Thank you for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, an old fashioned food blog. Cathy is writing today, while Kirk and His Missus are 'researching' future posts.
I wrote about Negro Durazo in 2011, two times then once more in 2013. The Mister and I have revisted since then, but I haven't written a post about this Lemon Grove Mexican seafood restaurant since Covid-19.
When you walk in, there is a bar area to the left and the 'main' area to the right. 
All the way back is a small stage which has mariachis or a DJ or a local band is located on weekends.
A basket of warm chips along with a mild salsa were brought out with the large, interesting menu.
We ordered Queso Fundido with Chorizo to share ($14.95). This was served in a large/deep plate with warm corn tortillas. A good crisp chorizo (you know I am a little picky about chorizo) on top of a quality, melty creamy cheese blend.
My craving this day was for a shrimp ceviche tostada ($6.95). Look carefully at the large menu, you can find good prices for basic items. The chopped shrimp, cooked in lime juice and mixed with tomatoes really hit the spot. There are more tostadas on the tabletop, if you run out,
The Mister was looking at the "Filete Especiales" portion of the menu and chose the Relleno de Mariscos ($26.95). A large piece of fish (Didn't ask, but it was a thick, meaty filet) stuffed/topped with shrimp, octopus and marlin as well as tomatoes and onion all cooked in butter. Served with rice and steamed vegetables (which went well with the butter) this was a tasty meal with leftovers.
Mariscos Negro Durazo 6954 Federal Blvd, Lemon Grove, CA 91945 (619)337-7704 Open at 11 a.m. daily
Green Onion Pancake ($5.75) is always nice to share. Flaky layers with a light crunch and a delicate spring onion flavor to the (not oily) pastry.
Spicy Sesame Wonton ($12.50) was another great sharable choice. Most of the other tables had large steamed buns delivered and these more delicate wontons had a great pork and vegetable flavors as well as a pleasant chile based sauce which was used for dipping. Complimentary heat, not numbing.
Beef Chow Mein with Pickled Vegetable ($14.99). The beef was tender and not chewy with a nice salty flavor, probably imparted by the pickled vegetables, which also had a pleasant bitter undertone. The noodles were properly cooked and the other vegetables added a good texture to each bite.
Hot Tea ($3.99). I always order tea and must say the quality of this particular pot was excellent. Fresh, flavorful and just right.
The texture of the ahi was good. Not too much connective tissue. The fish was highly sauced, and the sauce was on the sweet side. There wasn't a huge amount of limu and the sweetness of the sauce pretty much overshadowed any of the briny-oceany flavor provided by the seaweed, though the textural crunch provided much needed contrast. The fish was of decent quality and nicely prepped.
As I walked back to the car, I realized I forgot to ask the folks the burning question about the place I had in mi cabeza. Sigh! Anyway, on this visit, the Spicy Garlic Ahi, wasn't particularly spicy, nor was it garlicky, at least to me. The fish was on the chewy side but decent. As with my previous visit the Ahi was swimming in sauce.
This time, I didn't forget that question, you see, that "fish mash" brought me back to a place that won the 
The dish came with two sauces which we didn't need. I expected the goose to be gamier than duck, but it wasn't. It did have some nice gaminess, was super tender and moist, and nice and rich. The "smoked", which was more like roasted to me had a stronger flavor profile, though the salted version seemed more moist. Both versions were tender and I'd have this again in a minute!
Looking at the dumplings gave me pause. Look at the color; it's very "light", and as I thought, these hadn't been fried long enough and were hard and chewy, rather than crisp. The tops should be somewhat pliant with a slight pull to it. These were a bit on the brittle side. The filling was decently seasoned, but had too much napa cabbage for my taste.
This was pretty bad; the "skin" was hard and brittle. The filling seemed to be half cabbage, the pork mealy, dry, and was quite tasteless.
So, I hunkered down and took a sip of the broth and shook my head. It was really thin, lacking in beefiness, with just a hint of metallic-anise tones. It was in need of more richness. At least it wasn't salty….but on second thought it could have used more sodium and white pepper.
I would skip the "chili sauce" which wasn't particularly spicy, just kinda oily.
Man, this was a nice surprise. The pork was tender, not overly fatty, and braised well. Mei Cai Kou Rou can be overly sweet, but this was nicely balanced, good salty-savory-ginger-anise-sweet balance. It was also not overly greasy and we could taste the preserved vegetable, which added pleasant sour notes, and a slightly crunchy texture to the dish. This also had julienned napa cabbage, which one could complain is filler, but it added a hint of sweetness and a nice contrast in texture. This dish got the Missus to exclaim, "when we're done with the roast duck exploration, let's do Mei Cai Kou Rou!" Be still my arteries!
The yeasty, standard Amoroso roll stood up well. The meat was decently shaved, fairly tender, moist, and beefy, the mushrooms earthy, and the white American cheese added a complimentary, not overwhelming milky gooeyness to the sandwich.
