As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.
In my post on Et Voila during the time of Covid-19 "FOY" Lynnea (we love you Lynnea) mentioned that Kindred was doing takeout during this time. I was actually keeping track of what was being offered with what was called the "Greatest Hits" menu.
The other thing was that the cocktails that we wanted were being sold in portions of six (!!!!)……I mean, I had read that alcohol sales in San Francisco had increaed by 42 percent during the first month of Covid-19! I waited until there was something offered that we had enjoyed during our visits to the restaurant before making the special trip out of the way.
Finally, I saw that the "skewers" were on the menu…..and I had an excuse for heading out of the way……
Which I ordered ($10) along with the Golden Axe ($45). Ordering was easy, on the phone, as was pick-up……I simply walked up to the table to the right of the door and grabbed the packages with my name on it.
The Missus went thru the skewers like a hot knife cutting thru butter.
As for the cocktails, it was provided in a really nice bottle.
I went ahead an measured out, and indeed it was a solid 6 portions of 2/3 a cup for each.
So, shaked with ice. it made a solid cocktail……for three days!
So, perhaps if Kindred offered "the dip", we may do this again…..but man, six cocktails….man, that's a bit more than we wanted.
Though I will say the Missus really enjoyed those Seitan Skewers.
I needed to head on down to Siesel's yesterday. The Missus was working until late and I decided to also grab something to eat while I was in the area. I had noticed the previous week that Luce had reopened for takeout. They had pretty much held out for a bit. While places like Bay Park Fish Company, Poseidon Project, and even Dan Diego's had started doing take-out. I decided to go ahead and do a takeout order and pick it up after shopping at Siesel's.
What really surprised me was that Luce (as well as Bay Park Fish) had already started doing dine-in, since the approval was just given on the 21st, the day before! Talk about moving fast!
And there were indeed folks eating at both places.
We ( the Missus and I) are not quite ready to take that step yet…….I ordered the Lamb Tacos to go, along with a "Serrano Rita". After completing my shopping at Siesel's I walked over and picked up my prepaid order.
Here's a quick hint if you do order cocktails to go from Luce. Ask that they not put in on ice, as I was surprised to find my drink in a to-do plastic cup on ice. I quickly drove home and strained the drink removing the ice to ensure that it didn't get too watered down. And poured over fresh ice before consuming.
Things came packed nicely…..the photo is deceptive as the tacos were fairly hefty. I removed the tacos, which was more than enough for a light dinner.
The lamb was tender, though the marinade was a bit too sweet for my taste which really blocked out that "flavor" of the pasture of the lamb, which I usually enjoy.
Still, This wasn't bad.
The portion size of the remaining salad was quite generous and the Missus had that when She got home from work.
This was fine.
What was interesting were all the folks eating out……for the first time in probably almost ten weeks…..it seems like folks are just desperate for some kind of social normalcy.
I think I'll wait a while though……
Luce Bar & Kitchen 1959 Morena Blvd San Diego, CA 92110
At the dinner table a few nights back the Missus and I like I think many other folks are these days, were discussing about where we'd want to have our first dinner out "AC" (After Covid)……whenever that would be……I'm not sure how or when we'd feel comfortable enough to actually dine in; nor are we sure what changes would be in store for dining in. Yakitori Taisho was definitely on the top of that list. Granted, we haven't been back much after Taka-san left, but we were and are, craving yakitori.
By coincidence, on March 12th the Missus had plans to have dinner with Her friends so I decided to pay Taisho a visit.
It had been quite a while since I had walked thru the door at Taisho and hadn't visited since they expanded. The place now holds twice the amount of people, though it seems to have lost that cozy, intimate atmosphere…..which, in light of our current situation, may play in their favor when they do try to reopen.
I was greeted with a big smile from Kuma-san; who still remembers us from our visit to the original location of Yakyuudori in Nagoya, where he was manning the konro on that evening. He cracked us up, when he'd declare he was "better than Taka" while handing us our skewers! He does have some major Yakitori chops.
And of course; things started with some draft Sapporo.
And I was happy that nankotsu (chicken cartlidge) was on the menu. I really enjoy the distinct, crunchy-chewy texture of nankotsu.
I thoroughly enjoyed my Yakitori. I did notice that while Taka-san often had a lighter touch in terms of tare, salt, and carmelization; Kuma is more flavor forward…..knowing the personality of both of them, it just makes sense. It's all good!
Man, I really miss our meals at Taisho, what took me so long since I'd last visited? When the Missus got home from Her dinner, we chatted about Taisho and made plans on having dinner at Taisho in the near future. Then of course, March 16th came along. So, we're hoping to be able to safely and comfortably visit Taisho when we get on the other side of this pandemic. We're hoping……
Yakitori Taisho (Currently Temporarily Closed Due to You Know What) 5185 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. San Diego, CA 92117
I'm sure many of you are thinking about places you're missing, and hoping to have meals at once restaurants open for dining in and you feel comfortable with eating in a restaurant.
To continue with my "turo turo Covid-19" explorations; having not been to Manila Fast Food and Desserts in a while and having meetings starting at 11am, I headed on over knowing that MFF usually opens around 830-930. I got there at 10 and they were doing some pretty good business. Of the three Mira Mesa Turo-Turo places I visited, MFF had the best system, at least on my visit.
The employees made sure everyone was spaced out nicely, took orders in an orderly fashion; were masked and gloved up, took cash in a basket and returned it to you in a basket. I saw the woman working behind the counter change her gloves once…….even though she did not come into contact with customers at all.
I got the two item combo, Sisig (of course) and Beef Kaldereta, with a half portion of Pancit.
The Kaldereta was the better of the two items; the beef was surprisingly tender….it's a cheaper cut, but had a nice beefiness, the sauce was seasoned well, not overly salty, and had a nice acidic tanginess.
The Sisig had some nice crisp bits in it, but was on the waxy side and lacked spice and was kind of mild in the vinegar department.
The pancit was plain and while it had a nice texture; good al dente pull to it and not mushy, was on the bland side, but heck, as a rice replacement it did ok.
Overall, the most efficient Covid-19 process of the three turo-turo shops I visited in the Mira Mesa area. You can read about Soo's visit here.
Manila Fast Food and Desserts 8979 Mira Mesa Blvd San Diego, CA 92126
Back in the beginning of April, I noticed that Ramen Yamachan (which was around for just a blink of the eye after replacing Ramen Yamadaya) was gone and replaced with something called "EE Nami", I was just driving past, so really couldn't make much else out and didn't even think the place had opened yet. In the comments of my Easter post; FOY Jason mentioned if I had tried the new Izakaya on Clairemont Mesa…..which was EE Nami. I waited for a couple of weeks before checking out their website and calling tp pick up lunch on my way home during the weekend.
The young lady on the phone was very pleasant and told me they were serving an abbreviated take-out menu. I placed my order and headed over.
So, looking at the sign….."Tonkatsu Izakaya"….nice, it's been a while since I've had decent Tonkatsu in San Diego. It's definitely a niche to fill in my opinion.
I was in and out in a matter of minutes as my food was ready when I arrived.
I ordered the Loin Katsu, which looked very good when I opened it upon arriving home.
A couple of things I noticed as I went and tasted everything. The katsu sauce here is a bit more on the sweeter side; not cloying or anything, just a bit different from the typical Japanese Tonkatsu sauce, though definitely not a ketchupy as the katsu sauce in Hawaii. It was nice and thick and quite good. The miso soup is nothing to write home about and I really didn't expect much anyway.
But of course you wanna know about the tonkatsu, right? I really enjoyed how this was breaded; the panko wasn't coming off the meat a sign of good temperature (both in prep and cooking), it was super crisp even after the 15-20 minute drive home. The pork loin had a very pleasant texture…..a slight toothsomeness and was pork was decently moist. This was the best I've had in a while.
The following weekend I ordered the Menchi Katsu, basically breaded and fried meatball…..man, when was the last time I had this?
I didn't find this to be quite as good as the tonkatsu. While again nicely breaded, I thought the ground pork was rather bland and while moist, it was a bit too mushy in texture for me. I prefer my menchi katsu to have some heft and meatiness to it. The cheese would have been a good textural contrast if the meat wasn't so mushy.
I had planned on doing another visit, but for some reason things kinda fell by the wayside. Until "Elle" asked me about EE Nami in the comments of my latest post on R&B….it was a great reminder. So between meetings I called and placed an order. The guy who answered the phone was really friendly and told me they were out of Pork Filet and the Sandos (sandwiches). I had been wanting to try the karaage before finally doing my post, so that's what I went with.
I'm thinking that word is getting out on EE Nami as there were two customers waiting outside and two inside when I arrived.
There were take-out packages lining the counter and the young man running the front was really hustling.
While doing a great job of disinfecting the counters, anywhere customers touched, and especially the handles on the doors. And he was super efficient as well. Kudos to him.
I did have short wait for my order; as the folks who were there before got their orders; two phone orders and two walk in orders were placed.
I picked up the Loin Tonkatsu for one of my coworkers (which he loved) and got my Chicken Karaage.
This style of karaage were chicken thighs (as it should be), basically half thighs, instead of cut into smaller pieces. It wasn't heavily battered and not particularly crisp….I prefer my karaage to have some crunch to them (with more potato starch and baking soda, as in what I make at home – though I have about a dozen different recipes). The chicken was very moist, but I think it was marinated too long and was on the salty side.
I definitely think the tonkatsu here is a keeper and I'll definitely return for more….maybe this week even! I got to peek at the entire menu, which looked promising and can't wait until we're past our current state of things to try some what I saw.
Really liked the folks working here as well. It seems like they're doing fairly well, I'm hoping for the best.
Current, Covid-19 Takeout Hours are Tuesday – Sunday, 11am – 2pm and 5pm – 8pm.
EE Nami 4706 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. San Diego, CA 92117 858-246-6903
Just another collection of "stuffs" we've been eating at home…..
The weather seems to be see-sawing a bit….first record heat, then rain with cooler weather followed-up by almost record heat, then misty mornings….looks like perhaps "May Gray" has settled in? Anyway, soup weather, at least in our household seems on the way out….except for the mushroom and potato leek soup.
The Missus actually requested Carne en su Jugo…..literally "meat cooked in it's own juices"……so, I borrowed a recipe from the recently published Rancho Gordo Heirloom Bean Guide since I was going to use their beans anyway. And anything that starts with bacon and bacon fat sounds good, right?
For me, the key to making this were the tomatillos; the Missus didn't want any stock used, so I made twice the amount of what amounts to a salsa verde for the soup.
The Missus's most recent "out of the blue" request? Patatas al Ajillo (garlic potatoes), to this Spanish staple I added to of the Missus's foundation items…….a fried egg and lardons.
As we seem to be switching to more warm weather dishes…..
And we've been kind of trading food with our friends as well. Frankie's Auntie "Alle", like many folks I know have been obsessed with making a certain dish…..I've read about all the sourdough obsessions going on; Alle, well, she was determined to make the perfect focaccia. Not any focaccia mind you; but Foccacia Triggiano, from the region in Italy where her dad is from and currently resides. It got to the point where she actually ordered flour from Puglia!
And we were the beneficiaries….
This type of focaccia, much like Foccacia Barese which I've had, uses potato, along with flour……
So yes, we've been eating rather well…..though we still miss going out to eat a couple of times a week.
Funny thing, there's one item that keeps hanging on….that the Missus isn't tired of yet.
Welcome to March 73rd….or something like that. In a way I'm glad to be super busy with work, otherwise I'd just be out of sorts, I think the days would all just roll into one another…….of all the things I enjoy doing, going out and eat is a big one. and more than that; I think it's the fact that we "can't" do something that is driving us a bit crazy. The Missus and I have been looking for a bit of normalcy. We were chatting about just going out for Happy Hour. I quickly recalled that one of the Missus's favorite spots, Et Voila was doing Curbside and window pick-up. And even better, with the relaxing of ABC regulations, they had two of our favorite cocktails available for pick-up. Reminder; you still need to order food if ordering cocktails for pick-up, so don't go all crazy, ok?
Anyway, the drill was easy, you place an order on the Et Voila website, along with pick-up time, pay using Pay Pal (you don't need a Pay Pal account), and get to the window at pick-up time.
To be perfectly honest; EV wasn't offering any of our favorites for takeout; but I managed to find a couple of items, which turned out to be pretty good.
And then of course, there was this.
Man, these were really good…a bit too good! Much stiffer than what I recall having in the restaurant. And the Huckleberry Bourbon was much better than what we had during Happy Hour last time. And man, the Tequila Mockingbird…..I was getting over a sinus infection and that baby just cleared me up.
As for the food; well, I got the Gazpacho which was refreshing, especially with the hot weather.
No sure what was up with the guacamole, it really didn't do much for the dish. The Missus drizzled on some nice olive oil……and then reminded me that I should plan on making some Salmorejo soon.
We both enjoyed the simple Baguette Pâté-Cornichons.
The Missus isn't much of a mustard fan; but She loved the Dijon provided. It helped, along with the brightly flavored cornichons to cut the rustic flavor of the pate. This was a very nice sandwich for eight bucks.
In the end it was worth going a bit off course….I've been trying to consolidate trips to places along a certain route….but this, along with Sushi Tadokoro were well worth the detour. It helped us to escape from all the craziness going on right now…..we did have our own little Happy Hour sitting in the backyard….in fact the Missus, thinking out loud said, "do you think they'll keep selling the to-go cocktails when this is all over?"
Currently, Et Voila has pick-up times set for 12-2pm and 4-8pm daily. The online form is easy to fill out. They are currently doing orders for same day pick-up.
One good thing about not being the most "popular kid" in the San Diego Food Blogging Class is the lack of Spam emails….at least these days. Though once in a while I'll get a couple….they're mostly rather harmless and annoying, but occasionally there would be one like I caught about 3-4 weeks ago. It really ticked (off course I was more than "ticked" but you get the point) me off because it was somewhat racist in content, actually describing Filipino "turo-turo" joints as the breeding ground for Coronavirus, and finished off with a "slogan", you can guess what it was. For some reason, it really bugged me, because as a whole I haven't run into any real xenophobic/obnoxious/racist folks during this pandemic….except for the one guy at Costco who yelled at me "your kind are causing Coronavirus"….while (of course) driving away….there's always once, right? So, instead of letting it stew, I decided to do what would probably bug this individual the most. I'd go and check out those turo-turo places and let's see how they're doing. And to stretch things out; I'll probably do this in two or three parts.
They were doing some decent business when I arrived.
You need to find your box……..it's ok to think (and dream) outside the box….but if you want your food….stay inside the box.
So, you can see that things are pretty well organized. The only issue I saw was that even though there's space for one at the register and one at the steam table….folks are used to walking back and forth….so the customer at the register wanted to look at something on the right, while the person now at the steam table wanted to check out how the sisig was doing on the left and they kept passing each other. Well, at least they had face coverings on.
I decided on the sisig and a nice hot tray of Bicol Express came out while I was in line so I got that.
The sisig, while not perfect, is my favorite in the MM area. The Lechon Kawale is not overly waxy and has a decent texture and there's more spice and a nice amount of vinegar.
I wasn't as fond of the Bicol Express as it had a strong "livery" flavor, lacked spice and not enough bagoong. It was also, as you can see, really greasy.
Overall, I was just happy to have sisig. And as you can see; there are procedures in place to handle spacing and other issues.
Heck, I just might need another sisig fix soon….so, if you see a middle aged Asian guy sporting a "Covid-19-in-need-of-a-visit to-the barber mullet" that might be me! On second thought, that might not be a rare sighting these days!
R & B Filipino Cuisine 11257 Camino Ruiz San Diego, CA 92126
These days, I usually get to work between 515-530am….and sometimes, like on this day, there’s an unending chain of meetings, calls, and fires to put out. It was past noon and I decided to call Smack’N Guamanian Grill to see if they were open. And the young man who answered said they are open from noon from Monday – Saturday right now, so lucky me I guess since if I’d called earlier there might have been no answer and I would have assumed that the place wasn’t open.
Anyway I placed my order, jumped in the car, and went down the street to Snack’N.
At this time, Smack’N is only accepting Credit Card transactions; no cash.
My BBQ Chicken plate was waiting; it was less than 5 minutes to pay, grab, and go.
Returning to the office, I removed the plate from the package and opened it……the first thought that went thru my mind when I saw the plate was; “sheesh, even my lunch is wearing a mask now!”
This might be the best plate I’ve had from Smack’N! The chicken was much better, nicely “grilled”, fairly moist, decently tender, good salty-soy tones, much better then what I had before. The best thing about having the chicken on top of the red rice was that the drippings had permeated the rice; adding additional moisture and flavor, a winning combination.
The Kelaguen was pretty much what I’d had on my previous visit; lacking in coconut and spice, with good citrus tones and not overly salty. Sadly I was given one small container of finedene.
Overall, this did the job….and it was way too much food. The chicken was much better than what I’d had previously and better than what I’ve had at other Guamanian/Chamorro places in San Diego…..heck, I’d even take it over most of the generic Hawaiian BBQ places in town.
I ended up taking most of the Kelaguen home to have the Missus try it out….She wasn’t too impressed and ended up pouring a ton of the stuff I had in the fridge on it. And guess what the Missus had me make that sweltering weekend?
Still, I did enjoy that chicken, so I’ll definitely return.
Smack’N Guamanian Grill
9506 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92126
Currently open at noon (closed Sundays) and only accepting credit cards
Since we had only planned on one full night in Salzburg, the Missus really wanted to make the most of our time; we'd started with the Old Town, then "hiked" up to Hohensalzburg Fortress. We decided to head on back to the room to freshen up and then grab some dinner. We took a fairly "scenic" route, walking thru Kapitelplatz.
"Everyman" was still standing on his golden orb, looking off into the distance at “Frau im Fels”, his female counterpart. We tried to get a photo from here, but it was basically impossible.
We crossed thru Residenzplatz, you can tell what a beautiful day it was…..
We crossed over the Salzach River and headed to the Seminary where we were spending the night….the Missus suddenly realized that She needed some balls……ahem, Mozart Balls that is, for some folks back home. Luckily there was a location of Cafe Konditorei Fürst nearby; Mozart Balls or more properly Mozartkugel was created in Salzburg in 1890 by Paul Fürst, so it was only right that we would get some for the Missus's friends.
It was just up the street from the Seminary, so we stopped by and the Missus got Her gifts.
Cafe Konditorei Fürst Mirabellplatz 5A Salzburg, Austria
We headed back to Gästehaus im Priesterseminar.
Freshened up; no time for nap on this day and went through options for dinner.
We decided on something fairly close to our accommodations in the "New Town" and after looking thru my list decided on Gablerbrau, which seemed to have a nice selection of beer and some good dishes.
The folks here are very friendly and the place did actually "look the part"……
We placed our orders and of course, I got some beer…..which was quite good.
The bread was fragrant, adequately moist, and decent overall.
We ordered one starter, the "Tafelspitzsulze" jellied beef….since we enjoy jellied meat dishes. This however, was fairly uninspired; the jellied meat overly hard instead of chewy.
The produce was good; though the dressing not to our taste.
Right about this time groups of customers started coming in.
And the staff handled things quite well. Service was very good.
The Missus wasn't too hungry, so She ordered the special for that day; the Duck Salad.
That tomato was delicious, as were the crisp and pleasantly bitter greens. The duck was over-cooked and tough though.
I ordered the Oxtail Braised in Red Wine.
Which was served with Parsley Potatoes. The oxtail didn't look very appetizing as it was almost totally black. It was tender, though strangely bland, except for being on the bitter-greasy side. The potatoes were nicely seasoned, but undercooked; the centers still being too hard and crisp.
A fairly inauspicious meal; though, like I mentioned earlier, we enjoyed the service and I liked the beer.
Gablerbräu Linzer Gasse 9 Salzburg, Austria
I was ready to call it a day; perhaps grab a beer or two…..but of course, the Missus had other plans. After a bit of discussion, we (She) decided we should head up Kapuzinerberg the hill which is on the opposite side of the Salzach from the Old Town and Hohensalzburg Fortress.
There are several viewpoints ("Aussicht") along the way and the views are wonderful.
There are ancient walls along the way……this was used to enclose a Capuchin Monastery that was built on this hill during the 16th and 17th century.
Looking down, the Missus and I were quite envious of the folks having drinks and meals on the makeshift rooftop "terraces" below. I'm thinking we'll try to find one of these places to stay at when we're back in Salzburg.
We took in a bit more of the views before finding some stairs and heading back down to Steingasse. There are a bunch of bars and brewpubs on the street, but I was kinda pooped and we decided to head back to Gästehaus im Priesterseminar; the seminary we were staying at.
There's a reason so many love Salzburg……not the least of which is how picturesque the city is.
The Missus asked me if I wanted to stop at a shop to pick up a beer on the way back to the room…..but I had noticed something when we had left the seminary in the morning.
Near the elevators on the bottom floor of the seminary were several vending machines….and one of them had beer…..in a vending machine…..in Salzburg…..in a Seminary Guesthouse!
It was a pretty warm evening; there's no A/C in the rooms, so we left the windows open. Turns out the street right behind the seminary is lined with bars and things were pretty noisy….which kept me up for a while, until the Radler kicked in and sailed off to never-never land.
We got up fairly early the next morning; breakfast was provided with the room……
Since out train didn't leave until 1pm, and the train station was a fairly short walk away, we checked out, left our bags at reception and headed out. There was one site which was almost across the street that I wanted to see.
Mirabell Gardens. Part of the Mirabell Palace complex; yes, the gardens are beautiful, bright, green, wonderful statues…..designed in in the late 17th century, it is quite wonderful. But there's another reason tourists flock here.
It's really hard for kid raised in the 60's and 70's to not have seen The Sound of Music and one of the most memorable scenes was filmed in Mirabell Gardens. Who can forget this one….try NOT to hum along….
So you might recognize this fella…..
And this is a view from the steps…..
I couldn't help but smile…….
And I'm sure many folks were enjoying, if not actually trying to act out (it was more fun watching some of the folks) their Do-Re-Mi moment.
From here we decided to head back to the Old Town for one last stroll…..plus there was one last thing I wanted to see….so we walked past the Salzburg Christ Church.
And crossed over the Makartsteg Footbridge, lined with "Love Locks".
Not sure why; but stuff like Astronomical Clocks and the like always fascinated me. This actually measures the barometric pressure, temperature, and humidity.
Having fulfilled my geekiness we wandered around a bit more.
It was a lovely day and Cafe Tomaselli was doing some major business.
And all the carriages were ready to go in front of the cathedral.
And "Everyman" was still staring off to his love somewhere in the hills above.
So all was well in Salzburg……
We did some last minute shopping…..
Then went to pick up our bags and headed off to the train station.
I think we'll be back someday….I need to get a good meal here after all.
In my post on Et Voila during the time of Covid-19 "FOY" Lynnea (we love you Lynnea) mentioned that Kindred was doing takeout during this time. I was actually keeping track of what was being offered with what was called the "Greatest Hits" menu.
Which I ordered ($10) along with the Golden Axe ($45). Ordering was easy, on the phone, as was pick-up……I simply walked up to the table to the right of the door and grabbed the packages with my name on it.
