Closed – Page 83

Southern Style Kitchen

October 7, 2007 mmm-yoso Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food

*** Southern Style Kitchen has closed.

A few weeks ago, we had what is now a pretty common discussion….."I'd like something different to eat, anyplace new?" I recalled seeing a restaurant with an interesting name,"California Style Chicken" on the 6900 block of University. I remember being curious as to what was "California Style Chicken"….for some reason those silly commercials with the "Foster Imposters" came to mind. I managed to convince the Missus to take a drive out to "Cathy country" out in La Mesa. And lo' and behold, no more California Chicken. It is now Southern Style Kitchen! So it was time to ditch the Chicken, and start with the Kitchen. BTW, I think that "New… New… New!" sign looks pretty, um, well, old.

The sign mentioning items like Okra, Chicken Gizzards, and "Cajun Giant"(versus just plain Cajun) Catfish looked promising.

We walked in, and other than two guys eating at one table no one else was around….

Than suddenly, this little whirlwind of a Vietnamese Lady pops up…."WHAT.YOU.WANT?" She kinda caught me off guard, so she repeated herself "whatyouwant…" And the pressure began. After all, she looked like she wouldn't hesitate to slap me across the head if I screwed up. So we started ordering, and found out something interesting; there are two types of sides, "regular ones" like green beans and mac and cheese, that you can order with combo meals, and "Special sides" like sweet potato fries, that you have to order ala carte. I had made a mistake…but no slap across the head, ruler cross my knuckles, nor was I made to go to the back of the line….of course there was no line, so that was a moot point, you see, even if she wanted me too….um lets get on with the story.

I ordered a 3 piece Fried Chicken combo ($6.29):

Yes, there are 3 pieces of chicken here…a wing is hiding behind the dry croissant. As fried chicken goes, I wasn't too impressed, it was hot, the coating was decently crisp, and the meat was slightly moist. But I thought the chicken had no flavor, both the coating and the chicken, was under seasoned for my taste. The Missus thought the flavor was okay, but I just wasn't too happy with it.

Now, if I thought the chicken was flavorless, the Cole Slaw was even worse.

This tasted like package cabbage mix with really thinned out mayo-water, with a few drops of vinegar thrown in.

The Missus ordered the 2 piece Cajun Catfish($8.39).

The only thing remotely "Giant" about this was the price, over 8 bucks. I will say that the fish was well seasoned, though not spicy in the least bit. The corn meal coating was excellent, and the fish tasted moist and fresh. Back to the lady….when I asked her for some hot sauce, she stuck her arm out at a perpendicular angle, pointing to the rear of the restaurant. At first, I thought she was kicking me out of the restaurant. But I went in the direction she pointed and found a red squirt bottle of hot sauce on top of the trash receptacle. There was a young Vietnamese guy standing at the counter when I asked for the hot sauce, all he could do was shake his head and give me a bemused grin. By this point though, I couldn't help but laugh, this lady was the caricature of every surly, grumpy, impatient, terminally annoyed, Asian restaurant waitress.

We didn't laugh at the side of green beans:

Gluey, tasteless gravy, poured on over cooked preprocessed green beans.

On the other hand, the Deep Fried Okra($2.29) was very good:

The Okra had been fried to perfection, the interior soft and almost creamy, the exterior golden brown, nicely seasoned, and crisp. For me, this was the best item we ordered.

In the end, I can't see myself returning. I felt the prices were a bit on the high side for the quality and quantity of food. The service was curt to the point of laughter….I'm still shaking my head as I type this.

Southern Style Kitchen
6990 University Ave
La Mesa, CA 91941

Rickshaw Corner in Tierrasanta.

September 27, 2007 Cathy Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is the blog that never goes on vacation, even though Kirk does. Cathy is still here, talking about yet another meal she ate.

So, long story short. The Mister was stuck in some major traffic on 52 last night. He finally got to the Santo Road exit, took it and was looking for a pay phone (keeping it short, don't ask about a mobile phone right now) and eventually ended up at the Vons at Santo Road and Clairmont Mesa, where there is a pay phone in front of a Laundromat.

He told me there was a Chinese Restaurant on the end of the mall and it looked really busy with lots of people doing take out. I should have asked him to see what they were ordering, but it is too late for that now.

It turns out the menu is two sided, Chinese and Japanese. Taking the 50-50 chance, we chose Chinese…because…well

I grew up with this>

as my definition of Chinese food and so, nothing could be that bad…and- AND- and the Japanese Bento meals were being served on -Honest To God- sectioned cafeteria food trays.

Plus, well, if you read the menu, you get 8 Pot Stickers on the Chinese menu for $4.95-(62¢ each), versus the 5 Gyoza for $3.25 (65¢ each) on the Japanese menu.

Chinese it was.

The 10 piece fried chicken wing appetizer ($4.95). Nicely fried, plump and juicy but absolutely needed the Plum Sauce served with them. Soy Sauce also helped.

The pot stickers. Absolutely wonderful.

Plump, meaty, great pork with some water chestnut filling. Just right thickness skins stir fried to a perfect crispiness.

We decided to try the 3 Flavor Sizzling Rice Soup. ($4.95). It was brought out in two bowls, the rice was not sizzling, but was cooked. The broth was cabbage and white pepper based, not at all chicken flavored, even though there was a layer of oil on top and I thought that was an indication it was a chicken broth. The cabbage and peas were fresh and crispy, not canned. The shrimp had good flavor but the chicken pieces tasted old and maybe freezer burned. The beef just had no flavor. It was not good. If I had a cold, I might want it just to get hydration and something into me, but … no. Not really.

We decided to try the vegetable Egg Foo Young ($6.95). I have never seen egg foo young prepared this way. Two pancakes topped with stir fried vegetables and sauce. The vegetables were good and fresh and the sauce was nice and the pancakes were… pancakes, with canned or frozen peas and carrots-no bean sprouts- in them. Kind of thin, kind of tough. Strange.

As were our fortunes. The Mister's says "Great! You're ready for a party." and mine says "You are primed to come up with a creative solution."

Whatever. It was a meal. I am curious as to what they can to do to Japanese food now. The people working are all family, very friendly and nice, knowing the regulars who are coming in to pick up meals …I just wish I knew what they all ordered.

Rickshaw Corner 10428 Clairmont Mesa Blvd (at Santo Road) (Tierrasanta) San Diego 92124 (858)541-1998 (858)541-0877 Mon-Sat 11:30-9:30 Sun 3-9 (Closed M-F 3-4 p.m.)

Curry House-a ch-ch-ch-chain…and, no rules- we didn’t order curry!

September 26, 2007 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Curry House has closed.

mmm-yoso!!!, the blog. About food. Cathy still blogging about food eaten around San Diego. Ed eating but not documenting in Yuma. Kirk eating and eventually documenting from Peru.

Hi. Cathy here with maybe some better photos of this meal. Lunch at Curry House. It says 'Curry and spaghetti' on the front signage.

There are plastic bowls of plastic food in the front window, and menus displayed.

There has been a coupon in the papers lately- buy one and two beverages and get the other menu item free. With a week of meals eaten out, as well as trying to have something interesting to blog about, a coupon was a nice deal. We got a hot tea, which came with a just right size pot of water to make three cups and high quality Japanese green tea bag and a coffee, which happened to be fresh brewed since The Mister apparently was the only person drinking coffee in a Japanese restaurant, and it was served with a little pitcher of real cream (each $1.75).

Then we got the menu and I wanted to try all the other items on the menu and not the curries, mainly because Kirk has already blogged (and so has Guest Commenter Vicky, who blogged a bit and moved North earlier this year) about Curry House and they must do that well, right? The restaurant is owned and run by House Foods, a major supplier of all kinds of goodies, from curries and sauces to tofu 'noodles'. So, the menu items are kind of all made from Asian Grocery Store staples, and are a selling point for the restaurant…but wow: excellent.

So, we decided to try out a bowl of corn potage($2.60)

…this is not corn chowder, but corn soup. Excellent corn soup. Whole corn niblets are in it and it is …oh…more like corn pudding in richness of flavor, but not too thick.

Then there was a hand out that came with the regular menu- a single page with new stuff on it-and photos-…

So anyhow, Seafood with yam noodles. ($9.50)

Sort of in an Alfredo sauce- but not. Thinner sauce, hint of curry heat under, but white. Excellent rich flavor. The yam 'noodles' were wide- we have had skinnier yam 'noodles' that fell apart, but these 'noodles' held up. There were squid rings, fish, mussels, shrimp and broccoli and onions in this *large* bowl. Excellent flavor, unexpected high quality of seafood. I don't know why we thought it would be not great, but this was *really* good. Not Italian seafood fettuccine, but a nice Japanese version and the menu said lower in calories that regular pasta (550 calories versus 900). Like I care about calories. It is flavor I care about.

I decided to splurge and get the crab and shrimp salad($12.75).

We had to wait a bit because they were cooking and peeling the crab and shrimp to put on top of this salad. Yes, they were warm (and sweet/fresh tasting) on top of the mixed greens, cabbage, tomatoes and radish sprouts served on the icy cold plate. While we waited, we noticed the advertising set on the table and the House salad dressing was available for sale for $3.50 and the sign said "no preservatives". We asked and the waitress said it lasts only abut 10 days. Fresh made…oh my. It was rich soy sauce, garlic and ginger flavored, deep and wonderful. I am definitely going to buy some when I hit one of my "daily must eat greens" phases, which happens every few months. The combination of flavors was really good.

I saw some side dishes that you could order, ostensibly with a curry dish, on the menu and asked if I could get a potato croquette($1.50). I usually get fresh made croquettes at Nijiya Market, in the same parking lot, but I wanted to try this one. It was a nice, plump, moist potato, lightly breaded with panko and with a light fry- delicate, yet crusty. Kind of a nice side to go with the salad, although I could have added on a cup of potage and bread for $1.50.

Also, even though Red Berry is in the same parking lot, it was dessert time and, since it was still a week-o-birthday meal,

we shared a red bean ice cream ($2.95-which was comped by the Manager once He knew it was our birthdays, via an inadvertent mention to our waitress; unexpectedly nice).

All in all, excellent non-curry food. I didn't follow my own rules to 'order what the name of the restaurant is about' and was not at all disappointed. Very pleasantly surprised. They make tasty food. There are daily lunch specials noted at the front of the building and lunch prices range from $7-$14. Not bad at all for the quality and attentive service.

Curry House San Diego 3860 Convoy (in Nijiya Center) San Diego 92111 (858)278-2454 M-F 11:30-2:30, 5:30-9:00 S-S 11:30-9:00

Cheese Shop Deli- Downtown breakfast and lunch

September 23, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Cheese, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

The restaurant and menu are the same, but the location of Cheese Shop Deli has moved to the Horton Grand Hotel on 311 Island Avenue, downtown.

mmm-yoso is the food blog and Cathy is writing while Kirk vacations and ed stays in Yuma, grading more papers.

Hi. Food blogging time. This is a short one. I have had to be in downtown San Diego fora few reasons rather regularly lately(I happen to be a registered voter and have a driver’s license; figure it out) and so I have been exploring eateries in the area.

The Mister and I used to go to The Cheese Shop downtown a lot, more than 15 years ago, when Horton Plaza first opened. It is a delicatessen as well as breakfast place and we always liked it. The physical location moved about a half block away, but the ambiance and food seems to be the same.

Except for the prices, of course.

So, I had a couple of breakfast items and will share.

The mushroom swiss omelet ($7.95) comes with that half a plate of hash browns and is made with fresh sauteed thinly sliced mushrooms. Quite full. The egg was not as fluffy/crispy as I like in omelets, but was tasty. This also came with toast.

I decided to try the breakfast sandwich ($3.75)- an egg with cheese (cheddar) and choice of ham, bacon or sausage (I got bacon) on an English muffin. Looked kind of small, and I did take one bite and then decided to ‘deconstruct’ it

and put some of the jelly that is on the table on the muffin and ate the egg and cheese and bacon with a fork and knife. Made me take my time and remember, again, that there are no rules.

On Friday, I decided to get a cheese tray for two to go. ($11.80 with tax)

Three cheeses (the proper amount- if you do more than that, tastes are muddled) Muenster, Brie and a medium cheddar, some vegetable wheat crackers and grapes. This was perfect snack for the two of us when we were working around the house Friday evening.

My favorite grilled cheese sandwich here is Havarti on pumpernickel. They serve pancakes, bagels an cereals for breakfast and hot, traditional and specialty sandwiches as well as cheese sandwiches burgers and home made soups and salads for lunch. Breakfast is served all day. You can read the menu on line.

Cheese Shop Delicatessen 627 Fourth Avenue San Diego 92101 (619)232-2303 open 7 days M-F 7 am-4pm S-S 8 am-4pm NEW LOCATION: 311 Island Avenue San Diego 92101. Check the website link, above.

2165 Avenida de la Playa La Jolla 92037 (858)459-3921

Da Hawaiian Grinds- Plate lunch in Santee (it used to be Shaka)

September 20, 2007 Cathy Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Plate Lunch, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso, the blog, is never on vacation. Cathy is posting while Kirk and Ed are not. Primarily because Kirk is in Peru and Ed is in Yuma…they have interesting lives.

Sadly, Da has closed and now the only Hawaiian food in Santee is L&L, and at my house.

Hi. Cathy here, sort of adding onto “Plate Lunch Week”..with my own ‘White Girl From Santee’ point of view…
Yes, we have a Hawaiian Restaurant in East County…

Well, actually, one day it turned into this place. Wherein they changed the name on the sign on the outside; all of the menu items inside still say “Shaka” and the paper to go menu is the old one with the other Shaka locations crossed out:

You can click onto any photo and it will enlarge. We will soon have another Hawaiian Restaurant!

So, Kirk is from Hawaii…I was born and Raised in Detroit and have never been to Hawaii. But I know what kind of food I like to eat…I paid attention to Kirk’s posts and asked him a few questions. This is because, before this place became “Da”, it was “Shaka”. The Mister and I went to Shaka in November of last year. Admittedly I was in a cast to my shoulder with my little broken wrist (I was not on any pain pills at the time, though; I got a prescription for 100 Vicodin and still have 92 in the bottle; you can check) and, well, the food from Shaka was not good. At all. I just didn’t even want to post about it….and I really did not understand what all this fuss and craving about ‘Plate Lunch’ was all about…

One day, I decided to stop and look at the signage in the window. Hmmm. Kirk was doing his “Plate Lunch Week” and I was a bit curious, so I made The Mister come here after work with me.

We got two basic things-Loco Moco ($7.99).

When we were here in November, this particular item was particularly unflavored- not bad, just…nothing. This time however, the rice was nice and sticky, the gravy rich and flavorful, the egg a nice orange yolked done over easy and the hamburger patty, although preformed, had a nice flavor. The gravy, in particular was rich and flavorful and therefore not a waste of calories.

I wanted to try the Katsu chicken and the Kahlua Pork. ($8.99)

WOW. The katsu coating was light and crispy and the chicken moist. The sauce was tangy and not sweet. It went well with the crispy coating. That Kahlua pork- oh my- such good flavor. Light smoky, deep pork flavor, not greasy. I now have cravings for it. The macaroni salad was tangy and not too sweet. I liked it. I don’t like macaroni salad usually…like never have I ever like macaroni salad…this stuff I ate up.

I went to pick up some ‘To Go’ items the other day. (There are some only listed at the cash register)The chicken curry rice plate($6) was excellent, deep flavored curry gravy and with plenty of chicken. The carrots were fresh and not mushy as were the celery and few potatoes.

The chicken wings ($4 for the plate) were so crispy fried with garlic and a light batter.

I got the Katsu Chicken and Kahlua pork again, because I could not believe the serving size in the restaurant. But there was just as much pork in the “To Go” box as on that platter. It was great.

If you notice on the door, there is a sign about “Happy Hour” , Monday-Friday from 2-6 pm. Hawaiian beer for $3. A PuPu Platter with 2 vegetable lumpia, musubi ( a block of rice wrapped with a choice of meat (Spam, Portuguese sausage, Chicken katsu or BBQ chicken) and edamame for $7 and also the boba drinks are $3 (versus $3.50 regularly).

I went one afternoon and just got two vegetable lumpia and a taro boba drink. My first taro boba ever. Not my last.

Taro is a root vegetable and is that beautiful light lavender color. It is a starch, is sort of nutty in flavor, et also like potato and so wonderfully fulfilling, sweet but not too much, even with the boba.

The lumpia were pretty standard. Fresh made and with a good amount of vegetables.

This sign is in the window also, and it is why I did not put the post up sooner. There is a Ukulele playing guy who used to come to the restaurant on Wednesdays, and when I went, one day, he wasn’t thee and he changed to Fridays and I haven’t been able to make it to get a photo. A lot of people come to hear him and eat some great food.

I don’t know if all this food is authentic, or if Kirk would approve, but I liked it and I think you will too.

Da Hawaiian Grindz 205 Town Center Parkway Santee (Backed up to the Costco Gas Station in same parking lot as Home Depot but next to Big Lots) 10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m, 7 days

Sushi Hut- a local (3 store) ch-ch-chain

September 15, 2007 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog and Kirk is on vacation. Here is another post of what Cathy ate one day.

Hi. I'm back with a short post. The Mister and I went to one of the locations of Sushi Hut (in Mission Valley) around March of this year and were not overly impressed. I even deleted those photos from my camera, planning to not talk about it, primarily because I didn't want to bother going back to try different dishes. Not bad food, not great food, just…food.

We were on Clairmont Mesa Boulevard the other day and saw a couple of places inside the parking lot Kitty Corner from the Rockler Store (and Cheetahs..the men reading this know where I am now, right?) and Lo and Behold, another Sushi Hut. A chain- who knew?

Well, we were hungry; there is a Mexican place and a Boba place a few doors down, but we thought we could try Sushi Hut one more time, just to see if it was still…meh…just food, or something better. We were pleasantly surprised.

The paper menu says that all photos and slogans are copy written, so I won't post a photo of the menu here, but you can look at it on the Sushi Hut website,

Basically the menu has sushi, rolls, Bento Plates, Bowls and wraps, along with some Combinations thereof. They also make some beautiful looking Party Trays.

I decided to let another wrap come into my life- second one ever – I don't know where have been, but I wanted to try this version. Teriyaki chicken, steamed vegetables and sweet rice. ($4.59)It was a Teriyaki Bowl in a tortilla, and pretty good. The chicken was all white meat, the Teriyaki sauce was not overwhelming (and I added some 'spicy teriyaki' from the condiment area after my first few bites), the vegetables were crispy/fresh steamed/not soggy and the rice was a good sticky rice. The serving was quite large for me.

The Mister tried the Bento #2 Platter ($5.29) pretty much katsu chicken cutlets, rice, two fried shrimp and seaweed salad. We recalled that on our first visit at the other location, they told us they were out of seaweed salad, which has become one of my cravings this year for some reason- I have to try the seaweed salad whenever I see it on a menu or for sale in a market. This seaweed salad was good with a few different types of seaweed and a light sesame dressing and good, fresh crunch. The chicken cutlet was lightly breaded and fried and topped with a Ponzu sauce and sesame seeds and the fried shrimp were lightly breaded with breadcrumbs and light fried so that you could taste the sweetness of the shrimp.

All in all, Sushi Hut has a good fast service and fresh food. The rolls are numerous and made fresh to order and some selections come in two sizes if maybe you just want to try a few. We were not impressed with the rolls the first time we got them at the Mission Valley location and did not want to try them on this visit. If you are in the area, stop and try a bite. (This is my subtle way of saying don't go out of your way to try it).

Sushi Hut 8058 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92111 (858) 874-5803

5624 Mission Center Road San Diego 92108 (619) 6889214

8240 Mira Mesa Blvd San Diego 92126 (858)689-2475

Website -Click here

Indigo Cafe- a healthier alternative and tasty too!

September 13, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog, which never goes on vacation. Kirk however is on vacation. This is Cathy, blogging about what I ate.

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening. Hope you day is going well so far.

There is a place The Mister and I have been meaning to try- but they are only open until 5 p.m. and we are always in this mall after 6 p.m. and merely read the menu taped on the door. We got ourselves together and met for a late lunch the other day and really liked it.

Indigo Cafe and Catering. Near the Registrar of Voters office and in the same parking lot as Palominos and Giovanni's. It bills itself as a " healthier alternative" but makes no other claims. The menu items are not fried and have 'lite' dressings and sauces.

The Mister had the soup and half sandwich ($5.95). He chose the black bean tortilla soup: This is the small size and it was quite enough. A nice tomato base, rich and thick. Chunky not fully blended black beans. A nice spice-heat hit…and served with crackers..no tortilla strips.

He chose the half tuna salad sandwich ( you can choose any of the sandwiches from the menu). It is made with a dill mayonnaise that is very good and served with lettuce and tomato on a nice whole grain bread/roll. The bread was not chewy or heavy. Excellent flavors.

For the first time in my life, really, first time ever…I ordered a wrap. I never have had one before. I looked at menus before and just figured that it was sandwich stuff in a tortilla, a cold burrito and I never wanted to bother. This one was a chicken and Brie- marinated chicken, roasted cherry tomato salsa, fresh spinach and lite ranch in a sun dried tomato tortilla. It came with a side of Cesar salad ($5.75) and was wonderful. The Mister said as soon as he saw there was something with brie…and spinach… he knew I would order it. He was right. The chicken was juicy and tender, the Brie was warm and slightly melted and nutty flavored, the tomato salsa tasted deeply tomato flavored, there was a lot of spinach, nicely layered on the outside of everything, which protected the ranch dressing from leaking out or damaging the tortilla and the tortilla was soft and fresh and I could taste the tomato flavor in it. It was a good size portion and more than enough food. The Cesar salad was mostly romaine lettuce and Parmesan. The dressing was a Cesar, but I think a lite one. It had good flavor but was not overly rich or creamy.

We saw on the chalkboard as we were ordering an in house made dessert- pumpkin cheesecake with a bourbon-sour cream topping ($2.50) and ordered it with our meals, but the nice lady at the cash register said to let her know and she would bring it to us for dessert- that in the heat it would melt…very thoughtful. Not a huge piece, but we didn't need it. A nice cream cheese based pumpkin cheesecake- grainy pumpkin and a bottom layer only graham crust..and that Bourbon sour cream topping…was. It was light and complimented the pumpkin nicely.

Indigo Cafe does the simple things fresh and flavorful. They have a whole smoothie bar in the store and other baked goods for breakfast. I will be trying the home made banana nut bread ($1) very soon. This location is only open M-F, as I think they get a lot of catering jobs for the weekends. It has been around since 2000 and for a good reason. The downtown location is open 7 days and I would think serves a similar, fresh menu (on the website it has a sample menu, since ingredient inventory can change.) If you are in the area, you should try it.

Indigo Cafe and Catering 9353 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92111 (Phone) (858)565-2388 (Fax)(858)565-0070 M-F 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

1435 Sixth Avenue San Diego 92101 (ph) (619)702-6478 (fax)(619)702-6477 Hours: Mon 7-3, Tues-Fri 7-9, Sat 8-9, Sun 8-1

website

Cam Ky Chinese BBQ

September 4, 2007 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Cam Ky has closed

On a recent Monday, in the mood for Banh Mi. I took a quick drive to the strip mall on the corner of Marlborough and University, the taste of Banh Mi on my lips…..only to find the place closed. And though Cafe Dore sounded good, I decided to try something new. The little Chinese BBQ restaurant in the mall, Cam Ky.

Check out "little neon piggy" sign, can you guess what Cam Ky does? The little restaurant has about nine tables, a Chinese BBQ counter, and that's about it.

I had a seat, and was given a menu by the serious and quiet lady. The menu wasn't very large, but I saw something that I wanted to try…..

In spite of the heat, I ordered the Goat Egg Noodle Soup($6.50):

A medium sized bowl of dark soup arrived in a few minutes, topped with some crisp fried Yuba, imitating fried goat skin, a nice touch. There was a large portion of stewed goat meat, which was very tender, if a bit short on flavor. Though the soup looked dark and rich, it was thin and also on the very mild side, with just the ever-so-mild essence of 5 spice. The egg noodles were still crunchy, and the addition of watercress gave the soup some life. Overall, this was not bad considering the generous portion of goat meat, but it's not something I'd order here again.

I figured this would be a "one and done", except something from the BBQ counter kept calling to me:

I know you can't really see it, but that side of roast pork looked sooooo good. I got a half pound ($3.75) to go.

I just had a few bites(3 pieces) and shared the rest of it with the people at work. From the texture standpoint this was very good, velvety fat, nice moist meat, very crisp, but not hard skin. The flavor was (again) on the mild side. Not perfect, but better than most.

Which meant that I'd be back……fast forward to a few days later. This time the lady was much more friendly. She asked me if I spoke Mandarin, I told her that I didn't. She had thought that I was Taiwanese….which is probably an insult to Taiwanese everywhere.

On this visit, I decided to go for the gusto, and ordered the 3 roast meats with rice($6.50). The meal started with a soup with stewed pork shank.

Man this was good. The broth had a good pork flavor, without being too salty. The meat, while not falling off the bone, was more than adequately soft. The photo speaks for itself……I wanted some rice!

After the broth, the rest of the meal was pretty anti-climatic.

This was quite a bit of food, I was ready for a major nap after eating all of this. Over a generous amount of rice was some BBQ Pork, which was just ok, the fatty pieces had some nice flavor, and was fairly tender, but the leaner pieces were tough, and lacked the sweet, rich flavor. The Roast Duck while nicely flavored with 5 spice, was on the lean side, and quite tough. The Roast Pork was the same as my previous visit, and for my money is the way to go here with regards to roast meats. Still, you get quite a bit of food here.

While eating, I noticed many men in "white T-shirts" and "paper hats" coming in to buy duck and pork. I'm guessing that several Mi Gia places get their roast meats from Cam Ky. By the time I left, the roast pork was gone.

The menu at Cam Ky ranges from Hu Tieu(Rice Noodle) and Mi(Egg Noodle) Soups, Fried Rice, and various items on rice. In keeping with the theme of the "neon pig" , while I was paying at the register I noticed a photo of a whole roast pig on the wall. cam Ky sells whole roast pig, ranging in price from $150-$190. Oink-oink…

Cam Ky Chinese BBQ
4141 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105

Closed on Tuesdays

Red Berry-Frozen Yogurt on Convoy Street

August 17, 2007 Cathy Desserts, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

Red Berry has closed.

Cathy is blogging for mmm-yoso today. Kirk is probably still at work. Ed is, you know, in Yuma. It's a short one.

Frozen yogurt. It is everywhere. Sold by the ounce. With and without toppings. Sometimes sold by the cup. Crazy flavors. Cool interiors of stores. Crowds of people.

Eh, I don't crave sweets, you know this. But I have tried quite a few of these places. They are almost outnumbering Boba places. But I haven't seen any with free wi-fi. I do eat yogurt, the 79¢ cream top incarnation from Trader Joe's and the Cream Top from Brown Cow when it is on sale.

I have gone to the very busy new Frozen Yogurt place next to Tapioca Express and Tofu House on Convoy street. Once. They sell it by the ounce there. I got one swirl of peach and one swirl of plain. No toppings. It cost $1.64. It was good, it was frozen yogurt, I remember Heidi's Frogen Yozurt. It was a trend in the 70's and 80's. Meh. I have no cravings.

Here is the latest incarnation: Red Berry.

It is in the mall with Nijiya Market, Shanghai City, some other places, and Curry House. You know where.

If you enlarge the photo you can see the signs on the door-free samples! Whoo hoo! We were there.

The interior is kind of really neat- cool tables, cool chairs, really cool lighting and a neat effect on the stainless steel walls.

Here is a peek at the menu. $3 for a small (plain) yogurt, $4 for a small with toppings- as much as you want- you can top it one time only- The topping bar was pretty extensive- lots of fresh fruits and some dry stuff ( I did not see Mochi, but did not look for long).*** I was just informed that there are indeed mochi available as a topping, but they look like marshmallows and are easily passed over***

We sampled the blueberry (nice, smooth and tart and richly flavored), the green tea (not much tea flavor- tasted almost like the plain – and did not try the strawberry or mango and ordered a small cup 1/2 peach and 1/2 plain. $3.

Pretty darn large. (that is The Mister's big ole' hand holding the cup). Pretty darn good-plain was nice and tart and the peach had a real/not artificial sweet peach flavor- slightly tart. I liked that it was more creamy and not 'gritty' as some frozen yogurt I have tried. Enough for the two of us to share before we walked into Nijiya.

Oddly, there was no tip jar. We asked. Nice young man working there. He chatted with us. The one time I wish there was a tip jar.

Red Berry, Inc. Frozen Yogurt 3860 Convoy Street, #106 San Diego 92111 (858)571-7947

There is another location in Newbury Park. It's a chain!

Islander Grill

August 16, 2007 mmm-yoso Guamanian/Chamorro

** Islander Grill has closed

So there I was, minding my own business, waiting for my Kelaguen bowl to arrive, when I decided to take some photos. I don't know why, but I had been under the impression that I'd already posted on Islander Grill. WRONG! I did a search, I found that to my surprise…….no post on Islander Grill. Now how did that happen? After digging a bit deeper, I found a few older photos….and here we go….

To say that Islander Grill is in an "interesting" location would be an understatement. The little restaurant is located in the Embassy Hotel on Park Boulevard.

I wonder how many people have done double takes, walking down this street lined with apartments, and St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church, home of the Greek Festival, when they run into this:

Yes, that is a large barrel grill right on Park Boulevard……..

The interior of Islander Grill is full of Guamanian knick-knacks, and presents itself as sort of a tropical-kitsch.

On this day, the restaurant was pretty well organized, with everything, including the Guamanian magazines and pamplets were in place. The service at Islander Grill has always been nice and friendly, and though things move at a careful cadence, I've always felt very relaxed here.

I'll usually just order one item at Islander Grill, the Kelaguen Bowl with White Rice($6.95):

Don't let the picture fool you, this is a lot of food. The Styrofoam bowl is stuffed to the gills with Kelaguen Mannok, packed on top of a generous portion of rice. I was first introduced to this dish featuring chopped grilled chicken, green onions, lemon juice, and red pepper by a Guamanian co-worker back home. During one of our "cook-outs", his visiting Mom brought over a tray of Kelaguen. This version really doesn't hold a candle to "Mom's", or even Santos's wonderful looking version you can find here. The Kelaguen at Islander Grill is also missing a key component….that would be grated coconut. What makes this Kelaguen tick, is the Finadene, the salty-slightly spicy-tart-sour sauce that brings life to the Kelaguen, or almost anything else for that matter.

As you keep digging away at your Kelguen, you'll start noticing a few things. First, you'll realize after a few large spoonfuls, that you've hardly even put a "dent" in your dish. Second, you'll notice that the heat will slowly get to you, until your brow is in need of some attention from some napkins. The Kelaguen at Islander Grill is served either cold or pretty close to room temperature, and with the hot rice, and Finadene, it is a winning combination.

Here are a few photos that were in "storage". This is the Combination #1($8.95):

A choice of 2 proteins, either BBQ Beef, BBQ Chicken, BBQ Short Ribs, and Pork Ribs, a scoop of Kelaguen, either Macaroni or Cabbage Salad, and either White or Chamorro Red Rice. Whew, that's a lot of food! Guamanian BBQ is on the mild side, and the meat tens to be dry….so much better for the finadene. This was so long ago, that I don't remember much about the macaroni salad, other than it was a bit too "pickly" for me. The red rice was fine….basically calrose rice colored with achiote, no onions or anything else to impart much flavor other than salt.

If you though this looked like a massive plate lunch, you wouldn't be too far off. Talk about needing a nap!

I recall that when Islander Grill first opened up, there were a few more items on the menu….various stews and such. But over time, the menu has been pared down to salads, fried items (i.e. Lumpia and Empanadas), BBQ, Pancit, and of course, Kelaguen. I've also found that even though the hours posted says they open at 11 am, on some days they don't open until noon. You'll need to find parking on Park Boulevard, which is not problem during week day lunch hours, but evenings and weekends can be a challenge. Still, if you need your Kelaguen, you know where to get you fix.

Islander Grill
3645 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92103