Latest Posts

Circling Back to Alforon

Lebanese Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants

Man, the recent hot and strangely humid weather has got me craving some rather strange things. Typically, I be wanting maybe some Zaru Soba or Chirashi or perhaps some Thai Food during warmer weather. But this time; I was wanting some Garlic Paste? Of course Mama’s came to mind, but I’d recently been there….and boy do I miss the Garlic Paste from Mister Falafel. And then I suddenly realized that I hadn’t been to Alforon in a while. So, I went to the “Big List” to check and oh my……has it really been over 9 years since my last visit? Where does time go????

So, I made it a point to head on over to that crazy parking lot on ECB….which was, of course full. But I found parking close by on 60th Street and walked over.

I was greeted as I walked in by one of the owners; Samia who is a hoot. She pointed me to one of the four tops and told me, “you should sit there…the AC in the other half of the dining room is not working right”.

And she brought me some water and handed me a menu. It had been so long since I’d had my favorite here; the Chicken Tawook, it’s now $16.95….which sadly, is not an expensive price for these days!

Then the ever present Samia told me, “since you sit in the AC, maybe you should try it with the peppers!” Well now…..when did they add that option to the menu? I decided to get the peppers on my Tawook ($2). I then made the mistake of mentioning that the last time I was here, they didn’t have that option. Which made Samia shake her head and say “oooh, you haven’t been back here in a long time, huh? We added that to the menu several years ago!” Yikes; I was so busted!

Soon enough my Chicken Tawook with Peppers and Jalapenos arrived. It smelled so nice and yeasty.

You know, this is still a winnah! The garlic paste here is pungent, though not overwhelming, I really enjoy it with the pickles. I mash the blob down, before folding a slice and have at it. The chicken is mild, with a bit of lemony acidity and more moist than I recall. Nice yeasty, slightly crusty bread.

I did enjoy the spice the pickled jalapenos and sweet-spicy red peppers brought to this as well.

Strangely, I was stuffed after two slices….getting old I guess. Meanwhile, the two young men sitting on the table next to me finished three flatbreads and some falafel! Whoa……

Anyway, as I packed the two slices of the Bajeen, Samia went into full mom mode and gave me instructions on packing….”keep the cover closed so it doesn’t dry out!” You gotta love it!

I really enjoyed this and need to return more often! After all, I don’t want to disappoint Samia, right?

Alforon
5965 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115
Current Hours:
Wed – Sat 12pm – 8pm
Sunday 12pm – 7pm

And lastly, I’d like to thank ChristinaC, who first recommended Alforon to me way back in 2010! I hope you are doing well Christina!

Saturday Stuffs – Dubu San Diego Tofu Company Going into the old Ajisen Space and Banh Mi Express Temporarily Closed Until August 4th

Banh Mi, Korean Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

So here are a couple of things that good “FOYs” recently mentioned to me.

Dubu San Diego Tofu Company Going into the old Ajisen Space:

In the comments of my most recent “where on the road” post, Elle mentioned that Dubu San Diego was taking over the old Ajisen space on Clairemont Mesa. I needed to go to 99 Ranch Market so I passed by the location and the signage is up.

Elle also mentioned that their Rancho Bernardo location has already opened. You can read more on their Instagram. It looks like they have a variety of dishes….which is good, since I don’t know about you….but I’m not really in the mood for Soon Dubu with this current heat wave!

7398 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Banh Mi Express Temporarily Closed Until August 4th:

A couple of weeks back Sage sent me an email letting me know that Banh Mi Express was temporarily closed until August 4th. I always appreciate these emails as with the warm weather, Banh Mi is definitely on the list. I stopped by and took a look on my way to a different sandwich spot recently.

And yes, they are temporarily closed….does not state a reason though.

Banh Mi Express
9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92123

So there you go! Hope everyone is keeping nice and cool this weekend!

And thanks so much to Elle and Sage for letting me know about these happenings! I appreciate the time you both take out to let me know!

Me Sen Revisited

Thai Restaurants

In the comments of my post on Arbor Sushi & Grill Express, “FOY” Loren asked if there are any decent Grocery Store Food Stalls in San Diego. Junichi answered with an excellent example; Santouka. But, I also had an example of what I thought was a pretty good Super Market Food Stall; which was also located within 99 Ranch Market; though the Clairemont location. I had thought the food at Me Sen which had taken the place of the banh mi shop Sau Voi Deli was decent. I thought the Khao Mun Gai was pretty good….and I found myself at 99 Ranch Market at around 10am……and Me Sen, which has gotten a bit of “influencer visits” was open. I thought I’d drop by to see if that’s had any effect on the food.

It was quite chill when I got there, though it filled up fast. I ordered the Khao Mun Gai and sat at a table.

Soon enough, my order arrived.

It was pretty much the same as on my previous visit. The soup was white pepper forward, piping hot, though not particularly “fowl-ly”, it was as salty as on my previous visit.

The chicken was pleasantly toothsome and very moist. I kind of appreciate that it’s been deboned as it makes it easy to eat. The flavor is quite mild though. As with my previous visit; my favorite part of the dish was the rice, which had so much savory-chicken flavor. Like I said before it like the broth used for the rice “had stolen the soul of that chicken”. Man, that rice is so good.

This time around, I appreciated the Khao Mun Gai sauce, which had a nice “kick” to it, along with savory tones….though I’m thinking that it could use a bit more fermented bean paste and pungency. Still, it did add a lot of flavor to the chicken.

Overall, a decent meal. Which I’d be happy to repeat again in the near future.

Me Sen Thai Noodle Shop
7300 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 10am – 9pm

So, my good “FOYs”, what are your stand by Grocery Store Food Stalls in San Diego? I’m excited to read all the responses!

Where on the road were we?

Road Trip, Sierra Nevada, California, Travel

Well, we’ve just done our sixth (!) road trip of the year! Go figure….this is actually a sort of a repeat of one we did a couple of months back and also a few times last year. We headed back home early, totally expecting the usual 6-7 hour drive….unfortunately, the Rock Fire closed the I-395 South right past Bishop for a couple of hours this morning; leaving us sitting and waiting. I had totally expected to get home and do a short post on a place in San Diego…..but, well it was not be….as I’m kinda beat.

So, I’m just gonna do one of the “where on the road” posts!

Like I mentioned earlier; these places have become regular stops for the Missus, who loves the hiking and paddleboarding…and now JJ, who loves the hiking and wouldn’t you know, the lakes and swimming! Remember last year, when I “taught” JJ to swim the way I did “back home”? Well, guess what? JJ remembers the lake and needs no prompting to jump right in now!

And of course, there are the hikes.

Not too many choices around here….and there’s a lack of dog friendly dining choices as well….so we packed quite a bit of food to prep and did takeout for other meals.

We spent four nights here….and JJ did two swims at the lake everyday!

Our next stop was only for two nights…..on an interesting note; we were here for the Reggae Festival weekend again!

And since our last trip here; thanks to “FOYs” Karen and Kenneth, we have two new dining “stops” which we ate at again during our two days here.

And of course we did the hikes…..

And took in the views!

All in all, a busy six nights! And after that 9+ hour drive home….well, it’s time for something simple to eat in the warm weather we’re having here and then catching up on things!

So, we’ll see you tomorrow for another SD post!

Thanks for stopping by!

Boto Sushi (Del Mar)

Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

Waaaay back in November of last year, in the comments of my post on Ken Sushi Workshop, “FOYs” Dereck and Jack recommended Boto Sushi for good, reasonably priced sushi in the area. Now, the name gave me pause….I know that “boto” means “boat” in Japanese…but it has more of an interesting meaning back home in Hawaii. And that Jack, an ex-pat Kama’aina ate there cracked me up. So, of course after having some “kiki“, I needed to get some boto ummmm, check out Boto, hmmm….. you know what I mean, right?

The restaurant is located in a rather unassuming spot in Beachside Del Mar Shopping Center which is right off the I-5 on Del Mar Heights Road. This mall also cracks me up because it’s named Beachside, but is like over a mile from the beach!

The place opens at noon for lunch, which is right when I arrived. I took a seat at the long and rather expansive bar.

I was handed a sushi-sashimi check-off menu and also a food menu. Interesting thing I didn’t notice until right before I left; there’s a “Signature Dishes” and items “from Japan” written on the wall.

I would have ordered more items from that list, like shirako….still I did get a few items.

First up was some O-toro and Hotate (scallops).

The nigiri were pretty large; the rice decent.

The O-toro was sliced thick, which I kind of liked. Not quite as fatty as other versions I’ve had, but still quite good. Tender, buttery texture.

The Hotate was also quite large, I enjoyed the savory tare.

There was a kind of a fishy finish to it though.

The Hamachi looked really dry; but it was very tender.

The not overly invasive shari went well with this as I could make out almost a mild, creamy sweetness.

The Karaage was interesting.

It looked quite typical, flavor a bit on the saltier side, but perfectly fine.

Unfortunately, I believe the batter was mostly katakuriko…potato starch and was not crisp at all. I enjoy my karaage more crisp. Also, for some reason, the chicken thighs were super tough.

And the gummy coating just made things seem worse.

The last item was definitely the highlight of my meal. I ordered the Ankimo and was told they make it inhouse and it is a real specialty. Man, this was so good!

First off the texture was so creamy…..the flavor super savory, slight hint of the ocean, a touch of sweetness. Probably the best ankimo I’ve had in ages! I’d return just for this! So this really fills that category of “foie gras of the ocean”.

And so, in spite of the name, I might return to “get some Boto (I do mean to try the Shirako there)”! Ahem….I’m sure my “FOYs” Mar and Jack will get a kick out of that.

Boto Sushi Del Mar
2628 Del Mar Heights Rd.
Del Mar, CA 92014
Current Hours
Mon – Sat 12pm – 230pm, 4pm – 830pm
Closed on Sunday

Lunch with JJ – Nature Forward Socal Bistro

Dog Friendly, European Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants

So, in my croissant post on Nature Forward Socal Bistro, I mentioned noticing Shakshuka on the menu. And while I wasn’t impressed with the “croissant”, I was interested in trying the Shakshuka, especially since the place had outdoor seating. Little did I know that I would have a opportunity so quickly! It just so happened that I placed a takeout order from Joyee for when the Missus got home for dinner. JJ and I went to pick it up at around 1030 on a recent Saturday. After placing our food in the car, I decided to take JJ for a short stroll and I noticed that the front patio of Nature Forward, which is usually quite busy on weekends, was empty!

Well, I guess this was a “sign”, right? I decided to have an early lunch with JJ. I got the really nice young lady’s attention and we were seated in the front patio.

In the shaded table in the corner.

The young lady brought JJ a bowl of water with the menu for me to review. Of course, I knew what I wanted….the Shakshuka ($19). I place my order and just relaxed….based on previous experience I knew it was going to take a while…and with just the young lady working the register and front of house doing everything I wasn’t going to complain.

Eventually, my Shakshuka arrived. It came with roasted potatoes.

The potatoes seemed to be seasoned with rosemary. As you can see, it was unevenly roasted, not enough crisp brown parts, it was lukewarm, so I’m thinking it had been sitting under a heat lamp somewhere?

As for the Shashuka, it had a ton of feta cheese and was really tart from the tomatoes.

The eggs had been poached in the tomato sauce nicely and were really nice and runny.

It came with a few slices of pita bread which were hard and over toasted.

Like I mentioned, a bit too tart and sour for my taste. There was supposed to be jalapeno in this, but I could not make out any spice at all. Though I prefer this to what I’d had at Flora.

I do like hints of garlic and even cumin in my Shashuka. And while this was not even close to what I’d had at Jachnun Bar in Jerusalem….I really didn’t expect that. This was really one dimensional.

Overall, not bad, good portion size, but I think I’ll stick to making my version at home.

Nature Forward Socal Bistro
8935 Towne Centre Dr. #110
San Diego, CA 92122
Current Hours:
Sat – Tues 8am – 5pm
Wed – Fri 8am – 8pm

Saturday Stuffs – The Signs for Marugame Udon, Pepper Lunch, and Chagee Tea are up. And the Missus’s Favorite Tea from the LV Farmers Market

Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Desserts, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Japanese Restaurants

Funny thing, on the days I shop at Zion Market, I’m usually quite focused….I just want to get in and then out of that crazy parking lot, dodge those aggressive shoppers, and perhaps even dodge flying fruits and vegetables. Frankly, I don’t shop at Zion too often these days.

And you know; I hadn’t even noticed that signs had gone up for businesses coming to the area. But on a recent weekend; I arrived before the opening time and without all the construction equipment and vehicles in the area I noticed the signs for several new businesses.

It was actually the sign for Marugame I noticed first.

Man, can you imagine folks lining up here like they do at UTC? Also, I cracked up seeing the “Coming Soon Spring 2026” sign! I guess I missed the Grand Opening? Maybe they should change that?

I believe the address is:

8316 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

And right in the back courtyard are these two signs.

Chagee Teahouse and Pepper Lunch, two more chains.

8322 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

It’s going to be interesting, since the parking situation here is already pretty bad. Plus, while the old Zion Market location seemed to have a few local mom-and-pop eateries in the food court along with chains like Cocohodo. It seems that based on the size and location of the businesses it’s all major chains. I’m hoping that the proposed Rooftop Foodhall for Zion will come to fruition.

The Missus’s favorite tea from Chafolio at the Linda Vista Farmers Market. So, before things got too hot around here, I decided to take JJ to the Linda Vista Farmers Market, which I hadn’t been to in a while. This young lady at the Chafolio stand was so sweet and nice.

That I went and bought a bag of Jasmine Green Tea…even though it was $30!

When the Missus got home, I showed Her the tea and She freaked out that it was so expensive.

But you know what? She made herself a cup and really enjoyed it!

So recently, after that bag of Jasmine ran out….guess where we went to?

The Missus enjoys the teas; even though it does cost thirty bucks a bag. Based on what I read on Chafolio website is that most of the tea comes from Fujian Province.

Chafolio is at a bunch of Farmer’s Markets in San Diego. More info here.

6939 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Thursdays 2pm – 7pm

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Road Trip – Revisits to Industrial Eats (Buellton), Vaquero Bar, and Good Seed Coffee Boutique (Solvang)

American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Cocktails, Pubs and Pub Grub, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Santa Barbara County, Travel

For our last road trip of 2025, we chose to spend most of our time in a city in Santa Barbara County that we had never visited before. We also decided to visit some of our “favorite” places to dine and drink on the way there as well.

So naturally, the Missus wanted to have lunch at Industrial Eats. Which I’ve posted on several times already! We arrived in time for lunch and along with the Missus’s favorite, the Smoked Duck Salad, She wanted to try something new; so I finally had a chance to try the Reuben, the salami is made inhouse, which interested me.

The salad, with a simple vinaigrette, was as good as ever.

The Reuben was quite large.

It had a bit too much cheese for my taste; the sauerkraut was crisp and assertively sour, though a bit too salty. Which combined with the generous portion of somewhat chewy pastrami really made this a sodium bomb.

Still, not a bad sandwich….though a bit too much for lunch for me!

Industrial Eats
181 Industrial Way
Buellton, CA 93427

I’ve mentioned how much JJ enjoys Solvang before……so, we decided to stay the night before heading further North. It was a Sunday, so things were a bit hectic.

But we enjoyed walking around the town.

The Missus got to do some shopping.

And JJ….well, got to do JJ things.

We settled into our usual accommodations. When it came time for dinner, I wanted to try a place we had been to twice, but only for drinks, Vaquero Bar. The bar is attached to Coast Range Restaurant and on my last visit I found out that the bar features the same menu as the restaurant! So, I figured since it’s dog friendly and quite relaxed that we’d have dinner there.

I had a Medicine Man, a version of a mule that had both Tequila and Mezcal. Nice and stiff!

The Missus had a glass of wine.

We ordered two appetizers which proved to be enough for dinner. Starting with the Crispy Pork Belly.

This was interesting as the Gochujang Sauce had a sweetness to it. Came to find out that they actually put Coca-Cola in the sauce! The pork belly was more chewy than crispy by the time it got to our table.

We also got the Bone Marrow, which was quite good and a rather large portion to boot!

Nice fatty-rich bone marrow, tempered by a not overly sweet marmalade, with grilled bread. That pickled shallot vinaigrette would make for a heck of a salad dressing, but was a bit too much for the marrow.

We enjoyed this meal and it seems we’d finally found a place we enjoy having dinner at in Solvang!

Vaquero Bar (In Coast Range Restaurant)
1635 Mission Dr.
Solvang, CA 93463

Weekday mornings in Solvang is usually nice and relaxed. This morning was no different.

We took JJ for a nice walk, where he even made a “friend”.

We had enjoyed the coffee at Good Seed Coffee Boutique on a previous visit and decided to drop back in.

Even though the shop sits right on the corner of Atterdag and the 246 it’s easy to miss.

It was very quiet and mellow on our visit.

The Missus enjoyed Her latte.

And I found the cold brew quite refreshing.

Looking over the breakfast offerings; I decided on the Pesto Bagel with Tomato and Balsamic Reduction…this was quite good. The Mozzarella added a meaty-mild milkiness, the savory nuttiness of the pesto, and the acidity of the tomato. The bagel had been toasted and was nice and crisp.

Good Seed Coffee Boutique
1607 Mission Dr.
Solvang, CA 93463

Well, it looks like we’ve found our coffee place in Solvang as well!

And after hamming in up a bit more……

We headed back to our room to relax a bit, then pack up, and headed on out……

To our next stop…..to a small beach town where we had enjoyed a nice dinner on a previous visit.

The clock was ticking!!

Duckin’ Around – A Roast Duck Comparison. Eastern Dynasty and Hong Kong Kitchen & Dim Sum

Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants

We were pleasantly surprised at the roast duck from Hong Kong Kitchen & Dim Sum on our last visit. It was our favorite dish of the meal. Though we had a short wait for the duck to be “finished”, it was definitely worth it. This had me wondering how the duck would fare as take out. Was this typical of the roast duck at Hong Kong Kitchen & Dim Sum, or had we just hit the lottery with our timing of the meal?

So, the Missus and I decided to “duck around” and do a take out comparison. Between the roast duck from Hong Kong Kitchen & Dim Sum and our current favorite roast duck from Eastern Dynasty.

So here the half roast duck from Eastern Dynasty, now priced at $23.

Nice color, I enjoyed the texture as the skin was still a bit crisp, decent rich fat content. The fat nicely rendered so the skin wasn’t overly chewy.

Meat was pleasantly moist and toothsome and the flavor of five spice and seasonings had penetrated the meat.

Here’s the half roast duck from Hong Kong Kitchen & Dim Sum, priced at $20, so three bucks less than Eastern Dynasty.

While not bad, this was not as good as what we’d had dining in for lunch. While the fat was decently rendered, the skin had become quite chewy.

The meat was on the chewier side as well and was lacking in flavor. That container of sauce and drippings was sorely needed.

So, I’m guessing that it’s all about the timing with regards to the roast duck here?

So, while the roast duck we got as take out from Hong Kong Kitchen & Dim Sum was decent, it was definitely not as good as what we get from Eastern Dynasty, which is our current favorite.

This was actually a fun comparison! Hope you enjoyed the post and thanks for dropping by!

Hong Kong Kitchen & Dim Sum
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

Eastern Dynasty
4690 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Chicken Wing Wednesday – Calvins Korean Hot Chicken

Chicken Wings

So, even though I’m kinda over the K(orean) F(fried) C(hicken) thing in San Diego….there are places I thought I’d need to try. Among them was Calvin’s Korean Fried Chicken. If you aren’t following the “score”, Calvin’s used to be Furaido back when Atlas Fresh Market was opened in Poway. It was quite popular as fellow bloggers like Kirbie and Soo really liked the place. I had been meaning to visit this new iteration, which opened in 2021 and even tried twice….but because of “bad timing” I failed. Finally, I made my way there…..

Now located in La Jolla, next to Pho La Jolla, I walked into the place. The small space looks quite “rustic”, a real no-frills kind of place.

The woman working was not very welcoming…….I’m thinking she would totally fit in working at Zion Market?

I ordered a wing box ($14.50) with the Devil’s Garlic Glaze, which is what I had enjoyed the most at Furaido. Instead of just waiting around, I took a short walk waiting for my take out order. When I returned it was ready….I went and picked it up, with basically a “humph” from the woman.

When I got home, I opened the box to see……..sigh……it was just plain chicken wings! What the heck?

Well, I was home….and I really wasn’t driving back there…and to think about having to deal with them!

So, this box is quite the crab load. The fries are the “dusted type”, which meant they were still crisp if a bit under seasoned. This was actually my favorite part of the meal.

And then there was rice, topped with furikake, in case you need more carbs.

This seemed to be like calrose; medium grain, decently cooked.

The simple coleslaw, was meh……watery, bland dressing…..

Well, just like Furaido, the batter for the wings, which I believe is rice flour based, is quite crunchy, a bit thick for my taste as I prefer more crisp and light. Still, if you like that, you might enjoy it. Also, the plain wings are really under-seasoned, which is why I had ordered the (Red) Devil’s Garlic Glaze (jjk RD!)…..which they of course had maybe not understood my order?

At least these weren’t over fried and the wings and drumettes were really moist. So I guess that was some consolation.

Though based on the really terrible service and getting my order wrong….I think I’ll pass on this KFC place in the future.

You can read Soo’s post on Calvin’s here.

Calvin’s Korean Hot Chicken
3211 Holiday Court #101A
La Jolla, CA 92037
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 8pm
Fri Sat 11am – 9pm