Yes, it's more mariscos. Even though we just got back from Mexico, the Missus was craving….well, Mariscos. We thought we'd just do the trolley thing and get in a nice walk. Of course El Cata would be pretty easy; but we both thought we needed to give the place some time to straighten out the grand opening kinks. The newly opened Fisher's came to mind, but in the end, the Missus was craving aguachile and I thought the version I'd had at Crudo last year was quite good. Plus, it was a lovely day, so we headed over to Little Italy on the trolley for an early dinner.
I was surprised at how busy Crudo was at 345 in the afternoon. What was quite amusing was that we were seated at the same table as on all my previous visits. It was nice to do people (and pooch) watching…..
The Missus ordered a Savignon Blanc which She enjoyed and I got a Michelada, a nice taste of sunshine on a lovely day. Speaking of sunshine, we were really savoring it. Before we had left for our trip, the the U-T stated that San Diego hadn't had a completely sunny day since February 15th! So much for all the folks who call our city "Sun Diego"!
But on this day, it was indeed nice and sunny. I also noticed that while some of the prices had indeed gone up; it was basically a dollar in most cases.
We placed our order, then sat back and relaxed.
First up, the Ceviche Pescado ($17), which had gone up a dollar since September of last year. In these days of rapidly increasing prices (like GyroGrill), this didn't seem to bad at all.
This wasn't quite as good as I recalled. It was on the dry side, the fish was tough and rubbery, and this was very salty. Not a great start to our meal.
I hoped that one of my favorite dishes from my previous visits, the Aguachile Verde (still $19) would right the ship. Which it did.
While spicier than I recalled, the good dose of acidity in the dish as refreshing and woke me right up. It also worked well on the very tender shrimp, which the Missus said was "perfect". Creamy avocado, mildly sweet onions, and refreshing cucumbers completed things.
The Missus's favorite dish of the meal was the Aguachile Negro ($19). While milder in terms of spice and acidity, the sweetness of the shrimp came thru nicely.
Nice savory, mildly garlicky-smoky tones highlighted the dish. This was very nice and the Missus mentioned that we'll be returning for this again soon.
Like I mentioned earlier, the place was quite busy and our wonderful Server did a good job of holding down the fort.
Crudo Cevicheria & Oyster Bar
1608 India St.
San Diego, CA 92101
Current Hours:
Sundays 11am – 10pm
Mon -Thurs 1130am – 10pm
Fri – Sat 11am – Midnight
After our meal we took a nice stroll thru Little Italy. While I'm in the area just about every week when we're home, most of the businesses are closed when I visit. The Missus hasn't been in the area in ages. I took Her along Fir Street to the little shops along the area and we did some shopping for upcoming birthdays and such. And I also got my "steps" in as well since we caught the trolley and had to do some walking. It felt like a nice "staycation" evening!
I swear I tasted some soy sauce in this ceviche negro; but I must be imagining things. I liked this refreshing dish. The shrimp had been chopped and for me, it made a nice bite when including the onions, cucumber on a tostada. The Missus thought the dish was short on shrimp and had too much "other stuff" for Her taste.
This was a nice portion of plump shrimp. Though that salsa verde was very mild and really lacked acidity. And because of that; the shrimp never "cooked/cured" in the sauce. It was basically raw shrimp the whole way thru. The tostadas provided were tasty and up to the task, but that sauce was really weak.
The Logo, Theme (Celebrating A World of Music, The Universal Language) and President (
The artist rendition of Lions Clubs International entry, "Changing The World Through Music" has 'come to life'.
It's looking very much like the rendition and will have to be tested again, with 'weight' (people) on board. Then it will be ready for decorating, since it is colored in. Colors help the volunteer decorators and also help if there might be rain and some of the natural items used to cover (all visible portions of) the float succumb to the elements.
The 2024 Rotary International entry, "Clean Water-The Music of Life" is still in its basic rebar and wire structure. I can see umbrellas and the cuteness of this float, with the design supporting one the many areas of focus that Rotary serves internationally. 
The Petal Pushers and Lutheran Hour Ministries will have its 73rd entry in the Rose Parade in 2024, "Make A Joyful Noise Unto The Lord". It is the only Christian Themed float in the Parade.
Oddfellows and Rebekahs will be entering this cute, unicorn design, "All We Need Is Love". Did you know that each float plays music along the route? Well, we know the song that will be played on this float!
Kiwanis International is entering "Serving in Harmony", an old fashioned look some long past symbols of music and harmony (Nipper! His Master's Voice! and a Player Piano with a metronomic roll).
The Elks Clubs have another patriotic entry this year. I can see a Fife and Drum Corps and the back of the float looks like fireworks. 
The City of Alhambra is entering this dragon-esque float. 
Here is the base for what will most likely be another magnificent float, entered by Trader Joe's. 
It looks like a super version of Tokyo Central that we have in the 
It was before 9 a.m.-breakfast time. 
We had to. 
We made our selections, purchased a few other items, paid and found a seat at the front of the store. 
There is a water fountain available, but we had purchased this 2 liter bottle of Jasmine tea (on sale)
Our selections from the Hot Buffet serving trays: Vegetable Croquette, Cheese Tonkatsu, four Fried shrimp, two pieces of Teriyaki Chicken and one 'umami pork rib'. (Total bill for hot food was $14.58)
We purchased a loaf of Walnut Raisin bread, and new items- an iced ube matcha tea drink and carrot cake slice. Quite excellent new items.
The small signage with an interesting font was intriguing. Tappi's opened in October 2022. 
The menu, more intriguing. There were South of the Border and Mediterranean categories and some items with Japanese names, along with a good breakfast menu, (which has Japanese souffle pancakes as well as German and Ube pancakes available). Fusion? Con-fusion? Simply good food? 
We asked what the 'Soup of the Day' was. The answer was both tomato and broccoli cheese. Yes! One of each, please.
We decided to try the Khachapuri with kielbasa ($12). Plenty of cheese. filling fresh made crusty chewy bread, thin slices of a garlic-y kielbasa. A sizable meal (we took two slices home). 
I had seen Kunafa (crunchy, sweet, cheesy, creamy) at the bottom of the menu and knew I was going to order it. Our nice waitress said they were 'trying something new' and offering the kunafa as a sandwich for $11 (the large piece of kunafa by itself is $10).
Yes. The 'bread' is a sweetbread- an eggy, cardamom flavored, sesame seed topped delight. Separately or together, each bite was wonderful. We did take half of this home, too, to have with coffee.
Located the the mall on the South East corner of Third Avenue at Oxford in the Castle Park area, The Empanada Spot opened in April 2021. 
Step inside, order and pay and your empanada(s) will be cooked fresh to order. 
cc and I chose four savory flavors (there are dessert/sweet flavors available, but neither of us wanted any; we had plans). The price is $4 each.
Soon, a tray with freshly fried, piping hot empanadas and accompanying salsas were brought out to us.
Top left, The OG (a sort of fancy 'picadillo'-(finely chopped marinated steak, tomato sauce, potato) filling with or without olives). Bottom left, Rajas (poblano peppers with corn, onion and cheese). Top right, Chicharron (pork rinds in a red sauce and refried beans). Bottom right, Shrimp and Cheese (shrimp, mozzarella, onion and bell pepper).
We recently were back in the area and stopped in. 
I did not get a photo of the menu, but 
Of course we had to try a combo: Two chicken tenders, waffle, fries and a drink ($13.99).
I was curious about the falafel slider ($4.99)
A fresh made falafel patty with tahini, lettuce, tomato and a pickle on a toasted eggy bun. I really liked this. 
We also ordered a House Salad ($6.99). Mixed greens, cheese, onion, grape tomatoes and cucumbers. We asked for ranch dressing, which was standard and good.
Can't get much more generic than seeing something like this. 
Sure, you could walk up and grab a menu…but walking up and reading the walls can be more fun. 
Walk to the corner, order and pay. Have a seat.
Condiments are brought out and you can hear the sounds of chopping and stir fry happening in the kitchen.
Soon, a large bowl of Wor Won Ton Soup ($11.99) was brought out. Chicken, shrimp and pork filled won tons (dumpling sized) along with a plethora of fresh vegetables made this a great meal in itself.
Every vegetable was fresh and crisp. The shrimp were plump, chicken pieces were moist and quite large and the dumplings/won ton were flavor filled. 
Since this was a first visit, I had to order the Egg Foo Young ($12.99). The chef here had yet another unique way of preparation. 
The patties were batter dipped and fried to a crisp brown color, not filled with bean sprouts but instead, cabbage. Topped with the chicken (you could also order pork or shrimp EFY), ubiquitous peas and carrots and a good (not too salty) gravy, all flavors and textures remained bright throughout the meal.
Lately, The Mister and I are making an effort to stop and enjoy some sort of 'treat' after lunch and the Matcha Cafe Maiko has been on our radar. The flavor of matcha-the finely ground powder of specially processed green tea leaves ("Specially processed" means shade grown for about three weeks before harvest) is unique/ has a strong tannin note and the tea powder has more caffeine than sun-grown leaves. The powder is consumed as a suspension in water or milk, not steeped as a tea leaf is consumed. 
Walk up, order and pay (no cash; cards only) and your order is prepared and your number called out.
The menu boards are straightforward. There are pastries also available to purchase as well as a few items made in the kitchen (bubble waffles, Basque burnt cheesecakes). We are here for the matcha.
A Matcha Frappe (premium matcha blended with ice) and topped with whipped cream ($8) is filled with matcha flavors- a sweet nuttiness, along with a grassy note as well as some slight tannin bitterness..a flavor explosion which is satisfying.
A matcha affogato ($8.90)- an excellent coffee blended with premium matcha and topped with a soft serve swirl of matcha and yuzu ice creams (there are four soft serve ice cream flavors offered daily). We added a waffle cone ($1.50) just because. Multiple flavors and textures. An excellent bit of dessert.