Well, it was pretty nice there for a couple of days. Anyway, here's something short for a wet Sunday in San Diego.
Owners of Izakaya Sakura opening a new restaurant:
I was quite surprised when I heard this. But according to my sources, the owners of Sakura are taking over the Chilies Thai location for a new restaurant.
Folks might be wondering what gives since it's in the same strip mall as Izakaya Sakura. Well this place is going to be Italian-Japanese. Probably something similar to Spoon House and Akane Chaya in the Gardena area. Not my favorite style and i'm wondering if there's a market for it here, heck even Curry house couldn't cut it. When I asked Dennis for his opinion, he had his doubts too. Time will tell. One more thing I heard is that Kazu will cut down his sushi bar time to oversee this new place…….don't think that's a great idea either.
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Banh Mi Bo Kho at Pho Lucky:
After a terrible version of Vietnamese style Beef Stew at Pho Mignon, the sudden change in weather, and feeling a bit under the weather I decided to grab some Banh Mi Bo Kho from Pho Lucky. Funny thing is, Cathy mentioned that I've only done one post on the place. I swear I've done more than that. I did find a couple of posts including one on the Banh Mi Bo Kho. I think my Google search is doing weird things…..
The flavor was spot on as is the norm, but the stew was on the thin and soupy side. Lot's of nice tendon hiding on the bottom, though. What's up with the thin stews I've been getting recently? At least this one tasted good.
Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Pizzeria Bruno Napoletano:
*** Pizzeria Bruno has closed
Man, it was almost like spring for a couple of days there, wasn't it? And the weather put the Missus in the mood for sitting outside and having a pizza from Bruno. Over time, the Missus has settles on the Marinera ($9) being Her favorite:
She usually orders it with extra olive oil…….
I got my favorite, the Diavolo ($15), with soppressata replacing the pepperoni.
The goat peppers add some nice spice and mild sweetness to balance out the salt from the salami-ish soppressata. Great char on the crust and I've gotten used to eating this with a knife and fork…..
Can't wait until we get more consistent warm weather, we'll be enjoying this more often.
Pizzeria Bruno
4207 Park Blvd
San Diego, CA 92103
My previous post on Bruno can be found here.
Hi Kirk, the weather today made me wish I owned a snuggie. I’m curious what the Sakura folks have planned more for the new place. My friends and I enjoy most the current basic meat sauce pasta. The Uni seems more polarized but I happen to like it. The more expensive seafood versions I wasn’t too impressed with the execution. Hopefully they’ll have enough good dishes there to make it a go.
The pizza looks mighty tasty! I wonder how it compares to Blue Ribbon up in Encinitas? We went to Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix and it was out of this world. Most definitely get their caprese with your order. Apizza Scholls in Portland also was really amazing. Haven’t found anything like those two in San Diego yet.
Hi Dennis – It’ll be interesting to see what evolves with the new place.
Hi NWF – Sorry to say, I’ve never been to Blue Ribbon. I’ve meant to check it out, but for some reason just never made it up there. I’ve heard good things though.
I think the market for Italian-Japanese could be quite limited. I love Sakura and have loved essentially everything I’ve ever eaten in Japan – except for the “Italian” food. I ate at a supposedly good Italian restaurant in Osaka, and the food was downright awful. I know many Japanese love that kind of thing, but the crossover appeal will be quite limited.
For Sakura’s sake, I hope I’m wrong. But why can’t they open up a house made tofu restaurant instead?
Chilies Thai had been there for a number of years, although it’s been ages since I was there. Did you happen to notice if the Vietnamese place has opened yet?
The zip code for Pizzeria Brunos should be 9210, not 92105. When I copied the address with zip 92105 to Google Maps, it located the middle of Balboa Park. Wish I had seen your post before I was at the park yesterday, wondering where to go for lunch.
Hi Liza – I agree…..
Hi Sandy – Thanks for catching that….my fat fingers! Lunch only Sat/Sunday at Bruno’s BTW. The Vietnamese place looks almost ready, but I noticed tables and stuff stil lcovered so I think they’re finihing up the painting.
Talk about fat fingers – I left out the last digit in the correct zip code!
I wonder if the bo kho is thin because they’re often served over noodles.
The marinera pizza looks delicious! I like pizzas with more sauce than cheese. I love fresh basil.
Hi Sandy – The beef stew at Lucky is usually a bit thicker than this…..
Hi Ange – Bruno makes Neopolitan style pizzas, so it’s a bit on the wet side. Very tasty and great when the weather warms up.
Wow I love the pizza, looks like a proper Italian pizza just as it should be not like those imitation mass produced pizzas that taste like plastic.