What Cathy Eats! – Page 59

The Donut Man-It’s Peach Donut Time! (Glendora)

July 27, 2014 Cathy Desserts, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

The first day of peach donuts was July 24, 2014. The last day August 10, 2014. Peach donut time at Donut man is very limited.

Thanks for dropping by mmm-yoso!!! on this humid day (we had some rain and then it hit 80). Nothing is perfect, but maybe a road trip will help. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are staying cool today.

I mentioned The Donut Man in one of my conglomerate posts last year and a few other local bloggers also drove North, all of us reporting on the infamous fresh strawberry donuts. Early this past Thursday, I checked a Facebook page, took the car to Costco for fuel and told The Mister to get ready. Road Trip!Yes, it's time for the short 'season' of peach donuts and their availability.

The signage is only hanging from the front of the building and not even yet set up on the side windows (as the strawberry signs are in the other posts). Also, the crowds had not yet descended upon this iconic Southern California donut shop.

Walking past the side window, you could see a new tray of the seasonal treats was being prepared…

to be properly displayed in the front window.

I purchased two boxes of exactly the same choices (one box for cc and her family)(a Tiger's Tail, French Cruller and Buttermilk Bar) and drove back to San Diego (after a quick lunch across the street) and our road trip was done. No crowds (except on the freeways) and the peach donut run was history.

Oh-the donut itself is a very large raised and glazed donut, cut partly through and then just the fresh peaches in a glaze placed inside. The resulting confection was heavy in weight, the donut was light and airy with a crispy sweet outer shell. The filling wasn't as sweet as canned pie filling and the peaches still had texture.

The Donut Man 915 E. Route 66 Glendora, CA (626) 335-9111 Website

Antonelli’s Deli (El Cajon) revisit

July 16, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back once more to mmm-yoso!!! Kirk is still very busy and Ed (from Yuma) is similarly occupied, so Cathy is writing a post to keep you interested in stopping by our little blog.

Noticing that Kirk had missed a 'Sunday Sandwich' post and figuring maybe (based on vehicle traffic patterns) that some readers of our blog live and occasionally drive East, I thought an update to a post from 2010 was in order. I had planned to do a series of 'pastrami' only posts, but merely ate and stopped documenting.

Located in an industrial area of El Cajon, one block West and parallel to the 67 North of I-8, Antonelli's Deli, family owned and operated, has been in the same location since 1984.

The walk-up/order/pay area is convenient and there is plenty of seating inside and outside. The menu categories consist of Breakfast Sandwiches, Sub Sandwiches, Cold Sandwiches, Hot Sandwiches, Salads, Soup and Chili.

Above, a #41- Egg, bacon, ham, sausage, cheese Breakfast Sandwich (served all day) ($3.95) The sub roll is one of many bread choices here, and standard with the breakfast sandwiches. Fresh, warm, crispy and chewy and quite filled with the meats, cheese and egg, this is enough to share.

Some days, I just want a simple grilled cheese sandwich (#34, $4.25) and order it on the marble (rye/pumpernickel) bread, to make it a bit fancy (and tasty- rye is my favorite). Grilled on a flat top to crispy perfection, the melty American slices are part of the comfort.

Chili with cheddar and onions are available daily. The small ($4.15) is quite hearty, filled with ground beef, beans, tomatoes, green chili and a pleasant blend of spices. [There are also two 'soup of the day' choices, except on Saturday when Italian Wedding Soup is the available flavor].

Above, from the 'Hot Sandwiches' area of the menu, a Pastrami and Swiss on rye (# 22, $7.15) ordered without kraut this day…very good pastrami along with all the other quality ingredients. A favorite.

Above, a 4" sub sandwich- Capocollo and cheese (Provolone) (#3, $5.15). Subs can be ordered in 4, 8 and 12 inch sizes. As you can see, there is no skimping on the fillings (standard toppings on Subs include lettuce, tomato, onion, oil & vinegar, salt, pepper and oregano).

This local little Deli is another hidden gem in East County.

Antonelli's Deli 1354 North Magnolia El Cajon 92020 (619)440-8460 Mon-Fri 7-4, Sat 8-4, Closed Sunday Website

AJ’s Fish Merchant (San Carlos area of San Diego)

July 15, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Seafood, What Cathy Eats!

AJ's has closed. Some of their food items will still be around: the Santee, El Cajon and Allied Gardens Farmer Markets and perhaps other venues. Look for "AJ's Haute Cuisine".

Thanks for stopping by mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk got really busy and so did Ed(from Yuma), so Cathy is writing today's post.

Late last year, one of our favorite seafood restaurants, the Fish Bucket Grill, closed abruptly due to the death of its owner. We had liked the Fish Bucket Grill because it was just as good as The Fish Merchant, their 30 year family owned restaurant, which had been located in the area and had been closed for about two years.

In the middle of May, we heard this location was re-opening and were very happy to once again have access to seafood near home.

We didn't know how good it would be, so stopped by one early evening to try a few items.

It turns out the menus change almost daily, due to availability of fresh items. This section from the website mentions that the seafood is sourced from Catalina Offshore and the produce from Specialty; both open to the public selling quality items.

The interior is about the same. There are 13 tables and no bar area. We saw several people bringing in their own wine to accompany their meals.

We were asked if we'd like some complimentary bread after we placed our order and these two pieces were brought out: cheese topped white and a very nice squaw type served with unsalted butter. Both fresh, with crispy crusts and chewy interiors.

We were curious about the "California Clam Chowder" and ordered a cup to share ($4). The flavor was uniquely familiar.

If you read the link from the website provided above, you would notice Chef Bennett was trained at North Carolina's Johnson and Wales culinary college. This clam chowder tastes like a version of She-Crab Soup, a common, favorite soup we enjoyed during the years The Mister and I lived in Tidewater Virginia. Such good memories…not as much cream as regular chowder, a mirepoix along with potatoes, plenty of clam, a touch of sherry (or maybe white wine; you can taste it)…unexpected perfection.

Above, the small Captain's salad ($10), which is large enough to share. Fresh mixed greens topped with shrimp, crab, lobster, artichoke hearts, organic egg, tomato and a house made mustard-poppy seed dressing. Really good.

Above, the crab cakes appetizer ($12)- perfectly lightly crispy fried. As you can see, very little filler…it's just crab and enough complimentary spices with a panko-like breading. Served with a small side of mixed greens on top of a house made remoulade sauce, this is a meal in itself.

AJ's Fish Merchant 7407 Jackson Drive San Diego 92119 (619)462-FISH Website Mon-Thurs: 11-9, Fri, Sat: 11-10; Sun 4-9

Philippe the Original (Breakfast and Lunch) and 2015 Rose Parade Float Road Test #2

July 13, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food and the story prefacing as well as post scripting enjoyment of said food. Today's post is bookended by food and also centralized by books. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are doing other things while Cathy writes.

A beautiful Saturday morning, waking while the sky was illuminated by the Supermoon and driving North to Pasadena was intervened with a quick stop for breakfast at Philippe the Original, which Kirk blogged about in 2007. (A recent post from cc here and from Elmo in 2007 here and a 2008 post from MiP here )This quintessential American Cafeteria, with a fascinating history, is famous for THE French dip sandwich.

There is also a breakfast menu. Walking up to the counter, The Mister ordered, paid and waited for our food to be prepared while I enjoyed the various miniature museum of displays surrounding the communal seating areas.

If you didn't know, Philippe the Original is within walking distance of both Union (railroad) Station and Dodger Stadium, the third oldest ballpark in the USA.

Soon enough, breakfast was ready. At the top is the Breakfast Combo Special ($7.50)- French toast, over easy eggs, bacon and coffee. The French toast batter has a bit of cinnamon in it, the bread is soft, thick and cooked just right (crispy on the exterior and soft and warm/fluffy interior). The bacon is thin and crispy and has flavor. Here's a better photo of the corned beef hash plate ($8.25)served with home fried potatoes and over easy eggs (again, coffee is included). The hash is wonderful -dry, not greasy- and has a great flavor. The Home Fries are made expertly, as are the over easy eggs and the biscuits (a classic baking powder/soda mix) – great short-order chefs.

We drove up the 110 to Pasadena and the Phoenix Decorating Company barn for the second 2015 Tournament of Roses Parade float maneuverability testing in less than six minutes.

There were ten floats being tested this day and quite a few were ready for their final tests before decorating (which begins in December) by having people on board to test weight bearing on the maneuverability as well as ability to escape efficiently in case of a fire. Above, Kiwanis International, with their float now color coded for the volunteers to decorate easily. So much prettier than when it was tested in its 'cocoon' stage last month (3rd photo).Similarly, last month's rebar/chicken wire/partial cocoon stage of the Lions Club International float, "Inspiring Challenges" (to the right in the first photo in that post), did no justice to this finalized version.

Rotary International has the theme of "Changing Lives Through Clean Water".

The Oddfellows and Rebekahs Rose float, "Never Forget" is beautiful with its colors marked.

The City of Alhambra is titled "Go For Broke" and will also have a military theme.

The theme of the 2015 Tournament of Roses Parade is "Inspiring Stories" and a good number of floats are taking that concept literally and depicting books on their floats. Above, the Donate Life float titled "The Never Ending Story".

Lutheran Hour Ministries and "The Bible…God's Story" will have a float in the parade for the 65th time.

Shriners Hospital for Children is having a float featuring a Shriner Bear reading -and seated upon- books.

There were two other floats also tested, both in rebar stage: Trader Joe's and the American Armenian Rose Float Association. Within a month, each will take on more details and be more interesting.

Back to food, since Philippe the Original is only about seven miles from Raymond Street…

The ordering cases filled with a variety of sides, ten order/serving lines (there are only five at breakfast), ordered chaos, freshly sawdusted flooring, house made HOT mustard on each table. (Philippe is right next to Chinatown, which I'm pretty certain had an influence on the mustard recipe). Lunchtime.

Double dipped (each piece of crispy fresh French bread gently run through the jus; opposed to a 'single dip' with only one piece of bread dipped) sandwiches of roast beef ($7) roast lamb ($8.50), sides of house made potato salad ($1.35) and pickle ($1.30) along with two glasses of iced tea (65 cents each).

Because we had side by side comparisons, we liked the roast lamb considerably more than the roast beef (no complaints when we tasted the beef first) (There were also some nice crusty pieces of the lamb in the sandwich, which may have been a further influence). The kosher pickle was excellent as was the freshly made potato salad.

We also served ourselves water…so reminiscent of Elementary School…

and stopped to check out the gift counter, where some old fashioned candies are sold (Sen-Sen anyone?) (this area takes credit cards; the food counter is cash only)…

while getting a roast pork sandwich, double dipped ($7) and pickled egg ($1.15) (see the gallon jar on the counter in the second photo of this post?) to go. No worse for the drive, the pork also was very good. The pickled egg has a good old fashioned pickled beet flavor.

Philippe the Original 1001 N. Alameda Street Los Angeles 90012 (213)628-1731 Website open seven days 6 a.m.-10 p.m.

The 2014 San Diego County Fair-Part Two-sights, foods and fun!

July 3, 2014 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Sometimes there are situations surrounding the acquisition of food. Today's post is about one of those times. Cathy is writing.

The 2014 San Diego County Fair opened on June 7. It will close this Sunday, July 6. Plan to go over there soon to join in the festivities of this "Fab Fair". I'm going to mostly add photos and just a few explanations at the end. The fifth largest County Fair in the USA is overwhelming with things to see, do and eat.

As I said, overwhelming. The Mister and I have been here multiple times, met friends, gone with family and tried out the various food items. There have been countless competition entries in so many categories within Home & Hobby, Design in Wood, Gems, Minerals & Jewelry, Photography, Fine Art and all of their subcategories. There have been Daily Contests, 4H competitions (and those animals will be auctioned on July 5), instructional presentations, pig races, turkey stampede, Garden Show, concerts, the New Farm at Family Funville near the Kid's Zone. You've missed the Toast of the Coast Wine Festival, San Diego International Beer Festival and the 10th annual Gospel Festival. There is still a daily Craft Beer/Wine Experience in the Home & Hobby area and on July 5, the Big Bite Bacon Fest will be back.

Some of the photos of food consumed include the fresh made cream puff, pretzel, $2 Tuesday samples, zucchini curls, a Pink's chili dog, Indian fry bread and grilled cauliflower sandwich (a new item and personal favorite of mine; I've had/shared four this year, so far).

There is a free shuttle and parking near the Fairgrounds, if you don't want to pay the $10 fee. It's all listed on the Website. Hope to see you there! You can see fireworks all over the county at 9 p.m. on July 4, but the fireworks seen from the Midway at the Fair are particularly beautiful.Other Blogger perspectives of the 2014 San Diego County Fair Here, Here and Here. Here too.

Bella Vista Caffe (revisit)

July 1, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, European Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Kirk is extremely busy today. Ed(from Yuma) is also very preoccupied with things to do, so Cathy is sharing a recent Happy Hour meal.

I've posted about Bella Vista Caffe and have been here many times, just not documenting the wonderful meals here. If you read the prior post, you know the Caffe is located in the medical research office park area of La Jolla, near UCSD and the Torrey Pines Glider Port and serves brunch on the weekend (when we usually visit). (Be sure to bring your parking ticket to the restaurant; it will be validated).Above is a view from the balcony. Yes, that is the Pacific Ocean.One recent evening, just after 4 p.m. we decided to stop in (actually we were avoiding traffic after leaving the County Fair) and the menus given to us included Happy Hour pricing. (The craft beer was $3.70 on the receipt; I'm unsure of the regular price).Well, $2 off the 'antipasti' part of the menu and craft beer and wine discounts were an unexpected surprise. In addition, we had never seen this menu before. After a day of eating unusual food at the Fair, we were in the mood for ordering things we never had tried before.

Yep, neither of us has ever had beef carpaccio before ($8.95 Happy Hour price). We will order this from now on- the thinly sliced raw beef, topped with arugula and shaved Parmesan and a dressing of lemon and olive oil was so wonderfully decadent. The very flavorful marbled raw beef was plentiful, the peppery arugula was crispy fresh and the shaved Parmesan complimented everything so very well. L'Argentino empanada plate ($8.95 HH price) was wonderful. The menu states there are four empanadas, with choices of fillings- we asked for two beef, one chicken and one spinach and received two smaller spinach empanadas. The aioli in the center was (I think) sun dried tomato flavored. It complimented the crispy baked empanada crust.
The fillings were plentiful and richly flavored, as if each had been a very tasty stew before being placed inside the crust, which was baked to crunchy perfection. The spinach had an excellent flavor, was not watery and was as good as the meat varieties. You can see the onion and bits of red pepper and herbs in the fillings. I will order this again, but in addition to trying other items from this menu. The food was familiar yet new again. We really like it here.

Bella Vista Social Club & Caffe 2880 Torrey Pines Scenic Drive La Jolla, CA 92037 (858) 534-9624 Website

Carnitas El Botanero (Lemon Grove)

June 30, 2014 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Today, Kirk is busy with work as well as eating and photographing his meals, Ed(from Yuma) is busy with retirement and eating and photographing his meals and Cathy is writing, because she is finally not busy and has time to write and organize her photos.

It's the once every four years FIFA World Cup (Federation Internationale de Football Association) time of year, and going to most restaurants with televisions has been a challenge. The Mister and I try to go in between games or on days off, since the entire series of games started June 12 and won't end until July 13.

One of our favorite 'close by' restaurants is in Lemon Grove. It used to be the original location of Carnitas Uruapan, which moved to a smaller location after the original owner died. Still, it specializes in carnitas and has some other interesting menu items, in addition to breakfast and lunch specials:
The interior has remained unchanged from the Uruapan days. (Yes, that is a rerun of the morning World Cup match on the television).Even the old juke box is still here. The Mister and I both enjoy the chile based salsas, made fresh here daily. You can see the many ingredients. Above, the lunch green salad with carne asada ($7.75), which was a nice, light lunch a few weeks ago. The carne here is very good. The carnitas plate for one ($7.95), is (more than) a 1/2 pound of excellent carnitas, served with rice, beans (wonderful), cilantro, onions, corn tortillas and the salsa fresca.The slow cooked beef barbacoa plate ($8.50) here is served in the above manner – the lengthy steaming makes the meat tender and fork-ably easy to shred. It's served in/with the cooking sauce/juice, which is slightly salty and nicely smokey. The saltiness 'calms down' with the addition of onions, cilantro and pieces of corn tortillas. This is very comforting and excellent.

The shrimp ceviche tostada ($3.95) is quite large. It's made when you order. Part of the marinade is fresh oregano which compliments but does not overwhelm the quite large shrimp. I get cravings for this particular ceviche version.

The carnitas taquitos ($5.45) is part of the lunch special menu and the fried corn tortillas are just so delicate and thin/crispy; you can taste the meat. Topped with a considerable amount of sour cream, fresh made guacamole and a sort of salad, these four rolled tacos and accompaniments are a meal.

Carnitas Botanero 8035 Broadway Lemon Grove 91945 (619)462-3020 Mon-Thurs 8-8, Fri-Sat 8-10, Sun 8-9

In case you are following the World Cup, here's a great visual of the official logo and Groups participating. It's printed on an official FIFA souvenier grocery bag I purchased at Vallarta Supermarket ($2.99) a few weeks ago.

Happy Family (Korean food)(inside Hana Mart)

June 18, 2014 Cathy Korean Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! Food blog. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are busily researching subjects for posts. Cathy is posting results of her research.

A few weeks ago, driving to U Mart for some weekly groceries, we noticed a change in the exterior signage.

The Mister and I had been here (the building was the original San Diego location of Zion supermarket) several times since UMart had opened in December and noticed construction going on inside each time. We were told there was a new owner of the building who wanted the name change.There are now cash registers facing each doorway and the 'hallway' of other stores has been widened. As Kirk mentioned in February, Happy Family reopened.

The Mister and I try to grab a bite to eat before each shopping trip and this day was a perfect chance to have another meal at Happy Family.

The menu has been simplified further, with ten total offerings.

The Mapo Tofu ($7.99) is always a favorite. It comes with the red pepper paste soup as well as the pickled sides and the black bean paste.

There were a few ounces of ground pork, some wood ear fungus and a lot of very good tofu in this dish. The flavors were not Americanized at all -the way we like it- with a few numbing peppercorns used in the sauce.

The pepper paste soup was made with onions and zucchini and the broth seemed to have a saltiness to it (no condiments were needed with this meal other than what was served).

We also shared an order of fried dumpling ($5.99). These gunmandu were made fresh here (not frozen) and fried to a very crispy (yet still chewy level). The dumpling skins were a bit thick in a good way; there was no leakage of the filling.

The filling, mostly chives with some ground pork: so fresh and the chive greens still crispy. The right amount to balance the fried dumpling dough. These were the nicest version we've ever had. A great way to start our shopping trip.

Happy Family inside Hana Mart 4611 Mercury Street San Diego 92111 (858)279-8713 Open 10-8 Tues-Sunday

2015 Rose Parade Rose Parade float road test #1-and a food road trip

June 8, 2014 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Markets & Grocers, Orange County, Road Trip, Stuff, Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog with posts centering around food, sometimes sharing the process which the acqusition of said food occurred. Kirk is busy, Ed(from Yuma) is busy and Cathy is writing.

More than a month ago, friend and fellow food blogger, cc, asked (another friend and food blogger) CAB and I to accompany her on a celebratory (beginning of vacation) food crawl 'Up North'. CAB unfortunately had a change in plans and couldn't make it. I discovered on Wednesday before our scheduled crawl that the first Rose Parade float road testing was also going to be held that Saturday morning. Checking out the road testing is something The Mister and I do and share here on the blog ( I also share decorating and other 'behind the scenes' posts about float consruction). I felt guilty, A) Because The Mister wouldn't be able to come with us and 2. For asking for a slight change in 'plans'. Except our plans included and lot of 'maybe here and maybe there' places to visit and eat..so I added one in. Of course it had to be the first thing we did that day, because testing begins at 7 a.m.. In Pasadena.

At the end of this epic day (I was at cc's home at 5 a.m. on the dot and got back to my home at 6:35 p.m.), I was exhausted, had driven 314 miles and had 327 photos on my camera (many were the same subject from different angles) and so this post is mostly photos. Details in future posts.

First the 2015 Rose Parade. The floats tested this day were all sponsored by service (volunteer) organizations. The theme of the Tournament of Roses parade is "Inspiring Stories". The Grand Marshal will be Louis Zamperini, WWII POW, Olympian and the subject of soon to be released movie, Unbroken. Each float is the interpretation of the theme by each participating organization.

Rotary International (the color coded float, depicting a wishing well and candles). Lions Club International (in it's rebar and partial coccoon stage)(can you see a wave of water and surfboards?).

Odd Fellows and Rebakahs, their float is depicting the Unknown Soldier Tomb.
Kiwanis International (being parked back into the Phoenix Decorating Company barn)(the doorway is the maximum height and width a float can be, or collapse down to, to be able to pass under street and signal lights along the parade route).
Lutheran Hour Ministries. This float is titled "The Bible, God's Story".

This will be the Donate Life float. It's in the basic stage of construction and testing. Those detailed butterflies are just so beautiful. You can see the float driver in this photo.

Now, to the food portion of this post. In order: what we ate and did. One photo from each place.

Yep. We did a LOT in a few hours. It was fun, educational, tasty and only slightly exhausting. The details will be revealed in future posts. Feel free to guess or ask questions. Hope you are having a good week!

Where we ate: First photo (Cream Pan) 2nd photo (Jones Coffee) third photo (Euro Pane) 4th photo (Galco's) 5th photo (Mae Ting's) Next photo (LAX-C) Next few photos: Velveteria, Chinatown, Queen's Bakery, Brodard, 85C, The Snowflake Factory, and finally The above photo, a Jesuit.

The 2014 San Diego County Fair-Part One- Before it opens

June 3, 2014 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food: not just purchasing and preparing food, but purchasing and eating prepared food although sometimes we blog just thinking of the possibilities of food. Cathy is posting today because Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are still out preparing and/or purchasing and/or thinking.

It is that time of year again. Saturday June 7 is the opening day of the 2014 San Diego County Fair- with its theme of "The Fab Fair". The largest County Fair in Caliornia and fourth largest in the USA, "our" Fair is a local happening for most of us.

The front gate has a Yellow Submarine theme.

The Midway is being set up. The usual vendors are here.Exhibits are being set up.Preserved Foods (the 'heart' of the Fair) have been judged and put on display.

The other Home and Hobby Competitions have also been judged and set up for display.

Chicken Charlie's will be opening a Brick and Mortar store in San Diego later this year, ostensibly to test new food items for the 2015 Fair season (and beyond) For now, the new items are listed in the signage above (fried chicken skins and that delightful looking triple decker cheesburger with a Krispy Kreme donut bun).

The Bacon-A-Fair booth will be selling a churro, injected with 1/2 shot of Jack Daniels, wrapped in bacon, then grilled, rolled in sugar and served with maple syrup and whipped cream.

The Grant Burger booth will be selling two new items: the bacon jam burger (bacon burger with an onion-garlic-maple syrup jam) and a chile relleño-chorizo-avocado topped burger on a pretzel roll (which will be conveniently cut into four pieces so you can share).

Other new Fair Foods can be found via this link. Scroll down. The cauliflower sandwich at Grinders in Plaza de Mexico sounds very interesting.

The Exit gate.

See you at the Fair!

Check the website for discounts and details (scroll down; there is free parking).

The 2014 San Diego County Fair Website June 7-July 6, closed Mondays.