mmm-yoso – Page 191 – As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.

Cathy’s way of beating the heat-Kearny Mesa Bowl

August 12, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Not a food item, a place. Cathy is writing on the food blog mmm-yoso!!! today.

It's been so very hot and humid lately. Today it's nice – a high of 89F with humidity of only 45%. Still kind of miserable. The Mister started asking me to think of places that had good conditioning as well as lunch; something I usually don't think about…and when I started to think, all the places in my brain were outdoor only seating. Then I went back to my childhood in Detroit. We grew up without a/c and lived…but what did my brother and I do on hot summer days? I suddenly remembered- we'd ride our bikes to a local, air conditioned Bowling Alley…there was one on just about every block…Detroit had the highest number of alleys and bowlers per capita for a long while due to the proliferation of Auto Company leagues. The number of bowling alleys nationwide has been declining. But we are lucky to still have some in San Diego.Perhaps you've seen the signage when going to Zion Supermarket.Or maybe you noticed it when leaving the Zion parking lot (and the signage of not to park in front of their building).

The murals are great. The air conditioning is wonderful (It must have been set assuming all 40 lanes would be in use). The Snack Bar was open.Order, pay and wait to hear your name called.
The Hamburger Special (burger, fries, soft drink)($8). Fried egg and bacon sandwich ($5.75) and fried calamari ($5.50).
The burger is the 1/3 lb frozen patty from Costco; I've purchased those for home and party use before; good quality. It's flat top grilled with a nice char, served on a fresh Costco sesame-seeded bun with a lettuce leaf, tomato, onion, pickle, catsup and mustard. Crinkle cut fries are always special to me. This was a good burger and fries without unnecessary frills.
How can a fried egg and bacon sandwich be made special? Well with lots of bacon, of course.
Yes. Less than $6, on bread of my choice, a slather of mayonnaise and two freshly fried eggs. This is just what I wanted.
The Mister saw the fried calamari on the menu and wanted to try it. It was good. Simple breaded rings which were fried to a nice crisp and the squid meat inside stayed tender. Bowling Alley Calamari.

I hope everyone is staying cool and eating well. Has anyone else gone to KMB to beat the heat? Yes! Dennis has on more than one occasion!

Kearny Mesa Bowl 7585 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego Ca 92111 (858)279-1501 Website

No Pho at Pho 46

August 10, 2018 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

I was just about to finish up another post when I luckily checked the news and decided it wouldn't be appropriate to do that post today. So here's something I had on the back burner for a while.

When our office first moved back to the area, I started checking out a bunch of different places. I recalled having a decent meal at Pho 46 a while back, so I decided to return.

There seems to be a different set of folks working here these days. That woman who works the front of house often takes orders, buses, and delivers the food all by herself….yet she was very pleasant on both my visits.

I recalled the Shrimp Fried Rice to be decent; in an "old school" kind of way so I ordered that – it was not bad for $7.50.

The rice was not as evenly stir fried as on my previous visit; though the shrimp was nice and plump, good job there. Typical frozen peas and carrots and this needed soy sauce to ramp up the flavor a bit; but not bad at all.

I also ordered the Chicken Wings with Spicy Salt again; this one is now $4.95 for four good sized wings.

A bit sweeter than I recalled; the crispness didn't last for very long, and there was a bit greasiness to these. It was decently fried; perhaps a bit on the dry side. Again, not terrible, not great…..I'd probably not have these again though.

The menu at "46" is pretty darn large…….105 dishes at last count….enough to give you "Vietnamese Menu Overload Syndrome". On my last visit; I decided to try out the combination stir fry with XO sauce ($7.95). I kinda cracked up when it arrived at my table.

It looks like the "tai" for pho is doing double duty here. Sadly the shrimp was overcooked as was the chicken….and even the onions. The sauce was a really watered down XO sauce cut with soy sauce and sugar….I also got the "ms-heebie-jeebies" from this as well. Not good eats.

It was on this visit that I noticed Bann had opened in the structure in front of Pho 46. The food there seems much fresher and the ingredients better. Though you really can't complain much about the prices here. And who knows when I'll have a craving for "old school" fried rice?

Pho 46
9508 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92126

Still Eating to Beat the Heat – Izakaya Sakura and La Miche

August 9, 2018 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Lebanese Restaurants

OK, so it's supposed to start getting cooler this weekend. But until then, it's still way hot. I really don't think you want to read about Ramen Ryoma now, right? That'll have to wait until perhaps next week. Here are a couple of revisits.

Izakaya Sakura:

While my last couple of revisits to Sakura haven't been very pleasant, this restaurant which finally put up a sign after two decades, finally got me to come back in. It was hot; I was between meetings; the parking lot wasn't very full, so why not? Strangely, there was only one other couple in the entire place during my meal.

I ordered an old warm weather favorite; the Ebi Kakiage Zaru Udon….some nice chewy noodles and a cold dashi based broth.

Man, did they always pile on the light and crunchy fried morsels like this? Nothing like a cold noodle soup on a day that was so hot and strangely….in San Diego terms muggy. And still only ten bucks.

What had started turning me off in the past was the rather perfunctory and unpleasant service. Service today was quite pleasant and efficient….hey; they even refilled my water. Of course, with only three customers in the place…..

We'll see what happens on my next visit.

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St Ste 121
San Diego, CA 92111

**** Sadly, La Miche has closed

La Miche:

Another hot weather favorite of ours; I'm surprised to say we hadn't been here since last October. My bad. I dropped by on the way home from work and picked up some take-out. The Missus's favorites; Muhamarah, Shaankleesh, Baba Gannoush, and since they were out of Soujouk, some Makanek.

They even made up some fresh bread for us! This is one of the few places where the Missus will order Baba Gannoush; it's slightly smokey, doesn't use too much tahini, and that olive oil drizzled on it adds a nice grassy-earthy flavor. Of course I love the nutty and sweet Muhamarak and the funky cheesy Shaankleesh.

With some nicely chilled local cherry tomatoes and Persian cucumbers…..well, this was perfect.

It was also nice chatting with the owner Nabih; who is such a gentleman.

I need to eat here more often.

La Miche Kabobgee
9350 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123

Royal Garden

August 7, 2018 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Royal Garden has closed

A few months back I was heading to the 15 North, and much like how I've noticed many places while driving in the area, saw that the former Five Star Banquet Hall that had become a Vietnamese – Chinese banquet hall, was now serving food to the public.

So, I did a quick U-turn and drove into the parking lot to check the hours. The following weekend; after working for a few hours; I drove down to the area to check the place out.

And yes; it is indeed a banquet hall; from the dance floor, stage, and lighting…..to the pressed white table cloth.

As you can see in the photos above; I was the only customer in the place. The two women working were really friendly.

I wasn't sure if I should try the butter wings or the fish sauce version. The woman working sincerely told to try the fish sauce wings first.

The wings were of decent quality; no dark spots or broken bones. I liked the size of them as well. I did think the sauce was too sweet for my taste and these weren't fried well; making the skin quite gummy.

I had also ordered the Pho Dac Biet.

And, as you can tell by the sprouts and herbs above; was prepared to be disappointed.

But when the pho arrived at my table; I as pleasantly surprised.

The broth was crystal clear; there was even a hint of beefiness in the fragrance. It wasn't overly salty, had a hint of anise and onion, and wasn't too bad at all.

The proteins really surprised me. The tai; rare beef was nicely rare, and of better quality than the typical top round. It as quite tender. The tendon was also another winner.

The noodles were decently prepared and as a whole; I really enjoyed this bowl. Now when was the last time I had a decent bowl of pho at a new place?

It didn't hurt that the two women working were really nice as well. I'd noticed a bunch of things on the menu that I wanted to check out. A few weeks later; Calvin and I had a chance to runaway for lunch.

I had mentioned trying the Bo Tai Chanh….strange, but Calvin; whose Missus is Vietnamese had never heard of this dish before. I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised as he'd never heard of Bun Mam or even Bun Mang Vit until having lunch with me. Anyway; Bo Tai Chanh is a beef salad in Lime Juice.

This was a pretty decent version; though I wish the beef was a bit more rare. It was also a tad on the sweet side; but squeezing lime on it balanced out the flavors. There were a few hidden chilies; which added some zip to things and I loved the onions as well. The fried shallots added some sweetness and the peanuts; that earthy-nutty flavor. This was quite refreshing on a super hot day. Calvin was all over this….

I also ordered the Thit Heo Nuong; basically a marinated pork salad.

Which was fairly routine; though the pork was nice and tender, the marinade was on the salty side. Still, if you need a salad……

Calvin wanted some noodles and asked if they did Hi Tieu Ap Chao….which is how we came to find the "other" menu. Which had some interesting dishes on it.

So even if the Stir Fried Hi Tieu was bland and routine.

The noodles were nice prepared; but there just wasn't enough flavor.

That menu had my interest. Though my next visit; on the following weekend was a solo one.

I mentioned being a bit hungry and the nice lady suggested the Bo Luc Lac.

The portion size was indeed generous and the Com Do (red tomato rice) was mild in flavor though nice and moist. The beef was just barely toothsome from the stir fry at first bite; then very tender. The sauce balanced on the edge of being too salty. I really enjoyed the jalapeno peppers in the stir fry. Overall, not bad at all.

Of course Calvin just needed to have that Bo Tai Chanh again; so we headed back the following week.

This time; the meat was a bit over-done. I think I'll request this more rare next time.

The Cha Ca Thang Long wasn't bad.

As you can see; no it's not even close to being as good as Song Long, but I didn't expect that. The turmeric fish was moist and tender; with no off flavors. I missed the fried shallots and peanuts and in this case; I think more oil could have been used. It wasn't too bad overall. There was an abundance of bun, crackers, and mam nem, which seemed a bit mild in this case. There was a good amount of dill used for this dish.

We also got the Bun Cha Ha Noi.

A bit smallish in portion size; this was on the mild side with regards to the marinade and the nuoc mam cham. The meatballs were sufficiently tender as was the pork; which I think was the better seasoned of the two meats. Again, very generous with the veggies and bun. Not bad; but I don't think I'll be ordering this again.

I will however, return to Royal Garden. I think the quality of ingredients used here is pretty good and there's much more to explore on the menu. Bap Xao Tom Kho, Hu Tieu My Tho, Pho Duoi Bo, among others. Plus, I like the two women working here…..they are very nice and friendly. Yes, the food might take a while, but that's ok….it gives you more time to enjoy the banquet set-up.

Royal Garden
4201 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Wed – Mon 9am – 9pm
Closed Tuesdays

2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road tests #1 and 2 and Cream Pan (Tustin), The Donut Man and Peppertree Cafe (Glendora)

August 6, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, What Cathy Eats!

Usually there are reasons as to why we stop and eat somewhere. Cathy is showing you some meals and snacks consumed while on the way to and from a regular event, as well as the event. Kirk is busy.

Other float road tests for the 2019 Parade: Road test #3, Road Tests #4/5 and Road Test #6.

I'll write about food in the first part of this post.

Wake at 4 a.m., leave the house at 5 a.m., drive North, exit at Red Hill Avenue. There's a Starbucks. Two lights North, take a left and there is Cream Pan.We hadn't been here since January Everything is fresh (Cream Pan opens at 6 a.m.) and wonderful here. Ham and cheese baked in a croissant ($2.60) (a common order wherever I go) and, of course, a strawberry croissant ($1.50). We also purchased some raisin rolls ($3) for later snacks.

Cream Pan 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 (714)655-8239 Website 6 am-7pm daily

Glendora, East of Irwindale and 'on the way home'/Route 66. I've written a short combination-post then a specific post about The Donut Man, a Glendora treasure. It is indeed 'Peach Donut Season'. This was the line before 9 a.m.. This walk up donut shop is almost always open. It's easy; the line starts to the left in the photo.
Check out the donuts in the window,
order and pay. Done.
The fresh peach donut ($4.50) and a Tiger Tail ($1.95) were all we wanted…this time. Fresh peach has been out Since July 21 and usually are only available for three or so weeks a year. So good. So fresh.

The Donut Man 915 E. Route 66 Glendora, CA 91740 (626) 335-9111 Open 24 hours, closed some holiday weekends. Website

Just across the street and East (into the sun) from Donut Man, Is the Peppertree Cafe.

Located in Glendora more than 20 years, this Family Style restaurant can get very crowded on weekends. Fortunately we were here before 9 a.m..

My order from the whiteboard at the front- Grilled Club Sausage links with two eggs and two sides ($9.99). The "sides" to select from were plenty: not only toast, hash browns and O'Brien potatoes, but french fries, biscuits and gravy, refried beans, tortillas, cottage cheese, fresh fruit, cup of oatmeal, one pancake, peach halves, pineapple, sliced banana, sliced tomatoes or a baked muffin. As you can see, I chose a single pancake and the sliced tomatoes. This was wonderful. The Club Sausage links were *so good*- skin on, coarse grind, a good spice blend.

The Mister ordered the Chicken Fried Steak ($9.99) and chose cottage cheese and fresh fruit as his sides. This huge serving (there are three large eggs included along with two sides) really hit the spot. The 'crust' on the fried steak was right on the edge of being burned by about ten seconds, but managed to turn out quite perfect and amazing. If we lived closer, Peppertree Cafe would be a regular stop.

Peppertree Cafe 1020 E. Route 66 Glendora, CA 91740 Website Sun-Thurs 6 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri-Sat 6a.m.-10 p.m.

Now, the reason we were 'up north'…

In mid-January, the Theme (with banner design) and President of the 2019 Tournament of Roses were announced. Float designs were submitted, reviewed, accepted and float building began. In June and July, The Mister and I drove to Phoenix Decorating Company in Irwindale to view some of the floats undergoing testing of safety and maneuverability.
The theme for 2019 is "The Melody of Life". Each float will have a reference to music in some shape or form on each float. "Service Rocks" the 2019 Rotary International float, looks to be a reference to the song 'Crocodile Rock', with the crocodile playing a keyboard and wearing heart shaped (Elton John-style) glasses.
Kiwanis International float is a Jukebox and will have an Elvis impersonator onboard. The 2019 float title is "Helping Kids Rock Their Future"; a great way of combining the theme of the parade with the goal of this Service Organization.

The International Order of Oddfellows and Rebekahs 2019 float, "200 years of Harmony" is commemorating the longevity of this Service Organization in North America. The calliope as the music source on this float should be fun!
"Joy To The World, The Lord Is Come" is the 2019 entry by the Lutheran Hour Ministries. This will be the 69th year for the only Christian themed float in the parade, decorated by about 5000 "Petal Pushers" volunteers who also assist with decorating other Service floats. The 'music' portion of this float will be performed by a choir. Of course.
A month ago, the Lions Clubs International float, "Rockin The Vest", was rebar, plywood and screening.
The other day, it was in a 'cocoon' and will be colored in for the testing next month. The title "Rockin' The Vest" is in reference to the yellow vests which Lions Clubs International members wear when volunteering (Lions Club is the world's largest Community Service Organization) AND it is also in reference to a 2011 'Rap' video, 'Rockin' The Vest', a fun music video designed to appeal to younger potential members. So fitting in this 2019 theme of 'The Melody of Life'. That's a boom box on the back of the car.

There were more floats tested, you'll see progress next month.

Eating to Beat the Heat – Buga

August 5, 2018 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

I think we're at the point where people are asking; "when is this heatwave going to end?" And it looks like another hot week ahead of us.

I stopped off at Buga for lunch between meetings last week. The location; right off the 805 is a pretty convenient stop. It was hot, and muggy. Instead of going for the Bi Bim Naengmyun, I decided on trying the Yukhoe Bi Bim Bap. It had been over four years since I'd last had it at Buga.

Like I mentioned in my previous post on Buga; the panchan here is not as good as it used to be "back in the day". The nsmul was fine; but the baechu kimchi didn't have any fermented tones to it; it simply tasted pickled.

Still, I was here for the Yukhoe; which turned out to be pretty good. The beef was sliced into nice thin strips; not a huge portion, but good enough for me. No off flavors; very clean finish, and they've reinstated the egg yolk. Lots of tasty veggies, made for a really healthy and satisfying meal. Rice is served on the side here. And while the beef wasn't as good in quality as what I've had at Prime Grill, this was well worth the $17.99.

And while this obviously wasn't in the league of Brother's Raw Beef (형제육회), it did "hit the spot".

Buga Korean BBQ Restaurant
5580 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

2018 San Diego County Fair- How Sweet It Is (and it was)

August 3, 2018 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! another day. Kirk usually writes here, but is very busy with work. Cathy is writing today's San Diego food-centric post.

Since 2007, I've written at least two posts each year about the fifth largest (in terms of attendance) County Fair in the United States, held in this beautiful County beginning in June and ending around July 4. Circumstances changed this year and I did not write a 'before the Fair opens' nor a 'during the Fair' post. This is a summary post about the 2018 County Fair. The theme of "How Sweet It Is" was announced, as always, in October (I'll add the 2019 theme at the bottom of this post when it's announced).
The 'official greeter' at the Fair this year was Sparkle The Unicorn and that ‘unicorn’ part of the theme was seen at every food booth- as a food item on the menu. I thought this was a good idea to keep the Fair unique.

Most of the 'unicorn' themed items were multi-colored/multi-ingredient/multi-flavored concoctions.
Then in the far corner of Bing Crosby Exhibit Hall, at the Mom's Cookies booth, my favorite rendition of staying within the unicorn theme without being all wild and crazy…

There will be more food writings after this brief interlude.

The 'footprint' of the Fair was essentially the same, with some theme-related twists and of course, new exhibit entries. The Paul Ecke Garden Show had many displays. The one done by the Model Railroad club included the C&H Sugar Refining Company as part of the 'sweet' vignette. The chalk art contest had entries which were 'sweet' centric.

There were plenty of 'Instagram worthy' areas within the Fair Theme Exhibit and in random areas.Even the Gems and Minerals area had a 'Dessert Table' display. Yes, those are all rocks.
Woodworking didn't have theme related exhibits, but did display the 'Best of Show' proudly.
Especially compared to Home and Hobby's 'Best of Show' winner, relegated to being folded in the corner of a middle shelf. I didn't even see a "Best of Show" in the Preserved Foods area, but the display was cute and very different this year. Almost all the Home and Hobby area of the Fair was different, with a lot of activities and displays centered around adult '’modern”/simple glue-based crafts and only a weaving demonstration going on in a far corner. The Spinners were demonstrating their skills in the "California Grown" exhibit area, which is always informative, with displays geared toward farming and younger Fairgoers. I couldn't find the machine knitting, quilting or lacemaking demonstrations this year.

Back to the "food portion” of this post:
Pignotti's Pasta had a 'spaghetti donut' topped with pesto. The interior of the fried 'donut' was a creamy, wonderful 'mac and cheese' consistency and flavor. We always like the pesto here; this had everything: flavors, textures and a normal portion size.

The Mediterranean Gyros Booth had two things I wanted to try this year- the Falafel Waffle ($9.19) (quite large, good at first but it got tougher as it cooled down)…kind of thick for a falafel. Still, a good meal. Also the bacon baklava ($5.52). Not the bacon wrapped version, just the wonderful, fresh, flaky pastry filled with sweet nuts and bacon. This was probably my favorite item this year; hope it is back next year. We shared a snack of ribs, which hit the spot.
Finally broke down and had a bean and cheese navajo taco (good, but the plain fry bread with powdered sugar is really good, too).
For the first time in a decade or so, we had a cinnamon roll, with 'everything'-cream cheese icing and walnuts.
A 'healthy' snack from Chicken Charlie was chosen…cucumber-tomato salad.
As well as a (hot from the oven) turkey sandwich from the Paddock grill (which makes great food for people at the Racetrack during the Season).As always, we had to get a cream puff (or two) along with some coffee.
It was another fun San Diego tradition which we look forward to every year.

Website
Other 2018 Fair posts: Soo went to the 2018 Fair twice.

As always, on Tuesday after the three day October weekend, the 22nd Agricultural District announced the theme and logo for the next Fair. Behold:
It's going to be awesome Oz-some.

El Pollo Grill (Lemon Grove)

August 2, 2018 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, Salads, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. There's always something to eat somewhere and sometimes it is interesting. Cathy is writing today; Kirk is busy with many work related projects. This location of El Pollo Grill has been open since 2002 in the heart of Lemon Grove (on Broadway, kitty corner from the giant Lemon). It originally had been in a smaller location nearby, since 1987.
Parking can be tight in front of the strip of storefronts, but there are plenty of spaces in the back and the entrance is easy to find.
At any point in the day, the flaming grill is filled with marinated chickens. It can get busy; everything is fresh.

The Bonita Road location of El Pollo Grill got much busier when the San Diego Chargers football team left for Carson and became the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017. The owner, Victor Lopez, decided to give away a free chicken taco to anyone dropping by on the day following a Los Angeles Chargers *loss*. This business model was written up in Forbes Magazine, CBS sports, USA Today and was a pretty major news story locally…at some point (I think October), the Lemon Grove location also jumped into the 'Spanos Taco' frenzy, also giving away a free chicken taco (regular price is $2.99) after a Chargers loss. Thousands of free tacos were given away last year.
Order, pay, your number is called and you can pick it up on the other side of the cash register.
"Special C": 1/2 chicken, rice, charro beans, corn tortillas, salsa ($11.99). A good test of 'basics'. Plenty of food. Moist chicken, nicely flavored from the marinade-grilled perfectly(light, crisp skin). The rice and charro beans (whole beans, cooked with chiles) are hearty, flavorful. The hot, fresh made corn tortillas are thin and wonderful. A meal with some leftovers.
"Michelle's Walnut and spinach salad" ($10.99). Hot grilled no-skin chicken (white meat; but you can ask for dark), a mix of spinach and Romaine with walnuts, tomato, avocado, dried cranberries, feta and onion. Choice of dressings. A wonderful meal or two; refreshing on these hot days we have had…
The menu does have items other than chicken. This is the a la carte plate of shredded beef chimichanga ($6.99). All beef. All good. Seriously. Look at the (wonderful, fresh, garlic-y, not onion-y) guacamole served with a small shredded lettuce salad toped with sour cream. A meal…

Only on Friday does El Pollo Grill make chile rellenos ($9.99). From scratch, fresh, cheese filled chiles covered with an extremely flavorful sauce which is light enough not to wreck the delicate egg/flour fried batter (there's still crunch). The refried beans are very good.

Everything is good here.

El Pollo Grill 7836 Broadway Lemon Grove, CA 91945 (619)697-7153 website Opens daily at 9, closes at 9 Tues-Fri, 8 on Mon & Sat, 5 on Sunday.

Romeo & Julieta Wine Cafe

July 31, 2018 mmm-yoso European Restaurants, Gastropub, Polish Food and Restaurants

**** Romeo & Julieta has closed

Here's a little place on a rather odd corner in Talmage that I would never had found. It's a recommendation from my "FOY" JasonV. It's a favorite of his Missus, Jackie. The location is indeed interesting; being on the corner of Monoe and 47th Street. I'm sure most folks drive up the back way from Fairmount….but the place is basically a quarter mile from ECB and Nhu Y. The little wine bar is located right next to a dental office in the same strip mall. It's quite unassuming.

This is Romeo and Julieta a Polish Wine Bar of sorts. The humble exterior leads to a pretty nice and cozy interior.

We love the art and the ceiling.

Though when the weather is nice and not too hot; you can drink and dine al fresco as well.

The place is run by what I believe is a wonderful and friendly husband and wife team. The husband is the chef; though he's often helped out serving wine, and the super friendly woman runs the front of house; often on her own. In other words; this is a real mom-and-pop operation. You can't be in a rush here.

There's a regular menu of items; sort of a Polish fusion; the usual suspects, Peirogi's, Polish Sausage, and such, served with purple cabbage, sauerkraut, and cucumber salad, hearty stuff. And other items like Crab Cakes and Barbecued Pork.

The wine list is quite good and you're always served light and crusty baguette; the texture of a nice banh mi; with an addictive garlic aioli.

Don't forget the specials on the Chalk Board; where we found our favorite dish; the Pork Rouladen. Again, knowing what the "base" cuisine is of the place helps…we were looking for Polish – German – Eastern European type dishes.

A classic German – Polish dish of pork rolled around pickle spears. This version features sliced pork cutlets, pounded flat, wrapped around pickle spears and cheese. Smothered in a tasty gravy and served with a nice, rustic mashed potatoes; this is totally comfort food. The Missus enjoys the sauerkraut and sautéed cabbage and onions. The red cabbage is fine, but doesn't compare to what She really enjoyed in Prague. The cucumber salad is a bit bland for our taste; it could use more salt and bit more acidity to help cut the richness of the food.

As you can tell; the portions here are no joke.

Another favorite from the specials board was a version of the Polish Classic Bigos Stew – Hunter's Stew.

This version features the classic base of sauerkraut with Polish Kielbasa, bacon, and chopped pork. A hearty sour-meaty-smokey-porky combination. And that tomato salad was really good as well.

Of course these aren't always featured on the specials board; so the Missus will order the Polish Sausage Plate ($17.95).

While I enjoyed the nice snap of the sausage; I didn't think it was anything really special; but the Missus really enjoyed this….for a while. After two or three times, we've gotten a bit tired of this and the Missus tired of the left-overs. Yes, there are always left-overs.

You see; our drill is to arrive during Happy Hour; the Missus doesn't mind the House Chardonnay here; though they've recently changed it; and I'd just get a glass of the Italian Grillo, six bucks during Happy Hour.

Then we'd order the Polish Schnitzel Sliders from the Happy Hour menu ($9.50). I'm usually not a big fan of these fusion slider things; but this is pretty good.

The crunchy beef schnitzel, combined with the slightly sweet, but pungent, beet colored horseradish, the almost always sweet and slightly acidic tomato, and that pickle, don't forget that pickle, just goes quite well in a bun. There are four of these to an order……combined with the Missus's weak spot; sweet potato fries, enough for the both of us.

We usually end up taking most of the other entrée home as left-overs.

We also tried some of the other items over time, not all of which we enjoyed.

The Stuffed Cabbage was a menu board special. These were huge and we loved the mashed potatoes.

But we thought it on the bland and somewhat mealy side. Even with that wonderful horse radish.

The Happy Hour Wings and Fries; was priced right at $9.50.

The Missus of course, enjoyed those fries, but those wings weren't deep fried. I know this place serves flatbread/pizzas, so I'm thinking this was cooked on a conveyor oven? Not sauced enough and rubbery skin, not good eats.

My good friend's Mom back in Hawaii used come and visit with her rolling pin. She made awesome pierogi's. So during one of our first visits I decided to try the Pierogi's; the Happy Hour version. Unfortunately; they were out of the two versions that featured sauerkraut. So I ordered the Potato and Cheese; "bacon style" ($9.50).

Man, these were really stuffed. I found the wrapper to be bit on the brittle side and there was too much mushy potatoes as filling. The bacon and bacon fat topping was lovely, but I really didn't care for this version. I'll probably try one of the other versions one of these days.

There's a lot to like about Romeo & Julieta. We think the food is quite hearty and you do get your money's worth; especially those Happy Hour items. The owners are really friendly, gracious, and just really nice folks. There's often only two to three people working; which is fine during the time we eat; early on in the evening.

Happy Hour is from 4pm to 6pm Tuesdays thru Saturdays and 3pm to 6pm on Sundays.

And make sure to check out the specials board. JasonV told me he enjoyed the Watermelon Salad.

I'm sure if you choose well from the menu; you'll have a nice and hearty meal.

Romeo & Julieta Wine Cafe
4715 Monroe Ave
San Diego, CA 92115
Hours:
Tues – Sat 4pm – 10pm
Sunday 3pm – 10pm

Thanks for the recommendation Jason! Maybe one of these days we'll run into you here!

And share some Bigos.

Pho Bo

July 30, 2018 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I'm not quite sure how it happened; but it seems I'm back working weekends again just to keep up with our backlog. On the bright side; this means I can take a (usually) traffic free drive to grab an early (or late) lunch. One of my acquaintances, knowing that I really enjoy Vietnamese style Beef Stew – Bo Kho; recommended a place that recently opened in the mixed use Mercado de Barrio in Barrio Logan named Pho Bo.

Even though there's quite a few shops in the this center; parking was totally no problem. As was finding the shop; which in the typical new style has those garage like doors, and a nice modern, yet pseudo industrial (high ceilings) look.

I also enjoyed the fact that the A/C was going full blast on this very hot day. I had recommendations for three items; one of them was the Nem Nuong Cuon; those tasty grilled pork sausage spring roll that places like Brodard have made a staple. Sadly, I was told that the Nem Nuong was no longer available. I was also told that the Goi Cuon; the typical standard issue spring rolls were quite good; so I ordered it.

Sadly, this was just a whole lot of blandness as there were no herbs in the roll; the wrapper was hard and chewy, the pork was dry, and the shrimp had no flavor. The dipping sauce was your standard issue toung cham; hoisin-peanut kind of thing.

I hoped the Banh Mi Bo Kho would be better.

As you can quickly tell; the beef stew was on the thinner side; but man, look at that layer of oil on the top. Sometimes, it can really help a rich, hearty broth, but in this case, it just made the whole thing greasy. The broth was pretty salty; but lacked the pepper-tangy-anise tones I enjoy in the good Bo Kho. I used up the lime and all of the basil provided to help boost the flavor, but it was still mainly just salty.

The bread was interesting; I'm wondering who provided this as it was more dense and chewy than other banh mi I've had around San Diego.

There was a generous amount of tender beef; but no tendon provided.

Well, at least the service was fairly friendly.

I decided to return the following weekend to try out the other item that was recommended; the "Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings with Butter". Basically Butter Wings.

The amount of wings, 8 was decent for the price. These were on the smaller size; which I actually prefer for the good batter/skin ratio. Overall, these were on the bland side when it comes to butter wings. And the batter didn't have the crispness I enjoy; rather it was hard and got rather gummy quickly. There were several broken bones and a lot of blackened meat as well.

I also order the Pho Dac Biet.

As you can see; a nice portion of basil; but it was turning black and there were holes and tears in the leaves.

The broth wasn't overly salty, but still had that odd "San Diego Pho sweetness" that I've been tasting over the last couple of years. Clear, not very beefy, lacking in anise – oniony tones.

The noodles were nicely done; though in the typical clump at the bottom of the bowl.

As for the proteins; the rare steak was the typical top round; which gets tougher the longer it "cooks" in the broth. Luckily, it arrived before being well done. Both the flank and the brisket were fine, nicely done, not tough, nor falling to pieces, good beef flavor. Surprisingly, the meat balls weren't too rubbery or hard. Not bad in terms of protein. But you can tell who the target audience of this bowl is just by what was absent. Tendon and tripe….

In then end; this was basically "pho not to offend", not my favorite. It's fine if you like your basic, generic, pho shop.