Closed – Page 37

Dumpling Hut

June 30, 2015 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Xiao Long Bao

** Dumpling Hut has closed

I had been looking forward to the opening of Dumpling Hut since I first saw the sign for this place back in early May. It was a bit of a mystery at first, with Eater filling most of the blanks in the end.

So there I was, Dumpling Hut had just opened and I walked in.

A few things became quickly apparent. First, these folks were very nice, unlike another recently opened shop who just seemed to want to do as little as possible for you, the folks here were just plain nice. Second, there's not much English here, something I kind of appreciate. Third, I don't think these folks have any restaurant experience at all. There were four tables of customers when I arrived and two parties came after me. I saw forgotten place settings, bowls, people seated with no menus for like 10 minutes, food sitting around….well when food did come out. My order actually took 40 minutes to arrive. Everyone, including the folks who came after me got served first…..I'm pretty sure the folks who came after me got my Guo Bu Li Baozi, you know, the stuffed buns that "even dogs would not eat". Something that was on that sign I saw back in May. I love all the styles of Tianjin Baozi….except this one particular model.

On the menu as Steamed Pork Buns ($4.99), these, like much of the menu is pretty well priced. I'm pretty sure there was something going on with the steam process on this day as the parts of the bun were hard, as was the filling; two of which had pieces of bone in them. The flavor was pretty bland as well.

I also ordered the Pork and Celery Dumplings ($6.99).

I could tell that this place has potential; the wrappers were nicely made, though on the thick side had that tender, yet mildly toothsome texture, that I love in jiaozi. However, were some problems; the filling was on the bland side, I know, jiaozi is fairly mild in flavor, but these are bland. The filling is too hard. I'm not expecting them to stir the filling with chopsticks for two hours like the Missus's Fifth Aunt did in Qingdao, but I expected better. Also, notice the scum on top of the jiaozi; one of the dumplings had a leak and the scum had coated some of the jiaozi. Poor quality control, as was the pool of water on the plate, these weren't drained well enough. Still, these were better than MyungIn which made them significantly better than Dumpling Inn.

As for the service glitches? Well, I gave them a pass. It was only their second day of business.

Still, some of my friends were excited; especially those who had gone to high school and college in China…there was Jianbing Guozi on the menu. And yet, those that I saw coming out didn't look inspiring. Which is why I discouraged Xiāngjiāo from ordering it when she, Candice, and myself had lunch here two days later. On my first visit; I had run into a good friend's dad. On this visit, I ran into Faye! You can read her post about Dumpling Hut here. Nice seeing you Faye, though I didn't recognize you at first!

Again with the glitches, not enough chopsticks, no napkins, where's our bowls, one menu for the whole table.

We started with the Northern version of Sheng Jian Bao (Pan Fried Bun – $5.99)

This does look like the Northern version of SJB, much like what my MIL makes. It does have a bit of "soup" in it, if a bit too tough, but the steaming wasn't up to par as the unfried part of the bao was not springy and soft as it should be.

The Liang Cai we ordered; PigEar (Seasoned Pork Ear – $6.99), was fine if nothing remarkable.

Even though I know the owners are from Northern China and not the Shanghai area, we still needed to order the Xiao Long Bao ($6.99).

Dough too thick and without enough pull. The filling had some soup, but was much too sweet. No shredded ginger.

Like before, the best part of the meal was the jiaozi, this time the Pork, Egg, and Shrimp ($7.99) version.

This was better than the last time in terms of being drained and such. I still think the flavoring is a bit too mild. I know, I'm kinda psycho about this, but I think regular readers understand why.

Meanwhile, things were falling apart. The place had filled up and it was chaos. Folks ended grabbing their own menus, plates, chopsticks…..a table kept looking for soy sauce and was so desperate that I gave them ours. And we were waiting for our Guotie (potstickers)….there were tables who came in after us getting guotie, so were those ours? The place was totally in the weeds; Xiāngjiāo wanted to go ahead and help them….there was a serious disconnect between the kitchen and the dining area, food was coming out and just sitting….no one seemed to have assignments. They guy who took our order suddenly disappeared. I later saw him helping in the kitchen, which didn't do us any good. Candice had to leave, so we sent her a photo of the guotie when it finally arrived.

Wrappers too thick, gummy, not crisp enough, filling too bland. Honestly, I'm not expecting Qingdao Guotie, but these weren't very good.

And this would usually be enough. But I mentioned Jianbing Guozi to YZ. Now, coming from the same generation as the Missus, though in a different city (Shanghai versus Beijing), like my wife, she has a special place in her heart from Jianbing. She just had to try it. So there I was, back at Dumpling Hut. Sadly, they were out of the Jianbing that YZ recalls, the version with youtiao, instead we settled for the more modern version we saw in Beijing (I call it Xiāngjiāo's version since this is what she was used to when she spent 6 months in Beijing). The one with the cracker in it.

It was as the Missus would call it; "dead", limp, lacking in flavor, and obviously made ahead of time as it amazingly arrived in less than 5 minutes. Even the smear of bean paste seemed tasteless. So sorry YZ; all those memories down the tube.

They were also out of other items we wanted to try GuoBa Soup, Chicken Gizzards, Spicy Pork Stomach, Pig Ear, Braised Beef Shank, so we settled on Braised Pork Knuckle ($4.99), which lacked any significant connective tissue.

This was way too bland in flavor.

Regrettably, so was the Niu Rou Mian (Beef Noodle Soup $6.99).

While I appreciated the noodles, which I was told is made inhouse and had a nice al dente texture; the beef was cold and very salty, so it had obviously been made separately from the broth since the soup, to quote the Missus, "tasted like someone had waved a beef bone above it". Sad.

Like before, the jiaozi, this time Pork and Napa was the best item.

Though like my first visit, though not as water logged, it wasn't drained well. This time I took a photo. Boiled dumplings, or specifically shuǐjiǎo…literally "water dumplings" really depend on basic steps being carried out and simple flavoring and texture carry the day…….of ocurse I do like the Qingdao Black vinegar with pounded garlic.

I really like the folks here. I hope they make the adjustments necessary in terms of service and procedures to get things running efficiently. I'm not totally sold on the food, though I'll probably return in a few months to try the lamb jiaozi….hopefully they won't be out of them.

Dumpling Hut
8046 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

More Dishes from Thai Papaya by Sab E Lee

June 29, 2015 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

**** Thai Papaya has closed

Now that we're back from vacation, we've fallen back into the old routine….though we're still finding it hard to get motivated about something as simple as dinner. We've been back to Thai Papaya a couple of times, and while the Missus has found Her favorite, the Som Tom Khai Kem – papaya salad with salted egg, we still managed to try other items on the menu. some hold overs from (the original) Sab E Lee, some not.

Here's a rundown….

The oldies but goodies. Tod Mun Pla:

I think they've changed versions as this was much better than what we've had in the past. More kaffir lime leaf and bit better in the texture department.

And of course Issan Sausage.

Though there are better versions to be had in town, this is a nice standby.

So now for some of the other dishes. Do you remember the wonderfully sour Super Star Pork Rib Soup from my previous post? Well, one evening I ordered the Super Star Chicken Feet Soup ($8), which I think is even better.

The Missus's love of chicken feet has been well documented. Me? Well, I'm not much of a fan since I think the return on investment (time) is quite low. In this case however, I'll have to fall in line with the Missus. There were ten lovely chicken feet in this bracingly sour and spicy (a "6" kind of got to us), yet refreshing soup. Nice gooey bits with chewy skin….nothing like sucking on that toe and getting all that flavor.

Because of how lip burning spicy everything was on the previous visit; I did a take-out order with the usual suspects and included the Tom Thua ($7), the green bean salad and to save our lips went for a heat level 4. I noticed that Maylee wasn't around this time and everything was strangely bland and the heat level was like a "2".

Also the long beans hadn't been bruised in the pok pok and were really tough.

A week or so ago, I was bushed and decided to pick up some take-out on the way home. Along with the "rotation", I decided to try out the Tom Tang ($7). We really enjoyed the versions we had of this cucumber salad in Laos, which tend to be more pungent.

We upped the heat level to 7 and it was still pretty mild. The cucumbers seemed a bit rubbery and not crisp. This was pretty weak in flavor overall as well.

So I'm not quite sure about Thai Papaya. There are dishes we really like; the Mok Nor Sai, some of the soups; the Missus is hooked on the Papaya Salad with Salted Egg. But consistency in getting that heat level seems to be off a bit; so it's kind of like chili pepper roulette. I'm fairly certain that the days of me getting things at level 10 here or "big spicy" at Hunan Chilli King are over. But I still like a nice amount of spice. I'm wondering what I'll get the next time I order from Thai Papaya?

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

Gourmet City

June 23, 2015 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Gourmet City has closed

Remember this place from a post last year? This is a location of the former; horribly bad VIP Oriental Buffet. Around July – August of last year, the place turned into something called Gourmet City. I pass here almost every day and have rarely seen a car parked in front of the place. I brought the Missus by early one evening; She took a look in the empty restaurant, turned to me and said "no effin' way….." The place really looked like a front for some nefarious operation. Money laundering? Human trafficking? In the end, and you will have to stay to the end, we found out how this place stays afloat.

Anyway, I queried my friends and found two takers who were up for a visit; Xiāngjiāo has been missing China, and John who I kid quite a bit about his questioniable taste, but never his good nature and friendship.

We got there at 545 and the place was empty……a huge empty restaurant.

Looking at the menu, it became apparent that this place was mainly for hot pot, with a good amount of Sichuan with some miscellaneous dishes thrown in.

So of course we went with hot pot….with some miscellaneous dishes thrown in.

If I can recall their prices since it's been awhile, the costs here are a bit lower than Little Sheep. Also, they have a larger variety for their Yuan Yang Guo – Split Hot pot.

Also, unlike just about every hot pot place in San Diego; there's a huge condiment/sauce bar which totally reminded me of China. All the usual suspects except fermented shrimp paste….there was sesame paste, fermented tofu, leek sauce, sa cha sauce….though some of it was rather watered down like the fermented tofu.

We chose the "Chongqing Old Spicy Pot", basically an extra spicy Mala Guo, and the "Oxtail Tomato Pot" which actually looked kind of greasy.

The Oxtail broth was quite fatty, but very mild. The spicy broth was better. It was full of Sichauan peppercorns making it nice and numbing, but lacking heat and complex flavors. We went to the condiment bar and got a half bowl of chili oil adding it to the broth which at least brought the heat.

The meats were nothing to write home about. Definitely not in the same league as other places.

The rest was a n interesting combination of items; Xiāngjiāo staple which took her back to her favorite hot pot shops in Beijing, the potato. The most interesting item was something I hadn't had before; the pork rinds. Placed in the broth for a few second; they absorbed flavor and attained a strangely pleasant texture that was soggy-crispy-chewy in spots. My usual favorite, the spongy frozen tofu was fine, though the broth just wasn't lively enough when absorbed into the bean curd.

My favorite moment was attained near the end. The spicy broth had reduced by about half into almost a gravy like texture. The young lady was going to refill our broth but we stopped her. I put the noodles into the potage and it sucked up all the Sichuan Peppercorn-Chili-meat flavored broth. Poor JohnL. He almost put the noodles in the broth at the beginning and both Xiāngjiāo and I raised our voices in protest. Such are the unwritten rules of huo guo.

In the end the hot pot was ok, nothing amazing, but perhaps I'll try it again.

Of course we ordered some other stuff. The Chengdu Taste copycat "Toothpick Mutton".

This could almost be the perfect beer dish. But in this case, the meat was too tough, it wasn't salty enough, nor did it have enough cumin to satisfy my preferences.

I've been chasing the ghost of Ba Ren's Fu Qi Fei Pian since Ba Ren closed. So I just had to order it.

The good; I loved the cut, nice slices, crunchy tendon. The flavor left much to be desired, it was, well, bland….like really bland, no heat, what ever happened to suan tian ku la xian?

Lastly, and sadly, another item I basically forced down the throat of Xiāngjiāo and JohnL was the Shenjian Bao. I felt bad guys, my apologies.

You know. I've had some good SJB in China, even some decent versions in a food court in Alhambra, to this day JohnL's sister claims it's the best thing we had on our food crawl. Heck even my Mother In Law got in the act (we need soup next time). You could tell these were hand made…..though sadly so. The sizes were grossly disparate. The dough was awfully gummy, a problem with the steaming process; the filling too tough and without flavor. So I committed a sin. I poked holes in the SJB and dumped them in the mala broth.

Quickly pulling them out and dumping the vinegar on them.

Sorry to say, this was the only way I'd eat them. A sad end for something I enjoy so much.

The service……well if you like SGV like service you'll get it here. It's typical.

As for the secret to this restaurant's existence I noted in the first paragraph? Well, we were getting ready to leave at 730. The place was empty except for one other table. I was still at a lost as to how this huge property could exist for a year with business like this. When 30 people walked in the front door!

We walked outside and saw a bus parked in the corner. My goodness…this was THAT restaurant! In our travels, the Missus and I always note the xxxxx (fill in the blank) tour group restaurant. Whether in Portugal/Spain/Greece/Turkey there was always THE place that served the Chinese/Korean tour groups. I had always wondered where that place was in San Diego. At least for this day, I knew where the Chinese tour groups were being fed in "America's Finest City". It was Gourmet City…..

Gourmet City
5541 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

QT (Quality Taste) Pot

June 15, 2015 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants

**** QT Pot has closed

The funniest little discussion I had about this place was with a Midwesterner, who thought Quality Taste Pot, was well, something totally different. No, not quite, though good hot pot can be addictive.

It took a while for me to talk the Missus into coming here. She’s been down on the Chinese food in San Diego for a while. Plus, the weather has to cooperate. We’re not “hot pot is a way of life” kinda folks and have to be in the mood for it.

But since the place has the blessing of both Kirbie who has made multiple visits and Faye we had to get here eventually, right?

This shop was home to several iterations of China Chef, which, in spite of having a menu that was all over the place did have some decent dishes. I guess Hot Pot is the way to go these days.

The interior has been redone; understated, clean, and bright. I recognized the woman here as a former long time employee at Little Sheep. She was one of the really nice women who worked there.

Of course we came for the hot pot……but Kirbie raved about the Salt and Pepper Chickens Wings. And you know me and chicken wings, so……

The texture of these were outstanding, light, crisp, and very moist. A little short in the flavor the two times I had these, but quite good. One key point; eat them right away, don’t get them to go. These get soggy and take on a greasy texture fairly quickly. Very nice.

DO NOT get the Yang Rou Chuan. In fact, I’m not sure why I ordered it.

Tough, dry, and short on flavor. ‘Nuff said. We were really here for the hot pot, right?

We got the Special Tasty Pot – $14.95 for dinner. The Missus got into “Chinese” mode and quickly complained about the portion size….which ended up being enough for the two of us with the Chicken Wings.

I quickly mentioned that one of biggest complaints about the state of Chinese food in San Diego is the emphasis of huge quantities over quality, so we needed to give this place a chance. As you can see, this is not yuan yang guo, but a straightforward broth; decently flavored, quite low on scum. The proteins were passable, though only three slices of pretty good intestine and three slices of beef which for some reason dries out quite quickly. The dipping sauces were also passable, but not outstanding, the sa cha sauce was my favorite. The Missus hates fishballs, which were fishballs. She quickly got the half boiled egg, which She said was Her favorite. Too much udon noodle overall.

Overall not bad. The broth was probably the best thing about the hot pot.

So, I decided to return with YZ and Lily for lunch where the hot pot is $4 cheaper. YZ just loved the chicken wings and we thought the Special Tasty Pot was….well, they had the same opinion as I did.

We also tried the Lamb with Pickled Vegetable.

This was quite good; except for the shellfish which were past their prime. The lamb was nice and gamey, which I love. The suan cai was kind of weak, though perhaps I’m kind of picky since we make this at home; about 7 batches a year. This suan cai didn’t quite have the nice, deep fermented flavor of good suan cai. Still, this was decent, and we’d probably return when the weather gets a bit chilly….though I do prefer mala yang yuan guo.

Service was decent, not overly friendly, not terrible. Perhaps worth a try…..

QT (Quality Taste) Pot
9225 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Cafe Cantata- Del Mar

May 31, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Caffeine Fix, What Cathy Eats!

Cafe Cantata has closed.

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Today, Kirk is not writing, Ed(from Yuma) is not writing and it's Cathy's musings you will be reading.

The Mister and I were in the Torrey Pines area before Memorial Day and decided to drive along the coast, turning onto Via de la Valle to check out if the County Fair was being set up (so, you know, I could take photos and stuff…). Unfortunately nothing was going on in that sense, so we continued under the 5 and turned into the shopping mall on the North East corner (where there's Whole Foods, which has the inside the store restaurant, Trifecta Tavern) and I had our default lunch in mind.

Walking through the rest of the mall, we noticed Cafe Cantata, and I recalled reading about it on cc's post from almost a year ago, when she met Kirbie for lunch. Turns out it was during the County Fair and they both were still able to find parking, so that's something good to keep in mind. Here's a link to a more recent visit from cc.Cafe Cantata is on the second floor and used to be a location of Pannikin Coffee & Tea, a San Diego institution since 1968. Pannikin holds fond memories; it was our first 'real' coffee shop experience.Walking in, the wall to your left emphasizes the food. Seeing one person per table emphasizes free wifi. The coffee bar area is well utilized. Pastries are located in a couple of places, there is a chalk menu board as well as paper menus on the counter. It is the standard, order, pay and your food is brought to you. Breakfast and Lunch are served from 6 until 3 each day. I really like that.Ordering a large cup of (plain, regular, fresh)(certified organic, free trade, custom blend) coffee ($2.15) it was served in this asymmetric cup. Think about trying to drink it from the 'wrong' side…Since it was a Friday (when we don't eat meat), the Greek Scramble ($8.95) from the 'Breakfast' side of the menu was my choice. Eggs, Feta, tomato, onion and finely minced olives were expertly (and by that, I mean evenly; a skill which seems to be lacking at some breakfast establishments) scrambled. Served with whole grain toast and fresh fruit (or roasted potatoes), this was a wonderful meal.The Mister ordered a Caprese Panini ($7.95)- roasted and sun dried tomatoes, fresh Mozzarella and (giant) basil leaves on grilled sourdough, along with a bowl of tomato soup (add $1).

Cafe Cantata is a very nice place for a coffee or a small meal. You aren't required to use wifi and can have a nice visit here.

Cafe Cantata 2670 Via De La Valle Del Mar, CA 92014 (858) 925-7297 Website

Maldini’s Pizzeria (San Carlos)

May 30, 2015 Cathy Pizza, Salads, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! Food blog. Kirk usually is writing, but he is out of the country. Ed(from Yuma) does some posting, but he is getting ready to travel to a different state. Cathy holds down the fort when the guys can't. This is her blogging.

It started out innocently enough. A friend handed me one of those doorknob hanger ads for a pizza place, telling me it was really good-and that they have a carry out only special for $4.99.

I tossed it onto the car seat and forgot about it. Until one night when I was hungry, in the neighborhood and knowing I did not want to go home to make dinner.There-right next to the Dominos and about 100 yards from a Papa Johns pizza place is Maldinis. It's been there since 2013, a family pizza restaurant that sells a 14 inch large cheese pizza for $4.99.Dough and sauce made fresh daily. A really good, simple pizza. Friendly guys working…and a larger menu.

I had to bring The Mister back for our next 'date night' meal-our standard when we were starving college students and newlyweds. We ordered, paid and took a seat at one of the eight tables. The large Greek salad ($6.99) was brought out in a very large bowl. Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, onions and Feta cheese. There was a lot of everything to this salad. The simple Italian dressing was complimentary to the fresh flavors of the produce and toppings. The small (12 inch) cheese calzone ($7.99). A folded pizza, filled with Mozzarella and Ricotta, brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with herbs and cheese and baked. Served with sauce on the side.

Perfect. Crispy. Cheesy. Memory jogging. I hope your weekend is as pleasant.

Maldini's Pizzeria 8734 Lake Murray Blvd (at Navajo)( in the mall with a McDonalds and an Albertsons) San Diego 92119 (619) 644-5600 Website

Cocotte Cafe Bistro (University City, near UTC)

May 29, 2015 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, French Restaurants

Thank you for (again) stopping and reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is gathering photos and food memories to share. Ed(from Yuma) is preparing to take photos and write stories about his food adventures. Cathy is here today, writing about photos and a meal which has happened.

More than seven years ago, I wrote about a semi-regular part of our rotation, Wired Bistro. It closed, turned into some other French Cafe (which I did not write about) and recently has come to life again, in the form of a French Cafe Bistro named Cocotte. (Notice the first "o" in the signage. A cocotte is a covered heatproof dish or casserole, with two handles.) There is seating both inside and out in front.Fresh pastries are in the refrigerated case when you walk in. The Wine Bar area behind the counter and ceiling covered in burlap coffee bags remain as decor; same as the prior iterations.Double espresso ($2.50) using Lavazza beans was perfectly pulled.Bacon-Cheddar omelet ($9.50) comes with a fruit cup, oven roasted rosemary potatoes and slices of fresh baguette. The three egg omelet is made in a way we are now going at home. The bacon (smokey and thick pieces) seems to have been in the pan first, with the whipped eggs placed over those pieces, then cheese is placed on top of the cooked eggs and then folded, resulting with cheese in the middle and bacon on the outer edges of the fluffy omelet.Ordering the Meli-Melo crêpe ($8.50), I wasn't expecting much. The menu description of 'two crêpes filled with scrambled eggs and melted Swiss' seemed generic. Wrong! The perfectly cooked, slightly sweet extra large (instead of two) crêpe was packed solid with softly scrambled eggs smoothly mixed with a nutty tangy Swiss cheese. Those sides of a fruit cup and rosemary roasted potatoes made this quite a large meal.

I hope you'll all have a great weekend. Thanks for reading.

Cocotte Cafe Bistro 8935 Towne Center Drive 92122 (858) 450-0880 Open 7a.m.-10 p.m., 7 days

This is the breakfast menu, which will magically appear upright if you click onto it (my iPhone update combined with Typepad are having some wonky issues).

Roma Market (Escondido) shopping and eating “The Sandwich” inside the market

May 27, 2015 Cathy Italian Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

Thank you for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. The episode you are about to read takes you to Escondido, where Cathy has ventured. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are out and about enjoying more exotic places.

Heading back to the 15 freeway on Valley Parkway, there is a mall at the North East corner. Just behind the McDonald's, this signage looked familiar.

It turns out there is a Roma Market in Pasadena (mentioned in this post) which we've passed on our way from many Rose Parade float tests. This family market began in Boston after WWII, moved to Alhambra in the early 1950's then settled in Pasadena and has now (in late 2014) opened a second Southern California Roma Market in Escondido.Not a very large footprint, each small aisle is packed with items from Italy as well as locally sourced. Wines, fresh fruits and vegetables, trays of Italian cookies and fresh basil are at the entrance.There are a few different areas of dried and imported pastas as well as fresh and frozen -made in store- selections also. We've had the cheese manicotti and tortellini and they each were wonderful.Pasta sauces as well as canned and shelf stable tomatoes are sold on the shelves. If you look back to those freezer doors on the right side of the above photo, also made in house and fresh and frozen sauces are available. Again, excellent. There are a few other aisles of Italian staples and treats as well as closed door and open refrigerated sections. There's a deli selling Roma Market brand premium meats as well as imported meats and cheeses…and, as any good Italian Deli, Baccala. Notice the bread in the back; it's made here daily.Moving along, there's a section of hot foods, a small menu board…Desserts, beverages (there's also a Coca Cola Freestyle machine and an espresso/coffee area). Notice the small sign to the right, taped to the glass case. Then, of course, there's gelato.

Eat in the store we did. Here's a meal enjoyed last week.

Slice of cheese pizza ($1.95) (If you shop here on a Monday, after 3 p.m. and spend $10, you can get a whole cheese pizza for $1.99). Fresh dough, fresh sauce, plenty of mozzarella.Notice the 'hot foods' photo above. Two links of sweet or hot Italian sausage with peppers and onions $4.95. Yep. made here. Wonderful, fresh, you can see a fennel seed in the cross section above. The two pieces are enough for a meal. The Sandwich ($5.50) essentially a grab and go/no substitution deal. Mortadella, Mild Capicola, Soppressata (or some type of dry salami) and Provolone cheese. That's olive oil on the fresh bread/hoagie roll. The simplicity of three meats, cheese, olive oil and fresh bread is wonderful.There is a pretty large dessert selection as well as coffees available. We were offered a sample of the gelato, any flavor and the pear…had pieces of pear in it. The tiramisu and orange are also excellent. We'll be trying the other flavors soon.

I am so glad we stopped at Roma Market and will do so at the original location in Pasadena, soon.

Roma Market 1054 West Valley Parkway Escondido 92025 (760)233-8003 open 8-8 daily Website

Van Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant (City Heights)(revisit)

May 26, 2015 Cathy Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food that's been around for a very long time. Kirk is usually here writing, but he's on vacation right now. Ed(from Yuma) is sometimes here, but he is planning his vacation as this is being written. Cathy is here and now.

Van Hoa has been in this corner location of the strip mall at the North West corner of University at 54th since at least 2007, when Kirk wrote a two-part post about it. I followed up about seven years later with my own post about this regular stop before shopping at the Vien Dong Supermarket (to the right in the photo below).You have most likely seen the Van Hoa label on spring rolls and desserts sold at 99Ranch Market, Thuan Phat and World Foods. Ordering at the restaurant means the rolls are even fresher than the ones delivered to those stores daily. I must say the rice paper wrap is never 'rubbery', because the rolls are just made. There is only one choice of flavors- shrimp with pork. ($3.25). The fresh vegetable fillings(lettuce, mint, cucumber, carrot, daikon) are refreshing and what I crave. The peanut butter based dipping sauce lends a good umami to it all. The egg rolls here are also above average ($5.95). Mostly meat with mushroom filling, the frying is proper and never too greasy.Now that the warmer weather is coming (and going), sometimes bun (it's pronounced 'boon') is an order. Chilled vermicelli on one side of the bowl, salad (lettuce, mint, cucumber, sprouts) on the other half and, in this case, topping of Tau Hu Ky (shrimp wrapped with tofu skin) and the usual pickled radish/cucumber and peanuts ($6.50) makes an exceptional meal.Then again, my most favorite version of Banh Xeo ($6.50) is at Van Hoa, so as we are being seated I place that order (it takes a while to make the rice flour/turmeric pancake) The crunchy light pancake is delightful, the shrimp and pork are plentiful along with the onion/bean sprout/mung bean filling. Eating bits of this wrapped in lettuce and mint is also refreshing.

Thanks for reading. I hope your week is going well.

Van Hoa 4016 54th San Diego, Ca 92105 (619)582-2642 Open Mon-Sat 6-8, Sun 7-7

Bottega Italiana (UTC)…coffee and gelato

May 24, 2015 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Desserts, Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food-centric blog with (almost) daily writings shares posts about various cuisines, new and established restaurants, pubs and other places where food can be found, as well as sometimes home cooking. Today, a short post written by Cathy about a small three-location establishment.

Not that I wrote any posts about the holidays or any New Year resolutions, but now, almost six months into 2015, I feel successful. The free "Steps" app on our mobile phones record how much The Mister and I walk each day and the goal of 10,000 steps a day has become easier and almost regular since about mid-April.

The only thing was, it started getting a bit boring, despite the almost daily weather changes. So, we've become 'those people'- Mall Walkers.Parkway Plaza is covered and air conditioned, Grossmont Plaza is also close to home, but not that interesting to us any more, so one day we drove West to Westfield University Town Center, where we haven't regularly stopped in years.

The Ice Rink and surrounding restaurant choices are new to us and so are most of the shops. (edit- the Ice Rink seating area used to be open to the rink and is now enclosed. Most of the food court restaurants and the food court seating area have been redone since we were last here).

There's also a new movie theater building that was added onto the mall.Down the steps near the entrance (or, exit) of the Arclight Cinemas is Bottega Italiana.

Kirbie visited in January. cc visited the other (Coronado) San Diego location selling Bottega Italiana gelati in November. Faye also mentioned Bottega Italiana in the middle of this post. There is an area selling coffees and San Diego made Chuao Chocolates to take home.The menu is simple, the coffee preparation area is observable, there are a few sweets for sale at the cash register. The gelato is made right here. Daily. The fresh made gelato are beautiful…and overwhelming. We've been offered samples and sometimes that makes decisions more difficult. Fortunately, two flavors can be part of a 'small' size.Also, an affogato (small size gelato ($3.80) with a shot of espresso over it (+$1)) can have two flavors within…in this case, panna cotta (vanilla flavored sweet cream; it's different than (the excellent) vanilla) and hazelnut went perfectly with the brisk shot of concentrated coffee.Another day, a small ($3.80) with Speciale (burnt cream, dark chocolate chips, caramel and sea salt: all able to be tasted in one bite) with a scoop of Opera (pistachio, hazelnut and almond nuts and flavors) was enjoyed at the patio tables out front.

Bottega Italiana is a nice place to stop and get a shareable, excellent treat.

Bottega Italiana 4445 La Jolla Village Drive Suite H-17 (just down from the movie theaters) San Diego 92122 (858)404-0799 website Mon-Th 10-9:30, Fri-Sat 10-10 Sun 10:30-9:30