COMC – Those Times Before Covid, Song Hak and Tanuki

Periodically, I clean out photos…..since, at least in San Diego, I try to do more than one visit to a place….if things were so bad I had never, nor do I intend to return, after a period of time, they go to the recycle bin. Covid had just made things more difficult….I've been deleting a ton of photos over the last almost 2 years. I kind of  held on to my photos of Song Hak and Tanuki; because we had visited three times each. But after almost two years and with things the way they are, I just didn't see holding on to these……

But; I thought why the heck don't I just do a C(learing) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard) post…..just to kind of create some nostalgia of how things used to and will hopefully be once again soon. Luckily, both places are still open……though it'll probably be a while before we return.

So here goes….just mostly photos.

Song Hak:

We enjoyed Song Hak which specializes in Gopchang, basically small intestine, but also have typical Korean BBQ proteins and also Dae Chang (large intestine), Mak Chang  (abomasum), etc.

A wide variety of side dishes provided…..

 Before I move forward, I need to tell a pretty funny story. There was a family who sat next to use during our first visit. The Missus and I were so impressed that the two young girls went thru everything without blinking and eye. Especially since gopchang has this kind of mushy – pasty material inside the intestine. It puts the "gop" in Gopchang. It does look a lot like well………we just cracked up when the younger girl asked her dad really loud, "Did I just eat POOP…..it really looked like POOP!"

You gotta love it….

The Missus especially loved the fried rice as a finishing touch.

Last visited in January, 2020

Song Hak
4681 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Tanuki:

**** An updated post on Tanuki can be found here

It was Xiāngjiāo that initially recommended this place to check-out. And while we didn't enjoy some items on the menu (the sushi/sashimi), we had a couple of items we liked.

We enjoyed the vibe….picking out your sake glass of choice reminded us of a dinner in Kanazawa.

I actually first visited for lunch back in May of 2019 and found something I knew the Missus would enjoy.

The Kakiage.

This just reminded me of Japan.

And so, while nothing quite hits the heights of the kakiage, other items are not bad.

Including the Shiokara.

And there are some items we'll probably not have again though…..

I also tried some nigiri which I didn't care for….but still; there's something we really enjoyed.

Last visited February 2020.

Tanuki
4191 Adams Ave.
San Diego, CA 92116

Hopefully, one day in 2022!

Are there places you first visited and enjoyed right before the pandemic that you are waiting to return to?