Closed – Page 40

Ranchwood BBQ and Catering (La Mesa)

August 6, 2015 Cathy BBQ, What Cathy Eats!

You are here: mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk has been working a bit more than usual and Ed (from Yuma) has been enjoying life. Cathy is writing this short post.

It's still unusually humid and hot; neither The Mister nor I want to cook. The other day we stayed close to home, driving on side streets until we got into La Mesa just looking for a small, quick bite. We didn't even use 'air conditioned comfort' as a criterion.

The old brick and mortar location of Pubcakes closed at the end of last year and Ranchwood BBQ took its place. Ranchwood had only been a catering business for years and this location is now the storefront as well as catering. We parked on El Cajon Boulevard and walked in.

(FYI, Pubcakes exists in a way; they sell craft beer cake mix, (you can make cupcakes at home using beer as the liquid). The mix is sold at specialty markets around town, including Seisels and Iowa Meat Farms {Pubcakes website}.The small storefront holds two picnic benches inside and some small tables out front. There are several bar stools strewn around. A lot of the orders are 'to go'.

That is the entire menu above the counter in that second photo. The meat is smoked here, behind the building. We were here one day just after opening (11 a.m.; closed on Monday) and all of the menu was available. Deciding we were going to share and being unable to agree on what, we chose the Cowboy Plate ($13.99). Two meats and two sides…and two slices of white bread.The sides we always choose seem to be cole slaw and baked beans. The slaw was good: fresh, crispy, cool and just creamy enough…no real spices added.

The beans…ah the root beer baked beans. Tasty and different. Two types of beans, onion, celery and maybe some bell pepper… and a creamy slightly tangy sauce which had a faint undertone of the sassafras, vanilla and other flavors of a good root beer. These were different and tasty beans. As you can see, these sides were quite large.

There are other sides we could've chosen: fries, rings, mashed potato, veggies, regular and a chipotle potato salad and house made chips.

Our two meats? Brisket (we would rather have fatty Brisket than lean Tri-Tip) and Pulled Pork. Yes, that portion is large; it weighed more than a pound.

Both meats were cooked low and slow, so the meat was very tender. The beef was lightly covered with a mustard based sauce and the whole portion (pork and beef) with the BBQ sauce.

I was happy trying pieces of meat without any sauce, and got only a light smoke flavor from the pork. The sauce was complimentary to the meats, yet not needed.

We will be returning to this locally owned business to try out other meats and menu items.

Ranchwood BBQ and Catering 7229 El Cajon Blvd San Diego 92115 Website Closed Monday open Sun, Tues-Thurs 11-8:30, Fri-Sat 11-9

Tasty Pizza (no pizza) (inside Parkway Plaza Mall)

August 4, 2015 Cathy Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, once again checking out mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) both don't feel like writing today, but Cathy does, so here's another post about food.

The weather out here has been quite humid the past few weeks, even with the thermometer topping at 84•, it feels miserable. The Mister and I have tried driving to the coast and have ended up inside grocery stores with air conditioning, just to feel cooler. Fortunately Parkway Plaza, the first indoor shopping center in San Diego County, is close to home.

I must admit that it's been years since we really stopped here for anything other than shopping for tools, appliances or parts at the Sears store, so when we walked the mall, it was all 'new' to us. However the Food Court had quite a few of the same old chains…until we took a closer look.This used to be a Sbarro, where I could pick up a stromboli or calzone or pizza slice when the urge hit, so pizza ovens were in place here…but thenclosely reading the menu, showed us so much more than pizza is on the menu here.The bowl of lentil soup ($3) is excellent and quite filling. It was nice to eat something warm in the chilled air conditioned food court. Ordering the 'Spinach Pie' ($2.50) was a nice surprise. Not a spanakopita other than being filled with fresh spinach, the home made bread was stuffed with a refreshing mix of spinach, lemon and spices. The bread was a fresh, hearty and chewy type; the way I like bread to be.The tabbouleh salad ($3). Oh my, this was so fresh and bright. Parsley, bulgur, olive oil and lemon juice.Manakeesh, an arabic flatbread (this is a different dough than used for the $5 pizzas here; see the edges?) is $5. The top photo is cheese topped, the above photo is topped with za'atar (a blend of sesame seeds, thyme and sumac)and olive oil. Both of these flatbreads were excellent in their own way (and purchased on different visits; one is enough to share).Most of the time, we order a hot tea ($2) it's a teabag in a standard cardboard cup and a standard tea I've seen sold at local small markets but one day, I decided we should try a Turkish coffee here. It's $3 and quite a presentation.

So much nicer than we could ever expect. You just never know what you'll find in a mall.

Tasty Pizza 414 Parkway Plaza El Cajon 92020 (619)401-4400

Lil’ Farmers Cafe-fresh. (Kearny Mesa)

July 28, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Caffeine Fix, Desserts, Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt, Salads, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! Cathy is writing today; Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are busily researching places and food items.

Some days, I just want a simple meal-sandwich or salad, maybe a coffee. Ending up at Panera, Subway or Starbucks makes for a dull post. I've taken photos of every food item consumed for almost a decade, those don't necessarily show up on the blog but this time, simple foods from a locally owned place are worth sharing. Just a few weeks ago, while driving along 163 South, we noticed this signage over what had been a Starbucks, turned briefly into Pizza Studio (another one of those 'customizable' pizza places) (which, after six months, had a 'Closed for Remodeling' sign on the window). (I did write a post about Pizza Studio, but it was very negative and proven by the sudden closure so it was deleted). Lil' Farmers Cafe is in the same parking lot as Mitsuwa Marketplace, Chopstix Too and (soon to be open) Nishiki.The ubiquitous, hipster, reclaimed wood wall was already there……as was the walk along refrigerated glassed in area.The simple menu (nothing is priced over $5.99 except for the 'to go' organic beverage packs which serve 12) is pretty much all customizable.You can choose your bread and toppings for a sandwich……as well as salad ingredients if you want something added or not included in the menu selections.The beverage selection is interesting (as is the pricing variance between 12, 16 and 20 ounces) and I really like the organic coffee. The concept of a Bacon and Bean salad ($5.49) is interesting. For the first order, I wanted my personalization to be the lettuce choice and the salad dressing (Oil and vinegar, which was mixed thoroughly and in a perfect proportion). Lettuce, bacon, garbanzo and kidney beans, fresh tomatoes and Parmesan. This was very large, very fresh and just right (I am always afraid when the lettuce is already mixed in with dressing, but the technique used here is correct, with no excess 'pooling' at the bottom of the bowl). The Mister ordered a Farmer Panini ($5.49) Roast beef, cream cheese, tomato, onion and (our addition) sprouts. Panini'd and on sourdough, this was a really good sandwich. We ended up speaking with the manager, a very nice lady, who told us the owner is a former San Diego Socker. We've seen him in the restaurant the times we have visited; he is keeping an eye on things and looking for feedback and ways to improve the menu.Another visit had me craving a simple salad. Farmer Greens ($4.49), a nice mix of arugula, spinach, red pepper and roasted tomatoes (I chose sesame dressing) is very good (roasted tomatoes would be a great salad add-on in the future; such great flavor) and hit the spot. The Mister had another menu item in mind, the pesto-chicken flatbread ($5.99). The flatbread (a whole grain dough; very nice) is first warmed, then the items placed on top, then it's all placed back into the small oven for about one minute to melt the cheese and warm the chicken and the flatbread gets a bit crispier. Pesto, chicken, Mozzarella and shaved Parmesan are the only ingredients and truly is all that are needed needed. Again, the flavors are just right.You may or may not have noticed a small area at the bottom of the small menu. Ice cream. 99¢ a scoop ice cream. Only chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavors (which can be made into a shake). Excellent, extra creamy, 'old fashioned' (to my tastebuds) ice cream. It reminds me of the 10¢ squared/not round scoops of wonderful ice cream from Thrifty's. The bottom of the menu 'flatbread' choice is a sweet version ($4.99). Again, the bread is first warmed, then spread with Nutella and sliced banana, folded over itself, warmed a bit more (the bread is almost toasty) and topped with caramel and chocolate sauce. This was good, if not a bit too sweet (I think a dollop of fatty whipped cream might cut the sweetness, but really have no complaints).

Each visit we've shared a cup of the organic coffee, which is very good. There are no claims made about other organic items here; the freshness on each visit has been remarkable. It's nice to have a local place to enjoy a good, simple meal.

Lil' Farmers Cafe 4240 Kearny Mesa Road San Diego 92111 (between Ross and Trex, just across from the In-n-Out) (858) 430-6554 Website Open Mon-Fri 8-6, Sat 10-6

Sunday Sandwiches: Pacific Time

July 26, 2015 mmm-yoso Cheese, Sandwiches

** Pacific Time has closed

I was driving back from the dry cleaners two weeks back and I saw this shop on Linda Vista Road.

In the same strip mall as Ballast Point Home Brew Mart, Kona Kakes, and J&T. I was fascinated by the "Breads, Wines, and West Coast Goodness" sign. Unfortunately, the hours were really limited, 7am to 3pm Monday to Friday.

I had some times between meetings the following Tuesday so I dropped by. It's a nice shop, wines, what looked like 12 beer pulls….my buddy Candice had told me these guys sold bread at the Little Italy Mercato.

I like the shop; there's a kitchen in the rear, where I think they produce the bakery goods. A cold case which was mostly empty; some shelves or various food products.

I soon found out a bit about the place. The idea is to sell and create food items from the Pacific Time Zone; thus the name. The limited hours? They are still hiring and training employees and will expand the hours.

And then there are the cheeses….

Not a huge selection, but I did appreciate the aged goat cheeses and the washed rind Teleme I did buy. We've been keeping a variety of cheese on hand at home since we've returned from France. It was nice to have another source.

The cheese monger is always on hand for a nice chat….since we tend to ripe washed rind cheese and I really love aged sheep cheese like Ewephoria.

This is a Sunday Sandwiches post, so I'll stick to those for now. A quick read of the menu, Diestal Turkey ranch, Fra'Mani Salumi, and something becomes quickly apparent; this ain't no Boar's Head or Dietz and Watson shop. And the prices, reflect that, which is not a problem for me, the sandwiches are fairly filling and rich for me; but if you're a big eater…..

The first thing I ordered was the Turkey Deluxe ($9):

It was suggested that I get this "hot" which was a great recommendation. The bread became crusty, yet still stood up well. I found this to be much too salty for my taste and would have appreciated a bit of mild sweetness and perhaps something with some acid to cut the sodium. Great texture though.

I returned and asked for a recommendation and was told to try the Spicy Italian ($9).

This was my favorite of the three sandwiches I had. I loved the crustiness of the toasted baguette. The proteins really balanced out well and unlike the turkey sandwich this one wasn't too salty, bolstered by the pickled peppers and the vinaigrette. The spicy capicolla was really good…..I'm a guy who loves proportion and this did just fine by me.

Again returning from meetings and having even more conference calls and meetings through lunch I dropped by and got the Veggie Delight ($7), which I requested on a baguette.

This was a nice, light sandwich. The roasted red peppers, goat cheese, and sprouts do it for me….I think I'll ask for some garlic aioli on this next time.

As you can tell. This is more of a artisan product versus a "super stuffed" sandwich. If you're about quantity, this might not be your thing. It does fill the bill for a nice light lunch for me. I'm hoping they expand products and hours soon. I've enjoyed the bread here so I'll probably be buying some when they extend their hours. I'm quite happy to have a shop like this fairly close to where we live.

Pacific Time
5277 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92110

I Sometimes Make Questionable Choices – Original Tommy’s

July 23, 2015 mmm-yoso Burgers, Chains

**** This location of Tommy's has closed

You might recall that I mentioned how uninspired and unmotivated I was when trying to decide what to eat after returning from our trip in an earlier post. I mentioned aimlessly driving up and down Clairemont Mesa Boulevard with no objective in mind….yes, here I was…the Missus was working and I was just going up and down, back and forth….wasting gas.

So finally I made a choice.

A very questionable choice……..

It had been a while since I'd been to Tommy's and even longer since I'd actually had a chili burger.

We had an Original Tommy's down the street from us in Rowland Heights. When the late night munchies would hit; maybe once every couple of months, we'd go grab a chili burger. The Missus used to love the chili but it gave Her heartburn….I was fine. For some reason, I don't recall the chili being as bland and gluey as this. In fact everything seemed to have the same texture except for the tomatoes. I asked for extra onions and even that didn't help. It was like eating mush……. The best thing about the burger was the generic bun.

I'm certain that something has changed here….that or this location does something different from the locations in LA. When did the food here get so bland? Perhaps I should have gotten the Caliente Burger.

On the good side; this was like hitting rock bottom…….the only way to go was up.

Original Tommy's
7415 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Sunday Sandwiches: Dudley’s Deli – Kearny Mesa

July 5, 2015 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

**** This location of Dudley's has closed

I recall Cathy's post on Dudley's Deli's expansion into Santee back in the winter of 2013. During the end of last year, I noticed that Dudley's Deli had also opened on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, next to Bangkok West.

For some reason, the place kept slipping my mind. I'd pass by and tell myself, "oh, yeah, I gotta grab a sandwich there…." And promptly forget about the place.

Finally, I tattooed, Dudley's Deli on my forehead, backwards of course, so everytime I stared in the mirror, Dudley's stared back….well, not really. I wrote myself a post-it note and put it on my computer at work. A couple back to back lunch hour meetings means I'll need to grab an early lunch. Perfect for the early hours (open at 7am) that this place keeps.

The place is simple, a counter to order, a sandwich prep area, a cold case, soda fountain, and a couple of shelves with a few loaves of Dudley's breads.

All the "Premium" Sandwiches are $8.95 and as you can see above fairly hefty. As was the Corned Beef Reuben.

The rye was nice, the sandwich is press toasted making the exterior crisp. Lots of sauerkraut, perhaps a bit too mild for my taste but passable….thousand island(of course), and decent corned beef; I saw Dietz and Watson signs, so figure that's what's being served. This was perhaps, too much of a good thing for me on this day.

After recovering, I paid another visit and had the Italian.

This was my favorite of the three sandwiches I had during my visits. It looked busy, but it was the combination of the sourdough and the pepperoncini, with a very nice mild Garlic-mayo that brought it all together. All the rather strong flavors worked well and I preferred this to Lit'l Pepper's, the "Comeback". The one thing that was unnecessary to me in the sandwich was the ham…..but it didn't interfere with the other items. Also, the tomatoes could have been more ripe; there were on the green side and had no flavor.

While I really enjoyed the Western Wheat Bread used for the TBA, I was not a big fan of this one.

The turkey was nicely shaved, but bland, as was the honey mustard, and there was not enough bacon for my taste. Something acidic, tomatoes perhaps, would have brought something out in the sandwich. As it was this tasted like a nutty swiss cheese and not enough bacon sandwich. Like I said, the bread was the best thing about this one.

Overall, I like having choices and Dudley's gives me another one. I enjoy their breads and am thinking about doing a "Build your own", using that Jalapeno Cheddar Bread. Any ideas?

Dudley’s Deli
9119 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123
Hours:
Mon – Fri 7am – 4pm
Saturday 10am – 3pm
Closed Sunday

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