What Howie Eats – Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats – Page 2

El Roberto’s, The Battle of the ‘berto’s, and a contest

If you’ve been in San Diego long enough, or are an ex-pat San Diegan, all you need to do is mention the name of a taco shop that goes “Something” – berto’s……be it ‘Ai’, ‘Roi’, or the one and only Roberto’s, and the first thing that will come to mind will probably be a representation of the quintessential San Diego Taco Shop. Serving up stuff like California Burritos(carne asada & fries), Rolled Tacos(aka Taquitos), and the classic Carne Asada Burrito…or what Jay, proprietor of The Linkery, calls the ‘CAB’. I guess it just shows the power of branding….you can just add whatever prefix you want(within reason – I don’t think Rodent-O-Bertos would work real well, though the name Shigella-bertos has a ring to it), and suddenly you are a San Diego Taco Shop. Just looking at a list of current “Something” – berto’s goes to prove my point….they range from rather tasty(Hamberto’s anyone?), to something with a bit more action(Ramberto’s), to places I may give thought to before entering(Rigoberto’s). I can’t think of anything else quite like this….I mean there is 97 Supermarket, which looks strangely similar to 99 Ranch Market, and perhaps a few other examples, but nothing to the extent of the berto’s. I’ve personally tried to cook up a few similar schemes that have never panned out. I had the idea to hire a bunch of surly Chinese wait staff, buy as many “San Gabriel” sticky tables as I could, and bring in white paper-hatted Cooks with questionable hygienic habits, and open my Chinese BBQ, calling it Sam-my Woof BBQ, but that never panned out. I had the great idea(or maybe it was just brain freeze) of selling super tart fro-yo…..2 oz frozen yogurt, which you top, nay bury, with 6 ounces of various toppings (which you can buy in bulk from Henry’s), and selling it for $8 a cup….calling it Pink-buried. But as with many of these bright ideas…it just never took off.

Which leads me to El Roberto’s:

There I was minding my own business, in a strip mall on the corner of Murphy Canyon Road and Aero Drive, when I saw this sign:

Geez, I didn’t know there was a Roberto’s here…..my stomach started growling. As I walked up to the shop, the truth was revealed:

Hmmm, I didn’t see an L, um ‘El’ in front of Robertos on the large sign in the front of the restaurant. I got a chuckle out of that. Still, I decided, or my stomach decided, to grab a bite. The interior of El Roberto’s is simple, but man is that counter built high…..

The menu listed a good 15 or so burritos……..

I decided to order a Texas Burrito($4.10). A Texas Burrito, by San Diego Taco Shop standards is a Pollo Asado(chicken) and French Fry(yes, french fries) burrito, sometimes with Pico de Gallo(basically a tomato and onion condiment), and sometimes guacamole.

This was not a very good version of a Texas Burrito. The fries were fine, but finding any chicken in the burrito was an experience akin to finding “gold in them dere hills”…… What was worse was the very sour hot sauce….

But heck….something more than the “Something” – berto’s name keeps this place in business, right?

El Roberto
3755 Murphy Canyon Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

Have I told you about my latest project? It’s a chain I’ll call Cuy-potle, specializing in burritos featuring free-range, alfalfa fed, Cavia porcellus, humanely slaughtered. The burritos contain 1 ounce of Cuy meat, along with 16 ounces of various pseudo-Mexican sauces, rice, beans, and salsas..creating a boat-sized burrito that defies the term healthy eating! Hmmm, looks like I’ll need some help with this one…maybe the team of wordsmith Elmo Monster and marketing genius Eatdrinknbmerry will come on board…..we’d be unbeatable!

The Battle of the Berto’s:

So what about the Carne Asada Burrito at L El-Roberto’s, you may ask? Well, I did manage to try the CAB at El Roberto’s…recently, the one and only Howie who does the excellent A Foodie Eye’s View. Invited the Missus and I to what he called the Battle of the Bertos. We managed a tasting of 10 different Carne Asada Burritos, from random “Something” – berto’s around San Diego. It was a fun and interesting time…though I don’t think I’ll be having another CAB for a while!

So to quote Howie; “Which Berto Reigns Supreme?” You’ll just have to check out the results here. You can also vote on your personal favorite “Berto”. In case you were wondering, the Missus(otherwise known as The Missusberto), and yours-truly-berto came up with almost the exact same results in our blind tasting…..

And to add even more “cred” to the project, the Arbiter, was a vegetarian! Who deserves major props for first, dealing with a group of “crazed carne asada Psychos”. And secondly, for dealing with the “smell of grilled beef” permeating our very being……

And just in case you wanted to know what the post-bertos scene was like….this is the aftermath:

The Name Your (Faux)Berto Contest:

I’ve always poked fun at the proliferation of these “Something”-berto places. It is quite entertaining when driving to think up stuff like:

Vito-Bertos – “You better like our meatball burrito, or else….”

PETA-Bertos – At least you can be sure that the fur growing in your burrito didn’t come from a living creature…I’m sure that would be comforting!

I’m also sure you’re much more creative than I am, so come up with your best “Something” – berto’s name and tagline, and/or menu item, and send it to me via email at mmm-yoso@hotmail.com, I’ll pick my 3 favorite names, and I’ll also forward the list to Howie, to pick his 3 favorites…and I’ll send the winners a Peet’s Ecup of coffee. One winner per IP address, and try to keep it clean, ok? I’ll list the winners mid-week. The contest closes midnight on Sunday, 01/27/08…after all, I know you’re all creative geniuses, with an unending flow of ideas….and my personal CPU can’t deal with that!

So let’s see what Faux-berto’s you come up with.

Baby Back Jack’s Old Fashioned Broiler

February 20, 2007 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Sandwiches, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats

*** Baby Back Jack's has closed

A few months back Howie, who does A Foodie's-Eye View of San Diego's Best Restaurants mentioned "Jack's Broiler" to me in an email, about a month after, Candice, who posts in Oh-So Yummy mentioned Jack's Broiler as well. So during a recent weekend, we drove on up to Hillcrest and dropped by Baby Back Jack's Old Fashioned Broiler(whew, that's a mouthful) for lunch.

If I remember correctly, this used to be a Yogurt shop. The interior of Jack's goes for a mild "retro-old fashioned" look.

And tunes like Earth Angel and Venus in Bluejeans flow throughout the restaurant.

The menu is small, but covers very familiar territory, with everything from Hot Dogs and Burgers, to Baby Back Ribs.

On this visit, the Missus went for the 1/2 of Jack's "Famous Wild Chicken"($7.95). Check out the "wild chicken"……

Basically, a roasted half chicken that is slathered with BBQ sauce and heated on the grill. The chicken comes with Coleslaw and one "side", in this case the Missus chose fries.

The Missus told me the coleslaw wasn't really that great, a bit on the sweet side for Her…but She did scarf it up. I loved the fries, which were the skin-on natural style fries, with a chili-garlic-paprika seasoning. The Missus thought the fries were a bit on the salty side…but I finished them all up. Never got a chance to use the Ranch-style dipping sauce that was provided.

The chicken was quite large, and the Missus couldn't finish it.

On the good side, the chicken was large, and the meat moist through and through. On the bad side, the interior of the chicken was still slightly cold. And though the dark meat had some flavor, the white meat was bland. The BBQ sauce didn't do it for me either, it had a bit of a neutral BBQ flavor, but had a weird aftertaste, and left a strange coating on my tongue. Overall, this was quite a bit of food.

I had the "World Famous Beef Dip"($7.95):

Just by looking at it, you know right away…this ain't no "Philippe's". First off the "roll" was on very dry side, and the meat looked kinda, well, "grey", and was dry and tough. I enjoyed the "jus", it was beefy, and not overly salty…I used up all the jus and the Horseradish sauce. I think this is a bit over-priced for $7.95.

On a side note…guess how much the soda pictured on the side is? It's $2, for one of those plastic 12oz cups. Luckily, refills are free, but if you're doing take-out, forget about the drinks. The two sodas I ordered put us over the $20 mark for lunch.

But still….I really enjoyed those fries…..

So I returned for lunch when I was in the area recently. And since you just can't order fries…I ordered my fries($1.95) with a side order of a Cheeseburger($5.50).

Thought the fries were not as heavily seasoned as on my last visit, they were still pretty good.

After ordering, I struck up a short conversation with the "cook", who asked me how I'd like my burger, and though I'd usually ask for it "medium", I just told him to make the way he thought was best.

The burger was delivered dressed with lettuce, tomato, and slices of red onions, cooked just a tad on the "well" side, but the meat was moist, juicy, and had a nice mildly beefy flavor. At first I thought there was too much bun for the burger, but the bread had a nice pillowy texture. I wish the cheese was melted a bit better. I'd forgotten to tell him to skip the "sauce", which was a Thousand Island style dressing, but at least it wasn't slathered on, and the sauce was very mild so it didn't interfere with the flavor of the burger. Still, I usually like my burger without dressing. Not a bad burger, it's not going to set the world on fire, but it's pretty good, not as good as some, but better than many. I'd have it again.

As I usually do for "What Howie Eats" posts, I emailed Howie for His input. Here's what he said; "My fries were my favorite thing about the meal. I had the ribs, and they were decent, esp for the price." So there you go….

Baby Back Jack's Old Fashioned Broiler
1290 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Royal Spices Thai Cuisine

May 31, 2006 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats

**** This location of Royal Spices has closed

A few weeks ago Howie from A Foodies Eye View sent me an email, telling me about a new Thai Restaurant that opened up on Sports Arena Boulevard, right next to the L & L Drive In. So a few weeks back, the Missus and I decided to drop in for lunch. In retrospect, this might have been a bad idea, since we had just returned from a nice meal at Yai Restaurant in Thai Town.

Though the exterior is rather plain, and the dining furniture pedestrian, much care has been taken with the restaurant decor.

We were seated, and a thought entered my head. I inquired if this restaurant was in any way affiliated with the other 3 "Spices Thai" restaurants in the San Diego area. I think this was a bad move; I got an immediate "No, we are not" response, along with a rather displeased frown. We did find out that the Royal Spices had only been opened for 2 weeks at the time of this visit.

We looked over the sizable menu, and quickly noticed that along with the run-of-the-mill, you pick the meat, you pick the sauce/preparation type dishes, there a few interesting items.

We placed our order and some soup arrived:

A thin broth with the faint flavors of lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, and a few other items. No big deal really.

The Missus went with the "lunch special" of Red Curry with Battered Fish Fillet($9.95):

I did enjoy the 5 "mini-scoops" of rice, quite and interesting presentation. I won't go into the mediocre green salad, vegetable egg roll, or curry wonton. I'll just say, "why bother?" Now to the main course, there were two "half fillets" of battered white fish. Unfortunately, the fish had not been fried properly, it was dry, and the batter flaked off.

Having returned from Yai, where the medium heat was in your face, and pretty hot, we ordered the curry medium. It was probably the mildest medium heat I've ever tasted. The curry was disappointing, watery and runny, with an overly sweet taste. The julienned vegetables were cooked perfectly, though I wish that more then two little Thai Basil leaves were used for flavoring.

I ordered a dish from the "Chef's Special" portion of the menu; the Spices Thai Jerky(Beef – $12.95):

The presentation was again very "pretty". This dish came with slices of beef that had been lightly marinated, and though on the tough side, was fairly decent. It was nothing like previous versions of Thai Jerky that I've had; instead of the rich and pungent "jerky", this seemed almost like a "tweener", between Thai Jerky, and the Beef in Yum Nua. The beef could probably have used more assertive seasoning, and maybe a good amount of toasted rice powder to keep it interesting. The sauce provided, something called "Royal Sauce" was pretty good; a tart, tangy, and mildly sweet, chutney like preparation, it was the best item on the plate, and brought the beef up a level. The sticky rice was too moist. The dish also came with a Papaya Salad:

Though prepared well; the salad was in dire need of a "pungent" component. It was very, very mild, and too sweet and dry. More fish sauce, shredded dry shrimp, or some other fishy pungent flavor along with more "heat" would probably have made this a decent papaya salad.

The service on this visit, though a bit on the fawning side, was very friendly(after the initial Spices Thai faux pa). And I thought that perhaps the restaurant was still trying to find itself, and a few items had potential. So I recently dropped by for another lunch. And was seated immediately. Different crew this time, though still very nice. I decided to avoid any of the lunch specials and was in the mood for some noodles, so I decided on the Pad Woon Sen(glass noodles) with Roasted Duck($11.95). Ordering my Pad Woon Sen was quite interesting. I asked for the "Pad Woon Sen with Roasted Duck", now in the menu it's called "Jelly Noodles". So the Gal goes, "okay, jelly noodles with roasted duck". So I nod in agreement and go, "yes, the Pad Woon Sen, with roasted duck." So she responds with, "Got it, jelly noodles with roasted duck." I guess I'm not allowed to call it Pad Woon Sen……..

The ~~Pad Woon~~, ummm, Jelly Noodles arrived in a few minutes, piping hot. One the positive side, there was a pretty large amount of duck, probably the most I've had in a noodle dish, very tender and without bones. On the negative side, the duck was very mildly flavored. The dish was also on the oily side. Now I'm used to dishes where oil is used in generous amounts, but in most cases that dish doesn't taste oily; this did. I don't know if it was the large amount of duck, but there was alot of oil in the bottom of the plate.

The dish also featured a generous amount of vegetables, egg, and straw mushrooms. I wish this dish, along with the others eaten were more aggressively flavored. I was told that garlic was used in this dish, but couldn't taste it, nor much of any other "seasoning", including soy/fish sauce, or black pepper which is sometimes used to flavor this dish. But then again, that could be the difference between Pad Woon Sen and Jelly Noodles?

On this visit, service was again very nice, except I wasn't allowed to order Pad Woon Sen. Royal Spices Thai shows some promise, but I think they need to live up to the "spices" portion of their name. There are some interesting dishes on the menu like Royal Andaman Salad (Yum seafood). Prices range from $7.95 – $11.95 for lunch "specials", and from $8.95 to $14.95 for dinner entrees.

Royal Spices Thai Cuisine
3145 Sports Arena Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92110

Hours:
Sunday – Thursday 11am-10pm
Friday – Saturday 11am-11pm

Alborz Restaurant

February 23, 2006 mmm-yoso Greek Food, Persian Restaurants, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats

Earlier in the week we did a little window shopping in Solana Beach, and on the way back, I was quite excited to have a chance to have lunch at Alborz Restaurant, which came highly recommended by several People. Located in a strip mall overlooking the I-5 freeway Alborz can be a bit hard to find unless you’re actively looking for it.

I approached the Restaurant positively excited over eating Persian Food. I’ve only had Persian Food in San Diego, at Bandar, Sadaf, and Parsian Market. And my knowledge is pretty much limited to Chelo Kabobs, Shirazi Salads, and the like.

The humble facade hides a a very nice and well appointed interior. We were seated immediately, and looked over the menu. And flat bread was immediately delivered to the table.

Along with very pungent and strong raw onion. The large shaker of sumac was also a good sign.

We placed our orders, and were brought some nice lentil and rice soup; well flavored with cilantro and tomato, I really enjoyed the soup.

Up next came our appetizer. Now this is where I made a mistake. An acquaintance of mine told me to order something called Panir Sabzi($6.99), telling me it was a "salad" with goat cheese and walnuts. And me being the doofus that I am at times, really didn’t do any research, and was kind of confused when it was delivered to our table.

There was a small cube of feta cheese, some really good walnuts, scallions, mint, basil, and leek. The Missus and I looked at each other in pregnant silence, until we both broke out laughing. We were waiting for "something else". Having a total lack of any experience with this dish, and having had it described to me as a "salad" I was totally caught off guard. The last time I was served a plate of herbs like this, it accompanied a bowl of Pho’! My bad….. Finally we figured out that you slice off a bit of feta and walnut, roll up the herbs in the bread and eat it. The feta was too mild and totally lost, and the green onions overpowered everything else in the dish.

The Missus ordered the Lamb Shank($10.50):

The green bean rice was on the bitter side, and the salad was decent, though mild and in need of a good quantity of sumac. The lamb shank was delivered separately:

The lamb shank could have used a bit more cooking, but the texture wasn’t really bad, though the overall taste was a bit on the mild side. The sauce was well flavored and slightly rich, and the Missus enjoyed this the best.

I ordered the Lubia Polo($8.99):

The Shirazi Salad(tomato-cucumber salad) needed a bit more lemon/lime for flavoring, I ended up sprinkling alot of sumac on the salad. The tomato rice was delici-yoso when mixed with the layer of saffron rice, I finished it up in no time. The ground beef kabob was very moist, though very bland, again in need of alot of sumac. The charred tomato was quite bitter.

Though the food was decent at Alborz, I really didn’t think it’s worth making a special trip for. I did Email Howie from A Foodie’s Eye View, asking Him what he usually orders. He informed me, that He enjoys the Kobideh, Chicken Kabob, and the Eggplant Borani. I also asked a Co-worker who is Persian and lives in Del Mar, She also seconded the Kobideh, and also enjoys the Kebob Barg. I was also told that the food at Alborz is decent but very "tame". So maybe I’ll order one of those dishes if I’m in the area and decide to have a meal at Alborz again. Or maybe one of you can do that for me, and let me know how you like it.

Some notes on Alborz: Service was excellent and very friendly. I was amazed at how quickly we were served. As the pictures detail, the portions are pretty large, especially for "Lunch Specials".

Alborz Restaurant
2672 Del Mar Heights Rd
Del Mar, CA 92014

Post #201 – Ba Ren…Again

January 17, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats

Wow, time does fly. 7 1/2 months and 200 posts later, and I’m still here. Since I missed post number 200, I thought I’d do number 201 covering Our (still) favorite restaurant Ba Ren. I guess I’ve mentioned this restaurant in almost every conversation I have regarding Restaurants in San Diego, to the point that it even got mention in San Diego Citybeat. I really wouldn’t mind at all if you’re all pretty tired of my mentioning Ba Ren. But here we go again.

Fact is, I rarely ever bring my camera to Ba Ren anymore. Recently, we had a "meeting of appetites" at Ba Ren, with Ed from Yuma, mizducky who posts on Egullet, and the wonderful Gayla, who wrote up our Chowhound Feast at Ba Ren. And guess what? I didn’t even bring my camera; though I can tell you we had Ed’s favorite Rice Crust w/Three Delicacies(#181-$11.99), Gayla’s favorite Fish Flavored Eggplant(#201-$7.99), mizducky chose the cold appetizers – FuiQiFeinPein, Smoked Pork Tongue, and Dried Beef w/Sichuan Peppercorn(3 items-$5.99). You can view a few of them here. I got to choose the Sichuan Pot Roast(#127-$12.99), a not very spicy but very rich stewed pork shank and broth served in a clay "cauldron". The most amazing pork meatball also occupied the clay pot, oh yes, and Gayla, the round fishcake looking item was actually a boiled egg! Ed was looking for a fish dish that I figured out was the Liangfen fish (#409-$10.99), a spicy casserole with fresh red peppers, vinegar, and black pepper providing the palette of flavor.

So on this visit I brought my camera along; and guess what? We order almost the same items as my first post on Ba Ren. Oh well, here goes, I’ll just do photos without too much text:

Rice Crust w/Sliced Chicken(#184-$9.99):

Hot Pepper Prawns(#426-$14.99). Ba Ren’s Shrimp version of the Chongqing Style Chili with Chicken:

Don’t let the chilies scare you; yes it is spicy, but the smokey flavor of the seared chilies, and a slightly sweet flavor comes through.

Stir Fried Dry Beef(#324-$12.99). Ba ren’s version of the famous Sichuan dish Gan Bian Niu Rou Si, that uses the distinct gan bian ("dry frying") technique, unique to Sichuan cooking:

The heat hits you on all three parts of the tongue. The Sichuan Peppercorns numbs the front, the dried chilies the middle, and the chili oil gets you right in the back. Nice layers of heat.

And the meal is finished off with Eight Treasure Black Rice Porridge(Ba Bao Hei Mi Zhou):

Refreshing and soothing, a nice way to complete a spicy meal. The food at Ba Ren is Chongqing style, much hotter, and with a much more assertive flavor then food from the much more refined Chengdu style. Some other of our favorites at Ba Ren:

#135 Cold Chicken w/ Spicy Sauce
#141-#148 The classic dishes Boiled in Hot Sauce(often called "Water boiled")
#151-#158 Dry Cooked Dishes
#161-#171 Dishes cooked with Pickled Pepper
#193 Fish Filet Casserole(not spicy)
#403 Fish Flavored Chicken
#410 Twice Cooked Fish(A totally awesome dish)
#501 Ma Po Dofu
#552 Sichuan Cold Noodles
#563 Won Tons w/Hot Sauce

And many more……

But to quote a saying in Fuchsia Dunlop’s wonderful book Land of Plenty:

"China is the place for food
But Sichuan is the place for flavor"
"Shi zai zhong guo
Wei zai si chuan"

Ba Ren
4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Finally, I’d like to send out a most sincere Thank You to everyone who takes the time out to read my humble posts, I realize I’m not a food writer or food critic, and it’s not my intention to be one. I’m just a "food eater". I hope I’m able to keep this up for another 200, or more posts. Once, during an exchange of Emails with Howie of A Foodie’s Eye View, I mentioned my worry that I may actually run out of Restaurants in San Diego that I’m interested in. His response was, "You’ll never run out of restaurants in San Diego, but you may run out of good restaurants, but I hope not". I hope not either……

Mahalo!!!

Pho Hoa Hiep

January 16, 2006 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats

Now that Southern California winter has finally hit(that is a joke folks…); I can start making my rounds of the local Pho’ restaurants again. Also, in addition I though I’d try the Bun Bo Hue at restaurants that I’d only had Pho’ at and visa versa. Since I was in the neighborhood I decided to stop by Pho Hoa Hiep.

Pho Hoa Hiep, located in the same Linda Vista strip mall as Vien Dong Supermarket, can be somewhat hard to find. First off, the Restaurant is located in the far Northeast corner of the mall, away from Vien Dong, and across a Coin Laundry. Second of all, there’s another Pho’ eatery in the same strip mall called Pho’ Hoa, which can cause some confusion.

I usually have the #4 at Pho Hoa Hiep, which is the well done steak, flank, brisket, tendon, and tripe. But I had heard from Howie of A Foodie’s Eye View, and he had recommended the Bun Bo Hue as well. So I decided to get the Bun Bo Hue(small-$4.75):

Bun Bo Hue is a spicy, pork and beef vermicelli noodle soup, that originated in, where else, the city of Hue. Most of the Bun Bo Hue that I’ve had in Orange County, San Diego, and Los Angeles have been similar in several ways; the broth has almost always been a clear, fairly light broth dotted with chili oil, with spaghetti like vermicelli noodles, and always topped with cilantro and onions. Oh yes, and one more thing. It almost always comes with jellied blood; which I usually ask to not have added to my soup. I really don’t enjoy the gritty texture and metallic taste of blood.

Where Bun Bo Hue differs from Eatery to Eatery are in the garnishes. In this case a "salad" of greens, along with cross sliced jalapenos and a wedge of lime accompanied my soup:

And of course the shrimp paste with chili oil is another staple of Bun Bo Hue, I use it to dip my meat in, and to flavor my noodles and broth.

So how was this? The broth was nice and light, and though there looked to be alot of chili oil in the broth, it was not as spicy as I expected it to be. The noodles were "cut" into short strands, but that made it much easier to eat. The noodles also were a bit on the mushy side.

The meat in Bun Bo Hue usually includes a thick cut "brisket" slices or other well flavored beef, as well as either a pig’s feet or thick slice of pork leg. Pho Hoa Hiep delivered several slices of beef with a good amount of tendon, but overall quite tasteless. However, the slice of pork "leg" was very tasty and quite soft. Still, a pretty good bowl of Bun Bo Hue.

I also ordered the Goi Cuon(spring rolls – $2.80):

The spring rolls were "longer" then what I’m used to; almost 7-8" in length. Both the flavor of mint and a fairly large amount of shredded pork were very prominent as I took the first bite. These spring roll were much improved over my last visit.

During my latest visit, I reverted back to form and ordered a bowl of Pho’. Though this time I went with the extra large bowl of "Dac Biet"($4.75):

The Pho’ broth at Pho Hoa Hiep, is much lighter and less "oily" then most other Pho’ Shops, and very balanced in flavor. In many cases the flavor of ginger, anise, or cloves may stand out in a broth, at Pho Hoa Hiep, the flavor is slightly beefy, and you are really able to taste the pungent peppery-citrusy cilantro and the scallions. People who enjoy the Pho’ at Pho Hoa Hiep call it "refreshing". I’m not quite sure if that’s a particularly apt description, but there’s one thing for sure; the Pho’ here really depends on the garnishes:

Which includes lemon(?), bean sprouts, basil, and surprise(!) ngo gai(hallelujah). I rarely see ngo gai(saw-leaf herb) served with Pho in San Diego, so having it available is always a treat. Ngo gai has a taste much like a more pungent cilantro. Today, it really added nothing; I tore off a piece and had a taste, and it was much more "soapy" in flavor then what I’m used to. I added all the basil, ngo gai, and bean sprouts to my bowl of pho’. The noodles were the customary pho’ noodles, clumped up in a bunch at the bottom of the bowl.

As for the meats, I now remember why I usually don’t get the "rare steak" at Pho Hoa Hiep – it is extremely tough and dry. The tendon slices though, are cut to a nice width, and both crunchy and somewhat gelatinous to the bite.

Overall, not a bad bowl of Pho’ and also not a bad price. Between Convoy Noodle House and Pho Hoa Hiep; I’d say it’s a wash. Pho Hoa Hiep is also a bit cheaper. If you’d like to see what Bun Bo Hue in Vietnam looks like; Noodlepie has an example on his wonderful Blogsite that looks nothing like any bowl of Bun Bo Hue I’ve ever had. MEalcentric took a trip to Vietnam in August of last year and also did a post, and even posted photos. I’ve come to a conclusion regarding Pho’ and Bun Bo Hue. Though many of the ingredients are the same, no two restaurants taste the same. I guess I’ll just say "Pho’, it’s a state of mind"……..

Pho Hoa Hiep
6947 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

9910 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92131

Minh Ky Restaurant

January 5, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats

Minh Ky is a small Chinese-Vietnamese Noodle and Soup shop located on the corner of El Cajon Blvd and Menlo Avenue. In fact, Minh Ky shares the same strip mall with A-Chau, and a Vietnamese Market.

About 12 tables are lined against the walls and through the middle of the spartan interior of Minh Ky, and Chinese or Vietnamese music is a always blaring away. The one thing Minh Ky could use, is a revolving door for the steady stream of people entering and exiting the Restaurant.

I normally pay Minh Ky a visit during weekend mornings when I’m in the mood for some soup. Minh Ky is a good choice since they open at 8am on weekdays, and 830am during the weekend. And as strange as it may seem, I do enjoy a nice bowl of Combination WonTon Soup($4.75):

The Combo Soup, comes with a good portion of veggies, fishcake, shrimp, char siu, chicken, and most of all won tons. Today’s soup had 10 Won Tons in it! The fillings of the won tons at Minh Ky are pretty dense pork meatballs with a slice of shrimp; and are almost like siu mai in texture. The broth is a clear and mild chicken broth, I usually add a touch of soy sauce and some white pepper. Overall, a pretty good start to a Saturday for me.

There is a really amusing thing that happens to me at Minh Ky. Because most of the clientele is Vietnamese, I kind of stand out. And because I only eat here during the winter and spring, there is a "cycle of familiarity" that occurs during my initial visits. It usually starts with "Are you Korean?" And a short and fun conversation normally takes place, where I explain I’m Japanese, and so on….. It happens with most of the Employees, one by one. "But you look Korean……" And sometimes ending in "so you don’t speak Japanese" with a smile and a short negative shake of a head.

Once in a while I’ll get the Won Ton Egg Noodle Soup($4.25):

Again, a simple broth, lettuce, nappa cabbage, green onions, char siu, won tons(8), and thin crunchy egg noodles. A decent bowl for the price.

On this visit, the Young Lady found a novel way of taking my order. She was filling chili oil containers on a adjoining table and saw that I was ready to order. She proceeded to lean back on her chair, balancing on two legs, with a container of chili oil, smiling and turning to me said "combination won ton soup?" Okay, call me a creature of habit! "Um, no just wonton egg noodle soup, today." Show them who’s predictable….. And a free acrobatic/gymnastic show to boot!

On a recent visit, I even opened the menu past the first page and went over some of the 225+ dishes, and ordered the Combination Crispy Noodles($6.25):

I should’ve stayed with the soups, the thin egg noodles were over fried, powdery and brittle instead of crunchy. The beef was really tough, and there was too little of the sauce, which was very bland. I’ll stick with the soups.

It just so happens that Minh Ky is also a favorite of Howie of A Foodie’s Eye View of San Diego’s Restaurants. When I Emailed Him and asked what he enjoyed at Minh Ky, Howie stated: "I pretty much just order the rice porridge. It’s far and away my favorite porridge in SD. I always get it with the Chinese donut. It sounds boring, but it’s more flavorful than most Chinese congee. The broken rice, ginger, & fried shallots really help it. Great comfort food." So it looks like Jook and Youtiao for Howie. Thanks for taking some time to reply to my Email Howie. In appreciation, I’m starting a new category, called "What Howie Eats", I’ll include places we’ve discussed, and any recommendations that Howie has.

Some notes on Minh Ky: The strip mall that Minh Ky is located in has one of the worst parking configurations in San Diego. One of the aisles has no outlet, you have to back out of the parking stall, which leads to some interesting situations. I’ve seen a car trying to back out, while a car is waiting for the parking stall but because of the single aisle, the waiting car is essentially blocking the exiting car in. Nothing like a nice little showdown between two 3-4 thousand pound vehicles to start off the weekend! Many times vehicles will exit right over the sidewalk, straight onto El Cajon Boulevard. I usually park in the back, though you’ll need to avoid the large potholes and abandoned furniture. The back parking lot can also be quite scary at night. I usually order "tea" with my meals and they serve me a whole pot, and I’ve never ever been charged for it.

Oh, and as I was at the register paying…."Are you Korean?" You gotta love it!

Minh Ky Restaurant
4644 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Gaglione Brothers – And Three Rules

August 15, 2005 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Cheesesteaks, Sandwiches, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats

*** This location of Gaglione Bros has closed

Mahalo to Jack and Howie, who both mentioned Gaglione Brothers. Almost a decade ago I had a conference in Philly, so of course I had to try a cheesesteak. A friend of mine took me to two famous stands, Pat’s and Geno’s both with a huge line and you had to kinda know “the rules”, that is, how to order your steak, or you really got a hard time. Well I had this Cheese Whiz thing twice, nice, hot, and gooey, with the faintest hint of beef. And I thought, “what’s the big deal”? But a funny thing happened; about two days later, I’m still in Philly, and for some strange reason I’m craving a cheesesteak. Now I’ve only had this once in my entire life, why the heck am I craving it? I ended up getting a cheesesteak in downtown Philly; wasn’t much good, and it pretty much killed that craving. Until a day later, when I had a cheesesteak in Reading Terminal Market, this time with provolone, and I found my “cheesesteak. I’m convinced that there’s somethin’ in the cheesesteak; some insidious ingredient that after a short gestation causes an extreme craving for another cheese steak sandwich. Fast forward almost a decade later, and a visit to Gaglione Brothers:

This little shop with 5 indoor tables and sports memorabilia, local celebrity pic’s, and family photo’s decorating the walls, and an ever playing television, is located in a pretty secluded section of the Midway Towne Plaza in Point Loma. I had a bit of a problem finding this little storefront initially, but finally made my way there.

There’s a scattering of humor in the menu – for instance the “Sophia Loren” sandwich, is known as a “Hot Italian”. So I ordered a 12 inch Mushroom Cheese Steak ($8.65), which was made to order and ready in about 10 minutes:

This was a gloppy, messy, gooey sandwich, with a hint of “beefiness”. Nice and moist, and the mushrooms added a nice texture. It was filling as heck and left me ready for a nap. As I left the restaurant I thought “this is okay, but not something that I’d really want on a regular basis”. HOWEVER, about a week later, I’m driving along; and a thought enters my head. “Wouldn’t a cheese steak sandwich be really nice right about now”? And there it was again, that nagging craving for a cheese steak! Now I’m really sure there’s something to my belief in “cheese steak addiction”. So I drove down to Point Loma and placed my take-out order.

There were three problems with this sandwich; one was totally my fault, another was in the preparation, and the last was scenario based. The first problem; I ordered only a Mushroom Steak ($7.95), so there was no cheese, man I screwed up! Geeez, how can a cheese steak be a cheese steak, without the cheese. So no gooey, gloppy, goodness. And some of the taste was compromised. The second problem; the steak was too finely chopped. It resembled hamburger, not a cheese steak, and was dry and grainy to which I added spicy brown mustard to resolve. Which leads to number three; I ordered take-out. You see, I didn’t just order the sandwich, I ordered Garlic Fries ($1.95) as well.

There was a good amount of garlic and herbs on the fries, but not enough salt. But because I’d done this take out (15 minutes to home), the fries had gotten a bit limp. I’m sure they would be fine if I ate them in the restaurant.

So the three rules? It’s a cheese steak, so don’t forget the cheese! Hope that they don’t mince the meat too finely. And eat them at the restaurant. Can someone tell me what makes these so addicting?

Gaglione Brothers

3944 West Point Loma Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

(619)758-0646
Open 11am to 9pm Daily