mmm-yoso – Page 522 – 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”

April 14, 2007 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

On a recent road trip to The O.C., after surviving the food court in the Mitsuwa Marketplace, we were staggering back to our car……shell shocked by the massive crowds. But on the way out, the Missus smiled with glee when She saw, the one we can only call…The Yam-Man!

I know that these are actually sweet potatoes, but Yam-Man does have a ring to it, doesn’t it?

The Missus, faced with one of Her childhood favorites, roasted sweet potatoes could not help but purchase a few. There were some communication problems…but these were overcome by simply pointing and choosing. The gentleman was also very kind and patient…..

When the perfectly roasted tubers were revealed to the world, you couldn’t resist the fragrance of the cedar wood and sweet potatoes. These were not cheap by any means….1 large, and 1 small cost us $5. But it was worth it….

The Missus said it was the best She’s had in years! It sure brightened up Her day.

Made me think about those times when all the planets are aligned, and whether it’s a matter of timing, the environment, the company, or whatever……makes you sit back and go, "man, life is good".

I guess those moments could be caused by anything. Perhaps it’s the right "brew" at the right moment:

It could happen while having a guilty pleasure, in one of those chain restaurants.

Or perhaps having a big messy burger…..

Or something a bit more simple…..

Let’s all just sit back and go…"man, life is good!" I hope you have many of those moments this weekend!

Giving it up for the Guilty Carnivore.

Or ‘GC’ as we call him…..always cracks me up. But one of the things I enjoy are when he posts on interesting "finds", there’s one item in particular….

A few months back we purchased some after reading his post, and though I enjoy a hot dog with a more natural casing, man, these were really good! The way to go for us with these are to cook via steaming.

So naturally when I saw this post, I knew I had to give those Spicy Thai Kettle Chips a try.

The Missus and I both loved the texture, but She really didn’t care for the flavor. I enjoyed them. To me, the taste was like a cross between Ginger Senbei and a potato chip.

Great work again GC!

Phil-Am Kitchenette

April 12, 2007 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants

*** Phil-Am Kitchenette has closed. It's now Homestyle Hawaiian

I'd seen a sign similar to this one countless times while waiting for the traffic light to change at the intersection of Mesa College Drive and Linda Vista Road.

And I've probably made a mental note to check this place out just as many times, only to file it in the nether regions of my grey matter……

During a recent lunch hour, I decided to grab a bowl of Pho, only to find the restaurant closed when I arrived! Somehow, two of my lonely three remaining brains cells managed to rub against each other, and produced a memory of said sign. I arrived to a little shop that looked like a small convenience store located in a strip mall on Mesa College Drive.

With some hesitation, I entered the small and dark shop, past the shelves of Boy Bawang Cornicks and other snacks, and up to the little steam table set-up. I had also snuck up on the poor lady behind the counter and scared the crap out of her in spite of the fact that I set off the entrance "chime" when I walked in. The steam table held 8 trays of various items, some of which looked pretty good, some of which looked a a bit off….in fact the heating lamps for the steam table was turned off, doing their part to conserve energy perhaps? But when the lady saw me she smiled and turned the lamps on.

I chose a 2 item and rice combination, which went for the standard price of $5.50.

Along with the huge amount of rice, I'd ordered Longanisa(Filipino sweet sausage), since I figured that if you can't make Longanisa, you really can't make anything…

The sausages done well…no burn marks, fully cooked through. You can't really go wrong with Longanisa. I also opted for the Pork Tausi.

Now if you think this looks strangely like Pork with Black Bean, you'd be right…."Tausi" is fermented black bean…also known as "Dau See" in Cantonese. Of course the similarities in name are not coincidental. The pork was tender and had a decent, not overly salty flavor. One other thing, it was not as fatty as most versions of Tausi I've eaten. Also, even though the portion sizes were not as large (obscene) as those at Tita's Kitchenette, it was more than enough food for me, in fact I shared some of the food with our Filipino Administrative Assistant, who thought it pretty good as well.

I also grabbed a handy dandy pseudo-menu….

What I really enjoyed was the daily menu portion…."great, I can plan my lunch around what's on the menu…" Until I read the bottom portion(always read the fine print) which listed "alternate" dishes that may be substituted. I think there were 15 or 16 different dishes. To me this meant that they'll make what ever they feel like…I mean they could substitute every item on the daily menu twice over if they decided, right? This really cracked me up!

The other thing on the menu that caught our eye was the coupon, a buy 2, get 1 lunch free deal. Baaaarrgain City! Which meant a few days later we were back at Fil-Am. The problem this time was that we arrived at about 1115 am, and not everything was ready. It was a Friday, but there were only 2 items that matched the scheduled "menu". We still made the best of it….$11 for 3 plates is a bargain.

This time I got the Pork Adobo. The cubes of pork was fairly tender, and the flavoring was on the milder – black pepper side. In keeping with my previous visit, it was also less fatty, and not as salty as many versions at Turo-Turo(Point-Point) places.

The Nilaga Baka had a mild flavor, but was passable.

The meat was tender, and the veggies surprisingly were not over cooked. Best of all we got another coupon!

So, being the ravenous bargain hunters we are, we returned on another day. As before, most of the items served did not match "the list". But we did manage to find items we liked….You know I can't turn down Lechon Kawali(boiled than deep fried pork belly).

The lechon was on the "tough" side, the "skin" very hard and chewy, and the meat on the dry side. What really tasted good was the Beef Mechado(Beef Stew). (And it's not even mentioned on the menu!)

The chunks of beef were very tender, and the "sauce" was full of tomato-y goodness, nice and rich, not overly fatty. This was great with rice. No more coupons for us after this trip…I think we used up our quota!

To sum things up, the food a Fil-Am Kitchenette is a mixed bag, you never know what's on the menu for any given day(except Longanisa), but some of the dishes are prepared well, and have lots of flavor. The portion size is decent, as is the prices. I don't know if I'm the only one who noticed that the food is not as rich as most turo-turo places. For example check out this 2 item combination plate from Tita's Kitchenette:

So much food(at least 3 meals), so rich, so fatty, so good…so much guilt!

The two ladies at Fil-Am are very nice, and I'm pretty sure you'll find two items to your liking, I just wouldn't follow the listed daily menu. Fil-Am fills a void in an area filled with Pho restaurants and Taco Shops, not a bad thing necessarily, but it's nice to have choices. Fil-Am also serves breakfast, according to the menu:

So if you're in the area, and are longing for some Longsilog and Garlic Fried Rice…..

Dae Jang Keum

April 9, 2007 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

On a recent much too short visit to San Diego, I managed to sneak in one dinner with the (in)famous Ed from Yuma. We decided to check out Dae Jang Keum, the former Boo Cho, and popular Korean Barbecue that was somewhat inconsistent, sometimes good, and on one visit very disappointing. The restaurant was now on at least it’s fourth set of Owners…and I guess a name change was made, to reverse the bad karma that this location has seems to have over the last few years.

So what was once Boo Cho, was now Dae Jang Keum.

The restaurant has been renovated, and other than the configuration of the tables, the restaurant looks totally different.

Now here’s an interesting photo….

One night at while eating at Sammy’s, someone told me that this restaurant had been named after a "K Drama", those Korean Television Soap Operas that many I know are, or were, addicted to. So after returning from dinner I did a little research…and believe it or not, there was a listing in Wikipedia for the K-Drama Dae Jang Geum, aka, "Jewel in the Palace"! Now this restaurant could actually be named for Jang Geum who was the first female Physician of the Joseon (Chosun) Dynasty, or after the K-Drama….guess which I think it is?

Okay, so much (K) drama for this post, it’s back to the food. I’ve heard some not so good things about the food at DJK, the most interesting was from a very reliable souce who calls Herself "daantat" on the Chowhound California Board. So I’d been looking forward to eating here for a while. I also checked in with Sam, who eats here once in a while, since it’s right next door, and knows the Chef quite well. Sam actually met Ed and I, and made some recommendations.

The prices seemed in line with other restaurants of this type, with prices ranging from $10.99 to over $25.

The arrival of the "greens" meant this was "bossam-style" BBQ. And soon enough the "wrappers" (radish and rice flour – dduk and mu) arrived along with the various dipping sauces and panchan.

I’d heard that the panchan at DJK was not very good, and I’m afraid I need to agree, though Ed thought I was being a bit too harsh. I think that the hallmark of panchan is the Baechu Kimchi(napa cabbage kimchi), if you can’t make this staple….well,you get the picture. The Baechu and Mu(radish) were very bland, and what I would consider to be flat in flavor, with just a touch of "heat", and had nothing else going for it.

The best items were the filefish and the fried little fish.

I’ll just stop here….except to say that the potato salad was terrible, too much Asian Pear in it, made the salad much too sweet.

And though Ed from Yuma will probably disagree, there is one observation that I thought was rather telling, the portions of panchan was fairly large, but the very nice server came by twice to see if we needed more panchan…and nary a word from the both of us. Also, this is one of the few times that I can remember where we didn’t finish the panchan. Enough of that, let move on to the main courses.

One of the things that made Boo Cho, and now Dae Jang Keum unique in San Diego, is the use of charcoal, and I’m glad to say nothing has changed. In fact, I think even more charcoal is used for the barbecue than what I could remember. I singed my hands a few times moving meat around!

We ordered the Hyuh Mit Gui(Beef Tongue – $18.99) and Tang Nyum Galbi (marinated short ribs – $20.99), and these were both good choices. The Kalbi was nicely marinated and had decent flavor, though I think the Kalbi at Buga is still the "Gold Standard" for San Diego. The Beef Tongue was the perfect vehicle for charcoal barbecue. The charcoal imparted a nice smoky flavor on the thin slices of tongue, which if you got it grilled right, would be crisp around the edges, and still moist and soft in the middle. The quality of the beef tongue was excellent as well.

Of course the drill was placing some mesclun and other "garnishes" on your plate and creating a dumpling of sort with the wrappers provided. No photos this time, but you can check out a photo on this post.

You’d think we’d be done after this meat-fest, but we decided to cleanse our palate with some Naeng Myun (Cold Buckwheat Noodles in Broth – $9.99):

The cold noodles arrived in a very large bowl, we had the noodles cut, and the very nice server helped us divvy things up. I got the egg and Ed the slice of beef which He said was excellent.

I found the broth to be very refreshing, on the tangy side, and once balanced out with the provided mustard and vinegar, was very nice. The noodles were a different matter, I found them to be tough, and brittle, rather than chewy and elastic. Still, the portion size was on the generous side.

In the end, I found the meat to be good, the Naeng Myun to be okay, and the panchan to be mediocre. At the prices we paid for dinner ($60 for two), I’d want better panchan. The service was very nice and helpful, though the place seemed rather undermanned when we left and most tables were filled. Oh, and there’s one more thing….Boo Cho had never been the most well ventilated restaurant, even with an industrial strength ventilation system. DJK is no improvement, so get ready for this:

My shirt is off to the dry cleaners………

Dae Jang Keum
7905 Engineer Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

What Cathy Eats at home.

April 8, 2007 Cathy What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy apparently has nothing to do but take photos of food and post them for your perusal.

Hi. I take photos of everything I eat. Here is a box of citrus I got from a Dear Friend this year. All grown in her yard. Oranges, tangelos, blood oranges, lemons, mandarin oranges. Thanks, Mrs. B.!

Then, I cook at home. In college I had a roommate from Jakarta and, of course, we did not eat cow. But I learned to crave, and still do, chicken livers sauteed in butter and broccoli, with sesame seeds.

One weekend a few weeks ago, we had hamburger, but only hot dog buns, so I improvised.

Ah, then there are simple things- sandwiches. Sometimes, I just *have* to have Braunschweiger on white bread with mustard and raw onions.

Or, some rare roasted beef with slices of homegrown tomatoes on fresh rye (from Panera) with a mix of horseradish and Kewpie .

Always, with a good sandwich, I have to have a good cup of coffee, whether its made with a French Press or just a couple of espresso shots with milk foam.

OK, the photo was taken at Starbucks, but I make fancy art on the top of my coffee foam at home.

Well, I try to make each meal somewhat special, anyhow…

Then, the other day, The Mister made a pork loin roast, rolled with garlic and prunes. Homecooking_001 ..or plums, as they are now called, or sometimes he uses

dried cherries, raisins or whatever dried fruit we have at home at the time.

BUT, at this time of year, my most favorite snack is,

Oh, yes, Peeps!

Of course, you must properly eat the little fine sugar coated marshmallow treats. First, of course by delicately separating and individualizing each Peep, who was conjoined with his/her siblings in the package, and then the next step is, of course, eating the eyes.

Heh heh heh..

Next, you impale a single, eyeless Peep onto a bamboo skewer.

Hold over an open flame, roast the Peep and then it is prepared, ready for eating.

I hope everyone had a nice Easter. Remember, Peeps are on sale now!

Braised Lamb Shanks with Lemons, Tomatoes, and Green Olives

April 7, 2007 mmm-yoso Cookbooks, Cooking, Recipes

I was looking over a cookbook that I purchased a few months back from a bookstore bargain bin. The title of the book is How to Cook Meat by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby. The Missus happened to peek over my shoulder and noticed this braised lamb recipe…and it was off to North Park Produce, for lamb shanks, olives, and all the other supplies for this dish. I’ve made a few adjustments to account for our taste preferences, and also to cut down on the amount of skimming, and other tasks that are done several times in the recipe, it didn’t seem necessary. I think it came out pretty well, and went well with our current overcast and cool weather.

Braised Lamb Shanks with Lemons, Tomatoes, and Green Olives

5-6 Lamb Shanks
2 Tb Olive Oil
2 Onions Sliced
2-6 Cloves Garlic, minced(depends on how much you love garlic – guess how many cloves I used?)
1/2 Cup Diced Celery(About 2-3 stalks)
2 Cups White Wine
2 Cups Chicken Stock, or even better Lamb Stock
6 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
1 Tb Fresh Thyme Leaves
2 Bay Leaves
2 Whole Cloves
3 Lemons(or 2 large) peeled and segmented
2-4 Tomatoes, cored and seeded, cut into a large dice
1/2 Lb Green Olives, rinsed, pitted, and sliced in half
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chopped Fresh Parsley

1 – Preheat Oven to 325

2 – Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper and brown over medium-high heat in Olive Oil in a Dutch Oven, or similar pot. I had to do this in batches.When the lamb shanks are browned well, transfer to a plate.

3 – Pour off excess fat in the pot(leave about 2 Tb), and add sliced onions, celery, and garlic.Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Deglaze pot with white wine and stock(if you have lamb stock, more power to you!) scraping up all the nice brown bits. Bring liquid up to a simmer and add lamb shanks back into the pot along with the sprigs of fresh thyme, bay leaves, and cloves.

4 – When the liquid is simmering, cover and place the pot into the oven. Cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, checking the lamb for doneness with a fork.

5 – When the lamb shanks are done, transfer them to a plate and cover with aluminum foil. Strain the cooking liquid, and pour it back into the pot. Bring the liquid back to a simmer, skim off the fat from the braising liquid and slightly reduce the liquid. Add green olives and tomatoes into the liquid and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add lemon segments, and cook for 5 more minutes. Add shanks back into liquid and simmer over low heat for a few more minutes.

6 – Remove the pot from heat,add in Thyme leaves, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

7 – Serve over Couscous.

The dish turned out well, and fulfills my "cookbook obligation"….to limit the purchase of cookbooks, I have promised to make at least one dish from each cookbook I purchase. I’m still trying to figure out what I’ll be able to make from Yoshihiro Murata’s, Kaiseki……

A kind of funny thing happened at North Park Produce….not really paying attention, I asked the guy behind the meat counter for 6 lamb shanks….I guess he heard 6 pounds of lamb shanks. When I brought the bag home and opened it 9 lamb shanks rolled out. So I browned three of the lamb shanks without seasoning, and the Missus made braised lamb shanks and rice for Da Boyz…..in my next life, I want to be one of Da Boyz! Though the food coma can be really hard on you!

Fast Friday Post

April 6, 2007 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

About 2 weeks ago, the one and only Cathy asked me in an email if I was going to do "anything"? Anything…about what? Well Cathy, then the Missus pointed out that mmm-yoso would soon have 500,000 hits per Sitemeter. Now I’m not really good at this stuff. Case in point, I’d tried to plan something for post #500…but the opportunity came and went(we’re now on something like #535), and I really don’t know what the Sitemeter count really means anyway!

To get to the point, Cathy, Vicky, and I would just like to thank everyone for taking the time out to visit, and even on occasion, comment. I still remember once being told that the most precious gifts are time and attention, once given, it cannot be taken back, so I am most grateful.

So here’s a big "Kanpai" to everyone! I’ll make sure to have an "extra one" for you…after all it’s the last bottle I have for now……

I still don’t quite understand…..but thank you for dropping by!

And in case you think I haven’t been eating enough……here’re a few teasers:

Have a nice Easter weekend!

Anthony’s Fish Grotto-La Mesa; Dinner with my Brother

April 4, 2007 Cathy Seafood, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy has something to talk about today, Kirk doesn’t.

Hi. Not long ago, my brother had to fly out to Pomona on a business trip for his Company, which located near Detroit (yes, the work he does is related to the Automotive Industry). He left Detroit when it was 0° out (yes, ZERO degrees…if you don’t know the real definition of "bitter cold", you are very lucky). He decided to fly into San Diego and rent a car to drive to Pomona. I picked him up at the airport, we went to the In-N-Out on Sports Arena Boulevard and then he got his rental car and went to work in Pomona. A few days later, he drove back down and stayed one extra day before flying out, which he, understandably, did not want to do. Our Mom knew he would be out here and gave him some money so we could go out to dinner….Let’s just say that Mom gave him enough money so that my first remark was "well. we can all get a beverage and not have to get water to drink with our meal"…and so, off to Anthony’s Fish Grotto in La Mesa we went. Anthony’s has been around since 1946 and is family owned, locally operated and has the freshest tasting fish, cooked in such a way that you taste the fish and not all the sauces or batters. All of those compliment the seafood flavor.

The Mister and My Brother each got a beer and I got iced tea (I was driving you know) and then…*two* appetizers: The infamous fried calamari ($8.50)…light, delicate, crispy, flavorful, served with a fresh, tomato based marinara sauce, still warm from being fresh cooked.

We also got the Smoked spread and seafood platter ($9.50) which easily, *easily* could have been a full meal (for me at least). Smoked salmon, halibut and tuna, fresh seafood spreads, home made tartar sauce, fresh baked and sliced white bread…the smoked fish was excellent.

For his main course, The Mister could not decide and got Mama’s Platter – a little bit of everything ($18.50) hand battered fish, calamari, shrimp, oysters, scallops, clam strips and lobsterettes. he chose sides of Mama’s famous cole slaw and a baked potato.

The fried fish here is so darn wonderful..a light batter, so crispy and with just enough flavor to compliment the seafood. You can taste the sweetness of the shrimp and scallops and the freshness of the fish.

My Brother, apparently on some sort of health kick, chose the char grilled halibut with an orange basil sauce (it was one of the seasonal catches of the day) for $15.60 and got baked potato and salad (with the house dressing) as his sides. This tasted wonderful. Again, you could taste the fish, it was not overpowered by the sauce.

Since, I know Mom is going to read this, I also was trying to eat a tad more healthily and got the Crab and Shrimp Louie Salad ($14.50).

The crab meat and the shrimp were so fresh, sweet and flavorful- so much better than anywhere, really. The Louie dressing is also made fresh in house and is excellent, just a touch of twangy heat. It all goes so well together.

A very nice, fancy, tasty dinner for us. Thanks, Mom!

Anthony’s Fish Grotto North of I-8 at Severin (next to the Holiday Inn Express) (619)463-0368

Road Trip: Miyabi Tei – Costa Mesa(OC)

April 3, 2007 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Orange County, Road Trip

On the way back to San Diego on a recent shopping trip in Orange County, we decided to drop by Mitsuwa Marketplace for a late lunch. Winding away through the cramped and snaking parking lot with very small stalls, we thought that we’d be okay since it was nearly 2 pm, and figured that most people would be shopping and not eating. Boy were we wrong, the food court was a madhouse, and every seat was taken, with people in the aisles waiting to pounce on any open table!

The picture above was taken as we were leaving……

We had thought about doing an "about face" and marching directly back to the car, and fight our way out of the parking lot, but we gave in to hunger. Especially after checking out what everyone else was eating…..and all of the plastic food.

We first thought of Santouka, but the lines were outrageous. So we settled on the place that had the best looking plastic food in the house; Miyabi Tei, which had a line of it’s own.

I know there’s something witty to say about the girl with the snow cone red hair and plastic food….but I’m really not able to think of anything right now.

While I waited for our food, the Missus started circling looking for an open table. She was still circling when I picked up our food. I felt very uncomfortable circling around and standing between tables, our tray of food in hand. Hovering over a couple having lunch provokes a strong feeling of guilt. I couldn’t help but feel like a vulture….circling for my prey. And a very unlucky vulture at that. I noticed three basic ways that people reacted when they see someone waiting for a table they are occupying. The first, "the wolfers" always makes me really feel guilty, they start wolfing their food down like there’s no tomorrow, and I feel really bad about disrupting their lunch. Another set, the "zen masters" are able to block everything out, and act if you are not there…such concentration! The third set, which I have a name for, but am not able to write about without a massive use of profanity, will purposely s-l-o-w down, and look up at you, and move as if eating underwater, and perhaps start a conversation among themselves about Einstein’s theory of relativity….

After all of that, we finally found some room at one of the large communal counters. By this time we were ravenous. The Missus had ordered the Zaru Soba and Una Don(Eel Rice Bowl) combination($6.75):

She managed to suck this down in an instant. Between bites, she gave me Her critique. Good Unagi(fresh water eel), no muddy flavor, the sauce was good, not overly salty, and rice….you can’t go wrong with rice. The Zaru Soba was not so good, the noodles overcooked and the sauce tasted watered down. In Her mind this was worth $6.75!

The sample of the special of the day, the Chicken Katsu Curry($5.75) totally sucked me in.

This was a very generous amount of food for the price. I liked the curry, it wasn’t overly sweet, and had a very nice flavor, if a bit on the "thin" side. Great on rice! The chicken katsu had not been cooked properly, the breading was on the oily side, and the (dark meat) chicken really tough.

Don’t ask me about that boiled egg, it belonged to the Missus. I’ll definitely be back for the Curry!

We managed to finish everything in less than 15 minutes. In fact, it took us longer to find seats than to eat! I still wonder what the people sharing the counter with us thought; the two of us eating like Longshoremen, describing the taste of the food between bites…..we must’ve appeared quite odd.

The prices at Miyabi Tei are very reasonable, and we thought we got our money’s worth. Though I think we’ll try to eat at either a very early, or very late time in the future. On our way back to the freeway we passed a McDonalds, and the Missus said, "you know, a lunch at McDonalds equivalent in size to what we had would cost about the same…"(leave it to the mathematician) Which would you rather have?

Miyabi Tei(in the Mitsuwa Marketplace Food Court)
665 Paularino Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Engrish Lesson for the Day….

"What kind of name is that for a place is that?"

"Huh?"

"Roach-chi Bo-Bo’s"

I almost drove off the road!!!!

Pinnacle Peak-Meat!

April 2, 2007 Cathy Steakhouse, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Kirk apparently did not eat today and Cathy did.

Hi again. I’m out in East County. Hungry. No frills. Craving for some steak. The Mister wants ribs. Sure, we have a grill. Sure, we can cook. Heck, Pinnacle Peak is right down the road. That big ole’ cow on the roof. The dark wood siding…the huge parking lot in front.

The simple menu, printed on the

take home Bone Bag.

Although I fully appreciate the Trail Boss (22.99), a 30 ounce Porterhouse, mainly because I cannot decide between the flavor of the New York Strip combined with the tenderness of the Filet which are both present on either side of the bone of the Porterhouse…30 ounces is a *lot* of meat, no matter what the size of the bone ,so I usually say ‘Why play games?’ and get the Cowboy($18.99), a 22 ounce T-Bone (as opposed to the sissy-ish Cowgirl($14.99), a 15 ounce T-Bone. But, there is something new on the menu- the Kansas City(16.99), a 16 ounce bone-in New York Steak…labeled as New York Steak, not T-Bone…must try.

The sides that come with everything are a salad, Buttons (baked beans) and Bows (sliced of white bread and butter). Baked potato , corn on the cob, sauteed mushrooms or onions are an additional $1.99 each. Nope, not today.

NOTHING IS FANCY HERE. The plates are plastic, as are the tablecloths…the utensils, except for the steak knives, are not very high quality. If you come in wearing a necktie, it *will* be ceremoniously cut off, to the ringing of a cowbell, and then stapled to the wall or ceiling, as part of the decor.

I had my steak cooked medium rare on the open grill- it was perfect. They put a nice dry rub/seasoning on it and its just right (did not need the A-1 sauce). It is mesquite wood that is used.

The Mister ordered the full Rack-O-Ribs ($17.99). It is brought out on two plates.

…and so we ate our food.

and that ‘bone in’ part of the description of my steak was true…but, not really anything to write home about.

The Mister had far more bones left over than I did!

Website here Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse 7927 Mission Gorge Road Santee 92071 (619) 448-8882

Mon-Thurs 5-9 p.m., Fri-Sat 5-10 p.m., Sun 4-9 p.m.

VGood, Sort of a Ch-Ch-Chain, Pretty good, too!

April 1, 2007 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

The Santee location of VGood has closed.

mmm-yoso is not on vacation, but Cathy is blogging now, while Kirk rests for a few days.

Hi. It's been a while. People who know what my line of work is know what has been going on with that as well as some other crises in life. The rest of you may not have even noticed I hadn't blogged. It isn't like I haven't been eating, though.

So, you all know I am the Token White Girl who lives in East County. Santee, to be exact. We are not out of the loop out here, let me tell you. The Green Trolley Line does end here, though..or maybe, it *starts* here.

There it is, right next to one of three Starbucks we have out here (OK, two are stand alone stores and there is one inside the Vons…). Across from the Starbucks is VGood, Japanese Grill and Sushi.

Kind of innocuous, but an interesting menu, and a few Law Enforcement types seem to frequent this place. (The Sheriff Substation is less than a 1/2 mile away, as is Los Colinas, the Women's Detention facility made famous on a Episode of The Real World-San Diego) (sorry, digressing…).

Anyhow, last Sunday and this Sunday, The Mister and I were once again hungry, but not wanting to cook at home, nor drive very far for food. So this is where we decided to eat.

A kind of small menu, mostly with rolls, which most people were buying, but the idea of cream cheese with rice is not appealing to me, and the menu spells crab with a 'k' instead of a 'c', so I just wasn't in the mood to waste some calories on that food. There is no sushi bar, but sushi and rolls on the menu… you just walk up and order, pay, get your own beverage and utensils and wait for your number to be called.

The interior is clean, painted a happy Home Depot Orange, along with one yellow accent wall (learned that terminology on HGTV..whoo hoo) and has 5 low tables and 6 bar height tables, plus you can walk out into the courtyard where there are tables, and the water display and eat outdoors if you want to.

Editor's note: I have been informed that the color is officially "CalTrans orange" and *not* "Home Depot orange". Sorry for any confusion.

So, we ordered. We tried the two item VGood Value Combo Plate with teriyaki beef and katsu chicken ($6.99- usually $5.99, but $1 more for the beef) which comes with a choice of miso soup or salad of the day.

The salad this Sunday (and last Sunday for that matter) was made with iceberg, jicama, chopped cucumber, chopped red pepper, parsley, mango and a nice, spicy dressing. The heat of the dressing hit when we got to the bottom. It was quite refreshing. The katsu was nice and light-crispy, came with a sweet dipping sauce that tasted different than the teriyaki sauce on the very tender, medium rare cooked beef. A good portion of rice was served with the plate. There were two layers of both the beef and the chicken. Last week we got the fried fish and teriyaki chicken and the fish was exceptionally nicely fried. However, thinking the same thing would happen this week, I ordered the fried squid.($3.99)

You can see by looking at it that it was overcooked. However, the breading was still light and though slightly crispier than I think it should have been, had some nice spices in it. It was OK but all of the other fried items I have had here have been lighter fried.

I wanted to try some soup today and the Fried Dumpling Udon Noodle Soup ($4.99) sounded good. I had wanted to try the fried dumplings anyhow and they served them on the side with the soup-perfect!

The soup broth was oily, rich tasting in one way and too salty in another way. The noodles were good and chewy. There could have been some more vegetables, but the cabbage and carrots were good. I did not finish the broth, and usually I do. The dumplings had a nice, thin skin and were fried correctly. Enough filling, but not over-filled. Very good.

However, my most favorite stumbled-upon food here is the innocuously listed on the back page under "Side Orders":'Lettuce Wrap(4 pieces) $3.99 '

That is four large pieces of iceberg lettuce rolled up in plastic wrap, a good 1/3 pound (probably more) of cooked filling and a lot of nice, light crunchy rice noodles. It is served with a spicy Teriyaki sauce on the side.

The filling is a combination of chopped chicken, sausage, leeks and mushrooms, topped with some green onions.

Both times we ordered this, the meat lasted more than the lettuce did. Here is a service I made for myself with 1/4 piece of lettuce. The flavors are excellent.

I call this 'sort of a a chain' because there are two locations. It is locally owned and They don't even have a website.

VGood Japanese Grill and Sushi

9862D Mission Gorge Road Santee 92071 (Across from the Starbucks at the Trolley Stop) (619) 258-8288

16625 Dove Canyon Road Suite 108 San Diego 92127 (858)385-1628

Both Locations Open 7 days 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.