mmm-yoso – Page 394 – 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.

Athens: Hotel Tony and Strofi for lunch

February 11, 2012 mmm-yoso Athens, Greece, Greek Food, Travel

Upon arriving in Athens we headed straight for the X95 bus which took us from Athens International Airport to busy Syntagma Square, pretty much the heart of Athens…….

A couple of quick questions later and we were on the metro, headed in the direction of Hotel Tony. We got off the metro, found the street and walked up the hill to the hotel located on the corner of Dikaiou and Zacharista in the Koukaki neighborhood, located North of the Plaka and on the back side of the Acropolis. The neighborhood looked fairly residential and we kind of enjoyed that. Tony himself is quite a character, larger than life, very funny, whose tastes in furnishing and decor matches his personality. They were still working on renovating the building we were in….it looked like faux marble stairs and various statues were being put in. Tony's rooms, at least in this building were large and very colorful……

The room was large and had a kitchenette. We could tell by Tony's, how should I say it, physique, that he loved to eat. So we asked for a recommendation for lunch straightaway. He recommended a restaurant called Strofi a few blocks away, close to the back of the Parthenon.

The place was pretty empty when we arrived and we were led to the patio on the third floor.

The Missus ordered a half liter of red wine almost as soon as we were seated.

While looking over the menu, an amuse of sorts arrived. The place consisted of chopped tomatoes, feta, and what they called "brioche", but was actually "rusk". Rusk is a twice baked bread that is like toast, which they called paximadia. When served with tomatoes and feta, they call this "Dakos".

You dip the rusk into some water to soften, then top with tomatoes and feta. The Missus loved the paximadia and would end up consuming it every chance She got in Crete. Also, a small carafe of what was called Tsipouro was provided. This was pretty bitter stuff at first, but we both came to enjoy it. It is called Raki or Tsikoudia in Crete and we really got used to having it with dessert. It can be pretty potent stuff, but I really enjoyed it. You'll be seeing a lot of Raki in future posts……

We decided to stick with getting three appetizers…….

The Missus didn't enjoy the anhcovy with lemon and olive oil.

I thought this was decent, but the flavor of the anchovies were too much for Her.

We both really enjoyed the Melitzano Salata, the eggplant dip….

Wonderfully smoky and full of flavor.

The Fava Skordalia was a hit as well…….

Mild garlic flavor, wonderful texture, this was also a winner…….

Not a cheap lunch by US atandards at 30 Euros, about 45 bucks at the time. But it was a satisfying meal and put us in a good mood as we headed to the Acropolis Museum.

Chinese Kitchen (Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang) – Bun Mang Vit again……

February 9, 2012 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang has closed

This little restaurant makes my favorite Bun Mang Vit in San Diego. I've written about the place before. Under the guise of a Chinese fast-food joint, there's some good Bun Mang Vit going on.

When I first started going here in 2006, the place looked haphazardly thrown together and you actually did order from a hole-in-the-wall at this hole-in-the wall. A couple of years later, some fast-foodish furnishings were added, new signs and the place looked spiffed up a bit. On my last visit, things were starting to settled in that worn in look again. I'm thinking the place need to look that way…..you know, that favorite jacket with the worn elbows, the favorite jeans that fit so well…..

Plus, I'm not here to admire the decor, rather, after a long and tiring week, this is a treat for me.

To get the most out of this restaurant, you need to peel your eyes away from the huge plastic menu on the wall that faces the street. Look to your left and you'll see the heart and soul of the menu. While I've had other dishes here, it's the Bun Mang Vit that keep me coming back. There have been times when I've had to stand on the bench and point to the third line down on the menu to make sure I'd get my order right. The prices aren't bad either…..

This is basically a clear, I'm thinking chicken based broth, very light in color and texture. Dried bamboo shoots are added…..I like to let it rest for a while so the earthy flavor of the bamboo shoots adds flavor to the broth. The noodles are the "bun", vermicelli. You always get a little bowl of a fairly sweet Nuoc Mam Cham full of minced ginger and garlic and on this day a small styrofoam cup of plain, undiluted fish sauce.

I use this to dip my duck and my veggies, which I soften a bit with a quick dunk in the broth. I've actually caught glimpses of the women prepping duck in the back.

I have noticed that they've cut down on the amount of banana blossom and rau ram in the herb-vegetable mixture over the years, but it hasn't really bothered me.

I can still come here to get my fix when I just want to relax and watch the paint slowly turn color on the walls…..

I often kid my good buddy "JohnL" about some of the really bad recommendations he's given me over the years, but this one makes up for all of those. Though I do know the truth John…..it was actually your Mom's recommendation. But that's ok, I'll give you credit for it!

Chinese Kitchen (Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang)
6160 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92115

Midweek Meanderings: Hinotez (finally) starting Yakitori, Viet Bakery and Pho and Moby Dick Fish Market (I kid you not) coming soon

February 8, 2012 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Vietnamese Restaurants

Hinotez finally starting yakitori:

Dennis has already mentioned this, but since I had started on a draft of this post I thought I'd follow-thru:

I've been to Hinotez several times, but mostly for breakfast. I'd been waiting for them to get their menu finalized and that looks like it'll take place soon. So they're starting up yakitori in spite of not having their beer and wine license yet.

One other thing that Dennis mentioned was that they're now doing bentos:

Which are prices right and looked pretty good. The young lady who always seems to be working when I have breakfast there told me that the Tonkatsu Sandwich is very popular.

Looking over the bentos, I had a nice laugh when I notcied that the "healthy" bento had potato salad in it…… I guess the term healthy is relative, right?

Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Coming soon to the Convoy area:

On the way out of the parking lot after having lunch at Swab Shabu World with Mr Z, I noticed this signage had just gone up.

Viet Bakery and Pho? Banh Mi and Pho? Not quite sure and my usual sources haven't been able to get me anything yet. This is in the space that Imperial Mandarin gave up when they cut their restaurant size in half. So for sure more Pho, not quite sure if it's more Banh Mi……

3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Right up the street is another change. There's a fish market called, I kid you not….Moby Dick Fish Market…..ahoy!!!

For some reason this scene came to mind, not sure why……

I did ask around a bit and found out that this is the same guy who used to own Convoy Sushi and Fish Market and North Park Sushi and Fish Market. Does he have a short attention span or what? I'll give him this much, he keeps on trying….. Dennis did send me a text noting the irony of the name. The place used to be a "Gentleman's Club"…….

4805 Convoy St.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Road Trip: Shaanxi Gourmet – Rosemead (Los Angeles)

February 6, 2012 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

**** Shaanxi Gourmet has closed

One of the dishes I really enjoyed during our trip to China was the Yang Rou Pao Mo from Tong Sheng Xiang in Xi'an. Dense, heavy, bread, which folks call "pita" but is not like any pita I'm familiar with is broken into edible pieces by hand. Once you've filled your bowl with enough of it, they whisk it away and fill the bowl with a gamey and flavorful mutton broth. It is heavy enough to keep you all day long and I really was looking for it when we returned from our trip. We tried the version at Beijing Restaurant in San Gabriel which was disappointing. So when I read about Shaanxi Gourmet on Dylan's Blog I got quite excited and a couple of days later we were driving up the I-5, headed to Rosemead.

The restaurant is of course, located in a strip mall off of Valley Boulevard, but is hiddn from the street. Though once you enter the parking lot, you can't miss the Terracotta Soldiers guarding the front door. The dining area is clean, the walls lined with photos of various dishes, and the restaurant is a bit smaller than it looks from the outside. You probably would only need two Terracotta Warriors to guard the place.

The service was kinda, well, slow and a bit disorganized, impatient, and let's just say, suited for the SGV. The menu, at least when we visited is interesting, it seemed that the vast majority of it was not translated into English.

Looking through the menu again I found a page of rather vague translations of some of the dishes. But we pretty much knew what we were looking for and the Missus started scanning the menu…..

Before making any big decisions, She had already gotten us some cold dishes to ward away our rising hunger.

These were adequate, but you can get better elsewhere……

Meanwhile, the Missus had already placed our order and in a matter of minutes our first dish arrived. The weather at that time had been pretty cold so we started with the spicy and sour soup with hand pulled noodles, the meatless version.

I loved the broth, which was light in viscosity, but full of flavor. There was definitely some Sichuan Peppercorn in this as we got some of that wonderful numbing sensation along with a bit of heat. The sour, was just enough to keep you wanting the next sip. The noodles were lovely, with a decent pull to them……I really enjoyed the noodles.

Still, I was waiting for my Yang Rou Pao Mo…..a part of me was hoping that the bread would be provided first for me to tear into bite sized pieces, but I guess practicality ruled here and the soup arrived with the bread diced into small pieces.

The broth was right on, a soulful, hearty, mutton soup. The bread was kind of strange as it was slimy and didn't really absorb the flavor of the broth. The pieces of mutton were pretty tender and had that wonderful flavor of the pasture.

It didn't quite take me back to Xi'an, perhaps as far west as New Guinea, but not quite there. Still this was pretty good and quite filling.

For our final dish, the missus looked over the menu and found something interesting……

I don't recall seeing Fen Zheng Yang Rou, lamb steamed with rice powder. But since we usually enjoy the various versions we've had of the dish, why not give it a try?

What we got this time around was some really tough lamb covered with gritty, grey colored powder. It was super bland and just not to our taste. For some reason, this reminded me of once when a bunch of us went camping at the beach and the guy assigned to cook ended up spilling the lunch into the sand and still tried serving it to us.

Overall, not a bad meal. I'd come back for those noodles and everyone seemed to be getting the Biang Biang Mian, which I think is Ku Dai Mian, super wide noodles the size of a sash/girdle. The service was spotty, one of the young women was really on top of things, but everyone else seemed to be walking in sand. Typical "A-B" (all business) SGV for us.

Shaanxi Gourmet
8518 Valley Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

Pho Fifth Avenue

February 5, 2012 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Man, it took me long enough to do a post on this place……I mentioned the opening of Pho Fifth Avenue way back in Apirl of 2010, intending to check the place out, but for some reason I just never made it. Reading Dennis's post on the place made it sound pretty promising, yet I still wasn't able to get my act together until recently.

The shop, now almost two years old looks like a cross between the "old school" and new style Pho shops. The dishes on the menu are listed in Vietnamese, but the descriptions are in English. The set-up is typical Pho shop, but the area is bright, clean, and well lit.

On my first visit, I ordered the Brisket, Flank, Tendon, and Tripe……I'd seen the rare steak come out and it looked like typical beef top round and folks who've read this blog over the years know how I feel about dry and tasteless "Tai". Why bother……

My bowl arrived soon after ordering, the gentleman working here was very nice and pretty friendly.

The broth was low on fat, mildly beefy, not bad overall, except for being too sweet….oddly sweet and being served a little below the temp I consider optimal. I'd also enjoy a bit more anise hints in the soup as well. The noodles were the typical clump, but were decent. As expected the garnishes were farly minimal, I used a good bit of the basil to bump up the anise flavor and a good squeeze of lime to try and balance out the sweetness.

You can really tell how the restaurant deals with perceived restaurant demographics with the ratio of different cuts of meat. There was a good amount of lean flank, a decent amount of brisket, I fished out one piece of tendon, a bit more chewy than I prefer, and one very tiny strand of tripe, which I had to work to find.

Overall, not a bad bowl andI did see something after I placed my order that I wanted to try, so I returned a week later….to have Filet Mignon Pho. Not cheap at $9.25 for a small and $11.25 for a large, but I really appreciate a decent bowl of Pho Filet Mignon.

Based on my previous experience with the broth temperature, I had some reservations, but this time it arrived super steaming hot. Perfect for doing a quick dunk of the precious morsels of beef.

The Pho Filet Mignon here arrives with no other protein in the broth, which was still bit on the sweet side, though not as bad as my previous visit.

The broth was also more salty and had a bit more oil than my previous bowl.

I was surprised at the amount of beef tenderloin(I ordered a small), cut a bit thinner than what I consider the norm to be. It started falling apart as I moved it from the plate to the broth for a quick dunk.

The meat was very tender, a pleasure to eat.

I did find the amount of noodles this time around to be on the mushy side and the portion sized towards small. In fact, two hours after eating this my stomach started to growl.

Still, it was better than what I last had at Mignon Pho + Grill, though I haven't been back in a while and Howie and Jenne told me the Pho has gotten better there. So I guess I need to head back there soon.

Pho Fifth Avenue
3807 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
Hours:
Mon-Thurs 10 am – 10 pm
Fri-Sat 10 am – 11 pm
Sun 10 am – 10 pm

Revists: Hong Kong BBQ & Dim Sum and Birrieria’s la Guadalajara

February 3, 2012 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Mexican Restaurants

A couple of revists on what has been a pretty busy Friday.

Hong Kong BBQ & Dim Sum:

I've been wanting to do a revisit and try some of the menu items since this is one of FOY (Friend of Yoso) "JanFrederick's" favorite restaurants. So I dropped by one evening and looking over the menu decided on a couple of dishes, however, no goat, no Oxtail, no Steamed Chicken with Mustard Greens…so I was kinda grappling with the menu, looking for plan "D". The gentleman taking my order was very patient and nice, though I was getting a bit annoyed…..

Still, it was a nice evening and the restaurant was quiet, even the young children were well behaved….so why should I start whining, right?

Eventually, I settled on the Seafood Hot Pot, though not without a bit of trepidation since my previous visit eating dim sum had not been so good.

I did need something that the Missus would have to eat when She got home and seafood is usually a good choice.

At $12.95 this wasn't a bad deal. I thought it was on the bland side and the fish fillets were a bit past prime, but everything else was not bad. The Missus thought this was decent as leftovers after the flavors had time to meld a bit.

I also ordered the Salt and Pepper Pork chops, which was neither salty, nor peppery, nor much of anything except kind of gummy.

I'd really like to try some other dishes, next time I'm hoping they'll actually have them.

Hong Kong BBQ & Dim Sum
10550 Camino Ruiz(Inside of Vinh Hung Market)
San Diego, CA 92126

*** Birrieria's la Guadalajara has closed.

Birrieria's la Guadalajara:

This place is now a favorite of ours…..we come here to get our weekend "lamb fix". Any I mentioned in my previous post that I wanted to try the Cabeza En Su Jugo, the simmered beef head…..

In a word….beef-a-licious, of course you've got to enjoy a condensed, very rich beef flavor. It ain't low fat, but man this was good. Wrapped in a fresh made tortilla, with some onions and lime to cut the fat, dipped in the broth…….

The Missus, along with the Borrego a la Plancha (She loves the leftovers), got the Spoes with Borrego (lamb).

If you are a masa lover, this one is for you….thick and filling, I actually like the smear of beans…..topped with the roasted lamb which has spent time on the griddle (like the borrego a la plancha), this is quite s filling meal. You can get it with the meat of your choice. This is major, "it's Sunday, let eat and roll back into bed" food.

The manager, Jorge, told me that they've received their beer and wine license……so you can have a nice cerveza with your birria now…then roll back into bed!

Birrieria's la Guadalajara
1310 Third Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91911

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

La Casa Maria – Good soup on a cold day

February 2, 2012 Cathy Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

La Casa Maria is closed.

Well, you're back again, at mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are still crazy busy and Cathy found a moment to write a short post on her busy day.

Hi. We had some cold and rainy days a few weeks ago (and it looks like we'll have some more this weekend). On one of those days, I happened to be near SDSU -on El Cajon Boulevard just West of 70th- and decided to stop at La Casa Maria, because I wanted a nice bowl of soup.

I knew I could get soup here, because I have been getting soup and mariscos at this sit down shop for many, many, many years, just never blogged about it…the mariscos are excellent, by the way.

Usually people walk up, order to go items and sit down to wait. This family owned and run restaurant is efficient and makes some great food.

You can also eat in. When you do, fresh salsa and chips are brought to your table.

My tlalepeño soup ($7.99). Served with fresh corn tortillas. Tlalpeño is basically a pollo (chicken) soup with a chipotle kick. It is one of the more expensive soups on the menu, but I really wanted no rice and the flavor and heat of a smoked jalapeño.

This *very* large bowl of soup had two skinless (but still bone-in) chicken breasts, carrots, onions, flat beans, cauliflower and garbanzo beans in addition to the chipotle sauce. Of course, it's topped with sliced avocado. I like that it doesn't have rice (like most of the other soups) and the chipotle flavor was just the amount of heat I needed on such a chilly day. The chicken broth/stock here is very richly flavored.

There are quite a few menu items here, in addition to the wonderful Birria soup and all the mariscos- buche, lengua, cabeza and tripa tacos are realy good. In the summer there are several 'specials' which include a beer as part of the meal-you have to read all the outdoor signs.

Even if you don't stop here, you can find some great soups at most taco shops. It's another choice on these cold days when maybe you don't want pho…

La Casa Maria 6969 El Cajon Blvd (between 69th and 70th)San Diego 92115 (619) 444-5869 website

Loïc Patisserie and Restaurant- Bistro dining in North County

January 31, 2012 Cathy Bakery, European Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Loic has closed.

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog with a bunch of interesting posts, centered around food. Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are the guys who post here. They're both otherwise engaged at the moment, Cathy isn't otherwise engaged, so she's putting up a post today.

Hi again. As you know, I pretty much drive about and stop whenever someplace looks interesting; it's a fun way to live. Last year, I stopped and drove past this signal light at the intersection of the Del Dios Highway and Calle Ambiante a total of six times while passing through Rancho Santa Fe going to and from the I-5 to the I-15. The mental sticky note to stop here finally was finally at the top of my list.

The sign at the light is "Cielo Village". Cielo means 'heaven' or 'in the clouds' and is the gated residential community straight ahead on Calle Ambiante, the Rancho Santa Fe neighborhood Fire Department is to the left and businesses are to the parking lot when you turn right from this street.{Loïc is the chef owner's name, you may have met him selling baked goods and crepes at the Sunday Rancho Santa Fe Farmers Market.}

Pulling into the parking lot, the buildings all have the façade of being built in the South of France, or Northern Italy. The Bistro menu reflects pastries, breakfasts, salads and crepes as well as panini sandwiches, pizza and hamburgers. There is also a dinner menu which isn't online; it is seasonal. Dinner is served only on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights (that will be another post).

Fresh pastries are on display when you walk into the 'Coffee Shop' entrance, which serves some great beverages as well as the pastries. You order and pay here, just like you were at a Bistro in France. You are given a number and find a seat, food is brought out to you and are free to take your time visiting with friends while enjoying your meal.

There is plenty of outdoor seating, with views South. Loïc is located in Rancho Santa Fe, but it is very close to Escondido and not very far from the 15 at Via Rancho Parkway.

There is very large indoor seating also available. The bar area is also reminiscent of France and the bistro scene. A wide selection of wines to have with your meal are available along with a pretty extensive choices of dessert-ish liqueurs (fancy brandies, dessert wines, cognacs; no hard liquor)

The wine refrigerator is centrally located.

You can see more tables if you look through this display case, filled with colorful, empty bottles.

On my first visit, I brought The Mister. We ordered and paid and brought our coffee (fresh brewed, $2.25. Cream and sugar are added for you; as with Bistros- no condiments on the tables) and huge, flaky, buttery croissant ($3) to an indoor table.

We munched on this perfect, flaky, buttery wonderness while we waited for our salad to be delivered. This is how a croissant is supposed to be- a crispy, flaky crust and fluffy layered innards…not a soft crust with layers. That's a regular sized butter knife (8.75 inches) on the plate (9 inches), to show you some perspective of the size of this wonderful fresh pastry.

Soon, our Garden Salad ($10.50) was brought to the table. Mixed greens, topped with a house made dressing that had an olive oil and vinegar base, but also anise, herbs and a very distinct heat to it. Since I did not see black or red pepper flecks, I am assuming it was white pepper, which to me has a nutmeg-undertone. It was very complimentary to the greens. The freshly grilled zucchini and red peppers were flavored with Herbes de Provence and the cucumber, tomatoes and chives were perfectly sliced. A wonderfully perfect mix of heat (temperature as well as spice) and chilled (the thinly sliced, flavorful cucumbers) and textures.

While we were ordering, the abundance of pastries was overwhelming. I finally decided on a slice of this rectangular Pithivier, a classic tart, which I justified to myself as being a "safe" desert because it wasn't as sugar based as the other selections. This slice was probably 8 x 4 inches (and 1/3 of the pie in the display window). I could feel the weight of the puff pastry dough combined with the ground almond filling when I carried the glass plate to our table. This went perfectly with the coffee; it was not too sweet, the buttery puff pastry was crispy and the very slightly sweet crumbly almond filling was so satisfying. I will order this again, to share.

A few weeks ago, I had occasion to meet a friend here for breakfast. We decided to eat outside. This is the parking lot as viewed from one of the tables; the Loïc buildings are to the left. You can see some of the homes up in that slice of heaven, Cielo, all the way at the top to the right.

I let Mr. C. choose a pastry and he wanted this chocolate filled chocolate chip covered puff pastry ($4.25) (again on a 9 inch plate) was shared and enjoyed by both of us. It was still warm, crispy fresh on the outside and fluffy pastry on the inside with a very, very nice melted chocolate throughout.

During the week, until about 11 a.m., only breakfast croissants are prepared to order. Five or six choices are listed and all are $6.95. This morning, we both chose to order spinach egg croissants. Served on fresh baked, crispy and fluffy croissants, the egg spinach filling is fluffy and delightfully fresh tasting. The baby spinach is tender and adds great flavor.

Another morning the same week, Ms. T and I met here for breakfast. She got the bacon egg croissant (in the back) and I just had to get the spinach egg again. We ate at one of the two tables inside the coffee shop because it was chilly outside.

Last Saturday, I realized I was still craving a perfect crepe (which I have been looking for for almost a year) so, it was back to Loïc. A perfectly flavored and cooked -thin but not dried out as in too thin- and filled Crepe de la Reine.($10.50 includes the salad). Filled with chicken breast, tomatoes, mushrooms and a fresh Mornay sauce (a cheesy Bechemel), this crepe was indeed perfect in flavor, texture and fillings.

The Chef Salad includes large pieces of diced Black Forest ham, sliced turkey and large diced Prosciutto as well as raw mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumber and those olives- those wonderful, different savory brown olives. The mixed greens were again dressed with the light, herb flavored dressing with a slight heat. The combination of flavors of this substantial salad was excellent.

Really good food, with a really good view. Loïc is becoming a regular destination this year.

Loic Patisserie and Restaurant 18021 Calle Ambiente (in Cielo Village) Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067 (858)759-4409 Website

Breakfasts of Champions – Oahu Edition: Like Like Drive Inn, Leeward Drive-Inn, and another interesting addition

January 30, 2012 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Honolulu, Oahu, Travel

I developed a bad habit during my trips back home. I found myself taking photos of my breakfasts with my phone and sending them to my friends. And for some reason, I've kept on doing this even after returning to San Diego. Recently, JohnL suggested that I do posts on these, which I thought was a great idea, so here goes….we'll start with Oahu.

**** Sadly, Like Like Drive Inn closed in 2020.

I found myself getting up pretty early, say at 5am or so in the morning during our stays on Oahu. Not wanting to wake anyone up, I'd often take a drive, sometimes with an objective in mind, or perhaps just to fill up gas. On the morning I hit up Nam Fong, the roads were clear with no traffic, so I headed all the way up to a place that's near and dear to my heart….. Like Like Drive In. Talk to any "townie" of my generation and you'll come with a list of places like Tin Tin Chop Suey and Like Like Drive In. Actually, this location of Like Like is not the original from 1953.

Back in the 90's the folks running Like Like swapped the restaurant over from the portion of the building to the right.

Walking in the place at 430 am on Thanksgiving was quite interesting. As I entered, the last of post drinking crowd was leaving and all the old-timers, newspapers tucked under their arm were entering. Still, this being a family holiday, the place was empty. The look and feel, down to the booths really stirs memories…….

I'm not much of a coffee drinker these days….but here, I just needed that cup o' joe……the table just needs a cup of coffee on it.

I really didn't order a locomoco per se, but looking over the menu I just happened to order two easy over eggs with rice and a hamburger patty. The woman serving me said, "you need gravy with that, right?' Not do you want some gravy, you "need" some gravy. And you know what? She was right….I needed some gravy with this.

I usually don't care for burgers that have been pressed down on the flat-top, but this patty had developed a wonderful crust from a well aged griddle and had been seasoned to boot. The gravy was decently flavored and not glue-like and went well with the runny eggs and rice.

It was a nice way for me to start the day……just like old times. Though I'm not doing too much active work nowadays, so I pick my spots.

Not too many of the places I grew up eating are left….Kaimuki Inn, Kuhio Grill, Alakea Grill, Chunky's, Wisteria, Suehiro, King's, McCully Chop Suey (the first air-conditioned Chinese restaurant in Hawaii!), King Tsin, Ebisu, Aotani Fountain, all gone……. Not too many like Like Like left, I'm hoping they'll be around for just a bit longer.

Like Like Drive In
745 Keeaumoku St
Honolulu, HI 96814

Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

One morning, I went to gas up our rental and drove into Waipahu, which is just down the street from my In-Laws place in Ewa Beach. For some reason, Leeward Drive-Inn called to me.

Man, when was the last time I ate here? The sign said "since 1964" and I think I probably had the fried noodles, which is what they, well, at least in my day, were known for….probably circa 1984. The parking lot has seen it's share of cars, all the lines for the stalls have worn away, though in typical Hawaii style, everyone seems to park their cars as if those lines still existed.

Funny thing, there were a bunch of guys having breakfast before work sitting in back of a minivan parked in front of the dining room. The big guy, sitting on a ne of those handy-dandy folding stools looked me up and down and said, "eh, I thought you one katonk, but you get da' shuffle…." Translation; "Based on your pale and unhealthy complexion, I believed that you were a Japanese from the mainland. However, when I observed your gait, it became obvious that you were not." I guess I still walk like a local? I laughed and told him, "at least you didn't think I was a bobora!" Translation;"you are indeed quite observant. I am flattered the opinion that my country of origin was Japan never entered your mind." It was just an expat local bonding moment…..

The menu at LDI is pretty large and extensive……. but I made up my mind fairly quickly. Once my food was ready, I grabbed my plate and headed off to the flourescent orange tables. The dining area looked kind of beat and no one was eating in the area so I could grind in peace.

I got Portuguese Sausage, Eggs, and Fried Rice, which was a pretty good amount of food.

This was just passable, the fried rice was very "local style", that is, made with Calrose rice. There were bits of Portuguese Sausage and some funky tasting "faux Spam". The sausage wasn't browned enough for me and tasted a bit off. The eggs were fine….this ended up just being nutrition.

Leeward Drive Inn
94 209 Pupukahi St
Waipahu, HI 96797

Hours: Mon – Thurs 430am – 11pm
Fri – Sat 430am – 12midnight
Sunday 5am – 11pm
Cash Only

This last one is sort of a quiz…….folks who have been to Hawaii will probably know this one. A fairly decent plate of Rice, eggs, which was really hard, Portuguese Sausage, and Spam®.

Quite an artery clogging breakfast……brought to you by:

Yep, Mickey D's in Hawaii serves up Portuguese Sausage, Spam®, or even both, in what they call the "Deluxe Breakfast". Don't remember the last time I actually had food from a McDonald's, but I happened to be close to the Pearl City location early one morning…..

I realize this post has been kinda long….so thanks for hanging in there are reading.

Here's the sunrise as I pumped gas one morning.

Of course I listened to KCCN…..until they kept playing the same songs over and over……what happened to variety?

But a couple of tunes stuck with me…….

Shabu World

January 29, 2012 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

**** Shabu World has closed

In my post mentioning that Swab ummmm, Shabu World had opened, good FOY (Friend of Yoso) the Zompus told me he'd love to check the place out. So that following week, I met MrZ for a meal at Shbu World. I gotta say, even close up, the sign still looks like it says "Swab World".

We entered the restaurant which is nicely done…..but looks pretty much the same as Shabu Shabu House.

From the counter with offset counters to the metal pots used for the Shabu Shabu……

The standard shabu shabu is basically the same as well….a small piece of kombu in rolling boiling water. I wish they'd just quit the kombu shibai. Mainly, boiling the kombu makes the water bitter….but there's such a tiny piece that it really makes little difference. Just serve straight up water already.

I got the prime beef ($13) lunch. Which was a decent sized serving, perhaps a bit less than what I had the last time I went to Shabu Shabu House.

The quality of the meat was also better than what I last had at Shabu Shabu House, very tender, but not too fatty….you really don't want anything too fatty as it will basically melt and fall apart when you do the brief dip.

There was also quite a bit of vegetables……

It was quite a bit….though disappointingly all the usual suspects, which had me again wishing for some shingiku or shiitakes, which would also add some nice flavor to the water. Too much napa cabbage for my taste…..like they are just trying to fill you up.

In the case of spitting images, and this is without a doubt almost exactly like Shabu Shabu World, I believe one should differentiate oneself, better meat, better produce, and better sauce. In this case, the dipping sauces tasted very artificial, like it was from a bottle.

These were actually pretty bad…… In the end, we were provided a bowl with basic bottled tsuyu base to finish off the udon. I could only imagine how the "miso" and "sukiyaki" broth would be.

It was kind of sad, MrZ and I were the only customers in the place during our entire lunch. As we left, one of the really nice women working there asked me first, if I was Japanese (yes)….then a more problematic question. The always tricky, "what do you think?" I'd say tricky because in my experience, 90% of the time folks running a business really don't want to know what you really think and saying what you think puts everyone in either an awkward or contentious position. But this time I went out on a limb and mentioned that even though the meat was decent in quality and the service was (perhaps a bit too) attentive, I felt the sauce tasted very artificial and processed. The young lady actually seemed concerned and told us that "we are always working on making things better and I guarantee you that the next time you come the sauces will be better." Maybe I should have mentioned something about the vegetables too?

In all honesty, we already have one of these standard grade Shabu Shabu restaurants a few blocks away. I'm wondering if we really need another one? I guess only time will tell.

Shabu World
3904 Convoy St #117
San Diego, CA 92111