Breakfast/Brunch – Page 31

KSandwich, Chow King, Valley Foods – Breakfasts with sausage (and no biscuits)

February 3, 2013 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

Hey. This is the food blog, mmm-yoso!!! Kirk is kind of busy, ed (from Yuma) is sort of busy and Cathy is crazy busy, but needs a bit of a diversion from things going on right now.

Here's a bit of a break from the Week of Sushi. Instead of raw seafood for lunches and dinners, pieces of efficiently butchered meats stuffed into intestinal casings and served for breakfast is the subject.

Not just plain old American breakfast sausage in a biscuit though. San Diego is a Melting Pot of people from all over the world, and the first meal of the day for many is usually comforting as well as convenient.

Stepping into K Sandwich, there is a printed menu item taped to the front counter as well as a placard on the counter at the register. " Trung Cha LX". Chinese sausage, pate, eggs on a (warmed) banh mi roll with pickled vegetable, jalapeño and cilantro ($3.50). The most expensive (and heaviest) sandwich here.

That's it – on the right. On the left is a ham, cheese and egg on a (fresh, warm) croissant ($2.75). Both are wonderful breakfast choices.

Here's a close up of a Trung Cha LX from another visit. The slices of the Chinese sausage are pretty thick, grilled nicely and a good amount. The eggs are scrambled hard and the combination of vegetable flavors with a mild pate is magically perfect.

I've tried many Chinese sausages, sold at every Asian market around and some are very sweet and have no other flavor and others are rich and include grain alcohol as an ingredient. All are kind of thin and don't take on much of a 'char' after being steamed and sauteed and I've had to slice them into odd shapes to get as much surface area as possible to sauté and make the sausages more flavorful. This is the brand K Sandwich uses; sold in the refrigerator section next to the bread and croissants and I do like it the best.

K Sandwiches 7604 Linda Vista Road at Mesa College Drive San Diego 92111 (858)278-8961

Chow King is a chain that began in the Philippines in 1985 and has made its way here, with four locations in San Diego County. I know it goes against my New Year Resolution (to make an effort to patronize local businesses), but the breakfast here fulfills all of my cravings…(not the All Day Breakfast in the sign, but this one:)

Rice, a basted egg, bangus (milkfish) and sweet longaniza, a chorizo-like sausage popular in the Philippines ($7). The bangus is sour with a vinegar base to it and the longaniza here has pineapple juice as its base. Longaniza is made with various spices related to the region: garlic-y, sour or sweet as well as with various meats as the base (chicken, beef and even tuna).

I purchase the fresh longaniza that you choose and cut individually at the fish counter area at Lucky Seafood. It's really good.

As an aside, other 'breakfast-y" items I like at Chow King are the Chicharap (shrimp chips), usually an add on for $1

and the "Taho", a tofu beverage usually served cold, but when you ask for it hot (and with no added brown sugar syrup) it arrives in a reusable container and is filled with boba as well as a silky tofu. This is comforting for me.

Chow King 8955 Mira Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92126 (858) 653-4977 website.

Then there is basturma, an air dried sausage similar to pastrami, that we had in a sandwich on the first day of 2013, at the House of Basturma in Pasadena.

We've been on a search for basturma in San Diego and found it sold -and served at breakfast- at Valley Foods in El Cajon. The breakfast plate ($6.99) includes sliced sauteed basturma mixed with fluffy scrambled eggs and is served with a (fresh, baked in the store) sammoon bread and plate of pickled turnips and onions, tomatoes and hot peppers. It is wonderful.

We've tried to recreate this meal at home, buying each type of basturma (lamb or beef) of the home made sausage and it's still better when prepared for us at Valley Foods (plus we can go shopping after we eat)…the eggs are unusually creamy, light and fluffy.

The basturma is a very solid (because it is air dried) sausage and the beef one has a bit of hot paprika in addition to the garlic, cumin and fenugreek spices. Both sausages are good and the same price ($7.99/lb).

There are other breakfast sausage options in the county: I'm researching. Hope you're enjoying the weekend!

Valley Foods 1275 East Main Street El Cajon 92021 (619) 749-8355 Website

Road Trip Weekend-(Pasa)Dena Burgers, some markets, meat by the side of the road and final 2013 Rose Parade float road test.

November 19, 2012 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Markets & Grocers, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for reading mmm-yoso!!! on this week of preparation, travel and beginning of holiday celebrations. Cathy is writing today. The guys (Kirk and ed(from Yuma)) are very busy.

This past Saturday was a busy (and exciting) day for us. The Mister and I woke early, let the dogs out, drove North, encountered rain and sunshine and got to Pasadena to enjoy the final day of Rose Parade float road testing before the actual parade (photos at the end of this post) and then drove North on Arroyo Seco, headed East on Orange Grove and saw this signage…and had to stop.

I liked the font…and right there on the corner of Orange Grove and North Los Robles, an angled building, to allow for drive through access while ordering from the passenger side of your vehicle-

Dena Burgers looked like a place to investigate.

Walk in, order and pay at one window,

and pick up at the other window.

We decided to go by the name of the place, and ordered a Breakfast Burger ($5.25)- a 1/4 pound burger, egg, cheese, lettuce, tomato and hash browns on a toasted bun. It was large and tasty, but kind of dry and we each added some ketchup at some point in eating our respective half.
A Machaca and eggs plate ($5.50) as well as some very good (Gavina) coffee completed this meal. The fresh tomato and crisp bell pepper as well as onion cooked with eggs and beef to a crusty brown, was really good (The salsa and onions on top were added from the condiment bar at the pick up window). The rice and beans were unusually tasty and the fresh, warm corn tortillas were a bonus.

Dena Burgers 445 E. Orange Grove Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91104 (626) 792-7035

When we finished, we walked across the parking lot to this grocery store.

Baja Ranch Supermarket was magical. I didn't take many photos inside, because it was quite crowded. There is a large steam tray area, deli area, excellent meat/poultry/seafood selection, tortilleria, bakery and produce area. There were extensive displays of chiles being sold here- dried in bags, in bulk and fresh. There items sold here include Mexican as well as Peruvian, Cuban and Salvadorean…and some American staples. We spent $21 and filled five cloth bags we had brought from home (this part of LA County charges for grocery bags).

Baja Ranch Supermarket 475 Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena 91101 website

We continued East, got to Sierra Madre Boulevard and

stopped at the Pasadena Farmers Market again.

We chose a few seasonal items…

Pasadena Certified Farmers Market, Sierra Madre at Paloma, next to Pasadena High School website

Then we headed East on the 210…and, remembering that H Mart was opening in San Diego that day, decided to check out what we figured would be an uncrowded H-Mart located close to where we were…

Upon entering the Diamond Bar location of a Super H Mart and turning to the right,

we encountered a large Food Court area… which included this little franchise-Deli Manjoo

which has a window where you can watch this conveyor belt baking system making sweet treats. We were given samples fresh off the griddle! You can get a mix of eight for $3…

You can see the walnut shapes are filled with red bean paste as well as a walnut. For Lucky Fish we chose two filled with custard and two filled with cream cheese. Deli Manjoo Website

We also picked up savory treats at The Tous les Jours franchise. Excellent and so very fresh! The young ladies working here were very helpful and the selection was amazing. Website

There were other vendors in the food court area..and small shopping areas on other walls of this large store- then there was the H-Mart store itself.

Clean, fresh, friendly. One thing we noticed that the ladies giving samples were set up at the aisle ends, which were specifically sample areas- outlets on the floor so electric pans could be easily heated for sampling. Combined with the available items in the 'regular' food aisles, H Mart is a great store. I can't wait to visit "ours". Generic H Mart website link.

Since it is Thanksgiving, we needed to pick up our smoked ham, or "meat by the side of the road" as I have fondly termed it.
Once again, the Valley Center Optimists have their trailer set up in front of Fat Ivor's and are selling smoked hams (whole and half) for Thanksgiving. They will also be selling hams for Christmas and Easter. We wait for this time of year to be able to purchase this ham.
Here is a cross section view of the smoked half ham ($35). My friend from Valley Center, Ms. T., picked hers up and warmed it so The Mister and I could have a slice when we drove by to pick up ours. Valley Center Optimists 760-390-4173

Oh. So this day began with the last day to see 2013 Rose Parade floats do their final road test of the year. I've posted about previous road test days…all the floats need to pass three tests before being allowed to drive down Pasadena streets on New Years Day.

When we got here, the Lions Club float was finishing the test drive.

The Honda float, very long and intricately detailed was parked and waiting in line to be tested. Those are steps leading to a slide that people will be sliding on during the five mile long parade route.
Here's a better view of the slide.
Here's an unusual view of another float…

and another float from a high viewpoint…

and here is another perspective of the front of the Honda float (see the slide?).

Those viewpoints are from above ground, because I was standing on-ON- the front of The Lutheran Hour float! Yes, The Mister and I were asked to participate in the road test and fire drill.

Here's the float after the fire drill. It had started to rain when we were testing…but had to pretend there was a fire anyhow.

We've never made a "Bucket List" of things we wanted to do, but if we had, this would've been on it- and checked off!

If anyone wants to know about volunteering to decorate a Rose Parade float, information is available HERE.

I hope everyone has a non-hectic week ahead.

#GoBlue

2013 Rose Parade Float Road Test-and breakfast at Euro Pane Bakery (Pasadena)

October 28, 2012 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy do things and eat, just like you. Today Cathy is writing about why, where and what she had for breakfast.

As you (may) know, The Mister and I grew up back East watching the Rose Parade from our snow covered homes on January 1 (or 2nd, if the 1st was a Sunday) for most of our childhood. At some point, we were able to fulfill one of our "when I grow up" goals. We have volunteered decorating floats for a few years now and know that the parade does not happen overnight. Planning for next year starts almost as soon as the parade ends. One of many steps is the "road test" of the floats. I've posted about the July and the August road tests from this year and skipped writing a post in September, but did, once again, wake at 4 a.m. (so the dogs could all be let out) before leaving our home in East County so as to be on Raymond Street in Pasadena at 7 a.m. to view the floats. We did it all over again on Saturday. So, here are some photos of the September and October road testing..and our breakfast.

The Banner Float-the first one you'll see, showing the Theme of the 2013 parade. It will have so many different items to match and contrast all the colors painted on here as guidelines.

The LAX float was just a shell of rebar in August. That's the new Tom Bradley Terminal, which will open in March.

The HGTV float last time was kind of difficult to picture, but now, all the different home styles are clear.

This little guy, in his own home, will be on the "camera" side of the float.

So those were the 'completed' floats from September.

After we saw all the road testing, once again, we stopped at Lucky Boy and pretty much ordered what apparently has become our "usual". I didn't think you'd be interested in another post, especially containing the same meal…

But I did think you might be interested in seeing a September road test of the rebar-only floats and the resulting October completed floats…

All we knew about this float was that it was the Farmers Insurance Group entry in the parade. It looks like some sort of centerpiece or that something will be featured on the top of the vessel.

It turns out that one lucky couple will be getting married on this float during the parade! (There was a contest to pick the couple, entries ended October 14). The people are on the float to test how it moves/turns with weight, as there will be people riding on the float during the parade.

In September, seeing this…

pulling this, with our only clue being this was the RFD-TV float, had us guessing what was what (other than we knew the front item was a tractor).

Amber waves of grain- so surprised to see such a beautiful result.

Here's the "camera" view…

The Donate Life float appears to be one long mobius ribbon forming hearts along the float. The riders will all be recipients or families of organ donors, as always.

<–This is a closer look at the float, while the riders were exiting on a fire drill.

There was only one 'bare' float being tested and I'll save it for next time. (Hint: Honda)

After this early day, we headed out to seek breakfast 'somewhere on Colorado Boulevard'.

and since it was before 9 a.m., only had to look where we saw vehicles parked…and Euro Pane Bakery looked like a nice place.

Not very large inside (I counted 12 two person tables, and one that could seat eight). When we arrived, only five tables were occupied.

The two photos show all of the display cases and breads available (those are very large macarons in the photo above). Of course, I didn't want any sweets, and chose a slice of spinach quiche:

It came with a currant filled eggy roll… fresh-soft and lightly chewy, which went well with the unsalted butter.

The quiche is very spinach-y, without addition of other flavorings (i.e., no onion or nutmeg). The custard part of the quiche was smooth and eggy, like flan (there was an opposite of a custard:spinach ratio in the pieces near the edge). The crust was light and flaky…and gosh, so fresh.

The Mister saw this item on the counter and asked what it was and the nice Lady said "ham and cheese". Turns out there was also bacon, onions and carrot inside this fresh, crispy crust. It was very much like an Alsace Onion Tart (or the Tarte d'Alsace sold at Trader Joe's), but rolled and inside a crust. The onion was a carmelized sweet and inoffensive (The Mister only eats onions if they are battered and fried or in French onion soup and he did eat some of these, although a nice stack was on the side of the plate when we traded.).

Both items were heated-in an oven in back-for us and brought out to our table. Heating made the flavors even better. I neglected to take the receipt and only know that these two items plus one coffee cost a bit less than $13. I must say the quality was there and the sandwich menu board looked extremely interesting…and now I wish I had grabbed a sweet, or a loaf of bread…

Euro Pane Bakery 950 East Colorado Boulevard, Suite 107 Pasadena, CA 91106 (626) 577-1828

PL Bagels-(Point Loma)

October 26, 2012 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches

This is mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are out and about running errands today. Cathy was out and about running errands and this place caught her attention. She is writing about it today.

A few years ago, I was working in the Point Loma area on an Election Day. When I had time to take a break, I stopped in this parking lot on Voltaire Street, anchored by this Stumps Family Marketplace, a 'fancier' Market. The Mister and I now make regular trips here, mainly to purchase their various house made sausages, which are coarse ground and have just the right amount of spices.

It's a very nice market, selling a good variety of items and I would shop here regularly if I lived closer. On the same block, but around the taco shop and in the next parking area East (closer to Point Loma High School) I discovered this humble looking bagel shop.

It's owned and run by a very nice Asian family who make what I think are the best bagels in the County.

Eight tables inside the building. A limited menu. A limited number of bagels made daily- usually sold out before 1 p.m. (the store opens at 6:30 a.m. daily). Bialy (my favorite) are made on weekends only. Mini bagels available for 35¢ each. These are not huge, fluffy, chain store bagels; each one does have a hole in the middle. Handmade, with great chew yet soft and always fresh is what is served here. I have heard people say the bagels here are as close to New York Style as you can get on this coast.

Toasted and with butter is how I've always enjoyed a bagel. You can see the size on these smaller (6 inch?) paper plates. The Mister's (on the right) is his favorite- a salt bagel. Mine is a (wheat) everything (white everything is also available). (I order an everything as a default because I am easily overwhelmed when having to choose, and an everything has a bit of…everything… on it.)

What really sets these bagels apart from others is this- this is a photo of the bottom of each bagel. The 'toppings' are really 'surroundings' of flavor. Just perfect.

I hope everyone is have a good weekend!

PL Bagels 3704 Voltaire Street, Suite 107 San Diego 92106 (619)223-4788 Open daily 6:30-1:00

Tip Top Meats- a breakfast revisit

October 22, 2012 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, German Restaurants and Food, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!! the blog with percolating posts. Today, Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are busy and Cathy is posting about a North County restaurant inside a grocery store.

Well, another year has passed and The Mister and I celebrated our eight days of birthday with many meals. (Our birthdays are seven days apart, and celebrating on the day of and on the day of makes it eight days when we deliberately do something a bit out of the ordinary.) For one breakfast, we drove to Carlsbad and Tip Top Meats, a German grocery store, which has a nice restaurant inside.
\

Yes, I've written only one post on Tip Top, coincidentally a birthday breakfast, even though we have enjoyed many lunches and dinners here. Vicky also wrote a post, which included some other menu items.

There is a small list of some meal items, located at the entrance.

Once inside, the grocery store is overflowing with various German and European sundries, condiments and side dishes. The vast meat counters are filled with a wide array of fresh meat choices-

-as well as smoked meats. We passed this area quickly, as there was no line at the cash register for the restaurant, ordered, paid and chose a place to sit.

The condiments on each table include mustard choices along with the usual catsup, Tapatio and A-1.

Soon, our meals were brought to us. The Mister ordered the Big John Breakfast ($7.98) Three eggs (over easy), potatoes and all you want meat. This first meat selection was the breakfast sausage and bacon.

Later, Polish sausage and Bratwurst were choices. (Ham, the other meat choice, wasn't ordered this day)

I decided to go all out and ordered the steak and eggs ($8.98) Two eggs, poached, and a Delmonico cut of steak, cooked rare-medium. Of course, we each asked for rye toast.

Very nicely poached eggs…the yolk was fresh, velvety,wonderful.

You can see the rare cooked,very tender cut of dry grilled steak in this photo. A perfect breakfast!

On the way out, we stopped at my favorite aisle, all licorice…my weakness…so many choices, all good.

Tip Top Meats 6118 Paseo del Norte Carlsbad 92011 (760)438-2620 Website

Road Trip-Pasadena. ( 2013 Rose Parade floats, Lucky Boy for Breakfast, shopping at Wholesome Choice)

August 19, 2012 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Markets & Grocers

Hello. This is mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. We write about food: eating food, cooking food and adventures related to food. Cathy is posting today: Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are busy doing something related to food.

Last month, I posted about a road trip The Mister and I made to watch Rose Parade floats having a road test. This past Saturday, we woke early (4 a.m.) and drove North, (leaving around 5 a.m.) and around 7 a.m., parked a block from Raymond Street,

where we could walk to a Starbucks and then continue across the Gold Line Trolley tracks

and be on Raymond Street, where the floats were already lined up and on their road tests.

The Shriner's float is painted-marked with all the areas ready to be covered by flowers. It should be magnificent.

The City of Los Angeles float will be an ode to LAX- the major airport and hub where many of us have connected.

It will be promoting the new Tom Bradley International Terminal which will open early in 2013.
The City of Alhambra float is complete and that center has a working fountain!

It looks like the City of Glendale float has 'searchlights' lighting the sky.

The HGTV float, which has also been welded in the last month, has many types of houses on it- I see a bird house and igloo shape and the back house in this photo is lowered, as part of the testing to see that it will fit under the street and signal lights along the Rose Parade route.

The Trader Joe's float, which was only a rebar outline in the July road testing, is complete and so detailed with many moving parts. This is the view of it you won't see- the side which will be away from the television cameras.

From this camera side view, you can see the giant orange thing is an espresso machine, a few more details and also that a 'gravy boat' is following the larger boat of a float…and the back of the main float has a hand mixer (with spinning blades) and cracked eggs, and appears to have been blending up a fluffy meringue at the back of the boat.

Here's a little more detail at the center: a hand held can opener is in front of the espresso machine and under the open cookbook. This float is most certain to win a prize; it is unique and so well done.

So after we viewed these seven floats, The Mister and I walked back across Arroyo and North a block and we were once again at Lucky Boy.

(This is the view from the Trader Joe's)

Once again, creature of habit, I ordered the egg sandwich ($3.25) but neglected to ask for it on rye bread, and it was on white toast..not bad and still filling, it's just that I really like rye toast. I swear it is three scrambled eggs.

The Mister tried the bacon burrito this time, and I wanted you to see the grill marks on the tortilla, as well as the amount of filling which really does make it weigh around a pound- cheese, hash browns, eggs and …bacon!

We did walk over to the Trader Joe's and purchased some Goddess salad dressing, which I had read about (it is good; has tahini, soy and garlic). Then we were headed home, and decided to drive on the 210 toward Interstate 15 for our trip South…

knowing that if we took the 210 to the 57 to the 71 and went West on 91 (instead of East, which goes to the 15) and three or four exits, we would be at the Anaheim Hills location of Wholesome Choice, a fascinating Market which I posted about more than two years ago.

The store has good prices and selection of fruits and vegetables

as well as several areas of various ethnic cuisines in steam trays for easy grab and go.

as well as gelato,

and six glassed bakery cases…

There is also the area I migrated to- the olives (although those figs stuffed with coconut on the left caught my eye)…

and the various house prepared salads, including hummus and baba ganoosh, which were purchased…

along with *hot* out of the oven, almost three feet long, just baked , placed on a piece of brown paper

sesame covered, spongy soft, bubbled and a little burned fresh Sangak bread ($2.79). The bread lasted four meals, only because we resisted tearing off pieces while driving home.

We were home by 12:30 and had a great Saturday adventure. I hope all of you did, too.

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

Wholesome Choice 5755 East La Palma Anaheim Hills, CA 92807 (Open 7-11 daily) (Food Court area open 11-8 daily) website

Breakfast of Champions – Oahu edition Redux: Kapiolani Coffee Shop, Harry’s Cafe, and Diner’s Waimalu

August 13, 2012 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Honolulu, Loco Mocos, Oahu, Travel

Even though my first "Breakfast of Champions" post is probably the most spammed (somehow appropriate) post on our blog, I couldn't help but do a follow-up. Here's the breakfasts I had during my last trip home.

Kapiolani Coffee Shop:

I really got a kick from the very old-school atmosphere at Kapiolani Coffee Shop during my oxtail soup stop, that I went back just to see what breakfast was like.

There were no customers when I arrived, and was directed to exactly the same table I had sat at before….funny, yeah?

I got a cup of coffee while I looked over the menu…..yep, this place is old school all right, the cup o'joe tasted like it had been sitting around since I was in high school! Man, it was like mud….the real friendly guy kept wanting to refill it, but I just kept telling him, "no need" and making up some excuse like, "my docta' said I got to cut down on da' caffiene, no good fo' my heart" and stuff like that. Yeeeesh……

I hoped that my loco moco fared better and it did.

The kitchen bouquet gravy could have used a bit more salt and the eggs were a bit past how I want my easy-over eggs to be, but this wasn't bad at all. The hamburger patty had been pressed on the griddle developing a nice char, but the gravy balanced out the possibility of a dry burger. Not bad at all.

But what I enjoyed the most was the mac salad.

it had just the right amount of salt and mayo and was nicely chilled. I actually wanted to order more mac salad…..but how would I explain, since I supposedly had "one bad ticka'"…..no coffee because of a cardiac problem and I'm there eating like three scoops of macaroni salad??? Would have been a bit odd….so I decided just to enjoy what I had.

Kapiolani Coffee Shop
98-020 Kamehameha Hwy
Aiea, HI 96701

Harry's Cafe:

Harry's Cafe, on Waimanu street, just a block and a half from Kapiolani has a bit of a cult following. The place is a total hole-in-the-wall and very divey….the type of places that "butt crack guys"…you know, the fellows who work the trades, stop and devour a ton of calories before heading to work.

They are also famous for a 99 cent breakfast……..

I was a bit late for the special, but decided to drop by for breakfast anyway. The place was pretty busy when I arrived. Four movers were eating a massive amount of food on one table….at the bar, a pretty seedy looking couple talked toeach other real loud….the woman kept half running out of the place to get "some fresh air"….yeah, right. They ended up sharing two pancakes and one cup of coffee! Every time they spoke real loud, the movers would all turn and give them the "stink eye".

I really got a kick out of the labeling for the sugar dispenser……makes me wonder if someone once mistook this for salt ot visa-versa???

I believe that "Harry" retired a while back and sold the place to the very nice Korean woman, whose name is Christy if I recall.

I was pretty hungry and went with the Corned Beef Hash Loco Moco.

Honestly, not the best breakfast I've ever had….the yolks of the eggs had broken, the gravy was somewhat gluey, and the corned beef hash was too soft and mushy, with no caramelization. It also tasted kinda funky……after reading this post on Kat's Blog, I'm pretty sure it wasn't my canned corn beef of choice either.

But heck, it was reasonable and gave me more than enough calories for the shopping I needed to do for the Missus.

Harry's Cafe
1101 Waimanu St
Honolulu, HI 96814

Hours:
Mon-Fri 6am – 3pm
Sat 7am – 2pm
Sun 7am – 12pm

Diner's Drive In Waimalu:

**** This location of Diners has closed

On the day I was to leave for home, I left the in-laws pretty early. I still had some shopping to do and I wanted to hit up at least one place for lunch. Anyway, I wanted to check email and stuff and needed a wi-fi connection so I stopped in Waimalu at Starbuck's. As I walked to Starbuck's, I could hear Diner's calling me. It was early, I was a bit hungry so why not?

When I entered, I noticed two of the "bruddah's" each eating on a different table had two styrofoam containers open and were eating from both. It didn't register until I opened up my $6.95 breakfast.

Do they sell "small" eggs? Check out the size of the eggs compared to the three, fairly thin slices of Portuguese Sausage. No wonder those guys were eating two plates!

The woman working the counter was very nice though……not much else to say…..

Diner's Drive-In
98-1277 Kaahumanu St
Aiea, HI 96701

So there you go…….a trio of breakfasts and a ton of calories….and I still lost weight! Go figure!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You can see the driver in this photo.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

to Arroyo Parkway and took a left,

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

Anyhow, Lucky Boy. Walk up, order…

pay and wait for your number to be called…

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

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

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

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

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

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

COMC: Chinese Breakfast at Chin’s Miramar

July 1, 2012 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Chinese Restaurants

**** This location of Chin's has closed

I realize that my last two posts were pretty wordy, combing for almost 3000 words….a bit too much. So I decided that it was time for a COMC (Clearing out the memory card) post.

Just about all photos here. Since Ba Ren closed, this is just about the only place we go to for Chinese in San Diego. Not always the best, but I do enjoy several dishes on the breakfast menu…..not a real big fan of dinner, though. One thing that's really nice for folks who were worried about having to deal with a Chinese only menu….which for me is a non-issue since most folks here are nice and helpful. They now have a handy dandy photo based menu…….

For more info, I guess you can read my previous posts, including the stuff from way back in 2006.

Only photos from here……..

Chin's Seafood & Grill
9355 Kearny Mesa Rd
San Diego, CA 92126

Breakfast from 930am to 230pm Saturday and Sunday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My meal came with two fresh made egg rolls.

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was foggy and misty and peaceful.

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

where a cute door handle greets you…

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

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

The pie?

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

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

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

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