Closed – Page 67

Kiki Sato’s Teriyaki and Burgers – Oceanside

July 11, 2010 mmm-yoso Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

*** Kiki Sato's has closed.

Like many I know, when I first moved to the mainland, I really missed my "local kine grindz". So finding April Hiraki-Morris's Southern California Plate Lunch Connection back in 1998 was a godsend for me. On occasion, April will send out one of "update" style emails, it's good to know that "One Scoop Mac, Two Scoop Rice" is still going strong…. for ova' ten years now! I recently received an email from April announcing that a new place called Kiki Sato's had opened up in Oceanside. I read it, but still, it was up in Oceanside. A few days later I received an email telling me I needed to check this place out. It was a "one-off" email from someone I hadn't received anything from before. This would usually set off the "shill alarms"….. and depending on interest, I'd usually just ignore. But there was one thing in the email that made me think that it wasn't a shill. The person kept misspelling the name, typing "Kinky Sato's" instead of Kiki Sato! A few days later, April forwarded an email from someone who ate at Kiki Sato's, and extolled the virtues of the Loco Moco. That triggered off something in my head….. after all, how long has it been since I'd had a Loco Moco? Which is why I set off on the 35+ mile journey to Ocean Ranch Plaza, and Kiki Sato's…. so new, that a banner still announces that you've arrived.

The interior suits the mall, which houses a Roberto's next door. It is of course, brand new, and quite colorful, and fast-foodish in character.

The menu is fairly small, which can be a good thing, and as you can tell by the "Teriyaki" in the name of the restaurant, there's a definite Japanese slant to the menu. I'm thinking FOY Dennis, being the big time Mapo Tofu fan might be interested in the Mapo Tofu and Pork.

There was a moment of levity when the very nice young lady asked me if I wanted brown rice instead of white rice with my Loco Moco. Laughing, I replied, "brown rice would kinda defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?" Which made her crack-up as well.

All plate lunches comes with Miso Soup…. a pretty large bowl of miso soup.

Which tasted pretty much like an after thought. Not that I expected anything more.

Here's the Loco Moco ($7.49), which I chose with a hamburger (you can have it with Spam if desired):

So how did this measure up? The portion size is on the smallish side, again, based on the artery clogging potential of the Loco Moco, this ain't necessarily bad. The rest I'll leave up to the "Modified Rubio" scale, which I first described here. So here goes:

BURGER: Hand formed, pressed really tight which made it tougher than it needed to be. The grind is really fine, and there's a strong black pepper component to the flavor. Still, this heads above the typical "Hawaiian BBQ" mass produced burger – 4.5

EGGS: Or should I say egg? It was just ok…. I'd prefer a softer, more runny yolk, and some salt on the egg. 2.5

RICE: Excellent, you could count every grain if you wanted to. – 4.5

GRAVY: It's a onion brown gravy, as with much of the dish, a bit lower in the sodium department . There was not enough of it to cover all my rice, and even more strange, it seemed that the rice was placed in the gravy, instead of being poured over the rice. I know, leave it to me to complain about gravy placement. Still, it does matter. 3.0

STUFFS: Plate lunches here come with both Mac Salad and a choice of a green salad or a spicy edamame salad. I got the edamame which was ok, not very spicy, but at least the edamame wasn't cooked to death. I thought the Mac Salad was very good; nicely chilled, not over-mayo'd. It could have used a bit more of a savory presence, but it was quite good. 3.5

TOTAL: 18 which is pretty good. Way above all the Hawaiian BBQ places, but still below, say the Kaloko Moco.

The service is very friendly, and I'd surely try other dishes on the menu if I lived, perhaps 10-15 miles away. As it stands, I may drop by again if I'm in the area, after all…. I want to see what the Wasabi Burger is all about….

Kiki Sato's Teriyaki & Burgers
3617 Ocean Ranch Blvd.#105
Oceanside, CA 92056

Revisits: The Original Sab E Lee and Sab E Lee Santee

July 8, 2010 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

There wasn’t too much we missed in the way of food while in China. We did miss Ba Ren, which I’ll explain in a later post, but as a whole, there was nothing we really craved until back on Oahu….. which is about when we started mentioning Sab E Lee (now called The Original Sab E Lee), and Sab E Lee 2 (aka just plain Sab E Lee, or Sab E Lee Santee).

The Original Sab E Lee:

**** This location of Sab-E-Lee has closed

Unfortunately, for folks looking for some really great new stuff….. we’ve been here so many times that we tend to stick with our favorites. One of mine, is the Spicy Raw Beef Salad, aka Koi Soi or Koi Nua. Since Kobe sold the place off, some of the newer folks will ask me how spicy I want things, which is usually an ‘8’ or ‘9’ on the heat scale. One strange thing, not eating here in 6 weeks or so must’ve thrown off my tolerance. Man did this get me sweating…..

The Missus’s favorite is the Salted Fish Fried Rice.

I was once asked by someone to describe the smell of the salted preserved fish…… the only thing that came to mind was having the person imagine what “fish cheese” would smell like. A briney, pungent, savory scent, which really gets our (maybe not you) stomach rumbling. Along with the scent of wok’d rice, it may not be appropriate for work, but it sure tastes darn good, if perhaps on the salty side.

Ok, I said mostly photos……

The Grilled Duck Larb:

The Bamboo Shoot Salad:

The Issan Sausage:

All of which I’ve covered in many posts from back in August of 2008 until now. You can find all the links on our “rotation” page.

Here’s something that I haven’t posted on before; the Beef Tendon Soup.

This is one of those cases where citrus enhances the heat, pegging it up a few notches. The soup is chocked full of tendon and meat cuts, with some tripe and other offal thrown in for good measure. I’d recommending sharing this with a few people as it can get rather tedious eating the whole darn bowl yourself. A small bowl or two is just perfect.

The Original Sab E Lee
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

Sab E Lee 2:

**** This location of Sab E Lee has closed

I gotta say, even though we don’t get ’round these parts very often, Kobe always treats us like friends. Many of the dishes are closer to Bangkok style Thai, but the Issan dishes still pack enough of a punch.

So here are the photos, starting with the Plaa Shrimp, a quickly seared shrimp salad, with a familiar, bracing, yet refreshing fish sauce based dressing. Just as good as the first time we had it.

Here’s the Spicy Raw Beef salad for comparison.

Even at a ‘9’ level, not nearly as spicy as the Linda Vista location. Much more roasted rice powder is used, adding a nice level of nuttiness. I believe this dish has gotten better over time. So which do I enjoy more…. it like asking me to pick my favorite “mutt”…. Sammy or Frankie…. I love them both, but differently.

Speaking of better over time….. on this visit, the Garlic Rice was positively addicting.

The Thai Basil is more finely chopped, which means the flavor is spread throughout the rice. More pepper is used, and even more garlic……

Sab E Lee has consolidated the Pinecone Fish (seen here) and the Three Flavor Fish (seen here), into one dish featuring both sauces on the side, which I think was an excellent decision.

Light and crunchy panko crusted exterior, gives way to moist and tender white meat. It has been perfectly fried every time we’ve had this style of fish at SEL. This was the dish the Missus was missing. We really need to get out here more often!

Sab E Lee 2
9159 Mission Gorge Road
Santee, CA 92071

Our previous posts on SEL2 can be found here and here. And some chicken here.

Cathy’s post can be found here.

Tabe times two…. Tabe Grill and the Tabe BBQ truck

July 5, 2010 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Food Trucks

**** Tabe is no longer in business.

I'll be the first to admit that I've mixed feelings about the proliferation of "mobile cuisine". Part of me loves the concept, after all I grew up eating from "lunch wagons", many of which served up good grinds for cheap. And of course, there are the various taco trucks around San Diego that I enjoy. On the other hand I'm not sure that I share the sometimes cult like hyperbole surrounding mobile cuisine. Over a year ago, I made a trek out to the "OC", stood in line for two hours, for two tacos with barely any meat, drenched in sauce that destroyed some already lousy tortillas. It could be that kalbi and bulgogi tacos weren't new to me…. I recall Alan Wong serving up the stuff years ago, and I've been making bulgogi and teriyaki tacos at home. It could be that fact that I just don't have the patience, nor intestinal fortitude to stand in line for any reason, and being forced to do so just made me expect more and more. I do love the concept, and truly admire Kogi's innovative use of social media to create excitement and demand. But for me it was a case where the "Emperor had no clothes". Unfortunately, my camera at that time really didn't take anything worthwhile, so I never did a post. Leap forward a year and a half, and a group of food trucks…. of course they call themselves purveyors of "mobile gourmet cuisine", have now popped up. Along with the various emails in my inbox, there is, the by now standard arsenal of tweets, facebook pages, and so forth. I did manage to try both Tabe and Kalbiq one the same day. Unfortunately, later that day I received the dreaded "card read error" when trying to upload my photos, I had used the cheapo 4GB SD card I got free with my camera, instead of my usual SD cards and paid for it. Maybe posts on food trucks just weren't in the cards for me. I didn't find the food particularly great at the Tabe or the Kalbiq truck…. actually, I thought the food from the Kalbiq truck was just not very good. Plus, there were already a large number of posts from Dennis and Kirbie on these trucks, and I really didn't think I had much more to offer.

Then a funny thing happened…. I decided to take my car for a carwash.

Now I wouldn't blame you if you started scratching your head asking yourself what a carwash has to do with Tabe. I went to pay for my carwash, went to walk out to wait for my car, when I saw this.

Call me gobsmacked……

I walked up to the window, and spoke to the nice young man, whose name is Todd, and asked if this was the same "Tabe"…. to which he replied "yes". By now I figured it must be fate….. some other power was telling me that I needed to give Tabe's tacos another shot. I ordered the same two tacos I had eaten at the truck, and an order of fries, which I had never tried.

First up, the BBQ Beef (aka Kalbi-ish) taco.

When I had these before, they were tough, and over sauced with a way too sweet glaze. These were not bad. The meat was fairly tender, and it wasn't drenched in sauce.The "salsa" worked well with this, and I thought the addition of tsukemono as one of the toppings was a plus.

The Spicy Pork, which in my opinion isn't very spicy, was way too sweet for my taste.

One real quick note……. I'm not a big fan of topping savory dishes with fruit, it might be your thing, but it's just something I'm not fond of. I found the pork to be a bit too mushy, and there was so much going on here, like a con-fusion-ny Daeji Bulgogi, that I ended up not enjoying this too much.

All of those taste notes are just personal preferences. But I don't think you can get away from the lousy tortillas, which are cardboard like, and end up falling to pieces. I've eaten at taco trucks selling fish tacos for a buck, and their tortillas are superior to these. Maybe the crew at Tabe believes the tortilla doesn't really matter; but I think at $2.76 a taco they can do better.

The last item I had ordered were the Five Spice Fries ($1.38). I really didn't know how these fries would taste…… after all, I thought they were really going to use five-spice on the fries. But at first whiff, I (happily) knew they didn't.

I really enjoyed these, they were crisp, with a nice black pepper flavor, and even a hint of sweetness(?). But most of all, these were touched with one of my favorite spices….. cumin, which really tasted good. Go figure….

Overall, that BBQ Beef taco was pretty good, and I really enjoyed those fries. Plus my car was nice and clean…… so I did leave Happy Car Wash, fairly happy, or at the least content.

About a week later, I was in the Little Italy area, and lo' and behold, it was the Tabe BBQ truck. After my last visit, I decided to stop and grab some tacos.

I passed on the pork this time around, and went with the BBQ Beef and a Fish Taco.

Egads, fruit again, this time topping the fish taco. It is easy enough to remove…….

Like Dennis, I found the fish portion to be on the small side. It was pretty much lost in all the produce. I pulled out a piece of the fish and ate it…. tastewise it was pretty good. Just too little fish for too much taco…..

I wanted to try the beef yet again.

I found these to be decently tender, but like my first visit, the glaze just made it too sweet for my taste. I think next time, I'll tell them to forgo that extra shot of sauce I believe they add at the end.

Yes, you heard it right…. they'll be a next time. Mainly because of this:

When I walked up to the truck, "Todd" recognized me. We chatted briefly, and I mentioned that I really enjoyed his fries. My two tacos strangely arrived in a large styrofoam container, instead of those little "boats"…. Todd had included some fries for me…. because I enjoyed them so much. I've often said that I understand the difference between "favorite" and "best". Your favorite (fill in the blanks) may not be the one you consider to be the best, and I respect that. There are other factors that make your favorite burger joint/bar/sushi bar/pizza palace, that number one place on your list. And right now, I can easily say Tabe is my favorite Gourmet Taco Truck.

Tabe Grill
3690 Murphy Canyon Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

Tabe BBQ Truck – various locations

Thai Garden Restaurant (I think) next to Muang Lao Market #1

June 22, 2010 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants

**** Thai Garden Restaurant has closed

On a recent weekend morning, I was driving near Market and 47th, and decided to see what was up on the corner of Imperial and Market. That corner has housed a number of markets and small restaurants over the years with one thing in common; they were all Lao. Back in 2006, it was Vientiane Food to Go, a couple of years later Imperial Thai Cuisine. As I drove to that corner, I noticed that the place had been painted, and now housed a restaurant called Thai Garden, I think.

First thing I noticed as I entered was that even though the lay-out was the same, things looked bright and clean. A fresh coat of paint, some new tile, clean stainless, and paintings will do that to a place.

The menu consists of a couple of dishes written in English on a greaseboard. Like many of these places, I'm sure they make much more than this. The woman working behind the counter next to the greaseboard was hard at work. Directly opposite another woman was working in the "hot kitchen".

The lady behind the counter was friendly, if a bit cautious at first. But when I started asking about various dishes, and where she was from in Laos, she began to open up a bit.

Surprising her, I ordered the Beef Larb. "You know it is raw….." I assured her that enjoyed the stuff. "You like bitter….." To which I said, yes. This meant that in the true Lao style, beef bile was being added to the dish. "How spicy?" To which I replied, "Thai spicy is ok, but Lao spicy is too much." Which made her smile. "Sticky rice?" "Oh, yes, yes….."

And in a few minutes, a plate of Beef Larb appeared at my table.

Topped with mint leaves, and accompanied by really good long beans and fresh cucumber, this was not beginner's larb. The raw beef and tripe had been swimming in heady and heavy, salty fermented fish sauce and paste, which launched an immediate pungent attack. It was pretty salty, but not very spicy. I even munched on the chilies with minimal effect. There was a good amount of puckery bitterness courtesy of beef bile. The mint helped add another dimension to the dish. Looks light, but it's a pretty substantial dish.

Along with the sticky rice…….

This was very satisfying…….

The woman was rather pleased with my efforts, and brought me a plate, say "you try, you try, we make this here….." And proceeded to deliver a sausage to me.

This was pretty good sausage, not overly sour, with a good balanced flavor. The flavor of lemon grass and garlic came through well, and unlike the larb, it wasn't overly salty. The filling was perhaps a bit too dense, and the fat content too low, but I still enjoyed it. In fact, I bought a couple to go.

As I was leaving, the woman told me, "next time, order Khao Piak (Lao Rice Noodle Soup), not on menu, but it is very good." Which is how I usually start finding out and eating the "good stuff". I'll be back, and I hope this place does better then the previous couple of restaurants.

I'll say this much; it sure has been cleaned up.

Thai Garden Restaurant
110 47th St
San Diego, CA 92102

Boll Weevil. The real one.

May 18, 2010 Cathy Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Kirk usually writes, except he is on vacation. Sometimes, ed (from Yuma) writes, but he is kind of on a vacation right now. So Cathy is writing, just to keep you looking while you wait in anticipation for Kirk's return.

Hi. I'm still here. I ate. At one of the few remaining Boll Weevils in town. Most have closed, but are in the same location, a darn good copycat has appeared Kitty corner from the Registrar of Voters (in the same parking lot as Khan's Cave) is Boll Weevil. Kirk has posted on this location and He did not like it. I knew what I crave and wanted to see if my 'usual' order tasted the same as I remembered.
The interior of this location (NW corner of Clairmont Mesa and Ruffin) is quite large. There are four televisions, two pool tables and an added on covered patio, seen in this photo, above.
The traditional tray o' condiments is the same. A bit more of a selection -two mustards, tabasco-regular and smoked.
The container in front is a mix of mustard, mayonnaise and relish; something which goes perfectly with the burgers. At least I think so.

We perused the menu, noting the various possible selections. Toppings of bacon, various cheeses, mushrooms, BBQ sauce…all sorts of variations of toppings for burgers, chicken patties, Reuben sandwiches, salads…Broasted ™ chicken , smoked ribs. Then we ordered pretty much what we always do.
The 1/2 pound Steerburger, with cheese. Medium rare. ($5.39)
A small side of "Crings" curly fries and onion rings ($4.29). The onions are whole, battered in a mix which includes cornmeal; not those diced premade weird ones… The curly fries are OK, nothing to write about.
My 1/2 pound plain Steerburger, rare ($4.99). The patty is not a frozen one. It is shaped here from fresh, flavorful ground beef, lightly seasoned.
It was juicy.
Cooked rare. Very rare…

The basic burger. None of the fancy stuff. None of the fancy toppings. No fancy sauce. Not even lettuce or tomatoes. Happy Happy. Good Good.

Boll Weevil 9330 Clairmont Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92123 (858)571-6225

GIO. Breakfast. La Mesa.

May 16, 2010 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

GIO has closed.

This is mmm-yoso!!, the food blog. Kirk isn't writing, because he is on vacation. Really. He is on another continent, visiting, photographing and eating in an exotic and beautiful country. ed(from Yuma) is in Yuma, working diligently. Cathy is in San Diego's East County, eating and blogging about it.

Hi.  The original Drew Ford was on the triangle shaped block in the Village of La Mesa, at the end of La Mesa Boulevard and Allison Street.  It has moved a few miles away, closer to the I-8 location most of you know and is now Drew Auto Center . This original building was preserved, windows and all. It has gone through many incarnations of restaurants, one I remember fondly was called "The Black Forest", which had a weeknight prime rib special (like two for $12) which was very popular and that restaurant eventually moved to the Mission Hills area of San Diego and closed.
When GIO, more or less an Wine Bar and Bistro, is open so are the windows. All of that courtyard you see in the photo is filled with tables and fountains, and makes a comfortable outdoor eating area.
When you walk in, to your left is the bar area. You can see the open window and original industrial wall that used to be part of the Drew Ford Auto Dealership…
  Just behind the counter is the espresso machine. There are about 6 indoor booths and tables to you right and then the majority of the seating is outdoors.

We were here early (9:15) on a Saturday morning a few weekends ago and were seated quickly. It took a while to have our order taken, but once that happened, coffee ($2.75. Each.) was brought out.
It was an excellent French Roast coffee. Both of our cups were refilled, twice, before our food was ready.

When the food came out, it was prepared properly and was hot. I got the "Eye Opener" ($7) . Three poached eggs, rye toast, homestyle potatoes- shredded potatoes sauteed with onions and bell peppers- not plain hash browns- and 3 slices of wonderful thick sliced applewood smoked bacon. This was served with a side of catsup and strawberry jam- a nice touch instead of tossing bottles on the table as condiments.

Here is a good cross section photo of my poached egg. All three eggs were done properly, were placed in the cup with no excess water draining and I was very pleased with my meal.

The Mister ordered a  Breakfast combo plate ($ 11 ). Three eggs, over easy, with homestyle potatoes, two very nice, skin on link sausages and… a golden Belgium waffle, served with loads of butter and warm maple syrup. The waffle batter was very nice and sweet all by itself, without the need to add the condiments.

GIO is more or less a leisurely lunch and 'date night' dinner place, offering wine tastings, happy hour prices for appetizers and good food. Service is spotty- and has been every time I have been here. It is like they don't have enough staff slated to come in at opening time.  The basic meal I ordered was a good value, but I don't think the waffle was worth the extra $4 in lieu of two slices of toast… and in general I don't usually order a beverage with meals, but in the morning I have to have coffee. It seemed kind of expensive…

GIO 8384 La Mesa Boulevard (at Allison, between 3rd and 4th) La Mesa 91941 (619) 462-9100

Website

San Diego Desserts- quick snack

May 15, 2010 Cathy Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

San Diego Desserts has changed ownership as well as its name (it is now Bistro Sixty).

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!!. This is an online diary. About food. Kirk is still on vacation, ed (from Yuma) is in Yuma and Cathy is here now.

Hi again. Just a quick post. The other evening, I met some friends for dinner which did not include dessert. Driving home, we decided to stop here.
No. Not the pawn shop. San Diego Desserts. ( The outdoor/added on patio area used to be a drive through dry cleaner; an era long gone). I saw the name on the building and remembered I had had a slice of cake at a party earlier this year and was told the cake was made here. I remember the cake was pretty good. That was enough reason to stop; otherwise I don't crave sweet…
However, this almond croissant was delicately flaky and filled with a nice marzipan layer, topped with sliced almonds and very good.
I got the pistachio baklava roll, which was filled with pistachios and not much honey or sugar syrup. It was not soggy and crispy flaky. I liked it.
One of us got a latte and the other a cappuccino. The cappuccino tasted less of milk and more of coffee. Each of these cups was at least 16 ounces and pretty much a soup bowl of beverage.

Total cost was $10.25. It was good and a nice stop. Just enough.

San Diego Desserts has a Sunday bunch and serves lunch and dinner here, in addition there is a wine bar. I didn't know this and will have to come back…

San Diego Desserts 5987 El Cajon Blvd (one block SW of College Ave) San Diego 92115 (619)287-8186

Website

B.H. Chung- Korean and Japanese (Icy Cold Hiyashi)

May 11, 2010 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

BH Chung has closed.

mmm-yoso!!! a food blog with photos, descriptions and observations about meals, condiments and other things a few of us want to write about. Feel free to read about our adventures. Today, Cathy is writing. Kirk is on vacation. If you want to know where He and His Missus are, here's a clue: Since April 21, I have not done any post with cuisine from the country they are visiting.

Hi again. A few weeks ago, I found a parking spot in the Crab Hut /Crepe World /Shabu Shabu House / Yogurt World/Tapioca Express/Tofu House /O'Brien's parking lot and was happy. This mostly food mall area may be referred to as 'The Parking Lot From Hell' by most of you, since more than 75% of the businesses here are restaurants(8 I can think of) with seating capacities for at least 20 inside each. I had to decide what I wanted to eat.
B.H. Chung's won. A Korean BBQ and Japanese restaurant, I have found the food here always to be very well made, tasty and filling. In addition, it could fulfill two cravings at one meal.
So we ordered. Japanese items. Still, we were served panchan.
the mildest, shredded daikon in front. The bean sprouts in back had a nice red pepper kick. The bamboo on the right had jalapeño/green hot chiles. (The far left is the dipping sauce for our tempura appetizer).
Vegetable Tempura ($7.99). Lightly breaded, crispy fried and drained vegetables- onions, squash, carrots, green and red pepper and broccoli.
The Mister ordered the Katsu Fish plate ($8.99). The pieces of fish were standard cuts from frozen, again lightly breaded and fried-the fish itself was a nice flavor and flaky. The rice was good and the salad dressing was house made. The tempura dipping sauce was not sweet and may have been house made. It was not disappointing, but not a "wow". However…
I wanted cold noodles. Hiyashi. I ordered Hiyashi Soba ($8.99). This is what I got. Fresh cooked, really good soba. In broth. Cold broth. See the ice cube?

This was *really* good and nothing like I had ever had before. The broth was rich, did not taste watered down, the noodles were excellent. Just the carrots, onions and bean sprouts, as you can see. Sesame oil definitely in the broth…the half hard boiled egg, no meat. Wonderfully unexpected and really good and filling.

Everything was unexpected and good, if not great.

B.H. Chung 4646 Convoy, Suite 110 San Diego 92111 (858) 495-0059 Website

Breakfast at Bristol Farms

May 5, 2010 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!! the food blog written by a few friends who like to eat and write about their respective meals. Kirk usually writes, but he is on vacation (nobody has guessed where yet). ed (from Yuma) is busy with work. VickyL and a few others are apparently merely eating and not writing and so today, Cathy is sharing a nice breakfast with you.

Hi. The other morning, The Mister and I decided to drive to La Jolla to look for breakfast. We ended up at Bristol Farms, just West of the UTC Mall.
Bristol is a High End grocery store. Very close to La Jolla. Albertsons is its parent company, but nothing in here is like your local Albertsons Store. There is a wide selection of prime and dry aged meats, seafoods, deli meats and cheeses, breads, wines, produce and even the regular grocery aisles have some quite fancy items, as well as everyday groceries. The prices here for the higher end items are not bargain basement, but are fair for the quality of the item. The everyday item prices are similar to what you pay at your regular grocery.

Each location has a cafe. There are some steam trays, a by the pound salad bar, pizza, roasted chicken and in the morning breakfast burritos already made to grab and go. You can have plates or sandwiches made, pay and take them to go, or you can sit down and get a menu and have a nice meal.
Starting with a good coffee ($1.65). You can see there are daily breakfast -and lunch- specials. Those specials are about $4 off of the regular price. There are also wine tastings on some evenings. High end, but accessible. Everyone here is very helpful and explains the foods they sell- in the store and in the Cafe.
The Mister got a bacon, avocado and cheddar omelet ($9.49) with seeded rye toast and a fresh fruit cup. The omelet made of two fresh tasting eggs, a very nice, sharp cheddar cheese and the bacon- those 1/2 slices, crispy and maple flavored…really, really good. Topped with ripe, fresh avocado and a side of a fresh roasted tomato salsa. The toast was a thin sliced seeded rye, also very fresh and good. The fresh fruit cup was only cantaloupe and grapes, but both fruits were very ripe and nice flavored.
I got the smoked salmon scramble ($9.99). Again two eggs mixed with a lot of high quality cold smoked salmon, capers and onions. This was accompanied with a toasted "everything" bagel and whipped cream cheese and those…up there on the top right. I like to call those "Bristol Tots"…cubes of potatoes, deep fried so there is an outer crust and the inside is light and fluffy and lightly seasoned. Heavenly little cubes. Maybe because I have not had French Fries in a very long time, or maybe because of the type of potato used, but those little cubes of goodness are addictive.

A special breakfast inside a special grocery store.

Bristol Farms 8510 Genesee Avenue, San Diego 92122 (858) 558-4180 Website

Opera Patisseries Fines-part one, breakfast

April 30, 2010 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

Part Two can be found here

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog. The writings are contributed by Kirk, ed (from Yuma), Cathy, Vicky L and a few others. We just take photos of what we eat and then write about it…an unusual hobby. Today, Cathy is writing. Everyone else is eating…Kirk is eating the most interesting food of all. He is on vacation. In a foreign country. Where they eat animals we would not consider eating. Prepared in a manner we would consider using.

The other Saturday morning The Mister and I found ourselves in the Sorrento Valley area, hungry.
Opera is in a food court mall, with about 6 other restaurants. This area is way crowded during the week, since people working at the surrounding offices apparently like to eat. Especially at the lunch hour. It is on Scranton Road, just off Mira Mesa Boulevard, East of the 805.
You walk in, order and pay, find a seat, put your number in that metal number holder thingy and soon, your coffee ($1.65) (if you ordered coffee-there are a variety of espresso drinks and teas as well as a soda fountain available) is delivered to your table.
Since it was early and breakfast time, The Mister chose the French Toast ($7.50).
Two slices of a *wonderful* brioche, dipped in a vanilla egg batter and fried perfectly lightly, placed on a raspberry sauce and served with warm maple syrup. Just a lightly crisp exterior, soft, not mushy bread interior. The serving size of two thick slices is quite large.
Trying to appear to be healthy (Hello Dr. B!), I ordered an egg white omelette ($8.95) which comes with a choice of three fillings (I chose mushrooms, tomatoes and asparagus) (other items to choose from are ham, Cheddar, Swiss, bacon, onion and peppers) and is served with a choice of a fruit cup or salad and also the Yukon Gold potatoes seen here.
I must confess, I did not expect much at all, but this was the *most* wonderful egg white omelet, perfectly made. Crispy exterior and fluffly light interior. Just like the French Toast. The vegetables had been sauteed and were so fresh and flavorful. The fruit salad was all ripe, good fruit. The potatoes were thick sliced sauteed to a light crispiness and yet were still soft. The Yukon Gold flavor was there.

Opera is known best for its pastries and sweets and baking as well as the crepes, quiches, croissant sandwiches and salads which are made to order and which make each meal an event.

Breakfast is served Mon-Fri from 7:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. and again from 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. and all day on Saturday. The lunch post is coming soon. Featuring pastries!

Opera Patissieres Fines 9254 Scranton Road San Diego 92121 (858) 458-9050 Mon-Fri 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., closed Sunday Website