What Cathy Eats! – Page 103

Road Trip Day Seven: Home! New Mexico to California

December 2, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Chains, New Mexico, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is a diary about food we group of friends eat. Cathy and her Mister have been eating their way across America for last week or so. OK…in actuality, she is home and posting . The first four posts were sent pretty much in real time, from the road. These last three have been done with slightly less frenziness. She has slept in her own bed…and will again…as soon as she hits "send"…

OK. Almost done…starting this post early with photos from our last trip and hope the same wonderful, tacky sights, or more, are viewable from the car.

Dinosaur City. Some sort of recreational huge mass of land, on both sides of the Interstate 40. There are tons of these statues closer to the road, to lure you in…

About 6 miles east of Dinosaur City is this "Pseudo Dinosaur City" ()I think it is called"Stewart's" or something like that)which sold an inordinate number of fossils and dusty geodes and old, dusty things two years ago. I loved this place…they were trying to sell the business off then…

Yep, still there. America.

A meal in Arizona- Blake's Lotaburger…eh. I got a Lotaburger, no cheese and The Mister got the grilled turkey sandwich and we got a cherry shake. Nothing special. Just food. We have not ever stopped at a Lotaburger, and will give it one more try next year. There are quite a few locations in Arizona and they seem popular. Perhaps we were spoiled by Blimpy's and Culvers… …now Whataburger, in Texas…that is good…but we didn't stop there this trip. Next year, though…

The last evening meal while traveling-(end of Day Six, if you are keeping track) Yes! The Big Texan!!! From about 200 miles away (~4 hours of driving), the signage starts…"Free 72 ounce Steak!" Of course, there is an asterisk…You have to consume this entire meal in ONE HOUR, on a stage, while people watch (and take photographs). If you don't finish it, it costs $72…and a major bellyache for the next day or two or three…

Or, you can order from the GIANT sized menu (dollar bill at top used for size reference). I got the 18 ounce boneless rib eye ($21.59), cooked rare/medium rare, along with a side of mashed(that had brown gravy on the bottom and white gravy on top). The steak is marinated perfectly and need nothing added. The Mister got the rack of spare ribs ($16.99) with a side of mac and cheese. The ribs are a full rack, meaty, the sauce has a nice kick. Spicy heat with a touch of garlic.

But, you really get two sides and The Mister chose his other side as a salad with a *really good* blue cheese dressing and mine was (and always is) sliced tomatoes with raw red onions. Of course, there are also yeasty rolls are always light, warm and perfect…and apparently not photographed.

Other than that, we merely stopped at a bunch of Starbucks locations on the trip…and have 18 receipts to prove it.. and stopped to take a photo of The Blue Hare….

So, that was our annual vacation, across America. Three days driving there, three days being there and three days driving back.

I hope all of you enjoyed it as much as we did! We'll do it all again next year.

Road Trip Day Six: Missouri to someplace in New Mexico

November 30, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Chains, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Today, again, it is Cathy writing from the road ( written a few days ago; I am actually home-it is the magic of blogging), about food and other stuff. Really. Cathy and The Mister are driving across the Continental USA. You can too, vicariously, from the comfort of your home (or work) computer.

Good Morning!

Still driving and blogging. This photo was taken in Indiana or Illinois with the sun setting. Surreal. I just wanted to share.

By nightfall, we were passing the Arch in St Louis again. Sorry the photo is so blurry. The flash does not do its job from inside a moving car.

So. Sometimes hotel advertise "Breakfast Bar Included". This means cold cereal, oatmeal packets, a toaster, coffee, hot water and a juice machine. If you are lucky, there are bagels and in the condiment section there may be cream cheese and peanut butter. No, no photos…HOWEVER, Quality Inns advertise a "Hot Breakfast Bar"..whoo hoo!

In addition to the items listed above, there is fresh fruit and, in the case of this location, (somewhere West of St. Louis), are sausage biscuits, regular plain biscuits, sausage gravy(really good sausage gravy) …and… The ubiquitous, infamous, make your own commercial waffle machine…oh yes.

You get a cup of batter, and pour it onto the hot machine, close it, flip it and it has a beeping timer (or light in some cases) so you know when it is done. One note: there is usually a can of non-stick spray, or a bowl of melted butter next to the machine…it helps to put that on before pouring…

Anyhow, those waffles are sooooo good. Crispy light exterior and pefectly cooked interior. There seem to be two batters when you encounter these commercial machines and in the Midwest, the more sour, buttermilk based, "malted" batter is always available..and when you get more West/southwest, there is a sweet batter…

ANYHOW…we drove and saw the first of *many* of the trucks hauling Christmas trees out West. We see these on the way home and know it is going to be Christmas…you can see snow on top of this load…yes, Thanksgiving is over and life goes on.

Springfield, MO. Braum’s. Yes.

Small grocery store, fast food and ice cream! The Steakburger combo ($4.75)- with an eggnog shake (extra 50 cents)..By far, Braum’s makes the best shakes ever. They use the milkshake mix and…egg nog instead of milk…oh. Steak. Burger. In the Midwest. This means a chicken fried steak. Excellent. Juicy. Just the right amount of spice in the batter. Topped with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise.

Steak and Shake. You know we *must* stop here, always. Located in the Midwest (the closest one on the trip is in Joplin, MO), this "institution" is open 24/7, serving breakfast every one of those hours…but, nope. The Mister was burger-ed out. He got the fried fish plate, I got a single steakburger. No cheese. You get a choice of two of seven sides with each platter. We each got a salad, and I also took a cup of chili (with beans) and The Mister took cole slaw. Very good food. I like the flavor of the meat in the burger- like a Rally’s Big Buford. We also got an egg nog shake ( as a taste comparison) and… there was no comparing the Braums to Steak and Shake, even though I do like the shakes here…the S&S one had an artificial undertone and I mostly tasted the nutmeg sprinkled on top.

The place was slammed, and our Very Nice Waiter(one of only three inside the busy restaurant) told us we were the quietest people in there. I told Him that we had been sitting in a car next to each other for five days and would rather listen to other people talking than each other…

Oh. Another aside. XM satellite radio channel 59-LED, the Zeppelin Channel…very cool.

So, last night…(did you read that post?)(I didn’t finish our evening meal) Culver’s. Home of the Butter Burger. Major Midwest chain. I got a single, ($2.39), The Mister got a double with cheese($4.49 , the fries came with (a combo meal: also included a medium drink))…and..a side of Cheese Curds ($3.29). yep, we were in Illinois. Midwest. Fried cheese. Not those appetizer sicks of mozzarella, but curds, dipped and fried and wonderful. Oh the Butter burgers- *the best* fast food burger, ever. Yes, BUTTER BURGER. Of course it has flavor. Juicy. Culvers’ makes frozen custard. Wonderful, rich, egg based frozen custard. they make it many times a day. It is wonderful. This is a small, $1.69. They have a different Flavor of the Day as well as chocolate available. In the summer, people come in just for a frozen treat.

Yes, I wrote about two egg nog shakes and a frozen custard, and fried foods (and two small salads, remember)…We will be home soon. The diet begins then…or January First…whatever…

…and I didn’t post our dinner from tonight…that post will go up soon. You’ll like it. The last day of travel…

Braum’s website

Steak and Shake website Culver’s website

Road Trip-Day Five: Detroit/Ann Arbor, MI to St Louis-ish, MO

November 27, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Detroit, Michigan, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog, written in some creative ways. This time it is Cathy, writing about food across America and back. We are now heading back … towards San Diego.

Hello again. We are all back in the car and heading west…albeit slowly. First, breakfast…

Cracker Barrel is along our entire driving route- except, not in California-the closest one to us is 3 hours away, in Yuma. It is good in the sense that all are laid out the same way and I know exactly where the restrooms are-just past the "General Store" lobby (filled with souvenirs and knick knacks and candies)…and they serve breakfast all day. There is a small game on every simply set table. Coffee is $1.39-but I am spoiled by the consistency of Starbucks- cross country(as a side note- we used 6 tanks of fuel and 7 stops at Starbucks on this drive East) I can get a fresh cup of coffee whenever we stop; I can tell you stories of the strangest tasting brown colored hot water I have consumed on prior road trips. This year the signage for Starbucks is better( "Exit 159, Turn Left" with a Starbucks symbol, nothing else) and there are more locations right off the freeway.

So, back to Cracker Barrel, The Mister got the "Holiday Sampler" breakfast plate ($7.19) A choice of country or sugar ham, a slice of wonderful country bacon (it is not crispy, but a cured smoked ham thin sliced and pan fried -different than what most of you grew up with), a wonderful sausage patty, two eggs, hash browns, spiced apples, grits, a regular biscuit, an apple biscuit and country gravy-not too spicy(needed to add pepper), not at all lumpy.Plenty of food. I got the two biscuits with ham and side of spiced apples- they are cooked with the skins on….still crispy in a thick, non-cinnamon, non-sweet sauce.

One thing I like about Cracker Barrel is that you can get a book on tape (or CD) at one location and then drive while listening to it and return it at any other location whenever. It ends up costing you less than $5 and is a good way to pass time if you don't have satellite radio. Regular AM/FM stations end up fading so fast while driving (at best one station will last 2 hours) that having something to hold your concentration, besides conversation, helps tremendously.

Wonderful… said our goodbyes and and we were off in the car again. First stop, the University of Michigan. North Campus. Food.

Yes, you are reading correct- Bagel Fragel. A fragel is …yep, a fried bagel.

Raisin packed bagel dough, fried to a golden brown (instead of boiled). Coated in cinnamon sugar. More sugar than cinnamon-perfect. (I don't crave cinnamon) (89¢) An Ann Arbor tradition for 30 years. {The original Bagel Fragel place used to be located on South University, but now is North of North Campus, on Plymouth Road.} I would get one every Saturday morning. Had to get one now. Had to. While I could. It is bread-y inside and the crust is lightly crispy…not hard…still chewy but a little crunch. Healthier than a donut…not as healthy as bagel…like I care.

A salt bagel, toasted, with butter. (72¢) It is quite difficult to find salt bagels around San Diego. These are good, fresh, inexpensive….and salty! The shop also sells muffins, danishes, sandwiches and breakfast bagels.

Then the traditional Ann Arbor stop at The Cube, a beautiful installation art piece that spins on its axis, either with the help of a push, or just the wind. Made in 1966-67, by Tony Rosenthal, it is located near the Michigan Union, {just off of State Street, on Maynard} and has a "twin"of itself in New York City. As a size reference, the corners parallel to the ground are worn out. Those corners are arm level – where you push.

Then, our primary traditional food indulgence. Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger. This small restaurant (Capacity of 50) seems to be patronized by a lot of people after graduation. The people working the grill were commenting about how many "old" people were in there when we were. Eh, after Thanksgiving, the town seemed filled with alumnae. The Mister and I both lived in South Quad, a dorm located only a block away from Blimpy's and frequented this simple restaurant regularly when undergrads.

You walk in, between tables, and queue up. The menu is on the wall behind the tray line (click to enlarge and read).

You grab a tray and tell the cook your order. Then you watch it being made. The beef is ground daily, set up as a ball of meat in single, double, triple and quad packs, and slapped down on the grill to cook and seasoned with a salt/pepper mix. If you are getting fried items, you order from the fry cook…finished sandwich items are

topped to your wishes (ketchup, mustard, mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickles, raw onions, relish, yellow peppers) and wrapped at the end of the line … you pay and find a seat.

Mine. Double. Provolone. Fried egg. Mayo. Tomato. Onion. Pickle. ($2.85 plus 55 cents for the egg)

His. Triple. Blue cheese. Everything but onion. ($3.95)

Small mixed fried veggies. ($3.45) We sat at 2 of the 5 barstools looking out the front window, onto South Division, as we had many years ago. Enjoyed every last bite.

Oh, the burgers are juicy, flavorful and absolutely the best you will ever have. It has been said you can feel your arteries hardening with each bite. The mixed fries are plentiful, lightly crispy, not too greasy..a mix of onions, zucchini, cauliflower, mushrooms-no potatoes…perfect. We cleaned our tray and left…already awaiting the next visit. It is cheaper than food…and so good.

We ate more today, but I will just add it to tomorrow's post…

Cracker Barrel website. Numerous locations.

MD Bagel Fragel (734)332-1020 North Campus (Plymouth Road)

Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger 551 S. Division, Ann Arbor 48104 (734)663-4590

***Krazy Jim's closed on August 15, 2013 after 60 years. It should be re-opening and the date and location will be announced on its Web Page

Road Trip-Happy Thanksgiving from Detroit

November 22, 2007 Cathy Cooking, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog -a diary of food eaten- written by a bunch of friends independently of each other. This is Cathy, who is in Detroit with her family.

Good wishes to you and your family from all of us.

in the midwestern United States. Ham, with an orange marmalade/mustard glaze, cheesy potato hot dish Kielbasa, roast beef Turkey, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole..other stuff too. and three pies…mince (apples and raisin filling), black forest pie (made by my nephew) and pumpkin pie (made by my niece). Including Staples the traveling poodle (in the wind)… and Gizmo, the much traveled cat, with snow flurries on his back… I hope all of you are having a good meal with family and friends and that we all have something to be thankful for. It is a good time to reflect.

Road Trip-Day Three: Joplin, MO-Detroit, MI

November 21, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Chains, Detroit, Michigan, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog. Cathy is blogging about food and some other stuff this Thanksgiving week.

Hi. Yes the third day in the car with The Mister, one small dog and one cat. We do this. Annually. You get to peek in and see what it is like, sort of. I would like to take this time to let everyone know that XM stereo radio is the most wonderful invention, ever.

One small note. yesterday (or the day before-it is all a blur), we had passed under the World’s Largest McDonald’s, which crosses over the Will Rogers Turnpike in Oklahoma. Usually we stop- as there is fuel sold on either side- but we did not need to this time. I’ll post more on the way back. I know someone may have noticed… In the morning, we stopped at the Russell Stover/Whitman’s Chocolates "Superstore"…the adversting has changed; it used to be an "outlet" and does sell some candies in a "scratch and dent/basic box style, as we,, as items in the fancy wrapped boxes for less than list price. My brother happens to crave the butter toffee almond sticks…and I had a few of the samples offered. They also sell Blue Bunny ice cream cream in the store- not that I wanted any; it was very windy and about 50 outside..ooohhh…cold (for us from California)…. We ended up stopping at a Panera in Rolla, MO so I could post yesterday, and then driving on. Then, the outskirts of St. Louis and a Local Chain- Lion’s Choice. A simple menu and simple decor. You can have the beef on your sandwich cooked to your liking if it is available (you know, they do run out of rare at some point in the day) although you would have to wait for ‘well done’, since most of the beef is rare to medium rare… and the meat on the sandwich is topped with a seasoning salt- but it is not too salty; in this case, we asked for it to be cooked as rare as possible…and the bread is toasted and buttered….in the photo, the top is the large, bottom is a small…there is au jus available (it is not at all salty) as well as horseradish sauce….it isthe most wonderful roast beef sandwich, ever. If you see a Lion’s Choice, you should stop and partake.Oh, the small was $2.79 and large was $3.29 and that is a small fries.

Then, seemingly soon, we were in Illinois…and this sign, which we always see off the side of the road…Foot High Pies. You can see the building used to be a Stuckey’s. Most of the height is the merengue, of course. We got a slice of chocolate and one of banana- also available are coconut and lemon. $4 each slice and $14 for the whole pie… it is wonderful and so fresh. The restaurant makes great food…menu on wall in back…We will have to eat there next time….

Not much scenery for you, for now…It was a driving day… Gotta go shopping. Now. Bye!

Road Trip-Day Two: Albuquerque, NM-Joplin, MO

November 20, 2007 Cathy Albuquerque, American/New American Restaurants, Chains, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!! s a food blog, with diversions. It is a Holiday week. Cathy is silly and blogging it. Enjoy.

Hi. It is me again, with another day of my life, with food. Online. Really. The Mister and I are driving, taking photos, downloading and sharing another day on the road, driving across America. We stopped for fuel at a Loves Truck Stop, where we have seen (forever) "Chester's Fried Chicken" being sold and decided, for the sake of the blog, to try a three piece combination (three breast strips, three potato wedges and a roll for $3.59)…wow=excellent light breading with a nice heat spice kick. We also ordered a medium fried chicken livers($3.29) Very juicy, fresh and the breading was spiced nicely. Justg a bit of heat and salty. Really. We figured this would not be good and were glad how wrong we were.

It turns out that only 30 Loves fuel stations also offer Chester's, and I think we saw them all. The closest one to San Diego is on I-10 just after you get onto it when driving from Gila Bend to Phoenix. It is *really* good fried chicken. When The Mister and I drive through Amarillo every year, w stop at a Classic American Art Installation project,Cadillac Ranch. It changes daily, by the participation of the viewers of the art. Here is a photo when we visited two years ago…

You can see there are ten older Cadillac cars buried inthe ground, and spray painted randomly. Last night, it was after sunset. There was a half moon out. The cars are a good 1/2 mile from the road. The Mister and I walked. We left, and you know we had been there…

This morning- Waffle House! A staple restaurant in Mid America. Each stand alone building has 9 booths and 5 barstools at the counter. The menus are the same. Basic breakfast served 24 hours a day, served up by efficient grill cooks and pleasant waitresses who all call you "Dear" no matter your age.

The Mister ordered a bit of everything, with a waffle, eggs over easy, hash browns with cheese and sasuage. I got the cheese scrambled eggs with grits and bacon …and, of course, raisin toast, which is served with apple jam.

And so, we are still driving….seeing the beauty of Mid America, and the changing seasons and weather… and the tourist traps from the freeway…

So, from somewhere in Missouri-this is Cathy-driving away….

Road Trip-Day One: San Diego, CA- Albuquerque, NM

November 19, 2007 Cathy Albuquerque, American/New American Restaurants, Chains, Road Trip, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso is a food blog-a diary of what a bunch of friends eat. Occasionally we explain why we happen to be eating whatever, wherever. Cathy is merely blogging what she usually does at this time of the year.

Hi. Yes, you read the title correctly. This is a blogging of what The Mister and I do for Thanksgiving every year -except for last year-

because I tripped, fell, was in a cast TO MY SHOULDER for about 7 weeks, and so driving a manual transmissioned car for days at a time was out of the question.

Yes, days at a time. Because of the ability to transmit from my iBook directly to the internet, when there is a connection, you-all of you reading this- get to share in a drive almost all the way across the Continental United States, and back. With food and sights.

So, really late Sunday afternoon, The Mister and I left the house, grabbing one cat (he is diabetic and needs insulin twice a day), one dog (her 'sister' died a few weeks ago and so I am trying to pay a little bit more attention to her), my auto reload Starbucks card ( a wonderful thing; once the balance gets below $15, my AmEx credit card automatically reloads this one with another $20), a small suitcase and jumped in the car and started driving…we left 7 cats, 3 dogs and three large birdcages of parakeets, finches and canaries for my Dear Neighbor, Ms. N, to play with for a few days…and we started driving.

We didn't do much in the way of eating, except for In-N-Out in Yuma (sorry, ed) I apologize for the post looking kind of odd; I haven't ever posted using a Mac; only the PC… So, when we stopped for fuel, we saw this, leaving a gas pump: Absolutely the *coolest* dune buggy.. The scenery leaving Campo, with the electric generating windmills was beautiful. We spent the night in Camp Verde, AZ at a Quality Inn and had a simple-do it yourself breakfast I had a hard boiled egg, a toasted bagel with butter and grape jelly, an orange and some oatmeal, as well as orange juice and hot tea (Only buying coffee at Starbucks and have taken photos of each cup we bought…at four different Starbucks as of this posting. When we got to Winslow, AZ, we saw Sonic! and we had to… We each got a Brakfast sandwich- on Texas Toast. Egg, cheese and bacon for me, sausage for The Mister. Also some tots and -oh yes- the fried macaroni and cheese nuggets… Sonic is a Drive in, much like was common in the 1950's. You cannot walk inside and have to order from the menu board voice system next to where you park. Then a live person comes out with your order and takes your money and gives you change. They make great burgers, hot dogs and shakes. You'll see soon enough. Other sites we have seen today includ the Worlds Largest Kokopelli: and just beautiful scenery of the American West. Erosion is really neat. Yes, I am posting this from a Starbucks in Albuquerque. It is Monday, about 12:45 p.m. in San Diego time. We have to get to Amarillo before dark. Hope all of you are having a good short week.

Elsa’s Kitchen-Greek Food that is really good.

October 31, 2007 Cathy Greek Food, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog that Kirk and Cathy and ed and Vicky write on to tell you about meals they ate. Once again, it is Cathy writing, because Kirk is still not feeling well.

Hi. Happy Halloween. I don’t play games with treats, or decorations. Fast food bags turned to luminaria. Hope you had a nice day.

So. The Northeast corner of El Cajon Boulevard and 70th Street, just next to the Exxon gas station. That parking lot. Here is the street sign.

Here is what the front window looks like. Hopefully when you go, the mall will be finished being re-done and there will be signs above the doors of the various businesses.

Here is a close up of that front window. Daily specials. Great prices.

The menu is simple.

As is the interior. Seven tables. Simple. Clean.

ah- the food.

The Spanakopita and falafel side dish. ($4.25)

Three fresh made falafel nuggets. Tasty. Served with a yogurt based tzatziki sauce.

The Spanakopita was very fresh, large and savory. Feta filled and with flaky filo dough.

The Pastrami sandwich. ($5.20) Not fatty, a lot of meat, mustard and pickles but the meat was kind of too peppered for my liking. The bread was very fresh.

The small order of onion rings ($1.75) – perfect. Almost every Greek place we go to just knows how to make onion rings the right way…a light batter, wide cut sweet onions..gosh I could eat these every day.

The Gyros sandwich, deconstructed ($4.50).

Lots of thicker cut gyros meat, with nicely crispy fried edges…a good fresh fluffy bread….tomatoes, onions and the fresh tzatziki. Simple and perfectly good.

We also got a vanilla shake ($2.25). Not bad, but not

great.

When we were there, a few people came in and ordered the burger, done medium rare and took it to go. I will try that soon.

Elsa’s Kitchen 7022 El Cajon Boulevard San Diego 92115 Mon-Sat 10:30-9 Sunday 12-8 (619)464-6711

Sushi Diner-Japanese food in Linda Vista- Very Very Good (but we didn’t order much sushi…)

October 30, 2007 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! , the blog, is not on vacation. Neither is Kirk…he is merely indisposed and Cathy is a-bloggin away, in between cleaning, changing air filters, dusting and more cleaning after the fires…

Hi. The location of this place should be fairly familiar to you, if you read this blog. It is right next door to Mein Trung, and worth a visit when you are in this area/parking lot and not craving other Vietnamese meals or sandwiches.

Sushi Diner is on and facing Mesa College Drive, just a bit from the corner of Linda Vista Road. If you park in the K-Sandwiches parking lot, you can walk over.

The menu (you can click and enlarge) is fairly simple, a good sign, and there are some lunch Bentos that are excellent and less than $7. This is a dinner we had not too long ago.

We started out with some hot tea (no charge) which was brought out in thermoses, a very nice touch.

We also ordered a "small plate" of edamame ($2.00) which were freshly boiled and had kosher salt sprinkled on the exterior pods and so the interior soybeans had a very pure and fresh flavor, enhanced by your salty fingertips. A very nice way to eat these.

We did get one order of yellow tail nigiri sushi($1.80) and one order of albacore ($1.60). Both cut larger than I expected and both fresh and with a good clean taste and the ability to almost melt in your mouth.

The Special Fried Tofu Roll ($4.50) was tofu pockets filled with crab and topped with fried crunchies. I was very good an fresh. The tofu pocket had that sweet taste and I needed to dip the pocket in soy to make the sweetness even out. Different and good.

The miso soup that came with our combination meal was excellent. Not instant, made with yellow miso paste and deeply richly flavorful. The soft tofu bits were very tasty also.

The combination plate also came with a choice of sushi rolls, and I opted for the spicy tuna roll- very, very nice soft, buttery tuna with a spicy sauce that complimented the flavor of the tuna and did not overwhelm it. The rice and seaweed were very fresh tasting.

The fried calamari combo plate ($6.50) (which came with the above noted miso soup and spicy tuna rolls). The calamari was in a cornmeal batter, and the seafood within was not too tender-a little chewy. Still it was good, but when the owner/chef came out and asked us what we liked, we told him about this and he said he would try to make the calamari in a tempura batter, or for us to just ask that the calamari be made with tempura batter next time. The side of tartar sauce seemed to be house made, or was just a very good brand and the side salad , which was topped with a rice noodle salad that was made with cucumbers, carrots, ginger, garlic and mayonnaise was addictive.

I also ordered a small dish of two vegetable croquettes ($2.75) which were light crusted and the only vegetables were soy beans, carrots and corn…in a mashed potato base…and the flavor was really good. These were served with a "Bulldog" (thick, sweet, on the edge of BBQ) sauce.

Finally, we also had ordered the mixed tempura small plate ($5.50) which included two shrimp, a calamari ring, broccoli, squash, mushroom…all really good, very flavorful in a very light crispy tempura batter. The calamari ring really did melt in your mouth and this is the way I have requested calamari be made when I have gone on a return visit. The side of teriyaki sauce was warmed and good.

All in all, the price to food quality ratio is excellent here. You should try it.

Sushi Diner 7530 Mesa College Drive San Diego 92111 (858)565-1179 Lunch:Mon-Fri 11-3, Dinner: Mon-Th 5-9, Fri 5-10 Sat 4-10

Black and Blue-The Place for Steak- at the Valley View Casino- a very happy birthday party

October 29, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Steakhouse, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog about food. Kirk is feeling a bit under the weather and so Cathy will blog today about when she ate here -and took photos- not too long ago, so that all of you may have a small diversion from the charred world out there.

Hello again. This is a little different post about a meal I ate. I won’t be mentioning prices nor have a photo of the menu. I took the photos of food with no flash also..and apologize for the poor quality…but hopefully you will vicariously enjoy the meal as much as we did. I will mostly just talk about the food.

Valley View Casino is located in Valley Center and has what I consider the best buffet of all the Casinos in San Diego County. I haven’t blogged about it, just enjoyed it many times over. Much, much higher quality food. Fortunately, the Casino did survive the wild fires and is still open for business. About a week before the fires, The Mister and I met with a dear friend for a special birthday meal at the Black and Blue Steakhouse located within the casino. We all ordered what we wanted, and then some.

I ordered iced tea as a beverage…and-wow- the best iced tea ever. The cubes of frozen tea ensured that the flavor would never be dilute, and the sides of freshly squeezed lemon juice and simple syrup in carafes so that you could flavor the tea to your liking were such an elegant, fancy touch.

The fresh lemonade beverage (not pictured) was the best lemonade I have ever tasted. It was made with the simple syrup and fresh squeezed juice, of course.

We ordered several appetizers and side dishes as well as a couple of main course, again, adhering to the "there are no rules" rule of life…

On the left, lobster ravioli. These are quite large, although only two…that piece in the center top is just a piece of lobster… the pasta is fresh made, the lobster was sweet and juicy and the sauce was a tomato cream with basil and capers.

On the right, calamari with three sauces for dipping. The portion size was quite large and the squid was fired to perfection with a light crust. The sauce on the left had roe in it and was salty; I liked it the best. The center sauce was more of an oily pesto and not too garlic-y and the one on the right had a hot kick to it that overwhelmed the flavor of the breading, which had a light spice and was interspersed with fried capers…

Above, two crab cakes with barely any filler, lightly fried so the crust was crisp served atop several swirled salty spicy sauces and with a fresh aoili.

One person came around with a basket of fresh baked (-in the wood burning oven- which is also used to make pizza, which I will order next time) breads with a choice of sweet, savory and just plain white…and served with European unsalted butter, topped with olive oil, sea salt and fresh chervil.

The Cesar salad was very large and, of course, made with crisp Romaine lettuces and a fresh made garlic-y Cesar dressing and served with wonderful olive oiled croutons and fresh made, delicate crisped Parmesan shreds.

The lobster salad…micro greens on top, lots of lobster-fresh cooked, as in still warm-, a layer of fresh grapefruit wedges, tomato and avocado, topped with a citrus vinaigrette. Oh. My. Yes.

Side orders of steak fries and double creamed spinach. The best fried potatoes I have ever had. Perfectly crispy, potato flavors, not too hot nor too cold. This was served with a ramekin of ketchup and a teensy serving spoon. The creamed spinach was made with fresh spinach and real cream..of course.

The herb crusted halibut here on the left was cooked perfectly, was flavorful and juicy and served with broccoli rabe which was sauteed perfectly in a light lemon garlic herb sauce.

The 18 ounce rib eye steak, cooked perfectly rare/medium rare and served with horseradish, baked tomatoes and garlic and a small salad.

More side dishes included the macaroni and (blue) cheese (um…excellent…I don’t know what else to say…) and the best onion rings, ever. The buttermilk based crust on the whole, sweet onion slices was seasoned perfectly with a salt and pepper.

As I said, this was a special birthday and the reason for the splurge. This dessert plate came out…mostly wonderful tasting fresh fruit surrounding a chocolate bottomed cherry mousse cake. Even the raspberry puree was fresh and wonderful tasting.(Cindy was kind enough to share)

You must understand the birthday plate was at least 12 inches across, and this platter with hot fudge, wedges of fresh baked nutty brownie atop about a pint of really really good vanilla gelato, topped with vanilla whipped cream was at least 12 inches in diameter. We all shared.

This meal was one of the best ever, food and friend-wise.

Black and Blue -The place for steak- inside Valley View Casino 16300 Nyemii Pass, Valley Center 92082 (760)291-2130