Via Moto
This Santee restaurant has been open since early last summer but we just heard of it recently. It's off the main drag (Mission Gorge Road), behind a string of stores and it's huge.
They specialize in pizza, pasta and panini, locally brewed beer and a have a fair selection of wines as well. We visited it on Saint Patrick's Day, shortly before 4:00 PM and we were the only customers in the place.
There is seating for maybe a couple of hundred customers, a nice bit of outdoor seating and a fire pit as well. There's also a garage size roll up door behind the bar and 4 large, flat screen TVs, which dominate the bar area.
I had a medium pepperoni pizza and an iced tea while the wife had the minestrone soup. The crust was nice and thin but got more brittle as the pizza cooled. They are known for their home made mozzarella and I would have liked to have had a little more of it on my pizza (and a little less sauce) but overall, it was a good meal and we'll be back at least once more to check it out again (this time, with more mozzarella and a little less sauce). Our total was just under $22.
Their web site doesn't seem to function very well so hopefully they'll fix it soon (I've been trying to get in for 3 days now): http://www.via-moto.com/
No. 193
Carnitas Snack Shack
2632 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92104
Phone: 619-294-7675
We had been meaning to get over here several times, even stopping by too early one rainy morning recently (they open at Noon). University Avenue is very busy there and there is no on-street parking so after circling through the tiny 3 space parking lot and alley several times, a space opened up and we walked into the patio area at the rear of the building.
There is no printed menu or menu board other than a small chalkboard at the front window at the sidewalk. An employee explained that they change it every day and it's posted online if you want to see it before you get there.
And there isn't a lot of seating either, 6 four top tables and a counter with maybe 6 bar stools. It's the kind of layout you could quickly go broke unless the food is spectacular.
It's not the least bit ADA friendly either (slanted and cracked sidewalks, no ordering from the patio) and as I wasn't able to walk around front and stand in line, I had to pass this time.
And I couldn't see the wife from where I sat and given her condition, it gives me concern for her safety...
The Darla ordered the Snack Shack Pork Sandwich which had pulled pork (no BBQ sauce), Wienerschnitzel and bacon, chopped pepperoncini and their sauce on a toasted poppy seed bun. She says she immediately noticed the smoke from the pulled pork and the Wienerschnitzel was excellent. There was also a small side dish; a ramekin of something similar to cole slaw with corn. She also ordered a fairly interesting side order of fries "McD style" only with a fairly salty seasoning in a small brown paper bag.
We will go back again.
The web site: http://www.carnitassnackshack.com/
And forget the Chicken Pot Pie Shop, which I walked into after leaving the Snack Shack. It's been here forever and I had been meaning to check it out for several years now. After a quick look, I immediately turned around and left (I just couldn't do it)...
2632 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92104
Phone: 619-294-7675
We had been meaning to get over here several times, even stopping by too early one rainy morning recently (they open at Noon). University Avenue is very busy there and there is no on-street parking so after circling through the tiny 3 space parking lot and alley several times, a space opened up and we walked into the patio area at the rear of the building.
There is no printed menu or menu board other than a small chalkboard at the front window at the sidewalk. An employee explained that they change it every day and it's posted online if you want to see it before you get there.
And there isn't a lot of seating either, 6 four top tables and a counter with maybe 6 bar stools. It's the kind of layout you could quickly go broke unless the food is spectacular.
It's not the least bit ADA friendly either (slanted and cracked sidewalks, no ordering from the patio) and as I wasn't able to walk around front and stand in line, I had to pass this time.
And I couldn't see the wife from where I sat and given her condition, it gives me concern for her safety...
The Darla ordered the Snack Shack Pork Sandwich which had pulled pork (no BBQ sauce), Wienerschnitzel and bacon, chopped pepperoncini and their sauce on a toasted poppy seed bun. She says she immediately noticed the smoke from the pulled pork and the Wienerschnitzel was excellent. There was also a small side dish; a ramekin of something similar to cole slaw with corn. She also ordered a fairly interesting side order of fries "McD style" only with a fairly salty seasoning in a small brown paper bag.
We will go back again.
The web site: http://www.carnitassnackshack.com/
And forget the Chicken Pot Pie Shop, which I walked into after leaving the Snack Shack. It's been here forever and I had been meaning to check it out for several years now. After a quick look, I immediately turned around and left (I just couldn't do it)...
No. 192
Aunt Emma's Pancakes
National City
Since 1959
This is an ersatz Denny's with two locations (National City & Chula Vista). The clientele appears to be mainly families and military.
We were there on a car parts deal with Roman Diaz, an easily likable fellow VW hobbyist. Roman had suggested Aunt Emma's as it is close to his home. After we drove around lost for a few minutes, we realized that the place was on National City Blvd, not National Avenue...
The bulk of the menu consists of breakfast and burgers while the sandwich menu is based on chicken, turkey and roast beef. The burgers are half pounders and come with a side order of slaw or fries. Other sandwiches include the club, French dip, Philly, Reuben, tuna, BLT & grilled cheese
Roman had crepes and juice, The Darla ordered ham, eggs, pancakes and hot tea while I went for the mushroom burger, fries and a Pepsi (No Coke!). The burger wasn't bad (Angus beef, my best guess), the fries were the usual generic, crinkle cut frozen fare (they were hot), and the total was $32 plus tip (another fiver).
Their web site: http://www.auntemmaspancakes.com/
National City
Since 1959
This is an ersatz Denny's with two locations (National City & Chula Vista). The clientele appears to be mainly families and military.
We were there on a car parts deal with Roman Diaz, an easily likable fellow VW hobbyist. Roman had suggested Aunt Emma's as it is close to his home. After we drove around lost for a few minutes, we realized that the place was on National City Blvd, not National Avenue...
The bulk of the menu consists of breakfast and burgers while the sandwich menu is based on chicken, turkey and roast beef. The burgers are half pounders and come with a side order of slaw or fries. Other sandwiches include the club, French dip, Philly, Reuben, tuna, BLT & grilled cheese
Roman had crepes and juice, The Darla ordered ham, eggs, pancakes and hot tea while I went for the mushroom burger, fries and a Pepsi (No Coke!). The burger wasn't bad (Angus beef, my best guess), the fries were the usual generic, crinkle cut frozen fare (they were hot), and the total was $32 plus tip (another fiver).
Their web site: http://www.auntemmaspancakes.com/
No. 191
The Habit Burger Grill - It came from Santa Barbara
"There's no substitute for quality"
Est 1969
We stopped by yesterday afternoon, after the wife ate next door (King's Fish House). I can't have anything I like on the Fish House menu (shrimp, lobster & crab mainly), so I had to check this place out. The manager tells me they've been open since October.
And although they're called Charburgers, it really doesn't say that on the menu ("100% fresh ground beef with crisp lettuce, tomato, caramelized onions, mayo and pickles on a toasted bun"). But again, I couldn't taste any smoke (the wife and I tracked down a Dairy Queen brazier recently with the same results).
Besides the burgers, they also sell other sandwiches such as chicken breast, Tri-Tip, albacore tuna, a veggie burger and chicken club).
The menu also has fries, O-rings, sweet potato fries and a line of salads (Garden Salad, Grilled Chicken Salad, Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, BBQ Chicken Salad, Santa Barbara Cobb Salad, Caesar Salad, a side salad and side Caesar salad).
The menu also features shakes, malts, 99 cent ice cream cones and sundaes. They use the Coke product line (Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Barq's Root Beer, Minute Maid Lemonade, Dasani water) and they have regular and decaffeinated iced tea
The Kids menu also has a grilled cheeses sandwich and chicken nuggets.
On the burger menu, there's the Charburger, Double Charburger, Teriyaki Charburger, BBQ Bacon Charburger and Mushroom Swiss Charburger, which is what I ordered, along with fries and a Coke. It was done nicely, the fries were OK and I would stop by again. The total was $8.03, the place was clean and service was on top of things.
Their web site: www.habitburger.com
UPDATE:
We tasted across the menu on our second visit, starting with the plain charburger with everything on the side (I couldn't taste the char, again).
We also tried the Teriyaki Charburger (not bad) and the BBQ Bacon Charburger (hold the sauce), also not too bad (the bacon was crisp and salty). The onion rings, on the other hand, were generic and room temperature when they arrived. And I had a Coke. Our total this time was $15.25.
"There's no substitute for quality"
Est 1969
We stopped by yesterday afternoon, after the wife ate next door (King's Fish House). I can't have anything I like on the Fish House menu (shrimp, lobster & crab mainly), so I had to check this place out. The manager tells me they've been open since October.
And although they're called Charburgers, it really doesn't say that on the menu ("100% fresh ground beef with crisp lettuce, tomato, caramelized onions, mayo and pickles on a toasted bun"). But again, I couldn't taste any smoke (the wife and I tracked down a Dairy Queen brazier recently with the same results).
Besides the burgers, they also sell other sandwiches such as chicken breast, Tri-Tip, albacore tuna, a veggie burger and chicken club).
The menu also has fries, O-rings, sweet potato fries and a line of salads (Garden Salad, Grilled Chicken Salad, Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, BBQ Chicken Salad, Santa Barbara Cobb Salad, Caesar Salad, a side salad and side Caesar salad).
The menu also features shakes, malts, 99 cent ice cream cones and sundaes. They use the Coke product line (Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Barq's Root Beer, Minute Maid Lemonade, Dasani water) and they have regular and decaffeinated iced tea
The Kids menu also has a grilled cheeses sandwich and chicken nuggets.
On the burger menu, there's the Charburger, Double Charburger, Teriyaki Charburger, BBQ Bacon Charburger and Mushroom Swiss Charburger, which is what I ordered, along with fries and a Coke. It was done nicely, the fries were OK and I would stop by again. The total was $8.03, the place was clean and service was on top of things.
Their web site: www.habitburger.com
UPDATE:
We tasted across the menu on our second visit, starting with the plain charburger with everything on the side (I couldn't taste the char, again).
We also tried the Teriyaki Charburger (not bad) and the BBQ Bacon Charburger (hold the sauce), also not too bad (the bacon was crisp and salty). The onion rings, on the other hand, were generic and room temperature when they arrived. And I had a Coke. Our total this time was $15.25.
No. 190
Mandarin Chef
We were in Rancho San Diego, driving around looking for something, anything different for a very early dinner (we're old!) when we saw this place. It's in RSD's only shopping center and after checking out the menu out front, the Darla gave me the signal and I walked into the place. I had parked in a handicapped space, maybe 10 feet from the front door.
It's a fairly big place, especially for the location and the dining room appears to have been painted sometime in the 90's (pink and teal). There was only 1 other customer in the place, just before the dinner rush
After studying the menu (it's fairly large), the wife decided to have the Szchewan beef, a combination dinner served with egg roll, shrimp toast, fried chicken wings, fried rice and your choice of egg flower or hot and sour soup ($9.99). She opted for hot & sour soup and fried rice while I ordered fried dumplings. I wasn't feeling well (tooth ache) and didn't eat but I did have several cups of hot tea.
She liked the soup and the beef but says the egg roll, shrimp toast, fried chicken wing and fried rice were mediocre.
Our total was $18 and coin; an even $22 with tip and yes, she would come back (it's a lot closer than our regular Chinese place)...
Their web site: http://mandarin-chef.com/
We were in Rancho San Diego, driving around looking for something, anything different for a very early dinner (we're old!) when we saw this place. It's in RSD's only shopping center and after checking out the menu out front, the Darla gave me the signal and I walked into the place. I had parked in a handicapped space, maybe 10 feet from the front door.
It's a fairly big place, especially for the location and the dining room appears to have been painted sometime in the 90's (pink and teal). There was only 1 other customer in the place, just before the dinner rush
After studying the menu (it's fairly large), the wife decided to have the Szchewan beef, a combination dinner served with egg roll, shrimp toast, fried chicken wings, fried rice and your choice of egg flower or hot and sour soup ($9.99). She opted for hot & sour soup and fried rice while I ordered fried dumplings. I wasn't feeling well (tooth ache) and didn't eat but I did have several cups of hot tea.
She liked the soup and the beef but says the egg roll, shrimp toast, fried chicken wing and fried rice were mediocre.
Our total was $18 and coin; an even $22 with tip and yes, she would come back (it's a lot closer than our regular Chinese place)...
Their web site: http://mandarin-chef.com/
No. 189
Sea Rocket Bistro
We saw a feature about this place on "Hook, Line & Dinner", the Cooking Channel program. In this series, the host travels around and catches his own fish before having it prepared at a local restaurant.
See that clip here: http://vimeo.com/27467647
Sea Rocket Bistro features locally produced, sustainable ingredients and is in the former Linkery building in North Park.
I had been meaning to take the wife there for quite some time and we finally got around to it late Saturday afternoon. The wife had the Sardines a la Italiano (3 grilled sardines on a bed of Broccoli Rabe with a small cube of lardo and blistered peppers). I wasn't feeling too well and had an iced tea.
Our total was $15 and coin; make it an even $20 with tip.
She loved the sardines as well as the side of veggies and we'll definitely be back soon.
Their web site: http://www.searocketbistro.com/
We saw a feature about this place on "Hook, Line & Dinner", the Cooking Channel program. In this series, the host travels around and catches his own fish before having it prepared at a local restaurant.
See that clip here: http://vimeo.com/27467647
Sea Rocket Bistro features locally produced, sustainable ingredients and is in the former Linkery building in North Park.
I had been meaning to take the wife there for quite some time and we finally got around to it late Saturday afternoon. The wife had the Sardines a la Italiano (3 grilled sardines on a bed of Broccoli Rabe with a small cube of lardo and blistered peppers). I wasn't feeling too well and had an iced tea.
Our total was $15 and coin; make it an even $20 with tip.
She loved the sardines as well as the side of veggies and we'll definitely be back soon.
Their web site: http://www.searocketbistro.com/
No. 188
Brazen BBQ
This place has an excellent location, at the very end of 5th Avenue at Washington in Hillcrest.
And it's a beautiful building, at least on the outside, but the barn like interior could best be described as Early Chevys, with a high, open ceiling, polished concrete floors, rough wood paneling, exposed beams, brick wall and metal table tops. There are at least 100 seats, some at 2-tops, others at booths, a couple of very long picnic tables and a number of stools at the bar. There's also a lot of outdoor seating as well as a giant pass through window to the bar. Unlike a lot of modern eating places, there are only 3 large screen TVs and they are all in the bar area...
Brazen BBQ has been open for a couple of months now and we were unable to find a parking space close by until today, early Sunday morning, when we grabbed one of the disabled parking spaces in the 10 space parking lot on Washington, right around the corner.
After looking over the menu board, the Darla stepped up to the counter and ordered Bolt's Build-Your-Own-Platter which came with 2 types of meat, a couple of side orders and a square of jalapeno corn bread. She also ordered a third meat for another $3.99. If you look at their online menu, for a penny more, we could have had a third side dish...
They deliver the food on cafeteria style trays covered with a sheet of paper and set out a couple of square plastic plates for you. Each table top has a couple of types of sauce, catsup, hot sauce and a roll of paper towels. Besides Handi-Wipes at the condiment counter, there's also a sink to wash up in the middle of the dining room.
The pork ribs literally fell right off of the bone, we liked their brisket better than Phil's (we like Phil's sauce better), neither of us are chicken wing fans, the slaw was good, the smoked kernel corn medley (with red bell pepper and jalapeno, our best guess) was a fun change and the corn bread was a little too sweet. We both agreed that the meat was great and the sauce is totally unnecessary and I would like to see them add Frings (Onion rings & fries) to the menu. The soda machine still had a taste of the stuff they use to clean the lines with so I ended up with iced tea, despite the cold, rainy weather today...
Finally, the portions were pretty large and after we both ate, there was enough brisket (and 3 chicken wings) left over to have another meal at home.
Our total was $23 and coin; an even $25 after we tossed the change and a buck into the tip jar.
We didn't get to the BBQ tacos, hot link, pulled pork, catfish, stuffed pork loin, their bacon wrapped meatloaf sandwich, chili, gumbo, fries & onion rings so we have to go back again soon...
Their web site: http://www.brazenbbq.com/
UPDATE (25 Nov 2011):
For our second visit, the wife had the brisket ends sandwich, an in-house specialty order which came with a side order (their fries this time), and I had half a pound of the hot links ($6) which turned out to be 2 nicely smoked links (as compared to the full one pound order, 4 links for $11.95) and an iced tea. Our total was $17.74.
We tried to strike up some sort of deal to at least taste an onion ring but they weren't budging and at $8 a pop, neither are we...
The fries were generic, the wife loved the brisket sandwich, the hot links were very good (but not as spicy as ours) and similar to our first visit, I still smell like smoke several hours later...
This place has an excellent location, at the very end of 5th Avenue at Washington in Hillcrest.
And it's a beautiful building, at least on the outside, but the barn like interior could best be described as Early Chevys, with a high, open ceiling, polished concrete floors, rough wood paneling, exposed beams, brick wall and metal table tops. There are at least 100 seats, some at 2-tops, others at booths, a couple of very long picnic tables and a number of stools at the bar. There's also a lot of outdoor seating as well as a giant pass through window to the bar. Unlike a lot of modern eating places, there are only 3 large screen TVs and they are all in the bar area...
Brazen BBQ has been open for a couple of months now and we were unable to find a parking space close by until today, early Sunday morning, when we grabbed one of the disabled parking spaces in the 10 space parking lot on Washington, right around the corner.
After looking over the menu board, the Darla stepped up to the counter and ordered Bolt's Build-Your-Own-Platter which came with 2 types of meat, a couple of side orders and a square of jalapeno corn bread. She also ordered a third meat for another $3.99. If you look at their online menu, for a penny more, we could have had a third side dish...
They deliver the food on cafeteria style trays covered with a sheet of paper and set out a couple of square plastic plates for you. Each table top has a couple of types of sauce, catsup, hot sauce and a roll of paper towels. Besides Handi-Wipes at the condiment counter, there's also a sink to wash up in the middle of the dining room.
The pork ribs literally fell right off of the bone, we liked their brisket better than Phil's (we like Phil's sauce better), neither of us are chicken wing fans, the slaw was good, the smoked kernel corn medley (with red bell pepper and jalapeno, our best guess) was a fun change and the corn bread was a little too sweet. We both agreed that the meat was great and the sauce is totally unnecessary and I would like to see them add Frings (Onion rings & fries) to the menu. The soda machine still had a taste of the stuff they use to clean the lines with so I ended up with iced tea, despite the cold, rainy weather today...
Finally, the portions were pretty large and after we both ate, there was enough brisket (and 3 chicken wings) left over to have another meal at home.
Our total was $23 and coin; an even $25 after we tossed the change and a buck into the tip jar.
We didn't get to the BBQ tacos, hot link, pulled pork, catfish, stuffed pork loin, their bacon wrapped meatloaf sandwich, chili, gumbo, fries & onion rings so we have to go back again soon...
Their web site: http://www.brazenbbq.com/
UPDATE (25 Nov 2011):
For our second visit, the wife had the brisket ends sandwich, an in-house specialty order which came with a side order (their fries this time), and I had half a pound of the hot links ($6) which turned out to be 2 nicely smoked links (as compared to the full one pound order, 4 links for $11.95) and an iced tea. Our total was $17.74.
We tried to strike up some sort of deal to at least taste an onion ring but they weren't budging and at $8 a pop, neither are we...
The fries were generic, the wife loved the brisket sandwich, the hot links were very good (but not as spicy as ours) and similar to our first visit, I still smell like smoke several hours later...
No. 187
El Cajon Brewing Company
This place has been open for slightly over a week.
It's not finished yet (workers were using a nail gun next to our table) and it's a cavernous, loud building with glass on all 4 sides (that'll be fun next summer) and plenty of hard surfaces to exacerbate the noise problem. There's ample seating inside (maybe 200 people), with room for overflow outdoor seating.
They don't have a web site and the menu isn't online anywhere...
It's a small menu (good for them) with several different pizzas, hot dogs (Tijuana tubesteak, Chili dog & The Ultimate, a deep fried bacon wrapped dog), a number of burgers, sandwiches (meatloaf, Philadelphia Cheesesteak, Tri-Tip, pulled pork, maybe a couple more), 3 salads, fish & chips, fish tacos, zucchini sticks, O-rings, fries and maybe a dozen of their beers.
Incidentally, our waitress said the chef usually boils the hot dogs.
There may be a few more items on the menu but I apparently lost my notes from yesterday.
Incidentally, the waitress told us that they usually boil the hot dogs there...
And as I can no longer have beer (or beef, shellfish, alcohol in general, garlic, dark green leafy veggies, grapefruit, nuts, chips & sweets), we were there strictly for the food.
The wife had the fish tacos (cold fries, good slaw, excellent chipotle sauce) and I had a small pepperoni pizza (overcooked crust, undercooked cheese & sauce) and an iced tea. They could tear a page out of Pat & Oscar's playbook and switch to the Luzanne brand of iced tea and save themselves a buck or two (besides pouring a better glass of iced tea).
Our bill was $22 & coin, an even $27 with tip.
This place has been open for slightly over a week.
It's not finished yet (workers were using a nail gun next to our table) and it's a cavernous, loud building with glass on all 4 sides (that'll be fun next summer) and plenty of hard surfaces to exacerbate the noise problem. There's ample seating inside (maybe 200 people), with room for overflow outdoor seating.
They don't have a web site and the menu isn't online anywhere...
It's a small menu (good for them) with several different pizzas, hot dogs (Tijuana tubesteak, Chili dog & The Ultimate, a deep fried bacon wrapped dog), a number of burgers, sandwiches (meatloaf, Philadelphia Cheesesteak, Tri-Tip, pulled pork, maybe a couple more), 3 salads, fish & chips, fish tacos, zucchini sticks, O-rings, fries and maybe a dozen of their beers.
Incidentally, our waitress said the chef usually boils the hot dogs.
There may be a few more items on the menu but I apparently lost my notes from yesterday.
Incidentally, the waitress told us that they usually boil the hot dogs there...
And as I can no longer have beer (or beef, shellfish, alcohol in general, garlic, dark green leafy veggies, grapefruit, nuts, chips & sweets), we were there strictly for the food.
The wife had the fish tacos (cold fries, good slaw, excellent chipotle sauce) and I had a small pepperoni pizza (overcooked crust, undercooked cheese & sauce) and an iced tea. They could tear a page out of Pat & Oscar's playbook and switch to the Luzanne brand of iced tea and save themselves a buck or two (besides pouring a better glass of iced tea).
Our bill was $22 & coin, an even $27 with tip.
No. 186
Alana's Hawaiian Shave Ice
We've been driving by this place for several months now and finally stopped by today (it's warm out there, perfect weather for a shave ice).
We've had our eyes on the little kiosk in the middle of the Popeye's, Little Caesar's and former Blockbuster's parking lot for quite some time now as it'd be perfect for a double drive through weenie stand, but...
Today, we split a large banana, watermelon and pomegranite ($3) and it was just what the doctor ordered.
We were then cool enough to cruise on back to La Casa Weenie and get out of that hot sun.
See their (unfinished) web site (link below) and please let us welcome you to El Cajon; you're a great addition to the local cuisine..
http://alanashaveice.com/
We've been driving by this place for several months now and finally stopped by today (it's warm out there, perfect weather for a shave ice).
We've had our eyes on the little kiosk in the middle of the Popeye's, Little Caesar's and former Blockbuster's parking lot for quite some time now as it'd be perfect for a double drive through weenie stand, but...
Today, we split a large banana, watermelon and pomegranite ($3) and it was just what the doctor ordered.
We were then cool enough to cruise on back to La Casa Weenie and get out of that hot sun.
See their (unfinished) web site (link below) and please let us welcome you to El Cajon; you're a great addition to the local cuisine..
http://alanashaveice.com/
No. 185
Korea BBQ House
4620 Convoy Street
San Diego, Ca. 92111
The Darla has never had Korean food before (my brother Jim was stationed there in the US Army and tells us his favorite dish is Bulgogi) so we made it a point to stop by on our way home from the VA today.
It appears to be brand new and it's nicely designed with plenty of wood paneling and close to a dozen decorative overhead vents for cooking with hibachi grills right at the table.
Our first order was for the No. 1 on the lunch menu, Bulgogi (essentially marinated beef) which came with a small side salad and an interesting dressing (ginger, sesame oil and maybe rice wine vinegar?), a side order of steamed rice rice noodles, vegetable tempura and a dumpling with both beef & pork. You can see more about each dish by clicking on the link to their menu (below).
We also ordered the No.6, a hot pot with pork stew and tofu, which also came with a small bowl of steamed rice. When the food started arriving, our server also put out 8 small bowls of kim chi.
I had also ordered an iced tea (the wife doesn't drink with her meals in general) and the total (including tax) was $20 and coin so I left the change and tossed in another 3 bucks for the tip.
The wife really liked the bulgogi and plans on making it here at home soon, using my brother's recipe (secret ingredient: Coca Cola). And the hot pot was fairly spectacular, a meal in itself (even I ate several chunks of the tofu) and there were several vegetables neither of us recognized although I'm fairly certain one of them was seaweed.
The wife is somewhat divided on the various iterations of the kim chi.
There were some nice little pancakes with a deep green leafy vegetable inside that were very good but some of the others were way too spicy for me.
Would we go back?
Definitely, even though I am not supposed to eat beef, pork, shell fish, dark green leafy veggies, garlic or grapefruit...
No web site but see the menu here: http://koreahouse.menutoeat.com/
No. 184
Philly House
Parkway Mall
El Cajon, Ca
We discovered this place last week when the wife went to Penny's in the mall for some new shoes. After she picked up a couple of pairs, we wandered down to the food court for some Khan's Mongolian BBQ. I made a mental note to come back and check out the new cheesesteak place as they appeared to be doing things right when I stopped by on our way out. I saw the very thinly sliced ribeye steaks as the cook threw them on the grill and noticed the sign about hand cut, cooked-to-order fries and decided to do it sooner, rather than later. As it stands now, it's at least 10 miles from here for a decent cheesesteak and a place right here in the mall could change everything.
Unfortunately, the reality didn't live up to any of my expectations.
The meat was overcooked to the point of looking like dry, feathery, leathery grilled roast beef (and not much of it either!), the cheese was a thin, single slice of mozzarella, plastered to the inside of the bun, not mixed throughout the meat as a proper cheesesteak does it, there were way too many excessively caramelized onions (the bun was good) and the fountain Coke tasted of chlorine, the 3rd time I've encountered it this week (once at Khan's and another time at Wendy's).
My best guess is that they don't clean the lines for the soda machine thoroughly enough but it is disturbing to realize it is such a prevalent problem and also begs the question: what else hasn't been properly cleaned? When the wife took the soda back, they didn't offer to give us our money back, even after we saw another customer complain about the taste as well, instead offering me a canned Coke, which she never actually delivered (it would have been nice to have something to help choke down that dry, tasteless meat).
The fries were honest, hot and I have absolutely no complaint there.
We had split a foot long combo and the total was only $7.60 with tax. In my opinion, they ought to raise their prices significantly, maybe even a couple of bucks or so, (they do have mall rent to pay) and double the meat and (at least) double the cheese as well.
Then they'd have something...
Parkway Mall
El Cajon, Ca
We discovered this place last week when the wife went to Penny's in the mall for some new shoes. After she picked up a couple of pairs, we wandered down to the food court for some Khan's Mongolian BBQ. I made a mental note to come back and check out the new cheesesteak place as they appeared to be doing things right when I stopped by on our way out. I saw the very thinly sliced ribeye steaks as the cook threw them on the grill and noticed the sign about hand cut, cooked-to-order fries and decided to do it sooner, rather than later. As it stands now, it's at least 10 miles from here for a decent cheesesteak and a place right here in the mall could change everything.
Unfortunately, the reality didn't live up to any of my expectations.
The meat was overcooked to the point of looking like dry, feathery, leathery grilled roast beef (and not much of it either!), the cheese was a thin, single slice of mozzarella, plastered to the inside of the bun, not mixed throughout the meat as a proper cheesesteak does it, there were way too many excessively caramelized onions (the bun was good) and the fountain Coke tasted of chlorine, the 3rd time I've encountered it this week (once at Khan's and another time at Wendy's).
My best guess is that they don't clean the lines for the soda machine thoroughly enough but it is disturbing to realize it is such a prevalent problem and also begs the question: what else hasn't been properly cleaned? When the wife took the soda back, they didn't offer to give us our money back, even after we saw another customer complain about the taste as well, instead offering me a canned Coke, which she never actually delivered (it would have been nice to have something to help choke down that dry, tasteless meat).
The fries were honest, hot and I have absolutely no complaint there.
We had split a foot long combo and the total was only $7.60 with tax. In my opinion, they ought to raise their prices significantly, maybe even a couple of bucks or so, (they do have mall rent to pay) and double the meat and (at least) double the cheese as well.
Then they'd have something...
No. 183
McGonagle's Philly Cheesesteak
1231 Highland Avenue
National City, Ca.
Where their slogan is "You can't beat our meat"
Having previously eaten at every cheese steak place in the county, it was only a matter of time until we checked the new place out. It happened this morning when we had to visit Sharp Hospital in Chula Vista to pick up the medical records from when the wife got slammed in the head with that kid's booster chair at work, which may prove to be the trigger for her subsequent epilepsy.
And even though I'm not supposed to eat beef anymore, I just couldn't help myself and had the small (6") mushroom cheesesteak with white American cheese for me, small steak san for the wife, small fries and a Coke. The total was $13 and coin but I didn't hear it correctly (I thought he said $17) so I told the wife to throw the change in the tip jar.
I should probably mention that there is no on-street parking and very little in back.
They use the Amoroso bun but the meat may be pre-cooked as it didn't take the guy any time at all to fill our order and he was the only one there, doing morning set up, taking orders and answering the phone, etc. It was flavorful and definitely affordable and we'd come back should we find ourselves over that way again...
1231 Highland Avenue
National City, Ca.
Where their slogan is "You can't beat our meat"
Having previously eaten at every cheese steak place in the county, it was only a matter of time until we checked the new place out. It happened this morning when we had to visit Sharp Hospital in Chula Vista to pick up the medical records from when the wife got slammed in the head with that kid's booster chair at work, which may prove to be the trigger for her subsequent epilepsy.
And even though I'm not supposed to eat beef anymore, I just couldn't help myself and had the small (6") mushroom cheesesteak with white American cheese for me, small steak san for the wife, small fries and a Coke. The total was $13 and coin but I didn't hear it correctly (I thought he said $17) so I told the wife to throw the change in the tip jar.
I should probably mention that there is no on-street parking and very little in back.
They use the Amoroso bun but the meat may be pre-cooked as it didn't take the guy any time at all to fill our order and he was the only one there, doing morning set up, taking orders and answering the phone, etc. It was flavorful and definitely affordable and we'd come back should we find ourselves over that way again...
No. 182
Sultan Kebab & Baklava
131 Jamacha Road
El Cajon, Ca.
619-440-1901
http://www.sultanbaklava.com/
Hours: 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. daily
We've driven right by this place at least a couple of times a week for the past year but never managed to stop until we saw a review in the Union Trib...
As I can't eat most everything because of my health, The Darla did the honors today. She ordered the Adana Kebab; essentially a spiced beef kebab platter with rice, salad, yogurt and a gigantic sheet of flat bread.
It's named after Adana, a town in south central Turkey (I lived near Izmir, on Turkey's west coast, with weather very similar to San Diego).
For dessert, she had pistachio and walnut baklava and something resembling deep fried honey (the guy behind the counter spoke little English so we're not really sure what to call it). All of the desserts were exceedingly sweet, as was the always free Turkish tea (imagine 2 sugar cubes in a tiny little 2 ounce cup of tea and you get the idea)...
The meal was $10, $3 more for the desserts plus tax; for a grand total of $18 after the $3 plus tip.
Everything was good, portions were more than generous (The Darla made an omelet from the leftovers the next morning), the place was clean, staff was attentive to the customer and they have one heck of a bakery case...
I only had a brief opportunity to speak with a member of the family who tells us they came from Ankara approximately 4 years ago.
A note about the importance of tea in Turkey: it's THE social lubricant, especially since alcohol is frowned upon* and it's virtually impossible to escape as there are young boys with brass trays of hot tea everywhere, summonable by a snap of the fingers at hundreds of local shops throughout the city. They magically appear with their trays, small gold-rimmed glass tea cups, small spoons and a pyramid of sugar cubes.
*My dad bought a brand new 64 Chevy (green with a white top, 4 doors and inline 6 cylinder engine) to sell when we got to Turkey as new American cars went for a serious premium at the time and generally became taxi cabs for the rest of their lives.
After liberally plying the buyer with a couple of bottles of Chivas Regal, they arrived at a price ($6000 for a car my dad had paid $2300 cash for in Southern Illinois, then drove around for another year there in Turkey). The new owner would then pay another $6500 in taxes to the Turkish government and have the car stripped down to the frame, which they would then strengthen and put back together before it ever saw duty on the streets of Izmir.
When it was time to leave, my dad asked if he could get them a cab home and the new owner said "Don't worry, the car knows the way..."
131 Jamacha Road
El Cajon, Ca.
619-440-1901
http://www.sultanbaklava.com/
Hours: 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. daily
We've driven right by this place at least a couple of times a week for the past year but never managed to stop until we saw a review in the Union Trib...
As I can't eat most everything because of my health, The Darla did the honors today. She ordered the Adana Kebab; essentially a spiced beef kebab platter with rice, salad, yogurt and a gigantic sheet of flat bread.
It's named after Adana, a town in south central Turkey (I lived near Izmir, on Turkey's west coast, with weather very similar to San Diego).
For dessert, she had pistachio and walnut baklava and something resembling deep fried honey (the guy behind the counter spoke little English so we're not really sure what to call it). All of the desserts were exceedingly sweet, as was the always free Turkish tea (imagine 2 sugar cubes in a tiny little 2 ounce cup of tea and you get the idea)...
The meal was $10, $3 more for the desserts plus tax; for a grand total of $18 after the $3 plus tip.
Everything was good, portions were more than generous (The Darla made an omelet from the leftovers the next morning), the place was clean, staff was attentive to the customer and they have one heck of a bakery case...
I only had a brief opportunity to speak with a member of the family who tells us they came from Ankara approximately 4 years ago.
A note about the importance of tea in Turkey: it's THE social lubricant, especially since alcohol is frowned upon* and it's virtually impossible to escape as there are young boys with brass trays of hot tea everywhere, summonable by a snap of the fingers at hundreds of local shops throughout the city. They magically appear with their trays, small gold-rimmed glass tea cups, small spoons and a pyramid of sugar cubes.
*My dad bought a brand new 64 Chevy (green with a white top, 4 doors and inline 6 cylinder engine) to sell when we got to Turkey as new American cars went for a serious premium at the time and generally became taxi cabs for the rest of their lives.
After liberally plying the buyer with a couple of bottles of Chivas Regal, they arrived at a price ($6000 for a car my dad had paid $2300 cash for in Southern Illinois, then drove around for another year there in Turkey). The new owner would then pay another $6500 in taxes to the Turkish government and have the car stripped down to the frame, which they would then strengthen and put back together before it ever saw duty on the streets of Izmir.
When it was time to leave, my dad asked if he could get them a cab home and the new owner said "Don't worry, the car knows the way..."
No. 181
Barnes BBQ
Lemon Grove
It took us 3 trips to Lemon Grove until we finally got a chance to check this place out (they used to open later but it's 11:00 AM now).
We split the 2 Meats Plate (pork ribs and beef brisket) which comes with 2 side dishes (we ordered the beans and cole slaw) for $11.99 plus a Coke for for almost $15 including tax. We had forgotten to specify "sauce on the side" as they are known for their hickory smoke so it was all covered with a pretty fair sauce (a little too sweet for me, but...). We could taste the smoke in the brisket but not on the ribs.
Their beans supposedly get a fair shot of smoke as well but they were way, way too sweet for me.
In order to be fair, we will visit them again soon and this time, we'll remember to ask them for our sauce on the side.
Lemon Grove
It took us 3 trips to Lemon Grove until we finally got a chance to check this place out (they used to open later but it's 11:00 AM now).
We split the 2 Meats Plate (pork ribs and beef brisket) which comes with 2 side dishes (we ordered the beans and cole slaw) for $11.99 plus a Coke for for almost $15 including tax. We had forgotten to specify "sauce on the side" as they are known for their hickory smoke so it was all covered with a pretty fair sauce (a little too sweet for me, but...). We could taste the smoke in the brisket but not on the ribs.
Their beans supposedly get a fair shot of smoke as well but they were way, way too sweet for me.
In order to be fair, we will visit them again soon and this time, we'll remember to ask them for our sauce on the side.
No. 180
Pho SuperBowl in El Cajon
This place has been open for 3 weeks now and we stopped by this morning to check it out.
As I can't have a lot of things, I wasn't able to do the tasting today so we'll depend on the wife for that. She ordered the Beef & Shrimp Pho with a small green apple tea on the side.
The owner is a personable young guy and as we were the first customers in the door (10:30 AM on an overcast Sunday morning), we got to talk to him before he got too busy. The place was immaculate inside, something pretty rare around here nowadays...
They are also a grill but we didn't get a chance to check that out this visit (they also sell Ban Mi sandwiches, which is why we stopped by). The owner also gave the wife a small taste of Boba, a drink with bits of tapioca floating around in it, served ice cold and she liked that as well.
The wife loved the soup and says the green apple tea is wonderful as well and we'll be back soon. Our bill was $9 for enough to have fed both of us extremely well.
No web site.
After we left there, I drove across the street to Jack In The Box to check out their latest, a Bourbon BBQ Steak Grilled Sandwich (their description: Tender steak, melting American cheese, grilled onions and bourbon BBQ sauce on grilled artisan bread). I took 2 bites and tossed it into the trash (way too sweet)...
UPDATE (5 June 2011):
We stopped by with The Boy today for our second visit (there's another location right around the corner from where he and Stacy live in La Mesa).
This visit, the wife had the Orange Chicken, The Boy had the char-grilled Beef Soup, we split an order of Egg Rolls and a Green Apple (iced) Tea. Both agreed they'll come back again and Minh, one of the owners, gave The Boy the address for the La Mesa location.
Service and the food were both excellent again, the total was $24 and coin; make it an even $30 with tip...
This place has been open for 3 weeks now and we stopped by this morning to check it out.
As I can't have a lot of things, I wasn't able to do the tasting today so we'll depend on the wife for that. She ordered the Beef & Shrimp Pho with a small green apple tea on the side.
The owner is a personable young guy and as we were the first customers in the door (10:30 AM on an overcast Sunday morning), we got to talk to him before he got too busy. The place was immaculate inside, something pretty rare around here nowadays...
They are also a grill but we didn't get a chance to check that out this visit (they also sell Ban Mi sandwiches, which is why we stopped by). The owner also gave the wife a small taste of Boba, a drink with bits of tapioca floating around in it, served ice cold and she liked that as well.
The wife loved the soup and says the green apple tea is wonderful as well and we'll be back soon. Our bill was $9 for enough to have fed both of us extremely well.
No web site.
After we left there, I drove across the street to Jack In The Box to check out their latest, a Bourbon BBQ Steak Grilled Sandwich (their description: Tender steak, melting American cheese, grilled onions and bourbon BBQ sauce on grilled artisan bread). I took 2 bites and tossed it into the trash (way too sweet)...
UPDATE (5 June 2011):
We stopped by with The Boy today for our second visit (there's another location right around the corner from where he and Stacy live in La Mesa).
This visit, the wife had the Orange Chicken, The Boy had the char-grilled Beef Soup, we split an order of Egg Rolls and a Green Apple (iced) Tea. Both agreed they'll come back again and Minh, one of the owners, gave The Boy the address for the La Mesa location.
Service and the food were both excellent again, the total was $24 and coin; make it an even $30 with tip...
No. 179
Jersey Mike's Subs
This is a franchise operation which started out in New Jersey in 1956 and now has over 500 outlets coast to coast
We'd been meaning to check this place out for several months now and finally made it on the way back from visiting the VA in La Jolla today.
As the area had been wiped out by the recent flooding, I called ahead to make sure they were open.
We both had the Origianl Italian with provolone, ham, prosciuttini, cappacuolo, salami and pepperoni
The standard fixin's (Mike's Way) include most of the usual stuff (shredded lettuce, tomato, onions, spices, and red wine vinegar) and the wife asked for several different peppers on her 4 inch "Mini" (I had the 7.5 inch regular).
With a soda, the total was just over $14.
The place was nicely laid out and clean and the people we dealt with were pleasant but we have a glut of sandwich shops here and hope they make the cut (we recently lost several Submarina locations)...
Their web site: http://www.jerseymikes.com/
This is a franchise operation which started out in New Jersey in 1956 and now has over 500 outlets coast to coast
We'd been meaning to check this place out for several months now and finally made it on the way back from visiting the VA in La Jolla today.
As the area had been wiped out by the recent flooding, I called ahead to make sure they were open.
We both had the Origianl Italian with provolone, ham, prosciuttini, cappacuolo, salami and pepperoni
The standard fixin's (Mike's Way) include most of the usual stuff (shredded lettuce, tomato, onions, spices, and red wine vinegar) and the wife asked for several different peppers on her 4 inch "Mini" (I had the 7.5 inch regular).
With a soda, the total was just over $14.
The place was nicely laid out and clean and the people we dealt with were pleasant but we have a glut of sandwich shops here and hope they make the cut (we recently lost several Submarina locations)...
Their web site: http://www.jerseymikes.com/
NO. 178
FIVE GUYS BURGERS & FRIES
The Darla and I made it out to Liberty Station (formely Naval Training Center San Diego - where I went to Teletype Repair School a lifetime ago) for lunch after a business meeting downtown yesterday.
As I'm now officially a gimp, it wasn't easy for me to get to the place (I had to park across the street and crawled over a low fence rather than walk around the long way).
It's fairly industrial looking inside, with 50 pound bags of potatoes, bags of peanuts in the shell (free while you wait for your order to come up) and boxes of peanut oil acting as room dividers, the large, open kitchen, the red & white tile treatment on the walls and counters (In & Out style) and how they alternate the color scheme of the hanging overhead light fixtures to match the checkerboard tile work.
We ordered 2 small burgers (the LBC - Little Bacon Cheeseburger - mushrooms, lettuce, tomato and mayo with Swiss cheese for me, everything on the wife's LHB - Little Hamburger), a small order of fries, their skinless hot dog and a Coke. By everything, they mean mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickles, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, mustard & ketchup. Additional (free) toppings include relish, onions, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, A-1 sauce, BBQ sauce and hot sauce.
Burgers come in 2 sizes only, the only toppings for the hot dogs are cheese and bacon, fries are either regular or Cajun, small or large and there's also a grilled cheese and a veggie sammie on the extremely short menu (as it should be). They use the Coke product line (also a point in their favor) and sell bottled water (no shakes, coffee, etc).
Even the small burgers were large but when our order came up, they forgot the bacon part...
And they advertise that their meat is never frozen and there are no freezers in the place but the patty was almost flavorless and appeared to be a generic Angus burger.
The bun was only so so and with the mayo and other condiments, it was a sloppy, gloopy mess (I hated the stiff, taste free sliced tomatoes and the lettuce needed to be properly manicured).
The hot dog had good flavor (butterflied and grilled) and the bun was also grilled but it was way too much dense bread.
The fries were the high point, home made, awesome and huge!
They routinely fill the cup, put it in the bag with the rest of your order then dump another scoop on top of that.
My brother Jim in Cleveland Heights, Ohio (there's a location there too) warned us about making the rookie mistake: order a small, single order of fries which is more than enough for 2 people.
We spent $18.00 exactly and although the chain is supposedly the fastest growing company in the field (600 new locations last year), we really couldn't see the attraction despite the quotes on the wall (Zagat Survey, Boston Globe Magazine, GQ and other smaller publications such as Time Out New York, Colorado Springs Gazzette, GO Magazine, Gulfshore Life, etc )...
We will visit it again, at least once more, to be fair and to be sure we had an accurate sampling...
Their web site: http://www.fiveguys.com/
The Darla and I made it out to Liberty Station (formely Naval Training Center San Diego - where I went to Teletype Repair School a lifetime ago) for lunch after a business meeting downtown yesterday.
As I'm now officially a gimp, it wasn't easy for me to get to the place (I had to park across the street and crawled over a low fence rather than walk around the long way).
It's fairly industrial looking inside, with 50 pound bags of potatoes, bags of peanuts in the shell (free while you wait for your order to come up) and boxes of peanut oil acting as room dividers, the large, open kitchen, the red & white tile treatment on the walls and counters (In & Out style) and how they alternate the color scheme of the hanging overhead light fixtures to match the checkerboard tile work.
We ordered 2 small burgers (the LBC - Little Bacon Cheeseburger - mushrooms, lettuce, tomato and mayo with Swiss cheese for me, everything on the wife's LHB - Little Hamburger), a small order of fries, their skinless hot dog and a Coke. By everything, they mean mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickles, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, mustard & ketchup. Additional (free) toppings include relish, onions, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, A-1 sauce, BBQ sauce and hot sauce.
Burgers come in 2 sizes only, the only toppings for the hot dogs are cheese and bacon, fries are either regular or Cajun, small or large and there's also a grilled cheese and a veggie sammie on the extremely short menu (as it should be). They use the Coke product line (also a point in their favor) and sell bottled water (no shakes, coffee, etc).
Even the small burgers were large but when our order came up, they forgot the bacon part...
And they advertise that their meat is never frozen and there are no freezers in the place but the patty was almost flavorless and appeared to be a generic Angus burger.
The bun was only so so and with the mayo and other condiments, it was a sloppy, gloopy mess (I hated the stiff, taste free sliced tomatoes and the lettuce needed to be properly manicured).
The hot dog had good flavor (butterflied and grilled) and the bun was also grilled but it was way too much dense bread.
The fries were the high point, home made, awesome and huge!
They routinely fill the cup, put it in the bag with the rest of your order then dump another scoop on top of that.
My brother Jim in Cleveland Heights, Ohio (there's a location there too) warned us about making the rookie mistake: order a small, single order of fries which is more than enough for 2 people.
We spent $18.00 exactly and although the chain is supposedly the fastest growing company in the field (600 new locations last year), we really couldn't see the attraction despite the quotes on the wall (Zagat Survey, Boston Globe Magazine, GQ and other smaller publications such as Time Out New York, Colorado Springs Gazzette, GO Magazine, Gulfshore Life, etc )...
We will visit it again, at least once more, to be fair and to be sure we had an accurate sampling...
Their web site: http://www.fiveguys.com/
No. 177
Okawa Steak House & Sushi
This is where Trattoria Di IV (Italian Fusion) used to be in Santee.
It doesn't open until 11:30 AM so the wife and I had a spare 15 minutes to look over the menu before they were ready.
I didn't have any of the Western Rolls (cooked shrimp, avocado & cucmber & sushi rice with pickled ginger and wasabi) but the wife made short work of that ($6.50).
And although I'm not supposed to have beef and shrimp, my cravings got the better of me and we split an order of the Tempura Shrimp & Veggies (2 large shrimp, yams, squash & sweet potato - $6.00).
We also split the Hibachi Samurai Steak from the lunch menu (steak, grilled vegetables, rice, salad, miso soup - $10.95). The veggies were grilled baby corn, onions, mushrooms, zucchini & carrots and were spinkled with sesame seeds. Even though the steak portion was fairly small, it was very flavorful and perfectly done and because of my condition, I didn't have more than about a third of it.
The wife also had hot tea but their iced tea had that artificial berry flavoring in it so I waited until I got home for a bottle of water.
Our total was $26.35; make it an even $30 with tip.
We both agreed we'd go back again, despite the iced tea...
This is where Trattoria Di IV (Italian Fusion) used to be in Santee.
It doesn't open until 11:30 AM so the wife and I had a spare 15 minutes to look over the menu before they were ready.
I didn't have any of the Western Rolls (cooked shrimp, avocado & cucmber & sushi rice with pickled ginger and wasabi) but the wife made short work of that ($6.50).
And although I'm not supposed to have beef and shrimp, my cravings got the better of me and we split an order of the Tempura Shrimp & Veggies (2 large shrimp, yams, squash & sweet potato - $6.00).
We also split the Hibachi Samurai Steak from the lunch menu (steak, grilled vegetables, rice, salad, miso soup - $10.95). The veggies were grilled baby corn, onions, mushrooms, zucchini & carrots and were spinkled with sesame seeds. Even though the steak portion was fairly small, it was very flavorful and perfectly done and because of my condition, I didn't have more than about a third of it.
The wife also had hot tea but their iced tea had that artificial berry flavoring in it so I waited until I got home for a bottle of water.
Our total was $26.35; make it an even $30 with tip.
We both agreed we'd go back again, despite the iced tea...
No. 176
Smashburger in La Jolla
We stopped by right in the middle of the lunch rush and it was crowded (locals and tourists). The decor is modern commercial, there's seating for maybe 50 people (mainly booths with a small counter and several small tables out front), parking is very hard to find, it's claustrophobic in there when it's busy and I imagine the rent is a bear in the heart of downtown La Jolla...
After finally getting a booth, the food arrived fairly soon despite the crowd and everything was hot and well done, no complaints there.
The wife had their third pound Spicy Baja Burger which comes with pepper jack cheese, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, onion, chipotle mayo and fresh jalapenoes on a chipotle bun (hold the cheese, please), I had the third pound Mushroom Swiss Burger (mushrooms, Swiss with mayo on their egg bun), we split an order of fries and I had a Coke. The total was $16.70.
The buns were both good, as were the condiments on both burgers and although it's an Angus beef patty, I had a hard time distinguishing the flavor (it's sort of like Burger Lounge's grass fed beef)...
The fries are similar to Mickey D's but are served in a wire basket, as are the burgers.
And taking a page from my brother Jim's book, I asked for my Coke in a frosted mug.
The wife really liked her burger but also realizes there's nothing there she couldn't also do at home and I'd go back, if I were already over that way and it wasn't during the lunch hour rush or tourist season.
Their web site: http://www.smashburger.com/
We stopped by right in the middle of the lunch rush and it was crowded (locals and tourists). The decor is modern commercial, there's seating for maybe 50 people (mainly booths with a small counter and several small tables out front), parking is very hard to find, it's claustrophobic in there when it's busy and I imagine the rent is a bear in the heart of downtown La Jolla...
After finally getting a booth, the food arrived fairly soon despite the crowd and everything was hot and well done, no complaints there.
The wife had their third pound Spicy Baja Burger which comes with pepper jack cheese, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, onion, chipotle mayo and fresh jalapenoes on a chipotle bun (hold the cheese, please), I had the third pound Mushroom Swiss Burger (mushrooms, Swiss with mayo on their egg bun), we split an order of fries and I had a Coke. The total was $16.70.
The buns were both good, as were the condiments on both burgers and although it's an Angus beef patty, I had a hard time distinguishing the flavor (it's sort of like Burger Lounge's grass fed beef)...
The fries are similar to Mickey D's but are served in a wire basket, as are the burgers.
And taking a page from my brother Jim's book, I asked for my Coke in a frosted mug.
The wife really liked her burger but also realizes there's nothing there she couldn't also do at home and I'd go back, if I were already over that way and it wasn't during the lunch hour rush or tourist season.
Their web site: http://www.smashburger.com/
No. 175
Schlotzsky's Deli
Grossmont Center
La Mesa, Ca.
I had The Original (smoked ham, Genoa and cotto salami, melted Cheddar, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, black olives, red onions, lettuce, tomato, mustard and their special sauce on a toasted sourdough bun) and with their chips & soda, the combo was for $6.49 plus tax. I was visiting the wife in Grossmont Hospital (right across the street).
I thought I'd eaten at the Sacramento location maybe 15 years ago...
I don't particulary care for their bun (deli doesn't belong on a bun), there was too much finely shredded lettuce and the tomato ends were disgusting.
They also serve pizza, pannini, wraps, soup, salad and a couple of desserts (cookies, carrot cake)
Their web site: http://www.schlotskys.com/
Grossmont Center
La Mesa, Ca.
I had The Original (smoked ham, Genoa and cotto salami, melted Cheddar, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, black olives, red onions, lettuce, tomato, mustard and their special sauce on a toasted sourdough bun) and with their chips & soda, the combo was for $6.49 plus tax. I was visiting the wife in Grossmont Hospital (right across the street).
I thought I'd eaten at the Sacramento location maybe 15 years ago...
I don't particulary care for their bun (deli doesn't belong on a bun), there was too much finely shredded lettuce and the tomato ends were disgusting.
They also serve pizza, pannini, wraps, soup, salad and a couple of desserts (cookies, carrot cake)
Their web site: http://www.schlotskys.com/
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