As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.
Hey, you found mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Welcome (back). Cathy is posting today, while Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are resting…or something.
Hi. I mentioned that we've been busy daily since Thanksgiving and have a bunch of meals to share. One of the days in December, The Mister and I returned to Pasadena to visit Rose Parade float decorating and stopped at a Starbucks and I was checking my email and had a note from Dennis, who writes A Radiused Corner. I mentioned where I was and he told us to go to Pie N' Burger, where he used to go when he was at University in Pasadena. I used the handy dandy "maps" app on my iPhone, found we were 1.1 miles away and that became our lunch venue.
When we got here, we found out that Pie N' Burger also sells breakfast and bakes their own white and wheat bread as well as pastries other than pie. They also serve fresh squeezed orange and grapefruit juices and items other than burgers. PLUS- when you order a soda, they pump syrup into the glass, then soda water…real soda. Mental notes were made for our return visit.
Located inside this rectangular building, with a small streetfront presence, Pie N' Burger has been in this location on East California Street since 1963.
The menu on the wall, above the pie display, near the back of the building, has current prices. The Formica counter with chairs and swivel stools runs from the front of the store all the way to the back- about 20 seats. Near the front of the building is the grill, which had the seats I coveted (and did not photograph, since so many people were sitting around it).
The Mister, in his quest for a great chili,ordered a Chili Size ($11.50)- two patties topped with chili, cheese and onions (of course The Mister did not order onions…) This comes with a toasted bun on the side. In this article about the history of chili, the 8th paragraph from the bottom describes the origin of "chili size".
This was my hamburger ($6.75). You can see the patty is hand-formed and not at all perfect.
We ordered all of our burgers to be cooked medium rare. The burgers were seasoned, although the bean-filled-chili with deep flavor overwhelmed the burgers on The Mister's plate. The meal itself was very filling.
Here is my burger in my (small) hand. It comes on a toasted bun with Thousand Island (made fresh here), pickles and lettuce as well as onions (I got both raw and grilled onions, to make up for The Mister's misguided belief that onions are evil). I found out later that you have to ask for tomato (which does not cost extra…you just have to ask).
As you can see, they cooked this fresh ground, hand formed burger perfectly. I did add salt at some point, but it was at the last 1/4 of the burger and I wanted to 'spice up' the lettuce and onions. Plus, I had eaten all of the pickles…
We plan to go back (when hungrier) and try out other menu items. Thanks for sharing your hangout, Dennis!
Pie N Burger 913 East California, Pasadena, CA (626)795-1123 Website
I realized on one of our recent trips back to Hawaii that I never did show the Missus my old neighborhood. When we first met, I'd taken Her to a couple of my favorite places to eat, but I'd never really went into detail about it. I consider myself very lucky to have grown up in the Kaimuki/Kapahulu area and it holds a very special place in my heart. Back before our trip to China, I hadn't been back to the area in over a decade and I had wondered how the area had changed. We didn't have much money and my Mom never did learn to drive so everything was either Da' Bus or footmobile for us. In that way, the set-up of Kaimuki was just perfect, even though it's situated on a hill, the main drag, Waialae Avenue is perfect for walking. According to the Historic Hawai'i Foundation's site:
"Kaimuki is a naturally dusty, dry area that wasn’t heavily populated during pre-contact times because of a lack of water supply."
When development started, the main pipe was located along what is now Kaimuki Avenue. Like many now urban neighborhoods, Kaimuki was designed as a suburb, a place where people would live, then commute to Honolulu for work. When the H-1 freeway cut through Kaimuki, the neighborhood became very connected.
Because Kapahulu was literally right down the street, I've always considered it my neighborhood as well. So it was only right that we start our day at Rainbow Drive-In.
Kapahulu sure has changed….Alex's Drive In is long gone, as is KC Drive In (tho' they were never the same after they moved from the Ala Wai) and Love's Bakery has been gone for a couple of decades so is Kapahulu Theatre. But all through that Rainbows has endured and is apparently going strong. I did wonder if things had changed much……I used to recall getting chili here for under a buck.
One thing I noticed right away was a sign that explained the food….say what? Who needs an explanation of Chicken Cutlet…..Loco Moco maybe…why?? When I jokingly asked what was up? The lady at the window told me, "aaah, it's for all da' tourists eva' since the Obama thing." Oh…. I do recall:
“I’m going to get a plate lunch. I might go to Zippy’s. I might go to Rainbow Drive-In. I haven’t decided yet…." Circa 2008.
The Missus wanted a chili dog……while I grew up eating the chili here, I wasn't a big fan of the hot dogs Rainbow uses. It is skinless with a real mystery-meat texture, which strangely reminds me of eating cold Vienna sausages. But whatever, it's what the Missus wanted:
For some reason the chili struck me as being on the sweet side…..I'm guessing my tastes have changed quite a bit since I last had this.
I got a BBQ Beef Sandwich. No it's not slow smoked brisket on a bun……this is a Teriyaki Style Beef sandwich. Local style teriyaki (BBQ) is more salty and less sweet than what is the norm on the mainland.
From the photo you can tell that the meat is not the most tender, but it's what I grew up eating. It's also much better than most of the L&L stuff. For some reason, I've gotten to appreciate the role of lettuce in these type of sandwiches, it seems to cleanse and refresh the palate. Love the mayo and onions too…..
Rainbow Drive-In 3308 Kanaina Ave Honolulu, HI 96815
There are just two requests that the Missus has when in the area; one of them is Leonard's. I still remember the pure bliss on Her face the first time I took Her to Leonard's for malasadas.
Unfortunately, it seems like Leonard's is a major tourist stop nowadays…..two tour buses pulled up as we arrived and there was a line out the door…..
The Missus decided that it just wasn't worth the wait…..so we moved on to Her other favorite stop in the area; W & M Burger…..
Located right off Waialae Avenue, with half a dozen parking stalls, this little joint is a big part of my younger days. This location is actually not the original, I'll have that a bit later on in the post. W&M always seemed on the expensive side when I was a kid, but luckily, one of our neighbors used to work there….so she'd often bring home a ton of burgers at the end of the day. The parking is absolute "horrors", so we always plan our trip to arrive before it gets too busy for lunch. You can take your chances in the City Mill parking lot next door, but leave someone with the car, or hope you have some luck. Just to digress; the location of City mill was where I had my first taste of pizza as a kid; at a place called Chico's Pizza……
Actually, the woman working the counter I recognized from way back when……
The burgers at W&M are basically teri-burgers made from a "secret" blend of soy sauce etc…… Since we were on what was basically a crawl, I ordered a Deluxe, no mayo/sauce/etc, and some fries "extra crispy"……
The Missus wasn't too fond of the fries extra crispy, so I think I won't order it that way anymore. But that burger was a spot on taste of my youth……
It's one of the few things that the Missus says tastes exactly the same as the first time She ate one.
In a nice distraction move, the Missus told me, "don't you have to take a photo of the front." Which I did, only to turn around and find Her chomping away at that burger……..slick move……
W & M Bar-B-Q Burger 3104 Waialae Ave Honolulu, HI 96816
Next stop was right up the street. Dating myself, I'll tell you that this was Crown Drive-In when we first moved from Palolo Valley to less than a block from here. But just a short while later it became…..
I believe that this was the second location for Zippy's (McCully was the first). It is also kitty-corner from my elementary school…Ali'iolani.
Which, except for missing the huge, rickety, auditorium looks basically the same.
I should have ordered chili and rice, but for some reason went with the chili-loco moco……
Man, the chili tasted terrible…..very bland, but almost rancid……
I also had a piece of the fried chicken, which tasted much better than the last time I had it.
I don't quite know what to say….maybe bad day for the chili and good day for fried chicken. Oh well…….
Zippy's 3345 Waialae Ave Honolulu, HI 96816
This is, of course, one of perhaps a zillion locations…..
After this I drove up to Palolo to check out my Intermediate (now called "middle") school….Jarrett. It's a sign of the time I guess, as now there's a fence going around the school.
We drove out of Palolo Valley via 9th avenue and I pointed out what we called the "Jade Building" which we considered kinda swanky for this area when I was a kid. It was pretty much the only high rise in the area. Here are some photos from Jade Circle taken by Ian Lind from his blog. Funny thing is, Ian's wife Meda actually taught a class I took….small blogging world, huh?
On the corner of 9th avenue and Waialae was one of the most important businesses to us. It was a small IGA market called Zane's Market. This market used to deliver groceries if you bought over a certain amount. Since we had no car, it was godsend…..
Right across the street is the original location of W&M Burger.
A bit further up the street is Kaimuki Park, where I wasted a good deal of time as a kid……
Right across the street was my favorite saimin stand Tanoues, now long gone, of course…but the memories remain.
Man, the facade of the old Queen Theatrewas still there. I remember watching movies there when I was a kid…until they started showing porn films, in Kaimuki! Yikes!! Eventually, the place was raided, then shut down. The place is now 75 years old, I'm hoping that it is somehow restored…… unlike Kaimuki Theatre, which used to reside here:
Kaimuki Inn used to be here……
All those places are gone….but as we turned the corner on Koko Head I saw a familiar sign….
What is crack seed you may ask??? It's basically what we called preserved, salty and sweet preserved fruits that the Chinese brought to Hawaii. The most well known being Li Hing Mui. This place has been here for as long as I can remember.
Even more funny, the same guy is still running the place….I'm thinking for over the last 30 years or so??? He was very friendly….though my recollection of him was as a pretty tough, no-nonsense guy. Maybe time has muddled my memory, or he's mellowed over the years?
Of course I got some olive peel (aka Olive Cake) and rock salt plum……
Turning to cut through the municipal parking lot, the Missus chuckled when I told Her that the first place I had "Mexican food" (using a very broad definition here) was indeed at a place called Jose's…..
I was surprised and rather pleased to see that Victoria Inn was still alive and kicking:
After this, I thought the Missus had enough and it was time to head on back. As I gassed up the car, there was one more building I pointed out to the Missus. In that spot was a Food Pantry, which I thought was an odd location on Harding and 11th avenue. I think they still have their offices there. There are quite a few more places…but I think this is more than enough for a post…… And if you actually stuck around to the end…well, thanks so much for reading!
One last thing….if you've spent anytime in Hawaii since 1981, I'm sure you'll recognize this one – Kanipoli Slack Key. Always makes me smile when I hear it:
How’s that for an attention grabber? Actually, I’d heard about Slaters from “DB from the OC” who kept on emailing me about having to check out Slaters in Anaheim Hills several times over a year ago. Sending me link after link of reviews……I had thoughts in my head that perhaps DB was a shill for Slaters and had pretty much made up my mind never to go there….I hate shills. Though after giving it some thought I believed it was rather unlikely, since DB had also sent me some pretty nasty emails after I did posts on places like The Waterfront and such. After reading through those emails I suddenly realized that DB was what I call a “meat-hugger”, you know what I mean right? No commodity meat, grass fed beef only, etc, etc, etc….. Now I’ve been eating grass fed beef for years, we used to get it at the various local Farmer’s Markets long before it became a supposed sign of status to the food god. After realizing this, I shot DB an email regarding his “sin” and hypocrisy and never heard a thing from him/her…..until a couple months back when I received an email with a link to a press release announcing Slaters 50/50 was opening a branch here at Liberty Station. And after giving it some thought, after all, this was the burger that made a “meat-hugger” go rogue……
And even though I usually wait a while after a business opens to visit, just like DB broke his meat-hugging ways, I could break this one, right? Slaters is located right around the corner from Con Pane. I didn’t notice the place at first until I saw the banner….
You enter through the gated area facing the parking lot and can sit either at the bar or have a seat at the dining area. Slaters is very “sports-barish”, they’ve got a televisions hanging everywhere, so if you have a need to watch a dozen of your favorite games at once, this might be just your thing.
They’ve also got a pretty good collection of beers on tap……I saw stuff by Ballast Point and Stone among the many offerings.
I was handed three menus. A breakfast menu, thus no beer, even though it must’ve been noon somewhere in the world, a regular menu with salads, Irish Quesadilla(?), among the various appetizers, sandwiches, and burgers, including the 50/50…..
The third item was a sheet where you could design your own burger, looking very similar to The Counter. Naturally, I decided on designing my own 50/50, to get a taste of the patty. But, if you’re in the mood, you can get everything from cranberry sauce, fried pickles, to anchovies and peanut butter and jelly (hmmm sounds like a second trimester special to me…)
I also made the big mistake of ordering some sides, they range in price from $3.95 (Fries) to $5.95 for Panko Fried Mac n’ Cheese (yikes!). You can order combinations of sides from two to six. I chose some beer battered onion strings and fried artichoke hearts to make a two item combination for $5.95. My mistake? Not realizing how much food this was……..
The fried artichoke hearts were kind of soggy and very mild. I’d eaten a couple before a light mayo based sauce was dropped off for them at my table. It really did nothing for the ‘chokes. However, as a counter-point, the Missus loved the stuff I brought home, which was most of this…….cold and soggy and She still enjoyed them. The onion rings were better, crisp if on the greasy side. The ketchup I believe is house made, and has a strange almost bacon like flavor to them as well???? Anyway, this was enough for two people easy…..
I ordered possibly the simplest of burgers, a one-third pound 50/50, medium, with no cheese, baby greens, red onions, tomatoes, and (I couldn’t help myself) garlic aioli. It soon became obvious that this place loves vertical food that’s a bit top-heavy…..
I was fairly impressed when I cut my burger in half….it was medium! Hallelujah! Even places that insist on telling you that “our burgers are cooked medium, blah, blah, blah”, don’t seem to get it right, but this place, home of the “Peanut Butter and Jealousy” burger can? The actual patty is pretty loose and chewy. There is that background mild savory-smokey flavor associated with bacon….you know it’s there, but it doesn’t interfere. The brioche bun held together well…..and in the end, I only could eat half. I brought it home and the Missus ate most of the rest….She kinda liked it, so even though I still like the Counter more, I think we’ll be back again soon. Maybe I’ll have a bacon-infused shake so I can have a double whammy…lactose intolerance with clogged arteries….
You gotta hand it to Scott Slater, San Diego State grad and founder of Slaters. I think they’ve got a pretty good, albeit over-the-top-belongs-on-one-of-those-food-shows formula. Since the place had just opened I expected a bunch of mistakes, but the only one was not getting my sauces for my artichokes and I wouldn’t have known if I’d never gotten it. The service looked a bit disorganized, but they were staffed really well. I could have gone without being asked how my meal was five times…three times by the same guy, but at least I got to tell them my burger was cooked to my liking. I’m pretty sure this place is going to take off fairly quickly……heck if it could make an elitist “meat-hugger” fall off the wagon….. oh, and Loren, you can stop emailing me about this place as well now, ok? Thanks for the suggestion(s).
Here's another in my series on little sandwich shops. Mercury Grill is located in the same strip mall on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard that houses Aria Cafe and Pho Fusion among others. After passing the place several times, the bright red, white, and blue sign finally got me to check the place out.
The interior is full of checkered table cloths and the menu features everything from salads to chili to pizza.
One thing I noticed right away were the prices which seemed pretty reasonable.
One my first visit I went with the Horsy Roast Beef ($4.55) and added in a drink and some fries for $1.75 more.
This was a pretty decent sandwich, not over dressed. The basic horseradish mayo added a nice bit of "bite" to the whole deal. The roast beef was decent quality and the bread was fine. The fries were you standard issue SYSCO/US Foods stuff….
And this was a perfectly adequate lunch. I felt I got my money's worth and left satisfied.
The next week, I happened to be close by during lunch and deciding to move "up the food chain" as it were, I went for the Mercury Burger ($4.25 + $1.75 for fries and a drink).
Again, this wasn't anything fancy, a simple grilled patty topped with a very mild cheddar, tomato, shredded lettuce, and thousand island dressing. I've had much worse over the last couple of months……
The burger wasn't particularly large and this suffered a bit from TMB (Too much bread) syndrome, with the roll being a bit on the dry and crumbly side. On this visit, I noticed two of the guys who work at one of the car dealerships nearby had the Bacon Dog. So on my next visit that's what I decided to get.
The Bacon Dog (sans ketchup) costs $3.49 which seemed very reasonable. With fries and a drink it was about $5.50.
The first thing I noticed was that the cheese wasn't, or would never be melted. I enjoy the texture of melted cheese. This also told me that the temperature of this was going to be lukewarm at best. Second, I wondered where the bacon was…….this was when I noticed that the dog had been split to cook quicker on the griddle. As for the bacon? Well, as I took a closer look, I found pieces of crumpled bacon and not much of it. In fact, there was so little that it really didn't add anything to the hot dog. Also, a good part of the griddled onions were burnt which added an unpleasant bitterness to the hot dog. I removed as much of it as I could.
Well, I guess as Meafloaf says "two out of three ain't bad." Mercury Grill serves up reasonably priced basic sandwiches for the working crowd. The food is simple and unpretentious….though I'm not sure I'm going to order what they call a "pizza" here after I saw one. The breakfasts seemed priced right at $2.75 – $3.90. The hours are rather limited being open from 7am to 3pm Monday to Friday.
Mercury Grill 8046 Clairemont Mesa Blvd San Diego, CA 92111 Hours: 7am-3pm Monday – Friday
Welcome (back) to mmm-yoso!!!the blog about food. Kirk is busy with work today. ed(from Yuma) is busy with vacation today. Cathy is blogging today.
Hi. Since I seem to travel all over this vast (4200 square mile) county, it seems normal that at some point San Marcos would be a stop. I have met at George Burger with friends who attend(ed) Palomar College, friends who attend(ed) CSUSanMarcos and, the other day, drove with The Mister to see a Fabricator 'up North' and we stopped here.
The restaurant is easy to find, located just a block North of the 78 at the Las Posas exit. It has been in business since 1976, though this is a new building, as are most of the buildings in this industrial area of town.
We happened to get here when it unusually empty and most of the people eating were workers. As you can see, it is pretty large inside and there are quite a few outdoor tables also. There is a breakfast menu, which I have enjoyed. There are many sandwich combinations, including gyros, which I have always ordered when I have eaten here. Platters are also served.
Not long ago, I came to some sort of realization that I don't know of any place that 'makes' their own gyros…that there is no variation of how it tastes. Schawarma I see being prepared onto spits, and the flavor varies from place to place, but gyros is always the same; it's common. The only variation I see is in the thickness of slices, but not the spices or flavor really, unless the slice is grilled and carmelized…then I went to the Costco Business Center, and saw the 10 lb packages of gyros strips… So, even though I like gyros, this visit, I decided to try the 1/2 lb burger at George Burger. Excellent choice.
As you can see, this is a Double Burger ($4.19). If you recall my mention on other posts, places which serve gyros make really good thick cut onion rings ($3.85). The burger was juicy, flavorful, hand formed and served on a toasted bun with lettuce tomato, onion and pickles. Mustard and mayonnaise were available on the side and not necessary. The Mister chose the Pastrami sandwich ($5.85) and was very pleased. As you can see, lots of smokey, not too thin sliced Pastrami filled the toasted bun, which had a thin layer of mustard and pickles. The pastrami fat was just the right amount, so the meat was not too dry. This was an excellent sandwich.
If you are in the neighborhood, this is a good place to stop for a meal.
George Burgers 217 N. Las Posas Road, San Marcos 92069 (760) 744-0164 Open until 9 p.m. daily. Opens at 6 a.m. M-F, 7 a.m. Sat, 8 a.m. Sun
mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Everybody has to eat. Kirk and His Missus are eating, safely, in another part of the world. ed(from Yuma) is eating mostly in Yuma. Cathy is writing about where she has eaten.
Some people have asked me how I 'find' the restaurants where I eat. Basically, it is drive and stop, looking for where somebody who lives or works nearby would chose for a convenient meal.
The County of San Diego is about 4200 square miles and is home to eight airports in addition to the three airports in San Diego City limits: Lindbergh Field, Brown Field and Montgomery Field.
In El Cajon, Gillespie Field is conveniently located between Highway 67 and a Trolley station. (it's the Northernmost station which has both green and orange lines). It is the oldest and largest of the eight county airports, and the land includes many airport related businesses (flight schools, aircraft storage, repair and maintenance shops, avionics and instrument shops) as well as two Business Parks. About 2000 people are employed nearby. People need to eat.
In the far corner of the automobile parking lot, conveniently located next to the airfield, where private plane owners can also park and walk …
right next to the Control Tower is the Gillespie Field Cafe. It serves breakfast and lunch on weekdays (and is applying for a liquor license and is open from 4 p.m. until about 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.)
It is open at 6:30 a.m., Monday thru Friday and 7 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The Cafe closes about 2 p.m. on weekdays. On March 1, 2011, Roxanne and Peter, took over the running of the cafe. Roxanne is the waitress, Peter is the chef. There are both an indoor and an outdoor eating area, with an unobstructed view of the airfield. They serve good, diner food. Not gimicky pseudo-diner food. This is the real thing.
I was fascinated by the description of '4-5 eggs' being used to make an omelet (in addition to the 'comes with two' part of the menu).
A "Build Your Own" Omelet ($9.75) made with 4-5 eggs, bacon,sausage, mushrooms and avocado. Fresh mushrooms, crispy bacon, really good breakfast sausage. Sides of cottage cheese and a biscuit with gravy. Good biscuit- fluffy and soft, but almost underdone. I didn't mind not having a crispy crust, because I was mostly using the biscuit as a device to eat the gravy. Great gravy- smooth, with sausage bits and a nice, pleasant combination of Peter's special seasoning including black pepper. Then there was Breakfast Combo #2 ($7.75) (not the weekday specials; the Breakfast menu is four pages, including waffles ). Six wedges ( 3 slices) of French toast, 2 eggs and two bacon. Properly cooked French Toast made with a thicker white bread. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Not quite creamy soft as an egg bread would be, but very good and egg soaked and cooked through. I did not need the syrup. The bacon was crispy and not thin but also not really thick. It had a good flavor and just enough saltiness.
Perfect poached eggs. Fresh eggs. Creamy eggs. My kind of breakfast.
Of course, Farmer John's coffee ($1.95)…always fresh and hot pot, since everyone here seems to order it.
One weekday, The Mister was home and we came here for lunch. We had to have a side order of onion rings which are lightly battered and perfectly fried to go with our lunch selections, in this case, hamburger based.
All the burgers are 1/3 pound coarse ground beef, hand formed. The menu says Angus beef. The Patty Melt ($8.29), cooked medium (we were not asked the level of doneness) and topped with a lot of sliced fresh grilled, unburned onions and Swiss cheese, on a very good rye bread, which was not greasy, but lightly grilled. There were almost too many onions, even for me…but I managed. The side of potato salad I chose was good, made with skin on red potatoes, finely chopped carrots and celery. I think it was made with a 'Light" mayonnaise, which I don't crave. The Mister ordered a chili burger on this visit ($9.29) The same 1/3 pound burger, topped with Cheddar and the Cafe Chili on a toasted sesame seeded bun. The chili, made with beans, is really good and I will order it as a meal on another cold day. The cole slaw was fresh and crispy and lightly dressed with a vinegary mayo mix. I added salt and pepper to it.
Even if you are seated indoors, there is a view of the airfield and runway.
Not fancy, not a large place. Good food and lots of "regulars" who eat here. A true diner.
Gillespie Field Cafe 2015 N. Marshall (at Bradley) El Cajon, 92020 (619) 448-0415
Yep, you are reading mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Welcome. Here is another of Cathy's favorite places to get a burger. A good burger. It's not a fancy place.
Hi again. Another place I frequent ( and have blogged about )(go ahead, look at that post; the prices here have not changed since I wrote it in October 2007) when I want a good, hand formed, coarse ground, fresh burger, is Elsa's Kitchen. It's in a plain strip mall at the NorthEast corner of 70th at El Cajon Boulevard, near SDSU.
It looks like a kind of hole in the wall…Really though, you order from a hole in the wall…
Elsa's has been here many years. Sometimes, there is a wait for the food to be prepared. The wait is worth it. I feel the need to show you a size comparison. This, a side order of onion rings, the small size ($1.75). The burger is a half pound steak burger. I feel the need to mention that every single Greek restaurant which makes onion rings knows how to make them *so* wonderfully perfect. From scratch, sliced thick, lightly corn meal battered and fried just right. Always order the rings at any Greek place. They are wonderous. The half pound burger ($4.50) is hand formed, coarse ground, flavorful and juicy. The bun is toasted and buttered. The toppings are standard, including thousand island dressing. Yes, my hand is small, but this is a very nice, large burger (in the back is The Mister's Gyros salad ($ 6.45)- The salad is made with mixed greens, Feta, cucumber, onion and tomato. Dressing is served on the side as is a side of tzatziki).
Eh, here's a photo of the salad. The gyros is good here. The portion is crazy large. Here is a photo of the burger with a bite out. I let them cook it the way they think is proper, and it is cooked medium. Still, it has flavor and is juicy but not dripping. You can see more of the hand formed shape, and that the bun has sesame seeds on both the top and bottom. A really good bun.
You may have noticed the sign on the front for a 1/4 lb burger with fries and beverage for $4.49. This is the more 'average' portion size and affordable meal. Maybe not as exciting photographs, but excellent food.
I substituted fried zucchini for the fries. The zucchini is sliced into sticks, lightly breaded, fried to just crisp and is not greasy. This also technically is the small size.
Even this 1/4 of a pound burger is cooked just right and stays juicy and has great flavor. The toasted bun is the right size for the burger, has a good amount of the standard sauce and toppings and is so beefy flavored. I really like the burgers here.
Elsa's Kitchen Greek and American Food 7022 El Cajon Blvd (619) 464-6711Mon-Sat 9-9, Sun 9-8.
{Oh yes, they make breakfast. Gyros and eggs ($4.49) , breakfast gyro and a 2 egg gyros omelet for $3.99 are great choices.}
The Cowboy Star has been one of our favorite destinations for Happy Hour for a while. It's never been very busy when we've visited, which makes the whole deal pretty relaxing, in spite of the location.
We've enjoyed most everything we'd had in the bar, and in the restaurant…….
The Missus isn't a real big red meat eater, but She enjoys the tornedos and steaks at the Cowboy Star. They always seem to get it right for Her.
Perhaps one day I'll post on our dinners there; the sweetbreads, marrow bones, the Porterhouse!
When we finally decided to do another burger week, I looked forward to trying one of the burgers there. Since they still serve burgers during Happy Hour (it's on the lunch menu), why not? So on a recent visit, I ordered the Bison Burger ($15):
I love the flavor of buffalo and bison when it's prepared well. The meat is leaner, so it's very easy to overcook. The meat has a faint flavor that has a sweet tinge to it; not as sweet as say, horse or donkey, but just enough variance in flavor to know that, "it's not quite beef I'm eating tonight".
This looked like one beautiful burger. The roasted Anaheim Pepper tasted wonderful, but in my opinion it over-powered the bison. The wonderfully melted white cheddar went well with my burger, even though it was cooked a bit over the medium I requested.
Granted, Bison is more difficult to cook than beef, still, I was a bit underwhelmed with the burger as a whole. Even after removing the pepper…. which the Missus gladly gobbled up, the flavor was a bit too mild for me….. perhaps the grass fed beef is the way to go here.
The frites had a nice texture, crisp on the exterior, combined with a light interior. I once mentioned in a previous post, of the Missus love of salt (" the Missus has been known to body slam a Moose to get to its salt lick"). But man, on this day the fries were much too salty.
In truth, one so-so meal at The Cowboy Star won't deter us from returning since we've had some really fine meals there. But I do think it was telling that on the next evening, we also had meat, which I enjoyed even more. Stuff like this:
Everybody eats burgers. Kirk eats burgers, Cathy eats burgers, vegetarians eat veggieburgers, and even ed (from Yuma) eats burgers. Today, he's posting about some that are yoso delicious.
Jersey's is gone but not forgotten.
Some things happen in threes. Right after my post on the Fortuna foodcourt in Foothills, Yuma, appeared here at mmm-yoso, three things converged. First, Cathy and Foodhoe wanted to know about the 3 pound burger at Jersey's; second, my gourmandizing friend Chip insisted we had to go there and try the burgers ASAP; and third, Kirk sent me an e-mail reminding me that Burger Week was approaching at the blog. That was a triple whammy, but I hardly needed three prompts to go to Jersey's:
In fact, the very next day, a bunch of us carnivores, Chip, Betsy, Light, Deb W, Tina, and I, gathered together to eat some serious meat.
After ordering sandwiches, we walked over to the refrigerator and selected some soft drinks:
While we were deciding between root beers and colas ($1.50), it was impossible to ignore that wonderful smell of beef being charred over coals on an open grill. Cue the saliva.
The tables contained a limited number of condiments and a whimsical paper towel dispenser:
The smaller burgers and Betsy's cheesesteak arrived first. I had ordered the most basic burger on the menu ($5.50) , which came with some iceberg lettuce and abundant mayo sauce:
The sesame seed bun held a handmade patty that had to weigh at least a half pound. One bite and I was in protein paradise. I cannot recall a more intense burger in my life. The whole thing screamed BEEF as loud as it could! The char from the grill and the sauce (mayo with hint of ketchup, I think), just made the flavor of the patty that much better and more intense.
By default, all the burgers come with french fries:
These were obviously homemade and full of potato flavor. While not greasy, they were also not especially crunchy. Not bad, certainly, but really just okay. Next time, I will follow Chip's lead and order mine extra crispy.
Tina opted for a blue cheese burger, which came with mayo sauce, red onions, hand cut tomato slice, pepper bacon, lettuce, and hand formed perfectly grilled burger patty:
In general, I am hesitant to order blue cheese burgers because many that I've had over the years have tasted more like blue cheese than like burger. Not the case here. The intensity of the beef flavor stood up to and was enhanced by the cheese. There was so much going on (in a good way) that the bacon seemed like an afterthought. Let me say that any time slices of bacon are not the most flavorful things on a sandwich, that sandwich has got to have full tilt taste. The only disadvantage of Tina's burger was that the bun disintegrated before the whole burger was consumed.
"Totally scrumptious," Tina termed it. It was so good that I think it's worth another picture:
Unlike my french fries, the onion rings Tina ordered were just about perfect. Clearly homemade, each crunchy ring had a sweet onion center.
Betsy's cheesesteak ($?) was also pretty darn good. She loved it. The beef was full of flavor, like good carne asada steak, the roll well grilled, and the cheese, onions, and peppers added tastes and textures:
And then it arrived, the 3 pound burger ($21 — free if you can eat it all in 20 minutes): The genormous burger was loaded with lettuce, tomato, cheese, grilled red onions, pickle relish, and two 1 1/2 lb patties. For some strange reason, Chip had asked the mayo sauce be replaced with mustard. This close-up shows the wonderful grill marks that marked each patty with flavor: We cut the giant burger into four wedges, letting us all see a cross-section of this flavorful concoction: A quarter section of this giant burger was still a handful — actually two hands full:
It is rare for a restaurant, whether it be a posh fine dining establishment or a taco stand, to exceed my wildest expectations. After all, when it comes to food, I have some very wild expectations. Jersey's is everything it promises and more.
However, it should come with two important warnings.
After lunch, I had work to do. All afternoon I struggled to keep my eyes open and my mind on what I was reading. When I got together with Tina that evening, I was complaining about nodding off, and she looked at me and said, "you think you had problems. I lay down for a second – and woke up three hours later."
First warning: May Cause Drowsiness!
Second warning: Could Be Habit Forming!
Consider yourselves warned.
Jersey's, on the access road parallel to Fortuna between Walgreens and the Fry's Shopping Center, Yuma Foothills, (928) 920-6476.
Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!! This is one of Cathy's contributions to the heck with your New Year Resolution Burger Week 2011.
At the Trolley Station in Santee (end of the Green Line) we have a Starbucks, Einstein's, Quiznos, Panda [something] and now, Anny's Fine Burger. It used to be VGood and the cook/owner is the same, as is the CalTrans Orange paint on the walls. (Really. Click onto the link for the VGood post) The menu, however has taken over one wall…It's right there as you walk in; you can't miss it. All the main items offered are served in a burger form. Hot dogs, chili and sides are also on the menu.
Anny's Fine Burger makes Burgers. Burgers of angus beef. 1/2 pound burgers. (But you can substitute chicken, turkey or veggie burgers). All are char broiled. All the sauces are home made.
I'll start out showing you The Mister's Pastrami Burger ($5.99), since it comes with cheese and the pastrami topping can be removed and eaten separately… Baked pastrami, not fatty, but nicely smokey flavored, piled on a hand formed, half pound burger cooked medium rare. Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato pickle and a smokey, house made teriyaki sauce topped it off. The bun is more of a Kaiser roll, fresh and toasted. Toasted in butter. The burger is very flavorful and juicy-but not so juicy as to ruin the bottom bun. Char broiled. Just enough char flavor without being overpowering. Since, like Kirk, I also like the taste of a pure burger, here is my usual order – the Basic Combo. (#1 on the menu-$4.99) ($5.50 as the combo) the half pound burger (no cheese). Lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and a house made thousand island. The Combo comes with plain fries and a beverage. I like the simplicity and ability to taste the basic ingredients. Everything is fresh-and good. The burger meat has some seasoning which brings out the meaty flavor. The meat is coarse ground and a texture I enjoy. As with all the burgers here, the char broiling imparts just a bit of smoke flavor.
The fries are cut here from fresh potatoes and double fried. Pretty darn good and crispy. Above is a side order of sweet potato fries ($3.99). Cut from fresh sweet potatoes. Quite a large order. Good flavor, proper frying technique. I do appreciate proper frying.
Just for fun, here are some other choices from the menu. #10, The Blue Cheese burger ($5.99). Crumbled blue cheese as well as a house made blue cheese dressing. Again, excellent beef flavor. Cooked medium rare. Juicy and flavorful. They used a mold to form the burgers on this visit. The beef is not frozen and tastes good on its own.
#23. The Sand Dune Burger ($6.50). There are beer battered onion rings on the menu, but this burger comes with onion strings, which I like and can't get any other way. This burger also has bacon, cheddar, lettuce and tomato as well as a smokey teriyaki sauce. It is a nice melding of flavors and texture. (This presentation was about 6 inches high)
I like the coarse grind of fresh meat used for the burgers here. I haven't tried any chicken, turkey or veggie patties because when I get here, I am usually craving a 1/2 lb of beef. The sauces all made here- including lemon mayo, spicy mayo, sun dried tomato mayo, garlic mayo, ranch, bbq, honey mustard..in addition to the thousand and teriyaki are made from scratch and are very good. The fresh Kaiser buns are toasted and brushed with butter always; the optional whole wheat bun is very good also. Anny's is a really good choice for burgers.
Anny's Fine Burger 9862 Mission Gorge Road Santee CA 92071 (right at the Trolley station, near the Starbucks)(619) 258-8288 Mon-Sat 11:00-9:00, Sun 12:00-8:00
