Cathy – Page 49

Pho Hoa (Huong?)(I Eat Pho!)

November 17, 2015 Cathy Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Kirk is out and about, in a different time zone. Ed (from Yuma) is also in a different time zone and Cathy is in the here and now, blogging.

When I started to write this post, checking on whether or not I had written a prior post (to link) was a bit tedious. Of this location, I saw that Kirk had blogged about it twice now, calling it Pho Hoa-Huong', but the signage now has …"I eat Pho!"…

In addition, there is also a Pho Hoa located on El Cajon Boulevard, about which Kirk has also twice posted.

Then there is Pho Hoa Hiep, located on the other end of this same parking lot as "I Eat Pho", which is anchored by Thuan Phat supermarket. Anyhow, this pho shop has been here a long time, the interior hasn't changed, the food is consistent and gets to the table extremely fast once you order.Delivery from the kitchen this visit was so fast that the Pho Tai ($6.30, small) raw beef still wasn't cooked in the hot broth when it was placed on the table. We like the pho broth (herbal-meaty) and noodles (not in a clump) here. You can order Cha Gio as a full or half order ($3.50), which is nice. The rice paper fried wrapper is my favorite. The fresh fried spring rolls have a good meat to veggie filling ratio. For years, I've been trying Bo Kho (beef stew) ($6.65) at various Vietnamese restaurants, even though I know the best is at Pho Lucky. The stew here is my second favorite in the County; it's rich and satisfying, with tender meat and a multi flavored broth.

Hot foods on a cool day, what a nice feeling. Hope all of you are enjoying this weather.

Pho Hoa 6921 Linda Vista Road San Diego 92111 (858) 492-9108 open daily 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

Golden Egg Omelet House-Escondido

November 16, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping and reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is not here, Ed (from Yuma) is in Yuma and Cathy is writing a post about another San Diego breakfast-lunch place.

Golden Egg Omelet House is located at an obscure corner of an obscure mall just South of the 78, on Broadway at Centre City Parkway(at the NorthEast corner). Once you see the McDonald's, drive in and go around and behind the building that is behind the McDonald's Drive Thru. You may or may not have ever seen or heard of it, but it's been in Escondido over 35 years. A local spot.The decor is unique…let's call it 'Country Charm'.Walking in, there is a White Board of daily specials.

The menu is one large page-breakfasts on one side and lunches on the other side. There are almost 100 omelet creations to choose from, with primary meats of Bacon, ham, sausage, ground beef, turkey, chicken, Italian sausage, Polish Sausage, corned beef, shrimp and even chili. There's a choice of just about every vegetable imaginable: tomato, spinach, mushroom, zucchini, bell pepper, green onion, green chiles, avocado. artichokes, olives, broccoli and potato. Of course there's also a choice of cheese: Jack, Cheddar, American, Pepper Jack or Swiss. If you don't see an omelet listed, you can make your own; they have the ingredients.

One note: the omelets are HUGE. They come with toast, no potato. If you'd like Dudley's date walnut toast, it's an extra 39 cents.The #89 omelet ($11.09 plus 39¢ for the fancier Dudley's toast). Bacon, ham and Polish sausage with Jack cheese. A wonderfully filling, protein packed meal. So flavor packed.

There is also a separate menu of just potato casseroles. A midwest favorite, sometimes referred to as Hotdish - all the components of a meal in a dish. Each casserole is named for a State.

This is the Nebraska ($9.99) It's one of those Costco sized baked potatoes, chopped up and topped with ground beef, mushrooms, onion, tomato, Jack cheese and topped with a mushroom sauce. This is quite large, filling and easily could be shared or used as a side to share at the table.Here's some more of the eclectic indoor decor. Just about everything decorating the interior is for sale…this is good in case something strikes your fancy.One Friday, The Mister decided to order the White Board "Rat Race Special" ($8.59) (it's only available Mon-Fri). The soup of the day was mushroom. Made from scratch, wonderful, solidly mushroom flavored. The fact that it comes with a full (not half) sandwich is great. Turkey- a lot of turkey, on very large slices of fresh, soft whole wheat with mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato. This was a wonderful meal.Ever since I had 'found' a tuna salad stuffed tomato at The Village Kitchen this summer, I've been on the lookout for other versions. The version here ($9.69) exceeded all expectations.

The (excellent) tuna salad stuffed tomato is on top of a bed of lettuce- enough to be its own salad. The accompaniments- artichokes, hard boiled egg, avocado, cheese and pickle fully round out the plate and then there's the delightful toasted garlic bread…a meal. A wonderful meal.

Golden Egg Omelet House 316 West Mission Avenue Escondido 92025 (760) 489-6420 Website open 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m., daily
This wonderful 1950's signage (and store) is on the opposite end of the same parking lot.

Chowking (Mira Mesa)(revisit)

November 12, 2015 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, Filipino Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

This is mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk needs a break, Ed (from Yuma) is on a break and so Cathy is writing the posts for a few days.

As mentioned in prior posts, The Mister and I choose a different ethnic market each week when it's time to go food shopping. There are several locations of Seafood City in the county, but the one in Mira Mesa is closest to home. There is a (new) food court inside, but just next door is a storefront location of Chowking, which I've posted about, a couple of times. Chowking is a subsidiary of Jolibee, the largest fast food chain in the Philippines. Straight ahead in this photo is the front door to Chowking; there is another door where you can enter from inside the Seafood City store.The menu is pretty straightforward and contains breakfast and lunch/dinner items as well as snacks and sweets. There's even a small freezer which holds Siopao to take home (Filipino-Chinese buns that can be steamed or heated in the microwave for a few seconds).This is what we ordered for one lunch the other day. That's a coffee milk tea (because I can never decide). I like how the styrofoam packaging is manufactured with steam holes, so the contents, if fried, will remain crispy.The 'Chinese Style Fried Chicken' plate ($4.99) is pretty much my go-to item here, because the fry is always fresh, crispy, not greasy and so very tasty. It's 'Chinese' because of the spices used-and because Chowking is (and initially was only) a fast food Chinese restaurant before it was bought out by the Philippine based company (notice the Chinese lettering on the front of the counter, two photos up). The steamed rice, with egg and vegetable is always fresh.The Garlic Chicken Lauriat ($5.99). A 'Lauriat' is a rice meal, so is essentially the meat (nicely battered and fried dark meat chicken pieces) and rice along with veggie Canton noodles, two small veggie spring rolls and two red bean paste filled sesame balls…not lumpia, not pancit…Chinese food… Remember this hot days we had not too long ago? The mango shaved ice here is only $2.99. Quite large, with lots of ice, mango and condensed milk; it's a refreshing break.

I hope your week has gone well!

Chowking 8955 Mira Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92126 (858) 653-4977

Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza (Power Lunch)

November 4, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Pizza, Salads

Thanks for clicking onto mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma)- both are busy, busy. Cathy is staying indoors today and able to blog, so enjoy reading.

Sammy's Woodfired Pizza opened it's first location in La Jolla in 1989, now has eight locations in San Diego County with a total of 17 locations in California and Nevada. The concept and menu began as simple (the owner, Sami Ladeki, didn't even hire a chef at first, because the menu was so basic) and has expanded into small bites and other items in addition to pizza. It's not an 'Italian' menu (Sami is from Lebanon) as much as it's fresh and local (items are sourced from within 125 miles). The website uses the trademarked term "Healthy Global Cuisine".The former Naval Training Center, now Liberty Station, is listed on the National Register of Historic places and the former military barracks and other government buildings have been adapted as stores, schools and restaurants. One of Sammy's locations is here.

This past summer, an additional menu, the Power Lunch (available from 11 to 2 daily), was introduced. Choose any two items for $10. We've tried the whole menu except for the kale salad and the spicy Italian sausage pizza…
Mentioned at the bottom the regular menu is that water and bread are served if requested. Two multi-grain crisps (really nice seeded crackers) and a few pieces of fresh made soft crusted white bread and butter is brought out.
The fresh tomato basil soup has been different every time we've had it. Flavorful fresh tomatoes, sometimes with the shaved Romano cheese at the bottom of the bowl, sometimes on the top and basil are the main ingredients. Recently the tomatoes were supplemented with red peppers, which were very tasty and made for a different soup flavor than I was expecting.The butternut squash soup (on the right) is always tasty…made with fresh squash, ginger and apple, it is brisk and fresh…and sometimes a bit stinging from the amount of ginger while sweet because of the apple.

The corn chowder (on the left, above) is the 'calmest' of all the flavors. A bit sweet because of the corn and carrots and complimented by potatoes, celery and red pepper, it's just good and creamy.The salads (on this and the regular menu) are always so very fresh and quite large, even at lunch. The Greek (above) has all the standard ingredients (tomato, cucumber, onion and olive) as well as Feta and is tossed with a simple red wine vinaigrette.The arugula with calmyria fig salad is simple; the other ingredients are feta and toasted almonds, along with some of the broken crisps that are served with the bread plate, above. It's tossed with a pomegranate based dressing. This I crave.The pizzas are larger than a 'personal' pizza, cut into quarters. The margherita (above) has the most wonderful fresh ingredients in addition to a perfect (to me) crust. There's a roasted garlic sauce under the mozzarella cheese that puts this pizza into one of my 'sudden craving' categories.The pepperoni pizza has a house made tomato sauce that is lightly spiced. There are some bell pepper slices as well as pepperoni with the mozzarella cheese and those flavors along with the chew and crunch of the wood fired crust are a perfect combination.

I hope your week is going well!

Sammy's Woodfired Pizza, multiple locations. Website

Harbor Town Pub – Brunch (Point Loma)

November 3, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Pubs and Pub Grub, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to look at mmm-yoso!!! a food blog of San Diego and other places. Cathy is writing today; Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are just too busy.

One of those mornings when it was hot and humid before 9 a.m. and The Mister and I thought going closer to the water would be a good idea. The drive West was nice and it seemed cooler on Point Loma. The rather ubiquitous frontage of Harbor Town Pub (located on Rosecrans, about two blocks from the Harbor and from the entrance to Shelter Island) makes it easily overlooked, but being open daily at 8 a.m., it's an easy breakfast stop, especially for locals. The menu remains the same on weekends, so basically Brunch is available daily.After downloading my photos, I realized that somehow the camera phone was set on a sepia toned filter. I apologize for the 'artsy' look.Harbor Town is located in the Portuguese neighborhood of San Diego and so linguisa is on the menu. I chose a Linguisa Scramble ($10.95) for my meal. Eggs, tomato, green onion, cilantro, Cotija cheese and a chipotle cream were all mixed with a good amount of the smoked, garlicy Portuguese sausage. A topping of crispy tortilla strips was the perfect texture that this hearty (and large portioned) dish needed.The Mister has been trying variations of chicken and waffles ever since encountering 'the original version' a couple of years ago. The version here ($11.95) fit the bill; large portions of boneless, skinless white meat chicken is dipped in waffle batter and then fried. Served with a biscuit, eggs and home fries, this hearty meal was really good.

There are several other scrambles, a banana bread french toast as well as a high end country fried steak also available for breakfast…great quality and a non-touristy vibe.

Harbor Town Pub 1125 Rosecrans Street San Diego 92107 (619) 2241321 Open daily 8 a.m.-1 a.m. Website

2016 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Float Road Test #6, breakfast at Sandwiches by Connal

October 29, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. There are always reasons about how we (Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and Cathy) get around to the food. Today, Cathy is writing about one of her monthly road trips to Pasadena.

Late October and yet floats are being constructed and necessarily being tested for safety and maneuverability prior to their participation in the 127th Tournament of Roses Rose Parade, which will occur on January 1, 2016. The Theme of the parade this year is "Find Your Adventure" and will be held in conjunction with the National Park Service, which will be celebrating its 100th year since being entrusted with the care of over 400 locations of the National Parks of the United States.

The day starts early for road tests. We have to be on the road by 5 a.m., to be at the Phoenix Decorating Company barn by 7 a.m.. There is another company which constructs floats along with six floats which are self made and all have different road testing days. Since The Mister and I have decorated floats with the Petal Pushers, who assist with many of the floats made by Phoenix Decorating since before I began writing on this blog, we usually only drive up to see the Phoenix floats being road tested. The American Armenian Rose Float Association will have its second float, "Discover Armenia" in the parade in January, and it is again very detailed, showing 17 different Armenian architectural symbols.Back in August, this very long float was road tested. (You can see the Driver to the right in a red shirt and the Spotter of the float to the left, with the yellow chair).Knowing that base showed nothing of the float design, I waited for more details of this steampunk design titled "Fearless Flyer". Once the colors are marked for the live and dry materials, this Trader Joe's float will really take shape. It collapses down on that accordion pleated central area…and yes, there will be steam coming from various parts of the float as it drives down Colorado Boulevard. This will be one of the more magnificent floats in the parade.The Destination Irvine float, "Innovation Rocks" has been outlined and colored and now looks like the artist rendition. It is ready for decoration, which will begin on December 5.

You can see the artist renditions of all the floats I've shown you so far this year at this link.Peeking into the barn before leaving, we saw this small boat with an outboard motor…and I know Honda (the parade sponsor) makes outboard motors…so I'm thinking this is part of the first float you'll see as the parade starts. {I was wrong: the above outboard motor is part of the Farmers Insurance "Along for the Ride" float. Additional artist renditions of the floats were added to the above link after this post was published.}

We were off to breakfast and decided to stop at Sandwiches by Connal, which has been in Pasadena since 1958 (and which I wrote about last year, after another road test).Not much has changed since September 2014. The prices are for 'to go' items and it costs a bit less because we eat in. We've been here more than once, so here's a compendium of breakfast items. The bacon breakfast burrito ($4.99) is made with three eggs and hash browns and bacon. The sausage croissant ($3.99) is similarly prepared. As always: hearty, fresh and excellent. The bacon breakfast sandwich (on wheat) ($4.59) is made with folded (not shredded) lettuce leaves, tomato, egg and bacon. Always a favorite. The chorizo burrito ($5.29) weighs more than a pound (because, again, three eggs and hash browns as well as a lot of chorizo) and comes with red or green sauce added for you.The Ribeye steak and eggs ($7.99). Three eggs, hash browns, toast and a good size piece of tender meat…a nice way to begin the rest of the day.

I hope your week is going well!

Sandwiches by Connal 1505 East Washington Pasadena, CA 91104 (626)794-5018 Website (the menu website links have old prices, the wall prices in the photo above are 'to go' prices, it's about 50¢ less per item when you eat in).

Urbn St Brewing Co (El Cajon)

October 13, 2015 Cathy Beer, Pizza, Pubs and Pub Grub, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to see what mmm-yoso!!! is writing about today. Kirk is under the weather and Ed (from Yuma) is otherwise occupied (in Yuma) so Cathy is writing this short post.

There are five different locations of URBN and the one closest to home is this one, URBN St Brewing Co, in El Cajon.This is the building from the parking lot. The front door is on Magnolia at Main (the North West corner, next to the Starbucks).The 'windows' are the roll up garage door kind, so everything is exposed. You can see the bar area has plenty of taps. The side televisions are beer menus.Once inside, the industrial hipster brewery look is obvious.The Mister was here to try some of the house beers ($7 for an URBN flight) (of four): Saison (bright and light in flavor), Unite (a red Belgian rye, brewed in collaboration with Twisted Manzanita Brewery (located in Santee)), Brown (graham cracker with chocolate undertones) and Triple Brown (strong coffee notes). Each beer was unique and fresh in taste. We enjoyed all of our choices.

The menu at dinner is straightforward, with pizza and salad being the primary choices along with four appetizers and desserts.The URBN salad (small, $7). A nice mix of greens topped with gorgonzola, pears, a walnut brittle and a light vinaigrette. This could be a meal for one (the bowl is deep), but we shared. It was very fresh and flavorful.None of the preselected ingredient pies appealed to us, so we chose to 'Craft Your Own'. We chose a Small, White with parmesan/garlic/evoo ($10) then added Ricotta ($2) and artichokes ($2).

That small pizza is on a regular size cookie sheet (half sheet cake size)! More than enough.

The flavor combination was just right, with the garlic and olive oil complimenting -and not overpowering- the Ricotta or artichoke hearts. The crust was more cracker-like than the edges, which I don't normally like, especially when cold..but this pizza never got to the point of being leftover…

URBN St. Brewing Co. 110 N. Magnolia (at Main) El Cajon 92020 (619) 328-6922 Website Open Sun-Thurs 11:30-10, Fri-Sat 11:30-midnight

Original Pancake House (revisit)

October 9, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Cathy is writing today's post, because Kirk can't and Ed (from Yuma) doesn't feel like writing.

I first wrote about the Original Pancake House in 2009 and again in 2013. The Mister and I tend to stop here for breakfast on special occasions. This time, it was The Mister's birthday choice. The below photo is of the parking lot when we were leaving at 8:10 in the morning on a Sunday; OPH gets crowded early.OPH is a nationwide chain, with four locations in San Diego County. The food is consistent and high quality. The menu is lengthy.That morning, I was not in a mood for anything sweet, so I chose the chicken crepe ($10.25) One large, eggy crepe topped with chunks of white meat chicken, sliced olives, green chili, red pimento and a simple gravy. This was very good for breakfast. I had a choice of sides and chose the potato pancakes (because they are wonderful),which were served with sour cream and applesauce. The Mister's condiments were warm maple syrup and a pitcher of warm blueberries cooked in a sauce…which He proceeded to pour over His Blueberry waffle ($8.75) which had a lot of fresh blueberries baked into the batter (I took photos of the bottom and a cross section, but both were blurred). The batter for the pancakes as well as the waffles is a special blend. Each is unique and sweet in its own way.

We enjoyed this start to the day. Stay cool this weekend!

Original Pancake House 3906 Convoy San Diego 92111 858-565-1740 Website open daily 7 a.m.-3 p.m.

Krist Liquor & Market (Birria and Carnitas and more)

October 8, 2015 Cathy Markets & Grocers, Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

Thank you for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, a blog. This week has been hectic for Kirk; he's multitasking, with some sort of new surprise popping up hourly. Ed (from Yuma) has had a more or less relaxing sort of week (in Yuma) with routines guiding his day. Cathy's week has been filled with added surprises, necessitating periodic concentration; writing this blog post is a way for her to wind down.

You've seen it and drove right past if you ever were South on Linda Vista Road, going toward the new location of Sab E Lee (which shares the same parking lot with Thuan Phat supermarket and Yum Cha Cafe), or maybe the original Sab E Lee location, which is now Thai Papaya (which Kirk may or may not like).

On the West Side of Linda Vista Road, next to the Jack In The Box (at Fulton Street)…Note the signage on the building to your left …rotisserie chicken, birria, carnitas. There is a menu on both of those open doors. Just walk inside.Sure, there's a whole wall of liquor as well as a refrigerator of cold beer and plenty of non-alcoholic beverages. There's also a small display case of Mexican baked sweets, as well as fruits and vegetables, a meat counter and a few aisles of various sundries. All the way in the back, you'll see-The menus up high.The steam trays in front of you.Condiments, sides and the stove (for warming tortillas) along the side.

Order and watch your meal being prepared. Grab a beverage or two. You'll pay at the cash register at the door. There is *no* seating.Usually, I'll get a quart of birria to go, but on this day, I asked for it as a combination plate ($6.49). I think it's the best birria, stewed until the beef is tender and with spicy, deep and complex flavors. The chef is always proud when I tell him it is my favorite.Here's a carnitas plate ($6.49) with no rice and all the sides that come with it. There is plenty here (you get six corn tortillas and there's always more meat than small tacos I make with the ingredients).The chicharrones guisados (stewed fried pork rinds in green sauce) made here is also one of the best. I asked for it to be made into two tacos. It's not listed on the menu, but I was only charged $3 for these.Here's another plate of carnitas from Krist. Different cooks, different results. All good.

Krist Liquor & Market 7152 Linda Vista Road San Diego 92111 (858)292-7986 Open Mon-Tue-Wed-Th & Sat 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri 8 a.m.-11 p.m., Sun 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Since there is no seating at Krist, we either have to drive home to eat or head toward Mission Bay, where there is plenty of seating and a view of Fiesta Island.

I hope your week is going well!

Szechuan Chef

October 7, 2015 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. The technical difficulties Kirk has been experiencing have increased exponentially. Ed (from Yuma) is enjoying his lack of technological complications (in Yuma). Cathy has had some posts accumulating because her technology level consists of downloading photos almost immediately after a meal. She's posting.

Long story short, in November there was an incident involving the necessity for The Mister to begin using a variety of prescription pharmaceuticals, the side effects of which are His having periodic cravings for certain foods; a majority of them spicy. After *much* trial and error, He whittled his favorites down (His favorite being Mr. Spicy). Szechuan Chef (Kirk was here in 2013; didn't like it) is in the Top Ten, primarily for one dish.Can't place it? Right next door to Myung In Dumplings, which Kirk wrote about earlier this year. The line at Myung In is sometimes out the door… The other anchor in this parking lot is Boba Time.The eating area is pretty spacious and always clean.Near the kitchen is an area of cold dishes. We have ordered, by pointing, not knowing how they will taste or what all of the ingredients might be. All have been pleasantly fresh and none have been too spicy-hot.We have turned into those typical touristy 'white people' and have ordered by pointing at photos on the menu. The above photo has been the most accurate one.The House Special Shrimp ($12.99) with a side of rice ($1) The shrimp are plump, juicy, nicely cooked. There is a bit of heat flavor and the slices of cucumber are a nice interlude.However it is not as spicy as you would think, considering all of these peppers…The won ton in chili sauce ($5.99) was nice. The chili sauce was fresh tasting and packed a back-of-the- tongue heat. The won tons were thin, quite filled with pork and tasted good without the sauce and nicer with it. This was different from Kirk's experience (linked above) where the word 'insipid' was used.Choosing to order a scallion pancake ($2.50) was a good idea on my part. Dipping it in the sauce helped me to taste the sauce in a more 'plain' way and enjoy the freshly made pancake a bit more. The twice cooked rockfish ($10.99) is always ordered (it's the 'craving' one that The Mister must have), because of the good fry methods used as well as the strong turmeric and light chili flavors. The cooked, chopped thin Chinese celery as well as onion and a few red bell pepper slices add more texture and flavor.The shrimp wonton tofu ($8.99) was a more of any typical Chinese restaurant meal. No heat, plump shrimp, soft tofu and the ever present peas and carrots. It didn't give me any sort of MSG reaction, so that is good. Nothing special; nothing bad.The Braised Fish Garlic Bowl ($10.99) is also a typical flavor mix, has nice spice of garlic without Szechuan heat and is quite large; all fish in that bowl along with roast garlic and scallion.

Anything here is large enough to be shared. We always end up taking home leftovers, as have more than 90% of the tables every time we've stopped in for lunch.

Szechuan Chef Cuisine 4344 Convoy Street, Suite F San Diego 92111 (858) 279-8881

No hours posted, but it's open by 11:30 every morning; maybe sooner.

I hope your week is going well, without interruptions by technology.