Cali Baguette Express is another Vietnamese sandwich shop that popped up in Mira Mesa in the last couple of months. They’re across the street from Bale French Sandwiches, setting up a little competition for the other small Vietnamese shop. There are some differences between the two stores though, including the variety of foods served and the type of sandwiches they offer. Let’s explore!

I entered into the little shop, noticing right away that they have a larger menu. They offer American type sandwiches in addition to their banh mi’s (such as Turkey with Pesto, Black Forest Ham and Tuna). They also have a different selection of sandwiches and they also offer vermicelle noodle and noodle soups, porridge, rice platters, and appetizers. Their selection of smoothies is also a much smaller menu that Bale’s and again you can get boba added to any smoothie.

Since the other shop didn’t have it, I decided to go with the Spicy Cajun Shrimp sandwich ($4.50). I inquired as to whether or not this sandwich was really spicy and was told that it wasn’t, so I went for it. I didn’t order anything else because I only had about $5 on me and this place only accepts cash (sad face). No sandwich is more than $5, so this is a great place if you’re on a budget (like me!).

This sandwich has the same stuff that any banh mi has – I took out the jalpenos and reduced the amount of stem on the cilantro before eating. I liked that the carrots were smaller pieces and therefore weren’t totally overwhelming. The cucumber is also a little smaller sized in this sandwich. The shrimps were good until I was 3/4 of the way done with the sandwich. It seemed the spices on the shrimp weren’t really evenly distributed across the shrimps/sandwich, so there was too much spice going on for me near the end of the sandwich. It wasn’t spicy hot, it was just too overspiced for my tastes. The bread is always one of my favorite parts and these french breads never disappoint. While I was waiting for my sandwich to be made, an Asian woman came in and bought just a loaf of bread. I didn’t know you could do that! It’s not listed on the menu, but it makes sense.

If you’re looking to try more Vietnamese dishes, than Cali Baguette Express is yet another option in Mira Mesa to satisfy your daily lunch yearnings.

Cali Baguette Express
9225 Mira Mesa Blvd #106
(between Rickert Rd & Black Mountain Rd – near Santana’s)
San Diego, CA 92126
(858) 695-8888
Cash only

I’ve been to Keith’s Family Restaurant more times than I can count. This place used to be a regular haunt for Alyssa and I back in the day when she used to live in San Diego. We loved it because they have cheap breakfast specials in the $5-$6 range and it was open 24 hours. There were many nights that we visited Keith’s late at night, eating breakfast, doing the Reader crossword puzzle and playing a game of Scrabble in between bites and scribbles. The waitresses there knew us and we stay for hours finishing our games and crossword puzzles. I have no idea why I haven’t reviewed it until now, except to say that I somehow forgot to. In any case, it’s better late than never.

One of my favorite breakfast specials is Breakfast Special #5 ($5.99): Biscuits and Gravy. You get two biscuit halves covered with sausage gravy, one egg, hash browns, and a drink (coffee, juice or milk). Biscuits and gravy is a personal weakness of mine and paired along with Keith’s hash browns, I can hardly ever resist it. The hash browns are hands down my favorite thing ever at Keith’s. They are always perfectly cooked: crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside. Covered with just a little salt and you’re golden. The biscuits are also very good – baked to a golden brown and covered in delicious sausage gravy. You can’t beat the price, either! They have other breakfast specials on their menu, all under $6 bucks.

On the days I don’t feel like getting breakfast, my other standby meal at Keith’s is their Club Sandwich (I think it’s about $7.49). You get a pretty large double decker sandwich with turkey, bacon, and cheese on your choice of bread (I always go with sourdough). I usually just eat about half of the sandwich and save the other half for later. It comes out with the bread lightly toasted and crisp – all of the ingredients are super fresh and delicious. It’s hard to get a club sandwich wrong, but for some reason I really enjoy the club sandwich here than at other places. It’s also worth it to spring for the seasoned fries. Just trust me on this.

You can get breakfast here any time of day, and I also recommend the french toast and pancakes. Pretty much anything you get here is delicious, but the two items above are my usual orders, depending on my mood. I do sometimes crave the french toast, but then I have to order a side of hash browns so I don’t miss out on their crunchy deliciousness.

One thing to note:  Keith’s is no longer open 24 hours 7 days a week. According to their website, they are open 24 hours Wednesday – Saturday and are open 6am-10pm Sunday – Tuesday. They used to also have a location in National City which has now closed.

Keith’s Family Restaurant
9449 Kearny Mesa Rd
(between N Altair Ave & Kearny Villa Rd, right off Miramar Rd.)
San Diego, CA 92126
(858) 271-4670

I’ve been to Lucky Pho, a Vietnamese restaurant inside of the Lucky Seafood Supermarket, many times. It’s my go-to soup for when I am feeling sick and I want a hot, hearty broth to make my insides feel warm and lovely. I hadn’t been in awhile and since it’s cheap and I wanted a night out with my friend, Laura, we visited recently for some cheap eats.

The service at the restaurant isn’t ever stellar, but they are fast. As soon as you walk in, they shout at you from across the restaurant and point you towards a table. When they think you’re ready, they swoop in for your order and swoop back out to place it for you.

I got what I usually get: Pho! I just got it with rare steak this time, but I’ve had it with other cuts stuffed into my soup and have never been disappointed. It’s got tons of green onions, regular onion, rice noodles, the rare steak (which cooks in the hot broth) and you can add what you like to it: bean sprouts, leafy greens I have never identified, and lime. The broth is rich, hearty, and has a good solid flavor to it. The broth is my favorite part! I had to ask for a fork to eat my noodles since my hands don’t know what to do with chop sticks, but that’s totally cool. No matter how you eat it, it’s delicious. Most of the soups are in the $5-$6 range, depending on the size and ingredients. I believe mine was like $5.50 and this is a “normal” sized bowl (which I have never been able to finish).

I also sprung for some egg rolls on this visit (about $5). They were crunchy and filled with a small amount of veggies and a good amount of meaty stuff. The little bowl of sauce they give you is a sweet concoction – it’s always good to dip your finger in something first to see if you’ll like it, and I liked this. This is the same sauce they give you for if you order one of their other dishes on the menu (like the rice noodles). Very tasty.

My friend got a BBQ Pork & Shrimp with Rice Noodles dish, though she thought she was getting soup. I have never ordered something else besides the Pho so I had no idea either what the other dishes entailed. No soup, apparently! But she still enjoyed it. I had a bite of the BBQ Pork and it was sweet and well flavored. I might have to try that or another dish the next time I visit!

We also bought got “Lemonade Iced Teas”… which were warm when we got them, with a smidgen of ice on top. I think they use the hot tea they serve and just add a little ice and lemonade on top, but it was disappointing that the drinks weren’t cold. I still liked the flavor of it, but I should have flagged down a waiter and gotten more ice! In the end, my friend thought it was amusing – she thought she was ordering hot soup and cold tea and instead got a cold dish and a warm drink. It was like traveling to another country without ever leaving your own city!

Lucky Pho (inside Lucky Seafood Supermarket)
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
(858) 586-7979
Accepts credit cards – $10 minimum

Do you eat at Chipotle a lot? Do you think you’ll be dining there this Saturday? Do you love polar bears?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then this may be just the promo for you! This Saturday, February 20th, from 11am-2pm, Chipotle will donate 50% of the proceeds from any of its San Diego area locations to benefit the San Diego Zoo’s polar bears.  Patrons must show the  flyer for the event, which can be downloaded at http://www.chipotle.com/email/09-san-120.htm, upon purchase. It’s a great way to help support the San Diego Zoo and feel a little good while you’re munching on your delicious tacos.

Bale French Sandwich is a small little Vietnamese sandwich shop in Mira Mesa next to Big Lots. They make some mean Vietnamese sandwiches there, complete on freshly baked french rolls. I don’t know much about the sandwiches themselves and there are tons of places that can tell you all about the banh mi. The sandwiches have pickled carrots, daikon (which is like an Asian radish), cucumbers, cilantro, jalpenos and meats.

On this visit, I had the BBQ Chicken sandwich ($3). I don’t totally care for all of the veggies in it since they come in slices in the sandwich. I always start out with them in the sandwich and then I take them out before I’m finished. I do like the cilantro though, but I really like cilantro. The bread is crisp, fresh, and hot. The chicken was perfectly cooked and had a sweet taste to it.

I’ve also had the sweet pork sandwiches here and the pork and egg sandwiches – both very tasty. They don’t really have any “American” style sandwiches like at K Sandwiches, just the Vietnamese variety. All of their sandwiches between $3 and $3.50.

They take cards here but there is a $5 minimum, so I sprung for a smoothie as well. I got the Strawberry Banana smoothie with tapioca balls in the bottom and a big fat straw. I got tired of chewing my drink after awhile, but it was actually a pretty good smoothie. I think it was about $3 as well.

If you’re looking for some cheap eats, then this place surely fits the bill!

Bale French Sandwich
9396 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
(858) 566-7711