mmm-yoso – Page 553 – 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.

Chinese Garden Restaurant

February 21, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

Don’t you love the name? After all even if there wasn’t the word "Chinese" in the name, all it would need would need is "Garden", "Dragon", "Imperial", or something similar – I’m sure you all will be able to think of a long list, to tell you it’s a Chinese Restaurant. Actually, Chinese Garden is our neighborhood Chinese Restaurant, located in our local, a bit worn, stuck in the 70’s, strip mall, with the usual fast-food(Carl’s Jr, Mickey D’s, Subway), and similar type establishments (Hometown Buffet, Mountain Mike’s Pizza).

Truth of the matter is, I’d only visited Chinese Garden once, right before we purchased our Home in the area. It was raining, and a bit cold, and I thought, I’d grab a quick bite before doing a walk through. I went in a had the buffet($6.45 – lunch), and have never been back since. Let’s just say the food was appropriate in taste and texture for the majority of the customers I saw. See the building hovering above the "Chinese Garden" marquee? It’s a Senior Living complex. ‘Nuff said.

But during a recent afternoon; I needed to return some DVD’s to Blockbuster(in the strip mall), and decided to walk the three blocks instead of driving. And since it’s been a bit on the chili side, I thought I’d give Chinese Garden another visit. Not to punish myself, but to attempt to become one of the "Millions of Happy Customers!"

I always smile when I see that sign. Though the menu says Mandarin, Szechuan, & Chinese Cuisine, I always ask myself, isn’t Mandarin & Szechuan Chinese? Oh well, as you can probably figure with items like Chop Suey and Hawaiian Delight(???), on the menu, Chinese Garden is an ABCDE (pronounced abb-cee-dee – American Born Chinese Dining Establishment).

The decor of the brightly lit interior is pure time capsule 60-70’s Chinese Restaurant, from the large Koi painting, to the faux hanging lanterns.

I decided not to partake of the buffet (with good reason), and instead went for a bowl of War (Wor) Wonton Soup, which was fairly inexpensive at $5.75. I’m not quite sure what the origins are of this soup, to me it’s plain ABCDE.

After a short wait, the Server brought me a pretty large bowl of soup. The first thing I noticed was the abundance of "canned items". Lot’s of bamboo shoots, water chestnut, and button mushrooms. Also the broth was very under flavored. Even more strange, only the whites parts of Napa Cabbage was used. However, the shrimp still had flavor(5 pieces), and there were seven large wontons in the crowded bowl. Even though the appearance of the wontons kind of reminded me of brain matter, they were very soft, not like the dense pork meatball I was accustomed to. I’m wondering if this was due to a larger amount of filler? The flavor of the wontons were mild but acceptable. Overall, an okay bowl of soup for the price. Hey, I may even stop by again, but won’t stray too far from Wonton Soup, or maybe Fried Rice.

The service was very nice, even though they forgot to bring me chopsticks after I asked for them. And even better, I got nice little walk, and a view of Fiesta Island as I walked home. They’ve started working on moving the phone and electricity lines underground in our neighborhood. I can’t wait for the nice unobstructed views.

Chinese Garden
3057 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Mr Peabody’s Burgers & Ale

February 20, 2006 mmm-yoso Burgers, Pubs and Pub Grub

We were shopping at Saks in Fashion Valley Mall this past weekend, um well, the Missus was shopping, I on the other hand was guarding my wallet with one hand, and wiping the sweat off my brow with the other. You see we were in the handbag section, and the Missus was making me squirm and sweat. "Which one do you like better, Dior, or Ferragamo?" "Ummm, how about none of the above?" "No, you have to choose one." "Why?" "Because…. I SAID SO, okay!"

Of course, the Missus was just kind of kidding me (I think), and we made it out of the mall unscathed. As we were leaving, the Missus asked me the most important(at least in my opinion) question of the day. "So, what do you want to eat?" "I’m not quite sure, but how about Peabody’s?" And off we went.

When we moved to San Diego in 2001, we followed what I think is a fairly common migratory pattern. We bought a Condo in Mission Valley, home to a seemingly unending amount of Apartments and Condominiums. On the positive side, Mission Valley is centrally located, and is home to several major malls. Unfortunately, Mission Valley is not known for good eats, and the traffic and crowds can be outrageous. So after a few years in Mission Valley, we finally purchased a home in the Bay Park area, and thus left the Valley. If I were to come up with a list of things I miss about Mission Valley, Mr Peabody’s would be on that short list. Located on the corner of Via Las Cumbres and Friars Road; Peabody’s is a fairly lively Neighborhood Bar, with a pretty diverse clientele, ranging from the Students and Staff of USD to residents of Mission Valley, there is always a variety of people in Peabody’s.

We used to live 2 blocks from Peabody’s which was great for my psyche, but probably not so great for my liver.

We also enjoyed the food at Peabody’s, which is reasonably priced and pretty tasty. And today we took that trip down memory lane and ordered the old usual, a burger, with no cheese ($3.99):

When you order a burger at Peabody’s, the cook will open the reefer drawer and pull out a large ball of ground meat, form it into a patty, and cook it on the griddle. If you’re sitting at the bar you can watch them make it, a nice spectator sport of sorts. No frozen preformed pattys here! The burger is seasoned with "spiced wine", salt and pepper, and served on a sesame bun. You add your own spread. The burgers are very dependable, taste fresh, and are very moist.

We also got a basket of "Fries & Rings" ($3.99):

The fries at Peabody’s are served in a large basket, and are usually enough for two people. In fact, it used to be quite common for perfect strangers sitting at the bar to split a basket of fries. Today’s fries were just as good as we remembered; thin cut, crisp, and nicely salted. The onion rings, were lightly breaded, and also good. We didn’t even have to use ketchup.

The Missus also ordered a Cheese Quesedilla, easy on the Cheese (? – $3.79):

It came just the way she likes it. Crisp, almost crepe like tortilla, with a thin layer of cheese. She particularly enjoyed the Guacamole with chunks of Jalapeno in it.

One thing about bar grub that we often enjoy; is that the food and drink is direct and to the point. Take the Iced Tea, the Missus ordered:

When they brought Her the Iced Tea, they also dropped off a full pitcher refill. No muss, no fuss, no running around asking if She needed a refill, and we don’t have to flag down the Server for more Iced Tea.

Peabody’s features the usual list of domestic bottled beer, along with several draft selections, including Guinness and Widmer Hefeweizen, which tasted very nice and refreshing.

Some notes on Peabody’s: As with any popular neighborhood spot, Peabody’s can get really loud and crowded, especially during the evenings from Wed-Sat. In what I think is a fairly interesting idea; Peabody’s serves breakfast from 9am on Saturdays and Sundays. Parking in the corner lot can be at a premium, but there is additional parking in the lot right past the strip mall on Via Las Cumbres.

Mr Peabody’s Burgers & Ale
6110 Friars Rd Ste 108
San Diego, CA 92108

Industrial Espionage? Hsu’s Szechwan, and a Case of “Photus Interruptus”

February 18, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, yoso-silly

*** Hsu’s has since sailed off into the sunset.

Hsu’s Szechwan on the corner of Clairemont Mesa Blvd and Ruffin Road, was the scene of one of my more "interesting" encounters since I’ve been doing this Food Blogging thing. I’d been to Hsu’s once or twice before, but never had the Mongolian BBQ, so a few months back I paid Hsu’s a visit for lunch.

I’m a big fan of decent Mongolian BBQ, where you can grab some really nice thinly sliced meat, pile on fresh veggies, and add flavorings(give me lots of onions and garlic), and various sauces and have it cooked on the super hot griddle. I’ve always hesitated getting it a Hsu’s, and have never been very impressed with the food, which struck me as very generic American-Chinese-Sichuan.

The Lunch Specials are well priced at Hsu’s, ranging from $5.55(Vegetable dishes) to $6.75(Shrimp w/ Green Beans). The Lunch Special Mongolian BBQ is priced at $5.95 including an Egg Roll(all wrapper, hardly any filling), Won Ton(bleh), Fried Rice or Steamed Rice(Hint; get the steamed rice, the fried rice is D-R-Y soy sauce rice w/frozen peas and carrots), and Soup. On this day it was Hot and Sour Soup which was pretty good, nice and gooey with strip of bamboo shoots, though not spicy at all, the soup was not bad at all. So having ordered I walked up to the Mongolian BBQ, and selected some Lamb. For lunch the meat is pre-portioned in an overly small bowl. You add on additional vegetables, spilling most of it on the floor or counter, and head toward the "sauces".

The sauces are disappointing. All of them are watered down, the garlic is actually a few cloves of chopped garlic in a container of water, and so is really garlic water, same with the ginger. Looking at the "formula" placard explains all.

Try and do this with a group of people waiting in line behind you. Having no one behind me, I doubled everything. And headed over to the high heat griddle, handed the bowl over and the Young Man started cooking. I now understood why the sauces were so watery. The "Cook" just stir fries the ingredients, and doesn’t add liquid(I’ve seen a combo of wine and water used), just mixes around the ingredients and dumps it on a plate.

This is where it gets interesting. As I was reaching for my plate I heard "Hey, you, you no take pictures!" And turned around to find a little older Chinese Lady holding a stick in Her hand behind me. I instinctively raised both hands to shoulder height(guilty as charged Your Honor) and the voice in my head told me to "step away from counter". So I put my camera away, "okay, no problem". "You no take pictures here!" My response, "fine, no problem, my food is getting cold, I’m just going to eat". As I grabbed my plate I asked Her why she didn’t want me to take photos, I’m not placing any individuals in any of the pictures. Her answer? "You going to steal our secrets and open same kind restaurant across the street!" WHAT!!!! Yeah, I’m going to take photos of watery sauce, and a generic Mongolian BBQ, and open up another Mongolian BBQ in the same little strip mall on Clairemont Mesa Blvd???? OK, industrial espionage, I got it….. If anyone requests that I not take photos that’s fine with me, no problemo! But as I was walking to my table the Lady asked, "So what you take pictures for?" So I explained that I had a website(foodblog) about food in San Diego. At this point She smiled and said, "You go ahead and take all the pictures you want". Uh-uh, by this point my food is getting cold, and the dining room is pretty dark anyway, I’ve put away my camera, and it ain’t coming back out.

So the food? A pretty simple plate of stir-fry like veggies and lamb. The Lamb was decent and fairly gamey, the Young Man overcooked the veggies though. I also had to add soy sauce for more flavor. Still, for $5.95, this ain’t that bad. Not that I’ll be back soon, but it’s not terrible, just mediocre.

Some notes: Hsu’s also offers all you can eat Mongolian BBQ during dinner for $9.95 per person. Most of the menu is Americanized Sichuan; Kung Pao Chicken, Mu Shu, and such. Prices are pretty reasonable as a whole. The service overall is professional, though not very friendly. I’m still looking for decent Mongolian BBQ in San Diego, any rec’s?

Hsu’s Szechwan Cuisine
9350 Clairemont Mesa Blvd # S
San Diego, CA 92123

Garden Grill

February 15, 2006 mmm-yoso Greek Food, Lebanese Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants

*** Garden Grill is no more.

On our visit to Saffron we noticed that "Falafel King" was gone and replaced by Garden Grill.

One look at the menu and we knew that we’d have to make an effort to return.

The menu is quite extensive, and I took these photos especially for RONW at Hotel Waikiki, I know he has a "thing" for menus. So here ya’ go, these are for you RONW! So we returned and found some primo street parking on India Street – not an easy thing by any means.

We both "eyed" out what we wanted and went to order. My plans were scuttled when the Missus ordered the Mixed Grill($8.99), which was what I had in mind:

Man it was good! The Chicken Kabob was moist and tender, the flavors of the herbs used to marinate the chicken came through very clearly. So delici-yoso!!! The Kufta Kabob was also tasty, the meat for the kabob was more coarsely chopped than finely ground which gave the meat an excellent texture. The Greek Salad was a bit short on Feta, but the Romain was very fresh and crisp, the simple dressing also followed the light and crisp theme. The Hummus was routine, and short on garlic, but the tabbouleh balanced out the hummus by being very garlicky. The plate also came with a whole pita that was nothing special, but perfect for scooping up the tabbouleh and hummus. We both thought the rice was kind of mushy for basmati, but we’ll be having the Mixed Grill again.

I ordered a simple Lamb Kabob($7.99):

The Lamb Kabob plate came with the same accoutrements as the Mixed Grill. The Lamb was so tender with a lemon and herb flavor, but not quite as gamey as I enjoy.

On a recent visit, we weren’t feeling very hungry, and so stuck with a salad and appetizer. Here’s the Greek Salad($6.45):

The Romain lettuce was so fresh and crisp, the dressing very light! Still not enough feta, though.

I got the Baba Ganouj/Hummus appetizer($4.99):

At first glance it was hard to tell the difference between the Baba Ganouj and the Hummus, other then some visible seeds in the Baba Ganouj. I really enjoyed the Baba Ganouj, which was filled with garlic flavor, and a bit on the chunky side. The Hummus was routine, but very nice with my pita.

The indoor seating is quite cafeteria like, but we rather sit outside. Parking on India Street can be a challenge, the parking meters are also on the expensive side. I always crack up at the "time allowance" of 4.48 minutes per 10 cents!! While we were leaving, an obviously rented mini van parked in an open space. As the Gentleman walked up to the meter His eyes opened up wide, His Wife walked up and simply said "Wow"! He quickly turned to his kids and said "Hurry, we’re going to have to eat fast, I’ve only got fifty cents, that’s 24 minutes!"

Garden Grill is also a favorite of Kady of Gourmetish. Who knows, maybe you might run into one of us there!

Garden Grill Restaurant
3715 India St
San Diego, CA 92103

Happy Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2006 mmm-yoso Pizza

Yes, and it's a happy one in the mmm-yoso household, let me tell you that much. I came home to this:

A really nice V-Day & B-Day gift. Needless to say, I'm thrilled, and even though the Missus has to work tonight, at least this'll keep me busy for a while. Isn't She great!

Where's the food you may ask? Well, I needed something fast and easy, and though we don't eat much pizza, we decided to grab one from the neighborhood pizza joint. In this case it's called Mountain Mike's:

Even though the pizzas are a bit on the pricey side, Mountain Mike's does a decent job, and I think is probably better then many of the other chains. One thing I did notice on this visit; "Mike's" had been cleaned up, with new signage, and the interior had been spruced up. I chatted briefly with one of the Young Men, who I know has been working there for a while. Turns out this location has new Owners, and they've made some improvements on the premises. To show you how often we eat here; the change occurred six months ago. Like I said we don't eat pizza at home much.

As with most chains "Mike's" always has some coupon deal going on. Today was buy 1 medium, get 1 medium, single topping free. As it turns out, the Missus enjoys the pepperoni.

She's also a "cold pizza eater", and Mike's pizzas are pretty good cold.

As for me I always get the "Everest", AKA deluxe pizza, at $16.95, kinda expensive for a medium pie, but a real bargain as we get a pizza free.

One of the reasons that I enjoy this pie, is that the toppings include Linguisa(Portuguese-style sausage), not the Portuguese Sausage I grew up with, tastes more like Chorizo, but still it's fairly close. The crust of the pie is decent, and if not undercooked, a bit crusty, though maybe a bit too "bready". The sauce is slightly tangy, and it;s not overloaded with cheese. It's just a nice neighborhood pizza! And I'm a bit distracted today anyway.

As the commercial goes; "Don't bother me, I'm busy…" I'll try not to get pizza stains on the plasma screen. Oh-oh, some assembly required, this might take a while……..

Happy Valentine's Day, best wishes to You and Your Loved Ones!!!

Mountain Mike's Pizza
3089 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

And to the Missus – I am not worthy, I am not worthy…but you know that already, or as you say all-readieeee!

Bai Yook Thai Cuisine

February 13, 2006 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

When we first moved to San Diego, Bai Yook was one of our favorite Thai Restaurants. I had always enjoyed the Grilled Beef Salad(Yum Nua) at Bai Yook; and though we had a found a few Thai Restaurants we enjoyed more, we still used to return to Bai Yook every so often. Still, we hadn’t been back to Bai Yook since we moved a bit farther away from the Hillcrest area several years ago. Our not so great visit to Saffron had kind of left us reeling, and also craving some decent Thai Food, and Bai Yook came up in the conversation. So we decided to have dinner at Bai Yook a few nights ago.

Located in a fairly quite corner in the busy Hillcrest Shopping Colonnade, Bai Yook is a small but quaint and relaxing little restaurant. Sitting in the dining room of Bai Yook, you wouldn’t even know that a few doors down is a Starbucks, Ben & Jerry’s, or Lalo’s Al Pastor Taco Shop.

We arrived at about 530 and found the restaurant to be completely empty, we requested a table outside, and was quickly seated. As we looked over the menu we noticed many changes since or last visit. A few of our favorite dishes, like a seafood clay pot dish were missing.

But at least my "old favorite" Yum Nua(Grilled Beef Salad – $7.95), was still on the menu. I eagerly awaited my old favorite beef salad; nice and tender grilled beef on a bed of lettuce, crisp cucumber, slices of tomato, julienned carrots, lot’s of thinly sliced onion, cilantro, all in a spicy lime and fish sauce dressing. The coup de grace was the nice sprinkling of roasted ground rice powder that would add a nice nutty flavor to the salad. What I got brought me down to Earth :

I could literally smell the salad before I saw it! Waaay to much fish sauce, made the dish quite salty and fishy, and not enough lime to balance the dish. The lettuce was a single wilted leaf, on which lied sliced beef that looked pan fried, and though very soft, left an oily film on your tongue. The oily beef was surrounded with two meager slices of cucumber and tomato "lying in state". There was a bit of rice powder, but the overwhelming amount of fish sauce blocked everything else out.

I still had Pad See Eew on my mind, so I ordered the Pad See Eew with Shrimp ($8.95):

Now on the menu I read that the Pad See Eew was prepared with "black bean sauce" and came with Chinese Broccoli. I dunno, maybe this is a new type of Chinese Broccoli(Gai Lan )? Sure looks like ordinary (Brassica oleracea Italica) broccoli to me. The Black Bean Sauce should have scared me off, but unfortunately, it didn’t. These really weren’t black bean like I know it, but some other fermented bean that was extremely salty, bitter, and astringent. To quote the Missus; "it tastes like Chinese medicine". Too bad, the shrimp were cooked to a nice tender state(and fortunately hadn’t absorbed the bitter taste), and though not fantastic; the noodles were also cooked well. I drank three glasses of water trying to finish this.

The Missus had wanted the Salmon Curry($10.95), but they were out of salmon, so we got the "Choo-Chi", a Fried Fish (we were told it was snapper) Curry($12.95).

Though the peas kind of threw me off, and I found the "curry" to be very watery, this dish was by far the best of the evening. The fish fillets were breaded and fried to moist perfection. The curry though thin and runny, was passable, though a bit heavy on coconut milk and salt. We did finish this dish, so it must have been pretty good.

As I licked my salt-chapped lips, I wondered what had happened to my beloved Beef Salad? What happened to Bai Yook? And even with more dread, I remembered that I had recommended this place to more then a few people! Yikes!

Bai Yook Thai Cuisine
1260 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Monday – Friday Lunch: 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Dinner: 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Saturday 12:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Sunday 4:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Tacos El Panson

February 12, 2006 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

El Cajon Boulevard can sometimes seem like an ocean of restaurants, arriving wave after wave. After passing the twentieth Pho’ or Mexican Restaurant your senses can shut down. And in the end, I’ll end up at an old standby. But once in a while something will catch my eye. At El Panson, it wasn’t the generic sign, that got my attention.

But it’s that Baby on the right that grabbed me. That’s a "trompo" or "top", a vertical spit of meat, typically Al Pastor. This meant of course, an immediate right turn and a search for parking. For the uninitiated, cooking with a vertical spit was supposedly brought to Mexico by Lebanese immigrants. And the cooking style has been adapted, using a "roll" of thinly sliced pork that has been marinated and rubbed with herbs and spices, called Tacos Al Pastor(Shephard style tacos). The meat is turned and shaved off, much like Gyros, and made into tacos. During that visit, the Missus and I had several good tacos, but the photos never really came out(see photo on the right). And now with the weather a bit warm for February, I wanted to grab a few tacos, and decided to see if my camera would work this time. On this afternoon, El Panson was quite busy, and the sounds and smells of various herbs and spices hung in the air. One Gal was hard at work on tortillas, while one Gentleman flew around in the small little space filling orders.

I ordered three tacos(all tacos $1.50), and had a seat. After a short wait, a Young Lady popped out of the door and into the small dining area and I had my tacos:

I quickly hit the salsa bar, and grabbed some pico de gallo, and some of the extra hot salsa, and some lime, and I was good to go. I’m not one for over garnishing my tacos. As I learned on my trip to Yuma, the flavor of the meat really needs to come through. As per standard, these tacos came on small corn tortillas, which gave the flavor a little boost.

Here’s the run down on the various tacos. First up Tacos La Cabeza:

Tacos De Cabeza, or "head tacos" are usually made from beef cheek meat. Most versions of Tacos De Cabeza in San Diego are horrible. Made from undercooked waxy, fatty, and stale tasting chopped chunks of mystery meat. The version at El Panson was very moist and soft, with no greasy and waxy texture. The meat was lacking the intense "beefiness" that I’ve experienced in good Cabreza, but was pretty decent. The onions and cilantro added flavor and crunch to the taco, and the other garnishes made it complete. Overall, pretty good, not oily or greasy, and lacking the rich beefy flavor I enjoy, but mile above most of the Cabeza I’ve had in San Diego.

The Adobada.

I guess I get confused, I know it’s Al Pastor, I even order it as Al Pastor, but it’s on the menu as Adobada. I watched the meat sliced from the trompo, juices flying everywhere, and vaporizing as it hit the heating elements, I had high hopes for the Adobada. In the end, the flavoring was much too mild, though the meat was very soft and moist, and the caramelized "bits" added some nice flavor. I enjoy my Al Pastor/Adobada seasoned a bit more aggressively, though I’d happily have this again.

Birria De Res

So what I’ve learned is Birria De Chivo is stewed goat(yum!), and Birria De Res is stewed/roasted beef. On my first trip with the Missus, the Birria had a good bit of spice, and the flecks of chilies could be seen in the meat. The Birria was also much more moist. Today, the meat was much milder and not as juicy. Still enjoyable, but not great.

What ‘s really interesting is, that because the various meats are quite rich, you’ll find that three to four tacos, with garnishes may make you quite full. Portions can be deceptive.

Here’s one of the surviving photos from our first visit. The taco with Guacamole is the Carne Asada, and it was quite dry and tasteless.

If you’re in the area, and want a nice snack El Panson might fill the bill. BTW, I understand that El Panson means something like ‘Fat Man’…….

Tacos El Panson
4433 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115
OPEN DAILY
Sun-Thurs 10am – 12am
Fri – Sat 10am – 3am

Saffron Noodles and Sate & Saffron Thai Grilled Chicken

February 9, 2006 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

Su Mei Yu’s two very popular and successful restaurants reside on busy India Street. For those who don’t know who Su Mei Yu is, she’s the Author of the most enjoyable cookbook, Cracking the Coconut which I have on my list of cookbooks to purchase, she is also a regular contributor to Fine Cooking Magazine and the San Diego Union Tribune. In fact, I’ve had some success with Her recipes in Fine Cooking, but unfortunately, have not had very good meals at Saffron. I had first heard of Saffron Grilled Chicken while I was doing consulting work in San Diego back in ’99, and made sure to stop by there, and wondered what the big deal was about. In fact, I dropped by 4 times in the following months, and really never did figure out what the fuss was about. When Saffron Noodles opened we tried it out, but was again disappointed, the Pad Thai was overly sweet and the noodles were overcooked, the drunken noodles were okay, but no better then I’ve had in a many other places. So I beg the question; can you enjoy someones cookbook and recipes, yet not enjoy the restaurants they own? So in my dogged determination to find some redeeming dish at Saffron, we decided another meal was in order.

Saffron Noodles and Sate is the newer of Su Mei Yu’s two restaurants. While Saffron Chicken is more of a take-out "joint", Saffron Noodles has a very nice dining area, adorned with artwork, and very relaxed, though the restaurant personnel are some of the fastest I’ve ever encountered.

Noodles and Sate features, what else, many noodle dishes:

As well as many specials. The Missus decided to order the "Duck Soup Special", according to the sign, people wait the entire year for this soup which is only served for a limited time($7.00):

A small pile of moist and tasty chopped duck lay in the middle a medium sized bowl of soup. The thin rice noodles were a bit strange, kind of mushy, they reminded me of somen. After a quick taste of the soup, the Missus exclaimed; "Oh my God"! I responded with; "Wow, is it that good". The reply? "This is terrible, it tastes like soy sauce water, and the noodles suck!" A quick taste verified what she said. No amount of fried shallot, Thai basil, or anything could save this watery broth. We finished the duck, and left most of the soup and noodles. The most revealing comment? "I’d rather have 100 bowls of Pho’ than this!" If you’ve ever noticed; most of my Pho posts are done solo…….

I ordered Pad See-Eew with Chicken($7.70):

A very small plate of noodles with 5 florets of broccoli, as well as cross cut stems. The chicken was very moist and tender, though. Though the menu had a "chili pepper" on it, this dish was not spicy at all, but that could be based on my palate. In my mind, Pad See Eew is a deceptively easy dish. Simply, rice noodles flavored with soy sauce and/or fish sauce, sugar or other sweetening agent, and broccoli. But Pad See Eew also represents a sort of an understanding of the cuisine, and when done well, is delici-yoso beyond words. The best Pad See Eew I’ve had so far were at Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas, and Krua Thai in West Covina. I’ve not yet experienced the ultimate "wok hay" version that Elmo, from Monster Munching has, but maybe someday. To be very brief, the Pad See Eew was very mildy flavored (I dare say bland), and very tame. I found the portion size to be very small.

I left hungry and we ended up at Gaglione Brothers.

Still convinced that Saffron must have something going for it, I recently went to Saffron Grilled Chicken during a recent lunch hour.

What I found interesting was that a rotisserie is actually used to cook the chicken. The "Guys" working here are super fast, I was in and out in 3 minutes flat!

I ordered the 2 Thigh Chicken Combination($5.70):

I choose the "Peanut sauce" for my chicken. I’d been disappointed in the Sriracha and other sauces I had before, and was told that the peanut sauce was the way to go. Basically, the sauce is a red curry, peanut, and coconut milk based sauce, and tasted pretty good. The chicken, even though it was dark meat was on the dry side, and tasted very bland without the added sauces. Just to confirm I had another co-worker taste the chicken, and asked Her if it was better then Costco’s Rotisserie Chicken. The answer? "No way!"

The best item on the plate was the "Cambodian Salad", a nice mixed salad of cabbage, carrots, in a very refreshing sweet-sour dressing. Too bad, I only got a small container of it, but I’d come back just for that.

I also ordered a skewer of Chicken Sate, without checking out the price – it was 4 bucks!

What I got were two very dry chicken tenderloins, seasoned with what seemed to be a yellow curry based sauce.

I really want to enjoy Saffron, but have always left disappointed. I’m sorry to say I think we’re done here.

Saffron Noodles and Sate’
3737 India Street
San Diego, CA 92103

Saffron Thai Grilled Chicken
3731 India St.
San Diego, CA 92103

World Foods Supermarket

February 8, 2006 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

After a recent lunch at Pho Ca Dao, I decided to take a short walk across the parking lot and check out World Foods Supermarket which shares the strip mall with Pho Ca Dao and several other businesses.

As I walked in to the market and began my usual "perimeter walk", two things struck me. First off, much like Pho Ca Dao, World Food was alot smaller then it appears. And second of all, I was surprised at how clean and "smell free" the whole market was.

As I walked through the produce department all the usual suspects were apparent, like some really nice mint.

And though the quantity and variety of produce could not match that of Vien Dong III, there was still a nice assortment of produce and herbs. That’s fresh turmeric on the left and galangal on the right:

Though I found that these peppers were labeled as "Jalapenos". If someone actually thought these were Jalapenos, they’d be in for a BIG surprise!

As with most markets, the meat and seafood section stretched along the entire back wall of the market.

The meat looked fresh, and all the more "specialty" cuts like Pork snouts and ears were available, even some things that really had me stumped.

The seafood section was very clean, and your sense of smell is not attacked by the pungent smells that are sometimes associated with certain Asian Markets. The smells emanating from most markets doesn’t bother me much, but I know it bothers some.

Here’s some really fresh looking shrimp for $3.99/lb.

And as I passed the live seafood tanks…..

I met up with this proud and regal looking fellow:

Surprisingly, World Foods was fairly empty on this Saturday morning, probably because it was the weekend after Tet. World Foods is worth a stop if you’re in the area and need to stock up; the market is clean, and the produce looked pretty good. As with many "International" markets, World Foods, also stocks a variety of items. Check out the hot sauces.

World Foods Supermarket
5245 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Woodies Chili Dogs

February 7, 2006 mmm-yoso Hot Dogs, Sandwiches

*** Woodies is now Waldos

My phone rings, and the voice on the other side goes, "Hey, you want a Woodie…hehehehe?" Geez, no wonder we have to take Sexual Harassment Training classes every year! Though I'd always give in to temptation and answer with something like "I'd do just about anything for a woody". The conversation would eventually sink into the depths of deprivation, which I won't go into. Once we get our act together we'll head off to Woodie's. Woodie's Chili Dogs is located right off Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in the sprawling Clairemont Town Square shopping center.

The menu at Woodies is fairly small and basic, and makes for easy ordering.

There are some very interesting items on the "retro" menu, like Frito Pie($2.75) and Corn Dogs($1.75).

Though I usually go for the cholesterol bomb combo. That would be the #2($7.00).

It starts with a Pastrami "Sandwich", we'll use the description of sandwich very loosely here. For me it's pastrami, mustard, pickles, and kraut in an hot dog bun.

The bun is really an afterthought, and I'm always glad that I'm given lots of napkins with my sandwich, because the bun disintegrates after one or two bites. The pastrami ends up being two-fisted fun! Not very oily, and with a passable fat content; the pastrami at Woodies is pretty decent. Though lacking in the slight fatty sweetness that pastrami from The Hat has, it's also less oily, and not as salty. That also makes the pastrami at Woodies less "rich".

But it's still passable, though I find the kraut to be a bit too mild for my tastes. I end up eating the sandwich with a fork…well who am I kidding, I inhale the darn thing, and eat up the remains "Ethiopian Style", using the bun as I would Injera. I don't think it's the best pastrami in San Diego, but it'll do in a pinch.

I really enjoy the fries, thin cut and usually fried to a golden brown.

The pictures are worth a thousand words. You need to eat them right away, they'll get pretty limp after a few minutes, and you really don't want a "limp Woodie"……

Finally, I know you've all been waiting to see my Woodie…….errrr, Kraut Dog($2.50):

The Dog is thin and a little on the small side(I can't wait for the comments on this one), the Dog has a natural casing that gives it a nice "snap". The dog has a nice mild flavor, though again the kraut is a bit too mild, though always nice and crisp. The dogs at Woodies is not everyone's cup of tea. The Missus doesn't care much for Woodies….hehehe, she much rather have the ~~woodies~~ Hot Dogs from Costco of all places.

Overall Woodies is a nice little stop.

So, let me ask you, "do you want a Woodie?" LOL!

Some notes: On many weekends during the Summer Woodies will host many car "cruises". I haven't had the Frito Pie, but it always tempts me. I've had the onion rings, and thought they were pretty good as well. You can also sneak your Woodie(LOL!) into the theaters, they are much better then the mystery meat hot dogs that you get at the movies nowadays.

Woodies Chili Dogs
4250 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117