mmm-yoso – Page 452 – 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.

Chon Ju Jip

September 24, 2009 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

I was pleasantly surprised when FOY, Vicky emailed me and said she had a post ready! It was sorta like an old friend popping in for a surprise visit. It also seems that Vicky has a few posts in the pipeline, so I'm sure we're all looking forward to that! So I thought it would be appropriate to do a post on a restaurant Vicky first posted on back in February of 2007, Chon Ju Jip.

We used to grab a meal here when the restaurant was named Ko Hayang Jip, it then became Go Ba Woo, and now Chon Ju Jip. I've been told that even though the name(s) and menus have changed, the main cooks have remained the same. I'm not certain, but I can say that this place does some major bang up business later in the evenings. Go a bit early on, and the tiny place is usually pretty empty.

There are several dishes we enjoy, and though you won't see the hot pot, because it's been too darn hot for it, there is a decent variety represented on the menu. For us the dishes run from good to some fairly mediocre items. So I think we'll start with a few of our favorites, and work backwards.

But of course, no proper meal at a Korean restaurant can start without some panchan!

The panchan varies on each visit, so I won't go into each item. I will say that you'll probably find something you enjoy. We did notice that the panchan is on the salty side. One of our favorites is the Sesame Leaf (Kaennip – Perilla) panchan:

In a salty bean paste, this is really good with rice.

As I mentioned before, there's always a good variety, usually eight items, and we've been offered refills on each visit.

So let's start with the good. The Missus really enjoys the Kimchi Chigae.

Spicy and salty, with a good amount of pork belly lining the bottom, what's not to like?

It's a well put together version of this comfort Korean Dish, with a nice savory component you can taste beyond the spice.

I was surprised at the tenderness of the Daeji Bulgogi (Spicy Pork):

Melt in the mouth soft without being mushy, this was a pleasant dish. It was perhaps a bit short on the spicy end of the spectrum, but with a nice slightly sweet and fruity finish, I really couldn't complain.

But of all the dishes, our favorite is the Bossam:

Though I would rather have had lettuce as my wrapping tool instead of the hard slices of Napa, you won't have too many more complaints from me. After all, tender, well flavored pork belly, on a leaf with daikon kimchi, a smear of bean paste, chilies, and a slice of raw garlic, what's not to like?

Whether its Buta Kakuni, Dong Po Rou, or whatever, I have a special place in my heart for velvety pork belly dishes.

The dish also came with some pretty low quality oysters, which were pretty much an afterthought in my opinion.

We ordered the combination Bossam and Den Jang Chigae ($19.95).

The Soybean Paste Stew was quite salty, and had a fishiness to it that caught you by surprise. After a few sips it seemed that our tastebuds adjusted. This was ok.

And here we start on some other dishes that were ok, but nothing special, like the Hamul Pajun (Seafood Pancake):

Fairly gummy in texture, and not very much seafood, this was fairly mediocre.

The Kimchi Jun suffered from the same gumminess:

This was also strangely bland and suffered from not enough kimchi. The center was not fully cooked as well.

Unlike the Daeji Bulgogi, the Bulgogi tasted under-marinaded, and the quality of meat used was very low, as it was rather tough.

Much like it's predecessor, the Dolsot Bi Bim Bap is served on a metal plate rather than a stone bowl. Dolsot means stone bowl………

For some reason, the crust that forms on these metal plates is not nearly as good as what is formed in a stone bowl. Overall, other than the egg, there was nothing of interest about this version of Dolsot Bi Bim Bap which was topped with a skimpy amount of namul, shredded daikon, and what seemed to be a tablespoon of Bulgogi.

Our overall least favorite dish we've had a Chon Ju Jip was the Dduk Bokki (rice cakes in spicy sauce – $7.95):

To be fair the Dduk (rice cakes) were cooked perfectly, and the sauce was spicy, but sorely lacking in salt, or any other savory flavor. The boiled egg was a nice touch, but what's up with the mushy, overcooked, packaged ramen noodles? There were hardly any pieces of Dduk in this dish, and we were less than satisfied with this.

Like many of these places, YMMV – your mileage may vary, it's mostly a matter of watching what other folks are eating, and just trying various dishes to see what works out for you. I would encourage you to check out the Bossam though. And the various hot pot casseroles look really good, so I'm sure we'll be back for those.

Chon Ju Jip
4373 Convoy Street
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 368-0835

Wednesday wanderings – Sab E Lee 2 opening in November and Thai Cafe closes

September 23, 2009 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

Sab E Lee 2 Coming Soon:

I dropped by and had an early lunch at Sab E Lee this past Sunday. Koby, the owner greeted me with a big smile, and told me, "I have some big news for you." Koby told me that he had found a space for a new restaurant, but wouldn't be sure until Monday. Koby then gave me his cellphone number and told me to call him. Instead, I told Koby that I'll drop by on Wednesday. So today, while I nosh'd on my Grilled Duck Larb:

Koby filled me in. So here's the scoop; the new restaurant will be called Sab E Lee 2 and is opening in Santee. The address will be:

9159 Mission Gorge Road
Santee, CA 92071

Luckily for us, he is keeping the Linda Vista location of Sab E Lee open. The new restaurant will have most of the items on the current menu, but will also add some more "Americanized" Thai dishes. I dunno about that, but I'm happy that my favorites will still be on the menu. According to Koby, the Chef of the restaurant in Santee is a good friend of his that has a lot of experience and used to be a chef at a four star hotel in Bangkok. Target opening day is the first Monday in November. I'm happy for Koby, they sure have come far in a bit over a year.

A Sab E Lee story:

I thought this was pretty funny. Sab E Lee is a very tiny restaurant, and because of the closeness of tables, sometimes you can't help but hear what everyone else is saying. On this day, a woman was seated with who I believe was her young son (maybe four or five?), a smart looking blond haired young man. I give the woman credit, they were eating Papaya Salad and Grilled Pork Neck, and the young man was digging in like a trooper. Out of the blue, the little one tells the Mom, "do they eat horse-ies here?" The Mom tells him, "I don't think so…..why?" The boy points to the lettering on the windows and exclaims, "it spells, I eat hoof!"

I snorted so hard, that I could feel my Beef Salad coming out of my nose! I guess it kinda looks like "I Eat Hoof". What do you think?

Thai Cafe closes:

Unfortunately, with the current economic unrest, more restaurants are closing than opening. And for every new restaurant opening, there seem to be two or more closing. Thai Cafe on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard is the latest casualty.

RIP Thai Cafe……

Lark Creek Steakhouse – My favorite source of protein…

September 22, 2009 Vicky (SF Bay Area) San Francisco and Silicon Valley, Steakhouse, What Vicky Eats

Hello! It's Vicky again. With another installment of another fantastic meal available up here in the beautiful SF Bay Area.. (Man I need to think of another tagline… That's getting old.)

As of the the writing of this post, I am finishing up my 2 week trip wandering around Taiwan. (Hopefully I'll be able to go through my 2000+ pictures of food and scrounge together a post in the future.) Right before I was to leave for my trip, Sam got us tickets and treated me out to the SF Taiko Festival. I in return, treated him out to Lark Creek Steak. Which is now my FAVORITE steakhouse. Ever. Even more so than Donavan's. I have to say though, Donavan's is still my favorite steakhouse in San Diego. (I have an extensive review on Yelp, so I won't go into great detail here.) But it has lost its place as my favorite steakhouse. The reason? Lark Creek serves Dry Aged Steaks. Yes. I will say it again. Dry. Aged. Steak. *puddle of drool.* Ever since purchasing the dry aged babies from Bristol Farms and grilling them up in my kitchen when I was living in La Jolla, I've become a steak addict. I question my servers at steakhouses like we're in Guantanamo Bay about their aging processes.

I was very happy to hear that Lark Creek served up a fantastic NY Strip that was dry aged in house around 30 days.

It was delicious… and nutty… and everything a hunk of meat needed to be. It was cooked to my perfect medium rare, without butter, spices, toppings, etc. It was just a piece of meat that was cooked the way it should be. (To this day, I still don't understand why Morton's and Ruth's Chris slathers their beef with butter… it may explain why the plate's like a gazillion degrees… so all that butter doesn't congeal!)

In any case, here is a pictur eof the lovely steak I had:

Lark creek

Ahh… Served with some nice organic mixed greens and a dollop of Cabernet butter (ON THE SIDE!)

Sam ordered a burger… Yes… A burger… Equally delicious… Probably one of the best burgers there are. It also came with a gourmet chocolate shake. Behold:

Lark creek2

Yum!!!

If you're in the Bay Area, come by Lark Creek and check it out… At least the dry-aged stuff is AMAZING!!

Lark Creek Steak
845 Market Street Emporium Rotunda Area
San Francisco, CA 94103
415.593.4100

You can drool at their menus here: www.larkcreeksteak.com

Pete’s Quality Meats

September 21, 2009 mmm-yoso Italian Restaurants, Sandwiches

**** Sadly Pete's has closed

I hadn't been to Pete's Meats in Little Italy for a very long time. In fact, Cathy, who posted on Pete's Meats last year has probably been there way more times than I. When we first moved to San Diego, I enjoyed Pete's for a nice simple Sausage Sandwich. Or for something even better, a Spitini Sandwich, basically a breaded veal roll, which was some awesome sandwich. I hadn't been to Pete's in at least five years, and was sad to notice the Spitini was no longer on the menu:

Other than the increased prices, and the removal of my beloved spitini, much looks the same.

The place has a real divey feel, and things are pretty much stuck in a rather pleasurable time warp. Pete's hearkens to a time before all of the condos and upscale restaurants made it's way to Little Italy. It oozes personality…..

You simply order, and they get to work on your sandwich. Since there was no spitini, I went with my other stand by the Italian Sausage Sandwich. The sausage is made inhouse, and I've picked bought the spicy sausage a few times in the past. It is prepared simply; cooked, in this case heated on the grill, topped with onions and peppers, and placed in a good roll. I believe they use Solunto's bread. It stands up real well.

On this visit, I think the sausage had spent a bit too much time "in the drawer" before reheating, and had seized a bit. It still tasted great, nice, mild, herbaceous flavor, but was kinda tough. Perhaps I shoulda just picked up a coupla sausages and some rolls from Solunto's……

On my next trip I decided to check out something I hadn't had before…… a Meatball Sandwich. The meatballs are kept simmering in a huge pot on one of the stove-tops. The sauce was much too runny, and mild for my taste…..

But those meatballs were melt in the mouth tender, and had good flavor. And combined with a good roll that added a nice contrast to the meatball, this was a good sandwich. Though I'd still take the Sausage Sandwich on a good day over this.

Pete's is one of those places that have stood the test of time, it is no frills, and I'm happy it has endured. The menu is gratefully simple, and you also have Pete, whose personality is worth an entire post of its own.

Pete's Quality Meat
1742 1/2 India St.
San Diego, Ca 92101

Eating on the hood of your car: Internacional 2000 Taco Shop – Al Pastor

September 20, 2009 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

There’s something about eating off your car. You know what I mean, getting something from a food cart, window, or truck, and placing it on your hood, and having a nice messy old time. There’s just something visceral about it. So I thought I’d do a short series of posts, of stuff I’ve eaten off the hood of my car.

I found out about the Al Pastor from Internacional 2000 totally by accident. I was waiting for my order from the Mariscos El Pescador truck (another upcoming EOTHOYC post) when a young lady asked me what I’d ordered (tacos de pescado and gobernador). We both chatted while we waited, and pointing South, she mentioned really good tacos on the weekends from “International Mercado”. She loved the price, a dollar, then really got my attention when she said it was Al Pastor, right off the spit! Returning home, I started doing searches on “International Mercado”, and came up with only one match, Internacional Mercado 2000 in Chula Vista.

I couldn’t miss the plumes of smoke rising in the air as I entered the parking lot of the mercado. As I drove up the parking lot, I noticed…. well how could I NOT notice, the area set-up outside a window, with Pollo Asada (grilled chicken) grilling on one side, and Al Pastor on the trompo (vertical spit) on the other.

I mean really….you can’t miss it….

The drill was fairly easy. You ordered at the portable cash register, “quatro al pastor por favor”, paid ($1 each) the man, was handed a receipt, and you moved to the next line. The really nice guy manning the flame spitting vertical spit device takes your receipt, and he asks (and luckily for me points) to all of the accompaniments, and you go yes or no. And he goes to work.

Corn tortillas were thrown on the oil laden griddle to the right of the trompo, and when ready were put in front of the spit. I noticed that after serving the woman in front of me, the gentleman waited to complete two sizzling spins before he started carving the sizzling meat. Holding the double tortilla at an angle, the Al Pastor was caught as it was trimmed.

As a “coup de grace” the gentleman added a few pieces of the saturated, caramelized pieces of meat sizzling on the bottom of the trompo pan on top of the trimmed meat. Topped off with cilantro, onions, and sauced, the plate was handed to me……

But he wasn’t done yet….as I walked away, he waved a hand at me, and made a wiping motion over his mouth, and pointed at the window of the taco shop. Now how did he know I’d be making a mess? I grabbed a few napkins, and headed off to my car……….

Biting into the tacos, the first thing that struck me was the balance of flavors and textures. Nothing over-powered anything else. The crisp pieces of Al Pastor were wonderful. The Al Pastor had a mild sweetness, from the drippings of the large slice of pineapple placed on top of the Al Pastor as it was turning on the spit. It reminded me a bit of mild Char Siu. The meat was very moist and tender. Enough words from me, the pictures say it all.

You know, I’m not a very religious person, but I’m just wondering of that young lady was my “parking lot guardian angel”. Here I was, leaning on my car, eating tacos in a busy parking lot, a slight breeze blowing in my face, watching the sun set. It doesn’t get much better than that, does it?

Some notes: The young lady told me that Al Pastor was only done on Fri-Sat-Sunday. Maybe someone who speaks Spanish and visits can confirm. These tacos are $1, though it looks like a whole range of tacos are offered, along with that delicious looking Pollo Asado.

Internacional 2000 Taco Shop (Window in the parking lot of Mercado Internacional 2000)
1415 3rd Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91911

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More on Homestyle Hawaiian

September 18, 2009 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Plate Lunch

About two weeks ago, I mentioned that Mo was back with Homestyle Hawaiian. So here's the second part….sorta…..

Two weeks is but a blink of an eye for a new business, and Mo's still making adjustments, some long term, some like this temporary(click to enlarge):

The good thing is, you can kinda keep up with things with Homestyle Hawaiian on Twitter.

It does look like the menu is pretty much set, but it's just like Mo to keep his "old time" customers happy.

One of my favorite things are "mixed plates" aka "combo plates", after all everyone loves variety, right? It does run two bucks or so (depending what you get) more, but the portions are slightly larger, and like I mentioned before, you get variety. Like this Chicken Katsu, Korean Chicken mixed plate:

As with Mo's Island Grinds, our favorite overall dish is the Korean Chicken, and the Missus loves the sauce aka Korean Sauce that Mo uses for that dish. Mo mentioned that while on hiatus, several other Hawaiian BBQ joints actually offered to but his recipe.

Those that know me are also aware that I love my Katsu…. in all forms. Breaded and served with Katsu Sauce, Mo's is almost "local kine" which is more ketchup based, than the "Bulldog" and other similar Japanese sauces. At Homestyle Hawaiian, add some Korean Sauce, and you have Lava Chicken, and even though it's not on the menu, you can request a Chicken Cutlet($5)…… in this case it's Katsu covered with gravy:

A nice touch was the gravy on the rice, and the scoop of rice under the chicken smothered in gravy.

Even though Mo wasn't born and raised in Hawaii he seems to understand the changes in tastes. We once had a discussion of "Local Kine Plate Lunch Kalbi" which tends to a more sweet flavor, probably because many of the early Lunchwagons and "Drive-Ins" that served this in the Islands were of Japanese ancestry. My tastes have changed since moving to the Mainland, but if you enjoy a sweeter Kalbi, you'll love the version here.

That's not to say that things always stay the same. I've never been a big fan of the Macaroni Salad at Mo's, and now at Homestyle Hawaiian. On my last two visits however, the salad is less heavy, and has more flavor:

And then there are the "works in progress" such as Meat Jun.

Apparently, it's still being developed……. I haven't found anything close to decent since leaving the Islands. Meat Jun is pretty much a Hawaii thing (BTW, my favorite was from Choi's Family Kitchen), so it'll be interesting following the progress of this dish.

And then there's this:

Need a closer look?

Recognize it? Probably not, since it's not served at Homestyle Hawaiian…. well not really. I've always joked with Mo, telling him that the Missus's favorite thing is the Korean Sauce, and it seems that She relishes the drippings from Korean Chicken on the cabbage garnish on the bottom of the plate! When I've mentioned this to Mo, he's always laughed and shakes his head. And though it's kinda embarrassing, I always ask for some extra sauce when I order Korean Chicken, and Mo being a nice guy, will always give it to us. So we saved up our Korean Sauce, until I had enough. I shredded some cabbage, sliced some cucumber, and topped with some mint. I heated the sauce to wilt the cabbage a bit……. and I had that! Of course it was missing the nice protein-fatty flavor from the chicken, but the Missus wiped the whole thing out. I normally wouldn't mention this except…… on a recent visit, I was sitting and eating my plate, when a couple came in to order some food for a small catering thing. During the discussion, the gentleman also wanted to get an order of "coleslaw". Mo told the guy he "doesn't serve coleslaw"….. Like a schoolkid trying to score points with the teacher I raised my hand, "oh-oh Mo…. I know exactly what he wants, Exxxx-xactly what he wants…." When I mentioned this to the Missus, She gave me the ultimate "I told you so look".

As I write this, Homestyle Hawaiian is still sorta a work in progress; it's still cash only, the hours are changing from week to week, etc, etc….. So I guess we'll need to follow things on Twitter for a bit. Hopefully, it'll all be worth it in the end.

Homestyle Hawaiian Island Style Food
7524 Mesa College Drive
San Diego, CA 92111

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Rudford’s Restaurant

September 17, 2009 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner

Rudford's has always had a strange pull on the Missus, as light does a moth. I'm not quite sure what it is about the place……

Rudford's does have one thing going for it, in a town where most everything except chain restaurants close by 10 pm, Rudford's stays open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

And having been around for sixty years does say something about staying power, though I must say that many of the customers(and smells) eating at Rudford's seem like they've been coming here since 1949.

If you look up the definition of the word "Diner" in the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, you'd read: "A small, usually inexpensive restaurant with a long counter…..

and booths……."

Say what you will, being around so long says something about staying power…… We found the staff to be mostly really nice folks, patient with the wide range of customers, from cranky old folks, to people obviously fighting psychological demons, to drunk, post nightclub kids. We found the younger Servers to be much more flexible than the two older women, with chain smoker complexions, who called everyone "honey" in a raspy voice……. tough birds both of them. Half the fun is the atmosphere.

The food ranges from good honest fare, to stuff that harkens flashbacks to the stuff I ate in my Junior High and High School Cafeteria. As I often say, "it's a fine line between comfort and really bad food".

So for better or worse, here's a rundown of a couple of dishes we've had at Rudford's…..

The Hot Roast Beef Sandwich ($9.25):

When I requested Fries with Gravy instead of mashed potato, the young man told me "no problem", and that's what I got. Perfectly fried steak style fries smothered in brown gravy….Sysco heaven! Ever since I visited Canada back in the 90's, I've loved Poutine. The roast beef was tender, but stringy, and reminded me of cafeteria fare, but it was not inedible. There's something about old fashioned white bread soaked in gravy that I enjoy as well….

The Missus ordered the Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs:

Though the pounded beef was very tender, it was super bland. The country gravy was like eating paste. The Missus did enjoy the O'Brien potatoes, and of course She rarely meets an egg She doesn't like.

One quick thing….what is it with these places and toast? They all seem to do toast right, dry but not crumbly, a good tool for sopping up egg, or other stuff…..

On another visit, I wasn't too happy with my Turkey Club Sandwich ($7.95)…. funny thing, to the day She passed on, my Mom always called this a "Clubhouse Sandwich", never a Club Sandwich:

I appreciated the perfect smear of mayo. It's a funny thing, I eschew mayo on most sandwiches, but must have it on my Club(house). I wasn't too happy with the processed turkey and for some reason the American Cheese threw the entire sandwich off.

Lucky for me, I requested and received this for my fries (crinkle cut Sysco-fied this time):

Yes…..brown gravy. Given to me, no charge… a meal saver…..

The Missus got the Monday thru Friday 2 Eggs, Potatoes, and Toast special ($3.79):

No complaints from the Missus……

On Sunday there are two dinner/lunch specials. Like all of these type meals it starts with soup. In this case a pretty decent chicken noodle soup. Noodles kinda mushy, but okay…..

The Missus ordered the Chicken and Dumplings.

Let's just say that for us, this was an example of the worst that restaurants of this ilk put out. Bland, poorly prepared, purely created for the "dead tastebud society". Ick………

I had the Turkey Dinner, which did look kinda cafeteria-like, down to the little thingy of cranberry sauce:

But the turkey was decent, moist and tender enough. I didn't care for the stuffing, which was very mushy. And of course, I got you-know-what-with-you-know-what. Do you see a common thread????

Stay away from the cooked vegetables if you can though, unless you just had dental surgery, or perhaps forgot your dentures. The veggies were also artificially sweet…..

Remember the peas you squished between your teeth with your tongue to gross people out???? Perfect candidates here…..

On one occasion, I tried the Chili and Scrambled Eggs with potatoes and toast ($7.95):

It turned out that the Missus really enjoyed the chili….. so She ordered it on a return visit, and got a bit of "chili revenge"…… She still wants more though……

At the end of the day, the food may ride the mediocre line, but the characters(on both sides of the counter) and attitude can't be beat. I think there's a place for Rudford's, a place where you don't concern yourself with words and phrases like "non commodity", "organic", "sustainable", "free-range", or "fair trade", and for some reason I find that kinda well, refreshing…… in a retro kinda way. I'll concern myself with those other issues on another day.

To quote one of the Server's when asked for Honey-Mustard Dressing; "I can give you honey, and I can give you mustard darlin', but we can't do honey-mustard…. we're old school!"

Rudford's Restaurant
2900 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA

Open 24 hours everyday

Mariscos y Birria Los Tokados – the Birria de Chivo

September 15, 2009 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants

**** Mariscos y Birria Los Tokados has closed

Years ago, while driving down Main Street in Chula Vista, I noticed a shop in one of those ubiquitous strip malls. What grabbed me was the large "Birria" sign. Recently, I happened to be in the area, and drove by to see if the place was still there. And it was……with even more lettering!

Is there anything that's not on the menu??? They even say they serve Menudo Blanco!

This being about 930 in the morning, I peered into the dining area….. where not a soul was stirring!

Not knowing if the place was empty, I saw two women behind the counter, and asked with some hesitation, "abierto?" The two woman cracked up, and said "Si" in unison, and one of them walked me to a table and handed me a menu.

A few seconds later, some still sizzling tortilla chips hit the table:

Along with two salsas, one of which was pleasantly spicy and tart.

On his visit, I was really interested in only one item, the Birria de Chivo (spicy stewed goat – $9.25), which arrived soon after ordering.

The Birria was very mild in flavor, and wasn't very spicy or herbaceous at all. It was very rich though, mildly gamey, and quite filling. I should have asked for that little shaker of oregano that these places always have hanging around.

Of course the Birria arrived with all the usual accompaniments. The tortillas were routine, but nice and hot. Onions, cilantro, and lime are a must. The beans were terribly bland though.

The Birria was so rich, that I couldn't finish it off, so I hesitantly asked the young lady, "para lleva por favor….." To which she replied laughingly, "muy bueno Espaniol." I'm sure that the two women found me amusing. I ended up having the rest of the Birria with rice later that night.

Not the best Birria I've ever had, but the menu at Los Tokados is very extensive, and I might return one day. So if you're a regular customer, I'd like to know what you recommend.

Mariscos y Birria Los Tokados
2638 Main St.
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Hours – Daily 9am – 8pm

Copan Ruinas, Honduras: Comedor Ikchel and Copan Ruinas Archaelogical Site part 1

September 14, 2009 mmm-yoso Honduran Food, Honduras, Travel

There was of course one reason for our visit to Copan Ruinas. It was to visit the Mayan ruins of Copan. There was just so much, that I'll do it as a "two-parter ". Because of the length, I'll do it in two parts, but I'll start this post with Comedor Ikchel, a little Comedor we noticed on a side street away from Parque Central.

When we arrived, the rustic looking comedor was empty.

The reason we chose this comedor was the menu, which was small, and interesting in spite of the over-abundance of Espaguetis (spaghetti) and Hamburguesa type dishes.

We placed our order, and I requested some "Encurtido", except this itme the lady running the place had no clue as to what I was saying. Finally, with some hand signals, and the word cebollas (onions), and some laughter, she figured out what these bozo customers were requesting, and a nice refreshing bowl of pickled onions, peppers, and carrots made its way to the table.

As we had learned from our meal at Las Tejitas, many of the dishes are made from scratch to order. And from this experience, it is the same with Almuerzos (lunch). We sat back, and watched the Honduran soap opera on the tube, while we waited for our meal. About forty-five minutes later, our meals arrived.

The Missus had trumped me, and ordered what I had been looking at, the Pollo a la Cerveza, chicken braised in beer. And it was a fine looking piece of dark meat chicken.

The chicken was full of flavor derived from the oregano, onions, cilantro, celery, and peppers used in cooking. It was without a doubt a "rice" dish. As is typical with these type of lunches, the multi starch trio of rice, fries, and tortillas were present and accounted for.

I had ordered the Pollo a la Plancha, which is usually a grilled chicken, but in this base a sauteed piece of white meat chicken.

It was pretty dry, and the sauce tasted much like bottled American BBQ sauce. Strangely, the Missus liked this….or more likely knew I enjoyed the other dish more, and gave me what She ordered.

Along with a large bottle of water the damage came out to about $10/US. That's it for the food on this post.

Copan Ruinas Archaelogical Park Part 1 – The Museum of Sculpture:

Having gotten our feet wet with a visit to the Museo Regional de Arqueología Maya, and having done some research the Missus and I knew that having a guide would be a necessity. Great Mayan scholar and Archaeologist Sylvanus Morley once called the Ruins at Copan the "Athens of the New World". While dwarfed in size by grand Mayan sites, such as Tikal, the ruins at Copan manages to squeeze in some of the most intricate and fascinating Mayan sculptures.

After paying our admission, and hiring an English speaking guide, a former school teacher with ten years of experience as a guide, who turned out to be very knowledgable. We were on our way.

It was decided that we should first visit the Museum of Sculpture, just across the parking lot, and we were so glad we did. To enter the Museum, you enter through the mouth of a serpent into a dark tunnel, which represents Xibalba the "underworld". You walk out of the tunnel, and the first thing that grabs you is the reproduction of the Rosalila Temple at the center of the museum, it is quite a site to behold. And to think, this temple was built, only to be buried by the next ruler, who would build on top of former temples.

From here, it's mostly photos, of the displays, along with signs that provide information about the various pieces.

This wonderfully intricate sculpture was one of my favorites. The amount of detail was amazing, and I can only imagine how surprised and overjoyed the Archaelogists were at finding this treasure.

This sculpture is called "The Scribe" and I was told it represents the God which protects the Mayan scribes and artists who were held in high esteem in Mayan civilization.

You can see the paintbrush in the Scribe's right hand….

The Missus's favorite sculpture in the museum was the "Old Man". It is believed that this was a representation of Pauahtun, the Elders who "held up the skies".

The Missus spent a good amount of time in front of this sculpture. I guess it "spoke to Her" in some way…..

In fact, after our morning touring the ruins, we returned to the Sculpture Museum, so the Missus could look at this scultpure one more time…..

I'll cover the ruins in our next Honduras post. For those who hung on until the end, thanks so much!

Sunday Silliness

September 13, 2009 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, yoso-silly

It's been a pretty long day for me, so just for a little levity, here's what I found while doing some shopping:

Unbelievable….. Primo Beer in my neck of the woods. For those who don't know anything about Primo, here's some info. For many years Primo was THE Local beer in Hawaii. Several generations of "locals" were raised on the stuff, and most of my friends have watched "Uncle get all 'yota'" after over imbibing on a six pack or two, or three…… I remember Primo being the "secret ingredient" for an Uncle's Chicken Hekka recipe, of course by the time the Chicken Hekka was being started he's already completed a couple of cycles…..

I had read the Honolulu Advertiser article mentioning Primo's return, and Pomai's post , but the last thing I expected was to see this stocked on store shelves in San Diego.

But there it was, and I'm glad they kept the original logo…..

Actually, I remember thinking that this was pretty heinous stuff that was best suited having a brown paper bag wrapped around it. But I hit drinking age during Primo's waning years, I believe Primo was on the decline from the early eighties. Still, for old times sake, I made sure to grab a couple and this on the other hand was not bad, very light, mildly sweet, nothing to write home about, but like the old Primo slogan went – "chance 'um"……. or was it, "no can hea, get beer in my ear"….. or something like that…..

I hope everyone had a great weekend, I'll be back with something a bit more substantial tomorrow!