What Cathy Eats! – Page 90

It’s Burger Week (Again)- Fred’s Old Fashioned Burgers (El Cajon)

February 20, 2010 Cathy Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

This location fo Fred's has closed.

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog written by Kirk, ed (from Yuma), Cathy and a few other friends. Today, it's Cathy's turn.

Hi. I knew it was the Third Annual Burger Week for us at mmm-yoso!!! and thought I would share some East County places The Mister and I enjoy. First, Fred's Old Fashioned Burgers.
The building that houses Fred's used to be a Taco Bell, so you know it is not very large inside. When it is busy, there are full outdoor tables.
The indoor ordering counter is pretty much unchanged from the old Taco Bell blueprint.
The Additional  Condiment Bar is right behind you after you place order and pay.
You take a seat in the different-than-Taco-Bell decorated area. Your food will be delivered to your table.
If you've ordered a shake ($2.95) (which you *must* do), it will be brought out first. The Mister and I decided to share a chocolate peanut butter one. Thick, rich, using real peanut butter, this satisfies my salt cravings and His chocolate cravings. You can order your shakes with or without malt and 'extra thick' or 'regular'. There are about 8 flavors to choose from.
Your burgers are brought out. Mine was a "Patty Melt" ($3.79). I must confess, the breads that are served here are the best and the real reason I like the food here. Even though this was not rye, it was a very fresh, very thick sourdough, grilled to perfection. The burger is topped with grilled onions, (sadly) American cheese and an excellent Thousand Island. I know, American Cheese and sourdough does not a Patty Melt make, hence the quotation marks above. The burger is hand shaped, not frozen, 1/4 pound and not thick, so as to fit on the breads. They pretty much can't be cooked to a medium rare, which I like.  The meat is not overly flavored on its own ( I added salt, pepper and pickles near the end of finishing the burger).
This time, The Mister ordered a Half Pounder ($4.64), without onions. It comes with lettuce, tomato and Thousand Island sauce (he got pickles at the bar) and is served on the wonderfully fresh, toasted potato roll you see here. Again, the bread is what brings me back more than the taste of the burger. Oddly, the crinkle cut fries are somehow seasoned with a light layer of salt and apparently are cooked in beef fat. They have a wonderful flavor without having to add anything, not even catsup.

One other item of note, both Coke and Pepsi are served here. Buying a "combo" does not save any money, the individual prices add up to be the same. It's an interestingly decorated good use of the old Taco Bell space that does a steady business. Not bad, but not outstanding burgers.

Fred's Old Fashioned Burgers 1285 East Madison (two signal lights south of I-8, behind the gas station on the SW corner) El Cajon 92021 (619)447-2300

Pastrami Sandwich research- Antonelli’s Deli, El Cajon

February 11, 2010 Cathy Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog, mostly written by Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy. A few others contribute as well, all of us writing about food we eat and sometimes the reason why we like it, or don't. Today, Cathy is writing about something she likes.

Hi. One of my earlier posts, about decorating Rose parade floats and having a pastrami sandwich at The Hat, mentioned… a pastrami sandwich. Which I really liked. I got a question from "H", asking me where good pastrami sandwiches were to be found in San Diego, because her hubby is a sucker for them, and realized I pretty much always order pastrami (smoked corn beef) sandwiches whenever it is available, although I like sandwiches of all kinds. I don't make this type of sandwich at home. I did mention pastrami in my post about BMH Italian and remembered again the other day, when I was driving in an industrial area of El Cajon, just off Highway 67 and Fletcher Parkway and saw this sign:
and pulled into the lot. I have been here, but it was years ago (it opened in 1984, back when the Unemployment Office was still next door) and had basically forgotten about it, only stopping in when I was buying tires, looking for plumbing supplies or somehow stayed on Magnolia instead of getting onto the 67. Silly me. The food here is great.
Nice and clean inside. You walk up, order and pay, grab a beverage if you ordered one, then sit down. Your food will be brought out to you. Eight tables (all of which are filled from about 11 a.m. on). They serve breakfast sandwiches all day and also have two soups of the day and make a very nice chili with cheddar cheese and onions ($3.50/$4.25).
I ordered a pastrami, no cheese, on rye with kraut. $7.05 with tax. A very flavorful, soft rye bread (the website states all breads are made fresh daily-wheat, white, rye, sourdough, sqaw and sub roll). It comes with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, Mayo, mustard, salt and pepper.

An excellent amount of flavorful pastrami with a nice amount of fat, grilled to some crispness and warmed sauerkraut. Of course served with a pickle.
Just the right amount of juice and not too peppery. There are breakfast sandwiches and an excellent cold liverwurst sandwich served here also. This is just a Pastrami Post. Thanks for "making" me have to do this research, "H"!!! I shall continue to post about every one I can find in the county.

Antonelli's Deli 1354 North Magnolia (south of Bradley) El Cajon 92020 (619)440-8460

website Open M-F 7-4, Sat 8-4, closed Sunday

Your New Year Resolution does not have to mean sacrifice:macarons (from Starbucks), charcuterie and cheese plates (from Tender Greens) and a fancy waffle (from Cafe Venti)

January 14, 2010 Cathy Desserts, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. It's written by a few friends, all who have different backgrounds, cravings and locations. Today, Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Vicky are discovering things to write about and Cathy is writing.

Hi. I hope the year is going well for you. I'm trying to stick to one of my resolutions from last year and slowing down to savor life for a short time every single day. It isn't as easy to do as you may think. Incorporating food along with slowing down. Daily.

Sometimes, this involves stopping in at Starbucks.
Where you can order a 3 cup French Press of any coffee they sell for $3.50. It is brewed and brought out to you.
I noticed in the refrigerator section these Macarons, made in France exclusively for Starbucks. $10 for 12 of them and so *very* good. Flavored in pistachio, coffee, lemon, raspberry, vanilla and chocolate…light, airy with a crunchy crust, chewy cake like piece surrounding the creamy fondant-like fillings, all rich in flavor. Decadent and delightful. (Trader Joe's is selling a pack of 6 vanilla and 6 chocolate in their freezer section – the package does not indicate where they are made, but I suspect not in the USA.) One of the Starbucks Baristas said she thought the macarons may be seasonal, so if you see them in the refrigerator, grab a box…or something else to have with your coffee.

The other day, The Mister and I ventured into Tender Greens again, and noticed they were offering a charcuterie plate for $10, so we ordered it. (The three slices at 12 o'clock are tuna, the one at 3 o'clock is a ham and the other two are some sort of wonderful house made salamis, one of them Fra'Mani- neither were too spicy) The house made meats were wonderful. We also shared a grilled vegetable salad ($10)-Lettuces topped with grilled mushrooms, cauliflower, zucchini, brussels sprouts, baby parsnips and baby carrots, red pepper and topped with Parmesan and a tomato vinaigrette. Refreshing and making a light meal.

The cheese plate ($6) was an excellent dessert. There were four cheeses, two cheddars and two Jacks. One of the Jacks was a smoked cheese, which I usually do not like, but the texture and pairing it with the apple made it pleasantly tasty. That's a spicy apple puree on the plate, served with more slices of grilled bread brushed with olive oil. We even shared a glass of Spanish white wine ($7). A nice, light, healthy-ish meal. Something we don't always enjoy.
One day, we stopped at Cafe Venti, in the same mall as the Original Tajima and ordered dessert (they also make panini sandwiches here). To share.
The Waffle-Yo: a fresh made waffle, topped with (choice of two) plain and mango yogurt, fresh kiwi, strawberries and mango as well as small mochi. (~$7). A lot of food here and we needed to share it. Very good, very fresh. The yogurt is tangy, the way I like it.A latte ($3.75) and water accompanied our snack.

We sat down and talked for each of these small interludes. We didn't take anything "to go" and did not rush. So far, I have stuck to one of my 2009 Resolutions and have added a few for 2010. It isn't easy some days, but it has been so enjoyable on other days. I hope you are finding your resolutions enjoyable and not a burden.

Starbucks-everywhere

Tender Greens-Liberty Station, 2400 Historic Decatur Road San Diego, 92106 (619)226-6254 Website

Cafe Venti-4681 Convoy (between Engineer and Opportunity) San Diego, 92123 (858) 279-8500

Road Trip: A’Float Sushi Japanese Restaurant- Pasadena

January 13, 2010 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Sushi and Sashimi, What Cathy Eats!

Hello. You are reading mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. The usual blogger here is Kirk. Sometimes ed (from Yuma) writes about what he ate. Sometimes it's Cathy writing. Then occasionally Vicky and a few others also write about their meals. Today, Cathy's writing about a meal she and The Mister enjoyed.

So, the other day, The Mister didn't have to go to work and we fueled up the car and drove North. We had seen this place in Pasadena for years…at the Corner of Colorado and Arroyo, a pretty central intersection in the Old Town area. We decided to pay the meter and have lunch.
Floating sushi. That's what it's about. Walk in, sit down ask for some tea and watch the boats go whizzing by.

You can see the boats are chained together. They are constantly moving. There is space for up to four plates on a boat and you just grab and stack plates. The plates are priced by design which is noted on the menu/placemat.

We grabbed the fried shrimp ($3.58) when we saw them being brought out from the kitchen and placed on the boats. Light, crispy and the shrimp with flavor. Note the placemat and prices with corresponding plate designs.

The mini lobster wrap with soybean paper was only $3.58 and that filler is real crab, not rice. To the right, the fried squid were $3.08 (see, it's on a plate with a different design). The squid pieces (rings and tentacles as well as one *really* fresh whole shrimp and one breaded and fried green bean) were very tender and lightly breaded. Again, you have to grab the fried stuff as soon as you see it or it gets cold on the trip around.
The dumplings ($2.58) were chilled. They tasted good, were filled with mostly crab.
The oysters ($3.58) were fresh and chilled and quite plump.
The cucumber salad ($3.08) was refreshing. Crispy and with good flavored tomatoes. Topped with a light rice vinegar.
At the end, I stacked the trays by design, to make it easier for our waitress to tally the bill. (Hot tea was free). (The far left plate was for a $1.98 California roll, 3 pieces. Those were fresh and with real crab) It was fun and different for us. You could ask for anything on the menu to be brought out, or for specific cuts of sushi or rolls to be made. We'll do that next time.

A Float Sushi Japanese Restaurant 87 East Colorado Boulevard Pasadena 91105 (626)792-9779

Wholesome Choice- Irvine. A Market, and then some.

January 8, 2010 Cathy Markets & Grocers, Mediterranean Restaurants, Orange County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Just some friends writing about what they ate. Today, it's Cathy writing after she ate.

One Saturday morning, The Mister and I drove North up the 5, took the 405 a few exits, exited at Culver street, went South two lights and stopped here.
Wholesome Choice. The location used to be a Wild Oats (Henry's) Marketplace. It is quite large inside. When you first walk in, there is a line of people waiting for hot Sangak (flatbread) to come out of the oven. I don't take photos of people and so could not get a good one of the ovens. You'll have to go there and see it for yourself.

The bread is four feet long, made from mostly wheat flour, with a starter from the day before, is topped with sesame seeds, costs $2.79, is placed on a piece of brown kraft paper directly from the oven, HOT. I will show you photos later. Here is a story of Sangak .

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It is a regular grocery store, with fruits, vegetables, Halal meats and pretty much the normal Mediterranean stuff. Good prices. Very clean.

Nuts- in all varieties and prices.
Preserved foods and olives from around the world…
Then, at the other end of the store, you notice the cheeses…and what is all that? Looks like steam trays.

Menus above each area (there are Indian, Persian, Chinese, Thai as well as soups, cold deli and bakery sections )
In the soup area, there is Haleem.(a wheat-based porridge)
There is a Gyros and Schawarma area.
A by- the-pound deli area…
So many different Feta cheeses are available…
as well as any other sides you can think of (fresh hummus is $4.49/lb)
…so much more that I haven't shown you.

These are just some of the desserts. There is a fresh baked, by the piece baklava and in house made croissant case…so much.

So anyhow. The Mister and I were hungry and bought some stuff, paid at the cash register and sat down (there are tables inside just past the cash register and also tables out in front of the store).
Here is a photo of one large styrofoam tray, filled with half a baked chicken(with *wonderful* saffron flavor) on top of what must be a pound of Addas Polo (basmati and saffron rice with lentils, currants and dates) ($7.99). The rest of the photo is the Sangak bread we picked up when we walked in. At the midpoint of the Sangak bread…see that hummus in a box…one half pound. The box is 4 inches square…wait.
Here is a photo of the hummus with a normal size plastic fork…the bread is HUGE. It is soft, slightly spongy in the areas where it is not too thin, tears easily tastes so good…the sesame seeds make it more flavorful.
We also got one Koofteh ($3) Ground beef, rice, herbs and yellow split peas in a vegetable stew.

A wonderful place, not that far from here. There is a location in Anaheim Hills also. If you have some free time, take a short drive North. Then stop, shop and eat.

Wholesome Choice Market 18040 Culver Irvine, CA 92612 Open 7-11 daily (Food Court area open 11-8 daily) website

5755 East La Palma Anaheim Hills, CA 92807 Same hours

(The Irvine location is 84 miles from our East County home and the Anaheim location is 106 miles from here. The Anaheim store is about 1/3 larger, formerly had been an Albertsons. That location has a gelato area in the food court. Really good gelato.)

BMH Italian- great sandwiches

January 5, 2010 Cathy Italian Restaurants, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog, written by some friends who live (or used to live) in the San Diego area. We write about whatever we eat, wherever we eat it and let you enjoy also. Vicariously. Today, Cathy is helping you be vicarious, along with Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Vicky.

So, it is a new year and there are resolutions made that need some time before saying they have stuck. I hope you are still sticking to yours. The Mister and I were in search of lunch the other day and stopped here, on El Cajon Boulevard.
BMH Italian. It used to be Mama Lina's, and those products are still sold here.
A small Italian bakery, market and deli inside along with a small seating area next door (14 chairs, 5 tables) and a menu consisting mostly of sandwiches, but also soups, salads, pastas and desserts.
I got the BMH – a cold sandwich- Capacolla, ham and provolone on a fresh white roll. Lettuce, tomato, onions, mustard, mayonnaise and house dressing. (Regular price is $7.75, but only $6 for seniors and with student ID).
The Mister ordered a "Ba Da Bing"-a hot sandwich- turkey, ham, pastrami and Provolone. ($7.95- not all items on the menu have a student discount). The toasted bread, even though the same as mine, tasted even better.
What caught my eye when we walked in was this Saeco coffee machine. You get a token for $1.25 when you order and then can choose your coffee, hear the beans being ground and wait to take it from the machine.
I got a cappuccino. The coffee had a good fresh flavor and the milk foam was rich. Something fun to do.

If you are in this area, stop in. Hours are limited and Tues-Fri from 5-6 (when it closes) some select cold sandwiches are $6 for everyone.

BMH Italian Sapore di casa 7670 El Cajon Boulevard La Mesa 91941 619-698-6333 Hours: Mon 10:30-5 Tues-Fri 10:30-6, Sat 10:30-4 website link

Happy 2010!!!- a sneak peek at the Rose Parade floats and Pastrami at The Hat for a final meal of 2009.

December 31, 2009 Cathy Burgers, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog, mostly about food, but sometimes also about how we managed to get around to eating that food. Tonight, Cathy is writing about how she and The Mister spent the last day of 2009. Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are probably busy with other stuff.

Hi. I am writing this in the late evening of December 31. The Mister and I were awake at about 5:30 this morning (after having spent a long day yesterday with 100 of my closest friends, in light, steady rain, tailgating and watching the Holiday Bowl game). We were exhausted and had to get up and leave. Things happened slowly, dogs needed walking, coffee had to be consumed and we were out the door at 6:30. In the fog. Needing to be in Pasadena by 8 a.m.

Well, that didn't happen. But we did manage to get to the Historic Green Street Hotel
in Old Pasadena by about 8:30. (The Castle Green is now condos and apartments and no longer a hotel).

You can see some of the preserved elements in this public area, and maybe imagine the elegance of this building in its day.
The old Ballroom was where we had breakfast with Lions from all over the world, including the new President from Germany.
Breakfast is a buffet, which is not varied. Fruit, muffins, scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausage and ham along with orange and cranberry juices and coffee. There are formalities and that sort of thing and then we get on a bus and drive about a mile South on Raymond Street, to the Phoenix Rose Palace Float Barn.
Which looks like this about December 26.

But is like this on the 31st, an hour or two before judging. The Tournament of Roses Parade is going to start in less than 24 hours. (That is the Farmers Insurance float, Salute to Marching Bands) (the black shiny boots are seaweed)
This is the Ronald McDonald House float. (More seaweed to make the black parts of the space shuttle).
The first float you'll see, sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank, has the theme of the parade- "A Cut Above the Rest". It is one of the smaller floats. Here are some of the details- click and enlarge. Every inch of every float has to be covered with something that is or was alive.

You can see beans, leaf, live flowers, pulverized dehydrated flowers…
Volunteers spend hours cutting and placing some flowers into vials.
Or wrapping the flowers onto wires, so that each can be carefully placed onto the proper part of the float.

This Young Lady is gluing dried marigold petals which have been processed in a blender onto the signage of one of the floats.

The work put in this year was exceptional. Those realistic looking rocks on the Oddfellows and RRebekah's float are covered in a mixture of black and white rice.
The Lions Club International Float.

The City of Alhambra float.

Here is the back end of the Lutheran Hour float, celebrating it's 60th anniversary in the Parade. The Petal Pushers help to decorate this and the other Service floats in this Barn.
All in all, these last few minutes before the judges show up are busy and intense. The parade will start soon and you can see the floats lined up end to end on Sierra Madre Boulevard Between Paloma and SIerra Madre Villa Avenues), at the end of the parade route, from 1-5 today and from 9-5 on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $7. A fun weekend thing to do. By February, the theme for the 2011 Tournament of Roses parade will have been decided and planning and work on the floats will begin again.

We were exhausted, starting the drive home, hungry and stopped here on Lake Avenue at Villa.

The Hat is now 58 or so years old, starting out in the Los Angeles area in 1951.

We got a Pastrami dip:

Kind of huge…dipped Pastrami in a soft French roll with mustard and pickles.
The Pastrami Burger ($6.99) It's there- look. A half pound burger, topped with cheese, lettuce, onions, pickles and a *lot* of freshly fried up pastrami. The last meal of the year. The Resolutions start tomorrow.

We wish you all the best for the future. Happy New Year!

Dubai Restaurant – (It’s in El Cajon, next to Sultan Baklava)

December 27, 2009 Cathy Desserts, Iraqi Food and Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Dubai closed. In the same location, it is now a restaurant named Sultan and is part of Sultan Baklava

mmm-yoso!!! is this. What you are reading. A blog about food. Today, Cathy is writing.

The other day, The Mister and I were in El Cajon, at Sprouts market, and a sign kitty corner from that location caught our eye. We had to check it out.

We had already had lunch, so went into Sultan Baklava and bought a few things (Turkish pistachios as well as some fresh made dessert treats)

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Everything here is sold by the pound, and *really* good. The sweets are made with a sugar-water mix, not honey…they are Turkish. You can taste the nuts and other fillings. Really, really good.

We got a menu from Dubai and went back last night.

Six tables, four set for six each and two set for four each. Small, cozy, clean. The owners are Chaldean.

We ordered Baba Ghanouj (Large, $4.95)
A nice serving of fresh made, creamy baked eggplant, pureed with tahini, garlic and olive oil. Really good. Really fresh. Served with fresh flatbread.

We also ordered the Dubai salad (large, $5.95). Fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, olives and lettuce with a light olive oil and vinegar dressing (vinegar and olive oil are also on the table) and lemon wedges can be added for more flavor. The plate was double the size of the Baba Ghanouj plate.
The Mister ordered a lamb shank ($13). Don't be put off by the photo. It was not burned or tough. It was marinated lightly and was moist and tender- flaking off in a good way from the bone- and you could taste the lamb flavor (at many other places, there is so much marinade that the meat has no flavor). There was a choice of Biryani or Basmati rice- The Mister chose Biryani: the cumin and cardamom flavors were wonderfully pleasant. The rice had roasted potatoes, peas and raisins in it. The plate also comes with a stew and picked turnips, onions, parsley and tomatoes.
I ordered the chicken schawarma sandwich ($3.95). The chicken was moist and flavorful and the sandwich was filled with cucumber, yogurt sauce and onion, parsley and lettuce. It was wrapped in fresh flatbread.

All meals come with hot tea. Served this way. Strong tea (4 bags in that pot)…beautiful teacups.

Dubai also has a buffet on Wednesday and Saturday, with most hot sides available and kebabs made to order for $8 per person.

Sultan Baklava 131 Jamacha Road El Cajon 92019 Open 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily (619)440-1901 website

Dubai Restaurant 133 Jamacha Road El Cajon 92019

Road Trip- Las Vegas- A day

December 6, 2009 Cathy Las Vegas, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food written by a group of friends who eat. Today, Cathy is blogging about both food and an adventure.

Hi. The other day, my brother sent me an email that he had a pass to a convention Las Vegas and would be flying in, accompanied by his son, my 15 year old nephew, who couldn't go to the conventionor any adult ventures because of his age. and anyhow, he was wondering if "Aunt Cathy" maybe could drive out for a bit and visit. So I did.

I left Santee about 7 a.m. and drove, keeping the speed limit.

Soon I was at my destination, called my nephew on the mobile, announced I was hungry and was happy he was also ready for lunch.

We drove out of Sunset Staion, took a left and started looking and found a Sammy's California Woodfired Pizza place: Unique for my nephew. So we stopped.

We shared a small Caesar Salad ($7) which was fresh and not too garlic-y.

We asked for bread and a basket of fresh made white bread and some crackers was brought to the table.

Since we could not decide, the "New York" pizza was ordered ($10)- wood fired dough topped with sausage, pepperoni, salami, mushrooms and block olives. Very good.

My brother came back from his meetings and was ready for dinner. We went to Blueberry Hill, a 24 hour, Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner place and he ordered one of each of the soups of the day-a tomato turkey and a beef zucchini; both were very good.

My nephew ordered this- fried chicken, mashed and vegetables. Gravy came on the side.

Along with a breakfast of corned beef hash, poached eggs and ribbon cut hash browns (aren't they pretty?)

I ordered a breakfast, because I wanted a blueberry muffin, grilled.

My brother ordered chicken fried steak. Which came with the gravy on it.

I started noticing flooring in the hotel. Like this birds eye view of hot dogs in the elevator. I knew I needed to sleep.

The view from the hotel room was glorious the next morning, only to be set aside by my dear brother and nephew both telling me "don't fool yourself Aunt Cathy, you snore"…

With that, we went bowling.

There was time for breakfast at the 24 hour coffee shop (Coco's).

As well as lattes and pastries from the Casino Starbucks.

But I did need to start driving home, and greatly anticipated my next stop.

In Baker. The Mad Greek.

A gyros.

A banana shake.

Home before sunset.

We hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Sab-E-Lee 2, Cathy’s visits, so far

December 3, 2009 Cathy Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!is a blog. About food. Written by various friends. Who don't eat out together much, if at all. We just write about our various adventures here. Today, it's Cathy doing the writing.

Hi. Things have been busy for me in the last month or so. Without getting into much detail, one entire day of my life was wasted spent doing my Civic Duty with this view and these vending machines.

On the plus side, I have at least a year until I have to do this again.

(for those of you who don't know, this is the East County Jury Duty room where you are instructed and then wait (and wait) to see if you are called to be screened for a jury).

So anyhow, Sab-E-Lee 2 has opened in my neck of the woods, Santee. It is, in fact, walking distance from my home, less than 2 miles away. It's just that it is uphill to go back, so I have so far only driven here for some meals.

I thought I would share what menu items The Mister and I have had here so far.
Pork Larb ($7.95), hot tea, sticky rice ($2.25). I got this on opening day. Kobe and the crew greeted me so warmly and it was very nice. The larb, of course, was excellent and really satisfied my cravings.

010 The next time, I went with The Mister for lunch (he has been working late and now seems to also get into work late…) and we each got a bowl of 'egg drop' soup, a chicken based soup broth (very rich) with tomatoes and onions. There was a lemon note to it and the egg part was very fine. It was not spicy, as Tom Yum Gai would be.

I got the salted fish fried rice ($8.95), which I had been craving. This also was something The Mister tasted and wanted no part of (more for me!). Perfectly fried rice intermingled with excellent salted fish (kind of anchovy- like in flavor) . This really is one of my cravings.

The Mister got one of the lunch specials- the pineapple curry with chicken ($7.95). This was something we never had had and it was very nice. Moist chicken, a rich, flavorful, coconut milk based curry. The portion size is very large, despite my wonderful illusionary photography skills.

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On this day, we splurged and got dessert (The Mister really did not want to go in to work). The mango sticky rice ($6.95), The rice is made with coconut milk, when you order it (takes some time) and the mangoes are in season and wonderfully flavored. A seemingly simple yet so complex dessert. A very nice treat for us.

The other evening, The Mister was leaving work late and wanted to know what I had for dinner…I told him "Sab E Lee". He thought I meant take out, silly man.

This is the Prawn Tempura from the "Nibbles" section of the menu. ($7.95)

4 shrimp and carrots, onion and broccoli light dusted in rice flour and fried to a good crispness. It was served with a sweet sauce which I tried but was just as happy eating it plain. Or with the sauce from our primary course:

Fish Garlic ($12.95). This was a catfish I believe. Topped with a wonderful garlic sauce, this seemed to be delicately fried and was served on the fish shaped plate on top of cabbage and carrots. It looks like a whole fish, but was boneless- and the broccoli taking the place of the head was so cute.

The Mister had been craving papaya salad ($7.95)and we had that as our 'dessert'. Spiciness level 2. We wanted to taste the ingredients…

That's all for now.

Sab-E-Lee 2

9157 Mission Gorge Road Santee CA 92071 (619) 328-1568

Open daily 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.

website