Johnny B's solution: Why run the waitress to death when she can bring one of these mini-pitchers to your table?
4 November - Tommy's Italian Restaurant & Deli:
As we continue to explore their menu, it was the Lasagna ($9.99) for the Boy with a cup of Minestrone, a little focaccia and a Coke.
He also had some of my salad and said the lasagna was good but I didn't try it as I'm not very fond of ricotta.
I had my usual: a small pepperoni pizza ($9.99), easy on the sauce / easy on the cheese, a side salad with double bleu cheese dressing ($3.50) and an iced tea. The pizza was excellent, as usual, the salad is generally just right and the service was good too.
With tip it was $35 even.
Update on Just Grillin:
Sometime last week, the owner pulled up stakes at that location and moved his mobile BBQ shack elsewhere, leaving no forwarding address.
I drove by there several times as he had told the owner of the convenience store that he had problems with the trailer and was taking it in for repairs. He had left his towable smoker chained to the fence there, somewhat comforting our apprehensions but...
When I drove by earlier today, the smoker was gone too.
We're gonna miss those ribs.
8 November - Chorizo & Shrimp Quesadillas with Guacamole & Sour Cream:
We saw this recipe on Rachel Ray's "30 Minute Meals" on the TV Food Network yesterday and realized that we were going to have shrimp tonight; why not try something different? I'd also been promising myself to check out some local Mexican shrimp dishes for quite some time now and as an extra added bonus, this recipe also gave me a chance to do a little research on chorizo, something I've also been meaning to do...
We didn't exactly follow her recipe but it's close enough to count.
We browned some chorizo in a pan, peeled the shrimp and then cooked them in a little garlic and peanut oil until they turned pink.
Then we piled the crumbled up chorizo, the shrimp and a generous amount of shredded Monterey Jack cheese on a flour tortilla in a pan, covered it with another and cooked it until the cheese melted and the tortilla browned on each side.
Slice into quarters or sixths, depending on the size of your tortillas (we use the fajita size, not the burrito size), serve with a little sour cream and guacamole and enjoy.
This recipe is a keeper; it's simple, quick and absolutely scrummy (we all agree)...
That same Rachel Ray program also featured recipes for "Mussels steamed in Mexican Beer" and another for "A Heck of a Jicama Salad", both of which we also plan to try soon.
11 December - Gaglione Brothers IV:
Tonight, we tried the Sophia Loren (their hot Italian sandwich).
It was good but their cheesesteaks absolutely rule!
And we hedged our bets and ordered one Sophia Loren and our normal Mushroom Cheesesteak with extra white American cheese, no onions and fries (no salt) and we each had half of each.
We also had a couple of medium Pepsis (no Coke).
It was all marvelous, as usual...
And with another 2-for-1 coupon we pulled out of the paper last week, our total was slightly less than $12 including the tax.
12 December - Johnny B's Burgers & Brews II:
It was me and the Boy this time (first time for him).
He had the double cheeseburger, fries and Coke and I had a steak sandwich (well done), fries and a Coke.
Johnny B's is right off the main drag of picturesque downtown La Mesa and as usual, it had the regular motley crew on hand; a few bikers, the locals (the regulars) and a fair number of Chargers fans watching the game on numerous TV's throughout the place.
There were a few guys nursing hangovers at the bar, others were playing pool or tossing a few darts.
We sat on the patio in the warm early afternoon sun (it's been 80 degrees out lately) and smelling freshly grilled meat from a few feet away
Like I said before, this would be my local neighborhood hang out if it was close by
The Boy liked it too, and grabbed one of their frequent burger cards just before we left.
The total was $20.51 plus tip, what the heck, make it an even $24 (and it was all I had with me anyway...).
15 December - Tommy's Italian Restaurant & Deli (again):
By now, we've eaten here so many times that we've lost count.
It doesn't hurt that it's less than a mile from La Casa Weenie either.
Their small pepperoni pizza is almost perfect in my book and that's what I had again this time, a mere 11 days since my last visit.
I also had the same thing then, with a side salad with double bleu cheese dressing and an iced tea.
The food was great but I had the same waitress I had when they first reopened last year after moving into their new building.
She can't be more than about 18 and I think she has ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) as she acts slightly schizoid and still doesn't "get it" after doing this job for at least the last 6 months.
After she "dropped" my food, she didn't check back once until it was obvious I had finished and was ready to go, cash in hand.
She avoided eye contact studiously as there were only 2 other people in the dining room (how can you not see an empty glass perched on the very edge of the table, the universal signal that I need a refill?).
When she finally got around to noticing my head swiveling around looking for her (another visual clue waitresses should learn to recognize), I had to ask for more iced tea.
When she brought it to the table, I noticed that she had only added more tea (no more ice) and within a couple of minutes, it was also obvious that the tea she had added was either room temperature or even hotter as all of the ice in the glass melted...
I had finished my salad by then and started to eat my pizza and it wasn't until I had only one slice left that she bothered coming around again and I had to ask for ice for my iced tea and since it might be several more months until she gets back this way, can I have the check too?
"Sure, no problem" she said...
Well, yes, there is a problem.
First off, the correct response is "yes" or "no", not "no problem"...
Then there's the matter of her apparently being overwhelmed by 3 people total in the dining room (and one of us was only having iced tea).
Then there's the matter of checking back and following up, instead of taking the order, dropping the food and waiting for your tip.
There's also a major problem with her powers of observation as most people don't perch their drink glass so close to the edge of the table that a passerby could easily knock it off and onto the floor, people don't usually sit at the table craning their necks looking for a server throughout their entire meal and she damn well knew that she didn't put any more ice in the glass when she did it...
18 December - Gaglione Brothers V:
I was by myself this time and had a small mushroom cheesesteak, small fries and a small soda for just over $10, tax included.
I now know that I've reached my limit; I'm a big guy and that's just too much food.
I am of the opinion that they should make the cheesesteaks a bit smaller (6" instead of 8", 10" instead of 12"and 16" instead of 18".
And, reasonably enough, they should drop the price slightly, 50 cents or so...
They would eliminate a lot of people splitting a small sandwich, which is easily enough for me and the wife and even the Boy says the 8 incher is just too much food for him.
19 December - Johnny B's III:
This time (the Boy's second visit and his idea), I had a Cheeseburger and Coke
Boy had the Hickory Bacon Burger, fries and a Coke
And I should probably mention the waitress with an attitude (evidently asking for a steak sandwich was a little too impudent of me on my last visit) and it took almost 40 minutes to get our food, no excuse or anything (we were within seconds of getting up and leaving).
It was $20 total including a $3.50 tip to the waitress that took over our table and finally brought us our lunch after the other one left slightly before Noon (after her grueling 2 hour shift)...
21 December - Dim Sum @ Jasmine Bistro:
Today was the Wife's first day off in 10 days so I decided to take her out for lunch at one of her favorite places.
We ordered several small stainless steel steamer dishes of shrimp shu mai, pork & shrimp shu mai, shrimp & scallop dumplings, steamed spare ribs with black bean and red bell pepper and finished off with an order of chicken spinach spring rolls.
For dipping, we had our choice of soy sauce, Chinese hot mustard, chili oil and a sweet red sauce.
And for drinks, the wife ordered a pot of hot jasmine tea while I had my usual iced tea.
The web site says they start the dim sum service at 10:00 AM but it was almost 10:30 by the time they were ready.
And I didn't recognize any of the staff from our last visit several months ago, not a good sign in a business of any kind...
The total was $25 with a fair tip.
Tonight she goes to the Steele Canyon Employees Christmas party at a local restaurant (The Charcoal House).
We haven't been there (yet) but Wild Bill loves the place and says it's been there for years.
She'll be having the halibut and Boy is going along for the free New York steak dinner (I don't do company parties)...
24 December - El Pescador II:
It was Christmas Eve and we had 3 hours to kill between the wife's shift at La Jolla Country Club and a private party she was staffing at a club member's house right off the beach so...
I had the Jumbo shrimp with salad, rice, a 7-Up and butter & tartar sauce for dipping.
It was Thresher Shark tacos with cole slaw, clam chowder in a bread bowl and a Coke for the Boy.
The wife had the fish tacos with Tilapia instead of the shark, one of my shrimp and some of my rice.
The total was $40 and change...
The shrimp were huge (and delicious) but slightly underdone for my taste and I didn't care for the salad either.
I'm not much for what they call "mixed greens" as that's the stuff we used to supplement our hogs' diet when I was young...
And the Boy isn't a fan of cole slaw so I tasted it (eh) and he ate some of my salad.
We had intended to use the gift certificates the wife had for the Karl Strauss microbrewery but they closed before we got there...
28 December - Attempted Karl Strauss Microbrewery II:
Since we didn't get a chance to use these gift certificates the other night, we had planned to stop by on the way home from La Jolla Country Club today (it's also a nice way to sit out the evening rush hour as I also had to navigate the morning rush today as it was a short, 6 hour shift, 10 to 4). Unfortunately, the wife got off very early so it'll have to wait until sometime next week, when we are all off at the same time...
The Boy and I had checked this place out around the time the wife got hired at La Jolla (back in March, on Uncle Frank's birthday as a matter of fact) but the wife hasn't had the time or inclination as she doesn't drink beer and they feed her way, way too well there at La Jolla.
Karl Strauss is one of approximately half a dozen San Diego county microbreweries and they serve a good product.
I'm most familiar with their Red Trolley Ale, which is on tap at Steele Canyon Golf Club and numerous other places throughout the area.
This particular location is in very pricey downtown La Jolla, almost in the shadow of The Club.
