Closed – Page 39

La Mesa Craft Kitchen (first look)

April 26, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Beer, Gastropub, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for continuing to drop by to read mmm-yoso!!! Today, Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are taking breaks and Cathy is writing.

Over the past six months, whenever we'd stop at Carnitas Uruapan (which is far more often than I've posted), The Mister and I watched the progressing construction of this new La Mesa Gastropub, which opened about two weeks ago. (cc has been here recently; here is a link to her post)The location of Craft Kitchen La Mesa used to be a 7-11. (Look into the distance of the above photo, you can see the new 7-11 location, directly on the other side of Spring Street).Stepping into the front door, the menu board and ordering area are in front of you. There are also menus on the counter and some chairs if you need to peruse. The menu is short.

Order, pay, find a seat…Perhaps decide on a beer or wine to accompany your meal… Then again, there are tasters ($2 each) when you can't decide. Julian Hard Cider and Karl Strauss Mosaic were our choices this day. Other difficult choices were deciding what we wanted to try on this visit (while planning what we want to try on future visits…did you notice there is breakfast…daily breakfast, not just a weekend Brunch…). So, the "Greens " flat bread ($10) was our mutual choice. Fresh made chewy (with a bit of bottom crunch) flatbread topped with Mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, fresh chopped garlic and basil…the flavors all melded wonderfully and went well with each beverage choice.
This quite large (despite the photo) "Strawberry Fields" salad ($11) with added chicken ($2) was also a mutually decided choice, primarily because of the cheese –Burrata– and our general tendency toward trying to have a 'balanced' meal. Spring mix greens, whole almonds and a very nice strawberry vinaigrette combined with the Burrata and good portion of warm/just cooked marinated chicken (the flavors of the chicken were good enough not to need any seasoning additions) made this salad an excellent meal…well, half the salad plus half the flatbread was a great meal.

La Mesa (and its border) is gradually becoming the East County version of 30th Street, with a few stumbles and successes, with established gastropub/regular pub type restaurants. The concept of breakfast at Craft Kitchen will be thoroughly investigated.

La Mesa Craft Kitchen 4253 Palm Avenue (at Spring Street) La Mesa, CA 91941 (619)461-4887 Open 7 days Mon-Fri 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sat 8a.m.-11 p.m. Sun 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Website

Another Revisit: Que Huong Nearly a Decade Later

April 22, 2015 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Que Huong has closed

I'm enjoying getting back up to City Heights again, so here's another revisit post.

Can you imagine that it's been nearly 10 years since I first walked through the door of Que Huong. Little did I know that "Jay" and his sister had just taken over the spot. I've revisited quite a few times over the years, though strangely, the visits always seem to be spread apart. I will say that the place sure looks a lot different these days.

There sure aren't specials written on the mirror anymore!

If you're going to have one item here, it should be the fish sauce wings. Since I first tried them in 2008, it's been a beloved item. In my article in the Reader, I noted how Jay told me he was going through as much as a thousand pounds of wings in a month.

It's still a wonderful, sweet, salty, and sticky…….

The Jackfruit Salad is another standby.

Over the years, I've noticed that they've somewhat refined their dishes a bit. In this salad, I noticed that the whole, hard peppercorns were gone and on this visit the nuoc mam cham was more savory, heavier on the fish sauce than sweet and watered done, which was a welcomed change. Nice amount of veggies, the somewhat citrusy-pungent-cilantro tones of rau ram, shrimp, and pork.

This made for a very satisfying meal.

It's good to know that the food here was just as good when Jay wasn't on the premises. It's also good to see Que Huong last when so many haven't.

Que Huong Restaurant
4134 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Tan Ky Mi Gia (City Heights) Revisited

April 21, 2015 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Tan Ky Mi Gia has closed

Yes indeed, Tan Ky Mi Gia did indeed close. However, there's still a Tan Ky Mi Gia around…..

Of course, this used to be Hing Ky Mi Gia, but before that, it was Tan Ky Mi Gia. Then it became Tan Ky Mi Gia again in 2008.

Now that things are settling down I can make more trips up to City Heights. And revisit Tan Ky Mi Gia.

Man, this place is looking a bit run down.

Still, the place has outlasted the pool hall next door.

Still, the prices are still good….$5.75 for basic egg noodle soup. However, on this visit I saw Bot Chien posted on the wall. It was breakfast time, so there was no doubt I'd be ordering it.

While not in the class of Kang Lac, this was not bad. The crisp parts were nice, though there were some kind of gummy parts to it. It was also pretty big, I ended up taking a good part of it home…the Missus, who basically never saw an egg dish She didn't like enjoyed it. Loved the dipping sauce as well. Overall decent.

A week later I returned in the morning and decided to try the Won Ton and Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup ($5.75).

The broth is not quite where it used to be…..a bit more salty, less body, cloudy. The egg noodles were perfect. I didn't care for the hard as rock dumplings and won tons. It's not like I'm expecting amazing for under six bucks. But this just didn't do it for me.

So will I be back……yes, I've got see what the state of the duck egg noodle soup is like. Plus, it's hard to complain about meals like these…….and heck, there one Tan Ky Mi Gia left.

Tan Ky Mi Gia
5237 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Iron Pig Alehouse

April 19, 2015 mmm-yoso BBQ, Beer, Gastropub, Pubs and Pub Grub

**** Iron Pig has closed

This post really underlines why I like to make multiple visits to places when possible. It's not always practical. But if a place shows promise, I try to visit more than once if possible. Iron Pig is a good example, though sometimes it takes a while.

Back in November, Iron Pig Alehouse opened in PB; you can read Kirbie's post on the place. soon after opening, I visited with a friend of mine…..

And while the service was nice and the beer selection decent; I thought the meal left a lot to be desired.

From the nicely flavored but rubbery skinned smoked wings, to the baby backs with a decent rub, but quite dry and mealy texture, to the mushy brisket. The sauce seemed what my friends would call "competition sauce"…..tasting like a doctored up base. Not bad mind you, just quite generic.

And yet, there seemed some potential here; the flavor of the wings were quite good……..

So it took me six months to convince my biggest BBQ critic, the Missus ("your rubs is too bitter"…."the ribs you made are too dry"……."that pork butt needs to be smoked a bit longer") to check out Iron Pig. And we're glad we did.

Take a look at this version of the smoked wings ($9.99).

Nice and crisp, smoky, perhaps edging on being too salty, but I'll never complain about anything being too smoky. The wings were also moist and tender….just about perfect for us.

Of course the Missus "needed" a salad….sigh…..but, She made the right choice in ordering the "Man Salad" ($12.99).

Our Server/bartender was awesome…..she actually warned us that the "salad has French fries on it….and some folks take exception to that!" Really? It's ok to have fries in the burrito, but not in a salad? This was a huge salad. The blue cheese, brisket (much better than previously encountered), and arugula worked really well for us.

The only item we both didn't care for were the rib tips. I'm a big rib tip fan….I love maneuvering around the chewy cartilage, through all that rich fatty tissue, and the burnt crust for that perfect bite. This was too mushy, mild, and frankly ruined by all that sauce. You really didn't get the joy of having a nice rib tip. Perhaps I'm in the minority, but crunchy, crusty, fatty, rib tips just do well on their own with sauce on the side.

Overall, we had a nice meal. The service was very friendly….actually, I wish I got the name of our bartender/server. She was awesome. I'm sure we'll be back…especially since most draft beers are half price during Happy Hour. I need to have those wings again…..just to see….which version is the norm.

Iron Pig Alehouse
1520 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

El Mango Manila (National City)

April 11, 2015 Cathy Fruiterias, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to look at mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog, today. Cathy is writing again because the guys (Kirk and Ed(from Yuma)) are not having anything to do with blogging at this point in time.

A few months ago, The Mister and I were in National City and did another random stop when we saw a very bright, interesting bit of signage. According to the owners (all family), El Mango Manila has been open here since 2011. The menu is fairly extensive. Breakfasts here include molletes (my favorite) and there are tortas, sandwiches, green and fruit salads, juices, smoothies, licuados (milk based) and raspados (ices) and a variety of 'Crazy' menu items ('crazy' means cups of fresh corn topped with cheese, tostilocos, churrolocos, Takilocos and fruitilocos as well as a few other items).Recall that I said we were here a few months ago… Our order consisted of a medium Vampire juice (beets, carrots, celery and apple), small fruit salad of what was in season (strawberries, bananas, watermelon, green apple) topped with cottage cheese and granola with a side of honey and a mixed meat torta. The total bill was $12.

The torta was served on very fresh toasted bread, spread with a spicy lime mayonnaise and had ham and turkey and a melted Mexican cheese as well as lettuce, tomato, pickles and avocado.

This was a very tasty and fresh meal for us.

I do enjoy finding new places as well as stopping at fruiterias. Hope you are having a good weekend.

El Mango Manila 2303 Highland Avenue National City, CA 91950 (619)336-0507

Myung In Dumplings

March 30, 2015 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants

**** Myung In has closed

** Note: Myung In Dumplings has moved to the Zion Market Food Court

Back in February, I noted that Myung In Dumplings was moving into the space formerly occupied by Voltero's. soon after they opened rather quietly. I decided to drop by and check them out. After all, it's been a while since I've had a decent Wang Mandu.

The first thing I noticed were the two women making dumplings behind the counter.

The second thing I really noticed after sitting down were the prices! Mandu, ten bucks! Then I was handed a menu with prices that had been marked down a buck. Not cheap, but a bit better.

So I placed my order and went thru the rest of the menu.

Meanwhile, the dipping sauce, and some panchan made its way to the table. The sauce was on the mild side, but it seemed to have black vinegar in it which I thought was a bit strange……I welcomed it, but it was different.

I had ordered two items, starting with the Wang (King) Mandu ($8), the pork and vegetable version.

Man, these were humongous. I only finished one. I ended giving the rest to "YZ" for her to take home to her daughter.

The actual steamed bun seemed way too "white" and reminded me of something else, but I couldn't place my finger on it. It was very fluffy and fairly nice, if lacking in the great yeastiness of a Wang (King) Mandu dough.

The filling was a bit too crumbly for me, but was moist, though a tad light in flavor.

Yeah, I know….too picky with my steamed buns and dumplings. But I can't help it.

Curious, I also ordered the Boiled Dumpling with shrimp, pork, and vegetable. I don't ever recall seeing this in any of the mandu shops I've been to. You should have seen the look on my face when this arrived…..it was jiaozhi!

These were actually ok. The dough was lacking in the slight chew, stretch, and tenderness that I like in a good dumpling. In case you're wondering where I get this from…well, here's how my MIL makes Jiaozi. Of course, this was not even close to QingDao Bread Food. The filling was also a bit too loose and on the bland side. Still, better than Dumpling Inn. To put things in perspective, below average for me, better than average for San Diego. So I gotta give this a not bad.

The woman serving me was very nice. I mentioned that the dumplings seemed very Chinese, I was told that the owner is Korean, but from China. I was really intrigued. A few days later, I mentioned the place to "Mr.S" who was shocked that a Korean place opened in San Diego without he knowing. When I mentioned the name of the place to him, he looked at me in surprise. He asked me if they had locations in LA and I didn't know. We decided to meet for lunch the very next day. Upon arriving, Mr.S assured me he had eaten at the Koreatown location of Myung In. When he spoke to our Server, who according to Mr.S spoke both Korean and Mandarin, she did confirm that the restaurant had several locations in LA. Looking at the back of the take-out menu confirmed that.

We ended up ordering a pile of food. Starting with the Pork and Kimchi Wang Mandu.

Same huge steamed buns. As for the filling, I prefer the pork and vegetable version. When I mentioned that the dough really reminded me of something else, Mr.S said, "yes, this is like Jjin Bbang…." He was totally right……by the way, they do have red bean seamed bun on the menu.

The item we enjoyed the best was the mandu guk – the mandu soup.

For some reason, the dumplings did really well in this broth, which had enough salt and other flavor to help things along. The wrapper became almost noodle-like and this might be the way to go in the future. It was very hearty and satisfying.

The last thing we had were the spicy steamed roll dumplings. The wrapped meat rolls weren't what made this spicy…it was the accompanying chili paste. Sigh.

Kind of tough and not something I'd order again.

Our server also mentioned that the owner was originally from China and even said where, but I couldn't make it out. Anyway, the next day, I read Kirbie's post on Myung In Dumpling, where she mentions Anthony Bourdain's visit to the LA location. Call me out of touch with mainstream food media. Following the Google trail, I came to find out that the owner is of Korean ancestry, but originally from Shenyang, China. Interesting path.

As for the jiaozi, I think it's decent, better than any other alternative in San Diego. Though I think I may try other stuff….and get the mandu guk the next time. Still, if you can't wait for another trip to the SGV for your jiaozi fix…..

Myung In Dumplings
4344 Convoy St,
San Diego, CA 92111

Visiting The Original Sab E Lee at its New Location

March 29, 2015 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

**** This location of TOSEL is now Zab Linda

Sab E Lee holds a special place in my heart. Starting as the "little restaurant that could"….could do well making real deal spicy Issan style Thai Food in San Diego and thrive. It's been quite a ride for SEL, from the beginning, with Koby at the helm. It soon became part of our "rotation". Eventually, Koby sold the place to Maylee and company, and proceeded to open up Sab E Lee 2 in Santee, we now had twice the fun, as SEL2 featured a more Bangkok-centric menu, but the cooks were still form Issan. Koby then sold his share in SEL2 and disappeared into the ether……man of mystery, I've heard a couple of stories, but am still not sure what happened to him. The Linda Vista location rebranded and became "The Original Sab E Lee". Then in 2013, TOSEL opened a location in Rancho Penasquitos. Things have changed a bit over the years, TOSEL seems to have plateaued…there seems to be an ever changing cast of front of house staff and there have been times where the food did not live up to expectations and the service bordered on surly. However, back in November, i had a really good meal, and noticed that one of the old cooks was working the kitchen. A few days later I saw the sign on the old Bale location……"coming soon, The Original Sab E Lee….." Which is where we are now.

I did take my time in visiting the new location.

But last week, I finally did; twice. This spot is not too large, 11 tables, but probably three times the size of the old location. Still, it wasn't so large that they'd kill the kitchen.

Interesting mix; young Thai Kids, mixed groups, gringos ordering Won Tons and eating sticky rice with a spoon.

I did recognize one of the servers…he does double duty at the PQ location. Other than that none of the faces looked familiar.

The food? I'm happy to say, just about everything was pretty much spot on. You can read all my previous posts and get the lowdown…..

The Koi Soi – Koi Neua (Spicy Raw Beef) had been "cooked" too long in citrus and was much too sour and the texture wasn't right. It's usually a very refreshing dish. Over the years, my heat tolerance has gone down…..I can no longer get this as a "10" and these days settle for a "7".

Still, it was fine.

I once thought that SEL had no ceiling, unlimited potential. These days I consider it good grub, a place that makes me feel like I walked into a little restaurant in Issan and had a nice meal. And I'm more than happy to settle for that.

The Original Sab E Lee
6925 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Sunday Sandwiches – More Revisits: Embargo Grill and Bristol Farms

March 22, 2015 mmm-yoso Latin American Cuisine, Markets & Grocers, Sandwiches

**** Both Embargo Grill and Bristol Farms have closed

As I continue my sandwich revisits since my TMJ has calmed down.

Embargo Grill:

I'd been meaning to return since my first couple of visits over a year ago. I thought the food had promise and the concept was interesting.

The place looks basically the same; the prices have edged up a notch, though are still quite reasonable.

I went with the "Midnight Calorie Bomb" the Cubano/Medianoche ($6.75).

I previously thought this a decent sandwich. It has now risen to "good". I thought the weak link previously was the pulled pork, which was very dry and ice cold in my sandwich. That has been remedied. The pork was warm, nicely seasoned, perhaps on the edge of being too salty, and was adequately moist. The ham added even more of a sodium kick and the swiss cheese provided a nice milky level of flavor. The bread was quite nice, pressed, crisp, and yeasty. And while the sandwich doesn't look very big, it's quite filling and more than enough for me.

Man, if this place was in the Gaslamp and open when the clubs got out….they'd do a killing…..

Nice to see the place is doing well.

Embargo Grill
3960 W Point Loma Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Mon-Thurs11am – 9pm
Fri-Sat 11am – 10pm
Sunday 11am – 9pm

Bristol Farms:

Yeah, I know, Cathy and I have done a number of posts on Bristol Farms. I'd mentioned the Tri-Tip Sandwich in a previous post. Several key things have to be in place for me to get the sandwich. There are a couple of folks, often from the deli area that I know make a good sandwich. One of the guys really takes his time, but whenever he makes my sandwich, it comes out like this:

Also, I check out the tri-tip, or the turkey to make sure it doesn't look old and tired. For the turkey sandwich; I go dark meat all the way. After having this through the years, I know how I like mine; toasted roll, horseradish sauce (on one side) in place of the BBQ sauce, grilled mushroom and onions, regular onions, tomato and lettuce. When it comes out well…..it's quite a sandwich.

Of course, one of the main reasons I was a Bristol Farms was to pick stuff up for a "light" dinner on the porch.

Bristol Farms
8510 Genessee Ave
San Diego, CA 92122

Sashimi Break – Sushi Yaro

March 21, 2015 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

**** Sushi Yaro has closed

Isn't it nice to be able to walk into a place and say, "I'm hungry, can I just get some sashimi?" And get something like this?

I'm not expecting anything mind-blowing, no Michelin star experience. It's been a long week and I want some decent fish, a good meal, to leave satisfied. I get all of the above.

I've known Sam for over a decade now. And he knows me….such is the relationship of the Itamae and his regulars. That is why the term "Sushi bar" seems so appropriate. Like your favorite watering hole, be it here or wherever……it's such a great feeling to walk in after a hard day and have your drink waiting on the counter when you arrive. As a regular customer, I feel that I have some responsibility as well. I'll often request to be served last, new customers are the lifeblood of a small business, I try to tip well, and I never take freebees.. At Tadokoro, I make reservations for the earliest possible time. I know Take-san will do his best and when you're slammed, regardless of your profession, you can't do that. It's about being a good regular customer as well……

The reason I'm writing this is because I've seen various posts on sites such as Chowhound that flaunt this idea of self-entitlement, and have even seen in person cases where folks will say; "I'm a Elite (the four lettered review website) member and I want xxxx". It disturbs me. So I needed a sashimi break……though really….it's not all about just me.

Sushi Yaro
7905 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Revisits to Szechuan Taste and Nazca Grill

March 17, 2015 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Peruvian Restaurants

**** Both Szechuan Taste and Nazca Grill have closed

Man was it hot last week! I don't ever remember temps like this in March…….high 80's and low 90's. I'm not looking forward to the summer.

On the other hand, this gave me a chance to have some of my favorite "warm weather" dishes. So here goes….

Szechuan Taste:

At the end of my post on Szechuan Taste in December I wrote, "When things warm up, I'll come back for the Sichuan Liang Mian and the Ko Shui Ji and I'm hoping for maybe some nice surprises." Little did I know that I'd be getting some surprises alright. Anyway, it was without a doubt warm and I do try to keep my word when possible. So here I was……

The young lady who waited on me was very nice and sweet. I ordered those two favorite hot weather dishes….actually other liang cai like Fu Qi Fei Pian are also among my favorites during hot weather, but man, the version here was really bad.

First up, the Ko Shui Ji – "Mouthwatering (saliva) Chicken".

The sauce looked watery and when I pulled the bowl over I found that it was almost hot! I've never had Ko Shui Ji served to me at an insipidly warm temperature. The sauce was actually a broth; below the slick of already watered down chili oil was liquid that resembled chicken noodle soup. The chicken was boneless, skin on thigh that looked carelessly poached. As for flavor, well there was a decent amount of Sichuan Peppercorn, but everything else tasted watered down, not spicy, no salt, no vinegar tones, no sweet….like eating a piece of cardboard with a hint of Sichuan Peppercorn. ick……

As for my Sichuan Liang Mian, well it was a rollercoaster ride. It really didn't look like much when it arrived.

And yet, things look promising when I found the motherlode of sauce on the bottom and mixed everything together. I then took a bite and actually swore out loud….like wash your mouth out with soup loud. In retrospect chewing on a bar of Ivory Soap might have been better than this. Good god, this was eating a mouthful of MSG….it was so salty to the point of bitterness. Also, what's the deal with serving raw noodles that haven't even had the flour rinsed off? I've even had that happen to me at Fu An Garden.

So this is what happened. I felt really bad for the sweet young lady, so I took everything to go. She didn't make the food….. And I proceeded to pitch it. I hate waste, but I just couldn't bring myself to eat this. I felt bad, but eating this stuff made me feel worse. I think I'm done here….. So yes, in the end I did get a "surprise", but it wasn't a good one.

Szechuan Taste
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Nazca Grill:

One of my favorite cuisines is that of Peru. The variety can be stunning, from the traditional dishes like Cuy, to the "Chifa" dishes like Lomo Saltado, it seems that all who came ashore in Peru and stayed have made their mark on the nation. It was love at first bite when I first had Peruvian food after moving to LA. Peru also hold a special place in my heart, it was the first country the Missus and I visited together way back when. In San Diego County, pricy Q'ero probably does Peruvian the best, but it very pricy and a long drive. For lunch, even Latin Chef in PB was a bit too far. Plus, I was looking for that "Nikkei" influenced dish, tiradito.

The place look quite the same since my last visit. Man, it was hot, so I started with the Causa, in the of Nazca Grill, it's like what I would call a Causa Limeña, a layered potato "cake" of sorts. I went with the shrimp version.

The shrimp was kind of watery and a bit on the fishy side. The sauce seemed more like a thousand island dressing than the aji rocoto based sauce I'd had in the past. The presentation sure has gotten better, though I'm not sure the dish as a whole has been improved. I preferred the original version I had in 2009.

The tiradito was passable. In contrast to cebiche pescado, the fish in tiradito (I was told snapper) is not "cooked" in citrus. It's basically sashimi in a sauce. Today it was a mild aji amarilla sauce.

There's was a decent amount of fish in this. There used to be a touch of lime in the tiradito here, but today, it was muted. I did love the yucca frita and the choclo (as I always love). This was fine, if nothing special. It was a bit too mild for my taste…..

I'm afraid we'll have to head back to Peru one of these days….I did promise the Missus that we'll get to Easter Island, so perhaps a Chile – Peru two-fer. Especially since we did miss the Nazca Lines the last time.

Time will tell. Anything can happen. But like I mentioned earlier…..I do try to keep my promises.

Nazca Grill
4310 Genesee Ave
San Diego, CA 92117