Breakfast/Brunch – Page 18

P.L.Bagels (and some Point Loma exploring)(A stop at the new Jensen’s Foods)

August 24, 2017 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Exploring San Diego, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Writing of posts is shared by three friends. Today, Cathy is writing because Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are busy tying up loose ends.

Yes, I've written about P.L. Bagel a few times, 2012, 2013 and most recently in 2014. It's a regular stop, because it's good..and on the way to a place where The Mister and I can take a peaceful walk.
Prices for a 'Breakfast Special' with a coffee have gone up by 25¢ since 2014, which is minuscule for this family owned and run business. A plain bagel (as well as a bialy) is still 95¢. The mini bagels are now 50¢ Here's a size comparison. That's a Bialy on the left, only available on weekends. I enjoy the baked chewy dough, which has a bit of chopped onion in the center top. This was a nice breakfast, with eggs and cheese. The salt bagel (as are all the bagels here) is covered on both sides with toppings. Not many bagel shops make salt bagels anymore. The bagels here are a 'proper' size- not crazy large nor crazy fluffy.

We've enjoyed visiting this local longstanding business (which makes a great product!).

P.L. Bagel 3704 Voltaire Street, Suite 107 San Diego 92107 (619) 223-4788 open daily 6a.m.-1 p.m.

Our regular walks take us to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, where we enjoy the overcast mornings and peaceful quietness. Earlier this year, the only market on Catalina Boulevard (the main road on The Point) re-opened as a new location for Jensen's Foods (it had been a Fresh and Easy before that chain left the U.S.). Jensen's slogan is "Make Every Day an Occasion". If you have been paying attention, it is Hatch Chile season and Jensen's is one of the many participating roasters (the prices for Hatch Chiles here are less than other locations).
There are many interesting items at Jensen's, including a by the pound salad bar and (at least on weekends) a breakfast bar. It's quite a nice store. This is the only San Diego location and we are taking advantage of the offerings. (It's been in business since 1940!).

Another nice weekend 'staycation'. Thanks for reading!

Jensen's Foods 955 Catalina Boulevard San Diego 92106 (619)550-2097 Open daily 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Website

D.Z.Akins- quick breakfast

August 11, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

Thank you for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Cathy is writing a short post today; the guys are busy.

Located just East of San Diego State University since 1980, D.Z.Akins is a Restaurant, Delicatessen and Bakery which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. I've written a total of two posts, along with a mention of a sandwich here, but had my first tastes of food from here when I worked nearby and have, indeed, tried most of the (very large) menu.

Earlier this week, the dreaded "Check Engine" light appeared on my dashboard and I dropped off my car before the Service Center opened. The Mister picked me Up (I was walking back home) and said that we should go out to breakfast. Since D.Z.Akins opens at 7 a.m., we were some of the first people in this normally crowded parking lot.
When you first walk in, there is the bakery and deli in front of you, a Gift Shop to the right and the Hostess Stand to the left. The walls are decorated with murals, cartoons, portraits, photos of prior (famous) patrons and all sorts of things that catch your eye.

After perusing the menu, The Mister decided on the Monday-Friday breakfast special ($4.99)
Two pancakes, two eggs, two sausage (or bacon). (Coffee is $3.50 and always kept filled). The eggs were perfectly over easy, the pancakes were not sweet and were quite fluffy and the sausage was really good- spicy, juicy, large. Since I was preparing myself to spend money on this day, I figured I would order what I wanted- the smoked whitefish platter ($16.95). Looks small, you say? Nope. There were at least 6 ounces of cream cheese in the middle/under the cucumber, carrots, onions and olives. The (very large) piece of smoked whitefish was just so perfect- smoky, salty, meaty, filling. It was exactly what I wanted that morning. I did ask for rye toast instead of a bagel and it was so very perfect of a rye…the kind I grew up eating from the corner Polish Bakery in Detroit.

I hope your weekend is good!

D.Z. Akins 6930 Alvarado Road San Diego, CA 92120 (619)265-0218 Open Sun-Thurs 7 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri-Sat 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Website

Saturday Stuffs – How About a “Poke-silog” for Breakfast (Zarlitos), The Fire Spot Coming to Convoy, and Other “Stuffs”

August 5, 2017 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Filipino Restaurants, Poke

**** Sorry, no moa' poke at Zarlitos

Pokesilog?:

So the Missus wanted a nice, early weekend breakfast at one of Her favorite spots. We were met by the same very sweet and pleasant young lady, that usually works on the weekends.

We were seated and handed the usual brown, sticky, well-worn menus. I was going to get "the usual", a Chicksilog. But as we sat, the young lady handed us this additional menu. "Zarlitos Family Restaurant Secret Poke Menu" it says.

Along with the poke on one side, it also lists….good lord….Poke Fries? Shades of Pokiritto; Poke Burritos? Even more hilarious, something called "Hashbrown Thing". Hashbrowns topped with spicy tuna, Spam, and an egg? I think this takes the poke on everything fad a bit too far…..

Somehow, the Missus talked me into ordering the Pokesilog ($9).

Ok, so the Missus got the egg, which She enjoyed, the rice was hard and not so good. You know what I think about the so-called "Seaweed Salad", but the Missus had no qualms about that and the Tuna Scrape; you know, the stuff they put into that spicy tuna roll you get at those gringo sushi shops; probably from True World Foods, was nice and spicy. That was a large batch of surimi…all fine. I chose the Spicy Garlic Poke, which was perhaps a bit too sweet, but I couldn't complain about the quality of the fish on this visit. And only nine bucks…..take that "Chi-poke" shop!

The menu is currently only available from 8am to 2pm during weekends.

And, if you actually do try that "Hashbrown Thing", tell me about it, ok? I'm probably going back to my Chicksilog next time.

Zarlitos Family Restaurant
505 East 8th St.
National City, CA 91950

The Fire Spot Coming to Convoy:

I noticed that some work was going on at one of the shops in that strip mall with the worst parking on Convoy. So I took a quick look and found that something called "The Fire Spot" was taking the Print Shop's place.

Couldn't find much online.

So your guess is as good as mine……hot pot? Sichuan? Meat Skewers?

I guess we'll find out soon enough.

4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

My favorite license plate frame of the week….or maybe year:

Obviously a very proud mom!

Is the 'C' supposed to be a 'G' or am I supposed to add an 'R':

I noticed this sign while waiting at the traffic light on the corner of Convoy and Clairemont Mesa.

I never noticed this sign before, but am pretty sure it's been here for a while. You'd think they'd fix it, right?

It did have me thinking what the correct spelling should be….'Massage' or add an 'r' and it becomes 'Massacre'…..

And then I got this texted to me:

Wow, who knew…..

Though I did ask the question; shouldn't it be 2 eggs and 1 wiener?

Hope you're having a great weekend!

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road test, Breakfast at Penny’s Family Restaurant (West Covina), Snack at Kolache Factory (Tustin)

August 1, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! a blog about food, and events leading up to acquiring said food. Cathy is writing today; Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are staying away from warm things (like computers and the outdoors).

Yes, it is that time of year again. Posts about Rose parade float road tests, float decorating and the Showcase of floats will be on the blog about once a month until January of next year. The related food/meal posts, will be changing quite a bit. The Phoenix Decorating Company, which constructs the floats where The Mister and I volunteer to decorate in December, has moved its barn about 20 miles East of Pasadena, to Irwindale. The drive there from here is a bit quicker, but we still left at 5 on Saturday morning, to see the floats lined up at 7 for their mechanical and maneuverability testing.

The Theme of the 2018 Rose Parade is "Making A Difference" and each float entry has its own interpretation of those words. Here are some previews of floats that were tested. We will get to the food in a moment.

The Shriners Hospitals for Children 2018 Parade float, "Caring for Kids Around the World", depicts their mascot, Fezzy Bear, in a space suit surrounded by planets and satellites.

Kiwanis International has a tiger driving a race car on its "Racing to Serve Children" titled float.

"Planting the Seeds of Service" is the theme of the Rotary International 2018 Rose Parade float entry.

The Odd Fellows and Rebekahs float, "Sacrifice To Serve" has another patriotic float entered in the Rose Parade, the title is in line with the 'Making a Difference' Theme. Western Asset is going to have at least a whale and turtle on their 2018 float entry.
The Lutheran Hour Ministries 68th entry into the parade is titled "Bringing Christ to the Nations".

There were two other floats (Armenian and Lions) which were in the 'rebar' stage of assembly which were also tested that morning.

Phoenix Decorating Company 5400 Irwindale Avenue Irwindale, CA 91706

Now, on to the food section of this post.

The first stop of the day (at about 6:05 a.m.) was at the Red Hill exit, to get to the Kolache Factory, mentioned in this post
We enjoyed the ham, egg and cheese stuffed dough ($3.19) and the simple, wonderful bacon and cheese stuffed treat ($2.26). The modern version of an Eastern European pastry roll was enough to keep us satisfied before arriving in Irwindale.

Kolache Factory 14091 Newport Avenue Tustin, CA 92780 (714) 730-2253 Website

When we left Irwindale, we took side roads South, looking for a place to get breakfast and also scoping out possibilities for dinner after we decorate floats in December… We saw a variety of Mexican restaurants and taco shops, several 'Diner Type' places and then somehow got to this "HK2" mall. Kirk wrote about visits there 12 years ago. (Krua Thai is still there).

Because we were here before 9 a.m., only workers were showing up for early morning openings of the shops (I counted at least 20 restaurants, of so many ethnic varieties-Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese, Mexican and…the only one that was open when we were there- the American place, Penny's.

Signage, Specials, Services offered, Penny's has it all, especially good food.

The weekday breakfast specials are 40¢ more on weekends. I went with a "Mini Breakfast" ($6.95 plus 40¢), two eggs (over easy-perfectly cooked) 2 sausage (or bacon) and home fries (also rye toast). This was great, really good; I love those sliced fried potatoes. The sausage was a good quality.
The Mister chose the corned beef hash and eggs plate ($8.59). Very flavorful corned beef, with diced potato and crispy grill top fried. Those perfect over easy eggs and more of those delightful home fries.
He chose a biscuit and gravy as the side. Great gravy, a really nice baking powder biscuit.
Now that we (sort of) know this mall is here, we will be back a bit later in the morning to try some of the other restaurants when they are open.

Penny's Family Restaurant 969 S. Glendora Avenue West Covina, CA 91790 Open 7-2, daily

I hope your week is good so far!

Breakfast Revisits – Zarlitos Family Restaurant, Elijah’s Restaurant & Delicatessen, and Poke Etc

July 19, 2017 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Filipino Restaurants, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Poke, Sisig

A couple of breakfast revisits.

Zarlitos Family Restaurant:

It's already been established that Zarlitos is the Missus's favorite breakfast stop. Basically, it's poke for breakfast. And the Missus can sometimes put away a pound of this stuff.

I however, had to still work and find the perfect breakfast counter-point. It became a real "Goldilocks" type of moment. No, not that Goldilocks; this Goldilocks!

The first time…well, I just had to try the sisig. But man, this was way to sour for breakfast.

As a whole not too bad in terms of sisig; but I wanted a bit more spice. The pork was crisp and not overly chewy, but it was just missing something….and perhaps was not the best choice for breakfast.

On another note; a friend sent me a bunch of postings last month….apparently Anthony Bourdain anointed Sisig as the next big thing. I dunno, I think my first post on sisig was way back in April, 2006. Hey, even an old fuddy-duddy unhip food blogger enjoys a moment where one of his favorites dishes; one with its own category list hits the spotlight. As for the next big thing? Hmm…….

Next visit; I went the ex-pat local boy route…..the Spamsilog.

Man, talk about too much of a good thing……I expected like maybe two slices, max. But this was three fairly substantial slices. Way too much saltiness. Even though the Spam looked undercooked; it was strangely crisp. I think it was dumped in the fryer. In spite of this not working out, I did find part of the equation. First off, I'm not a big fan of the standard garlic rice here…and they do give a lot of rice. I got steamed rice and found that the Missus sharing a good amount of it….and one of my eggs to boot.

So we were at two out of three here…….almost there.

And then I ordered the Chicksilog; the fried chicken quarter, rice, and eggs.

The chicken is simply fried; but the fat has been rendered out from under that crisp skin. It's obviously been double-fried. That skin was nice, light and crisp, with a enjoyable level of greasiness that just goes well with some vinegar…..yes, vinegar is a must as it really cuts the fattiness.

That's two easy-over eggs hiding below the fried chicken. I share one egg and about a third of the rice with the Missus, along with a bit of the chicken….of course She loves that skin dipped in vinegar. I place the egg on top of the rice; break the yolk, and add shoyu.

As Goldilocks said; "this one is just right"…….

Zarlitos Family Restaurant
505 East 8th St.
National City, CA 91950

Elijah’s Restaurant & Delicatessen:

I'd managed to bring back a pound of Schwartz's smoked meat from Montreal and the Missus wanted me to track down some Rye Bread. For some reason; I recalled that Elijah's sold their own rye bread. "AlanH" had also recommended the goulash soup, which was a Wednesday special at Elijah's, so I got there right before 11am on a Wednesday to check it out.

This being a breakfast posts; you can kinda figure out how I fared. The really nice gentleman informed me that they weren't serving the goulash soup at this time.

So I took a look at the menu.

Breakfast I believe is served all day….for some reason the Reuben Omelette ($10.95) jumped out at me. So I ordered it. Man, talk about a load of food.

And to be perfectly honest; I kinda enjoyed it…….slight sour and crunch from the sauerkraut; sliced corned beef added meatiness and saltiness, the Swiss cheese a blanket of milky comfort, and for some reason Russian Dressing…..now, when I used to work in a restaurant during my younger days; we added a dollop of mayonnaise to our scrambled eggs for extra richness…here it's the ketchup in the dressing, along with the mild acidity from the cheese that really helped things along.

The potatoes were nicely fried and seasoned….the Missus really likes the potatoes here, so I saved most of it for Her. Along with half the omelette which I had later on for dinner.

So I struck out on the goulash soup, but didn't do badly at all.

Elijah’s Restaurant & Delicatessen
7061 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Poke Etc:

I know poke at Zarlitos and Longanisa at Poke Etc? What can I say? I'd actually been wanting to try the Ilocano Longanisa, something that I haven't had since my days "back home". Like I mentioned in my Poke Etc post last year. My Filipino friends back home were Ilocano and that was the type of longanisa I was used to. Man, when I had my first Longsilog here on the mainland!

Anyway; the Ilocano Longanisa here comes with eggs and rice, with an amazing price of $4.95! So finally, a year later, I made my way back and ordered it.

For some reason I expected easy over eggs; but man, that's a lot of eggs and longanisa for five bucks. The eggs weren't seasoned and were on the gummy side. The rice was better than on my previous visits. Maybe because it was 10 in the morning. Something was not right with the longanisa; I'm used to garlic hints with a sour, vinegar bite….but these tasted, well, almost rancid, bitterness. It also smelled kind of strange…..sort of cheesy…which I love in cheese….but not quite here. I'd actually taken this home before eating or I'd ask the really nice woman about it. So basically decided to cut my losses.

I'll probably go back to the poke here during future visits.

Poke Etc
916 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950

It’s been a while week – Nate’s Garden Grill

June 28, 2017 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch

I had been wondering about how Nate's was doing for a while. I thought it would make a nice little IBAW post, so dropped by this past weekend.

I'd been trying to talk the Missus into revisiting; but in typical fashion She just wasn't motivated after tasting the results of….ahem, playing with my butt.

Still, I'd always rather enjoyed the vibe at Nate's.

The rustic interior, the really friendly folks who work here.

I'm thinking it being 8am on the weekend, it was much too early for the Hipster crowd….just a couple of families enjoying the wild west of South City Heights.

My food took a while; which I actually enjoyed. It made me relax and notice the "small things"…..

Like….did they always have air conditioning here? Well, it was welcomed because it was getting warm outside.

I had decided on getting the Pulled Pork Hash, which I really enjoyed during my previous visit. It was such a nice and vibrant dish back then.

Sadly, this wasn't quite as good as that.

While I thought the sourdough bread was nicely crisp and toasted; the eggs, well one of them was nice and runny…the other had leaked out, I really missed all the wonderful textures and flavors from the variety of vegetables I'd had before. This had a ton of pork; of which the smoke flavor was rather over-powering and was a tad too salty. What potatoes there were hadn't been browned very well and while this might be a pork-aholic's choice, I missed the balance in what I'd had before.

And yes, it was still way to much food. I did take almost two-thirds of this home and actually redid it with some proper vegetables…..topped with some Greek yogurt to cut the salt and ate the left-overs for two more meals. There's no arguing about portion size here.

I do like Nate's and will probably return….the folks here are so nice…..though I'm not sure what I'll order next time.

Over the years, I've recommended Nate's to several folks I know. One couple really didn't care for the place. I should have known based on where they lived; they didn't like ordering at the counter, wanted better table service, and gave me a lot of grief about looking out at stuff like this while eating.

Sigh……

Nate's Garden Grill
3120 Euclid Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Breakfasts of Champions – Fernandez Restaurant and SuperNatural Sandwiches

June 19, 2017 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches

Here are a couple more nice breakfasts.

Fernandez Restaurant and Catering:

It's been a few years since I've been here. I recently had some pretty terrible birria de res (an upcoming post) and needed to get something good into my system. Still located in that rather random apartment cum modified office building, they've put up a nice sign have a separate take-out window, and have a host/hostess podium now!

And the folding banquet chairs have been replaced with some pretty colorful versions as well……

As you notice; Jorge is still the main man here as everyone seems to know him. He smiles and talks to all the customers.

I got the Tacos de Birria con Nervio, man I love that tendon on top of those tacos.

Buttery tendon; nice beefy meat, seasoning and spices coming through, a fairly picante salsa, all in slightly crunchy, dipped, and fried tortillas (tacos dorados). Cilantro and onion, a squeeze of lime……and you're all set.

The consommé seemed to have more spices and was less beefy than I recalled, though it was just as rich. A touch of salt, squeeze of lime, some onions and cilantro for good measure and that "aaah" factor just came through.

As I mentioned in my post four years ago….I only wish this place was closer to home.

Good prices; very nice folks (not less than four people asked me how I enjoyed my meal), and delicious birria.

Fernandez Restaurant and Catering
2265 Flower Ave
San Diego, CA 92154
Hours:
Wed – Sunday 8am – 2pm

Breakfast at Supernatural Sandwiches:

**** SuperNatural Sandwiches has closed

So, I'm not sure if you saw this sign.

Yes, it says breakfast. Caught me totally by surprise. Though I gotta say they always have some new wrinkle.

The bummer was; breakfast is only from 9 to 11 am, Monday to Friday. How often am I able to get up here during those hours? Well, because of crazy scheduling and meetings close by, I was able to drop by around 930 and try a breakfast sandwich, one that held me all the way until dinner.

It was kind of strange seeing SuperNatural looking empty like this……

Anyway……now that I had a chance….why not have a "Sasquatch". I'm still waiting for the "Unicorn" BTW.

This was a good sandwich! I think it's the thick cut, not overly salty, griddled pastrami that really brought a lot of flavor and a bit of crispness to this, there was even a sneaky touch of spice hidden in his forest of food. Working in tandem with that buttery roll, this was an over-the-top sounding sandwich with flavors solidly rooted in what I expected.

Yes there's hashbrowns, but it went well with the egg and pastrami….which I wish was a bit more runny, but was decent.

Like I said….no lunch needed, this easily held me until dinner.

There are of course, always possible areas of improvement…..

–Like having moist towelettes, because these sandwiches are messy and I hate going to meetings with buttered-pastrami hands.

–I know these are young dudes, with probably great social lives….but I think they can manage to open at 9am on weekends and serve up some breakfast…..I really do.

–I'm still waiting for a sandwich that I know exists…..but I've never seen it….it must be invisible……of ham and pineapple flavor…. the Unicorn?

Well, at least I know Sasquatch exists, right? And it's pretty tasty…..

SuperNatural Sandwiches
7094 Miramar Rd. #122
San Diego, CA 92121

Nagoya – Morning Service, Yanagibashi Market, and Shikemichi Historic District

May 22, 2017 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Japan, Markets & Grocers, Nagoya, Travel

After hiking part of the Nakasendo Trail from Magome to Tsumago the day before; I was kinda bushed. The Missus though; was ready to go. She decided that we needed to check out Nagoya Castle. And we'd be walking there. As we crossed thru Nagoya Station, we noticed that even at around 730 on a Saturday morning, folks were milling around the "Golden Clock" right across from Takashimaya. This is the most popular meeting spot in Nagoya Station.

As we crossed the street and headed down Sakura-Dori; I spied this place on the lower level of one of the buildings.

The sign said "Morning Set – 390"; that's 390 Yes; about $3.50 for coffee and a small breakfast; something known as "Morning Service" and was created in Nagoya. We had first enjoyed at Komeda Coffee in Kamakura. Heck, we even splurged and got some "green juice" with our meal.

Which was just 100 Yen more. It was a satisfying start to the day.

Pronto Caffe & Bar
4-6-17 Meieki
Nakamura-ku, Nagoya

On one of the corners, the Missus pointed out a bit of hustle and bustle down a side street. It looked to be a market. I then remembered that Taka-san from Taisho had written down Yanagibashi Market as being a place we should check out in Nagoya.

It was indeed Yanagibashi Market; though things looked fairly calm when we arrived. Except for the 24 hour ramen stand…….

Since we weren't in any rush we spent some time wandering around the market.

I love checking out markets when we travel…….

The Missus ended up spending a couple of hundred bucks on tea during this trip. When the really nice guy running this tea shop waved us in….he knew what he was doing as he plied us with samples.

And the Missus ended up buying a couple of bags of tea from him.

Yanagibashi Central Market
4-11-3 Meieki
Nakamura-ku, Nagoya

For some reason, we took a left before the river. I was told to cross the Gojo Bridge on my way to Nagoya Castle, so we went down a street before the river.

A few blocks in we came across this shrine.

This is the Fuji Sengen Shrine.

We had noticed that the structures and the character of the street had completely changed.

According to the sign, this is Shikemichi Historic District.

When Nagoya Castle was being rebuilt in 1610; Tokugawa Ieyasu commanded that all the inhabitants of the previous seat of the Owari Clan, the city of Kiyosu move to Nagoya. So from I read all Sixty Thousand plus people moved to Nagoya. Moving houses, shrines, temples….everything.

This district is where the merchants used to live.

Several of the large buildings look interesting.

As do the windows. The street is also wider than in most historic districts.

In 1700, there was a huge fire which they called Genroku-no-Taika destroyed over 1600 structures and 15 temples and shrines. When planning the rebuilding of the city; Tokugawa Yoshimichi decided to widen the streets to a width of Four Ken, which depending on which source of conversion you use is about 23 feet wide as a firebreak.

So; "michi" means street; "shi" is four…..you get Shikemichi.

There are some nice little shops and cafes on the street; though most were still closed when we walked through

I'm not sure why we took the turns that we did. But I'm glad we did as we ran into things like this interesting looking shrine sitting on the roof of this building. According to the sign; these Shinto Rooftop Shrines are called "Yanegami" whose purpose is to ward off disease and disasters.

I hadn't really read much about historical Nagoya and folks I asked about the city really didn't tell me much in terms of history. So running into places like Shikemichi just adds that much more to things.

Soon enough we came to an intersection with modern buildings all around. To the left was the place we were looking for; the Gojo Bridge whose history dates back to 1610. The current structure was built in 1938.

We headed across the bridge; then left in the direction of Nagoya Castle. But who knows what would happen when we took a left after crossing the bridge? After all; we took a random left turn and ended up in Shikemichi!

Thanks for reading!

Dunkin’ Donuts- sandwiches and donuts

May 11, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Desserts, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Today, Cathy is writing; Kirk is busy (again) at work and Ed (from Yuma) is enjoying a beautiful spring day (in Yuma).

Its been a busy year so far. Since I tend to not plan ahead much, finding meals is an adventure and quite interesting. When leaving a quick breakfast stop at Winchell's in National City last month, I passed Dunkin' Donuts, two blocks West. Dunkin' began in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts and I remember a few locations in the Detroit area when growing up. Nothing stood out in those memories, though.

A mental note was made, research occurred, this location (2139 East Plaza Blvd, National City 91950) is open 24 hours and I had no excuse to not drop in.

Once I noticed one of the many door signs, indicating that "Dunkin' Donuts of San Diego are proudly owned and operated by local disabled military veterans", I felt good that the 'chain' concept was still local. As an aside, the location in Ramona (1410 Main Street, Ramona 92065, phone (760)789-0210, open daily 5 a.m.-10p.m.) is a combined Dunkin'/Baskin Robbins store. Anytime you stop in, a craving can be fulfilled.

So, there's a nice menu board with the third section a good choice of various sandwiches- the breads are Texas toast, croissant, flatbread and ciabatta.
The donut selection comes into full view once you get to the front of the line to order. There's quite a bit of seating in both of the locations I've been to.

The coffee here is very good. I've seen the ads, heard the raves, read about cravings for their coffee, but now know this for myself. For this visit, two basics. The "Big n' Toasted" ($4.29) Two eggs, bacon and cheese on Texas Toast. Wow. Unexpectedly overfilled with bacon, very good. Only ordering a simple grilled cheese ($1.99) and seeing there were two types of cheese on it (Swiss and a mild Cheddar), I 'borrowed' one of the eggs and made that grilled cheese sandwich special. It was really tasty. A side of hash browns (99¢) was a great choice (there were six in the bag; very flavorful with parsley mixed in the potato).
The ham, egg and cheese english muffin ($4.09) was another unexpectedly great choice. The ham, as you can see, is a better quality with thick slices and the sandwich was quite filling. Then there was this. It's right in the center of that third menu board. The 'Pretzel Croissant Breakfast Sandwich' ($3.79). The first two times I was here, the pretzel croissants were sold out. My lucky day, my wonderful breakfast. Crispy exterior; pretzel- topped with large grains of salt- fluffy flaky interior of an excellent croissant, filled with bacon, egg and Swiss. Oh wow, now I have another craving.

The donut choices, overwhelming and although fresh, not overly interesting. Chocolate Butternut and a French Cruller; both pretty basic. Good cake donut topped with 'butternut morsels'-not peanuts- and fresh cruller with egginess of the pastry. Small, just enough to go with coffee. There was a whiteboard of specials inside the Ramona location and a 'peanut butter delight croissant donut' ($2.49) sounded good and tasted better. The peanut butter was mixed with the regular Bavarian Cream filling (so not too sweet) and injected into the 'croissant donut'…which is a delightful conveyor of a crispy, light dessert.

So glad I rediscovered this childhood favorite.

Dunkin' Donuts, multiple locations nationwide Website

Tokyo – Breakfast at Yaesu Hatsufuji (again), Ueno Park, and Kitanomaru Park

April 20, 2017 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Tokyo, Kamakura, and the Kantō Region, Travel

After having a nice dinner in Tokyo the night before; we awoke nice and refreshed. We wouldn't be leaving for Nagoya until 130pm, so the Missus was really interested in checking things out. She was really excited about getting to see the Sakura. I'd been monitoring the Cherry Blossom Forecast and told the Missus we'd probably be missing things in Tokyo (until we returned) and Nagoya, but looked like we were on schedule for Kyoto. Still, I decided we should go to Ueno Park.

But first, breakfast. The Missus really enjoyed breakfast at Yaesu Hatsufuji on our last trip and wanted to eat the simple, but satisfying Japanese breakfast here again. We found a convenient locker, near the JR office, stowed our bags, and found the restaurant soon after.

It was still early, so we strolled around a bit. When we got back to the restaurant, there was already a line!

As the place opened, the line to the ticket machine moved quickly. We made our choices, paid, got our tickets…walked into the place, gave the woman our tickets and were guided to a table.

The Missus enjoys the tea that is provided. She went with the Natto Set (620¥) again; which She loves.

What really surprised me this time around was how good the sashimi was!

I got the Tonjiro Set (520¥), with the exchange rate a bargain at about $4.75!

The miso and pork based soup/stew was quite comforting, not too salty….in spite of being the end of March, there was still a bit of a chill in the air in the morning and this did the trick. Man, that rice was really good too……something that I notice about the Japan.

This place is a favorite of ours. I've posted on it before, so I'll leave it at that.

Yaesu Hatsufuji
Yaesu underground shopping center North 1, 2-1, Yaesu, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 103-0028

So, this is Japan. You eat and get the heck out of dodge….breakfast was less than 20 minutes long so it was not long before we caught the JR Yamanote Line, getting off in Ueno in less than ten minutes.

Ueno Park is pretty large, with a number of Museums and a Zoo on its property. But, we were here for the cherry blossoms. The thing that stuck with us the most about our visit here is learning about the phenomenon of the Hanami Party.

So Hanami basically means "flower viewing" and it's obvious that in this case it means Cherry Blossom viewing. But there's this kind of interesting, for us, a bit goofy, thing called a Hanami Party. Here it seems like folks reserve a spot….setting our plastic tarps to celebrate. It looks like someone needs to keep on the reserved bit of real estate until the party. Man, it was still pretty darn cold at night here…..that's kind of nuts. It does seem like the "spring renewal" has an effect on people….there's this infectious, well, goofiness that is all around. Hope springs eternal.

And for all the partiers, there're the folks who can't walk past a tree without taking a photo…..two interesting groups…..

And while things weren't quite perfect yet….those folks will probably be spending a few more cold nights sleeping on tarps in the park, the transposition of colors is still quite stunning.

I saw a small folded tarp with one guy lying on it….just enough space for him…..which is when I asked the Missus; "is there such a thing as a hanami party for one?"

Just ask the statue of Prince Komatsu Akihito.

It seems that it was all "Hanami" for us right now…….which distracted me from all else that Ueno Park has to offer.

Though I did take some time to check out a couple of things. Like the Hair Pagoda for Priest Tenkai……check out the link. It's an interesting story…plus, he lived to be 108!

And on Kiyomizu Kannon-do; the recreation of the Pine Tree of the Moon. Though I spy some food stalls on the path to Benten-do.

And based on all the food (and drink) booths around; this must be some kind of party at night……..

By this time, the Missus was ready to head back to Tokyo Station….though it was still early. So I thought we'd head out of the station.

And around the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace.

And over to Kitanomaru Park. Where we strolled around and saw two young ladies pushing carts with very young kids in it…..

It was fun watching the little ones having their day at the park……

We enjoyed walking the trails…..

Soon enough, it was time to head back to Tokyo Station. We decided to walk through the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace. This is the Tōkagakudō, the music hall…..

I think there were places open on this visit that were closed off the last time we were here. Of course, folks were enjoying the Cherry Blossoms here as well.

We got back to the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station and the Missus decided She wanted to try one of the "sakura" drinks at Tully's Coffee.

Which She enjoyed.

I guess that's the deal with spring here. Everything is born anew….hope is in the air….life begins…..and you have no choice but to enjoy it.

Thanks for reading!