Closed – Page 83

“Noodling Around” – Revisits to Tan Ky Mi Gia and Tan Ky Mi Gia(which used to be or still is Hinh Ky Mi Gia)

February 21, 2008 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Both these locations have closed

Here are a few updates.

Tan Ky Mi Gia – Mira Mesa

For some reason, the Missus and I were in he mood for some Roast Duck last week, and since we were in the area decided to stop by Tan Ky Mi Gia. It had been a while, and I've always thought they prepared their egg noodles well, it has always been nice and crunchy.

So, of course I had the Roast Duck Egg Noodles($6.05):

On this visit the broth was not as salty as it sometimes is, though it was more "yellow" than usual, I'm thinking from the egg noodles. The noodles were again perfect. I was a bit disappointed at the "roast duck", which is different from the duck I had here before. This one was more like BBQ duck, the skin was tough, as was the meat. The flavor was also very mild.

The Missus had the Roast Duck over rice($6.50):

Same duck, but with rice. The bowl of broth provided was very nice, though.

For some reason the Missus, feeling very hungry, also ordered the combination Banh Cuon($7.45):

As you can tell the Cha Lua(lean defatted pork sausage) was very dry. The butterflied fried shrimp however, was excellent. The Nuoc Mam Cham was on the sweet side, and overall, this was mediocre.

I think I'll stick with the Beef Sate Noodle Soup, unless on future visits I notice that the duck has changed back to how it was previously.

Tan Ky Mi Gia
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd #A
San Diego, CA 92126

My previous post on Tan Ky Mi Gia.

~~Hinh Ky Mi Gia,~~ wait, this place is back to being Tan Ky Mi Gia(El Cajon Boulevard):

As you can tell if you compare to my previous post. The Hinh Ky sign is down, leaving "Tan Ky Mi Gia" as the last sign standing:

Disappointed in the Duck Noodle soup at Tan Ky Mi Gia on Mira Mesa Boulevard, I just needed my fix.

As good as always, though the price has gone up, and is now over 6 bucks. What makes this duck so good are that the dripping poured over the duck.

I don't know what the story is regarding the name, the same folks still work here. In fact, they recognized us, saying; "we haven't seen you in a while." I think I'll be back soon.

Tan Ky Mi Gia
5237 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Thai By Tara

February 14, 2008 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

*** Thai by Tara is now Sab-E-Lee. You can find a post here.

There are some locations that seem cursed, locations come and go, changing every year or so. This location right off the corner of Ulric and Linda Vista Road is one of them. A few years back, it was a Banh Mi, and Vietnamese shop called, Linda Vista Food to Go, less than 2 years later, under new Ownership, it became a "Mi" shop called Mi Ngoc So 1. Than, last month ago, "Noodlefan" mentioned a new restaurant in this spot in His comment under the Filiberto’s Linda Vista post. That’ll be 3 restaurant in 3 years! And a Thai Restaurant to boot……. Of course, we made sure to check it out ASAP. Funny thing was, as I was getting ready to post I realized that I could never figure out what the name of this place was….

Ummmm, can you? Finally, on our last visit we asked…..and the Owner, a very funny, energetic Lady, told me "Thai By Tara". So Thai by Tara it is….even though it has a weird ring to it, I mean it sounds almost like a nail or hair place….Nails by Tara, or Hair by Tara….

The tiny restaurant has had a bit of freshening up, but otherwise has not changed much.

What has changed…other than the menu, is the personality of this shop….Tara(I’m guessing the restaurant is her namesake) has a personality like your outgoing, bossy, generous Aunt. Twice while eating, "Tara" brought out some nice dishes, and made sure to show them to us, with an, "Hmmm, looks good, huh? Next time you order this…." To be honest, the first time I looked at the menu, I was a bit disappointed….it looked like the typical "choose your meat, choose your sauce" style of Thai Restaurant. But the prices were quite good, with regular prices starting at $5.95. And when I turned the menu over, I noticed some "house specials" that looked promising…and nothing over $7.95.

There wasn’t much else to do, but to start ordering. And soon enough, a nice tray of condiments made its way to our table. Things were looking up.

We started with the Pad See Ew with Chicken($5.95):

This was borderline terrible…the dish was on the greasy side, the noodles mushy, and overall very under flavored…it needed a bit more soy and garlic.

Luckily, the meal was rescued by the Namtok, which was priced at $7.95 on the menu, but we were charged $5.95….in fact everything we had was $5.95.

This grilled beef salad was quite good. The beef was to our surprise very tender, in fact the Missus kept eating piece after piece….later She told me; "that first piece was so tender, that I thought it was a fluke, so I had another, and it was tender, so I had another….." I enjoyed the crisp "bite" of the onion, combined with the nutty roasted rice powder. Granted, I added some pickled chilies for a bit more heat, as well as a good squeeze of lime.

The Som Tum.

We enjoyed the crisp shredded papaya, the sweetness was spot on, as was the heat. There were 3 large plump, and perfectly cooked shrimp, though I did miss the savory rehydrated and shredded dried shrimp. Overall, not bad, not enough tomato and too much shredded carrot(?), and we’d have enjoyed some long bean.

The Shrimp Fried Rice.

If there’s any reason to return, it would be this…nicely "wokked", great flavors, including lots of garlic…and 6 shrimp! For $5.95!

The Green Curry with Chicken:

Too watery and sweet, weak in the curry department.

Kai Kra Pow:

This minced chicken stir fry was on the sweet side for me, though the Missus enjoyed it. I think it was the nicely fried egg that reeled Her in.

Beef Larb:

This was a nice dish, finally a Larb with enough herbs….the roasted rice powder was a nice touch. The flavor was quite good, though the Larb was a bit on the dry side. The acid test? The Missus said this was much better than the version I make. Hmmm……

Hot Basil with Beef:

Another one of those, choose the meat, choose the sauce dishes. Beef was fairly tender, not enough basil flavor. Mediocre…..

And finally, the Pad Thai with Tofu:

The noodles were perfect in texture, just the right amount of elasticity. We would have preferred fried tofu, it has a better texture, and more flavor. This Pad Thai was very bland……

As you can see, its a mixed bag…but the prices allow you the luxury of really trying out the various dishes. And we found a few that we’d have again.

The restaurant is small, 5 tables crowded into a small space. The Owner is very nice and funny….one day She shared some really nice "Ginger Tea" with us. On one occasion, The Missus and I watched in amusement as a young Hispanic Man ate his noodle soup with wooden chopsticks….that he never broke apart! We were amazed at his ability to feed himself……he used the one piece chopstick as a glorified fork, and twirled the noodles around the chopstick like pasta.

Oh……and Buddha eats really well here!

Which made me think that there’s a lot more than what’s on the menu….next time I want some of that!

Thai By Tara
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111
(858)650-6868

Hours – Mon-Fri 9am-8pm
Sat-Sun 10am-9pm

Thanks again for the recommendation Noodlefan!

CrawDaddy’s

January 31, 2008 mmm-yoso Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, Seafood

*** Crawdaddy's has closed, and is now a Karaoke/Shoju joint.

It's kinda amazing how the mind works…….most days, I can't remember where I park my car…but at any given moment, I'll remember all kinds of stuff…like opportunity cost. Where the heck did that come from? Sheesh…opportunity cost is one of the 2 things I still remember from Econ class(the other being Elasticity…like you really wanted to know). Opportunity cost often hits home when trying out restaurants……every decision has a cost. In order to try 'A', you give up a chance at lunch at 'B'. When it comes down to it, this can be a pretty depressing way of looking at things….

On a Sunday a few weeks past "Mr S" called and asked if I'd like to check out CrawDaddy's the new Asian Owned Crab/Crawfish boil restaurant that recently opened in the spot formerly occupied by Jamillah Garden.

Mr S and I arrived at about noon, and found the restaurant to be empty.

The interior of CrawDaddy's is neat and clean, and in an interesting touch, the butcher paper covering the tables seem almost discreet.

The place has a sports bar kind of feel. Brown woods, high ceiling, but really cold A/C.

Mr S is a fairly big eater, and started ordering right away. Starting with a pound of Crawfish(market price – on this visit $8.99/lb) with Spicy Cajun seasoning:

Based on my previous experience with Crab Hut, I almost freaked when Mr S ordered this seasoned "spicy". When the bag of "bugs" arrived I was ready to have my lips burned off….but this was mild, very mild……that is not to say there was not flavor, we both thought the flavoring pretty good…. But Mr S ended up dumping half a bottle of Hot sauce on this. The Crawfish were not the best….the meat was watery and mushy. I asked if these were live or frozen, and was told these were "fresh"(not live or frozen, but "fresh"). I know that Crawfish aren't very big this time of the year, so I can understand that these were on the skimpy side…but it didn't seem to be cooked correctly.

Large Shrimp(1lb – $10.99/lb) seasoned with Garlic Butter:

Again ordered "spicy" these were also really mild. Not enough garlic flavor, and too much butter. The quality of the shrimp was good, and these were cooked to perfection; plump and juicy.

When Mr S ordered the Jambalaya($10.95), I had my doubts:

When the plate arrived, I perked up. This "red"(uses tomato) Jambalaya looked promising! This was a mixed bag…the seafood; shrimp, crawfish, et al, were tasty and cooked to perfection. I could actually make out the slightly smokey flavor of the sausage. On the down side…this was much too dry, there was not enough spice, and other than the seafood and sausage this was fairly bland. I expected the zip of some cayenne, the hint of some oregano and thyme, and some smokiness beyond the sausage.

The Seasoned Fries($3.50):

These fries were on the dry side, and also confirmed that the Cajun Spice used was much too mild. I did enjoy the Cajun Aioli.

Of course I had to have the Fried Okra($5.95):

Nice creamy okra in a crunchy cornmeal batter. This was by far my favorite of the day. My only complaint was that the okra were haphazardly battered, and some pieces had a huge coating of batter, while some pieces had barely any at all.

At the end of the meal, Mr S shook his head, and said, "maybe we should have gone to the other place." Yes, opportunity cost…. Still, I held on to this post for a while…because, well, the young men working here were very nice, and I really wanted to like the food. So I decided to give it another go. This time solo.

I ordered the Fried Catfish($7.95):

This was quite a generous portion of food, five large catfish fillets, crusted with a thick ground cornmeal batter, making for some major crunch. Again my major problem was with the execution, three of the fillets were decent, flaky, yet moist…two of the fillets tasted a bit off, slightly sour, and very muddy. Well….it was a bit too much food for me anyway…

This time the fries were seasoned a bit better, and were crisp on the outside, and moist on the inside:

In the end, I enjoyed the very laid back atmosphere at CrawDaddy's. The Guys working there do a good job. Perhaps the laid back attitude also reflects the inconsistencies I perceived with regards to the food. The portions are generous, and the prices very reasonable.

CrawDaddy's
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Oh yes…opportunity cost:

El Roberto’s, The Battle of the ‘berto’s, and a contest

January 26, 2008 mmm-yoso Taco Shops, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats, yoso-silly

If you’ve been in San Diego long enough, or are an ex-pat San Diegan, all you need to do is mention the name of a taco shop that goes “Something” – berto’s……be it ‘Ai’, ‘Roi’, or the one and only Roberto’s, and the first thing that will come to mind will probably be a representation of the quintessential San Diego Taco Shop. Serving up stuff like California Burritos(carne asada & fries), Rolled Tacos(aka Taquitos), and the classic Carne Asada Burrito…or what Jay, proprietor of The Linkery, calls the ‘CAB’. I guess it just shows the power of branding….you can just add whatever prefix you want(within reason – I don’t think Rodent-O-Bertos would work real well, though the name Shigella-bertos has a ring to it), and suddenly you are a San Diego Taco Shop. Just looking at a list of current “Something” – berto’s goes to prove my point….they range from rather tasty(Hamberto’s anyone?), to something with a bit more action(Ramberto’s), to places I may give thought to before entering(Rigoberto’s). I can’t think of anything else quite like this….I mean there is 97 Supermarket, which looks strangely similar to 99 Ranch Market, and perhaps a few other examples, but nothing to the extent of the berto’s. I’ve personally tried to cook up a few similar schemes that have never panned out. I had the idea to hire a bunch of surly Chinese wait staff, buy as many “San Gabriel” sticky tables as I could, and bring in white paper-hatted Cooks with questionable hygienic habits, and open my Chinese BBQ, calling it Sam-my Woof BBQ, but that never panned out. I had the great idea(or maybe it was just brain freeze) of selling super tart fro-yo…..2 oz frozen yogurt, which you top, nay bury, with 6 ounces of various toppings (which you can buy in bulk from Henry’s), and selling it for $8 a cup….calling it Pink-buried. But as with many of these bright ideas…it just never took off.

Which leads me to El Roberto’s:

There I was minding my own business, in a strip mall on the corner of Murphy Canyon Road and Aero Drive, when I saw this sign:

Geez, I didn’t know there was a Roberto’s here…..my stomach started growling. As I walked up to the shop, the truth was revealed:

Hmmm, I didn’t see an L, um ‘El’ in front of Robertos on the large sign in the front of the restaurant. I got a chuckle out of that. Still, I decided, or my stomach decided, to grab a bite. The interior of El Roberto’s is simple, but man is that counter built high…..

The menu listed a good 15 or so burritos……..

I decided to order a Texas Burrito($4.10). A Texas Burrito, by San Diego Taco Shop standards is a Pollo Asado(chicken) and French Fry(yes, french fries) burrito, sometimes with Pico de Gallo(basically a tomato and onion condiment), and sometimes guacamole.

This was not a very good version of a Texas Burrito. The fries were fine, but finding any chicken in the burrito was an experience akin to finding “gold in them dere hills”…… What was worse was the very sour hot sauce….

But heck….something more than the “Something” – berto’s name keeps this place in business, right?

El Roberto
3755 Murphy Canyon Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

Have I told you about my latest project? It’s a chain I’ll call Cuy-potle, specializing in burritos featuring free-range, alfalfa fed, Cavia porcellus, humanely slaughtered. The burritos contain 1 ounce of Cuy meat, along with 16 ounces of various pseudo-Mexican sauces, rice, beans, and salsas..creating a boat-sized burrito that defies the term healthy eating! Hmmm, looks like I’ll need some help with this one…maybe the team of wordsmith Elmo Monster and marketing genius Eatdrinknbmerry will come on board…..we’d be unbeatable!

The Battle of the Berto’s:

So what about the Carne Asada Burrito at L El-Roberto’s, you may ask? Well, I did manage to try the CAB at El Roberto’s…recently, the one and only Howie who does the excellent A Foodie Eye’s View. Invited the Missus and I to what he called the Battle of the Bertos. We managed a tasting of 10 different Carne Asada Burritos, from random “Something” – berto’s around San Diego. It was a fun and interesting time…though I don’t think I’ll be having another CAB for a while!

So to quote Howie; “Which Berto Reigns Supreme?” You’ll just have to check out the results here. You can also vote on your personal favorite “Berto”. In case you were wondering, the Missus(otherwise known as The Missusberto), and yours-truly-berto came up with almost the exact same results in our blind tasting…..

And to add even more “cred” to the project, the Arbiter, was a vegetarian! Who deserves major props for first, dealing with a group of “crazed carne asada Psychos”. And secondly, for dealing with the “smell of grilled beef” permeating our very being……

And just in case you wanted to know what the post-bertos scene was like….this is the aftermath:

The Name Your (Faux)Berto Contest:

I’ve always poked fun at the proliferation of these “Something”-berto places. It is quite entertaining when driving to think up stuff like:

Vito-Bertos – “You better like our meatball burrito, or else….”

PETA-Bertos – At least you can be sure that the fur growing in your burrito didn’t come from a living creature…I’m sure that would be comforting!

I’m also sure you’re much more creative than I am, so come up with your best “Something” – berto’s name and tagline, and/or menu item, and send it to me via email at mmm-yoso@hotmail.com, I’ll pick my 3 favorite names, and I’ll also forward the list to Howie, to pick his 3 favorites…and I’ll send the winners a Peet’s Ecup of coffee. One winner per IP address, and try to keep it clean, ok? I’ll list the winners mid-week. The contest closes midnight on Sunday, 01/27/08…after all, I know you’re all creative geniuses, with an unending flow of ideas….and my personal CPU can’t deal with that!

So let’s see what Faux-berto’s you come up with.

Sushi Porn 2: The Sequel from Sammy

January 22, 2008 ed fromyuma Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

*** On October 11th 2008 Sammy called it a day.

Welcome to mmm-yoso!!!, Kirk's blog on the wonderful world of food from San Diego and beyond. Sometimes, he lets one of his friends post here, and today, ed from Yuma will share some more salacious sushi pics.

A few weeks ago when I was preparing my first excursion into the fishy world of sushi pornography, I was surprised by how many of my favorite raw pictures were of items from Sammy Sushi, not Sakura.

After I thought about it for a while, I began to understand why. Ever since I first wandered into Katzra, where Sammy was then employed, on a rainy night many years ago, I have been impressed by Sammy's skills as an itamae. Not only is his fish usually fresh and tasty, but he creates an atmosphere of warmth and friendliness in his sushi bar. Over the last few years he has honed these skills (as well as a number of knives, I suspect) at his own place on Engineer, about a block away from Convoy.

While Sammy's kitchen does not turn out the wide range of tasty izakaya treats like Sakura, he does more than just sushi. For example, the salmon skin salad is a wonderful combination of crunchy, fishy, and smoky flavors:

In addition, Sammy's appeals to me because it is a great American neighborhood sushi bar (in the best sense of the term). The friendly atmosphere and reasonable prices attract a lot of regulars. If one wants to watch a World Cup game or a baseball playoff, Sammy has no problem turning on his television set. Similarly, Sammy's menu contains a wide range of America's favorite rolled sushi. Sometimes it's nice to tuck into something like a spider roll or rainbow roll, though in general, my taste in rolls runs to the more traditional, as in this beautiful albacore roll:

Sammy also creates pressed sushi, using the mold somewhat like a plastic ice cube tray to create oblong cubes of densely packed rice and raw fish:

As you can tell from this close-up, this version contains maguro and some crunchy items along with the rice, presenting a mix of flavors and textures:

Sammy also does a wide range of nigiri sushi. The salmon and mirugai shown here were both excellent:

Some days, the sushi at Sammy's crosses over the line into the obscenely good. This display of naked fishflesh (hamachi) makes me want to eat my computer screen:

Similarly, I cannot imagine any connoisseur of crustaceans not being aroused by this gorgeous display of amaebi, split wide open, its pearly moist luster beckoning the viewer into serious indulgence:

Of course, in my mind, no post on such an erotic and exotic topic would be complete without a look at some fresh uni. Here the sex organs of a sea urchin lie exposed above the rest of its body:

In the tradition of fine pornography (so I am told), I feel it is completely appropriate to end with a close-up of this kinky echinoderm, a picture that leaves nothing (except the rich creamy flavor) to the imagination:

Now that is truly obscene.

Sammy Sushi, 7905 Engineer Road San Diego, CA 92111

Nha Trang Vietnamese Food

January 21, 2008 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Nha Trang has closed.

On a recent trip to Asia Cafe I noticed that a Vietnamese Restaurant had opened up in the strip mall across the street. I don’t think there are too many Vietnamese Restaurants in the area, so I decided to check it out.

The name of the restaurant is Nha Trang, and is located between a donut shop and Mexican Bakery. The interior had obviously been recently "freshened up", and though the furniture seemed a bit on the crowded side, the restaurant was nice and clean.

The menu is small, and consists of mainly Pho Bo(beef) and Pho Ga(chicken). The gentleman running the place dropped off a menu, basically a two page laminated sheet, and I placed my order.

I started with Goi Cuon(spring rolls – $3):

This version came with a little dish of Nuoc Mam Cham, which was nicely spiced, if a bit on the sweet side. The ingredients of the spring roll was very fresh, and you could tell it was rolled when ordered. I thought the spring roll was short on herbs, and was almost all lettuce and bun(rice vermicelli), making it rather "blah". It was also rolled too loosely.

As is my habit when trying Pho for the first time at any restaurant, I ordered the Dac Biet (special – large $5.25). Based on the Goi Cuon, I was ready to be underwhelmed. And when the bowl arrived I was not dissuaded in the least bit:

My initial reaction was that this bowl was on the small side, and the broth looked very light and low in oil. The very skimpy amount and variety of garnishes was also uninspiring.

But as I dug into the bowl I noticed something….though the broth was not especially "rich" it was also not heavily salted, and I could taste a hint of a pleasant sweetness. The noodles were perfect, and though in a clump, the texture was great, a bit of pull, and not mushy. The meat, other than the tough and rubbery meatballs, was excellent….the slices of rare steak were soft and tender, same with the mildly beefy fatty flank. The two tiny strips of tendon was soft and buttery, I only wished that there was more of it.

I managed to speak to the Owner, who is very nice and pleasant. He and his wife used to run the Chinese Fast Food restaurant at this location, but decided to go back to their Vietnamese roots. He also told me that they take pleasure in serving fresher foods, and were planning to expand their menu. Since they had only been open for 2 weeks at the time of this visit, I’m sure they are still straightening things out. I just may check them out again in the future.

Nha Trang Vietnamese Food
4676 Market St
San Diego, CA 92102

Eddels – Who you calling Puto???

January 17, 2008 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

*** Eddels has closed and is now Chibugan.

With a name like Eddels Deli, you'd think perhaps a European Deli….bakery…..hmmm… And that name does look out of place on the sign for Vinh Hung Super Market on Mira Mesa. Though if you've taken the opportunity to check out Eddels, you'd know that it's a Filipino turo-turo (point-point, steam table fast food) and dessert joint.

Oh yes, In fact, you don't have to walk through Vinh Hung Market to get to Eddels….you just follow the sign:

Yes, that little sign.

You'll enter the little turo-turo joint and your senses may be overwhelmed by the various wonderful fragrances wafting through the air. The signage says that Eddels specializes in Cebuano Cuisine, food from the island of Cebu. And though I've had some of the specialties like Tinola, I'm far from an expert on regional Filipino Cuisine.

The fairly dark, interior of Eddels has that slightly organized, but disorganized, look that many turo-turo joints like Point-Point Joint have, the ubiquitous television running FTV soap operas, the Pepsi clock, the large map of the Philippines, next to a hanging planter with faux plants…..

To say that the prices at Eddels are reasonable would be an understatement. 1 item and a starch is $3.99, 2 items and a starch, is $4.99, and looks something like this:

First off, let me just say that I like the Pancit Bihon at Eddels. I think they use a good amount of broth or stock to flavor the pancit…even the Missus thought it was pretty good. Texture was decent, not mushy.

On this day I had some Paksiw na Baboy. Paksiw, if I recall correctly is a way of cooking that utilizes vinegar-sugar-soy, and usually uses leftover pork or lechon…or even pata. This version had nice sweetness, if a bit short in in the flavor of vinegar. And though the pork was a tad on the tough side, I enjoyed it.

Of course, once I saw the Sisig, I had to have that as well:

The Sisig was very moist, and not oily. There was much more "stuff" like red bell peppers, a few chili peppers, than I'm used too. And though Cebuan cuisine is known for the use of sili (Chili Pepper) I didn't find this to spicy at all. It was not bad, not great…too little vinegar and spices, but not bad. This version of Sisig, as is typical in San Diego uses left over Lechon….it just struck me, I ate two dishes of leftovers! It was very good leftovers though!

I had been told that Eddels was also known for their Puto…no NOT that kind of Puto….this kind of Puto:

Basically a rice cake, in this case steamed in a banana leaf. The Missus really enjoyed it, I didn't get a shot…..in short She told me, the "flavor of the banana leaf, and the fact that it isn't too sweet, and very moist makes this."

There's another version, that is caramelized, available as well. Both are $1.99:

The people at work enjoyed this version, but the Missus prefers the steamed-only version. Regardless, I've been told, this really good Puto!

On another visit this is what I decided to get:

To bad the Lechon Kawali had all the life sucked out of it by the heat lamps. It was more like dry, flavorless chicharron.

On this visit the really nice lady who appears to run the place started handing me samples. Noticing my non-Filipino-ness, She told me, "You know, I make the best BBQ" while handing me a piece of BBQ pork on a toothpick. And it was indeed pretty good…so I had some of that as well.

A bit on the sweetish side, and maybe too chewy, but overall not bad.

In case you aren't totally fried on the food at Eddels….here's BBQ Chicken and Pork Adobo:

The pieces of pork in the adobo was cut too big, making it very dry, and the meat flavorless. I also enjoy a bit of black pepper flavor in my adobo which this lacked.

The BBQ Chicken was okay, and bit too tough and dry this time. I enjoyed the nicely flavored charred bits though.

I wish I had brought my camera along on a subsequent visit…I was starving, and had a wonderful Kanding Caldereta(goat stew). I'll bring my camera next time…and hopefully they'll have that caldereta.

The Lady who runs Eddels is very warm, always smiling and nice. The Gentleman who works there is a bit of a grump, but is okay. The prices are very reasonable for the area(Mira Mesa) and portion size. For less than the price of a bowl of Pho at most places in the area…you can have 2 meals.

Eddels Deli
10550 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

(858) 527-0072

Hours to the right:

Tacos El Compita

January 15, 2008 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

*** El Compita is gone….to where who knows…..

I'll let you in on a little secret right now. If I'm deeply engrossed or otherwise distracted….perhaps concentrating on the ratio of soup to meat in a Xiao Long Bao, or some other similar task, there's a way to get my complete, and undivided attention…..you simply whisper "Barbacoa de Borrego", "Birria de Chivo", or maybe "Cabeza" into my oreja, and you will have an attent, straight backed, wide eyed, slobbering, taco lover on your hands. Or you could simply wave a banner….perhaps like this one, in front of my face:

My eyes were instantly glued to this sign…..affixed…..in fact, I'd even say that my head rotated a complete 360 degrees as I drove past, a la the Exorcist. At that moment I knew…that I must, no needed, to check this place out. I had driven by the corner of 25th and Imperial dozens of times, but never noticed this taco truck. Probably because it is covered with a tarp when not in service.

I parked on a side street, and walked toward the taco truck. As I entered the parking lot, I saw the 6 tough looking gentleman sitting at the portable tables set-up in front of the truck stand up, all eyes were fixed on me……I noticed that none of them were eating, which made me a tad uncomfortable. The first thought that crossed my mind was "uh-oh, this must be a front for some illicit business." One of the Guys starting walking up to me, and I quickly said "you have Barbacoa????" The Guy stopped in his tracks, stared at me suspiciously, tilted his head, and said, "Si, goooood Barbacoa!" He turned and walked into the doorway into one of the strip mall's "offices". I could hear a flurry of Spanish, and soon enough a lady walked out, and started talking to me….and I couldn't understand a darn thing, She didn't speak English…… But once it got to food, I had no problems, "Dos Barbacoa…….Cabeza, Lengua." She walked into the taco truck, opened a container of masa, and proceeded to make tortillas with the skill of an Itamae making Nigiri sushi.

So here they are……2 Barbacoa de Borrego, 1 Cabeza, and 1 Lengua taco – each cost a mere $1.25! Four tacos – 5 bucks.

First off, these were the best tortillas I've had in a while, great texture, great flavor. The cabeza had a nice beefiness to it, but was a bit on the dry side. The Lengua was a bit too greasy for me, but had decent beef flavor, and some gelatinous goodness. The Barbacoa de Borrego was nice, very moist, mildy "wild"….great roasted flavor. The one thing that the meat lacked was salt, but with the addition of one of the salsas it was very good.

Four different salsas, and the usual garnishes are provided on what looks like a retired taco cart. The only problem I had was that the onions look to be a bit on the "sour" side. Still, these tacos were very good, and well worth the price.

I had visited on a week day during the Christmas long weekend. On a recent weekend, I decided to head on down to El Compita. On this day, the woman was working on the "cart", and the Taco Truck was empty.

As I waited, I could see the various trays in the steam table being opened, and the wonderful aroma of the various roasted meats hit me, which got my salivary glands going.

On this day I ordered 2 Barbacoa, 2 Birria de Chivo, and 1 Adobada(marinated pork):

I saved one Barbacoa, and one Birria for the Missus, and consumed the other 3. I found the Adobada to be a bit too oily for me, and the flavor was surpisingly mild. The meat was very tender and moist.

The Birria de Chivo was nice and gamey, but lacked the spicy bite that I've had with other versions. As with all the other meats, it was very moist and tender.

The Barbacoa on this occasion was even better than my previous visit, rich, moist, tender…with a nice dollop of salsa, some onions and cilantro…things don't get much better than this. In fact, though the tortillas were not as good this time around, I'd say all the meats were much more succulent. Looks like weekends are the way to go. And I'll be sure to be back soon.

Overall, it's hard to feel ripped off when you pay $1.25 for tacos. And these are much better than those that start with the word 'Del' or end in 'Bell'. Light years better…….in fact, it is of a completely different universe.

Tacos El Compita
2586 Imperial Avenue
San Diego, CA 92102

Da Kine’s – Liberty Station

January 13, 2008 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Plate Lunch

**** This location of Da Kine's has closed

Recently, whenever I need to make a trip to Trader Joe's, I've headed down to the new store located at Liberty Station, the former Naval Training Center in Point Loma. It never seems too crowded(except on Sundays when Church services next door let out), and there always seems to be abundant parking. So, it's only natural that I'd visit the new location of Da Kine's located in Liberty Station. Liberty Station itself is very large, and I've noticed that there is a severe lack of signs. Due to the barracks-like nature of the place, you may have some problems finding your destination. For instance, if I didn't tell you where I was headed, what would you make of this…….

The actual sign for Da Kine's is pretty small:

So don't blink…you might miss the place.

On the day of my first visit, I wasn't quite ready for a full on plate lunch. And an item on the menu, the Linguica Burger fascinated me. In Hawaii, we call Linguica "Portuguese Sausage", an island staple that is so incorporated in Island Cuisine that McDonald's serves it! In fact, there are several brands of Portuguese Sausage that "compete" for the Hawaii market share. In case you're wondering, The Tasty Island did a Portuguese Sausage Comparison, as did San Diego's own Barefoot Plumies.

Anyway, the Linguica Burger($5.00), comes with fries:

While waiting for my burger, I noticed that everyone else was getting their food before me. One of the women working, came to me and told me, that the Linguica Burger takes a bit longer than other burgers because, "it is made fresh." Perfectly fine with me, I'll take a hand made, cooked to order burger over something preformed any day of the week. The burger arrived steaming hot. I noticed the odd shape of the burger, and the flavor hinted at Portuguese sausage, a much leaner, and not as spicy version of Linguica. To me it headed more in the direction of chorizo…..the meat was moist, and overall was fine for 5 bucks. The fries were 100% processed, and just an after-thought.

The only complaint was that one edge of the burger was charred, and tasted that way.

About a week later, I found myself doing a Trader Joe's run again, and this time I was in the mood for a plate lunch. To try and check out as much as I could, I ordered the "Wop Yo Jaws"(I'm still kinda uncomfortable saying that…) which is the 3 item mixed plate($8.75):

The first thing I noticed was that the portion size, and "look" of the plate lunch was more toward the late Pacific Beach location, than the now also defunct, Mira Mesa location. The Katsu, was the signature Da Kine's Katsu, thin sliced chicken, creating a larger breading to meat ratio. The katsu was cooked to crisp perfection.

I don't know why I ordered Kalua Pork and cabbage….I'm usually disappointed, but in this case, it wasn't too bad. There was a good amount of pork(much of it was under the katsu), it was moist, mild smokiness, perhaps a bit light on "porky sweetness", but not overly salted. I was pleasantly surprised. Also, there wasn't much cabbage in this.

The Macaroni salad was the best that I've had at Da Kine's, the mac salad actually had a decent amount of mayo and flavor for a change. If you look at the photo to the right, you'll notice what I didn't enjoy. The teriyaki chicken was very dry, like it had been sitting for a very long time, and hardly had any marinated flavor. I almost broke my knife trying to cut it. The rice was improperly made, and I encountered several hard, indigestible grains. This lunch had started well, but ended badly…..

To me, if you can't make rice, you have no business serving plate lunches. This had to be a fluke…even though I always thought that Da' Kine's PB location always had rice on the mushy side, this was really bad. So just to be sure, I recently had another plate lunch….

This is "Da Buggah"…..sheesh(Two item mixed plate – $8):

The rice was fine, so the last visit must have been a fluke, but the macaroni salad was gladly, not a fluke. The Teriyaki Beef was the less sweet, more soy in flavor "local style", and in spite of being low grade meat with lots of connective tissue, it was more tender than it looked. The teriyaki chicken was better than the last time, but not much, this time it was more tender and moist. Though it was hotter than the last time, I still think that it is under marinated, and the grilling process does not lend enough flavor to the chicken. Even the extra sauce provided doesn't do much for the chicken.

I like the decor at this location of Da Kine's…..it seems to be a combo of warm woods and sports bar. There's also a simple outdoor eating area which will be pretty nice when the weather gets warmer, it already seems to be a favorite of the "lunchtime kids". One last thing, there's a Woman who works here, who is a bit older than the others, who is very nice, always checking to make sure everyone gets what they need.

After overhearing some conversations, I got the impression that Nelson Ishii doesn't have much to do with this location….and reading this on Da Kine's website, perhaps "semi-retired?" I wouldn't blame Him, Nelson is considered by many as the "Plate Lunch Pioneer" in San Diego.

Da Kine's Plate Lunches
2400 Historic Decatur Rd
San Diego, CA 92106

Check out the Doggie Parking Station at Trader Joe's:

Dublin Square – Breakfast

January 7, 2008 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Pubs and Pub Grub

**** Dublin Square has closed

I wish I could remember the name of the person who told me that Dublin Square, one of several Irish Pubs in the Downtown/Gaslamp area serves Irish Breakfast. So first off, my sincere apologies for not remembering, I went through my old emails trying to find the rec, but couldn't find it. And it was an interesting series of emails, the first making a recommendation, and a week later a follow-up, letting me know that the food and service on the second visit was not up to par, and expressing some reservations about the recommendation. I had to give the emailer credit; She really took Her recommendations seriously!

So a few months ago, I decided to have breakfast at Dublin Square.

As I've noted in previous posts, I enjoy walking around the Gaslamp on weekend mornings. The contrast between the hectic workday crowds and tourist/nightclub scene is quite drastic. Beyond the lysol, and other "post-nightclub" smells, things are fairly mellow.

I arrived at Dublin Square at about 715am…. I was the first customer(surprise !) on this Sunday morning. The sleepy hostess walked me to a table, where a much too cheerful(for 7am on a Sunday) and smiling Server handed me a menu, and a drink list the size of a good sized book. As much as I tried, even using the "it's noon somewhere in the world" rationalization, I couldn't bring myself to order a drink.

After placing my order, I had a good chance to look over the interior.

Much like The Field one block away, from the panelings and decor, Dublin Square aims for a "genuine Irish Pub" look. At least in the minds of many, what a genuine Irish Pub should look like.

After perusing the menu, it didn't take me very long to figure out what I was going to order……..It was going to be the Irish Breakfast($12.95), of course, enough food to last me a whole weekend.

From the eggs to the white and black sausage, this was, beyond any doubt a major cholesterol and fat fest.

So lets see, where to start….well the basic "full breakfast" is basically bacon and eggs. In this case, the eggs, ordered easy over were fine, though I enjoy mine with a bit more "color" around the edges.

The "bacon" was according to the menu Irish Bacon from Ireland:

And this was indeed lean pork loin, much like what we know as "Canadian Bacon" or back bacon. The flavor of this was very mild, and not overly salty, it was quite tough and chewy.

The baked beans were full on canned….it had Heinz written all over it.

The "Banger" or sausage, was very meaty, and moist, but tasted very much "Jimmy Dean-ish", and was nothing special. I'm a big fan of good Black Pudding, which this was really not. No richness, no nice flavor of herbs and seasonings. It was much better than I thought it would be though.

I'd never had White Pudding before, this one tasted mildly of oatmeal, and was quite "grainy".

The fried bread was crumbly and greasy….funny thing, all of the sausages were not greasy at all, which I thought was rather nice, but that fried bread was a bit too oily for me. I'd preferred soda bread.

The roasted potatoes were okay, nothing special, but I haven't met too many potatoes that I didn't like. In case you were feeling a bit of guilt over the food, some fried tomatoes may help sooth your mind….or maybe the one piece of lettuce garnish?

Since I was the only customer until just before I left, my coffee cup was always filled, and I was checked on several times. In the end, I really couldn't complain at the amount of food for the price(especially for the location). It wasn't quite what I expected….but what did I really expect? I did return home and entered into a very deep hibernation. So the next time you're up to, or need your entire weekend's fat and cholesterol in one meal, you may want to check out the Irish Breakfast at Dublin Square…..I think it is enough for two.

Dublin Square Irish Pub & Restaurant
554 4th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101

Serving Breakfast M-F: 7am – 2pm
Sat-Sun 7am – 3pm