Monday Meanderings – Mister Falafel and Mi Pana Closes, Dinner with Friends at Kingfisher

Recently, I got some bad news from two of my "FOYs".

Mister Falafel Closes:

"ChrisR" sent me an email saying that Mister Falafel had closed! Whoa, now I hadn't heard about this one! Of course being that Mister Falafel is a bit hidden from the street and is mainly a warm weather location for garlic paste, I hadn't really dropped by in a while. So, on the way home from errands I decided to see what was going on. And sigh…..yes, the place has been gutted. It seems Mister Falafel is no longer.

The folks here were so nice!

First La Miche, now Mister Falafel. This is so sad. When will the bleeding stop?

4461 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Mi Pana Closes:

This one is from our good friend "Ale". She sent me a text directing me to Mi Pana's Instragram. And yes, there it was…..

I really enjoyed my meals at Mi Pana and probably should have revisited.

This seemed so sudden and even caught "Ale" by surprise as she had just been there recently.

2241 Highland Ave.
National City, CA 91950

Dinner at Kingfisher with Friends:

I know, you want a post and I don't blame you. Especially with all the accolades Kingfisher has gotten since they opened, the 50 Best New Restaurants by Bon Appetite listing, a Michelin New Discovery Listing, and with the chef being a James Beard Semifinalist. I'll say that the food was excellent and I'm sure to be back. But this dinner was more important than me doing a post.

You see, this dinner has been over four years in the making. There's a part of me that Covid had eaten away. The part that enjoyed spending time with my friends. Friends that have shared many fun times together, like bringing a whole roasted pig to Karaoke or celebrating Thanksgiving in August, or doing a trolley scavenger hunt. We've gone to dinner roadtrips and even a wedding in Ciudad Obregon! We've been thru births and weddings.

My good friend Candice had been trying to set something up for months and finally, we were all together! It had been so long! I didn't realize how much I missed them all (and you too TFD!).

And as often happens when good friends meet, the conversations, jokes, and laughter all came together seamlessly. It was if we had just seen each other yesterday.

And while the food was fabulous, catching up on things was more important on this day. I didn't even take photos of all the dishes, but here are a few.

Yes, it's as good as it looks, but I'll wait to return when I can spend more attention on the food before doing a real post.

So, here's to friendship and making up for lost time. Thanks for setting things up Candice!

Kingfisher
2469 Broadway
San Diego, CA 92102

Have a great Valentines Day everyone!