**** This location of Beard Papa has closed
What would I do without all of my FOYs(Friends of Yoso), the minute Beard Papa opens in San Diego, I get 3 emails letting me know! So thank you, thank you, EdL(a longtime FOY), Sam, and Ricki. Ever since, I first read about Beard Papa in a post by Reid, I've been fascinated by the phenomenon. Though unlike Kathy, I don't have much of a sweet tooth, which I think is my saving grace, we really didn't hunt Beard Papa down during our road trips to LA….well, I didn't need to. Before you knew it, a Beard Papa opened in the food court at Marukai Gardena. The Missus and I shared a single vanilla cream puff:
And in spite of my lack of a sweet tooth, it was quite good. The shell(Choux) was thin, light, and crisp, and filling was not too sweet, but still rich.
And that would be it, for the next time we went to Marukai Gardena, Beard Papa was gone, and a "post for a rainy day" went down the tubes. And even though I ran into Beard Papa in other places, like San Gabriel and in Costa Mesa, I never really had the urge to visit. I'm just surprised that I hadn't deleted these photos.
So being in the vicinity of National City recently, I dropped by Plaza Bonita, and headed to where I thought the most likely location of Beard Papa would be. And there was no Food Court…at least where I thought it would be! It had been a few years since I'd been here, and the entire food court had been moved. They sure are trying to pretty the place up.
The set-up looked kind of haphazard, but there it was the signature Beard Papa yellow. The prices, 
were $2.50 a cream puff, a bit more expensive than I remembered. I did purchase 6 cream puffs($10.50 for 6), 3 vanilla, and 3 of the other flavor of the day, chocolate.
When I arrived home, I opened my little yellow box, and checked out the cream puffs all snuggled in.
I had one vanilla, and noticed something; either my tastes have changed, or the filling is a bit sweeter than I recalled. It was not quite as rich as well.
It was also a bit more "lumpy" than I remembered. The shell had not traveled well, it was soggy, and the bottom hard like a pie crust.
The chocolate was too sweet for my taste.
Though I found the shape of this cream puff to be a bit amusing.
I'm not quite sure if it was just grand opening inconsistencies, or if Beard Papa has lowered the quality control standards, but these were not as good as I remembered.
EdL mentioned in his email, the interesting choice of locations for the first Beard Papa in San Diego. EdL thought, like I did, that Beard Papa would open up somewhere around the Kearny Mesa/Clairemont area. But at least you can now get your Beard Papa fix locally if you need it.
Beard Papa, in the Plaza Bonita Food Court
3030 Plaza Bonita Rd
National City, CA 91950