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Szechuan Chef Revisited

Chinese Restaurants

Recently, FOY “Xiāng Jiāo” messaged me, letting me know that she believed Szechuan Chef had been improving over recent months. I’d pretty much given up on Sichuan cuisine in SD, but heck, it had been almost seven years since my last visit….so, I convinced the Missus that the time was right for a revisit.

Strangely, the parking lot of Convoy Village Shopping Center was basically empty when we arrived for lunch. Thus, in stark contrast to other locations on Convoy, parking was a breeze.

After being seated, we ordered four items. After our meal, we took a look at what we had ordered and noticed something quite “interesting”. We ended up ordering a couple of the recommended dishes and a few more. In terms of price, this seemed much cheaper than our recent meals at Cantonese style restauraurants.

First up, the Pork Intestines with Pickled Vegetable ($19.99). One of my favorite dishes at Eastern Dynasty is a version of this dish. And personally, I prefer that version, which is strangely much more tangy-sour than this version. Also, the intestine here, while being quite strong in the savory-“bungy” category, the intestines were overly rubbery, lacking in that initial resistance, followed by a creamy texture.

The preserved vegetable was very mild in flavor. Not a terrible dish, but perhaps I should have ordered the dry fried version?

The Fish Fragrant (yuxiang) Eggplant (aka Eggplant with Garlic Sauce on the menu – $14.99) was much too sweet.

The eggplant was also quite mushy in texture. Not a favorite of ours.

Next up was a dish that “XJ” recommended that I’ve ordered several times, the Beef Tendon with Pickled Peppers ($21.99).

So, this was better than what we’ve had before, but it still didn’t bring on as much sour-tangy-spicy tones as we like. We enjoyed the good amount of garlic though. And the tendons were so very….well tender! They almost melted in your mouth. I could just imagine this in a bowl of pho! We kept wondering how the chef prepped these to make it so buttery smooth? It did lack the spicy though…so we may look at another tendon dish if we return.

There was one dish that brought the heat and turned out to be our favorite of the meal; the Pork Trotters Hot Pot ($19.99) which was placed over a heating element at the table. The first thing to hit you when this dish arrives is the pungent-earthy-“BO” of cumin. Great when emanating from a dish….not so great when exuding from the person sitting next to you on a flight….can you tell I’m still traumatized by that???

This was spicy stuff….good ma-la going on here. The skin on the trotters was very soft and tender. The potatoes seemed to have easily absorbed the essence of the chilies, especially the one’s on the bottom. The Missus, who grew up eating cauliflower in Northern China loved it in this dish. We did enjoy this; though the leftovers were super spicy the next day.

Overall, including one order of rice, the bill came out to be $78 before tip and taxes, making it cheaper than any of the Chinese dining experiences we’ve had recently. We did notice that every protein based dish we ordered was basically offal. Could that be why? Anyway, we may return in a bit. And I need to thank “XJ” who helped to get us out of our Chinese dining “rut”.

Szechuan Chef
4344 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon – Thurs 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm
Fri – Sun 11am – 330pm, 5pm – 9pm

Road Trip – Locals Taproom, Mr. Rick’s/Custom House (Avila Beach) and Industrial Eats (Buellton) Yet Again

American/New American Restaurants, Beer, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Pubs and Pub Grub, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Travel

Just three weeks after returning from our short stay in Idyllwild we were headed out again. This time for a bit of a longer Road Trip. Because our final destination would be over 9 hours driving, I decided we should break things up a bit. We’d be going in a bit of a roundabout way, but I thought the combination of both the shore and the mountains would be fun.

On our way out, we stopped at a place I’ve posted on numerous times; Industrial Eats in Buellton. Of course, we just got our favorites; the Smoked Duck Salad and Miso Cod which never fails to satisfy.

Industrial Eats
181 Industrial Way
Buellton, CA 93427

From there it was just an hour drive to our destination in SLO. I’d read a bit about a little beach town named Avila Beach. So, we decided to stay there to expand our horizons a bit. It is a charming little town of about 1,600 people. There’s basically one avenue where most of the businesses are located, Front Street, a portion of which is pedestrian only.

We stayed at the Avila Lighthouse Suites, which is very dog friendly, at one end of Front Street, and right across from the beach.

A decent view of the park and the some of the beach from our patio.

After checking in, we decided to take a short stroll.

Being just a short drive from SLO, I can imagine how busy the beach here must be during weekends and holidays. But this was a Wednesday, so things were so laid back and mellow.

We walked down Front Street until the road headed up the hill.

Then wandered back down the street to the pier, which is dog friendly.

Which gave us an nice view of the waterfront.

We headed back to our room to relax for a bit. Dogs are allowed on the beach before 10am and after 5pm. So a bit before 5 we headed out and took a look at the lagoon and river on the other side of Avila Beach Drive. I wanted to find the path we’d be taking for our walk the following day.

And immediately at 5pm, we were back on the beach, right across from Avila Lighthouse Suites where JJ had a “swinging time”.

The Missus went to change and freshen up for dinner. JJ and I decided to grab a “cold one” and the Missus would meet us for dinner.

There was a place about a block away, down on the corner of San Miguel Street and 1st named Locals Taproom.

I asked the woman manning the bar if dogs were allowed, she laughed and said, “of course!” The small bar was full of folks, all of whom seemed to be from the area. All of the brews were also from the area….I guess that’s why they call it “Locals”.

I got the Aurora a Belgian Blonde made by the Apogee Brewing Company made in Grover Beach, just south of Pismo Beach.

Very easy to drink…perfect for a warm day!

All the folks came to pet JJ….who ate it up!

It’s totally our kind of place!

The woman working, who is also one of the owners was so welcoming saying if we wanted to, we can bring outside food here as well. She also introduced me to one of the local brew masters who was having a beer at the bar! Really nice folks!

Locals Taproom
90 San Miguel St.
Avila Beach, CA 93424

Soon enough, the Missus walked on over and we strolled down Front Street looking for a place to have dinner. There are two businesses right next to each other; a large bar named Mr. Rick’s……

We had a seat on the patio and I ordered the Missus some wine and I got myself a cold one. The food is provided next door at Custom House, which has a typical food menu; everything from burgers to sandwiches, salads, fish and shrimp tacos, that sort of thing. I ordered the Carne Asada Fries from the counter at Mr. Rick’s when grabbing our drinks. And soon enough it was brought to our table from Custom House.

Man, this was huge! I’m thinking it was worth the $21 price tag.

It was typical, cheesy, chewy, but slightly smoky tri-tip, the fries were nicely crisp. The hot sauce was pretty mild, but it was what we basically expected.

And it was more than enough food for both the Missus and I!

Mr. Rick’s/Custom House
404 Front St.
Avila Beach, CA 93424

We rolled back to our room at Avila Lighthouse Suites and enjoyed a restful evening.

Thanks for stopping by!

Revisits to Romanella and The Pub – Happy Hours with JJ

Beer, Cocktails, Dog Friendly, Italian Restaurants, Pubs and Pub Grub

While I’m not a huge fan of most of the eateries in our area; I do appreciate the fact that many of them are dog friendly and that the folks working at these places are friendly….giving out a real neighborhood vibe. Recently, I took JJ to a couple of happy hours. I’d already done visits with him to Luce, Bay Park Fish, and the High Dive. And so it was time to revisit a place I hadn’t been to in over two years….

The Pub:

It was perfect weather for JJ….slightly overcast….he doesn’t care for direct sun and heat, so I decided to see what happy hour was like at The Pub. So we took the 20 minute walk down the hill. The place was really mellow when we arrived. Though I’d been going to The Pub from the days they first opened and was named “Dan Diego‘s”, I had never eaten on the patio. Which is now nicely covered.

Our Server, I believe her name is Angela was so sweet to JJ…who of course would then kiss up to her every time she passed.

I was just going to get myself a Guinness….beers are $2 off during Happy Hour which is before 5pm on weekdays making it $5.50. It was a nice pour, smooth, perhaps a bit too much of a head.

Nice malty, lightly bitter, smooth and mildly coffee-ish.

I was just going to have my pint and head home….but I noticed that several of the appetizers were 50% off during weekday happy hours! And I saw something on the menu that caught my attention…and no, it wasn’t the haggis which I’d had last time. It was the Poutine, which was just $5.50 during HH! It supposedly had Wisconsin Cheese Curds, which of course instantly brough my trips to Madison back into view.

What arrived really didn’t remind me of poutine. I mean, I wasn’t expecting what I’d had at.. say La Banquise, but this even looked weak as Irish Poutine.

I did enjoy the thick cut chips, which actually kept a bit of crispness for most of the meal. The gravy was too gluey, salty, but lacking in the dark brown color, and other than the sodium pretty weak in other aspects….I usually enjoy a bit of savory complexity given by Worcestershire sauce, or a beefy, mild sweetness.

The ratio of cheese curds to fries was also off and the curds lacked that lovely mild “squeak” I enjoy. And unlike most cheese curds I’ve had melted fairly quickly.

Still, this was more than enough to fill me up and for $5.50……with the Guinness, just $13? These days that’s a bargain, right? Plus, Angela was so nice to JJ. I’m sure we’ll be back…..I hope to find something I like on the menu.

The Pub
2415 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Wed – Thurs 330pm – 10pm
Fri – Sat 1pm – 11pm
Sunday 930am – 330pm
Closed on Monday and Tuesday
$2 off drinks before 6pm
50% off Pub Bites before 5pm on Weekdays

I’d recently checked out Romanella‘s website, thinking about taking JJ for Happy Hour and noticed a bunch of changes. They’ve stopped serving lunch during the week, replacing it with “brunch” during the weekend. And Happy Hour was now from 4pm to 530pm weekdays only. I guess that 2pm – 5pm HH and weekday lunch wasn’t working out? Anyway, JJ and I headed up to Romanella; the Missus was craving some of those Oxtail Meatballs; so I figured JJ and I would get an early dinner and save the rest for the Missus.

Romanella:

We were greeted as always and had a nice table on the patio.

A couple of the folks working here are always nice to JJ and he even sometimes gets his “water” before I do!

So, of course I had to get my favorite HH cocktail, the Smoke of the Gods ($9).

Nice, somewhat fruity tones from Tequila, with a touch of smokiness from Mezcal. Not overly sweet.

I was happy to note that the HH items have not changed in price.

Though the Oxtail Meatballs ($14 – HH) seem to have more ground beef than oxtail as the texture has become more firm and is less beefy in flavor. Per a text from the Missus, I was allowed one meatball…..

Still, that tangy marinara sauce went nicely with the bread provided…at no extra cost mind you!

In terms of portion size the Pinsa Porchetta is still a bargain at $14 during HH.

Not the thickest slices of porchetta, but the flatbread has been nicely toasted, the marinara is acidic, tangy, with a hint of fruitiness. The mozzarella is stringy, though very mild and there’s some potato in this as well. Two slices usually fills me up!

So, the Missus got Her meatball and could only finish two pieces of the pinsa. I’m hoping Romanella stays in business. There was only one other table filled during our stay.

Romanella Cucina Romana
3055 Clairemont Dr.
San Diego, CA 92117
Current Hours:
Mon – Thurs 4pm – 9pm
Friday 4pm – 10pm
Saturday 9am – 3pm, 4pm – 10pm
Sunday 9am – 3pm, 4pm – 9pm
Happy Hour – Mon – Fri 4pm – 530pm

Caffeine Fix – Black Rock Coffee Bar (Pacific Beach)

Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix

Had to take the Missus’s car in for maintenance again. And, as always I was looking for a place to get some coffee and a bite to eat form breakfast. My instincts told me to return to Local Krave, but I really want to find a place I can go to whenever I’m in the area. I had heard a location of Black Rock Coffee, a chain with origins in Oregon had opened in PB. I’d heard of their locations in North County, so I decided to walk on over to get a cold brew. I walked up Mission Bay Drive and then down crazy Garnet Avenue to the corner of Bond and Garnet….. And I had to laugh when I saw the shop. It’s obvious what it was in a previous life, right?

Yep, this is the old Wienerschnitzel which closed in 2024 if I recall. You can spot that building a mile away. I walked to the window and took a gander at the menu.

And being a creature of habit, got a cold brew ($6.95) and needing something to eat, I decided on a Chorizo Breakfast Sandwich ($5.09). The young lady at the counter was very friendly. I went and had a seat at the outdoor area to wait. There was what seemed like an endless stream of vehicles in the drive thru. Back up all the way down the side street to Figueroa.

The Cold Brew was fairly smooth, mild in terms of acidity…though I do enjoy that in my CBs, and very easy to drink.

The “Breakfast Sandwich” was interesting……

Served in an English Muffin…which BTW, from what I’ve learned originated in New York, not England. And check out the size versus my earbud case!

Lot’s of stringy cheese and the so called “chorizo” tasted like a mildly spiced breakfast sausage.

It was the mildly spicy “spread” on the English Muffin that gave it the flavor one might associate with a “gringo-chorizo”.

And here’s where it gets interesting….and also was a reality check for me. I sent the photo to some folks I know saying, “since when is an Egg McMuffin like five bucks?” I quickly got a few responses……one asking me when was the last time I had an Egg McMuffin? Well, I guess that would be like over 20 years ago? I was quickly told that Egg McMuffins are now over seven bucks? Is that true? Yikes! What’s going on with prices here?

Anyway, the coffee are not bad; but I’ll stay with Local Krave for now. I’m still looking for breakfast options in the area for when I drop the Missus’s car off.

Black Rock Coffee Bar
2669 Garnet Ave.
San Diego, CA 92109
Current Hours:
Daily 5am – 7pm

Ju-ichi is now serving lunch again

Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

After having some fairly mediocre experiences with chirashi at the newish…..kinda “westernized” Kiiro and Oishi, being the old fuddy-duddy that I am, I decided to head on over to one of my old favorites. After doing a bit of shopping at Zion and Tokyo Central, I headed down Engineer Road and a sign caught my eye.

It seems that Ju-ichi was doing lunch again! Back when they first opened, Ju-ichi did lunch service. In fact, one of fellow blogger and “FOY” Denver’s first posts was on lunches at Ju-ichi! Unfortunately, by the time I had decided to visit, they had stopped serving lunch.

The sign really did seem like a “sign”, so I decided to detour here. The parking lot was mostly empty, which is a rarity in the evenings, and I parked and walked in.

Walking into the place nostalgia overcame me. I was last in here when this was Sushi Yaro, which I had been a regular customer of. In fact, the very first time I dined out after Covid closures was at Sushi Yaro! I was greeted and seated and handed two menus; a regular menu and a lunch specials version.

I did want my (these days) lunch time usual…the “regular” Bara Chirashi was like $50….a bit too much to spend for a regular lunch in my opinion. The lunch menu had a mini Bara Chirashi for $18 and figuring it would be a rather “petite” bowl, I also got…yes, I’m a creature of habit…some karaage ($13).

Soon enough my order arrived.

After my last two terrible experiences with karaage; I was happy to see a more traditional version…yes, using dark meat chicken and the batter seemed to use katakuriko (potato starch) and had a decent, light crispness.

The meat was moist; light in the flavor department, it could have used more savory-soy flavor, along with some pungency (i.e. a hint of ginger). The (not) spicy aioli added additional richness and the nori in the mayo was a good savory addition. I need to be doing my “karaage rounds” again.

As for the bara chirashi, yes, this was indeed a “mini bowl”.

Being bara chirashi, I did expect the smaller cuts of fish. What I really enjoyed in this bowl was the ikura, it was savory and briney, but not overly salty. It had been preserved nicely and not over salted, which is also an indication of lower quality ikura. Nice burst of oceany-umami that went well with the tangy sumeshi. The rice was warm and soft; it had obviously just been cooked and prepped.

The salmon, hamachi, and shiromi were decent, with the meaty and tender maguro being my favorite.

Loved that there wasn’t any chewy connective tissue in the maguro, it was quite good.

And while I do miss Sushi Yaro, this was a nice lunch and I’ll probably return for some sushi and sashimi in the future as the fish seems to be of decent quality. And Denver; looks like you can get your lunches at Ju-ichi again! Hope to see a new post from you one of these days!

Ju-ichi
7905 Engineer Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon, Tues, Thurs 1130am – 2pm, 430pm – 9pm
Friday 1130am – 2pm, 430pm – 10pm
Saturday 430pm – 10pm
Sunday 430pm – 9pm
Closed on Wednesday

Dim Sum from Diamond Palace in Photos

Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum

We’re currently out on the road with JJ, but I thought I’d share some photos from a recent visit to Diamond Palace with the Missus. While DP is our current favorite Dim Sum in San Diego; it comes with a matching price tag…even more expensive than the recently opened Hong Kong Kitchen & Dim Sum which is in Kearny Mesa! Since I’d done a pretty recent post; I’ll keep the verbiage to a minimum.

Anyway, as before, it was all the stuffs with shrimp that hit the spot…in fact, most everything we ordered had shrimp.

The Pan Fried Shrimp and Chive Cake was much better this time around. The wrapper was tender with a bit of crunch and pull, but wasn’t overly chewy. Great shrimp and light pungency-oniony tones.

For us, the Shrimp Siu Mai is a favorite.

Lot’s of plump, oceany-savory-sweet shrimp. Mild crunch……the wrapper was fairly tender.

The wrapper on the Har Gow is still a bit too thick, but the shrimp makes up for it.

A new favorite is the Shrimp and Chive Crystal Dumplings.

Now, the 64,000 dollar question……what did this cost? Can you guess? I guess this is where they would cue up the countdown song in Jeopardy?

Well, can you imagine…$75 for dim sum? Ouch! I mean, this is Diamond Palace, not Sea Harbour? But such are prices these days!

Diamond Palace
3993 54th St.
San Diego, CA 92105

I know “FOY” Dereck was interested in checking this place out. I’m wondering if you made it here yet?

Idyllwild – Atomic Cow, Idyllwild Brewpub, and Pure Bean Idy

American/New American Restaurants, Caffeine Fix, Cocktails, Pubs and Pub Grub, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Temecula/Idyllwild/Palm Springs - Riverside, CA, Travel

We had basically one full day in Idyllwild and the Missus wanted to get a hike in. After searching around a bit, we picked the Ernie Maxwell Scenic Trail, which was about 5 miles, but was also shaded…..since JJ doesn’t care for direct sunlight much.

Idyllwild is so peaceful in the morning……

We got to the trail early so had no problem with parking. There’s some inclines and such, but it’s a lovely trail.

I enjoyed some of the rock formations.

As did JJ….but for different reasons……

He seemed to like jumping on the rocks to taunt me….as in “hurry up daddy, you too slow!”

We took about 2 1/2 hours to complete the trail then headed back to the room to freshen up, then headed down the street to grab an early lunch.

There were a few choices….I guess we could have gone to the Red Kettle again….but we’d been-there, done-that and wanted something different.

Right past the Red Kettle is a little alleyway/lane called the Village Lane.

I had noticed an ice cream shop named the Atomic Cow the previous day, but taking a closer look, we saw that they did sandwiches as well.

While the Missus watched JJ, I went in and ordered us some sandwiches. I got us an Italian Sub and also the Cubano which featured an interesting ingredient.

The Italian Sub was typical, shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, dressed with a vinaigrette.

I did like that they used Amoroso Rolls, very mild in flavor. This was your basic ham-pepperoni-salami-provolone sandwich.

The “wildcard” was the Cubano.

You see, this “Cubano” features; in addition to the ham, “Kalua Pork”! Say what?!? We actually enjoyed this sandwich.

This didn’t have all the veggies and was also toasted. The provolone cheese had melted, adding a nice milkiness! The “Kalua Pork” was basically pork made with liquid smoke, but was smoky, tender, salty, and savory….and it went really well with the ham! Who’s have thought, right? We enjoyed the pickles and mustard in this as they helped balance out the rich saltiness.

Well, this was a pleasant surprise. We polished off the Cubano, which was enough for the both of us, and saved the Italian Sandwich for breakfast.

Atomic Cow
54200 N Circle Dr.
Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA 92549

We then headed back to our room….it was time for a nap.

Upon waking we decided to get an early dinner and slowly made our way down to our dinner destination. Located in the Strawberry Creek Shopping Plaza is the Idyllwild Brewpub. You see the sign and then head down the flight of stairs…..

We had a nice table on the patio.

Where JJ could just chill. The Servers were quite friendly. Since this is a brewpub, my initial thought was to grab a beer, but the cocktail menu was intriguing.

All the syrups and fruit juices are made inhouse…..so we had cocktails.

The Missus had the Devil’s Slide….She does enjoy Her Tequila and this was pleasantly stiff.

I got the Smoked Old Fashion.

And while this won’t make me forget about The Alchemist’s Garden or even Shelter Distilling, it was very nice; aromatic, smoky, not overly sweet.

As for food, we just got two dishes. Starting with the Mountain Wedge Salad.

Nice and refreshing; the bacon bits and the blue cheese crumbles make this salad.

And I wanted to try the Fried Cheese Curds…..

The batter wasn’t particularly crisp, though the cheese was nice and gooey. A bit short in terms of flavor…I think horseradish might have been a good “dip” for this. Still haven’t found anything that matches up with what I’d had at the Old Fashioned in Madison.

Overall, a decent dinner. We’d return on a follow-up trip a few months later.

Idyllwild Brewpub
54423 Village Center Dr.
Idyllwild, CA 92549

I know “FOY” Junichi also visited the Brewpub! Junichi, I’m wondering what dined on?

Walking back to our accommodations; I could tell that J was pretty tired. He’s had a busy day after all.

The next morning, I saw something while walking JJ at 5am in the morning. I saw what looked like 3 dogs roaming down North Circle Drive. They basically walked past us…Coyotes! Walking down the main street like they owned the place.

Later in the morning, we decided to walk into town to grab some coffee and then finish up the sandwich from the day before. This is Idyllwild at 7am.

We walked down to the little mall that houses Pure Bean Idy.

JJ hung out with the Missus while I went in and ordered our coffee.

Very nice service and I enjoyed my Cold Brew.

Pure Bean Idy
54245 N Circle Dr.
Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA 92549

After finishing up, we packed up and headed home. The two nights went by in the blink of an eye, but we’d be returning id a couple of months.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai Revisited

Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

I guess after checking out Marufuku and revisits to Nagi and Santouka, I’d had enough tonkotsu (i.e. what every ramen shop has to serve in San Diego) ramen and needed a break. Of course, HiroNori and their shoyu ramen is a favorite of mine; but I‘d just been there a couple of months back. Then it came to me. I hadn’t been back to Kitakata Ramen in over a year! And even though they’ve given up and have started doing tonkotsu, it’s their signature Fukushima style shoyu ramen that I was after. As a plus, I recall being able to order my noodles “katame” (extra firm) the last time I visited.

I arrived at around 1115 and was shocked to see the place empty!

And strangely, I was the only customer dining in…there were several takeout orders during my entire meal! The young lady working was so sweet and friendly.

I was really after only one thing.

The Kitakata Ramen is now $14.45 and I added an ajitama which has an upcharge of $1.70.

Because it was really slow; my bowl arrived in the blink of an eye!

In previous visits, I’ve noted that the broth was quite salty on occasion. However, that wasn’t the case this time around. Nice shoyu-savory tones. The broth was also a bit richer than I recalled.

The ajitama was……drum roll…..warm! Hallelujah!

No cold boiled egg! It was also nicely seasoned.

The Chashu was thinly sliced, with a nice toothsomeness.

It was however, a bit more salty than I recalled. Still, not bad.

My favorite part of the dish? Well, it was the extra firm, curly noodles. Which did a great job of “picking up” the broth.

Overall, while not in the league of HiroNori’s Shoyu Ramen, this was an enjoyable bowl. I should probably visit more often….especially since this bowl of ramen was cheaper than the last couple bowls of pho I’ve had. I am a bit concerned about the place being totally empty…..I hope they manage to stay in business here. Even though many folks would disagree; I think we need more than just tonkotsu ramen in San Diego.

Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai
7951 Othello Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon-Thurs 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm
Friday 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm
Saturday 11am – 10pm
Sunday 11am – 9pm

Pho and Wings aka Pho Nam Cali 2 (Scripps Ranch)

Chicken Wings, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

While having lunch with Calvin at Hong Kong Kitchen & Dim Sum…well, our conversation veered, as it always does, into food. Among the places he mentioned to me was his new go-to pho shop in his neighborhood of Scripps Ranch. Called Pho and Wings. It’s in walking distance so he can head there during his WFH (Work From Home) days or even during certain evenings. I’d never heard of the place; so I looked it up when I got back home. After doing that search thing, I found that the place has an “alias” of Pho Nam Cali 2…… I’d heard of Pho Nam Cali in National City, so I’m thinking this is their second shop? Perhaps listing chicken wings to tempt other folks in? I liked that they open at 10am, so headed on over on a Sunday morning.

The shop is located in one of those numerous strip malls…this one has a location of Mickey D’s, Von’s, Starbucks, along with a couple of, I believe non-chain places as well.

The interior is bright and colorful….and I do mean bright and colorful!

The menu was completely in English. The woman working was so sweet and mellow. I simply ordered the House Special Pho ($16.99). I believe there are sometimes clues as to a place’s typical customer base. Like, I’m Asian, ordered pho, and still got a fork delivered to my table.

I did get a mild beefy-pungent fragrance when the bowl of pho arrived, a good sign.

The amount of sprouts and basil was typical for many places these days…rather sparse. But at least it looked quite fresh.

The broth had that typical “San Diego sweet – sodium blast” flavor, though it did have a mild beefiness. It did register as being a bit thin in terms of tongue feel as it was seriously defatted.

The noodles were in a serious clump at the bottom of the bowl. And, in an interesting change of pace, seriously undercooked. You can tell how stiff they are in the photo.

Well, I’m used to over cooked mushy noodles….undercooked, is a new one for me!

The rare steak was very lean and chewy, as was the flank. There was a serious lack of flavor as well.

I did appreciate the tripe, which was nice and crunchy. There was quite a bit of it as well.

Overall, an ok bowl of pho. Nothing to go out of your way for and there’s much better to be found in Mira Mesa.

Still, that woman was so sweet and kind. She kept making sure my water was refilled. And, since the place is named Pho and Wings…well, I had to try the wings, right? So, a couple of weeks later I returned.

Same really sweet woman was working. I was going to get the wings for sure.

But I needed to order something else as well. I looked over the menu and decided on the Beef Salad ($9). This is what arrived.

Iceberg lettuce, cherry tomato, and cucumbers, topped with a mildly marinated, but fairly tender stir fried beef. Very typical soy based flavor. A fairly typical sesame dressing, kind of on the watery side. My favorite part of the salad were the fried shallots, nice and slightly crisp, with that sweet-pungent onion like flavor.

I really didn’t expect Bo Tai Chanh, so I wasn’t disappointed. And at least this seemed a bit healthy and was somewhat refreshing……

Because the Fried Chicken Wings ($10.99) were up next.

The menu says “crispy” which this was not. It’s lightly breaded, but not crisp, more chewy and gets soggy quickly. Simply seasoned, that sesame dressing was provided here as well.

The meat of the flats was moist and fairly tender. The drumettes were really tough and chewy. The flavor was simple and nothing really stood out. Except that super jumbo and really chewy drumette.

I’m thinking that this is ok neighborhood pho; the woman working is wonderful, but the pho and especially the wings are nothing special. In other words, if I’m on the 15 North I’m taking the exit before Scripps Poway Parkway….that would be Mira Mesa, for my pho fix.

Pho and Wings-Pho Nam Cali 2
10549 Scripps Poway Pkwy.
San Diego, CA 92131
Current Hours:
Daily 10am – 9pm

BibimBoom! (Mira Mesa)

Korean Restaurants

The Missus was wanting some Bi Bim Bap recently. I’d heard about a place that specialized in dolsot bi bim bap in the strip mall that houses Cali Baquette Express on Mira Mesa Blvd. The Missus, who is not usually up to trying out new places sounded interested so we headed on over.

Well, the place has the interesting name of BibimBoom???? Hmmm……

We entered and were directed to one of the booths by the nice young man working. The place is nicely lit, tables well spaced. He brought over menus.

Which covered the dishes offered and were written in English, Korean, and Chinese. The items offered were broken up into what appears to be their own “periodic table”. Based on what type of tableware was used.

This was actually not giving us particularly good vibes as it seemed a bit “fusionized”? But we carried on and placed our order.

Panchan then arrived.

The baechu kimchi tasted somewhat fermented and was the best of what was offered. The Oi (cucumber kimchi) was the worse…tasting like some Persian Cucumbers were sliced and dumped into a kimchi based. It lacked spice or pungent tones and even seemed to need slat. This was not a great start to the meal.

Until the first item arrived. Mind this sign….it’s not a lie!

It did take a while for the Dolsot Bi Bim Bap ($21.50) to arrive.

It looked quite typical. The bugogi is on the chewy side, but decently marinated with that salty-soy-sweetness, with a hint of ginger.

There’s a ton of rice in this, but the cho-jang helps to solve that problem..

That stone bowl is no joke….it’ll start developing a really nice rice crust in no time flat. So, if you’re into that….as the Missus is, you might enjoy this.

We also dumped the baechu kimchi into the bowl…and when the young man came and got us refills, that second portion of panchan went in as well. I’m not quite sold on this, but the Missus really likes that rice crust.

Our second dish soon arrived; the Kimchi Jeon (kimchi pancake – $14.50). This was our least favorite item during this meal.

Not sure what kind of flour they use, it has a very cheesy texture and other then the edges lacked crispness. It actually stringed up like cheese when you pulled the soggy-mushy slices apart and wouldn’t even crisp up when brushed with oil in our air fryer. It could have used more spice-sour-savory tones…well, let’s put it as it could have used more flavor period.

It took a while for our final dish to arrived; the Dak Kalbi ($21.50). Please note that we ordered this without the cheese which would have been poured over the rice. Sorry, but it’s really not our thing.

This was our favorite overall item of the meal. The pan was super hot and it caramelized the onions and created some nice crispy bits as well. The spice level was nice, good savory tones, a hint of sweetness, and pleasant sour tones as well.

A nice bonus was the Tteokbokki (rice cake) which, when rested on the super hot pan developed a nice crust, thus you’d end up with a crisp exterior and creamy-chewy interior.

As we were eating, we noticed several other parties arriving. There was only one Server and he was soon overwhelmed. We felt pretty bad for him.

Overall, an interesting meal. The Missus had enjoyed the bi bim bap and we both enjoyed the dak kalbi, so we decided to return. Again, it was an 11am arrival in case it was just the young man working. This time there was another young lady.

We again ordered three dishes. This time the panchan consisted of four items. That oi kimcchi was still terrible; but the baechu kimchi seemed a bit more fermented and sour this time around.

The first to arrived was the Yuk Jeon ($16.50). On our previous visit; I’d seen yuk jeon on the menu and got a bit excited…….being from HNL, you know of my love for “meat jun”, which is also something the Missus now loves as well. So, we decided to order that….which ended up being a mistake.

The sauce on the strips of scallion was very nice. But that beef was like leather…I mean, really like leather. You could not tear it apart with your teeth. You’d end up wrapping it and then putting the whole piece in your mouth hoping you’d be able to chew it. The batter was terrible and mushy and the beef hadn’t been marinated adequately.

It was a bit of a break before our next dish arrived. This time we had ordered the Salt & Scallion Pork Bowl ($20.50).

The amount of pork was generous and again there was a ton of rice sizzling away in that molten stone bowl. The pork was simply seasoned, which was quite nice and was decently tender. The typical soy sauce-vinegar-sesame oil sauce went really well with this.

Again, we had a wonderful crust develop; though our waiting made the egg get a bit too overcooked for our taste.

This was not bad. Though we needed more sauce.

We got the Dak Kalbi without cheese on the rice again. This time it was missing the Tteokbokki.

The chicken was more tender this time around; but also a lot more salty.

It seems that YMMV here, though if you like your rice crust, this might be your kind of thing. They seemed short staffed and there were inconsistencies with the dishes and timing.

There was also one really “interesting” thing I noticed when taking our leftovers home from our first meal. It was the bag…check it out.

I was a bit surprised…I didn’t see the typical “living wall/logo” decor that places like Viet Nom and Formoosa have. They weren’t doing that get a free dessert with a Yelp review…but you have to show your Server the review first things here. And yet, looking back, I could see the “concept” approach. I checked out the SDB (i.e. “we can make any kind of Asian cuisine”) Restaurant Website and this place wasn’t listed. So perhaps they are rising above being the Consortium Holdings of Asian Cuisine and I should actually try Flama Llama and Bok Bok Dok? Of course, CH does have one restaurant we think is decent, so…..

What do you think?

BibimBoom!
9225 Mira Mesa Blvd.
110 San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Sun 11am – 915pm
Mon – Tues 11am – 9pm
Wed – Thurs 11am – 915pm
Fri -Sat 11am – 1015pm