yoso-silly – Page 28

Midweek Meanderings: Guess who’s back? And some other stuff.

June 16, 2010 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Guess who's back?

On Monday my phone rang, when I answered this is what I heard: "HeyKirk-sanguesswhatI'mbackinthegame….." Of course I knew the voice, and when he slowed down enough, Sam explained that after being a gun, or is that a knife for hire the last year and a half or so, he had decided it was time to do his own thing again. He had also just taken possession of the keys and wanted me to drop by. So I did, and we had a nice chat:

So where is this place? Ironically enough, it's exactly where Sammy's used to be:7905 Engineer Road, San Diego, CA 92111. Even though the sign still says Convoy Sushi & Fish Market….

Sam has taken the reigns as of last evening. Sam told me that on July 1st, a name change will occur, and Convoy Sushi will become "Sushi Yaro". And it seems that Sam is trying to keep up with trends, and is utilizing Social Media…… you can check him out on Twitter - under 'SushiYaro'.

Sam told me specifically that he is aiming for that middle ground, "much better than Sushi Deli, but not as expensive as Ota or Shirahama." And at least to me, San Diego is missing that "Sushi Komasa – Sushi Gen – Sushi go 55" level of sushi. So we'll see…….

Some other stuff:

I noticed a Kabob/Halal Shop opening in the same mall as Pho Fusion. This one will be called Aria Kabob Cafe:

8010 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

No photos on this one, but more than one source told me that "Tita" (of Tita's Kitchenette) is taking over the restaurant – buffet/karaoke-dancing-comedy-entertainment club that was known for a long time as Manila Tokyo in National City. This one should be interesting…….

3421 E Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950

Wednesday Wanderings: Coming soon – Yakitori Koubuo, Pho Cali and Grill, and “excuse me, but is that your duck?”

June 9, 2010 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Yakitori Koubuo (???):

I noticed some construction going on a couple of doors down from Tsuruhashi, you know which one, right…. 3904 Convoy where Izakaya Sakura and The Original Pancake House is located.

The notice said that the business name will be Yakitori Kouba…… sounds interesting! Anyone hear anything about this?

Pho Cali and Grill:

Is what the coming soon sign says in the strip mall at 5375 Kearny Villa Road:

This is the strip mall where Golden City is located.

Is that your duck?

Trying to keep the pounds I lost in China off, I decided to walk the couple blocks to the drug store instead of driving. Passing a big apartment complex, something caught my eye…… and I did a double, then a triple take…..

At first I thought someone was playing around with one of those duck decoy things….. but as I approached the duck warned me off with a vigorous "wack – wack". It was a real duck!

I then saw a woman unloading some groceries from her car and asked what is probably the dumbest question of the week (though it's still only Wednesday), "excuse me, but is that your duck?" The woman rightfully gave me a weird look, then she saw the duck, and laughed, "oh them, there's a bunch of ducks that fly up here every summer and hang up by the swimming pool….. his girlfriend is somewhere around here…" I wasn't sure if the woman was kidding me….. we've been living in this neighborhood for seven years, and I swear, I've never seen a duck. Just then I heard another "wack -wack", and I'll be darned, it was a female duck hanging out under some hedges…… I'm still not convinced that these aren't someone's pet…. but in an apartment complex? I'm confused… have any of you heard of flocks of migrating ducks hanging out around swimming pools in San Diego???? Was the woman pulling my leg???

Sunday Stuffs

February 7, 2010 mmm-yoso Cooking, yoso-silly

For once I wasn't a jinx:

You can tell who I was cheering for in the Super Bowl by the ingredients in the photo to the right. I made some Red Beans and Rice for a potluck the Missus had to attend on Saturday. And I guess this time I didn't jinx the team I was hoping would win.

What's your comfort sandwich?

Peanut butter and jelly? Grilled cheese perhaps? You may find mine a bit strange….. it's Tuna on toast…..

But as long as I can remember I've loved this. It used to be only tuna salad made with celery and onions, cucumbers, and tomato slices. Over the years, I've found that I enjoy sprouts in my sandwich. It can't be a tuna melt……… Also, in a classic example of brand loyalty, the mayo has to be Best Foods. One other strange example of brand loyalty, and maybe just a bit of weirdness, the tuna has to be Coral Brand.

You'll never see me ordering a "tuna salad" anywhere…. I need to make it myself. I guess you could say, I just don't trust anyone else with this. The sandwich isn't "stuffed" and oozing tuna salad as proportion is important to me.

Strange I know……

But I'm sure I'm not the only one….. ummm, right?

Saturday Stuffs: Goodbye Playa Azul, Hello Yakyudori Ramen & Yakitori, and a Balboa and Clairemont Drive Taco Truck update

January 30, 2010 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Seafood, yoso-silly

Playa Azul Closes:

Sometimes when I take my sweet ‘ol time on posts, it backfires. After a visit to Playa Azul during the Autumn, I just kinda waited around…… A few weeks back, I decided to do one more visit, and finally a post, and this is what greeted me:

Even the mural had been removed:

Sad……

Anyway here are some photos from our visit.

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori coming to Convoy:

Word of this has been spreading quickly. You know, I’ve never done a post on Yakyudori…. well, because my photos have never come out. This is the former site of BBQ Express Teriyaki, and before that Extreme Pita.

The sign says grand opening will be… Monday, February 1st!!! Wow, that’s fast.

4898 Convoy Street, San Diego, CA 92111…….

(Yet another) Taco Truck on the corner of Balboa and Clairemont Drive:

Two weeks ago I mentioned that the Mariscos German truck was back on the corner of Balboa and Clairemont Drive. Well, this past week, I noticed another truck in it’s place:

Sheesh, what is this…… taco truck roulette. Hopefully, I’ll be able to check it out before it vanishes…..

Not about food:

One of my favorite FOYs(Friends of Yoso) is “Canine Cologne”, whose blog Pink Candles at Ridgemont High is fun, delicious (in the virtual kinda way), and also somewhat nostalgic. One of my favorite series of posts that CC does is called ABC Music Videos, where Ms Cologne (he-he-he) posts music videos every week based on letters of the alphabet. I’ve kidded CC that one day I’d do a “homage” of sorts to her ABC videos….. and I think I found what I needed…. so without further ado:

A is for Akebono:

Yes, these are actually commercials for the series “Glee” in Japan. And in case you don’t know who Akebono is you can find more info here. Funny thing, I actually saw Akebono, when he was Chad Rowan playing basketball for Hawaii Pacific University!!!

Anyway, for some reason the commercials made me smile….. Hey, it coulda been KennyG ok!!!!

Have a great weekend!

Monday Meanderings……….

January 18, 2010 mmm-yoso Cooking, yoso-silly

"They call it stormy Monday,
yes but Tuesday's just as bad………"

They Call it Stormy Monday – T-Bone Walker.

Well the first part of that is true….. hope the second isn't! Sheesh, talk about a blustery Monday. Today was the Martin Luther King Jr Holiday, so I had the day off. The Missus, never good with dates, had lunch scheduled with Her friends, so I stayed home, took naps, and had a nice little lunch.

This is a bit of an interesting post……. mainly because I haven't posted on the two restaurants that provided the food for my lunch yet. But what the heck, right?

First off, we finally found some frozen Jiaozi that we like, both in quality, and price (50 for $10). From Dean Sin World in Monterey Park. It holds up well after freezing as you can tell by the wrappers:

I think the filling is just enough, and the flavor is good. I thought it interesting that Savoy Cabbage is used in the filling rather than Napa Cabbage, but it does well. It isn't as good as what Qing Dao Bread Food puts out, but is much better than what I can get in any restaurant in San Diego.

I'm including my photo of the pounded garlic and vinegar so the Missus can critique it and give me another thumbs down…. apparently, I still don't know how to do this! he-he-he…. I can't pound garlic in my own kitchen!

I also had a little bowl of leftover Bamboo Shoots with Hunan Preserved Pork.

This was from one of the few Hunan Restaurants I haven't posted on in the area(SGV). Actually, this tasted much better today…… more spicy, and the smokiness of the pork had taken.

After which I had a nice nap…….. I'm feeling so lazy, so why not a little lazy Monday post?

We need the rain here in SoCal, but man am I going to miss the spring like weather we had for a couple of weeks. On the days when I didn't do a post, I'd just hang out outside…..have a cold one, and grill up chicken on the Hida Konro.

Yes, I could only grill one piece of chicken at a time….. but the process was so relaxing, almost cathartic. And you can't beat the flavor of Binchotan.

I hope the weather turns around in a couple of days…. I've still got a good stock on Binchotan on hand!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Starbucks-everywhere

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

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

Something warm to tide you over…….

December 22, 2009 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

It's been a pretty hectic week. So let's have something nice and warm to tide us over, until tomorrow if you don't mind.

So what are you eating to keep warm tonight?

Thanks for visiting; I'll do my best to have a post tomorrow!

Road Trip- Las Vegas- A day

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

With that, we went bowling.

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

As well as lattes and pastries from the Casino Starbucks.

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

In Baker. The Mad Greek.

A gyros.

A banana shake.

Home before sunset.

We hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Tacos El Poblano, and a South Bay Taco Crawl with Captain Jack

October 4, 2009 mmm-yoso Food Trucks/Carts, Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops, yoso-silly

**** This location of Tacos El Poblano has closed

Here's the last of my series of South Bay Taco Shops. I was taking a one of my weekend "drives" a couple of weeks back. And while driving through "Downtown" Chula Vista, I noticed a new restaurant.

It would have been "just another taco shop" except for the sign that said "Los Authenticos De Tijuana Ahora en CA". Which got my attention. I decided to stop, even though I had just finished two tacos from Tacos Yaqui. The fairly modest storefront, hides a pretty large, somewhat cavernous restaurant.

As I walked up to the counter, I could see flames rising from the grill next ot the cashier. So ordering was pretty simple, it had to be Carne Asada, and "something"……

That something was a Birria Taco($1.75):

El Poblano serves you tacos the way they think it should be served. There's no salsa bar, though the pickled peppers and carrots (escabeche) is fabulous, refreshing, and almost sweet. The birria was very mild, as I enjoy a bit more spice and "wildness".

A minute later my two Carne Asada tacos made its way to my table.

I loved the crisp but still pliable grilled tortillas, which added a nice bit of smokiness to the equation. The simple, but effective guacamole added richness. The salsa was nice and spicy, but the carne asada brought this down. As you can tell by the grey pallor, this was not the carne asada I just witnessed being grilled. It was tasteless and rubbery, not good eats. Everything about this taco was spot on, except the carne asada. And I'd usually visit another time before doing a post. So check out the rest of the post below, because on my next visit, it was just perfect, smokey, with nice caramelization.

Tacos El Poblano
217 3rd Avenue
Chula Vista, CA 91910

The South Bay Taco Crawl……

I guess this was inevitable. I'd been hitting multiple taco shops in the South Bay in recent weeks. And after receiving an email from "Grace" who was visiting San Diego, and wanted some recommendations on doing a "taco crawl" I thought, "why not do this yourself". I tried this once with a good FOY, a small but mighty eater. Unfortunately, we never made it past two shops…….

This meant I needed to bring in the "heavy artillery". There was only one person that I know of, who could handle this…… and I wasn't even sure that I'd be able to keep up. That person was….. "the man, the myth, the stomach….." my Urasawa eating buddy, Captain Jack. And of course, he was up for anything. So things started off this morning with CJ in my car, making our way down to the border…..

I had everything planned; we'd start off with Tacos Yaqui. Unfortunately, when we arrived in San Ysidro, we found that even though the sign said they open at 9am, and it was 930, they weren't open. It was time for "plan B". I headed up the I-5 and ended up in the now-all-too familiar RTA/Toys R' Us parking lot, and Mariscos El Pescador.

I figured we'd grab a Gobernador and a Tacos de Pescado (fish taco) and we'd be on our way. Pretty filling, but delicious, and we'd still be able to go on. But after the consomme and two tacos, the Owner, Cruz Vazquez, who we chatted with before the crowds, decided that we just had to have the "Tacos de Mariscanos", a mixto (mixed) taco. The size of which was daunting…..

This was like an over-stuffed mixed seafood version of the Gobernador, with sauteed fish, scallops, pulpo (octopus), along with the wonderful shrimp. With some of the spicy pickled onions, this was excellent. If the Gobernador, is "the Governor", this is "El Presidente"……

As an exclamation point, Captain Jack had a torta from the Torta Ahogadas truck across the parking lot. (A eating on the hood of your car post is coming up soon) I abstained, because this was a taco crawl, right? Talking about wiggling out of a tight situation.

After which, we headed off to Internacional 2000 for some Al Pastor, only to find that they weren't ready….. which led me to "plan C", and a visit to El Poblano. We grabbed a Adobaba Taco and a Carne Asada Taco. This time around, the Carne Asada was excellent, nicely caramelized, with a wonderful smokey flavor. Good stuff. I of course, kinda did the "four corners" here, engaging CJ in small talk. I also found that I eat pretty fast, so the delay gave me time to digest and adjust. After about fifteen minutes of small talk, CJ said the faithful words, "we're not done yet, are we?"

Which meant it was time to move on, and return to Tacos Yaqui, where we put down a Perrones Taco each, and some chips. Comparing the carne asada from Yaqui to El Poblano is like apples to oranges. Yaqui's carne asada is like eating steak, it is beefy, but milder in flavor, and served on a grilled flour tortilla with melted cheese, El Poblano's carne asada is smokey, and crisp.

Again, I finished several minutes ahead of CJ, and had time to digest.

We ended (taco) things at Internacional 2000 Taco Shop and had two Al Pastor tacos each. A nice, tasty, greasy end to our "taco tour". Funny thing, at the end, we both weren't full, but we were satisfied. I had an inkling to make a stop at Tacos El Gordo, but decided that I'd had enough. CJ on the other hand, decided otherwise, and we made a last stop a Panchita's for some sweets……

This "taco tour" was pretty easy, at no time did I feel uncomfortable. I'm not sure if it qualifies as a Food Marathon, but I'll tell you that I didn't have any dinner tonight…….

Sunday Silliness

September 13, 2009 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, yoso-silly

It's been a pretty long day for me, so just for a little levity, here's what I found while doing some shopping:

Unbelievable….. Primo Beer in my neck of the woods. For those who don't know anything about Primo, here's some info. For many years Primo was THE Local beer in Hawaii. Several generations of "locals" were raised on the stuff, and most of my friends have watched "Uncle get all 'yota'" after over imbibing on a six pack or two, or three…… I remember Primo being the "secret ingredient" for an Uncle's Chicken Hekka recipe, of course by the time the Chicken Hekka was being started he's already completed a couple of cycles…..

I had read the Honolulu Advertiser article mentioning Primo's return, and Pomai's post , but the last thing I expected was to see this stocked on store shelves in San Diego.

But there it was, and I'm glad they kept the original logo…..

Actually, I remember thinking that this was pretty heinous stuff that was best suited having a brown paper bag wrapped around it. But I hit drinking age during Primo's waning years, I believe Primo was on the decline from the early eighties. Still, for old times sake, I made sure to grab a couple and this on the other hand was not bad, very light, mildly sweet, nothing to write home about, but like the old Primo slogan went – "chance 'um"……. or was it, "no can hea, get beer in my ear"….. or something like that…..

I hope everyone had a great weekend, I'll be back with something a bit more substantial tomorrow!