Breakfast/Brunch – Page 13

Al Pastor Authentic Mexican Grill (Chula Vista)

January 22, 2019 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

The name has changed (Aqui Es Texcoco), the ownership is the same. Still great food.

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog name. Bloggers are (usually) Kirk and (today) Cathy. Posts are random: locations, type of food, liked or not. Today: Chula Vista, Mexican, liked.

I had heard of it: Kirk posted last June and again in October. It's owned by the same person who owns Aqui es Texcoco (where I've gone for breakfast). In late December, cc and I had a little 'food crawl', stopping here.

The clean 'Mexico City' decor has televisions scattered throughout and it's not busy in the early morning. The Mister and I returned a week later. This post shows both visits and breakfasts ordered.

The first menu page (top, far left) is 'breakfasts', but both menus are served all day.

We ordered a Chicharron de Queso ($6.50). Simple grilled, rolled cheese along with simple guacamole. Excellent.
Al pastor ($2.50), costilla (rib meat)($2.75) and chuleta ahumada (smoked pork chop)($2.65) tacos. We liked the al pastor best; the spit grilled, pork based, chili/spice marinated, pineapple topped meat was moist, flavorful and satisfying. The costilla was good, basic quality meat, needing some of the tabletop condiments at some point. The smokiness of the chuleta was nice, but pretty much smoked ham (which I love, but this, too, needed some hot sauce to taste 'finished').
After having Alambres at Tako Factory, The Mister and I were curious to see what this version was like. We were able to choose two meats, so thought the bistek along with the smoked pork chop (The Mister loves smoked meats) would be good ($9.75) and we did add cheese ($1.25) just because. Well, the freshness of the tortillas, meats, bacon, grilled onion and peppers along with the creamy cheese was just about perfect. I can see why Kirk's Missus likes it here.
A mollete is a a fresh, split, toasted bollilo topped with beans and cheese ($3.75). You can add chorizo for $1 and we did (on both visits, choosing the milder green chorizo)(description of green chorizo is on this link-scroll down to Mexican Chorizo) (basically, tomatillo, chiles, cilantro and garlic). I remembered fondly having a mollete at Tropifruit, in 2014 and the version here is great.

All in all, a new favorite spot in Chula Vista for a quality Mexican breakfast, lunch and late night dinner.

Al Pastor Mexican Grill 520 Broadway Chula Vista 91910 Website Open Sun-Thurs 8 a.m.- 1 a.m., Fri-Sat 8 a.m.-2 a.m.

2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Showcase of Floats, a meal at Mr. D.’s Diner (Pomona)

January 8, 2019 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Salads, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is primarily a blog about food. There's always some reason we get to try the food that is blogged about. Today is a post of a New Year tradition (which I've shared for a few years) and a meal at a 'new-to-us' place.

The day began with an early wake up and drive North to Pasadena, where the 130th Tournament of Roses Rose Parade showcase of floats were lined up end-to-end on Sierra Madre Avenue, at the end of the five mile parade route. The walk along the floats is 2.5 miles and it's not all flat. There were 45 floats, along with Equestrian Units and Marching bands, for a total of 91 Units in the Parade. (I do have photos of each of the floats, many photos. If there is one you would like to see, I can put it at the end of this post). For now, here are some details of some of the floats which you might have missed as they ran across your television screen in less than 30 seconds. "Books Keep Us on Our Toes", by The UPS Store featured this ostrich in her ballet shoes and won the Sweepstakes Trophy for most beautiful entry encompassing float design, floral presentation and entertainment.
"Garden Fresh" by Mrs. Meyers Clean Day featured the trademark outline of Mrs. Meyer watering a bathing (see the loofah?) sunflower.
Easter Seals is observing its 100th year and in addition to a cake and gifts, there was a cupcake or two on the float. The Lions Clubs International float, "Rockin' the Vest" (an ode to this 2011 'Rap' video used for recruiting new, younger members) had the Lion tail swinging along with the music. Also note the various materials used on the body of the Cadillac-nothing is one dimensional when decorating.

Cal Poly and "Far Out Frequencies" incorporated a guitar, accordion, tamborine and french horn in the design.
Carnival Cruise Lines had some SCUBA divers "underwater".
The backside of the drumming "Taiwan The Heart of Asia" entry from China Airlines (which won the International Trophy for Most Outstanding float from outside the United States) is beautifully detailed.
When the Stella Rosa "Taste the Magic" float first appeared, there was a great display of confetti and streamers, but even in the stationary position, there is a sort of motion seen in the design.
If you are from Southern California and listen to the radio, when Trader Joe's ads are finished, the announcer always says 'Thanks for Listening'…and the abbreviated license plate on their float (THX4LSN) is an ode to that detail.
The Big Bear "Play-Rest-Repeat" float entry showed many of the various activities available all four seasons in this community a few hours North of San Diego. Not only skiing and snowboarding, but also boating and fishing.

The Northwestern Mutual float, showed an elephant family on vacation, taking 'selfies'. This view (of the camera screen taking the selfie) was of the 'off camera' side; every part of each float is detailed.

There was a small fire on board the longest float entry this year (Link to story), disrupting the end of the parade. The float was saved because of good preparation (you know, all of those Road Tests I post about have one of the tests the ability for the entire float to clear off and out in 45 seconds). This entry from the Chinese American Heritage Foundation, "Harmony Through Union", depicting the final nail joining the Transcontinental Railroads (the "Golden Spike") was on display at the Showcase as was the tow truck that brought the float to this location.

Here are details of some other floats.

When we left the Showcase viewing area and started driving, we had to stop at Arsen's House of Cookies first (for cookies, boureks and a calendar) then headed East…somehow getting to Foothill Boulevard while passing many 'possible' lunch spots. We had seen another location of Mr. D's Diner but kept driving, until we saw this location and stopped.

The building looked like it had been a Coco's or some similar type of 'family' restaurant. The 'Specials' list outside the door showed us the pricing was reasonable.

The decor, 50's (this is part of "Route 66" after all). The menu had nine pages. The "To Go" menu only has seven pages.
We hadn't had much of a breakfast, so the Pancake Combo ($8.49) was a choice. Really nice, sweet, fluffy pancakes, perfect over easy eggs, skin on sausage and crispy flavorful bacon. Just right.
As with many of these family type diners, Greek choices are on the menu. The "Traditional Greek Salad" ($10.79)(add chicken $2.99) has on the menu in bold lettering "Lettuce Upon Request". "Traditional" means you get this- tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, bell peppers feta and greek olives tossed in Greek olive oil and herbs. The (very large) bowl was topped with toasted pita. With the (plentiful amount of) grilled chicken, this was a hearty, tasty, perfect meal. It didn't need lettuce.

Glad we stopped and hope to stop here again.

Mr. D's Diner 401 E. Foothill Blvd. Pomona, CA (909)938-4222 Open daily 6 a.m.-10 p.m. website

Breakfast at Hinotez Again

December 23, 2018 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Japanese Restaurants

I'm a bit under the weather, so just a short post for tonight.

So, you know that Mien Trung was my first meal after returning from France. The other thing I was craving was Japanese Breakfast; I wasn't looking for anything particularly fancy; just a simple workmanlike (or Salarymanlike) breakfast would do. Something I've already waxed nostalgic about before. The only show in town for this is Hinotez.

And while I do enjoy the Japanese Breakfast here there have been changes over the last couple of years; on the good side; you can now get Japanese Breakfast everyday from 8am to 11am. On the bad side; and this has been true for a while…..you need to order 2 items from the entrée category. Kind of a bummer; because I really wanted natto-egg-tororo.

I enjoy the karaage at Hintotez, so that was an easy choice….it's the second choice that had me in the grips of "analysis paralysis". In the end; I just went with the Gyoza and with everything, this came out to $12……..

I keep forgetting to tell them to give me "half rice"…..this is just a load of rice and it's totally out of proportion,when mixed with the tororo, natto, and egg.

The karaage could have been more crisp; but the savory-soy flavor was perfect….the gyoza was not bad, crisp and the filling was decent. The miso soup was better than on previous visits; not watered down.

But, of course I was all over the natto-tororo-3 minute egg……gooey-fermented loveliness.

It did hit the spot. I left not feeling like super-hero….but in need to return to bed……a perfect weekend day indeed.

Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111
Breakfast now served daily from 8am – 11am

Mary’s Donuts (Lakeside) more than donuts!

December 11, 2018 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is funny; he thought that after working overtime on both weekend days, that His Monday would be easy..and short. He was wrong. Cathy is writing another post.

I grew up with three bakeries within five blocks of my home in Detroit. The Mister remembers three local bakeries he passed while walking to school in the Boston suburb where he grew up. There were local owned bakeries we found in Ann Arbor, Pensacola and Norfolk…and on our visits overseas. But donut-centric shops are a Southern California phenomenon. Go ahead, type in "donut" in the search bar on the upper left of this page. Over 1000 hits on this blog alone.

So, we are back at Mary's. The original location (photo at the bottom of this post) has closed (after 50 years there) and the new location in Santee is in the middle of a strip mall. That location is within walking distance of home and I've been known to drop in at odd hours of the day for a quick snack. However the 'new' (since October 2016) second location has a bit of an expanded menu.

The donut cases are kept filled. Along the top of the back wall, you'll see prices- the one on the right, a sort of menu, is most interesting. There's a non-carb choice.Bowls are $5.99. Scrambled eggs, choice of meat (bacon, sausage or ham) and choice of cheese (Swiss, Cheddar, Provolone). This was with Cheddar and breakfast sausage and was great- tasty, large portion (three eggs) and so very fresh.
Sandwiches here are $6.99. They come with a choice of bread (bagel, croissant and as of two weeks ago, fresh baked bread), meat (ham, turkey, bacon, sausage, egg), cheese(Swiss, Cheddar, Provolone) and toppings (lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard). Avocado is an additional 85¢. This Mary's location has just begun baking breads but not daily and I am eager to come back to try a sandwich on the rye.
The donuts. Look at the top shelf. Why, that's a lot of fritters. Some of those are apple, but…
Looks like a slice of peach on those on the right (next to the bacon maple bars)Lemon and blueberry.
Raspberry!
The fritters here are one of the the most expensive donuts in the case…$1.90. (Those bacon covered maple bars are also $1.90).
You can see the layers of raspberry intertwined in this beautiful, crisp edged, perfectly fried and glazed fritter. Of course we've tried the peach; it's excellent.

If you are out this way, it's worth the stop.

Mary's Donuts 10101 Maine Street Lakeside, CA 92040 (619)334-5272 ALWAYS OPEN

The Lunch Box (La Mesa)(Again)

November 24, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a San Diego based food blog, writing about places to eat in the City, County, State, Nation and World. Today is Small Business Saturday ( the day following Black Friday and just before Cyber Monday) part of the holiday weekend which began with Thanksgiving Day. Cathy is writing about a locally owned restaurant.

Three and a half years ago, I posted about breakfast at The Lunch Box in La Mesa and said I'd write about lunch at The Lunch Box. Here we are. The $5.95 weekday special is now $6.75 because time marches on. This family owned small business has been a staple on La Mesa Boulevard at Jackson since 2009. Each time we stop in, neighborhood locals are enjoying breakfast and lunch.

There were whiteboard specials out front this day and the raisin bread French toast with bacon was $8.50 (usually the toast by itself is $7.50 and adding two eggs and bacon is an additional $3.50). As you may have noticed, I order raisin filled items whenever I can. This is a regular order and is made so well; crispy exterior and fluffy interior…heavenly, proper French toast. This breakfast sandwich ($7.50) was also a special noted at the front door (usually the sandwich does not come with spinach). Eggs, cheese (The Mister chose Swiss) and bacon with tomatoes and spinach on a toasted, buttery buttered croissant. Wonderful.

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Finally, I am posting about an actual LUNCH at The Lunch Box.

The menu for lunch is basically sandwiches, wraps and salads.

All sandwiches come with a bag of kettle chips and a fresh, warm (chocolate chip) cookie…because it is The Lunch Box.

A 'Basic 1/2 Sandwich Combo'-with soup (in this case chili) ($8.50) or pasta salad, potato salad or green salad. That's the tuna salad on rye. Yes, it is good. *Really*good- the tuna as well as the bread.
The chili has beans and lentils and coarse burger and all sorts of great stuff. Housemade and available each day, a bowl can be a meal on a cold day or on a warm day. The 'Specialty or Hot 1/2 Sandwich Combo' ($8.50), in this case 'The Big Guy' (this as a full sandwich is $10.50) on a torta has roast beef, turkey, ham, bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. Each meat is quality, the sandwich is overfilled, the torta is fresh (and recommended for this particular sandwich).
the side green salad is very large. This is a tasty, filling meal.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is enjoying this long weekend.

cc was here in February, anyone else?

The Lunch Box Cafe & Deli 8751 La Mesa Blvd La Mesa 91941 (619)463-4013 Open Tue-Fri 7:30-2, Sat 7:30-1 Closed Sunday and Monday Website

Marie Callender’s-Breakfasts

November 20, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!. This food blog tries to post daily about places where either Kirk or Cathy has had a meal. Sometimes we write about events leading to that meal, but that isn't the case today. Cathy is writing.

When I wrote the post about Marie Callender's in September, I realized the hours of operation began at 8 a.m….breakfast! Yet, The Mister and I never had stopped here for breakfast. The other day, we managed to drop in.
The pie display wasn't yet filled.
The bar area had only a few people seated. There was a breakfast meeting on the other side of the restaurant. The menu (at the bottom of this post) was simple and interesting.

You know how a complimentary giant piece of Marie Callender's cornbread is brought out for your lunch or dinner meal? Well, at breakfast, it's a complimentary piece of banana blueberry bread…streusel topped…still warm. Wonderful. The Big Country Smasher Skillet ($10.29)…a bed of tots topped with applewood bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, a blend of cheeses (Jack, Cheddar and Swiss) and country gravy. Good country gravy-pepper-y and with sausage and such flavor on its own. A hearty meal.

Let's not play games. We (I) come here for the pie. This is probably why we (I) never considered Marie's for breakfast. Oh, but there was a surprise on the menu: The Banana Cream Pie Pancake Platter ($9.59). Yes. Banana cream pie is indeed sometimes a choice. You know it's made with fresh sliced bananas. There's also a pudding-like filling, which was still warm on top of the pancakes. Then there was whipped cream; vanilla flavored. Topped with sliced toasted almonds. Heaven. The platter came with two eggs (any style, so I chose over easy) and a choice of bacon or sausage…or one of each. So I did. Then the surprise.
The warm pudding and sliced bananas was on top of each pancake (!) It pretty much was banana cream pie with a different crust- for breakfast. Oh, the eggs were great, so was the bacon and the sausage.

Marie Callender's has been doing breakfast for 40 years. I am so happy I finally discovered this fact. We will be back and maybe try other parts of the breakfast menu and take home a slice of pie…or I'll just get this again.

Marie Callender's 6950 Alvarado Road San Diego, CA 92120 (619)465-1910 Mon-Sat 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Website

2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Road Test #6; Breakfast at Bravo Burgers (Chino)

November 18, 2018 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is primarily a blog about food. There are so many reasons we discover the food. Cathy is writing today's post, because she did this drive and saw this stuff and discovered another restaurant on the way home. Kirk isn't in town.

Yesterday was the sixth 'official' road test for floats participating in the 2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade built by Phoenix Decorating Company. { Here are links to road tests #1 and #2, road test #3 and here is road test #4 and #5} (There are three other decorating companies and six floats are 'self built'; we volunteer with the Petal Pushers when we decorate floats. You can, too!).
The first float you will see in the parade, "Theme Float" will have the theme banner right there on the front (where the rectangle is cut out for the float 'spotter' to look out onto the parade route (each float has a 'driver', who basically looks down onto the rose colored line drawn on the street to know he/she is driving along the center of the route and a 'spotter' who communicates to the driver via a headset if the pace needs to be slowed, stopped or sped up)(look for other 'spotter' rectangles in the next two float photos)). The theme of "The Melody of Life" is reflected on that swoop going up behind the float- see the small music notes?
The closing float this year will remind viewers of what is to come- the Tournament of Roses Rose Bowl Game. The float is designed like the Rose Bowl Stadium and a larger than life replica of the winners trophy is prominent.
Western Asset's entry is simply titled "Yellow Submarine"..and we can all guess which song we will hear when it passes on the television screen (or in front of you if you are fortunate enough to have a seat on Colorado Boulevard on January 1).

The American Armenian Rose Float Association's entry of "Chanting Stones" Is proving to be again, another educational entry: KARAHUNJ “Armenia’s singing stones full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and simplicity.”
Located on a mountain plateau in Sisian in the Syunik province, also called Zorats Karer in Armenian which literally translates to Army Stones, Karahundj (meaning Speaking Stones probably related to the fact that on a windy day the stones make whistling sounds because of holes in the stones. According to the scientist’s findings, a temple consisting of 40 stones built in honor of the Armenians’ main God, Ari, meaning the Sun, is situated in the central part. It also had a large observatory and a university. In total 223 stones or so were registered.
These basalt stones range from 0.5 to 3 m high and weigh up to 10 tons.
It is even suggested based on findings that it predates the Stonehenge by 3500 years.
Honda- the sponsor of the parade had a road test of "Celebration of Dreams". The main float is way up front, followed by five 'satellite' floats. Here is a link to artist renditions of the Phoenix Decorating Company floats for the 2019 parade.

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We now move to the food portion of this post. Long story short, last Saturday we arrived before Cravings by 99 Ranch opened (at 10 a.m.) and drove around looking for a non-chain breakfast place. We ate here then and again the following Saturday.
Under the 71 and turning down the parallel road, we saw this. Turns out there are four locations of Bravo Burgers, none in San Diego.

The menu is there on the wall behind the cash registers, along with some supplemental menu specials on the counter.

The ham and egg sandwich ($6.29) is quite large, with a large piece ham steak, plenty of eggs and lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. What a breakfast!
On the countertop Specials board, the waffle with two eggs and two sausage ($7.79) looked interesting. The waffle was sweet, crispy, fluffy with perfect over easy eggs and wonderful skin on breakfast sausages. Coarse grind and great flavor.
The bacon egg burrito ($6.29) is hefty. Eggs, bacon, cheese and hash browns (see next photo). This was a good choice.
Steak and eggs ($11.15) came with more of those crispy hash browns. The eggs, again cooked perfectly and the steak a definite medium rare. Plenty of food and I think the first item (the ham and egg sandwich) was enough for a meal. We'll try more menu items next time…maybe even a Bravo Burger.

Bravo Burgers 14698 Pipeline Avenue Chino Hills, CA (909)393-5595 website Open 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily

There's a salsa bar set up all day next to the beverage machine. Great salsas, great chips.

Boudin- Breakfast, Lunch, bread!

November 16, 2018 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Chains, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog. Todays post is written by Cathy; Kirk (and His Missus) are not in town. Probably most of you are starting Thanksgiving early, too.

I should just start out with the title of "gift card meal" because that's how I find out about some places. (Side note: I do not 'regift'). Boudin Bakery began in 1848 in San Francisco. Known for its sourdough, the bread is baked fresh daily. It is now a chain of casual bakery-restaurants with two San Diego County locations serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. As I mentioned, I first discovered Boudin by using a gift card. The drill is similar to Panera and Corner Bakery Cafe– walk up, order, pay, get your own beverage and find a table. Your food is brought to you. All three of these businesses do *not* encourage tipping. You don't have to clear off your own table. All have free wifi.
You can see the fresh loaves bread behind the cash register. A one pound loaf of sourdough is $4.14. What I found out on our first visit is that we can join the Boudin "loyalty club" which gets you one free loaf of bread a month along with a few other perks.
Here are the past three months of free bread. The middle one is a really great multigrain bread, which you can purchase using the $4.14 discount (I think it ended up being 49 cents). The sourdough is wonderful. So is everything else.
The turkey and bacon scramble ($7.90) is quite large, comes with either fruit or potato and a choice of toast. It's a great meal.

The ham and cheddar breakfast sandwich ($5.90) is also quite large. It's served on sourdough and, as you can see, the cheese is grilled in and melted. None of that slapped on slice of cold cheese here. Quality for a reasonable price. The ham is applewood smoked and really good.I broke down and ordered the second avocado toast of my life; "The Purist" ($8.25). It's good, very nice with the eggs and side of fruit…but does not compare to the first avocado toast I ever ordered (photos 4th and 5th from the bottom of the post); that one is the standard for me.

The bacon red bell pepper scramble ($7.90) is also wonderful and again, quite large. That multigrain bread is so very good.

Then there is the rest of the menu…which needs more exploring…
The 'Spring Salad' (small, $5.95, large $8.65, add chicken to either size $2.39) was a wonderful mix of flavors and textures. Granny Smith apple slices, spiced walnuts, dried cranberries, feta, spring mix and balsamic. This was a large that we shared. It will be ordered again, maybe as a small…

Half Sandwich and bowl of soup ($9.35) is a good way to get to try more of the menu. The broccoli-cheese soup was hearty, creamy and filled with broccoli. The sandwich I chose was the turkey cranberry (on sliced sourdough; a good, chewy, old fashioned bread). Turkey breast, cranberry sauce, red onion, lettuce, mayonnaise. Eager to try the 'famous' clam chowder served in a sourdough bread bowl ($7.49) (you can see that you get all of the bread) this was an order one day. The clam chowder is pretty close to perfect; not salty, very creamy and filled with clam pieces and bits. The bread bowl and its filler piece was great with butter.
There are 'Seasonal Favorites' on the menu and the "millionaires bacon" was a curiosity that I succumbed to. The 'Millionaires BLT' on toasted sourdough with iceberg, Roma tomatoes and mayonnaise was a perfect accompaniment to the thick cut, brown sugar caramelized bacon that had a black pepper and cayenne rub on the edges…a kick of spice in this wonderful sandwich that needed no other additions.

I'm so grateful to my friends for the initial gift card and am very happy to have (finally) discovered the wonderful flavors of real sourdough.

Go- start your Thanksgiving week!

Boudin SF 5407 Balboa Ave, Ste 400 San Diego 92111 (858)737-6571 Website Open Mon-Sat 8-9, Sun 8-8

J & M’s Family Restaurant (Escondido)(again)

November 11, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

Well. Here we are, reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk and His Missus are taking a break and Cathy is doing the blogging for a while. Enjoy.

The last time I posted about J & M's was more than three years ago. I've since realized the "Chili Extravaganza" is an annual event; each month has different specials in addition to the "added value meals" on the menu. The Mister and I drive up here to shop at the Vallarta Market (in the same parking lot) and stop at J & M's pretty regularly if not eating inside Vallarta or Farmer Boys (also in the same parking lot). There are lots of choices when running errands.
The decor here is comfortable, the waitresses friendly' and the clientele are mostly locals.

We were fortunate to be here when some freshly made cinnamon rolls were offered ($3.49). Quite large, buttery, soft and filled with a nice cinnamon-sugar paste. Trying out house made cinnamon rolls have become a new obsession ever since we finally broke down and purchased one at the 2018 San Diego County Fair. This version is so very good.
Since breakfast is all day, I ordered the Florentine scramble (chalkboard special, $8.99, regular $10.49) with rye toast. Bacon, egg, cheese, spinach, red onion topped with fresh tomatoes…a hearty, tasty, filling meal. The home fries were mostly potato with some onion and green peppers; the potatoes had a nice crisping (bonus!) and were also plentiful.

The Mister had a craving for Liver and Onions ($9.99- from the 'added value menu') and received two very large pieces of calves liver (it was at least 8 if not 10 ounces in total) which was fried just right (the center was medium and the crispy edges were a treat)…of course I got to eat all of the onions. The steamed vegetables were a nice contrast and gave a semblance of healthy eating. The salad and garlic 'toast' (it's a half of a sandwich roll, just like we do at home) were both refreshing (the Bleu cheese salad dressing was excellent) and complimentary to the meaty main course.

A great little family diner since 2013.

J&M's Family Restaurant 1215 E Valley Pkwy Escondido, CA 92027 (between Harding and Ash) (760)745-3710 open 6-11 daily website

2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road tests 4/5. Breakfasts at Costa’s (Covina)

November 7, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. This particular post is about food discovered while checking out another Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road test. Kirk is taking a break from blogging and Cathy is writing.

For your convenience, here are links to 2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road Tests #1/2, Road Test #3, and Road Test #6

I'll start this post out with the food. The Rose Parade float road testing at the end of September was a "closed set" and no photos were allowed. Of course we didn't know and drove the two hours that Saturday morning anticipating photos and a meal as a post. Since we saw what we could and left kind of soon, we were barely hungry, so drove East on the 210 and randomly took the Grand Avenue exit, driving South. At the signal light at San Bernadino Road, we saw this and decided to stop in.

Costa's was opened in 1991 and has quite a few dining areas- inside and outside. The decor is home spun and eclectic. The menu shows breakfast and lunch/dinner specials Monday -Friday and different specials on weekends. The prices are more than reasonable.
The chicken fried steak ($8.99-from the regular, not weekend special menu) comes with three eggs and your choice of toast (raisin in this case) was wonderful! Lightly breaded, fried crisp, this large piece of cube steak was way more food than expected. The country fried potatoes were vegetable heavy (in a good way) and those three eggs were cooked to a perfect over easy; runny with crisped whites. Oh, the gravy is from scratch and is great without the addition of the sausage, which brings it to another level.

The breakfast special of Eggs Benedict ($9.29) came with a peach half or I could have substituted a few other items, but I decided to go with the chef's vision. I think the presentation was pretty. Also, I haven't had canned peaches in forever and this one was not 'heavy syrup' sweetness. The hollandaise sauce was from scratch and very lemony- a good thing. The perfectly poached eggs on top of the triangle cut ham steak slices on top of toasted English muffin halves was just heaven in every bite.

When the October road test was happening, we got to take photos and decided to stop at Costa's again. This time, the waffle breakfast ($7.99) with over easy eggs and sausage links. This was quite wonderful; a sweet, malted flavor to the waffle, perfect over easy eggs and the sausage seemed nicer than normal, with a 'skin' and good flavors.
The most expensive weekend special breakfast is $9.99 and we went for it. Steak and eggs. Rye toast, the wonderful home fries and perfectly poached eggs. The steak was surprisingly large and perfectly cooked to a medium-rare and wonderfully flavored.

We may stop here again after the November road test, or after decorating floats in December; it's a great place…all locals.

Costa's Family Restaurant 851 E. San Bernadino Road Covina, CA 91723 Open Daily 5:30a.m. – 9 p.m.

Float road tests Number one and two, the third road testing had been completed and we were looking forward to the one in late September. This was the only photo I was able to snap before being told that no photos would be allowed that day. The second float there (behind the Theme Float you see in front) is Trader Joe's. Apparently there is a part of the mechanics that they want to remain a surprise. The design is cute. In June, I took this photo at the road test; you can see it's sort of an eagle's head and the float looks like a pirate ship (indeed, the the title of the float is "Ride, Captain, Ride", in keeping with the Rose Parade theme of "The Melody of Life", which will have each float with some sort of musical instrument on board) At the October road test, I snapped this photo of the colored in float in the back of the barn. You can see the front of the pirate ship with the eagle head and a sort of hot air balloon in the middle of the float. That's where the 'surprise' will be on January first. At the August road test, we saw this beautiful basic float being driven , testing for maneuverability and mechanics.
At the end of October, the 'cocoon' was covering the float and it was being tested for safety, with people onboard, who had to be able to exit the float in 45 seconds- in case of a fire. The float is by the American Legion – a first time in the parade.
The closing float for the parade in 2019 is a new one and is showing the rest of the Tournament of Roses- the football game. It's a replica of the Rose Bowl and inside, is
a replica of the prize winning trophy. A nice tie into a magnificent New Year Day.

I got a peek of this float being screened in. It's from Western Asset and has a sort of spaceship appearance. There will be another road test later this month and quit a few floats still have to be tested. Decorating (details and dry decorating) begins the first of December and continues for each Saturday then Decorating Week (using live flowers) from December 26-31.

Thanks for reading.