mmm-yoso – Page 30

Road Trip – Ojai Rotie Revisited (Ojai)

January 26, 2025 mmm-yoso Dog Friendly, Lebanese Restaurants, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Travel, Ventura County

We just got back from a short two night road trip with JJ. It was actually going to be longer, but then the wildfires that have ravaged SoCal happened, and with me monitoring things (Watch Duty is a awesome app), we cut two nights out of the trip (donated the funds to fire relief) and just decided to do Morro Bay and one of our favorite towns in SLO County, Cambria.

We always regretted not taking Sammy and Frankie on Road Trips and we wanted to make sure to have no such regrets with the "J". JJ also seemed to do really well during car rides though he barks and whines like a banshee when waiting for the ride to begin and once the car permanently stops. We're not sure how he knows we've reached our destination, but he strangely does. Hopefully his puppy classes will ease that. However, during the drive he is a perfect angel!

Well, we were amazed to find that JJ handles the drive quite well. In fact, we made one stop at a usual place, which I've posted on three times already in Oxnard. Traffic on the 101 seemed quite typical and while there was haze and smoke it didn't seem too bad. I was concerned about the Auto Fire, but it was fully contained before we left and we really didn't notice much smoke or ash when we stopped at The Collection and took JJ for his "break". He was such a champ.

In fact, when we were back on the 101, the Missus saw the exit to Ojai, another town we enjoy, and requested a detour for lunch. So, off we went. It was Sunday, so the Ojai Farmers Market, another favorite of ours was taking place. Man, the town was packed! I had forgotten that it was MLK weekend! Anyway, we found parking down one of the side streets. We quickly noticed, that unlike our previous visits, with the friendly locals, this was tourist heaven, many of whom were quite pushy and plain rude. The Missus did a quick walk thru the Farmers Market while I took JJ for a walk….dogs are strictly not allowed at the market, folks would be waiting for their partners at the entrance with their pooches.

And then we headed off to find a place for a dog friendly lunch.

We noticed that Ojai Rotie, which we visited before (remember that cool shirt the guy gave me?) was just opening, so that would be it for lunch. I did wish I had brought my "Ojai Psychic Friends Network" t-shirt. Folks and families were cutting in line to get in and all.

Folks didn't know that once in, unless you had reservations you needed to order at the counter. Once in, I headed right to the counter, only to have folks cut in front of me again. When I casually mentioned this to the four guys who cut in front of me they told me "we were in front of you in the other line, so f-off". Nice, huh? The folks A really felt bad for were the locals working, who were just as nice as on our previous visit.

Anyway, I just went and ordered a Grilled Eggplant Sandwich ($19). I told them to pack it to go "just in case", though the Missus and JJ did find a two top.

As before, the sourdough bread was wonderful. It was grilled nice and crisp, slight yeastiness, mild yogurty-sourness, very pleasant.

As for the rest? Well, the pepper-bitter arugula sprouts really dominated the sandwich. We really couldn't make out the pesto. The texture of the eggplant was good, but again, the seasoning-flavor was nullified. At least the milky-nutty Manchego cheese did come thru.

IMG_5158a

Not terrible; good bread, but if we return we'll try something else next time.

Ojai Rotie
469 E Ojai Ave.
Ojai, CA 93023

We then got the heck out of town as quick as we could. We were really thinking about doing a road trip here. If we do, we'll make sure it's in the off season and also not during a holiday weekend!

The trip to Morro Bay took a bit less than 3 hours and JJ did perfect. We booked the Harbor House Inn which was described as being dog friendly, which it was indeed. They even had a little welcome bag for JJ. It was just a few blocks from the Embarcadero. After checking in, we took JJ right down to the harbor and strolled past all those familiar places.

And had a photo-op or two…..

Before taking a short pre-dinner break. JJ seemed to be enjoying things; which made us happy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Lunches with JJ – Cross Street Chicken and Beer (Convoy)

January 25, 2025 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Korean Restaurants

These days I want to spend as much time with JJ as possible…he'll only be a puppy once! So, I'm continuously scoping out dog friendly places. I've quickly noticed that as a whole, Asian restaurants are not dog friendly, and in places like City Heights and Convoy District places are few and far between. And some of them; like Woomiok have simple tables set-up on the sidewalk, and places that do have outdoor tables like Okan do not allow dogs. So, after looking around a bit, I noticed that Cross Street Chicken and Beer on Convoy pop-up several times. I also remembered that they had a fairly spacious patio. So JJ and I were off. We arrived a few minutes before opening time. When the open sign went on, I peeked in a inquired about dining with a pooch and was told just head on over to the gate for the patio.

Cross Street with JJ 01

I instantly realized that I had never eaten on the patio here before. I also did a quick check and noted that the last time I had dined in at Cross Street was back in 2019, though I did takeout during Covid, but that was over 4 1/2 years ago! My how time flies.

The young lady who served us was so sweet and wonderful; she instantly brought JJ some water without me asking!

Cross Street with JJ 02

And JJ seemed to enjoy her as well. When she went to serve another table he started barking jealously! When I apologized for that, she laughed and told me "no worries, my boyfriend has a schnauzer. I know they have an opinion about everything!" So true!

I decided to retry the Soy Garlic Wings again (5 piece – $12.95), could you have imagined that wings would be priced at over $2.50 each back in the "oughts"? I was somewhat hungry so I also got the Kimchi Fried Rice $14.85.

Cross Street with JJ 03
Cross Street with JJ 04 The wings weren't overly sticky as before, though it was still more sweet, than savory and I really couldn't make out any garlic. The wings were again much more moist and tender than the drumettes which were on the tough and dry side.

The chicken seemed a bit over fried with dark patches and was rather unevenly coated as well. The areas not battered were on the rubbery side. I will say that it was not overly crunchy as before.

As for the Kimchi Fried Rice.

Cross Street with JJ 05

The egg was quite nice, the yolk on the edge of being too cooked, but still runny, the edges crisp, with no off flavors. But it pretty much ended there as the rice was really mushy, with not enough fermented-spicy-savory kimchi flavors. I liked the Spam, but there was more frozen peas and carrots in this than I would care for. I was hoping for something along the lines of what I had got at Kuljem, but that was not to be had here.

Lovely service, quite dog friendly, as for the food, well, not so much on this visit. Though JJ did enjoy the attention, if anything that might get me to return again soon. And when we got home, he got his weekly "newspaper" delivered. And of course since it said "Open Me for Deals & Steals" he was more than happy to oblige.

Cross Street Chicken and Beer
4403 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 1130am – 945pm

Cross Street with JJ 06

Zion Market – A quick look at the new location

January 24, 2025 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

Well, as I mentioned in my post this past Sunday, Zion Market finally opened in their new location which had first been announced way back in 2022. I've got a love-hate relationship with Zion, which I won't go into detail about. But, we needed fermented kimchi, a staple in the household, so I thought I'd give the place a visit this morning, like right when they opened since I'm somewhat familiar with that parking lot which seems a bit on the small side for the market.

Zion New Loc 01

I got into the lot and parked in the last row. The lot was pretty full, except for the tow rows of EV dedicated parking. There's still construction going on, so hopefully there's more parking in the future….especially since I'd heard the Marugame and Bafang were planning to open a shop here! Yeeesh, can you imagine how crazy it'll be?

Anyway, Paris Baguette's shop is right past the front entrance and seems to be larger than the previous location.

The spacing between the cash registers and the shelving was quite spacious.

Zion New Loc 03

It's funny, the produce section, which is where I spend most of my time at Zion looks basically the same as did the prices.

Zion New Loc 04

And other things as well. I got hit by a shopping cart driven by a wild "Halmoni" while taking this photo. I wasn't even in the middle of an aisle!

Zion New Loc 05

How long until the "Please do not throw the fruits and vegetables" sign goes up?

Anyway, I got what I needed.

Zion New Loc 06

And fighting the temptation to get the heck out of Dodge, I decided to take a quick look.

The shelves for the house prepared panchan and food is quite large, but I'm guessing they are still working on things as it was more than half empty.

Zion New Loc 07

Speaking of prepared foods; I don't recall the "old" Zion having such a large quantity of refrigerated packed foods.

Zion New Loc 08

It could just be that I was always on a "mission" when I shopped at Zion that I never noticed before.

There was one last section I wanted to check out; the meat department. It was kind of interesting as the cold case for meats was rather small, though what was available there was the $$$ stuff.

Zion New Loc 09

I asked the guy who was stocking where the typical sliced ribeye was and he pointed to one of the freezers? Hmmm….this is interesting, I'll need to follow-up leter.

Also, while I've never bought the marinated meats from Zion, I noticed that the butcher case that stores the prepared meats has it in pre-packaged containers; another change.

Zion New Loc 10

Well, while some things seemed the same; I'm not sure about the parking….I'll be coming early and hopefully during the week and having the standard 10up sliced ribeye frozen is not something I'd really go for.

So, we'll see in bit.

Zion Market
8330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 9am – 9pm

Zion New Loc 11

So, my good "FOYs"; if you drop by the new location of Zion, please let us know what you think!

Sot BBQ

January 21, 2025 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

I first noticed that yet another Korean BBQ Restaurant was opening in the spot where Olleh Sushi was back in July of last year. Of course, the location has basically been a revolving door of places from back when Szechuan Taste occupied the spot. The name of the place is Sot BBQ and I really didn't give it much thought until I started reading about the style and the quality of the KBBQ. "Sot" is short for Sot Ddu Kung ("sotttukeong"), basically the cast iron cauldron lid, which is used to sear various cuts of meat. These days, we're really not into AYCE KBBQ, we're looking more for quality. So, after taking a look at various posts and being aware of the prices, we decided to head on over. We also liked the fact that Sot opens at 4pm from Mondays to Thursdays (noon other days). We're into eating dinner rather early these days.

Sot 01

We arrived to see the place rather full, even at 430pm!

Sot 02

We were shown to a table and handed a menu.

Sot 03

As the sot stood in all its cast iron glory.

Sot 04

Our first interaction with one of the young folks serving us was so very friendly. We were looking at the Wagyu Sampler ($175), but she quickly informed us that it's quite a lot of meat as was the Prime Sampler ($129)…like for 4 people amount of meat! She recommended that since it was our first visit, that we start with the Sot Sampler, which was much more reasonably (it's all relative) priced at $89. We also got the fried rice ($9) since I had read that it's made on the sot to finish the meal. The fried rice was one of our favorite items when we ate at Song Hak.

Soon enough all the "tools" arrived.

Sot 05

Surgery was soon to be in session! Gladly, we noticed that the folks working took charge of cooking everything. They worked so very hard and were so sweet about it. Key item were the scissors and the rack on which you could stack your meat once cooked.

And then all the sides and panchan started arriving; chili sauce, two types of salt, Yangpa Jjangachi; the pickled onions.

Sot 06

Bean paste and a pretty good and refreshing Oi Kimchi (Cucumber kimchi).

Sot 08

We quickly noticed that the panchan here was pretty good; that baechu kimchi had a nice fermented touch, the kkakdugi was sour-spicy-refreshing, the various radish kimchi were quite pickle-y and flavorful.

Sot 07

Sot 09

Sot 10

Soon enough even more kimchi was brought out; this time the baechu kimchi looked very "old style" and it was placed on the sot along with what looked like kongnamul muchim, bean sprout kimchi.

Sot 11

Sot 12

I had a taste while the young lady sliced it; and yes, it was nicely fermented and almost savory. The young lady told us that the flavor would get even more intense on the sot….which it did as it caramelized.

Sot 13

As the meat was brought out, the king oyster mushrooms were placed on the cast iron…..I don't know if you've noticed; but thus far, we really hadn't done any cooking!

We surprised at how much meat there was.

Sot 14 Sot 15 Now, I believe that you're going to think I'm strange, but for us, the meat was the weakest part of the meal. The beef belly was tough as was the short rib; the pork belly did well, but again wasn't anything special; the rib eye was supposedly prime, and was adequately tender, but nothing special. At a point in time, I took over the cooking duties as the wonderful young folks, whom I'm sure were doing their best and working on their experience with other customers…can you imagine; they were doing the cooking on all the tables! Well, things were turning out overcooked.

The gyeran jjim (steamed egg) arrived, but it was sort of "deflated" and on the drier side.

Sot 17

Sot 16

And yet, the highlight of the meal was yet to come. At then end fried rice was made on the Sot, using all the drippings, the hot cast iron….

Sot 18

The nor, the kimchi……the heat…it all made for a nice kimchi fried rice…especially if you let it sit and develop a bit of a crust.

Sot 19

So yes, we came for the KBBQ and left enjoying the fried rice! Which left me wondering, this was so close, yet so far……… We were wondering about the actual wagyu and I had an idea about the fried rice! Which meant we decided to return.

Sot 20

It was a different day, same story. The panchan was just as good.

Sot 21

Sot 22

This time around, we went for some Wagyu Rib Eye – 6 ounces, $79 and also some ribeye bulgogi $35, and of course the fried rice!

Sot 23

And things started off as before; except this little fatty bugger joined us at the table. Along with a cube of fat, and a "crown" of wasabi.

Sot 24

Strangely, this looked just like the wagyu you can get at Tokyo Central or sometimes at Nijiya. It was quite thin and cooked quickly; in fact, I again had to take over.

Sot 25

It was quite tender, but the rendered fat made everything else on the sot wonderful.

Sot 26

So, this might sound a bit strange, but we had enjoyed the fried rice so much during our last visit. But I thought it would be even better with more savory sweet tones. And heck, I did want to try the marinated meat here as well, so we got the bulgogi.

Sot 27a

Now to be perfectly honest, I was really disappointed when this arrived as I was wondering, "where's the marinated beef"? So, this was sliced beef on top of a pool of marinade. Hmmm…….

Sot 28

Once mixed together and put on the sot, it wasn't too bad….still a bit more chewy than I expected, but not bad. We placed most of the bulgogi on the side rack.

Now the reason I ordered the bulgogi was actually for the fried rice. I thought that having the soy-sweet-savory base would make the fried rice even better.

Sot 29

And in combination with the fat from the wagyu and the crust from the sot…oh my……

And yet, one would have to pause at this point and think; "did I just spend over a hundred bucks for awesome fried rice"? Hmmm……..

To put things into perspective; we weren't overly impressed with the meats….it is perhaps a step above the norm but heck, I can get better quality wagyu at Tokyo Central. The panchan is very good and that fried rice….. The service is awesome, though I'm still wondering if the meat is worth it?

Sot 00

Sot BBQ
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon – Thurs 4pm – 10pm
Fri – Sunday 12pm – 10pm

Pho Hoa Linda Vista Revisited – Is it still the “fastest pho in the west?”

January 20, 2025 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

These days I need to plan tings around JJ's schedule. Recently, after a jaunt to the farmer's market, well JJ had burned up a lot of his puppy energy. So, I thought I'd go ahead and grab something to eat. Of course it couldn't be too far, it was still fairly early for many places, and most of all, I didn't want to leave him too long before heading back to feed him lunch.

Suddenly, Pho Hoa Linda Vista came to mind. Remember when I declared them the "fastest pho in the west"? Duh…… Of course, things have mellowed over the years, but based on my last visit dining in, back in February 2020, when it took 3 minutes and 45 seconds to get my bowl, well, it was still amazingly fast.

Pho Hoa LV Rev 01

My last visit was for takeout during Covid. Yes, it's been that long. So much has changed since then. It left me wondering how things were these days.

Well, it started pretty much the same. I walked in, a table was pointed to me. A nice woman brought me the menu; she actually smiled and said hello. The other woman returned less than a minute after the menu was provided, which was fine since I knew what I wanted.

Pho Hoa LV Rev 02

The place wasn't very busy and it was 10am on a Saturday. And my bowl of #4, now $12.25 ($10 on my last visit) hit my table in 4 minutes 10 seconds…hmmm…… a whole 25 seconds slower than on my last dine in visit, it seems like they are slipping, huh?

Pho Hoa LV Rev 03

The bean sprouts were starting to brown, though were acceptable, those leaves on the basil were huge, but there was no ngo gai! A sign of the times I guess?

Pho Hoa LV Rev 05 Pho Hoa LV Rev 06 The soup was lip meltingly hot, with mild anise-beefy tones, but it had that attribute of a lot of the pho in San Diego; the "mild sweetness". It was msg heaven cause I was chugging water like crazy when I got back home.

The well done steak and brisket were really tough and dry, the tripe had a nice crunch and the flank was beefy and decently toothsome. Sadly, tendon was MIA.

Pho Hoa LV Rev 07

I liked that the noodles weren't in the typical clump at the bottom of the bowl, but was a bit overcooked and heading toward "mushy land", so I tried to eat it as quickly as I could.

Overall, definitely not as good as I recalled, though the price is quite reasonable for these days. And I was out of the place in 20 minutes and made it home to take JJ for a nice walk and rest, before making him lunch.

Pho Hoa LV Rev 08

Still, not as good as I recalled, and not what I expected from one of the "OG" pho shops in San Diego. I guess I need to start making my "rounds" again!

Pho Hoa Linda Vista
6921 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 830am – 830pm

COMC – Mad For Cheesecake Revisited, NYE Dinner at Et Voila, Dinner with Friends, and an Update on Zion Market’s Move!

January 19, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Desserts, French Restaurants, Memorable Meals, yoso-silly

Just doing some cleaning of my photo folders here…so it’s time to C(lear) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard). Just short posts…

NYE Dinner at Et Voila:

The Missus wanted to something special for JJ’s first New Year, so we decided on going to Et Voila for the NYE dinner. We had NYE dinner there before Covid and they have an small outdoor area with heaters. The one thing being, you can’t make reservations online for that. So, we took JJ and dropped by to make reservations in person. Not wanting to be out on the road too late during the eve, we made reservations for the first seating at 430pm.

We ordered every item available, one of each when there were a choice of two courses.

Et Voila NYE 01

We didn’t think much of the amuse and the first course and were quite disappointed that they didn’t serve the typical baguette either! Et Voila NYE 02
Et Voila NYE 03

Et Voila NYE 05

That “faux” foie gras was very disappointing as it was mushy, metallic-too livery in flavor.

Et Voila NYE 04

But things turned around with the second course; the Bay Scallop Gratinee.

Et Voila NYE 06

And the mains were quite good.

Et Voila NYE 08

Especially the Veal Loin; you can see JJ peeking at it in the background.

Et Voila NYE 07

We took the desserts home as we were quite full.

Et Voila NYE 09a

Et Voila NYE 10a

And I think JJ enjoyed his first New Year Eve.

Et Voilà!
3015 Adams Ave
San Diego, CA 92116

Dinner with Friends:

I’ve been blessed with having some great friends like Candice, “Yummy Yummy”, and “Xiāng Jiāo”. I’ve even posted on some great meals I’ve had with friends over the years! They are such wonderful folks, thoughtful, kind, generous….

JeffP who I’ve mentioned in several posts and who even shared in doing the One Chip Challenge with me one year is such a person, as is his wonderful bride “LL”. I’ve been honored to get to know them! They are both so kind, fun, and generous. And it was in true display when they invited me out to dinner! At their “special place”. As it’s a small, intimate, setting that’s already pretty darn full, I’m not going to give it away. But since I do use our little blog as a food-travel-personal diary of sorts, I thought I’d just post the photos here.

JP and LL Dinner 01

JP and LL Dinner 02

JP and LL Dinner 03

JP and LL Dinner 04

JP and LL Dinner 05

JP and LL Dinner 06

That LL and JeffP, who both have busy schedules, their careers going full blast, thought of having dinner really touched me!

Friends enrich our lives, broaden our horizons, bring joy, and laughter to us, and create wonderful memories.

Thanks so much LL and JeffP for a wonderful, memorable, and fun evening!

And Mad For Cheesecake is still the Missus’s favorite in San Diego:

**** This location of Mad for Cheesecake has closed

So, we’ve been doing the Japanese cheesecake rounds again, revisiting several places again.

And in the end, the Missus’s favorite was still…..

Mad for Rev 01

Mad for Rev 02

Yep, it’s still Mad for Cheesecake.

Mad for Rev 03

We even got one for our neighbor, who is also from Honolulu, and she agrees with the Missus, that this is the best she has had in San Diego.

Mad For Cheesecake
1420 E Plaza Blvd Suite B-5
National City, CA 91950

One last note – news on Zion Market’s Move from Candice:

*** Yes, Zion Market has finally opened, if you’d like to see my post on the new location you can find it here.

I’m not sure folks know this yet, but our good friend Candice is now on Instagram. And just announced that Zion Market is opening in their new location on Thursday, January 23! Well, finally!

8330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Cinque Terre – Back to Monterosso al Mare, Aperitivo at Ananasso Bar, and Dinner at Gambero Rosso (Vernazza)

January 18, 2025 mmm-yoso Cinque Terre/Genoa, Liguria - Italy, Cocktails, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Seafood, Travel

After enjoying our time in Riomaggiore and Manarola, the Missus decided She wanted to revisit Monterosso. Which was not a big deal since it was just a 12 minute train ride to Monterosso and boy was I happy we weren't hiking there! My knees were still stiff from that one! Like before, we got out at the station in the New Town and walked thru the tunnel to the Old Town. This time we went further up the main street, Via Roma.

Along the way, we came across something that kinda reminded us of Japan in a way. A vending machine. This one is like a portable pharmacy!

We enjoyed doing the "Flâneur" thing. After a busy morning, just wandering in the largest village of the Cinque Terre with a "massive" population of 1,300, away from the major tourist stops was relaxing.

It gave us time to really appreciate the beautiful colors of the Cinque Terre.

As we got closer to the train tracks and the shoreline more businesses appeared, but because this was the winter season, things seemed quite sedate.

Sometimes, just meandering around can be more fun then having to see all the required sights.

As we headed back to the New Town and the train station, the Missus decided She wanted another gelato from Gelateria La Scogliera. And of course we needed to sit and have that view of the bay as well.

Gelateria La Scogliera
Via Fegina 20
Monterosso al Mare, Italy

Back in Vernazza, we climbed those stairs back to the apartment and relaxed, before heading back out. We strolled down Via Visconti toward the breakwater to get that "typical" view of Vernazza Harbor and Piazza Guglielmo Marconi.

It seems that more than a few folks had the same idea in mind.

Then it was time for something I'd really taken to during our stay in Milan; aperitivo time. And the lovely Piazza Guglielmo Marconi seemed like the perfect place.

So, we were back at Ananasso Bar, where we'd had our morning espresso. We actually sat at the two top right out the door of the shop. And guess who decided to take a "break" below my seat?

Yep, it was the ferocious feline we saw earlier in the day! Of course, I wasn't going to try to make it move, nor even bother it at all!

As for our aperotivo.

The Missus ordered the "non si sa", the "bartender's choice"! In this case an interesting aperol with tequila and mezcal, which was right down the Missus's alley. I got the Negroni Basilico; made with Cinque Terre Basil and Cocchi Americano which added a nice bitter-sweet tone; the basil added some interesting peppery-anise flavors.

Ananasso Bar
Piazza Guglielmo Marconi 30
Vernazza, Italy

We also got some free entertainment, courtesy of this fellow.

I guess he's one of the caretakers of the piazza. He came on down singing, greeting everyone, playing "air guitar" on his broom!

Such a nice and friendly fellow.

By this time, the waves started picking up.

Quite dramatically.

At one point, the first couple of tables nearest the beach on the piazza got splashed. I'm glad we sat where we did!

For dinner, we picked a spot next to Gianni Franzi where we'd had dinner the previous night. We were told that Gambero Rosso was the "finest" restaurant in the area, so we had to check it out, right?

It had started drizzling and the waves were pounding the shore, so we dined in the warm, stone walled dining room.

The service was a bit rushed, but the place was pretty busy. Prices were a bit more than on the previous night. Sticking with local seafood/products and uncomplicated dishes had served us well thus far so we weren't going to deviate.

First up was the Misto de Acciughe alla Gambero Rosso. The house style anchovies. Basically both fried and filet of anchovies.

These were fine; the fried version crisp and savory, the salted filets fine, though not as full of umami as we'd had the night before.

The Trofie al Pesto was better than we'd had the previous night, though not as enjoyable as what we'd had at 5 Terre Bistrot.

The real "winnah" of the evening were the Mussels. Oh my, so plump, mildly sweet – oceany, not a bit of grit to be found!

Cooked simply and perfectly. We plowed thru this in no time!

Like I said, simple and local…….

Ristorante Il Gambero Rosso
Piazza Guglielmo Marconi 7
Vernazza, Italy

Things were quite damp when we left the restaurant. And not all of it due to the mild drizzle.

Looking between the buildings you could see what the waves had brought ashore. In fact, waves were hitting the window of the living room of the apartment! I wish I had taken a photo of that!

We were really enjoying ourselves. The charming and colorful villages, the views, the wildness of the sea….but, to be honest, it was those little special moments that really made our stay memorable!

Cinque Terre – Morning Coffee at Ananasso Bar, Checking Out Riomaggiore and Manarola

January 17, 2025 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Cinque Terre/Genoa, Liguria - Italy, Italy, Travel

**** No food in this one, but if you'd like to see where we visited in Riomaggiore and Manarola read on!

We woke early on our second morning in Vernazza. We walked on over to Piazza Guglielmo Marconi and took a look at the waves breaking. Yes, it was fall and it was pretty rough out there. Right at the end of the piazza and on the harbor is the popular Ananasso Bar, which serves coffee in the mornings and cocktails during the evening.

A nice espresso.

We'd end up stopping by on our next morning as well.

You get a front row seat of the harbour as well!

Ananasso Bar
Piazza Guglielmo Marconi 30
Vernazza, Italy

Speaking of a front row seat. During rough seas, the fishermen will bring their boats ashore and while passing among the boats we heard a loud whimper and saw a large Golden Retreiver run to it's owner for comfort. What was the cause for this distress. Well, the source soon walked out from among the boats…..

Like I mentioned in a previous post, these cats have no fear and apparently are not to be trifled with. We saw this feline hiss at a couple who tried to pet it making them back away, it also scared away a fairly large mutt on the next morning. After my previous experience with a "Killer Pussy" on Easter Island, I knew better than to mess with them!

After our coffee we headed on out. We decided on visiting the two southern most villages of the Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore and Manarola. We went and purchased the two day train card at the stop in Vernazza. This gave us free access to the La Spezia – Cinque Terre – Levanto railway line, free use of restrooms, etc. It took us just 10 minutes by train from Vernazza to Riomaggiore, the second largest of the five villages. It's an interesting train station, overlooking a ravine. You access the village via a tunnel.

From there we got onto Via Telemaco Signorini and walked on up to the village.

It's a fairly steep hike, but the views are quite fabulous.

We took a turn around the bend and found the stairs (yep more stairs!) up to Castello di Riomaggiore.

The hulking structure, built in the 13th century, has some pretty nice views, though it wasn't open to visitors. There's also an interesting small church the Oratorio di San Rocco which was built to commemorate the end of the plague.

Walking inland along Via Pecunia, you'll get some nice views of the town.

Via Pecunia ends at a piazza where the Church of San Giovanni Battista stands.

The grey stone church stands above the village. While originally constructed in 1340 and dedicated to John the Baptist, the church went thru a huge renovation in 1870.

From here we headed down to the main street of the village; Via Colombo.

At the end of Via Colombo was one of my favorite spots on this trip. As you approach the train tracks, you'll find stairs leading up to a square. This is Piazza Vignaioli and is right above the train tracks.

And also nice views of the lovely pastel colored buildings in the town.

But what really caught our attention were the views of the "harbor"….I'll just use quotes on that. Because of the rather rough weather, the boats had been pulled up onto the square…which really look like the street! It really look like the waves are breaking on the village streets.

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Quite dramatic looking, huh?

On our next stop, we were going from the second largest, to the second smallest village in the Cinque Terre, Manarola with a population of about 350. And in keeping with the number 2, the train ride from Riomaggiore to Manarola takes about 2 minutes! The village is tucked into a ravine and to get to it from the train station means a 200 yard walk thru a tunnel. The tunnel opens right up in the center of town, which was pretty busy on this day.

The view from the harbor was lovely and you can see the trail that we took along the vineyards to the cemetery…with of course, a wonderful view a short time later.

We then headed back up the main street, lined with shops and restaurants, for some reason, this seemed to be the most touristy of the villages.

The higher up into the the village, the less tourists we saw.

As you get to the bend in the road you'll come across a large water wheel.

Manarola is the oldest of villages in the Cinque Terre, supposedly dating back to the 13th century founded by the Romans. The town was built alongside a large creek and according to the story there was a large waterwheel (magna rota in Latin) in the village from which it got it's name .

Things seemed a lot quieter here.

And so it seemed like a nice time for a Limonata break.

Before heading onward.

We finally came upon the trail we were looking for. It was right next to this church.

This is the Church of San Lorenzo which dates back to 1338.

The namesake of the church is Saint Lawrence, who is the patron saint of the Cinque Terre. I found the ceiling fresco to be quite "interesting". It has San Lorenzo holding a grill…..

The grill "gridiron" is the symbol of San Lorenzo as he was roasted alive on it. It is the symbol of his martyrdom!

To quote the Wikipedia page:

After the martyr had suffered pain for a long time, the legend concludes, he cheerfully declared: "I'm well done on this side. Turn me over!"

Thus Saint Lawrence is not only the patron saint of Cooks, but also the patron saint of comedians as well!

Turning back down the street, next to a wine bar you'll see the sign for Trail 502C. This trail heads up past lovely vineyards to the cemetery, which of course means that the best views.

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I mentioned that cemeteries were moved out of villages for hygienic purposes and many seemed to have ended up on hills with wonderful views.

From the cemetery, you can take some stairs and end up with amazing views!

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Check out the harbor and breakwater!

We then took Via di Corniglia back to the town and the train station.

Since it was still fairly early, the Missus decided that we should head back to Monterosso before calling it a day!

Niu Rou Mian from Zen Modern Asian Bistro (Sabre Springs)

January 15, 2025 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chinese Restaurants, Niu Rou Mian, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants

In the comments section of my post on the Banh Mi Bo Kho from Pho Lucky, "FOY" Dereck mentioned the Beef Noodle Soup from Zen Modern. I found this interesting since Calvin had also mentioned enjoying the Niu Rou Mian from Zen Modern. So, I guess it was time to make my way to Sabre Springs to check things out.

I found the location of the restaurant to be interesting, right next to the MTS parking lot, in a small strip mall with a tight parking lot, squeezed between a 7-11 and a location of March and Ash which was doing some major business.

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As for the restaurant, well it was empty at a few minutes past eleven.

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Once seated, I was handed a menu that had everything from Egg Rolls to Salt & Pepper Wings to Udon to Kimchi Fried Rice to Nigiri to a huge collection of "Rolls"….you kinda see why I hesitated in visiting. Both Dereck and Calvin advised me to only get the Beef Noodle Soup. Which I finally found on the menu below the Crispy Chicken Spring Roll and above the Chinese Chop Salad.

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So, I placed my order for the Beef Noodle Soup ($19) and the default dining utensil was delivered to the table…..

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Hmmm…..luckily there were packs of wooden disposable chopsticks in the container on the table.

This is what the niu rou mian looked like.

Zen Modern NRM 04 Zen Modern NRM 05 This was actually not bad. The soup could have used more anise and beef flavor for my taste, but it had a mild peppery spice, a balanced sodium content, good soy sauce tones, and was not bad at all. In fact, I've definitely had worse in the Convoy District and at a popular chain from Taiwan in Mira Mesa…this was definitely better in my opinion. The richness and texture of the soup was on par with what I've had in San Diego.

The noodles were slightly over cooked, thus they lacked a good "QQ" springiness but were fine.

The beef were a mixed bag, some really under cooked and tough pieces, while some bits were very tender and tasty.

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Overall, I was rather pleasantly surprise considering the almost Americanized Asian Fast-Foodish looking shop and menu with dishes from all of East Asia. The price at nineteen bucks wasn't a bargain, but like I said, I've had worse in the "Asian districts" of San Diego. If Zen was in my 'hood, I'd probably have the NRM every once in a while.

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Who knew; NRM in Sabre Springs!

Zen Modern Asian Bistro
13510 Sabre Springs Pkwy Suite 103
San Diego, CA 92128
Current Hours:
Mon – Thurs 10am – 9pm
Friday 10am – 10pm
Saturday 11am – 10pm
Sunday 11am – 9pm

Thanks for the recommendation Dereck!

Lunches with JJ – The Crack Shack (Little Italy)

January 13, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Chains, Dog Friendly, Sandwiches

So, now that we have JJ I've been looking at places that are pooch friendly. I quickly noticed something; there are several places that I had actually visited years back, but really weren't too impressed. In those days I would always try make at least two visits before doing a post. These places were pretty much a "one-and-done". So those photos just ended up in the recycle bin. These days, with prices and such, I feel less tied to having to make multiple visits. Plus, with JJ in tow, it makes for additional points of interest, right? I did my one visit to the Crack Shack in Little Italy probably somewhere back in 2015, I recall the portions being large, but not being too impressed with what I'd had and not bothering to return (BTW, even Juniper and Ivy met that same fate as well).

But now, with JJ in tow, perhaps there's a new wrinkle to my priorities. And perhaps the food has improved? Plus, since I go to the Little Italy Mercato almost every Saturday, parking on Ivy Street, this location is in my view every week.

I liked the fact that the place opens at 10am daily, so I decided to see how it would be at 10 on a Sunday. I found parking on Kettner and was surprised how quite things seem. Perhaps folks were still recovering from New Year?

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So, it was time to finally return to see how things were. I was greeted as I strolled up to the ordering window by a very cheerful young lady, who also smiled and greeted JJ when she saw him. She was very nice and friendly.

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Looking at prices, I was pretty surprised that they hadn't gone up too much since my visit way back when. It looks like about a $2-$3 increase in like 9 years?

In the end, just wanting an idea of the how the chicken sandwich is compared to what I recalled, I went with the Coop DeVille ($14) and the Fries in Schmaltz ($4.50), which I didn't order last time. JJ and I had a seat overlooking Kettner.

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The gentleman who delivered our tray to the table was very nice and even said hello to JJ…..so this place is obviously dog friendly, at least it was on this day. JJ of course, just wanted to play with everyone!

Crack Shack JJ 04 Crack Shack JJ 05 Man, those were quite a bit of fries! Unfortunately it was over fried and super salty…way too salty to enjoy. I love the richness of schmaltz, which also has a savory component to it; but this was just too salty. I couldn't finish the fries…..

As for the sandwich. Well, the brioche handled the mayo ridden slaw well; I do wish for a bit more acidity and the cabbage was chopped too thick for my taste. More pickles would have also been a nice touch. The batter did well and held up even with the generous amount of slaw.

Crack Shack JJ 06 Crack Shack JJ 07 Now I understand that Jidori chicken is a bit chewier, but this was very tough and rather leathery. Also, having had my share of Jidori, which flavors differ from region to region, I expected some interesting poultry flavors. None were to be found.

It was a good size sandwich, priced reasonably, though I think the version I had back in 2015 was better! With locations in Las Vegas and the OC, has CS taken on the chain restaurant model?

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Though JJ did enjoy the service! The staff was wonderful and it was a nice, sunny, San Diego winter day.

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Still, unless my "FOYs" can come up with a recommendation of what to order….and please; no "Mexican Poutine" which is basically pollo asado fries and has no cheese curds! I think I need to find other options to check out.

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The Crack Shack
2266 Kettner Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92101
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 10am – 10pm
Fri – Sat 10am – 11pm