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Monday Meanderings – Taste of Hong Kong is Now Grill N Malatang, or is it? Gong’s Noodle Coming to Clairemont Mesa, the Saga of Havana Grill Closing, and The Girl in Red Shoes.

Chinese Restaurants, Cuban Restaurants, Exploring San Diego, yoso-silly

Ok, ready for some interesting “stuffs” on this Monday?

Taste of Hong Kong is Now Grill N Malatang, or is it?:

Well, I knew that Taste of Hong Kong had closed and become yet another Hot Pot (of course) place. But this gets more interesting. Back in May, Taste of Hong Kong started a pseudo “all-you-can-eat” program. Of course the cynic in me thought this was the start of desperate measures by the business. I remember telling the Missus, “when they start doing hot pot, I know they are really desperate.” Well, guess what? A few months later I heard they were doing hot pot! Yikes! But like that sales pitch goes “but wait, there’s more!” After an interesting comment on one of my posts, I decided to head on over to check things out.

And yes, the signage clearly states “No Longer Taste of Hong Kong”……strangely, it does say to go the side door…I think it’s for unit 320 to enter whatever restaurant it is. Also, note the notice of application for ownership change!

So, what about the hot pot? Well, I found this on IG:

OK, so it’s now Grill N Malatang, right? But strangely, I saw this follow-up post.

It seems like Grill N Malatang is closed for a couple of weeks?

And then, in the comments of one of my posts Charles sends me a link about a sushi chain coming to San Diego.

So, I actually go to the chain’s website and check out the address of the upcoming restaurant?

Yep! So who knows right now? Don’t you love mysteries……oooohhhhh!

Thanks for the heads-up Charles!

4428 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

The Saga of Havana Grill’s Closing on Clairemont Mesa:

Well, I had heard Havana Grill had closed last week, so I dropped by and took some photos.

And when I saw the note posted on the door…….

It’s opened an interesting can of worms, because a couple of days ago the closing made CBS 8 News! Ok, now this is going to be interesting….

BTW, their Mission Valley location is still open.

5450 Clairemont Mesa Blvd,
San Diego, CA 92117

On a more positive note…..

Gong’s Noodle Coming to Clairemont Mesa:

I saw this sign in the newly renovated Madison Place, near where Kanna Thai is replacing Di-Chan.

Don’t know much more than what the sign says…..the Chinese writing is the same as the name. So will keep tabs on it.

It seems each business has it’s own address here, so I think this one might be:

5519 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

And finally……something interesting….

In one of her posts; our friend and fellow blogger Kat, in one of her posts, mentioned the story of “Kimi Chan” who it is said inspired a famous children’s song, Akai Kutsu. To quote Atlas Obscura on the story of Kimi-Chan:

“A single mother named Kayo Iwasaki moved to Hokkaido in 1903 with her daughter, Kimi Sano, but their life there turned out to be so hard that she could no longer raise the girl on her own. Eventually, she decided that she had to leave Kimi in the care of American missionary Charles W. Huett and his wife, who promised to take her back to the United States and raise her there.

However, what awaited the girl was a tragedy. Before the Huetts could sail for America, Kimi caught tuberculosis and had to be taken in at an orphanage in Azabu, where she died shortly after at the age of nine. Kayo never found out about her daughter’s death, believing for life that Kimi grew up to be a fine lady and had a good life abroad.”

There’s a statue of Kimi-Chan in Yamashita Park in Yokohama. But, on an interesting note, did you know that Yokohama and San Diego are Sister Cities?

And if you go to Shelter Island, there’s a red pagoda housing the Yokohama Friendship Bell.

And, if you look to the left of the Pagoda….well, guess what?

It the Girl in Red Shoes by Japanese artist Munehiro Komeno.

In the comments of her post, I promised Kat that I’d take some photos and post, so on my most recent visit to Tunaville, I stopped by to take these photos. So there you go Kat!

I had actually first read about this in one of the posts on Atlas Obscura, when I was going over my posts on the Statue of Bum the Dog in Edinburgh and we having a Statue of Greyfriars Bobby here in San Diego. Edinburgh and San Diego are Sister Cities as well.

Kind of neat, huh?

The ViNam Cafe (Rolando)

Bakery, Banh Mi

I’m not quite sure who mentioned ViNam Cafe to me? But it’s definitely Banh Mi “season” for me right now as temps are starting to rise and I found myself in Rolando. So, I decided to figure out where ViNam was. I finally found the little shop on the ground floor of a mixed use apartment on ECB just East of College. I found some parking on ECB and walked over and discovered that the shop has it’s own small, but dedicated parking lot.

It was fairly early on a weekend morning and the little shop was quite sedate. Folks were just getting coffee while I was looking for my banh mi brekkie!

Just one nice young lady working.

Looking over the food, it was apparent that this is one of those “new” places and the menu has no Vietnamese names…other than banh mi.

I went with the Banh Mi Pate Cha or perhaps Dac Biet Cold Cut ($9). And it’s an interesting sign of the times as the nine dollar price didn’t faze me at all. Another thing that was different from other places is that the very nice young lady was doing everything….taking orders, making all the drinks, answering the phone, and of course making my banh mi. If this is usually the case, I wouldn’t be in a hurry when you visit. My banh mi took over twenty minutes, but I’m not going to complain too much since that young lady was working hard!

Man, this banh mi felt pretty hefty.

And upon opening…..yeesh…even heftier than Avian or Banh Mi Express!

Three stacked slices of cha lua, two of nem nuong….though the flavor of that was nullified by that thick smear of pate….not that I’m complaining mind you. This was definitely pate forward in flavor.

The pickled veggies were really cut thick…a bit too thick for my enjoyment, but that’s splitting hairs. There were not one; but two slices of cucumber in this so you won’t find me complaining about that. A nice cross slice of jalapeno with some decent spice.

My least favorite item was the bread, the crust was hard and the bread was overly chewy.

Overall, not a bad banh mi, the proportion was off for my taste….though I might be the only customer who would ever complain about too much meat? If the bread situation is just an aberration (I understand they make their own bread) than this would indeed be a nice, slightly Westernized banh mi. I’m thinking this is great for the students at SDSU.

The ViNam Cafe
6150 El Cajon Blvd. Suite A
San Diego, CA 92115
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 630am – 6pm
Saturday 7am – 9pm
Sunday 7am – 6pm

Happy Fourth!

Blog, yoso-silly

Well, it’s the 250th! There’s a bunch of things going on……even in our neighborhood!

There’s a cornhole tournament going on on Napier, basically in front of Harland Brewing, Poseidon Project, and Bay Park Coffee. It’s a benefit for Fire Station 25.

We stopped by on the way back from the Farmer’s Market and took a nice stroll and quick look.

Looks like fun and there are several stands and the of course Poseidon, BPC, and other places are open.

Nutmeg Cafe which will be opening on this very street has a table as well. It was the busiest table so I didn’t get a chance to check them out or even take a photo. However, Pit Stop Pizza which has a shop on Clairemont Drive has a trailer there as well.

This is taking place on the 4000 block of Napier Street from 9am to 1pm. More info here and here.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Fourth of July! Happy 250th!

Road Trip – Raven Hill Bagels, Idyllwild Nature Center, Atomic Cow Revisited, and Lumber Mill Bar & Grill

American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Dog Friendly, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Travel

On our last visit to Idyllwild many businesses were closed. We were here on Tuesday and Wednesday so that seemed odd. It’s during our meal at Ferro that our wonderful Server explained that weekends are the busy times for Idyllwild, so many businesses use Tuesday and Wednesday as their weekend so to speak. So, I took that into consideration when planning this road trip. We were visiting on a Sunday and Monday, leaving on Tuesday morning. So, all of the businesses seemed open during our visit.

That made the short walk from our accommodation to Raven Hill Bagels so easy to grab some breakfast and coffee. The shop is indeed closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.

It’s a small shop with some outdoor seating. You order at the counter….it’s basically a deli and then take your food.

There were some tables outside and the Missus waited with JJ.

A simple order, two Americanos, and a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Bagel Sandwich ($13), with Avocado ($2).

I chose a Jalapeno and Cheese Bagel, which was fairly dense, but tasty.

It would have been on the saltier side; but I added avocado which was a nice buffer. This was also quite large….I saved half for the next morning’s breakfast.

I also noted that the shop also sells various cheeses and deli meats by the pound as well.

Raven Hill Bagels
54440 North Circle Dr. Unit A
Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA 92549

Heading back to the Fireside Inn, we got into the car and headed up to the Idyllwild Nature Center.

There are several easy trails here and also ample parking on this day. We took the super easy Idyllwild Park Trail.

There was some interesting signage along the way with some interesting things to see; like these Bedrock Mortars used by the Cahuilla, the Indigenous People who settled in the area.

There were also some nice views along the way.

Which JJ enjoyed.

It was a nice way to spend a few hours.

Back in town, we parked at our cottage and walked down North Circle Drive, stopping at what is probably the Missus’s favorite shop in the town, Idyllwild Gardens.

Though this time the Missus resisted the urge to buy a bunch of stuffs!

Idyllwild Gardens
54385 North Circle Dr.
Idyllwild, CA 92549

Our stop for lunch would be where we had what was our favorite meal on our previous visit….yes, it was at Atomic Cow.

The Missus and JJ hung out on the patio and I went in to order.

This time the Missus also wanted to try the Chili Cheese Fries. Which turned we turned out to not really enjoy.

Soggy dry fries…really weak, but salty chili, and gooey, but tasteless cheese.

On a positive note, we enjoyed the item that was our favorite on our last visit.

Yes, it was the Cubano, which had Kalua Pork as one of the ingredients. Nicely toasted bread, nicely melted provolone cheese, pickles helping to cut the richness of the tender, smoky, porky, but not overly salty “Kalua pork”.

I’m glad we still enjoyed this. We had also learned that the sandwiches are pretty large here, so one plus a side is more than enough for our lunch. In fact, we needed a nap after this.

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

We then had our afternoon “break” before heading back out to grab an early dinner and headed down North Circle Drive. It was nice to be here when most places were open. Right next to the Mountain Paws Pet Supply store was this lovely Gallery – Gift Shop.

The owner was super friendly and the Missus ended buying some small “stuffs” as gifts for folks.

Artspresso Art Gallery
54380 North Circle Dr.
Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA 92549

We kept heading on down the road and before you knew it, we had reached the Market, where North Circle Drive meets the 243…….

Right across the street was this place, called the Lumbermill.

Which had a patio, so we decided to head on in. We were led to the patio….which we really didn’t take to.

But the stools at the rail seemed nice and the place had a pleasant view of the street.

Looking at the condiments provided, you just kinda knew this was one of those burger-sandwich family diner – bar kind of places. And the menu, with burgers, burritos, nachos, hot dogs, sandwiches and such confirmed things. With this in mind, I went simple with regards to my cerveza….

And we just ordered two apps for dinner….which we were happy about since the portions were pretty large.

We got the boneless wings ($16.95).

Which looked over-sauced. It was pleasantly crunchy, the Buffalo sauce was on the sour-puckery side, but it did go rather well with the Blue Cheese Dressing. The really nice Server told us that they make their own dressing inhouse.

Of course, I just had to try some Cheese Curds ($15.95).

A bit too gooey with the batter not crisp enough…the menu said Wisconsin White Cheddar, but I really couldn’t make out any of the cheddar “sharpness”. Of course, it’s probably mass distributed young cheddar. I wasn’t expecting what I’d get at say………..The Old Fashioned in Madison, but it was still mediocre.

Still, not a terrible meal. JJ got treated nicely’ they brought a bowl of water for him. Service was welcoming….very nice folks working here. And it was enough food for our dinner.

Lumber Mill Bar & Grill
25985 CA-243 #243
Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA 92549

It closed up a nice short stay in Idyllwild for us.

Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip – The Castle Rock Trail (Big Bear), Idyllwild Farmers Market, and Dinner at Idyllwild Brewpub (again)

Dog Friendly, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Pubs and Pub Grub, Road Trip, San Bernadino County, CA, Temecula/Idyllwild/Palm Springs - Riverside, CA, Travel

On our way out of Big Bear, the Missus decided She wanted to do another hike. So we headed west to the Castle Rock Trail. Because of the weekend crowd, we headed up early. It was a fairly easy trail, just 3 miles round trip.

Love the rock formations and the fall colors….something we really don’t get here in San Diego.

And of course; JJ had a blast as well.

Then we headed off to our next stop. The Missus wanted to stay in Idyllwild again. Because it was a Sunday, folks we headed out of Big Bear so it took us almost three hours to get to Idyllwild, which wasn’t too busy.

We parked near Village Center and the Missus did some shopping.

I had also heard that there’s a Farmers Market near the Town Hall on Sundays so we headed on over and did some browsing.

Idyllwild Farmers Market
25925 Cedar St.
Idyllwild, CA 92549
Sunday from 9am – 2pm

We headed back down North Circle Drive to the car…..there are some really charming buildings and houses in Idyllwild.

When it happened! Remember how I mentioned that the Mayor of Idyllwild was a dog named Max? Well guess what….we ran into Max and his entourage meeting his constituents. So, we finally got to meet Max!

Which was kinda interesting as apparently Max doesn’t like other pooches so he went after JJ! He did go after me….well, after my back pocket as he sniffed out my package of treats. I cracked up….Max was looking for a bribe while trying to get rid of the competition! He really is a politician!

Meanwhile, I got my access code to our little cottage up the street….we’d stayed at the same place on our previous visit, so JJ felt right at home!

We had a nice little nap.

When dinner time arrived; we just decided to head on back to the Idyllwild Brewpub.

After you head on down that stairway……

There’s a nice covered patio.

This time I went with the red ale with nice almost sweetish tones and was very easy to drink.

The Missus decided on the Crispy Sprouts.

Which were actually not bad. Fairly crisp, not mushy as many versions are. Kind of light in terms of flavor though.

I was curious about the “243 Dog”……which was a quite elongated kinda chewy hot dog, but was pleasantly savory..

The beer cheese was quite mild and not milky enough, the sweet caramelized onions were kind of a shock, but did add some additional flavor. The bacon aioli wasn’t really necessary in my opinion as it made things get soggy faster. The fires were typical thin style and on the drier side.

This was an ok dinner…..it met expectations.

And JJ was treated quite well too.

Idyllwild Brewpub
54423 Village Center Dr.
Idyllwild, CA 92549

We had a nice stroll before settling in……

And we’d do a bit more exploring the following day!

$5.99 Dim Sum at Hong Kong Kitchen & Dimsum

Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum

I was driving past Hong Kong Kitchen & Dimsum a couple of weeks ago, when I noticed a new banner posted. Apparently, they now feature $5.99 Dim Sum during weekdays. Now, if you had mentioned $5.99 Dim Sum to me, say two years ago I would have laughed……but with prices these days…well, it’s now a relatively good price.

So, when the Missus was wanting some Chinese food recently; I talked Her into a revisit.

We arrived a bit after the 10am opening time and the place was quite empty….but it did fill up pretty quickly.

We were provided several menus, along with the dim sum laminated one, where you indicated what dishes you wanted. I quickly noticed that the dim sum item I thought was the best, the Scallop Dumplings were….I guess obviously not listed. We marked off the items we wanted to try.

We also got the Two Item Chinese BBQ ($24) as well.

And soon enough, items started arriving.

First off, the Jellyfish Salad.

This was nice and crunchy, rather refreshing, but was severely under-seasoned. After a few bites we ended up taking this home, chilling it well, than added black vinegar, chili crisp, and sesame oil which helped it a lot.

The Shrimp Cheong Fun was on the chewy side.

And the sauce seemed watered down. The shrimp was plump and tender though.

The Missus was looking forward to the chicken feet.

And you can tell by the color, right? While the texture, decently tender with crunchy cartlidgey parts, was fine, it was also quite bland.

Other than the now defunct Scallop Dumplings, the Pork and Shrimp Siu Mai were our favorite dim sum item we had on previous visits. And while it was on the chewier side, this was still the best dim sum item we had on this visit.

You could actually make out a light shrimp flavor, good porkiness as well. Pretty dense overall and the wrapper was a bit chewy, but the overall umami reigned supreme.

What was probably our least favorite item was the Shrimp Har Gow, which had also shrunk in size from we’d had before.

The wrapper was really thick and chewy and the flavor was on the fishy side as well.

We had made our way thru all the dim sum and even had to wait a bit longer for the two item barbeque plate. The woman working was very nice and apologetic, telling the Missus that we’d be getting the roast duck made “fresh”.

We tried the Char Siu first. Man, it was so hard, dry, and chewy….almost like jerky.

You can tell by the photo. It was also lacking in flavor, just a bit of sweetness, no five spice tones, weak savory flavor. Not good.

The woman working wasn’t lying when she said we’d enjoy the roast duck though. As the fat had been nicely rendered, the skin crisp, great flavors.

Nicely aromatic, decent anise and savory tones.

The meat was quite tender, full of that duck flavor. This was a nice surprise and as far as we’re concerned was worth the wait. We only regretted that we didn’t order a a half duck!

So, this was an interesting visit. The dim sum was, as a whole, meh…..but that roast duck was probably the best we’ve had in a while! So, we’ll probably return to have the regular menu and some duck. It’ll be interesting to see if having it just done fresh makes a difference if we come later in the day!

Hong Kong Kitchen & Dim Sum
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123
Current Hours:
Daily 10am – 9pm

Buldak Chicken from George’s Cafe (City Heights)

Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Diner, Korean Restaurants

Ever walk into a random eating establishment and get totally surprised? Well, it happened to me this past weekend. It was an odd hour and I had skipped breakfast. I was close to City Heights, so the “usual suspects” came to mind. However, this time, I was driving down 43rd Street when I saw a place I’d been meaning to dine at for years.

The place had been around for over 50 years! And was still in business despite all the new development going on around it. There’s limited hours, just 8 to 2…..and on this day there was ample parking close by so I decided to head on in. I quickly noticed that the owner was Asian and he smiled and pointed me to a table.

The Server was very friendly and handed me a menu….I was totally fixed on just getting the typical 2 eggs with protein and potatoes kind of thing, when I saw this.

What the heck? Along with the burgers, sandwiches, and typical American Breakfast items, there’s teriyaki, bulgogi, even orange chicken! I’m guessing the kitchen staff is Mexican, because you can even get fish tacos and chorizo with your eggs, not surprising to me. But Buldak Chicken seemed rather random. If you’re not sure what Buldak is; it’s a rather modern name for spicy Korean chicken (i.e. “Fire Chicken“). This place obviously didn’t seem like one of those concept “Asian fusion” type of places, or even a food court stand, and with all those typical diner dishes on the menu?

The Server, who one moment was speaking Spanish to a table of what seemed like regulars, came on over and was kind of shocked when I ordered the Buldak. Telling me “it might be too spicy for breakfast….are you ok eating spicy for breakfast?” I really appreciated her concern, but yes…I told her I wanted to try the buldak and to please don’t mind all my sweating! She laughed and placed my order.

There’s a tiny window in the corner where food comes out of the kitchen and I saw my plate appear. Which soon made its way to the table.

So, I loved the perfectly easy over egg….totally diner style, right?

The rice was decent; perhaps a bit on the mushy side….but coming from a place that specializes in hash browns….well….

I liked that the chicken was dark meat and it was indeed spicy. Usually, I’d expect cheese or tteokbokki , but c’mon, it’s a diner.

Like I mentioned, I liked the spice, the savory tones were decent, I’d like a hint of sweetness with this; it’s definitely not a place you’d find on Convoy, but all in all it was better than what I expected. Good portion size as well. The rice and simple “coleslaw” did the job of buffering the spiciness.

I also enjoyed the vibe, tables where folks were speaking Spanish, the table behind me were speaking Vietnamese. It took me back “home”…….back in Kaimuki in the “old days”…..where places like Aotani Fountain would serve “cone” sushi….with Green River….or on a special occasion we’d be heading to Kaimuki Inn or my Mom’s favorite Alakea Grill (by bus)….where you’d get a burger with oxtail soup or spaghetti with a side of kalbi or pork chops…..and butter rolls! We didn’t have much money, I was raised by a single Mom who never learned how to drive. So those places hold a special place in my heart.

And no, it’s not “that George’s“, but in this day where division, hate, and anger seems prevalent, it’s places like this that can bring a community together. I’d take that any day of the week!

George’s Cafe
4012 43rd St.
San Diego, CA 92105
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 8am – 2pm
Closed Sundays

Croissant Files – Christophe Rull Patisserie (San Marcos)

Bakery, Croissants

A few days ago “FOY” Kenneth sent me an email regarding a new patisserie opening in North County that had potentially good croissants named Christophe Rull. Funny thing, a day later the Missus mentioned seeing something about a new bakery in San Marcos on Social Media. After checking a bit, I found that the owner is a bit of a celebrity having been on Netflix and Food Network shows. Well, it seemed like a bit of a drive…..but I decided to check the place out.

Man, I hadn’t been in this part of San Marcos in a while. The shop is located in the new North City development with several large apartment complexes; some of which are still being built. I found parking in the multi-story parking structure and headed on down looking for the bakery. This area seems to be developing into it’s own little 15-minute city. Exiting the parking structure, I quickly noticed the bakery across the street.

Even though the bakery was quite busy, the street were quiet, giving it a bit of a laid back feel. Every table indoors was taken, though there was no line at the counter.

The menu featured coffee drinks, croissant sandwiches, French style baguette sandwiches, which reminded me of Jambon Beurre, like we get in Paris.

The breakfast pastry prices seemed to skew on the higher end. Of course, I was basically only looking for one thing.

I ended up getting myself a croissant ($6.50) and Kouign Amann ($7.50) and a Dulce de Leche Cruffin ($7.00) for the Missus. All packed in an interesting bag.

Once home, I immediately tucked into the croissant.

You can tell by the color….yes, it seemed a bit under baked, the laminate a bit dull, though the ridges were fairly crisp.

The interior was decently honey-combed, but still a bit on the doughy – “wetter” side. The fragrance was quite nice.

Just mildly buttery….I prefer more butteriness, but it just seems like lack of butter in croissants is a San Diego thing. Decent salt, but also a bit sweeter than I enjoy.

Overall, not in my “top three” for San Diego, but much better than the last two places I tried.

The Missus did enjoy the Dulce de Leche Cruffin more than the Kouign Amann which had not held up well until the evening. She did say that both pastries were on the doughy side.

Overall, not worth the 50 miles round trip……though perhaps if I lived in that 15 minute neighborhood I’d drop by once in a while. And I do think that $6.50 for a croissant is on the high side.

So there you go! Another one in the books! Thanks for mentioning this place Kenneth!

Christophe Rull Patisserie
251 N City Dr. Suite 121
San Marcos, CA 92078
Current Hours:
Tues – Fri 7am – 3pm
Sat – Sun 8am – 4pm
Closed on Monday

CDMX COMC – Restaurante Takotl Roma Norte and Azul Condesa

Latin American Cuisine, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Mexico City, Travel

Well now…..I was looking at my posts on our visits to Mexico City and noticed that I had forgotten to post on two dinners we had there! Since I consider our little blog to be a food diary of sorts, I thought I’d do a C(learing) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard) post on Takotl and Azul…….both places are still open. I’ll mostly do just photos….

Restaurante Takotl Roma Norte:

Takotl seemed quite a popular place, so I made reservations. It was a 20 minute walk from our accommodations in Condesa into hipster, hip, trendy Roma Norte.

The menu fashioned a sort of fusion of Mexican dishes with Asian touches and vegetarian dishes.

For example, along with tacos, they feature “takataka” where nori replaces the typical tortilla.

We enjoyed the cocktails here the best.

And after having Tamal Chepil, Tacos de Tripa and Suadero, and Quesadillas de Nopales and Flor de Calabazas for lunch, the Missus wanted a salad.

And of course I got a variety of tacos.

Including two “takataka”…..sadly, the nori really didn’t do well as it tore and fell apart easily.

The traditional Taco de Costilla, super fatty rib meat was the best item in my opinion.

Though the blue corn tortilla was quite brittle.

Overall, very hipster food and dismissive service.

Takotl Restaurante Roma Norte
Medellín 116
Mexico City, 06700 Mexico

Azul Condesa:

The following evening, after our wonderful exploration of Mercado la Merced, I had made reservations at a place just a 5 minute walk away form the Red Tree House. I had read about Azul Condesa a while back and this just seemed the right time for a visit. Azul features some takes on ancestral Mexican dishes.

Again the Missus wanted salad and veggies!

I on the other hand ordered items that were a little more interesting……

Starting with some Guacamole with Chapulines (roasted grasshoppers).

Which were really minced up…..it seemed to have lost a bit of crunch with that process. Really mild in flavor as well.

The Missus really rolled Her eyes when I ordered the Escamoles (ant larvae)….asking me if I hadn’t already had enough at the Mercado earlier in the day.

Often called “Mexican Caviar”, these were on the sour side…..and the Missus had a problem with the texture as well.

Because it’s only available for a couple of months a year, I’m glad I ordered it.

Azul Condesa
Nuevo Leon #68 Hipódromo
Mexico City, 06100 Mexico

So there you go. I know this one is kinda late, so I thank you for stopping by!

Road Trip – Himalayan Restaurant, Sister My Sister Bake Shop, Alpine Pedal Path Trail, and Boulder Bay Park (Big Bear)

Bakery, Indian Restaurants, Nepalese/Himalayan Food, Road Trip, San Bernadino County, CA, Travel

I really enjoyed the view of Big Bear Lake from our patio at the Marina Riviera.

I found it so serene and relaxing.

We soon headed on out, stopping at Sister My Sister Bake Shop for some coffee and for something small for breakfast.

It’s a cute little bakery, designed for takeout.

Looking for something more savory, I got the Bacon Cheddar Chive Scone ($5.25) to go.

Sister My Sister Bake Shop
40191 Big Bear Blvd.
Big Bear Lake, CA 92315

We then back tracked thru downtown Big Bear, crossing the lake on the Stanfield Cutoff, finding parking alongside the Alpine Pedal Path. Which was on the opposite side of the lake from where we were staying. We sat on one of the benches and enjoyed the view.

While I had my hefty, dense scone.

I enjoyed the fact that the scone, even though quite dense, wasn’t overly dry.

Once finished, we set off on the paved path. I know it was somewhat too easy for the Missus, but I really enjoyed the view.

And the round trip was 5.3 miles. Enough for a nice morning.

Eventually, you end up around some campgrounds and a forested area.

And at the Big Bear Solar Observatory, which we could see from our hotel across the lake, we turned around and headed back.

We drove back to the Marina Riviera, parked and decided to look for a place to have an early lunch.

For some reason, She was attracted to Himalayan Restaurant, which had a back patio that’s dog friendly.

So, we got a table. The gentleman who served us was very friendly. And when he found out that we were from San Diego, he told us that he used to work at Himalayan Cuisine in La Mesa! Which is why we ended up visiting upon returning to San Diego.

The Missus saw several dishes that appealed to Her, starting with the Rogan Josh.

Man, that lamb was so tender, but still gamey enough to enjoy. We loved the complex spices and earthy tones and it did have a bit of heat to it.

We also got the Okra dish….which seemed like a version of Bhindi Masala. This actually had some decent spice as well.

We enjoyed the “neba neba” of the okra, which even presented a bit of sweetness; the acidity of the tomatoes, and the pungent and earthy tones from the spices.

Both dishes went well with the crisp, but tender naan.

And we even had some rice….nice and fragrant, fulfilling our carbs for the rest of the week!

The Missus really enjoyed this meal….and now has a favorite restaurant in Big Bear!

Himalayan Restaurant
672 Pine Knot Ave.
Big Bear Lake, CA 92315

After a short respite, we decided to check out a place I’d read about right on Big Bear Lake with a kind of iconic view, Boulder Bay Park. So we drive on over and in spite of the tiny lot there was quite a bit of parking available. Everything is nicely maintained, grassy areas, with a paved walkway meandering thru the park.

If one ignores the buildings across the street and on the east side of the cove, it makes for a lovely scene.

I was told that sunset was prime time here for photographers, though there was a group taking wedding photos. It was a nice little stop.

As we were leaving the park, there was a line of cars waiting to get in….and traffic back into Big Bear was crazy. Well, it seemed like the weekend had just hit!

We parked at the hotel and walked back up Pine Knot Avenue….but man, things were really hopping. Later we walked back up looking for some places to have dinner, but things were just too crowded. We headed back to the Marina Riviera and just decided to grab a small bite and have some drinks. After all, we still had a $25 credit for food and drink for the evening.

Man, the place was hopping.

While there was seating at the bar, all other tables were taken.

But then Kinzey and then the wonderful woman who I believe is the chef at this location, Jenn saw us. Both of them had been so wonderful, accommodating, and friendly during our stay, so naturally, in spite of the discount, we tipped well. And they also loved JJ! So, perhaps he’s earning his keep? Anyway, they told us to hold on a for a minute and put together a table for us! Amazing!

So, we had a nice light dinner and cocktails at De la Nonna.

At the end of our meal, Kinzey gave me her business card saying to text her if we’re headed up and she’ll give us info on what is going on!

Well, I know where we’re staying and eating when we get back to Big Bear, right?

De la Nonna Big Bear (In the Hotel Marina Riviera)
40770 Big Bear Blvd.
Big Bear Lake, CA 92315

The next morning we headed out and traffic was pretty crazy….so note to self, even on random fall weekends….things are busy in Big Bear….I’ll need to plan a bit better next time!