mmm-yoso – Page 237

Eating at my Desk: Nijiya, Tita’s Kitchenette, Nanay’s Best BBQ, Yum Cha Cafe, and Artisan Bento

April 16, 2015 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Filipino Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, yoso-silly

Things have been pretty busy the last year and a half or so. I've noticed that I eat more lunches at my desk than I ever did before. Yes, I know it's spposed to actually hurt productivity. But there are those things called conference calls, web meetings, and the ever looming and shifting deadline.

Most often, I'll run out and pick up something from Nijiya; probably at least once a week. So many of the lunches I have at my desk look like this.

I'm definitely not complaining about this one….it's comfort food.

Nijiya Market
3860 Convoy St Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

"MG" is a good family friend; the Missus is one (I didn't know that folks can have as many as seven) of her son's Godmothers. We used to work in the same department and had some really fun potlucks. We're now in different departments, but she will sometimes drop by to make sure I'm getting fed. Like bringing me hamanado and tapa from Tita's for lunch. Good lord……how in the world was I able to finish this before?

For some reason, it seems time, at least in my mind, hasn't been good to Tita's…the grey color, the tough beef…though I still like the hamanado. In spite of it being on the tough side I like the mild sweetness and the salty tones.

Yes, it's pretty much about quantity….the love of abundance. It's enough for at least two meals.

Tita's Kitchenette
2720 East Plaza Boulevard
National City, CA 91950

One day she dropped off this:

I recognized it immediately…I asked if it was from Tem's and was told "no, it's from Nanay's". Which left me a bit confused, until I found out that Tem's is now Nanay's and apparently the food is basically the same. I will say I enjoyed the "spicy chicken" much more than the pork version I had when the place was Tem's. The "BBQ" chicken kind of reminds me of food court stuff, but it's not terrible….which the rice was, with quite a bit of hard grains in it.

Nanay's Best BBQ
6715 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92121

Speaking of bad rice…….

**** Yum Cha Cafe has closed

Just because I have to eat at my desk doesn't mean I can't have stuff to post on. So on the way back from a meeting I stopped by Yum Cha Café. I hadn't been here in ages. I got the Hainan Chicken Rice….mostly because I must be a glutton for punishment. I mean, the place used to have passable cheap grub, but if this is any indication, they've really taken a dive. Dry tasteless chicken…the rice was hard and dry….ick.

Yum Cha Cafe
6933 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

And then there are the times I get to follow-up on a place I had been wondering about. In this case Artisan Bento. I got the Delux Bento…which clocks in at $13.95! I chose Ginger Pork, Shogayaki…which, being on the more salty side really reminds me of what my mom used to make.

**** Artisan Bento is no longer

I gotta say that these folks seem to have it down. From the time I ordered to leaving the place, less than 10 minutes!

I still enjoy the ohitashi. The kyuri (cucumber) was really bland. The miso soup seemed much more watered down. I usually cringe at the thought of multi-grain rice. But for some reason, I like the version at Artisan Bento….sheesh…what next? Macramé???

For dessert I chose the strawberry cheesecake which I proceeded to give away. I think I can do the regular bento next time.

Artisan Bento
2505 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

One change from my previous post. They now open at 11….so no more walking in at 10 to find out they don't serve food until 11.

So, let me ask you…..do you eat at your desk? If so, what's your go to meal to have there? and what do you think about having to eat there?

Utah: Island in the Sky (Canyonlands National Park) and Wasatch Brew Pub

April 15, 2015 mmm-yoso Beer, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel, Utah

I woke at 530am on our second morning in Utah. The previous day, had been quite amazing….well, the views, not the food. We decided to head off to a district of the massive (337,598 acres) Canyonlands National Park, known as Island in the Sky, a mesa that towers a thousand feet over the rugged and picturesque terrain below. I got the Missus up at around 6am….we showered, packed up and headed out into the dark morning…..pretty much like the day before. This time though, our target was much closer, a bit over 30 miles or so away. The classic location for viewing the sunrise in the Island in the Sky district is the Mesa Arch which frames the East rising sun. We had run into maybe two cars on our drive to the Mesa Arch, but were surprised when the parking lot was almost full! Taking the short half mile walk to the arch, we could see an entire line of paparazzi folks with camera gear already set-up!

It was crazy. I heard one guy telling another he'd camped out overnight and got to his "spot" to set-up at 5am! Serious folks!

I just headed off to the side to photograph the dramatic sunrise.

The Missus hung back and took a photo of the sunrise through the Mesa Arch.

And while it was a bit of a hazy morning, the views were still quite dramatic.

We walked back to the car and headed off to the Grand View Point Overlook and took the 3 mile hike around the rim of the mesa.

I really enjoyed this hike. The views were just stunning. I probably enjoyed this more than the Delicate Arch, which was the Missus' favorite.

You can see for miles in the distance; view the amazing terrain, and just try to take it all in.

The hike is easy, you can read more about it here and here.

And no, there aren't any fences or barriers……which just adds to the drama. (Click on the photos to enlarge)

We made one last short stop at the Shafer Canyon Overlook, before hitting the road and making the 200 mile trip back to Salt Lake City.

I made a short stop in Green River to refuel, then drove all the way through.

Our destination? The rather hip neighborhood in SLC called Sugar House. During our stop at Whole Foods a couple of nights back. I got into a nice conversation with the very friendly young lady at the deli counter. When I mentioned we were from San Diego…she bent over and whispered; "do you like to drink beer???" I whispered back, "we sure do….but why are we whispering?"

Anyway, she recommended a stop at the Annex by Epic Brewing. So that's where we went. The place has this "club license" which means they can serve alcohol without having to serve food. The server was really nice and explained things to us…took our IDs and scanned them and did the whole thing.

I would have really enjoyed this place except for one thing….the bartender was a jerk. Apparently he didn't like us, and decided to serve and chat to his "friends" rather than pour us our beer, which took 25 minutes to get to us. Other than the three people at the bar, the place was totally empty. I think the last straw was when a group of eight came in after us and got their drinks before us. Even our server profusely apologized telling us, "I'm sorry, but I don't have control over pouring your beer". Too bad, my Belgian Style Golden Ale was quite nice.

I felt really bad for our server when I told her, "I think we'll be headed out." And asked for the check….so I left her a nice tip…after all, it wasn't her fault the wanna be hipster behind the bar was a jerk. Nuff said.

**** The Annex by Epic Brewing has closed

The Annex by Epic Brewing
1048 E 2100 S
Salt Lake City, UT 84106

In retrospect, maybe it was fate that drove us from the Annex to Wasatch Brew Pub next door.

This place was a bit more busy and our server was wonderful. I also loved the names of the beer; Chasing Tail Golden Ale, anyone? This almost made me forget I was in SLC.

And then the Missus saw the beer I "just had to order"…. the Polygamy Porter on Nitro….yep, you heard that right. I just can't help but crack up. I loved the glass….in fact, the Missus and I should have bought a couple for our friends. And then there's the beer's tagline; "Why have just one…." You gotta love it…

This was pretty light, mild coffee, nice and creamy from the nitro. Not the best Porter I've had….but surely one of the best names!

The Missus ordered the Jalapeno Cream Ale, which was quite good. Unlike a lot of chile beers, this one had a nice kick that came through. Great fragrance of jalapenos as well. It went well with the food we had.

The Shishito Peppers could have been roasted a bit more.

But the Missus really enjoyed it…..the portion size was quite large. It needed a bit more salt, but the peppers were really fresh. Some of the larger, older ones had a bit of sneaky heat as well.

The Missus really wanted more veggies and we had dinner reservation for what I thought was going to be a rather rich meal, so I didn't veto the "Super Food Beet Salad". The beets were really tasty, having that balanced sweetness I really enjoy. The vinaigrette was nice, slightly citrusy, never getting in the way of the ingredient's flavors.

I honestly have to say; I'm still not a fan of fruits in my salad…especially mandarin oranges…though the Missus enjoys them.

In the end, I'm glad we ended up here. The service was pleasant, the food, while nothing special was ok, and we got a couple of good laughs as well. The beer will not make you forget about San Diego, but you'll never forget that sign…..

Wasatch Brew Pub
2110 Highland Dr
Salt Lake City, UT 84106

Utah: Arches National Park and Moab Brewery

April 14, 2015 mmm-yoso Beer, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel, Utah

Thanks to Cathy, you probably didn't even notice I was gone for a few days, did ya?

A few weeks back, I could tell that the Missus, who had been working really hard was just itchin' for a trip. I had just finished watching an episode of Inside Man…a rarity for me since I've been too busy to watch television over the last couple of months. The episode was about America's National Parks. When the little tidbit about the average age of the typical visitor to a National Park was mentioned, I was shocked. Can you guess what it was? 57? I recall living vicariously thru the stories that kids I knew whose parents would take them to Yellowstone, or some other national park over the summer would tell. We were too poor to travel, but I'd always told myself "someday….." The Missus had been wanting to visit Arches National Park for a while; so I guess "someday" had arrived.

So I quickly planned our escape. An evening flight to Salt Lake City. I decided to stay in Provo since it would cut off an hour of our drive time. We'd be getting to Provo by about 830 pm or so. I did a bit of research to see what was open after 9pm……yikes….not much in Provo or Orem. So what I decided to do was to take an extra hour out, head to Whole Foods in Salt Lake, grab a salad, some nuts(which would keep us the whole weekend), some charcuterie, and head to Provo. So our first real interaction with folks in Utah was at Whole Foods and let me tell you….I just couldn't believe how really nice the two young ladies who helped us were. I'll have more on the young lady at the deli counter later. Strangely, Whole Foods was almost totally empty, at 730 pm…so were the streets of downtown Salt Lake City. We loved the Residence Inn in Provo, full fridge, sofa, living room…even though we'd only be staying the night it made us feel at home.

We headed out before 6 am the next morning. It was hard to see much since the sun didn't come up until almost 7 am.

The drive was interesting….we saw unmelted ice by the side of the roads….snow had fallen as recently as the week before we arrived and if I recall correctly, more snow is set to fall there Wednesday into Thursday this week!

We stopped for fuel, some vitamin D, and a good stretching of our legs in Price.

We arrived at the gates of Arches National Park at around 845am, and managed to drive past the gates by 9am. The Missus wanted to check out the Visitor's Center so we made a stop there. Here's the deal. We had made no plans (except for one must see) and decided just to let the road be our guide. I knew it was going to be amazing just by the view out the window of the Visitor's Center.

I had printed a map earlier, off the National Park Service Website. Maps tell you distance, you can determine location….but they don't indicate what the area looks like. Which was pretty darn beautiful.

We stopped at the trailhead called "Park Avenue" because it resembles the towers that line the famous boulevard in Manhattan.

We then drove just a short distance when I couldn't help but stop and just look in wonder.

In this panoramic shot (click on to enlarge), you can see "the Organ" (second from the right) and the "Three Gossips" (three little nubs to the left of the Organ).

If you ever visit, Balanced Rock should be a must stop. there's an easy short trail…we saw a woman using a walker on the trail. It's pretty amazing…..the Missus kept saying "who knows…..this might just fall and crumble any day now" during the entire time here.

There's this strange sense of scale when looking at these large sandstone formations…it really doesn't look that large from a distance….but up close….. So including people in our photos actually helps to illustrate scale.

From Balanced Rock, it gets a bit more crowded. After all, the Windows area is a must stop.

This is another very easy trail. You can visit the North and South "Window" and also the Turret Arch across the way, via a very easy trail.

It's a very popular area.

As is the "Double Arch" (right across the parking lot), two arches that meet at a single spot….formed by water in a "pothole" according to the signage.

My favorite view were the formations named "Parade of the Elephants"….which really looked like elephants!

Our next stop was the one the Missus was really looking forward to. It meant stopping near an area called Wolfe Ranch. Near here is a side trail where you can view petroglyphs……one of my favorite sites on this trip.

Beyond this point lay what the Missus wanted to see. It was easy trail to this point. Beyond this was a fairly steep trail of what they call "slickrock". Still, I saw many a mom and dad making their way up the side of the mountain with a baby strapped to their back. Granted, they were decades younger than me….but still……

The big payoff here was a close-up view of a iconic symbol of the state of Utah. the Delicate Arch.

It is striking….and as the Missus said, "you know…..this might just fall and crumble any day now!"

The descent was actually harder on my joints than the ascent. But we finally made it back to the car and onward to Moab. I wasn't really inspired by any location in Moab, so I let the Missus choose. She decided on Moab Brewery.

Utah has some of the most restrictive alcohol laws in the US. And Moab Brewery is located almost at the end of the one major thoroughfare, Main Street.

We decided to eat in the bar area. The woman who served us was so nice. We asked about the local liquor restrictions and apologized for not quite knowing it. Her reply, "oh, no problem……I tell everyone who is not a local anyway, so they know." Anyway, anything draft is less than 4 percent ABV, you can get bottled beer, which is considered "liquor", as in hard liquor. There are "tasters", but no "flights".

Anyway, I went with a Hefeweizen, which was decent, non-descript, fairly generic, though quite refreshing.

The Missus had two tasters and went with the Pilsner. Which She said was refreshing, though even lighter than what we had in Prague. Still, it was nice after hiking in the sun…..

We weren't too hungry and decided on two things……

Starting with the Jalapeno Beer Fries ($6.59).

We both actually enjoyed this. The Jalapeno Powder gave this a bit of a "kick", the fries had been dusted with flour and were crisp. The "beer sauce" was like nacho cheese with salsa….but was strangely addictive…in a "college dorm room" kind of way.

We also ordered the Gazpacho Salad with Grilled Chicken ($9.99).

The vinaigrette was decent, this hit the spot as we wanted something cold and light for lunch.

The service was nice, the food…well, I've had much worse in San Diego.

Moab Brewery
686 S Main St
Moab, UT 84532

And so we hit the magical hour of check-in. Which we did….followed by a short nap.

Upon getting up, we decided to head back to Arches for the sunset.

First we visited the area called the "Garden of Eden".

Then it was off to the Windows for the sunset.

The difference in views and how things look at various times of the day is fascinating. Also, you start noticing more on your second visit.

And so we watched the sunset from the Turret Arch…….

Revisits: Pho Ban Mai and New Mandarin Canton

April 13, 2015 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

Here's a couple of places I haven't been to in a while.

Pho Ban Mai:

A couple of weeks ago, when it was super hot, Lily and "YZ" wanted to grab some lunch. Everything just seemed a bit "too much" for the heat and this being a Monday, places like Sab E Lee were closed. We ended up going to Pho Ban Mai, which I seem to visit about once a year. I ended up doing the ordering and we started with the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings:

While the seasoning wasn't bad; I thought these were greasy, the bones in several were broken and the meat tasted a bit off like it had been thawed and then refrozen. Not good eats.

I also went with what I call the "Brodard South" dishes; the Nem Nuong Cuon and the Chao Tom Cuon. Like I mentioned before, these were right out of the Brodard playbook.

As before the Nem Nuong, the pork "sausage", was much better, more flavor, nicely grilled, and the addition of a touch of herbs along with the scallion complements the flavor of the meat. The Chao Tom, is a bit too rubbery and "squeaky" for me and is quite bland….which comes to the sauce….I keep on meaning to just get nuoc mam cham, the sauce here is not very good, very bland, lacking in flavor.

I've always enjoyed the banh xeo here; I think it is crisp and light, and I appreciate the ratio of fillings to the crisp "crepe". It's all about proportion to me when it comes to banh xeo.

Lily and "YZ" had never had banh xeo before, so I thought this would be a nice introduction. Man, Lily went after this like there was no tomorrow…..apparently, she loves bean sprouts, and the combination of the light crunch of the crepe with the crisp lettuce and herbs, dipped into nuoc mam cham was just what the doctor ordered for a hot day. This was a nice specimen, perhaps as good as what I had here in 2011.

Overall a decent meal; though there's one area that seemed lacking. When Pho Ban Mai first opened, the folks seemed friendly and attentive, during my last visit, the guys seemed more interested in socializing. This time around, they seem to want nothing to do with customers. In other words, it's getting almost borderline rude here. Not a good trend. I hope the next time I get my banh xeo fix, the pattern will be reversed.

Pho Ban Mai
8991 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

New Mandarin Canton:

Speaking of salt and Pepper Chickens Wings….we've been eating pretty good for a while and just needed to get our ABCDE (American Born Chinese Dining Establishment – "ab-cee-dee) fried food fix. It had been a while since we indulged in one of our guilty pleasures.

I'd always thought the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings here were pretty good and was disappointed that they weere closed during our Salt and Pepper Wing Challenge. Though we were even more disturbed that the owner had been stabbed and beaten to death.

As far the wings go, they've never been quite the same, but were still good, and usually held up well. The Missus had always enjoyed the salt and pepper shrimp without shell here as well. Which is what I ordered.

Man, what is going on here? The chicken, while crisp, had basically no flavor…..I had to roll it in the garlic-scallion mixture to get any flavor at all.

It had also been fried to death……dry as a mouthful of sand. Kind of sad. Looks like I'll have to start making the rounds searching for some good S&P wings.

To make things worse, the shrimp were even more pathetic.

Very bland, under fried and gummy batter….this was pretty bad.

It's quite sad when an "old standby" doesn't deliver….

New Mandarin Canton Chinese Restaurant
543 Telegraph Canyon Road
Chula Vista, CA 91910

Circling Back to Ichiro’s Japanese Restaurant

April 8, 2015 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

**** After 36 Years Ichiro Closed in 2021

Recently, I was told that Ichiro's had been renovated. During my last group of visits, the place was starting to look its age. Which is over 30 years old. Ichiro's (though Ichiro is no longer at Ichiro's) is kind of a dying breed; the uncorporate looking, concept free, family owned joint…..I will often use the term "Japanese-American Diner" when talking in terms of places like Ichiro and Yoshino. Fairly inexpensive, by the book, Japanese style dishes. Not quite super gringo, but safe enough for the unadventurous.

I decided that I should do one of my circling back posts on Ichiro's and recently revisited for several lunches.

While the exterior looked pretty much the same, the interior had been upgraded or at least freshened up a bit. And while the tables and chairs were of pretty typical quality, the booths looked quite nice and the walls clean.

We've been going thru some see-saw weather recently. On this day, it was pretty cool outside so I went with the Nabeyaki Udon.

The broth was too salty, like something from a base. The noodles were a tad overdone and starting to get mushy….speaking of mushy…that sad looking shrimp tempura was it. This was disappointing.

I thought of just writing the whole circling back thing off, but decided to play it out.

On my next visit, I went with a basic dish that any Japanese Restaurant serving it should do well. Katsu; in the case Chicken Katsu. When it arrived, the first thing that went thru my mind was, "man, this thing need to spend some time in the tanning booth".

In spite of the very light color, the chicken katsu was done pretty well; it was light and crisp, the chicken moist, and unlike a version I'd had the weekend before, the breading was not falling off the chicken. Everything else was pretty much by the book. The miso soup was actually a bit better than what I'd had before……it actually had some flavor to it.

Not bad overall.

Which meant that I had to complete the trifecta of visits. By this time the weather had turned; well quite warm. In fact, we had a few days of record high temperatures. I looked thru the menu and saw the Reimen, basically Hiyashi Chuka.

This was ok; the noodles were standard issue and the sauce tasted like it came from a package. The crab mixture tasted a bit off…..sadly, the item I enjoyed best was the corn, which kind of says a lot.

During my visits to Ichiro, I noticed a couple of things. during my three visits, there was not a single Asian person other than yours truly eating in the place. I also saw a couple of interesting, well, humorous things. One guy had a salad for his entrée delivered to his table. He didn't know how to use chopsticks and asked for a fork. When they went to get it for him, he just proceeded to eat his salad with his hands! Yikes! And then there was the guy on the table next to me who looked at my reimen and asked the very nice server what it was……she told him, "it is cold ramen, called reimen." Apparently he couldn't hear very well because he said real loud, "OK….I'll have some of THAT SEMEN!" I almost spit my food out!

So while the food just wasn't what I was looking for….at least the nice folks here, and the customers gave me a good laugh. I'll never look at reimen the same way…….I'm not sure that I can even order it again!

Ichiro's Japanese Restaurant
4344 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Tacos el Poblano

April 7, 2015 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

My visit to Taqueria Revolucion seems to have gotten me back on the taco trail. I’d been derailed for a while, but now that work is normalizing a bit, I’m able to travel a bit further afield. Craving tacos,I decided to check out Tacos el Poblano. I’d never been to this location, just the now defunct first US location on 3rd Avenue in Chula Vista. I once ran into the venerable Masa Asssasin there, who gave me the history of Tacos el Poblano, which was established in Tijuana back in 1974. Man, we miss you “MA”.

I recall being told that all the TeP locations are owned by different family members, so YMMV. I’d heard about this location from “CC” who visited back in December of 2010.

So, I finally made it here…..like almost five years later. The drill here is interesting, it even confuses the Hispanic customers. You basically walk to the back counter area, which is divided up into three stations, adobada, birria (de res), and asada. You order from one or more folks depending on how many folks are manning the area and what type of protein you want. You pay at the cashier on your way out….also, if you want drinks, the cups and bottled items are located at the cashier so you need to ask for those.

I went with one of each; asada, adobada, and birria ($2 each).

The asada was disappointing, dry, tough, flavorless. Especially since this is what TeP has hung its hat on, the asada traditionally made from three different cuts of meat from a specific butcher.

The adobada was better, a bit more flavor, but still too dry and bland for me. I like my adobada to have a nice salty-savory-sweetness which the Missus says is “like good char siu”. The guacamole does real well on this one.

The best of the bunch was the birria de res, which had some nice spice, but was still behind what I had at Fernandez and even Taqueria Revolucion.

The salsas were quite watery, but had a bit of oomph. I did expect a bit more considering the name and pedigree, but perhaps I caught them on an off day.

Tacos El Poblano
885 E H St
Chula Vista, CA 91910
Hours:
Daily 10am – 10pm

Pho Hung Cali (Chula Vista) and Pho Saigon and Grill (Rancho Penasquitos)

April 6, 2015 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

"What's this thing with you having pho for breakfast every Saturday?" Asked the Missus. My reply; "well, some of these errands I have to run for you mean a bit of a drive and pho is always easy, plus these places open rather early, 8 or 9 am, and aren't crowded at that time."

Which is how I came to have two bowls at almost opposite ends of the map the last two Saturdays.

Pho Hung Cali:

I'd heard some good things about this place from folks who live in the South Bay. "Buddha" who often comments also mentioned the place to me in an email. So since I was in the area, I thought why not?

the place was very easy to find; basically katty-corner from Aqui es Texcoco. Strange, I'd never even noticed the place before.

The interior is much larger than it looks from the outside….though a lot of the space is empty.

The service is typical pho shop…perhaps a bit more friendly, but mostly all business.

I went with the #18 – Rare Steak, Flank, Brisket, Tendon, and Tripe ($5.95).

I think I've had too many bowls of pho…I recognized the pattern on the bowl; it's the same as the bowls at Pho Cow Cali and Pho Hiep and Grill. Sheesh. The broth though, being on the "sweeter" side reminded me of Pho Fifth Avenue. It wasn't quite as beefy, though it had some anise tones. A decent broth, a bit too light, but not overly salty. It was also a bit on the cloudy side.

I appreciate the generous amount of nicely prepared tripe; though the rare steak was totally cooked by the time the bowl reached me and rigor mortis had set in. The rest of the meats were meh……tasteless, much of it falling apart, the tendon tougher than I prefer.

The noodles were overdone and mushy.

Overall, not a bad bowl, possibly the best I've had in the area. If I were in the area, I'd stop by again. The broth wasn't bad, the prices decent, and one other thing….the hot tea was free….I know, it's usually only a buck…..but for some reason I appreciated an ok pot of tea gratis.

Pho Hung Cali
1060 Broadway Chula Vista
Chula Vista, CA 91911
Hours:
Mon – Sun 8am – 9pm

Pho Saigon and Grill:

**** Pho Saigon and Grill has closed

This place is located right across from 24 Hour Fitness on Carmel Mountain Road. The place I needed to be at wasn't open until 10 am so I decided to grab some breakfast here.

The folks here were really nice.

I got the Pho Dac Biet (small – $6.95), which arrived super piping hot. The presentation reminded me of Pho Paradise.

The herbs and sprouts portion was on the small side.

The broth was highly defatted, but had a nice dark hue. It didn't quite deliver on it's color being very light in flavor and quite salty.

The tendon, as you can tell was good, as was the brisket, which had kept a nice beefy goodness. The flank was too tough, the rare steak cut too thick, and the tripe MIA.

The noodles were dead on perfect. Not sure why all places can't do it this way?

Overall a nice experience with regards to the staff. The pho was decent, but nothing worth going out of my way for.

Pho Saigon & Grill
9975 Carmel Mountain Rd
San Diego, CA 92129
Hours
Mon – Sun 9am – 9pm

Of course, the underlying question is; which of these two bowls did I enjoy more? I've got to say Pho Hung Cali, based on the broth, which was more complex and had more flavor.

Happy Easter!

April 5, 2015 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Been strangely busy doing "stuffs" this weekend, but wanted to wish everyone a wonderful Easter.

Though, for some reason, Sammy dreads Easter…..I'm not sure why…..

He's such a grump sometimes!

Anyway, hope you had a great Easter!

Recently Consumed

April 3, 2015 mmm-yoso Cooking

I haven't done one of these in a while. So perhaps it's time for another recently consumed post. We've been eating fairly simple and grilling and smoking quite a bit. The Missus loves roasted vegetables. But man, it's been so hot….I really don't feel like having that oven on. So what we've started doing is roasting vegetables on our Weber after a grill session. It's get's nice and hot. I'll get some of the small wood chips and soak it in water and throw it on the charcoal.

Using the carry over heat form the grill session, this works out real well. You just need to stage the vegetables.

I'm finally finding the time to cook a bit on weekends. So the Missus get's Her fish again. In recent weeks, the Monchong at Catalina Offshore has been excellent.

But it was the sculpin that Tommy told me that I "had to get" that was the real winnah! I seasoned it with cumin, harissa, ghost pepper salt, etc….. Dusted it with potato starch.

Good lord this was good.

The Missus likes organizing potlucks at work….easy to do when I have to do the cooking, right? So they recently had a Mexican food themed potluck and the Missus had me make my Carne Guisada (with chicken).

Now folks are asking for the recipe……they must have enjoyed it. The Missus came home empty handed.

And, like I said, we've been using the smoker a bit.

I hope everyone's been eating well!

Malta: A Trip to Mdina and Lunch at Piadina Caffe

April 2, 2015 mmm-yoso Malta, Maltese Food and Restaurants, Salads, Sandwiches, Travel

We awoke bright and early after a wonderful first day in Valletta. Now of course, after our morning walk, the question arose…..we're here, now what? I had made a few plans, but nothing for this day. So we decided to go ahead and catch the bus to Mdina, called "the Slient City" a walled city with a history going back to 4000 B.C. and first fortified by the Phoenicians as far back as 700 – 1000 B.C.. That's Malta, they talk about things based on centuries.

The bus bays are located right outside the City Gate of Valletta. The city of Floriana basically starts right where Valletta ends.

Finding your bus is easy. Go ahead and get tickets at the booth, ask the very nice lady for the bus going to Valletta, and walk to the bay, in this case #9, where the buses to Rabat go.

While waiting you can take in the Triton Fountain and the various statues like "Christ the King" (to the right) which was designed Maltese sculptor Antonio Sciortino.

Since only residents, emergency, and government vehicles are allowed within the wall of Mdina, you'll get off a short walk away, in the city of Rabat, which is right outside the walls of Mdina.

We saw quite a few tour buses out side the city walls. So, on this day, the "Silent City" wasn't so silent.

Because of the location, high on a hill, Mdina had a strategic significance. When under the rule of the Roman Empire, Mdina was where the Governor built his palace. The Normans conquered Malta in 1091 and further fortified the city with a large moat and thicker walls.

One of the main reasons we visited Mdina was to see St Paul's Cathedral. We were told that it was the equal of St John's Co-Cathedral and also had some historic significance. Supposedly, the Cathedral is built on the spot where Governor (now Saint) Publius met the Apostle Paul who was shipwrecked on Malta. The original cathedral was of Norman design and was destroyed in an earthquake in 1693. The current structure was designed by Lorenzo Gafa and finished in 1702.

Like St John's Co-Cathedral, one of the more interesting features were the tombs laid in the floor. Most of these were of various clergymen.

The Missus noticed something interesting about the tombstones; the Galero and Tassels. We both had no idea what it represented.

We queried one of the very friendly attendants on the significance of the hat and tassels. We were told these represented clergy; the tassels represented their rank and accomplishments within the church. A single tassel would be a priest, two tassels represented a rector, six tassels on each side is a bishop. interesting, huh?

When did find quiet backstreets, less than 300 people live within the walls of Mdina, the place did take on a mysterious air.

Most street were busy, though not extremely so. Another one of our favorite places was the Carmelite Church and Priory. The monks of this priory follow a strict rule of separation from the external world. In other words, it's a cloistered order. We were told that the monks still live in the buildings and above the priory. It's an interesting view into a different world and definitely worth your time if you're in Mdina. During the French occupation, all the silver was removed from the church. In September of 1798, the French returned to finish off the job. The story goes that a young boy climbed to the top of the belfry to sound the alarm and Maltese Rebels locked the doors of the church, starting the Maltese Revolt.

By now, more tourists had arrived. So we did a quick walk and took some photos of Malta from the city ramparts.

I believe we found the only cloud over Malta on this day!

It was getting hot and crowded, so we decided to depart. But not without first taking a short walk around Rabat. We found the streets interesting….everyday life happens here. We had a cup of coffee at one of the shops and when we saw what looked like the trimmings of a recent festival…we followed.

And ended up at St Paul's Church and Grotto.

The church is built on the site where St Paul stayed and preached when shipwrecked on Malta.

From here we walked back to the bus stop and headed back to Valletta. It was pretty warm and we wanted something light to eat. On one of the sloping side streets I located one of the places I had read about named Piadina Caffe. A Piadina is an Italian flatbread. Considering Matla's location relative to Italy, I thought this would be a nice little stop.

This tiny shop specialized in Piadinas (of course), foccacia's, salads, and coffee.

It would turn out to be a favorite of the Missus who just really wanted a salad as an alternative to all the rather heavy food we'd been eating on this trip.

She got a quinoa salad….strange I thought, but well priced. She loved it….I guess She had been missing salad.

I had the Prosciutto, mozzarella, and rocket (gotta love the British influence) piadina (4 Euros), which was surprisingly good.

I love the ratio of ingredients on this one…the salty and savory prosciutto, milky mozzarella, the peppery bite of the arugula. The flatbread had been pressed and was crisp. This was just what I wanted and needed…something not too heavy, but satisfying.

The Missus enjoyed this so much…..we ended up returning later on our trip.

Piadina Caffe
24 Triq Santa Lucija
Valletta, Malta

Bolstered by caffeine……we were ready to do a bit more exploring.

Thanks for reading!