American/New American Restaurants – Page 45

Road Trip-Day Two: Albuquerque, NM-Joplin, MO

November 20, 2007 Cathy Albuquerque, American/New American Restaurants, Chains, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!! s a food blog, with diversions. It is a Holiday week. Cathy is silly and blogging it. Enjoy.

Hi. It is me again, with another day of my life, with food. Online. Really. The Mister and I are driving, taking photos, downloading and sharing another day on the road, driving across America. We stopped for fuel at a Loves Truck Stop, where we have seen (forever) "Chester's Fried Chicken" being sold and decided, for the sake of the blog, to try a three piece combination (three breast strips, three potato wedges and a roll for $3.59)…wow=excellent light breading with a nice heat spice kick. We also ordered a medium fried chicken livers($3.29) Very juicy, fresh and the breading was spiced nicely. Justg a bit of heat and salty. Really. We figured this would not be good and were glad how wrong we were.

It turns out that only 30 Loves fuel stations also offer Chester's, and I think we saw them all. The closest one to San Diego is on I-10 just after you get onto it when driving from Gila Bend to Phoenix. It is *really* good fried chicken. When The Mister and I drive through Amarillo every year, w stop at a Classic American Art Installation project,Cadillac Ranch. It changes daily, by the participation of the viewers of the art. Here is a photo when we visited two years ago…

You can see there are ten older Cadillac cars buried inthe ground, and spray painted randomly. Last night, it was after sunset. There was a half moon out. The cars are a good 1/2 mile from the road. The Mister and I walked. We left, and you know we had been there…

This morning- Waffle House! A staple restaurant in Mid America. Each stand alone building has 9 booths and 5 barstools at the counter. The menus are the same. Basic breakfast served 24 hours a day, served up by efficient grill cooks and pleasant waitresses who all call you "Dear" no matter your age.

The Mister ordered a bit of everything, with a waffle, eggs over easy, hash browns with cheese and sasuage. I got the cheese scrambled eggs with grits and bacon …and, of course, raisin toast, which is served with apple jam.

And so, we are still driving….seeing the beauty of Mid America, and the changing seasons and weather… and the tourist traps from the freeway…

So, from somewhere in Missouri-this is Cathy-driving away….

Road Trip-Day One: San Diego, CA- Albuquerque, NM

November 19, 2007 Cathy Albuquerque, American/New American Restaurants, Chains, Road Trip, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso is a food blog-a diary of what a bunch of friends eat. Occasionally we explain why we happen to be eating whatever, wherever. Cathy is merely blogging what she usually does at this time of the year.

Hi. Yes, you read the title correctly. This is a blogging of what The Mister and I do for Thanksgiving every year -except for last year-

because I tripped, fell, was in a cast TO MY SHOULDER for about 7 weeks, and so driving a manual transmissioned car for days at a time was out of the question.

Yes, days at a time. Because of the ability to transmit from my iBook directly to the internet, when there is a connection, you-all of you reading this- get to share in a drive almost all the way across the Continental United States, and back. With food and sights.

So, really late Sunday afternoon, The Mister and I left the house, grabbing one cat (he is diabetic and needs insulin twice a day), one dog (her 'sister' died a few weeks ago and so I am trying to pay a little bit more attention to her), my auto reload Starbucks card ( a wonderful thing; once the balance gets below $15, my AmEx credit card automatically reloads this one with another $20), a small suitcase and jumped in the car and started driving…we left 7 cats, 3 dogs and three large birdcages of parakeets, finches and canaries for my Dear Neighbor, Ms. N, to play with for a few days…and we started driving.

We didn't do much in the way of eating, except for In-N-Out in Yuma (sorry, ed) I apologize for the post looking kind of odd; I haven't ever posted using a Mac; only the PC… So, when we stopped for fuel, we saw this, leaving a gas pump: Absolutely the *coolest* dune buggy.. The scenery leaving Campo, with the electric generating windmills was beautiful. We spent the night in Camp Verde, AZ at a Quality Inn and had a simple-do it yourself breakfast I had a hard boiled egg, a toasted bagel with butter and grape jelly, an orange and some oatmeal, as well as orange juice and hot tea (Only buying coffee at Starbucks and have taken photos of each cup we bought…at four different Starbucks as of this posting. When we got to Winslow, AZ, we saw Sonic! and we had to… We each got a Brakfast sandwich- on Texas Toast. Egg, cheese and bacon for me, sausage for The Mister. Also some tots and -oh yes- the fried macaroni and cheese nuggets… Sonic is a Drive in, much like was common in the 1950's. You cannot walk inside and have to order from the menu board voice system next to where you park. Then a live person comes out with your order and takes your money and gives you change. They make great burgers, hot dogs and shakes. You'll see soon enough. Other sites we have seen today includ the Worlds Largest Kokopelli: and just beautiful scenery of the American West. Erosion is really neat. Yes, I am posting this from a Starbucks in Albuquerque. It is Monday, about 12:45 p.m. in San Diego time. We have to get to Amarillo before dark. Hope all of you are having a good short week.

Perry’s Cafe

November 8, 2007 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner

**** Sadly after 39 years Perry's has closed

Located below where the I-5 and I-8 freeways intersect, at the point where Taylor Street crosses Pacific Coast Highway, and become Rosecrans. Kitty corner from the Old Town Transit stop, is the place we call the "truck stop". You can call it the "greasy spoon" or the diner, or by any other name, that would be still be Perry's Cafe:

Early in the morning it's not unusual to see Big Rigs parked in the over sized parking lot, later in the morning the lines will usually be out the door. The people who eat at Perry's come from all walks, from working stiffs to people who looked like they've just awakened. And they probably have….this stretch of Pacific Highway is a favorite mooring spot for RVs. Being at the intersection of the 5 and 8 freeways has its hazards as well.

My favorite time to eat at Perry's is at about 11-1130 am, you won't have to deal with the crowds, and I think breakfast for lunch is sometimes nice. Plus, Perry's is just close enough for me to grab a quick bite, and just far enough so I can escape… As you can tell by the facade, Perry's is happily stuck in the 60's and 70's time warp, down to the faux wood grained plywood!

Though the menu is pretty extensive, I come to Perry's for one thing……

The Hashbrowns (a side order $2.25). When you think about it, it is "just" hashbrowns, nothing fancy, probably frozen. But they just do it right at Perry's. Golden brown on the exterior, soft and piping hot in the interior. I call it perfect Sysco-fied goodness.

Everything I order has those hashbrowns on it. And I've learned to keep it simple at Perry's. I've never enjoyed the frittatas, "Mexican" breakfasts, or other items I've ordered. But have always been satisfied with something simple, like the Corned Beef Hash and Eggs ($6.95):

Nothing fancy, corned beef hash(undoubtedly canned), brown and crisp on the outside, 2 eggs, usually either scrambled, or over-easy(better for mopping up with toast), hashbrowns, and whole wheat toast(I find the muffins really greasy….). Whole generations have been raised on this stuff.

If I'm not feeling like eggs, I'll order a basic diner standard, like the French Dip($7.50):

Nothing particularly exciting about the French Dip, the meat was on the tough and dry side…this wasn't going to make anyone forget Phillipe's anytime soon. But there was one thing that made this quite good….

I got hashbrowns instead of fries, and poured the jus all over them……mmm-yoso!!! The waitress told me, "that's a stroke of genius, honey, its going to taste pretty darn good." Yes, Perry's is the kind of place where the waitresses call you "honey", balance 4-5 plates on their arm, and are very efficient.

Funny thing, I started a post on Perry's over 2 years ago, but for some reason never finished it. Other than that first photo of the hashbrowns, the only other thing I kept, was a photo of a waffle. So long ago, I don't even remember it.

But I am sure of one thing….. I had hashbrowns with it.

Perry's Cafe
4620 Pacific Hwy
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 291-7121

Open Daily 6am-2pm

Black and Blue-The Place for Steak- at the Valley View Casino- a very happy birthday party

October 29, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Steakhouse, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog about food. Kirk is feeling a bit under the weather and so Cathy will blog today about when she ate here -and took photos- not too long ago, so that all of you may have a small diversion from the charred world out there.

Hello again. This is a little different post about a meal I ate. I won’t be mentioning prices nor have a photo of the menu. I took the photos of food with no flash also..and apologize for the poor quality…but hopefully you will vicariously enjoy the meal as much as we did. I will mostly just talk about the food.

Valley View Casino is located in Valley Center and has what I consider the best buffet of all the Casinos in San Diego County. I haven’t blogged about it, just enjoyed it many times over. Much, much higher quality food. Fortunately, the Casino did survive the wild fires and is still open for business. About a week before the fires, The Mister and I met with a dear friend for a special birthday meal at the Black and Blue Steakhouse located within the casino. We all ordered what we wanted, and then some.

I ordered iced tea as a beverage…and-wow- the best iced tea ever. The cubes of frozen tea ensured that the flavor would never be dilute, and the sides of freshly squeezed lemon juice and simple syrup in carafes so that you could flavor the tea to your liking were such an elegant, fancy touch.

The fresh lemonade beverage (not pictured) was the best lemonade I have ever tasted. It was made with the simple syrup and fresh squeezed juice, of course.

We ordered several appetizers and side dishes as well as a couple of main course, again, adhering to the "there are no rules" rule of life…

On the left, lobster ravioli. These are quite large, although only two…that piece in the center top is just a piece of lobster… the pasta is fresh made, the lobster was sweet and juicy and the sauce was a tomato cream with basil and capers.

On the right, calamari with three sauces for dipping. The portion size was quite large and the squid was fired to perfection with a light crust. The sauce on the left had roe in it and was salty; I liked it the best. The center sauce was more of an oily pesto and not too garlic-y and the one on the right had a hot kick to it that overwhelmed the flavor of the breading, which had a light spice and was interspersed with fried capers…

Above, two crab cakes with barely any filler, lightly fried so the crust was crisp served atop several swirled salty spicy sauces and with a fresh aoili.

One person came around with a basket of fresh baked (-in the wood burning oven- which is also used to make pizza, which I will order next time) breads with a choice of sweet, savory and just plain white…and served with European unsalted butter, topped with olive oil, sea salt and fresh chervil.

The Cesar salad was very large and, of course, made with crisp Romaine lettuces and a fresh made garlic-y Cesar dressing and served with wonderful olive oiled croutons and fresh made, delicate crisped Parmesan shreds.

The lobster salad…micro greens on top, lots of lobster-fresh cooked, as in still warm-, a layer of fresh grapefruit wedges, tomato and avocado, topped with a citrus vinaigrette. Oh. My. Yes.

Side orders of steak fries and double creamed spinach. The best fried potatoes I have ever had. Perfectly crispy, potato flavors, not too hot nor too cold. This was served with a ramekin of ketchup and a teensy serving spoon. The creamed spinach was made with fresh spinach and real cream..of course.

The herb crusted halibut here on the left was cooked perfectly, was flavorful and juicy and served with broccoli rabe which was sauteed perfectly in a light lemon garlic herb sauce.

The 18 ounce rib eye steak, cooked perfectly rare/medium rare and served with horseradish, baked tomatoes and garlic and a small salad.

More side dishes included the macaroni and (blue) cheese (um…excellent…I don’t know what else to say…) and the best onion rings, ever. The buttermilk based crust on the whole, sweet onion slices was seasoned perfectly with a salt and pepper.

As I said, this was a special birthday and the reason for the splurge. This dessert plate came out…mostly wonderful tasting fresh fruit surrounding a chocolate bottomed cherry mousse cake. Even the raspberry puree was fresh and wonderful tasting.(Cindy was kind enough to share)

You must understand the birthday plate was at least 12 inches across, and this platter with hot fudge, wedges of fresh baked nutty brownie atop about a pint of really really good vanilla gelato, topped with vanilla whipped cream was at least 12 inches in diameter. We all shared.

This meal was one of the best ever, food and friend-wise.

Black and Blue -The place for steak- inside Valley View Casino 16300 Nyemii Pass, Valley Center 92082 (760)291-2130

Pacific Beach Bar and Grill. Weekend/College Football Saturday foods.

October 28, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Buffets, Pubs and Pub Grub, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is a blog about food. Cathy is blogging today, instead of cleaning up after the fires. There will be more ash out there tomorrow anyhow.

Hi. Here is pretty much what The Mister and I do on Saturday mornings or afternoons, while looking at a bunch of television sets in Pacific Beach. For those of you who don't know, "Football Saturday" is a tradition followed by students and Alumni of most of the colleges here in the States. When you are a student, you usually attend the games (or sell the tickets to get some quick cash, since current students have a priority to buy tickets) and after you graduate, move far away, you try to get together with other Alums to sort of re-live that excitement and have some diversion, all without having to go to the Library to study once the game ends.

The Pacific Beach Bar and Grill has been around ..well…forever it seems. The restaurant has daily specials, outlined on their website, however, since The Mister and I have been married, for like, forever, we aren't much into the weeknight bar scene, although I would like to try the food and probably will eventually. For now, here is a typical Saturday with food we eat, while watching the University of Michigan play their games. You can see the area we sit is is merely a covered patio.

If a game is starting at 9 a.m. (noon back East), the bar is open and there is an all you can eat brunch for only $6.95. (This is on Saturday- brunch costs more on Sunday). Coffee is $1.50 and there is a monthly beer for $2.50 (Sam Adams Oktoberfest right now) and all other pints on tap are $3. Yes, beer at 9 a.m. College Life all over again.

The brunch area was full so I did not take photos of the individual hot trays, but here are photos of a sampling of what we selected.

There are three different sausages, bacon, at least two different scrambled egg combinations, home fries and hash browns, crepes (this particular weekend had chicken and avocado crepes, but there are beef and sometimes crab crepes in the steam trays), fresh fruit and cookies and muffins, all made from scratch and quite delicious.

Then there is a separate cooking station, where you can have an omelet, crepes, waffles, pancakes or a quesadilla made for you.

I chose to have an omelet made with cheese, spinach, mushrooms and red peppers. The veggies were sauteed in butter first then the egg added and just before being put onto the serving plate, the shredded cheese was added and the egg and contents folded over it, causing the cheese to melt. I topped it with some slices of avocado from the area where you choose the fillings.

The Mister got a strawberry waffle made for himself. With whipped cream. There were fresh strawberries on top,, and the waffle is made fresh and hot with a nice batter that cooked up to a nice crispy shell.

If a football game starts at noon here (3 p.m. East Coast time) then there are some lunch specials- $3 off of appetizers with a coupon from the Reader, a free magazine out here and, of course the beer specials. If we are coming for a noon game and hungry, we try to get to the Grill early and get a couple of brunch plates and quesadillas made for us.

On this visit, though, we opted for the Brie appetizer ($8.50 ). (OK, every time it is an afternoon game out here, I want the Brie appetizer…)

A toasted and sweetened hazelnut crusted wedge of a warmed, good quality Brie cheese served on top of a peach chutney (red pepper spicy) with chunks of mango and served with some olive oil toasted baguette pieces… it is soooo good-creamy, warm, salty, spicy and sweet ..

We tried the Ichiban Kabobs ($ 8.95 ), served with "firecracker rice", which was too spicy hot/filled with chili flakes to be appreciated as rice. The ahi was marinated in a ginger soy sauce, yet overcooked, so kind of dry and not as good as I would have liked it to be. It was served with some pickled ginger and ancho chili sauce, which just overwhelmed the flavors.

Of course, our beverages of choice are as diverse as The Mister and I are…

The Guinness on draft is mine and the Pear Cider is his…

If there is an evening football game, starting at 4 or 5 p.m., well you don't need a coupon and actually seven days a week, all appetizers are $3 off from 4-8 p.m…so, last weekend, when U of M was playing the Fighting Illini at 7 p.m. (their time, in Illinois), we went crazy for food.

The Seafood Martini ($9.95) is a large martini shaped glass, filled with lobster, shrimp, real crab, cucumber, celery and a spicy cocktail sauce with a little Absolut Peppar (vodka) added. It was quite filling and very fresh.

The Mediterranean hummus ($7.25) is made fresh, with garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice and garlic and served with that ramekin of feta, hot pita wedges and a mixed green salad topped with a raspberry vinaigrette. Excellent. Fresh. All of it.

This past Saturday, it was another game that started about 12:30 San Diego time, so no discounts, except for beer and if you remembered to find the coupon…so we just got the

Hot Crab Dip ($8.95)- fresh blue crab, cream cheese, bell peppers and some spices, topped with green onion and served with warm, thin tortilla chips. This was excellent, also, with lots of crab. More than I expected.

We also got a basket of onion rings ($3.95). Made with whole onions and fried in a cornmeal based batter, giving the rings a good crunch. I did ask the nice bartender (we ended up sitting at the bar since it was so crowded) for some Chulula sauce to dip the rings in after a while, since the basket was quite large and ketchup, salt and pepper wasn't doing it for me…

The Pacific Beach Bar and Grill has generously donated a portion of all the income received from the University of Michigan Alumni during these Saturday games to the San Diego Scholarship fund all the years we have been meeting here, and this year we have already raised over $10,000 dollars. It is nice for a local merchant to be so generous to our little group.

Pacific Beach Bar and Grill 860 Garnet Avenue San Diego 92109 phone: (858)2PB.Grill

After a long silence….

October 11, 2007 Vicky (SF Bay Area) American/New American Restaurants, San Francisco and Silicon Valley, Seafood, What Vicky Eats

Hi Mmm-Yoso! It is Vicky again. I have finally revived my writing bug. Many apologies for the long silence, but life has been extremely hectic this past half a year. (Yes… I am gainfully employed… in fact, loaded down with three jobs! One of which is with a restaurant critiquing and consulting company!!) I relocated up to the Bay Area and will now be blogging for restaurants up here! (In case any of the dear readers want to come up here and eat.) Again, I would like to thank Kirk for the opportunity to be blogging here. Mahalo! I dearly miss San Diego, and look forward to visiting in the near future to continue eating and exploring down there. In the meantime… here are the records of the gluttony goodness that is available in the beautiful SF Bay Area!! (Apologies for not being able to respond to comments immediately and promptly, I am currently posting from Taiwan and will be traveling around for a bit.)

In mid September, I had the wonderful opportunity of dining at Parcel 104 located in the Santa Clara Marriott. Currently voted the "Best Fine Dining" in Silicon Valley, I’ve been wanting to try this place out for awhile now. I remember when it first opened, the concept was very interesting…. the head chef, Bradley Ogden, created the daily menu around whatever farm fresh ingredients were available within a 104 mile radius. I’m not quite sure if they still do that, but I do know that they try to use the freshest ingredients around, often scouting out farmers markets.

Upon walking in, the decor of the restaurant was a very warm contemporary American feel with rich mahogonies accenting warm beige. The service here was beyond superb and the food was excellent. It was a beautiful sunny typical California day so I brought my lovely mother along so we could have some Mommy/Daughter bonding time amidst our hectic lives. We started out with the bread service and the freshly blended strawberry lemonade.

I have to say… the strawberry lemonde smoothie was probably the most expensive smoothie I’ve had to date, but it was worth every penny. The lemonade was fresh-squeezed and the sweetness of the strawberry puree swirled in balanced out the tang. The bread sadly did not come in an all you can eat bread basket. Being the carb lover I am… I was disappointed that the server came by with the hot basket and served each of us with tongs. That definitely made it harder to hide the bread glutton in me. I have to admit… the ciabatta roll was VERY yummy! The crust was crunchy and the insides were light and fluffy… Behold the wonderful container of butter that came with all this yummy goodness.

Our appetizer came out; I ordered the BLT flatbread. The bacon was crisp and salty. The BEST part of this was that Parcel used Heirloom tomatoes!!! MMmmmmm…. There was a lovely basil aioli spread on the flatbread that gave this dish a reminescent Italian twist.

My entree… Hawaiian Mahi Mahi on a bed of corn relish with wild mushrooms and a citrus dill romoulade. Hah! Try saying that ten times fast!! I don’t think I can pick a favorite component of this dish. The corn was freshly shucked off the cob, straight from the farm. It was AMAZING!! The earthiness of the mushrooms went well with the buttery fish. Mmmm…. Not being a dill fan, I thought the sauce would have been flavor overboard with such a variety of ingredients but I was proven wrong. The creaminess of the dill and the tang of the citrus brought everything together.

Mom’s dish: Caesar Salad (oops… they called it "Romane Hearts tossed in Dressing….) w/ Pan Seared Seabass. Goodness…. it blew us away. The fish was seared with the scored skin side down, to produce this amazing crunchy/crispy texture. The actual flesh was soft, buttery, creamy, and slightly firm at the same time. Words can not describe and give it the credit it deserves.

And how can I possibly leave without having dessert?! There’s a lovely dessert platter with a three layer mocha beautifully presented. We had the creme brulee, molten chocolate cake, crepes with grand marnier accentuated mascarpone cheese, and french toast with carmelized bananas. Oh the gluttony goodness!! I don’t even know where to start…. the crepes were amazing… the creme brulee was amazing, and french toast was amazing. I really like the concept of using french toast as dessert! And now I leave all you salivating readers with the closeups up the desserts….

Crepe….

Molten Chocolate Cake

French Toast w/ Carmelized Bananas.

Creme Brulee…

If any of you are up in the area, I highly HIGHLY recommend this restaurant. It can be a little pricey, all this food ran around $120, so try this restaurant on a business trip and try to expense it out…

Parcel 104 at the Santa Clara Marriott
2700 Mission College Blvd
Santa Clara, CA 95054
408.970.6104
Reservations available via Opentable.

REGULAR DAYS AND HOURS:
Breakfast
Monday – Friday:
6:00am – 10:30 am Buffet
6:00am – 11:00am A la Carte
Saturday & Sunday:
7:00am – 11:00am

Lunch
Monday – Friday:
11:30am – 2:00pm

Dinner
Monday – Saturday:
5:30pm – 9:00pm

Jimmy’s – Family style good food.

October 6, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Diner, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is the blog about food that talks about meals and foods from around the world. Usually Kirk blogs, but sometimes Cathy, ed and even Vicky help Kirk out. Today is a Cathy day.

Hi. Kirk was in Peru, yes…and he started blogging about it, yes…and right now he is a tad exhausted from the travel and having to go back to work, blah blah, blah…so I am doing a short post about local (San Diego) food. Sure there are no photos of scenery nor of much exotic fare, but think of this as the ‘vacation from the vacation’.

Jimmy’s. There used to be a lot of these in San Diego and are still a few around. Mainly known for the broasted chicken and bread pudding and as an alternative to Denny’s, Coco’s and Carrow’s. Jimmy’s happens to be in the mall of single named restaurants (Michael’s and Wendy’s as well as the new L&L all share the same parking lot).

There is one in Santee and, yes, it is a part of our "rotation". We had not been here for a while to eat and then one day I was craving, of all things, the salad dressings, which they make from scratch. I mean, I usually like a light vinaigrette or House Italian style dressing (oil, vinegar, lots of fresh herbs; that is enough to keep the lettuce flavors clear and vegetables lightly seasons) but this time, I wanted- needed- that creamy, eggy, rich and gooey Thousand Island they make in the restaurant.

Served as a choice with every meal, with crackers and croutons (which I dip into the extra dressing) with a salad mix of dark and iceberg lettuces, chopped cabbage and slices of tomatoes, there is something about this rich and creamy, egg and pickle seasoned salad topping I can’t get enough of.

The House made blue cheese dressing has garlic in it and sometimes, that is The Mister’s craving.

However, on the day we went, the ‘soup of the day’ was Cream of Mushroom, and it was something he ‘had’ to have.

This was the best Cream of Mushroom soup, ever. We try this flavor whenever and wherever we can and…wow. Again, made from scratch. At least three different types of mushrooms in there, fresh thyme. Real cream. Excellent.

At some point, I was thinking that I could have just had a couple of salads and a bowl of this soup and been satisfied, but then there was another reason we came.

The 4 piece broasted chicken dinner ($9.99 M-F includes dessert and beverage). You get your choice of soup or salad, potato, rice or fries, one of two types of bread and the ‘vegetable of the day’ which in this case was green beans and carrots. The carrots were cut into various size chunks, indicating they were fresh and not a standard mixed vegetable. I believe the green beans had been fresh frozen, not canned.

If you don’t want to read the link above, broasted chicken is pressure fried using a unique, patented machine and certain herbs and spices, so the crust is crispy, never soggy and flavorful, as well as the meat also being moist, juicy and flavorful. It is a unique type of chicken. This year happens to the 50th anniversary of the Broaster Company.

The other thing I always get to eat here is liver and onions($7.99)(does not include dessert or beverage; only the daily specials listed on the chalkboard and the 4 piece broasted chicken dinner are inclusive ). It is just a beef liver (OK- three or four sizable slices of beef liver) dusted in flour and light spices and fried to a crispy crust and served with lightly burned and sauteed onions on top. I can sort of duplicate this at home, but not quite and, of course, in addition, The Mister does not like to eat onions in many forms (yes, he will eat good onion rings and French onion soup, but ‘that is different’ according to him…), so when I do cook at home, I have to cook those separately and anyhow it gets to be a mess in the kitchen…

Ah, the choices of breads are either the yeasty roll made fresh and served with butter or the cornbread served with butter and honey, also made fresh.

The leftover yeasty rolls are used to make the bread pudding dessert, which was sold out that night.

Since The Mister’s meal included dessert and beverage, and we really don’t indulge in sweets as much as we do in salties, we shared the tapioca pudding, which was generously topped with whipped cream. This was, of course, our second choice because the bread pudding here is fresh made and all…

All in all, a higher quality, family style, great meal.

Jimmy’s Family Restaurant Santee 6935 Mission Gorge Road, Santee 92071 (619) 448-8994 other locations on Third Avenue in Chula Vista, Campo Road in Spring Valley and on Midway Drive in San Diego

West Coast Barbecue and Catering-Good food in La Mesa

September 24, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is the blog about food and Cathy is still doing the blogging because, you know, she is the Temp, and Kirk is in Peru, eating and taking pictures of a lot of interesting stuff to tell you about soon.

Hello. I’m back with another interesting meal. I asked The Mister to pick up something for dinner the other night and he had heard the the former owners of Bekker’s Barbecue had started a new business on Lake Murray Boulevard in La Mesa. We always liked Bekker’s and were sad when it closed, leaving us not much choice for slow smoked(Texas Style BBQ) meats in East County.

The new location is still pretty close to our place in Santee in the shopping center that has the Ross Dress for Less in La Mesa. For some reason the photo of the front will not load, but it is where the Russian Restaurant used to be.

There is a walk up window for take out, some tables outside and inside table also.

The Mister got there about 8 p.m. . Closing was at 8:30 and it was still crowded.

He ordered the Family dinner of pulled pork-

One pound of pork, 3 dinner rolls, 2 pints of sides. $15.99.

This easily was two pounds of pulled pork. (Editor’s Note: pulled pork is very slow cooked shoulder, so tender it can be pulled from the bones and does not have to be cut) I have one of those 3 pound packages of Kirkland Signature extra lean ham from Costco in the fridge, still sealed (two packages are sold together) and I cut it along the center and the single ham package weighed a lot loss that this box of pulled pork, which was smoky, tender, delicious. The bread was chewy and crust not crispy. It was not what I would call great bread, but I would not call it bad, either.

The barbecue sauce came on the side and was sweet and tangy with just enough, if maybe too little vinegar. It went well with the meat.

The Mister chose the cole slaw and baked beans as the sides. The beans had a different sweet sauce, not the same as the BBQ sauce and some meat in them and were definitely made there, not canned; not mushy. The cole slaw was good. Crispy and dressing was light. Good and fresh, not tasting flat or old.

Other sides he could have ordered were: corn, chili, potato salad, fries, baked potato (which The Mister said was huge-he saw one served to someone inside) tossed green salad and Cesar salad.

All in all, a lot of good food. It was quite good. I know someone will pipe up with their favorite BBQ place, but this one deserves a try. Bekker’s was great and also catered. The catering prices are a pretty good deal and I think worth it for this quality of food. website

West Coast Barbecue and Catering 6126 Lake Murray Boulevard La Mesa 91942 Tuesday-Sunday 4 p.m.-8:30 p.m. To Go phone (619) GO2FOOD (462-3663) Catering office hours M-F 9-5 Catering available anytime.

Cheese Shop Deli- Downtown breakfast and lunch

September 23, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Cheese, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

The restaurant and menu are the same, but the location of Cheese Shop Deli has moved to the Horton Grand Hotel on 311 Island Avenue, downtown.

mmm-yoso is the food blog and Cathy is writing while Kirk vacations and ed stays in Yuma, grading more papers.

Hi. Food blogging time. This is a short one. I have had to be in downtown San Diego fora few reasons rather regularly lately(I happen to be a registered voter and have a driver’s license; figure it out) and so I have been exploring eateries in the area.

The Mister and I used to go to The Cheese Shop downtown a lot, more than 15 years ago, when Horton Plaza first opened. It is a delicatessen as well as breakfast place and we always liked it. The physical location moved about a half block away, but the ambiance and food seems to be the same.

Except for the prices, of course.

So, I had a couple of breakfast items and will share.

The mushroom swiss omelet ($7.95) comes with that half a plate of hash browns and is made with fresh sauteed thinly sliced mushrooms. Quite full. The egg was not as fluffy/crispy as I like in omelets, but was tasty. This also came with toast.

I decided to try the breakfast sandwich ($3.75)- an egg with cheese (cheddar) and choice of ham, bacon or sausage (I got bacon) on an English muffin. Looked kind of small, and I did take one bite and then decided to ‘deconstruct’ it

and put some of the jelly that is on the table on the muffin and ate the egg and cheese and bacon with a fork and knife. Made me take my time and remember, again, that there are no rules.

On Friday, I decided to get a cheese tray for two to go. ($11.80 with tax)

Three cheeses (the proper amount- if you do more than that, tastes are muddled) Muenster, Brie and a medium cheddar, some vegetable wheat crackers and grapes. This was perfect snack for the two of us when we were working around the house Friday evening.

My favorite grilled cheese sandwich here is Havarti on pumpernickel. They serve pancakes, bagels an cereals for breakfast and hot, traditional and specialty sandwiches as well as cheese sandwiches burgers and home made soups and salads for lunch. Breakfast is served all day. You can read the menu on line.

Cheese Shop Delicatessen 627 Fourth Avenue San Diego 92101 (619)232-2303 open 7 days M-F 7 am-4pm S-S 8 am-4pm NEW LOCATION: 311 Island Avenue San Diego 92101. Check the website link, above.

2165 Avenida de la Playa La Jolla 92037 (858)459-3921

Indigo Cafe- a healthier alternative and tasty too!

September 13, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog, which never goes on vacation. Kirk however is on vacation. This is Cathy, blogging about what I ate.

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening. Hope you day is going well so far.

There is a place The Mister and I have been meaning to try- but they are only open until 5 p.m. and we are always in this mall after 6 p.m. and merely read the menu taped on the door. We got ourselves together and met for a late lunch the other day and really liked it.

Indigo Cafe and Catering. Near the Registrar of Voters office and in the same parking lot as Palominos and Giovanni's. It bills itself as a " healthier alternative" but makes no other claims. The menu items are not fried and have 'lite' dressings and sauces.

The Mister had the soup and half sandwich ($5.95). He chose the black bean tortilla soup: This is the small size and it was quite enough. A nice tomato base, rich and thick. Chunky not fully blended black beans. A nice spice-heat hit…and served with crackers..no tortilla strips.

He chose the half tuna salad sandwich ( you can choose any of the sandwiches from the menu). It is made with a dill mayonnaise that is very good and served with lettuce and tomato on a nice whole grain bread/roll. The bread was not chewy or heavy. Excellent flavors.

For the first time in my life, really, first time ever…I ordered a wrap. I never have had one before. I looked at menus before and just figured that it was sandwich stuff in a tortilla, a cold burrito and I never wanted to bother. This one was a chicken and Brie- marinated chicken, roasted cherry tomato salsa, fresh spinach and lite ranch in a sun dried tomato tortilla. It came with a side of Cesar salad ($5.75) and was wonderful. The Mister said as soon as he saw there was something with brie…and spinach… he knew I would order it. He was right. The chicken was juicy and tender, the Brie was warm and slightly melted and nutty flavored, the tomato salsa tasted deeply tomato flavored, there was a lot of spinach, nicely layered on the outside of everything, which protected the ranch dressing from leaking out or damaging the tortilla and the tortilla was soft and fresh and I could taste the tomato flavor in it. It was a good size portion and more than enough food. The Cesar salad was mostly romaine lettuce and Parmesan. The dressing was a Cesar, but I think a lite one. It had good flavor but was not overly rich or creamy.

We saw on the chalkboard as we were ordering an in house made dessert- pumpkin cheesecake with a bourbon-sour cream topping ($2.50) and ordered it with our meals, but the nice lady at the cash register said to let her know and she would bring it to us for dessert- that in the heat it would melt…very thoughtful. Not a huge piece, but we didn't need it. A nice cream cheese based pumpkin cheesecake- grainy pumpkin and a bottom layer only graham crust..and that Bourbon sour cream topping…was. It was light and complimented the pumpkin nicely.

Indigo Cafe does the simple things fresh and flavorful. They have a whole smoothie bar in the store and other baked goods for breakfast. I will be trying the home made banana nut bread ($1) very soon. This location is only open M-F, as I think they get a lot of catering jobs for the weekends. It has been around since 2000 and for a good reason. The downtown location is open 7 days and I would think serves a similar, fresh menu (on the website it has a sample menu, since ingredient inventory can change.) If you are in the area, you should try it.

Indigo Cafe and Catering 9353 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92111 (Phone) (858)565-2388 (Fax)(858)565-0070 M-F 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

1435 Sixth Avenue San Diego 92101 (ph) (619)702-6478 (fax)(619)702-6477 Hours: Mon 7-3, Tues-Fri 7-9, Sat 8-9, Sun 8-1

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