Closed – Page 79

Beard Papa – Plaza Bonita

July 19, 2008 mmm-yoso Desserts

**** This location of Beard Papa has closed

What would I do without all of my FOYs(Friends of Yoso), the minute Beard Papa opens in San Diego, I get 3 emails letting me know! So thank you, thank you, EdL(a longtime FOY), Sam, and Ricki. Ever since, I first read about Beard Papa in a post by Reid, I've been fascinated by the phenomenon. Though unlike Kathy, I don't have much of a sweet tooth, which I think is my saving grace, we really didn't hunt Beard Papa down during our road trips to LA….well, I didn't need to. Before you knew it, a Beard Papa opened in the food court at Marukai Gardena. The Missus and I shared a single vanilla cream puff:

And in spite of my lack of a sweet tooth, it was quite good. The shell(Choux) was thin, light, and crisp, and filling was not too sweet, but still rich.

And that would be it, for the next time we went to Marukai Gardena, Beard Papa was gone, and a "post for a rainy day" went down the tubes. And even though I ran into Beard Papa in other places, like San Gabriel and in Costa Mesa, I never really had the urge to visit. I'm just surprised that I hadn't deleted these photos.

So being in the vicinity of National City recently, I dropped by Plaza Bonita, and headed to where I thought the most likely location of Beard Papa would be. And there was no Food Court…at least where I thought it would be! It had been a few years since I'd been here, and the entire food court had been moved. They sure are trying to pretty the place up.

The set-up looked kind of haphazard, but there it was the signature Beard Papa yellow. The prices, were $2.50 a cream puff, a bit more expensive than I remembered. I did purchase 6 cream puffs($10.50 for 6), 3 vanilla, and 3 of the other flavor of the day, chocolate.

When I arrived home, I opened my little yellow box, and checked out the cream puffs all snuggled in.

I had one vanilla, and noticed something; either my tastes have changed, or the filling is a bit sweeter than I recalled. It was not quite as rich as well.

It was also a bit more "lumpy" than I remembered. The shell had not traveled well, it was soggy, and the bottom hard like a pie crust.

The chocolate was too sweet for my taste.

Though I found the shape of this cream puff to be a bit amusing.

I'm not quite sure if it was just grand opening inconsistencies, or if Beard Papa has lowered the quality control standards, but these were not as good as I remembered.

EdL mentioned in his email, the interesting choice of locations for the first Beard Papa in San Diego. EdL thought, like I did, that Beard Papa would open up somewhere around the Kearny Mesa/Clairemont area. But at least you can now get your Beard Papa fix locally if you need it.

Beard Papa, in the Plaza Bonita Food Court
3030 Plaza Bonita Rd
National City, CA 91950

One Meal at Karinya Thai

June 15, 2008 ed fromyuma Seafood, Thai Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Who knows what Kirk and Cathy and the rest of the yosoers and FOYs have been doing for today? All we know is that ed (now from Yuma) is sharing his return to one of his ol' stompin' grounds.

10 years ago, when I was ed (from PB), one of my favorite restaurants was Karinya Thai, located just a couple of blocks from the beach on Garnet. While I never much liked the stirfries that ask one to match a particular meat or tofu choice with selected vegetables, I regularly enjoyed dishes like the papaya salad, some of the curries, and the whole fish.

Recently I realized that I had not eaten at this restaurant in at least five years, so I decided to try it once more for old times' sake.

As before, the fairly large multi-roomed restaurant was nicely decorated with Siamese knickknacks, creating a pleasant atmosphere that is highlighted by classical music playing in the background:

One major difference in the restaurant today compared with 10 years ago is the relative lack of business. Throughout the time that I dined, only one other table in this room was occupied, and few other tables anywhere in the restaurant had customers.

I began with the papaya salad ($6.95), and it was as good as my memory of it:

While Kirk might like a little more funkiness, a hint of fish sauce pervaded the dish. In terms of spicy hotness, I had requested it to be seven (on a scale of one to 10), and the salad did not disappoint. As you can see from this picture, the entire salad was flecked with chips of red and green Thai chilies:

My eyes watered, my nose ran, and my mouth burned. It was good.

The dressing finished with a slight note of sweetness and was a perfect match with the crunchy green papaya strips and even brought out the taste of the bits of peanut scattered throughout.

Service this evening was excellent. The helpful young man who waited on the table recommended a good selection from the modest wine list, kept refilling my water glass, and even brought me a full carafe of water. Several times during the meal he came by to make sure that everything was fine.

For my main course, I ordered whole fish with spicy three flavored sauce. On this evening, the fish was a striped bass priced at $18.95. When it arrived, it looked beautiful – in a fried and sauced dead fish sort of way:

The sauce was supposed to be spicy hot (again I had requested a seven), but very little picante fire was discernible. Instead, the primary flavors were garlic, diced bell peppers of various colors, and a sour note that contrasted with a background sweetness:

When I began eating the fish, I started with fleshy part of one side, giving me several bites of flaky moist fish:

Quickly, however, I ran out of flaky moist fish. Large parts of the fish had been fried to crunchy doneness:

As I was eating the fish, I was reminded of a recent trip to Mar Azul in Yuma, where the waitperson asked if we wanted the whole fish fried light or fried hard. At Karinya, this fish was definitely fried hard. Except for the fleshy central filets on each side, the fish was generally crunchy and not especially fishy in flavor. The following pictures illustrate the condition of most of the fish:

I have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed in Mr. Fish. I always say that I prefer whole fish preparations that yield flaky, moist, and tender morsels of fish. OK, that's what I say, but on this evening, the culinary puritanism in my brain was overwhelmed by the hedonism of all this deep fried crunchiness in my mouth. And in fact, I couldn't stop eating the fish until all that was left was head, tail, and bones:

Even with my conflicted feelings about the fish, I would happily return to Karinya. I wonder if the curries are still good.

It would be nice to finish the record of this visit to Karinya with some conclusions. Instead, like Mr Fish, this post doesn't have conclusions, just an ending.

Karinya Thai 4475 Mission Blvd San Diego (enter from Garnet), CA (858) 270-5050

Chow Noodlehouse

June 10, 2008 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chinese Restaurants, Thai Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Chow has closed

I'd been thinking about trying out Chow Noodle House for a while, but have been hesitating. You see, when we first moved to San Diego in '01, this was the location of the reincarnated Celadon Restaurant. And the young Owner, Alex Thao, at that time still a student at San Diego State, was a thoughtful and energetic young man. His father had Owned the original Celadon, now the location of Hash House, and after deciding to retire and close the restaurant, the ambitious Alex had talked his father into reopening Celadon, and turning over the keys to him. The space that Chow now occupies once held a Thai Restaurant called Thai-phoon, or something like that. I won't go into the food at that restaurant, but I think the name more than describes it. Alex is a smart Guy, he kept the original chef on staff at Celadon, and we thought the food to be pretty good. We'd often run into Alex's Mom running the front of house, and Alex would always come by and chat. Over time the food went on a downhill slide. It seems that the original Chef, Songsri Thammasuckdi, who, I was told, once cooked for Thai Royalty, decided to retire. About the same time, Alex Thao became quite the Restaurateur, first opening Rama in the Gaslamp, then moving Celadon to newer digs, and opening Chow Noodle House in the former Celadon location. Which brings us to the here and now.

The interior is simply modern, neat and orderly, if perhaps a bit on the "cold" side.

The menu though simple in concept; noodles, salads, and other similar items, is a challenge. Chow has chosen to straddle 4 different Countries. The menu consists of everything from Pho and Bun, to Yakisoba, to Chow Fun and Pad Thai. It is hard enough doing one cuisine justice, but four?

Back in January, I decided to check out Chow for lunch. The very nice young lady ushered me to a table, and after looking over the menu, I chose the Drunken Noodles(with chicken – $8). I thought this would be a nice dish to try since I enjoyed the version that Celadon used to make. Something in the back of my mind made me order it "spicy", something I'd never do at say, Yai Restaurant. Come to think of it, they serve it to you, their way, and don't even ask you how spicy you want your food. I kinda like that.

I was first served a bowl of a pseudo, egg drop soup. I say pseudo, because the one very strong flavor in this was that of Kaffir Lime Leaf. To me this wasn't a bad thing, because at least it had flavor.

Considering that I was paying the "Hillcrest premium", this didn't look too bad. On the good side, the noodles were cooked adequately, and the chicken wasn't dry as I expected. On the bad, this was cloyingly sweet. I expect my Pad Kee Mau to be on the sweet side, but this was really much too sweet. Also, it was not spicy in the least, not at all. It was hard to make out any flavor beyond the sweetness of the dish.

Another day, I was having lunch with an acquaintance, and decided to order the "Vietnamese" Grilled Beef Salad($10):

The "lemongrass grilled beef" was adequately done, but it had no lemongrass flavor. The menu says hothouse cucumbers, but none were in sight, not a big deal, at least there were some cherry tomatoes mixed in with the shredded cabbage and carrots. The dressing was very bland, I'd have killed for some Nuoc Mam Cham. Funny thing, this was one of my first meals out after returning from vacation, and I couldn't help but think…..160,000 VND!

Recently, I decided to give Chow one more shot. This day, being a bit brighter than most, I noticed that Chow was showing some signs of wear and tear.

This time I ordered the Beef Chow Fun($11 – I just noticed that I spent more and more $'s on each visit). I didn't quite know what to expect, perhaps a nice version of Thai style thick noodles with gravy, maybe I'd get a decent Chow Fun.

Chow Fun with Gravy does not mean mushy noodles. The noodles were horribly over-cooked, and improper cooking temperature made them greasy as well. Though the fragrance of ginger wafted up from the dish, it was all I could really make out. This was very bland. At least the Gai lan tops were cooked properly. The meat was cut too thick, and didn't match the thickness of the noodles, a no-no in Chinese cooking.

At this point, unless anyone has a really stellar recommendation for Chow, I think I'll pass for a while. It seemed like everything started at mediocre, and went down hill from there. I will say this, though my Server was different on every visit, I had very accommodating service. Also, I was never charged for my Diet Cokes.

This leads me to a conversation I had with the young Alex Thao, way back in maybe 2002. Just back from a visit to Thai Town, I inquired about dishes using ingredients like Thai Eggplants, Jackfruit, or even Gapi(Thai Shrimp Paste). His response was that using the unfamiliar in San Diego is "economic suicide" and those dishes would just take up menu space and never sell. I guess he's right, after all, the Thao Empire is now so large it calls itself the "Celadon Group".

Chow Noodle House
540 University Ave
San Diego, CA

Read Alice Q Foodie's post on Chow here.

Read Gil's post from what We Dig here.

From the no good deed goes unpunished files:

So, I'm walking after lunch, and see an Older Woman using a walker, dragging a shopping basket, muttering to herself while crossing the street. I notice that a shopping bag full of "stuff" fell from the cart while she was crossing the street. So, I run into the cross walk, get honked at by some "gangsta's" in an Escalade who in addition to throwing a Big Gulp Cup at me, obviously cussed me out…luckily, they were screaming at me in "gangsta" so I really couldn't understand what they were saying. Thankfully, I managed to pick up the bag, caught up with the woman, and handed it to her. Unfortunately for me, she was grappling with whatever demons are haunting her, and proceeded to scream profanities at me. And if that wasn't enough, she started spitting at me! Needless to say, I dumped her bag into the cart, and beat a hasty retreat. Goes to show me…you never know what'll happen to you on the corner of 5th and University……..

China Chef: A Revisit

June 3, 2008 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** China Chef has closed

What would our humble little blog be without you all. Well, I don't think we'd be much at all without our FOYs(Friends Of Yoso), who always take time out to keep me informed of changes. Case in point would be the reason behind our recent visit to China Chef. Back in November of 2006, we visited China Chef, and found what we basically thought was a Dede's clone. It was okay, but nothing to go out of the way for. But thanks to FOY ReneeC, who always keeps me apprised of any activity on Her culinary radar, we decided to take a drive up to Mira Mesa, and grab a bite at China Chef.

The reason?

Need a closer look?

Some "specials" written on construction paper in front of the cash register. #1 Sweet and Sour Crispy Skin Fish. #2 Tea Smoked duck. #3 Chongqing Beer Duck.

What about #4? Well that's Rock Cod and Tofu Clay Pot:

This hot pot dish was just average. The cooking of the fish was mediocre, it was on the dry side, and crumbly, instead of flaky. The overall flavor of the "gravy" could have used more ginger, and some salt. Also, the addition of a vegetable component; maybe Napa Cabbage or lettuce on the bottom of the pot would have added some nice textural contrast. A very bland dish.

#5 Spicy Tea Smoked Duck.

This was a nice dish. Much better than any duck dish I've had at Ba Ren. The tea smoked duck was done well, and had a decent amount of meat. Many versions of tea smoked duck are salty and tough, this one had a nice smoky flavor, and a good chew. No, it's not your Cantonese Roast Duck, but smoking adds a very nice smokey-cured flavor and texture. This was double bonus, the duck was briefly stir-fried with green peppers, dried chilies, celery, and Sichuan peppercorns. And the whole thing was topped with peanuts. There was some numbing heat, but it wasn't very spicy.

Of course I couldn't leave without having some Cumin Lamb($9.95), that classic Xinjiang/Uyghur dish that has been absorbed by many regional Chinese Cuisines. I was once told that the Uyghur(Muslim turks) have spread throughout much of China, and you can find street stalls selling skewers of lamb seasoned with cumin in many large cities through China.

This version was quite interesting. It was rather light on the Cumin Powder, and could have used more salt. What the dish had in spades was that flavor which a friend of mine once called, "the flavor of the wild pasture". In other words, it was nice and gamey. That in and of itself made this a satisfying dish. The meat had a decent chew, I hate mushy lamb. Also, this was the least oily version of cumin lamb I've ever had. I'm still wondering if that's a good thing or not.

The total bill, including rice, tea, and tax, came out to $41.35. I can't tell you how much the specials were, no price is posted, and only a total was circled on our check. I was rather satisfied with our meal. It was much better than our previous visit to China Chef. I've heard that people think there's a new Chef at this restaurant. I wouldn't know, but I can tell you that there are some new dishes like Sweet Corn with Pine Nuts, and such on the menu.

China Chef Restaurant
9225 Mira Mesa Blvd #110
San Diego, CA 92126

Thanks for always keeping me "in the loop" Renee!

Ba Ren’s Latest Seasonal Menu

May 29, 2008 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Ba Ren has closed

Over the last few weeks we've been checking out the latest seasonal menu at Ba Ren. So I thought I'd do a few posts on the items we've tried. There are 8 items on the menu; one of them, the first item listed is a carry over from the previous menu. It's the Corn with Pine Nuts dish.

So here we go:

#3 on the placard, Chopped Chicken with Ya Cai($10.99):

Ya Cai is a famous Sichuan pickle that uses just the leaves of a specific type of mustard green. It is unusual in that it uses a "dry preserve" technique. I love the salty-sour, and slightly sweet flavor of Ya Cai. Combined with uniformly chopped chicken, green bell peppers, and jalapenos, this was by far our favorite dish on the menu(looks a bit like La Chao La, doesn't it?). It is spicy and salty and goes well with a good amount of rice. In fact, as I was writing this I had to run to the fridge to grab a few spoonfuls of it, just to jog my memory…you know…right?

#5 on the placard, Hand Torn Chicken($10.99):

Sesame oil was front and center in this cold dish. The chicken had a flavor similar to that of Kwai Fei chicken. I guess you could think of it as Kwai Fei Chicken Salad. The chicken was chopped leg meat, thankfully boneless, and mixed with bean sprouts and strips of scallion. The Missus is not a big fan of cold chicken dishes, so I got much more enjoyment out of this than She. I did think this was a bit on the pricey side.

#6 on the placard, Steamed Fish Slices with Don Cai($12.99):

As with all the fish dishes we've encountered at Ba Ren, the filets were soft, moist, and tender. We were told that Don Cai is a Zhejiang preserved vegetable, it was less salty, more moist, and milder than the Ya Cai. What I really enjoyed about this dish was the bean thread on the bottom, which managed to soak up the wonderful soy, oil, and black pepper flavor…along with the Don Cai, of course. This was a good dish.

#7 on the placard, Tan Zi Huang Men Ya($15.99):

This Clay Pot(Tan Zi) Stewed(Men) Duck(Ya) dish looked positively volcanic. "Men" is one of the 56 classic Sichuan cooking techniques, in which ingredients are first fried or stir-fried, and medium amount of liquid is added before the pot is closed and everything is cooked. The duck in this case was duck leg and neck, which added a nice "ducky" fragrance to the whole shebang. This broth, or gravy if you will needed a good stir to mix the super-spicy oil with the rest of the broth below. Otherwise you'd be in for a sip of chili oil. The taro in the dish was not very good; mealy and mushy, it reminded me of Chuño. It was obviously prefrozen. Sliced leeks and large slices of ginger were also along for the ride. When I first viewed this dish, I had flashbacks of my previous encounter with "Beer Duck" at Ba Ren. But this was much better. Still, the Missus enjoyed this much more than I.

I realize that I have a ton of posts on Ba Ren, but I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the dishes from the Chinese placard. Of course, the old favorites are still available.

Ba Ren
4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Sultan Schawarma-Excellent Eating Downtown

May 14, 2008 Cathy Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog, written by Kirk and a few friends. Today, Cathy has a post about a great place she found downtown.

Greetings and I hope all of you are having a nice day.

One day late last year I was walking on Market Street downtown and decided to go South on Fourth Avenue, to see if anything new had shown up. I saw this:

Literally a hole in the wall in the middle of a bunch of many (and more expensive) restaurants… It looks like this through the front window. When it is open, the spits on your right are filled with cones of layers of beef and chicken schawarma, which were marinated overnight in yogurt, lemon juice and garlic (along with salt, pepper and I believe some sort of red pepper or pepper sauce) topped with a large whole onion and tomato… As you can see, the menu is short, simple and straightforward. Oh, the food here is great. Always fresh. I come here kind of regularly and so took some surreptitious photos of a few items. There are three tables out front and seating for 14 inside. People rearrange the tables in the back to suit the situation.

The beef schawarma sandwich. ($5.95-as are all of the sandwiches)(the side of fries is $1.95). Juicy, tender deeply flavored, thinly sliced beef that was cooked on the spit in front a direct heat source (in other countries, the meat is cooked on the spit in front of an open flame. San Diego has all sorts of ‘laws’ disallowing such craziness inside of buildings) for hours. Served simply on freshly warmed flat bread, with lettuce, raw onion and tomato… and all the sandwiches are served with the optional add-ins of sliced pickle, banana pepper, pickled turnip and two olives. I have particular cravings for the chicken schawarma as of late. The chicken is always plentiful and very juicy and has just the right spices for my taste. The kefta kabob is sometimes on my craving list also and is a delightful mix of ground beef and spices (parsley, cilantro,onion, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper). If you get the kebab later in the day, though, sometimes it is dry…so I ask for a side of hummus (1.95-fresh made and comes with flat bread) to complete this sandwich…(and instead of fries, of course). I must say the sandwiches here do not *need* any sauce added- when the meat is sliced off the spit, it falls into the juices that were rendered and that flavor, along with the tenderness the juice gives to the meat, is perfect.

If you happen to come here when the soup of the Day is lentil, get it. It is *absolutely* the most wonderful homemade soup *ever*…it does cost $3.50 and is worth it. Oh, and get the hot tea ($1.25) as your beverage- ask for it to be made strong-the flavor absolutely matches the food…the only other beverages offered are in cans and bottles.

The place is owned and run by a very nice Iraqi family, who seem a bit guarded in keeping things private- in that , they bring you the food and then don’t ask you “how are you doing?” and stuff like that. If you need something, you do have to ask. Just know they are willing to accommodate you and are very nice. If you are just walking on the sidewalk, you might miss it. Here is what it looks like up close.

The hours on the door state they are open until 3 a.m., but that is usually when there is an event downtown, or the Padres are playing…I have seen it closed at 10 p.m….and since I believe the Padres are mathematically eliminated, the Fair Weather Fans who usually would hang around late are not hanging around downtown. Come here early in the day. You will like it.

Sultan Schawarma 543 Fourth Avenue San Diego 92101 Ph (619)231-1824 Fax (619) 231-1859 Open 7 days 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. at least…sometimes later.

L & L Hawaiian Barbecue – Hillcrest

May 11, 2008 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

**** This location of L&L has closed

It used to be that I'd eat plate lunches at least 3-4 times a week. You could say it was the backbone of my diet back then. But having lived on the mainland for over a decade now(has it really been that long?), my diet has changed in some pretty significant ways. That would mean no more 3 squares a day featuring that carbo-licious staple, rice. It seems that a plate of protein with at least 2-3 carbs(or in the case of Chili Spaghetti-Rice with Macaroni Potato salad, 4 carbs) has kinda fallen by the wayside for me. And to make matters worse, when I had my latest Loco Moco craving, I realized that I hadn't had a plate lunch since January; over 4 months! My how things have changed.

I don't know why, but I always thought that Hillcrest was an interesting location for an L&L. And even though I work in walking distance of this location of L&L, I had never made an effort to eat there. But, suffering from severe Loco Moco withdrawals, I decided to check them out.

In addition to the standard issue L&L menu, this location also offers "Healthier" options. After all, this is Hillcrest.

One thing I did notice was that my Loco Moco was going to cost $8.29! But, since I made the effort to walk over……..

So how did this measure up? Using the "Modified Rubio Scale for Loco Mocos", originally developed by James Rubio, who does the food blog Big Island Grinds, here's how the scoring(on a scale of 1 thru 5) went.

BURGER: Standard burger was well seasoned, moist(!), and mildly beefy. Pretty good for a Hawaiian BBQ joint. – 3.0

EGGS: Could be more crisp around the edges, and not seasoned. Yolk was nice and runny. – 3.0

RICE: Kinda hard. – 2.0

GRAVY: On the light side, but nice and salty. Pretty decent. – 3.5

STUFFS: Too much mayo on the macaroni salad, which could have used a shake of salt. – 2.0

Total: 13.5 – Not bad for one of these Hawaiian BBQ joints.

This location of L&L was bit better than some of the other locations, so I may just have another meal here one day. The service was fine, the young lady manning the register was very nice, but a bit spacey…..she forgot to charge me for my drink, I had to remind her.

L&L Hawaiian Barbecue
3803 5th Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103

You can find my "collection" of Loco Mocos here.

Asmara Eritrean Restaurant

April 7, 2008 ed fromyuma African Cuisine/Restaurants, Ethiopian/Eritrean Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Kirk will soon be back posting about his incredible trip to Vietnam & Cambodia. Cathy will soon post more about her culinary adventures. Other folks help out on this blog as well. Today, though, it is ed (from Yuma) writing about a new restaurant he just visited in San Diego.

When I lived in San Diego about 10 years ago, I delighted in the vibrant Ethiopian/East African community in the city. While my previous exposure to their cuisine had been limited, I loved Ethiopian food. Unfortunately, the Ethiopian restaurant scene in America’s Finest City left much to be desired.

My favorite Ethiopian restaurant (called Asmara) closed. Another place that served good food had virtually no customers, perhaps because no one would have expected a restaurant called Legare to be an Ethiopian restaurant; the warm and friendly owner explained that everyone in Addis Ababa knew that the best restaurant food was at the train station, which being built by the French, was called Le Gare. But for those of us not from Addis Ababa . . .

So I approached Asmara (no connection to its deceased namesake) with a certain level of trepidation. First of all, it calls itself an Eritrean restaurant, not Ethiopian. Eritrean cuisine? I know that Ethiopia and Eritrea have been joined and separated and warring and at peace at various times in my lifetime. So how would this food relate to Ethiopian cuisine? What’s more, the restaurant is so new that workers were painting over the name of the previous occupant on the awning above the main entrance as we were entering:

But when I walked in, I was able to leave my trepidation at the door. This was clearly a professional operation. There was no thick cloud of incense smoke or tables of men playing cards in darkened rooms oblivious to their surroundings. Instead, everything about the decor of the sizable restaurant said clean, modern, stylish, and professional:

Before we go any further, let me apologize for the lack of great food pictures. My old buddy Greg and I were on a guy’s eating trip to San Diego, and we were fortunate to get together with Dave and Michelle, friends from Jamul, who enjoy gourmandizing as much as Greg and I do. So when two large trays of various dishes arranged on sheets of injera arrived, it was hard to keep everyone from attacking the food while I was hurriedly taking pictures. (Remember this important life lesson: always blame others for your deficiencies.)

We had ordered a meat combination, a chicken dish (called here tsebhi dorho – but identical to the douro wat in Ethiopian restaurants), a veggie combo, and shiro, a dish of roasted ground chickpeas with seasonings. Thoughtfully, they put all the vegetarian items on one tray and all of the meat dishes (with accompanying salads) on another, so that any vegetarian would be spared morsels of injera lubricated with meat sauce or juices. This picture of part of the meat platter gives you an idea of how the food is served:

We were all very impressed with the injera, the bubbly sourdough flatbread full of tef flour and flavor. It had a pronounced sour tang and seemed a little thinner and less doughy than other versions I have eaten. For those of you unfamiliar with Horn of Africa cuisine, the injera is the starch, the plate, and the eating utensil. One picks up bits and bites of various foods with pieces of injera held between the fingers. In addition to the injera that covered the platters, more injera wrapped up around itself was also served on the side. However, as everyone who has eaten Ethiopian or Eritrean food is aware, the best tasting injera is that which has lain under the entrees and soaked up all their essential goodness.

Even though the meat combo was supposed to have only two different items, we received a chunky cubed beef and a similar lamb item as well as a longer cooked, falling-apart-tender lamb stew. The two cubed meat dishes looked like this (but clearer):

All the meat items were tasty and richly seasoned, but the fiery chicken dish may have been the star of the meat platter, even though it contained only one chicken leg and one boiled egg (sort of a mother and child reunion):

Similarly, we got more than expected with the veggie combination, which had two different lentil dishes (one darker and more highly spiced than the other), a cabbage and carrot dish, a collard and spinach dish, and a surprise yellow split pea stew, something not even listed on the menu. Except for the one lentil dish, the spicing on all the vegetarian items tended to be more subtle. Please do not click to enlarge any of these fuzzy pictures; they won’t get any better — they will only get bigger:

The most impressive of the items on the vegetarian platter was the Shiro, which came in a covered bowl so we could continue to add more on top of the injera. It had layers of complexities. The nuttiness of the roasted chickpeas and the ~~Ethiopian~~ Eritrean spices contributed to the overall taste. I had been somewhat hesitant to order this item, but it was really good (if not really pretty):

Not counting the cost of the Eritrean and Ethiopian beers that we ordered (my advice: order more conventional beers) the cost of the dinner was about $10 a person. None of the entrées is over $10. I felt that the dinner was a very good value, particularly considering the pleasant setting.

Is this a great restaurant? Well, I don’t know. We didn’t try either of the beef dishes which can be ordered raw (gored-gored and kitfo). However, everything we were served was well prepared and well seasoned. Only the rather ordinary and underdressed salads (containing fresh jalapeno slices to get one’s attention) were disappointing. I can’t recall ever having better East African food in San Diego. This would certainly be a great place for someone who had never tried Horn of Africa cuisine before. On the other hand, the menu at Asmara doesn’t appear to break new ground, and most items listed seem similar to those at most conventional Ethiopian restaurants, except that some have different names.

Perhaps the most unusual thing on the menu is the weekend special, spaghetti with your choice of meat or tomato sauce. This pasta is a reminder that Eritrea spent many years as an Italian colony. In Ethiopia, on the other hand, the Italians were hated invaders whose brief rule had little effect on that nation’s cuisine.

Asmara Eritrean Restaurant, 4155 University Ave, (619) 677-3999. Open daily 11 AM – 10 PM.

Pat and Oscar’s-and what Cathy always orders

April 5, 2008 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Chains, Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Pat and Oscar's has closed most of their locations. They will be missed.

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog about food. Today, Cathy is back with a short post.

Hello once more. I'm still here blogging and Kirk and His Missus are still enjoying their adventures in Vietnam. I did get an email from him when he was going to be away from the internet for a few days. They are enjoying their vacation immensely and you'll get to see all about it in due time. SO ANYHOW…There is a local "chain" here in San Diego, called "Pat and Oscars". It is semi self serve in that you order, pay, grab plates/silverware/napkins, seat yourself and then have the food delivered to your table. You can put together a bunch of tables for a large gathering and the prices are reasonable, especially for groups. You can see their menu on line at www.Breadstick.com. They make a variety of items, yet after trying everything from the menu over the years, The Mister and I end up ordering the same thing. Always.

The chicken meal for two ($16.99). It includes a choice of a Cesar or Greek salad. I always choose Greek. You can see it has onions, beets, green pepper slices, feta and olives. I really crave this salad.

The meal also includes an order of 12 breadsticks- fresh made, topped with olive oil and a touch of garlic flavor. {The website address is breadstick.com: Pat and Oscar's are *known* for their breadsticks. Sometimes if the line to order is long, they are passing out samples to those waiting: sometimes they had out breadsticks to people in front of the restaurant…it is *the* reason a lot of people eat here. }

Of course, included is a whole rotissiere cooked chicken- either Lemon or BBQ.

Always the Lemon.

The items are always good, fresh, hot and taste great.

You can see The Mister makes open faced sandwiches with his breadsticks and chicken and I eat my salad with breadsticks and enjoy the chicken by itself.

Seriously, we have tried the pizza, ribs, sandwiches, pasta, soups and the BBQ chicken and they are not as tasty as this particular combination. {If the pizza dough were made from the breadstick dough, then *maybe* I would like the pizza here. It isn't}

When you go to the website, sign up for the promotional emails and you occasionally get a coupon for $5 off of $15, and this meal fits in that category.

Hope you all have a nice, uneventful weekend.

Chulo’s Food Truck-Mariscos, tacos and caldos!

March 27, 2008 Cathy Seafood, Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the food blog. A little peek into an anonymous diary of what Kirk and some of his friends ate. Kirk is gone. Cathy is here. Today, you can read what Cathy ate. Or not.

Hi. No, Kirk is not back yet.

So anyhow, I was driving North on 54th, to meet some friends who live on Easy Street. Really. San Diego 92105. Easy Street. People live there. Not me, though.

At the signal light of 54th and Redwood, I was waiting and saw this Food Truck. I made a mental note (since I didn’t have a pen) and on my way home, I was hungry, remembered and drove to it.

Technically, it is on the feeder road on the Northeast corner. You can’t miss it, no other businesses on the other corners.

I parked and walked up and looked at the menu.

Very cool- mostly seafood, except for the menudo, Carne Asada and Chorizo.

I decided on the fish taco for 99¢ and the camaron quesedilla $5- but my total charge was $7. Exactly. So maybe the listed prices are wrong, or something else… doesn’t matter.

There was a table with three chairs under the awning attached to the truck and there were a plethora of different hot sauces to choose from, along with bottled and canned beverages in ice.

I did recall seeing a line of people waiting to order and eat here last year when I was visiting my friends . Since this truck was still here, it must be pretty good, I thought to myself while waiting.

So, I ordered, put some money in the tip jar and the nice gentleman asked me if I would like some seafood caldo (soup) while I waited…of course!

A rich tomato based broth with onions and celery and chunks of fish in my portion. Excellent, deep flavor.

I had to wait a bit for the food to be finished cooking, but did not mind.

It was fascinating to see the cocteles the other people had ordered and were eating. Not overly large, but they appeared to be fresh made.

This was my fish taco. Not great, but not bad…for 99¢. I won’t complain.

The quesedilla was the best surprise ever. There were 15 juicy fresh quite large shrimp which were sauteed with sweet red onions and green peppers, slightly burned from the pan frying, on a huge, very cheese filled tortilla. It was heavy with filling and cut into 5 pieces.

I am *so* very happy I stopped here. I was hungry and knew I needed to get something interesting for the blog.

Mental Note: Do this more often…just stop and eat.

Chulos Food Truck 54th at Redwood (North East corner) San Diego 92105