Yuma – Page 4 – mmm-yoso

Antojitos in El Centro Again

July 24, 2014 ed fromyuma El Centro, Imperial Valley, Mexican Restaurants, Road Trip, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

This is Ed (from Yuma) writing again today. A big thanks to Kirk (and Cathy) for letting me post stuff here and a big thanks to you for reading it.

I have already blogged about this small Mexican restaurant recently. It feels strange to do two posts about the same place, particularly when it is not even in Yuma, even though Tina and I have had two more interesting meals heresince my last post. So I promise this is my final post about Antojitos Como en Casa. Even if Anthony Bourdain asked me to meet him here for lunch, I would not blog about it; you would just have to see it on Parts Unknown.

The plain exterior has not changed:

The bright and colorful interior is the same as well, but here is a picture of a wall in the side room:

And this is the area that is a tribute to Jorge Negrete (or is that Pedro Infante?):

The service at Antojitos has always been excellent, the waitstaff attentive, friendly, and helpful. On every visit, chips and salsa arrive in an instant:

Here is a close-up of the brightly spicy green salsa, largely mashed roasted green chiles:

And a close-up of the rounder and deeper dried red chili salsa:

Again, the aguasfrescas ($3 large, $1.75 small) have been outstanding; in particular, on our visit in June, the watermelon fruitwater, which we had never had before, was crisp and flvaorful without being a sugar overload:

On that June visit, Tina and I both had soup. She chose the chicken soup whose name I can never remember:

Remarkably, this excellent and rich soup was different from the chicken soup I had a few months previously. Mine had had abundant chickpeas – Tina’s was more like a caldo de pollo, full of vegetables as well as tortilla strips, cheese, and red onion slices.

The broth in my menudo ($8.50) was fully flavored, savory and rich. In it, soft, succulent, yielding little pillows of tripe contrasted perfectly with abundant nixtamal:

On our next visit, we ordered two different aguasfrescas (Antojitos always has 3 choices, but the choices have never been the same on any two visits). Tina had the cucumber/pineapple:

I had lemon/strawberry:

As good as hers was, I loved my lemon accented, intensely strawberry water even more. This place has the best aguasfrescas I have ever tasted – by far.

Since this visit was on a Saturday, Tina and I were looking forward to sharing an order of the lamb mixiote, available only Friday through Sunday. It soon arrived at the table:

We decided on the option with beans and rice ($18.50), so we got a small bowl of soupy but tasty frijoles and plenty of Mexican Rice:

The lamb also came with homemade yellow corn tortillas, smaller than regular corn tortillas with the bright golden color and a very corny taste:

When we peeled the tinfoil back, we saw a whole lamb shoulder with a bone protruding at one end, the meat covered with parchment paper and surrounded by a rich and flavorful consommé:

With the paper removed, we could see the moist braised shoulder, laden with herbs and spices, looking tender and inviting:

The meat made wonderful simple tacos:

Maybe the most flavorful braised lamb I have ever savored, and I have eaten (and cooked) a lot of lamb shacks over the years. One of the reasons for the savory complexity of the dish was the layer of maguey leaves we found underneath the mixiote:

The owner/manager of the restaurant said that their particular version of the dish is native to Hidalgo, a state in central Mexico just east and north of Mexico City. This restaurant’s roots in central Mexico help explain the cuisine here and why this place seems unique in the American Southwest border region.

Since Tina and I happened onto Antojitos, we have been finding excuses to go to El Centro – there are some different stores in their mall; there's a Costco; it's a convenient stop on the way to LA. I never realized how many reasons there were to visit El Centro. However, since I will not be blogging about this place again (at least not in the immediate future), you now have a reason to visit El Centro yourselves – to find out more about Antojitos Como en Casa.

Antijitos Como en Casa, 425 Desert Gardens Dr, El Centro, CA 92243, (760) 482-5621, open 8 am – 8 pm every day, except Mondays. website

Ed, Chicken Soup, and La Flor Mexican Restaurant, Yuma

May 24, 2014 ed fromyuma Mexican Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Ed (from Yuma) finally has another post here at mmm-yoso. Cathy and Kirk get a day off today.

When you live in a big city like San Diego there are always new restaurants opening, old restaurants transforming, and more variety of food choices than any one person can experience. When you live in Yuma, Arizona, however, it is easy to sample dishes from each of the long time non-chain restaurants in the area in a year or two. So I go to my favorites and try new places that might interest me. Sometimes I even write about them for mmm-yoso. But it is rare for me to "discover" a Yuma eatery that has been around for a long time. This post is about one of those rarities.

One day last summer, I knew that I would be stuck from 9 AM to 4 PM getting chemotherapy at my oncologist. My old buddy Dave volunteered to bring in lunch. I told him that sounded great, but I certainly wasn't expecting him to arrive with two large Styrofoam containers filled to the brim with Mexican-style chicken soup, a couple huge flour tortillas wrapped in tinfoil, some Mexican rice, and two aguasfrescas. And I certainly wasn't expecting the soup to be the best chicken soup I had ever had in Yuma – well actually, probably the best chicken soup I've ever had.

"Chicken soup?" I asked.

"Yeah," Dave said, "it's a good thing when you're sick."

I didn't have my camera with me that afternoon, but this is what a bowl of that incredible chicken soup looks like:

It usually contains three pieces of bone-in dark meat chicken, celery, carrot chunks, potato, and sometimes even squash in a hearty chicken broth that is full of chicken flavor and so rich that any left overs turn gelatinous in the refrigerator.

Here's a picture of the giant, old-style, Sonoran flour tortilla that I always get when I order the soup. It is bigger than it looks:

Dave had picked up the soup from La Flor, a longtime Yuma Mexican restaurant that occupies a stand-alone building with a lot of parking (pun intended) on the corner of Avenue A and Third Street. Dave says it's been there for over 20 years, and he would know:

The restaurant’s homey and clean interior features standard Yuma Mexican restaurant décor:

That picture does not show the 5 or 6 booths along a couple of the walls, so the place is bigger than it looks.

It wasn't that I had never eaten at La Flor before, but I thought it was just a decent Mexican restaurant with very fair prices that did a lot of things fairly well, but nothing was so extraordinary as to invite a post at mmm-yoso. But La Flor did have some unusual qualities. All the dishes were preceded by a small cup of cream of vegetable soup:

The decent thick and crunchy chips were sometimes accompanied by a tomatoey fresh salsa, and sometimes by dried chili salsa, both of which were good:

The restaurant makes a good quesadilla.:

And I have no complaints with the chicken enchilada or the chile relleno:

On the other hand, I still have terrible memories of a soggy chicken torta made with boiled chicken, and I would urge anyone to avoid the fish tacos, the fried fillets swimming in a sweet thick yellowish mayonnaise based sauce.:

Before I had had the chicken soup, my favorite item on the menu was the truly outstanding chile verde, shown here in a burrito.:

The mild green chili sauce, the fall apart tender pieces of pork, and the hint of tomatillo combine to make arguably the best green chili in Yuma (and I love green chilies).

Now, however, Tina and I usually come to La Flor for the comforting and filling bowls of soup. Most days the restaurant offers eight or nine different soup choices. Of course, the chicken is still maybe our favorite, but the albondigas with numerous peppery meatballs and various vegetables in a very savory stock is often quite good – if occasionally a little salty.:

The menudo here is tasty and well-prepared:

Here topped with condiments:

but Tina and I think the pozole may be the best in town – and that is saying something.:

As well as fish soup and shrimp soup (neither of which I have tried yet), La Flor does a very good siete mares.:

Years ago I fell in love with siete mares on vacation in Ensenada, and truth be told, I have never had a version on this side of the border as good as the impeccable mixed seafood soup that still lives in my memories of Ensenada, but this was deeply flavored with a robust fishy broth (look at that broth) and most of the seafood was good. The portion was also so huge that I couldn't finish the whole bowl.

So I owe a tip of the hat and a shout out to Dave – it has led to numerous flavorful and fulfilling meals over the last year. I have also been extremely lucky with my lung cancer (fingers crossed). In addition to six days of chemotherapy, I had around 35 tomotherapy radiation treatments. My radiation oncologist – a man of faith – said that the disappearance of the tumor was "miraculous." I personally attribute it to Dr Shea and Dr Giangreco and their wonderful staffs at Southwest Oncology.

But maybe it was just the chicken soup.

La Flor, 1085 W 3rd St, Yuma, AZ 85364, (928) 782-5621, open from breakfast through dinner, but closed on Tuesdays.

Mi Rancho and Tacos Mi Rancho: Yuma Mexican from Daylight till Late Night

November 21, 2013 ed fromyuma Breakfast/Brunch, Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk and Cathy are eating today. They eat everyday. But they don't post everyday. So today, Ed (from Yuma) wants to tell you about Yuma's Flagship Mexican eateries. Come back tomorrow for different meals, in a different place, and with a different poster. But it'll be mmm-yoso delicioso.

I was thinking the other day about the restaurants I eat at regularly that I have never blogged about. At the top of the list would be Tacos Mi Rancho, this little converted fast food spot:

And its larger newer cousin, Mi Rancho:

While the menus for the restaurants are the same, and they both have a good selection of Mexican beers, some old-school locals prefer the funky ambience of TMR with its two small rooms, brightly colored walls, and visible A/C ducts. Mi Rancho is significantly larger and less gaudy, but certainly not fine-dining fancy. It also prepares decent margaritas.

Around 20 years ago I remember stumbling onto TMR and having one of the best Mexican lunches in my entire life (up to that time). When I later moved to Yuma, these restaurants became part of my regular rotation.

Part of the reason for that is the excellent homemade salsa, thick and full of chile, onion, and tomato flavors, nicely balanced and usually very picante:

The complimentary salsa and thin fresh corn chips (chips served only with lunch or dinner) are so good that I've taken a lot of pictures like this one over the years:

Or this one:

Both places are my favorites for Mexican-style breakfast in town (Fri – Sun, served until 11 AM)

Their kitchens prepare a range of standard breakfasts plates and omelettes, such as this Spanish omelette (sausage and cheese)($6.99):

Those potatoes, moist country fries cooked with onions and peppers, are a highlight of the breakfasts – standard with the breakfast plates until the kitchen runs out and substitutes rice:

Still, the quality chorizo makes huevos con chorizo($6.99) a good and spicy breakfast plate. Likewise, the huevos rancheros($5.99) are usually the best in town whether they come with rice or potatoes:

The crispy tortilla, the perfectly cooked, over-easy eggs, and the flavorful ranchero sauce are always enjoyable. I also love the chilequiles (corn tortilla chips covered with sauce and eggs)($5.99) but for some reason have no picture for this post.

Lunches are popular at both restaurants. The menu has numerous burrito and torta choices, such as this chicken torta($5.99):

At lunchtime, the senior menu also becomes the lunch special menu(all $6.99). Here's a chicken enchilada lunch special:

Two al pastor soft tacos – another lunch special:

Their green chili, tender chunks of pork in a nicely balanced mild green chile/tomatillo/cilantro sauce, is also available in the lunch special size:

The restaurant also has a large selection of "Mexican dinners" – rice, beans, tortillas, and an entrée – including such favorites as chiles rellenos($10.99):

Or folded tacos (here chicken)($10.99):

The menu also offers more entrée choices than any other Mexican restaurant in town, including liver and onions($10.99), chicherones rancheros($10.99), barbacoa($11.49), carne en su jugo($11.49) etc. For example, birria de chivo (goat meat in chile broth)($11.49) is always available – and always very tasty and authentically goaty:

In addition to their usual good menudo($7.99) and a classic caldo de res($10.99), TMR and Mi Rancho also occasionally have pozole:

Their soups come with chopped onions, cilantro, lemon/lime wedges, and other appropriate condiments so each customer can flavor and decorate her own soup:

The wide menu includes seafood choices as well, like this first-rate camarones rancheros($13.99):

Or this fresh tasting whole tilapia($11.99):

And here is an order of fish fillets in garlic butter($10.99) in a to-go carton:

In fact, I regularly grab dinners from Mi Rancho when I have to work late since few other good independent restaurants in town welcome customers or prepare a to go plate at 8:30 or 9 PM – which is late by Yuma standards. For example, here’s lengua (in ranchero sauce) ($11.99)I got for take out:

As you can see, I don't always make it home with the most attractive looking styrofoam. Nonetheless, this is tasty and spicy al pastor($11.49):

As I look over this post, I realized that I have mostly just provided pictures and brief descriptions. I guess that’s because these restaurants are like old comfortable friends, not exciting new finds. The food is usually good, but not wildly spectacular. It tastes pretty much how it looks. Mi Rancho has been voted the best Mexican restaurant in town by the readers of the local newspaper on several occasions. To me, that seems a pretty fair judgment. The menu offers a lot of choices, almost every dish will be well prepared, and the prices are very reasonable. The restaurants offer breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. The service is usually professional and generally good by Yuma standards. And the salsa is almost always great.

Tacos Mi Rancho, 188 S. 4th Ave., Yuma AZ 85364, (928) 783-2116; Mi Rancho, 2701 S. 4th Ave., Yuma AZ 85364, (928) 344-6903.

Jector’s Too – Yuma

October 29, 2013 ed fromyuma Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Most days this foodblog has fresh posts from Kirk or Cathy. But today, Ed (fromYuma) gets to tell you about a new old place (or is it an old new place?) in Yuma.

Ana’s (also spelled Anna’s) had been a tiny Mexican
eatery in my neighborhood of Yuma for as long as I can remember. It always
seemed like a cart/restaurant crossbreed with its tiny kitchen, window
service, and small eating area surrounded by steel cage walls. A minimalist burrito shack:

Sort of open to the outdoors, the ordering/delivering area is
pretty shabby looking as well:

About a year ago I noticed that the place had more customers
than usual, and when I stopped in, I was told that Ana’s had been sold to
Jector, of Jector’s Breakfast Burritos. Now it is called Jector’s Too:

So today you can get a wide range of breakfast burritos
there – most of the ones available at the original location. In addition, the
new management has not discarded the best parts of Ana’s old menu. That means
they will fix you a breakfast burrito with carnitas or al pastor as well as
bacon, sausage, or asada:

You can also get excellent lunch burritos with fillings such
as green chili:

A couple of years ago, Ana’s won the local newspaper poll
for the best menudo in town, quite an accomplishment for such a small place.
And Jector’s Too still prepares outstanding Menudo on Friday, Saturday, and
Sunday:

The rich broth filled with abundant tripe and nixtamal is
certainly one of the best in town. It comes with a grilled bread roll (or
tortillas), as well as onion, cilantro, dried chili flakes, and lemon or lime
wedges:

Really yummy:

But my main attraction here are the first-rate tortas.
Sometimes the carnitas is as good as it gets:

A Torta DF (in the style of Federal District – Mexico City
area) is a specialty of the house, a ham ‘n cheese/roast pork combo:

Recently, the al pastor has been specially tasty and spicy:

:
Other tortas – and I’ve tried every one – are just as good
even if I don't have pictures of them. I also love the jalapeno and carrot escabeche
that is included. A bite or 2 of hot pickle cuts through the richness of the
sandwich and, for me, adds just the right touch.

Dinner plates and excellent aguafrescas also available.

Too often restaurateurs open a 2nd location and everything
starts going downhill. Not this time.

Jector's Too, 252 E. 24^th, 928-539-9595. Open daily around 7 am;
closes 6pm M-S and 2pm Sun.

Yuma: Red Rose – Sang Chan – A Touch of Thai

September 18, 2013 ed fromyuma Thai Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Believe it or not, it is really Ed (from Yuma) with another post about Yuma. I'm happy to be posting again after getting overwhelmed with work and family/health issues etc. Jeez, sometimes it's nice to have my main worry being what to eat!! It's also nice to be writing about a real Thai restaurant in Yuma AZ. How cool is that?

I was meeting Greg for lunch. "Where d’ya wanna go?" I asked.

"How about the new Thai restaurant in Foothills?"

"Huh? Where? What?” That was how I learned about Red Rose, which has morphed from a food cart parked in a lot by Fortuna Road last winter into a real brick and mortar restaurant in Pioneer Plaza. Of course, I was game for some Thai food – but skeptical, all things considered.

The restaurant occupies the space that once housed Kodiak Seafood:

The interior of the small place is tastefully furnished, but it is small with only 2 large tables and 5 or 6 smaller ones:

In the last week, I (with Greg, and with Tina) have been able to sample a variety of the dishes on the Thai part of the menu, which includes over 50 items. Tina and I started one meal with deep-fried spring rolls ($7):

These were served fresh from the fryer too hot to handle. Although no lettuce leaves were provided to help one pick them up, the accompanying ketchup based sauce was a nice balance between sweet and savory. While just a little greasy to the touch, each crunchy wrapper contained a nice selection of thinly sliced vegetables and clear noodles:

The papaya salad ($9) provided an excellent contrast:

The perfectly fresh, shredded papaya came with shredded carrot, tomato slices, Thai chilies, and a generous topping of peanuts. All of us loved the flavors, the very fresh crunchy papaya shards balanced by sweetness, spiciness, and touches of lime and savory. While I missed mashed long beans, everything else I would expect in a papaya salad was there. This is also probably a good time to mention that Red Rose will prepare dishes very spicy, if you request it. I suspect they would be happy to serve something "Thai spicy" on request though I have not been feeling that courageous recently.

The larb (available only with chicken) ($9) was also a hit with everyone. This dish showed off the tender sweetness of the chicken balanced by a deep funkiness in the sauce. While there was not much dried rice powder, this was a very satisfying item:

The yum woonsen ($9) cellophane noodles were another good and satisfying item for a hot day in Yuma:

Available with either ground chicken or ground pork, we liked the cool clear noodles highlighted with citrus flavors and spice. The sliced red onion and diced green onion provided contrast.

The Tom Yum seafood soup ($14) was generally excellent. I liked the range of seafood, 3 or 4 good sized shrimp, tender chunks of squid, sea scallops, and mussels (no fake krab anywhere). All were complemented by the savory funky spicy seafood broth, with tomato, chopped green onion, and various slices, chunks and leaves of Thai spices:

I've also had the chance to try two different curries. The yellow curry (ordered with tofu as the protein choice) ($9) was the less impressive. The mild sweet curry sauce didn't seem quite flavorful enough to make up for the numerous bland potato chunks and the cubes of fried tofu. Perhaps if we had ordered it very spicy or chosen a different protein, the results would have been better:

On the other hand, a daily special, the green curry with avocado (with chicken as the protein choice) ($14) was a hit with all of us. The green curry sauce was nicely balanced with sweet, tangy, and hot spicy notes. We also liked the mix of vegetables – the asparagus was a good addition to the peas, carrots, and sweet peppers, – and the abundant avocado chunks were smooth and buttery:

Similarly, the spicy scallop stirfry ($14) was quite good. The scallops were very fresh and not overcooked. The whole dish contained deep savory flavors. In addition, we liked the green beans and the fresh garden peas still in the pod. In fact, the presence of actual fresh peas in this dish and in the green avocado curry was a nice touch at a time when so many restaurants fall back on the convenience of frozen peas:

We also had to try a noodle dish, and I know that Kirk often has pad see ew when he goes to a new Thai restaurant, so that seemed like a good choice for us as well ($9):

Again we were impressed. The shredded fresh veggies added crunch and the cooked vegetables were al dente, another good texture addition. The sweet soy flavor of the dish was appealing, but the noodles weren't drenched in sauce. We were also happy to see some wok hey, evidence of a properly hot wok .

The restaurant has several beverage choices, including Thai iced tea:

Even better, they have an Arizona BYOB license so that customers may bring their own wine or beer.

Overall, I think Red Rose does very well. While not the best Thai food I have ever eaten, it is certainly the best Thai food that I have eaten in Yuma. Better than a lot of Thai food I've eaten in California. I'm impressed by the range of the menu, the consistent freshness of ingredients, the balancing of flavors, and the willingness to prepare dishes spicy. I also should mention that perogies (Ukrainian style) and a hot dog (keep the kiddies happy) are on the last page of the menu. But for right now, I'm sticking with the Thai food. My only worry is that this tiny restaurant will be so overcrowded by December that I won't be able to get a table anymore.

Red Rose – Sang Chan – A Touch of Thai – Thai Ukrainian American, 11274 S. Fortuna Road, Pioneer Shopping Center, 928-342-7777. Open Tuesday – Sunday from 11 am to 8:30 pm.

Da Boyz and Brewers in Yuma

July 23, 2012 ed fromyuma American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Pizza, Pubs and Pub Grub, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Ed (from Yuma), not Kirk and not Cathy, is posting at mmm-yoso!!! today. About 2 restaurants (in Yuma).

Da Boyz

More than 10 years ago, a pizzeria opened in Yuma Foothills called Da Boyz. At first, we all assumed that this was some new national chain since the decor and logos were very professional. In fact, there are two other locations, one in La Mesa and one in Rancho San Diego. I have no idea about either of them. Similarly, I haven't eaten in the Foothills branch of Da Boyz in five years or more. Why? Because Da Boyz took over and renovated a beautiful large location in old town Yuma on Main Street:

It has extremely high ceilings and a lot of space:

Separate rooms decorated with pictures of Marilyn Monroe or the rat pack or Elvis are available for groups and special occasions. Here are some pictures from the Elvis room:

I like Da Boyz. The service is professional and this location is extremely well-managed. While the beer selection is largely conventional, there are usually at least one or two seasonal brews available:

To my taste, this is the best eat-in pizza restaurant in town – not just because of the nice atmosphere – but because the pizzas are good:

The crusts are real bread crusts:

A wide variety of toppings are available:

And the cheese is flavorful and real:

In addition, the salads are huge:

A small salad can be a filling meal or provide side salads (as shown here) for 2 to 4 eaters:

Leaving just an empty bowl:

Even though the lettuces are nothing special, a garden salad will have pepperoncini, sliced olives, bell pepper, red onion, tomato, and cucumber. The Italian dressing is surprisingly tasty.

Of course, there is more than just pizza and salad. While I find the pasta to be pretty ordinary with unremarkable sauce and overcooked noodles, some of their sandwiches make a nice lunch. Here's the meatball (or perhaps sausage?):

When I'm looking for something slightly healthier, the turkey and provolone is good (this is half a sandwich – I share sometimes):

Da Boyz is one of those restaurants that I should have posted about years ago because it is part of my standard rotation and is a local favorite, having been voted the best pizza in town in the most recent newspaper poll. OK, so I finally got around to it.

Brewers

Just a note: Brewers now serves pizza and the menu has changed, but it still has good sandwiches etc.

A more recent addition to the Yuma dining scene is another large restaurant called Brewers:

The story of this restaurant – as I've been told by several different people – is that it is owned and operated by the individual who was once the husband of the owner of Da Boyz. While Brewers is another favorite of mine, it offers some very interesting contrasts to Da Boyz.

The large interior space is more modern in ambience and has a definite sports bar feel to it:

Here is a different view of the interior:

Instead of pizzas, Brewers has a nice selection of flat breads – cheese and toppings on lavash bread. (Rumor has it that Brewers cannot serve pizza because of the divorce settlement – but since I have not read this on the Internet, I do not know it as a fact). In any case, this is the blue bacon flatbread:

This is halfandhalf flatbread – part Mediterranean (spinach, feta, pepperoncini, olive, and garlic) and part Margherita (fresh tomato, basil, and garlic):

Brewers also has sandwiches (each of which comes with a choice of french fries, onion rings, seasoned chips, sweet potato fries, or tater tots). Some of the sandwiches are pretty mediocre. Here is a gyro with onion rings:

The sandwich meat and pita bread were pretty meh, and the onion rings were equally mediocre. Similarly, I should have known better than try a pulled pork sandwich:

However, those tater tots are really excellent. Extremely crunchy outside, moist and flavorful within.

The Santa Fe turkey sandwich was tasty although the roasted green chile did not have real New Mexico flavor. The sweet potato fries, even with this latticework design, lacked much crunch though they were flavorful:

The burgers are generally the best sandwich choices. Here is a basic burger, and you can see the well seasoned, handmade patty as well as the tomato, lettuce, onion, and pickle complements:

And to repeat myself, the tater tots are really good.

Another favorite is the honey mustard chicken burger. Along with the standard toppings of pickle, onion, tomato, and lettuce, you get a large chicken breast filet, a couple of slices of smoky bacon, melted Swiss cheese, and a flavorful honey mustard sauce:

The french fries are just okay.

Some other things here that Tina and I enjoy – recently, she tried the Cobb salad and it was a very good rendition of the standard favorite:

And I could not believe how excellent the fish tacos were:

Yuma is one of those rare places where one can get good Mexican food even at restaurants that are not primarily Mexican restaurants – probably because most of the cooks in Yuma restaurants are Mexicans or Mexican-Americans. Anyway, those fish tacos, while extremely simple, were outstanding. There was just enough white sauce, the cabbage added some vegetable crunch, the salsa was remarkably smoky and spicy, and the fish fillets (yes, each taco contained an entire pollock fillet) were perfectly fried, crunchy on the outside and moist and flavorful inside:

As good as some of the food options are at Brewers, this place has a major advantage over any other place in Yuma: 10-12 taps devoted to various craft brews, mostly from Arizona, California, and Colorado. This is the listing of beers available on May 28 (notice the cross outs and handwritten additions):

Look at the top of the tap list, not the Bud and Millers listed toward the bottom. Here is a very different taplist for June 14:

Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale, Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro, Ballast Point Sculpin Ale, Grand Canyon Shaggy Bock, Four Peaks Peach Ale, Arrogant Bastard, San Tan Brewing Negro Nitro, Four Peaks Sunbru Kolsch, Coronado Mermaid Red, Maui Brewing Coconut Porter, TapIt IPA, Stone IPA, and Sam Adams Summer Ale are just some of the specialty brews available on one or both of those two days. Finally, in Yuma, you can sit down with friends and have beers that look like this:

Or like this:

Wow!! Yuma has arrived in the 21st century. And those beers go really well with deep-fried zucchini:

Da Boyz and Brewers both make my life in Yuma better. If you visit them, they will probably improve your life (though perhaps not your waistline) as well.

Da Boyz Italian Cuisine 284 S Main, Yuma AZ 85364, (928) 783-8383

Brewers Restaurant and Sports Bar, 2331 S Ave B, Yuma AZ, 85364, (928) 783-0073.

Kneaders Bakery & Café: Yuma and Elsewhere

June 4, 2012 ed fromyuma Bakery, Chains, Sandwiches, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

At this moment Kirk is eating somewhere in this world, Cathy is eating somewhere in San Diego, and ed (from Yuma) is still eating somewhere in Yuma. This post is from him.

You know how sometimes you just don't get around to doing something. I have been eating at Kneaders Bakery and Café and taking pictures of the food now for over four years. Of course, I've wanted to do a post about the place, but I just haven't gotten around to it until today. I guess it's about time.

The Kneaders restaurants in Yuma are part of a small chain centered in Utah (12 locations there and one in Idaho). They seem to specialize in small town locations desperately in need of good bread and sandwich shops – hence the chain’s only two Arizona locations in Yuma. The first one is in the southwest part of town on Avenue B and 28th St.:

The newer location is at the South West edge of Yuma Palms shopping center, close to the 16th St. exit off of I-8 (and close to Ninja Sushi):

Not only do both locations look pretty much the same, they also share a general layout. If you enter from the side door, you are immediately in a line that leads to the cash registers where you place your order. As you can see, there is often a line of customers:

While this line sometimes goes slowly, it has the advantage (for Kneaders, at least) of allowing everyone to salivate over the delicious looking desserts:

You also can choose a loaf of one of their European-style, natural breads baked in an Italian hearthstone oven:

The bread is what keeps me coming back. Although the baguettes ($2.59), French country sourdough ($4.99), and Paisano ($3.19) are perhaps not as good as at Bread et Cie, they are certainly better than other breads available in Yuma. In particular, I love the Rye bread ($4.79):

It is dark, rustic, and flavored nicely with caraway seeds:

The breads are also a key ingredient in the generally excellent sandwiches at Kneaders. The Chicken, Cheese and Ham on Ciabatta ($6.99) is very tasty:

Here you can see the ingredients, which include lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, Swiss cheese, ham, grilled chicken, and honey mustard sauce:

The roll has been lightly toasted and the cheese slightly melted.

My favorite sandwich is called Turkey Bacon Avocado on Focaccia ($6.99):

I remember first ordering the sandwich and wondering if the sandwich had turkey bacon on it or if turkey and bacon were separate ingredients – as they are. Even with the confusing name, I order it often and have numerous pictures of it, such as this one:

As I was thinking about this post, I realized that I needed to talk about some sandwich that doesn't involve chicken or turkey, so I had an excellent excuse to try the French Dip on Baguette ($5.79):

As I feared, the beef was nothing special:

Clearly, this sandwich was also not a messy sloppy drippy decadent French dip, but it was actually pretty good. It had a nice beef flavor, and the barely melted Swiss cheese contributed a certain balance. And the baguette was perfect– very flavorful with a nice complex taste from the levain and a crusty crust that was not too hard and crunchy. The steaming hot jus came in a generous portion and was not one dimensional or too salty. It added to the taste; it didn't take over. All in all, a satisfying sandwich.

Kneaders also has Panini, which are served with a dill pickle spear and extremely good, thick crunchy Parmesan chips. Here's what they call Chicken Pesto on French Country ($7.19):

The chips are really excellent. However, I find this sandwich a little underwhelming and rather ordinary. The menu says the sandwich has pesto sauce, but whenever we've had it, the pesto sauce consists of basil leaves:

A better Panini, to my palate at least, is the Turkey Artichoke on Focaccia ($7.19):

Kneaders’ focaccia bread is quite good and seems to match up with turkey nicely. As on all their turkey sandwiches, this is actual roasted turkey, not some reconfigured turkey breast product:

I also enjoy the interplay between the turkey and the marinated artichoke heart, but often I wish there was a little more of everything on the sandwich:

Sandwiches are also available on croissants, such as this turkey cranberry ($5.79):

As you can see, the croissant sandwiches are served with a small side salad. There is plenty of cranberry sauce as well as lettuce and Swiss cheese:

A range of other sandwiches (called Café sandwiches) are available as whole sandwiches or halves, such as this BLT:

You can also make various combo meals by adding chips or a side salad or soup:

Though I do not know about them personally, Kneaders serves breakfasts of various kinds from 7 AM until 11 and a range of "Gourmet Salads" at lunch:

As you can tell by this post, I focus on the sandwiches mostly. Well, okay, also on the often irresistible desserts. Look at these German chocolate brownies, for example:

And I love the tarts ($1.99), including the mixed fruit tart:

Or the lime tart:

Strawberry anyone?:

And my favorite – available only in season – the peach tart with cinnamon:
I don't remember what these chocolate, coconut, nut and gooey cupcakes are called, but I think I gain a couple of pounds just looking at them:

Overall, Kneaders contributes significantly to the quality of eating in Yuma. In my mind, Kneaders is the best bakery in town. The breads, desserts, and sandwiches are generally good. They do catering for business get-togethers or parties. Unfortunately, no beer or wine is served (it is a chain out of Utah, after all), but sodas, coffee beverages, and tea are available.

Kneaders Bakery & Café, 2851 S. Ave. B #33 (928-726-9700), and 1651 E. Castle Dome Ave. (928-783-4099) – both in Yuma AZ. The location in Yuma Palms is open daily, the other location is closed on Sundays.

Ninja Sushi in Yuma

May 30, 2012 ed fromyuma Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

While Kirk visits some exotic place that has been in the news in recent years (no, not North Korea), Cathy posts interesting eating experiences, and today, ed (from Yuma) is looking for edible sushi in Yuma. Good luck with that!

In early 2010, a new large sushi bar opened in Yuma at the cursed location at the corner of 16th St. and the freeway, a place that had previously been Tyler's Taste of Texas and then Arnie's Café. This prominent location is easily visible, but difficult to reach because of limited access from 16th St. After giving the restaurant a few weeks to figure out what they were doing, our lunch bunch showed up to sample the cuisine. The grand opening banner was still in place:

The food was consistently underwhelming. The menu contains pages of special rolls, but even our connoisseur of such things was not impressed by this goopy crunchy roll (around $12.95):

Look at the sad tuna on the sashimi salad ($12.95) that even two different dressings couldn't salvage:

I have no idea what the spicy tuna roll ($5.95) tasted like, but I certainly wasn't going to put any of this into my mouth:

This sushi combination ($16.95), my choice, was pretty pitiful as well:

I can remember some excellent California rolls over the years; I think avocado and krab go together just fine, but the sliver of avocado was overwhelmed by the rice and the fake crab and mayo mix. I remember the salmon being okay, but the tuna was tired and grayish and the shrimp was tasteless, lacking even the thinnest smear of wasabi:

The most promising of the dishes – or perhaps least disappointing is a better choice of words – was the tempura ($10.95):

The batter tasted right and the vegetables and shrimp were adequate. If only the deep-frying had been more skillful and the end result less greasy, the tempura would have received a good grade instead of just barely passing.

None of us went back to Ninja for the next two years, even though some people told me they had had good meals there. Then, toward the end of this April, when Yuma was suffering from 100° temperatures and Tina and I were looking for something cool and refreshing to eat, I suggested trying Ninja; desperate men will do desperate things.

The grand opening sign had been replaced by an "All Special Rolls 50% Off" sign. Not much else of the exterior had changed:

Did I mention it was hot? Anyway, faced with the multipage menu full of special rolls and various pictures, I quickly ordered two sunomonos as appetizers, one “kani" (imitation crab) and the other "taco." I guess that's how octopus is spelled in Yuma. They were $4.25 and $5.95.

The octopus and cucumber salad looked and tasted good:

The octopus was tender and flavorful, the knife work excellent. The thin sliced cucumber and cephalopod were enhanced by a sprinkling of sesame seeds and lightly seasoned rice wine vinegar. Cool and refreshing. The pickled carrot was a nice touch as well.

Even the fake crab salad was tasty and pleasant to look at:

For main courses, we shared two dishes. The first was a chirashi ($19.95):

While nothing like the magnificent chirashi at Sakura, this was certainly passable. The sushi rice was well flavored and topped with black and white sesame seeds. The tilapia (hidden in this photo) and the somewhat tired looking albacore actually tasted okay. The hamachi and maguro were decent and seemed fresh. The salmon was a bit chewy and somewhat disappointing in flavor until I squeezed one of the adjacent lemon slices on it before lightly dipping it in the shoyu/wasabi mixture. Then not bad at all.

Even better was Ninja’s sashimi plate ($18.95):

All the fish tasted very good – though the salmon still needed a squeeze of lemon. We also appreciated three shiso leaves, tilapia needing all the help it can get to become flavorful. The shredded daikon was abundant, and the presentation very attractive. Note the gari tucked inside of a hollowed out cucumber chunk

Here's a close-up of the tilapia and salmon:

And one of the hamachi and maguro:

To be honest, that was the best sushi fish I had ever eaten in Yuma. Nothing else really has come close.

So a few days later, I stopped in for a quick lunch and asked if they had a bento box because I could find no such thing on the rather complicated menu. "Yeah, we do," the waitress responded, "it just isn't listed on the menu." With some trepidation, I ordered the luncheon bento box anyway ($10.95).

It started off with truly excellent miso soup:

The broth was deeply flavored and you could taste the dashi in the background. Although it contained only four or five tiny cubes of tofu, it is still (imho) the best miso soup in town.

Then the bento box showed up:

Some things here were pretty standard. The teriyaki chicken had grill marks and seemed to be all white meat chicken breast, but it was certainly nothing special. The rice was okay and the bento box salad was – as most bento box salads are – pretty forgettable. On the other hand, the gyozas had a thin crispy wrapper and a mild flavorful filling. I've certainly had worse in San Diego. The tempura was truly excellent. The batter tasted spot on, the two shrimp were crispy on the outside and moist and succulent within, and the selection of vegetables was first rate; I certainly never expected two asparagus spears in an inexpensive bento box.

My two positive experiences meant that I was able to talk the lunch bunch into making another visit (Chip grumbling the entire time). In general, we were pleased. Betsy had a good-looking sashimi salad (dressing on the side):

The folks who ordered sushi items and the tempura were pleased as well. I decided to really test the kitchen by ordering a seafood udon ($12.95), which was served in a traditional bowl with a wooden lid:

As a test, I even asked for togarashi. Once the hostess understood my mangled Japanese pronunciation, her face lit up and she returned soon with a little bowl of the traditional condiment:

The udon itself was meh, not bad really, but not exceptional in any way. The broth was fairly standard and light. The noodles were juicy (I always think of udon noodles as juicy for some reason) but slightly overcooked. The seafood was two slices of kamaboko, some surimi, one shrimp, and several tiny scallops. Perfectly adequate.

And as a whole, the lunch bunch was generally pleased; even curmudgeonly Chip conceded that the fish was better than he had expected.

At this point, I realized that I had enough material for a post, and it would be nice to highlight a surprisingly good Japanese restaurant in Yuma. Then, on my way into the office a few days ago, I stopped for lunch and ordered the combination sushi. The miso soup was still excellent, but this was the sushi combination that day:

The California rolls were as boring as I remembered them from my visit in 2010. Even worse, some of the fish was truly horrifying. The whitefish and albacore had been drizzled with chile oil (chile oil?!?!). Certainly the oil effectively covered up whatever was wrong with the taste of the fish and, in fact, effectively covered up any taste at all – well except for the taste of chile oil. The albacore must have been especially nasty because it was also topped with two deep-fried slices of garlic . In addition, the chili oil had leaked over into the rice under the tuna masking whatever flavor the maguro might have had. Neither the avocado nor the lemon slice could truly save the salmon, the hamachi lacked its characteristic flavor and richness, and the ebi was tasteless as well. On a positive note, I didn’t get sick.

So clearly, it is possible to get good tempura, sushi, and sashimi from Ninja. It is also possible to get some really bad sushi there. May you and your friends be blessed with the good stuff, and may your enemies be served that sushi combination I got on my last visit.

Ninja Sushi, 1400 E. 16th St., Yuma, AZ 85364, (928) 782-4000. Open daily from 11 am-3 pm for lunch and 4:30 pm-10 or 11 pm for dinner.

Maria’s Cocina: A New Restaurant from an Old Family in Yuma

May 24, 2012 ed fromyuma Mexican Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Right now Kirk is at a secret undisclosed location, Cathy is somewhere in San Diego, and ed (from Yuma) has just been eating in a new old Yuma Mexican restaurant.

Maria's unfortunately has closed and now there is a teriyaki restaurant in this location.

Last winter I noticed that the sign from the departed Taco Reyes restaurant in Palm Plaza between 22nd and 23rd on Avenue A was being painted over:

Of course, that meant that I had to sample something from this new eatery. The Taco Reyes signage is now completely gone, replaced by Maria’s Cocina:

The interior has a nice homey look and feel to it:

As is my custom, the first thing I ordered was a green chili dinner because the style of green chili stew in Yuma is often a key to the regional affinities of the cuisine:

It took one look and a couple of tastes to identify this green chili as a good version of old school Yuman green chili (see this previous post). Chunks of beef, pieces of green chile, bits of tomato, and no tomatillo anywhere, all very mildly spiced ($4.25).

On my next visit, I asked the owner if he was from Yuma, and he responded that he was not only from Yuma but that his family has also owned and operated Mexican restaurants in town for over 50 years. I probably looked puzzled until he stuck out his hand and introduced himself as Johnny Gutierrez. Oh yeah, more than 50 years.

I suspect that everyone who has grown up in Yuma (with the possible exception of strict vegetarians) and almost everyone of us who have moved here in adulthood have eaten at Mr. G's, The Chile Pepper (Mrs. G's), and/or Casa Gutierrez. The first two of these may be the most popular fast food restaurants in the city – around lunch or dinner there is a line of people waiting to order burritos or rolled tacos and another line of people waiting to pick up phone orders. The bean and cheese burritos, in particular, are legendary, the frijoles rich, smooth, creamy, and full of manteca.

A few years ago, I quit picking up food from the Chile Pepper, the closest location to my home, because of long waits, indifferent service, and steam tabled ingredients. Once I waited 20 minutes in line for an order I had called in 15 minutes previously, while huge orders were being filled a head of me and some regular customers were being waved to the front of the line. When I finally got my food, I realized that my order had been sitting bagged up in a warm moist holding area the entire time I was standing in line, so my burritos were a sorry soggy mess.

At Maria's Cocina, on the other hand, the dishes are prepared individually and the Gutierrez family recipes really shine.

So of course, the burritos are excellent and inexpensive. Breakfast burritos are generally $3, though this ranchero breakfast burrito is $3.75:

I appreciate a breakfast burrito with vegetable ingredients, green chilies, onions, and tomatoes – though I don't understand why it is more expensive than a burrito with chorizo, ham, or bacon.

My favorite standard burrito here is what is called the green mix with frijoles ($3):

Basically, a mix burrito has read chile or green chile (your choice) with either beans or rice (your choice) - personally, I love the creamy richness the frijoles add.

Like the green chile, the red chile is packaged for take out and equally savory. For some reason, the red chile at Chile Pepper always has tasted powdery or dusty to me, but Maria's Cocina prepares it so that it has deep rich full smooth dried chile flavors (red chile dinner, $4.25):

The restaurant is also good at deep-frying. The rolled taco dinner ($4.25) is a study in crunchiness, as the rolled tacos are served plain with no crema, guacamole, or diced tomatoes:

The folded taco dinner ($4.75) is equally crunchy:

The tacos themselves are filled with diced tomato, shredded lettuce, melty white cheese, and chewy shredded beef:

Really good, old school, tacos.

Cheese enchiladas (red or green sauce) are another favorite; this green enchilada sauce is primarily chunks of green Chile:

On Saturdays, menudo is available ($5.50):

You get everything on this tray, menudo itself, a small bowl of salsa, diced onions and cilantro, lemon wedges, grilled bolillo roll (or tortillas), dried red chili flakes, and oregano. The soup itself is deeply flavorful, muy rico, and full of tripe and nixtamal kernals:

None of the food at Maria's Cocina is cutting-edge or unusual. These are standard family recipes. The same stuff Yuma grandparents ate as kids. The food is, however, well prepared and extremely well priced. Those are both good things.

Maria's Cocina, 2241 S. Ave. A, Ste # 16, Yuma AZ, (928) 329-2988. Open mornings through evenings Monday-Saturday.

New Jersey’s Location in Yuma

May 12, 2012 ed fromyuma Burgers, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

ed (from Yuma) finally has some spare time and wonders, "Is it burger week yet?"

Rumors that Rumors has closed and that Jersey's truck is there no more are true. Sadly.

The last time mmm.yoso reported on Jersey's burger truck, it was out on Fortuna road in The Foothills. Around the end of January this year, it disappeared. Burger lovers throughout Yuma County began to despair. Then, almost miraculously, Jersey's reappeared parked in front of Rumors Sports Bar, the new name for Ron's Place, located on the north side of 16th St./Highway 95 on the east edge of town:

Rumors Sports Bar is a low roofed rectangular bar with a number of tables, a lot of dart boards, and friendly groups of Yumans of all ages imbibing beverages of their choice. Tina calls it "a real dive bar." It does have a couple large areas in its parking lot reserved for motorcycles:

Jersey's truck looks pretty much the same as always. However, as well as changing locations, Matthew – the owner of Jersey's – has changed other things as well. For example, here is his latest menu:

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Not only has the roster of his burgers changed and expanded – notice the deep-fried burger – he also has changed his phone number (it is now 928-750-1576). The burgers however are still really good. Look at this bacon cheddar burger that Tina got on our first visit to the new location:

The fries are fresh cut on the premises and fried in good old-fashioned lard. Yummy good. The burgers are nicely charred on a flat top grill, but wonderfully rich and moist inside. Jersey's special sauce is still simple and delicious. Toppings and prices, of course, vary.

Just to give you an idea of some of the burger choices, here is a grilled red onion burger, wonderfully sweet and flavorful, if a bit hard to eat:

The new menu has a grilled white onion and cheese burger:

Notice that he sometimes uses a melted cheese sauce on some of the burgers.

On my last visit, I ordered another new addition to the menu, the chili burger (chili size). Because this is not exactly health food, I try to limit my current intake of these wonderfully tasty memories of my childhood. But back in my youth, my mom’s restaurant made a pretty decent chili burger (with my dad's chili recipe). And I ate chili size at various truck stops and family restaurants in Oregon and elsewhere. Jersey's version is #*&#*&% good:

As you can see, the burger patty was rich and crusty. The chili was perfectly spiced Western American chili con carne with no beans, topped with creamy cheese sauce and freshly diced white onion. All served on a grilled sesame burger bun .

And it came with perfectly fried fries:

The New Jersey's location is flourishing. Part of the reason is the food. The other part is that Rumors is perfectly happy if you bring your burger order inside the cool air-conditioned bar and eat it with a beverage of your choice, which they are happy to purvey. Personally, I wish they would have a couple of Sam Adams taps (the best one could realistically hope for) though Blue Moon and Stella Artois are available. Cocktails too. Also, don't let sports bar moniker fool you; whenever I've been there only one or two flat screens (sound turned down, so people can listen to the old rock on the jukebox) are showing sporting events. This is not a loud, hyperkinetic, whooping and hollering sort of sports bar – at least at the times when I'm around.

Jersey's seems to be open from around lunchtime through dinnertime. Be sure to call for more information.

Jersey’s, outside Rumors Sports Bar, Hwy 95, East Edge of Yuma AZ, 928-750-1576