Farm Market and Sandwiches

**** Farm Market & Sandwiches has closed

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that Bale on Linda Vista was gone (again) , and in its place was Farm Sandwiches and Market. With a name like that, I almost expected a little mercado making tortas on the side. A bit confused I decided to drop by a couple of days later……

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And noticed that not much had changed, except the name. The shop still made Banh Mi and the market side, though looking a bit worn was still trucking along.

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Even the sandwich sign looked the same, as were the prices……. for some reason, I couldn't recollect seeing Bo Dao Phong (a peanut butter sandwich) on the menu before! (no kim chi peanut butter banh mi, though).

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Since I was here, I decided to order a couple of sandwiches. This might have been my most unfortunate decision of the week. The guy in front of me started snickering when I placed my order. When I asked him what was up, he shook his head and told me he had ordered a dozen sandwiches, and was still waiting for them 25 minutes later. There was one woman who also placed an order for two sandwiches right before me. She was smart enough to leave and returned for her sandwiches later. The poor guy waited another 25 minutes for his sandwiches! Then it was my turn to be the poor guy……

Pacing the floor, I noticed how worn down this place is looking.

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Half open containers, partially cut fruit, the place looked quite disheveled. Meanwhile, I looked and noticed that there were three people working on making sandwiches. The woman returned for her sandwiches, and still had to wait ten minutes. It really looked like the folks making the sandwiches were walking under-water…… another ten minutes, and my sandwiches were ready. Forty-five minutes for two sandwiches……

Carrying the bag to the car, I noticed how heavy these sandwiches were.

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I started with the Dac Biet (House special combination – $3.50) first.

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FarmSandwiches08The bread (from Le Chef….. standing around so long, you couldn't help but pick up on things) for both sandwiches was severely under-toasted. Thus the always pleasing flaky-crusty texture was missing. The sandwich was stuffed with generous amounts of a very bland Cha Lua (defatted pork sausage) and a tough and bland BBQ Pork. The pickles were really cut thick and didn't have much flavor either. I won't even go into the very old and thick cilantro stems…..

I thought I would fair better with the Nem Chua ($3) Banh Mi. Nem Chua, a naturally fermented pork based sausage, is one of my favorite things.

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FarmSandwiches10In spite of having all of the sort-comings my other sandwich had, this was a tad better. There was quite a large portion of Nem Chua in the Banh Mi. Still, it was a lot milder than the sour-tangy-salty notes I love in my sour sausage.

I must admit, the folks looked to be trying real hard, but really seemed like they were not up to the task. I don't think I'll be rushing back for Banh Mi from here.

Farm Market and Sandwiches
6959 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA

Chiang Mai: Warorot Market (Kad Luang)

Because of my recent (and hopefully short-lived) busy schedule, I've been lamenting not having the time to do posts which take a bit more time. When I mentioned this to the Missus, She told me, "you know, you never even finished your posts on Thailand", which we visited along with Laos at the end of 2008. I didn't believe Her, but when I checked my posts, I found that She was right. I need to correct this…..so here's one.

Did you know that Chiang Mai has a Chinatown?

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If I recall, the main drag is Chang Klan Road…….

Once you almost hit the River Ping, you'll come across a very busy building…..not much to look at from the outside.

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But it's quite packed on the interior……..

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Unlike the pretty touristy Sunday Market, this is where real food shopping takes place.

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As you can tell….. I was fixated on the "aquatic" section. And it's really hard to resist stuff like this:

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Though the fragrance dancing through the air in the market was from this:

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The Kaep Moo (Deep fried pork rinds) really smelled like heaven to me….. so we ended up buying two bags, which we ate a bit later on…..

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And while it was not as exotic as the Morning Fresh Market in Luang Prabang, there was more than enough to keep me interested…..

Smile for the camera…..

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Around the corner, and in back of Warorot Market is Pung Tao Gong Temple, the oldest Chinese Temple in Chiang Mai, which was built in the mid-1870's.

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During Chiang Mai's 700th anniversary in 1998, the Chinese Community Council decided to rebuilt the temple.

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Vacation2008ThsiLaos02 517If you walk along the Ping, past the Flower Market….. you can't miss it! It practically screams at you……

Thanks for reading…. I'm waiting for this busy week to be over, so I can spend more than 20 minutes on a post, and take care of my back log!

Suzhou: The Lingering Garden and a fairly familiar stop……

Our first day in Suzhou was a busy one, and after walking back to our hotel room after dinner….. I was totally spent and crashed pretty quickly. I also knew that if the Missus had Her way, we'd have another full day coming up. And I was right, The Missus decided that we should walk from our hotel to the Lingering Garden (留園).

It ended up being a pretty long walk, but also gave us a pretty good look at some of the neighborhoods along the way.

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In one of the shops along the way, we noticed that these "candidates" for dinner had made it out of the tanks, and were trying to avoid becoming the main course…..

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We also came across a large "market area", and decided to take a detour….. I love these places…..

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Scenes we've seen played out on a daily basis all over the world….

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Meandering through the narrow alleyways…….

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And over the canals….the ancient highway system for Suzhou.

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Ending back up on the main street……

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Out past the Changmen Gate….

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You'll come across a simple long wall and gate……. the simple entrance belies the beauty of the Lingering Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and along with The Humble Administrators Garden, The Summer Palace in Beijing, and the Imperial Mountain Summer Resort in Chengde, is considered one of the Four Famous Garden of China.

Vacation 2010 02 671We'd arrived right at opening, but there were already a couple of tour groups in line. While waiting, a young lady walked up, and started chatting with the Missus. Apparently, University Students majoring in History and Tourism give free guided tours. We ended up having a free private tour, albeit in Mandarin (with the Missus translating). The young woman was very knowledgeable and pleasant, and we really enjoyed the experience.

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The Lingering Garden was built in 1593, and had gone through several owners, each of whom added his own touch to the garden but still keeping within its grand design. The garden covers about two hectares and is divided into four parts, the central, North, East, and West. Which are connected by a corridor.

There's so much to write….and even more I forgot as the young woman was full of immense detail and stories of the garden. I'll stick to those that have really stayed with me. The first thing that I think of when it comes to the Lingering Garden was the wonderfully angelic song coming from this boat in the middle of the pond.

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I've never been a big fan of this type of Chinese music, but here, in this environment, it was beautiful……. just plain beautiful.

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The young woman told us we were lucky that it wasn't very crowded. When the garden is too busy, and the chattering gets too loud, the woman stops singing, since no one can really hear her.

Vacation 2010 02 689The natural stones also grabbed my attention. Many of the large stones replicate mountains, landscapes, and in this case a scene. This one is called Eagle Fighting Wolf…. and looking closer it did indeed look like a eagle swooping down on a wolf.

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This stone is probably the most well known…. we were told that it was headed to the Forbidden City… but the transfer was halted when the Communist regime took over.

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For me, the most imp[ressive hall in the Lingering Garden is the "Yuan Yang Ting", the Mandarin Duck Hall.

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The hall is divided into two saloons which are decorated differently. Even the beams and the roofs are different on each side of the hall.

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There's so much more….but so little time. Here are a few other photos.

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Vacation 2010 D60 02 218This is one place I'd like to return to.

There's a saying I heard several times while in China – "Shang you tian tang, xia you su hang" (上有天堂 下有苏杭), "In Heaven There is Paradise, On Earth, Suzhou and Hangzhou".

My foot had started bothering me a little, so we decided to catch the bus back. Unfortunately, traffic was so bad we decided to get off the bus after a couple of stops and walk back to our hotel. Along the way, I noticed this shop…..

Look Familiar?

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I'd been trying to get the Missus to 85C Bakery in Irvine, but She just didn't seem interested. But it was getting kind of hot, and we decided to take a short break….. and it ended up being just the perfect stop for us.

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Vacation 2010 02 727It turned out to be the perfect thing.

After this, every time the Missus was tired and needed a little pick-up, we'd look for a 85C Cafe…..

We were really enjoying Suzhou!

Unusual food items found around town. (COMC)

 mmm-yoso!!! is a blog.  Just an online diary.  Today Cathy is tying up loose ends. Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are being constructive.  Elsewhere.

Hi. I was Cleaning Out my Memory Card (COMC) as one of my Resolutions and decided to put together a post of things I thought I would someday mention.  That day is here.

One day, The Mister and I decided to go to Food 4 Less, (a bag-it-yourself grocery store, same company as Ralphs and Krogers).  Within the cold cuts/hot dog section of the store (I am always looking for skin-on wieners) was this:013
A one pound package of bacon wrapped hot dogs, as seen served from many taco trucks. The package was marked down to $1.98, and had an expiration date in ten days. I took this photo in the store and sent it to Kirk.  Immediately. He said it was a post waiting to happen.  003

Five of those hot dogs were a pound.  Most of the 'better' hot dogs are packaged seven to a pound.  We needed large bread to hold these dogs.  Costco.  Less than $2.50 for 12 gourmet buns.  (We used the extra ones for sandwiches and turned some into garlic bread).005 I just cooked the hot dogs in a large teflon coated pan on the stove top, turning until the bacon was crisp.007

These are giant dogs (five filled that 12 inch pan) and needed that larger than normal Costco roll.010
Topped with mustard and pickles, one was filling and two were too much to eat.  Our good dogs (and cats) got some treats that day. 

I could not figure how to make a whole post about this machine.019
We saw it at Parkway Plaza, on the edge of the Food Court, near the Sbarro.  I do sometimes crave spun sugar…
You put in $2 in coins, a stick slides over, then down…027
The machine spins the candy floss around the stick.029

Viola! A fresh made cotton candy treat!013
This machine disperses heated almonds and peanuts.  It was located in the Paddock Bar at the Del Mar Race Track.  I saw it when we were taking a lunch break at the Del Mar Fair. Really brings out the flavor. Now I heat up nuts in the fry pan before we eat them at home.020
This past summer, San Diego was a "Test Market" for two Starbucks iced beverages.  Each was made with green coffee- raw- beans. Caffeine was in each beverage, which was juice based, but no taste of coffee (and no tea flavor).  The one on the left was made with lime juice and had fresh mint in it, the one on the right had fresh blackberries and was made with pomegranate juice.  They were refreshing and different and really good on hot days.  I hope the testing went well and we can see these beverages as a regular item in the stores in the future. 072

Here is a photo of our Christmas Dessert plate…International this year. From 6:00: The apple strudel (German) was an experiment which turned out well. The espresso (Italian) was just perfect that day and the pink item is called Vatkattu Marjapuuro.  It is Finnish. I call it cranberry whip.  Made with fresh cranberries and farina.  It could be a dessert or breakfast.  It ended up being both. Again, it just wasn't enough to do a whole post.001

The Costco on Morena Avenue.  Only.  Gelato.010

Made daily.  $1.50 for three scoops- mixed berry, pistachio and stracciatella (torn apart/ less chunky chocolate chips in plain (not vanilla flavored) ice cream).  Gelato is more dense than ice cream, is lower in sugar and lower in butterfat.  It is made at this Costco location daily and a quart for $5 is a wonderful deal. I like the pistachio the best…fresh crispy nuts.004
The Vons at Liberty Station (not the standard footprint Vons)(when you walk in the center/cart area, go to the building on your left) has a 'make your own nut butter' bar. Between $5 and $7 a pound, these bins were just about to be refilled with fresh nuts. You turn the crank and fill the containers provided. Right next to it were fill your own honey containers, two types of honey. 

So there.  I got another thing off of my "To Do" list!  I hope everyone is taking some time to tie loose ends.   

Guess where this is?

Just something short for tonight…. I'm guessing most folks have more pressing matters at hand…. like finishing up all that Xmas shopping!

Of course most will know just by the facade……

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Yes, it's Mitsuwa Marketplace of course! But where10302010 180?

I realized when I walked through this Mitsuwa how important design is….. this one is set-up basically the same. It is much larger than the Mitsuwa in San Diego. And so is the the food court, with a variety of restaurants…

And of course there's a Santouka Ramen…….

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But also a Chinese Fast Food shop and at least one Korean influenced food stop to go with some other interesting offerings.

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10302010 171First off; the name makes me think that the burgers here are pork. Having already had an R Burger, whose ahem, buns are fortified with collagen (you know, I should just have someone provide me with the best collagen bun line…. there must be thousands), a teriyaki wasabi burger doesn't sound that strange. The fries here do sound interesting as you can choose various options like curry and cheese flavored or corn soup flavored fries…… I almost gave in…. well, maybe next time.

There are several more restaurants in this rather large food court.

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I noticed that the market itself had quite a few Korean products…. more on that later. There were also local products…… and you just know that there are folks out there who can't go a day without Phil's Fertile Eggs, right?

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Can you imagine the untapped marketing potential for Phil's Fertile Eggs!!!

There are of course more conventional Japanese items.

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10302010 176Ok….enough with the guessing game thing….. this Mitsuwa is located in Arlington Heights, about 25 miles outside of downtown Chicago. When my Admin Assistant was nice enough to book my overnight accommodations, she told me that I'd be staying in Arlington Heights….. I had no idea where Arlington Heights was….and neither did she. So I obviously saw the irony in the fact that there was a Mitsuwa almost right across the street from my hotel. Of all the places in the greater Chicago area….

It did look like business was pretty slow. After waking from my post Hot Doug's nap, it was already 6pm on a Friday, but the place was pretty dead. And there were several of these in the Marketplace.

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I do hope they make it. I'm thinking I'll stay in this area if I'm in these parts again. As I drove down East Algonquin Road into Mount Prospect, i couldn't help but noticing all the Korean Restaurants….. there was even a restaurant named Dae Jung Keum……sound familiar???

Mitsuwa Marketplace
100 E Algonquin Rd
Arlington Heights, IL 60005

Valley Foods Mediterranean Market-and a meal.

See other posts about Valley Foods here and here.  A 2015 update, from another blog: Here

mmm-yoso!!! That's the name of this blog.  It's about food. With anecdotes tossed in.  Cathy is blogging today.  The guys aren't.

Hi.  El Cajon has a new Mediterranean Market.  It's on the South side of Main Street, just West of Second.(Next to the Rally Burger).004
It's a new building, but the facade is more visible to the parking lot than on Main Street. It is not as large as Vine Ripe Market,  does sell Halal meats, fresh breads and has enough of a produce section to make this a regular stop for me. Of course, as with the other Mediterranean markets I frequent, it has an in-store eating area. With good prices. Below, the deli area (which has many choices of Feta cheeses as well as the olives and halal deli meats shown)and a sort of 'grab and go'/prepared foods area.

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When you walk in, you will go to the left and there is a hot food counter and small eating area. On the far left of this photo, the beverage machine with red juice- that is pomegranate juice- $1.49 for a large styrofoam cup. I  get on every time I am here, but never seem to have snapped a photo. It is not from concentrate.  The sign underneath the "Seafood" sign is "You Buy We Fry". 057

The steam tray area has a large menu above it.  Prices are good.  Really good. Order, pay and find a seat.  

 

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Beef shawarma sandwich ($3.95).  Yes, that is the price.  Yes, my hand is small.  It is still a very large sandwich. Usually I don't order beef shawarma, because elsewhere, it is dry.  Here at Valley Foods, the beef shawarma is moist and wonderfully flavored. The bread is one of the three main types sold in the store. Fresh. Those are turnips pickled in beet juice and onions in the sandwich, along with a garlicky hummus sauce.012

 On the bottom right is a 'side' of Biryani rice ($2.99).  It's a pint.023
Cooked Basmati rice, sauteed with shredded chicken, onions and some potato, along with cumin and maybe cardamom (a sweet spice, not cinnamon), this could be a meal in itself.007
The falafel plate ($5.95)Seven fresh made from garbanzo beans(not powder) falafels, with a side of pickled mango , fresh made hummus (nice and with light garlic), fresh-fresh tabouleh (parsley, mint, tomatoes and bulghur wheat in a lemon-olive oil dressing) and two standard (fresh made here and warm) pita breads.021
Here is a blurry photo of a cross section of the falafel.  It is fresh, fluffy and good.  

This is a good place for regular grocery shopping or a quick, good, inexpensive meal. It's worth the stop.

Valley Foods Mediterranean Market 1275 East Main Street El Cajon 92019 619-749-8355

Website

Saturday Stuffs

I now realize I haven't been paying much attention…..

To the strip mall where Spicy City is located. There appears to be a couple of new restaurants open, or opening up. The first one, called "Gorilla" has replaced Korean Hometown Restaurant, no more Bondegi soup for me I guess.

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They're calling it a "Korean Fusion Restaurant"…… the menu looks like a combination of bar food, a la Min Sok Chon, crossed with modernized/westernized Korean Dishes…..Boo Dai Chigae…. along with Tonkatsu (served with French Fries!) and ramen, and cream corn even…..

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I'm not quite sure what to make of it……. anybody check this place out yet?

I also noticed this restaurant in the place of Seafood Island. I'm not quite sure if they've opened yet.

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All in the strip mall at 4690 Convoy.

You never know what you'll find at 99 Ranch Market:

11122010 011I was picking up some lamb to make Cumin Lamb, when something grabbed my attention….. I literally did a double take.

Was it what I thought it was?

You bet…. plus it was on sale!

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In case you have a problem finding this…… it located right next to the, ahem, Beef Pizzle.

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One of the two things I was craving when I got back from Madison/Chicago:

Strangely, or perhaps not, I wanted a salad when I got home from Chicago and Madison. The other thing I craved was taken care of last night at Sushi Yaro.

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Something that I found ironic is that Zo-san is now working at Sushi Yaro. Folks might remember that he used to own Sushi Ishikawa which was on this very spot before Sammy Sushi and Convoy Sushi.

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Now if I can only talk Zo-san into making some of the Okinawan dishes they used to serve at Ishikawa!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Balboa International Market. Lunch in the store.

 Hey there! You're reading a blog about food.  It's called mmm-yoso!!! A few friends writing about what they ate out, or food they prepared and ate in.  Today, Cathy is writing.  Because Kirk and ed(from Yuma) have jobs.

There is a parking lot behind some buildings which have a parking lot in front.  Hidden from the main Road, Balboa Avenue (at the SouthEast corner-ish from Genesee, behind the See's Candy Store).  All new construction.

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The Balboa International Market building was opened not too long ago. It is not too large inside (only one cart can fit in an aisle) with a good selection of boxed/canned items to purchase and a good vegetable and large wall refrigerated section.   It is not as large as Vine Ripe, which is closer to where I live, but I can see myself stopping here if I am in the area. 

There is a small deli area and a Hot Food Menu (one page, with beef, lamb, chicken fish and specialty rice plates along with a soup of the day and a stew of the day).  The gyros sandwich is $5.99, rice plates are $8.99 and the most expensive item is a white fish kabob plate for $13.99.005
The Mister and I have been wanting to take a road trip just to go to Wholesome Choice since December, but life seems to have interfered.  One thing we wanted was hot fresh sangak (flatbread).  The day we were at Balboa International Market, they were testing the new ovens and asked if we would like one of their 'practice' flatbreads. Oh yes!.  We decided we needed to eat it immediately, in the store, just as we did at Wholesome Choice.  So we ordered.010
So.  The loaf of bread was not formed perfectly. The sesame seeds were not evenly distributed.  So? It was fresh, soft, still warm.  Excellent. (Oh and it was free. Everyone leaving that day seemed to be carrying a loaf in their bags.  I am unsure what the price will be and don't care.  It is *so* good). 015
Lam Kabob ($12.99) marinated lamb, grilled vegetables (a whole tomato, a whole onion and about half a green pepper) served with Basmati rice (that is piece of rice crust on top) and a small salad.  Excellent fresh lamb, very lightly marinated.  Not overpowering salad dressing.  One of the condiments on the table is a shaker of sumac, which went very well with everything. So fresh.011
This was listed as a daily special  ($7.99, regularly $8.99)- Zereshk Polo.  Baked chicken (lightly marinated) and the Basmati rice with sour barberries and saffron. Excellent and fresh.  The chicken was juicy and not at all dried out.

The hot tea is $1.  They give you a cup and there is a pump pot of hot water and box of Sadaf teabags at the counter.

We asked the man in the bakery area if he knew about Wholesome Choice and he said "oh yes".  For now, Balboa International Market is a great choice. Yes, that is a very large restaurant that is going to open next door. The parking lot will be filled. I hope they use the same chef and ingredients as the market… 

Balboa International Market 5907 Balboa Avenue 92111 (858) 277-3600 Website

Tip Top Meats and a birthday breakfast

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Just a way for you to peek at what a few people eat.  Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are not blogging today.  Cathy is.

Hi.  Another year has passed and it has been time for the week of feasting for The Mister and me.  Yes.  He was born exactly a week before I was. This year, our birthdays fell on a Sunday.  Our 'tradition' is that he gets to choose where he wants to eat the first three days (Sun-Mon-Tues), we have to agree where and what to eat the middle two days, and I get to choose where I want to eat the last three days. I have photos of all the meals, but will start with my birthday meal first.  Because there are no rules.

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 I chose Tip Top Meats, in Carlsbad, just off the Interstate 5 at Palomar Airport Road. Vicky did a post with us about Tip Top and a delightful dinner more than three years ago and also explained a few things, like it is an Old Fashioned meat store.
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Which also makes their own sausages.033 
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Smokes their meats in house.037 

  Has one whole aisle shelf of just licorice for sale. 040
Another aisle of beers for sale.041
Right across from the two aisles of wine.  There is a lot more interesting inventory stuff, even though the store seems not too large.  I find all sorts of interesting, familiar and new European and Mediterranean products here in addition to all the meats.  But really, just walk to the left(West) of the store from the entrance/exit doors.005
Look up.  There is a menu.009
Follow the people waiting in line, just past the refrigerated glass case with fresh pastries and pre-made side salads is the cash register, where you order, pay, get a number and get a coffee cup, which you will fill when you walk into the open seating dining area, which I did not take a photo of because it was crazy crowded at 8:36 on a Sunday morning (The store and dining area open at 6 a.m. daily) when our number was 114.020
Since it was my birthday, I did eat my breakfast pastry first.  A fresh, flaky traditional(made with raisins) slice of apple strudel ($2.49) with a cup of coffee ($1.79). {On our very first date, The Mister and I went to a German restaurant in Ann Arbor and shared a piece of apple strudel for dessert.} 024
The Mister ordered the Steak and Eggs ($8.98)- two poached eggs, rye toast, wonderful, crispy, nicely seasoned home fried potatoes and a 6 ounce, perfectly medium-rare cooked Delmonico Steak.  Yes Delmonico, which is essentially a boneless rib eye, but how that cut was referred to decades ago.  (I did say it was an Old Fashioned meat store there at the start of this post…)026
I got exactly what I craved- the European Continental breakfast ($7.49). I almost always order this, because the first time I did, decades ago, the meat I got was in-house made Head Cheese, which was perfect.  I know some of you may not know what Head Cheese is, but I bet a lot of you would like it, especially the Tip Top version. (Head Cheese is not cheese, it is an aspic filled with sliced head meat and maybe heart and feet  from a cow, calf, pig or sheep and seasoned with onion, allspice, salt and pepper).  This time, as a perfect meal for my birthday, the plate came with three slices of a nutty swiss cheese, five slices of a really great Black Forest Ham and about ten slices of hard salami…all my favorites!  (I always buy ham and hard salami whenever I get deli meats) Two crusty French rolls accompanied the plate. It was the start of a nice day.

Tip Top Meats 6118 Paseo Del Norte Carlsbad 92011 (760)438-2620 Open 6 a.m.-8 p.m., seven days  Website

 

Saturday Stuffs

Just a couple of things for this Saturday…….

I recently heard that Seafood City in Chula Vista is moving to this location on East Orange right off the 805:

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I believe it used to be and Albertson's ……

So what is going to happen with the Seafood City on 3rd Avenue???

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Believe it or not, I heard it was going to become a 99 Ranch Market! Anyone else heard the same thing? 

A Taste of Korea Harvest and Wine Festival:

Traditional Korean dishes and wine? It's something I'd never even thought about. But I am intrigued….. and if this sounds interesting to you, on September 25th, the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles will present A Taste of Korea Harvest and Wine Festival, hosted by San Diego's very own Cathlyn Choi. The event will be held at the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center on Harbor Drive. There will be a food and wine tasting starting at 2pm, and even more interesting, will be a "Korean Food Chef Challenge" at 4pm, which sounds like six chefs competing in an Iron Chef like contest, where Chefs are trying to create traditional Korean dishes in front of a panel of judges. Admission at $20 – $30 sounds very reasonable. You can find more information here.