American/New American Restaurants – Page 39

A “New School”, “Old School” Night Part 1: New School – Luce Bar & Kitchen

October 10, 2012 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Pubs and Pub Grub

There are a handful of truly "old school" places in San Diego, not faux old school, but old enough to recall….say the 70's? It's all relative I guess? For me that's barely old enough, though for myfriends who are in their 30's, this is more than old school, this is before they started school! What started as a "hey, how about this…." conversation started to take shape. And since there are a couple of places in our neighborhood…and I don't mean the Silver Spigot, which is in a class by itself, I had thoughts about going to Old Trieste. I was soon convinced not to go, based on a couple of "scary food" statements from some friends. So we we settled on Baci…..meanwhile, the folks at Baci opened up a gastro-pub next door called Luce. The menu looked promising, I saw lines out to the sidewalk when driving by soon after the soft opening, and heck, Bay Park could really use a place like that. My good friend Candice told me an "new school – old school" night might be fun. We'd start at Luce for some drinks and appetizers and move on to Baci for dinner. So even though I usually don't post on these type of places, we had a fun and interesting night…..so why not break character for a post or two, right?

First, though the setting is fairly loud…..boisterous and fun is how your neighborhood tavern/pub should be, right? The decor is nice, the vibe is casual and neighborly, though the space is fairly small.

The bottled beer list is decent and though not large, there's enough stuff on tap to keep me interested. I started with a Ballast Point Calico Amber, which was a great way to start a weekend. Unfortunately, it was the highlite of my experience at Luce.

The menu is full of fairly intriguing items, sorta-kinda hip, perhaps a bit behind the curve stuff, like Pork Belly tacos. But it still sounds fun……and heck, who am I to talk about what's hip?

We started with the Pork Drumsticks ($6), which are a riff on Monkey Paw's Drunken Monkey Bones, basically pork shank pieces cut to vaguely resemble chicken wings.

First the good; these were braised nicely, soft and tender. Not so good; the pork was smeared with a glaze when reheated that was sweet, but that's about it…very one tone, I was wishing for some simple salt and pepper to help these. It looked so good, but didn't deliver.

The Braised Lamb Tacos were also not very pleasing.

Well, just for a value check, guess the price of these two rather scrawny tacos. Would you guess eight bucks ($8)? The lamb was dry, the tortillas seemed very low quality, and were also dry, they just tore apart when you tried to pick them up. Again, these were very low on the flavor scale.

The last item we tried were the Escargot Mushrooms.

This was another dish that could have used more aggressive seasoning. Also, there seemed to be but the tiniest piece of escargot on each mushroom, which really didn't matter much since it was very hard and rubbery. The sauce could have used more garlic and was very watery….give 'em some umph and get 'em to drink another beer!

We had thoughts about ordering more, but decided to cut our losses and just head next door a bit early to see if they had a table ready. On the good side, though a bit overwhelmed, our Server was very sweet as can be. Perhaps I need to order other items, or return after the grand opening period, once things settle down. But if it's anything like the evening we were here; a line of at least a dozen waiting outside when we left, maybe there's no motivation…. so we'll see.

Luce Bar & Kitchen
1959 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

So, would dinner at "Old School" Baci turn things around? Stay tuned!

Da Boyz and Brewers in Yuma

July 23, 2012 ed fromyuma American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Pizza, Pubs and Pub Grub, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Ed (from Yuma), not Kirk and not Cathy, is posting at mmm-yoso!!! today. About 2 restaurants (in Yuma).

Da Boyz

More than 10 years ago, a pizzeria opened in Yuma Foothills called Da Boyz. At first, we all assumed that this was some new national chain since the decor and logos were very professional. In fact, there are two other locations, one in La Mesa and one in Rancho San Diego. I have no idea about either of them. Similarly, I haven't eaten in the Foothills branch of Da Boyz in five years or more. Why? Because Da Boyz took over and renovated a beautiful large location in old town Yuma on Main Street:

It has extremely high ceilings and a lot of space:

Separate rooms decorated with pictures of Marilyn Monroe or the rat pack or Elvis are available for groups and special occasions. Here are some pictures from the Elvis room:

I like Da Boyz. The service is professional and this location is extremely well-managed. While the beer selection is largely conventional, there are usually at least one or two seasonal brews available:

To my taste, this is the best eat-in pizza restaurant in town – not just because of the nice atmosphere – but because the pizzas are good:

The crusts are real bread crusts:

A wide variety of toppings are available:

And the cheese is flavorful and real:

In addition, the salads are huge:

A small salad can be a filling meal or provide side salads (as shown here) for 2 to 4 eaters:

Leaving just an empty bowl:

Even though the lettuces are nothing special, a garden salad will have pepperoncini, sliced olives, bell pepper, red onion, tomato, and cucumber. The Italian dressing is surprisingly tasty.

Of course, there is more than just pizza and salad. While I find the pasta to be pretty ordinary with unremarkable sauce and overcooked noodles, some of their sandwiches make a nice lunch. Here's the meatball (or perhaps sausage?):

When I'm looking for something slightly healthier, the turkey and provolone is good (this is half a sandwich – I share sometimes):

Da Boyz is one of those restaurants that I should have posted about years ago because it is part of my standard rotation and is a local favorite, having been voted the best pizza in town in the most recent newspaper poll. OK, so I finally got around to it.

Brewers

Just a note: Brewers now serves pizza and the menu has changed, but it still has good sandwiches etc.

A more recent addition to the Yuma dining scene is another large restaurant called Brewers:

The story of this restaurant – as I've been told by several different people – is that it is owned and operated by the individual who was once the husband of the owner of Da Boyz. While Brewers is another favorite of mine, it offers some very interesting contrasts to Da Boyz.

The large interior space is more modern in ambience and has a definite sports bar feel to it:

Here is a different view of the interior:

Instead of pizzas, Brewers has a nice selection of flat breads – cheese and toppings on lavash bread. (Rumor has it that Brewers cannot serve pizza because of the divorce settlement – but since I have not read this on the Internet, I do not know it as a fact). In any case, this is the blue bacon flatbread:

This is halfandhalf flatbread – part Mediterranean (spinach, feta, pepperoncini, olive, and garlic) and part Margherita (fresh tomato, basil, and garlic):

Brewers also has sandwiches (each of which comes with a choice of french fries, onion rings, seasoned chips, sweet potato fries, or tater tots). Some of the sandwiches are pretty mediocre. Here is a gyro with onion rings:

The sandwich meat and pita bread were pretty meh, and the onion rings were equally mediocre. Similarly, I should have known better than try a pulled pork sandwich:

However, those tater tots are really excellent. Extremely crunchy outside, moist and flavorful within.

The Santa Fe turkey sandwich was tasty although the roasted green chile did not have real New Mexico flavor. The sweet potato fries, even with this latticework design, lacked much crunch though they were flavorful:

The burgers are generally the best sandwich choices. Here is a basic burger, and you can see the well seasoned, handmade patty as well as the tomato, lettuce, onion, and pickle complements:

And to repeat myself, the tater tots are really good.

Another favorite is the honey mustard chicken burger. Along with the standard toppings of pickle, onion, tomato, and lettuce, you get a large chicken breast filet, a couple of slices of smoky bacon, melted Swiss cheese, and a flavorful honey mustard sauce:

The french fries are just okay.

Some other things here that Tina and I enjoy – recently, she tried the Cobb salad and it was a very good rendition of the standard favorite:

And I could not believe how excellent the fish tacos were:

Yuma is one of those rare places where one can get good Mexican food even at restaurants that are not primarily Mexican restaurants – probably because most of the cooks in Yuma restaurants are Mexicans or Mexican-Americans. Anyway, those fish tacos, while extremely simple, were outstanding. There was just enough white sauce, the cabbage added some vegetable crunch, the salsa was remarkably smoky and spicy, and the fish fillets (yes, each taco contained an entire pollock fillet) were perfectly fried, crunchy on the outside and moist and flavorful inside:

As good as some of the food options are at Brewers, this place has a major advantage over any other place in Yuma: 10-12 taps devoted to various craft brews, mostly from Arizona, California, and Colorado. This is the listing of beers available on May 28 (notice the cross outs and handwritten additions):

Look at the top of the tap list, not the Bud and Millers listed toward the bottom. Here is a very different taplist for June 14:

Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale, Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro, Ballast Point Sculpin Ale, Grand Canyon Shaggy Bock, Four Peaks Peach Ale, Arrogant Bastard, San Tan Brewing Negro Nitro, Four Peaks Sunbru Kolsch, Coronado Mermaid Red, Maui Brewing Coconut Porter, TapIt IPA, Stone IPA, and Sam Adams Summer Ale are just some of the specialty brews available on one or both of those two days. Finally, in Yuma, you can sit down with friends and have beers that look like this:

Or like this:

Wow!! Yuma has arrived in the 21st century. And those beers go really well with deep-fried zucchini:

Da Boyz and Brewers both make my life in Yuma better. If you visit them, they will probably improve your life (though perhaps not your waistline) as well.

Da Boyz Italian Cuisine 284 S Main, Yuma AZ 85364, (928) 783-8383

Brewers Restaurant and Sports Bar, 2331 S Ave B, Yuma AZ, 85364, (928) 783-0073.

Pasadena Road Trip-An early 2013 Rose Parade event and breakfast at Lucky Boy

July 19, 2012 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

Hi there, person reading the blog called mmm-yoso!!! Sometimes Kirk writes here about meals and events and sometimes ed (from Yuma) writes about meals and events. Today, Cathy is writing about an event and a meal.

Well, it's been a hot and busy summer so far, probably for everyone. There are events every weekend it seems. Last weekend, San Diego was hosting both Comic-Con and Over the Line, the Orange County Fair opened and on Saturday, The Mister and I woke at 4:30 a.m., let the dogs out and back in the house, grabbed some snacks and coffee and jumped in the car and headed North, to Pasadena. In less than two hours, we were greeted by this sign.

Our reason for the trip and being here before 7 a.m.. Some of the floats that will appear in the 2013 Tournament of Roses parade were going to be road tested! There are at least three road tests for each float before the parade. This road test was mentioned on the Phoenix Decorating Company Facebook page and not on the website. The Rose Parade has fascinated both of us since we were children, watching it on television every New Year Day from our snow-bound homes back East and we are so happy to be able live here and be able to help decorate floats and also watch the progression of their creation every year.

This will be the Trader Joe's entry. You can see a few of the many kitchen gadgets (and cupcake holders) that will be part of the float. There will be some animation and those parts seemed to be the ones tested.

This is the initial sketch of the float. You can see the photo is facing the opposite of this drawing. It will be interesting to see the final product, which I am sure will be great.

Another float was being driven, with the Observer in front, directing the driver (who will be in an enclosed area in the middle of the float) down the street using headsets and microphones and then directing to a 180 degree turn at the end of the street to get back to the barn.

You can see the driver in this photo.

Other floats have the rebar skeletons covered and are almost ready to be marked for colors. This is the Shriners Hospital float. One bear depicts the Shriners Open Golf Tournament and the other bear depicts the Shriners Football Classic:

The rectangle cut into the belly of that bear will be where the Observer for this float will be looking out along the parade route.

Some of the floats are essentially ready for decorating, covered with foam and painted the colors where the various live and dried materials will be placed and glued. This is the 'off side' of the Nurses' float-the side the television cameras won't show.

This is the "camera side" you will see when you watch the parade on television. So beautiful.

The Rotary International float is very animated- that screw knob in the back spins and so do all of the gears! It was tested with nine riders.

The City of Hope float looks like a Chemistry Laboratory, complete with a spiral bound notebook and microscope.

There were eleven floats in all, all in different levels of being finished and tested for safety. It was fun to watch…and was all over before 9 a.m. There will be another road test on August 18. Dry decorating of the floats begins December 1. Volunteers are always welcome, but you have to sign up. Here are three links about decorating opportunities.

So, it was breakfast time and The Mister and I walked half a block North and over the Metro Gold Line tracks (this is the Fillmore Station)

to Arroyo Parkway and took a left,

and stopped at about two blocks North, at Lucky Boy…which is right at the corner with
the *Original* Trader Joe's location (the logo under the main sign is "Your neighborhood grocery store").

Anyhow, Lucky Boy. Walk up, order…

pay and wait for your number to be called…

A little peek inside the cooking area. The tortillas are cooked on a grill- and have grill marks.

This is a cross section of the famous Breakfast Burrito ($5.80). It weighs about one pound. Really. Hash browns, cheese, scrambled eggs and, in this case, ham-which was warm from the grill; nice. The salsa which came with was tasty and unique, a tomatillo based with some green chili and also a red chili with some heat.

We have been here before, but for lunch and dinner, and I usually order a pastrami something, but this time I decided to try a simple breakfast…

An egg sandwich, on rye toast. ($3.25)(not a typo). Soft scrambled eggs with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise on a really nice rye bread.

A perfect day. We stopped at a few places and were home by noon. The day had just begun!

Lucky Boy Drive In 640 S. Arroyo Parkway Pasadena, CA 91105 Website It is closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, otherwise it's open.

Sea Rocket Bistro: A Dinner

July 18, 2012 ed fromyuma American/New American Restaurants, Seafood, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Kirk has been hosting mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog, for over 7 years now. Amazing. Sometimes he lets Cathy post about her culinary adventures. And every once in a long while ed (from Yuma) posts about his. Today is one of those days. Thanks Kirk!

Sea Rocket Bistro is no longer in business.

Unlike our largely unplanned visit to the Kensington Grill, Tina and I had made a reservation at the Sea Rocket Bistro so that we could get together with some old friends of ours visiting from Monterey, Steve and Helen. None of us had eaten at the restaurant previously, but I had heard some good reports on it and it looked interesting online, featuring fresh seafood and local ingredients.

Finding parking anywhere close to the corner of 30th St. and Upas proved to be difficult, so we were a few minutes late for the reservation, and I forgot to take a photo of the exterior. As soon as we entered, Tina and I were overwhelmed by the loud crowd packed two and three deep at the bar – this is a picture from our table:

Clearly happy hour is a big deal at Sea Rocket, but maybe the name of the place should be changed to Sea Racket because IT WAS EXTREMELY NOISY. I am tolerant of most restaurants’ ambience since I am primarily interested in the food, but still, it was difficult to have a conversation with our friends even though we were sitting as far away from the bar as could be arranged.

Looking at the appetizer side of the menu – which we were told had just been printed – we selected the watermelon salad and the local steamers. Before any of our dishes arrived, a nice plate of sliced artisan bread, accompanied by herbed honey butter, showed up at our table:

This was a very promising start the meal. The bread had a nice, light and crunchy crust and a smooth and flavorful crumb. We all liked the slightly sweet slightly herby flavor of the spread.

The bistro had an extensive beer and wine list – in fact, more beers seemed listed than wines. Since it was a Wednesday, all bottles were 20% off. I was amazed to see an Albariño from Edna Valley on this wine list as well, and having been so pleased with a similar wine at Kensington grill, we selected a different Albariño to accompany our meal:

Although this wine is more expensive (by winery list price) than the version from Tangent, neither Tina nor I thought it was quite as good as that wine, lacking the peach and tropical fruit salad finish. On the other hand, particularly with 20% off, the wine was priced very well in the restaurant ($38.40 after discount).

The first course to arrive was the watermelon and goat cheese salad ($10):

Large chunks of yellow and red melon accompanied a small round of goat cheese – all topped with roasted pumpkin seeds, a little frisee, a baby lettuce leaf, and a white balsamic dressing. Very nicely done. Good flavors and a well presented dish.

The next course were the steamers ($14), presented with slivered leeks, in a white wine sauce strongly flavored by the "yellowtail bacon”:

At first, I was a little surprised because in my neck of the woods (or I should say, my old neck of the woods) steamers were automatically clams, not any shellfish, and obviously, I had not read the menu carefully. On the other hand, the dish had a lot going for it. The salty winey broth was very flavorful and complemented both the shellfish and the surrounding slices of bread well. Every slice of bread was dipped and eaten. Nonetheless, the dish also reminded me why neither mussels nor clams are a major part of the San Diego fishing industry. While fresh, the ones in this appetizer were not especially succulent or plump. Nor were they plentiful.

At this point, I need to pause and address one of the more unusual aspects of our meal. Having once waited tables (a long long time ago), I am very tolerant of servers. In both San Diego – and especially Yuma – superb servers are not common; nonetheless, our experience this evening was truly unique. For example, we asked our friendly server about the smoky salty fish with the steamers – as we no longer had our menus to look at. She replied, “It’s just fish, some kind or another," and then added. "We call it fish sausage on the menu, but it's just fish." But of course, it was called "yellowtail bacon" not fish sausage, and it definitely was smoky and salty in flavor. She also mentioned that she was sometimes clumsy, or maybe she said klutzy, and then as if to prove that point, she actually broke a wine glass (fortunately with no wine in it) while serving us. That was a first in my dining career. And then there was the problem with the fish that Helen and I had both ordered, the sculpin. We overheard a different server explain to an adjacent table that the kitchen had run out of sculpin, so we wondered what we were getting. When we asked our server about the fish, she first accused the other server of being new and really being a hostess, not a server. Then of course she had to later explain to us that we weren't getting sculpin – maybe – she wasn't sure – but that they had not run out, they just didn't have any sculpin that evening, she thought, but maybe we would get black cod instead. “Really just about the same fish.” Of course, that made me wonder why the sculpin was listed on the supposedly freshly printed menu. In any case, the server was still unsure what we were getting when she brought Helen and me black cod ($18 on our bill, though still called sculpin there):

The fish was perfectly grilled fresh black cod. It was lightly seasoned, allowing the flavor of the fish to shine through every taste, though black cod can also be quite good when marinated (as in this recipe of Kirk’s).

Tina had ordered the La Jolla sea bass ($20):

This was also perfectly cooked. The fish was moist and yet it flaked nicely. Notice that both fishes were perched on the same pile of diced firm waxy potatoes, rainbow chard, mushrooms, and anaheim pepper strips. Underneath the veggies was a creamy and flavorful horseradish sauce. While I prefer restaurants that accompany their fish choices with different sides, flavorings that complement each type of fish perfectly, I had to agree with Tina that this particular vegetable/potato combination had a nice flavor and texture. Its simplicity was a good match to the lightly seasoned fish. Each of the various vegetables was cooked well. And a good variety of tastes and textures.

Steve had ordered the seafood stew ($18). When it first arrived, we all thought that he had received another appetizer plate of steamers. The same clams and mussels, the same slices of good bread, and the same shredded leek topping:

Further investigation, however, showed that the few chunks of fish were not smoked or salted, and the broth was different, lacking the bacony tastes of the appetizer, but having a smoother and less assertive tomato/pepper flavor. The menu called it a piperade sauce, but I noticed little capsicum heat.

I felt kind of bad for Steve even though he said the stew was okay overall, because it was much more of a replay of the appetizer than we had expected. To some extent, that is my fault because I did not read the menu carefully enough and the decision to have steamers as an appetizer was probably mine (once we decided that uni would not suit everybody at the table). However, I think we were all surprised by how similar the dishes were, particularly the bread slices and the slivered leeks. While I cannot fault the server entirely, a truly skilled waitperson might have pointed out how similar the stew was to the appetizer and perhaps suggested a different appetizer. But it is clear that our server was not having a good evening overall.

Sometimes, you get real lucky. That's how Tina and I felt after our meal at the Kensington Grill. Sometimes, not so much. That's how we felt about Sea Rocket Bistro. Not to say we didn’t have a good time; it was great eating with Steve and Helen. And by no means was this a disastrous meal. Many items were well-prepared and tasty. Prices were very fair. If I go back to the restaurant, I will probably start with a bottle of some excellent local brew at happy hour and then settle in for some simple grilled fish or a grass fed burger with bacon jam. That sounds like a better plan.

Sea Rocket Bistro, 3382 30th St, San Diego, CA 92104, (619) 255-7049, Open 5 -10 pm daily.

Dinner at Kensington Grill

July 3, 2012 ed fromyuma American/New American Restaurants, Fine Dining, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

mmm-yoso!!! is Kirk's foodblog, and he posts about all things food in San Diego and the world; sometimes Cathy shares meals with us here too; but today, ed (from Yuma) is posting about Kensington Grill (in San Diego).

Kensington Grill has also closed. if this keeps happening, I may not be allowed in some establishments in the future.

Sometimes bad luck is good luck in disguise. Case in point – Tina and I had arrived in San Diego for a brief vacation in the latter half of June. Of course, I had a list of restaurants with locations and phone numbers etc., but we knew we would only be able to make it to a few of the places on the list. Anyway, the first place we wanted to go to didn't have its regular menu on that Monday night. The next place was closed because it was Monday, and I had not read the website carefully. By this point, we were ravenous, and only one other restaurant in the area was on my list. That is how we ended up at Kensington Grill:

The restaurant is moderately large with an attractive bar occupying the central area:

Tina and I were both impressed by the tasteful and understated dining areas. This is a view from our table:

I really had no idea what kind of food to expect, and the menu was full of various choices listed in categories like Soups and Salads, Boards, Bites/Sides, Bowls, Small Plates, Large Plates, and Hog Bar. My mind boggles pretty easily when faced with the unusual (and at my age, there is a lot of unusual in this world). So Tina and I spent some time going over the menu trying to figure out a dinner plan.

Eventually, we decided to choose a wine and then select a range of dishes that would complement the vino and show off the cuisine of the restaurant. I was intrigued by the Tangent Albariño ($36) – a white wine from Edna Valley in Santa Barbara County – so we ordered a bottle:

This was certainly a fine way to begin a meal. Albariño is the best white wine grape in Spain, but I have seen or tasted very few bottles from California. In the glass, the wine had an intriguing floral aroma, and in the mouth, the initial dryness on the palate became lush and rich and complex and fruity. Flavors exploded on the palate. Unexpectedly good. And a good value in a restaurant wine.

Our server, Edson (no relation), had described the soup of the day ($8.50) so well that Tina and I were determined to split a bowl:

The predominant ingredient in this chilled soup was ripe creamy California avocado, its natural sweetness set off with a slight sour (citrus?) note. The avocado was matched by intense fennel flavors. I had never imagined those two things combined, but like experienced lovers, they danced together beautifully. The chunks of crab added some texture and proved again that the inventor of California rolls understood flavor pairings. The fresh herbs and drizzle of chili oil completed the dish.

Our server also recommended the calamari salad – called kg calamari on the menu ($10):

The tender calamari had been lightly breaded and fried and then tossed with shredded cabbages, sliced sweet peppers, bean sprouts, chopped cilantro, crushed peanuts, and sweet chili sauce. Altogether like some Southeast Asian salad. Crisp and refreshing. A very nice contrast with the soup, and Tina and I loved it.

We felt like we should try something from the Boards category – a customer's selection of three ($14), four ($18), or five ($21) different bruschettas, each cut into three pieces and all presented on a wooden paddle:

One was somewhat Mediterranean/traditional with tomato, cucumber, artichoke, and feta cheese:

As you would expect, the taste focused on those fresh ingredients, but instead of the standard artichoke hearts I was expecting, puréed marinated artichoke was spread across the bruschetta before the chopped fresh ingredients were added.

Completely different, the crabapple and brie bruschetta with carmelized onion jam featured the smooth, rich, melted cheese contrasting with the crunchy bread and subdued sweet flavors of the fruit:

In the middle bruschetta, a sweet fig/date spread covered the crunchy bread, all of which was topped with bits of speck and lardo:

Rich intense tastes. Sweet, salty, smoky, crunchy. Reminded me of childhood, when I would dip my breakfast bacon in pancake syrup.

In retrospect, we had already eaten enough food for a normal dinner. However, we had placed our entire order at the beginning of the meal, so more food kept arriving.

Earlier that day Tina had mentioned a place in Phoenix that specializes in chicken and waffles, so when I saw shrimp waffle ($13) as a small plate on the menu, I had to have it:

Weird as it sounded, this was tasty. The waffle had standard waffle flavors enhanced with jack cheese and scallions. The shrimp were fresh, perfectly cooked, and flavorful. The buttery creole sauce, with slices of shallot and red fresno pepper, brought the whole thing together. Good and rich. More memories of childhood breakfasts – but also like no waffle dish I’d ever tasted before.

The last item was from the Bowls section of the menu – the sautéed mussels ($12):

This was a difficult dish to photograph, as is evident by the picture. The plump and fresh flavored mussels were served in a black frying pan (so little light and minimal color contrast for the mussels). The bivalves were bathing in a standout spicy green curry sauce with abundant kaffir lime and creamy coconut milk. The slices of toasted bread were perfect for soaking up sauce. Unfortunately, neither Tina nor I had much room left at this point. So we fished out the tasty mussels, appreciated the flavorful broth, and ate almost none the crispy toasted bread slices.

All in all, we got lucky and had a good time. The chef skillfully brought together techniques and flavors from around the world. The setting was pleasant, the service good, and the timing of the meal excellent. The only problem was that we ordered too much. Honestly, I am surprised that there doesn't seem to be a lot of buzz about Kensington Grill. Perhaps the menu or head chef are new. In any case, Both Tina and I are eager to eat here again.

Kensington Grill, 4055 Adams Ave., 619-281-4014. Open for dinner 5-9:30 on Monday through Thursday and from 5-10 on Friday and Saturday evenings.

North East San Diego County Road Trip: Amerient-Country Cooking & Oriental Cuisine (Ramona) and a drive to Julian

May 21, 2012 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Chinese Restaurants, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

You are reading the blog named mmm-yoso!!! It’s about food. Not just a description of what, but also the where, sometimes the why and, occasionally how and who. Kirk usually takes care of those pronouns and sometimes ed(from Yuma) writes in a way outlining his posts using the interrogatives. Today, Cathy is using her grammar skills to share a day.

Hi. Last week, on a particularly foggy weekday morning, The Mister and I decided we’d like to take a drive North, to Julian. Originally we wanted to try Jeremy’s on The Hill, which ed (from Yuma) had posted about earlier this year, but on checking, realized it was not open for breakfast. However, figuring that people everywhere have to eat, we got in the car started the drive up Highway 67 and while on the lovely main street through Ramona, (cleverly named Main Street, just before it turns into Highway 78), I spotted this building, signage and decided this was where we should stop.

Perhaps you can’t read the signage on the building. I had heard of Amerient years ago but never had even noticed it when passing through town on my way to and from other errands.

We were greeted, seated and handed the leather bound combination menu. I noticed a lady in the corner booth rolling egg rolls and asked if I could order from the “oriental” part of the menu, even though it was barely 9 a.m., and was told that I could. (While we were there, several other people ordered other-than ‘country cooking’ items).

The wall decor and table condiments reflect both cuisines offered here.

The Mister decided on the Daily Special ($5.99, $2 off the regular menu price). On this day, it was Country Fried steak, which came with two eggs (poached), home fries (thin sliced and crispy fried)…

Here is a cross section view of the tender, lightly breaded, perfectly fried steak which was topped with a *very* nice, slightly peppery sausage gravy.

The Special also came with two GIANT pancakes, butter and heated maple syrup. On the right in the above photo, you can see a partial view basket of teas to select from($1.95)

My meal came with two fresh made egg rolls.

These were more meat than filler/no cabbage and really good; properly fried and not greasy. Actually, they were more like a good lumpia,now that I think about it. The neon red sweet-tart dipping sauce with a dot of hot mustard is something I rarely see or get to taste and it was a nice memory jog to my taste buds.

Here is a cross section of my order-Vegetable Egg Foo Young ($7.25). I crave mushrooms and was silly happy to get this giant platter of goodness, with the fresh, al dente cooked mushrooms, carrots, peas, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and -that patty- a fluffy, mostly cabbage, onion and egg delight. Actually a perfect breakfast (the gravy was not salty). Every restaurant makes egg foo young differently and this version was particularly memorable.

We plan to return, because the Saturday evening special is Ma La chicken. Spicy!

Amerient Country Cooking and Oriental Cuisine 668 Main Street, Ramona, CA 92065 (760)789-6855 website

We got in the car and continued on through the fog on the winding two lane road to Julian and were able to park on the main street, again having the clever name of Main Street. I so enjoy not having to think much. Parking on Main Street is something you can’t do during apple-picking time in Autumn. It was kind of strange to see the town, sidewalks and parking places in an uncrowded state. We walked and checked out every menu and determined that the price point for a meal started at $8, not including beverage. It’s also pretty consistent that a slice of pie with ice cream will cost $5. None of the businesses offer coupons in the local free paper nor is trying to underpricce a neighboring restaurant.

We drove just West, (Main Street turns into Farmer Road) to the cemetery, and walked around.

It was foggy and misty and peaceful.

We started to drive South, and passed Jeremy’s,which is about three miles from the center of Julian, then stopped four miles later, in the town of Santa Ysabel. Usually we stop at Dudley’s Bakery, but it’s only open Thursday-Sunday. There is a sign in the window that Dudley’s items are sold in the small IGA market next door, but since the bread would not be baked-that-day-fresh, we walked across the parking lot to the Julian Pie Company.

where a cute door handle greets you…

Choices of fresh pie slices, cookies, donuts, carmel apples and a freezer of take and bake pies and no crowds or waiting made the choice overwhelming.

So, we got one apple cider donut (75¢) and a coffee ($1.50) and a pie to go. The apple cider donut is unique in flavor…made with apple cider instead of water, it has a nice, fresh apple flavor and the light coating of cinnamon sugar was complimentary and not overwhelming. A good snack.

The pie?

The small size chicken pie. Made with the crust used for all the fruit pies. A good sized (one pound) meal for two. Baking fresh at home was perfect a few days later. The filling is almost all chicken, along with vegetables and the sauce.

San Diego County is large and every area/city/road has something interesting to do and places to eat. I hope everyone can have an adventure someday soon.

SO…yesterday, ed (from Yuma) wrote about his vacation and today I wrote about my “staycation”…whose turn is it now?

Julian Pie Company 21976 Highway 79 Santa Ysabel, CA 92070 (760)765-2400 website

Pie N’ Burger (burger, no pie)- Pasadena Road Trip

January 19, 2012 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

Hey, you found mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Welcome (back). Cathy is posting today, while Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are resting…or something.

Hi. I mentioned that we've been busy daily since Thanksgiving and have a bunch of meals to share. One of the days in December, The Mister and I returned to Pasadena to visit Rose Parade float decorating and stopped at a Starbucks and I was checking my email and had a note from Dennis, who writes A Radiused Corner. I mentioned where I was and he told us to go to Pie N' Burger, where he used to go when he was at University in Pasadena. I used the handy dandy "maps" app on my iPhone, found we were 1.1 miles away and that became our lunch venue.

When we got here, we found out that Pie N' Burger also sells breakfast and bakes their own white and wheat bread as well as pastries other than pie. They also serve fresh squeezed orange and grapefruit juices and items other than burgers. PLUS- when you order a soda, they pump syrup into the glass, then soda water…real soda. Mental notes were made for our return visit.

Located inside this rectangular building, with a small streetfront presence, Pie N' Burger has been in this location on East California Street since 1963.

The menu on the wall, above the pie display, near the back of the building, has current prices. The Formica counter with chairs and swivel stools runs from the front of the store all the way to the back- about 20 seats. Near the front of the building is the grill, which had the seats I coveted (and did not photograph, since so many people were sitting around it).

The Mister, in his quest for a great chili,ordered a Chili Size ($11.50)- two patties topped with chili, cheese and onions (of course The Mister did not order onions…) This comes with a toasted bun on the side. In this article about the history of chili, the 8th paragraph from the bottom describes the origin of "chili size".

This was my hamburger ($6.75). You can see the patty is hand-formed and not at all perfect.

We ordered all of our burgers to be cooked medium rare. The burgers were seasoned, although the bean-filled-chili with deep flavor overwhelmed the burgers on The Mister's plate. The meal itself was very filling.

Here is my burger in my (small) hand. It comes on a toasted bun with Thousand Island (made fresh here), pickles and lettuce as well as onions (I got both raw and grilled onions, to make up for The Mister's misguided belief that onions are evil). I found out later that you have to ask for tomato (which does not cost extra…you just have to ask).

As you can see, they cooked this fresh ground, hand formed burger perfectly. I did add salt at some point, but it was at the last 1/4 of the burger and I wanted to 'spice up' the lettuce and onions. Plus, I had eaten all of the pickles…

We plan to go back (when hungrier) and try out other menu items. Thanks for sharing your hangout, Dennis!

Pie N Burger 913 East California, Pasadena, CA (626)795-1123 Website

Sunrise Cafe-San Clemente

January 4, 2012 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Road Trip, San Clemente, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by to look at mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. Cathy is blogging today, appearing organized. Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are busy with things.

The other Saturday, The Mister and I woke at a decent hour and then a leisurely drive North, to Pasadena, and on our way, took the El Camino Real exit from the I-5, in San Clemente, looking for some place open for breakfast. This caught our eye.

So we stopped, parked in back and were greeted by one person cleaning a table outside and another nice lady as soon as we walked in the door.

We were seated in the adjacent room, which was set for the soon to be crowd, with each table sporting jams, jellies, sugars, syrup, salt, pepper and a bowl of half and half containers, each with one green Irish Cream flavored coffee whitener container. (Coffee is $2 here, good and refilled constantly). Our waitress was very friendly and seemed to know everyone else eating here and made us feel at home.

The Mister ordered what he wanted- corned beef hash with over easy eggs, home fries and a biscuit with gravy ($7.75)

The biscuit was fresh made, home made and quite large. The gravy had sausage and some pepper in it (had to add more). The corned beef was pretty standard and good and those eggs were jiggly-over easy, cooked the proper way. The home fries were really nice and flavorful; probably fried in butter.

I ordered the veggie omelet($8.50). This menu item caught my eye, because in addition to avocado, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, mushrooms,onions and cheese, the menu listed cauliflower as an ingredient.

It was a three egg omelet and I asked for tomatoes on the side (instead of potatoes) as well as rye toast. The omelet was very good, even with the mushrooms being canned. All the other ingredients were fresh and tasty and the omelet was really filling.

We really liked the food, homey feel and the super friendliness at Sunrise Cafe as well as being in San Clemente without the summer crowds. This may become a regular stop for us, in the off-season. I'll have to post where we eat when we visit this beach city in the summer…

Sunrise Cafe 701 N. El Camino Real San Clemente, CA 92672 (949) 498-6379 Open 7 a.m. M-F and 7:30 a.m. Sat-Sun, closes at 2:30 p.m. every day

Karl Strauss Brewery Gardens (Sorrento Valley)-lunch

December 30, 2011 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by our blog, mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are taking time off from posting and Cathy is writing today.

This month of December has been particularly busy for me (and The Mister) with some sort of appointment, meeting or party on the schedule every day. I have taken a lot of photos of all the meals we have enjoyed and will eventually share all of them with you.

We were 'up North', in Sorrento Valley, the other day and instead of going to our usual Opera Patisserie for lunch, we went North at the intersection of Mira Mesa Boulevard and Scranton Road and followed the signs to the parking lot of Karl Strauss Brewery Gardens.

This is one of the entrances from the parking lot. We followed a winding path and soon saw the restaurant and were quickly seated. This is a rather plain view of the beautiful wood interior, but the glass wall next to us revealed

the peaceful pond, with many waterfalls and Asian inspired theme.

The one page descriptive menu was brought out and our waiter described the fresh beer available that day.

The Mister ordered a Russian Imperial Stout ($5.95) and it was served in this beautiful glass. Since I was driving, I ordered water, but did have a sip of the stout and it was really good; it had a chocolate-malt flavor.

The Mister chose beer battered fish and chips ($14.95) as his meal. The menu had shown several choices of french fries as appetizer choices(garlic, chili lime as well as 'sweet and stinky') and he was not asked as to a flavor preference and (fortunately) these were plain fries, cooked to a nice crisp and unseasoned. The beer batter on the seasoned Alaska cod was light and fluffy and fried just right- not greasy. This was accompanied by a lemon caper remoulade (not tartar sauce) which was very complimentary. A fresh made broccoli slaw(which was really good except for the addition of some really hot red onions) completed the plate.

I decided to try the 'special appetizer plate' as my main. The charcuterie ($12.95) was quite large and filling. Three meats- in the center a smoked, cured ham- delicately thin sliced yet enough smoking to allow you to taste smoke and salty ham. The fancy cut at 11 o'clock is an aged Sopressota salami-not very strong in flavor at all; it needed the fresh made beer whole grain mustard sauce you see next to the slice of Cambozola cheese to bring out some flavor. I also used some of the fresh pine-nutty arugula pesto you see under the bread and it complimented the meat. The pepper-infused Mailander salami had a lot of flavor on its own and I ate it with some of the crostini- and the apple-fig chutney, which was perfect on its own or with a bite of meat. The combinations of sweet, spicy, smokey and savory made this plate an excellent lunch.

When we finished, we walked the path around the building and grounds before going back to the parking lot. There were some water features in this oasis in the middle of all the office buildings in this part of town. We want to go back to try more of the menu. There are lunch specials (called "Daily Brews" on the menu) Monday-Friday, which cost a bit less and are most likely just as good as the food we got.

Karl Strauss Sorrento Mesa 9675 Scranton Road San Diego 92126 (858) 587-2739 Website

Istanbul: Bosphorus Ferry Tour, Balik Ekmek, Yeni Camii, and Hotel Djem

December 22, 2011 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Istanbul, Travel, Turkey, Turkish Food

After a fairly hectic couple of days in Cappadocia we caught our flight back to Istanbul. We'd be staying one night then heading onward to Athens and Crete. By this time we had the metro and tram system pretty much down pat and made it to Sulthanmet Park and got out and made our way to the Hotel Djem, which is located across the park and the Hippodrome on the opposite side from our previous hotel. We enjoyed this hotel so much that we decided to make it our base for the rest of our time in Istanbul. Walking out into the street, you can see the back of the Blue Mosque rising into the air….there's something so exotic and exciting about Istanbul.

When we arrived the first thing the manager did was offer us tea while he checked on our reservation. The moment he found our reservation he told us to have some breakfast….and typical of Turkey, it was quite a spread.

There was a little guy who worked the breakfast buffet who was constantly in motion….he seemed to always be on a mission of sorts. Watching him work kept us entertained during our breakfasts.

We loved the gentleman who managed the place…when he found out we'd be leaving early the next morning, before breakfast service, he asked, well more like told us that we'd need something to eat…so they would have something ready for us if we wanted. We told him yogurt and some fruit would be perfectly fine….you gotta love Turkey!

While the Missus was freshening up, I asked the young man about cruises on the Bosphorus…….and really appreciated his honest advice. "You just arrived today and are perhaps a bit tired. Personally, I would just take one of the more inexpensive two hour cruises, the all day ones are a bit long……and after a while, all the buildings will start looking the same. You will stop enjoying it." We took his advice…… He would be our best source during our stays in Istanbul.

We caught the tram down to Eminonu as it started to drizzle and looked over a couple of the cruises near the Galata Bridge which I posted on before.

As we boarded it started raining a bit harder…..it was also fairly cold. The chestnut dude was doing great business though!

Here's what the regular ferryboats look like.

It turned out that two hours was just about the right amount of time for us. Here are some of the sights.

Üsküdar the Asian side of Istanbul.

The beautiful Ortaköy Mosque.

The gentleman at the hotel was right….by the time we hit Rumeli Hisari we had peaked and had our fill……though the cruise really highlighted how little we saw of Istanbul during our trip.

There was one thing that kept us form getting bored though….it was this lovely couple…..

Both were middle-aged. Neither sported wedding rings. The gentleman sported a very serious and conservative suit. The woman wore…well, I mostly remember her for the pointy tipped shoes like we saw in the souvenir shops. Both acted like teenagers in love. As the woman walked to the back of the cabin the gentleman trailed her filming her every move. In fact, he filmed just about every move she took. Once, I thought she had her fill and walked out of the cabin….but no, she was just stepping outside so she could do poses right out the window…..yep, you guessed it, just so the guy could film it! It almost seemed like something out of a comedy. It kept our attention for most of the return trip……it was sweet, cute, hilarious, and just plain bizarre all at the same time.

All along the area around the Galata Bridge are boats selling Balik Ekmek, the famous fish sandwich.

The boats have grills installed on them which already gets your attention, but many have eye-catching…well, almost gaudy design and ornamentation. Some of the hawkers even dress up in what I can only guess is Ottoman style garb…all the while yelling out "BAAaaaa-Liiiik". There's an area where several of the boats gather that have a fairly nice looking dining area set-up.

I walked on over and really didn't like the smell of the fish so I passed.

However, as we got off our boat, I noticed this little boat doing some serious business.

So I decided to try one….you can't beat the price, 2.5 TRY, about $1.25! This being Turkey, the sandwich had quite a bit of bread.

I made a mistake when I first got my sandwich; I had a taste of just the fish, undoubtedly mackerel,which tasted just plain fishy and off. Ick. However, when nestled in the bread, the pungency of the onions helped to cut the fishiness and oil. It tasted much better, but I didn't enjoy the aftertaste…it was not among my favorites from this trip. In fact, I'd take "fish curd" and even "fish poo" (fish preserved in it's own intestinal scrapings) that I had in Laos over this any day of the week.

As we walked to the underground crosswalk I saw the infamous mussel vendor. But after my Balik Ekmek I decided to pass…..

Whenever you're near the Galata Bridge, you can't help but notice the wonderful looking mosque across the street, next to the Spice Market.

The name of the mosque is Yeni Camii, "New Mosque", though it ain't that new being built in the 17th century.

In fact, the Spice Market was built as part of the mosque complex to create revenue for the mosque.

We had heard that the Mosque is quite beautiful and though we passed by several times it was suaully around one of the calls to prayer. We wanted to be respectful and not intrude…so perhaps next time.

There are women selling bird seed to feed the thousands of pigeons that flock around the mosque.