Cathy – Page 68

Aqui Es Texcoco-Barbacoa de Borrego (Chula Vista)

October 16, 2013 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by the food blog, mmm-yoso!!! Kirk is in the midst of a busy time at work, Ed (from Yuma) is recovering from a busy weekend visit to San Diego and Cathy's busy days ended about yesterday, so she's the blogger for now.

I liked Ed (from Yuma)'s most recent post, about barbecue and how he described his meal (critically) and began thinking of 'other' versions of barbecued food. Last month, I went on a Chula Vista Food Crawl (see the bottom of the post for links to all the places we went) with fellow bloggers canine cologne and Dennis, where our first stop of the day included 'proper' barbecued lamb (Barbacoa de Borrego).

Located at the South end of a strip mall on Broadway in Chula Vista, we arrived around 9:30 a.m. on a Saturday for this first stop of our food crawl. Cute little lamb on the signage. Just so you know, by 10.a.m., there was a line out the door waiting for seating.

There's another cute little lamb on the counter.

This is the entire menu. It is served from 8 a.m. until closing. Note the flavored waters are made here daily.

When you are seated, two sauces are brought out to your table (the green one is very hot-spicy, the brown one is essentially a mole and quite pleasant), along with cut limes and a cilantro-onion mix. These items go with lamb.

Since we were on a food crawl, we were sharing and tasting and planning on other stops so ordered three tacos to share ($1.95 each). The top right is 'meat' (lamb shoulder or thigh) the one in front is rib meat (nicely fatty) and that one on the top left, I chose-brains. Each meat is unique in flavor and delicious. I grew up eating lamb and my initial taste of the meat and rib tacos brought back good memories. The brains tasted like liver, both the first taste and when I burped as we were walking to our next destination.

We also chose two quesadillas to share. ($2.50 each). Above, the mushroom, which was very nice and rich and buttery.

Because none of us had ever had 'fresh' huitlacoche (a fungus that grows on corn)(I've had a canned version packed by Goya), we decided to share one here. Good idea to try the milder mushroom first, as the flavor of this corn smut is strong. I liked it; my blogger friends not so much.

I had to bring The Mister back here to share the flavors enjoyed. Surprisingly, Aqui es Texcoco is not crowded around noon on Wednesdays. We were seated immediately and ordered a squash flower quesadilla ($2.50). Always wondering what to do with our squash blossoms from the yard or the Farmers Market (which we have usually stuffed with cheese and fried) having them stir fried and mixed into melty cheese was a great way to eat those flowers.

Each of our orders came with a small (10 oz) lamb consomé (lamb broth made with drippings of the roasting lamb, with garbanzo beans and rice), a slightly spicy very flavorful way to begin (or be) a meal. It's served in styrofoam cups, as it would be at your neighbor's home.

The regular order lamb plate ($8.75) 1/3 pound shredded lamb meat and tortillas. That's it and it is all you need.

Three grilled quail plate ($9.50). We wanted to see how quail should be prepared. They were not treated like little chickens and baked, but splayed, seasoned and grilled and served with it's own sauce, which went perfectly with the meat.

Yes quail are small, but have the same bone structure and number of bones as chicken and turkey…a bit of work, but tasty. The food here is great, the service excellent. Back in 2008, guest blogger Miz Ducky had a post here about Aqui es Texcoco and things seem to not have changed much in the interim. I like consistency.

Aqui Es Texcoco 1043 Broadway Chula Vista 91911 (619)427-4045 Website

Mariscos El Titanic (City Heights)

September 26, 2013 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, Seafood, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) and others who contribute posts here are busy. Cathy is not busy, so here's a meal she's had that you can vicariously enjoy.

It is so good to be able to live here in San Diego; we are close to the ocean and close to Mexico and the combination of those- Mexican seafood- fast became a favorite and a comfort food not long after we moved here.

It was the week between birthdays of The Mister and myself and my day to choose where and what I wanted to eat. (He chooses the first three days, which start on his birthday, we have to agree on the middle two days and then I get the last three days, ending on my birthday). El Titanic was my first choice.

Driving North on Fairmont, it's not easy to miss the freshly repainted Mariscos El Titanic building. It's right across the street (Dwight Street) from Murphy's Market (a great little neighborhood store that has a wonderful bakery, nice selection of produce and quite an extensive meat counter and makes some really good tortillas, ceviche and salsas).

The neon 'waves' at the top edge of the building are attractive in the evening. This is a typical mariscos joint that has several televisions and sometimes carries boxing matches and charges a cover on those weekends…otherwise in the evenings it's loud with bandera music. We came here for lunch and it wasn't crowded or noisy.

Each table is topped with a good selection of condiments. Fresh made corn chips, limes and salsa are brought out after you order.

Be warned- the salsa is *not* tomato based; it's all chile, hot but not overwhelming. It's good to use with your seafood order instead of the vinegar based hot sauces on the table…

The Mister ordered a gobernador taco, marlin taco and made it a combo ($10.50). You can see the cheese lined corn tortilla filled with sauteed shrimp. There were some onion and green pepper bits sauteed in there also. The marlin is a smoked fish and was stir fried with bell pepper and onion and was very very good; not salty as sometimes marlin can be.

I chose to have mojarra -whole tilapia- deep fried ($10.50). This particular preparation was so complimentary to the fish. There was a light seasoning on the skin, but nothing else. The fish was a good size, very meaty and just so right. The rice, beans, tortillas and even the salad all just went together so well. A good, memorable meal.

Yes, I'm back to documenting the cleaned carcass of whole fish consumed. Every bit was good.

I hope you week has been going well.

Mariscos El Titanic 3600 Fairmont Avenue San Diego 92105 (619) 584-2894 Website

I noticed this guy hanging from the ceiling as we were leaving…I am so unobservant.

Sweet indulgences up North (BC’s, Donut Man and Cream Pan)

September 25, 2013 Cathy Bakery, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog. We (Kirk, Ed (from Yuma), Cathy and a few others) write about food, either directly or indirectly. Today, Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are busy and Cathy is writing, directly.

If you follow this blog, you know The Mister and I drive North about once a month to see the progress and assist with the decoration of Rose Parade floats. We leave home at 5 a.m., drive North on the Interstate 5, get to Pasadena at 7 a.m., view (and document) the road tests and that part of the day is over before 9 a.m. We eventually drive home South on the 15, using various navigational routes to get there. We stop along the way there and home.

Just about one mile from the Pasadena Farmers market is a small donut shop named B.C. Donut. The only workers are the owners, a husband, his wife and their daughter. The place is open 24/7 and has a small walk up window, just like the 24/7 Taco Shop that shares the same parking lot. They have a lot of offerings: smoothies, sandwiches made on their fresh croissants and a good variety of donuts.

The apple fritter is what to order here ($1.50). Fluffy, usually still warm, apple chunks and swirls of cinnamon enrobed in a smooth soft glaze. It's the best we've ever had. There are no more words.

B.C. Donuts 2525 E. Foothill Boulevard Pasadena 91107 (626) 795-0012

Driving down Route 66, parallel to the 210 to get to the 15, you will pass many iconic (or iconic appearing) restaurants, coffee shops and…in Glendora, Donut Man. Apparently we have timed our visits correctly: this 24/7 donut shop has people lined up on the front porch, ordering at the window, even at midnight.

If you want to try the fresh strawberry donuts, you need to hurry; their last batch of fresh strawberries will be sliced and used on September 28 (this Saturday). Donut Man also makes fresh peach donuts, in August.

Here's a peek through the side window…

These glorious giant twists are "Tiger Tails"- almost one foot long, raised donut twisted with chocolate and glazed…enough to share.($1.70)

These apple and lemon filled donuts are made the same way the fresh stawberry (and peach) donuts are made…the dough is fried, topped (glaze or crumb or powdered sugar) then sliced and then filled.($1.70)

Ta Da! A full tray of the infamous strawberry donuts($3.50), also crullers (95¢)…

I've never tried the ones on the left, topped with fruit and cream; I don't know if they are filled, but probably they are. The cake donuts (90¢) are always good.

Here's what it looks like through the ordering window; organized chaos.

Our order. The strawberry donut (with complimentary fork)($3.50), a plain glazed cruller (90¢), chocolate topped old fashioned (95¢) and raised crumb (90¢) . The crumb was our least favorite; it was kind of dry. If there were nothing to compare it to, it would be just a good donut…The strawberry donut- it's just overflowing with fresh strawberries on a perfect raised glazed donut.

Donut Man 915 E. Route 66 Glendora, CA (616)335-9111 Article in today's San Gabriel Valley Tribune Link to recent post on My Burning Kitchen

On the way North, taking the Red Hill Exit off the 5, it's a hop and skip to get to Cream Pan, which opens at 6 a.m. daily. The shelves are not quite full at 6:15 when we get there, but everything on them is *fresh* and usually still warm.

We always get a strawberry croissant ($1.40), a ham and cheese croissant ($2.50)-my favorite ham and cheese baked in bread confection, ever…and on this visit, The Mister wanted to try the pecan roll($3). At first, The Mister was shocked at the price…then we unfurled it (after the first bite of the crispy flaky crust)…

This confection is LINED with toasted pecans! Well worth the $3.

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

Yes, none of these 'regular' stops of ours have websites…all have great, fresh, quality treats. Hope all of you are having a good week!

Andy’s Coffee Shop & 2014 Rose Parade road test & Pasadena Farmers Market (Road Trip)

September 22, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are busy busy busy right now, so Cathy is writing a post for today.

Yes, another road test for some floats that will participate in the 2014 Tournament of Roses parade was conducted on Saturday and The Mister and I woke early so we could be there at 7 a.m. Since this is a food blog, the first part of this post is about our breakfast that morning.

Andy's Coffee Shop is located on Colorado Boulevard; it's easy to miss (parking is in back and we are always looking for cars on the street to see if a place is open).

Inside, it's a step back to the 1950's. In fact, a few episodes of Mad Men were filmed here.

There are photographs signed by famous stars of the past. The large photos are of crowds camped in front of the storefront to watch the Rose Parade.

The Mister ordered French Toast ($5). It's made with fresh bread, unlike when we make it at home with days old bread. So very good- crunchy on the exterior and creamy soft on the interior.

I ordered a bacon and egg sandwich on rye toast ($7.25). Really really good and served with crispy hash browns.

This was a very good meal and we enjoyed sitting at the "U" shaped lunch counter in the center of the room, seeing the hustle and bustle of the workers: the booths and tables were taken.

Andy's Coffee Shop 1234 Colorado Boulevard Pasadena, CA 91106 (626)793-0825 Mon-Sat 7-3, Sun 7-2

Before our breakfast on this overcast morning, we were on Raymond Street

The colorful float with them "So Near and Yet Safari" is very animated with the gazelles racing, giraffes bowing their necks and elephant ears flapping as well as water flowing from the top of the 'rock' formation. Behind that float, you can see the "Banner" float- which will introduce the 2014 parade with it's theme of "Dreams Come True".

Here is the City of Glendale float, covered in its cocoon. Last month, it was only out of rebar and a lot of the design wasn't very clear.

The CIty of Los Angeles float was also in it's rebar form last month. Now that it's covered and partly painted, the details are emerging.

Above, you can see the City of Los Angeles float in its collapsed state (so it can fit into the Phoenix Decorating barn as well as under street and signal lights along the parade route) and you can also see the head of the Chinese dragon, which is painted with its colors and ready to be decorated. All items covering the float must be natural, alive or had been alive and in case glue fails or items are washed off by rain, you'll still see color when watching the floats in person or on television. I think it's nice that the dragon will be on the 'other' side of the float- away from the television cameras-people sitting on that side of the street sometimes don't get to see a lot of the float details.

After our breakfast, we stopped at our usual Saturday morning Pasadena trek- the Farmers Market, held in the parking lot of Pasadena High on Sierra Madre Boulevard.

You can see the cloud covered Sierra Madres in the distance…very overcast. That's the booth where we always buy a loaf of seed filled, corn meal bottomed rye bread for $4.75. It's so good.

This market is my favorite out here; it's busy and the vendors are knowledgeable and the variety is amazing.

We drive North on the 5 and home on the 15…where we passed a convoy of about ten Marine LAVs (Light Armored Vehicles; they float)…another Saturday of fun. Hope you are having a good weekend!

Pho Hiep Grill (Linda Vista) (revisit)

September 9, 2013 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, the blog. Yep, you are here. Kirk has been quite busy for the past few days and so has Ed(from Yuma), so Cathy has been writing posts about food. Today, she continues.

Pho Hiep Grill in Linda Vista was the first Vietnamese restaurant for The Mister and I. It was where, when we ordered, the nice waitress sternly stared and told us 'you no want that' on our initial try. She made recommendations and we found out we really liked Vietnamese food. We stopped in a few weeks ago before shopping at Thuan Phat Market (in the same parking lot).

It's that last storefront. There's a Laundromat across from it in this same parking lot.

The inside of the restaurant is not too large (seats about 50) and always very clean. The condiment tray is filled with the usual suspects. I don't know what the deal is with the melted tabletop.

We especially like the spring rolls (cha gio) here. You can order three or five and three are quite enough. They are large…

and mostly meat filled. An order of three could easily be a meal.

The Mister ordered a bowl of tai (raw, thin beef slices) pho. You can see one not-yet-cooked piece of meat at the 12:00 position in this bowl. The pho broth here is one of my favorites; very deep flavored but not cloudy nor swimming in fat.

The pho comes with the usual accompaniments (there are two pieces of sawtooth under the basil and sliced pepper somewhere on that plate).

In the summer, I do like a good bowl of Bun -cold noodles topped with something on top of a salad of sorts. This time I chose grilled chicken as the topping. Not many Vietnamese places offer grilled chicken, so I order it when I see it on the menu.

Here's a peek at what's under the noodles- (which are topped with the grilled chicken, pickled vegetables and chopped peanuts)- shedded lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts and mint. When mixed with the nuoc mam (fish sauce), the combination of flavors is crisp and fresh and refreshing. It was another good visit.

I hope your week is going well so far.

Pho Hiep and Grill 6947 Linda Vista Road (at Ulrich) San Diego 92111 (619) 268-8406

open 7 days, 7:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.

This location has no website, but the other location in Chula Vista has This Website

Ham and cheese baked into a bread…a compendium.

September 8, 2013 Cathy Bakery, Cooking, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

You've found mmm-yoso!!!, the blog about food. Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and Cathy are the usual bloggers here. Today, Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are both away from their computers and unable to blog, so Cathy is writing.

Today's post is about a common food item coincidence discovered while logging, deleting and organizing photos and events to eventually blog about. Yep, I've been staying indoors during these crazy humid days and it's this, football on TV and completing Continuing Education credits online.

I was amazed at how many photos I have of the simple food item of ham and cheese baked into a bread and decided to share the variations I've found in Southern California. Some places I have blogged about before and some places will be posted in the future.

Last October, I wrote about Euro Pane, a bakery restaurant in Pasadena. Ham in chunks and melted cheese, along with onion and carrot baked into a crispy crusted, quality bread ($5) (it's quite large). Simple and wonderful.

Euro Pane Bakery 950 East Colorado Boulevard, Suite 107 Pasadena, CA 91106 (626) 577-1828

Last November, we stopped at the Super H Mart in Diamond Bar. One of the many businesses in the Food Court area, Tous les Jour (a Korean bakery), sold this ham and cheese baked in a soft, cheesy bread ($2.10). I remember liking it, but not the specifics. Website

Here's a cross section of the ham and cheese from Paris Baguette ($2.20) The croissant, crispy, flaky, fluffy, also has a sweet glaze on top. It's disconcerting at first, but since there is very little ham or cheese filling, it makes the majority of the bites (the bread) rather pleasant.

Paris Baguette, inside HMart and Zion Market, San Diego

In June, I traveled to 85C Bakery in Irvine. Twice. This Taiwanese bakery sells a ham filled cheese topped soft bread roll ($2.25) It's very cheesy, tasty and unique.

85C Cafe and Bakery 2700 Alton Parkway, Suite 123 Irvine, CA 92606 (949) 553-8585 US website Open 7 a.m. daily.

Right across the parking lot from 85C is Bon Epi, a Korean bakery, which makes a wonderful ham and cheese croissant. It's one of my top two.

Bon Epi Patisserie and Café 2750 Alton Parkway, Suite 101 Irvine, CA 92606 (949) 251-0070. Open seven days 7 a.m.-midnight Website

Best Donuts and Deli is a Mexican Bakery located two storefronts from Little Sheep Hot Pot. A new Starbucks was built at the corner of the mall and The Mister and I walked in here looking for a treat to have with a coffee.

These trays were next to the counter, ready to be set out. I asked what was in the small rolled breads; the nice lady handed me one – as a sample. Ham and cheese in a perfect ratio with the bread; the ham was chopped, it is a hard white Mexican cheese that isn't too melty-gooey and there were chopped marinated carrots in the mix. It was really a perfect bite. Two for $1.

The bread is a nice, chewy white bread, not anything flaky nor soft. Simple and very good. As you can see, we also got two sweets. A longer post (about the torta sandwiches and donuts here) is forthcoming.

Best Donuts and Deli 4714 Clairmont Mesa BlvdSan Diego 92117 (858) 581-1278

K Sandwich also makes a ham and cheese croissant ($2), and the result is amazingly consistent. These are photos from three different visits.

You can see the croissant dough has a crispy flaky crust layer with a softer bready interior and that pieces of white cheese are rolled inside the ham before baking. It's an easy, quick snack.

K Sandwich corner of Convoy/Linda Vista at Mesa College Drive (7604 Linda Vista 92111) Open at 6 a.m. Mon-Sat, 8 a.m. Sunday.

Santee has four Starbucks stores (if you count the one inside the Vons) and next to the one located in the Albertson's parking lot is Pink Donuts, which sells a ham and cheese filled bread ($1.75).

A very soft, buttery bread surrounds a good amount of ham. The bottom part of the ham has a thin layer of a soft white cheese. Good, because it's fresh, the bread crushes easily. Not bad in a pinch/early morning when I don't want to drive very far).

Pink Donuts 9802 Magnolia (at Mast Boulevard) Santee 92071 (619)258-8807

Yet another donut shop, Peterson's Donut Corner in Escondido, sells a very hammy ham and cheese filled bread ($2). Again, it's just a thin layer of cheese on the bottom part of the bread. It's a good bread dough, only slightly crispy but a good slightly chewy dough. (That's a blueberry frosted cake donut, excellent- 95¢)

Peterson's Donut Corner 903 S. Escondido Boulevard, Escondido 92025 (760) 745-7774

Pangea Bakery Cafe, on Convoy street, sells good sized ham and cheese bread semi-loaves for $2.50. A hunk can easily be shared by two people.

A sofrt bread topped with cheese and layered with a good amount of ham and yellow cheese. When this is fresh (or toaster oven re-warmed), it's an excellent meal.

Pangea Bakery Cafe 4689 Convoy Street, Suite 100 San Diego 92111 (858)560-0688 website

I recently wrote a post about Cream Pan, a Japanese bakery in Tustin. The ham and cheese croissant here is exquisite ($2.50). It isn't very large and that's OK. This is the only place that bakes in Swiss cheese with the ham, and exposes (and slightly crisps) the ham. The flaky croissant makes the prefect ratio to the meat and cheese filling. I never get a photo of the cross section, because we exit the freeway and are in and out of here quickly; the croissant is consumed in the car as I drive away. Trust me, it's good.

Cream Pan 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 (714)665-8239 Open 6 a.m.-4 p.m. seven days

I haven't posted on Sidecar Donuts yet, but went here twice in less than two weeks in June. A small popular bakery in Costa Mesa, Sidecar has lines of people out the door and into the parking lot daily. It sells more or less 'regular' (but fancy) donuts and each day also sell one even-more-special item. This day, it was a Monte Cristo Donut ($3.75). Filled with ham, cheese and strawberry jam then fried and topped with powdered sugar, as an egg dipped and fried Monte Cristo sandwich would be. So it's not a bread dough, but still ham and cheese filled and delightful. I thought I'd add it in here, since it almost fits the topic.

Sidecar Donuts and Coffee 270 East 17th Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (949) 887-2910 Website

To conclude this post, and possibly answer your inner comments, of course this can be done at home. Above is a meat and cheese bread The Mister made the other day with a one pound refrigerated dough, Jarlsberg cheese and and hard salami. He baked it on a cookie sheet on the outdoor grill; placing the cookie sheet on the opposite side from the heated burner. Radient heat you know.

I hope everyone had a good weekend and that the week ahead will have normal weather. Thanks for reading.

Tender Greens (Liberty Station) (another visit)

September 7, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Salads, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of the food blog you are reading. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are both way too busy to be writing a blog post. Cathy is not busy and is sharing a few meals with you today.

Well, it's been another crazy hot day in San Diego. The Mister and I have been staying at home and eating and cooking here, but last month, we went to Tender Greens twice, so I thought sharing those meals would be a good idea for a post. Kirk posted about a recent lunch visit to the downtown Tender Greens location in July and I posted in 2009 as well as in 2011 .

The location in Liberty Station is unchanged. Two more locations have been added over the past four years.

The "Specials" board is now along the wall where you wait in line to order, instead of just above the ordering register. Prices have increased a bit over the years. The menu and specials reflect what is fresh/available and in season.

You place your order, then walk along the open kitchen and can see your meals being prepared from all the fresh raw and roasted vegetables and proteins.

When you reach the end of the line, you can order a beverage and perhaps…

some sort of freshly baked dessert.

Anyhow, onto our meals here-

These two photos are different views of one of my favorite salads here, the Happy Vegan($11.50). There are a total of five salad items on the plate. The tender greens, in the center, are topped with a vinaigrette. Next to the toasted bread you can see the scoop of green hummus (fresh chickpeas, parsley, lemon juice and garlic). The wheat berries are more commonly known as farro and are mixed with dried cranberries and hazelnuts.

On the left is a fresh tabbouleh(bulgur, parsley, cucumber and tomato) and to the right is red quinoa with cucumber and beets. The Happy Vegan is filling and balanced and a complete meal. Sometimes I crave it. If all vegan meals are like this, I'd have no problem changing me eating habits.

The above salad is the Daily Special from the chalkboard($11.50)- P. Balesteri salumi, heirloom tomatoes, Feta, olives all on top of a baby kale salad with a roasted garlic vinaigrette.

Soup of the day- heirloom tomato gazpacho ($4). We almost always order one of the available soups whenever we are here; each one is good.

On another visit, the Soup of the Day was roasted tomato topped with a basil oil ($4)

The Thai shrimp salad ($11.50) is made with Little Gem lettuce, green papaya, thai basil, citrus peanuts, coriander(cilantro) and topped with a chili lime vinaigrette. The large, plump shrimp are cooked and chilled. There were seven on this delicious salad.

Recalling the baby kale salad with roasted garlic vinaigrette from the previous visit, I made my own plate this visit with it (it's called a 'simple salad')($6) and added the herb brushed albacore ($5.50). This was a great combination and since my discovery that baby kale is delicious raw, I've been making salads at home using it.

All in all, fresh, good food here.

Tender Greens 2400 Historic Decatur Road San Diego 92107 (619) 226-6254 Website

Avo’s (Gyros-Burgers-Philly’s-Salads)(Spring Valley)

September 6, 2013 Cathy Greek Food, Salads, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for dropping by mmm-yoso!!! on this overly hot weekend. Cathy is writing today, while Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are doing other things.

The other day, The Mister and I were out in Spring Valley, just across the street from Santa Sophia Catholic Church, which is undergoing some reinforcing construction. The tower and barrel roof can be seen from most of the Casa de Oro area.

We were looking for a place to eat after running our errand and saw this storefront-

So, we walked over…

Stepping inside the small ordering area which had two tables inside and two tables out in front, it was obvious this used to be a business which sold grab and go pizza.

Those three posters are the menu and the specials. Simple.

We ordered two gyro sandwiches ($7.50). The bread is made fresh here- in those pizza ovens. The meat was the standard gyros meat, sliced thck and grilled to give it a bit of a crust, which I very much enjoyed. The sandwiches were topped with onion, tomato and a fresh sauce. The sandwiches were quite large.

The Greek Salad ($5) was great on this warm day; crisp and cool mixed greens topped with cucmber, tomato, onion, Feta and a good size portion of a tangy, creamy dressing.

Another great find. Stay cool this weekend!

Avo's 9735 Campo Road, #250 Spring Valley, CA 91977 (619) 337-2334

La Posta de Acapulco (El Cajon/Lakeside location)

August 31, 2013 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

You're reading this mmm-yoso!!! food blog from an air conditioned location, aren't you? Cathy is writing from a Starbucks in Santee because the present temperature is 99•. Crazy hot days lately!

Our home does not have an air conditioner. There, I've said it. The Mister and I decided long ago that since we grew up in the humid Midwest and East coast in homes without such a convenience, we could do it as adults. For several days a year, we regret our choice. Even though it does get cooler in the evenings, the oven-like blast of heat that hits when we open the front door to venture outside to check the mailbox around noon has been debilitating.

East County has had some overcast days filled with thunderstorms (and therefore) humidity.

Needless to say, I have not wanted to cook. At all.

I had to meet a business client in Lakeside, just off of Los Coches Road and afterwards, drove under the 8 freeway, to the second signal light where the city line is drawn and the location is technically El Cajon. The perfect place to eat is here.

La Posta has three locations-this newest one in El Cajon. Other locations are in Spring Valley and teh Hillcrest area of San Diego.

This location is quite large; it looks like they took over the space in the next storefront.

The salsa bar is filled with three very fresh house made salsas, pickled carrots, limes and an onion cilantro mix. Simple and very good.

You order and pay, and then chips and silverware s brought to your table, and soon, your food is brought out to you also. No number to place on your table; they remember everyone.

The shredded beef Mexican salad here ($5.25) is unique-the shell is large and formed so it is deep- and there are no beans. It is mainly lettuce, meat and cheese (as well as sour cream, cucumber slices and chunky salsa). The stewed meat is very juicy and flavorful. This is a deceptively large salad.

The side order of chile relleno ($3) is something The Mister and I always order here. It's made to order and really, really good- a fresh chile stuffed with cheese and dipped in a light batter and fried. The sauce for the relleno is made here, not the same as the enchilada sauce and has a deep, rich flavor.

On this hot, humid day, I wanted something not heated…the shrimp ceviche tostada ($3.50) is exquisite. The shrimp are very large and flavorful, chopped into thirds, mixed with a simple tomato-onion-cilantro mix then cooked in lime juice. So refreshing and fresh.

I hope everyone stays cool this long weekend!

La Posta de Acapulco 8575 Los Coches Road El Cajon, CA 92021-8815 (619) 443-5522

Don Tommy’s (and a Daily Squeeze Gingernize)- Point Loma

August 21, 2013 Cathy Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

Well, here's another post on mmm-yoso!!! written by Cathy. The guys, Kirk and Ed(from Yuma), are just too busy with all sorts of stuff to be blogging today.

Well, there we were on Point Loma again. At the intersection of Catalina and Voltaire and turning East, The Mister and I were deciding what we wanted for lunch. To The Point was our initial plan, but we had to drive to the next block (San Clemente Street) to get a parking space, and were walking past Daily Squeeze, which had a note on the (closed) door that their ginger based juices were sold next door at Don Tommy's, thought about it briefly, saw an open table and walked inside to order.

This is what Daily Squeeze Gingernize and Don Tommy's looks like from across the street. (You can sort of see the "Don" part on the left side window above, but most of the signage has "Tommy's" as the name and for no good reason other than BBQ chicken and BBQ beef, "Tex Mex" shows up with the name on some social local review websites).

This ^^^ is the signage you'll see on the side of the building as you are driving past it on Voltaire.

Four tables and some bar stools inside and three tables on the sidewalk out front. Yes, you're reading the signage correctly- hand made flour tortillas. Of course their selection of salsas is also made here; no bottles of anything on the tables.

I've always been fascinated with this type of art…keep looking, you'll see it.

Order, pay and wait for your meal to be freshly prepared. The corn tortillas are *not* made here, only the flour.

So anyhow, the gingernize drinks are made next door, come in many juice flavor combinations and I chose this one made with cucumber, turnip greens, spinach, apple and ginger juices. It isn't too sweet and is very refreshing. This flavor combination only has 10 carbohydrates, 3 fibers and 2 proteins per serving (very important numbers I need to pay attention to). The Gingernize lines are 100% juice, have no preservatives, no artificial flavors and are not from concentrate. None of the ingredients are processed and the juice is flash pasteurized. The 16 oz bottle is $4 and I really liked it and I like supporting local businesses.

This photo may help with my description of the flour tortillas made here. You can see the tortilla is torn, flaky and almost bready.

This is a chicken fajita burrito ($5.50). You can see the tortilla is 'stiff' and it's kind of crackly while simultaneously being a bit thick and bready…it is unique and the flavor is very good. It doesn't fall apart as easily as other tortillas do. The chicken fajita fillings(green pepper, tomato and onion) are fresh cooked when you order, the marinated chicken is moist and plentiful and the melty cheese is a bonus.

I wanted to try a quesadilla…and I wanted to try vegetables and then I just went all out and ordered the veggie quesadilla supreme ($6.25). Again, you can see the sort of thick stiffness of the tortilla.

Here are the fillings: beans, very little rice, onion, tomato, green pepper, guacamole and all covering a layer of melted on cheese. With shredded lettuce… Very fresh, very good, very filling. This, by itself, had to have weighed one pound and easily could have been shared…

Hope your week is going well: soon it will be Friday.

Don Tommy's Mexican Food 4145 Voltaire Street San Diego 92107 (619) 223-5225 Open 9-9, 7 days.

Daily Squeeze Gingernize House 4143 Voltaire Street 92107 (619) 269-5835