TJ Oyster Bar- great seafood, but no oysters, in Bonita

Yes, you have found mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog.  Kirk has stuff to do, ed (from Yuma) has places to go and Cathy is blogging about a place to eat. 

I mentioned in a prior post that in December I had met up with fellow food bloggers and friends, canine cologne, Dennis and Carol, for a food crawl around South County- Chula Vista and Bonita.  Of the many places we stopped at that day, our first was here-where I took this photo of the exterior.  In December.

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As I tend to be cautious about writing about any place until I have returned a few times, all the food in this post was consumed at this location, in a small mall on the same block just West of the McDonald's near Otay Lakes Road on Bonita road.  

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However, I do know the small storefront will be moving soon to just East of the McDonald's (and the Vons) in this same block very soon.  The new location looks a lot larger. In any case, the food here is excellent and the lines out the door may be diminished with the new building.

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In December, we sat at the front counter, which consists of six stools, to enjoy some tastes of what is offered at this primarily seafood Mexican restaurant.  

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We shared a large coctele and fish tacos.  Everything was fresh and tasty and I wanted more, but in retrospect was glad we kept along on our crawl, because this was just the first of so many new-to-me places that day.  

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The fish taco was beer battered, not heavy and the fish was light, flaky and tasty.  The coctele-

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had plenty of octopus in it (there were no oysters that day, despite the name of the place) and a very refreshing tomato-lime-cilantro sauce that the seafood was melding in.

I had to return with The Mister a few times. 

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One day we went, before crowds showed up and shared a fish ceviche tostada ($2.75) and a shrimp ceviche tostada ($3.50).  Each of the ceviches were made to order and so crispy-fresh tasting.  The respective seafoods were citrus-tangy and you could still taste the respective 'meats'. I have returned just for ceviche, which is really nice on these hot Summer days.

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Of course we realized at some point that the fish tacos are 99¢ every day and ordered two on another visit. We basically drive by and if there is a parking space, we stop, otherwise we haven't, because the parking lot is an indicator of available table space. I think the seating capacity inside is about 20.

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I had been curious about the "Pescadilla" part of the menu and on another visit, we ordered the $7.50 Mariscos/Seafood Pescadilla. It's a quesedilla, filled with sauteed seafood.  Buttery, garlicy sauteed seafood. Served with rice, this is way more than a meal for one. Very rich, very filling, and now a regular order.

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As of now, at the current location, the menu is on the wall and the cash register, where you order and pay, is right in front of you when you walk in the door.  I hope the menu and quality of food at the new location stays the same.

TJ Oyster Bar 4246 Bonita Road 91902 (619)267-4577