yoso-silly – Page 32

Sunday Shopping

July 6, 2008 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers, yoso-silly

Are food prices affecting the way you shop? That was the question posed by Caron, who does the fine San Diego Foodstuff Blog, in her May 28th post. I recall reading the post, and for some reason it has occupied a place in the back of my mind for several weeks. If you’re like us, fuel and food price increases have had an effect on how you shop, eat, and play. I’ve noticed that we’ve been eating at home more. And over the last couple of months, there’s been sort of a shopping "rotation" that occurs on either Saturday or Sunday. And at first I thought the rotation was purely random, until I realized that there was a reason, some of them having nothing to do with $$$ cost, but still a reason for doing things in the order I chose. Yes, you’ll finally be able to get a look into the anal-retentive mind of yours truly. I’ve always been a bit odd in that way. My late Mother always enjoyed kidding me about my childhood hobby of reading flight schedules. I remember my favorites were the schedules of the now defunct Western Airlines(who remembers, "It’s the oooonly way to fly!" ). I also hate crowds, so early weekend mornings are best for me, even back "home", my friends used to kid me, saying, "you like to shop with the Obachans(Japanese for Grandmothers)".

So the mmm-yoso express is taking off…….

Stop 1 – Henry’s Farmer’s Market – Clairemont:

Why? Well first off, the place opens early, 7am. I usually get there at about 800-815. There are always a few cars in the parking lot, but the place is pretty empty. This location of Henry’s is also only 3 miles from our house.

For what? Mostly cheap, basic produce. And the Missus always has a list of bulk items. The mid-week ad helps us decide.

Henry’s Farmers Market
4439 Genesee Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Stop 2 – 99 Ranch Market:

Why? Next stop, 3 miles from Henry’s, and 99 Ranch Market opens at 8am. I’m usually there a bit after 830 (you’ll see why next). I hate crowds, and especially hate the shopping cart demolition derby that occurs later on in the day. It’s nice to see the parking lot looking like this.

At this time of the day you won’t have to worry about coming back to your car to find a whole new set of dings in your door.

For What? All the Chinese ingredients that are running low at home. Chinese greens, and other vegetables, the fruit at 99 Ranch is a bit disappointing. And if you want help at the meat or seafood counter you never have to worry about getting "hip-checked" by grandma…..

The empty aisles also allow for some nice browsing. No matter how many times I shop here, I always find something Id never seen before. I’ve mentioned my preference for shopping here at an early hour before.

"Chinese Spaghetti Sauce" anyone?

99 Ranch Market
7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Stop 3 – Zion Marketplace:

Why? Only 1.24 miles from 99Ranch Market. Zion also opens at 9am…even on "Holy Days". This is one market that gets crowded pretty quickly, so I want to get in and out ASAP. I’ve been jostled, knocked aside, and almost run over by many customers here. I want my shopping experience to be as enjoyable as possible, not something akin to a blood sport. Plus, this parking lot is hell…even with the parking lot across the street. Seeing it like this brings a smile to my face.

What for? Zion always has fruit on sale, also the garlic is usually the cheapest and best quality, along with other produce. Of course there’s the panchan, and the meat. Among other things….

Zion Marketplace
4611 Mercury St
San Diego, CA 92111

Stop 4 – Nijiya Market:

Why?: 1 mile from Zion, Nijiya opens at 9am but is not as busy until later on.

What For? Most Japanese staples, some fish, one of the few places we’ll by chicken. Has always been our dependable standby.

Nijiya Market
3860 Convoy St Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

Sometimes I’ll drop by First Korean Market, but usually it’s.

Stop 5 – Mitsuwa Marketplace:

Why? .41 miles from Nijiya. I know it’s backtracking, but there’s a reason. Mitsuwa opens at 9am.

What For? Stuff I can’t find at Nijiya. I enjoy selection of tsukemono at Niitakaya’s little "alcove".

Mitsuwa Marketplace
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd Ste 119
San Diego, CA 92111

Stop 6 – Marukai:

Why? Marukai opens at 930, that’s why I backtrack. .34 miles from Mitsuwa.

What For? We get the monthly ads for Marukai, and because all the sale items are sold at LA/OC prices, they are pretty cheap. So we can plan on what we need from Marukai.

Marukai Market
8151 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Sometimes, I’ll hit Vien Dong on Linda Vista, and backtrack home on Genesee. Or like on this morning, I’m finished at 940…just in time for Costco…..

So, how have gas prices affected your eating and shopping habits?

Saturday Silliness-Some meals Cathy has eaten away from home

June 28, 2008 Cathy Stuff, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!!, the blog about food. Cathy is writing to show you she is alive, taking photos and blogging. Just a little.

Hi. I got some emails asking me if I was OK…I’ve been busy this month. I still found time to eat, while meeting friends for lunch, or working and pretty much took photos of everything I ate. Nothing exciting, just food. So, here you go. Sort of a week in my life. Condensed.

Souplantation for lunch.. Where there are no rules. So I always grab two salad plates-one for the ready made stuff as well as the salad -salad.

OK, this time I grabbed three plates. I had one half bowl of chili also, but didn’t take a picture.

I usually try one of the three pastas available, with the sort of garlic/sort of foccacia bread. This day it was Alfredo sauce and pasta.

I always get the squaw bread. With real butter.

A blue crab, steamed with Old Bay…(excellent fresh flavor) from Crab Hut .

So, my $5 lunch, while working… Fresh Kaiser onion roll, 1/4 lb roast beef, Black tea on sale.

Turns into a wonderful huge sandwich.. I was working on Voting Day and could not leave the area I was assigned. I also got myself a jelly donut for dessert. (Included in the $5 price).

… Dsc01725_2

A really good ceviche tostada from some taco shop where I met a friend.

The gyros salad from Daphne’s .

A $21 meal from Nijiya Market. Soft shell crab on bottom center. Curry croquette, fried squid, chicken Katsu Bento box, some sort of seaweed salad…Total price included the can of hot green tea and the liter of cold coffee as well as that imported banana crepe. We ate it on one of the outdoor tables.

That’s it. Nothing overly exciting. Hope you are having a nice weekend.

Whatever a meme is- Cathy’s favorite photos of food

June 25, 2008 Cathy What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog about food. Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are not blogging today. Cathy is.

Hi. Yes I blog, but I don’t know all the terminology of blogging (meme?), much less any fancy terminology to describe what I am eating. If it is good, I tell you. If it isn’t good, I tell you.

I pretty much just consider this thing I do with Kirk and ed (from Yuma) to be sort of therapeutic for me. Instead of talking to people in person, I can do it here…sort of writing a public diary…about what I ate… but I don’t really know if you consider me to be a ~~crazy~~ an eccentric person or not, since most of you don’t comment. Blogging is a different way of thinking for me and from what my other job(s) are. I try to write in a creative way about what I ate.

Then there is photographing what I eat….and publishing those photos.

Anyhow, I am considering myself tagged via Kirk’s post and am glad ed (from Yuma)’s post went up before mine. Both of them put up photographs and descriptions.

Since I am known among friends as "Literal Girl", I am following the rules literally- 1. I am posting my favorite food photos. 2. If you are reading this and feel like I’ve tagged you, in some sort of virtual manner, then go ahead and post your ten favorite food photos.

Rules didn’t say I had to describe. I am Literal Girl, remember?

But, there is one special description.

If Kirk had not asked me to blog with him, I would not have been carrying my camera two months later, when this dish was placed in front of me and absolutely *never* could have been able to describe it in words to adequately express what you see here.

Thanks, Kirk, for everything I’ve been able to do here. I am so glad we are friends.

You are seeing a sort of Chex Mix which also included miniature marshmallows and some seasoned croutons as well as limes on top of a bowl of beef bulgogi with sliced radishes, shredded carrots and cabbage on rice. The bulgogi was very good.

Yes, there are only nine photos. There could have easily been 100 photos which evoked great memories for me which were also beautiful and creative. I put them all up and then started deleting and got to these. Maybe I will do another post…

A Road Trip from Memory Lane

June 22, 2008 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, yoso-silly

I recently took a vacation day from work. For some reason my internal clock is still a bit off, and I just needed a day of R&R(that would be rest and relaxation, not readin’ and ‘riting). In spite of the recent increase in fuel prices, the Missus & I decided to take a "road trip down memory lane". When we resided in LA, we had a Saturday ritual. Whenever I was in town, we’d start our day with a drive down to the Torrance Saturday Farmer’s Market. I know I’ve posted on this before, in fact, more than once. But this Farmer’s Market holds a special place in our heart; if only because we spent a good many Saturday mornings at the market.

On this morning, we made it to the market in record time. There was a significant lack of traffic. I’m thinking it was combination of the heat, and gas prices. We arrived at about 845am, and the market was just starting to pick up. As always, there was a nice selection of a variety of fruits and vegetables. Because of the heat, all the "bug netting" was up.

With the heat and the bright sunlight, it seemed like it was already noon! We purchased a few items, walked the market, which is one of the largest in SoCal, and headed off to our next "regular stop".

On "memory road", our next stop was Marukai Gardena. And we arrived a bit after the 9am opening, and found primo parking. And though we spent a good amount of time walking the isles(and soaking up the A/C), the main reason we stopped here was to purchase fish. Even though, Marukai has opened in San Diego, one of areas where it is still deficient is with regards to fish. Though that could be said for Nijiya and Mitsuwa as well. Our little ice chest full of super fresh salmon, Karei, and Ahi, we headed on our way.

Marukai Gardena
1740 West Artesia Blvd
Gardena, CA 90248
Summer: Monday – Saturday, 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. & Sunday, 9:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.

My previous post can be found here.

Our next usual stop would be East on the 91, North on the 710, and either getting out on Valley, or as today, East on the 10. Today we exited on Garfield, and ended up at the place we used to call the "center of LA’s Chinese universe", the intersection of Garfield and Garvey…….this was circa the 90’s of course, and much has changed since then. So where did we eat? Sorry folks, but that’s future post. After not one, but two meals(hey, with gas prices, who knows when I’ll be back….and leftovers are always welcome), we headed off "home". Not our current "Home" in San Diego, but our old stomping grounds, Rowland Heights. The Missus had a craving for her Shaved Ice from Shau Mei, and that’s where we encountered a big surprise. While the Missus was enduring severely rude service at Shau Mei, I noticed this sign.

A bit curious, we entered Hong Kong Market, and this is what greeted us.

The produce section had been removed, and now consists of boxes of items being sold……inventory liquidation. The meat and frozen food section was "taped off". You can compare it to my previous post, here.

We were shocked, we hadn’t heard that they were closing. Now over the years, I’ve endured some horrible service at Hong Kong Market, but we shopped here frequently, sometimes 4-5 times a week, when we lived in the area. It was within walking distance. The Missus called Her Dad, who shopped here often when they lived in the area.

I guess time had caught up with this rather run down and seedy market. But we had many memories of the place.

In spite of the horrid service, I’ll miss the place. In keeping with the standard service at HK Market, the Missus went over to one of the cashiers who was standing around, and inquired about the closing. The young lady gave the Missus a dirty look, and in a nasty "it’s none of your business" tone, told the Missus, "there is NO reason". You gotta love it, a final kick to the crotch!

We were still talking about the closing while I was prepping dinner. Wondering what was taking its place, and what it meant to all the other businesses in the area. We had already noticed how much lighter traffic was in the area. It was the topic of conversation as we had a "memory lane" beat-the-heat dinner; Poke’ 2 ways.

The Ogo from Marukai was lousy, but man that Ahi was super-fresh. It took us back to our old "Saturday Night" meals way back when. Time moves forward, but sometimes it’s really nice to taste the past.

I hope everyone managed to keep cool this weekend. Tell me, what are your "eating trips down memory lane"?

10 New Pictures

June 21, 2008 ed fromyuma What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, yoso-silly

This is ed (from Yuma). I thoroughly enjoyed looking at Kirk’s 10 favorite pictures from this blog. I see Cathy is also working on a 10 picture post. I thought it would be fun to do something similar – except with one change – here are 10 pictures that have never before been posted at mmm-yoso!!!

Don’t despair, I will refrain from posting pictures of trees:

And pictures of flowers:

Well, except for those pictures. What follows are 10 of my favorite or most interesting food pictures that you have never seen before.

First, this photo that looks like some sort of abstract modernist painting is actually a close-up of a chile relleno. This was my first experiment using the close-up feature on my Canon:

This next picture is a mystery. It is clearly a bowl of spicy seafood noodle soup somewhere in San Diego, but I have no memory of how it tasted or where I bought it. It had transparent noodles and was served with a sprig of basil, bean sprouts, and jalapeno slices. Any ideas?

For several years, one of my very favorite restaurants in the Monterey area was owned by chef Robert Kincaid and was called the White House. Contrary to what some of you are probably thinking, it was not called that because it served up a lot of baloney and made a hash out of everything. Rather, instead, the restaurant occupied a beautiful old Victorian mansion with a white exterior near downtown Pacific Grove . As well as serving tasty food, most of the dishes there were also beautiful to look at. Here, if memory serves, are two East/West fusion potstickers, stuffed with minced pork and served with an Asian sauce:

On my last visit before the restaurant’s untimely demise, I had a roast pork loin dinner that was almost too beautiful to eat. The operative word, however, is almost:

This next picture makes it into this post not because it is exceptionally beautiful food, but because Tico’s in Marina (a few miles north of Monterey) has served me the best breakfasts that I have had since . . . since? Well, some of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had:

Although I have tasted fluffier omelettes, Tico’s hollandaise sauce is to die for (and no, that is not just what my cardiologist says). The home fries are also the best – perfectly seasoned all over, crunchy on the outside, and moist and tender within. If Leff is right (is that a paradox or an oxymoron?) maybe these good home fries are a trend.

At home, I rarely take pictures of my cooking – and there is probably a reason (many reasons?) for that – but one evening the beautiful colors of an heirloom tomato that I had cut up sent me searching for my camera:
I should add that I love heirloom tomatoes. Now that I can get them April-November (these were photoed in November!), I am nearly in heaven. I just wish I had taken more pictures of all the varieties because I have easily eaten enough that I could have done a post purely of tomato portraits.

Of course, my favorite unpublished pics would have to include at least one featuring raw seafood. Here is a photo with some of the items served in a recent chirashi bowl at Sakura:

Since we’re on the subject of seafood (any segue in a storm), I thought you might enjoy this picture of a shrimp ceviche tostada from TJ’s Marisquero in Yuma:

Right after I moved to Yuma, I read about the basics of Sonoran cuisine in some Chowhound posts by Canon Fowler (no relation to my camera) who grew up in Tucson in the 20s and 30s. Among many other matters, he wrote about Sonoran enchiladas (also called patty enchiladas), but such simple fare is hard to find these days. The best incarnation of them currently in Yuma are the enchiladas del Piso at Viejo Loco, a dish composed of two thick handmade corn tortillas – so thick they are almost corn cakes – set side by side and covered with sauce, cheese, and topping. This day, I ordered it with green sauce and espinaca (spinach). While not a traditional sauce or topping, it tasted very good:

There is only one fitting way to finish this post. As a way of thanking Kirk for sharing his blog with all of us and letting me occasionally post here, I offer up a photo of an actual loco-moco from Yuma:

Midweek Meme – 10 Photos

June 18, 2008 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Last week FOY Kat, of Our Adventures in Japan tagged me for a meme, called "10 Photos". I admit that I’m usually not very good with these "meme-things". And have probably unwittingly earned a spot on the "places where memes come to die" map. But since this was a very good FOY(Friend of Yoso), and the theme didn’t sound too difficult, I thought it would be a slam dunk. WRONG!

The rules were very straightforward:
1. Post 10 of your own favorite food shots.
2. Pass the opportunity on to others by leaving a message on their comments page just so they’re aware of it.

No problemo….until I had to actually choose only 10 photos. How the heck do I choose just 10 photos? It’s like choosing 10 of my favorite children! So being the good little soldier that I am, I started thinking up different little rules, only places outside the US, only places inside the US, only places in San Diego, only places in San Diego whose name ends in "Berto". Arrgh! I finally came up with some guidelines for myself(boy, do I need structure or what?). Only photos of stuff I really enjoyed, and only from the last 2 years or so. So, though I really enjoyed the photo of the The Sherry Soused Spinach, 8 Minute Eggs, and Hazelnuts from Park Kitchen in Portland:

I didn’t think it was the best item I had during that meal. (Notice how I’ve already managed to sneak extra photos in already?) So it was disqualified. This ended up being quite hard for me. But I managed to pick a few.

So before my list, why don’t you take a gander at Kat’s 10 photos.

Here goes:

#10 – From the "did this really come out of my kitchen category?" Buta Kakuni:

#9 – From the "nothing tastes better wrapped in a leaf category". Nem Khao from Asia Cafe:

#8 – From the "it looks like it came from Lorena Bobitt’s new cookbook – Man(hood) meets grill" category. Hurts me just to think about it. De Nuong La Lot Mo Chai from Binh Dan Restaurant:

Not ba-a-a-a-ad at all!

#7 – My "MVP – Most Valuable Pescado". Cebiche Pescado from Astrid y Gaston in Miraflores(Lima):

#6 – From the "what’s a Loco like you doing in a place like this" category. The Hilo Style Loco from Leilani’s Cafe:

You know I just had to sneak a Loco Moco in didn’t you?

#5 – From the "so good my arteries stood still" category. Sisig from Ed’s Bistro(how we miss you, though my Cardiologist doesn’t).

#4 – From the "even though I don’t speak Spanish, I’m glad you understood me" category. Tacos from Tacos El Compita:

#3 – From the "swipe my meat" category. Prime Cap Ribeye from Tsuruhashi. Why "swipe my meat"? This photo has been used without permission 3 times.

#2 – From the "kabobs of my dreams" category. Lamb Kabobs from Chef Tony(RIP):

What’s better than some good "meat on a stick"?

#1 – From the "they must be using some highly addictive controlled substance" category. The Cold Sichuan Noodles from Ba Ren:

I dunno why, but I just "MUST" have this at least once a month, if not more often.

Looking at my short list, there sure seemed to be quite a few photos from places that have gone out of business, like Mei Jia Deli

And Thien Thanh

Sorry, just snuck in a few more photos…..it seems like I’m caught in a terminal, obsessive, death spiral….

MUST…STOP….NOW!

Whew, okay, so there you go. As for the tagging, if you feel the desire to keep this meme going, consider yourself tagged!

One last photo, ok? I readily admit, I really don’t know what the heck I’m doing when I take photos. It is just point and shoot(artistic composition? you’re better off trying to get me to breakdance – I wouldn’t know it if it hit me in the head). And all of these were taken with my little ol’ $200 Fuji:

I hope you enjoyed this. And WC, I know I still owe you the 5 Things About Me meme.

Thanks for the tag Kat!

Sunday Stuffs

June 8, 2008 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Bale on Linda Vista is moving.

Last Sunday, I did my morning shopping at Vien Dong, and noticed that Bale had closed.

According to the sign, they will be moving to the area occupied by Dai Tan Market.

So today, while driving in the area, I drove into the parking lot of Dai Tan Market, and noticed that the place was still open. And no sign of Bale. Since it is already June; I’m wondering if something happened?

What is my favorite?

I recently received a very nice email from "TK", In the email I was asked what my favorite 8 posts were. You know, I have never even thought about that? Why 8? The Missus told me, "he must be Chinese". (Slap to the head) Yes, the number 8 is considered very lucky by the Chinese. Like my favorite watering hole back home. "8 Fat Fat 8". Thanks for the suggestion TK…..hey if you have any other ideas for a post, feel free, ok?

Unfortunately, choosing my favorite posts out of over 800 is quite a daunting task. Sort of like picking your favorite child. There are a handful of posts, like :

The Fried Pork Rectum post. BTW, that’s what it looks like to the right.

Or maybe even the Vegemite – Vege-might not post, or even the $50 Sandwich post. Maybe it was the Spam Katsu Curry. Which tasted really good, BTW.

Or something really silly like:

Young Duck Missing Parts? or even the Everything tastes better on a Banh Mi? Sometimes, the emails I receive make up most of the post, as in the case of the Bun Bo Hue Dossier.

So the 8 I came up with are:

8. Five Favorite Cookbooks Meme.

7. C is for Chicha, Chinchero, and Chicharroneria!

6. Return to Vien Dong Market

5. Maguro Unconfidential

4. A Very Special Dinner in Cusco

3. Can Cau Market

2. The Missus’s One Post – Yes, the Missus actually wrote 1 post!

1. "Sam Woo the Killer Whale"

So, do you remember any specific posts? I’d love to know!

How I love reading about Road Trips:

I don’t know what it is about me and road trips. Perhaps growing up on an Island, I’ve always been fascinated with the "song of the open road". I know I really enjoy reading Cathy’s posts from the road. Right now Michael who does the wonderful San Diego based food blog, Menu In Progress, is in the midst of a road trip. You can read about it here. He’s already hit one of the places I’ve had on my "list" for the longest time, Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas. And eagerly feeding on Tex-Mex, Michael has coined one of my favorite phrases of the year thus far:

"In addition to being a fan of the food traditions from the source, I am also an unapologetic fan of the various regional American incarnations of Mexican food."

mmm-yoso!!! Makes 3……

May 26, 2008 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

You know, I almost missed it again this year. Last year it slipped my mind completely. For some reason, this year I thought it was May 27th. But I just happened to get into my time machine and took a peek at our first post; and gasp, it was dated May 26, 2005. So I rushed and made some rice, and just as I did in 2006, made a quick and dirty Spam Musubi.

Hmmm, a larger candle means more melted wax to scrape off the musubi before I eat it…..

As always, thanks to each and everyone of you for visiting, commenting, the emails, and all of the wonderful recommendations that have poured in over the last 3 years. We’ve had a blast, and at last count have 850 posts, 13,ooo+ comments(though I think most of them are from me!), and over 460 different eating establishments, not including markets, fairs, etc. So it looks like it’s time for me to start returning to some of those places we haven’t posted on in a while.

I really never thought I’d be around this long.

One big mahalo to Cathy, Ed from Yuma, Vicky, mizducky, and Omar. One thing is for certain, without their help, there’s no way mmm-yoso would have lasted this long. I’m not sure how long, or how many posts I have left. And who knows, one of these days, I may even get around to "pretty-ing" things up a bit…maybe even finally doing that custom banner I’ve been too darn lazy to do. Until then, we’ll just keep rolling!

Thanks again everyone!

$5 Pizza – Little Caesars- Yes, Cathy also eats here.

April 11, 2008 Cathy Pizza, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog about food and Cathy is the one blogging today. Kirk doesn’t want to blog.

Hello. I decided to actually write about one of my even more bizarre food secrets- the $5 pizza. It seems that every pizza place is offering one- usually somewhat pre-made and includes one topping.

Little Caesars started out in Detroit, along with Dominoes. I grew up in Detroit. Those two were my pizza "standards" long before I discovered the really good stuff in Italy. So this is more or less a "comfort food" for me.

I know some people don’t like the pizza from here, but the dough is fresh made daily and yeasty (and not that pre-made with holes punched in it refrigerated stuff), which is kind of a requirement for me to like the bready part of any meal. The cheese is always fresh and never frozen, as other pizza chains use. I do not crave the pizza/dipping sauce from here because the herbs overpower the tomato flavor, but I know people who love it and crave it.

The pizzas at Little Caesars are usually pre- made and hot and waiting, especially around dinner time or around the time Monday Night Football is on TV. They have a timer so you don’t get an "old" one. I think the time limit is 10 minutes before the pizza has to be disposed of/not allowed to be sold, although I have seen the timer set to 7 minutes at one location.

You can order for $4, an "Italian Cheese Bread" , which is the pizza dough squared and topped with only cheese and Italian herbs. You have to wait for this to be baked, so you can also ask for your $5 pizza to be made with a different one item topping. I sometimes get mushrooms and sometimes I get a cheese pie. I do ask that they make the cheese pie "well done" so the cheese is melted and browned. I figure I am waiting anyhow…

It is not bad nor expensive if you need something quick, and it does reheat in the toaster oven in the morning.

Website Little Caesars Pizza, multiple locations across the USA.

Chili Cheese Fries- Compare and Contrast…

April 2, 2008 Cathy Chains, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog. About "food". Sometimes we stretch the definition of "food" and "meals" we ate. This is one of those times.

Hi. Cathy here again, with a kind of "research" food post. All done with the purpose of informing you, our dear readers, about some sort of food item…

The following are ranked in ascending order.

It seems everyone is offering chili cheese fries as a side, or as a meal lately and I thought I would give you my take on this kind of meal or side dish. So, lets start out with the "original" in a sense…Weinerschintzel. As you can see, in order to fully enjoy the meal at "Der Schnitz", we indulged in corn dogs and a chili dog (the beef one: I went crazy with my tax refund this year and decided to spring for it) topped with mustard and onions. Let’s just say the chili is…um…’meaty’, with many chunks of the same shape and size of ‘meat’ in it….very manufactured. You can see the cheese is not melted (but that eventually happened) and the fries are…skinny and not crispy. Not my favorite. But, for $1.59, what should I expect? I do love the Tastee Freeze ice cream and shakes here, though.

Del Taco has jumped into the fray and is offering a $1 off coupon to try the Chili Cheddar fries, making the final price about $1.50. I do like the Del Taco quesedillas because they are made with Cheddar…and the cheese part of this meal was indeed excellent. The fries stayed crispy. The chili was OK, not too spicy ( I ended up adding some hot sauce after a while) and the overall effect was that I thought if I was at Del Taco, I should get something a bit more ‘Mexican’ in style to eat here…although, as you can see, I got a burger to round out the flavors…

Now, the most popular ad campaign going. Carl’s Jr and the Chili Cheese Fry extravaganza. Messy, sloppy, all over your face.

The fries stayed crispy, the cheese is real and good…and the chili- it is hot dog chili, Coney Island chili…*really* good chili. I could eat a bowl of this stuff with some oyster crackers and be *very* happy.

As a side order, $2.79- and worth it. But, I saw that you can substitute for an additional charge with any Combo meal. Lovely stuff.

I could not help but mention a similar "meal" based with fries that you can purchase for a mere $2.89 at In-N-Out. It is the only reason you get the hermetically sealed fork/salt napkin packet.

Yes.

Animal Fries.

Not on the menu you look at. You must know there is a "Secret Menu", right ?(Hint: Google "In-N-Out Secret Menu")

Why do these fries taste superior? In-N-Out does not have a freezer. The potatoes are cut fresh- you can watch the people doing it before they dump them into the fryer.

The fries are topped cheese. It melts. Then topped with grilled onions. Crispy, burned grilled onions…so that sort of helps with a "chili" flavor, since onions are part of the base of chili…right??

Then all of it is topped with the sauce that is normally used on the burgers. Pretty much a nice, fresh Thousand Island-ish sauce…relish and that pinky-peachy salad dressing.

All good. Some better. Hope you are having a nice middle of the week.