What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed! – Page 14

Five Foodies Attack Tacos in Yuma

July 5, 2009 ed fromyuma Taco Shops, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Today ed (from Yuma) wants you to join Tina and him and some others for tacos. Kirk or Cathy will be your tour guide for the blog's next post.

Just like Chaucer's pilgrims headed toward Canterbury, true foodies all make a trip to that culinary Mecca of Yuma, Arizona. Okay, stop laughing – just kidding. But recently we were fortunate to have Rich Kaszeta, a professional bacon photographer (among other careers) and a food blogger from New Hampshire (Offbeat Eats) visit our desert metropolis.

Even though he claimed to be in town for work, it seemed like his real — though secret — purpose was to eat as much Mexican food as he could in a week. Micaela, her husband Brian, Tina, and I joined him for one evening of tacoing on 8th St (Calle Ocho).

Since we wanted to try places that the others had not visited before, we started at Asadero Los Compadres, which Tina and I had tracked down to its new location at the corner of 8th and 20th Ave: After we ordered the tacos, we were given a couple of squeeze bottles and a standard wheel of condiments: Certainly nothing very special here. The best, in my opinion was the pico de gallo (also sometimes called salsa la bandera): The yellow squeeze bottle contained guacamole sauce that was rather thin and not especially full of avocado flavor. The red bottle contained a very fiery salsa.

The only Agua Fresca available was a homemade jamaica: It was decent, but for me, nothing to write home about — but you never know about somebody whose home is in New Hampshire.

We each ordered uno taco de cabeza: uno de asada: y uno de pastor: My favorite was the cabeza, which was rich, soft, and deeply flavored.

Of course that preference may be because I misjudged how spicy the red salsa was, so my other two tacos tasted mostly like fire. Chewy and flavorful fire, indeed, but too saucy for me to discern much else. Kirk would have loved them. The general concensus of the others was that the pastor was good, and Rich and Tina, in particular, said the Asada seemed tender, smoky, and fresh. Perhaps that is a result of the outdoor grill on which the pieces of steak were cooked: After pausing to appreciate the sunset, which made even the parking lot of a service station seem kind of beautiful, we went off to the next place, Corona: (Thanks, Rich, for that photo)

To be honest, I had been a little disappointed in los Compadres, though that may have been partly my own overzealous squeezing. It had been good, but not outstanding, so I approached Corona with some trepidation; after all, I had not been that impressed with it on my last visit.

That just goes to show how little I know because all of us thought that Corona was, on this evening at least, the better of the two. Here, the condiments are lined up on a counter, but unfortunately my picture doesn't show the grilled jalapenos and onions: I started with a chicken taco and an Asada taco: We all agreed that the chicken was outstanding, flavorful, tender, and moist. The best chicken taco I've eaten in Yuma. While the Asada had a nice smoky flavor, it seemed a little chewier than the Asada at the first taco truck. I can't say more.

Before we began eating, someone said "Micaela's tacos are so pretty, you need to take a picture of them." So I did: And yes, those are beautiful tacos. And you can also see how much a person can alter/develop/influence the taste of his/her taco by choosing different combos of condiments.

As we were eating, every one was praising the pastor, so I had to have one of those as well. After decoration, it looked like this: Although the meat was a little greasy, the taste of the pastor was excellent — succulent, tender, smokey and fully flavored. In general, we thought it better than the pastor at los Compadres.

We also appreciated that a free bowl of beans came with each order:
While not the world's finest frijoles, they were still welcome. Of course, we could have added onion, cilantro, and roasted jalapeno etc to the little bowls, but none of us was thinking clearly that evening.

In addition, we all loved the limonada (oops, not pictured), though Brian and Micaela reported that the horchata was a little grainy at the bottom.

While these two trucks may not be the very best in Yuma, Rich assured us that they were better than any in New Hampshire. In any case, we all had a good time, and as Micaela said, "it's so nice to go out with people who don't think that it's weird to talk about food all night." Yup, she's right about that!

Sang Dao through Other Eyes

June 28, 2009 ed fromyuma Lao Restaurants, Thai Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Welcome to mmm-yoso!!! — Kirk's foodblog. Sometimes he lets Cathy post here, and today he's letting ed (from Yuma) post about a meal that you may have read about once or twice already.

On my last trip to San Diego, America's finest city, I fortunately arrived on the same day that Kirk, Howie, and Candice were planning a visit to Sang Dao, a Lao/Thai restaurant recently relocated on to El Cajon Blvd. I managed to finagle an invitation to join them there.

Like many good dining spots run by recent immigrants, it is located in a somewhat dicey neighborhood, between a gold buyer and a payday advance place: I never expected to post about the meal, but it seems that I took the most photos. Anyway, thought some readers might enjoy looking at more pictures of the food. But be sure to read Kirk's account of the restaurant and Candice's too – to get expert opinions.

First, the raw beef salad: In this case, my picture is not especially good although it does show the wealth of greens that accompany the salad. I thought it tasted fine and liked the slight background bitter touch of bile. It was was not as beefy and, mercifully, not as overwhelmingly hot as the version at Sab-E-Lee (prepared Thai spicy for Kirk) which he and I had enjoyed around New Years.

Next we were served spicy offal soup (anybody remember the name?): This was really good. The broth was deeply savory and lit up with chile spices. I kept shoveling various organ meats into my mouth, chewing them up, swallowing them, and going back for more. Even when I had no idea what I was eating: One dish that I wanted in particular was whole fish — which I guess is kind of an obsession of mine. I thought that the tilapia arrived looking very pretty: The taste matched the look of the fish. The first flavor notes that hit my palate were touches of sweetness, but the sweetness was nicely balanced with citrus flavors. The sauce did not overwhelm the flavor of the fish. I was also impressed by the quality of the frying. Though the skin was crisp, this fish remained moist from head to tail: Next to arrive was the offal noodle soup: This soup was less enticing to any of us. The numerous slices of liver dominated the flavor of the bowl. I crave liverwurst sometimes, but this soup proved that I am not a true liver lover. The super soft noodles seemed OK, but added little. I would try a different noodle dish on a future visit.

My only other complaint about the meal - the sticky rice tasted a bit dried out.

Candice insisted we try a red curry shrimp dish that she had had before. I'm glad she did. As you can tell by the brownish color of the curry, the sauce had intense and complex flavors. It was so good I forgot to take a picture until almost the entire serving was gone:
I should probably add that I was the one who finished off the last of this wonderful curry.

The final item served was certainly one of the most impressive. It was a chopped long bean salad prepared with Lao spicing: In some ways, this resembles an extremely funky green papaya salad. Look at the color of the dressing. The pungent flavor of fish sauce (and/or fermented shrimp?) infused every bite of the salad. The diced chilies raised the spice level high. But even with all these other flavors, the intense green bean taste and green bean crunch stood out in every mouthful. A texture/taste treat. For me, this was an amazing and exciting dish. Nothing like it in Yuma!

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed more pictures. And I hope Kirk, or Howie, or Candice feel free to correct or add to this discussion. Compared to most Thai food, this seemed more in your face funky with more salty than sweet flavors. I, for one, appreciated the extensive menu (unlike Asia Cafe), which seems to invite return visits.

When the bill came, we were all amazed at the low cost for the all the food we'd eaten. No need to sell that wedding ring or borrow til payday to have dinner here.

Sang Dao Restaurant, 5421 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego, CA 92115, (619) 263-0914 :

Two Gaijin (and Kirk) at Okan

June 22, 2009 ed fromyuma Japanese Restaurants, Memorable Meals, What Cathy Eats!, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Back in April, ed had the chance to visit San Diego, and Kirk, Cathy, and he realized that we had the same evening free to get together for dinner. The main question was, where? If memories serve, Cathy and ed had the same thought: let's get Kirk to guide us through a meal at Okan.

In general, both ed and Cathy are intrepid explorers of restaurants. But we had read about multiple menus, nightly specials, unfamiliar dishes, and a generally Japanese speaking clientele. For ed at least, the option of going it alone seemed problematic; plus Kirk always knows the good stuff (which is why all of us read this blog).

The only downside to getting together for this meal is that it is harder to concentrate on the food when carrying on interesting conversations — often about great food from elsewhere. Therefore, you will hear from all three of us in this post.

The first dish that ed remembers was a bamboo shoot preparation:

That's shredded gobo root and carrot alongside the big crunchy chunks of bamboo shoot. The flavor, if memory serves, was focused and simple and good. The thick cut of the slices emphasizes the goodness of the shoots.

The first brought out were two dishes, one of bamboo, not pickled, just fresh cooked and chilled bamboo shoots. Pleasant and crunchy. The other dish was non-fried/raw (?) gobo. (Fried gobo will be in another dish further down in this post) Cathy liked both and thought they were refreshing and fresh tasting. She is inserting two bad photos to show portion sizes…sort of. She and ed didn't pull out their cameras at first. Kirk was amused when both of them started snapping away.

Next came eggplant stewed in miso (help, am I right?): Again the preparations seem very basic and simple. Although Kirk and Cathy liked the dish well enough, ed tends to prefer eggplant that is more heavily seasoned since it is so much like a flavor sponge.

Then came some stew with tofu and God knows what else: Hmmm. Cathy thinks it was pork and carrots or yam with kuro konnyaku(yam noodles?) and the tofu. Whatever. She thought it tasted like home. A home that made really good, fancy, deep flavored stew.

When the Gobo root salad appeared, it looked amazing: Of all the things we ate at night, and we ate a lot of things, this was for ed the most memorable and outstanding. Nonetheless, like virtually every other dish, this was extremely focused, direct, and simple. The shredded Gobo root was sweet and crunchy and addictive. The lightly dressed greens (mizuna???) underneath were provided a wonderful contrastive tang, added to different type of crunch, and made the plate truly beautiful.

When this huge salad was first served to us, ed thought there was no way that all three of us could ever finish it. However, throughout the meal, all of us would go back again and again for the salad, using it almost as a palate cleanser and refresher, like gari at a sushi bar.

It was a light, delicate, yet wonderfully flavored crunchy. It also was about ten inches tall in its initial presentation. Cathy could have eaten it all herself but then would not have had the ability to try so many of the other items Kirk had ordered.

Next came (I think) fried chicken skin. That says it all, doesn't it? (I have no memories of this, but it's hard to imagine chicken skin not tasting good):

Cathy could have eaten two dishes of chicken skin. By herself. If nobody was around.

Chicken wings arrived next: Again the preparation was simple and straightforward. Maybe too much so for ed's taste which has no doubt been corrupted by dozens of buffalo wings over the years.

Cathy could taste some sort of marinade for these wings. Not spicy but nice flavor. You know there was no sauce to add to anything, and nothing needed to have the flavor upped or changed for this entire meal.

Coming from the desert, ed insisted on some fish dish. What arrived was a sizable chunk of mackerel braised in soy sauce: ed found the fish to be rich and deeply flavored. For him, this was another hit.

Cathy liked it. Cathy liked everything. We forgot to take pictures of the sake! It was in the cutest little self chilling carafe. It was *really* good. The top one on the sake menu. Kirk said something about it not being able to be purchased in the States. Cathy does not remember details…on with the food.

While the restaurant is certainly not a sushi bar, the one raw seafood preparation that we were served was visually striking and unusual: The octopus slices were paperthin, and the contrast between them and the individual suckers was nice.

Cathy's first taste of sashimi included octopus. She had it on her 18th birthday at work. This was even better because of the presentation. The delicateness made her have to eat it slowly and concentrate on the flavor as well as textural contrast. Here is her photo, and you can see the sake glasses in the background.

The bacon wrapped asparagus again was a study in simplicity: ed's memory is that the bacon was not heavily smoked and the asparagus was still crunchy and fresh tasting.

The bacon was not bacon-y flavored at all and somehow brought out a sweetness in the asparagus. Cathy usually only buys the thinner fresh asparagus stalks and will continue to do so. Those fat ones have to be prepared differently. This is a perfect vegetable. This preparation-and presentation- was perfect.

Slices of grilled duck breast, complete with a tasty strip of duck fat (ummm-duck fat), showed up next: Again the focus was on showing off the quality ingredient and not masking or altering its flavor.

Cathy liked this one also. The duck was on top of grilled green onions which did not impart a flavor onto the duck, but if you ate the onion, the bit of duck grease flavored it just enough to make the simple grilled scallion's sweetness come through.

The well marbled slices of cold steak continued the presentation of rich meaty items: Again, the preparation was simple, allowing the beef itself to show off.

The meal ended with unagi prepared inside of tamago: At this point, ed's mouth was suffering from taste fatigue, and his brain was overloaded with food discussions and perhaps sake as well, so he doesn't remember much beyond a basic sweetness and a certain complexity of flavor.

All in all, all of us enjoyed the meal. The food, in retrospect, seems to ed to be much like a Japanese rock garden or a rural Shinto shrine – simple, focused, beautiful, and rustic. The restaurant repeatedly presents simple down-home preparations that show off the quality and flavors of the ingredients used. Kirk says that Okan means Mom's. Well, it certainly isn't ed's mom's cuisine. Nor did Cathy grow up with anything like this. It was wonderful- and Cathy was so glad to go out and socialize with "the guys" .

Links to Kirk's post on Okan are here and here

Ah So Sushi and Steak: Yuma

June 16, 2009 ed fromyuma Chains, Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Mmm-yoso is Kirk's wonderful foodblog. Sometimes he lets Cathy and others share their meals with you. In his last post, ed (from Yuma) discussed a wonderful Japanese meal in San Diego County. This post is different.

Most of us Yuma locals were excited a few years ago when we got an allegedly Japanese restaurant: Some of my enthusiasm melted away when a group of us came in for a Friday lunch, and somehow my order got lost in the system. At first, the server didn't even seem to notice that one of us had not received a meal. When I finally tracked her down and re-placed my order, the food still didn't arrive. When I finally located a manager — and that required finding the bartender and explaining everything to him — the manager insisted that my wait was not extraordinary since the time on the computerized order was only 20 minutes previous. I had to explain everything twice, before he understood that I had been in the restaurant for nearly an hour and that my friends had already finished their meals and I hadn't gotten a simple sushi combo yet. I was hungry, and when hungry, I get crabby.

Nonetheless, I decided to give the restaurant another chance. I doubt if I will ever forget that visit as I sat at the sushi bar and ordered various nigiri. As the itamae was bragging that the chain had restaurants in 44 different states, he was preparing me an order of saba, pouring vast quantities of sauce over the fish. Why? One foul and nasty taste answered that question and told me that the fish was, like Nemerov's Goosefish,"most ancient and corrupt and grey." The horror. I shudder everytime I think about it. The single worst sushi I have ever been served. Ever.

Hope does spring eternal, however, and when I saw that Ah So had been voted the best Asian restaurant in Yuma, I decided to give it another couple of shots. Maybe it had gotten better.

When I showed up both times at lunch, I tried to come with an open mind. I was pleased that icewater arrives with a lemon slice that I didn't even need to request: The miso soup is consistently thin, light but balanced in flavor, and lacking almost any content except for a couple shards of seaweed, a few thin circles of green onion, and on one visit, a cube of tofu the size of a garden pea. Nonetheless, it was certainly satisfactory: For my first visit, I decided to order something safe, something almost impossible to screw up, tempura: At first glance, this looked okay. There were several sizable shrimps and assorted vegetable pieces nicely arranged into a tower on the plate.

But when I looked more closely, I couldn't see any of the delicate lace like crunchies that typify a Panko crust: Putting aside any concerns, I started with the onion ring; after all, I've liked almost every onion ring I've ever eaten, at least to some extent. Well, not this one. First, there seemed to be no onion, at least none that I could taste. In fact, the only taste the ring had was stale cooking oil and greasy breading. Truly unpleasant.

The next item I tried was a slice of, I think, sweet potato: What I mean is that it looked sort of like it had some sweet potato in at, but the paperthin vegetable was overwhelmed by the greasy coating.

After wiping the grease off my fingers, I attacked one of the large shrimp, biting off the end. But there was no shrimp there. The last half-inch of the shrimp shaped thing I had put in my mouth was simply breading. After I peeled off the dense exterior, my large shrimp turned into something slightly smaller than my little finger, a truly shrimpy shrimp: It was also desiccated and flavorless. Yuck!

When I was finished, I left behind a nearly full bowl of unappetizing breading: To be fair, I wanted to give the place one more chance, so I returned to try a sushi combo. The $12 combination arrived at my table looking very pretty: The chef had done a good job arranging the items so that the colors were balanced. It really was an attractive and inviting tray.

The California roll was decent. While the sushi rice could have been seasoned better, at least the roll was not packed with mayonnaise. In the mouth, I could not detect the flavor of the krab or wasabi, but the creamy avocado was pleasant and the cucumber crunch was a nice contrast.

The tuna, even with its neon pink color, was okay, although it finished with a slight background metallic flavor that I found marginally unpleasant. But mostly, it seemed a bit dried out and had very little flavor of any sort at all: Ditto the whitefish: It is possible that this was hirame, but it could've been any mild whitefish for all the flavor that it had.

One of the highlights of the nigiri was, oddly enough, the krab. This was good quality imitation crustacean and was the most moist and flavorful thing I put into my mouth during the entire meal.

The ebi was okay as well, though a bit dried out and having only a very mild shrimp flavor. Again, however, the item seemed severely underseasoned. This time after I only bit off half of the piece, I lifted the remaining shrimp off of the rice ball and discovered why all the nigiri had been exceptionally bland. There was no wasabi anywhere.

Perhaps the restaurant expects that its customers are going to drown their sushi in the brownish swamp that forms when you stir an entire serving of wasabi into a couple tablespoons of soy sauce. And maybe if I had done that, there would've been more flavor to each of the pieces — but not a flavor I enjoy much anymore.

The worst single piece of fish was the albacore: It tasted tired and a little off. It was also mushy in texture and left an unpleasant aftertaste that lingered long after the meal was finished. I hate bad albacore burps.

The salmon was certainly better than the albacore, but like so many other items, it lacked much depth of flavor, richness, or intensity. No way unpleasant, just passably mediocre: I saved the tamago for last. Mostly, it was sweet and dense. Still, not really bad at all. In fact, the sushi combination was adequate enough that I could eat it again, though most likely, not again real soon.

In other words, I still don't like this restaurant very much. So how did this place get voted #1? Well, it is located at the mall and seems to be a popular dating location. It serves alcohol. Maybe in the company of an attractive friend, after several beers, the food seems pretty good.

Still, I think the restaurant should change its name. Instead of "Ah So," how about "Ah Ful So So," or maybe "So So Ah Ful"? Those seem right to me.

Ah-So Sushi & Steak, 1325 S Yuma Palms Pkwy, Yuma, AZ 85365 (928) 329-7442

Omakase at Kaito

June 11, 2009 ed fromyuma Sushi and Sashimi, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Today it's not Kirk – it's not Cathy – it's ed (from Yuma) writing about another sushi experience in Encinitas.

Last time at Kaito was a Monday night, so I thought it would be nice to come by on a Thursday so that more interesting stuff would be available. Plus I wanted to put myself into the skillful hands of Morita-san and let him select all the dishes (omakase – though I don't always use that word).

The meal started with a shredded gobo root/carrot salad. It was subtly sweet and the light dressing let the natural flavors and mouthfeel speak for themselves: Next came two shellfish dishes. The East Coast clam lay on a bed of shredded daikon and shiso leaf, presented in the clam shell:
The sweet tender clam was good and very fresh tasting – though not exceptionally deep or rich – but it did go well, as Morita-san pointed out, with a glass of cold sake.

More interesting were the two items parked to the left of the clam:
On top is huge piece of Morro Bay awabe (huge by contemporary abalone standards, that is). Below it is what Morita-san called its liver. Like nothing I'd ever put in my mouth before.

The abalone was outstanding. It had full abalone flavor, and the knife work on it was exceptional. One could remove one chunk or a small row of chunks and pop them into the mouth. The fineness of the dice accentuated the super crunchy texture, but left the awabe still easy to chew.

The liver (who knew?) was a nice complement. While it looks funky, the texture was actually rich and smooth, and the flavor was mild and pleasant. Overall a nice match for the abalone.

The next dish was truly amazing and (for me) unique in many ways:
On the right is a salad made from kombu, with little slivers of mirugai, all brought together with sesame oil and sesame seeds. A bit salty with a pleasant off crunchy texture.

It was the little fellars on the left that drew most of my interest, however. Morita-san called them firefly squid, and said they were sourced from the seas between Japan and China. "In season right now."

These critters were so pretty in a bizarre sort of way that I can't resist a close-up: Again, these little treats were completely new to me. As I popped each one into my mouth and bit down, my mouth was filled with a subtle and rich creamy liquid. I don't have the words to express the oceany complexity of the flavor. If I say something tastes "porky" we all know what that means, but it is impossible for me to express the total uniquity of this taste. At the same time each one of these little guys was very tender with almost no chew. The bodies were like tiny flavor filled footballs, the skin having just enough thickness to hold in the innards.

At this point, I was thinking that it cannot get better than this. But the first piece of sushi that I was served showed that Kaito can hit back-to-back-to-back home runs: Yes, I know that this looks like an ordinary piece of hirame; in taste, however, it was extraordinary. As on my previous visit, the halibut in the nigiri sat atop diced shiso leaf. This time Morita-san added some extra touches. The slice of fish was hit with a splash of lemon juice, then he grated a bit of crystaline salt over it, and finally dropped a dollop of green chile puree on top.

The flavors seemed to dance in choreographed fashion over my tongue. It was like each flavor had a moment on stage, had its own solo, before the next player appeared. It ended with the pleasant tap dance of green chile heat. Wow!

The halibut was followed by some soy marinated tuna: In this case, the maguro reminded me of the presentation on my previous visit. Very good. Solid. But no striking difference.

On the other hand, the kohada on this visit showed off the quality of the fish: Kirk describes the flavor of this fish as milky, though I just detected a certain richness that preceded the full flavored fishy (in a good way) flavor. The essence of the sea.

On my last visit, I had been somewhat disappointed in the Kohada – not this time. Similarly, Kaito's anago (sea eel) was better on this visit. Since Kaito's website links to my previous posts, it made me wonder if the chef was going out of his way to show me how good kohada and anago could be:
For those of you used to unagi, this fish will seem leaner, but it is also fleshier and firmer with a more subtle and complex taste. Morita-san is careful not to overwhelm the delicate flavors with too much sauce. The crunchy, deep-fried spine pieces provided plenty of textural contrast.

The meal ended with rolls. The first was a hand roll with ikura, uni, and ika: As before, I was impressed by the quality of the nori. And the flavors went together very well, with the squid providing good chew, although my teeth tended to pull the slices of squid out of the roll, much like cilantro stalks in a banh mi. At this point I may have been suffering taste bud fatigue because I cannot remember the flavor of the salmon eggs. The uni was, as you would expect, rich and fresh.

For dessert, I was served six pieces of toro roll with green onion: OK, I know you can count, but sometimes the chopsticks are quicker than the shutter. Trust me, there were six pieces. This roll was a nice way to showcase the richness of the tuna belly and an appropriate ending to the meal.

I left happy, satisfied, and pleased. Compared with an omakase at Sakura, the emphasis here was on sashimi and sushi. Kazu at Sakura will always include several items from the kitchen even when he showcases his fish. Morita-san focused on raw seafood and displayed an amazing range of outstanding items. Service was as friendly and personal as on my first visit.

Kaito Sushi * 130-A N. El Camino Real * Encinitas, CA 92024 * (760) 634-2746

Mimi’s Café: Meals at the Faux Château (Yuma)

June 3, 2009 ed fromyuma American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Chains, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk eats at chains; Cathy eats at chains; today ed (from Yuma) will let you know that he sometimes eats at chains too.

After Mimi's Café opened a branch here in Yuma, I kept getting reports from friends who liked the food. So about a year ago, Tina and I descended on the restaurant to try a dinner.

From the outside, the place looks like a rustic châteaux (containing one or two small warehouses) plucked from the banks of the Loire and dropped into the middle of a large asphalt parking lot:

Inside, this same cultural/architectural mishmash rules. You have the parque ceiling (I believe this is the correct term) like a 19th-century French bistro in the main room: you have open beamed ceilings and a fake balcony (not shown) in the New Orleans room (a New Orleans room?): and then you have a Romanesque barrel vaulted area that would bring to mind a medieval monastery with electric lighting, if of course the bricks were real:
Nonetheless, some things about our first meal were very good. Along with rather ordinary French bread, we received two slices of savory whole-wheat nut bread: Tina's Mediterranean Chicken Fettuccine, though containing numerous ingredients, was focused and tasty:
The creamy asiago sauce, though a bit greasy, was not as heavy and rich as an Alfredo and didn't overwhelm the other flavors. There were just enough chunks of chicken, and the pasta, while not aldente, was not overcooked. Spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and marinated artichoke hearts added complexity to the flavor and color to the presentation. A few chopped fresh tomatoes cubes and shreds of domestic Parmesan lay across the top of the noodles.

My chicken piccata was an attractive plate: As you can see, the two slices of chicken breast, showing grill marks, and four well prepared grilled and moist asparagus spears were the culinary stars of this dish. What this picture barely shows, however, is that the poultry and the veggies lay atop a large mound of mashed potatoes. Now I love mashed potatoes as much as the next person, but I really couldn't understand combining spuds with an Italian style main course. In addition, while the flavors of everything worked fine, this entrée seemed to me to be as much a product of an accountant as a chef. The mushroom was very thinly sliced, only three capers dotted the meat, and the amount of lemony piccata sauce was slightly less than would be needed to flavor the two chicken slices. No sauce for the potatoes — though to be honest, they had a nice buttery flavor.

The side salad with ranch dressing was also decent. The nice lettuce mix had shredded carrot, a couple of cucumber slices, a few bits of diced fresh tomato, and three large mass-produced croutons. The amount of dressing seemed calculated to moisten the greens and veggies with nothing left over: I selected a glass of Sauvignon Blanc from the minimalist wine list and was pleased to see that the restaurant had figured out the glass-of-wine conundrum: What I mean is that serving a single glass of wine presents a restaurant with a problem. If it uses small glasses, the wine must be filled up to the brim, which all of us winos know robs the wine of fragrance. On the other hand, large stemware is much more expensive, and some customers feel cheated if the wine doesn't fill the glass. Here the wine was served in a small carafe so that no one would feel cheated, the restaurant could use inexpensive stemware, and a customer could swirl the wine around in the glass.

The service on this (and every subsequent visit) was competent, professional, and friendly–clearly the staff is well trained.

As you can probably tell by the tone of this report so far, I was both amused and impressed by the ambiance, the businesslike way that Mimi's was managed, and by the generally competent cuisine.

On subsequent occasions, we have visited the restaurant for breakfast, mostly because my favorite local breakfast place has gone out of business (RIP Arnie's). In general, our breakfast experiences at Mimi's have been hit and miss. A good illustration of this was my recent order of waffles with sausage and egg: The two sausages were large and good, with standard breakfast sausage spicing and a firm meaty texture — no greasy mouth feel at all. The waffles, while nice looking, lacked any crispness and were dense and heavy. The over-easy eggs were well past easy: However, their fried eggs here usually have a nice crispy edge to them: On the other hand, some of the items on the breakfast menu are truly mediocre. The orange juice is generic at best, the latte substandard, and while the blueberry muffin looks good: It is a reminder that at Mimi's sometimes looks are deceiving: The bran muffin, on the other hand, was outstanding (bran must be cheaper than blueberries): When Tina ordered the Cajun sausage with scrambled eggs and potato, the whole dish didn't quite reach okay. The sausage had a peculiar taste (to my mind at least) and the home fries were flavorless and crunchless: My Monterey Omelette (with which I had "fresh fruit" instead of the potatoes) looked very pretty, but was pretty disappointing: Instead of being light and fluffy, the eggs were two dense slabs separated by a slice of flavorless jack cheese dotted with bits of real bacon. The visible part of the omelette was covered with more of the mediocre cheese, the only slice of avocado on the plate, and an additional strip of bacon (which looked better than it tasted). The best part about this breakfast was the outstanding roasted tomato salsa.

Even the attractive fruit left something to be desired: The pineapple was still in its rind, and a couple of the almost hidden grapes were rotten instead of fresh.

On the other hand, some of our breakfast experiences have been more positive. The eggs ranchero bowl, though containing some of the mediocre potatoes, has been a really a nice take on Huevos Rancheros: The beans are black beans, the tortilla is crunchy, and the two salsas (one chipotle and one tomatillo) add two good flavors.

My favorite breakfast item has been the cinnamon raisin French toast: While the toast is not especially eggy, its whole-wheat raisin bread with cinnamon is very good. Unfortunately, on my last visit, this great item was missing from the menu. Who knows why.

Obviously, if this restaurant were truly bad, I wouldn't continue to try it again. I find the ambience and the decorations to be amusing and am impressed by the consistently good service. Occasionally the ambience, which seems like what you would find in an independent eatery, is almost enough to make me forget I'm eating in a chain: And then I remember that the wine advertised on the poster is not available at the restaurant and the homey photos on the wall are just stock pictures. All is as real as the bronze fiddler. At Mimi's, there often is less than meets the eye. More surface than depth. This is a restaurant run by illusionists and bean counters — but it must be said, very competent ones.

Mimi's Cafe Yuma, 1690 South Pacific Drive, 928-783-2680

Yummy Yummy Cantonese in Yuma

May 23, 2009 ed fromyuma Chinese Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk has his rotation, and Cathy has her favorites, but today, ed (from Yuma) wants to share info about his #1.

I guess I should begin this post by being completely honest. Yummy Yummy is my favorite restaurant on earth. Don't misunderstand me. It is far from the best restaurant I've been to or even the best that I have eaten at recently. It is far from unique. I suspect that there is a similar restaurant in many cities with a Cantonese community.

It also is not my favorite restaurant because of its sticky tables, minimal decor, or downscale location nearly hidden in a corner of Palm Plaza on Avenue A: Instead, it is the food that brings me back to this place again and again. So I want to share with all of you a guide to my favorite spot - so that you can enjoy the place almost as much as I do. Warning, this post is LONG.

To take one example, the kitchen shows itself to be excellent at deep frying. These two fried chicken entrées are among our favorites. In neither case is the chicken breaded because the chicken is fried so well that its exterior becomes fully crunchy: The yummy yummy chicken, the top picture, is chunks of boneless fried chicken topped with vegetables and crushed peanuts. I actually prefer the second of these dishes, simply called fried chicken and vegetables. Here the back half of a chicken is chopped into pieces, deep-fried on the bone, and topped with vegetables and a standard Chinese sauce. Like fried chicken and gravy — only better.

The frying technique even enlivens old standards. For years, I resisted ordering such an "ordinary" dish as sweet and sour pork, but when a friend wanted it, I got to taste it — and enjoyed it thoroughly. While the sauce breaks no new ground, the pork chunks are perfectly cooked — crispy crisp with no residual grease, each bite beginning with a crunch: This skill at the deep fryer also shows up in the tofu dishes, which will always be served fried unless you specify steamed tofu: I still remember dragging a colleague in here one evening and ordering a tofu dish to share as he was moaning and complaining that he hated tofu. Two bites only and his attitude shifted 180°. Why? The fried tofu has a perfect combination of creamy soft interior and thin skin with just the right bite to it.

Of course, discussing the find tofu dishes here brings up another aspect of the food at Yummy Yummy that makes the place a winner — they know how to use spicy chilies. Look at these two tofu dishes: The plate at the top is tofu and beef, cooked spicy, and the bottom one is tofu and vegetables, also prepared spicy. The family that owns the restaurant was born in Guangdong, but lived for several years in Mexicali, where Mary, the owner/manager/waitstaff, had an uncle who owned a Chinese restaurant. There the family learned Spanish and how to cook with dried red chilies.

The kitchen will also prepare spicy steamed tofu dishes. Recently, I ordered spicy steamed tofu with bbqed pork and received this: Wonderful spicy sauce and creamy tofu. Adding to the textural contrasts of the tofu, shiitakes, and chewy pork was the crunch of strips of pickled veggie (huh? never had that here before). But the slight sour tangy crunch was perfect in this item. Not as good as Kirk's mapo tofu, but about the best spicy soft tofu dish I've ever had at a restaurant.

In fact, most of the dishes on the menu, such as those spicy tofu dishes, can be prepared picante, even if that option is not listed as on the menu. I prefer the seafood combination plate made spicy: While the sliced fish balls and squid pieces are always perfect, sometimes the small shrimp and fish pieces need the added flavor of the chili peppers. I also think the krab here, the type that tends to be pasty rather than stringy, tastes better spiced as well.

The kung pao squid (also known as squid in spicy sauce) is almost always excellent, the tender chewy squid contrasting nicely with the crunch of onion and celery, the mild seafood flavor lit up by the picante chilies: Another favorite is the Kung pao chicken. Usually the tender chicken is highlighted by crunchy celery, water chestnut, baby corn, carrot, and onions: This dish is always a winner and shows off the deep intensity of the chili flavor that the restaurant is capable of.

Another of my favorite items is pork ribs in black bean sauce. On the old menu, it was listed as pork ribs with chilies in black bean sauce, and that is how I always order it. This entree brings together chunks of pork ribs, fresh yellow chilies, and outstanding black beans: Until Kirk provided me with a detailed description of which black beans to purchase at the Ranch 99 market, I was never aware that there was a wide variation from one type to another. Now I understand why the dishes at Yummy Yummy that feature black beans are always so good. Their beans are deeply flavored, soft in texture, and rich with dark chocolate flavor notes.

The black bean chicken with chilies is also outstanding: Another dish that uses black beans here is their version of shrimp in lobster sauce:
Unlike the bland and goopy versions often served, this preparation focuses on the flavor of the shrimp and vegetables, lightly highlighted by the eggy black bean sauce. Note, this dish is found nowhere on the current menu. When the menu was redesigned five years ago or so, shrimp and lobster sauce was left off. But it is still available.

Which leads me to another point about Yummy Yummy. If possible, the kitchen will cook off menu, and the menu does not reflect all of the items that are usually available. For example, the menu simply lists Chinese vegetables as an option. Occasionally, they have none, but sometimes Chinese vegetables can be baby bok choy in a ginger and garlic sauce: Or baby bok choy with barbecued pork (or with Chinese sausage or with beef or with chicken — however you want): Or bitter melon prepared with beef and black beans:
Or Chinese greens (Mary usually calls them choi sum) in foo-yee sauce:
Or green beans (or long beans, when available) in foo yee: This was an especially great dish. So good that I had to take a picture after I had already eaten some of it. These veggie preparations are such a treat for me that I almost always ask what is available that day.

Mary is also willing to prepare vegetables that I bring from supermarkets, from San Diego, or from the Asian market in town. In February and March, which is our local asparagus season, I will often bring in asparagus for the kitchen to prepare. Once recently, I had brought in some special dried Chinese mushrooms, and I was served this: Although I have ordered many dishes from the kitchen using steamed tofu (remember that fried tofu is the default option here), I have usually asked for the steamed tofu in a spicy sauce as shown earlier. This creation, however, focused on the silken smoothness of the tofu, which played against the chewiness of the mushrooms. The delicate and woodsy flavor of the shrooms added a rich subtlety to the tofu. This was another dish that I had never eaten before.

I just want to end this long post with pictures of a few other standard dishes that most of us enjoy at Yummy Yummy. For example, the garlic shrimp (this is at least a triple order)– marinated in garlic and Worcestershire sauce — make a good appetizer: While the chicken chow mein here is boring, the special chow mein is highlighted by a mixture of vegetables and meat:
Similarly, the chicken chop suey (one of the best choices on the $4.25 specials menu) is not as good as the fancier special chop suey:
Wonderfully tasty sprouts, and I particularly like the anise flavored Chinese sausage in the "special" dishes.

If you like beef, the Mongolian beef (no scallions, oddly enough) and the sweeter pineapple beef (pictured here) are both good choices: Beef, chicken, and shrimp are all available with the standard vegetables (usually with alot of broccoli) and are good and reasonably healthy: While not a favorite of most of my friends, the chicken and abalone is one I like because of the subtle blending of the chicken flavor with that of the canned abalone strips: As with the sweet and sour pork, I had never tried egg foo yung here until friends at one of our Yummy Yummy feasts suggested it. It is quite good also: Perhaps now, if you have read through this long post, you begin to understand why Yummy Yummy is my favorite restaurant. All the basic Cantonese standards are done well here. I get my Asian food Jones taken care of, my addiction assuaged. The kitchen is willing to work with customers and vary dishes on occasion. Virtually all items are less than $10, and the menu has specials for less than $5. Even though I have eaten at Yummy Yummy or taken food to go around 400 times, I still look forward to eating there again. If anything happened to this restaurant, my life would be impacted severely. I would not eat nearly as well, nor party as hearty.

Which brings up one last point. As I have become more familiar with the restaurant and Mary has become more familiar with me and my friends, she has been allowing us to bring wine and wine glasses for parties (in fact, my only previous YY post was about a meatless feast here back in 2007). I like to let Mary know in advance if a large group is coming and about any special requests we might have. So now, about once a month, a varied group of us will get together and feast; this lets us all taste a range of interesting dishes (and wine and friendship are good things too). Yummy Yummy is also about the cheapest wining and dining experience in town. And one of the best — at any price.

Yummy Yummy, 2241 S. Ave A, Ste 23, Palm Plaza, Yuma AZ 85364, 928-376-0419. Open 10:30-8:30 Daily

Meals on Wheels: More Carts and Trucks in Yuma

May 7, 2009 ed fromyuma Taco Shops, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk has survived Mexico City and enjoyed Guatemala. Cathy is traveling all over San Diego looking for food. But ed (from Yuma) is focused on a different kind of moveable feasting.

One of the best parts about living in Yuma are the mobile dining options — no, not eating in your car, but eating at one of the numerous informal semi-portable carts, trucks, or movable kitchens that dot parking lots and empty fields around town.

To begin with, I want to share a couple of photos of a campechana at Tio Juan's on 8th St (previous post). Their version tends to be the funkiest and fishiest around, which I think is a good thing. On my last visit, I found an unusual clam hiding in the clamato lime shrimp water:

This Mexican black clam combined a nice fresh flavor with a perfect texture, firm but not rubbery. The shrimps in the cocktail were, as always, perfectly cooked and pristine in flavor:

Often the seafood trucks, such as Tio Juan's and Juanita's, close around dinner time just as many of the meat carts are firing up their grills. One evening, we got lucky arriving at this hot dog cart (On Ave 5E close to Hwy 95) just as it was opening:

Only a few of the dogs were ready to eat, and some had just been placed on the comal:

Tina and I both thought that this was one of the better perros we have ever eaten:
The sausage was not overcooked or dried out, the chilied frijoles had a nice rich flavor, and the chopped green chile salsa packed a punch.

While there was no floor show this evening, there certainly was a beautiful sky show:

Another one of the pleasures of dining al fresco.

On another evening we enjoyed doggy dining at Rossy's on 8th St almost to C. It was a different style dog:
Unlike many other places where the customer is responsible for adding condiments to taste, the helpful ladies at Rossy's are happy to load up the bacon wrapped wiener with their favorite ingredients. The grill-charred onions were impressive, and the over-the-top toppings and warm steamed bun were the stars of this doggy delight.

Another place that Tina and I thoroughly enjoyed was El Pino, where the mobile kitchen sits outside an old house on 8th St, almost directly across from Pupuseria Cabanas:

Just as some carts focus on hot dogs, this place has its specialties as well. The taquitos (rolled tacos) here, filled with soft and flavorful mashed potatoes, are simply outstanding:

This is a dish difficult to prepare perfectly. Too long in the deep fryer and the mashed potatoes become dry and overcooked; too short and the rolled shells lack the requisite crunch. As Goldilocks said, this one was just right. The crisp cabbage and the creamy mayo and sour cream contributed to the contrast of textures. As plain as they look, these are the best potato tacos I've ever eaten.

Also outstanding was the horchata – thick, rich, and spicy with cinnamon:

In order to have a balanced meal, clearly we needed some vegetable, so we ordered coctele de elote, a corn cocktail:

Yes, there are numerous chewy whole kernels of real maize (not the watery/sugary American style sweet corn) underneath the butter, grated cheese, and crema. Really, trust me on this.

I eagerly looked forward to visiting Tacos El Jarocho at 24th and Pacific because
the proprietor used to operate a small restaurant (also called El Jarocho) that featured some of the most interesting, unique, and flavorful Mexican food in all of Yuma:

On this evening we had asada, carnitas, lengua, and cabeza tacos:
Except for the rich cabeza, none of the meats was special, and the range of condiments and grilled vegetables was limited. I also missed the standard amenities, such as chairs and tables. Maybe my expectations were too high, but this was a bit of a disappointment. Still, it'd be a good place to pick up a quick taco – or two.

In contrast, we were delighted by a visit to this nameless two truck Mexican establishment at the far end of what is going to be a taco cart food court on 8th St just beyond Avenue C :

Earlier in the year, Tina and I had tried Los Compadres in this lot, before that truck relocated. The lot is large with several cement pads and electrical hookups, so I expect this location will feature more food choices down the road.

I checked out the grill before we even sat down and was impressed by the asada and the cebollitas rojas:

We decided to start with an aguafresca as the restaurant had its fruit drinks out on display:

We picked mango and loved it. Full of tropical flavor and dense with mango fruit, this hit the spot:

Then the complementary Mexican red, white, and green onions arrived:

These were wonderful. As I bit off the head, the moist bulb squeezed out of its skin and plopped into my mouth. It was tender, smoky, and sweet. Followed by the soft flavor and aromas of roasted green onion. Yep, better than good.

Next came the beans. A mixture of two varieties, these were a step above the usual:

Then the condiments, which were nothing special, though the salsa had a round almost sweet mild spiciness:

They were followed by the tacos, which arrived in shiny packaging, glittering like the stars of the show:

The asada was very beefy with the lightest touch of seasoning:

The pastor, grilled of course, was tender and likewise mild in flavor:

The cabeza was enormously rich and densely meaty. The emphasis in the prep was again to highlight the flavor of the flesh:

Just to prove that we balance the carne with condiments, here's a typically decorated taco:

Our meal here was $18, and we felt we had gotten a good deal. All the flavors had been natural and fresh. Although little English is spoken, little Spanish is needed to receive friendly service and good food.

And that is about standard around here. I am always welcomed at these little places, and I usually enjoy the street food. I guess that's why I kinda hate the term "roach coach" because all these places seem clean, and most of the food is made with care and love.

Culinary Arts Dinner at AWC: Yuma

April 28, 2009 ed fromyuma What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk is off in Central America. Cathy's in San Diego. And ed (from Yuma) had a meal in Yuma he thought you might enjoy.

Getting a meal at a cooking school can be a great experience. Your feedback can help an aspiring chef hone her or his skills. At the same time, you often get an excellent meal at a bargain price. I still have fond memories of a duck breast in cherry sauce at some culinary Academy in Columbus, Ohio, 30 years ago.

Even before I moved to Yuma, I had heard about the culinary arts dinners at Arizona Western College. Every spring semester, the wannabe professional cooks prepare multicourse dinners for a few fortunate customers. These days, the events are not even advertised since the tiny dining room holds only 24 guests.

On a recent Tuesday evening, Tina and I and some other friends (including Ms. K, an old chum of Tina's, who was visiting from France) sat down expectantly for a meal. All that we knew was that cornish game hen would be the main course. Soon, each of us was served a charcuterie platter, featuring pâté, galantine, and homemade sausage:

The meats were accompanied by lightly dressed greens and a creamy mustard sauce. While not overly rich, the pâté and the galantine (which has a light bread crust) were subtle and mild, with complex porky flavors. K was very impressed that she was being served gallantine out here in the southwest corner of the Arizona desert. My favorite of the three was the sausage, the heartiest and most deeply flavorful. Altogether, this was a mighty impressive starter.

The celeriac and tart apple salad – not so much:

I appreciated its vegetably crunch, and the flavors of the root and the fruit complemented each other. The light dressing stayed nicely in the wings. But it was just too much unvaried crunch for my palate. Perhaps the celeriac could have been shredded finer, as K thought. Perhaps I am simply complaining about the size of the portion. The first quarter of the salad tasted pretty good actually.

Just before the soup course, the bread bowl showed up:

This was decent herbed bread. The crust had a light crunch and the moist crumb had a good wheaty and herby flavor. Good fresh bread.

And then came the cream of wild mushroom soup, which just blew me away:

For the only time in the evening, the portion seemed small. But it is truly unfair for me to complain because this was a mind boggling mushroom soup. The flavors of cream, dried thyme, and marsala wine worked in the background. In the foreground was the amazing flavor of puréed wild mushrooms. Unlike the mushroom soup at the Better Half, which was primarily portobello, or the soup at the Radisson in Yuma, which was dominated by porcinis, this one was redolent with mixed exotic mushrooms – criminis, shiitakes, oysters, and even morels. A bouquet of flavors.

The main course arrived looking beautiful. Three crispy tender green spears of asparagus lay on a large roasted game hen that had a nice browned breast. It lay on a bed of rice/wild rice stuffing, and the plate was color balanced by some beautiful ratatouille:

To my mind, the poultry was perfectly cooked, moist and tender. At least as well prepared as the half hen at the Better Half. The wild rice combo was very good, if not quite as rich and complex as at the Better Half. I kept thinking "what are the odds having these 3 same things in two meals . . . ?" I guess I shoulda played the lottery.

One of the highlights on the plate was the ratatouille, something not paralleled in the other meal. K thought that it was slightly underdone, but I actually appreciated the freshness and complexity of this mixed vegetable dish. While each vegetable had been cooked so that none was crunchy, none was soft either. It was also a very attractive side:

The meal finished with desert. The menu said it was going to be cheesecake with fresh berries, but sometimes locating truly fresh berries can be problematic in Yuma. So desert looked like this:
The lemon cheesecake broke no new ground, but it was rich and the touch of tangy lemon nicely highlighted the sweetness of the cake. The chocolate dipped strawberry was, well, a decent chocolate dipped strawberry. The raspberry coulis made the little plate pretty.

All in all, this was great dining. Not every dish was a home run, but for $25 (total, no tax and no tip), the meal touched all the bases. Nobody left hungry; in fact, most couples had about an entire game hen with sides leftover for future meals. The service, provided by the students, was professional. If only they let us bring in wine . . .

Crêpes ‘n Cafe: French Cuisine in Yuma

April 5, 2009 ed fromyuma European Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

This is Kirk's wonderful foodblog, mmm-yoso, where Kirk and friends share food experiences that range from ohso yummy to ohso different. Today ed (from Yuma) wants to share a place with you folks that is both yummy and different.

[Sad to report that this place is closed. Supposedly, the owner is looking for a restaurant location]

Great News!! The truck has moved out to Foothills and is now at 11350 Fortuna Rd. It's open 7am to 7pm Tuesday through Sunday with much the same menu. 928-785-7581.

March 2011 update: The truck has now gone permanently. Too bad.

The most recent news concerning the culinary scene in Yuma is the grand opening of our first authentic French restaurant, one with an actual French person as the chef. Who would have thought such a thing was possible here? And who would've thought that our first French restaurant would look like this?

I recently pulled into the parking lot outside the Del Sol Market at the corner of 16th St and 4th Ave, hungry for breakfast. Almost instantly after placing my order with the waiter/chef/owner, I received a cup of the coffee deluxe($2):

This cup of powerful and dark coffee was topped with whipped cream and chocolate chips and dusted with a generous shake of cinnamon. But the beverage was just the introduction, for soon I was presented with this crêpe, adorned with whipped cream and fresh blueberries: The first time I ordered a meal at Crêpes 'n Cafe, I was surprised to receive a squarish packet because all of my previous (limited) experience with crêpes was with the rolled variety, the ones that look something like enchiladas. I have since learned that this rectangular style of crêpe is very popular in France and is called crêpe de Bretagne since it is a specialty of the Brittany region.

But one does not discover the real joy of any of these tasty treats, until one cuts into them and exposes the secret interior: This one was filled with fresh blueberries and blueberry juices ($6). The flavor match was nearly perfect as each bite began with sweet blueberry goodness, but finished with a slight tangy tartness that refreshed the palate. A perfect breakfast — way better than a Danish.

But crêpes are not just breakfast food, and in fact, the majority of items on the small menu here are savory crêpes. Unlike the sweet crêpes, these are made with a buckwheat blend flour and are always accompanied by a little lettuce for textual contrast:

In fact, this is the first one I ate at the restaurant, and it is called the Jacky ($5). As you can see, it contains mushrooms, cheese, and garlic:
As I started tasting this wonderful concoction, I realized it was love at first bite. The classic flavor profile of cheese and garlic made my mouth truly happy. So happy, in fact, that I went for hours without brushing my teeth just so that taste would not go away.

Very similar in flavor is the crunchy ($5), which gets its name from the breadcrumbs that accompany the cheese, garlic, and olive oil:

Another favorite is the Popeye ($6), in which the cheese is complemented by sour cream and spinach. After finishing this one, Tina's first words were, "we've got to go back to this place again." "Soon."

Another savory variation is the blue potato ($6), a combination of potatoes, blue cheese, mushrooms, and sour cream. The chef has mastered balancing the ingredients, so that the cheese flavor extends throughout the crêpe without stifling the other tastes:

Another style of crêpe is what I call dessert crêpes. Of course, they would be great for breakfast too. One of the most beautiful is the "no comment," a delightful combo of whipped cream, white chocolate, and sliced fresh strawberries:

It tastes as good as it looks:
A good way to end this post is by a look at another true dessert crêpe, the bourse ($6), which means purse in French. The word also means stock market, but clearly the healthy shape of this treat precludes that meaning: This particular crêpe is always filled with ice cream and whipped cream. While sometimes done with chocolate syrup, the day I ordered it, the bourse was covered with strawberry syrup and tied shut with a whip of red licorice, making it almost as attractive as it was sweet and flavorful.

Cut into, this purse spilled its contents over the paper plate:

Now that looks more like the stock market!

For the most part, I think this little crêpe cart is a wonderful addition to the Yuma dining scene. Everything I have eaten from this place is well prepared and very tasty. The flavor combinations are classics, and are classics for good reason. Except that sometimes the line of customers and the wait for the food get too long, the place has few shortcomings. Opening daily at 7 am, it seems to stay open through the dinner hour. Crêpes 'n Cafe is both very good and (at least out here in the desert) very unique. Vive la France!