American/New American Restaurants – Page 33

Bella Vista Caffe (revisit)

July 1, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, European Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Kirk is extremely busy today. Ed(from Yuma) is also very preoccupied with things to do, so Cathy is sharing a recent Happy Hour meal.

I've posted about Bella Vista Caffe and have been here many times, just not documenting the wonderful meals here. If you read the prior post, you know the Caffe is located in the medical research office park area of La Jolla, near UCSD and the Torrey Pines Glider Port and serves brunch on the weekend (when we usually visit). (Be sure to bring your parking ticket to the restaurant; it will be validated).Above is a view from the balcony. Yes, that is the Pacific Ocean.One recent evening, just after 4 p.m. we decided to stop in (actually we were avoiding traffic after leaving the County Fair) and the menus given to us included Happy Hour pricing. (The craft beer was $3.70 on the receipt; I'm unsure of the regular price).Well, $2 off the 'antipasti' part of the menu and craft beer and wine discounts were an unexpected surprise. In addition, we had never seen this menu before. After a day of eating unusual food at the Fair, we were in the mood for ordering things we never had tried before.

Yep, neither of us has ever had beef carpaccio before ($8.95 Happy Hour price). We will order this from now on- the thinly sliced raw beef, topped with arugula and shaved Parmesan and a dressing of lemon and olive oil was so wonderfully decadent. The very flavorful marbled raw beef was plentiful, the peppery arugula was crispy fresh and the shaved Parmesan complimented everything so very well. L'Argentino empanada plate ($8.95 HH price) was wonderful. The menu states there are four empanadas, with choices of fillings- we asked for two beef, one chicken and one spinach and received two smaller spinach empanadas. The aioli in the center was (I think) sun dried tomato flavored. It complimented the crispy baked empanada crust.
The fillings were plentiful and richly flavored, as if each had been a very tasty stew before being placed inside the crust, which was baked to crunchy perfection. The spinach had an excellent flavor, was not watery and was as good as the meat varieties. You can see the onion and bits of red pepper and herbs in the fillings. I will order this again, but in addition to trying other items from this menu. The food was familiar yet new again. We really like it here.

Bella Vista Social Club & Caffe 2880 Torrey Pines Scenic Drive La Jolla, CA 92037 (858) 534-9624 Website

Shirley’s Kitchen (La Mesa)

June 2, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! the food blog written by friends Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy is back again with another post. Cathy is writing because the guys are adjusting.

Shirley's Kitchen, a quintessential Diner, open from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. seven days a week has been in this location on University near 70th for at least 20 years.

It's not fancy. It is clean.

When you walk in, daily specials are on the wall. The decor is eclectic. Your waiter/waitress will be efficient.

Basic condiments are on every table: you can order breakfast until closing.

You might be bored with more photos of breakfast, since I tend to order the same thing everywhere (poached eggs, rye toast and whatever meat craved that day or the Shirley's Special ($5.99)-2 eggs, 2 pancakes and choice of 3 bacon, 2 sausage or ham), so this post will be about lunch.

The pot pie dinner ($7.49) is always a good choice here. The shortening-based house made crust, filled with turkey and vegetables in gravy is why it's called "Famous Pot Pie" on the menu: people drive here for this. Served with mashed potato, vegetable of the day and more gravy as well as a side of cranberry sauce, this is a filling as well as good tasting meal.

I always enjoy a simple salad ($2.99) because of the house made Thousand Island dressing and pair it with the house made reasonably sized cup of chili ($3.99). Meaty and made with a great variety of spices, making it mildly spicy, the chili here is comforting and so very good.

The people working here know the 'regulars' and are always welcoming to new people. It's like eating at a friend's home.

Shirley's Kitchen 7118 University Avenue La Mesa, 91942 (619) 462-5732 Open 7 days 7 a.m.-2 p.m.

Slides-all sliders all the time. (La Mesa)

May 15, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

Slides has closed. It will be missed.

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog. Food is the primary subject. Kirk is vacationing on another continent, Ed(from Yuma) is working in another State and Cathy is in San Diego County, hanging close to home and being vigilant while adding words to photos.

I hope everyone is safe and keeping cool. The last few days have been horrible around here, both with heat and fires. As a diversion, here's a post about some quick visits to a small restaurant that's been open since October.

Located in a bend in strip mall (anchored by Subway and 24 Hour Fitness) on University Avenue between Pomona and Lowell (two blocks East of Yale), Slides is easy to miss.

Once you walk inside, you'll see it's decorated in the colors of SDSU and has a small menu on the wall.

Here it is. I think the oddball pricing has to do with some sort of lucky numbers or really is random, because it doesn't make the addition of sales tax result in even numbers.

The other side of the menu, with crucial factoids: daily fresh baked buns; house made pickles; 'secret' Asian seasoning.

At this meal, we shared an order of mixed (regular and sweet potato) fries ($1.98)(really good-both flavors; properly fried) and a Three-Pack of sliders ($5.47)(plus 28 cents for mild Cheddar cheese on the beef slider) {Total with tax was $8.41…oddball prices plus tax does not result in less loose change AND they don't accept tips!}. ANYHOW the color coded sticks are to tell you which flavor is which.

This is the fish slider. The fish is swai. It's half baked, then mixed with finely chopped onion and a 'secret' Asian sauce, some egg white then baked: no grease, no binder. Great flavor. This was a favorite of mine during Lent (and it still is). The photo makes it look kind of large, because it is kind of large. The fresh baked bun, lettuce, tomato, house made pickle and onions make a single Slide with a few fries enough as a meal.

Here's a blurry photo of the lean burger, topped with mild Cheddar and everything (as above), with a better photo of those wonderful slightly sweet/salty, crispy/crunchy house made pickles. Again, quite large enough as a meal. The beef is very lean and the beef flavor did not stand out on this Slide. There is a lot of meat, but I think the Cheddar is overwhelming (see last photo and description).

The veggie Slide (it's eggplant).

A lot of eggplant, sauteed perfectly and surprisingly flavorful. Seriously good.

The shakes ($2.76) are all made with the same vanilla base with a syrup added in and then mixed. As you can see, this one stopped just short of having its coffee syrup mixed in. The shakes are a good flavor and thickness, but a tad too sweet for me.

There is either a chicken or a turkey Slide centered in this photo. You can tell the difference when you taste (the turkey is dryer; both have good flavor). You can also see the 'secret' sauce in this picture.

Here's a double beef burger(additional 74 cents) topped with Monterey Jack cheese (28 cents additional). I think the cheese was not as overpowering a flavor, because the beef flavor really was shining in this serving of burger.

All in all, really good, fresh food, prepared to order, yet served quickly, by very nice people. This is one place I wish did have a Tip Jar.

Slides 7406 University Avenue La Mesa 91942 (619)461-4462 Website open 11-8 daily

House Burger and Farm Fresh Market (Nestor)

May 10, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Markets & Grocers

House Burger has closed.

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, our food blog. Kirk is excessively busy today, Ed(from Yuma) is immensely overwhelmed with his work and Cathy is indeed not without unreasonable overscheduling, but she is doing the writing for this post.

One beautiful day, The Mister and I found ourselves in the South Bay area of San Diego, driving about pretty aimlessly. We spied this small corner signage-"House Burger",

attached to the same building housing this small market. Both looked interesting, so we stopped.

Despite this signage hanging near the door, it seems House Burger has been here since at least June of 2012. (Here is a LINK to a post, written by cc that October (she didn't like it)-same sign.).

A very basic, limited menu. An open kitchen. We ordered, watched and waited.

Cheeseburger ($2.99) Free formed, very, very good coarse ground meat with the char from the grill. The bun was extremely soft/fresh as were the toppings. Turns out the meat, toppings and baked items all are from the Market next door…

Cheesesteak sandwich ($4.99). Thin sliced beef, griddled with onion, bell pepper and fresh mushrooms as well as cheese, all served on a soft, fresh baked, sub shaped roll. This version was large and *very* good. Again, the ingredients are all from the market next door.

The $1.59 side of onion rings. Whole (not chopped) onions in a crispy breading, fried properly. These were also unexpectedly freshly made. When we were finished, we had to go to the market next door, to see why it seemed so busy (and, you know, check out the prices).

It has many Mexican items, is not too large. The meat counter greets you when you walk in.

Good prices.There is a steam tray/to go area straight ahead with many interesting offerings and good prices (we will be back).

It's right next to the Produce area…

Notice the glass…The bakery, where tortillas are being made.

All next to a small (three doors wide, but quite tall) area of fresh baked goods. Everything we bought here that day was very fresh and very good quality. What a great find!

Hope you're having a good start to the weekend.

House Burger 1873 Palm Avenue San Diego 92154 (619)429-1195

Farm Fresh Market 1879 Palm Avenue 92154 (619)424-6779

Lent 2014-observing an observance.

May 7, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Chains, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog and usually Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) or Cathy write posts about food. Today, Kirk has been busy, Ed (from Yuma) has also been busy, so Cathy is writing a post to keep you interested in stopping by to read the blog.

This is an untimely post, since Lent (a solemn religious observance) is over and we are officially in the 'Easter Season', observed by Christians. However, I'd like to share my 2014 Lent observance, either as a prep for next year, or possibly inspiration for a snack you may choose sometime this year, since a part of the religious observance has to do with fasting/self denial/giving up certain luxuries. It's not like a New Year Resolution where you change habits forever, but merely have some discipline for 4o days, from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday.

Lent officially begins the day after Fat Tuesday, which, you may recall is a day of overindulgence. When I grew up (in Detroit), the local bakeries used this day to overstock (and use up) sugar, fat and jelly…it's called Pączki Day…

Paczki are basically jelly donuts. You can find them everywhere on Fat Tuesday.

Above is a photo taken on Fat Tuesday in the break room at the office where my brother works (in a suburb of Detroit). Every one of those boxes contains paczki.

To assist you in avoiding some of your indulgences, when Lent begins, most bakeries begin selling Hot Cross Buns, which are sweet, but not covered in glaze and instead topped with a bit of icing in a cross shape,

and filled with bits of dried fruit. The buns are baked, not fried.

Anyhow, as part of my bit of self denial, I gave up my newest craving, Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cups, (which are incredibly wonderful, and the first new candy by Nestle in four years).

In addition, another way that Catholics in particular observe Lent is "no meat on Friday", which does NOT mean eating vegetarian…it means you can eat seafood but not beef, pork or chicken. {You may have noticed, during your entire lifetime, that everywhere the soup of the day on Friday seems to be clam chowder. That's part of most restaurateurs acknowledgement of observant Catholics}.

You may have noticed many fast food restaurants offering fish sandwiches as an option beginning in March this year.

The Jack in the Box fish filet sandwiches (which were sold for $1.50 on Fridays only and regularly $3.20 the rest of the week) are quite large, trapezoidal in shape, served on a toasted bun with lettuce and tartar sauce. It's a great, moist fish piece with a crispy exterior.

Arby's (the Roast beef place) offered their Big Reel fish sandwich at two for $5 every day and it was served on a toasted sesame seeded bun. The shape-an elongated trapezoid (quite large as you can see) and the fish is particularly flaky and moist. This was also topped with lettuce and tartar sauce.

Beef n Bun always has fried fish on their menu (a 'tub of fish' (12 pieces)is $22). The sandwich ($3.59), served on that wonderful soft toasted bun with lettuce and tartar sauce. The fish here has a light and very crispy beer batter, similar to the batter used on the zucchini.

Of course, there are other 'no meat' meals I enjoyed. The fried tofu from Tapioca Express ($3.25), comes with a choice of dipping sauce as well as heat level of spicy powder. It's an easy and satisfying snack.

At many Vietnamese restaurants, you can order Bun Dau Hu Chien with Cha Gio Chay-cold noodles on top of salad topped with fried tofu and tofu egg rolls. Above is one of my favorite versions, from Pho Ca Do

Another favorite Vietnamese Bun item (also from Pho Ca Do) is Bun Tau Hu Ky- cold noodle salad topped with crispy fried tofu sheets stuffed with shrimp paste. It's a favorite all year, not just during Lent.

One day during Lent, my brother was here on a business trip and we met at Sam Woo, choosing the salt and pepper fried squid (in the back) and the shrimp with glazed walnuts in the center (the wontons-front right- had pork and shrimp as the filling).

I would be remiss to not include my favorite fast food fish filet sandwich, the decades old offering from McDonalds:Filet-O-Fish, which were offered for $1.50 on Fridays throughout Lent (and are about $4 every other day of the week all year) and still offered at that price on Fridays all year at some locations(look for signage). A soft steamed bun topped with a crispy fried square shaped fish patty, slice of cheese and tartar sauce.

A few other fast food restaurants also offered fish sandwiches which I enjoyed, notably Wendys and Carl's Jr. (not breaded/fried, both offer grilled fish sandwiches). I'll find those photos someday.

I hope everyone is having a good week; it's half over!

Beef ‘n Bun (revisit)

April 24, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Kirk's been in a rut, working long hours to be able to get up and leave it soon. Ed(from Yuma) is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and working as quickly as he can to get out of it. Cathy's finally out of her cave and is enjoying being able to share yet another meal involving chicken and fried zucchini.

I wrote a post about Beef 'n Bun back in 2006, have returned to this 40 year old East County institution regularly without taking photos or writing posts. It's about time to remind you of the consistency of a menu of good food served here.

It's always fun to drive over to Beef 'n Bun to see the changing window designs.

Since my 2006 post, the interior has been upgraded to include a bar height table in the middle, complete with non-bolted down chairs.

Here's a better view of the inside menu.

This is a photo of either a banana shake or a chocolate-peanut butter shake; the only two I order here ($3.19). I do occasionally order a peanut butter coke float, but that's only when I'm feeling all wild and crazy.

Here's the grilled chicken sandwich ($4.05) served on the wonderfully soft, fresh, lightly toasted bun and accompanied with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. The chicken is lightly marinated and always moist.

Since my most recent posts included chicken as well as fried zucchini…

This is a side order of fried zucchini ($2.79) (not a typo). There are FIVE pieces in this basket. You can see the standard cup of accompanying ranch dressing for a size comparison. This IS a meal in itself. The zucchini is freshly fried in a light batter. Crispy and topped with Parmesan, the inside pieces of this fresh vegetable are hot if you try to bite in right away.

Here's a bacon cheeseburger ($3.69). It's served on the same lovely, soft cornmeal topped bun which is, again, lightly toasted. The combination of flavors is really nice.

You may have noticed the 'breakfast' part of the menu. Beef 'n Bun opens at 7 a.m. daily. The above biscuits covered in homemade country gravy, served in a quite large styrofoam box ($2.89) consists of three half biscuits topped with a nice, smooth peppery gravy mixed with a lot of chopped breakfast sausage. Another meal in itself.

The bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich ($2.89) along with a side of Monterey potato cakes ($1.69) is an inexpensive, wonderful meal.

The Monterey potato cakes are cheesy, herb infused hash browns and *really* good.

Here's a cross section of my breakfast sandwich. You can see the cheese and bacon…and that perfectly cooked, orange, not runny egg yolk…

An East County institution. 3rd Thursday of every month, this is a meeting place for the Motorhead Misfits and their classic, custom, muscle, lowrider cars as well as scooters and many old friends. (Link)

Beef 'n Bun 2477 Fletcher Parkway El Cajon 92020 (619)465-0767 (nope, no website) 7a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sun-Thurs, open to 11:30 p.m. Fri and Sat.

LW’s SD BBQ

April 8, 2014 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, BBQ, Sandwiches

**** LW's has closed

Back in September, I shuddered at the thought of what a place with "SD BBQ" in its name was going to make. Well, it turns out I was wrong…….LW's, which opened a couple of months back in the old (and tired) Chinese Garden spot, does BBQ….not something par baked or boiled then slapped over some mesquite and sauced……well, for you hard core BBQ folks, you won't see an ash pile out back….I don't think the owners of the strip mall would take too kindly to that.

Still they actually smoke over hardwood and could easily be the best restaurant within a half mile radius….

OK, before you get to excited, let's hold on there Jethro! There's a couple of things you need to understand, the competition in the area are places like Hometown Buffet, Roberto's, Mountain Mike's Pizza…it's Bay Park, not North Park.

They claim to smoke over hickory….for up to 14 hours. Personally, find that Hickory is a bit too strong to use for some proteins, too much of it can give off a bitter flavor, so I wasn't sold.

I'm also not a fan of the sauces here, kind of powdery, on the bitter side, even though there are 6 varieties all taste like they were made from the same base. The fact that they refuse to serve anything without sauce on it kind of makes me think they may have problems holding their product. When I asked why, I wasn't given an answer.

Still, it's in my neighborhood…….

I first visited when they first opened and decided to get a Beef Brisket Plate ($13.50), no it ain't cheap, but the portion size is generous.

Since I couldn't get this without the sauce, I asked them to go easy. Decent smoke flavor, the beef was a bit too fatty, though this wasn't bad at all. I'd like a bit more bark, but there was a nice smoke ring.

The sides were mediocre, mass produced rolls, bland coleslaw, the beans being the best of the bunch.

Overall, ok……not terrible, there was some potential here.

The same week I smoked a tri-tip, I decided to try the Beef Tri-Tip Sandwich Combo ($8.95).

No, this won't make forget Firestone Grill, but the flavor of the beef was decent (I'm glad they went real easy on the sauce), the beef adequately moist though on the chewy side. It was served a bit too cold (especially with sauce on it) for me.

The potato salad was decent, it had some nice flavor, perhaps a bit too sour and I didn't care for the vegetable mix in the coleslaw.

One night, after getting off from work late, the Missus having already eaten, I decided to drop by and grab a half rack of ribs to go ($15.95). I quietly asked the young man working the counter if I could get it with the sauce on the side….I was pleasantly surprised when he said, "no problem"…… And then I got home.

A bit too "falling off the bone" for me…though the Missus loved it. I ate one piece and that was enough, decent smoke flavor but a bit on the dry side, and too much sauce. I also noticed that it looks like they didn't remove the membrane from the back of the ribs.

Strange thing was, that during this visit I was told that the owner's were from North Carolina….funny, but the sauces didn't seem like any Carolina style sauce I've had. I tried all of them, from the bottles on the table and they are all too sweet for that style. The "KC" style sauce here would make Arthur Bryant roll over in his grave….take my word for it; I've been there.

My most recent visit was a couple of weeks ago.

It was nice to see the place doing some pretty good business.

I went with a Pulled Pork Sandwich which was nicely priced at $6.25.

Tired of begging for no sauce, I just asked them to go easy, which they thankfully did. This was a decent sandwich, though nothing special; the pork was quite cold and a bit tougher than I like, but this wasn't bad. The coleslaw added a nice textural counter-point and being on the mild side, didn't interfere with the flavor of the pork.

I did make one mistake….curious, I ordered the Chicken Wings (6 pieces – $6.95).

Rubbery skin, bitter smoke flavor, lacking in seasoning….'nuff said. I ate two and pitched it…I hate to waste food, but this was terrible.

The folks here are nice, though sometimes a bit confused. I'm glad places like this are finally opening in this area. Though I'm not a "just happy to have something like xxx in my neighborhood" kind of guy. In terms of portion versus price, I think it's a good value. Is it good BBQ? check them out and let me know what you think……….

LW’s SD BBQ
3057 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Oaks Bar and Grill (Carlton Oaks Golf Course, Santee)

March 16, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Kirk, Ed(fromYuma) and Cathy take turns writing about food and related adventures. Today, it's Cathy's turn.

Just down the street from home is the only public Pete Dye Designed golf course in our large County. Open from dawn until dusk, the Carlton Oaks Golf Course, as well as the accompanying restaurant (Oaks Bar & Grill), is a very nice, local place.

When you walk from this parking lot, down some stairs and straight through the building, you see these views. Yes, this is Santee, a small City just East of San Diego City.

The parking lot view just doesn't do it justice.

The bar at the West end of the indoor eating area is large.

There is a chalkboard listing daily specials.

There are televisions everywhere, showing various sports. That doorway leads out to the exclusive swimming pool.

Which you can peek at when walking in from the parking lot.

There is a 'regular' as well as a 'Meat' menu given to you when you sit down.

On this day, we chose from the 'regular' menu. The half spinach salad (which is made with glazed toasted pecans, a (more solid) cow's milk Feta and a choice of Granny Smith apples or strawberries) ($6) was something I wanted. The house made vinaigrette on the side is very complimentary.

I also ordered a cup of the "Firehouse chili" ($4), (because I seem to be ordering some everywhere lately). It came with onions on the side, Vermont made (really good) oyster crackers and was topped with cheese. The beef, pinto and kidney beans and fresh spices were a tasty combination. {As an aside, I was asked if I wanted the salad or chili first; a nice, professional touch.}

The Mister ordered a Club Sandwich on wheat ($10) which included a choice of tots, salad or onion rings. You can see what he chose. This sandwich was really good, with crispy lettuce and fresh tomatoes, the toasted bread was very good and the plethora of bacon, turkey and cheese was very complimentary. Those onion rings were wonderful; freshly made, crispy and a very sweet onion.

All in all, a nice lunch on a beautiful day.

Oaks Bar and Grill 9200 Inwood Drive (at Carlton Oaks Boulevard) Santee 92071 (619) 448-4242 menu

The Missus’ three current favorite places, in photos

March 12, 2014 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Burgers, Mexican Restaurants, yoso-silly

Let's see if you can figure them out…..I'm pretty sure that "Hao" will have no problem!

1: This is the easiest one.

2: If you're a regular reader, this one won't be much of a challenge either……

3: This one is the toughest, but still not difficult. I'm not a big fan of the rabbit here……

So there you go. I'll update these with the places some time tomorrow.

Green Acre Campus Point (the ‘new’ location)

February 21, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for dropping back to read mmm-yoso!!! Kirk is busy doing something very special which you will read about soon. Ed(from Yuma) is probably also doing something special. Cathy is writing about a place she thinks is special.

We all have favorite places where the food is always good and one of my personal favorites, which I've only written about twice (but have gone to for lunch three times in one week because I just like the food)is located in an office park just off of Genessee and West of the I-5. Sometime last year, another branch opened just off of Genessee and East of the I-5. (Take Genessee East and turn North at the second light, Campus Point Drive and go until it ends, up and into the parking lot). It's at the end of a street lined with many tall office buildings.

This is the view looking South from the parking lot- and that is the garden which supplies much of the food you will eat here.

When you park at the far end of the parking lot (where you will see most of the cars parked) this is your view from there-and down those stairs is your destination.

Green Acre- the Campus Pointe location (I know, the street is Campus Point, but for some reason the menus, online and on paper as well as hashtags and writings on Facebook, call the location Campus Pointe, with the silent and unnecessary 'e'. I'd like to think this is something deliberate as opposed to someone still not paying attention to details.) You may already notice much more outdoor seating than the Nautilus Campus location.

The interior is noticeably larger also. The rock wall is a beautiful idea.

It includes a very large and private (if you can call glass doors private) Conference/Meeting Room area.

As well as a pool table and (to the right in the above photo), a bar area.

There are also some trees growing inside and an upstairs meeting area as well as that living wall..

Another difference in this location is that in addition to a grab and go area, there is table service (!) When you ask for just water as your beverage, that glass bottle is brought out. (Iced tea is $2).

I met my friend, Mr. C, here for lunch in mid January. He works nearby and gets a 'tenants' discount on his purchases. Anyone from the general public can come here (and a new "Happy Hour" just started yesterday, which I must try out soon). Mr. C ordered the above Root Vegetable fries ($3) which are delicious and nicely fried and salted.

The 1/2 mushroom 'brick oven bar' ($6), which is cremeni mushrooms with garlic and truffle oil on a fresh baked flatbread is served with a fresh fresh picked salad which is lightly dressed.

Mr. C also ordered the "Crust Ocean"($10)- a cold sandwich on sourdough made with a stone crab-shrimp salad and a squeeze of lemon. Again, the fresh salad is included. I had a good bit of this sandwich and really like it.

When you walk in the far South door, there is a chalkboard listing daily specials. I brought The Mister back and liked everything I saw on this board.

So, ordering the Tuscan white bean soup (made with kale of course) was automatic (cup $3). This was *so* good, thick, hearty and deeply flavored.

The Seaburger sandwich ($9) was a mixed (tuna, cod and shrimp) ground patty which was grilled, still moist and the mix of flavors was quite nice. I didn't detect much in the way of spices, which made the seafood flavors shine. It was served on a slightly warm ciabatta bun, which was fresh and chewy. The side of quinoa salad was so very refreshing and good.

For some reason, The Mister really wanted to try the CBB&J-cashew butter, banana and fig jam on grilled brioche bread. A great medly of flavors, unexpected depth of flavors really, and the lightly grilled bread was very complimentary. The side salad came with the sandwich. ($5)

Here's what the sandwich looks like opened- a good slathering of tart-sweet fig jam, plenty of bananas and a nice amount of the cashew butter.

Since it was a chilly day, we also ordered a bowl of (grass fed beef) chili ($6). This is one of my favorite versions of chili. Thick with tomatoes and black beans, the meat flavor and spices stood out and was a perfect part of our leisurely lunch.

We walked over to the garden after eating before going up the stairs to the parking lot. Many fresh meals are growing here.

As I was getting ready to post this, I went to the Green Acre Facebook Page and see that just yesterday, Happy Hour started at this location, featuring discounts on wine and local craft beers and the menu has $4,$5 and $6 items from 3-6 pm on Thursday and Friday only (Green Acre usually closes at 3 pm daily, only serving breakfast and lunch). I will make an effort to research this, for your benefit…

Green Acre 10300 Campus Point Drive San Diego 92121 (858) 450-9907 Website Open M-W 7am-3 pm, Th-F 7 am-6 pm(3-6 pm is Happy Hour - Check Facebook for details of small bites and specials on wine and local craft beer)