yoso-silly – Page 30

Sunday Stuffs: San Diego Food Blog Search, Who said you can’t get crisp sweet potato fries, and I take direction well.

April 12, 2009 mmm-yoso Indian Restaurants, yoso-silly

The San Diego Food Blog Search.

I originally saw a post by Krista, whose blog, londonelicious is required reading for yoso. In that post she mentioned creating a Google Custom Search using various London based food bloggers. In one of those "now why didn't I think of that" moments, I thought it might be a nice idea to create a Google Search Engine of San Diego Food Bloggers. There are so many excellent food bloggers in San Diego, and this might be a nice way to see what they think about a restaurant, or even snag a recipe. You'll find the search in the left sidebar, right below the site search. Let me know how you like it…..

And if you're a San Diego Food Blogger, and I have somehow missed you, please let me know…..I managed to add 48 food blogs, but am pretty sure I've missed a few. I know I should do more with regards to making things more useful….but it seems I'm always busy eating!!!

Who said you can't get crisp sweet potato fries?

I sorta-kinda remember a conversation somewhere……

Well, I recently had some pretty darn good sweet potato fries, that were crisp, and tasty.

I managed to save some for the Missus, and was even given some specific instructions on how to reheat them. Of course, the Missus disregarded the instructions, but enjoyed them all the same.

So where did I get these?

Well, it was Crab Hut. Very tasty, and kinda reminded me of the sweet potatoes used in Banh Tom. (Here's a recipe from Wandering Chopsticks)

Crab Hut

4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
858-565-1678

Open Daily from 12noon – 10pm

Previous posts on Crab Hut can be found here and here.

I've always taken instruction well:

**** Surati Farsan Mart has closed

Leave it to the Missus, after my post on Surati Farsan, and my mentioning how Indian Cuisine was something She needed to be in the mood to have….she was suddenly….in the mood. So we headed off for Surati Farsan.

It seemed like an overwhelming favorite here is the Chole Samosa:

The Chole which could be described in the most simplest terms as a chickpea curry, was nice with some savory-spicy overtones. It was perhaps a bit too sweet for my taste, but when I made sure to include the onions in every bite, it became an excellent dish. The samosa was fried to perfection, and filled with vegetables, added more of a nice textural counter-point.

Even though this was pretty filling, I ordered something else I had been wanting to try. I had read an article on Vada Pav, actually it was on a chain called Jumbo King, a chain inspired by McDonald's, which took the Vada Pav, a popular street food in Mumbai, and made it a national phenomenon. You can also read another article here. So without further ado, let me introduce Surati Farsan's Pav Vada:

Yes indeed it is the one and only…..potato potato patty "burger". They come two to an order at Surati Farsan.

Nice potato flavor, mildly spiced, and crisp around the edges.The bun was quite a simple burger bun-ish, but there was a nice smear of a garlic chutney. You can also get you Pav Vada with cheese! The Missus loved the potato croquettish patty, I loved the chutney, and got many happy returns from it the entire afternoon (too much info, I know). Not quite sure if I'd get this again…..but it was amausing to say the least.

So what did the always adventurous Missus get?

Sigh….. A Masala Dosa. Oh well, at least one of us broadened our horizons a bit…….

Surati Farsan Mart
9494 Black Mountain Road
San Diego, CA 92126

My previous post on Surati Farsan can be found here.

Saturday Stuffs: United Oriental Food Market closed, what’s going on in the Osaka Kitchen location, and I salute our FOYs.

April 4, 2009 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

United Oriental Food Market is closed:

This one was from FOY, Saya, who mentioned in passing that United Oriental had closed. I always drive past this location, but I guess I wasn't paying much attention.

The sign doesn't say much. Too bad…….

More about the old Osaka Kitchen location:

In an earlier post, I mentioned that the folks who own Okan are taking over this spot. I recently had the pleasure of grabbing a bite with Ed from Yuma and Cathy at Okan. At the end of the meal, I had a chance to speak to Nanase, the young lady who does a fantastic job of managing Okan. I mentioned the Osaka Kitchen spot, and was told that this location will specialize in Nabe and grilled items. And was most surprised to learn that they intent to open this month! No wonder the place is being worked on during weekends as well.

From the it's right under my nose files:

This place has opened in Diane Village shopping center.

And being the bozo that I am….I didn't even notice until recently. Well, that's to be rectified soon…a post is coming right up.

A salute to all our FOYs:

I had notice something interesting a while back………. the mention of oatmeal in the wonderful comments. At first I thought it was just "Judy", but after reading through some older posts, I noticed that Oatmeal seemed to be the FOY's (friends of yoso) breakfast item of choice. It all came to a head in the comments of this post. So let's hear it….. am I correct?

Anyway, to all our oatmeal eating FOYs, I salute you:

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Saturday Snacks: Camau Bakery, Cheeseballs Perhaps?, or for something a bit more savory……

March 28, 2009 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats, yoso-silly

Just some "snacks" for Saturday…..

Camau Bakery & Deli:

This place had caught our interest a while back. We'd seen the prepackged Banh Beo, and other snacks with the "Camau Bakery" label on them. But the place always seemed closed. But on this morning, I noticed the shop was actually open! At least the open sign was out. So we stopped immediately, and found some parking. And walked on over to the door……

And it was locked!!! But the nice lady inside waved at us, opened the door and let us in. I kinda got the feeling that Camau really does catering, large orders, and wholesale orders. Nothing was out, and there were pans of covered snacks waiting for pick-up. But after passing by so many times, the Missus wasn't to be denied. She pointed at one of the containers, and said…"I want that!" The woman, who was a bit amused at the Missus's antics, told Her, "this is for an order, but since they're not going to be picked up until later this afternoon we can make more." Her name is Kieu…so thank you so much!

So what did the Missus get?

Well, a bunch of styrofoam containers of course…..

Just kidding. She got a large order of Che Xoi Nuoc. It's a "sweet soup" of sorts, flavored with sugar and ginger. In the "soup" are large dumplings made of rice flour, and stuffed with mung bean paste, much like the Chinese Tāngyuán. These also had scallions in them, and was more savory than other versions we've had before. Still, after being chilled ice cold, and covered with the accompanying cocunut milk and sesame seeds, it was pretty good.

I just wish they had regular hours…..

Camau Bakery & Deli
4857 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115
(619) 583-2904

Some Cheese Balls Maybe???

One of my favorite lines from the movie, I Love You to Death. Recently, "MG" brought these to work. I had never seen them before.

Apparently, these were the "newest thing" at Valerio's. Buttery, sweet, and a bit salty….maybe a bit too oily for me….none the less, not too bad. If you like buttery…….

And how's this for the kicker….it's filled with cream cheese….

Apparently, it was Valerio's in Mira Mesa who first started selling this…..and now it's being sold at other locations. This one was from the National City location.

Valerio's City Bakery
1631 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950
(619) 477-8588

And for something a bit more "savory"….

You can get this:

Need a closer look?

It was nice breaking bread (and other things) with two of my favorite people, Howie (please check out his recently redesigned Foodie View) and Candice. And this was one of the dishes we sampled.

If you're wondering about the main ingredient, I think the food labeling may be very accurate in this instance:

Fishing Feed? = Bait???? It's all on the label!

Hope you're all having a grest weekend!

Midweek Meanderings

February 10, 2009 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

I'm feeling a bit under the weather, so just a short post for today.

Bye-bye Lot 81, hello Frankie the Bull's BBQ:

Seen while driving down Morena Boulevard:

This was the former location of Lot 81. I'm sure that certain folks will be excited about the portion of the sign that says "Top Chef".

I'm guessing this'll be Top Chef's Frank Terzoli's restaurant. Since I've never watched the show, you all can tell me more….

1130 Buenos Ave (right off Morena)
San Diego, CA 92110

Awash Market and Liquor:

On the 2800 block of El Cajon Boulevard.

It was the "Ethiopian Restaurant" portion of the sign that caught my eye. I've been to Awash further up the street a few times.

How you know a fad is nearly dead:

When a shop opens in our neighborhood. This portion of Clairemont Drive, and this strip mall in particular (anchored by Hometown Buffet) is not known for cutting eating to say the least. So when I saw this sign……

I now know that there must be at least 1 fro-yo shop in every neighborhood in San Diego.

Hmmmm…..

Fusion Fondue and sushi?????

At the corner of Friars Road and Via Las Cumbres in Mission Valley. I dunno……

And speaking of seafood….

Or perhaps more appropriately Hwe (Hoe), there's a few new places as well. By coincidence, two of them are located in the same strip mall located at 4698 Convoy Street.

I hope you're having a great week. We'll be back with a restaurant post tomorrow.

You know by the line…….

January 26, 2009 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

At 815 in the morning at Sam Woo:

It's not any ordinary day. Granted, it ain't Thanksgiving at Honeybaked Hams…….

Anyway, whether you say, Gong Xi Fa Cai‏, or Chúc Mừng Năm Mới, or whatever you might say, we'd like to wish you all:

Happy Lunar New Year!

Red Rock Station Feast Buffet (or, what we did on the day after Thanksgiving)

December 3, 2008 Cathy Buffets, Las Vegas, Nevada, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is just a blog about food. You get to experience our meals by reading about them. Today, Cathy returns with a real post about a silly day.

Hi. So it was the day after Thanksgiving and we woke up and knew we should be driving. Usually we are leaving from Detroit, and stopping at Crazy Jim's Blimpy Burger in Ann Arbor but this year we were in San Diego. Because of the weather back East.

So, we got in the car and headed north. RedRockdayafterthanksgiving 039

Seriously.

We did.

About 5 hours later, after a stop at Starbucks, we were in Las Vegas. RedRockdayafterthanksgiving 023

We intended to go to the Wynn, where I had eaten about two years ago (The Mister had never been there). But the line had more than 100 people waiting, and the menu was special and $40. For lunch. This horrible economy. RedRockdayafterthanksgiving 021

So, we drove across town, to the newer Red Rock, for lunch at $10 each.

RedRockdayafterthanksgiving 005

First, I went to the salad bar area and got my appetizers: Antipasto, sliced cheese, chilled ham, rare roast beef and turkey slices (all very tasty and not lunch meat-ish), marinated mushrooms, beet salad (made with a touch of orange)(really good) and fresh roll and butter.

RedRockdayafterthanksgiving 001

Then the 'why play games?' plate-5 spice pork rib (juicy and not overpowering with sauce),an upside down teriyaki chicken though, egg roll, end cut of roast beef (always good, large and with spices on the crust), fried okra and collard greens…I could have done without the egg roll.

RedRockdayafterthanksgiving 019

Then the schizophrenic, try a bit of everything plate: fried catfish and a hush puppy and some tartar sauce(surprisingly nice), pasta with Alfredo sauce (very nice), a piece of spicy tuna sushi (meh), stir fried noodles (I did not finish) and my favorite-olives!.

RedRockdayafterthanksgiving 004

A little more schizophrenia via The Mister's plate- more fried catfish, a pepperoni Stromboli (which was excellent), slice of cheese pizza (cheese and sauce was excellent, dough could have been baked longer), antipasto with meat, marinated artichokes, creamed corn, baked fish (very nice), black eyed peas, another roll and mac and cheese.

RedRockdayafterthanksgiving 011

Then it was about time for dessert, and The Mister got this plate.

All for himself.

I did try that spumoni gelato at the top left there and it was the best I have ever had in my life. Pistachio and cherry and even the chocolate were *so* good.

The carrot cake was excellent.

RedRockdayafterthanksgiving 007

My "dessert" plate.

Mashed potatoes and gravy (oh *so* good), stuffing with gravy, cranberry sauce, a blondie (unchocolate brownie), pot sticker (excellent filling and dough fried just right) and a piece of teriyaki chicken.

I did not care for the blondie.

and so we had to drive home.

RedRockdayafterthanksgiving 012

We stopped at the Mad Greek in Baker, for a fresh strawberry shake RedRockdayafterthanksgiving 008 .

The small is $4.45 now. Worth it.

We got home 12 hours after we left. A bit less than two full tanks of fuel and an exciting day.

We didn't eat at all on Saturday…

Red Rock Casino website 11011 West Charleston Blvd 89135

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Mad Greek 72112 Baker Boulevard Baker, CA 92309

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Saturday Stuffs: Seafood Island coming soon, and our “Thanksgiving leftover” dish.

November 29, 2008 mmm-yoso Cooking, yoso-silly

Coming Soon – Seafood Island:

Many thanks to the half dozen folks who emailed me about this, including FOY, Tanya and CandiceW. I passed by yesterday, and there is still a bunch of construction going on.

Looks like a very nice restaurant, in a bit of a strange location. You can check out the website here. The menu is humongous, enough to give you "Vietnamese menu overload." The cuisine is described as "authentic" Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean (??!??) cuisine. Regardless, it sure does look like a seafood lover's dream.

I have one question though. And this kinda bothers me a bit, check out the "testimonials" written on the contact page. This place isn't even open yet, how can you have testimonials? I'm kinda slow, so help me out with this one.….

Seafood Island
7580 Miramar Road
San Diego, CA 92126

Our Thanksgiving leftover dish - Oden:

I like to think we're pretty good at minimizing food waste. The Missus and I love leftovers, and try not to waste. Unfortunately, there's always the case of making a dish, and having stuff left over. And sometimes we do end up throwing things out. We're trying to be a bit better, and not waste. One of the dishes that is heaven sent when it comes to having leftovers from making various Japanese dishes is Oden. I had thought we'd be eating pretty simple this Thanksgiving……. until the Missus decided She wanted, "something good for a change". One of the "somethings" was Gomoku Gohan a mixed rice dish. And in addition to the leftover dashi, I had a bunch of other stuff left-over from the variety of ingredients the Missus wanted in Her rice.

Having a variety of fishcake in the freezer, purchased during sales are heaven sent.

There are several standard Oden items the Missus doen't like in Her Oden; Kamaboko and Chikuwa, two types of fishcake…which ironically, are two of my favorite things! The item the Missus requires in Her Oden are hard boiled eggs and Konnyaku.

If you're not up to making your own shiro, there are many types of Tsuyu (instant soup base) available, and you just have to add water. If you use them, make sure you're not sensitive to MSG.

So here my Thanksgiving leftovers version of Oden:

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 27, 2008 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Something to be thankful for:

Our annual bag of Hachiya persimmons from a great (this always upgrades them from "good") friend!

Sounds like one of those "oh no, not another what I'm thankful for paper" that we had to write in the ___ (fill in the blanks) grade. In retrospect, the Missus and I have much to be thankful for. We have each other, our health, family, and in spite of the difficult economic times, we're making due. God knows we're eating well!

But there's even more to be for us to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Be it ever so humble, this is post 1000 ! Yes, we've made a thousand.

We've had a great couple of years, and I personally, could never have imagined we'd have made it this far. Hard to believe that I've crossed so much of my list; Bun Cha, Banh Mi, and Cha Ca in Hanoi.

Pad Thai from street carts in Chiang Mai, Naem from a stall on the shores of the Mekong, Cuy made especially for us in Cusco, Cebiche in Lima, and even Deep-fried Cheese Curds in Madison. Boy, have we put in the miles!

Hopefully, we're not done yet!

So right now, the entire gang at mmm-yoso would like to thank you for visiting. We'd never have hung around this long without you!

The Missus and I are taking it easy this Thanksgiving, but we wanted to wish you all:

Happy Thanksgiving! From the gang at mmm-yoso!!!

Tokyo Sushi, BBQ & Crepe (in Hemet) with a random stop-at Winchester Cheese Company

November 26, 2008 Cathy Cheese, Japanese Restaurants, Ontario/Riverside/San Bernadino, CA, Road Trip, Temecula/Idyllwild/Palm Springs - Riverside, CA, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog. Bunches of people seem to read what Kirk and ed(from Yuma), Cathy and a few others write about. You are one of them. Welcome back.

Hi. So, you may remember I documented my annual drive from San Diego to Detroit last year. This year the weather is absolutely not cooperating and my mom did not want The Mister and me to take to the roads, driving 12 hours a day for three days in a row. Needless to say, I was a bit fearful also, yet I also was so looking forward to this drive. I am going crazy not spending three days in a car with The Mister, then three days with my mom and brother and his family in Detroit and then another three days driving home. In that same car. With The Mister. Really.

I know where we "should be" about now and, more importantly, what we should be eating when in that area. There are fast food joints that don't exist out here in San Diego. There are tourist traps that are so much fun. We don't plan where we will stop, but have done that trip for so many years, there are a lot of places I have not shown you yet.

So, this year is different, yet unplanned and I *really* want to just drive and stop, without a plan or schedule.

So I did.

North. To Hemet. There it was. Tokyo and winchestercheese 012

Tokyo and winchestercheese 013

These two places. In a mall in Hemet.

Tokyo and winchestercheese 001

Next to each other.

What do I do?

Hm, Beijing Hawaiian. Sounds fairly common. Heck, I just had a Kahlua pork taco in Santee the other day. Tokyo Sushi, BBQ and Crepe.

Crepe.
I had to. Tokyo and winchestercheese 003

Walk up, order, pay. Watch The Owner and His Wife cook, behind the sushi bar.

Tokyo and winchestercheese 002

Neat and clean, dark lacquered tables and a bustling take out business. Soon, my order arrived. Tokyo and winchestercheese 007

A good sized, freshly made, sesame oil and seed infused seaweed salad ($2.95). Crunchy, fresh and an excellent portion.

Tokyo and winchestercheese 008

I had a cup of hot green tea, as I always do with my meals and it came with this nice lid to help it steep properly. There is a charge for tea here. Tokyo and winchestercheese 005

Doesn't matter. This is Combo #35, Chicken Katsu. ($5.95) This had to be two chicken breasts, perfectly fried, placed on top of shredded cabbage to get rid of any excess oil (there wasn't any) and served with steamed rice and a salad covered with a wonderful home made dressing.

I asked and the dressing is made with cider vinegar and sugar and carrots and celery. A family recipe. (The katsu sauce is store bought and the container is written all in Japanese in yellow and has a bulldog symbol on it. It is vinegary and compliments the crispy katsu quite well.)

Tokyo and winchestercheese 009

The reason I chose this place. A crepe.

Filled with sliced banana, a good vanilla ice cream and topped with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. ($5.95) Excellent.

So glad I stopped here. If you are out here, for some reason, do stop.

I decided to drive home a different way than I arrived (had taken the 215 and somehow got here); had passed SR79, which I know crossed the I-15 in Temecula, but is only 2 lanes wide.

Tokyo and winchestercheese 020

I saw this and had to stop. Actually, I had to make a U turn on the two lane route.

Tokyo and winchestercheese 016 I drove down a dirt road a short distance, seeing the Alta Dena milk cows on my right.

Tokyo and winchestercheese 017

Apparently the cheese cows were to the left.

Tokyo and winchestercheese 018

The Winchester Cheese Company.

There are samples of four different aged Gouda cheeses(minimally 60 days and the "super aged" is more than one year) and four different flavored Gouda cheeses(cumin, jalapeño, garden herb and smoked), all made from raw milk. Tokyo and winchestercheese 019

Tokyo and winchestercheese 023 I tasted all of the 'plain' Goudas and decided the least aged one had more depth of flavor to me, plus if I wanted to taste more aging, the edges are a bit dryer and should have a more aged flavor.

(I think flavored and smoked cheese is wrong, by the way.)

So anyhow, my own little vacation right here in Southern California. So far. Drive and stop; no plan.

Tokyo Sushi, BBQ and Crepe 1121 S. Sanderson Avenue Hemet 92545 (951-925-7711)

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Winchester Cheese Company 32605 Holland Road Winchester 92596 (951-926-4239)website

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Saturday Stuffs: Yes, you can get Beer Lao in San Diego and Luong Hai Ky opening in Mira Mesa

November 22, 2008 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Yes, you can get Beer Lao in San Diego:

During our vacation in Laos, I found myself totally smitten with Beer Lao. After returning home, I did a bit of research, and found that Beer Lao had 2 distributors in the United States. And one of them was HC Foods in Commerce. I had also seen Beer Lao at World Foods on El Cajon Boulevard. But on our visit to World Foods, there was no Beer Lao in sight. Which got me thinking……if I were a Beer Lao, where would I place myself, for easy purchase and consumption?

And I guessed correctly!

This lovely case of Beer Lao was just going out on the floor, when we grabbed it. In the name of not separating this family of 12 Beer Lao siblings from each other in a strange country, we purchased the whole case. Came out to $32 with tax and CRV.

The purchase of this case got us a bit of attention at the check-out counter. A young man, chatting with the young lady running the register, looked at the case and said; "Beer Lao?" To which I replied; "yes, Bialao (which is the way they pronounce it in Laos…one word), it's good stuff!" This brought a big smile from the young man, "oh yes, nothing better than Bialao, it taste good, and help with heartburn and indigestion." Ah yes, Beer Lao, the magic elixir, cure for whatever ails you…..

For some reason, the young man, eyes glazing over, starting talking to us about Laos. When the Missus mentioned Naem, he brightened significantly, "yes, yes, Naem, mmmmm…." The Missus, entering into interrogation mode, tried to extricate whatever info She could, but as usual it ended with; "I no make Na-em, my mother makes it….it is the best!" After a few minutes, and discussions on Vientiane and Luang Prabang, Lao food and drink, we managed to extricate ourselves. And to our surprise, he left the market, entered his car and drive away. Based on his dress, and the manner in which he was conversing with the cashier…we thought he worked there. And where was "there" specifically?

97 Super Market
4679 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

The young lady mentioned as we were leaving; "we moving in end of December or January, going to corner of University and 30th. You find us easy, I'm putting up a big Cambodian, Lao, and American flags!"

So, how did the beers compare? As you can tell, the labels of what we had in Laos (to the right), and what we bought differed a bit. But that was probably because the product was being exported to the US. We did detect a few differences in taste and texture; the Beer Lao we bought here is much more effervescent and foamy. Also, the mouth feel is less "creamy", and the finish isn't quite as sweet, as what we detected in Laos. Whether due to changes occurring in shipping, formulation, or maybe it was just "atmospheric"? We can't be sure……

It's not like I'm going to stop drinking the stuff!

Luong Hai Ky Opening in Mira Mesa:

As indicated by FOY "Sandy", Luong Hai Ky is opening a branch in Mira Mesa.

This location will be on 10606 Camino Ruiz. Don't you love the "Original Chinese Noodles Restaurant" sign?