mmm-yoso – Page 422 – 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.

Saturday Stuffs: A New Mariscos Truck on Convoy? Seafood Island is gone, and other “stuffs”……

February 19, 2011 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

Just a couple of quick things for Saturday:

Is there a new Mariscos Truck off Convoy:

This past week, I went to the 76 station on the corner of Convoy and Balboa. While filling up my tank, I happened to notice this truck open for business in the parking lot of the 76:

I hadn't noticed it before. Too bad I had already had lunch and was in a rush to get back to the office. I hope it's still there this upcoming week so I can give it a try.

Seafood Island is closed:

I received a text from Angela, who knows of the friendly bantering that goes on between JohnL and myself regarding Seafood Island. The gist of the text was "guess what, Seafood Island is closed, I guess you win!"

I drove by a couple of days later….. and it was indeed closed.

On my first couple of visits, I thought this place had potential. But it seems that the restaurant really never developed an identity…… serving cheap Chinese lunches, with combined Chinese – Vietnamese menu, along with Bun Rieu, Bun Cha, and then Pho……which I thought was terrible. I was told that there were two sets of cooks in the kitchen, Chinese and Vietnamese….. it just seems like too much. Too bad, this area needs decent restaurants……

Getting my fix:

I know the hazards of reading food blogs all too well…… but over the years, I believed that I've developed a bit of an immunity to the sudden, knee-jerk, "oh I just gotta have some of that now" reaction. But of course I was wrong.

Recently, one of my favorite food bloggers Kat, who gives me my daily dose of Food and Life in Japan via Our Adventures in Japan, had done a series of posts on their travels in Yamaguchi. I really enjoyed the posts, mainly for the "snow-scenes" which look like something from a movie set. Please check out Kat's posts on this trip here. While reading this post, I just got hung up on the photo of Katsu Don….. I just couldn't get it out of my head…… I just had to get…. my… Katsu Don…. lunch couldn't come fast enough.

We're in the midst of several stroms coming through the area…. so it's been cold and wet. And Izakaya Sakura's Chicken Katsu-Don really hit the spot…..

Along with a side order of Natto…..

It hit the spot, but I wasn't done……

I've passed my cold over to the Missus, so She wanted some ramen from Santouka for dinner. So of course I went over to Kayaba… for what else…. Katsu Don.

While in line at Kayaba…. I realized that Kat had done this to me before!

As a friend of mine once said…. "food blogs are terrible for the waistline… but I just can't stop reading!"

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Suzhou: Dinner at “Taste Life” Restaurant (Pǐnwèi Rénshēng – 品味人生)

February 17, 2011 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, Suzhou, Travel

Suzhou, like many other cities we've been to in Asia, has certain types of businesses located on specific "named" streets. For instance, our hotel was located on restaurant supply street. Even though we'd already had a pretty full day, a nice short nap recharged our batteries, and we were off looking for some dinner. After walking up one of the side streets, the Missus was getting pretty hungry. She stopped at one intersection, a restaurant on each corner, and said, "let's eat at one of these places." I looked around and told the Missus, "I don't think you'd want to eat on this street……" You see, we were on "pet shop" street! The Missus, taking a glance at the shops around the restaurants agreed that we'd both feel more comfortable eating on another street….. just so long as it wasn't tombstone street….. or "hair extensions" street for that matter.

We finally came across this little restaurant on one of the side streets.

Named Pǐnwèi Rénshēng, this place was packed, with a pretty raucous crowd.

Mainly due to stuff similar to what's pictured on the right. The guys at the table in the photo was having a very loud time getting ripped. They started placing empty beer bottles on the empty chairs. After the chairs were full, they started placing bottles on the floor, which was a bad move. One false move, and bottles would go rolling all over the floor……

As for the food……

Finally having a seat, I realized how hungry I was…… as was the Missus. The first dish up, Wined Fried Fish:

Wine marinated fish were deep fried to crisp perfection. I practically ate all of this myself, bones and all. The Missus found the strong wine flavor too strong, while I loved the saltiness and wine flavor.

We both loved the fresh sauteed bamboo shoots.

Though the bamboo shoots were starting to just get past the tender stage, I enjoyed the salty, but not too sweet flavor. Combined with the earthiness of the bamboo shoots, these were good.

The Missus wanted something comforting, and chose the Wintermelon Soup with Ham.

A nice classic dish. Actually, the Missus hated wintermelon growing up, but loves the soup, which brings Her comfort. Simple flavors, savory flavor from the ham and salt. The Missus still didn't care for the pieces of wintermelon; I ate those, but loved the broth….and ham (of course).

The final dish was steamed eggplant with garlic. I had expected something closer to this(without the chilies of course). But the sauce was pretty bland, and the eggplant wasn't completely steamed, and in fact had a raw texture and taste.

Overall, this was a satisfying meal, and we left the restaurant…gingerly stepping over empty beer bottles, feeling relaxed.

As we walked along Guan Qian Jie…… I noticed something…….

The Missus, usually always headed off seemingly on a "mission", was just strolling along!

I'm not sure if it was that wonderful tea we had earlier in the day, or perhaps the atmosphere…… Suzhou seemed much more laid back than Hangzhou…. or maybe a combination of both (and more!), but we felt so relaxed.

Which was nice…. since we had another full day in front of us!

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more!

Troy’s Family Restaurant- American (and Greek) food

February 16, 2011 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Diner, Greek Food, What Cathy Eats!

Hi, it's Cathy blogging for mmm-yoso!!! today. Kirk is under the weather and ed (from Yuma) is busy.

An ocean of time ago, The Mister and I moved to San Diego for the last time. Our apartment was within walking distance of Clairmont Square, and we used to eat at Troy's Family Restaurant. A lot. Until we bought our home, about 25 miles East of here.
It's been in the Clairmont area since 1973. The mall has expanded and been rebuilt a few times since then, but the owners and a lot of the employees are the same. We were in the area on this sunny day a few weeks ago and wanted to see if things, like the decor and food, were still the same.

The cool dishware is as I remembered. Curvy scratched water glasses and thick ceramic cups. I love old, thick coffee cups; they make coffee taste better. ($1.75). Served with real half and half in the container on each table.

The Ranch dressing on the salad is homemade and better than any bottled stuff I have ever had. The lettuce mix, with shredded carrots tomatoes and packaged croutons is standard crispy fresh.

The salad was part of the special of the day (Monday) – Tilapia ($7.95) which was dipped in an egg wash and then seasoned flour and lightly fried. A light crisp crust enhances the flavor of the fish. It is served with a vegetable of the day (no frozen vegetables here…these were fresh cooked, un-mushy carrots, hand sliced) and mashed potatoes-also fresh. The gravy is a standard brown gravy, smooth and not lumpy. There are at least three daily specials offered all seven days of the week.
Since the restaurant is named Troy's and the font on the outside indicates some air of 'Greek' to it, I wanted one of the Greek menu offerings… really, only two are available. Gyros in the form of a sandwich and in an omelete and souvlaki with breakfast or a sandwich. At this time, the souvlaki sandwich ($7.45) stood out on the menu. Marinated, skewered pork, cooked lightly (it was just pink on the inside, very moist and the char on the exterior of the pieces was just right) served on a piece of garlic toast, with cole slaw (instead of fries) and tossed salad (with Thousand Island dressing-again, made in house and excellent).

It was as we remembered it: Good, home made food made with care and flavor.

Troy's Family Restaurant 4827 Clairmont Shopping Center San Diego 92111 (619)276-7651

Mon-Sat 6:30-9:00, Sun 6:30-8:00

Tsuruhashi revisited

February 15, 2011 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

For a period of time Tsuruhashi occupied a spot on our rotation. We'd come to the point in life where we enjoyed quality over quantity. But sometime in early 2008 we stopped going to Tsuruhashi. We noticed that while prices were steadily creeping up; the quality and service had taken a downward dive.

Even though we'd always intended on returning, it wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that we actually stepped through the doors of Tsuruhashi again. It was actually for my birthday dinner. I really wanted Chinese, but it was right around Chinese New Year, and the Missus and I really didn't want to deal with the insanity. We then headed to Izakaya Sakura, but I'd just recently been there for lunch. As always, the Missus made the final decision easy. "Let's go to Tsuruhashi….."

At first, I had a bit of sticker shock…. prices sure had gone up in two years. Some items were over $2 more per item. Imagine, our favorite 3-4 ounce serving of Prime Skirt was now $7.50/lb – that's upward of $30 a pound! But when was the last time you ate a pound of meat? Actually that $30 mark is a pretty good measuring stick. $20 – $30 a person (without booze) seems about right. Play it right, and you can probably get away much cheaper….. but heck, this is not an every night kind of meal; at least not by our standards. It turned out that the Missus and I really enjoyed our leisurely meal. A couple of days later, I was joined by my great friends Angela, Peter, and John, and we had another nice meal. Since there was so much overlap, I'll just go over what we had over the two meals……..

One of my favorite dishes at Tsuruhashi is the Yukke ($7.50) - the raw beef, seasoned with salt and sesame oil, topped with a raw quail egg. Slivers of apple help to clean the palate and refresh.

The beef used is prime rib eye, and is delicious. If you think this is actually Yukkhoe – Korean Raw Beef, you'd be right. Tsuruhashi is named after the Tsuruhashi District in Osaka, home to a sizable Korean population, and also famous for its Yakiniku Restaurants.

The Missus and I always loved the beef tongue served at Tsuruhashi……

And as time has passed, we;ve found that we enjoy the simple salt and pepper prime tongue. Charred and crisp around the edges, with the center still a bit chewy is just wonderful by me.

We used to enjoy the tongue topped with minced onions (now $9.95 – sheesh!), but have found that all that stuff meddles with the texture and beefiness of the gyutan.

This now seems a bit bitter for our taste. My friends also agreed that this wasn't quite as good as the plain and simple tongue.

Peter did enjoy the Miso Beef Tongue.

This is a bit on the salty side…… but is good with some beer. It's also not prime tongue.

Angela really impressed me when she took to the Nankotsu……. chicken cartilage!

There's something just wonderful about the crunchy chicken cartilage that I love……. on this night, I sparred with Angela trying to get my share of Nankotsu.

Even though they now serve the Prime Skirt with a drizzle of a soy-mirin-sake sauce, it's still wonderfully beefy.

There was one item that Peter, John, and Angela enjoyed so much, we had to order "seconds"……

It's the Kobe Rib Cube…….. I don't need to say much more. I placed a piece on my plate, put my hand over the grill for about three seconds, and touched the piece of beef….. it started to melt at my touch.

The Rib Eye Rolled with Shiso was also very nice.

It was much more tender than I thought it was going to be. The minty-anise flavor is a nice counter-point to the beef flavor.

Since the "other white meat" wasn't represented, I felt I needed to order something……

Wrapped in some lettuce smeared with bean paste, this was decent….. you know when the pork belly was some kind of after thought that you've done pretty well.

On the night the Missus and I ate at Tsuruhashi, thre was one item the Missus hated…..

It was the Beef Intestines……. they seized and curled up when put on the grill…. nice if you like really chewy. I thought it was ok, the Missus hated it!

There was an interesting observation that both the Missus and Angela made during our meals. The Missus had just eaten at a steakhouse a few nights earlier, and said She enjoyed this meal much more. Angela told me, "I love eating at a good steakhouse, but for some reason, I really enjoyed this more….maybe it's the variety, or perhaps the social atmosphere, but there's something really nice about this."

The service I encountered on both visits was very good. Grills were changed, things moved along, there were no complaints. As long at Tsuruhashi holds steady, we'll be back.

Tsuruhashi Japanese BBQ
3904 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

I was made for sunny days…….

February 12, 2011 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, yoso-silly

I've been a bit under the weather the last couple of days…… nothing serious, congested, a bit of tickly throat, you know….. that kind of thing. Today was such a nice day, it was kind of a bummer ot be sick. After all, I could be doing all those fun things I enjoy on sunny days…. like eating!

Usually, I'll crave some noodle soup, Pho, Mi, or ramen when I feel congested. But today, I just wanted, one, well make that two things…….

I guess because it was rather warm; I wanted the Spicy Cold Chicken (aka "Saliva Chicken") and the Cold Sichuan Noodles……

From Ba Ren, of course…….

From Ba Ren of course. In truth, it did cause me to cough a bit, but man did it clear my sinuses. Plus, this cold has got my taste buds in a bit of a fritz, so the strong flavors sure was comforting in it's own way.

During a recent wonderful dinner with friends, the subject of cravings when sick came up. I mentioned saimin, as it was what I always wanted as a child when I felt sick. Perhaps I'll have to amend that! I really want to feel better soon, since there's a wonderful bottle of sake in the fridge that's been calling to me!

To quote The Weepies:

"I say, I was made for sunny days.

I made due with gray, but I didn't stay.

I was made for sunny days……"

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Postscript: "Little K" sister of FOY (Friend of Yoso) "Yummy Yummy" is off on a wonderful adventure for the next six months. I wanted to drop by and wish you well, but I really don't think you want any part of whatever ills me. So I'll just have to tell you this way. We'll miss you, but we all know you're off on an exciting adventure. I can't wait to hear all your stories when you return!

Burger Week 2011- Elsa’s Kitchen

February 11, 2011 Cathy Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

Yep, you are reading mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Welcome. Here is another of Cathy's favorite places to get a burger. A good burger. It's not a fancy place.

Hi again. Another place I frequent ( and have blogged about )(go ahead, look at that post; the prices here have not changed since I wrote it in October 2007) when I want a good, hand formed, coarse ground, fresh burger, is Elsa's Kitchen. It's in a plain strip mall at the NorthEast corner of 70th at El Cajon Boulevard, near SDSU.

It looks like a kind of hole in the wall…Really though, you order from a hole in the wall…

Elsa's has been here many years. Sometimes, there is a wait for the food to be prepared. The wait is worth it.
I feel the need to show you a size comparison. This, a side order of onion rings, the small size ($1.75). The burger is a half pound steak burger. I feel the need to mention that every single Greek restaurant which makes onion rings knows how to make them *so* wonderfully perfect. From scratch, sliced thick, lightly corn meal battered and fried just right. Always order the rings at any Greek place. They are wonderous.
The half pound burger ($4.50) is hand formed, coarse ground, flavorful and juicy. The bun is toasted and buttered. The toppings are standard, including thousand island dressing. Yes, my hand is small, but this is a very nice, large burger (in the back is The Mister's Gyros salad ($ 6.45)- The salad is made with mixed greens, Feta, cucumber, onion and tomato. Dressing is served on the side as is a side of tzatziki).

Eh, here's a photo of the salad. The gyros is good here. The portion is crazy large.
Here is a photo of the burger with a bite out. I let them cook it the way they think is proper, and it is cooked medium. Still, it has flavor and is juicy but not dripping. You can see more of the hand formed shape, and that the bun has sesame seeds on both the top and bottom. A really good bun.

You may have noticed the sign on the front for a 1/4 lb burger with fries and beverage for $4.49. This is the more 'average' portion size and affordable meal. Maybe not as exciting photographs, but excellent food.

I substituted fried zucchini for the fries. The zucchini is sliced into sticks, lightly breaded, fried to just crisp and is not greasy. This also technically is the small size.

Even this 1/4 of a pound burger is cooked just right and stays juicy and has great flavor. The toasted bun is the right size for the burger, has a good amount of the standard sauce and toppings and is so beefy flavored. I really like the burgers here.

Elsa's Kitchen Greek and American Food 7022 El Cajon Blvd (619) 464-6711Mon-Sat 9-9, Sun 9-8.

{Oh yes, they make breakfast. Gyros and eggs ($4.49) , breakfast gyro and a 2 egg gyros omelet for $3.99 are great choices.}

It’s Burger Week: A Bison Burger from The Cowboy Star

February 10, 2011 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Steakhouse

The Cowboy Star has been one of our favorite destinations for Happy Hour for a while. It's never been very busy when we've visited, which makes the whole deal pretty relaxing, in spite of the location.

We've enjoyed most everything we'd had in the bar, and in the restaurant…….

The Missus isn't a real big red meat eater, but She enjoys the tornedos and steaks at the Cowboy Star. They always seem to get it right for Her.

Perhaps one day I'll post on our dinners there; the sweetbreads, marrow bones, the Porterhouse!

When we finally decided to do another burger week, I looked forward to trying one of the burgers there. Since they still serve burgers during Happy Hour (it's on the lunch menu), why not? So on a recent visit, I ordered the Bison Burger ($15):

I love the flavor of buffalo and bison when it's prepared well. The meat is leaner, so it's very easy to overcook. The meat has a faint flavor that has a sweet tinge to it; not as sweet as say, horse or donkey, but just enough variance in flavor to know that, "it's not quite beef I'm eating tonight".

This looked like one beautiful burger. The roasted Anaheim Pepper tasted wonderful, but in my opinion it over-powered the bison. The wonderfully melted white cheddar went well with my burger, even though it was cooked a bit over the medium I requested.

Granted, Bison is more difficult to cook than beef, still, I was a bit underwhelmed with the burger as a whole. Even after removing the pepper…. which the Missus gladly gobbled up, the flavor was a bit too mild for me….. perhaps the grass fed beef is the way to go here.

The frites had a nice texture, crisp on the exterior, combined with a light interior. I once mentioned in a previous post, of the Missus love of salt (" the Missus has been known to body slam a Moose to get to its salt lick"). But man, on this day the fries were much too salty.

In truth, one so-so meal at The Cowboy Star won't deter us from returning since we've had some really fine meals there. But I do think it was telling that on the next evening, we also had meat, which I enjoyed even more. Stuff like this:

The Cowboy Star
640 10th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101

Jersey’s: Home of the 3 lb Burger in Yuma Foothills

February 9, 2011 ed fromyuma Burgers, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Everybody eats burgers. Kirk eats burgers, Cathy eats burgers, vegetarians eat veggieburgers, and even ed (from Yuma) eats burgers. Today, he's posting about some that are yoso delicious.

Jersey's is gone but not forgotten.

Some things happen in threes. Right after my post on the Fortuna foodcourt in Foothills, Yuma, appeared here at mmm-yoso, three things converged. First, Cathy and Foodhoe wanted to know about the 3 pound burger at Jersey's; second, my gourmandizing friend Chip insisted we had to go there and try the burgers ASAP; and third, Kirk sent me an e-mail reminding me that Burger Week was approaching at the blog. That was a triple whammy, but I hardly needed three prompts to go to Jersey's:

In fact, the very next day, a bunch of us carnivores, Chip, Betsy, Light, Deb W, Tina, and I, gathered together to eat some serious meat.

After ordering sandwiches, we walked over to the refrigerator and selected some soft drinks:

While we were deciding between root beers and colas ($1.50), it was impossible to ignore that wonderful smell of beef being charred over coals on an open grill. Cue the saliva.

The tables contained a limited number of condiments and a whimsical paper towel dispenser:

The smaller burgers and Betsy's cheesesteak arrived first. I had ordered the most basic burger on the menu ($5.50) , which came with some iceberg lettuce and abundant mayo sauce:

The sesame seed bun held a handmade patty that had to weigh at least a half pound. One bite and I was in protein paradise. I cannot recall a more intense burger in my life. The whole thing screamed BEEF as loud as it could! The char from the grill and the sauce (mayo with hint of ketchup, I think), just made the flavor of the patty that much better and more intense.

By default, all the burgers come with french fries:

These were obviously homemade and full of potato flavor. While not greasy, they were also not especially crunchy. Not bad, certainly, but really just okay. Next time, I will follow Chip's lead and order mine extra crispy.

Tina opted for a blue cheese burger, which came with mayo sauce, red onions, hand cut tomato slice, pepper bacon, lettuce, and hand formed perfectly grilled burger patty:

In general, I am hesitant to order blue cheese burgers because many that I've had over the years have tasted more like blue cheese than like burger. Not the case here. The intensity of the beef flavor stood up to and was enhanced by the cheese. There was so much going on (in a good way) that the bacon seemed like an afterthought. Let me say that any time slices of bacon are not the most flavorful things on a sandwich, that sandwich has got to have full tilt taste. The only disadvantage of Tina's burger was that the bun disintegrated before the whole burger was consumed.

"Totally scrumptious," Tina termed it. It was so good that I think it's worth another picture:

Unlike my french fries, the onion rings Tina ordered were just about perfect. Clearly homemade, each crunchy ring had a sweet onion center.

Betsy's cheesesteak ($?) was also pretty darn good. She loved it. The beef was full of flavor, like good carne asada steak, the roll well grilled, and the cheese, onions, and peppers added tastes and textures:

And then it arrived, the 3 pound burger ($21 — free if you can eat it all in 20 minutes):
The genormous burger was loaded with lettuce, tomato, cheese, grilled red onions, pickle relish, and two 1 1/2 lb patties. For some strange reason, Chip had asked the mayo sauce be replaced with mustard. This close-up shows the wonderful grill marks that marked each patty with flavor:

We cut the giant burger into four wedges, letting us all see a cross-section of this flavorful concoction:

A quarter section of this giant burger was still a handful — actually two hands full:

It is rare for a restaurant, whether it be a posh fine dining establishment or a taco stand, to exceed my wildest expectations. After all, when it comes to food, I have some very wild expectations. Jersey's is everything it promises and more.

However, it should come with two important warnings.

After lunch, I had work to do. All afternoon I struggled to keep my eyes open and my mind on what I was reading. When I got together with Tina that evening, I was complaining about nodding off, and she looked at me and said, "you think you had problems. I lay down for a second – and woke up three hours later."

First warning: May Cause Drowsiness!

Second warning: Could Be Habit Forming!

Consider yourselves warned.

Jersey's, on the access road parallel to Fortuna between Walgreens and the Fry's Shopping Center, Yuma Foothills, (928) 920-6476.

Burger Week 2011- Anny’s Fine Burger, Santee

February 8, 2011 Cathy Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!! This is one of Cathy's contributions to the heck with your New Year Resolution Burger Week 2011.

At the Trolley Station in Santee (end of the Green Line) we have a Starbucks, Einstein's, Quiznos, Panda [something] and now, Anny's Fine Burger. It used to be VGood
and the cook/owner is the same, as is the CalTrans Orange paint on the walls. (Really. Click onto the link for the VGood post)
The menu, however has taken over one wall…It's right there as you walk in; you can't miss it. All the main items offered are served in a burger form. Hot dogs, chili and sides are also on the menu.

Anny's Fine Burger makes Burgers. Burgers of angus beef. 1/2 pound burgers. (But you can substitute chicken, turkey or veggie burgers). All are char broiled. All the sauces are home made.

I'll start out showing you The Mister's Pastrami Burger ($5.99), since it comes with cheese and the pastrami topping can be removed and eaten separately… Baked pastrami, not fatty, but nicely smokey flavored, piled on a hand formed, half pound burger cooked medium rare. Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato pickle and a smokey, house made teriyaki sauce topped it off. The bun is more of a Kaiser roll, fresh and toasted. Toasted in butter. The burger is very flavorful and juicy-but not so juicy as to ruin the bottom bun. Char broiled. Just enough char flavor without being overpowering.
Since, like Kirk, I also like the taste of a pure burger, here is my usual order – the Basic Combo. (#1 on the menu-$4.99) ($5.50 as the combo) the half pound burger (no cheese). Lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and a house made thousand island. The Combo comes with plain fries and a beverage. I like the simplicity and ability to taste the basic ingredients. Everything is fresh-and good. The burger meat has some seasoning which brings out the meaty flavor. The meat is coarse ground and a texture I enjoy. As with all the burgers here, the char broiling imparts just a bit of smoke flavor.

The fries are cut here from fresh potatoes and double fried. Pretty darn good and crispy. Above is a side order of sweet potato fries ($3.99). Cut from fresh sweet potatoes. Quite a large order. Good flavor, proper frying technique. I do appreciate proper frying.

Just for fun, here are some other choices from the menu. #10, The Blue Cheese burger ($5.99). Crumbled blue cheese as well as a house made blue cheese dressing. Again, excellent beef flavor. Cooked medium rare. Juicy and flavorful. They used a mold to form the burgers on this visit. The beef is not frozen and tastes good on its own.

#23. The Sand Dune Burger ($6.50). There are beer battered onion rings on the menu, but this burger comes with onion strings, which I like and can't get any other way. This burger also has bacon, cheddar, lettuce and tomato as well as a smokey teriyaki sauce. It is a nice melding of flavors and texture. (This presentation was about 6 inches high)

I like the coarse grind of fresh meat used for the burgers here. I haven't tried any chicken, turkey or veggie patties because when I get here, I am usually craving a 1/2 lb of beef. The sauces all made here- including lemon mayo, spicy mayo, sun dried tomato mayo, garlic mayo, ranch, bbq, honey mustard..in addition to the thousand and teriyaki are made from scratch and are very good. The fresh Kaiser buns are toasted and brushed with butter always; the optional whole wheat bun is very good also. Anny's is a really good choice for burgers.

Anny's Fine Burger 9862 Mission Gorge Road Santee CA 92071 (right at the Trolley station, near the Starbucks)(619) 258-8288 Mon-Sat 11:00-9:00, Sun 12:00-8:00

It’s Burger Week: Five Guys times two…….

February 7, 2011 mmm-yoso Burgers, Chains, Chicago

While driving to work this past week, I recall hearing that by February, 50% of those New Year's resolutions have fallen by the wayside. So I thought it was time for our Fourth Burger Week. I had my doubts at first because it seems that we've covered a good bit of ground. From iconic burgers served at places like Rocky's, Hodad's, and Nessy, to "pub burgers" at joints like The Waterfront, to newer places like Burger Lounge and The Counter, I wasn't sure I had it in me. But after trading emails with Cathy and Ed from Yuma, I realized that there's always another burger somewhere down the street.

A couple of months back, Five Guys Burgers opened up in San Diego…… part of a West Coast expansion of an East Coast favorite. This prompted a whole slew of Five Guys versus In N Out posts and articles. Some of my favorite Food Bloggers like The Catty Critic and Passionate Eater weighed in on the debate.

Thus I put a visit to Five Guys on my "list"………. then my trip to Madison and Chicago came up. An acquaintance of mine who had tried the San Diego location of Five Guys told me that for some reason, in his opinion, the burgers at Five Guys in the Midwest and back East taste better. He told me to check out one of their location in Chicago if I had the chance. And I did indeed have a chance, as I came across a Five Guys in Mount Prospect on my last morning in Chicago.

Even though I arrived right at opening time, there was already a short line. It gave me time to check out the decor, all of the declarations of the greatness of Five Guys plastered on the walls, the large sacks of potatoes, the peanuts for eating while you wait……

The menu, much like In-N-Out's is deceivingly simple; Four burgers, four "little burgers", hot dogs, two sandwiches, and two style of fries. The gimmick here is that you have the choice of up to sixteen free "toppings", everything from Ketchup to A1 Steak Sauce.

Those folks that know, realize that I like a pretty unadorned burger, just the typical veggies and maybe some mustard. Which is how I ordered mine. It all came wrapped in foiled lined paper. It's good that I was eating this here, as a burger would keep on steaming inside this wrapper had I waited too long….

I liked the look of the burger, the sesame bun was nice until it started falling apart. This was a fairly hefty burger, but I thought it over-priced at five bucks($4.99 actually)…… though I guess you could make up that difference if you got everything but the kitchen sink on it.

The meat itself wasn't seasoned, lacked any beefiness, and was on the "mealy" side. No wonder President Obama needed to order his burger with Jalapeno.

Five Guys Burgers
118 East Kensington Rd
Mount Prospect, IL 60056

This didn't turn out to be the burger I had expected. But I decided to check out the Liberty Station location in Point Loma, just to see if there was any difference. I arrived on a Sunday evening, and the place was packed.

Because I wanted to be boring consistent, I ordered the same thing as I did in Chicago. I even managed to score an open table. This is what my burger looked like when unwrapped….

What a mess……. that bottom half of the butt was pretty much a goner, just minutes after making.

At least the burger here had a bit more char to it, and was more moist than the version I had in Chicago. I still think the meat has a kind of mealy texture, and is under-seasoned. The meat here cannot stand alone, The packaging left much to be desired as well.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries
2445 Truxton Rd
San Diego, CA 92106

So what about the Five Guys versus In-N-Out thing…… being that Five Guys' burger is larger, it's hard to compare. But I will say this about the burger…… For the price of one burger from Five Guys ($4.99)….. I got this at I-N-O:

Smaller, but dressed in a similar manner – two double meats, mustard instead. I enjoyed In-N-Out much more as well…..

There is one thing at Five Guys that I enjoy much more than at In-N-Out…… it's the fries. I've never developed a taste for the fries at In-N-Out…….yeah they're "natural" style fries; but just about every other place I have that type of fries have been head and shoulders above In-N-Out.