January 2019 – mmm-yoso

Midweek Meanderings – Tram Chim Opens, Junz Closes, and Royal Garden Has Limited Hours

January 30, 2019 mmm-yoso Beer, Vietnamese Restaurants, yoso-silly

It's been a while since I've done one of these……

Tram Chim Opens in City Heights:

Two years ago, I mentioned that Ly's Garden was the last "man standing" of the former 54th St trifecta of Ly's, Lee's, and Lucky Star. Well that's no more as Tram Chim; yes, Tram Chim, the seafood specialist with restaurants in Garden Grove and Westminster has taken over the spot.

This is going to be an interesting addition, as folks who I know mentioned they are not particularly fond of the OC locations for either food, nor hygiene.

Tram Chim
4350 54th St
San Diego, CA 92115

Junz Teriyaki & BBQ Closes:

I noticed this last month when the Missus had Her hair appointment in the area.

Though I wasn't particularly fond of the food here; I know folks who liked the place. Looks like the Hanaoka "empire" has taken a hit.

As an aside….notice the little sticker on the left hand side? Hmmm……is that what's moving in?

3010 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

Royal Garden Has Limited Hours:

The reason I ended up at Hoai Hue this past weekend, was that I drove by Royal Garden nd noticed they were closed! So I parked the car and took a look.

Not sure what's going on here…according to the sign it says they are only open on Thursday and Friday evenings. I'm hoping this is only for the short term.

Royal Garden
4201 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92105

LouZiana Food

January 29, 2019 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, Sandwiches

**** LouZiana Food has closed

Here's a post that took it's sweet old time; photos ripening in one of my folders. I'd meant to post ages ago, but for some reason just kept on going back to try something else.

I'd actually seen the LouZiana Food Truck a couple of times, before seeing this brick-and-mortar shop which opened just a bit after our office moved to the UTC area.

The folks here are always quite welcoming and the menu; while priced on the high side for stuff served in Styrofoam, has all the standards from po-boys to gumbo. In terms of Creole versus Cajun; the restaurant clearly calls itself Cajun.

On my first visit; I decided to just go for something simple to take back to the office and ordered the Andouille Po-Boy (7" – $9.25) with a side of Cajun Fries ($2.75).

The fries were dusted with Cajun seasoning; paprika based, a good amount of black pepper. The fries hadn't held up real well during the 15 minute drive back to the office as they were on the dry side.

The Andouille had some heft, a decent chew, and was perfectly serviceable….as for taste…well, as you can see, they went super crazy with the remoulade, which kind of made this somewhat greasy in texture and really killed the flavor. The bread was saturated.

I needed a bit of time to recover from that mayo overload, so I waited awhile before my next visit. In the meantime, both Mary and Soo did posts (please check them out) on LouZiana. Both were positive; though were fried food based….I just can't put too much of that stuff away these days. Especially during a work day.

So; I went with the Cajun Combo; basically two 8 ounce cups of the "Cajun Classics" on the menu. I ordered the Gumbo and the Jambalaya, which came out to $14.

The baguette on this visit had seen better days and was dry and crumbly. The roux used for that Gumbo must have been really dark, totally a mahogany roux. It did strike me as being a bit on the bitter-greasy side, and other than the couple of pieces of sausage, the chicken had been reduced to stringy bits.

The Jambalaya fared better; the sausages were intact, and the dish was nicely flavored, quite balanced, not overly salty.

Another of couple of months pass and I decided to drop by again. This time I went with the Crawfish Étouffée and Red Beans & Rice, which came out to be $12.75.

The Étouffée was a bit on the thin side and had a rather strong "floral", herbaceous taste to it. There was a decent amount of crawfish in the Étouffée, along with a savory-oceany flavor that did not over-power the dish.

This wasn't too bad at all.

The Red Beans & Rice was my favorite of the two.

While I have my own version of this classic dish that I enjoy; this wasn't bad at all. A bit short on sausage and I prefer my RB&R a bit more smokey; but this had a nice creamy tongue feel, decent beaniness, and was rather pleasant to eat.

Which leaves us with my most recent visit. I decided to try another sandwich this time "Creole" style….basically with a different sauce. The upcharge from a regular shrimp po-boy is a bit over a buck fifty, making this $11.50.

The sandwich starred a dozen fried shrimp, fried up nicely, but kind of lacking in flavor. It still had a bit too much sauce on it; but at least this wasn't drowning in globs of a heavy mayo remoulade. I'm still not big fan of the baguette here; it's too chewy and not crusty enough.

While I wouldn't consider the food here to be of a particularly good value; nor really great in the ingredients category….frankly, I prefer Bud's, which isn't much more expensive. It's still not a bad choice at all.

LouZiana Food
7128 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours:
Daily 11am – 8pm

Hoai Hue Vietnamese Restaurant Revisited

January 28, 2019 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese Restaurants

I'd been passing Hoai Hue on most of my drives up to City Heights. This past weekend; a bit jet lagged, I decided to check them out again, since it had nearly three years since I last visited.

I ordered the usual; the "house special" version of Bun Bo Hue (they already have a Bun Bo Hue Dac Biet on the menu), the Bun Tam Hoai Hue.

I noticed that they now have different protein combinations for the BBH….even a "beginners" version. Heck, in the past the broth here had been quite mild, which I figured would have made a decent "beginners BBH".

As the bowl arrived I was somewhat surprised at the fragrance……the broth had a fairly good amount of fermented shrimp paste in it! A good change for a place that I considered to make a pretty weak BBH.

The broth still lacked a noticeable lemongrass flavor, but was decently spicy, and decently hot. It was also not as "sweet" as what I'd had on previous visits.

Another interesting change; the pork hock meat had been taken off the bone….it was very tough though. The meatballs were weirdly muddy tasting; though the thick slices of cha lua and shrimp balls were quite good. The tendon was too hard to enjoy.

The noodles were nicely prepped; firm and slippery.

And, in case you're concerned about me not eating enough vegetables.

Though the Bun Bo Hue is still not in the same league as Mien Trung, I was pleasantly surprised. The BBH here is now closer to my taste preference and definitely better than "Pho shop Bun Bo Hue". Service was efficient and the guy actuallu came by to see how I enjoyed my noodle soup. I'll try to drop by again soon.

Remember when this place was a couple of blocks down the street next to AA and a Tattoo Parlor? Man, time sure does fly, huh?

Hoai Hue Vietnamese Restaurant
4660 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Niban (more visits)

January 27, 2019 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! welcomes you back to peruse more meals consumed. Kirk is still busy and Cathy is writing again.

In 2006, again in 2010, once more in 2011, part of a mixed post in 2016, I've written about this fast/casual, inexpensive, good Japanese restaurant which has been part of our 'regular rotation' for more than a decade. This post is about our December and January visits.

The key to some of the more interesting items here is to check the walls and windows, although the menu itself is simple and good. One of the December window posters was this-Cheese Curry (with chicken) ($8.95). This included salad and a beverage. Well, this was different. Kirk said it is Yoshoku Food, - Westernized Japanese. The curry was, as always, great (there are shredded pieces of beef along with large pieces of carrots, onion and potatoes in the slightly sweet mixed flavor sauce). The cheese topping was different and a nice texture along with saltiness made this bowl of comfort a bit different. The window next to the entrance not only has a large menu, but the shelving underneath has a display of four specials for that day. On this day, the ginger chicken with fried gyoza Bento box ($8.25) was one of the specials. The dumplings can be steamed or fried; the top right corner has two small 'salad' sides- one of soy marinated bean sprouts and the other a salmon based chilled salad. The regular salad has a fresh ginger dressing and the ginger chicken was juicy (dark meat) along with mushrooms and zucchini. A hearty lunch.
When you walk in, just above and behind the cash register (where you order and pay before finding a table) is a small chalkboard with two 'Daily Lunch' Specials (now $7.25; each was $6.75 in December). This one is the 'Gyoza Lunch'. These are the steamed gyoza, which I like just a little more than the fried ones. The filling is the same (more pork than vegetable) the skin is nice and thin. The miso soup is standard and good, as is the salad and (large serving of) rice.
The Bento lunch ($7.25) has three pieces of fried seafood (shrimp, fish and squid in this case), one inari (sweet tofu skin filled with rice, topped with crab), six California rolls and some of that salmon salad. Again, a good lunch.

There is a six seat sushi bar, where many people enjoy their meals (walk up and have a seat and pay after).

Niban 7081 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92111 (858)268-0465 Open Mon-Th 11-2:30, 5-9:30 Fri-Sat 11-2:30, 5-10 Sun 4:30-9:30

P.F. Changs (a first visit)

January 26, 2019 Cathy Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chains, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. Kirk is out and about and taking a short vacation. Cathy is writing about a meal.

Yep, this is another Gift Card post. I don't regift and have friends who sincerely want The Mister and I to try some of their favorite places; we have never been to P.F. Changs and were in Mission Valley on a beautiful, clear day and I had the Gift Card in my pocket. The surreal Las Vegas casino-like giant horses out front of each location of this Asian themed, casual chain restaurant greet you.

Along with a tastefully decorated interior.
A pot of (caffeinated) ginger-peach tea was ordered ($3.75). It's by Republic of Tea and very similar to the Plantation Peach tea I usually buy from the Charleston Tea Plantation (the only tea grown in America). I must have hot tea with Asian meals.
As we were being seated, we noticed that every table had this: the first choice at the top left of the menu (under "Street Fare"). So, we had to. Lettuce Wraps (chicken or tofu; we chose chicken) $11.50. A 'secret family recipe', 'signature dish', the do-it-yourself slightly sweet, slightly spicy chopped melange of chicken, water chestnuts, green onion, crisp noodles and chilled iceberg lettuce with a bit more of the sauce was delicious.
Also from the 'Street Fare' section: Tempura Shrimp and Vegetables ($11.95). Lightly battered plump, sweet shrimp, bell peppers spinach and carrots served with a Sriracha/sweet aioli. This was also quite good.
From the 'Lunch' section of the menu, we decided to share the Chiang Mai Noodle Bowl ($11.95). Egg noodles and marinated chicken in a coconut curry broth, some crispy wonton strips with fresh grape tomatoes and flat leaf parsley. Once all mixed, this was also a great mix of flavor and texture. Quite satisfying.
We still have more than $50 left on the gift card. It's good food and there is much more to try.

P.F. Changs 7077 Friars Road San Diego 92108 website Open daily 11-11

Eating inside HMart

January 24, 2019 Cathy Korean Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, reading mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food, again. Welcome. Kirk is enjoying some time off and Cathy is writing.

We've had HMart in San Diego since 2012. There are only a few 'food court' selections inside the store, unlike at the Super H Mart in Diamond Bar (mentioned in the middle of that post). There is one "Enter" and one "Exit" door. To the right of the 'Enter" is a small kitchen, cooking and wrapping food for those who want to 'Grab and Go'. There is a small seating area (including two corner chairs which are useless). The kitchen prepared meals are pictured above the 'By the Pound' items. ($8.50/lb)(Hot or Cold)
The hot items are plentiful, protein based (other than rice) and kept fresh, since the cooking area is three steps behind the trays.
The cold area has a great selection, especially if you are thinking about buying something you've seen pre-packed in the refrigerated area of the store. There's also sliced sushi roll pieces, pork and tofu if you want cold protein.
We grabbed a few items on this visit before beginning to shop. Cold items were kimchi, seaweed salad and marinated mushrooms. All were good (nice flavor/mild heat of kimchi) and complimentary to the hot items- fried squid, fried head-on shrimp and breaded, fried pork in a sweet sauce. Total for these two boxes was $6. The item on the bottom right was just packed (still warm) and placed in the open refrigerated area.
Pan fried crab cake ($3.50). Fresh vegetables, plenty of crab, crispy fry. A good meal on its own.

There's a dispenser of hot water, cups, utensils and condiments in the eating area, so you can have a decent meal.

HMart 9440 Mira Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92126 (858)577-0060 Open 8 a.m.-10 p.m. daily Website

NEW LOCATION (opening in February): 7725 Balboa Avenue (SE corner at the 805) San Diego 92117 (same parking lot as the 24 Hour Fitness)

Point Loma Fish Shop

January 23, 2019 Cathy Seafood, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!, a food blog. Cathy is writing today while Kirk is researching something to write about.

The Mister and I wanted to go to Point Loma Seafoods, but the line to the parking area was backed out onto the street. We started driving around and saw what had opened in the old Charlie's Best Bread (Point Loma location) on the corner of Rosecrans at Cañon, just across the street from Harbor Town Pub. An open air dining concept, the space is quite large.
Walk up, order, pay, find a seat and your food is brought out to you. That's the whole menu.
There's a small bar area next to the cash register. Behind it is the 'Dog Friendly' area-bar height seating and essentially opposite from the low tables.
Since this was a first visit, we decided to try some 'basics', like the clam chowder (cup, $5). WOW. This was so rich; tasting of cream and butter and clams. If you've ever had She Crab Soup (and we have, many times, when living in Virginia), the bisque-like texture and and mouthfeel is the same…just no sherry (or crab).
The menu style is "1. Pick a fish, 2. Pick a marinade, 3. Pick a style". So, this was albacore with lemon butter as a salad ($12). Another WOW. The fish was rare-seared, moist, flavorful. The mixed greens salad had pickled onions and capers as well as cucumber and cherry tomatoes. We chose the house made ranch dressing, figuring it would be a 'neutral' flavor.
There were several ads for the 'Fish Shop Seasoning' on the tables and ordering area. We were curious about the description of 'a little sweet with a mild spice' and ordered the jumbo shrimp only-grilled with this seasoning ($11). There were seven shrimp which were plump and juicy-perfectly cooked. The seasoning was a Cajun dry rub-you can taste the smoky first, notice the sticky (brown sugar) and still can get the briny sweetness of good quality shrimp along with a nice spice end note. These were pretty much perfect. The house made side sauce (chipotle aioli) was complimentary and went with the shrimp. (I tried some bites of shrimp with the Ranch dressing, but it didn't 'go' with the other flavors).
We also decided to try something fried and this small side of onion rings ($3) was our order. I think you might be able to tell these were perfectly battered and fried to a good crunch. The thick slices of sweet onion were crisp/fresh.

As always, I researched after going home and having the meal. There's a sister location. The Pacific Beach Fish Shop has been on Garnet since 2010; I remember seeing it when working for the Registrar of Voters for the two Special Elections but never remembered to go back. cc was here, in 2014 (Happy Birthday, Bert!) Kirbie was at PB Fish Shop in 2014, too! Oh So Yummy was here in 2017. The Point Loma Fish Shop location opened about a year ago. Mary was here in March. We will be back; there's parking, fair prices and the food so far has been great.

Point Loma Fish Shop 1110 Rosecrans Street #100 San Diego, CA 92106 (619)794-2449 Website Open daily 11-9

Al Pastor Authentic Mexican Grill (Chula Vista)

January 22, 2019 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

The name has changed (Aqui Es Texcoco), the ownership is the same. Still great food.

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog name. Bloggers are (usually) Kirk and (today) Cathy. Posts are random: locations, type of food, liked or not. Today: Chula Vista, Mexican, liked.

I had heard of it: Kirk posted last June and again in October. It's owned by the same person who owns Aqui es Texcoco (where I've gone for breakfast). In late December, cc and I had a little 'food crawl', stopping here.

The clean 'Mexico City' decor has televisions scattered throughout and it's not busy in the early morning. The Mister and I returned a week later. This post shows both visits and breakfasts ordered.

The first menu page (top, far left) is 'breakfasts', but both menus are served all day.

We ordered a Chicharron de Queso ($6.50). Simple grilled, rolled cheese along with simple guacamole. Excellent.
Al pastor ($2.50), costilla (rib meat)($2.75) and chuleta ahumada (smoked pork chop)($2.65) tacos. We liked the al pastor best; the spit grilled, pork based, chili/spice marinated, pineapple topped meat was moist, flavorful and satisfying. The costilla was good, basic quality meat, needing some of the tabletop condiments at some point. The smokiness of the chuleta was nice, but pretty much smoked ham (which I love, but this, too, needed some hot sauce to taste 'finished').
After having Alambres at Tako Factory, The Mister and I were curious to see what this version was like. We were able to choose two meats, so thought the bistek along with the smoked pork chop (The Mister loves smoked meats) would be good ($9.75) and we did add cheese ($1.25) just because. Well, the freshness of the tortillas, meats, bacon, grilled onion and peppers along with the creamy cheese was just about perfect. I can see why Kirk's Missus likes it here.
A mollete is a a fresh, split, toasted bollilo topped with beans and cheese ($3.75). You can add chorizo for $1 and we did (on both visits, choosing the milder green chorizo)(description of green chorizo is on this link-scroll down to Mexican Chorizo) (basically, tomatillo, chiles, cilantro and garlic). I remembered fondly having a mollete at Tropifruit, in 2014 and the version here is great.

All in all, a new favorite spot in Chula Vista for a quality Mexican breakfast, lunch and late night dinner.

Al Pastor Mexican Grill 520 Broadway Chula Vista 91910 Website Open Sun-Thurs 8 a.m.- 1 a.m., Fri-Sat 8 a.m.-2 a.m.

Grecian Cafe (Spring Valley)

January 21, 2019 Cathy Greek Food, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. Kirk, who is usually here writing, is out of the state and Cathy is sharing a short post.

For more than 20 years, this corner storefront (it shares parking with Round Table Pizza and is across the street from Rana's, a block East and kitty corner from Butler's Coffee House and one block West of Fruity Loco) has been a mainstay in Spring Valley.
Walk in, there's a menu over the cash register where you order and pay.
Find a seat and everything is brought to you. This is a 'Mom and Pop' run place and sometimes they are very busy.
The Mister and I each wanted a salad (instead of soup) with our orders and these large plates were brought out. Standard toppings, house made dressing; the Feta was was Greek (sharp, salty, firm)(I've been buying Bulgarian or Albanian Feta lately-milder and creamy), which I haven't had in a while and the saltiness was just right (I didn't have to add any tabletop condiments).
Gyros pita (I ordered the Combo #1-Gyro with salad and drink ($9.49)). The pita is so soft, fresh, warmed on the grill. The gyros is plentiful and with the tomato, onion and (house made) tzatziki, has great flavor in every bite.
If you've paid attention to some of my posts, you might have noticed The Mister orders moussaka when he sees it on the menu. The eggplant based dish has variations in its preparation. The entree ($11.99) comes with sliced pita and some very flavorful, fluffy rice in addition to the salad (or soup)
The version at Grecian Cafe has a tomato sauce on top of bechamel along with ground beef, eggplant and soft sliced baked potato on the bottom. The flavorful red sauce (I could taste cinnamon) was complimentary to everything else in the towering casserole. This is a wonderful version of this Greek classic recipe.

It's always good to visit established restaurants.

Grecian Cafe 9676 Campo Road (at Conrad) Spring Valley 91977 (619)464-0385 Mon-Sat 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun 1 p.m.-8 p.m.

Boll Weevil (Lakeside)

January 20, 2019 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. Kirk is taking a break and gathering intel for future posts. Cathy is writing.

Back when Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and I were writing "Burger Week" posts, Kirk wrote about Boll Weevil in 2006, and I wrote about it in 2010 along with another 2010 post. Since then, a Boll Weevil opened (and subsequently closed) only two miles from home. We went there regularly, yet I never posted about it. Now, the closest Boll Weevil is about six miles away, in Lakeside.

This location, approximately a mile from the Lakeside Rodeo grounds, is appropriately themed. It's very large inside and has various areas where parties can be held.

The Mister and I tend to order the same thing on each visit. This is unusual for us because at other places, we like to order different things and share. When we go to Boll Weevil, it is for this:
1/2 pound Steerburgers, medium rare, no cheese ($8.69). This is a very satisfying meal when using the (photo at bottom) tabletop condiments.
A 'complete' burger sort of looks like this, before the soft, toasted bun is smashed so as to be able to fit into my mouth.
The Mister got all wild and crazy on the last visit and ordered a Buffalo Chicken Salad ($10.99) with Bleu Cheese dressing. The nuggets of chicken are lightly floured, fried and tossed in a nice Buffalo sauce. The lettuce, crispy, provides a nice cooling effect along with the chunks of bleu cheese in between bites. The Texas toast, slathered in garlic butter, is a nice accompaniment. On that visit, I ordered a half pound steer burger, medium rare. It's what I do.
One day, there was a tabletop special of a double cheeseburger with fries ($10.49). It was two 1/4 pound patties, so sort of the same as our 'usual' order but with cheese. Different for us, anyhow. It was good.
There are plenty of sides to choose from here, but the Frings (fries and rings) ($4.49) are a fallback order when we are hungry.