Closed – Page 54

Stehly Farms Market opens in Bay Park – A quick look

June 22, 2013 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

**** This location of Stehly Farms is no more.

I read on Eater San Diego that Stehly Farms, a Valley Center Organic operation was opening a brick and mortar shop on Morena Boulevard. Because this is in my neck of the woods, I was a bit surprised that I hadn't heard about this. So that very afternoon, the Missus and I went to check them out.

The shop is located at 1231 Morena, right next to Andres.

The shop appeared to be well spaced and the selection of produce was good.

Considering this is a local, organic operation, the prices are pretty much in line.

In addition to the wonderful looking produce, there's a selection of jams, some random Asian type stuff, bread from Bread and Cie, a cold case with dairy/almond milk, and of real interest to us….at least on this day, was the selection of cheese.

Even though we had come in just for a looky-look, we ended up getting some Franco and Angelo Burrata.

This is a nice addition to the neighborhood. Now we've got a good set of shops, from Seisel's and Catalina Offshore, to Stehly Farms and the Fruit Stand. Now all we need is a great bakery……..any takers?

Stehly Farms Market
1231 Morena Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92110

Hours:
Open Daily from 9am – 7pm

We put the burrata to good use.

Gala Chicken – The new K(orean) F(ried) C(hicken) stand in Zion Market opens

June 18, 2013 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Korean Restaurants

**** Zion Market has moved and Gala did not make the move with the market

The item that seems to have gotten the most attention on my recent Saturday Stuffs post was the closing of BBQ Chicken. I received a couple of emails about it. I guess even though I wasn't a fan, other were. I did mention in Saturday's post that I had seen what looked like a "KFC" stand in Zion Market that evening……so I returned to check it out.

The place only does chicken, nothing else….no starches….

The menu also seems to only feature wings, drumsticks, and boneless crispy pieces, though I could be wrong. The older woman and gentleman were nice, but really felt more comfortable speaking Korean.

The prices didn't seem to bad, even thought it's take-out and chicken only. And heck, anyone that knows me understands that I love my chicken wings.

Anyway, I ordered a regular "Wings" ($7.99) and Sweet Soy ($8.99). I was told that my chicken would take fifteen minutes, which meant it was cooked fresh, a good sign. What was not that great was when I returned after about 10 minutes to find the guy constantly fiddling with the wings in the fryer. He kept taking pieces and cutting them with a knife to make sure it was cooked. C'mon, wings make up about 40% of your menu, that looked real amateur. Plus, all the cutting means that juices escape and my wings would be drier than they should. I know this place is new, but I'd think if you opened a place that only makes fried chicken, you'd know how to make without having to cut into every piece to make sure it's cooked then dumping them back in the fryer…… One of the great aspects about KFC chicken is the double fry. It's a technique I use myself. I didn't notice that happening here…..

Actually Gala does give you some Mul Kimchi, "water kimchi", a traditional accompaniment of KFC, which is on the extra sour side, but at least crisp and palate cleansing.

I work just a few blocks away and the chicken did smell pretty good. Opening my package I noticed that the take-out containers are kept open to prevent the chicken from getting soggy. I also noticed that I got what looked like "Spicy" wings instead of the Sweet Soy like I wanted.

So for those who keep score on the Kyochon-o-meter, there are six good sized wings per order. Though I prefer smaller wings which mean a better skin to meat ratio. Anyway, that's $1.33 per wing for original and $1.50 for Spicy……kind of on the pricey side, more than Kyochon if memory serves me.

And this ain't no Kyochon.

I found that while the batter was light, it was not as crisp as it looked. It was also very lightly seasoned, at least for my taste, and it had a greasiness to it. The drumettes were on the tough and dry side.

The Spicy really was more sweet and sticky than spicy.

The wing weren't really coated very well and I noticed that this batter goes soggy pretty quickly. The flavor was almost the same as the Sweet and Spicy chicken of BBQ Chicken, perhaps not as cloyingly sweet, but close. In fact, the chicken here just seemed like "BBQ Chicken lite", a step backwards from BBQ Chicken. Ditto for the tough and dry drumettes here.

So, you know I wasn't a fan of BBQ Chicken. You also know that I don't think the chicken here is not as good as BBQ Chicken was. You get the picture, right? Perhaps my friend Jenne is right; I'm just too darned picky. Anyway, I'm hoping that all of this are just grand opening issues and will be resolved. I'll try and visit in a couple of months and see…….

Gala Chicken
7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd (Inside of Zion Market)
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Tues – Sat 11am-7pm
Sunday 11am-6pm

A Cafe

June 17, 2013 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** A Cafe has closed

I recently was asked if I'd ever been to A Cafe. I simply answered with a "no". I explained that I'd really never been a big fan of HK Style Cafe's, even when we lived in the San Gabriel Valley. To me, a non-boba/milk tea lover, who never enjoyed riffs on spaghetti and other items, eating in an Hong Kong style cafe meant a couple of items depending on the joint, congee here, fried pork chop there, RH Garden Cafe was just a block or so from where we used to live in Rowland Heights and it just never appealed to me. Though I gotta say, we did spend many an evening eating at Supreme Dragon, so go figure.

And after Cathy's post, I was even less motivated. Still, I'd eaten in just about every restaurant in the mall with the parking lot from hell so why not?

I wasn't too thrilled to hear that the folks from Imperial Mandarin had taken over the place. If you've ever noticed, I've never done a post on IM, though I've eaten there…..put in the broadest terms. The last three times I've to eat at IM, well, lets just say I suffered from "unlucky returns".

Still, different location, different luck, right?

The place does have that "diner" feel and typical of HK style cafe's, the food is reasonably priced.

I did see something on the menu that interested me, so I placed my order.

Next up came a watery insipid soup that, after the first taste, I just couldn't consume. This, along with the gratis soup that comes with lunch at Dede's falls under the category of "why bother".

The item I went with was the Stir Fried Beef Tongue with Green Onion ($5.99):

This was pretty good. The beef tongue was perhaps a bit too tough, but wasn't too waxy. The flavor was slightly smoky, teetering on the line of liver. But as a whole, it wasn't too awfully offally, if you know what I mean. The onions were stir fried decently and retained some crunch. It wasn't seasoned too heavily either. The rice was a bit on the dry side, but not inedible.

To put things into perspective, this was cheaper than a sandwich.

So I returned a couple of weeks later. Famished, I decided to start with the deep fried mushrooms.

Like they say, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. This was the latter. In all fairness, the mushrooms were nicely fried, the batter not too thick….though you better watch it because the liquid content of the mushrooms will squirt out and give a nice burn. That does not make up for an absolute zero in the flavor column….as in no discernable seasoning. Plus, this is served with mayo. To me, it needed something a with a bit of ooomph. Even hot sauce really didn't lift this.

I did order a standby dish,the salt and pepper pork chops ($5.99):

To me, an HK style cafe can live off its frying and seasoning skill. This dish was an "oh fer two", like the mushrooms it was very bland….where was the seasoned salt? Where was the pepper. The topping of green onions and peppers was raw. The batter was on the gummy side and not my cup of tea. To add insult to injury, the rice was really dry…….. 'nuff said.

So does an decent dish get erased by a (two) terrible one(s)? The prices here, at least the lunch specials, are reasonable and the folks I had serving me were nice, though I was the only customer in the place on both occasions. I think I'll just keep on with saying HK style cafe's really aren't my thing and this place would be on the bottom of my list of those places.

A Cafe
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Sammoon Bakery and Restaurant-El Cajon (revisit)

June 12, 2013 Cathy Iraqi Food and Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

It appears that Sammoon has closed.

Well here you are, back at mmm-yoso!!! looking at posts about food. Cathy still has places to talk about while Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are trying to get back to normal after each of their whirlwind vacation jaunts.

Yes, I've posted about Sammoon, a Mediterranean restaurant owned and run by Iraqui immigrants which makes its own breads, in El Cajon twice already. If you've ever had Jury Duty in El Cajon, you probably have been here, since it's within walking distance of the Courthouse.

This is the entrance from the Parking lot. From the street, you'll see it's next to the Panda Express.

Once inside, you'll see the menu and the former pizza oven, which is now used to create the wonderful, fresh samoon shaped breads made here throughout the day.

You may also notice the rotating spits of beef and chicken schawarma, and additional menu offerings over the rest of the open kitchen area.

One day, The Mister tried a Lunch Special ($5.99) which was choice of schawarma with a choice of bread and included fries and a salad (this day was a roasted eggplant salad). The bread choices are either a samoon bread or saj bread. The above is a chicken schawarma saj sandwich. There is pickle and tomato wrapped in the saj before the bread is grilled. This is very, very good. The fries are standard and crispy, not greasy and that roasted eggplant is really great.

One day, I noticed on the menu the "Sajj beef burger" ($4.49) and decided to order it. It came wrapped looking like a sort of American hamburger, with fries. Then I opened the paper…and you can see the Saj bread folded so perfectly tight. It was then cooked on the grill, sealing in the already cooked burger (you can click onto the small photos which will enlarge).

When I cut through the delicate yet crispy after being baked/sealed closed Saj bread, the inside of the tightly folded bread revealed a very nice sized ground beef burger, tomato, pickle, onion and a sweet sauce. The burger was not as spiced as the kabobs here, but was still the coarse ground beef used for the kebabs. The meat was moist but apparently drained, so no grease softened the Saj to make it fall apart. A very good non-traditional, yummy burger.

One day, we noticed a separate ad on the outside window (on the left side of the first photo)-a "Feast for Two" ($18). We ordered it.

First out was a basket of three hot, fresh samoon breads, along with a platter of hummus, tzatziki and baba ganouj. All fresh made here and very refreshing.

Since everything here is made to order, there was a less than ten minute/more than five minute wait for this GIANT platter to be brought out. Clockwise: pickled cabbage, roasted tomato, chicken schawarma, fresh falafel, beef schawarma, fresh tomato. On top of the fresh long grain yellow rice are a beef kebob, chicken tikka and chicken kabob with fresh cucumber slices and raw onion topped with sumac (a citrus/salty spice). We had leftovers which were enjoyed that evening.

Always good and always fresh food at Sammoon.

Sammoon Bakery & Restaurant Mediterranean Cuisine 190 N. Magnolia Suite 103 El Cajon 92020 (619)441-2823 Open seven days, 10am-10pm

Tea Station (revisit)

June 11, 2013 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!! This food blog is a compendium of road trips, vacations, food store shopping, events, meals, snacks, events and general food-centric posts. Kirk usually posts here, but is catching up from his recent vacation. Ed (from Yuma) is also recovering from his recent San Diego vacation. Cathy is writing today, about another meal during her staycation in the County.

I discovered Tea Houses and Boba places several years ago when one day a friend took me to one and realized that snacks were served in addition to beverages. It was so fascinating as well as tasty. Since then, I've written two individual posts about visits here. It's simple, good and a nice place to share a snack or meal with friends. (I'm the White girl on this blog and there were no Tea or Boba places when I was at the Unversity of Michigan…heck, there was no Zingerman's when I was there).

The exterior and expanded interior have remained the same; neat and clean. Once you order, a basket of utensils, bowls and napkins are brought to the table.

The teas and all beverages are made to order here, (which is why you can get a beverage with half, quarter or no sweetness added-something you can't always ask for from other boba shops because they use pre-mixed syrup bases) and this pot of Kuan-Yin (monkey picked) tea ($5) actually was brought to our table last, perfectly brewed. We usually ask for a bit more water to be added after we finish the first serving; the tea leaves are just about as strong on the second pour. (A brief explanation of 'monkey picked' meaning premium tea is here.)

One order of Taiwan sausage ($5.50)…my 2013 obsession (see this post ). Served with slices of raw garlic, the combination of the sweet in the sausage with the slight bitter of garlic is amazing.

Inside the menu was a "monthly special" card -the 'fried shrimp roll' ($3.99) was really a version of Vietnamese Tau Hu Ky (beancurd wrapped shrimp paste), which I order with bun at Vietnamese restaurants. You can see this is a large serving and that there were pieces of whole shrimp as well as paste inside the delicately fried tofu skin. This was excellent.

We were handed a "Daily Specials" ($6.50) card with the regular menu and the day we were here, the special was chicken curry (quite a bit of chicken, onion, carrots, potatoes and green pepper in a not spicy but a sweet, medium-hot Japanese curry). The football shaped mound of rice divides the curry from the three daily side dishes (which change). This day it was green beans with slices of dry tofu, delicate (rice) noodles with beef pieces and pickled vegetables with pork pieces. A tasty variety that complimented the semi-spice of the curry.

Another nice visit with good food and a really good pot of tea.

Tea Station 7315 Clairmont Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92111 (858) 268-8198 Website

E & Drink – revisit

June 8, 2013 Cathy Taiwanese Food and Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

E & Drink has closed

Thanks for visiting mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy are the usual contributors to the posts you are reading. Today, it's another post from Cathy, because Kirk is busy and Ed(from Yuma) is also busy.

I posted about E & Drink almost a year ago and it's become a semi-regular stop when I'm either in the mood for hot pot, or just a quick snack before shopping at 99Ranch. They finally have visible signage.

There are a few snacks at the front area instead of going into the restaurant (where you can order a to go beverage, a tea egg or a Hong Kong style waffle) (I can't believe I've never taken a photo of one from E&Drink, but can't find any saved on my iPhone to share).

If you are seated, there a quite a few tables inside and outside, a couple of televisions with closed captioning and very friendly service by everyone working.

The Mister had ordered a Hot Pot lunch special, which comes with a choice of black or green/ hot or cold tea. Several small bowls of side dishes and dipping sauces meant to compliment our order are brought out with the beverages.

I ordered , among other items, the fried squid balls; no carbs and always good.

The Szechewan spicy wonton ($4.99) are sometimes a craving I have.

The wontons are not too small, are made with a good wrapper that is not too thick yet not thin enough that it breaks easily, filled with a good amount of ground pork and the spicy sauce is very pleasant and not crazy spicy in heat level.

Another favorite of mine is the marinated tofu ($2.99). I'm not sure how they make this, but it's different than marinated tofu I've purchased elsewhere. A good, firm tofu and a very nice marinade makes this another crave-able item for me.

The Mister's mini Hong Kong curry fish ball mini hot pot (lunch special, with rice and a beverage $10.99) arrived bubbling and with its own sterno heater…so you can have a hot pot that stays hot.

Much more than fish balls are in this hot pot-and all of it fresh. The menu doesn't list ingredients, but you can see the variety. The curry sauce is very pleasant and has an almost sweet undertone; definitely not crazy spicy.

I couldn't decide which photo showed more of the ingredients. You can see the quail egg and some of the clear noodles in this photo. Each hot pot here is quite large and always is very good. Each beverage I've ordered here, I have asked for less or no sugar and have been quite pleased with the quality. I can taste the tea in the tea milk orders.

E & Drink 7330 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92111 (858) 560-9888 Open 7 days 10:30-midnight

Orange Blossom Cafe- a crépe and coffee in Solana Beach

June 7, 2013 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

It's the weekend for mmm-yoso!!! and time to blog about food . Kirk is still vacationing as is Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy continues 'staycationing' around the County, writing about her adventures.

One late morning, The Mister and I drove along the Pacific Coast and slowed down just as we passed Del Mar. There was a sandwich board on the street…

and in the back of the parking area, we saw this Cafe.

We were in Solana Beach, the Cedros Design District (on Cedros Avenue). A few street blocks filled with businesses of design, art, photography, gift shops, consignment shops, furnishings, decor and dining.

Walking into the small restaurant (there is more seating outside than inside), we were greeted by the person cooking crépes behind the counter and started to look around.

The menu items are written on the walls.

After finishing making the crépes for another couple having a late breakfast, our order was taken. We were given our coffee beverage (really good coffee) and I snapped this photo of our crépe being made.

We had ordered the "Brie" crépe ($9.95). the description of Brie, Proscuitto and apricot jam was intriguing and sweet-salty seemed like something we would like to share.

I noticed two things happen after we ordered; the first was something being sprinkled onto the crépe batter as it was placed on the grill…second noticed was that the Prosciutto was placed onto the other crépe pan, and was warmed before it was placed into the savory-sweet crépe. Smart.

What I had seen being sprinkled was an evenly dispersed shake of herbes de provence; a perfect seasoning for just about everything… you can see it in the cooked crépe, along with some of the Prosciutto and apricot jam…{I later read the menu and found out that the sweet crépes have cinnamon-sugar sprinkled into the batter; that's something I haven't seen with other crépe places and quite special}

The there was the Brie, wonderfully melted throughout the other half of the crépe, making it a really perfect blend of flavors. This was worth the stop.

Orange Blossom Cafe 224 S. Cedros Solana Beach, CA 92075 (858) 847-3105 Website 8am-4pm Tue-Sun

59th and Lex Cafe (The Restaurant inside Bloomingdales)

June 5, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog you are reading. Kirk writes here most of the time, but he's way busy right now, flying to another leg of his vacation. Ed(from Yuma) happens to be way busy driving to a leg of his vacation. Cathy is writing about another stop in San Diego, legging it around town for her staycation.

A drive to Fashion Valley Mall, where The Mister and I haven't been at all this year, was our destination the other afternoon. After walking around and noting the changes in stores since our last visit, we stepped into Bloomingdales, an anchor store at the East end of the mall. Taking the escalator to the third floor and looking up, there were Alexander Calder-esque mobiles hanging from the ceiling.

You can see them looking up from this view from the top of the escalator. Now look straight ahead. That's the destination- 59th and Lex, the small in store restaurant with the black and white striped walls.

We were seated and asked for water, which was brought out quickly. The tables had the usual condiments, cloth napkins and nicer placemats on the sky blue tables

After we ordered, some fresh, warm sourdough bread with whipped unsalted butter was brought out. (You can see the mobiles hanging from the ceiling over the escalators).

The Mister couldn't decide and ordered the Trio Platter ($13.10). Good sized servings of excellent egg salad, tuna salad and chicken salad on top of a bed of greens, carrots, cucumber and tomatoes which had a pleasant, fresh (whipped so it looked creamy) lemon vinaigrette salad dressing. The three scoops of salads were each unique and excellent. So many times I've not been able to tell the difference betweent a tuna salad and a chicken salad. That's not true here; each was made with a very minimal amount of mayonnaise and the chicken was very definitely chicken and the tuna was definitely tuna and the egg salad…oh my, the egg salad. Really, three fresh, perfect salads, all on top of the really nice mixed vegetable salad.

Of course, I couldn't decide what I wanted, either so decided on the soup and half sandwich($9.75). The (fresh made) Soups of the Day were cream of zucchini and split pea. I love split pea soup, so thought I'd try it. It was, again, so very fresh, so very well made, did not need added seasonings. I'm thinking the cream of zucchini was equally wonderful. I chose the sliced turkey on wheat bread for my half sandwich. The bread was fresh and moist and the simple turkey with lettuce and tomato was just a perfect blend of flavors. The sandwich was made without mustard or mayonnaise and I was asked if I wanted either and those were brought out on the side.

This is another really good sit down in the (non-grocery) store restaurant, as nice as the one inside Nieman Marcus and similar to Nordstrom, The Bass Pro Shop and Ikea.

59th and Lex Cafe 7007 Friars Road San Diego 92108 (inside Bloomingdales at Fashion Valley Mall) (619) 610-6558

Jungle Java-coffee and a snack (Ocean Beach)

June 4, 2013 Cathy Caffeine Fix, What Cathy Eats!

Hello and welcome to mmm-yoso!!! This food centric blog has posts relating to the how and/or why of an eventual food experience. Kirk is busy having and documenting His experiences, Ed(from Yuma) is busy planning His experiences and Cathy's had another experience and is sharing today.

Yes, The Mister and I drove to the Ocean again, this time on an overcast day.

We drove a bit South, making our first stop at the Sunset Cliffs Natural Park.

We then drove North a bit, stopping at the Ocean Beach Pier, again.

Walking up Newport Street on the same block as the beach, this bright inset storefront stood out.

We walked inside, passing plants for sale, stacks of used newspapers and books, parked bicycles, an eclectic seating area and many locals, including some fresh from the ocean surfers.

Near the center of the space (the covered area) was the area to order.

We then found an empty table near the back. More plants for sale. Good espresso.

Soon, our order of a "Belgium Bites" ($6)-freshly baked waffle, topped with sliced banana and accompanied by peanut butter and honey- was brought over to the table. This was a nice combination of flavors, just enough to share and hit the spot.

The fireplace is going when the evenings are cool.

You can see the main counter is a former Coffee Cart. Total cost for a regular coffee, double shot of espresso and the waffle was < $10.

A nice, friendly, neighborhood coffee and snack place with free wifi and great coffee.

Jungle Java 5047 Newport Avenue San Diego 92107 (619)224-0249 Fri, Sat, Sun open until 8 p.m.

Yogurt Swirl-(Mira Mesa)-Yogurt and Shaved Snow

May 31, 2013 Cathy Desserts, Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) just have no time to blog today. Cathy has plenty of time, so she's sharing this little food find.

One overcast morning last week looked gloomy, but was going to be warm, according to the weather report on the radio. Planning ahead (and satisfying a craving), The Mister and I drove toward Mira Mesa Boulevard. The mall across Black Mountain (same side of MMB) from Lucky Seafood seemed to be a good place to stop.

Located next to Pho Cow Cali Express (and a soon to open Indian Supermarket), I was inspired to finally stop here for a snack after seeing several posts on the Pink Candles blog, written by friend and fellow blogger, canine cologne. I also read Kirbie's post about shaved snow, Mary's viewpoint of Yogurt Swirl and Jinxi's post describing shaved snow last October.

When you walk in the door, you see the usual frozen yogurt serve yourself stations straight ahead.

The Mister took a small amount of yogurt flavors to try. The plain yougurt is wonderfully tart, the way I like it. The chocolate had a very pronounced cocoa flavor. His third choice, strawberry, had no artificial color (as you can see) and it tasted very much like fresh (not artificial) strawberry.

Turn to the left when you walk in and there's the area where you order, pay, get toppings…and in the far corner to the right-see it?

The snow ice shaver. We ordered a small mocha flavored snow and the nice lady went to the back and brought out that rounded block of ice creamy goodness, placed it in under the clear dome and started the machine going with the foot pedal.

We were given a choice of two toppings, one from each side of the divider. (Sweetened condensed milk also comes with the shaved snow, but I thought that would take away from the flavor and declined).

The small mocha flavored snow ($4.99) is quite a substantial size. The 'larger' size is $2 more and basically you can have another flavor of snow, served on a large plate(it looked to be 7"x7"). The snow had a very good combination of coffee and chocolate as its flavor. The chopped almonds seemd a natural topping to mix with the flavors and the side of sweet choices had a coffee jelly among choices, but also had those cute, multicolored mini mochi. The above photo doesn't quite show how large a serving is, but The Mister and I shared and neither of us went home hungry.

Now for pictures that will clarify any descriptions. Shaved. Slices. Snow Light, thin, easily melt in your mouth goodness of cold ice cream.

Through and through your serving bowl, light airy, flaky. This is a wonderful cold treat and I will seek out other versions around town, but am very happy here at Yogurt Swirl.

Yogurt Swirl 9168 Mira Mesa Blvd San Diego 92126 (858) 693-9999 Mon-Th noon-9 p.m., Fri-Sat 11 am-10 pm, Sun 11 am-9 pm