What Cathy Eats! – Page 33

The Hat (Murietta location)

May 23, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Ontario/Riverside/San Bernadino, CA, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! never takes a vacation, but sometimes Kirk or Cathy leave the general San Diego area and food is involved. Today, Cathy is writing about a place just North of the San Diego County line.

In 2006, I wrote about The Hat, with another post written on the last day of 2009. This longtime (since 1951) casual, Los Angeles based diner, open for lunch and dinner, known for 'World Famous Pastrami', opened a location in Murietta in September of 2015.

The architecture mimics the original locations,
even the wallboard menu. Hot and cold sandwiches, chili and a few sides along with beverages are the offerings.
Order, pay and your number is called. The bag on the left is filled with a small french fry order ($3.19).
Three of us shared the fries (and we each ate a lot) and this is what we ended up taking home.

The roast beef dip ($9.99). The bottom piece of the bread is dipped in au jus before the meat is put onto the fresh French Roll (you can get au jus or gravy if you want to dip more of the sandwich…or your fries…) is my favorite item here. Thin sliced, tender, lightly seasoned beef is great in its simplicity. (Although I am spoiled by Philippe The Original, this location and the dip sandwich is close enough to satisfy.)
The World Famous Pastrami ($9.99) with mustard and pickle is what The Mister always chooses. The peppered smoked corned beef is deeply flavored, sliced thin and served on the same French Roll, unless you ask for it to be served on rye bread. Either choice is going to be great.
The side by side of the two sandwich halves shows the dipped beef sandwich was not filled with as much meat as the pastrami, but had only one sandwich been ordered and not knowing the possibility of more filling, the beef dip is satisfactory in size.
This side order of chili ($1.99) was quite large, meaty (no beans) and spicy (in a good way). It went well with the fries as well as on its own.

It's nice to have an outlet of a longstanding traditional restaurant so close. Mary has been to The Hat.

The Hat, 11 locations. Website open 10 a.m.-11 p.m. daily

San Diego Chicken Pie Shop (revisit) 80 years in San Diego

May 22, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Once again, we thank you for stopping and reading mmm-yoso!!! This blog is about food and today, Cathy is writing because Kirk has things to do and places to see.

You might have seen the news story last weekend, or perhaps you recall one of my first posts, or the second post or just the most recent post (from 2016) of the San Diego Chicken Pie Shop. This locally owned well established American classic diner type restaurant just celebrated it's 80th year in San Diego. There were t-shirts, throwback pricing deals and crowds galore. We skipped all that.
Over the years, the store location moved, the menu changed while keeping essentially the same 'basics'; there is now breakfast (served all day) and rotating daily specials (including rolled tacos); wild and crazy, adapting with the times. As always, the baked items (crusts, dinner rolls) are made in-house.

There are chicken themed knick-knack displays in every nook and corner, items donated by longtime patrons.

The Pie dinner ($9.99) includes the chicken and turkey meat with gravy filled pot pie, served with mashed potato, gravy and vegetable of the day.as well as cole slaw (a lightly dressed, finely chopped, very tasty slaw) and a dinner roll. The soup is part of the
deep fried chicken liver meal($10.99) (it was pea soup and thin/watery this day). You can also order the livers sautéed…which is a difficult choice to make on some days.

With every meal, a slice of fresh baked pie is included. The banana cream, cherry and rhubarb are pictured here. The crusts are exquisite-flaky light, so very fresh.

We seem to stick with the basics here and enjoy the comfort food flavors. Soo has been here. So has Mary.

San Diego Chicken Pie Shop 2633 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego 92104 (619) 295-0156 website Open Mon-Fri 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sat-Sun 8-8
The dinner rolls which come with each meal…so perfect of a white bread basic; soft, slightly dense, always baked just right with a thin crust. $3.09 for a half dozen-perfect for sandwiches.

Tom’s Famous Family Restaurant-Burgers (#23)(Escondido)

May 21, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a long running blog about food; it's what you are reading. Cathy is writing today because Kirk is resting and relaxing.

Driving around the Southern California Counties, we've seen a number of restaurants with the signage of 'Tom's Burgers' and finally decided to stop. This location in Escondido on 5th Avenue, is #23. Upon some investigation, I found out the real restaurant name is 'Tom's Famous Family Restaurant", the first restaurant opened in 1962 in Los Angeles and there are 19 eat in locations and four express locations. Tom's serves breakfast, lunch and dinner (breakfast all day).
The menu is fairly extensive, with some options unique to each restaurant, White Board Specials and various posters on the windows showing deals and Happy Hour prices. You order, pay, grab some condiments and the food is brought out to you- on ceramic plates (the only disposable items were the napkins, paper wrappings and fountain drink/milkshake containers). When we were here, only two vehicles used the Drive Thru and I only saw three people order and take food 'To Go". Every seat inside the restaurant was taken; families having meals on a Saturday afternoon.

The Classic Cheeseburger ($4.69) at first looked dwarfed by the bun, which was in reality very light and fluffy, toasted and had the usual accompaniments (lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and homemade thousand island). The burgers here are char grilled and have the flavor that I crave. This 1/4 pound cheeseburger was a good choice for our friend.
I wanted to try the 50/50 burger ($4.99). 50% ground bacon and 50% ground beef. This was 'juicer' than the Classic burger, but, because of the char grill, the bacon flavor was not distinctive. Still, I enjoyed the (quite large) patty (it seemed larger than the 1/4 pound cheeseburger patty).
One of the window specials was a Texas Bacon Cheeseburger combo ($7.99). This had such a meld of flavors and was quite large…the amount of fries was tremendous…steak fry cut, light and fluffy interior with a crispy exterior, sprinkled with a seasoned salt.
Since this was our first visit and we didn't know how much we were ordering, the Tom's Sampler ($5.20) was a choice. More fries (we took home a lot) along with zucchini fries (more vegetable than crispy breading; good) and onion rings (really good; light and crispy breaded whole rings of sweet onion).

A lot of food for a small price. We will be back (or will stop at another location) to try breakfast items as well as dinner platters. When my craving for char-grilled burgers returns, it's good to know Tom's has a few San Diego County locations.

Tom's Famous Family Restaurant #23- 505 W 5th Ave Escondido, CA 92025 (760) 737-2377 Open Daily 6 a.m. Closes at 10 p.m. Sun-Thurs, 11 p.m. Fri and Sat Website

Pegah’s Kitchen- Escondido- breakfast (again)

May 20, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

Back reading mmm-yoso!!! are you? Well it's (another) post from Cathy; Kirk is still relaxing. Elsewhere.

I wrote about Pegah's Kitchen less than 14 months ago, but have been back a few times since, but did not take photos. A few weeks ago, we met up with a friend for breakfast. Since 1987, this family owned business has been thriving (just about one mile East of the Ninth Street exit from the I-15, along with two other locations (in San Marcos and in Vista)).
The family style diner has several eating areas (tables, booths, counter) inside as well as an outdoor patio. There is a white board with specials at the door when you walk in.
The basic breakfast of two pancakes, two eggs and four bacon strips ($8.99) is more than enough to satisfy. The house made batter is slightly sweet and makes thick yet fluffy light crispy edged cakes. The bacon was thick and had a nice, smoky flavor.
On this day, the whiteboard special was chicken and waffle ($10.99) and it was unexpectedly wonderful. A thick (yet not heavy) Belgian waffle-made with a different batter than the pancakes- topped with three freshly fried, crispy light battered pieces of chicken. More than a one meal serving.
I noticed French toast on the menu…with the option of raisin bread… you know I had to. The plate ($9.99) with two eggs and two breakfast sausage patties was quite filling and so very tasty. The breakfast sausage patties were standard, mild flavored, and added just enough of the 'savory' flavor needed to balance out the sweet of the raisin bread French toast.

All in all, a great place to stop for breakfast which is served all day.

Pegah's Kitchen 912 S. Redwood Street (at Ninth) Escondido 92025 (760) 739-9265 Open daily: 6 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Website

Ikea (again)

May 19, 2018 Cathy Cafeteria style, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is taking a break after quite a few long days (and weeks) of work. Cathy has a short Saturday post.

Again, I'm writing about restaurants inside of stores, a fascinating phenomenon. I have written about Ikea only three other times and find it a convenient place to stop for a quick bite as well as to meet up (everyone knows where the IKEA store is; there are just too many Starbucks locations to find a mutually agreed location).
The traditional 8 meatball plate ($4.99) comes with lingonberry sauce, vegetable of the day and a starch (in this case, macaroni and cheese- a good version, although the mashed potatoes are also quite good). There is coffee, lingonberry juice and a dessert on this tray. Priorities.
Usually, I grab the gravad lox (salmon cured with sugar, salt and dill) plate ($5.99) from the chilled area- it comes with a dill mustard sauce and some lettuce-enough for use on the salad, although the condiment area has ranch dressing available.

The dessert, a Princess cake ($1.50)-a soft cookie/solid cake piece on the bottom, topped with raspberry sauce, a solid whipped cream (still partly frozen so a sort of ice cream) wrapped in chocolate topped marzipan is just enough for a meal.

IKEA Restaurant; there's one in every store. website

Nordstrom-Lunch in the Department Store (again)

May 8, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Desserts, Pizza, Salads, What Cathy Eats!

Thank you for reading mmm-yoso!!!, this food blog with almost daily postings. Kirk is a bit busy with work this week and Cathy finally has some free time, so she will be posting.

Eating at restaurants located within other businesses has been a longtime way to keep people from leaving a store and possibly not returning to complete a shopping trip. I've written only two other posts about Nordstrom, but have frequented it many times. I do love their coffee and sometimes stop in just to be able to sit down and enjoy a cup.

You can walk up and grab a menu to decide what you'd like to order and your first stop will be some friendly servers who can take your order, or maybe just hand you a cup or bowl of fresh soup. Trays are next to this station. You can walk to the register and pay…perusing other offerings along the way…perhaps your order will change, or have additions.
As in one of the previous posts, the chicken, apple and Goat Cheese salad ($14.25) is a regular choice. Tender, white meat chicken is mixed with baby greens, fresh Granny Smith apple slices, dried apple chips, spiced candied almond slices and onion, all topped with a champagne vinaigrette. This is a satisfying meal.
Next to a display of the soups available was a display plate of this rustic Cheddar chive biscuit ($2.25). I thought this would go with the salad. I was correct. Light, flaky/crumbly (like a savory scone) this biscuit has wonderful, fresh flavors.
A pepperoni and mushroom pizza($13.25) was also an order, since there were three of us this day.
The very thin, fresh crust was still chewy as well as crispy (but not cracker crisp). The fresh, juicy shiitake mushroom slices and thin pepperoni, as well as basil and oregano toppings on the Mozzarella and aged Provolone cheese was so perfect- each item had a unique flavor, even the slightly sweet tomato sauce. This was a great pizza.
Of course a 'meal' of pizza and salad was just so perfect; balanced and with such a variety of complimentary flavors.
You seat yourself here, but have your receipt and there is a waiter who will assist you with beverages as well as other needs (water, silverware, boxing up leftovers). We had ordered the Creme Brûlée dessert ($6.50) and our waiter said he would bring it out, freshly Brûléed, when it was time.
Wow. The fresh vanilla custard (heavy cream, egg yolks, vanilla bean; you can see 'specks' of vanilla throughout) topped with a thin layer of fine sugar crystals which are either heated with a torch, or melted in an oven until a thin, delicate crisp top forms was just so simply delightful. Always a special treat here at the Cafe.

Nordstrom Cafe Website There are different restaurant levels at the various Nordstrom store locations. This one was in Fashion Valley

Even though you have already paid, the traditional chocolate mint stick is given. A wonderful ending to an always great meal.

Bonny’s Cafe-Breakfast in El Cajon

May 7, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, back reading mmm-yoso!!!, wondering where Kirk has been. Well, he's at work. Cathy is writing this post.

Lately, the days have been busy and going out to breakfast seems the easiest; not too crowded, everyone can order what they want, the day is off to a good start. Of course, local standbys are most interesting (Perry's, Izzy's) compared to chains (although I have a few posts about chain breakfasts, too). I realized that I had never posted about Bonny's Cafe, even though we've been here many times

In this location for about 24 years, Bonny's is a breakfast-lunch diner with a bit of a decoration 'theme'.

Primarily 1950's America. This is but a small glimpse; the dining area was packed at 8 a.m. on a Wednesday.

A short stack ($6.50), add bacon and two eggs (scrambled) ($2.95) is quite enough breakfast. The from scratch pancakes are slightly sweet, fluffy, large and cause cravings. The bacon is thick and meaty.

The chicken fried steak meal ($10.75) comes with a choice of toast or biscuit and gravy…oh and the gravy here is magical- smooth, not salty, containing a lot of house made sausage bits and just enough black pepper. More gravy on the house made fresh, fluffy biscuit was a bonus. The chicken fried steak here is *wonderful*- a crispy, lightly seasoned coating on very tender cube steak, cooked just so perfectly. The hash browns were crispy on the top but fairly raw/plain in the center; only the edges were consumed.
French toast, thick slice of a good quality sausage patty, and eggs over hard ($7.95) Why eggs that way?
The salsa. I've never asked if it is house made or a certain brand, but gosh is it good! With the hard cooked eggs, it's quite a burst of great flavors. I sometimes crave a bit of sweet (the French toast) with a generally savory meal. This combination is just right.

Bonny's is a great, local, fun place. Look at those plates!

Bonny's Cafe 596 Broadway, El Cajon 92021 (619) 579-3464 Open Wed-Mon 6 a.m.-2 p.m. CLOSED ON TUESDAYS

Chopstix Too, one more time

April 9, 2018 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog with a recounting of meals enjoyed. Today, Cathy is posting because Kirk is still on vacation.

Kirk posted about the original Chopstix, on Convoy Street in 2005, He blogged about Chopstix Too when it first opened, in 2006. In the interim, He and I have each posted about one or the other over the years. The restaurants serve fairly standard Japanese fare at good prices without pretense.

This location, in the same parking lot as Mitsuwa Marketplace is yet "another" place to get ramen with one stop parking.
The chalkboard by the soda machine shows daily specials.
The cucumber salad ($4) is a choice on most visits, because I like cucumber. The bowl is deceptive; there is a lot of the vinegared and salted vegetable.
The agedashi tofu ($3) is lightly breaded with potato starch, crispy fried and served with a light soy/mirin/dashi sauce. This simple treat is a nice addendum to any meal.
If you read any of my prior Chopstix posts (go to that search box at the top left), you know that The Mister ends up ordering mabo ramen ($7.95) following his 'pretending' of reading the menu. He enjoys the slightly sweet spiciness the sauce, filled with ground pork and tofu. The barely cooked egg is always shared.
The chicken katsu and tempura plate ($8.45) also comes with a bowl of miso soup and is properly fried: crunchy and not greasy. The refreshing salad arrives 'naked' and there is a container of salad dressing on the condiment tray on the table.

A plate of eight shrimp shu mai ($5, on the chalkboard) was tasty, but not very shrimpy. Still, it was shared and rounded out the meal.

Chopstix Too 4380 Kearny Mesa Road San Diego 92111 (858) 565-1288 open Sun-Thurs 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., until 9:30 p.m. on Fri-Sat website

Sizzling Pot King

April 8, 2018 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog and Kirk (and His Missus) are on vacation. Cathy is stepping in with another short post.

Spring has sprung in San Diego and the mild, chilly mornings with the resultant pollen count in the air have The Mister and I figuring we either have severe allergies or another bout of the flu about to occur. In any case, the craving for a hearty and slightly spicy meal was predominant the other day.

Kirk has posted about Sizzling Pot King twice mentioning the 'comfort food' aspect of the menu here, which made me curious.

We ordered the medium size dry pot with lamb ($20.99) and were impressed with the amount of food, while enjoying the aromatics released with the sizzle as the pot was placed over a sterno warmed stand. In addition to a good portion of lamb, the sizzling pot contained potato, cauliflower, celery and mung beans. We did ask for a spice level of 'mild' and it was just right; we were able to taste the mild gaminess of the lamb and the potato and cauliflower had absorbed just enough spice to even out each bite. Of course, I do love celery with just about everything and interspersed bites of meat with the crispy mung beans and celery slices.

Of course, I hadn't remembered Kirk's initial post, mentioning that the wonton in spicy sauce ($5.99) weren't that good…but his post was from 2016… The sauce had a pleasant, mild/medium spicy 'kick' and was just enough for the two of us to be able to enjoy without needing to ask for water or some other cooling beverage. I did dip some of the lamb in the leftover sauce and liked the way the flavors melded.

The filling was a good ratio to the noodle wrapper and did have a distinctive (in a good way) pork flavor.

Understanding the comfort food aspect of Kirk (and His Missus') taste buds is expanding my comfort.

Sizzling Pot King 8058 Clairemont Mesa Blvd San Diego, CA 92111 Website Open 11:00 a.m.-10:30 p.m. daily

There were enough leftovers for a great meal the next day- the sauce had been absorbed into the vegetables and the ingredients stir fried into a nice, crispy melange, which went well over rice.

Greek Chicken- a return visit (El Cajon)

April 4, 2018 Cathy Greek Food, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, reading mmm-yoyo, wondering what Kirk is eating. Well, today it's Cathy writing this meal post. You just have to wait for Kirk.

It's been almost four years since my most recent Greek Chicken post, even though it is a regular stop for a quick bite. This 30+ year family owned mainstay in East County now has three locations and is consistently good, fresh and a great choice when meeting out of town friends.

The Graves Avenue location (same block as the DMV) used to be a Fosters Freeze, so has a quite large inside eating area, (as well as the soft serve machine). It seems to always be busy; I haven't been there at a 'quiet time'-so no interior photos.
The side salad, which came with our friends quarter chicken meal is quite good on its own- not much lettuce and instead, bell pepper, tomatoes, cucumber, onions and Feta topped with a light, herbed dressing makes this a great small meal on its own.
This is the medium chicken salad ($10.25). It's that Greek salad topped with sliced rotisserie chicken-plenty of it. This is enough to share as a meal.
The gyros pita ($6.45) is also quite large and stuffed into a fluffy pita. It also can fill a craving and be a quite large meal in itself.
Of course, the onion rings ($1.75 as a second side) here (and every Greek restaurant I've ever been to) are large, hand breaded slices of mild onion and are fried to a perfect crunch-consistently great.