Cathy – Page 29

Traditions- 2019 calendars, Rosca de Reyes and fresh roasted chestnuts

January 6, 2019 Cathy Bakery, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog and sometimes food is a small part of the posts. Today, it's about 2/3. Cathy is writing.

Happy New Year and thank you for the good wishes via Kirk's post. It's a time of finishing up the holiday season, rearranging and writing '2019' on paperwork. Part of my regular activity consists of acquiring new calendars from various businesses and sometimes posting about them with photos. This year is the same.
It started out slow; there were four Saturdays before Christmas in December 2018. A lot of businesses waited to do their giveaways with a purchase.

Then giveaways began en masse and my friend, cc, helped by also collecting some of the calendars from various South Bay businesses. I had told her that it was sad that our, 'regular' calendar from Orchard Supply Hardware (which closed in October) would be missing after giving away a train-centric calendar every year since 1931. She even purchased one calendar for us (the outhouse one on the bottom right corner of this last photo (it will hold a prominent place in The Mister's office). We actually needed to find space for two more calendars because now there are so many.

Within some of the above linked posts there has also been mention of Rosca de Reyes, a traditional Mexican bread shared on the 12th night after Christmas (Epiphany, January 6, Feast of Three Kings), usually while taking down Christmas decor. (In France, the traditional bread is Galette de Rois). cc and I did a small 'food crawl' the other day and stopped at three South Bay bakeries.

All of the bakeries had beautiful window art advertising the upcoming holiday.

They also had beautiful displays of the roscas for pre-ordering…
as well as plenty of samples.

However, I had already pre-ordered (as well as picked up and mailed one Rosca on Thursday) from Su Pan. I was there at 6 a.m. today.
and Roscas as well as other fresh baked sweets were everywhere, fresh and ready to be picked up.
A Grande for our neighbor and a Chica for us. Fresh..so very fresh; the car smelled great. Three slices with breakfast was perfect!

Another annual tradition is to take advantage of the freshly roasted chestnuts from in front of Lucky Seafood Market (which ran out of calendars before we got one). The little tent covering the chestnut roaster has disappeared, but the roaster, attached to a propane tank is right there at the door. (Apologies for the thumbnails, something happened with the phone update and the large size shows up sideways, but clicking on these enlarges and makes them appear upright…I don't know…).

There is one more annual tradition, which will be posted soon. Does anyone else have unusual traditions?

Szechuan Chef-again

December 29, 2018 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! welcomes you reading this food blog over the busy holidays. Kirk is working on some end of year stuff and Cathy is writing.

The Mister has a new favorite restaurant. Three times in December (so far) Szechuan Chef was his number one choice. I wrote about Szechuan Chef in 2017, 2015 and 2016. Kirk had an unfavorable post in 2013 and a slightly favorable post in 2017.

Located in the corner of a strip mall on Convoy Street (Next to Shan Xi Magic Kitchen with It's Boba Time also on the edge of the mall), Szechuan Chef has withstood the test of lasting in San Diego for more than five years. {noting that on one of our visits here, two busloads of tourists were dropped off for a quick snack at the back tables}
A hot pot of tea is brought out as you are seated, a rarity these days to have no charge. We ordered a scallion pancake($2.99) on this visit and it was flavorful, flaky, not oily and freshly made.
The fish filet ($10.99) was not spicy, nicely garlic-y and had a nice crispness to the breading, even though there was a (non-sticky) sauce covering it.
The sizzling chicken ($9.99) was quite nice and provided some vegetables with our meal-garlic, Chinese celery, red and green bell peppers. This was a pleasant dish. On our next visit, our same waiter came out and took our order without writing it down (as he had the previous visit). However, after a while, another waitress was poking him and pointing at us…and he walked over with this little plate of snacks from the liang cai- cold vegetable area, near the cash registers. He had forgotten to put in our order and asked what the second item was…so we enjoyed the garlicky smashed cucumbers and delicious smoked pork pieces while waiting a bit longer.
The Westlake Beef Soup ($9.99) was out first and was wonderful. Minced beef, chicken broth, rice wine, tofu and egg with some scallion. Simple yet hearty and filling.
We had ordered a braised yellow croaker with noodle ($14.99) and this turned out to be a great choice. A slightly sweet and tangy/sour sauce complimented the meaty whole fish. The noodles (which we had never ordered here before) were plump and flavorful, a great accompaniment (instead of rice). Will order again. The croaker remnants will someday be part of soup stock.
The spicy cumin deep fried fish ($11.99)was my choice the other day. I really enjoy the spice, heat and fry of this dish here. The onions, Chinese celery, red and green peppers are complimentary and can be tasted despite the heat of the chile and cumin.
The 'Spicy Beef in a Pot"($12.99) was great-you could taste the (very tender) beef as well as the vegetables in addition to enjoying the (different from the cumin fish) chile heat.There were lots of leftover chiles.
We decided to order our own liang cai on this visit (it's $7.99) and enjoyed the garlic cucumbers, smoked pork and tofu sheets (which had a nice sesame oil mix).

Szechuan Chef 4344 Convoy Street San Diego 92111 (858) 279-8881 Mon-Th 11:30-3:00, 4:30-9:30 Fri-Sat 11:00-10 Sun 11:00-9:30

Philippe the Original- a quick trip North for an apple (and some sandwiches)(again)

December 27, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Thank you for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!! during this busy holiday season. Kirk is working some overtime and Cathy is writing.

The Mister and I had a spur of the moment flash this morning (for a reason you'll see at the end) and drove North for a quick bite. { Kirk posted back in 2007, and I wrote a post in 2014 and another post in 2016}.

Philippe the Original has been a Los Angeles staple for 110 years. It's been at this corner location since 1951.
The system is the same as it was in 1908; stand in line, order from the "carver" host ( who will prepare your meal while you stand there), pay (since 2015, they take credit cards!) and carry your tray filled with your order to whatever empty table space you can find. There's part of the menu as well as a peek into the kitchen and a jar of pickled eggs.
Action shot of our Host/Carver (Henrietta) slicing a French roll.
Some of our order is ready…
This is a pretty good photo of most of the desserts offered-I was interested in what is in that tray at the 10:00 position in this photo…the red things next to the cookies. Our order, counterclockwise. Lemonade (90¢). Single dip lamb sandwich ($9.85). Potato salad ($1.65). Double dip beef sandwich ($8.50). Pickled egg ($1.40). Baked apple ($3). Cup of chili ($3.25).
Here's a cross section of the double dipped beef and 1/4 of the quickly consumed chunky single dipped lamb. Each was wonderful in its own way. We did use drops of the famous house made very hot French mustard, available on each table. (I still contend that the recipe is partly hot Chinese mustard, since Chinatown is one block away)(the mustard has no horseradish). Either a pickle or a pickled egg is necessary with the meal. I love beets as well as pickled anything and the eggs here are ridiculously good. It's that bit of salt/bitter that goes with everything.
Around the third week of January each year, Philippe has a 'free chili day' for the first 500 customers. I've read about it but never tried the chili until today. It is a wonderful, slightly spicy/ hot Dolores brick chili (no beans; proper), served with three crackers. There's nothing else on the menu to go with chili and I can see this comfort cup (or bowl) being a meal choice if we lived closer (and therefore visited Philippe daily).

But really, the baked apple was the necessary purchase of the day. You see, from October until May the baked apples are available daily until they run out. During those other four months you can get a half grapefruit or a wonderful fruit cup. But this simply made, large and delicious treat was a craving.
Apples are cooked in deep pan in the the oven with a slightly sweet cinnamon syrup. Soft enough to be cut with a spoon (but you still have to hold the apple in place with a fork; it's not mushy), this baked fruit is just the perfect dessert to a hearty meal.

Philippe the Original 1001 N. Alameda Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 628-3781 open 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily Website

Why did we decide to drive here today? So we could share a meal "live" with my brother and his family in Michigan. Philippe teamed up with Goldbelly in April and has has a six sandwich meal deal; a Christmas gift. The FaceTime meal worked out quite well.

O’Brien’s Boulangerie Bakery and Cafe (Poway)

December 16, 2018 Cathy Bakery, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! one more time. During this busy holiday season, routines are changed and many errands which were simple are now a chore. That's how this post happened. Cathy is writing today.

There was a small article in one of the newspapers a few weeks ago about O'Brien's Boulangerie…a wholesale bread supplier to various restaurants, hotels, casinos and country clubs in San Diego, Orange and Riverside Counties which was established in 1989. O'Brien's had just moved locations and opened a Cafe (there are 20 seats downstairs and more upstairs) and is getting so much wholesale business that they might have to move again. This Poway location is on Stowe Drive just off of Community Road, a signal light North of Scripps Poway Parkway in a large office park area. I'm so glad we keep notes about places in odd locations.

Once you find it, you'll think it was an easy drive.
The bakery display case is tempting.
After you order and pay, you can gather your own coffee (although they have a great selection of barista prepared beverages), utensils, napkins, some water and find a seat. Your order will be brought to you.
The eating area was filled when we got here so I only took a photo of these seats facing the door. Quite a comfortable seating area.
The classic tuna sandwich ($9.50) served on a fresh, soft ciabatta. This was a substantial sandwich, which was shared. Lettuce, tomato, onion and mayonnaise along with provolone topped a large portion of quality tuna salad. (It was mostly tuna, not much filler at all). Excellent sandwich.
A bear claw ($3.50) was served warm.
It was mostly marzipan…almond paste, toasted almond slices, a wonderful buttery, flaky pastry.

If you somehow find yourself in this area, don't miss dropping in.

O'Brien's Boulangerie 13615 Stowe Drive Poway, CA 92064 Website Open Mon-Fri 7-4, Sat 7-3 Closed Sunday
The rye bread ($6.95) A 1.5 lb loaf. Excellent crust, nicely seeded, good texture. Yes. We will be going back. Soon.

Mary’s Donuts (Lakeside) more than donuts!

December 11, 2018 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is funny; he thought that after working overtime on both weekend days, that His Monday would be easy..and short. He was wrong. Cathy is writing another post.

I grew up with three bakeries within five blocks of my home in Detroit. The Mister remembers three local bakeries he passed while walking to school in the Boston suburb where he grew up. There were local owned bakeries we found in Ann Arbor, Pensacola and Norfolk…and on our visits overseas. But donut-centric shops are a Southern California phenomenon. Go ahead, type in "donut" in the search bar on the upper left of this page. Over 1000 hits on this blog alone.

So, we are back at Mary's. The original location (photo at the bottom of this post) has closed (after 50 years there) and the new location in Santee is in the middle of a strip mall. That location is within walking distance of home and I've been known to drop in at odd hours of the day for a quick snack. However the 'new' (since October 2016) second location has a bit of an expanded menu.

The donut cases are kept filled. Along the top of the back wall, you'll see prices- the one on the right, a sort of menu, is most interesting. There's a non-carb choice.Bowls are $5.99. Scrambled eggs, choice of meat (bacon, sausage or ham) and choice of cheese (Swiss, Cheddar, Provolone). This was with Cheddar and breakfast sausage and was great- tasty, large portion (three eggs) and so very fresh.
Sandwiches here are $6.99. They come with a choice of bread (bagel, croissant and as of two weeks ago, fresh baked bread), meat (ham, turkey, bacon, sausage, egg), cheese(Swiss, Cheddar, Provolone) and toppings (lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard). Avocado is an additional 85¢. This Mary's location has just begun baking breads but not daily and I am eager to come back to try a sandwich on the rye.
The donuts. Look at the top shelf. Why, that's a lot of fritters. Some of those are apple, but…
Looks like a slice of peach on those on the right (next to the bacon maple bars)Lemon and blueberry.
Raspberry!
The fritters here are one of the the most expensive donuts in the case…$1.90. (Those bacon covered maple bars are also $1.90).
You can see the layers of raspberry intertwined in this beautiful, crisp edged, perfectly fried and glazed fritter. Of course we've tried the peach; it's excellent.

If you are out this way, it's worth the stop.

Mary's Donuts 10101 Maine Street Lakeside, CA 92040 (619)334-5272 ALWAYS OPEN

Pesto Craft Kitchen (SDSU area)

December 10, 2018 Cathy Italian Restaurants, Pizza, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! welcomes you back to reading about food in San Diego. Kirk has been working a lot of (weekend) overtime and Cathy is writing a few posts., like this one.

Customized, wood fired oven pizzas have been a restaurant phenomenon since about 2014. I've written two posts about Pieology and one post about Blaze. Pesto Craft Kitchen took over what originally was the location of Social Life Neapolitan Pizza in 2016. Pesto offers more than customizable pizza and salads.
The menu is visible when you walk in (this is an old photo with old prices because I apparently could not take a clear picture of it in the last year). (Use THIS link to see current prices on the website)
You walk along the ordering line.
A decadent snack served here are these delightful 'garlic knots', you can purchase 4 or 8 as an appetizer.
You can sort of see the fire in the oven through the protective glass.
There is an extensive selection of wines and beers.
We started with the calamari fries ($9.95) These are served with a roasted garlic spicy tomato sauce. Meaty strips of squid, breaded with a herb-y coating. A large portion, apparently meant to be shared or this could be a low-carb meal.
When we do enjoy a pasta dish, baked is preferred.In this case, four cheese ravioli ($13.95) which had craft pesto and was topped with marinara and mozzarella. The pasta, cheese fillings, pesto, marinara and even the side of toasted garlic bread were each distinctive in fresh flavors. This was a filling meal…yet we wanted more.
I went back in line and ordered a smoked ham calzone ($9.95)
Mozzarella and ricotta are the cheeses, the wood fired crust had the char that gave the crust flavor and crunch. The cheeses, the bit of marinara sauce…this was wonderful. We had a bite in the restaurant and took the rest home for dinner. A great day of meals.

Pesto Italian Craft Kitchen 6011 El Cajon Blvd, Suite A San Diego, CA 92115 (619)265-2700 Website Open Sun-Thurs 10:30-9:30, closes at 10:00 Fri-Sat

China Express

December 8, 2018 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is working this weekend. I'm sure He is eating, but really, He doesn't want to write about it; he'd rather sleep. Cathy is writing this post.

Tucked in the middle of a bunch of storefronts (many of which Kirk and I have blogged about; some are still there and most are gone-it's the mall with the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and a Carl's. Jr. closest to the street) at the South West corner of Clairmont Mesa Boulevard at Ruffin Road (the other side of Ruffin from the new Kaiser Hospital which used to be the Registrar of Voters office) is China Express.You might notice the sign above the entrance with the "3 items & 1 side order w/soup or canned soda $6.49". The small print at the bottom is "choose only from steam table"- this seems to be what most people order.

The steam table is kept fresh, the side orders consist of steamed rice, fried rice or chow mein.
The egg drop soup is excellent-very eggy and fresh. There is also wonton and hot and sour soup.
All the meals are given in 'to go' containers, even if you are eating in. This is what the three item combo looks like. The dark meat is 'spicy chicken'-it has those jalapeño-looking chilis, which are a bit spicy as the heat component. This chicken is also sweet, I think it's honey. The top left corner is chicken and mushrooms; this was very good. The bottom left is Szechuan chicken-a different, dried chili, lots of vegetables(bell peppers, those little canned corn things and mushrooms) and quite nice. Not a bad meal for $6.99 (with tax).

There is also a six page menu…two of those pages list 30 Monday-Friday lunch specials (all $5.25) and 21 party trays and 30 combination specials.
Under the 'Chef's Specials' portion of the menu, the Hunan Beef ($10.99) was a good choice. It wasn't crazy spicy, despite the small chili on the menu indicating heat; it's pleasant. Since it is made to order, the vegetables are freshly stir fried, still crispy. There is bok choy, celery, onion, red and green bell pepper. The beef was thick cut, tender and plentiful (that container is large). This was a great meal.
The spice and sweet on the General Tso's Bean Curd ($7.50), combined with the light breading and crisp fry made this (very large) serving a new craving.
You may recall that The Mister and I like to try Egg Foo Young from each menu where we see it offered (because no two are ever the same). The chicken Egg Foo Young ($6.75) version here was yet another new experience. The chicken was cut in strips. The egg and onion mix had peas and carrots and scallion bits. The gravy was nice-not too thick and not salty. There were no bean sprouts. This version was great.

It's always fun to find a new (to us) place. I hope your weekend is going well.

China Express 9353 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego CA 92123 (858)277-2388 Open Mon-Fri 10am-9:45 pm, Sat 11 am-9:45 pm, Sun 3 pm-9:30 pm

Perry’s Cafe (Old Town)

December 7, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Diner, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk has a few busy workdays ahead, so Cathy is writing about food and stuff.

The Mister and I have been trying to walk a bit more (a sort of early New Year Resolution) and there are so many places around San Diego which are not filled with tourists now, that's it's nice to avoid crowds.

Old Town San Diego is a State Historic Park and is filled with tourists during the warm months of the year. Parking is free as is the ability to visit some original buildings, all with written explanations of their original purpose.

There is something to see and learn about at every turn. It's a nice place to visit and learn about the History of San Diego, at your own pace.
Just at the Southwest edge of the park (beyond the Trolley) is Perry's.
Kirk wrote about this old school diner for the first time in 2007 and has mentioned it in other posts. We were here just past noon; not in a breakfast mood.
It was crowded on this weekday and we were seated in the large 'back room'. There is a 'proper' Roman numeral clock (the '4' has four sticks, not three) here. (here are a bunch of theories why).
We each chose a soup of the day: beef vegetable for The Mister,
and lentil-pea soup for me. Each was made in-house, quite flavorful and very satisfying. One was a meal in itself…
…combined with this salad, which was blue cheese dressed (a good quality dressing). Just enough for a light meal. (soup and salad, $7.95)
When walking in the white board special of baked fish ($10) had caught our eye, so it was ordered. Two large pieces of firm white fish (maybe it was cod) lightly breaded and baked to a crisp crunch. Mashed potatoes (with a lovely gravy) and green beans completed this dish. There was enough to share.
A good meal on a nice day. {Unlike whatever happened here last night. Rain, floods and power outages!}

Perry's Cafe 4620 Pacific Hwy San Diego, CA 92110 (619) 291-7121 Open daily 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Website

2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float decorating, dinner at Costa’s Family Restaurant (Covina)

December 5, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog which sometimes includes stories about attainment of the food. Today, Cathy is writing while Kirk is busy at work.

This past Saturday, the 'Dry Decoration Days' for the 130th Tournament of Roses Rose Parade at Phoenix Decorating Company began. Here are some photos of materials and details of what happened. (sentence descriptions are in order of thumbprints) The various colors of statice need to be cut from the stems (after drying a bit). There are crushed peas, yellow straw flowers, some leftover straw flowers from last year. You can see black beans which were tediously placed on some signage (those beans have white 'eyes' which need to be placed away from being seen). There are branches and lunaria ('money plant'-those opaque white circles) and pine cones. The beans use 'oasis glue' to stick to the foam backing. Green pea halves are glued on the 'Service Rocks' signage. The watermelons have the light stripes covered in crushed green peas and the dark stripes are covered in crushed dry parsley. More pine cones are taken apart and the individual acicular shaped leaves (sometimes called needles) are individually placed on the edge of a small 'birdhouse'. Dry materials are stored in large airtight trash cans.
Here's a look at the 'Glue Station' where each type of glue (white and oasis) are picked up (and where unused glue is returned).

Here are some of the 19 floats being decorated here (some floats are still under construction).
The Banner float- first one you will see in the parade. it introduces the theme of "The Melody of Life". Each float will have some sort of way of showcasing music and/or musical instruments. The Grand Marshal of the Parade is Chaka Kahn.
"Service Rocks" sponsored by Rotary International. See…the crocodile…and the title includes 'rocks'…I'm guessing 'Crocodile Rock' is the song for this float.
"Fezzy's garden of Hope and Healing", sponsored by Shriners Hospitals for Children. It's cute, pretty and will be fun to watch. "Rockin the Vest" sponsored by Lions Clubs International. If you recall, I posted a link to the 2011 Lions Club video (titled 'Rockin' the Vest') which was used to recruit new members. Lions Club is the world's largest volunteer organization and members wear distinctive yellow vests when performing community service. The United Sikh Mission is sponsoring "A Divine Melody Resonates in All", featuring a Rabab, a stringed instrument from around AD 900.
"Garden Fresh" has such a cute float design for a new sponsor this year, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day."Yellow Submarine", sponsored by Western Asset will be. joy to watch as well as hear. Many interesting materials will be used on this float.
"Helping Kids Rock Their Future", sponsored by Kiwanis International is a giant 'jukebox'(the underside of those records are covered with either poppy seeds or black onion seeds).
The American Legion, a Veteran association, is sponsoring "Still Serving America" this year. (All floats have to be able to fit along the parade route in certain areas and so that's why you see 'collapsed' parts, like the eagle head).
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Rebekahs, a service organization, is celebrating "200 years of Harmony" with this delightful calliope featuring flags of some of the countries where they serve.
The American Armenian Rose Float Association is sponsoring another history laden float, "Chanting Stones, Karahunj" and will feature two men dancing atop the 'Singing Stones' of Sisian. The City of Hope is sponsoring "Harmony of Hope", which will be another beautiful float reminding us of The Miracle of Science with Soul. You'll see some DNA strands and other details when the float passes.
"Joy to the World, the Lord is Come" is presented by the Lutheran Hour Ministries and will not only have bells and horns on the float, but also a choir! (we volunteer with the Petal Pushers to decorate floats which helps defray the cost of this, the only Christian themed float, in the Parade for the 69th year).
The entry from Trader Joe's, "Ride, Captain, Ride" has a secret you'll see on January 1. Even without the surprise, it's an attractive float.
The final float in the parade will advertise what's coming up later that day, the 105th Rose Bowl football game. The float is a replica of the bowl and has a replica of the trophy given to the winning team.
The City of Alhambra's float, "Home Tweet Home"is just so very distinguished and cute.

I have had posts showing road tests of most of these floats (Road tests #1 and #2…Road test #3…Road tests #4 and #5…and Road Test #6. 2018 has been long and the parade will be here on January 1, 2019 to kick off a new beginning.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

This is why (most of) you are here…the food portion of this post.

The Mister and I were exhausted and left the float barn at about 4:30. We did have lunch and a light breakfast (at the Kolache Factory) and were ready for a relaxing (seated on real chairs) dinner. We headed back to a spot here we enjoyed breakfasts two weeks in a row-Costa's Family Restaurant in Covina, a few exits east of our Irwindale entrance back onto the 210.The back room had a few Christmas decorations.
My meal came with a salad and I was asked if beets would be OK…of course beets are OK, beets are wonderful!
The Mister had a choice of soups and chicken and dumplings it was…made from scratch. A great soup.
The dinner rolls were, of course, home made.
The Mister ordered the Trout Dinner ($10.49). Lightly pan fried, skin on trout filet served with a house made tartar sauce, tomato-onion green beans and (real) rice pilaf. This food- all of it was wonderful.
I decided on a menu dinner special, Prime Rib ($13.49). Got it with the same green beans and a baked potato. Wonderful, satisfying, most of everything from scratch…what more could we want?
Dessert- included (!) This is a from scratch tapioca pudding. Vanilla…very vanilla.
Bread pudding…caramel bread pudding.

If we lived in Covina, Costa's would be a daily stop.

Costa's Family Restaurant 851 E. San Bernadino Road Covina, CA 91723 Open Daily 5:30a.m. – 9 p.m.

Kura (Conveyor sushi) (revisits)

November 26, 2018 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to look at mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. Kirk is getting used to the time zone change so Cathy is writing a brief post.

I wrote about Kula the first time in 2015, when we first went to the Rancho Cucamonga location. The conveyor sushi chain arrived in San Diego in about 2016 and I wrote a post in early 2017. (Those links have some explanatory stuff in case you've never been). At some point, the nationwide chain changed its name to Kura (at least on the exterior of the building) and raised the basic price of revolving sushi standard plates to $2.50 each. There is an outdoor Tablet sign in/wait list or you can reserve a seat using a mobile app. We usually ask to sit at the counter.

This time, I was right at the corner and could see into the open kitchen. There was a tabletop photo ad of new offerings.
There is a first plate 'introducing' the following plates, all connected to each other; it helps the kitchen know what to refill.
I always grab the sunomono when it arrives in front of me. A perfect balance of vinegar and soy covering cucumbers, seaweed and bits of tamago (a sweet egg omelet which can be a dessert by itself). Everything on a green plate is $2.50; you slide used plates in a slot in the table when it's time to pay the bill.
If you end up with 15 of those plates, after insertion in the slot, the Bikkura Pon machine will shoot out a ball filled with a small gift directly on your table. We've never had that many small plates; tend to order from the Tablet you see at the second level. Most Tablet items are the same as on the conveyor, but are a bit more fresh; other items are made to order.

While waiting for an order to arrive (it stops right in front of the Tablet where you placed the order- on a second conveyor belt) I saw the Tuna Yukhoe and wanted to try (yukhoe is akin to tartare; raw. Though the egg yolk is cooked.) The raw tuna is marinated in soy, sesame oil, garlic and has some sesame seeds mixed in). Kind of poke, in a good way. The garlic steak is quite nice (we ordered from the Tablet, so the steak arrived warm). Crunch garlic on top.

New to us on the menu was shrimp stuffed baked avocado ($3.60). It arrived with a small spoon.
This will be ordered again. It was divine. Lots of shrimp, melted cheese, just warm ripe avocado. A meal.

The squid tempura ($3.60) was interesting this time; there were two pieces of chicken karaage mixed in. All good; light breading, perfect fry.
Also new on the menu was grilled albacore ($3.60). The fish by itself was excellent; char grill, a meaty piece that flaked perfectly. The slices of jalapeño were a 'warning'…those carrots had something mixed in that had a nice kick of spice; it complimented the fish and was good on its own. The soft shell crab ($4.80) is also one of those items we must always order; it's done right here. The batter, the fry, the shaved radish with a dollop of yellow hot radish. Just so nice. The hand rolls (as you can see, $2.50) are ordered on the Tablet and arrive quickly. They are offered with soy paper wrap instead of seaweed; a little different in flavor…lots of flavorful sesame seeds and really good; a compliment to the rice and tuna filling. The dessert we shared ($3.60)-Anmitsu. Vanilla ice cream with a sort of caramel sauce, red bean paste, small mochi, a marinated strawberry. If you see it, get it-a perfect ending.

Kura Revolving Sushi Bar 4609 Convoy San Diego 92111 Open Sun-Thurs 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Website