A Light Breakfast @ Cafe Dore

I wrote a little on Cafe Dore in my first Three Not So Ordinary Breakfasts post. Weird how that feels like ages ago but it was only summer of last year.. So very weird. Anyhow I needed some strong coffee this morning and I guess I was in the mood for something different again. A different meal but also a different experience? Along with second hand smoke there is definitely a lot of male testosterone in the air here, ha. I've seen at least two unsuspecting female would be patrons walk in... and then do an awkward slow walk out. May explain how a lot of the sandwiches were being called ahead and picked up. If you're still curious a much more comprehensive coverage of meals along with a great description of the "vibe" at Cafe Dore can be read about here from a revisit post by Kirk of mmm-yoso.



I've definitely enjoyed the ham & egg banh mi (Banh Mi Cha Trung Chien) the last time but I wanted to try something new so I ended up asking for the Banh Mi Xa Xiu that is filled with Chinese BBQ Pork ($2.75). Rather hastily I should add, but for next time I finally took pics of their menu. I can now look through it at my leisure without having to break into a light sweat when ordering at the register, haha.



I also had a bowl of the Meatball Soup (Soup Bo Vien, $5) again. I'll have to try the stews another time when I have a larger appetite. The soup's broth almost reminds me of what is used for Pho but maybe not quite as herby and with a louder garlic and crushed black pepper flavor. With sliced onions and cilantro, and of course the meatballs, again did a great job hitting the spot for me. The beef meatballs btw are what you find in Pho Bo Vien. If you never had these, it has a well kneaded bouncy texture not too different from some sausages. I especially like these because they are minced with nice crunchy pieces of tendon (and maybe cartilage) that remind me of Japanese Tsukune.



The sandwich was nice but next time I'll try the Banh Mi Thit Nuong - with grilled bbq pork (which I think was my actual intention). The dressing was very light today and compared with grilled pork you can imagine Xa Xiu being on the dry side which it was, but the bread was warm with that nice flaky outer. All fresh and all good..



I'm still trying to decide which is more exciting.. Unwrapping a Christmas gift or un-rubber banding a banh mi sandwich! :)



Cafe Dore, 4135 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92105

Lunching @ Do Re Mi House - Part One

Wanted to share a few meals I enjoyed at Do-Re-Mi House. A few starting from recent visits and one from a while back before the new management. DRMH is located in the "strip" mall lot shared by Cheetahs Gentleman's Club on Clairemont Mesa Blvd. DRMH's sign doesn't shout at you but it's closer to the West end of the mall and the entrance looks like this..



..from the inside, ha. They also recently went through a nice interior renovation a couple weeks back. Sorry no images but it's a nice modern update from the previous while still retaining that mom-and-pop feel that I really liked about the original when I first visited about two years ago. Their full lunch menu at my vault here.



Though some sort of grilled/braised/stewed meat dish is typically my main objective when in the mood for Korean, I do enjoy the sweet and tart starter salad of glass noodles, onion and cucumbers here. The glass noodles are a lot thicker than I'm used to and has a nice crunchy pop.

The Daeji Galbi (Pork Short Ribs, $12.99 lunch price) was really hit-the-spot good. I don't know if it has to do with the history of humans domesticating pigs for so long but the craving is definitely in my DNA.



Somebody will have to start manufacturing pig versions of these cast iron plates. :) The delicious way Korean grilled meats are marinaded I have to say I never had a bad Galbi or Bulgogi ever which makes it hard for me to judge one better than the other. But I was impressed at how thick the cuts where here.



Also extremely tender, and with the sweet, savory, with sesame oil flavor and aroma.. I'm surprised I stopped at only two bowls of rice.



The Banchan I felt was an upgrade from the early DRMH and I even got a seaweed soup. I think Miyeok guk(?). I thought it was a tad under flavored but since free a bit hard to complain.

But my next visit I was really excited to have been served my favorite Korean steamed egg custard Gyeran Jjim. My love for this is no secret where I even video'd this in the past..



But I also don't want to over hype the stuff. IT IS A SIMPLE DISH consisting of whipped eggs with dried anchovy broth. Compared with Walmido's, DRMH's was stronger in flavor in both the broth while also benefiting from more chopped green onions. I enjoyed it better in that regards a lot but I missed the fine marshmallow like pillowly texture of Walmido's. Both were good in their own ways.



My main this day was a Braised Kalbi Beef Ribs dish, Kalbi Chim (~$14)?



This was from their dinner menu so priced accordingly but oh my.. was it really good. Sweet, savory and with just a good amount of heat. What I thought was chunks of potatoes were actually a quartered stewed daikon radish. The carrot was the same and the beef, fall off the bone tender, all in it's own braised juices. So very guilty. Maybe best to share due to its richness..



Should've flipped the galbi over so you're not staring at the bone but it still gives me major hunger pangs when I look at it, haha. I chose the corn drink again today for the complementary free drink.



Below a "before and after" shot of the beef ribs..



The free banchan this day was like so..



I really enjoy the second to the last, sort of a sweet fried fishcake-tofu texture but I don't know how to ask for it. I want to learn it because it is umm, FREE? :) I also wondered if they make the Muk here cause it was the softest I had.

Anyhow, last but not least at the very end you're given a cold sweet cinnamon tea with pine nuts.



It was very nice and especially helped cut some of the greasy feeling in my tummy (sorry my camera was being stubborn and didn't focus where I wanted it too).



So my first order during the early days I believe I ordered a Kimchi Chige ($7.99) stew.



Loved the rustic presentation. LOVED it.. In fact I would like to have purchased these well used aluminum serving pots if they are for sale for myself..



The Banchan was not a highlight but sufficient and the people at the time also very friendly..



This must have been on the weekend cause I found photos of beer accompanied with.. haha.



[Darn, I want that HITE bottle opener..]



My last and most recent visit the Banchan was so..



..And I had ordered the Seafood Soondubu ($7.99).



I had just dropped the egg in the photo but it cooked up a nice medium by the time I was ready to eat. The stew contained some oysters, clams, small baby shrimps, tofu, and Paeng-ee beosut - familiar to me as enoki mushrooms. The gyeran really mellows out the overall spiciness of the soup which was already a medium richness.



I also had asked for another Gyeran Jjim this last day. YESS. :)
More to come..

Doremi House, 8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd - Suite M, San Diego, CA 92111

A Meal @ College Billiards - Rolando

I've been really curious about this place for a long long time..



This wonderfully illustrated sign in particular had been taunting me..



So I finally decided to do something about it this weekend. College Billiards Center is up there past Goodbody Mortuary.



I'll cut to the chase but unfortunately I found that the days of the 1/2 pound One's A Meal Kingburger and Daily Specials were sadly gone. Darn! Was told by the very friendly bartender (later to discover also cook) that the Hamburger ($4) now was a 1/3 lbs patty.



But what I did find was a great chill spot to rack up some games. Dang, these guys were GOOD. Most brought their own cues. I always wished I could play a better game of pool..



The fryer at the time was cranked up to crisp up nachos so instead of onion rings I opted for two Beef Tacos ($1.50 each).



The tortillas were fried so I thought it be best to try these tacos first before they cooled down. Overall a bit dry including the beef, though it was flavored well and I thought all the condiments were fresh. The salsa verde was the best part of these. Very spicy jalepeno hot. In fact I used some of it on my burger later.



The burger certainly wasn't bad but the sign outside really makes you expect something special. It just made me wonder more what the College Billiards Center Kingburger really was back in the hay day. If I had access to the keys of a time machine I would use it to document noble causes such as these. Wasn't exactly a hidden foodie spot but I love College Billiards Center for the chill dive that it is. *CLACK*

College Billiards Center, 5303 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego, CA 92115

Fast Food Friday - White Castle

My first genuine (not microwaved at a gas station) White Castle experience was in Michigan a couple of years ago. I was so excited! Because though a silly movie had given them more notoriety some years back, my original curiosity for the place ran deep thanks to a great story telling friend from the East Coast during my formative years. He and his stories (at least the way he told them) were that of great movie making.



The iconic storefront. This one looks fairly new. Wonderful in a medieval meets Bauhaus school of architecture kinda way.



Before going into the infamous slyders our group already noticed things were done a bit differently here at White Castle. In fact a bit backwards. The the onions were of wedges.. Very tasty wedges I should mention. :)



And the chicken products instead were rings. Huh. As with the signature five holes in their slyder patty, my guess was that this would make them fry up quicker(?). While the novelty of just looking different could be a reason, with a place officially named White Castle Systems, Inc., this was the better logic I could come up with.



The burgers are in its own individual little box containers which is probably the best part of the whole experience for me. My heart rate rises slightly with butterflies by the sight of these.



Probably not the best for the environment but boy are they CUTE.



The buns seem to naturally steam a bit in the boxes with the square perforated patty, grilled onions and a slice of dill pickle. I have to say I enjoyed my first one. I think I even murmured a subconscious "mmm," haha.



But three seems to be the magic number here. Especially when eaten fresh the steaming seems to disguise some of the grease and by my fourth White Castle I was pretty much done. But don't let this stop you from getting the Crave Case where 30 of them comes packed in it's own nifty cardboard box with handle. I'd like to have the opportunity of purchasing one one day to see if the experience is as satisfying as when I walked out the Apple Store with my brand new MacBook this year. I bet it's right up there. ;)



As with the standard slyder the best part of having the cheese version for me was the branded yellow orange box that it came in. Condiments galore but we didn't use any (except ketchup for the crinkle cut fries).



A few more photos from the field trip.




Coupons are a big thing here as well. Castle Cash!



The recipe page on White Castle's site was pretty entertaining. Breakfast Surprise, White Castle Souffle, White Castle Pot Pie, and Castle Enchiladas to name a few..



..while Mr. Dave of Ridiculous Food Society's recipe for the White Castle Casserole that he got published on This Is Why You're Fat is a definite notable mention as well. Jealous!



Canine Cologne's Hot Doug's and White Castle in Chicago post here which was what actually inspired me to do my Fast Food Friday series. Darn I now can't wait to go on a road trip soon. Thanks CC!

Hope you all enjoyed these as much as I have. :) Not sure what's in store for next week but Happy Halloween!

An Omakase by Ota-san - August 2009

I already know I'm not going to do the meal the descriptive justice it deserves but wanted to at least share some of the photos I took. Worst case more pictures to add to my online visual scrapbook since I still really consider myself a Food Picture Blogger? ha. ;) Anyhow, the context of this dinner was catching up with old friends so I'll apologize in advance for the poor description of each plate (despite how they were each carefully explained by the super friendly Ota-san).

Started with a beautiful cold crab dish. I can't remember the exact species of crab but it was done three ways. Had a delicate sweet citrus dressing.



The second was a sashimi plate that was a confident heavy Straight Right aimed directly at my chin. Included Toro and Hirame Flounder to name a few. They were all glowing like precious metals and since we're in San Diego I knew the Uni was going to be superb.. and it was but then some.



I've learned in the past there are "Premium" and "Gold", but to me this was, you guessed it, Platinum. The size was also about that of a Bosch Platinum spark plug(!) so I felt my naming was especially appropriate. It was seriously the largest lobe of Uni I've seen!

Next up was this wonderful assortment. The main to the right is an Ika somen (raw squid sliced to resemble noodles). The exquisitely fresh squid dipped into a crucible of tsuyu (not shown) with fine julienned Myoga and a touch of grated ginger was quite delicious and soothing especially during the month of August when this dinner had taken place.



Just to the left was a great grilled skewer of tender pork with long onions and sweet glaze. There were two eggplant tasters that were simmered and flavored perfectly and the rectangular wafer is a Tatami Iwashi (sometimes called tatami shirasu) mounted by a pinch of broiled Yaki Uni.

Third up was a Koban Aji (pompano) fried three ways with the fourth being the bones that were incredibly edible from head to tail.



I consumed the delicately fried fillets pretty quickly but the bones including the head were so good! Nutty and buttery.



Then came the nigiris.. The first was Sardine that was in season. The texture was ultra fine and flavor most wonderful. I honestly would've been happy if I were served a dozen of these tonight, ha. :)



I'm going to end the "Ooh la laa" descriptions here for the remainder of the nigiris cause quite honestly my vocabulary simply isn't large enough. Yes the shari rice's preparation and technique (of the firm walls, pocketed air, at the right temperature..) didn't go without notice but with an itamae of this caliber something almost taken granted for. I did try to put these in proper order but I also know that I missed documenting at least two so it's my best attempt..

A Zuke marinated Akami then a lightly torched aburi Kinmedai (that I always thought was a type of Sea Bream, but Wiki says it is Alfonsino). The latter sprinkled with some yuzu citrus zest.






I was surprised to see uni as a nigiri and not gunkan style. But when it's this fresh and firm I now know you can do this. To even top that though, an especially particular highlight was a crazy webbed Otoro. Followed then was a wonderfully flavored aji tataki, another aburi that I forgot the details of (maybe my friends remember, sorry), a delightful maki roll with yamaimo and ume plums and a floral flavor exploding Myoga Zuke (that I got a recipe from a friend that I would like to share one of these days). Again there were at least two other nigiri's I missed as well as an asari miso soup that was too blurry for me to want to post. When the omakase was complete it was then by request where my friends ordered amaebi and I think also an ikura..



I was really impressed with the sweetness of the cantaloupe that was for dessert. It was accompanied by a funny story where we were told one of the itamae's jobs is to select these from an unnamed market not so different from where you and I would shop at. But the person would get all the stares by the produce workers with the way he would meticulously inspect each melon - tapping, sniffing, weighing, observing.. haha.



Amazing what you can get when you know what you're looking for!?

The omakase we had was $100 per person. With all the drinks and a few extra requests it came up to around $120. I felt a total bargain for the experience especially when I imagine what such would've cost in Japan. Ota-san was joking about retirement soon but my friends that took the reservations did mention how he was not working as many days in the week as before. The waiting list for a seat at the counter with Ota-san is about one to two months. So another sincere thanks to my friends. Let's do this again guys! :)

My somewhat whimsical "something for everyone" Sushi Ota lunch post can be found here.

Sushi Ota, 4529 Mission Bay Drive, San Diego, CA 92109

Fast Food Friday - A Fatburger @ Fatburger

With Egg!

Since Fatburger has always been there for me I thought it was time to show a little love (and hold off posting my first White Castle until next Friday).



A burger here starts with an unfrozen lean beef ball that is later squished down into a patty. (That's mine on the griddle!) :)



I was tempted to try the 1/2 lbs Kingburger since I never had but I stuck with the original plan and ordered the Fatburger (1/3 lbs) with everything, plus an egg.



I always dug their concept of having the relish being the sweet condiment in the burger (and not ketchup), and together with the mustard the acidity helps cut some of the grease.



Ok, I didn't really need the extra egg. The tamago will set you back 90-cents and I forgot to ask for it over easy and runny. If I'm going to consume these fried egg calories I might as well have it the way I like but oh well. This day the beef patty was a bit leaner than I remembered but still decently juicy and all in all a burger that I enjoy.



Although I didn't quite finish my meal and had to take some of my fries back with me, consuming a pound and a half of ground beef in the Triple Kingburger Challenge didn't seem so completely out of the question undoable.(!?)



Just don't ask me to fit into that tank top after.. ;)



Fatburger, 4516 Mission Blvd, San Diego, CA

Fast Food Friday - Nathan's Famous, Newark Liberty Airport NJ

I thought of Fast Food Fridays to have an opportunity to share my ever growing stash of random fast food meal photos. This inaugural, I'm starting with one of a definitely better meal I've had at airport terminals. A Nathan's Famous outlet in Newark Liberty Airport. I think it was Terminal-C.



Not that I'm highly recommending the place to some fellow traveler by any means.. Because I suffer from what I call "Junk Food is Greener on the Other Side" syndrome. Maybe it's the unfamiliar menu, idiosyncrasies of flavor, unique packaging, novelty of location.. most probably all the above, but other fast food outlets outside my day to day reach always seem so much cooler. :)



A regular dog with sauerkraut. Had a decent snap and good beefy flavor to boot.



The crinkle cut fries were pretty good though a bit soggy from sitting. Liked the little red plastic forks they give you. Adore the yellow cups with green letterings.



I haven't been to A&W in forever. The Dairy Queen at Tierrasanta was a bit of a disappointment but I still really need to check out Sonic in Santee!