mmm-yoso – Page 535 – 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.

(Rail)Road Trip – Orochon(Los Angeles)

January 8, 2007 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

During the recent Urasawa eat-fest, Captain Jack and I stayed in the Little Tokyo area…and since it was winter, well, a SoCal winter, what is more appropriate than some good ramen. There was a problem though….our first choice for ramen:

Everytime we’d stop by Daikokuya…one of my favorite Ramen Houses in LA, the place was packed,with people waiting inside the restaurant as well as a line outside. Being that we just wanted some ramen, we decided on Orochon Ramen in Weller Court.

And though the restaurant was pretty full we managed to snag an outside table. What we found out is that all the outside tables are for Orochon, until 2pm, when one set of tables is reserved for the restaurant next door……

Anyway, the deal with ramen at Orochon is a pseudo-Ala carte deal. Orochon sells ramen at a various "heat" level from 1 to 7, with 1 being the "extreme" heat. For those that think eating is something dares are made of, there are "special" heat levels of 1 and 2, which I assume will hurt you today, as well as tomorrow…if you know what I mean.

First you choose the type of ramen you desire, either Miso, Shoyu, or Shio(salt). You then select a spiciness, and finally the "extras"(i.e. corn, garlic, butter???) Having tried a Miso Ramen train wreck on my previous visit, I thought I’d go with the Shoyu Ramen($6.45) at a spice level 3, with Char Siu(99 cents one slice), Bamboo Shoot($1.25), Green Onions ($1.25!!)and Bean Sprouts(50 cents)…suddenly, I had a bowl of ramen that was over 10 bucks!

The ramen arrived nice and hot, and the broth wasn’t overly salty. The heat at three was enough to create some sweat on my brow. It seemed that the heat was created through the use of chili powder and slices of jalapeno pepper I found in the broth. The slice of Char Siu was decent, nice and tender with a good pork flavor…but worth a buck for a skinny slice? I couldn’t help but think about every component of the ramen I paid for……green onions!!! Bean sprouts!!!!

Still, I would have been fine, if the noodles were okay like they were on my previous visit. This time they were hard and brittle……..I remember remarking to Captain Jack that these noodles weren’t very good, and they were not. Bummer……

At least the service was decent…there’s a funny red "panic button" on each table for service…I guess it’s here in case you order the "extreme" and go into cardiac arrest.

In keeping with the meal, I forgot to take a photo of the storefront. So I managed to get a unique shot a bit later….it’s the front of Orochon from our room at the New Otani:

Orochon Ramen
123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St
Los Angeles, CA 90012

(213) 617-1766

Open Daily – 1130am-1015pm

My Favorite Meal of 2006

January 7, 2007 mmm-yoso Memorable Meals, yoso-silly

This year I know better than to make resolutions I can't keep. So I think I'll leave that to those who are much more disciplined, and just do a quick post about my favorite meal of 2006. I know what you're thinking; it must be Urasawa. Well, Urasawa was probably my most memorable meal of 2006, if we're talking about a meal in a restaurant……

But if we're talking about my favorite meal of 2006….that's a different story; it's not only about the food, the restaurant, the service, the ambiance…..it's about the conversation, the laughter, in short, those that you are sharing your meal with. I have had very few experiences that have given me as much pleasure as my favorite meal of this past year.

The unfortunate thing is, in spite of food blogging for almost 2 years, this is the only photo that I took of that meal:

Sheesh what a pathetic excuse for a Food Blogger I am!!!! I case you're wondering, the restaurant is called Koshiji, and is located in Weller Court….basically a Yakitori restaurant. The food was fine, but the company was priceless!

Over the course of food blogging, I've been blessed to have been able to make the acquaintance of many other bloggers…maybe not in the person to person, face to face sense, but in that only in cyberspace way. I've had the pleasure of meeting a few food bloggers and have found them to be some of the nicest, generous, and kindest people one could imagine. From hanging out with Professor Salt, who generously shared His special tri-tip with me before the Four Q BBQ Team took Third place at the Beachside Barbecue contest in Imperial Beach, to having lunch with Jay from the Linkery, to having an extravagant dinner at Urasawa with Captain Jack, to grabbing lunch with the one and only Cathy, each one of these meals have been delightful. Who'd a thunk it could all have started with food blogs? (BTW, Jim I include you in all of this as well, though technically San Diego Sunday Brunchmaster isn't a food blog)

So my favorite meal started with a short email to the one and only Mrs. Daily Gluttony, to let Her know I'd be in the Little Tokyo area, and we could finally get together, have a meal and chat. I've always loved Daily Gluttony, from the very first post that I read…so you could say DG had me from the "Asparagus Pee". And DG sprung into action, and assembled a cast of my favorite LA Food Bloggers, who are some of my favorite people in the world. I was so very touched and flattered that everyone made such an effort to show up, and the time flew, and before we knew it Koshiji was closing…..so here's my tardy though very public thank you!

To Mr and Mrs DG – Thanks so much for setting everything up! You are such a kind and positive person, and when you smile, the whole world smiles along with you….your smile is that infectious. It's always a pleasure, and you never fail to crack me up! And Isaac, you da' man, you don't say much, but when you do, it's funny anf insightful. Talk about a dynamite couple. It was great to be able to spend some time with you both.

To BoLA and MS – BoLA, you're one of my favorite people in the world! It's funny, you always make me feel at ease…one of those people who I can just slide into a wonderful conversation with, no matter what the subject is! Thanks for coming, I know you had a very busy day, it's always a pleasure. And MS, great seeing you again, thanks for making that horrible 2 hour drive from your other function in the OC. BTW, the sake that BoLA likes is Kurosawa! And BoLA, I'll always owe you for the points scored by letting me know about Jin Patisserie!

To Diet Chili Cheese Fries – You, the great non-food blogging, food blogger! It's always a blast, you are so off the hook! I know you're working hard on your latest project…thanks for making the time, and I promise to eat some onion rings soon…though it's really hard to get past the Pho'. BTW, I'll be waiting for that Food Bloggers Mocu-mentary……

To EatDrinknbMerry – Dude, like finally! It was great meeting you….plus I feel a bit better knowing that there are those who are much more obsessed over food than I! We'll need to get together for a NRM crawl in the SGV one day…maybe just so the most uncool me, can feel cool, hanging with EDBM! (Do you think I used enough abbrevs there?)

To Miss Oishiieats – It was a pleasure to finally meet you! You have a warmth and a smile that could light up a room. You are so down to earth and funny….we still check out your future food bloggers post, and crack up…if there was a food bloggers hall of fame, that post should be there. It was so interesting when we were talking about our parents telling us "you should always try…." with regards to food. It makes us what we are as food bloggers…..

Funniest moment of the evening – As the food arrived no less than 5 ultra compact digital cameras suddenly appeared!

Best question of the evening – Miss Oishiieats; "Tell me, do you and the Missus really eat all that food?"

Best answers of the evening – All the answers to the question by CJ, "Why are there so many Asian Food Bloggers?"

A last observation….as everyone left it started raining quite hard, a part of me worried about everyone making it home safely, we just had to stagger over to the New Otani. A part of me thought about what we used to say back home…..whenever it used to rain during the most inopportune times we used to say, "ahhhh, look ,we're being blessed!"

Or to put it in other terms:

Round trip Train Fare from San Diego to Los Angeles – $58

2 day stay at the New Otani Hotel – $217

Dinner at Urasawa – $552

Hanging with the LA Food Bloggers – Priceless!

Thanks again for a great and unforgettable time!

Another Taco Shop-Carnitas, tamales, chile relleños, fresh tortillas, that’s about it! El Porvenir

January 6, 2007 Cathy Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

El Porvenir has closed. It will be missed.

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy is blogging and Kirk is relaxing….don't worry, we'll trade places.

Hi. So, on Christmas Eve I made tamales with my neighbor and I blogged it. Howie wanted to know why I did not put an olive in them (the lady who was showing us how to do it said she never saw it done that way and it must be a regional thing), Liz kind of was going to follow a recipe, of which I didn't print since its just using the ingredients and to taste… and Trent wanted to know where he might find masa preparada in a larger than one pound package..and fresh…presumably at a tortilleria.

I know where I *used to* get fresh masa preparada…and tamales already made for 60¢ each. Its still there, but they aren't selling the preparada during the holidays (competition you know;why do most of the work for someone else) and the tamales are now $1.50 each. It *has* been there forever- 1901 actually…El Porvenir.

Yes, that is it…technically two parking spaces in front, 4 tables and 2 booths inside…the cooking grills for the tortillas in front…and the best darn carnitas you will ever have. A plate of what feels like a pound is $5…the mixed carnita burrito is $2.75 It feels like a half pound.

The mixed carnitas taco is not on the menu and is $2.

I love the taste of the carnitas and the beans here. The beans are made using lard (from where, I say aloud to myself…where oh where can they get such yummy lard?).

Oh and the chile relleño burrito, also $2.75. Just with beans and the home made salsa…

The whole menu is written at the top of these neat pocket calendars. Burritos: carnitas and chile relleño, beans w/ rice, cheese, chorizo and eggs, machaca, chile con carne, pork and beef tamales. That's it…oh but they do sell tortillas $1.95 for a dozen flour and 95¢ for a dozen corn. You know they make them right there, and cook the flour ones for you if you are buying a dozen, or are just getting a burrito. It is excellent here, close to the entrance of the Coronado bridge (2 blocks west, two blocks south).

El Porvenir 1786 National Avenue San Diego 92113 (619) 702-2445 Mon- Sat 8 am-6 pm (mas or menos…it says so on the sign out front)

Ranas.com Mexico City Cuisine

January 4, 2007 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

**** Ranas has closed

My good Buddy Ed from Yuma has been mentioning Ranas.com in Spring Valley for several years. Having been assured that the food at Ranas are worthy of several "delici-yoso dances", and finally having some time off over this past Christmas weekend, the Missus and I made the drive to Spring Valley to find Ranas.com. We got off the 94 Freeway at Kenwood, took a left, and drove into the parking lot of a nearby strip mall. We didn't see a sign for Ranas, but the address looked correct.

We still weren't quite sure that we'd arrived at the right place, until we saw the sign in the parking lot…so this must be the place, right?

We entered the very colorful dining area, and were immediately greeted by a very friendly Young Man who told us that we could have a seat anywhere.

The Young Man, actually, I should say Gentleman, since he was so gracious, named Jose(I'm hoping I remembered his name correctly), asked us if we'd been to Ranas before, to which we answered in the negative. At this point, he smiled and asked us if we'd like to try some samples of the specials of the day….are you kidding!!! Within a minute, four little paper cups arrived:

Man, this was really good stuff! Jose took the time to explain each dish, and though I'd come here to try the Pollo en salsa de Cacahuate, the Peanut Butter Chicken that Ed always mentions, I suddenly changed course……

As we were famished we started with the Huarache Azteca($5.50), a "sandal"(Huarache) sized thick tortilla, topped with beans, potato, and nopal:

We were pretty unimpressed with this popular antojito(appetizer), the whole thing was a soggy mess, there was too much beans, and the flavor of the potato was completely obscured. It was a far cry from the versions we had at the two El Comals.

But have no fear…..our entrees were on the way! We shared all the entrees, trading plates when one of us exclaimed "switch"! So what did we get?

The Chicken in Green Pumpkin Seed Mole(Pollo en Mole Verde de Pepita – $6.99):

Talk about good! This rich, but not heavy Mole, had a nice, complex flavor, with hints of nuttiness and a slight spicy-smokey finish. Moping up the sauce with the corn tortillas provided is a must. The chicken was surprisingly moist, but this was about the mole. The rice was okay, and the beans bland. But man that mole!!!!

The Pork in Tomatillo Sauce (Puerco en Tomatillo Salsa – $6.99):

Chunks of tender pork in a tangy, slightly spicy, tomatillo sauce. Wow, we obviously went two for two on entrees. This sauce/stew was studded with potatoes and nopal, and was quite refreshing in it's own way….really good stuff!

We finished almost all of our tortillas mopping up the sauces. One thing we noticed about the corn tortillas provided, they arrived warm and tender but got very hard as they cooled…all the more reason to scarf everything up ASAP.

The Missus desired something sweet to finish up the meal, so She ordered the Kahlua Plantanos:

Not bad.

So…one good turn deserves another, right? So there we were three days later…at guess where? Yep, and Jose greeted us with a smile, and a warm, "welcome back".

And of course those wonderful samples……..of today's specials:

So this time, we ordered the Entomatado Pork (Pork in a spicy tomato sauce – $6.99):

Another winner, a nice, medium spicy, pork dish full of flavor. The pork was spoon tender, without being falling apart soft. Today, the beans had much more flavor as well. The Missus loved this.

The Cochinita Pibil($6.99) the classic slow roasted Yucatan Pork Dish:

This version was more stew-like and creamy than versions of this dish I've had before. Again rich, without being heavy is the signature here, and a nice slightly sweet finish to boot! Talk about finish, that's what we did to our corn tortillas. This was my favorite on this visit.

Instead of an appetizer or dessert, I finally ordered the Peanut Butter Chicken (Pollo en salsa de Cacahuate – $6.99), which Ed from Yuma always mentions:

Moist chunks of chicken in a sauce with a mild peanut flavor, think mildly spiced watery peanut butter. After having the two pork dishes, this tasted on the bland side. Not my cup of tea.

During our visit, Jose, who, it turns out is the Owner's son(it's a real Mom and Pop restaurant), explained that these were the dishes that he grew up eating. Which explains why the dishes were so good, like all good home cooking, the "specials" at Ranas had that unique ingredient, a combination of love, care, and pride, which makes everything taste so much better. The service we had at Ranas reflects that as well. As you can tell…we'll be back! Take some time away from the tacos and enchiladas, and check out those specials.

Ranas.com
9683 Campo Rd Ste A
Spring Valley, CA 91977

(619) 589-1792

Thanks for the recommendation Ed! We finally made it…and it was well worth it…..

Super Wok! Chinese Food to Go

January 3, 2007 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Super Wok has closed.

mmm-yoso is again not on vacation. Its just Cathy blogging while Kirk is busy doing other stuff, like digesting.

Hi. Thought you might like a good, inexpensive and local place to eat….

Oh, did I mention its, like, totally a hole in the wall? Sort of three tables inside, but nobody eats there. Its all packaged for you to take outside and eat…

Super Wok is located in Pacific Beach, on Ingraham, between Grand and Garnet, on the West side of the street. Next to the Coin Laundry, behind the Chevron Station. That's it- the whole building, right there in that photograph.

Its run by a husband and wife and their young daughter is there too. They are from Shanghai. The food is decidedly Westernized Chinese…the kind I grew up with in Detroit. Its good and fresh. There are 4 woks in the back, 2 rice cookers in front, and refrigerators and freezers with the food for cooking and a refrigerator with bottled and canned beverages. OK, the menu.

Yep, this is it. Its laminated and in front of you, next to the cash register, and there are things written on the wall behind the cash register…its all the same stuff, except I saw one tofu dish on the wall that isn't on the menu. That's it. You order, pay, sit down and wait. You get your food and its packaged and you have to find a place to eat. I think a lot of people use the Laundromat. We decided to drive south a few miles to the Ski Ramp/Boat ramp at Mission Bay and chose a picnic bench with a view.

We ordered some basics …the chicken egg foo young ($4.75) and the Curry Chicken ($5.95) as well as the paper wrapped chicken (6 pieces, $3.75).

The paper wrapped chicken was superb! Juicy, chopped chicken mixed with some crunchy water chestnuts, fresh herbs and some sauce that had sesame oil and I don't think any soy (it was not salty).

You can see in this photo the serving was juicy and steamed perfectly. It did not need anything added to give it flavor.

The Mister wanted to try the curry, because it had a * (Star) next to the description on the menu, indicating "hot and spicy". It also cost a bit more but that was because it came with fried rice and an egg roll.

The 'fried' rice was nothing exciting/nothing added…just the white rice that was put back into the wok..nothing added to it. The egg roll was *quite* nice, crispy skin and the filling had fresh, crispy vegetables. It was made there, not from a package. (An appetizer serving of two egg rolls is $1.80). The curry had onion, carrot, mushrooms, canned bamboo shoots and green pepper. The green pepper was kind of soggy, like it had been stir fried a second time. The sauce was a nice level of heat…enough so that it was hot but you could also taste the ingredients. The chicken was all white meat and quite flavorful as well as juicy and there was a lot of meat in this dish.

The egg foo young. Oh my- absolutely the best I have had. This was made with at least three eggs, mixed in were the bean sprouts, some carrot and onion..making the omelet just a wonderful base, and it is a meal in itself. I saw just "egg foo young" on the menu for 20¢ less and wasn't sure why. It must be just the egg mix..ah, but for that extra 20¢, I got a *lot* of chicken breast, again, juicy and plentiful, along with sauteed mushrooms and that gravy that was not over-laden with corn starch. I have only seen egg foo young made as a one shot deal- with the meat ingredient also cooked in with the egg. I like this way better…can have just egg or just meat or mix it if I want to.

By the way, the menu has "chop sewy" on it…I will try that next time…There are 17 lunch specials served from 11:00 to 3:00 daily. The most challenging thing, after deciding on which of the 71 items on the menu to choose from, will be finding a place to eat your food. You will like it. Try one of the egg foo young dishes.

Super Wok 4468 Ingraham Street San Diego 92109 (858)270-4859

Mon-Thur 11:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. Fri-Sat 11-10:30 Closed Sundays NO CHECKS, NO CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2007 mmm-yoso Cooking, Markets & Grocers, yoso-silly

Happy New Year!

There’s usually a pretty large amount of shopping that needs to be done around New Years eve. The Missus and I usually celebrate both the Gregorian and Lunar New Year. Japan officially accepted the Gregorian New Year in 1873, and have been celebrating New Year based on the Gregorian calendar since then.

So that would mean a few stops. First Nijiya:

Armed with my list(which turned out to be incomplete), I completed my shopping rather quickly, which gave me a nice opportunity to check out all the Osechi-ryori(Traditional Japanese New Years dishes) on display.

To me it seemed that there was a smaller variety of Osechi "Sets" this year, but that could just be me….

The industrious guy on the top in the photo below, almost made his escape after I took this photo:

The Obachan in front of me purchased $250 worth of food for New Years!

The next stop, Mitsuwa:

I noticed a smaller variety of Osechi here as well.

I found alot of "boxed" Osechi…sort of your generic, preboxed, impersonal, Costco-ized, Osechi:

Is this the future of Osechi? I hope not, it takes all of the fun out of Osechi Shopping.

So having purchased everything for our New Years meals, with only a few item omitted…well, I always forget a thing or two, it just wouldn’t be New Years without me rushing out to market. If anything, I’m consistent.

I only took a few photos, since I was busy cooking(and eating):

Of course Soba:

This year I added Wasabi Tobiko(wasabi flavored flying fish eggs), which added a nice "crunch" to the dish.

My own Osechi:

Karei Karaage(Deep fried flounder):

Lightly dusted with Katakuriko(potato starch), and lightly seasoned with sea salt and Shichimi Togarashi(Seven-spice chili pepper), and eaten with just a the lightest squeeze of lemon, and a tiny bit of Yuzu Kosho, a salty-citrusy-spicy condiment made with the rind of Yuzu, chili pepper, salt, and in this case a tiny bit of bean paste. By far the Missus’s favorite dish.

The Shishito Tempura was a close second:

I made some Matcha-Shio(Green tea powder mixed with salt) for dipping.

And some shrimp tempura:

And various Tempura(Kabocha, Satsuma-imo, Tamanegi, etc…):

Some Tofu, the Yuzu Koshu came in handy here as well.

And I haven’t been able to "retire" from making my Nishime yet, but maybe next year.

I guess we ate enough this New Year…better renew that Gym membership.

Of course, it’s always nice to settle in to watch the television after a nice meal:

Happy New Year!

Rose Parade Preview…and food at Tops

December 31, 2006 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy is blogging while Kirk rests. This one is interesting.

Hi. Its the end of the year and there are still some traditional things The Mister and I do. One of those things is going up to Pasadena, having breakfast and either helping or watching Tournament of Roses parade floats being decorated. Since I have this wrist injury and repetitive stress is out of the question, this is a year to watch.

So, we went to breakfast first at the Historic Green Street Hotel. The Hotel is now a Condominium Complex for the most part, but the building was built in 1898 and has been declared a Historical Site. …The food, its a brunch and not much selection.

Fruit, muffins, pastries, scrambled eggs, sausage and ham…as well as juice and coffee. We were not there for the food.

We ate quickly and waited to get onto the tour bus that took us about 1 mile south….this was the view, waiting to get to the top/overview area of one of the four float building company warehouses.

This is the Farmers Insurance entry for this year's parade. The little owl on Mother Nature's shoulder moves his head. They took the float out of the warehouse to make certain the mechanics were working and to do last minute touch ups before judging was to take place at about 1 p.m. today. Every square inch of the float that is visible has to be covered in something that is, or was alive.

Once you are inside you get a view of the nine floats that have been being assembled in this 'barn' for, really, the last year.

The City of Glendale float is the one with the bear, the Optimists have the one with the cat and dog being friends,

The City of Long Beach

made the one with the lighthouse and sailboats, the City of Pasadena did the birdhouse. McDonald's sponsored the one with the honeybees …

The Lutheran Hour has the one with the church, Lions Club International did the one with the cane for the blind.

Anyhow, these floats are essentially done, and beautiful. People talk about what they are made of…the living parts. But this isn't a good vantage point…HOWEVER…I have friends in High Places….oh, and I'm kinda sorta one of them….

Here is a photo from a few days before the parade last year, with a float still in the assembly stage. See the orange slices used so they look like goldfish scales?

(click on it and it will enlarge)

So, anyhow, here's some closeups..you can tell some of the materials without my help.

OK, so that was the majority of my day…but The Mister and I were tired and hungry and in Pasadena..and of course I *must* always have my camera with me.

Tops, 50 years in business, 'Voted Best Fast Food in Pasadena, Corner of Walnut and Allen'. Gotta try it.

Hmmm, similar to The Hat but with a larger menu….

So, we got what we know is good: the 1/2 pound burger ($3.89), pastrami dip($6.39) and small chili cheese fries($3.59)…

Simple, basic and pretty darn good…the burger is served with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and Thousand Island sauce; the pastrami was peppery, had a nice amount of fat and in a nice french roll…

OK, the burger looks, eh, smallish for 1/2 pound…here is what it looked like in my hand after I had eaten a LOT and was almost full….

Tops 1792 East Walnut Street Pasadena (626)584-0244 M-Th 7 am-11 pm; Fri/Sa am-midnight, Sun 9 am-11pm

I'll talk to you all next year, and thank you for making this one my most interesting in my lifetime! Watch football on January 1st… There's this game that is played in Pasadena….

Friday “Stuffs”: Recent Updates on Sakura and Sandwich Emporium, and Other “Stuff”

December 29, 2006 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Japanese Restaurants, Sandwiches, Sushi and Sashimi, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Since I'm pretty sure most of us are fairly preoccupied this time of the year, I thought I'd do a post of some "stuff" I've had on the back-burner, as well as a some house-keeping miscellanea.

Back to Izakaya Sakura with Ed from Yuma:

Ed from Yuma managed to squeeze in a short visit to San Diego a couple of weeks back, and we decided to meet up at Sakura. I know I've probably posted on Sakura a couple of times already, but I brought my camera along, so I thought I'd just take a few photos during dinner. Unfortunately the photos really didn't turn out real well…so please excuse the lousy photos. So onward to dinner. Since Ed is a long time Sakura customer, the Itamae, Kazu, knows that when Ed sits at the bar, it's anything goes, and whatever is fresh. So my strategy when eating at Sakura with Ed, is to order a few small dishes, while waiting for the inevitable sashimi. I'll keep the verbiage to a minimum…since we've eaten here before.

So let's see, we started with the Buta Kakuni:

Rich and delicious slow braised pork belly! Sweet soy flavor, and soft melt in your mouth pork….

Tebashio – salted and grilled Chicken Wings:

I had been wanting to try this for a while, mainly out of curiosity since this is a standard Yakitori style dish, I'd been wondering how it would be at Sakura. Nicely salted, with a mild dusting of Shichimi Togarashi to give it some kick, the wings had a nice smokey flavor. As Ed put it, "how can something so simple, taste so good?"

In dire need of a fried item, we had the Chicken Karaage:

As good a Chicken Karaage as I've ever had, just perfectly done.

Now came a few interesting items, stuff that Kazu ordered for us. The first item was a cold fish head "salad" in a sweet-soy sauce:

Sorry, this is only half of the dish, the other half was being devoured by Ed. You see by this time I was too busy eating, that I was a bit slow on the trigger. The Pompano(Ebisu-Shiira) Head had been marinated and stewed for so long that all of it was edible. Ed can correct me, but I don't remember a single bone. This was enough to trigger a "delici-yoso dance" by Ed, the unnatural phenomenon first documented at Buga in August of 2005, where Ed closes his eyes, raises his arms to a perpendicular angle, goes "mmmmm", and sways back and forth. Delici-yoso!!!

Sazae(sea snail):

Simmered sea snail, so very tender, there were a few "gritties", but this was quite good.

And of course the Sashimi:

Excellent Aji(as always), I thought that Aji season was over, but this was great, good Maguro, excellent Hamachi, probably the best Tako I've ever had, we were wondering why Kazu had included Tako! The Ika was good as well. The one item that I'm not really fond of at Sakura is the Awabi(Abalone), it's always been really tough, and on the bitter side.

Kazu also made us a Negi-Toro Temaki(Fatty Tuna and Green Onion Handroll):

This was a rarity at Sakura, I'd never seen a handroll made here. It was very good.

And of course my favorite part, the "Senbei" made from the Aji bones:

All of that, and two large Tokkuri(sake flask) of Otokoyama, came to $140. another great meal at Sakura. I've got some lunch photos from Sakura, but don't know what folder I put them in, if I ever find them I may post on that as well.

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111

Sandwich Emporium Redux:

I've posted on Sandwich Emporium in the past, but thought I'd give Peter and John a little more "love". After all, I'm in there about once a week, when I need something quick for dinner.

It's a nice simple menu, the sandwiches aren't fancy but are good and well made. And Peter and John (and Angela) are really good people, and have given me some nice restaurant recommendations as well..

Our favorite is the Triple Decker($5.75):

We enjoy ours on Sourdough with pepper jack, with no mayo or mustard, but with jalapenos. A nice sandwich.

Other sandwiches include an occasional special called the Spicy Julio, a spicy Roast Beef sandwich:

And when I need to up my fat intake, the "Jersey" Reuben($5.75):

I must say that the Twins have worked really hard to make Sandwich Emporium into a nice neighborhood sandwich shop. Sure beats Subway any day of the week.

Sandwich Emporium
3054 1/2 Clairemont Drive
San Diego,CA
619-275-1351

Now open seven days a week.

Orange County Food Blogs Launches.

OC Food Blogs is an ambitious collaborative effort project by the intrepid Chubbypanda covering the Orange County Food scene. So check it out, contributors include such esteemed Food Bloggers as Elmo of Monster Munching, ChristianZ of Orange County Mexican Restaurants, Rasa Malaysia, Wandering Chopsticks, and Professor Salt, among others.

A Sammy and Frankie Album.

Passionate Eater informed me that Frankie and Sammy have requested equal time. I don't know how they got in touch with Her, but PE got the message across to me, and now Sammy and Frankie have their own album. And per Frankie's and Sammy's instructions the album is dedicated to PE!

Check out the San Diego tumbleweed blowing across a parking lot in our neighborhood this past windy Wednesday.

Tailgate! The San Diego Holiday Bowl

December 28, 2006 Cathy Cooking, Recipes, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy is blogging away and Kirk is taking a day off. You checked in, so stay and read for awhile.

Hello again. Football. College football. Bowl games. Yes, its that time of year. Ten years ago there were only 18 Official Bowl games, now there are 32. The Holiday Bowl is played here in San Diego.

The Mister and I have gone to every Holiday Bowl since 1984….we meet with "100 of our closest friends"and have a feast in the parking lot before the game. One couple smokes a turkey, looking for a 30 pounder every year. We don’t care who is playing. We eat, go in and watch the game, then come back out and fire up the burners, have hot cider, turkey soup, Irish coffee and leftovers and watch the parking lot empty. Yes, we go for the food.

Our little group, comprised of some great people from all over the world: Australians, Canadians, Japanese, plus a few good Lions, Optimists, Rotarians, Aggies, Bears and long time friends, gets together, each bringing enough food for themselves, plus a little more to share, in our "miracle" potluck feast.

So, yesterday we started cooking: Six pounds of bread dough to make rolls:

Which, when finished, were wonderfully browned and soft, light and just a tad crispy on the top:

Then, we have about 9 pounds of cross rib roast, 3 pounds of tri-tip and 7 pounds of ribs…

We usually buy small end rib roast, and its usually on sale between Christmas and New Year, but not this year and we kind of need a *lot* of meat…and we can cook roast beef, no matter the cut. Those 100 ‘close friends’ don’t really know our names, but they know that we are the "roast beef people"…and, trust me, all of this beef will be gone.

So, the infamous recipe: garlic, oregano, paprika…made into a paste with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Um, how much you say…well that’s 3 pounds of fresh garlic…and a liter of olive oil…and then the rest…to taste.

Oh you should smell my house right now!

You put the paste on the meat, into the oven that had been at 500° and drop the heat to 300° and put a thermometer in and wait for 118° and take the meat out of the oven. It continues cooking, trust me. We pre-slice and its, you know, medium rare.

Our seats will have this same view this year. I’ll report back about the rest of the food, later. Gotta pack up the pick up!

OK…its about 11 p.m. and we are home. here are a few photos of food from the tailgate…. the infamous 27 pound smoked turkey with rice stuffing and the waay infamous sweet potato casserole

There were 133 of us this year and it seems that everyone brought something, from tangerines from the yard and cucumber salad, lasagna, pizza, Subway sandwiches, chicken, chips, many-layered dips and desserts galore..to the chili, hot cider and Irish coffee we had while waiting for the parking lot to clear.

Oh, the game was good too and the opening ceremonies, starting with a moment of silence for the military who have died in the war as well as for President Ford was moving. The flyover of the F-18’s after the Star Spangled Banner was exciting and loud.

Halftime was as loud and bright as ever with fireworks and a show put on by local schools and their marching bands and dance teams.

I hope this sort of gave you a small glimpse into what a Southern California tailgate is like. I need to sleep now!

Pho Van

December 27, 2006 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

If you drive on El Cajon Boulevard, you must have passed Pho Van many times, and if you’re like me, I’m sure you’ve wondered, "Hmmm, Pho Van I wonder how good the Pho is there…." And have just driven off down the road. After all Pho Van is located a few blocks away from the main "strip" of Vietnamese markets, restaurants, and businesses on El Cajon Boulevard.

But, if you’re like me…I think my buddy, Diet Chili Cheese Fries recently called me a "Pho Whore"(Check out the comments), though I prefer "Pho Bo Ho", you will actually make an effort to stop and check out the Pho. Pho Van is located in a pretty quiet location, and though it seems that parking may be at premium, there is a small parking lot down the alley, to the rear of the restaurant.

The interior is not quite as small as you think, but the decor screams generic Pho kitchen.

I entered and found my own seat, and almost immediately a menu was slapped onto the table, and the Server stood there, poised, pencil in hand, tapping his foot, and I hadn’t even opened my menu yet….but being an experienced Pho-nephile, I knew how to handle the situation, so it was going to be really easy. I opened the menu…….. and couldn’t find any Pho! What the Pho??? Now with a pair of eyes staring unwaveringly upon me, I was thoroughly discombobulated, I had to order something, and got the……

Bun Bo Hue($4.50), what else?

The garnishes were on the skimpy side, though it did include Tiet To(Purple Perilla) and Mint. I found the amount of shredded cabbage and bean sprouts to be pretty small.

The Bun Bo Hue arrived piping hot, but it wasn’t much good. The broth was nice and spicy, but very flat, and other than the heat, didn’t have much flavor. The pork hock had some tender meat, but the meat tasted a bit "off", the Gio Lua (Lean pork sausage) was fine, but any thick cut beef was a rare find indeed.

The noodles were overcooked and mushy.

I had also ordered some Cha Gio($4.25 for 4), and in keeping with the meal, they arrived when I was almost done with my Bun Bo Hue:

I could’ve gotten 2 for $2.50, but what I should have done was get 0 for $0.00. I really didn’t care for these, it seemed to be mostly filler, and the wrapper was too thick, having been folded over several times. What do you think?

So much for feeding the Pho obsession….as I paid for my meal, I grabbed a menu, and there it was, Pho…..I was given a menu that was missing the first page, the page with the Pho on it!

So being the Pho-natic that I am, I paid another visit to Pho Van, and this time ordered the Pho Dac Biet Xe Lua (Special – Extra Large Bowl, $5.00).

The garnishes arrived first, and though there was only one sprig of Basil, the garnishes included Ngo Gai, which was very fresh. I found the various meat to be on the very tough and fatty side, and the amount of Tripe to be minuscule. The noodles were in a clump in the bottom of the bowl and was very mushy. At first glance I thought that the broth would be pretty good, the color was good, and the oil content looked to be adequate. But the broth turned out to be way too salty, I couldn’t even finish half of the broth.

Bummer, I’m always on the look-out for a good bowl of Pho, especially with the recent cooler weather.

So what can I say about Pho Van? Well, the prices are very reasonable and the service is very fast, though cool and detached, no different from any number of restaurants. Since everyone else I saw eating at Pho Van was getting Pho or another noodle soup, I really see no reason to return.

Pho Van Restaurant
4233 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92105

Oh, and this post is dedicated to Diet Chili Cheese Fries……one of my favorite lines is from a movie that is a favorite of ours…"Eat the Pho!"