Sandwiches – Page 40

Mediterranean Cafe on Washington Street-walk on in!

May 16, 2007 Cathy Mediterranean Restaurants, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is the blog. It’s Cathy’s turn today. Kirk is on vacation.

Hi, it’s me again. The Mister and I were driving about Little Italy about noon on Saturday because we so enjoy trying to find a parking space and then walking many blocks. We did not feel like waiting in lines with lots of tourists, but were hungry and decided to head up Washington Street and probably going for a slice of pizza. Bronx Pizza is really close by.

Being the ever vigilant blogger, I knew that Bronx would kind of be a redundant post; a ‘wasted meal’ in a sense, and that it would probably just provide fodder for the vocal anti-Bronx crowd out there. The Mister and I both like it, and that is that. It is good pizza.

Ah, where have we also gone that we liked but I have not yet blogged about? Oh sure, Kirk did, but like a long time ago, in September of 2005. Kitty corner from Bronx-

Mediterranean Cafe! Yes, we went here about 2 years ago, -when the line for Bronx was out the door- and we *really* liked it. Besides, I sort of wanted some sort of greens and Bronx is only pizza.

Here is the menu. Pretty much standard Mediterranean fare, with a lot of vegetarian options.

There are nine small tables inside. It seems most people were getting "To Go" orders, although at all times there were at least two tables with ‘eat in’ people, even at 2 p.m. on a Saturday. You can walk up and order and pay, or sit at a table and someone will take your order and bring the food out to you.

I wanted to try the Gyros and hummus combo plate ($8.75).

Gyros, hot pita, a lot of mixed greens salad with shredded carrot, tomato, olives, feta.

In store made fresh hummus. Herbed rice (the herb was dill) with green beans mixed in. (Option of rice, fries or more salad was given). The rice is not the sticky kind, but was fresh and tasty.

The gyros meat was plentiful and good. Not the best I have ever had, but not bad. The hummus was wonderful. The side of tzatziki was also fresh and nicely sour. You make your own salad dressing with the condiments provided on the table.

The Mister, still craving pizza, tried the Cheese pizza, small (8 inch) served with a side of Greek salad ($5.95).

This was a *lot* of cheese, melted properly (i.e., some burned cheese)on top of a pocketless pita and had a mild tomato/garlic/olive oil sauce. Wow! It was heavy with cheese and we can only imagine how much they put on top of the ‘large’ (11 inch) pita bread. Excellent.

Even though we weren’t that hungry, I was curious about the sign "we proudly make our own Key Lime Pie" at the counter and decided we must try a slice.

Wow, again. Real whipped cream topping-not from a can- and the lime flavor was subtle, not sweet, texture creamy and the crust was a good crispy graham cracker crust. Definitely home made. It costs $2.50 a slice or $18 for the whole pie. Once again, I strongly urge everyone to be certain to have their children study math. {This slice is not 1/8 or even 1/7 of the whole pie-the profit margin on the whole versus sliced pie is quite high}{This phenomenon shall hereafter be dubbed the "inverse Costco effect": thanks, Hao}

I am thinking that it is even busier in here during the week, with this great deal on sandwiches that is available. (click and it will enlarge) I am trying to think of how I would be able to have the tzatziki sauce on a sandwich with any of those meats, but suppose I could just do a cheese sandwich and all the veggies and then it would work.

Anyhow, try this place; it’s been in the same location for a long time and it’s good.

Mediterranean Cafe 112 West Washington (corner of 1st and Washington) San Diego 92102 (619)98-7738 Fax (619) 298-7739

Arely French Bakery Cafe- Excellent food!

April 23, 2007 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, European Restaurants, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Observing Lent-Part 2, A plethora of fast food seafood

March 15, 2007 Cathy Chains, Sandwiches, Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy is continuing blogging and Kirk is merely eating out somewhere and not telling you about it.

Hi once more. This is part of my little blogging about Lent, the Christian sacrifice of the 40 days before Easter, usually having to do with food (although, again, some Christians sacrifice with stuff I think might be even more difficult for some of us, like giving up television for those 40 days, or even the Internet…) one common sacrifice is ‘not eating meat’ for those 40 days, or at least ‘not eating meat on Friday…and now there is a new definition as to "meat". I was raised Catholic and, apparently fish, shrimp and various sea foods do not ‘count’ as meat. You may have noticed this lately…places that normally do not sell fish have some kind of fish sandwich on their menu.

Jack in the Box comes to mind. $1.29 for the fish sandwich.

Quite nice. Two pieces of fish, lightly battered and served with lettuce and tartar sauce on a sesame seed bun.

Del Taco has a fish taco for $1.39.

It is served with two corn tortillas and is one large piece of fried with cornmeal batter fish, on top of a bed of shredded cabbage, a white sauce and some salsa, as well as a wedge of lime to squeeze over it all.

Del Taco also has a crispy shrimp taco for $1.79.

This is served on a single flour tortilla. the shrimp are tasty and juicy and with a nice crust. Its also served with the cabbage/white sauce/salsa concoction, as well as the wedge of lime. I liked it a lot.

As an aside, one of my favorite sandwiches is the tuna salad from K Sandwiches. $3.49. Its made fresh daily and served on a fresh baked croissant.

But, overall, my most favorite, and decadent indulgence is the infamous Filet-o-Fish from McDonald’s -and it is only $1.29 on Friday at most participating McDonald’s. (It used to be 99¢, but with the advent of the raised minimum wage, it all trickles down to us, you know). I used to know the calorie count, but I try to ignore it, and merely enjoy…It’s on the airy white bread bun, served with a lot of tartar sauce and a slice of …mmmmm…American processed cheese food. Its the only time I eat that orange goopy stuff , and I love it.

The most expensive, but by far a meal in itself (you don’t need to buy more than one) is the Fish Sandwich from Carl’s, Jr. ($3.19)

Two large pieces of beer battered fish on a large (made for the $6 burger) sesame seed bun, with lettuce and tomato and tartar sauce. It does taste great and you don’t need to buy two.

And, last, for now, but not least, is the infamous 99¢ Fish Stacker from KFC.

KFC uses their own (patented by them) style of cooking the chicken and also this fish. Its very close to Broaster™ method in that its pressure fried. The fish does not taste like the chicken, it is cooked in its own area of the store. Its a good size piece of fish and served on a sesame seeded roll. It was very good. If you are familiar with the KFC Snackers size, it can be or might not be a meal, depending on your eating habits.

So that’s it for now. I did not bother to show you Rubio’s 99¢ (on Tuesdays only) fish taco, nor their shrimp taco. Its always good there.

Hope everyone is having a good Lent season. As we talked about in the comments section of "Observing Lent, Part One", sometimes the ‘sacrifice’ of having to eat fish on Friday is actually a treat for a lot of us, so it kind of isn’t a sacrifice. Easter is just around the corner, though.

Baby Back Jack’s Old Fashioned Broiler

February 20, 2007 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Sandwiches, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats

*** Baby Back Jack's has closed

A few months back Howie, who does A Foodie's-Eye View of San Diego's Best Restaurants mentioned "Jack's Broiler" to me in an email, about a month after, Candice, who posts in Oh-So Yummy mentioned Jack's Broiler as well. So during a recent weekend, we drove on up to Hillcrest and dropped by Baby Back Jack's Old Fashioned Broiler(whew, that's a mouthful) for lunch.

If I remember correctly, this used to be a Yogurt shop. The interior of Jack's goes for a mild "retro-old fashioned" look.

And tunes like Earth Angel and Venus in Bluejeans flow throughout the restaurant.

The menu is small, but covers very familiar territory, with everything from Hot Dogs and Burgers, to Baby Back Ribs.

On this visit, the Missus went for the 1/2 of Jack's "Famous Wild Chicken"($7.95). Check out the "wild chicken"……

Basically, a roasted half chicken that is slathered with BBQ sauce and heated on the grill. The chicken comes with Coleslaw and one "side", in this case the Missus chose fries.

The Missus told me the coleslaw wasn't really that great, a bit on the sweet side for Her…but She did scarf it up. I loved the fries, which were the skin-on natural style fries, with a chili-garlic-paprika seasoning. The Missus thought the fries were a bit on the salty side…but I finished them all up. Never got a chance to use the Ranch-style dipping sauce that was provided.

The chicken was quite large, and the Missus couldn't finish it.

On the good side, the chicken was large, and the meat moist through and through. On the bad side, the interior of the chicken was still slightly cold. And though the dark meat had some flavor, the white meat was bland. The BBQ sauce didn't do it for me either, it had a bit of a neutral BBQ flavor, but had a weird aftertaste, and left a strange coating on my tongue. Overall, this was quite a bit of food.

I had the "World Famous Beef Dip"($7.95):

Just by looking at it, you know right away…this ain't no "Philippe's". First off the "roll" was on very dry side, and the meat looked kinda, well, "grey", and was dry and tough. I enjoyed the "jus", it was beefy, and not overly salty…I used up all the jus and the Horseradish sauce. I think this is a bit over-priced for $7.95.

On a side note…guess how much the soda pictured on the side is? It's $2, for one of those plastic 12oz cups. Luckily, refills are free, but if you're doing take-out, forget about the drinks. The two sodas I ordered put us over the $20 mark for lunch.

But still….I really enjoyed those fries…..

So I returned for lunch when I was in the area recently. And since you just can't order fries…I ordered my fries($1.95) with a side order of a Cheeseburger($5.50).

Thought the fries were not as heavily seasoned as on my last visit, they were still pretty good.

After ordering, I struck up a short conversation with the "cook", who asked me how I'd like my burger, and though I'd usually ask for it "medium", I just told him to make the way he thought was best.

The burger was delivered dressed with lettuce, tomato, and slices of red onions, cooked just a tad on the "well" side, but the meat was moist, juicy, and had a nice mildly beefy flavor. At first I thought there was too much bun for the burger, but the bread had a nice pillowy texture. I wish the cheese was melted a bit better. I'd forgotten to tell him to skip the "sauce", which was a Thousand Island style dressing, but at least it wasn't slathered on, and the sauce was very mild so it didn't interfere with the flavor of the burger. Still, I usually like my burger without dressing. Not a bad burger, it's not going to set the world on fire, but it's pretty good, not as good as some, but better than many. I'd have it again.

As I usually do for "What Howie Eats" posts, I emailed Howie for His input. Here's what he said; "My fries were my favorite thing about the meal. I had the ribs, and they were decent, esp for the price." So there you go….

Baby Back Jack's Old Fashioned Broiler
1290 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Everyday Hero Deli-Great food and helping the community too!

January 21, 2007 Cathy Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Sadly, Everyday Hero is now closed.

mmm-yoso is the blog's name. Cathy is talking about what she ate today. Kirk will talk about his munchings on another day.

Hi. If you've read and remembered everything I've written, you know I try to hit a fruit/vegetable market around town a couple of times a week. Sometimes its just Henry's but then there is Vine Ripe, which I blogged about in October (since there is a restaurant attached to the market) and there are a few others around town. This one, which was named without any imagination or thought whatsoever, is on Santo Road, at the 52, about one mile (its the first exit) east of I-15; so it isn't far away for most of you. Right inside the market area of The Market there has always been a deli/sandwich place, and it was owned by the The Market's owners (heh heh, I love saying that out loud, the The…) and was Mediterranean and good food, some hot plates, lots of different feta's, etc. But it closed and finally, last July, a wall went up and this new place opened…Everyday Hero…. and I figured, eh, Hero sandwiches…no big deal; probably not very good…and I never went in. BIG MISTAKE. HUGE.

The other day The Mister was off from work and we were going to get veggies and stuff from the The Market and it was lunchtime…and I had my camera, and I am now in the habit of documenting all of my eating habits (my physician will love me when I tell her to come to the blog to see how I eat, especially all those fried foods….) so I figured since its still opened after six months, it might be OK and I wasn't that hungry anyhow.

Its nice and clean inside. Casual. Photographs on the walls…of Firemen, Rescue guys, Lifeguards…oh…Everyday Heroes…hmmm.

There is a menu on the wall to the right when you walk in, which photographed badly.

So here is the paper menu, wherein you can read the prices.

and there were some daily specials on the wall also, and everything looked good.

The Mister decided on the Daily Special sandwich, a Pastrami panini, which came with the chips and soda at no extra cost, this being the Special ($7.45). I decided on the "My Big Greek Panini" ($5.95) which cost the same as the "My Big Greek Wrap" and I was interested in how the panini-ized pita would taste. We both were fascinated with the description of the Soup of the Day- White Bean Shrimp Stew, so we got the large size of that also ($3 I think).

When we ordered we were asked if we had ever been there before; we said 'no' and the nice girl at the counter explained that the Deli has partnered with some of the organizations in San Diego, with the goal of assisting them with their "Wish Lists" and that a portion of the profits go to those organizations, and we could choose which organization we wanted our potion of the profits to go to..Fire and Rescue, Lifeguards or a few others. I immediately said "Fire" for many reasons, but maybe will choose a different organization the next time (ah those Lifeguards….<sigh>).

SO ANYHOW, um…let me get my bearings back. While waiting, I was reading some of the stuff on the walls….it seems the three owners were all in the Hospitality Industry; two of them being Professional Hotel Chefs….one of whom teaches at a Culinary institute….and I started thinking…and then the soup/stew arrived.

Tomato based. Hunks of tomatoes. Tomatoes with seeds. Fresh tasting…a little bit of bite (was described on the wall as fra diablo, but wasn't too hot) …white beans that were not mushy. Good sized large pieces of shrimp that were not mushy but still firm and …sweet…fresh…Oh. My. God.

This was a GREAT stew. I mean *really* good. This was made by chefs, from scratch, not from a can. This was wonderful.

Then my panini came out. Hummus, tomato, provolone, cucumber, caramelized onion, roasted red peppers, feta, a spicy cucumber based sauce on a panini-ized pita. Wonderful! Fresh, crispy veggies and the grilled ones were great also. The sauce was a nice spicy heat and this was one of the best "veggie" sandwiches I have had…ever. The side of pickles and peppers was a nice touch and they were good ones.

Also, the sandwich was presented this way, cut and stacked. A nice little attention to detail. I usually have to 'primp' the food for the photographs I post.

The Mister's Grilled Pastrami Panini came out, in this presentation. Beef pastrami, horseradish cheddar, roasted peppers, sun dried tomato pesto, fresh spinach and chopped pickles.

Yes, it was great. The heat from the horseradish cheddar made it unique. The pastrami was not fatty at all, the grilling was just right in that the bread was not overly crispy.

The food here is made *extremely*, unexpectedly good. I could kick myself for walking by here so many times last summer. The whole story, menu and descriptions are on the website along with catering information. If you are on Interstate 15 at 52, just take the exit East; it is the first exit and inside that shopping area to your right, before the first light (you can go to that light and pull into the parking lot there; it is closer to that end anyhow) , but do give it a try. You'll leave happy after a great dining experience and will also have helped "Strengthen the Community One Sandwich at a Time".

Everyday Hero Deli 5950 Santo Road, Suite K San Diego 92124 (858)694-0741

Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

When we were leaving, The Mister and I went to the counter to ask about and compliment that home made stew and we were told we could get on the e-mail list for the daily specials for the coming week. On Saturday afternoon I got the email for this week and I am totally wanting to go back and try the asparagus crab soup on Thursday and the meatloaf hero and…well, everything. You can send them an email and ask to be put on the list: everydayherodeli@sbcglobal.net

Addendum: Went back and got the Tuscan Chicken Hero sandwich…OMG…oh yes…warm chicken breast, tomatoes, olives, capers..and you get a choice of white, wheat or sesame bread for the sandwich. Fresh and, again, wonderful. Totally gourmet. Oh, and the pea soup was awsome…with lots of chopped ham in it.

(Rail) Road Trip – Two Landmarks; Philippe the Original & Cielito Lindo- Los Angeles

January 10, 2007 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Mexican Restaurants, Road Trip, Sandwiches

On the final day of my LA Railroad trip, we headed off to find some sustenance for the long and grueling train ride back to San Diego…..a two hour trip on an empty stomach can be pure hell! On this day, Captain Jack and I had decided to walk on over to the one and only Philippe The Original….say that quickly and dramatically "Philippe THE Orrr-iginal", and suddenly pictures of tumblers, clowns, and other circus performers dance in your head…..

Which sometimes ain’t too far from the truth…..it gets pretty crowded at Philippe’s, even at 830 am on a Sunday morning, the line is a good 6 deep. You may need a Ringmaster to maneuver around the 3 ring circus breakfast rush.

Some of Philippe’s fame is based on the claim that Philippe Mathieu(the original Philippe) created the French Dip sandwich by accident in 1918. You can read it all here. In the original "you got peanut butter on my chocolate" moment Philippe apparently came up with a bad case of fumble-itis when making a sandwich, dropping the roll into a roasting pan full of juice (let’s all say it together, ahhhh-jus!), and the rest so they say is history. But as with many of these type of claims, it is not without some controversy…..right up the street resides Cole’s Pacific Electric Buffet, who claim to have invented the French Dip sandwich in 1908!

Philippe04_1 Most of the customers on this morning were having breakfast. But, I wasn’t standing in line on the sawdust lined floors at Philippe’s for breakfast. Though I must say, watching a petite Asian girl wolf down a huge ham steak, easy over eggs, biscuits, cole slaw, and potato salad, is quite a sight to behold.

Not knowing the next time I’d be in the area, I went for my favorite sandwich at Philippe’s…the Double Dipped Lamb Sandwich. ($5.95) Ahhh Lamb, it’s not just for breakfast anymore……. A leg of lamb was removed from one of the heating drawers, the meat cut off, the whole sandwich dipped, twice in jus. Oh, and of course a cup o’ Joe…believe it or not, coffee at Philippe’s is still 10 cents a cup.

And though the lamb was a bit tougher and not as rich as the version I had on my previous visit , the jus was oh so good. In fact I remember telling Captain Jack, that if Philippe’s sold rolls in jus, I’d be tempted to order that. I know I could have gotten the Classic French Dip, but I’d found it to be on the salty side……

Still Philippe’s is quite the landmark…in business since 1908, that says something about a place.

Philippe the Original
1001 N Alameda St
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Open Daily 6am – 10pm

And of course breakfast is just not complete without something from that special food group, taquitos. We made it a point to stop by Cielito Lindo on DietChiliCheeseFries recommendation. According to DCCF, the taquitos at Cielito Lindo was a must eat item.

Much like Philippe’s, Cielito Lindo has a long and interesting history, and has been around and selling taquitos since 1934! That’s alot of taquitos…….

So of course we had to stop by and order some Burritos! Hah, just kidding, I ordered 3 taquitos($3.60). The taquitos arrived, and were very tasty, the "shell" had a nice corn flavor, though I thought the really tightly packed meat to be somewhat tough and flavorless. The avocado sauce, was like a runny guacamole, or maybe a thicker salsa verde? Kind of on the bland side.

Still these taquitos had that "something special", and were about a perfect a taquito as one could come across.

As we ate, we watched taquitos being cooked, and noticed that the taquitos weren’t deep fried in the conventional sense, but fried up in a pan that looked sort of like a wok, without a ton of oil.

As we watched the taquitos cook, I nudged Captain Jack….I had found the ingredient that made these taquitos so good….it was the special, thick, white liquid being poured into the pans from the "coffee pots" lining the stove area! Yes, that magical elixir…Lard! No wonder they tasted so good!

Cielito Lindo
23 Olvera St # E
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Open Sun – Thurs 9am – 11pm
Fri – Sat 9am – Midnight

A Lamb Dip Sandwich, with a taquito chaser…….now that’s a breakfast!

Rose Parade Preview…and food at Tops

December 31, 2006 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy is blogging while Kirk rests. This one is interesting.

Hi. Its the end of the year and there are still some traditional things The Mister and I do. One of those things is going up to Pasadena, having breakfast and either helping or watching Tournament of Roses parade floats being decorated. Since I have this wrist injury and repetitive stress is out of the question, this is a year to watch.

So, we went to breakfast first at the Historic Green Street Hotel. The Hotel is now a Condominium Complex for the most part, but the building was built in 1898 and has been declared a Historical Site. …The food, its a brunch and not much selection.

Fruit, muffins, pastries, scrambled eggs, sausage and ham…as well as juice and coffee. We were not there for the food.

We ate quickly and waited to get onto the tour bus that took us about 1 mile south….this was the view, waiting to get to the top/overview area of one of the four float building company warehouses.

This is the Farmers Insurance entry for this year's parade. The little owl on Mother Nature's shoulder moves his head. They took the float out of the warehouse to make certain the mechanics were working and to do last minute touch ups before judging was to take place at about 1 p.m. today. Every square inch of the float that is visible has to be covered in something that is, or was alive.

Once you are inside you get a view of the nine floats that have been being assembled in this 'barn' for, really, the last year.

The City of Glendale float is the one with the bear, the Optimists have the one with the cat and dog being friends,

The City of Long Beach

made the one with the lighthouse and sailboats, the City of Pasadena did the birdhouse. McDonald's sponsored the one with the honeybees …

The Lutheran Hour has the one with the church, Lions Club International did the one with the cane for the blind.

Anyhow, these floats are essentially done, and beautiful. People talk about what they are made of…the living parts. But this isn't a good vantage point…HOWEVER…I have friends in High Places….oh, and I'm kinda sorta one of them….

Here is a photo from a few days before the parade last year, with a float still in the assembly stage. See the orange slices used so they look like goldfish scales?

(click on it and it will enlarge)

So, anyhow, here's some closeups..you can tell some of the materials without my help.

OK, so that was the majority of my day…but The Mister and I were tired and hungry and in Pasadena..and of course I *must* always have my camera with me.

Tops, 50 years in business, 'Voted Best Fast Food in Pasadena, Corner of Walnut and Allen'. Gotta try it.

Hmmm, similar to The Hat but with a larger menu….

So, we got what we know is good: the 1/2 pound burger ($3.89), pastrami dip($6.39) and small chili cheese fries($3.59)…

Simple, basic and pretty darn good…the burger is served with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and Thousand Island sauce; the pastrami was peppery, had a nice amount of fat and in a nice french roll…

OK, the burger looks, eh, smallish for 1/2 pound…here is what it looked like in my hand after I had eaten a LOT and was almost full….

Tops 1792 East Walnut Street Pasadena (626)584-0244 M-Th 7 am-11 pm; Fri/Sa am-midnight, Sun 9 am-11pm

I'll talk to you all next year, and thank you for making this one my most interesting in my lifetime! Watch football on January 1st… There's this game that is played in Pasadena….

Friday “Stuffs”: Recent Updates on Sakura and Sandwich Emporium, and Other “Stuff”

December 29, 2006 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Japanese Restaurants, Sandwiches, Sushi and Sashimi, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Since I'm pretty sure most of us are fairly preoccupied this time of the year, I thought I'd do a post of some "stuff" I've had on the back-burner, as well as a some house-keeping miscellanea.

Back to Izakaya Sakura with Ed from Yuma:

Ed from Yuma managed to squeeze in a short visit to San Diego a couple of weeks back, and we decided to meet up at Sakura. I know I've probably posted on Sakura a couple of times already, but I brought my camera along, so I thought I'd just take a few photos during dinner. Unfortunately the photos really didn't turn out real well…so please excuse the lousy photos. So onward to dinner. Since Ed is a long time Sakura customer, the Itamae, Kazu, knows that when Ed sits at the bar, it's anything goes, and whatever is fresh. So my strategy when eating at Sakura with Ed, is to order a few small dishes, while waiting for the inevitable sashimi. I'll keep the verbiage to a minimum…since we've eaten here before.

So let's see, we started with the Buta Kakuni:

Rich and delicious slow braised pork belly! Sweet soy flavor, and soft melt in your mouth pork….

Tebashio – salted and grilled Chicken Wings:

I had been wanting to try this for a while, mainly out of curiosity since this is a standard Yakitori style dish, I'd been wondering how it would be at Sakura. Nicely salted, with a mild dusting of Shichimi Togarashi to give it some kick, the wings had a nice smokey flavor. As Ed put it, "how can something so simple, taste so good?"

In dire need of a fried item, we had the Chicken Karaage:

As good a Chicken Karaage as I've ever had, just perfectly done.

Now came a few interesting items, stuff that Kazu ordered for us. The first item was a cold fish head "salad" in a sweet-soy sauce:

Sorry, this is only half of the dish, the other half was being devoured by Ed. You see by this time I was too busy eating, that I was a bit slow on the trigger. The Pompano(Ebisu-Shiira) Head had been marinated and stewed for so long that all of it was edible. Ed can correct me, but I don't remember a single bone. This was enough to trigger a "delici-yoso dance" by Ed, the unnatural phenomenon first documented at Buga in August of 2005, where Ed closes his eyes, raises his arms to a perpendicular angle, goes "mmmmm", and sways back and forth. Delici-yoso!!!

Sazae(sea snail):

Simmered sea snail, so very tender, there were a few "gritties", but this was quite good.

And of course the Sashimi:

Excellent Aji(as always), I thought that Aji season was over, but this was great, good Maguro, excellent Hamachi, probably the best Tako I've ever had, we were wondering why Kazu had included Tako! The Ika was good as well. The one item that I'm not really fond of at Sakura is the Awabi(Abalone), it's always been really tough, and on the bitter side.

Kazu also made us a Negi-Toro Temaki(Fatty Tuna and Green Onion Handroll):

This was a rarity at Sakura, I'd never seen a handroll made here. It was very good.

And of course my favorite part, the "Senbei" made from the Aji bones:

All of that, and two large Tokkuri(sake flask) of Otokoyama, came to $140. another great meal at Sakura. I've got some lunch photos from Sakura, but don't know what folder I put them in, if I ever find them I may post on that as well.

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111

Sandwich Emporium Redux:

I've posted on Sandwich Emporium in the past, but thought I'd give Peter and John a little more "love". After all, I'm in there about once a week, when I need something quick for dinner.

It's a nice simple menu, the sandwiches aren't fancy but are good and well made. And Peter and John (and Angela) are really good people, and have given me some nice restaurant recommendations as well..

Our favorite is the Triple Decker($5.75):

We enjoy ours on Sourdough with pepper jack, with no mayo or mustard, but with jalapenos. A nice sandwich.

Other sandwiches include an occasional special called the Spicy Julio, a spicy Roast Beef sandwich:

And when I need to up my fat intake, the "Jersey" Reuben($5.75):

I must say that the Twins have worked really hard to make Sandwich Emporium into a nice neighborhood sandwich shop. Sure beats Subway any day of the week.

Sandwich Emporium
3054 1/2 Clairemont Drive
San Diego,CA
619-275-1351

Now open seven days a week.

Orange County Food Blogs Launches.

OC Food Blogs is an ambitious collaborative effort project by the intrepid Chubbypanda covering the Orange County Food scene. So check it out, contributors include such esteemed Food Bloggers as Elmo of Monster Munching, ChristianZ of Orange County Mexican Restaurants, Rasa Malaysia, Wandering Chopsticks, and Professor Salt, among others.

A Sammy and Frankie Album.

Passionate Eater informed me that Frankie and Sammy have requested equal time. I don't know how they got in touch with Her, but PE got the message across to me, and now Sammy and Frankie have their own album. And per Frankie's and Sammy's instructions the album is dedicated to PE!

Check out the San Diego tumbleweed blowing across a parking lot in our neighborhood this past windy Wednesday.

It’s Burger Week – Longhorn Cafe-Howdy Pilgrim!

December 20, 2006 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Pubs and Pub Grub, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Kirk is just taking the day off (from blogging, anyhow) and Cathy is blogging. Stay and look.

Hello, again, and welcome back. I'm just going to talk about a great sort of neighborhood place that has been there forever and has an All-American type of ambiance…by that, I mean burgers and beer….

In the Vons/Rite Aid Shopping Center where Mission Gorge turns into Friars Road, next to Kaiser Hospital at Zion…at night, well, its the faded sign..

You walk in, the bar is along the wall to your left, booths on the right and televisions blaring. Lots of cowboy memorabilia on the walls. Walk straight back to the room on the left- The John Wayne Room…

Trust me, this is nowhere near all the memorabilia collected here.

You can read about John Wayne on the menu also.

So, you sit down and the table is set, with menus, plastic wear, condiments…

The menu is fairly simple; burgers, steaks salads, appetizers. Bar food.

(You can read, at the bottom of the John Wayne story, the breakfast menu)

We ordered basics. The 1/2 pound Longhorn burger ($6.25), cooked medium rare, with a side of onion rings ($4) and the 6 ounce top sirloin steak dinner ($8.50), served with salad or coleslaw or soup, freedom fries and garlic toast. The Mister also ordered a Red Trolley Beer, which was $2.25- the Happy Hour price-cheaper than the draught beer.

The salad arrives in a paper plate atop a plastic plate with a real fork (there are plastic forks on the table). Standard, iceberg lettuce, fresh tomatoes, a pretty good blue cheese dressing. Nothing extraordinary, not bad.

The Top Sirloin steak, cooked medium rare, also. The steak was very flavorful and tender. The garlic toast was nice. The fries were standard, cooked well.

The side of Onion rings is quite large. They were crispy and made with whole onions, not the minced ones.

My 1/2 pound burger, done medium rare, served with ONION and tomato and lettuce. You saw that condiment tray up there…I added pickles and mayonnaise. Oh, the bun is toasted.

Excellent food, great atmosphere, close to Qualcomm and friendly people..everywhere…

Longhorn Cafe 6519 Mission Gorge Road San Diego 92120 ( in the Vons and Rite Aid Shopping Center)

(619)283-0831

Windy City Beef- Angus burgers! (and fresh authentic food from Chicago)

December 19, 2006 Cathy Burgers, Hot Dogs, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Unfortunately for all of us, Windy City Beef has closed and is going to become another Chicago on a Bun outlet. Similar, but not as good, in my opinion. Truly a loss . 🙁

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Kirk and Cathy are alternating days of reporting some good food we like that is local! Today, it’s Cathy’s turn.

Hello again. I think you know by now that I grew up in Detroit. OK, that isn’t Chicago, but it’s close enough..it is about a 6 hour drive and in another time zone, but the Midwest accents are the same and the flavors and foods are Italian, Polish and just hearty American…you know, beef is a primary ingredient. Well, since February, there has been this place on Fletcher Parkway, just off the 125, (southeast corner) called "Windy City Beef". I know about the Windy City…I like beef…hmmm. Oh, and I’m doing Part 2 of a Week of Burgers!

Gotta stop in and try it. Hey- they call it "pop" here, not "soda", not "beverages"…pop. Look at that menu! Check out the website by clicking here. The family is Italian, from Chicago and they use their own recipes and make it fresh. Family run…Well, The Mister and I had to, you know… here is a close up of the menu for those of you looking at prices. I didn’t realize the photo would not be as clear, sorry. So, its basic food that I grew up with. Burgers, beef sandwiches, Italian sausage sandwiche, a chili dog, a brat, a Polish dog, pizza, and … oh and that "Windy City"- a Chicago Style Hot Dog, which is a Vienna Beef hot dog with mustard, relish, fresh chopped onions, tomato wedges, kosher pickle, celery salt and your choice of hot or sweet peppers, served on a freshly steamed poppy seed bun. OK, one of those ($2.95) and an Italian sausage sandwich, called "Da Mayor"…a home made deliciously seasoned Italian sausage, char-grilled to perfection served in au jus gravy on fresh baked Italian bread ($3.95)..and a side of chili cheese fries, just to see what the chili tastes like, of course…($2.85) 🙂

You order, pay, sit down and it is brought to your table, in brown paper bags, just like I used to get in Detroit (with your order written on the outside of the bag) at the local Coney Island Restaurant.

Open up those bags, and the packaging..

and look at that- juicy, plenty of food AND the authentic *NEON GREEN* Chicago relish..wow! It smells so good! It is the Vienna Beef regular hot dog, (not the old fashioned one with natural casing) and the flavors are *excellent*; the taste brings back good memories. The Italian sausage sandwich-oh yes, that is *not* a Costco Italian sausage (which I do buy when I can’t get to Little Italy downtown). You can taste the fennel pieces in it, and its juicy and oh so fresh, and char grilled the correct way.

Oh, here is the a close up of those buns (with a bite taken out of each; we couldn’t wait). The Italian bread was definitely fresh with a nice light crispy crust. The poppy seed roll was steamed and eggy tasting. I’ll get to the chili/fries in a minute.

Previously (for the sake of this blog, heh heh) I had brought home some other basics and photographed them…

The Big John Burger (1/3 pound juicy Angus ground beef with lettuce, tomato, sliced onion, ketchup and mustard, served on an old fashioned potato bun) ($3.95). They say they cook the burgers to medium well, I asked to be as less of that as possible and it was cooked more to a medium..and gosh was it *very* juicy and flavorful!..Angus beef is sooo much better… (I will get into my meat doneness preferences in another post; the people who work here are following the law about cooking raw meat. Point is, it was medium done and *still* was juicy and great tasting. )…oh and that potato roll! My very-very-VERY first job was working in a Polish Bakery..I know bread; I know what I like..and I do *so* like potato rolls and bread. This was excellent..the burger and everything about it…and for only $1 more, you can make it a 2/3 pound burger! (and its called a "Sears Tower", of course)

This is "Da Boss" The famous thin sliced slow roasted Italian seasoned beef served in au jus gravy on fresh baked French bread and served with hot or sweet peppers (these are the sweet ones) ($5.65). Excellent. Juicy. Perfectly seasoned. A lot of just beef. That bread. mmm!

So, back to those chili cheese fries…well, guess how the chili is made…um, the trimmings from that thinly sliced beef from "Da Boss" can’t go to waste, you know…yep- look at the chili up close (you can click onto those pictures up there) *chunks* of beef..homemade chili…*mmm-yoso!* There are pinto beans that are blended in; you don’t bite into any whole ones- the beans are used as the thickener and you know they are in the chili, its a nice background flavor…and yes, this chili could win a few contests, I think. Oh, the fries are double fried, so they stay crispy with the chili and cheese on top of them…a great detail making that little side dish..well, superb!

So, this little placard is on every table. What is that?

Fresh, hand cut potato chips? I went up to order some, but alas, they were out of those sliced potatoes. Next time. However, the owner, who was working, asked me if I liked Cannoli..well, duh…its a dessert that is not too sweet, a ricotta cheese filled pastry shell…um, OK, I’ll take the Cannoli, please. So, He went in the kitchen area (its an open area; you can watch everything being made) and filled a Cannoli shell for me, dipping each end in pistachios and brought it out to our table.

Oh My! The freshest, crispiest, most delicate pastry shell, filled with the freshest ricotta, powdered sugar and slight vanilla flavor Cannoli filling I’ve ever had! (and, I’ve had a few, thankyouverymuch).

I asked, and the pizza is made from the owner’s Grandmother’s recipe..the dough risen on the pan (it is Sicilian thick pan style) and then a light tomato sauce (He said usually his grandmother just put on spaghetti sauce) and lots of cheese. That’s for next time, too.

Windy City Beef- Family owned and operated, helping out the local Community with fund raisers (see the website) and making fresh, good food that people from the Midwest miss, all while serving pop as the beverage…and *really* excellent Angus burgers.

Like the sign says- They don’t serve fast food, they serve fresh, homemade quality food- quickly.

Windy City Beef 2872 Fletcher Parkway El Cajon 92021 (619) 465-BEEF (2333) Open 7 days, call for hours. www.wcbsd.com

There is quite a bit of some great Chicago memorabilia contained within the space…and a very telling poster for those of us who understand….