What Cathy Eats! – Page 32

El Pollo Grill (Lemon Grove)

August 2, 2018 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, Salads, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. There's always something to eat somewhere and sometimes it is interesting. Cathy is writing today; Kirk is busy with many work related projects. This location of El Pollo Grill has been open since 2002 in the heart of Lemon Grove (on Broadway, kitty corner from the giant Lemon). It originally had been in a smaller location nearby, since 1987.
Parking can be tight in front of the strip of storefronts, but there are plenty of spaces in the back and the entrance is easy to find.
At any point in the day, the flaming grill is filled with marinated chickens. It can get busy; everything is fresh.

The Bonita Road location of El Pollo Grill got much busier when the San Diego Chargers football team left for Carson and became the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017. The owner, Victor Lopez, decided to give away a free chicken taco to anyone dropping by on the day following a Los Angeles Chargers *loss*. This business model was written up in Forbes Magazine, CBS sports, USA Today and was a pretty major news story locally…at some point (I think October), the Lemon Grove location also jumped into the 'Spanos Taco' frenzy, also giving away a free chicken taco (regular price is $2.99) after a Chargers loss. Thousands of free tacos were given away last year.
Order, pay, your number is called and you can pick it up on the other side of the cash register.
"Special C": 1/2 chicken, rice, charro beans, corn tortillas, salsa ($11.99). A good test of 'basics'. Plenty of food. Moist chicken, nicely flavored from the marinade-grilled perfectly(light, crisp skin). The rice and charro beans (whole beans, cooked with chiles) are hearty, flavorful. The hot, fresh made corn tortillas are thin and wonderful. A meal with some leftovers.
"Michelle's Walnut and spinach salad" ($10.99). Hot grilled no-skin chicken (white meat; but you can ask for dark), a mix of spinach and Romaine with walnuts, tomato, avocado, dried cranberries, feta and onion. Choice of dressings. A wonderful meal or two; refreshing on these hot days we have had…
The menu does have items other than chicken. This is the a la carte plate of shredded beef chimichanga ($6.99). All beef. All good. Seriously. Look at the (wonderful, fresh, garlic-y, not onion-y) guacamole served with a small shredded lettuce salad toped with sour cream. A meal…

Only on Friday does El Pollo Grill make chile rellenos ($9.99). From scratch, fresh, cheese filled chiles covered with an extremely flavorful sauce which is light enough not to wreck the delicate egg/flour fried batter (there's still crunch). The refried beans are very good.

Everything is good here.

El Pollo Grill 7836 Broadway Lemon Grove, CA 91945 (619)697-7153 website Opens daily at 9, closes at 9 Tues-Fri, 8 on Mon & Sat, 5 on Sunday.

La Mesa Bistro and Bakery (revisits)

July 25, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Salads, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, looking at mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is relaxing after a long day at work and Cathy is writing today's post.

I've only written about La Mesa Bistro and Bakery two other times and it's been a while. I apologize. This restaurant, hidden in a far corner of a busy group of storefronts (including Chopsticks Inn) on La Mesa Boulevard (just behind Dieter Fischers, the Mercedes repair shop) has been here since at least 2009. Almost everything is made from scratch, is quality. The menu is amazingly similar to that of Swami's, which has one location just down the street.

Using the word 'menu' is incorrect. Sure, there's a large paper menu you can grab before ordering, but so many other choices are at the doorway, along the walls behind the cash register, on chalkboards around…nothing is repeated.
So, order, pay, find a seat and you can grab some water or some coffee (pick a country of origin; only two of those pump pots has flavored coffee). The paper menu touts "Old Fashioned Baking"- the breads, bagels and muffins here are fresh made and wonderfully perfect.
Reuben "The Chef" salad ($10.95). Reuben is the chef's name. This is a wonderful salad of mixed (organic) greens, cucumbers, sprouts, swiss and cheddar cheeses and the three meats…
ham, turkey and roast beef. Served with (house made) sourdough garlic cheese toast.
The Blue cheese dressing is made here. It's filled with chunks of blue cheese…almost too much (!)
The Lunch Sampler ($8.50) is 1/2 of any of the gourmet sandwiches served with a salad or cup of soup.
One of the daily soups is clam chowder. It is wonderful, filled with clams, clam juice, some potatoes and celery. Creamy (see that skin that formed on the top?) and just good.
I chose the 1/2 "Bistro Delight" sandwich. Turkey, Swiss, avocado, lettuce and tomato. A simple (turkey packed) and wonderful sandwich; the turkey is a great quality, the sourdough is just sour enough and the flavors are quite perfect. We returned because The Mister had a craving. Soup and salad. He got the Caesar salad (which was very nice)
and a bowl of the clam chowder…oh yes, he wanted this. It was, again, excellent.
I was wanting to order breakfast…and there was a chalkboard 'chicken omelette' listed ($8.95). Mild green chiles, tomato, eggs and plenty of meaty chicken pieces, avocado..house made salsa (not too hot; good) and rye toast (seedy and good) served with house made jam: cranberries, blackberries and apples. Oh, a side of fresh fruit (they make smoothies here you know; fresh fruit is always available).

A great local place.

La Mesa Bistro and Bakery 8697 La Mesa Boulevard La Mesa 91941 (619)589-0806 Open seven days 5:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Website

Tobey’s 19th Hole Cafe (revisit)

July 24, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Burgers, Diner, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog, covering meals consumed near and far. Kirk is busy with meetings all day, so Cathy is writing a short post.

The Mister and I tend to take guests out to 'local' rather than 'trendy' places. The other day was no exception. I've written about this San Diego City golf course (since 1934) restaurant only a few other times in the past years, yet it is a regular stop, usually for a breakfast meal and the view.

The parking lot nearest the main building is sometimes crowded, but there are nearby 'overflow' lots.

Stepping inside the Clubhouse, the restaurant is to your left, the view is straight ahead. There's a bar area as well as tables and booths.
Have a seat by the window and notice how the menu cover reflects your view.
Breakfast is served all day here. You can get a one egg, one pancake two bacon (or sausage) meal for $7 or two eggs, two pancakes and two bacon (or sausage) for $9.25. The (extraordinarily large) pancakes are light and fluffy and really tasty (sweet without needing syrup). The eggs were perfectly over easy and the bacon was very good. All in all, a very large breakfast if you order the 'two' instead of 'one'. Coffee here is $3 and is constantly kept filled.
The menu board out front has breakfast and lunch specials and on this day, a choice of a hot roast beef or hot meatloaf sandwich ($10.25) were the lunch specials. I did order the hot beef, but received this hot meatloaf sandwich. Instead of returning it, I decided to try it. Good choice. A very nicely seasoned (chunks of tomato mixed in with a light breadcrumb) meatloaf on (my choice) wheat bread with gravy and mashed potatoes. A quite large serving and flavor filled.
The Mister ordered a Chili Size ($13.50), onions on the side (for me) and tots as his side dish choice. This is a wonderful meal. The bread is on the side; knowing it gets soggy, it's served this way. Kind of perfect. The chili, as always, is meaty, lightly spicy, has beans. Tots are the best choice of side here, unless you are craving a salad (or regular french fries or potato salad).

Another great meal with a great view in a San Diego neighborhood.

Tobey's 19th Hole 2600 Golf Course Dr. San Diego, CA 92102 (619) 234-5921 Open daily 6-6

Smokey’s Lake Wohlford Cafe (a revisit)

July 10, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Cathy is writing today while Kirk is busy at His job.

It's been almost eight years since I wrote about Smokey's, yet not much has changed.

Oh sure, there's some updated signage.

Stepping inside, the small store to the left, bar and tables in front of you and general atmosphere, with friendly waitresses, is comforting and familiar. The menu (at the bottom of this post) is pretty much the same (there's still catfish as a breakfast meat choice). We were here in the afternoon, so chose from the lunch menu.
The cheeseburger, ($8) 1/3 lb angus on a toasted sesame seeded bun with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle with crinkle cut fries was a wonderful quality and size. Excellent flavor.
The soup and Sandwich ($7) was a great choice. I wanted a tuna sandwich and was asked if I'd like it to be a tuna melt. There was no upcharge and the flavors of the Swiss cheese and tuna salad on the random sliced toasted rye were so very comfortingly perfect.
The soup of the day was Vegetable Beef and it was so good! Hamburger, tomato, onion, celery, green pepper and those macaroni noodles. It tasted so much better than when I toss similar leftovers in a pot.
Of course, since we were here, we had to have catfish and the two piece meal ($10.50) was just enough food to hit the spot. The light cornmeal dusting on the perfectly fried fish along with cole slaw and
delicately fried herb filled hush puppies were just perfect textures and flavors for a lunch at this long time (since 1947) classic diner.

Smokey's Lake Wohlford Cafe 25484 Lake Wohlford Road Escondido 92027 (760) 749-6585 Website Open 6 a.m. daily

Anthony’s Fish Grotto (La Mesa) -revisits

July 9, 2018 Cathy Salads, Seafood, What Cathy Eats!

Thank you for stopping by to read this food blog, mmm-yoso!!! Kirk is still very busy with work and Cathy is writing another post.

The Mister and I have had a vacationing relative with us for a few months and we've enjoyed showing her around. She's not very food-adventurous, but does enjoy simple meals. I showed her my first, second, third and fourth Anthony's posts and she wanted to try lunch here. We've now been here twice.

There's a tall sign you can see from the interstate, but the parking lot dips down to the magnificent entrance of Anthony's.
Walking to the front door, you sort of feel as though you are under water.
Once seated inside, the feeling remains.

There's a small Fish Market area to the left of the entrance door, where you can pick up items to take home and cook, or even order "To Go" from the menu. It's open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. daily.

There's also outdoor seating along the man-made lake (dogs are welcome).

We ordered from the lunch menu (bottom of this post) and soft, warm roll and garlic butter was brought out. These are wonderful.
The simple Quick Catch Fish and Chips ($12.50) was quite large and perfectly fried, fresh and tasty.
The Quick Catch Shrimp and Fish (with slaw) ($12.75) was just as perfectly fried; the fish and the shrimp were large, meaty pieces. The dressing is on top of the slaw and you can mix it in or not.
The Wedge Salad with Bay Shrimp ($11.95) was surprisingly large and the Bay shrimp were quite meaty. The Louis dressing brought all the flavors (there were hard boiled eggs, chopped tomatoes, avocado and bread crumb 'croutons') together.
The Cobb Salad ($15.25) was (of course) seafood based: Bay Shrimp, albacore and salmon were the proteins on this. The usual 'Cobb" ingredients (tomatoes, carrots (multi colored), cheddar, bacon and avocado) were present and the choice of Blue cheese dressing (made in house) was just excellent. We did enjoy the flavors.
The chilled Tuna Salad sandwich ($10.25), served on a large (soft) French Country roll with lettuce and tomato. The tuna salad is made with albacore and is mildly flavored and unique. It ended up being disassembled after the first half was consumed; a bit large in the bread department.
The Quick Catch Chowder Combo ($10.95) was a wonderful surprise. I wanted the famous clam chowder (of course)(and it was great; creamy, clam filled with diced potatoes). There was a choice of a chilled tuna salad sandwich or a petite tuna salad. Since we had ordered the sandwich, I chose the salad. It was just that- a salad: lettuce tomatoes, carrots, cabbage and a lot of shredded fresh albacore tuna. This was probably my favorite 'Soup and Salad' combo I've had all year.

Another few great, memorable meals.

Anthony's Fish Grotto 9530 Murray Drive La Mesa, CA 91942 (619)463-0368 Website Sun-Thurs 11:00 a.m.-8:30 p.m., Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

The Village House Kalina -Ukrainian and Russian (La Mesa)

July 8, 2018 Cathy European Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is where Kirk and Cathy write about food. Today, Cathy is writing while Kirk finishes up some important things at his job.

The first paragraph of Kirk's "Back to the Routine" post was true for The Mister and myself in a lot of ways; the past half year has been filled with changes in schedules and habits and jobs. The Mister and I have been wondering when we could get back to having a 'regular' day. For us, this means driving and stopping when we see signage that looks interesting. We dropped in to The Village House Kalina one afternoon a few weeks ago. "Ukrainian and Russian Cuisine", reads the signage. I had read about The Village House Kalina in 2012, on cc's blog and am glad we finally got around to trying it. (She wrote another post in 2012 also.)

A few tables, eclectic decor, friendly greeting when you walk in and lunch specials( Pick a soup, a salad and an entree for $10.99)
Soft crusted fresh bread, heavy thin slices of rye and garlic butter is brought out.
There are three soups to choose from- this vegetarian borscht is wonderful with its beet/celery/cabbage/ carrot/onion/bell pepper/potato base flavored with fresh herbs.
The Ukrainian borscht is has the same ingredients plus beef and is also wonderful. The third soup, a sour cabbage vegetable based choice has smoked sausage and beef in it. No photo, but I heard it was excellent.
There are five salads to choose from and the Vesna is the 'plainest'. Cabbage, carrots, onions, cranberries and apples with fresh dill make this a flavorful simple salad.
Kavkaz salad: Beets, walnuts, garlic and mayonnaise. This was my favorite.
The Olivier, a traditional Russian potato salad with chicken, potatoes, carrot and mayonnaise could be a meal… it’s refreshing and a perfect blend of texture and flavors.
For the main course, Ukrainian Vareniky (Pirogy) was chosen by our guest. Hand made dough filled with mashed potato and cheese then boiled. Just a topping of sour cream is needed; these were light, fluffy and delicious. Chicken stroganoff: mushrooms, onions, creamy sauce, mashed potatoes. Such comfort food.
"Georgian Eagle" – skinless chicken cooked with onions and tomatoes, basil and mint and a few other herbs. So much flavor. The noodles went well with this.

We want to go back to try the other salads and entrees. This was a great stop I wish we had made sooner.

The Village House Kalina 8302 Parkway Drive La Mesa, CA 91942 (619) 461-1100 Website Open Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sat-Sun noon-10 p.m.

Sage Cafe-inside Barona Casino

May 29, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog you are reading, has been around for more than 13 years. It's a compilation of meals enjoyed. Cathy is writing today; Kirk is relaxing after his vacation.

So, we have an out of town guest who has never been to a casino. It was lunchtime and the closest casino, Barona, came to mind. The Mister and I haven't been here in years and noticed how much things had changed. There's a hotel and more parking out front as well as in the covered garage. A sort of 'farm' theme is the exterior decor.
Look at the beautiful view East from the fourth floor of the garage.

I avoid taking photos of people and am pretty sure I couldn't take any of the casino floor, so just know it's beautiful, light filled, exciting and caters to just about any vice you may have, except for alcohol (the road to get here, Wildcat Canyon, has only one lane each way and up until a few years ago, no alcohol was allowed in the casino or any restaurant but now the Steakhouse does serve alcohol). There is a food court area as well as an All You Can Eat buffet and several restaurants at various price points.

The restaurant we headed to, Sage Cafe, is open 24 hours and basically right next to the hotel; the farthest point from the parking garage.
While perusing the menu, a basket of warm rolls and butter was brought to the table. The toasted ones were (a good, sour) sourdough and the brown ones were a soft yet chewy wheat. Both went well with the salted butter. One of our meal choices came with a choice of soup or wedge salad and this was great. The thin sliced onion and cucumbers as well as the tomato wedge and bits of Gorgonzola went well with the (iceberg) lettuce, which was tender and trimmed free of any hard, white leaves or parts.
One of the soup choices was green posole- pork and hominy filled, the tomatillo based soup was just so tasty, with a bit of chile heat creeping up at the end of each taste.
The chicken tortilla soup was also meaty and cheesy. Chicken, jack cheese, avocado and tortilla strips, along with a bit of chile heat, made this soup memorable.
The El Capitan French Dip ($9.95) with a side of onion rings (there was a choice of fresh fruit, fries or creamy slaw as well as the rings) was plentiful and had good quality beef. The warm French roll was soft and held up to a dip in the au jus. Those onion rings were quite perfect- the fry, the crisp, the whole onion slices…
The Sage Custom Cobb ($12.95) was presented in this non-traditional way.
The bacon, avocado, Gorgonzola, tomato and eggs in a formed mound made it a shame to have to split up and mix in. The 'custom' part? A choice of chicken breast, broiled salmon, New York steak, chilled shrimp or grilled tuna. As you can see, the grilled tuna was grilled to a nice medium-rare; a great choice. The mixed greens were plentiful and fresh and there were quite a few olives mixed throughout.
I only took one photo of "Mom's Fried Chicken" ($11.95) and it is a blurred, non-flattering photo. Just know the batter on this was very crispy and had a nice, light spice. The meat stayed tender and juicy even after the leftovers were chilled. In addition to the choice of soup or wedge salad, this meal came with both creamed corn and baked macaroni and cheese. Wow. The flavor of the sweet, fresh corn mixed with cream was so very, very decadent…as was the baked with sharp cheese macaroni.

We will return and try more of the menu.

Sage Cafe at Barona Resort and Casino 1932 Wildcat Canyon Road Lakeside Ca 92040 1-888-7BARONA open 24 hours website

Tommy’s Restaurant (San Clemente) after a visit to the Mission San Juan Capistrano

May 27, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Diner, Orange County, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for reading this food blog named mmm-yoso!!! Kirk has been away for a few days, resting and Cathy has been taking some 'staycation' time and is writing today.

Having an out of town guest is always a reason to also do something out of the ordinary. We want to show friends how and where we live and not do too many typical touristy things. The Spanish Missions in California are a strong part of our history and always fascinating as well as educational. We thought a short drive up the coast would be fun. Mission San Juan Capistrano, the "loveliest of the Franciscan ruins",provided us with insight as to how the missionaries and indigenous natives lived and built their self sufficient compound, with gardens for food, vineyards (for wine used during mass), a baking area, stables and all in all a small city
with a church next to the cemetery. (This is the second church built on the grounds, the original 'Great Stone Church' with its Greco-Roman style architecture was felled by an earthquake on December 8, 1812).

A great day of walking, listening to a well recorded self guided tour and learning so much.

Mission San Juan Capistrano Website

We left just after 1 p.m. and although hungry, didn't want to stay in town, instead driving a few exits south to the signage we had seen so many times over the years.Yep. Tommy's Restaurant. We had always been curious but usually were 'almost home' so had never stopped.
The view from the parking lot is of the ocean.
Inside…well..look for yourself…

A 50's diner with beautiful upholstered booths and a fresh flower on each table. We had just missed the 'lunch rush'.
The menu accommodated each of us. The "2x2x2" breakfast ($8.99) had some really great, sweet fluffy and tender pancakes along with perfectly over easy eggs and two slices of quality, thick meaty bacon.
The Monte Cristo ($9.99 plus $1.50 for substitution of onion rings) was really well made, with plenty of ham and turkey (and melted Swiss) on a nicely fried eggy french toast. The rings were surprisingly good; whole onion slices in the crispy corn batter.
The 1/2 sandwich (with soup or salad, $7.99) was a wonderful choice. The clam chowder (soup of the day) was definitely made from scratch, had a clam juice based broth, filled with clam pieces as well as finely minced (yet still crispy) celery and with several (but not too many pieces of) skin on diced potato. Tuna salad on marble rye bread with lettuce, tomato and pickle was a great sandwich. It wasn't a 'solid' tuna, which meant it accommodated the various ingredients and had more flavor.

We will definitely stop here again.

Tommy's Diner 1409 El Camino Real San Clemente, CA 92672 (949)498-7000 Open Daily 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Website

Golden City (still underrated) another revisit

May 26, 2018 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog centers around food. Kirk and Cathy write posts here. It's Cathy's turn today. Kirk is on vacation.

Kirk first wrote a three part post about the original Golden City in 2005. New owners took over in 2006. I first wrote a post in 2014, even though there had been many visits, trying the menu. About a year ago, I wrote another post. Golden City is really part of our 'regular rotation', where we bring friends and out of town guests for a good meal.It's an 'anchor' business of the mall at the SouthEast corner of Claremont Mesa and the 163, which also has Anny's Fine Burger and Pho Duyen Mai (which Kirk has posted about several times now).

The interior is spacious and a good place for large groups/families to have a meal.
We ordered from the 'Lunch and Late Dinner' menu (available seven days) and each of us received a fresh fried vegetable egg roll served with that tangy-sweet red sauce along with our complimentary loose-leaf tea.
The large bowl of chicken-corn soup ($9.95) was indeed large and we had to take home leftovers, which heated up quite nicely the next day. {Usually with a lunch special, a choice of egg flower or sweet and sour soup is offered; not necessary with this choice, which could be a meal in itself}
The soup was thick with egg, sweet corn kernels and minced chicken, all in a chicken broth. It really hit the spot on this overcast day.
The Mister craves egg foo young, chicken, $8.95) and really likes the version here. The omelette portion -beaten eggs mixed with bean sprouts, cabbage, carrot and onion is fried perfectly and placed on a (very large) platter then topped with the gravy and minced chicken (same as in the soup, above) as well as some green onion. The crispiness of the omelet is what I like, along with the taste of gravy and chicken on the 'soggy' parts. Such a great meal.
The lemongrass fish filet ($9.95) is always good here. Served with a bit of matchstick cut pickled daikon and carrots, the flavor meld is just right. The batter fried crisp over the meaty fish portions is just a perfect amount of textures in a bite.

We have never been disappointed with the food and are always happy to be able to bring others here.

Golden City Restaurant 5375 Kearny Villa Road San Diego, CA 92123 (858) 565-6682 open daily 11 a.m.-midnight

…everything has to have nutrition facts these days, even the fortune cookies…

Hans & Harry’s Bakery (Bonita) a quick snack

May 24, 2018 Cathy Bakery, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Cathy is writing today; Kirk is busy doing other stuff.

Located in an obscure inner corner of a rather large shopping center anchored by Starbucks and KFC, Hans & Harry's Bakery Corp. has been open in Bonita since 1991. I wrote a short post in 2012.

Trained in baking and European cake design in their native Holland, Hans Zandee and Harry Eijermans worked onboard cruise ships and for various worldwide hotels before opening their retail store. Hans retired to Florida in 2015 and Harry partnered with the former owner of Sumi's Oven, continuing the tradition of making old world European quality crafted cakes and pastries.

The door just under the sign is the entrance into the narrow display/shopping area.
There are a couple of refrigerators to the right and some freezers to the left, then the fresh item/bakery pastries and cookies are just beyond. Pull a number from the paper roll and wait to be called. I couldn't take any decent photos inside, but you can see some online.
Always old fashioned professional service, my selections were placed in a box (even though we would be eating at a table outside).
That's a nut cream on the left and a bear claw on the right. Total price with a small cup of coffee was $6.24.
Fresh, light, delicate layered pastry; two types. The bear claw filled with the sweet almond paste was a bit 'flatter' but oh so perfect with the filling and toasted almond topping. The cream filled pastry, a bit more risen, but not fluffy, was filled with the most light and flavor filled Bavarian cream and had a thin (just enough; almost too much) layer of chocolate-hazelnut on the bottom as well as some on the top of the pastry, making each bite flavor filled and such a blend of flavor as well as texture.

A great place to stop for a treat.

Hans & Harry's Bakery Corp. 5080 Bonita Road Bonita, CA 91902 (619) 475-2253 Website Open Mon-Fri 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat 6:30-5, Closed Sunday