Closed – Page 69

It’s Burger Week (Again)- Fred’s Old Fashioned Burgers (El Cajon)

February 20, 2010 Cathy Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

This location fo Fred's has closed.

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog written by Kirk, ed (from Yuma), Cathy and a few other friends. Today, it's Cathy's turn.

Hi. I knew it was the Third Annual Burger Week for us at mmm-yoso!!! and thought I would share some East County places The Mister and I enjoy. First, Fred's Old Fashioned Burgers.
The building that houses Fred's used to be a Taco Bell, so you know it is not very large inside. When it is busy, there are full outdoor tables.
The indoor ordering counter is pretty much unchanged from the old Taco Bell blueprint.
The Additional  Condiment Bar is right behind you after you place order and pay.
You take a seat in the different-than-Taco-Bell decorated area. Your food will be delivered to your table.
If you've ordered a shake ($2.95) (which you *must* do), it will be brought out first. The Mister and I decided to share a chocolate peanut butter one. Thick, rich, using real peanut butter, this satisfies my salt cravings and His chocolate cravings. You can order your shakes with or without malt and 'extra thick' or 'regular'. There are about 8 flavors to choose from.
Your burgers are brought out. Mine was a "Patty Melt" ($3.79). I must confess, the breads that are served here are the best and the real reason I like the food here. Even though this was not rye, it was a very fresh, very thick sourdough, grilled to perfection. The burger is topped with grilled onions, (sadly) American cheese and an excellent Thousand Island. I know, American Cheese and sourdough does not a Patty Melt make, hence the quotation marks above. The burger is hand shaped, not frozen, 1/4 pound and not thick, so as to fit on the breads. They pretty much can't be cooked to a medium rare, which I like.  The meat is not overly flavored on its own ( I added salt, pepper and pickles near the end of finishing the burger).
This time, The Mister ordered a Half Pounder ($4.64), without onions. It comes with lettuce, tomato and Thousand Island sauce (he got pickles at the bar) and is served on the wonderfully fresh, toasted potato roll you see here. Again, the bread is what brings me back more than the taste of the burger. Oddly, the crinkle cut fries are somehow seasoned with a light layer of salt and apparently are cooked in beef fat. They have a wonderful flavor without having to add anything, not even catsup.

One other item of note, both Coke and Pepsi are served here. Buying a "combo" does not save any money, the individual prices add up to be the same. It's an interestingly decorated good use of the old Taco Bell space that does a steady business. Not bad, but not outstanding burgers.

Fred's Old Fashioned Burgers 1285 East Madison (two signal lights south of I-8, behind the gas station on the SW corner) El Cajon 92021 (619)447-2300

It’s Burger Week (again) – The Counter – Carlsbad

February 15, 2010 mmm-yoso Burgers

**** This location of the Counter has closed

*** An updated post on The Counter can be found here.

Let's see….. it's mid-February, about the time most of us have said, "what the heck" and have let those New Years resolutions fall by the wayside. Or perhaps you're like FOY and fellow food blogger Masa Assassin, and have already reached your goals for the year! Hmmm, don't you hate people like that??? Just kidding…. I just figured it was time for another burger week. So hang on, loosen up the ol' belt a coupla notches, and let's get going.

I first read about The Counter when Kat of Our Adventures in Japan ate at the Kahala location during one of her visits home. The first thing that struck me was how good the onion strips looked, I was literally wiping drool off my chin. The second thing that entered my head was, "wait a minute, Honolulu gets a location of The Counter, and we're left high and dry in San Diego?" Talk about burger envy….. If that wasn't bad enough, Rosa, The Catty Critic, did not one, but two posts (make that three posts) on The Counter. But like most food bloggers, Rosa is quick to lend a hand and provide information. The Catty Critic quickly informed me that The Counter had opened in San Diego….. I quickly found out that The Counter had opened… all the way up in Carlsbad! Sigh. Then it struck me… I have no problem driving down to Chula Vista for tacos, which is about the same distance as Leucadia, so why would I make a big deal about driving up to The Forum in Leucadia?

The Missus and I haven't been back up here since Anthropologie opened up in Fashion Valley. I believe this used to be Sushi on the Rock. We arrived just as the shop opened and were led to a seat. The ceilings of the restaurant are pretty high, and all the hard surfaces make for a pretty loud space.

The menu at The Counter is pretty interesting, you can select a "signature burger", or go through a six step process to design your own burger. It's a BYOB (Build your own burger) process.

It's really not that complicated…. you don't need to be like the guy sitting next to us who had to read each step…. and each item out loud, in his "outside voice"!

Of course, I just needed to try out the onion strings, so we got a "fifty-fifty" of onion strings and fries ($4.95):

First off the BBQ sauce tastes pretty artificial and didn't go real well with either item. The "ranch" was very watery….. ketchup was the way to go for us.

I loved the onions strips, which were thin, crisp, with a good ratio of batter to onion (for me), was basically a bit greasy, but in the most fulfilling way.

The Missus prefers breaded onions rings, so She didn't enjoy these as much as I did. It also struck me that this will be great as a burger topping….. and it is offered as a premium topping ($1 more).

The fries were of the thin-cut shoestring variety, which makes for maximization of a crisp exterior.

the fries had a nice crisp texture, but were way over-seasoned. The potatoes were so salty it tasted metallic and bitter. Even the Missus, who loves salt could only eat a few fries.

The Missus wasn't feeling like a burger, so She got a 2/3 lb Veggie Burger (!) in a bowl ($1 more), with organic mixed greens, etc, etc….. All I can say, is that it looked like a pretty huge salad ($11.50):

The Missus enjoyed the 2 veggie patties and the pesto. The Danish Blue Cheese was very salty, and would probably have fared better inside two buns. This was a good amount of food, and the Missus couldn't finish it.

Even though I was quite taken by the menu and options, I'm in the habit of minimizing all the toppings and frills the first time I have a burger at a restaurant. Not wanting to get fancy, I got a 1/3 pound burger (medium), on a hamburger bun, with Gruyere, red onions, lettuce mix, and tomatoes ($8.50):

The Gruyere was nicely melted over my burger, it was creamy and mild. When I cut my burger in half I was over-joyed!

Finally, a perfect medium burger…. at a chain no less! Those of you who have read my previous posts on burger joints will remember what a hard time I have getting a medium burger. Many places will ask you how you want you burger, but you'll always get it well done, or over-done. I've started to call that the burger "shibai". This on the other hand was a good burger, moist, with a nice char on the exterior. The char added a nice flavor, and good resistance when first biting into the burger. The beefiness of the burger was better than another burger chain which serves grass-fed beef. Man did this hit the spot.

Now that I've got the first visit over-with, I'm ready for the next step… hmmm…. onions strings? A fried egg? Soft ripened brie perhaps? Heck, maybe I'll just have the same simple burger again, because it was sure hit the spot.

Some final thoughts…. you ever know where all those yuppies went to when they had kids and hit middle age? Carlsbad… The service is kinda hit and miss, one young lady was very nice but spaced out, another young man was very efficient. The counter, has a counter ( bar), and it looks pretty well stocked. We saw two women boozing it up pretty good…. at 11 am! These are "gourmet burger" prices, but I felt we got what we paid for.

The Counter
1923 Calle Barcelona
Carlsbad CA 92009

Keith’s Restaurant – Miramar

February 6, 2010 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Diner

**** Keith's has closed

I'm pretty sure if you've driven South on the 15 freeway, you've seen the sign for Keith's.

The Missus, who loves diners just could not fend off the pull of this sign forever. So I just knew that we'd eventually be eating here.

On the day we visited Keith's we'd arrive right before what would be considered a normal dinner service. We grabbed a table, and soon enough our menus arrived.

My first thought was that the prices were a bit higher than others, but that could've just been my imagination.

The Missus who loves breakfast for dinner, or lunch, or even a midnight snack went for the two eggs combo. Now, there's just a couple of things that make a diner, well….. a diner for us. Two of them are eggs and potatoes. And though the Foodanistas will criticize something that they think it's below them….it's the potatoes(namely the usually perfectly executed SYSCO hashbrowns) that makes a place like Perry's Cafe (which we hope reopen soon). This is what arrived at our table:

The eggs were an adequate over-medium, though the toast could have been in the toaster a bit longer. The hashbrowns were a letdown. They weren't crisp enough on the exterior, I just don't think enough oil was being used. We really don't go to a diner for "healthy" hashbrowns. The strands of potatoes under the semi-crust were hard, and not good eats.

The entree I ordered started with a Macaroni Soup:

This was really just "meh" for me, but at least they used enough salt in it. The Missus enjoyed it more than I did.

Now one of the other items that makes a diner for us is gravy (and club sandwiches but that's another post). On the basis of a recommendation I ordered the Chicken Fried Steak ($11.79):

Now the steak was fairly good, it was tender and had been processed properly. The flour based coating could have used a bit of seasoning. I expected the vegetables to be mushy and bland, and they were. The fries (potatoes) were a disappointment, as fries with gravy of any kind is weakness of mine. The were the faux "natural" style fries, but were limp, dry, and bland. So on to the gravy….. how can I put this….. think of the texture of thick glue, very gummy…… it actually stood on my upside-down spoon. It also lacked flavor and was badly in need of salt. A disappointment overall.

The woman who served us was very nice…. and even tolerated the two guys who came in later and started asking question about how the mushrooms were sauteed, and stuff like that with good humor….. geeez, this was a diner, not Pampelmousse! We also noticed all the older folk who started coming in while we were living….. what does it say when one has dinner before the "blue plate special" crowd? Oh well, unless someone has a fantastic recommendation, I don't think we'll be back.

Keith's Restaurant
9449 Kearny Mesa Rd
San Diego, CA 92126

Open 24 Hours

Chibugan

January 24, 2010 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

**** Chibugan has closed

Back in August I did a short post, noting that Eddels inside of Vinh Hung Market had changed ownership and was now named Chibugan. I recently finally got around to visiting Chibugan.

I did notice that the place had been cleaned-up a bit. Doors had been installed in the interior entrance, and the place has been painted a bright orange.

This place is a typical"turo-turo" (steam table) joint, featuring items like Pork and Chicken "BBQ", and a few desserts. Another big difference is the woman who works the front counter, who is a bit different from the the previous staff who were friendly and loquacious. She's more quiet and serious, and perhaps a bit more cautious. Not good or bad, just different.

The two item combo, with steamed rice rings in at $5.99. the portions aren't "Tita's sized" but are adequate.

Looking over the steam-table I made my choices, which ended up being pretty predictable. Sisig was one of choices of course.

For me, this wasn't a very pleasant Sisig. First, as you can clearly see, there was a ton of ginger, which overwhelmed most of the flavors, in a dish that's usually packed with sour, salty, and spicy notes. Second, the pork was much too waxy, and in this type of Sisig, I'd have enjoyed having some crisp pork skin which would have added a nice one-two crunch with the onions. The Sisig was also ice cold, which made it seem much more greasy.

The second item was something that I'd strangely never had before, Goat Adobo (Adobong Kambing):

This was pretty good, the chunks of goat was moist and tender. There was a hint of black pepper, but it didn't over-power the dish. In fact, this was pretty low on the salty-scale for Adobo, but not in a bad way. I did enjoy it.

Which gave me enough reason to return. The woman working the front counter, saw me entering, and told me "today this is the goat dish" while pointing at one of the trays. She had remembered me….. I guess I'm now the "goat guy".

Kaldereta was what she was pointing to. Which was one of the items I got.

This was a pretty mediocre version of Kaldereta; there were mostly bones in what I got, almost no meat. The goat flavor was too mild, and with the huge amount of tomato used to flavor this dish, it was almost like eating bony Filipino Menudo. Which was kind of a bummer, since I paired this with…… yes Menudo.

Fairly mediocre as well; fairly bland, an adjective I rarely use when describing Filipino dishes. The meat was dry and tasteless……. in fact just about the only thing that stood out in this dish was pervading taste of tomato sauce.

I did enjoy the Goat Adobo, but the other dishes really did nothing to inspire me to return. I'd say that Chibugan is a cut above Olga's and Ed's, but perhaps a notch below Manila Fast Food and Desserts and R & B.

Chibugan
10550 Camino Ruiz (In Vinh Hung Supermarket)
San Diego, CA 92126

Huynh Hoa Tuu Part 2

January 19, 2010 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

Update: Huynh Hoa Tuu has closed.

Geez, in putting together this post, I just realized how many meals we've had at Huynh Hoa Tuu over the last couple of months! You can add the dishes in part 1, to those in this post for a more comprehensive list.

After a couple of visits we started noticing a few things about the Pepto-Bismol pink restaurant.

1 – On many evenings, there usually was a group of men having beers and a good time. And, after having some of the dishes, I'd quickly agree that many would qualify as "beer food".

2 – Things were sometimes slow to come out of the kitchen, but that never really bothered us much, as many of the dishes were pretty good.

One item that would qualify as "beer food" is the Mung Ram Muoi (Fried Squid with Spicy Salt):

This was kind of a mixed plate. Even though the squid was fried, it wasn't very crisp. It was very tender, however. The chilies and garlic were a bit charred and on the bitter side.

On one visit, we decided to try something more conventional, and ordered the Grilled Pork "Meatballs" Spring Rolls (Nem Nuong Cuon – $4.99):

And while the thick slices of Nem Nuong had decent flavor, there was a bit too much lettuce in these, and the wrappers were really sticky. What really made this was the dipping sauce, the best I've had in a long time. It was a nice sweet-nutty-savory concoction, with a mild and pleasant livery finish. There were fried shallots, and (gasp) what seemed like pork skin in the sauce as well. Man this was good. Unfortunately, on a return visit, all the "extras" that made this sauce shine were gone……. so sad…..

And from the you can't go wrong with fried pork files, I present the Fried Pork Leg w/Fish Sauce ($15):

A whole pork leg was sliced and marinated in a fish sauce concoction, then deep fried, and finished with a stir fry in a spicy and sweet fish sauce mixture. The difference between this, and say, the "Crispy Pata (Filipino Style marinated and deep fried pork leg) of my dreams" is the lack of lovely gelatin. The meat has a good chew, and the band of skin surrounding the meat is pork skin heaven. Of course I heard no complaints about the lack of gelatin when Howie of a Foodieview, and a couple of other FOYs plowed through this one evening. This would make a wonderful beer dish.

FOY "Yummy Yummy" had warned us off the Banh Canh Cua (Crab Noodle Soup – $6.75), the folks here kept recommending it to us. So one day we finally ordered it.

YY warned of the overuse of food coloring, and she was right on. This was also very bland, except for the black pepper overdose….. boy does this place love black pepper.

The Bun Mam ($5.99), was better, though I enjoy the version from Nhu Y more.

Though the soup was nicely pungent, it could have used a bit more Mam Tom, though it was not as sweet as other versions I've had. As usual all the herbs and veggies were fresh and shiny. The Missus actually enjoyed this more than I did….especially the eggplant and shrimp.

On one visit, we saw a woman eating a very pretty plate of fried rice, so on another visit we tried the Shrimp Fried Rice($7.50):

The rice was cooked perfectly…. you could make out every grain of rice… and each grain had color. The shrimp was cooked to perfection, and though we saw the very generous amount of black pepper on this, the dish wasn't affected. It was a bit short on savory flavor, and we added a good dose of fish sauce to it. Still, this fried rice is better than most, but below, say, Sab E Lee or Noble Chef in flavor……

I had recently revisited Phuong Trang, and had the combination Com Tam. I was disappointed in the dish. The broken rice was very fragrant, but everything else, especially the Cha (steamed pork cake) which was dry, cracked, and flavorless. So on another visit I decided to try out the Com Tam Suon Bi Cha (Broken Rice with BBQ Pork Chop, Shredded Pork, and Steamed Egg and Pork):

First off the soup had tons of flavor……and did I tell you that this place loves Rau Ram and Black Pepper????

The Com Tam was cooked nicely, not too dry, but wasn't very fragrant.

The pork chop was nicely grilled, and was even slightly tender. It was less sweet than many I've had, but I enjoyed it.

The Bi was not very good; too dry, and lacking in flavor.

What was very good was the "Cha" the steamed pork-egg-wood ear "cake"(for the lack of a better description).

Soft and moist, but not mushy, the flavor of the pork and the earthy wood ear fungus came through. This was the best I've had in a while.

In fact, on our next visit, I decided to order this (+ fried egg….. because, you know, everything tastes better with a fried egg – $6.99), so the Missus could check this out Herself:

The Missus loved the Cha and hated the Bi, but pointed out another good detail. Huynh Hoa Tuu's Nuoc Mam Cham wasn't watered down like many other places…. it is pretty strong, but goes with everything sooooo well.

I guess that's a nice final statement which illustrates that it seems Huynh Hoa Tuu is trying to do things right. It's also nice to have places like Que Huong and Huynh Hoa Tuu, the variety of dishes and preparation is a nice change of pace from other Vietnamese Restaurants in San Diego. It may not be Little Saigon level, but it's really not bad by any means….

Huynh Hoa Tuu
4660 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Mad Dogs Cafe

January 12, 2010 mmm-yoso Hot Dogs

*** Update Mad Dogs has closed

During the beginning on December, I received an email from "Chong" posing a question to me. The question being, "do I take recommendations?" Of course the answer is, yes….. I don't think I'd still be around doing this food blogging thing without all the recommendations I receive. At the least, it always adds a sense of adventure to my visit. In his email, Chong recommended a place called Mad Dogs Cafe which is located on emerald Street in Pacific Beach, right as you head toward the ocean from Mission.

On a recent morning I decided to check them out. PB is less crowded this time of the year, and parking is less of a hassle as well. The place has a clean, fast-casual-cafe type of vibe, and the main items featured on the menu are gelato, coffee, and what Ching had recommended, the "Mad Dogs"……. so I guess the name wasn't referring to a specific Wrestler I recall from my youth!

Now Chong's description had rung some bells…….. you see, there's this phenomena back home in Hawaii called a Puka Dog, which I recall Tony Bourdain enjoyed on his No Reservations Hawaii episode(though it seems that not everyone enjoys them) . If only for curiosities sake, I was going to check this place out. A quick walk to the counter to check out the menu, and a "Mad Dog" was quickly defined: "a sausage and sauce nestled inside a freshly baked baguette".

Ok, choose one of nine sausages, and then whatever permutations of "sauce" you desired. Having only one stomach, it was really hard work trying to decide.

The really, really, nice young man manning the counter tried to be as helpful as possible….. Of course, lacking creativity I ordered a plain old Frankfurter with Mustard($3.99), as I thought it would give me a good idea of the ingredients and how things were put together. I also decided to order something else, which made the young man tell me, "this is kinda filling……" But he also helped me by recommending the Chorizo with Mad Dog Sauce ($4.50).

The Baguette in this case was pretty much like a "heat and eat" kinda product, soft with minimum crustiness….. very bready overall. One thing was also pretty obvious, the gentleman was right, this was kinda filling……

The center of the bread was punctured and sauce (or sauces) injected, followed by the sausage of choice. I believe Puka Dog toasts the interior, which would make for much more interesting texture contrast, especially in the case of the Hot Dog, which didn't have enough "snap" or flavor to keep me interested. That ended up being way too much bread….

The young man actually ended up saving the meal for me by recommending the Chorizo, as it had enough crunch and chewiness to stand up to the "dough". The sausage had some decent heat and flavor, and the exterior had been charred to a slight crispness that worked well.

I also enjoyed the Mad Dog Sauce which adds a bit of a creamy texture to the whole affair, along with a nice tangy-sweet-mildy spicy flavor. There seemed to be a bit off fruitiness to the sauce which I thought complimented the sausage well.

If the interior had been toasted like a Puka Dog, it wouldn't have gotten quite as soggy, quite as quickly. I'm thinking that sausages other than frankfurters are the way I'd go here in the future.

I'm glad that the young man had been so helpful. So I guess I take both recommendation from readers and the folks working in the various restaurants!

Mad Dogs Cafe
746 Emerald St
San Diego, CA 92109

Thanks again for the recommendation Chong!

Huynh Hoa Tuu part 1

January 6, 2010 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

Update: Huynh Hoa Tuu has closed.

I had been aware that O Yea! Vietnamese Restaurant had changed ownership, but the last time I recalled driving by, the place was stil named "O Yea!". Then in November mscinda posted on the now renamed restaurant; Huynh Hoa Tuu. After checking out her post, I made sure to add Huynh Hua Tuu to my "list". It quickly moved up my list when "El Grande FOY" (Friend of Yoso) Yummy-Yummy sent me a very enthusiastic email regarding Huynh Hoa Tuu. YY even recommended a couple of dishes….. which is how the Missus and I ended up at Huynh Hoa Tuu.

Walking into the place, it seemed that little had changed except for the name, as the interior hadn't changed a bit…… it's still a bright Pepto Bismol pink.

The menu was a different story, as there was a pretty wide range of dishes from the standard Cha Gio at $4.99 to various "Lau" (hot pot) ringing in at $25.

We decided to start with a favorite of the Missus, the Banh Trang Nem Bo ($8.99), the make-your-own-spring rolls dish. Things looked good as a large plate of bright and fresh herbs, veggies, and fresh pineapple arrived at our table.

The meat provided was the a slightly sour and nicely grilled "Nem" (pork sausage), and thinly sliced beef tightly rolled into cylinders, covered with peanuts.

The beef was less sweet than other places, and on the salty side, but not in a bad way. The Nem was nicely charred, but nothing special. No Bun (vermicelli) was provided, and the rice paper was the large plate sized type.

Which the Missus just couldn't keep Her hands off of……

What was problematic about the dish was that the bowl of water provided was on the small side, so you had to work a bit to moisten the rice paper. Still, this wasn't bad, but we both thought the Banh Trang at Pho King was better.

One of the dishes recommended by Yummy-Yummy was the Green Mango Salad with Shrimp(#109 – Goi Xoai Tom Nuong). At first the price, at $15 seemed a bit high. But when the dish arrived, we knew why….. there were at least ten grilled shrimp, on a huge plate of green mango.

Instead of the usual shredded green mango, this presentation had the mango in slices. The somewhat pleasant (for us) puckeriness of green mango came through… a memory from my childhood, as green mango was often eaten in Hawaii, though with soy sauce and sugar, or bagaoong. The mango was dressed with a tangy, yet spicy sauce, which we enjoyed. The shrimp was perhaps a tad overcooked, but was very fresh, and everything was topped with a good amount of Rau Ram (Vietnamese Coriander) which added it's own punch to the dish. We finished the whole plate and was stuffed.

Leaving thoroughly satisfied, we returned a couple of other dishes. This time I ordered the Braised Shrimp with Pork Belly (#69 – Tom Thit Ba Roi Ram Man):

The menu's English translation says Braised Shrimp with "Bacon", but it's pork belly that has obviously been simmered in a fish sauce based mixture. This time the shrimp had been cooked adequately, and did well paired with the fatty, though not overly soft pork belly, and the salty, and slightly sweet fish sauce mixture. We were worried because the amount of black pepper used seemed excessive, but it did well in this dish.

The other dish I wanted to order was also recommended by YY:

It was not translated into English on the menu, and was simply described to me as #102, the squid dish, Muc Mot Nang Nuong Muoi Ot($15). It was squid grilled with chilies. For some reason, when both the Missus and I were provided with a dish of sea salt mixed with red chilies and a lime wedge, we gad a premonition that this was going to be a good dish. The little plate reminded us of Vietnam.

And it did deliver:

Let me just say a couple of things about this dish. First, the salt, chilies, and lime, is not an optional item, but an integral part of the dish. Second, this was the most tender grilled squid I've had in ages, beating out anything I've had in years. It almost melted in my mouth! The Missus, not being a fan of squid really didn't want me to order this, but She ended up fighting me for the last few slices. Funny thing, Rau Ram used to be pretty rare in Vietnamese Restaurants in San Diego, but here it's everywhere!

On our next (yet another) visit, my eyes wandered down the menu, and I ordered the Bap Xao Tom Kho (Corn with Dried Shrimp – $8):

This was nothing that I couldn't make at home on the Big Kahuna. this was also a case of too much black pepper, which killed all the flavors of the dish.

We also ordered the Oc Len Xao Dua (Snails stir fried with coconut milk – $15):

This was a load of snails! At first, the Missus and I kept going, "man this is waaaay too sweet". It seemed very rich and cloying…. but in the end, we had eaten every single snail…. every one. So I'm not quite sure…. I still think this is much too sweet, with too much coconut milk, and yet we plowed through the whole thing, so I guess I'm torn.

Well I'll stop at the snails for now, but there's much more to come…. just in case you're wondering how "Deep Fried Pork Leg with Fish Sauce" tastes, stay tuned!

Huynh Hoa Tuu
4660 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

You can find part 2 of this post here.

Dubai Restaurant – (It’s in El Cajon, next to Sultan Baklava)

December 27, 2009 Cathy Desserts, Iraqi Food and Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Dubai closed. In the same location, it is now a restaurant named Sultan and is part of Sultan Baklava

mmm-yoso!!! is this. What you are reading. A blog about food. Today, Cathy is writing.

The other day, The Mister and I were in El Cajon, at Sprouts market, and a sign kitty corner from that location caught our eye. We had to check it out.

We had already had lunch, so went into Sultan Baklava and bought a few things (Turkish pistachios as well as some fresh made dessert treats)

032

Everything here is sold by the pound, and *really* good. The sweets are made with a sugar-water mix, not honey…they are Turkish. You can taste the nuts and other fillings. Really, really good.

We got a menu from Dubai and went back last night.

Six tables, four set for six each and two set for four each. Small, cozy, clean. The owners are Chaldean.

We ordered Baba Ghanouj (Large, $4.95)
A nice serving of fresh made, creamy baked eggplant, pureed with tahini, garlic and olive oil. Really good. Really fresh. Served with fresh flatbread.

We also ordered the Dubai salad (large, $5.95). Fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, olives and lettuce with a light olive oil and vinegar dressing (vinegar and olive oil are also on the table) and lemon wedges can be added for more flavor. The plate was double the size of the Baba Ghanouj plate.
The Mister ordered a lamb shank ($13). Don't be put off by the photo. It was not burned or tough. It was marinated lightly and was moist and tender- flaking off in a good way from the bone- and you could taste the lamb flavor (at many other places, there is so much marinade that the meat has no flavor). There was a choice of Biryani or Basmati rice- The Mister chose Biryani: the cumin and cardamom flavors were wonderfully pleasant. The rice had roasted potatoes, peas and raisins in it. The plate also comes with a stew and picked turnips, onions, parsley and tomatoes.
I ordered the chicken schawarma sandwich ($3.95). The chicken was moist and flavorful and the sandwich was filled with cucumber, yogurt sauce and onion, parsley and lettuce. It was wrapped in fresh flatbread.

All meals come with hot tea. Served this way. Strong tea (4 bags in that pot)…beautiful teacups.

Dubai also has a buffet on Wednesday and Saturday, with most hot sides available and kebabs made to order for $8 per person.

Sultan Baklava 131 Jamacha Road El Cajon 92019 Open 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily (619)440-1901 website

Dubai Restaurant 133 Jamacha Road El Cajon 92019

Sab E Lee Santee – More dishes

December 16, 2009 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

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

I realize that Cathy and I have done posts on Sab E Lee 2, but I thought you’d like to see a couple of other dishes.

First up, Miang Kum (เมี่ยงคำ – $7.95), a simple, but wonderful appetizer:

These are basically leaf wraps, and though I’ve read that the classic Miang Kum uses Betel Leaves, all of the variations we’ve had uses spinach leaves. At first the combination of perfectly diced red onion, galangal, slivered lime, peanuts, dried shrimp, and thai bird chilies, topped with roasted coconut and a tangy and sweet, tamarind and palm sugar “sauce” seems a bit strange. But take my word for it, the sum of the parts is a wonderful melange of flavors…. it seems that each one is jockeying for position.

When working with such basic ingredients, freshness is the key, as I’ve had several versions (and one terrible version in San Diego) featuring dried out galangal and limes, and low quality shrimp. Everything here was shiny and fresh, and the tamarind dip brought everything together for us.

Bags of Gold ($7.95):

Think of these as Sab E Lee’s fried won tons if you will. These “bags” are full of minced pork, shrimp, shiitake mushroom, and water chestnuts. While the portion of the “bag” holding the filling is almost crepe-like, the top portions are light and crisp.

Pretty nice to look at too.

The Superwild Shrimp ($8.95) is a shrimp salad of sorts:

It is dressed with a fish sauce – chili – garlic – palm sugar sauce. Though we prefer the Plaa Shrimp, the shrimp in this dish was cooked to a “just well” doneness.

Of course I had to try the Koi Soi/Koi Nua (Spicy Raw Beef – $7.95), one of my favorites at Sab E Lee 1:

First off, this version is not nearly as spicy as SEL1. In fact, after tasting a few of the same dishes, I’d say that the dishes are about %30 less spicy here in Santee. I usually get a’9′ on the heat scale, this was more like a 5. That’s not to say that this wasn’t good, it was. Less spicy, but the inclusion of raw garlic added pungency and bite. This version is also a bit more citrusy and herbaceous. The nutty flavor provided by the roasted sticky rice powder is a bit more muted.

The Larb Duck($7.95) is another similar but different dish.

This version was a bit more herbaceous, and truth be told, we enjoyed this one more since the flavor of the duck came through very clearly.

Since the Chef had cut his teeth cooking in Bangkok, a version of the classic Bangkok Red Curry Duck was a necessity. Here it’s called Royal Duck Curry ($10.95):

In all honesty, of all the dishes we’ve had here, this was our least favorite. It seemed that all of those reasons we don’t enjoy the overly-Westernized Thai food in San Diego were in display here. The curry was too sweet, too fruity (via pineapple and grapes), and used too much coconut milk for our tastes.

The flavor off the duck was overwhelmed and buried in our opinion.

The Missus loved the Three Flavored Fish (Halibut – $14.95):

The fish was put panko crusted, and put together just as the Pinecone Fish we encountered on our previous visit. This time it was fried even better if that was possible. The fish was moist, and almost sweet. The sauce is a tamarind-palm sugar based sauce, was perhaps a bit too sweet for me, but the Missus just plain loved this. I can’t say anything bad about that fish. My perfect solution is to order the Pinecone Fish, and request a little dish of the Three Flavor Sauce on the side.

Fish Garlic ($12.95):

A classic Thai sweet-spicy-garlic preparation. I loved the sauce, and in fact ate up all the cabbage, and even the carrot garnish. Unfortunately for me, the fish used was catfish, and it was a bit muddy for my palate. The Missus joyfully scarfed the whole filet in minutes…….

On one visit we ordered the Fish on Fire ($16.95):

Two large Halibut Filets covered with a red curry sauce and served with a flambe of rum. One quick piece of advice for this dish, let the alcohol burn off before sampling, otherwise the rum adds a rather strong astringent flavor to the dish. The halibut was moist and tender. There was a bit too much going on for me in this dish, but again the Missus loved it.

One of my favorite menu items at Sab E Lee 2 is one of the cheapest….. the Garlic Rice ($3):

Those regular readers know that I love garlic anyway…. but this was so very good. Much better than any version of Filipino Garlic Rice I’ve ever had, as there was golden sauteed garlic and crisp fried garlic and shallot in this. The herbs added some great flavor…. and the rice being prepared well didn’t hurt things…….

By now, most regular customers of Sab E Lee know Koby….. his wonderful demeanor, gentle, kind, and always helpful just makes the whole experience better. He obviously loves to please his customers. On one occasion, I ordered the Garlic Rice, and mentioned an egg and pork street food dish we had in Bangkok, and how it would be just the perfect item with this. Koby smiled and told us, “I know what it is, we’ll make it for you!” And just like that, we had a classic Thai omelete, which we were later told is called Khai Jeaw:

Wonderfully savory, fluffy, omelete, with a quick dip in the Nam Pla Prik(fish sauce and chili) which helps cut the richness, followed with a bite of garlic rice…. There are few things better in the world.

And for a second, I was here:

The crazy streets of Silom in Bangkok…….. You know, they say in America, the streets are paved in gold. In Bangkok, the streets are paved in food! Looking at this makeshift food stand, you wouldn’t know that it’s in front of massive financial buildings in Silom, which is Bangkok’s business district.

Sometimes a smell, or just a taste can take me back…….

And Koby was nice enough to provide that for me.

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

Tortas Y Mas – Chula Vista

December 15, 2009 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches

**** Tortas y Mas has closed

On this past rainy weekend, the Missus decided She wanted some manju from Hogetsu Bakery, so I made the drive down to Chula Vista. Unfortunately, possibly due to the weather, when I arrived at Hogetsu at 10 am they weren't open yet. I waited about fifteen minutes, until my stomach told me to grab a bite to eat, and return later. Rather than the usual suspects, I decided to drive around a bit and find someplace I hadn't eaten yet…… so even while I was tempted, Tacos El Gordo was not an option. What I did notice was that the former La Torta location on H street had become Tortas Y Mas:

I didn't quite know what to expect from this tiny, sunny little restaurant.

I guess part of me expected La Torta "regurgitated" and indeed some of the menu was the "torta gringo style" theme, though there are burritos and even Alambres (think fajitas) on the menu. I quickly removed any thoughts of The Torta Factory from my mind.

The Owner, an energetic and very friendly gentleman named Silvio took my order. I went with one of my favorites, a Torta Milanesa ($7.25):

This Torta Milanesa came dressed without frijoles, but with a thin slice of ham and some cheddar cheese which gave it a nice zip. The avocado had a really nice flavor as well. The birote (roll) was very run of the mill, and not nearly as good as what I recently had at La Abejita.

I really enjoyed the potatoes, which truthfully could have been more crisp, but was much more aggressively seasoned with salt, pepper, and chili powder than what La Torta puts out. In fact, I finished the steaming potatoes before anything else.

The best part of the torta for me was the milanesa, beef very thinly sliced, lightly breaded, and fried to a crisp….. the edges were pleasurably crisp like bacon. It was also pretty tender…. I've had my share of gristle filled tough milanesa, so this was very nice.

For some reason, I ate all the potatoes, and could only manage half the sandwich. I asked if I could get my half sandwich wrapped to go, and was told with a smile, "oh yes, no problem". A few minutes later, I was handed a large styrofoam take out container. Surprised I told the gentleman that he didn't need to go through all the trouble, he could have just wrapped up the torta. His response? "I saw how much you enjoyed the potatoes, so I gave you a little more to take with you". How's that for nice……. if anything, just that gesture will have me back when I'm in the area……… Sometimes, simple acts like that can just make your day a bit sunnier, in spite of all the rain and cold.

So maybe next time, before you catch the trolley and you need something to tide you over…..

Tortas Y Mas
730 H Street
Chula Vista, CA 91910