American/New American Restaurants – Page 41

Perry’s Cafe- The one in El Cajon

May 17, 2011 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, What Cathy Eats!

Hi. This is mmm-yoso!!!. Kirk is adjusting from his vacation in Turkey and Greece watching his work load increase, ed (from Yuma) is in Yuma, adjusting to increasing heat levels and waiting for his workload to decrease and Cathy is in San Diego's East County, steadily blogging about food.

Hi. When Kirk and His Missus left on vacation, I posted on the East County location of Panda Country restaurant. Kirk has blogged about "his" Perry's central county location. There may be theme starting. There is an East County location of Perry's Cafe.

Located at the intersection of Magnolia at Madison, near downtown El Cajon (about three blocks North from the courthouse, if you have ever had Jury Duty), this Perry's is under the same ownership as the Pacific Highway location. It can get very crowded here, especially on weekends, with lines extending into the parking lot.

There is some seating under the awning by the door.

Always, a White Board with daily specials is on display. This Perry's serves breakfast and lunch and is open from 6 a.m. until 2 p.m., same as the Pacific Highway location.

The interior is typical naugahyde coffee shop, as are the tabletop condiments.

A salad which accompanied a White Board Special #2 one day. Chilled iceberg lettuce and a standard Thousand Island dressing.

Grilled cod, served with the vegetable of the day, corn and cottage cheese instead of fries. $6.95
The pale colored fish plate was very fresh with the lightly grilled cod being a standout. The corn was typical frozen and crispy as well as sweet tasting and the cottage cheese was full fat, not that weird low fat kind.
I ordered 2 egg breakfast with Italian sausage ($7.25). Of course, I chose poached eggs and rye toast.
I also asked for a side of gravy to go with my hash browns. Since it was a breakfast, I got the peppery sausage breakfast gravy.
I enjoy seeing the classic shorthand on order tickets.

On another visit, the soup of the day was lentil and it was an excellent soup. Thick with beef, celery, carrot and lentils.
The soup was part of the Turkey salad lunch ($7.50). Yes, the old fashioned turkey salad; no dried fruits, no nuts, just leftover turkey, shredded and not in chunks mixed with mayonnaise. A generous scoop placed on top of mixed lettuces and shredded cabbage, tomatoes, avocado, olives, pickles and hard boiled egg halves. A dressing (your choice of standard salad dressings) is served on the side.
My standby favorite here. Hot turkey sandwich ($7.50). Just turkey breast slices on top of white bread with mashed potatoes and gravy over all. Comfort.

So. A 'chain' of Diners in San Diego county. The county is 4200 square miles and there is someplace everywhere to find a good meal.

Perry's Cafe 475 North Magnolia El Cajon 92020 (619)440-5724

Niban- a quick Lunch

May 14, 2011 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Hello. You are reading mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. Kirk is still on vacation. ed(from Yuma) is still working. Cathy is here, sharing with you a meal she and The Mister shared with each other.

I've posted about Niban two times. It is conveniently located on Clairmont Mesa Boulevard at the SouthEast corner of 805, in the parking lot with the Starbucks, McDonald's and Souplantation. This is another place The Mister and I grab a quick lunch or dinner when neither of us wants to cook. There are large menus taped in the front windows and also a display case of the specials for that day at the doorway.

You walk in, order, pay then have a seat. Soon, someone comes by and grabs the numbered receipt you were handed and asks what your beverage choice is. Hot tea is always free. There are two lunch specials on the back wall, behind the cashier.

This is the lunch Bento ($5.25). It is served on a divided round dish. Fried calamari, a fried shrimp and a piece of fried fish (tasted like cod that day), rice and tartar sauce. Six pieces of California roll (made with krab), a piece of nigiri. At the 5 o'clock position, a sort of crabmeat fish cucumber salad…no place else on the menu and enticingly good.

The other lunch special, gyoza ($5.25). You are asked if you would like your dumplings fried or steamed. This time, we chose steamed. Very thin dough, filled with ground pork and vegetables. As you can see, miso soup, salad and rice accompany the dumplings, as well as a vinegar-soy sauce.

Above, the fried calamari appetizer ($4.25). We almost always order this, with lunch or with dinner…or for lunch or fo dinner… Five pieces of breaded, crispy fried calamari steak accompanied by some lettuce and sauce. Hot spicy sauce. *Not* Thousand Island dressing, even though that is how the sauce appears. I think the sauce has sriracha as a base. I used to think it was jalapeño, but since becoming more familiar with sriracha, it seems pretty evident that those peppers are what is in this sauce. It compliments the fried calamari steak quite well.

Good daily specials, good food, nice people.

Niban 7081 Clairmont Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92111 (858) 268-0465

The Vine Cottage- A La Mesa Bistro

May 4, 2011 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Fine Dining, What Cathy Eats!

Hello and welcome (back) to mmm-yoso!!! Cathy is blogging today. Kirk is (still) on vacation and ed(from Yuma) is still busy with work.

If you are driving South on Lake Murray, just past the El Paso signal light on the West side of the street, you'll see this new facade on an old building. The Vine Cottage opened in January of this year. I have only heard good things about it, seen it being pretty crowded at various times of the day and decided The Mister and I should give it a try for one of our 'celebratory' dinners. (It does open at 11 a.m. daily and has excellent lunches also). You can't see much in this photo, but there are about 12 outdoor tables, which are filled in the evening and warmed by those six outdoor heat lamps. There are about 10 tables and a small bar area inside.
When you are seated, the one page menu and a bottle of chilled tap water is brought to your table. I've seen this way of water service at several bistros and finally remembered to take a photo. I've even started chilling water at home this way. This place is run like a fine Bistro in Paris would be run, it serves American, local fresh food, wine and beer.
Also a cone shaped vessel, filled with a fresh made cracker-like flatbread and fresh made hummus is brought out to the table. The hummus is excellent.

All of the waitpersons here are very professional and patient and will explain how each dish is prepared, all the ingredients in each dish and will answer all questions you have about the food, wine and beers served here.
As an appetizer, the lamb chops ($12) could be a meal. 'New Zealand lamb chops' it says on the menu, 'served with a Champagne-whole grain mustard sauce'. It didn't say three on the menu, we assumed there would only be two, since the listing was plural. We asked the chops to be cooked medium rare, and they were. This serving size, cooking and flavors were a wonderful surprising lead in as to the dinner which would follow.

For my meal, I chose a cup of the soup of the day ($4). It was vegetable soup. Excellent vegetable soup. Barely any broth, but what I did taste was rich flavored (it was a chicken broth and not vegetable) filled with squash, cabbage, carrot, potato, onion. Very hearty and excellent.
I wanted to try the Pizza Bianco, a white vegetable pizza ($12). A fresh thin bread which was infused with cheese and oil was topped with matchstick cut zuchini and yellow squash, topped with Havarti cheese. This was a very large pizza, easily shared (or reheated for breakfast the next morning). Oh, it tasted heavenly.
The Mister went with the "Sea and Garden" ($17) as his main course-garlic mashed potatoes, topped with grilled asparagus, topped with a (finely ground) nut crusted wahoo fillet, topped with fried leeks and accompanied by a chive oil. The potatoes were subtly flavored (I usually do not like garlic, or any flavor other than butter mashed potatoes), the asparagus was fresh and bright, the fish was firm, cooked just right to stay moist and tender, fresh and flavorful and the flavors of everything worked very well together.

The Vine Cottage is known for its wines and beers (8 on tap and 14 canned), but this evening we were too exhausted to try those. They serve meat and cheese platters, which pair well with both wine and the beers. There are also pastas and wonderful salads on the menu. Most of the items are also available at lunch time, for a bit lower price. Oh. There are desserts. Heavenly desserts. Next time. I'll post about those. Since the menu and ingredients are driven by what is in season, a lot of the menu changes. But that is a good thing. Fresh is always good.

Being in this strip mall as well as in La Mesa, you would not expect such a fancy yet not pretentious, affordable, well run, wonderful addition to the East County. Vine Cottage is fast becoming part of our 'rotation'.

Vine Cottage Bistro 6062 Lake Murray Boulevard La Mesa, CA 91942 (619) 465-0198 Website

Gillespie Field Cafe- Breakfast and Lunch at the Airport in East County

May 2, 2011 Cathy Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Everybody has to eat. Kirk and His Missus are eating, safely, in another part of the world. ed(from Yuma) is eating mostly in Yuma. Cathy is writing about where she has eaten.

Some people have asked me how I 'find' the restaurants where I eat. Basically, it is drive and stop, looking for where somebody who lives or works nearby would chose for a convenient meal.

The County of San Diego is about 4200 square miles and is home to eight airports in addition to the three airports in San Diego City limits: Lindbergh Field, Brown Field and Montgomery Field.

In El Cajon, Gillespie Field is conveniently located between Highway 67 and a Trolley station. (it's the Northernmost station which has both green and orange lines). It is the oldest and largest of the eight county airports, and the land includes many airport related businesses (flight schools, aircraft storage, repair and maintenance shops, avionics and instrument shops) as well as two Business Parks. About 2000 people are employed nearby. People need to eat.

In the far corner of the automobile parking lot, conveniently located next to the airfield, where private plane owners can also park and walk …

right next to the Control Tower is the Gillespie Field Cafe. It serves breakfast and lunch on weekdays (and is applying for a liquor license and is open from 4 p.m. until about 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.)

It is open at 6:30 a.m., Monday thru Friday and 7 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The Cafe closes about 2 p.m. on weekdays. On March 1, 2011, Roxanne and Peter, took over the running of the cafe. Roxanne is the waitress, Peter is the chef. There are both an indoor and an outdoor eating area, with an unobstructed view of the airfield. They serve good, diner food. Not gimicky pseudo-diner food. This is the real thing.

I was fascinated by the description of '4-5 eggs' being used to make an omelet (in addition to the 'comes with two' part of the menu).

A "Build Your Own" Omelet ($9.75) made with 4-5 eggs, bacon,sausage, mushrooms and avocado. Fresh mushrooms, crispy bacon, really good breakfast sausage. Sides of cottage cheese
and a biscuit with gravy. Good biscuit- fluffy and soft, but almost underdone. I didn't mind not having a crispy crust, because I was mostly using the biscuit as a device to eat the gravy. Great gravy- smooth, with sausage bits and a nice, pleasant combination of Peter's special seasoning including black pepper.
Then there was Breakfast Combo #2 ($7.75) (not the weekday specials; the Breakfast menu is four pages, including waffles ). Six wedges ( 3 slices) of French toast, 2 eggs and two bacon. Properly cooked French Toast made with a thicker white bread. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Not quite creamy soft as an egg bread would be, but very good and egg soaked and cooked through. I did not need the syrup. The bacon was crispy and not thin but also not really thick. It had a good flavor and just enough saltiness.

Perfect poached eggs. Fresh eggs. Creamy eggs. My kind of breakfast.

Of course, Farmer John's coffee ($1.95)…always fresh and hot pot, since everyone here seems to order it.

One weekday, The Mister was home and we came here for lunch.

We had to have a side order of onion rings which are lightly battered and perfectly fried to go with our lunch selections, in this case, hamburger based.

All the burgers are 1/3 pound coarse ground beef, hand formed. The menu says Angus beef. The Patty Melt ($8.29), cooked medium (we were not asked the level of doneness) and topped with a lot of sliced fresh grilled, unburned onions and Swiss cheese, on a very good rye bread, which was not greasy, but lightly grilled. There were almost too many onions, even for me…but I managed. The side of potato salad I chose was good, made with skin on red potatoes, finely chopped carrots and celery. I think it was made with a 'Light" mayonnaise, which I don't crave.
The Mister ordered a chili burger on this visit ($9.29) The same 1/3 pound burger, topped with Cheddar and the Cafe Chili on a toasted sesame seeded bun. The chili, made with beans, is really good and I will order it as a meal on another cold day. The cole slaw was fresh and crispy and lightly dressed with a vinegary mayo mix. I added salt and pepper to it.

Even if you are seated indoors, there is a view of the airfield and runway.

Not fancy, not a large place. Good food and lots of "regulars" who eat here. A true diner.

Gillespie Field Cafe 2015 N. Marshall (at Bradley) El Cajon, 92020 (619) 448-0415

Gus’s Subs and Pizza- (the #2/La Mesa location; Breakfast)

April 27, 2011 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!! which is a food blog. Kirk and His Missus are on a vacation, somewhere in the world. As a result, He is not blogging (that whole internet access in a foreign country thing). ed, (from Yuma) is not blogging because of that employment thing. Cathy, who apparently does not vacation nor have employment, is blogging.

On the SouthWest Corner of Baltimore Drive at Lake Murray, a small building has been home to quite a few restaurants which have come and gone. Gus's, a family owned place, with its first location in Point Loma, has established itself in La Mesa for almost three years now.

Gus's is famous for its sub sandwiches, Italian, Greek, Mexican and Portuguese sandwiches and pizzas. However this location also serves breakfast, opening at 7 a.m. daily.
A small inside eating area of about 20 tables, along with about the same size patio area, Gus's has the menu board for its sandwich and pizza selections just above the cash register. There is a separate breakfast menu, with Monday-Friday specials on chalkboards inside, at the door and stickers in the windows and on the menu. All different specials. The portion sizes are larger than you would expect. Gus's serves affordable, filling, satisfying food, just as a good neighborhood place should.
For His breakfast, The Mister chose the Combo, a four egg fritatta. A fritatta is described on the menu as a "Fancy Italian Omelette"   It comes with a choice of two sides. The Mister chose the pancakes…
and the hash browns. You can see a cross section of his fritatta; pretty much all meat filled. Combo  Fritatta is made with the four eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, mushrooms which are combined and then baked and topped with the two cheeses. (The rye toast is one of my sides.) His meal was $7.75.
I had an urge for steak and eggs. Of course, I wanted poached eggs. I asked for home fries (I was asked if I wanted onions and green peppers cooked with my home fries) along with the rye toast. This was a good sized top sirloin, not the thin cut '6 ounces before-cooking' piece of meat I was expecting. I asked for it medium rare and it was.  The grill marks on the steak were real. The meat had been seasoned before cooking and I did not feel the need to add A-1 at the table. Surprising, both in quantity and quality.

Oh, and price. $6.99- the special listed on the outside of one window.
As you can see, coffee was $1.75. Constantly refilled.

I mentioned Portuguese…One 'side' item sold here is linguica (Portuguese sausage). That sausage is rarely seen on menus in East County…the "Neighborhood Omelette" is made with four eggs and has linguica, shrimp, mushrooms, onions, ortega chili, tomatoes and cheese: A fitting tribute to the Portuguese Community which settled in San Diego five generations ago. The 101st Portuguese Festa do Divino Espiritu Santo is June 10-11-12 this year. The oldest Festival in our County.

Gus's Subs and Pizza- East County 5620 Baltimore Street La Mesa 91942 (619)462-4877 Open 7 a.m.-10 p.m. daily

Fat Ivor’s and Meat by the Side of the Road-Valley Center

April 21, 2011 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, BBQ, Diner, Sandwiches, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Kirk is on vacation and Cathy is blogging in his place. ed(from Yuma) is in Yuma, not on vacation and not blogging.

Hi again. Long story short, I drive up Valley Center Road quite frequently, regularly noticed signs next to Fat Ivor's Rib Rack and back in 2002, I finally decided to stop and see what the signs were all about. I wrote a post about this in 2006.

In reality, the signs were only out near Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter…it took me a while to realize that was when I was driving regularly to Valley Center. Here's an accurate photo of my viewpoint. The yellow sign closest to the road is "Optimist Hams for Kids", next to a "Got Ribs? We do" sign, then there is that trailer with the Optimist logo on it and the sign for Fat Ivor's Rib Rack. Meat. By the side. Of the road. The driveway is at those signs and the parking area is for Fat Ivor's.

In the back of the parking lot, you can see the smokers, being used for the Optimist's hams, as well as for the beef and pork used on Fat Ivor's menu.
Walk into the restaurant through the left door and seat yourself. The right door is the outdoor Bar area. Fat Ivor's has been in Valley Center for decades and was rebuilt after it burned down two months after the original owner, Tommy Thomas, died.

The restaurant is decorated with American flags, pictures of President Ronald Reagan, John Wayne, patriotic items and is frequented by locals, especially at lunch time.

Locals take advantage of the "Lunch Specials", as well as the "Extra Lunch Specials" (which include a side and beverage if you get it as a half sandwich). You'll notice there aren't any smoked meats on the daily specials menu. This is a diner.
So, The Mister and I ordered from the regular menu and his meal started with a fresh, but unexciting salad with blue cheese dressing…which had chunks of blue cheese at the bottom, but was pretty watery overall.
The main part of His meal was a whole farmed trout-deboned and spread open gently, so as to stay in one whole piece. Lightly cornmeal breaded and perfectly fried, with skin on the bottom, this was fresh and a good, firm fish. It was a 'Lighter Meal' and came with cottage cheese ($10.95)
I ordered the BBQ pork sandwich ($7.95) which comes with a choice of two sides. Baked beans (meaty baked beans) and a lightly dressed cole slaw were my choices. The pork is smoked and sliced (not pulled). Real BBQ. The sandwich is topped with a homemade sauce, which seems to be sweetened with molasses. The sesame seeded bun is well toasted so the sauce doesn't permeate the bun to fall apart.
About midway through, I used the BBQ seasoning (that isn't red pepper) from the tabletop condiment choices. The very nice blend of seasonings, including hot chili, black pepper and salt complimented my sandwich.

Yes, Fat Ivor's is known for the all you can eat beef ribs, which are $13.99, seven days of the week. I've had them. They are well smoked, a bit fatty and better without sauce. People travel here for the evening meals.

Oh. The ham.
The best smoked ham ever. The Optimists use Farmer John hams and smoke them deeply with hickory. We could not wait. It was tonight's dinner…tomorrow's breakfast and lunch… and many more meals, including pea soup. We're having Turkey for Easter.

Fat Ivor's 27961 Valley Center Road, Valley Center, CA 92082 (760) 749-0600

Stone Flats- flatbreads, salads and soups.

April 18, 2011 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Stone Flats has closed.

Hey there. You are reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog based in San Diego. The part usually played by Kirk is being played by Cathy.

In about November of last year, Stone Flats opened in the Mira Mesa area, in the same mall as the Trader Joe's (East of the I-15). I had been curious about it and had a chance to meet Mr. C (my partner in food adventures when The Mister isn't available) for a quick lunch and exchange of paperwork last month.

There is a menu above the counter or you can just start talking with the very helpful and informative workers behind the counter… just walk along…it is sort of like Subway in the way of ordering…

You first pick a flatbread (it is thin and crispy and fresh) in white or wheat and in regular ($5.50)or large size (large costs $2 more and is wider and a bit longer than the regular size)

Pick a meat : chicken, steak, pepperoni, sausage, bacon
Choose vegetables: tomatoes, red onions, bell peppers, sauteed mushrooms, basil, cilantro, scallions, pepperocinis, black olives, basil… (and pineapple)
Choose cheese: Goat cheese, Feta, Mozzarella (regular and low fat), smoked Gouda or Blue cheese.

You also can choose a sauce: marinara, roasted garlic or BBQ sauce. When I was here the first time, hummus was also a sauce, but now it seems to be off the menu.

Nothing costs extra, unless you want more meat. Really, the portion size is enough. If you eat light. The flat bread is just that: flat, more of a cracker crust, not pizza crust.

You pay, get a number and get your own beverage and have a seat. The interior (and exterior) is decorated with steel bar framed tables and chairs-modern. Considering how high the ceilings are, the noise level is low and you can have a conversation here.

The flats are placed into the oven (it is a gas oven…I don't know where the "stone" comes in) and heated so that the cheese is melty.

You can also choose a salad, to make it a combo($8.50) Pick a lettuce/green -I chose spinach in this case- topped only with grilled mushrooms and tomatoes, with a balsamic dressing (there are several dressings to choose from). This was a good size and fresh. A side salad by itself is $3.50.
You can also order a combo with soup. This is a cup of pulled chicken and rice soup. It is very good and not salty. It has a touch of a spicy 'kick' to it.

Soon enough, the flats are delivered to your table. My Flat- the regular size, wheat. I chose the hummus, grilled mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, red onions and olives, the goat cheese and steak. I didn't want any 'sauce' and the hummus was nice, the goat cheese tangy. The steak was good but not powerfully flavorful…it was enough.
Mr. C's Flat. The large size, also wheat. He chose a garlic olive oil for the base and topped it with grilled mushrooms, green peppers, olives, basil, Mozzarella and steak. The combination of basil and the garlic oil was an excellent choice. (The large size is wider and a bit longer, so it is more than just two more servings, as you see cut)
I returned with The Mister for another visit a few days ago. I chose a combo with a cup of tomato soup with basil on top.This was an excellent tomato soup.
The Mister's entree salad ($7.95) He chose the lettuces, toppings, goat cheese and grilled chicken as toppings. The regular size salad is a very good portion, the large looked crazy huge.
My (large) flat: whole wheat, with the garlic olive oil sauce, pulled chicken, Mozzarella, tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, basil, arugula and black olives. Melted cheese is wonderful!

I really like the freshness and more healthy aspect of the food choices here. It is a great idea and fun to be able to sit down with a friend and share a meal and good conversation. I have overheard some people saying that the 'could make this at home' and I know you could…just as you can with any food item…if you have the ingredients and inclination.

Stone Flats 9844 Hibert Street San Diego 92131 858-444-2280 Open 11-9 daily Website

Fried Chicken Friday: Annie Belle’s Famous Wings and Greens

April 15, 2011 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Chicken Wings

**** Annie Belle's has closed

While driving to Bonnie Jean's I noticed a restaurant that looked rather new, it had popped up since my last visit to the area last year.

The next afternoon I had some time on my hands so I decided to check th e place out.

The dining area looked very nice and new….. nice booths, along with at least five televisions lining the wall so those with short attention spans have something to keep themselves busy I guess.

The menu was pretty large…. with almost every single "side" known to mankind…. wow, so many choices. I was looking for fried chicken. And while you can buy it by the piece, the name of the place is "Annie Belle's Famous Wings and Greens", so I went with the Wings and Greens House Special ($8.49), They call the wings they serve here "Granny Wings" and there are two served with this special. Two wings? That seemed a bit pricey, I hope they weren't what came off a "Granny Hen"….. and they weren't.

These were actually two whole good sized wings…. pretty much what other places would call four wings. And while the batter at Bonnie Jean's was light and crisp, this was thick and crunchy, almost hard. They obviously use a lot of leavening in their batter. The wings were moist, but I found the whole thing to be on the salty side, without anything else much going for it.

Along with the wings was a large portion of collard greens.

Again, this wasn't bad, it was a portioned very generously. But I prefer my greens a bit less mushy, these were a little too over done for my taste, closer to creamed spinach than the kind of greens I got used to eating in Georgia and other places down South. There was a ton of "liquor" which was again too salty for me, and lacking in the light smokey flavor I love in greens.

This came with two very moist, but bland cornbread muffins.

You'll be needing that butter for these.

I will say that I enjoyed the woman serving me. She was very nice…. after bring food out to another table she turned to me and said, "don't worry honey, you next…. and it's going to be gooood!"

Annie Belle's Famous Wings and Greens
1746 Euclid Ave
San Diego, CA 92102

Please read Mary's post on Annie Belle's here.

Fried Chicken Friday: Bonnie Jean’s Soul Food Cafe

April 8, 2011 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Chicken Wings

Ever had one of those itches that you just had to scratch? A couple of months ago I was just itchin' for some fried chicken….and collard greens. Kinda weird, but I love good collard greens, smokey-salty-mildly bitter-and even perhaps a bit sweet. So first I headed down to…..

Bonnie Jean's Soul Food Cafe:

**** Bonnie Jean's has closed

Off of the Euclid exit, right where it turns into 54th street. I've been here a couple of times, but for some reason it's starting to look a bit older…..

This little place has a whole lot of personality………

As well as games and other stuff to keep you occupied…… because everything is made to order, which is mostly a good thing! Funny thing, I realized that I'd never had straight up fried chicken at Bonnie Jean's, I'd had it smothered, which I enjoyed (what's not to like), and with the Honey Pecan Glaze, which I recall not enjoying that much. What was even more interesting, was that on my last visit, not long after Canine Cologne's visit (please check it out here) which had me wanting my smothered chicken; I dropped by Bonnie Jean's…. and the place was full of Asian's!!!

Anyway, today I was after some straight up Southern Fried Chicken ($10.99). I went with just the dark meat, even though the menu says, ahem, "The Breasts Are Huge!!"

My chicken, greens, and mashed potatoes and gravy arrived after the usual wait, which gave me time to catch up on my reading. The chicken was as I remembered, the coating crisp and light, and the chicken adequately juicy. But without gravy, or a glaze, it tasted really bland, and I needed a good dose of the (not so) hot sauce on the table. I'll stick with the smothered chicken next time.

The mashed potatoes were decent.

The folks here were pretty heavy-handed with the black pepper today, but I had no complaints about the thick potatoes, and the even thicker gravy.

The one item that made this meal worthwhile were the collard greens, which looked on the dry side, but were the beat I've had in a long time.

I appreciated the fact that these weren't over done and mushy like creamed spinach. There were many bit of smoked meat, and after a goof look-over I'm pretty sure it was hamhock, not smoked turkey. They're pretty stingy with the "liquor" here, some I think they save it as the "mother liquid" for the next batch. The flavor is just about perfect for my taste.

I ended up buying a large order to go for the Missus, who scarfed it up in one sitting…… I'm sure to be back soon for more greens… and smothered chicken.

Bonnie Jean's Soul Food Cafe
1964 54th St
San Diego, CA 92105

By the way, if you think Bonnie Jean's has lots of character, check out Sister Peewee's if you haven't done so already. One of these days I'll do a post on the place.

As I was headed back to the 94, I noticed a new place had sprung up, named Annie Belle's…… I'll save that post for next Friday!

Troy’s Family Restaurant- American (and Greek) food

February 16, 2011 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Diner, Greek Food, What Cathy Eats!

Hi, it's Cathy blogging for mmm-yoso!!! today. Kirk is under the weather and ed (from Yuma) is busy.

An ocean of time ago, The Mister and I moved to San Diego for the last time. Our apartment was within walking distance of Clairmont Square, and we used to eat at Troy's Family Restaurant. A lot. Until we bought our home, about 25 miles East of here.
It's been in the Clairmont area since 1973. The mall has expanded and been rebuilt a few times since then, but the owners and a lot of the employees are the same. We were in the area on this sunny day a few weeks ago and wanted to see if things, like the decor and food, were still the same.

The cool dishware is as I remembered. Curvy scratched water glasses and thick ceramic cups. I love old, thick coffee cups; they make coffee taste better. ($1.75). Served with real half and half in the container on each table.

The Ranch dressing on the salad is homemade and better than any bottled stuff I have ever had. The lettuce mix, with shredded carrots tomatoes and packaged croutons is standard crispy fresh.

The salad was part of the special of the day (Monday) – Tilapia ($7.95) which was dipped in an egg wash and then seasoned flour and lightly fried. A light crisp crust enhances the flavor of the fish. It is served with a vegetable of the day (no frozen vegetables here…these were fresh cooked, un-mushy carrots, hand sliced) and mashed potatoes-also fresh. The gravy is a standard brown gravy, smooth and not lumpy. There are at least three daily specials offered all seven days of the week.
Since the restaurant is named Troy's and the font on the outside indicates some air of 'Greek' to it, I wanted one of the Greek menu offerings… really, only two are available. Gyros in the form of a sandwich and in an omelete and souvlaki with breakfast or a sandwich. At this time, the souvlaki sandwich ($7.45) stood out on the menu. Marinated, skewered pork, cooked lightly (it was just pink on the inside, very moist and the char on the exterior of the pieces was just right) served on a piece of garlic toast, with cole slaw (instead of fries) and tossed salad (with Thousand Island dressing-again, made in house and excellent).

It was as we remembered it: Good, home made food made with care and flavor.

Troy's Family Restaurant 4827 Clairmont Shopping Center San Diego 92111 (619)276-7651

Mon-Sat 6:30-9:00, Sun 6:30-8:00