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Island Style Hawaii BBQ & Local Food

January 31, 2018 mmm-yoso Hawaiian Food, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

***** Island Style has closed

Island Style Hawaii is a favorite of one of my "customers" and after finding out that I'm originally from Hawaii she had asked me what I thought of the place. I told her that I'd had had my fill of these Hawaiian BBQ type of places and really hadn't been motivated to visit. But one day at work I got a call. She had a meeting in the same building and decided to drop of "some lunch" for me……from Island Style. How sweet.

So I suddenly had mini-plates of Garlic Chicken and Mochiko Chicken on my hands.

Now, I didn't expect Sugoi's or Mitsu-ken, and this was pretty mediocre. Even though she had picked this up on the way to our offices, it hadn't held up well and was more gummy than crisp. I expected more garlic flavor, but what I mostly got was burnt bitterness. Sugoi and Mitsu-ken have both garlic flavor in the seasoning for the chicken as well as a sauce; it reminds me a bit of karaage. This was basically fried chicken.

It's the Mochiko Chicken that had the sauce.

While I thought the batter on this was a bit better; the sauce was pretty one-dimensional. This style of chicken isn't really hard to make.

I gotta say, for a mini-plate, the portion sizes were quite hefty. Compre the $6.99 mini-plate with the $11 food truck plate lunch.

The rice was fine, but I really didn't care for the potato "mac" salad. The quotes on the "mac" is because this was like chopped spaghetti noodles. It also just tasted of plain mayonnaise with no other seasoning. The young lady really wanted to know what I thought, so I told her. Man, if I were a millionaire, I'd love to buy her a ticket to HNL, so she could actually have the real deal.

Anyway, this got the ball rolling so I decided to drop by the place. It's in Pacific Beach, near the corner of Cass and Garnet. I can honestly say, I don't get down here very often.

Wasn't this a location of Rakadeka in a previous life? So, it was a Saturday morning and I'd read that the place opens at 11; so I got there at 1105…..no Bueno. Must've been on Hawaiian Time. So I took a walk around the block. I returned at 1120 and the open sign was on; but the door was still locked….go figure. Eventually, I did get in.

The menu had all the usual suspects. Since this was a weekend and I could definitely just roll back home and take a nap, I decided to add another one to my Loco Moco collection. I ordered a regular sized Loco Moco ($9.29).

This was a passable Hawaiian BBQ/Chain style loco moco. The beef patty was cooked to death and tough. The rice was strange, some of it was dry and hard and the rest really mushy. The eggs were nice and runny, though I enjoy a bit of crispness around the edges for a textural contrast and these weren't seasoned, thus in dire need of some salt. The gravy was on the thinner side, but other than having a bit too much black pepper was fine.

During this visit, I noticed an "Aloha Friday Special" ($13.99) on the menu. So, with the Missus at work, I returned on my way home that Friday.

Man, this was a hefty plate. First things first. I noticed a lot of liquid that smelled like laulau at the bottom of the package. I opened the container up to see all the liquid from the laulau on the bottom. It hadn't been drained well.

The laulau itself wasn't very good. This being "mainland laulau" I expected no salted fish, but the pork was really dry and stringy, and the luau leaves weren't cooked enough for my taste and were hard. Even here in the laulau wasteland that is San Diego, I thought Poke, Etc was better.

I'm still not a fan of the potato mac salad; though I did find a couple of small cubes of potato in this. It really needs a bit more seasoning.

The kalua pork was not bad. On the dry side, the trick I learned when I worked drive-in kitchens back home was to mix the fat and liquid that drained off the pork back into it when shredding. It did have enough salt and smoke flavor though.

I didn't expect much of the lomi salmon and it was just that. Really in need of seasoning; the tomatoes not ripe enough, too watery, quite bland.

Island Style has a very nice location, close to the beach and all that. If you enjoy quantity over quality this might do it for you.

The service very laid back. The young lady at the front likes to spend her time on the iPad. Not sure if I'll return and if I do, what I would get….the katsu perhaps? Saimin? I dunno.

Here's a to Soo's visits to Island Style.

Island Style Hawaii BBQ & Local Food
4508 Cass St
San Diego, CA 92109
Hours:
Mon – Wed 11am – 10pm
Thurs – Sat 11am – 2am
Sun 11am – 8pm

Last Call at Spicy King (Vista)

January 30, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Spicy King has closed

So, a funny thing happened after the former assistant chefs from Ba Ren gave up the ghost at what was Fu An Garden. I saw Chef Hu twice at 99 Ranch Market. I guess we used to go to Ba Ren so much that these folks all remember us. Anyway, I was told that they'd taken over Spicy King in Vista. And while I really missed Chongqing style Sichuan food, I wasn't super impressed with what was being served at Fu An Garden. Not enough to make a drive out to Vista.

However, I had an all day meeting in Orange County and really just wanted to take my time on the drive back home…..with all that lovely San Diego rush hour traffic. I thought it would be a great chance to see how Spicy King was doing.

The place was empty when I arrived….and for my entire meal. Chef Hu was surprised and pleased to see me. Then his wife, who speaks English quite well told me that, "we have sold the restaurant, today is our last day". Whoa, talk about some weird timing!

They both looked tired and worn down. And you know……so did the restaurant to a certain extent.

They were both so very gracious. I decided to order some favorites from the Ba Ren days. Here's how it went.

Sichuan Cold Noodles was and is comfort food to me. Ba Ren's version was a favorite of ours.

I really wasn't inspired by this when it arrived at the table. But upon mixing things together I found that all the "good stuff" was on the bottom of the bowl. The noodles were like what I'd had at Fu An Garden, really hard and brittle. And while there was enough black vinegar, spice, ginger, and peanuts in this; it really lacked the sesame paste and garlic from versions I enjoy. The texture of the noodles actually got better over time and was much better the next day.

Ko Shui Ji (saliva/mouthwatering chicken), another old favorite. When I ordered it, I was told that they were no longer making this. However, Chef Hu was peeking out of the kitchen and insisted making this for me.

And while the chicken had the perfect texture and the heat was really good….it was quite spicy. It just seemed to be missing something. Not bad though.

I got the Spicy Fish and Tofu. This was actually pretty good.

Good heat, nice and richly oily. The fish, while not a velvety as I prefer was still tender. Nice combination of flavors, though missing a bit more savory-complex seasoning. The Missus really enjoyed the leftovers of this one.

Sorry to say the Shrimp with Chilies was the most disappointing dish of the meal.

It wasn't fried right, the batter was gummy and the shrimp overcooked. Liked the Sichuan Peppercorns in this, but the dish was a bit mild in spice….I know, all the chilies, but it didn't seem very spicy to me. The texture of that shrimp just wasn't pleasant to me.

All in all, a decent meal. And the timing of my visit seemed like some strange act of fate. I had promised to drop by. The couple told me they were going to take a break and go back to China for two months, then return and see what opportunities are available in San Diego. I did appreciate the effort with the chicken and how very friendly and happy they were to see me. I wish them well.

After almost six years, I still haven't found a dependable Sichuan restaurant that could stand up to Ba Ren.

As to what's next for Spicy King, well I'm not sure…..

Spicy King
1233 East Vista Way
Vista, CA 92084

Pho Be Thui at Pho Saigon Alley

January 9, 2018 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho Saigon Alley has closed

Back at the end of October; I was making one of my now quite rare trips to City Heights when I noticed a "Grand Re-Opening Banner on the former location of Asmara Restaurant. Grand Re-Opening? When was the original opening When did Asmara close? Hmmm……I guess I'm getting a bit out of touch in my old age.

Anyway, I made a mental note of the place and like I tend to do so often these days promptly forgot about the place. In December, when we got back from our latest trip, something triggered a recollection. And I decided to stop by Pho Saigon Alley.

I went and parked in the rear of the building and this banner caught my attention.

Pho be thui? That's a new one for me. Man, I haven't had Be Thui on over ten years!

The rear entrance and back of the restaurant; the outdoor area, looks somewhat worn and unkept, not the most welcoming entrance. The interior looks fairly bright, but the floors seem scuffed and there's a bit of haphazardness to the place. Bar type seating, a stage….seems like they were doing karaoke here for a while?

The place was also totally empty when I arrived. But I pushed ahead and ordered the Pho Be Thui; noted as "Smoked Veal" on the menu.

I ordered a small ($9.25). I totally expected to get a plate with be thui along with a plain-Jane bowl of pho. So I was surprised when a good sized bowl of pho arrived with brisket, tripe, tendon, and flank.

The be thui here was thinly sliced like tai; there was no rice powder dusted on the slices of meat like proper be thui; the sauce was super salty nothing like the traditional fermented bean sauce (tuong cu da) or the really clean, refreshing, ginger based sauces I've had with be thui. It was of course, quite lean, pretty darn chewy, and since the broth for this bowl of pho wasn't very hot; it never got beyond basically raw. The broth was very mild, defatted, with just a hint of beefiness and a touch of anise flavors. At least it wasn't too salty.

The noodles were nicely done and were actually hotter than the broth!

The tendon and tripe were very well prepared; just a hint of chew for the tendon and no "off flavors" for the crunchy tripe. The flank was a bit too fatty and tough, but the brisket had a nice beefy flavor. As you can see by the top photo; the basil was starting to discolor.

So, while this was not very good in terms of be thui (also, there wasn't any "smoke" flavor – I'm thinking they mean torched), it wasn't terrible by any means. There are bowls worse than this to be found. I needed to get something for the Missus at Northgate Market a few days later; so I decided to drop by again.

On this visit, there were three other tables occupied. By an older crowd. This time I noticed a grease board on a music stand occupying the "stage" area. It had a bunch of dishes listed. I was tempted to go for the bun bo hue. But after my recent not-so-good bowl of BBH, I decided to just go ahead and ordered the Bo Luc Lac.

This was fairly mediocre; not bad, just nothing special. Like versions of bo luc lac I've had recently; this was on the salty side and lacking in any sweet-sour or deeply savory tones. The meat was a bit overcooked, but still reasonably tender. The veggies were under cooked, though the rice was nice and fragrant. the portion size was fairly small; but reasonable for $8.25. Not much more to say.

The service is typical old-school pho shop……which I thought kinda nice since we now have all these modern, slick, sort of hipsterish Vietnamese places I've been to recently. The clientele on my visits were all older folks.

I may drop by Pho Saigon Alley again in the future…maybe take my chances with the Bun Bo Hue. Or maybe not……..

Pho Saigon Alley
4155 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Open Daily 10am – 9pm

Ginger Pho & Grill

December 27, 2017 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Ginger Pho & Grill has closed

A few months ago I received an email from "SomTommy". He asked me if I could check out a place on Plaza in National City that supposedly made a good Bun Bo Hue. I really hadn't heard of a place in National City making at good BBH; but heck, I did get a fairly passable bowl of pho in the area recently so why not? Turns out the place is actually in the very busy mall that houses Seafood City on Plaza.

I did notice that there's been a bit of turnover in the mall since my last visit. Manila Resto is gone, there's a new, what looks like the ubiquitous Crawfish place, and a few places I don't recall seeing before. Though the veteran restaurants like Golden Chopsticks, Bread Deluxe, and Goldilocks is still doing good business. As was Porky's Lechon.

As for Ginger Pho & Grill, well, there were a couple of tables occupied; all getting pho, but I went with the Bun Bo Hue. This actually took a while to get to me; which had me a bit concerned as I saw everything else just rolling out of the kitchen in minutes.

Eventually, it did arrive. First thing I noticed was the strong orange color of the broth; orange, not red, and how cloudy it was.

The plate of herbs and veggies were very fresh; though mostly lettuce and purple cabbage with a sprig of mint thrown in.

The broth was quite spicy, an in your face blast of chili heat. There was a mild richness-fattiness to the soup. The rest of the broth seemed so plain in comparison; very little lemon grass flavor, no beef or pork notes, no sour or savory (shrimp paste) tones; it was basically just spicy.

The meat was well prepared; the rustic cuts were think enough, but not hard, there were two pork hocks in soup; one was wrapped in a nice, toothsome piece of skin; the other tasted slightly off, so I passed on that. The two pieces of tendon was well prepared and pretty tender.

The bun was cooked well, slippery, with a decent stretchiness to them.

If the broth had a bit more than spiciness going for it; this might have been a pretty good bowl.

Recently, I had to drop by Seafood City, so I decided to try the pho at Ginger.

I went with good 'ol #4; the well done steak, brisket, flank, tendon and tripe. I went with the small size priced at $6.99.

This was an interesting bowl. First off, the broth was really mild and severely defatted. It was also barely over lukewarm. The basil had brown spots, but there was a generous portion of bean sprouts. To illustrate how warm the broth was; I placed half of the bean sprouts in the broth and they never softened.

I like my noodles "al dente", but this was too hard for my liking. I'm thinking the broth wasn't hot enough to finish cooking the noodles and what I got was on the too hard and chewy side.

The best part of this pho was the proteins; other than the tripe which was MIA. All the meats were fairly tender, especially the brisket and tendon.

There was a generous amount of noodles and meat in this $6.99 bowl of pho. I think this illustrates what the folks at Ginger believes folks are looking for here; large portion sizes and more meat.

Service was typical; perfunctory without being rude; efficiency rules. The restaurant is nice and clean, prices are reasonable. For me; there is better pho…and Bun Bo Hue out there.

Ginger Pho & Grill
1420 East Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Open 9am – 9pm Daily

Spice House Café (Kearny Mesa)

December 11, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, Food blog. Cathy is writing today; Kirk and His Missus are enjoying themselves away from electronics.

If you've ever driven on Claremont Mesa Boulevard, perhaps looking for the San Diego Superior Court or maybe the old Registrar of Voters building (now a new Kaiser Hospital), you've probably seen this signage and building.

It looks like it may have been a Coco's, Carrows, Bakers Square or maybe even a Big Boy, in its first iteration; some sort of family restaurant. Owned by two brothers, Spice House has been here since 1993. It's only open until 2:30 daily, serving breakfast (all day) and lunch. (Ignore that 'Dinner' portion of the sign.)

Kirk wrote a post about Spice House Café in 2005 and again in 2015.The Mister and I have been here many times, never posted.
We dropped in the other day because we were in the area and had different cravings. The interior had just been decorated for Christmas.
The soup of the day choice was either broccoli cream or vegetable- all the vegetables except broccoli, I think. There was cauliflower, potato, cabbage, green pepper, carrot, onion and celery. The broth had a deep flavor (either beef or chicken based), did not need salt or pepper or anything added. This was a *great* home made soup.
The soup was my side choice for my order of a Chicken Pita ($9.95)- grilled chicken (not gyros spiced or sliced; plainer), tomatoes, onions, fresh (house made) tzatziki in a warm, fresh pita. This was also really good, quite large. The accompanying pickle was a good quality.
The Mister really had a craving for Biscuits and Gravy (large, $3.75). Four from scratch, good quality biscuits topped with a (link) sausage gravy. The gravy itself is slightly sweet; not peppery. Definitely all from scratch and, again, really good.
He also ordered a side order of a beef patty ($3.15). It's the hand formed half pound patty that's in all of the 'Burger Specials', listed on the tabletop card (below). Grill top cooked to just barely medium, this was a quality burger.

Just good food. Another local place that has been around forever.

Spice House Cafe 9035 Clairemont Mesa Blvd San Diego, CA 92123 Hours: Mon – Fri 6:00am – 2:30pm Sat – Sun 7:00am – 2:30pm Website

EaThai Bistro (San Diego/Rolando)

December 5, 2017 Cathy Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, the name of the food blog you are reading. Now that you know why Kirk hasn't been posting much…He and His Missus are on a well deserved vacation…Cathy is holding down the fort and posting about another San Diego restaurant.

Maybe you remember when Kirk posted about Chinese Kitchen, the first time a two part post in 2006 and a follow up in 2009. It was the place with the literal 'hole in the wall' for ordering…had been there since the 1980's (when The Mister and I frequented the inexpensive take out establishment), which closed about five months ago.
You don't have to order at the window any more, there are 14 seats with tabletops as well as an area to wait if you order or are picking up 'to go'.
We were given complimentary Thai iced tea, since they are still in their opening phase (regular $2.50). It was not too sweet, and the tea portion had a pleasant, spiced flavor.
We also were given small cups of vegetable tom kha soup, which was very good. I might just order a bowl on one of our wintery-cool days.
The Thai sausages appetizer ($7.95) was wonderful! The coarse grind pork sausages are made here, have a skin with a snap and has the wonderful bit of sour taste. They are different than other house made Thai sausage (the ones made at Supanne House of Thai which are herb filled), yet delicious on their own, served with ginger, cabbage, cucumber and peanuts.
Thai Style papaya salad ($7.95) was fresh made (I heard shredding in the kitchen), at a level of "2", which was just enough chili pepper/heat to still be able to taste the green beans, tomatoes, garlic and dried shrimp along with the peanuts. It was really good. I am eager to try the Lao style of this salad on my next visit- made with fish sauce and the 50 cent optional addition of salted crab. The larb ($8.95, chicken) wasn't quite what we are used to- there were no crunchy (roasted rice) bits, so the texture was not as interesting; thinking it was forgotten. The lime juice, onions, cilantro and mint were all very good and fresh.

All in all, a good choice of food for this part of town.

cc has been here, too!

EaThai Bistro 6160 University (North side, just East of College Avenue) San Diego 92115 Open Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Closed Sunday (619)583-8888

Hunter Steakhouse

November 26, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Steakhouse, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is busily enjoying some days off (from work and the blog) and Cathy is writing about meals enjoyed.

If you drive West on the 8, just before you get to the 5, on the North side of "Hotel Circle", you may have noticed the signage.

Once you wiggle your way around and get to Camino Del Rio North, find the parking lot and walk up… the lobby area gives you a peek as to the decorating style of your dining area. Ah, the 1970's, when many restaurants were designed to look like they were log cabins, with dark paint, much wood and river rock surrounded fireplaces.

This restaurant (one of two in the county-the other location is in Oceanside off the 5 at the 78) is a great throwback, in looks and in the menu.
We were here for lunch.

Once you order, a fresh, warm half loaf of molasses bread (with softened unsalted butter) is brought out. The crisped crust is thin and has the subtle sweetness of molasses glazed on it, it's a bit more sweet than the molasses in the bread itself. We decided to try the lunch menu's 'Appetizer Sampler' ($12) as one of our meals. Three items: 1)Lump crabmeat stuffed mushrooms, topped with Monterey Jack cheese; wonderful, large, fresh and so very good. 2)Calamari, in a cornmeal batter, fried in onion and sweet red peppers and topped with an ancho chili mayonnaise; perfectly crisp, not oily and substantial in size. 3)Potato skins; I haven't had any in such a long time and these were so very good.
Our other meal came with a choice of soup or salads (caesar, spinach or tossed greens). At the front door, we noticed a sign that the house made Bleu Cheese dressing was available for purchase, so chose that to go with the 'tossed greens'. The dressing was wonderful, as was the very fresh salad. The 'petite cut' of prime rib (8 oz) ($19), perfectly cooked at medium rare and encrusted in a delightful herb mix. It was quite large enough for us to share, especially after that Appetizer Sampler. The baked potato was so large that we took half home to use for breakfast the next day.

All in all, a tasty and 'fancy' lunch for the two of us.

Hunter Steakhouse 2445 Hotel Circle Place San Diego 92108 (619) 291-8074 Website Mon-Th 11:30-9:30, Fri 11:30-10, Sat, 4-10, Sun 4-9

I hope you are enjoying this extra long weekend!

Pisco Rotisserie & Cevicheria

November 21, 2017 mmm-yoso Peruvian Restaurants, Seafood

**** Pisco has closed

If you've read this blog long enough; you know that I love the cuisine of Peru; which, in addition to unique indigenous foods includes an amazing mish mash of all those who came upon its shores, there's something about the food of Peru that really strikes a chord with me.

Funny thing, I recently had an email asking if I'd tried Pisco Rotisserie & Cevicheria, which opened a few months ago in Liberty Station. I replied that I had eaten there 3 times. I was then asked why I hadn't posted on the place yet. I answered that I wanted one more visit before I did a post. I think Pisco did that to me. Opened by Sami Ladecki in the former location of his namesake Sammy's Woodfired Pizza in Liberty Station. I was told that Pisco was designed as his love letter to Peruvian Cuisine, I was really excited to visit.

And my good buddy Candice was more than happy to humor me.

I liked the interior, colorful, yet understated, the service was very good, except when it came to understanding what the place was serving. When we asked about certain dishes, we got blank and confused looks….which happened on a couple of my visits. Good spirited tries……but no cigar.

The Pisco Sour was decent, certainly, not in the league of what we've had in Lima.

It was bit on the weak side. One of my acquaintances told me it tasted more like a margarita than a pisco sour.

The canchita was spot on; not too salty, nice and warm.

And it was just screaming for some cebiche.

Which is what came out first….the "Classico" of course.

While the portion size was fairly small for twelve bucks; the whitefish was nicely "cooked" by the leche de tigre. Very tender in texture, good balance, leche de tigre not too sour, I enjoyed the chocolo (peruvian corn), but lamented the small portion of camote (sweet potato), which wasn't flavored correctly and was too mushy for my taste.

We'd recently been back in Lima rather recently and had really enjoyed the "Leche de Tigre" styled dishes at places like El Veridico de Fidel, I was intrigued by what the Martini de Tigre ($14) was going to be like.

This was way too acidic, sour, and spicy to enjoy. The seafood was nicely prepared, but it was difficult enjoying the dish.

Up next was the Causitas with Crab ($15). This was a very nice version of the classic causita; the potatoes creamy, the crab sweet, without too much mayo.

The potatoes were very moist, not too heavy and the tobiko added a nice textural and slight briney flavor to the dish. the tomatoes added a bit of acid as well.

Of course I had to order what I consider to be, along with cebiche, the national dish of Peru; Lomo Saltado ($16 + $2 for an egg). Adding an egg was a no-brainer.

I love lomo saltado as you can see if you do a search on the blog. On our last trip to Peru, we were struck at how this dish has seemed to evolved into Lomo saltado con Tacu Tacu. Unfortunately, this dish made me rather sad. First off; the dinner fries just seemed out of place, being too large and dry. The beef was on the tough side and had a slight metallic flavor to it. The overall balance in flavor was off and this was just too salty to enjoy.

The Braised Lamb Shoulder ($25) was very interesting. This seemed to be a take on Seco de Cordero.

We didn't care for the texture of the lamb, which was shredded, making things seem a bit mushy. But they sure didn't hold back on the mildly minty-anise-bitter, yet sweet flavor of huacatay. It just went so well with lamb. I enjoyed the crisp fried kale and the sweet Cipollini onion, even though they seemed a bit out of place in this dish. Overall, a very nice entrée.

The visit was a mixed bag that showed some potential. After all, it was grand opening and all that.

So, a few weeks later, I decided to return for just a Pisco Sour and the Cebiche Classico. This time I sat at the bar and met a nice fellow named "Mike" who was from Peru. We had a ncie chat and I got my cebiche.

This version wasn't nearly as good as what I'd had on my previous visit. The leche de tigre was very sour; the fish tough, with a mild fishy taste. On a funny note; when I lamented the portion size of the camote, Mike told me, "in Lima, we most feed that to the dogs anyway"! Must be some lucky dogs. This wasn't very good….which you can just see…..

Still, I waited a couple of weeks and dropped by during Happy Hour. Since I'd enjoyed the causitas the last time; I ordered the "Grilled Octopus:.

A causita by any other name; the garlic infused mashed potatoes were excellent, as was the tender octopus. Not enough piquillo peppers to make much of an impact, though what seemed to be an aji rocoto based sauce was delicious as it did a very nice job of cutting any of the richness in the dish.

On my previous visit, "Mike" had recommended the Carne Empanada, so I ordered that as well. The creamy huacaina sauce proved to be a nice foil for the onions. The filling had a nice flavor, with a mild sweet-smokiness that I detected.

Unfortunately, the middle of the empanada was barely lukewarm.

Not a bad visit, but not great, I was left with mixed feelings.

And so my photos resided in limbo, just kind of hanging around waiting for me to post. Until that faithful email (thanks ST!). I was almost reluctant to return, but decided that enough time had past and I needed to get this post done. So, last week I returned. I again sat at the bar. The dining room was pretty quiet when I arrived, but quickly filled up.

I sat at the bar trying to decided on what to order. I went back to the first few times I had Peruvian food; back in the 90's, living in LA…..the gateway dish for me was Pollo ala Brasa, rotisserie chicken. It had been a while since I'd had a good version. So why not go with the Half Chicken ($17), which came with two sides. I went with the Choclo Garlic Rice and Canary Beans.

Three sauce were provided for the chicken, which came in handy since, while the skin of the chicken was nicely flavored, the meat was a bit dry and on the bland side. The garlic rice was mushy, very salty, and the cholco a bit too hard. The canary beans were very nice; perfectly prepped, excellent texture, slightly smokey….man, they would have killed it with some tacu tacu. That chimichurri sauce was quite heady; though it had me missing the aji verde that used to be served with the pollo a la brasa we used to eat way back when.

So, what to say about Pisco? I've got mixed feelings. I enjoy more restaurant choices, but have never been one to be "just happy to have it", if you know what I mean. I think the best explanation of the food at Pisco is what "Mike" told me that day at the bar when I mentioned that what I'd had at Pisco just wasn't quite "there", if you know what I mean. He told me, "look, I think Pisco is Peruvian food for those who never had Peruvian food. It's an introduction." Fair enough; I had my "gateway dish" all those years ago, but have grown and expanded my horizons. Hopefully, Pisco will too.

Pisco Rotisserie & Cevicheria
2401 Truxtun Rd
San Diego, CA 92106
Hours:
Sun – Thurs 5pm – 9pm
Fri – Sat 5pm – 10pm

Sunday Sandwiches – The Sandwich A’Fare

November 19, 2017 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

**** The Sandwich A'Fare has closed

Recently, while checking in to see if Lai Chen was actually open (it wasn't) I noticed a sign for something called Sandwich A'Fare. It was pointing down to the rear of the strip mall we call the "Kearny Mesa restaurant refugee mall" because it houses Abbey BBQ and the Philadelphia Sandwich Company. The shop is indeed discreetly located.

There's no street signage, the interior is quite Spartan, you really wouldn't know it was there unless you really looked carefully or maybe had a appointment at one of the auto businesses on the backside of the mall.

The menu board said that this shop has been here since 1981! That's quite a run. On both my visits there was an older gentleman who sat on a table beside the counter. A few customers called him "Bud", So I'm guessing he's the owner. He seems to be a bit of a curmudgeon, in kind of a funny, grumpy way.

The sandwiches all have "names" like the Cassius Clay – pastrami and swiss; add ham and it becomes Muhammed Ali. Bill Walton is the turkey sandwich, Liberace is ham and salami. Not quite sure what the naming significance is of some of the sandwiches (other than the obvious like the Euell Gibbons - haven't heard that name in ages), but the prices are very nice at $6.25. I did find it humorous that the "club" style sandwiches were described in a more generic manner (ham, bacon & swiss) but cost you a buck more!

I went with owners namesake; Bud's Special ($6.25).

Thinly sliced hot roast beef and cheddar. While the portion size was good, I thought it had too much mayo and the protein was rolled onto one side of the roll. One bite of meat; the next was bread, shredded lettuce, and mayo. It was simple, fast, filled a need, and was nicely priced.

A few weeks later I set out for something rather quick on my way back to the office and dropped by, ordering the "Godfather".

I actually do like the way they thinly slice the meat; though it was again a bit mayo heavy and out of balance because of the way they roll the meat into the sandwich. Yet, I had no complaints about the price.

I have a soft spot for these small, unpretentious, family run neighborhood sandwich shops like Rose Canyon Deli and the Sandwich Place. Often located in a business park, industrial area, or office complex, they fill a need. While there are a ton of "chain choices" around, I prefer spending my money at places like this.

The Sandwich A'Fare
6904 Miramar Rd. Suite 107
San Diego, CA 92121
Open
Mon – Fri 1030am – 230pm

Hana Hou To Go Food Truck

November 13, 2017 mmm-yoso Food Trucks, Hawaiian Food, Plate Lunch

**** This truck is no longer in business

A couple of guys in the office like this food truck that comes by every couple of weeks.

It named "Hana Hou to go". Hana Hou means "one more time" in Hawaiian. While I'm not fully sold on the Food Truck explosion; I grew up eating from lunchwagons, so local kine food from a truck makes sense to me. So I decided to give it a try. Though I gotta say' this ain't lunchwagon prices.

I ordered the Chicken Katsu Plate ($11).

To be perfectly frank; the item I enjoyed the most was the katsu sauce; which was rather thick, but had a nice tanginess to it. It seemed between the typical Japanese style (like steak sauce) and the "local kine" (ketchup based). The chicken was fairly moist, even for white meat; though it was quite bland and cold and the breading was past the point of having very much crunch.

The kimchi was the typical "quick kimchi"; crisp, slightly spicy, but lacking in fermented flavor. I just wasn't a big fan of the macaroni salad; which was really dry; with some hard pieces, and quite bland overall. The rice? Well, that was well done, not too mushy, no hard bits. Only "one scoop" though. Which, these days is enough for me.

This was ok overall. So, thinking that perhaps it wasn't the best strategy to get something basically fried from the food truck (though Tsukenjo's made a mean mochiko chicken and Grace's started serving their chicken katsu from a lunchwagon), I decided to give them another chance. Daniel from Georgia told me to get the "Kalua Cabbage Plate" ($11), which we call Kalua Pork and Cabbage back home.

The pork was rather chewy and stringy; and there was quite a bit of cabbage. Perhaps I was being too picky since I often make this at home. I'm glad it wasn't too salty and the rice was again quite good. I kimchi had more flavor this time around, though I'm still not a fan of that mac salad. Too each his own…..

Overall, okay lunches if I have no other choices. If this was a brick and mortar shop, I'd pass.

The Hana Hou to Go Food Truck