Closed – Page 32

Spotted Cow Viet Kitchen Revisited

April 3, 2016 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Spotted Cow has closed

Spotted Cow Viet Kitchen:

I'd had a really good bowl of Bo Kho from Pho Lucky while doing my errands for the Missus. The following weekend, I had to get something from Zion Market and was hungry. Spotted Cow opens early, it had been a while since my last visit so I thought I'd grab a bowl of the Pho Bo Kho, which was the the best thing I had during my previous visits to Spotted Cow. The drill ended up being kind of strange; I ordered, the gentleman then went to the back of the shop and carried a Styrofoam container to the kitchen area. He set the container down out of sight and about thirty seconds later I heard a "ding"….sure sounded like a microwave to me. Meanwhile, my noodles were heated fresh in front of me, the contents of the container were poured into a bowl and additional broth added. I guess they don't sell enough beef stew?

I thought this was a rather odd bowl of Pho Bo Kho. The broth was barely past lukewarm. In fact this is the first time I can ever remember having a bowl of noodle soup where the noodles were actually hotter than the broth! The broth was very mild, in need of a bit more anise tones and beefiness in my opinion. At least it wasn't too salty. The carrots were nicely done, very tender. Cilantro and onions are quite important to the bowl in my opinion….adding an additional pungency to cut the richness and in the case of the cilantro, that extra anise and almost citrus like tones of cilantro (nope, I don't have olfactory receptor genes OR6A2) really add to the flavor.

As you can see…..I think it's the cost-cutting trend these days, barely any bean sprouts and basil.

The meat was provided in nice squared off chunks. It had probably been cooked separately ahead of time, not a bad thing, then chopped into chunks for serving. It was not bad….though I was looking for some tendon, which I love with my Bo Kho, but none was to be had.

The noodles, the thinner type of Banh Pho, was perfect in texture……there was a huge amount of noodles in the bowl.

But noodles are but one component of Pho Bo Kho. I'm kind of on the fence about this one; the broth was a bit too mild and the temperature was off…..it was kind of made "not to offend", not something I enjoy when having a meal.

Spotted Cow Viet Kitchen (in the Zion Market Food Court)
7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd

Boiling Passion

March 29, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants

**** Boiling Passsion has closed

Less than a week ago, I mentioned a new hot pot place…..Boiling Passion. It just so happened that one of our coworkers; "Lily" was transferring departments, so we wanted to take her to lunch. And BP seemed just the place.

I like what they've done to the interior; brick and wood paneling…nice job considering how quickly the place got turned around from Pho Paradise's closing.

A quick look at the menu revealed that yes, this is indeed what Eater describes as a "take off" on the very popular Boiling Point. Hot pot for lunch? $12.99, for dinner, $13.99. You can add extras for an additional charge, but I found the portion size to be quite generous.

We each got a different version of hot pot; "PL" got the "House Special Hot Pot", basically stinky tofu.

While the amount of protein in the hot pot isn't substantial; the overall portion size is. In addition, we were asked several times if we wanted our broth topped off. In spite of this being "stinky tofu", this wasn't very pungent, the flavor quite mild overall. But at least it wasn't too salty.

Three sauces are provided, the bean curd based sauce is the best overall.

"YZ" got the Korean Style Hot Pot.

One interesting thing to note…..the heating gel used is pretty potent and very hard to control. "YZ" broth kept bubbling up and she had to hold up a napkin to avoid getting splashed.

I got the Lamb Hot Pot, which, according to Lily should have had suan cai. The stuff in my hot pot tasted like plain napa cabbage, lacking in any fermented flavor and not even close to the suan cai we make at home.

The lamb was very tasty and gamey, the mung bean noodle, which I chose instead of rice wet quite well in this along with the enoki mushrooms and tofu. I'm not a fan of blood cake, but I really like the version served here, nice texture, ever so slightly sweet without a strong metallic flavor. I do wish the broth had a bit more flavor though. Along with one fill up of broth; this was more than I could finish.

So what about Lily? Well, the point of this lunch was to chat and enjoy so I took only one shot of every hot pot. As you can tell, it came out much too blurry. Lily ordered the winner of the bunch the Ma-la Hot Pot, which had a nice spice; not super spicy, but quite flavorful. She gave me a nice taste in one of the bowls provided.

Kind of a bummer that the photo of the best item of the day didn't turn out.

Luckily, John and Candice had some time to grab dinner and with the weather unseasonably cold, hot pot sounded like just the thing.

We started with "Golden Dumplings" – fried bread. I really haven't had a good version of this since we last ate at Kingswood in Rowland Heights nearly a decade ago. This was served with condensed milk.

This was very light and lacking in the nice mild sweetness I enjoy.

Candice ordered the Curry Hot Pot which was decent and John the Sate….which must have been good, because he basically destroyed it. I was having such a great time chatting that I forgot to take a photo of the Ma-la Hop Pot, 'doh, lightning strikes twice. So you'll have to settle for this photo and basically take my word or it that this is pretty much the way to go here.

As an extra bonus, I noticed that this came with some intestine….something I really enjoy. Heck, even the fish balls tasted pretty good here. Wish they had a bit more bean curd skin though.

Well, I'm just going to have to drop by again…probably soon if the weather holds its course. As of this writing, I probably enjoy the hot pot, well at least the hot and spicy version (the rest are on the bland side) here more than QT Pot, though I need to revisit them soon. The folks here are nice and since it's grand opening trying real hard. Candice recognized one of the owners as previously working at Noble Chef. I hope they do well….check them out and let me know what you think!

Boiling Passion
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

COMC: Brunch at Tiger Tiger, Chef Chin, and Carnitas’ Snack Shack

March 24, 2016 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Chinese Restaurants, Gastropub

**** All of these places have closed

Some photos that have been languishing around for a while….it's time to C(lear) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard).

Brunch at Tiger! Tiger!:

We'd kind of avoided brunch here as the menu seemed uninspiring. After returning from our last trip, we'd been working hard, so decided to just relax and see how the brunch was here. We were pleasantly surprised. Especially by the wood fired potatoes with the guajillo aioli.

Tiger! Tiger!
3025 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104

Chef Chin:

"YZ" had completed a big project, so we decided to go out and grab lunch. We hadn't been to Chef Chin in a while. It was an ok lunch. The best item by far was the Xun Yu, the Jellyfish Head with Chicken the worst.

Chef Chin
4433 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Carnitas' Snack Shack:

It had been over a year since we last visited and the Missus wanted a snack…..and this is Carnitas' Snack Shack, right? We shared the pulled pork hash, which was delish….the fries were much too salty though.

Carnitas' Snack Shack
2632 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92104

Aaaah, there you go….my memory card is a bit lighter now!

What’s the Missus Craving? Thai Papaya by Sab e Lee

March 21, 2016 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

**** Thai Papaya has closed

Last week, the sun shone brightly and weather got a bit warmer, you could tell, in spite of the calendar that spring had sprung. So it made sense when the Missus told me She wanted to grab a bite at Thai Papaya. Strange thing, in spite of the chilies and spiciness, we tend to think of Thai and Lao food as something to have during spring-summer-early fall.

It had been a while since we'd been to Thai Papaya and we were pleased to see that menu was now quite large.

Still, the Missus had to have the Som Tom Khai Kem; the papaya salad with Salted Egg, heat level 5….we have to build our tolerance back up every year these days.

The nice salty-savory flavor off the salted egg plays well off of the acid and the flavor of dried shrimp. The papaya and tomato was decently pounded; the papaya still crunchy. I've had the papaya be a little mushy on occasion, but not on this day. The peanuts just seem to finish the dish for us. The Missus does love Her eggs.

Speaking of eggs…….how could we not order the Spicy Thousand Year Old Eggs. At first we thought they forgot the pidan when the dish arrived.

But a quick peek under that curtain of ground pork and veggies revealed the preserved egg. While it won't make us forget Yai Cuisine, this was a very nice dish, the "gravy" not too thin and full of Thai Basil flavor. This was just spicy enough for us at this point in the year. The one item that really added to the dish for us were the bamboo shoots which added a nice earthy-woodsy flavor. The Missus told me after two bites, "now this reminds me of Thailand….."

We also ordered the Issan Sausage; usually a favorite of mine. This time it seemed a bit dried out.

And while I wasn't expecting anything like the sausage at Supanee, but this wasn't quite as good as what I usually get here. It wasn't bad, just not at the level of what I expect. Too dry and strangely lacking flavor.

Still, this was an enjoyable meal and I'm sure we'll be back to try other items on the menu as the weather warms up.

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

Revisits – Pho Cali and Coastal Crave

March 14, 2016 mmm-yoso Burgers, Gastropub, Pho, Pubs and Pub Grub, Vietnamese Restaurants

I know, rather strange bedfellows, but here goes.

**** Both this location of Pho Cali and Coastal Crave have closed

Pho Cali:

A recent weekend morning found me in Mission Valley. It's kind of interesting, when we first moved to San Diego, our condo was in MV, but these days, other than the Missus enjoying a shopping day, we almost try to avoid Mission Valley!

The last time I'd been to Pho Cali was back in March of 2006. They've survived the test of time, though their shop in Kearny Mesa didn't last, eventually becoming Pho Nhu Y. Still, 10 am on a Saturday morning……. I thought it would be interesting to drop by Pho Cali.

Funny thing, the service is totally like any pho shop on University….as in, "what you want"……..

Haven't not been here in 10 years, I took the #49, regular, which was $7.69. Basically the proteins minus the rare steak, which I didn't think was going to be too good. What was really interesting was the plate of herbs and sprouts, which has got to be, the most stingy plate I've seen to date.

It was so amazingly stingy….I enjoy bean sprouts in my pho and have requested more on occasion, but this seemed a bit absurd. So, while waiting, I decided to count the bean sprouts…..which barely filled the palm of my hand. There were exactly 27 bean sprouts on that plate. Perhaps I could have requested more…..but really, should I have to beg for my sprouts?

So, lets get to the pho. The broth had nice hints of anise, but was lacking in richness and had way too much msg, the tendon and all the other proteins, including a decent amount of tripe was good. The noodles were a bit over cooked and mushy, but overall, it was hard to over come the amount of msg.

The service is typically perfunctory…..

Such is the state of pho in Mission Valley.

Pho Cali
1400 Camino De La Reina
San Diego, CA 92108

Coastal Crave:

So, I did Mike's BBQ, where I mentioned the beer offerings were much better than Coastal Crave's, which meant I had to return. I try to do a bit of due diligence when possible. This time, I avoided any of the dishes I had before and went with a simple burger.

But first, I can still say; there's not much craft beer here….they count Shock Top as a craft beer….

The Coastal Crave Burger?

Well, this was interesting. The burger was made to a nice medium, but the exterior was almost burnt and quite tough. Really sad, because this could have been a decent burger. Instead, it came across as being a bit bitter. The brioche style bun was good, the fried onion rings ditto….so close.

The young lady working on this evening was a joy; I believe her name is Kristin, or something like that. So maybe, maybe, since it's up the street……though they've got to step up their beers….

Coastal Crave
3065 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Mike’s BBQ (Bay Park)

March 9, 2016 mmm-yoso BBQ

**** This location of Mike's BBQ has closed

Way back in March of last year, I mentioned that Mike's BBQ was replacing the rather ill-fated LW's SD BBQ. Mike's has a location out in Escondido and I pinged some acquaintances who lived in North County…..all of them used Phil's as a comparison. Which didn't place them very high on my list of places to try….nothing against Phil's….folks like the place, he makes great ketchup (sauce), but it pretty much ends there for me.

I did end up trying Mike's BBQ three times since they opened and have noticed a couple of interesting things.

They have a adequate selection of beer, pretty much paint by the numbers; that would be no sours, no true Belgians, but still not terrible. What I did notice was that the beer selection, while nothing outstanding was significantly better than Coastal Crave's, which is in the same strip mall. Last time I was there was back in April of last year, so perhaps things have changed.

The set-up is rather corporate, but still nice, spacious, and clean.

The folks were really nice on my three visits and I think folks come here to watch sports….so it's become the local sportsbar of sorts.

On my first visit, I went with the Brisket Sandwich, with Potato Salad as my side. The potato salad was actually the best thing about this meal; though I have to say, the portion size was quite large for a "side".

The folks here were nice enough to serve me the sauce, which wasn't very good….much too sweet, almost artificially sweet….I tried the spicy, which wasn't much better, on the side. The brisket was on the dry side, lacking in smoke flavor, the texture somewhat mealy, like it had been par cooked. No complaints about the amount of food, but this really didn't impress me much.

Still, the folks were quite nice and the portion size decent, so after a few months I returned and got the Four Babybacks and Quarter Chicken ($14.99).

So let's be perfectly honest here……the ribs look like they've been sitting around for a bit too long, then dumped on a grill. It was rather gummy in texture. I'll pass on the coleslaw and mac and cheese (which had some hard bits) next time as well.

The chicken was quite moist and had a decent seasoning; though this really didn't pass as BBQ Chicken to me, seeming to be roasted chicken heated on a grill. Still, it wasn't bad….

After giving things a break, I returned a couple of weeks ago. They've done a bit more to the place and it looks quite welcoming.

I just went with the Spicy Sausage and Fries. Like before the portion size of the "side" seemed very generous.

The dog was hot, mildly spicy, and very juicy……this was actually the best meal I've had at Mike's. Not earth-shattering mind you, but ok.

I like the folks that work here, the portions are generous, and it's nice to have more options in the area. Not sure when, or if I'll return to Mike's BBQ, but I hope they do well.

Mike’s BBQ
3057 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117
Open Daily 11am – 9pm

Not to beat a dead horse, but this is how I prefer my BBQ from a couple of photos I had lying around……

My baby back ribs…..some chicken thighs for pulled chicken….

A smoked half chicken with a bourbon glaze…..not rocket science…..

Papa’s Donuts – malasadas! (La Mesa)

February 13, 2016 Cathy Bakery, Desserts, Hawaiian Food, What Cathy Eats!

Papa's Donuts has closed. It will be missed.

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! during your perusal of the interwebs. Kirk usually writes posts here, but he is too busy vacationing. Ed (from Yuma) is too busy to write a post today. Cathy is writing this one about a newer place with some unique products and some very well made common products.

There are many small businesses located along Lake Murray Boulevard and The Mister and I were so happy to have found this one. Papa's opened in late August 2014, but we were unaware.Papa's Donuts is in a small storefront located at the far end of the Big Lots anchored strip mall (across the street from the Ross Dress for Less anchored strip mall).

We first stopped here in December. Subsequently, we've noticed sandwich board signs at various sidewalk locations on the block and at the median, pointing where to turn.

Stepping into the store early one rainy morning, we noticed racks of fresh donuts ready to be placed in the display cases. Walking in, to your right, one of the wall menu boards is updated daily with a "Special" as well 'filling of the day' for the malasadas (a Portuguese treat, re-tooled and made famous in Hawaii, at Leonard's, which Kirk mentioned in a 2012 post).

«—Click the thumbnail for the story of the Bobby "O", the donut special available only on weekends.

Behold, the Bobby "O". Its cross section-that's haupia cream (light flavored young coconut; not a concentrated sweet coconut flavor) the topping is a wonderful dark chocolate and it is topped with chopped macadamia nuts. So delightful, so fresh and so special. (The price is 95¢-a fancy donut without a fancy price).Everything is made fresh daily, because there are no leftovers: from 5 p.m.-closing, donuts are $5/dozen.The malasada trays are right in front as you walk in. 3 for $2.50 and, as tradition, you are given a warm, unfilled, sugar/cinnamon coated treat when you leave.The amount of fillings vary (Lilikoi is passion fruit and has such a strong flavor that not much is needed) and each one I've had is a wonderful treat. {Above are the guava, lilikoi and haupia (young coconut)}.

Another great little family owned and run business!

Papa's Donuts 6179 Lake Murray Blvd La Mesa, 91942 (619) 741-5135 Website Open Mon-Fri 5 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat 6 a.m.-7 p.m., Sun 6 a.m.-4 p.m.

These are from that first menu board- raspberry fruit jelly, dobosh (dark) chocolate and bavarian custard flavors. That's half a French Cruller; the donuts here are a normal, old fashioned size.

Pho Pasteur Anh Hong (revisit)

February 12, 2016 Cathy Salads, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Kirk is on (another) vacation, Ed (from Yuma) is enjoying Yuma and Cathy is writing this post about food for mmm-yoso!!!

The weather in San Diego has been unusual so far this year, from freezing temperatures to heavy, flooding rains, damaging winds and then yesterday, temperatures in the 90's. It's confusing on how to dress-layering a sweater over a long sleeve t-shirt over a short sleeve shirt seems necessary. Then 'what's for lunch' diverges into thoughts of both warming soups to refreshing salads. A recent solution was found at Pho Pasteur, which I've written about, several times.
Not much here has changed over the years; still the same glass top over pink tablecloths and consistent food. The mall, however lost its anchor business on August 4 last year and it seems that permitting to rebuild has taken a very long time.

Since I am the 'always chilly' person lately, a bowl of my favorite Mien Ga (bean thread with chicken soup) ($6.99) was the plan for this meal.The add-ins were used for the 'second half' of this bowl, making the flavor profile a bit different, like a new bowl of soup. Both The Mister and I enjoy trying various versions of Banh Xeo ($5.99) and the pancake with its light turmeric flavor and crunchiness with fresh fillings of pork, shrimp, bean sprouts and mung bean was just right when wrapped inside pieces of lettuce and mint and dipped in the bowl of Nuoc Cham (sweet, salty and sour!).Two summers ago, I was in search of the best version of Goi Bo (beef salad) ($10.99) and after much comparison shopping, the final determination is that my favorite version is made at Pho Pasteur Anh Hong. The slices of cooked marinated beef mixed with the thin, thin uniquely sliced (regular and pickled) vegetables, chopped peanuts and basil combine to make this salad so satisfying as a meal.

All in all, a really good hot/cold meal.

Pho Pasteur Ahn Hong 7612 Linda Vista road San Diego 92111 (858) 569-7515

Grinds & Vine- a coffee bar, with food (Inside Negotiant Winery) (North Park)

February 9, 2016 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Caffeine Fix

Grinds & Vine has closed

Here you are, back at mmm-yoso!!!, looking for someplace new, different or just to see if Kirk or Ed (from Yuma) or Cathy go to the same places as you. Today's post is written by Cathy.

In between rainy and windy days, there tend to be some really beautiful ones interspersed here in San Diego County. Driving East on El Cajon Boulevard one of those days, we noticed the signage above the building as well as a sandwich board on the sidewalk. You know we had to stop.Curious about the idea of having to go though the Winery door to get to the coffee shop area, we walked in and looked to the right, where the sunlight was streaming in through the open roll up wall door; because it is being constructed to be a pre-order and drive up spot.

Back inside, there is a walk up sort of grab and go case of pastries, pre-made sandwiches, salads and bottled/canned beverages. But there is also a small menu of foods as well as beverages (hot, cold, smoothies). The coffees are from both Lavazza and Bird Rock.We decided to try an iced coffee (the cold brew was not ready) which is kept cold with coffee ice cubes (you have no idea how much I appreciate non-diluting chilling methods). There are so many 'Specialty' drinks offered here, a few seen on this blog post by cc, from September.
The Mister decided to try a 'Kale Superfood Salad' ($7.95) (add rotisserie chicken $3.50). The bowl it was served in was quite large and deep. We shared and this was great, quite enough food.The only person working that day was the owner and we overheard him talking to some 'regulars' about a Special for $6 and decided to order it. Thick slices of cucumber, toped with a thick layer of goat cheese, topped with a nicely sweet/spicy chutney (there was ginger in it) and drizzled with honey. Simple, yet a flavor combination I never considered. We have since purchased several chutneys at Trader Joe's and enjoyed a similar snack at home.

Grinds and Vine Coffee Bar 2419 El Cajon Blvd San Diego 92104 (Between Texas Street and Arizona Street) (619) 512-2423 Website Closed Mondays. Tue and Wed 6:30 am – 3:00 pm. Thur and Fri 6:30 am – 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Sat 7:30 am – 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Sun 8:00 am – 2:00 pm

Lemon Grove Deli & Grill- revisits/new ownership

February 8, 2016 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

This is mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk (and his Missus) are on vacation. Ed (from Yuma) (and Tina) have also been on vacation. Cathy (and her Mister) have been staying in the County and eating food after taking photos of it. She is posting today.

In April of 2015, Howard's Lemon Grove Deli & Grill was sold to a new family after many decades as a mainstay on Broadway Avenue. The new owners are a very nice Italian family, who have made a few cosmetic improvements to the interior and tweaked the menu.

The exterior is pretty much the same. You can walk in and find a seat or stand and order items 'To Go'. The menu is on the back wall.The corned beef hash and eggs ($8.99) is always a good choice. Two eggs, a choice of home fries or hash browns, and a choice of toast, biscuit and gravy or pancakes are al part of the meal. The corned beef hash is very good and not too salty.Two visits, I've ordered each of the breakfast sandwiches on the menu. Both with rye toast. The top photo is the "Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich" ($7.75)- scrambled eggs, cheese, bacon, ham, sausage, mushrooms, bell pepper and avocado. Hearty and good.

The bottom photo (directly above) is the simpler "Breakfast Sandwich" ($5.75)- Scrambled eggs, cheese (you have a choice of cheeses) and ham or bacon or sausage. Bacon in this case. Unfortunately the Eggs Benedict is no longer on the menu, but a "Grilled Bone In Ham Steak" with eggs ($9.75) is. The Benedict and its sauce was very good when we ordered it. The home fries are the same as in this photo. Since there is an easy way to order online, I've done it a few times. The "Famous Pastrami" ($8.50) is large enough for two. The bread is grilled, there's a choice of cheese and a choice of ingredients. 8 ounces of meat. Really good sandwiches here.

Its great that the Roberto family has kept this East County institution going.

Lemon Grove Deli & Grill 7860 Broadway Lemon Grove CA 91945 (619)464-2928 Website Open daily at 7 a.m Closes at 4 p.m. Mon-Thurs and Sat; closes at 5 on Fri; closes at 2 on Sun Website