June 2021 – mmm-yoso

The Pad Thai Stand

June 29, 2021 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

During one of my late afternoon trips to Carnival Market, I noticed that the Thai Burger Company which Cathy has done a post on; had changed concepts and was now called the Pad Thai Stand.

The Missus was working until rather late on this evening, so I decided to check the place out.

It's a nice little stand that serves four different regional versions of Pad Thai – you basically pick the regional style and then the protein, check off the ingredients, add some extras, and then you'll have your Pad Thai.

The place has some outdoor seating……

And even some interesting fold down tables where you can eat standing.

The young lady working the counter was very friendly.

I decided to go with the "old style" Pad Thai – the "Boran" with chicken, medium heat. In a few minutes my boxed noodles were ready to go -it felt pretty hefty.

Thing were packed pretty tightly.

I unpacked and tried separating things out on a plate and finally got things looking like a proper dish.

I immediately realized that the pork rinds, one of the reasons I had ordered this version of Pad Thai had gotten soggy. When I order this again; I'll ask them to pack the pork rinds separately. And yes, I believe I'll order this again. Even though the chicken was as expected, tough and dry, the rest of the dish was pretty good. The heat level was perfect; the noodles al dente with a nice stretch and were evenly coated in a savory, dark soy based sauce, with just a touch of sweetness. The bean sprouts added a some textural contrast and the squeeze of lime elevated the dish with some acidity.

As you can see the portion size was pretty good as well. This was much more than I could eat and I saved some for the Missus to try when She got home.

And She really enjoyed it!

In fact, on one early evening when we couldn't decide what to eat, we headed back to the Pad Thai Stand for takeout.

We got the "basic" Pad Thai – Bangkok style.

With tofu. This was a bit mild in flavor for us; not enough salty-savory tones and the noodles weren't evenly coated and were overcooked.

We also got the Northern (Chiang Mai) style; which featured a curry base – also with tofu.

The medium heat did nicely with this; but I thought it a bit too salty and "soupy" for my taste. At least the noodles were perfectly cooked. This might be a version where adding in the "extras" – dried shrimp and fried garlic may come in handy. The coconut flavor in the curry and the saltiness pretty much overwhelmed the dish.

So, I think I'll stick with the Boran style for now.

The young lady working here is a joy; the food is decently priced, and heck if you're in need of some major carbs give the place a try. In terms of protein; we'll probably stick with tofu. I've also seen these folks at various Farmer's Markets – so maybe you can check them out there.

The Pad Thai Stand
3520 Ashford St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Daily 11am – 2pm, 4pm – 9pm

How are all of you doing…….

June 28, 2021 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

So, here I was typing away. Getting my next post done, when I suddenly stopped……..

Yes, this is a food blog….something we've been doing for 16 years now. I've come to treasure all those who have become part of our little blog over the years. It got me thinking…..how are all of you doing? It has, without a doubt, been a tumultuous 16 months….one that will be part of history. But beyond that; I'd like to know, and hope that all of you are still out there and in good health.

I know this has changed me; it's made me appreciate so many things I took for granted.

I've often mentioned to folks I know that it will be interesting to see how history will define these times.

But…….we're living this. And I want to know, how has living through this time changed you, changed your outlook on life, your values, and what you hope the future will bring.

My apologies for not focusing on food in this post; but I think of you all as my "friends of yoso"………..

Sunday Sandwiches – Creative Deli

June 27, 2021 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

So, like I've mentioned over the years; I'm forever indebted to our F(riends) o(f) Y(oso) who provide many varied recommendations. "FOY" ST mentioned Creative Deli in the comments of several posts over the last couple of months. ST also made a couple of recommendations. Doing a quick check, I found that Creative Deli was fairly close to our office, though I would never have found the place, located on Nancy Ridge Drive since its not really a main street.

I decided to drive over and surely would have not found the place if not for the "Deli" sign……

The interior is spartan; totally looking like a number of similar business park/street delis that serve nearby employees.

The menu is large a rambling. Everything from burritos, burgers, salads, and such. All nicely priced between $5.99 – $8.99. ST had made some interesting recommendations, but I decided to play it safe and just went with the "Torpedo Italiano" ($6.99). This was a pretty hefty sandwich.

The standard issue French roll had a nice "crackle" to it, with a decent yeastiness. A simple sandwich with ham, mortadella, salami, and provolone cheese.

There was perhaps a tad too much mayo; but I did enjoy the smear of mustard. This was quite a generously portioned sandwich for $6.99, so no complaints. Nothing fancy, but filling. It totally reminded me of the now closed The Sandwich A'Fare.

So ok……I was now ready to start exploring some of the recommendations from ST; starting with the Carne Asada Torta. Creative Deli serves up Burritos; so this might not be such a stretch. So I called in an order for it. Priced at $8.99 it's probably one of the more expensive items on the menu. An older woman answered and I was told to come on down in ten minutes! And to their word; my sandwich was ready when I arrived.

The sandwich was served in a proper, light Bolillo roll.

This wasn't my favorite sandwich here as the crane asada was on the chewy side; the salsa tasted like mass produced bottled stuff. I did like the creamy avocado and while this was far from bland, I was somewhat underwhelmed.

I did appreciate the fact that Creative Deli opens at 8am; which meant that I could easily call in an order between meetings and conference calls.

Another recommendation was the Chicken Diavolo ($7.49), which was "almost there" in terms of my taste.

I liked the crushed red peppers giving the sandwich some "zip", the gooey-stringy mozzarella cheese, and wished there were more onions and bell peppers. Not a big fan of the dry chicken breast though.

Next up; the Reuben ($8.99). This was actually not bad.

I mean, yes….it's all SYSCO products, but I appreciated the amount of sauerkraut in this and the pastrami, while less than the sauerkraut in volume had been nicely griddled, the Swiss cheese nice and gooey.

I didn't even mind the rather generous amount of Thousand Island on this. I do wish the bread had been toasted a bit more as it would have stood up a bit better during the ten minute trip back to the office.

So there you go, another one of those mom-and-pop business park sandwich shops…..they keep the working masses fed. Though during these times when many are working from home, I'm hoping they have enough customers to stay in business.

Thanks for the rec' ST! I'm sure I'll try the cheesesteak from here one of these days!

Creative Deli
6837 Nancy Ridge Dr.
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 457-5697
Hours:
Mon – Fri 8am – 3pm
Closed Sat – Sun

Saturday Stuffs – BBQ Chicken Returning to San Diego, Dogs & Aguas Coming to Linda Vista, and Other “Stuffs”

June 26, 2021 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Cooking, Hot Dogs, Markets & Grocers

Just a couple of things for another warm Saturday.

BBQ Chicken Returning to San Diego – In the Former Ichiro Spot:

**** You can find a post on BB.Q Chicken here.

I saw a sign over the former location of Ichiro's which closed at the end of January after over 35 years. I drove on in and was somewhat surprised…….

Looks like BBQ Chicken is returning to San Diego. I'm sure some folks will be happy…..I hope they've improved the recipe a bit as I was not a big fan of the chicken; at least when they were open in San Diego.

4344 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Dogs & Aguas Coming to Linda Vista:

I saw this sign as I was driving past Linda Liquor the other day.

Looks like something called "Dogs & Aguas" is coming soon. I'm assuming in the Linda Liquor shop?

I know our "FOY" Junichi lives in the area…..so perhaps he might know more?

6950 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111

And to my surprise:

Early in the week I made one of my regular visits to Nijiya. Walking toward the market, I stopped dead in my tracks. You see; this is what the storefront looked like.

Anything look out of place to you? I'm not sure why; but not having the "line-up" area, the distancing spots, the attendant, and all the other "Covid set-up" kind of threw me for a loop. Shows how much I'd gotten used to all the precautions. It felt kind of surreal in a way as I'd gotten used to that set-up….was this actually happening, or was it perhaps a mistake???

This is how it was…….

I will say, that most folks are still wearing masks when shopping and there still social distancing when going to the cashiers.

Nijiya Market
3860 Convoy St Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

It's been pretty warm out there and frankly, I'm kinda tired of cooking, so we've been keeping things pretty simple around here……

We hope everyone is doing well and having a wonderful weekend!

Food Court Kimchi Fried Rice – Bann Korean Cuisine versus Sue’s Korean Kitchen

June 24, 2021 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

I was working from home recently and just needed to get out of the house. Luckily, I had some time to grab some lunch. For some reason, I was craving Kimchi Fried Rice….now granted, I could have just made my own at home…….but that wouldn't be any fun, would it?

**** Bann has closed

I decided to head on over to the H Mart Food Court; I hadn't been to Bann since 2019. And I thought they made some decent kimchi fried rice. The food court was fairly busy; even at a few minutes past 11.

But there was only one person ahead of me in line at Bann…….

I quickly noticed that the price of the Kimchi Fried Rice with Spam had gone up in price; by $2 since my last visit and was now over $13!

Anyway, it was ready in a fairly quick amount of time and I headed home.

First thing I noticed was that the egg hadn't travelled real well and the usual runny yolk was now solid. There was an abundance of Spam and large slices Kimchi in the fried rice. It had a decent "kick", perhaps a bit more than I prefer as it kind of over powered the Spam. The rice was nicely coated, moist, and there were no complaints. Like I mentioned in my previous post, the portion sizes here at the H Mart location is a lot larger than when Bann was on Miramar Road. It's also a lot spicier as well. And I did appreciate the amount of Kimchi and Spam.

Bann Korean Cuisine
7725 Balboa Ave. (In the H Mart Food Court)
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Tues – Sun 11am – 730pm
Closed Mondays

I couldn't help but wonder how this compared to Sue’s Korean Kitchen. So, the very next day at the office, I headed out between meetings. I like the fact that Sue's opens at 10. I can get there early and get my food rather quickly.

I guess I've been coming here fairly often; the really nice woman working remembers me……."no jokbal, today?" Was the question presented on this morning. I told her that I was only getting lunch for me today and she laughed.

Of course, the first obvious thing is that the Kimchi Fried Rice here is $9.99.

The prep is much more rustic than the version at Bann. Also, as you can see by the shade of red on the rice; it's not as intensely flavored, though make no mistake about it; there's some decent sour-fermented tones and a mild spice to things. Not as much Spam or large pieces of Kimchi in this version and of course it's just julienned egg instead of a golden orb crowning the rice.

Still, I think it's one of the better things on the menu and I really like the friendly folks that work here as well. I think of this as being a more homey version of kimchi fried rice….like what my friend's mom would make for us back home. And you can't complain about the portion size as well.

I'm also glad that it seems like they're doing some good business. There was one customer in the place when I arrived. She picked up a rather large order….it came to $150!!! Good for them!

Sue’s Korean Kitchen
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 10am – 9pm
Closed Sundays

So, pick your poison….a more spicy, refined fried rice, with a generous portion of Spam and Kimchi….or something homey and rustic, that makes you feel like your Auntie made it. I think they both have a place in my lunch rotation….and my stomach!

Frazier Farms (La Mesa) (Grab and Go)

June 23, 2021 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Desserts, Markets & Grocers, Pizza, Sandwiches

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Kirk is very busy with work and Cathy is writing today.

Family owned Frazier Farms Market opened in 1971 in Escondido. It expanded and contracted over the years and now has three San Diego County locations. In September 2020 the La Mesa location on Fletcher Parkway at Jackson (in the former Circuit City building) made its debut. The grocery aisles have a variety of natural and organic products as well as standard selections with very good prices. However, it's the 'edge' of the store where we stop for a snack before shopping. (There are a good number of picnic tables at the shaded front of the building). Yes, there is pizza by the slice. Two for $6 (only on Tuesdays the slices are two for $5).
The white slice is always good. The red sauce is not spicy; a good tomato sauce. The sausage is remarkably good. Vegetables are fresh and really kind of perfect. The crust is not thick and is good meld of crispiness with chewiness.
There is a sandwich area. You can pick one of the standard choices (filling out a paper listing items you might not want). The Frazier Cubano is made with smoked pulled pork, ham, Swiss, pickles and mustard and butter as well as strawberry preserves and, of course, panini style.
The sweet saltiness as well as crisped bread and plenty of meat filling makes this sandwich enough to share. The same with the Ranch Chicken sandwich, made with warm chicken breast, bacon, Meunster, tomato, onion, dill, lettuce and Ranch dressing served on white (ask for the bread to be toasted).
Those above sandwiches are $7.99 each, you can order a half sandwich for $3.99 and you can also 'Create Your Own" for $5.99 (adding cheese is another 50¢) and my only advice would be to ask for the bread to be toasted. The rye here is a very good quality (flavor) and I really like the pickles.
There is an area with sushi rolls and bowls being freshly made. During the pandemic, a variety of sides could be found, pre-packed. There are also a good variety of salads in the deli counter. There is only one potato salad made here(there seem to be way too many varieties of potato salad in other deli counters) and it is really good; eggs as well as potatoes with just enough mayonnaise based sauce.

As of last week, a by-the-pound salad bar has opened. (You wear disposable gloves to handle the utensils). There's a juice and coffee bar, offering organic coffees and smoothies and açaí bowls. It is located near the entrance next to the bakery area and also the refrigerated bakery area.
The Ricotta filled cannoli ($2.50) is a perfect snack to go with a cup of coffee.
The carrot cake ($3.99/slice) is kind of perfect. Again, enough to share.
There is also a gelato bar area. The flavors are a good variety and a small is, again enough to share.
Not photogenic, but a good combination was the banana gelato along with butter pecan; a sort of fancy banana split in each bite.

Family owned, quality products. A great store.

Frazier Farms. 8401 Fletcher Parkway, La Mesa, CA 91942 (619) 309-4024 Open Daily 8 am-9 pm Website

Trining’s Bakery & Cafe (Formerly Gemmae – Same Staff and Management)

June 21, 2021 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

A few weeks back I did a takeout revisit of Golden Island. I had heard that the kitchen staff had changed (which was true – post coming up) and saw that Gemmae's was now Trining's Bakery & Cafe. So, a few days later I decided to drop by to grab some lunch.

It was just before 11 and there was a steady flow of customers…..most of whom seemed like regulars.

The woman working the front was quite friendly and when I asked about the name change, she smiled and said "don't worry, it's all the same people!"

The drill for lunch is; you look at the white magnet board; whatever is ready is moved from the board on the right, to the board on the left. I had been wanting to try the sisig, but it wasn't available, so I made due with the Kare Kare and Beef Nilagang.

I was kind of afraid of the "three scoops of rice", but it was a manageable amount. The rice was also decently cooked and fairly moist.

Sadly the beef in the nilagang was super tough and chewy and the soup was really salty….I really couldn't finish it.

There was one wonderful piece of buttery tripe in the kare kare, which was not bad if a bit on the greasy side. Maybe it was because the nilagang was so salty, but it seemed a bit on the bland side as well. I actually used up almost all the bagoong alamang. Well, at least this was edible.

While this was a less than stellar meal; I decided to return a week later; this time closer to noon. And this time there were more items "available" on the board.

And this time; I did manage to get the sisig, along with beef kaldereta.

The kaldereta was pretty good, nice tanginess, mild beefiness, the meat fairly tender. It is by far the best item I've had here.

Because, well, I really didn't care for he sisig. The diced lechon kawale was super hard….not crisp, not crunchy…hard. I did appreciate the sliced red chilies, but this really didn't have enough spice or sour tones for my taste.

I guess I'll have to stick with my regular stops for Filipino food in the area. Though I do recall having a decent "silog" here years ago when it was still Gemmae's. Perhaps that's the way to go? It would probably have to be on a weekend or day off though, since I'd probably head right back to bed after having all that rice early in the day. So maybe…..

Trining's Bakery & Cafe
10606 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Tues – Sat 5am – 7pm
Sunday 5am – 6pm
Closed on Mondays

Scenes From the North Park Thursday Market (Right after Covid reopening)

June 17, 2021 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market

I had spent the day working from home and both the Missus and I were bored stiff after dinner. The Missus suggested a taking a drive. We hadn't been to the North Park area in a while and the Missus was missing Tribute Pizza, so we decided to head on up to 30th Street to see what was up.

Well, what was up was the North Park Thursday Market…….and wouldn't you know….there was an open parking spot a few steps away.

After 15 months of various stages of lockdown……..this was quite an interesting experience.

I don't recall the last time I saw so many smiling people. But of course I wouldn't have since we were all wearing masks for the last 15 months! I could overhear conversations…..folks who hadn't seen each other in over a year.

While the reopening declaration does not mean the pandemic is over, this was an outdoor setting and it was really gratifying to see folks enjoying themselves.

I truly hope that folks can be responsible not only for themselves, but for the care of others as well. And that we won't have to backtrack.

And then we can go grab a Spam Musubi and be on our way….with a smile on our faces.

North Park Thursday Market
3000 North Park Way
San Diego, CA 92104
Thursdays 3pm – 730pm

As for Tribute, we stopped by and took a look at the current menu. One of the guys working popped his head out (with a mask on) and I asked if they'd be open for dining in soon. He told me if all goes well they'll open for dining in in July.

We did drive down to South Park and were astounded at the crowds of folks at Fernside and Kindred……..too crowded for us right now.

Prime Grill

June 14, 2021 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

Well, after a rough 15 months we here in California are on the cusp of reopening, yes, tomorrow the capacity limits for businesses ends and mask requirements will be modified for those vaccinated….though I truly doubt that many businesses will be asking for proof of vaccination. Does this mean things get back to normal? I really don't know how to answer that one….I mean 3700+ deaths and 280,000 cases later, a fifteen month lockdown, politicization of what should have been a public health emergency……what is normal?

As for rushing out to grab a meal at restaurants…….I think we're in "wait and see mode". As a whole we're not big on crowds anyway……so we may just lie low until after Father's Day. But who knows. I will say we had our first indoor dining experience last week as San Diego entered the Yellow Tier allowing for 50% indoor capacity. It's been getting kinda hot…in fact, I think tomorrow we may have record temperatures. I was working from home and the Missus finished work early. I was craving some Bi Bim Naengmyun and the Missus, a Dolsot Bi Bim Bap. And after I tried and failed to order Bi Bim Naengmyun to go from Prime Grill and since they were open straight through from 11am, we decided to give the place a shot. Prime Grill had stopped doing outdoor seating a while back, so indoors was the only choice. It was however, only 430pm when we arrived and we didn't expect the place to have customers…..but we were wrong and the place was about 1/3 full…..we requested and got a table in the far corner.

The Missus of course wanted Her Bi Bim Bap and I went for the Bi Bim Naengmyun….the Missus asked me to order some Dak Bulgogi as well. So, the older Korean woman came over to take my order…..and when I tried to place my order, she shook her head, "no…no….better for you to order the combination….you save money." I suddenly recognized her voice; she was the one who told me not to order the Bi Bim Naengmyun to go the last time! Well, I pointed out that the menu said "Naengmyun" and I wanted Bi Bim Naengmyun.

To which she answered "no worry, we make bi bim naengmyun for combo." You gotta love it!

And while it looked like the gyeran jjim (the steamed egg) had pretty much collapsed due to over work, the rest of the panchan was quite good….the baechu kimchi looked like it wasn't fermented enough, but it was good.

And the Missus got Her Dolsot Bi Bim Bap.

Which She let "rest" to develop the rice crust from the hot stone bowl, while devouring the gyeran jjim and also the Dak Bulgogi, which was much better eating here as it got some nice caramelization….use the takeout photo to compare. In fact, She ended up taking half of the Bi Bim Bap home to eat the next day.

As for me….well this was just what I wanted…heck, needed after 15 months. The stretchy naengmyun, cut to an edible length with scissors, the spicy sauce…..

A shot of sweet-spicy cho-jang, a squirt of vinegar to get those salivary glands to pucker up. The Asian Pear brings a bit of sweetness and helps cut through all that spiciness. Aaahhhh…..

Just what the doctor ordered……

And even though we felt a bit out of sorts eating indoors after so long, just for a few minutes; there was no pandemic in sight….we were having a nice meal……what would be a "normal" warm weather meal for us, and all seemed right in the world. During these times it's a feeling I've come to treasure.

Prime Grill
4620 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 11am – 10pm

So, here's a question for all our "FOYs" (Friends of Yoso). With the reopening happening tomorrow are you making plans to go out? To eat, to a movie, your favorite watering hole, perhaps the gym…a museum? Or are you going to adopt a "wait and see" position?

Sunday Sandwiches – Barrio Donas Revisited

June 13, 2021 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches

I was working from home one morning and had calls scheduled thru lunch until the early afternoon. It was 9am and I was already hungry. I had been wondering how Barrio Donas was doing since my last visits had been right before the pandemic started. I went to their website to check on the hours and found that they now do online ordering so I decided to go for it. I placed an order and headed right on over.

I arrived right at the indicated time; though I had to wait for a bit. It was obvious that this online ordering thing was kinda new to them. The configuration of the bakery had been changed a bit to accommodate social distancing.

I was kinda hungry so I ordered the Pierna ($9.50). The first thing I noticed when I opened up the container was that the bolillo roll seemed different.

It was a lot lighter, both in color and heft than what I'd had here previously. But it was also much more yeasty than what I recall, though it hadn't handled the less than 15 minute drive home quite well.

But, this torta had twice the amount of filling than what I'd had before as well. The pork had been marinated and cooked well as it was so very tender. There was a slight heat and smokiness from what I assume is an adobo based sauce. I actually could have used more beans, onions, and tomato to balance things out….but I couldn't complain about the amount of filling in this sandwich.

About a week later, I was starving and had a break between calls; I decided to do the online ordering thing again and went with what has pretty much been my usual item at Barrio Donas; the A la Mexicana ($7.50). This time; maybe because it was 7am in the morning, my sandwich was waiting when I arrived.

The bread was the same as on my previous visit. Like the pierna, this had a bit more filling than what I'd had previously, though it wasn't super stuffed. This time the bread handled the trip home. And the yeastiness, combined with the mild acidic heat from the salsa, slight milkiness from the cheese, and the smear of beans just went well with the scrambled eggs.

Barrio Donas was doing good business during my visits and I'm happy to know that. In thinking back from the days when it was Best Donuts, the renovation to a more modern, sort of hipster Barrio Donas, and now with online ordering! They've sure have come quite a way! Derek Ray, I'm wondering if you've visited recently and noticed that Barrio Donas is now a bit more generous in terms of portion?

Barrio Donas
4714 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117
Current Hours
Mon – Fri 6am – 6pm
Saturday 6am – 3pm
Sunday 7am – 3pm