What Cathy Eats! – Page 97

Pete’s Meats- Italian Sandwiches on India Street

October 27, 2008 Cathy Italian Restaurants, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog. About food. Written mostly by Kirk with the help of ed (from Yuma) and Cathy. Kirk is in Thailand. Still. ed is in Yuma. Still. Read about Cathy's adventures.

Hi. Pete's Meats is -and has been- located in this nondescript storefront in Little Italy across from Filippi's. In this area of town with all the fancy Italian themed restaurants, Pete's is one of very few places I consider not pretentious and just good.

It used to be a butcher shop and a lot of the original shop paraphernalia is still inside-more to the back of the store.

There are usually two tables out in front.

Inside, pretty much as nondescript, as you can see from this view from one of the back tables.

The simple menu is right there-above the grill, in front of the barstools. Sandwiches- hot or mild sausage, meatball, steak, eggplant. Each $6.95. You can ask for half and half if you would like.

(There used to be a Spitini sandwich which is now covered over on the menu- veal and prosciutto, rolled around a mix of cheese, parsley, onions, tomatoes, pine nuts and currants: heaven. It always cost about $2 more than the other sandwiches, could not be gotten as a half sandwich and was wonderful…)

ANYHOW…This is a photo of half of an eggplant sandwich-grilled, thin sliced pieces of eggplant with grilled onions and peppers, some marinara and topped with Parmesan. Pete's Meats 002

This is a photo of half of a mild Italian sausage sandwich. The same fresh roll and toppings. The sausage is made in house and is *excellent* with the wonderful fennel that compliments the pork.

You can buy canned regular or diet Coke and bottled water as your beverage. That's it.

Limited menu. Done perfectly every time. A San Diego Institution.

Pete's Meats 1742 1/2 India Street San Diego 92101 (619)234-1684 Hours Mon-Sat 10-5, closed Sunday.

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Thai Style- In Santee

October 26, 2008 Cathy Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thai Style has closed, but remains a Thai Restaurant, the location of Sab-E-Lee, East

Welcome to mmm-yoso!!!, the blog about food. There have been some issues with Typepad (the blogging tool) this weekend and I apologize if things do not look the same. I am still blogging about things I have eaten.

Hi again. Cathy here. Kirk is still in Thailand and e-mailing me almost daily and I must admit I am not only envious, but *craving* Thai-spiced foods daily (when I am not craving Italian or Mexican spiced foods, anyhow). Thai Style I know people are critical of Thai food in San Diego and I am now reiterating that I blog about the taste of the food and if I like it or not.

Thai Style has been in Santee for about a year now, having moved from its El Cajon Boulevard at 70th location, where it had been a mainstay for many years. This makes it the second Thai restaurant in this East County city. Run by a very nice family- Joe, the husband (from the Lanna area of Northern Thailand) and His wife, Kham (from Laos), striving to make good quality Thai foods available for East county residents. Thai Style 009

The interior of this location is much larger than the old place, with seating for at least 46 people.

The interior is nicely decorated and there are two televisions inside, neither of which have been on when I have come here to eat in or take out.

Of course I always get hot tea to drink and here it is bagged jasmine.

We started out this dinner with Som Tum -papaya salad made with tomatoes, garlic, chili and lime juice, topped with peanuts. ($7.95). Of course you are asked what spice level you would like (1-5) and The Mister is having some issues with peppers of late and we asked for a "2" and it was still too hot for him and right on the edge of not being able to taste all of the ingredients for me.

I ordered the chicken larb (also at a level 2) ($8.95) and this was excellent, made with green and red onion, cilantro, mint, rice powder, chili and lime juice and served with a small cabbage wedge.

The Mister played it safe for himself and ordered the Rad Nah with beef ($8.95) -pan fried rice noodles with carrots, broccoli, garlic and a black bean based gravy.

The wide rice noodles were just a touch pan fried and slightly crispy and very nice. The sauce was excellent and complimented the beef.

I had to get the panang curry, because I really like it here.

A very rich, slightly sweet and spicy coconut based curry sauce with green beans, carrots, red and green bell peppers and basil.

Served with rice, of course.

There is a lunch menu, Mon-Fri served from 11a.m.-3 p.m. which are served with soup, a fried vegetable wonton, salad and rice (or noodles when appropriate) with prices from $7.95-$10.95

Thai Style Restaurant 9159 Mission Gorge Road Santee 92071 (619)328-1568

Lunch M-F 11-3, Dinner Mon-Fri 5-9 Sat Noon-9 closed Sunday website

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Easy Enchiladas

October 24, 2008 Cathy Cooking, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by and visiting mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. If it’s Friday, Cathy is talking an inexpensive ‘recipe’…

Hi. Time for another $5 Friday-a meal for two for less than $5. These are just things I cook you know. I like the flavors of enchiladas but sometimes don’t have much time to make them properly, individually rolled up. OK. I haven’t made ‘proper’ enchiladas in years.

The main "hint" I can tell you about making enchiladas is to briefly dip the corn tortillas in hot oil. Just a few seconds; flip it..

Then dip the still-dripping- with-hot-oil tortilla into warm enchilada sauce.

In this case, I was using green sauce, but you can use red sauce, whichever is your preference.

Oh. These can be your main ingredients, along with grated cheese, corn tortillas and some oil (used above).

Put one layer of the sauced tortillas on the bottom of a baking pan (I use a 9×11 glass pan). Toss on some grated cheese (I use sharp cheddar, but you can use a cheddar-jack mix or a "Mexican cheese" mix).

Here is variation #1: top the cheese with canned green chiles and chopped olives.

and/or, variation #2: some leftover cooked chicken

and/or, variation #3: leftover shredded beef (from a pot roast, maybe?)(next week).

Do the same (oil, sauce, cheese and topping) for at least one more layer.

The pour any extra enchilada sauce on top and put cheese on the top layer. I end up using at least 3/4 lb of shredded cheese for a 9×11 pan.

Since everything is cooked, you just pop in the oven until the cheese is melted, maybe 20 minutes in a 350° oven…look at it…You’ll see when the cheese is melted.

I serve mine with some sour cream on the side.

Viola! Hop everyone has a good weekend.

Snack Time- Tapioca Express

October 23, 2008 Cathy Chains, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is the little blog, written by some friends who use it as a bizarre outlet to only talk about food they eat. Enjoy reading.

Hi. I’ve been a little busy lately and still find time to eat. A lot of the time what I eat is not a meal, but a bunch of snacks. Boba houses abound, and I tend to just stop somewhere when I am hungry and see one. Here is a synopsis of a quick lunch. I apologize for the photography now; I did not use flash and should’ve used the camera in my mobile phone, which has turned out better photos in the last few posts.

Tapioca Express is a franchised outfit, with many locations in California, Washington, Nevada and Texas. I go to the one on Convoy, in the mall with no parking available, ever. Each location of Tapioca Express has a bit of a different menu, but the food is prepared fresh to order and sometimes I don’t need much.

The menu is on the wall and *only* the far right column is food items- the rest is beverages available.

Yes, beverages.

Overwhelming variations of juices, teas, coffees, icy, shaved ice, yogurt frost, and "snow bubbles"..not even mentioning the addition of boba or jellies, sweetened or not, milk added or not, hot or cold…

I never can decide and get the hot coffee milk tea. (Yes, I end up getting an "everything bagel" when I go out for the same reason.)..The Mister ordered a cold sesame mango iced something. I always ask for no added sweetener. No need. Each of these beverages was about $3. Boba costs and extra 50¢ and just doesn’t seem to do anything for me.

I always get the fried tofu (~$3). I get mild or medium spicy, because I like the taste of tofu. Go figure.

All the snacks are served in bags with bamboo skewers so you can grab and eat.

At some point, I use the skewers like chopsticks because it is silly to keep poking in the bag.

Crispy calamari rings (~$4). All the snacks come with a choice of spice level. Mild. Trust me. The hot just overwhelms everything. There is a lot of fried squid rings in here and I like the flavor of squid and breading. {The medium is right on the edge of being too spicy hot.}

A variety of dipping sauces are available, provided by Sysco. Sweet and sour and ranch dressing. They are in focus when in front of you.

Oh, what is that in the back?

Potstickers. This plate is $4.75 and a meal in itself. Ten pork and cabbage filled pockets of goodness, steamed, pan or deep fried, served with some steamed veggies (broccoli in this case) and a soy/vinegar/garlic dipping sauce. Very good.

This is a particularly bad photograph of the crispy chicken. The bag is a very large handful size and costs about $4. The chicken is, as with everything fried here, in a light batter -almost just flour- with a choice of spice level and in the case of the chicken, also fried with basil leaves for flavor…and the fried, crispy basil leaves are in the bag and so tasty.

There are also rice plates available which are quite large and filling and everything is at most ~$7. I do like the coffee shop/wifi/quick food aspect of this place. Supposedly the snacks are similar to those in Taiwan. I wouldn’t know, but that’s what the website tells me. I have heard the food at other locations is not good, but have never had a problem at this one.

If you haven’t tried the snacks here-or from any boba or tea house, you should. You will enjoy it.

Tapioca Express 4646 Convoy San Diego 92111 (858) 636-7889

website

Ikea, again- dinner items

October 20, 2008 Cathy European Restaurants, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! A blog. Seemingly random posts about seemingly random meals written by seemingly anonymous people.

Hi again. Cathy blogging, because Kirk is in Thailand and ed (from Yuma) is in Yuma. I am here, with a camera inside a phone and a bit too much free time on my hands.

The Mister and I were hungry the other evening, again, and were in the vicinity of Mission Valley when the pangs hit. We looked around and-there it was- a furniture store!

But, Ikea is not only a Swedish based furniture store, but also serves up some tasty food, ostensibly to keep you in the store and relaxed while shopping for flat packed, oddly named furniture you assemble yourself with a L-shaped tool called a hex key(Allen wrench)and the help of drawings as your instruction.

Hot items are served cafeteria style in a steam tray area. There is always a variety to choose from, (the cooked salmon plate is wonderful) (so is the stew), as are the fresh vegetable side dishes and the macaroni and cheese, but The Mister (and I) enjoy the basic 15 meatball plate.

15 meatballs (mostly ground beef and spices, no fillers) topped with a cream gravy and served with skin-on mashed potatoes and a side of lingonberry sauce. $4.99 and always good.

You can buy a bag of the frozen meatballs and two packages of gravy, as well as lingonberry sauce, jelly and concentrate downstairs in the "Swede Shop" just past the check out registers so you can enjoy this meal at home anytime you get a craving (you can easily make some mashed potatoes, right?).

There is an area of refrigerated glass cases where you can choose from desserts, salads, wraps and sandwiches. I got the gravad lox plate ($4.99) Two slices of excellent gravad lox served with a creamy mustard sauce, lettuce, fresh dill and a lemon wedge.

You can also buy frozen gravad lox in the Swede shop.

We also decided to share a shrimp salad ($3.99). About 50 small, but flavorful-small, shrimp served on a bed of mixed greens, tomatoes and cucumbers. There is a station of sauces and dressings near the beverage area. The ranch seemed to go best, but I tried the Italian and French also.

The dishes and tableware are all sold in the store, as are the chairs and tables in the eating area. Kind of good way to see what you would like to buy. Or not…

Ikea San Diego 2149 Fenton Parkway 92108 (619) 834-1520 website

K Sandwich- Breakfast goodies.

October 19, 2008 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is here, a blog about stuff we eat. Kirk is in Thailand and ed is galavanting in Yuma…and both are preparing to blog about more of their meals. Today, it’s Cathy talking about something she ate.

Hi. Here I am again and there you are, reading and thinking about what you want to eat today or tomorrow. Kirk has blogged about K Sandwich numerous times, mostly in posts about various banh mi.

This post is just about breakfast items at K. There is a steam tray area and some prepared items to grab and go also…which I will talk about in another post.

Fresh squeezed Orange juice ($1.95). Very sweet (in a good way) and pulpy; the way I like it. Coffee with milk (sweetened condensed milk) $1.95. You can get the coffee hot or cold.

The bacon and egg croissant ($2.25). The croissant is lightly toasted, the eggs are whipped and slightly scrambled, the bacon is thin and not overly flavorful. There are two strips on the sandwich. An "inside view’ of the ham and egg croissant ($2.25). Same, fresh croissant with the same two lightly scrambled eggs and two slices of ham.

The pate chaud are always on display in the glass case next to the register, keeping warm. Only $1 and *so* worth it. I hope this cross section view (taken after a bite or two) (sorry it isn’t a clear photo) portrays the light airiness of the pate/pastry and the ground pork filling. You can see it isn’t greasy, or the bottom would be soaked and falling out; it never is.

If you really can’t decide, you can get a Super Breakfast Sandwich, on a croissant or baguette -a baguette as long as an old iBook computer- for only $3.35. Two slightly scrambled, fresh cooked eggs, ham, bacon and cheese in a fresh, warmed baguette.

Near the back of the store, the fresh bread is available for $1.25 or three smaller sandwich size rolls for $1 and croissants are also $1 for the plain and the filled (chocolate, chocolate with cream cheese, strawberry with cream cheese, pineapple with cream cheese and sometimes blueberry with cream cheese).

The ham and cheese baked croissant, also sold in the bakery area, ($1.25) looks like this on cross section. An excellent, fresh and flaky grab and go snack.

There you go. Breakfast. Have a good week.

K Sandwich corner of Convoy/Linda Vista at Mesa College Drive Open at 6 a.m. Mon-Sat, 8 a.m. Sunday.

Easy, inexpensive mabo

October 17, 2008 Cathy Cooking, What Cathy Eats!

Yep, you are looking at the food blog named mmm-yoso!!! Today, Cathy is ‘cooking’ a meal for two for less than $5. It must be Friday.

Hi again. Time to make some good food easily. OK, you could call the process lazy. It still ends up being tasty and won’t cost you much money.

These three ‘ingredients’ are staples in my home. The House brand mabo tofu sauce is regularly priced at $2.49 at 99Ranch Market. Tofu can be on sale for as little as 79¢ and fresh thin egg noodles are at most $1.50 in the refrigerated section. You’ll only use 1/2 the package of tofu and noodles. You’ll also need one small handful (a little less than 1/2 pound) of ground pork, which is $1.69/lb at 99Ranch.

Brown the pork, don’t drain off the grease.

Add 1/2 package of cubed tofu and brown it with the meat and grease. This gives the tofu some flavor.

The sauce is in a tightly sealed foil packet (a good thing to keep in the earthquake kit, BTW) and can just be cut open and poured over all and heated through. Set aside.

In the meantime, you should be bringing some water to a rolling boil. Drop the thin egg noodles into the boiling water for about 20 seconds. Rinse in cold water.

{I know this goes against what I told you about wheat and flour pasta, which you put into salted water and don’t rinse. This is a fresh egg noodle. Different rules.}

Serve the warm sauce over the cooled noodles.

Viola!

Ra-Ka-De-Ka .. Sort of Thai ..sort of fast food…sort of good(if you order properly)

October 16, 2008 Cathy Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is about food that Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy eat. Sometimes we eat good stuff, and sometimes it is not so good. We tell you about it in any case. Cathy is talking today.

Hi. Since we all know Kirk is in Thailand ( I have emails to prove it), I had an urge for some Thai food. The Mister and I went to Sab E Lee this past weekend and then had occasion to go to Ra Ka De Ka, a two location San Diego chain, this week. Since I had been here a few times this past summer, I had photos and thoughts already written down about the food here.

Hot Basil Beef ($7.50)

It is served this way, in the to go boxes, even when you eat in. There is a choice of jasmine or brown rice. The beef is tender, and mixed with bell peppers, onions, carrots, garlic and basil leaves. Hot as in temperature, not spiciness.

Tastes very good and fresh. Vegetables are crispy and not overcooked.

Fresh Spring Rolls-($4.95) Shrimp, tofu, carrots, lettuce and glass noodles wrapped in rice paper. Cut into nine pieces and served with hoisin, sriracha and peanuts. Enough to be a meal: fresh and tasty food.

Thai iced tea and Thai iced coffee. $1.95 each. Don't bother. Way too sweet.

Pa Ram Chicken($6.95). Grilled chicken on top of broccoli and carrots, and a peanut sauce that really was just too sweet. The ingredients were fresh…but mixing the chicken with these Spicy Noodles ($7.50) which were made with beef, basil, green peppers and egg gave the chicken and broccoli much more flavor and diluted the sweetness of the sauce.

The chicken bowl -which is an all day special- is a very good deal at $4.95-a slow cooked chicken thigh served with steamed broccoli and carrots on top of a lot of brown rice. Fresh and tasty food (the chicken thigh is very moist and flavorful), again, not particularly Thai.

The best and most authentic Thai food here is called Lettuce wraps. This really is chicken larb and if you get it medium or hot in spice level, is excellent. Diced chicken with onions, mint, cilantro and lime juice ($6.95) and excellent. A lot of food.

The panang curry is good, as are the red, yellow and green curries. The cooks are Thai and do know how to make things correctly, but you really have to ask and indicate spice level does not matter. The ingredients here are all very fresh and it almost tastes like "healthy" Thai…maybe "Thai Lite" better describes it. There is a brisk, constant business and people seem to really like it here. It does serve a purpose and isn't bad. If you think of it as good, fresh, healthy food, and not as particularly authentic Thai, the prices make it a very good deal. I don't think Kirk will come here when he has a craving though…

Ra Ka De Ka 10450 Friars Road 92120 (619)521-4810

4508 Cass Street (Cass and Garnet) 92109 (858)581-1954

website

Chopstix Too, a second time

October 15, 2008 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

You are reading mmm-yoso!!!, a little blog about food. Kirk and ed (from Yuma) and Cathy mostly write here about food they eat. Since Kirk is in Thailand and ed (from Yuma) is in Yuma, Cathy is writing today.

Hello. This place has been written about before, by Kirk and I. It was almost two years ago though, so I figure I can revisit with you. Since The Mister seems to have the flu, his taste buds are shot and he has been wanting items with strong flavors as well as texture, so here is a sampling of two meals at Chopstix too.

This is what the building looks like at about 7 p.m., when it is already dark out here.

It is in the same parking lot as Mitsuwa, Staples, the place which used to be the "Technical Bookstore" (today it was called "Book Off") and a Starbucks as well as few other businesses, across from In-N-Out in Kearny Mesa.

I always get hot tea (50¢) and it is a good, strong, brown rice based one, brewed and not made with a tea bag tossed into a pot of water.

Some of the meals include a small bowl of miso soup, with 'crunchies' (and not tofu) added.

It is a strong, not salty miso.

Some meals include a salad, which has shredded lettuces, red cabbage and shredded carrots. Dressing is brought to the table separately.

The mixed tempura appetizer ($7) includes three shrimp, two onion rings, shredded carrot, squash, broccoli and carrot and is accompanied by a fresh, warm tempura dipping sauce.

The breading is delicate and light and crunchy.

One night, I got a combination meal which included the salad, three pieces of a "crunchy roll"(tempura shrimp, avocado, fake crab inside and a spicy as well as tempura sauce and crunchies on the outside), sesame chicken (breaded and fried delicately and topped with a not too sweet teriyaki sauce) $7.50

The Mister, in his quest for flavor, got the ika curry – a lightly breaded and fried squid cutlet accompanied by a medium-hot chicken curry sauce which included potatoes and carrots as well as onions. ($6.50)

One Friday (when I don't eat meat, just in case…) we went and I got the Butter Corn Miso ($6.95)- a large bowl of vegetable-miso based broth with udon noodles topped with onions, bean sprouts, carrots, corn and that hunk of real butter seen at the top of the photo. I was pleasantly surprised at the mix of flavors and textures as well as the filling up I felt while I tried to finish the bowl.

The Mister got his "usual" -mabo ramen ($5.95). Ramen noodles topped with a pork and tofu based medium spicy mabo sauce.

Most of the time, he walks in, sits down and pretends to look at the menu for a while. He pretty much always ends up ordering the mabo ramen.

Chopstix Too 4380 Kearny Mesa Road San Diego 92111 (858) 565-1288

Big Joy Family (Bakery & Cafe) (dot com)

October 13, 2008 Cathy Bakery, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog, mostly written by Kirk, along with some friends. He is almost at His vacation destination with The Missus and has no internet access. You get to read about what Cathy eats in the interim. The title of this post has to do with their signage…

Hi. Not long ago it was the "seven days of feasting" when The Mister and I celebrate the week between our birthdays with at least one meal out a day…he gets to choose the first three days and I get to choose the last three. The middle day we have to both agree upon. So anyhow it was his turn. Again. He likes sweets. Why play games?

If you have ever been to Phuong Trang, you've seen this place. It is right next door. We would pass by, after having our fill of (middle of the road) food and look through the window. For years. We took a chance one day…and return here as often as we go to French Cake. The influences here are Japanese and Korean, an interesting mix.

If you haven't been paying attention, I do not crave chocolate. Don't expect to see any in this post. I chose this cream filled stick ($2.25) It is about 12 inches long and since we were eating in, it was served to us cut into six pieces. A non-sweet whipped fresh cream inside a light slightly bread-dy textured, faintly sweet tasting shell.

I, of course, got a hand drip coffee (large $2.95). Served with real cream and whatever that stuff in the colored packets is…

The Mister wanted a mango banana smoothie (large-$3.95) served in this very cool looking tall glass. It is made with Monin mango syrup and a real banana. He also wanted a small plain frozen yogurt ($3).

I decided I wanted to try a red bean topped flaked ice (small-$3.50) which is also topped with tapioca like cubes, small rice cakes (mochi) a red bean powder and a scoop of very nice, rich vanilla ice cream. This is more than enough for two. The large is served in the same size bowl but has two more scoops of ice cream. You can also get fresh fruit and green tea powder as optional combinations. I_dont_eat_sweetsha_005

The real reason we came…on Friday and Saturday only, the bakery makes an organic raisin walnut bread. $2.75. We ate one loaf, sliced for us and served with an *excellent* salted creamy butter. We got another loaf to go. It has a crispy crust, with a soft textured, light, non bulky wheat interior, filled with plump raisins and crispy nuts.

All of this food was less than $22 total, served to us, fresh and wonderful. We did not go out to dinner that night.

You can see other items made here on the website. The cakes are beautifully decorated. Just walk in and try something. There are comfy tables and chairs and free wifi M-F.

Big Joy Family Bakery and Cafe 4176 Convoy San Diego 92111 M-Sat 9:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Closed 1st and 3rd Mondays each month. (858)627-0888