San Diego Home Cooking - Mission Valley Cafe

If you live in San Diego County and watch TV, you've probably seen a commercial for San Diego Home Cooking.  I'd never been to any of their 5 restaurants before.  A big reason for not having gone before is that until this past Summer, they had no locations in the city of San Diego, just East and North counties.  Within the past year they have opened the Mission Valley Cafe, so we went to try it out.

I was a bit weary of the location, since it is so close to Hotel Circle.  I have sometimes been disappointed by restaurants in the area, but this is a place that would easily do well without tourist traffic as their other locations have.

When we first walked in, it looked nothing like I had expected.  From the front, it looks just like any coffee shop, but as you reach the entrance which is on the side of the building, you see a good sized covered patio seating area.  While I usually prefer to sit outside if it's available, today was chilly and the covered area was too cold.  The entry looked a bit more like a hotel or apartment building foyer than a comfort food restaurant, with faux aged copper tiles on the floor and a large round mirror flanked with over-sized vases.  We sat in the lounge, which has a bar but is primarily arranged for dining.  All the tables in the lounge are bar-height which I don't normally find comfortable, but one side of the table had a bench which I got used to rather quickly, once I jumped up into it.

The bar is surprisingly large and well stocked.  They offer a number of different versions of Mimosas which I had never seen before.  I tried the "Color Me Red" Mimosa with cranberry juice and my roommate had the "Pink Lady" Mimosa with grapefruit juice and grenadine.  They were both very good.  Although it wasn't on the menu, I thought I overheard someone behind the bar telling some other customers about the drinks and I heard peach.  If that's a Mimosa I'm definitely trying it next time.

I had the Portugese sausage (linguica) and eggs.  It came with a choice of has browns, home cut fries, fresh fruit or cottage cheese and a choice of bread, biscuit & gravy, English muffin or pancakes.  After confirming with the waitress that there would be no cantaloupe in my fresh fruit, I got that and the pancakes.  My roommate ordered the meatloaf sandwich which was served open-face, covered in gravy, with mashed potatoes and hot vegetables.

The portions are ample and the food is good.  The linguica was cooked perfectly; split in half and grilled.  There were grill marks and the skin was crisp.  The pancakes were fluffy and sweet and not too big so I didn't waste too much.  The fruit was fresh, but mostly grapes with just 2 slices of strawberry.  My only gripe was the eggs.  I like my eggs cooked medium but most places get it wrong and this was no exception.  While they weren't the runniest eggs I've ever had, they were definitely runnier than I like.

I tasted the meatloaf, which I don't normally care too much for and didn't care for it, but my roommate loves meatloaf.  Their meatloaf tasted like it had peppers in it, which I really don't like and have never tasted in any other meatloaf.  The portion was huge, with 3 thick slices of meatloaf, no skimping on the gravy.  The potatoes tasted home made with a hint of sour cream and a bit of parsley, but they were a little loose.  When I took a taste some of it fell off my fork in a drop, not a plop.

I am looking forward to going there again, and as my roommate said "maybe we can add this to our Sunday breakfast rotation".  The menu has a lot of variety so there should never be a problem finding something good.  While not fancy, this place is more than just a coffee shop.

Main complaint?  Although I usually enjoy dining on a patio, their patio faces the parking lot.  The only people you'll get to watch are those coming to and leaving the restaurant and the area the restaurant is in doesn't provide any enjoyable scenery.  Perhaps if they enclosed the patio and added plants it would be better.

Brians' American Eatery

So today was cold and with a wind chill factor of "are you freakin kidding me?" you might not think I'd want to go to Brians' American Eatery for brunch.  There's always a line and it gets pretty crowded with people trying to wait inside, but, it's worth it!  They have parking, but you may have to park somewhere else and walk when it's really busy.

First of all, no, I'm not spelling it wrong.  It's Brians', not Brian's, because it's 2 guys named Brian.  Brians' is in Hillcrest, on Washington between Lincoln and Cleveland.  This location used to be an old coffee shop that never changed.  When it became Brians', everything changed.  It's still got a vintage coffee shop feel but now it's on purpose.  There's also a heated patio on the side for when it's not raining or windier than heck.

Brians' is all about good food and lots of it.  I'm not kidding.  If you consider yourself a big eater you might be surprised and you'll definitely be satisfied.  You're never going to go there and get "a little bite" of something.  I've never finished my whole meal.  They offer breakfast, daily specials and a big variety of entrees and sandwiches and everything is good.  When you order a cup of coffee, they leave a full pot on the table.  Same thing with hot tea and they bring a honey bear with it.

Not only is the food really good and really big, the staff is great.  If you leave Brians' unhappy, it's probably your own fault.  Everyone is friendly and attentive and eager to make sure you get everything exactly the way you want it.  

For breakfast I like their Country Benedict; a biscuit topped with sausage, scrambled eggs, country gravy and green onions.  I love that I can get grits instead of potatoes.  I also like that they put fresh fruit on many of their plates.  Other favorites include Fried Chicken and Waffle, Hey Ricky!, Nachos El Brian or any of the burgers.

Brians' is absolutely my first choice for Sunday brunch.

Make sure to get one of their frequent diner cards!

Review: Florencia's Ristorante - North Park

This afternoon we found ourselves walking around North Park, hungry and with no idea of where to go.  We eventually got to University Avenue near 30th Street where there are at least half a dozen restaurants and as many food choices on a single block.  With all those choices we settled on the Italian restaurant, Florencia's Ristorante. 

Florencia's has a typical Italian look.  The dining room is large and on the dark side, but there is also a small patio with about 6 or so tables.  It was a beautiful day so we chose to sit outside.  We also chose to sit outside because the inside of the restaurant was pretty warm.  You could feel the heat from the kitchen making it's way through the dining room towards the open doors.  The walls surrounding the patio were painted to look like a Venice canal.  It was cute even if one of the gondolas looked like it had a kidnapped boy in it screaming to be saved. My roommate was also amused by the fake fire logs which were lit and sitting in an alcove inside the dining room, without a fireplace.  The restaurant is on the South side of the street, so it was cool and shady.

The first thing I noticed once we sat down was that although it was 1:00 in the afternoon on a Saturday, there was only one other person there.  The table where we had initially sat down was next to the wall but it was wobbly, so we moved to another one next to the patio fence.  We had our menus in front of us but there was a sandwich board on the sidewalk with specials listed on it.  When the waitress, who was really beautiful by the way, came to take our order we had expressed interest in knowing what specials were available.  Instead of telling us anything about what specials were available, she simply said "we have a lot of specials", so I got up and walked out of the patio to read the specials.  Not an impressive beginning.

My roommate ordered "Fettucine Spicy Antonio", basically a spicy version of Alfredo sauce with tomatoes.   Looking at their online menu, this dish is listed as being served with Penne instead of Fettucine, and I don't know if it was listed the same way on their printed menu or if he requested the Fettucine instead. The meal came with a choice of Minestrone or a dinner salad.  He chose the salad with Bleu cheese dressing and ordered a Coke drink. I didn't find this dish terribly appealing.  The sauce appeared to be broken and the overall appearance of the dish wasn't appetizing.  I will give them a lot of credit for the sauce being spicy though.  Although my roommate didn't agree, I found the Coke to taste a bit watered down.

I ordered an Antipasto salad with the house dressing.  The salad was a good size for lunch, but the plate it was served on was much too small.  The first few times I stuck my fork into it, pieces of lettuce or the pepperoncinis would fall off.  They did not skimp on the meats and cheeses.  However, the dressing needed some help.  When she brought it, it just looked like a ramekin full of olive oil and that's pretty much how it tasted.  The flavor of the herbs and spices were good and very traditional for Italian salad dressing, but they didn't mix in at all.  It was in desperate need of vinegar and should have been served in a salad dressing shaker.

The garlic bread was made with a nice Italian bread, very crusty on the outside but soft inside.  It had a lot of garlic flavor, but it was very dry.  I dipped the bread in a little of the salad dressing at the bottom of my plate.  The oiliness of the dressing mixed with the dry bread made a very nice bite.

If someone were asking if I knew of a good Italian restaurant in the area, I would not recommend this place. However, if you find yourself in the area on a beautiful San Diego afternoon and just want to chill out al fresco,  this is one of the places you could go.

Review - Phil's B.B.Q.

OMG it’s good…Phil's B.B.Q.

Phil’s B.B.Q. has only been around for 11 years but it is already a San Diego institution. Phil’s originally had a small location in Mission Hills and there was always a line to get in. In 2007 they moved to a much larger location in Point Loma and there’s still always a line to get in. Once you’re a block away from the restaurant you’ll start smelling the wonderful smoke coming from the building so you‘ll have no problem waiting knowing that you‘re about to get some really good food. When approaching the restaurant from the parking lot you’ll find a sign on the corner of the building telling you there is a 21 minute wait from that point, just like Disneyland. You can watch the line before you get there on their website‘s BBQueue cam. We went shortly after they opened at 11:00 and the line wasn’t out the door yet but it was to the door but the line goes pretty fast. There is a copy of the menu board outside the restaurant to help you make your choice before you get to the order counter which helps the line move a little faster.

Once we reached the head of the line we were greeted by a friendly woman with a larger-than-life personality who explained how things work. First you go up to the counter to place your order. You’ll be given a pager which will go off when your order is ready. If you order a soft drink, you’ll be given a glass which you take to the beverage station and choose from a large variety of drinks including several iced tea choices, lemonade and of course a number of different sodas. All soft drinks come with unlimited refills. For those who want beer, wine or sangria you can order some in the bar. You can choose any table except the large tables in the middle which are reserved for parties of 5 or more. Patio seating is also available. Then you’ll wait for your pager to go off, but it didn’t take very long. By the time we got our drinks and settled in it was only a minute or two before our order was ready. Even though it’s mostly serve yourself, there was also a waiter who brought utensils and a plate for bones. The one in our section was very friendly and funny. The service here is just as good as the food.

The menu is extensive, offering several sizes of dinner plates featuring baby back or beef ribs and chicken plus sides. You can also order meat only without the sides. A variety of sandwiches and a couple of salads are also available as well as sides by themselves. Their servings are large but they also offer Ticklers which include a smaller serving of meat, cole slaw, french fries and 2 onion rings (no substitutions).

What did I get?

I ordered the Baby Back Rib Tickler. The ribs are great and topped with a vinegary barbecue sauce. The fries are thin-cut but fresh and the onion rings are very crunchy and aren‘t overly breaded. The cole slaw was good basic slaw. Even though the Tickler is a smaller meal I was still stuffed when we left and I didn’t eat most of my fries. My roommate ordered the BBQ Broham. As much as I enjoyed my meal, next time I’ll probably order the Broham. The Broham is served as a sandwich, but you’re not going to be able to pick it up to eat. A huge pile of pulled pork is set on a bed of cole slaw and covered with BBQ sauce. There was a large bun included, but it can easily be left aside since there is so much meat and slaw. The pork was very tender and had a wonderful smoky flavor.

What's cool?

Even though this is a BBQ restaurant and their fries are thin-cut, they have malt vinegar on the table.

There are separate lines for to-go and eat-in orders and you can call your order in ahead for take-out.

The coolest thing though is the wash up station. You’re going to get messy eating their food and will need to wash up before you leave. Instead of having to squeeze into a small bathroom and wait for an open sink, they have a large, double faucet sink with soap and paper towels outside the bathrooms for those who just want to wash their hands.

Rating...The best BBQ I‘ve had in San Diego, and a good time as well.