mmm-yoso – Page 458 – 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.

Pho Hiep & Grill- someplace else in the same neighborhood.

July 13, 2009 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog- a diary of what Kirk. ed (from Yuma), Cathy and a few others eat. We don't "review", we merely describe. Sometimes without a thesaurus.

Hi. Since I saw Kirk just posted about durian fro-yo from Flavaful, I thought I could just finish up talking about eating at the the only place on that corner of town (Linda Vista and Ulric 92111) that we from this little blog have not talked about in the last 12 months.

Yes, Kirk did blog about it a few years ago , when it was called Pho Hoa Hiep, so it's about time for an update anyhow. Pho (Hoa) Hiep (& Grill) has been here since 1991.

It is across from the landromat just around the corner from Flavaful Yogurt , which is next to Thuan Phat, which is next to Yum Cha Cafe, just across the parking lot from Pho Hoa Huong, which is next to LV Sandwiches across the street from Olga's Food Place, which is just across the other street from Sab-E-Lee. {OK, I skipped the taco shop on the other corner, and I can go there and eat again, soon, with my camera this time and let you know about it.}

The reason The Mister and I like this place is because they never skimp on add ins for pho. There are always two pieces of "sawtooth" for beef soups, plenty of bean sprouts, basil, jalapeno and usually a half of a lime (or lemon, depending on the timeof year) to squeeze in.

I have always enjoyed the deep anise flavored, rich, broth here and the fresh cilantro and non-mushy/non-"clump" of noodles served. This is pho tai (rare sliced beef) and it is $5.50 for a small and $6.35 for large.

As an aside, Pho Hiep is the very first place I ever had pho and The Mister and I clearly remember when we first ordered, many, many years ago, pointing to what we thought we wanted (Dac Biet) and our waitress (yes this is one of very very few pho restaurants where women take your order) told us, quite clearly "You no want that" and then directed us to what we apparently did want…

On one recent visit, I got the #52 Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio ($6.95) Char-Broiled pork and spring rolls on top of chilled rice vermicelli on top of a shredded salad which includes lettuces and mint. This pretty much is my "to go" Vietnamese dish in the summer. Except the other day, I went all wild and crazy and got #57-

Bun Bo Nuong Cha Ngo- Also $6.95 and grilled beef instead of grilled pork. I like the flavor of the grilled pork a bit more than the grilled beef, though. But both are good.

The Mister ordered #63 – Bun Mang Vit (small- $5.95) (large is $6.95)- young bamboo and duck meat soup. Another wonderfully flavorful rich broth, not too oily, and served with

The traditional toppings for duck ,which include cabbage and lettuce, as well as the bean sprouts, jalapeno and lime. The young bamboo is tasty with a good texture and the duck meat is plentiful and flavorful. We were lucky enough to get the liver in the soup today.

Since it was a *hot* day, we each got our own fresh made lemonade ($2.35 each). The one on the right is Da Chanh- regular lemonade-fresh squeezed and the sugar was dissolved with warm water. The one on the left, Soda Chanh, is fresh squeezed with club soda added. You can see the sugar still on the bottom of the glass, needing to be mixed in because it was not dissolved. Much sweeter.

Now you pretty much have our take on all the places to eat at that intersection, where there is, unusually, a good parking situation.

Pho Hiep & Grill 6947 Linda Vista Road, #H San Diego 92111 website (the site only has the Chula Vista menu listed- prices at this Linda Vista location are less; I have a paper copy and can scan it for you)

Happy Birthday to my brother! Happy Bastille Day to all of my friends who celebrate!

More Grilling – Revised Kalbi Recipe & Ono Kiawe Charcoal

July 12, 2009 mmm-yoso Cooking, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Recipes

Was it hot enough for you today? Sheesh…… Of course, the Missus decided that She wanted some grilling done this weekend, so why not?

I originally posted a Kalbi recipe over four years ago, and the recipe has changed a bit since then, so I thought I'd post an update. Since we often use our posts as references, I hope that you don't mind if I do this post. We'll be back with another restaurant tomorrow.

You'll notice that these aren't the usual crosscut short ribs that you see in most places. Nowadays, if I'm going to put out the effort ot make Kalbi, I'll always go for the thick cut ribs, and slice them myself. I can go anywhere and get cheapo "LA Kalbi" which is what they call the perpendicular cross-cut ribs. So I'll always go with good quality thick cut ribs.

You can see how I cut these in this post, though I've gotten a bit better at it.

I've also noticed that higher grade ribs are saved for the thick cut ribs at Zion Market. These were really good, perhaps even good enough for Saeng Kalbi (unmarinated ribs).

Another standard when it comes to making the sauce I use is "Mulyeot" – Malt Syrup. Along with adding a nice sheen to the ribs, it adds a more interesting flavor, and is not as sweet. If you have time search out a Barley Malt Syrup, it has better flavor. I was dodging shopping carts and crowds at Zion Market and was in a rush when I bought this. I also tend to add some fruit, usually Asian Pear to my marinade, but in this case settled for some Kiwi. I've stopped using papaya, not because it's not effective, but because it works a bit too well, and can turn your meat to mush. Be aware that my Kalbi is not on the sweet side, so you may want to adjust the sugar level. You may also want to cut the amount in half for smaller quantities. Remember to taste your marinade. Also, the sesame oil is optional, sometimes I use it, sometimes not. I've pared down my recipe over the last couple of years, of course I kinda like things simple…….

Kalbi Marinade

Marinade – enough for 4-5 pounds of ribs
1 Cup Soy Sauce
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Malt Syrup
1/4 Cup Rice Wine – I used Sake
4 Cloves of Garlic
4 Stalks Green Onion
1 Kiwi or 1/3 Asian Pear
1-2 Tb Sesame Oil

– Roughly chop garlic, fruit, and green onion and place in a blender.
– Add soy sauce, sugar, and malt syrup and blend.
– Add rice wine and sesame oil, and briefly blend.
– Taste and adjust flavor.
– Marinade ribs at least 6 hours, but no more than 16.

The Missus' grilled mushroom of the day was Eryngii (King Mushrooms). Simply seasoned with sea salt and olive oil, thse were really good. I chose mushrooms that weren't too large, large one's might be attractive, but for grilling I've found them tough and dry.

Ono Kiawe Charcoal.

While just taking a quick look at Barbeques Galore…..where I just like to kinda look around, but had never bought anything, I saw this bag:

Wow, Kiawe Charcoal! Man, I haven't even heard the word Kiawe for who knows how long. As I inspected the bag, a salesman swooped in to make a sale. I quickly noticed the "Product of Mexico" on the bag, which is not a big deal since Kiawe is a species of Mesquite . I was more concerned about this being sold as "A Hawaiian tradition". Of course, it was quickly pointed out that it also said "Created in Hawaii", and was told that the wood comes from Hawaii, but is made into Charcoal in Mexico. I wasn't fully sold on that, but what the heck…...

Now, I'm not a charcoal expert, nor an expert on anything really, but this tasted pretty close to what I remembered. It also popped and crackled like crazy, and ashed(makes a good bit of ash) up just like Kiawe. Good flavor though. Also, some of the chunks were more like stumps….they were huge and unwieldy, and needed to be broken down. It lights quickly and burns fast, I'd recommend mixing with another hardwood charcoal.

As you can see, Sammy's still not quite sold…though he did think the rib bones were mighty tasty.

I hope you managed to keep cool over this hot weekend!

Durian Fro-yo anyone? Flavaful Yogurt

July 10, 2009 mmm-yoso Desserts

After a nice meal at Sab E Lee, FOY (friend of yoso) JohnL suggested that some Fro-yo would be the perfect way to cap off the evening. My initial response was, "Fro-yo? Hmmm, I'm not quite sure." It was at that point that JohnL said the magic words, "I think you might be interested, they have Durian frozen yogurt….." Durian fro-yo? You couldn't get me there fast enough! Lucky for me it wouldn't be a long wait. Flavaful Yogurt is less than a block away, in the old Ba Le location.

I had thought this place was a water shop, but they also do frozen yogurt.

And sure enough they had Durian…….

Overall, I wasn't too impressed with the Durian flavor, it tasted more like "off-coconut". Not enough of real Durian flavor. I did enjoy the Coconut, which was just as good as the version at Yogurt Lounge…who it seems is always out of coconut. I also enjoyed the Lychee fro-yo, which if a bit too "icy" was an excellent palate refresher.

The Missus was a bit dubious when I mentioned Flavaful Yogurt to Her. But a few days later we dropped by and got a cup………to digress a moment. Did you ever notice that no matter what you put in your cup, it always comes to at least five bucks???? OK, back to Earth….the Missus really enjoyed the Plain, coconut, and taro. As usual we shared a cup. Any more would have triggered my lactose intolerance. I guess the Missus liked it. We were back a few days later.

The flavor of the plain get kinda close to Beijing style yogurt in flavor if not in texture. This fro-yo has good balance, not too tart, not too sweet. It is a bit sweeter than Yogurt Lounge, but not in a bad way. For me, it's a bit too "icy" on the sorbet side, but it is our current favorite.

I went to Flavaful Yogurt to try the Durian flavor, and ended up coming back for the lychee, coconut, and plain.

Flavaful Yogurt/Avian Fresh Drinking Water
6937 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

Thanks for having me check out Flavaful, JohnL!

Turo Turo Thursday: Olga’s Food Place

July 9, 2009 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants

I've got a bunch of one or two-off sets of photos consisting of visits to various "turo-turo" (point-point) shops all of San Diego. I really didn't know how, or where to place them. I was thinking of just doing a week of these "steam table" shops, which are a staple. I do wish there would be more medium range restaurants like Tribu Grill and Gerry's Grill in San Diego, but alas, whether based on attitudes or local culture it is not to be. So I've decided to do one of these places every week or so until I run out!

You may have seen the sign, so you may think that name of this joint is "Filipino Lumpia". Unless, of course, you've read Dennis's post, which you can find here.

But if you enter through the door…..

You might find a quaint "turo-turo" shop. I say "might" because the first time I ventured through those doors, right after I saw the Filipino Lumpia sign, the place was empty, totally empty, and not even my "hellos" would create a stir in the place.

My next visit would be much, much, different. I happened to walk in when Rocky was working. Rocky, along with his wife Olga run Olga's Food Place and Lumpia Factory. Rocky, originally from Cavite is a jovial and friendly soul. At first glance, he reminded me of retired entertainer Teddy Tanaka, circa 1970's in dress.

There are usually 8 steam table offerings daily, and something even more special on Fridays and Saturdays:

In case you think that Filipino and Cuban food make strange bedfellows, you wouldn't be alone. You see, Olga is Cuban, and the quiet older woman there on Fridays and Saturdays, who I believe is Olga's Mother cooks one or two Cuban Dishes. Rocky is easy to talk to, and if you show any interest or knowledge of Filipino Food, he'll undoubtedly ask you, "are you Filipino"? I saw him ask a somewhat incredulous African-American young man this, when he ordered the adobo; "you know ADOBO! Are you Filipino???" Somehow, coming from Rocky, this is just plain charming, as I've been asked three times, and can't help but chuckle……..

On this day, I went with the two item and starch turo-turo standard($5.00), selecting the just prepared Cuban Arroz con Pollo (Chicken Rice) as my starch.

In one corner, I selected the Fish Sarsiado. This sarsiado preparation used tilapia, which was on the dry side. The tomato-onion based sauce had good flavor, and this was very low on the "patis" (fish sauce) scale.

In the other corner was Cuban Chicken Fricasse (Fricasé de Pollo):

Mild in flavor but very moist, this was a rustic home-style dish.

My favorite was the Arroz con Pollo, in spite of the fact the rice was on the mushy side, was full of flavor.

On other occasions, I've arrived to find the place packed with a swarm of young folks, reading, playing, and just being kids. I think that Rocky and Olga have a huge family, and extended family.

One non-Friday I arrived and just went with the simple two item combo, this time with a version of Tocino and Adobo.

The radiation red tocino was dry and flavorless, and left me unimpressed.

The Adobo on the other hand was pretty good. Notice I say "adobo", not chicken adobo, or pork adobo. This was a combination chicken and pork adobo.

The meats were tender and moist, and the black pepper flavor in the sauce stood out. This was not bad. I'd say this was easily worth the five bucks, not "National City level" food, but I think a bit better than Phil-Am a few miles away.

Olgas main business is in lumpia. At four for a buck, it's pretty much a bargain.

The pork, and the "mixed" is better than the beef, and though not quite as good as FredCel's lumpia, you can get 100 lumpia for $25!

Overall, an interesting Mom-and-Pop-Filipino-Cuban-turo-turo joint. Now that's one of a kind…..

Olga's Food Place
2314 Morley St
San Diego, CA 92111

Please read Dennis's post on Olgas on a Radiused Corner, which can be found here.

Guatemala: Tikal, Flores, and Cafe Arqueologico Yaxha

July 7, 2009 mmm-yoso Guatemala, Guatemalan Food, Travel

Even though we had our eyes glued to the little television in our room (the whole Swine Flu story was just breaking) most of the evening, we had no problem waking for our 5am bus to Tikal. Even at 5am, it was still pretty muggy. We made the 60 plus Kilometer trip squeezed into a mini-van, and arrived without incident. We purchased our tickets, and started walking under the jungle canopy making our way through the sprawling ruins of Tikal. But not before checking out the "Do Not" sign……

Which would have taken one several minutes to read…..and led to the inevitable question, "was breathing allowed?"

The park itself is a set of trails which meander up, around, and through the ruins. The grand scale of the pyramids are pretty amazing, rising up in the air piercing the jungle canopy. You also soon come to understand that only a fraction of Tikal has been restored. All of those mounds and hills you walk past are structures waiting to see the light of day.

According to what I've read, Tikal was first settled around 900 B.C…..yes, B.C. It was a minor settlement until the collapse of El Mirador between 250 – 150 B.C. when the first ceremonial structures were built. By 250 A.D. Tikal had become an important, and powerful Mayan "state". In 562 A.D. Tikal was crushed, and period called the "hiatus" began. For 130 years, no new structures were erected at Tikal. In 682 A.D. Tikal once again gained power, and a frenzy of new building began. At the height of power it is estimated that Tikal's population topped 100,000 and the city covered almost 20 square miles. By the 9th Century A.D. Tikal began feeling the strain of population growth, and eventually the city was abandoned until it's rediscovery.

Without a doubt, the most impressive area of Tikal is the "Great Plaza". This large grassy area is dominated by two towering temples. Temple I towering 44 feet, also known as the "Jaguar Temple" is probably the most well known structure in Tikal as it is shown in most of the tourist photos and literature.

Directly facing it is Temple II (Temple of the Masks) at about 125 feet.

As you can see, there are some fairly steep stairs up Temple II, from which you can get a good view of the "Great Plaza".

It's hard to believe that building of the Great Plaza had already been underway during the time of Christ!

And like many things in life….it's much easier going up, than it is coming down!

As grand as it all was, for some strange reason "temple fatigue" set in pretty quick for me. Though the Missus was having a grand time. She being the one who never met a set of stairs She didn't want to climb. She even scaled the 190 foot Temple V, and got this wonderful shot of Tikal rising out of the canopy.

By noon we both had seen enough, and caught the first minibus back to Flores. The minibus thing was interesting, as tourists were squeezed in, and than even more room was found for locals who used the vans as an informal bus service to get from location to location.

We arrived back in dusty Flores famished. We had given a thought to trying out one of the wild game restaurants across the causeway in Santa Elena, but after reading that much of the wild game is poached, we decided to give it a pass. I had also read about a restaurant owned by a German Architect who specializes in monument conservation named Dieter Richter. Apparently, Mr Richter has worked on many remote sites, and has a restaurant called Café Arqueológico Yaxha. On the map, the Cafe seemed to be very far away, on the other side of Flores. But Flores, being perhaps the length of less than 3 football fields wide, it was just a 10 minute walk, taking the long way.

The interior is bright, and photos of various Mayan sites are posted on the walls.

And among the Hamburguesa, pancakes, and various versions of spaghetti was a page of "Mayan" specialties. We placed our order, and in keeping with restaurants in Honduras and Guatemala, we waited. Waiting for your meal in these countries is not a bad thing; it means that your meal is being prepared fresh. Sitting with a growling belly for an hour is not uncommon as we found later on in Copan.

The Missus ordered the Filete de Pescado al Tikinchic:

Unlike the Yucatanian Tikinchic I've had the "sauce" was not citrus based, but tomato and pepper based. The Black Snook (robalo) was cooked to perfection. The Missus loved this, and even enjoyed the mass produced corn chips!

I ordered the Pollo con salsa de Tamarindo:

This was a piece of boneless, skinless chicken thigh glazed in a tamarind sauce. The chicken was tough and stringy, kinda to be expected. The sauce was super tangy and puckery, and I think I detected a hint of soy sauce? Nevertheless, it was tasty. This was not bland in the least bit.

Curious, we also ordered the Yuca con Hierba Mora.

At first we were disappointed that the Yuca was just served on the side as with our other dishes. In essence it was a scrambled egg dish……but a scrambled egg dish that we enjoyed! The greens had an interesting mildly bitter and astringent effect, which heightened the flavor of everything else.

So after I return home, I look up Hierba Mora, and gasp! Everything I find lists it as Black Nightshade, which got my attention. Especially the part that read "When mature they should be considered poisonous as they may contain high levels of solanine, but in general the plant is not as poisonous as many of its nightshade cousins." Yikes! But reading this publication put me at ease. Within the document it lists the plants use as a pot-herb in Guatemala, saying that young plants areconsumed in large quantities.

It could have been that we had not eaten since the night before, but this meal left us more than satisfied.

Café Arqueológico Yaxha
Calle 15 de Septembre
Flores, Guatemala

Flores itself was a pretty dusty town. It didn't help that all the streets were dug up. Instead of streets you had trenches, some of which were ten feet deep.

In some instances, shops and building were isolated, and you had to cross those trenches via planks. As was the case in the local Tienda (market).

In others words, I got to say that I had to "walk the plank to get Agua Pura (water)". I'm sure that all the construction was for the good of all the future visitors…..

In Flores, was stayed at the Hotel Casa Amelia.

The rooms were modest, but clean.

Dig the curtains made from burlap sacks!!!!

But Casa Amelia had one commodity we relished, well two. Air conditioning, and a (small) television.

And we had a view of Lake Peten Itza out our window. The Missus took this photo of kids being, well, kids using a sunken boat as a swimming pool.

And in spite of the wonderful sunset:

We both knew it was time to move on…….

O’ Yea! Vietnamese Cuisine

July 6, 2009 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** O'Yea has closed

Over a year after reading Mizducky's post on the quaintly named O Yea! we finally made it for a visit. You can read all about it in her post here. If I recall, this used to be a Thai Restaurant in a former life. The interior is rather pink…..

The one odd thing is not the color, or any of the decor. In many kitchens you'll here the "ding" of the bell when a dish is ready for pick-up. At OY, you'll hear Big Ben Chime…."ding-dong-ding-dong…..ding-dong-ding-dong"!

The menu is just a tad South of huge, with 96+ dishes ranging from Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup) to full on Hot Pot Dinners (Lau), and this doesn't include the 30 or so drinks. It's enough to trigger off "Vietnamese Menu Overload".

I decided to order the combination Com Tam pictured on the tabletop ($6.50):

The first thing I always try to note is the fragrance of the broken rice; for some reason it always stimulates my appetite. Unfortunately, the aroma of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline was lacking. It was appropriate as this dish was basically a "non-starter". The grilled pork was hard, greasy, and tough, though the "Cha" (steamed egg) was moist but bland. The "Bi" was dry, and lacked flavor.

The Missus had Her mind set on one thing from the beginning, those savory orbs of rice flour called Banh Khot ($6):

The Missus, an avowed Kanom Krok fan, had expected something similar with regards to texture; crisp exterior, light at first bite, with a still molten, custard like interior. This was already cold by the time it hit the table, and it was soggy all the way through.

Not a great meal by any stretch of the imagination. Still, I decided that I'd give the place another shot. Though the Missus decided to stay home and have leftovers.

Again, faced with the sizable menu, I was at a loss as to what to order. Not that the very nice young lady waiting for my order was pushy, when she was in fact quite nice……I think she's used to the initial state of confusion. I finally went with the Bun Bo Hue, one of my favorite noodle soups.

When the bowl arrived I was very surprised at the portion size…..it is priced at only five bucks($5):

In spite of the promising appearance, I could barely detect the scent of fish sauce. Nor could I pick up the aroma of lemongrass nor shrimp paste. Tasting the broth confirmed what my nose had not detected. The broth was very bland, annatto colored, salt water bland. The broth was also South of hot. BBH demands a scalding broth to take care of the herbs and vegetables provided. Notice I said vegetables, not garnish. For me the chopped greens are an integral part of the dish.

Too bad because the noodles were prepared well, and in spite of the lack of Cha Lua (steamed defatted pork sausage), there was meat galore in this bowl. The meat was very tender, the brisket full of flavor. The addition of Rau Ram (Vietnamese Coriander) added a nice peppery component to the bowl.

This bowl reminded me of the version at Pho Hoa Cali Express. It's Bun Bo Hue designed for Pho lovers, if you're looking for that, it's waiting for you here. I found this lacking the earthy, spicy, bright flavors of a good Bun Bo Hue.

I had really to like this restaurant; the prices are good, and I had really nice and friendly service. So maybe one of my FOYs (Friends of Yoso) out there can tell what of the 90 plus items on the menu is worth trying????

O'Yea! Vietnamese Cuisine
4660 El Cajon Blvd #102
San Diego CA 92115

Five Foodies Attack Tacos in Yuma

July 5, 2009 ed fromyuma Taco Shops, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Today ed (from Yuma) wants you to join Tina and him and some others for tacos. Kirk or Cathy will be your tour guide for the blog's next post.

Just like Chaucer's pilgrims headed toward Canterbury, true foodies all make a trip to that culinary Mecca of Yuma, Arizona. Okay, stop laughing – just kidding. But recently we were fortunate to have Rich Kaszeta, a professional bacon photographer (among other careers) and a food blogger from New Hampshire (Offbeat Eats) visit our desert metropolis.

Even though he claimed to be in town for work, it seemed like his real — though secret — purpose was to eat as much Mexican food as he could in a week. Micaela, her husband Brian, Tina, and I joined him for one evening of tacoing on 8th St (Calle Ocho).

Since we wanted to try places that the others had not visited before, we started at Asadero Los Compadres, which Tina and I had tracked down to its new location at the corner of 8th and 20th Ave: After we ordered the tacos, we were given a couple of squeeze bottles and a standard wheel of condiments: Certainly nothing very special here. The best, in my opinion was the pico de gallo (also sometimes called salsa la bandera): The yellow squeeze bottle contained guacamole sauce that was rather thin and not especially full of avocado flavor. The red bottle contained a very fiery salsa.

The only Agua Fresca available was a homemade jamaica: It was decent, but for me, nothing to write home about — but you never know about somebody whose home is in New Hampshire.

We each ordered uno taco de cabeza: uno de asada: y uno de pastor: My favorite was the cabeza, which was rich, soft, and deeply flavored.

Of course that preference may be because I misjudged how spicy the red salsa was, so my other two tacos tasted mostly like fire. Chewy and flavorful fire, indeed, but too saucy for me to discern much else. Kirk would have loved them. The general concensus of the others was that the pastor was good, and Rich and Tina, in particular, said the Asada seemed tender, smoky, and fresh. Perhaps that is a result of the outdoor grill on which the pieces of steak were cooked: After pausing to appreciate the sunset, which made even the parking lot of a service station seem kind of beautiful, we went off to the next place, Corona: (Thanks, Rich, for that photo)

To be honest, I had been a little disappointed in los Compadres, though that may have been partly my own overzealous squeezing. It had been good, but not outstanding, so I approached Corona with some trepidation; after all, I had not been that impressed with it on my last visit.

That just goes to show how little I know because all of us thought that Corona was, on this evening at least, the better of the two. Here, the condiments are lined up on a counter, but unfortunately my picture doesn't show the grilled jalapenos and onions: I started with a chicken taco and an Asada taco: We all agreed that the chicken was outstanding, flavorful, tender, and moist. The best chicken taco I've eaten in Yuma. While the Asada had a nice smoky flavor, it seemed a little chewier than the Asada at the first taco truck. I can't say more.

Before we began eating, someone said "Micaela's tacos are so pretty, you need to take a picture of them." So I did: And yes, those are beautiful tacos. And you can also see how much a person can alter/develop/influence the taste of his/her taco by choosing different combos of condiments.

As we were eating, every one was praising the pastor, so I had to have one of those as well. After decoration, it looked like this: Although the meat was a little greasy, the taste of the pastor was excellent — succulent, tender, smokey and fully flavored. In general, we thought it better than the pastor at los Compadres.

We also appreciated that a free bowl of beans came with each order:
While not the world's finest frijoles, they were still welcome. Of course, we could have added onion, cilantro, and roasted jalapeno etc to the little bowls, but none of us was thinking clearly that evening.

In addition, we all loved the limonada (oops, not pictured), though Brian and Micaela reported that the horchata was a little grainy at the bottom.

While these two trucks may not be the very best in Yuma, Rich assured us that they were better than any in New Hampshire. In any case, we all had a good time, and as Micaela said, "it's so nice to go out with people who don't think that it's weird to talk about food all night." Yup, she's right about that!

A Grillin’ Fourth – An updated Lebanese Garlic Paste Recipe, and a simple Greek Marinade

July 4, 2009 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Cooking, Recipes

Happy Fourth Everyone!

This year, just like millions of households across the US we decided to do some grillin' for the Fourth of July. We just kept things simple. I do have one bad habit….I'm notorious for trying to squeeze every single last spark from my charcoal, so a morning of grilling usually encompasses at least several different preparations.

This year, along with roasting peppers for future use in sandwiches and salads, I found that the Missus loves simple grilled oyster mushrooms. The mushrooms are simply coated with Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and seasoned with sea salt and oregano. The char was removed from the peppers, and it was topped with Greek Feta from North Park Produce and roasted in a pan.

The Missus also wanted some grilled sardines, and I found some fresh local sardines(Iwashi) at Nijiya.

I also bought some Lamb Shoulder from NPP, cut it into cubes, and used my general purpose Greek Marinade for the meat. It is so easy that I'm kinda embarrassed to share:

Greek style Marinade for Lamb or Chicken:

1/2 Cup Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 Cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
6-8 cloves of garlic minced
1-2 Tb dried oregano
1 Tb Kosher Salt

– Mix ingredients together. Taste and adjust seasoning.
– Marinade 1-2 lbs of meat overnight.

I used the meat for kabobs:

The marinade did a great job tenderizing the meat. I ate these wrapped in a pita with a nice smear of Garlic Sauce.

Speaking of Garlic Sauce, here's an update of the recipe I posted back in 2006. Going for the "Zankou" effect, I added mashed potato to give the sauce body.

Lebanese Garlic Sauce:
2 Bulbs of Garlic peeled and separated
1/2 Cup Lemon Juice
3/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Large Russet Potato, boiled and mashed
2 Tsp Kosher Salt

– Combine garlic, lemon juice, and salt in a blender.
– Blend until a smooth "paste" is achieved
– While blender is running, slowly add olive oil into the blender in a thin stream until the mixture thickens.
– After mixture thickens, stop the blender and add 2-3 Tb mashed potato, and blend. Keep adding mashed potato until desired thickness is reached.
– Refrigerate overnight.

Be aware that your breath will probably be politically incorrect for a while after consuming this.

The last item for the grill were some chicken wings. I had eight wings total, so I seasoned four of the wings with sea salt and canola oil. In need of some variety, I took a few tablespoons of the garlic sauce, and a few tablespoons of canola oil, added a touch of salt and rubbed the other four wings down with the mixture. I let the wings sit for about 20 minutes or so.

The garlic wings are on the left, the salt only wings are on the right:

I think I'll use my "old" garlic sauce recipe and marinate some wings overnight next time. I do enjoy hardwood charcoal grilled wings seasoned with just salt.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Fourth of July!

Chiang Mai: Huen Phen

July 3, 2009 mmm-yoso Chiang Mai, Thai Restaurants, Thailand, Travel

Man, I can't believe it's been over 10 months since we returned from our Laos – Thailand trip, and I still haven't finished my vacation posts yet! So to make sure that I get these posts done, I thought I'd deviate from my usual chronologic posts and start with our favorite meal(s) in Chiang Mai.

We kind of regret that we didn't check out Huen Phen until our last day in Chiang Mai, we'd surely have wanted at least another lunch there. Huen Phen is located down Thanon Rachamankha, in a more sedate area of Chiang Mai.

Huen Phen itself is actually two different restaurants. During the evening, it's the crowded antique filled restaurant. During lunch, the area to the front left of the restaurant serves up steam table and noodle dishes.

The lady behind the counter was very nice, and even provided samples. I even sampled the broth for the Khao Soi, which only confirmed (this was third version I tasted) that I didn't care for it. Of course everything we asked about was met with a, "it's good…you try, you try….." Which is kinda what happened, we ended up eating enough to feed a small army. And incredibly we finished everything.

I've suddenly realized that if I went over every single dish, I'd still be writing on Monday, so I'll keep this to mostly photos. Let me just say, that I really enjoyed some of the dishes, especially the various Nahm Prik (dips/pastes) which is one of the signature dishes of Lanna (Northern Thai) cuisine. So without further ado, here are the photos:

We enjoyed lunch so much, that we returned for dinner!

Though we enjoyed lunch more, dinner was no less yummy! Especially the Nam Prik Ong, the classic Chili and Pork dip…think Thai Bolognese sauce. As much as I enjoyed that, the version with crisp pork skin was even better!

So here are the dinner photos:

Just a quick note, wouldn't you know that the only dish we didn't care for was the Morning Glory pictured above! Of course the Northern style Fish Soup was super!

I think there are times when the photos speak for themselves.

Huen Phen
112 Thanon Rachamankha
Chiang Mai, Thailand

The 2009 San Diego County Fair, Part Two

July 2, 2009 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso is the blog written by Kirk and ed (from Yuma) and Cathy, who is today's blogger.

Well, we finally made it to the Fair.

The Theme this year is "Music Mania" and the entrance gate is decorated like an old jukebox.

Don Diego, the Official Greeter is more advertising that the Fairgrounds may be sold to a private owner if the current fiscal situation in our state is not cleared up.

Inside, the Fairgrounds look the same as always.

All of the traditional County Fair events are happening.

The beef cattle, which will be up for auction on July 4 along with the dairy goats (although the kid born at the beginning of the Fair will not be sold just yet) and pigs and sheep were available for purchase if you did not want to bother with the auction.

(If you want to know auction details, send an email or comment below)

The Preserved foods, as well as the baked goods, which were all judged before the Fair opened, were on display with the ribbons that were awarded.

Interesting tidbit- every morning there is a job of cutting away mold or slime from the baked goods on display.

When entering items, at least six cookies and whole cakes and loaves of bread are entered for judging. By the end of the run of the Fair, there are many signs indicating the item was 'too good to last!'…really though, it molded away.

Now, why you are here (on the blog). Food. Go to this building, which houses the "Designs in Wood" entries.

Yes.

Go on. It's $4.75

The small 'leftovers' box is pulled from the freezer. It contains three strips of dark chocolate covered bacon.

This was by far my most favorite item here. The bacon is thick and salty and cooked well. The dark chocolate, frozen, compliments the saltiness. It was the perfect treat.

The fried cheese curds ($6) were lightly breaded in a garlic powder crust and had a nice crunch.

The cheese was squeaky and good.

The char broiled corn is always good.

The Midway is a maze of gadget selling booths.

There is a plethora of tempting sights, smells and sounds.

But I was here. And I had to.

Look at the top ad, next to the Frog Legs, which "taste like chicken". Yes. A Zucchini Weeni.

$4.75.

Good idea. Poor execution.

I admit I have *never* had a corn dog in my life. The batter on this was not corn though. It was donut batter.

The hot dog really had no flavor and all of it needed to be dipped in the ranch dressing to have any flavor.

I had such hopes for this weeni…

Instead, go next door for a "Texas Twister"

A deep fried skinned sausage deep fried with a twist of potatoes. ($8)

Much more flavorful.

Other things we bought included gelato, inside the Bing Crosby Hall. excellent. (Small, $4)

The Indian Fry Bread- strawberry cheesecake. Fresh fried bread topped with whipped cream cheese, strawberries and whipped cream ($6.50)

One chocolate and one vanilla cream puff. ($3 each). They make the pastry in the booth daily and the filling is real whipped cream. This is the only "have to" item I get. I can't get this fresh anywhere else all year.