Author: Cathy

K sandwiches for a quick dinner

Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!!, the blog about food.  Kirk is somewhere between San Diego and Guatemala, ed (from Yuma) is somewhere between San Diego and Yuma and Cathy is here now.

Hello again.  The Mister had to work late the other night. I was hungry and did not want to cook.  I told him to meet me at K Sandwich for dinner. I have posted about K and breakfast .  Kirk has blogged aboutK sandwich as its own post as well as when He compares banh mi around town. It is on Linda Vista Road at Mesa College Drive. 

So anyhow.  The usual.  We have to get a pate chaud ($1)001    

Crisp, light pastry surrounding ground pork, lightly seasoned.  Never greasy, always good.  It is sold in the lighted shelves next to the cash register.

I have to get hot milk coffee(cafe su da)(sua nong) $2.50.  The Mister decided to try a lychee slushie ($2.45) .

003  

I got my usual #24, the roast beef sandwich. ($3.89)  On a fresh made croissant.  The croissant is HUGE. 

The roast beef is plentiful, but not too flavorful.  There is white cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and pickled jalapenos on the sandwich.

006

The Mister got the #12, BBQ Meat banh mi. ($2.75)

I don't know what this BBQ meat is, but we like to call it "Vietnamese Kielbasa" and let it go at that.  it is good, sliced thick, has a slight garlic undertone and is served on the fresh bread with daikon, sliced  carrot, cilantro and sliced fresh jalapeno.

A lot of food and beverage, $13.67 with tax.  Good, fresh food.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend.

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

Sam Woo for breakfast

Breakfast/Brunch, Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog.  You are reading it.  Cathy happens to be writing today.  This is because Kirk and His Missus are (still) on vacation and ed(from Yuma) is (still) working.

Hi.  Quick post about what The Mister and I eat when we go out on weekends.  I've posted about Sam Woo in 2007  and not much has changed, except the breakfast choices are now $3.50  each and coffee and hot tea are 30 cents each. 

001

We are always torn between the #1 or the last one on the menu.  This is #1: rice noodle with luncheon meat, egg and onion.  (The last one on the menu is rice instead of the noodles with the same ingredients; it is #33 or some number close to that.  The only two menu items with egg and luncheon meat(which is a euphemism for fake Spam, by the way)).

 

002

We always get a noodle and dumpling soup, either the won tons (5) -pork and a half shrimp inside each one, or the shrimp dumplings (5) with a whole shrimp in each one.  There is cabbage, egg noodles and the broth is always rich and deeply flavored.

004

Then I usually want some sort of BBQ'd meat with noodles.  This day it was BBQ duck.  Tender duck, crispy skin with a layer of fat.  The broth for dipping is the same deep broth as used for the soup, but the noodles and meat are topped with an anise flavored juice/broth.

You can see the sweetened condensed milk container that comes with the concentrated drip coffee in the background. ( really, it is 30 cents a cup at breakfast).

and, my token photo of the condiments on the table:005  I end up using the chili oil when I am almost finished, just for a kick to the noodles.

All of this food, two coffees and two teas for $12.35, including tax.

Go out for breakfast this weekend.  Anywhere. Enjoy your life.

Sam Woo BBQ, inside 99Ranch complex. 7330 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92111

The “food court” Inside Zion Marketplace- Happy Family and Tonkatsu

Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is just a blog, written by people who eat.  Today, Cathy is writing, while Kirk (and His Missus) are vacationing and ed (from Yuma) is doing other stuff.

I needed to go shopping for some produce the other day and I know Zion always has some good deals.  It was close to dinner time and so I called The Mister and asked him to meet me there.002

You can park on three sides of the building (or across the street) and walk in one of those doors to get to the grocery aisles.

Closer to the South end are two restaurants and a small beverage (add boba for 50 cents) place.

 

 

003

Tonkatsu is what The Mister chose. 006

I went to Happy Family, which used to be Happy Meal, but apparently was sold.  Or sued.  Dunno.  The menu has changed a bit from when Kirk blogged.

(According to FOY (Friend of Yoso) Serena, it is Korean-Chinese food at Happy Family, and the spicy noodle dishes are very good.  I have that mental note ready for next time)

007

The Mister chose the Crunchy roll for $5.95, because he thought it would be smaller (not a Chernobyl sized) roll overfilled with fried shrimp and avocado and basically a full meal, served with miso soup.

It wasn't bad and I liked the avocado.  The shrimp did not have much flavor, but did have much crunch. 

It was topped with both a sweet and a spicy sauce.008

He also ordered the chicken Tonkatsu plate ($7.95) A good sized piece of lightly breaded and fried flattened chicken breast, which came with a house made tonkatsu sauce (which had pieces of mushroom and meat textured bits in it), a cabbage salad with a house made dressing, two stir  fried dumplings, miso soup, rice, edamame and some kimchi.

011

I ordered the galbi plate at Happy Family.

Tender marinated sliced beef short ribs, served with rice, a small salad with a mayonnaise based dressing, (kind of Ranch in flavor), two deep fried dumplings (I liked the other ones better; not as crispy) and the traditional side dishes of preserved radish, dried spicy silverfish, kimchi and fried (not just dried) seaweed.  The miso soup here was far better, not made with a paste and was rich in flavor with many slices of tofu in it.

Eat first and then you can go shopping!

 

 

Happy Meal and Tonkatsu (inside Zion Marketplace) 4611 Mercury Street San Diego 92111

Panda Restaurant-Lemon Grove

Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog.  It's about food.  Kirk, ed(from Yuma) and Cathy and a few others do the blogging.  Kirk is on vacation.  The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy today.

Broadway, in Lemon Grove has an array of shops and restaurants.  It isn't a "destination" for people from other parts of the county.  This restaurant is a good example.

013

Yeah.  You are reading it correctly.  Sushi. Pho. Panda.

Of course.

The menu is varied, as you would expect.

There is no air conditioning.  There are about 15 tables. The owners know just about everyone who comes in to eat here. A local place. Possibly "exotic" for some.

006

The condiment tray on the table has a unique item on it.

007

The sizzling rice soup Shanghai ($6.25 for the large size) included juicy flavorful shrimp, many fresh pea pods, mushrooms, a flavorful broth and those two rice cakes you see.

009

We also selected the tempura from the Japanese side of the menu. 

Perfectly fried carrot slices, green beans, asparagus, zucchini and shrimp.

This was served with a sweet house made teriyaki like sauce.

008

We decided to try the chicken chow mein.  This is listed on the menu  as "(like spaghetti noodles)".  We were told when we ordered that the noodles would be crispy. 

They were.  In a good way.  The carrots and pea pods were fresh tasting and still crispy/lightly stir fried and the sauce/gravy was good. 

At first.  Then I realized it was quite salty.

The menu lsits chow fun as "(like pasta noodles)".  Let's not go there.

The owners here are very friendly.  There is a selection of 5 different pho to choose from and Vietnamese coffee (hot or cold and thai iced tea (with or without boba).  

An unusual mix of cuisines.

Panda Restaurant 7816 Broadway, Lemon Grove 91945 (619)460-7450, open 11-9 daily

Nozomi, a revisit.

Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is just a place where you can vicariously experience food which is eaten by others.  Today, it's a meal Cathy experienced. Because Kirk is on vacation and ed(from Yuma) is in Yuma, working.  Apparently Cathy is doing neither.

Hi again.  I blogged about Nozomi  quite a while ago, have eaten there many times since, but never bothered to blog about it again.  The other day I brought my camera.

010

Yes, they have an All You can Eat Sushi special, with many asterisks. {2 hours max, no to go, extra charge for leftover rice…}

The menu is a mix of Japanese and Korean and the decor is clean and simple. 

 It isn't large but also not too small inside. 

There is a regular meal menu and a separate, large menu of just rolls and sushi. Those photos on the front window are of a few of the rolls offered.

001

002  We ordered and very soon some generic Miso Soup (made from paste) and a complimentary plate of edamame, freshly boiled and salted, was brought out.

003  

We decided to try the $3 chalkboard special of tuna nigiri.

Two very fresh pieces of tender tuna were brought out, topped with a dot of wasabi on top of some excellent warm rice. 

006

The tempura fish appetizer ($5.95) was all halibut- solid, sweet white fish, fried perfectly- lightly crispy.

Quite a large serving.  I could have made this a meal if I could have eaten it all by myself.

007

The Mister ordered the Hiyashi Juka (cold noodle) plate.  ($12.95)

A good portion of cooked then quick chilled yakisoba with mix ins of cucumber, carrot, cabbage, eggs, seaweed, red pepper, radish sprouts and mushrooms along with a few pieces of shrimp and a vinegar based sauce.

004

I ordered my usual, the 'famous chirashi salad' ($13.95)

005

A very large bowl with rice on the bottom, lots of lettuces, cucumber and radish sprouts dressed lightly with a sesame oil based dressing and topped with shrimp, octopus and three other chopped raw fish (salmon, halibut and tuna) and topped with masago and a light sesame oil based dressing.

Always fresh, tasty and plentiful.

008

A refreshing sliced 1/2 orange for dessert.009

Total bill: $38.99

Always fresh and good.  A nice dinner out.

Nozomi (#1) 4637 Convoy #104 San Diego 92111 (858)569-7773

Nozomi (#2) 4159 Regents Park Row #190 La Jolla 92037 (858)452-7778

Camel’s Breath Inn- Nothing fancy. Good food.

Pubs and Pub Grub, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog, written by Kirk, ed(from Yuma), Cathy and a few others.  Today, Cathy is writing, since Kirk and His Missus are on another exciting vacation, and ed(from Yuma) is…well..apparently having a life.  

Hi.  Quick Saturday post. I hope your weekend is not too busy.  I'm just writing about places and food and various things I eat.  Nothing fancy. 

019

Back when the Padres played at Jack Murphy Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley, the Camel's Breath Inn was hopping before, during and after games, since basically it is walking distance to the stadium. It's in the same mall with the Stuart Anderson's, just East.

There are many televisions inside.  When the Chargers play, Camels Breath is very busy with the televisions and patrons partaking in adult beverages.  beer.

If you come here on Friday or Saturday nights, there is a cover charge and an..um.. interesting crowd who partake in karaoke, darts, pool, and dancing along with various beverages.

OK.  It's a dive.

With food. 014 

Decorated with Camels, stained glass, bar paraphernalia.

If you drop by during daylight hours, there is a lunch menu and a chalkboard, next to the large fiberglass camel inside.  There is also a small breakfast menu on weekends.

018

Since I include a photo of the table condiments in just about every post, here is the Camel's Breath array.  There was also mustard available.

017

The hot wings ($6) served with a ranch dressing.  A good ranch dressing. 

Lightly crispy and not too spicy. Good flavor. Nine pieces.

 

016

The flat iron steak, cooked medium rare.  Served with salad and fries, $7.95.  I got the salad with Thousand Island dressing and it was house made; eggy. 

The steak was cooked and seasoned perfectly, juicy and tender.  Just enough.

The fries were properly cooked, but were just average.  The salad was plentiful, had some cucumber and carrot as well as grape tomatoes in it and Romaine lettuce.

If you are in the area during the day, do stop by.  If it is an evening, you are on your own.

Camel's Breath Inn  10330 Friars Road, # 106  San Diego 92120 (619)281-1722

Sonic. A chain *finally* comes back to San Diego.

Chains, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. A few of us merely write about what we eat.  Today, while Kirk and His Missus are on vacation, Cathy is writing.  ed (from Yuma) is still in Yuma.

Hi again.  Sonic, a drive in, park, order out your window and have food delivered to your vehicle, then eat in your car restaurant, reminiscent of the drive in restaurants popular in the 1950's and 1960's is a chain which used to have a store in Chula Vista about 20 years ago.  We enjoyed driving up, having our food brought out to the car by a person on roller skates, and then eating our meal inside the car.  A kind of throwback to an easier time.  It must not have had much business, closed and the only time we got any kind of Sonic food was when we drove back East for Thanksgiving.

A few locations were still in California (there are over 3500 nationwide locations) and when I have had a craving for that food, The Mister and I could drive to El Centro, or Hemet for that Sonic "fix".   In fact, we did that this past November. 

DSC02356

All the locations pretty much look like this. 

and the menu pretty much looks like this.

DSC02353






DSC02357


DSC02358 DSC02359 DSC02360

The food is delivered to you in cardboard containers and paper bags. 

The cherry limeade is a popular favorite.

As is the chili-cheese dog and the burger on Texas Toast.

The Mister and I don't have to take that long drive any more!  The first of six San Diego Sonic locations opened a few weeks ago, in Santee.  There have been lines of cars daily.  To the point where after 10 a.m., vehicles are directed to a "staging area" and guided to drive in and park and order in an organized way.  Last Sunday, there were 60 vehicles waiting at 2 p.m..

However, Sonic opens at 5:30 in the morning.  I know this.

The menu is served all day, and there is a "Happy Hour" from 2-4 daily, with all beverages 1/2 price.001

The Mister and I merely get breakfast in the morning.  Odd, I know.

005

Three mini biscuits with sausage and gravy.

 

004

I get what I always crave: A cheese/egg/bacon toaster with lettuce and tomato (no extra charge) …so it is kind of a BLT with egg and cheese, on the wonderful Texas Toast.

The combo comes with a beverage and either fries or "tots", a Sonic Standard.

Once the other locations open, I hope the crowds will lighten up in Santee.  It's just food… good food. With wonderfull beverages.

Sonic,  locations nationwide. Website link

Too hot to cook, almost too hot to eat. A quick meal at Palomino’s.

Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog.  About food.  Kirk, ed (from Yuma), Cathy and a few others just write about what we eat. Today, Cathy is is writing.  Primarily because Kirk is on his way to Guatemala and ed (from Yuma) is…well, in Yuma.

Hi.  It really hit 100 degrees in the East County on Monday.  Dry, dry heat.  It was exhausting to be outside, dangerous to touch anything inside the car and kind of miserable.

I didn't want to cook and was not that hungry.

OK.  I lie.  I am pretty much always hungry.  But, well, not as much as usual.  I needed something refreshing.  As soon as it kind of sort of started too cool down, I headed West, toward the 15 and then one exit South, to Clairmont Mesa, took a left at the second light, Ruffin Road,  by the Registrar of Voters and a right into the parking lot.   Palominos #2.    I've posted about this place before (when it was cold out, and I wanted something to warm me).  It is a great taco shop. Satisfies many cravings as well as weather related meals…

I ordered, grabbed stuff from the "salad bar" area…which is really a salsa bar area, (but there are neon signs above it with "salad" above it) 001.

Then waited for our meals to be ready.

003

The Mister got a shrimp salad ($6.35).

Lots of lettuce, tomato and cucumber, 12 fresh cooked, fresh chilled, sweet, large shrimp, a whole avocado, some shredded cheese.  Served with the white dressing and sauces shown.  I always need to mix the sauces and some of the "Palomino" salsa from the bar to get the flavor I want.  Everything tastes good on its own, though. 

002

I ordered the campechana coctele ($10.50). More than 16 whole, fresh cooked and chilled shrimp, a good portion of fresh cooked and chilled, tender octopus and at least one, maybe two chopped avocados in a wonderful tomato based sauce with cucumber.  I tasted all the ingredients individually and only added hot sauce (and salsa) to the last half of the large, pretty solidly filled coctele bowl.  Just for a variation.

This was a very refreshing meal.  Hope you are getting through this heat wave.

Palomino's #2 9353 Clairmont Mesa Blvd., Suite I, 91911 (858)292-8470

A Friday meal and dessert (Phuong Trang and Big Joy Family Bakery)

Desserts, Vietnamese Restaurants

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog and Cathy is stepping in with a quick post.  Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are busy.

Hi again.  I went out to dinner just now and wanted to share.  Most of you know this parking lot. 009

A variety of businesses are in here.  Really.  In addition to the listed businesses,  there is a billiard place and a motorcycle place, Happy Family Bakery I think a Tae Kwon Do studio. 

Kirk pretty much considers Phuong Trang  MOR (middle of the road) Vietnamese It is good and where I bring friends who have never experienced Vietnamese food, for a first try.

So, we usually get three dishes when we eat out (one for each of us and 'one for the table'). tonight, 004

The calamari salad, which could be a meal in itself, was wonderful.  

The squid was poached perfectly and was soft and sweet.  The dressing was made with fish sauce, sesame oil which complimented the sesame seeds and chopped peanuts on top.  The fresh mint and papaya, along with the pickled carrots and turnip added great flavor and crunch to all of it.

001

The Mister ordered the broken rice with Tau Hu Ky(crispy tofu skin around ground shrimp) and a ground pork patty

The fried tofu skin was just right and the ground shrimp seasoned perfectly with ginger and some garlic and sweet rice wine.  The ground pork was grilled and juicy.  This was served with a salad of more pickled vegetables.002

I got my usual, Bun with cha gio chay (fried spring roll made with tofu). 

The Bun (rice noodles) were sticky but had a nice flavor.  The salad underneath the noodles was made with  leaf lettuce, plenty of mint and lots of thin cucumber peels.

The cha gio chay wrapper was lightly crispy, properly fried and the filling was very nice with a touch of fish sauce flavor.  Salty, but not soy sauce salty…

This was served with the fish sauce, which is pretty mild here.

We also had hot tea and the total for this meal was ~$23<

Then we walked next door, to Big Joy Family Bakery .  Because it was Friday, I got my usual loaf of organic raisin bread.012

005

The Mister got the red bean and fresh fruit (bananas, strawberries, kiwis), some canned mandarin oranges with French vanilla ice cream and ice bowl(topped with mini moochi and crushed peanuts). This is what it looked like halfway through.

…and a cup of drip coffee, which looks unusually large in this photo taken with my iPhone.

007

I got a custard filled croissant.  Buttery layers of dough, filled with a delightful creamy custard. 

All of the breads and pastries here are fresh made with quality ingredients. 

A nice night.

I hope you had a good one also.

Phuong Trang 4170 Convoy Street San Diego 92111 (858) 565-6750

Big Joy Family Bakery 4176 Convoy Street San Diego 92111 (858)627-0888

So Wrong, part one

What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!! is a blog about food, written by a few friends.  Today, ed (from Yuma) and Kirk are busy, so Cathy is stepping in with a short post.

Hi.  I haven't posted in a while.  Life has been kind of busy and both The Mister and myself had that fever/cough/crud/spitting thing going on, so, even though we were eating, nothing seemed interesting enough to write about.  But I took some photos anyhow.   I decided to share some oddities.  This is the first episode.

It was Lent.  40 days of some sort of sacrifice before Easter.  Usually people give up some sort of food as their sacrifice.  Sometimes it is just not eating meat.  Every fast food restaurant had some sort of fish sandwich/deal going on.

Wendy's Fish sandwich008, which was really good.

Jack in the Box had a great deal.013

My ever favorite McDonald's Filet O Fish Fridays011

Then, I saw this at Der Weinerschnitzel.

508

You know I had to stop and try it.

Because it looked ..so wrong… So very, very wrong.

509

Basically a fish stick on a hot dog bun, with lettuce and tartar sauce.  Less than $2. 

It did taste pretty good, quite a heavy/large fish stick which was fried properly and served on a steamed bun with iceberg lettuce and a vinegary tartar sauce.

Conclusion: don't judge by looks.

Secondary conclusion: There may be a Food Stylist job open soon.

It's almost the weekend.  Hope everyone has been having a good week, even though Tax Day was in the middle.