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Las Pinches Tortas (El Cajon)

September 25, 2019 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is still busy at work and Cathy is sharing another food adventure.

For the most part, The Mister and I don't plan any of our food stops unless a gift card is involved. On this day, we were (once again) driving about aimlessly, took the 2nd Street exit from the 8, continued South until 2nd turned into Jamacha (at Main) and continued for a few more blocks. A bunch of cars were stuck at the signal light at Washington and we were backed up quite a bit. Looking West, both The Mister and I noticed this signage at the same time. I pulled into the Laundromat anchored mall. This is what it looks like from Jamacha; a large parking lot.

It turns out this family owned and run restaurant opened in June. I can sort of see how we missed it. I can also say we will be eating here often.
We walked in, grabbed a menu (thumbnails at the bottom of this post) and a seat before ordering. The kitchen area has an open window, the self-seating area is quite large.
You order and pay straight ahead when walking in; I only noticed the signage at the order counter after we had decided what we wanted and had to turn around to discuss changing our initial choices. Finally, I ordered, paid, got our beverages and looked at the condiment area. The food is brought out to your table.
The Lunch Special of 1/2 torta and soup ($9.95). This was a smart decision, because apparently the full size torta is huge. This is a 1/2 size ahogada (drowned) torta. The bread is from Guadalajara. The meat is (wonderful flavored meaty and crisped) carnitas. There's a smear of flavorful black beans. The sauce, made with chile de arbol and tomatoes, is spicy and made here.

All of the salsas are made here. There are many salsas on the condiment bar and for each food item.
The soup is a 'proper' tortilla soup. **No chicken pieces** in it; just a good flavored chicken broth with garlic, onion, tomatoes, chile de arbol (so, it's spicy). It's thickened with tortillas and topped with fried strips of tortilla, cheese and sour cream. Hearty.
The counter also had a photo of a special of Chile en Nogada ($14.95). This item is usually prepared around Mexican Independence Day (September 16), (the dish is meant to be the colors of the flag of Mexico, and the red pomegranates need to be in season). It's a poblano chili, stuffed with picadillo and topped with a walnut based white sauce and pomegranates. Sweet, savory, a bit salty, crunchy, soft…everything that describes a great melding of flavors and texture in each bite.
Chile en Nogada is meant to be served at room temperature. It was the best version I've had so far in my short life.

There are so many sauces, so many different torta breads, a great variety. Despite the name (I know it's dirty), Las Pinches is sure to be part of our 'regular rotation'. Unexpectedly a great find.

Las Pinches Tortas 558 Jamacha Road El Cajon 92019 (619)593-0576 Open Mon-Fri 10-9, Sat 9-9, Sun 9-8

Pho Tommy Opens in Linda Vista

September 18, 2019 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho Tommy has closed

A few weeks ago, right before heading out on our Road Trip to Laguna Beach; I was picking up take-out from Thai Papaya, I noticed that Farm Market and Sandwiches was gone and replaced with something called "Pho Tommy".

Not quite sure what to make of this rather large space….after all it was a market and all, I was curious and decided to visit soon after.

The place seems to be put together….or at least renovated in a rather strange and haphazard way. It seems that they just pulled out all the shelving and replaced things with tables.

And there are still some grocery items for sale.

A "stage" has been put in near the entrance that faces Linda Vista Road. You gotta watch your step……the UPS guy walking in tripped and almost fell.

Another strange thing was that, other than the UPS guy, and the friends of the really friendly guy running the place named "Kim", I was the only customer on all three visits. Not sure what's going on here. Well, on with the show…..

Since the place was named "Pho Tommy"; it was only natural that I ordered the Pho Dac Biet.

First off, as you can tell, the basil and sprouts were past their "due date" and browning. The broth was clear with a decent amount of richness/texture, but like many places in San Diego these days, it had a salty-sweetness that isn't to my taste. I did enjoy the good amount of cilantro and scallions which helped a bit, along with a good amount of lime to try and balance things out.

As for the proteins; well the rare steak was too well done by the time the bowl hit the table and being the usual top round it was tough and dry. The fatty flank was on the bland side….no tripe in this bowl, though the tendon was fairly buttery and not bad. Not a great bowl overall. There's much better less than a block away.

When I went to pay; Kim just charged me eight bucks. Not wanting to short the place, I showed him the $9.50 on the menu, but was told, "I rang it up already, it's okay, eight dollars for you….."

So, I decided to go back the next morning since I needed to get some stuff from Thuan Phat, I was kinda hungry so I decided to drop by.

This time I ordered the Broken Rice with Bi, Cha (steamed egg), Pork Chop, and Egg ($8.99).

First off, the rice was nice and fragrant and the nuoc mam cham wasn't watered down, nor too sweet.

The Bi, shredded pork and pork skin was really dry and tasteless though. The cha was fine, though a bit drier than I prefer.

The pork chop was nicely charred, though it needed more seasoning as it was also bland.

But that egg was wonderful. Perfectly sunny side up, runny, with crisp edges, and nicely seasoned.

The broth provided, was basically the pho broth….it was less "sweet", but still too salty for me to fully enjoy.

Still, this was an improvement over the pho, so this past weekend, I decided to drop by early in the morning (apparently they open around 730), which is great for me.

I had seen something on the menu that I hadn't had for quite a while.

A dish named after the capital of Tiền Giang Province, My Tho; Hu Tieu My Tho.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't know what to expect. But the plate of sparkling fresh Tong Ho (chrysanthemum leaves, we call it Shingiku in Japanese) and sprouts started things off on the right foot. The Tong Ho was mild in flavor, without that resiny-overly green-grassy flavor. These were mildly sweet and bitter, obviously very fresh.

What really impressed me about this bowl was the liver….I'm usually not a fan of liver in Vietnamese noodle dishes because often times they are old and taste plain gross; but this was fairly tender and had just the right amount of earthy-offal flavor. In fact, in spite of the shrimp being cooked perfectly, the liver was the best meat item in the dish. The other pork was pretty bland.

The Hu Tieu was a bit overcooked for my taste. Though the clear broth wasn't quite as salty this time around. In fact, combined with that rather rich, almost greasy, bright red pork broth, it created a balance in a way. This was also quite a bit more than I'd usually put away for breakfast.

The third time was a charm it seems.

I enjoyed the guy working here; but unless evenings and lunches are super busy….somehow, I don't think it is, I don't know how long a place like this can last. I hope they hang in there. There's something definitely "old school" about Pho Tommy, without the brusque service, that I enjoyed.

Pho Tommy
6959 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA

Farmer’s Table (Bay Park)

September 16, 2019 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants

**** This location of Farmer's Table has closed

I know; the Farmer's Table has been open in my 'hood for almost a year now and I'm finally doing a post? Well, you can kinda figure why it took me so long to do a couple of visits.

The Farmer's Table opening in our neighborhood sure did create a buzz; it seems that the changes and gentrification of Bay Park is moving along. Farmer's Table claims to serve "Farm to Fork"; which I think is great, though the Missus took a look at the menu and wasn't particularly inspired.

Still, I thought the space was nicely put together. Kind of a rustic-chic look.

Still, like I said, the Missus wasn't really motivated. So one morning while She was working I decided to drop by for the "Brunch" which is served from 8am to 3pm Daily. My Server was really cheerful and friendly. After perusing the menu; I went for the Heirloom Tomato Frittata ($15) with Black Beans and Sourdough Bread.

This was a very nice, albeit somewhat "corporate" looking dish. It should do good here not scaring off the long time locals, while seeming to be interesting enough for the rest of us. Sadly, the black beans were hardly seasoned and quite bland.

The eggs were fine, decently seasoned, but the "heirloom tomatoes" weren't ripe enough and was really weak in either the acidity or sweetness department. It wasn't terrible, just sort of uninspiring and bland. Basically, "food not to offend".

Still, I needed at least another visit under my belt before doing a post. So, I relentlessly badgered the Missus; until She finally agreed to go the Farmer's Table for dinner. And why wouldn't She? The place is but a few blocks away from our house. Just think I told Her, "can you imagine if Farmer's Table is good….it's so close."

So, we went for a fairly early dinner. The service was good, until the place started filling up.

We started with the Duck Liver Pate ($12) which was served with nicely charred ciabatta. Now, we weren't expecting anything near the quality of, say Arnaud Nicolas, but while be nice and smooth, the pate was really salty, which really overshadowed the usual gamey-offal-earthiness of a good duck or chicken liver pate.

We also got the Bison Tartare ($17).

You might want to just skip this if you've read yesterday's post on Senia. The bison was chopped too large for our tastes, thus making the already lean Bison even more tough. The meat also had a slight metallic tinge to it. I love the mellow beefy and slightly sweet flavor of Bison; remember the Bison Nahm Tok I made? But this just didn't seem to do the meat justice. It was more than half avocado; which was perfectly ripe and creamy, though the Quail Egg was overdone and wasn't runny enough to help out the dish.

We also got the Stuffed Portobello ($15). The menu read, "heirloom tomato, artichoke, bell pepper chutney + caramelized onion + manchego".

We couldn't find any tomato; though there was chopped bell pepper and onion. The artichokes were really sour as was the pool of liquid this overcooked, rubbery mushroom was floating in. The cheese had been melted in glops instead of being a nice layer of cheese. The dish was just strangely sour.

The Missus gave me a look……I didn't need the gift of telepathy to know exactly what our next move was. It was time to cut our losses and head home.

And so, I had enough for a post….but really felt bad about these meals. I mean, were these just off days? Several folks in the neighborhood mentioned how bad the service at Farmer's Table had been; but I had never experienced that.

So, when the Missus was working one weekend I returned. And got the Corn Beef Skillet ($14); with potatoes and focaccia.

The highlight of my meal was the focaccia; which while being on the salty side is crisp around the edges with some decent yeastiness. I ordered my eggs over easy; but they came out over-cooked. The potatoes were nicely fried; well seasoned. The skillet was just that….it looked like everything was just thrown into a skillet. The bell peppers were hard, there wasn't any caramelization on the food and it wasn't heated enough.

Over the three visits; it seems to me that Farmer's Table seems closer to being a "fast casual, somewhat corporate, chain" than what the menu says, "A Neighborhood Eatery". Perhaps the other locations are better? I know that Lynn really enjoyed her visit. I mean, I love the Farm to Fork credo, but I still gotta enjoy the food. Sad, because I was somewhat excited about having a place like this in our neighborhood.

Farmer's Table (Bay Park)
3055 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117
Hours:
Sun – Thur 8am – 9pm
Fri – Sat 8am – 10pm

Saturday Sandwiches – Revisits to Embargo Grill and Gourmet Artisan

September 14, 2019 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

Well, it seems that the heat has returned; at least for this weekend. So, I’ll spare you my latest “foray into pho” and stick with some sandwiches for this warm Saturday.

Embargo Grill:

**** Embargo Grill has closed

I was chatting with “Nate” a few weeks back and the subject of Cubano’s and similar sandwiches came up. I mentioned Embargo Grill; which was my favorite when I did a comparison post a few years back. Our discussion planted a seed of sorts and since I hadn’t been back to Embargo Grill in over a year, I decided to drop by and grab a Medianoche…..I decided to grab one for Nate as well and took it to go.

This was a lot messier than I recalled; though the bread held out well for the short 15 minute trip. Nice amount of mustard, good pickles, you still really can’t make out the ham; the cheese was oozy and stringy. The pulled pork did taste a bit different; much more salty and for some reason, there was a fairly strong taste of cumin.

Not bad; but not quite as good as what I’d had during past visits. I’ll have to have one at the restaurant during my next visit.

Embargo Grill
3960 W Point Loma Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

Gourmet Artisan:

**** Gourmet Artisan has closed

My usual go to in this strip mall on Miramar Road is SuperNatural Sandwiches (and Loren; you’re right, those fries at SNS are really good! Thanks!), but it had been a while since I’d gotten a sandwich from Gourmet Artisan; so I decided to grab a sandwich from there instead.

I’d enjoyed the Italian Sub the best during my previous visits; so I order one. And previous experience had me tell them to go easy on the dressing.

My biggest disappointment was that the fries no longer had parmesan and garlic on it. They had also not held up well during the short trip back to the office and were soggy. The fries used to be one of my favorite things about ordering a sandwich here.

The sandwich; which wasn’t oozing dressing and mayo this time around still edges close to “too much bread”, but was fine. I still think that the Swiss Cheese isn’t a great match for this sandwich. I enjoyed the crisp romaine lettuce and the tomatoes were nice and ripe. A thin layer of pepperoni and salami; the pepperoncini adds a nice crunch and “zip” to the sandwich.

A decent sandwich; but I really miss those fries!

I do like the nice folks who work here though.

Gourmet Artisan
7094 Miramar Rd. Suite 105
San Diego, CA 92121

A-Bowl (Shanghainese)(Convoy)

September 4, 2019 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

A-Bowl has closed

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!! It's another day with another post about food. Cathy is writing; Kirk is back at work.

The Mister and I were driving through another heavily packed parking lot on Convoy- and behind China Max, we saw a 'Grand Opening' sign and decided to check it out. A-Bowl has been open for about a month and we hadn't heard about it. Apparently the menu is Shanghainese and similar to Tasty Noodle House, according to some people online. We've never been to Tasty Noodle House, so can't compare. In any case, people were stopping out front to read the menu and walking in. It wasn't too crowded when we did the same, but was quite busy when we were leaving.
Looking at that back corner, with the overhead lighting, this looks as if it may have been a Karaoke venue at some point (there are several Karaoke businesses in this mall). It had been an InfiniTea-boba/beverage place before A-Bowl.

The menu is quite extensive (over 100 numbered items) and everything we ordered was served in deceptively large bowls…small-ish circumference, but deep and filled.
We decided to try the House Sauce Lao Mein ($8.99). I pulled out a noodle so you could see the eggy goodness. The 'House Sauce' was meaty (ground beef), ever so slightly sweet, slightly salty. There were small pieces of dry tofu, garlic, ginger and onion in the sauce. Bean sprouts and fresh cucumber slivers rounded this out. Mixed together, this was delicious! Kind of a Mabo, but not spicy. Satisfying.
We also decided to share the 'Spicy Sesame Wonton' ($8.99). Pork filled, large- two-bite-sized thin skinned wontons (there were ten; three layers in the, again, deceptively large bowl) topped with a peanut butter sauce, peanuts, pickled vegetables, cilantro and scallion tops. It wasn't that spicy and we added some of the tabletop condiments (soy, vinegar, white pepper and sambal) in various amounts to get the bit of 'kick' we were looking for, even though eating it 'plain' and with the pickled vegetables was quite good.
We decided to try this interesting "Seafood Combination with Chinese Donut" ($12.99) Large pieces of fish, squid, shrimp and (small, Bay) scallops mixed with plenty of fresh crispy Chinese (fried) donut, covered in a pretty typical Chinese 'Lobster Sauce'-a mild white sauce, chicken based, with eggs, peas and carrots along with green onion. This was great! The 'donut' stayed crunchy, the fish and squid were tender, shrimp were plump, scallops a bit chewy. The combination of flavors was great and the crunch of the donut was satisfying (we asked for no rice and it wasn't needed).

So far, this looks like a good lunch stop.

A-Bowl 4690 Convoy Street, Suite 111 San Diego 92111 (858)384-2278 Open Daily 11-3 then Mon-Th 5-9:45, Fri-Sat 4:30-10 Sun 4:30-9:30

Tomson D – Chinese (and Krispy Krunchy Chicken) (La Mesa)

August 30, 2019 Cathy Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Tomson D has closed. It will be missed.

This food blog named mmm-yoso!!! has Cathy posting on this hot summer day. Kirk is enjoying the start of a long weekend.

A sort of odd location, next to a Subway in a curved row of storefronts, this used to be Slides, a great concept with nice owners (I still crave the eggplant as well as the fish sliders from here). Now owned by a friendly couple, who seem to always be working, Tomson D has an interesting mix of food offerings as well as clientele.
When Tomson D first opened in October 2017, it offered Mongolian BBQ in addition to the still existing menu items, hence the empty 'salad bar'/refrigerated area to the right, in the above photo.
To the left, when you enter, is a wall menu of various appetizers,Chinese offerings and beverages.
To the left of the cash register is a display of fresh Krispy Krunchy Chicken, a Louisiana style franchise with four San Diego locations. (Which Kirk has written about, twice.). The chicken display always seems to be fresh and we have noticed that it is changed out regularly during the day if not sold out.

First things first. I've been here on my own before, on Fridays, when I don't eat meat. The 'Appetizer' menu has 'fried white fish' ($2.68 per piece).
One piece is quite large, and cut in half per order.
Light, crispy batter with some herbs; the tartar sauce isn't really necessary, but I end up using it on the second half, if I want variety. The fish is meaty, flaky and properly fried; not greasy.
The Chinese menu sells items by size- lunch, dinner and party. This is the "Tomson Beef" (L $7.38). Pretty much beef and onions. The beef is tender with a nice sauce of garlic and chilis. Each Chinese meal comes with a vegetable egg roll, served in a glassine paper bag. The Tomson Shrimp (L $7.98) isn't spicy and is stir fried with zucchini, carrot, onion and mushroom. Very plump shrimp and good, fresh vegetables.
The Pekin chicken (L $7.58) has a one chili 'heat rating' and it's pretty mild. Bell pepper, mushrooms, onion and chili are the ingredients and it's all fresh, juicy, flavorful.

Our first time trying the Krispy Krunchy chicken. We did order the three piece 'Meal Deal' ($5.59) and received four pieces, which was a nice accident. So, two legs and two thighs and a honey butter biscuit. Wow. The biscuit was really well made- fluffy inside with a crisped bottom and topped with definite honey butter covering the crispy crust; a perfect biscuit. What great fried chicken-light, crispy, the crust- seasoned 'politely' and not 'overwhelmingly'. The chicken meat was juicy, moist. Nothing needed to be added.

A great local owned restaurant with choices which should satisfy most cravings.

Tomson D 7406 University Avenue La Mesa, CA 91942 (619) 597-6666 Open Tues-Sun 11-9 CLOSED MONDAY

The menu has several teas offered, each for $3 (boba extra). The peach tea is very nice; you can taste the tea. But really, they sell chicken here.

Mr. Falafel (Clairemont)

August 29, 2019 Cathy Lebanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog for more than 14 years. Kirk is working a lot this short week before a holiday weekend, Cathy is blogging.

Kirk has written about Mr. Falafel a total of three times; it's closer to His workplace. However, I drive around a lot. There are several signs directing you to this small storefront, (a strip mall *behind* the Panda Country on Clairmont Mesa at Genesee (the Southwest corner)). It used to be a Mexican Bakery where we would stop after eating at the small Mexican restaurant, also in this strip mall. The signage used to indicate it was 'Mediterranean Cuisine' and now it is more specific- 'Lebanese Cuisine'. There are 8 tables (two outside), 18 chairs. The menu is simple. The owner is very friendly and takes your order, apologizes that you will have to wait while it is being prepared, brings the food out to your table and checks up on how you are doing. It is his place and you can tell he is proud of his quality. Did I mention he is friendly? He is also happy, sings with the music playing in the background while cleaning the tables. It's like you are guest in his home.
The entire menu. Of course, we had to try the falafel. Knowing this was Lebanese meant the falafel would have fava beans in addition to chickpeas (I mentioned falafel ingredient differences in this post). A 'Munchie' ($5.99) of falafel was ordered.

Crisp exterior, fluffy interior, onion, garlic, parsley mixed with the garbanzo and fava. Quite perfect. Made to order (of course) and served with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and (a very mild) tahini. This could be a light meal.

So. Lebanese. Top center menu item, Lebanese chicken panini ($7.95). Chicken, pickles, garlic spread on a pressed French roll. This is a Lebanese restaurant…Alforon and chicken tawook came to mind. Could it be?
Oh yes!!! Freshly pulled roasted chicken (there was a small bone in one bite), a nice amount of pickles and the light, fluffy smooth, garlic paste on the nicely crisp yet fluffy pannini'd bread. All the flavors I crave. When you order the sandwich, you can also get a small size of any side item (hummus, tabbouleh, cucumber yogurt salad, potato salad fries or baba ganoosh) for 1/2 price. Ganoosh it was! Smoky, chunky, fresh-wonderful. The 'Munchie' part of the menu says a choice of either fresh pita or pita chips, and we were given some of each. The regular pita here are the nice, thin version (which is what the toasted pita are made from)- and I like thin pita rather than the fluffy, bread-y style.

A longtime (since 2011), local owned, friendly place serving wonderful, fresh food.

Mr. Falafel 4461 Clairmont Mesa Blvd (BEHIND Panda Country and the gas station) 92117 (858)490-0170 Closed Monday, 11-8 Tues-Sun Website

Speedy Falafel (El Cajon)

August 22, 2019 Cathy Lebanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Speedy Falafel has closed. It will be missed.

This, mmm-yoso!!!, is a food blog. Cathy is writing today.

We noticed this rather large building after visiting City Bistro earlier this year (it's one block West). There were notes made and finally, The Mister and I returned to the neighborhood. Order, pay, grab a beverage, find a seat; your food will be brought to the table. There is plenty of seating. Speedy Falafel has been in this El Cajon location for about ten months.
The menu is on the wall, where you order and pay, also HERE. (EDIT: there is a new chef and some menu items may be added or not available at all times; I'm pretty confident that the choices we made on these visits are 'standard') Falafel sandwich ($3.99). There is a choice of falafel types; this is Lebanese (made with garbanzo and fava beans, cilantro and spices).

Other falafel styles are Iraqi (garbanzos, onion, garlic and spices) and Syrian (garbanzos, cilantro and spices). You can get sandwiches made with either flatbread or samoon bread.

Here is a beef kabob sandwich ($5.99) on a samoon. Each sandwich came with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle. There was a small side of hummus, a small serving of fresh made fried potatoes and we each got a bowl of soup (I think because we were eating in). A very good vegetable soup this day; celery, mushrooms, carrot and onion. Hearty. The sandwiches were each fresh, flavorful, definite return-for items.

On another visit, we tried a Bureg (beef and vegetable stuffed in a baked, thicker egg roll wrap ($2). This was good, but one was enough.
We also shared a Za'tar topped flatbread ($4.99) Gosh, this was great. The fresh za'tar spices (oregano, sumac, sesame seed, salt, pepper) mixed with olive oil on this wonderful, fresh, slightly crisp flat bread was just a perfect treat.

We decided to share the Pompano Zubidi (fried fish) ($10.99). This came with two bowls of wonderful lentil soup. The perfectly fried fish had yellow basmati rice and tomatoes, onions, cucumber and pickles on the side. It was wonderful; tender, fresh, flavorful.
On the far end of the eating area is a small bakery with a few individually priced items and mostly different 'by the pound' baklava pieces. This mixed nut roll was $1.50 and really good- there were small hazelnuts, pistachios and walnut pieces. These baklava creations, one with shredded filo filled with nuts and fig and one triangle piece, a more nutty traditional baklava cost $2.86 (pricing of $10.99/lb). These are sugar syrup, not honey based, sweets. very fresh, crispy, nutty, deep flavored bits of just enough dessert.

Speedy Falafel 1142 E Main St. El Cajon, CA 92021 (619) 938-4455 Open daily 8-10 (yes, there is a breakfast menu; basturma, foul medammas and other traditional Armenian items are available)(again, there is a new chef and the menu may be changing) website

Lima Restaurant

August 19, 2019 mmm-yoso Peruvian Restaurants

**** Lima Restaurant has closed

Back in June, one of the folks in my office was headed to Jury Duty and asked me where to eat; of course I recommended Sultan. Which he really enjoyed. Though when he returned he asked me what I thought of the "new" Peruvian Restaurant which was across the street from Sultan. New Peruvian? Across the street from Sultan? So on the following weekend, I decided to head on down to see what he was referring to. And there on the corner of F and Fourth, with a rather discreet sign was "Lima Restaurant".

The fairly large, high ceiling restaurant was quite empty. Looking more like a sports bar than a restaurant.

The woman who waited on me was very friendly and warm. Turned out she was one of the owners.

I started with a Chicha Morada; which was perfect.

Very balanced sweet – cinnamon tones; quite refreshing.

And a little bowl of plantain chips and canchita, nice and warm arrived at the table.

I had ordered the Lomo Saltado, which arrived looking wonderfully vibrant. In a rather different presentation; the fries were served to the side. The nice lady told me that these days folks in Lima prefer Lomo Saltado served this way and I could mix it in as I desired…..or keep it separate to extend the crispness. Like I always say about Peru……the cuisine is always evolving.

The beef was surprisingly tender; there was a good ratio of tomato to onion…..providing a nice balance of acidity to pungency. I of course, like my papas fritas saturated in the sauce and my only complaint was that there wasn't enough of it. The sauce was more soy sauce forward; with less vinegar, but wasn't overly salty.

This was a nice version. Because the restaurant was fairly quiet; I had a nice conversation with the woman; who was indeed from Lima. We spoke about how the cuisine was ever changing, with everything from the new style "Leche de Tigre"; a creamy, cold soup like dish and how Tacu Tacu con Lomo Saltado has gotten popular. She also told me that Lima Restaurant was having a formal grand opening at the end of July. They were working on the installation and all of the licensing and approvals for a Pollo ala Brassa rostisserie.

I left quite satisfied. And waited to see if I'd hear anything about Lima Restaurant, but the only thing I saw was this; which, by the way, incorrectly attributes Lomo Saltado to the Japanese Diaspora. Being a Sansei myself; I'd love if that were true. The truth of the matter is; and this is from all of my Peruvian food books, and also everywhere online, Lomo Saltado is a Tusan (Chifa) dish. Sigh….

So finally, after not hearing anything for a while, I decided to head back down to the Gaslamp to see what was going on at Lima Restaurant.

The place was very quiet on this visit as well. The gentleman working was quite nice. Though the cancha this time around was cold and dry……not a good start in my book.

I started with the Causa. Which actually had real crab in it! It was perhaps a bit heavy handed in terms of mayo, though the potato was very moist and the seasoning spot on. The very gracious Server asked me if I wanted some "hot sauce" and I responded "some aji?" Which totally changed his friendly but reserved demeanor….."yes, we have four different aji!" So, I selected the Aji Rocoto and the nice Server actually brought me two. The Aji Rocoto and the Aji Panca. "The rocoto is very spicy, so I brought you the panca as well; which you might enjoy more." Great service. The Aji Rocoto was quite spicy, while the Panca had some heat and helped to cut the richness.

I also ordered the Cebiche Pescado, first asking what type of fish was being used.

I was quite thrilled to find out it was sole….making this truly a Cebiche Lenguado! Which was quite nice. The fish was nicely "marinated/cooked" in the Leche de Tigre, as it was still firm, but yielding and not mushy at all. The Leche de Tigre was surprisingly "picante"; quite spicy, but still refreshing. It was also ginger forward; not quite sure if I enjoyed that. At first I didn't think there was very much Leche de Tigre, but it was hidden underneath all that fish; along with quite a bit, perhaps too much, red onion.

I had actually saved my canchita not being sure they would serve more with the cebiche, but they did. It was on the dry side. The chocolo (corn) was too hard and tasteless; the camote had no flavor and was quite hard.

Still, I enjoyed the quality of the fish. I'd have this again just to see if the addition of all that chili was a mistake.

I had a nice conversation with the Server and mentioned the Pollo ala Brassa. He told me they were still working on completing all the inspections and will (hopefully) have it in by the end of August.

I enjoyed the quality of the main ingredients used and the folks working here. I wish it was in a more convenient location for me; though at least I now have another option when I get called for Jury Duty.

Lima Restaurant
409 F St.
San Diego, CA 92101
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 11am – 9pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 10pm
Sunday 11am – 8pm

Bann Korean Cuisine – Now in the H Mart Food Court

August 18, 2019 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

**** Bann has closed

Of all the places in the H Mart Food Court; the one that really interested me was Bann. While I considered Bann to be a decent option for lunch on Miramar Road; the food was prepared fresh, the flavors, while on the mild side, was decent, with the Kimchi Fried Rice the stand-out. Still, with a more discerning crowd, I was interested to see what changes, if any Bann had made since the move.

And so I headed down to H Mart at around 11am. The place is not nearly as crowded as when the place first opened. Good for me….not sure for all the businesses.

Bann is located to the right of Myungran Hot Dog.

The menu is tight and dishes no longer have the superflous green salads and mandu added to the menu items. Prices are about the same; even a few cents cheaper than before.

Though if you chose to have beef with your kimchi fried rice; it would be almost fourteen bucks!

I placed my order for the Kimchi Fried Rice with Spam (of course) and had a seat at one of the table.

Soon enough, I heard the mechanized "voice app" go off, it's the same voice for all the stands. It seems that each stand has a number sequence, so you'll deal with numbers in the thousands; "order five thousand – six hundred – seventy – three"……

First off; the portion size seemed to have increased quite a bit.

Secondly, it's way more spicy than it used to be….quite nice, though it might mute some of the other flavors. Couldn't really make out salty – savoriness of the Spam, which might be a good thing for some, but I really like the flavor of Spam.

Good amount of kimchi used; though it's not good fermented kimchi as it lacks the complex cheesy-sour-savory tones of a good baechu kimchi.

Thirdly, the egg was a nice sunny-side up.

Overall, a nice version of straight-up Kimchi Fried Rice. It won't win any awards, but is a decent version.

I really enjoyed the nice folks that used work the register at the Miramar location, but did not recognize the young lady working on this day. She was fine, but not nearly as pleasant. This was a decent lunch and Bann seems less fusiony these days. Nothing to go out of your way for; but perfectly fine if you're shopping at H Mart and need to load up on carbs.

Bann Korean Cuisine
7725 Balboa Ave. (In the H Mart Food Court)
San Diego, CA 92111