Cathy – Page 70

Belen Artisan Bakers (Escondido)

July 11, 2013 Cathy Bakery, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Belen has moved to Valley Center; no more sandwiches.

Hello. You're reading mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Cathy has the reins today. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are merely trying to remain cool.

There are more than 50 Farmers Markets in San Diego County. The Mister and I try to stop by at least one a week, sometimes happening upon one while visiting a new (to us) neighborhood.

A good number of the Markets have a stand selling fresh bread from Belen Artisan Bakery. (Photo above is at the Santee Certified Farmers Market). We have always thought the Belen Artisan Bread is excellent; each loaf we have purchased is a hearty, flavorful bread which is still fresh the following morning.

One morning, driving North on the 15, we took the Centre City Parkway exit and one block just past the first signal light, on the right/feeder road, The Mister noticed this storefront. Of course I stopped.

Walking inside the small store, the fresh bakery smell reminded me of walking into one of the numerous corner bakeries I grew up with in Detroit. Fresh loaves of bread were on the shelves to the left, some sweet baked goods in the glass display case and up on the wall, menus of some breakfasts, crepes and sandwich choices. There is also a chalkboard advertising fresh juices available.

Yes, that's the oven behind the counter.

Those spray bottles are not cleaner- they are filled with water, which is sprayed onto the loaves, to give that crispy crust…that's the oven right next to the shelving and it's exactly the oven I remember from the corner bakery where I had my first job.

Over to the right is the area where the bread is mixed, kneed-ed, risen and prepared for baking. So many memories!

You can see some of the breads and sweets as well as the breakfast menu in this photo. On our first visit here, we purchased some rolls to use for burgers and also got an orange-cranberry scone.

There are two booths and two tables inside, and tables set up outside.

On this visit, we purchased a loaf of cheese bread ($4.50) (50¢ less than the Farmers Market price, plus we got it sliced)

On this visit, The Mister and I decided to share a sandwich ($6.50). We chose to try turkey on sunflower seed and flax bread, had the choice and asked for the bread to be toasted, which meant the Swiss cheese was nice and melted. We also asked for mayonnaise as the sauce, even though some interesting choices are available (garlic, garlic-basil and Kalamata olive spread ) and all the other toppings are standard-even the avocado (lettuce, tomatoes and sprouts are the other toppings). The turkey was fresh breast (not packaged lunchmeat) and was pan-warmed.

Since we said we were sharing, the sandwich was brought out in two containers. Nice. This was an excellent sandwich, all fresh and plentiful ingredients. I like the bread. There has been a lot of take out business both times we have been here. Another excellent local business.

Belen Artisan Bakers 2250 S. Escondido Blvd Ste 112, Escondido 92025 (760) 740-5963 Closed Sunday Open 9 am-3 pm Monday : Tues/Wed/Th 7 am-5 pm : Fri/Sat 7 am-3 pm

It turns out that friend and fellow blogger, cc visited Escondido and Belen and wrote a post about her visit today also.

Marion Crépes- a pop up inside Mitsuwa (available for a short time)

June 30, 2013 Cathy Desserts, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for dropping by mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are sweltering. Cathy somehow escaped the heat and discovered a treat.

This weekend was a scorcher! On Saturday, the temperature was 99• in the shade of our backyard. I wasn't too hungry and also was seeking a place to cool down. The Mister and I decided that driving West might yield some sort of option for a meal as well as air conditioned comfort. (The light meal is a future post.) When we were finished eating, we headed across the parking lot to Mitsuwa Marketplace.

We wanted to see what was on sale and maybe grab a cold beverage and snack as a 'dessert'. The automatic sliding glass doors opened and this stand was right in the middle of the Lobby.

Well. You know I pulled the camera/phone out of my pocket and started snapping away…

Plastic food models fascinate me, and the ones here are beautiful. There are 18 crépes to choose from: 16 sweet and two savory (the savories are hot- tuna with cheese and tuna with pizza sauce and cheese).

We placed an order and were told to wait on the far side of the booth setup.

In just a few minutes, our order ( a #12) was ready. ($5.50). A fresh made, not too sweet-battered crepe was filled and handed to us in the heavy duty folded paper cone. Filled with fresh whipped cream, blueberry preserves (not overly sweet) and a very good quality green tea ice cream (we had the choice of vanilla or green tea ice cream). Tasty, not too sweet and a delightful dessert for the two of us.

The signs show that the last day will be July 14, so stop by if you have a chance; it's good.

Marion Crepes 4240 Kearny Mesa Road San Diego 92111 (inside Mitsuwa Market)

Getting to The Adobo Road Cookbook Tour. {The first stop: 85C-Irvine} Road Trip!

June 26, 2013 Cathy Bakery, Caffeine Fix, Orange County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy write about adventures in eating. Today, the beginning of one of Cathy's adventures.

In May, I received an e-mail from the LA Times about an upcoming book signing in Pasadena by Marvin Gapultos, whose Blog (cleverly named Burnt Lumpia Blog) I have bookmarked on this machine. Marvin's cookbook, The Adobo Road Cookbook a Filipino food journey -from food blog to food truck and beyond, looked interesting to me, and I saved that email. Later that week, I heard from my friend and fellow blogger, cc, who asked me if I'd want to do a roadtrip with her…because she had already purchased several copies of the cookbook wanted to meet Marvin and have the cookbooks signed by him. Road Trip!

At 7 a.m. on Sunday June 9, cc was at my front door and I had my car filled with fuel and ready. We each had our own coolers so we could transport/bring home anticipated food purchases safely. The book signing was scheduled for 3 p.m.. Yes, there would be a few (nine) stops for food on this 14+ hour day. This post is a link to cc's version about our first stop.

85c Bakery Cafe, a Taiwanese bakery of international franchises. I've heard of it, been asked about it but had never experienced it. Now I have done so, *twice* in less than two weeks. {I had to go back with The Mister…}

When cc and I arrived here just before 9 a.m., we missed an onslaught of customers by less than five minutes. When I brought The Mister here, we were in the parking lot five minutes before the doors opened. I really try to avoid crowds. The above refrierated glass case holds cakes and cake slices…

Cubby holes of various fresh baked sweets and savories line the far wall. Cubbies of shelving about half that size line the two adjoining walls. They are are replenished constantly and announced loudly ("fresh bread!!!"). The individual-doored spaces are emptied quickly most of the day with a steady line (an outside the door and into the parking lot line) of customers. The photo above shows the small floor refrigerator centering the shelving and it's filled with prepacked whipped cream and cheesecake filled pastries.

The choices are almost overwhelming and because of the many people picking and choosing pastries, it's necessary to grab what you want as soon as you see it (trays and tongs are at the door as you walk in).

There are two cash registers here; the one to the right will put your pastries into individual bags and you can order beverages and pay, or someone with you can go the register on the left where only beverages can be ordered and they'll probably be ready about the time you are finished paying for pastries.

These were the purchases cc and I made. The sausage cheese pastry (a soft bread dough) and the tomato cheese pastry (a puff pastry dough) became 'breakfast' for us. The beverages are iced sea salt coffee and iced sea salt green tea…beverages I saw a few times this day but still never have seen in San Diego County. The other items are a mango bread (new item here advertised in a poster "Celebrate Mango Season"), blueberry danish, maple brick toast and a multigrain berry bread loaf (which remained soft into the following morning).

This was the 'breakfast' The Mister and I had -cream puffs (real whipped cream; a heavier dough than at the County Fair cream puffs); we were told to refrigerate as soon as possible…as if those would make it back to San Diego) and a ham and cheese croissant. I got a medium iced sea salt coffee ($2.75) for The Mister and also small Americano ($1.80) just to compare the taste differences.

Everything here has been fresh/still warm and what made it to the next day remained fresh. The salted beverages are different and not crazy salty…they are basically a 'regular' beverage topped with sea salt foam that you either can stir into the regular beverage (by swirling; the beverages are in paper cups topped with that hermetic seal you've seen in Boba Shops) or you get the salt at the end of your drink when the sea salt foam has descended to the bottom of the cup: I haven't developed a craving for those beverages…yet.

85c is a good place to stop, but I don't think I would wait in a very long line if I lived here…there are so many alternatives- even within the Diamond Jamboree Center-just across the parking lot; our second stop this day.

85C Cafe and Bakery 2700 Alton Parkway, Suite 123 Irvine, CA 92606 (949) 553-8585 US website

Boba Bar and Desserts – inside Zion Market

June 24, 2013 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

Hello. You've found mmm-yoso!!!-a food blog. Kirk, Ed(fromYuma) and Cathy usually write here. The central focus on our posts is food. Today, Cathy is focusing.

Since I went to/posted about Zion Market on the first day of its 'soft' opening at the new location, The Mister and I have returned several times for regular grocery, meat, seafood and produce shopping. Slowly, the other storefronts on the West side of the expansive former KMart have been opening. I saw a news story that the official 'Grand Opening' will be this upcoming weekend (June 28).

I took this photo from the South Western corner of the building, in front of CDD Tofu & Grill (an upcoming post). You can see the wide expanse of space the market and other businesses occupy. (The news story said 100,000 square feet). All of the lighting is retrofitted LEDs – very energy efficient. Boba Bar and Desserts is very colorful. Kirbie has a post about her visit which has some better photos of the menu.

The ice creams are '100% natural' according to the Boba Bar and Desserts Facebook page (there is no website). Some of the flavors have me curious…

The corner glass refrigerated section contains Vietnamese puddings and jellies and on this visit, these lucious looking chocolate dipped strawberries.

We decided to try some basics on this first visit: An iced Vietnamese coffee ($3) and milk green tea ($2.75). No boba, no syrup/sweetener/condensed milk. The coffee was very smooth and strong and the milk tea had a good tea flavor, which is the way I like it.

We wanted the beverages to go with my 'regular' purchase from Zion- the freshly made fish pancakes. Since the food court area was relatively empty, this was a nice way to relax for a snack before the drive home…

However, we were there, it wasn't crowded, sweets were beckoning…the Shaved Snow machine was calling.

The "Deluxe" size (16 oz) is $4 and includes two toppings as well as a sauce of condensed milk. I decided on the green tea shaved snow and was told it had just been made the night before and the texture may not be correct. I ordered it, and asked for no condensed milk and two of the fresh fruit toppings…

You can see this was more of a fluffy ice texture…

which melted in the mouth the same way the ribbons of shaved snow usually do. The deep green tea flavor was excellent and unadulterated by not having the condensed milk…the fresh blueberries and macerated strawberries were very complimentary.

We'll try other offerings on our next shopping trip here. Everything was very good. The people working are very nice and helpful.

Boba Bar and Desserts Clairmont Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92111(inside Zion Marketplace at Convoy Street) 619-940-4190 open 9 am-9 pm daily

2013 San Diego County Fair: Part Two: It’s open!

June 16, 2013 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

This is a food blog named mmm-yoso!!! Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy try to write the reasons/situations about trying/preparing/eating food. Today is one of those posts: Cathy is writing.

The San Diego County Fair, largest (by attendance) in the State of California and fourth largest in the entire United States opened last Saturday. I wrote a short post about what to expect before the Fair opened.

This post is about our FIRST visit this year. We could not stay very long on this day to see (or eat) all the Fair has to offer and there will be a follow up. For now, lots of photos to give you a taste of what is happening.

The Midway rides are pretty much the same as always.

The Preserved Foods, cookies, breads and decorated cakes have been judged and are on display in Home and Hobby.

Quilts, Crafts and Collections are on display with their respective prize ribbons.

The Agriculture Education barn is open for visiting.

Many of the garden displays and entries emphasize the Theme of the Fair ("Game's On!")

Then there are the "County Fair Food" booths.

Chicken Charlie's has three stands and the center one does offer grilled and healthy choices, like these chicken and vegetable kabobs. The stand to your left fries everything. and around the corner (to your right as you face it) is Chicken Charlie's"Pineapple Express" and offers different, but mostly 'healthy' (in comparison) items.

So, What did we eat?

Yes, the carb-free selection of bacon wrapped jalapeños ($7.55 including tax)from the "Bacon A Fair" stand(formerly the "Heart Attack Cafe", which must have been a bit too blunt of advertising). These are **fresh** jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese, then wrapped with bacon and grilled. The pepper is spicy hot- in a good way to me- in a not so good way to The Mister's tastes…

To make up for this 'healthy' Fair food, we headed across the Midway.

The "Grilled Cheese A-Fair" stand.

The Monte Cristo ($9). Ham and Cheese, grilled (on a very hearty, fresh white bread) then dipped in batter and fried, served with strawberry jam. This was really good, fresh and 1/2 of a half sandwich was enough for me.

There are some atypical Fair/common food booths here too.

Then there is the question of…Where do people who work here every day for the 23 days of this Fair eat? Sure, they get some sort of discount at the various booths, but there is only so much sugar and oil in the world…

Located on the outside of the Racetrack, just in from the Midway is the Paddock area.

On the North side of this semi-enclosed (beer-centric) area you'll see this:

It was not crowded when we were here for two reasons: 1. The regular prices for beer are around $8. B) There is a "Happy Hour" at 5 p.m., when you can get a beer and a taco for $5. We didn't care about beer.

$3.50 tacos and $4 sopes! Adobada and barbacoa!

The display.

The cook.

Our order. Adobada taco and a Barbacoa sope. Each meat was moist and well seasoned; excellent. Both servings were generous.

Here's a photo showing the (very fresh, crispy edged) sope. The beans, toppings…everything was extremely fresh and good.

The parking and transportation to and from the (free parking area) Horse Park this year is *much* larger and easier to navigate. We were there early and parked in horse corral #10 (the main parking lot is #1 and the bus stops and picks up at various areas). There was a very visible security presence, with Mounted Sheriffs in the regular parking lot and bicycling Sheriffs throughout the Fairgrounds. There is a lot of information about how to save money on admission, rides and food items when going to the Fair. Check out the website.

Hope to see you at the Fair!!! Remember, it's closed on Mondays (except that July 1 Monday). July 4 is the last day.

Nijiya Market – snacks that make a meal

June 13, 2013 Cathy Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

Yes, you are reading mmm-yoso!!! the blog about food. Kirk is gradually acclimating to this time zone. Ed (from Yuma) has already returned (to Yuma) and had no acclimatization problems. Cathy has been here all along and has had no changes in her environment, so she continues sharing posts about food.

My first encounter with this blog was more than seven years ago, when I was searching for more information about one of our favorite ethnic markets, located on Convoy street. So much time has passed, and I've only written one post while I can see over 500 mentions of Nijiya on this blog. The Mister and I shop here for basics, since almost everything sold in this market is organic. We also enjoy dropping in to grab a quick snack and purchase ready made items, sold in refrigerated and covered heated tray areas along the West wall of the store. There is also a new item sold along the counter there.

Noodles with dashi! ($3.50) Tell the nice person behind the counter which noodle you'd like (udon or soba) and they will turn around and go to the back wall of pots and cook up the noodles, bring a bowl of noodles back and give you a choice of four toppings (seaweed, green onion, bonito flakes and those tiny fried wheat balls that will expand in the broth) which you place on top of the noodles yourself, in any amount. The broth is placed in a separate container. You can also optionally add fried tofu (50¢), mixed wild vegetables (50¢), curry sauce ($1.50) and/or seasoned beef with onion ($1.50). We've had this several times, trying the various ingredients.

The above is a bowl with soba and the included toppings as well as the optional mixed vegetables (50¢) before the dashi broth was added.

The above photo is after the dashi broth was poured. For $3.50 plus the 50¢ added vegetables, this is a really nice meal.

Of course, fried foods are available here…and make a nice, quick snack. The above area is covered croquettes and patties of wonderful handy snacks.

This is the $1 vegetable croquette. Always crispy, never greasy and a medley of slivered carrot, squash, onion and potato.

Chicken Karaage (fried boneless chicken) is pre-packed and on the table in front of the covered croquettes. It's $7.99/lb and this container was $3.76. It's always fried properly and is juicy and usually crispy (we are usually at the store when they are placing the karaage out for purchase)

The Ika Geso Karaage (fried squid) is $12.99/lb, (this much was $2.53) and was a good amount for me to snack on. Crunchy and chewy, I do enjoy this squid when it is hot or cold.

This is called an "Edamame Salad" ($2.49) and yes, that's tuna on top. There are also red kidney beans and corn on top of the lettuce-cabbage mix. The dressing is peanut butter and soy based and really goes well with the various flavors.

There's also a sushi and sashimi area (of course) and this is called "Diamond Chirashi" ($6.99) Plenty of various fish and shrimp pieces, cucumber and egg on top of organic rice, all topped with large fish roe.

There's a small refrigerator at the counter and also near the cash registers that has both a cold and a hot section. I always grab a can of hot green tea (~$1) when I'm here.

I hope everyone is having a good week!

Nijiya Market 3860 Convoy Street, Suite 109 San Diego 92111 (858)268-3821 Website

Sammoon Bakery and Restaurant-El Cajon (revisit)

June 12, 2013 Cathy Iraqi Food and Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

It appears that Sammoon has closed.

Well here you are, back at mmm-yoso!!! looking at posts about food. Cathy still has places to talk about while Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are trying to get back to normal after each of their whirlwind vacation jaunts.

Yes, I've posted about Sammoon, a Mediterranean restaurant owned and run by Iraqui immigrants which makes its own breads, in El Cajon twice already. If you've ever had Jury Duty in El Cajon, you probably have been here, since it's within walking distance of the Courthouse.

This is the entrance from the Parking lot. From the street, you'll see it's next to the Panda Express.

Once inside, you'll see the menu and the former pizza oven, which is now used to create the wonderful, fresh samoon shaped breads made here throughout the day.

You may also notice the rotating spits of beef and chicken schawarma, and additional menu offerings over the rest of the open kitchen area.

One day, The Mister tried a Lunch Special ($5.99) which was choice of schawarma with a choice of bread and included fries and a salad (this day was a roasted eggplant salad). The bread choices are either a samoon bread or saj bread. The above is a chicken schawarma saj sandwich. There is pickle and tomato wrapped in the saj before the bread is grilled. This is very, very good. The fries are standard and crispy, not greasy and that roasted eggplant is really great.

One day, I noticed on the menu the "Sajj beef burger" ($4.49) and decided to order it. It came wrapped looking like a sort of American hamburger, with fries. Then I opened the paper…and you can see the Saj bread folded so perfectly tight. It was then cooked on the grill, sealing in the already cooked burger (you can click onto the small photos which will enlarge).

When I cut through the delicate yet crispy after being baked/sealed closed Saj bread, the inside of the tightly folded bread revealed a very nice sized ground beef burger, tomato, pickle, onion and a sweet sauce. The burger was not as spiced as the kabobs here, but was still the coarse ground beef used for the kebabs. The meat was moist but apparently drained, so no grease softened the Saj to make it fall apart. A very good non-traditional, yummy burger.

One day, we noticed a separate ad on the outside window (on the left side of the first photo)-a "Feast for Two" ($18). We ordered it.

First out was a basket of three hot, fresh samoon breads, along with a platter of hummus, tzatziki and baba ganouj. All fresh made here and very refreshing.

Since everything here is made to order, there was a less than ten minute/more than five minute wait for this GIANT platter to be brought out. Clockwise: pickled cabbage, roasted tomato, chicken schawarma, fresh falafel, beef schawarma, fresh tomato. On top of the fresh long grain yellow rice are a beef kebob, chicken tikka and chicken kabob with fresh cucumber slices and raw onion topped with sumac (a citrus/salty spice). We had leftovers which were enjoyed that evening.

Always good and always fresh food at Sammoon.

Sammoon Bakery & Restaurant Mediterranean Cuisine 190 N. Magnolia Suite 103 El Cajon 92020 (619)441-2823 Open seven days, 10am-10pm

Tea Station (revisit)

June 11, 2013 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!! This food blog is a compendium of road trips, vacations, food store shopping, events, meals, snacks, events and general food-centric posts. Kirk usually posts here, but is catching up from his recent vacation. Ed (from Yuma) is also recovering from his recent San Diego vacation. Cathy is writing today, about another meal during her staycation in the County.

I discovered Tea Houses and Boba places several years ago when one day a friend took me to one and realized that snacks were served in addition to beverages. It was so fascinating as well as tasty. Since then, I've written two individual posts about visits here. It's simple, good and a nice place to share a snack or meal with friends. (I'm the White girl on this blog and there were no Tea or Boba places when I was at the Unversity of Michigan…heck, there was no Zingerman's when I was there).

The exterior and expanded interior have remained the same; neat and clean. Once you order, a basket of utensils, bowls and napkins are brought to the table.

The teas and all beverages are made to order here, (which is why you can get a beverage with half, quarter or no sweetness added-something you can't always ask for from other boba shops because they use pre-mixed syrup bases) and this pot of Kuan-Yin (monkey picked) tea ($5) actually was brought to our table last, perfectly brewed. We usually ask for a bit more water to be added after we finish the first serving; the tea leaves are just about as strong on the second pour. (A brief explanation of 'monkey picked' meaning premium tea is here.)

One order of Taiwan sausage ($5.50)…my 2013 obsession (see this post ). Served with slices of raw garlic, the combination of the sweet in the sausage with the slight bitter of garlic is amazing.

Inside the menu was a "monthly special" card -the 'fried shrimp roll' ($3.99) was really a version of Vietnamese Tau Hu Ky (beancurd wrapped shrimp paste), which I order with bun at Vietnamese restaurants. You can see this is a large serving and that there were pieces of whole shrimp as well as paste inside the delicately fried tofu skin. This was excellent.

We were handed a "Daily Specials" ($6.50) card with the regular menu and the day we were here, the special was chicken curry (quite a bit of chicken, onion, carrots, potatoes and green pepper in a not spicy but a sweet, medium-hot Japanese curry). The football shaped mound of rice divides the curry from the three daily side dishes (which change). This day it was green beans with slices of dry tofu, delicate (rice) noodles with beef pieces and pickled vegetables with pork pieces. A tasty variety that complimented the semi-spice of the curry.

Another nice visit with good food and a really good pot of tea.

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

Little Sheep Hot Pot (vacation: Ed(from Yuma); staycation: Cathy)

June 10, 2013 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog; a diary/record of meals consumed. By coincidence, all three of the 'regular' (opposed to 'normal') bloggers were on some sort of '-cation' last week and two shared a meal. That meal is documented here today.

While Kirk was vacationing (and using his passport), Ed (from Yuma) and His Lovely Tina, drove to San Diego (from Yuma) last week. With the use of the magical internet, they arranged to meet The Mister and I for lunch at Little Sheep. Kirk has posted about Little Sheep twice, both around the time the San Diego branch opened. More than two years ago, Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and I met here for a delightful lunch; one of a handful of times the three of us have shared a meal together. (This is a link to Kirbie's recent post about lunch specials here.)

Each table and seat at the bar is set with one or more single induction cooktops.

The hot pot is brought out filled with the appropriate spices for the hot pot base ordered ($3.75/person). We decided to try all three options- Spicy, Original (which has 36 spices) and Vegetarian. The pot magnetically attaches to the induction heat source and, although hot, will get to simmering in a few minutes.

We decided not to order the $9.99 Lunch Specials, since that would mean the same group of vegetables with the only variable being the type of meat. Instead, we chose our own items. These, which were brought out first, would cook in the broths first (a faux pas, I know: the meat should be brought out first to flavor the broth), before the simmer happened. From the far right, going clockwise: frozen tofu ($2.95), oyster mushrooms ($4.95), yam noodle ($4.95), lamb wonton($6.5o) and the beautiful bowl of veggie combo platter ($9.95). I must say, we made excellent choices. Everything was outstanding, working a bit differently with the varied broths. We all agreed the most interesting and flavorful vegetable from the 'veggie combo platter' was tangho. It was slightly bitter and kept a good texture in the hot pot. We also agreed the oyster mushrooms were really tasty and meaty.

Our thinly sliced meats were brought out soon enough. We ordered the pork ($5.95), chicken ($5.95) and beef and lamb plate ($10.95)…each meat cooked quickly in the bubbling cauldron (which was refilled with broth) and again took on a different taste depending on the spices in each section. Again, we made excellent choices.

At the end of the meal and after catching up with each other and discussing Kirk and His Missus and what we knew of their vacation, we assessed the meal and none of us could find anything we didn't like: it was that good.

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

E & Drink – revisit

June 8, 2013 Cathy Taiwanese Food and Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

E & Drink has closed

Thanks for visiting mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy are the usual contributors to the posts you are reading. Today, it's another post from Cathy, because Kirk is busy and Ed(from Yuma) is also busy.

I posted about E & Drink almost a year ago and it's become a semi-regular stop when I'm either in the mood for hot pot, or just a quick snack before shopping at 99Ranch. They finally have visible signage.

There are a few snacks at the front area instead of going into the restaurant (where you can order a to go beverage, a tea egg or a Hong Kong style waffle) (I can't believe I've never taken a photo of one from E&Drink, but can't find any saved on my iPhone to share).

If you are seated, there a quite a few tables inside and outside, a couple of televisions with closed captioning and very friendly service by everyone working.

The Mister had ordered a Hot Pot lunch special, which comes with a choice of black or green/ hot or cold tea. Several small bowls of side dishes and dipping sauces meant to compliment our order are brought out with the beverages.

I ordered , among other items, the fried squid balls; no carbs and always good.

The Szechewan spicy wonton ($4.99) are sometimes a craving I have.

The wontons are not too small, are made with a good wrapper that is not too thick yet not thin enough that it breaks easily, filled with a good amount of ground pork and the spicy sauce is very pleasant and not crazy spicy in heat level.

Another favorite of mine is the marinated tofu ($2.99). I'm not sure how they make this, but it's different than marinated tofu I've purchased elsewhere. A good, firm tofu and a very nice marinade makes this another crave-able item for me.

The Mister's mini Hong Kong curry fish ball mini hot pot (lunch special, with rice and a beverage $10.99) arrived bubbling and with its own sterno heater…so you can have a hot pot that stays hot.

Much more than fish balls are in this hot pot-and all of it fresh. The menu doesn't list ingredients, but you can see the variety. The curry sauce is very pleasant and has an almost sweet undertone; definitely not crazy spicy.

I couldn't decide which photo showed more of the ingredients. You can see the quail egg and some of the clear noodles in this photo. Each hot pot here is quite large and always is very good. Each beverage I've ordered here, I have asked for less or no sugar and have been quite pleased with the quality. I can taste the tea in the tea milk orders.

E & Drink 7330 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92111 (858) 560-9888 Open 7 days 10:30-midnight