Sunday Stuffs: Eddels is now Chibugan, a Noble Chef revisit, and a couple of “stories”.

August 9, 2009 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Filipino Restaurants, yoso-silly

Just couple of things for Sunday……

Eddels is now Chibugan:

As reported by FOY Toshiko. Eddels is now Chibugan.

I was in the area this afternoon so I dropped by. Chibugan is indeed open, but looked to only have four or five offerings. I had already eaten lunch, so I'll grab a bite on another day.

Thanks for letting me know Toshiko!

Chibugan (In Vinh Hung Supermarket)

10550 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

A COMC post on Noble Chef:

Last week, another FOY (Friend of Yoso), RossC sent me a really nice email. Ross has relocated, and said, "I now have a much greater appreciation for what San Diego had to offer". One of the places Ross mentioned was Noble Chef. I realize that I've done a few posts on Noble Chef, but I had these photos saved for no reason in particular, so I thought I'd just do a quick COMC (Clearing Out the Memory Card) post. This one's for you Ross! The "old" Noble Chef was one of our favorite haunts for cheap eats. The older Gentleman who worked the wok sure knew his stuff. The Shrimp with XO Sauce Fried Rice was great, "wok hey", great garlic (and I'm sure MSG) flavor, a touch of spice! When the folks finally retired and the new owners took over there was something missing. The "breath of the wok" was gone, and the food seemed underseasoned. That's not to say that the food was terrible, it was still decent, but having eaten there quite frequently, I could tell the difference. On the other hand there were some changes that were for the good. The place had been freshened up, the prices were still reasonable, and I detected even more of the "good stuff" (i.e. shrimp) in some of the dishes. So now, every 8-9 months, I drop by to see how the food is progressing at Noble Chef.

I will always order the Shrimp with XO Sauce Fried Rice. For me this was the dish that put Noble Chef on our list. There was a ton of shrimp, at least ten in the fried rice. It was still priced at $7.55, very reasonable.

It still lacked the wok hey, spice, and garlicky goodness of the version the old Noble Chef version. It was not bad, just not as good.

I also ordered the Shrimp with Tomato Sauce Rice, which had gone up a buck to $7.55, but you really couldn't complain based on the portion size.

Now this was much improved over the version I had on my previous visit. It could've been that the tomatoes were of better quality since there was a nice "tang" to the sauce. I counted a whopping eleven shrimp in the dish. The shrimp were cooked with much more finesse, they were tender, not overcooked. The sauce was nice and velvety, and I even detected a bit of spice….nice…..

I hope the things just keep getting better. I'll keep checking back every couple of months. I'm waiting for the Shrimp with XO Sauce Fried Rice to get back to where it once was.

The Noble Chef
6159 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111
(858)278-8688

Thanks again for the wonderful email Ross!

A North Park Produce Story:

A couple of weeks ago, I dropped by North Park Produce to pick-up some Feta for the Missus. As I was being rung up at the register, I noticed that the previous customer had forgotten his milk. I handed the young lady some cash, and told her to hold my change while I go and find the gentleman who forgot his milk. I jogged out the back of NPP, and saw the gentleman turning the corner on El Cajon Boulevard. I yelled out, "hey, you forgot your milk"! At the sound of my voice the guy started off at a sprint down ECB!!! Caught up in the moment, I, for some reason gave chase! A few things you need to know…..the gentleman was almost a foot taller, and maybe twice the size of me. He was bigger than Captain Jack. So picture a little Asian Guy chasing a six foot five inch monster down El Cajon Boulevard waving a carton of milk……. Dude must be in some beeeeg trouble! About a block and a half later, dude suddenly realizes that I'm just trying to get him his milk. He stops. Totally out of breath, huffing and puffing, I hand him the carton of milk. Not only is he twice my size, but he is obviously in better shape as well………. Sweating profusely, I walked back to NPP to retrieve my feta cheese and my change…….

A Bronx Pizza Story:

The fellas at work love Bronx Pizza. So one day, we decided to order a whole pie from Bronx. The place is quite close to work, so I volunteer to call in the order and pick up the pie.

I place the order on the phone, and the final part of the conversation goes like this:

BG (Bronx Guy): Name?
Me: Kirk
BG: David??
Me: No Kirk, K-I-R-K…
BG: It'll be under David…
"click" He hangs up the phone……..

David? What the heck? Did I just walk into a Seinfeld episode??? So I go to pick-up the pie….

BG: Name?
Me: It'll be under Kirk or David…
BG: No pie for Kirk or David….what didya order?
Me: A Porko
BG: We got a porko here for xxx (I can't remember the name)…..

Now I know all about the Bronx attitude, and most of the time it's all fun and games, but come on. But I decide that two can play the same game, so as I leave:

Me: Hey
BG: What
Me: No wonder Lefty's and Luigi's is kicking your …!

Guess I won't be going back to Bronx for a while, huh?

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Saturday Stuffs

July 18, 2009 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers, Peruvian Restaurants, yoso-silly

Just a few items for a pretty warm Saturday.

Nazca Grill:

Signs have gone up in the old Aji Seco/Nieto's Taco Shop location on Genesee. Looks like this will be a Peruvian restaurant called Nazca Grill.

Sounds good to me!!!

Costco Stuff:

I try not to spend very much, if any time in Costco, because of the crowds. My mission is to time things right, and get in and out ASAP. But on a recent visit, I took some time to look around and was rather surprised at finding a few interesting items.

As I navigated my way into the produce section….one does not stroll in Costco, what one does is push a cart the size of an aircraft carrier, dodging other massive shopping carts or six wheelers, and hope for the best. I've always hoped that traffic lights and turn signals will become standard equipment in Costco, but I don't think that'll be happening in my lifetime. To be honest, Costco is invaluable for stocking up on those necessities, I can always get a pack of toilet tissue that would make my late, TP hording Mom proud. The one thing with Costco is not just buying stuff you'll never use, or don't need, but buying said items in bulk! Luckily, my phobia of ravenous crowds trying to sample stuff in little cups, and crazy folks at the helm of shopping carts (it's a "Long's" story) keeps me away unless we need something. So of course, browsing at Costco cost me a few bucks more, but I was satisfied with what I purchased.

I was surprised to find Donut/Saturn Peaches.

The Missus grew up eating these in China, and She really loves these fragrant, and sweet peaches. I was shocked to see them in Costco, as until a few years ago they were usually only found in Asian Markets. These were huge, and fragrant, though not as sweet. Pretty cheap too, 2 pounds for $3.49.

I was also lured into buying a package of cedar smoking planks. Because of the amount of grilling we've been doing in the last few weeks, I thought I'd try these out. There were 6 thin planks in the package.

I wanted to take these for a test run, so decided to use some shrimp I had in the freezer.

I soaked the boards for about an hour, marinaded the shrimp in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Garlic, and Salt, for about 15 minutes, lines up on the board, and placed it on the grill at the end of my grilling session (like I said, I want to milk every single bit of heat from my charcoal), and placed the lid on my Weber.

I think twelve minutes was a bit too long for the shrimp, but the flavor was excellent. The Missus loved the smokiness. So maybe this was worth it.

Costco always finds new ways to separate me from my money……

Some interesting links:

I remember reading this a couple of weeks ago, and for some reason I couldn't help but laugh.

This one is not about food, but I found it funny as well!

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend!

The 2009 San Diego County Fair, Part Two

July 2, 2009 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso is the blog written by Kirk and ed (from Yuma) and Cathy, who is today's blogger.

Well, we finally made it to the Fair.

The Theme this year is "Music Mania" and the entrance gate is decorated like an old jukebox.

Don Diego, the Official Greeter is more advertising that the Fairgrounds may be sold to a private owner if the current fiscal situation in our state is not cleared up.

Inside, the Fairgrounds look the same as always.

All of the traditional County Fair events are happening.

The beef cattle, which will be up for auction on July 4 along with the dairy goats (although the kid born at the beginning of the Fair will not be sold just yet) and pigs and sheep were available for purchase if you did not want to bother with the auction.

(If you want to know auction details, send an email or comment below)

The Preserved foods, as well as the baked goods, which were all judged before the Fair opened, were on display with the ribbons that were awarded.

Interesting tidbit- every morning there is a job of cutting away mold or slime from the baked goods on display.

When entering items, at least six cookies and whole cakes and loaves of bread are entered for judging. By the end of the run of the Fair, there are many signs indicating the item was 'too good to last!'…really though, it molded away.

Now, why you are here (on the blog). Food. Go to this building, which houses the "Designs in Wood" entries.

Yes.

Go on. It's $4.75

The small 'leftovers' box is pulled from the freezer. It contains three strips of dark chocolate covered bacon.

This was by far my most favorite item here. The bacon is thick and salty and cooked well. The dark chocolate, frozen, compliments the saltiness. It was the perfect treat.

The fried cheese curds ($6) were lightly breaded in a garlic powder crust and had a nice crunch.

The cheese was squeaky and good.

The char broiled corn is always good.

The Midway is a maze of gadget selling booths.

There is a plethora of tempting sights, smells and sounds.

But I was here. And I had to.

Look at the top ad, next to the Frog Legs, which "taste like chicken". Yes. A Zucchini Weeni.

$4.75.

Good idea. Poor execution.

I admit I have *never* had a corn dog in my life. The batter on this was not corn though. It was donut batter.

The hot dog really had no flavor and all of it needed to be dipped in the ranch dressing to have any flavor.

I had such hopes for this weeni…

Instead, go next door for a "Texas Twister"

A deep fried skinned sausage deep fried with a twist of potatoes. ($8)

Much more flavorful.

Other things we bought included gelato, inside the Bing Crosby Hall. excellent. (Small, $4)

The Indian Fry Bread- strawberry cheesecake. Fresh fried bread topped with whipped cream cheese, strawberries and whipped cream ($6.50)

One chocolate and one vanilla cream puff. ($3 each). They make the pastry in the booth daily and the filling is real whipped cream. This is the only "have to" item I get. I can't get this fresh anywhere else all year.

Artichokes on a stick satisfy that salty craving I have. ($6)

As does Pizza on a stick.($4)

The Footsie Wootsie machines are scattered everywhere and still only 25 cents for a few minutes of unusual pleasure.

Enjoy the Fair. It closes this Sunday!

Website Opens 11 a.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. on weekends.

Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings: The Challenge – A comparison of Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings

June 24, 2009 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Memorable Meals, yoso-silly

You can't attend a Filipino party in San Diego without them, those miniature deep fried limbs, full of MSG goodness. Pulling yourself away from the aluminum tray of Salt and Pepper chicken wings sometimes takes a Herculean display of will power. I had long contemplated doing a comparison of Salt and Pepper wings, and after all these years, with the help of Howie, who having done comparisons of everything from Carne Asada Burritos from 'Berto's to New York style Pizza to Fro-yo i n San Diego, is master of organizing such events, I finally managed to do a tasting.

For the tasting, I had an enthusiastic crew, who displayed no fear of the MSG bloat; Howie, Candice, Sarah, Jenne, Mr & Mrs Zompus, and Dennis. I had a list of five places, one of which was closed and had to be replaced by a last minute substitute due to sad and unfortunate circumstances.

The rules were simple, each person would try at least one drummette, and one wing. They would than rank each sample from first to fifth. The lowest total amount of points would be number one.

The results are startling, and I'm sure will be quite controversial. At the end, I'll list my picks which seemed to go totally against the trend. So without further ado.

#5 – Royal Mandarin:

Yes, the mecca of Salt and Pepper Chicken wings ended up dead last by a large margin. Some of the comments: "more like American fried chicken…." "rating of meh…." "underwhelming in flavor…." "overcooked…."

This one was a surprise, and I'm sure will raise eyebrows…..

Royal Mandarin Restaurant
1132 E. Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950
(619) 477-4151

#4 – Golden Chopsticks:

Yep, the other popular Salt and Pepper Chicken wing joint finished second to last! "bland….." "soggy……" "not even spicy in the least…." "don't like the light color…."

Another big surprise!

Golden Chopsticks
1430 Plaza Blvd #E/22A-23A
National City, CA 91950
(619) 336-1888

3 – A & D Hawaiian BBQ – National City:

**** A&D Has closed

Another surprise. The darkhorse last minute replacement came in a respectable third, and missed second place by one point! Yikes! "most flavorful by far…." "thinner crust but better taste…."nice spice, lots of garlic, but too salty…." "right amount of spice…."

A&D Hawaiian BBQ
Grove Plaza Center
2220 Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950

2 – Panda Palace:

**** Panda Palace has closed

Well what do you know…another surprise. This one was all over the board with three fourth-place votes, and two first place votes. It managed second by one point.

The comments were the most entertaining of all the entries: "tastes like Panda Express smells…." "someone didn't change the oil after frying all that shrimp" "too sweet…" on one hand, "very flavorful…." "like the garlic and spice…" "not greasy…." on the other.

Panda Palace Chinese Restaurant
1105 E Plaza Blvd Ste D
National City, CA 91950
(619) 336-1725

#1 – Mandarin Chinese Restaurant:

The favorite overall by a whopping six points, and voted the best by four! Some of the comments; "lightest and crispy-est…" "good crunch, but meat a little dry…." "definitely the best, the only one I wanted seconds of…." "nice and light batter".

Mandarin Chinese Restaurant
945-A Otay Lakes Rd
Chula Vista, CA 91913
(619) 656-8080

So there you have it folks! Surprised? I sure was……

The gang did a great job going from this:

To this:

It's amazing what you can learn while chomping on wings with one another. For instance, Candice makes a mean Cucumber granita and Mango Sorbet which helped to keep our palates fresh, I never knew Librarians can sing so well, and there were moves attributed to the movie Flashdance that I don't recall….or umm…maybe I don't want to recall????

My thanks to everyone who participated!

Oh yes, how did I see things?

#1 – Royal Mandarin

#2 – Mandarin Restaurant

#3 – A & D

#4 - Golden Chopsticks

#5 – Panda Palace

Let the debates begin!!!!

Everything Tastes Better in a Banh Mi, Right? Sunday Edition – Uni (Sea Urchin) and Egg Banh Mi

June 21, 2009 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Cooking, Sandwiches, yoso-silly

If you've read my previous post, you'll recall my testing the limits of that phrase. I can't recall who told me that, but it has stuck in my head. This'll be a short post….'cause you know that you should be spending time with Dad on this Father's Day, not checking out some silly "Everything Tastes Better in a Banh Mi" post!

The Banh Mi itself looks fairly innocuous.

I became a big fan of Banh Mi Trung (Egg Banh Mi) during our visit to Vietnam….and I still crave it from time to time. While looking through the recipes in Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook, I came across a recipe for "Scrambled Eggs with Sea Urchin in Lobster Sauce". It really wasn't the recipe that hit me, but the photo. Along the side of the dish, was a baguette! In the sometimes strange way that my mind works, I thought this to be a great idea. I've had a wonderful "Oeufs Brouillés aux Oursins" (scrambled eggs with sea urchin), and even "Oeufs Brouilles Au Caviar D'Oursin" (scrambled eggs with caviar and sea urchin) a couple of times. Uni, egg, and Banh Mi sounded just wonderful. So why not?

My objective was to not "kill" the wonderful, unique, and delicate flavor of the Uni. I wanted everything to be in harmony, yet not boring. I guess you'd call it "fusion" without "con-fusion".

The bread I picked up from Paris Bakery.

In homage to the Vietnamese Banh Mi Trung, I added some Maggi to the eggs, because as we all know, "Maggi makes everything taste better"! And some sea salt.

For texture, and to balance out the richness, I used the ubiquitous Vietnamese pickled radish and carrots. In addition, instead of cilantro, I added some Kaiware (daikon sprouts). I think a touch of mayo might have been nice, but pate would have killed the sandwich.

There's not much more except for some photos:

Wow, this was "killer", I was amazed at how good this was. The pickles cut the richness, the sprouts added a bit of "spice" and bite, the Maggi added a nice "umami", and you could still taste the wonderful "soul of the ocean"! Not a cheap Banh Mi, but man was it good!

So no Kimchi and Peanut Butter Banh Mi this time around. But the saying still runs true; everything tastes better in a Banh Mi!

Has it been four years already?

May 26, 2009 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

For some reason, I always think that May 27th is our Blogga-versary…….and luckily, every year I check, to find that "gasp!!!" it's actually May 26th. So yes, it's Spam Musubi time again:

Yes, another year, with great food, great fun, and wonderful FOYs (friends of yoso)! Hard to believe. In a world where things change so quickly, I think that for better or worse, we've kinda stayed the same. What started as a way for the Missus and I to keep track of, and share what we ate, our little food-diary of sorts has grown a bit, with FOYs like Cathy and Ed from Yuma providing much more food and color. And posts listing places ranging far and wide, not only San Diego, Yuma, and SoCal…but from Detroit and Madison, to Seattle and Portland, to Peru and Laos. But it's still a bunch of folks just eating and writing about it. It has been a great four years. I'm hoping that the next year will be a great one as well. I'd like to keep going until I run out of candle space on the musubi!!!

I'm a bit curious…… if you've been reading regularly; I'm wondering how long have you been an FOY?

A most humble thank you for reading, commenting…. and especially for taking the time out to check us out!

Sunday Stuffs

May 24, 2009 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Just a few Sunday Stuffs…….

Thanks Dennis!

I recently had the opportunity of grabbing some lunch with fellow food blogger Dennis, who does the wonderful food blog, A Radiused Corner. Dennis, being the generous soul that he is, brought me a gift:

It was a fabulous, and apparently well known Raayu (Rayu), chili oil, from Ishigaki-jima, one of the Islands in Okinawa prefecture. And to even make it more special, this raayu was bought from the actual restaurant that produces it.Geeez, so what can I say, except a humble thanks!

And one more thing Dennis, you've made a life-long fan in the Missus, who loves this stuff on everything, from Banh Mi, to Her bowl of Shio Ramen from Santouka.

She loves the sweet-nutty-slightly spicy flavor of this chili oil. As we would say "back home", She believes this would make Her "rubbah zori" taste good!

I have had to request permission to get a few precious, delicious drops of this ambrosia for my personal use.

It's going to be a sad day in the mmm-yoso household when the raayu runs out……

Just as I've found over the years…..food bloggers are some of the most generous folks! So please read Dennis's food blog when you have a chance.

Thanks again Dennis!

Sushi Deli returns (again):

While driving to Mitsuwa, I noticed some construction taking place at the old Rosie & Joe's Grill and Cantina site on Armour Street. And much to my surprise, it looks like Sushi Deli is being resurrected.

I guess they figure that the closer they get to Mitsuwa, the better business will be? This side street doesn't generate much traffic, but at least I guess there will be ample parking? Frankly, I'd eat the pre-packaged sushi from Mitsuwa or Nijiya before I'd eat at Sushi Deli again….but if it floats your boat….

Adovo Anyone?:

So said the sign at Sizzler, in of all places National City:

I'm sure that Sizzler is doing this to attract more Filipino customers. But wouldn't it help to spell what many consider to be the Filipino National Dish correctly?

This leads to so many questions; such as, did they lose all their "B's", and maybe couldn't afford replacements? I'm sure you all can come up with some interesting questions. The biggest question in my mind is, what kind of "adovo"…..vhicken or vork?

What is the correct thing to do when someone's groceries makes a break for it?

We were having dinner at Pho Lucky, when I heard a "swish-swish-swish", and noticed that the plastic shopping bag on the seat across from us was twisting, turning, and bouncing up and down. The lady sitting next to the bag was totally oblivious. Soon enough the bag flopped off the chair, and hit the ground. The lady kept eating her Pho, and just ignored it……

Talk about distracting! Soon enough, the bag started making its way down the aisle. Finally, one of the Servers picked it up, and returned it to the chair, and the woman didn't even blink an eye! I'm still wondering what was in that bag???? Must be fish, since I didn't see any live frogs for sale at Lucky Seafood. The Missus and I were mesmerized by that plastic shopping bag……..

I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend!

An Uni – licious Saturday – Live Uni from San Diego Kelpbed Products, Little Italy Mercato

May 16, 2009 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Seafood, Sushi and Sashimi, yoso-silly

I readily admit that I don't do a good job on keeping tabs on what is the latest, or greatest "thing" going on. But on occasion, I will read something that will grab my attention. This past Friday, I was "surfing along", when I decided to check out The Readers Food and Drink section, and lo' and behold, Ed Bedford's column was on a stand selling live uni at the Saturday Little Italy Mercato. Way to go Ed….….

So this morning I headed over to Little Italy, found parking with no problem, and walked a block over to the Mercato. Traffic, both the four wheeled and two legged kind was very light, and right at the South end of the Market, I saw the booth for San Diego Kelpbed Products.

And yes, there it was…….wriggling quills moving with slow, pulsing, almost mechanical smoothness. Heidi explained that these were Red Sea Urchin, and than raised her hands showing me the red pigmentation that the urchin gave off.

The booth is manned by Heidi and her daughter Rosemary. Heidi is treasure trove of information on Sea Urchin. Stuff like sea urchins can live a very long life(100 + years), and can keep reproducing until they are very old. As such, harvesting these keeps the population in check, which in turn does our Kelp Beds a favor. And then the magic words were spoken, "would you like a taste?" Are you kidding me????

Rosemary set to work, and had a much too easy time cracking and cleaning the uni……she cracked with the skill derived from tons of practice.

These 'nads had a bright almost reddish-orange color, with a nice, mild sweetness, and rich, briney flavor…..call it the kiss of the ocean if you desire. The flesh was creamy without disintegrating, and the fragrance hinted of the sea. And at four bucks a pop, I bought two…….

When I arrived home, I placed my uni in some old pasta bowls I had and put them in the fridge. I had been told that the uni would live two to three days in my fridge. You can tell they're alive by touching them……the spines will move. Of course, every half hour or so, I'd open the fridge, and pet my uni……

After completing all of my chores, I finally set out to work on my urchin. I have had more than my share of uni, but I had never cracked a large one myself. Back home in Hawaii, I've eaten smaller seas urchin (called `ina ), but had not really eaten the bigger "wana" (vana). After watching Rosemary, I was sure that I could do at least, a third rate job. Rosemary worked with a small slotted spoon and a pair of kitchen shears. Unlike what one of my friends say….you don't need a "special tool" to remove the gonads from the urchins. Though I wish I had a small slotted spoon…..

Actually, cracking it was easy….first you remove it's "beak". I used my pairing knife to cut around the "mouth". Someone once told me that the Old Hawaiians would place salt around, and in the mouth of the "Wana", and let it sit overnight. Cracks would then form around the mouth, making the uni easy to crack. I was much too impatient to even think about trying this.

Mouth removed, the uni looked like this:

I turned the uni over and drained the kelp(and other stuff) speckled seawater into the sink. I than found two of the seams, and cut along them, splitting the uni in half. I than scooped out the orange 'nads, and placed them in a bowl of clean water. I carefully scraped all of the detritus off them. I moved the cleaned uni pieces into another bowl of clean water, just to make sure I got everything off. I dried the uni briefly on paper towels, and ate them up…..plain…..it was excellent. I won't win for style or presentation points, you can pay your extra twenty bucks for that……

As I was washing the red pigment off my fingers….I wondered why I hadn't done this before. Perhaps it was the $4 a piece price……or maybe just watching the ease with which Rosemary went about cleaning the uni…..or maybe it was just the right time.

Funny thing was, the other uni, which I had this evening was even better…the flesh was that reddish-orange hue….and it was just sublime. Folks say that San Diego has some of the best Uni in the world…..so why don't you try it out, and form your own opinion.

And while you're at it, enjoy the Little Italy Mercato, on Saturdays between 9am and 130pm, located on Date Street, between Kettner and Union.

I picked out some other stuff as well……

Yes, it’s that time again……

April 20, 2009 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

The Missus has been wanting to visit some Mayan Ruins for over a year now….so guess where we're headed?

We'll be back in about two weeks or so……still not exactly sure what the itinerary will be…….and not sure what we'll find to eat. But hopefully, I'll have something to post on when we return.

Until then, as always, Cathy's in charge.

See you in a few!

So Wrong, part one

April 16, 2009 Cathy What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!! is a blog about food, written by a few friends. Today, ed (from Yuma) and Kirk are busy, so Cathy is stepping in with a short post.

Hi. I haven't posted in a while. Life has been kind of busy and both The Mister and myself had that fever/cough/crud/spitting thing going on, so, even though we were eating, nothing seemed interesting enough to write about. But I took some photos anyhow. I decided to share some oddities. This is the first episode.

It was Lent. 40 days of some sort of sacrifice before Easter. Usually people give up some sort of food as their sacrifice. Sometimes it is just not eating meat. Every fast food restaurant had some sort of fish sandwich/deal going on.

Wendy's Fish sandwich, which was really good.

Jack in the Box had a great deal. 013

My ever favorite McDonald's Filet O Fish Fridays 011

Then, I saw this at Der Weinerschnitzel.

You know I had to stop and try it.

Because it looked ..so wrong… So very, very wrong.

Basically a fish stick on a hot dog bun, with lettuce and tartar sauce. Less than $2.

It did taste pretty good, quite a heavy/large fish stick which was fried properly and served on a steamed bun with iceberg lettuce and a vinegary tartar sauce.

Conclusion: don't judge by looks.

Secondary conclusion: There may be a Food Stylist job open soon.

It's almost the weekend. Hope everyone has been having a good week, even though Tax Day was in the middle.