mmm-yoso – Page 116

Dim Sum To Go From Jasmine

October 26, 2020 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum

My first visit to Golden Island had me wondering how takeout was going at Jasmine. I had checked out their website and found they were doing online takeout orders. So, I decided to order some dim sum…which was 20 cents cheaper then Golden Island……at $5.99. Interesting to note, Jasmine Express opens at 1030 as does online ordering. And then it's at least 50 minutes before your order is ready.

Upon arriving, I noticed that the signs lead you to Jasmine Express for pick-up.

And you have to wait in line with everyone else….all of the folks in front of me were placing orders. They placed their order and waited across from the restaurant to be called. So, while I expected my order to be ready at 1130…..which it was (see the photo below, it's on the shelf); I still had to wait another 25 minutes in line. Add in the rather perfunctory service….. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a separate line for online pick-up?

Anyway, check out the outdoor dining at Kula above….creative uses for those concrete dividers.

Eventually I made my way to the front of the line, mentioned my name, and was handed my bag….I mean…really, my food was laying on a shelf for 25 minutes, when I could have walked up and been out of there in less than five.

I then drove back to the office and checked things out; I went with the Pork and Shrimp Siu Mai, Har Gow, and the Steamed Shrimp Fun Gor (fun guo aka Chiu Chow Dumplings). All $5.99. Man, if I hadn't been to Golden Island before this; I'd have had a bit of sticker shock as this was twenty bucks of dim sum.

The siu mai was decent. The pork had been evenly minced, thus achieving a better texture and was also more tender and moist, Good porkiness; the wrapper was still pliable and not hard. Pretty good overall.

The Har Gow was the best of the bunch; no torn wrappers here. The shrimp were plump and tender, with a nice mild sweet-brininess. This was quite good.

The Chiu Chow Dumplings was the worst item; the wrapper too thick, the filling under seasoned.

I actually like a bit more pungency and peanuts in this style of dumpling.

Overall, while the pick up process was really weak, this was much better than Golden Island.

A couple of weeks back; I decided to try the whole drill again…..with the same results. Enter order and pay at 1030; told to pick-up at 1130, arrived, this time at 1115, and still waited almost 30 minutes to pick up my order which had been lying on the shelf since I arrived.

This time I got the Shrimp Siu Mai, the Har Gow again, and the Steamed Scallop and Shrimp Dumplings.

This time one of the wrappers on the Har Gow was ripped….bummer.

Still, these were as good as what I'd had on my previous visit.

The shrimp and pork siu mai was also quite good; moist, fairly tender, nice balance of porkiness and shrimp flavor.

No hard pieces, no grittiness, no muddy flavors. The wrapper was even more tender than with the pork siu mai on my previous visit.

The Steamed Scallop and Shrimp Dumpling was ok.

While the wrapper was a bit on thick side and the dumpling could have used more scallop…..I missed a nice tender-sweet-oceany scallop flavor, the shrimp in this was again quite delicious and prepared well.

So, while the dim sum at Jasmine was, in my opinion, superior to Golden Island, GI definitely had the better service and process. So, I'm not quite sure….maybe it's best for me to wait until this is all over and I can have a proper dim sum meal.

Jasmine
4609 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Dine In Hours
Mon – Thurs 10am – 3pm
Fri – Sun 10am – 3pm, 5pm – 8pm
Jasmine Express
Daily 1030 – 830pm

Road Trip (Before Covid-19) – Antelope Slot Canyon, Lower Antelope Canyon, and Dinner at Shift Kitchen and Bar (Flagstaff)

October 24, 2020 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Flagstaff/ Sedona/Winslow/Northern AZ, Road Trip, Travel

***** Warning; this post is super long.

Man, it's been over a year since we did this road trip. I thought I'd better get my posts done. The Missus wanted to do a road trip over the Labor Day weekend last year. She had been wanting to check out Antelope Canyon for years. So, after doing a bit of research , I came up with a plan, to do both Antelope Slot Canyon and Lower Antelope Canyon, check-out Horseshoe Bend, and even do a small group tour of the Grand Canyon over the weekend, with just taking the Tuesday after Labor Day off. Frankie's Auntie "Alle" had just returned from visiting family in Italy and graciously said she'd love having Frankie around over the weekend.

So, we left on Saturday morning. I'd planned a couple of stops along the way. When we stopped right outside El Centro….good lord, it was in the high 90's and the humidity was crazy, so we drove through Yuma and decided to get gas in Dateland at the travel center. The Missus actually enjoyed shopping at the Travel Center and even bought a couple of packages of dates.

We then headed out east on the 8, then headed up the 85, onto the 10 East, then straight up the 17 toward Flagstaff.

Then it happened. About 15-20 miles out of Flagstaff, my transmission went out. I pulled to the side of the road and we tried calling AAA. Unfortunately, cell phone reception was very bad. I finally found a high spot off the freeway and got thru to the Auto Club. Unfortunately, they weren't able to find our location….I even got the latitude and longitude, but no bueno. What I neded up doing was calling the Highway Patrol and getting a location after they pinged the cell phone tower and I walked up about a mile and got the milepost as well.

And then it was just waiting……good thing I could still start my vehicle and run the AC and such. And we waited…..I think this cloud kinda looks like Frankie, what do you think?

And for some reason; a version of an Eagles song went through my mind; "stuck on the shoulder outside Flagstaff, Arizona……"

After about 90 minutes a tow truck arrived and we got hitched up and were on our way to Flagstaff…….except about 5 miles down the road, our tow truck broke down….soooooo; we now needed a tow truck for our tow truck! About an hour later, a fleet of tow vehicles arrived, including the owner of the tow company who was so nice and apologetic.

This time they used a car carrier and we drove to the Flagstaff Toyota dealership. Now, I'm not big on fancy cars; my little 2005 RAV4 had over 220k miles on it….the Missus decided it was time I got a new car. Which is how we went on a roadtrip and I ended up getting a new RAV4. By the time all the paperwork was done and the car was prepped it was 9pm and we headed off to Page. Which was a 2 1/2 hour drive. We got into our hotel at around midnight and immediately crashed….it had been a long day.

The next morning; we had the hotel breakfast and checked out. I had made two reservations for the day….we'd be visiting upper and lower Antelope Canyon. Antelope Canyon is located in the Navajo Nation so all access is by tour groups.

Our first visit was to Antelope Slot Canyon. We headed into Page and arrived at the designated location for Antelope Slot Canyon Tours by Chief Tsosie. Based on our reservation time; we were loaded onto minibuses and headed out. Our guide was amazing; so knowledgeable, even fielding questions and making recommendations for other places to visit.

There were quite a few vehicles parked as several companies do tours here.

And what you don't really see in photos are the crowds of folks entering.

Though they do a really great job of keeping distances between groups allowing folks time to take photos and take in the beauty of the canyon.

Before entering we were given a little lesson on how the canyon was formed. We were asked how the canyon formed in the specific way and no one answered; so I finally went, "sandstone erosion based on fast flowing floods". The guy stopped and cracked up, telling me "I've been doing this for a decade and that's the best answer I've ever had." Not sure if he was just making feel good……and I got an elbow and a whisper of "don't show off" from the Missus for my effort.

Like I mentioned; our guide was amazing. He went over the famous "sites" and set-up and took photos of everyone in the group. He kept folks together; even the two groups of "selfie Instagram girls". He told us stories of Antelope Canyon; the flash flood in 1997 that took the lives of 11 people, with only one survivor (see the link if interested), about Peter Lik's black and white photo of Antelope Canyon fetching 6.5 million dollars, and that National Geographic is banned from Antelope Canyon, how the canyon had been closed twice because folks were illegally dumping human ashes in the canyon.

The lighting does play tricks with you…….

Other well known locations were pointed out; like the "Dragon's Eye".

Let your imagination run wild……

This tour was super easy; the terrain is level so there were quite a few people on the tour. It does get a bit cramped at times, but I as very happy we did this.

We had a little over an hour between tours. I had a well regarded fried chicken place in mind for lunch; but it was just too hot for us to think about having that. Instead, I just bought some cold cuts and a salad from the Safeway across the street from the tour office. This would be enough to hold us until dinner. We planned to be in Flagstaff by then.

After lunch we headed off to Ken's Tours Lower Antelope Canyon. Man, the waiting/office area was packed. Luckily, we had made reservations months earlier. When we were called, we queued up and then headed down a trail. Just looking out, you really couldn't tell that there was a slot canyon here.

And after a short walk, we arrived at some pretty steep stairs and headed down into the canyon.

And while our guide at Antelope Slot Canyon was definitely better; the lighting here was amazing. Also, foot traffic here is one way thru, you don't have to turn around to head back, which made things less cramped. And did I mentioned the lighting????

The lighting, shadows, red sandstone just adds to the otherworldly feeling.

And you start seeing shapes…….some of them are quite well known. This is "Bruce the Shark".

And don't forget to look up. I actually saw the shape of a seahorse in the view to the right.

This was quite an amazing place to visit and I'm glad we did it.

After the tour, before heading to Flagstaff, the Missus had one more place on Her "list". A place that was actually made famous by social media, a destination made popular by Instagram, Horseshoe Bend. Back in, say 2014, about 40,000 people a year visited Horseshoe Bend….but after folks started posting photos on Instagram, you know, the selfie generation, it is estimated that over 2,000,000 folks visit the site right outside Page every year.

And so we found a parking spot and made the short pilgrimage down the trail to the look-out.

Notice the folks sitting on the bench? Well, it was pretty darn hot already on this day.

We saw several young people sitting and vomiting…..heat stroke…I guess perhaps they'd partied too hard or hadn't hydrated properly. What was even worse were the knuckleheads who brought their dogs out. We saw one vomiting….a guy was running past us in the opposite direction; his poor dog was having seizures! What morons.

We joined the masses to take a photo that I guess everyone now needs to have.

We saw quite a few people head over the railing to get "that photo" of themselves here. Crazy. Even with the overlook in place, folks still find a way to kill themselves.

We headed off to Flagstaff. I'd booked two nights at the Residence Inn in "Flag" as I heard residence call the city. Home to Northern Arizona University, both the Missus and I enjoyed our time in the city…..folks were friendly, there's a kind of artsy, hipster, chill vibe. At around 7,000 feet elevation, the weather was much cooler than Page. Also, I was a bit surprised to see the pine forests surrounding the city.

We also lucked out as right across the street from our hotel, the city was having it's "Art in the Park" festival.

Where we managed to do a good bit of shopping and purchase some gifts for folks back home.

It was a fun time….folks (including the four legged ones) were so friendly here.

Gifts in tow; we headed back to the hotel for a short break before heading out for dinner.

And while our dinner destination was a mere two blocks from where we were staying; we took our time. We really enjoyed the historic downtown area of the city.

For dinner, I did a bit of research and decided on Shift Kitchen and Bar; the focus on shared plates and an interesting cocktail list seemed like just the thing for us.

We were seated across from the bar area; a perfect place for us as we could see what others ere ordering and still had some privacy.

The cocktails were good; my favorite of the evening was the Smoked & Dirty Martini.

There was one item that drew me to Shift. The Missus loves salt and vinegar chips and the Pickled French Fries with "Secret Sauce" seemed like something She's love.

Wonderfully "pickly" with a good amount of salt, the Missus just loved this. She really didn't need the "secrest sauce" (think Mickey D's). As a matter of fact, we had a second order of this.

The Duck Liver Tart, was well, a bit too "tart" and sweet for our taste.

We loved the greens, though the pickled pears were much too sour for us.

The Smoked Bone Marrow was quite good; though the garnishes added perhaps a bit too much acidity for our taste.

Loved the bone marrow; savory-buttery goodness on the toast. Could have done without all the mustard seed and really acidic pickled veggies – jalapeno which really detracted from the goodness of the bone marrow.

All-in-all, a decent first meal. Friendly, amiable service, solid cocktails…..we (the Missus) would definitely return for those fries.

Shift Kitchen & Bar
107 N San Francisco St.
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Current Hours:
Wed – Sun 5pm – 9pm

We'd had a pretty busy 24 hours….we drove from San Diego, got stuck on the I-17, bought a new car in Flagstaff, drove to Page and spent the night, visited Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, and were really enjoying Flagstaff. Man, would I sleep well on this evening. Dreaming of red sandstone shapes rising toward the sky……

Thanks for stopping by!

I Finally Get the Chicken Wings from Nanay’s Best BBQ

October 19, 2020 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Filipino Restaurants

So, one of the folks I know who I know loves Nanay's Best BBQ sent me a text telling they had the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings available. It was just after 10am and I had meetings coming up at 11. So, instead of heading to what would be my usual choice and headed a bit further down the road back to Nanay's.

I did notice they had a tray of Chicken Wings out; which were a lot darker than typical S&P Chicken Wings…..no spicy pork this time ("today is chicken….tomorrow we have pork" so I guess they alternate).

Frankly, I think I enjoy the spicy chicken more than the pseudo-sisig spicy pork. The chicken was more moist and tender. It also did better with the rather mild spice. I do enjoy the atcharang sili (pickled peppers) which really "wakes the dish up". Other than that; it's a basic turo-turo dish.

As for the chicken wings; well the three wings provided were still a bit crunchy; not crisp, more like crunchy. The meat was a bit on the dry side and there definitely wasn't that "magical crack-like savory-saltiness" of decent salt and pepper chicken wings, no hints of garlic either. I guess these were passable for steam table wings; but I doubt I'll have them again.

I guess I'm going to have to "bust out" of my Covid-19 range and head on down to Royal Mandarin.

Nanay's Best BBQ
6715 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 10am – 5pm

Negi Pon from Menya Ultra

October 18, 2020 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

In the comments of my most recent post on Karami Ramen, superstar "FOY" (friend of yoso) Junichi mentioned the Negi Pon form Menya Ultra. And while Junichi said it wasn't quite as good as Tori Nanban, I was intrigued. The Missus recently requested the Ramen Kit from Menya Ultra; so I thought I'd give it a try. I had always thought the marinade for the Karaage at Menya was pretty good; though in terms of texture it often wasn't crisp enough and was sometimes a bit on the tough side. Still, scallions, ponzu oil, and mayo? Since we'd be having the ramen for dinner; I thought what the heck and ordered the five piece Negi Pon ($6.95) to have for lunch.

I wasn't sure how it would hold up on the drive home; but it did quite well.

I didn't expect it to be particularly crisp; but it was not bad; the savory-saltiness of the marinade used for the karaage was nicely balanced out by the acidity and mild pungency of the scallion. The mayo added a rich-creaminess which might be a bit much for folks. The chunks of chicken were fairly generous and after a while all that mayo might have been a bit too much of a good thing for me.

It did help that I ate it with some kyuri and takana (mustard greens – which always remind me of my grandmother and mom who used to make the stuff); which really helped to balance the richness of the dish out.

While I still probably enjoy the Tori Nanban from Okan more; there's no way I'd do takeout with that. I'm not opposed to having this again; it's not bad at all.

Thanks for the recommendation Junichi!

Menya Ultra Ramen
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
858-571-2010
Hours:
Daily 11am – 2pm, 5pm – 8pm

Have a safe week everyone!

Midweek Meanderings – Catching Up with Dennis of A Radiused Corner and Recently Consumed

October 14, 2020 mmm-yoso Cooking, yoso-silly

Just a few items for your Wednesday consumption.

Catching Up With Dennis:

I've had a at least half a dozen emails and comments asking me if I'd heard from Dennis of A Radiused Corner. Dennis and I trade emails every so often and if he'd kindly just let folks who enjoy (and miss) his blog knows what's being going on and how he's doing. And of course, being the great guy he his, he was more than happy to answer a few questions…..

And so without further ado; here it is:

It's been a while since you've posted, so what's been going on with Dennis of A Radiused Corner?

Hi Kirk! Getting a promotion a few years back probably contributed the biggest to the damper on blogging. I still regularly photo document my meals (which is pretty normal these days but back then was considered peculiar if your friends found out…). I visit my family every other year in Japan and still enjoy visiting nostalgia inducing joints and quirky shops. Looking back I guess I always appreciated most the intangibles of meal experiences.(?)

I recall running into you a couple of times at Nijiya before the pandemic hit and haven't seen you in a bit, how has life been during these times? Where, if any places have you been frequenting for groceries, take-out, and dining in?

I visit Nijiya occasionally to buy my preferred brand of dashi shoyu, tofu and bonito flakes. As much as I'd like to support my local businesses I actually haven't been eating out at all and been making simple meals at home. (A good excuse to finally use those fancy knives I've accrued over the years, lol.) I think with all my family being in Japan I'm extra cautious to not get sick.

For all the folks, like me who read, enjoyed, and followed A Radiused Corner, should we hold out hope that you'll surprise us with another post one of these days? Or do you have another platform on Social Media where we can see what's going on with you?

I may just pick it back up right where I left off one of these days. Definitely have a backlog of content. I'm more active on Instagram now which a few of my food blogger friends follow but it's actually a personal account that I don't share with the public at the moment.

And finally, anything you want me to pass along to fans of A Radiused Corner?

Yikes, fans?? I'm blushing. Popularity or monetization was never my goal for the blog (if you can tell by its odd name). I think I wanted an outlet for all the photos I'd take, and maybe try to get better at writing at the same time. I still cringe at my ramblings on especially early posts. I don't plan to take the blog down though, warts and all. Cherish the friends I made through it, including you Kirk!

Thanks for the update Dennis! And yes, we do miss your posts and whenever you're ready to start posting again we'll be here!

And to end things up; here are a couple of things I made this past weekend, before this heatwave…….

Here's the porcini ravioli from Trader Joe's with a Porcini-Cremini Sauce:

And I just got my order from Salumi Chicago and the Missus was craving Padrons with Chorizo…….I just subbed out Shishito Peppers instead.

Happy hump day!

Takeout from Chaba Thai Kitchen

October 12, 2020 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

Returning from picking up the ramen kit from Menya, my eyes veered toward Mercury Village Shopping Center….you know, where Sizzling Pot King, Pho Fusion, and the "Sign of Doom" is located. I noticed that Chaba Thai was open and decided to see what their hours were. I really didn't have much luck there when they first opened, but it had been a good number of years since those visits and I thought why not do some takeout.

I went ahead and placed a takeout order online and went tp pick it up on my way home to check on Frankie.

Chaba is currently only doing takeout orders and on my visits, they seem to be doing decent business.

I decided to order the Tod Mun Pla (fishcake – $6.95) and the Nua Nam Tok ($10.95), which I ordered spicy. There was actually five people in front of me when I went to get my takeout, all to pick-up orders.

Here's what things looked like when I unpacked the containers at home.

The Tod Mun was actually not bad; decent chew and texture, nice Kaffir Lime Leaf fragrance and flavor, the pickles really added another layer of flavor and I also enjoyed the fried basil leaves as well.

As for the Nam Tok…..well, take a quick look……

First off, I ordered this "spicy"….you see any chilies? The grey color really didn't add anything to the presentation. There was a lack of roasted rice powder, the meat was rubbery, and had a metallic tinge to it. There was so much insipid liquid floating around as well. All the herbs were starting to brown. This was just not very good at all.

And so; I could have just called it quits after this….but heck, that fishcake was pretty good. And, since it had been so many years since my previous set of visits, I decided to give Chaba another try and I'm glad I did. I looked over the menu and found something I was interested in trying; the Khao Kluk Kapi (Shrimp Paste Fried Rice) with Honey Pork ($10.95).

This was by far the best item I'd had at Chaba to date. The pork was adequately tender; not falling apart, but with a light toothsomeness of well braised meet. The sweet-salty tones went really well with the rest of the dish. The fried egg had been seasoned nicely; it reminded me of a "lightweight" Khai Jeaw, without the ground pork, but there definitely was a touch of fish sauce in it.

And that rice….I ordered it medium spicy and it did have a good "kick" to it. But man, that shrimp paste really made this such a savory treat…….I must be missing Bagoong Rice! The rice was nicely coated…..I really enjoyed it.

And I even enjoyed the slices of green apple with this dish as well as it added a nice tannic-sourness that actually helped to level out the dish.

In fact, I went back for more a few days later. Unfortunately, I received a call after placing my online order telling me that they were out of the Khao Kluk Kapi. Bummer. The really nice young man recommended I try the BBQ and Crispy Pork Over Rice ($10.95)

This wasn't to my taste. The Moo Daeng was dry, tough, and lacked the sweet-salty-savory tones of a good BBQ Pork, you can just tell by the color. There was no caramelization to the meat….in fact; it kinda looked like kamaboko (Japanese fish cake). It came with the standard issue reddish sauce which really didn't do much for the dish. The Khao Moo Krob (crispy pork) was better in flavor, though the pieces were hard and dry instead of crisp. The rice was mushy and the boiled egg dry and overcooked. And it's a good thing I'm not a big eater, because this was barely enough to fill me up.

Well, at last I got one dish I really like from Chaba and as I was going ahead with this post; the Missus was lamenting the fact that Thai Papaya was still closed. And from my discussions with the folks at the Original Sab E Lee, several of the dishes the Missus really enjoys at Thai Papaya aren't on the menu at TOSEL. The Missus was really missing the version of Kai Yiew Ma Pad Kra Pow (Spicy Thousand Year Old Eggs) at Thai Papaya. I recalled seeing that on the menu at Chaba and decided to order that and the Khao Kluk Kapi (which they thankfully had) for dinner.

The Missus really enjoyed the Spicy Basil Chicken with Century Egg (Kai Yiew Ma Pad Kra Pow – $12.95).

In fact, She enjoyed it soooo much that I barely got a whiff (nice Thai Basil fragrance) of the dish. She did tell me that the medium spicy heat level was good. I'm glad She enjoyed the dish.

And She even poached (pun intended) the egg off my dish. Though I managed to keep most of the rice and pork for myself.

I'm glad to have found a couple of "keeper" dishes at Chaba. I'm tempted to try some of the other items on the menu; though my previous experience with the Pad See Ew and Kai Yaang leaves me somewhat gun shy. For now; I'll just be happy ordering the two dishes we enjoy from Chaba.

Chaba Thai Kitchen
8010 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 11am – 9pm

COMC – Visits “BC” (Before Covid) Cueva Bar, Ma’s House, Hachi Ramen, and Submarine Crab

October 11, 2020 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Latin American Cuisine, Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

Well, welcome to March 225th. Who'd have thought 2020 would be like this? For my posts; I usually do multiple visits to a place….after all, everyone can have an off day…..even though it goes against my "fool me once shame on you….fool me twice shame on me" rule, I'm willing to take full responsibility for my poor judgement….though there are many paces where; perhaps we've had absolutely terrible food/service; or the food has been lackluster and the prices quite high….or something in between that'll be just a "one and done". It's pretty obvious in many cases just by the absence of a post on those places.

To be perfectly fair; after a certain period of time; like 6-9 months or so, I'd just as soon start things up all over again. And Covid-19 has just changed things. So here are a bunch of places that I fully intend on visiting again once we're past all this craziness….and I'll just "start the meter" from the beginning with a clean slate, hours, staff, menus, could all have changed, right? But, I thought you'd like to see the photos anyway.

Cueva Bar:

**** Cueva Bar has closed

The Missus and I visited Cueva Bar last year and fully intended of returning in a couple of months, before the pandemic struck. We weren't particularly struck by the food; we enjoyed the Choripapas the most. The flatbread would have been pretty good, but there just wasn't enough Chorizo on the "Norteno" to really make an impact on our palate. I gotta say; really pretty presentations though.

I still need to try the Empanadas.

Cueva Bar Café
2123 Adams Ave.
San Diego, CA 92116
Current Hours
Thur – Sat 4pm – 9pm

Ma's House:

Ma's created a bit of buzz when they opened last fall. I went with Calvin back in November. Even though I know folks who were really excited about Ma's opening…..we'd been to Ma's Islamic in Anaheim and were really not impressed. Perhaps having all those meals at the now defunct Tung Lai Shun (in the SGV) and other places in China has set the bar too high.

Both Calvin and I were underwhelmed.

The cumin lamb was terrible and the deep fried crispy duck was super hard and bland.

The one item that was quite good was the sesame bread. In fact, we brought the leftover bread back to the office (remember those days? When folks worked in an office?) and gave it to "YZ" who loved it.

So, while that gave me a reason to return; I just feel I need to eat in the restaurant and I'm just not ready to do that here. The Missus who tasted the leftovers will probably not be my eating companion here as well, so….I need to wait I guess.

Ma's House
5537 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

Hachi Ramen:

**** Hachi Ramen has closed

So….the curse of Hachi Ramen. I had visited a few times when the place was Artisan Bento. I actually used to have quite a few meetings up in the Hillcrest area. So in 2017 the place changed concepts and became Hachi Ramen. Like I mentioned in my Ramen Ryoma post, I'd had two aborted posts on Hachi (also mentioned in Waters Fine Foods post) , just because my visits were spaced a year apart.

So, in February, I decided to start over…..get things going.

And while the noodles were standard issue and the broth a bit on the overly salty side; this was not bad.

Then of course, we hit mid-March. And Hachi has been closed ever since. Though I understand you can order some of the menu items from Azuki Sushi.

So, there are questions; will Hachi ever reopen….AND will the "fourth time be a charm"?

Hachi Ramen
2505 5th Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
Currently Closed Due to Covid-19

Submarine Crab:

So, this is an interesting one. Back at the end of February, I made multiple visits to Lotus Garden in City Heights. The young man working there; I believe his name is "Tu" is from Little Saigon and we had a couple of nice chats about Vietnamese food in San Diego. Surprisingly, he told me that he and his girlfriend will often visit Submarine Crab for the Banh Canh.

So, at the beginning of March, I grabbed Calvin and we drove over to Submarine Crab.

After looking over the menu a few times; I figured out that the Banh Canh was called "Udon" on the menu.

It was quite a thick/gooey as I like; but this was not bad at all.

The Beef Stew – bo kho, as a bit on the thin side, but not bad either.

We also had the chicken wings.

I understand that the "Seafood Udon" is currently on the takeout menu; but the Beef Stew is only available eat in.

I definitely need to return; but will wait for a bit, and will start things fresh.

Submarine Crab
4647 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 987-0333
Current (Covid-19) Hours:
Mon – Thurs 330pm – 9pm
Fri – Sun 12pm – 930pm

And lastly……I'm just adding these photos. We won't be returning here.

Hope everyone is safe and in good health! Have a great week!

GyroGrill – More Greek Style Gyros, This Time on Miramar

October 8, 2020 mmm-yoso Greek Food

**** GryoGrill has closed

Well, maybe Morton Salt was right when they wrote, “when it rains, it pours.” Back at the beginning of September, I wasn’t sure what to grab for lunch at the office; finally, I just jumped in the car and drove to the strip mall that houses TJ Dumplings. While driving into the parking lot, I noticed that the little Lebanese Shop; Edesia Grill was gone and now replaced by “GyroGrill”.

The sign outside the front door said “Try a Real Gyro”…..hmmmm……I guess I now had the answer to the “what’s for lunch” question.

I walked in and was pleasantly surprised to see that “GG” offered two types of Gyros; pork or chicken! Could it be? After all; I was just celebrating the reopening of Zgara Greek Grill and now there’s this place? And the really friendly guy behind the counter told me that the gyro meat is made inhouse, marinated for 24 hours. The prices seemed really reasonable; $5.99 for a Gyro, $7.99 for a combo, which came with a side and a drink.

Well, it was obvious what I was going to get, right? I also really enjoyed the choice of sides; you could get fries, sautéed veggies, baked garbanzos, rice pilaf, stewed greens. I asked if the stewed greens were “horta”, which we came to really enjoy during our visit to Crete. The gentleman seemed a bit shocked that I knew what it was…….and was told that folks really weren’t ordering it, so they didn’t have any on this day.

Which was ok. I got a Pork Gyro Meal, with Baked Garbanzos as a side ($7.99). It also came with a drink. My package had a bit of heft to it and I was a bit shocked at the amount of food when I opened things up at my desk.

Man, this was quite a bit of food! I tried the garbanzos; which had a really thick, reduced tomato sauce, lovely tangy-acidic flavors, with a touch of spices like almost lemony oregano and onion. The garbanzos were a bit “harder” than I prefer, but this wasn’t a bad side dish at all.

As for the gyros. Well, these were really thick cut; which made it a bit chewier and drier than hat I enjoy at Zgara. The marinade was also a bit on the lighter side and this was much milder in flavor, though it was decently seasoned. You could make out a light porkiness.

The pita was standard issue, but nicely heated on the griddle. The Tzatziki was a bit different; very thick, with a texture close to cream cheese. It was decently refreshing….all that meat after all, though it didn’t have as much of the nice, mild acidity, though the dill comes thru nicely.

While not quite Zgara Greek Grill, it was still pretty good, and as far as I’m concerned a bargain. I also found out that the place opens at 8am each day. Even better for me since I get into the office a bit after 5am and usually start getting hungry for lunch around 10. Also, that parking lot is less of a horror show and there are fewer people around at that time.

I was curious about the Chicken Gyros; so I got that when I revisited a few weeks later (a meal $7.99).

This time I got it with the Hand Cut Fries; which were more like chips. These were really good, nicely seasoned, you can forget about the packages of ketchup with this. Varying pleasant textures, some crunchy, some more potato. This definitely beats out the fries at Zgara.

The chicken wasn’t bad….on this visit I paid more attention to how things were assembled and noticed that both the pork and chicken are precut from verticle spit and held in hotel pans. I think this contributes to the relative dryness of the product.

I did enjoy the crispy bits and the seasoning came through a bit better with this; but it’ll still be the pork for me.

It’s great to have another option for breakfast/lunch in the area. There’s quite a bit on the menu, including breakfast items, mezes, specials like Giouvetsi, and even a burger.

I really enjoy talking to the owner; he’s a great guy and loves chatting about food.

I’ve gone back a couple of times since this visit and the folks have always been really nice and the folks in the office love the portions and prices. I’ll start exploring other items on the menu in future visits. And you really can’t complain about the prices for those fairly hefty (non-mystery meat) Gyros.

Gyrogrill
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 586-7700
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 8am – 8pm
Sat 8am – 6pm
Sun 8am – 3pm

I guess I should be glad; that even during these challenging times, we have places like these opening.

More Takeout from Noble Chef

October 7, 2020 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants

After having the Roast Duck from Golden Island, the Missus requested dinner from Noble Chef. And of course, that roast duck. Which satisfied Her craving.

But, She also wanted a dish I had hesitated in ordering; mainly because I didn't think it would hold up for take-out. One of the Missus's favorite dishes on our dinner visits was the Fried Tofu with Two Mushrooms. We'd always finish that dish at the restaurant because we knew the fried silken tofu would not hold up after being smothered in that mushroom sauce. But; the Missus wanted it, so I went for it. I was pleasantly surprised that things were packed separately.

I got the "gravy" nice and hot; the tofu was still warm and surprisingly still had some good texture to it. And of course we finished it off immediately. The Missus also enjoyed the plating.

And of course the usual other dishes. The Steamed Pork with Salted Fish was even better tis time around. More tender; a lot more savory-funky flavors, more sauce.

I'm thinking they are really getting into their groove with takeout now.

And of course, my Soy Sauce Noodles; which I enjoy as leftovers with fried egg on it.

Also of note; I was told that Noble Chef is now adding in a 10% upcharge for takeout. Kind of a bummer, because I was tipping at least 20% on all my visits; but I guess most folks weren't.

The Noble Chef
6159 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111

So, tell me, what's been on your rotation lately? Anyplace that I need to try?

Sunday Stuffs – Ghost Pepper Wings from Popeyes, the “Weekender” from Bird Rock Coffee, Harvest Market (Balboa) is Closed, and Stuffs from D’Artagnan

October 4, 2020 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Chains, Chicken Wings, Markets & Grocers

Here are a couple more odds and ends for yet another day where it seems like the wheels on the year 2020 are coming off…….

Ghost Pepper Wings from Popeyes:

I had a few folks ask me about the ghost pepper wings from Popeyes, I guess since even though we haven't grown anything in a couple of years, I'm kinda fond of making stuffs out of ghost peppers. So, Bob and "ST", here goes.

Frankly, even though Popeyes was once upon a time a "guilty pleasure"; it seemed like the quality (and the size) of the chicken started diminishing over the years. Finally, I just tired of it all and I hadn't been to a location of Popeyes in at least 10 years! So, when folks started asking me what I thought about the "ghost pepper wings"…..well, I wasn't sure. So, on a day where I had some time; I decided to try them out…..just to kinda see. I was surprised at the price; though they really push combos; you can get 6 pieces of wings only (they did include a biscuit) for $4.99. Just make sure to bust out that magnifying glass…..as you can see on the right, the drumette was basically the size of a soy sauce packet.

The batter on the wings were really crunchy…in fact it was mostly batter, very little meat, and quite dry……I know I always say that those jumbo sized wings really mess up skin to meat ratio; but microscopic wings that are mostly batter screw up the ratio as well.

As for the spice? Well, this ain't no Quaker Steak and Lube Triple Atomic Wings that's for sure. In fact, this barely registered in the heat department for me…..it was mostly salty, with a hint of spice, lacking in the fruity-fieriness that is the hallmark of good Ghost Peppers. Pass……

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
Locations throughout San Diego

The "Weekend" from Bird Rock Coffee:

I had started ordering several cups of cold brew from Bird Rock on Morena, with no ice, a few times a week.

When the really friendly guy working there; the one whose been there for quite a while asked me what was up; I told him that we usually can't finish a whole coldbrew in one sitting so by having it with no ice; we'd just store it in the fridge. This is when he recommended getting something they call the "Weekender"; think of it as a growler of sorts. They cost $20 for 64 ounces so you basically get 5 1/3 portions for the price of less than 4. It's a good deal for us. We've been going thru about 1 every other week; though I'll still drop by in between those visits to get the Missus Her pour over fix. Though in this hot weather; we've been mostly sticking with coldbrew. I am a bit worried about all this plastic; so we're trying to find ways to reuse these when possible.

And I recommended Zgara to the guy…I believe his wife's family is from Greece as payback.

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters
1270 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110

Harvest Market on Balboa is Closed:

I had some merguez in my latest order from D'Artagnan and the Missus was eager to have me sauté them with lemon and wanted some pickled veggies, garlic paste, and flatbread from Harvest Market. So we jumped in the car and took the quick drive over and were rather shocked to find them closed:

That "closed due to Coronavirus" sign was really worrisome.

I asked around a bit and one of sources who works with the local government told me that he understands that Harvest Market has probably closed permanently due to lack of business, not an infection. This is quite tragic and I hope they decide to reopen.

Harvest International Market – Balboa
4220 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

And Speaking of D'Artagnan:

I recently realized that I'd placed my third rather large order from D'Artagnan. It seems that several items have become household staples. I recall mentioning the duck prosciutto in my Ume Dressing post….but we've been enjoying the charcuterie/pates/etc during the recent heatwaves that have swept through San Diego over the last couple of months.

There's always one king of promotion; though I always look for the free shipping deals. Things are packed well and everything arrives chilled.

So far, our staples are the Duck Prosciutto, Duck Rillettes (the Missus loves making a hash with duck fat potatoes/eggs/rillette) which freeze well.

We've enjoyed the Wild Boar Saucisson Sec and will probably order the duck version next time as well.

The Torchon of Foie Gras and the Mousses of Foie Gras are favorites and I enjoy the Pâté de Campagne.

Not a big fan of the Medallions of Foie Gras and Truffle; the texture is very crumbly and the overall flavor is a bit too much; even for us.

We also didn't care much for some of the pates as well.

And of course, we do need a "bit of cheese" to balance things out, right?

Which we get from Venissimo after all; we need to support local as well, right?

It's easy enough to Google D'Artagnan. I don't do sponsors, freebies, and such and really don't want to be bothered with non-edible Spam, so I won't do a link. I'm sure you can find them easily. When ordering; you may want to set a farther out delivery date to save on shipping; if you're not getting it free.

Anyway, I just kinda always wanted to start a post with Chicken Wings and end with Foie Gras….so, at least that wish has come true!

Hope everyone has a safe and productive week!