yoso-silly – Page 15

Merry Christmas

December 24, 2016 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Hard to believe….this is my 12th Christmas post. And while that first one was just a plate of cookies…..well, let's go for something a bit grander. Like maybe Kyoto?

We did our usual Christmas Lights drive between storms…..

And there seems to be more decorations this year……

We also bought Da Boyz some fairly ugly sweaters. Frankie must have really hated his since he ended up rubbing it on the walls until it got stretched out. Looked like he was wearing an "Ugly Curtain".

Sammy….well, just kinda accepted things.

Anyway, from the gang here at mmm-yoso!!! We hope you have a safe, wonderful, and most of all…delici-yoso Christmas!

Sunday Stuffs: Yakyudori’s Empire Expands with Yakitori Hino, Yet Another Poke Place Opening, and Just in Case You Need Some Camel Milk

May 15, 2016 mmm-yoso Desserts, Japanese Restaurants, yoso-silly

Yakitori Hino Coming Soon:

I noticed the "ABC" notice on the window of the former location of Mama's Grill.

A closer look revealed it's going to be "Yakitori Hino" and the owner is "Yakyudori Inc".

Interesting…..I'm going to have a bunch of questions for Taka-san next time I'm at Taisho. Though with the owner of RakiRaki opening a Yakitori shop and now this; I'm wondering when we'll hit critical mass.

7420 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Also, in the Same Strip Mall…..:

A location of the Creamistry is opening.

7420 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Poki One N Half:

Speaking of critical mass….. Yet another poke (not poki) place.

Yikes…..

This used to be the old Subway location in the same strip mall as Mitsuwa.

8055 Armour St
San Diego, CA 92111

And just in case you need some Camel Milk:

You now get some, albeit frozen at Bristol Farms.

If you're as curious as I am about camel milk, there's some info here. The Missus was really up for buying some, until She saw the $18.99 price tag…… So maybe you can tell us how it is. I've eaten camel and really didn't think it was that good; but we loved riding them in Tunisia.

Revisits: Pho Fusion, Pho Express, and the “Sign of Doom”.

April 17, 2016 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants, yoso-silly

To get this out of the way. Yes, today we had record high temperatures, and yes, I'm still going to post on pho……

Pho Fusion:

It's been a good three years since I last visited, so when the last storm system moved in, I decided to drive on over and see what was up with Pho Fusion. Apparently I wasn't the only one as the place filled up pretty quickly.

I was quite hungry so I started with the "Popcorn Chicken"

The batter t meat ration slides on over to the batter side on this one. If you like that kind of thing, you might enjoy this, as it's very crunchy. The "spicy mayo" was typical. It's not overly salty, but does get a bit crumbly as it cools. The would be pretty good beer food.

The Pho – #14, was decently priced for the area (small – $6.49.)

The sprouts and herbs were minimal, but like previous visits, a request for more was nicely accepted. The broth was slightly cloudy, but not heavy in MSG, the flavor was light, not veering too much in anise nor sweet flavors, though rather light in the beefiness department. It was rather light in protein, of which there was shortage of tendon and tripe. The noodles were in the typical clump, though not over cooked. This was "pho not to offend" on the right side of the scale as was quite evident from the crowd.

The service was nice…..even when that D-Bag of a customer knocked over a glass of water and while the guy was mopping it up told him, "don't forget to get me another glass of water".

Pho Fusion
8038 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Xpress – Mission Gorge Road:

Man, it's been five and a half years since I last visited, though Cathy's been here about four years ago. I was in the area on a recent morning with some time to kill. A bit hungry, I decided to drop back in to Pho Xpress. The whole strip mall was undergoing an exterior refresh at the time of my visit. This being around 0900, I had the place to my self.

As with our previous visits, the pho was decent, though it's not as rich, nor quite a beefy as it used to be. While the herbs and sprouts were lacking, the basil was especially fresh. The rare steak was presented nicely, not yet overcooked and dry and as a whole everything else was quite good. Not amazing, but quite solid if slightly heavy in MSG. The noodles were perfect.

A decent bowl of pho overall. The service here is still "A-B" – all business.

Pho Xpress
6533 Mission Gorge Rd
San Diego, CA 92120

While leaving the strip mall on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard after my visit to Pho Fusion I took a quick look at the strip mall sign and was quite surprised. Take a look…….

Most of the restaurant listed are gone; some of them have been closed for quite a while…..

In fact, we've posted on the three places listed on the sign that are no longer there, Cathy has done Sushi Hut and I've posted on Aria and Mercury Grill, places that have been gone for years! I think Sushi Hut is not Hielo, Aria is now Chaba Thai and has been for almost three years, and Dumpling Hut took the place of Mercury Grill last June.

What's up with the sign? Could it be the mall owner is being cheap? Could it be that being on the sign is a curse….and they're hedging their bets by just saying "Mexican Restaurant"? Or….perhaps…maybe we're the curse since we posted on those three places and they closed? Hmmmmm…..I think some of the other businesses are gone too……strange…..

Noodling Around: Tim Ky versus Minh Ky

January 31, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants, yoso-silly

Man, it's really blowing outside. Cathy sent me a message saying the power out in her part of San Diego. I hope everyone is keeping warm and out of the wind!

Two weekends ago, I went up to Mira Mesa to get a haircut. I'll usually hit up a place for breakfast before my haircut; Pho Cow Cali or Pho Lucky. This time around I thought it was time for a revisit to Tim Ky which I thought was pretty good when I first visited, but was quite pedestrian on my last visit. It was fairly early, so just simple won ton and dumpling egg noodle for me.

This was pretty good, Better than what I had the last time around. The broth was light, pork-chicken, with just a touch of oil, savory, and not overly salty this time around. The charsiu was on the bland side and the two won tons were on the tough side, the 4 dumplings were also kind of chewy. The egg noodles were quite nice, good chew. Nice and simple, a nice breakfast. This got me wondering if this might be better than the version at Minh Ky.

Tim Ky Noodle
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

So yesterday, before the storm moved in; under the overcast sky, I headed up to Minh Ky.

And while I usually order the Beef Sate Noodle – Dry here; I went with the won ton and dumpling egg noodle soup. Which, while packed with stuff, looked quite light.

The differences were quite striking. The egg noodles here were not quite as yellow as the version at TimKy and also thinner. It was also nice and al dente, the noodles probably went to MK as did the charsiu, the dumplings, and the won tons which were much more tender that I ever recalled having here. Perhaps getting here before the crowds descend (0830) makes a difference?

I think the broth at Tim Ky was slightly better, mainly due to the richness, but overall, I still think Minh Ky is better overall.

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

It was fun doing a nice simple comparison which started with going to my haircut appointment. My hair didn't fare so well. The guy who's been cutting my hair for ages; I'd followed him all over the place, Mission Valley to Serra Mesa to El Cajon to College to his uncles house (during a bad spell he was pretty much homeless) to Rolando, to Oceanside, then most recently Mira Mesa. Unfortunately, he had just quit the day before….and I needed to get my hair cut, so I had one of the other guys cut it…..so I now have quite the buzz. The Missus gasped when I got back home….but hey, it's hair, it'll grow back. One of the guys at work asked me why I just didn't shave my head…..looking at him (balding), I just said, "hey, I get to prove that I actually have hair…."

2016 Rose Parade Float Decorating and other year end activities

December 26, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Burgers, Chains, Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, primarily a food blog. Now that Christmas is over, Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are relaxing. Cathy is switching into overdrive, because she's been following traditions which continue until the 12th Night after Christmas Day.

On the drive home after The Mister and I had another non-traditional Thanksgiving meal, we talked about our next drive to Pasadena which was almost a monthly road trip this year. I had signed us up to volunteer to decorate Rose Parade floats back in June, choosing a Saturday in early December. When we arrived to check in, fellow blogger, Dennis, was also at the Rose Palace decorating barn of Phoenix Decorating Company, fulfilling one of many items on his "Bucket List". The view from the floor when we walked in is amazing.

There were two floats still under construction ( sponsored by United Sikh Mission, to the right in the above photo)… and this one, sponsored by Farmers Insurance. This float, mentioned/pictured in my October Road Test post will be following behind the main part of the Farmers Insurance float.

It was a day of preparation of dried flowers (so they could be pulverized in blenders and then the powder glued onto the floats), 'beaning' and 'seeding' and various jobs involving glue. More soothing and meditative, not the frenzy of fresh flower preparation (including the filling of thousands of vials with water) which begins today and continues until judging on the 31st. Taking a break, Dennis and I climbed to the catwalk (where the general public can also walk, for a fee) to take some photos…

The parade will be on television, kicking off at 8 a.m. on January 1. If you'd like to follow along and know the Order of the March, this link to the Pasadena Examiner lists each participant in order. There is also an app (it's free), mentioned on the the Tournament web site of the 2016 Parade Program. Beginning on page 39, there is a short paragraph explaining each participant and a photo of the band, equestrian unit, or the artist rendition of the float as it will appear in the parade. The Theme of "Find Your Adventure" combined with the co-sponsorship with the National Park Service (and the beginning of the NPS 100th year) is sure to make this parade one to remember!

Since this is a food blog…our meals that day…since we didn't have to leave the house at our usual 5 a.m., we had some breakfast at home then stopped in Tustin for cheesy delights; my most favorite version of ham and cheese baked into a bread and, on the left…a sort of cracker-cheese with a bit of flour; just the right amounts of each for a lightly salty, crispy pastry. Once again, we didn't purchase the delicious strawberry confections that Cream Pan is famous for. Cream Pan Bakery website

We did bring our own lunch, some sandwiches, and had those with coffee at the nearby Starbucks.

On the way home, there was one stop and then we saw horrible traffic, so ended up taking side roads to try to avoid, eventually stopping at the Etiwanda Avenue (in Mira Loma) location of Farmer Boys
Where I ordered my 'usual' breakfast sandwich (this time with bacon) and The Mister tried some sort of chicken/cheese/avocado/bacon sandwich… I have no description, except it was good as always; we were exhausted. Farmer Boys Website

Leaving the decorating barn, we had stopped at Orchard Supply Hardware in Pasadena to pick up the first of 2016 business giveaway calendars.Orchard Supply always has a train themed calendar and this year is the first time (in 85 years of calendars) when an artist's work has been featured two years in a row. The artist, Ken Muramoto, is extremely talented (and the youngest artist who has contributed to the tradition of OSH calendars). You can read about him HERE.

I enjoy the Vallarta Market calendar, because it lists the Days of the Saints in a format I can look at randomly. The Nijiya calendar is always beautiful. The Vietnamese Market Thuan Phat's calendar is HUGE and beautiful. The calendar from Lucky Seafood was…um…interesting this year. I know there are alway several designs chosen for the printing. This one we received well…I just never thought of a cartoony Asian man taking a selfie…but this calendar will be in my kitchen and I am sure it will make me smile every single morning in 2016.

The Mister and I also went to Fort Rosecrans, just after the annual volunteers from Wreaths Across America had finished placing wreaths in memoriam of our fallen military. Not every grave was covered, but each year a different section is completely filled. Volunteers will be needed for cleanup the second to last Saturday in January.
Once again, before our trek to the Cemetery, we stopped at P.L. Bagels for a buttered, toasted (available on weekends only) bialy and a (similarly prepared and available every day) everything bagel. Reasonable size, fresh made daily, seeds on the top AND bottom and sold until they run out. This family owned and run San Diego institution is great. P.L. Bagels 3704 Voltaire Street, Suite 107 San Diego 92107 (619) 223-4788 open daily 6a.m.-1 p.m.
Finally, one last local institution (more than 50 years in the same location) is closing and moving, because the land on that corner is more valuable than whatever rent the owner can get from the gas station, car wash and Mary's Donuts, combined. I've briefly mentioned Mary's in only two posts over all these years, but it is walking distance from home and since it is open 24/7…it is very much part of our 'rotation'. The new location is even a bit closer for us, but the ambiance just won't be the same…I hope the donuts are.

Mary's Donuts 9031 Mission Gorge Road Santee 92071 (619) 448-4800

I hope you are having a wonderful Season.

Fried Skins- Chicharrones of the land, air and sea.

November 28, 2015 Cathy Filipino Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, food blog. Today, Cathy is writing a short post, not about any particular restaurant, but about some particular food items. Ed (from Yuma) has a nice post coming up tomorrow. Kirk is still out of the country and enjoying his international vacationing.

In 2011, Kirk wrote a great post about fried animal skins, quite a few were -ahem- less than common and difficult to find unless traveling internationally. I thought that writing a short post about commonly found chicharron would be nice. Dropping into any Mexican Market, you can probably find a variety of both pork and beef fried skins, some with meat attached (the far left) and some just the skin (second from left). Those are sold by the pound and can simply be eaten while wrapped in a corn tortilla, with or without some hot sauce.

The above is the counter at Northgate Gonzalez, a family owned and run Mexican grocery chain which I haven't posted about yet. Sometimes, in this same Mexican Markets, there is a steam tray area with stews and there is usually a choice of rojo (red) or verde (green) chicharron stews called guisados, which can be served taco style. Because the fried skins have been stewing, they are softened and not crispy, but still flavorful. The above are from Krist Liquor and Market. You can always order fresh made chicharrones by the 1/2 pound at Carnitas Uruapan.Long ago, I had mentioned fried chicken skin, dilis and bulaklak sold by the pound at Kababayan Market, which is now located in Spring Valley (I'll have a post about the new location soon).Fried chicken skins are my weakness and backup snack for just about every situation. I have also mentioned purchasing fried chicken skins at Chic-Boy in National City, because I know where to find fried skins when the craving strikes. Then there was the day we were at TJ Oyster Bar and I noticed the 'Starters' section of the menu while waiting in line at the newest location (again, I have a post forthcoming)…the second item, 'Chicharron Fish'.Hoping it would be a plate of these (above) fried fish tails, I was disappointed to see…this gigantic plate of more or less fish nuggets. But, oh what wonderful, meaty, lightly breaded nicely fried nuggets these were. The dipping sauce- umami- a deep, fishy, tart, lime-vinegar mix which went perfectly with the sliced raw onions. Not really skins, but fried and tasty.

I hope your long weekend is going well. It's not over!

What’s My Craving? Hinotez……

August 31, 2015 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Japanese Restaurants, yoso-silly

This past Saturday I went out to fill the "honey do" list. It was :meat day" at Nijiya and since I was going to grill later that afternoon I had all kinds of shopping to do. We like to take advantage of our grilling time and make multiple dishes, and since it was so hot, I'd be roasting vegetables over the charcoal. It was a typical day, Starting at Sprouts, then Marukai, then 99 Ranch Market (Da Boyz needed rice). It was still too early for Nijiya and I didn't want to seem too excited about meat day and be there when the doors open.

Every so often I miss the typical breakfast I'd have when visiting my maternal Grandparents or on special weekends. To copy a passage from an earlier post on Fukagawa Soba & Udon:

"One of the earliest (and few) memories I have of my grandparents, is my "Ji-chan" (grandfather) waking before dawn. Even though the plantation days were behind them; the plantation ways were still strong. Neither Grandparent spoke much English and always had problems with my name. Ironically, they ended up calling me "Keiki" (which means "child" in Hawaiian). To this day I'm not sure if they actually knew what keiki meant, or of they just chose that word because it kinda sounded like my name, and was something they'd heard before. Anyway, my job was to climb the ricketty ladder up to papaya tree and pick two of the ripe papayas. My reward? My Grandmother would have a steaming bowl of rice, mix the raw egg with shoyu, pour the egg over the rice, top with green onions and mix……. tamago meshi. This in turn was topped with natto. I was also given half a papaya (to help me digest), and a cup of coffee (!!! I was maybe 7-8 years old) with tons of cream and sugar. A perfect breakfast for getting out there and working the fields……."

It's the breakfast of champions…… To my knowledge, the only place that serves anything like this in San Diego is Hinotez which opens at 8 am every morning.

It's a pick your poison kind of menu. A base with whatever you want to add for additional cost. What I ordered used to be six bucks and now that I add one other item, is now seven. Still cheaper than a sandwich at most places.

I get the three minute egg (not quite the raw egg, but it'll do), natto, and for some reason I love the extra "goo" of tororo (grated mountain yam). If anything, it's too much rice for me. I think in the future, I'll ask for less rice and more green onions.

First goes the egg…then the tororo…which is mixed together with the rice, then the natto, green onions and shoyu.

It's such a lovely mess of a breakfast.

I'm glad it's not one of those Japanese breakfasts we had in Japan. I would have just driven back home after eating and go back to sleep!

I do love my Spam and my Loco Mocos; though I enjoy both in moderation. But it's this breakfast that takes me back to where I come from and what I am. The grandson of immigrant plantation workers who toiled in the fields for Maui Pine.

Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Post #2999: Some Sashimi and the “Big List”

August 29, 2015 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, yoso-silly

It was nice of some of you to notice that out 10th year "blogga-versary" came and went back in May. I guess we'd celebrate….but it seems that we're never home and I kinda stopped all that stuff a few years back. I did notice however that we were coming up to post #3000 soon. Considering that I started this little blog with no objective in mind….it was the suggestion of Reid from Ono Kine Grindz (we miss you man). His blog really hit home for an expat Kama'aina….the things I missed, the food mainly. So I just started typing…and we haven't stopped since.

With that milestone in sight, I decided to finish something I started back at the end of 2012….yes, 2012. I call it the "Big List". It's a listing of all the restaurants (I might have missed a few) that we've done posts on going back to the beginning. I completed it a few weeks ago. It's an interesting list and you can find it under pages on our sidebar. I've also included photos that were sitting around in folders that for some reason I forgot to delete, or have posted only to my Flickr account. For me, it's the listing of places that have closed (at the bottom) that brings back a nostalgic feeling….. Thanks to the folks who have already noticed it and commented. Please check it out and let me know what you think. I'll try to create pages for our travels as well.

I can't go further without thanking Cathy and Ed from Yuma. Without their help, this blog would not exist. It is as much their blog as mine. Much has changed over the years; social media and instant delivery (and gratification) has taken over….we just keep chugging along. Just think, we started in 2005; the first iPhone was released in 2007, Twitter was launched in 2006, remember MySpace?

Anyway, I decided to celebrate and went to Sushi Yaro and had some sashimi.

This is after all, still a food blog.

I'm not sure if anyone has been with us since the beginning, but a really warm mahalo to you if you've been here all these years.

And just to go off on one of my usual digressions, Sammy and Frankie have been along for the ride the entire way. And this gets me thinking about when they first became part of the family.

As always….thanks so much for visiting, reading, and commenting….all these years!

Saturday Stuffs: How does our garden grow, having a “beery good time”, the Missus’s favorite cheese, and other stuffs…

August 22, 2015 mmm-yoso Beer, Cheese, yoso-silly

Just a couple of things for a beautiful San Diego Saturday….

It seems that the recent hot weather really helped our peppers.

For some reason; like last year the peppers aren't as "hot". Don't get me wrong, the ghost peppers were still pretty darn hot….but it wasn't anything like our first years. I thing there's some cross pollination going on with our Padron Peppers.

Speaking of Padron Peppers. A couple of times a week we get a pretty good haul….

Like everyone else in SoCal, we've been reducing our water usage….so far so good…drip hoses and such….it seems the okra don't really mind…..

And it seem we have cut our water consumption by 30% or so…. Our front lawn is taking a beating though….

Some stuff from the beer vault:

I won't bore you on descriptions and such….but here's a few more beer photos.

I wonder if I'm the only one who thinks that Stone is kinda just resting on their laurels?

As Tony Montana said….."Say Hello to My Little Friend"…..

A few weeks back, I went into the back yard to check things out before heading off to bed. I noticed this hard working little fellow….building what seemed to be the world's most ambitious web. Since then, I'd check every night to see if the spider was out there spinning his web. If I saw a work in progress, I'd grab a beer from the fridge and just sit and watch…..

Sort of like the "fish tank effect" I guess….. Impressive work ethic…. I'll enjoy it for as long as he's around.

The Missus's favorite cheese:

I've never really posted on it before…it's been something we've kind of enjoyed inhouse. But we do love our cheese. We usually have a variety on hand, 5-6 for a light nice spring-summer-fall meal. Anyway, the current favorite of the Missus who enjoys a fairly ripe cheese is the Harbison by Jasper Hill Farm.