Cathy – Page 106

Road Trip-Day One: San Diego, CA- Albuquerque, NM

November 19, 2007 Cathy Albuquerque, American/New American Restaurants, Chains, Road Trip, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso is a food blog-a diary of what a bunch of friends eat. Occasionally we explain why we happen to be eating whatever, wherever. Cathy is merely blogging what she usually does at this time of the year.

Hi. Yes, you read the title correctly. This is a blogging of what The Mister and I do for Thanksgiving every year -except for last year-

because I tripped, fell, was in a cast TO MY SHOULDER for about 7 weeks, and so driving a manual transmissioned car for days at a time was out of the question.

Yes, days at a time. Because of the ability to transmit from my iBook directly to the internet, when there is a connection, you-all of you reading this- get to share in a drive almost all the way across the Continental United States, and back. With food and sights.

So, really late Sunday afternoon, The Mister and I left the house, grabbing one cat (he is diabetic and needs insulin twice a day), one dog (her 'sister' died a few weeks ago and so I am trying to pay a little bit more attention to her), my auto reload Starbucks card ( a wonderful thing; once the balance gets below $15, my AmEx credit card automatically reloads this one with another $20), a small suitcase and jumped in the car and started driving…we left 7 cats, 3 dogs and three large birdcages of parakeets, finches and canaries for my Dear Neighbor, Ms. N, to play with for a few days…and we started driving.

We didn't do much in the way of eating, except for In-N-Out in Yuma (sorry, ed) I apologize for the post looking kind of odd; I haven't ever posted using a Mac; only the PC… So, when we stopped for fuel, we saw this, leaving a gas pump: Absolutely the *coolest* dune buggy.. The scenery leaving Campo, with the electric generating windmills was beautiful. We spent the night in Camp Verde, AZ at a Quality Inn and had a simple-do it yourself breakfast I had a hard boiled egg, a toasted bagel with butter and grape jelly, an orange and some oatmeal, as well as orange juice and hot tea (Only buying coffee at Starbucks and have taken photos of each cup we bought…at four different Starbucks as of this posting. When we got to Winslow, AZ, we saw Sonic! and we had to… We each got a Brakfast sandwich- on Texas Toast. Egg, cheese and bacon for me, sausage for The Mister. Also some tots and -oh yes- the fried macaroni and cheese nuggets… Sonic is a Drive in, much like was common in the 1950's. You cannot walk inside and have to order from the menu board voice system next to where you park. Then a live person comes out with your order and takes your money and gives you change. They make great burgers, hot dogs and shakes. You'll see soon enough. Other sites we have seen today includ the Worlds Largest Kokopelli: and just beautiful scenery of the American West. Erosion is really neat. Yes, I am posting this from a Starbucks in Albuquerque. It is Monday, about 12:45 p.m. in San Diego time. We have to get to Amarillo before dark. Hope all of you are having a good short week.

Elsa’s Kitchen-Greek Food that is really good.

October 31, 2007 Cathy Greek Food, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog that Kirk and Cathy and ed and Vicky write on to tell you about meals they ate. Once again, it is Cathy writing, because Kirk is still not feeling well.

Hi. Happy Halloween. I don’t play games with treats, or decorations. Fast food bags turned to luminaria. Hope you had a nice day.

So. The Northeast corner of El Cajon Boulevard and 70th Street, just next to the Exxon gas station. That parking lot. Here is the street sign.

Here is what the front window looks like. Hopefully when you go, the mall will be finished being re-done and there will be signs above the doors of the various businesses.

Here is a close up of that front window. Daily specials. Great prices.

The menu is simple.

As is the interior. Seven tables. Simple. Clean.

ah- the food.

The Spanakopita and falafel side dish. ($4.25)

Three fresh made falafel nuggets. Tasty. Served with a yogurt based tzatziki sauce.

The Spanakopita was very fresh, large and savory. Feta filled and with flaky filo dough.

The Pastrami sandwich. ($5.20) Not fatty, a lot of meat, mustard and pickles but the meat was kind of too peppered for my liking. The bread was very fresh.

The small order of onion rings ($1.75) – perfect. Almost every Greek place we go to just knows how to make onion rings the right way…a light batter, wide cut sweet onions..gosh I could eat these every day.

The Gyros sandwich, deconstructed ($4.50).

Lots of thicker cut gyros meat, with nicely crispy fried edges…a good fresh fluffy bread….tomatoes, onions and the fresh tzatziki. Simple and perfectly good.

We also got a vanilla shake ($2.25). Not bad, but not

great.

When we were there, a few people came in and ordered the burger, done medium rare and took it to go. I will try that soon.

Elsa’s Kitchen 7022 El Cajon Boulevard San Diego 92115 Mon-Sat 10:30-9 Sunday 12-8 (619)464-6711

Sushi Diner-Japanese food in Linda Vista- Very Very Good (but we didn’t order much sushi…)

October 30, 2007 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! , the blog, is not on vacation. Neither is Kirk…he is merely indisposed and Cathy is a-bloggin away, in between cleaning, changing air filters, dusting and more cleaning after the fires…

Hi. The location of this place should be fairly familiar to you, if you read this blog. It is right next door to Mein Trung, and worth a visit when you are in this area/parking lot and not craving other Vietnamese meals or sandwiches.

Sushi Diner is on and facing Mesa College Drive, just a bit from the corner of Linda Vista Road. If you park in the K-Sandwiches parking lot, you can walk over.

The menu (you can click and enlarge) is fairly simple, a good sign, and there are some lunch Bentos that are excellent and less than $7. This is a dinner we had not too long ago.

We started out with some hot tea (no charge) which was brought out in thermoses, a very nice touch.

We also ordered a "small plate" of edamame ($2.00) which were freshly boiled and had kosher salt sprinkled on the exterior pods and so the interior soybeans had a very pure and fresh flavor, enhanced by your salty fingertips. A very nice way to eat these.

We did get one order of yellow tail nigiri sushi($1.80) and one order of albacore ($1.60). Both cut larger than I expected and both fresh and with a good clean taste and the ability to almost melt in your mouth.

The Special Fried Tofu Roll ($4.50) was tofu pockets filled with crab and topped with fried crunchies. I was very good an fresh. The tofu pocket had that sweet taste and I needed to dip the pocket in soy to make the sweetness even out. Different and good.

The miso soup that came with our combination meal was excellent. Not instant, made with yellow miso paste and deeply richly flavorful. The soft tofu bits were very tasty also.

The combination plate also came with a choice of sushi rolls, and I opted for the spicy tuna roll- very, very nice soft, buttery tuna with a spicy sauce that complimented the flavor of the tuna and did not overwhelm it. The rice and seaweed were very fresh tasting.

The fried calamari combo plate ($6.50) (which came with the above noted miso soup and spicy tuna rolls). The calamari was in a cornmeal batter, and the seafood within was not too tender-a little chewy. Still it was good, but when the owner/chef came out and asked us what we liked, we told him about this and he said he would try to make the calamari in a tempura batter, or for us to just ask that the calamari be made with tempura batter next time. The side of tartar sauce seemed to be house made, or was just a very good brand and the side salad , which was topped with a rice noodle salad that was made with cucumbers, carrots, ginger, garlic and mayonnaise was addictive.

I also ordered a small dish of two vegetable croquettes ($2.75) which were light crusted and the only vegetables were soy beans, carrots and corn…in a mashed potato base…and the flavor was really good. These were served with a "Bulldog" (thick, sweet, on the edge of BBQ) sauce.

Finally, we also had ordered the mixed tempura small plate ($5.50) which included two shrimp, a calamari ring, broccoli, squash, mushroom…all really good, very flavorful in a very light crispy tempura batter. The calamari ring really did melt in your mouth and this is the way I have requested calamari be made when I have gone on a return visit. The side of teriyaki sauce was warmed and good.

All in all, the price to food quality ratio is excellent here. You should try it.

Sushi Diner 7530 Mesa College Drive San Diego 92111 (858)565-1179 Lunch:Mon-Fri 11-3, Dinner: Mon-Th 5-9, Fri 5-10 Sat 4-10

Black and Blue-The Place for Steak- at the Valley View Casino- a very happy birthday party

October 29, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Steakhouse, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog about food. Kirk is feeling a bit under the weather and so Cathy will blog today about when she ate here -and took photos- not too long ago, so that all of you may have a small diversion from the charred world out there.

Hello again. This is a little different post about a meal I ate. I won’t be mentioning prices nor have a photo of the menu. I took the photos of food with no flash also..and apologize for the poor quality…but hopefully you will vicariously enjoy the meal as much as we did. I will mostly just talk about the food.

Valley View Casino is located in Valley Center and has what I consider the best buffet of all the Casinos in San Diego County. I haven’t blogged about it, just enjoyed it many times over. Much, much higher quality food. Fortunately, the Casino did survive the wild fires and is still open for business. About a week before the fires, The Mister and I met with a dear friend for a special birthday meal at the Black and Blue Steakhouse located within the casino. We all ordered what we wanted, and then some.

I ordered iced tea as a beverage…and-wow- the best iced tea ever. The cubes of frozen tea ensured that the flavor would never be dilute, and the sides of freshly squeezed lemon juice and simple syrup in carafes so that you could flavor the tea to your liking were such an elegant, fancy touch.

The fresh lemonade beverage (not pictured) was the best lemonade I have ever tasted. It was made with the simple syrup and fresh squeezed juice, of course.

We ordered several appetizers and side dishes as well as a couple of main course, again, adhering to the "there are no rules" rule of life…

On the left, lobster ravioli. These are quite large, although only two…that piece in the center top is just a piece of lobster… the pasta is fresh made, the lobster was sweet and juicy and the sauce was a tomato cream with basil and capers.

On the right, calamari with three sauces for dipping. The portion size was quite large and the squid was fired to perfection with a light crust. The sauce on the left had roe in it and was salty; I liked it the best. The center sauce was more of an oily pesto and not too garlic-y and the one on the right had a hot kick to it that overwhelmed the flavor of the breading, which had a light spice and was interspersed with fried capers…

Above, two crab cakes with barely any filler, lightly fried so the crust was crisp served atop several swirled salty spicy sauces and with a fresh aoili.

One person came around with a basket of fresh baked (-in the wood burning oven- which is also used to make pizza, which I will order next time) breads with a choice of sweet, savory and just plain white…and served with European unsalted butter, topped with olive oil, sea salt and fresh chervil.

The Cesar salad was very large and, of course, made with crisp Romaine lettuces and a fresh made garlic-y Cesar dressing and served with wonderful olive oiled croutons and fresh made, delicate crisped Parmesan shreds.

The lobster salad…micro greens on top, lots of lobster-fresh cooked, as in still warm-, a layer of fresh grapefruit wedges, tomato and avocado, topped with a citrus vinaigrette. Oh. My. Yes.

Side orders of steak fries and double creamed spinach. The best fried potatoes I have ever had. Perfectly crispy, potato flavors, not too hot nor too cold. This was served with a ramekin of ketchup and a teensy serving spoon. The creamed spinach was made with fresh spinach and real cream..of course.

The herb crusted halibut here on the left was cooked perfectly, was flavorful and juicy and served with broccoli rabe which was sauteed perfectly in a light lemon garlic herb sauce.

The 18 ounce rib eye steak, cooked perfectly rare/medium rare and served with horseradish, baked tomatoes and garlic and a small salad.

More side dishes included the macaroni and (blue) cheese (um…excellent…I don’t know what else to say…) and the best onion rings, ever. The buttermilk based crust on the whole, sweet onion slices was seasoned perfectly with a salt and pepper.

As I said, this was a special birthday and the reason for the splurge. This dessert plate came out…mostly wonderful tasting fresh fruit surrounding a chocolate bottomed cherry mousse cake. Even the raspberry puree was fresh and wonderful tasting.(Cindy was kind enough to share)

You must understand the birthday plate was at least 12 inches across, and this platter with hot fudge, wedges of fresh baked nutty brownie atop about a pint of really really good vanilla gelato, topped with vanilla whipped cream was at least 12 inches in diameter. We all shared.

This meal was one of the best ever, food and friend-wise.

Black and Blue -The place for steak- inside Valley View Casino 16300 Nyemii Pass, Valley Center 92082 (760)291-2130

Pacific Beach Bar and Grill. Weekend/College Football Saturday foods.

October 28, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Buffets, Pubs and Pub Grub, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is a blog about food. Cathy is blogging today, instead of cleaning up after the fires. There will be more ash out there tomorrow anyhow.

Hi. Here is pretty much what The Mister and I do on Saturday mornings or afternoons, while looking at a bunch of television sets in Pacific Beach. For those of you who don't know, "Football Saturday" is a tradition followed by students and Alumni of most of the colleges here in the States. When you are a student, you usually attend the games (or sell the tickets to get some quick cash, since current students have a priority to buy tickets) and after you graduate, move far away, you try to get together with other Alums to sort of re-live that excitement and have some diversion, all without having to go to the Library to study once the game ends.

The Pacific Beach Bar and Grill has been around ..well…forever it seems. The restaurant has daily specials, outlined on their website, however, since The Mister and I have been married, for like, forever, we aren't much into the weeknight bar scene, although I would like to try the food and probably will eventually. For now, here is a typical Saturday with food we eat, while watching the University of Michigan play their games. You can see the area we sit is is merely a covered patio.

If a game is starting at 9 a.m. (noon back East), the bar is open and there is an all you can eat brunch for only $6.95. (This is on Saturday- brunch costs more on Sunday). Coffee is $1.50 and there is a monthly beer for $2.50 (Sam Adams Oktoberfest right now) and all other pints on tap are $3. Yes, beer at 9 a.m. College Life all over again.

The brunch area was full so I did not take photos of the individual hot trays, but here are photos of a sampling of what we selected.

There are three different sausages, bacon, at least two different scrambled egg combinations, home fries and hash browns, crepes (this particular weekend had chicken and avocado crepes, but there are beef and sometimes crab crepes in the steam trays), fresh fruit and cookies and muffins, all made from scratch and quite delicious.

Then there is a separate cooking station, where you can have an omelet, crepes, waffles, pancakes or a quesadilla made for you.

I chose to have an omelet made with cheese, spinach, mushrooms and red peppers. The veggies were sauteed in butter first then the egg added and just before being put onto the serving plate, the shredded cheese was added and the egg and contents folded over it, causing the cheese to melt. I topped it with some slices of avocado from the area where you choose the fillings.

The Mister got a strawberry waffle made for himself. With whipped cream. There were fresh strawberries on top,, and the waffle is made fresh and hot with a nice batter that cooked up to a nice crispy shell.

If a football game starts at noon here (3 p.m. East Coast time) then there are some lunch specials- $3 off of appetizers with a coupon from the Reader, a free magazine out here and, of course the beer specials. If we are coming for a noon game and hungry, we try to get to the Grill early and get a couple of brunch plates and quesadillas made for us.

On this visit, though, we opted for the Brie appetizer ($8.50 ). (OK, every time it is an afternoon game out here, I want the Brie appetizer…)

A toasted and sweetened hazelnut crusted wedge of a warmed, good quality Brie cheese served on top of a peach chutney (red pepper spicy) with chunks of mango and served with some olive oil toasted baguette pieces… it is soooo good-creamy, warm, salty, spicy and sweet ..

We tried the Ichiban Kabobs ($ 8.95 ), served with "firecracker rice", which was too spicy hot/filled with chili flakes to be appreciated as rice. The ahi was marinated in a ginger soy sauce, yet overcooked, so kind of dry and not as good as I would have liked it to be. It was served with some pickled ginger and ancho chili sauce, which just overwhelmed the flavors.

Of course, our beverages of choice are as diverse as The Mister and I are…

The Guinness on draft is mine and the Pear Cider is his…

If there is an evening football game, starting at 4 or 5 p.m., well you don't need a coupon and actually seven days a week, all appetizers are $3 off from 4-8 p.m…so, last weekend, when U of M was playing the Fighting Illini at 7 p.m. (their time, in Illinois), we went crazy for food.

The Seafood Martini ($9.95) is a large martini shaped glass, filled with lobster, shrimp, real crab, cucumber, celery and a spicy cocktail sauce with a little Absolut Peppar (vodka) added. It was quite filling and very fresh.

The Mediterranean hummus ($7.25) is made fresh, with garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice and garlic and served with that ramekin of feta, hot pita wedges and a mixed green salad topped with a raspberry vinaigrette. Excellent. Fresh. All of it.

This past Saturday, it was another game that started about 12:30 San Diego time, so no discounts, except for beer and if you remembered to find the coupon…so we just got the

Hot Crab Dip ($8.95)- fresh blue crab, cream cheese, bell peppers and some spices, topped with green onion and served with warm, thin tortilla chips. This was excellent, also, with lots of crab. More than I expected.

We also got a basket of onion rings ($3.95). Made with whole onions and fried in a cornmeal based batter, giving the rings a good crunch. I did ask the nice bartender (we ended up sitting at the bar since it was so crowded) for some Chulula sauce to dip the rings in after a while, since the basket was quite large and ketchup, salt and pepper wasn't doing it for me…

The Pacific Beach Bar and Grill has generously donated a portion of all the income received from the University of Michigan Alumni during these Saturday games to the San Diego Scholarship fund all the years we have been meeting here, and this year we have already raised over $10,000 dollars. It is nice for a local merchant to be so generous to our little group.

Pacific Beach Bar and Grill 860 Garnet Avenue San Diego 92109 phone: (858)2PB.Grill

Starbucks Wraps, and a small step back to normalcy

October 25, 2007 Cathy Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is a blog about food. Cathy is talking today about different stuff in addition to food .

Hi. There is no easy way to jump back into this. We are food bloggers and life sometimes gets in the way. I’ll write in that order today.

So, a while ago, Starbucks in Southern California gave all of its outlets these cool convection ovens and introduced some breakfast sandwiches … which can be eaten at any time of the day, as long as you live your life following the ‘no rules’ rule and eat eggs at any time of the day. You can also have just about any other food they sell heated up in the convection oven also.

A few weeks ago, I noticed there was an offering of two different types of "breakfast wraps", so you know I had to try them…all in the line of ‘research for the blog’.

Each wrap costs $3.25 (opposed to the $2.95 for the sandwiches, which are served on English Muffins) and each looks like this after being heated.

The tortilla that is wrapped around the contents is more of a wheat one, with a chewier texture, and it is kind of crispy, in a good way, after being heated.

This one is the egg/bacon/avocado/cheddar wrap,

which, on cross section looks kind of stiff, but was quite squishy and perfectly warmed through. The bacon is ‘regular’ bacon, not the pepper bacon or a turkey bacon, as offered on the English Muffin sandwiches. The cheddar cheese adds a nice flavor and I don’t know how the avocado says a little cool and not browned from being exposed to air, but it works.

The other Wrap offered is a vegetarian one (which is a good thing, since, for some unknown reason the only vegetarian breakfast muffin has been discontinued) consisting of egg, feta cheese, dried tomatoes and spinach. I did not have my pocket knife with me to cut this one in half (some sort of "rules" at the Court House) and so, I took a bite and unwrapped the Wrap for you to see the contents.

This one has very strong Mediterranean flavors and could be eaten more as a lunch than breakfast. The tomatoes are concentrated in flavor, as is the spinach and cheese.

I liked both of the wraps and I like the sandwiches offered and the price is right and the size is enough to get rid of hunger pangs for quite a while.

Starbucks- Numerous locations all around the world.

A few things…

So, we have had the worst Natural Disaster in our lifetime happen right here in Southern California this week (click here to read the last post with updated links) I want all of you to know that I appreciate the kind thoughts, words and prayers sent to Kirk and myself both publicly and privately. It is times like this when you realize who your friends are. In particular, Kirk and The Missus did not hesitate when I let him know that The Mister and I might be evacuated at one point and immediately offered that we come stay with them, with all of our animals in tow. He did not rescind his offer even when I reminded him that we had four dogs and seven cats.

Yes. I have that many four legged pets and even more canaries, finches and parakeets. That was one fewer dog that we had the day prior. On Sunday, our Oldest Girl dog, Witty, had her time with us end. She was more than 14 years old and had only been with us for about three years. I got to help her have a good three years here, after her first owner died, without once having to dress in the clothing she came with.

That is Witty on the bottom left, and her step brother, Extra, who we happened to find on the first day of the last fires ( four years ago), and who was unclaimed and also lives in our home, also running naked and free (except for the requisite collar and license, of course).

The last fire was worse for us. We were evacuated and the flames got to 30 feet behind our fence. When we did come home, we did not have electricity for three days. This time it hasn’t been bad. Smoke, ashes and some road closures are nothing to have to deal wth.

The photo on the left was taken

behind my house last night at about 6 p.m.. You can see how dry it is and, if you click onto it to enlarge, you can see two Mule Deer. There were four total, but I couldn’t get a photo of all at once.

The photo on the right was taken this afternoon of Gillespie Field in El Cajon, a few miles away. You can see the CDF helicopters lined up and ready to take off and protect us. To all of our Protectors, who risk their lives for us, Thank You!!!

Kirk send me the most touching note this afternoon, reminding me that our little inconveniences are nothing in the overall scheme of things. He said he was sweeping up ash…the right way, and putting it in the trash, when he realized he had better treat it with some reverence. "Who knows, it may have been someones most treasured possessions."

Something we should all keep in mind when cleaning up after this tragedy.

Mr. Wasabi- been seeing the sign for years. Finally stopped to eat.

October 14, 2007 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Mr. Wasabi has closed.

mmm-yoso is the blog. It never goes on vacation. Cathy is talking today while Kirk does other stuff.

Hey there. I've had a few meals that I haven't talked about because Kirk has been talking about his wonderful Peruvian vacation. I love his prose and photos and ..um…his courage to drink spit and eat deep fried rodent like creatures as well as everything else that has kept those Peruvians going for thousands of years. I kind of play it safe, although have eaten everything that has ever been presented to me…by safe I mean staying out of foreign situations for the most part.

So, anyhow. If you have driven on Mira Mesa Boulevard near Interstate 15, ever, you've seen this sign on the south side of the street. If you click and enlarge it, you will see the unlighted portion at the bottom-$1 sushi and $1 sake. Those prices are for a single piece of the 'regular' sushi- salmon, tuna, shrimp, etc. The sake is from a box but I think you can get it hot or cold…not a bad deal if you are in the area for Happy Hour- 5-6 p.m. Tues-Fri (Mr. Wasabi is closed on Mondays).

So, we decided, after years, that we would have to go here for a meal to see if it was any good.

Oh, it is. There is a reason it has been here for kind of forever.

A simple menu, fresh food, attentive service.

We decided to start with the calamari salad ($6.25)- this easily could have been a meal and if I added a miso soup, definitely filling. Good thing The Mister and I were sharing.

Wonderfully light tempura coated perfectly fried large pieces of fresh squid on top of a lot of salad lettuces and shredded cabbage, served with a side of house dressing, which definitely had onion in it and I thought needed a touch of soy added, but was otherwise so absolutely perfect.

Both of our meals came with miso soup and salad (same dressing) . The miso was very good, rich and not salty and had large pieces of seaweed and small cubes of a good, firm tofu in it. We each ended up putting the extra lettuce from the calamari salad into the salad bowls since there was a bit too much dressing on those individual salads. It worked out.

I saw the Chirashi Sushi on the menu as a main course ($13.25) and had to try it. Assorted sashimi served over vinegared rice… maguro (tuna), sake (salmon), shiro maguro (albacore), hamachi (yellowtail), amebi (sweet shrimp), the fake krab stuff (which tasted good), ikura (salmon roe) and tamago (sweet egg cake) with wasabi, pickled ginger, cucumber and shredded daikon radish on top of the wonderful vinegared rice. So fresh, so delicate and a wonderful portion of sushi. Well worth the price.

The Mister ordered the #13, Teriyaki and Tonkatsu meal ($10.95 plus $1 for the beef rather than chicken teriyaki). Extremely high quality tender beef topped with a wonderful teriyaki sauce that was not salty nor too sweet. The tonkatsu (lightly breaded deep fried pork) was tender and moist and topped with a more strong ponzu sauce, kind of on the edge of being too vinegary, but not quite. These were served on a bed of lettuce (which went well with each sauce) and the rest of the plate filled with edamame (boiled soybeans) and a bowl of rice on the side.

Excellent quality food in quite large portion sizes. They don't charge for tea and it is a better quality loose green tea. Don't drive by, drive in.

Mr. Wasabi 9379 Mira Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92126 (858)530-2546 Lunch 11:30-2:30 Tues-Sat, Dinner 5-9:30 Tues-Sun

Jimmy’s – Family style good food.

October 6, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Diner, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is the blog about food that talks about meals and foods from around the world. Usually Kirk blogs, but sometimes Cathy, ed and even Vicky help Kirk out. Today is a Cathy day.

Hi. Kirk was in Peru, yes…and he started blogging about it, yes…and right now he is a tad exhausted from the travel and having to go back to work, blah blah, blah…so I am doing a short post about local (San Diego) food. Sure there are no photos of scenery nor of much exotic fare, but think of this as the ‘vacation from the vacation’.

Jimmy’s. There used to be a lot of these in San Diego and are still a few around. Mainly known for the broasted chicken and bread pudding and as an alternative to Denny’s, Coco’s and Carrow’s. Jimmy’s happens to be in the mall of single named restaurants (Michael’s and Wendy’s as well as the new L&L all share the same parking lot).

There is one in Santee and, yes, it is a part of our "rotation". We had not been here for a while to eat and then one day I was craving, of all things, the salad dressings, which they make from scratch. I mean, I usually like a light vinaigrette or House Italian style dressing (oil, vinegar, lots of fresh herbs; that is enough to keep the lettuce flavors clear and vegetables lightly seasons) but this time, I wanted- needed- that creamy, eggy, rich and gooey Thousand Island they make in the restaurant.

Served as a choice with every meal, with crackers and croutons (which I dip into the extra dressing) with a salad mix of dark and iceberg lettuces, chopped cabbage and slices of tomatoes, there is something about this rich and creamy, egg and pickle seasoned salad topping I can’t get enough of.

The House made blue cheese dressing has garlic in it and sometimes, that is The Mister’s craving.

However, on the day we went, the ‘soup of the day’ was Cream of Mushroom, and it was something he ‘had’ to have.

This was the best Cream of Mushroom soup, ever. We try this flavor whenever and wherever we can and…wow. Again, made from scratch. At least three different types of mushrooms in there, fresh thyme. Real cream. Excellent.

At some point, I was thinking that I could have just had a couple of salads and a bowl of this soup and been satisfied, but then there was another reason we came.

The 4 piece broasted chicken dinner ($9.99 M-F includes dessert and beverage). You get your choice of soup or salad, potato, rice or fries, one of two types of bread and the ‘vegetable of the day’ which in this case was green beans and carrots. The carrots were cut into various size chunks, indicating they were fresh and not a standard mixed vegetable. I believe the green beans had been fresh frozen, not canned.

If you don’t want to read the link above, broasted chicken is pressure fried using a unique, patented machine and certain herbs and spices, so the crust is crispy, never soggy and flavorful, as well as the meat also being moist, juicy and flavorful. It is a unique type of chicken. This year happens to the 50th anniversary of the Broaster Company.

The other thing I always get to eat here is liver and onions($7.99)(does not include dessert or beverage; only the daily specials listed on the chalkboard and the 4 piece broasted chicken dinner are inclusive ). It is just a beef liver (OK- three or four sizable slices of beef liver) dusted in flour and light spices and fried to a crispy crust and served with lightly burned and sauteed onions on top. I can sort of duplicate this at home, but not quite and, of course, in addition, The Mister does not like to eat onions in many forms (yes, he will eat good onion rings and French onion soup, but ‘that is different’ according to him…), so when I do cook at home, I have to cook those separately and anyhow it gets to be a mess in the kitchen…

Ah, the choices of breads are either the yeasty roll made fresh and served with butter or the cornbread served with butter and honey, also made fresh.

The leftover yeasty rolls are used to make the bread pudding dessert, which was sold out that night.

Since The Mister’s meal included dessert and beverage, and we really don’t indulge in sweets as much as we do in salties, we shared the tapioca pudding, which was generously topped with whipped cream. This was, of course, our second choice because the bread pudding here is fresh made and all…

All in all, a higher quality, family style, great meal.

Jimmy’s Family Restaurant Santee 6935 Mission Gorge Road, Santee 92071 (619) 448-8994 other locations on Third Avenue in Chula Vista, Campo Road in Spring Valley and on Midway Drive in San Diego

Rickshaw Corner in Tierrasanta.

September 27, 2007 Cathy Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is the blog that never goes on vacation, even though Kirk does. Cathy is still here, talking about yet another meal she ate.

So, long story short. The Mister was stuck in some major traffic on 52 last night. He finally got to the Santo Road exit, took it and was looking for a pay phone (keeping it short, don't ask about a mobile phone right now) and eventually ended up at the Vons at Santo Road and Clairmont Mesa, where there is a pay phone in front of a Laundromat.

He told me there was a Chinese Restaurant on the end of the mall and it looked really busy with lots of people doing take out. I should have asked him to see what they were ordering, but it is too late for that now.

It turns out the menu is two sided, Chinese and Japanese. Taking the 50-50 chance, we chose Chinese…because…well

I grew up with this>

as my definition of Chinese food and so, nothing could be that bad…and- AND- and the Japanese Bento meals were being served on -Honest To God- sectioned cafeteria food trays.

Plus, well, if you read the menu, you get 8 Pot Stickers on the Chinese menu for $4.95-(62¢ each), versus the 5 Gyoza for $3.25 (65¢ each) on the Japanese menu.

Chinese it was.

The 10 piece fried chicken wing appetizer ($4.95). Nicely fried, plump and juicy but absolutely needed the Plum Sauce served with them. Soy Sauce also helped.

The pot stickers. Absolutely wonderful.

Plump, meaty, great pork with some water chestnut filling. Just right thickness skins stir fried to a perfect crispiness.

We decided to try the 3 Flavor Sizzling Rice Soup. ($4.95). It was brought out in two bowls, the rice was not sizzling, but was cooked. The broth was cabbage and white pepper based, not at all chicken flavored, even though there was a layer of oil on top and I thought that was an indication it was a chicken broth. The cabbage and peas were fresh and crispy, not canned. The shrimp had good flavor but the chicken pieces tasted old and maybe freezer burned. The beef just had no flavor. It was not good. If I had a cold, I might want it just to get hydration and something into me, but … no. Not really.

We decided to try the vegetable Egg Foo Young ($6.95). I have never seen egg foo young prepared this way. Two pancakes topped with stir fried vegetables and sauce. The vegetables were good and fresh and the sauce was nice and the pancakes were… pancakes, with canned or frozen peas and carrots-no bean sprouts- in them. Kind of thin, kind of tough. Strange.

As were our fortunes. The Mister's says "Great! You're ready for a party." and mine says "You are primed to come up with a creative solution."

Whatever. It was a meal. I am curious as to what they can to do to Japanese food now. The people working are all family, very friendly and nice, knowing the regulars who are coming in to pick up meals …I just wish I knew what they all ordered.

Rickshaw Corner 10428 Clairmont Mesa Blvd (at Santo Road) (Tierrasanta) San Diego 92124 (858)541-1998 (858)541-0877 Mon-Sat 11:30-9:30 Sun 3-9 (Closed M-F 3-4 p.m.)

Curry House-a ch-ch-ch-chain…and, no rules- we didn’t order curry!

September 26, 2007 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Curry House has closed.

mmm-yoso!!!, the blog. About food. Cathy still blogging about food eaten around San Diego. Ed eating but not documenting in Yuma. Kirk eating and eventually documenting from Peru.

Hi. Cathy here with maybe some better photos of this meal. Lunch at Curry House. It says 'Curry and spaghetti' on the front signage.

There are plastic bowls of plastic food in the front window, and menus displayed.

There has been a coupon in the papers lately- buy one and two beverages and get the other menu item free. With a week of meals eaten out, as well as trying to have something interesting to blog about, a coupon was a nice deal. We got a hot tea, which came with a just right size pot of water to make three cups and high quality Japanese green tea bag and a coffee, which happened to be fresh brewed since The Mister apparently was the only person drinking coffee in a Japanese restaurant, and it was served with a little pitcher of real cream (each $1.75).

Then we got the menu and I wanted to try all the other items on the menu and not the curries, mainly because Kirk has already blogged (and so has Guest Commenter Vicky, who blogged a bit and moved North earlier this year) about Curry House and they must do that well, right? The restaurant is owned and run by House Foods, a major supplier of all kinds of goodies, from curries and sauces to tofu 'noodles'. So, the menu items are kind of all made from Asian Grocery Store staples, and are a selling point for the restaurant…but wow: excellent.

So, we decided to try out a bowl of corn potage($2.60)

…this is not corn chowder, but corn soup. Excellent corn soup. Whole corn niblets are in it and it is …oh…more like corn pudding in richness of flavor, but not too thick.

Then there was a hand out that came with the regular menu- a single page with new stuff on it-and photos-…

So anyhow, Seafood with yam noodles. ($9.50)

Sort of in an Alfredo sauce- but not. Thinner sauce, hint of curry heat under, but white. Excellent rich flavor. The yam 'noodles' were wide- we have had skinnier yam 'noodles' that fell apart, but these 'noodles' held up. There were squid rings, fish, mussels, shrimp and broccoli and onions in this *large* bowl. Excellent flavor, unexpected high quality of seafood. I don't know why we thought it would be not great, but this was *really* good. Not Italian seafood fettuccine, but a nice Japanese version and the menu said lower in calories that regular pasta (550 calories versus 900). Like I care about calories. It is flavor I care about.

I decided to splurge and get the crab and shrimp salad($12.75).

We had to wait a bit because they were cooking and peeling the crab and shrimp to put on top of this salad. Yes, they were warm (and sweet/fresh tasting) on top of the mixed greens, cabbage, tomatoes and radish sprouts served on the icy cold plate. While we waited, we noticed the advertising set on the table and the House salad dressing was available for sale for $3.50 and the sign said "no preservatives". We asked and the waitress said it lasts only abut 10 days. Fresh made…oh my. It was rich soy sauce, garlic and ginger flavored, deep and wonderful. I am definitely going to buy some when I hit one of my "daily must eat greens" phases, which happens every few months. The combination of flavors was really good.

I saw some side dishes that you could order, ostensibly with a curry dish, on the menu and asked if I could get a potato croquette($1.50). I usually get fresh made croquettes at Nijiya Market, in the same parking lot, but I wanted to try this one. It was a nice, plump, moist potato, lightly breaded with panko and with a light fry- delicate, yet crusty. Kind of a nice side to go with the salad, although I could have added on a cup of potage and bread for $1.50.

Also, even though Red Berry is in the same parking lot, it was dessert time and, since it was still a week-o-birthday meal,

we shared a red bean ice cream ($2.95-which was comped by the Manager once He knew it was our birthdays, via an inadvertent mention to our waitress; unexpectedly nice).

All in all, excellent non-curry food. I didn't follow my own rules to 'order what the name of the restaurant is about' and was not at all disappointed. Very pleasantly surprised. They make tasty food. There are daily lunch specials noted at the front of the building and lunch prices range from $7-$14. Not bad at all for the quality and attentive service.

Curry House San Diego 3860 Convoy (in Nijiya Center) San Diego 92111 (858)278-2454 M-F 11:30-2:30, 5:30-9:00 S-S 11:30-9:00