mmm-yoso – Page 543 – 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.

episode four/Week one-La Basil Thai

October 4, 2006 Cathy Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

***UPDATE*** La Basil at this location closed in June 2007. The La Jolla location is still open. Rumor is a new location in East County is in the works. Click onto website info at bottom of post for information.

mmm-yoso is on vacation. In the interim, the part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy.

Hi. So, the parting words to me from Kirk were "Oh- and make sure you do Basil Thai"…and I don't want to. I don't want everyone to know about this place. Its one of the really great hole-in-the-walls, run by a Thai family. The people who go there frequently know they have a gem…and anyone who goes to K Sandwiches has been right on top of it. (click onto the photo- you can see K Sandwiches on the left and right there, at the end of the parking lot, under the setting sun-those buildings right there…go ahead, walk on over)

There they are- my two best kept secrets, right on Mesa College Drive. We will go from left to right and I will talk about La Basil today.

Here is the menu, posted outside. Basically for the lunch specials, you choose your type of noodle, type of meat and type of sauce. If you get vegetarian, chicken or pork,its $5.99; beef or duck is $6.99, shrimp or calamari is $7.99, scallop is $8.99 and mixed seafood is $10.99.

Dinners have a similar style of ordering, with the most expensive entree on the menu being $12.95.

For dinner, there are appetizers, salads, noodles & rice, house curries, specialties and fish.

The thing is, there are 18 CHAIRS for 5 tables total inside and 10 CHAIRS for 4 tables outside, and really, if you were to sit at the tables using all of those chairs, there is no space for plates for all the people. Notice there are no condiments on the tables.

We ordered, had water placed and a basket of still sizzling shrimp chips were brought out to the table. Not oily, not too hot, but still sizzling with a nice shrimp flavor and oh so light and crispy.

Then the appetizer we ordered arrived, having been freshly made, Spring rolls ($4.95): rice paper stuffed with tofu, lettuce, bean sprouts, carrot, mint, cucumber, rice noodle served with a sweet/sour/hot sauce topped with chopped peanuts on the left and warmed, fresh made peanut sauce on the right. These were very fresh, with the right amount of crunch and the sauces complimented the flavors perfectly.

Then my most absolute favorite Thai dish arrived- Larb salad…made with beef! I have looked high and low for larb made with beef anywhere else in San Diego and have yet to find it. Seems its always made with chicken. Here, you get to choose: beef, chicken or pork. Larb is made with the minced meat, lime juice, chili, rice powder (gives it crunch) and mint and also served are cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, onions and shredded carrots. I asked for medium heat..not too much: I wanted to taste the flavors. It was just right. ($7.95)

We also got the chicken pad Thai this time. The pad Thai is kind of sweet tasting here and the noodles are fresh rice noodles, with a nice "bite" to them, but at lunchtime I like to get the pad see ew noodle, made with a thicker rice noodle, that seems to hold more of the sauce on it. (I also like the green curry on rice at lunch). Bean sprouts, scallion and egg along with chopped peanuts and the chicken and noodles. ($7.95)

This little placard was on the table, and we had ordered the rice with coconut ice cream once before, remembering it took about 10 minutes to come out, because they make it fresh, and it was busy. We ordered ahead of time. They were out of ice cream, so we asked for the custard.

Which was also made fresh. The rice is made with coconut milk, was still warm and wonderfully sticky. The custard was eggy and wonderfully fresh, with a skin just beginning to form on top. The price was $4.95.

All in all, the Mister and I really like La Basil. It does a brisk take out (but you don't call it in: i never have heard a phone ring when we were in there- you walk in, order and wait…they give you some shrimp chips to munch on… and enjoy the decor):

It is going to be Halloween soon, you know.

La Basil Thai Cuisine 7530 Mesa College Drive SD 92111

Mon-Fri 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.

Sat 12:00 p.m.-9:00p.m.

Did anyone notice the parsley on the dessert plate?

Addendum- October 12, 2006….I was reading the morning paper and saw a coupon for La Basil Thai in La Jolla. There was a website: La Basil dot com and I went to it, looked at the menu section and it is, apparently, a chain! The La Jolla prices are a dollar more than the prices at this location on Mesa College Drive. There is nothing on the menu here to indicate they had another location. …and I just don't hang around in La Jolla enough to know that there was a La Basil there. Sorry if anyone was confused.

Episode three-week one/Niban

October 3, 2006 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in the interim.

Niban-fast, inexpensive, fresh, un-fancy, second best (?)Japanese and sushi.

So I don’t know much about the Japanese language except the Numbers one, two and three: ichi, ni, san…and so I use the Google Japanese translator and ichiban means "first", niban means "second" and sanban means "third". Then again, if you merely Google "niban" well, that is a brand name of a boric acid based granular bait used for pest control…I know I have seen restaurants named Ichiban…so to name yourself Niban, well, that takes …guts… on so many levels.

So yes, of course we eat here, regularly.

Its a simple system. You walk in, pay, then sit down. (If you are doing a "to go" order, you can sit at one of the chairs lining the front window). One of the people who works there takes your receipt, asks what you would like to drink (hot tea is free) (if you have paid for soda or beer, they ask you what kind you want) and they bring it to you and soon your order arrives.

The menu is simple:

and there are daily lunch specials written on a chalk board on the wall in front of you when you walk in, and other specials written on a chalkboard to the far right of the cash register (but also displayed in a glass case to your right as you walk in the door-you can see it from the front window right underneath this GIANT menu taped to the window.) Also, there is a monthly special, printed on a colored sheet of paper taped to the front window, a glass case straight ahead when you walk in the door and on the counter when you order. For October it is katsu curry-either chicken or shrimp, with salad and beverage for $5.50..regular $6.25 without beverage.

The specials are usually 75¢ to $1 off the regular price. There is a sushi bar with 7 (seven) seats total to the right and to the back of the cash register. If you want only that, you can walk in and sit down…paying when you leave. No photo; the people eating didn’t want to be in a picture.

But I like this display of plastic sushi and mirrors in the front window anyhow….

This is what we had in the last two visits:

The calamari appetizer- 5 pieces of squid steak breaded and fried. That sauce that looks like thousand island dressing..it isn’t…it has jalapeño in it…

The chicken katsu salad (regularly $3.50, sale price $2.75). I can eat this as a meal. Lettuce, chilled rice noodle, sliced carrots, sliced cucumbers and a ginger-garlic dressing served on the side. One whole piece of katsu chicken.

We got the sushi combo one night: 6 pieces nigiri and 2 hand rolls:$10.95

The hand rolls are regularly $3.50 each and are quite large. One was with crab meat and the other spicy tuna. All the fish was very fresh, tender, sliced thick enough and served on proper rice. Nothing outstanding, nothing bad, either. Below in this photo are the gyoza, served steamed or fried. ($2.95) Five handmade, thin skinned and filled with mostly pork with good ginger flavor as well as some water chestnut crunch. Very good.

On this visit, one of the daily specials was this bento box of chicken teriyaki, fried croquette (potato cake), salad, pickled bean sprouts, cold rice noodle and rice, served with miso soup. ($5.95 regular $6.75)

The chicken was mostly dark meat, the teriyaki sauce is good, not too thick or sweet. The croquette was excellent: crispy on the outside, and good mashed potato on the inside.

The October special, katsu curry.

We tried it with shrimp-you get three. If you get the chicken, you get 2 patties.

The curry tonight was not as thick as usual, but still tasty, with a nice "bite"..beef based, Japanese flavored, some chunks of beef (we have had more beef in it previously), potatoes, carrots and, according to the Mister, an inordinate amount of onions.

There is a TV on each side of the restaurant, none on the outside patio- but Players Bar and Grill is across the sidewalk and they have 4 television sets playing outside, for the smokers.

…and..my most favorite piece of decor:

The sushi clock!

All in all, Niban is good, fast and inexpensive…and has some sort of issues going on with self esteem, near as I can tell. Someday I’ll ask why they chose this name.

Niban 7081 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego (858) 268-0465

Lunch Mon-Sat 11:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Dinner Sun-Thurs 5:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m., Fri and Sat 5 p.m.-10 p.m.

Episode two/week one-Emmas…and

October 2, 2006 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in the interim.

Emma’s Mexican Food…and what else I ate today

So, there was an incident in a parking lot on Labor Day and the parts are in, and Carter’s Collision opens at 7 a.m., so drop off a car and either walk home (all uphill, by the way, about three miles) or have the Mister follow me and perhaps go out to breakfast (heh heh) on a Monday. I chose the latter.

Those of you who have lived in San Diego, should remember the first/only Price Club (which eventually bought out Costco), in Santee. It is now an empty lot (although this weekend it had some sort of carnival with all sorts of scary rides on the lot and soon it will have a Pumpkin Patch that will turn into a Christmas Tree sales place in about another month or so) and will sooner-or-later turn into Highway 52 joining up with Highway 67 and make our lives oh so much easier, if we are driving in that direction….[sorry; digression]…AND SO ANYHOW, if you remember that Price Club, the address on your receipts was Buena Vista Avenue, and you usually entered on that street and right on the other side of Buena Vista is Emma’s.

Which looks like this from Cuyamaca:

and looks like this from Buena Vista:

and so anyhow…we decided to go here for breakfast.

Here is the menu (I know someone loves to read the menus):

The Mister ordered the Enchiladas Rancheros (two cheese enchiladas, topped with an over-easy egg and some homemade nopalitos (preserved in a jar-with-salt water cactus)/onion/tomato salsa and rice and beans) $4.75:

Here is a better photo of the enchiladas and of the salsa: the enchiladas were nice and cheesy and fried on the bottom, so nicely crispy and the salsa was nice and chunky; good flavor but not heat:

and I ordered the breakfast burrito ($2.75): 2 eggs fluffily scrambled with cheese and ham:

Both entrees were brought out to the table by the owner and the place was hopping, with 9 other people having placed orders, most to go, before 7:30 a.m.. That is kind of interesting, considering the location being out of the way in a now non-busy part of Santee. Everything was fresh and tasty. There is a salsa bar with mild red, hot red and tomatillo spicy salsa that you can get for yourself. It was very nice and satisfying. They don’t serve coffee here, so you have to bring your own, or grab some soda pop from the fridge, or a bottle of water from your car if you want something to drink.

We usually go to Emma’s for lunch/dinner and get the quesedilla or carne asada burrito and both are always very good, oversized and filling. If it is on your way to somewhere (its just south of Mission Gorge, right off of Cuyamaca- the "new" Santee Costco is less than a mile from that corner, just northwest.) you should stop in. Everyone who works there is very friendly and the food is good. They make a LARGE shrimp cocktail for $7.05 (10 shrimp) and all of the shrimp dishes are very good.

One item unique to here is rolled FISH tacos. (Usually rolled tacos are made with shredded beef or chicken). These are especially good if you don’t eat meat on Fridays (and we all know fish isn’t meat, right?) because you grew up in a certain religion and so, "just in case" you continue to merely skip meat on that day of the week….

Oh, digression again, sorry.

Lunch was a nice respite:

Shrimp (31 count) was on sale at 99 Ranch this week for $4.99 per pound and so the Mister bought about 1.5 pounds and I made two things today: this simple shrimp salad (cook and chill shrimp, mix with grapes, fresh dill, mayo/sour cream, salt and white pepper) on a fresh croissant (99¢ from K Sandwiches)…and also this stir fry:

The rest of the shrimp, some leftover chicken, mushrooms and pea pods..stir fried in some sesame oil.

… served with some stir fried yakisoba and some re-hydrated miso soup from 99 Ranch.

All in all, it was a nice day weather-wise and food wise. I hope yours was, too.

Oooh, I do like doing this blog so far. You know, local lobster season just started, so in the interest of research and making an interesting post…

AND FOR TOMORROW- I promise no caffiene when I start writing.

Emma’s Mexican Food 8781 Cuyamaca, Santee 92071 (619) 596-8189 7 a.m.-8:3- p.m. Mon-Sat, closed Sunday

Episode one/Week one- Hello

October 1, 2006 Cathy What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in the interim.

Hello.

I know you are sort of traumatized. I will try to make you think that nothing has changed while Kirk is taking a well deserved rest. I am just going to blog about food, like he does. But, I'm not a guy…nor from Hawaii…so, even though I have similar observations as he does, some things may not be the same. Perhaps you will see some variety in my observations compared to his.

I like to cook, like he does:

This is from a Holiday Bowl tailgate last year, where the Mister and I always meet with 100 of our closest friends and everyone brings something to eat (we bring about 15 lbs of small end rib roast and 6 lbs of rolls, all made at home that morning) starting at about noon (the pre-game starts at about 5 p.m.)…and where we all return to after the game, to finish up leftovers, have some hot chili, a nice turkey soup that one couple always brings, hot cider and perhaps some sort of beverage made with …um..instant coffee crystals, hot water, whipped cream…and watch the traffic clear out.

I also like a nice cup of coffee:

I make drinking coffee a reason for me to sit down and relax, not just to drink while driving around in the car. I have a refurbished Proteo Barista machine from Starbucks and have at least two shots of espresso every morning. I saw this website and was inspired to make cute designs with the foam, at least on mornings when I feel like it. My brother liked this design. He says it looks like Mr. Spacely (of Spacely Space Sprockets) from The Jetsons.

I also have a small garden:

Where this year, I grew corn, beets, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, basil, dill, parsley, potatoes and radishes…you know, stuff for munching. Oh, there is that one sunflower that showed up also…

Of course the Mister and I do go out to eat, too:

I take photos. Most chefs take such pride in presenting a beautiful plate.

These are potstickers, for a soon to be published post.

The Mister and I are unafraid to try any type of food, anywhere we happen to find an open restaurant. The Mister is now retired from the military and we have lived and visited kind of everywhere in the States and the Med and some of the Pacific Rim and not much scares us and we are willing to try just about any type of cuisine…and walk around in any type of neighborhood….you'll see that soon enough.

So, I hope you will not notice much of a difference and will maybe find some new places you might want to try -or avoid- …remember, its just blogging and observing, so not all of my comments will be positive. I look forward to sharing with you. -Cathy

P.S. I know, I have to figure out the stopwatch feature on my mobile phone….such requirements for blogging!

Sunday Stuffs

October 1, 2006 mmm-yoso Blog

Let Me Introduce to You……..

MMM-YOSO is a true labor of love for me. I’m always so amazed and so very appreciative of most of the individuals who actually take time out of their day to visit mmm-yoso.

So when the Missus and I arranged a vacation, not a short trip, but a real vacation, I was torn. The first thing I thought was "what about my blog???" Sounds strange I know, but when I started this little ol’ blog, I made a commitment to attempt to do it to the best of my abilities.

As fate would have it, a friend of mmm-yoso stepped up to the plate, and has agreed to provide mmm-yoso with Her own brand of humor, insight, and most importantly her opinions.

So let me turn over mmm-yoso to Cathy, a frequent commenter, the same Cathy who often accuses me of being a restaurant stalker, since we have often eaten at the same restaurants during the same period of time. Cathy is a longtime San Diego resident, one thing I’m not, and can provide much background on various topics. Cathy is also well traveled(hint: don’t replace her chopsticks with a fork and spoon….), and has great taste…since we often have the same opinion and observations on various restaurants. LOL!

Thanks so much for graciously taking the wheel Cathy! I’m forever indebted to you!

Just one more item, and I’m on vacation(I will be checking in though):

Dont forget about the San Diego Asian Film Festival.

One of the many personalities of the blogger sometimes known as ChiliCheeseFries, known as Ron will have a full length feature film that he Co-Directed and Wrote called Asian Stories (Book III) shown. Tickets can be purchased here.

If you want some free tickets, I have 3 pairs. So first 3 emails I get requesting tickets will get those….again it’s emails. Just send me an email requesting tickets and I’ll respond with an email requesting mailing info.

Just snack before I go:

That’s some Ika(Squid) Shiokara on the left, Tako(Octopus) Wasabi on the right – from Sammy’s.

Hey Ron, I bet this is the first time Asian Stories has been mentioned along with Fermented Squid Intestines and Octopus!

See you all in a few weeks!

Without further ado….let me formally turn over the reins to Cathy.

Restaurant Yakata Part 2

September 28, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

This past Saturday, the Missus was in the mood for some sushi and Japanese food, but I was a bit too tired to drive all the way to LA to Sushi Komasa or Sushi Gen. We also just wanted a quiet evening, so having recalled what Makoto at Restaurant Yakata said on my visit, "Saturdays nights are my slowest…" We decided to see if this was true, and drove down to National City. Well Makoto-san was correct, it was 630pm, and only two tables were taken, and the sushi bar was empty.

Being absolutely ravenous, we decided to order some food from the menu, and also a 10 piece Nigiri combination. I told Makoto, not to worry about price, just give us a variety.

The Missus started with Tempura Soba($6.50):

Soba, Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura, in a light broth, the Missus really enjoyed this.

I ordered the Tempura-Teriyaki Chicken Combo ($7.25). The dinner came with a bowl of miso, that was salty, but strangely very weak in miso flavor, and a green salad with a ginger-sesame dressing that was pretty good.

The Chicken Teriyaki was very uninspired, the sauce too sweet and watery.

The Tempura on the other hand was very good.

Though not very large, the shrimp had the perfect amount of crunchy batter, and the shrimp was cooked perfectly, soft and moist. The vegetables included were a broccoli floret, a thin slice of Kabocha, and a thin slice of Eggplant. The Tentsuyu(tempura dipping sauce) was fine, though I would have enjoyed some Daikon Oroshi(grated daikon) for the sauce. Still, this was a good amount of food for the price.

While we were eating the Nigiri arrived:

The Missus went straight for the Unagi, which is always the safe choice for Her and She enjoyed it. The Maguro was okay, and the Hamachi not as good as my previous visit. I thought the Sake(salmon) was quite good, as was the Saba. I had the Missus try the Mirugai(Giant Clam/Geoduck), which She really enjoyed, and the Hokkaido Hotategai(scallop) which She adored. The Tako(Octopus) was fine, as was the Ika(Squid), and Hirame.

Having figured out what She enjoyed we went for another round:

More good Mirugai, and excellent Hotategai. Makoto even remembered how I enjoyed eating my Aji. Up to this point in time, the Missus had always refused to eat Aji, associating it with the sometimes very fishy Saba. But tonight, She decided to give it a shot. As She ate the piece of Nigiri, Her eyes opened wide….."Wow, this is really good, almost milky in flavor, the texture is awesome!" I guess we’ll be fighting over the Aji from now on.

All told, our fairly hefty dinner(no alcohol) came out to about $50, without tip. By no means cheap, but quite satisfying. As we left Yakata, the restaurant was totally empty. I guess Makoto is right about Saturday nights…..

So if you want to grab some pretty good sushi on a Saturday night, and not have to deal with noise, crowds, or traffic, Restaurant Yakata might be a good choice.

Restaurant Yakata
2424 Hoover Ave
National City, CA 91950

Pho Hoa-Huong Restaurant: Fastest Pho in the West?

September 27, 2006 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Pho Hoa-Huong Restaurant, otherwise known as Pho Hoa Linda Vista, or just plain Pho Hoa, is known for two things in my book.

Pho Hoa has some of the darkest Pho broth I’ve seen in San Diego, and some of the fastest service I’ve encountered. It is possible to to get out of Pho Hoa in less than half an hour, if you keep up your side of the bargain…then again, it’s almost as if they can’t wait to get rid of you.

Pho Hoa, is slightly hidden, behind Yum Yum Donuts, and Le’s Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese restaurant on Linda Vista avenue. But that hasn’t stopped Pho Hoa from being very popular.

A typical lunch goes like this. I walk to the door, one of the Servers(all male, all looking like they’ve had severals cups of high octane) points to a table. As I arrive at the table, a menu is dropped, and one of the Servers is standing there looking at me, pencil at ready. And I haven’t even picked up the menu yet…… Feeling the pressure, I open the menu and blurt out "number one", mainly because it’s usually the Pho Dac Biet($5.20). As I do this one of the Servers walks double-time to the kitchen, while the Dude with the pad walks to the counter and drops off the order at the cash register.

In a blink my water arrives at the table. Within a few seconds my garnishes arrive, at light speed.

A bit on the stingy side, but with Ngo Gai(Saw leaf), one sprig of Basil, lime, bean sprouts, and some Jalapeno slices.

Within 2 minutes my Pho arrives.

Todays broth is merely a light brown, I’ve had it when the broth looked almost like Niu Rou Mein(Chinese Beef Noodle Soup) broth. The broth is usually on the very cloudy side, I’ve been told that a muddy broth is a no-no, but the broth at Pho Hoa has always been pretty good. Dark Pho broth does not necessitate a richer soup, as it’s charred green onions, onions, and ginger that will impart much of the color to the Pho broth. Todays broth was mildly beefy, a bit too salty, and without any real distinctive anise or clove flavor. That’s not to say the broth was bad, I usually find it satisfying, because the large amount of green onions and the basil impart alot of flavor to the broth.

The meat at Pho Hoa is usually pretty good, and today the rare beef and tripe were very good.

The tendon was a bit hard, and the brisket had nice flavor, but the fat was too tough. Still not bad, it’s hard enough to get decent rare beef.

One other item I notice about Pho Hoa, since everything is put together so quickly, is that the noodles are really hard when the Pho arrives, but gets soggy very quickly. I’m not quite sure if anyone who has eaten there has noticed this.

Still, I’m quite sure that I got out of there in under 30 minutes.

Sooooo, recently, in need of some amusement, and in my own typical weird fashion, I decided to make my lunch at Pho Hoa a sporting event of sorts. I call it the "how fast can you have lunch at Pho Hoa" event. My objective, to have lunch at Pho Hoa in under 30 minutes from the time I enter the restaurant, to the time I leave, without causing myself any gastric or other related distress…and of course without making a mess of Myself.

I set my stopwatch as I stepped to the door front, and was waved in. I walked to my table as if flames were licking at my butt(9 seconds). The menu was placed on the table, but instead of taking time to actually open my menu and order, I just blurted a number out. I don’t even remember what it was(10 seconds), and zip the Dude was gone. A minute later(actually 30 seconds) my water arrived, and 90 seconds later my hot tea. 3 minutes later I found out what I had ordered, Com Tam(broken rice) with Charbroiled Pork($5.20):

This is when I decided to slow down a bit, and try to enjoy my food. The portion size was quite good. The dish came with a bowl of very well flavored broth and Nuoc Mam Cham, the usual dipping sauce. On the good side, the Com Tam was steaming hot and sufficiently moist; too many times I’ve had hard and dry broken rice. The meat was also moist, and though very tender, it was still devoid of the tough inedible connective tissue we call "sugi" in Hawaii, named after nylon fishing line. I did find the meat to be rather bland, and though the Nuoc Mam did help, I still didn’t think it had a whole lot of flavor. I think I’ll stick with the Pho’.

As I stood and walked to counter to pay, the rather stoic Gentleman who I think is the Owner, looked at me and said; "aaah, you eat fast", and I felt like I had just won the Gold Medal at the Pho Hoa Games…….Total time 20 minutes, 35 seconds!

Seriously, the Pho at Pho Hoa will appeal to those who enjoy a darker, medium oil, balanced broth. The meat can be wildly inconsistent, but on this visit was good. The service is fast, but you may feel rushed. When in doubt, there’s always number 1……….

Pho Hoa-Huong Restaurant
6921 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

Open Daily 7am – 8pm

Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge

September 25, 2006 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Poke

*** Mr Tiki like most fad restaurants has faded away….

Last year I actually won something, man was I thrilled, mainly because I never win anything. On one hand I was really excited, it was two $50 gift cards…on the other hand, it was for a Cohn Restaurant Group restaurant. Most of our experiences at Cohn Restaurants have been of the "all style, no substance" variety. So here it's almost a year later, and we're thinking we better use these soon. So the Missus chose Mr. Tiki in the Gaslamp.

One thing you've got to give to the Cohn Group is that they are masters at the art of marketing and creating theme restaurants. Mr Tiki is a restaurant with a pseudo-Polynesian, Tiki Culture theme, serving Asian Fusion style dishes. Items like Kona Coconut Crabcakes, Miso Salmon Dumplings, Korean Style Smoked Ribs, along with a "Poke" and Sushi Bar on the premises. Now I really enjoy Pacific Rim style cuisine when done well, but in most cases it's a train wreck of mismatched flavors waiting to happen.

The Missus and Her Girlfriends have been to Mr Tiki several times, and had always enjoyed the experience. So I was all for giving it a try, especially with a $50 card, and a $10 off coupon, and arriving during Happy Hour to boot! The first thing the Missus noticed was that the menu had changed since Her last visit, and Her favorite dish, a Miso Salmon served on a pseudo Yaki Onigiri was no longer on the menu.

So the Missus decided to drown Her sorrows in a glass of Coconut Kiss($4 Happy Hour – $8 regular):

A coconut-pineapple-rum concoction with a hidden kick. She did enjoy it while it lasted.

The next thing the Missus noticed was that all the Fish Fillet, Whole Shrimp, and other dishes were now conspicuously missing from the menu.

We started with the Island "Poke" Platter ($18):

According to the menu, all these dishes are made for sharing. The Poke Platter had Lime Ceviche on one side, Poke on the Other, and Taro Chips scattered around the plate.

The Lime Ceviche, was indeed Lime Ceviche, that's all you could taste. The Ceviche was lip puckering sour, very one dimensional, though the fish had a nice firm texture, it was not particularly enjoyable.

The Poke was okay, much too salty, and the marinade was wet and runny. The fish was of decent quality. Though the portion looked to be fairly decent, the fish was served in a banana leaf cone which was empty.

The Taro Chips were good though!

By this time the Missus ordered something called a "Volcano" ($7 Happy Hour):

Think of it as being a bowl of slushy Mai Tai, with a little(luckily) bowl of lit 151 proof Rum in the center. We were given two looong straws, though I wasn't drinking on this evening. The Missus stayed with the Mai Tai portion, and enjoyed it. She managed to drink about a third.

The Missus ordered the Mini Ahi Sliders($13):

I clicked this photo, and realized, that I couldn't see the Ahi, so the Missus opened up one of the sliders.

My first reaction was "ugh, grey food…". The Missus thought these were pretty good, even though cooked "well done", the fish "cakes"(I don't know what to call them) were very juicy and moist. I thought these were much too sweet, and a strange sour flavor(I believe it was lemongrass) really didn't help much. The Sesame Aioli was so mild, that you couldn't taste it at all. The fries were excellent, and we enjoyed those.

I ordered the Sesame Grilled Lamb Chops($15):

First off, the Lamb Chops were very soft and moist, though all the "wildness" was taken out of the chops. The flavor was very mild, I really couldn't taste any marinade. On the other hand the flavor of the Pineapple-Mint Chutney tasted so very strange…almost like eating pieces of oregano and onion flavored pineapple. The Sweet Potato Cake, is a Mashed Sweet Potato Crouqette with just a touch of spice, otherwise not much going on here. Still the Lamb Chops were soft and moist…too bad that taste wise, it could've been chicken.

Still I thought this meal was worth the price we paid…it came to about 3 bucks and change after the gift card and coupon, without tip! We did tip really well, since we received very good service; friendly, efficient, without being obtrusive. But would we have spent $60 for this? I really don't think so.

In the end, nice theme, nice drinks(per the Missus), very good service, the food needs some work.

Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge
801 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
Dinner Nightly from 530pm

Restaurant Yakata Part 1

September 24, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

Sometimes you get lucky, I had missed my exit on the I-5, and went over to the Mile of Cars exit to turn around. I turned into a strip mall and saw Yakata. And even though I just did a U-turn in the mall, Restaurant Yakata just kind of stuck with me. The final straw was reading through Jeni’s post on Sushi Zo – Off the Beaten Path, and Yakata quickly came to mind. I did a Yahoo search on Yakata, and came up with almost nothing……perfect!

I arrived at about 530pm on a Friday evening to find Yakata totally empty, and I thought that my instincts had turned on me.

Being alone I took a seat at the sushi bar and started looking over the fish. I started cautiously, with Maguro and Hamachi, just to get my bearings and determine the quality of he fish. I had also started a conversation with the Itamae; Makoto. Please pardon the photos, the lighting in Yakata is really tricky.

The Hamachi was quite good, the Maguro decent, but on the very cold side. The rice was a perfect temperature. Things were looking up. Makoto was just the opposite of the talkative and friendly Sam at Sammy’s, being on the reserved side. But since there were no customers in the restaurant, I was given am excellent opportunity. You see, part of what can make eating sushi a great experience is getting to know the Itamae(Sushi Chef), and giving the Itamae the chance to know my eating habits. Makoto also noticed that I didn’t use any "Wasabi"(da’ fake green stuff) with my fish, opting for just the most minute touch of soy.

So having started a conversation, I asked Makoto, "what is good tonight?" And after looking at me, and asking me a few questions, he came up with this:

The Hotategai(scallop) was excellent, sweet, with a buttery-velvety texture, among the best I’ve ever had. When I mentioned this to Makoto, he told me it was Hokkaido Hotategai. The Mirugai was also good, sweet and crunchy, obviously very fresh. I bought Makoto a Sapporo to thank him for such great sushi.

A short time later, Makoto asked me if there was anything I really didn’t care for, and why. I mentioned that I’m really not fond of Saba(Mackerel), as most times it overly fishy, and can be quite funky. So a minute later, a pair of Saba Nigiri appear in front of me, Makoto placing them on my plate with a grin.

The first thought that entered my head was, "how confident…." That said, the Saba was good, very good, just the right touch of the oily fishiness, enough to make you realize that this soft piece of fish was Saba. By now we had entered into a very nice conversation. It seems that Tuesdays through Thursdays are his busiest days. During the afternoon, it’s a combination of customers from local businesses as well as Japanese customers from the area, and those returning from Mexico. During the evenings it’s His regular customers, and Japanese returning from various businesses in Mexico.

Finally, I ordered some Aji(Spanish Mackerel). When asked my preference, I requested a thin slice of lemon in place of the usual minced ginger.

This was most excellent, the lemon added a slight citrus hint to the almost milky-rich flavor of the Aji.

By now several customers had made their way through the restaurant, most sitting at tables having tempura, teriyaki, and the such. And 2 elderly Japanese customers who went for Sashimi and Gohan(rice). I started asking Makoto about other items, and came to find that to balance both having the best product available for His customers, and getting the most out of His investment, Makoto will only have many of His specialty items "in season". That means Tai(snapper) usually only the spring, Ankimo(Monkfish Liver) during the winter, Aji and Amaebi(sweet shrimp) during the summer and fall. I had also found out that Makoto hails from Tokyo, though He has been in San Diego for 16 years, the first 14 in North County, opening Yakata 2 years ago.

This nice light dinner cost me a bit under $40(including 3 large Sapporo). I left satisfied, and with the knowledge that Saturday evenings were His slowest in the back of my mind….I knew where we were going on Saturday.

Stay tuned for Part 2 later on this week.

Restaurant Yakata
2424 Hoover Ave
National City, CA 91950

Yakitori K-1

September 21, 2006 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Japanese Restaurants

*** K-1 has been replaced by Wa Dining Okan. You can find posts here and here.

I approached Yakitori K-1 with a bit of apprehension, because I really can't remember the last time I had good Yakitori. Still, seeing the sign for Yakitori K-1, every time I shopped at Nijiya finally wore me down.

We arrived at 6pm, and found the tiny, spartanly decorated shop, empty.

The menu was simple, and short, but all the usual suspects were present.

So we placed our orders…and off we went. It is normal to order several different items, and eat slowly, usually with "liquid refreshment", but Yakitori K-1 is still in the process of obtaining a liqour license. I started with one skewer of Momo (Thigh – Momoniku – $1.29), and Negima, Chicken pieces(In this case chicken breast) and Green Onions($1.79).

The Momo is a good test of the Tare(basting sauce), and cooking technique. The Missus thought the Tare was really salty, I thought it was pretty one dimensional, with shoyu overpowering everything else. The chicken pieces were fairly moist, but I'd have enjoyed my chicken a bit more caramelized. In a case like this, I'd rather just have "Shio", or salt on the chicken. The chicken breast was kind of dry, it would have been really nice if the some of the skin was left on the chicken. And just two pieces of Negi(green onions) meant that you were not going to get the flavor of the green onions in every bite, unless you did the sword swallowing thing…..

The ShisoMaki (Shiso wrapped thigh – $1.49), and 2 orders of Teba (Tebasaki – Grilled Chicken Wings – $1.99):

The Shiso Maki, was simple lightly basted thigh, though I really thought it was breast. In this case the minty-basil flavored shiso went well with the lightly basted chicken, which was very moist. It had me wishing for Momo no-Ume Shiso, where minced ume (Japanese Pickled Plum) is mixed with shoyu, mirin, and sake, and slathered onto one side of the chicken. Thinly julienned Shiso is sprinkled on the ume concoction. This is really good stuff! The Teba was by far the best item we had all night. Simply seasoned and grilled, skin crisp, with a small squeeze of lemon, these almost had the addictive "crack like" quality like really good Tebasaki.

Because I needed a bit of starch in the midst of this protein-fest, I also ordered the K-1 Stick(skewered rice balls with tare – $1.49).

These are like mini Yaki Onigiri(grilled rice balls). Excellent texture, crunchy on the exterior, moist and starchy interior. The Tare fell seriously short here as well, just a strong shoyu flavor.

The Missus ordered the Tsukune Bowl($4.99).

Tsukune refer to the Chicken Meatballs. The Missus thought they were very rubbery, and lacked flavor. In fact She traded 3 meatballs for 1 Teba. The tamago(egg), was well, tamago. The ground chicken was sauced with the tare, though here it tasted a bit sweeter. One thing for sure, there sure was enough rice.

To be perfectly fair, Yakitori K-1 was out of two of our favorites; the Sunagimo(gizzards), and Kawa (skin….mmm…skin…). So we weren't able to sample those. As we left, several customers walked in the door.

The prices at Yakitori K-1 are very reasonable, though I'd steer away from the combinations, which have mostly Momoniku and Mune(Sasami – skinless breast). I'm far from an expert on Yakitori, you may enjoy the Tare at Yakitori K-1, it's just not to our taste.

Yakitori K-1
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111