mmm-yoso – Page 268

Antojitos Colombianos revisted

January 6, 2014 mmm-yoso Colombian Food and Restaurants, Latin American Cuisine

I had been wondering how Antojitos Colombianos was doing. It had been a while; over a year since I last visited the place. It could be that the relatively heavy, hearty, and let's just put it straight "gut-busting" Colombian food served here is not something one eats alone. In fact, on my last visit, over a year ago, I had the good fortune of having Kirbie and DH helping me out.

Still, I was wondering how they were doing, so I managed to talk my good friends, Candice and JohnL into joining me for dinner the week before Christmas.

It was nice to see the familiar faces of the folks working here….it was even more gratifying to see that they had a steady flow of customers. The place looks a bit more spic n' span, but is still that collection of poster and other "stuffs" that first endeared the place to me.

We started with the empanadas, which were nice and light.

I do prefer them fried to a bit more of a crisp texture. The beef filling was fine, but it's all about balance for me and having it just that much more crunchy would have done it for me…..

Of course I had to order the softball sized Papa Rellena.

Stuffed with saffron rice and chicken, along with a boiled egg…I love the crisp exterior and the potato….though I need to remind myself to ask for something picante to have with it the next time.

The Lengua en Salsa is still the best item here in my opinion.

The deep beef flavor along with the tangy-acidic flavors just make this a wonderful dish. I forgot to request yucca frita instead of the stewed yucca….won't forget next time. Still, this dish is still a winner.

I also decided to order the Picada…….a fried pork and carb lover's dream…..or perhaps nightmare.

So the score on this one is four to three….four types of proteins….most of it deep fried; chorizo (Mexican), carne, chicharron, and the best item costilla….deep fried pork ribs. Three types of carbs; arepa (griddled corn cake), french fries (papas), and patacones; deep fried green plantains. In this case the green you see is really for presenation only and that tomato was carefully placed to distract you from thinking about all that other stuff.

Since JohnL got here late, I had the pleasure of ordering for him……since he's a growing boy, though these days more horizontal than vertical, I ordered the gut busting Bandeja Paisa. "Don't worry" the young lady told JohnL when he looked upon this….."we're open for two more hours, so you have lots of time" as she laughed and walked away……

I got no complaints from him…… The chorizo on this plate is the one usually served with the arepa and was really tasty.

We ended with a flan……..

As we headed toward the finish line, the owner Javier came out front and thanked us for coming, shaking our hands. It's these touches that makes me want to return….I'll make sure it's sooner than a year this time.

Antojitos Colombianos
2851 Imperial Ave
San Diego, CA 92102
Open Daily 11am – 7pm

Sunday Sandwiches: Embargo Grill

January 5, 2014 mmm-yoso Cuban Restaurants, Latin American Cuisine, Sandwiches

**** Embargo Grill has closed

I was shopping at Baron's in Point Loma a few weeks ago and noticed this shop across the street.

I thought the name to be kind of strange until I looked over the menu.

From looking over the menu and the interior, it became quite clear that this was a "fast-casual" concept with a strong Cuban-Puerto Rican – Latin American slant….thus the reference to El Bloquero, which I did find somewhat strange in a way.

The prices are pretty much in line with Chipotle and other similar places; but of course the menu seemed a hundred times more interesting.

Service was kind of lax, but the woman who took my order and brought my food out to me was very nice and friendly. I went with the Cubano ($5.95), which wasn't actually a Cubano, but really a Medianoche, literally "midnight sandwich", obviously a reference to post bar/nightclub calorie bomb, late night eats.

The big difference between Cubano's that I've had and this sandwich is the use of pulled pork, in this case quite dry, served ice cold, and bland. I did love the bread, which was crisp, light, somewhat yeasty and nicely pressed. The ham and Swiss cheese really tasted good….like well, ham and cheese! The sandwich wasn't very large, though I did save half for the Missus who enjoyed it much more than I did. What I realy found amusing was that lump of pork piled on the side like a…well, not to mock it, but it really looked like a turd garnish.

The reason I was so full was due to the side dish I ordered; the Yuca Frita ($2.75).

As you know, I just can't resist this stuff. This one however, I will resist in the future. I love the crisp, yet light as air texture of well fried yucca….this one was kind of dense and not very crisp. I think it was fried at too low a temperature. The mojo criollo lacked balance, more oil than anything, lacking the citrus acid component making this seem greasy. There was enough garlic, but this seemed very appropriate for a "medianoche meal"……totally a grease bomb.

I thought my previous meal was worth another visit, so a couple of days later I returned. Same really friendly woman at the counter. I looked over the menu a bit more and noticed the variations of salads and create your own bowls. Still, I really enjoyed the bread the last time, so I decided on one of the most expensive items on the menu; the Churrasco Steak Sandwich, on a pan medianoche ($8.95).

This was a pretty decent sandwich. The steak, which appears to be flank had obviously been prepared ahead and was on the tough side. The flavoring was decent; I personally enjoy stronger flavors, but the combination of the chimichurri and the creamy aioli was satisfying if created "not to offend". I really like the rolls here for some reason. The portion of protein was not large, but this was fine by me.

While the portion sizes aren't for big eaters, I thought this was right for me. The service, though a bit slow, was very nice and friendly. It's not a place I'd go out of my way for; but if I worked or lived in the area I'd drop by every now and then. I'll probably visit again in the future if I'm nearby….give it a shot, it's a nice change of pace from Chipotle, Baja Fresh, etc, etc, etc…..

Embargo Grill
3960 W Point Loma Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Mon-Thurs11am – 9pm
Fri-Sat 11am – 10pm
Sunday 11am – 9pm

Saturday Stuffs: Mr Fish and Chips reopens, the brick and mortar location of Supernatural Sandwiches, and the sign at Tecchan

January 4, 2014 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

So here are a couple of items to end our week.

Mr Fish and Chips reopens:

I'm certain that frequent commenter "Soo" is happy about this one. He is the one who told me that a fire closed the place down. Then of course, was the wholesale construction going on in this strip mall. So we can now answer what was going with Mr Fish and Chips. It's been a while since I've been here. I guess I need to check them out soon.

Mister Fish & Chips
5647 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

SuperNatural Sandwiches brick and mortar location:

Funny, I do recall reading about SuperNatural Sandwiches opening a shop in Miramar. But for some reason forgot all about that. So I was a bit surprised when I saw the sign. Looks like a lot of work still has to be completed….but soon enough, I won't have to wait until Farmer's Market days to get my "Siren".

7094 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92121

What the sign says at Tecchan:

A couple of weeks back, FOY "PedMa" told me that Tecchan was closing.

I was in the area so I thought I'd drop by and see what was going on. It look like stuff has been removed and moved around quite a bit inside the place. And of course there was that typical, cryptic, sign……"Closed for Maintenance". Much like the "closed for remodeling" sign, this usually means the place has closed down.

Why can't they just get to the point….like this place in Antalya, Turkey, and just tell us they've closed down?

Tecchan Yakitori and Izakaya
3739 6th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Yu’s Garden – A first look

January 2, 2014 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Niu Rou Mian, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants

**** Yu's Garden has closed

Just a few months ago, "YummyYummy" mentioned that a new "Chinese Restaurant" was going into the former B H Chung location. When I asked around, no one knew much….though the term "Fast Food" was bandied about, much to my disappointment. Finally, the sign went up, the place was given a name….Yu's Garden, whose location in Irvine Kirbie posted on back in 2009. Looking at her post, I could see that the term "fast foodish" didn't appear to be to far from the truth. A couple of weeks ago, the menu went up, and Yu's Garden, San Diego quietly opened.

After checking around a bit, I kind of knew what to expect. We've got some young folks I know who love the place. Of course these kids aren't too far removed from college and still talk about how much they love Nongshim (though the Missus likes it too) instant noodles, which kind of puts things into perspective.

Over the course of the last couple of weeks, I managed to visit twice; once with my good friend Candice, who had met me for an awful lunch at Yes! Pingo. I was hoping that this would be an improvement. One good thing about Yu's is that they open early, remember, this is possibly the worst parking lot in San Diego, at 10am Monday thru Thursdays, 8am Friday to Sunday….although according to the sign, they must have some special calendar with two Sundays on it……having two Sundays a week, wouldn't that be grand?

The use of the plastic sheet sleeve also makes me wonder what on earth they need to protect this piece of 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper from? It's pretty far from the tables in a remote corner. One can only wonder?

As for the interior….well, much like the Irvine location, this place is ready with the quick steam and cold table stuff. Much of which looks rather greasy. So on my visits, I stuck to ordering from the menu. The hot and cold foods were really close together, which didn't quite look up to food handling standards.

This place also wins the award for making a new business look like it's been around for years. There are already stains on the walls, if you take a good look at the steam table, you can quickly see that the plywood paneling looks like it's been hacked, or at least badly cut, perhaps with a steak knife as the edges of the wood are jagged and not flush to the floor. The panel on the left is of a different make as it doesn't really match the rest. also, it has been mounted onto the steam table with a plain untreated piece of plywood that looks totally different. Which makes me think that it's only a matter of time before the tables get that nice "San Gabriel stickiness" to them.

In addition to the ton of prepared items, the menu is huge with a 139 items (I counted) on it, not counting specials. The prices are also inexpensive, with $8.99 being the priciest dish.

I know you've been wanting me to get to the point, so here's what was eaten…….

Sauteed Intestine w/Sour Vegetable ($7.99). I just can't help ordering this……

In terms of cooking technique, this was done well. If you don't enjoy the offal flavor of intestine, you might like this. If you don't enjoy your pickled mustard greens to have any flavor this might be enjoyable. If you love dishes that have way too much sesame oil on them, you will positively adore this. Still, I have no qualms with how this was cooked.

I had a synaptic short circuit and ordered the Pan Fried Pork and Napa Dumplings ($5.99). I should know better…..I mean, I have been indoctrinated…you don't pan fry jiaozi….in guotie, the dough is worked differently. If it's on the menu doing double duty, you should probably not get it……

You know that pretty yellow bag on stuff they sell at Costco with the cute panda on the front? Personally, I'd take that over this….cardboard like wrappers and mushy tasteless filling.

What would a meal here be without Chou Doufu (stinky tofu – $5.99).

You know what the Missus says, right? If I can eat it; it's not any good. This was pretty mild and bland. Nothing even close to, say Dynasty Plaza or even Shau Mei, and thankfully not even remotely close to the stuff I had in Hangzhou which I could barely swallow. I took the leftovers of this home….the Missus thought the version of smacked cucumbers was good, but of course said that the tofu was terribly bland and the sauce lacked any depth and that touch of sweetness She enjoys.

I had to have the Beef Stew Noodle Soup. Which really didn't look like much when it hit the table. In terms of presentation it looked rather plain….no pickled vegetable….

Overall, based on price, $5.99, I'd say this wasn't bad. I wish it was a bit richer, but the beef and anise flavor was there, though things were a bit heavy-handed in terms of MSG. The noodles were routine, which I expected for the price, but at least the beef was tender and flavorful. Plus this was steaming hot.

The best dish I've had at Yu's so far would be the Chicken w/Basil, aka three cup chicken. ($6.99).

Even though this looks like gloppy Chinese "faux-food", I really enjoyed it. The chicken was fried before the stir fry, keeping the skin (yes…skin on, joy of joys) crisp. Sweet, edging on too salty, I really enjoyed this. Candice summed things up when she asked me what time the place closed…….thoughts of having this after a couple of beers at O'Brien's did sound like a good thing. It was a nice parting shot to the meal……which motivated me to return a couple of days later.

I thought I'd try one of the most expensive items on the menu, the Sauteed Lamb with Scallion ($8.99).

This was a fair to middlin' dish. Nice char from the wok, the lamb was very mild in flavor, the dish was a bit too salty overall. For some reason, having the ends of the scallions, roots and all lind of bugged me, not sure why, but it just seemed wrong.

The Eggplant in Garlic Sauce ($6.99) was just a few notches down from being good. The eggplant was nice; crisp on the exterior, but molten and creamy inside.

It just lacked the amount of flavor I'd enjoy on a dish like this. Plus that pool of oil on the bottom of the bowl was a good half inch deep. I also found a piece of chicken mixed in with my eggplant….a bonus????

A note about the starch……get the rice. The free porridge is an absolutely pasty, badly prepared, mess devoid of any flavor at all.

Overall, Yu's wasn't bad, you get what you pay for……I will say, with a bit of humor that the place is the best Chinese food in this strip mall taking into consideration the places I call the the "Bland Brothers". It's great student food….so those Nongshim lover's did have a point. No pretense here, no gimmicks, or catchy name.

The young ladies serving us were polite and pleasant, though still obviously learning the ropes.

So will I return? Honestly, the person working the wok here shows more skill than the folks at say….Dumpling Inn and things aren't gringo-ized. It does have MSG, it can be salty, it can also be bland, it can be greasy, it will be interesting to see how some of the other dishes are…..

Yu's Garden
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2014 mmm-yoso Travel, yoso-silly

I got up this morning and took a quiet….well as quiet of a drive as can be had with Da' Boyz and had a New Year morning look at our neighborhood.

And had a nice, warm simple, bowl of soba. While it is traditionally the last item eaten on New Year's eve, we'd always had it on New Years day (toshikoshi soba – "crossing over the year noodles").

Yesterday, just like I've done on every New Year's Eve since 2005, I went to check out the various Osechi Ryori, traditional Japanese New Year dishes, at our three Japanese Markets. As I noted last year, it seems like this tradition is slowly fading away. I'm sure that'll it will never completely disappear, but it seems that only Nijiya has a large selection.

The selection at both Marukai and Mitsuwa were quite "sparse" in comparison.

While walking the aisles I had time to contemplate the year.

While it was pretty easy picking out the Missus's favorite dish of the year:

A delici-yoso Tripas à moda do Porto in, where else? Porto.

Her favorite bite was without a doubt hidden in this salad.

The Missus had a bite of the Hokkaido Scallop and almost did a delici-yoso dance Herself!

It was a bit harder for me. Much like last year, I've come to think of moments within context…..bellying up to the bar for bifana and a beer….for breakfast. It was just the perfect thing, one of those moments you just want to bottle and experience over and over.

Or standing on a mountain of shells in Paredoncito in the municipality of Benito Juarez, Sonora.

Watching horse drawn carts go out over the flats to awaiting boats…..

Bringing back amazingly sweet and tasty wild shrimp.

It's been an honor sharing our eating experiences with you this past year. As always; we thank you for stopping by, reading, and commenting when you feel the urge.

As the calendar turns and we look forward to another year, we hope to hear from you now and then.

The gang here at mmm-yoso wish all of you a healthy, happy, and delici-yoso New Year!

U Mart Opens along with the second location of Big Joy Bakery

December 27, 2013 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

*** Update: U Mart is now Hana Mart

I'd been wondering since July, when U Mart would be opening in the old Zion Market space. A bit over a week ago, I dropped by First Korean Market to see a sign announcing that U Mart's opening was imminent. So between meetings today I happened to pass the place and guess what?

I guess they are having a soft opening, nothing like the craziness of H Mart or Zion Market.

I had a few minutes so I decided to take a quick look.

The lay-out is pretty much the same as the old Zion, except not as crowded.

Tons of items on sale.

First Korean Market always had a couple of "local kine" items; I've never really found out why. I did notice this as I walked by.

All the usual suspects. There's a Kim Bap/Sushi area where the old prepared foods used to be.

I didn't have much time since I had to get back to the office for my next meeting…..

The rest of the space is still empty, except for this one area where the nice woman beckoned me and gave me samples…..

They were really friendly….heck I was the only customer in the place. When they gave me their business card I had to laugh…..this is the second location of Big Joy Bakery. I was told that some of the old food stands will be back, along with a couple of new one's for the Food Court. So dar, I haven't been impressed with the new Zion Market's Food Court. I hope this one will be better.

I'll try to return in the near future for a more comprehensive post.

U Mart

4611 Mercury St San Diego, CA 92111 B

Between Engineer Rd and Dagget St

Hours: Mon – Sat 9am – 9pm Sunday 9am – 8pm

Merry Christmas

December 24, 2013 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

It's a nice quiet Christmas Eve, so I thought I'd go ahead and do my post now. We did our usual drive with Da Boyz to check out the lights. I think folks are feeling much more enthusiastic and positive this year as there was much more up in the neighborhood.

You know, this is the ninth Christmas for the blog.

And just as it was then, we just want to wish everyone a most wonderful and Merry Christmas!

Roadtrip: Alpine Village Market – Torrance

December 23, 2013 mmm-yoso German Restaurants and Food, Los Angeles County, Markets & Grocers, Road Trip

**** Sadly Alpine Village Market closed in 2023

Please pardon all the roadtrip posts. I wanted to do this one, because this place just put us in the holiday mood. We decided to head up to LA to do some shopping this past weekend, mostly food stuff. On our previous roadtrip (more posts coming up), instead of visting sites and such, we just ended up hitting various markets along the way. On this roadtrip, we hit up old favorites like the Torrance Farmer's Market, which seems to get larger everytime we visit and of course, Marukai Gardena, the motherlode with regards to Marukai's. But I had my sights set on another place that I'd only recently heard about; the Alpine Village Market, located close by in Torrance.

The Market is located in a large complex, called…duh…. Alpine Village. Along with the market, a deli, and restaurant and ummm "bierhall" (of course), there's a travel agency, driving school, clock and watch repair, along with the mother of all swap meets, which made the parking lot into an insane swarm of vehicles trying to find a parking spot. We lucked out and found a tiny spot to the left of the rather kitschy looking exterior of the market.

I was totally set on being underwhelmed, but this place exceeded my expectations. The market isn't very large but they sure pack a lot into the place.

From the bakery, with stacks of wonderful smelling bread.

And all the old school type pastries. It's a good thing I don't have a sweet tooth, otherwise I'd have gone a bit crazy here. The couple in front of me at the register bought three loaves of bread and spent almost $300 bucks on groceries. Kind of tough, since the prices seem very reasonable.

There are all sorts of candies and confections, canned and jarred products.

This is a German market, so of course a third of it would be the wine and beer section.

This was all nice, but the one section that was just packed to the gills busy was the butcher shop. The line was four to five deep. Man the place was hopping.

The collection of sausages and charcuterie was impressive……

I was told that all of this was made in house. There were sausages and cuts, I'd never heard of. There was a cold case full of various "wursts", but no one was taking stuff from there….it was all happening in front of the meat counter.

One look at the selection of head cheese and we were sold; the Missus took and number and headed into the fray.

Honestly, if this were say 99 Ranch Market and a survival of the strongest type situation, we'd truly have walked away. But this crowd, though busy and intense, also had a bit of jovial, friendly nature to it. Perhaps it was the holiday season, but as nice as the crew behind the counter were (and they were very nice), the other customers were really friendly, at least to us. I guess we kind of stood out…..

Back in the line, the Missus was having a conversation with an African-American gentleman originally from Louisiana, who seemed to know everyone….he told the Missus he came here every two weeks. He had a basket full of smoked beef bones for his dogs. The Missus decided to send me off looking for these….which is how I came across this:

Grieben Schmalz, which I had heard off but never seen in a market. When you hear the term schmalz, you tend to think of the Yiddish "schmaltz" which refers to rendered fat from fowl……grieben schmalz on the other hand is rendered pork fat….think lard, that has been flavored with onion and in many cases, though not this one, with apple. How could I resist? I grabbed five beef bones and a container of schmalz and a older woman looked at what I had in my basket, smiled, and asked me, "you like schmalz?" I tols her that I'd never tried it, but seeing it, I just couldn't resist. I was told it is fantastic on toast. I mentioned that my wife is standing in line to buy head cheese. She asked me which one we chose….I told her all of them. She laughed and said we would have a fine buffet. Apparently, her daughter brings her here every two weeks to shop; "even though I live in Orange County and there are shops there, everything is twice the price and half as good as here….."

Interesting tidbit about buying deli meats…..the counter folks ask you for quantities in "slices"……though they were ok with the Missus ordering a quarter pound….of all the head cheeses.

Thus we ended up with a basket of smoked dog bones, head cheese, some candy, flavored lard, and three containers of sauekraut, purely for comparison of course……

All our stuff came out to $35, pretty cheap I think. I'm sure we'll be back again, this time for sausages, and perhaps more Grieben Schmalz.

Alpine Village Market
833 Torrance Blvd
Torrance, CA 90502
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 10am – 7pm
Fri – Sun 9am – 7pm

So we did end up having our "Kaltes Buffet" of sorts. So remember the variety of head cheese? Well here's sampling along with what seems to be cured pork belly stuffed with forcemeat….simply called "pork belly", along with a few cheeses.

My favorites are the top two; the "Norweigan" seemed to be made of shank and shoulder, with a nice pork flavor, no vinegar, with minimal aspic to hold it together. The second one down is the "Hungarian" version, which was full of various vegetables and some pickles, with a distinctive flavor that I found pleasant. The fourth item down, the "French" version had a good amount of paprika and reminded me of capacolla with a bit of pleasant sourness to it.

As for the schmalz….well, I started by tasting some of it straight from the container on a spoon, which tasted nice, but the Missus just wasn't able to eat it that way.

So what I did was toast some baguette, smear a bit of the schamlz on it and put back into the warm toaster oven to melt.

It is "betta' den butta'"…..

While this won't make me forget about duck fat; it sure will taste good with eggs or used to make brussel sprouts…or heck, even if we do cook some coleslaw……

Roadtrip: Solvang Stop – El Rancho Market and Birkholm’s Bakery

December 22, 2013 mmm-yoso Desserts, Markets & Grocers, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County

We left Hacienda Heights at 530 am, thinking that'd we'd avoid all traffic, even on a weekday….at least that's how things used to be when we lived here. I had an account in Hollywood and made a deal to come in early; leaving at about 515 so I could leave early, heck, even hit up the Zankou location in Hollywood and make it home in time! Times sure have changed….there's was a good deal of traffic at 530am on the 60 West, then on the 101. Once we got past Hollywood things got a bit better, then really cleared out until we hit Santa Barbara. Of course, it was prime time traffic by then. We'd decided on heading up this way, stopping along the drive, at places like Solvang. Right outside Solvang was our first stop…..we love markets, so dropping by El Rancho was a must…..

We loved El Rancho; good variety, the Missus got to add to Her apple collection. Prices that were reasonable, you could leave without feeling mugged. You could get local product, or if not, just to do your everyday shopping. We Also got some some organic treats for Da' Boyz….the Missus was tempted to grind Her own flour from wheat at the kiosk……

Loved the sign to the right….which was actually in the restroom!

The prepared foods section looked nice as well.

There's an attached coffee shop right outside the doors of the market where we got our "java fix". I don't drink much coffee these days so this really got me going…..

We enjoyed this as a nice little stop along the way. I thinknthey'd be great if you wanted to pick up prepared foods for a little picnic as well.

El Rancho Market
2886 Mission Dr
Solvang, CA 93463

After getting nice and "caffiened up" we headed into Solvang. We'd been to Solvang a couple of times and had never really enjoyed ourselves….too crowded, too kitschy, it just gave off that tourist trap vibe….. This time though, on a weekday morning in winter; the place seemed so charming.

It was just the perfect time for us, the half timbered structures, the quiet streets….the temperatures in the low thirties….even the locals we met were telling us how cold it was!

We enjoyed walking the streets and into the various businesses…..the folks were welcoming and relaxed.

I needed something to take back to the office, so I figured this would be the spot, right? We went to a couple of bakeries, but this one won out……

Birkholm's Bakery…..

Mainly because we were warmly welcomed….and they kept trying to give us samples! At the other places, we were basically ignored…..

The folks at work seemed to enjoy the stuff……

Birkholm's Bakery
460 Alisal Rd
Solvang, CA 93463

If we're ever back here, this is the way I'd want to do it….early morning on a weekday.

Soon enough, we'd hit our allotted time…….we needed to hit the road.

Midweek Meanderings: Waldo’s closes, the sign at First korean Market (U Mart update), and the menu at Yu’s Garden

December 18, 2013 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

I think one of these posts is overdue. Here's a collection from the last couple of weeks.

Waldo's Chili Dogs Closes:

I saw this while driving through Clairemont Square a couple of weeks ago.

After the litigation to have the name change, new owners, the place never seemed to gain any traction. Now they're closed.

4250 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

The sign at First Korean Market:

I've been wondering what's been going on with the (supposedly) soon to open U Mart in the old Zion Market location. So I dropped by First Korean Market which is taking over the space and found this sign (click to enlarge) The sign says U Mart is supposed to be opened mid-December, which is kinda like…well…right now, right?

I did a quick walk through and found the meat department completely closed, shelves depleted, and items at deep discount, which tells me the move should be coming soon….I think.

First Korean Market

Becoming U Mart

4611 Mercury St
San Diego, CA 92111
Between Engineer Rd and Dagget St

Supposedly any day now….

Yu's Garden Menu:

FOY (Friend of Yoso) "YummyYummy" mentioned the menu for the soon to open Yu's Garden is up, so I dropped by and took some photos (again click to enlarge).

4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111