mmm-yoso – Page 324 – 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.

Slides-all sliders all the time. (La Mesa)

May 15, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

Slides has closed. It will be missed.

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog. Food is the primary subject. Kirk is vacationing on another continent, Ed(from Yuma) is working in another State and Cathy is in San Diego County, hanging close to home and being vigilant while adding words to photos.

I hope everyone is safe and keeping cool. The last few days have been horrible around here, both with heat and fires. As a diversion, here's a post about some quick visits to a small restaurant that's been open since October.

Located in a bend in strip mall (anchored by Subway and 24 Hour Fitness) on University Avenue between Pomona and Lowell (two blocks East of Yale), Slides is easy to miss.

Once you walk inside, you'll see it's decorated in the colors of SDSU and has a small menu on the wall.

Here it is. I think the oddball pricing has to do with some sort of lucky numbers or really is random, because it doesn't make the addition of sales tax result in even numbers.

The other side of the menu, with crucial factoids: daily fresh baked buns; house made pickles; 'secret' Asian seasoning.

At this meal, we shared an order of mixed (regular and sweet potato) fries ($1.98)(really good-both flavors; properly fried) and a Three-Pack of sliders ($5.47)(plus 28 cents for mild Cheddar cheese on the beef slider) {Total with tax was $8.41…oddball prices plus tax does not result in less loose change AND they don't accept tips!}. ANYHOW the color coded sticks are to tell you which flavor is which.

This is the fish slider. The fish is swai. It's half baked, then mixed with finely chopped onion and a 'secret' Asian sauce, some egg white then baked: no grease, no binder. Great flavor. This was a favorite of mine during Lent (and it still is). The photo makes it look kind of large, because it is kind of large. The fresh baked bun, lettuce, tomato, house made pickle and onions make a single Slide with a few fries enough as a meal.

Here's a blurry photo of the lean burger, topped with mild Cheddar and everything (as above), with a better photo of those wonderful slightly sweet/salty, crispy/crunchy house made pickles. Again, quite large enough as a meal. The beef is very lean and the beef flavor did not stand out on this Slide. There is a lot of meat, but I think the Cheddar is overwhelming (see last photo and description).

The veggie Slide (it's eggplant).

A lot of eggplant, sauteed perfectly and surprisingly flavorful. Seriously good.

The shakes ($2.76) are all made with the same vanilla base with a syrup added in and then mixed. As you can see, this one stopped just short of having its coffee syrup mixed in. The shakes are a good flavor and thickness, but a tad too sweet for me.

There is either a chicken or a turkey Slide centered in this photo. You can tell the difference when you taste (the turkey is dryer; both have good flavor). You can also see the 'secret' sauce in this picture.

Here's a double beef burger(additional 74 cents) topped with Monterey Jack cheese (28 cents additional). I think the cheese was not as overpowering a flavor, because the beef flavor really was shining in this serving of burger.

All in all, really good, fresh food, prepared to order, yet served quickly, by very nice people. This is one place I wish did have a Tip Jar.

Slides 7406 University Avenue La Mesa 91942 (619)461-4462 Website open 11-8 daily

Where in the world are we?

May 14, 2014 mmm-yoso Belgium, Travel

Yes, it's that time again. We needed some time off to recharge. So where are we?

Well, this city claims to have one of the grandest places….

And for the shoppers, also claims to have the first enclosed mall in the world.

The weather has been pretty cold and drizzly, but the sites are still wonderful.

This afternoon the sun peeked out giving some sunshine, which really made everything that much more photogenic.

It also brought the locals out. The folks here are very laid back and really enjoy taking their time nursing their favorite brew(s).

Since this is a food blog, here's a couple of things we've had so far.

Horse steak and frites

Veal sweetbreads in mustard sauce.

A specialty is beef stewed in beer. I won't give you the name of the dish, that'll make this way too easy.

It's 3am as I type this out. A bit of jetlag this time around.

We're headed to our next stop this morning. Hopefully, I'll have the time (and the wifi) to do another post. Thanks for reading, and, as always, thanks to Cathy for holding down the fort!

Posted with Blogsy

Golden City Restaurant- (underrated) Chinese Cuisine

May 13, 2014 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog, has most posts originating in sunny San Diego. Today is going to be a scorcher. Cathy is writing a short post.

When I woke today, the temperature outside was 59 and the weather report says it will hit 95 before noon. I try to get all of my work around the house done before the heat starts to set in and then plan my day around either staying inside the house or going to air conditioned businesses. Here's where we went a few weeks ago, during the last heat wave…

On the South East corner of 163 and Clairmont Mesa, Golden City has been a mainstay since 2005, getting new management in July 2006. Kirk has written many posts about individual food items, mostly revisits, with each emphasizing the authenticity and quality of food. As you can see, there is a 'Special' lunch menu offered.

The Mister and I have visited this quite large restaurant many times; just haven't posted.

When you order hot tea, it is brewed for you, using loose tea leaves, not bags. A good quality fresh tea, I always enjoy it with my meal.

As part of our orders, we were asked if we wanted egg drop or hot and sour soup (included with the 'Regular', not the 'Special' lunch menu){ Side note, the 'Regular' lunch menu is the same after 9 p.m. each evening, it's called the 'Late Menu' then} We chose both soups. Each is high quality, flavorful and comforting.

Also part of the 'regular' lunch menu, vegetarian egg rolls are included. Fresh, crispy, always pleasant.

From the 'Special' menu, wonton noodle soup ($3.99). Really good soup broth, meaty (shrimp and pork) wontons and very tasty, non-clumpy egg noodles, along with some fresh baby bok choy make this a meal in itself.

Ma Po tofu ($6.99). We try this menu item just about everywhere, because every restaurant makes it differently using the same primary ingredients: soft tofu, ground pork, spicy sauce-and the variation here is wonderful. The smooth sauce here is medium hot (just right, I think). A sizeable portion. With some steamed rice, this is also comforting.

A dish at this restaurant I was introduced to (by Kirk) a few years ago-you know what it is. The menu calls it Deep Fried Pork Chittlins ($7.50) and I really like the quality of fry (crispy and not greasy) as well as the portion size and general flavor point (a bit salty).

An excellent, comforting meal served in air conditioned comfort. Hope your day goes well.

Golden City Restaurant 5375 Kearney Mesa Road San Diego, 92111 (858)565-6682 website

Pho Truc Xanh- Vietnamese & Chinese in Escondido

May 12, 2014 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! a blog about food. Right now, Kirk is barely awake, Ed (from Yuma is) busy busy and has been awake a long while and Cathy is wide awake and trying to get things done before the heat hits.

The other day, we were driving North through Escondido and stopped at the signal light on Centre City Parkway at Mission Avenue and looked Southwest (to my left). This is what I saw. You know I had to find my way to the parking lot.After several (several) turns, I was there. There is only one entrance and it is on Mission Avenue East.There were cars parked along the row where I was standing to take this photo (there are trees and shade on this far side of the parking lot). There is a hotel/motel on each of the four corners of the signal light and each has a restaurant.

Walking inside this former 1970's Diner, the happy decor and colors greet you. Neat and clean, the tabletops are all filled with the various accoutrement and condiments you will need.Even though we ordered only from the Vietnamese side of the menu, bowls of Chinese egg drop based soup were brought out first. This was *very* good soup, filled with crunchy vegetables and nicely flavored.

We wanted to order the nem nuong (sausage) spring rolls, but were told there was no Vietnamese (or Chinese) sausage available…hm…so, I changed my choice to Goi Cuon Tom (fresh shrimp) spring rolls ($4.25). These were the only disappointment of the meal, if I had to make a list. The filling was loose and rather sparse, just sprouts, noodles and lettuce (no mint or basil) and the shrimp were plump but tasteless. It needed the peanut dipping sauce, along with some garlic chili sauce to make these interesting. Every ingredient was very fresh/crispy though.

Bun Cha Gio Thit Nuong ($7.25) I wanted to order something pretty standard (and try the egg rolls) to see how Bun was made here-the egg rolls were great (there were three cut into thirds) and had pork and shrimp as well as the usual fillers. This Bun was excellent. The noodles were on one side of the bowl and the lettuce/cucumber/mint/sprouts on the other half. The amount of grilled pork was substantial, well flavored, tender. The Egg rolls -cut into thirds were then fried again-giving the exposed parts a nice crunch. Peanuts, pickled veggies and nuoc mam (fish sauce) were all fresh/crunchy/crisp/flavorful. This was served in the 'small' bowl and quite a lot of food. I'll get this again.

Pho Tai Nam (Large, $6.75) (Pho with rare steak and flank). Looks like sparse sides, but it was just right. I don't add unless it needs it or halfway through if I am bored with the flavors. The broth itself was nicely fatty/flavored and without the unnecessary MSG.

Plenty of tender, flavorful meat, really fresh -not in a clump- noodles (which were squared and different from the rounded noodles in the Bun) and sweet, crunchy onions, scallions and cilantro flavored this much more than I ever expected.

So glad we stopped here. Unexpectedly good.

Pho Truc Xanh 503 W. Mission Avenue Escondido CA 92025 (760)489-8201 Sun-Thurs 10-9, Fri-Sat 10-10 Website

City Chicken (not a place; a food item)

May 11, 2014 Cathy Cooking, Recipes, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. On this day, Kirk is hustling, Ed(from Yuma) is engrossed and Cathy is busy writing a short post.

Do you ever watch the TV show/series Survivor? The premise is that people are left on an island without much and need to keep themselves alive for about 39 days, participating in various skill contests and situations while being filmed. Sometimes part of the situation results with a "Tribe" awarded three chickens, to help them eat and survive.

After a day or two with a few eggs, somebody always seems to convince the others to kill a chicken (or three) and just eat them, rather than continuing on with daily eggs…

During the Great Depression, people kept their chickens alive as long as possible, using the eggs as a protein source and not killing or consuming the chickens until those birds were not producing any eggs and were therefore only useful as other meal sources (not only eating the chicken meat, but saving the bones to make soup).

People wanted to also enjoy some sort of meat during those desperate/egg times. Along came City Chicken, at the time, a much less expensive alternative to actual chicken. Years ago, when shopping at Seisel's, I saw signage.

This is the most current price, making City Chicken not the bargain it used to be, but it is still a craving we occasionally have.

Here's an old photo I found of a purchase.

City Chicken, basically mock chicken drumsticks, consists of cubes of pork and veal placed onto thick short wooden skewers,

which are then dipped in egg wash and cracker crumbs then quick fried in some butter melted in oil,

then placed on top of some onions and baked until done.

A simple food, now a memory trigger for me. I used to help Mom make it for dinner.

Happy Mothers Day.

House Burger and Farm Fresh Market (Nestor)

May 10, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Markets & Grocers

House Burger has closed.

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, our food blog. Kirk is excessively busy today, Ed(from Yuma) is immensely overwhelmed with his work and Cathy is indeed not without unreasonable overscheduling, but she is doing the writing for this post.

One beautiful day, The Mister and I found ourselves in the South Bay area of San Diego, driving about pretty aimlessly. We spied this small corner signage-"House Burger",

attached to the same building housing this small market. Both looked interesting, so we stopped.

Despite this signage hanging near the door, it seems House Burger has been here since at least June of 2012. (Here is a LINK to a post, written by cc that October (she didn't like it)-same sign.).

A very basic, limited menu. An open kitchen. We ordered, watched and waited.

Cheeseburger ($2.99) Free formed, very, very good coarse ground meat with the char from the grill. The bun was extremely soft/fresh as were the toppings. Turns out the meat, toppings and baked items all are from the Market next door…

Cheesesteak sandwich ($4.99). Thin sliced beef, griddled with onion, bell pepper and fresh mushrooms as well as cheese, all served on a soft, fresh baked, sub shaped roll. This version was large and *very* good. Again, the ingredients are all from the market next door.

The $1.59 side of onion rings. Whole (not chopped) onions in a crispy breading, fried properly. These were also unexpectedly freshly made. When we were finished, we had to go to the market next door, to see why it seemed so busy (and, you know, check out the prices).

It has many Mexican items, is not too large. The meat counter greets you when you walk in.

Good prices.There is a steam tray/to go area straight ahead with many interesting offerings and good prices (we will be back).

It's right next to the Produce area…

Notice the glass…The bakery, where tortillas are being made.

All next to a small (three doors wide, but quite tall) area of fresh baked goods. Everything we bought here that day was very fresh and very good quality. What a great find!

Hope you're having a good start to the weekend.

House Burger 1873 Palm Avenue San Diego 92154 (619)429-1195

Farm Fresh Market 1879 Palm Avenue 92154 (619)424-6779

Social Life Neapolitan Pizza (SDSU area)

May 8, 2014 Cathy Pizza, What Cathy Eats!

Social Life has closed

mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog, is an almost daily posting by a few friends (Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy) who share their food-centric experiences with you. Today, Kirk is busy, as is Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy has a bit of time on her hands, so she's writing.

I've noticed a plethora (more than six) of businesses around the County featuring 'design your own pizza and we'll bake it for you very quickly' and have concluded that there must be an amazing ROI (return of investment) on this particular type of operation, possibly based on the business model of Little Caesars. One day, The Mister and I decided to see what this was all about and stopped at the nearest location to home. Social Life is a franchise and the only other location is inside the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.

This is the view from the parking lot- you can see El Cajon Boulevard to the left in the back of this photo.

When you walk in, you're asked if you've ever been here before and if not, a quick explanation of how it all works is given. There's the menu of suggested ingredient topping mixes and then at the far right, a 'crafted by you' option, all pies are basically the same price (unless you choose premium toppings).

You can see the dough being made and portioned (that shiny object to the right is the machine that flattens the dough to the perfect thickness)

You can see the San Felice "00" Pizza Flour bags- it's a blend of American, European and Italian wheat and I do notice an excellent flavor, chew and light crunch in the crust here.

Some of the toppings available…

You watch as your pie is assembled.

Then it's placed into the wood fired oven for about three minutes.

You can pay and have a seat. Or stare and take a photo. Not a long wait.

They use flavorful San Marzano tomatoes…

Here's a view from the cash register. Pay attention to those orange pots to the left. That's (imported from Italy) oregano to the right, in the packages.

Above, #5-Carne. San Marzano crushed tomatoes, mozzarella, pepperoni, sausage and salami. ($7.50). The imported dried oregano, brushed off of branches was scattered over the pie before it went into the oven. The crust is remarkable in that it is very much in the Naples/Neopolitan style (BTDT)-it's light, crunchy and still chewy (not too thin and cracker-like)-see the overhanging shape of the slice? The meat mix combined with the crushed tomatoes is wonderful.

The Mozzarella Salad($7.50), mini mozzarella balls on top of freshly tossed greens, tomatoes, basil and oregano with olive oil and placed on top of a freshly baked olive oil and oregano topped crust. This was very refreshing and a way to get a salad with a lot of fresh lightly crisp bread.

The Gorgonzola Salad ($4) is also refreshing. Mixed greens mixed with olive oil and then with gorgonzola, dried cranberries and caramelized walnuts. Quite a large serving and very good.

In those orange glazed pots (seen in the forefront of the tenth photo) are home made Italian meatballs and marinara sauce (2 meatballs with sauce for $3.50). These are quite large and very flavorful, made with a finely ground meat mix (beef, pork and veal I think). The marinara sauce is lightly seasoned (and not the same as the crushed tomatoes on the pizza).

The #6-Pesto Pizza. Pesto (pine nut and basil) sauce topped with fresh mozzarella, spinach, mushrooms and fresh tomatoes (they were out of sun dried tomatoes on this visit). This was excellent also. It's difficult for me to say which sauce I liked better. The crust is just wonderful- thin and just on the edge of being crackery, but it's not…and it is so flavorful.

There are several televisions in the eating area and a great beer and wine selection.

The self serve area (including to go boxes) is quite organized.

You may have peeked at the menu and notice a "cannoli pizza" ($6) as a dessert. We had to. The crust was lightly baked just through, is crispy and is not browned. Topped with a sweet Ricotta blend (I think Ricotta and condensed milk) and then mini chocolate chips are added, topped with chocolate sauce, powdered sugar and those wonderful, favorite snacks of mine, maraschino cherries. It is sweet: one slice is enough. Know that it is still good later in the day and the next morning…

Social Life Neapolitan Pizza El Cajon Blvd 92115 (619) 265-2700 Website

Lent 2014-observing an observance.

May 7, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Chains, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog and usually Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) or Cathy write posts about food. Today, Kirk has been busy, Ed (from Yuma) has also been busy, so Cathy is writing a post to keep you interested in stopping by to read the blog.

This is an untimely post, since Lent (a solemn religious observance) is over and we are officially in the 'Easter Season', observed by Christians. However, I'd like to share my 2014 Lent observance, either as a prep for next year, or possibly inspiration for a snack you may choose sometime this year, since a part of the religious observance has to do with fasting/self denial/giving up certain luxuries. It's not like a New Year Resolution where you change habits forever, but merely have some discipline for 4o days, from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday.

Lent officially begins the day after Fat Tuesday, which, you may recall is a day of overindulgence. When I grew up (in Detroit), the local bakeries used this day to overstock (and use up) sugar, fat and jelly…it's called Pączki Day…

Paczki are basically jelly donuts. You can find them everywhere on Fat Tuesday.

Above is a photo taken on Fat Tuesday in the break room at the office where my brother works (in a suburb of Detroit). Every one of those boxes contains paczki.

To assist you in avoiding some of your indulgences, when Lent begins, most bakeries begin selling Hot Cross Buns, which are sweet, but not covered in glaze and instead topped with a bit of icing in a cross shape,

and filled with bits of dried fruit. The buns are baked, not fried.

Anyhow, as part of my bit of self denial, I gave up my newest craving, Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cups, (which are incredibly wonderful, and the first new candy by Nestle in four years).

In addition, another way that Catholics in particular observe Lent is "no meat on Friday", which does NOT mean eating vegetarian…it means you can eat seafood but not beef, pork or chicken. {You may have noticed, during your entire lifetime, that everywhere the soup of the day on Friday seems to be clam chowder. That's part of most restaurateurs acknowledgement of observant Catholics}.

You may have noticed many fast food restaurants offering fish sandwiches as an option beginning in March this year.

The Jack in the Box fish filet sandwiches (which were sold for $1.50 on Fridays only and regularly $3.20 the rest of the week) are quite large, trapezoidal in shape, served on a toasted bun with lettuce and tartar sauce. It's a great, moist fish piece with a crispy exterior.

Arby's (the Roast beef place) offered their Big Reel fish sandwich at two for $5 every day and it was served on a toasted sesame seeded bun. The shape-an elongated trapezoid (quite large as you can see) and the fish is particularly flaky and moist. This was also topped with lettuce and tartar sauce.

Beef n Bun always has fried fish on their menu (a 'tub of fish' (12 pieces)is $22). The sandwich ($3.59), served on that wonderful soft toasted bun with lettuce and tartar sauce. The fish here has a light and very crispy beer batter, similar to the batter used on the zucchini.

Of course, there are other 'no meat' meals I enjoyed. The fried tofu from Tapioca Express ($3.25), comes with a choice of dipping sauce as well as heat level of spicy powder. It's an easy and satisfying snack.

At many Vietnamese restaurants, you can order Bun Dau Hu Chien with Cha Gio Chay-cold noodles on top of salad topped with fried tofu and tofu egg rolls. Above is one of my favorite versions, from Pho Ca Do

Another favorite Vietnamese Bun item (also from Pho Ca Do) is Bun Tau Hu Ky- cold noodle salad topped with crispy fried tofu sheets stuffed with shrimp paste. It's a favorite all year, not just during Lent.

One day during Lent, my brother was here on a business trip and we met at Sam Woo, choosing the salt and pepper fried squid (in the back) and the shrimp with glazed walnuts in the center (the wontons-front right- had pork and shrimp as the filling).

I would be remiss to not include my favorite fast food fish filet sandwich, the decades old offering from McDonalds:Filet-O-Fish, which were offered for $1.50 on Fridays throughout Lent (and are about $4 every other day of the week all year) and still offered at that price on Fridays all year at some locations(look for signage). A soft steamed bun topped with a crispy fried square shaped fish patty, slice of cheese and tartar sauce.

A few other fast food restaurants also offered fish sandwiches which I enjoyed, notably Wendys and Carl's Jr. (not breaded/fried, both offer grilled fish sandwiches). I'll find those photos someday.

I hope everyone is having a good week; it's half over!

Chef Zhu

May 6, 2014 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Chef Zhu is now a location of Chin's

*** A short revisit post can be found here.

So one night when the Missus was busy at work, I asked Candice if she'd like to check out Chef Zhu. She had only been there once since they opened, so she was curious as well.

Yes, the English sign still says "Double Happiness"(the former ABCDE – American Born Chinese Dining Establishment name of the place), but it's easy enough to tell you've arrived at the right place.

There's an interesting mix of customers, forks adorn the tables and are removed when Chinese customers (or at least Chinese by marriage customers) are seated. Remember when Shanghai City had the ABCDE $5.99 lunch buffet? We were lucky enough to get a few tips from Candice's Dad on ordering from the menu.

Candice loves Ma Lan Tou and having had the wonderful vegetable in Suzhou and Hangzhou, I thought it made a nice start to the meal.

This was a decent version of the dish….you really can't get fresh ma lan tou here. I've seen it frozen at T&L and figure it's pretty much the same product everyone uses, but at least they didn't kill whatever flavor was left. In case you're wondering Ma Lan Tou is commonly known as Indian Aster and the vegetable is a staple of "Su Cai" – Jiangsu Cuisine, one of the Eight Great Traditional Cuisines of China.

We also got the Chao Nian Gao.

You have to be careful when ordering this; the standard version is drenched in soy sauce, which kind of detracts from the nice flavor of this dish. Shanghai City had a habit of overcooking the rice cakes and adding too much sesame oil. This was spot on. Loved the chew, the slight bitter from the vegetables……

Candice's Dad recommended the Yin Doo Xin, a very Shanghai style soup made from pork and chicken stock, and flavored with preserved pork (think ham), lovely bean curd knots, and crunchy winter bamboo shoots.

I believe it's called something like "Shanghai Soup Pot" on the menu. This had good flavor and that "aaah" factor that I find comforting, simple, yet hints of smokiness and saltiness from the pork added to the flavor. I took the leftovers home and it tasted even better the next day! I've been back to order this twice for take-out, eating a day after.

The Pork Pump looked pretty impressive……. A quick note, if you've got a bunch of customers ordering "orange chicken" around you and want to make a splash order this……you'll get folks asking you what this is, but in terms of this dish…..

But I've had much better, this was on the tough side and that sauce is too thick, almost like glue which was a rather unpleasant texture for me. It also tasted amazingly under flavored for a dish like this.

I thought the Xiao Long Bao at Shanghai City was passable, so why not, right?

This reminded me of the rather terrible XLB from The Dragon's Den, too thick wrappers, not enough soup. Chef Zhu was a partner in that business with the owner of Dumpling Inn for a while….I think the XLB rubbed off and not in a good way.

Most of the dinner was decent, that soup really hit the spot, and the company, as always was superb! So I decided to return and try some other things on the menu.

Starting with the "Shanghai Duck" ($6.95).

I'm a big fan of Su Cai cold dishes…..I'm not particularly fond of this rendition. That glaze is much too thick….the texture of caramel is great on ice cream, it ain't so great here. It was also slightly unpleasantly bitter. Lots of duck with not much flavor. I took the leftovers home and the Missus had one bite…..

I always thought that Shanghai City made a decent Niu Rou Mian….I mean, it wasn't Dai Ho, but it did hit the spot, so you know I had to try it here.

As a whole, I didn't enjoy this. I preferred the thicker, more doughy Shanghai Noodle that Shanghai City used to use. The noodles were also overcooked. The meat was on the tough side, thought the flavor was okay. At Shanghai City, the broth tended to be on the anise-heavy side, but there was just enough beefiness in it to balance the scales. Here it wasn't so, too much anise, not enough beed flavor, not rich enough either.

And yet, not to be denied, I returned on a very hot day, going Paleo all the way…..hey TFD, aren't you proud?

I started with a favorite of mine, the Jellied Pork – I believe it's something like "Salted Pork" ($6.95) on the menu.

And while I prefer a bit more aspic, on the dish usually called "jellied pork", I loved the fat to meat ratio. The texture was excellent, think of that wonderful piece of cold ham, except nice and meaty. The sodium level was on the high side, which I also enjoyed.

I didn't enjoy the Jellyfish Salad ($6.95) quite as much.

This wasn't terrible by any means, but it basically fulfilled the bare minimum, like a student just trying to get a passing grade. The jellyfish had a nice crunch, was cold, and didn't have that telltale sign of poor preparation; the acetone flavor. It was however, very bland, the (supposed) sauce just watered down, like this was rinsed and not drained well, sauced, and thrown on a plate….it was very bland.

By this time, I'd come here, what, five times (twice for take-out soup), so why not a sixth. And why not go for the gusto and order the Steamed Pork with Preserved Vegetable?

This was a decent dish; the pork a bit more crumbly, than the rather nice waxiness I prefer, but it wasn't too sweet, the sauce didn't kill the flavor of the pork, and yet it was salty enough to for me to eat way more rice than I'm used too (take that TFD!). I actually only ate three slices of the pork and some preserved vegetable; I was pretty much done after that. Still, a decent dish, one I'd have again.

So what to say? For someone who eats on Convoy, perhaps Chef Chin's makes some dishes better….but if I lived in, say, University City, I could make this a rather regular stop….at least for the Yin Doo Xin. Plus, I get a kick out of some of the Server's here. One of them is a hoot……she doesn't understand how someone of Japanese ancestry can be happily married to a mainland Chinese, so I explained it to her. "Everyday is a battle, but the peace treaties make it all worthwhile"!

Please read Kirbie's and Faye's posts on Chef Zhu.

Chef Zhu
1011 Camino Del Mar
Del Mar, CA 92014

Krua Thai Cuisine – Sab E Lee’s legacy spreads to the South Bay

May 5, 2014 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

A couple weeks back, "Rik" sent me an email telling me that a new Thai Restaurant had opened in Chula Vista and was serving up Issan style dishes. Which sounded great to me. I finally found time in my schedule to head down to Broadway and check out Krua Thai.

The place is a tiny hole-in-the-wall that you'll miss if you blink while driving past Halsey Street.

The tiny place, a couple of tables and a counter, with no A/C reminded me of Sab E Lee, circa 2008. And to my extreme surprise, when the cook came out front….we both stared at each other and laughed; it was one of the cooks from the later version of the Original Sab E Lee!

Sadly, looking over the menu, I noticed few Issan dishes; I was told that there's no customer base in the South Bay for Duck Larb, Koi Soi, Nam Tok and such. Still I ordered items that I thought would give a good indication of flavor, spice, and technique.

Starting with the Yum Nuea, the beef salad.

I ordered this at a heat level "7" and it did bring it on. The base flavors were there; mild sweetness, pungent fish sauce and garlic. Protein was pretty scarce and I didn't take to the iceberg lettuce, no cabbage and really tough beef makes this lean more on the "no bueno" side.

Issan Sausage (of course).

This was very dark and the casing a bit over-fried. Flavor the same as TOSEL, after all, it's the same sausage. No cabbage, ginger, chilies, and cucumber makes this kind of fall short. The wilted cilantro made the dish look sad….but the sausage was fine in spite of how dark the casing looked.

My usual test of the cooks wok skills, Pad See Ew (with shrimp).

This lacked the color and "wok hey" that I look for in Pad See Ew. I did appreciate that the noodles weren't over-cooked. The shrimp were also done right. The flavor was good, if a bit too sweet. This one just missed the mark.

The service was very friendly and mellow. I was told they'd make me anything from Sab E Lee's menu if I ordered ahead, so you might try and do that if you visit. This place has potential, the dishes are so close, just barely missing the mark. I'm sure I'll have a better meal next time. Nice folks here, I hope they do well.

Krua Thai Cuisine
686 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91910

So this meal got me thinking. I hadn't been to TOSEL in a while…..as much as I've written about the place, it seems that they've kind of "jumped the shark" over the last year or so. Many of the dishes I've gotten have been uneven and some of the young folks there seem to be somewhat blase' these days. Perhaps that's what success brings…..but I really do miss Koby and the tight ship he ran.

So I decided to drop by and order the Issan Sausage and the Yum Nuea.

You can see the difference, though the Beef Salad flavors were pretty close, the meat was more tender and there was just more of it. I will say, this is not the same as the version I enjoyed back in 2008. It seems like the flavors of some of the dishes here have been somewhat diluted, probably just as the talent pool of cooks is. Sad to say, TOSEL is just not on my rotation anymore……

The Original Sab E Lee
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

Though I haven't been to Sab E Lee Santee in ages…….