No. 222

Jones Brothers BBQ

 

We recently discovered this place while driving around our new neighborhood, checking things out.

 

They specialize in Mississippi style (sweet) BBQ and we ordered a brisket sandwich and a tri-tip sandwich, sauce on the side (it's also printed on the ticket), slaw and fries. I also ordered a couple of cans of Coke. Our total was $20 including a buck and change tip.

 

We were offered several different sauces and had the mild and a slightly spicier one.

 

The tri-tip was served on white bread, the brisket came on a bun and they drowned both in sauce  .

 

We weren't overly impressed with anything (they may have given us a pulled pork sandwich instead of brisket, the slaw was mediocre) and we have to confess that Phil's is still our go-to guy.

 

Their web site: http://www.jonesbrothersbbq.com

No. 221

Panda Express

 

While synthesizing our first ten years of food here in another article I'm putting together, I realized I had never been to a Panda Express and we visited one last evening. It isn't far from here (in a small strip mall in El Cajon, where Krispy Kreme used to be) and we checked out the menu online. We knew exactly what we wanted and cruised on over for an early dinner.

Unfortunately, what you see online is a far cry from the partially stocked, already congealed, humble steam table offerings they deliver. It was easily the worst attempted Chinese food I've ever had, with soggy Orange Chicken, which is usually twice fried and crispy. And they said it'd be a 10 or 15 minute wait until they could knock out another batch of their current special (Samurai Surf & Turf) as it would have to be defrosted first. The vegetables were just that, possibly a defrosted melange a la Birdseye and the spring rolls were so much mush, no texture and room temperature as well.

It's not that they don't have the personnel to do it right as I counted half a dozen people standing around behind the line, mainly stirring the stuff from the half empty steam table.

We'll never go back, of course, and our total for the 3 Way meal with iced tea was $11 and coin.

The web site: http://www.pandaexpress.com/

No. 220

Cowboy Star

It only took us 5 years to get there...

It's downtown (near the corner of 10th & Market) so we hit the rush hour traffic, which wasn't too bad.

We had to park around the corner, half a block away and hoof it in, probably the farthest I've walked in several years....

And it's not as large as I'd thought, with seating for 20 or so in the bar, maybe that much more out front (sidewalk seating) and several times that in the dining room. There's also a small butcher shop at the front (with separate entrance) and western theme decor (the sound system played Asleep at the Wheel, Bob Wills, etc).

Our server was Brie and the wife ordered the $12.80 Ed Bedford Happy Hour Special, "steak and frites” (an 8-ounce steak in a red Bordelaise sauce with “hand-cut” fries). BTW, Ed Bedford writes for The Reader and his review several months ago finally prompted us to make it over there...

We got there a couple of minutes too late for their burger (lunch only) so I had the Charcuterie plate ("a daily selection of cured meats served with whole grain mustard and house pickled vegetables"), which is  normally $16 but as it was Happy Hour, it was 20% less. The plate featured duck confit, 2 types of prosciutto, the hardest crostini either of us ever had (you could break a tooth), guanciale*, a couple of rounds of a very hard salami, miniature gherkins, and a nice, coarse ground mustard. I also had a very stout iced tea (a few of the places we eat at have tea so weak that it looks like a glass of ice water and this was refreshingly strong for a change).

To paraphrase comedian Kevin Nealon's ("SNL", "Weeds", etc) recent Netflix special, we were "whelmed, but not overly"...

Our total was just over $28, make it an even $35 with tip.

Their web site: http://www.thecowboystar.com

*Guanciale is most often an unsmoked Italian bacon prepared with pig's jowl or cheeks. Its name is derived from guancia, Italian for cheek. Guanciale is similar to the jowl bacon of the United States. Pork cheek is rubbed with salt, sugar, and spices (typically ground black pepper or red pepper and thyme or fennel and sometimes garlic) and cured for three weeks. Its' flavor is stronger than other pork products, such as pancetta, and its texture is more delicate.Guanciale is traditionally used in dishes like spaghetti alla carbonara. It is a delicacy of central Italy, particularly Umbria and Lazio.

No. 219

Joe's Crab Shack

We've eaten at Joe's a couple of times, when we first moved here. We didn't write about it then as we hadn't yet discovered blogging...

I've been meaning to get over there again for several months now, in order to check out their steampots, specifically the Corona Beach Bake which has two small lobsters, half a dozen fair sized shrimp, clams, sausage, potatoes and an ear of corn on the cob. I'm not supposed to have shell fish (and a whole lot of other things) so this was mainly for the wife's benefit.

She's not a fan of crab and this is the only steampot they have without it.

It's not cheap ($42.95) and we were disappointed all across the board, with the food (cold, tasteless & chewy), service and more specifically, with the food handling practices or almost total lack thereof.

We saw numerous health code violations (I quit counting after 5) and were thoroughly disgusted by the time we left. I won't go into it here but we'll never go back.

And I'm thankful that we didn't get sick as the wife has been food poisoned twice since we moved here, once at the Fish Market and again at Brigantine. These instances were several years apart as it makes you "gun shy" after the first time and in both cases, it was from the cioppino...

No. 218

Slater's 50 / 50

NOTE: This entry is out of order (we actually did this several months ago). I had intended to visit a second time but never got around to it.

We just got back from Slater's 50 / 50 in Liberty Station (formerly Naval Training Center San Diego).

That's the place whose specialty is burgers made with 50% bacon mixed right in with the ground beef.

This time, we got there just as they opened but it wasn't planned that way and I didn't have my camera with me.

It was probably just as well as it didn't go well. I passed on the 50 / 50 burger (with Bacon Pretzel bun) as the bacon inside doesn't cook long enough to change color (I'm just not eating it).

And as it was, they delivered my well done burger still pink in the middle so I ended up grabbing a McDouble at the drive thru on the way home.

The wife did enjoy her third pound burger, rating the meat possibly higher than Smashburger but the bun was too chewy for her (bad teeth).

Fries are a la cart there and they delivered ours to the table almost immediately, without bothering to ask if we wanted them separately or with our burgers.

Predictably, the 20 minute rule kicked in and we weren't really all that hungry by the time the burgers arrived (I do mean a real 20 minutes), especially fortunate for me as it'd be almost an hour by the time we made it back here.

We ordered the fries well done and they were perfect but generic, frozen pre cut potatoes. The fries were presented with bacon catsup (couldn't taste it) and the wife's burger had bacon on it, which she removed.

Management removed the untouched 50 / 50 burger from the bill and it was still $18 and coin for a third pound burger, small fries ($4.75!) and an iced tea...

I should also mention the 150 draft beers on tap (a wall o' taps) and at least 21 large, flat screen TVs ($20K worth of TV, maybe more) all around the walls, anywhere you look. I should also mention the 7 or 8 different games, etc they were tuned to...

We were out taking care of a little business when we realized we were close to Slater's and decided to check it out, without the camera. We had wanted to photograph the giant bronze burger sculpture in the patio and the place also has a lot of food stuff (posters, etc) on the walls, nothing spectacular.

The web site: https://slaters5050.com/locations/san-diego/

No. 217

Luna Grill - The Ultimate Kabobery

As the wife is lactose intolerant, she couldn't share in my pizza (see No. 216) so we checked out the Luna Grill, right across the street from Project Pie.

I can't remember us ever doing two tastings in one day...


Luna Grill is a chain with 8 locations, most of them here in this county but one in Orange County as well.

The menu is largely Mediterranean fare and the wife had the Gyro plate (80% beef, 20% lamb) with a salad, rice and pita bread and the total was just over $10 plus another buck tip.


The place is stylishly appointed, with 46 seats inside, more on the sidewalk on both sides (it's a corner lot).

I should point out that each and every one of the booths was too small for me and that's after losing over 60 lbs...

And the metal chairs at the handful of tables were no better and my back is a mess today.


Would she go back again?

Yes, but only if she's already in the neighborhood (for an appointment at UCSD, a mile away, for instance) as it's almost 20 miles from here.


Their web site: http://www.lunagrill.com/

No. 216

Project Pie

Everyday Artisan Pizza Custom Built By You

I heard about this place several months ago but never seemed to make it over to Hillcrest to check it out. Yesterday, the wife couldn't decide where she wanted to eat so we headed out that way, looking...


Fans of "Seinfeld" will remember Cosmo Kramer's "dream", a make your own pizza place and this is about as close to reality that the concept will ever get.

To start with, it's one-size-only (12 inches) and you tell each person behind the counter what you want on your pie. The first guy does the dough and adds sauce, then the fetching cheese wench is next in line and she hits your pie with the cheese; next comes an assortment of toppings (in my case, it was pepperoni only) then you pay while they stuff your pie into a very hot pizza oven.

Mine was a very reasonable $8.10 plus we threw a buck into the tip jar.

The pizza is out of the oven very quickly (I barely had enough time to grab a few napkins and a plastic fork) - Note: the plastic knives and forks really don't cut it...


And I have a problem with the fact that the only thing to drink comes out of the soda machine.

Some of us never bothered to acquire a taste for line cleaner, which seems to be in every soda machine in the world now and some of us can't have sugary drinks either (guys, add some bottled water or iced tea, and not the pre-sweetened garbage or that passion fruit flavored junk).

I realize that's not a big complaint but they could have "upsold" me a buck or two if they had anything I could actually drink.

As it was, I sent the wife next door to Subway but all they had was a soda machine as well...


Decor can best be described as industrial warehouse chic (early Chevys) with roll up garage doors on the University Avenue side and parking is extremely tight.


I'd go back in a second (it's the best pizza I've had here, with a perfect crust, good sauce and first rate toppings) but it's too far to do frequently.\

The Web site: http://www.projectpie.com/

No. 215

Samichez

This is a small (5 seats) sandwich shop in Grossmont Center, behind the Food Court (kind of hard to find).

Randy Davis discovered it recently and took us to lunch yesterday. The sandwiches are large and reasonably priced and there's more seating on the patio and in the Food Court.

Randy had the No.19 (the Carnegie - On Rye and Stacks of Pastrami) on his first visit so he tried something different yesterday, no. 2, the NCPP (North Carolina Pulled Pork), with a side of fries and a cane sugar root beer. The wife had the No. 20, the Rocky which is essentially a pepper steak and I had half of a No. 18, the Muffuletta (apparently also a recognized spelling), the Halfaletta? with a Coke. The mandatory olive salad topping the muffaletta was so similar to ours that I couldn't tell the difference...

The wife had to pull the cheese off of her sandwich (she's lactose intolerant) despite clearly telling the woman at the counter "no cheese". And the bread was kind of stale on my sandwich but could have been easily overlooked if they had dressed it with a bit more olive oil or prepared the sandwich in advance, then weighted it down for at least a few hours, the way it's supposed to be done.

The sodas were all very reasonably priced at $1 and they are in the process of adding free iced tea and coffee to the menu.

Randy spent a total of $34 and coin for all 3 of our meals

Finally, there are several other sandwiches we plan to try in the near future; the No. 1, their Cuban, the No. 9 - Po'Boy - On French Bread, Beer Battered Fried Shrimp, Lettuce, Tomato, Chipotle Mayo Sauce - and the No.17 - The Chicago - On Italian Loaf, Slow Roasted Top Sirloin, Warm Giardiniera, Sauteed Greeen Bell Peppers...

Their web site: http://therealsamichez.com/

No 214

Grab-N-Go Subs

We tried stopping by their Mission Gorge location about a week ago but they were closed (it was a Sunday) but they were open today (Saturday) so we checked them out this morning, before we get the 100 degree heat they're threatening us with today, over here in East County.

They're a local chain with close to a dozen locations.

I had the Italian and the wife had the pastrami.

I also had a Coke in a plastic bottle and our total was $15 and coin.

They make their own bread in-house (not bad!) and the tomatoes were surprisingly good looking, good texture but not much taste. The wife says the pastrami is as good as most of what she's had here locally (Antonelli's Deli, Togo's, DZ Aikins and Gaglione Brothers).

They also had a great Coke recycler (you throw your empties in it) which resembles a large bottle of Coke but the woman behind the counter wouldn't sell it to us for my brother's Coke collection.

Overall, I'd rate them higher than Submarina, Quizno's and Subway and very close to Togo's...

Their web site: http://www.grabngo.com/

No. 213

Red Moon Noodle House
(Welcome to our unique blend of Chinese - Japanese Cuisine)

Red Moon is a small (31 seats by my count) noodle shop on Convoy, the local Chinese Restaurant Row (right next to Tofu House). It's clean, neat and the owner said they've been open for approximately 6 months now.

We discovered it while driving down Convoy looking for something new to eat and with a name like that, it was a natural...

We ordered the Red Moon Beef (slices of crispy beef sautéed with tangerine peel in the chef's special sauce), the Assorted Soup Noodles, a couple of vegetarian Egg Rolls and a pot of tea. The food arrived with a small bowl of rice but he must have missed our egg rolls as they never made it to the table. The Red Moon Beef is at least twice cooked (maybe more) and was indistinguishable from Dynasty's (in Suisun) Twice Cooked Beef. The noodles were plentiful (like spaghetti) and had a number of fair sized shrimp, beef, chicken, egg, large mushrooms, baby corn, snow peas, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots.

Our total was $17 and coin, make it an even $21 with tip.

The web site (coming soon): www.redmoonnoodlehouse.com

No. 212

Hooters
Mission Valley

The first thing you notice is the odor of old, burned cooking oil (that, and the music is too loud). There's a lot of wood in the room, with contrasting orange & white decor to match the girl's uniforms.

And there were so many flat screen TV's we couldn't count them all (well over 20), some of them huge, maybe 80 inches or larger and they were tuned to at least 8 different programs.

Additionally, there was an overabundance of spectacularly prominent mammalian protuberances as the late, great Frank Zappa would say. We counted 4 girls on the floor when we got there (11:00 AM) but double that by the time we left.

We ordered the fish (cod) & chips for the wife, chili & iced tea for me; the chili had beans in it and both were barely above room temperature. The drink glasses and plates were all plastic. Our total was $21 plus coin, make it an even $25 with tip. I should also mention that the check had tip suggestions printed on it for 15%, 18% and 20% based on your purchase.

Overall, it was overpriced, generic food and we'll very likely never go back.

The company web site: http://www.hooters.com

No. 211

Woodstock Pizza

They have 2 locations, one in OB and the other in the college area (Canpus Plaza at El Cajon Blvd)

According to the City Beat reader's poll, they have the best pizza in town so we decided to check it out.

The interior is just like any other college pizza joint with red bricks and wood paneling covered in initials, carvings, etchings, etc.

The menu is very tight, with pizza, salads and a few other dishes.

I asked for a small pizza but the guy gave me the personal pizza instead and the wife had a side salad (she's lactose intolerant so she can't have pizza).

I also had an iced tea and the total was $14 and coin, make it an even $16 with $1 plus the spare coin tip.

The pizza had good dough, sauce, cheese, mediocre (salty) pepperoni, poor proportions (too much crust) and I'll go back for a second visit to have the small pizza I wanted.

Their web site: http://www.woodstockssd.com

Update: It's a fair pizza but nowhere near the best I've ever had.

Would we go back?

Yes, if we're in the area...

No. 210

Brody's Burgers & Beer
12930 Campo Road
Jamul, CA. 91935

We read about this place in The San Diego Reader and decided to drop by for a leisurely Sunday morning lunch.

The menu is very basic, burgers, fries, etc and I have to commend them for such a tight menu. They also have a chicken sandwich, grilled cheese, several types of fries, milk shakes and a nice selection of local beers as well (too bad I can't have one)...

Their beef is sourced locally ("...ground daily and supplied by Valley Farms Market" ), their buns are from Bread & Cie and they use the Coke product line.

I had the mushroom Swiss burger, the wife had a regular burger (no cheese), we split an order of steak fries and our total was just over $19, make it $23 with tip.

Nice people, clean place and a sunny, Sunday morning drive out near the golf courses through scenic Rancho San Diego...

Their web site: www.brodysburgersandbeer.com


PS: We also discovered a locally made product on the tables, Kikidee's Smoked Sea Salt (they also have smoked black pepper grinders).I couldn't really taste it so it looks like we'll pick some up at the store and test it on a few items we do here at home and are familiar with (corn on the cob comes to mind)...

No. 209

Leonardo's Pizza in El Cajon

I should have minded the reviews on Yelp (50% bad, 50% good)...

I ordered the calzone ($13.98) and it was ice cold in the center when it was delivered. I walked out as there's just no fixing something done so inartfully...

No. 208

Sausage and More
Christel’s European Delicatessen and Bistro
12241 Woodside Ave
Lakeside,California
92040

This is a new location (and name) for what used to be the Old Country Restaurant & Deli on University Avenue in La Mesa (looking at "A Taste of San Diego II", I ate there back in April of 2004)...

Then, as now, the owner (Christel) certainly has very reasonable prices ($13 and coin for my lunch, the wife's lunch and 3 frankfurters to take home to try later), make it an even $15 with tip.

The place is neat, clean and they're accommodating as well (we got there maybe 10 minutes before opening time and they flipped the sign around and let us in even though they weren't finished whipping up a fresh batch of German potato salad). As a guy who always liked lunch a bit earlier than everyone else (it avoids the crowd), extra points for opening at 10:00 AM.

I had the bratwurst sandwich, which came with spicy mustard on the side, a couple of pickle spears, kraut and potato salad. I also ordered a can of Coke. I have to note that they microwaved the sausage, a serious no-no in my book, but it wasn't the least bit chewy as I had expected it to be. It had great flavor but I wasn't fond of the generic bun and noticed several great looking rye breads on the shelf.

The wife had the ham sandwich, also served with pickles and potato salad and says the ham was delicious.

The web site: http://www.sausageandmore.com/

No. 207

China Max
4698 Convoy Street
San Diego, Ca

We've been meaning to check this place out for at least a couple of years now and finally made it this morning, after my monthly visit to the VA in La Jolla.

It's on Convoy, San Diego's Asian restaurant row and it's a nicely kept building.

As we were there fairly early (just after 10:30 AM), we had Dim Sum (lunch starts at 11:00 but hey, it's Dim Sum!).

We had a nice hot pot of black tea (neither of us can have green tea), Lotus rice, Crispy fried spring rolls, Pork shu mai, Shrimp shu mai and Sugar cane deep fried shrimp balls with the standard dipping sauces (soy sauce, hot mustard, chili oil and some sort of sweet & sour)...

The total with tax was $23.98, throw in a fiver for tip, leave the change, out the door for $29.

We'll be back to taste from the regular menu the next time we're over that way.

Their web site: http://www.chinamaxsandiego.com/

No. 206

San Diego Soup Shoppe

We saw this place mentioned in The Reader and decided to check it out. It's right on El Cajon Blvd (at Utah) and they've been open 2 months now. It's small (6 seats inside), with a fair amount of outdoor seating and a small menu (6 soups, 4 salads, 2 appetizers and 8 paninis, several bottled drinks, period).

The wife had the Italian Wedding Soup which she says is the best she's ever had. She's lactose intolerant and can't have beans either so she was mildly disappointed with the fact that she can only have that and one other soup on the fixed menu.

We spoke to one of the owners about it and offered to share a few of our recipes that we've already tested here at home such as a creamless tomato soup, a great recipe for Mexican corn soup, etc.but the young woman said they'd rather do it "their way".

OK, just trying to help...

And in the interest of fairness, we should mention that we've been thinking about getting into the soup biz for at least the last 10 years. If you look at the wife's recipe blog, it would go a long way in explaining all of the soup recipes we test drive.

While we're on the subject, we had also intended to tell them a bit about promotion, our menu strategy and a few tweaks to the drink menu, having been in the restaurant business before either of them were born.

But apparently, they already know it all so best wishes, this won't be the first place we've offered to help, only to see them spiral down the drain when they don't listen...

See the web site here: http://sdsoupshoppe.com/

No. 205

Coop's West Texas BBQ

Last July, we checked out Barnes BBQ in Lemon Grove but apparently (inadvertently) transposed the name with Coop's West Texas BBQ, not far from there (my bad).

Today, we ate at Coop's and have to say we liked it better than Barnes.

In our review back then, we noted that we couldn't taste the smoke but that's not the case with Coops as we're still tasting it a couple of hours later (mesquite).

Today, we ordered the 2 meat meal with 2 sides (slaw and beans & rice) and corn bread and our total was $18 and coin, make it an even $20 when I dropped the change into the tip jar.

So far, we've tasted the ribs and brisket and will have to go back several more times for their sausage, ham, pulled pork and rib tips, then we'll update this review.

They also have beef ribs, hot links and chicken but as the son of a chicken farmer, I won't be trying that one out so let me know what you think...

Other sides include baked beans, collard greens and potato salad.

For dessert, there's Sweet Potato Pie, Buttermilk Pie and Peach Cobbler.

They serve the Pepsi product line and sweet tea, which means I had a bottle of water.

I should probably also mention that my eyes are so bad (BTW, I ordered my first set of glasses yesterday), that I couldn't read the chalkboard menu but will try the cobbler the next time.

The menu also includes 1 meat, 2 meat, 3 meat and larger meal options as well as sandwiches (your choice of meat) in both large and small sizes.

The web site: www.coopsbbq.com

No. 204

Giorgino's

"Best cheesesteak in town"

This place is on the opposite corner of the block I lived on way back when (1970), literally a stone's throw from the edge of Balboa Park. They've been in business 5 years now but we only recently heard about it ("City Beat").

It's clean and neat inside, staff was personable, there's the obligatory big screen TV on the wall and we noticed half a dozen beer taps as well.

They carry a number of East Coast brands (Amoroso rolls, Tastykakes and half a dozen different sodas).

I had the mushroom cheesesteak with extra American cheese, a couple of Frank's sodas (Grape and Black Cherry) and the wife had the pastrami on sour dough. The cheesesteak was every bit as good as any I ever had (my cheesesteak creds go all the way to Philadelphia - 1969) the Black Cherry soda was a nice surprise and the wife liked her pastrami as well.

Will we go back?

In a second!

Their web site: www.giorginosdeli.com

No. 203

El Zarape
3201 Adams Avenue
San Diego, Ca.

We read about this place in "City Beat" recently and decided to check it out this morning, while I put a few miles on Number One Son's Ford Ranger, testing out the new tires and front end alignment.

El Zarape is conveniently located a couple of blocks off of 805, it's on the corner, very visible, has off street parking in the lot behind the place and is handsomely appointed inside. The place is a riot of color, acres of nice tile work, a lot of wrought iron and folk art wherever the eye lands. If I wanted to open a Mexican restaurant, I'd want to hire this designer...

It was mentioned in City Beat as a favorite for cheap eats and we started off with the free chips, salsa and guacamole sauce. The guacamole sauce had a nice, spicy note to it but the salsa was a bit too tomatoey. The chips were cold and hard so I only had a couple as I had burned the roof of my mouth pretty severely a couple of nights ago (homemade bean & cheese burritos) and haven't been able to eat a lot of things lately due to their textures.

I asked for iced tea and The Darla had her usual, ice water (she almost never drinks with her meals).

The ice tea had passion fruit in it so I asked for a Coke instead, which had the strong taste of line cleaner in it (I had The Darla taste it too)...

I wanted a beef taco & enchilada combo but evidently they don't believe in having it my way so I chose the 2 carne asada tacos (the traditional shredded beef isn't an option so it was either the carne asada, chicken or fish). The Darla decided to try the Poblano Mole, which comes with side orders of beans and rice and a basket of steamed tortillas. She's only had Mole once before and doesn't have a lot to compare it to but this was extremely sweet (I tasted it too). She played with it by adding some of the salsa, guacamole sauce and rice in a tortilla but ultimately only had a couple of bites at most.

My tacos had a large amount of meat, a bit of pico de gallo and chunks of semi-mashed avocado. The tortillas arrived almost wet, sitting flat on the plate so I put some of the excess carne asada into one of the extra tortillas that came with The Darla's meal and made myself a drier taco and The Darla did the same.

Our total was slightly over $18 and with tip, it was exactly $23.

Will we come back again?

No, there are way too many places to eat pretty fair Mexican food around here to frequent a place where you didn't find anything you liked on the menu (although it is a damn attractive building)...

Web site: http://elzarape.biz/