Sandwiches – Page 30

Dudley’s Deli-yes, THAT Dudley’s-now in Santee

November 25, 2013 Cathy Bakery, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

This location has also closed.

mmm-yoso!!! is a compilation of bloggings centered around food. Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy (as well as a few others) share food memories, finds and ideas here. Today, Cathy is writing about a find.

The fabric sign had been hanging on the front and side of this corner building, just behind the Costco Fuel station on Town Center Parkway in Santee for almost six months. "Coming Soon-Dudley's Deli". Then at a rather rapid rate, the signage was installed on the building.

On Wednesday, November 6 at 11 a.m., the store was open for business.

Anyone who has driven North on the 67 on their way to Julian has most likely stopped at Dudley's Bakery in Santa Ysabel. At the very least, you have probably seen Dudley's Bakery items in your local grocery store and perhaps have considered a drive into the Eastern part of San Diego County. The 50 year old San Diego County Institution has expanded.

The Mister and I are happy to see we'd have a local, almost walk to easy option and were some of the first customers. (The receipt shows our purchase transaction occurred at 11:16 a.m.)

The shelves were not quite full, but did have fresh cookie bars, coffee grounds and breads for sale.

The staff was ready for just about any order you could place.

Other than not having soup bowls available that first day, things were going quite well.

The Dietz and Watson Deli meats are on display.

We have been back several times to purchase a loaf or two fresh Dudley's bread, delivered fresh from the bakery 'up the hill'. All loaves are $4.95. I haven't taken photos of the full shelves because it has been crowded every time we've been back. The selection seems to vary, based on the day of the week you are here.

Our first day sandwich was a Corned Beef Reuben ($7.95). You can see this is quite a large sandwich (enough to share), filed with warmed corned beef, kraut, Swiss cheese and a nice Thousand Island dressing all on fresh seeded Rye bread that is panini-pressed/grilled. Really, really good. Nice to share.

The strawberry turkey sandwich is on a toasted/lightly grilled sheepherder bread (a hearty white) and, as you can see, loaded with turkey, (a layer of strawberry preserves is on the bottom), a layer of fresh strawberries, Provolone, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise on the top slice. Again, nice to share. I do plan on trying more menu items and will report back.

This is great place to get your Dudley's bread and sweets as well as a hearty lunch and all without the travel.

Dudley's Deli Bakery 205 Town Center Parkway Santee, CA 92071 (the building right behind the Costco Gas Station vehicle entrance) (619)258-4245 Website

Breakfast of Champions: Best Donuts Bakery & Deli

November 12, 2013 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches

**** Best Donuts and Deli has become Barrio Donas

In her Ham and Cheese Baked Into a Bread post Cathy mentioned Best Donuts and Deli. Which kind of got me off my butt to actually put a post together about the place. I'd been there so many times that most of what I ate had faded into memory.

In recent years, Best Donuts looks like this when I stop by.

Remember the old saying "you don't need as much sleep when you get older…." Well, I think that's partly true. The amount of sleep I need has decreased marginally, but the hours I keep have changed. In other words, "nothing good happens after midnight", has now become "nothing good happens after 9pm"…..which means I miss out on all the late night specials….

Anyway, I often pass Best on my way to work in the morning; at about 530-545. When I'm running early and am hungry, or when I anticipate a late, or no lunch at all I'll drop by for a take-out breakfast. It's pretty slim pickins' at that time of the morning on the Mesa and I prefer spending my money at these smaller shops than at the other chain options open at that time of the morning.

Just so you can see how lazy I've been about posting on this place. When I first went, the cash register was stationed at the rear of the shop next to the soft drink cooler.

A couple of years later it moved to the side next to the pastries.

Earlier this year, it was moved back to the old location and the cold case was placed alongside of it.

A couple of months later, the menu for the sandwiches was taken off the cold case and taped to the wall.

And over the years items have been taken off the menu…simply taped over, now merely a memory…..

I'm sticking to the breakfast tortas here, since that's what I get most of the time. They're nicely priced at $3.99 and the bread has always been warm and fresh when I've gotten it in the morning. The wait time is about 10-15 minutes, not the fastest, but when I make a decision to visit, I've calculated the impact of my wait time.

My usual is the A la Mexicana and Eggs ($3.99)

Eggs, salsa, onion, tomato, cheese, jalapenos, and a smear of beans….breakfast of champions. An adequate bomb of calories to last until dinner.

The Salsa Verde and Eggs ($3.99):

Enough yeasty carbs to get you going in the morning. Eggs, nice green chili sauce (mild kick), beans, cheese, and mayo. Perhaps number two because some mornings I don't feel like mayo….I know, heresy perhaps, but the milkiness of the cheese also comes thru in this one as well…so I've got to be in the mood.

There was a Chorizo and Eggs somewhere, which I thought was ok, but I can't find the photo.

You'd think I'd enjoy the Machaca ($3.99) much more than I did.

I thought I'd enjoy this much more than I did. Perhaps because I found this surprisingly lacking in flavor. I like the chew of machaca, but this was really tough and sinewy. I felt the mayo really didn't go well with this at all. I would have probably enjoyed more beans to smooth things out and perhaps more jalapenos; even though it was breakfast, to help things out. Still, on the morning I ordered this, I had meeting through lunch and didn't have a chance to eat until (an early) dinner. I don't recall being hungry until around 3pm or so.

What about the other sandwiches which range from $5.99 – $6.99….well here's a gallery:

The Cubana.

The Pierna.

The Milanesa:

The Lomo…..

and so forth……

I'm sure there are dozens of shops like this all through San Diego county, I know I've been to a few. There are even versions that are rather mainstream and hyped up.

But for breakfast, $3.99 sounds like a right price for what I got at this little shop on Clairemont Mesa.

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

Lunch at Pane Bianco in Phoenix

November 6, 2013 ed fromyuma Phoenix/Scottsdale/Chandler/Central AZ, Sandwiches, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Kirk is still busy, Cathy needs a day off, so Ed (from Yuma) does the food blogging here today. About a lunch that he and Tina had recently in Phoenix.

Back in 2010 when I told Tina that Chris Bianco’s Pizza Bianco
had just been named the best pizza in the United States, she said, "I used
to eat at his restaurant all the time when I lived in central Phoenix."

"Huh, you stood in line for 4 hours for pizza?"

"No, his other restaurant was my neighborhood sandwich
shop." So if we were spending a weekend in central Phoenix, a visit to Pane
Bianco had to happen:

The understated exterior of the restaurant was matched by
the funky/shabby hipness of the interior. Having once aspired to being
funky/shabby hip, I felt right at home:

The lunch menu listed a few "bar bites" for around
$5, and sandwich and salad choices priced between $9 and $12. The other side of
the menu had a limited selection of sodas, beers, and wines as well as the
sparkling water we chose ($3):

I'm surprised I'd never run across Mountain Valley sparkling
water before as it was pleasant tasting and refreshing. I also enjoyed the
rustic looking tabletop.

We selected 2 sandwiches, both of which came with an
interesting potato salad composed of thinly sliced potatoes, chopped apples, cabbage,
shredded red cabbage, sliced red onion, and minced parsley. The mustard seeds,
other spices, and light dressing gave it all kind of a central European flavor.
The salad is in the foreground of this picture of the sopressata sandwich that had
been Tina's favorite back in the day:

As you can see, the excellent salumi had been sliced paper
thin:

The sopressata was wonderfully matched by the aged
provolone. This was not your standard waxy tasteless Italian cheese, but a full
flavored partner to the sausage, dry and a little bit crumbly. The woodfired
onion was a nice touch as well. My only complaint – and really my only
complaint about the whole meal – was that the homemade focaccia was a little
tough and chewy as if it had been baked the day before. Nonetheless it was
altogether a satisfying sandwich:

Our other lunch selection was the "market sandwich,"
featuring lamb that had been braised overnight:

We both thought the sandwich was unusual and interesting.
The tender meat had a pronounced lamb flavor and was topped with chopped
cabbage and roasted red pepper strips:

In both cases the sandwiches were perfectly simple and
focused – no mayo, no mustard, no catchup, no sliced tomato, no pickles; just
very good basic ingredients.

Pane Bianco, 4404 N. Central, Phoenix AZ 85012; (602)
234-2100.

Jector’s Too – Yuma

October 29, 2013 ed fromyuma Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Most days this foodblog has fresh posts from Kirk or Cathy. But today, Ed (fromYuma) gets to tell you about a new old place (or is it an old new place?) in Yuma.

Ana’s (also spelled Anna’s) had been a tiny Mexican
eatery in my neighborhood of Yuma for as long as I can remember. It always
seemed like a cart/restaurant crossbreed with its tiny kitchen, window
service, and small eating area surrounded by steel cage walls. A minimalist burrito shack:

Sort of open to the outdoors, the ordering/delivering area is
pretty shabby looking as well:

About a year ago I noticed that the place had more customers
than usual, and when I stopped in, I was told that Ana’s had been sold to
Jector, of Jector’s Breakfast Burritos. Now it is called Jector’s Too:

So today you can get a wide range of breakfast burritos
there – most of the ones available at the original location. In addition, the
new management has not discarded the best parts of Ana’s old menu. That means
they will fix you a breakfast burrito with carnitas or al pastor as well as
bacon, sausage, or asada:

You can also get excellent lunch burritos with fillings such
as green chili:

A couple of years ago, Ana’s won the local newspaper poll
for the best menudo in town, quite an accomplishment for such a small place.
And Jector’s Too still prepares outstanding Menudo on Friday, Saturday, and
Sunday:

The rich broth filled with abundant tripe and nixtamal is
certainly one of the best in town. It comes with a grilled bread roll (or
tortillas), as well as onion, cilantro, dried chili flakes, and lemon or lime
wedges:

Really yummy:

But my main attraction here are the first-rate tortas.
Sometimes the carnitas is as good as it gets:

A Torta DF (in the style of Federal District – Mexico City
area) is a specialty of the house, a ham ‘n cheese/roast pork combo:

Recently, the al pastor has been specially tasty and spicy:

:
Other tortas – and I’ve tried every one – are just as good
even if I don't have pictures of them. I also love the jalapeno and carrot escabeche
that is included. A bite or 2 of hot pickle cuts through the richness of the
sandwich and, for me, adds just the right touch.

Dinner plates and excellent aguafrescas also available.

Too often restaurateurs open a 2nd location and everything
starts going downhill. Not this time.

Jector's Too, 252 E. 24^th, 928-539-9595. Open daily around 7 am;
closes 6pm M-S and 2pm Sun.

Ham and cheese baked into a bread…a compendium.

September 8, 2013 Cathy Bakery, Cooking, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

You've found mmm-yoso!!!, the blog about food. Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and Cathy are the usual bloggers here. Today, Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are both away from their computers and unable to blog, so Cathy is writing.

Today's post is about a common food item coincidence discovered while logging, deleting and organizing photos and events to eventually blog about. Yep, I've been staying indoors during these crazy humid days and it's this, football on TV and completing Continuing Education credits online.

I was amazed at how many photos I have of the simple food item of ham and cheese baked into a bread and decided to share the variations I've found in Southern California. Some places I have blogged about before and some places will be posted in the future.

Last October, I wrote about Euro Pane, a bakery restaurant in Pasadena. Ham in chunks and melted cheese, along with onion and carrot baked into a crispy crusted, quality bread ($5) (it's quite large). Simple and wonderful.

Euro Pane Bakery 950 East Colorado Boulevard, Suite 107 Pasadena, CA 91106 (626) 577-1828

Last November, we stopped at the Super H Mart in Diamond Bar. One of the many businesses in the Food Court area, Tous les Jour (a Korean bakery), sold this ham and cheese baked in a soft, cheesy bread ($2.10). I remember liking it, but not the specifics. Website

Here's a cross section of the ham and cheese from Paris Baguette ($2.20) The croissant, crispy, flaky, fluffy, also has a sweet glaze on top. It's disconcerting at first, but since there is very little ham or cheese filling, it makes the majority of the bites (the bread) rather pleasant.

Paris Baguette, inside HMart and Zion Market, San Diego

In June, I traveled to 85C Bakery in Irvine. Twice. This Taiwanese bakery sells a ham filled cheese topped soft bread roll ($2.25) It's very cheesy, tasty and unique.

85C Cafe and Bakery 2700 Alton Parkway, Suite 123 Irvine, CA 92606 (949) 553-8585 US website Open 7 a.m. daily.

Right across the parking lot from 85C is Bon Epi, a Korean bakery, which makes a wonderful ham and cheese croissant. It's one of my top two.

Bon Epi Patisserie and Café 2750 Alton Parkway, Suite 101 Irvine, CA 92606 (949) 251-0070. Open seven days 7 a.m.-midnight Website

Best Donuts and Deli is a Mexican Bakery located two storefronts from Little Sheep Hot Pot. A new Starbucks was built at the corner of the mall and The Mister and I walked in here looking for a treat to have with a coffee.

These trays were next to the counter, ready to be set out. I asked what was in the small rolled breads; the nice lady handed me one – as a sample. Ham and cheese in a perfect ratio with the bread; the ham was chopped, it is a hard white Mexican cheese that isn't too melty-gooey and there were chopped marinated carrots in the mix. It was really a perfect bite. Two for $1.

The bread is a nice, chewy white bread, not anything flaky nor soft. Simple and very good. As you can see, we also got two sweets. A longer post (about the torta sandwiches and donuts here) is forthcoming.

Best Donuts and Deli 4714 Clairmont Mesa BlvdSan Diego 92117 (858) 581-1278

K Sandwich also makes a ham and cheese croissant ($2), and the result is amazingly consistent. These are photos from three different visits.

You can see the croissant dough has a crispy flaky crust layer with a softer bready interior and that pieces of white cheese are rolled inside the ham before baking. It's an easy, quick snack.

K Sandwich corner of Convoy/Linda Vista at Mesa College Drive (7604 Linda Vista 92111) Open at 6 a.m. Mon-Sat, 8 a.m. Sunday.

Santee has four Starbucks stores (if you count the one inside the Vons) and next to the one located in the Albertson's parking lot is Pink Donuts, which sells a ham and cheese filled bread ($1.75).

A very soft, buttery bread surrounds a good amount of ham. The bottom part of the ham has a thin layer of a soft white cheese. Good, because it's fresh, the bread crushes easily. Not bad in a pinch/early morning when I don't want to drive very far).

Pink Donuts 9802 Magnolia (at Mast Boulevard) Santee 92071 (619)258-8807

Yet another donut shop, Peterson's Donut Corner in Escondido, sells a very hammy ham and cheese filled bread ($2). Again, it's just a thin layer of cheese on the bottom part of the bread. It's a good bread dough, only slightly crispy but a good slightly chewy dough. (That's a blueberry frosted cake donut, excellent- 95¢)

Peterson's Donut Corner 903 S. Escondido Boulevard, Escondido 92025 (760) 745-7774

Pangea Bakery Cafe, on Convoy street, sells good sized ham and cheese bread semi-loaves for $2.50. A hunk can easily be shared by two people.

A sofrt bread topped with cheese and layered with a good amount of ham and yellow cheese. When this is fresh (or toaster oven re-warmed), it's an excellent meal.

Pangea Bakery Cafe 4689 Convoy Street, Suite 100 San Diego 92111 (858)560-0688 website

I recently wrote a post about Cream Pan, a Japanese bakery in Tustin. The ham and cheese croissant here is exquisite ($2.50). It isn't very large and that's OK. This is the only place that bakes in Swiss cheese with the ham, and exposes (and slightly crisps) the ham. The flaky croissant makes the prefect ratio to the meat and cheese filling. I never get a photo of the cross section, because we exit the freeway and are in and out of here quickly; the croissant is consumed in the car as I drive away. Trust me, it's good.

Cream Pan 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 (714)665-8239 Open 6 a.m.-4 p.m. seven days

I haven't posted on Sidecar Donuts yet, but went here twice in less than two weeks in June. A small popular bakery in Costa Mesa, Sidecar has lines of people out the door and into the parking lot daily. It sells more or less 'regular' (but fancy) donuts and each day also sell one even-more-special item. This day, it was a Monte Cristo Donut ($3.75). Filled with ham, cheese and strawberry jam then fried and topped with powdered sugar, as an egg dipped and fried Monte Cristo sandwich would be. So it's not a bread dough, but still ham and cheese filled and delightful. I thought I'd add it in here, since it almost fits the topic.

Sidecar Donuts and Coffee 270 East 17th Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (949) 887-2910 Website

To conclude this post, and possibly answer your inner comments, of course this can be done at home. Above is a meat and cheese bread The Mister made the other day with a one pound refrigerated dough, Jarlsberg cheese and and hard salami. He baked it on a cookie sheet on the outdoor grill; placing the cookie sheet on the opposite side from the heated burner. Radient heat you know.

I hope everyone had a good weekend and that the week ahead will have normal weather. Thanks for reading.

Breakfast of Champions: Banh Mi Ba Chi (pork belly) from Cafe Dore

August 11, 2013 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Cafe Dore has closed

Man, it been a couple of years since I've been here and even longer since I last posted on the place.

Not much has really changed here. Older gentlemen gather, have coffee, chat….and do guys gossip? For lack of a better word, let's just call it that. It's the coffee culture of Vietnam translated here….mostly men, each with his group. Hey, it's almost like high school huh? I'm thinking that it is….only the topics of conversation have probably changed, or perhaps not?

What really motivated me to visit on this bright Sunday morning was a conversation I had with FOY("Friend of Yoso") YummyYummy. Her dad is a regular here so she really has a inside track on the food. She told me that the pork belly banh mi…Ba Chi had really improved over the last year or so. Pork Belly? I'm so there…..

As I walked from my car to Cafe Dore, guess who I see? It's YY's Dad! It was nice seeing him. it had been a while. I told him that the reason I was here…..his daughter's recommendation. He invited me to have coffee with his "group"….very nice, but I had errands to run and food to prep on this morning. He also told me the Ba Chi here is "famous"….

I couldn't wait to have at it. So I opened it eagerly upon arriving home. It's pretty interesting, even though the bread for the banh mi here are from the same source as every other place that doesn't make their own, it's usually pretty fresh and flakey.

The pork was rather thickly cut, not a bad thing, and very moist. The flavor was pretty good, mildly sweet, with a slight swiney flavor. YY had told me that's it's getting better and I'll agree with that.

The pickles are a lot sweeter here than what I remembered and there was some major "jalapeno roulette" going on, with some slices being very mild, but a couple of slices were just explosive. All in all, a nice sandwich, one that I'll return for.

The service was very typical Cafe Dore, guys still play on those "machines" in the back….middle aged guys….hmmmm. It was a nice sandwich for a sunny Sunday….I'd like to tell you the price, but YY's Dad somehow paid for it without me even knowing…… Sneaky, but very nice, it made my day. Make sure to thank your dad for me YY!

Cafe Dore
4135 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Cheesy Express-Gourmet Grilled Cheese (inside the GO Gasoline Mart)(Santee)

July 31, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

This location of Cheesy Express has closed, but there is a new location in Mission Beach we can all visit. Santee will miss you!

Thanks for finding mmm-yoso!!! a food blog which exists in the interwebs. Today, Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are taking a break and Cathy is blogging about food.

I've stated a few times that people have a favorite place close to home or work where they can pick up a quick meal…if hungry, you can find something to eat wherever you happen to be. Most fuel stations have mini marts; you can grab and go with some sort of refrigerated/frozen prepared food item which is rarely fresh made.

This GO Gas station replaced a Chevron station earlier this year. It's on the NorthEast corner of Mission Gorge at Carlton Hills in Santee.

Here's the mini mart. Look over on the side of the building…to the far right. "Cheesy Express Gourmet Grilled Cheese". Yes, I was curious…

In its prior incarnation, this food mart had a small sandwich shop inside. Now there is a sandwich shop

with three grills on the counter.

On my first visit, I chose a 'make your own': Cheddar cheese on brioche ($3.49) add hickory bacon (99¢). A perfect, gooey, yummy grilled cheese and bacon (good quality thick bacon) sandwich.

Next time I tried the "Italian Delight" ($5.25) Provolone, pepperoni, sundried tomatoes and fresh basil. Again, delightfully gooey, crunchy, tasty.

Each time I've gone in, I have been offered a sample of either the BBQ pork or Korean BBQ beef. I finally broke down and tried the BBQ& Mac sandwich ($6.75). Great BBQ pulled pork AND a scoop of very good, gooey macaroni and cheese AND a slice of sharp cheddar AND very very good grilled onions all on a hearty Italian white bread. This was a LOT of food and flavors.

Of course there are 'dessert' grilled sandwiches here also. The 'healthiest' choice (in my logic anyhow) is the grilled peanut butter with banana with chocolate chips on honey wheat bread ($4.75 + 50¢ for the special bread). The chocolate chips melted in with the peanut butter, making its own creamy goodness along with perfectly warming the bananas…the grilled bread was done right and I could taste the honey in it…

Just another great find that I happened to notice. When the weather gets cooler, I think a simple grilled cheese with tomato soup will be perfect.

Cheesy Express Gourmet Grilled Cheese 9312 Mission Gorge Road Santee 92071 (619) 436-4250 (inside GO Mart Fuel station Mission Gorge Road at Carleton Hills, Santee) Open 7 days M-F 8-6, Sat-Sun 9-4:30

San Marcos Family Restaurant-quick lunch

July 18, 2013 Cathy Diner, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog you're reading. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) usually write about places and items they've enjoyed. Today, Cathy is is doing that job.

Last Friday around 11:15, I received a time-dependent request from a friend and needed to deliver some paperwork to an office located either in downtown San Diego (i.e. pay for parking) or at City Hall in San Marcos (free parking for two hours). So I headed North with The Mister in tow, planning to go to lunch after my chore was handled. We got to the Service office at 12:31, only to find a sign they were closed for lunch until 1:30. Off to lunch we went…not knowing what was around. Taking a right on Mission Road, in less than a mile we saw this storefront in a mall on the North side of the street…

Of course I decided this would be a perfect choice…been in business since 1987, cars in front, lunch time…oh and that writing on the far window is advertising home made cinnamon rolls, available until sold out. (They were sold out by the time we got here…Mental note…)

Pretty much a typical, family run diner, open daily 6 a.m.-2:30 p.m.. Neat and clean, two rooms of tables, booths and a counter eating area. There's a really neat tapestry design on all of the seating. Coffee cups, with local advertising, are on all the tables.

Condiments for use at breakfast or lunch are on every table.

Soup of the day-clam chowder-it was Friday. Of course it was made in house. More clams than potato or celery, stock made with real dairy, not water; you can see the skin formed on top. Really good.

My meal was a cup of soup and the half sandwich ($6.99)-tuna on rye toast. Good tuna mixed lightly with mayonnaise and not much else. Plenty of it with lettuce and tomato and pickles on an excellent, seeded rye.

The Mister ordered a Chili Size ($8.99) (with soup instead of fries). This was a nice, coarse ground burger, 1/3 lb (or larger) which had a good flavor by itself, topped with a house made chili with beans, cheese and onions. This was excellent.

If we are in the area closer to breakfast time, we will stop by here again.

San Marcos Family Restaurant 576 East Mission Road San Marcos 92069 (760)744-3710

The second location of Paris Bakery opens

July 15, 2013 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

Back in April, I mentioned that Paris Bakery was taking over the old Thanh Son Tofu location. Two weeks ago, I noticed they were open. So having to work this past weekend, I decided on dropping by for a "breakfast/lunch" take-out visit.

Having not set foot in this shop in about six years, I'd forgotten just how large the place was. There seemed to be so much open space. It's a far cry from the other location. Yes, I said other location. I recognized the older woman, who was always so chatty. She and the young woman making my sandwich, her daughter, were very talkative on this morning.

Apparently, they've been in need of much more space for a while now, so this location fills the gap. I was told that the other location will still be open, which I found odd since you can literally see the other Paris Bakery if you walk out to the street. Her son will be running that location, her daughter gets the new shop. I mentioned that parking….oh boy…..that triggered a discourse about how bad the parking situation is/was at that location. "People come in to buy a bread and spend two dollars, they walk outside a minute later to find a ticket on their car….it was bad!" No wonder those little old Vietnamese ladies would rush out of the place practically running me over. You don't mess with them; they're tough. In their hands, a simple baguette becomes a deadly weapon.

I ordered two sandwiches ($3.50/each) eating half of each for breakfast than lunch.

Starting with the Dac Biet. The bread for this sandwich was decently crusty and slightly bready as is standard for their baguettes. If you've had a Banh Mi from any shop that makes their own, you've either had it from here or Le Chef Bakery. It's still a bit more dense than I prefer, but not bad.

I'd forgotten that Paris tends to be somewhat heavy handed in the application of mayo at times, which was the case with this sandwich.

With regards to that most enjoyable game of jalapeno roulette….this one was pretty spicy!

There was a good amount of pickled vegetables, which were nice and crisp, though on the mild side. The meat was decent for a banh mi, except that it as ice cold. In terms of proportion, I thought it was good.

I also ordered the Jamon, which I thought was better than the "special" for a couple of reasons.

Apparently the young lady started on a new baguette for this sandwich as the bread was still warm when I got to work. It was nice and flaky/crusty and fairly light.

The amount of "Jamon" was on the small side and it was also very cold, but the flavors of the meat, pickles, cilantro, and pate blended pretty well together. All in all, a decent banh mi.

I actually thought the sandwiches here were better than I remembered. Which means I'll be returning soon. Heck, at the least you'll know that the bread is fresh…or should be fresh. I was told that both shops have the same hours, which means opening early, like around 5am and closing in the late afternoon as well.

Paris Bakery
4616 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Now I've got to check out the Thanh Son Tofu in their new location! Stay tuned!

Belen Artisan Bakers (Escondido)

July 11, 2013 Cathy Bakery, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Belen has moved to Valley Center; no more sandwiches.

Hello. You're reading mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Cathy has the reins today. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are merely trying to remain cool.

There are more than 50 Farmers Markets in San Diego County. The Mister and I try to stop by at least one a week, sometimes happening upon one while visiting a new (to us) neighborhood.

A good number of the Markets have a stand selling fresh bread from Belen Artisan Bakery. (Photo above is at the Santee Certified Farmers Market). We have always thought the Belen Artisan Bread is excellent; each loaf we have purchased is a hearty, flavorful bread which is still fresh the following morning.

One morning, driving North on the 15, we took the Centre City Parkway exit and one block just past the first signal light, on the right/feeder road, The Mister noticed this storefront. Of course I stopped.

Walking inside the small store, the fresh bakery smell reminded me of walking into one of the numerous corner bakeries I grew up with in Detroit. Fresh loaves of bread were on the shelves to the left, some sweet baked goods in the glass display case and up on the wall, menus of some breakfasts, crepes and sandwich choices. There is also a chalkboard advertising fresh juices available.

Yes, that's the oven behind the counter.

Those spray bottles are not cleaner- they are filled with water, which is sprayed onto the loaves, to give that crispy crust…that's the oven right next to the shelving and it's exactly the oven I remember from the corner bakery where I had my first job.

Over to the right is the area where the bread is mixed, kneed-ed, risen and prepared for baking. So many memories!

You can see some of the breads and sweets as well as the breakfast menu in this photo. On our first visit here, we purchased some rolls to use for burgers and also got an orange-cranberry scone.

There are two booths and two tables inside, and tables set up outside.

On this visit, we purchased a loaf of cheese bread ($4.50) (50¢ less than the Farmers Market price, plus we got it sliced)

On this visit, The Mister and I decided to share a sandwich ($6.50). We chose to try turkey on sunflower seed and flax bread, had the choice and asked for the bread to be toasted, which meant the Swiss cheese was nice and melted. We also asked for mayonnaise as the sauce, even though some interesting choices are available (garlic, garlic-basil and Kalamata olive spread ) and all the other toppings are standard-even the avocado (lettuce, tomatoes and sprouts are the other toppings). The turkey was fresh breast (not packaged lunchmeat) and was pan-warmed.

Since we said we were sharing, the sandwich was brought out in two containers. Nice. This was an excellent sandwich, all fresh and plentiful ingredients. I like the bread. There has been a lot of take out business both times we have been here. Another excellent local business.

Belen Artisan Bakers 2250 S. Escondido Blvd Ste 112, Escondido 92025 (760) 740-5963 Closed Sunday Open 9 am-3 pm Monday : Tues/Wed/Th 7 am-5 pm : Fri/Sat 7 am-3 pm

It turns out that friend and fellow blogger, cc visited Escondido and Belen and wrote a post about her visit today also.