Closed – Page 78

Ba Ren’s Yie-Shi (Night Market) Special

May 25, 2009 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Ba Ren has closed

I realize you all are probably pretty tired of my posts on Ba Ren, but I thought this one was interesting. For the Missus's "second" Birthday dinner, She, of course, chose Ba Ren. When we arrived, Wendy spoke to the Missus, and told Her of their latest special (it seems that they always have some new wrinkle), the "Yie-Shi" (night market special).

This latest special features ordering a "ma-la" base, which comes in three heat levels, the "spicy" is a bit thicker, spicier, and more vicious than Ba Ren's Huo Guo. Once you order this, you can than choose some noodles and snacks off the special menu for between $2.99 – $4.99. Tsingtao Beer is $1.50 a bottle, soda is 50 cents. You can only take advantage of this menu by ordering the hot pot.

The best, and most fun part is that after getting your hot pot($3/per person), you're given a basket, and access to the large refrigerator, and pick out skewers at your choosing. Each skewer is 25 cents a piece, you also grab your own soda and beer. At the end of the evening, they count your bottles, cans, and skewers, add your noodles, and tally your bill.

So if you ever wanted to raid a restaurant's fridge….here's your chance.

Our favorites were the beef, intestine, quail egg, mushroom, and potato. We ordered 3 noodle bowls, which are about two-third of the usual portion, and some Crossing the Bridge Won Tons. We ended up taking two of the noodle dishes home, since we ended up eating forty five skewers! When I asked "Roy" how we did, he said, "this is about average, and big eater will eat forty, fifty skewers. In Qingdao, I personally eat over fifty skewers, some noodles, and a few beers." Yikes! So you can eat your noodles while waiting for your skewers to cook in the hot pot.

Well, since I've done a zillion posts on Ba Ren already, I'll keep the rest of the narrative to the minimum.

The Hot Stuff….

The sesame oil-garlic dipping sauce….really"smooths out" the heat.

The remainder of our Cold Sichuan Noodles ($2.99). Sorry, but I was still deciding whether I should take photos.

Spicy Sour Bean Thread ($3.99):

My favorite, the Pork with Preserved Vegetable Noodle Soup ($3.99):

The Crossing the Bridge Won Tons, personally, I enjoy the Hot Sauce Won Tons more.

And of course, there's the "hot stuff"!

All topped off with Sesame Balls in Fermented Sweet Rice Soup:

Sheesh…….we were stuffed! The tab came out just over thirty bucks with beer.

Some details: The menu says served only between 8pm and midnight, but we had this at 6pm, so you may want to ask. To take advantage of the special noodle and snack prices, you're entire table will need to go the "Yie-Shi" route, though you can still order off the regular menu to supplement.

Ba Ren
4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Not to worry, it's not rerun season, I'll have a post on a "new" restaurant tomorrow!

Just for the Hal-i-but (sort of): The Live Halibut Dinner at Wal Mi Do in photos

May 20, 2009 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Seafood, Sushi and Sashimi

**** Wal Mi Do has closed

I was a bit surprised when I asked the Missus what She wanted for Her Birthday dinner….She told me She wanted the Live Halibut Sashimi dinner from Wal Mi Do! We've had this a few times already, usually with friends so I've stowed the camera. There are several "sizes" of Halibut Sashimi, this one is the "small" and is "recommended for two people". Tell me what you think……..

So without further ado, it's just photos from this point on. I don't think you'll need much narrative on this one. Yes, we finished just about everything.

I just realized I forgot to take photos of one item, the rice! But I think you get the picture. FOYs (Friends of Yoso) Ed from Yuma, Howie, and Candice have shared this meal with us in the past, so maybe they'll be able to "fill" you in. Naturally some items (on this day the Abalone Rice Porridge, and the Missus loved the snails) are better than the others (I could only manage a small nibble of the deep fried sushi roll)……… And the halibut was wonderful as always. It would've taken me the better part of a week to do a post, so I hoped you enjoyed the photos.

I really do need a nap right now.

Wal Mi Do
4367 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

I hope everyone's having a great week!

Chinese Kitchen (Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang) – A revisit

May 18, 2009 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Chinese Kitchen has closed

When someone mentions "hole in the wall", the first place that comes to mind is Chinese Kitchen on University Avenue near College.

When I first did a post on this little shop back in 2006, it was literally that, the ordering was done at a "hole in the wall". Here's a photo from back then.

Having a food blog, is sometimes my stomach's worst enemy…..it seems that I'm always distracted by those "shiny things". New places, new recipes, and new dishes, and places that I enjoy like Chinese Kitchen fall to the wayside. So I recently made an effort to drop by the restaurant.

And my has the place been spiffed up……some new paint, and actual fixtures that look like they belong in a restaurant! Though I'll miss ordering at the hole-in-the-wall, which has been replaced by a counter. The menu, or should I say "menus" look the same, with the huge selection of Chinese Fast-food, which I've never had a chance, nor desire to sample.

In spite of the name, I instead pay attention to what I call the "real menu" of Vietnamese Dishes.

And even beyond that, there's only one item I order here…the Bun Mang Vit (Duck and Bamboo Shoot Soup), and I'm rather surprised it's still five bucks. I've found that I prefer to take my Bun Mang Vit to go…..for a reason I'll explain later.

Take out comes in three parts, the duck, which is made inhouse(I remember being told it was acquired "very fresh"), shredded cabbage, shredded banana blossom, Rau Ram (Vietnamese Coriander), and bun comes in one tidy container. Another contains the sweet, and slightly spicy Nuoc Mam Cham, which also contains minced garlic. And the soup, in which a good amount of bamboo shoots lay rehydrating.

And though it didn't look like that much, it felt pretty hefty, and if you start placing items in plates and bowls you realize that this is a pretty good amount of food.

The reason I usually do my Bun Mang Vit to go, is simple…..I want the bamboo shoots to "steep" in the light broth, which adds a nice earthy-woodsy flavor. I will place the soup in a pot and heat slowly on the stove. After placing the Bun in a bowl, and pouring on the broth, you realize that this is a pretty good sized meal.

I almost miscalculated, which would have led to an overflow. The soup is a good as always, the duck tender and full of flavor, the banana blossom added a very mild bitterness, but not the soupy-astringent flavor that banana blossom can have, to the dish.

Just as good as always, so I guess you can just read my original post, though I think there was much more bamboo shoots this time around. And still five bucks. I still haven't deviated from this, so maybe you can make some additional recommendations for Chinese Kitchen. Though I'm more than happy sticking with my Bun Man Vit.

Chinese Kitchen
6160 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92115

619-286-8778

The “food court” Inside Zion Marketplace- Happy Family and Tonkatsu

April 30, 2009 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is just a blog, written by people who eat. Today, Cathy is writing, while Kirk (and His Missus) are vacationing and ed (from Yuma) is doing other stuff.

I needed to go shopping for some produce the other day and I know Zion always has some good deals. It was close to dinner time and so I called The Mister and asked him to meet me there.

You can park on three sides of the building (or across the street) and walk in one of those doors to get to the grocery aisles.

Closer to the South end are two restaurants and a small beverage (add boba for 50 cents) place.

Tonkatsu is what The Mister chose.

I went to Happy Family, which used to be Happy Meal, but apparently was sold. Or sued. Dunno. The menu has changed a bit from when Kirk blogged.

(According to FOY (Friend of Yoso) Serena, it is Korean-Chinese food at Happy Family, and the spicy noodle dishes are very good. I have that mental note ready for next time)

The Mister chose the Crunchy roll for $5.95, because he thought it would be smaller (not a Chernobyl sized) roll overfilled with fried shrimp and avocado and basically a full meal, served with miso soup.

It wasn't bad and I liked the avocado. The shrimp did not have much flavor, but did have much crunch.

It was topped with both a sweet and a spicy sauce.

He also ordered the chicken Tonkatsu plate ($7.95) A good sized piece of lightly breaded and fried flattened chicken breast, which came with a house made tonkatsu sauce (which had pieces of mushroom and meat textured bits in it), a cabbage salad with a house made dressing, two stir fried dumplings, miso soup, rice, edamame and some kimchi.

I ordered the galbi plate at Happy Family.

Tender marinated sliced beef short ribs, served with rice, a small salad with a mayonnaise based dressing, (kind of Ranch in flavor), two deep fried dumplings (I liked the other ones better; not as crispy) and the traditional side dishes of preserved radish, dried spicy silverfish, kimchi and fried (not just dried) seaweed. The miso soup here was far better, not made with a paste and was rich in flavor with many slices of tofu in it.

Eat first and then you can go shopping!

Happy Meal and Tonkatsu (inside Zion Marketplace) 4611 Mercury Street San Diego 92111

Too hot to cook, almost too hot to eat. A quick meal at Palomino’s.

April 22, 2009 Cathy Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog. About food. Kirk, ed (from Yuma), Cathy and a few others just write about what we eat. Today, Cathy is is writing. Primarily because Kirk is on his way to Guatemala and ed (from Yuma) is…well, in Yuma.

Hi. It really hit 100 degrees in the East County on Monday. Dry, dry heat. It was exhausting to be outside, dangerous to touch anything inside the car and kind of miserable.

I didn't want to cook and was not that hungry.

OK. I lie. I am pretty much always hungry. But, well, not as much as usual. I needed something refreshing. As soon as it kind of sort of started too cool down, I headed West, toward the 15 and then one exit South, to Clairmont Mesa, took a left at the second light, Ruffin Road, by the Registrar of Voters and a right into the parking lot. Palominos #2. I've posted about this place before (when it was cold out, and I wanted something to warm me). It is a great taco shop. Satisfies many cravings as well as weather related meals…

I ordered, grabbed stuff from the "salad bar" area…which is really a salsa bar area, (but there are neon signs above it with "salad" above it) .

Then waited for our meals to be ready.

The Mister got a shrimp salad ($6.35).

Lots of lettuce, tomato and cucumber, 12 fresh cooked, fresh chilled, sweet, large shrimp, a whole avocado, some shredded cheese. Served with the white dressing and sauces shown. I always need to mix the sauces and some of the "Palomino" salsa from the bar to get the flavor I want. Everything tastes good on its own, though.

I ordered the campechana coctele ($10.50). More than 16 whole, fresh cooked and chilled shrimp, a good portion of fresh cooked and chilled, tender octopus and at least one, maybe two chopped avocados in a wonderful tomato based sauce with cucumber. I tasted all the ingredients individually and only added hot sauce (and salsa) to the last half of the large, pretty solidly filled coctele bowl. Just for a variation.

This was a very refreshing meal. Hope you are getting through this heat wave.

Palomino's #2 9353 Clairmont Mesa Blvd., Suite I, 91911 (858)292-8470

Turning up the Heat Part 3 – Ba Ren

April 14, 2009 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Ba Ren has closed

Well finally….I guess it's about time I get around to this. In part 1, I posted on revisits to China Chef and Dede's. In part 2, it was a revists to Si Chuan Garden Spicy City, complete with the requisite drama. But what is there to say that I haven't covered in one of my many posts? To make things worse, after a while you kinda get in the habit of ordering the same thing on every visit.

I mean how many posts on Cold Chicken in Spicy Sauce, aka "Saliva Chicken" can one write?

Over the last few visits we've broken away, and ordered a couple of items we hadn't ordered before, or had ordered on previous visits and had not particularly cared for. Of course, after so many visits, I really don't break out the camera much anymore. But here are a few we took photos of.

Lamb with Green Pepper:

If you think this is bell peppers, you're in for a bit of a surprise. It's not super spicy, but the peppers are also a bit sweet, and have that familiar "green" flavor of bell pepper. The lamb was melt in your mouth tender, with a nice soy flavor.

On one of our recent visits, Wendy, the wonderful woman who runs the front of house, remembered I was Japanese. She told the Missus, that the several regular Japanese customers love this dish, Stir Fried Beef with Pickled Mustard Greens:

And I can see why, if you love Zha Cai, you'll love these….in fact, if you love Tsukemono, and the slightly bitter flavor of mustard greens, you'll love this. It is just mildly spicy, but full of savory flavor. One of these days we'll ask Wendy if they can make a version of this with lamb.

Like any restaurant, anywhere, not everything at Ba Ren is a home run for us. I recall one really nasty Bamboo Pith Fungus dish I had several years back….. And this Dried Fish with Eggplant dish will not make our rotation.

The eggplant was done perfectly, but the chewy slices of what I imagine is reconstituted fish was just salty, and not much more. The dish was flat, and lacked depth.

And I guess if there's any reason to do a post on Ba Ren, it's for the seasonal menu. We haven't had the chance to check out much of it yet, but heck….maybe another post after I do?

On this visit we had the first item on the menu, the cumin lamb ribs. Not much meat on this, but man the flavor! If you love gnawing on bones….and maybe having a Tsingtao or two.

And there's a new menu of hot pot dishes as well.

We ended up ordering the lamb hot pot…which was a pretty massive cauldron.

This was pretty spicy, and had a good amount of Sichuan Peppercorns and herbs….just like Huo Guo. There's more than enough to start a major "heat-buzz", but not enough to melt your stomach lining.

Within the writhing red liquid were large pieces of lamb(the braising portions), bean sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, and other stuff.

Some Napa Cabbage leaves, and vermicelli noodles were also provided to add even more "bulk" to the hot pot.

This was way too much food for the Missus and I.

A dipping sauce of minced garlic, sesame oil, and scallions was also provided. The drill was that you'd add a spoonful of the hot pot broth to the bowl, and utilize that as a dipping sauce.

One more important note……on our last visit, we noticed that Ba Ren had dropped the prices on most of their dishes by $1-$2! When we asked Wendy about the price drop, she told us, "it is because taxes have gone up, and the economy is tough.

Also on our last visit we realized something….. we've been coming here for about six years! It just seems like yesterday when I made that u-turn on Diane Avenue, and noticed that a new Chinese Restaurant had opened up. Time sure does fly!

Ba Ren
4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

COMC: Surati Farsan Mart

April 9, 2009 mmm-yoso Indian Restaurants

**** Surati Farsan Mart has closed

*** A short update can be found here.

As I mentioned in my post on Punjabi Tandoor, we kind of have to be in the mood for Indian Food. And after our trip to Cambodia, the Missus found Herself wanting some Indian Food. But that window is usually pretty small, and after a couple of visits to Surati Farsan, it seems that the window has closed. So, here's another C(lean) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard) post from visits back in June of last year. I'll keep it short and sweet.

From what I've read Surati Farsan specializes in vegetarian snacks, and sweets from the state of Gujarat, and you can find a ton of posts on Surati Farsan on Chowhound, and elsewhere. On our three visits from last year, all of the customers were Indian, though I'm sure much of that has changed.

There are basically two reasons we come to Surati Farsan…the Dosas…and the Dosas, and no matter how hard we try, we just can't break our habit of getting those Dosas. I did try to break away once, and tried the special "Thali of the Day." But was disappointed, both in the dishes, which I found a bit off-balance in flavor, and lacking in complexity, and myself, since Indian Cuisine fills me up quickly, and I could hardly put a dent in this.

The Missus always goes for the Masala Dosa, which seems to stretch from one end of the table to the other. The rice batter crepe is wrapped around what amount to a potato subzi. It is mildly spicy, fairly rich, and within all of this, the potato flavor is not lost.

Over the years it seems that both the Missus's and my tastes have converged. We tend to like the same flavors, and often reach the same conclusions about what we eat.

For instance, we both find the Sambhar which accompanies the Dosa to be very bland, and sometimes on the oily side. Pouring it over, or dipping the Dosas in it, does nothing…….

And for the Masala Dosa we find the overly sweet coconut chutney detracts from the flavor of the Dosa.

I usually get the Mysore Masala Dosa:

Wonderful Dosa wrapped around a fiery concoction.

In this case, the coconut chutney helps to cool the burn, and the sweetness of the chutney adds to the complexity of flavor.

As I've said many times, Indian Cuisine is still pretty much a mystery to me. Though the first time I tasted that Sambhar it rung a bell……I remember having a similar Sambhar in LA…and lo' and behold, Surati Farsan has a branch it Artesia…could it be?

We have had problems stretching our wings here. We love the Dosas, and don't want move on. Though we've tried, as in the case of the Bataka Vada.

Think of it as a croquette or fritter, made with a wonderfully flavored mashed potatoes. I enjoyed the cilantro chutney with these, but could only finish two of them, and half my Mysore Masala Dosa.

I'm not quite sure when the Missus will again want something from Surati Farsan Mart. But let's try this; I know there's a bunch of you out there who love the place….. why don't you help us decide what to order. We may visit next week, next month, or next year, but we'll make sure to try what you recommend!

Surati Farsan Mart
9494 Black Mountain Road
San Diego, CA 92126

Seafood Island – A first…actually a third look.

April 6, 2009 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Seafood Island has closed.

Sometimes the third time is a charm. Seafood Island is located in a bit of an odd location amongst all the home furnishing stores. When they first opened, the Missus and I dropped by for lunch and the place was half full, but it looked like the employees were running around like crazy. We were told at least half a dozen times that our table would be ready in "just a while", meanwhile half the tables in the place were empty, and the food coming out of the kitchen looked like pseudo Chinese fast food fare, a la generic Kung Pao Chicken. After 15 minutes or so, we told the folks, "that's ok, we'll be back next time." And left. I returned on a Sunday for lunch, and was seated. The young lady who served was very, very nice….but when I tried to order, first the Bun Mang Vit…negatory, then the Bun Bo Hue…sorry not today, Banh Mi Bo Kho….we don't have that today, Bun Rieu……sorry it is not ready yet. Yeow! I know the menu is huuuge, talk about "Vietnamese menu overload", this one is probably the largest I've seen. I ended up ordering a Com Tam(broken rice) dish, with Grilled Pork and Bi (shredded pork skin), and really ended up with just the grilled pork. Too bad, the grilled pork was pretty tasty, if a bit on the sweet side, and since this place also serves "Korean BBQ", I could make out the flavor transition. This place also goes pretty easy on the fish sauce. The broken rice was nice and fragrant, and the price was not bad – $5.25. And the Server, whose name if I recall was Desiree was fantastic, and was amazed that I like Nuoc Mam. She also told me that weekday lunches are the busiest, and gave me a flier with $4.99 Chinese lunch specials…..Orange Chicken and such. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, my photos didn't come out….memory card malfunction. So I recently decided to check them out again. this time for a weeknight dinner.

Based on the "specials" sign, I knew that today I'd be getting something other than Com Tam, Kung Pao Chicken, or Orange Chicken.

Like my previous visit, my Server today was a total joy. And I started with the Bun Cha Hanoi ($6.50), the wonderful grilled pork meatball and grilled sliced pork in a broth dish. The Bun and Garnishes arrived in a flash.

The Bun had been chopped into shorter pieces, and was on the soft and mushy side…..which amazingly was just like what we had in Hanoi! The herbs and greens were the appropriate purple perilla, mint, and lettuce, which was just North of wilting, but fine overall.

The Bun Cha was interesting….

The broth was quite sweet, the patties hard, and the sliced pork…in this case pork belly, was quite tough. There was a shortage of pickles, with daikon in place of the standard papaya and carrots. I hadn't expected this to be even close to what we had at Bun Cha Dac Kim(aka #1 Hang Manh) in Hanoi, or even Ha Noi Restaurant in Westminster, and I knew it wouldn't even approach what FOY Beach makes. I was just looking for a fair to middling Bun Cha, and I think this fell a bit short of that. Still, for $6.50, not too bad.

I also ordered the Goi Xoai Ton Thit (green mango salad with pork and shrimp – $9.99).

This looked lovely, thinly sliced pork, a bit on the bland side, but tender, a good amount of shrimp over shredded green mango and carrots, topped with chopped mint and basil. The dressing was again, a bit long on the sweet, and short on the savory, but it had a nice, not too strong, sneaky heat. In this instance, the usual sesame crackers were replaced with Chinese Shrimp Chips.

It was a decently put together dish, and quite refreshing. It may just bring me back again.

I like to think of the Vietnamese dishes at Seafood Island as being sort of Que Huong "light". The dishes I've had are on the sweet side, and seem to lack a savory-pungent punch. It is the "safer" choice if you are a bit hesitant to try out some of the more interesting Vietnamese dishes. For more on the Chinese dishes at Seafood Island, check out Kirbie Cravings, post, which you can find here. The service can be a bit disorganized, but all of the folks I've had contact with have been very nice. The restaurant is large, new, and clean.

Seafood Island Restaurant
7580 Miramar Road
San Diego, CA 92126
(619) 838-0571

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The Torta Factory

April 1, 2009 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches

*** The Torta Factory has closed.

This little shop on El Cajon Boulevard opened up about three weeks ago. The balloons, and "Grand Opening Banner" beckoned me in.

The menu is simple, but growing everyday. On my first visit it had Tortas, Quesadillas, breakfast items, and Cemitas. They have now added tacos and huaraches, and I watch with glee as the ball of masa is formed and a tortilla is pressed out for its destiny as a huarache (huarache = "slipper", and is a slipper sized "tortilla" of sorts, topped with any number of items). The restaurant is pretty clean, and simply attired.

The salsa bar is standard, with all of the usual suspects.

My first visit was fun, the gentleman, who I believe is the owner is very friendly, and is eager to please. The prices are a bit higher than your regular taco shop, and watching the tortas being assembled, I knew this wasn't "just another taco shop."

I had Torta Milanesa de Res (breaded beef torta – $5.29):

What struck me about this torta was the bolillo (bread), it was light and airy, the crust was, well crusty, without being hard, and it was not overtoasted.

The milanesa was light and moist, but very mild in flavor. The smear of beans was just right, and most of all, this wasn't dredged in mayo.

It was a very balanced sandwich, one in which the sum of the parts worked together well. I can't say if it was the best Torta I've ever had, but I really enjoyed it. I left feeling satisfied, not like I'd been weighed down by a ton of grease and saturated fat, which has it's own rightful place in (and around) my heart, but this was very pleasant.

Which meant that I had to bring the Missus along on my next trip. The Missus wasn't very hungry, and is a bit picky about the amount of cheese (minimal) and sour cream (none) on Her Mexican food. She decided on the Quesadilla de Flour de Calabasa (zucchini blossom quesadilla – $3.99), and requested it light on the cheese, and with no sour cream. I watched as the tortilla was again formed by hand. It was a simple, but delicious looking dish:

And it was a good idea to get this easy on the cheese…since it was mozzarella cheese. The Missus loved the Guacamole, and told me She could really taste every ingredient in the Quesadilla clearly.

This time I went for the Torta de Bistec Ranchero ($5.29):

Thin sliced beef (a la Carne Asada) browned, than simmered in a mild tomato based sauce. the flavor of the onions and garlic came through. And the beef was very tender. As you can see this was dressed a bit differently from my previous Torta:

No chredded lettuce this time, and the cheese was pretty much an afterthought and added nothing to the sandwich. Again the bolillo was light and airy. In fact, I enjoyed this more than the Torta Milanesa. It could be because the gentleman told me to try some of his "chili paste", which is not on the salsa bar. He gave us a small container of what I believe is a Chipotle based paste.

It was smokey with a nice slow burn…….

On my last visit, I was determined to try something different, and went with the Cemita de Pata ($7.99). Cemitas are a type of sandwich which differentiates itself from Tortas mainly by the type of roll used. It is a round sesame seed crusted roll. The cemita I had previously was toasted, but nice and fluffy. This one was toasted, and on the crumbly side. It was pretty big……

The roll was also fairly dry, I prefer the bolillos here. If you read the menu, and think this is beef shank…be aware…..this is gelatinous, tendon like material from cows feet.

It had been cooked low and slow in a very potent vinegar and citrus mixture, making it very puckery and sour. There was a good deal of bitterness going on as well. On this day, all the customers were Hispanic, and one of them took an interest in what I had ordered. when my Cemita arrived, he asked me what I ordered. when I informed him that it was the Cemita de Pata, he laughed and told me that he is from Puebla, where Cemitas originated. He loves his Cemitas, but even he won't eat this. He did tell me that, "this place makes good stuff." So I'll take his word for it.

To me, The Torta Factory is not the place to revive yourself with a greasebomb from an all day drinking binge, or to kill your hang-over with protein overload. It does a nice job with light and well prepared food. For the other stuff, perhaps you'll do best grabbing your California Burrito from one of those 'Berto places.

The Torta Factory
4595 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115
Open Daily – 7am – 8pm

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Some Revisits: Do Re Mi House and Leilani’s Restaurant

March 30, 2009 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

**** Both Do Re Mi House and the Serra Mesa location of Leilani's have closed

Do Re Mi House:

Hard to believe that I hadn't been back here for over three years. Sometime during that period the lettering on the windows have been redone, and now in addition to the Korean Food, it says they serve "Japanese Traditional Food"?!?? The menu looked pretty much the same, as did the restaurant, though they've removed the back partition to the place. And lunch is still pretty cheap, the Bulgogi Lunch Special at the time of my visit (December) was still $5.99. Looked exactly the same as well.

Funny how tastes change, I found the Bulgogi to be on the sweet side, though it was fairly tender, and the mandoo were better than on my last visit. Still, not bad, if the price is still $5.99.

And I still love the potatoes here. If this visit is any indication, service has now become the typical "dump and duck"…..

Do Re Mi House
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd Ste M
San Diego, CA 92111

My previous post on Do Re Mi House can be found here.

Leilani's Restaurant:

Also from back in December. I got my Loco Moco fix from Leilani's Restaurant. This of course meant a Hilo Loco for me:

In some ways it was the same dependable Loco……nice gravy, hand formed patty, lean, and perhaps on the tough side, but the same as usual, as were the eggs, which could have been a bit more crisp, but were decently runny……

And there was a good amount of gravy over everything. But on this visit, I felt like something was missing…….there was a good amount of Kielbasa and Portuguese Sausage in the fried rice, which was cooked just right, but the entire package tasted strangely bland…….like they forgot to season things……

With this costing ten bucks, maybe I'm just expecting more, or maybe it was just an off day? Though the mac salad was really, really, good on this day…so good I forgot to take a photo! Maybe I need to head back to PB, and see how Leilani is doing?

Leilani's Hawaiian Restaurant
3232 Greyling Drive
San Diego, CA 92123
858-565-4637

My previous post on Leilani's can be found here.