Cathy – Page 35

Georgia’s Greek Cuisine (Loma Portal)

January 8, 2018 Cathy Greek Food, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!! and thanks for reading this food blog. You know how there are news stories about a lot people having the flu or pneumonia? Well, lets just say that one of the writers here has recovered from one of those diagnoses and the other is in the process of recovering. Cathy is writing a short post.

You may have noticed the signage on the side of the building while driving North on Rosecrans Street. It's the first storefront in that parking lot behind the painted sign. Georgia's has been here since 1977, it's family owned and run.
There's an outdoor 'patio' as well as indoor seating. The menu has lunch specials (see the bottom of this post). I can't believe we've never stopped here.
Neat, clean, efficient and very friendly, we saw many 'regulars' chatting with some of the people working as well as other diners.
One of the Lunch Entrees was a Combo ($12.95). Choose two from the following: Beef Kebab, Dolmades, Gyros, Moussaka. Pastitsio, Spanakopita. The plate comes with rice pilaf, Greek salad and warm pita bread. The Mister chose the Gyros and Moussaka, (which he hasn't had since 2011, but is always looking for on menus). This was wonderful. The Gyros was standard (see seventh photo on that link), had a nice crispiness and went well with the house made Tzatziki sauce. The Moussaka with the bottom potato layer, seasoned ground lamb, eggplant and puffy baked layer of creamy béchamel sauce was delicate and flavorful and oh so good.
Not being able to decide, I chose the Mezedakia- combination appetizer plate ($13.95) Cheese pies, Spinach pies, Hummus, Feta cheese, Kalmata Olives, tomatoes, Dolmades, pepperocini and cucumbers. A perfect combination of snacks that made a meal. The cheese and spinach pies were both wrapped in layers of delicate Filo dough; crispy, quite filled and a perfect blend of herbs which were complimentary in flavor. The dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with a blend of herbs and rice and covered in a rich Greek Olive Oil) were wonderful- not like the canned ones I buy for snack-meals at home; fresh and with much more flavor nuances. The piece of Feta was different than the fluffy chunks of Feta on the Greek salad…more solid and subtle/not as salty. The Feta had a different herb blend sprinkled on top and tasting small pieces with a bit of pita was satisfying. All of the sliced vegetables were fresh and herb covered

All in all, a great meal, great place to stop.

Georgia's Greek Cuisine 3550 Rosecrans Street Suite A San Diego, Ca 92110 (619) 523-1007 Website

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade: Post Parade Showcase of floats, Snacks and a meal: Cream Pan (Tustin), Arsen House of Cookies (Pasadena), T Burgers (Monrovia)

January 7, 2018 Cathy Bakery, Burgers, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is primarily a food blog, but there are many events surrounding meals. Both Kirk and Cathy like to write about that aspect of the eventual meals. Today, Cathy is writing.

The 2018 Tournament of Roses, with the theme "Making A Difference", is over. There were numerous events and activities between Christmas and December 31-the Bands and Equestrian Units had presentations, you could visit float decorating places and a two day event, "Live on Green". The parade and football game were on January 1. Following the parade, the floats lined up on Sierra Madre (at the end of the 5.5 mile parade route) and were on display (the Post Parade Showcase of Floats) from 1 p.m. on January 1 and again from 9 a.m. on January 2.

There was a little advertised way to get into all of the Official Tournament events for one very small price- The Event Pass Pin was sold for the first time this year at the Tournament House, the Pasadena Museum of History, Vromans Bookstore and online for $10! (The fee just to view the floats at the Showcase was $15 per person this year).

There were road tests of the floats in July, August, September, October and November. The Mister and I helped to decorate floats in early December. There are more details and excellent reporting of all Tournament events at this link to The Rose Examiner.

I could not decide how to show you the floats: there were 44 in the Parade. Six were not judged, six were self constructed and the others were constructed by four professional float companies. 24 were recognized with awards. All of the floats were beautiful, detailed, magnificent and decorated by volunteers, especially the week following Christmas when the live flowers were delivered. Each float deserved to be recognized.

So, I had to pick and choose through my photos (so you wouldn't be bored). There were surreal floats.

There were little details on every float…

(These guys were on the 'off camera' side of their float, you never saw them if you were watching the parade on television.)
One of the record breaking floats held 100 people- two farmers from every state in the Union.
There were cute floats (but all of them were cute, weren't they?)

I could mention the mishaps which happened at the end of the parade route…

(it seems the float operators forgot (or weren't warned as to when) to collapse the float at the end of the route, resulting in some damage).

It was a great theme, a great parade and I have at least two photos of every float. If there is one in particular you would like to see, I can add it at the end of this post. THIS is a link to the entire parade from KTLA TV

Soo went to see the 2018 floats, too! Maggie also has a great point of view of the post parade.

But now, we return to the Food portion of the blog…

We got to Cream Pan around 7 a.m., ordering the same items (ham and cheese croissant and a cheese cracker) we had on our last visit along with a loaf of sesame bread. The cheese based items were a light breakfast. Cream Pan 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 Website

We had parked off of Washington Street and walked to the Blue entrance to the Post Parade Showcase of floats. On the way back to the car, we passed Arsen's House of Cookies, where we have stopped several times previously. Mrs. Arsen recognizes us and we catch up, about once a year.

We purchased some sweets for cc and for ourselves.

As well as four of the (still warm, freshly made) cheese/herb pastries on the counter. Total cost? $9. The bonus was I received an Arsen's Bakery calendar (last photo, bottom right) which will be used a lot this year.

We headed East, didn't want to take the freeway and ended up on Foothill in Monrovia. This looked like an interesting place to stop for lunch. We hadn't noticed it before, but Yelp has posts going back to 2007…
The menu has breakfasts, Greek, Mexican and American (salads, burgers and sandwich) choices.
The half pound burger ($6.39) was char-grilled and had that flavor I crave. It was cooked to order (medium rare), served on a fresh toasted bun with 'everything' (lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and mayonnaise). As with every establishment that serves Greek/gyros, the onion rings ($3.79) were handmade, whole onions, sweet, properly fried with a cornmeal based breading. (The ranch sauce was an extra 50¢ and wasn't even necessary.)
Since we were in this part of the State which serves pastrami at almost every fast food joint (I need to do a post of all the taco shops up here which have pastrami on the signage), The Mister ordered a Pastrami sandwich ($8.99). When asked what he wanted on it, he only asked for mustard and pickles…and that's what was received. The bread to meat ratio is so wonderfully in favor of the meat…which was smoky, peppery and lean. A wonderful sandwich.

T Burgers 226 W. Foothill Drive Monrovia, CA 91016 (626)357-4844

This was the start to 2018. Almost 12,000 steps of walking and wonderful food. So far, resolutions kept!

The theme of the 2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade:

Traditions- Rosca de Reyes (from Su Pan) and Calendars

January 6, 2018 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! welcomes you to this first Saturday of 2018 with a post from Cathy. Kirk is feeling a bit under the weather.

Today, January 6, is the 12th Day after Christmas. This evening, the 12th Night, is when The Mister and I take down our decorations (which went up on Christmas Eve). It is traditionally known as the Feast of the Three Kings or Epiphany.

Earlier this week, we dropped by Su Pan Bakery to order the Rosca de Reyes, a traditional pastry symbolizing a King's ring which we will have while working on dismantling the tree and cards and decorations. {If there were people helping us, then whomever gets the piece of Rosca with the hidden tiny plastic 'Baby Jesus' inside would be responsible to host the Candelmas Day meal on February 2, another traditional day to take down decorations}.

I did purchase a small Rosca to mail to family back East, hoping they would receive it today…but the weather is very bad and the Post Office tracking shows it probably won't get there until Monday. At least it will be pretty much frozen and probably still fresh. Samples of Rosca on the counter…

Su Pan is probably our favorite bakery, not only for the sweets, but also the fresh bread and the breakfasts (tortas, burritos and plates), lunch tortas and, on Friday and Saturday evenings, street tacos- grilling out in the parking lot.
A ham and egg and cheese breakfast bollilo ($4.99). The bollilo (bread) baked here, of course, is fresh. A nice, light crispy, perfect crust. The filling is a wonderful, light scramble of egg and cheese and pieces of ham. The combination of bread and filling is just a perfect breakfast bite.
The bacon, egg and cheese burrito )$4.99) is also a perfect meld of flavors (as well as filled with wonderful pieces of bacon).

Su Pan Bakery 5006 El Cajon Blvd San Diego 92115 Website Open 5 a.m.-10:30p.m. daily

Another New Year tradition for us is changing the calendars with new, business giveaway calendars. The Mister and I usually are on the hunt for these beginning in November, but this year, we were busy and only managed to acquire a few on our own, and I was thrilled to have been helped by my friend, cc, who, with another friend, (Astroboi), went around acquiring(mentioned at the bottom of that post) the majority of the calendars this year.
As always, we must have an Orchard Supply Hardware train calendar (since 1931, all of their calendars have featured trains-the artist this year is John Winfield ). We usually picked one up after decorating Rose Parade floats in Pasadena, but now there is an Orchard Supply close to home. Nijiya Market always has a beautiful, botanic themed calendar and the Zion Market calendar is quite large and good for writing appointments.
Both Seafood City and Lucky Seafood Supermarket have the traditional 'bamboo' calendars, with drawings depicting the Year of the Dog. Otay Mandarin Chinese Restaurant gave away a beautiful, desktop/standing calendar.

There were more, including the Beautiful photography of the Hudson River Valley, given away by the Marist College, a refrigerator magnet calendar from a local realtor, the HMart desktop style, the Buffalo Exchange (which has the calendar in Spanish, indicates the Days of the Saints and begins in December) and, when we were in Pasadena for the Rose Parade Showcase of floats (another post), we stopped in at the House of Cookies and Mrs. Arsen gave us one of their Armenian themed calendars (with Armenian text). It's hanging right next to my desk and I'll try to learn from it this year.

I hope everyone is having a great year, filled with tradition.

Outback Steak House (Revisits to a place never posted)

December 13, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Chains, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, at mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk isn't writing today, you know why. Cathy is trying to write an interesting post. Here it goes.

Long story short: I was given a lot of restaurant gift cards this past year. I don't regift. The people who give me cards ask specifics about the meals and what we enjoyed, so I take photos. The Mister and I have been pleasantly surprised so far.

Outback is an Australian inspired steakhouse, founded in 1988 in Tampa Florida by four friends. It is now a Company of restaurants which include Bonefish Grill, Carrabbas Italian Grill and Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar. Outback's decor is rugged yet minimal. There is an electronic device on each table. You can order and pay for adult beverages, appetizers and even (for $2) play trivia games. You can also pay your final bill without waiting or flagging down your server.When first seated, as the menus are dropped off, a warm loaf of honey wheat bread and unsalted whipped butter is brought out. The bread is 'stabbed' with a serrated steak knife, which is needed to slice the whole (small) loaf.

All of these items are from the Lunch menu, thumbnail at the bottom of this post.
With almost each lunch entree, you have a choice of soup or salad. There is a chicken tortilla Soup (not pictured), or this baked potato soup (wonderfully decadent)or for $1 more, french onion soup (even more decadent). You can either have a Caesar or this, a House salad, with dressing on the side. I was pleasantly surprised with the fresh vegetables, including cucumber on this salad. The House Ranch dressing is very good. The Classic Cheeseburger Combo ($9.49) was cooked to a perfect medium rare, had a nice char to the exterior, served on a wonderful fresh egg bun, had a choice of cheese and of course, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle. This was an *excellent* burger.
Six Gold Coast Coconut Shrimp Combo ($9.49) I used to order an appetizer plate of these as my meal…but six, along with either soup or salad is a 'healthier' meal. You can see the plump shrimp, light breading and tender coconut. The two two chicken taco combo ($8.99) (substitute steak instead of chicken, add $1). I splurged. This was really good. Different than a taco shop; not carne aside marinade; kind of fancy.
An Aussie Cobb Salad ($9.99) Fresh mixed greens, chopped hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, bacon, Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese and freshly made croutons. The Bleu Cheese dressing on the side was quite wonderful. An Outback Burger, ($8.99) with fries…again, wonderful, cooked to a medium rare…and look at that bun. I ordered the 6 ounce center cut sirloin ($14.99) with a baked potato and asparagus (fresh vegetable of the day). It was cooked to a perfect medium rare, had some sort of (tasty) marinade (didn't need any condiments added). The baked potato was so very good; I haven't had a baked potato in forever and all of those flavors triggered good memories. The asparagus was oven roasted and crispy tender with a bit of salt on top-again, needing no additions.

But, this is Outback- what about the famous Blooming Onion? Well, it is $8.49, very large (really, it is a meal) and I just couldn't bring myself to order one, even to share.

Until it was free.

I was listening to NASCAR one Sunday and heard that Outback sponsors a Racer -Kevin Harvick- and if he finishes in the Top Ten in a weekly Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, you just have to go into Outback the following Monday and say "Bloomin' Monday" and your table gets a free Blooming Onion appetizer for free. Here's a link.

So we did have one Blooming Onion. The crust was crispy, spicy and large. The onion was tender and sweet. We took home leftovers after eating it before and during one of the above meals. I used to be able to eat this much food along with adult beverages and not go into a food coma. Things change.

Overall, the meals at Outback were great.

Outback Steakhouse. Nationwide locations. Website

Swami’s Cafe (La Mesa) (revisit)

December 12, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Kirk usually writes, but He and His Missus are on vacation. Cathy is writing today.

It's been about two years since I first posted about Swami's. There are nine locations of this family owned in San Diego County and La Mesa is closest to our home. Since it opens at 7 a.m. daily, we can get in and out without having to pay the parking meters which surround this location.
There are specials noted on almost every wall, but a 'normal' menu is also available (it has more items). You can read that at your leisure, instead of staring up at the chalkboards. Walk up, order, pay, get a number…
walk back near the front door and grab a cup and a beverage and condiments. Find a table, inside or out in front. Your food will be brought to you.

We were here on a Friday (when I don't eat meat) and the simple Egg Muffin ($5.95) was my order: One egg, mock bacon (or real bacon or real ham), mayo, tomato and mixed cheddar cheese. The mock bacon is smoky and has the right flavor, but isn't crispy. The toasted English muffin was really tasty; the sandwich, with its combination flavors, was *very* good.

The Green Omelette ($9.49)- asparagus, spinach, avocado, green onions, bell peppers, zucchini and feta cheese. This thick, overfilled omelette is really satisfying, flavored with fresh vegetables and the salty Feta, it's just good; you don't need added condiments (or meat). Those potatoes are amazing; no hash browns here.
My order on another Friday was the Veggie Hash($9.95): Sun Dried tomatoes, spinach, red onions, feta, potatoes, with (my choice) over easy eggs on top. This was very, very good. Fresh and so very flavorful; no condiments need to be added.

The pancakes here are craveable (especially the banana walnut) and the bacon is of a better quality-thick and smoky. I have several blurred photos of each.

The week is half gone, I hope yours is going well!

Swami's Cafe 8824 La Mesa Boulevard La Mesa 91942 (619) 668-9030 Open Mon-Sat 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Website

Spice House Café (Kearny Mesa)

December 11, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, Food blog. Cathy is writing today; Kirk and His Missus are enjoying themselves away from electronics.

If you've ever driven on Claremont Mesa Boulevard, perhaps looking for the San Diego Superior Court or maybe the old Registrar of Voters building (now a new Kaiser Hospital), you've probably seen this signage and building.

It looks like it may have been a Coco's, Carrows, Bakers Square or maybe even a Big Boy, in its first iteration; some sort of family restaurant. Owned by two brothers, Spice House has been here since 1993. It's only open until 2:30 daily, serving breakfast (all day) and lunch. (Ignore that 'Dinner' portion of the sign.)

Kirk wrote a post about Spice House Café in 2005 and again in 2015.The Mister and I have been here many times, never posted.
We dropped in the other day because we were in the area and had different cravings. The interior had just been decorated for Christmas.
The soup of the day choice was either broccoli cream or vegetable- all the vegetables except broccoli, I think. There was cauliflower, potato, cabbage, green pepper, carrot, onion and celery. The broth had a deep flavor (either beef or chicken based), did not need salt or pepper or anything added. This was a *great* home made soup.
The soup was my side choice for my order of a Chicken Pita ($9.95)- grilled chicken (not gyros spiced or sliced; plainer), tomatoes, onions, fresh (house made) tzatziki in a warm, fresh pita. This was also really good, quite large. The accompanying pickle was a good quality.
The Mister really had a craving for Biscuits and Gravy (large, $3.75). Four from scratch, good quality biscuits topped with a (link) sausage gravy. The gravy itself is slightly sweet; not peppery. Definitely all from scratch and, again, really good.
He also ordered a side order of a beef patty ($3.15). It's the hand formed half pound patty that's in all of the 'Burger Specials', listed on the tabletop card (below). Grill top cooked to just barely medium, this was a quality burger.

Just good food. Another local place that has been around forever.

Spice House Cafe 9035 Clairemont Mesa Blvd San Diego, CA 92123 Hours: Mon – Fri 6:00am – 2:30pm Sat – Sun 7:00am – 2:30pm Website

Sam Woo-more breakfasts

December 10, 2017 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! This blog is about food, sometimes with stories surrounding the consumption of the food. Not today. Kirk is still on his vacation and Cathy is writing.

I've written about Sam Woo for breakfast in 2007, 2009, and in 2011. Kirk even mentioned an item from the breakfast menu (at the bottom of this page) in a 2016 post. Not much has changed except the prices; each of the 31 items now cost a whopping $4.50.

{Other Sam Woo posts: Soo, wrote one earlier this year, cc met The Mister and I for breakfast last year and she went back a month later with a friend for his birthday breakfast, Faye was here in 2013 and Jinxie (who has since moved from San Diego, was here in 2012)}.
Hot tea (a pot is usually brought to the table) or hot coffee (served with condensed milk) is 30¢. We usually order one bowl of something to share. Porridge here is always good. I think the fish porridge (#8) is the best. (If you want to add some crunchy fried Chinese donut to your porridge, you have to walk across the hall to the steam tray section of 99 Ranch and purchase a package there).
The roast duck lo mein (#23) is a favorite order. The duck is so good, the lo mein are not mushy, the soup broth on the side is perfectly spiced and there are usually two or three pieces of bok choy, so you can also have your vegetables and a balanced meal. Wonton noodle soup (#9) and Shrimp dumpling noodle soup (#10) are interchangeable. The dumplings are tender and filled with good flavored pork (plus a half of a plump shrimp if you order #10). The broth sometimes is weak (sometimes is rich) but I tend to add the chili paste which is on the table tray of condiments, along with soy sauce and white pepper
about halfway through the meal. We usually order a third item, either #1 (seen another posts) or #2 or #3…this is #2- pan fried rice noodle with bean sprouts, onion and soy sauce. There is a good, smoky flavor/'wok hei' to these wide rice noodles which I sometimes crave.
Alternately, #3, crispy fried noodles with bean sprouts, onions and soy sauce are an indulgence and oh so very good.

An easy, filling breakfast or early lunch choice, right across the hall from 99 Ranch Market.

Sam Woo BBQ Restaurant 7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd Ste 103 San Diego, CA 92111 Breakfast Mon-Fri 9-11, Sat-Sun 8:30-11

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float decorating. Meals from THH, Kolache Factory(Tustin) and Johnny’s Shrimp Boat (West Covina)

December 9, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for once again stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog which sometimes (like today) shows the events surrounding the acquisition of meals. Kirk (and His Missus) are still on vacation and Cathy is writing.

Less than a month before the Tournament of Roses and float decoration has begun. The Mister and I were awake early last Saturday and got to the Phoenix Decorating Company barn in Irwindale before 8:30. So did a few hundred other people. We were there to do 'dry' decorating (fresh flowers and other fresh products start after Christmas).

I've been showing you road tests of the 2018 floats for the past few months (prior road tests linked at the top of that post), so you know in general what you are going to see. You can see artist renditions of these floats at this link.

If you'd like to read more about the Tournament and all its activities, this link to The Rose Examiner, is an excellent resource.

The Opening Unit, displaying the banner of the Theme of the 2018 parade- "Making A Difference" will be the first float you see.
The statice, in three colors, was ready for cutting. (In the background is the End Unit; last float you'll see in the parade). The statice petals (as well as other materials) are then blended in one of these BlendTec blenders and the powder is glued on parts of the float-makes the product be used efficiently. All visible parts of every float must be covered with natural materials. The scaffolds weren't set up and people were working at the lower levels on the City of Alhambra's float, "Story Time"
This material is 'paper bark'- it is prepared using stainless steel scrubbers, to be smooth- the product in the boxes in back is ready for application on the float.
Even rice is put in those blenders. The powder covers much more on a surface.An excellent example of rice powder- the inner ceiling of this three-part Honda float,which looks like this… The powdered rice is applied to the backs of the 'clouds' on the bottom the float; if it is visible, it has natural materials.

Palm bark is also used for decorating. The useable product is in the small box on top of the table.
The design on the back of the "Armenian Roots" float is similar to the Armenian Orphan rug, woven by Armenian genocide victims as a gift to President Coolidge – the tassels are raffia grass.

If you can enlarge, the black parts of the butterfly are black beans. The edge of the hearts are covered with red straw flower petals, which were not powdered: texture.Enlarging this photo shows the orange parts of this unique butterfly are lentils.
These yellow with orange edged roses are being covered with powdered yellow straw flowers. There will be about 30 of these flowers on the City of Hope Medical Center float, "Transforming Lives with Hope".
Rotary International's float, "Sowing the Seeds of Service" was being decorated from the climbing scaffolding- the hat is covered with Pac-Pac, a braided straw (you can see some Pac-Pac on the top step).
Here is the front of "Armenian Roots", depicting Mother Armenia and pomegranates, a symbolic fruit of Armenia.
Shriners Hospitals, "Caring for Kids Around the World" will be filled with details.
Lions Clubs International, "Preserving Our Environment" has multiple details, like these cattails, partly covered in dried parsnip. The Oddfellows and Rebbekahs float, "Sacrifice to Serve" has pictographs on both sides of the float. Much detail work will be completed over the next few weeks.
Kiwanis, "Racing to Serve Children" is so cute!
These are the red straw flowers, mentioned above.
The Lutheran Layman's League float, "Bringing Christ to the Nations". The Mister and I volunteer with their group, the Petal Pushers and are assigned to assist on whichever float needs assistance; our volunteering helps pay for this float, the only Christian themed float in the parade, now for the 68th year.
Detail for the Western Asset float, "Oceans of Possibility".
The United Sikh Mission float, "Serving Kindness" depicts the Sikh Langar, the worlds largest free kitchen, which serves over 100,000 meals a day and is in line with the theme of this parade "Making a Difference"
This is a 'tag along' to the Trader Joe's float,
which was still undergoing some mechanical corrections last week…the title, "Hats Off"…you'll see.

On to the food portion of this blog.

Tustin, the same parking lot and indecision for breakfast. The Mister went to the business on the left, Kolache Factory and I went to the business on the right, THH Sandwiches. An apricot and a bacon-cheese kolache from The Factory. A chicken and a pork pate chaud from THH. Enough protein to sustain and some nice carbs to enjoy.

Kolache Factory 14091 Newport Avenue Tustin 92780 (714) 730-2253 Website

THH 14081 Newport Ave Tustin, CA (714)731-1366 Open Mon-Sat 5 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Sun 7 am-4 pm website

We brought lunch, enjoyed in the industrial park area surrounding the decorating barn, consisting of sandwiches brought from home…

Worked until about 5 p.m. and started driving South on Vincent, one signal light East. The street name changed at some point to Glendora and we were in West Covina. We had passed here a few times this year, but Johnny's Shrimp Boat doesn't open until 9:30 a.m.. Look at it. We had to stop.
The menu is simple- there are specials for $6.95, $7.95 and $8.95. All have the option of a side consisting of rice with beans, gravy, chili or fries (or just fries) (and pretty much any combination of those items). Menu items consist of shrimp, fish, hamburger steak, pork chop, short ribs and teriyaki (beef, chicken or shrimp).
You order, pay, have a seat. There's no tipping jar. The young man out in front as well as the chef are very nice and know the 'regulars'. Your food is handed to you over the counter.
We tried the two fish, four shrimp combo with rice and beans ($7.95). The beans were plain and needed to have hot sauce added (there were condiments on the counter).

Both the fish and the shrimp were a good size, and perfectly batter fried.

There was a window sign for a $5 shrimp cocktail. It had five large, plump shrimp, was in a nicely spiced sauce with cucumber, onion, tomato and avocado…a great deal.

Good food, nice people, a great find. (Trivia: A scene from Cobra, a Stallone film, was filmed inside the Los Angeles location of Johnny's Shrimp Boat)
Johnny's Shrimp Boat 803 S. Glendora West Covina, 91790 (626) 813-3818 Open daily 9:30-9

Thanks for reading!

Mémo’s Bagel Cafe (Rancho San Diego)

December 6, 2017 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog you are reading, is a compilation of varied meal experiences. Today, while Kirk (and His Missus) are vacationing in another part of the world, Cathy is writing about a local place where She and Her Mister had a quick breakfast.

In late 2014, I told cc about a place with an intriguing name. It was a busy time of the year for me, but she went to the small storefront, next to a 7-11 named Pistachios, in Rancho San Diego and posted about it three times. When I had the time, late in the Summer/early Autumn of 2015, Pistachios was a monthly stop. When finally ready to post about it, I went for a final visit (to confirm current prices), it was closed.

I had heard it "was moving just across the street", but when I had the time to look, there never was a 'Pistachios' storefront anywhere. Fast forward to last week when The Mister and I were driving around with no plan except to find breakfast. We stopped here- Memo's Bagel Cafe.
The bagel display looked the same as Pistachios had.
So did the items being sold from the inside refrigerated section(although Pistachios had some of those items, notably the Middle Eastern flat breads, sold fresh and warm). There were pre-packed boxes of baklava next to the cash register- with the Pistachios label! We found it. The storefront is smaller, but one of the main draws for me-housemade bagels-were back.
Egg, cheese, sausage on an everything bagel ($4.75) was great- a good, thick, quality sausage, Swiss cheese, fluffy egg and the fresh, toasty bagel. It was perfect and as I remembered it.
"The Works" ($5.75)- egg, cheese, bacon, turkey and ham on a spinach parmesan bagel. So good, so tasty, so much (quality) meat. You can see the bagel itself has a green tinge from the spinach. By itself, this bagel is tasty.

The similarities between here and my favorite bagel place, PL Bagel are that both are family owned, the bagels are not overly large and the whole bagel is covered-
with the toppings- the bottoms aren't 'plain'.

Mémo's is a lot closer than Point Loma…so there will be further exploration of the menu.

Mémo's Bagel Cafe 2650 Jamacha Road, Suite 163 El Cajon, CA 92019 (619)660-1300 Mon-Sat 6-4, Sun 7-3

EaThai Bistro (San Diego/Rolando)

December 5, 2017 Cathy Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, the name of the food blog you are reading. Now that you know why Kirk hasn't been posting much…He and His Missus are on a well deserved vacation…Cathy is holding down the fort and posting about another San Diego restaurant.

Maybe you remember when Kirk posted about Chinese Kitchen, the first time a two part post in 2006 and a follow up in 2009. It was the place with the literal 'hole in the wall' for ordering…had been there since the 1980's (when The Mister and I frequented the inexpensive take out establishment), which closed about five months ago.
You don't have to order at the window any more, there are 14 seats with tabletops as well as an area to wait if you order or are picking up 'to go'.
We were given complimentary Thai iced tea, since they are still in their opening phase (regular $2.50). It was not too sweet, and the tea portion had a pleasant, spiced flavor.
We also were given small cups of vegetable tom kha soup, which was very good. I might just order a bowl on one of our wintery-cool days.
The Thai sausages appetizer ($7.95) was wonderful! The coarse grind pork sausages are made here, have a skin with a snap and has the wonderful bit of sour taste. They are different than other house made Thai sausage (the ones made at Supanne House of Thai which are herb filled), yet delicious on their own, served with ginger, cabbage, cucumber and peanuts.
Thai Style papaya salad ($7.95) was fresh made (I heard shredding in the kitchen), at a level of "2", which was just enough chili pepper/heat to still be able to taste the green beans, tomatoes, garlic and dried shrimp along with the peanuts. It was really good. I am eager to try the Lao style of this salad on my next visit- made with fish sauce and the 50 cent optional addition of salted crab. The larb ($8.95, chicken) wasn't quite what we are used to- there were no crunchy (roasted rice) bits, so the texture was not as interesting; thinking it was forgotten. The lime juice, onions, cilantro and mint were all very good and fresh.

All in all, a good choice of food for this part of town.

cc has been here, too!

EaThai Bistro 6160 University (North side, just East of College Avenue) San Diego 92115 Open Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Closed Sunday (619)583-8888