Cathy – Page 44

Beerfish and Point Loma Seafoods- Clams two ways

October 25, 2016 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Seafood, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk and His Missus are doing something somewhere right now. Ed (from Yuma) and Tina are relaxing after a really nice little vacation. Cathy is writing this post about some meals she had with The Mister right here, in San Diego.

Briefly mentioned at the top of this post, it was 'birthday week' for The Mister and myself not long ago. A week apart, Mondays this year. Once I started writing about our eight meals out, I had noticed commonalities in our respective choices. Opening in June, there was a lot of buzz on various media sites about Beerfish, a small (1500 square foot interior, 1300 square food outdoor patio area) seafood centric restaurant on Adams Avenue. Walk up, order and pay and your food is brought to your table. There are 30 taps serving local craft beer and also a few wine selections. The limited menu is ever-changing based on availability of fresh seafood. We were here for clams and not beer.

First, our side order of fresh made onion rings ($4) (beer battered, of course) was delivered to the table, accompanied by a fresh, but plain, aioli. The batter was crunchy, not greasy and the onions very mild; really nice in textures but it needed something. I ended up putting Mexi Pep (and eventually some salt) with the aioli to get a complimentary flavor that I wanted. The one item I had been reading about, Clam Toast ($10.90) was my choice. This was a mix of flavors: too many flavors for my palate, unfortunately. Each item was good on its own: sourdough bread (fresh and toasted), topped with a lemon mayonnaise, (very fresh, plump) chopped clams, mixed with a good amount (almost the same amount) of meaty chopped bacon along with grilled sweet onions and topped with fresh herbs, microgreens and fresh chopped garlic. Quite a bit of garlic. This would have gone well with some beer. The Mister ordered the steamed mussels and clams ($13.90). Again, there was a tremendous multitude of flavors, which may have gone well with beer as well as separately. The four mussels and dozen clams were plump, fresh and wonderful. The broth had two whole lemons, shallots, leeks, herb butter and, again, a tremendous amount of fresh chopped garlic. All this was served with a flavorful, fresh sourdough (with an unsalted, whipped butter-which are just right together).

The freshness is there, the clams were what I wanted and I enjoyed them-plain. When we go back, we will have to share a glass of beer and perhaps ask for less or no garlic and perhaps other items on the side.

Beerfish 2933 Adams Ave San Diego, CA 92116 (619) 363-2337 website Open seven days 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.

The Mister's birthday meal choice was fried clams fromPoint Loma Seafoods, a place I blogged about first in 2007, again in 2010, 2011, 2012, and most recently in 2014 The fresh, lightly battered, perfectly fried Ipswich clams are in season in September, (about $19 for the plate) and just the perfect childhood food memory for The Mister. I got the fish and chips plate ($12), which is my own 'fish friday' childhood memory. This was really good, as always.

Point Loma Seafoods 2805 Emerson Street San Diego, CA 92106 (619)223-1109 website Open Mon-Sat 9-7, Sunday 10-7

Caffé Bene

October 24, 2016 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Desserts, Sandwiches, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of the blog you are reading. Kirk has an even busier day than usual and Ed (from Yuma) is out and about (in Yuma) doing his things, so Cathy is writing today's post.

Caffe Bene has over 1600 locations in a dozen countries around the world. One of those locations is in San Diego, on Convoy Street (it shares the same parking lot with Prime Grill). Opening over a year ago, cc and Kirbie posted about it.Spacious with a simple decor, the 'Global Coffee House' offers a fairly quiet meeting space with free wifi…

coffees, teas, beverages as well as a variety of snack foods, treats and small sandwiches. The Signature drink here, 'multigrain power drink', Misugaru, can be served cold or hot and I like each version and have purchased one or the other on each visit here. It's tasty, not too sweet and quite filling. I think it may also be good for you.

There is a small selection of sandwiches on the menu. The above is a Spicy Chicken Sandwich ($8.95). Served hot on a fresh roll, the chicken breast, fresh spinach and melted cheese were quite fresh and tasty. The 'spicy' sauce was nicely hot, (not Sriracha sweet, just a good punch of heat). The side of potato salad was just enough to compliment the other flavors.

The ham and egg sandwich ($7.95) was not served hot, but was just as pleasant in flavor pairings. Hard boiled eggs, a good amount of ham, spinach, red onion and a mustard based sauce were all complimentary and made a nice little shared meal.

Caffe Bene is known for its Liege waffles and honey bread and we tried a simple order of a waffle with gelato ($5.50). Liege waffles are small, rich, stretchy/chewy and a bit crunchy from embedded pearl sugar in the batter; another variety of waffle. The gelato? Strawberry- a very densely flavored gelato, which would be good on its own but also went very well with pieces of the waffle.

Yes, it is a chain, but this is the only location around and it is quite nice.

Caffè Bene Website 4620 Convoy St San Diego, CA 92111 (858) 278-2204 Open daily 9 a.m.-midnight Website

Chicken Charlie’s FryBQ: some daily specials

October 22, 2016 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. Kirk is just too busy to write a post right now and Ed (from Yuma) is finishing up a post which you will enjoy soon, so Cathy will be writing today.

This location of Chicken Charlie's has closed. There is a new location in Rancho Bernardo.

A few people noticed that I barely mentioned one particular booth at the San Diego County Fair this year. Chicken Charlie's has been a staple at the San Diego County Fair for 20 years. When someone asks 'what's the new food at the Fair this year?', Chicken Charlie and whatever his new concoction is is brought up. Always something interesting and fried perfectly, quick service. The stop at the Chicken Charlie's trio of booths makes your trip to the Fair is closer to being complete.

Almost two years ago, Charlie Boghosian opened a storefront in San Diego at the corner of Balboa at Genesee. Kirk wrote a post about it . The Mister and I stopped in a few times and after a while, realized the food there wasn't all 'Fair Food'.

In addition, there are almost daily 'specials', mentioned on Facebook…crazy prices on regular items and sometimes a not on the menu board item. The specials have a limit of four and I've found myself walking in just to find out with the special is (because, believe it or not, I am not always on Facebook daily) and staying to try an item. Most of the specials are between $5 and $10.

What is on that regular menu? Most of these items…

Chicken and waffles, two pieces, $6.49 (regular price). I must say that Charlie knows how to fry chicken properly. It's never greasy, always crisp and filled with flavor. The waffles are an added bonus.

The shrimp filled pineapple/Maui Chicken ($9.95, special price, about every two weeks, is $6).

Also about every two weeks, the chicken or shrimp salad is $5. This is a great meal, plus a savings off the regular prices of $6.95 and $7.95.

There are times when we just want a different or additional side dish (if we share a special) and the onion rings ($2.95) and fried zucchini ($3.95) just hits the spot.

One day there was a 5 fried shrimp and 5 wings basket with fries (but I substituted the cucumber tomato salad, which I really like)($8). You can see the large shrimp, which are lightly dusted with seasoned flour and fried.

There was a $12 special not long ago. It was three pieces of fried chicken, five shrimp and three meaty ribs, along with a side of fries (and you can see I substituted cole slaw). So very good and enough to share. This was a 3-4-5, for $6. Three shrimp, four riblets and five onion rings. The ribs here are fried then covered in a very nice sauce. Always meaty. This wasn't a special, just a half rotisserie chicken with one side ($7.95) which is also prepared so well. Charlie knows his chicken.

The only special we did not like was mashed potatoes, topped with chili and bacon, topped with two fried chicken pieces and all of it covered in a cheese sauce, topped with green onion. It was $6. Each item, individually, was good. The combination was insipid. Too much going on, unnecessarily.
The lobster slipper tail basket ($11.95) has never been on special. There were at least ten (I think 12) lightly battered and fried slipper lobster tails-meaty with a thin shell- served with melted butter (and the included side, this time we chose fried zucchini). Really good, again, shared. A couple of weekends ago, the special was…a fried Twinkie topped with chocolate and bacon…$1. Ever so lightly batter dipped, it was like biting through a delicate potato chip to get to the warmed Twinkie filling. Chocolate and bacon on top-bonus!

Chicken Charlie's FryBQ 5407 Balboa Ave San Diego, CA 92111 (858) 279-1111 Sunday-Thursday 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10:30-10:30 website

Butler’s Coffee House (Spring Valley)

October 21, 2016 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, What Cathy Eats!

Butler's has closed, but the location remains a Coffee Shop

Well, here you are, looking at a food blog named mmm-yoso!!! Three of us write about food and happenings in and around San Diego, parts of California, other states across the USA as well as various countries around the globe. Kirk needs a rest (and maybe a vacation), Ed (from Yuma) is resting (after returning from a mini-vacation), so Cathy is writing today about a place in East County.

The Mister and I went driving early in the morning, while it was still chilly and overcast, looking for someplace to stop for breakfast. As is our habit, there was no planning and we merely drive and the passenger yells out 'turn here!'. This fine day got us to Campo Road and we noticed this new (to us) aqua colored signage.

Driving around the building, we realized it used to be a bank. The Drive Up Menu looked fairly interesting, so we went inside. With some research, I found out that Butler's opened in May. The interior is decorated for Halloween. In addition to the wall menu, there are more items written on that black glass area. There is also a small pastry shelving area and a refrigerated item area. You can see the interior is quite large. That's the bank safe there on the right (with the zig zag 'caution' tape across the front). I must admit that since the advent of Direct Deposit and ATMs, I don't recall the interior of my Credit Union, but guess it's probably as spacious.

We only ordered a large 'bold' coffee (beans from local company, Cafe Moto ) to share, because I had been awake since about 3 a.m. that morning and had finished an entire press pot already. The sandwiches are made to order. I chose a spinach, egg and cheese ($3.95) (choice of cheese: Provolone, American or Pepper Jack. Of course I chose Provolone). Toasted, buttered English muffin topped with the egg fluffily lightly scrambled with fresh chopped spinach and topped with melty Provolone. This was very good. The Mister chose the ham, egg and cheese sandwich ($4.25) (same cheese as I chose). You can see the ham is not from a deli package, it is an off the bone slice – a nice sized portion, not salty. The Provolone was also melted, the English muffin toasted and the egg scrambled to a fluffy lightness.

All in all, great quality and another local business found.

Butler's Coffee House 9631 Campo Road, Spring Valley 91977 (619)433-8913 Open Mon-Sat 6 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 6 a.m.-3 p.m.

Szechuan Chef and Bolsa -cumin (and turmeric) Fish

October 20, 2016 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Today's posting of mmm-yoso!!! is written by Cathy. The guys are busy doing other things.

It's that time of year again; birthday week for The Mister and myself – a week apart; eight days of eating out. Our standard modus operandi is that He gets to choose meals for the first three days, we jointly choose meals the middle two days then I get to choose restaurants the last three days. Putting the posts together, I noticed patterns in our choices this year.

I've posted about Szechuan Chef once before, as has Kirk (he didn't like it). There is one item in particular The Mister craves from this small restaurant, located next to Shan Xi Magic Kitchen.

The cumin/flour/hot pepper coated fish, stir fried until the coating is crisp and topped with stir fried onion, Chinese celery and bell pepper. The numbing shows up at the end while the flavors of the fish and vegetables all come through at first. To accompany the plate of turmeric yumminess, I chose the oyster mushroom with shrimp noodles, which is tasty on its own but neutral enough to have as the 'side' (instead of rice). The bottom of the pot holds a buttery garlic surprise of chopped shrimp and some dried shrimp. It's rare to find any XLB in San Diego, so we chose these soup filled dumplings which were made to order and came out midway through the meal. None were broken and the skins were not chewy at all; quite tender yet not thin. The pork filling was very delicate, had a light crunch (water chestnut) and, of course, pork flavor.

Szechuan Chef 4344 Convoy St San Diego, CA 92111 (858) 279-8881

When it was one of 'my' days to choose a celebratory meal, it was back to Bolsa. Immediately I knew what I wanted. The turmeric fish-Vietnamese style! (cha ca thang long)The fish is coated in flour, turmeric and egg then pan fried with dill and green onion. It's served sizzling on a cast iron platter. Wrapping the fish with some mint in the lettuce and dipping it in the fish sauce is just a perfect grouping of flavors. Not numbing, just tasty.
We also ordered a Banh Xeo (which has turmeric in the pancake batter) and is filled with bean sprouts, shrimp and pork as well as some mung beans.

The Mister wanted the pork and shrimp Spring rolls, made to order. Fresh!

Bolsa 9225 Mira Mesa Blvd Ste 118 San Diego, CA 92126 (858)693-3663 Open daily 8:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Website

There were a couple more 'overlapping' meal choices this year. The Mister and I have similar-yet different- food cravings. Stay tuned!

Comfort Foods: Chopstix, Niban, Golden City

October 19, 2016 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! today. Cathy is writing because the guys are just too busy.

After I got my fill of spicy foods following three weeks in the Midwest, it was time for what I just couldn't get back there (comfort food, San Diego style). Kirk posted in 2005 and again in 2015 about the original location of Chopstix. In 2006, he and I wrote a joint post about the second location and, in general, both locations are efficient with fresh food.The simple Hiya Yakko (cold tofu topped with chopped green onion, grated ginger on top of salad)($4) was just something I never thought I would miss and this really hit the spot. Hiyashi Soba ($9)- cold buckwheat noodle topped with imitation crab, chicken, sprouts, corn, cucumber, egg and seaweed was a perfect flavor mix on this day. The Mister ordered his 'usual'- mabo ramen ($7), which has a deep, sweet-spicy flavor along with the ground pork and tofu. Most of the other soup bases and fillings here are sort of 'plain'.

Chopstix 4633 Convoy San Diego 92101 (858)569-9171 open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily

Ten years ago, I wrote about Niban and then again in 2010 and in 2011. It's a regular spot for us when we don't want to cook at home: fast, fresh, unassuming. After ordering and paying, finding a seat and having water and hot tea (still free) brought out, food soon arrives.
The chicken katsu salad ($4.50) was what I wanted. So simple: iceberg lettuce topped with cold noodles, carrot and cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes along with a perfectly breaded and fried chicken thigh. The miso based, Japanese radish/fresh ginger salad dressing is so very good. One of the window specials that day was chicken katsu curry ($7). The Mister wanted his own pieces of chicken along with the flavorful beefy curry sauce made here-it satisfied his cravings.

Niban 7081 Clairmont Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92111 (858)268-0465 Mon-Sat 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 4:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

Then there was my craving for something from underrated, more than ten years in the same location, consistent always good, comfort food for Kirk also, unassuming restaurant located at the South East corner of the 163 at Claremont Mesa. The rock cod with black bean sauce ($16 if not at lunch or late night (after 9 p.m., when it is $8)) is just done right here. Lightly crisp fried fish with red and green peppers, onions and salty black bean sauce along with some red-chili heat is just what I wanted.

Then again, so was the simple beef topped egg foo young ($14 at dinner, $7 at lunch or late night). That is a larger than tablespoon spoon on a very large platter. The crispy vegetable filled omelet, so simple to make (in theory) is just wonderfully flavorful, crispy and somehow addictive in flavor here. Most times, we order it just with gravy/vegetable only, because that's all I really want.

Golden City 5375 Kearny Villa (at Claremont Mesa) 92111 (858) 565-6682 open daily 11 a.m.-midnight website

Hope your week is still going well!

Tea Station (again)

October 18, 2016 Cathy Desserts, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thank you for stopping to read this blog, mmm-yoso!!! Kirk is still working long days. Ed (from Yuma) is also really busy with appointments and things retired folks do. Cathy only has classes to take, so there is free time for her to write about some meals.

I've been posting about Tea Station in one form or another on this blog since 2007. This Taiwanese chain now has three locations in the County.

There are two main eat-in areas ( as well as a nice outdoor space). The menu is filled with photos.

We usually try a different hot tea each visit. So far, our favorite has also been the osmanthus, a light colored, fragrant, deep flavored tea ($6.99 for this pot) I want to say the flavor is a fruity black…not that there is fruit added, just the leaves have that background flavor of peaches. The shredded pork plate ($10.25) comes with the large portion of tea flavored pork, rice and the (daily changing) three sides: one hot and two cold this time. The cabbage and green beans had a light pickled flavor and the corn had more of a tea/tannin/brisk taste. All were complimentary to the meat.

The deli plate with pork house noodle (or rice noodle) soup ($9.99) is a good choice which we can share. The soup is quite nice and not salty; good flavors from the ingredients. The 'deli plate' is quite interesting, with tea flavored bites of hard boiled egg, seaweed knot, smoky tofu and a dried preserved vegetable. Tea flavored dumplings ($8.99) are almost always a fallback choice. The tea flavoring the meat is subtle, but there. The presentation is always pretty. You can see the skins were not thin. The taiwanese tea sausage ($5.99) is also an automatic choice. It's served with slices of raw garlic, which are just so perfect with the flavorings in the sausage. The spicy fried chicken appetizer ($5.99) (light/medium spice level) is always perfectly lightly breaded and crispy fried; not greasy.

On a recent visit, we tried a pot of the chrysanthemum/Pu-ehr tea ($5.50) This photo of the filter shows you the mix of chrysanthemum flowers and tea. We really liked the more subtle fermented flavor of this tea. You can see it was darker, and Pu-Ehr is fermented; quite earthy in flavor on its own, but by being 'cut' with the chrysanthemum flowers, it was a flavorful accompaniment to our meal this time. There are three menu pages devoted to 'dessert', which is shaved ice, which you can create or order. We have asked for the menu, stared at it, then always agree we want this same item: grass jelly with sour plum ice ($5.75). I have eight photos of this dessert. No condensed milk or any other toppings. Just a light, pleasant way to end a meal, with some tea, of course.

I hope you are having a good week so far!

Tea Station 7315 Clairmont Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92111 (858) 268-8198 website

2016 San Diego County Fair, “Mad About the Fair”, Part 3-the postscript

October 12, 2016 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food and the various ways to get to the food. Kirk is working late today and Ed (from Yuma) has had some long days, even in retirement. Cathy is writing this post.

Yes, it is October and the 2016 San Diego County Fair culminated on July 4 with fireworks. Two other posts were written- before the opening of the Fair and one while it was open. Today's post is a compilation of some displays, events and foods which weren't written about, (plus a note about the theme of the 2017 San Diego County Fair at the end of this post).

1,609,481 people attended the 2016 San Diego County Fair, which was open 26 days this year. There were 4,187 different attractions and exhibits. Concerts, festivals, entertainment, contests and shopping were available each day within walking distance.
There were special dinners, one Farm to Table and some special Sunday 'Tea Time' events. There were also some 'over 21' festivals: Toast of the Coast Wine Competition (which had 929 guests at two tasting sessions), the San Diego International Beer Festival (had over 8,500 guests over three days) and Distilled: Spirit and Cocktail Festival (1,033 gusts in one day).
When you walk through the Main entrance, to the right always is the building highlighting the Fair Theme. Since this year was a combination of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with steampunk influences…well there was a lot to see and do inside this building.

During the Fair, livestock were judged and the winners were auctioned on July 3 (so they could be removed from the Fair site before fireworks on July 4). The non-ribbon winners are also sold at this time and overall, $432,031 was raised for scholarships for 4H and FFA students, who were both happy and sad to see their work appreciated and their animals leave on this day.

There were so many food items I did not mention.

The 'Grilled Cheese A-Fair' booth is a sometimes choice for us. This year we tried a 'breakfast' – ham, eggs and cheese on a waffle, served with 'syrup'. It was very nice and gave us ideas for some special breakfasts at home.

Each day we visit the Fair, there is usually one meal of fried something and this day it was clam strips with zucchini. Properly made and not greasy.

Then there was the day when we just had to try the "French Toast Bacon Bombs" from the 'Bacon A-Fair' booth. Cinnamon bread dough filled with cream cheese, wrapped in bacon then fried…topped with whipped cream, just because. These were good and four were quite enough for the two of us. We always stop at Roxy's, a booth run by a local restaurant (almost always ordering an artichoke or falafel sandwich) and this year a new selection- an eggplant sandwich-was offered. Thick slices of fresh eggplant, lightly crunch (cornmeal?) breaded and fried, topped with Parmesan cheese and a nice red sauce all served on the toasted fresh whole grain rolls with a salad. This was great.

Then I noticed a pattern.

One day, I wanted a sweet and the 'apple fries' signage at the 'Mexican Funnel Cake' booth caught my eye. These were a tart (maybe green) apple, sliced into 'french fry' shapes, lightly dusted with flour, fried, then rolled lightly in a fine sugar with just a touch of cinnamon and served with whipped cream- just delightful!

Another day, I was looking at the menu board at the 'Chuck Wagon' booth and noticed at the very bottom right 'deep fried cinnamon apple rings', so that was all we ordered (bad photo, since the Chuck Wagon area is covered with red tarp, but nice to eat here because it is always nice to be out of direct sunlight). These apples still had a skin on (red) and more batter, were dipped in a cinnamon sugar and also served with whipped cream. Completely different with the same basic components and good, really good. There was another day when I wanted apples again. The "Apple Tower' booth on the midway had a short line. Red and green apple slices, warm caramel, nuts and whipped cream…so good and such a different way to have apples at the Fair.

I think this Fair was a bit more fun because of all the characters walking around the Fairgrounds, greeting people, posing with them for photos, or
just taking a break, like the rest of us.

I held off with this summary, not wanting to overwhelm you immediately after nor during the summer.

Yesterday the 22nd Agricultural District announced the theme of the 2017 San Diego County Fair.

Updates on the website and planning have begun!

Public Square Coffee (La Mesa)

September 27, 2016 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are once more, reading mmm-yoso!!!. a food-centric blog. Kirk has been having some really busy days of late and so has Ed (from Yuma), so it's Cathy doing the blogging today.

We've been having some really dry, hot weather lately. Since home has no air conditioning, The Mister and I go out when still cool to run errands and grab a bite. In keeping with a New Year Resolution, 'shop local' isn't easy yet it turns out to be quite rewarding. One day last week, we were heading to Swami's in La Mesa for a refreshing beverage and noticed this new storefront, two doors west.

Public Square Coffee took over the space of a long time coffee house/gathering place, Cosmo's Coffee, which unceremoniously closed about a year ago.

The space has been refurbished and is brighter. Since it is a 'soft' opening, there is a sort of temporary menu taped near the cash register, as well as a simple beverage menu on the wall.

More photos of the refurbishing, including a very nice outdoor patio area in front.

Deciding on a Cold Brew (large, $3) and a pour over (Columbian, $3.75), we were delightfully surprised at the 'for here' pot and cup brought out on a personalized board (see the 'square' symbol in the bottom left corner? It matches the designs out front) and the large size glass for the cold brew. Each coffee was very good.

Returning a few days later, we ordered a 'Gibraltar' ($3.25)-two shots of espresso mixed with about the same amount of warmed milk. This was also very good, if not a bit too mild for my taste.

We ordered a 'Rooted Salad' ($5.95) described as having kohlrabi, golden beets, celery root, green apple, orange, greens, candied almonds and a lemon maple vinaigrette. Other than no kohlrabi or celery root and instead slices of wonderful radish, it was a good salad. Since Public Square is still in its 'soft opening', we understood.

Then we saw this at the top of the menu.

Homemade sugar scones ($3.50 each), with a choice of flavored butters (50¢ each) (or two scones and a flight of all six butters for $9.50)…and so we did.

First, the scones are *perfect*; flaky, buttery and creamy. The rock sugar topping is not disturbingly crunchy nor too sweet.

2. The butters were such a variety of flavors: pumpkin spice (which I imagine will change with the seasons), guava, cinnamon, maple cayenne, blueberry tea and Nutella bacon. Each was unique, not salty (except for bacon pieces in the nutella) and oddly, began melting from the bottom of the cold, wood tray.

This was very good and far more interesting of a sweet than some sort of baked or fried pastry.

A very nice addition to downtown La Mesa village. Here is a link to cc's post about her recent visits.

Public Square Coffee 8278 La Mesa Blvd, La Mesa, Ca 91942 (619) 777-8273 not really a website link Mon-Sat 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

Your personalized order is written onto the back of one of the 'Carpe Diem' cards you see in the above (10th and 11th) photos. Open and read a good thought for your day.

The Summer of 2016 Drive Across the USA – Part Three: What We Ate (the local places)

September 23, 2016 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Detroit, Michigan, Road Trip

Thanks for dropping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. Cathy is writing about her summer drive back East-not a vacation, not planned. After all the hubbub, there was time to eat out at places which were not chains.

Link to Part 1

Link to Part Two

Link to Part Four

This third part of the 2016 foray out of California will not contain places or foods one might typically associate with the Detroit area. (Since this wasn't a vacation, there were time restrictions; I will get to three places in particular on the next trip). All of the restaurants in this post have familiar foods and are places where special meals occurred when I was growing up.

The Midwest. Beef. Sign of the Beefcarver, where we went for Sunday meals out.

Cafeteria style with waitresses who take your tray, seat you and refill your beverages. (The first small photo is where you can hang your heavy winter coat when you walk in; it is Michigan). There are only two locations left, but beginning in 1957, this was THE place to go, with many locations.

Known for hand-carved, slow roasted beef, which is and has always been my choice (and a comfort food) The hot beef sandwich (top on white bread, bottom on pumpernickel) shown with various cafeteria chosen sides and the condiment bar selections of pickles, beets, horseradish and sour cream.Then there is the chopped round steak plate, which my brother chose. Also very good, because…meat (along with mushroom gravy).

There are many Coney Island restaurants in Detroit, with people having a favorite one close to home and another favorite close to work (similar to taco shops in San Diego). Leo's Coney Island is a nearby, local chain. It's been around since 1972. Most coneys also have Greek selections on the menu, like this wonderful avgolemono (chicken/egg/rice/lemon) soup.

But of course the actual 'coney' (on the right- a smokey, natural casing hot dog) topped with beanLESS chili, onions and mustard, along with a 'loose'-(loose hamburger in a hot dog bun, topped with the same) is a typical order.

Long ago, there were Polish restaurants in every neighborhood in Detroit city. Those are now in the suburbs. I went to three differentPolish restaurants this trip and these photos are typical meals.

As soon as you are seated, a basket of breads, crackers and butter are brought to the table. Two slices of each flavor (marble, white and rye) in plastic lunch bags.

Soup is also served at every meal. This one, dill pickle soup, is my favorite. Each restaurant has a 'Polish Plate"which includes everything seen here: kraut, kielbasa, pierogi and Gołąbki (gah WHUMP key)-stuffed cabbage.

Here's a cross section of some pierogi - with mashed potato, cottage cheese and sauerkraut fillings.

Chicken dumpling, chicken noodle and creamy mushroom soup were also consumed at various meals this trip.

Another common food on a 'Polish Plate' is City Chicken, which I wrote about in 2014. I was slightly disappointed in this version, because it was made of chicken (!) instead of the traditional veal and pork…because real chicken is now cheaper, defeating the whole purpose of 'city chicken'.

There are also 'family style' places in the suburbs, similar to Jimmy's, Perry's and other 'diner' type establishments we have out here. comfortable, with comfort food.

Yes, omelets and liver and onions type of comfort food, along with cabbage soup.

Of course, there are the 'Dairy XXX' type places on every street corner. Soft serve, sundaes, flurries, treats.

Interesting factoid- these all open on Memorial Day weekend and close on Labor Day. One of the reasons Michigan public schools don't start until after Labor Day- so that seasonal employees/students can finish up their summer jobs.

Thanks for reading! Hope your weekend is good.