June 2025 – mmm-yoso

Buckboard’s BBQ & Brew (El Cajon)

June 30, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, BBQ

Recently, the Missus was invited to a Birthday/Happy Hour with coworkers. Since we've had JJ for 8 months now and he's getting a bit older, we thought we could leave him for a couple of hours so the Missus could attend. Since I'd be just dropping the Missus off then killing time; I thought I'd take JJ with me; but since it was in El Cajon, it just seemed a bit too hot for the little guy. Plus, I had a place in mind that wasn't dog friendly. So, I dropped the Missus off and then headed to get dinner at the restaurant on my "list"; to find the place (Brothers Turkish) was closed, even though their website, Google, and the four lettered site said they were open! Sigh…… So, I needed to find a plan B….which ended up being Buckboard's BBQ & Brew.

Buckboards 01

Which is located in a mixed residential – business area on Greenfield Drive. The place was fairly busy, the folks quite friendly.

Buckboards 02

And quite kitschy as well……

Buckboards 03

The folks working were quite friendly. This is one of those order at the counter, pay, and they'll bring the food out to you. I initially wanted the sausage plate, but they were out of sausages, also out of beef ribs, it must have been a pretty busy day…..I understand that they do Santa Maria style BBQ, so tri-tip seemed like the better "consolation choice".

I got an order of Tri-Tip ($23), some street corn ($6), and sweet potato fries ($6). I took a seat in the bar area and my order arrived in like 15 minutes.

Buckboards 04

This was interesting as the signage said the tri-tip was served medium, which this was not. I read that the tri-tip is dry brined for five days. The beef was quite juicy and tender, though it lacked a mild smokiness that I enjoy. It could have used more seasoning and lacked a smoke ring. It's pretty good, though not nearly as good as what we get at Firestone Grill or even what I make at home. The horseradish sauce was nice and creamy, though on the milder side. I do like my horseradish sauces to have some nice sinus clearing pungency. The butter toast could have been toasted a bit more as it was quite soft. Still, the portion size was quite large, I could only finish half. Though I saw the woman several seats down from me polish off her entire meal, including her sides!

Speaking of sides.

Buckboards 05

The Sweet Potato Fries, were thin slices, slightly crisp, but got soggy quite quickly.

Buckboards 07

The starchy-sweet flavor did come thru nicely though.

As for the "Street Corn". Well, much like the version at Shalhoob's Funk Zone Patio, there was way too much aioli.

Buckboards 06

Though the portion size was quite generous.

In the end; Buckboard's seems like a fun stop, nice employees, with generous portions. Glad I had a chance to visit, though I still want to try Brothers Turkish!

Funny thing, when I did that Google thingy, I noticed that both Mary and Soo have posted on Buckboard's, so please check out their posts as well!

Buckboards 08

Buckboard's BBQ & Brew
975 Greenfield Dr.
El Cajon, CA 92021
Current Hours:
Thurs – Sun 11am – 8pm
Closed Mon – Wed

Cali Baguette Express (City Heights) Revisited

June 29, 2025 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Vietnamese Restaurants

After my less than satisfying revisit to K Sandwiches, I decided to head on over to Cali Baguette Express, the City Heights location, not the Mira Mesa location, which I really haven't ever really enjoyed. Way back in May of 2008 when I did my first posts on Cali Baguette Express, my first thoughts was that this is what K Sandwiches could be. Eventually, the place expanded, with a location on Convoy, which eventually became Cali Banh Mi (I'm sure there's a story there). My visits to both the location on Garnet and the Convoy location have really not been satisfying.

Well, enough of that; it was time for a banh mi.

Cali Bag Express Rev 01

Over time, the menu at CBE sure has expanded, with everything from pho/bun, to plates of grilled pork and such. Of course, I was here for the banh mi.

Cali Bag Express Rev 02

I ordered my usual Banh Mi Pate Cha which is now $7.50, pretty much the going rate for banh mi these days. A quick check on my last visit in November of 2021 reveals a price of $5.

I could see that the bread was still being baked inhouse.

Cali Bag Express Rev 04

I placed my order with the very nice young lady and took a look around the shop while I waited. My goodness, all the tchotchkes!

Cali Bag Express Rev 03

Once ready, I got my sandwich and headed home.

Cali Bag Express Rev 05 Cali Bag Express Rev 06 I must have hit the lottery on this day, because the bread was still slightly warm. It was yeasty and somewhat "crackly". Maybe the best bread I've had here.

And the banh mi had that ever so elusive item these days, an actual slice of cucumber. Not as much pickled veggies as before, but acceptable. The cilantro featured mostly leaves, which I was pleased about, though it was piled in the center of the sandwich. I went and spread it out. One of the two slices of jalapeno was fairly potent.

There used to be four slices of cha lua across the sandwich, but on this day I counted three. Yes, I know, who the heck counts the slices of meat in a banh mi….I guess I do. Even though you can't really see it, there was a light smear of pate, which I could actually taste.

Cali Bag Express Rev 00

Overall, not a super stuffed sandwich, which I kind of enjoyed. While I think CBE has been surpassed by other banh mi shops in the past few years, it's still not a bad option in my mind

I've been having fun revisiting all these banh mi shops….I hope you're enjoying these posts!

Cali Baguette Express
5125 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92115
Current Hours:
Daily 6am – 8pm

Odds and Ends – Cumin Chinese Cauliflower (Caulilini), Pliny the Elder at Bay Hill Tavern, and Other “Stuffs”

June 26, 2025 mmm-yoso Beer, Cooking, Pubs and Pub Grub, Recipes, yoso-silly

Just a couple of quick things for today…..

I don't know if you've noticed. Many times, when we're having Chinese food whether at a restaurant or for takeout, we don't order vegetables. The reason for this is that the Missus has a hard time spending maybe over $15 for stir fried veggies. On most occasions we'll have leftovers and then I'll go ahead and stir fry veggies at home. I still have a Big Kahuna, my second one since 2005, this one goes to 65,000 BTU and is great for wok stir fries.

Or, as in the case of the item below, I'll go ahead and roast something in the air fryer…..sometimes I'll do both at the same time as doing the stir fry can take less than 2 minutes!

Anyway, the latest item was something I just kinda made up. The Missus really likes Caulilini, which is known here as Chinese Cauliflower. It's the type of cauliflower She grew up eating in China. Also known as Baby Cauliflower, it features thin green stems, is a bit sweeter, the florets are more loosely arranged. The Missus grew up eating cauliflower stir fried with tomato. I thought I'd try something interesting, knowing that She enjoys the flavor of cumin in dishes like BO Zi Ran Yang Rou (Cumin Lamb). I thought the P-Cresol-ish cumin would go nicely with cauliflower and it did.

Cumin Cauliflower 01

Because the quantity of cauliflower varies, I'll just give you a photo of the ingredients (minus the cauliflower).

Cumin Cauliflower 02

There's a certain sequence that I've been using for making this.

Air Fryer Cumin Cauliflower
1 – After rinsing, prepping, and draining the cauliflower pour a few tablespoons of avocado, or any other neutral oil into a mixing bowl. Add cauliflower and combine.
2 – Add Sichuan Peppercorn oil to coat and White Pepper
3 – Add Cumin, Chinese Five Spice, and Granulated Garlic – I used to use fresh shopped garlic but it burned too easy. Mix well.
4 – Taste to make sure the cumin flavor comes thru clearly
5 – Add about a tablespoon of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of chili crisp, I found that Lau Gan Ma works the best.
6 – Stir and mix well to coat.
7 – Taste and adjust seasonings and add smoked salt.
8 – Roast in 450° Air Fryer for 12-14 minutes.

The time the Missus said She wanted me to grill some Shishamo:

So, I went to grill some veggies and also some of my Local Kine Chashu Chicken for the Missus when She asked me to grill some Shishamo for Her. I thought this kind of strange, since we'd sometimes do it on the Konro, but She wanted it grilled….

So, I prepped some.

Shishamo JJ 01

When I finished, I found out who it was actually for. Guess who got Shishamo?

Shishamo JJ 02b

I actually posted about it on Instagram and some folks found it funny…..

Pliny the Elder at Bay Hill Tavern:

Earlier in the week, the Missus wanted some tacos from the Tacos La Chorreada Truck. So JJ and I walked on over, placed my order and decided to head on over to Bay Hill Tavern for a cerveza until my tacos were ready.

I was given the "specials" menu to look over and was pleasantly surprised.

Man, they had Pliny the Elder on tap! When was the last time I had that?

My goodness….it was so good. I'm hoping they still have it the next time I visit. If you plan on dropping by specifically for a PtE, perhaps you may want to call first as I'm sure they'll soon run out – 619-326-8828.

Bay Hill Tavern
3010 Clairemont Drive
San Diego, CA 92117
Current Hours:
Mon – Thurs 11am – 9pm
Friday 11am – 10pm
Saturday 10am – 10pm
Sunday 10am – 9pm

And finally……

My latest "ear worm":

I'm sure this might be before your time, but someone mentioned the late Wili Moku to me recently. He was the DJ I always listened to on KKUA in the 80's (before they became Public Radio – hey you rememba the Home Grown album?)

But for some reason, Da' Mokkettes song Palolo Valley Girls, a parody (of a parody) of Frank & Moon Unit Zappa's "Valley Girl" started playing in my head. Arrgh…..I just can't clear it out!

So, just to share the wealth.

"Shoot la dat, no act, no act……" "Make a all the way!"

Hope you're having a wonderful week!

We Be OB (Ocean Beach) – Breakfasts with JJ

June 25, 2025 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Hot Dogs, Sandwiches

While grabbing breakfasts with JJ at Daybreak Island Grill, I noticed a very colorful place right across the street and roundabout.

We Be Ob 01

Named "We Be OB"…….looking online, the place served everything from coffee and acai bowls to burgers, hoagies, sandwiches, shakes, smoothies, ice cream, hot dogs and something called a "panini weenie". Nothing fancy mind you, but I read the place was dog friendly, so JJ and I decided to drop by.

We Be Ob 02

There's a small parking lot, but arriving just past the 8am opening time….well, this is OB, the place was empty. This is one of those, you order at the counter places.

We Be Ob 03

The gentleman working was super friendly and welcoming. He was so nice to JJ. I looked over the menu and I just couldn't help myself.

We Be Ob 04

I just had to try a "panini weenie", so I ordered a half, which seemed like a bargain for $7. The gentleman told me to hang with JJ in the back patio which had nice seating, a dart board, corn hole, and other stuffs.

We Be Ob 05

But I chose to sit out front.

We Be Ob 06

And JJ enjoyed watching the people (and pooches) stroll on by.

We Be Ob 07

As for my ahem "weenie"; I got the PA Dutch (Half – $7).

We Be Ob 08

This was basically three lengthwise slices of hot dogs on what, at least to me seemed like a ciabatta like bread. I enjoyed the pickled carrots/veggies and of course the sauerkraut; though I wish there was more of that and less mayo. But it's hard to complain for $7 these days.

We Be Ob 09

I did enjoy the "very OB" vibe of the place, laid-back surfer/beachy. For some reason, I think a place like this would do just fine in Haleiwa…..

While sitting I noticed that the shop is right next to the Bacon Street entrance to Robb Field, close to the San Diego River Bikeway which runs along the San Diego River Estuary. I thought that JJ might enjoy a walk along the the bikeway. So, I returned the following weekend. Same really nice fellow working. This time I noticed that one of the televisions was live streaming some baby eagles from a nest in Big Bear. It was really cute.

We Be Ob 10

Since I had to use the roundabout to get here I got a Bacon Street Roundabout Panini ($9).

We Be Ob 11 We Be Ob 12 This actually had two eggs, bacon, cheese, and a very mild chili. Basically a brushing of "beans", some bacon, mild cheese….if not for the two eggs, it might have been a bit too much bread for me. But this did fill me up.

We Be Ob 13

I had parked in the lot for Robb Field right next to We Be OB and took JJ for a nice walk along the bikeway.

We Be Ob 14

Which he enjoyed.

You know, We Be OB is not fancy…it's just a nice, inviting, laidback place and really fits the Ocean Beach profile, with simple food, some relatively healthy….Acai and smoothies…some not, like the weenie paninis, reasonably priced….part sports bar, part neighborhood hang out.

Chatting with the owner, I found that he used to live in Bay Park, but moved to OB….I guess so "He Be OB"?

We Be OB
5020 W Point Loma Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92107
Current Hours:
Daily 8am – 8pm

Me Sen Thai Noodle House and Sizzling House & Noodle Revisited

June 24, 2025 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

Here are a couple of revisits to places that have recently opened. One was a revisit to try a dish they were out of on previous visits; the other a couple of coworkers wanted to check out.

Sizzling House & Noodle:

So, Calvin and Richard wanted to meet up for lunch. After going thru some of the newer places in the Convoy area; they decided to meet up at Sizzling House & Noodle.

Sizzling House Rev 01

Well, one thing was for sure….I wasn't going to have the A5 Wagyu again! I had fully intended on getting the rice with pepper sauce and shrimp. But, I ended getting what Calvin and Richard ordered; the basic beef with pepper sauce. ($17.99) I did get it with udon to see how the noodles held up and of course an egg ($1.99 upcharge).

Of course, the friendly neighborhood robot delivered our plates.

Sizzling House Rev 02

Which were "shielded" by the cardboard crown to prevent splatter.

Sizzling House Rev 03 Sizzling House Rev 04 First off, I actually thought the basic "wagyu" (heavy on the quotes) beef, while rather scarce was cut thinner, thus seemingly more tender. I liked the thin slices of oyster mushroom, which added a nice sweet-earthiness to the plate. To me, that egg is a must.

The standard gravy boat of pepper sauce was provided. For some reason, it seemed sweeter than on my previous visit. To me, the tangy-sweet flavors overpower the pepperiness.

As for the udon, well, the texture was decent, good pull, mild chewiness, though some of the noodles were stuck to the pan, which I guess wasn't "oiled" enough.

Sizzling House Rev 05

And like before, there just didn't seem to be enough sauce to coat the starch…at least to satisfy me.

Well, at least I got to try this place out again, without spending over $40. I'm kind of done with this "fad" for now.

Sizzling House & Noodle
4698 Convoy St. Suite 107
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon – Thurs 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 930pm
Friday 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm
Saturday 11am – 10pm
Sunday 11am – 930pm

Me Sen Thai Noodle House:

I found myself at 99 Ranch Market on Clairemont at around 945 or so and once I'd finished shopping, I looked over to Me Sen, which was still quite empty, and decided to see if they had the dish that they had been out of on my visit back in April.

Me Sen Rev 01

And yes, they had the Khao Mun Gai ($13.95) available. So, I took a seat and placed my order to the very nice woman working.

It was a short wait, but soon enough my Khao Mun Gai arrived.

Me Sen Rev 02 Me Sen Rev 03 Which smelled heavenly. It came with a bowl of broth that had decent cilantro – white pepper tones, but was quite salty. And the dipping sauce, which did have a bit of spice was not my favorite as I prefer the Hainanese style white, ginger-garlic, pungent style sauce.

My favorite part of the dish was the rice, which was so fowl-ly delicious, as if it had stolen the soul of that chicken! It had just the right amount of salt and was cooked perfectly. The portion of rice was rather large, which I actually appreciated in this case.

Me Sen Rev 04 Me Sen Rev 05 As for the chicken; well it was deboned, making it easy to eat, while being very moist and tender. It was a bit on the milder side in terms of flavor though. Again, if I had that ginger-garlic based sauce, I'd have been really happy. I ended up making sure I had some "chicken soul stealing" rice and chicken in each bite.

To me, it's hard finding a good Khao Mun Gai/Hainan Chicken Rice in San Diego and this comes pretty close. Along with the friendly service…..even in the face of some kinda rude "typical 99 Ranch" customers, and the decent price, I'll definitely return for this, and even the noodle soups I'd had here before.

Me Sen Rev 02

Me Sen Thai Noodle Shop
7300 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 10am – 9pm

Monday Meanderings – Potato Powder Love Noodle (for real) replacing Shann Xi Magic Kitchen in 99 Ranch Market (Balboa), TP Tea coming to Clairemont Town Square, and slicing your own bread at Whole Foods

June 23, 2025 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Chinese Restaurants, Desserts, Markets & Grocers, yoso-silly

I'm doing one of these "meanderings" posts today because I just noticed a couple of things over the last two days that I thought interesting.

TP Tea coming to Clairemont Town Square:

I took JJ to an early morning walk and since I like to keep it some variety, I'll often rotate venues. For some reason, I headed on up to Clairemont Town Square early in the morning, and quickly noticed something new.

TP TEa Coming Soon

Looks like the chain TP Tea – which I guess stands for Taiwan Professional Tea, is opening a shop which was the last known location of Isa.Bella, located in the same structure as Main Chick Hot Chicken. For me, this is great, as I always wondered why there weren't more Asian businesses in this huge complex, other than the Panda Express.

4705-A Clairemont Drive
San Diego, CA 92117

Slicing your own bread at Whole Foods:

The Missus wanted some escargot for dinner, so I headed to the Cuisinery to restock. She also wanted some bread and I really didn't want to drive to Secret Sister or even Con Pane. So, I decided to head on over to Whole Foods La Jolla, which is sort of on the way to the Cuisinery. I had gotten the Baby Boule from there before and had it sliced. It's small and not too expensive and would do in a pinch. When I arrived and walked to the bread counter I asked for a Baby Boule and was told it's now self serve….this includes the slicing of the bread!

WF Sliced Bread 01b

I've seen these used at Con Pane and Secret Sister….but never thought it would be safe for me to use one!

WF Sliced Bread 02

But I just tried it out. It's not hard at all. The hardest part was getting the sliced bread into a bag!

It turned out ok.

WF Sliced Bread 03

And I still have all my fingers…..

Whole Foods Market
8825 Villa La Jolla Dr.
La Jolla, CA 92037

Potato Powder Love Noodle replacing Shann Xi Magic Kitchen in 99 Ranch Market (Balboa):

Yesterday, the Missus told me She wanted me to make my Cumin Chinese Cauliflower. So, I headed over to 99 Ranch Market on Balboa. I walked past the food court to see what was happening adn noticed that Shann Xi Magic Kitchen was closed. Which I thought was strange.

Shann Xi Closed 01

There was a note posted on the counter…never a good sign….

Shann Xi Closed 02b

Which just confirmed what I thought…..well, this location of Shann Xi Magic Kitchen is closed. So, it looks like you'll need to go to the Convoy location if you're craving their food.

I also noticed a note on the cash register.

Shann Xi Closed 00

And it seems like "Potato Powder Love Noodle" is opening here next month? What a name! I did a quick search and found that PPLN has shops in San Gabriel and City of Industry. Knife cut and potato noodles (thus the name I guess) with various broths.

Man, Shann Xi is one of the "OG" stands in the food court, which has been kind of a revolving door with Dao Xiang recently replacing Mama Lin's, which replaced Saigon 5, and Cluck n Sip replacing Krispy Krunchy Chicken within the last year.

It seems that places are having a hard time staying in business here.

5950 Balboa Ave (In the 99 Ranch Market Food Court)
San Diego, CA 92111

Circling Back to K Sandwiches

June 22, 2025 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Vietnamese Restaurants

In my post on revisiting A-Chau and Avian, "FOY" Franklin asked if I'd be doing a post on K Sandwiches, or as he calls it "De-K Sandwiches". Funny thing, but I had just revisited a couple of days before. Funny thing, though Cathy has done a number of posts on K Sandwiches over the years. I've only posted on the place once, nearly 20 years ago! Yeeesh…. My reason being that I've found the product at K to be not to my liking. I've had banh mi from there several times since; mostly takeout when our offices were in Serra Mesa and Kearny Mesa, but still hadn't really enjoyed the banh mi. But I felt it was time to head on back. Especially since I had been doing my "rounds" of banh mi shops in recent months.

The parking lot was quite busy on this day and the shop bustling with customers.

K Sandwiches Rev 01

There was a short line to order….I quickly noted that other than the employees, I was the only Asian in the place? The folks manning the counter were quite cheerful.

I ordered the Pate Cha Lua ($7.25). I got a chuckle thinking about RD's comment on my recent post on Paris Sandwiches recalling the price of a banh mi a K being $1.99. Those were the days!

K Sandwiches Rev 02 K Sandwiches Rev 03 Even though K bakes their own baguette, I had never been a real fan of their bread which I'd found to be on "mealy" side. On this day, it was better than what I recalled, though still lacking in the yeasty end of the flavor spectrum and over baked and on the harder side.

The fillings were done haphazardly. Thin slices of cha lua are fine with me; it's all about proportion. In this case the thin slices of cha lua are lining the top and bottom; except that slices are missing from the bottom third of the sandwich. As expected, no cucumber. Hardly any pickled radish and carrots. Ditto the pate. There was one slice of jalapeno locted at one end of the banh mi. The cilantro was mostly stems.

K Sandwiches Rev 04

In my opinion, a very poorly made banh mi. Kind of sad, since this is a family run operation, though "FOY" Vi mentioned that the family learned how to make bread from the owners of Lee's and were going to open a franchise here. But decided to open their own shop instead.

Really not my top choice in the area when I want a banh mi; though they are super popular and bustling. And they've lasted nearly 20 years so they must be doing something right.

K Sandwiches
7604 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 730am – 6pm
Sunday 8am – 6pm

Revisits to the Tacos La Chorreada Truck

June 20, 2025 mmm-yoso Food Trucks, Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

Back almost three years ago, I paid my first visit to the Tacos La Chorreada Truck which is parked in V-Outlet lot on Clairemont Drive. I thought some of the tacos were decent, so I told the Missus. Of course She didn't believe me. It took me almost three years to convince Her that it might be worth a try. And so, She finally gave in. And guess what? She does indeed think of it as being one of the better options within walking distance….possibly the best. And since that first takeout visit, well…..we've I've been walking up to the truck with JJ to do takeout when the Missus is craving some tacos.

La Chorreada Rev 01

There are just a couple of items from the menu that we order.

La Chorreada Rev 02

No pollo, carne asada, or carnitas……..and it turns out that the Missus didn't care for the rubbery buche (pork stomach).

La Chorreada Rev 03

We'll usually get 4 tacos, some salsa verde and salsa rojo…the Missus likes the greasy, but tasty onions as well as the rustic, maizey tortillas.

La Chorreada Rev 04 La Chorreada Rev 05 Since I've already done a post on this truck; I'll list the Missus's current favorites.

Tied for 1 – Cabeza and Lengua: I guess it depends on the day, but these two are the Missus's "must order". The lengua is a bit more beefy, but amazingly tender. The cabeza, when done with a slight char has a great texture; though milder in flavor than the lengua, it's goes well with the salsa rojo and a squeeze of lime to cut the richness. We always order these two.

3 – Chorizo con Nopales – The Missus enjoys both the mildly smoky flavor paprika brings to chorizo, along with a bit of the savory-pungent-earthy tones. The Nopales adds that gooey "neba-neba" texture She enjoys as well. The flavor of the tortillas and the onions really come thru on this one.

4 – Cueritos (pork skin) – The Missus is on the fence on this one; though I enjoy the contrasts in textures that the gooey-rubbery pork skin brings to taco. I enjoy this with the salsa verde as the tanginess can be really made out.

It's nice finally having an option nearby that the Missus enjoys. As a plus, I can place my order, and JJ to visit his "aunties and uncles" Bay Hill Tavern for a cerveza, then pick up tacos "para llevar" (to go) and head on home.

La Chorreada Rev 06

And it seems that this truck is doing some good business. On two of my visits folks placed order for the 30 taco special!

The Tacos La Chorreada Truck (In the Parking Lot of V-Outlet)
3030 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Where on the road were we?

June 19, 2025 mmm-yoso Road Trip, Sierra Nevada, California, Travel, yoso-silly

Sorry for the lack of posts…..I guess I needed some time to recover from my last 7 hour drive home the other day. Heck, JJ even handled it better than I did!

Anyway, thought I'd share some photos. We headed out to a region we're somewhat familiar with, but an area we hadn't visited before. The Missus was really interested to see how JJ handled hiking and I must say, he was a champ!

We did five hikes and a couple of walks in three full days! Some of which were over five miles and 800+ foot elevation gain! Yikes!

We looked for hikes that had some cover because JJ doesn't like heat or prolonged direct sunlight and at the elevation we were at….well, that wouldn't be nice! We loved our accommodations, which actually had a decent kitchen, which we'll make sure to remember if we return. The place and the staff were super dog friendly….on one day, I counted 9 pooches staying there.

The Missus's and my favorite parts of our hikes were the beautiful lakes…..

Which were so scenic and pristine.

As for JJ….well, there were still quite a few snow banks along the way, which he loved. He would often get the "zoomies"….

And exposure to new situations were quite interesting…..

JJ has always hated water….in fact he used to have a phobia of puddles….yes…for real. So, it was interesting to see him overcome that as he figured out how to cross over streams.

One of us would be on each side of the stream or body of water and cheer him on. We'd let him figure things out for himself and he did well!

IMG_0743b

He got so good at this hiking thing that he'd get somewhat impatient waiting for me…the slowpoke at times.

Yep, that's his "hurry up daddy" look.

Personally, I enjoy taking my time…..well, maybe I'm just old and slow. But there were a couple of stops I really enjoyed.

Right across from our hotel….well, after a good amount of stairs was a large venue with several large restaurants, shops, and a distillery that made cocktails we really enjoyed.

Almost all restaurants had outdoor seating available and were dog friendly; though a couple were still in transition mode from winter to summer and not ready yet. Still, we'd usually get a late lunch and dinner at one of the restaurants. Nothing mind blowing, mind you; but not terrible.

Though by the end of our stay…..we had gotten to the point of doing takeout and eating on our balcony.

So, there you go….as my backlog of travel/road trip posts gets even larger!

Thanks for stopping by!

I'll get back to my regularly scheduled posts tomorrow!

Mary-Etta’s (El Cajon) (again)

June 16, 2025 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Burgers

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy while Kirk and His Missus are vacationing.

I haven't posted about Mary Etta's since 2016, when The Mister and I enjoyed a breakfast at the counter.

Recently, I took my brother here before his drive home because he said he wanted 'something like lunch', while I was wanting breakfast.

This long time (since 1935) cafe, mostly patronized by locals (it's on Olde Highway 80, parallel to and South of the 8, in the Flinn Springs area-close to Lakeside) is known for making their own breakfast sausage. They serve both sides of the menu all day.

Lately, I've been craving pancakes, and it's always been too busy to make them at home. The two egg, bacon and pancake plate ($12.75) was my order. The perfectly prepared over-easy eggs were runny and dip-able with pancake pieces. The flapjacks were lightly crisp on the exterior and wonderfully fluffy and had just the right amount of sweetness to satisfy me. The bacon was not too thick nor thin; it did have flavor. So many times I have been disappointed with bacon to the point that it is rarely ordered.

My brother decided on a sausage burger ($13.50); it's the breakfast sausage with cheese (add $1) (he chose pepperjack) and got the breakfast country fries on the side-the thinly sliced, fried crisp potatoes are also pretty unique here. The breakfast sausage patty was hefty, coarse ground and filled with fresh herbs and spices. It was served on a toasted sesame seeded bun, which was very nice. Lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions were on the side. My brother approved.

Fresh coffee, refilled in mismatched cups, friendly service and great food.

Mary Etta's Cafe 14809 Olde Highway 80 El Cajon, CA 92021 Open Daily 7:00-1:30