Burgers – Page 6

COMC – Never made the cut, the travel edition

March 28, 2014 mmm-yoso Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Burgers, Food Trucks, Hawai'i - The Big Island, Honolulu, Madison, Wisconsin, Oahu, Poke, Travel, Tunisia, Tunisian Food

Not everything makes it into a post, I've deleted many photos for posts that never got started….that Mariscos place where I got ill, that very good fine meal with no lighting….though unless we're travelling, I usually don't even break out the camera for those type of meals. And the one's I just never got around to…. I've done these "Never Made the Cut" posts before. Here's another batch…..

Recently, "Kha" sent me an email for some Hawaii recommendations, which included some requests for the North Shore…….

One of the places was Mackey's Shrimp Truck…….I sent him a photo and realized I never posted on the place.

Which made me realize that I had photos from meals during our travels that I never posted on. Too much time had passed…..

Sometimes I even had a very good meal, but the lighting was just too bad……like this revisit to The Old Fashioned.

Pickled Pork Hock…pickled egg…..

Nice burger…..and cheese curds of course….

And an adorable Server…….

But that lighting….ick……

I just plumb forgot about our revisit to Fresh Catch….

We enjoyed the poke much more this time around….

The Missus loved the really aged poi…..which was a surprise…..it was really funky.

This last one is from Tunis. It was a surprisingly decent meal……

This was pretty inexpensive as well…. in the Airport in Tunis! Airport staff and flight crew were on the other tables….so I guess this is the place!

So that's it….another Clearing Out the Memory Card post! Have a great weekend!

The Missus’ three current favorite places, in photos

March 12, 2014 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Burgers, Mexican Restaurants, yoso-silly

Let's see if you can figure them out…..I'm pretty sure that "Hao" will have no problem!

1: This is the easiest one.

2: If you're a regular reader, this one won't be much of a challenge either……

3: This one is the toughest, but still not difficult. I'm not a big fan of the rabbit here……

So there you go. I'll update these with the places some time tomorrow.

Junction Steakhouse and Sports Bar and Harvest Ranch Market (the market next door)

February 11, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog you have somehow found or pulled from your 'top sites' or linked onto from your 'favorites'. It has posts mostly written by Kirk, who is busy today. Ed(from Yuma) also writes posts here and is also busy today. Cathy is writing even though she is busy today.

Driving in East County San Diego is always interesting. Since people tend to have a favorite place to eat that's close to home (as well as close to work), there's always someplace interesting everywhere. You may or may not notice the cowboy hat outline on the signage above the resturant door at Junction, but

perhaps will at least know it's in the same parking lot as Harvest Ranch Market, which I wrote a bit about almost four years ago.

If you read into this 2011 article about a popular East County restaurant's new ownership ( I haven't posted on Charcoal House, which shares the same parking lot as La Casa Blanca), you'll see that the owner of it also owns Junction, as well as the two Harvest Ranch Markets and Jonathon's Market in La Jolla. Of course this close proximity of the restaurant to this higher-end grocery store means you know where the restaurant's inventory is obtained.

Walking up to the door, you'll notice quite a few large posters along the walls between Junction and Harvest Ranch Market.

Walking in the door, you'll notice the extensive wine selection and this double fish tank.

This lunch hour, I ordered the soup/salad combo ($7.95). This (above) is the House Salad – it has mixed greens, strawberries, mandarin oranges, pecans, Feta cheese and is served with a strawberry vinaigrette.

Instead of soup, I ordered chili (because I seem to be doing that lately) and this was great. Because in addition to being supplied by a very nice market, Junction also has "Prime Rib Tuesday" as well as "Steak Lovers Saturday" and, well, sometimes there are leftover pieces of those meats…

which don't go to waste and are diced and part of this wonderful chili.

The Mister ordered a 1/2 lb cheeseburger (which on the menu is $9.45). He was asked how he wanted it cooked and what kind of cheese(He chose cheddar). He was also given the choice of fries or house made chips…

He had asked for it to be cooked medium rare, and it was cooked medium rare. Served on a toasted fresh bun.

A discount of $4.46 was applied to the bill, because it was lunchtime and during the week. Well worth it here.

Junction Steakhouse and Sports Bar 777 Jamacha Road El Cajon, 92019 (619) 588-5467 Website

After our meal, we walked down the way to check out Harvest Ranch Market.

As always, the grab and go, sandwich and bakery areas, deli, meats, fruits and vegetables as well as the aisles were neatly arranged with exquisite offerings. We purchased quite a few items for our evening dinner.

Harvest Ranch Market 759 Jamacha Road El Cajon 92019 (619)442-0355Website

Sima’s Grill & Deli (Miramar)

December 4, 2013 Cathy Burgers, Salads, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy do most of the writing here. Cathy is the Blogger du Jour.

The North side of Miramar Road is pretty much a solid mass of strip malls and storefronts from the I-805 to the I-15, whereas the South side of Miramar Road is Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Between the signal lights of Distribution and Carroll, (East of the McDonald's and West of the Taco Bell/KFC), you should see this storefront.

Many, many friends have told me of the quality Dietz and Watson based sandwiches made at Sima's by the husband and wife owners, who have been in this location since 1984. Each of those friends has also made certain to mention that each item is made to order and at times, there is a wait.

The Mister and I happened by on a Saturday, after the lunch hour rush and didn't order sandwiches.

The rustic knotty pine lined walls and wood tables and chairs and random wall decor make it feel like home. There is a television in the corner; college football was on.

Soon enough, our orders were brought out to the table. The Greek chicken salad (~$7) was made with crispy mixed greens, cucumber, tomato and olives, topped with plenty of Feta, an herby oil and vinegar based dressing and the chicken was freshly grilled with onions and herbs-served warm on top of the lettuce. Really, really good. The pita bread was warm and fluffy, served with a nice tangy tzatziki sauce and really went well with everything. This was a very large meal.

Barely noticeable on the menu- to the far right, under the heading "Hot off the Grill"…The 1/2 lb char-grilled pastrami burger with cheese ($6.75). Did I say *char* grilled? Perfectly, magnificently, wonderfully flavored burger, complimented by the also grilled Dietz and Watson pastrami, topped with crispy lettuce, fresh tomato, raw onion, a nice size wedge of pickle all on a toasted sesame seed bun. This burger was the best I have had in years. Memorable.

There is a breakfast menu in addition to the sandwich selections. The quality of our non-sandwich meal lets me think that breakfast here is also of very high quality. We enjoy family owned businesses, especially when the quality and care in preparation is consistent and has been, for decades.

Sima's Grill & Deli 7160 Miramar Road San Diego 92121 (858) 578-2582 M-F 7:30-4:30, Sat 10-4 Closed Sunday

Raki Raki Revisited – Waylaid by a ramen burger

September 24, 2013 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Burgers, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

I had promised myself a return visit to Raki Raki to have the Tsukemen back in November when the weather got a bit warmer…..well, if the record heat we had recently wasn't a sign from some divine being….in short, it was tsukemen time.

But a funny thing happened on the way to my noodles. I believe I'm usually hype free and don't really follow fads. Yep, I'm just your usually fuddy duddy, boring kinda guy. But in a moment of temporary insanity I ordered this:

A ramen burger…….or should I say a "Dream Come True California Ramen Burger" ($9.75)

Even I have those moments it seems….after eating this I mumbled "what was I thinking" to myself as I walked into the psycho parking lot on Convoy. Hopefully not too loud….

The burger is 100% angus beef, over-worked and cooked to death as it's tough as leather. The flavor is nice and beefy. All of the juices from the burger seemed to have collected in the greasy, bland, flaccid, mushy bunch of noodles used as a bun. The fry job on these was lousy as it fell to greasy pieces after two bites. I had imagined something like crispy "cake noodle" like I get back home, this was not very good. The "crisp" rolled pork slice they call "underbelly" was more like hard and the edges burnt and bitter.

The sweet potato fries were light and mildly crisp, with good flavor.

But man, who you gonna sue for this oil spill?

This was like something dreamt up in a college dorm room after a couple hits of the cash crop. For a more mature point of view, perhaps you should read Kirbie's post on the ramen burger.

I sent out texts and photos to my friends, then had a moment of paranoid reflection…….first Yes! Pingo and now a ramen burger…what's going on? What next…a Harley, porn 'stache, and a couple of tats? Maybe this was that male menopause I'd seen my friends go through? Yikes!

I needed to fix this……which I did by returning for the Standard Tsukemen ($8.75).

It was as before, noodles with a nice texture, perhaps a bit over-priced for what you get, and the broth edged on the too salty side.

But most importantly, this seemed like a return to normalcy. At least for now….

RakiRaki Ramen and Tsukemen
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

It’s been a while week: Charley’s Famous Hamburgers (6.75 years later)

July 26, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!! Kirk 's been writing a lot of posts lately and Cathy has a few contributions which can be part of "it's been a while week". This is one.

When Kirk mentioned that he had a lot of revisits he could write about, I knew exactly what he was talking about. I pretty much had posted on all 'new' places during His and The Missus' most recent vacation, yet The Mister and I have had our favorite places and rotation, which I just don't bother mentioning here again and again. When I saw Kirk hadn't posted on some places since 2007, I decided that a revisit of places I had posted on in 2011 would be 'too soon', so went back to the archives of this blog, when Kirk and The Missus went on their first 'blogcation' - It was in September/October of 2006 when I held down the blog for about three weeks, deleting spammers and contributing posts about what and where The Mister and I enjoyed eating.

One of those posts was about Charley's Famous Hamburgers, a small drive thru/walk up limited menu restaurant in Lemon Grove. It's still there -and has been there since 1973.

Charley's was and still is a regular stop when in the area. It's so very familiar, with a consistent quality and low price point.

Until I looked at my post from October 2006, I didn't realize that the menu (as well as the menu prices) is close to unchanged after all this time.

Well I do like consistency.

The Mister and I needed to 'research' what could possibly be different; what has changed since 2006.

The outdoor tables next to the drive thru are the same.

The covered seating (three picnic benches and overhead lighting) is still there, as well as the 125/54/94 freeway overpass.

One item I sometimes order here is the BLT ($3.69) The same thick, perfectly cooked, flavorful bacon that Charley's is known for…BUT only five slices (instead of six slices in 2006)-a bow to inflation. Still, it's a lot of bacon and the sandwich(served on a lightly toasted sesame seeded bun) is a really good deal. As always, shredded lettuce is used liberally at Charley's.

Something I hadn't posted that first time, but tend to order when needing a quick meal, is the basic grilled cheese ($1.79)…white bread, American cheese in a good amount, grilled on the flat top resulting in a crispy edged wonderfully simple, basic and good sandwich. (I must confess if the BLT is ordered, I pull out a slice of bacon to put between the pried open goopy mess of the grilled cheese sandwich) (a side order of three slices of bacon is $1.59…and, yes, I have considered the possibility of that being an order).

The chili cheese fries (small, $2.89) are exactly the same. Crispy, thin standard fries topped with melted cheese and a bean based nice flavored (not too spicy hot) chili. Everything is made to order here, so the fries are always good in that sense.

See those fried apple pies? $1.29 each or two for $2. FRIED to order. So good.

If you are so inclined, the carmel apple pie shake ($3.09) is not a conglomoration of odd syrups mixed to achieve an apple pie flavor; it is made with one of these cooked pies blended with vanilla ice milk…so you get crusty bits of pie dough stuck in your straw, along with chunks of apples. The banana shake is made with a real banana and the peanut butter shake is made with real peanut butter. {The other (less expensive) shakes (the ones you can order in size small or large) are made with syrups}.

The onion rings ($2.09 ) however, have changed and are no longer the individually breaded and fried rings of days gone by. The interior is the mushy mess of chopped onion…I'd forgotten the reason I stopped ordering these a while ago…

The kabob is what keeps me coming back. This is the double kabob with bacon ($5.49) cut in half. On a flat non-pocketed pita are two semi-thick slices of seasoned ground beef surrounding melted cheese and more of that thick, good flavored bacon. The rest of the sandwich is unique yet simple- mayonnaise, shredded lettuce, tomato AND sliced/chopped green peppers with sliced radishes. The flavor combination is just right; always was, still is. {as a side note, you can order a single kabob sandwich and either with or without bacon}

The double cheese hamburger ($3.39). Pretty much it's the same; maybe not as good as I remember; maybe my tastes have changed. Still, it's tasty, with hand formed coarse ground beef patties cooked on the flat top, achieving a nice char. The American cheese is something I never overly cared for and it doesn't matter to me..the toppings (again, the shredded lettuce as well as sliced onion and tomato along with mayonnaise) are always fresh and complimented by the lightly toasted sesame seed topped bun.

It was fun to be able to look back at my 'early days' of blogging and fun to go back to Charley's-with the 'new' freeway junction, we aren't regularly taking those side roads unless there's backed up traffic.

Charley's Famous Burgers (kabobs and shakes) 8213 Broadway, Lemon Grove 91945 (619)460-2690 Open 7:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.

Green Acre – a real hidden gem

May 19, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Pizza, Salads, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Kirk is vacationing, according to solid plans. ed (from Yuma) is relaxing, according to fluid plans. Cathy is blogging, according to general plans of achieving a post for you to enjoy.

Everybody has to eat. If you are at home and don't want to cook, you go out to a favorite neighborhood place. If you are at work, there's going to be a place that is close. People don't like to drive very far when they go out, unless maybe for a special occasion. People who work in the "scientist" area of town -near Sorrento Valley and UCSD- where not many lunch options are available, *do* have a great, healthy, tasty option but it isn't easy to find…

This is what you are ultimately looking for.

Raised bed gardens, in the middle of an Office Park (the Nautilus Life Science Campus area). These fresh vegetables and herbs will be part of your meal, picked that morning.

Straight ahead is the front door to Green Acre.

This is what you see from the parking lot. See the umbrellas to the right?

There are plenty of marked parking spaces, if you'd like to come here for breakfast or lunch and don't work here. It's only open Monday-Friday…like the office park. (I'd be here every weekend if it was open.)

When you walk in, there's a chalkboard listing the daily specials.

There's an area to eat inside, also.

When you are waiting in line to order and pay, the wall advertising other restaurants related to Green Acre- those run by San Diego's Top Chef Season 3 Cheftestant Brian Malarkey, is your only clue that this place is related to those "fabric themed" (Searsucker, Gabardine, Burlap, Gingham and Herringbone) restaurants around town, which are heavily promoted and very popular.

The menu board is hanging above the cash register area, where you order, pay and get a number. Then you take your beverage, find a seat and soon enough, your food is brought to you.

My first visit here was a meet up with fellow bloggers caninecologne (who posted after that first visit)(two posts, actually) and Dennis. Dennis has been here many times, since he works close by (as I said at the beginning…)

One of the things I really like about Green Acre is that just about everything is recycled and recycle-able. The paper straws are more than just cute. When you return your tray, the trash area is marked for food mulch, paper and plastic recycling and 'other'.

The food is brought out on jelly roll pans lined with brown butcher/craft paper. This is Dennis' Grass fed beef burger, topped with leek, slow roasted tomato and Marin County Brie served on a fresh pretzel bun($12) it comes with the fresh-fresh salad, topped with a herb infused dressing…oh, and the pickle is definitely not from a jar. The Russett fries ($3) are served with a 'tomato jam' that tasted more like a marinara than catsup…The fries are quite nice.

caninecologne was not going to let this long drive North go to waste and ordered two full meal items. She took home more than half of each. This is the "Drunken Mary" panini-a chicken salad made with smoked almonds and brandied cherries ($7). I had a taste and it was really good. The side salad, again very fresh-fresh was very good.

This is caninecologne's other main course meal- the 'Corn Cobb' ($9). A very nice, very large, very fresh Cobb salad, made with chicken, avocado, bacon, cheese (she asked for a substitute of the standard Bleu cheese) and topped with a corn vinaigrette. This was very good.

My salad- the 'Nice!'-(a play on Nicoise) ($10) Lightly seared albacore, a perfect soft boiled farm egg, and instead of beans, fresh peas and instead of potato, freshly fried potato skins on top: whatever is fresh and in season… The lettuces, tomato, vinaigrette were memorable as to their freshness.

I had to bring The Mister here, so one weekday in April, we drove out here (it's easy, take the 5 to Genessee, go West two lights to John Jay Hopkins, turn (you can only turn North) and the first street is General Atomics Drive- the first building on the right -go behind it through the parking lot). I decided to try one of the items from the "Brick Oven Bar"- a 'Purist' half pizza($6). Again, it comes with the salad, all on the brown paper lined jelly roll pan. A simple, perfectly baked mozzarella/basil/tomato pizza. This combination is *so* good, I didn't want to stop eating it and am glad I only ordered a half…just to appear polite.

The Mister ordered the Nice! salad, based on my incessant obsession with my previous experience (this version had a few small potatoes in it, so no potato skin toppers;potatoes were able to be harvested) and also ordered a Daily Soup ($4), which this day was a wonderful vegetarian spring root vegetable chowder. This hit the spot with the slightly chilly overcast outdoor seating spot we chose. It was a nice blend of root veggies and kale, not too spicy and not a thick broth, but a very flavorful one.

We've tried other menu items here. The breakfasts are pretty basic (omelettes, wraps and paninis as well as yogurt and fruit cups) and extremely fresh. The menu is small and changes based on what is available. Green Acre serves very fresh, very high quality food without any hype. I really like it here.

Green Acre 3535 General Atomics Court San Diego 92121 (858)587-6601 M-F 8am-6pm Website

Trifecta Tavern-another restaurant inside a grocery store

April 22, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog you are reading. It's about food. Cathy is blogging today: Kirk is busy and so is ed(from Yuma).

After reading about Kirk's post about Whole Foods Market in Hawaii, The Mister and I were curious about 'our' location and when we drove to the La Jolla location, saw it was being remodeled; the parking lot was a mess and signs about a grand reopening in a few weeks were everywhere. We jumped back onto the 5 and headed North, knowing a new Whole Foods had opened at the Via de la Valle exit -the same exit that you take when going to the Del Mar Racetrack. Signage there indicated '400 additional parking places behind Whole Foods', so we drove into Flower Hill Promenade and found the new parking structure. It was practically empty.

An excellent map of the current and soon to be shops of the mall was just inside the walkway to the 'front' of the parking lot. We walked into the store and straight ahead were a series of hot food trays, and to the right of those were a bakery, grab and go area, a sandwich shop, pizza and deli area and to the direct right – right from the front door was the Trifecta Tavern. Because every grocery store seems to have an eat in area.

But- this one, inside Whole Foods, also serves a choice of 24 beers on tap, has a nice wine selection, daily specials and a very easy one page menu. It was lunchtime so we didn't choose an adult beverage, but we may share a beer next time.

You seat yourself, but the waitresses are constantly checking the seating and ready to take your order. Here's a view of the above mentioned area of the store from my seat.

The Mister ordered the grass fed burger, which comes with fries ($8). This was *wonderful*. The bun was light, fluffy, toasted. The burger was cooked to a perfect medium rare and had such flavor. The fries were perfectly crisp, not greasy and lightly salted. Even the ketchup, which was just the Whole Foods 365 organic store brand, had a more pronounced, tomato flavor than I have noticed from other brands of ketchup.

I chose to try a bit of everything- the Nosh Plate ($9). Really really good. Two meats, three cheeses, grilled bread slices, fruit, pickled vegetables and seasoned nuts all served with a house made blackberry mostard. So nice, filling and refreshing. Being able to try the sliced proscuitto and salame was enough for me to purchase some before leaving the store, along with stopping at the coffee and juice bar and purchasing a small cup of gelato before the drive home.

Whole Foods Market-Del Mar 2600 Via de la Valle, Suite 100 Del Mar, CA 92014 (858)436-9800 open 7 am-10pm, seven days a week

Rocky’s Crown Pub six and a half years later

April 16, 2013 mmm-yoso Burgers

Yes, it's been almost seven years since my post on Rocky's burger, which along with Hodad's are probably the two iconic, old-school burgers, in San Diego. I'd still take Rocky's, because, well, Hodad's just ain't the same without the bacon.

It had been a while since I'd visited; but my good buddy Candice suggested grabbing a burger at Rocky's for lunch and I couldn't resist.

The lunch special ($10.50), 1/3 pound cheeseburger, a ton of "natural fries", and a drink is simple burger bliss. In fact, I think it was more juicy and much more satisfying than I recalled. Maybe I''ve become a bit cynical over the years. Grass-fed, knowing the name of the cow who laid its life down for the "burger with a mission" is nice and all that; but I find much of it is just hope and hype, many times "stuff" is piled on for marketing sake, and in the end, the burger ends up being not even close to what Rocky's serves. Give those places seven or eight years. Chances are, they won't age as well as Rocky's.

A good "pub burger" is harmonic simplicity to me, burger, cheese (depending on how I feel that day), lettuce, tomato, onion, with your choice of condiments; usually as simple as red (ketchup) or yellow (mustard) provided on the side.

Maybe it's my blue collar background, I'm the only person from my group of grade school/high school friends to not work in the trades, but I love "food of the people".

And Rocky's does it well……good friends, good conversation, a good simple burger, and the potential of wiping burger juices running down your arm. It doesn't get much better than that.

Rocky's Crown Pub
3786 Ingraham St
San Diego, CA 92109

(858) 273-9140

COMC Calorie Bomb Edition: Carmen’s Mexican Food, Harry D’z BBQ, a Caliente Burger, and one repeat

January 24, 2013 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, BBQ, Burgers, Mexican Restaurants, Plate Lunch, yoso-silly

I know that my timing tends to suck……I have a tendency to do these posts right after the New Year. It’s really not on purpose…really. What happens is that I try to close out the previous year and always seem to have some of these “one-off” type photos, so I basically have stuff for a “COMC” (Clearing Out the Memory Card) type of post. So anyway, here’s some “stuffs” from the last quarter, of last year.

Carmen’s Mexican Food:

A couple of folks have mentioned Carmen’s to me and I tell them that I had eaten at Carmen’s back when they were located in Linda Vista, across from what is now K Sandwich. I really wasn’t impressed with the food, which seemed more Am-Mex, then Mexican. Eventually that whole area was razed and Carmen’s was gone. I did feel a twinge of sadness, because even if I didn’t care for the place, a lot of folks did. Then a couple of years ago, Babylon Cafe closed down, and Carmen’s reopened in that location.

I was still not really motivated to eat there, but more than one person mentioned how good their Carne Asada Fries were. After my post on Yesenia’s, I actually received two recommendations for Carmen’s. So after a short CAF recovery period, I decided to drop by for lunch.

The crew here was friendly and all the customers seemed to be regulars, talking about kids, vacations to Disney, Disney cruises, relatives, not seeing “so and so” for a while….you know, that kind of stuff. I actually kind of felt like an outsider, but this gave me an understanding of how the place has cultivated a customer base over the years.

Everything was cooked to order so it took a couple of minutes before my Carne Asada Fries were ready.

This really wasn’t my cup of tea. First, thought I love my dinner fries, I’m not fond of them in my CAF. Since there’s always some guac-crema-salsa action going on, I prefer a higher ration of crispness. Second the guacamole was kind of pasty with no flavor. Third, the carne asada was a lot more tender then it appeared, but was rather tasteless. I’m sure they make their own salsa here, but for some reason it reminded me of Pace Picante. Nothing against Pace, but several decades ago I had a coworker whose second favorite hobby was….how shall I say it…partaking of the “cash crop”. We’d go over for beers and would instantly know when he was enjoying himself….he’d be having this concoction of melted Philadelphia Cream Cheese mixed with Pace Picante and chips. Ick……

The rather substantial pool of oil at the bottom of the plate could either be an added treat or not…depending on your point of view.

Still, like I’ve said many times…there’s a big difference between “favorite” and “best” and I understand that. There are many reasons why folks hold a place close to their hearts and the food may not be the main reason(hey, I’m just as guilty). Based on the rapport between the two guys working on this day and the regulars, I’m thinking this is one of those places.

Carmen’s Mexican Food
4937 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Harry D’z BBQ:

During one of the early days of the Morena’s Farmer’s Market…..having not been back in a while, I’m wondering if it still running? I passed a couple of weeks ago and na-da?? Anyway, it was getting close to evening and I hadn’t had lunch and this little stand looked interesting.

Actually, there should be some kind of law against sticking pork in front of a starving man’s face…..

So I decided on the pulled pork sandwich, which was a reasonable $6.50.

The pork was quite moist, but I had a hard time believing it was really smoked based on the mild flavor. The sauce was too sticky sweet and what seemed molasses heavy for me……

The Caliente Burger at Tommy’s:

**** This location of Tommy’s has closed

I’m not sure what it is about San Diego’s Tommy’s, but it just doesn’t seem to be the same as the Tommy’s back in LA…even the one in our old neighborhood. But there I was, standing in line at Sprouts and the two customers in front of me were going on and on about this “new” burger at Tommy’s that was “oh so good, but so spicy”. Now what kind of bonehead would actually go visit Tommy’s after overhearing two women talking about something “oh so good”??? Hello, I’m bonehead, nice to meet you……

The young lady at the counter was really friendly and told me that they top the chili burger with pickled cascabel chilies and chipotle cheddar. She was very nice and even gave me a little tray with some extra chilies in them. Funny, these reminded me of the bottled Del Monte Chilies I used to eat when I was a kid.

The burger was actually better then I had during my last visit, maybe five or so years ago now. The chilies weren’t really that hot. I’ve kind of noticed that the chili at this location is heading into two divergent directions….as it becomes more and more like refried bean glue in texture, the flavor becomes more watered down. Right now it just seems like heartburn fuel…..though I’ve only had heartburn once in my life(a funny story) and it wasn’t from Tommy’s

Serves me right to eavesdropping on folks in the grocery line……

Original Tommy’s
7415 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

So there you go….man, that’s more then enough calories and saturated fat…sheesh.

I think I’ll go and quietly have my plate lunch in the corner now.