Closed – Page 92

Da Nang Food to Go

November 6, 2006 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Da Nang Food to Go has closed

I'm not quite sure how many times I've passed this little restaurant on El Cajon Boulevard. And I've lost count of the times I've attempted to find parking within a reasonable distance to Da Nang Food to Go. This little restaurant has but 7 little parking stalls that is shared between 3 businesses, and maybe the few stalls in the parking lot of the 7-11 next door, and the curb out front is a no parking zone. So, each time we drove past Da Nang Restaurant, we'd always end up somewhere else…possibly Nhu Y, which is right up the street, or Thien Thanh. But there's a reason we've been pretty persistent about getting a meal here….just read the signs.

Yep, it says Banh Bot Loc, Banh Beo, and most of all Bun Bo Hue. A quick look at the map and you'll see that the city of Da Nang is located in Central Vietnam, South of Hue, and right smack dab on the South China Sea. Even more reason to try and grab a meal here.

We finally figured that we would need to eat there during the evening when the businesses around the restaurant were closed, and indeed on a recent Monday evening the entire parking lot(all 7 stalls) were empty. We felt like we hit the lottery! The interior of this little restaurant is….well quite small, and most of the business seems geared toward take out orders.

The menu at Da Nang Food to Go is small, and limited to mostly Central Vietnamese style dishes. Which for us is a good thing….it usually means a pretty darn good bowl of Bun Bo Hue.

We started with an order of Banh Bot Loc($3.00):

A plate of 8 plump and moist and sticky tapioca flour dumplings made it's way to our table…we could smell the freshly fried shallots, which started our stomachs rumbling. These Banh Bot Loc didn't have an abundance of the smokey, tea like flavor imparted by being wrapped and steamed in banana leaves for a long period of time, but each dumpling held a very tasty piece of shrimp, and a small piece of pork that was a bit less fatty and tough as is normal for Banh Bot Loc. The Nuoc Mam Cham, was slightly spicy and sweet, almost approaching the flavor of sweet chili sauce.

Our garnishes arrived as we were eating our Banh Bot Loc.

In this case mostly bean sprouts….

The Missus ordered Her latest favorite soup Bun Rieu($5.00):

This version of Bun Rieu had a very cloudy broth, with a pronounced sour flavor. It wasn't bad…just different. The noodles were the standard "Bun", the version a bit thinner than the noodles in Bun Bo Hue. The noodles were firm and a perfect al dente. The best thing about the soup was the very good fish cake, and the wonderfully flavored seafood "meatball". The fish cake had a wonderful flavor, and texture. Fried tofu topped everything off. We noticed that this version of Bun Rieu did not have as much tomato as other versions we've had. To sum it up, a not bad bowl of piping hot soup.

I of course had the Bun Bo Hue (no blood – $5.00):

As with the Bun Rieu, this slightly spicy broth was on the cloudy side, and the broth a bit more sour, and not as pungent than I'm used to. The noodles were good and firm. The slices of beef and tendon were okay, on the tough and dry side, and the Pork Hock was most skin. What made this bowl of Bun Bo Hue stand out was the Gio Lua (lean sausage), it had a very strong smokey fragrance, the large pieces of black pepper added a nice zip, and the flavor of the sausage was also a bit more "porky-meaty" than what I'm used too. The dark color also made it a bit unique.

We found out that Da Nang, as many restaurants do, makes their own Gio Lua. In fact, as we ate three people came in to buy the Gio Lua…who knows, I may drop by and pick up one of these banana leaf-wrapped, meat-paste product myself……

Though in our opinion the Bun Bo Hue and Bun Rieu at Da Nang is not as good as Mein Trung, I'd still give it a try again….and order something else like the Bun Mit Thit Ba Roi(Vermicelli with Pork and Jackfruit), or the Bun Mang Vit(Vermicelli, Bamboo shoot and Duck soup), or the Mi Quang, or…….after all, I'm guessing you all are getting pretty tired of my obsession with Bun Bo Hue by now!

Da Nang Food to Go (aka Quan an Da Nang)
4745 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

China Chef

November 2, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

*** An updated post on China Chef has closed

I recently received an Email from BruceT who mentioned a new Sichuan style restaurant located on Mira Mesa Boulevard. In the Email Bruce mentions cold Sichuan dishes….which meant a visit post haste.

As you approach the restaurant you arrive at the proverbial "fork in the road". Go toward the left, and you'll arrive at a rather generic Chinese Fast Food style restaurant, to the right you'll arrive at "Heavenly Kitchen Sichuan Dishes…." Hard choice, huh?

As we entered we saw the cold appetizers…this indeed looked like our destination. All the usual suspects from the thinly sliced Pig Ear to Fu Qi Fei Pien were in view.

The restaurant itself is fairly small with just a few tables.

As we looked over then menu, we noticed a few strangely familiar dishes like Spicy Fish Slices with Golden Mushroom, and Cumin Flavored Lamb. So while I selected a few appetizers, the Missus had a conversation with our Server. It seems that one of the new Owners is one of the former Chefs from Dede's on Convoy, thus the familiar dishes. According to the waitress he is originally from Chonqing, and this version of China Chef has been open since the end of August.

Here's our 3 appetizer plate(3 appetizers – $5.45):

The pickled greens and soybeans had a strange overly bitter flavor, and left an oily film on in my mouth, the marinated bamboo shoots looked really good, but were bland except for the flavor of sesame oil. The Fu Qi Fei Pien was not bad, but was lacking in Sichuan peppercorns, and the pieces were not cut into uniform slices, still it wasn't too bad.

Since we've eaten at Dede's we decided to try some different dishes, and started with the Chinese Bacon(Howie – it's your La Rou Chao La dish) with Spicy Green Pepper($7.95):

Slices of cured Pork Belly is stir fried with Leeks and dried red chilies. As expected the dish was on the salty side, though not as greasy as I thought it would be. The dish was surprisingly spicy, a very much "in your face" spicy.

Rice Crust with Chicken($8.95):

Not a good rendition of this classic dish, the sauce was on the watery side, and the usual deep chicken flavor was lacking.

Shrimp with Dry Red Pepper($9.45):

First off, we were impressed with all the good sized shrimp, which were not shelled, just lightly battered and fried, than stir-fried with scorched dried red chilies – think salt and pepper prawns(without the pepper) stir-fried with dried chilies. I've had several versions of this classic Chongqing Chili dish, and found this one to be a very one dimensional spicy, lacking the "buzz" of Sichuan Pepper, and the back of throat slow burn. The usual slight sweetness of these type of dishes was also missing. It was very spicy, though. Not a bad dish.

We found the dishes at China Chef to be more on the rustic side, and a bit one-dimensional. Sort of like Dede's with more heat. I may be back in the future to try out a few other dishes, the potential is there. At least you can now take care of your Sichuan craving without driving down to Convoy. You'll find the prices at China Chef to be quite reasonable (from $5.95-$12.95) as well.

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

Open Tues-Thurs 11am – 930pm
   Fri-Sat 11am – 10pm
   Sun 11am – 930pm
   Closed Mondays

Thanks for the recommendation Bruce T!

Fall Back the mmm-yoso Way – Brunch at the Red Lion Hanalei Hotel

October 29, 2006 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Buffets, yoso-silly

*** The Hanalei Hotel is now a Crowne Plaza Hotel, and the Sunday Brunch is no more…..

Coming from Hawaii, I’ve always thought the time changes for Daylight Saving Time to be quite strange. I’ve read about the Rationales for DST, and well as the criticisms. To most of us, it just means changing our clocks. Over the last 3 years or so, we’ve found a new rationale for DST, or at least the "Fall Back" portion. After thinking about whole process, we had come to the conclusion that gaining an extra hour during the last Sunday of October meant, not an extra hour of sleep, but an extra hour of digestion……get the drift? Thus, we’ve made a sort of tradition of having Sunday Brunch on Fall Back Sunday, and putting that extra hour of digestion to good use.

We rarely partake of Sunday Brunch, but have 2 favorite brunches in San Diego, one a bit more on the expensive side, Le Fountainebleu at the Westgate Hotel runs about $40 per person, and the Sunday Brunch at the Red Lion Hanalei Hotel, which runs about $25 per person. I won’t go into great detail about these brunches, mainly because I’d just be going over what you can find at Jim, The Sunday Brunchmasters Site. Jim goes over the info and offerings at the Red Lion Hanalei Brunch here.

I’ll just post a few photos.

As with most brunches of any price, you mileage will vary. At this brunch, we’re not particularly fond of the shrimp and crab legs, nor the "sushi"…but, the shrimp is peeled, and the crab legs are already halved, and if you love "rolls" you might find the sushi to be pretty good. We also are not big fans of the chafing dish items.

But as those photos above show, one of the items we love at this brunch is the smoked salmon.

The Missus will eat about a pound of the stuff. We also enjoy the Kona Coffee, the Champagne(sorry don’t remember the brand), and most of all, the service. We’ve always had good service at the Red Lion Hanalei. For example on this visit, it was quite packed, and we didn’t want to deal with the crowds, and since it was a very pleasant morning we were seated outside. I asked for a ramekin for the "Jus", and not knowing that it’s not among the plates, the very nice young man, told me to hold on a second, ran into the kitchen and brought me a ramekin, before I had a chance to tell him not to go out his way. The Missus went so far as to ask the Young Man manning the carving station for the bone from the leg of lamb….for guess who? Let’s just say "Da Boyz" loved it, and when our Server found out She brought us a "doggie bag"(literally) for it. And to top things off, when we were presented with our bill, the Young Lady told us that she had a few extra $2 off coupons, so She used them for us! How’s that for service!

Here’s Frankie’s bone.

Today the Lamb was very good, better than on our previous 2 visits.

Of course you can’t forget about the desserts.

I don’t have a real sweet tooth, but the Missus says the selection is nice. And of course the chocolate tower. The Missus needs to be under supervision whenever She gets close to one of these, I’m always worried that She’ll stick some chicken or shrimp under the fountain and make me eat it. She has been known to cause fountain malfunctions by using too much chocolate, and the Brunchmaster was a witness to one of these incidents.

Just ignore the rice in the photo…it’s a long story. For dessert I just had some pineapple to help me optimize that extra hour of digestion.

Overall I think we made great use of the extra hour, what do you think? How did you use that extra hour???? Oh and what about losing that hour in March? Well, you just have to eat faster! LOL!

All the info you need to know for this brunch can be found here.

Thanks for putting up with this silliness and indulging me. Tomorrow it’s back to stuff like this:

Niu Rou Main-nia: Jamillah Garden’s version

October 24, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Niu Rou Mian

*** Jamillah Garden has since closed.

I think most regular readers already know that I love a good bowl of Niu Rou Mein, the savory Chinese Beef Noodle soup. According to Wikipedia, Chinese Beef Noodle soup was created by the Hui, an Islamic Chinese people during the Tang Dynasty. According to the story, when the Koumintang fled to Taiwan they brought along Niu Rou Mein. And Taiwan has truly embraced Beef Noodle Soup, to the extent that Taipei now hosts an annual Taipei Beef Noodles Festival. Enough to make a "Noodle-Head" quiver in excitement, no?

So far, I’ve had a few bowls of Niu Rou Mein in San Diego, and my favorite by far is the version served by Shanghai City. But a few weeks ago, I decided to go to the "source", and finally have a bowl of Niu Rou Mein from the local Islamic Chinese restaurant, Jamillah Gardens. One item of interest is that as noted in my previous post on Jamillah Gardens, is the availability of Knife Cut Noodles, which are flat noodles cut from a rolled piece of dough. The noodles are of various width and length, and when done right has a mildly chewy and doughy texture.

Add a dollar to the regular price of the Niu Rou Mein($6.95 + noodles = $7.95), and you get the Niu Rou Mein with Knife Cut Noodles.

The broth had a good amount of oil, with a mild beef flavor, and was quite weak overall. Nice body….but no soul. Some of the pieces of beef were on the gristly-tough side, but had a decent amount of flavor. To me there needed to be a stronger beef and 5 spice flavor, along with a bit more sweetness.

The noodles this time around were on the gummy side, and were not as enjoyable as I’ve had on previous visits.

Which kind of shines a light on the various meals I’ve had at Jamillah Gardens; wildly fluctuating in flavor and quality.

But still, another Niu Rou Mein crossed off my list. And in order to keep track, I’ve decided to start a Niu Rou Mein category. I think there are still at least six or seven more Niu Rou Meins to try in San Diego……so I’ll keep on ca-noodling along.

Jamillah Garden Chinese Islamic Restaurant
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

One last note: I’ve gotten a few Emails requesting that I add a few categories, and after going through all my old posts I can understand. So in addition to Niu Rou Mein, I’ve added these:

Hopefully, I’ve updated old posts accordingly. I aim to please…so whoever "ItsBasedonADare" is, hang in there. I’ll let you know if I find Haggis! LOL! BTW, IBAD(yoso-clever), I know what movie that came from.

Episode 13A/Week Two-Happy Chef, Happy, Happy!

October 14, 2006 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Greek Food, Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in in the interim.

*** Update. The name has changed to Kayson’s. The people who work there all seem to be the same (even the husband and wife who I thought were owners) including Aurelio, the Chef. The walls don’t have photos of famous Channel 8 ex-personalities. The tables and chairs all match now. There is a wide screen TV and new flooring. The menu has the same foods, but the prices all went up by about $2 per item.

Update of the Update: Happy Chef and Kaysons are now closed.

Ahh, its a weekend and, well…there is this place The Mister and I have been going to since about 1984 and its still there, and I think the tables and chairs are still the same and, well, nobody has ever had a mention of it. YET, Kirk has mentioned Sammy Sushi as being his favorite place and here, Happy Chef is technically in the same building, sharing the same parking lot.

Its only open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday thru Saturday and is busy most of that time. The sign says "Home Style Cooking" and if your home is American-Greek-Mexican, then yes, it is.

The menu has American, Greek and Mexican breakfasts and for lunch, Greek Food, Mexican Food, Charbroiled burgers, salads, sandwiches, two "Oriental Plates", seafood and combo plates. Note that there is gyros listed under "Mexican Food" and under "Old Favorites" in the breakfast section, the shrimp and mixed cheese omelet….I suppose I grew up deprived…

Here is a better photo of part of the lunch menu (the descriptions are difficult to read on the paper menu because its kind of grey ink on yellow paper) :

The Mister got himself the souvlaki and eggs breakfast with pita ($6.35) and I got my all time favorite- chilaquiles with shredded beef ($4.99). The souvlaki was excellent- tender and served on a kabob with a side of tzatziki. (Those are poached eggs in the cup on the plate). I do *love* the chilaquiles here, some places only make them vegetarian style but you have the option of getting them with shredded chicken or beef and the shredded beef is excellent. Chilaquiles are tortilla strips cooked in a sauce, kind of an enchilada sauce, and then mixed in are meat or eggs or vegetables.

For lunch one day, the Mister wanted the Fish and Chips, which came with 1/2 of the plate covered in salad, the other half with in store cut potatoes and three large pieces of fish, covered in a cornmeal batter. All very tasty. The tartar sauce is made here and is very chunky with jarred relish, kind of tart in taste. I opted for the gyros with onion rings, which were whole slices of onions covered in the same cornmeal batter. The gyros was way overfilled in the pita, nice and thick sliced and had chopped onions and chopped tomatoes in it. The tzatziki is a good one, made without dill.

Now the place is called Happy Chef and the clock on the wall has been there forever. …you know I don’t have photos of people in any of my posts. But when I saw how Aurelio was dressed on this day, I just *had* to ask permission. He did not want to have his photo taken and I told him it was for my mom to see. She will see it…(click onto the photo for it to enlarge and look at the clock). Doesn’t he look happy, just like the guy on the clock?

Anthony’s Happy Chef 7905 Engineer Road San Diego 92111 (across from Pacific Honda) (858)569-1582

Monday-Saturday 6 a.m.-3 p.m.

Episode 12/week two- Mrs. Rice’s Teriyaki Grill and Gourmet Wraps and Hawaiian BBQ

October 12, 2006 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Mrs. Rice is closed.

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in the interim.

Oooh boy, did I have a tough time trying to put a category on this one…Mrs. Rice's…It's right there on the southeast corner of Clairmont Mesa and 163…in the same parking lot with Golden City. We first tried it because Golden City was so crowded one afternoon. The menu says it is "Teriyaki Chicken, Gourmet Wraps and Hawaiian BBQ"…"a unique quick serve restaurant that specializes in fresh, healthy and delicious rice bowls and gourmet wraps". The word "healthy" is always bothersome to me. Usually it means "flavorless". But not at Mrs. Rice's!

Click here to see the website.

So, the Mister works near the 163/Clairmont Mesa/Balboa area and in the lobby at work, he saw this coupon page, and remembered we had tried Mrs. Rice's when it first opened and were not overly thrilled with it, but it wasn't bad..and now there were coupons! (Oh, and the Mister is really getting into this whole blogging thing too, trying to help me with ideas of places I should talk about ).

So, this is the regular menu.

and this is the new Hawaiian BBQ menu.

I do think Kirk could give a better eval of whether or not the Hawaiian menu is good, and besides, the coupon wasn't for those items…

So… the regular menu:

We tried the #12 (sweet and sour chicken and BBQ pork) $4.99. Lots of good rice. The sweet and sour chicken is a bit too sweet I think. (All the chicken is skinless here, by the way… part of that "healthy" way of cooking). The BBQ pork was excellent, especially dipped in the sauce that came with and the vegetables were steamed and still a bit crispy. Quite good, quite filling.

Ah, but the #7 (teriyaki chicken and teriyaki steak) $5.49…oh that steak…nice and tender, thick enough and sooo tasty (they only use USDA choice steaks). The teriyaki sauce was nice and not overly sweet..it went well with the chicken and the steak. Same veggies, and lots of good rice.

Mrs. Rice's does serve healthy (no shortening, butter, lard or MSG) food, makes their own sauces and salsas fresh daily, and the food always is fresh. The veggies are not over-steamed or mushy..and if someone is a rice addict out there (Hello Kirk), well, this is a good fix.

As it says on the ads: Always fresh! Always Great!

Mrs. Rice's 5375 Kearney Villa Road, #101 San Diego 92123

(858)278-0618 fax: (858) 278-9801

Mon-Fri 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (closed weekends…I bet that is when they do most of the catering)

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Just a reminder: The San Diego Asian Film Festival started tonight, and ChiliCheeseFries has his movie playing (Asian Stories Movie) this weekend. For more info: Click here.

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Episode 9-Week2- Italia Ristorante

October 9, 2006 Cathy Italian Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Italia has closed

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in the interim.

Happy Columbus Day! In honor of all of my Italian friends, today we can all be a little Italian…and will go to one of our favorite places not in Little Italy, Italia Ristorante, in Santee.

I must confess, I have an ulterior motive, besides really liking this place. There is a *lot* of construction going on on Mission Gorge Road and the left turn lane onto Carlton Hills is closed until January at least. All of the businesses in this area have seen a tremendous drop in foot traffic since the street has been narrowed. I do not want Italia to close.

The Mister and I have been to Italy. We liked the food. We like quality Italian food wherever we go. Italia has it. This is the whole menu. Fairly simple, quite elegant. Quality ingredients prepared fresh for you. We started out with the traditional "first date" appetizer- fried calamari. Lightly breaded rings and tentacles served with a fresh, warm marinara that is mostly crushed tomatoes and basil. ($7.95)

Then we shared the medium antipasto salad ($7.95) which had mortadella, salami, provolone, olives, marinated cauliflower, celery, carrots and red peppers, pepperocini and romaine lettuce. The side of anchovies is for me. (something else besides onions the Mister will not touch)

We ordered only one main course, knowing it was a large portion, and that came with either soup or salad. We got the minestrone soup, made with large chunks of celery, carrots, zucchini and had kidney beans also, all in a rich tomato broth.

The main course arrived, freshly made for us. Tortellini carbonara. Cheese tortellini, ham and mushrooms in a creamy Parmesan sauce. This sauce has garlic in it..and butter…and cream and its just wonderful! I have tried to make the sauce at home but cannot emulate it…I don't keep heavy cream around the house…

Italia Ristorante 8918 Carlton Hills Blvd (next to Al's Sports Shop at Mission Gorge) Santee 92071 (619) 449-7960

Open seven days a week, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

Its worth the U-turns….

and when you leave, take a right onto Mission Gorge and just past the first light, at Fanita, on your left is Mary's Donuts…I told you about them in Episode 7…open 24/7…you won't need dessert after you eat at Italia, but for breakfast tomorrow…

Cathy's Favorite pasta dish

Cut 1/4 lb bacon into little pieces and cook until clear in a stick of butter. Heat 1 cup milk in small saucepan and add bacon and butter. Add 2 Tbs wine vinegar. This will turn the milk to cheese. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the sauce cooks smooth.

Boil your favorite pasta al dente (1 lb), drain (do not rinse) and return to pan. Immediately toss in two whipped eggs, the above sauce and 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, salt and pepper. Toss and serve.

Episode 8-Week 2 Carnitas Uruapan

October 8, 2006 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Carnitas Uruapan closed in September 2011. It will be missed. It has relocated and is being run by former employees at 4233 Spring Street, La Mesa 92042 Here's a post

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in the interim.

When I started blogging, yea all of seven days ago, the first comment I received was from Ted, who asked if I might possibly review Mexican restaurants in the San Diego area. "Ha!" I thought. Mexican restaurants…what is out there? what is good?…

Then I was reading the chowhound website and recalled seeing a lot of inquiries this summer from people who were going to be staying in downtown San Diego for some sort of convention or another and they, too were asking about 'good Mexican restaurants'.

Invariably, someone always mentioned "Carnitas Uruapan" for great carnitas, yet I have never seen a review. (Carnitas is essentially orange juice marinated pork, simmered in boiling oil, then braised in the oven to get a crispy crust.). So, since I am not doing much of anything, I felt it was necessary to at least show some photographs to the few people who do not know about Carnitas Uruapan. It is in Lemon Grove…waaaay out in East county (maybe 12 minutes from downtown, because you get stuck at lights getting out of downtown).

Looks innocuous, eh? Its a lot nicer than the old location, which did not have air conditioning. That location was taken over by Eminent Domain about 15 years ago.

We went here today, a Sunday, at 1 p.m. We were the only non-Hispanics in the place. This is a good sign.

Here is the menu, all three pages. You can click onto any of them and they will enlarge.

This is the main dinner menu and then there is the lunch menu.

If you have paid attention, the name of the place is CARNITAS Uruapan. Get the carnitas.

Carnitas for two: $12.90…we wanted guacamole also, $3.50

Doesn't look like much, you say? That is a pound of carnitas meat. You get three corn tortillas each, or two flour tortillas each. Here is what we made, and what was leftover:

I made a taco and then just a plate of beans, carnitas, guacamole, cilantro, onion and tomato. I used lots of carnitas.

The Mister made himself smaller burrito like servings on the flour tortillas.

After we each had two pretty large servings, this amount of meat was still left over. We did manage to finish it all though…but I wasn't hungry for dinner…

The "Sampler Platter" is $15.95 and includes about 1/3 lb carnitas, tamale, chile relleño, enchilada, a sopa, taco, rice and beans…lots of side stuff. Its good. Its all good. The carnitas here are great. The salsa is hot, fresh, the chips are made in house, the tortillas are fresh and warm when they get to your table, the beans are made with lard (wonder where they get it?), the cilantro and onions are plentiful and fresh and it is all brought to your table quickly with a smile. The only thing I don't like- the iced tea is instant, not brewed.

Carnitas Uruapan 8035 Broadway, Lemon Grove 91945

(619) 462-0704

Episode Six. Week one-Tugboat Fish & Chips #18

October 6, 2006 Cathy Chains, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in the interim.

So, the San Diego County Fair is over and you have been good for what, three months, now? No fried olives or avocadoes on a stick, or deep fried Twinkies, Snickers, or asparagus. No batter fried Australian potatoes, 10 pound loaves of bread, or plate of pesto pasta ( a favorite of the Mister). The cinnamon rolls were great, again this year, as were the giant pickles, BBQ chicken and cream puffs. The San Diego County Fair, 5th largest in the US, is history.

The Ginsu knives are also history, along with the jewelry cleaner, mink oil for your hands, the eyeglass cleaner. You can’t find either of your "Incredible Mops" (if you bought one, you got the other free). The Russian nesting dolls are getting dusty, the healing crystals don’t heal. That belt buckle is someplace-you’ll find it in time to use as a Christmas gift. Hopefully you are still using the Bamix and Vitamix machines, at least once a week, if not daily, and that sewing/embroidery serger machine has been put to good use also. The pickled garlic was nice to eat, the soup mixes are somewhere in the back of the cupboard and that prize winning strawberry jam was *really* good. (OK, the photos were taken before the Fair opened, but the look is the same as when they had to break it down).

So, that craving has returned. Deep fried something. Tugboat Fish & Chips fits the bill. The location, in Lemon Grove, has been there for at least three years now…and it is officially know as Tugboat Fish & Chips #18. There are at least 17 others around the state. None in SD County as far as I can tell. There is no main website for the company: its "under Construction".

Here is the menu. Look carefully. The only items not fried are the coleslaw and the beverages.

Oh…. yeah.

So, it being Friday and all, and me in my "just in case" way of living, well fish and chips are the way to go. Those of us who grew up in the Midwest fondly remember ‘fish fry friday’ and this is as close as I can find out here without driving to Point Loma Seafoods.

This is the two piece meal ($6.39). The fish is Pollock, in good sized pieces, not the pre-formed cod stuff. The batter is more "London" style, not all beer batter/fluffy and cakey. In fact, the malt vinegar made the flavor of the crust improved and there were references to London as part of the decor, along with Beatles music being played as part of the "ambiance". Lots of fries served with each plate: generic, but not greasy or bad per se.

These are condiments on the table. The tartar sauce served is smooth, not chunky and very good. The cocktail sauce is mild but has a nice horseradish flavor.

The side order of fried oysters was pretty good ($ 2.99), they were juicy, but I know made from either jarred oysters or were frozen and already battered . The batter is made of cornmeal. Still, when I have a craving….

This is the fish and clam plate ($6.99). Clam strips, one piece of fish. Lots of food.

The coleslaw dressing had a touch of vinegar taste to it, like the Marzettis from a jar.

We have had the shrimp platter, the vegetable platter, the seafood platter, the fried mushrooms (you get five) and the fried zucchini. The scallops were not that thrilling.

The family who works there are very friendly and honest. The food is not bad, not greasy. The iced tea is brewed, not instant.

You can phone in an order and pick it up. Tugboat fulfills many cravings.

Tugboat Fish & Chips 8047 Broadway, Lemon Grove 91945

(619) 465-7060 Mon-Sat 11 a.m. – 9 p.m., closed Sunday

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Just a reminder- Oktoberfest in the Village of La Mesa started today. The food, entertainment and street sales of crafts will be going on Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday noon until 6 p.m. Admission is free. You can take the orange or green trolley line to get there.

episode four/Week one-La Basil Thai

October 4, 2006 Cathy Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

***UPDATE*** La Basil at this location closed in June 2007. The La Jolla location is still open. Rumor is a new location in East County is in the works. Click onto website info at bottom of post for information.

mmm-yoso is on vacation. In the interim, the part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy.

Hi. So, the parting words to me from Kirk were "Oh- and make sure you do Basil Thai"…and I don't want to. I don't want everyone to know about this place. Its one of the really great hole-in-the-walls, run by a Thai family. The people who go there frequently know they have a gem…and anyone who goes to K Sandwiches has been right on top of it. (click onto the photo- you can see K Sandwiches on the left and right there, at the end of the parking lot, under the setting sun-those buildings right there…go ahead, walk on over)

There they are- my two best kept secrets, right on Mesa College Drive. We will go from left to right and I will talk about La Basil today.

Here is the menu, posted outside. Basically for the lunch specials, you choose your type of noodle, type of meat and type of sauce. If you get vegetarian, chicken or pork,its $5.99; beef or duck is $6.99, shrimp or calamari is $7.99, scallop is $8.99 and mixed seafood is $10.99.

Dinners have a similar style of ordering, with the most expensive entree on the menu being $12.95.

For dinner, there are appetizers, salads, noodles & rice, house curries, specialties and fish.

The thing is, there are 18 CHAIRS for 5 tables total inside and 10 CHAIRS for 4 tables outside, and really, if you were to sit at the tables using all of those chairs, there is no space for plates for all the people. Notice there are no condiments on the tables.

We ordered, had water placed and a basket of still sizzling shrimp chips were brought out to the table. Not oily, not too hot, but still sizzling with a nice shrimp flavor and oh so light and crispy.

Then the appetizer we ordered arrived, having been freshly made, Spring rolls ($4.95): rice paper stuffed with tofu, lettuce, bean sprouts, carrot, mint, cucumber, rice noodle served with a sweet/sour/hot sauce topped with chopped peanuts on the left and warmed, fresh made peanut sauce on the right. These were very fresh, with the right amount of crunch and the sauces complimented the flavors perfectly.

Then my most absolute favorite Thai dish arrived- Larb salad…made with beef! I have looked high and low for larb made with beef anywhere else in San Diego and have yet to find it. Seems its always made with chicken. Here, you get to choose: beef, chicken or pork. Larb is made with the minced meat, lime juice, chili, rice powder (gives it crunch) and mint and also served are cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, onions and shredded carrots. I asked for medium heat..not too much: I wanted to taste the flavors. It was just right. ($7.95)

We also got the chicken pad Thai this time. The pad Thai is kind of sweet tasting here and the noodles are fresh rice noodles, with a nice "bite" to them, but at lunchtime I like to get the pad see ew noodle, made with a thicker rice noodle, that seems to hold more of the sauce on it. (I also like the green curry on rice at lunch). Bean sprouts, scallion and egg along with chopped peanuts and the chicken and noodles. ($7.95)

This little placard was on the table, and we had ordered the rice with coconut ice cream once before, remembering it took about 10 minutes to come out, because they make it fresh, and it was busy. We ordered ahead of time. They were out of ice cream, so we asked for the custard.

Which was also made fresh. The rice is made with coconut milk, was still warm and wonderfully sticky. The custard was eggy and wonderfully fresh, with a skin just beginning to form on top. The price was $4.95.

All in all, the Mister and I really like La Basil. It does a brisk take out (but you don't call it in: i never have heard a phone ring when we were in there- you walk in, order and wait…they give you some shrimp chips to munch on… and enjoy the decor):

It is going to be Halloween soon, you know.

La Basil Thai Cuisine 7530 Mesa College Drive SD 92111

Mon-Fri 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.

Sat 12:00 p.m.-9:00p.m.

Did anyone notice the parsley on the dessert plate?

Addendum- October 12, 2006….I was reading the morning paper and saw a coupon for La Basil Thai in La Jolla. There was a website: La Basil dot com and I went to it, looked at the menu section and it is, apparently, a chain! The La Jolla prices are a dollar more than the prices at this location on Mesa College Drive. There is nothing on the menu here to indicate they had another location. …and I just don't hang around in La Jolla enough to know that there was a La Basil there. Sorry if anyone was confused.