August 2021 – Page 2

Roadtrip (During Covid-19) – Sidecar Cocktail Co. and Old San Luis BBQ Co. (San Luis Obispo)

August 14, 2021 mmm-yoso American Restaurants, BBQ, Cocktails, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, Travel

On the way back to the motel after dinner, I asked the Missus if She'd like to stop for a cocktail. I was somewhat interested in a place we had passed earlier in the day named Sidecar….no, not "that" Sidecar; this Sidecar, located on Broad Street.

This was the place we passed that had seating along the the creek. They also had tables lined up outdoors as well.

Unfortunately, none of those tables were available….plus, we weren't eating anything, so we just got one of the tables in the bar area which was nicely spaced.

The folks working were quite friendly….the Missus ordered one of the specialty cocktails….called "Walk on Home Boy" ($15).

Strange this supposedly had both Bourbon and Mezcal, but was quite mild in flavor and on the sweeter side/

I asked for an Old Fashion made with Mezcal – which wasn't too bad at all.

We decided to call it quits after one drink each and decided to head back to the motel.

We enjoyed the service and vibe was very nice.

Sidecar Cocktail Co.
1040 Broad St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

A half a block away, we stopped by this nice piece of public art named "Web of Life".

Close by was the Old San Luis BBQ Company – also known as "Old Slo BBQ". It was basically a window and small attached dining area.

Along with a small outdoor dining area along the sidewalk. The menu had tri-tip "sliders" on it, so I talked the Missus into ordering one ($4.25) to take back to the room.

It was a short wait, but soon enough our little slider was ready and we walked back to our room.

Old San Luis BBQ Co.
670 Higuera St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

Returning to our room I opened things up……

The rather dry tri-tip was served on a standard issue sourdough-ciabatta style roll. The tri-tip had a strong smokiness with not much else in terms of seasoning and was quite tough and dry. The actual flavor of the bread was stronger than the meat….except for all that smoke.

That BBQ sauce was overly sweet for my taste. I guess we'll stick with our "old faithful" if/when we're back in SLO……

Takeout from Supannee House of Thai

August 10, 2021 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

In my post on Rooster Rice & Noodles, "FOY" Si asked if I'd ever had the Nam Khao Tod from Supannee House of Thai:

"Have you every try nam khao tod from Supannee House of Thai? I had it in a party once and it was nice."

Wow, well….I had not had the Nam Khao Tod from Supannee….in fact it had been over three years since my last visit and well…..I hadn't been that far down Point Loma since before the pandemic. And recently, the Missus has been craving Thai food as you can tell by my recent posts. So a visit was probably overdue.

With Covid cases surging of course we did takeout…..and the online ordering worked fine, though they no longer have the house made Thai Sausage which before having the version from Sovereign recently, was my favorite in San Diego….there was a short wait when I arrived, but that was perfectly fine as I sat outside.

So, here's a rundown of what we ordered……

Our favorite item was the Nam Tok ($14) at Medium Spicy.

The beef was tender; just the right amount of heat, nice acidity from the lime juice, pungency from the red onions, mild pungent-almost citrus tones from the cilantro, and while it could have used more toasted rice powder; this was quite enjoyable.

The Nam Khao Tod ($13) seemed to have way too much ginger, but it was quite good.

And while I prefer Lao versions of this; with pork skin, this was good as well. It could have had more crispness to it, but the sausage was nice and sour…..like I mentioned, I thought there was too much ginger in the dish but it really grounded things. Earthiness from the peanuts, good sour tones, the kaffir lime leaves added complexity. A nice enjoyable version of Nam Khao.

I ordered the Papaya Salad ($9) spicy….and it was decently spicy.

But the Missus, while She enjoyed the Mexican Wild Shrimp, said that this was missing the deep savory tones She enjoys…I'm thinking She really wants Issan/Lao style Papaya salad.

I was curious about the Het Larb ($10) – basically a mushroom larb……no it's not a nam prik; which I might have really loved, but basically Shimeji Mushroom Larb.

This dish, while quite spicy fell flat since it didn't deliver much else. I was expecting some nice earthiness from the mushrooms…nope, cilantro…mint…fish sauce…..not really enough. This was quite one dimensional overall.

Still, the Nam Tok and Nam Khao will bring us back……and hopefully they'll have the house made Thai Sausage again.

Thanks Si for the recommendation!

Supannee House of Thai
2907 Shelter Island Drive
San Diego, CA 92106
Current Hours:
Daily 1130am – 830pm

On an interesting side note…..the Missus asked me if I could hit up the last three Thai places and coordinate takeout…..my initial response was no…but then, I remembered having already set the precedent for this……sigh.

Sidecar Bar and Highway 101 Signs on Morena

August 9, 2021 mmm-yoso Cocktails, Exploring San Diego, yoso-silly

Before the current Covid situation got out of hand the Missus found a favorite local bar to grab a cocktail at. Sidecar!

Yes….Sidecar!

The Missus has taken to the place……it's just "divey" enough for Her. The staff is professional while still being quite friendly. To be perfectly honest; we've only gone right after Sidecar opens and it's just for one drink and we head home for dinner. So, my observations are based on that.

The place is usually quite quiet when we visit…..

And no; I haven' played foosball in years….well, make that decades.

We always sit at the front window area overlooking the converted parking lot….fresh air and the "view" makes it "interesting" for us……

As for what we usually get….well after sampling several cocktails over our visits; it's the Penicillin for me. It uses both Monkey Shoulder, one of my favorite non-peaty Scotch's and Montelobos Mezcal, another standard that I first had at Fernside. I'm usually not a fan of ginger in my cocktails….but hey, it's summer and it works fine in this cocktail.

The Missus enjoys the Brown Derby……She enjoys the Bourbon and Grapefruit in this cocktail.

The drinks have a nice balance for us….not watered down, not overly sweet, but with just enough booze where we can actually taste it.

Actually, I introduced the Missus's current new favorite……a combination of Gin, Laguinitas Hop Water (non-alocholic), and lime. At my favorite watering hole they call it "the Andy".

It's super refreshing and brings out the botanicals in the gin.

The customers….well the one's that we've seen are interesting…..and quite nice….like I said it's usually one drink and then home. There are a bunch of old-timers….regulars and just an interesting mixed crowd. Like this group who came in for a drink before heading out in a limo. They asked me to take a photo of them.

With the increase in Covid cases; we're not sure when we'll be back…….hopefully things will get straightened out soon.

Sidecar
1310 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Daily 3pm – 2am

I love the sculpture on the roof of the "Exotic" Animal Hospital next door too.

On one of our first visits; right after the June 15th "reopening" I noticed this sign on Morena.

For some reason I had never noticed them before, but they've been up since summer of 2017! Apparently, before the I-5 was built….who knew!

And then, while going down that rabbit hole, I came across these street videos from 1970 on the City of San Diego Website – approach with caution as it can keep you busy for hours. To quote from the site:

"This collection consists of film created by the Transportation and Storm Water Department from January to October 1970. Some are from a later date. Described as a Photolog by the department, each reel of 35mm color film was taken by a camera attached to a car driving down the street or highway, producing street level views. The individual reels were converted to a digital version by the City Clerk’s Archives. Users may freeze and print the images."

And there's videos of Morena headed North and also South. And since there's a version on Youtube….well guess what? For folks who live in the area, see how many places you recognize (the Clairemont Drive video is fun as well).

Be safe and have a great week!

Roadtrip (During Covid-19) – Dinner at Koberl At Blue (San Luis Obispo)

August 8, 2021 mmm-yoso American Restaurants, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, Travel

After that nice lunch at Firestone Grill, we walked back to our motel and had a nice afternoon nap.

For our dinner in SLO; I created a list for the Missus to choose from and after looking at various menus; She chose Koberl at Blue. The appetizers and vegetarian menu items interested Her. And you know how we enjoy ordering a selection of appetizers to create sort of our own "multi-course" menu to share.

The interior bar area is very "old school" looking….I should have taken a photo. We did enjoy eating outdoors and the service while on the "SLO-side" (how appropriate, right?) was friendly.

The Missus had a glass of wine to start and I ordered the Yuzu Gimlet, which needed a bit more gin in my opinion……

Recalling our regret for not ordering the scallops at Les Petites Canailles, we decided to order the Seared Sea Scallops ($22).

The scallops were on the overcooked side for our taste and the artichoke duxelles was quite bland. There wasn't enough bacon to elevate the flavor of the dish and the brown butter sauce was a bit too cold in temp which led to a slightly greasy mouthfeel. I'm thinking that under normal circumstances the radish would provide a spicy-bitter zip….but it just didn't work out in this case. Not a terrible dish, but not good.

A menu item that fascinated both the Missus and I was the Crispy Snowe Crab "Chinois" ($18).

The crab was nicely formed, breaded, and fried but it was so darn salty. And that dressing reminded me of….well "secret sauce" if you know what I mean. We actually just had one each and as much as we hate to waste food, we just couldn't bring ourselves to finish this. We did mention the sodium level to our gracious Server….not to have it taken off our bill; but just to let the kitchen know.

My favorite dish of the evening was the Beef Carpaccio ($17).

The beef ethereally melted in my mouth. It did have a bit too much "stuffs" with all the celeriac and Parmesiano Reggiano. Just having the capers, less horseradish sauce, and onion would have done the job. Still, I enjoyed this.

The Missus was excited about the Wild Mushroom Ravioli ($20), but it ended up being disappointed.

The basil vermouth sauce was on mild side and really didn't help to bring out the earthiness of the mushroom in the ravioli….I think the Missus was expecting an elevated version of my porcini-cremini sauce. The spinach was perfectly sautéed, but the texture of the ravioli was on the mushy side.

After this dish, we decided to call it a night at Koberl.

Koberl At Blue
998 Monterey St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

We headed back to our room….though while walking down the pedestrian only Monterey Street, we decided to make one more stop….which would end up being two more stops before calling it a night.

Thanks for stopping by!

Roadtrip (During Covid-19) – Walking Around San Luis Obispo and Revisiting Firestone Grill 7 Years Later

August 6, 2021 mmm-yoso American Restaurants, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, Salads, Sandwiches, Travel

After yet another nice meal at Madeline's in Cambria (and that beautiful sunset), we slept well. And after a wonderful night's sleep, I got up early, and just as on our previous visit walked on over to Cambria Coffee Roasting Company to get the Missus Her pour over and a Cold Brew for me.

Like Paso Robles; there's something about Cambria that is very comfortable and on this, our second trip here within a year, it all felt familiar.

Cambria Coffee Roasting Company
761 Main St.
Cambria, CA 93428

We just relaxed and took our sweet time. We had one more stop before heading home and it was basically a 45 minute drive South. Finally, fully awake we headed off….to San Luis Obispo. We had made a stop in SLO years back, but I had wanted to stay for a night. But man, those hotel prices in the downtown area….over $300 a night! Yikes. So, I booked what was basically a motor inn right off the 101 and a short 15 minute walk into the heart of "SLO". Of course we had gotten in quite early; check-in wasn't until 3pm. So, the motel was nice enough to let us park in the lot and we decided to stretch our legs and grab some lunch.

We basically walked up Higuera Street then took a left on Broad Street. We were playing by ear.

The Missus had decided that She wanted to see Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, so we headed off in that direction. We meandered along, crossing over San Luis Obispo Creek; stopping to check out some of the public art.

The creek has nice green spaces and a creekside trail. And some of the restaurants and bars have what seems like serene creekside seating.

It was such a bright and beautiful day in May.

We passed the History Center and headed up to Palm and the garden area of the Mission.

It was a nice, peaceful area to take a break. The Mission is well known for the bells and bellringers.

After a short break we headed off to the front of the Mission.

And the bells went off just as we turned the corner.

The Mission was founded in 1772 by; you guessed it; Junípero Serra. The site itself is fascinating as the area was called Ilano de los Osos (though some say it was La Cañada de los Osos – "Valley of the Bears") "Plain of the Bears" by Juan Crespí, a Franciscan Missionary who documented Gaspar de Portolá's expedition thru what is now California.

There was a nice art display in Mission Plaza and all along SLO called the May Flower Initiative, with some wonderful, colorful displays.

There was something I wanted to check out just a block over. You see; once upon a time, like many cities in California, SLO had a Chinatown (there's a great article here). A block over from the Mission are the remnants of that Chinatown. The most well known being the Ah Louis Store.

Ah Louis is probably the most well known and most successful of those that settled in SLO. The Ah Louis Store still stands; though it's now called "Karson Butler Events at the Ah Louis Store".

Another business that still exists is Mee Heng Low; you can read a wonderful article on the business here. One can only imagine what challenges these folks had to overcome. The anti-Chinese sentiment, the Chinese Exclusion Act……and there are times…at least these days, where I think we haven't evolved very far from the racism and hate of those days.

By this time, the Missus was getting a bit hungry…..after a short discussion….a very short discussion, we thought it would be kinda cool to revisit Firestone Grill, which we really enjoyed over 7 years ago! My how time flies……

So we walked on over.

They were doing great business; but folks were all wearing masks and distancing and other processes were in place.

We placed our order at one counter; found a table outside. They had closed tables in order to distance diners….a nice job overall.

Soon enough our number was called and I headed off to another area to pick up our food. We had ordered the exact same items as on our previous visit.

The Missus got Her massive Steak Cobb Salad ($11.99), which She plowed thru like there's no tomorrow.

Yes, that tri-tip does well on this; but man, it's the bacon and blue cheese that makes the salad in my opinion. And with all that flavor, who needs dressing.

I got the Trip-tip Sandwich (no BBQ sauce please).

They still gave me BBQ sauce; but at least it was on the side….that sauce is way too sweet and for me doesn't bring anything to the sandwich. Not quite as much tri-tip as I recall; but it is still moist and tender, beefy with mild smokiness….I do like the roll they use; lightly toasted, a bit of garlic butter…yeasty. This was quite good……..even 7 years later!

Firestone Grill
1001 Higuera St
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

We were happy with lunch and were looking forward to dinner….but first; a nap of course. I got a text telling me our room was ready so we headed back.

There was one additional stop I wanted to make; Bubblegum Alley….but when we got there, the Missus was so grossed out that She told me I'd be napping in the car if I walked in…..

I dunno; we had been to the Gum Wall in Seattle……but maybe being surrounded by stuff that's been chewed…saliva and all that….in the heat of mid-day?

That's fine……at this point in time, that nap in air conditioned goodness was more important to me!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Rule of Three – Revisits to GyroGrill, LouZiana Food, and Smack’N Guamanian Grill

August 4, 2021 mmm-yoso American Restaurants, Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, Greek Food, Guamanian/Chamorro, Sandwiches

So, I recently started returning to places fairly close to the office and when setting up this post I noticed something about three of these places. The number three comes into play. All three places are on Miramar Road. This is my third post on these places since the pandemic started…..yes, it's been that long. And all three are, well….take out visits. The one big difference is in my ordering mechanism.

So here goes.

GyroGrill:

Gyrogrill actually opened during the pandemic and my first post was back in October of last year.

Since service and turnaround is fairly quick at GG….a big plus is that they open at 9am so I can get our lunches at around 10 and the place is empty and the parking lot isn't crazy. I actually order at the restaurant.

As I mentioned in my follow-up post, I….and my coworkers basically get one thing here. The pork gyros combo with handcut potatoes.

So even though the pork gyros here isn't in the same league as Zgara, it's sometimes a bit on the dry side and could be more aggressively seasoned, it's way better than the ubiquitous Kronos stuff you get almost everywhere else. Decent pork flavor and everyone enjoys the crispy hand cut potatoes. And I've kinda gotten used to the really thick Tzatziki.

Gyrogrill
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 9am – 7pm
Sat 9am – 6pm
Closed Sunday

LouZiana Food:

**** LouZiana Food has closed

I think I'm pretty good at taking direction and on my last post on LouZiana Grill back in January of this year, "FOY" Dereck wrote this in the comments:

"Kirk, I don't know how you can get out of there without a roast beef po boy. It isn't like the debris sandwiches from NOLA, but it sure as hell does taste good when I want a fix!"

So, ok I decided to try the roast beef po' boy. My mechanism for ordering here (there's no online ordering) is to call in. LZ can get a bit busy at times and I still am a bit put off by crowds. The folks working are always friendly and my order is always waiting when I arrive.

I mentioned in my previous post during the pandemic, that I'm not a big fan of the bread here. But in this framework it does real well. Because sheesh…..

Oh geez, look at all that remoulade sauce! But that bread holds up real well and is almost tailormade for all that mayo goodness. In fact, when I bit into one end of the sandwich…it basically "sharted" remoulade out the other end. Luckily, I ate over the wrappers! The sauce was fairly balanced; not too much sour-pickle juice tones, though I like my remoulade to be more garlicky and spicy this was not bad. Standard issue shredded iceberg and tomatoes. The one thing about not having and overly strong sauce is that I could actually taste the roast beef.

A messy, but pretty good sandwich. Thanks for the recommendation Dereck!

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

Smack’N Guamanian Grill:

Much like GyroGrill, I pretty much get the same thing from Smack’N Guamanian Grill during my pandemic takeout visits. The Chebot Plate, the combo of BBQ Chicken and Kelaguen (I sub out an extra scoop of Kelaguen for the cabbage slaw), with Red Rice. Smack’N has online ordering which I use.

And even though on my previous two pandemic visits the chicken was "masked" (i.e covered with foil)….I guess with new CDC guidelines, masking is now optional!

Smack’N has been pretty consistent over the last couple of visits and I know what to expect. The Kelaguen is very moist, though lacking in coconut tones and spice. It's not overly salty, has mild citrus tones, and is quite easy to take. The finedene is also fairly mild as well. I actually take the Kelaguen home and use my homemade finedene…..because, as you can tell, this a generous amount of food.

The BBQ Chicken is nicely grilled, fairly tender, and has really good salt-soy balance. It's much better than what you get from many of those "Hawaiian BBQ" places.

The Red Rice does a fine job of soaking up the chicken drippings and is quite moist.

Smack’N Guamanian Grill
9506 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 11am – 7pm
Closed on Sundays

You know, it's hard to believe that I've now done three posts on these places during the pandemic……it just seems to go on and on. My hope is that the next time I do a post on one of these places; I'll be eating in and the worse will be but a tiny speck in our "rearview mirror".

Take care everyone!

2022 Rose Parade float Road Test (One) Breakfast at Norm’s

August 2, 2021 Cathy American Restaurants, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Today, Cathy is writing the post; Kirk is having a really busy Monday at work.

Link to 2022 Rose Parade Float Road Test #2

Link to 2022 Road Test # 3

We couldn't wait any longer. Our last road trip to Pasadena was on January 2, 2020 to see the Showcase of floats of the 2020 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade. If you are a reader of this blog, you know that The Mister and I enjoy "Start to Finish" (as well as Decorating) Rose Parade floats. Last year, the Parade was canceled, however the Theme had been chosen and it will be used for 2022.

Road tests hadn't been announced online, but we drove North on Saturday and, indeed, "our" decorating barn (Phoenix Decorating) was not open, so we drove about two miles North,

saw several news trucks and parked. The Fiesta Parade Floats barn was having a road test of three of their 2021 floats.
You can see this float, by the City of Torrance, will be adorable! The elephant's head sways back and forth and it looks like there will be a water feature.
The base of the Donate Life float (facing opposite of the drawing) will have people in the small boats at the bottom. You can see where the "spotter" is sitting in the front. The driver is way in the back (inside the boxed in area), since all he sees and follows is the 'Rose Colored Line' along Colorado Boulevard during the parade.

This one might be difficult to envision now, but you can see by its size that it will be magnificent! The UPS Store float will have to be able to 'collapse' along the parade route, that's why all the hydraulics are there. Again, this is the 'off camera' side view of the float-the "basket" is at the front of the float. The smaller photo is where the rooster tail feathers will be- and I think they will be moving.

After this wonderful semblance of 'normal', The Mister and I drove about six miles, South East. We had to stop. Norms, one of the first 24/7 Los Angeles restaurants, an icon since 1949, has a Norms Junior location in West Covina, in a former Spires Restaurant building. Because of new protocols, the menu is simple,

as is the order and pay area.
Beverages and utensils are ready at the end of the counter and you can carry those to wherever you would like to sit. Soon the food is brought to your table.
The Mister chose the "Bigger Better Breakfast" ($8.99). Wow, two pancakes, two eggs, two bacon, two sausage, a large slice of ham and hash browns. So much flavor! Perfectly cooked over-easy eggs, really nice pancakes. What a great meal.
I chose the breakfast sandwich ($5.99). I used to always try breakfast sandwiches following road tests for the many years and somehow got out of the habit. I am now back in the habit. The toasted eggy brioche bun was quite large. There were two eggs (I asked for over medium and they were). The cheese and sausages were just the perfect compliments; quality sausage and a better American cheese. A great meal.

So happy we stopped here.

Norms Junior 501 N. Azuza Avenue West Covina 91791 open daily 7 a.m.-11 p.m. Website (626) 859-2375