June 2025 – Page 2

Brunch with JJ – Luce Bar & Kitchen

June 13, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Dog Friendly

I keep telling myself that I need to try to enjoy our neighborhood a bit more. But, to be perfectly honest, choices are limited, and what is on the menu is not food I crave or am really interested in. I do wish that Bay Park was a bit more "walkable". That's the attraction of places like North Park, Kensington, and Little Italy to me. And now with JJ, it's even more attractive to have places that are pooch friendly as well. Luce is one of those places that I see and pass on pretty much a daily basis. And while the meals we've had there have been ok, we've never really been motivated to return. As matter of fact, the last time I've been there was to do Covid takeout in May of 2020! Whoa, it's been five years already!

Luce with JJ 01

And since that time; Luce has created a covered outdoor bar space. And now they are in the process of taking over what used to be the dance studio next door as well. While taking JJ on a post morning coffee stroll from Bay Park Coffee, I noticed something on the weekend "brunch" menu that caught my attention.

Luce with JJ 02b

So, on a recent Sunday morning, JJ and I dropped by Luce right when they opened at ten. Crazy, but there were several folks already in line waiting. All of them were waiting be seated either at the bar (those old timers started hitting the drinks pretty early) or in the dining room, so JJ and I initially had the back bar area all to ourselves.

Do you see what caught my attention on the menu?

Luce with JJ 03

Yep, it's the Kimchi Fried Rice ($18). Don't ask my why this caught my attention….or why I decided to order it. Call me a glutton for punishment if you will.

Luce with JJ 04 Luce with JJ 05 This came with two poached eggs….I would have preferred sunny side up with nice crisp edges; but the eggs were fine, with the yolks still runny.

My least favorite item were the doughy "corn fritters". Not enough corn as well, which made it lacking in flavor.

The rest of the dish was not bad. Perhaps in need of more kimchi fermented-spiciness, but not bad at all. The rice was perfectly cooked, the hoisin based pork belly had that mildly salty SPAM® affect, and wasn't overly sweet like I expected. The carrots were shredded and bit too thickly and were a bit unwieldy as well.

Luce with JJ 06

The service was nice and friendly….like it's always been at Luce. And JJ was such a "good boi" and waited patiently for daddy to finish his food. I made sure to take some of this home for the Missus to try and though she thought it was not worth eighteen bucks, She declared it not bad. Perhaps not "real" kimchi fried rice good, but better than overly "gringo-fied" stuff.

Luce is quite popular and the place was filling up by the time JJ and I left. There were three other well behaved pooches in the bar area as well.

Luce with JJ 07

Now if I can find a couple more dishes to interest me at Luce.

Luce with JJ 08

Luce Bar & Kitchen
1959 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours
Mon – Thurs 11am – 9pm
Friday 11am – 930pm
Sat 10am – 930pm
Sun 10am – 9pm

2025 San Diego County Fair-Summer Pet-Tacular! (part one)

June 11, 2025 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy today; Kirk is taking a break.

It's that time of year again: The San Diego County Fair opens today-Wednesday, June 11. Here's a little 'behind the scenes' peek.

The theme, Summer Pet-Tacular , is indeed centered around pets of all types, but do not be mistaken into thinking you can actually bring your own pet to the Fairgrounds-only certified Service Animals are allowed. There will be pet themed exhibits and the San Diego Humane Society will have some on-site adoptions.

The Fun Zone is set up with rides, as always.

The 'usual' County Fair food booths are available.

There are handouts with maps of the Fairgrounds on one side and food places on the other side at the Information Booths. I also found these large maps.

There are a few special deals if you are wanting to buy food at the Fair.

There will also be half price (on Fridays from 11-4) of eight items (to be announced tonight) of new treats being offered this year. I'm sure there will be some notification on Fridays when you walk in. Look for signs.

BUT…there are some new booths and/or offerings I have noticed. A lot are not what I would consider to be "County Fair" food, but still, they are going to be here in San Diego.

Yes, Chicken Charlie has a new, Funnel Cakes Only booth and there it is-pickles and cream (I would think cream cheese) with bacon on top of a funnel cake (I would think plain fried dough, not sugar topped dough. But, it sounds interesting.

Yes, some not really 'Fair' foods, yet interesting choices are available. I will be going and have some of my personal favorites to share with you, maybe next week. Until then, you can go and try what you enjoy.

Of course, Home and Hobby has been judged and set up.

The array of collections is vast and interesting. People who entered took the time to explain their hobby on most of the displays.

There were fewer entries in the Preserved Foods Division and pickled onions won the Best of Show.

So many things to do and see. The fifth largest County Fair in the USA is a tradition and inspiration for all.

San Diego County Fair website. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Opens at 11 a.m. the other days. June 11-July 6

Silk Road Lanzhou Beef Noodles (Pacific Beach) – A Soft Opening Visit

June 9, 2025 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

Funny how things just incidentally happen. I had been wanting to return to Lanzhou Noodlelicious before the weather got too hot. So, I did that "Google thing" to check hours and lo' and behold, a place named Silk Road Lanzhou Beef Noodles appeared. Now how the heck hadn't I heard about this place? Could it be because it was located in what would seem to be a rather unlikely location for a Chinese Noodle House, on Mission Boulevard? I was intrigued; so I decided to pay the place a visit. I drove down on Grand and decided to park on the street, not knowing what the parking policy was for the restaurant. Which is located right next to Ralph's in the Pacific Beach Marketplace.

Silk Road 01

Any doubts I had about this being an "ABC" type restaurant went out the window as I was greeted in Mandarin! In fact, all the customers I overheard on this day were speaking Mandarin. I was the exception….except for a few words.

Silk Road 02

The menu is fairly small right now two noodle dishes and some side dishes (liang cai), along with drinks and few other items. I was really only after one thing.

Silk Road 03

I ordered the Lanzhou Lamian ($14.99)…the young man was impressed that I said lamian and I jokingly told him "my wife is form China, so I better get at least one thing right!" He cracked up. You get to order your preferred thickness of the hand pulled noodles. I went with Medium Thick, but also requested extra firm….I almost said "katame"…whew, good thing I caught myself. I also got a soy sauce egg ($2.00).

Silk Road 03b

Soon enough my bowl arrived, steaming hot.

Silk Road 04 Silk Road 05 Of course I couldn't help but compare this to Noodlelicious. The broth was on the lighter side, a bit heavy on the MSG, lightly beefy, a good amount of white pepper. The chili oil is a must (just as it would be in Lanzhou) to help balance things out. I think the broth at Noodlelicious is much better.

The beef was a bit chewier than I prefer, but it was really beefy. I enjoyed that two different cuts were provided as well. Texture and quantity to Noodlelicious, flavor to Silk Road. I enjoyed the slices of daikon as well.

As for the noodles….man, this was superb, super springy, bouncy, with a great mouthfeel. Totally "QQ". While Noodlelicious does hand pulled noodles, I thought this was a level above that.

Silk Road 06 Silk Road 07 My egg didn't arrive until I was half way thru my noodles. I'll leave that to soft opening jitters. While a bit overcooked, it was nice and warm, great soy sauce flavor, a hint of cinnamon-anise.

So, it looks like at least in the case of the Lamian, I'm going to give the slight edge to Lanzhou Noodlelicious. But for a soft opening visit, this was quite good. It was interesting to see the shop slowly fill up. There were quite a few older Chinese couples….something that I don't recall seeing much during my visits to Pacific Beach.

Silk Road 08

Like Luscious Dumplings which just opened in Eastlake, I'm not sure why the ownership decided on this location. It'll be interesting to see how things go. BTW, you can park in Pacific Beach Marketplace when visiting Silk Road.

There was on last pleasant surprise. I asked for my check and the really nice young man came by with the card reader device and told me it was like a bit over nine bucks! Huh??? He then informed me that during the soft opening everything is 50% off. I guess I missed that sign before walking in? Duh…

Silk Road 09

He also told me that the 50% off should be going on until the end of this week……just in case you'd like to give the place a try…..

Silk Road 00

Silk Road Lanzhou Beef Noodles
4305 Mission Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92109
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 12pm – 2pm, 5pm – 1030pm
Fri – Sat 12pm – 2pm, 5pm – Midnight

Sunday Stuffs – Beard Papa Coming to Convoy and Sushi Yorimichi 2 Coming to Linda Vista

June 8, 2025 mmm-yoso Desserts, Japanese Restaurants

Here are two places coming soon that I've noticed while driving around.

Sushi Yorimichi 2 Coming to Linda Vista:

While driving up Linda Vista Road I noticed an ABC Application of Ownership Change posted at the former location of White Rice Morena, so I took a turn into the parking lot and JJ and I walked on over.

And this one was a surprise to me.

It looks like Sushi Yorimichi is doing quite well….well enough to open a second location!

Good for them! I hope they do well and am waiting to hear what "FOY" Junichi has got to say about this!

5299 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92110

Beard Papa Coming to Convoy:

While taking the turn at Balboa and Convoy I saw another sign in the newish strip mall on the corner. So I drove on into the parking lot.

And yes…it was indeed…..

I had to laugh……like two decades later, we're getting a Beard Papa's in this area? Sheesh…back in 2008 I visited the now defunct location at Plaza Bonita. And I know there was a location in La Jolla that closed last year.

I'm thinking that this is probably where they should have opened years ago. Of course they chose a strip mall with like a dozen parking spaces for customers where Origami Handroll x Kushiyaki Bar is opening.

Not sure if BP's is even suited for Convoy these days; I'm thinking that Westfield UTC would probably be a better location, but we'll see.

4488 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Tequila Part 3 – Chocolate and Tequila Tasting at La Rojena, Fonda Chivo y Vaca, and the Sky Bar (Hotel Solar de las Animas)

June 7, 2025 mmm-yoso Chocolate, Distilleries, Guadalajara/Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Sandwiches, Travel

**** Here's part 3 of my mostly photo posts on our stay in Tequila

We started our last full day in Tequila, with a birote as I noted in my previous post. We wandered around a bit before heading to a tour and tasting I scheduled. We were in Tequila and it would be almost sacrilegious to not visit the oldest Tequila distillery, right? And to make things more entertaining for the Missus, I decided to do the chocolate and tequila tasting as well.

This would take place at Jose Cuervo's Fabrica la Rojena distillery. I mentioned that Jose Antonio Cuervo was the first person granted permission to produce Tequila for sale in an earlier post. Fabrica la Rojena, the distillery was established in 1812, making it the oldest active distillery in Latin America.

Finding the place was easy…..it's located on, you guessed it, Calle Jose Cuervo. The view up that street is quite lovely.

We met in front of the Mundo Cuervo Hall, where that giant crow statue stands and were soon guided on a tour of the place.

Making it to the back of the distillery where we got to see the "pina", the heart of the agave plants being delivered and prepped.

Like the previous day, it was getting pretty darn warm….this is hard work.

I had worried that doing tequila distillery tours two days in a row might lead to a lot of overlap; but to our extreme pleasure, what we learned here actually added to what we had learned the previous day. We got to be much more close up to things as well.

And there were actual displays along the way as well. I didn't know that American Oak barrels were used for Reposado and Anejo aging.

After the tour, the Missus and I met up with the nice young man who guided us thru our tasting which the Missus truly enjoyed.

What I most enjoyed was chatting with him about his life; he was born in Glendale and his family moved back to Jalisco and Tequila when he was 10 years old. Can you imagine how being seprated from your friends at that age must be? And he was more comfortable speaking English at that time. He also liked that we enjoyed the varied tastes of Blanco. And then we asked him about the new Cristalino Tequila; where Anejo is passed thru a filtering process, making it clear, and taking it back to almost being a Blanco….but charging a person even more than a Anejo? He laughed and said it's kind of a hipster thing right now…..'nuff said.

We enjoyed our tour and tasting at La Rojena.

When we were done; it was…well time for lunch. We just wanted something simple and hearty. And yes, we were in Jalisco; so Birria de Chivo was high on our list. And there was a place named Fonda Chivo y Vaca close by!

Turns out it was a three story restaurant with views of the street. We were seated on the ground floor.

Of course we got some Birria de Chivo and also Carne en su Jugo.

The Carne en su Jugo had a very upfront acidity, which was interesting…..the beans were so earthy and perfectly cooked.

The Birria de Chivo was slightly gamy; nice smokey flavors, a bit of spice.

The meat was on the chewier side. Definitely not like Birriería Las 9 Esquinas, but miles ahead of what we have here in San Diego.

Fonda Chivo y Vaca
Jesús Rodríguez de Hijar 17
Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico

On this day, we actually managed a nice siesta……..

And then we woke and took a nice stroll. On an interesting note, we saw the really nice young man who did our chocolate pairing at La Rojena in the lobby of the hotel talking to the staff. Apparently, Jose Cuervo owns Hotel Solar de las Animas!

As the evening rolled around we took a nice stroll. This was a Thursday and the hotel was getting busier. As we strolled around Plaza Principal we could see the families doing there "evening thing".

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We looked for a spot to have a seat and just take in the evening, but it was busy. It was then we saw a couple waving to us, they moved over on a bench and beckoned us over so we could enjoy the sights and sounds. These are the moments that make travel so special!

When dinner time came around; we just decided to head back to the hotel. On our first evening in the town, we enjoyed having a drink at the Sky Bar at our hotel. We also noticed that they had an abbreviated menu of La Antigua Casona, the very popular restaurant in the hotel. So, we just decided to have our last dinner there.

With a nice view of the town.

The Aguachile Negro and Jicama was just as good as what we'd had in the restaurant.

The Ceviche less so; but overall this was a nice, light meal.

Sky Bar (in Hotel Solar de las Animas)
Calle Albino Rojas #14
46400 Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico

And of course, our room with the amazing view was just a minute away.

The next morning, we woke a bit earlier than usual and took a stroll around town before our ride to the airport.

We were indeed taken be the art, the colors…..the Tequila…..but there was more that made our stay wonderful.

It was the warm people….and the pooches…..

That had us contemplating as I got that Birote yet again…..

That we'd return once again, in the middle of the week to enjoy Tequila…both the town and the drink!

Snapseed

Tequila Part 2 – Casa Sauza Tour Tres Generacions and Restaurante La Cueva de Don Cenobio

June 6, 2025 mmm-yoso Distilleries, Guadalajara/Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico, Mexican Restaurants, Travel

**** Here's part 2 of my mostly photo posts on our stay in Tequila

We'd had a wonderful first afternoon and evening in Tequila and slept well. We slept in and just enjoyed the cool A/C and of course the view from our patio.

It was a clear morning and you can see Volcán de Tequila towering over the town. We had gotten some light breakfast bars at Oxxo the previous afternoon, so we had that for breakfast. The hotel was so peaceful and we quickly noticed something. We had a room in one of the towers on the top floor. Apparently, we were the only folks staying in the tower. The evening before our elevator was at the bottom floor when we finished dinner, in the morning, the elevator was on the same floor as our room…it seemed like it hadn't moved all night. We saw folks entering their rooms in other wings of the hotel, but no lights in any rooms in our tower. I guess Tuesdays and Wednesdays are pretty quiet here in the summer?

We had a tour starting at 1pm, so we had the entire morning free. We decided to just chill.

At around 930, I started getting a bit hungry. I had noticed a pedestrian street, Augustina Ramirez, right behind the Municipal Market seemed to have a bunch of shops and stands. So we headed over.

It seemed like a lot of locals were getting breakfast and brunch here and the stand making Tortas looked really good. I got one with chorizo……man, the Birote Salados, the sourdough bread smelled fabulous. The bread traces its history back to the second French intervention. You can read more about it in this post in Breadtopia.

Anyway, this was super good.

I would get one every morning in Tequila.

And half a block away; the Missus found Her Agua Frescas heaven! She loved the Coconut Agua Fresca from here.

She would have a liter in the morning and another in the afternoon. By the following morning, the gentleman manning the stand would just start pouring it as soon as he saw us!

We made the decision to do a bit more exploring. This time, we headed down to where we had entered the town via our driver the previous afternoon, on Sixto Gorjon.

This commercial strip was full of various businesses…..

And well behaved pooches….

We decided to take a short break before heading to our tour….but first, the Missus needed another liter of Her agua fresca!

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Soon it was getting close to the time of our tour at Casa Sauza. I know, you figured we'd be doing Jose Cuervo, right? Well, we were doing that the following day. Most folks know Sauza Tequila for making the not-so-good Hornitos Brand. Casa Sauza however, has several product lines, as well as several tours. I went ahead and booked the Tour Tres Generacions, which can only be done via email. This is an upgrade of the high level Causa Sauza tour that also features a private tasting and a "gourmet" (it's usually a BBQ meal for the regular tour) meal in Restaurante La Cueva de Don Cenobio, located in Quinto Sauza.

The group met in the family's estates Gift Shop.

Where one could learn a bit more of the history of Sauza Tequila.

We were taken on a quick tour of La Quinta and also briefed on the history of Sauza Tequila. It's quite beautiful here.

There's even a chapel to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Having been to the location in CDMX where Juan Diego saw the apparition of the Virgin Mary in 1531, this really stuck with us.

After a tour of the casa were boarded a trolley and headed out to the agave field.

Where we were briefed on the life cycle of Blue Weber Agave. Unlike Mezcal, only one type of agave is used to make tequila.

And then we witnessed the Jimador showing off his skill.

Don't be fooled; this is hard work. That agave ain't small and you've got to trim it perfectly. And we all had a chance to check out the Coa de Jima which is super sharp. You could easily chop your foot off if you aren't careful.

After our time in the fields we were transported to the actual distillery.

Where the Missus and I were directed to a different spot from the rest of the tour. They would be heading off to do some tastings of Sauza and Hornitos. We met a different guide who took us to see the actual distillery which is not included in the regular tour.

Which was quite impressive.

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We were then given a private tasting of Sauza's top of the line Tres Generacion, led by one of the master tasters….I think they call them "Maestros"?

We got tastes of the Blanco (aged less than 2 months in steel), Reposado (aged from 2-12 months in Oak), Anejo (aged 1-3 years in Oak), and something that was new to us at the time, Cristalino which is a Anejo that is filtered in charcoal so that it loses it's smoky personality and also becomes clear…like a Blanco (more on this in my next post). At the end the Maestro asked us what we enjoyed. Strangely enough, both the Missus and I actually liked the Blanco, the unaged in steel vats, cheapest version. She asked us why and we both said that you could really make out the agave – citrusy-grassy-slighlty fruity. She smiled and nodded saying "yes, most like smoky and rich, but I am glad you like the pureness…." I guess we scored some points?

We were then transported back to Casa Sauza and the restaurant onsite, La Cueva de Don Cenobio. We were met and seated at a nice little table. We saw the group that we were with earlier, they were just finishing their meal.

Because we had our own special tour, we had a special three course meal with two choices for an soup, main, and dessert. So, we got one of each.

In keeping with the brevity of these posts; I will say, this was our favorite meal of our stay in Tequila. That blanco tortilla soup was amazing, as was the pork belly. The fish looked totally burnt; but that charring was done on purpose, it was actually smoky, crisp, with a hint of spice and sweetness.

This was a fine meal and a nice way to end the tour. The service was very professional and while the portions weren't very large, this was more than enough food for us.

La Cueva de Don Cenobio (In Casa Sauza)
Calle Luis Navarro 70
Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico

It was past 5pm when we left Casa Sauza. It had been a full afternoon for us.

We spent some time strolling around Plaza Principal. It was the end of the day and folks seemed to be out and about.

We were enjoying Tequila!

Tequila Part 1 – La Antigua Casona and Hotel Solar de las Animas

June 5, 2025 mmm-yoso Guadalajara/Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Travel

I'm catching things up on our trip to Jalisco. Basically doing a "Clearing Out the Memory Card" and mainly posting photos as it brings back some nice memories. I'm dividing this visit into 3 parts.

We had an awesome driver who was quite prompt and made the hour and a half drive from Guadalajara to Tequila a breeze. Why Tequila? Well, personally, I enjoy my Mezcal. Meanwhile, the Missus enjoys Tequila more. We had already visited Oaxaca so the Missus requested equal time for Tequila. So, I went ahead and booked us three nights in the town. I was told that we should just do the Tequila Express from Guadalajara to Casa Sauza and more or less to a day trip. I thought spending a few nights in one of the Pueblos Mágicos would be fun.

We knew we were getting close to Tequila when we started passing all the fields of Blue Agave.

We were dropped off at our accommodation; the Hotel Solar de Animas, which turned out to be a fantastic choice as it was centrally located, had beautiful gardens, a restaurant, two bars. The place was super quiet…..I was told that during the middle of the week Tequila is more mellow. And we ended up with a top floor room in one of the towers.

With a small patio and awesome views.

And most importantly, a potent A/C, since the temperature was no joke!

After settling in, we decided to take a stroll. First exploring the hotel grounds.

The center of town is basically around the corner from the hotel.

We quickly noticed all of the artwork. This one is in the Edificio Municipal, basically the city hall.

Which stands across from the Plaza Principal…the main square with even more lovely public art.

Much of which feature the all important Jimador.

Right across the street is this lovely church; the Parroquia Santiago Apostol.

Here's a bit more info on it.

The street that bisects Plaza Principal and the Municipal Building is named Jose Cuevo….you know why, right? We had a tour lined up for Jose Cuervo and Fábrica La Rojeña on our last full day of our stay, so we just took a quick look.

The name of that sculpture is named "Cuervo", by artist Carlos Terrés. Why the crow you may ask. Well, Jose Antonio Cuervo was the first person granted permission to produce Tequila for sale by King Charles IV of Spain in 1795. And the crow adorned those bottles and has become the symbol of Jose Cuervo.

Also just a block away is the Municipal Market which is full of stalls and eateries, but the place was closing up for the day.

It was pretty darn hot out.

So we decided on taking a break in the air conditioned comfort of our room.

We also decided on an early dinner. The restaurant in the hotel La Antigua Casona, "The Old Mansion" seemed to be highly rated, so we decided on having an early dinner there.

Even though the dining area is located in a patio/courtyard area, it is protected from the direct rays of the sun, making it quite comfortable.

And a nice cocktail; this is called the Afortunado does help things out.

We ordered a bunch of smaller dishes and a salad. Strangely, our favorite item was the simple jicama. With the nice salsa rojo, it was so refreshing. Tied for second would be the rather refreshing Aguachile Negro and the Soft Shelled Crab Tacos which was fried perfectly.

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The Barbacoa Flautas were nicely put together, but the barbacoa lacked the savory-spice we enjoy. It seemed a bit dumbed down.

The House Salad was fine, but nothing special.

Service was superb, as would be expected.

La Antigua Casona (in Hotel Solar de las Animas)
Calle Albino Rojas #14
46400 Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico

We took our typical after dinner stroll. Thru Plaza Principal.

Right across form Parroquia Santiago Apostol is this.

It's the Capilla del Antiguo Hospital de Indios. Built in the 16th Century by Franciscan Monks, the hospital served the local indigenous people who were ravaged by the diseases brought by the Conquistadores. The red finish was part of a redesign that took place in the 1940's.

After this, we decided to do more of an extensive walk, so headed down Calle Juarez, which turns to Hidalgo, all the way down to Toluca. Heading toward Toluca gives you a more realistic view of the town.

Though Toluca has quite a few hotels on it.

It was fun checking out all the well behaved pooches.

We headed back to the hotel via Calle Leandro Valle because there was a statue I had wanted to see. Near the corner of Calle Francisco I. Madero and General Atreaga stands this statue.

It is of the Goddess Mayahuel, the goddess of the Maguey (Agave) plant.

From here we headed on back to our hotel. While walking past Parroquia Santiago Apostol, this pooch came rushing toward us. I wasn't sure what was going on. But as soon as she got to us, she rolled over……she just wanted some belly rubs!

Her owner came rushing over to apologize, but we used our poor Spanish and hand signs to indicate that we loved it!

It was still pretty warm when we got back to the hotel.

I had read that the hotel had a "Sky Bar" with a nice view; so we decided to check it out. It was quite relaxed and lovely.

And the view was nice as well.

We relaxed. The Missus had a Margarita; I got myself a beer.

We noticed that there was an abbreviated menu of La Antigua Casona available. It had our favorite dishes from that meal, so we'd end up having dinner here on our last evening.

It was lovely way to end the day.

And I had a lovely view as I typed away on my laptop…..

The hustle and bustle of city life seemed galaxies away.

Thanks for stopping by!

Chào XO (National City)

June 3, 2025 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chicken Wings, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Recently, the Missus wanted Her Cheesecake fix from Her favorite place. So, I drove on down to National City. Upon arriving at the normally chaotic Bay Plaza off Plaza Boulevard I was shocked at how much parking was available. Then I quickly noticed that both Big Lots and Joann Fabrics had closed down!

Since I made the drive down; I decided to grab some lunch. Of course Golden Chopsticks was calling to me, or even Porky's Lechon.

But then I saw this place.

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Looked fairly new. I don't recall seeing it before? So, I decided to check it out.

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Hmmm….though the name made it seem like a Vietnamese Restaurant; there's a poster of Pad Thai in the window.

The interior is quite lovely and bright.

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And even though there was a short wait to be seen and seated; the young lady working was so sweet.

And even though the set-up looked fairly routine…..

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But the menu is a whole 'nother story. Yes there's pho….but there's also Birria, Ceviche, the afore mentioned Pad Thai, "Shaken" Saltado (I'm assuming something like Bo Luc Lac), Mushroom Rice, and even a version of Kare Kare? So, I decided to order something "fusiony" and something more in line with Vietnamese cuisine…….like some pho.

Chao XO 04

As for that Anthony Bourdain Pho; well, I'd heard of a place in Irvine, that makes a bowl of pho inspired by Anthony Bourdain…and it seems like this is a copy? Sup Noodle Bar also makes a version of Lomo Saltado…so I'm thinking….. Anyway, I wasn't ordering that. I'm still haunted by the Missus coincidentally ordering what Bourdain ate for his last meal at Wistub de la Petite Venise in Colmar and hearing about folks wanting to see where he committed suicide in Kaysersberg when we visited the Alsace in the winter of 2018.

For my "fusiony" dish; I decided on trying the Spicy Birria Dumplings ($14).

Chao XO 07

Which came with some consomme.

Chao XO 08 Chao XO 09 Well, this was a miss in my book. The "dumplings" seemed like fried frozen chicken gyoza you'd get at the market. Cardboardish wrappers, salty – chewy filling.

The birria was mild in terms of complex beefy-smoky-spicy tones (in spite of being warned that it was "spicy" by the nice young lady), it was stringy and chewy. Just not good eats.

Chao XO 10 Chao XO 11 To me; the best part of this dish was the consomme, not because it had the complex, beefy-savory tones of a good consomme; but because it at least had some decent flavor. Though, it really tasted like "San Diego sweet" pho broth with some birria and beef flavoring. Perhaps this is what the "Birria Pho" on the menu tastes like?

I also ordered the Combo Pho ($17.25), which was noted to be the "Chef Choice" on the menu. First out was the rather sparse plate of sprouts, basil, lime, and jalapeno.

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I anticipated a rather small portion of these; but the basil was also starting to turn black as well.

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As for the pho…..

Chao XO 14 Chao XO 15 The broth had an abundance of cilantro and scallions which was good. It was very clear, though not seriously defatted. It did lack a definite beefiness and the anise tones I enjoy. As is typical of much of the pho in San Diego, it had that somewhat sweet background to it, in addition to being a bit too salty.

There was an abundance of protein; with the pleasantly crunchy tripe taking first prize and the slightly beefy and somewhat tender flank taking a close second.

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The noodles were severely overcooked and in a large mushy mass at the bottom of the bowl.

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A fairly mediocre bowl of pho….though perhaps my good friend Xiāngjiāo, who dined here the day after this visit said about the pho; "well it's edible….."

And so, in this day and age with the high prices, if it was just a mediocre meal; I would have let it pass and not done another visit. But this was less than that and I felt bad. So, with the Missus in need of another cheesecake, I headed back down to Bay Plaza. And yes, I decided to do another visit.

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This time; I wanted to try the wings; and the nice young lady working this lunch time recommended the Kare Curry.

So, I got things started with the Fried Chicken Wings ($13); I picked the Salt and Pepper version.

Chao XO 20 Chao XO 21 This was comprised of five pieces; two huge drumettes, and three "flats". The seasoning was quite good, some spice, perhaps a bit too much MSG, but I enjoyed it.

The flats were tender and moist; but because of the large size; the drummettes were tough and dry.

On another note; the wings were coated with a lacquer style, crisp batter. Two of the pieces were crisp and light; one had all the coating falling off, and as you notice in the comparison shot below; two of the pieces were not fried enough and the batter was soft and soggy. Still, this was the best item I had during my two visits.

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The nice young lady recommended that I get the pork belly with the Kare Curry ($21), which arrived with a bowl of rice.

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Looking at the dish; something Xiāngjiāo said quickly came to mind. She had visited with her family and ordered a variety of dishes. She noted that none of the dishes ordered even vaguely resembled the photos in the menu. I actually took a look at the menu and that typical "photos are for reference only" was not to be seen. Anyway, this difference was quite obvious with the Kare Curry.

Chao XO 03

Chao XO 25 Chao XO 24 Not to belabor the statement; but the color is totally different! As for the dish itself? Well, the sauce/stew was super thick; way too thick, lacking in the nice smooth creaminess of kare kare. Coconut milk had been added and this was overly sweet for my taste. Think of getting a jar of peanut butter and throwing in some coconut milk…..this lacked a satisfying savoriness for me.

The rice was on the dry side, but fine.

The bok choy and the green beans were decently stir fried; but the eggplant was undercooked for my taste.

And finally, the pork belly…sigh. The slices of pork belly were fried before putting in the dish and even though the pork flavor came thru nicely were tough and rubbery.

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Well, what to say….perhaps to paraphrase Xiāngjiāo, "well, it's edible…" But after spending nearly $90 for two lunches, well…..at least the service was very nice and friendly. And I am actually glad to have given the place two tries.

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Chào XO
1420 E Plaza Blvd.
National City, CA 91950
Current Hours:
Thurs – Tues 11am – 8pm
Closed on Wednesday

Yuk Dae Jang Revisited

June 2, 2025 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

We've seemed to hit that "transition" period with regards to weather…….it's May Gray…or is it June Gloom in the mornings, sometimes a bit humid; the sun might peek out later in the day. Some days are hot-humid, on others we get a nice breeze, with a bit of overcast skies, JJ's kind of weather it seems. Speaking of JJ, we've been able to get some time free to shop and grab lunch these days, by giving him a morning full of walks, runs, and activities.

Which is what we did on this morning. Leaving our "pooped pup" in need of a break away from the "terrible" 70 degree sunshine! Upon which, the subject of lunch came up. For some reason, the Missus wanted to return to Yuk Dae Jang! Based on my last visit, we for sure weren't going to do takeout.

Yuk Dae Jang Rev 01

We arrived right at opening and the place was empty, but filled up quickly as the clock struck closer to noon. The same two really nice young ladies were working. One thing we noticed was that prices hasn't seemed to have changed since we first visited in October of 2023, which seemed to be quite an different from what we've noticed at other restaurants. With all the price increases over the last year, this seemed like quite a departure from the norm.

As I mentioned, the weather had been up and down. What we ordered kind of reflected this posture.

The Missus wanted some Seolleongtang and for some reason, so mandu as well. So we got the Ox Bone Soup with Mandu ($19.99). I also wanted to get the Bossam again, which we had enjoyed on a previous visit. So we also ordered the Premium Bossam in House Special Sauce ($39.99).

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As I noticed with my takeout order, the baechu kimchi does not seem to be fermented, more like pickled, and not quite up to what we enjoy. I do like the eomuk bokkeum, the fishcake panchan, which has more spice and sour notes than other versions, but the Missus is not a fan of that type of panchan as a whole.

Yuk Dae Jang Rev 03b

The Purple Rice (heukmi bap) was nicely cooked this time around.

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The Ox Bone Soup with Mandu was better than expected.

Yuk Dae Jang Rev 05 Yuk Dae Jang Rev 06 The soup was nice and beefy. Unlike the usual Seolleongtang, this had a perfect amount of salt…usually you need to season to your taste. The Tteokguk, the flat rice cake like Nian Gao still had a nice chew to it.

Most surprising were the mandu. The wrapper while slightly on the brittle side was of nice thickness; the filling, pork and chive was much more tender than what we'd had before and nicely seasoned as well.

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The standard accoutrements were provided. The radish bossam panchan was especially tasty; the pickled garlic quite astringently pungent.

As for the bossam, well…it delivered. We find the sweet-soy based sauce to be quite refreshing.

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The generous amount of slightly porky, mildly chewy pork belly was pleasant to eat. For some reason, we really enjoy the onions in this dish. I'm certain they presoak the onions before serving as it is only mildly pungent, but quite sweet. You might say I enjoy the onions even more than the pork at times! Especially when having leftovers the next day.

Overall, an enjoyable meal. I'm sure we'll return soon. That bossam will be nice as the weather gets warmer.

Yuk Dae Jang
7307 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Wed – Mon 11am – 9pm
Closed on Tuesday

Taste of Hunan Revisited

June 1, 2025 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

Since we revisited Taste of Hunan after a long gap back in April of last year, it had become the first choice with regards to Hunan dishes in San Diego. Since then we've visited about once a month; the service has always been nice and even though they no longer have some of our favorite items on the menu anymore, we've found a new favorite dish that we need to get on every visit.

Here's what we had on our latest visit.

The Xiangxi Style Beef Entrails is now a must order dish for us.

Taste of Hunan Rev 02

It arrives over a heating element to get the sizzling pot effect. We let is heat for a while before mixing things. Below the usually buttery tendon and the crunchy tripe are the onions, which grow sweet and absorbs the savory-mildly spicy sauce/seasoning.

On this visit, we also got the Pig's Feet.

Taste of Hunan Rev 03

The sauce was salty-sweet-savory. This leans toward almost a red-braised Hu-Cai (Shanghai style) dish. Nice porkiness; but the trotters were a bit harder and chewier than we enjoy.

We had seen several tables ordering the Mei Cai Kou Rou, the steamed pork belly and preserved vegetable, that is served with Bao. We had hesitated in ordering the dish because it really isn't Hunan, being, if I recall of Hakka origin, but quite popular in Guangdong and Jiangxi; regions which border Hunan. It did look good; so we finally went ahead and ordered it.

Taste of Hunan Rev 04

This turned out to be quite good. The pork looked firm, but was quite tender and buttery, not overly waxy, rich, and nicely flavored. Not overly sweet, very porky, good soy sauce, with mild anise tones. The meigan cai (dried preserved vegetable) had been nicely rehydrated-prepped and cooked with a pleasant, slightly crunchy texture. A nice umami-bitter flavor was present.

I think we found another winnah dish at Taste of Hunan! Now, both the Missus and I know that Village Kitchen serves Mei Cai Kou Rou as well…..hmmm….looks like an idea for dinner!

Taste of Hunan
9880 Hibert St.
San Diego, CA 92131
Current Hours:
Mon, Tues, Thurs 1130am – 230pm, 5pm – 9pm
Friday 1130am – 230pm, 5pm – 930pm
Sat, Sun 11am – 930pm