What Cathy Eats! – Page 113

Road Trip-Las Vegas: (Wynn Buffet)

December 6, 2006 Cathy Buffets, Las Vegas, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy is out of town, and apparently eating all she can. Read and live vicariously.

Hello again. Still in Vegas, and eating from recommendations of friends. Mr. C, who I know from my job, and I had lunch at Lucky Seafood a couple of weeks ago…yes, it was the first time I was eating pho with only one hand because of the cast still being on up to my shoulder….anyhow, Mr. C works for a company in San Diego that sends him out to Las Vegas for weeks at a time and he *has* tried every buffet out there. I asked him what was the best and he immediately replied-"The Wynn"..at at lunch, when its cheaper..and it isn’t cheap… $22 each, but, you get what you pay for, we wanted great food, and we got *great* food…I only wish I could eat like this all the time. (The Buffet (that’s what its called, original, eh?) is $34 for dinner and $38 on weekends).

The first plate, but I thought the most creatively loaded of all my photographs…First the salads are pre-mixed and served in those small glasses-so creative..You might notice the silverware and that the serving plates are asymmetrically shaped..all just kind of beautiful. Oh, the food- there is a cheese tray (the blue and goat cheeses were*excellent*, the cheddar was mild) then a bit of everything. The albacore tuna was a overdone, and probably not meant to be, and the only non-perfect item out there… the mahi mahi was exquisite. The prime rib of beef from the carving station was sooo tender and flavorful, as was the rack of lamb. The carrots were not mushy and cooked just right in a buttery herb-ed sauce ..the zucchini were so flavorful and the green beans with chopped tomatoes and still crispy almond slices were as as fresh tasting as I got from my garden this year. The asparagus was very, very good, stir fried and still slightly crispy.

Here is my appetizer plate, with smoked salmon (almost candied..), smoked trout, an excellent potato roll and a different salad. There selection of 5 different salads was overwhelming I got one made with white anchovies , roasted yellow pepper strips and another with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and chopped olives.

OK, here are photos of the various stations: smoked trout, anchovies, capers chopped onions…all to go with the nice fresh bagels.

More of the smoked salmon/cream cheese/bagel topping area, which I used more as my appetizer area..

Oh and the sushi area.

The Italian foods area was quite crowded, so no photographs, but I liked the food there best. Kobe beef meatballs…oh my, they were so good! I suppose the sauce helped, and it was light and complimented/did not overpower the meat flavor…I got this photo of the Asian stir fry area…not exciting to look at, but extremely tasty with use of many spices. It was very un-Americanized.

Oh yes, the chilled shrimp-perfectly cooked, and served with superb cocktail sauce and tartar sauce too…both made fresh at the restaurant.

Oh, there were desserts..and you know I am *not* at all a sweets eater…

They make the eclairs fresh..with real custard..eggy and still warm custard…

some desserts were served on individual plates..flan, sweet potato pie, chocolate peanut butter something (*dark* chocolate, people…dark chocolate)…and the strawberry cake, lemon bar and something else…oh it doesn’t matter..

My *absolute* favorite…

The Floating Island..oh yes, a homemade marshmallow, with a buttery caramel sauce, floating on a vanilla sauce and topped with toasted chopped hazel nuts.

We ate so much more and I guess I was trying to take photographs and waiting for areas to be less crowded but areas were with people and I don’t take photos of people…All of the food was excellent and so fresh, Mr. C gave me a great lead on a wonderful buffet. Thanks Mr. C!

The Buffet at the Wynn Hotel Click here for website

Road Trip-Las Vegas! (Green Valley Ranch Buffet)

December 4, 2006 Cathy Buffets, Las Vegas, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

Hi, Cathy here, on an iBook, in an obscure hotel in Las Vegas, with plans for something exciting tomorrow night.

I’m blogging what I ate, and then some…I left San Diego in the wind this morning..and stopped in Baker, to view the World’s largest Thermometer (and get a cup of coffee at Starbucks).

Dinner was at "Feast", the buffet inside Green Valley Ranch Casinos Resort and Spa. $17..and worth it. The Buffet was suggested by Mr. brother, hereafter referred to as "Mr. Bally"who, along with a few others, have made some suggestions as to where I should try to eat while here. Mostly photos…limited descriptions for now..I have to take a nap!…and no photo of the crab legs, chilled shrimp or Mongolian BBQ… I don’t take photos of people…smoked salmon, giant caperberries, fennel chicken salad…there is a lettuce part of the salad bar also…this was *far* more fun. My salad plate(s)..the carving station selections, well some of them anyhow…The Asian food section offered a wide variety of some great tasting food…Then the Italian section…That sauce in the back to the left (not the meatballs) was artichokes, mushrooms and olives…and soooooo goood!
The a sample of desserts:
Ah, so what am I doing here???Well, there is this competition…more tomorrow.
Green Valley Ranch www.greenvalleyranchresort.com

Hancock Street Cafe-hmmm

December 2, 2006 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is NOT on vacation. Kirk is taking a day off and Cathy is blogging.

Hi. This is gonna be a bizarre post. The Mister and I have been here only this one time,and I usually don’t make a judgment on the first visit… I don’t like to say much bad about any place. The food isn’t "bad", per se…it just isn’t that good…

OK, say you are in the area of the Sports Arena, perhaps on a weekend, wanting to go to Kobey’s Swap Meet, and you got off the I-8 at the Rosecrans exit and were trying to get there from the ‘back way’, making a right at Les Girls (for those of you who don’t know the area, use your imagination)…that’s Hancock Street…its one way…and you see this on your right:

As you pass, you see the front of the building, the Elvis and Marilyn statues..and the "live Jazz and Blues" signage. Well, you know me. I had to stop.

OK. its *tiny* inside. TWO chairs and one table, and those three tables with no chairs out front…

The decor is kind of interesting…

Here is the menu: simple, this two sided paper. We ordered, said we would eat there and we were not asked to pay up front. Mario, the owner and sometimes cook, is a very honest and trusting man.

There were cars pulling up in front, people walking in, ordering something simple-like two pints of chicken soup, one cold and one hot (the soup is fresh-made on the premises), chili (also fresh made) or a candy bar and leaving. One guy ordered a Stromboli and I thought that sounded good. I saw the large Gyros sign out on the side of the building, so ordered one of those..and a coffee. Mario asked if I wanted cream and sugar in it…hmmm…

The Stromboli came out first. It looked a little too perfect; like it was was not made there, but was heated nicely and tasted very good. It was stuffed with ham, sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella, mushrooms and onions.

The gyros took longer to make, and we were told it would be about 5 minutes. The gyros meat was the kind you buy already frozen and the pita was a standard kind you can also buy…nothing fresh here but the tomatoes, lettuce and a lot of onions..well, no, I don’t think the sauce was made there.

Hmmm…

It wasn’t bad, but the lunches were kind of an ode to Smart N Final, or Sysco.

Many people have told me the breakfast croissants are great and made to order. We have to go back from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., when it opens, to see if this is true.

The owner, Mario, plays seven instruments and goes out front and plays music when there is nothing to do inside. Every evening at 9 pm, he plays music out front also..whether anyone is there or not. He looks like a cross between Benny Hill and Charlie Chaplin… and he is playing that look up, by dressing that way ..with the small mustache and funny hat. He has also gotten a copyright for the name "Benny Chaplain"…and he is going to walk from San Diego to Washington, D.C., next year…doing 20 miles a day, leaving on April 1st and arriving on September 11, recording the walk…all while walking like Charlie Chaplain and playing his music along the way…(You know I could not make this up) to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Mario’s wife died of cervical cancer 7 years ago.

He is trying to get sponsors in every state and is also contacting all the Governors of each state he will walk through… His son is going to run the restaurant while Mario walks. He is selling t-shirts to raise money.

You will notice on the menu that he will be opening a location near Petco park downtown in 2007. I wonder if the name will be "Hancock Street"…I will try this place again, for the breakfast sandwiches, to be fair.

Hancock Street Cafe 3354 Hancock Street, San Diego 92110 (619) 296-2060

Tommy’s Italian Ristorante

November 30, 2006 Cathy Italian Restaurants, Pizza, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Its just Cathy blogging today.

Hi. There is this place in El Cajon, on 2nd at Persimmon. Its been there for 30 years now, always owned by an Italian family.

The style of cooking here is Sicilian, which is to say, there are Greek, Arabic as well as Italian influences to the food…kind of like Puerto Rico is a US Territory and you would not say that Puerto Rican food is “American food”, Sicilian food is not totally Italian…Sicily is an island off the tip of the “boot”, therefore south of Naples and pretty much rivals Naples with flavors…using sardines and local seafood in a lot of the dishes as well as fresh (buffalo) mozzarella. Caponata (eggplant salad) is also a regional specialty.

Since we had eaten all we could for our Thanksgiving Day, the Mister and I decided some good, basic Italian was in order…nothing fancy.

We got the large antipasti salad …(Oh, and a side of anchovies for me). The salad was a nice antipasti, with mostly iceberg lettuce, lots of olives(The Mister *hates* olives, so all for me), a good Genoa salami and mortadella and a very nice provolone, topped with oil, vinegar and dried oregano. This was the large size ($9.95) and we had plenty to take home for tomorrow. If you get this salad as a “to go”, it comes in a small pizza box and there is even more lettuce.

The large cheese pizza arrived (we had a coupon for $3 off a large pizza..we did take home half of this and it made for a great breakfast and snack the next day).
I know, it kind of looks like its not done; the cheese isn’t burnt or bubbly…
but , as you can see from this cross section, its kind of all cheese and not much sauce, which is how I usually ask for it at some places where the sauce is too strong in flavor…here, the sauce is mostly chopped (canned, with a great flavor) tomatoes, oregano and olive oil..what The Mister and I consider “proper” pizza sauce (we spent some time in Italy many years ago).

There is a small Deli inside with a pretty good selection of Italian meats and cheeses, as well as other items imported from Italy. It doesn’t have the smell of a more authentic deli, Like Filippi’s in Little Italy…probably because there aren’t any dried salted fish here. The deli is a good source if you are in East County and don’t want to drive downtown. There are three different imported Panettones available for Christmas on sale now: Original, one with milk chocolate baked into the dough (the dough is part white and sort of striped with chocolate”sticks”) and one made with Limoncello cream…(lemon liqueur)…

Stop by if you are in the neighborhood; you’ll leave satisfied and happy.

Here are some pages from the rather large menu.

Tommy’s Italian Ristorante and Deli 1190 Second Avenue, El Cajon (619) 440-2676

Road Trip-The Hat

November 28, 2006 Cathy Chains, Ontario/Riverside/San Bernadino, CA, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy is blogging while Kirk takes a day off.

Hi. A few weeks ago I met a friend from High School up in Ontario and we had the wonderful surprisingly garnished beef bowl….remember?

Well, this past Saturday one of my college roommates called, from New Orleans, and said she would be here the next day, taking her son on campus tours at Pomona and Claremont Colleges…arriving at the Ontario Airport also! I can drive 2 hours North again, no problem.

Her plane got in, they were exhausted and hungry and I was still in San Diego. I told them to eat somewhere and started my drive up.

We met at a Starbucks and talked for hours! It was wonderful to see and know that neither of us had changed in all these years!

On the way home, I saw it- The Hat!…World Famous Pastrami. Its a pretty staid Restaurant, celebrating its 55th year in the LA area…with ten locations. The Mister *loves* pastrami, and we usually only go to The Hat when we are decorating floats for the Rose Parade in late December.

Well, I thought even if the sandwiches weren’t warm, the taste could get home in about two hours.

The menu is simple and the food is prepared methodically and is consistent.

I got a Pastrami dip and a Roast beef with au jus. ($6.49 each)

The sandwiches arrived home in good condition. The pastrami is made with mustard and pickle and the bread for each is so fresh (I suppose with the business The Hat has, there is no time for anything to get old). Each sandwich is over sized, the meat is flavorful and moist.

If you happen to see it, stop in.

The Hat, ten locations (Alhambra, Brea, Glendora, Lake Forest, Monterey Park, Pasadena, Rancho Cucamonga, Simi Valley, Temple City, Upland)

Thanksgiving Day with friends

November 23, 2006 Cathy Cooking, What Cathy Eats!

This is Cathy’s Thanksgiving Day menu. Enjoy!

Hello again. Happy Thanksgiving Day.

As you know, I had an incident involving gravity 23 days ago and basically am one handed. This does not lend itself well for my using knives, or any sort of tool normally used in cooking…go ahead, try to make scrambled eggs using only one hand, I dare you… I have seen a frying pan defy gravity and fling itself onto the floor in front of me. My dear neighbor graciously invited us to her house for the annual feast of thanks. This worked out perfectly- we made (OK, The Mister made) the starchy products and my neighbor made the main course..it was great fun and easy for me…I can’t even wash dishes by hand with this cast on….

The appetizer of raw vegetables, gherkin pickles, olives and dips. (dinner rolls in the background)…

Some condiments (and those desserts in the background)..

A very nice spiral sliced ham, cooked in an oven bag- it came out very moist.

The turkey, cooked in an oven bag and with *really* good stuffing (must be the butter used to saute the onions and celery)…

Side dishes- the Green bean casserole, always a favorite.

The mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn.

These were *excellent* baked beans.

of course, dessert…pumpkin pie, chocolate bourbon pecan pie, whipped cream and some kona coffee.

We hope all of you had a good day spent with family, friends, people you love.

Thanksgiving Eve

November 22, 2006 Cathy Cooking, What Cathy Eats!

A quick post. The Mister just took two of these chocolate Bourbon pecan pies out of the oven and the house smells wonderful!

It’s just the refrigerated/rolled pie crust, unbaked, a handful of chocolate chips on the bottom, the recipe for pecan pie from the Karo Syrup bottle and you soak the pecans in Bourbon overnight.

Oh, and we are practicing with the new smoker and $1/pound turkey legs tonight, too.

The finished product came out moist and tastes more like ham than turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving from mmm-yoso!

Meat by the Side of the Road-really

November 20, 2006 Cathy Cooking, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is NOT on vacation. Cathy is blogging while Kirk is not. You are here. Continue reading.

Hi again. This is a good, true account of my life.

One day, about 7 years ago, I had occasion to be driving to the house of a friend, daily, in Valley Center (Just north of Escondido, where the Wild Animal Park is located). It was the week before Easter and I noticed, in front of Fat Ivor's (one of 4 restaurants in Valley Center- google it) this yellow trailer, off the side of the road …it says "Optimist Hams and Turkeys" (for now, the turkeys is crossed out..more about that later)…and I drove on by. I asked my friend about it and she had lived in Valley Center and said she saw it there, on occasion, for all the years she had lived there (about ten years at that point) . As I was driving home, I had to stop (you all know I *had* to stop). Here is a better photo, with Fat Ivor's, which is perpendicular to the road, in the picture:

As you can see, some friendly, Valley Center Optimists are sitting under a cover, waiting to chat with you.

I was curious that first time…and back then they were selling half and full smoked hams and also smoked turkeys. The Optimists were using the smoke pit at Fat Ivor's after hours and then sealing the meat in double wrappers. They had a handout, indicating 100% of all proceeds would be used to help Youth in the area, like this handout this year:

Oh, and I happened to be *very* hungry that first time. Back then the half ham was $25…today its $35 and it is *well* worth the price.

The ham is not at all salty nor is it dry. It is deeply smoky, not artificial, and anyhow, I recall I tore through the two layers of thick plastic on the way home, while driving, to tear off a piece of that ham.

Remember, The Mister, born in Finland; smoked meat is something he craves, and he knows what he likes (smoked cheese by the way, is just plain *wrong*).

I've been getting a half ham every holiday since. The half ham is $35 this year, the full ham is $55. It became less cost effective to smoke turkeys. (Something about having to have them reach a very cold temperature within two hours after smoking).

Note that sometimes they run out, but you can order and pay and pick up another day. It's only available these three Holidays a year (Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter) and is *worth* the drive.

Aren't you glad I stopped? I am.

The yellow trailer, in front of Fat Ivor's 27961 Valley Center Road, Valley Center, CA 92082. Starting the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the Saturday before Christmas and the Saturday before Easter

Lolita’s-Don’t say they did not warn you

November 19, 2006 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is NOT on vacation. Kirk is taking a day off from blogging, and Cathy has found-surprise- another Taco Shop to talk about…and she has an add on..

You have driven on Clairmont Mesa Boulevard, I know it. 99Ranch is right across the street, and Teri Cafe and Pho T Cali is right in this mall. You’ve seen this place, it used to be a Souplantation, which moved down the street to an area with less parking but apparently more table space. ( I do so like planning ahead).

As you walk in, on the wall to the left it’s written: "Patience is the essence of fine Mexican food"

That’s your clue…its not really fast food. Its still a taco shop. You walk in, order, pay and wait…look at the receipt: Its written there, too..

So, here is the main menu, and there are some handwritten specials also.

You can see the full menu here ..you know, while you are waiting… (look at the site-Under the "Lolita’s Taco Shop" logo…there it is..that darn talk about patience)…so load up on the salsa bar..it has radishes,scallions, jalapeños and limes! You can eat those while you wait…

AND FINALLY your number is called…

The carne asada torta (beans, carne asada, guacamole on a fresh, toasted telera roll) was excellent, as was the mashed potato taco.

This is one of the breakfast burritos: Eggs, cheese, potato and bacon.

This is the unrolled breakfast burrito, so you can see more of the filling. The potatoes were sliced and crispy-sauteed..nice.

So, yes you will wait, and yes, its worth it. Its a nicer atmosphere and a better quality of food.

Lolita’s Taco Shop 7350 Clairmont Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92123 (858) 874-7860

And now, a little diversion…

I tend to write about cooking at home, Taco Shops and Mediterranean style foods…and just wanted to let you know, I do frequent fast food places…for a reason. On Halloween, I decorate…oh, sure not like my neighbor does-

But I save my fast food bags, throughout the year, and line the driveway, making interesting luminaria:

When its dark, it looks more like this photo from last year-

..and I didn’t take a photo of it in the dark this year…

because Oct 31, 2006 at 5:50 a.m…well, I was walking up at the top of the hill in my backyard: (that is Nutmeg, by the way) the hill is higher up that these stairs indicate-there is a deck, two more stairs up and one step down..oh, it doesn’t matter…gravity, displacement, Colle’s fracture of the distal radius…

This was at about 11 hours after it happened. On November 15, because the healing wasn’t quite right, I was casted twice:

You might notice the palm of my hand is 90° in a different position than in the other photo. This is the 4th cast, in 15 days…and as a side note, my elbow is immobilized, so the cast goes to my shoulder….

Oh, I drive a manual transmissioned car…and I worked for the Registrar of Voters, as a "Troubleshooter", manning 4 driving locations, on November 7 (as did The Mister). I am not complaining. Its just I am now realizing how much, even though I am ambidexterous, how much we use two hands a day….dental floss anyone?? Kirk knows of the plans I had for Thanksgiving that are now on hold, and how upset I was, especially with the latest cast. I appreciate all of your kind notes hoping for a speedy recovery. It probably won’t be, but hopefully I won’t need surgery.

So, that’s it, mystery over…and in summary, go with the fall, don’t try to stop yourself with one hand…it doesn’t work.

Chopstix Too

November 14, 2006 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

About a week or so ago, I mentioned that Chopstix Too, a sort of "Casual-Fast" version of Chopstix had opened in the same strip mall as Mitsuwa Marketplace. Talk about setting yourself up for success.

So I finally walked on up to check out the menus attached by clothespins to chairs….and sheesh, talk about cheap grand opening specials! Bargain-City…..

Okay, so I’m sold, I’ve got to check this out. At this time of the morning 11am the place is empty, yet bustling. Seems like the employees are still getting used to the surroundings. The interior is pretty fast-foodish, with simple booths and tables, and a sushi bar crowning the cavernous interior.

I didn’t bother opening the menu; I ordered the Chicken Teriyaki & Tempura Combo($4.95 – Grand Opening price – $5.95 regular):

The special came with a bowl of so-so miso soup, a green salad with Asian-style dressing, rice, some chicken(dark meat) teriyaki, with a sauce that was less sweet than the usual American-style teriyaki, and3 pieces of tempura. The tempura was not bad; it was not as crunchy, nor did it have the lacquered texture of the version at Chopstix. Pretty fast-foodish, but well worth the $4.95. It’s much better than picking up a pretty much cold bento from Mitsuwa or Nijiya.

But that’s not all…..there’s a "To Go Only" menu, that has specials like Curry Bowl($3.50), Chicken Katsu Bowl($3.95). Wait a second, Chicken Katsu Bowl for under four bucks? Sheesh…Bargain City!!

So being the sucker for Chicken Katsu that I am, I ordered the Chicken Katsu Bowl($3.95).

But wait, I’m not done….because it was inexpensive, I also ordered the Fish Katsu($3.95):

It’s hard to tell which is which, huh? This was a styrofoam soup sized bowl, with a nice amount of rice on the bottom. A layer of shredded cole slaw mix(shredded cabbage), and few pieces of broccoli acted as a buffer for the fried product. Honestly, it was a bit on the greasy side, but still will fill you up. The other item that I didn’t care for were that first off, teriyaki sauce was used instead of katsu sauce, and the whole thing was slathered with spicy mayo, like what is used for those spicy rolls. As if the dish needed any more fat! Is this worth $3.95…you bet, but next time I’ll order it without any sauce(or mayo), and use some of those leftover katsu sauce packets.

I’m sure that I’ll do another post on the regular menu items in the future…sort of a Chopstix Too, part too…he-he-he, sorry couldn’t help myself.

Now comes the fun part, it was bound to happen! Cathy and I ate at Chopstix Too during the same week. So you get a "double post", a two-for-one special so to speak. Actually, I’m letting Cathy go so She won’t serve me with a food stalkers warrant from the Food Police! LOL! So without further ado, heereee’s Cathy!

mmm-yoso is NOT on vacation. Kirk isn’t even taking a break off from posting. We both went to Chopstix Too-didn’t even see each other- and have pretty much the same observation of pretty much everything on the menu…here’s the rest of it.

Hi Everyone…I just want you to know I think the Mister went to Chopstix Too *before* Kirk did (The Mister works within walking distance)…for lunch…and that evening he brought home some of those "Grand Opening Take Out Only" specials.

The crunchy roll served with salad ($4.95) (Crunchy Roll is pretty much that fake krab stuff and avocado..its larger than most rolls..wrapped in seaweed and the rice and rolled in tempura leftovers…crunchies…topped with a sort of katsu (sticky sweet) sauce and the spicy mayonnaise).

This is a meal in itself-crunchy roll is quite large. The same one Chopstix has been having on ‘special’ forever. The salad is light, crispy and topped with the "Asian salad dressing" that is standard-more or less vinegar and sweet..no garlic or ginger.

He also brought home the Spam sushi ($3.50) made with avocado and pickled radish. It was nice. He also brought home some of the generic bowls Kirk apparently got (after perhaps stalking The Mister…) One of these is the calamari katsu, which held up quite well in the traffic home. The other is the chicken katsu, which was tasty but not crispy (the calamari was on a bed of shredded cabbage to maybe keep the steam from the rice from softening the crust). {ooh, I just looked at the photos and two are the same…that’s how well I could tell the bowls apart}… and then there was the tempura bowl:

The tempura coating does not fare well inside a bowl with steam for about 15 miles in rush hour traffic. There is a shrimp, carrot, zucchini and pumpkin..the veggies and shrimp were good, still crispy, not mushy…but the coating was not as much fun as you get with fresh tempura inside the restaurant….by fun, you know, crispy, light, airy…making you think it has no calories…

So, we decided to meet up for dinner, off of the "regular" menu one day. This is probably your first view of the building, when you take the exit off of 163:

Its kitty corner from Mitsuwa, in the same parking lot, attached to the Taco Bell. Originally that half of the building was a Sarah Lee Outlet Store, where I happened to be one of the first, and a regular customer.

We seem to have sat in the exact same booth as Kirk did, with that view of one of the two flat screen TV’s in the place… The regular menu looks more like this: Its a little bit different from the regular Chopstix menu, with lots more sushi items. You may notice the "miso butter corn ramen". We asked our polite waitress what it was. She said:’its miso with butter and corn and ramen noodles’. Maybe next time.

We opted for a few "standards", to test the kitchen:

The seaweed salad, ($3.50) nice and fresh…not much different than elsewhere. The mabo ramen ($5.95) seemed to have a richer broth and was excellent. I really like fresh ramen noodles.

I opted for the Seafood Katsu ($8.25). Served with miso, salad and rice. Three shrimp, two pieces of fish and two pieces of calamari, all lightly battered. I liked all of it. The shrimp is made from shrimp paste and is larger and denser than just a single piece of shrimp would be…and there is still a tail attached…which I always eat anyhow…its fried, crispy…fiber…

The grand opening specials will probably stop at the end of November…or not I suppose. The Mister and I went to the original Chopstix and with our bill, we got a coupon for a free California roll with purchase of any meal at Chopstix Too. Its a smaller California roll (6 pieces) and the coupon was stamped with an expiration of November 30.

All in all, Chopstix Too is the same as the original Chopstix, with an added sushi bar and *much* better parking. The Grand Opening Specials make it worth the trip also. I saw quite a few people with "to go" foods just eating in the parking lot….besides all the people following me around in general….ahem!

Chopstix Too 4380 Kearny Mesa Road San Diego 92111 (858) 565-1288 open 7 days 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. Closing hours may change.