American/New American Restaurants – Page 14

2020 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float decorating. Dinner at Peppertree Cafe (Glendora).

December 8, 2019 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!! is primarily a food blog. There are many reasons food is acquired. Cathy is posting today about another year end event when she and The Mister volunteer, along with their meal following the long work day. Kirk and His Missus are still 'on vacation'.

In January, the New President of the Tournament of Roses was announced and she announced the theme of the 2020 Rose Parade. (Details at the top of this post, along with links to all 2020 float road tests). This Saturday was the first day of float decorating. Check in kiosks, light rain and an excitement surrounded the Phoenix Decorating Company decorating barn in Irwindale. Soon enough, we were called in and met our Crew Chief who escorted us to the float where we would be working on this first of the 'dry' decorating days. Live flowers show up around December 26 or 27, so they will be fresh on the floats. These Saturdays before Christmas are decorations made with glue and tiny details of dry materials: peas, beans, lentils, coffee grounds, straw, dry flowers, dry parsley and so much more.
Walking past numerous floats
and material product (these are statice flowers, which are cut, dried and blended into a powder to be spread on floats needing large areas of blue or pink colors).
Colors are painted for easy material application. ('Soaring with Hope' presented by Kiwanis International).
Here's part of a thatch roof effect, almost finished before lunch. ('Growing a Better Tomorrow' by Western Asset).
Glue and onion seed being applied. ('Planting Seeds of Hope' by Sikh American Float Foundation).
Rotary ('Hope Connects the World') had a lot of volunteers this first day.
Shriner's Hospitals for Children ('Hope Knows No Limits') completed quite a bit.
These ladies, first time volunteers, were applying bended straw flowers to one of the homes on the SCAN Foundation float, 'Hope's Hope'.
The Lions Club float ('Hope for 2020')really has so many cute details all related to vision, one of their five tenants.
Part of the SCAN Foundation float had coffee grounds (on the frame of the window), sesame seeds (the yellow 'bricks') and poppy seeds (the darker half circle castle pieces). Across the way is the Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day float, 'Plant a garden, Believe in Tomorrow'.There's the Cowboy Channel float, 'Walk, Ride, Rodeo'.
Here's Trader Joe on 'It Takes a Flight of Fancy'. He's in a pickle barrel and holding a pickle in his left hand. Two floats are still under construction- Wescom Credit Union and Farmers Insurance. There's plenty of time(!)

Details, dry materials, glue: what a day.

Details for volunteering and artist renditions of some of the floats are on the Phoenix Decorating page. Details of Tournament activities are on The Rose Examiner page and more other Tournament activity details on the Tournament of Roses page.

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We stopped at Cream Pan for a quick breakfast on the way up, brought our own lunch for our 30 minute break and decided to head East, to Glendora, for dinner once we finished working. I posted about a breakfast here in 2018 There is a regular menu as well as a Special Menu on weekends.

Italian Wedding Soup-very good long simmered chicken broth along with the spinach and carrots, tiny beef-pork meatballs and tiny orzo pasta.
The house made thousand Island is excellent. A refreshing salad.
An eight ounce Top Sirloin along with five coconut shrimp and choice of potato or fresh vegetables (sautéed in garlic butter) ($13.99) Look at all those vegetables! The Top Sirloin was cooked to a perfect medium rare and had great flavor, the crispy coconut shrimp were so nice; plump, juicy and crispy.
Prime Rib ($15.99) was great- medium rare, large and flavorful, and the salted baked potato made this special meal after a long day just a bit more special.

We had really liked the breakfast here…dinner was also excellent.

Peppertree Cafe 1020 E. Route 66 Glendora, CA 91740 Website Sun-Thurs 6 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri-Sat 6a.m.-10 p.m.

Home Sweet Home Cafe (Escondido)

December 6, 2019 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

This is a food blog named mmm-yoso!!! Kirk usually writes here, but is busy navigating various forms of transportation in Europe while vacationing. Cathy is writing a short post today.

I've often said that everyone has two 'go-to' places to eat a quick meal; one near home and one near work. Usually those places involve fast food or chains but sometimes the 'near work' choices are even more limited to food trucks or an obscure, long time hole-in-the-wall eatery on a side street in a commercial area of town. After driving through the Escondido "Mile of Cars", continuing North into the area with all the various businesses located in large industrial buildings (even some repurposed quonset huts), there it is. The name and ownership changed in 2010 but it's been a breakfast-lunch restaurant for more than 20 years.
There's a 12 seat counter area and two rooms of tables. None of the coffee cups match, there are quirky signs (as well as anything with "Home Sweet Home" imprinted), the tables have advertising for neighboring businesses embedded in the tops (tables were made by a neighboring business). There is some holiday decor. I think we interacted with each of the friendly waitresses (who greet 'regulars' by their first name). A calm, familiar, cozy place.
The Mister tried the "Devon" Benedict ($11.50)- corned beef hash topped with poached eggs topped with Hollandaise sauce, all on top of a toasted English muffin. He chose home fries on the side. Not fancy, but very good. The hash was plentiful, probably from a can (the diced potatoes were a bit too perfect), the Hollandaise was house made, but didn't have lemon in it (I notice stuff like that). The potatoes were fried to a crisp edge with creaminess in the center, along with the bell peppers and onions.
I decided to try the 'French Toast Special' ($11) with three halves of French toast. Ignore the color; it is not burned. I was asked if I wanted cinnamon on my toast and I asked for it to be on two of the three halves. The bread was eggy and soft on the inside with the exterior just the right amount of light crisp. The over-easy eggs were perfectly runny and I had a choice of bacon or sausage links or a sausage patty…oh yes, an excellent sausage patty.

A great find. Breakfast and lunch are served all day.

Home Sweet Home Cafe 662 Enterprise Street Escondido, CA 92029 (760) 743-2233 Open Mon-Fri 5 a.m.-2 p.m., Sat 5 a.m.-1 p.m., Sun 7 a.m.-1 p.m.

2020 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Road Tests #5 and #6, breakfasts at Michael’s Superburgers (Irwindale) and other (regular) stops

November 24, 2019 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is primarily a food blog. So many events revolve around finding a place for a meal. Cathy (and Her Mister) have a regular pastime of viewing the Tournament of Roses Rose Parade floats being tested for mechanics and maneuverability before being decorated and participating in the Parade on January 1. Here's another post.

The Tournament of Roses is only a few weeks away. There are so many activities which will happen the week between Christmas and January 2- you can find comprehensive and updated listings in The Rose Examiner. The tournament is not just the Parade and the football game; there is Bandfest, Equestfest, Sip and Savor, Rose Bowl Bash, Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Induction and the Showcase of Floats. So much to see and do to ring in the New Year!

The past few months have been unusually busy for The Mister and myself that I didn't post the October Float Road Test at Phoenix Decorating Company in Irwindale. Here are a few photos (some are 'before and after') of both test days.

"Planting Seeds of Hope", presented by the Sikh American Float Foundation, describes the 2020 float: "Bhai Ghaneya Singh, a devout Sikh, leads the float as he symbolically pours water from his sheepskin vessel. He is remembered for his selfless service to all humanity with love, respect, compassion and humility. The water flows onto large sculpted flowers each supporting children from diverse backgrounds. A fantasy garden provides the backdrop to a nurturing environment in which we celebrate our greatest hope for the future….our children." Each year, I learn something from the Sikh float.
The SCAN Foundation has a float in the Rose Parade for the first time. The title of "Hope's Heroes" reflects the definition of this organization, "an independent public charity devoted to transforming care for older adults in ways that preserve dignity and encourage independence".
Shriners Hospitals for Children has the theme of "Hope Knows No Limits" and features Fezzy Bear pushing a young girl, with a below the knee prosthesis, on a swing.
Trader Joe, the Fearless Flyer, is depicted on the 2020 float, "It Takes a Flight of Fancy"…
spinning in a pickle barrel!Western Asset's 2020 Rose Parade entry, "Growing a Better Tomorrow" is quite a large float, depicting a series of tree houses in an exotic setting. Magnificent!
The 'Banner Float" is colored in and ready to be decorated to display the theme of the parade at the start.
The final two floats of the parade
will relay the upcoming Tournament of Roses Rose Bowl football game, to be played at 2 p.m. on January 1.

Decorating (dry/detail) begins Saturday December 7 (and the following Saturdays before Christmas) then the fresh flowers arrive and daily decorating from December 26 forward. There are links to sign up for volunteering on the Phoenix Decorating Company site.

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On to the Food portion of the blog. In October, The Mister and I stopped at 'the usual' place- Cream Pan in Tustin for a sandwich, a ham and cheese croissant and a strawberry croissant. After the float road test, we (again) returned to Portos in West Covina, where we shared an "Omelette Plato" ($6.45)-a cheese omelette topped with avocado and tomato which comes with crispy Spanish potatoes and an arugula salad tossed with a lemon vinaigrette. Filling, refreshing and there's enough room for other items…since this was the last weekend of October,
Dia de los Muerto decorated cookies and Pan de Muertos were purchased. The soft, eggy bread was filled with candied orange peel and orange blossom water; a wonderful bread.

Also, seasonal potato balls were available: filled with turkey, gravy and vegetables, rolled in a well seasoned crust, these are a very special treat (and only $1.05!). [photo credit to canine cologne]

We stopped at the Kolache Factory yesterday and the seasonal turkey with stuffing kolache was available (along with our 'always order' of a bacon and cheese kolache). Seasonal offerings are always special.

When leaving the Road Test, we went one signal light South and then East to the next signal light. On the Southwest corner of Arrow Highway and Vincent, this signage made me take a turn into the parking lot.
The breakfast menu behind the counter is straightforward.
I haven't ordered a bacon and egg sandwich ($6.99) in a while; have forgotten what I am missing. White bread, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, four thick slices of crispy bacon and a beautiful runny egg. Simple perfection.
The Mister ordered a chili cheese omelet ($9.99). At least there eggs, filled with cheese, topped with a really good chili that was topped with more cheese. Again, perfection. His toast was sourdough, the hash browns were wonderfully crisp.

Need to stop at the local places; follow the New Year Resolution.

Michael's Superburgers 16350 Arrow Highway Irwindale, CA 91706 Open daily 6 a.m.-midnight Website

The Cowboy Channel has a float in the parade; it's under construction. Link to artist rendition of some of the 2020 Rose Parade floats

Sunny Side Kitchen (Escondido)

November 20, 2019 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog, with most posts written by Kirk. Cathy writes posts when Kirk needs a break. Today, it's Cathy's turn.

The Mister and I were in Escondido and turned onto a side street (Orange Street), noticed a few tables on the sidewalk with a sandwich board menu. We had to stop.

Sunny Side Kitchen started out as a stand at North County Farmers Markets in 2013 and then migrated to popping up at various North County breweries and eventually moved into this brick and mortar location in 2015. It's open from 6:30-2:30 Monday-Saturday (and does a lot of local catering).

Walk in, check out another menu board as well as the wall menu, order, pay and find a seat. Your food will be brought to you. There are four tables and some barstools inside and three tables out front.
We were here on Friday, when the Soup of the Day ($4) was clam chowder. A wonderful, lighter version (still creamy, but not gloppy), filled with potato, celery, onion and plenty of canned clams, this did nt need any condiments added in- usually salt and pepper are needed and this soup was just perfectly seasoned.
The Quiche of the Day ($5.75) was green chili and was *wonderful*-like a chile relleno; cheesy, eggy, fluffy with strips of green chile. The no crust quiche made it a 'lighter' meal.
One of the sandwich boards had a "Thanksgiving Salad" listed and we ordered the half size ($6.75). The bowl it was served in is deceptively deep and there was plenty of turkey in between all the mixed greens, along with some onions, raisins, candied pecans, craisins and blue cheese. The cranberry citrus vinaigrette was complimentary to all the other flavors.

Everything is fresh, made to order and really good. We will be returning to try the breakfast menu.

Sunny Side Kitchen 155 S. Orange Street Escondido, CA 92025 (760) 294-4450 (between Valley Parkway and 2nd Avenue) Open Monday-Saturday 6:30-2:30 Closed Sunday Website

Sunday Stuffs – Saigon Restaurant Replacing Yum Cha Cafe, Chicken Charlie’s (Balboa) Closes, and the One Chip Challenge 2019

October 20, 2019 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants, yoso-silly

Been kinda busy over the last month or so. I finally had a chance to drive around a bit and noticed a couple of things for a leisurely Sunday post.

Saigon Restaurant Replacing Yum Cha Café:

I noticed some new signage up when I drove by Thuan Phat Market.

Hmmm….is it "that" Saigon Restaurant? This will be interesting.

Well, at least somethings happening in this spot. It's been over two years since Yum Cha Cafe closed.

6933 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Chicken Charlie's FryBQ (Balboa) Closes:

I had to drop by the bank and noticed that it looked like equipment and furnishings in Chicken Charlie's were shrink wrapped. So, I parked the car and walked over.

Even though the outdoor tables and chairs are still in place; Chicken Charlie's is closed.

You can still go to the Rancho Bernardo location as a, sorry, can't help it…..bypass if you need to get your fix.

5407 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

And finally……

Just like last year; "Alle" wanted me to do the One-Chip Challenge.

And, just when I thought it couldn't be hotter than last year…..well, let me tell you……this had me fooled as it wasn't too bad for the first 15 seconds or so. Then it got really, burning, searing hot……like I just ate a porcupine. The heat lasted even longer this year….I got the hiccups, my scalp itched, all normal reactions on my part. Admittedly, I don't use any "props", no gloves and such…so it wasn't a particularly good move when I rubbed my face with my hands with the powder from the chip on them. Oh well, it wasn't as bad as when I worked with Ghost Peppers and didn't wash my hands well…..then took out my contact lenses a bit later.

This chip made the Triple Atomic Wings seem like ice cream.

Well, I'm done until next year…..

Hope everyone had a great weekend, thanks for dropping by!

Farmer’s Table (Bay Park)

September 16, 2019 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants

**** This location of Farmer's Table has closed

I know; the Farmer's Table has been open in my 'hood for almost a year now and I'm finally doing a post? Well, you can kinda figure why it took me so long to do a couple of visits.

The Farmer's Table opening in our neighborhood sure did create a buzz; it seems that the changes and gentrification of Bay Park is moving along. Farmer's Table claims to serve "Farm to Fork"; which I think is great, though the Missus took a look at the menu and wasn't particularly inspired.

Still, I thought the space was nicely put together. Kind of a rustic-chic look.

Still, like I said, the Missus wasn't really motivated. So one morning while She was working I decided to drop by for the "Brunch" which is served from 8am to 3pm Daily. My Server was really cheerful and friendly. After perusing the menu; I went for the Heirloom Tomato Frittata ($15) with Black Beans and Sourdough Bread.

This was a very nice, albeit somewhat "corporate" looking dish. It should do good here not scaring off the long time locals, while seeming to be interesting enough for the rest of us. Sadly, the black beans were hardly seasoned and quite bland.

The eggs were fine, decently seasoned, but the "heirloom tomatoes" weren't ripe enough and was really weak in either the acidity or sweetness department. It wasn't terrible, just sort of uninspiring and bland. Basically, "food not to offend".

Still, I needed at least another visit under my belt before doing a post. So, I relentlessly badgered the Missus; until She finally agreed to go the Farmer's Table for dinner. And why wouldn't She? The place is but a few blocks away from our house. Just think I told Her, "can you imagine if Farmer's Table is good….it's so close."

So, we went for a fairly early dinner. The service was good, until the place started filling up.

We started with the Duck Liver Pate ($12) which was served with nicely charred ciabatta. Now, we weren't expecting anything near the quality of, say Arnaud Nicolas, but while be nice and smooth, the pate was really salty, which really overshadowed the usual gamey-offal-earthiness of a good duck or chicken liver pate.

We also got the Bison Tartare ($17).

You might want to just skip this if you've read yesterday's post on Senia. The bison was chopped too large for our tastes, thus making the already lean Bison even more tough. The meat also had a slight metallic tinge to it. I love the mellow beefy and slightly sweet flavor of Bison; remember the Bison Nahm Tok I made? But this just didn't seem to do the meat justice. It was more than half avocado; which was perfectly ripe and creamy, though the Quail Egg was overdone and wasn't runny enough to help out the dish.

We also got the Stuffed Portobello ($15). The menu read, "heirloom tomato, artichoke, bell pepper chutney + caramelized onion + manchego".

We couldn't find any tomato; though there was chopped bell pepper and onion. The artichokes were really sour as was the pool of liquid this overcooked, rubbery mushroom was floating in. The cheese had been melted in glops instead of being a nice layer of cheese. The dish was just strangely sour.

The Missus gave me a look……I didn't need the gift of telepathy to know exactly what our next move was. It was time to cut our losses and head home.

And so, I had enough for a post….but really felt bad about these meals. I mean, were these just off days? Several folks in the neighborhood mentioned how bad the service at Farmer's Table had been; but I had never experienced that.

So, when the Missus was working one weekend I returned. And got the Corn Beef Skillet ($14); with potatoes and focaccia.

The highlight of my meal was the focaccia; which while being on the salty side is crisp around the edges with some decent yeastiness. I ordered my eggs over easy; but they came out over-cooked. The potatoes were nicely fried; well seasoned. The skillet was just that….it looked like everything was just thrown into a skillet. The bell peppers were hard, there wasn't any caramelization on the food and it wasn't heated enough.

Over the three visits; it seems to me that Farmer's Table seems closer to being a "fast casual, somewhat corporate, chain" than what the menu says, "A Neighborhood Eatery". Perhaps the other locations are better? I know that Lynn really enjoyed her visit. I mean, I love the Farm to Fork credo, but I still gotta enjoy the food. Sad, because I was somewhat excited about having a place like this in our neighborhood.

Farmer's Table (Bay Park)
3055 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117
Hours:
Sun – Thur 8am – 9pm
Fri – Sat 8am – 10pm

Laguna Beach – Top of the World Loop Trail, Dinner at Sapphire Laguna, and Sunsets

September 6, 2019 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Orange County, Road Trip, Travel

One of Frankie's favorite Aunties; "Alle" recently gifted us with a two night stay in Laguna Beach! So, after an early dinner on a Friday, we headed up to Laguna Beach. We parked downtown and scoped out places I had on my list and also places Uber Blogger "Elmo" had provided for me for the following evening's dinner. Sadly; we just weren't particularly impressed with the offerings……

But that was ok; we were staying at the charming La Casa del Camino; which was built in 1929.

Which has Spanish-style rooms….but our gift certificate specified staying in one of the "Casa Surf Rooms". Each had been designed by different designers and sponsored by various sports and activity companies like Billabong and Rip Curl. We got the very unique Roxy Room.

It was quite comfortable and the staff was very friendly. The hotel has a very popular restaurant and an even more popular Rooftop Bar with wonderful views and a zillion people doing alcohol therapy! We saw quite a few middle aged folks walking kind of unsteadily down the stairs during the evening. We just wanted to relax with the A/C on!

La Casa del Camino
1289 S. Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

We headed down one of the streets to watch the sunset.

The next morning the Missus decided She wanted to go on a hike. We had gone to the visitors center downtown the previous evening and the nice gentleman working recommended the Top of the World Loop Trail. So we headed up to Alta Laguna Park and spent a couple of hours on the easy hike……

It was a pretty hot and humid weekend and the views were pretty hazy.

Lots of mountain bikers and dogs were doing the trail. One really funny Retriever refused to even start the hike; he just laid down on all fours. The owner told us; he doesn't like the sun, so I guess we're not going past here today. It was really funny.

There were quite a few critters on the trail, a ton of rabbits, and this one actually shook his rattle at the Missus!

We were done by 930 and the Missus decided that She wanted Vientiane Lao Thai, so we drove over to Garden Grove for an early lunch. We then headed off to Rowland Heights to buy some snacks and other stuffs. We got back during the early afternoon and walked the mile or so to downtown, did some shopping, and scoped out a few more restaurants. In the end, we decided to have dinner at one of the places that was both on my "list" and had been recommended by Elmomonster. Sapphire Laguna; which was also a block away from our hotel.

The place was booked up; but we took some seats at the bar; which turned out to be an excellent decision. There's a Happy Hour menu, in addition to the regular menu at bar, even on weekends. The lead Bartender was an awesome young man named Paul. He was so friendly and it would turn out quite a mixologist. The Missus started with a glass of white wine and I had a Macallan 12.

The menu at Sapphire is very….well, global fusion.

We started with the Octopus Aguachile.

The pulpo was very tender and the Missus loved the avocado. It was, of course, bracingly sour, but also quite salty. This was not bad at all.

I saw the Burmese Fermented Tea Salad on the menu and had to try that. The presentation was very "Burma Superstar" if you know what I mean.

I eagerly mixed everything together. This was not bad; though it did miss the mark a bit; it was sour, though for some reason, it lacked the bitter-savory-slightly tanic tones that make tea leaf salad so addictive. The tomatoes weren't ripe enough to add acidity and there was too much lettuce in comparison to the laphet. Still, like the octopus, this wasn't bad.

At about this time, we'd gotten to know the two local guys sitting next to us on the bar. They were really friendly and we had a nice chat about local restaurants and bars….they both snorted when I mentioned the Rooftop Lounge…."it's only for tourists!" "And so crowded….." They seemed to know the bar staff quite well. I'm guessing they were regulars. About this time, the really busy, but friendly bartender, asked me if I wanted another drink. I said sure, but wondered if he could make me something….I described my tastes, smokey, smooth, bourbon or mezcal, bitters….. And he came up with the perfect cocktail for me…..all my favorite flavors in balance. It was amazing!

I asked him what the name of this cocktail was, and was told "it has no name….I just made it up for you right now". Awesome.

The Missus was still a bit hungry, so just for the heck of it, I ordered the Sonoran Dog off the Happy Hour menu. The Missus just loved this.

I mean, the bun and onions were just decoration. The Missus loved the snap and flavor of the hot dog; which had a mild spice to it; smoky, with a light oregano and perhaps cumin tones….the bacon didn't hurt at all either.

She loved it so much, I ordered another….. and also another "Paul's a Genius"….when Paul asked me what that was, I told him, "I just named that cocktail you made for me!" He cracked up. During a pause in the action, we had a nice chat. He had worked for a while in Seattle and made some recommendations for our next trip up there.

We loved the folks at Sapphire. And the bartender….and that (those) cocktail(s) was perhaps the highlight of the trip for me. We'd made the right choice for dinner.

Sapphire Laguna
1200 S, Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

We had no plans for the rest of the evening. Yes, I know the Pageant of the Masters was going on, but we just wanted to relax, without crowds and such.

We walked south along Coast Highway, past all the hotels and motels…..and headed down to the beach at Woods Cove…..it was beautiful.

The next morning we headed out early. We had lunch reservations and also needed to do a bit more shopping in the SGV.

We'd had a nice relaxing time in Laguna Beach….it's not quite our kind of crowd there; but all the locals and folks working were very nice. I'm glad we had a chance to check things out.

And those sunsets……

Thanks for stopping by!

Clearing Out the Memory Card – Never Made the Cut Road Trip Edition

August 10, 2019 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Bun Bo Hue, Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Pho, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Vietnamese Restaurants

Here are some photos that I was just going to delete…..I have a bunch of breakfast one's from when I was driving to Irvine almost weekly as well. But since these weren't in San Diego; where I try to visit places more than once; I thought I'd just do one of those "never made the cut" posts.

I went to lunch with the folks I was working with in Irvine a couple of times.

Ngu Binh:

I've posted on Ngu Binh before, but was excited to try the Bun Bo Hue. Unfortunately, the folks that got there first ordered for all of us…….

They like their Bun Bo Hue not spicy with no pork hock and that's what I had waiting for me when I arrived……what the??????

Ngu Binh Restaurant
14072 Magnolia St
Westminster, CA 92683

Pho Lovers:

Which was right in front of Lien Hoa, it has since moved.

loved the herbs which were amazingly fresh.

The pho was seriously defatted, the noodles over-cooked, though the broth wasn't overly sweet or salty.

Now at:

9892 Westminster Blvd
Garden Grove, CA 92844

From other Road Trips.

Chengdu Taste (Alhambra):

The Missus was seriously psyched to try the place that had been declared the "best Sichuan Restaurant in America". We were quite disappointed.

And the service was so terrible, that we got our mapo tofu and Shui Zhu Niu Rou, the beef boiled in hot sauce to go. Both just didn't have enough spice and were seriously defatted versions. The won tons in hot sauce were too sweet and lacked spice, not even close to the version I had at Long Chau Shou (龙抄手).

828 W Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91803

The Lark (Santa Barbara):

This one was from the same road trip where we had a wonderful meal at Yoichi's. It was a super hot weekend; yet they had the fire pit going!

From the mushy brussel sprouts to the teeth rattling sweet duck wings, not our favorite meal.

Though the lamb shoulder confit was quite good.

The Lark Santa Barbara
131 Anacapa St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

So there you go; thanks for indulging me.

I'll be back tomorrow with more San Diego restaurants.

San Diego Chicken Pie Shop (revisit)

July 5, 2019 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! welcomes you back for a quick look at a place to enjoy a meal. Cathy is writing and Kirk is enjoying this Independence Day long weekend.

I've written a few posts about the San Diego Chicken Pie Shop since 2006. The menu has expanded over the years. Comfort food, quick service, nice people both dining and working.

There are tabletop 'specials' which include soup and Cole slaw. (Of note, the pea soup here is vegetarian; no ham).
On this day, corned beef and cabbage was the Special ($11) This was very well made and had large portion of tender beef. It came with the carrots, green beans and potatoes as well as the cabbage.
The Pie Dinner (still $10) which also arrives with the finely chopped slaw and fresh, chewy, wonderful dinner rolls is the same as always; a sturdy yet light crust surrounding chicken and turkey and gravy-no vegetables as filler. It's served with mashed potatoes and a Vegetable of the Day.
Full meals are served with a choice of pie for dessert. This day, chocolate pie and peach pie were chosen. Again, the hose made crusts make this so wonderful…light and flaky and so very fresh.

Yes, three different daily fresh baked items- the dinner rolls, the chicken pie crust and the dessert pie crusts. It's why we are here on carb craving days.

A San Diego tradition for more than 80 years.

San Diego Chicken Pie Shop 2633 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego 92104 (619) 295-0156 website Open Mon-Fri 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sat-Sun 9-8

Black Bear Diner (El Cajon)

May 25, 2019 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog, has yet another post for you to peruse this day. Kirk and His Missus are at the third of six stops on their Spring Vacation. Cathy is holding down the fort.

Black Bear Diner opened in El Cajon in mid-April; it's a former Coco's location, familiar to locals. The chain, founded in 1995 has 124 locations in 13 states.
The exterior and interior design is sort of 'rustic, appearing to be a local 'diner'. There are wood carvings of bears, local-themed artwork, a large bar seating area.
The front page of the "Black Bear Gazette" menu is locally themed.

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner menus each have choices of "Fit and Focused" meals as well as "Little Less" meals. No need for a 'Senior' menu. (Breakfast and Lunch are served all day, the Dinner menu starts at 4 p.m.). How I wish calorie counts were not displayed… The Mister ordered a "Bear's Choice Combo" ($10.69) and chose a sweet cream waffle (that's a bear claw design in the center), eggs over easy and two (or one of each) – thick cut bacon and a sausage link. (A smoked ham slice is the other breakfast meat available). The eggs were perfectly prepared, the sausage was quite large, juicy and had a nice skin, a slight black pepper flavor could be discerned. The bacon was indeed thick cut and quite wonderful. The cream waffle had a vanilla flavor and was a bit dry- needed butter and syrup.
I chose a "Classic Two Egg Combo" with chicken fried steak ($12.99), poached eggs (wonderfully prepared soft as requested), country red potatoes (red and green bell pepper as well as onions) were crispy on some edges (I wish each piece was crisped, but then I would have finished the quite large portion instead of taking home leftovers). The chicken fried steak- excellent. The crust was so light and crispy, the meat portion large and juicy. The gravy- a wonderful flavor and even though there is black pepper in it, the pepper was not overwhelming. An excellent meal. I asked for a biscuit as my bread and was disappointed. It definitely was baked here and fresh, but quite dry. I took more than half of it home and it was hard as a rock in a few hours. Toast next time!

Java City Coffee, sustainable and hand roasted, is served here ($2.89) and it is very high quality. I'm usually disappointed by most breakfast coffees and was pleasantly surprised.

Service was excellent; we were checked on and asked about our likes as well as dislikes and enjoyed this meal. We will return to try the lunch and dinner menu.

Black Bear Diner 1025 Fletcher Parkway El Cajon, CA 92020 Website Open daily 6 a.m.-10 p.m.