Closed – Page 67

The Wrangler Family Barbecue – El Cajon

October 5, 2010 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, BBQ

**** The Wrangler Family Barbecue has closed

Late last year, I had another fun meal with our monthly "eating club". This time, Candice chose a spot she was interested in. The choice, The Wrangler Family Barbecue, located right off the I-8's El Cajon Boulevard exit. The Wrangler? I'd never heard of it! I was intrigue because Candice had been told of the place by a Professional Barbecue Judge… and I'd never heard of it? Personally, I thought some of what I had was so-so, except for one item, which I returned for in sandwich form a couple of weeks later. I didn't even bother taking a photo, as it looked pretty lonely and plain, and I snacked on it in the parking lot. Looking over, I realized I was parked next to what could possibly be the last Ford Granada still on the road……. which somehow just seemed perfect.

So now nearly a year later, on a whim, I decided to check out The Wrangler again…..

I was pretty sure that nothing would change at The Wrangler….. you see, the place has been around since 1965. And looking around the dining room, I was pretty sure that most of the customers on this day have probably been coming here since then. And that's the charm, to say that The Wrangler is "old school", from the western motif, to the wood paneling, the peg board menu, the partitioned plates, and the various animals staring at you hanging from the walls…..is an understatement.

Unlike other "old school themed" restaurants, who sells you nostalgia and not food, The Wrangler is a bit different.

Ordering is done at the front counter, it's also where you are handed your cafeteria tray of food.

Behind that counter, to tempt you lies an oak smoked hunk of beef, and the ham.

Only my initial visit to The Wrangler with my friends, I thought there were more misses than hits, but I decided to go for lucky (hopefully this time) #7 the Beef, Ham, and Rib Combo ($12.97). You get two sides and what is called (I assume very loosely) a roll and butter.

It's more like one of those par baked heat and eat buns.

Having tasted most of the sides during my first trip, I went with what I thought tasted best, the beans and coleslaw to accompany my protein-fest. The beans are serviceable, and the coleslaw is simple, but hits all the right buttons for me.

The ribs here are spareribs, and there's an honest to goodness smoke ring. Yes, the elusive (in San Diego) smoke ring. These aren't mushy, par baked or boiled baby backs that lies in, and depends on a heavily spiced sauce (which is a great spicy ketchup), flavored with, and finished over wood to give the facade of smoke (no need to name names, we know who you are). The first time, I thought the ribs were too dry, though it had a decent "bark". This time, not enough bark, but these pulled cleanly without falling to pieces and were very moist.

For something smoked with oak, I thought the overall flavor was mild as well.

I'm not a big fan of the sauce at The Wrangler.

Though it is served slightly warmed, the flavor of cloves just over-powers everything else. In this day of more highly seasoned sauces, this tastes kind of dated. Thankfully, the sauce is served appropriately on the side.

On my initial visit, I thought the beef to be tough, bland, and on the dry side.

This was confirmation.

The one item, that everyone thought was done well on our "eating club" visit, was the ham. It was what I came back for in the form of a sandwich….. a simple one, bun and bread.

There's something about this ham, resplendent in it's simplicity, which just gets to the point of what being a good ham is all about. It's not heavily cloved or glazed. It tastes, well, like good ham, and takes me back to a ham I had during a Christmas party in Columbus Georgia. The person whose home I was invited to had gone all out for the party. There was a ham smoked in his own smoker, and a first for me (this was waaay back in the mid-nineties) deep fried turkey. And as fabulous as the turkey was, it was the ham I enjoyed the most. It was wonderful between Wonder Bread the next day!

I ended up placing the slices of ham between the rolls and making my own sandwich of sorts…. and was perfectly happy.

After contemplating things a bit, I realize that The Wrangler is not a Barbecue destination, but a simple neighborhood barbecue joint, that makes an honest old school ham that I enjoy.

If you wanted to know what Candice thought about The Wrangler, you can read her article in CityBeat here.

The Wrangler Family Barbecue
901 El Cajon Blvd.
El Cajon, CA 92020

Opera Patisseries Fines- Part Two-Lunches

September 30, 2010 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome (back) to mmm-yoso!!! the food blog. Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are busy finding things to write about and Cathy has things to write about. Here you go.

Hi Again. When Kirk and His Missus were on vacation in China, I wrote about breakfast at Opera Patisserie and told you I'd write about lunch. Quick like a bunny, in my painstakingly methodical way, here are photos of some of those non-breakfast meals. Opera is only open six days a week, for breakfast and lunch and serves its breakfasty menu items after 1:30 in the afternoon. We have never had a bad meal here and this was one of our 'joint' choices of meals to share the week between our birthdays.
One item I did not mention, which is usually sold out by lunch time is the house made almond croissant ($2.49 and so worth it).

Flaky, crispy and billowy layers and layers of buttery goodness, filled with a delightful not too sweet marzipan. An excellent treat or meal…
My other post had shown an egg white omelette filled with mushroom, asparagus and tomato and here is a photo of a 'regular' (eggs with yolk) omelette with the same fillers (same price of $8.95). I actually like the egg white omelette better…but am not complaining about this one, which was a lunch for me one day, served with a salad and fried Yukon Gold potatoes topped with a parmesan cheese.
The Quiche Lorraine can be a breakfast or lunch dish here. It is perfect. The buttery, flaky crust. A thin layer of just enough nutty flavored Swiss cheese. The pancetta. The nutmeg flavor in the custard. Bits of onion…wonderful!
The crepes- Chicken curry ($8.50)…that is a curry white wine sauce. The crepes are thin yet don't fall apart.
They were filled with pieces of roasted chicken breast, red bell peppers, cooked tomatoes, Gruyére cheese and some fresh herbs. Nicely flavored, not spicy. Not too rich. The spring salad is topped with a mustard vinaigrette.
Here is a better photo of my half order of Ahi Niçoise Salad ($ 6.50). It is served in a rather large bowl. The spring mix of lettuces is also mixed with Yukon Gold potatoes, green beans, cherry tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, red bell peppers, olives and topped with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette.

Opera Patisserie 9254 Scranton Road San Diego 92121 (858) 458-9050 Mon-Fri 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Sat 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Website

Sagmani’s Restaurant – El Cajon

September 19, 2010 mmm-yoso Iraqi Food and Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants

**** Sagmani’s is no longer

It had been while since I had a kebab, so I thought I’d head on down to El Cajon, home to the second largest Iraqi population in the US (next to Detroit). The mostly Chaldean Iraqi community has turned El Cajon’s Main Street into a parade of Halal meat shops, markets, and kebab shops, providing a kind of ethnic vibrance, albiet a very laid back vibe, to the street. My initial thought was to hit my favorite spot, Village Grill. I gave my good friend JohnL a call, but he was tied up with work, so I headed down to El Cajon solo. While driving, I decided to check out someplace I hadn’t been to. I drove past a restaurant I’d seen a few months earlier, but it had shut down, and was being replaced by “Nahrain Fish and Chicken Restaurant”, which was not yet opened. Then I recalled a place I saw during one of our visits to Athena Market….. the shop was behind the market, away from the main drag. It is called Sagmani’s Restaurant.

A few months back, I was talking to someone about all these Iraqi/Kebab Restaurants in El Cajon, and was taken aback when told, “I’d be afraid to go there….. I don’t think I’d be welcome.” I explained that my experiences, like what happened at Ali Baba were just the opposite of what she thought. Even though many of the men were fairly stoic, the women are warm and welcoming…. which turned out to be untrue based on this visit to Sagmani’s. I was greeted by a jolly gentleman, who smiled and said “welcome….have you had kebob before?” I answered in the positive, and looked over the menu, which like many of these restaurants is compact, but deceivingly varied, with tekka, kebabs, stews, kubba(kibbeh), and even grilled quail and cornish hens. Looking over the menu, I just couldn’t make up my mind….so the gentleman made it easy for me…..”I’ll make you one beef, and one chicken, and you can tell me which you like better…. how does that sound?” Well, it sounded just right to me.

The interior of Sagmani’s is much smaller than it appears from the outside, only a couple of four tops, and two large, almost communal tables. But based on the table-tops laying against the corner, I’m guessing that they can accommodate a pretty sizable crowd if necessary.

I had a seat, and the very nice, but quiet young lady brought me some water, and asked me if I’d like to have some tea. And soon enough I was brought some.

Here’s my Beef and Chicken Kabob:

Let’s work around the protein first…… I really liked the “turshi” aka pickle, which was the pickled tumeric cabbage, which was really good, not too sour, and full of flavor. The salad was your basic plain lettuce dressed with a bit of olive oil and vinegar. The rice was moist, and had a nice savory flavor, almost like some kind of stock was used to make it.

On to the Kabobs…….

I really couldn’t decided which I enjoyed more; the beef was fairly mellow, with just a touch of herbaceousness…. but man it was moist and tender. I could cut it easily with a fork. I loved that sumac was sprinkled liberally over the kabobs as that added even more flavor to them. On occasion, I’ve had a kabob that has what I call a “negative gamey flavor”, which is that slightly off flavor of meat that is starting to head South….. this tasted clean. The chicken had more flavor, and did well with the char. It was also moist, but as with chicken, it was not as tender as the beef. It did have good flavor, though!

The only major item I didn’t care for here was the bread.

Which were basically pita, and were pretty tough……..

I would like to mentioned the service, which I thought was wonderful. When the young lady saw me finish my water; she brought me an entire pitcher. I was checked on twice by the young lady, first to see if I wanted more bread; second to see if I wanted more tea. The gentleman came by to make sure I was enjoying my meal. I was surprised to find that I wasn’t charged for my tea….. the entire meal came out to $7, the price of a sandwich in most of San Diego……. And from the various signs, they’ve got a slew of deals going on, from 99 cent kabobs to Monday and Tuesday lunch specials….. there’s quite a bit of competition in the area.

So where do I place Sagmani’s compared with the other Iraqi Kabob shops in the area? I still think the bread at Ali Baba is the best, followed by Hammurabi. For protein, my favorite with regards to flavor is Village Grill(and they make the best okra stew). Still the kabobs here were the most tender I’ve had to date, and I thought the rice was very good. And I’ll go back, I’d like to chat with the really nice guy who made my kabobs…….

Sagmani’s Restaurant
478 West Douglas St
El Cajon, CA 92020

Pizzeria Bruno Napoletano

September 13, 2010 mmm-yoso Pizza

*** Pizzeria Bruno has closed

The Missus and I aren't real big pizza people…… the huge amount of cheese, and way too much bread that characterizes typical "American Pizza" is just too much for us. Even the New York style pizza we've had has been touch and go, and most times since it's just the Missus and I, a whole large pie is just out of the question, as are wrinkled reheated slices. So when FOY, Kayoko, keeper of Umamimart told me that I just had to try Bruno when we had lunch last month…. well, of course I just had to check them out.

When you first enter Bruno, the first thing you notice is "Bruno" the wood fired brick oven that occupies the back of the kitchen area.

Ovens like Bruno are capable of major heat, upwards of 900 degrees, which does magical things with well made dough……

And I was thrilled to order my first pizza, the Bufalina ($16), which consisted of Mozzarella di Bufala (Buffalo Mozzarella), Fresh Tomatoes, Basil, and drizzled with a very flavorful olive oil, which I enjoy because it isn't too over-the-top in fruitiness, and thus doesn't interfere with the rest of the flavors.

When the pizza hit the table, I was just entranced by the fragrances. There were the characteristics of a classic Neopolitan Pizza, raised edges, the dough of the body of the pizza no thicker than 1/8 inch. The texture of the charred edges was wonderful, with a nice pull. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of coloring on the body of the pizza, and this was borne out as I tried to separate a slice and move it to my plate….. the entire middle of the pie stayed on the pan, saturated. When I tried to lift it, everything just kinda sloughed off the pie. Still I loved the wonderful, pure flavors that came through. You could taste everything. I ended taking two slices home since I thought this would be right up the Missus's alley. When She opened the box, She said, "you gotta be kidding"….. until She caught a whiff of the olive oil and basil. She scarfed the entire thing up cold…… except for the center which had turned to mush….

And soon enough, we made our way back to Bruno. We ordered two pies, the Brunoverde ($14) – Fresh Mozzarella, Parmigiana Reggiano, Ricotta, and Arugula.

We both loved the combination of milky flavors lent by the cheese, which was cut by the wonderfully peppery arugula. This time the crust was just about there, wonderful char on the edges, the pie was soft, and foldable. I was once told that when you had true Neopolitan Pizza, you should be able to fold a slice in half, then half again without the crust breaking. This sure filled the bill.

To be honest, we thought the simple Marinara ($9) – tomato sauce, basil, garlic, and olive oil, displayed the best of Bruno. Things were placed in perfect proportion for us.

All the items were displayed at its best, the tomato sauce made this taste like "sunshine on a crust". Without a doubt, the crust on this was wonderful, soft and moist, the best of all the pies we've had a Bruno.

This is the Missus's favorite here…. She'll order it requesting an extra drizzle of the olive oil on it.

Some of the other Pizzas we've had at Bruno:

The Blanco ($15) – Mozzarella, gorgonzola, Garlic, Roasted Onion, Pancetta, and Arugula:

There was an amazing char on this pizza, great crust. I think this was a case of too much of a good thing. There was just too much going on, and the combination of pancetta and gorgonzola made this a bit on the salty side.

I did enjoy the Diavolo ($15), though. A pizza topped with Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Pepperroni, Garlic, and Goat Peppers.

I just love looking at my photo of this pizza. Even though they call this Diavolo (the Devil), this wasn't very spicy. The peppers listed are goat peppers, which I've always thought were in the Habanero Family, but perhaps I'm wrong since these were slightly spicy, with a mild sweet-fruitiness to them. The Missus picked them off the pizza to eat!

As you can tell, we've been coming here a lot recently. And though we believe that items such as the Bread Plate ($8):

Really don't show Bruno at it's best; the Missus enjoys the salads, and She craves that Pizza Marinara…..

And we've found that we enjoy sitting outside on Bruno's patio, sipping on Limonata, Aranciata, or a Stella Artois. Celebrating the end of another week.

Some notes: The service has always been friendly, though a bit spaced out on one visit. Parking out front will be by meter so either have some quarters handy, visit on Sunday, or park further up the street near Henry's.

Pizzeria Bruno
4207 Park Blvd
San Diego, CA 92105

Please read Kayokos post on Pizzeria Bruno here.

For more information about Neapolitan Pizza, you can check the site of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana.

Bread on Market- a quick, delicious breakfast

September 5, 2010 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

Sadly, this wonderful bakery has closed.

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog. The people who write the blog are friends who like to eat and talk about their adventures. Today, Kirk and ed(from Yuma) ae having their own adventures and Cathy is writing about one of hers.

Hi. I used to be in downtown San Diego a lot, but either at 6 a.m. or after 6 p.m. and this place was always closed when I would drive or walk past.
Bread on Market opens at 7:30 a.m., it is closed by 4 p.m. Sun-Thurs and 5 p.m. Fri and Sat, unless the Padres are playing an evening game and then they stay open until 7 p.m. They bake really good breads and pastries, make wonderful sandwiches, soups and salads. Then there is breakfast, my most favorite meal of the day.

The menu is on the side wall, and there is a chalkboard out front with specials listed.

You walk up, order and pay, get your own coffee or beverage and have a seat. It is small inside, only about ten tables and sometimes the line goes out the door.

Here is a kind of cross section of an almond croissant ($2.75). Filled with a delicate in house made marzipan, which is light and fluffy and not overly sweet , light layers of dough, baked to a crispy exterior and topped with coarsely chopped almonds, which give it a wonderful texture. It was fresh, but not out of the oven warm.
This blueberry scone ($2.75), however, was hot from the oven at about 8 a.m. one Sunday a few weekends ago.

Flaky, creamy dough and filled with fresh blueberries. It was wonderful. One of the best scones I have ever had.

The Country Breakfast ($4.25) Two scrambled eggs, sliced Francese (a square roll of white bread with a chewy but soft crust), butter, cream cheese and strawberry jam with fresh fruit. Just enough and so fresh.
One Sunday, we decided to try the Cheese plate for breakfast ($7) Fresh baguette and a choice of two cheeses (this was Brie and Gorgonzola; we could also have chosen Goat, Cheddar or Jack) served with Kalamata olives, dried cranberries, apples and sliced strawberries. This was very nice and just enough for us.

We usually buy a loaf of rye bread when we are here; I don't have a photo, but it is filled with caraway seeds and very, very good. The sandwiches are excellent and cost between $7.50 and $7.95. An excellent place I wish I had stopped by sooner. Now it is a destination.

Bread on Market 730 Market Street San Diego 92101 (619) 795-2730 Website

Say Cheese……Steaks, an addendum – Voltero’s, Sodhi’s (Letty’s??) Bean Shack, and Jersey Mike’s

August 29, 2010 mmm-yoso Cheesesteaks, Sandwiches

*** You can find Part 3 here.

I hope you don't mind another cheesesteak post to go with my original. These are more like sloppy seconds, with nothing that really compares to my favorites. I will say that I got some interesting emails from that post, so here's one that was a recommendation (thanks Derek!), one that I had forgotten about, and one out of nowhere.

Voltero's Pizza:

**** Voltero's has closed

I'd been to Voltero's a couple of times before, but had forgotten that they sold cheesesteaks. For me Voltero's is typical of the neighborhood pizza joint; good prices, friendly staff, and pretty hefty portions.

The cheesesteak at Voltero's comes with either fries or a green salad…. guess which I selected? It's also priced right at $6.95.

I noticed that the roll was not an Amoroso right off. It was a nice, crusty Italian that did not bad, but was a bit too much bread. At least it was slightly toasted and warm.

The cheese was nicely melted and decently gooey, which I believe was provolone. The meat was on the dry side, but the flavors along with the bell peppers and what I call "pizza mushrooms", (thinly sliced mushrooms usually used to top pizzas) was pretty good. This was pretty close, but not quite.

The funny thing was, I enjoyed the fries…..

And then I realized that I hadn't had fries since the beginning of April. So these hit the spot.

Overall a good value…… and much better then the Philadelphia Sandwich Company, which is kinda depressing if you think about it.

Voltero's Pizza
5650 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Sodhi's (Letty's) Bean Shack:

**** Sodhi's has closed

Well, the sign says "Sodhi's", and the menu says "Letty's" so I'm trying to cover all bases on this one. Located on a side street across from UCSD Medical Center; I'm guessing this place makes a living on giving folks an alternative to Hospital food.

The Cheesesteak here also comes with fries, and is even cheaper than Voltero's at $6.75:

The biggest surprise for me was that this sandwich came on an Amoroso roll! The portion of meat was bit on the small side, and the meat had been placed on the flat-top with onions, topped with cheese which melted nicely, the roll was then placed on top of everything and it was scooped up and put into the styrofoam box. Of course, this meant the roll was still cold, and had not benefited from any toasting.

The sandwich was also a bit dry for my tastes. Cold Roll + small portion + dryness = mediocre cheesesteak.

A generous portion of "steak fries" were served with the sandwich.

These were fried golden brown…. or should I say double, or even triple fried??? The fries were already cooked and still in the basket. When the order was placed, the fries were dumped back into the oil for reheating. They didn't seem to suffer any ill effects…..

Letty's Bean Shack
4229 Front St
San Diego, CA 92103

Jersey Mike's Subs – Rosecrans:

FOY "Derek" asked me to try out the cheesesteaks at Jersey Mike's. So, of course I did so at my earliest opportunity. I do have to apologize about the poor quality of my photos…. I don't know what the heck happened that day. I've already done a post on Jersey Mike's Rosecrans location, so I decided to return to that shop for my cheesesteak.

Even a regular sized sandwich looks pretty huge…….

The bread, with an almost cracker like flavor, does well with Italian Subs, but for me, it tends to interfere with the flavor of a cheesesteak.

It was also cold and the ratio of bread to filling was off…. too much bread in this case. In fact, there was too much of mostly everything, peppers, bread, onions, to meat for my taste. I pulled out some of the meat and had a taste, and the right flavor was indeed there; but it was just overpowered in this case.

On one interesting note; the #13 "Original Italian" has kinda grown on the Missus and I. It's still pretty much a "salad in a bun", but we sure do prefer it over Subway, and other of shops of that ilk.

Jersey Mike's Subs
3670 Rosecrans Street
San Diego, CA 92110

You can read my original Cheesesteak post here.

Dinner with Friends – Sushi Yaro

August 11, 2010 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats

**** Sushi Yaro has closed

Since Sushi Yaro officially opened on July 1st, I've been visiting at least once a week. I kinda hesitated in doing a post, since I've now known Sam for almost ten years. I really didn't want to seem to be "shill"…. but Sam has served up some great meals over the years, not only to me, but to other FOYs as well. But much like your favorite watering hole, the relationship between a regular customer, and his Itamae is a very close one. Sam seems to have settled into Sushi Yaro, and the place is starting to have that neighborhood feel Sammy Sushi had. It does seem like the customers are focused on the "world of rolls", but Sam always seems to have something for me……

And once he got his kitchen guy back from a stint at Sakura, the kitchen food started getting better as well.

No, it isn't Ota or Kaito….. but I can't really afford to eat there three times a week. At Yaro, on a weeknight I can relax, have some sushi or sashimi, and maybe some Kubota Manju or Otokoyama, and the world becomes a better place.

This is one of my favorite cooked dishes at Sushi Yaro:

Shishamo is really great stuff grilled…. but it is the female smelt, especially those laden with eggs that we're after. So what to do with the guys??? I guess Sam decided to batter them, and serve them tempura style. I was a bit surprised at the flavor, there's almost a savory sweetness to this. I had thought that Shishamo was a bit too high in oil to be used for tempura.

And sometimes Sam will have something that surprise me, like the night he broke out some Razor Clams. The kitchen hadn't done a particularly great job with these…. but it was very thoughtful.

So obviously, it was just a matter of time before our "eating club" descended upon Sushi Yaro for dinner. What follows is mostly photos… many of which "my favorite Librarian", Jenne took.

I can't remember the last time I had oyster jun…..

As always, I had a wonderful time with Candice, Howie, and Jenne…. I can't wait until next month!

Sushi Yaro
7905 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Geez you can even find them on Twitter.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Ryan’s Cafe- breakfast

August 7, 2010 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, What Cathy Eats!

Ryan's has closed.

This is mmm-yoso!!!, the blog o' food. Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy like towrite about their eating adventures here. You like to read about said adventures. Here is a small adventure from Cathy.

Hello. There is this hole in the wall place, Ryan's Cafe, which is frequented by USD students and anyone who notices it. It is on Linda Vista Road, one block east of the Starbucks which is at Morena Boulevard. In the same mall with a taco shop and donut place…We have a soft spot in our hearts for small restaurants near colleges, because those are where The Mister and I went on all of our dates when we were at University, before we married.
The banners advertising the specials get you in, then there are more selections on the board behind the register…
We decided to try one of the breakfast specials:
Bacon, eggs and pancakes, $4.50. Two slices of thin crispy yet flavorful bacon, two fluffy fresh scrambled eggs, excellent pancakes, fluffy and with crispy edges and with a sweetness that did not need syrup.
I was in a no-meat mode and chose the breakfast pita ($5.45). I like the flatbread here- very fresh and thick. The 'pita' bread is topped with a good amount of Provolone cheese, which really gives it flavor, especially when melted (not unlike when you get Provolone on a pizza…another post). The egg is topped with sauteed onions and green peppers and this combination of flavors is just perfect for me.

If you are in the neighborhood, do stop in- breakfast is served all day. So are fresh fruit yogurt smoothies. A good portion of the food is Middle Eastern (Gyros, schawarma, hummus and yogurt based sauces) and there are lots of vegetarian selections and any of the items served on a pita will be a good choice. Students at USD know that Ryan's delivers.

Ryan's Cafe 5201 Linda Vista Road (between Metro and Napa) San Diego 92110 (619) 294-5755

Open 7 a.m. M-F and 8:30 a.m. Sat and Sun Website

Apollonia Greek Bistro- UTC

August 5, 2010 Cathy Blog

Hi this is the mmm-yoso!!! food blog. Postings here are about food consumed by the Posters: Kirk, ed(from Yuma), Cathy and a few others. Today is Cathy's turn in the rotation.

The other day I didn't feel like cooking, yet did feel like eating. I drove West to the La Jolla area, stopped in at Bristol Farms and decided to finally try Apollonia Greek Bistro, a few doors North. I had had some food prepared by Apollonia at a catered event in 2008. The mental note suddenly had appeared.

We decided to try the Mezedakia ($14.49) A two part appetizer platter…
Part one of the appetizer platter, consisting of (the hot) Spanikopita and Bourekia. Both made with fresh herbs, Served warm with crispy not in the slightest soggy dough. Fresh spinach. Fresh ground lamb with onion and seasonings. Really nice.
The cold portion of this appetizer (starting at the top and moving clockwise): Sliced cucumber and sliced pieces of an excellent Feta cheese (not salty), taramosalata (fish row mixed with lemon juice, olivie oil, some vinegar and I think mashed potato), yalandji (grape leaves stuffed with rice, tomato, red pepper, mint, onion and pomegranate molasses)(really good) , olives, fresh hummus (not too garlicy), marinated artichoke hearts and Tzatziki (cucumber yogurt dip). Every item was very fresh and of excellent quality.
Of course this was served with fresh, hot flat bread.
We also shared a bowl of avgolemono ($5.49) and a large Greek salad. ($ 8.59) topped with a side of Gyros meat ($3.39). The traditional egg-lemon-chicken broth soup had both rice and orzo in it and was excellent. The salad parts were very fresh (lettuces, tomato, onion, Feta cheese, o;ives, pepperocini) The dressing was based with a wonderful olive oil and fresh chopped herbs and the side of gyros was substantial and had a wonderful lamb-beef flavor, with a few crisp cooked edges which I liked.

Excellent quality. Really nice. Really good.

Apollonia Greek Bistro 8650 Genessee Avenue, Suite 106 (closer to Bristol Farms in that mall) San Diego 92122 (858) 455-4535 Website [Open Sun-Thurs 11 a.m.-9. p.m. and until 10 p.m. Fri and Sat]

Taste of Italy- Rancho San Diego. A Sicilian influenced and excellent lunch.

July 27, 2010 Cathy Italian Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog you are reading. Cathy is writing because the guys (Kirk and ed(fromYuma)) are busy doing stuff, like researching future posts.

Tucked in a shopping mall near Cuyamaca College, next to the Starbucks, in Rancho San Diego, is this. Taste of Italy, kind of a local chain of "A Taste of Italy" restaurants (another location is on University in Hillcrest, on Carmel Mountain Road in Del Mar and also Vesuvio and Etna are owned by the same group; the primary menu items are all Sicilian (a more complex Italian) based). We like the Rancho San Diego because it is open late (midnight M-Th and 2 a.m. on Fri and Sat), it has a bar, televisions in the bar (we watched a World Cup game here one Saturday) and really really good, house made food.

Inside, there are a selection of wines, or you can bring your own and store the bottles, in a locked area with a personalized plaque, as you might on the island of Sicily.

We were here for lunch one day. We could have also ordered brunch (they just started offering brunch on weekends in June, possibly to coincide with the above mentioned World Cup Games.)

Artichoke soup. Made from scratch. Not heavy (no cream layer stuck to your tongue). Lemony and with a bit of heat (jalapeño juice maybe was in it). Excellent and made in house. There is always a great minestrone, I do like trying the soups. The island of Sicily has a subtropical climate and artichokes and eggplant and citrus are easily grown. Most Sicilian dishes are vegetable and seafood based).

A few pieces of garlic bread were brought out- The garlic was complimentary to the soup taste.

I ordered the Classic Antipasto for my meal. Red and green lettuces, fresh pickled mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, olives and rolled mortadella, salami and provolone. This was just the right amount of food for me at lunch. The house made olive oil, balsamic and herb salad dressing (also with a bit of peppery heat) is just right.

The Mister could not decide, but knew he wanted a baked pasta dish and chose the half ravioli half cheese manicotti with the marinara sauce ($14.99). The pastas were tender, house made. The manicotti were very much like crepes and filled with a combination of mozarella, ricotta and romano cheeses. The ravioli were large and overfilled. The marinara sauce, also house made, was very rich in tomato flavor and had just a touch of red pepper heat in it.

You need reservations on Friday and Saturday nights to eat here. It gets very crowded. Because it is good. There are plenty of Italian Restaurants in this part of El Cajon. This is one of the best.

Taste of Italy 2515 Jamacha Road El Cajon 92019 (Rancho San Diego-in the Ralphs/Michael's mall, across from the mall with the movie theaters) (619)660-6300 Website