Sima’s Grill & Deli (Miramar)

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food.  Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy do most of the writing here.  Cathy is the Blogger du Jour. 

The North side of Miramar Road is pretty much a solid mass of strip malls and storefronts from the I-805 to the I-15, whereas the South side of Miramar Road is Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.  Between the signal lights of Distribution and Carroll, (East of the McDonald's and  West of the Taco Bell/KFC), you should see this storefront.

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Many, many friends have told me of the quality Dietz and Watson based sandwiches made at Sima's by the husband and wife owners, who have been in this location since 1984. Each of those friends has also made certain to mention that each item is made to order and at times, there is a wait. 

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 The Mister and I happened by on a Saturday, after the lunch hour rush and didn't order sandwiches. 

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The rustic knotty pine lined walls and wood tables and chairs and random wall decor make it feel like home. There is a television in the corner; college football was on.IMG_9649

 Soon enough, our orders were brought out to the table.  The Greek chicken salad (~$7) was made with crispy mixed greens, cucumber, tomato and olives, topped with plenty of Feta, an herby oil and vinegar based dressing and the chicken was freshly grilled with onions and herbs-served warm on top of the lettuce.  Really, really good.  The pita bread was warm and fluffy, served with a nice tangy tzatziki sauce and really went well with everything. This was a very large meal.

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Barely noticeable on the menu- to the far right, under the heading "Hot off the Grill"…The 1/2 lb char-grilled pastrami burger with cheese ($6.75).  Did I say *char* grilled?  Perfectly, magnificently, wonderfully flavored burger, complimented by the also grilled Dietz and Watson pastrami, topped with crispy lettuce, fresh tomato, raw onion, a nice size wedge of pickle all on a toasted sesame seed bun.  This burger was the best I have had in years.  Memorable. 

There is a breakfast menu in addition to the sandwich selections. The quality of our non-sandwich meal lets me think that breakfast here is also of very high quality.  We enjoy family owned businesses, especially when the quality and care in preparation is consistent and has been, for decades.  

Sima's Grill & Deli 7160 Miramar Road San Diego 92121 (858) 578-2582 M-F 7:30-4:30, Sat 10-4 Closed Sunday

Sagmani’s Restaurant-Mediterranean (El Cajon)

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog.  Both Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are on well deserved vacations. Cathy's well deserved vacation will be starting in a few days, so she is blogging about food.

On the hypotenuse side of a triangular corner in El Cajon (Douglas Avenue intersects El Cajon Boulevard which turns into Main Street) is a small strip mall containing a Barber shop and Tire Store, all across the parking lot from a gas station) as well as the (now faded) signage for Sagmani's Restaurant. Sagmanis has been here since 2010. Here is a link to Kirk's post.

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Five tables inside and one or two tables out front, neat and clean with a one page menu, Sagmanis is not pretentious.

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You can have a pitcher of water or bottled water.  Hot tea will be brought out after your meal. There are two televisions, which I've never seen on at lunch time. 

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 Warm bread is brought out with your meal. 

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The lentil soup ($4), made fresh daily, is always our order here.  It is excellent, made with plenty of lentils, onions, vermicelli noodle bits and fresh spices.  Unique for such a seemingly basic soup. That bowl, by the way, is deceptively large; this is enough soup to share.IMG_9813

 A side of hummus ($5) is also fresh made, topped with olive oil, sumac and cumin as well as parsley and and olive.  This large portion could be considered a meal, especially with the large soup and all the bread.

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On this day a beef shish kabob plate ($7) was part of our shared order.  Served on top of fresh sumac topped rice mixed with vermicelli  and with lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber and yellow (turmeric) pickled cabbage (not hot, but more vinegar-y) slices, the kabobs are cooked to order.

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Made with coarse ground meat, fresh herbs and spices before grilling, the juicy meatiness of these kabobs are flavor filled. Really, the kabobs here are my favorite. The daily stews are also very good. 

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 As mentioned, hot tea is brought out when your meal is finished. 

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This is the sign you'll see if you are heading West on Douglas, toward the El Cajon signal light; you'll have just passed the row of storefronts in that parking area and will be seeing the gas station.

Find your way here. Good, fresh food. Stay warm!

Sagmani's Restaurant 478 W. Douglas Ave El Cajon 92020 (619) 440-0077 

CDD Tofu & Grill (Inside Zion Supermarket)

mmm-yoso!!!  is a food blog. This post is being written during one of the food-iest weeks of the year by Cathy.  This is because the foodier guys, Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are busy planning their magnificent Thanksgiving Day feasts.

The Mister and I try to have a bite to eat before grocery shopping and the Food Court area inside Zion marketplace  (as well as the small counter in the midst of the actual market) offers quite a variety of selections

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 You can see the signage advertising $2 off any combo all day as well as the Fall Special of $6.95 Tofu Soup, which we decided to share on this chilly day.    We decided on a spice level of 2 (out of 5), since we knew the spicy here is very spicy. IMG_9751

 The organic, non-GMO tofu in soup is handed to you on the tray, bubbling furiously.  It comes with the raw egg, and various banchan (sides) of fried tofu, seaweed and marinated bean sprout as well as some mild kimchi.  The 'Rice Lady' followed us until we found a table and had started scraping the rice out of a hot stone pot, presenting the rice in the dish you see above…

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 as well as the hot stone pot, with the remaining rice stuck to the sides, which she filled with warm tea- another side dish. The rice is a bit more 'toasted' in this hot pot and scraping it off and eating it with the tea is yet another great flavor combination (if you like Japanese Genmaicha-brown rice tea- you'll get that flavor from this bowl with the bit of burnt scrapings).

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 Here's a photo of the 'Rice Lady' leaving our table, heading to another table to deliver their hot pot of rice. 

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The tofu soup here is particularly good, filled with bok choy, onion and thin sliced pieces of beef (as well as the cooked egg which is not in this photo).  The tofu is a perfect texture and the spice level was just enough that you can still taste the ingredients.  IMG_9754

 

CDD Tofu & Grill 7655 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92111 Inside Zion Marketplace.
Here is a link to Kirbie's visit to CDD(includes a copy of the menu), and this is a link including Jinxie's visit to CDD.

After our shared lunch, we went shopping inside Zion. You'll notice we were here on 11/11—that special day is  IMG_9764

Pepero Day!!! Celebrated in Korea in a way similar to Valentine's Day here…exchanging Pepero cookie snacks to show affection for friends and loved ones is how to celebrate. (Pepero Day originally had the purpose of exchanging Peperos with the hopes of becoming taller and thinner…as if).

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The flavors above were our purchases (although other flavors, box sizes and individual foot long Peperos as well as a collectible tin were being sold)..the green one is chocolate coated and rolled in almond,  the red is chocolate dipped and rolled in peanut and the yellow (my favorite) is "nude"- a plain biscuit, filled with chocolate (or as the label states: "chocolate is contained tightly in the stick biscuit").  

Happy Belated Pepero Day!

Dudley’s Deli-yes, THAT Dudley’s-now in Santee

This location has also closed.

mmm-yoso!!! is a compilation of bloggings centered around food.  Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy (as well as a few others) share food memories, finds and ideas here.  Today, Cathy is writing about a find.

The fabric sign had been hanging on the front and side of this corner building, just behind the Costco Fuel station on Town Center Parkway in Santee for almost six months. "Coming Soon-Dudley's Deli".  Then at a rather rapid rate, the signage was installed on the building.

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On Wednesday, November 6 at 11 a.m., the store was open for business.  

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Anyone who has driven North on the  67 on their way to Julian has most likely stopped at Dudley's Bakery  in Santa Ysabel.  At the very least, you have probably seen Dudley's Bakery items in your local grocery store and  perhaps have considered a drive into the Eastern part of San Diego County. The 50 year old San Diego County Institution has expanded.

The Mister and I are happy to see we'd have a local, almost walk to easy option and were some of the first customers.  (The receipt shows our purchase transaction occurred at 11:16 a.m.)  IMG_9594

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 The shelves were not quite full, but did have fresh cookie bars, coffee grounds and breads for sale.

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The staff was ready for just about any order you could place.

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Other than not having soup bowls available that first day, things were going quite well.  

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 The Dietz and Watson Deli meats are on display. 

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 We have been back several times to purchase a loaf or two fresh Dudley's bread, delivered fresh from the bakery 'up the hill'.  All loaves are $4.95. I haven't taken photos of the full shelves because it has been crowded every time we've been back. The selection seems to vary, based on the day of the week you are here.

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Our first day sandwich was a Corned Beef Reuben ($7.95).  You can see this is quite a large sandwich (enough to share), filed with warmed corned beef, kraut, Swiss cheese and a nice Thousand Island dressing all on fresh seeded Rye bread that is panini-pressed/grilled. Really, really good. Nice to share.

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The strawberry turkey sandwich is on a toasted/lightly grilled sheepherder bread (a hearty white) and, as you can see, loaded with turkey, (a layer of strawberry preserves is on the bottom), a layer of fresh strawberries, Provolone, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise on the top slice. Again, nice to share. I do plan on trying more menu items and will report back.

This is  great place to get your Dudley's bread and sweets as well as a hearty lunch and all without the travel.

Dudley's Deli Bakery 205 Town Center Parkway Santee, CA 92071 (the building right behind the Costco Gas Station vehicle entrance) (619)258-4245 Website

Cocohodo Walnut Pastry Cafe (inside Zion Market) Sweet snacks.

mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog you are perusing, is just that- a blog about food.  Today, Cathy has a quick post about a nice respite located in the midst of a Food Court. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are, once again, busy researching things to write about. 

As mentioned numerous times, The Mister and I have a habit of eating before going food shopping, so that we aren't overly tempted to purchase items on a whim. This doesn't always work, but we try. Sometimes we have a whole meal and at times, only have a dessert type product.  Several times now, we have stopped at this newly opened (in October) small storefront inside the Zion Market complex. 

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This Korean based franchise is similar to other similar companies which produce machines which automatically fill and bake small filled cake treats. (This link takes you to a 55 second You Tube video of a machine with a different shaped filled small cake (Cocohodo are walnut shaped cakes filled with red bean paste and 1/2 a walnut in each cake) being made and links on the side of that video take you to many other similar videos.). This is similar to the cream filled pancakes made at the cart in front of 99Ranch Market.

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The menu at Cocohodo shows variations of beverages and beverages in combination with pastry, as well as shaved ice. 

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You can't get close enough to see the Cocohodo walnut shaped pastry being made, as you can in the YouTube video linked above, but that's what the man behind the glass is doing.  You can however, see to the right—

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…the automated machine wrapping and dropping the hot, fresh cakes into the bin.  If you are here and Cocohodo is open, you will be offered a free sample of a whole, hot, fresh delightful cake.  As I mentioned, each walnut shaped (and sized) is cake filled with red bean paste and a walnut half.

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Lately, this has been our usual snack (from the bottom of the menu)- Combination A: a four piece with one cup of coffee ($3.40).

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The Cocohodo pastry. 

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 Cross sections- you can see the walnut half and the red bean paste.  It's a perfect size snack. Not too sweet, not too large. 

IMG_8747You can purchase other size combinations, of course. 

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 Nine pieces are $3.15; you can get a bag of 30 for $10.50.  You can also get gift boxes…all fresh made and delicious.  A nice respite. 

Cocohodo 7655 Clairmont Mesa Boulevard (Inside Zion Marketplace Food Court) 92111 (858) 365-1745 Open 10:30-8:30 daily

{Yes, I posted on Deli Manjoo last November, in the middle of this lengthy post, the 16th, 17th and 18th photos show when my fascination of this machine and its filled pastries started}

{Other blog posts about Cocohodo include Pink Candles at Ridgemont High and Kirbie}

 

Breakfast of Champions: Best Donuts Bakery & Deli

**** Best Donuts and Deli has become Barrio Donas

In her Ham and Cheese Baked Into a Bread post Cathy mentioned Best Donuts and Deli. Which kind of got me off my butt to actually put a post together about the place. I'd been there so many times that most of what I ate had faded into memory.

In recent years, Best Donuts looks like this when I stop by.

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Remember the old saying "you don't need as much sleep when you get older…." Well, I think that's partly true. The amount of sleep I need has decreased marginally, but the hours I keep have changed. In other words, "nothing good happens after midnight", has now become "nothing good happens after 9pm"…..which means I miss out on all the late night specials….

Anyway, I often pass Best on my way to work in the morning; at about 530-545. When I'm running early and am hungry, or when I anticipate a late, or no lunch at all I'll drop by for a take-out breakfast. It's pretty slim pickins' at that time of the morning on the Mesa and I prefer spending my money at these smaller shops than at the other chain options open at that time of the morning.

Just so you can see how lazy I've been about posting on this place. When I first went, the cash register was stationed at the rear of the shop next to the soft drink cooler.

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A couple of years later it moved to the side next to the pastries.

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 Earlier this year, it was moved back to the old location and the cold case was placed alongside of it.

A couple of months later, the menu for the sandwiches was taken off the cold case and taped to the wall.

And over the years items have been taken off the menu…simply taped over, now merely a memory…..

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I'm sticking to the breakfast tortas here, since that's what I get most of the time. They're nicely priced at $3.99 and the bread has always been warm and fresh when I've gotten it in the morning. The wait time is about 10-15 minutes, not the fastest, but when I make a decision to visit, I've calculated the impact of my wait time.

My usual is the A la Mexicana and Eggs ($3.99)

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Eggs, salsa, onion, tomato, cheese, jalapenos, and a smear of beans….breakfast of champions. An adequate bomb of calories to last until dinner.

The Salsa Verde and Eggs ($3.99):

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Best Donuts 11Enough yeasty carbs to get you going in the morning. Eggs, nice green chili sauce (mild kick), beans, cheese, and mayo. Perhaps number two because some mornings I don't feel like mayo….I know, heresy perhaps, but the milkiness of the cheese also comes thru in this one as well…so I've got to be in the mood.

There was a Chorizo and Eggs somewhere, which I thought was ok, but I can't find the photo.

You'd think I'd enjoy the Machaca ($3.99) much more than I did.

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 I thought I'd enjoy this much more than I did. Perhaps because I found this surprisingly lacking in flavor. I like the chew of machaca, but this was really tough and sinewy. I felt the mayo really didn't go well with this at all. I would have probably enjoyed more beans to smooth things out and perhaps more jalapenos; even though it was breakfast, to help things out. Still, on the morning I ordered this, I had meeting through lunch and didn't have a chance to eat until (an early) dinner. I don't recall being hungry until around 3pm or so.

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What about the other sandwiches which range from $5.99 – $6.99….well here's a gallery:

The Cubana.

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The Pierna.

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The Milanesa:

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The Lomo…..

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and so forth……

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 I'm sure there are dozens of shops like this all through San Diego county, I know I've been to a few. There are even versions that are rather mainstream and hyped up.

But for breakfast, $3.99 sounds like a right price for what I got at this little shop on Clairemont Mesa.

Best Donuts Bakery & Deli
4714 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

 

 

Kababayan Oriental Market (Nestor area of San Diego)

This location of Kababayan Market closed and has moved to become Kababayan Bakery and food to go: 8423 Paradise Valley Road Spring Valley 91977 (619)267-1493

 

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog and Kirk is still way too busy at work to blog about anything; he'd rather sleep. Ed (from Yuma) is busy (in Yuma) and would probably also rather sleep than blog. So, here's Cathy today, blogging.

Earlier I began writing about the first stop on a Food Crawl I shared with fellow bloggers, caninecologne and Dennis earlier this month. (If you look at the bottom of the post belonging to caninecologne, you'll see all the places we stopped that day). I try to return to places to get a better post-or to try other items which piqued my curiosity, and this week, The Mister and I ventured South to Kababayan Oriental Market. I don't know why it's named 'Oriental', since all the items for sale here are Filipino in origin and style and 'Oriental' would mean there are items from other East Asian countries, but that's the name on the sign.

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Located in the mall at the NorthWest corner of Coronado Avenue and Saturn Boulevard, in the part of San Diego known as Nestor, Kababayan is in the middle of one of the two strip malls of storefronts in this area with a very large parking lot.

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I'm always curious about the various vending machine offers I see at stores lately; a far cry from 'penny candy', bubble gum balls and Chiclets that were my choices growing up.

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The signage in the front window lets you know some of the goodies available for sale. Bulaklak means 'ruffle fat'…

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Bibingka-you can read the link, or

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just look at the display on the table, which holds all the ingredients.  This traditional Filipino rice cake, coconut flavored dessert that is cooked in a banana leaf over coals is very time consuming to make and finding it here, fresh and available was a delight.  The texture is sponge-like and this particular version was particularly tasty.

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At the back of the store are the trays containing Pulutan- fried finger foods…our reason for this food crawl.  From the left-pata (fried pork skin leg), bulaklak, dilis(fried anchovies) and chicharon manok (chicken skin). We ordered about a pound of mixed of the three items to the right, since all of know about fried pork skin.

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Here's a bit of each that we shared when we sat down- the chicken skin is wonderful, and I liked both the fried anchovies and the bulaklak (when I stopped thinking about what it was and instead concentrated on the flavor and texture).  We were given several containers of the garlic-vinegar dipping sauce, which is very complimentary (opposed to salting everything). 

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When I went back with The Mister this week, we grabbed 1/2 lb of the fried chicken skins($4) and from the cash register area, garlic peanuts ($2.50).

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We were very good and waited until we got home to eat our snacks.  The chicken skins are a new craving of mine…

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as are the garlic roasted and salted skin on Spanish peanuts.  

Another great place, where I might not have stopped if not for this food crawl.  This link to caninecologne's blog has more detailed descriptions of Filipino foods and what is available in this store.

Kababayan Oriental Market 1840 Coronado Avenue San Diego, CA 92154 (619) 575-0800

 

Spotted Cow Viet Kitchen

**** Spotted Cow has closed

I first heard about this place on Eater and was a bit puzzled. I thought having a Pho stand in Zion Marketplace would be an interesting venture. It was the "marketing" and concept that I thought was kind of interesting. This place wanted to make "the pho experience more customizable"…..hmmm, have you ever seen the different combinations of protein, etc, at your friendly neighborhood pho restaurant? Like all 30+ of them…..and then you have nuoc beo (rendered beef tallow), gia chin (blanched bean sprouts), etc….. Pardon me, if I don't understand….is there some innovative "concept" here? It looks like an assembly line process, something which isn't too unfamiliar having seen the kitchen areas of a couple of Pho places. On the interesting side, the "chef" Jimmy Trinh went to the CIA…on the somewhat discouraging side the "heritage" of this place is not one of my favorite pho shops.

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Still it's bright, the folks on my first visit, soon after that announcement on Eater were really nice. I was kind of confused at the set-up. There's the steam/hot table and the cold station where you can pick what you want for your soup, then a large gap, then what looks like another station with the cashier at the end. The gap seems like a "dead zone", what goes on here? On this visit I ordered one of the four soup offerings….pho of course ($5.99) and moved to the middle area because I really didn't know if I should stop here or move to the register. The really nice young lady took my tray all the way to the register where I paid and made my way to the table.

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Spotted Cow 03The broth was very light and defatted, lacking in richness. Beef flavor was lacking, though I could make out onion and a touch of anise. It was also on the salty side, thank goodness for the lime. This isn't among my favorite bowls. The broth was also on the lukwarm side as well.

The rare steak looked nice, but was cut too thick making for a dry and tough experience. I'm not sure if it was how the meat was kept in cooled sixth-sized food pans, but I found them really lacking in flavor. The one surprise was the tendon which was pretty good.

The noodles were decent, but since it was in a clump some of it was on the cold side.

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I basically cooled my heels, until I read Kirbie's post and decided to return, after all this place is really close to work. But no pho pho me this time.

I decided to try the Pho Bo Kho. The young man working the front was really enthusiastic and friendly. I noticed something a bit different this time around. My noodles were dropped into hot water and the bowl rinsed in hot water as well. I'm thinking this step was missed on my previous visit….after all, it was just after they had started business. I walked on over to the register to pay. In a move I found somewhat awkward, this time around my tray was left in the "dead zone" for me to pick up and drag to the register. This wasn't much of a problem however since the guy working the register was too busy counting his money than to acknowledge my existence. I kept thinking if I was "at Pho Hoa Huong, I'd be eating by now". Finally, after checking his drawer, walking away to talk to someone, he returned and was ready to have me pay. When he actually spoke to me he seemed a really nice young man, it was getting to this point that was rather painful for me. What ever happened to "I'll be with you in a minute"? Come to think of it though, would I expect that at, say, Pho Cow Cali, or at your neighborhood Pho shop in Hanoi?

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Spotted Cow 06In many ways this was much better than the straight up pho bo. While not even in the same league as the version at Pho Lucky, this had some mild richness. The beef flavor was still faint and overall the broth was still a bit thin for me. I like a nice hearty soup. The carrots were a bit too undercooked for me and the beef was still tasteless.

The dunking of the already cooked noodles made them too mushy for my taste. The heating of the bowl ensured a nice hot broth though.

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I also hated the plastic spoons which were not at all suited for soup slurping……I've seen disposable Japanese style soup spoons, though the cost might be a bit too high?

It had me wondering……where this ranked in the Kearny Mesa Pho universe? I will say that this was totally not what I expected, even in a fast-casual concept, from CIA Alums who've "logged stints in Michelin starred kitchens". Though after eating at Gordon Ramsey's Plane Food nothing should surprise me, right?

Spotted Cow Viet Kitchen (in the Zion Market Food Court)
7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, California 92111

Tan Ky Mi Gia- Lunch in Mira Mesa

Tan Ky Mi Gia has closed.  It will be missed

Thanks for stopping by mmm-yoso!!! and reading about food.  Today, Cathy is blogging: Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are really busy.

The Mister and I were craving Vietnamese on one of those crazy hot days a few weeks ago, but neither of us wanted pho.  We had originally headed to Lucky Seafood and when we got to the parking lot, went to the other end of that group of storefronts- to Tan Ki Mi Gia, which Kirk has blogged about several times.  The menu here is a mix of Vietnamese and Chinese dishes, "mi" is noodles, which is the specialty here- and we didn't order any this visit…

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We had just missed the 'lunch rush' and had the restaurant to ourselves.

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Although while we were there, several people came in to pick up 'to go' orders. 

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I enjoy the plethora of condiments available here.

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As soon as we sat down, I placed an order for  Banh Xeo ($7), which did end up being brought out last, as expected.  The turmeric flavored (and colored) rice flour crepe is mixed and made to order.

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It's filled with a stir fry mix of bean sprouts, scallion, pork and shrimp, served with lettuce and mint and nuoc-mam(fish sauce).  I do like the lightness and crispiness of the crepe along with the softness of the fillings; the flavors really go well together.

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We also had an order of spring rolls($5.75), fried in a delicate, very flaky wrapper and quite filled with fungus as well as pork and not many rice noodles, these came out of the kitchen hot and fresh.  Again, these were served with lettuce and mint and nuoc mam.

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We decided to share an order of lemon grass fish($9) – steamed and delicate, the flavors of lemon grass and soy were light and also went well with the accompanying steamed rice, steamed (topped with garlic and a bit of sweet hoisin) bok choy and small bowl of broth. 

It was a delightful, fresh lunch on a nice day.  Hope your week has been good.

Tan Ky Mi Gia 9330 Mira Mesa Blvd #A San Diego 92126 (858) 271-8899 Mon-Th 9:30-9:30, Fri-Sun 9-10

 

What’s going on with El Charco?

**** El Charco has closed

I don't always have the best timing…..more than few times I've sat on photos of meals, only to have places close, burn down, change owners before I even have a chance to do a post. Heck, I even did a post on one of these places. The Missus and I had gone to El Charco, the shop that opened in the place of Birrieria's la Guadalajara twice right after they opened. I decided to wait on doing a post until I went a few more times…..you know me, I often will wait until a few visits before doing a post. Anyway, guess what I saw on my last attempted visit.

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Which I found kind of strange since they've been open less than a year….I hope they truly are closed for a remodel……though peeking through the glass revealed that everything looks the same.

Anyway, here's a very abbreviated post.

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The place created some nice buzz, since Paco Perez, the owner of the very successfuEl Charco 03l and popular Aqui es Texcoco was a partner in this venture with the owners of a small chain of taco shops in Mexico City.

Many of the items we tried were on the salty side. Our favorite item by far was the Al Pastor, which hit all the right salty-sweet-porky notes for us. It was right up our alley.

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The other tacos we tried ranged from good…the Missus loved the chorizo….and the huitlacoche quesadilla was not bad.

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The Villemelon was a salty mess…the chiccharon brought nothing to the taco. The chuleta ahumada; smoked pork chops was also way too salty, being almost bitter.

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The Missus really did like the tortilla soup, though…..

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The Chicharron de Queso looks quite dramatic and we enjoyed it at first. After a while, it became too much of a good thing.

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The Alambres is also quite a bit….the Missus hardly put a dent in the one She ordered with Chorizo and Pastor.

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We do hope they renovate and reopen as the place displayed some promise to us…….

El Charco Mexico City Style Tacos
1310 Third Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91911