mmm-yoso – Page 405 – 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.

So what did you do on “Dark Thursday”?

September 9, 2011 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Were you one of the 5 millionpeople who were unwilling participants in "dark Thursday"?

I was driving on Balboa avenue at 340 pm yesterday afternoon when I noticed that all of the traffic lights went out….then I noticed all of the lights everywhere were out. It was a bit chaotic getting home; the usual 15 – 20 minute drive took twice as long and I know folks whose drive home took 3-4 times as long as usual.

We had made tentative plans for dinner, but didn't think it would be a great idea to go out and decided to just stay home as we sent text messages (for some reason voice calls wouldn't go through, but texts worked just fine) to our friends to make sure everyone was ok. So it ended up being Spam and Egg sandwiches for us……

I later went to the nearby strip mall to see what was going on…….. the supermarket, Rite Aid, and all other businesses were closed…except for the liquor store where a line stretched all the way across the strip mall:

Funny thing was, it looked like folks were buying a whole lotta beer…and not much anything else! Strange priorities….and like one of my co-workers told me: "If last night was the zombie apocalypse, we'd have been dinner….."

Man, without all that white noise it sure did seen quiet, but the moon sure did look beautiful, though my photo didn't…..

And in the end I joined all the folks who would have become zombie fodder……heck, I couldn't let those two cans of Tecate go to waste, could I?

Like they say…."when you have clamato…you make Micheladas". The overall vibe was not nearly as crazy as the last time we had anyrhing close to this and I was glad for that.

Today, I'm sorta feeling…well, outta-synch might be the best description, so we ate at home again.

So what did you do during Dark Thursday???

Roadtrip: Omar’s Xinjiang Halal Restaurant – Alhambra (LA)

September 7, 2011 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

**** Omar's Xinjiang has closed

I had recently heard about an honest to goodness Xinjiang/Uyghur restaurant opening in the SGV…. not Northern style Muslim Chinese, but real Xinjiang. Last year, during our tirp to China we had eaten with friends at an Xinjiang restaurant called Jinsite in Beijing. I really enjoyed the food, all the different skewers, "rice to be eaten by hand", and other stuff. The Missus wasn't so thrilled, but She seemed rather enthusiastic about checking this little restaurant, located on the corner of New avenue and Ralph street (more on that later).

We arrived at around 11am and found the restaurant empty. The decor seemed right, though the young lady seemed annoyed that we had interrupted her television show and treated us like we were proverbial flies in the ointment….after all, how dare we walk into this restaurant and actually expect to eat?

The menu is small but packed with lamb, lamb, and more lamb. The Missus looked over the menu and gave me a puzzled look, but didn't say anything. We had thought about trying the rice to be eaten by hand…here called pilaf, but that would take an hour. We decided on a couple of other dishes instead.

We started with the house made yogurt ($2.50), which had a nice, sweet hint to eat, much like Suan Nai, but whereas Beijing yogurt is liquid, this was a pretty thick curd. It was much thicker than the Xinjiang yogurt I had before as well.

Still, I found it nice and refreshing.

I had wanted to try the Spicy Ox Tripe ($5.99).

These type of dishes are usually cold appetizers, so we were caught a bit off guard when it arrived warm. I'm not a big fan of honeycomb tripe, but this was wonderfully tender. the flavor wasn't especially spicy, and the Missus added even more black vinegar to it, but I can say I really enjoyed this dish. From here, things went pretty much downhill…….

We ordered two Yang Rou Chuan - Lamb Skewers ($3.55), which were salty, but other than that very weakly seasoned.

Of course we had to get the Zi Ran Yang Rou, cumin lamb ($10.99). I currently use cumin from Xinjiang, it is pungent, but almost mildly sweet so I was itching to see what would arrive…. and I couldn't believe my eyes……

I'm not a big fan of grey meat, and tough grey meat is even worse. This was both, it was a very cheap cut, full of gristle, and not much cumin to the whole thing. Some onion, chili, and garlic would have surely helped and this was fairly low on the cumin scale in terms of flavor. Of course it didn't help that this looked like it was cooked over a can of sterno………

If you compared that, with this, which is what I make at home, honestly, which would you rather eat?

We took most of it home and I tried to rescue it with more toasted cumin, some onions, wine, and dark soy…. but to no avail, it was DOA, beyond resuscitation.

The last dish was supposed to be the crowning jewel as I love the chewiness of hand pulled noodles ($12.99). what I do not love is hard, tough, almost brittle noodles, which is what this was.

Plus for thirteen bucks in the SGV, I expect a bit more than the three thin slices of lamb (though it was tasty lamb) and minimal vegetables in the stir fry. Man were those noodles hard, if you flogged me with this wet noodle, I'd be scarred for life……as it was the mental scars are more than sufficient.

All this combined with the server who made us feel like we were intruding…..it was a rather uncomfortable feeling. She did flash a smile though….when I asked for out check! It was so absurd, we can only laugh about it. In the end, we really didn't feel that this meal was worth forty bucks…….

As we were leaving, the Missus told me, "you know I don't care for Xinjiang food…." I asked Her why She had agreed to checking this place out. Her answer cracked me up; "I thought you said JINJIANG (Fujian) not XINJIANG! You owe me….." So we quickly rushed to Qing Dao Bread Food, then found some pretty good duck, had a visit to Domies bakery, and did take-out from a Yunnan restaurant……

Omar's Xinjiang Halal Restaurant
1718 New Ave
San Gabriel, CA 91776

Pho Ban Mai

September 6, 2011 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

On one of my "morning drives" a couple of weeks ago, I drove into the strip mall that houses Seafood City and noticed a new Vietnamese restaurant had opened next to Siam Nara. Even though the weather had been pretty warm at the time, I thought that a nice bowl of Pho would be just the thing. It was not quite 10am, so the mercury had not yet quite reached an uncomfortable level for consuming Pho.

A very friendly young man seated me by the front window and I looked over the menu which was filled with all the usual suspects (Pho of course, various egg and spring rolls, Bun, Banh Mi, etc…). The interior of the restaurant was very nicely done….not gaudy, but clean, spacious, and comfortable.

So of course I ordered some Pho…. and as is my usual M.O. I went with the Dac Biet (the special), which is a good way to find out what, if any of the meat items a particular Pho shop does well. Feeling hungry, I went with the large ($6.95)….maybe I haven't been paying much attention….but when di Pho pass the $7 mark?

The garnishes, save for a thin, withered, leaf of Ngo Gai was impeccable, the bean sprouts were so white they almost reflected the sunlight. The broth was slightly cloudy and on the mild side for my tastes. Very faint anise and beef, low on salt, as if afraid to offend the eater. It wasn't bad, but by no means good. Protein was on the sparse side, though the flank had a nice flavor. Again, as if a "Pho focus group" had gotten together and determined that tendon and tripe were persona-non-grata, I found one thin strand of tripe, finely prepared and two small strips of beef tendon.

What amazed me was the huge clump of noodles in this bowl.

I don't recall having this much Banh Pho in any bowl in recent memory. Sadly, the noodles were severely over-cooked and mushy; not very pleasant to eat.

If I discounted the noodles, this would have been a decent bowl, but nothing to make me stop going to my other favorite Pho shops in Mira Mesa.

It's become a habit of mine when visiting restaurant for the first time to walk to the restrooms, especially if they are located in the rear of the restaurant as is Pho Ban Mai's. This is not because of any pernicious bladder problem, nor is it because, like some folks I know, do I usually feel the need to check out the state of a restaurant's lavatory. Rather, it allows me a chane to check out what other folks are eating…..and sometimes, as in the case of Pho Ban Mai, it pays off. There were several dishes that looked promising. So the Missus and I returned a couple of days later.

On my previous visit, I noticed how crisp and light the Banh Xeo ($7.50) looked and it did not disappoint.

Thinner than most, the crepe was very crisp and not as greasy as many we've tried. Although it didn't have a whole lot of filling, the thin slices of pork were very tender. The flavor wavered was a bit heavy handed with regards to "coconutiness" but that was balanced with the nuoc mam cham which was (surprisingly) not watered down and stood up well. The lettuce and other garnishes were bright and fresh.

I'd also noticed that the Fried Rice, not something I'd usually order in a Vietnamese restaurant looked quite good. So we decided to order the Fish and Squid ($7.95) version.

Even though the portion was on the small size, this photo does not do it justice, as there were at least six or more shrimp (albeit a bit over-cooked) and a good amount of squid hidden in the rice. The rice also had a bit of a mildly smokey "wok-hay" thing going on which made it a pleasure to eat. Even though both items were on the small side with regards to portion size, they were both well prepared.

I thought the service at Pho Ban Mai was quite good; the Servers were friendly and attentive. This ain't your dad's menu slapped on the table and server hovering over you to take your order kind of place. It's not quite a destination for us, though if we lived in the area we'd drop by now and then.

When I mentioned the name of the place to my good friend "Yummy Yummy", she told me "what a neat name". When I inquired I was told that Ban Mai means something along the lines of "natural morning breeze" (sorry if I didn't get it right YY)……..

Pho Ban Mai
8991 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Open Daily 8am – 10pm

Please check out Kirbie's post on PBM here.

Sunday Sandwiches: Unique Deli

September 4, 2011 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

There quite a few "business" delis/sandwich shops all thru San Diego, feeding the folks working in office complexes and industrial parks all over San Diego. They fulfill a vital role during the work week; especially when it's lunchtime, and to paraphrase a well known movie filed partially in San Diego, when "I feel the need….the need for feed!" Corny enough?

You may have passed Unique Deli hundres of times without noticing it.

Located on Balboa avenue in the office building just to the East of 94 Aero Squadron you'll pass the place in the blink of an eye if you're driving the usual speed on Balboa. I did indeed notice this little shop and felt the need to find out what was truly unique about Unique Deli……

The shop is not really unique, typical of those lunch hour sandwich joints. The menu is quite large and has a good variety of choices…….but that in its self is not unique. Neither is using Boar's Head products.

I did find the two older, I believe Korean women making sandwiches with machine like precision a bit unique…though maybe not. Neither were the prices, which all fell in the mid $4 to $7 range. So I thought I'd try some of the sandwiches.

The most unique sandwich I found was called "The Charger" ($6.49):

Though the turkey and bread was standard issue deli stuff, I did enjoy the sun dried tomatoes, feta, and olives. My only complaint was how messy the sun dried tomato oil made the sandwich as it oozed all over the place and through the wrapper soiling my car seat. Over all, this was the best of the bunch in terms of flavor…….

The sandwich they call the Manhandler ($5.69) is probably next on the list. The roast beef was fairly tender and the avocado made for a nice textural contrast.

It's not a particularly stuffed sandwich, but there's sufficient protein for my tastes. One of my pet peeves, severely under-ripe tomatoes was present here…..bringing nothing to the sandwich and adding an unpleasant sourness to it. i'd also order it sans mustard next time, for some reason it just seemed to clash with everything else between the bread.

My least favorite to date was the Torpedo ($5.79), which is strange because I usually love this type of sandwich.

This was by far the most "meaty" of all the sandwiches I tried, but the Italian Dressing tasted a bit rancid…so maybe it was just a bottle, and believe me this tasted like it came from a bottle, that had gone past its due date.

So what's really unique about Unique Deli…..hmmm…. well maybe because it is uniquely the only sandwich shop located at 8865 Balboa avenue? Well, whatever the reason they call it unique, it's still a pretty good little shop. And it got me wondering, how many more of these little shops are in the area? I'm sure there's one near you…..

Unique Deli
8865 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92123

Madison: What’s in a name? Dinner at Fugu Restaurant then I get totally naked…..

September 2, 2011 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Madison, Wisconsin

What is in a name? I'd heard about Fugu restaurant from a person I ran into in Madison during a previous visit. After being told what type of cuisine the place specialized in I was really, really, puzzled….more on that later. I promised myself that I'd check the place out if I ever returned to Madison…..and a bit over a month ago I had that chance.

Now what kind of food do you think a place called Fugu serves? I think most people know that Fugu is the Japanese name for puffer fish, so this is Japanese restaurant, right? Here's a photo of the dining area……

Looks like a pretty generic, low-middle range, perhaps Asian restaurant, right? Open up the menu and you'll see dishes like Masaman Curry, Basil Eggplant, and Pad See Ew….. Fugu, a Thai restaurant? Look at the website and check out the most popular dishes….hmmmm, Spring Rolls, Crab Rangoon, Sesame Chicken? Sounds like perhaps a Thai – ABCDE (American born Chinese dining establishment). When I arrived, I was given two menus…the first had those Thai and ABCDE dishes. The second looked something like this:

Even though the area around State Street has it's share of Indian, Nepalese, and Afghan restaurants, a few of which I've eaten at, for some reason I'd never been motivated to eat at the Japanese and Chinese restaurants in the area. Until I heard about Fugu's Sichuan menu.

Since it was a solo eating trip, I ordered just two dishes. The first was the Zi Ran Yang Rou (Cumin Lamb ($14.95).

One of my favorite dishes, I often make it at home with cumin from Xinjiang. This however, was not a good rendition. The lamb was very mildly flavored, the meat cut really thick was tough, and I think the cumin was added to late as there was a real powdery texture to the dish.

Not a real good start. The other dish I ordered was the "Hot Crispy Pork Intestine" ($13.95), basically deep fried intestine with dried chilies.

Ordering this was a bit of an adventure of sorts….you see, I ordered the lamb in Mandarin….really bad Mandarin. I had no idea of how to order this so I just ordered it in English. The young man taking my order took a step back. He asked me, "you sure???" Of course I was sure. He walked away and placed the order….then came back to verify the order….twice!

As you can tell by the photos, this was pretty good. Not too spicy and the flavors of Sichuan Peppercorns were present, though not quite enough for my tastes. Still, the pork intestine was well prepared….and fried to a crisp. If I told you this was chicken skin, albeit a slightly funky chicken skin, you'd love it. This was a nice dish overall…….and in Madison, who'd have thunk it?

Being used to West Coast Sichuan prices, I found the cost a bit high and the portions a bit small. But those pork intestines were quite good. As I left, the place had filled up….with Chinese students, many of which were hovering over steaming cauldrons of Huo Guo (Hot Pot), the familiar and temping fragrances dancing in the air as I walked out….of a restaurant called Fugu…..with a menu of American-Chinese and Thai dishes….in Madison, Wisconsin….that serves up some decent Sichuan food.

Fugu
411 West Gilman St
Madison, WI 53703

Finally…..mmm-yoso gets….Totally Naked!!!

I walked to one of those chain bar and grills for a night cap and was happy to see a couple of local brews on tap. So I got….Totally Naked!!! Well, the beer of course….. a light ale that went down real smooth and quick. A perfect end to the evening. You didn't think that I'd be….. well……you knew it was about a beer right????

Xi’an: The Army of Terracotta Warriors and the Dumpling Banquet from De Fa Chang Restaurant (德发长)

September 1, 2011 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, Travel, Xi'an

Since we were in Xi'an you knew we weren't going to miss a visit to the famous Terracotta Army, located in the Lintong District about an hour's bus ride (40 km) out if Xi'an. In fact, even huge morning downpour and the incessant drizzle wasn't going to stop us from visiting….. it did help that our hotel loaned out umbrellas for free. We managed to catch bus 306 and arrived outside the parking lot of this world renowned archaeological site…..the drizzle had dampened the spirits of the many hawkers and vendors and we made it to the front gates unscathed if a bit soggy.

There are three main pits and we'd recommend starting in reverse order, from the smallest (pit 3) to the largest. This increases the dramatic effect of the visit.

Qin Shi Huang the First Emperor of China must have been one heck of a force of nature and a pretty amazing individual being credited with starting the Great Wall, unifying China, and starting the national system of roads. Of course, he was also known as a brutal and tyrannical ruler who ordered the destruction of all Confucian and non-"scientific" texts, and supposedly buried 460 scholars alive for having the forbidden books. All of the great building came at cost of hundred of thousands of lives……no wonder the emperor felt he needed a large army to protect him in his next life!

The actual discovery of the army is an amazing one; in 1974 a group of farmers digging a well struck something about 15 meters down…. it was a head….but as time would tell, not just any head! The rest as they say is history, though I'm always interested to know what "fame and fortune" these poor farmers found in later years, and found this interesting article.

We started our visit in the museum to the right of the entrance. The most interesting item was a replica of the bronze horses and chariot found near Qin Shi Huang's tomb(about 2 km west of Terracotta Army), along with photos of how it looked at the time of discovery.

We started at Pit 3, the smallest excavation, it is thought to be the "command center" of the army, though strangely, we saw nothing recognizable as a commander or general. Perhaps the Emperor thought himself to be the commander?

Also, many of the soldiers are missing heads in this pit. Experts have surmised that perhaps grave robbers had broken into this pit and stole the heads, or perhaps vandals broke in at an earlier time and destroyed them. There are a total of 68 soldiers in this pit.

For many, Pit 2 is the most interesting as it features the 1300 or so warriors, horses, and chariots in various military formations.

What I found most interesting about this pit were the remnants that were unrestored, showing the shards of terracotta that were reassembled…..being that I was never much good at jigsaw puzzles, I can't fathom the work it takes to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Pit 1 is pretty amazing. The building is the size of a airplane hanger and lines of terracotta soldiers stand almost as far as the eye can see……

The hall is over 19,000 square yards and you can't help but be awed by the amount of work it took to build this army.

According to what I've read, every face is unique and was based on an actual Qin soldier.

This is a definite must see…….

Feeling great we headed back to Xi'an catching the bus in the parking lot of the museum……it was interesting as the bus driver knew most of the folks getting on and off the bus, he'd stop without them evening pulling the bell cord.

We thought that we should get something special to eat, it just felt right . We got off the bus and sloshed our way back to the mall across from the Bell Tower, again crossing under the streets and ending up on the wrong side of the road! De Fa Chang, right across from Tong Sheng Xiang was recommended for their dumpling banquet.

The display on the first floor looked quite impressive…..

We were ushered quickly to the busy second floor, ordered our dumpling banquet, and our food started arriving very quickly….

Starting with some "appetizers" which were no big deal……..

The mushroom based soup was very bland…..

The pastry were cold, hard, and somewhat greasy…..

The steamed dumplings started appearing, most were very uneven in flavor, sometimes cold inside, oddly bland, waxy, etc, etc, etc……

One that stood out was the goose dumpling, which had a nice gamey flavor and a hint of spice.

Many of them looked quite pretty………

But we were severely underwhelmed…….

Until we got the one item we ordered a la carte, the Dry Cooked Mushroom, a dish that we loved so much, I've been making it at home. This one was excellent, earthy, with a touch of sweetness and heat. There was also some Sichuan Peppercorn in this which was a nice touch.

We could really see the potential of the kitchen with this dish…..

Unfortunately, the next item out was the Jiaozi, which were terrible……

Whomever had made this dough had over-worked it….I have a feeling they made it in a large stand mixer and went to town. The wrappers were very brittle with little stretch to it. The filling was on the bland side…the Server gasped when the Missus asked for black vinegar then used it as a dipping sauce. I guess they don't eat them that way in Xi'an.

The last item (thankfully) arrived soon there after, a little bowl over heating element.

Opening the top of the pot didn't reveal much….a pale broth with some greens and a wolf berry or two…..

But soon, as the broth came to a simmer, mushrooms and tiny dumplings rose to the top…..

This was not bad….the broth light in flavor.

Much like the snack banquet in Nanjing, htis proved to be a lot of premade dishes with little attention to detail. We could tell that the folks cooking had some skill, but it was not put to good use in mass producing these dumplings. Still, all was not lost since Jia San wasn't a long walk away!

Thanks for reading!

Pho Tay Do- a year later

August 31, 2011 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Hi. You are reading mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Cathy has a post today. Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are post-less at the moment.

Kirk wrote about Pho Tay Do last July and The Mister and I stopped in that following weekend. It is in the same 'parking lot area' as Vien Dong III (if you drive West within it and then head South to University). We really liked what we had ordered in the heat of the summer then, as well as in the cold wetness of 'winter' and this year have returned for our 'not wanting to cook at home' meals.

As you can see, there are pho "Happy Hours" here now. (It looks like you get a large bowl of certain flavors for $4.95 between 5-9 p.m., daily, but I am not certain of all the details)

The bamboo decorated interior is bright and clean…

Table condiments are pretty standard.

I feel I must comment on the sugar. Every time we have been here, I notice at least one person pouring sugar into his/her bowl of pho. I've never seen this anywhere else and don't quite understand it…

On this day, The Mister ordered the grilled pork chop, tan hu ky and shrimp broken rice plate ($7.50). (Tan hu ky is fried bean curd -stuffed with chopped shrimp; always a favorite). This plate is a filling meal and always done just right- the shrimp and pork chop are moist and grilled just right.

This warm day, I did want to order bun (pronounced 'boon') (cold noodles on top of salad), which comes with a variety of choices of toppings. I was going to order bun with cha gio, but not for the pork flavor as much as for the crunch. When I saw the many vegetarian options on the newer menu, I chose the tofu filled cha gio as my bun topping…($5.50)

You can see the finely minced tofu pieces inside the roll. It was very good. All the flavors in the bun were complimentary. The base of the bun here is more cucumbers and bean sprouts than lettuce, and I find that very refreshing. Mint, scallions and peanuts do round out the flavors. If you notice the sauce bowls in the photos, that darker colored one came with mine, the 'vegetarian sauce'. It has a wonderful deeper flavor. Another good choice in this part of town.

Pho Tay Do 5296 University Avenue San Diego 92105 (619)582-0603

Tender Greens- and a Point Loma visit

August 30, 2011 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! It's a food blog. Kirk is having internet problems, ed(from Yuma) is busy with coursework starting, so today, it's Cathy blogging.

Hi again. It was yet another day of walking for The Mister and I, this time with a glorious view of San Diego with the Bay, the Navy Submarine base and Naval Air Station Coronado…

All a magnificent view from Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. A very serene, cool walk on one of the days when the temperatures in East County were almost unbearable.

As we drove down the hill, The Mister and I were thinking of what we wanted for dinner. The idea of going home to cook was daunting and since we were in the area, we decided to stop at Tender Greens.
The unassuming exterior belies the wonderful meals to be found inside. I have posted about Tender Greens on one occasion and mentioned another visit in the middle of one post.
The menu is right above where you order…

You'll give your name and walk along a glassed kitchen prep area, seeing all the ingredients and watching your order being assembled…
The in House made charcuterie, fresh figs…
roasted vegetables,
The various proteins offered. At the end of the walk is the cash register where you can also order a desert and get your beverages and your order, all presented on a jelly roll pan which is your tray…you find a seat and can enjoy your meal.
We decided to share a bowl of rustic chicken soup ($4) Mostly dark chicken meat (the flavorful stuff) and a myriad of vegetables- the bowl was packed with potato, squash, carrot, onion, fresh herbs- lemon thyme is so complimentary. Always a good bowl of soup.

The Mister decided to try the Craft salad ($10.50), there were six slices of the house made salumi, Feta cheese, roasted peppers, olives, pickled onions, pickles, capers mixed in the 'young lettuce all erfectly mixed with the right amount of Cabernet vinaigrette.

I decided to try the 'Happy Vegan" this time.($10.50) What a wonderful choice! The greens were topped with a lemon vinaigrette and the scoops of salads, each with its own flavor, were individually wonderful- From the right- A farro/spelt/wheat grain mixed with dried cranberries and hazelnuts tasted rich and had a nice 'tooth'. The green hummus was fresh and had an underlying green onion flavor. The third is mostly red quinoa (you can see the quinoa 'tails' in the photo) mixed with cucumber and yellow beets and tasted creamy. The tabbouleh all the way on the left was a wonderful bulghur and had peppermint as it's green, making it sweet (to me).

The combination of vegan tastes was perfect and the overall salad was filling and refreshing, not at all what I expected vegan food to be. I want to try other vegan meals now.

Tender Greens 2400 Historic Decatur Road, inside the old Naval Training Center/Liberty Station San Diego 92106 (619) 226-6254 Website

Cafe Cabaret- a coffee shop with food.

August 29, 2011 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Caffeine Fix, Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Hi. You are back at mmm-yoso!!!, possibly a bookmark on your Tool Bar, or perhaps you got here by Googling. In any case, Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are not blogging today, Cathy is.

The other Friday, again after one of our walks around a body of water…

Lake Murray on this day…

The Mister and I started driving and somehow got to Adams Avenue. We saw this sign. I rounded the block and parked.

It was the "French Crepes" sign which attracted me, because I still hadn't had any since my quest for crepes went unrequited a few weeks ago…

However, just the beverage menu here was filled with choices and when we saw menu items (sandwiches, salads, kabobs), breakfast items(omelets, scrambles, waffles, pancakes, French Toast) and some of the daily chalkboard specials, the crepe was soon forgotten and we ordered, paid and found a place to sit.

An outdoors-brought-inside decor with many tables inside the building as well as on the patio, apparently offering free wi-fi and community setting, we felt comfortable here.

The nice young lady who took our order brought out the regular coffee we had ordered. I found out the owners are Ethiopian, explaining some of the menu items. {Yes. Too many beverage choices has me wanting to see if a place can make a regular cup of coffee. (Cafe Cabaret can.)}
The Mister had ordered the Vegetable samosas, a light snack ($4.99) which came with a salsa dip as well as a yougurt sauce and some carrots and cucumbers.

These pockets of just baked flaky triangle shaped dough were filled with a delightful blend of peas, lentils, potatoes, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, onions, perfectly seasoned with cumin and coriander.
I ordered the chalkboard special falafel sandwich, which came with salad, hummus and whole wheat pita ($4.99). The salad dressing was a raspberry vinaigrette and the dipping sauce was yogurt based. The fresh hummus was topped with a nice-hot Harissa sauce. The falafel inside the wheat wrap were probably made from a dry mix, had and interesting garlic flavor on their own and were cold (!) inside the wrap filled with lettuces, onion, tomato and cucumber accompanied by a sauce which seemed to be a mix of the yogurt and harissa. There was a lot of falafel in the sandwich and the meal was quite filling and very tasty, although I ended up using all of the other sauces on the table and not the raspberry salad dressing for the salad- it tasted too sweet to me.

This was another lucky find for us. We'll stop by when we are in the area again.

Cafe Cabaret 3739 Adams Avenue San Diego 92116 (619)284-1819 Open 6:30-10 p.m. 7 days. Breakfast 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Website

Xi’an: The Muslim Quarter

August 27, 2011 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, Travel, Xi'an

In my post on the Guan Tang Baozi from Jia San, I mentioned the Muslim Quarter. Located behind the Drum Tower, the Muslim Quarter and the Xi'an Mosque was first mentioned in imperial records dating back to 742 AD.

Walking past the Drum Tower and down Bai Yuan Men Jie, the main street, you'll start to notice as subtle change in dress, women with their hair covered in scarves, men looking a bit less "Han" in appearance. The Missus notes that even the language here was different.

Bai Yuan Men Jie is lined with shops. Many of them selling dried fruit, nuts, and other items that Xi'an is well known for….being that Xi'an was the Eastern terminus of the Silk Road, perhaps some of these items have a long history.

In one of the shops I came across the sesame and nut stuffed dried peppers we had in a dish in Jinan, One of the Missus's foodie uncle's had mentioned we'd be seeing this in Xi'an. I had a taste and man, this was pretty spicy….back of the throat spicy that got me coughing pretty good.

Quite a few snack shops along the street as well.

This one served up a bunch of different fried dough……..

Which was actually pretty greasy and tasted rancid!

If you really want to see the "real action", it's all located on the side streets that branch out from Bai Yuan Men Jie.

This is where you'll see all of the produce, meat, and other vendors. We were told that there are folks who are raised, married, and die, who almost never leave this tiny enclave…… I'm not sure it's true, but it's quite a story.

The smells are intoxicating, there always seems to be a pot of something simmering or boiling over some pretty rustic stoves putting out some major heat.

And there were times where it didn't seem like we were in China…..

And of course, this was where most of the food stands were….like this one making Rou Jia Mo, often called "Chinese Hamburger" in signs, but more like a meat stir fry in pita bread. This stand was quite popular…..

It was pretty amazing the amont of heat that came out of this stove…….it looks simply like charcoal in a hole, but there is a fan contraption underneath.

As well as a bellow set-up……so things can get pretty hot.

I kinda enjoyed the Rou Jia Mo…

Though things get a bit crowded in the Muslim Quarter during the day, it was still pretty relaxed .

However, when the sun started going down……

Things behind the Drum Tower start heating up…..the crowds descend on the Muslim Quarter and it gets quite crowded.

I had to find areas to take a break from the mass of humanity at times.

I'm not a big fan of crowds, but we had to check things out because this was when all the grills came out!

The alleyways were full of little stands, all in turn filled with customers chewing away on skewers of yang rou chuan.

It was really amazing and somewhat alarming watching cars attempting to drive down the packed alleyways, but we saw no accidents.

I guess we enjoyed the Muslim Quarter, as we returned there on every day of our stay in Xi'an…….

Getting lost and wandering down the small streets that were like branches growing from the trunk that was Bai Yuan Men Jie.