July 2024 – Page 3

Monday Meanderings – Juewei Coming to Convoy, SotBBQ Replacing Olleh Sushi, and Recently Consumed

July 8, 2024 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Cooking, Korean Restaurants, yoso-silly

We're recently back from yet another Road Trip and I needed to do my rounds this past weekend. Driving around Kearny Mesa I noticed a few new places.

Juewei Coming to Convoy:

I actually drove into Plaza del Sol on Convoy to see what was going on with China Max and noticed a new sign. Right next to Bonchon was this signage.

Whoa, could it actually be? We had been to Jue Wei Kitchen in San Gabriel for the duck neck, pig's feet, etc…….

So, just before typing this up I dropped by Eater San Diego and according to their post, it is true. Get ready for some spicy duck neck, pig ears, tripe, and all kinds of braised goodies!

4690 Convoy St #103
San Diego, CA 92111

SotBBQ Replacing Olleh Sushi:

While driving East on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, I noticed another new sign. This one for something called SotBBQ? This is in the plaza where the original location of Menya Ultra is located.

Less than two years ago Olleh Sushi replaced Old House Hot Pot, and before that it was Uniboil, which replaced Beauty Hunan, which replaced Szechuan Taste! Man, is this location cursed or what?

Well, we'll see how this works out.

8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

And finally…….

Man, this past weekend was a hot one, huh?

I really didn't want to work too hard at cooking and with the post 4th of July folks still crowding things….man, was the Little Italy Mercato packed. I couldn't find any parking at my usual spots and had to actually get metered parking!

Anyway, just to get a bit silly here, we had stuff from the farmers market; great tomatoes from Andrew at Indian Summer Farms, Fuerte Avocados from another stand. We had gotten a nice sourdough loaf from Erick Schat's Bakery in Bishop, perfect for sandwiches, and so forth…..

For a light lunch I made an Avocado – Tomato Toast, with lardons of bacon and feta…..

And for lunch yesterday, it was a Watermelon-Bacon-Feta Salad with tomato, basil, cilantro micro greens, and butter lettuce.

Nice and refreshing.

What have you been eating to "beat the heat"?

Hope everyone has a great week!

Mexico City – Exploring Centro Historico, Xaachila Comida Oaxaquena, Taquería El Torito (Calle de Mesones 48 location), and Quesadillas Bolivar

July 6, 2024 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Mexico City, Taco Shops, Travel

**** So, this one is kinda long. I've condensed things a bit to make it more readable. Please let me know if you have any questions!

We had two full days in CDMX before heading to Jalisco. Even though we'd been to CDMX four times previously, we knew there was so much we hadn't seen yet. And yes, we'd been to Centro Historico several times (remember the colors of Frida?), but there just seemed to be so much. I thought we'd enjoy a private tour of Centro Historico. We had enjoyed our private tour of Museo Nacional de Antropologia on a previous trip, so I contacted Mexico a Pie tours, inquiring about downtown tour options. Ana quickly returned my email and after mentioning we enjoyed the cuisine as well, she proposed the private Tortilla and History tour.

Which is how we ended up "Ubering" to the Zocalo to meet up with our guide, the wonderful and enthusiastic Daniela.

After introductions, we swung on over to Templo Mayor, where we were treated to the history of Tenochtitlan, thought to be founded in the 14th century, home of the Mexica people, and the center of the Aztec Empire. Tenochtitlan was built on the shores of Lake Texcoco, which was eventually mostly drained. It is in this basin that Mexico City now exists.

This temple was dedicated to Huītzilōpōchtli (God of the sun) and Tlaloc which Andres had gone over with us during our tour of the Museo Nacional de Antropologia. Daniela seemed quite pleased that knew a bit about Tlaloc….she got a kick when we remembered the identifying features of Tlaloc; the round eyes and fangs.

We noticed many serpents and was told that these are symbols of fertility and rebirth.

One of the most famous items excavated here is the Coyolxauhqui Stone.

The next stop was just around the corner.

This is the Colegio de San Ildefonso, formerly a college established by the Jesuits, it is now a museum and performance venue.

Though it has some impressive murals and such, we found the elegant little touches to be impressive.

We were taken to the former Colegio de San Gregorio, now known as Universidad Obrera “Vicente Lombardo Toledano” – the "Worker's University", which bears the name of one of the most famous labor leaders in Mexico.

It was here when we discovered how flexible Daniela was. We noticed this dome from the courtyard of the University.

Daniela smiled and said, "let's go". And we were guided to and entered Nuestra Señora de Loreto Church – Church of Our Lady of Loreto.

The interior is quite stunning, though it does look a bit worn.

We notice all the bracing in the interior and was told because of the different types of stone used in the construction, the entire church is starting to tilt to one side.

And then it was time for our first "food stop". At a shop named Xaachila Comida Oaxaquena.

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Having been to Oaxaca the year before, the Missus was interested in trying a tamal.

The Missus was interested in trying the Tamal Chepil.

Which She enjoyed with a nice refreshing cup of Horchata! Good smoky flavors, nice maize tones. Would it make us forget Oaxaca? Heck no, but this was a nice little brunchy start to things.

And the Missus chugged that Horchata like there was no tomorrow!

Xaachila Comida Oaxaquena
De La Santísima 17-22
Cuauhtémoc, 06060 Ciudad de México, Mexico

We then headed back to the Cathedral. But because of services going on, Daniela would not be able to guide us thru the cathedral. She did provide us with some interesting things to see though.

We were told to look for the arm of what was supposed to be the wax figure of Saint Felicitas. Yes, there are human bones there!

Which had become quite a story.

The next stop was a place we didn't know about, the Gran Hotel Ciudad de México.

According to what I've read, this structure dates back to 1526!!!! It then became a shopping center in 1895 and then an hotel.

The Tiffany glass ceiling dates back to 1899.

Personally, I loved the elevator.

The grandness of the hotel looks like it came out of a book from another time.

Our next stop was a favorite of mine.

This interesting, well adorned building is the site of one of the oldest pharmacies in the Americas.

Originally a Augustine Monastery, in 1944 this became Farmacias Paris.

And it is still an operating pharmacy, with different areas to this day.

We were told that the most popular area deals with Homeopathy.

And it's still very busy……

This was quite interesting.

We were then told that it was "taco time" and led to this unassuming shop around the corner on Calle de Mesones.

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We had told Daniela that we "eat everything" and she took us here. I was told that there are three "El Toritos" on the street, apparently there's an interesting story about a family taqueria and a falling out between them.

I will say, these were our favorite tacos of the trip. We started with the Suadero, a mix of cuts and the Tripa.

My goodness, the crisp intestine was amazing! We got a second Tacos de Tripa!

It's hard to explain; there's some nice deep, offaly goodness, with a wonderful crispness. I'll just leave it at that.

Taquería El Torito
Calle de Mesones 48
Cuauhtémoc, 06080 Centro, Mexico

From here, we made a couple of more stops like the Biblioteca Miguel Lerdo de Tejada, which had some interesting murals.

We were then headed down Republica de el Salvador.

And then to 16 de Septiembre for our last food stop. This place had me fooled as the sign looked like it was some kind of cell phone shop. But the customers were all having eats and drinks.

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In spite of the sign, this is Quesadillas Bolivar.

We enjoyed the Quesadillas de Nopales and Flor de Calabazas.

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The blue corn tortillas was so full of maize goodness.

Quesadillas Bolivar
16 de Septiembre,
Pasaje Savoy 6-Local #3
Cuauhtémoc, 06000 Centro, Mexico

As we walked to our final destination, the Palacio Postal, the Central Post Office, we asked Daniela how she finds all these places to eat. She told us that she's out trying places every week, to see if it is worth taking folks on the tour to and which customers would fit with what place.

We ended at the beautiful "Postal Palace", the Central Post Office, which was built in 1907.

We had visited before, but it's no less amazing…….

And as we ended our day, Daniela took us to the best spot for an Uber pick-up.

It was indeed another fun, educational, and delicious day in CDMX.

And of course we had Romeo (kinda) greet us when we returned to the Red Tree House.

Mexico City – Staying at the Red Tree House and Revisiting Pasillo de Humo (yet again)

July 5, 2024 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Mexico City, Travel

Yes, I'm way behind on my travel posts and need to catch up. We visited both CDMX and Jalisco last summer.

As for CDMX, well, this was our fifth visit to this lovely destination. We have fallen into a routine of sorts, we stay in La Condesa, our first meal is usually at Pasillo de Humo, we enjoy grabbing a coffee at Cafe Toscano, and the Missus shops for chocolate at Tout Chocolat.

Tout Chocolat
Amsterdam 154
6100 Cuauhtémoc, CDMX, Mexico

The one big change for us this time around was that I was able to get us a suite at the Red Tree House. I'd heard and read about the rooms and service, but was never able to get us a room, until this visit. We loved our beautiful suite. And we especially loved the official "greeter", named Romeo.

Of course, we never saw him actually moving around, he was always napping it seems. Though we knew he was ambulatory since he would be in a different locale everytime.

We had the Jacaranda Suite on the first level.

Which had a colorful sitting area.

Which came in handy since there was breakfast served every morning and a "Happy Hour" with free wine during the early evening.

The one big issue being that there is no A/C and it was unusually hot in CDMX during our visit. And while on our previous visits there would be a downpour in the evening which bring some cooler temps, it was strangely absent during our stay. In fact, the folks at RTH mentioned how different the weather was during the current year.

70848250755__B6A3CF47-2EF1-4AAC-9D12-04E62F4E248E It was a wonderful stay, if a bit on the "atsui" side of things.

The Red Tree House
Culiacan 6
06100 Cuauhtémoc, CDMX, Mexico

For dinner, we headed to the familiar confines of a place we'd been to several times over our visits to CDMX; Pasillo de Humo. Over the years, we've determined that, at least for us, ordering small dishes (and some good Mezcal) was the way to go here.

This was an interesting visit. Because of all the detailed posts I've done, over the years, I'm not going into great detail, except to say we ordered our favorite dishes.

What I will say is that other than tripas tacos, things just didn't seem the same. Prices have gone up, but the herbs and veggies were on the "brown" side of things, the memelitas were dry, as was the pork. The hoya santa was turning brown and lacked flavor…….it was just not a good meal. Quite sad as this was place we'd been to so many times.

And the place was completely empty during our entire meal. I don't know what's going on here.

Not sure we'll be back during our future trips to CDMX.

Pasillo de Humo
Av Nuevo León 107
06100 Cuauhtémoc, CDMX, Mexico

Tori Nanban from Okan

July 3, 2024 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

For some reason, the recent warm weather had me craving Tori Nanban off all things. Not sure why? So, on one of the days when I needed to go to Nijiya later than usual, I decided to stop in at Okan for lunch. Man, it had been over 4-1/2 years since I had dined in at Okan! I did do a bunch of takeout over the couple of years, but the Tori Nanban, basically chicken karaage with a pseudo tartar-ish sauce, would not, in my mind, hold up to-go, especially since the karaage didn't do well as takeout. So, I decided the time was right to grab lunch at Okan.

It was interesting, the place was empty when I arrived at 11am, though it did start to fill up as I left.

Okan Rev 01

I did know what I wanted, so it was quite easy ordering.

Okan Rev 02

While the Tori Nanban lunch special had gone up $3 since the last time I'd had it, for some reason $14 seemed fairly reasonable to me.

I was quite interested too see what the Chicken Nanban version 2024 was going to be like, at one time it was my favorite version in San Diego. Soon enough it arrived.

Okan Rev 03 Okan Rev 04 First thing I hit was the miso soup. I was happy to note that it was flavorful and not watered down.

What was "watered down" were the side dishes. I thought that Okan, which was once known for their wonderful Kozara Ryori and sides really jumped the shark when they started giving out seaweed salad with their lunches. And on this day; it was like a teaspoon of it. Like why bother?

Okan Rev 05 Okan Rev 06 But that was the only downside to this lunch as the very generous portion of rice was hot and fluffy.

And the karaage was crisp, slightly lacquered, moist, and decently seasoned. The tartar sauce, which at times had been too mayo heavy, was nicely balanced, just enough sour tones, creamy, not overly rich, and, I know this might sound strange, somewhat refreshing.

Okan Rev 07

What was refreshing was how much I enjoyed this meal. I really need to start "doing the rounds again". I need to revisit places like Izakaya Masa and Yorimichi!

I also need to thank "FOY" KerriK who send me an email a while back documenting her hunt for some good Izakaya grinds. This got me thinking about all those places I missed. Thanks for inspiring me Kerri!

Wa Dining Okan
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Lunch Served between 11am – 2pm Daily

And we'd like to wish everyone a fun and safe 4th of July! Keep cool during this heatwave!

Niban (revisits)

July 2, 2024 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Hello. Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! on this holiday week. Cathy is writing today.

My most recent post about Niban was about 18 months ago. This is part of the 'rotation' for The Mister and myself and I could write about meals at Niban every month, but have found restraint.

Not much has changed here other than the prices, so here we go!

The soft shell crab roll ($11) is a filling five piece meal. Soft shell crab, real crab and avocado are the main ingredients.
The fried calamari appetizer ($9) is always a good choice. Four pieces of sliced calamari steak breaded in panko, crisply fried and served with (always too much) spicy sauce.

71269775281__0D56931A-73D7-4059-A274-021FFCCB2D93 The Vegetable Delight ($13.50) seems to be a regular choice for me; I found photos from nine different visits. Consistently the same presentation. 71269777377__0EB4426C-F8C9-4F9E-B3A8-26B94F15E5AF Eight pieces of vegetable tempura (potato, carrot, zucchini and onion), salad, eight pieces of Garden Roll, edamame, cold noodle salad, rice and tempura dipping sauce. This is a very satisfying meal with so many varied flavors and textures.

71269775281__0D56931A-73D7-4059-A274-021FFCCB2D93 The Combination Bento ($13.95) with pork teriyaki and egg roll is also a good choice.

The Stamina Udon ($13) was a nice meal on one of the (many) cold and rainy days we had early this year. The broth has a light mushroom flavor and the ingredients (chicken, krab, fishcake, shrimp, dumplings, sweet tofu, egg, broccoli) along with the springy udon make this a very filling meal.

The Shrimp Tempura Bento ($13.50) has five shrimp tempura, lightly fried and served with a house made tartar sauce and a portion of the Seafood Salad (bottom right) which is on the appetizer menu for $5. A nice addition to this bento.

When you first walk in, before turning to the cash register, look at the wall ahead. Daily Lunch Specials from 11-2:30.

Bento Lunch ($9.75) Six pieces of California roll, one piece Inari, three pieces of fried seafood (fish, squid, shrimp), pickled vegetables and rice. This is a very pleasant lunch and good for the budget minded.

The Gyoza Lunch ($9.25) is also really nice. Six meat filled dumplings steamed or deep fried. Salad, rice and (a very good) miso soup. You might notice that miso soup is no longer included with the bento meals; it is $2.50 on the appetizer menu.
I do prefer the gyoza being steamed then quick fried 'pot sticker' style. The deep fried is a nice, crisp texture but I think overwhelms the filling.

This longstanding (first Yelps are from 2005) eatery is consistently serving good food at reasonable prices. They have started charging $1 for hot tea, which, considering how much 'free' tea we had over the years, is not a complaint. It's a good green tea.

Niban 7801 Clairmont Mesa Blvd., Suite 101, San Diego 921110(858) 268-0465 Open Lunch: Mon-Sat 11:30-2:30 Dinner: Tue-Thurs 5:00-9:00 Fri-Sat 5:00-9:30 Sunday 4:30-9:00

Rose D’Amour Cafe (Chula Vista)

July 1, 2024 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! greets you on the Monday of a Holiday week. Cathy is writing while Kirk and His Missus are out and about, researching for future posts about food and activities.

A few weeks ago, my dear friend, cc and I embarked on our annual celebratory end-of-work food crawl. As always, she organizes and I follow along and learn of new and interesting places.

The building housing Rose D'Amour has reincarnated itself several times over the years. It is now owned by a friendly husband and wife and serves breakfast, lunch and various coffees and juices. The ordering online system seemed to be well in use during the time we were here on a Tuesday morning.

Just a portion of the menu.

The interior is small but there is additional seating on an outdoor patio.

cc ordered the Simple Breakfast ($12.99) with scrambled eggs, sausage, country potatoes and corn tortillas. I had a bite and this was very good.

I ordered the Molletes ($14.99) which I always like to try at new (to me) places. The toasted telera was topped with plenty of wonderful flavored refried beans, pico and Cotija cheese. A fresh made Chile de arbol based salsa was served on the side. This was a great savory breakfast; the telera was fresh and soft, even with the toasting.

cc ordered an iced brown sugar something ($6.75) and I got a regular coffee ($3)

The food, beverages and service here were wonderful and I will return with The Mister to try out the lunch menu.

Rose D'Amour Cafe. 1283 Third Avenue Chula Vista 91911 (619) 947-6717 Open daily 8-2