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The Croissant Compare – Wayfarer Bakery, Relic Bakery & Kitchen, and Izola

Bakery, Croissants

A little over a week ago “FOY” Kenneth sent me an email regarding having croissants from both Relic and Izola and doing a compare. I did mention that Izola has pretty much come off my “list” ever since the croissant had crossed over the $8 mark! I also mentioned needing to do a compare of croissants from Wayfarer and Relic, which I indicated were my two current favorites here in San Diego. Yes, I admittedly have a “thing” about croissants. In fact, I have an entire category for it! And yes, there are 61 posts (this is number 62). It basically all started during our visits to Paris. And it just gained momentum after visiting La Maison d’Isabelle.

Anyway, Kenneth’s wonderful email got me off my butt and on one recent morning, I first drove up to Bird Rock, which had a bunch of folks waiting, but no one in line to order, to get my first croissant. Then down the 5 to Relic for the second. I was just going to do a compare between Wayfarer and Relic, but since I had already paid for one hour of parking and Izola was just 4 blocks away…I just decided the “heck with the eight dollar price” and went to Izola as well. Needless to say; it was an interesting walk, with some “personalities” along the way.

And here’s what the croissants looked like.

Can you guess which one was $4.80 and which was $8.62 (!!!!)?

Well, let’s start from the most inexpensive. The “Plain” Croissant at Wayfarer ($4.80).

The shape was interesting. I think that “croissant” literally means “crescent” in French. This was not quite that. It’s much different in shape than what I had back in 2020.

Wayfarer seems to sometime overbake their croissant as was the case here, with the laminate too flakey, basically an explosion of flakes upon bite.

On this visit, the crumb was a bit damp and not honeycombed enough. It also seemed less buttery in flavor. Kind of a bummer as at one time, due to the recommendation of RD and CathyGreene, this was my favorite croissant in San Diego.

Wayfarer Bread & Pastry
5525 La Jolla Blvd.
La Jolla, CA 92037

Top left is the croissant from Relic Bakery & Kitchen. To me, of the three, it most resembles a classic croissant in shape and is currently priced at $5.

On this day, it was nice and golden in color, except for the two folds on the top which you can see seems over baked. It was nice and flakey, crisp, not falling to pieces. The interior was quite airy and light. Nice crisp ends and foundation.

I could make out the butter in this, in my mind it could use more as the salt to butter ratio seems a bit off.

A relative newcomer to the East Village/Downtown, this is my current overall favorite.

Relic Bakery & Kitchen
845 15th St.
San Diego, CA 92101

And then we have the $8.62 “Signature” Croissant from Izola. Now, I remember when Izola opened in the third floor of a business building Downtown. Where they’d actually deliver online orders by basket to the curb during Covid. At that time; the croissant was $3.75. Then Izola opened near Faultline Park with a bit of hype in 2024 and their croissants crossed the seven dollar mark. And now….well…you see the price above, right?

As I walked in, I took a look at the Croissant on display and had second thoughts….

It looked pale and somewhat soggy….but, I went ahead and ordered one. It was actually a 15 minute wait for my croissant after ordering….they are quite popular.

But here’s that $8.62 croissant. I gotta say, it’s quite hefty, and has that roundish shape…..

The laminate was not as crisp as Relic’s, but at least it wasn’t over baked. It was decently flakey as well, though one end was not very crisp.

It was decently honeycombed, but a bit on the wetter side. I was told that Izola uses butter from Normandy for their croissants.

There’s a light butter flavor, but for some reason, I detected some sweetness in this?

After doing this compare; I’m sticking with Relic for now. Izola is decent, but the price?

Izola
1429 Island Ave.
San Diego, CA 92101

Kenneth and I had a nice back and forth in our emails…..it was kinda fun!

Kenneth: “Well, if I had known that the croissant cost $8!  It was good but not that nice.  For that price I want tasting it to make me feel like I’m back on Montorgueil!”

Me: “Can you imagine what Parisians would think if a Patisserie on Rue Montorgueil charged like 7 Euros for a croissant aux buerre???“

Kenneth: “There would be rioting in the streets!“

So true! Thanks again for thinking of me and sending me the wonderful email Kenneth!

And I’m always open for croissant aux buerre recommendation for San Diego!

Road Trip – Lam Watah Nature Trail to Nevada Beach (Stateline) and Lotus Pho (South Lake Tahoe)

Banh Mi, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, Road Trip, Travel, Vietnamese Restaurants

After our morning hike and lunch at My Thai, we settled in for a nice nap. Upon awakening, we decided to drive across the border into Stateline and right up the 50 to the Lam Watah Nature Trail. It’s a nice, easy, mostly paved trail that takes you thru a meadow area.

Past Jennings Pond.

And then thru a forested area.

You end at Nevada Beach. I had read that there’s a portion of the beach on the south side that was dog friendly. And we found signage that indicated where it was.

And we simply followed the “paw-steps”.

Until we ended up at an area near the dock where pups and people were having a good time.

And JJ made a new friend!

After JJ was done frolicking, we headed back past the campground and back onto the trail.

Heading back to the hotel, we showered up and relaxed for a bit. When it came time for dinner; we decided to get something simple. All the restaurants in Heavenly Village seemed very toursity and the very popular Base Camp Pizza had a super long line.

On the previous evening, I noticed a Vietnamese Restaurant right next to South Lake Brewing Company, which seemed to have outdoor tables. So, we walked on over and yes, the restaurant named Lotus Pho did have outdoor seating.

We weren’t too hungry and it felt too hot for pho; so we just ordered some Spring Rolls ($10.50) and a Grilled Pork Banh Mi ($13.95)…..yes, it was nearly fourteen bucks for a banh mi…but heck, this is Lake Tahoe, right?

The Spring Rolls were basically stuffed with the wrappers stretched and contents under pressure. Did not look very photogenic.

Huge amount of vermicelli noodles and lettuce….no mint or cilantro in sight. The wrapper was super chewy, the peanut sauce on the sweeter side.

Lots of proteins…the pork was decently flavored though chewy, the shrimp had been cooked decently.

I kinda thought that Lotus Pho would be very “gringo-fied” and looking over the menu added to my suspicions. The only options for the banh mi was grilled chicken or grilled pork.

The pork had been seasoned decently…more like pseudo teriyaki; missing savory tones, and on the sweeter side. It was toothsome, but not overly tough. There was even cucumber in this! The pickled veggies were fine; if shredded a bit thinly. Nice amount of cilantro and the peppers did have a nice kick. There was a nice layer of pate as well, a pleasant surprise as I didn’t expect much.

The bread was very dough and not really a banh mi…..closer to a French loaf in my opinion. It lacked the yeastiness, but due to the density was quite filling.

Overall, a fairly westernized Vietnamese restaurant though I’ve had worse.

Lotus Pho
4000 Lake Tahoe Blvd. Suite 25
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

Road Trip – Dumpling 85, South Lake Brewing Company (Lake Tahoe), Van Sickle Rim Trail (Stateline NV), and My Thai Revisited (Lake Tahoe)

Beer, Chinese Restaurants, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, Road Trip, Thai Restaurants, Travel

Leaving Avila Beach, it was almost a seven hour drive to South Lake Tahoe. We had enjoyed our time in Tahoma during a previous road trip, but there weren’t dog friendly places to stay or eat in the area, so we thought we’d stay in South Lake Tahoe. I had wanted to book The Landing for our entire 5 night stay, but I wasn’t able to get accommodations there until Sunday. So, for the Friday – Saturday night stay, I got us a room in Forest Suites Resort, which was basically across the street from the very touristy Heavenly Village. We arrived and checked in…our room was on like the third floor.

Since it was almost five pm, we decided to head on out and find somewhere to eat. I recalled seeing a Chinese restaurant when doing my research…and by this time, the Missus wanted some Asian food already. We walked thru Heavenly Village.

And up Lake Tahoe Boulevard and saw Dumpling 85 in the Chateau at the Village Shopping Center.

We crossed the street and noted that they were pup friendly. They led us to a table and the Missus placed our order.

We saw the XLB and jiaozi on the way in and they didn’t look real good. We had breakfast at Avila Lighthouse Suites and heated up the leftover Beef Bourguignon so we just got the Stir Fried Green Beans and the Pork Baozi.

The Stir Fried Green Beans were undercooked and underseasoned.

Super hard and in need of more savory components. Almost raw…..

The Pork Baozi was strange. The “bun” portion had almost a chalky texture, really weird, that gave way to a soggy doughiness. The bottoms were almost like crackers!

The filling was fine, if on the chewy side. At least it was porky.

Dumpling 85
4125 Lake Tahoe Blvd.
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

The Missus went back to the room, while I took JJ to the corner of Heavenly Village Way and the South Lake Brewing Company Libation Lounge.

They had outdoor seating, so I walked in, ordered myself a Pilsner and had a seat outside.

I picked up my beer when ready and enjoyed the crisp, clean Pilsner.

South Lake Brewing Co. – The Libation Lodge Restaurant & Brewery
4000 Lake Tahoe Blvd. Suite 26
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

After which we walked along Heavenly Village Way which led us back to our accommodations. I could see the Heavenly Mountain Gondola passing right over our hotel.

We slept well.

The Forest Suites Resort has a free breakfast, which is nice. We just ran over and got some yogurt and stuff, before walking to our morning destination.

One great thing about where we stayed is that basically across the street is the entrance to Van Sickle Bi-State Park. We just walked along the road, crossing the border into Nevada.

A bit further up the road was the Van Sickle Rim Trail. A nice, almost 7 mile hike, with a 1,000 foot elevation gain. And of course, JJ handled it much better than I did.

Nice views…..

And even a waterfall along the way.

It was nice to have access to a trail in walking distance from our accommodations.

Returning to our room, we decided on a return visit to My Thai which was a ten minute drive away. We had been pleasantly surprised when we had dined here back in 2023. We weren’t sure if they were dog friendly and thought we could do takeout. The host was really funny, he said we could bring JJ, but there was a “two bark” rule in place! Lol! There was an Australian Shepherd having lunch with his family there as well.

We ordered our two favorite dishes from our precious visit. The Lao Style Papaya Salad, which we got medium spicy. Just as before, this was quite legit, from the salted crab to the funky fermented flavors.

All balanced out by the acidic tones and tomatoes. The shredded papaya was crisp and refreshing. I enjoyed the chicharrons as well.

We also got the Basil Duck.

Which was a bit sweeter than on our last visit, but still nice anise-savory tones. The duck was chewy, but flavorful. There was much more “meat” this time as on our previous visit it was mostly skin and fat.

It seemed like they used an onigiri mold to plate the rice, don’t you think?

The rice was on the drier side, but fragrant.

All in all, a nice lunch.

My Thai Cuisine
2108 Lake Tahoe Blvd.
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

And after lunch…well, it was nap time of course!

What’s My Craving? Wa Dining Okan and Chicago Fire Grill Revisited

Hot Dogs, Japanese Restaurants

It’s funny what triggers a craving. Sometimes, it’s not even food……

Like I was organizing my drawer of favorite t-shirts and came across this one.

You know where this is from?

Yep, Hot Doug’s, which I visited all the way back in 2010! The owner Doug Sohn closed up the Avondale shop in 2014, but the place is still fondly remembered by many. After all, this was the shop that Anthony Bourdain declared has “the best hot dog on the planet”. I’m sure New Yorker’s would disagree; but those who read our little blog know that I have a thing for Chicago Dogs (though that foie gras dog from Hot Doug’s was awesome). So of course after staring at that t-shirt fora while I had to head to……

Chicago Fire Grill:

It’s been a while since I’ve been here…like 2 1/2 years! The place seemed a lot busier than I recalled and the owner George (who always cracks me up) was super busy behind the griddle…he’s got two folks working for him now as well.

I was somewhat surprised to see that the Chicago Dog was still nine bucks?

Which is a bargain these days. No wonder the place is bustling. A few months back there was hot dog cart in the parking lot of V Outlet next to Bay Hill Tavern and they were selling hot dogs for $10!

Anyway, I got my order to go. When I got home, I was still pondering the nine dollar price. Perhaps it didn’t come with fries anymore? However, upon opening, I was proved wrong.

I would have been fine without the fries, since, although they are “hand cut” are usually soggy and dry. The one thing that was missing from this were the sport peppers. Now really, can we call this a Chicago Dog without those pickly-spicy-briny peppers? Hmm…..I would have easily traded my fries for those peppers.

Other than that; this was as expected.

Snappy Vienna Beef hot dog; the necessary fluorescent green relish, the slices of tomato, pickle wedge……

Chicago Fire Grill
8935 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122

And then JJ and I were having some coffee at Bay Park Coffee and chatting with one of the regulars there. He had just returned from Japan and even though we weren’t discussing food, I had a sudden craving for Tori Nanban? What the heck????

Anyway, I had been meaning to return to…..

Okan:

I recall seeing outdoor seating and “FOY” Junichi also reminded me of this. I just visited solo for lunch to check things out and get me “fix”.

So yes, there’s still outdoor seating for lunch, but I had my usual place on the “bar”.

The Tori Nanban lunch special has gone up two dollars since my last visit in July of 2024. It’s now $16. Sitting at the counter made me miss those days when Okan had those huge bowls of Oozara Ryori on the counter…man, those were the days!

Soon enough my lunch arrived.

I enjoyed the miso soup as it wasn’t “watered down”.

The rice was steaming hot, though very mushy. I think it had just finished cooking.

The chicken was moist, tender, good seasoning and flavor, though not as crisp as on previous visits.

For some reason, I really like the rich, sour tartar like sauce, which balances out the savory-salty flavors from the chicken.

This was a nice lunch. Perhaps I’ll bring JJ along next time to eat outside when I get my tori nanban craving.

Wa Dining Okan
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

So, have you been craving anything recently?

Midweek Meanderings – Signs are up for Sugarfish by Sushi Nozawa and Handel’s in Little Italy. And HNL is Losing Two More Favorites as Tamashiro Market and Fort Ruger Market are Closing

Honolulu, Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt, Japanese Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Oahu, Poke, Sushi and Sashimi

I know….this post might be shorter than the title! But just a couple of quick things.

During my walk to where I park after my usual visit to the Little Italy Mercato, I noticed that the signs for Sugarfish by Sushi Nozawa and Handel’s Ice Cream are up.

I know…yet more chains! I’m sure fellow blogger Soo is going to be quite happy since he enjoys Handel’s.

And even though the original Sushi Nozawa closed up in 2012, namesake Kazunori Nozawa has created quite the empire with 18 locations currently spread around Los Angeles and New York. This will be the first location in San Diego.

Both businesses will be located at:

2100 Kettner Blvd.
San Diego, California 92101

Tamashiro Market Closing on 04/30 and Fort Ruger Market Closes:

Sad to read that one of my long time favorites; Tamashiro Market in Kalihi is closing. It’s been all over the news. After 80 years, the second generation owners, the Tamashiro Brothers are closing up shop. Both brothers; aged 72 and 69 are retiring. I hope that they enjoy their retirement after giving us so much ono seafood and poke over the years.

That photo is from my visit back in 2010! In fact, Tamashiro was in my first post on Honolulu after not visiting in like a decade. Sad to think that two of the three places in that post have closed……Char Hung Sut closed in 2020.

This one caught me by surprise. I saw this on Instagram and was shocked to find out that Fort Ruger Market is closing! So, I went to double check and came across this on Facebook. What a bumma!

I think they’ve changed ownership since my last visit?

While maybe this one is deserved based on what is posted in Facebook and Reddit, it’s still sad to know that the place where I first rememba’ getting poke is going to gone.

According to the Instagram reel and “FOY” Mar’s sharp ears; this is going to be something called “CU” store?

Just kind makes me stop and wonder……..like I’ve been doing this for so long now……

Sine Wave Cafe (OB)

Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Dog Friendly

During my visit to Sourdough & Moore, I noticed a cafe with an interesting name as I walked to my car by the name of Sine Wave Cafe. So, I looked it up. The place had only been open since last May and seemed to have some major surfer/beach vibes. It was also dog friendly. Since our usual, Bay Park Coffee doesn’t open until 730 on Sundays, JJ and I decided to check the place out. I figured that 7am on Sunday’s in OB would be pretty mellow. And turns out I was correct. I easily found parking on Santa Monica Avenue, a few spaces down from the Post Office.

In what would be…at least to me, a quintessential location for a cafe in OB…tucked between a Smoke Shop and a Psychic, Palm – Tarot Card Readings Shop is Sine Wave Cafe.

We walked in and the very nice young lady working greeted us; came and gave JJ a treat and some “pets”. She took my order and we headed out to the front patio.

On the way out I noticed this framed photo and I asked who this was.

She told me it’s the owner’s dog and his name is….wait for it…Sammy! And suddenly I was getting my own personal “sine wave“! Cause you know why, right?

I had ordered a Cold Brew ($5) and a “Simply Avo” ($7.50). There was a Deluxe Avocado Toast which had Arugula, Feta, Sun Dried Tomato, and Two Poached Eggs, but that just seemed like too much for me at 7am. Anyway, I waited for my Cold Brew and then headed out to the patio.

Fairly light, smooth, and easy to drink. This was fine.

JJ was enjoying things as two customers came to play with him as they waited for their coffees, so he had a blast.

The young lady brought out my Avocado Toast.

This was pretty good. I enjoyed the chili flakes, which gave things a nice spice. There’s an acidic element to the mashed avocado; I’m thinking lemon juice. The avocado was fresh, no brown spots, easy to eat. The bread had been nicely toasted, great crunch, adding to a nice textural contrast. Better than some ten to twelve dollar avocado toasts I’d had recently!

This is a nice neighborhood place. And JJ seems to really enjoy OB. So, we decided to head on back on a recent Sunday.

I had seen an interesting item on the menu during my previous visit. Sine Wave has something called a “Brekkie” Calzone ($8) on the menu. So, I wanted to try that. When I ordered, the gentleman working told me “good choice, we have a current special…coffee and calzone for ten bucks!” Nice!

Basically, the same drill. I waited inside for my cold brew and then headed out to the patio with JJ. And the gentleman kindly delivered the “Calzone”, which I thought looked really light in color.

When I’m thinking of a “calzone”, I’m expecting a nice crisp, brown crust. This was doughy and soft; except for the folds which were really hard.

This was filled with a generous amount of egg and a layer of bacon that was a bit too chewy for my liking. The egg also didn’t seemed to have been seasoned, so the tangy marinara came in handy.

This was fine for five bucks; but I don’t think I’d pay eight for it.

Sine Wave Cafe
4810 Santa Monica Ave.
San Diego, CA 92107
Current Hours:
Mon – Wed 7am – 2pm
Thurs – Sun 7am – 4pm

On this morning, I decided to take JJ down Santa Monica Avenue to the waterfront. Things were a bit odd as I didn’t notice, but there were some folks camped out near the library. Though there’s always something interesting to see in OB.

Though things started getting a bit “grittier” near the CVS with several more folks camping out and asking for cash.

And we needed to really watch our step as the sidewalks in the area was covered in, ahem…”urban landmines” get my drift? The size of which seemed to make it of the human type.

Things cleaned up a bit as we got to Abbott Street and walked along the walkway a bit. It was a very nice morning.

The folks at Sine Wave treated JJ so nicely, that I think I’ll be back….probably for Avo Toast though…..

Take Out Revisits – Ngon Ngon to Go and Chaba Thai

Thai Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

It’s kind of funny. I recently made some revisits to places I’ve takeout from quite a few times. And while getting this post done; I noticed that I had actually done a post on these two places together once before! There must have been something triggering this, huh?

Anyway, here goes……

Ngon Ngon to Go:

Once a regular stop for me…well, it had been a while. I dropped by to place a takeout order and noticed something “interesting”. My usual, the Bo Luc Lac ($16), no longer included rice! There’s a version with fried rice, which is not what I wanted, but if I wanted white rice, there would be an additional charge of $2.

Well, I just sucked it up and got some white rice with my bo luc lac. I ordered and went and did a bit of shopping, returning for my takeout.

That side of rice was fine, if a bit on the harder, drier side.

There was a generous amount of salad which was fine. I’d had experiences with browning lettuce and stuff before, but this was fine.

My issue was with the beef. Take a look at the color.

The beef had not been marinated/sauced appropriately in my opinion. It lacked the savorysalty-sweetness that I associate with this dish. The beef was also super tough and chewy. Just not fun to eat.

With the weird upcharge and the lack quality and execution. I guess, after all these years and visits, I’m closing the chapter on this one.

Ngon Ngon To Go
10550 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Chaba Thai:

Or as the Missus calls it; that “Chubby Thai place”. It had been a while and the Missus was wondering about the Krapow Gai. I would usually get that along with the Khao Kluk Kapi with Honey Pork, but on my last visit, it was mediocre, so I went with another item I’ve ordered from Chaba, the Tod Mun, the fried fish cakes.

So, I placed my order, ran to do some shopping at Zion and picked up our dinner.

First off, the rice that came with the Krapow Gai was terrible. You can see the brown, overcooked spots. It was really dry and hard.

The Tod Mun was strange. It was really hard and overly chewy…I mean quite tough.

The usual mild herbaceousness usually of the addition of lime leaf was missing. This was super bland. Even the typical fish sauce based dip was not helpful.

The Krapow Gai had it’s own set of issues. And no it wasn’t for lack of pidan.

As you can see on the photo below, where I put the dish into a container, there’s a good amount of century egg in this dish.

Rather, the ground chicken was very chewy and dry. I had ordered this spicy, but it was not. The seasoning was off as this was so bland. In fact we used the dipping sauce for the Tod Mun and all the fried basil from that dish as well to try to add flavor. I usually expect a salty-savory-mild sweetness in this dish, which was totally AWOL.

This was a very unsatisfying meal. I’d like you to take a look at the photos of these exact two dishes from our takeout visit in 2020 and compare.

This was quite disappointing. I guess we’re writing this one off as well. I’m not sure if “FOY” Si O still reads the blog, but maybe he has a recommendation?

Chaba Thai Kitchen
8010 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Oh man, oh-fer-two…….

Circling Back to The Original Location of Menya Ultra

Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

While I was doing ramen posts on my three favorite ramen shops in San Diego and then a revisit to Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai, folks started asking me “what about Menya”? Well, what about Menya? I recalled not enjoying my last bowl from Menya….which in fact drove Calvin and I to head to Nagi in spite of the lines at that time. Though, taking a look at that post…well, it was on the Mira Mesa location of Menya. So, I headed to the Big List to see when I last visited the Clairemont location. Now this was interesting, my last five posts on that location of Menya was for takeout! Menya was a part of our takeout rotation during the pandemic. The last time I actually ate in the restaurant was back in August of 2017 and the last time I had the Ajitama Ramen was in May of 2017….like almost 9 years ago! Sheesh!

So, I made up my mind to revisit. I arrived on a Wednesday for lunch at around 1110.

This turned out to be good timing, since it does seem that there’s still a line during opening hours as the place was over half full when I entered.

I just got the Ajitama Ramen ($17.95).

My bowl arrived in what seemed to be the blink of an eye!

This was interesting as the broth was not very hot, thus the soup had a fairly greasy mouthfeel. Nice savory tones, not overly salty. Would have been pretty good if it was nice and hot.

The Chashu was somewhat tough and chewy, but still nice and porky.

And you know my pet peeve…..well, since the broth was basically just past lukewarm….of course the ajitama was ice cold. Sigh…..

The noodles were decently firm and slippery.

Well, this could have been quite good….but there’s a reason Menya is no longer in my top 4. There seems to be a lack of quality control here. Like many other restaurants, Homestyle Hawaiian comes to mind. Expansion seems to dilute quality. Too bad, because Menya was such a hit when they first opened in 2017. I remember being like the one of the first ten people in line on their grand opening day. To me, Menya changed the ramen game in San Diego. And blew up even further after making the Michelin Guide and being named Eater’s Restaurant of the year in 2017. It’s just not on my regular ramen rotation anymore.

Menya Ultra
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 11am – 2pm, 5pm – 9pm

So “FOYs”…what’s on your ramen rotation these days?

Saturday Stuffs, the All ‘Dem Chains Issue – Wooltari Premium K-Food Closes, MOTW Coffee Coming to Kearny Mesa, The Sign for Ono Hawaiian BBQ on Clairemont is up.

Blog, Caffeine Fix, Markets & Grocers, Middle Eastern Restaurants/Cuisine, Plate Lunch, yoso-silly

Ah yes….I guess this one is all about signs (or lack thereof)….and chains……

Wooltari Premium K-Food Closes:

The Missus needed a refill of LactoFit, which She gets from Wooltari on Clairemont Mesa, so we headed over to Crossroads Center Plaza. To find that the place has closed!

Man, did they even last a year?

7420 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

MOTW Coffee Coming to Kearny Mesa:

Noticed a coming soon sign in the Balboa Office Building and Executive Suites…the building across from H Mart. It’s where the Subway used to be.

Something called MOTW Coffee was replacing the Subway. They seem to be building a outdoor patio as well.

Doing that Google thing, I learned that MOTW is an Arabic Coffee and Pastry Franchise headquartered in Indiana. They’ve got a bunch of locations, mostly on in the Midwest and East Coast. I didn’t see any locations on the West Coast, so this might be the first.

7710 Balboa Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

The Sign for Ono Hawaiian BBQ on Clairemont is up:

I knew about this for a while. I’d heard it was replacing Native Foods. So, just a couple of days ago, I saw that the sign was finally up.

Just in case you’re wondering….this is a chain, headquartered in Diamond Bar. In fact, the CEO of Ono, Joshua Liang, is a graduate of UCSD. Not quite sure what the “Hawaii connection” is…or even if there is one? Ono is said to have over 100 locations in California and AZ. So, we’ll see.

It opening next to the location that’s soon to be Nick the Greek…..yet another chain.

5604 Balboa Ave #107
San Diego, CA 92111

I am wishing for more locally owned or mom-and-pop places, but I guess with costs these days……

Road Trip – Blue Moon Over Avila, The Bob Jones Trail, Avila Valley Barn (Avila Beach)

Farmer's Markets/Night Market, French Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, Travel

After a restful night at the Avila Lighthouse Inn, I woke early to have JJ “do his thing”. We walked along the beach; right across the street.

Right through the small downtown area.

Things were so peaceful on this morning. Avila Lighthouse Suites provides breakfast, which was a nice way to start the day.

Looking for something to do; I found the Bob Jones City to the Sea Trail, which basically started right across the street from where we were staying.

It starts on a paved bike path, next to a golf course.

Crosses over San Luis Obispo Creek.

Which, unlike what it looks like in SLO, is pretty wide in a parts near Avila Beach.

The easy walk continues on Blue Heron Road and there’s some interesting things to see along the way.

And the terrain also changes; from the seaside, to hills, and some interesting rock formations.

It’s an easy 2 1/2 mile trail…we took it the opposite way and ended at the trailhead on Ontario Road. Instead of turning right around, we decided to head down the road and then take a right on Avila Beach Drive. No sidewalks here and some of the cars drive pretty darn fast, so it was head up all the time.

We got to our destination in about 15 minutes. The Avila Valley Barn, which features a market, a “sweet shack”, corn roasters, and several eating establishments; which were closed when we arrived since it was pretty early. But we mainly wanted to check out the market. We got some stuff for a light lunch.

The place was super farm themed……..there’s even a “farm zoo”.

And of course….you don’t mess with the chickens.

We enjoyed exploring…

Avila Valley Barn
560 Avila Beach Dr.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

To return to Avila Beach we headed down Avila Beach Drive and then took a short trail back across San Luis Obispo Creek. Along the way we came across this interesting outdoor dining area surrounded by gardens and trees across the bridge from Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort. This is the “Secret Garden”…it looked like a really cool spot and it also discreetly opens back up on the Bob Jones Trail!

From it, it was just returning the way we came.

We got back to our room, had our lunch, relaxed, and took ourselves a nice nap. We decided to get an early dinner and I knew just the place. So, we headed over to the pedestrian only area of Front Street.

Right at the beginning of the pedestrian walk is Blue Moon Over Avila.

We were seated by the very friendly Hostess on the patio. We actually took seats at the rail, so we could check out the beach.

Our Server went and pointed out the Coast Guard rescue exercises going on near the pier.

The Missus started with a glass of wine; I decided not to partake….I was going to get a brew later on. Our wonderful Server made some recommendations and we took him up two of them.

But first, we started with some Escargot ($18). This ended up being our least favorite item as the escargot was super chewy and the herb-garlic butter was to mild in terms of pungent savoriness.

The Croque Monsieur ($24) was delicious!

The melted Gruyere roasted crisp. Lovely cheesy-nutty-savoriness. It added an amazing textural contrast and layer of flavor to the toasted sourdough.

Heck, it almost seemed like the delicate rosemary-garlic ham and the milky cheese were just the secondary players on this. The salad was refreshing and nicely coated with a nice, light vinaigrette.

The Beef Bourguignon ($32) was also recommended and though I had my doubts, this was also good. The Missus really enjoyed it; especially since the flavor was nicely balanced, not overly winey like many versions we’ve had. And of course, the Missus really enjoyed all the lardons.

Pleasantly rich, nice savory beefiness, perfect amount of acidity, earth mushrooms, and a hint of smokiness. We’d end up having most of this for lunch the following day….it as still just as good!

This was a very pleasant surprise. In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we’d return here a couple of months later!

Blue Moon Over Avila
460 Front St.
Avila Beach, CA 93424

After dinner, we took a stroll along Front Street and JJ got his usual “photo-op”.

The Missus returned to the room, while JJ and I made it back to Locals Taproom, which we had both enjoyed the night before. The bartender remembered JJ and even had treats for him! I was having so much fun chatting with the folks here that I forgot to take a photo of my beer!

Needless to say, we really enjoy this place! They made us feel so welcome!

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

We really enjoyed the vibe of Avila Beach and was happy to find a restaurant we enjoyed!