Cathy – Page 65

Pho Pasteur Anh Hong (revisits)

January 8, 2014 Cathy What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! Food blog. Today's writer of meals is Cathy. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are consuming meals so as to have something to write about.

What a strange Holiday Season we've had. Every day has seemed like a weekend starting from about Friday December 20 until this past Monday January 6, because of the Wednesday legal holidays and corresponding Tuesday celebratory Eves. Between attempts to run errands quickly and unobtrusively while avoiding crowds, we are both tired of cooking at home. A favorite place which I've posted about previously is Pho Pasteur Anh Hong. (It's located in the same parking lot as K Sandwiches). Sort of off the beaten path (and not in a mall with any grocery stores), service is always efficient and the food is always tasty. The extensive (197 item) menu is always a challenge.

The decor hasn't changed in all these years, although the cash register location has moved since my 2009 post. I enjoy the pink tablecloths on all the tables, making it feel a bit more upscale.

The shrimp and pork roll appetizer ($3.49) is always a favorite. The peanut dipping sauce is complimentary and delicious.

Stir fried chicken and vegetables on wide rice noodle ($7.99) is a favorite. The noodles are slightly fried and a bit crispy in places, which is refreshing.

I always have to search the extensive menu for the above favorite of mine: bean thread (not noodles) chicken soup ($6.99). The broth is wonderful and the bean threads are just as satisfying as noodle, without being carbohydrate laden.

After reading Kirk's early December post of Bun Mang Vit, The Mister was wanting duck and ordered Mi Vit Tim ($7.99) egg noodle duck leg soup, dry (which didn't happen, as you can see in the top photo) but He managed after pulling out the wonderfully flavored duck leg.

I was mostly wanting egg noodles and ordered Mi Xao Chay ($7.99) Egg noodle topped with fried tofu and stir fried vegetables. This was a very nice plate with combination of a tasty nicely fried tofu mixed with very fresh tasting vegetables all on top of some perfect egg noodles.

We've always liked the food and atmosphere here. There always is some sort of table celebration going on, with families surrounding whole fish centerpieces and enjoying their traditions.

Pho Pasteur Ahn Hong 7612 Linda Vista road San Diego 92111 (858) 569-7515

Rosca de Reyes-Traditions

January 7, 2014 Cathy Markets & Grocers, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for coming back to read mmm-yoso!!! Today, Cathy is writing a short post. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) will read it, as you are doing right now. You may or may not comment on it.

Well, it is a New Year and officially the Holidays are over. I was raised Catholic, The Mister is Lutheran and we have a few traditions which begin before Christmas Eve (when we decorate the house and tree and open cards and gifts) (that's a tradition). Another tradition that I have had since I was a child growing up in Detroit, is acquiring free advertising calendars -which are posted in just about every room as well as the garage work space in our home- from various merchants around town.

These are just five, I'll show you more in another post. The Mister and I have been under the weather and good friend and fellow blogger, caninecologne, of Pink Candles at Ridgemont High has been kind enough to pick up other calendars for me.

Another tradition, which is part of the Christian celebration of the arrival of Three Kings on the 12th Night following Christmas, January 6, (the first day of Epiphany, which celebrates the revelation that God's son is Jesus Christ) is celebrated in various ways with food.

In many countries, a King Cake is a popular food from Christmas until Epiphany. In the United States, King Cake can be acquired easily in the SouthWest areas along the Mississippi Gulf Coast from Epiphany until Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent begins.

In Portugal, a Bolo Rei is the traditional dessert (it's sold in several Portuguese bakeries in the Point Loma part of town) and looks like a small jeweled crown, topped with glaceed fruits and nuts. It's more cake-like.

In other countries (Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Peru and Malta), a panettone is the traditional food consumed before Christmas until Epiphany. It's a sweet bread shaped like a cupola and filled with various candied fruits and raisins.

In Spain, a Tortell is the common bread, also round shaped, marzipan filled and topped with jewel colored glazed fruit, with a paper crown in the center.

In Mexico, a Rosca de Reyes, their common food, is more of an egg bread dough interspersed with citrus peel and decorated with dried and candied fruit to resemble a beautiful jeweled ring. This day is also traditionally when children in Mexico receive their Christmas gifts. Mexico also has another seasonal, religious holiday based traditional bread, which I have posted about. There's also more to this tradition, which I'll show you at the end of this post.

Since we live close to Mexico, Rosca de Reyes (Literally "Ring of Kings") are seen in many grocers and Mexican bakeries before Christmas Day. Various packaging and decorating abounds, yet it's ubiquitous.

The Roscas come in various sizes and prices.

The in store bakeries are very busy, baking many, many roscas for rapid turnover in sales.

Northgate Gonzalez Market this year advertised various flavors of Roscas and had them for sale on tables throughout the market.

I ended up with the traditional flavors.

The Northgate Gonzalez was a heavier bread topped with a variety of dried and candied fruit. Dates!The morning of the 6th, I walked into Kaelin's Mi Pueblo (my favorite East County Mexican Market for both groceries and a quick meal) and the Roscas were hot from the oven.

You can see it's a light, fluffy eggy bread with some bits of citrus peel interspersed…but the surprise interspersion:

A small plastic baby Jesus is baked in the bread. There are actually three of these trinkets in the small breads and more within the larger breads. The meaning of the hidden baby is of the Holy Family's flight from King Herod's plan to kill all male babies who could possibly be the Messiah. Tradition is that each person cuts a slice of the bread themself, symbolizing the danger the baby is encountering. The people who get the figurine in their slice are in charge of throwing a party on February 2 (Candelamas Day) and provide tamales and atole (a hot corn-based beverage) to all the guests.

Last night, The Mister and I cleared up our Christmas decorations and enjoyed some hot cocoa with our Rosca de Reyes and rearranging all those calendars. I hope all of you are enjoying the year so far.

Here is a LINK to CC's current post about her Rosca from Pancho Villa Market. There are links to her prior posts at the bottom and also a short video about the making of the Rosca.

Markets in this post: Northgate Gonzalez, Vallarta Supermarket, El Super .

Mi Tierra Super Taco (National City)(Jalisco Style) (birria)

December 30, 2013 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Today's post is written by Cathy; Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are a bit under the weather.

The Mister has also been under the weather for the past week or so…and I'm not, so I've been making Him go on errands with me and then we stop and He has some sort of soup or stew as a lunch. The other day, we were in National City and I just started driving and looking for a place to stop. This signage looked promising.Here's that sign from inside-Estilio Jalisco- Jalisco Style Mexican food preparation. Turns out it's been here since 1978. Family owned and operated. It was never on my radar.

I ordered from the White Board you can see to the right in this photo. The interior is fairly large for a Taco Shop and was quite busy, with a large group carrying musical instruments outside as we were walking in around noon on a Saturday. The Menu Board looks very interesting.

I ordered a fish fillet with Ranchera sauce (Diablo sauce was another choice) ($8). This was a thick, large, fresh fillet (definitely not tilapia) covered with a very nice, very fresh chili/tomato/onion sauce that was unexpected. Served with a good rice, great beans, the two (also fresh and homemade) hot sauces shown and fresh, handmade corn tortillas.

The Mister's Birria de Chivo ($8) was really, really good. Given the choice of ranch beans or refried, I wasn't sure, but the refried went well with this large portion of goat stew. The onions and cilantro complimented the stew, as did the (again, fresh made) corn tortillas. There were a few small bones in the meat, but nothing bothersome. The broth was so rich and really multi leveled in flavor points.

Here's a better photo of one and a half of the tortillas (we each got four)- you can see they are not perfectly symmetric, by any means…thick, thin and wonderful. So very fresh. This was a great place to stop.

Mi Tierra Super Taco 1835 Highland Avenue National City 92950 (619)477-1927 website

Tobey’s 19th Hole Restaurant (Balboa Park)

December 29, 2013 Cathy Diner, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Yep, you are reading mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and Cathy usually are the ones who share writing posts here. Today, Cathy is writing and the guys are resting.

I've taken the 28th Street exit from the 94 freeway on many occasions. My ultimate goal has always been to get to North side of the Naval Hospital without getting on the I-5 or 163 and, as you know, I enjoy 'getting lost' and discovering places. That's what happened the other day. I continued North then West from the exit and was suddenly driving on a two lane road, saw a few parking lots along the road and a small building with parking in front of it.

The Balboa Park Golf Course. Look carefully to the left the the photo- the red neon "OPEN" sign. All the way at the end is the Pro Shop, where you pay for your Green Fees and begin (and end) your golf game.

Here's a view of the same building from the Pro Shop. You can see it looks like it's been there forever. It sort of has been, if 1934 means forever ago to you.
Inside the building, there are photographs, awards and architecture spanning the years. If you zoom in, the little sign above the open door is "Tobey's 19th Hole Cafe".

A quick look inside and the architecture screams "Diner"- there is a row of 12 permanent stools for counter service just to the left, pie slices in that glass display case and three television sets, one you can see in the above photo and there are two more to the right seating area.

Which has booths, tables and an outdoor patio. The hat and coat hooks near each table are part of that long ago decor.

The menu, water and coffee (botomless cup, $2) are brought out as soon as you seat yourself. That drawing? Pretty darn accurate, I'd say. If you look carefully in my photo you can see Balboa Hospital to the right and beyond the buildings (to the left, just between the third set of buildings and the black building)…that's Point Loma. What a view.

My order: BLT with egg ($6.25) on rye toast with my chosen side of a salad with Thousand Island dressing. Great sandwich, crispy bacon, fresh lettuce and tomato and a nicely fried egg. The salad was quite large and the salad dressing was very good.

The Mister ordered a large bowl of chili ($3.75) with onion on the side (for me) and a small (yes, that's a small; I saw a large) order of Tots ($2.75). The chili, made with beans and good ground beef, was quite good. The spice mix was complex and really nice. The Tots were perfectly fried, crispy, not greasy and plentiful!

When friends visit, this humble, great diner with a view is going to definitely be a stop from now on.

Dennis was here a few years ago. Here is a link to his post.

Tobey's 19th Hole Cafe 2600 Golf Course Drive San Diego (619) 239-1660

2014 Tournament of Roses Parade float decorating (and meals in Pasadena)

December 26, 2013 Cathy Bakery, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! the food blog is written by a few people who do more than just eat. We (Kirk, Ed(from Yuma), Cathy and others) have professions, jobs, hobbies and various interests. The end purpose of each post is to share some sort of food and/or eating experience. Today's post, written by Cathy, is a compilation of food and interest…

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Day! The year has really flown by and in less than a week- it's 2014. The year will begin in Southern California, as it has begun for the previous 124 years, with the Tournament of Roses parade and football game.

If you follow the blog, you know I've been sharings 2014 Rose Parade float road tests with you all year and finally the time arrived for decorating the floats. The Mister and I volunteer with the Petal Pushers, who assist in decorating floats which are parked in the Rose Palace Barn belonging to Phoenix Decorating Company and sign up for the days we want to volunteer months in advance.

The Saturdays before Christmas Day in December are "Detail Days" (and used to be called 'dry decorating days'). "Detail Days" are for cutting, shredding and gluing. Lots of gluing. It's when The Mister and I volunteer and perform repetitive, tedious, necessary tasks for eight hours. Needless to say starting today, "Decorating Days" begin- from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m.(or later) every day until the floats are finished and ready to be judged on the morning of December 31. Decorating days are when fresh vegetables, fruits and flowers are being placed. Many of the flowers (iris and roses) need to be cut then placed into water filled vials (which are all filled as one of the many tasks) then onto the floats. Thousands of fresh flowers are being delivered on the day after Christmas as well as on the 27th, 28th and 29th. This Banner Float will be the first float you see in the 2014 parade, announcing the theme. The floats are 'colored in' both as a guide and in case some sort of disaster befalls the float and flowers or dry materials wash off; you'll still see color.Here are some views inside the Rose Palace. There are eleven floats being decorated. Another perspective. You can see the scaffolding is set up for the gluing that was to be performed this day.

Some of the many dry materials being prepared for gluing. The statice are delivered in three main colors (pink, light blue and dark purple) and only the flower petals are cut off and used. The bags filled in the third photo are the results of about ten of the five gallon buckets being cut, or seven hours of cutting performed by ten people.

Yellow straw flowers are in abundance here, petals are cut off, then pulverized in Blendtec Blenders (a Christmas gift this year, by the way) and the resultant powder as well as centers are glued onto the floats for both color and texture. The shredded ends(palm fiber) from palm bark are also peeled off and ground up in the whirring blenders.

The seed chart shows all of the dry materials which are used (and excess stored) during Detail Days.

Here's the City of Glendale float (with Meatball the Bear), which I first showed you during the August road test (last two photos on the post) and in it's coccoon stage during the September road test (the eighth photo).

The City of Los Angeles float (which will need a *lot* of the purple statice for the LA Lakers portion of the float)

Here's some detail of flower pots being covered with braided dry materials, called Pac-Pac.

Only three people are allowed on a scaffold at a time (this is the Western Life Assurance float). Scaffolding is moved and lowered a bit each week.

The Shriners Hospital for Children float, is a superhero bear bounching off a giant heart with detail on the back of the cape.

This is the back side of the heart that the bear is bouncing from-covered meticulously with cut red straw flower petals…

The Lions Club International had many volunteers show up from Lions Clubs all over Southern California.

Farmers Insurance is one of the last floats built and road tested and wasn't quite ready for decorating on the day we were here. It's theme of "Thank a Million Teachers" is based on a three year program the insurance company has been promoting.

The Centenniel of the City of Beverly Hills is a magnificent float.

Of course we had breaks before and after this day of gluing and cutting. Above is outside the Rose Palace decorating barn when we all took a lunch break. {See that large doorway? That's the maximum height and width a float needs to contract, so it can fit under the street and signal lights along the parade route.} The Pizza Hut a block away provides a personal pizza and beverage for $3.50 (you order when you sign in to work) and donates $1 from each order to the Petal Pushers. The Mister and I had brought our own lunch…

We had stopped at Mr. Goods Donuts on Colorado Boulevard before our long day.

The shelves were full, but we only (of course) bought the wonderful ham and cheese filled croissants sold here, to be part of our lunch.

Mr. Goods Donuts 1840 East Colorado Boulevard Pasadena 91107

After a long day, we left and parked around the corner from this old design McDonald's on Colorado Boulevard, next to Pasadena City College.

Walking past it, and the Comics Factory (really, it's on Colorado Boulevard and the Parade route-look closely at all the Rose Parade signs on every light post), we were back at Zankou Chicken (where we ate after decorating last year), which we figured would be a 'healthy' meal with enough leftover for the next day…

And it was. Enough for another meal, sides and snacks for two more days actually.

Zankou Chicken 1296 East Colorado Boulevard Pasadena 91106 (626)405-1502 website

Since we did not have to be ready to start until 9 a.m., we didn't leave home at our usual 5 a.m., so got to Cream Pan far past our 'usual' time of about 6:15. There were a few more people inside, however the shelves had more choices, including this $2 cup of karaage…which was nice to eat in the car as a supplemental breakfast item. Of course, the usual suspects, ham and cheese croissant and catsup covered pastry wrapped hot dog were also consumed that day.

Cream Pan 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 (714)665-8239

I hope everyone is having a good day after Christmas!

Unusual sweet treats.

December 20, 2013 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. We (Kirk, Ed (from Yuma), Cathy and a few others) try to share some sort of food centric post almost daily…no reason, other than we do indeed all eat and like to write about it. Cathy is sharing today.

It's close to Christmas and people are probably using up vacation days and perhaps doing last minute shopping. Thought I'd share some sweet surprises found around town recently. Maybe you've seen something out of the ordinary in your shopping travels, too.

The Mister and I tend to stop in to K Sandwiches once a week, either for a sandwich (breakfast, lunch, dinner) or something from the steam tray, or a grab and go croissant, loaf of bread and tasty beverage. A few weeks ago, while waiting in line to pay, I noticed this handwritten sign on the counter.

You know I had to.

Crépes, made in the waffle maker, thin and rolled so they cool to a nice, light crispiness. 50¢ each. The green one is pandan flavor (a light, floral, kind of nutty-like pistachio pudding is light, sweet and nutty in flavor) and the other is original flavor (pretty much tasted like it was made with coconut milk). Both with black sesame. A nice treat and a box full would be a nice gift.

K Sandwiches 7604 Linda Vista Road at Mesa College Drive San Diego 92111 (858)278-8961

Trader Joe's is carrying these frozen treats. I saw them being put into the freezer the Monday after Thanksgiving. $3.99 for a box of four. Pronounced "queen yamman". This pastry originated in Brittany, France; a popular Breton dessert.

These frozen treats are similar to the Trader Joe's frozen croissants (you have to proof overnight/6 hours and then bake). (That's a pumpkin croissant starting to rise in the background.)

The Kouign Amann will bake in its cup into crispy, sugary layers.

Not as many layers as a croissant, but like a croissant dough-with sugar between the layers. The sugar caramelizes and is crispy. I adore this basic, simple French dessert. That I can make it fresh- and one at a time- makes it perfect.

Rose Donuts, all the way at the West end of Linda Vista Road, near USD (NOT the location in the same parking lot as K Sandwich) is open 24 hours. (it's in the same mall as Ryan's). Rose's makes and sells wonderful croissant based sandwiches, grilled burgers, hot/grilled sandwiches, bagels, ice cream, a variety of beverages…and…not just donuts.

Oh, these two items are NOT the same. The larger one is your traditional 'apple fritter', which is, indeed, wonderful, large and filled with apples and cinnamon. The smaller one…in the front of the above photo…

An apple-blueberry fritter. Oh my, yes. A wonderful, surprising, fritter. Unexpected and great.

Rose Donuts 5201 Linda Vista Road San Diego 92110 ( 619) 294-8856

I hope everyone runs across a delightful surprise. Soon.

Birrieria Don Rafa (Chula Vista)

December 19, 2013 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping at mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) aren't blogging today: work, holidays, weather…you know. Cathy has some time, so she is blogging.

This weather has been wreaking havoc with The Mister's sinuses for about five days now and combined with the chilly mornings, we both were in search of some sort of comfort food. I was driving on Broadway in Chula Vista, across from the mall around H and I Street and this signage caught my eye.

I drove around the block so we could park without walking too far. For some reason, the name "Don Rafa" sounded familiar, but the more fun and familiar word to me was "Birrieria". Stew: comfort, warmth and flavor. After I was home, I found this post, written by Kirk in 2009. It seems we had similar experiences at the same business in different locations on the same street almost five years apart.

The interior is bright, neat and clean. Very little English is spoken. There's no need.

There are several signs on the walls, as well as at the bottom of this complete menu, reminding you that the salsa is very spicy. No medium, no mild, the salsa is what it is. I like that. The choices of beef (res) or goat (chivo) made the small menu slightly complicated.

As we placed our order, the condiments were brought out (containers of oregano and salt are on every table). That's the spicy salsa…it is, and it complimented the meal as did the other variables.

The Mister was immediately drawn to the pozole on the menu. He was asked if he wanted a small or large order and he ordered the small ($6.50)-the menu prices are for large. Then he had to decide if he wanted goat or beef…

A very generous serving of birria de chivo pozole (and yes, there were bones, as per the other warning on the bottom of the menu) including skin and tendon and, of course, hominy. This was excellent, a bit smokey in flavor, and good stewed goat and served with fresh made then fried corn tortillas.

A cheese quesadilla on corn tortilla($2.25). The fresh made then grilled corn tortilla had a sweetness and filled with a good amount of soft stringy (Oaxacan) cheese. Bites of this plain, simple item was a perfect accompaniment with the other food we ordered.

I also ordered a birria de chivo taco ($1.65) with everything- beans, onion and cilantro. It was served on a single, smaller sized tortilla and the gamey flavor of stewed goat combined with the other items was just a perfect balance.

I wanted to try the beef birria also and the ahogada style (sauce covered) sounded good ($6). This was basically a beef birria filled quesadilla (but a much larger size corn tortilla than the other quesadilla ordered), (again, fresh made) covered with consume and beans. Lots of cheese in the tortilla, lots of tender stewed beef and the sauce just made this just a perfect mix of flavors and the serving size was very generous.

Glad we stopped here; we left feeling full and warm and clear headed…just what we needed.

Birrieria Don Rafa 560 Broadway Chula Vista 91911 (619) 934-5135

Las Vegas Road Trip: NFR vacation and some meals

December 12, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Festivals & Events, Las Vegas, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food centric blog, often with stories leading up to the reasons for the food. That's what's happening today. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are busy with 'research' for their food posts. Last week, Cathy mentioned she would be leaving on a vacation soon. She went and returned and now is blogging about her days out of town.

National Finals Rodeo, the best of the best. The top 15 cowboys from North America in each of seven events compete against each other in a rodeo a day for ten days. On the tenth day (this Saturday), the winner amongst winners receives a gold belt buckle in addition to their cash winnings. It's on the GAC channel, but last year the tenth day was broadcast on ESPN.

Before the rodeo starts, there's the Star Spangled banner, a prayer, a song by a famous Country Artist and the competitors line up and tip their hats to the crowd. The events are over in two hours.

Ms. T and I drive out here every year (and have for nine years now) for a "girls weekend" of relaxation, shopping and Rodeo. You can see splashes of pink on the cowboys and/or their horses as well as in the crowd because we were here on Day 5 of the Rodeo, "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" night.

My photos demonstrate the speed of timed events and not much else; the iPhone isn't quite sophisticated.

The Thomas and Mack Arena is surrounded with Sponsor booths and advertising.

The interior has a varied selection of food and adult beverage choices.

This booth caught my eye since I was looking for a low carb choice for a snack. This had sales of macaroni and cheese, chili and macaroni, chili dogs and also sold a cup of chili- for $3!

Meaty and with beans and a good tomato broth, topped with cheese and onions (no extra charge), this was a really satisfying snack. Chili and Rodeo also seems 'right'.

Ms. T and I had rooms reserved at Green Valley Ranch Resort, in Henderson.

The hotel, spa and casino are a nice respite for us.

After checking into our rooms, we met in the casino and walked across the street, through "The District" and across the main road to a Whole Foods store, where we each purchased snacks. \

The Protein bars and pecans and almonds were brought from home, as was the tea. Inside the box was from the prepared foods/serve yourself/by-the pound chicken adobo, which was delicious!

We went to Cowboy Christmas, a free-admission gift show, the following morning. Many purchases were made and events and giveaways enjoyed.

That first evening, I wandered into the casino area, where there is a"Food Court" and (of course) found a Starbucks, which took the place of a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf location a month ago.

The Capriotti's storefront in the Food Court caught my eye, with the 'breakfast' signage. I asked, and they said I could order a breakfast sandwich, even at 8 p.m..

I love being able to watch short order cooks…

Egg, cheese and genoa salami on a toasted Kaiser roll ($3.27). Excellent. Quite large and very, very tasty. I need to find out of the Capriotti's around here does breakfast; the menu looked good.

Every hotel has a 24 hour restaurant.

The Grand Cafe, inside Green Valley Ranch has a special menu from midnight until 6 a.m.

This is the most expensive menu item ($5.99) -steak, eggs(poached), hash browns and toast (rye). Coffee is extra, and necessary at this hour. The NY strip steak is a real NY strip and quite large and was perfectly cooked medium-rare, as I had ordered.

Of course, Ms. T and I also at at Feast (Link to restaurants in the hotel) the all-you-can-eat buffet, where I enjoyed a plate of mains (liver and onions, chicken picatta, egg drop soup and spicy eggplant), a plate of salads (ranch salad, egg salad, mandarin beets, sweet potato salad and pear Bleu cheese salad) and my 'carby' dessert plate (a cannoli and mashed potatoes with gravy). The food and pastries prepared in this hotel are exceptional.

At 6 a.m., a coffee service is set up in the lobby area. We were on our way home at 6:30. The outside temperature was 15.

The drive home was uneventful, except for a portion of the I-15 and I-215 split, with high winds and large profile vehicles parked on the sides of the freeway.

Home before noon.

I hope everyone has the time to take a relaxing vacation during this hectic time of year.

Bristol Cafe (inside Bristol Farms market) (revisit)(lunch)

December 6, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Markets & Grocers

mmm-yoso!!! Food blog. Friends share blogging time. Today, Kirk is enjoying chilly weather elsewhere. Ed (from Yuma) is enjoying chilly weather in Yuma. Cathy is chilly too and is the author of this post.

This easily could be another 'eat in the store, shop in the store' post, but I didn't take photos of our purchases or store displays (it was too crowded; day after Thanksgiving) (know that we bought by-the-pound poke, by the pound olives, a chunk of Bleu cheese, a wonderful aged rib eye steak (40% off that day), a cardoon, a coffee pot and cups gift set (also 40% off) and a fresh baked sweet from the bakery); it would be sensory overload to photograph the displays and variety of items sold here. Bristol Farms is an upscale high end grocer located in La Jolla that has a sit down cafe inside the store. I posted about a breakfast here in 2010.

There is a grab and go area, salad bar area and steam trays as well as the menu above the Cafe cash register, so you can grab, choose, pay and have a seat in the Cafe area or on the patio, and enjoy your meal.

Or you can have a seat and have a menu brought out to you, for full service.

There are Daily Specials listed on small placards on the table, and this was the Special on the day we were here- tomato soup and grilled Cheddar on sourdough ($6.99). This is no ordinary tomato soup: it was chunky with tomatoes and it was spicy -in a good way-. This is a great soup on a cool day. The fresh sourdough grilled cheese was really nice on its own and went well if you dipped it in the soup.

As our waitress brought out our waters, I asked about the soup choices (there are five or six soups a day). Cabbage soup, something I crave from childhood, would be part of this meal. It was very well seasoned, had some tomatoes and beef in it and very, very good.

One of the menu items was a cup of soup and quiche ($7.99). There were also five quiche choices and mushroom was the only word I remember hearing and ordering. This was *so* good. Really flavorful crust, fillings, custard, cheeses. Our waitress mentioned that we could purchase a whole quiche, made fresh daily in the store. I will be doing so, next visit.

A very satisfying, flavorful meal in a nice setting.

Bristol Farms 8510 Genessee Avenue 92122 (858)558-4180 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Website

Terra American Bistro- local & sustainable (lunch) (almost in La Mesa)

December 5, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

You've stumbled (back) onto mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Today, Cathy is writing while Kirk is enjoying a bit of a vacation and Ed (from Yuma) is enjoying a bit of Yuma.

Below is a photo of Terra American Bistro, its parking area and entrance door. The photo was taken from 70th Street. Those other buildings you see are on the North side of El Cajon Boulevard. Two more blocks East and you are in La Mesa. A lot of people think that Terra (which was on Vermont Street in Hillcrest from 1998 until the move here in 2011) is in La Mesa (and therefore "East County"), but according to the post office and various maps, the City location is San Diego.

In any case, once you've found this Farm to Table gem which focuses on local, sustainable and organic ingredients, you will be impressed with the comfortable interior. I have no story as to why we decided to eat here: we were passing by following an errand, saw it was open, were hungry and just stopped.

The small waiting area wall is lined with various newspaper articles, photos and awards as well as an enlarged photo on canvas that is the cover of From Terra's Kitchen, Chef Jeff's cookbook.

There is a chalkboard listing Daily Specials just above the Hostess Stand.

The regular lunch menu and specials menu are simple and concentrate on currently available ingredients.

The Beverage Menu is on the opposite side of the regular menu. The fruit and herb-infused vodkas are made in house and I have heard only good things about the hand crafted non-alcoholic beverages.

The table decor is simple yet elegant.

We chose to share a mini jar of chicken liver ($8.50), made with thyme, brandy and onion and served with a flavorful grilled bread. This was *wonderful* and really quite large.

The Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese salad ($9) was so very fresh and flavorful. Those are toasted hazelnuts and a miso-based dressing accompanying the vast array of fresh lettuces.

One of the lunch specials-Beer battered fresh local Ling Cod served with thin, crispy bistro fries and a really nice citrus slaw ($11). A house-made sort of tartar sauce made with lemon and capers was very complimentary to the fish (and its light, crispy batter). Of course the catsup was house made.

Terra is a wonderful, down to earth yet elegant restaurant serving fresh food and with wonderful service, located very close to the border that is considered "East County". It is very nice for a lunch, brunch or fancy dinner.

Terra American Bistro 7091 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego 92115(619) 293-7088 Website Open Monday 11:30-2, Tues-Wed-Thurs 11:30-9, Fri 11:30-10, Sat 4:30-10, Sun 9-9