American/New American Restaurants – Page 34

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)

Howard’s Lemon Grove Deli & Grill (Breakfast)

February 20, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog you are reading, is being posted today by Cathy. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are really, really busy-too busy to write.

Lately, The Mister and I have had to make time to share meals out. One day, we wanted to return to Howards, a Lemon Grove Diner, which has been here for decades. Our fondness for this place began on our first visit, after the San Diego County Fires of 2003, when we were driving around looking for a place to eat and find some normalcy in our ash filled world.

Located on Broadway (the main drag) on the West side of the street along the feeder road just a block North from the Lemon Grove Trolley stop, it's convenient. From this view of the front, you may notice the doorway is a bit stepped back- there are about eight tables outside, which are covered and in front of the door to the inside eating area.

You can see the deli/sandwich/grill menu on the wall back there. Many people call in orders to go, or walk in and wait for to go orders at lunchtime. But we were here for breakfast.

This is the breakfast menu, although there are about five items listed on the wall above the door inside.

I ordered the carne asada plate with over easy eggs ($9.25). This came with corn tortillas, rice, beans, salsa, avocado and chopped tomatoes. The eggs were perfectly cooked and the steak was plentiful and seasoned well and just plain good.

The Mister ordered the chicken fried steak plate($9.25). The coating was crunchy and not the least bit greasy and the meat was thick and juicy. This came with a from scratch country gravy, which was delicious. The Mister chose home fried potatoes as his side.

Poached eggs also came with this plate. As did rye toast.

All in all, this is a great local place that has withstood the test of time. I hope all of you have such a gem in your part of town.

Howards Lemon Grove Deli & Grill 7860 Broadway Lemon Grove, CA 91945 (619)464-2928 Mon-Sat 7-4, Sun 7-2

Sunday Sandwiches, the “Say Cheese” Edition: Alex’s Brown Bag (now in PB) and Jin’s Grill

February 16, 2014 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Cheesesteaks, Sandwiches

So what were you doing on July 14th, 2010? Well, I'm not sure of a lot of things, but I do know I was typing up my first "say cheese" Cheesesteak Round-up, comparison post. Man 3/1/2 years. Recently, I reader asked me why I hadn't done one in a while, the last one being almost exactly two years ago. You know, I'm not quite sure, but as I mentioned before, just the thought of a cheesesteak can send me off into a frenzy of Amaroso bunned binging……

A couple of things, I like mine "wit", onions that is, and wit-out "wiz", which was introduced to the sandwich sometime in the 1950's. And unlike that "owner" who didn't care for my opinion of his mediocre sandwich, claiming he knew what a cheesesteak was all about because he read about Pat And Geno's on the internet; I have actually been to Pat's and Geno's, which wasn't nearly as good as the cheesesteak I had from a shop in the Reading Terminal Market called Rick's Original Philly Steaks, which has been closed for a number of years. I did read that he's opened shop in Kennett Square.

Of course all that time means some changes; Olde City Grille has closed, Gaglione Brothers opened their second location, and for some reason the Philadelphia Cheesesteak Company keeps rolling along. One place did drop off the map and had me wondering "whatever happened to……"

Alex's Brown Bag at Latitiude 32:

**** Alex's has totally closed

When I worked in the Hillcrest area, we used to order from Alex's all the time…until it seemed that there was some degradation in their sandwiches which were coming up dry and tough. During that last visit in 2010, it just didn't seem like the same cheesesteak I had been eating over the years.

A couple of years ago, Alex's pulled up stakes and moved to PB. After my cheesesteak trigger had been pulled, Alex's came to mind so I decided to find out exactly where they were located…..which turned out to be inside the pub called Latitude 32. Cheesesteak in a Pub? Shades of Monkey Paw.

The drill here is, you can peruse the menu at the bar, but have to go to the back of the pub to place and pay for your order near the kitchen.

The guys here were very friendly; I recalled the folks when I visited 5th avenue were on the surly side. I got a 12" with provolone, which was probably more sandwich than I should have ordered.

This was a nice sandwich ($8.96), much better than the last one I had from Alex's. The Amoroso roll was nice and warm, with that mild, almost imperceptible crustiness to it, along with the gritty cornmeal. The beef was a bit more chewy than I recalled, but the sandwich was nice and moist with a milky edge brought on by the cheese. This was nicely seasoned, edging on almost garlic-salty, but was nice as most 'steaks are on the milder side.

This was better than I remembered, I'm sure to be back soon.

Alex's Brown Bag (Inside Latitude 32 Pub)
5019 Cass St
San Diego, CA

Jin's Grill:

*** Jin's Grill has closed and is now a location of Homestyle Hawaiian

So I see a sign announcing "Best Cheesesteak in San Diego" in the same stripmall as Pho Little Saigon. A couple of days later I return to find the shop behind the sign, which turns out to be a little shop called Jin's Grill.

The place only has various renditions of "Philly's" i.e. sandwiches on the menu.

I was told that the beef for the cheesesteak was angus, which I thought was nice since the sandwich was south of $7, though I did add mushroom for about a buck more.

The sandwich did look nice….especially the strings of cheese stretching across the wrapper.

The was a plus/minus sandwich. The roll was cold and really detracted from the sandwich. This wasn't highly seasoned, which meant I could really make out the beefy flavor. It wasn't as oily as other versions, but then again, this meant that it was also a bit too dry and lacking in that oozy-richness that makes cheesesteaks so good.

Sort of a tweener, but well priced.

Jin’s Grill
3445 Midway Dr
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Mon – Sat 1030am – 9pm
Sunday 11am – 8pm

Now that this has started…..who knows where it'll end. I do need to visit Philly Frank's, Monkey Paw, and perhaps Eddie's, and of course Gaglione Brothers…..

Junction Steakhouse and Sports Bar and Harvest Ranch Market (the market next door)

February 11, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog you have somehow found or pulled from your 'top sites' or linked onto from your 'favorites'. It has posts mostly written by Kirk, who is busy today. Ed(from Yuma) also writes posts here and is also busy today. Cathy is writing even though she is busy today.

Driving in East County San Diego is always interesting. Since people tend to have a favorite place to eat that's close to home (as well as close to work), there's always someplace interesting everywhere. You may or may not notice the cowboy hat outline on the signage above the resturant door at Junction, but

perhaps will at least know it's in the same parking lot as Harvest Ranch Market, which I wrote a bit about almost four years ago.

If you read into this 2011 article about a popular East County restaurant's new ownership ( I haven't posted on Charcoal House, which shares the same parking lot as La Casa Blanca), you'll see that the owner of it also owns Junction, as well as the two Harvest Ranch Markets and Jonathon's Market in La Jolla. Of course this close proximity of the restaurant to this higher-end grocery store means you know where the restaurant's inventory is obtained.

Walking up to the door, you'll notice quite a few large posters along the walls between Junction and Harvest Ranch Market.

Walking in the door, you'll notice the extensive wine selection and this double fish tank.

This lunch hour, I ordered the soup/salad combo ($7.95). This (above) is the House Salad – it has mixed greens, strawberries, mandarin oranges, pecans, Feta cheese and is served with a strawberry vinaigrette.

Instead of soup, I ordered chili (because I seem to be doing that lately) and this was great. Because in addition to being supplied by a very nice market, Junction also has "Prime Rib Tuesday" as well as "Steak Lovers Saturday" and, well, sometimes there are leftover pieces of those meats…

which don't go to waste and are diced and part of this wonderful chili.

The Mister ordered a 1/2 lb cheeseburger (which on the menu is $9.45). He was asked how he wanted it cooked and what kind of cheese(He chose cheddar). He was also given the choice of fries or house made chips…

He had asked for it to be cooked medium rare, and it was cooked medium rare. Served on a toasted fresh bun.

A discount of $4.46 was applied to the bill, because it was lunchtime and during the week. Well worth it here.

Junction Steakhouse and Sports Bar 777 Jamacha Road El Cajon, 92019 (619) 588-5467 Website

After our meal, we walked down the way to check out Harvest Ranch Market.

As always, the grab and go, sandwich and bakery areas, deli, meats, fruits and vegetables as well as the aisles were neatly arranged with exquisite offerings. We purchased quite a few items for our evening dinner.

Harvest Ranch Market 759 Jamacha Road El Cajon 92019 (619)442-0355Website

Super Bowl Sunday at Carnitas’ Snack Shack

February 3, 2014 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Hot Dogs, Pubs and Pub Grub

**** This location of Carnitas' Snack Shake has closed

I'm not big on Super Bowl parties, to many people, crowds, etc, etc….. I guess nowadays I'm just not too big on the Superbowl period. Though I haven't quite gone the route of "FOY" Reid who Tweeted asking when kick-off was so he could hit Costco! You gotta love that one!

Still, the Missus was working and my good buddy Candice asked me if I'd like to meet her at Carnitas' Snack Shack. What a great idea! I hadn't been back here since they first opened and while I thought the place a bit over-hyped, I really enjoyed the atmosphere, and thought the food had promise.

Over the last couple of years, they've added a back bar and grill ("The Pig Pen") area. The place looks very relaxed and inviting. There was a large screen with the game on…….

The main reason I met Candice….other than the wonderful company of course, was for this:

I've had my share of lousy TJ Style Hot Dogs, but this is not one of them. Yes, Carnitas' thrives on serving fairly over-the-top eats, but I gotta say, I really loved this. The dog was large, but still had some snap, it was well flavored. The bacon could have been more crisp, but I loved the flavor….the mustard was delish, the bun didn't hold up, but was nice and fluffy. What really caught my attention was how the guacamole on this dog just sang in perfect harmony with the "meat-stick". I like hot dogs, but I'm usually fine after just one, but much like my favorites, I left wanting another…..

Personally, I'm not a big fan of grilled wings, but these were also pretty good.

Mainly because the flavors worked real well together. The nice sweetness balanced out by a sneaky, spicy, finish. Courtesy of habanero I'm told. Much like grilled wings, this was a bit chewy, but not bad at all. In fact, I had two left that I brought home, which the Missus really enjoyed.

It seems that Carnitas' has really found their niche. Perhaps the dishes area bit over-the-top, but I really can't say anything I've had here was bland. Now that they serve beer and have really expanded their dining area, maybe it's time I brought the Missus.

Carnitas' Snack Shack
2632 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92104