Cathy – Page 56

JT’s Pub & Grill (Stadium area)(Grantville)

January 28, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Chicken Wings, Pubs and Pub Grub, What Cathy Eats!

Look at you, right back here at mmm-yoso!!! probably looking for food blogging. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are each busy with 'research' for future posts and Cathy is writing today, with 'results'.

Mission Gorge Road, just North of Interstate 8 is a mish-mash of businesses. Bookended by Starbucks, surrounding new and used car dealerships, banks, drug stores, numerous fast food drive thru lanes, a pizza parlor, sit down restaurants, a great vegan donut shop, as well as a Kaiser Hospital and Clinic. There are also more than several Purveyors of adult beverages which also sell food in this area of town.JT's is located closest to the Interstate, on the East side, just across from Rose Toyota and a few blocks South of Iowa Meat farms (sister of Seisel's Meats). The plain exterior is not a signal of things to come. The bar area has seemingly endless adult beverage choices, numerous televisions, seating and there are pool and ping pong tables in the back. There are several chalkboards mentioning beer specials, or you can ask. Menus are on tables. You walk up to the bar to order. Always on the lookout for specials, the back of the menu is usually what I read first.However, the bottom of the front page caught my eye on our first visit- beef from Iowa Meat Farms. Ground fresh daily.Here are the center pages, if you are interested. Don't pay too much attention though…the menu is going to be changing up soon. The same talented people who make the wonderful food I'm about to show you will be working on a new menu with all fresh (as in nothing frozen) items. Currently, the potstickers and fries and tots are frozen items. Basic Burger (cooked to a perfect medium rare, as I had ordered) ($8). Served on a fresh, toasted bun with crispy lettuce, tomato and onion, this is one of the best I've had in a while. It's 1/2 pound before cooking.Since it was a Monday, the $3 wings were calling. Medium Buffalo and Teriyaki were our chosen flavors this visit. The wings were meaty, fried crispy and the flavors not overwhelming (the Teriyaki was not sweet, a plus in my book).Another visit, on a Friday, had The Mister ordering a 16 ounce Cream Ale from (local) Mother Earth Brewing ($5).Friday Fish Sandwich ($6.25) was quite large, with the cheese melted into the bun, a nice touch. The fish was moist and the batter light, almost fluffy crispy. The cole slaw here is excellent, by the way.Sides can be fries, tots, slaw or a side salad. You can see fresh mushrooms on the salad, since they use fresh mushrooms for the beer battered mushroom basket. This visit, The Mister ordered the bacon and Bleu burger ($9.25). Again, the cheese melted into the bun-toasty bleu cheese…so good. You can see the bacon and now can imagine how good it was. It was, it was.

Breakfast on Sunday is a whole other post…

JT's Pub & Grill 5821 Mission Gorge Road 92120 (619)280-4698 Mon-Sat 11 a.m.-2 a.m, Sunday 9 a.m.-2 a.m. Website

E & Drink: preserved vegetables (revisit)

January 26, 2015 Cathy Taiwanese Food and Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

E & Drink has closed

Hello and welcome to the food blog, mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) have both been extremely busy and Cathy is not yet at the point of extremely busy, so she is writing today's post.

As I had mentioned, The Mister has been having unusual cravings lately, primarily in wanting certain spices, heat levels or flavors…not a particular food. He had been mentioning 'Hot Pot but not the same as Little Sheep, that was very peppery' and since we needed to get some groceries after this lunch (it's located inside the 99Ranch complex), E & Drink seemed the perfect place to stop. Usually, we discuss our menu choices and decide what to share. This was the first time in almost forever when we didn't. He opened the menu, saw what he wanted and closed the menu, saying 'ready'. I noticed this placard on the table… and assumed The Mister was ordering hot pot and so the bottom combination of a Hot Pot plus an item listed as 'Lunch Special' seemed an option. Unusual 'appetizers' were brought out with our respective utensils. Turns out that The Mister had ordered the 'Lamb with pickled cabbage' hot pot, which arrived bubbling and ended up with much flavor. The Mister had asked for noodle on the side (instead of rice) and that was a change up and, I think a better choice. This was a hot pot of flavors we had never tried before and it was excellent. A meaty bubbling broth, the vegetables and hot pot fillers (pickled cabbage, meat ball, tofu, corn, kamaboko, fish cake, tempura, egg, napa cabbage, carrot, radish, vermicelli) were really good, still crisp and the lamb was tender and had a good flavor that we both enjoyed. Sometimes we order 'add ins' from the menu and, as you can see, the pot is full and it was very flavorful without needing anything added in.

I mentioned that we did not discuss our meal choices, merely ordering by number from the menu…Coincidentally, I ordered a meat with preserved vegetable also. "Pork with preserved vegetable" the menu stated… it was preserved rather than pickled (which is indeed a type of preserving) vegetable (an addictive saute of something from the cabbage family, but a dark green and it was not salty nor vinegared) with sides of chilled fried eggplant, broccoli and a wonderful pickled radish. As you might see, the serving of pork is very much pork belly. It was perfect. The fatty goodness and charred edges went so well with the vegetables and rice. Definitely ordering this again.

There are an array of drinks, desserts, appetizers and snacks available here. I hope your week has started out well.

E and Drink 7330 Clairmont Mesa Blvd, A110 San Diego 92111 (858) 560-9888 open 10:30- midnight daily.

ecb (El Cajon Bistro)

January 25, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

Hello again from mmm-yoso!!! a food blog. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are a bit busy today and Cathy is writing a quick post.

After posting about El Cajon Bistro and Bakery in 2013, it became a regular spot to drop in for a quick snack before grocery shopping at either Kaelins (which has been upgraded in a great way), or Valley Foods when we didn't want to eat at the hot food area in either of those stores. (ecb is equidistant from each of those grocers).The name has slightly changed, removing the 'Bakery' portion and dinner is now offered here. This location is in the same parking lot as Saray and Sultan Bakalava, which are also regular stops for snacks. The ordering area is the same, as is the dining area with an emphasis on juices and fresh fruit along with the still tremendous coffee offerings.This day we decided to have breakfast and The Mister ordered his favorite item- the berry pancakes with bacon and over easy eggs ($8). The fresh berries baked into the house made pancake batter is just a perfect flavor combination and always satisfying.The chalkboard at my eye level on the counter had me curious. I asked what the difference was between this and the 'regular' eggs benedict was and the answer was 'green Hollandaise sauce'. For some reason, I have been asking for the 'green' sauced items at quite a few places this year (tomatillo, suizas, culichi, chimichurri and pesto easily come to mind) now this was a choice. Had to! Well, this was just wonderful! The eggs were poached hard and the sauce was great, with that bit of difference than plain Hollandaise as well as a good amount of fresh veggies making this an excellent breakfast treat.

Similar to its sister location (La Mesa Bistro and Bakery), the lines are out the door on weekends, unless you get here early.

ecb 109 Jamacha El Cajon 92019 (619)590-0278 Website Open 7 a.m. daily (closes 4 p.m. Sun-Mon, 8 pm other days)

Little Sheep Hot Pot for Lunch (revisit)

January 18, 2015 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and Ed(fromYuma) and Cathy are the primary bloggers here, trying to stay on the subject of food. Today's post is pretty direct.

Again, it was December when The Mister's tastebuds kind of went all wacky and he started bugging me about craving the Little Sheep 'spicy Hot Pot mix', which we had at home, but I didn't feel like finding all the other ingredients needed. So we headed West, to Clairmont Boulevard at Diane Street. Kirk posted about Little Sheep twice when it first opened in San Diego and I wrote a post a few years later when The Mister and I met Ed (from Yuma) and Tina here, yet I know all of us have been here quite a few more times, just without photographing the meals.Although a chain, there is only one San Diego location. Each table (as well as each seat at the bar area) has induction cooktops built in.Being seated, menus as well as an ordering sheet were brought out. I noticed you could order a low sodium broth, and chose it for both the spicy and original; the herbs and other flavorings for the original are so different from the 'spicy' and we didn't notice any lack of sodium…Each add in has a different flavor when cooked in a different broth. The veggie combo platter ($8.95) is pretty much always an order, because there is so much variety and we never can decide which vegetables we want…although next time we will also order mushrooms; I felt that was what was missing, if I were to be nitpicky.This visit, we knew we wanted the large order of lamb wonton ($5.95) instead of any sort of noodle.For the protein portion, the beef and lamb ($10.95) was today's choice.

Of course, we also had hot tea (no charge) and had a wonderful time cooking and enjoying yet another meal here. As mentioned, swishing and cooking each ingredient in the different broths yields a different set of flavors to enjoy. Hot Pot in general is a great way to satisfy everyone's cravings.

I hope your week is going well.

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot and Grill 4718 Clairmont Mesa Blvd, San Diego 92117 (858)274-2040 Opens 11:30 a.m. daily. Closed between 3 and 5:30 p.m. M-F. Closes at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 9 p.m. other days. Website

Mr. Spicy (Grantville)

January 14, 2015 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Here we are, mmm-yoso!!! Blogging about food. Cathy has blogging duty today, because Kirk and Ed(from Yuma don't want to blog; they are busy.

Going out for a meal with The Mister has always been random. We get to an intersection, "left or right?", drive more, turn more, exit because of traffic or not and at some point the question of "fingers, forks or chopsticks?" is asked, answered and we each begin a search for signage of anything that looks interesting.

Things changed a bit in December and pretty soon the equation and questions became a bit more detailed: "spicy?", "Mexican, Thai or Chinese flavors?" became part of the routine. About that same time, a new place opened just down Mission Gorge Road, at Zion near Friars Road.
First, we only noticed this small sign on the edge of the mall where Chamorro Grill is located. This mall is just Kitty Corner from the Kaiser Hospital corner (where Longhorn and Pho Xpress still are going strong) and next to the mall which contains Ra-Ka-De-Ka, Troys Greek, San Diego Brewing Company, Saigon Star and Gaglione Brothers.Clean, neat and small (less than 50 seats), this family run business seems to have a steady flow of clientele picking up 'To Go' orders. There are lunch special plates (Mon-Fri 11-3) with prices ranging from $5.99-$7.99 and the regular menu has a maximum price of $13.99. The admonishment at the bottom of each menu page is the same: "Hot & Spicy- Please be aware of the spiciness for the spicy food". This fact is confirmed when you order.When we first sat down, I had no expectations. The standard Chinese Zodiac place mats, forks, plastic tablecloths were all signs of this place being "ABCDE" (American Born Chinese Dining Establishment). Into the ordering process, I was happily disproved while asking questions (we asked for and got chopsticks) Our waitress took our order and went to the kitchen window and *yelled* it in to the chef. This talented man works magic with the wok.First up, a simple sesame pancake ($1.99). Fresh, flaky, delightful and this would prove a perfect item to use when sopping up flavorful oil.The menu does not provide much in the way of description other than categories of Noodles/Rice (where the pancake was listed), Green Chili, Sizzling Plate, Dried Pot, Boiled Bowl, Pork/Beef/Lamb, Chicken/Fish/Shrimp, Vegetable/Tofu, Soup and Featured Specials.

Above, Chicken with Green Chili and Hot Sauce ($8.99). Red and green bell peppers, a spicy fresh green chili (looks like a jalapeno but it isn't), dry red chilis, garlic, black beans and plenty of chicken. This is delicious and so very fresh."Featured Special" Twice Cooked Fish with Dried Red Pepper ($11.99). Wow. Dry red pepper, ginger and garlic make the heat and flavors, as did the celery, sweet red bell pepper and plenty (we counted eight) filets of twice cooked, lightly breaded, perfectly crispy fried fish.Returning later in the week, with the intention of ordering a lunch special, the waitress recognized us and brought out two cups of the daily soup before we had ordered. Turns out that the lunch specials looked kind of dull to us and we each were more curious about other menu items. Above, Boiled Bowl two kinds with Hot Sauce (I chose lamb and beef) ($10.99). The bowl is HUGE. Here is a bit of what is in the bowl. Not only beef and lamb (each meat you could taste through the heat of the pepper and garlic) but also plenty of cabbage. The leftover sauce and cabbage was used as a base for soup at home that night.Chicken in dried pot ($8.99)- there is a sterno flame under this pot, which had the most flavorful melding of spices, almost chocolate-like.Underneath all of that were onions (which kept cooking in the heat until almost melted) and really nice, fresh sprouts.

We will be trying the rest of the menu.

Mr. Spicy 6618 Mission Gorge Road San Diego 92120 (619)546-6686 Mon-Sat 10:30-9

A Shopping Day lunch at Bristol Farms

January 8, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy are the usual writers here on mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Today, Cathy is writing.

The rush of a multitude of holidays with corresponding activities is winding down, with individuals cleaning up, rearranging and perhaps following some new patterns. Businesses are 'clearing out' holiday-centric food and decorating items. The Mister and I have been out and about, looking for some bargains, and, as always, manage to squeeze a meal into the midst of the shopping. Yes, both Kirk and I have written a few posts about Bristol Farms, an upscale market (the parent company is Albertsons) located in La Jolla.There is both a self serve area (salad bar, soup, hot foods) where you can select, package and then pay for your items and find a seat here in the Bristol Cafe (or just outside), or you can walk up and order items 'to go' or you can seat yourself and a friendly waiter/waitress will bring you a menu and you'll have table service. This Wednesday, the special was a cup of any Soup and Sandwich of the day for $7.49. The Mister chose the carrot ginger soup- which was fascinating in its complimentary flavors and excellent.The 'sandwich of the day' was a "Malibu Melt"…and the description made us simultaneously fearful and curious. Toasted sourdough, the top with soft grilled red onion, Monterey Jack cheese, tuna salad…on top of grilled honey ham and a basil aioli spread. Yeah, we ordered it, ate it and liked it (except for the onion; a bit too many flavors there and it was removed after a bite). The tuna salad alone was excellent, as was the grilled honey ham. No idea who concocted this in their brain, but it works.Playing it safe, I ordered the quiche of the day with a salad ($8.49). The simple salad was accompanied by the most wonderful Thousand Island dressing. The quiche (which you can purchase unbaked in the store) had melange of (at least three types) of roasted mushrooms and spinach baked into a wonderfully flavored custard which was all baked in a crispy, flaky shell.

Yet another day of trying something new, and it worked.

Bristol Farms 8510 Genessee Avenue San Diego 92122 (858) 558-4180 Website

2015 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Post Parade Showcase of floats, snacks at Cream Pan (Tustin), House of Cookies (Pasadena) and lunch at Corky’s Place (Azusa)

January 5, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome to food blog mmm-yoso!!! where Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy (for the most part) write food centric posts, sometimes interspersed with activities surrounding the acquisition of the food. Cathy is writing today.

The ritual of celebrating a New Year can be exhausting and The Mister and I slept through it, but were wide awake before 8 a.m. on January 1 to watch the 126th Tournament of Roses Rose Parade and all three Bowl games on television.

The next morning, we were in Pasadena (with 100,000 other people) enjoying the Post Parade Showcase of Floats, where we could walk along the two miles of roads and see up close details of all the 40+ floats which participated in the parade this year. Each float was designed to reflect the theme of the Parade, Inspiring Stories.

This is a snippet of all we saw. Information overload, provided by the 'white suits', official representatives of the Tournament of Roses, who stood around each of their respective floats, answering questions about symbolism of the particular float as well as decorating materials used, made this two mile plus walk most interesting.

Links to 2015 Rose Parade float road tests and decorating: 2015 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road tests: #1 Test #2 Test #3 Test #4 Test #5 Test #6 Road Test 7 Decorating floats

So, our food this day… Obligatory stop at the wonderful, open at 6 a.m., Cream Pan Japanese bakery resulted in a purchase of a loaf of sesame bread, container of still warm chicken karaage, cheese cracker flat and a fresh blueberry (on top of a layer of creamy pudding encased in a buttery, flaky crust) pastry.

Cream Pan 602 El Camino Real Tustin 92780

Arriving in Pasadena, we knew our next stop, because we were going to park in this neighborhood and walk to the North entrance of the Post Parade Showcase…House of Cookies Still owned and run by a very nice older Armenian couple, this small bakery makes cookies, cakes and other snacks, selling at very reasonable prices. The items on the counter are different daily and we chose two of the cheese puffs ($1.65-total).

House of Cookies 2451 East Washington Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91104 (626)794-4280

Inside the Showcase of Floats, there are several food and snack areas.We stopped at the Pie N Burger truck for a $3 slice of (still warm) boysenberry pie. It was at this point my phone told me I could not take any more photographs. I deleted every App while eating the delicious pie.

Not wanting to brave the tourist filled areas of Pasadena, The Mister and I discussed places we had seen while driving on side roads previously and began the drive home East on Huntington, the original Route 66. Previously, this small restaurant in the midst of an industrial area in Azusa, had us curious. We thought today would be good for a light meal.
Small, with a seating capacity of 39, Corky's Place has been here for decades and run by family, who are respectfully memorialized. Prices are extremely fair and the short orders of phoned in breakfasts and grilled sandwiches were constantly being filled. However, we decided to order from the 'Mexican' side of the menu.The Mister ordered the two green enchiladas plate($6)-cheese filled. The sauce was excellent and the enchiladas were very cheesy, with a good stringy Oaxacan.We were given some good salsa with some average chips while waiting.Then there was this…a shrimp and avocado tostada ($5). There's a tostada shell with a layer of (very good) beans, lettuce, cheese, some fresh made guacamole and many, many tiny shrimp. Warm, not sauteed and the kind of shrimp you need to eat three at a time to get the flavor. The rest was filling and we made a note to come back and order from the American side of the menu.

Corky's Place 1050 Foothills Blvd. Azusa, CA 91702 (626)969-7861

I hope your year will be filled with daily adventures and inspirations.

Corner Bakery Cafe-revisits (Mission Valley)

December 26, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Salads

Here you are, at the food blog named mmm-yoso!!! Today's quick post is written by Cathy.

During the pre-Thanksgiving and pre-Christmas hustle and bustle of the vehicles carrying groups of people shopping at local malls, The Mister and I tried to get to places as they opened, or during weekday 'lulls' in foot traffic. We found that, just as before shopping in grocery stores, a quick meal before walking about was helpful in keeping to our planned excursions. On the ring road of Mission Valley Mall, on the spot where the Montgomery Ward Tire Center had been located, is Corner Bakery Cafe, a franchise which began on a corner, in Chicago, in 1991. There are now 184 locations in 19 States and the District of Columbia.The business model is similar to Panera in that you walk up, order, pay and your meal is brought to you, there is free wi-fi and the menu includes freshly baked goods, both sweet and savory with breakfast and lunch/dinner choices. Opening at 7 a.m. on weekdays, it's the perfect spot for breakfast before mall stores open. There is a good selection of coffees. This is a made to order 'Anaheim Scrambler' ($7.79) Freshly scrambled eggs mixed with applewood smoked bacon, tomatoes, cheddar cheese (and also green onion, which we asked not be mixed in) and topped with avocado slices. This is served with breakfast potatoes (or fresh fruit) and "Mom's Harvest" toast- grainy and seedy and tasty. Above is my favorite breakfast item, because it is unique to CBC. Swiss oatmeal ($4.49) –muesli– raw rolled oats, mixed with dried (raisins and cranberries) and fresh (apples and bananas) fruit and yogurt. Yes, a cold cereal breakfast. It's far more interesting than hot oatmeal and I enjoy it for breakfast. On the side there is a sweet crisp, sort of a thin biscotti made with dried fruit and topped with sugar crystals.One of my usual meals (here and everywhere) is a bowl of chili ($6). The version made here is excellent- two types of beans, ground beef, tomatoes, onions and mild peppers along with a great chili spice blend which is slightly sweet. It's served with a piece of fresh sourdough.

A fallback menu item we order is the Trio ($7.49) (which is really four salads, because a small order of field greens salad is always included). This day, the choices were: 1) tuna salad (which is tuna, red and green bell peppers, green onion and mayonnaise with some Dijon mustard and basil) 2) D.C chicken salad (chicken, green apples, currants, redonion, celery, mayonnaise and toasted almonds) 3) the new toasted sesame kale salad (fresh kale, shredded carrots and toasted sesame seeds with a ginger soy dressing). Each salad is so refreshing, perfectly dressed and bright tasting.

The year has been filled with mainly local places and a few franchises for meals out. We have had more meals at home than out, which I haven't posted about. It's been fun to share and so nice to see the good wishes to all of us here. Enjoy this final weekend of 2014!

Corner Bakery Cafe Camino de la Reina (SE corner, at Mission Center Drive) (619) 692-0423 Website

2015 Rose Parade float decorating and a lunch at Brodard Restaurant

December 21, 2014 Cathy Festivals & Events, Orange County, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog of food, events, events with food and other reasons to share what we (Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and Cathy) eat. Today Cathy is writing about an event and also a meal, which did not occur on the same day…

Last Saturday, The Mister and I once again volunteered for "dry decorating" some of the floats which will participate in the 126th Tournament of Roses Rose Parade. A variety of materials are used…
Covering every exposed part of every float with organic material is achieved with various glues… Really, the day is more "Detail Decorating"…

Peas, lentils, beans, poppy seeds as well as bark, pulverized dried flour petals and cinnamon are the majority of materials used on these decorating days-December Saturdays before Christmas Day.

Long day, with much accomplished by about 450 volunteers and yet so much more to do. Intensive decorating with live flowers begins December 26 and goes through until the morning of December 31, just before judging.

Of course this blog is about food, but this day was not very interesting… Stopping at Cream Pan in Tustin before 7 a.m., for some karaage, an orange cream roll, a cheese crisp and, of course, a ham and cheese croissant. Bringing our own lunch this time, we ate on the hood of the car… Getting ready for the drive home, we heard traffic reports on a major accident on the 210, another one on the 5, two on the 101 and others on the 57, 71, 91 and 15, so we tried to avoid it all and ended up getting home in about four hours after having not stopped for dinner, made grilled cheese sandwiches at home and slept deeply.

So, to have some sort of interesting food for this post, The Mister and I drove North during the week…stopping for a late breakfast/early lunch in Garden Grove at Brodard. When you walk in, there is an area to order 'To Go' items and snacks…
Along the side of this ordering area, you can see the ladies making the famous nem nuong…

Which we, of course, ordered after being seated in the already crowded restaurant…

"Mixed order" of Nem and Chao Tom- Two pork paste and two shrimp paste ($8) Spring rolls were brought out almost immediately.What makes these Spring rolls special is, that in addition to the fresh lettuce, cucumber, carrot, daikon, cilantro and mint wrapped tightly in rice paper, there is a folded piece of crispy fried egg roll skin in the center of each fresh roll. The 'house special sauce', served warm (I believe it is made with pork and pork broth and maybe some honey) also make these Spring rolls unique.

Another item ordered was the simple and tasty Gou du du bo kho, Gan Chay (papaya salad, $6). Made with both beef jerky and smoked pork liver, the version here is a favorite. The two sauces, one a spicy vinaigrette and the other more soy based, are served on the side and mixed to our preference when we eat the salad…

Again, we try a 'new to us' item at most restaurants and this time it was… Banh Hoi Chao Tom (angel hair vermicelli sheets topped with grilled shrimp paste and served with greens and a lime chili fish sauce) ($8.95)
This was a delightful surprise! The dry, delicate noodles were just the thing to go with the various wrappings and good amount of grilled shrimp paste. We could have ordered this with whole shrimp, BBQ pork, grilled beef or nem nuong, or (as we will do next time) order the Banh Hoi Brodard- the toppings are grilled chicken, BBQ pork, grilled whole shrimp, grilled shrimp paste, pork sausage and egg roll, for only $2 more.

Brodard Restaurant 9892 Westminster Ave Garden Grove, CA 92844 8 a.m.-9 pm. daily Closed on Tuesdays

2015 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road tests: #1 Test #2 Test #3 Test #4 Test #5 Test #6 Road Test 7

La Casa Blanca-revisit (La Mesa)

December 9, 2014 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Hello again and thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are busy with things. Cathy has no things happening, so she is blogging.

I wrote about La Casa Blanca more than a year ago and The Mister and I eat here pretty regularly, but the photos never make it out of my camera. Here are a few reasons why The Mister and I love this little place. Though the small twinkling lights are up(as they were in May of 2013), the main room wasn't fully decorated for the holidays..or was it? We should ask that most interesting man standing in the corner…When we drop by for lunch, there is usually a lady making fresh corn tortillas in an area near the bar. This day, it wasn't busy and she brought two to our table, with butter, just after the fresh made salsa and chips were brought over…what a way to whet the appetite.The Mister ordered a Jalisco Plate ($12.95) this day- carne asada seasoned just right along with the usual accoutrements, all good and fresh.One of the appetizers we enjoy is the Queso Fundido (con rajas) ($8.95). Queso Fundido can be ordered plain (it's quite a deep dish of melted cheese), with the roasted pepper (as seen) or with chorizo (as seen in the prior post) and this day we were trying to be 'healthy' eaters, with some vegetable…Then there is the reason I wanted to come here: the house made Ranchero Pinto Bean soup ($4.95). A very large bowl of this comforting multi bean, sausage, chorizo and bacon along with some onion, bell peppers, poblanos and topped with a dry cheese is just the thing I want on some days. It's filling and flavorful and just right.

I hope your week is going well.

La Casa Blanca 9570 Murray Drive La Mesa, CA 92042 (619) 466-2912 Website