What Cathy Eats! – Page 52

Van Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant (City Heights)(revisit)

May 26, 2015 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food that's been around for a very long time. Kirk is usually here writing, but he's on vacation right now. Ed(from Yuma) is sometimes here, but he is planning his vacation as this is being written. Cathy is here and now.

Van Hoa has been in this corner location of the strip mall at the North West corner of University at 54th since at least 2007, when Kirk wrote a two-part post about it. I followed up about seven years later with my own post about this regular stop before shopping at the Vien Dong Supermarket (to the right in the photo below).You have most likely seen the Van Hoa label on spring rolls and desserts sold at 99Ranch Market, Thuan Phat and World Foods. Ordering at the restaurant means the rolls are even fresher than the ones delivered to those stores daily. I must say the rice paper wrap is never 'rubbery', because the rolls are just made. There is only one choice of flavors- shrimp with pork. ($3.25). The fresh vegetable fillings(lettuce, mint, cucumber, carrot, daikon) are refreshing and what I crave. The peanut butter based dipping sauce lends a good umami to it all. The egg rolls here are also above average ($5.95). Mostly meat with mushroom filling, the frying is proper and never too greasy.Now that the warmer weather is coming (and going), sometimes bun (it's pronounced 'boon') is an order. Chilled vermicelli on one side of the bowl, salad (lettuce, mint, cucumber, sprouts) on the other half and, in this case, topping of Tau Hu Ky (shrimp wrapped with tofu skin) and the usual pickled radish/cucumber and peanuts ($6.50) makes an exceptional meal.Then again, my most favorite version of Banh Xeo ($6.50) is at Van Hoa, so as we are being seated I place that order (it takes a while to make the rice flour/turmeric pancake) The crunchy light pancake is delightful, the shrimp and pork are plentiful along with the onion/bean sprout/mung bean filling. Eating bits of this wrapped in lettuce and mint is also refreshing.

Thanks for reading. I hope your week is going well.

Van Hoa 4016 54th San Diego, Ca 92105 (619)582-2642 Open Mon-Sat 6-8, Sun 7-7

Breakfast at The Lunch Box (La Mesa)

May 25, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

Here we are once again, mmm-yoso!!! and you, the reader of our food blog. Kirk is still having a good time in Europe (enjoying a long needed vacation). Ed (from Yuma) is planning to paint the town red (not in Yuma) and Cathy is delighting in places available in San Diego County and sharing with you.

During certain months of the year, it's easier for me to meet clients elsewhere than an office. Usually that place ends up being a Starbucks, but sometimes I am offered a meal and am asked where I'd like to go. Being aware of their financial situations, I have tended to recommend The Lunch Box, a small, family owned place on the Southwest corner of La Mesa Boulevard at Jackson in a strip mall anchored by a 7-Eleven. It's been here since 2009 and the food is great.The Lunch Box opens at 7:30 daily (closed on Sunday), closes by 2 (at 1 on Saturday) and starts serving the lunch menu at 8:30 in the morning, for those true 'early birds' among us. The seating area is filled with tables and chairs (no booths) and people who arrive in larger groups can make their own size seating area.

I finally decided to bring The Mister here one day, so he could see the menu and I could take photos of a meal.

The raisin French toast, topped with bananas ($4.95). The toast consistently has a lightly crisp exterior and soft, fluffy interior. I think I've mentioned only one time ordering raisin bread, as well as paying the extra 10¢ for a raisin filled cinnamon roll. However, if I ever am given a chance to order raisin filled anything, I just do it. Adding two eggs and a sausage patty ($2.95) balanced out the French toast, making it a meal. The sausage is mild in flavor, the eggs are always perfectly made.The Mister opted for the $5.95 weekday special with 2 bacon, 2 eggs and 2 pancakes. Again, very nicely made and just right. Coffee is $1.75 and constantly refilled.

All in all, this is a nice, local place which, again, has withstood the test of time. I tend to post more about these sorts of places because they are comfortable and comforting. I bet you have someplace in your part of town that is similar.

Hope you are going to have a good week. Thanks for reading us all these years!

The Lunch Box Cafe & Deli 8751 La Mesa Blvd La Mesa 91941 (619)463-4013 Open Mon-Fri 7:30-2, Sat 7:30-1 Closed Sunday

Bottega Italiana (UTC)…coffee and gelato

May 24, 2015 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Desserts, Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food-centric blog with (almost) daily writings shares posts about various cuisines, new and established restaurants, pubs and other places where food can be found, as well as sometimes home cooking. Today, a short post written by Cathy about a small three-location establishment.

Not that I wrote any posts about the holidays or any New Year resolutions, but now, almost six months into 2015, I feel successful. The free "Steps" app on our mobile phones record how much The Mister and I walk each day and the goal of 10,000 steps a day has become easier and almost regular since about mid-April.

The only thing was, it started getting a bit boring, despite the almost daily weather changes. So, we've become 'those people'- Mall Walkers.Parkway Plaza is covered and air conditioned, Grossmont Plaza is also close to home, but not that interesting to us any more, so one day we drove West to Westfield University Town Center, where we haven't regularly stopped in years.

The Ice Rink and surrounding restaurant choices are new to us and so are most of the shops. (edit- the Ice Rink seating area used to be open to the rink and is now enclosed. Most of the food court restaurants and the food court seating area have been redone since we were last here).

There's also a new movie theater building that was added onto the mall.Down the steps near the entrance (or, exit) of the Arclight Cinemas is Bottega Italiana.

Kirbie visited in January. cc visited the other (Coronado) San Diego location selling Bottega Italiana gelati in November. Faye also mentioned Bottega Italiana in the middle of this post. There is an area selling coffees and San Diego made Chuao Chocolates to take home.The menu is simple, the coffee preparation area is observable, there are a few sweets for sale at the cash register. The gelato is made right here. Daily. The fresh made gelato are beautiful…and overwhelming. We've been offered samples and sometimes that makes decisions more difficult. Fortunately, two flavors can be part of a 'small' size.Also, an affogato (small size gelato ($3.80) with a shot of espresso over it (+$1)) can have two flavors within…in this case, panna cotta (vanilla flavored sweet cream; it's different than (the excellent) vanilla) and hazelnut went perfectly with the brisk shot of concentrated coffee.Another day, a small ($3.80) with Speciale (burnt cream, dark chocolate chips, caramel and sea salt: all able to be tasted in one bite) with a scoop of Opera (pistachio, hazelnut and almond nuts and flavors) was enjoyed at the patio tables out front.

Bottega Italiana is a nice place to stop and get a shareable, excellent treat.

Bottega Italiana 4445 La Jolla Village Drive Suite H-17 (just down from the movie theaters) San Diego 92122 (858)404-0799 website Mon-Th 10-9:30, Fri-Sat 10-10 Sun 10:30-9:30

Up 2 Yoü Cafe- Dessert (revisit)

May 23, 2015 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, food blog. Kirk is in another country, Ed(from Yuma) is in another state and Cathy is here, in sunny Southern California, blogging about food.

Another overcast day here and time for a snack. I haven't posted about Up 2 Yoü for about two years, even though The Mister and I find time to stop here fairly often. The overhead has been replaced recently.The menu has stayed with almost exactly the same choices.The decor is also about the same as it was…eclectic.

As always, our order remained eerily similar yet with slight variances…This time, a fresh made crepe ($3.75) filled with egg custard ( 75¢) was a refreshing and not too sweet of a choice…However, still wanting an ice cream as well as a caffeinated product, an affogato ($3.95) with my choice of (unimaginative yet quite tasty) vanilla ice cream was our other shared item.

In the past two years, Up 2 Yoü has remained steadfast, profitable and even opened a second location near Mesa College, around the corner from K Sandwiches. (the pink square on the Up 2 You web page)

Most bloggers went here when it first opened, including Kirbie, cc and Jinxie. There are plenty of seating areas and board games you can check out. It's a nice relaxing local owned spot.

Up 2 Yoü Cafe 7770 Vickers Street (at Convoy) San Diego 92111 (619)663-6388 Website

Still amused by the restroom signage…

Red Sails Inn (Breakfast) (Shelter Island)

May 21, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

Hello. You are looking at the food blog named mmm-yoso!!! and we thank you. As you read this, Kirk is being conveyed, Ed (from Yuma) is planning transportation and Cathy is pretty much stationary.

Yes, The Mister and I are enjoying the sights of San Diego and having our own 'Staycation'.This overcast day brought us to Shelter Island. At Shelter Island Drive aand Anchorage Lane-the first intersection when you enter the island-there is parking on your right (and if you head way back, there are no meters) and the restaurant, to your left, is unmistakable. The Red Sails Inn, which has been serving breakfast, lunch and dinner in this same location for almost 70 years. It is uncrowded at the 7 a.m. daily opening time until about 9 a.m. We are breakfast people.Nautical decor, unchanged for possibly decades, somehow is comforting and nostalgic.The outdoor patio area is a perfect place to bring visiting friends. The Mister ordered the chalkboard special ($7.95), an omelet with ham, bacon, sausage and cheese. It came with hash browns (or breakfast potatoes or cottage cheese or refried beans) and toast. This was an amazingly large overfilled omelet. The sage-flavored breakfast sausage is made here, and it is good. (Coffee is $2.25).However, this day, I was recalling my catfish breakfast at Smokey's Lake Wohlford Cafe in Escondido and ordered the Fish & Eggs breakfast ($10.99). Two quite large, meaty sole filets, lightly floured and fried along with (of course) poached eggs, rye toast and more hash browns (I wanted the crispy edges). This was wonderful, fresh and so good.

A great start to another beautiful San Diego day.

Red Sails Inn 2614 Shelter Island Drive San Diego 92106 (619)223-3030 Open 7a.m-10 p.m. dailyThe tartar sauce is made here, with wonderful dill pickle pieces. It's the only tartar sauce I will eat straight from the container.

Cuscatlan Salvadorian (Escondido)

May 20, 2015 Cathy Salvadoran Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog with an attempt at daily postings. Kirk is exhausted, researching posts for you to enjoy, as is Ed (from Yuma). Cathy is writing this post for today.

A few weeks ago, we ended up in Escondido and it was lunch time. Driving down Grand Avenue, we knew there were quite a few places we might want to try, but had A Delight of France as a definite backup plan. The Mister noticed this signage and was more or less curious about the "Pizza"…After we got home, I did some research and saw that cc had been here in October of 2013. She had done the research (thanks). It turns out Lynn had been here this year and wrote a post a year after noticing Cuscatlan at the 2014 Escondido Chocolate Festival.

{in a nutshell: Pizza place owner is from El Salvador and once he had satisfied himself he could be a success at Italian food, he started bringing in the foods he knew from El Salvador}

{Estadio Cuscatlan is the largest sports stadium in Central America)(link)

Turns out this had been an Italian restaurant, the pizza ovens are intact and pizza (as well as a few pasta dishes, sandwiches and salads) are on the menu in addition to Salvadorean food items. In fact, there are only three lunch specials: Pizza, Spaghetti or a small sandwich; none of those choices are Salvadorean…Since I read menus (and most everything) from the bottom up, the beverage "Ensalada" ($2.25) was part of our order, and it was brought out with the proper condiments of a mild, tomato sauce based salsa and curtido, the lightly fermented slaw-like Salvadorean accompaniment for pupusas.
Cabbage, carrots, onions and oregano in a tart lime juice sauce made up the crispy curtido.

The 'Ensalada" was a fresh fruit cocktail, made with diced fruit (mango, pineapple, apple) and a bit of vanilla flavoring in ice water. Both were amazingly fresh as well as refreshing.All three of us mmm-yoyo writers have had good experiences at Salvadorean restaurants in Central and East San Diego County, as well as in Yuma. The Mister and I have no 'must have' items, so ordering the 'Cuscatlan Combinacion' ($13.95) seemed the logical choice.

Counterclockwise from the far left: A sweet corn tamale, fried plantains (those were both 'dessert'), fried pork with battered fried yuca, a banana leaf wrapped pork tamale and two revueltas (bean/cheese/mix) pupusas. The small cups hold a Salvadorean sour cream (a bit sweeter, if you taste sour creams side by side) and finely pureed black beans…more condiments.Above, you can see a cross section of a pupusa and the pork tamale, removed from its banana leaf wrapping. The masa for the pork tamale is very fine; pureed in texture as well as being fluffy and light. Also there are potato pieces within, which made me think the pork was wrapped in mashed potato rather than corn meal (it did not taste like corn masa at all, especially when compared to the sweet corn tamale).

The yuca (cassava) pieces were lightly breaded and fried and the deep fried pork pieces were all meat, like a high end chicharron.

All in all, an excellent meal and taste of Salvadoran food.

Cuscatlan Salvadorian 221 E. Grand Avenue Escondido 92025 (760)291-1225 Open Sun-Thurs 10-9, Fri, Sat 10-10 Website

Leela Thai (Santee)

May 18, 2015 Cathy Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog and Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy are the ones who usually do the blogging. Really, Kirk is the usual one. Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy help out when Kirk is busy. Today, it is one of those days and Cathy is writing.

Santee, incorporated in 1980 within the County-of and not too far East of the City-of San Diego, is home to an established Buddhist Temple, Van Hanh (it's on Fanita, South of Mary's Donuts).Knowing this, it's not surprising that the second location of Sab E Lee, Sab E Lee 2, opened here in 2009. After all, Oiishi, a Japanese-Thai restaurant, had been here for three years before I even began blogging with Kirk and before that, it was a wonderful Thai place, run by chefs who had worked at Lotus of Siam, a Las Vegas legend. Almost two years ago, Bua Thai Kitchen opened in this location, it formerly had been three iterations of a Taco Shop. The Southwest corner of Mission Gorge Road at Cuyamaca is anchored by a McDonalds, two banks, a 99Cent Only store, Bevmo and Petco has a large parking lot to accommodate all of the business here.

I began a post about Bua and after noticing all of my orders were the same takeout items tried (and loved and craved) on my first visit, I thought it would be odd and never got around to finishing it.After about a year and a half, Bua closed and the Leela sign appeared. The interior was redone and the hours changed in that Leela was open on Mondays (when Sab E Lee 2 is closed).

When we inquired, we found out that Bua is still the chef here, but that the business was bought up by the same owner as Aroma Thai, located in Imperial Beach, which cc had blogged about earlier this year. (The menus are very similar, with lower prices by about 50¢ at Aroma).Our meals began with an excellent vegetarian soup.Deciding we needed to 'test' the 'standards' here, an order of Satay Chicken ($6.95) was an easy choice. The chicken was moist and well marinated, the Satay sauce had a nice bit of heat, but nothing too crazy. The Leela Basket ($9.95) was ordered at a heat level of 4/10. It was. The freshly made noodle basket was filled with chicken, pork and shrimp, vegetables and cashews. It was served with two cream cheese filled wontons and rice. The freshness of everything was impressive. We enjoyed this dish a lot.Once I knew Bua was in the kitchen, I also ordered the pork larb ($8.95) (also at a heat level of 4/10) and it was as I remembered: perfect…the crunchy rice powder, the mint, the perfect heat level. My cravings for this simple dish have returned.

Leela Thai 9725 Mission Gorge Road Santee 92071 (619) 334-4019

Leela Thai Cuisine 9725 Mission Gorge Road Santee 92071 (619)334-4019 Open seven days 10:30-9:30

Board & Brew (Pacific Beach)

May 17, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Salads, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! a food blog. Right now, Kirk and His Missus are out and about, researching another group of fascinating posts. Ed (from Yuma) and His Missus are hanging around Yuma, contemplating where to visit so He can write some captivating posts. Cathy and Her Mister are in San Diego, sharing a less intriguing Stay-cation post.

We live so close to the Pacific Ocean and rarely stop to admire it. Some people specifically vacation and stay here, at the Crystal Pier Hotel. Located at the West end of Garnet Avenue at… Mission Boulevard, where the newest location of a San Diego mainstay (since 1979), Board and Brew, is now located. Yes, skateboards -not surfboards- are the main decor here. Notice the backing at the bar stool area; those mosaic 'tiles' are pieces of skateboard decks.The counters and tables appear to be made of recycled wood. We decided to keep it light, ordering a salad and sandwich to share.

The Cobb salad($7.95) was served with freshly grilled (i.e., still warm) chicken breast and topped with bacon, Cheddar cheese, hard boiled egg, tomato and cucumber on top of green leaf lettuce. The house made salad dressings are all quite good; Caesar was our choice this day. This is a very large salad and could have been shared as a meal…very fresh ingredients; quality. However, we were curious about the "Left Coast Pastrami" ($8.50), which was warm/grilled pastrami, Swiss cheese, pepperoncini slices and grilled onions with Dijon mustard on a toasted fresh French baguette. A few different ingredients with an excellent, lean, smoky pastrami made this sandwich unique and surprisingly good.

We are enjoying parts of San Diego taken for granted, before the tourists show up.

Board and Brew 4516 Mission Blvd San Diego 92109 (858)270-2739(BREW) website open 10-9, daily

It’s Boba Time- Shaved snow (no boba)

May 16, 2015 Cathy Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by the food blog named mmm-yoso!!! Right now, Kirk is embarking on a well deserved rest. Ed(from Yuma) has completed a session and is making future plans. Cathy is holding steady and writing a short post.

Another overcast day had The Mister and I driving about looking for a small snack. Finally, since it has been here almost a year, I decided to stop at Boba Time. It's located in the former Yoshinoya location, in the same mall with Myung In Dumplings, (which used to be Voltero's).

CC has been to a different Boba Time location and Jinxie was here last July, not long after Kirby's visit.

Not very large inside, and it looked like rain on this weekday, so no crowds.

The lengthy menu is essentially variations of hot or cold, coffee or tea, juice or dairy and boba or not…along with a list of probably 100 or more add ins and add ons, making your unique beverage one of a few hundred thousand combinations.

Then there's the shaved snow, frozen yogurt and waffles. Most ingredients cross over.Milk shaved snow with mocha and lychee topped with chocolate and strawberry sauces. ($5)Enough to share. The snow was light and flaky, not icy. A nice snack.

Hope your weekend is going well.

It's Boba Time 4344 Convoy Street 92111 Open Sun-Thurs 11-11, Fri, Sat 11-midnight Website

Zion – Eating inside the market

May 15, 2015 Cathy Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food in San Diego (and beyond). Today, Kirk is converging toward an objective, Ed (from Yuma) is advancing toward an intention and Cathy is here, with a focus toward the target of blogging.

A few weeks ago, it looked almost like today, but with only an expectation of rain. The Mister and I needed to do some grocery shopping and headed out to Zion Market, which has quite a few eateries inside the store as well as a Food Court area.The Produce area was quite crowded. We picked up items on our list, as well as whatever was on sale, then headed all the way to the back-toward the 'Kitchen' area, located along the East wall between the meat and seafood counters.The hot and room temperature counters had just been filled with freshly prepared items.The refrigerated, pickled item case was also freshly assembled.

We selected some items here, paid for all of our purchases then walked over to the Food Court area and grabbed a table.We managed to unwrap everything and take a photo before enjoying a nice lunch. (Chopsticks and napkins are given at the market cash registers.)

Clockwise from 11:00—Fish pancakes ($4.54), barley tea ($1.50), real crab California rolls ($3.25), kimchi steamed dumplings ($3.75) and a whole teriyaki grilled squid ($4.99).

Zion Market 7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd San Diego, California 92111 open 7 days 9 to 9 website