Breakfast/Brunch – Page 36

Dublin Square – Breakfast

January 7, 2008 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Pubs and Pub Grub

**** Dublin Square has closed

I wish I could remember the name of the person who told me that Dublin Square, one of several Irish Pubs in the Downtown/Gaslamp area serves Irish Breakfast. So first off, my sincere apologies for not remembering, I went through my old emails trying to find the rec, but couldn't find it. And it was an interesting series of emails, the first making a recommendation, and a week later a follow-up, letting me know that the food and service on the second visit was not up to par, and expressing some reservations about the recommendation. I had to give the emailer credit; She really took Her recommendations seriously!

So a few months ago, I decided to have breakfast at Dublin Square.

As I've noted in previous posts, I enjoy walking around the Gaslamp on weekend mornings. The contrast between the hectic workday crowds and tourist/nightclub scene is quite drastic. Beyond the lysol, and other "post-nightclub" smells, things are fairly mellow.

I arrived at Dublin Square at about 715am…. I was the first customer(surprise !) on this Sunday morning. The sleepy hostess walked me to a table, where a much too cheerful(for 7am on a Sunday) and smiling Server handed me a menu, and a drink list the size of a good sized book. As much as I tried, even using the "it's noon somewhere in the world" rationalization, I couldn't bring myself to order a drink.

After placing my order, I had a good chance to look over the interior.

Much like The Field one block away, from the panelings and decor, Dublin Square aims for a "genuine Irish Pub" look. At least in the minds of many, what a genuine Irish Pub should look like.

After perusing the menu, it didn't take me very long to figure out what I was going to order……..It was going to be the Irish Breakfast($12.95), of course, enough food to last me a whole weekend.

From the eggs to the white and black sausage, this was, beyond any doubt a major cholesterol and fat fest.

So lets see, where to start….well the basic "full breakfast" is basically bacon and eggs. In this case, the eggs, ordered easy over were fine, though I enjoy mine with a bit more "color" around the edges.

The "bacon" was according to the menu Irish Bacon from Ireland:

And this was indeed lean pork loin, much like what we know as "Canadian Bacon" or back bacon. The flavor of this was very mild, and not overly salty, it was quite tough and chewy.

The baked beans were full on canned….it had Heinz written all over it.

The "Banger" or sausage, was very meaty, and moist, but tasted very much "Jimmy Dean-ish", and was nothing special. I'm a big fan of good Black Pudding, which this was really not. No richness, no nice flavor of herbs and seasonings. It was much better than I thought it would be though.

I'd never had White Pudding before, this one tasted mildly of oatmeal, and was quite "grainy".

The fried bread was crumbly and greasy….funny thing, all of the sausages were not greasy at all, which I thought was rather nice, but that fried bread was a bit too oily for me. I'd preferred soda bread.

The roasted potatoes were okay, nothing special, but I haven't met too many potatoes that I didn't like. In case you were feeling a bit of guilt over the food, some fried tomatoes may help sooth your mind….or maybe the one piece of lettuce garnish?

Since I was the only customer until just before I left, my coffee cup was always filled, and I was checked on several times. In the end, I really couldn't complain at the amount of food for the price(especially for the location). It wasn't quite what I expected….but what did I really expect? I did return home and entered into a very deep hibernation. So the next time you're up to, or need your entire weekend's fat and cholesterol in one meal, you may want to check out the Irish Breakfast at Dublin Square…..I think it is enough for two.

Dublin Square Irish Pub & Restaurant
554 4th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101

Serving Breakfast M-F: 7am – 2pm
Sat-Sun 7am – 3pm

Las Vegas Road Trip…Green Valley Ranch Resort breakfasts and National Finals Rodeo

December 19, 2007 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Las Vegas, Nevada, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog about food…and stuff. I get to follow the soon to be infamous delightfully titled (and photographed) post by ed from Yuma. Here is more of a "stuff" post, with some food thrown in.

Hello, again. So…last weekend, Ms. T and I drove to Las Vegas and (again) stayed at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, just Southeast of the Strip. It is my annual "Two days away from home when I get to take a bath and watch rodeo cowboy athletes"-seriously. That tub is wonderfully huge and the room is luxurious. The bed has high thread count sheets and a down duvet
topped and bottomed with sheets, creating a wonderfully warm thermal effect…and the room is solid, safe and silent, and, this time, had a view of not only the "beach" and pool areas, but also the sunrise against the hills to the West of town. (Click onto the smaller photo, look at top left- the edge of the pool is a gradual entrance of sand)

Since Ms. T drove the whole way there, she was very tired the first night and stayed in her room to wind down and I was on my own, so just walked over to "The District" next to the Hotel and looked at the Christmas decorations, window shopped and then went back to the casino and gambled a bit .
When I went to my room, I was hungry, having only eaten breakfast with The Mister before we left and then the snacks I had packed for the drive over…but it would be time for breakfast soon enough and Ms. T. and I had no plans to meet until 9 a.m., so I ordered Room Service to be delivered at 6 a.m.
"The European Breakfast, for one"…The top left napkin had a wonderful fresh, light, buttery, crispy croissant inside of it…There were assorted dried meats (roast beef, salami and Prosciutto) two large chunks of Brie, Greek olives, assorted fresh fruits (melon, grapefruit, blueberries, strawberries) the pot of coffee (that ended up being four cups) with real cream, fresh grapefruit juice, the butter pats in the bottom left corner and grape jam and strawberry preserves. It was wonderful and with a room service charge and non-optional 20% gratuity, set me back $33. There was a lot of food I saved for my later afternoon snack…a lot. This was a tray for one. It was way more than enough.
So, Ms. T and I went shopping at the Cowboy Christmas and then to lunch and then back to the hotel and met later to drive to the Rodeo.
The opening ceremonies, where all the participants, line up and ‘salute’ the audience with a tip of their hats is always a good memory. The National Finals Rodeo is a ten day event, and the participants are the top 15 of each competition from the past year. The competitions (Bareback riding, cattle roping, saddle broncs, team roping, women’s barrel racing and bull riding) are held between those top 15 people daily and on the tenth day, after the cumulative scores are counted, then "Best of the Best" are awarded the National Championship (and a corresponding large belt buckle).

All in all, a very nice Day 5 of the NFR .

The next morning, we heard it was raining in San Diego and did not want to drive too early, to avoid any possible "black ice" on the road in the Cajon Pass, so we went to the Breakfast Buffet at "Feast" inside the Green Valley Ranch Resort Casino Hotel.
Ms. T. got an assortment of the exotic offerings- a breakfast burrito and quesedilla, eggs, chorizo and stew.

And I was still in that "European" mode and chose an onion bagel, cream cheese, smoked fish, smoked salmon, onions, tomatoes, some assorted cheese slices, pickles…oh, and that pear.
Then I went back for more "traditional" stuff- scrambled eggs (with my selection of toppings from the salad and salsa bar), bacon, sausage, ham, and a biscuit with sausage gravy.
Ms. T. went back and tried a blintz, a crepe and a slice of cheesecake.
All of the food here is excellent and fresh. The all you can eat breakfast is $7 and includes beverage.

Then we started our drive back to San Diego, stopping in Baker…
But, not here…
I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Oh, I did eat when we were at the Rodeo, just a snack of chicken fingers(nice and crispy and slightly spicy crust not needing the dip, but the hot sauce was nice after a while) and garlic fries ($6) (Fried potato-not quite crispy enough- with a dollop of fresh garlic and parsley on top….needed to be dipped in the ranch dressing)and this horrible $6 glass of Budweiser…

Perry’s Cafe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Open Daily 6am-2pm

Cheese Shop Deli- Downtown breakfast and lunch

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

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

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

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

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

Except for the prices, of course.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sam Woo BBQ Part One-Breakfast!

September 16, 2007 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Part Two is here

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog that was started by Kirk, an Ex-Pat Kama'aina. He is on vacation. The Temp, Cathy, a White girl from Detroit and East San Diego County is blogging for now.

Hi, again. As part of my thinking about a "regular rotation" for The Mister and I, stopping into Sam Woo inside 99Ranch Complex for something to go or to eat inside the restaurant comes to mind.

Sam Woo BBQ has breakfast ($3.20 for all items, a choice of 33 different salty wonders, with a charge of 30¢ for a pot of tea, or 30¢ each for a cup of Vietnamese coffee-which I will explain soon) and lunch specials (either $4.95 or $5.95) seven days a week. I will post about lunch tomorrow.

So, anyhow, we went to breakfast this morning.

We got the only rice dish on the menu, #33. Fried rice with Lunch meat (i.e., fake Spam). It is always satisfying, and plentiful, made with peas, carrots and egg as well as the bits of Luncheon meat. We usually take some home to have later- for lunch or dinner. Sometimes we get the #1- stir fried rice noodles with Luncheon meat-same stuff but with noodles.

This day we also got #2 on the menu- Fried rice noodles with bean sprout and soy sauce. This is a favorite- the wide rice noodles, stir fried and slightly burnt, with onions and bean sprouts and in a light, not salty tasting soy flavored sauce.

We, of course always order three dishes (one for each of us and one for the table) and this day got the #10-Won Ton Noodle soup. This is always a favorite. The whole bottom of the bowl is all egg noodles and there are some pieces of bok choy in the rich, rich pork broth that has a slight white pepper kick to it. There are always five dumplings, thin skinned and filled with a lot of great pork filling. The #11- shrimp dumpling soup is the same but the dumplings had half the amount of pork filling and a whole shrimp inside. Some days, it depends on what we want to eat.

There are 6 different porridges on the menu, but Sam Woo does not make the fried donuts that go with porridge. You have to walk across the hallway into the 99 Ranch Market and go to their steam tray area and buy the donuts for 40¢ each. I see families sitting down, ordering and then one person running out the door to get donuts all the time.

Ah, one of the perks of breakfast here. 30¢ pots of tea and 30¢ cups of Vietnamese coffee- it is made in an electric drip coffee pot and not the traditional Vietnamese slow drip pot, but is just as strong, and served with the nifty pitcher of sweetened condensed milk that will 'cut off' the thick sticky substance and works perfectly to keep that sweetened condensed milk from getting all sticky on the container. They don't do refills on the coffee, but one cup, along with the tea is just perfect for me for breakfast.

A nice, inexpensive, wonderfully salty breakfast in a sit down restaurant. It is a great way to start the day. If you have to go grocery shopping, just walk across the hall.

Sam Woo BBQ inside 99Ranch Complex 7330 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92111 (619)505-9888 fax (619)514-8988 (The paper handouts all have the 619 area code; I am not sure if this is correct; if you are trying to call and it doesn't go through, try 858 as the area code)Breakfast 9:00 -11:00 a.m. M-F, 8:30-11:00 a.m. Sat-Sun

Solunto Bakery in Little Italy- Breakfast and snacks and baked goods

July 24, 2007 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Solunto has closed. It will be missed.

mmm-yoso is being blogged by Cathy today. Kirk is doing something else. Ed is sweltering.

Hi, again. The Mister and I were downtown early on Saturday morning and wanted breakfast. We have a few "regular" spots we like to go to before the crowds (and parking meters) kick into gear, and since I do blog about the foods I eat…here we go!

Solunto Bakery on India Street. Been there forever. They supply the bread to most of the Italian restaurants- in a par baked form- so it is always fresh. We go to the source.

Technically the food area in the back is "Honey Bee Ltd." It is run by the same ladies who work in the bakery. They use the same cash register.

The red menu is the breakfast menu; the middle one is the sandwich and specialties menu and the third, more yellow one is the bakery items price sheet. (Click onto any photo to enlarge)

I got the spinach and cheese two egg omelet ($6.95) It comes with the potatoes and a fresh roll and butter. You can watch the ladies crack the eggs and make the omelet and grab a par-baked Frenchette roll and warm it in the convection oven. (You can buy the par baked frenchettes for 40¢ each or $4.35/dozen).

You can see from this cross section that there is plenty of fresh spinach inside the omelet. The cheese was a mild cheddar. The potatoes are nicely crispy on the outside and flavorful, soft on the inside…olive oil for cooking, Not overly buttery. Of course the Frenchette is excellent. Crispy outside, with a great sesame flavor in every bite.

The Mister saw the calzone in the refrigerator case and asked if we could have one heated up for breakfast…of course we could! ($5.95)

As you can see, it is filled with ham, pepperoni and capicola as well as the nicest, creamiest, freshest ricotta and mozzarella I have had in a long time, surrounded by that wonderful handmade crust. The sauce for dipping was a very nice tomato based one, with a slight amount of garlic and olive oil added. Just right. Tastes so fresh.

The regular coffee here is, meh, and the cappuccino is better with breakfast, but we knew we were heading to the New Downtown Albertson's (it has a Peets inside) and so we just got a regular coffee on this day.

We always get something par baked ( panini are 55¢ each or $5.75/dozen or a demi loaf $1.75), but I didn't take a picture and since it is Tuesday, well, it's gone.

Occasionally, as it says on the menu, they have Sfingi for 25¢ each or 5/$1 and I grab them up when I can…(basically small fried donut holes, made with orange and lemon zest- usually eaten for the Feast of San Guiseppe- and sometimes stuffed with a ricotta mixture if you get it from a Good Italian Home)(The Mister and I had some from this teensy bakery in Naples, still warm, and it brings back good memories to taste the warm orange/lemon flavoring in a lightly fried dough…)

Solunto Bakery and Honey Bee Ltd. 1643 India Street San Diego 92101 (619) 233-0881

Arely Again-A revisit to a really good French Bakery Cafe

July 13, 2007 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, European Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso, the blog. This is it. Cathy blogging today; Kirk is resting; Ed is in Yuma.

Hi again. I’ve been under the weather, because of the weather, and didn’t feel much like eating out anywhere in the last week (let’s politely say phlegm was involved and leave it at that).

Looking at Kirk’s post about his Bun Bo Hue dossier, I noticed he mentioned his "regular rotation" and started thinking about it. The Mister and I eat at Arely a lot, not for the atmosphere (5 tables, plastic plates and cutlery) but because of the food. It is very good and quite authentically French. In fact, the last time we were here (a couple of Saturdays ago), three people in front of us all were speaking in French to each other, ordering in accented English and then while we were waiting for our food, another group of three people also speaking only in French were also getting food to eat there. Lots of people get food to go, many cakes are preordered and picked up.

Here is a link to my previous post on Arely. I noticed I said I would talk about breakfast and so here is the follow up.

Here is a copy of the glossy menu you can pick up inside. (Click on any photo to enlarge). It’s the same menu as is on the wall that I had in the previous post.

Let’s start out with something simple, basic. An almond croissant. Sure, I sort of cut it open to show you a cross section in this photo. You can’t feel the weight of it or the fact that it was still warm, with crispy layers-delicate layers of dough, the sweet layer of homemade marzipan-honey mixed with finely chopped almonds, or..oh, look…that filling…it is chopped almonds.

Here, how is this photograph? Hand chopped, thin slivers of almonds, still crispy, sweet. Oh, did I say it was still a warm pastry at 10 a.m. on a Friday morning?…hmmm…what did I forget to tell you? Oh, it costs all of $1.50, as do the muffins, apple turnovers, danishes, scones, and walnut raisin snails. The ‘fancy’ Deserts (Napoleons, creme brule, tiramisu, eclairs (chocolate and vanilla) St. Michele, raspberry chocolate mousse, horseshoes, montmartre, opera cake and cheesecake and a chocolate mousse cake) are each the staggering price of $2.95. It is all made here. Fresh.

This loaf of multi grain bread is$2.60. It is very good bread. Hearty, chewy. Different from the baguettes, which have a nice crispy crust. Fresh.

I know, it is not "extraordinary" as far as the location and ambiance goes. You pay, dearly, for that privilege. This place has excellent, fresh made food and pastries and breads. I shant discuss other bakeries here. I know what is good as well as what is excellent and what I will pay for good and excellent.

Ah, breakfast- here are two omelettes

Each costs $5.95 and came with the 5 slices of baguette and side, as shown.

The one on the left is with the fresh fruit (melon, cantaloupe, strawberries, orange slices and apple slices). Each fruit was extremely flavorful and at its peak. The cantaloupe was the most flavorful one I have had this year. The omelette on the right is shown with the side of home potatoes (sauteed with skins on with some onion and..hmmm… I think it was butter).

Ah, innards.

This one is the ratatouille – eggplant, zucchini, tomato and Herbes de Provence . Really good Herbes de Provence- as in you can taste the lavender herb quite clearly. Fresh herbs, fresh sauteed vegetables.

The omelettes are made with real eggs; I did bite on a piece of eggshell near the end of this meal. It just was reassuring that my taste buds, realizing how fresh the egg tasted, were not playing a trick on me.

This is the ‘why play games?’ omelette- spinach and blue cheese. Oh yes. You kind of need those pieces of baguette to fully appreciate the melted blue cheese.

Please look at the previous post to see the French Onion Soup as well as quiche and sandwich choices we had one day. Then, just go.

Arely French Bakery Cafe 4961-A Clairemont Drive 92117 (next to Pick Up Sticks and Woodie’s- you can see the Krispy Kreme and Outback just across the parking lot) (858)270-1910 Mon-Sat 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Sun 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Cafe 67-Great, plentiful food at the end of the freeway!

May 19, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is the blog and you are looking at it. Today’s information is provided by Cathy. Kirk is on vacation.

Hello,again. Cathy here. I was talking with a friend, Mrs. L, who told me I had to try this place, located at the end of Highway 67. I was trying to think to myself ‘where does a Highway end?’…and it occurred to me that on Highway 67 in Lakeside, once you hit Mapleview Street with the Rodeo on the Northeast corner, there is a traffic signal. The Highway does indeed end, goes down to one lane for a while and then vacillates from one to two lanes up to and through Ramona and to Julian and it is all called 67. So, indeed, Highways do stop being Highways at some point.

I had seen the sign in front of the old Pernicano’s, on that Southwest corner of Mapleview at 67, one day in February and had made a mental note that I should try it out one day, when I was in the area again. I did pass it a few more times, but always was alone and not overly hungry, and it kind of looks a little too new and gimmicky and I didn’t want to go inside alone to eat. So I waited. Then Mrs. L told me about *how* good it was, and that we should go there one day, soon. She even gave me a paper menu she had taken from the restaurant (she did not know I did this blog, which made her recommendation make me take note). Well, first thing I noticed is that the entire menu is available "To Go". Shoot me now. Then I noticed they are only open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.. Hmmm…limited cuisine. I like that.

So, this past Saturday, The Mister and I decided to head East, to the Santee Swap Meet, instead of west and Kobey’s Swap Meet. Of course, we were hungry and wanted breakfast. I decided to try the basic:

One poached egg, Monterey potatoes(shredded potatoes with Jack cheese and herbs), bacon and rye toast with coffee, of course. ($5.50)

The bread was a nice, thick marble rye- I imagine the one they use to make the lunch sandwiches. The bacon was thick and crispy, the way I like it. The egg was poached and still runny with a very fresh orange colored yolk …and, wow! those Monterey potatoes. I have had the pre-made reheated, Sysco’d Monterey cakes and I like them. These were made from freshly shredded potatoes, had evenly dispersed shredded Monterey Jack cheese and the herbs were a nice blend; perhaps Herbes De Provence, but I am not certain.

The Mister could not decide, and got "The Works" Omelet ($7.75) with the home fried potatoes (That is almost half a plate of red skinned potato quarters, topped with cheese) and a biscuit, served with either country gravy or honey.

The omelet was made with at least three eggs, filled with ham, bacon and sausage, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions and cheese (The Mister asked for no onions and it was no problem). The bacon and ham were nice and thick and cut into nice sized pieces and the breakfast sausage was crumbled and excellent. The home fried potatoes were superb. Prepared simply and were so fresh tasting and wonderful, especially with that cheese. That biscuit- oh my!. Definitely made from scratch, shortening based, baking powder. Wonderful, light, large and if I do say so, perfect!

This place seems to always be busy yet service is great, attentive and fast. I have seen buses stop here on weekdays; some sort of regular, local tour group it seems to be. There is a larger side room and I saw that the Local Rotary Club meets here also.

The only downside- I confess, I am a coffee snob. It was fresh coffee, but either Folgers or Farmer John brand and I just don’t like the flavor. It was served with real half and half though, in those cool coffee cups. That kind of made up for it all.

We saw several tables getting lunch menu items, sandwiches in particular which were *huge* and looked really good. If made with the same bread I had for toast, they were a good size and at minimum, great bread. From what I have heard, everything here is good, and I believe it. Thanks for telling me to try this, Mrs. L! If you happen to be in Lakeside,or just traveling through it, on 67, do stop in. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Cafe 67 12381 Mapleview at Highway 67 Lakeside, CA 92040 (619) 443-4100 Open daily 6 a.m.-3 p.m.

Arely French Bakery Cafe- Excellent food!

April 23, 2007 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, European Restaurants, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy is just letting you see some of her meals, versus Kirk showing you what He ate.

Hi again. The Mister and I were on a quest for some weird items the other day (among them, helium quality balloons and an Old Maid card game), and ended up at the 99 Cent Only store in Clairemont Mesa mall. When we were leaving, of course I was hungry and I looked over at Woody’s Hot Dogs, where I have enjoyed a few good meals. (I still can’t figure out how to put up a link to the post that Kirk did on Woody’s. Look it up under the "hot dogs" section of the blog on the left column here; and, really, we have heard all the Woody jokes already). I noticed on the corner right on the other side of the parking lot, the old Liquor store was gone and a pick Up Stix was in its place. Then I looked for the Viking Bakery and it, too, was gone and in its place was this signage.

Now for some reason, I have been seeing and going to a number of French Bistro places around the county lately and had intended to go back and blog them, but hadn’t had the time Fortunately, I had my camera with me, so here it goes.

This one, Arely, is the smallest of all I have gone to, but also the least expensive. There isn’t much atmosphere,but the food was *excellent*, and I mainly talk about the food in this blogging forum, so that is what I will concentrate on.

There are 3 tables inside, two tables out in front and the menu is on the wall (in all the other French Bistros I have gone to, there is a menu you can sit down and read, then you go up and order and sit back down again). This way, at Arely, is fine though.

We decided to try some "basics" to see how well it was done.

The Parisien sandwich-ham with Brie, lettuce and tomato on a baguette ($4.50). The bread is fresh made in the store. The ham was black forest, and excellent, and, I dare say, too much ham was in the sandwich…the Brie was not warm, but cut into chunks with the rind and I could taste it, and it was good. I would have been happy with just the Brie and bread, actually…and the lettuce was crispy and tomato slice had flavor (unusual these days).

We got a wedge of the spinach and cheese quiche- only $2.95. A quarter of the made in store quiche, filled with fresh spinach, a nutty flavored swiss cheese, creamy eggy custard, nutmeg and a delightful, light crust. They offer 3 flavors a day the spinach and cheese, ham and cheese and vegetable) and you can buy a whole quiche for $12…of course, I would just buy 4 individual slices…(this is when Basic Math comes into play in real life).

We also wanted to try the French Onion soup ($3.50), since it is a French Cafe… DO NOT be put off by the styrofoam cup. The ambiance is the *only* thing lacking here. You are not paying for it, you are paying for good food, and that is what you get.

The soup was superb; filled with a fresh herb-y, beefy broth topped with slice of fresh bread and more of that wonderful swiss cheese (it tasted close to Jarlsberg, so nutty in flavor).

The bakery items are made in store and are beautiful. I saw one person eating an omelet and it was quite large. I will go back for breakfast.

This place has excellent food. If you are going to the movie theater just on the other side of the mall, this is a place to go to either before or after. They have just extended their hours (used to be open only until 3 p.m.). Give it a try, you will not be disappointed.

Arley French Bakery Cafe 4961-a Clairemont Mesa ( in the Clairemont Mall at Clairemont and Clairemont Mesa; Two places down from Woody’s Hot Dogs) Open 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Mon-Sat, 7:30 – 6:00 p.m. Sunday

Breakfast and furniture shopping under one roof- Ikea!

April 22, 2007 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Chains, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy is back with documentation of meals she ate and Kirk is taking a breather.

Hi. I seem to have been Missing In Action for a good part of this year, but now am back to blogging.

So, one morning I was in desperate need of ice cube trays, for a small project I was doing, and recalled that Ikea had a nice selection of interestingly shaped ones. Yeah, that’s why we went to Ikea, hahaha!

For those of you who are not familiar with Ikea, it’s a Swedish based company that makes knock down furniture and has a cafeteria that serves Swedish/Scandanavian style food in the middle of every store.

While walking from the parking lot to the main entrance, this sandwich board sign was…yelling out to me…

Well, it includes coffee; that makes it worth it right there. Lets go try it out.

This Ikea store, in San Diego is a Franchised, not company owned, store, so some of the items on sale are different than the corporate sales and the Cafeteria can have its own way of doing things, but,I have been to both types of stores, and am on the email lists for both the local and the corporate stores, and pretty much the selection is similar, and the next closest store to us is in Carson, which is like, a 2 hour drive…which isn’t good if you have miscalculated and have to drive home with an arm holding something on the roof of your car (oh, I could do an entire week of posts of photos showing people who miscalculated the size of their door or trunk opening versus what they were buying both at Ikea and Costco, especially around Christmas…so many cardboard boxes opened and strewn in the parking lot…).

So, anyhow, breakfast. I got the ‘standard’ $2.99 deal:

Scrambled eggs, 2 sausage, 2 bacon, 2 pancakes, lingonberry sauce and coffee.

The bacon is very thin, but has much smoky flavor. The sausages have a nice flavor and light amount of pepper in them. The pancakes are the traditional Scandinavian ones and are thin, crepe-like and the lingonberry sauce is a nice compliment. This is well worth the $2.99 price tag.

The Mister asked what other options there were, and instead of the pancakes, you can get French Toast sticks or hash browned potatoes. He got both. The potatoes cost an extra $1 and were made of the previous day’s red skinned potatoes from dinner, were so nice, fresh and crispy and wonderful!

The "French Toast" was fried and I really liked those sticks. Not like any kind of French Toast I have had, but oh so good.

We did go back and got a slice of the Apple Cake ($1.99) to go with our all-you-can-drink coffee that you self serve in those tiny cups. I liked the coffee in particular, because you can also get all you can add real half and half for it.

The apple cake is pretty much all apples with some cinnamon (non-sticky, just the spice, no added sugar) joining the apples together in a graham cracker crust and topped with a vanilla cream sauce. I like the non-sugary pastry choices here.

Ikea San Diego 2149 Fenton Parkway, San Diego 92108 ( in the mall with Costco and Lowe’s, just off of Friars Road, about 1/2 mile west of Qualcomm Stadium) open for breakfast 8:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m. 7 days