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Road Trip – The House Brasserie, Quartz Ridge Trail, and Papago Park Butte Loop (Scottsdale)

American/New American Restaurants, Fine Dining, French Restaurants, Phoenix/Scottsdale/Chandler/Central AZ, Road Trip, Travel

The Missus wanted a hike during our full day in Scottsdale, so I chose the Quartz Ridge Trail in the Phoenix Mountains Reserve. Being that JJ doesn’t like heat or very much direct sunlight we got an early start. 3 1/2/ miles, 600 foot elevation gain, not too bad.

And of course you get a feel of the Southwest.

Some nice views…..

And JJ did well.

We headed back to our hotel and just laid low during the hottest part of the day. Then headed back out during the late afternoon, walking to Old Town Scottsdale.

Kind of corny in some ways….but also somewhat charming and fun…..

The Missus found a tea shop She liked…..

And did a lot of window shopping……

We’d be having dinner just a block down from the Hotel Valley Ho at a place I noticed during our last stay in Scottsdale, named The House Brasserie. They had outdoor seating and folks told me it was more of a fine dining destination, though I’m not quite sure of that. Based on the name of the place, I was expecting a full on French restaurant, but as you’ll soon see, the menu was quite diverse and our favorite dish was quite unexpected.

Of course, I started with a Kir Royale. I loved the service, my glass of Champagne was brought to the table and the Sommelier brought over the Creme de Cassis and told me let him know when the “color was right” for my Kir! Something that I hadn’t experienced before. This was an awesome start to the meal!

And then the Amuse was brought out…..some pretty decent Gougeres.

Of course we started with some Foie Gras ($26).

We found the popcorn topping to be quite amusing. The Balsamic based sauce wasn’t too sweet and the bread was fine….though perhaps this a bit much. Though I’d probably try this again.

The Escargot ($24) was interesting as instead of the basic garlic-parsley-herb butter, bone marrow “butter” was used instead.

It was just overkill and this was waaaay too rich and oily for our taste.

Then the dishes started deviating from the expected norm. Next up were the Tempura Oyster Mushrooms ($22).

And while the batter wasn’t as light as typical tempura, it was nice and crisp. This came with smoked cauliflower which was awesome.

And yet, our favorite dish of the evening was one I just ordered because it stood out on the menu. The Crab Fried Rice ($26) with house made XO Sauce! My goodness; this was so good!

The rice was a little moist, but that egg was cooked perfectly….soft yolk, crisp edges. The crab was tender and sweet. And the house made XO sauce? It was an umami bomb! Savory, rich, perfectly salty, not very spicy…oh man, this was so good….better than many Chinese restaurant we know of!

Who’s have thought…we’d go to a Brasserie and get some really good XO Sauce Fried Rice? Service was excellent and professional. We really enjoyed this meal and can’t wait to return.

The House Brasserie
6936 E Main St.
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

The next morning, we were headed out to Sedona. But first we decided to check out the Papago Park Butte Loop, which turned out to be a nice 2 mile loop trail.

A very easy walk, well maintained.

Loved the red sandstone buttes along the way.

There’s even an stone amphitheater.

Which was built by the historic stone amphitheater built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Great Depression.

This was a fun walk and we left before things got too hot at 9am.

Next stop….Sedona!

Spicy House – A Visit Under New Ownership

Chinese Restaurants

Last month I found out that Spicy House was under new ownership. So, after waiting about a month, I decided to drop by and try a couple of dishes. I drove up for lunch and was surprised that the parking lot at Sunrise Town Center where Nijiya, Woomiok, Koon Thai, Karami Ramen, Okan, and a host of other businesses are located was half empty at 1130! Guess, the heatwave and extreme humidity was having an effect on business?

I did notice that huge “We Serve Lunch Special” banner as I walked up to Spicy House.

I took a look at the “lunch specials” posted on the wall and it was all those “Orange Chicken…….General Tso’s Chicken” kind of thing for $12.99. Not my cup of tea. I was guided to a table. I quickly noticed that while there was only one other table of customers during my visit, there was a steady stream of take-out and delivery orders.

I quickly noticed that the prices here seemed quite reasonable for the dishes I was looking at. What I was ordering was limited based on the hot weather. I ended ordering three dishes.

Starting with some Liang Cai – three items for $13.00. I picked Fuqi Fei Pian, Pig Ears, and Smoked Chicken.

This was an interesting start. The beef in the Fuqi Fei Pian, there was no tendon or offal was cut into some unwieldy pieces and sliced rather thick. It did have some decent spice, though not much of the numbingness from Sichuan Peppercorn. Mild garlic tones and a hint of sweetness.

The smoked chicken was quite savory, with good smoky tones.

It was cut into really thick slices and was quite dry and chewy; though the Missus did enjoy the leftovers of this dish later on. Mainly for the flavor.

The best item were the very thinly sliced pig ears. Which had that nice crisp-crunchy texture.

The sauce had a decent spiciness to it. The Missus really enjoyed this….She basically went thru the entire portion of leftovers!

Of course I had to try the Ko Shui Ji (Mouth Watering (saliva) Chicken – $14.99). Man, this was a large portion.

While much better than the version we last got from Spicy City, this was our least favorite dish. Much like that version, this had way too much sesame paste. That earthy, nuttiness really overpowered much of the other flavors in this; especially the red chili oil.

The chicken had been nicely poached with a good toothsomeness. The savoriness of the chicken came thru as well. The peanuts did well in this dish, though more scallions would have been nice.

It’s just that sauce which needed less sesame paste, more hong you (chili oil), ma-la, perhaps a touch of black vinegar, and some additional pungency.

My final dish was the one I last ordered from Spicy House back in 2023, the Chongqing Liang Mian ($11.99), the typical Sichuan cold noodle dish. We were so disappointed in that dish. And to be perfectly honest, when the rather large bowl of noodles arrived at the table, I was ready to be disappointed again.

I appreciated the amount of cucumber, but it looked really plain. Until I dug into the dish a bit.

Tasting the sauce, it actually had a nice ma-la going for it. A hint of sweet and some pungency. Mixing it took a good five minutes to get everything coated. But after a while it was mission accomplished. The noodles were slightly springy and got nicely coated.

This was pretty good. And the noodles even held out as leftovers…the Missus agreed that this was pretty good.

And the prices were quite nice for these times. Though perhaps I had gotten some of the least pricey dishes from the menu….

I think we’ll return once the weather gets a bit cooler to try some of the other dishes on the menu. No, this isn’t even close to what Ba Ren was, but we enjoyed this more than Spicy City and even perhaps Szechuan Chef. So, we’ll see when we return.

Spicy House
3860 Convoy Street #105
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 1130am – 830pm
Fri – Sat 1130am – 9pm

Road Trip – Zuzu Revisited and Grabbing a Beer from Craft 64 (Scottsdale)

American/New American Restaurants, Beer, Dog Friendly, Phoenix/Scottsdale/Chandler/Central AZ, Road Trip, Travel

Back in January, we took JJ for his first road trip of the year. The Missus really wanted to take him to Sedona. Well, I figured we’d stop for a couple of nights in Scottsdale again. The Hotel Valley Ho is very dog friendly and the Missus really enjoyed the restaurant there; Zuzu.

The weather was much more pleasant this time around. On our previous trip, which was during the month of March, Phoenix was experiencing record heat! This time, JJ really enjoyed walking around old town Scottsdale.

And we decided on an early dinner at Zuzu.

I settled in with a nice, stiff Old Fashioned.

The Missus enjoyed the Cauliflower the last time….it was replaced by Romanesco ($14).

We find it interesting that the combination of fromage blanc and Thai Basil works well together. Though the capers were a bit too much for the dish. Still, this was our favorite dish of the meal.

If there’s one thing I want right away after leaving the state of California, it’s foie gras. So, I just needed to order the Beef Cheek and Foie Gras Gyoza ($22) from the Chef’s Special menu.

Well, this was a bit of a disappointment. The wrappers were plasticky and brittle, the chili crunch overwhelmed the dish. We could barely make out the offal-ly-savory flavor of the foie gras, the beef cheeks was really stringy. It was perhaps a too “over-the-top” dish?

We got 2 Short Rib Empanadas ($5 each).

The Chimichurri was very oily and bland…I like a lot of garlic and good sharp tones in my chimichurri and it was missing here. The crust of the empanada was much more crumbly and delicate than I was used to.

The filling was tasty, but a bit on the dry side.

Of course we had to get our favorite dish from our last visit; the Terra Heritage Wagyu Beef Carpaccio, which is amazingly, still just $21!

While still a bargain, this was not as good as what we’d had previously. The beef was room temp, so it lacked that refreshing edge. It also had a metallic taste to it. Loved all the Grana Padano which added some milky-savory-saltiness to the dish and the pumpernickel crumble added textural contrast. Not enough Dijonnaise this time around and we missed the anise tones of caraway which was missing this time around. Kind of a bummer since we really loved this dish last time.

Oh well, at least the service was nice, the price with my cocktail and the Missus’s wine was under $100 before tip! And our dinner the following night was a winnah!

ZuZu (In Hotel Valley Ho)
6850 E Main St.
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

After dinner, the Missus wanted some time to relax, so “Da Boyz” had to find something to do. Well, there’s a Brew Pub – Pizza place less than a block away from the hotel named Craft 64. I walked over and the place has a nice back patio….and it wasn’t super busy so JJ and I got a table on the patio.

They’ve got over 30 beers on tap here! Talk about analysis-paralysis right?

In the end I got a light and refreshing Rocky Point Blonde.

4.5 ABV, low IBU. Just a nice and light brew.

And JJ enjoyed hanging out as well.

Craft 64 – Scottsdale
6922 E Main St.
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

We enjoyed our evening in Scottsdale and the Missus had some activities up Her sleeve for the following day!

Modern Kabob (Bay Park) – A Grand Opening Visit

Mediterranean Restaurants

I was driving on Morena when I noticed that Modern Kabob, which replaced Greenhaus had finally opened. I’d first seen the sign for Modern Kabob back in August of 2025. Man, it took them over a year to open!

So, looking over the hours, I headed on over for a weekend lunch at 1030. The parking lot for this little strip mall; you know, the one where JV’s is located can be a horror show. Which it was on this morning….even at 1030! On the other hand; I was glad to see JV’s doing some good business.

Entering the shop, I noticed that the interior looked pretty much the same white washed interior, though a counter had been built out in front of the kitchen.

The prices seem kind of inline with Pita Grill right down the street. The young man working was very nice, though he was still getting used to things and got my order wrong twice….before getting things straightened out. You know, grand opening jitters and all that.

I ordered the Chicken Shawarma Wrap ($9.99) and even though it seemed a bit over priced; I was curious about the Falafel, so I got a 3 piece side order, which was $5.95…..now that seemed a bit expensive. Like two bucks a falafel?

I think they are still going thru some of the grand opening shakes as my order took over a half an hour. I was the only customer in the place the whole time. I took my order to go.

The Shawarma Wrap was quite long.

The pita-ish bread, much like a Khobez was nicely heated, but really hard and chewy.

The chicken was tough, and unlike what the menu said was not thinly sliced, though it was decently seasoned, good sour tones, savory, almost leaning to a bit too salty. The supposed “garlic sauce” seemed really runny and bland. There wasn’t enough pickles in my opinion.

Kind of lacking in my opinion.

The Falafel was a non-starter. Check out the different shades of falafel.

This was not crisp on the exterior, the interior was mushy. You can tell how it kind of collapsed when I bit into it.

Honestly, I’m not expecting Falafel Ratzon or even the now closed Mister Falafel….but this was not very good at all. The tahini was runny, watery, and lacking in flavor as well.

Well, I think while the portions are a bit smaller in terms of protein than Pita Grill, this place might be a hair better at this time. I prefer supporting what seems to be more local focused businesses….so I’ll probably return in a few months. I’m hoping things get better in the future because I don’t want this to be “Modern” versions of this type of cuisine.

Modern Kabob
1118 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Daily 1030am – 9pm

Croissant Files – Rolling-Out Cafe

Bakery, Croissants

In my first post on Relic waaaay back in January, “FOY” An mentioned that along with Relic she also enjoys Rolling-Out Cafe. Hmmmm……now I hadn’t heard of Rolling-Out. What the heck? So, since the place is in the Gaslamp, I decided to wait until tourist season slowed down. And then, I went to check the place out…..on a Sunday morning, not sure if I’d find parking. The shop is located right off Market on First Avenue across from Ralph’s. I lucked out and found one last spot right on West F Street and walked on over.

I had done a bit of checking and found that Rolling-Out had Asian inspired pastries….stuff like Egg Tarts, Mango and Sticky Rice Kouign Amann, and their trademarked “Mochissant”. The bakery originated in San Francisco and moved to San Diego, opening in September of 2025.

The shop also makes sandwiches, serves coffee, and will even do pot pies which you need to order ahead. I had to drop off some pastries for the Missus, so I took a look…..

Of course She’d want some egg tarts.

And I got some other “stuffs” as well.

Of course…I was just after one item……

The gentleman working the counter was super friendly and told me I had great timing as everything had just finished baking and I had arrived before the usual “Sunday rush”! The Asian gentleman, whom I believe is the head baker and owner smiled and waved to me from the kitchen area.

Anyway, this is what I got for the Missus.

She shared this with coworkers. They all loved the Ube and Egg Tarts. She thought the Chocolate Mochissant was in need of more richness and flavor. She and Her coworkers thought the Mango and Sticky Rice Kouign Amann wasn’t sweet enough…..quite interesting because, as most Asians She doesn’t care for overly sweet pastries.

As for my Butter Croissant ($4.75) which was reasonably priced for croissants these days.

It had that roundish shape like Wayfarer and Izola. I liked the fact that it wasn’t over baked, though the laminate was more chewy than flakey, light, and crisp as I enjoy.

Perhaps the croissants were “too fresh” as the crumb was on the wetter side? I did think that there was a decent salt to sugar balance….though like all croissants aux buerre in San Diego; I think it could be more buttery.

Well, this was better than the last croissant aux buerre I had from Christophe Rull Patisserie. Definitely not on par with Relic or Izola, perhaps a tad below Wayfarer? I’m wondering why East Village/Gaslamp is “croissant central” in San Diego? The Missus enjoyed the egg tarts, preferring the version here to what Na Tart makes, so I’ll probably be returning….we’ll see how the croissant fares then.

Rolling-Out Cafe
690 First Ave.
San Diego, CA 92101
Current Hours:
Thurs – Mon 8am – 2pm
Closed on Tuesday and Wednesday

Thanks for the recommendation An!

Touring the Rocks and Circular Quay (Sydney) and Lunch from Marrickville Pork Roll

Australia, Banh Mi, Sydney, Travel

I really wanted to get to see some of the sights in SYD during our short time there…especially in the area we were staying, known as Circular Quay and the Rocks. So, I hired a private guide for the morning. He met us at our hotel and were off. Sadly, the gentleman really didn’t seem into the job and mostly just pointed stuff out without any background or other info. So, I ended up doing a bit more research after the tour for context and such.

We headed off on the ferry from Circular Quay Wharf 5.

There seemed to be so many historical buildings in the area.

And of course iconic structures like the Sydney Opera House.

We would actually be having dinner at one of the restaurants at the Opera House this evening.

And of course there the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

We got off at Milson’s Point Wharf. and were led to the large Olympic Park. Which had so many sculptures and public art!

And the view from Milson’s Point is second to none!

And we were surprised to see Turkeys all over the place.

After looking things up; I found out that these are Australian Brushturkeys. They were almost driven to extinction, which led to the birds acquiring legal protection. Now, they are found thru out the city, and supposedly spreading everywhere in Sydney.

We walked to the Northern entrance to the bridge.

And crossed over. The views were of course wonderful.

Later on during our stay, we’d do a morning paddle in the harbor and were told that one of the nicknames for the Opera House is Nuns in a Scrum. You gotta love it!

You have great views everywhere….even when exiting the bridge.

We exited neat Miller’s Point and the Observatory Hill Lookout.

So many lovely green spaces everywhere! That’s the lovely Barangaroo Reserve above. A 15 acre park right on the waterfront.

From here we took the steep Baludarri steps down to the waterfront.

To an area known as Miller’s Point. Check out these harbour front homes.

You walk right out your front door to your boat/yacht!

Crazy, huh?

Crossing back under the bridge we got to an area known as Campbell’s Cove. Robert Campbell was a Scottish Merchant who built up this area, breaking the commercial stranglehold of the East India Company.

The warehouses he had built in the 1850’s still stand, called Campbell’s Stores they now house restaurants and various businesses.

The building I thought was a church is actually the ASN Company Building which has it’s own interesting history.

As we headed back to Circular Quay we passed this house.

When I asked about it; I was told “oh, it’s Cadman’s Cottage”…hmmmm…..ok? Well, you an find more info here.

I found this statue interesting.

It’s of William Bligh. Yes, that Captain Bligh. He was actually the Governor of New South Wales from 1806 to 1809! After the “mutiny”!

Walking back to our hotel we came across this.

It was an interesting dichotomy. On one hand, the Nurses Walk lays a path to the first hospital…you have to remember that Sydney was first populated with 750 convicts from Portsmouth, England in 1788. I read that many of the convicts arrived suffering from dysentery, scurvy, typhoid, and other illnesses. A tent hospital was established between George and Harrington Streets to care for those patients.

And then there’s the “Suez Canal”.

This is where water was drained. It’s also known as the haunt for various gangs and criminals. It was an interesting walk back to where we were staying.

And while our “guide” wasn’t really very good, there’s one thing he did which we enjoyed. Knowing we liked Asian type dishes, we stopped in a little alleyway a few blocks from where we were staying.

The name of the place is Marrickville Pork Roll. Now, I was wondering what the heck is a “pork roll”, but after a quick look it all became quite clear.

I had to crack up….it’s basically a Banh Mi Thit Nuong!

It was actually not too bad. The bread was a bit more chewy than I like; but quite yeasty and really crisp/flaky.

Loved the creamy funky pate, the pork was nice and savory.

Nice a refreshing pickled veggies……

This was not bad at all…..better than many of the banh mi shops here in San Diego.

We loved that you could walk down a random alley in Circular Quay and get a banh mi!

Marrickville Pork Roll
7 Loftus Lane
Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

From HNL to Sydney and Cocktails from Three Bottle Man

Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Australia, Cocktails, Honolulu, Sydney, Travel

I figure I better get these posts done. After our visit to the Galapagos, the Missus was fully into exploring the reefs mode. Australia had been on our “list” for years, so we decided to go for it. Of course, I really wasn’t looking forward to flying all the way there from the West Coast…..and so, we decided on flying to and from “my home”…yes, that’s right…Honolulu. I’ve done all those posts already. The morning after our wonderful meal at Izakaya Uosan, we headed to the airport. Our flight left at noon and would arrive in Sydney at 745pm. We were flying Business Class…but man, the lounge was crazy packed, so we just hung out near the gate! What’s up with that?

Still, being able to sleep on our flight was key and the meals weren’t bad at all. And the little amenities bag was quite nice.

The pork belly was not bad at all…..

The Missus really enjoyed the Ube Rolls…..

That Shoyu Chicken wrap….which we had after waking up was a bit much though…..

Upon arriving, we actually took the train from the airport to Circular Key Station. I thought it would be an interesting introduction to the city. We caught the train and made it to our hotel…the JW Marriott.

We loved the view from our room.

We actually had a view of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

I decided to get a nightcap so I went down to the lobby. Down some stairs and kind of tucked away I found a coffee shop during the day that became a cocktail bar at night called Three Bottle Man.

It was a really neat and quite chill place.

Talking to the bartender, he told me the inspiration for the place is based on William Pitt, who was the Prime Minister of Britain. Apparently, he popularized the “rule of three” and made sure to carry three bottles of liquor with him all the time! You gotta love it!

I went and had the Malfy G&T, which was nice and refreshing.

The bartender was so very friendly…something we’d find was the norm during our visit.

It was an enjoyable nightcap.

It was a fun introduction to Sydney.

Three Bottle Man (in the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay)
1 Bulletin Place
Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

We had a nice night’s rest.

After having travelled so much, I decided to book our room at the JW Marriott with Club Lounge access. It just makes things easier for breakfast for us.

Nothing fancy mind you, but enough to get us ready for the day ahead!

Thanks for stopping by!

Molokhia (moroheiya) Ohitashi

Cooking, Recipes

A bajillion posts ago, I mentioned seeing molokhia at Nijiya. Having never seen it offered in Japanese restaurants…at least as far as I can recall, I wondered what dishes it was used in. This year, upon seeing it again….well, I decided to buy a bunch and just go for it. Why were we so interested in this plant known as Jute Mallow? Well, it goes back to our visit to Tunisia. Where we came across a dish we loved:

“it was black and tarry looking and was in a container that looked like a flower pot. The flavor however was profound….rich, beefy with some heat, and a tongue coating texture that we found enjoyable. No one seemed to want to eat this stuff….in fact, the Chef de Cuisine came out to talk to us, just because he was happy to see folks enjoy this so much.”

It turned out to be molokhia. It had that thick, mucilaginous texture…like okra, tororo, or natto….the Japanese call the texture “neba-neba”, which we enjoy. After all, I grew up eating natto.

So, this year I just decided to finally buy some and figure out what to make after.

Molokhia originated in ancient Egypt according to what I’ve read. But how the heck did molokhia, known as moroheiya make it from there to Japan….oh-oh, looks like I was headed down that “rabbit hole”. So, after making Google my friend….I found a story about Japanese linguist Kaisuke Iimori, who was introduced to molokhia during a trip to Egypt and brought it to Japan in the 1980’s. Well, you know the Japanese and neba-neba, right? Plus, the leaves are packed with vitamins and health benefits, it is now put into the “superfood” category. Apparently, there’s even a Moroheiya Popularization Association in Japan!

After doing a bunch more Googling, I saw that molokhia seems to be mostly used in ohitashi. Basically, those side dishes where greens are blanched, then put into an cold water. After which excess water is squeezed out of the greens and a umami forward sauce is used to flavor it.

I went ahead and using one whole bunch of Molokhia made two different versions. One with my typical kurogomae sauce, which I’m now using with okra as well as kale. And my other recipe, which had evolved from using dashi and some other stuffs to using Kikkoman Kappou Sashimi Soy sauce which has both dashi and kombu in it.

The winner? Well, the version on the left. I’m guessing the Missus enjoys the super umami of the version with the Kappou Soy Sauce.

So, this has become a regular dish in the household…..for as long as Molokhia will be available at Nijiya!

A couple of notes – Kikkoman Kappou Soy Sauce can be found at Tokyo Central and Nijiya. I remove the molokhia leave from the stems. Blanching the leaves will start to make them “gooey”, so only blanch for 20 seconds or so. When squeezing out the water, you can stop when you start seeing all that lovely, slimy liquid start to be extruded.

Molokhia Ohitashi:

Ingredients:

2-3 ounces Molokhia leaves. Remove leaves from stems.
8 Cups water
Ice water
Katsuobushi

Sauce:
2-3 Tb Kikkoman Kappou Sashimi Soy Sauce
1 Tb Aloha or Yamasa Soy Sauce
1 Tb Rice Vinegar
1/2 Tsp Dark Brown Sugar
2 Tsp Ginger Juice – I grate ginger then press out the juice
1 Tsp Grated Garlic
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

  • Rinse Greens
  • Add Kosher Salt to Water and bring to boil
  • Add greens and blanch for 20 seconds
  • Drain and place greens into ice water
  • Mix together 2Tb of Kappou Soy Sauce, Regular Soy Sauce, Dark Brown Sugar, and Rice Vinegar.
  • Add Ginger juice and garlic and combine well.
  • Taste and add more Kappou Soy Sauce and black pepper if needed.
  • Drain greens well and squeeze out excess water. Place Greens in a bowl.
  • Add sauce slowly mixing well.
  • Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
  • Top with katsuobushi before serving.

It’s a nice side dish. And the Missus even enjoys it when putting together Her cold noodle bowl, using….well GreeNoodle, which is also made from Moroheiya.

And yep….that’s okra. Just think, if we added tororo, this would be a neba-neba ménage à trois!

Hope you’re having a great week!

Hiyashi Chuka and Karaage from The Bowl Ramen & Izakaya (OB)

Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

After my last post on having the Hiyashi Chuka from Santouka, “FOY” Matt sent me an email. Apparently, his friends live in OB and really enjoy the ramen and “stuffs” from a place named “The Bowl”. He was curious to see if I’d been there…or even the places parent restaurant named “the Joint”? Talk about the perfect name for a place in OB, right? I’ve never been to either place; the Joint claims to serve “sushi and tapas”? They must be quite popular since they’ve been around since 2011……. And since it was a bajillion degrees out and the Bowl seemed to serve Hiyashi Chuka…I thought why not? So, I headed over for a Sunday lunch. Now, this being OB and with the Bowl located right on Newport….add in that the place doesn’t open until noon, well, I thought parking might be an issue. But surprisingly, I found two hour parking right across the street form the place.

And the crosswalk led right up to the place.

Walking in, the nice young lady greeted me and told me to grab a seat wherever I wanted.

In keeping with the location, the place gave off a pseudo Japanese – beachy vibe. In fact, it would probably fit in well “back home“. The place seemed more of a bar than restaurant….but heck, it claimed to be an izakaya, right?

And yes, there’s ramen on the menu…but also Smashburgers, Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches, Kale Caesar Salads…..along with a load of “rolls”. Yikes! I started having some doubts here.

Anyway, I did order the Hiyashi Chuka ($14.95) along with a “small” Karaage ($7.95), from the very friendly young lady.

First up, the Chicken Karaage, which I got with the spicy aioli….sort of like the Spicy Kewpie mayo or a Sriracha mayo.

Not as crisp as I prefer, but dark meat chicken was appropriately used. Decent toothsomeness, good soy flavor. This would have been ok, except for one thing. Take a good look at this piece. See all of those little “grains” on the karaage?

Yep, that’s salt….oh man…and combined with the rather salty spicy aioli? Sheesh. Now, if I was having a couple of “biru”….this might have been ok….but in this framework it was a major sodium bomb.

And then the Hiyashi Chuka.

I actually enjoyed the texture of avocado in this…along with the sneaky jalapenos, both of which are not traditional ingredients. I’m guessing the chilies kind of replaced the benishoga? A good portion of “krab”. I did miss the tamago in this version. The tare was salty and sour. Perhaps some yellow mustard would have balanced things a bit? The cilantro was also a good addition.

As for the noodles? Well, as much as I enjoy my noodles katame – firm, these were more katai – hard. Really kind of difficult to eat. It’s like they just took it out of the bag and dumped it in the bowl.

Well, this was an interesting experience. Definitely westernized, a bit heavy handed in the sodium department, perhaps the regular ramen might be better? It looks like a nice place to grab some cocktails or a beer….perhaps a Smashburger? The woman working was very friendly….I’m thinking it’s a nice neighborhood place…just not for my “neighborhood”.

The Bowl Ramen & Izakaya
4953 Newport Ave.
San Diego, CA 92107
Current Hours:
Monday 420pm – 830pm
Tuesday 12pm – 830pm
Wed – Sat 12pm – 930pm
Sunday 12pm – 830pm

Thanks for letting me know about this place Matt! After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained…...

Cake de Partie

Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chicken Wings, Thai Restaurants

“FOY” Franklin emailed me asking what I thought of the wings at Cake de Partie. To be perfectly honest, I’ve taken the Missus there so She could have some of the desserts, but unlike Cathy, who did a post on the place back in 2021, I’d never tried any of the savory food there. So recently, I decided to head on over and get some lunch.

I do think the parking situation there has changed? There’s a free 25 minute parking for some of the other businesses in the buildings, but otherwise it’s pay parking. I ended up parking on Brinell Street and walking over. Even though it was right after opening the place filled up quickly.

Sidling up to the counter, I looked over the posted menu.

Even though the Zapp wings interested me; I decided to just try the Original Chicken Wings ($10). And since man, or at least this man can’t live on wings alone, I decided on the BBQ Pork Bowl ($13), which Cathy seemed to like on her visit.

I then took my number and had a seat on one of the smaller tables…..the place was getting busy, so I didn’t want to take up more space than I needed.

First to arrive was the BBQ Pork Bowl. The portion size was much larger than what Cathy had when she visited.

The rice was moist and tender. My favorite item was actually the salad, which had a slightly sweet, but not overly sugary strawberry vinaigrette. It was quite refreshing.

The pork was interesting as I was wondering if it was going to be like Moo Ping? This was basically marinated and stir fried slices of pork, which came with a dipping sauce like Jim Jaew, but was more on the salty side.

On the order board, it is said that it’s “Honey BBQ Pork”…which was really interesting since this was super salty and really could have used some sweetness and pungency to cut all that sodium. It really seemed like a very homestyle marinated sliced pork.

The pork was on the chewier side of the scale and some caramelization might have created a more interesting texture and developed the flavors a bit more. Still, for thirteen bucks these days….well, I don’t think I should have expected anything more.

When my wings arrived, I had to crack up. Can you figure out why?

Well, look at all those pin feathers! Basically, these chickens were having some new feathers come out. Not very picturesque and they are totally edible, but of course it does sometimes look “interesting”. Well, at least I wouldn’t have to floss my teeth after eating these, right? The batter on these was just a light dusting, which I kind of prefer as when done well, it’s really nice and crisp. Though it didn’t hold up real well and started getting soggy rather quickly.

Not a fan of the sweet chili sauce as it was way too sweet and sticky.

As mentioned earlier, the wings were initially crisp, with a very simple seasoning; which like the pork edged on the very salty side.

Lots of dark spotting, these had probably been frozen for a while. No off flavors, adequately moist and tender. Like the pork, just a very simple prep and straight forward flavor.

Overall, pretty much straight forward, almost fast-casual meal. There’s much better wings to be found within a mile of Cake de Partie. Prices are not bad and perhaps one day I might return to try the Zapp Wings….maybe….

Cake De Partie
4685 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Sunday, Wed, Thurs 11am – 9pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 10pm
Closed on Monday and Tuesday

So, there you go Franklin! Thanks for getting me out of my usual doldrums and having me try some new things!