Closed – Page 47

Panca Peruvian Cuisine and Rotisserie (Oceanside) Revisited

January 13, 2014 mmm-yoso Peruvian Restaurants

**** Panca has closed

I was going to do a post on Pho, but with the temps hitting the 80's, that just seemed wrong, so I decided to go with something else instead. Recently, I found myself up in the Oceanside area again around lunch time. I'd made a short list of places to visit which came down to Bull Taco, or revisits to Guahan or Panca. I decided on Panca, because the weather just seemed to tell me Peruvian. Plus, I'd heard that Panca had expanded beyond the Pollo a la Brassa and Lomo Saltado and is now incorporating other Peruvian dishes.

I hold a special place in my heart for Peruvian Food, I still recall the first meal I had ages ago at El Rocoto in Gardena, which we revisited a couple of years ago and the flavors and fragrances of Peru are indelibly stored in my head.

So Panca, which is now Panca Peruvian Cuisine AND Rotisserie it was……

Not only has the menu here changed, but the entire look of the interior is different. The bright colors replaced by darker woods. What was interesting for me was the use of wood pallets as window dressing and paneling….it looks like someone here watches those restaurant "rescue" shows, huh?

I really had a hard time selecting my dishes while quaffing down a refreshing, yet bubble-gummy, Inka Cola. Man….I really did miss this stuff!

The menu now had a gauntlet of my favorite dishes; ceviche, tiradito, anticuchos (on weekends), and causa…..

Every version of the Nikkei influenced tiradito has been different. It's always an adventure, a roll of the dice, and gives one an interesting insight into the cook. This one ($12.95) look like many I've had, but was still distinctive.

The fish on this day was red snapper, a nice firm fish. I prefer long thin slices of fish for my tiradito that have been slightly flattened by a knife, this were slices that were a bit too thick for my taste, making the fish really crunchy, rather than having a nice, pleasant chew. The sauce, though on the thin side had decent flavor, but in my opinion could have used a bit more aji amarillo paste and perhaps something, maybe some ginger, to balance out the lime juice and give it a signature finish. It wasn't bad by any means, but for everyday tiradito, I really miss the stuff the original cook at Latin Chef used to make.

My inner glutton said to try the Causa, but the voice of the Missus whispering in my ear from 30 miles away, told me to get the Quinoa Cakes ($6), which being a tamed and docile husband of 15+ years, is what I got.

And I'm glad I did. While the cheese sauces, one much like huacaina really didn't do much for the dish, I really enjoyed the Ocopa, a thick, mildly cheesy sauce that is usually made with peanuts, onion, aji paste, huacatay (I believe this was in paste form as the herbaceous basil-ish flavor was there, but not crazy strong), and thickened with evaporated milk, cookies, saltines, or in this case animal cookies! I gotta have this the traditional way next time, over potatoes. I really enjoyed the texture of the quinoa cakes more than the flavor which I thought was rather mild. The nice light crunch gave way to a fairly light filling which almost melted away in your mouth.

The upbeat, friendly, and very pregnant front person was a great ambassador for the place, making sure the customers were well taken care of. I'm sure I'll be back, I have to try the anticuchos and causa, right?

Panca Peruvian Cuisine and Rotisserie
1902 South Coast Hwy
Oceanside, CA 92054

Sunday Sandwiches: Motor City Deli

January 12, 2014 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

**** Motor City Deli has closed

After returning from our roadtrip, I was still thinking about the tri-tip from Firestone Grill. And though I didn't think I'd find anything even close here in San Diego (I mean really, the place would be more packed than Phil's), I did recall someone telling me about a place I once passed on my now all-too-infrequent drives around San Diego.

In the strip mall located at 7094 Miramar, I recall seeing…well squinting to see "Motor City Deli" right next to the Churchill's Cigar and Wine Bar. For some reason, this fascinated me, so I went home and checked out the menu….which didn't seem like a big deal. A couple of months later someone mentioned that this place mentioned that they smoked their own tri-tip and brisket for sandwiches. After Firestone Grill, I was here in an instant!

Walking in, I was very surprised at how large this place was. The small front area; it looked like it used to be, maybe a pizza or Italian joint, opened up to a fairly large dining area, with a back bar, several local beers on tap as well.

The prices seemed very inexpensive, the advertising for the deli meats were Boar's Head, decent, but nothing special. I noticed the back posters which featured the tri-tip and brisket. I asked the very nice young man behind the counter and he confirmed that they did indeed smoke their own tri-tip and brisket. So I ordered a tri-tip, on a roll, the young man recommended the mushrooms and onions and horseradish sauce.

It was a nice portion for $7.99, but there were several problems with the sandwich. First the meat was pre-cut then placed into a large steam table hotel pan in beef "broth/jus" which basically leached all the beef flavor out of the meat, leaving behind a somewhat artificial-saltiness. I really couldn't make out the smoked flavor and the meat was starting to seize. The onions and mushrooms along with the horseradish sauce actually saved the sandwich, so good call by the young man, as was the time spent placing the sandwich in the toaster oven.

You get one side with the sandwich and I chose the coleslaw….which was a mistake.

There seemed to be no seasoning, sauce, or anything on this….it tasted like eating coleslaw mix plain……..

Don't get me wrong, other than the "faux-slaw", the sandwich wasn't bad, just that it wasn't elevated to the level it could be. I decided to return and this time get the brisket ($6.99).

Just by understanding the differences in smoking time for a tri-tip versus a brisket, I believed the smoke flavor of the brisket would be much more pronounced, which it was, though the brisket was much tougher, in terms of flavor it handled the "jus soak" much better. You could even see a mild smoke ring around the slices. I had the sandwiched dressed exactly as before by the very friendly woman working on this day.

After my coleslaw experience, I decided to let the friendly woman choose my side. She selected the pasta salad which was just made. This was a better choice, very by-the-book, but decent.

Overall, I liked the people here, very low keyed, but nice. This seems like a decent neighborhood sandwich place…I'd visit every so often if I worked or lived nearby. Heck, I'd even drop by for a beer and sandwich for dinner when the Missus is working. Is it worth an special trip to visit? Probably not.

I'm not sure what the "Motor City" in the name of the place is referring to….is it the owners? Or maybe our own Cathy who hails from the area might know?

One interesting note is that SuperNatural Sandwiches is opening a few doors down.

Motor City Deli
7094 Miramar Road Suite 114
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours
Mon-Sat 10am – 9pm

Pho Pasteur Anh Hong (revisits)

January 8, 2014 Cathy What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! Food blog. Today's writer of meals is Cathy. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are consuming meals so as to have something to write about.

What a strange Holiday Season we've had. Every day has seemed like a weekend starting from about Friday December 20 until this past Monday January 6, because of the Wednesday legal holidays and corresponding Tuesday celebratory Eves. Between attempts to run errands quickly and unobtrusively while avoiding crowds, we are both tired of cooking at home. A favorite place which I've posted about previously is Pho Pasteur Anh Hong. (It's located in the same parking lot as K Sandwiches). Sort of off the beaten path (and not in a mall with any grocery stores), service is always efficient and the food is always tasty. The extensive (197 item) menu is always a challenge.

The decor hasn't changed in all these years, although the cash register location has moved since my 2009 post. I enjoy the pink tablecloths on all the tables, making it feel a bit more upscale.

The shrimp and pork roll appetizer ($3.49) is always a favorite. The peanut dipping sauce is complimentary and delicious.

Stir fried chicken and vegetables on wide rice noodle ($7.99) is a favorite. The noodles are slightly fried and a bit crispy in places, which is refreshing.

I always have to search the extensive menu for the above favorite of mine: bean thread (not noodles) chicken soup ($6.99). The broth is wonderful and the bean threads are just as satisfying as noodle, without being carbohydrate laden.

After reading Kirk's early December post of Bun Mang Vit, The Mister was wanting duck and ordered Mi Vit Tim ($7.99) egg noodle duck leg soup, dry (which didn't happen, as you can see in the top photo) but He managed after pulling out the wonderfully flavored duck leg.

I was mostly wanting egg noodles and ordered Mi Xao Chay ($7.99) Egg noodle topped with fried tofu and stir fried vegetables. This was a very nice plate with combination of a tasty nicely fried tofu mixed with very fresh tasting vegetables all on top of some perfect egg noodles.

We've always liked the food and atmosphere here. There always is some sort of table celebration going on, with families surrounding whole fish centerpieces and enjoying their traditions.

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

Sunday Sandwiches: Embargo Grill

January 5, 2014 mmm-yoso Cuban Restaurants, Latin American Cuisine, Sandwiches

**** Embargo Grill has closed

I was shopping at Baron's in Point Loma a few weeks ago and noticed this shop across the street.

I thought the name to be kind of strange until I looked over the menu.

From looking over the menu and the interior, it became quite clear that this was a "fast-casual" concept with a strong Cuban-Puerto Rican – Latin American slant….thus the reference to El Bloquero, which I did find somewhat strange in a way.

The prices are pretty much in line with Chipotle and other similar places; but of course the menu seemed a hundred times more interesting.

Service was kind of lax, but the woman who took my order and brought my food out to me was very nice and friendly. I went with the Cubano ($5.95), which wasn't actually a Cubano, but really a Medianoche, literally "midnight sandwich", obviously a reference to post bar/nightclub calorie bomb, late night eats.

The big difference between Cubano's that I've had and this sandwich is the use of pulled pork, in this case quite dry, served ice cold, and bland. I did love the bread, which was crisp, light, somewhat yeasty and nicely pressed. The ham and Swiss cheese really tasted good….like well, ham and cheese! The sandwich wasn't very large, though I did save half for the Missus who enjoyed it much more than I did. What I realy found amusing was that lump of pork piled on the side like a…well, not to mock it, but it really looked like a turd garnish.

The reason I was so full was due to the side dish I ordered; the Yuca Frita ($2.75).

As you know, I just can't resist this stuff. This one however, I will resist in the future. I love the crisp, yet light as air texture of well fried yucca….this one was kind of dense and not very crisp. I think it was fried at too low a temperature. The mojo criollo lacked balance, more oil than anything, lacking the citrus acid component making this seem greasy. There was enough garlic, but this seemed very appropriate for a "medianoche meal"……totally a grease bomb.

I thought my previous meal was worth another visit, so a couple of days later I returned. Same really friendly woman at the counter. I looked over the menu a bit more and noticed the variations of salads and create your own bowls. Still, I really enjoyed the bread the last time, so I decided on one of the most expensive items on the menu; the Churrasco Steak Sandwich, on a pan medianoche ($8.95).

This was a pretty decent sandwich. The steak, which appears to be flank had obviously been prepared ahead and was on the tough side. The flavoring was decent; I personally enjoy stronger flavors, but the combination of the chimichurri and the creamy aioli was satisfying if created "not to offend". I really like the rolls here for some reason. The portion of protein was not large, but this was fine by me.

While the portion sizes aren't for big eaters, I thought this was right for me. The service, though a bit slow, was very nice and friendly. It's not a place I'd go out of my way for; but if I worked or lived in the area I'd drop by every now and then. I'll probably visit again in the future if I'm nearby….give it a shot, it's a nice change of pace from Chipotle, Baja Fresh, etc, etc, etc…..

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

Yu’s Garden – A first look

January 2, 2014 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Niu Rou Mian, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants

**** Yu's Garden has closed

Just a few months ago, "YummyYummy" mentioned that a new "Chinese Restaurant" was going into the former B H Chung location. When I asked around, no one knew much….though the term "Fast Food" was bandied about, much to my disappointment. Finally, the sign went up, the place was given a name….Yu's Garden, whose location in Irvine Kirbie posted on back in 2009. Looking at her post, I could see that the term "fast foodish" didn't appear to be to far from the truth. A couple of weeks ago, the menu went up, and Yu's Garden, San Diego quietly opened.

After checking around a bit, I kind of knew what to expect. We've got some young folks I know who love the place. Of course these kids aren't too far removed from college and still talk about how much they love Nongshim (though the Missus likes it too) instant noodles, which kind of puts things into perspective.

Over the course of the last couple of weeks, I managed to visit twice; once with my good friend Candice, who had met me for an awful lunch at Yes! Pingo. I was hoping that this would be an improvement. One good thing about Yu's is that they open early, remember, this is possibly the worst parking lot in San Diego, at 10am Monday thru Thursdays, 8am Friday to Sunday….although according to the sign, they must have some special calendar with two Sundays on it……having two Sundays a week, wouldn't that be grand?

The use of the plastic sheet sleeve also makes me wonder what on earth they need to protect this piece of 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper from? It's pretty far from the tables in a remote corner. One can only wonder?

As for the interior….well, much like the Irvine location, this place is ready with the quick steam and cold table stuff. Much of which looks rather greasy. So on my visits, I stuck to ordering from the menu. The hot and cold foods were really close together, which didn't quite look up to food handling standards.

This place also wins the award for making a new business look like it's been around for years. There are already stains on the walls, if you take a good look at the steam table, you can quickly see that the plywood paneling looks like it's been hacked, or at least badly cut, perhaps with a steak knife as the edges of the wood are jagged and not flush to the floor. The panel on the left is of a different make as it doesn't really match the rest. also, it has been mounted onto the steam table with a plain untreated piece of plywood that looks totally different. Which makes me think that it's only a matter of time before the tables get that nice "San Gabriel stickiness" to them.

In addition to the ton of prepared items, the menu is huge with a 139 items (I counted) on it, not counting specials. The prices are also inexpensive, with $8.99 being the priciest dish.

I know you've been wanting me to get to the point, so here's what was eaten…….

Sauteed Intestine w/Sour Vegetable ($7.99). I just can't help ordering this……

In terms of cooking technique, this was done well. If you don't enjoy the offal flavor of intestine, you might like this. If you don't enjoy your pickled mustard greens to have any flavor this might be enjoyable. If you love dishes that have way too much sesame oil on them, you will positively adore this. Still, I have no qualms with how this was cooked.

I had a synaptic short circuit and ordered the Pan Fried Pork and Napa Dumplings ($5.99). I should know better…..I mean, I have been indoctrinated…you don't pan fry jiaozi….in guotie, the dough is worked differently. If it's on the menu doing double duty, you should probably not get it……

You know that pretty yellow bag on stuff they sell at Costco with the cute panda on the front? Personally, I'd take that over this….cardboard like wrappers and mushy tasteless filling.

What would a meal here be without Chou Doufu (stinky tofu – $5.99).

You know what the Missus says, right? If I can eat it; it's not any good. This was pretty mild and bland. Nothing even close to, say Dynasty Plaza or even Shau Mei, and thankfully not even remotely close to the stuff I had in Hangzhou which I could barely swallow. I took the leftovers of this home….the Missus thought the version of smacked cucumbers was good, but of course said that the tofu was terribly bland and the sauce lacked any depth and that touch of sweetness She enjoys.

I had to have the Beef Stew Noodle Soup. Which really didn't look like much when it hit the table. In terms of presentation it looked rather plain….no pickled vegetable….

Overall, based on price, $5.99, I'd say this wasn't bad. I wish it was a bit richer, but the beef and anise flavor was there, though things were a bit heavy-handed in terms of MSG. The noodles were routine, which I expected for the price, but at least the beef was tender and flavorful. Plus this was steaming hot.

The best dish I've had at Yu's so far would be the Chicken w/Basil, aka three cup chicken. ($6.99).

Even though this looks like gloppy Chinese "faux-food", I really enjoyed it. The chicken was fried before the stir fry, keeping the skin (yes…skin on, joy of joys) crisp. Sweet, edging on too salty, I really enjoyed this. Candice summed things up when she asked me what time the place closed…….thoughts of having this after a couple of beers at O'Brien's did sound like a good thing. It was a nice parting shot to the meal……which motivated me to return a couple of days later.

I thought I'd try one of the most expensive items on the menu, the Sauteed Lamb with Scallion ($8.99).

This was a fair to middlin' dish. Nice char from the wok, the lamb was very mild in flavor, the dish was a bit too salty overall. For some reason, having the ends of the scallions, roots and all lind of bugged me, not sure why, but it just seemed wrong.

The Eggplant in Garlic Sauce ($6.99) was just a few notches down from being good. The eggplant was nice; crisp on the exterior, but molten and creamy inside.

It just lacked the amount of flavor I'd enjoy on a dish like this. Plus that pool of oil on the bottom of the bowl was a good half inch deep. I also found a piece of chicken mixed in with my eggplant….a bonus????

A note about the starch……get the rice. The free porridge is an absolutely pasty, badly prepared, mess devoid of any flavor at all.

Overall, Yu's wasn't bad, you get what you pay for……I will say, with a bit of humor that the place is the best Chinese food in this strip mall taking into consideration the places I call the the "Bland Brothers". It's great student food….so those Nongshim lover's did have a point. No pretense here, no gimmicks, or catchy name.

The young ladies serving us were polite and pleasant, though still obviously learning the ropes.

So will I return? Honestly, the person working the wok here shows more skill than the folks at say….Dumpling Inn and things aren't gringo-ized. It does have MSG, it can be salty, it can also be bland, it can be greasy, it will be interesting to see how some of the other dishes are…..

Yu's Garden
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

U Mart Opens along with the second location of Big Joy Bakery

December 27, 2013 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

*** Update: U Mart is now Hana Mart

I'd been wondering since July, when U Mart would be opening in the old Zion Market space. A bit over a week ago, I dropped by First Korean Market to see a sign announcing that U Mart's opening was imminent. So between meetings today I happened to pass the place and guess what?

I guess they are having a soft opening, nothing like the craziness of H Mart or Zion Market.

I had a few minutes so I decided to take a quick look.

The lay-out is pretty much the same as the old Zion, except not as crowded.

Tons of items on sale.

First Korean Market always had a couple of "local kine" items; I've never really found out why. I did notice this as I walked by.

All the usual suspects. There's a Kim Bap/Sushi area where the old prepared foods used to be.

I didn't have much time since I had to get back to the office for my next meeting…..

The rest of the space is still empty, except for this one area where the nice woman beckoned me and gave me samples…..

They were really friendly….heck I was the only customer in the place. When they gave me their business card I had to laugh…..this is the second location of Big Joy Bakery. I was told that some of the old food stands will be back, along with a couple of new one's for the Food Court. So dar, I haven't been impressed with the new Zion Market's Food Court. I hope this one will be better.

I'll try to return in the near future for a more comprehensive post.

U Mart

4611 Mercury St San Diego, CA 92111 B

Between Engineer Rd and Dagget St

Hours: Mon – Sat 9am – 9pm Sunday 9am – 8pm

Birrieria Don Rafa (Chula Vista)

December 19, 2013 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping at mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) aren't blogging today: work, holidays, weather…you know. Cathy has some time, so she is blogging.

This weather has been wreaking havoc with The Mister's sinuses for about five days now and combined with the chilly mornings, we both were in search of some sort of comfort food. I was driving on Broadway in Chula Vista, across from the mall around H and I Street and this signage caught my eye.

I drove around the block so we could park without walking too far. For some reason, the name "Don Rafa" sounded familiar, but the more fun and familiar word to me was "Birrieria". Stew: comfort, warmth and flavor. After I was home, I found this post, written by Kirk in 2009. It seems we had similar experiences at the same business in different locations on the same street almost five years apart.

The interior is bright, neat and clean. Very little English is spoken. There's no need.

There are several signs on the walls, as well as at the bottom of this complete menu, reminding you that the salsa is very spicy. No medium, no mild, the salsa is what it is. I like that. The choices of beef (res) or goat (chivo) made the small menu slightly complicated.

As we placed our order, the condiments were brought out (containers of oregano and salt are on every table). That's the spicy salsa…it is, and it complimented the meal as did the other variables.

The Mister was immediately drawn to the pozole on the menu. He was asked if he wanted a small or large order and he ordered the small ($6.50)-the menu prices are for large. Then he had to decide if he wanted goat or beef…

A very generous serving of birria de chivo pozole (and yes, there were bones, as per the other warning on the bottom of the menu) including skin and tendon and, of course, hominy. This was excellent, a bit smokey in flavor, and good stewed goat and served with fresh made then fried corn tortillas.

A cheese quesadilla on corn tortilla($2.25). The fresh made then grilled corn tortilla had a sweetness and filled with a good amount of soft stringy (Oaxacan) cheese. Bites of this plain, simple item was a perfect accompaniment with the other food we ordered.

I also ordered a birria de chivo taco ($1.65) with everything- beans, onion and cilantro. It was served on a single, smaller sized tortilla and the gamey flavor of stewed goat combined with the other items was just a perfect balance.

I wanted to try the beef birria also and the ahogada style (sauce covered) sounded good ($6). This was basically a beef birria filled quesadilla (but a much larger size corn tortilla than the other quesadilla ordered), (again, fresh made) covered with consume and beans. Lots of cheese in the tortilla, lots of tender stewed beef and the sauce just made this just a perfect mix of flavors and the serving size was very generous.

Glad we stopped here; we left feeling full and warm and clear headed…just what we needed.

Birrieria Don Rafa 560 Broadway Chula Vista 91911 (619) 934-5135

Tiger! Tiger!

December 15, 2013 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Gastropub, Pubs and Pub Grub

**** Tiger!Tiger! has closed

Over the years, I'd been to a couple of Gastropubs but had always been disappointed in my visits one way (decent food, but way over-priced) or another (mediocre food, still way over-priced). A couple of months ago FOY Candice decided to prove that I was wrong and took a merry band of us to her two favorite gastropubs. Our first stop was a place I'd always wanted to check out, but never found the time, nor was I able to convince the Missus (if you think I'm a hard sell….) to take a chance and check them out.

It was late on a weekend afternoon when we visited. There were 6 of us, which meant we could taste a nice variety of food.

I'm not a beer-o-phile; though I enjoy more than my fair share of Craft Brews. Here at Tiger Tiger, things seemed slanted more on the food end; whereas our second destination Blind Lady seemed to have a stronger focus on beer. Other than being owned by the same group, both locations are equipped with a wood fired oven, which is put to good use here.

We started off with the Sausage Poutine Fries.

Call me a purist; but I'd really like my poutine to have cheese curds and brown gravy. The sausage gravy made it taste too much like breakfast and the sausage seasonings kind of detracted from the dish.

I didn't care much for the Wood Fired Oysters as well…..just too much.

It was almost as if this dish was created to make one think they weren't eating oysters.

My opinion took a 180 when the Puerco entered the scene.

Sorry, not the best photographic representation of this lovely sandwich. The wood-fired pork had a mild smokiness to it; I like the pickles, they cut through any richness. The bread was nicely toasted…..good flavors, good combination…..by far my favorite item.

My friends understand that I view the "slap-anything-on-a-baguette-and-call-it-a-Banh Mi" syndrome with a cynical and somewhat jaundiced eye. By my definition, this really ain't a Banh Mi. It is however, a nicely put together sandwich. MrQ loved what the combination of cilantro and pickled onions brought to the party. The aioli had a nice kick that brought everything into focus for me.

Candice told me that there are always a couple of seasonal vegan offerings on the menu. Wood fired veggies sounded good. We started with the Spaghetti Squash, not my favorite thing in the world, but here it was really well done.

The pesto like sauce really gave the usually bland squash a nice boost in flavor.

The Wax Beans were really delicious.

The beans still had a bit of snap, good salt-acid in the flavor, along with olive oil to give it a bit of richness.

All in all, I enjoyed the food…..and the company of course! In fact, I ended up bringing the Missus here a couple of weeks later. But that's another post. On this day, we were off to our next stop; Blind Lady Ale House……..

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

Liang’s Kitchen Revisited

December 9, 2013 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Niu Rou Mian, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants

**** Liang's Kitchen has closed

As the year started winding down, I've found myself thinking that I needed to circle back at some of those places that, well, really didn't impress me too much over the years, just to see.

This short and sweet post on Liang's is probably a good start since I hadn't been here in a while. Even though it was perfect soup weather, the place seems a bit slower than when I first visited.

I started with the Stewed Bean Curd Skin.

Not the prettiest dish in the world, this really looked like offal, and for some reason the decorative bit of tomato and cilantro leaf really didn't do much for the presentation. The flavor, though mild, had just enough soy sauce flavor to push this up to decent. The yba was kind of hard in some of the thicker pieces, but this wasn't bad at all.

I went with the Beef Tendon Noodle Soup with handmade noodles. The broth was very slightly beefy, better than on previous visits, which really doesn't say much. But what this terrible was that there was a pervading taste bleach. I tried to explain to the Server who nodded, walked away and never returned. Then I tried to explain to the young lady who brought me my check, but no go…… I just cut my losses. I don't think they rinsed this off after sanitizing, or something of the sort.

Anyway, the tendon was plus/minus, some tough pieces, some pretty good. The pieces of beef were dry. I like the pickeld mustard greens and the noodles, though still too gummy and over-worked for my taste, were actually an improvement over previous visits.

I left and went and had some ramen……..

Liang’s Kitchen
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Bristol Cafe (inside Bristol Farms market) (revisit)(lunch)

December 6, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Markets & Grocers

mmm-yoso!!! Food blog. Friends share blogging time. Today, Kirk is enjoying chilly weather elsewhere. Ed (from Yuma) is enjoying chilly weather in Yuma. Cathy is chilly too and is the author of this post.

This easily could be another 'eat in the store, shop in the store' post, but I didn't take photos of our purchases or store displays (it was too crowded; day after Thanksgiving) (know that we bought by-the-pound poke, by the pound olives, a chunk of Bleu cheese, a wonderful aged rib eye steak (40% off that day), a cardoon, a coffee pot and cups gift set (also 40% off) and a fresh baked sweet from the bakery); it would be sensory overload to photograph the displays and variety of items sold here. Bristol Farms is an upscale high end grocer located in La Jolla that has a sit down cafe inside the store. I posted about a breakfast here in 2010.

There is a grab and go area, salad bar area and steam trays as well as the menu above the Cafe cash register, so you can grab, choose, pay and have a seat in the Cafe area or on the patio, and enjoy your meal.

Or you can have a seat and have a menu brought out to you, for full service.

There are Daily Specials listed on small placards on the table, and this was the Special on the day we were here- tomato soup and grilled Cheddar on sourdough ($6.99). This is no ordinary tomato soup: it was chunky with tomatoes and it was spicy -in a good way-. This is a great soup on a cool day. The fresh sourdough grilled cheese was really nice on its own and went well if you dipped it in the soup.

As our waitress brought out our waters, I asked about the soup choices (there are five or six soups a day). Cabbage soup, something I crave from childhood, would be part of this meal. It was very well seasoned, had some tomatoes and beef in it and very, very good.

One of the menu items was a cup of soup and quiche ($7.99). There were also five quiche choices and mushroom was the only word I remember hearing and ordering. This was *so* good. Really flavorful crust, fillings, custard, cheeses. Our waitress mentioned that we could purchase a whole quiche, made fresh daily in the store. I will be doing so, next visit.

A very satisfying, flavorful meal in a nice setting.

Bristol Farms 8510 Genessee Avenue 92122 (858)558-4180 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Website