mmm-yoso – Page 264

Getting our goat at Chon Ju Jip and Grandma’s Tofu & BBQ

November 4, 2013 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

When the weather started turning a bit a couple of weeks ago, the Missus was quite happy….it's getting to be that time of the year again, ramen, stews, and hot pots galore. Her favorite time of the years for eating. One evening She was in the mood for Heukyumso Jungol, Korean Black Goat Stew. The last couple of times we've had that dish, it had been at Grandma's Tofu and BBQ, this time I thought we should check out Chon Ju Jip since it had been a while since we last visited.

The place is looking a tad worse for wear and looking over the menu we noticed that many of the dishes don't have English translations, just Korean and Romanized Korean names. In this case the dish was Romanized as Huk Yum So Jun Gol – $29.99, the same price as Grandma's. The women working here are pretty much all business and the place seems even more "old school" then I remember, with our server picking and cleaning bean sprouts between serving customers.

The panchan where is served in the Korean style, along with your food. They ranged from ok to below average….I'm not sure if my tastes have changed a whole lot, but some of this was really salty.

We were given some "sauce" on the side…the typical sesame oil based sauce and kochujung was accompanied with a smear of wasabi. This was a new one for us.

This was a hearty, very rustic version of Heukyumso Jungol. It was stick-to-your-ribs thick and full of vegetables and quite a bit of goat. The goat was very gamey and some of it on the tough side…..but no one would ever call this bland. This was a bit saltier than the version at Grandma's, where we've gotten into the (appropriate) habit of adding sea salt to our dishes.

As with Grandma's, there was enough left over to form another meal the next day. This was so thick that it formed a pretty solid block. I added more water, kochujung, sesame oil, salt, and all the other stuff (tofu, greens, enoki mushrooms, kurobuta sausage, etc…) to build another meal for us.

Chon Ju Jip is kind of hidden away on Convoy….so we always forget about the place. I'm sure we'll check them out again soon.

Chon Ju Jip
4373 Convoy Street
San Diego, CA 92111

A couple of nights later, we decided to check out the Heokyumso Jeongol at Grandma's….for comparison sake……

First off; we thought the panchan here was much better….nothing amazing, but just better overall. As for the Heokyumso Jeongol. Well, this version has less meat, but it much more tender, there's more "skin" which I just love.

While not being more thick and hearty, this has a bit more heat, but lacks a bit of the complexity in terms of savory and acidity that the version at Chon Ju Jip has….we always end up dumping the baechu kimchi into the broth to add a more savory tone. Of course adding your own salt is a must as well. The version at Grandma's is lighter, and there's more "soup"…..which also ends up being a second meal for us.

Strangely, the base flavors are the same, but when you get down to it, the two versions are quite different. Ironically, what Chon Ju Jip serves seems more like something Grandma would make, while Grandma's is much more refined, but also more subtle and refined.

Grandma's Tofu & BBQ
4425 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

As for which we prefer….well….I think I'll need to research this a few more times!

The bluefin tuna, “try to make something good for a change” challenge.

October 25, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

It seems like a pretty easy question….poke or some sashimi, right? But what if you're given a challenge, to make "something good for a change"?

I was faced with that on a recent evening…..granted, I've been really busy with work recently, so I really wanted something special for the Missus.

So I came up with this.

Bluefin three ways……

The cut of bluefin was very fresh, though not particularly outstanding. The perfect 20 minute challenge for me.

Here's the play-by-play…..

I decided on doing a very quick, hot smoke, so I got my trusty stovetop smoker going. I didn't want this to be a hot dish, but also wanted a fairly aggressive smoke flavor without cooking the fish. So I used mesquite and instead of starting high then turning low, I just turned the flame up high, seasoned the block of tuna with Maldon Smoked Salt and fresh ground pepper, covered the smoker briefly and when a good amount developed, placed the fish in the smoker, replaced thecover, and just let her rip!

I went into the garden to pick the veggies and herbs, washing then drying them on paper towels. Seven minutes had passed. I removed the tuna from the smoker, placed it on a plate and putting it in the freezer to quickly cool. I wanted to maintain the firmness of the fish.

At this point I decided on making three different items; for the first, I chopped the uneven part of the block, mixing it with some pretty good Maui onion and minced avocado……I then added a few drops of my roasted ghost pepper hot sauce and stuffed the avocado. Something I used to do when I helped a friend of mine cater a few dinners many years ago. A couple of slices of red serrano, sliced scallions, minced cilantro, and a touch of mint from the yard finished things. The Missus loved this combination of meaty-smoky-pungent-creamy-crunchy-mildly spicy. I was amazed that the ghost pepper hot sauce added just enough heat with a wonderful flowery fragrance.

The second item were just slices of the smoked tuna on lettuce from the yard. This I paired with some blanched, then grated garlic, grated ginger, yuzu kosho, and wasabi. I was so proud of the Missus, She never touched that wasabi from a tube. She loved placing tiny dabs of the salty, mildly spicy yuzu kosho on the smoky fish, never feeling a need to add soy sauce.

The third item was a play on a caprese, with tuna replacing the standard mozzarella. I placed the cuts of fish between slices of cherry tomato and basil, drizzling on some 0.3% acidity extra virgin olive oil. I also seeded a cherry tomato and filled it with olive oil creating a "shot" homage to our visit to Peza Union, where the tasting of each olive oil was presented in cups like a shot! The Missus enjoyed this the least.

This was only half of everything as there was a imrror plate also created. The Missus really enjoyed this…..which turned out pretty well. One of the most interesting responses I got from the Missus was when I had Her eat a slice of the Maui Onion with a touch of smoked salt…….I love good Maui onion with just some Hawaiian salt…this was the way I ate it growing up and the Missus enjoyed this as well.

The funny thing was….I was also finishing up Her main courses for dinner at the same time…….perhaps that's a future post…..

Still, like that surf and turf challenge, I lived to cook another day……

Spotted Cow Viet Kitchen

October 23, 2013 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Spotted Cow has closed

I first heard about this place on Eater and was a bit puzzled. I thought having a Pho stand in Zion Marketplace would be an interesting venture. It was the "marketing" and concept that I thought was kind of interesting. This place wanted to make "the pho experience more customizable"…..hmmm, have you ever seen the different combinations of protein, etc, at your friendly neighborhood pho restaurant? Like all 30+ of them…..and then you have nuoc beo (rendered beef tallow), gia chin (blanched bean sprouts), etc….. Pardon me, if I don't understand….is there some innovative "concept" here? It looks like an assembly line process, something which isn't too unfamiliar having seen the kitchen areas of a couple of Pho places. On the interesting side, the "chef" Jimmy Trinh went to the CIA…on the somewhat discouraging side the "heritage" of this place is not one of my favorite pho shops.

Still it's bright, the folks on my first visit, soon after that announcement on Eater were really nice. I was kind of confused at the set-up. There's the steam/hot table and the cold station where you can pick what you want for your soup, then a large gap, then what looks like another station with the cashier at the end. The gap seems like a "dead zone", what goes on here? On this visit I ordered one of the four soup offerings….pho of course ($5.99) and moved to the middle area because I really didn't know if I should stop here or move to the register. The really nice young lady took my tray all the way to the register where I paid and made my way to the table.

The broth was very light and defatted, lacking in richness. Beef flavor was lacking, though I could make out onion and a touch of anise. It was also on the salty side, thank goodness for the lime. This isn't among my favorite bowls. The broth was also on the lukwarm side as well.

The rare steak looked nice, but was cut too thick making for a dry and tough experience. I'm not sure if it was how the meat was kept in cooled sixth-sized food pans, but I found them really lacking in flavor. The one surprise was the tendon which was pretty good.

The noodles were decent, but since it was in a clump some of it was on the cold side.

I basically cooled my heels, until I read Kirbie's post and decided to return, after all this place is really close to work. But no pho pho me this time.

I decided to try the Pho Bo Kho. The young man working the front was really enthusiastic and friendly. I noticed something a bit different this time around. My noodles were dropped into hot water and the bowl rinsed in hot water as well. I'm thinking this step was missed on my previous visit….after all, it was just after they had started business. I walked on over to the register to pay. In a move I found somewhat awkward, this time around my tray was left in the "dead zone" for me to pick up and drag to the register. This wasn't much of a problem however since the guy working the register was too busy counting his money than to acknowledge my existence. I kept thinking if I was "at Pho Hoa Huong, I'd be eating by now". Finally, after checking his drawer, walking away to talk to someone, he returned and was ready to have me pay. When he actually spoke to me he seemed a really nice young man, it was getting to this point that was rather painful for me. What ever happened to "I'll be with you in a minute"? Come to think of it though, would I expect that at, say, Pho Cow Cali, or at your neighborhood Pho shop in Hanoi?

In many ways this was much better than the straight up pho bo. While not even in the same league as the version at Pho Lucky, this had some mild richness. The beef flavor was still faint and overall the broth was still a bit thin for me. I like a nice hearty soup. The carrots were a bit too undercooked for me and the beef was still tasteless.

The dunking of the already cooked noodles made them too mushy for my taste. The heating of the bowl ensured a nice hot broth though.

I also hated the plastic spoons which were not at all suited for soup slurping……I've seen disposable Japanese style soup spoons, though the cost might be a bit too high?

It had me wondering……where this ranked in the Kearny Mesa Pho universe? I will say that this was totally not what I expected, even in a fast-casual concept, from CIA Alums who've "logged stints in Michelin starred kitchens". Though after eating at Gordon Ramsey's Plane Food nothing should surprise me, right?

Spotted Cow Viet Kitchen (in the Zion Market Food Court)
7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, California 92111

What’s going on with El Charco?

October 15, 2013 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

**** El Charco has closed

I don't always have the best timing…..more than few times I've sat on photos of meals, only to have places close, burn down, change owners before I even have a chance to do a post. Heck, I even did a post on one of these places. The Missus and I had gone to El Charco, the shop that opened in the place of Birrieria's la Guadalajara twice right after they opened. I decided to wait on doing a post until I went a few more times…..you know me, I often will wait until a few visits before doing a post. Anyway, guess what I saw on my last attempted visit.

Which I found kind of strange since they've been open less than a year….I hope they truly are closed for a remodel……though peeking through the glass revealed that everything looks the same.

Anyway, here's a very abbreviated post.

The place created some nice buzz, since Paco Perez, the owner of the very successful and popular Aqui es Texcoco was a partner in this venture with the owners of a small chain of taco shops in Mexico City.

Many of the items we tried were on the salty side. Our favorite item by far was the Al Pastor, which hit all the right salty-sweet-porky notes for us. It was right up our alley.

The other tacos we tried ranged from good…the Missus loved the chorizo….and the huitlacoche quesadilla was not bad.

The Villemelon was a salty mess…the chiccharon brought nothing to the taco. The chuleta ahumada; smoked pork chops was also way too salty, being almost bitter.

The Missus really did like the tortilla soup, though…..

The Chicharron de Queso looks quite dramatic and we enjoyed it at first. After a while, it became too much of a good thing.

The Alambres is also quite a bit….the Missus hardly put a dent in the one She ordered with Chorizo and Pastor.

We do hope they renovate and reopen as the place displayed some promise to us…….

El Charco Mexico City Style Tacos
1310 Third Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91911

On a clear day, you can see…… Pho-Ever

October 14, 2013 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Pho cryin' out loud…….

So here I was again, up around the Oceanside area. My first instinct was to drop by Guahan again. But since this was going to be before 11am, I had my sights on another place I'd been wanting to check out. Unfortunately, that place was packed…..at 1015 no less! So I had to settle for a plan B. Pho is always a viable back-up and there was a place fairly close by that I'd been told about but had never really been motivated to try. I think it was due to a mental block…….created by the name of the place.

Pho-real….it's called Pho-Ever and while it doesn't even come close with as does the "mother lode" with regards to names of pho shops, it was really hard for me to take this one seriously. I a serious two-fer', the restaurant next door is called "Thai One On"….. really. Just add in another restaurant name and you have a conversation "Pho-Ever"? "Yes! Pingo", now let's "___-____ Thai One On".

Still, here I was in Vista, it was a clear day, and like Barbera Streisand sang, "I could see Pho-Ever".

I walked into the place, which seemed like a nice neighborhood Pho shop, there was a family seated up front, and the flat screen was set to some children's show for the kids, a nice touch. The folks working here knew everyone who came in except myself, all regulars it seemed, though none were Asian, it was still a nice sign.

As for what to order? I just went with good 'ol #1, the Dac Biet, the house special….extra large bowl ($7.25).

The bowl arrived…..well not as hot as I'd preferred, but ok. The broth was cloudy, though it had fairly good hue. The flavor was very mild, mostly salty, very light on the beefiness, and was very "pho not to offend". Nothing really stood out, no onions, beef, nothing really…..

The herb….it should probably be singular and not plural, well, 'nuff said. The bean sprouts were very fresh. I really didn't need the lime because at least this wasn't an MSG bomb.

The noodles, and there was a good quantity of them was fine, perhaps a bit softer than I like, but still not bad.

As for the protein, well as you can see, it was pretty sparse. The place says it only uses "filet"…..beef tenderloin, which is nice, but where's the supposed "rare steak" (Tai)? If you're serving "filet", I would like having it "rare" as stated. All the "well done" steak was fine. The flank was extra chewy, but that's nothing new, the lack of beef flavor in that cut and the brisket was. The tendon was fine, if a bit harder than I'd prefer. The tripe was nice, but also pretty sparse.

The folks here were nice and I enjoyed the neighborhood vibe. This seemed pretty much middle of the road, nothing wrong with that.

Pho what it's worth; I preferred the Pho I had at Pho Lena and Mr Pho. I know, I still haven't made it to Pho Lucky, Yummy Pho, or Pho San Marcos…..I haven't pho-gotten about it. Ok, that's it, no more pho-puns for a while…..

Pho-Ever
485 S Melrose Dr
Vista, CA 92081

Red Peppers Stuffed with Lamb and Rice

October 13, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

I had about 4-5 ounces of lamb and a some rice left after making my lamb loco moco. Not much really. I've been swamped at work and didn't want to make a special trip to the market, so what to do? I looked out into the garden and around the kitchen and decided to make some stuffed peppers….lamb, rice, herbs, onion….we had a bunch of red bell peppers lying around, why not?

It turned out pretty well……

I also made a Shakshuka like sauce which brought everything together for the dish, which is so easy it's criminal. The only thing was the wait which was 45 minutes in the oven, but gave me time to make the sauce.

I actually went ahead and measured everything out except the oil, salt, and pepper. This is for two, you can just multiply everything out for more peppers.

Red Peppers Stuffed with Lamb and Rice:

2 Red Bell Peppers
1/4 lb ground lamb
1 1/2 cup cooked jasmine rice
2 Tb minced mint
3 Tb minced cilantro
2 Tb thinly sliced scallions
2 Tb finely minced or grated garlic
1 tsp crumbled Turkish oregano
1 tsp Spanish paprika
1 Tb ground cumin
1 tsp ground chilies
1-2 Tb olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
water

– Preheat oven to 375
– Cut the tops off the peppers and level off the bottoms of the peppers. Remove the center, discard the seeds, and trim out the interior of the pepper.
– Combine the all the ingredients except the peppers and water in a bowl.
– Stuff the peppers
– Place the peppers in a pan, I used a small cast iron pan I have and add about 1/2 inch of water.
– Place tops back on the peppers and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
– After 30 minutes remove the tops of the peppers, these should already be pretty soft.
– Drizzle olive oil on the meat filling and put back in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

You may want to serve this with a salty tomato based sauce, or something similar….think of the flavor profile of lamb. This was fairly gamey and went real well with the sauce I made. I'll probably do this again soon.

Evora: Praça do Giraldo, Cafe Arcada and dinner at Taberna Tipica Quarta-Feira

October 11, 2013 mmm-yoso Memorable Meals, Portugal, Portuguese Food, Travel

We'd gotten into the habit of taking a break and having a snack and some espresso when we were feeling a bit confused or tired. We ended up calling this the "Lisbon Rule" and it was time for that rule to come into play. So we headed down the hill from the Roman Temple, thru Rua de Vasco da Gama…..

We stopped to admire #15 Rua de Vasco da Gama……why? Well, according to what we read, Vasco da Gama lived here after returning from his first voyage to India. So…..Vasco da Gama really "slept here"…

A short while later, we were on Praça do Giraldo, for all intents and purposes, Evora's main square. This is where you'll find the older men chatting, talking politics, young people hanging out, drinking coffee, tourists mingling among them.

The square is named after Giraldo (Gerald) the Fearless, who drove the Moors out of Evora in 1165. It is a nice open area with the Church of Santo Antao and a rather quaint fountain from the 16th century. All this sunny brightness belies the supposed 22,000 condemnations that occurred here during the Inquisition or that John II sanctioned, then watched his cousin Fernando II's decapitation here in 1483. No, nowadays it's a whole lotta sunshine…and snacks….

At Cafe Arcada……

This huge, cavernous shop had got some prime real estate. You walk on up to the counter; place your order, then find a place to sit.

We decided on sitting at one of the outside tables to people watch….

Cafe Arcada
Praca do Giraldo 10
Evora, Portugal

It was easy picking out the locals from the tourists, from the students…..probably just as easy to picking us out….

We noticed an interesting "gap" of sorts….there were many young people in their late teens and early twenties and an equal amount of folks older than 50. We figured that the university brought the young people here, but most all leave after their education, as does most of the young people.

Feeling refreshed, we headed west and outside the walls of the town for the first time…well not including the taxi from the train station.

We headed West and found a nice walking path around the perimeter of the walls of the town. Outside the walls, Evora seemed a different town…more modern, more traffic. Really, what should we have expected?

It was a bright sunny afternoon and we were enjoying ourselves.

As we turned the around the Southwest corner, we noticed a playground for children and also that the area on the inside of the city walls seemed to be level with the top of the structure.

Working our way back through into the town vis Rua da Republica we found ourselves in the Jardim Publico……the Public Garden. It was a nice place for a break, plus there was free WiFi in the gardens.

I noticed this bust of Flobela Espanca, poet, feminist, and all around tragic figure. I'm not sure why it's here.

After a nice rest we headed back to our little sanctuary called the Albergaria do Calvario. Did you notice that we didn't have lunch? Well there was a reason for that. After a short rest, we headed back out. In just our two evenings here, we noticed something interesting about life within the town walls. Most businesses closed at 7pm. At 730, the restaurants started opening. The rather busy streets are sedate and quiet at 715….

Perhaps it was too late for the older locals, all of the day-trippers are gone, and too early for the students, which were probably fortifying themselves with the Portuguese equivalent of instant ramen for a late night of partying….which probably didn't happen within the city walls anyway.

Praça do Giraldo at this time of day was literally a ghost town….

We walked on over to the old Moorish Quarter where Botequim da Mouraria is located. I had been looking forward to eating here from the time we finalized plans for our trip. The folks at Albergaria do Calvario were nice enough to get us reservations here.

No, this isn't some Michelin wannabe, though it only had ten or so tables.

There isn't a menu per se….you trust Zé Dias. This is just Evora's version of Omakase….. There's basically one sitting per evening. The meal is 25 Euros per person. You will have reservations. You eat what they serve you. You are not vegetarian. You love pork and rustic, local food. If you can answer "yes" to all of the above, you'll enjoy yourself.

Quarta-Feira serves a fixed menu, whatever they deem to be in the mood for on that day. It's a family run operation. The front man has his caricature on the bottle of wine they serve, Zé Dias. He was quick to gesture to us……not much english spoken here, by patting his belly that this is/was perhaps a flattering profile of the man.

You be the judge. The wine itself was not bad…it lent itself to the food we were served. It is also included in the meal and when Zé Dias noticed we had finished our bottle…the Missus really enjoyed this bottle, he brought us another, all included in the price.

It's imperative that you have reservations here. Four groups of folks came in during our meal, all were turned away because the one sitting they had was booked. Second big thing I noticed, it's probably a good idea to get there early. Some items are prepped ahead and you won't get the full enjoyment of the dish if you get there later. Look, there are those of us who believe that the customer (usually "I") is the "center of the universe", but sorry Charlie, this is a small operation……this is nothing like the "typical Roman service" of "you are blessed to eat here" that we encountered in Rome. By the way, those are quotes from a resident of Rome.

Things started out with bread….of course. And some Porco Preto. I've mentioned the Black Iberican Pig
before. So it's an obvious starting point for a meal in the Alentejo.

And some nice oven baked cheese……

This was where coming a bit early was to our benefit as this dish didn't look quite as good, gooey, and hot as later patrons arrived.

Along with this, we got some very tasty mushrooms with chives and olive oil. I'm thinking there was some garlic as well as these were packed with flavor.

At about this time a group of three gentlemen sat down on a table next to us. Two of them were locals with a visiting professor from the University. We'd find that a seal of approval during our trip would be the phrase "very typico, very typico" to indicate local cuisine and specialties from the residents. This was where they took folks to sample local cuisine….like I'd take folks to Ono Hawaiian Foods……

We were brought two small dishes. The fried item was intestine….which was totally delici-yoso. It was so amazingly savory, yet very clean in flavor. The roasted peppers were fine, but I was infatuated with the guts… I would have been happy with a plate of that.

The main course was roasted Black Pork.

Also at this time Zé Dias noticed that we had finished our bottle of wine, so he brought us another?

Anyway, this was local stewed pork shoulder. Having had so many doses of the "other white meat" this was amazing. I just loved the fact that pork in Portugal tasted….well….like pork! This was simply stewed, the flavor of swine coming through……pigs fed on acorns and pasture raised, this is the standard here. You don't need to mess around with it.

The pork was moist, tender, full of flavor, and not very oily.

Along with the potatoes, we were served two other dishes.

What was really funny is that we don't recall the flavor of one…which is to the right, and still think of the other, a version of esparregado, a spinach dip of sorts, as memorable, full of herbaceous flavor.

Dessert was served…….

Which the Missus really enjoyed.

And a bottle of Vinho Licoroso was placed on our table. A Digestif called Vinho Licoroso. we were specifically told, in one of the few English phrases of the night "no Porto….no Porto". But this really tasted like a nice port.

This was a nice way to end our time in Evora….in fact, the Missus was kind of angry that I didn't schedule more time for us here….but how was I to know?

I'm thinking we'll be back…..

Taberna Tipica Quarrta-Feira
Rua do Inverno 18
Evora, Portugal

Here's a panoramic photo of Evora from Largo da Porta de Mouro.

Roasted Ghost Pepper Louisiana Style Hot Sauce

October 9, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

Well, it seems that "pepper season" is just about over for our impulse buy ghost pepper plant. The branches are full of peppers so I better get off my butt and figure out what to do with these. I've killed off all my friends already, so I gotta figure something out soon!

So far I've made some guacamole and BBQ Sauce, even infused vodka, I've even tried these in a stir fry…..talk about a butt burner. And yet, the initial flavor when you eat one of these is so good, flowery and fragrant…..

So I decided I better make some hot sauces. I thought I'd start with a basic Louisiana style hot sauce, since it's pretty easy to make and all. Plus, a couple of these style hot sauces are always in our kitchen. Plus, it's pretty easy to make a basic version. There were a couple of things to contemplate. Because of the heat factor, there ain't no way I'd be using more than a couple of these for a batch, so I had to figure some way to maintain that reddish-orange hue. I wanted to emphasize a bit of smokiness as well without losing the integrity of the flowery-heat. I decided to roast the peppers and only use 4, seeds and all…..why waste all that heat, right?

Anyway, I looked in the fridge tonight and this is all I have left, so I thought I'd better get posting…….

You can, of course add more, or less peppers, or even mix and match. I figure I'd be using about a pound of regular chilies to about 2 cups of vinegar. I don't have to mention using gloves when working with these peppers, right? Be careful after as well…..contact burns are not fun.

As for uses. Well, anywhere you'd use Tabasco, Crystal, or Frank's….. I used some on a Lamb Loco Moco I made.

It was really good. The hot sauce goes well with eggs…….

Roasted Ghost Pepper Louisiana Style Hot Sauce:

4 Roasted Ghost Peppers
1 Red Bell Pepper chopped coarsely
1 1/2 Cup Distilled White Vinegar
6 Cloves of roasted garlic smashed
1 tsp Liquid Smoke

– Put everything in a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a simmer.
– Hot your breath, otherwise you'll start sneezing like crazy
– Simmer until red bell peppers soften about 7-8 minutes
– Pour into a blender…be careful with this!
– Process until smooth
– Pour into a sterilized jar, let cool, then steep for 10-14 days
– Once everything settles, strain into sterilized bottles

I'm saving the last of this batch for some wings and I'll probably do this again. Next though, I'm going to try to make that other indispensable hot sauce/condiment, Sriracha.

Stay Tuned!

Noodling Around: Revisits to Ramen Yamadaya, Mien Trung, and Pho Convoy Noodle House

October 8, 2013 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Japanese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

Well, it's finally starting to cool off a bit, which means I can start-up on noodle soup again. Here's a trio of revisits, with minimal verbiage.

Ramen Yamadaya:

**** Ramen Yamadaya has closed

Along with Santouka, one of my two favorite ramen shops in San Diego.

My usual M.O. is to order the Kotteri Ramen with Kakuni Pork, but that would have been pushing it a bit for lunch, so I just went with the Kotteri Ramen.

With noodles extra-firm of course.

The extra rich broth just gives you that "warm blanket on a cold day" comfort…makes me kinda look forward to winter.

Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairement Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Mien Trung:

For some reason I was kinda craving some Bun Bo Hue and the Missus was kind enough to humor me….even though it was almost 90 outside at the time. So I got my Bun Bo Hue and it was delici-yoso…….even through the perspiration running down my face.

The BBH here has sometimes been a tad off….but on this day it was just what I needed. As usual, the Missus got Her Banh Nam and we shared some Hen Xuc Banh Trang…..I just think an order of the Fish Sauce Wings from Que Huong, these spicy clams, and a couple of cold ones……aaaaaah….

Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Convoy Noodle House:

**** Convoy Noodle House has closed

No, I didn't want to push my luck and have the pho here, which had been not so great on my last two visits. I had a bunch of meetings and either needed to have lunch at 10am or have nothing at all until dinner. Since they open at 10, I decided to grab a bowl of noodle soup…..the Mi Dac Biet (House special egg noodle soup) to be exact.

It's gone up 30 cents to $7.25. On the good side, the shrimp are deveined, the fish cake is decent, and the portion of noodles was nice. On the not so great side, the noodles were over-cooked, the pork tasteless and dry. The broth had flavor, though it seemed like mostly MSG….it used to be much better here. I'm wondering what happened?

Maybe I should go back to Pho? But you know what I think about the Pho in the area, right?

Pho Convoy Noodle House
4647 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Jus Wings

October 7, 2013 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings

***** Jus Wings has closed

Several months ago I was up in the Rolando area for an appointment. Feeling a bit peckish, I searched around a bit for something to eat. I noticed this place, which seemed to have just opened in the huge University Square Marketplace.

The interior looked clean and new……

The young lady at the counter was also very nice, there was no order board or formal menu. What was offered were a printed and handwritten sheet taped to the counter, which really took away from the decor. You can select from different combo's or jus(t) wings with a variety of sauces.

I decided to go with an 8 piece combo, $7.99, which includes a side and a drink, very reasonable in my mind. Of course I had to get some straight up Buffalo wings for half my order, but was curious about what to get for the other 4 wings. The nice young lady gave me some of the sweet chili sauce, which totally tasted like the bottled stuff and wasn't very spicy. She told me that the spiciest wings were the "Jerk" wings, so I went with that.

The wings were fried nicely, quite crisp, but that sauce was really more of a topping, and nothing like any "jerk" seasoning/sauce I'd ever seen. It was like some pseudo green chili salsa that wasn't particularly hot and very one dimensional.

The Buffalo wings were by the book and the sauce was that usual Louisiana Hot sauce – vinegar based sauce that everyone knows. The wings were on the smaller side, something which I kind of like; it increases the skin-to-meat ration. They were nicely fried; not overdone and dry, but decent. Wish they had some blue cheese dressing…..

Man, I could not believe how much fries they gave me…..

The place had a chain-like feel to it, the wings were cooked to order and took about 15 minutes. There looked to be only 4 fryers, so I could imagine if the place got busy.

I thought this would be a one-and-done, but I happened to be back in the area about a month later and decided to give the place another try.

Things looked the same, but the menu, though it was still "81/2" x "11", stained and curling around the edges, and taped to th counter had changed a bit. Specifically the sauces, the "jerk" was (thankfully) gone. This time around I was told that the garlic buffalo was nice and spicy, so I ordered that, along with the Chili-lime-pepper. It was a bit of a longer wait this time around, almost 25 minutes and they weren't even busy……

I went with the coleslaw this time around and it was very blah….bland.

The Chili-lime-pepper was also not to my liking. Too sour and artificial tasting, I a hard time getting past that. The wings were fried too long and were on the dry side as well.

In terms of flavor, the garlic Buffalo was much better.

The heat level on this was nice, it brought a nice sheen of sweat to my brow. The vinegar heightened the whole experience. Didn't taste much garlic as these also edged on the salty side. Still it was the better of the two.

After two visits, I think I'll make the effort to drive to Crispy Fried Chicken if I'm in the area. Nice folks and all that, but it's nothing I'd want to go out of my way for.

Jus Wings
5801 University Ave (in the University Square Marketplace)
San Diego, CA 92115