Caffeine Fix – Page 17

Up2Yoü Cafe-time for a snack

May 7, 2013 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Desserts, Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, the blog about food, is the website you have selected to read. Kirk, ed(from Yuma) and Cathy share food experiences here. Cathy is writing today because the guys are busy with appointments galore.

The other day, I was craving something sweet and The Mister figured how to use the maps app on my iPhone. While I was driving, he did a search for 'desserts', saw the pin drops and told me to take a right from Convoy onto Vickers Street. Lo and behold, I found a place to park along this street of mostly Commercial/Wholesale/Maintenance businesses.

Up2Yoü Cafe is closer to Convoy on the North side of the street; you may pass it at first, but since Vickers is a Court, you'll see it when driving back…

When you walk in, you'll notice random, eclectic decor throughout (yes, those are black and white photos of Beatles)…

We happened to walk in when a large group was leaving and had a choice of seats in this 29 person capacity space (which oddly has about 36 seating spaces). That's the cash register, with card and board games on the counter. Pay attention to that pink and blue signage on the back wall; I'll get to it at the end…

The menu is simple and easily changeable, each section hanging by "S" hooks.

Quite a few beverage combinations are available. I selected the sweet orange tea($2.75)- it was freshly, perfectly brewed. (It's not sweetened, just the flavor is 'sweet orange', and it was very pleasant.)

Served in a *huge* cup, along with our order of a crepe ($3.50), filled with Nutella®($50¢), banana ($1) and topped with vanilla ice cream ($1),

Here's a blurry photo of a cross section. You can see that whipped cream was also inside the crépe.

The crépe was very good on its own, quite overfilled and the whipped cream was *fresh*. The vessels for conveying the various toppings are honey toast (which The Mister and I estimated to be 4x4x2 inches in size) and waffles. There are also banana splits and something called a fried banana cheesecake: nothing savory here. It was very good and we will be returning to try other items in various combinations.

(After I wrote this, I saw that Kirbie's Cravings had done a post in October last year; she has a great photo of the honey toast and a link to Erin's post on Serious Eats. It looks like snow ice is either gone or just one of the easy changes from the menu board. )

Up2Yoü Cafe 7770 Vickers Street San Diego 92111 (619)663-6388 Closed Mondays. T-Th 12:30-11, Fri-Sat 12:30-midnight Sun 12:30-10

Oh. The pink and blue signage on the back wall?

Restrooms.

La Marsa (Tunisia): A cup of “Cafe Express” and some self catering

March 17, 2013 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Markets & Grocers, Sidi Bou Said/La Marsa, Travel, Tunisia, Tunisian Food

We got up pretty early in the morning. The Missus decided that we should check out La Marsa, a village which is the last stop on the TGM, the Tunis train line. The Missus however, wanted to walk to La Marsa and we got some basic instructions from the folks at Dar Amilcar. La Marsa was somewhat sprawling, but looked more upscale. There are signs you notice that indicate a more well to do lifestyle; more cars and folks exercising. Folks who have to work long hours or hard labor just don't have the luxury of putting on some rather stylish work-out gear and go jogging. La Marsa really had a laid-back Mediterranean vibe which we really enjoyed….we later found out that many Europeans also enjoy the vibe as this is where the rich Tunisians and ex-pats live. We wandered the streets of La Marsa until we walked pass the Mosque.

Right past the mosque was a rather busy coffee shop….well, the coffee shop wasn't very busy, but the shaded little area across the street was. It seemed like this was where the locals hung out, socializing and chatting.

This seemed like the perfect place for a short break and a "cafe express", what the Tunisians call espresso.

So we had a seat, looked around, and just soaked in La Marsa.

One thing we quickly noticed was that everyone was facing the same direction. Toward the coffee shop and the little street in front of it. I'm not sure why this was, but hey, if it's good enough for the locals, right? I recall tweeting, "having a cup of cafe express with the locals, all facing the same direction, like camels toward the sun." Or something like that.

There was a bit of excitement when two cats decided to duke it out under a chair. What made it slightly humorous was that there was a gentleman seated in it! He was calmly reading a newspaper when all screeching hell broke out below him. He literally levitated out of his seat into the road. Ah, such was the thrill of having a cafe express here; you never knew what was going to happen next.

A few blocks away is the waterfront, here you suddenly knew why this was prime real estate, and why the Ottoman's made this their summer capital, a place to escape the heat.

We loved the palms, the white-washed look, it was so Mediterranean to us.

A few blocks away is this building. You could tell right away what it was…….

The perimeter of the ground floor was ringed by various shops, most of them selling meat, poultry, and charcuterie.

The center portion was where all the produce was located. Here's a view from above.

There was quite a good selection.

Our favorite shop here by far was the little pickle and olive shop.

There was just a staggering array of pickled items in this shop. The friendly guy running the place kept trying to give us samples.

At this point we decided to just go ahead and have a nice self-catered lunch. We'd hit up someplace a little bit nicer for dinner.

Right across the street from the other side of the building is a location of Monoprix Market, the big grocery chain in Tunisia. And next to the market is this Patisserie.

I took that photo a day later since the place was really packed on this day. I was just trying to survive long enough to get a baguette.

We started walking back the way we came, but then decided that the TGM might be a good bet. Thing was, we couldn't find the train station. The Missus went up to a gentleman and asked, he spoke some English, but then I noticed that he was blind. Leave it to the Missus to find the one blind guy in the crowd to give us directions. So we walked around looking for the TGM station. Finally, we saw a young lady, book in hand, she looked like a college student. So we went up and asked her if she spoke English, which she did….quite well by the way. We asked her where the train station was and she told us to follow her. We told her that she could just point it out to us, but she insisted on walking us there. We actually walked back toward the mosque, but on the other side, a good half kilometer. We felt really bad that the young lady, "Sophie" had to walk all this way with some strangers. She led us to the TGM station, told us to wait, and went to the window and spoke to the person issuing tickets. A couple of second later she came back and said, "your train will be here in a few minutes….here are some tickets, this is from me. I hope you enjoy Tunisia." My goodness, what could we say! I felt like we should be giving her some money, but thought that would have just insulted her. So I simply got her name, we shook hands, she smiled, turned around and walked away. Bless you Sophie, you're a wonderful ambassador of your city! You really touched us and we'll always remember your generous and kind gesture.

We caught our train and made it back to the Sidi Bou Said station and did the short 10 minute walk back to the Dar Amilcar.

While the Missus went upstairs to freshen up, I spoke to the woman working and she led me to the kitchen and I got some plates, silverware, and glasses for us.

We ended up having a nice lunch……nice cheese from Monoprix.

Peppers, olives, and various pickles from the stand in the market……

Man, that baguette was really good!

Sitting around the pool……..

Having a nice bottle of wine……

Life was good!

We also met a friendly gentleman who was sunning at the pool. I believe his name is Raphael. He told us he was from Toulouse and visits Sidi Bou Said just about every 6 weeks or so. He told us it's cheaper to have a little weekend holiday in Tunisia than it is in France. Anyway, he gave us a couple of recommendations for places to eat.

Things were indeed looking up.

Thanks for reading!

Caffé Calabria (North Park, San Diego)

November 29, 2012 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Desserts, Italian Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog. It's a food blog. We (Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy, in a varying rotation) write about the who, what, when, where, why and how (in varying combinations) with a central focus on food. Cathy is writing today.

A few weeks ago, fellow blogger, cc and I met for lunch, which needed to be rearranged (here is a link to her post; my post will appear soon enough) and after a very nice lunch, we drove on 30th, to just North of University to Caffé Calabria for refreshing beverages.

You'll probably notice this fabric signage first. We walked in, noticed the wood fired pizza oven

which only bakes thin crust/Neapolitan style pizza (and calzones) after 5 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday.

You can select from a variety of available sandwiches, made on baguettes, foccacia or small rolls,

which will be heated for you if you'd like.

You can see one panino press to the right on the back counter; there are three total.

This is the view of the barista area from our table,

which was right in front of the coffee roaster, which was not roasting coffee when we were here. I would like to experience the smell of fresh-fresh roasted coffee. Many San Diego restaurants serve Caffé Calabria coffees, which I have always enjoyed.

Our order- a large iced mocha and a doppio macchiatto. The mocha -chocolate and espresso- was good and had enough caffiene to make cc hyper for most of the evening. The double shot of espresso topped with a 'kiss' of milk foam was deep flavored yet I could detect a sweetness to the steam pressured coffee without having to add any sugar.

Obsessing about what cc and I had experienced, I brought The Mister back for a quick snack the other day.

He ordered a "Hammerhead"- regular coffee with a shot of espresso ($2.50)- and I ordered another doppio macchiato ($2.60).

We also decided on two items available in the counter, which I asked to have warmed.

The Prosciutto Cotto ($3.25)-rosemary ham topped with Fontina cheese and black pepper. This was so good! There was quite a lot of ham, just enough cheese and the warming on the press made the fresh bread crust crispy on the outside, but the crust is thin and the bread was warm and soft on the inside. This was a perfect size for the two of us to share…

because The Mister had ordered this-a dolce-sweet. Nuttela con nocciola ($1.50)-chocolate hazelnut spread topped with chopped hazelnuts. As you can see, it was served on a small roll (with the same thin crust as the baguette) topped with powdered sugar. The nicest antithesis of a donut, ever.

I am sure we will be returning to Caffé Calabria to try the pizza and other available sandwich items. There are several other places in this old San Diego neighborhood which we found by simply walking around the block. I want to explore.

I hope everyone is having a good week!

Caffé Calabria 3933 30th Street San DIego 92104 (619) 291-1759 Website

E & Drink- mini Hot Pot, Tea, Coffee and More- inside the 99Ranch building

July 2, 2012 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

E & Drink has closed

Click here to link to a more recent visit

Hi. You've found mmm-yoso!!! the food blog. Kirk, ed(from Yuma) and Cathy usually write about food and things related to food. Today's post is about food and Cathy is writing because Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are busy.

This is the Clairmont Mesa Boulevard entrance to 99Ranch Market. The 'back' parking area is closer for me, since I exit from the 52 at Convoy Street, but the other day I decided to get out of my comfort zone and did things a bit differently. The fountain, with its oxidation, is quite beautiful.

99Ranch Market has undergone renovations recently and is a regular stop for groceries (and, like most other markets The Mister and I frequent, has an eat in area-there will be an updated post soon). Once inside the building, you are in a long hallway which has several businesses along with the Market. Three of those businesses are are sit down restaurants.

Yes, three. At the North end ('my' parking lot entrance), across from Sam Woo in the former Video Store space, E & Drink has popped up.

The Mister and I had passed E & Drink several times in the past two weeks, checking out the menu at the entrance and making mental notes to stop in. They seem to specialize in Taiwanese Hot Pot and boba-like drinks and snacks. It finally was time. (See that orange rice cooker in the above photo? Tea eggs are being sold for $1 as a grab and go snack.)

Once we were seated, we were given both a beverage menu and a food menu. The lady behind this counter is making beverages. I like the idea of a dual level additional seating bar area. There are about 20 two person tables that can be reconfigured for groups in the rest of the eating area.

The decoration is modern, with one television and overhead music, which was on pretty loud until someone complained. We were here at lunch, but the menu remains the same all day with one small difference.

The Hot Pot Lunch Special includes green or black tea (hot or cold); no beverage is included with the Hot Pot Dinner. That's the black tea on the right. It is slightly sweet and has a nice tannin 'bite' to it. I did not order the Lunch Special, so no beverage came with and ordered my usual, (because I can't decide) a coffee milk tea ($3.55). The beverage selection is extensive and I have plans to try other items. Add-ins, like boba and sago are 25¢ and I think the prices are reasonable, especially for the size. The coffee milk tea tastes of all three flavors-very refreshing.

When we first sat down, two small plates of a sort of appetizer were brought out- cucumbers and cabbage, both lightly pickled. A nice salty accompaniment which we 'saved' to use with our meals; there are no condiments on the tables. Our utensils, small plate and napkin were also brought out.

We had also decided to try a tea egg appetizer ($2.50 for two)

This was really good. The egg white took on the flavors of anise/five spice and the egg yolk took on the tea flavor. (As a side note, the eggs in the rice cooker at the entrance are in there longer and have more flavor that the ones from the kitchen, at least if you come in to eat closer to opening time. In any case, all are good.)

Since The Mister had ordered a Hot pot, he was given a choice of five sauces to go with and chose the peanut and the spicy bean sauces (the ones he did not choose were soy, hot chili and bar-b-que sauce). Not knowing what was in his pot, he added on a side of cuttlefish dumplings for $2.25. Below is the menu page of add- ons for the Hot Pots.

Oh. His hot pot?

The seafood. Served in a mini wok on top of a nice stand which held a sort of sterno heat source which was lighted at the table, this didn't need any add ins and in fact, the dumplings could not be added in right away because the pot was filled. There were several pieces of a flaky white fish, some squid rings, two head on shrimp, fresh tofu, several types of mushrooms, fish cake, krab and an egg along with broccoli and bok choy. All in a very rich seafood broth which was not salty. There were also clear rice noodles on the bottom of the pot AND a choice of rice or noodles came with the pot. (The Mister chose the (very good) sticky rice) .

At first, I was going to try a few items from the "Small Dish" menu, then at the bottom, I saw the "E & Drink House Special" and had to for this first visit.

Quite a large serving of marinated pigs ears, marinated tofu, marinated seaweed and (raw) peanuts.($7.99) Wonderful! The marinade had sesame oil as well as the traditional marinade which includes cinnamon, anise, soy, pepper and garlic. This was a wonderful combination of flavors, a very large portion and in combination with the hot pot, a *lot* of food.

We will be back- to try other hot pots (there were about ten to choose from) and some of the fried items…

E & Drink 7330 Clairmont Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92111 *Cash Only* open 10:30 a.m.-midnight, seven days

K Sandwiches- more than sandwiches

June 21, 2012 Cathy Bakery, Banh Mi, Caffeine Fix, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the Food Blog you have stumbled upon. Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are not blogging today, for various reasons. Cathy has no reason to not be blogging.

If you go to the "Search" box at the top left column of this blog and put in "K Sandwiches", you'll get 2600 links to mentions of it on this blog. Between all of us blogging here, we haven't even written 2000 posts yet. Apparently we at mm-yoso!!! post about it, or places near it, using this former Bank Building on the intersection of Convoy where it turns into Linda Vista and Mesa College Drive where it turns into Aero Drive as a Point of Reference/Landmark as well as posting about the food here.

The parking lot is not this empty very often; such emptiness is unusual.

Inside, there is a small area with fresh baked breads, rolls and croissants.

As well as a "steam tray" area, with rice paper rolls and various other savory choices.

There is also a small area of fresh made dessert items(I don't have a photo, but there is Vietnamese yogurt here; it is different and very good).

Here is a view of the cash registers from a table against the wall. You order (the menu is just behind and above the cash register area-straight ahead when you walk in) and/or pay for items you have picked up. The steam tray and all the other above photographed area is just on the other side of the registers.

This is Sandwich #25- tuna salad ($3.99). The simple tuna and mayonnaise mix is spread on the fresh baked large croissant and filled with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and pickled jalapeños.

One day we picked up (from left) two shrimp cakes (50¢ each), a pate chaud ($1) the shrimp spring rolls ($2.50)and two eggrolls ($1). All fresh, light and crispy and filled with the corresponding meats.

Our latest 'must get' is from the steam trays- the chicken curry ($4.99). When you get it to 'eat here', it is served in this glass pie plate. The chicken is tender, and the curry sauce is fascinating- coconut milk is definitely part of the base, along with those chilis you see in the photo…and it is served with a fresh, hot, crispy roll. Lately, we make sure we get here before noon, so the curry won't be gone for the day.

Then there is another current obsession. Sandwich #7- the sardine banh mi ($2.85). A fresh crispy roll. The sardines -in a tomato sauce- are heated, crushed and served on the sandwich with the standard accoutrement-pickled daikon, carrot, cucumber, fresh cilantro (still on the stem…a bit annoying, but expected here) and raw jalapeño. It is perfect. The flavors are complimented by the hot cafe ($1.75)-strong coffee- I added half and half to it…and new/not on the menu but taped near the registers- mung bean milk (iced or hot, $2.75).

Always an adventure ending in a great meal. I hope everyone is having a good start to Summer.

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

Tea Station-revisit

May 16, 2012 Cathy Caffeine Fix, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome (back) to mmm-yoso!!! the food blog. Right now, Kirk is relaxing. As is ed(from Yuma). Cathy is blogging in a relaxed fashion.

Hello again. I blogged about Tea Station last year and it's a semi-regular stop for The Mister and I when we want to enjoy a relaxing talk along with a snack or light lunch. Wifi is available and some people are on computers, but for the most part, people are playing board games, card games or just talking and interacting at one of the numerous indoor and outdoor tables.

Tea Station is located in the mall across the street from 99Ranch Market.

This visit, we started out with Tea Eggs ($2.75) which are pretty simple to make at home, but I enjoy trying the the versions made by 'professionals'. Eggs are hard boiled then slightly cracked and placed back into the water which has had tea, soy and spices (like anise, cinnamon, black pepper or just five spice) placed and then simmered for about 20 minutes and then the eggs and tea mixture is placed in the refrigerator to steep for a day or so.

When the egg is finally peeled before eating, the tea mixture has seeped into the cracks,leaving a beautiful marble pattern. The whites of the egg usually take on the salty, savory flavor of the spices and the tea flavor seems to hit the yolk, or somehow enhances its flavor. Anyhow, I suppose I can do a post about making these at home. I enjoy the version here because the tea used is a fermented green, pu-erh tea, which I like. It looks like it is a black tea, but that's the color after fermenting. At home I use less expensive teas to make the tea eggs..and sometimes I don't even use tea- just spices and soy…I digress. I like the tea eggs here.

As on the last visit I blogged, we ordered the squid balls ($5.25). We did so again. These are a favorite…Squid somehow formed in a way that it doesn't fall apart and is solid. The lightly fried balls are rolled in a spicy salt blend (I think the green is seaweed). They are not greasy and don't have any breading. It's different and a really tasty snack.

The fried tofu ($5.25) is also a favorite of ours. Cubed soft tofu very lightly tossed in flour, fried and rolled in the same spicy salt mix. It's served with a thick teriyaki dipping sauce…which also compliments the squid.

Once again, we ordered a pot of the rose tea ($6.50), which was expertly steeped and wonderfully flavored with a marvelous rose aroma.

There are so many beverages you can order here, hot and cold, with or without milk, boba, combinations of flavors….and a good pot of tea is what they do and they do it so well.

I hope everyone had a nice day. Do take the time to sit and talk.

Tea Station 7315 Clairmont Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92111 (858) 268-8198 Website

Cafe Hue- crepes!

February 26, 2012 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

The mmm-yoso!!! guys, Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are both having a busy time this week, so Cathy is going to blog, since she has been eating and taking photos the last few weeks while they were blogging and has a few meals to share. This post is short.

Hi again. If you've been in the parking lot at the corner of Convoy and Ostrow, which is a mall housing an international compendium of eateries anchored by Nijiya Market, Mignon Pho+Grill, Okan, Sage French Cake, Spicy House and Koon Thai Kitchen as well as Sunrise Buffet, Subway and Palomino Taco Shop #2, you have probably seen Cafe Hue (and it's predecessor in that space, Red Berry Yogurt).

I have been fascinated by the "Lunch Crepe Special" sign hanging over the doorway and decided to finally stop in. [Actually, The Mister and I had stopped in when Cafe Hue first opened a few years ago and shared a pretty lousy snack consisting of a cup of stale espresso and a stale, warm waffle topped with whipped cream. I didn't want to write a post about that experience.] So we walked in and ordered (and were asked to choose from a variety of sauces when we ordered the crepes; most salad dressing flavors), paid and sat down.

A very good cup of espresso was prepared, a good sign of things to come. The interior is filled with tables, chairs and a few couches along with board games and books for people to share.

The description of my order, the "healthy veggie" ($4.25), mentioned lettuce and spinach and so I figured there was a small salad on the side…but the salad was inside the crepe and my 'sauce' order of balsamic Italian was spread on top of the lightly cooked flavorful batter crepe.

Actually, there was a light layer of cheese cooked into the crepe and then the lettuce, spinach and corn-yes corn- was placed inside the crepe. Unusual and a very nice little lunch.

We also had ordered the $3.95 crepe- ham and cheese and (not knowing) asked for Thousand Island as the sauce. This combination of flavors did work. The photo of a cross section of this crepe didn't work.

Anyhow, I am still on my quest for a perfect crepe and the ones at Cafe Hue are in the running. They serve a great variety of beverages, gelatos, crepes and waffles. It's a nice place to sit and catch up with friends.

Cafe Hue 3860 Convoy, Suite 106 San Diego 92111 (858)571-7947

Midweek Meanderings Hot Drink Edition: The Big Tea-se, Honolulu Coffee Company, and what I’m craving at this moment

December 28, 2011 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Honolulu, Oahu, yoso-silly

I really became a big tea drinker after our trip to China nearly two years ago. And it just carried on after I returned; I drink tea everyday at work, just placing leaves in a large cup I have and adding hot water as the day goes on. It does help that one of the "big" gifts for Chinese is tea. Here's a bunch of containers I threw together for a quick photo:

All of these are from China. We've also been pretty lucky, everytime we nearly run out we'd get a package or have visitors. The Missus' cousins loaded us up with enough for at least another nine months or so…until we start worrying about running out! It seems that the younger generations don't drink much tea, so we've been the beneficiaries. The packaging of some are quite elaborate, looking like something out of Raider's of the Lost Ark. The reflection on the Missus face when She opened this one also reminded me of a movie.

I'm really just a tea drinker, though I know what I like. We also know when something really stands out, as the tea we were given in the red container to the left did. I took a pack to work and noticed how fragrant this was, the finish to me is a bit sweet. Meanwhile, the Missus did some research and found out that Jinjunmei Black Tea is a famous and very desirable black tea that is supposedly grown from a rare species and only found on the slopes of certain mountains at an elevation of 1500 – 1800 meters in the Wuyi Mountains.

The Missus also told me the stuff selling for up to $180 for 50 grams…50 GRAMS! Of course I was at work and had just gotten my first cup of tea……Jinjunmei tea when She called and told me this. Sigh…..I looked down at my cup of tea, not quite knowing what to do……drink it I guess…..but somehow it just felt wrong. Needless to say, the Missus and I keep telling ourselves that we'll have a nice pot, well, "next weekend…..maybe".

Honolulu Coffee Company:

On our last (thankfully) trip to Ala Moana Center, with the Missus riding high from just purchasing a pair of Manolo Blahniks She wanted, I decided that we should sit and have cup of coffee. The smells coming out of this shop was just wonderful……….

I don't drink a whole lot of coffee anymore, but the thought of some decent Kona Coffee just sounded right. The Missus, asked me what to get…. looking at Her bag with the Manolos in them I told Her the French Pressed 100% Kona of course. At eight buck for a cup of coffee it ain't cheap. The Barista told us it would be four minutes and thirty seconds…not four minutes, not five minutes, but four minutes and thirty seconds. And what we got was the most perfect cup of coffee I've had in ages. Smooth, but not too smooth, fragrant, nice finish…..

The Missus, a regular coffee drinker knew better than to ask me if I wanted anything in my coffee….. The Barista came by a few minutes later and asked what we thought of our cup…..I told him, "I'm far from an expert, but this is the best I've had in recent memory….you could get me started on coffee again." On the flight back I read that the Barista who is head of quality for Honolulu Coffee Company, Pete Licata is the 2011 US Barista Champion and took second place in the World Barista Championship. I'd say the quality is quite good……

Honolulu Coffee Co (in Ala Moana Center)
1450 Ala Moana Blvd, Ste 3066
Honolulu, HI 96814

What I'm craving:

Strangely, I'm craving this:

Man, I haven't had the broasted chicken form there in over ten years now! I dropped by on one of my solo trips a couple of months back, but the place was swamped and they told me it would be 2 hour wait! You gotta be kidding….I could be back in San Diego by then! But maybe I should have just sucked it up and waited…sigh….

Guess I'll just have to make due with this.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Cafe Cabaret- a coffee shop with food.

August 29, 2011 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Caffeine Fix, Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Hi. You are back at mmm-yoso!!!, possibly a bookmark on your Tool Bar, or perhaps you got here by Googling. In any case, Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are not blogging today, Cathy is.

The other Friday, again after one of our walks around a body of water…

Lake Murray on this day…

The Mister and I started driving and somehow got to Adams Avenue. We saw this sign. I rounded the block and parked.

It was the "French Crepes" sign which attracted me, because I still hadn't had any since my quest for crepes went unrequited a few weeks ago…

However, just the beverage menu here was filled with choices and when we saw menu items (sandwiches, salads, kabobs), breakfast items(omelets, scrambles, waffles, pancakes, French Toast) and some of the daily chalkboard specials, the crepe was soon forgotten and we ordered, paid and found a place to sit.

An outdoors-brought-inside decor with many tables inside the building as well as on the patio, apparently offering free wi-fi and community setting, we felt comfortable here.

The nice young lady who took our order brought out the regular coffee we had ordered. I found out the owners are Ethiopian, explaining some of the menu items. {Yes. Too many beverage choices has me wanting to see if a place can make a regular cup of coffee. (Cafe Cabaret can.)}
The Mister had ordered the Vegetable samosas, a light snack ($4.99) which came with a salsa dip as well as a yougurt sauce and some carrots and cucumbers.

These pockets of just baked flaky triangle shaped dough were filled with a delightful blend of peas, lentils, potatoes, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, onions, perfectly seasoned with cumin and coriander.
I ordered the chalkboard special falafel sandwich, which came with salad, hummus and whole wheat pita ($4.99). The salad dressing was a raspberry vinaigrette and the dipping sauce was yogurt based. The fresh hummus was topped with a nice-hot Harissa sauce. The falafel inside the wheat wrap were probably made from a dry mix, had and interesting garlic flavor on their own and were cold (!) inside the wrap filled with lettuces, onion, tomato and cucumber accompanied by a sauce which seemed to be a mix of the yogurt and harissa. There was a lot of falafel in the sandwich and the meal was quite filling and very tasty, although I ended up using all of the other sauces on the table and not the raspberry salad dressing for the salad- it tasted too sweet to me.

This was another lucky find for us. We'll stop by when we are in the area again.

Cafe Cabaret 3739 Adams Avenue San Diego 92116 (619)284-1819 Open 6:30-10 p.m. 7 days. Breakfast 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Website

The Living Room-Point Loma, after a San Diego ‘vacation day’ in the rain

May 18, 2011 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Sandwiches, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! has a post about food almost every day. Kirk and ed(from Yuma) just can't post right now. Cathy is able to post now.

"May gray leads to June gloom" is a fairly common San Diego weather report. We had a bit more than gray yesterday.

It was Tuesday and The Mister and I planned to take advantage of "Residents Free Tuesdays" at the usually Admission Fee charging museums at Balboa Park.

As we got off the 163, it was really raining.

The gray clouds made the blooming flowers seem even brighter in color.

The Koi at the Japanese Friendship Garden were especially friendly.
The other Museums open yesterday were the Museum of Man, Museum of Art, Art Institute and Mingei International Museum.
The Mingei has quite a few interesting shows going on right now.
We had planned to have a light lunch at the Tea Pavilion at the Japanese Friendship Garden and making that a post. However, there are only two inside tables and the rain was not letting up. We walked through the museums then drove toward Little Italy and somehow ended up in Point Loma and stopped here.

There are five locations of Living Room Cafe and Bistro. This one is an entire repurposed Victorian house, on the West end of Rosecrans. There is seating inside (upstairs as well as downstairs) as well as on the front porch and side and back porches. There is free wifi. Comfy couches, tables and chairs are everywhere and a simple menu:

Since it was so cold and wet and I had planned on tea, I ordered a teapot for two ($3.75)
Choosing organic green sencha, the loose tea was measured and put into two bags and brewed in the pot…(as a reference, the amount of water filled both of those giant cups almost three times)
Oh. That "Pony" marker was to put on the table for identification when the order is brought out.
Soup, salad, fruit and bread($6.25). No photo of bread. Nice salad, fresh fruit. (As further reference, the soup bowl is as large as the giant tea cups)
Excellent soup. Three bean vegetarian. Thick, hearty, wonderful flavored. Just right on this chilly day.

This was a great find for us. Perfect on this rainy day. I imagine it gets pretty crowded with all the seating available. There are pastries, breakfast items, cold and panini and wrapped sandwiches and apparently some pretty good coffee and cold beverages also.

Living Room Cafe and Bistro 1018 Rosecrans San Diego 92106 (619)222-6852 Open 6 am-midnight daily. Website