Closed – Page 20

Sarap Filipino Kitchen (Soft Opening)

August 20, 2018 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

**** Sarap is now Gaya Gaya

While on my "procrastintion drive" to the office over the weekend; I noticed that "Sarap Filipino Kitchen" had taken over the former Capetown Bar & Grill/Malted Diner location.

I was going to add that to my post for last Wednesday; but then on Tuesday; Eater mentioned the place was in Soft Opening Phase. I mentioned this to Calvin who got quite excited so we ended up going…..and I ended going for three days in a row! The last culminating with a group of six to celebrate one of the folks in our team actually surviving second anniversary.

As folks who've been to Capetown/Malted know; this is a huge spot. The folks working; especially the really kind and friendly Server named Lloyd were really nice; but I don't think they were ready for word getting out so quickly. They seemed a bit under-staffed and on my second visit; I saw folks actually change their order to take-out after waiting quite a while for their food. I'm hoping this will be remedied. I also heard folks grumbling about the portion size……sheesh, I guess they want this to be Tita's?

The menu varied from day to day; the first two days there was no Lechon Kawale; therefore no Sisig, also no Crispy Pata. Before our third visit; I mentioned this to Lloyd who promised me that "tomorrow we will have it….I will make sure we do." And as promised, we had our sisig, lechon kawale, and crispy pata.

So, here's a rundown on my favorite; to least favorite items so far….some of which I've now had multiple times.

Picks:

Everyone I've brought to Sarap has enjoyed the Bagoong Fried Rice, even those who had no idea what the flavoring was. It's very balanced in flavor; with garlic tones balancing out the shrimp paste. It's also not overly salty. They mango mostly added a nice textural contrast.

When I first had the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings; I sent a photo to my friends, "these wings are good….when was the last time I said that about a new place?" I got a bunch of entertaining emoji's as responses; so I'm guessing it's been a while since I enjoyed fried chickens wings from someplace new.

These weren't the best quality wings; but were perfectly fried; moist, light, and crisp. The seasoning was nicely balanced; the wings had just enough salt. Like the fried rice; everyone who tried this, enjoyed it.

The Crispy Pata was very good.

Perfectly fried; very moist, porky, goodness, the seasoned vinegar helped to cut through the richness. Nice crunchy bits….though not as much gooey parts. Still the folks loved it. At one point no one was finishing up the pata…..they thought they'd finished it. I then got my paper towel; put the pata on end; grabbed the spoon, and proceeded to scrape off a pile of meat. I told everyone to finish things up…..I grabbed the bone as the reward and gnawed off all the good parts. Little "ND" cracked up and told me; "you clean the pata like my mom and you eat the bones like my dad." Now talk about a compliment.

Nilagang Baka:

This wasn't a particularly large portion and rather difficult to share for two people as they don't provide adequate spoons…plus we had to ask for bowls.

Still, this was pretty good; especially the meat, which was very beefy and tender. It's not quite as good as the version at Villa Manila; as the broth was on the mild side in regards to beefiness and the sodium level was a bit too high. Still; this was not bad.

Beer Break – We didn't notice the beer list on our first visit. On my second visit, I saw it on the table and took a look….and cracked up. When was the last time I saw Red Horse on tap? It would warm the hearts of my friends "back home" in Hawaii.

Here are the items I'm on the fence about…..

On my second visit; I ordered the Daeng Bangus….the milkfish.

In terms of flavor; this was great; from the vinegar tones, the milkfish had no off flavors. I especially liked the tomato-onion-chili relish; making this more like Daeng na Isda. I wished that this was fried a bit better and the flesh; though tasty was on the dry side.

The Liempo was too much on the burnt side for my taste; making it a bit bitter.

Beyond the charred-bitterness; the texture of the pork belly was quite good; a bit toothsome, but decent.

The pans……

We had high hopes for the Lechon Kawale, but were disappointed.

I will say the lechon sauce was lighter than other versions, but very tasty. The flavor of the pork was swiney goodness. But the skin wasn't prepped correctly and was super hard; most folks didn't even try eating it. It was fried to death and had lost a good amount of moisture in the process. This was a bummer.

When I was told the sisig here used pig ear and head, I was thrilled. I haven't had a good, more traditional sisig since we visited Gapo Resto a few years ago.

That it had the terrible hard lechon kawale in this didn't help…too many hard bits. For some reason this was also quite bland; we ended having to use the vinegar from pata to raise up the flavor. Good Sisig Kapampangan to me should always have combination of crunchy, soft, and chewy bits….this was mostly hard, had no spice in it, and no sour tones.

The worst item I've had at Sarap was the Garlic Rice. I ordered this with the Daeng.

You can tell by the photo. Hard, dry rice; bitter burnt garlic, it was almost inedible. I brought half the daeng and almost all the rice back to the office. Folks would have one spoon of the rice and that's it…… I'm hoping this is just a "one-off".

Overall; I'm glad to have a place like Sarap in the area to go with Mariscos Miramar, giving us two good choices for lunch.

At the end of our last lunch; a very nice older woman came over chatted. I asked about Bicol Express, something specifically mentioned in the Eater post. I was told that the main chef, from the Phillipines, is starting this week. And he is supposed to make a mean Bicol Express. So, it looks like another visit will soon be in the books for me.

I'm hoping they can overcome all the timing and staffing issues before their Grand Opening.

Sarap Filipino Kitchen
7580 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Open Daily 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm

Ramen Ryoma (Clairemont Mesa)

August 13, 2018 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

**** This location of Ramen Ryoma has closed

For some reason, the folks at work got really excited when I told them about Ramen Ryoma opening on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in the old Bangkok West location. It has been so hot the last couple of weeks that the last thing I really wanted was ramen….especially a place that touts serving Sapporo (= rich/thick) style broth. Still, I got talked into having lunch here on a day when the temps in the area was closing in on triple digits. You know; I'm kinda wishing we were back in Sapporo right now.

We were among the first seated in the spacious and (thankfully) well air conditioned restaurant. The young lady and the really friendly guy who look like the floor leads are really nice, professional, amiable…..though the rest of the crew looked a bit lost at times.

The menu consists of several iterations of ramen, including the now de rigueur spicy ramen, and of course, since this is a Sapporo style shop; a corn and butter version as well.

I just went with the Chicken Karaage and the Deluxe Ryoma Ramen ($12.25), since folks were getting shio broth; I decided to try out the shoyu broth.

Since this is a new shop; bumps in the road were to be expected. Not all ramen places can have their act together like Menya Ultra from opening day. We watched as our ramen sat in the window for a good 15 minutes before it seems like all the floor staff noticed it there and rushed to the bowls. They then took a few minutes to double check the orders.

So when the bowls arrived at our table the broth, which I'm figuring wasn't very hot to start, was barely over lukewarm. A note about the broth; it is a fairly rich, tonkotsu-ish broth, with definite pork tones. At this temp; there was a kind of greasy tongue feel to it; not rich in say the way of the thick Iekei style or Seabura ramen we had in Japan; but just kind of oily and greasy. It was also quite salty.

The tamago was a plain boiled egg, a tad over-cooked.

The noodles had not held up well, had lost its "spring", and were a bit too mushy for my taste. Not good when using this type of thicker and wavy noodles. Also, as you can see the broth had started to really thicken and globs of it stuck to the noodles. The chashu was full of soy sauce – lightly sweet tones, but was dry and tough.

The Chicken Karaage ($6.50) looked a bit light in color, but was slightly crisp, if not perfectly fried.

It was also a bit on the bland side in terms of being karaage; as I think it needed more of that soy-mirin flavor with perhaps ginger or garlic tones; but you know how I am about my chicken karaage….and all the possibilities. I'm glad they used dark meat chicken and I think once they get everything dialed in; this will be pretty good.

I have bad habit of not following up with second visits soon enough; hence no Hachi Ramen or Trust Restaurant posts. I have to go back to square one (or square three in the case of Hachi) on those. So, in spite of the heat, I decided to return for a second visit this past weekend.

Same really nice crew working. I really like the young lady who I think is in charge of the front of house here. She is quite patient and very friendly.

I decided to go with the Shio Ramen; noodles extra firm, with a tamago…..and I got a nice laugh as one of the young ladies took my order without batting an eye; then walked over to the other woman and asked what's a "too-maa-go".

A couple of things I quickly noticed when the bowl arrived. Look at that huge piece of chashu! This time around it was nice and tender, but also very salty. Do you notice the tamago; doesn't it look like it's "seasoned" this time around?

The broth was quite rich and much like Santouka, it seems that the shio (salt) version is actually less salty than the shoyu ramen. It is a hearty broth, with some smokey tones, not bad overall.

The noodles were nice and firm; good slightly chewy-doughy texture, and you can see having the broth at the right temperature allows it to attach itself nicely to the noodles.

The egg was perfectly cooked; though it still tasted like a regular boiled egg. It was nice and lukewarm.

I enjoyed the service at Ryoma; though the ramen might be a bit too oily (and that says a lot) for my tastes. It's definitely not bad. It's really too hot for visit number three right now, so I'll wait awhile for cooler weather and give the place time to get their systems in order before I return.

On my first visit as we drove back to the office; Calvin said; "I'm glad Ryoma is here….maybe there'll be no wait at Menya Ultra anymore." We soon drove past Menya Ultra….there were at least a dozen people waiting outside with temps in the high 90's.

I don't know…..that might be wishful thinking.

Ramen Ryoma
9119 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123
Hours:
Open Daily 1130am – 10pm

Please check out Kirbie's post on Ramen Ryoma here.

Cathy’s way of beating the heat-Kearny Mesa Bowl

August 12, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Not a food item, a place. Cathy is writing on the food blog mmm-yoso!!! today.

It's been so very hot and humid lately. Today it's nice – a high of 89F with humidity of only 45%. Still kind of miserable. The Mister started asking me to think of places that had good conditioning as well as lunch; something I usually don't think about…and when I started to think, all the places in my brain were outdoor only seating. Then I went back to my childhood in Detroit. We grew up without a/c and lived…but what did my brother and I do on hot summer days? I suddenly remembered- we'd ride our bikes to a local, air conditioned Bowling Alley…there was one on just about every block…Detroit had the highest number of alleys and bowlers per capita for a long while due to the proliferation of Auto Company leagues. The number of bowling alleys nationwide has been declining. But we are lucky to still have some in San Diego.Perhaps you've seen the signage when going to Zion Supermarket.Or maybe you noticed it when leaving the Zion parking lot (and the signage of not to park in front of their building).

The murals are great. The air conditioning is wonderful (It must have been set assuming all 40 lanes would be in use). The Snack Bar was open.Order, pay and wait to hear your name called.
The Hamburger Special (burger, fries, soft drink)($8). Fried egg and bacon sandwich ($5.75) and fried calamari ($5.50).
The burger is the 1/3 lb frozen patty from Costco; I've purchased those for home and party use before; good quality. It's flat top grilled with a nice char, served on a fresh Costco sesame-seeded bun with a lettuce leaf, tomato, onion, pickle, catsup and mustard. Crinkle cut fries are always special to me. This was a good burger and fries without unnecessary frills.
How can a fried egg and bacon sandwich be made special? Well with lots of bacon, of course.
Yes. Less than $6, on bread of my choice, a slather of mayonnaise and two freshly fried eggs. This is just what I wanted.
The Mister saw the fried calamari on the menu and wanted to try it. It was good. Simple breaded rings which were fried to a nice crisp and the squid meat inside stayed tender. Bowling Alley Calamari.

I hope everyone is staying cool and eating well. Has anyone else gone to KMB to beat the heat? Yes! Dennis has on more than one occasion!

Kearny Mesa Bowl 7585 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego Ca 92111 (858)279-1501 Website

Royal Garden

August 7, 2018 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Royal Garden has closed

A few months back I was heading to the 15 North, and much like how I've noticed many places while driving in the area, saw that the former Five Star Banquet Hall that had become a Vietnamese – Chinese banquet hall, was now serving food to the public.

So, I did a quick U-turn and drove into the parking lot to check the hours. The following weekend; after working for a few hours; I drove down to the area to check the place out.

And yes; it is indeed a banquet hall; from the dance floor, stage, and lighting…..to the pressed white table cloth.

As you can see in the photos above; I was the only customer in the place. The two women working were really friendly.

I wasn't sure if I should try the butter wings or the fish sauce version. The woman working sincerely told to try the fish sauce wings first.

The wings were of decent quality; no dark spots or broken bones. I liked the size of them as well. I did think the sauce was too sweet for my taste and these weren't fried well; making the skin quite gummy.

I had also ordered the Pho Dac Biet.

And, as you can tell by the sprouts and herbs above; was prepared to be disappointed.

But when the pho arrived at my table; I as pleasantly surprised.

The broth was crystal clear; there was even a hint of beefiness in the fragrance. It wasn't overly salty, had a hint of anise and onion, and wasn't too bad at all.

The proteins really surprised me. The tai; rare beef was nicely rare, and of better quality than the typical top round. It as quite tender. The tendon was also another winner.

The noodles were decently prepared and as a whole; I really enjoyed this bowl. Now when was the last time I had a decent bowl of pho at a new place?

It didn't hurt that the two women working were really nice as well. I'd noticed a bunch of things on the menu that I wanted to check out. A few weeks later; Calvin and I had a chance to runaway for lunch.

I had mentioned trying the Bo Tai Chanh….strange, but Calvin; whose Missus is Vietnamese had never heard of this dish before. I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised as he'd never heard of Bun Mam or even Bun Mang Vit until having lunch with me. Anyway; Bo Tai Chanh is a beef salad in Lime Juice.

This was a pretty decent version; though I wish the beef was a bit more rare. It was also a tad on the sweet side; but squeezing lime on it balanced out the flavors. There were a few hidden chilies; which added some zip to things and I loved the onions as well. The fried shallots added some sweetness and the peanuts; that earthy-nutty flavor. This was quite refreshing on a super hot day. Calvin was all over this….

I also ordered the Thit Heo Nuong; basically a marinated pork salad.

Which was fairly routine; though the pork was nice and tender, the marinade was on the salty side. Still, if you need a salad……

Calvin wanted some noodles and asked if they did Hi Tieu Ap Chao….which is how we came to find the "other" menu. Which had some interesting dishes on it.

So even if the Stir Fried Hi Tieu was bland and routine.

The noodles were nice prepared; but there just wasn't enough flavor.

That menu had my interest. Though my next visit; on the following weekend was a solo one.

I mentioned being a bit hungry and the nice lady suggested the Bo Luc Lac.

The portion size was indeed generous and the Com Do (red tomato rice) was mild in flavor though nice and moist. The beef was just barely toothsome from the stir fry at first bite; then very tender. The sauce balanced on the edge of being too salty. I really enjoyed the jalapeno peppers in the stir fry. Overall, not bad at all.

Of course Calvin just needed to have that Bo Tai Chanh again; so we headed back the following week.

This time; the meat was a bit over-done. I think I'll request this more rare next time.

The Cha Ca Thang Long wasn't bad.

As you can see; no it's not even close to being as good as Song Long, but I didn't expect that. The turmeric fish was moist and tender; with no off flavors. I missed the fried shallots and peanuts and in this case; I think more oil could have been used. It wasn't too bad overall. There was an abundance of bun, crackers, and mam nem, which seemed a bit mild in this case. There was a good amount of dill used for this dish.

We also got the Bun Cha Ha Noi.

A bit smallish in portion size; this was on the mild side with regards to the marinade and the nuoc mam cham. The meatballs were sufficiently tender as was the pork; which I think was the better seasoned of the two meats. Again, very generous with the veggies and bun. Not bad; but I don't think I'll be ordering this again.

I will however, return to Royal Garden. I think the quality of ingredients used here is pretty good and there's much more to explore on the menu. Bap Xao Tom Kho, Hu Tieu My Tho, Pho Duoi Bo, among others. Plus, I like the two women working here…..they are very nice and friendly. Yes, the food might take a while, but that's ok….it gives you more time to enjoy the banquet set-up.

Royal Garden
4201 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Wed – Mon 9am – 9pm
Closed Tuesdays

Romeo & Julieta Wine Cafe

July 31, 2018 mmm-yoso European Restaurants, Gastropub, Polish Food and Restaurants

**** Romeo & Julieta has closed

Here's a little place on a rather odd corner in Talmage that I would never had found. It's a recommendation from my "FOY" JasonV. It's a favorite of his Missus, Jackie. The location is indeed interesting; being on the corner of Monoe and 47th Street. I'm sure most folks drive up the back way from Fairmount….but the place is basically a quarter mile from ECB and Nhu Y. The little wine bar is located right next to a dental office in the same strip mall. It's quite unassuming.

This is Romeo and Julieta a Polish Wine Bar of sorts. The humble exterior leads to a pretty nice and cozy interior.

We love the art and the ceiling.

Though when the weather is nice and not too hot; you can drink and dine al fresco as well.

The place is run by what I believe is a wonderful and friendly husband and wife team. The husband is the chef; though he's often helped out serving wine, and the super friendly woman runs the front of house; often on her own. In other words; this is a real mom-and-pop operation. You can't be in a rush here.

There's a regular menu of items; sort of a Polish fusion; the usual suspects, Peirogi's, Polish Sausage, and such, served with purple cabbage, sauerkraut, and cucumber salad, hearty stuff. And other items like Crab Cakes and Barbecued Pork.

The wine list is quite good and you're always served light and crusty baguette; the texture of a nice banh mi; with an addictive garlic aioli.

Don't forget the specials on the Chalk Board; where we found our favorite dish; the Pork Rouladen. Again, knowing what the "base" cuisine is of the place helps…we were looking for Polish – German – Eastern European type dishes.

A classic German – Polish dish of pork rolled around pickle spears. This version features sliced pork cutlets, pounded flat, wrapped around pickle spears and cheese. Smothered in a tasty gravy and served with a nice, rustic mashed potatoes; this is totally comfort food. The Missus enjoys the sauerkraut and sautéed cabbage and onions. The red cabbage is fine, but doesn't compare to what She really enjoyed in Prague. The cucumber salad is a bit bland for our taste; it could use more salt and bit more acidity to help cut the richness of the food.

As you can tell; the portions here are no joke.

Another favorite from the specials board was a version of the Polish Classic Bigos Stew – Hunter's Stew.

This version features the classic base of sauerkraut with Polish Kielbasa, bacon, and chopped pork. A hearty sour-meaty-smokey-porky combination. And that tomato salad was really good as well.

Of course these aren't always featured on the specials board; so the Missus will order the Polish Sausage Plate ($17.95).

While I enjoyed the nice snap of the sausage; I didn't think it was anything really special; but the Missus really enjoyed this….for a while. After two or three times, we've gotten a bit tired of this and the Missus tired of the left-overs. Yes, there are always left-overs.

You see; our drill is to arrive during Happy Hour; the Missus doesn't mind the House Chardonnay here; though they've recently changed it; and I'd just get a glass of the Italian Grillo, six bucks during Happy Hour.

Then we'd order the Polish Schnitzel Sliders from the Happy Hour menu ($9.50). I'm usually not a big fan of these fusion slider things; but this is pretty good.

The crunchy beef schnitzel, combined with the slightly sweet, but pungent, beet colored horseradish, the almost always sweet and slightly acidic tomato, and that pickle, don't forget that pickle, just goes quite well in a bun. There are four of these to an order……combined with the Missus's weak spot; sweet potato fries, enough for the both of us.

We usually end up taking most of the other entrée home as left-overs.

We also tried some of the other items over time, not all of which we enjoyed.

The Stuffed Cabbage was a menu board special. These were huge and we loved the mashed potatoes.

But we thought it on the bland and somewhat mealy side. Even with that wonderful horse radish.

The Happy Hour Wings and Fries; was priced right at $9.50.

The Missus of course, enjoyed those fries, but those wings weren't deep fried. I know this place serves flatbread/pizzas, so I'm thinking this was cooked on a conveyor oven? Not sauced enough and rubbery skin, not good eats.

My good friend's Mom back in Hawaii used come and visit with her rolling pin. She made awesome pierogi's. So during one of our first visits I decided to try the Pierogi's; the Happy Hour version. Unfortunately; they were out of the two versions that featured sauerkraut. So I ordered the Potato and Cheese; "bacon style" ($9.50).

Man, these were really stuffed. I found the wrapper to be bit on the brittle side and there was too much mushy potatoes as filling. The bacon and bacon fat topping was lovely, but I really didn't care for this version. I'll probably try one of the other versions one of these days.

There's a lot to like about Romeo & Julieta. We think the food is quite hearty and you do get your money's worth; especially those Happy Hour items. The owners are really friendly, gracious, and just really nice folks. There's often only two to three people working; which is fine during the time we eat; early on in the evening.

Happy Hour is from 4pm to 6pm Tuesdays thru Saturdays and 3pm to 6pm on Sundays.

And make sure to check out the specials board. JasonV told me he enjoyed the Watermelon Salad.

I'm sure if you choose well from the menu; you'll have a nice and hearty meal.

Romeo & Julieta Wine Cafe
4715 Monroe Ave
San Diego, CA 92115
Hours:
Tues – Sat 4pm – 10pm
Sunday 3pm – 10pm

Thanks for the recommendation Jason! Maybe one of these days we'll run into you here!

And share some Bigos.

Mariscos Monday – The Mariscos on Miramar Truck

July 16, 2018 mmm-yoso Food Trucks, Mexican Restaurants, Seafood

I've often said that things around these parts would not be as delici-yoso without all the recommendations and tips I receive. About three weeks ago; "MichaelW" was nice enough to drop me an email letting me know about a Mariscos Truck that had started doing business in back of the strip mall at 6904 Miramar Road….you know; the one that houses Jersey Mike's, Denny's, Pho Ha Noi, and the Philadelphia Sandwich Company, among others. I was able to run out to check the place out the following week. And yes, there it was…..

The truck has the back corner of the strip mall parking lot, there are signs on the road, and if take the turn north onto Commerce Avenue, you can't miss the signs. Funny, I guess I haven't been to the Sandwich A'Fare in a while. The truck is in the same side of the mall as that shop. There are also three parking spots against the building designated for the truck….I think they've got a nice deal.

It was pretty busy even at 11am when I arrived. A lot of the local guys were lined up waiting to order or waiting for their order.

The menu is nicely varied; from the usual Mariscos Truck suspects; the Gobernador, Fish Tacos, Camarones a la Plancha, Tostadas, Cocteles, and Botanas.

Ordering was pretty easy for me; as Michael had made a recommendation and I went with my usual; the Gobernador. The woman working the window is very nice, though the salsas are limited and things take a while….not necessarily a bad thing as it means items are really made to order. Though one should keep that in mind.

I was handed a consommé while waiting. Strong celery and pepper tones; on my first visit it was quite mild, on my second visit, much stronger in the celery/seafood department.

My order took about 20 minutes or so, but it was worth the wait. While the Gobernador wasn't among the best I've had; not enough peppers and onions; the tortilla was nicely coated with cheese then griddled, thus protecting the tortilla from breakage. The shrimp was plump and tender; this was a bit light in the seasoning department; but not bad at all.

Michael had recommended the Taco de Costa Azul, a nice combination of shrimp, bacon, and some slightly smokey, but not fishy smoked tuna….this trucks version of the usual smoked "marlyn". This was quite good as the crunchy bacon, complemented the shrimp and smoked tuna, which wasn't overly salty. The avocado and squeeze of lime, along with the standard seafood salsa just worked together in harmony. The tortilla; though quite standard held together well with the light coating of melted cheese protecting the integrity of the taco.

I was pleasantly surprised. I also bought two extra tacos for the guys in the office to taste. They all enjoyed them.

In fact, the following week, I returned with Calvin and also ordered some tacos for JeffP to try.

It was right before 11 when we arrived and there were already people there.

I got a bit greedy and ordered tres tacos for me this time.

The best of the bunch was the Machin; shrimp, octopus, and smoked tuna….though it wasn't quite as good as the Costa Azul. The pulpo al ajillo was the weakest of the bunch….not much octopus; what it contained was tender, but quite bland. The camarones al ajillo was decent; the shrimp again decently prepped and cooked, though I expected a bit more of a garlic "punch". The tortillas were left on the griddle too long this time around….though while the crunch was nice; it just tore to pieces when biting into them.

Still, this was better than many other trucks I've eaten at over the years.

Like I mentioned; I really like the woman who works the window here. No nonsense, but also quite nice. It's not a bad choice for lunch in the area….though like I mentioned; you might want to give yourself some time for the folks to prep your food. You can use the time tasting the consommé.

Notice the "Mariscos Rolex" tag on the truck.

Mariscos On Miramar Truck
6904 Miramar Rd – in the back parking lot
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours
Mon – Fri 1030am – 8pm
Saturday 11am – 6pm
Closed on Sundays

Thanks for the recommendation Michael! I owe you some tacos!

Sunday Sandwiches – Revisits to SuperNatural Sandwiches and Embargo Grill

July 15, 2018 mmm-yoso Cuban Restaurants, Sandwiches, Seafood

A couple of sandwiches for a humid Sunday.

Supernatural Sandwiches:

**** SuperNatural Sandwiches has closed

My buddy JasonV asked me if I'd ever been to this sandwich place…..he told me it was "awesome" and showed me a photo of Supernatural. I cracked up and said I'd been a customer since they had a stand at the now defunct San Diego Public Market. And I did tell him that they do make some good sandwiches. A few days later; Deanna told me she had gone to Supernatural Sandwiches after work and loved it. I'd taken her there a few years back. So I got the hint; it had been nearly six months since my last visit.

Needless to say; the place was doing some major business when I arrived. Love the folks who work here; they always have a smile for me.

I went with my usual; the Siren….I realize I need to start ordering other stuff on the menu. But the folks here have this totally down.

From the lightly garlicky-spicy mayo; to the moist and plump shrimp, to go with the buttery-slightly sweet brioche. I'm thinking that it could use a bit more acidity to cut the richness; but that would be splitting hairs.

It's one of my "guilty pleasure" sandwiches.

It's also nice to see a place that's doing so well expanding. With locations now in Santa Ana and Tijuana, and two other locations in PB (they are going to make a killing) and Little Italy opening soon, it's going to be a "SuperNatural Kingdom". Good for them!

SuperNatural Sandwiches
7094 Miramar Rd. #122
San Diego, CA 92121

Embargo Grill:

**** Embargo Grill has closed

Speaking of guilty pleasure sandwiches…..

I was over in Point Loma a few weekends ago and was a bit hungry. It was a bit too hot for other options so I decided to stop by Embargo Grill. It had been nearly two years since my last visit.

I went with basically the same thing as on previous visits.

The Yuca Frita; which was disappointing.

This was too dense, dry, almost hard, and not crisp enough for me. It was also still barely lukewarm in the center. The mojo was very nice though. Garicky with nice citrus tones; not sour, but with a nice acidity.

The Medianoche the "midnight sandwich" was very good.

From the nicely pressed, crunchy, yet light bread, to the moist and tasty pulled pork, to the milky cheese, the ham, and yes, the all important pickle, which cuts through all that high-caloric goodness. This place also seems to have sandwich down.

I could only finish half the sandwich. I took half home and the Missus polished it off in no time flat. I guess She liked it……even cold…..midnight or not.

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

Smokey’s Lake Wohlford Cafe (a revisit)

July 10, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Cathy is writing today while Kirk is busy at His job.

It's been almost eight years since I wrote about Smokey's, yet not much has changed.

Oh sure, there's some updated signage.

Stepping inside, the small store to the left, bar and tables in front of you and general atmosphere, with friendly waitresses, is comforting and familiar. The menu (at the bottom of this post) is pretty much the same (there's still catfish as a breakfast meat choice). We were here in the afternoon, so chose from the lunch menu.
The cheeseburger, ($8) 1/3 lb angus on a toasted sesame seeded bun with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle with crinkle cut fries was a wonderful quality and size. Excellent flavor.
The soup and Sandwich ($7) was a great choice. I wanted a tuna sandwich and was asked if I'd like it to be a tuna melt. There was no upcharge and the flavors of the Swiss cheese and tuna salad on the random sliced toasted rye were so very comfortingly perfect.
The soup of the day was Vegetable Beef and it was so good! Hamburger, tomato, onion, celery, green pepper and those macaroni noodles. It tasted so much better than when I toss similar leftovers in a pot.
Of course, since we were here, we had to have catfish and the two piece meal ($10.50) was just enough food to hit the spot. The light cornmeal dusting on the perfectly fried fish along with cole slaw and
delicately fried herb filled hush puppies were just perfect textures and flavors for a lunch at this long time (since 1947) classic diner.

Smokey's Lake Wohlford Cafe 25484 Lake Wohlford Road Escondido 92027 (760) 749-6585 Website Open 6 a.m. daily

What we eat to beat the heat – Thai Papaya by Sab-E-Lee

July 6, 2018 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

**** Thai Papaya has closed

Man was it hot today in San Diego? Man; it was hitting the high 90's over here in Bay Park! And as always with temperatures this high; the specter of fire danger hovers overs us. We hope everyone, their families, pets, and homes are safe.

I've mentioned in previous posts, that's it's not Sab-E-Lee weather for us until it starts getting into the high-70's or 80's. And well; today it surely surpassed that. It had been a while since I'd dropped by. The Missus was going to get home after me today; so I dropped by Thai Papaya for take-out.

Maylee was in the kitchen and came out to greet me with a smile…..things are just better when she's there.

Of course I got the Missus's favorite; the Som Tom Khai Kem, papaya salad with salted egg. Savory-salty, with the acid balancing things out. The duck larb was outstanding on this visit, great mildly-gamey, almost beefy with sweet tones; just enough acid, great with the wedges of cabbage.

And yes; there are several places that make a better Thai Sausage than what SeL sells; but we still order it; it's very consistent and along with sticky rice fills out the meal.

Thai Papaya has changed up their hours a bit. Now closed on Tuesdays and open from noon to eight pm the rest of the week.

Thai Papaya by Sab E Lee
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

Yes, it's just a short post today…….it's probably too hot to be sitting around reading a post. And I'm sure you really didn't want to read about my most recent bowl of pho, right?

Brunch at Urban Solace (and the “secret menu” item)

July 5, 2018 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food

**** Urban Solace has closed

It's kind of strange; I thought I'd done a large post on Urban Solace before, but all I could find was a "burger week" post from back in 2009. Kind of strange since US was a favorite of the Missus for a couple of years. Regardless, the Missus had never had brunch at Urban Solace. And with us both having a nice leisure weekend day for a change, it felt like the right time to reacquaint ourselves.

We found parking rather quickly on Ray Street and stopped a couple of times as we made our way around the block to Urban Solace; which was pretty empty on this weekend morning.

I have to say; the service on this visit was outstanding, genial, professional, and the staff just seemed to have perfect timing.

Of course we started with the biscuits, which we just about perfect this time around.

Moist with a nicely balanced texture, hitting that sweet spot between fluffy and dense. It had a mild cheese flavor, which didn't over-power the biscuit, and we didn't even need the Orange-Honey Butter or Smoked Tomato Jam.

Since it was going to be noon-soon….we decided on some cocktails. The Missus picked something off the cocktail list; while I asked what the "Dealers Choice", basically the bartender's special was. And was rewarded with a refreshing, smokey, slightly herbal Mezcal-Chamomile Spritz. This was super good and not too sweet….in fact, the Missus ended up ordering one as well. Once She finished what She was drinking.

The Shrimp and Grits have always been a favorite of ours here; and this did not disappoint.

While the grits are perhaps…well, too refined (creamy) for my taste, it is still quite good. The shrimp….and there were five good sized ones in that little cast iron skillet were cooked and seasoned perfectly. Overall a very nice dish.

We also ordered the Beef Cheek Hash, which was probably our least favorite dish of the meal.

The beef cheeks were shredded finely, nice beefiness, but there wasn't very much of it. The eggs were cold. The potatoes were nice; but man, we're used to food being too salty these days; but this was a rarity as it really needed some salt! We ended up taking almost all of this home (except for the eggs). I fried up some lardons and added it to the leftovers for lunch the next day. And it still needed more salt!

Our wonderful Server asked us if we were interested in the daily special or per their definition the "secret menu"? As soon as she said "torchon de foie gras", we both answered "yes" at the same time. This was a huge portion and pretty good.

The torchon had a perfect texture; creamy, but with substance. It was a touch too sweet, but asked for some salt which brought the flavor back into balance. The toasts were nice; but for some strange reason; I loved having the foie gras with the biscuits. This is definitely a must order when we return….if they have it.

Here's the deal; when the torchon is available they only have enough product for five orders. I was told to call on the day of our visit to see if they had this or any other "secret menu" items. She also mentioned that for some reason; it's not very popular. Strange…..though I'm hoping it isn't popular the next time we visit!

Excellent service, nice cocktails that aren't overly sweet, and foie gras. Now that's a fairly successful brunch, don't you think?

Urban Solace Restaurant
3823 30th Street
San Diego, CA 92104
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 1130am – 930pm
Saturday 1030am – 1030pm
Sunday 930am – 230pm, 5pm – 9pm
Brunch on Saturdays and Sundays