Mimi’s Cafe

One of my favorite standbys, the club sammich. Good for lunch, dinner, or whatever… Mimi does a decent job with some tasty fries. With three layers of toasted bread I always ask for extra mayo though…

On the Border

Off Friday, which means date day with the wife. While out we had lunch at our favorite OTB. We sat outside since it is such nice spring weather right now. Next time I’ll get a front shot of the place, but here you can see the patio area from the outside. We enjoyed some of their excellent flautas and a big chicken quesadilla.

Homemade Gnocchi

Love these little potato pasta dumplings and my wife always does a fantastic job making them. I tossed the cooked pillows in a bacon Parmesan cream sauce, adorned with some fresh basil from our garden.

Homemade Tamales

We recently tried our hand at some homemade tamales from scratch. It’s a lot of effort, but well worth the results. Especially considering how many nights you can have dinner off one batch. We did the traditional method with masa, lard, and what not. The filling was a slow cooked pork shoulder shredded with some guajillo chile sauce.

Olive Garden

One of about three of my go to dishes at OG. The steak Gorgonzola Alfredo. Being a blue cheese fan, I have an appreciation for its Italian cousin.

Little Tokyo

This is a small sit down place in a sprawling strip mall that’s perfect for lunch. I ordered a big bento box affair but focused on the California roll sushi. Also included sections of rice, teriyaki chicken, etc. I’m trying to foster a love for sushi, but I’m taking it slow and simple. Hopefully soon I can start venturing into more exotic and authentic territory.

Outback Steakhouse

I got their Pacific Rim Salmon & Shrimp again. I think it’s my new favorite because Outback cooks their salmon so well. Compared to Claim Jumper anyway. I’m just disappointed that the plating did not lead to a very good composition. Nice shot of the shrimp tails… I should have turned it around.

Miguel’s Cocina

I think Cocina means Kitchen in Spanish… Anyway, I’ll have to check on that. Here’s their excellent shrimp enchiladas smothered in a spicy cream sauce. I could eat this every day!

Amici Pizza Pasta & Subs

This is a local mom & pop Italian place here in sleepy Ramona. You order at the counter, but get table service from there. This was a lunch special pizza slice, the type where they have whole pies in a display case and serve to order. They add some extra cheese and pop it in the oven for a few minutes. I’ve had slices like this at other places and it never gets hot enough to my liking. It’s excellent pie, but the food temp was lagging.

In-N-Out

After a long trip I like to stop here on the way home from the airport. I was happy to see they had the little pepper things out now at the ketchup table. I don’t know if this is new or I never noticed them before. A little bite on one here and there really complements a good burger.