Closed – Page 55

Miramar Fish Market & Seafood Grill-Chula Vista

October 23, 2012 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, Seafood, What Cathy Eats!

Miramar Fish Market & Seafood Grill is closed

Well, you have stumbled upon mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are just too busy to blog today, so Cathy is sharing a few virtual meals with you.

Well, I've found another place to satisfy my cravings. It's kind of a drive from East County, yet only five or six signal lights from either freeway exit, and worth it.

This rather plain façade in a newer mall on the East side of Broadway, one signal light South of Palomar in Chula Vista, may have been a place I would not necessarily stop. However, friend and fellow blogger caninecologne was kind enough to send me a 'Get One Free' coupon in June and one day, when The Mister and I were going to be driving South, I grabbed the coupon…you know, just in case I would be hungry.

The clean interior and fresh smelling fish display was inviting.

As were the photos of some of the meal choices, in addition to the rather large menu which was handed to us when we sat down.

The variety of hot sauces on the table, as well as the jarred condiments(limes, pickled red onions, a mild, chunky salsa and a smooth, fresh made chili based hot sauce) brought out with fresh corn chips was just a peek into the flavors we would soon experience.

On our first visit, we decided to share a fish tostada ($2.50) and our waitress was kind enough to just bring the ceviche on the plate and we supplemented it with the corn chips. This ceviche is available in the fish counter, is very fresh and really good.

The Mister ordered a "House Special", Filete de la Casa ($10.95)- a grilled fish topped with large sauteed shrimp, grilled mushrooms and vegetables. This was so fresh and perfectly flavored. It was served with tortillas, rice, beans and salad.

We were also served some seafood soup before our meals came out. As you can see, filled with fish and shrimp and in a rich broth.

I had ordered the Cabrilla Sarandeado ($11.99) A whole sand bass, split, covered with a mayonnaise/salsa mix and grilled….served on this GIANT (larger than the 15 inch laptop I am writing on right now) foil covered tray, along with the same sides and additionally grilled onions and jalapeños. So fresh and so very tasty.

So, a few weeks later, it was my birthday day and I knew what I wanted. This meal started with a pulpo (octopus) tostada ($3.50). There is a whole section of the menu with just octopus dishes- always fresh, since they seem to go through it quickly.

This is the medium Botaña ($9.95)- seafood combination snack/appetizer, but I made it my main course. Because it is huge. Octopus, half moon scallops, shrimp, sea snails. Fresh, just 'cooked' in lime juice accompanied by cucumber, avocado and topped with a nice chile salt.

The Mister chose the Empanizado filete ($9.95). Breaded and fried, this was a *very* large piece of fish, quite meaty and perfectly fried. It was served with the usual sides and was really good, crispy and didn't get soggy. Magic bread crumbs!

Just a few weeks ago, fellow bloggers and friends, Carol, caninecologne and I met up for a "C3 Bloggers Food Crawl" and our first stop was…yep…Miramar Fish Market. We each got a hearty cup of the seafood soup to start our meal. I am pretty sure it is the Seven Seas Soup, since this time there was octopus in the mix. I am going to order a bowl of this the next time; perfect in this chilly Autumn weather.

Here's an overhead of our meal selections, which we shared…the Culichi shrimp (at 1:00)($10.95)-I've been trying this cheese and poblano pepper sauce every time I get the chance. The version here has a nice kcik of heat from the poblanos. It's very satisfying…and the shrimp here are so large and not overcooked, providing a nice vessel for the sauce. The item at 11:00 is another "House Special"- the Filete Relleño ($11.95) another good sized fillet, grilled and 'stuffed with seafood' as well as topped with shrimp and a wonderful creamy sauce (you could say it was a Mornay, but there was no cheese… so, a white sauce that was creamy and well flavored on its own).

The third item, a large mixed seafood cocktail ($9.95) was so large and absolutely filled with shrimp and scallops in a wonderful tomato/lime sauce filled with onion/cilantro/cucumber and topped with a beautiful fanned avocado half.

Every meal here has been absolutely fresh and wonderful and enjoyed with either the Mister or friends and I want to eventually try the whole menu…

Miramar Fish Market & Seafood Grill 1655 Broadway Ave, Suite 12 Chula Vista 91911 (619)425-5504 Website

Sau Voi Deli

October 15, 2012 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Sau Voi Deli has closed.

This is probably the only Banh Mi place in the area I haven't posted on. Mostly because I'm not the biggest fan of the place. But recently, I decided to just go ahead and give it a try again. For those that don't know Sau Voi Deli; it's the little shop inside the 99 Ranch Market structure.

The place is starting to look even more worn recently and the folks who run the place seemed to have aged a bit as well. Things don't go too quickly here, you just order and kick back and wait for your sandwich.

I ordered the Dac Biet just to get some feel of how they're making banh mi nowadays.

To be fair, the sandwiches are pretty hefty for the price ($3.75), the bread seemed pretty fresh and it was perfectly toasted….not toasted to bits where it shreds your palate.

There's a ton of pickled veggies as well, though I didn't care for the flavor.

I think you can tell the problem I had with this sandwich……man, it was so D-R-Y….really. The proteins had the texture of rousong, which I guess is ok if you like the stuff. And you may well like it that way, since I've been told by Kirbie that I'm the only person she knows of who doesn't like the stuff! It's also pretty flavorless. Look, I'm the first to say when there's too much mayo or spread on my banh mi, but this was just too dry. What mayo the sandwich had was spread over one thin line near the edge of the bread. Even the cilantro looked wilted….

Of course, being the glutton for punishment I am, in the spirit of fairness, I returned to try something else. This time the pork (cha lua) and shrimp (cha tom)cake banh mi ($4).

This time along with the bread, everything else seemed a bit fresher, but the cha lua, which has almost a light smokey flavor to my palate was like rubber and the cha tom, while decent, having a mild shrimpy flavor, this still didn't satisfy me.

I'm looking for a certain proportion of ingredients and flavors….I don't want a super-stuffed sandwich, just one that fulfills my sense of balance and this really didn't do it for me. I mean, they'll do a decent job of filling you up, but to me not much more. Kind of sad actually……

Sau Voi Deli
7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

Oceanside: Panca Peruvian Rotisserie

October 7, 2012 mmm-yoso Peruvian Restaurants, Sandwiches

**** Panca Peruvian has closed

You didn't think that I'd drive up to see my buddy JohnL and just grab a poke bowl, right? I needed to make use of John's appetite and ability to pace himself for another stop. I'd heard about a Pollo a la Brasa joint up in Oceanside and wanted to try it out. Now in Lima, it seems you can't even walk a block without running into one of those places. The most popular chain is named Pardo's, which was good, but I happen to love the papas fritas made with papa amarilla, a yellow potato with a flavor similar to yukon gold. Along with the wonderful aji aioli it was good stuff.

Located next to a laundromat on Coast Highway, it's easy to pass the rather small sign for Panca. The design and decor is very much "fast-casual" looking, simple with colors and various paintings….love the photo of Aji Amarillo on one of the walls.

Having John here was a blessing; since in addition to the Pollo ala Brasa, we could try several of the interesting sounding sandwiches.

We started with the Lomito ($7.95), which is basically Lomo Saltado minus the papas fritas on a bun.

The meat is fairly chewy, but not unpleasantly so….this is based on lomo saltado after all. I'd have loved a bit more onions and more tangy tomatoes, but I'm sure the place wants to please the meat eaters. Nice soy flavors, this seemed to missing that wonderful anise-mint flavor delivered from Huacatay, but I'm sure that's hard to get. A bit too much bread for me, but it stood up well to whatever juices came out of the meat. I must say that the Aji sauce was pretty one-dimensional, a bit of heat and not much else.

The "fresh-cut" fries were actually quite nice….good potato flavor. And there was a ton of it…..

As you can see with the Chicharron Sandwich ($6.95) we ordered:

Geeez Louise….do you think that's enough fries??? Luckily, they have a decent potato flavor, even if they don't stay crisp for very long.

Now just the word Chicharron, in the context of Peruvian food makes my mouth water. It brings back memories of a street called Pampas de Castillo in Cusco. This was where all the Chicharronerias were located. During lunch, the restaurants would wheel out the fryers to the sidewalk and start cooking up pork and chicken, the fragrance of swine frying could be caught all the way down to Plaza de Armas!

This version was fairly mild, like a tame pulled pork.

The sweet potato chips at the bottom of the sandwich, I'm sure was there to add some sweetness (which it didn't) and a textural contrast, which it slightly did. I could have done with a bit more of the sarza criolla, the onion relish, which also could have used some aji amarilla for some umph. The pork flavor was decent, but this was a bit dry and the large amount of bread did it no favors. Still, I think this is worth the price……..

And finallywe tried the Quarter Chicken ($6.95), which also came with a huge amount of fries.

Now there are a couple of things I need to say first; the chicken was on the small side, but I'm fine with that. In many cases these smaller birds (like they'll use in Peru) have more flavor. Second, from the flavor, I don't think these were roasted over wood, so you can't even compare with Peru, or even LA.

The chicken was very moist, perhaps a bit heavy on the sodium, but with a decent overall flavor. I'm thinking perhaps a bit better than what Nazca Grill serves, who finishes their chicken over wood (or so I've been told), but I've got to get back there again to refresh my tastebuds. It's not something I'd go out of my way for, but I'm glad I tried it.

The service was good, they've got my favorite Peruvian Beer, Cristal, and I'd drop in every once in a while if I lived in the neighborhood. In terms of value, I'd say that it depends on what you order.

Panca Peruvian Rotisserie
1902 South Coast Hwy
Oceanside, CA 92054

Hours:
Tues – Thurs 11am – 9pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 10pm
Sunday 11am – 9pm
Closed on Mondays

Ranas, revisited five years later

September 30, 2012 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants

**** Ranas has closed

Man, over five years…has it really been that long since we last visited Ranas? I'm not sure why we hadn't returned sooner….we've usually enjoyed our meals there, but the place just seems to slip our minds. Finally, last week I remembered Ranas and we headed out to Casa De Oro…..

Ranas really looks spiffed up, it looks like business has been good over the years, which made us happy. We've always had great service here.

As would be expected, prices have gone up over the years and there seem to be a few items I don't recall seeing on the menu before. There are also Mexican wines and even pulque on the specials board.

Our server, whom I recalled from before…half a decade younger and a few pounds lighter happily sat us outside, it was before this last heatwave hit and the evening air was just pleasant. While we mulled through the menu some chips and salsa were delivered…..

The chips were nice, firm and crisp, the salsa seemed mild but had a little zing that caught you later on.

We started with the Huitlacoche Quesadilla Plate ($10).

Called "black mushrooms" on the menu, which I guess is much better than the common American name…."corn smut". Huitlacoche is basically a fungus that affects corn….bad for the corn, good if you like earthy, woodsy, mushroom like flavors. Here it's sauteed with onions, and I believe there's some Epazote in this…I could make out the unique anise-mint flavor. The huitlacoche also seemed to have a hint of sweetness, something I really couldn't recall from eating it before.

The missus loved the nopales, which had a nice slight sour-green bean-citrus flavor and had been well seasoned.

The Missus also wanted the Flor de Calabaza Quesadilla Plate ($10):

Like the huitlacoche quesadillas this was served in blue corn tortillas….mild in flavor and griddled on the comal to have a bit of chewiness. That worked great on the latter in my opinion, but not so great here as this was pretty dry overall. I did appreciate the fact that it wasn't "over-cheesed" and the Missus enjoyed this, but it was on the dry and bland side for me.

The Pork Entomatado ($10) on the other hand, was definitely not bland, nor dry…..

This was my favorite of all the dishes I'd had at Ranas way back when….and I gotta say, it's still up there. Loved the tangy, tomato-chili sauce (they won't tell me what chilies they use for this), it has a nice smokiness and finished with a back of the throat heat. The pork is tender….but it could be cardboard for all I care. The nopales adds a nice texture and that "green" flavor that compliments the dish. The tortillas were typical store bought corn, but I really enjoyed those beans. The Missus doesn't care for frijoles refrito made from pinto beans, but after some encouragement had a taste and really liked this….there is some "special" flavoring ingredient in this…I'm pretty sure of that.

Overall, the service was very friendly. All the folks eating were having tortas, burritos, and stuff like that….but heck, they looked like they were all having a great time and if that pays the bills, so be it. So long they don't take the dishes we enjoy off the menu.

Ranas
9683 Campo Rd Ste A
Spring Valley, CA 91977

Carlsbad: Yoshino Japanese Deli

September 29, 2012 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

**** Yoshino has closed as of the end of July 2024. I understand that the owner retired.

I went up and spent a couple hours hanging out with my buddy "JohnL" today. We had a great time "talking story" and catching up on things. I often kid John about his (lack of) taste, as his recommendations often leave me a bit puzzled, wondering if he was playing some odd joke on me. So far, John has been oh-for-two….two strikes on him, so he's ben a bit more hesitant making recommendations. But today, John decided to take me to his favorite little hole-in-the-wall sushi to go joint in Oceanside named Yoshino. No it's not that Yoshino's, but this one.

Located near the corner of State and Grand avenue in downtown Carlsbad this little shop is run by an older Japanese couple. There's not much in the shop, just a cold case an ice cream freezer and the couple making rolls and poke bowls.

Nothing fancy and no frills, the couple is very friendly. Apparently they make whatever they can based on what's available that day….then it's pau hana, no more……

John's favorite here is the Poke Bowl($6.75), which is what I got.

While this is nowhere close to being as good as the stuff back home in Hawaii, it's a nice decent light meal. It's more of a poke "salad" of sorts since there are only about 4-5 cubes of fish in the bowl along with seaweed salad, cucumbers, and a good amount of avocado. The tuna is decent quality, better than the typical "saku" Sushi Deli stuff and is lightly seasoned. All of this rests on a bed of sushi-meshi, seasoned sushi rice, which was mild, though the rice quality is not the best. A piece of nori separates the rice creates a barrier for the rice.

All in all, not bad….I'd have this for lunch on occasion if I lived close by. There were a variety of rolls available, though as you know, it's not my thing.

We also got the "tako salad" – $2.75.

The octopus had a nice texture, this was solidly flavored with komezu(rice vinegar), sesame oil, and some sneakily placed thin slices of chili pepper.

There a couple of tables inside and right outside the little shop and it's cash only. So JohnL, looks like you didn't strike out! One for three still ain't that great though! Just kidding my friend, this is a nice little neighborhood shop.

Yoshino Japanese Deli
2913 State St
Carlsbad, CA 92008

Red Moon Noodle House

September 25, 2012 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants

**** Red Moon has closed

Back in June, my good FOY (friend of yoso) "Yummy Yummy" sent me a text regarding a new place that opened in the strip mall with the worst parking on Convoy…..yes "that" mall. I usually avoid the place unless it's an early lunch at Tofu House or a late one at Crab Hut. Anyway, YY mentioned something called Red Moon Noodle House, so I dropped by on a weekend morning just to see what was going on. Looking at the photos of the food got me interested, the "Japanese-Chinese Cuisine" designation really got my attention, though I gotta say, Champon and Japanese Mabo Tofu are not my favorite things in the world. Still, I was at least going to check the place out. Unfortunately, the hours were kind of strange, at least for me opening at 3:30 on weekdays was kind of a tough draw for me, so I had to wait until the weekend(s) arrived.

Arriving on a weekend afternoon, with O'Brien's and other businesses in the strip mall going full tilt, it was strange walking into a totally empty restaurant.

And indeed the menu had the afore mentioned champon and yakisoba…and even tan tan noodles. The young lady working was very, very friendly, and the middle aged gentleman came on over and chatted….he thought I was Chinese! I came to find out he is Chinese, but from Japan. Thus, the juxtaposition of cuisines.

Anyway, I had one thing on my mind and the gentleman recommended the other. what caught my eye was the House Special Chicken with Garlic Sauce ($6.75). It looked suspiciously like Shandong style chicken……a poor man's Dezhou Pa Ji/Dao Ko Shao Ji kind of thing.

And it did kind of remind me of a (very) poor man's Earthen-style Shandong Chicken. All the flavors seemed a bit muted and just falling short of pleasing, the mild sweet, faint vinegary tones, except for one thing….the raw garlic. The garlic just killed the dish and folks who read our blog often know how much I love garlic, but in this case the garlic stood alone…..and not in a good way, throwing the balance of the dish off.

The Salt and Pepper Pork Chop ($6.75) was recommended.

On the good side, I don't think this has much MSG, if any at all. On the bad side, it's doesn't have much of anything else. The flavor was really mild, the batter too gummy and not crisp enough.

As you can tell, these aren't humongous sized portions, but enough for me. During my meal, the gentleman's wife came out to see how I was doing….she's a joy, very motherly and sweet. So I decided to come back and give the place another try.

I love pan fried noodles, so I went with the Shrimp Pan Fried Noodles ($8.50):

The noodles had been fried well, crisp, but not crumbly and the shrimp was done well. The vegetables were a bit under-cooked for my taste, but was decent. The sauce was on the very weak side, a bit too watery, a soy sauce-pepper combination that tasted like something I'd make at home.

Since shrimp was the theme, I ordered the Salt and Pepper Shrimp ($10.95).

These were more lightly coated than the pork chop, but could have still had a bit more crispness to them. The flavor was on the very mild side and I think the onions and peppers could have had a bit more time in the wok, or a higher heat to develop the sugars a bit more. This seemed a bit on the small end with regards to portion size, but that's ok with me…..I actually ended up taking most of this home for the Missus to try….She agreed with me.

I have to say that I really, really, like the folks running this place, they are so nice and the food I would deem ok for lunch, though they are closed during the weekday lunch hour. I prefer more assertive, yet balanced flavors for my food and from that perspective this really didn't deliver. When the weather cools, I'll probably stop by to check out the Champon, I'm hoping for the best.

You can read Kirbie's post on Red Moon here.

Red Moon Noodle House
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Mon-Thu 330 pm – 10 pm
Friday 330 pm – 1030 pm
Saturday 12pm – 1030 pm
Sunday 12 pm – 930 pm

Ramen Yamadaya

September 18, 2012 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

**** Yamadaya has closed

It's finally cool enough for me to actually do a post on Yamadaya without breaking into a sweat! I first recall reading about Yamadaya in a post on Dennis's blog. Unfortunately, I was on Oahu when they first opened. I kind of dilly-dallied for a short while, but finally made my way there….even though it was a boiling hot day.

Man was the place hotter than heck……I figured that they had just opened their doors and perhaps the A/C wasn't dialed in yet.

I was seated at the counter, which I would have really enjoyed hadn't it felt like I was being simmered instead of the chashu. The folks working here are very amiable and really took time to explain what was up to the folks who really didn't know what was up.

What was up is that Yamadaya serves up Hakata style ramen…which means that the "in" style of tonkotsu, basically a pork bone broth is featured, along with the thin and straight Hakata style noodle. Living and working close by means that I can take my time and get a "feel" for a place. So I decided to start up with the basic straight up Tonkotsu Ramen. Somehow, I talked myself into bumping it up to a combo, which goes for $14.80. That's pretty hefty for a lunch….but what the heck.

First off, I loved the noodles……I had doubts when I didn't order them extra firm, but I should not have worried. These were perfect. They do soften rather quickly, but I really didn't give it time to soften. Much better then any other place that "claims" to do Hakata ramen in San Diego. The broth was surprisingly mild, with almost no nose, just lightly salty. The egg was done well, but the chashu was terrible, lacking in flavor, dry, and my goodness, still cold! Not good eats, but I put that off to the place still finding their footing.

I also got some chicken karaage, which was pretty good, crisp, a hint of ginger, and not bad.

What I really enjoyed was the curry rice bowl. The curry had a very nice distinct flavor, with hints that seemed like Wocestershire.

The texture was nice and smooth….this is something I'll have again.

A few days later I was in the area and decided to stop in again….man, it was still pretty hot in there. This time, I went with what I had my eyes on the first time, the Kotteri Ramen($8.45). If there was any bowl of tonkotsu that would benefit from a touch of extra fat and more flavor it would be this one.

Along with confirming that the A/C in the shop was not up to the task, there were a couple of other reaffirmations; the noodles were indeed prepared well and the chashu was still dry and lacking in flavor.

The broth really benefited from the black garlic oil, which gave it a sweet-pungent lift in flavor. In fact the whole deal was getting to the upper limit of my sodium tolerance but was still good. The extra richness really gave the broth that smooth, tongue-coating richness I enjoy as well.

Nice bowl, minus the chashu……

So of course I wanted to move along a bit more….which was great since "MrZ" was thinking about grabbing some lunch. The day was a bit cooler, but it still is pretty warm in the shop. This time, to see if the kakuni was the cure to the chashu, I ordered the Kakuni Ramen ($10.95). I had thoughts of asking for it kotteri, but decided to see how the buta kakuni fared in the ramen.

Let me just say this; the kakuni is the way to go. While not as great, it was tender and well flavored…oh, and moist. I also believe that some of the braising liquid for the pork was put into the bowl as I sensed a nice background sweetness to the broth this time around.

As usual it was great seeing MrZ…and here's a shout out to the newest addition to the 'Z' family…well, I'll just call him "little Z" for now!

So, there you go, three bowls, and I've got my ramen here dialed in. As simple as Kotteri with Kakuni. We're done, right? Well, not quite….there's one more item I wanted to try. Not feeling like dealing with the heat and man it was scorcher for a couple of weeks there, wasn't it? I went during a weeknight evening. Having been here enough, I started noticing a couple of things. One of them was, it seems like only the dudes who handle the noodles have "Ramen" written on the back of their t-shirts…..I know, I'm probably just a little bit slow, duh……

Since it had been pretty hot and the shop gets pretty hot, why not try the Tsukemen, basically "dipping noodles". I got the 7 ounce noodle portion ($7.95 – carb lovers can get 14 oz for $9.95).

This was way to salty, to the point of being unpleasant. Loved the noodles, meh to the chashu, but even dipping the noodles into the shiro was not a happy time. It also got cold real quickly and the amount of fat in this started concealing and feeling kind of greasy. Again, way too salty. There were bits and pieces of pork in the bottom of the bowl, so I'm not quite sure how they make this….black garlic oil as well.

I recall talking to Dennis about this a couple of days later…..I'm sure he'll chip in his opinion in one of his posts. YY and her husband send me a text message last week telling me they were having ramen here. Before I could warn them off the tsukemen, MrQ had gone ahead and ordered it. I heard he wasn't very happy…..oh, and they told me the place was super hot! So well, we know they're really consistent, right?

Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairement Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

You can read Dennis's post here.

Kirbie's post can be found here.

Gastrobits post can be found here.

Delicias a la Lena- Oaxacan (El Cajon)

September 15, 2012 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Hello. You have somehow navigated your way to mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk as well as ed(from Yuma) are both busy with those end of Summer things and today Cathy writing and sharing another local wonderful eatery.

Well. I've mentioned before that everyone has a 'favorite' taco shop, close to home and close to work. People tell me about their favorite place and favorite items sold there. There's a long story as to how The Mister and I found Lena's; know we had this adventure on our own. The condensed version is we walked into the Liquor Store next to Kaelin's Mi Pueblo Market that had the words "carne asada" on the door, thinking they made tacos, found out they were selling carne asada in a freezer next to bags of ice cubes, asked the clerk if he knew of a place to buy some good ready to eat food and he directed us here:

Garcias Puebla Mercado. It's been here since 1995(I'll do the math for you: 17 years).We ordered two burritos, each weighed almost two pounds (there was a scale at the checkout). While we were waiting, we looked around the small store, saw many people coming in, picking up hot tortillas out of the wooden box on the floor, noticed ready made carne and chicken asada, signs for carnitas meals on Wednesday as well as barbacoa and birria meal specials on Friday, house made mole, salsas, hot carrots and fascinating other items. When we did go to the front to pay, the nice lady told us for really good food -Oaxacan Style- to go to the shop just across the street, about a half block North. Both the store and the shop are family owned and run.

Now, in this crowded strip mall, at the very North end, there is an orange and yellow striped taco shop; that's *not* where you want to go.

This is where you want to be. Notice the grill out front. Every day around 2 p.m., mesquite grilled chicken is ready.

For $10.99, you get a dozen hot tortillas, rice, black beans (nicely flavored, mostly whole and without lard), a choice of red or green salsa (I do like both; house made and a blend of complex flavors) and quite a large chicken. The chicken has that delightful mesquite smoked flavor, even the next day.

When you go inside the small restaurant, a large 99¢ menu is above the cash register,

as well as the 'regular' menu above the kitchen area. Order, pay and have a seat. The food will be brought out to you. There are five tables, 16 chairs. Small, clean and friendly.

On one of our visits, we ordered two each of the carnitas and carne asada tacos ($1 each). You can see the tacos were quite full with the meat, guacamole, cilantro, onions and Cotija cheese and both the red and green salsas were brought out. The fresh corn tortillas, which are from Garcia's across the street, are thick, layered and so very fresh.
Also, we tried the 'less than $1 menu', choosing a quesedilla and memelita – a small memela, a toasted masa cake , with a choice of red or green sauce) topped with more Cotija cheese.

The quesedilla, though small, was quite filled with melty white cheese- Oaxaca cheese.

One of my favorite items here-from the 'regular' menu, #17, a gordita ($1.99). This is a fresh made masa cake with a few black beans in the mix, fried then cut, filled on the top and bottom with those luscious black beans, a lot of shredded creamy Oxaca cheese, crema, lettuce and tomatoes. Crunchy, fresh, and something I never expected.

On one visit, we ordered a $1.99 memela (this time topped with red sauce; much larger than the 99¢ version, although I don't have a reference point in this photo to show you the sense of scale) and a 99¢ Tlacoyo (an oval shaped baked masa, filled with a layer of black beans, topped with a choice of sauce and Cotija cheese)

You can see the thin layer of beans in this cross section view; this simple 99¢ snack is just perfect. It's larger counterpart on the regular menu, the Tlayuda ($6.99), includes a choice of meats and is more than a meal for me.

We noticed "Tostilocos $2.99" sign in the front window and tried the version here. It's a vegetarian version- no cueritos. Good to satisfy a crunchy, salty, tamarind, spicy chamoy craving. (here's a link to my post about my favorite Tostilocos)

Here's a photo of another gordita ordered; you can see the fried then sliced crispy 'bun'. The other item is another tlacoyo, this time topped with the red sauce.

From the regular menu, #14 Mole negro ($5.99). We have been on the lookout for great home made mole ever since Los Pueblos had closed in May. We found it. Lena told us that it takes three women (all relatives) all day to make the mole used here and sold in the small market across the street. You can taste the variety of spices and so many flavors with every bite. The chicken leg had the smoky mesquite flavor which complimented the sauce. The enchiladas are also topped with this mole.

So many items all made from scratch, just like at home. Another great find in El Cajon.

Lenas is not your average Mexican restaurant, not a taco shop. At all.

Delicias a la Lena 1398 East Main Street (between Sultan Baklava and Kaelin's Market, other side of Main Street) El Cajon 92021 (619)590-1138

Garcias Puebla Mercado 1354 East Main Street 92021 (619)590-1416

A revisit to Slaters 50/50

September 12, 2012 mmm-yoso Burgers

**** Slaters has closed

I forgot I had this little post in the pipeline for a while, but had forgotten about it until “CC” reminded me of the place. Anyway, the Missus loves the Veggie Burger here as well as most of the fried items…..health nut that She now is.

I received a couple of suggestions for “building” my burger after my post on Slaters and I really took them to heart….so much so that I’ll probably need a new one, heart that is, after eating this monstrosity:

Egad…….anyway, I was told to get my burger with “Vampire Dip” basically the super rich garlic artichoke dip and I decided to top things off with anchovies. That’s what the burger looked like and it was only a 1/3 pound burger….which was so over-the-top and rich it finished me, before I could finish it. The flavor of the garlic sauce and anchovies just killed everything else….I could have eaten one of my old shoes and would never have known…heck it might even make the burgers here palatable. This just felt sinful and wrong….I guess I prefer my burgers without an extra helping of guilt.

Honestly, it’s a nice burger without all the “stuff”… I really needed a shower after this, maybe even a cigarette…. I’ll stay with “just a burger” next time.

As much as I like the burgers here, this was just too much.

Slaters 50/50
2750 Dewey Road
San Diego, CA 92106

You can read my previous post on Slaters here.

Bale Returns to Linda Vista

August 29, 2012 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Bale has closed (yet again)

Well it took them awhile but Bale has returned to Linda Vista for a third time, this time in the space formerly occupied by Toan Ky, LV Sandwiches, and Le's…..sheesh, this location doesn't have that great of a track record, huh? Anyway, the place reopened on August 25th, a few days later the mercury was telling me that a banh mi might not be a bad idea.

Man, the place was just besieged by older Vietnamese women…..who were giving the two young ladies total hell. A lot had to do with the sign in the front.

Apparently, folks read the sign that said "Buy 1 Sandwich Get One Free…." and stopped there without reading the "coffee or Thai tea" part of the sign. In some ways I don't blame them. They could have written the sign a bit better. Anyway, when I stepped up to the counter the girls asked me if I understood the sign and I said yes. They could not understand why folks were just reading the first couple of words……I explained that many times we see what we want. Also, they were catching hell in Vietnamese, so obviously English was not the primary language here. The young ladies could not for the life of them understand…meanwhile, a woman stepped in front of me and gave the girls a piece of her mind! Yikes! I mentioned that perhaps they could let the manager or the owner take care of the irate customers….the two girls looked at me like I had lost my mind! Well then, what can I say????

Anyway, the prices looked pretty good, sandwiches ranged from $2.95 to $3.45. I decided to just get the Dac Biet (the special – $3.45):

A bit different from my previous experiences with Bale in San Diego, this place used the longer baguette instead of the standard issue banh mi. This meant less bread, more crust, which, though not as good as Cali Baguettte Express, was flakey enough for me. Bale has a long history of toasting the bread to death, not so in this case either. The pickled vegetables were on the bland side, but there was a good amount of pate smeared on the sandwich and just the right amount of mayo. Proportion matters and I found the thin slices of protein to be sufficient. Not bad at all…..

That Thursday I was at the Linda Vista Farmer's Market and did some shopping at Thuan Phat. It was pretty hot so I thought I'd grab another banh mi. I guess convenience is playing on the side of Bale here. It being about 4pm, the place was fairly empty. This time I went for defatted pork sausage – Cha Lua ("Pork Bologna on the menu – $2.95):

This time the bread was a little old for my taste…kind of chewy and not as crusty. Also, a bit too much mayo and hardly any pickled vegetables….which, based on the blandness wasn't really missed too much. Nice pate, which was about all of the flavor, except for the cilantro and jalapenos which were pretty hot this time around. Not good, not terrible……

I did take a look at the sit down menu……but I think I'll do that when the weather gets a bit cooler…..

Anyway, this past week, I had to run and buy some rice. Not really for us, but for Da' Boyz who eat rice with every meal….we hardly consume rice anymore. There's something wrong in the world when my dogs are consuming Three Ladies or Buddha brand jasmine rice!

On this visit, I noticed that the new deal was "Buy 2 Sandwiches, get 1 Free"….I felt much better for the poor young ladies….this time it was pretty cut and dried. Then I stepped in and took a look at the prices for sandwiches…..

What the heck? All sandwiches had gone up by about 10-12% in two weeks? All the $2.95 sandwiches were now $3.39. The $3.45 sandwiches were now $3.69. The BBQ Beef had been $2.95 and was now $3.69……this time, I don't blame customers for getting a bit upset. It is "only" 20 to 40 cents or so…..but it just doesn't seem right to raise prices so quickly….2 weeks?

Speaking of upset, I ordered a Dac Biet and got this instead…..

Whatever, at least it was same priced sandwich.

Tell you what though….I'm not going back for a while.

Bale Restaurant and Deli
6925 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111