Category: European Restaurants

Wired Bistro-another (good)French Cafe

European Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Wired has closed.

mmm-yoso is the blog and Cathy is writing today.  Kirk is on vacation.

Hello, again and welcome back.  The Mister and I decided to "slum" our way out of Santee and visit the UTC area of town yesterday and enjoy lunch where we have enjoyed lunch many times- at Wired Bistro- but this time, with camera in tow. 

I was introduced to Wired by a friend, Miss C, last year when we couldn't decide where to meet for lunch.  It is in the Renaissance Mall, just southeast of the UTC Mall.  I had visited this mall, but had only gone to the Rubio's here.  Wired is one of quite a few restaurants here. Wired_008 It has become a 'regular' spot for me when I dine alone.

It is basically French Bistro style, serving in house baked goods all day and omelettes and bagels for breakfast , crepes, quiches, baguette and panini sandwiches, all sorts of cafe beverages and a daily wine bar serving tapas along with on Friday nights, having a wine tasting of a large selection of French and Spanish wines. 

Here is the menu:Wired_002 Wired_003

I must say I wish I had a camera every time I have been here, because everything is  just pretty when they bring it to your table.

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This time, I decided to try just the soup and quiche combo ($7.50) primarily because the soup of the day was tomato basil bisque, and I have had it before and crave it every so often.  made with fresh tomatoes, light cream and basil, topped with lightly toasted fococcia (herbed) croutons. it was, as always, delightful.

For the quiche, you can chose one of usually four offered per day.  I chose the spinach mushroom.Wired_006

Usually, during the week, I get a wedge of quiche.  This time it was a small, individual quiche, which was nice.  Made with a puff pastry crust and filled with a *very* nice custard and cheese filling, fresh spinach and flavorful mushrooms. The garnishes vary and this time, as you can see it was shredded carrots with some bean sprouts.  Different, but colorful.

The Mister decided on a panini- the one made with roast beef, roasted eggplant and cheese ($7.95).  Neither of us had ever had this one before. It is the first time we were disappointed in anything here. Wired_007   

The bread was excellent, as are all of the pastry/baked items.  The roast beef, although plentiful and tomatoes, sliced nice and thick  basically had no flavor.  The cheese and eggplant relish were wonderful.   It isn't anything that would make me not want to go back, it was just not as exciting as we had expected it to be. It was served with a small salad in the center, topped with a very nice house vinaigrette.

Knowing I would be blogging, well, we had to order a dessert.  It was late afternoon and quite a few of the pastries were gone and, well, The Mister had a craving- so we got the Nutella crepe ($4.00).Wired_004 

Two freshly made crepes, stuffed with Nutella (a spread that is half hazelnut butter and half chocolate butter) and topped with real whipped cream.   Of course this needed a cup of coffee ($1.50), French roast- wonderfully fresh- and we had a nice respite.

During the week, or on Fridays at 6, when the wine bar tastings start, the Tapas menu is perfect.  The $9 cheese and fruit plate or the $9 antipasto plate is a meal for me.  If you are at the UTC mall, just leave the Sears parking lot and go south through the one light and the Renaissance Mall is there on your left-you'll see the Rubio's.

Wired Bistro Wine Bar 8935  Town Centre Drive, Suite 110 San Diego 92122 (858)450-0880 Daily 6 a.m.-10 p.m. (closes Sundays at 8p.m.)

 

Arely French Bakery Cafe- Excellent food!

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

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

Hi again.  The Mister and I were on a quest for some weird items the other day (among them, helium quality balloons and an Old Maid card game), and ended up at the 99 Cent Only store in Clairemont Mesa mall.  When we were leaving, of course I was hungry and I looked over at Woody’s Hot Dogs, where I have enjoyed a few good meals. (I still can’t figure out how to put up a link to the post that Kirk did on Woody’s.  Look it up under the "hot dogs" section of the blog on the left column here; and, really, we have heard all the Woody jokes already). I noticed on the corner right on the other side of the parking lot, the old Liquor store was gone and a pick Up Stix was in its place.  Then I looked for the Viking Bakery and it, too, was gone and in its place wasBistroa_2 this signage.

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

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

There are 3 tables inside, two tables out in front and the menu is on the wall (in all the other French Bistros I have gone to, there is a menu you can sit down and read, then you go up and order and sit back down again).  This way, at Arely, is fine though.Bistroa_001 Bistroa_002

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

The Parisien sandwich-ham with Brie, lettuce and tomato on a baguette ($4.50)Bistroa_004.  The bread is fresh made in the store. The ham was black forest, and excellent, and, I dare say, too much ham was in the sandwich…the Brie was not warm, but cut into chunks with the rind and I could taste it, and it was good.  I would have been happy with just the Brie and bread, actually…and the lettuce  was crispy and tomato slice had flavor (unusual these days).

We got a wedge of the spinach and cheese quiche-Bistroa_003_2 only $2.95. A quarter of the made in store quiche, filled with fresh spinach, a nutty flavored swiss cheese, creamy eggy custard, nutmeg and a delightful, light crust.  They offer 3 flavors a day  the spinach and cheese, ham and cheese and vegetable) and you can buy a whole quiche for $12…of course, I would just buy 4 individual slices…(this is when Basic Math comes into play in real life).

We also wanted to try the French Onion soup ($3.50), since it is a French Cafe…Bistroa_005 DO NOT be put off by the styrofoam cup.  The ambiance is the *only* thing lacking here.  You are not paying for it, you are paying for good food, and that is what you get. 

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

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

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

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

Time Change Brunch – European Bistro

Buffets, European Restaurants

*** European Bistro has since closed. Chef Axel currently does catering only.

As is our "tradition" we had our "time change" Sunday Brunch. Only thing, this year we’re going to Daylight savings a month early, which not only caused a wave of panic within the various technology sectors, but totally discombobulated our scheduling. And so we were left at noon today, without brunch reservations. In cases like this Jim’s San Diego Sunday Brunchmaster site is a godsend. The Missus was in mood for something a bit "different", so she finally came up with European Bistro in La Mesa. And we were off.

Europbistro01

European Bistro is in kind of a strange setting, a "store-front" strip mall, and you can park literally 3 yards from the front the door of the restaurant! Since we’d arrived late and with no reservations, the little bistro was humming, and it seemed like everyone was a "regular". Lucky for us, we didn’t feel like champagne, and so were able to sit outside, on the little table on the sidewalk. We kind of enjoyed sitting there, since it was such a warm and beautiful day…the only thing a bit disconcerting was the proximity of pedestrians walking by on the sidewalk(luckily there weren’t very many)….they could have bent over and grabbed a spoonful of spaetzle if they so desired. But let me tell you, the service was very warm and friendly, Helen and Chef Axel kept dropping by to see how we were enjoying ourselves.

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The buffet itself is rather small with a dozen cooked items, a salad, a selection of sausages, cold cuts, breads. and cheeses, a soup, and several desserts. I also understand that the kitchen will whip up an omelet on request. Still, we enjoyed the selection….

For a typical listing and more info on the brunch, I’ll refer you again to Jim’s posting on His website. There were several items we enjoyed….

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Europbistro04 We both enjoyed the prosciutto, cold sausages, German potato salad, "home fries", and the green beans! Man, those home fries were really good, with onions that have been perfectly fried and caramelized. I thought the Frikadellen(ground meat patties) were very moist, but kind of low on flavor. The Missus enjoyed the Hungarian Goulash, but I thought it bland, and not full of the spice, onions, and other flavors I’m used too….. Still the meat was very tender and moist.

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The Missus absolutely adored the green salad, especially the Raspberry Vinaigrette, to the extent of eating three plates of it.

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As you can tell, we enjoyed the appetizers and side dishes, much more than most of the cooked main courses…but that doesn’t mean you won’t. Other main courses offered today was a tilapia, penne carbonara, and of course schnitzel(on the dry side).

The Missus also had 3 desserts, a slice of cheesecake.

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And two slices of the Chocolate Cake(looked like a bundt to me), with Cherries Jubilee on it…..

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As busy as they were, Helen always had time to stop and chat, and answer any questions. There is also a small "deli" case with sausages and various meats for sale.

Europbistro09 Now here’s the "kicker", so this a champagne brunch, and you can get mimosas and the like, along with the standard orange juice and coffee(which the Missus liked)……for $15.95! Which we think is an excellent price. The restaurant is small, but very clean, and has a neighborhood bistro feel. And did I mention Helen was wonderful!

Now at that price for Champagne Brunch, combined with excellent service, can you really go wrong?

European Bistro
7097 University Ave
La Mesa, CA 91941

And don’t forget to check out the Sunday Brunchmaster!