mmm-yoso – Page 292 – 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.

Leela Thai (Santee)

May 18, 2015 Cathy Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog and Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy are the ones who usually do the blogging. Really, Kirk is the usual one. Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy help out when Kirk is busy. Today, it is one of those days and Cathy is writing.

Santee, incorporated in 1980 within the County-of and not too far East of the City-of San Diego, is home to an established Buddhist Temple, Van Hanh (it's on Fanita, South of Mary's Donuts).Knowing this, it's not surprising that the second location of Sab E Lee, Sab E Lee 2, opened here in 2009. After all, Oiishi, a Japanese-Thai restaurant, had been here for three years before I even began blogging with Kirk and before that, it was a wonderful Thai place, run by chefs who had worked at Lotus of Siam, a Las Vegas legend. Almost two years ago, Bua Thai Kitchen opened in this location, it formerly had been three iterations of a Taco Shop. The Southwest corner of Mission Gorge Road at Cuyamaca is anchored by a McDonalds, two banks, a 99Cent Only store, Bevmo and Petco has a large parking lot to accommodate all of the business here.

I began a post about Bua and after noticing all of my orders were the same takeout items tried (and loved and craved) on my first visit, I thought it would be odd and never got around to finishing it.After about a year and a half, Bua closed and the Leela sign appeared. The interior was redone and the hours changed in that Leela was open on Mondays (when Sab E Lee 2 is closed).

When we inquired, we found out that Bua is still the chef here, but that the business was bought up by the same owner as Aroma Thai, located in Imperial Beach, which cc had blogged about earlier this year. (The menus are very similar, with lower prices by about 50¢ at Aroma).Our meals began with an excellent vegetarian soup.Deciding we needed to 'test' the 'standards' here, an order of Satay Chicken ($6.95) was an easy choice. The chicken was moist and well marinated, the Satay sauce had a nice bit of heat, but nothing too crazy. The Leela Basket ($9.95) was ordered at a heat level of 4/10. It was. The freshly made noodle basket was filled with chicken, pork and shrimp, vegetables and cashews. It was served with two cream cheese filled wontons and rice. The freshness of everything was impressive. We enjoyed this dish a lot.Once I knew Bua was in the kitchen, I also ordered the pork larb ($8.95) (also at a heat level of 4/10) and it was as I remembered: perfect…the crunchy rice powder, the mint, the perfect heat level. My cravings for this simple dish have returned.

Leela Thai 9725 Mission Gorge Road Santee 92071 (619) 334-4019

Leela Thai Cuisine 9725 Mission Gorge Road Santee 92071 (619)334-4019 Open seven days 10:30-9:30

Board & Brew (Pacific Beach)

May 17, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Salads, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! a food blog. Right now, Kirk and His Missus are out and about, researching another group of fascinating posts. Ed (from Yuma) and His Missus are hanging around Yuma, contemplating where to visit so He can write some captivating posts. Cathy and Her Mister are in San Diego, sharing a less intriguing Stay-cation post.

We live so close to the Pacific Ocean and rarely stop to admire it. Some people specifically vacation and stay here, at the Crystal Pier Hotel. Located at the West end of Garnet Avenue at… Mission Boulevard, where the newest location of a San Diego mainstay (since 1979), Board and Brew, is now located. Yes, skateboards -not surfboards- are the main decor here. Notice the backing at the bar stool area; those mosaic 'tiles' are pieces of skateboard decks.The counters and tables appear to be made of recycled wood. We decided to keep it light, ordering a salad and sandwich to share.

The Cobb salad($7.95) was served with freshly grilled (i.e., still warm) chicken breast and topped with bacon, Cheddar cheese, hard boiled egg, tomato and cucumber on top of green leaf lettuce. The house made salad dressings are all quite good; Caesar was our choice this day. This is a very large salad and could have been shared as a meal…very fresh ingredients; quality. However, we were curious about the "Left Coast Pastrami" ($8.50), which was warm/grilled pastrami, Swiss cheese, pepperoncini slices and grilled onions with Dijon mustard on a toasted fresh French baguette. A few different ingredients with an excellent, lean, smoky pastrami made this sandwich unique and surprisingly good.

We are enjoying parts of San Diego taken for granted, before the tourists show up.

Board and Brew 4516 Mission Blvd San Diego 92109 (858)270-2739(BREW) website open 10-9, daily

It’s Boba Time- Shaved snow (no boba)

May 16, 2015 Cathy Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by the food blog named mmm-yoso!!! Right now, Kirk is embarking on a well deserved rest. Ed(from Yuma) has completed a session and is making future plans. Cathy is holding steady and writing a short post.

Another overcast day had The Mister and I driving about looking for a small snack. Finally, since it has been here almost a year, I decided to stop at Boba Time. It's located in the former Yoshinoya location, in the same mall with Myung In Dumplings, (which used to be Voltero's).

CC has been to a different Boba Time location and Jinxie was here last July, not long after Kirby's visit.

Not very large inside, and it looked like rain on this weekday, so no crowds.

The lengthy menu is essentially variations of hot or cold, coffee or tea, juice or dairy and boba or not…along with a list of probably 100 or more add ins and add ons, making your unique beverage one of a few hundred thousand combinations.

Then there's the shaved snow, frozen yogurt and waffles. Most ingredients cross over.Milk shaved snow with mocha and lychee topped with chocolate and strawberry sauces. ($5)Enough to share. The snow was light and flaky, not icy. A nice snack.

Hope your weekend is going well.

It's Boba Time 4344 Convoy Street 92111 Open Sun-Thurs 11-11, Fri, Sat 11-midnight Website

Zion – Eating inside the market

May 15, 2015 Cathy Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food in San Diego (and beyond). Today, Kirk is converging toward an objective, Ed (from Yuma) is advancing toward an intention and Cathy is here, with a focus toward the target of blogging.

A few weeks ago, it looked almost like today, but with only an expectation of rain. The Mister and I needed to do some grocery shopping and headed out to Zion Market, which has quite a few eateries inside the store as well as a Food Court area.The Produce area was quite crowded. We picked up items on our list, as well as whatever was on sale, then headed all the way to the back-toward the 'Kitchen' area, located along the East wall between the meat and seafood counters.The hot and room temperature counters had just been filled with freshly prepared items.The refrigerated, pickled item case was also freshly assembled.

We selected some items here, paid for all of our purchases then walked over to the Food Court area and grabbed a table.We managed to unwrap everything and take a photo before enjoying a nice lunch. (Chopsticks and napkins are given at the market cash registers.)

Clockwise from 11:00—Fish pancakes ($4.54), barley tea ($1.50), real crab California rolls ($3.25), kimchi steamed dumplings ($3.75) and a whole teriyaki grilled squid ($4.99).

Zion Market 7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd San Diego, California 92111 open 7 days 9 to 9 website

Louisiana Fried Chicken and Waffles (Logan Heights)

May 14, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! the food blog with a rotating subject matter (as in style of food) as well as rotating bloggers. Kirk is, again, busy today. Ed (from Yuma) is, reiteratively, busy (in Yuma). Cathy is, once more, writing a post.

It was one of those days when I was driving and The Mister was randomly saying 'left', 'right', 'take this exit' or straight' and somehow we ended up here.The end building of the new mall anchored by a drive thru Starbucks on National Avenue between 28th and 29th street, just East of the 5 freeway.

I had been craving the whole 'Chicken and Waffle' experience, since our visit to Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in 2013, wondering about other iterations. So, we stopped.The fairly simple menu made our decision of what to share on this first visit pretty easy.We were here around 9:15 in the morning, at opening and everything was fresh. We had to wait for the waffle to be made while we watched a batch of chicken being placed in the steam trays and a pot of gumbo being brought out from the back.The freshly made waffle had a crispy exterior and fluffy interior. It was not as sweet as a breakfast waffle (and it shouldn't be; maple syrup is a condiment here).The spicy crust on the fried chicken was perfect: crisp, not greasy, just enough spice all while leaving the dark meat tender and juicy. The thigh and waffle plate ($7) is a perfect size for a meal. {Side note: they make their own Louisiana Hot Sauce here; grab one or two to have with your meal: it is great}Our return visit had us curious about the "Fantastic Fish Sandwich" (combo,$7.25, includes fries and a drink). There was a choice of catfish, snapper or tilapia as the fish. Catfish it was! Wonderful cornmeal breading, seasoned and fried, topped with a house made remoulade and some raw onions, on a very nice, fresh French roll (crispy crusted exterior). This time, we ordered a small side of collard greens ($1.50). These were so good. The recipe/flavors of vinegar and smoked ham complimented the greens, which stood out in flavor. I watched as the Young Lady working here carefully drained the greens and packed them into the small container, which amazingly holds a lot.Returning to the third photo…on our first visit, we ordered a quart of Gumbo ($8.99). This was the best Gumbo I think I've ever had (we lived in the South for five years).

There was rice in the bottom of the container, topped with this wonderful Creole stew that had the flavors of the mirepoix of celery, green pepper and onion combined with not an overpowering of filé/sassafras powder which melded with the chicken and sausage in such a delightful, hearty way. This Gumbo was a meal in itself, and would be perfect on a rainy day.That first visit, so early in the morning and uncrowded, had the gentlemen behind the counter offering us a sample of the fresh made peach cobbler. We were so full, and took it home for a snack later that day. The crust was still crispy (a good sign) and the peach filling was not too sweet at all.

This is a great place and I'm so glad we have it here in San Diego. Looking back, I see that Mary visited here early last December. She liked the fish here, too.

Louisiana Fried Chicken and Waffles 2850 National Avenue San Diego 92113 Website (there is music on the site) (619) 233-0670 Mon-Th 9-9, Fri-Sat 9-10 Sun 10-7

Lupita Mexican Food and Fruiteria (El Cajon)

May 13, 2015 Cathy Burgers, Fruiterias, Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, at mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is extremely busy with necessary errands. Ed (from Yuma) is busy making plans. Cathy is blogging today, because she is, comparatively, not busy.

Election Day in November had me assigned by the Registrar of Voters to El Cajon, where I drove in circles, putting out fires and waiting for phone calls telling me of impending fires all day. Some of the areas I passed had interesting places to eat. Lupita Mexican Food and Fruiteria caught my eye. It shares the parking lot (around the corner) with the generically named 'Tortilla Salsa Market'. There are quite a few other businesses here also. (The signage you see from the street is 3rd photo from the end).The rather extensive menu offers the usual items. The quality is notable. The shrimp tostada ($4.19) was made with large shrimp, in a fresh salsa and served with a side of avocado. This was excellent.The al pastor burrito ($4.50) was freshly made, pretty average, quite large. I'd order it again; it's more interesting than a carne aside burrito.Ordering to eat in, a basket of thin corn chips is served, along with the house made salsas in squeeze bottles.

Above, a freshly squeezed "Popeye", medium size ($4.50) juice. Made with spinach, carrot, celery, cucumber and apple, it was just right. I like that it is just juice, no ice.

Carne asada tostada ($3.99) was quite large and very good. Tamarind raspado ($3.25)(16 oz) is nicely made here, from the whirring of the shaved ice machine in the back to the tamping of fresh tamarind pieces, each item I've ordered here has been carefully hand made and served with care. The ladies working here are very nice.Almost every visit, I've ordered a small fruit salad ($6.65) with everything (cottage cheese, raisins, granola, coconut and honey)…and have needed to take hime leftovers.Tortas here are made with a great bread which is brought up from Mexico. Above, the Lomo ($6.50) is my usual choice. Lettuce, tomato, onions, cheese avocado and a thin layer of beans surround the beef (and sometimes, pork) tenderloin, which is cured then chopped and heated for this sandwich.This is the signage you'll see from the street. Notice the bottom two lines: 'Sideways Bar'. Now, you may have noticed I've been doing quite a few posts under the "Pubs and Pub Grub" section of the blog. It seems that Sideways doesn't serve food, but the bar patrons walk to Lupita, order and pay. Then, one the order is ready, one of the ladies walks to deliver the food to the bar.

Consistently, one item seems to always be ordered. The double cheeseburger. So, you know, I had to…Behold, the double cheeseburger ($4.50). As you can see, two large patties, lettuce tomato and two different cheeses on a toasted bun. This was filling and quite good. I understand why it's an order for the bar patrons.

Another fruiteria which is locally owned and serves quality food.

Lupita Mexican Food and Fruiteria 1088 Estes (at Chase, one block East of Emerald) El Cajon 92021 (619)593-9500

Tianjin Baozi/Jian Bing Shop Coming to San Diego, Half Door Brewing Company, and the Missus’s Favorite Beer and Snack

May 12, 2015 mmm-yoso Beer, Chinese Restaurants, Pubs and Pub Grub, yoso-silly

Here's a variety of items for a beautiful May Tuesday.

Tianjin Baozi/Jian Bing Shop replacing Mercury Grill:

Candice recently mentioned at baozi shop was coming to San Diego in this strip mall. I finally saw a sign a couple of days ago. Unfortunately, it was written in Chinese. So I drove by with the Missus who told me the sign mentions Tianjin Baozi, one of my favorite things and Jian Bing a dish that takes the Missus back to Her days in Beijing.

Sad to see Mercury Grill close. But I'm really excited to see this.

Man, first Dumpling Inn expands (yawn) and then Myung In opens (meh…plus/minus). Now this. I guess when it rains it pours.

8046 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Half Door Brewing Company:

Speaking of Candice. We decided on grabbing a beer a few months back and she suggested Half Door Brewing Company.

Located on Island Avenue in East Village….I really wasn't too sure

But I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the slightly sour, not too dry Berlinerweiss. A nice middle of the road version. I loved the set-up…in an renovated older building…I gotta find out a bit more about it. The place is owned by the family who owns The Field, so I may drop by and have the Fish and Chips one day.

In other words; I'll be back.

Half Door Brewing Co
903 Island Ave
San Diego, CA 92101

Speaking of Beer:

We were speaking of beer, right?

The Missus's current favorite is the Chili Pepper Spicy Ale form Six Rivers Brewery. It's actually quite good with rich, gamey, stuff like duck rillettes or confit. It's no lightweight, you get a bit of citrus, then boom……nice serious heat. It's not that great with spicy food as the heat from the food nullifies the beer.

The Missus has also developed a fondness for Lays Creamy Forest Mushroom flavored potato chips. I got this as an impulse buy from Balboa Market. It does have an interesting cream of mushroom flavor……nice and savory and the Missus has taken to it.

What we didn't take to was the Rogue Sriracha Hot Stout. We like our chili beers and this one; while a decent stout, good coffee flavors really wasn't true to Sriracha.

Kind of weak and wimpy. Too bad, the Missus loves the Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar with Chocolate.

Can't win 'em all.

And finally:

I often have folks send me…ummmm…."interesting photos". Like this one.

?????

Hope you're having a great week!

Xi’an Kitchen Opens in San Diego

May 11, 2015 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Xi'an Kitchen has closed.

Back in April, I noted that Xian Kitchen was opening. I kept an eye on the former Jin's Pot location and they really turned it around quick. On a visit in the beginning of May, I noticed a sign saying they were opening on May 5th.

So a couple of days after they opened I dropped by.

There were two guys and three women working. When I spoke English, the two guys wanted nothing to do with me. In fact, they really didn't seem to want anything to do with any customer. The really nice young lady confirmed with me that this place is owned by the same person as Xian Kitchen in City of Industry. This is both good and bad. The good, we're finally getting some different Chinese options down here. The bad; well the service at Xian Kitchen in COI was terrible…pretty much old style SGV….and that seemed to have carried over to here.

Meanwhile the place had filled up in twenty minutes…..

And I was still waiting for my Yang Rou Pao Mo…..25 minutes later. Meanwhile I had the pleasure of hearing the guy on the table slurping away….which wasn't bad, neither was the burp. But when he cracked that loud fart…well that was something I hadn't heard in a while.

I will say, I kind of enjoyed the liveliness of the place. It reminded me of China….the place is pretty loud as the surfaces in the interior really reflect sound.

I did finally get my Yang Rou Pao Mo; while not even close to being as good as what I had in Xi'an, was actually better than what I had at the COI location. That bread is all wrong, but the broth was so wonderfully lamb-y, not overly salty, and I felt totally stuffed. As you can tell. This ain't your "meat lover's" plate.

As I left, the place was packed….and not a single word of English could be heard…..and there was a line forming outside.

I mentioned the place to my co-eaters Lily and "YZ". I knew Lily, from Taiyuan was going to love this stuff, "YZ", I wasn't sure. One thing I was sure of, the place was going to remind them of China.

When we arrived, there was a single occupied table….ten minutes later, the place was packed.

We managed to place our orders and the Rou Jia Mo arrived within a few minutes. Like the Yang Rou Pao Mo, it not even close to being like what you'd get in Xi'an, but was better than what I experienced at the COI location.

Porky, fatty….I do think there should be a bit more pork in these. The bread was passable, slightly yeasty, decent crust. Not a good value, not even close what I expect.

Now came the waiting……

About 15 minutes later, out came the Niu Rou Pao Mo…..

We were told that this was "beef soup"…but it was indeed lamb. So basically "YZ" a non-mutton eater could go at it so it came to me. Some advice….get the lamb version of this.

About 15 minutes later Lily's "Everything soup" came out. All the "good stuff" from the mutton, with basically the same broth as all the other items.

When YZ ordered her soup; I didn't trust what the server said so I ordered the hand pulled noodles with pork. Sadly, it took nearly 45 minutes to get to the table…….45 minutes for stir fried noodles…..

These were actually pretty good. The noodles had a decent texture; that were firm, with a nice chew….what folks term as "QQ". In terms of flavor; I thought it needed a bit more cumin and tended toward the bland side. Because of the timing of the dish, we took most of it to go.

Look at the line as we were leaving……

Part of me rejoiced at the line. It shows that there's a demand for regional Chinese food that's not second rate Sichuan, Hot Pot, or lousy dim sum. The crowds I saw were interesting. Students and younger people searching for good homestyle/street style noodle, soup, and stir fry dishes and groups of older folks ordering huge plates of Islamic Chinese dishes. I hope they get their service and kitchen straight. I've dealt with "SGV" service and am used to it….but I've never waited 45 minutes for noodles before. In other words, at this time, you might want to think about eating here if you're starving. You might pass out from hunger…and based on the service, they'd just step over your twitching body without a thought.

Xi’an Kitchen
4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Sunday Sandwiches: Spice House Cafe

May 10, 2015 mmm-yoso Diner, Sandwiches

**** Spice House has closed

Like I've mentioned many times before, I have special place in my heart for those 60's and 70's diner type items I grew up eating. I recently got my yearly itch….so I decided to just go ahead and scratch it. Last year, my visits to Troy's Family Restaurant just didn't do it for me. So this time, I headed in the opposite direction to the Spice House Café.

This place has been around for over 50 years. And I even did a post on breakfast here back in 2005. 2005……seems so long ago. Sadly, I didn't see the Portuguese Sausage Breakfast on the menu anymore.

Anyway, this place is no frills, it doesn't try to be anything its not……just simple burgers, sandwiches, breakfast……

So it just seemed right to get one of my diner favorites something I get a craving for every so often, the Club House Sandwich ($8.95). Man, this thing was huge.

Man, look at all that processed turkey. Actually it wasn't an overly processed mystery meat product. And who doesn't love bacon and a decent smear of mayo.

The bulk steak fries were ok……when fried well, it's passable, and on this day it was.

And of course, who can forget that other diner favorite…the bottle that refuses to give up the ketchup? Tried the "jerk, the shake, the knife strategy, all to no avail. Finally, I just held it upside down and let gravity do its (slow) work.

This was way too much for me. I ended up having half of it for dinner.

Even though I took care of my club sandwich craving for another year, I thought one visit wouldn't be enough for a post. So I decided to return.

Not sure what to get; I went to the top of the sandwich listing and got the "Super Bird Melt". Good lord, this was just a bit too much for me.

This was just a bit too greasy for me, rom the griddled and greasy onions, the griddled sour dough, and the drippy cheese. All things I enjoy, but in this case it was just too much.

The fries this time were barely lukewarm therefore dry and cardboard like.

In terms of price point and quality, you get what you pay for here….maybe even more. In terms of quantity, well, I couldn't finish either sandwich. On my visits I thought the servers here represent Spice House quite well, they are polite, sometimes friendly, efficient, with little wasted motion, and no pretense. Sometimes that's just what you want…..

Spice House Cafe
9035 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123
Hours:
Mon – Fri 630am – 230pm
Sat – Sun 700am – 230pm

Rome: Back to Trattoria da Danilo

May 9, 2015 mmm-yoso Italian Restaurants, Italy, Rome, Travel

As we often do during our trips; we decided to hang around where we were staying during our last evening in Rome.

In our earlier walks in the area, we noticed the ancient city walls right down the street.

We followed the street and ended up at the Arcibasilica Papale di San Giovanni in Laterano, one of the Four Major Basilicas of Rome.

You basically can't walk a single block without running into something historic in Rome.

We headed back to the room to freshen up.

So where were we headed for dinner?

Because of all the Chinese businesses in the area, the Missus walked into the Chinese Market and asked the manager if there was any "great" Chinese food around. His Answer? "Ummm, they are all just about the same." So we decided on going back to the place we we started this little journey at; Da Danilo.

This time however, we'd not be strong-armed into getting all the antipasto. Even though the owner kept staring daggers at us during our stay. No, we enjoyed a nice Malvasia Bianca and the really enjoyed the main reason for returning; the Carbonara with truffle.

I'm willing to put up with the "typical Roman service" (so says Max), the pushy owner…just for this. The perfectly prepared pasta, the creamy-tongue coating sauce….the shaved truffle.

The rather bland orecchiette da danilo……