Sandwiches – Page 23

Banh Mi Bakery & Cafe

June 13, 2016 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Banh Mi Bakery & Cafe is now Phuong Nga Bakery and Cafe

Back in March I mentioned seeing a place named Banh Mi Bakery & Café that looked like it was ready to open. A couple of weeks back, I drove by and noticed that the place had opened.

I decided to drop by and grab a bite. The shop is fairly small, with a few tables off to one side and stacks of pastry receptacles lining the path to the counter.

Even though most of the containers were empty, that these were for grabbing take-out items like spring rolls, croissants, and various salad dishes. There was also a decent selection of VN coffee, boba, and smoothies as well. There was a stack of banh mi and baguettes in a basket to the side.

I gotta say, the folks working here were really friendly, though the turnaround for orders were a bit slow. The great thing I found out was that they bake their own bread here! Nice! Competition for Cali Baguette Express?

I decided to try the Dac Biet, the "special".

Priced a bit more expensive than other Banh Mi shops at $4.49, I was immediately aware that the sandwich was a bit more "hefty". Returning to the office, I noticed that there was a bit more meat in this. First things first, the bread here is more crusty than flakey and is on the chewy side. It also doesn't keep very long, getting almost rubbery after a short time….I'd find out that for myself when I bought a baguette during another visit. Paris Bakery currently makes my favorite bread for Banh Mi and even to have with cheese in San Diego.

And while I've always said that it's about proportion rather than fillings when it comes to Banh Mi, I really liked how this was put together; the amount of pate was perfect and the meats' especially the cha lua, which can be rather rubbery when sliced too thick was excellent. I thought the carrots and daikon weren't pickled enough to cut the richness of the meat and pate, though the jalapeno was nice and sneakily spicy. Typical stringy cilantro.

Pretty good sandwich overall, so a couple of days later I decided to return. Calvin was interested and decided to join me.

I love eggs in my Banh Mi and the menu said they make Banh Mi Op La ($3.49), typically fried eggs, but here they told me it was easy over. And when I opened the sandwich, you could tell by the mess it was!

Egg yolk oozed all over my paperwork, but that's ok. Initially, I thought they hadn't sliced the sandwich, but then I noticed it had been sliced 2/3 way through. I realize a lot of people are freaked out over runny egg yolk, but this was pretty good, if a bit messy. As a bonus, there was a nice thin slice of ham and a good smear of pate as well. As I ate this rather quickly, the bread held up pretty well.

Calvin ordered the Xiu Mai, the meatball, which, after many bad versions, I'm leery of, but he told it was better than average.

Having to work on a recent Sunday and wondering if three time's a charm , I decided to head over and get the Banh Mi Cha Lua ($3.99).

Nicely set-up sandwich, though the bread was a bit chewy and perhaps because it was Sunday seemed to be a bit on the stale side. Pickles were still a bit too mild for me, but like how thin they slice the cha lua and the amount of pate on the sandwich. The cilantro (I know folks tell me I'm kind of weird about that) had more leaves than stems this time around.

Overall, my three visits were satisfying. It's good to have another decent banh mi option in the area that makes their own bread. While I prefer the bread at Cali Express, I prefer the egg banh mi here. Also to note; if you order egg on a banh mi as an extra, it'll be fried well done, but you can tell them you want the egg easy over they'll do it for you. Be forewarned, it'll be quite messy. I think I'll check out the beef jerky papaya salad and perhaps some of the other dishes in the near future.

Banh Mi Bakery & Cafe
9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. Suite H1
San Diego, CA 92123

Sunday Sandwiches: Garlic Shack

June 5, 2016 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Sandwiches

**** Garlic Shack has closed

Back in February, I was just driving around and exploring one sunny weekend day when I noticed this place.

I'm pretty sure this place was fairly new……I recall it being pretty much a revolving door of eating places in the last couple of years. I am, of course, a garlic lover, so I just had to try the place out. I will say they really went with the "shack" theme here.

Nice and tight selection of craft beers and an even more interesting selection of craft sodas……looks lie Diet Coke is persona non grata here.

I was greeted by a bright smiling face when I entered; the folks here seemed very cheerful and helpful. The drill is order at the register; pay and have a seat. I really can't say the view was great, though there was a nice breeze blowing through the place and I counted two ambulances and one fire truck rushing through the neighborhood during my meal.

You know; this place IS named the Garlic Shack, so I had to try the Garlic Fires, right? It wasn't quite what I picture as garlic fries.

The fries were really nice and crisp, very hot….I really didn't care for the garlic seasoning which seemed like a bunch of granulated garlic dumped on the fries, which made the flavor somewhat bitter to my palate. That spicy ketchup was quite nice though….not super spicy, the tangy-sweet with a slight kick.

I ordered the "Spicy Porkaholic".

It was quite a hefty sandwich….which was appropriately wrapped in butcher paper. It should have had a "contents under pressure" label since it basically bursts at the seams. The bread didn't hold up for very long, the pork had a very strong paprika flavor and really didn't have a smoked flavor, at least to me. The bean sprouts were an interesting choice, which added some texture, along with the lettuce. The menu said grilled onion, but I didn't detect any of that.

There was no way that I could finish all of this….though it did seem more about portion over quality. I did enjoy the South Bay Seltzer; which wasn't overly carbonated and quite refreshing after all of this rich and hefty food.

And so things stood pat….but of course I really wouldn't have felt comfortable doing a post without another visit. Which I did a few months later.

Different folks, but the same very friendly and helpful service.

This time around I decided to stick with just a sandwich and went with the Korean Beefaholic. Which of course was quite hefty.

This was, as before, quite a messy sandwich as the bread didn't hold up for long. The generous portion of meat was kind of mushy in texture and a bit too sweet for me…..the milky flavor of the cheese just seemed to clash with the other flavors as well. The romaine lettuce saves the sandwich, but I think this needs a bit of pungency (onions) and acid (tomatoes) as this was pretty mundane in terms of flavor….but that's just me.

Perhaps if you weren't raised on teri beef sandwiches or W&M Burgers, this might seem really good. For me; not so much. Still, I enjoyed the variety of sodas, the folks who worked here are so very nice. You might want to give it a try yourself to see if it's a good fit.

Garlic Shack
549 25th St
San Diego, CA 92102

Sunday Sandwiches: Arely French Bakery Cafe

March 27, 2016 mmm-yoso Bakery, Sandwiches

Cathy has posted on Arely Bakery several times over the years; the most recent being about a year and a half ago. A few months back I noticed that the tiny shop had expanded, taking over the shop next door…..I'm trying to recall what it was….beauty supplies perhaps?

In need of an early lunch, I decided to drop by and grab a sandwich before a series of conference calls that would take up a good chunk of the day.

You can see the expanded dining room next door as you enter.

Back in 2007, Cathy ordered the "Le Parisien", it was a mere $4.50 back then; now it's $7.95, though now it looks a bit larger.

The baguette, baked on the premises, was decent, it could have been a bit more crusty and was, in typical San Diego style, a bit more chewy than I prefer. The Black Forest Ham was decent; but the real star of the sandwich was the brie, rind and all, which made this sandwich quite good, earthy tones, very mild pungency (nothing even close to real French Brie, which I believe is still illegal in the US), and very nice in this sandwich. In terms of proportion, I would have enjoyed a bit more tomato and less lettuce.

With the work scenario a couple of weeks later, I decided to call and pick-up the Prosciutto Panini ($8.60), which was wonderfully toasted.

Man, the toasting job on this baby was just about perfect. Didn't care for the prosciutto they used however, as it was extremely salty and paired with a very mild mozzarella it was the dominating flavor through out my eating experience as everything else; the basil and the tomato were just nullified. Too bad, because in terms of texture, this was really good.

Thinking that I had to try a panini again, I went with the Caprese Panini ($8.50).

Bad call on my part as went too far in the other direction with this one. While the tomatoes tasted quite good, the whole thing was a rather bland mess. The bread wasn't as well pressed this time; I'm thinking the cheese didn't hold up real well. In fact, when I separated the two halves there was a giant glob of melted mozzarella.

Last week I decided to drop by one more time. This time ordering the Le Lyonnais ($7.95).

And while I'd prefer lardon/bacon to salami on this, I really enjoyed the sandwich. Nice smear of fairly tasty egg salad, nice crisp greens, acid from the tomatoes and pickles. Very nice overall. I'm still of the same opinion of the bread and even think that a light toasting might make everything that much more enjoyable.

The two young ladies who have run the counter on the days I visited were very nice and friendly; especially with some of the rather "cranky" older customers. One of these days I'll stop by for breakfast, or even perhaps lunch. For now, it's nice to have another sandwich option fairly close by.

Arely French Bakery Cafe
4961 Clairemont Drive, Suite A
San Diego, CA 92117

Sunday Sandwiches: Ike’s Place

March 20, 2016 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

Memory is a funny thing, I can never remember where I park my car, but food? Well sometimes it can be a bit strange. When I read about the NoCal based chain Ike's Place opening in San Diego, the first thing I though was, "didn't Kirbie do a post on this place?" And she had. BTW, Happy 7th Blogaversary Kirbie! And a Happy 10th (sheesh has it been that long?) to "CC".

Anyway, I'd been going back and forth between my office and Hillcrest quite a bit lately, so at the end of February, I decided to check out the brand new Ike's Place.

If memory serves me; wasn't this a location of La Salsa?

It was before 11, an over a week before their grand opening but they were doing some good business. The sandwiches here start at about 8 bucks, but most are $9.99, with a few breaking the $11 barrier; and that's without "add-ons", like avocado; stretching all the way to beer batter zucchini and onion rings. The folks working here are very friendly and helpful since there are so many options on the posted (and some unposted) menu.

I needed to get back to the office so I ordered the "Matt Cain" ($9.99). A version of this sandwich with onion rings on it won ESPN's Fanwich Competition for the Best Sports Sandwich. I'd heard quite a bit about Dutch Crunch Bread, San Francisco's version of Dutch Tiger Bread, named because of the mottling on the exterior of it from a paste based on rice flour.

Getting back to the office I opened up my sandwich, Good lord, it was quite a mess.

The bread had not stood up well during the 15 minute trip back to the office, it had become soggy. Also, I expected the outer crust to be a bit more crisp, but it was kind of soft. Based on the color, perhaps it had not been baked properly? Also, there was just too much "Godfather Sauce", which had too much mayo in ratio to the horseradish and Dijon mustard. This was just a bit too much for me.

I did decide to revisit Ike's Place; to see if eating in and asking that they go easy on the sauce would make for a more enjoyable sandwich.

I wasn't in such a rush this time around and noticed the interesting lay-out. The outside dining area is bright and spacious. The inside dining area looks kind of odd, almost like it was part of the kitchen area once. The path to the kitchen area is simply blocked by a low-boy sandwich refrigerator prep unit.

I will say that this time around, the sandwich I ordered named the Robin Williams ($9.99) was excellent.

The bread was crisp on the exterior, nice and fluffy interior. I was worried about the amount of Dirty Sauce on the sandwich, but it was perfect. Loved the combination of melted pepperjack cheese and mushrooms.

The chicken in the sandwich is chopped which just made the texture perfect. Nice chicken flavor as well. Along with the nice crunch the lettuce brought, I thought this was perfect in terms of proportion and texture, making this a lovely sandwich.

There was one other sandwich (well of possible dozen) that caught my attention on my visit to Ike's Place; the Anchor Man ($9.99), I mean doesn't a fried chicken sandwich sound great? Well, I think based on a couple factors, this was less than great.

First off, I made a mistake by forgetting to tell them to go easy on the sauce and like my first sandwich, all that Dirty Sauce (a garlic aioli) just overwhelmed everything else in the sandwich.

Second, I took a bite and only got veggies. I took another bite and only got veggies. Not a problem per se; if this was a "veggie" sandwich. So I took a look at the other half of my sandwich.

Notice something about the fried chicken? I opened up the half I was eating and saw that the fried chicken took up about two thirds of the width of the bread. Man, look at that mess….

I tried just the chicken alone and was far from impressed as it didn't seemed "fried" in the conventional manner. It seemed more baked.

The answer was in the "Beer Battered Onion Rings" I ordered.

See how dry it looks? Also notice the burnt spots? The batter was gummy and these were dry….so I took a look up front and didn't notice a fryer. The only "cooking" was done with conveyor type pizza ovens. So instead of frying, it seems that these onion rings were cooked via electric/gas/infrared depending on the brand of pizza oven. You might be ok with this but it isn't my cup of tea with regards to onion rings.

So, will I return to Ike's Place? Yes, I might, though I'd be more inclined to visit BFD. In concept, the sandwiches are somewhat interesting, albeit a bit over-hyped; in case you'd like to see summary of 50 of the best sandwiches on the menu you can click here. I'll be a bit more careful with what I order and have to remember to tell them to go easy on the sauce….too much of a good thing and all that. Service was friendly, though my sandwiches did take a while on my visits; you might chalk that up to being new and all that.

Ike’s Place
1010 University Ave, Suite 101
San Diego, CA 92103

Granada: The Alhambra and Cafe Opera 5

March 18, 2016 mmm-yoso Granada, Sandwiches, Spain, Spanish Restaurants and Cuisine, Travel

The main reason for visiting Granada was The Alhambra of course. This grand Moorish Palace resides on top of a hill overlooking Granada. I had bought tickets well in advance and printed them out in the bookstore the night before. This enabled us to take the "short cut", up Cuesta de Gomerez, which was basically right outside our apartment door.

Right up the street was Puerta de las Granadas and it was a nice short walk to the "Justice Gate", the original entrance to the Alhambra. Because we'd printed out our tickets beforehand, we could use this gate to access the palace. Our designated time for Palacios Nazares was 9am, so we had some time to check out the Alcazaba, a large looming fortress and tower, the oldest part of the Alhambra.

In Arabic, Qa'lat al-Hamra' ("Alhambra") means "red castle" and in the morning light, this structure, which dates back to the 13th century did indeed look like a "red castle". If you wind your way though the passages and walkways, then climb up to the tower, you'll be rewarded with a stunning view, which also highlights the strategic location of the Alcazaba. The view is wonderful and is well worth the climb up the tower……..hopefully, it will be a rather clear day and the view will be like this.

You need to get in line for the Palacios Nazaries, the Moorish Royal Palace complex. There are so many features of the palace; like the Courtyard of the Myrtles; basically the central courtyard.

The Mocárabe (Stalactite Work) is amazing as is the symmetry. This is the ceiling of the Grand Hall of the Ambassadors, the wooden ceiling is made up of 8,017 wood inlays and is room itself is a perfect cube.

You could spend hours here just admiring the tile work and visiting places like the Courtyard of the Lions.

And while a sort of fatigue set in; I started looking for random and whimsical features to balance out the perfection of the place, I never got tired of the view. Near the middle top of the photo is the Church of San Nicolás, at the bottom is the Paseo de los Tristes (Walk of the Dead Ones), once the funeral procession route in the city.

We exited the palace and passed through some quaint gardens and then a series of towers. This is the "Torre de los Picos" (Tower of the Points).

Ending up at Generalife Gardens.

The Court of la Acequia is especially pretty.

As is the view of Palacios Nazaries.

After exiting, we headed down Bib Ramblas and ended up where we started.

We then headed to Mercado Agustin, but other than buying some really olive oil were quite underwhelmed….I mean, the jamon here was cut by machine! By this time, we needed a bit of a break. Down the small street next to the market we found this place.

We had intended on just getting some espresso here, but were feeling a bit puckish as well. So the Missus decided we should go ahead and have a Bocadillo as well, which sounded just fine to me. So She had me order a jamon and an anchovy (!) bocadillo. One of the things we really enjoyed about this little shop were the bottles of roasted garlic infused olive oil…..which folks just poured like crazy on their bread.

That Jamon Bocadillo must have been pretty good….because I never even had a shot at it!

The Anchovy version was too fishy-oily-salty for the Missus, but I kinda liked it with the garlic olive oil.

It was nice and briny, man that infused olive oil was good. We quickly learned that it was okay to pour like a gallon of that stuff on your bread. There were some interesting photos in this shop; when I exited the restroom, the older woman sitting at one of the tables pointed to the photo of what looked like the Emperor of Japan on the wall and said something to me in Spanish. Sorry to say I didn't understand.

We really enjoyed this little shop and would return on our way to the train station as we left Granada. Folks here seemed more friendly (and folks in Spain were pretty friendly as a whole) than anywhere else in Spain.

Cafe Opera 5
Ivaro de Bazán 12
Granada, Spain

Crouse’s Flat Top Grill in Yuma

February 24, 2016 ed fromyuma BBQ, Sandwiches, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk and Cathy are busy doing important things today. So Ed (from Yuma) is filling in with a post about a new place in Yuma.

Longtime Yumans still identify the space at 2855 S 4^th Ave as the location of Hensley's Steakhouse (a.k.a. Hensley's Beef, Beans and Beer). They assure me that the Hensley family owned and operated that successful restaurant for 20 years.

But for the entire time that I have lived in Yuma, this spot's been cursed. It has hosted Mi Playita, TJ’s Marisquero, Viejo Loco, Small Fries, Rusty Spoon, Spanky's Chophouse, The Farmhouse, and probably some others I can't remember. Now it has been reborn as Crouse’s Flat Top Grill:

Inside, the decor is clean and minimalist. There are tables of various sizes and not a lot of decoration on the walls:

There is also a small bar area:

The minimalist ambience with hard flat surfaces means that it gets loud when the tables are full. And because of the food, these days it has been getting loud alot.

For example, just look at this pulled pork dinner:

The bread grilled up crunchy, the beans decent, the battered fries nicely crisp, and the pile of pulled pork magnificent:

The meat tasted every bit as good as it looks in that picture– charred, smoky, rich, with a nice meaty chew.

In fact, it was a pulled pork sandwich on my first visit to Flat Top Grill that convinced me that the kitchen could put out stuff that was seriously wow:

There's a whole lot of good on that plate. The pulled pork, of course, was amazing. The tangy sweet barbecue sauce staying in the background where it belonged. The fresh coleslaw added crunch. The whole thing was so big, that I turned it into two open faced sandwiches just to get it into my mouth, and I still ended up taking leftovers home (our dog was delighted).

Even the mac salad – the sandwiches come with your choice of side – was outstanding. Abundant diced sweet/sour pickles, shredded cabbage, and small cubes of cheese gave the salad a complexity of textures and tastes. Very enjoyable.

Speaking of sides, for two dollars extra you can get maybe the best onion rings in town:

These homemade rings are the standard by which all other onion rings should be judged. The breading was outstanding – the exterior had a crispness that gave way to a firm chew. Inside, the onion slices themselves were sweet and flavorful. The only shortcoming, a lack of equally incredible dipping sauce.

The cheeseburger with extra crispy fries was another tasty lunch:

This day, the battered french fries had an nicely seasoned crackly crisp exterior wrapped around a pillow soft interior. The half pound burger was obviously hand formed and coarsely ground on the premises – great texture. The pickles were sweet/sour, slightly spicy, and nicely crunchy. A good burger that would have been great if it had not been slightly overcooked, so there was no moist pink center to the patty.

The chicken Club was another good sandwich:

The chicken was nicely grilled and seasoned, the bacon chewy and flavorful. If only the avocado slices had been riper and creamier the sandwich would have approached perfection.

Speaking of perfection, it's hard to imagine a better red chile cheeseburger than this open faced example:

The picture does not do justice. In my years, I have eaten dozens of versions of this truck stop/diner standard. Back in the day, my parents’ eatery served a good version, topped with my dad’s recipe chili. The Crouse’s is in a different league entirely. Even with beans, the red chile is deeply flavored and rich. Everything oh my god good.

One more example of the really tasty food at Flat Top Grill, the tri-tip sandwich:

The potato salad is fine if not spectacular and the split ciabatta roll was pretty ordinary. On the other hand, the tri-tip, grilled over oak, Santa Maria style, was rich, tender, and smoky. And look at all that meat. Three slices were plenty for the sandwich, so I took two of them home (happy dog again). Also notice that there is no mayo, mustard, ketchup, cheese, or sauce on the bread. The tri-tip is rich and fatty enough that the sandwich – just roll, lettuce leaf, and meat – needed nothing else. Wow again! – or as the dog would say, Bow Wow!

With the opening of Flat Top Grill, I think the Crouse family has finally killed the curse.

Sunday Sandwiches: Revisits to SuperNatural Sandwiches, Zgara Grill, Best Donuts, Havana Grill, and Cali Baguette Express

February 21, 2016 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Cuban Restaurants, Greek Food, Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches, Seafood

Here's a round-up of sandwiches I had in the weeks leading up tour trip. I just realized I really circled the globe on this one.

SuperNatural Sandwiches:

**** SuperNatural Sandwiches has closed

It had been a couple of months so I thought I'd drop by after a meeting close by. I had the Siren of course.

These guys sure have the consistency down; the buttery brioche roll, nice plump shrimp, creamy aioli, a little kick of heat. My colleague from the Midwest still mentions the sandwiches during our conversations. Must have made an impression.

SuperNatural Sandwiches
7094 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92121

Zgara Grill:

**** Update Zgara Greek Grill has reopened on Morena Boulevard

Another favorite that I hadn't been to in a while. They've now got a lunch special, a sandwich with fries and a drink…..don't quite remember the price as I was enjoying talking to the owner.

Crisp pork gyro…..just like Greece! Well seasoned, crisp, enrobed in a nice warm pita. The owner also gave me a little cup of a nice sauce which went well with the fries. I need to come here more often….it's cheaper than a flight to Athens.

Zgara Greek Grill
1730 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

Best Donuts Bakery & Deli:

**** Best Donuts is now Barrio Donas

Heading to work early (530 am) with no time for lunch on my schedule. The solution? A stop at Best Donuts for the A la Mexicana.

Warm and fluffy bolillo, eggs, a smear of beans, gooey melted cheese, salsa, jalapenos (to wake me up), and tomato. What's not to like? I'm sure there are little shops like this everywhere….it's just a matter of finding them.

Best Donuts Bakery & Deli
4714 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Havana Grill:

The nice folks here have put up their "Grand Opening" sign so I thought I'd drop by. There seems to have been a few changes to the menu from my previous visits, but the place looks like it's doing well. Nice change of pace for the area and heck, Faye seems to like the place. Not having much time, I took my El Cubano to go.

The sandwich seems to have a bit less meat than before, but in terms of proportion things went well together. The pork still has flavor and isn't "the other white meat", the Swiss cheese adds a nice milky flavor……and those pickles, well they add the acid and tartness to the sandwich. I do enjoy the plantain chips, which are sliced very thin, thus making it crisp. I need to head back to Embargo Grill for the Medianoche and compare.

Havana Grill
5450 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Cali Baguette Express – Convoy:

**** This location of Cali Baguette Express is now Cali Banh Mi

Banh Mi Trung is probably one of my favorite breakfast items….though perhaps I'd take a good noodle soup or natto gohan with egg ahead of it. Cali Express is an easy choice, they bake their own bread (though I think Paris makes a better baguette) and who can deny the wonderfulness of a fried egg sandwich with Maggi on it?

And don't forget about the sneaky jalapeno….now that'll wake you up, right? Again, it's about ratios and proportion to me……the pickled veggies, the fried egg, the light and airy bread, cilantro….you get the point, right?

Cali Baguette Express
4425 Convoy Street
San Diego, CA 92111

Tortas Y Jugos Goyo and the Panaderia next door (Escondido)

February 15, 2016 Cathy Bakery, Fruiterias, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!! while Kirk is (still) on vacation and Ed (from Yuma) is researching places to eat (in Yuma). Cathy is writing today.

The Mister and I were in Escondido again and next to the Toyota dealership on Lincoln Avenue, there's a small strip mall. There were five small places to eat as well as a Laundromat. Based on prior experience at strip malls anchored by Laundromats, we decided to stop. At the inner corner,

these two looked good- Tortas y Jugos and the Panaderia right next to it.There are menus outside and also at the ordering area. Pay, have a seat and your order will be brought to your table. Neat and clean inside, it looks new. Checking out Y***, the oldest review is from March, 2013; Tortas Y Jugos has been here a while. Even though there are photos showing fries on the plate with the tortas, we were surprised the $5.99 price was inclusive.

I ordered a *Cubana* torta, which is NOT the same as a *Cubano* Sandwich. In Mexican eateries, a *Cubana* torta is as varied as the taqueria/taco shop/stand where you are eating. Basically it is a 'kitchen sink' of leftovers; a fresh baked, toasted torta/telera roll filled with a collection meats, lettuce, tomato, avocado and cheese as well as a thin layer of refried beans. The version here at the Goyo Family place had ham, salchica (a sliced hot dog), chorizo, bacon and a thin, crispy piece of Milanesa (breaded, fried beef or pork; it was too thin to really tell, but the crispiness was what the sandwich needed). If you are like me, who orders an 'everything' bagel, or a coffee-tea-milk at boba places, then a Cubana is a good choice; always a surprise, unique and with multiple fresh flavors. The fruit salad (large, $6.29) which had a bit of every fruit in season as well as cottage cheese, granola, raisins, coconut flakes and honey. A Vampiro (orange, beet, celery and carrot juices) ($3.99) rounded out this meal we shared. So very fresh. I really enjoy fruiterias.

When we were finished, walking next door, to the unnamed Panaderia, we were greeted with the smells of fresh baked goods. There was also an area for cinnamon tea, cinnamon coffee and hot water.This was our purchase, less than $2. Very fresh and good.

Happy to have found this hidden gem.

Tortas Y Jugos Goyo 655 East Lincoln Escondido, CA 92026 (760) 871-6000

Here is an interesting blog post describing Cubanas.

Lemon Grove Deli & Grill- revisits/new ownership

February 8, 2016 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

This is mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk (and his Missus) are on vacation. Ed (from Yuma) (and Tina) have also been on vacation. Cathy (and her Mister) have been staying in the County and eating food after taking photos of it. She is posting today.

In April of 2015, Howard's Lemon Grove Deli & Grill was sold to a new family after many decades as a mainstay on Broadway Avenue. The new owners are a very nice Italian family, who have made a few cosmetic improvements to the interior and tweaked the menu.

The exterior is pretty much the same. You can walk in and find a seat or stand and order items 'To Go'. The menu is on the back wall.The corned beef hash and eggs ($8.99) is always a good choice. Two eggs, a choice of home fries or hash browns, and a choice of toast, biscuit and gravy or pancakes are al part of the meal. The corned beef hash is very good and not too salty.Two visits, I've ordered each of the breakfast sandwiches on the menu. Both with rye toast. The top photo is the "Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich" ($7.75)- scrambled eggs, cheese, bacon, ham, sausage, mushrooms, bell pepper and avocado. Hearty and good.

The bottom photo (directly above) is the simpler "Breakfast Sandwich" ($5.75)- Scrambled eggs, cheese (you have a choice of cheeses) and ham or bacon or sausage. Bacon in this case. Unfortunately the Eggs Benedict is no longer on the menu, but a "Grilled Bone In Ham Steak" with eggs ($9.75) is. The Benedict and its sauce was very good when we ordered it. The home fries are the same as in this photo. Since there is an easy way to order online, I've done it a few times. The "Famous Pastrami" ($8.50) is large enough for two. The bread is grilled, there's a choice of cheese and a choice of ingredients. 8 ounces of meat. Really good sandwiches here.

Its great that the Roberto family has kept this East County institution going.

Lemon Grove Deli & Grill 7860 Broadway Lemon Grove CA 91945 (619)464-2928 Website Open daily at 7 a.m Closes at 4 p.m. Mon-Thurs and Sat; closes at 5 on Fri; closes at 2 on Sun Website

Sunday Sandwiches: Maggies Cafe

January 24, 2016 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Diner, Sandwiches

Ever since Kokoro stopped serving lunch and our offices moved further North to Kearny Mesa I haven't been in the Serra Mesa area much. Recently I had some meetings nearby and I decided to drop by the nearby strip mall to see what was up. The place looks kind of depressing…..it just hasn;'t been the same since Henry's left the strip mall. I did notice a shop I hadn't seen before….Maggie's Café.

I remember when this location was….for a very short time, Leilani's Restaurant. I decided to stop by.

the women working were very friendly. The place is fairly generic, but wide open and bright. The menu is an amalgamation of themes; everything from Alfredo to Faijitas, Eggs Benedict to Poptstickers……part Mexican, part diner, part sportsbar. Kind of scary, but sometimes places like this work because they put out honest, solid, food. So why not give it a whirl.

I ordered the Torta Oaxaquena ($11.45), holy smokes, this thing was huge.

Good lord, how does one wrap their mouth around this. Separate the parts weren't very impressive; the carnitas was basically oven pulled pork, the bolillo standard issue. The milanesa was somewhere in there. Somehow the sum of the parts made this a decent sandwich……..the queso added a eaminess; though I appreciated the avocado more. Red onion, pickled jalapenos also added to the experience. And yes, there were some fries hidden behind the gigantic sandwich. It was perhaps a bit too much….. For some reason, this "Gringo Torta" had me reminiscing back to the La Torta days.

There's no denying that you get your money's worth here as I could only finish half the sandwich.

So of course I decided to return. I've mentioned before that I hold a special place in my heart for the old fashioned Club House Sandwich, so I decided I should just go ahead and try it here ($10.95).

While quite large, this didn't quite do it for me. The bread was a chewy sourdough and several slices were burnt. The bacon wasn't crisp making it rubbery. I did enjoy the addition of avocado, but overall, not my favorite clubhouse sandwich.

So what to say about Maggie's Café? I think every neighborhood should have a place like Maggie's; it's not about haute cuisine, it's about full bellies, satisfied customers, a good value, and unpretentious food. Which is what Maggie's Café does. I'm not sure the place is worth going out of the way for, but I sure wish I had a place like this in my neighborhood.

Maggie’s Cafe
3232 Greyling Dr
San Diego, CA 92123
Open Daily:
9am – 9pm