Vietnamese Restaurants – Page 49

Silly Blogging Day-Cathy eats unusual food at all these places too.

August 10, 2008 Cathy Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog. Kirk doesn’t want to blog today, neither does ed (from Yuma) that leaves me to let you have insight into my little life…

Hi again. It has come to my attention that some people think because I live in the East County of San Diego yet contributes to this blog, that I am not overly adventurous with my eating, seeing as how a majority of my posts center on Mediterranean foods and taco shops…but that is so untrue. I just try to not ‘overlap’ posts with Kirk. Truth be told, he and I have extremely the same palates and before I started blogging, I accused him of ~~stalking~~ following me and The Mister to restaurants, since we had both been there for a meal and then Kirk posted about them a few days later.. like for 3 months in a row…

Anyhow, these are photos just to show you I eat at all these exciting places also, and like it.

The Mister and I chose Crab Hut for our anniversary dinner.

Garlic bread.
Shrimp with half lemon butter, half Old Bay…medium heat level.

Half a pound of corn. A meal.

Last week, we went back. We could not decide, wanted something fried…so just got the Appetizer Boat ($14) cajun fries, fried okra, onion rings, fish fillets, fried shrimp, potato poppers(potatoes, cheddar and jalapeno), Crab Hut rolls (crab meat, shrimp, pork, taro and carrot in rice paper, fried) served with a variety of sauces…The fry cook here deserves to be paid more. Always, *always* the fried foods here are so perfectly prepared! Here are the accompanying sauces for the boat of fried wonderment! Here is the same old same old 1/2 lb of shrimp…medium heat, 1/2 Old Bay, 1/2 garlic butter… and here are leftovers… As a treat, here is an Old Bay seasoned whole Blue Crab. This brought back such memories. Many, many years ago, when living in Virginia, The Mister and I would get a dozen of these and a six pack of beer and sit on our deck, cracking crabs, getting really messy-and drunk. The taste of fresh blue crab is …perfect…

Ah, other places I eat… Most of you recognize this place setting- Little Sheep. Kirk took The Mister and I here for our first visit, and we have been back on our own…many times. This is an average meal- two broths, 3 meats, 2 types of dumpling (one is always lamb), tofu in some form, some sort of green and then something to eat without cooking (in this case the lamb skewers)

We really like it here.

Then there was the day- the infamous day not that long ago-when Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and I met for lunch. For first time. Ever. The magic of blogging. What did we order? I got the tapioca noodle based shrimp and ‘crab’ soup… Both Kirk and ed got the Bo Kho. Kirk says this place makes a mean Bo Kho.

Oh, where did the three of us choose to eat? Not saying.

Then there is my latest passion, Yum Asia, (with clear noodles, please) from Asia Cafe. Great in the hot weather.

I have been here once a week for the last five weeks, each time with a different man. Never mind. I have had cravings for the Nem Khao ever since ed (from Yuma) brought me here the first time.

The pork larb is particularly juicy flavored and made with just enough heat so you can taste the meat as well as enjoy the spices.

The fried spring rolls are mostly meat and served with mint and parsley as well as lettuce, which is also used for the Nem Khao.

So, anyhow, that’s it for now. I didn’t have enough to do a single post about any of these places, and might not have said much except I love the way the food tastes, so you get to just vicariously enjoy. Links to Kirk’s bloggings about all but one of the above restaurants:Crab Hut Little Sheep Asia Cafe . The first five people who can correctly guess which restaurant was chosen as a meeting place for the three of us for our first lunch together will get an e-gift certificate from Peets.

Que Huong Revisited…many times Part 3 – Maybe it is all about the Jackfruit Salad?

August 7, 2008 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Que Huong has closed

After our previous visits to Que Huong, you'd have thought that we'd had our fill. But the Missus thought the menu had some potential, and so in future visits we tried a few different items. So here they are:

Banh Xeo($5.95):

This is something I remembered from our first visits to Que Huong way back in 2005. It was still delivered with a pile of fresh herbs and lettuce. It was still crisp, and not oily in the least. I do think that they've cut down on the amount of shrimp and other "fillings", but it's still my favorite in version in San Diego.

The Catfish Clay Pot($8.95):

It looks large in the photo, but it was more of a "personal sized" version. The strong fish sauce- maggi-lemongrass flavor was great, but the fish was a bit too "muddy" for my tastes. The Missus enjoyed it, and there was one added "bonus" that I liked. The bottom of the pot was lines with pork belly..soaked in the sauce and caramelized…delici-yoso!!! I ordered this during another visit with Ed from Yuma, and the most wonderful Tina (thanks for putting up with us!). I knew this was right up Ed's alley, so maybe we'll find out how he enjoyed it. You'll need some rice for this one.

The Jackfruit Salad ($12.95):

Most of the versions I've had of this dish(Goi Mit) tends to be on the milder side. And this dish would be as well, except that it has a nice amount of Rau Ram, peanuts, and a Nuoc Mam Cham that runs on the sweeter side. If you've never had Jackfruit before, and have some preconceived notions about taste and texture….the jackfruit is very mild, and has an almost "meaty" texture. There a nice amount of pork and chopped shrimp in the dish, and the portion size is pretty large. It comes with sesame-rice crackers. The only real problem, and I've noticed this with some of the dishes here….there always seems to be that "one thing". There are many hard peppercorns in the dish…real hard…chip your teeth hard, so tread carefully.

On one visit, we decided to try the Goat Hot Pot (small – $22.98). I had thought it was a bit on the expensive side, but it was enough for 3 people. The broth is laden with dried Jujubes, and has a very strong lemongrass flavor.

The best item is the taro, which has been fried before being added to the hot pot, giving it a nice texture and flavor.

I really wouldn't order this if you're a meat lover, the chopped goat was an after-thought, tough and flavorless.

A plate of Mi (egg noodles) is provided, along with some vegetables, in this case a plate of Bok Choy. The soup is "never-ending", in that you can request refills of the soup (but not the noodles or veggies…that'll cost you). After a refill, we needed to add some water to the broth, it was getting pretty salty. For the final refill, they provided a bowl from which we could just refill as desired. You can see how much "stuff" is in the broth, just by looking at the bottom of the bowl:

The jury's still out on this one.

It's an interesting crowd at Que Huong, during the earlier hours, it's Vietnamese families(for the hot pot, and other family style dishes), and an occasional Hispanic visitor (they seem to enjoy the fried rice and pan fried noodles). As the evening gets later, the group gets younger, and people start ordering the wings, and other smaller dishes.

One of the Young Men, by the name of Jay is fabulous. He'll come by and answer any questions you may have, and tell you about some of the other menu offerings.

Que Huong Restaurant
4134 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

BaLe Linda Vista Reopens

July 30, 2008 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Markets & Grocers, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Bale has closed and is now Farm Sandwiches and Market.

So finally, Ba Le on Linda Vista resurfaces. The sign on the "old location" said the end of May, but when I took that photo it was already June! And when I shopped a Vien Dong Market a few days later, that sign was gone. This past weekend, I noticed that Ba Le had indeed taken the place of the old Dai Tan Supermarket, which had been there for quite a while.

In spite of the looks, there is quite a bit of parking further down the lot, where you're not packed in, and people aren't backing into you(I saw a little Vietnamese Lady driving a BIG SUV, hit another parked, BIG SUV, and she just kept on going…). As I walked in, I wondered what the heck Ba Le was doing with a market….but I guess that's the plan.

Seeing that the sandwich counter is not yet completed, I inquired about Banh Mi, and was told, that even though the counter, and seating area wasn't finished yet they were serving Banh Mi. And the current special is; buy 2 get 1 free. So I placed my order, and seeing the chaotic situation; a line of grocery customers, I took a walk around the market.

Dai Tan never struck me as being the cleanest looking market, but the place has been cleaned up a bit, and the lighting is much better. The produce looked fresh, and there was quite a steady flow of customers.

Which meant I'd probably be waiting a while, so I took a seat. Surprisingly, a few minutes later one of the Gentlemen comes walking out of the back of the market with 3 Banh Mi. Which I paid for, than proceeded to hightail it out of the parking lot, before a little lady in a BIG SUV had a chance to hit my car.

So, what did I get? Well let's start with the Dac Biet (special – $3.50):

In my visits after my post on the old BaLe location, I found the sandwiches to be inconsistent. There was a tendency to over-margarine, than over toast the baguette, making the bread crouton-hard…the stuff that rips up the roof of your mouth. This would obviously distract from the decent crust-to-bread ratio. Today, the baguette was okay, slightly crusty, but nothing special. The meats were piled to each side of the baguette…the ham on one side, the Cha Lua on the other…kind of strange. All of the meats, and the pate were very mild in flavor, if not down-right bland. The jalapenos were quite mild on this day. All in all, nothing special….

The Xiu Mai(meatball sandwich – $3.00):

The crumbled Xiu Mai(meatball) had a very mild flavor…sort of like what could be described as a "pork meatloaf". Not bad, even though I enjoy a more assertive flavor. Because of the juicy meatballs, this Banh Mi got soggy pretty quickly, but at least it wasn't dry.

As for the Banh Mi Bi, the Missus didn't feel like eating it, so I took it for lunch, well, breakfast the next day. I won't go into that, "Bi-cause" I wouldn't want to wish that decomposed sandwich on anyone. It just is not a fair assessment of the Banh Mi.

With regards to the Banh Mi, not much has changed at BaLe. If you enjoyed the sandwiches at the former location, you'll enjoy them here. But at least now you can catch up on some shopping while waiting for your sandwiches. All sandwiches run from $3 to $3.50.

BaLe Supermarket and Sandwiches(In the former Dai Tan Market location)
6959 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA

Que Huong Revisited…many times Part 2 – How about some Cha Ca?

July 24, 2008 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Que Huong has closed

I know you're wondering….why so many "short" posts. Work has been quite hectic, and though I meant to do these as a single long post, I just haven't been able to make the time. So my apologies…

After my Chicken Feet Salad visit, I mentioned that Que Huong had a new menu to the Missus. The menu was wide and varied, and it was obvious that not everything would "work", but at least the 2 dishes I had tried had flavor. The Missus had little use for boneless chicken feet, "what's the use? You take away the most fun part of eating chicken feet…the gnawing and sucking." But when I told Her they had Bun Rieu, She decided that She needed to check it out.

We arrived to an empty restaurant, and had a seat at one of the tables. The Missus noted that the place looks a bit more worn than when we first visited. Of course She got the Bun Rieu($5.95)

I thought the Bun Rieu broth to be very clear and mild, and the ground "seafood" had a pretty strong flavor. The noodles were fine, if a bit on the soft side. The Missus told me, this isn't too bad, in fact, this almost tastes like what we had in Hanoi. The Missus really enjoyed the fresh and sparkling herbs, and there was a generous portion of banana blossom.

Though nowhere as good as the Bun Rieu at Mien Trung, the Missus thought this to be a passable version.

Why did I want to return to Que Huong? One of the reasons was that they had Cha Ca Thang Long($12.95) on the menu. It wasn't cheap, but because I enjoy this dish so much, I wanted to give it a try. Cha Ca Thang Long is a turmeric-flavored fried fish dish, that uses what some consider to be some atypical ingredients when it comes ti Vietnamese Cuisine. That would be turmeric and dill.

Much like the version at Ha Noi Restaurant in Westminster, this was served on a sizzling plate, with dill, onions, and green onions scattered on top. One thing we noticed, was that, the version we had at Cha Ca Thang Long in Hanoi used the dill as a vegetable, and it was used in great quantity, at Ha Noi Restaurant, and here at Que Huong, it is treated like a garnish of sorts. This version used snapper as the fish, which added a bit more chew, and made it less moist, but flavor wise it was pretty close to other versions we've eaten. Another difference was that much less oil was used for this, which for me took away some of the richness and moistness from the dish. There was a huge amount of fresh herbs, bean sprouts, sliced cucumber, pickled vegetables(nice and tangy), but the amount of Bun (rice vermicelli) was a bit lacking. And what to do with the huge leaves of lettuce? This isn't Banh Xeo! The SOP sesame crackers and peanuts were made available, as was a bowl of Mam Tom(Fermented Shrimp Paste) mixed with sugar and chilies which was so good, the Missus asked for another bowl.

If you've never had it before, this isn't a bad introduction. Not the best, but much less oily than other versions……

By this time, we'd become a bit of an oddity here, and had gotten to know one of the young men who ran the place. He brought us a sample of the Ốc len xào dừa. Snails braised in coconut milk.

He also gave us a quick demo on how to suck the snails out of the shell. I must say, these were fresh and tender. Forget about the rubbery Ốc we usually get with Bun Rieu. The coconut milk based broth had a little bit of a chili kick to it.

As we drove out of the parking lot, the Missus looked at me and said…"man that fermented shrimp paste tastes so good when you're eating it, but the after taste is hell!" She then turned to me and said; "we're coming back in a few days."

Stay tuned for part 3!

Que Huong Revisited…many times Part 1 – Boneless Chicken Feet Salad Anyone?

July 22, 2008 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Que Huong has closed

In case your wondering where we've been the last couple of months, it's been at Que Huong on the corner of Malborough avenue. I'd posted on Que Huong before, way back in August of 2005. Our meals were pretty mixed, and so I kinda left it alone for a while. But recently, thanks to some comments about the food at Que Huong (thanks Y-Y!), and the various dishes offered at Que Huong, I found myself back in front of the restaurant behind Burger King.

The first thing I noticed was a chalkboard menu of specials, I recognized a few of them – Ốc len xào dừa, snails braised in coconut milk, but as a whole, I understood much less than I knew. As I entered the empty restaurant, it looked like it had been in a time warp for the last 3 years.

Except for a few things…..

Have you ever written on a greaseboard with the "wrong" type of pens, and the darn thing wouldn't erase? For some reason, several specials were written on the mirrors lining the walls of the restaurant.

The other dramatic change was the menu. It had been pretty long and diverse before, with stuff like Crocodile.

But now I noticed many more dishes…..and an entire sheet with various noodle soups like Bun Mam, and Rice Porridge(Chao – which has always been popular here). Much of it was probably due to my increased exposure to Vietnamese cuisine over the last few years.

So what to eat? There were 2 dishes that were mentioned to me. The first was mentioned by several persons, and I thought it was just a "natural". Fish Sauce Chicken Wings($9.95):

I'd been warned that these sometimes edged on being "too salty", and that it was a "weird" combination. But I found these to be pretty good, perhaps a tad too salty, with a mild sweet flavor. And these were nice and crisp. The nice young man running the place on this day told me to eat these hot since they don't stay crisped for very long, and he was right. I didn't finish them, and by the time I got home they were starting to get a bit chewy. I'd have them again, though I think they are a bit on the pricey side. When he packed them for me, he told me to make sure the lid stayed "open". There are several types of chicken wings on the menu, including Chickens Wings in Tamarind, which I was told is a sweet-sour wing. The small order is $9.95, the large order $12.95.

The other dish, mentioned to me by FOY "Y-Y" was Gỏi Chân gà rút xương – Boneless chicken feet salad($9.95)! How could I resist?

The photo is kind of deceptive, this was a pretty large salad. First off, the Chicken feet are boned, (how'd you like that job? ) so you really can't tell it's chicken feet. In fact, if you wanted to "punk" someone, you could tell them this was…say tripe…but well, most people I know who wouldn't eat chicken feet, wouldn't eat tripe either, and visa versa. The chicken feet had no taste, and seemed to just be here to add some crunch to the dish. The overall flavor of the salad was nice, sour-salty-mildly spicy. The Nuoc mam based "dressing" had a ton of ginger in it, and every bite had its own flavor and texture. Every so often you'd run into some Rau Ram, and the powerful peppery-spicy flavor would hit you. There was quite a bit going on here, and though it wasn't a "homerun", it kept me interested. At least interested enough to want to return. The only thing is….

How would I convince the Missus? Stay tuned…………

Pho Ca Dao – Mira Mesa

July 2, 2008 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I don’t know what it is, but this year, even as we approach the heat of summer, I’ve still been eating Pho. What’s even more interesting, the Missus, never a big fan of Pho, has now developed a taste for it. Recently, we had decided on grabbing a bite at Pho Ca Dao on El Cajon Boulevard. But realizing that we had never eaten at the Mira Mesa location, and since the Missus was having one of Her "I’m so easy going" moments, headed off in that direction instead.

One thing became very apparent as we entered the restaurant. It was very clean, and the folks working were smiling, and quite friendly. No having to know what to order before your butt hits the Naugahyde here. Looking around, I thought I was eating in, perhaps a Marie Callenders?

We saw Servers getting balloons for kids, chatting up the customers. No, menu’s weren’t dealt out on the table like Texas Hold’em, no one hovering around in the "universal Pho ordering stance". They really put you at ease.

The Missus, feeling that it was a bit too hot for Pho, went with the Bun Bi Cha Gio($5.70):

The portion size was quite good, but the Bi(shredded pork and pork skin) was dry, the noodles mushy, and the Nuoc Mam Cham(fish sauce dip) tasted watered down. The Cha Gio("egg rolls") were crisp and hot.

Having not visited this location of Pho Ca Dao, I wasn’t sure what meat offerings were done well here. So I went with the Pho Dac Biet(special – $5.50):

The garnishes were on the skimpy side, but did include Ngo Gai(Saw leaf herb – Culantro) that was starting to brown. On the good side, this place was so accommodating that I could request a bit more basil and Ngo Gai without worrying about ending up with a sharpened pencil in my neck.

The broth had a nice light brown color, and was relatively clear. It also had a nice clove-anise "nose" to it. Unfortunately, this didn’t translate to the flavor, which was overwhelmingly salty. The Rare Steak was decent, not too dry, the very scant amount of tripe was fine, the brisket had nice flavor, but was on the dry side. Just like it’s namesake on El Cajon Boulevard, it’s the tendon that stands out. It is perhaps not as soft and buttery, but it is close enough.

Like I mentioned earlier, we had very friendly and accommodating service. This alone put us into a nice, relaxed state. Even the the wanna be "Gangsta’s" hanging out in the parking lot looked at lot more like over-fed Mama’s Boyz who went on a shopping spree at a gold shop, than hardened young men. I’m not sure if I’ll be eating here again soon, but I wouldn’t feel bad if I had to.

Pho Ca Dao
8373 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Open 7am-9pm Daily

Ba Le – University Avenue

June 17, 2008 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

I really had no good reason for not trying Bale on University, I've passed it many, many times. But for some reason I just never felt compelled. I think it had something to do with the parking lot.

I think it had something to do with the parking lot, what little there is of it. Many times I've driven past, and alas, no parking. Sometimes Cabs are double and triple parked, blocking the sidewalk. The Somali Coffee Shop next door does some bang up business.

However, things changed a few months ago. During a conversation about Pate, FOY TammyC told me that Bale on University had a nice version made in house. For some reason I had thought that a trip to this location of Bale would be a redundant exercise. Boy was I wrong. The menu was different from the other location(s) of Bale in San Diego.(I still haven't tracked down the "relocated" Linda Vista Bale).

Well, I should say "menus". There are 2 menus here. The one above the counter has sandwiches and other items listed by number. The one on the back wall has the same sandwiches listed, but with different numbers! Ha, sandwich roulette anyone? Banh Mi Ga(chicken) over the counter is #9, on the back wall it's #8. If you did it by number you could get Banh Mi Bi! Thinking you ordered Banh Mi Chay(vegetarian Banh Mi – usually tofu), you get Banh Mi Pate Cha. Now that would be a nice surprise.

Also, Tammy warned me about the "funky smell", and yes, once when I visited, there was a strange dank-medicinal smell. Other times, it was just like a worn, slightly seedy little sandwich shop should be.

But of course I was here for the sandwiches. And I ordered the Banh Mi Pate Cha($2.75):

And Tammy was right, this was a good Pate, slightly "livery", but quite smooth, and without the "grainy" bits. It was mildly fatty, but not much so. The Cha Lua was interesting for me, not as dense as other versions, with a slightly spongy initial bite. In retrospect, this version of the defatted pork sausage was very close to what we had in Vietnam.

There were 2 things I really didn't care for in this sandwich. First, the bread was pretty lousy, barely toasted, with a texture almost like that of stale bread(Tammy had warned me about the bread). Second, the pickled vegetables were on the sweet side. I prefer mine with a nice refreshing "bite", these stood out too much, and detracted from the overall flavor.

Of course I bought the Missus a Banh Mi Bi(shredded pork – $3.00):

Man was this a "load of Bi". The Missus didn't care for it. She found the Bi dry and tasteless. And didn't like the bread at all.

A few weeks later I found myself in the neighborhood, and tried out the Dac Biet(special – $3.25).

Bale's version was pretty filling. The sandwich had 3 different cured meats; a the Cha Lua, Pork Belly(Ba Chi), and some nicely flavored "Ham", to go along with a generous smear of the savory Pate.

Just as before, the pickled vegetables were on the sweet side, and the bread was not to my liking.

The thick stems of cilantro did not do much for me either.

Funny thing, the photos for this post have been sitting around for a while. And after returning from Hanoi, I was a bit curious to see if my tastes had changed substantially. So recently I made another drive up University, made a perilous U-Turn, and managed to find parking(though backing out of the parking lot was another story). This time, the gentleman who I'm assuming is the Owner actually understood me when I ordered my sandwich. I also noticed the huge block of Pate in the deli case, which I inquired about. He told me with some pride, "we make it here….$4.50 a pound. We make almost everything here."

Thoughts of purchasing half a pound, and getting some Gio Lua from Da Nang danced in my head. But first, I need to find some good bread. After getting home, I bit into my Banh Mi, and my original opinion of the sandwich stood. You gotta love consistency!

Ba Le French Sandwich Shop
4879 University Ave # A
San Diego, CA 92105

Open 6am-6pm Monday-Saturday
7am-4pm Sunday

BTW, the White on Rice Couple have a very nice post on Banh Mi. You can find it here.

Thanks for all the great recommendations TammyC!

Chow Noodlehouse

June 10, 2008 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chinese Restaurants, Thai Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Chow has closed

I'd been thinking about trying out Chow Noodle House for a while, but have been hesitating. You see, when we first moved to San Diego in '01, this was the location of the reincarnated Celadon Restaurant. And the young Owner, Alex Thao, at that time still a student at San Diego State, was a thoughtful and energetic young man. His father had Owned the original Celadon, now the location of Hash House, and after deciding to retire and close the restaurant, the ambitious Alex had talked his father into reopening Celadon, and turning over the keys to him. The space that Chow now occupies once held a Thai Restaurant called Thai-phoon, or something like that. I won't go into the food at that restaurant, but I think the name more than describes it. Alex is a smart Guy, he kept the original chef on staff at Celadon, and we thought the food to be pretty good. We'd often run into Alex's Mom running the front of house, and Alex would always come by and chat. Over time the food went on a downhill slide. It seems that the original Chef, Songsri Thammasuckdi, who, I was told, once cooked for Thai Royalty, decided to retire. About the same time, Alex Thao became quite the Restaurateur, first opening Rama in the Gaslamp, then moving Celadon to newer digs, and opening Chow Noodle House in the former Celadon location. Which brings us to the here and now.

The interior is simply modern, neat and orderly, if perhaps a bit on the "cold" side.

The menu though simple in concept; noodles, salads, and other similar items, is a challenge. Chow has chosen to straddle 4 different Countries. The menu consists of everything from Pho and Bun, to Yakisoba, to Chow Fun and Pad Thai. It is hard enough doing one cuisine justice, but four?

Back in January, I decided to check out Chow for lunch. The very nice young lady ushered me to a table, and after looking over the menu, I chose the Drunken Noodles(with chicken – $8). I thought this would be a nice dish to try since I enjoyed the version that Celadon used to make. Something in the back of my mind made me order it "spicy", something I'd never do at say, Yai Restaurant. Come to think of it, they serve it to you, their way, and don't even ask you how spicy you want your food. I kinda like that.

I was first served a bowl of a pseudo, egg drop soup. I say pseudo, because the one very strong flavor in this was that of Kaffir Lime Leaf. To me this wasn't a bad thing, because at least it had flavor.

Considering that I was paying the "Hillcrest premium", this didn't look too bad. On the good side, the noodles were cooked adequately, and the chicken wasn't dry as I expected. On the bad, this was cloyingly sweet. I expect my Pad Kee Mau to be on the sweet side, but this was really much too sweet. Also, it was not spicy in the least, not at all. It was hard to make out any flavor beyond the sweetness of the dish.

Another day, I was having lunch with an acquaintance, and decided to order the "Vietnamese" Grilled Beef Salad($10):

The "lemongrass grilled beef" was adequately done, but it had no lemongrass flavor. The menu says hothouse cucumbers, but none were in sight, not a big deal, at least there were some cherry tomatoes mixed in with the shredded cabbage and carrots. The dressing was very bland, I'd have killed for some Nuoc Mam Cham. Funny thing, this was one of my first meals out after returning from vacation, and I couldn't help but think…..160,000 VND!

Recently, I decided to give Chow one more shot. This day, being a bit brighter than most, I noticed that Chow was showing some signs of wear and tear.

This time I ordered the Beef Chow Fun($11 – I just noticed that I spent more and more $'s on each visit). I didn't quite know what to expect, perhaps a nice version of Thai style thick noodles with gravy, maybe I'd get a decent Chow Fun.

Chow Fun with Gravy does not mean mushy noodles. The noodles were horribly over-cooked, and improper cooking temperature made them greasy as well. Though the fragrance of ginger wafted up from the dish, it was all I could really make out. This was very bland. At least the Gai lan tops were cooked properly. The meat was cut too thick, and didn't match the thickness of the noodles, a no-no in Chinese cooking.

At this point, unless anyone has a really stellar recommendation for Chow, I think I'll pass for a while. It seemed like everything started at mediocre, and went down hill from there. I will say this, though my Server was different on every visit, I had very accommodating service. Also, I was never charged for my Diet Cokes.

This leads me to a conversation I had with the young Alex Thao, way back in maybe 2002. Just back from a visit to Thai Town, I inquired about dishes using ingredients like Thai Eggplants, Jackfruit, or even Gapi(Thai Shrimp Paste). His response was that using the unfamiliar in San Diego is "economic suicide" and those dishes would just take up menu space and never sell. I guess he's right, after all, the Thao Empire is now so large it calls itself the "Celadon Group".

Chow Noodle House
540 University Ave
San Diego, CA

Read Alice Q Foodie's post on Chow here.

Read Gil's post from what We Dig here.

From the no good deed goes unpunished files:

So, I'm walking after lunch, and see an Older Woman using a walker, dragging a shopping basket, muttering to herself while crossing the street. I notice that a shopping bag full of "stuff" fell from the cart while she was crossing the street. So, I run into the cross walk, get honked at by some "gangsta's" in an Escalade who in addition to throwing a Big Gulp Cup at me, obviously cussed me out…luckily, they were screaming at me in "gangsta" so I really couldn't understand what they were saying. Thankfully, I managed to pick up the bag, caught up with the woman, and handed it to her. Unfortunately for me, she was grappling with whatever demons are haunting her, and proceeded to scream profanities at me. And if that wasn't enough, she started spitting at me! Needless to say, I dumped her bag into the cart, and beat a hasty retreat. Goes to show me…you never know what'll happen to you on the corner of 5th and University……..

Pho SuperBowl-in La Mesa

May 22, 2008 Cathy Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is where you are, reading a post written by Cathy, because Kirk and ed just don’t feel like writing today….although I bet they have eaten something.

Hello again. Cathy here. Hope everyone is doing well. Yes, this will be a post about Vietnamese food…but food you can eat right here in San Diego! OK-East County of San Diego. Closer to where I live.

If you live in La Mesa, you know where On Cue Billiards is- on Parkway Drive-the feeder road (parallel to) for Fletcher Parkway at Jackson (NW corner basically). I haven’t been in that parking lot for a long time and one day The Mister and I were driving by and saw a "Grand Opening" sign. We had to stop, even though we were not too hungry. The Mister got a small bowl of Pho Tai($4.95). (The SuperBowl size is $5.50). Excellent, deep flavored, not too oily broth, fresh fresh flavors. The meat was very tender and flavorful.

I ordered the Bun Cha Gio ($5.95-my bowl is the "SuperBowl" size, by the way) Excellent, fresh rice noodles-not in a clump. Fresh sliced lettuce, mint, carrots and cucumber, whole unsalted peanuts and *really* fresh bean sprouts, topped with four cut up Vietnamese egg rolls- which are all meat/no filler (the appetizer serving of five of these egg rolls is $5.95)

At the end of our meal, the owner brought us two small bowls of warm "coconut pudding". It isn’t a pudding texture, but it *is* made with wonderfully flavored coconut milk.

The menu only has 48 items, six of which are "kids meals" (pho tai is only $3.95 for I guess a smaller serving). If you enter on the right hand door, that area is mainly used for to go orders and seating to wait for those orders. There is a brisk take out business and a plethora of beverages, all served in ‘to go’ cups. Boba drinks, smoothies, fusion and fresh teas, fresh coffee and lattes, frozen yogurt, milk shakes and "Joy", which is ice blended with fruit, flavoring and water. There are various sizes available and prices range from $1.25 for hot coffee to $3.70 for a 20 ounce smoothie.

I have heard they have free wifi here, but have not checked that out for myself. Yet.

Pho SuperBowl 8342 Parkway Drive La Mesa 91942 (619)469-8984 Open 7 days 10:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m.

Cali Baguette Express – A First Impression

May 5, 2008 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

I noticed that a new, bright and shiny restaurant opened in the former location of El Metate Mexican Restaurant on El Cajon Boulevard. I thought the logo looked a bit familiar…….

And after a look at the menu, I was pretty sure.

With sandwiches like the Cajun Shrimp and Turkey with Pesto, this appeared to be a new location of Baguette Express. I’ve eaten at the location Valley Boulevard in San Gabriel. I can tell you this, the place is already pretty popular.

There’s a section selling grocery items, and stuff like baguette "ends" which are pretty good for croutons. Why are the ends trimmed? Well much like the mega-chain Lee’s, or San Diego’s own K’s Sandwiches, BE uses the extra long bread, and I figured the sandwiches would top 10 inches.

I placed an order, and after a short wait….well, it was a bit of a long wait, it looks like this place is still trying to get all the pieces in place. I received my sandwiches.

I ordered the Dac Biet(special – $2.99):

And yes, here it is. The bread is about 10 inches, and is much more "stuffed" than the usual Banh Mi. As with my previous visit at the LA location, the pickled veggies edged toward the sweeter side, and cross-sliced cucumber was added. The bread is lightly crusty, which is good, but overall, the Banh Mi doesn’t have much flavor or chew to it. I do think it is better than K’s bread, which sometimes ends up on the mealy/crumby side. Thin slices of routine Cha Lua and moist and mildly flavored BBQ pork were layered on the top and bottom of the sandwich respectively. The head cheese was tasteless, with hard, inedible bits that reminded me of toenails. There was a decent, unobstrusive amount of mayo on the sandwich. Mediocre overall, but it will really fill you up.

For some reason, I ordered the Xiu Mai (pork Meatball – $2.69) Banh Mi:

In retrospect, I should’ve ordered something else, perhaps the Cajun Shrimp, which I rememebred being pretty good, or the Nem Nuong. This was a really terrible mishmash of flavors, think mushy, mealy, sour, mystery meat. It was also a bit too heavy on the mayo.

In spite of this, I’ll probably be back. I enjoy the menu, which you can think of as K Sandwich with attitude . Items include Banh Mi Ca(sardine), Banh Mi Trung(egg), in addition to even Bun Bo Hue(not sure I’ll try that though). And it looks like this place is going to have a drive-thru. I can just see Ed from Yuma grabbing a coupla Sardine Banh Mi’s, extra Peppers on the his way out of town!

Cali Baguette Express
5215 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego CA 92115

Website here.