(en route on the 125 toll road)
TC had her first tennis tournament at a local high school.
To kill time and to get some caffeine in our system, we went to our favorite coffee shop in East County...
which is Kaffee Meister. Yes, there is a hipster coffee shop in Santee...has been for about a year now. And yes, I had a new coupon to burn.
Saving some bucks shouldn't be frowned upon. All that chump change saved adds up, eh.
Bert changed his mind at the last minute and got a cold drink instead! Our blended drinks were white chocolate mocha for him and a regular mocha for me, both with soy milk. I didn't quite like mine as much since it was soy. Perhaps I should have subbed it with almond milk instead.
The day was set to be in the low 90's in El Cajon. In Santee this morning it was the mid 80's. Yikes. As we were enjoying our drinks, we saw this man ride by across the street. That's not a kid in the trailer hitch. It's his pet dog!
While on our way to the tournament I took note of these banners near the 67. The banner with the dinosaur? It's for the Creation and Earth History Museum for those who roll that way (it's run by Creationists). Check out Josh's post from California Through My Lens; he has actually been there.
We passed by this really huge flag near 2nd and Madison in El Cajon...
Luckily one of the tennis moms brought a couple of pop up tents, which provided much needed shade. We came with our beach chairs, several coolers full of ice, water, snacks and such. But what was missing was actual food. So I ventured out a few minutes away to get some Middle Eastern food after having read an older post by Cathy on "Valley Foods" (linked at the end of this post). We're hardly ever in this area and I thought we may as well maximize our opportunity to try something new. For the record, there are so many good Middle Eastern restaurants here (please check out Kirk's link here for the rundown) as well as great little markets that cater to both the Middle Eastern and Mexican population.
Located only a few minutes away was Valley Foods which had a pretty packed parking lot. I actually parked in the Mexican eatery's lot next door (shhhhh) and walked it.
It's been a few years since I'd been here and I remember drooling over the food items in this case.
The young man who helped me was so very nice and friendly. There were a few folks ahead of me while I was waiting to be helped, most were just picking up some large orders (which looked and smelled so tantalizing). Look at the menu below especially the $1 items. Yes, yes, and yes. But I've had similar items before elsewhere. No, today I wanted three things which were the same three items Cathy tried. I knew Bert and Iwould love the Beef Shawarma and that TC would eat the Biryani Rice with chicken. I was also curious to try the falafels. I haven't liked them too much before and I wanted to give them another chance.
There were three spits of meats waiting to be carved up. There was also a huge dispenser of juice which I remember was pomegranate...
The view from the dining area. There's a Country Waffles in Chula Vista but I've never been.
A flyer of an event this weekend on one of the exterior doors of Valley Foods. I really like the diversity in El Cajon. Asides from Detroit which has the largest Chaldean Iraqi population outside of Iraq, the city of El Cajon ranks second.
Behind the market, delivery trucks and vans...
The damage. Not too bad. Comparing it to Cathy's total from five years ago, the side rice went up $2 and the sandwich, up $1 while the falafel stayed pretty much the same. The rice portion, as you will see was pretty generous though.
Biryani rice with chicken (not quite as shredded as I thought it would be). They had readymade biryani but it had beef mixed with chicken. Because I only wanted chicken, it took a tiny bit longer to get the order, which was fine with me. The spices in here were cumin and maybe sumac. The vegetables were peas and carrots (from frozen) and potatoes. The rice was wonderfully fragrant and was a generous portion. TC enjoyed this twice...for lunch and later again for dinner.
The Beef Shawarma sandwich, made with wonderful samoon bread (which are 3 for $1 here; that is a damn good deal). Look how big this is. Holy $#@%. When opened up, you can see the massive amount of meat and the various pickles which provided a nice textural and flavor contrast. Bert liked how the bread was sturdy enough to soak up the juices. We both liked the texture of the bread which was firm yet spongy. They bake this bread constantly here so you know you're getting a fresh roll (look at the char spots) instead of some stale ass bread.
Here's the Falafel plate which came with salad, hummus and olives and a yogurt dip for the fried patties. There are seven pieces for the combo which is pretty generous. I guess I'm still not that won over by falafel. The texture is kind of too dry for my liking. It's kind of like a dense garbanzo puck. Comparing this to Cathy's combo, the salad is now green salad rather than tabbouleh and the dip is no longer pickled mango AND there were no more pita breads served with it.
Here is Cathy's old Valley Foods post which spurred me to get some lunch there today (since we were in the area):
"Valley Foods Mediterranean Market and a meal" November 2010
Previous visit to Kaffee Meister:
"Return to Eccentric Bakers and Kaffee Meister" April 2015
Previous visit to Valley Foods:
July 2013 where Cathy took me on a tour of a couple of ethnic markets that hot summer day...
The sandwich was pretty hefty and we, okay I, finished it later this evening. I wish we had something comparable down south but alas, no. All of the good Middle Eastern markets are a bit of a drive (but worth it).
The tournament lasted until 4 pm. The girls' tennis team was able to gain experience playing other teams of varying skill levels. It was a pretty long day but before going home, the girls and their coach decided on an after tournament treat at a local ice cream shop...That post is forthcoming.
2 comments:
Great post! It's nice they put the $1 menu up...we started asking them to charge us for a large flatbread and then I'd have to wait at the bakery window, then go back and show them I only had one in the bag. I think I know what I want for lunch today. Kaffee Meister has been there for a few years now; I remember stopping there one voting day, since my 'area' didn't have a Starbucks. Thanks for stopping by my 'hood.
Thank you. Your hood is great!
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