mmm-yoso – Page 530 – 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.

Time Change Brunch – European Bistro

March 11, 2007 mmm-yoso Buffets, European Restaurants

*** European Bistro has since closed. Chef Axel currently does catering only.

As is our "tradition" we had our "time change" Sunday Brunch. Only thing, this year we’re going to Daylight savings a month early, which not only caused a wave of panic within the various technology sectors, but totally discombobulated our scheduling. And so we were left at noon today, without brunch reservations. In cases like this Jim’s San Diego Sunday Brunchmaster site is a godsend. The Missus was in mood for something a bit "different", so she finally came up with European Bistro in La Mesa. And we were off.

European Bistro is in kind of a strange setting, a "store-front" strip mall, and you can park literally 3 yards from the front the door of the restaurant! Since we’d arrived late and with no reservations, the little bistro was humming, and it seemed like everyone was a "regular". Lucky for us, we didn’t feel like champagne, and so were able to sit outside, on the little table on the sidewalk. We kind of enjoyed sitting there, since it was such a warm and beautiful day…the only thing a bit disconcerting was the proximity of pedestrians walking by on the sidewalk(luckily there weren’t very many)….they could have bent over and grabbed a spoonful of spaetzle if they so desired. But let me tell you, the service was very warm and friendly, Helen and Chef Axel kept dropping by to see how we were enjoying ourselves.

The buffet itself is rather small with a dozen cooked items, a salad, a selection of sausages, cold cuts, breads. and cheeses, a soup, and several desserts. I also understand that the kitchen will whip up an omelet on request. Still, we enjoyed the selection….

For a typical listing and more info on the brunch, I’ll refer you again to Jim’s posting on His website. There were several items we enjoyed….

We both enjoyed the prosciutto, cold sausages, German potato salad, "home fries", and the green beans! Man, those home fries were really good, with onions that have been perfectly fried and caramelized. I thought the Frikadellen(ground meat patties) were very moist, but kind of low on flavor. The Missus enjoyed the Hungarian Goulash, but I thought it bland, and not full of the spice, onions, and other flavors I’m used too….. Still the meat was very tender and moist.

The Missus absolutely adored the green salad, especially the Raspberry Vinaigrette, to the extent of eating three plates of it.

As you can tell, we enjoyed the appetizers and side dishes, much more than most of the cooked main courses…but that doesn’t mean you won’t. Other main courses offered today was a tilapia, penne carbonara, and of course schnitzel(on the dry side).

The Missus also had 3 desserts, a slice of cheesecake.

And two slices of the Chocolate Cake(looked like a bundt to me), with Cherries Jubilee on it…..

As busy as they were, Helen always had time to stop and chat, and answer any questions. There is also a small "deli" case with sausages and various meats for sale.

Now here’s the "kicker", so this a champagne brunch, and you can get mimosas and the like, along with the standard orange juice and coffee(which the Missus liked)……for $15.95! Which we think is an excellent price. The restaurant is small, but very clean, and has a neighborhood bistro feel. And did I mention Helen was wonderful!

Now at that price for Champagne Brunch, combined with excellent service, can you really go wrong?

European Bistro
7097 University Ave
La Mesa, CA 91941

And don’t forget to check out the Sunday Brunchmaster!

Misoyaki (Saikyo Yaki) Black Cod

March 9, 2007 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

Growing up we called this Misoyaki Butterfish, and it was something my Mom made on a regular basis. It seems that Nobu Matsuhisa, and a large contingent of popular chefs have made this into quite a popular dish. A few months ago someone requested my recipe, so here it is.

There are a few differences between my Mother's recipe and the Misoyaki I make nowadays. First, the Missus hated the grainy texture; my Mom's recipe called for just mixing several ingredients together. I've seen recipes where a Bain-Marie(double boiler for us…) is used to mix everything. But this didn't solve the problem of the excess alcohol flavor, so I've solved that problem by first boiling the sugar, mirin, and sake, this will ensure a smooth texture since the sugar is dissolved, and all the alcohol is burnt off. There is a another potential problem, miso should never, ever be boiled, this solved by just removing from heat before adding miso. My Mom used grated ginger in Her recipe, I've removed it from mine. But I've noticed that many Misoyaki recipes are much too sweet for my tastes, so I made a few adjustments. I've found that the addition of Aka ("Red" Miso) adds a bit of a salty flavor, and even some "depth" to the dish. One more note to "Nobu" fans out there…if you've had a problem with your miso glaze, it's because he uses a very high quality "Saikyo" Miso, I've found that the regular White Shiro Miso I use is not quite as sweet. In fact, when I did use Saikyo Miso, my recipe ended up tasting waaaaay too sweet! I just use a Mild White Miso, though I prefer the very mild Hawaiian Miso & Soy Company brand, I've found several others at Nijiya that do just fine.

Misoyaki Black Cod

3/4 Cup White Shiro Miso
1-2 Tb Aka Miso
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Sake
1/4 Cup Mirin
1 Tsp Real Soy Sauce – the kind really made from soybeans, not synthetic.

Combine Mirin, Sake, and Sugar in a small pot. Bring to a simmer stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, until all the alcohol burns off. Remove from heat, and add Soy sauce to stop boiling. Slowly add Miso mixing until sauce is creamy. Do Not ever boil miso…..When sauce is cooled marinate black cod completely coating the fish. Marinate for at least 2 days, but 3 days is best. If using a conventional oven, pre-heat at 450 and bake fish for 5-8 minutes. When fish is almost cooked broil for an additional 2-3 minutes until well caramelized.

If you are doing batches over time, divide miso sauce into 2 "batches", brush misoyaki over fish and wrap each in plastic wrap. When broiling or cooking brush on miso glaze as necessary.

The Missus's favorite way of cooking Her fish is to use the toaster oven, she bakes until almost cooked than toasts it.

Why no good photo…well as is the norm, the fish usually doesn't make it to "full-term", and I'll return from work smelling the remnants of Misoyaki on the Missus's breath. At least this time She took a photo as she removed the fish from the toaster oven….not the most artistic photo, but I guess it'll do! Here's the Misoyaki Black Cod eaten 2 days earlier than it should be…..

As you can tell, nothing is written in stone…..have fun with it.

Reid of 'Ono Kine Grindz has a wonderful recipe here. A few years back I shared my recipe with Ed from Yuma, and I think he's become the Yuma Misoyaki Master……..

Mid-Week Munchies

March 7, 2007 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

I guess I must be so very open to "suggestion"…….. Recently, one of my favorite bloggers, Passionate Eater, featured a series on Everyday Pleasures. One of those everyday pleasures really hit home. It was the post on Dry Roasted Pea Snacks that sent me over the edge, and in search of a remedy for the sudden cravings…….

Each one of my acquaintances, no matter what race, has an interesting "snack" that runs the spectrum from Hurricane Popcorn to Kimchi and Peanut Butter Sandwiches(don’t ask). What I’ve noticed about these unconventional snacks is the inclusion of sweet and salty flavors, along with the hints of both the conventional, and sometimes what could be considered a bit strange.

Take for instance, this:

Looks kinda conventional…it’s really only "trail mix", but I’ve added a few things…first off, for every pound of unsalted trail mix(there’s a reason it’s unsalted), I add about 1/4 to 1/3 pound of dry wasabi peas. But the key component are these:

Woooo, if you’re not familiar with these, you should be. It’s basically Garlic Flavored Corn Nuts…but in this case, the corn nuts are a bit smaller in size. I add half a 3.54oz package for each pound of trail mix. What happens to the remainder…I dunno, it must evaporate!

What I did think was interesting, was even though the brand and packaging looks the the same, when we get these snacks from friends who return from the Philippines, both the texture and the taste is a bit different.

These taste more salty, and are harder and drier. After comparing the two, we came up with what was perhaps a startling observation; could it be that the version we get from the Philippines is stale by the time we eat it?

In the end, we rejected that theory……..once we checked the receipt we realized that the version we bought in San Diego were "farlic" flavored…….that would make all the difference! LOL!

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Road Trip: Chabuton Ramen Noodles – Costa Mesa(OC)

March 6, 2007 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Orange County, Road Trip

*** Chabuton has since closed.

Boy, did the hunger pangs really set in during a recent shopping trip to Marukai Costa Mesa. So I decided that I needed something to eat…and fast! Which was a great opportunity to try out the ramen at Chabuton, which opened last year in the Marukai Food Court.

From what I understand Chabuton is the brainchild of Chef Yasuji Morizumi, and is another link in the Chabuya "chain" that has restaurants in Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, and Los Angeles. There also seems to be a rather strong marketing campaign behind the restaurants. I had gone looking for a good bowl of ramen, and ended up reading phrases like, "ramen is arguably the lifeblood of today’s Japan." "Ramen is an open dialogue…" "When Chabuton introduced Tokyo’s urban style ramen to Los Angeles it sparked a conversation." "Our food is meant to feed the soul." "Chabuton is where Americans are becoming fluent in the spiritual language of gourmet ramen……" I can feel that glazed-over look coming on.

And to think, all I wanted was a bowl of decent ramen…and now I’d be attaining ramen Nirvana…the home of perfect, harmonious, slurping…of endless noodles, and eternal chashu bliss! BTW, I do think the "spiritual language" of ramen is the slurp…..

Dizzy from reading all the signs and mission statements, I was glad that the menu at Chabuton is mercifully short, 9 variations on ramen, some rice bowls, and that was it. So how much for a slice of ramen heaven?

I ordered The Classic with Pork Chashu ($8.25).

So let’s pick over this ramen of the gods….. I thought the soup was a thick, though weak tonkotsu style broth. I also thought the oil content was on the medium low side. Funny thing, because I’ve read that many people think the broth at Chabuya is too salty, but I just thought it was missing that bit of umami that would make it taste really good. As it was, I thought the broth to be on the "flat" side. Basically, rich in texture, not in taste. The bitter fried garlic didn’t do a thing for this bowl of ramen, and I’m a garlic lover. The bamboo shoots were fine, and the thin sliced Chashu pork was excellent, soft, moist, and tender.

The thin noodles had a nice crunchy texture, but was missing that nice springy pull that I enjoy. I still prefer the noodles at Santouka. Overall, a decent, bowl, but not a favorite of mine. But still if you’re shopping at Marukai Costa Mesa, and are "Jonesing" for a bowl of ramen you could do much worse.

Still, I never thought I’d come face to face with the "spiritual soul" of ramen in the food court at Marukai!

Chabuton Ramen Noodles
2975 Harbor Blvd. (In the Marukai Food Court)
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Open – Mon-Sat 11am – 730pm
Sundays 11am – 630pm

Mister Fish and Chips – When Monday is the new Fry-day

March 5, 2007 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Seafood

Well, there I was stuck at one of those strip malls on Balboa avenue, waiting for a prescription to be filled, I was told it would be a 90 minute wait! Sheesh…….well what to do? I could drive home…but then I’d have only about 30 minutes, and would have to turn right around and drive back, it just seemed like a waste of gas. Wait a minute(big smack to the side of my own head), I could eat! Yeah, that’s the ticket…I could stuff my face silly, with really unhealthy food. That’ll teach myself a lesson for getting sick….. And I know just the place…..

Mr Fish and Chips is a small Mom and Pop shop towered over by the Long’s Drug Store and Von’s Supermarket in a fairly large strip mall on the corner of Balboa and Genesee. And just as this little shop is tucked away from the street, it also has a tendency to get sort of "lost in the mix" when I think of places to eat in the area.

The shop itself is pretty small with just a few tables, and the size and arrangement of the furniture always gives me the feeling that the restaurant is pretty crowded.

You can tell by the name of the restaurant what the specialty of the house is here….it’s seafood, fried seafood. I can think of only a few items that aren’t battered or in some way deep fried, and they all end with the word salad.

I usually get the fish and chips here, but I also like the onion rings, so today I decided to go for the gusto and got the Seafood Dinner(1 fish, 5 scallops, 1 "jumbo" shrimp – $7.99) with coleslaw. The hardest decision was determining whether to get the fried zucchini or onion rings…..

Soon enough my order was ready. I always smile when I grab my tray of food here, all available accompanying "dressings" are always placed on the tray with my food! The coleslaw was as I remember, very mild in flavor with a touch of mustard…kind of bland overall, but it helps to cut through all of the batter. And let me tell you, there’s a whooole lot of batter going on….

Not quite your traditional fish and chips……..

The batter is the same for just about all the items…a flour based batter with a leavening agent to give the batter a nice crunch and lightness. The onions rings were a wonderful, crunchy, slightly sweet(in an onion-y way) treat. The "Jumbo" Shrimp was gummy and overcooked, the scallops, though hidden in a large dollop of batter were decent with cocktail sauce.

The fish was pretty good, moist and tender white fish, in a crisp batter….very nice with malt vinegar. I have never liked the Tartar sauce here, it’s too bland…….

Overall, Mr Fish and Chips won’t be setting the culinary world on fire, but it is a good value, and it’ll cure any fried food cravings you may have…..in a good way.

Mister Fish & Chips
5647 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

(858) 279-3474

Open Mon-Sat 11am-9pm
Closed on Sundays

Scenes from the Hillcrest Farmers Market

March 4, 2007 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market

I’ve been snowed under by a pretty nasty virus since this past Tuesday…the usual nasal headache, nasal drip, hacking cough, blah, blah, blah!

But this morning, I got up bright and early, finally feeling almost like my (ab)normal self. And lo’ and behold, it was such a lovely morning! So nice that we decided to head up to the Hillcrest Certified Farmers Market. We really didn’t eat or buy much, I enjoyed stretching my legs a bit, and just enjoyed getting out on such a nice morning.

I know I’ve posted on the Hillcrest Farmers Market before, so I’ll spare you most of the commentary and let the photos speak for themselves.

There were more food vendors than I recall…..it might just be my "cold" talking.

And of course, the food vendors I distinctly remember.

The Guy cracked me up!

But who wouldn’t be proud of this:

And of course all of the products of local Artisans.

The Hillcrest Farmers Market isn’t particularly large…at least compared to the Torrance, Santa Monica, and Hollywood, Farmers Markets we used to frequent when we lived in LA. But what it lacks in size is surely made up for in "personality". There’s also a nice variety of goods, everything from artichokes to……..Rubber Duckies!

San Diego Hillcrest CFM
In the DMV Parking Lot at Lincoln and Normal
Most Sundays, 9A-1P Rain or Shine

Thanks for visiting, I’ll be back tomorrow with a new restaurant post….if I don’t have a relapse!

Road Trip: Little Saigon & Meeting the OC Food Bloggers…..

March 2, 2007 mmm-yoso Dim Sum, Orange County, Road Trip

Last Saturday, I had an appointment with a group of very important people. The meeting place had been predetermined…the location of this chowdown?

Yes, the destination; Little Saigon, Westminster, California. Luckily, I arrived an hour and a half early. I enjoy arriving a bit early as it gives me time to check out the locale, get myself oriented, and breathe in the atmosphere. More importantly, I was able to find a parking spot in Asian Village Center with relative ease.

In Little Saigon you never know what you’ll run into….like a Lion Dance!

Maybe not the most artistic Lion Dance I’ve ever seen; but what was lacking in technique was made up in enthusiasm.

And of course you need a little noise to go with the Lion Dance:

Whoa, that’s my car nearby……….

Having some spare time I was able to take a stroll across the street to the Asian Garden Mall across the street. Well, not exactly a stroll, man does that traffic light change fast…..

I didn’t expect much since it was 9am on a Saturday morning. But of course Asian Garden Mall is no regular mall! The Food Court was alive and buzzing.

From this view, this could almost be any food court in any mall.

You won’t find your local Sbarro’s Pizza here…but if you’re in the mood for a Banh Mi(Vietnamese Sandwich), you’ll find Lee’s Sandwiches.

And instead of the usual stands selling the same chicken with a different sauce, you’ll find dishes such as Bun Mam, Bo Kho(Vietnamese Beef Stew), and Banh Canh.

I was tempted, but stayed the course, and did not give in to temptation……

An entire wing of Asian Garden Mall consists of jewelry stores! I walked to the end of the wing and took this photo:

At the very end is a security kiosk. One of the security guards noticed I was taking photos, and started following me around….thinking perhaps that I was "casing the joint????" At that point I decided to leave. After all I didn’t want to irritate security personnel, and I especially didn’t want to anger these fellows.

Asian Garden Mall
9200 Bolsa Avenue
Westminster, California 92683

I crossed back over to Asian Village Center which was now becoming a never ending circling stream of automobiles. There was an almost constant cacophony of horns blaring….I figured it was just a matter of time until I saw the latest installment of Battle of the SUV’s…… In spite of the mass of metal and humanity in this mall, I knew there was a little oasis of peace in this mall. Having read Wandering Chopsticks fantastic Virtual Tour of Little Saigon, I knew that there existed a Cultural Court in the back of Asian Village Center with statues of Confucius and His Disciples.

Which gave me a nice break. Soon enough it was time to meet the OC Food Bloggers so I walked over, past Duong Son BBQ:

Where I made a mental note to pick up a little something for Da’ Boyz…which I then immediately forgot.

Maybe next time!

I made my way to Dragon Phoenix Palace Chinese Seafood Restaurant, sheesh talk about a mouthful. When the Missus heard the name of this restaurant, She cracked up and said, "all you need is to add, New Golden, to the front, and include Panda after Phoenix, and you’d have the ultimate Chinese restaurant name!"

There’s always a bit of nervousness when meeting a "new" group of people, but all apprehension melted away after meeting everyone; the one and only Chubby Panda, the Epicurious Wanderer, Christian Z of Orange County Mexican Restaurants, Wandering Chopsticks, Deb from Dinner at Six, Elmo of Monster Munching, and Elonweiss who posts on OC Food Blogs, and Her Brother. Joy also made an appearance, but unfortunately Her SO, was caught in one of the inner circles of Dante’s parking hell, endlessly circling the parking lot, and had to leave.

The restaurant itself was the usual bustling Dim Sum restaurant.

I only took two photos of the food. Wandering Chopsticks did a more comprehensive post, which you can read here.

Much of my attention was diverted to the conversation, which ranged from food(what else do you think we’d talk about), to Chubby Panda’s "cheek technique" for taking photos(it’s not what you think). In what was a somewhat novel event, we had most of our language bases covered, from Cantonese(Elonweiss), to Mandarin(CP), to Vietnamese(WC)…I don’t think my Pidgin would have been of much use here.

And two hours went by in a flash. As I got into my car, and somehow made it back to Bolsa Avenue, I couldn’t help but think what a nice group of people these OC Food Bloggers are…..

Thanks again for including me, I am both touched and so appreciative.

And don’t forget to read OC Food Blogs!

Thanh Son Tofu – San Diego

March 1, 2007 mmm-yoso Desserts, Markets & Grocers, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Thanh Son Tofu moved, then closed

We'd been trying to get to Thanh Son Tofu on El Cajon Boulevard for a while. First off, they are located a bit off the street with one of those psycho-free-for-all parking lots where people seem to define their own parking stalls and rules. In addition Thanh Son seems to close rather early, so I've missed the boat a few times, before we finally made it at about 1pm on a recent weekend afternoon.

We entered the large almost empty shop, and no one was around, and not much food either. There were many, many signs though!

Wow, so Thanh Son does Banh Mi? But I really didn't understand much else.

In the meantime, the Missus had struck up a conversation with a nice young man, who told us that they were out of tofu. In fact, they usually run out of fresh tofu before noon. Bummer. Meanwhile the Missus's short attention span had gotten ahold of Her and She had moved on, and was checking this stuff out.

A large variety of Che, otherwise known as "sweet soup", those very refreshing dessert drinks of which there must be hundreds of variations. These were $2.50 a piece which I thought was on the high side until I noticed a sign over the cash register.

Basically buy 2 get one free! Baaargain city….. So, the Missus hit the jackpot and selected Her Che. I'm not a dessert person, but the one She enjoyed the most had taro and slices of ginger in coconut milk, which I thought was pretty good. Unfortunately, there's no photo since it never made it home. Here are photos of the other two cups of Che the Missus had.

Come to think of it, these were 12oz cups…and were pretty large.

We also got some of the fried tofu we saw(10 pieces for $1.25):

After the Missus talked the young man into giving Her some samples(She is very useful sometimes…) we got the version on the left, it had onion, bean thread, and black fungus in it. Crunchy exterior, nice flavor, with just a touch of salt. The version on the right was a lemongrass tofu which we didn't think had as much flavor, nor the great texture. We were still a bit disappointed that we missed out on the tofu….

At this point, getting some tofu from Thanh Son had become a mission. My mantra became, "I'm going to get me some tofu…or die trying!" I got up at 630am on a recent Sunday, and made my way to Thanh Son. If there is one benefit to arriving at 7am, it's that I had my choice of parking spaces without having to worry about being blocked in. I walked into the shop and noticed three people hard at work making spring rolls and other items. Luckily the same young man who served us the other day was there; the other two people only spoke Vietnamese. I ordered two block of tofu($1.25/ea), and also an order of the noodles that looked really good.

The large container of the noodles cost $3.50, and was okay, just a bit under flavored for us.

Oh yes, and finally the tofu! Now due to communication problems, I'm not sure if Thanh Son sells a variety of Tofu. I was given two large blocks of firm tofu.

The tofu was quite dense, but short on the strong "soy bean" flavor I was expecting. The tofu is well suited for deep frying or various stir fries. I'll probably be back to see if other tofu products are sold. Till then, if you're in the mood for some fresh tofu, you know where you can get it.

Thanh Son Tofu
4616 El Cajon Blvd Ste 15
San Diego, CA 92115

Observing Lent, Part One-Paczki Day

February 28, 2007 Cathy Desserts, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy is blogging about some silly stuff. Kirk is not .

Hello Again. This post is late, as my Friends in Detroit are keenly aware. I was kind of busy and didn’t get a chance to even start the post until it was too late.

This isn’t a religious post, per se. It is an introduction to an explanation of why you are seeing $1 Filet o’ Fish sandwichs at McDonald’s, $1 fish tacos at Rubio’s, a fish sandwich at Arby’s, as well as at KFC and full page ads for seafood at Ralphs. I have had a few friends remark to me about McDonald’s having its Fillet-o Fish Fridays and how that ‘seems to happen every so often’.

Lent is a Christian Observance. It starts on Ash Wednesday, 40 days before Easter. That was on February 20 this year. As you know, if you have been reading the blog, I was born and raised in Detroit and was also raised Catholic. I am not a Practicing Catholic now, but I do observe some of our rituals for a "just in case" scenario. Christians perform some type of sacrifice for the 40 days of Lent. Usually the sacrifice involves giving up a favorite food, but I also have some friends who will give up watching television, or the Internet…something that involves a sacrifice. The idea is that Christ died for our sins and He sacrificed and we should too. Christians Believe that on Easter, Christ rose from the dead and basically the sacrificing stops then and we all go back to whatever we did without for the previous 40 days.

ANYHOW, you all know about Mardi Gras…debauchery and partying in the Big Easy and all of that. That’s a giant party ends on the day before Lent. Its a major deal party in New Orleans…so, similarly…if you skew the definition of ‘similar’… mostly in the South East/Detroit area of Michigan, there is Paczki Day (its pronounced poonch-key, sort of, there is a thingy under the letter "c"; oh, never mind). One Paczek is a jelly donut Lent , the plural is Paczki. Fried donuts filled with jelly or jam and either glazed or covered in powdered sugar. I buy jelly donuts at Mary’s Donuts, in Santee.

Detroiters, and others who are not as wild and crazy as revelers in New Orleans at Mardi Gras go all out and eat up as many Paczki as they can (whoo hoo!), because once Lent happens, there are no jelly donuts to be had in any bakeries, only lowly Hot Cross Buns.

Which are not bad, but are definitely not fried (they are baked), or filled with jelly (they do have some dried fruit or raisins in them) and are part of that "sacrificing" Christians (and Detroiters) do for the 40 days.

So, that’s it. You go crazy eating jelly donuts, or partying, and then Lent begins and you begin sacrificing with lowly baked instead of fried sweets.

As a side note, this year was the first year that all the Starbucks in the Greater Detroit area had Paczek available in their stores. Everyone really gets into Paczki just before Lent. The day when the most are sold is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, though. Dozens and dozens are bought and consumed at work, grocery stores give them out…its an interesting phenomenon.

Future Lent posts will explain, via short blogging, about ‘not eating meat’ as defined by Catholics (hint- fish/seafood does not count as ‘meat’).

Mary’s Donuts 9031 Mission Gorge Road Santee 92071 (SE corner of Mission Gorge and 125) Open 24/7

Chon Ju Jip – Not for the faint of hearts!

February 27, 2007 Vicky (SF Bay Area) What Vicky Eats

"Hi! This is Vicky posting about her latest meal. She is extremely honored to be invited by Kirk to blog on mmm-Yoso!"

H and I stopped in Chon Ju Jip on Convoy last night to finally try out this restaurant. It's owned by a lady named Yong Rivers, and we first met her when we ate at Golden Crown in Mira Mesa. She's this funny happy Korean lady that would always call H a camel because of all the water he'd drink while eating spicy Korean food and would proceed to give him a pitcher of water so he could pour his own water. A couple weeks ago, we finally saw Yong at Golden Crown again and told her we missed her when we found out that she had left Golden Crown and was now venturing out and opening her own restaurant on Convoy. We promised her we'd visit and try it out and after some hugs, we went out seperate ways. While Golden Crown (for a later post) is a wonderful Korean restaurant for Korean food with a Chinese influence, Chon Ju Jip was strictly Korean food by itself. It was as Korean as it could get.

It's located in the same strip mall as Convoy Tofu House and Thai House. When we got there, there was a slight wait since all the tables were taken. I took that opportunity to survey everyone's dishes and the panchan. It looked pretty promising. We got seated and opened up the menu… Unfortunately half of the menu was in Korean with no translation so we had Yong briefly go over it. I ended up ordering the "Oh Jing Uh Bok Kum" and H ordered the "Kimchi Chige." Service was prompt and polite, cups of iced barley tea was brought out along with the assortment of panchan.
They had a large assortment in these pretty little dishes. The napa kimchi was perfectly tangy – just sour enough to make my mouth water. My favorite was mushroom stirfry panchan (in the far left corner… or the one of two dishes that wasn't bright red!) The mushroom medley of oysters and shiitakes were well cooked and flavorful; full of woodsy earth tones. The rest of the panchan was very well done, I didn't care as much for the plain daikon half circles floating in the middle. Eater beware though, they are colored red for a reason. Like H said, this place isn't for the faint of hearts. The spicy panchan here really awakes the tastebuds.
After grazing through our first round of panchan, my dish arrived. It's a dish of squid/calamari stirfryed with some veggies and a few rice cakes in this spicy red sauce. Unfortunately, the picture didn't turn out as I just found out right now… Bummer! My hands shook as I took it and it's just a big red blob. The dish was flavored with ginger overtones along with the heat from the chili peppers. The calamari was tender and perfectly al dente – I've had many calamari dishes where the chefs cooked it too long and it was like eating a piece of rubber. The calamari here was perfect! The service here was excellent, the servers brough refills of panchan without even having to be asked. After a refill of mushrooms and the little sardine fish panchan, H's's Kimchi Chige arrived. It is a basic stable of pork and kimchi all stewed together with some vegetables.
It came while still boiling in this red hot bubbling broth flavorful goodness! The soup was tangy from the kimchi and the pork added some texture. It was topped with a bunch of enoki mushrooms that slowly cooked in. It was warm and satisfying, perfect for a cold night. The only downside is that the heat from the dishes was on the extreme side. H and I usually eat pretty spicy dishes, I'll much my way through a couple jalepenos while I eat my dumplings and the dishes tonight were a pretty close second in terms of spicyness. True to form, Yong gave H his personal pitcher of barley tea. After he finished off the restaurant pitcher sized, she brought him a mini pitcher. So cute!

From the looks how how packed the place was, I think Yong's doing well. The food was excellent, the service was great. We were the only non-Korean in there that night, so I'm guessing the restaurant caters to mostly the Korean crowd. I have pictures of the menu that I took so I could get my friend A to tell me the English translations. I'll post that up as soon as I get them so in the future, those who aren't proficient wouldn't do what I had to do; "can I have whatever she's having over there? where's that on the menu?"

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