American/New American Restaurants – Page 36

Cheesy Express-Gourmet Grilled Cheese (inside the GO Gasoline Mart)(Santee)

July 31, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

This location of Cheesy Express has closed, but there is a new location in Mission Beach we can all visit. Santee will miss you!

Thanks for finding mmm-yoso!!! a food blog which exists in the interwebs. Today, Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are taking a break and Cathy is blogging about food.

I've stated a few times that people have a favorite place close to home or work where they can pick up a quick meal…if hungry, you can find something to eat wherever you happen to be. Most fuel stations have mini marts; you can grab and go with some sort of refrigerated/frozen prepared food item which is rarely fresh made.

This GO Gas station replaced a Chevron station earlier this year. It's on the NorthEast corner of Mission Gorge at Carlton Hills in Santee.

Here's the mini mart. Look over on the side of the building…to the far right. "Cheesy Express Gourmet Grilled Cheese". Yes, I was curious…

In its prior incarnation, this food mart had a small sandwich shop inside. Now there is a sandwich shop

with three grills on the counter.

On my first visit, I chose a 'make your own': Cheddar cheese on brioche ($3.49) add hickory bacon (99¢). A perfect, gooey, yummy grilled cheese and bacon (good quality thick bacon) sandwich.

Next time I tried the "Italian Delight" ($5.25) Provolone, pepperoni, sundried tomatoes and fresh basil. Again, delightfully gooey, crunchy, tasty.

Each time I've gone in, I have been offered a sample of either the BBQ pork or Korean BBQ beef. I finally broke down and tried the BBQ& Mac sandwich ($6.75). Great BBQ pulled pork AND a scoop of very good, gooey macaroni and cheese AND a slice of sharp cheddar AND very very good grilled onions all on a hearty Italian white bread. This was a LOT of food and flavors.

Of course there are 'dessert' grilled sandwiches here also. The 'healthiest' choice (in my logic anyhow) is the grilled peanut butter with banana with chocolate chips on honey wheat bread ($4.75 + 50¢ for the special bread). The chocolate chips melted in with the peanut butter, making its own creamy goodness along with perfectly warming the bananas…the grilled bread was done right and I could taste the honey in it…

Just another great find that I happened to notice. When the weather gets cooler, I think a simple grilled cheese with tomato soup will be perfect.

Cheesy Express Gourmet Grilled Cheese 9312 Mission Gorge Road Santee 92071 (619) 436-4250 (inside GO Mart Fuel station Mission Gorge Road at Carleton Hills, Santee) Open 7 days M-F 8-6, Sat-Sun 9-4:30

Loco moco (and other stuffs) for brunch at Fathom Bistro

July 30, 2013 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Loco Mocos, Pubs and Pub Grub

About a week-and-a-half ago, I read that Fathom Bistro would start serving brunch, which usually wouldn't mean more than a glance. Except that I quickly noticed "loco moco" in that post for Eater San Diego. You know me; I'm always looking to add to my loco moco collection. I quickly sent Candice a message asking if having a loco moco here would be worth my while?

Which is how I ended up down on Shelter Island Drive on an overcast Sunday morning.

I think the location is really great, original, and quirky, as it's located on a pier, which on this morning was packed to the gills (no pun intended) with folks fishing.

Man, you really can't beat the view; which was really great even on an overcast morning.

There's an actual bait and tackle shop on one side of the building…..and it's a bit of a stretch to call this a building. The kitchen look as large as the dining area, which look like it somehow holds about 20. There are a couple of tables out front as well. I loved the collection of vintage National Geographics which took me back to elementary school.

Fathom has a nice variety of beers; but that's to be assumed with Dennis Borlek, formerly of Hamilton's and Monkey Paw in charge. The brunch menu is tight, basically five items, but it instantly earned my affection. In addition to a loco moco, they feature Eggs, Spam, and rice.

We started things with the Beignets.

It's fried dough, with powdered sugar, and chocolate sauce…….'nuff said.

We also got the Italian Sausage Biscuits and Gravy.

Truly, the best Country Gravy I've had in a while. The abundant chunks of house made Italian sausage added a nice mild spice and tons of flavor to the wonderful tongue (and belly) coating gravy. The only problem with this dish were the bisquits which were very hard hockey pucks. But hey, it's only the second day they've been open for brunch. Hopefully, they'll straighten this out. I instantly knew why I heard the word "hangover" bandied about in the dining room.

Well, since Candice knows everybody, Dennis came over to chat. Dennis is quite a character, very friendly, witty, funny, with a ton of stories to boot.

Which brings us to the loco moco. I originally ordered it with straight up and traditional beef brown gravy, but Dennis talked us into getting it "half-and-half" with half beef gravy, the other half Japanese Curry. At first I was kind of doubtful, but hey after having the Kaloko Moco who am I to criticize?

First off, the rice was perfect. The Japanese curry tasted like it should, though a bit runny. The beef gravy was totally by the book, solid in flavor and seasoning. The hamburger patty had a nice char , nicely seasoned, and was still moist. There was one problem with this for me. You can tell, can't you? The only way you'll get eggs here are scrambled…..and it's kind of painful calling this a loco moco without an easy over egg. Dennis told me that the eggs are pre-prepped to minimize stress on the kitchen. I'm hoping everything gets squared away and they start doing eggs to order.

Dennis mentioned adding Spam musubis to the menu. I mentioned Portuguese Sausage and he said it would be a logical progression since this was Point Loma and all. He also said it would be made inhouse. Now if that happens, I'll be sure to get there early! Because as time passed, more of those "hats and 'tats" folks started drifting in for their Sunday hangover remedy.

Next time you're fishing on the pier and get the munchies and perhaps a bit thirsty, Fathom is the perfect spot. Heck, the evening view of downtown San Diego must be pretty good as well.

Fathom Bistro Bait & Tackle
1776 Shelter Island Dr. (On the pier)
San Diego, CA 92106

Brunch served from 10am Saturday and Sunday only.

You know, it's kind of sad that I really never come down here and tend to associate the area with Humphries and tourists. There's quite a bit to see, like the Tunaman Memorial.

And other public art……

Now with Fathom, there's a better reason to explore the area.

It’s been a while week: Charley’s Famous Hamburgers (6.75 years later)

July 26, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!! Kirk 's been writing a lot of posts lately and Cathy has a few contributions which can be part of "it's been a while week". This is one.

When Kirk mentioned that he had a lot of revisits he could write about, I knew exactly what he was talking about. I pretty much had posted on all 'new' places during His and The Missus' most recent vacation, yet The Mister and I have had our favorite places and rotation, which I just don't bother mentioning here again and again. When I saw Kirk hadn't posted on some places since 2007, I decided that a revisit of places I had posted on in 2011 would be 'too soon', so went back to the archives of this blog, when Kirk and The Missus went on their first 'blogcation' - It was in September/October of 2006 when I held down the blog for about three weeks, deleting spammers and contributing posts about what and where The Mister and I enjoyed eating.

One of those posts was about Charley's Famous Hamburgers, a small drive thru/walk up limited menu restaurant in Lemon Grove. It's still there -and has been there since 1973.

Charley's was and still is a regular stop when in the area. It's so very familiar, with a consistent quality and low price point.

Until I looked at my post from October 2006, I didn't realize that the menu (as well as the menu prices) is close to unchanged after all this time.

Well I do like consistency.

The Mister and I needed to 'research' what could possibly be different; what has changed since 2006.

The outdoor tables next to the drive thru are the same.

The covered seating (three picnic benches and overhead lighting) is still there, as well as the 125/54/94 freeway overpass.

One item I sometimes order here is the BLT ($3.69) The same thick, perfectly cooked, flavorful bacon that Charley's is known for…BUT only five slices (instead of six slices in 2006)-a bow to inflation. Still, it's a lot of bacon and the sandwich(served on a lightly toasted sesame seeded bun) is a really good deal. As always, shredded lettuce is used liberally at Charley's.

Something I hadn't posted that first time, but tend to order when needing a quick meal, is the basic grilled cheese ($1.79)…white bread, American cheese in a good amount, grilled on the flat top resulting in a crispy edged wonderfully simple, basic and good sandwich. (I must confess if the BLT is ordered, I pull out a slice of bacon to put between the pried open goopy mess of the grilled cheese sandwich) (a side order of three slices of bacon is $1.59…and, yes, I have considered the possibility of that being an order).

The chili cheese fries (small, $2.89) are exactly the same. Crispy, thin standard fries topped with melted cheese and a bean based nice flavored (not too spicy hot) chili. Everything is made to order here, so the fries are always good in that sense.

See those fried apple pies? $1.29 each or two for $2. FRIED to order. So good.

If you are so inclined, the carmel apple pie shake ($3.09) is not a conglomoration of odd syrups mixed to achieve an apple pie flavor; it is made with one of these cooked pies blended with vanilla ice milk…so you get crusty bits of pie dough stuck in your straw, along with chunks of apples. The banana shake is made with a real banana and the peanut butter shake is made with real peanut butter. {The other (less expensive) shakes (the ones you can order in size small or large) are made with syrups}.

The onion rings ($2.09 ) however, have changed and are no longer the individually breaded and fried rings of days gone by. The interior is the mushy mess of chopped onion…I'd forgotten the reason I stopped ordering these a while ago…

The kabob is what keeps me coming back. This is the double kabob with bacon ($5.49) cut in half. On a flat non-pocketed pita are two semi-thick slices of seasoned ground beef surrounding melted cheese and more of that thick, good flavored bacon. The rest of the sandwich is unique yet simple- mayonnaise, shredded lettuce, tomato AND sliced/chopped green peppers with sliced radishes. The flavor combination is just right; always was, still is. {as a side note, you can order a single kabob sandwich and either with or without bacon}

The double cheese hamburger ($3.39). Pretty much it's the same; maybe not as good as I remember; maybe my tastes have changed. Still, it's tasty, with hand formed coarse ground beef patties cooked on the flat top, achieving a nice char. The American cheese is something I never overly cared for and it doesn't matter to me..the toppings (again, the shredded lettuce as well as sliced onion and tomato along with mayonnaise) are always fresh and complimented by the lightly toasted sesame seed topped bun.

It was fun to be able to look back at my 'early days' of blogging and fun to go back to Charley's-with the 'new' freeway junction, we aren't regularly taking those side roads unless there's backed up traffic.

Charley's Famous Burgers (kabobs and shakes) 8213 Broadway, Lemon Grove 91945 (619)460-2690 Open 7:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.

Jury Duty Day: Ch-ch-chains – Breakfast at Specialty’s and Lunch at Tender Greens, Downtown

July 3, 2013 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Chains, Salads, Sandwiches

Being sort of the old fart that I am, I clearly recognize the importance of that all important civic duty that is Jury Service. Though I don't think that you'd blame me for being a bit tired of it all after having jury service scheduled 9 of my 12 years in San Diego. Heck, I never got called once in LA and only twice after 30+ years in Honolulu! I'm especially puzzled since some of my friends, many whom have lived in San Diego for most of their lives have only been called once or twice, some not at all!

After entering the Hall of Justice so many times, you could say that the "bloom is off the rose". Falling off your routine and falling behind at work doesn't help your attitude, though this year I went with the mindset of making the best of things.

It used to be that I'd park at Old Town and catch the trolley, this year I walked to the bus stop and caught the trolley, though this meant leaving a bit earlier.

After taking so many turns at jury service, I'd been to quite a few places, from Grab n' Go, Currant (10% Jury Duty discount), to the food court at Horton Plaza(what was the name of that burger place that was in Horton Plaza for a blink of an eye?) , Rei do Gado, and Lucy's Taco Shop. You'd think I'd have quite a collection of posts….well, not quite. I felt somewhat self-conscious and, well, a bit weird for having to take a camera to jury service. But this year I had my iPhone, which looked perfectly natural.

I always go a bit early for jury service, this year was no exception. I decided to stop into a place I've been to before while performing my civic duty; Specialty's.

**** This location of Specialty's has closed

This 40+ location, fast-casual type chain was founded in San Francisco in the 80's. I like the fact that it has an almost fully functional Peet's integrated in the place. I don't remember the iPad ordering kiosks the last time I visited, but that was an interesting addition. I was just going to have a coffee, which you can just step up to the counter and order, but decided on getting something to eat just because……

I ended up ordering a Classic Egg Sandwich, customized with bell peppers and red onion, topped with swiss cheese.

It did look a bit too perfect and processed, but this was hot and fresh and the ciabatta was pretty decent. Nice mild milky tones from the Swiss cheese, though it had a bit too much black pepper for me.

I ordered a small Americano, which was pretty weak. After our recent trip to Europe, it seems that coffee in the states is too large, weak, and without character. And Peet's is one of my favorite chains!

Still, this adjusted my attitude, putting me in the right frame of mind for having to sit for who knows how many hours.

Specialty's Cafe & Bakery
101 West Broadway
San Diego, CA 92101
Hours:
Mon – Fri 6am – 6pm

And though I might joke about it, the Jury Lounge and process has improved over the years with wi-fi(on the weak side) and heck, they even changed that pitiful orientation video that looked like it was from the 70's a couple of years back!

Of course, during the whole morning I was looking forward to….well, lunch of course. I had just read in Eater San Diego that the downtown location of Tender Greens had just opened.

It just seemed like a great fit and was only two blocks from the Hall of Justice. So once the lunch break was announced I was off like a bullet. After eating at the Point Loma location a couple of times (you can read Cathy's posts here and here), I figured lunch at Tender Greens downtown would be a zoo.

I got there with just a couple of people ahead of me in line.

I got a nice laugh at the side of "Pardon Peppers", which had a nice poetic tie-in to my jury service, but I think they should probably use the correct spelling for padron peppers since they do claim to sell local produce.

According to what I read on Eater, the unique menu at this Tender Greens location is the Buttermilk Fried Chicken. I decided to get this in a sandwich with a side salad of arugula ($11).

I really don't think one should mess around with fresh, crisp, peppery arugula, and decently ripe tomatoes, Tender Greens really does a nice job here.

I thought the sandwich was over-dressed as my fried chicken got soggy pretty quickly. Bread to protein ratio seemed a bit too heavy on the carb side as well. I poached a couple of pieces of chicken when I sat down. It was nicely flavored and moist. I'd recommend on a hot plate or salad.

After reading the sign, I just had to have a side of those PardonPadron Peppers ($4):

This was my favorite item. While I enjoy padron/shishito grilled, which adds a layer of smokiness while further developing the sugars, this was quite nice. Perfectly salted and tender. Not quite to the level of melt in your mouth Padrons we recently had in Lisbon, but still darn good.

I gotta say that the speed while keeping a good level of service left me impressed. When I looked up from my meal, I noticed that the line was snaking itself around the block!

And while the dining room filled up, things proceeded smoothly, never rushed, tables getting cleared and folks actually having their waters refilled!

I think Tender Greens has a great concept and good food. If things keep this way downtown, who knows….

Tender Greens
110 W Broadway
San Diego, CA 92101

To kind of give you a clue on how quick lunch service was….jury service lunch breaks are long, at almost an hour and forty-five minutes. I had so much time on my hands I didn't know what to do. So I just walked around……here's a shot from Horton Plaza:

So for those who have jury service in Downtown San Diego; what's your pick? The jury-duty discounted Currant? A sandwich, maybe the Hall of Justice Food Court (maybe not….). Perhaps you've taken your chances and run down to East Village? Where do you eat?

59th and Lex Cafe (The Restaurant inside Bloomingdales)

June 5, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog you are reading. Kirk writes here most of the time, but he's way busy right now, flying to another leg of his vacation. Ed(from Yuma) happens to be way busy driving to a leg of his vacation. Cathy is writing about another stop in San Diego, legging it around town for her staycation.

A drive to Fashion Valley Mall, where The Mister and I haven't been at all this year, was our destination the other afternoon. After walking around and noting the changes in stores since our last visit, we stepped into Bloomingdales, an anchor store at the East end of the mall. Taking the escalator to the third floor and looking up, there were Alexander Calder-esque mobiles hanging from the ceiling.

You can see them looking up from this view from the top of the escalator. Now look straight ahead. That's the destination- 59th and Lex, the small in store restaurant with the black and white striped walls.

We were seated and asked for water, which was brought out quickly. The tables had the usual condiments, cloth napkins and nicer placemats on the sky blue tables

After we ordered, some fresh, warm sourdough bread with whipped unsalted butter was brought out. (You can see the mobiles hanging from the ceiling over the escalators).

The Mister couldn't decide and ordered the Trio Platter ($13.10). Good sized servings of excellent egg salad, tuna salad and chicken salad on top of a bed of greens, carrots, cucumber and tomatoes which had a pleasant, fresh (whipped so it looked creamy) lemon vinaigrette salad dressing. The three scoops of salads were each unique and excellent. So many times I've not been able to tell the difference betweent a tuna salad and a chicken salad. That's not true here; each was made with a very minimal amount of mayonnaise and the chicken was very definitely chicken and the tuna was definitely tuna and the egg salad…oh my, the egg salad. Really, three fresh, perfect salads, all on top of the really nice mixed vegetable salad.

Of course, I couldn't decide what I wanted, either so decided on the soup and half sandwich($9.75). The (fresh made) Soups of the Day were cream of zucchini and split pea. I love split pea soup, so thought I'd try it. It was, again, so very fresh, so very well made, did not need added seasonings. I'm thinking the cream of zucchini was equally wonderful. I chose the sliced turkey on wheat bread for my half sandwich. The bread was fresh and moist and the simple turkey with lettuce and tomato was just a perfect blend of flavors. The sandwich was made without mustard or mayonnaise and I was asked if I wanted either and those were brought out on the side.

This is another really good sit down in the (non-grocery) store restaurant, as nice as the one inside Nieman Marcus and similar to Nordstrom, The Bass Pro Shop and Ikea.

59th and Lex Cafe 7007 Friars Road San Diego 92108 (inside Bloomingdales at Fashion Valley Mall) (619) 610-6558

A snack with a view- Torrey Pines Glider Port: Cliff Hanger Cafe

June 3, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog, is where you have landed via the interweb. Kirk is off to another Country, Ed(from Yuma) is in Yuma and Cathy is writing about beautiful San Diego County.

The Mister and I are still Staycationing in this beautiful County. The other day, we again drove West to a location we used to visit regularly, near UCSD, Torrey Pines Golf Course and the Pacific Ocean. I had been here in March after lunch with Dennis, who posted about the glider port in 2008 and canine cologne, who wrote a post on her blog about our visit here.

When you park at the far (North) end of the dirt parking lot then walk West, you'll see a narrow pathway.

Which you must not veer from.

Looking South, you can see the town of La Jolla in the distance and the small business just ahead.

Looking West, you can see paragliders preparing to take off.

Walking over to the covered patio, there is a small store selling paragliding equipment, t-shirts, mugs and also offering paragliding instruction/buddy courses. The other store serves soups, sandwiches, beverages and baked goods.

The Mister purchased a large coffee and a very fresh banana-chocolate chip muffin (total cost was <$4)

While we sat on the newly re-paved patio, on this beautiful cloud free day, we watched a paraglider preparing…

then taking off.

Later, we saw two other paragliders appearring to cross paths. It's so quiet and peaceful out here; a nice place for a mini vacation.

I hope your week is going well.

Cliff Hanger Cafe (858)452-9858 Link to menu 2800 Torrey Pines Scenic Drive La Jolla 92037

Torrey Pines Glider Port Website

Reds-Point Loma

May 22, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Caffeine Fix, Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, What Cathy Eats!

Reds is Closed

Hello (again). You're (back) looking at the food blog named mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and His Missus are enjoying their vacation in Portugal (and other places). ed(from Yuma) and His Tina are venturing around Yuma and making plans for their next vacation. Today is another post from Cathy and The Mister and their staycation.

The other day, we drove West on the 8, then South, somehow ending up near the Marina. We had passed several restaurants and decided to take a walk. Neighborhood clientele as well as yacht owners hang out near the South end of Rosecrans.

The jacaranda trees are in bloom and just beautiful.

We decided to stop here. It's right across the street from The Living Room, which I posted about last year. Let me just say I wish we had stopped here sooner.
Grabbing a menu, we sat down and…I smelled fresh-fresh coffee…

Slightly confused, because I saw all these pump pots, I ordered a cup of coffee and was told they roast all the beans right here(!)-that's why I smelled fresh coffee. Organic, free trade and bird free, roasted in small batches coffee. We ordered and I took a small (1/2 pump) taste of each of the three coffees that interested me (decaf and a vanilla something flavored coffee are not anything I'd choose, ever). Ultimately, I preferred the middle selection-"Mad Red".

After ordering from the lunch menu, which had an admonition of "We guarantee 'same day' service. Thank you for your patience in preparing your handcrafted meal. Delicious not pretentious slow food." I walked around the small, ten table large interior, finally comprehending the theme.
There was also a very nice outdoor seating area in the back.

Beads on the ceiling, Mardi Gras masks, skeletons and skulls, voodoo.
Combined with some of the French named and Cajun spiced items on the menu…the synapses connected-New Orleans.

Of course, the eclectic condiment selection on every table was also a clue.

It did not take too long for our food to be brought out. I must say that every person working here was helping on all the tables and each one was very friendly.

When we ordered, I only slightly mentioned that The Mister and I would be sharing the sandwich and salad we had ordered, and the sandwich was brought out in two baskets. Nice. This was under the 'grilled cheese' part of the menu- a "Cochon" ($9) Provolone and Swiss cheeses…with pulled pork, ham and artisan pepper bacon, on sliced brioche. It's served with a house made jalapeño strawberry jam. No, not a Monte Cristo, not a Cuban, just a great, wonderful, fresh, pork-ham-bacon-cheese wonderful tasty sandwich. The menu has pork belly on it and I suspect the bacon comes from the same place; it was not crispy bacon, but thick sliced, lightly peppered and excellent. Toasted seasoned bagel slices as a side was a very nice, different touch.

The Paleo salad (large, $10). Mixed super greens (kale and spinach and other lettuces) avocado, tomato, a boiled organic free range egg, walnuts and sunflower seeds and the artisan peppered bacon that was on the Cochon sandwich. This photo does not do it justice, but the salad bowl was HUGE and more than enough for us to share.

When we went to pay, I noticed some very nice looking pastries next to the cash register, probably wonderful also. We are already planning a return visit.

Reds 1017 Rosecrans Street San Diego 92016 (619) 523-5540 Website open 6 am-11pm

Green Acre – a real hidden gem

May 19, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Pizza, Salads, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Kirk is vacationing, according to solid plans. ed (from Yuma) is relaxing, according to fluid plans. Cathy is blogging, according to general plans of achieving a post for you to enjoy.

Everybody has to eat. If you are at home and don't want to cook, you go out to a favorite neighborhood place. If you are at work, there's going to be a place that is close. People don't like to drive very far when they go out, unless maybe for a special occasion. People who work in the "scientist" area of town -near Sorrento Valley and UCSD- where not many lunch options are available, *do* have a great, healthy, tasty option but it isn't easy to find…

This is what you are ultimately looking for.

Raised bed gardens, in the middle of an Office Park (the Nautilus Life Science Campus area). These fresh vegetables and herbs will be part of your meal, picked that morning.

Straight ahead is the front door to Green Acre.

This is what you see from the parking lot. See the umbrellas to the right?

There are plenty of marked parking spaces, if you'd like to come here for breakfast or lunch and don't work here. It's only open Monday-Friday…like the office park. (I'd be here every weekend if it was open.)

When you walk in, there's a chalkboard listing the daily specials.

There's an area to eat inside, also.

When you are waiting in line to order and pay, the wall advertising other restaurants related to Green Acre- those run by San Diego's Top Chef Season 3 Cheftestant Brian Malarkey, is your only clue that this place is related to those "fabric themed" (Searsucker, Gabardine, Burlap, Gingham and Herringbone) restaurants around town, which are heavily promoted and very popular.

The menu board is hanging above the cash register area, where you order, pay and get a number. Then you take your beverage, find a seat and soon enough, your food is brought to you.

My first visit here was a meet up with fellow bloggers caninecologne (who posted after that first visit)(two posts, actually) and Dennis. Dennis has been here many times, since he works close by (as I said at the beginning…)

One of the things I really like about Green Acre is that just about everything is recycled and recycle-able. The paper straws are more than just cute. When you return your tray, the trash area is marked for food mulch, paper and plastic recycling and 'other'.

The food is brought out on jelly roll pans lined with brown butcher/craft paper. This is Dennis' Grass fed beef burger, topped with leek, slow roasted tomato and Marin County Brie served on a fresh pretzel bun($12) it comes with the fresh-fresh salad, topped with a herb infused dressing…oh, and the pickle is definitely not from a jar. The Russett fries ($3) are served with a 'tomato jam' that tasted more like a marinara than catsup…The fries are quite nice.

caninecologne was not going to let this long drive North go to waste and ordered two full meal items. She took home more than half of each. This is the "Drunken Mary" panini-a chicken salad made with smoked almonds and brandied cherries ($7). I had a taste and it was really good. The side salad, again very fresh-fresh was very good.

This is caninecologne's other main course meal- the 'Corn Cobb' ($9). A very nice, very large, very fresh Cobb salad, made with chicken, avocado, bacon, cheese (she asked for a substitute of the standard Bleu cheese) and topped with a corn vinaigrette. This was very good.

My salad- the 'Nice!'-(a play on Nicoise) ($10) Lightly seared albacore, a perfect soft boiled farm egg, and instead of beans, fresh peas and instead of potato, freshly fried potato skins on top: whatever is fresh and in season… The lettuces, tomato, vinaigrette were memorable as to their freshness.

I had to bring The Mister here, so one weekday in April, we drove out here (it's easy, take the 5 to Genessee, go West two lights to John Jay Hopkins, turn (you can only turn North) and the first street is General Atomics Drive- the first building on the right -go behind it through the parking lot). I decided to try one of the items from the "Brick Oven Bar"- a 'Purist' half pizza($6). Again, it comes with the salad, all on the brown paper lined jelly roll pan. A simple, perfectly baked mozzarella/basil/tomato pizza. This combination is *so* good, I didn't want to stop eating it and am glad I only ordered a half…just to appear polite.

The Mister ordered the Nice! salad, based on my incessant obsession with my previous experience (this version had a few small potatoes in it, so no potato skin toppers;potatoes were able to be harvested) and also ordered a Daily Soup ($4), which this day was a wonderful vegetarian spring root vegetable chowder. This hit the spot with the slightly chilly overcast outdoor seating spot we chose. It was a nice blend of root veggies and kale, not too spicy and not a thick broth, but a very flavorful one.

We've tried other menu items here. The breakfasts are pretty basic (omelettes, wraps and paninis as well as yogurt and fruit cups) and extremely fresh. The menu is small and changes based on what is available. Green Acre serves very fresh, very high quality food without any hype. I really like it here.

Green Acre 3535 General Atomics Court San Diego 92121 (858)587-6601 M-F 8am-6pm Website

Cafe Marché – Bird Rock/La Jolla

May 18, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, French Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Cafe Marché has closed.

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog, written by a few friends: Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy do the majority of posts here, but a few others have helped out as well. Today, it's Cathy's turn to write while the guys are 'researching' in various parts of the USA and world.

It's that time of year when The Mister and I just get in the car, drive and stop when one of us is hungry. The other day, we found ourselves in South La Jolla on the fairly new La Jolla Boulevard that has added circles in the middle of the road, so you have to drive slowly, zig zagging at 15 miles per hour, instead of stopping at every corner.

It's the area commonly known as Birdrock.

As I drove slowly, we saw this- Café Marché. It used to be a different restaurant where we had never stopped. This time, I found a parking space (the parking lot has green lines painted in it, but is labeled 'Customer Parking Only' and not '15 minute parking' as are green lined spots on the street).

I didn't get a photo of the counter when we walked in, but a good variety of freshly prepared deli items and flavored popcorns are available to grab and go.

We sat near the front, and had a nice view of the painted Bird Rock on the wall. The breakfast and lunch menus were brought to us.

The Mister ordered coffee ($2) and a thermal pot was brought to him. It was a very good, fresh brewed French roast coffee.

The Mister's order came with a 'small salad', which was quite large and served with a very nice herbed balsamic dressing.

Short story: The Mister and I had just been reminiscing about late night stops at Denny's after the UGLi (undergraduate library) closed, and how we always ordered a "Super Bird", a sort of Monte Cristo sandwich…

So, when the Monte Cristo Crépe ($8.50) was on the menu at Cafe Marché, He had to order it. I must say, this was *wonderful* and had a good amount of ham and turkey and cheese inside the *very* perfect, thin and flavorful crépe.

When I looked at the menu, I could not decide, asked what the soup of the day was and was told that in addition to French onion, the 'soup' was actually a chili. ($5). I had to try it and was very, very happy I did. Our (very nice and attentive) Waiter said it was his Mother's recipe…and I want that recipe! Ground beef, black, kidney and garbanzo beans, corn and a perfect blend of spices, topped with cheese and a dollop of sour cream and…a perfect meal. It was accompanied by grilled Focaccia, which was so very fresh and apparently what is used for sandwiches here…sandwiches which I'll order next time.

What a great place. So glad we stopped here.

Marché Café 5550 La Jolla Blvd La Jolla CA 92037 (623)332-3505

Coffee, Bagels &Crépes – Alpine

May 5, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome (back) to mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog about eating experiences. Today, Kirk is busy, ed (from Yuma) is busy and so Cathy is writing.

In early April, I had to be in Alpine a couple of times and noticed this small, new place had opened, right next to Alpine Liquor on Alpine Boulevard. I stopped once, enjoyed a fresh bagel snack with coffee and made a note that The Mister needed to be with me the next time I was driving out there.

Early one morning, we drove out here again and I had the time to pay attention to details.

The 'front desk' is an old coffee cart. I say old, because it has inspection stickers on it dating back to 2005.

There is a menu you can see from the front of the cart when ordering, it has prices. This is the side of the building with a handicap access ramp and the priceless menu. Turns out that Coffee, Bagels & Crépes opened on April 1.

There is a selection of coffees in pump pots and this morning I asked for the boldest one. The coffee here is good. The Mister ordered a breakfast crépe ($5.50) and before even taking our money, the friendly owner turned around and began measuring and mixing crépe batter for us. What service.

What freshness! See those orange egg yolks? There was crispy, nicely flavored bacon and cheese inside this light, slightly sweet fresh crépe batter. The topping was a ribbon of basil sauce. This was quite large and so very fresh.

When we saw that the owner was making a batch of crépe batter, it seemed natural to order a second crépe.

Yes. Why not a Nutella® and banana crépe? It was breakfast after all…

The cross section- the banans inside the crépe were warm and the ones on the outside were still cold; a nice contrast. A nice breakfast outside in Alpine. We will be returning for lunch. Soon.

Coffee, Bagels & Crépes 2250 Alpine Blvd (next to Alpine Liquor, at Marshall Road) Alpine, CA 92101