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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

Little Kiki Katsu & More (Carlsbad)

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

I heard about a Katsu place opening up in Carlsbad named Little Kiki. Now, of course the name of the place had my good friend “CC” cracking up….because, you know what that means in Filipino (Tagalog) slang, right? Then I noticed a bit of buzz being created on IG….so, well…..I decided to check out the “Little Kiki”…….

The shop is located right on Madison Street off of Carlsbad Village Drive. There’s an actual parking lot right next door. So, I parked and walked on over. It was right at the 1130 opening time on a Saturday and there were already some customers being seated. I was met by a very nice woman and I told her since I was by myself, I’d gladly sit at the bar.

It’s one of those high counter bars, so you really can’t see what’s happening on the other side. I also noticed that there’s a door to Blue Ocean Robata & Sushi Bar next door which was open, so I figured it was the same owner. I came to find out a bit later that the couple that owns Little Kiki also owns Harumama and Love Boat Sushi, which based on my meal makes sense. More on that later.

The woman quickly brought me water and a menu. I noticed the two pour containers which held sauces I assumed were for the katsu.

Well, it seemed like prices were in line with my favorite Tonkatsu shop in town, and other than the lunch set, everything would be a la carte….i.e. you’d pay $3.50 for rice! That lunch set seemed a bit pricey at $33, I think even more than EE Nami these days, but it also had sashimi. But at least the tonkatsu is Berkshire Pork Loin, that is supposedly dry aged. Which is what I ordered.

Soon, the woman return with a Gomasuri-Ky (sesame seed grinder) with some sesame seeds she had ground up while walking back to my seat. Interesting touch……she was very nice and surprised when I actually knew the name of it! I think she was surprised that I was Japanese?

After a short wait my lunch set arrived.

A nice looking set!

I started with the miso soup, which was very good. This had some nice assertive flavors and was definitely not watered down. While a bit on the saltier side, I really enjoyed it.

Just looking at the color, I’m thinking Awase Miso, which is a mixture of Shiro and Aka miso was used? Anyway, it was probably the item I enjoyed the most.

The “Chef’s choice” of sashimi were three thick but small slices of typical salmon. Definitely not among my favorite item with regards to sashimi. I would prefer that the “chef” make some better choices?

There was a large portion of decently shredded cabbage and very hipster looking pickled veggies.

The rice wasn’t fragrant and was on the dry and hard side. It was a decent sized portion.

Ok…ok, I know, you’re here wanting me to “get to the point”, right? What about the tonkatsu.

First off, I didn’t care for the panko used as it was on the softer side…which I think is ok for chicken, but I prefer my panko used for tonkatsu to be flaky and crisp. I guess I enjoy that “crunch”?

I know I’m kinda doing this a bit too much these days…..but please view the evidence submitted below which is how I like my tonkatsu breaded.

I went and sampled the two sauces at the table.

The “spicy” version on the left just didn’t have enough of savoriness and at least for me, seemed to taste a bit like Sambal? So, I stuck with the basic tonkatsu sauce provided.

I drizzled the sauce and sprinkled the ground sesame seeds…which, by the way added a hint of nuttiness to the dish. The loin itself was interesting. The edge pieces were nice and fairly moist, though the meat got drier and chewier as you got closer to the middle. The middle slices were a bit too cold for my taste, but it could be because of the amount of time the pork was rested.

Several of the slices had the panko separating from the meat, though it wasn’t overly prevalent.

There was some decent porkiness to this. It was a pretty good tonkatsu, but definitely not in the same league as EE Nami. It would probably be really good in a properly made Katsu Sando.

I did enjoy those pickled veggies; especially the cauliflower, which was pleasantly salty, yet, still crunchy.

I thought the service was very good, though I think I even prefer the Tonkatsu at Sakura more….though perhaps Musashiya sits a bit below this? I believe that this skews to more of a fusion (it makes sense that the owners own Harumama and Love Boat Sushi), than traditional Japanese, with some performative touches. While the price point is a bit high, I would occasionally drop by if the place was in my neighborhood, but if it were on Convoy, I’d stick with EE Nami. As this was a 60 mile round trip drive.

As I was leaving I took around the dining room which was packed and quickly noticed something. I was the only Asian dining in the restaurant at that moment……

Little Kiki Katsu & More
2958 Madison St. #101
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Current Hours:
Monday 5pm – 930pm
Wed, Thurs, Sun 1130am – 3pm, 5pm – 930pm
Fri – Sat 1130am – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm
Closed on Tuesday

And “CC”…now that I’ve had “Little Kiki”, is it time to get some Boto…ahem, as in sushi?

The Peruvian Spot Revisited

Peruvian Restaurants, Sandwiches

Recently, I was hankering for a Cubano….but of course Havana Grill in Clairemont had closed! So, I decided to go for something else…..maybe a sanguche? I know a lot of folks really like Sangucheria…but to be perfectly honest, I’ve been underwhelmed by the sanguches there on my three visits….they use telera rolls….nothing like the traditional Peruvian Pan Frances like they do at places like Dona Paulina in Lima. And while the Sanguche at The Peruvian Spot was pretty massive, I did enjoy the Sanguche de Chicharron there when I visited back in February of last year. They also open at 10am, so I could beat any crowds in that rather small parking lot on the corner of Mesa College Drive and Ashford.

It was pretty quiet during my visit. With only one other customer….who seemed like a regular coming in for an order.

I was rather surprised to see that the Sanguche de Chicharron was still priced at $14.95….it hadn’t gone up in the last year-and-a-half. Of course, there were some alarm bells going off in mi cabeza, wondering if what I’d get would be radically different from my previous visit.

I was happy to see Bottled Inka Cola, which is vastly superior to the canned and plastic bottled versions. If I recall, the nice woman, who if I recall correctly is the owner told me this was imported…which means it uses cane sugar instead of corn syrup….it also is much cleaner tasting with an awesome light “fizziness”.

As for the sandwich….well, it’s still quite large!

But it has definitely changed! Instead of a variety of pork cuts, thinly sliced, and decent fat, with good porkiness, this version had three thick, tough, and dry slices of pork.

Only that middle slice had a decent pork flavor, the other two thick and dry chops was definitely in the “other white meat” category. The roll was still very nice, fairly light and yeasty, and held up pretty well. Nice layer of camote slices added a good sweetness. The salza criolla tasted more like straight-forward pickled onions, really sour, and lacking in a touch of spice. And there seemed to be a bit too much of it.

If you’d like to see what the sanguche de chicharron looked like before, here’s a photo.

Hmmm……..

Well, in terms of price….you do get quite a large sandwich….but in my opinion, it’s nothing like what it used to be. It’s not bad mind you; it’s just not as good in my mind.

The Peruvian Spot
7510 Mesa College Dr.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Sunday, Tues – Fri 10am – 8pm
Closed on Saturday and Monday

Galapagos – Puerto Ayora and El Chato Ranch

Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Ecuador, Galapagos, Travel

Our last full day in the Galapagos was going to be spent on Santa Cruz island, with most of it taking place in Puerto Ayora, the most populated town in the islands. We had already been to Cerro Dragon and Bachas Beach, but there was still much more to see.

It felt quite interesting to wake to a fairly busy harbor.

And after our breakfast……

We were headed to the harbor.

Upon landing I felt so sad seeing this sick looking Sea Lion pup. There were cones around the little one so he wouldn’t be bothered, so it was obvious the authorities were aware of the little one.

We boarded a small bus and headed on inland to El Chato Ranch and Giant Tortoise Reserve. This large property was once a cattle ranch, but was converted to a reserve for free roaming tortoises.

From the moment you arrive, you’ll see tortioses.

There are several trails and once we walked a bit we were taken to a “Lava Tunnel”….in other words a lava tube.

And folks really seemed in awe of it. Even though we’ve been to Kaumana Caves a couple of times, this was still neat.

After this we walked some trails and just watched the Giant Tortoises ambling about.

It was amazing watching these majestic creatures…..

Who were just totally unfazed by our presense.

Just carrying on with daily life!

We then headed back to Puerto Ayora and the ferry back to Evolve.

There were more sea lions napping on the dock. And the little was snoozing as well.

Back on board we had our departure briefing and then lunch.

We then had a couple of hours to rest before heading out for our last adventure!

Galapagos – Rabida Island

Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Ecuador, Galapagos, Travel

After visiting Puerto Egas and having lunch we headed off to our next stop, Rabida Island.

Rabida is a small island, less than 2 square miles in area. Much of it is rocky coastline.

But Rabida has one very unique aspect……

The stunning red sand beach. The red sand is a product of iron rich lava that formed the island. And this beach is the only access point for visitors to the island. It’s makes for quite a dramatic stop.

There were so many unique stops in this archepelago!

A bit further inland is a salt water lagoon, where we saw Flamingos.

I was quite surprised to see them! Apparently, flamingos are very strong fliers, and it is thought that they first migrated to the islands all the way from South America and perhaps even the Caribbean!

I’ll never look at them the same again!

As we headed back to the shore, the red sand made for quite a back drop as we hit the “Golden Hour”.

Back on board, I quickly noticed that the deck had been rearranged a bit. Well, after freshening up we were back on the rear deck.

And there was this flag unfurled…..

Apparently, it was “party time”…….

It was a fun; pirate themed time……

And then it was time for us to contribute to the festivities. Remember the evening we had dinner at the Captain’s table? Well, one of questions we were asked….very casually during our chat was what would be our “spirit animal”. I mentioned really being drawn to the Flightless Cormorants. Well, it had been documented and we were now required to imitate that creature to music! Yikes…. I hope that video will never make it out of the Galapagos!

And after the festivities, we headed back to our cabins to “recover” before dinner.

That duck in a red wine – balsamic reduction was quite good!

Back in our cabin we noticed that we’d been given some nice chocolate as an appreciation gift.

We were actually kind of sad that our cruise was nearly over!