mmm-yoso – Page 162

Sieu Sieu BBQ Revisited

August 16, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants

As a sign of how long I've been doing this blog…..do you remember what was in the spot before Sieu Sieu BBQ opened in this spot in 2008? You'd be right if you said Maui Maui Hawaiian BBQ…funny how it went from one reduplicated name to another, eh? And before that; wasn't it something like Yakimono restaurant…..and for bonus points; do you remember when Sieu Sieu BBQ was in Linda Vista? Sheesh…..

Anyway, this one has been sitting around for a while. I took a revisit; it had been a couple of years.

I decided to get Ga Muoi – "salt chicken", something akin to Kwai Fei Chicken and Roast Pork with rice ($8.95).

The chicken came with the minced ginger and scallion "dip" and was on the dry side, but was nicely flavored….the ginger was chopped much too coarsely for my taste, making the flavor too strong.

The skin on the roast pork was too thick and hard and as you can see; the meat was really dry. Can't say it was bland though. Too bad, because on my last visit; the pork was way better than the roast duck…..

The rice, night have been the best I've ever had here, moist, hot, fragrant.

Well, even though the price was right…..it'll be a while before I return again.

Sieu Sieu BBQ
7420 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Midweek Meanderings – Guest Kabob Replacing Hunan Kitchen, Isshido Coming to Mira Mesa, and Menya Ultra’s Second Location

August 15, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

So, I decided to take a the REALLY long route to this office this past weekend……well, let's call it what is was….procrastination. I ended driving up Convoy to check on Hunan Kitchen a.k.a. Noodle Hut a.k.a. Tǔjiā Xiāng Cài and here's what I found:

Hunan Kitchen being replaced by "Guest Kabob":

At least that's what the sign says.

I saw the construction on the place a few weeks earlier…..I had hoped that Hunan kitchen would stay….but looks like we're going to have the sixth restaurant in this spot in the last 7 years.

4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Isshido replacing Submarina in Mira Mesa:

I drove up to Mira Mesa….just, well, because. A bit hungry, I turned into the parking lot near Habit Grill and saw this in the now defunct Submarina spot.

I stopped and took a look. I'm not sure what type of restaurant Isshido is going to be. Doing a Google search yielded nothing. So I'm not quite sure what's going on here.

8250 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

I ended up grabbing a late breakfast/lunch across the street….that'll be in a future post. On the way out of the parking lot, I decided to check out…..

Menya Ultra's Mira Mesa location:

Which is right next to Grocery Outlet. With all that brown paper up; it's hard to tell what's going on here.

8141 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

So there you go….one morning of procrastination was pretty productive, even before I got into the office, don't you think?

Emilia-Romagna – The “Devils Bridge” and a Mona Lisa Mystery in Bobbio and Easter Lunch at Osteria Carducci (Piacenza)

August 14, 2018 mmm-yoso Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Travel

Let's be perfectly honest here….I love obscure history and places; thus my love for Atlas Obscura. And since there's no sponsors or advertising on our humble little blog, you know I'm not getting anything out of recommending both the book and the website. And sometimes, I can get the Missus interested in searching something out as well….in fact, once that seed is planted, She is much more relentless than I am.

That is why; after having breakfast in the Agritourismo, we headed off to Bobbio. Driving thru Piacenza, which would be our stop for lunch, then alongside the River Trebbia. As we came across a bridge the Missus asked that we make a little detour.

To the charming medieval town of Travo.

Since this was a spur of the moment kind of thing; we really didn't do any research, nor plan any stops. We just took in the relaxed vibe and beauty of the town. We parked along one of the side streets and stretched our legs a bit.

I believe that's the Church of Saint Anthony in the photo above.

It was Easter morning and we could singing coming from the church.

We watched as two elderly men parked their walkers and entered the church; the harmonies briefly escaping from the door as they walked in.

This is so vastly different from the life we live here in San Diego……

It was fun sitting on a stone wall and watching folks go about their day.

We took a walk across the bridge to take in the town….that's the second photo above.

From there it was a short 20 minute drive to the town of Bobbio. It seemed that Bobbio had a restricted traffic zone; at least on this day, Easter. I found parking in the Supermarket parking lot and after asking one really nice lady for directions headed in the direction of Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge"), also known as Ponte Gobbo ("Hunchbacked Bridge") and Ponte Diavolo (you know this one, right?).

What's the reason for wanting to see this bridge? Well, perhaps it's the story that the Devil built the bridge over the River Trebbia in hope of receiving a soul of the first person crossing it as payment. The Devil however was tricked as St. Columbanus, who made the deal with the Devil, had a dog (or a bear) be the first to cross the bridge! The irregularity of the bridge is due to either the Devil's workers not being able to build something of consistent heights….oooor the Devil got so angry in being tricked that he kicked the bridge making it lopsided!

Take your pick…..it's a great story whichever you choose to; or not to believe!

As great as that story is, the real reason we came here is because of….well, you may recognize her.

So, what does the Mona Lisa have to do with Ponte Vecchio? Well, according Art Historian Carla Glori, the background in this iconic painting is not some imaginary landscape, but Bobbio! Shades of the Da Vinci code Batman! Here's an interview of Carla Glori. So, of course, we just had to check it out. As did quite a few other folks, of the two and four legged kind.

We both thought the bridge was quite beautiful……

There seems to be interesting things everywhere around the bridge.

We spent a good amount of time before heading back across the bridge and exploring Bobbio.

Unlike sedate Travo, Bobbio was bustling……I later learned that folks usually leave their homes to visit other places during the Easter Holiday.

And I really regretted not doing a bit more shopping here.

I'm thinking as much as we really enjoyed Bobbio, that we'll return and perhaps stay here one day in the future.

It was soon time to head off. I thought we'd have the best chance to find a place to eat in Piacenza so we headed back to the city, which was strangely quiet. I later found out that many folks head out of Parma and Piacenza during the long Easter weekend to be with family or friends. We soon found that Piacenza had its own ZTL zone, but we quickly found parking. And as I was getting ready to pay, one of the folks across the street told us…or at least signaled…letting us know that parking was free during Easter.

We headed down the quiet streets looking for a place I had on my list named Osteria Carducci. Past the Gotico and down Piazza Cavalli….Google Maps was my best friend right now.

All the businesses and even restaurants looked closed; but when we took the left turn at Via Giosuè Carducci, I knew we'd be okay….well, I knew that at least the place was open. The light in the sign was on and there were cars parked alongside the building.

We entered the place, which was bustling, to the surprise of the folks behind the bar. Somehow, in the middle of Eater rush, two Asians walk in!

We were told that they could provide a table for us; but the menu for today was an Easter menu. Which would be no problem; especially since all the vino (for the Missus) was free!

We were led downstairs, which was quite busy. By the time we left every table had been filled…….and no one except us had left yet.

Soon enough, plates started arriving at the table. We were a bit confused as there seemed to be a choice of two items as the primi and secondi……the really nice young lady who spoke really great English explained that this was the menu. We'd be getting everything on it! Yikes! And of course places like these do not do take-away…..these was going to be interesting. The young lady seemed quite amused with us.

Things started off with the Culaccia con Flan de Verdure. Culatello! My flavorite salumi….I ate both my portion and the Missus's. The flan was a moist, though highly caramelized zucchini and ricotta pastry, much lighter than it looked.

We thought we might be able t survive this until two bowls filled with Piacenzi Tortelli con la coda (tortelli with a "tail"), the city's namesake stuffed pasta arrived.

The pasta was both springy and tender; the filling was quite rich and creamy. I could make out ricotta, perhaps a bit of chard or other similar greens, some milky-salty cheese, it was quite satisfying, and filling. The sage butter sure didn't hurt things either.

A minute later, out came two plates of Nidi di Rondini (Swallows nests); roasted rolled pasta, with a nice crunch; rolled around cheese and salumi in a very tasty asparagus cream.

Crunchy-creamy-cheesy goodness.

Next up; the Roasted Veal and Potatoes.

Nicely roasted if a bit on the chewy side…..very nice gravy….but man, a whole plate of potatoes!

The pistachio crusted lamb ribs were quite tasty….the lamb nice and gamey, but also on the tough and dry side.

The mint and yogurt sauce helped a bit.

The Missus and I looked at each other and cracked up……..this was way more than we wanted. Then dessert arrived.

Luckily, this was a light chocolate mousse topped with a tangy fruit compote.

We'd made it…we survived….then the cake arrived.

The Missus discreetly got some paper towels out of Her purse and snuck these away. Yes, we smuggled cake out of Osteria Carducci.

We did enjoy ourselves and the folks here were so warm, friendly, and welcoming. And after this, well, "hearty" would be an understatement….meal, we skipped dinner.

They sure don't mess around with Easter lunch at Osteria Carducci.

Osteria Carducci
Via Giosue' Carducci 6
Piacenza, Italy

We really needed to take a walk after that meal. So we wandered around a bit and ran into the Duomo of Piacenza.

The Cathedral of Piacenza was built between the 12th and 13th centuries in the Romanesque style. It is quite striking.

And the square in front of the Cathedral was fairly busy. This was the most people we saw during our afternoon in Piacenza.

It was fun seeing folks socializing and having a good time.

That's the Column of the Virgin Mary in the photo below.

We took a few minutes to walk around the interior of the Cathedral.

And then decided to head back to the car. I'd taken photos with my phone of the landmarks on the way from where we parked; but we were just down the street from Sant'Antonino Basilica.

And soon enough, we were on our way back to Parma.

It had been a been a fun day…..and Bobbio, I think we'll be back someday!

Thanks for reading!

Ramen Ryoma (Clairemont Mesa)

August 13, 2018 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

**** This location of Ramen Ryoma has closed

For some reason, the folks at work got really excited when I told them about Ramen Ryoma opening on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in the old Bangkok West location. It has been so hot the last couple of weeks that the last thing I really wanted was ramen….especially a place that touts serving Sapporo (= rich/thick) style broth. Still, I got talked into having lunch here on a day when the temps in the area was closing in on triple digits. You know; I'm kinda wishing we were back in Sapporo right now.

We were among the first seated in the spacious and (thankfully) well air conditioned restaurant. The young lady and the really friendly guy who look like the floor leads are really nice, professional, amiable…..though the rest of the crew looked a bit lost at times.

The menu consists of several iterations of ramen, including the now de rigueur spicy ramen, and of course, since this is a Sapporo style shop; a corn and butter version as well.

I just went with the Chicken Karaage and the Deluxe Ryoma Ramen ($12.25), since folks were getting shio broth; I decided to try out the shoyu broth.

Since this is a new shop; bumps in the road were to be expected. Not all ramen places can have their act together like Menya Ultra from opening day. We watched as our ramen sat in the window for a good 15 minutes before it seems like all the floor staff noticed it there and rushed to the bowls. They then took a few minutes to double check the orders.

So when the bowls arrived at our table the broth, which I'm figuring wasn't very hot to start, was barely over lukewarm. A note about the broth; it is a fairly rich, tonkotsu-ish broth, with definite pork tones. At this temp; there was a kind of greasy tongue feel to it; not rich in say the way of the thick Iekei style or Seabura ramen we had in Japan; but just kind of oily and greasy. It was also quite salty.

The tamago was a plain boiled egg, a tad over-cooked.

The noodles had not held up well, had lost its "spring", and were a bit too mushy for my taste. Not good when using this type of thicker and wavy noodles. Also, as you can see the broth had started to really thicken and globs of it stuck to the noodles. The chashu was full of soy sauce – lightly sweet tones, but was dry and tough.

The Chicken Karaage ($6.50) looked a bit light in color, but was slightly crisp, if not perfectly fried.

It was also a bit on the bland side in terms of being karaage; as I think it needed more of that soy-mirin flavor with perhaps ginger or garlic tones; but you know how I am about my chicken karaage….and all the possibilities. I'm glad they used dark meat chicken and I think once they get everything dialed in; this will be pretty good.

I have bad habit of not following up with second visits soon enough; hence no Hachi Ramen or Trust Restaurant posts. I have to go back to square one (or square three in the case of Hachi) on those. So, in spite of the heat, I decided to return for a second visit this past weekend.

Same really nice crew working. I really like the young lady who I think is in charge of the front of house here. She is quite patient and very friendly.

I decided to go with the Shio Ramen; noodles extra firm, with a tamago…..and I got a nice laugh as one of the young ladies took my order without batting an eye; then walked over to the other woman and asked what's a "too-maa-go".

A couple of things I quickly noticed when the bowl arrived. Look at that huge piece of chashu! This time around it was nice and tender, but also very salty. Do you notice the tamago; doesn't it look like it's "seasoned" this time around?

The broth was quite rich and much like Santouka, it seems that the shio (salt) version is actually less salty than the shoyu ramen. It is a hearty broth, with some smokey tones, not bad overall.

The noodles were nice and firm; good slightly chewy-doughy texture, and you can see having the broth at the right temperature allows it to attach itself nicely to the noodles.

The egg was perfectly cooked; though it still tasted like a regular boiled egg. It was nice and lukewarm.

I enjoyed the service at Ryoma; though the ramen might be a bit too oily (and that says a lot) for my tastes. It's definitely not bad. It's really too hot for visit number three right now, so I'll wait awhile for cooler weather and give the place time to get their systems in order before I return.

On my first visit as we drove back to the office; Calvin said; "I'm glad Ryoma is here….maybe there'll be no wait at Menya Ultra anymore." We soon drove past Menya Ultra….there were at least a dozen people waiting outside with temps in the high 90's.

I don't know…..that might be wishful thinking.

Ramen Ryoma
9119 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123
Hours:
Open Daily 1130am – 10pm

Please check out Kirbie's post on Ramen Ryoma here.

No Pho at Pho 46

August 10, 2018 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

I was just about to finish up another post when I luckily checked the news and decided it wouldn't be appropriate to do that post today. So here's something I had on the back burner for a while.

When our office first moved back to the area, I started checking out a bunch of different places. I recalled having a decent meal at Pho 46 a while back, so I decided to return.

There seems to be a different set of folks working here these days. That woman who works the front of house often takes orders, buses, and delivers the food all by herself….yet she was very pleasant on both my visits.

I recalled the Shrimp Fried Rice to be decent; in an "old school" kind of way so I ordered that – it was not bad for $7.50.

The rice was not as evenly stir fried as on my previous visit; though the shrimp was nice and plump, good job there. Typical frozen peas and carrots and this needed soy sauce to ramp up the flavor a bit; but not bad at all.

I also ordered the Chicken Wings with Spicy Salt again; this one is now $4.95 for four good sized wings.

A bit sweeter than I recalled; the crispness didn't last for very long, and there was a bit greasiness to these. It was decently fried; perhaps a bit on the dry side. Again, not terrible, not great…..I'd probably not have these again though.

The menu at "46" is pretty darn large…….105 dishes at last count….enough to give you "Vietnamese Menu Overload Syndrome". On my last visit; I decided to try out the combination stir fry with XO sauce ($7.95). I kinda cracked up when it arrived at my table.

It looks like the "tai" for pho is doing double duty here. Sadly the shrimp was overcooked as was the chicken….and even the onions. The sauce was a really watered down XO sauce cut with soy sauce and sugar….I also got the "ms-heebie-jeebies" from this as well. Not good eats.

It was on this visit that I noticed Bann had opened in the structure in front of Pho 46. The food there seems much fresher and the ingredients better. Though you really can't complain much about the prices here. And who knows when I'll have a craving for "old school" fried rice?

Pho 46
9508 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92126

Still Eating to Beat the Heat – Izakaya Sakura and La Miche

August 9, 2018 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Lebanese Restaurants

OK, so it's supposed to start getting cooler this weekend. But until then, it's still way hot. I really don't think you want to read about Ramen Ryoma now, right? That'll have to wait until perhaps next week. Here are a couple of revisits.

Izakaya Sakura:

While my last couple of revisits to Sakura haven't been very pleasant, this restaurant which finally put up a sign after two decades, finally got me to come back in. It was hot; I was between meetings; the parking lot wasn't very full, so why not? Strangely, there was only one other couple in the entire place during my meal.

I ordered an old warm weather favorite; the Ebi Kakiage Zaru Udon….some nice chewy noodles and a cold dashi based broth.

Man, did they always pile on the light and crunchy fried morsels like this? Nothing like a cold noodle soup on a day that was so hot and strangely….in San Diego terms muggy. And still only ten bucks.

What had started turning me off in the past was the rather perfunctory and unpleasant service. Service today was quite pleasant and efficient….hey; they even refilled my water. Of course, with only three customers in the place…..

We'll see what happens on my next visit.

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St Ste 121
San Diego, CA 92111

**** Sadly, La Miche has closed

La Miche:

Another hot weather favorite of ours; I'm surprised to say we hadn't been here since last October. My bad. I dropped by on the way home from work and picked up some take-out. The Missus's favorites; Muhamarah, Shaankleesh, Baba Gannoush, and since they were out of Soujouk, some Makanek.

They even made up some fresh bread for us! This is one of the few places where the Missus will order Baba Gannoush; it's slightly smokey, doesn't use too much tahini, and that olive oil drizzled on it adds a nice grassy-earthy flavor. Of course I love the nutty and sweet Muhamarak and the funky cheesy Shaankleesh.

With some nicely chilled local cherry tomatoes and Persian cucumbers…..well, this was perfect.

It was also nice chatting with the owner Nabih; who is such a gentleman.

I need to eat here more often.

La Miche Kabobgee
9350 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123

Royal Garden

August 7, 2018 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Royal Garden has closed

A few months back I was heading to the 15 North, and much like how I've noticed many places while driving in the area, saw that the former Five Star Banquet Hall that had become a Vietnamese – Chinese banquet hall, was now serving food to the public.

So, I did a quick U-turn and drove into the parking lot to check the hours. The following weekend; after working for a few hours; I drove down to the area to check the place out.

And yes; it is indeed a banquet hall; from the dance floor, stage, and lighting…..to the pressed white table cloth.

As you can see in the photos above; I was the only customer in the place. The two women working were really friendly.

I wasn't sure if I should try the butter wings or the fish sauce version. The woman working sincerely told to try the fish sauce wings first.

The wings were of decent quality; no dark spots or broken bones. I liked the size of them as well. I did think the sauce was too sweet for my taste and these weren't fried well; making the skin quite gummy.

I had also ordered the Pho Dac Biet.

And, as you can tell by the sprouts and herbs above; was prepared to be disappointed.

But when the pho arrived at my table; I as pleasantly surprised.

The broth was crystal clear; there was even a hint of beefiness in the fragrance. It wasn't overly salty, had a hint of anise and onion, and wasn't too bad at all.

The proteins really surprised me. The tai; rare beef was nicely rare, and of better quality than the typical top round. It as quite tender. The tendon was also another winner.

The noodles were decently prepared and as a whole; I really enjoyed this bowl. Now when was the last time I had a decent bowl of pho at a new place?

It didn't hurt that the two women working were really nice as well. I'd noticed a bunch of things on the menu that I wanted to check out. A few weeks later; Calvin and I had a chance to runaway for lunch.

I had mentioned trying the Bo Tai Chanh….strange, but Calvin; whose Missus is Vietnamese had never heard of this dish before. I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised as he'd never heard of Bun Mam or even Bun Mang Vit until having lunch with me. Anyway; Bo Tai Chanh is a beef salad in Lime Juice.

This was a pretty decent version; though I wish the beef was a bit more rare. It was also a tad on the sweet side; but squeezing lime on it balanced out the flavors. There were a few hidden chilies; which added some zip to things and I loved the onions as well. The fried shallots added some sweetness and the peanuts; that earthy-nutty flavor. This was quite refreshing on a super hot day. Calvin was all over this….

I also ordered the Thit Heo Nuong; basically a marinated pork salad.

Which was fairly routine; though the pork was nice and tender, the marinade was on the salty side. Still, if you need a salad……

Calvin wanted some noodles and asked if they did Hi Tieu Ap Chao….which is how we came to find the "other" menu. Which had some interesting dishes on it.

So even if the Stir Fried Hi Tieu was bland and routine.

The noodles were nice prepared; but there just wasn't enough flavor.

That menu had my interest. Though my next visit; on the following weekend was a solo one.

I mentioned being a bit hungry and the nice lady suggested the Bo Luc Lac.

The portion size was indeed generous and the Com Do (red tomato rice) was mild in flavor though nice and moist. The beef was just barely toothsome from the stir fry at first bite; then very tender. The sauce balanced on the edge of being too salty. I really enjoyed the jalapeno peppers in the stir fry. Overall, not bad at all.

Of course Calvin just needed to have that Bo Tai Chanh again; so we headed back the following week.

This time; the meat was a bit over-done. I think I'll request this more rare next time.

The Cha Ca Thang Long wasn't bad.

As you can see; no it's not even close to being as good as Song Long, but I didn't expect that. The turmeric fish was moist and tender; with no off flavors. I missed the fried shallots and peanuts and in this case; I think more oil could have been used. It wasn't too bad overall. There was an abundance of bun, crackers, and mam nem, which seemed a bit mild in this case. There was a good amount of dill used for this dish.

We also got the Bun Cha Ha Noi.

A bit smallish in portion size; this was on the mild side with regards to the marinade and the nuoc mam cham. The meatballs were sufficiently tender as was the pork; which I think was the better seasoned of the two meats. Again, very generous with the veggies and bun. Not bad; but I don't think I'll be ordering this again.

I will however, return to Royal Garden. I think the quality of ingredients used here is pretty good and there's much more to explore on the menu. Bap Xao Tom Kho, Hu Tieu My Tho, Pho Duoi Bo, among others. Plus, I like the two women working here…..they are very nice and friendly. Yes, the food might take a while, but that's ok….it gives you more time to enjoy the banquet set-up.

Royal Garden
4201 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Wed – Mon 9am – 9pm
Closed Tuesdays

Eating to Beat the Heat – Buga

August 5, 2018 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

I think we're at the point where people are asking; "when is this heatwave going to end?" And it looks like another hot week ahead of us.

I stopped off at Buga for lunch between meetings last week. The location; right off the 805 is a pretty convenient stop. It was hot, and muggy. Instead of going for the Bi Bim Naengmyun, I decided on trying the Yukhoe Bi Bim Bap. It had been over four years since I'd last had it at Buga.

Like I mentioned in my previous post on Buga; the panchan here is not as good as it used to be "back in the day". The nsmul was fine; but the baechu kimchi didn't have any fermented tones to it; it simply tasted pickled.

Still, I was here for the Yukhoe; which turned out to be pretty good. The beef was sliced into nice thin strips; not a huge portion, but good enough for me. No off flavors; very clean finish, and they've reinstated the egg yolk. Lots of tasty veggies, made for a really healthy and satisfying meal. Rice is served on the side here. And while the beef wasn't as good in quality as what I've had at Prime Grill, this was well worth the $17.99.

And while this obviously wasn't in the league of Brother's Raw Beef (형제육회), it did "hit the spot".

Buga Korean BBQ Restaurant
5580 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

Romeo & Julieta Wine Cafe

July 31, 2018 mmm-yoso European Restaurants, Gastropub, Polish Food and Restaurants

**** Romeo & Julieta has closed

Here's a little place on a rather odd corner in Talmage that I would never had found. It's a recommendation from my "FOY" JasonV. It's a favorite of his Missus, Jackie. The location is indeed interesting; being on the corner of Monoe and 47th Street. I'm sure most folks drive up the back way from Fairmount….but the place is basically a quarter mile from ECB and Nhu Y. The little wine bar is located right next to a dental office in the same strip mall. It's quite unassuming.

This is Romeo and Julieta a Polish Wine Bar of sorts. The humble exterior leads to a pretty nice and cozy interior.

We love the art and the ceiling.

Though when the weather is nice and not too hot; you can drink and dine al fresco as well.

The place is run by what I believe is a wonderful and friendly husband and wife team. The husband is the chef; though he's often helped out serving wine, and the super friendly woman runs the front of house; often on her own. In other words; this is a real mom-and-pop operation. You can't be in a rush here.

There's a regular menu of items; sort of a Polish fusion; the usual suspects, Peirogi's, Polish Sausage, and such, served with purple cabbage, sauerkraut, and cucumber salad, hearty stuff. And other items like Crab Cakes and Barbecued Pork.

The wine list is quite good and you're always served light and crusty baguette; the texture of a nice banh mi; with an addictive garlic aioli.

Don't forget the specials on the Chalk Board; where we found our favorite dish; the Pork Rouladen. Again, knowing what the "base" cuisine is of the place helps…we were looking for Polish – German – Eastern European type dishes.

A classic German – Polish dish of pork rolled around pickle spears. This version features sliced pork cutlets, pounded flat, wrapped around pickle spears and cheese. Smothered in a tasty gravy and served with a nice, rustic mashed potatoes; this is totally comfort food. The Missus enjoys the sauerkraut and sautéed cabbage and onions. The red cabbage is fine, but doesn't compare to what She really enjoyed in Prague. The cucumber salad is a bit bland for our taste; it could use more salt and bit more acidity to help cut the richness of the food.

As you can tell; the portions here are no joke.

Another favorite from the specials board was a version of the Polish Classic Bigos Stew – Hunter's Stew.

This version features the classic base of sauerkraut with Polish Kielbasa, bacon, and chopped pork. A hearty sour-meaty-smokey-porky combination. And that tomato salad was really good as well.

Of course these aren't always featured on the specials board; so the Missus will order the Polish Sausage Plate ($17.95).

While I enjoyed the nice snap of the sausage; I didn't think it was anything really special; but the Missus really enjoyed this….for a while. After two or three times, we've gotten a bit tired of this and the Missus tired of the left-overs. Yes, there are always left-overs.

You see; our drill is to arrive during Happy Hour; the Missus doesn't mind the House Chardonnay here; though they've recently changed it; and I'd just get a glass of the Italian Grillo, six bucks during Happy Hour.

Then we'd order the Polish Schnitzel Sliders from the Happy Hour menu ($9.50). I'm usually not a big fan of these fusion slider things; but this is pretty good.

The crunchy beef schnitzel, combined with the slightly sweet, but pungent, beet colored horseradish, the almost always sweet and slightly acidic tomato, and that pickle, don't forget that pickle, just goes quite well in a bun. There are four of these to an order……combined with the Missus's weak spot; sweet potato fries, enough for the both of us.

We usually end up taking most of the other entrée home as left-overs.

We also tried some of the other items over time, not all of which we enjoyed.

The Stuffed Cabbage was a menu board special. These were huge and we loved the mashed potatoes.

But we thought it on the bland and somewhat mealy side. Even with that wonderful horse radish.

The Happy Hour Wings and Fries; was priced right at $9.50.

The Missus of course, enjoyed those fries, but those wings weren't deep fried. I know this place serves flatbread/pizzas, so I'm thinking this was cooked on a conveyor oven? Not sauced enough and rubbery skin, not good eats.

My good friend's Mom back in Hawaii used come and visit with her rolling pin. She made awesome pierogi's. So during one of our first visits I decided to try the Pierogi's; the Happy Hour version. Unfortunately; they were out of the two versions that featured sauerkraut. So I ordered the Potato and Cheese; "bacon style" ($9.50).

Man, these were really stuffed. I found the wrapper to be bit on the brittle side and there was too much mushy potatoes as filling. The bacon and bacon fat topping was lovely, but I really didn't care for this version. I'll probably try one of the other versions one of these days.

There's a lot to like about Romeo & Julieta. We think the food is quite hearty and you do get your money's worth; especially those Happy Hour items. The owners are really friendly, gracious, and just really nice folks. There's often only two to three people working; which is fine during the time we eat; early on in the evening.

Happy Hour is from 4pm to 6pm Tuesdays thru Saturdays and 3pm to 6pm on Sundays.

And make sure to check out the specials board. JasonV told me he enjoyed the Watermelon Salad.

I'm sure if you choose well from the menu; you'll have a nice and hearty meal.

Romeo & Julieta Wine Cafe
4715 Monroe Ave
San Diego, CA 92115
Hours:
Tues – Sat 4pm – 10pm
Sunday 3pm – 10pm

Thanks for the recommendation Jason! Maybe one of these days we'll run into you here!

And share some Bigos.

Pho Bo

July 30, 2018 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I'm not quite sure how it happened; but it seems I'm back working weekends again just to keep up with our backlog. On the bright side; this means I can take a (usually) traffic free drive to grab an early (or late) lunch. One of my acquaintances, knowing that I really enjoy Vietnamese style Beef Stew – Bo Kho; recommended a place that recently opened in the mixed use Mercado de Barrio in Barrio Logan named Pho Bo.

Even though there's quite a few shops in the this center; parking was totally no problem. As was finding the shop; which in the typical new style has those garage like doors, and a nice modern, yet pseudo industrial (high ceilings) look.

I also enjoyed the fact that the A/C was going full blast on this very hot day. I had recommendations for three items; one of them was the Nem Nuong Cuon; those tasty grilled pork sausage spring roll that places like Brodard have made a staple. Sadly, I was told that the Nem Nuong was no longer available. I was also told that the Goi Cuon; the typical standard issue spring rolls were quite good; so I ordered it.

Sadly, this was just a whole lot of blandness as there were no herbs in the roll; the wrapper was hard and chewy, the pork was dry, and the shrimp had no flavor. The dipping sauce was your standard issue toung cham; hoisin-peanut kind of thing.

I hoped the Banh Mi Bo Kho would be better.

As you can quickly tell; the beef stew was on the thinner side; but man, look at that layer of oil on the top. Sometimes, it can really help a rich, hearty broth, but in this case, it just made the whole thing greasy. The broth was pretty salty; but lacked the pepper-tangy-anise tones I enjoy in the good Bo Kho. I used up the lime and all of the basil provided to help boost the flavor, but it was still mainly just salty.

The bread was interesting; I'm wondering who provided this as it was more dense and chewy than other banh mi I've had around San Diego.

There was a generous amount of tender beef; but no tendon provided.

Well, at least the service was fairly friendly.

I decided to return the following weekend to try out the other item that was recommended; the "Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings with Butter". Basically Butter Wings.

The amount of wings, 8 was decent for the price. These were on the smaller size; which I actually prefer for the good batter/skin ratio. Overall, these were on the bland side when it comes to butter wings. And the batter didn't have the crispness I enjoy; rather it was hard and got rather gummy quickly. There were several broken bones and a lot of blackened meat as well.

I also order the Pho Dac Biet.

As you can see; a nice portion of basil; but it was turning black and there were holes and tears in the leaves.

The broth wasn't overly salty, but still had that odd "San Diego Pho sweetness" that I've been tasting over the last couple of years. Clear, not very beefy, lacking in anise – oniony tones.

The noodles were nicely done; though in the typical clump at the bottom of the bowl.

As for the proteins; the rare steak was the typical top round; which gets tougher the longer it "cooks" in the broth. Luckily, it arrived before being well done. Both the flank and the brisket were fine, nicely done, not tough, nor falling to pieces, good beef flavor. Surprisingly, the meat balls weren't too rubbery or hard. Not bad in terms of protein. But you can tell who the target audience of this bowl is just by what was absent. Tendon and tripe….

In then end; this was basically "pho not to offend", not my favorite. It's fine if you like your basic, generic, pho shop.