet. I started noticing over the last couple of visits that this seems to be the kind of place that the "Japanese ladies who do lunch" visit. No different on this day.

The menu here seems to have evolved from the Japano-Italian pasta heavy initial incarnation; into more of a diverse offering. Though pasta is still at its core. The pre-fixe lunch menu is still in place as well. On this day; I decided on the Beef Tongue Stew, which sounded nice and comforting.

The bread was warm and crusty and when the young lady asked me if I wanted more I should have said yes…..

This was a bit more than I bargained for. The tomato sauce was heavy and quite thick….and while definitely not bland, was really missing seasonings to balance things out. The texture of the three large and fork tender pieces of beef tongue was excellent. Though I was expecting a more assertive, pure beefiness that I love from beef tongue. This could have been a regular cut of beef. This dish actually could have used some penne or something similar to help with what was more of a gravy than a stew.

Not bad, but I'm going back to the pasta dishes here next time.

Bistro Kaz
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111