mmm-yoso – Page 41

Croissant Files – 102 Scone Company

March 18, 2025 mmm-yoso Bakery, Croissants, Desserts

So, recently the wonderful Madam "LL" sent me a text asking me if I'd been to the 102 Scone Company. Huh? Well, I'd never heard of the place. She explained that it used to be named Canele Bakery, but then changed their name and main product to scones and rebranding as the 102 Scone Company. Funny thing is; they no longer make scones! And they do make Canele again; though supposedly only on Fridays. She did tell me that they make croissants….so you know I had to visit, right?

Looking up the address I cracked up……

102 Scone Co 01

This is the place with the simple "Bakery" sign next to Rubicon Deli! Man, I am so not with things these days!

I had arrived at 10 minutes to nine (opening time) on a Friday. Check out the line!

102 Scone Co 02

And it got even longer stretching all the way past Rubicon by the time the place opened. Things did move pretty quickly once the doors opened.

It's a simple counter displaying various Viennoiseries and pastries, though no Caneles, even though this was Friday.

102 Scone Co 03

102 Scone Co 04

I bought myself a croissant (of course) and got a couple of items for the Missus. The prices weren't bad; a tad cheaper than ASA Bakery. The owners, a Korean Husband and Wife team were very ncie and actually seemed to know some of their customers…..must have a good number of regulars I guess.

102 Scone Co 04b

So, this is what I ended up getting.

102 Scone Co 05a

Looking at the croissant; I knew this was going to be interesting. Notice how the laminated ridges had fallen off. And I had just removed the cover of the box!

102 Scone Co 06

Even more fell off as I gingerly moved it to a plate.

102 Scone Co 07 102 Scone Co 08 It was too delicate; a bit over baked, the laminated exterior just falling off. You know what was going to happen when I actually bit into it, right? A certain song by the Rolling Stones came to mind:

"Ohhh look at me
I been shattered
I been shattered
Look at me, I been shattered…."

I prefer not leaving a good part of the croissant on the plate. Unless 102's specific purpose is to have me lick the plate?

You can see why I used ASA Bakery as a reference point, right?

Though I will say that while the interior was much too airy; I'm looking for a slightly moist "honeycomb" of flavor, it had a decent amount of butter, thouh perhaps too much salt. I do prefer this to the version from ASA; though it's not in my top three (thus far) for San Diego.

102 Scone Co 09

Unlike what happened on our recent visit to Michi Michi (I really want to do another visit before posting), I did get a chance to taste the Cranberry Chocolate Monkey Bread – decently light, not too sweet and the Lime Croissant – didn't care for the overly bready texture and the glaze; though enjoyed that it wasn't too sweet and the lime flavor wasn't overpowering. The Missus took the Matcha Crookie to work, but told me it was a bit too much.

102 Scone Co 10

I'm glad I got to try this place out and would like to thank LL for thinking of me!

102 Scone Co 00

102 Scone Company (Which doesn't currently do scones)
4130 La Jolla Village Dr.
La Jolla, CA 92037

Pho Cow Cali Express (Mira Mesa) and Pho Hiep and Grill (Linda Vista) Revisited

March 17, 2025 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I mentioned in my post on Pho Hoa that I needed to start doing my "pho-raging rounds" again. And the recent rather chilly weather seemed like a reminder that I needed to keep my word. So, I managed two revisits last week. My impressions were rather interesting.

Pho Cow Cali Express (Mira Mesa):

Man, has it been nearly seven years since my last visit to "Da Cow"? Man, does time fly! The main catalyst for my revisit to Cow Cali were the huge lines I saw during my two visits to Mom Kitchen. Sheesh! Keeping that in mind, I timed my weekday visit for an early lunch at 10am.

Cow Cali Rev 01

And there was no line. The host stand with the "please wait to be seated" sign is something that wasn't there before. I'm guessing it's probably due to the crazy lines?

Cow Cali Rev 02

Even though I could see that the restaurant was fairly empty, I decided to wait. Then two young guys walked up and basically brushed me aside and just walked into the restaurant….. Sigh…you gotta love manners these days, right? Anyway, the gentleman saw me waiting and waved me in before the two rude dudes. One of them gave me the finger and I just smiled…..

Cow Cali Rev 03

Like on my previous visits; I just stuck with a small #4. I was shocked when my order came out in less than four minutes!!! Do we have a new contender for the "fastest pho in the west"? Perhaps this is why they added the "Express" to the name?

Cow Cali Rev 04 Cow Cali Rev 05 First thing I noticed was how "clear" the broth was. Second thing was how the basil was starting to brown. Well, at least there was some ngo gai, a rarity these days it seems. I enjoy the more intense the peppery-cilantro-ish-slightly bitter flavor it provides. Even this leaf was starting to go south as well; I could use most of it.

Cow Cali Rev 06 Cow Cali Rev 10 As for the broth…can you say MSG water? With a dose of that sweetness that has been pervading pho in San Diego over the last decade or so. The soup was quite thirst inducing; or perhaps I'm just more sensitive to the stuff as I get older?

Which led me to wonder why the lines during certain times of the day? I think it's because of the proteins. I enjoyed the crunchy tripe. The tendon was not cooked to the soft, almost creaminess I enjoy, but was still good. The flank was nice and beefy, along with being fairly tender.

Cow Cali Rev 08 Cow Cali Rev 09 There was a good amount of meat in this "small bowl". So perhaps that's the calling card?

The noodles were in the typical clump at the bottom of the bowl; but the portion was plentiful, and it was perfectly prepared, not hard nor overly mushy.

Cow Cali Rev 07

This gave me a more clear understanding of my preferences when it comes to pho. I guess for me, the soup is the most important.

The service was much better than I recall it being before.

Cow Cali Rev 11

Pho Cow Cali Express
9170 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Pho Hiep and Grill (Linda Vista):

During my meal at Pho Hoa, wondered how Pho Hiep and Grill, which is in the same strip mall was doing. It had been over six years since my last visit and even longer since I last had a bowl of pho here. So, I decided to drop by, again for an early lunch.

Hiep and Grill Rev 01

I was surprised to see how busy the parking lot was at 930 on a weekday!

The restaurant itself was pretty sedate at least compared to Pho Hoa which I drove past in the parking lot.

Hiep and Grill Rev 02

I ordered the #4 here as well. And within a few minutes the herbs and veggies arrived. I was pleasantly surprised with how fresh and plentiful everything was. And yes there was ngo gai here as well….heck, Pho Hoa had none on my last visit!

Hiep and Grill Rev 03

And soon later the soup arrived.

Hiep and Grill Rev 04 Hiep and Grill Rev 06 The soup, while being a bit overly defatted had some beefiness, mild anise-oniony tones, while it still had that "San Diego" sweet flavor. It wasn't overly salty. This was better than I recall having on previous visits.

The noodles were in the typical clump at the bottom of the bowl and a bit under cooked.

Hiep and Grill Rev 05 Hiep and Grill Rev 07 The proteins, while not as well prepared as "da cow" were fine, though there was no tendon to be found! The flank and brisket were cut a bit on thicker side, but the beefiness came through. The tripe was a bit more "hard" than crunchy.

Still, in contrast to my expectations, I preferred this bowl to what I'd had at Cow Cali and might have even enjoyed it more than Pho Hoa! What the pho???? Again, perhaps I put too much emphasis on the broth.

Hiep and Grill Rev 00

Pho Hiep & Grill
6947 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

I actually enjoyed this comparison, though the results were not quite what I thought they'd be. It could be that I had chosen the "right day" for one and a "bad day" for the other?

What do you think?

Genoa – Ravioli Orientali

March 15, 2025 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Cinque Terre/Genoa, Liguria - Italy, Italy, Travel

We were pretty full as we sauntered back to our room after our traditional food tour of the city.

We took a nice little break before heading back out. We strolled around thinking of what to get for dinner.

I was ready to get a final meal of Trofie al Pesto……and the subliminal hints were there.

But I could tell that the Missus had gotten Her fill. She was having "Asian food withdrawals" and sorely wanted something to fulfill that need. But we were in Genoa!

Then I recalled seeing a tiny shop during our walk the previous evening named Ravioli Orientali right down the street. I know, dumplings in Genoa? But the Missus needed Her fix, so we walked over to find that the place was open.

It had started drizzling as we walked over; nature setting a "trap" perhaps? So we took the bait and scooted on in.

It was interesting as the two guys working were of African descent, but all the dumplings were being made by hand.

So, we placed our order and started with a Tsingtao (of course). Aaah, this was "nice to have around" indeed!

About this time a family of four, mom, dad, and two sons walked into the restaurant. The youngest boy was super interested and excited. He also spoke perfect English as he walked over and asked us, "are you the owners?" After all, we were the only Asians in the place, right? We cracked up and said no, but also offered to help with the ordering. The parents wanted a beer and we recommended and ordered the Tsingtao for them. The parents weren't interested in any food as they had already had dinner, but the boys were.

IMG_3218b

The gentleman working tried to explain things; but only spoke Italian, so the Missus, charmed by the young man stepped in. And when She explained what Xiao Long Bao was, his face lit up, he had heard of "soup dumplings" and he spoke to his parents….turns out they are from Romania and were spending a month traveling. And so they ordered some jiaozi and XLB.

We got the XLB and one each of the Baozi.

The wrappers on the XLB were too thick and gummy; but there was actually "soup" in them, the filling was very "oinky", great pork flavor, and surprisingly tender! Better than much of what we have here in San Diego!

IMG_3222b The texture of the baozi dough was not as fluffy as I enjoy; but it had a hint of sweetness and was not bad. We enjoyed the pork version more….pork here is mighty tasty. There were hints of sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce….not sure how easy it is to get it in Genoa, but this was pretty good overall.

Much better than what we expected.

As for the family….well, they placed two more orders for XLB! We asked the young man what he thought of the dumplings and he said "it's the second best food we've had on this trip!" What was the first? "We could not eat enough kebabs in Istanbul!" You know, I give the boys parents a lot of credit, you could tell they weren't interested in trying any dumplings or baozi, but they encouraged their son to try it! They fed his curiosity and passion. Who knows, a few decades from now he could be Romania's Anthony Bourdain!

Ravioli Orientali
Piazza della Raibetta 4
Genova, Italy

In a way Ravioli Orientali exemplifies what Genova was to us. We arrived not knowing what to expect and were gleefully surprised at what we encountered.

We took a short stroll before heading back to our room, through the atmospheric caruggi, totally enjoying the evening in spite of the drizzle.

Walking thru the porticos, back to the hotel for the final time, we celebrated the fact that Genova had exceeded all our expectations……

As we hope to return someday, as we had only dipped our toes into the vast ocean of what Genoa has to offer!

Thanks for stopping by!

Genoa – Traditional Food Tour

March 14, 2025 mmm-yoso Cinque Terre/Genoa, Liguria - Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Travel

Over the years, the Missus and I have become advocates of small group or private traditional food tours with locals. Especially in places that have so much to offer like Emilia – Romana or places like Genoa; where we weren't too familiar with the traditional cuisine. And I thought since we basically spending one full day in the city, we might enjoy walking the streets and tasting traditional cuisine. After doing a bit of research; I settled on Do Eat Better Experience's Traditional Genoa Food Tour.

We met at Vascello Neptune, a replica of a 17th century Galleon that was actually created for the movie Pirates.

Located at the Old Port, Porto Antico, it was just two blocks away from our hotel.

It was a small group; just 8 of us. Funny thing, 4 of the folks were actually on a cruise that stopped in Genoa for a day.

We strolled past the Palazzo San Giorgio, which I mentioned in an earlier post.

And were off to "graze"….

It was a drizzly day, but not too cold.

The Missus and I hadn't really heard a lot about Genoa and were quite taken by all the ornate sculptures and monuments, like this one of the Virgin Mary in the cornerstone of a building.

Our first stop was a little shop to try traditional Focaccia Genovese.

The focaccia cannot be thicker than 2 centimeters and it is lightly coated with Ligurian Olive Oil. The crust is crisp, the interior very light, and it is a staple of the typical Genovese diet.

Focaccia e Dintorni
Via di Canneto Il Curto 54
Genova, Italy

The next stop was this little shop.

That's our guide Marina above. The place smelled heavenly!

Here we got to try Farinata which the locals call Fainá, a flat bread made of chickpea flour, quite nutty with the olive oil flavor coming thru. And Focaccia al Formaggio (aka Focaccia di Recco) which is two thin layers of slightly flaky dough with Stracchino Cheese in the middle. The Village of Recco is most famously known for making this layered focaccia.

Le Delizie dell'Amico
Via di Canneto Il Lungo 31r
Genova, Italy

We passed some interesting looking buildings and churches as we made our north to our next stop.

Which was this restaurant.

Here we had Pesto Lasagne and Minestrone alla Genovese.

The lasagne was quite rich and I was told that it is typical to use a bechamel in this version. The minestrone was quite hearty. Both were bursting with peppery Ligurian pesto flavor.

Ristorante Zimino
Vico delle Scuole Pie 4
Genova, Italy

By this time, it became quite obvious that we needed a short break so we strolled over to bustling Piazza San Lorenzo.

And were given some time to explore the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo (Genoa Cathedral).

Apparently, there has been a church here since the 5th or 6th century. This version was first completed in the 11th century.

The altar is quite stunning and there's a ton to see here, but we only had 30 minutes, so we just wandered around.

This is the tomb of Ibleto_Fieschi.

IMG_3168b

There are two lion sculptures at the entrance to the Cathedral. The one to the left is famous for looking very sad.

From here we headed more inland, to the East.

We actually passed Christopher Columbus's House, but that photo didn't turn out.

And then we got to our next stop.

Where we had a wine tasting…..

And more wonderful focaccia…..

Topped with a variety of items; pesto (of course), local cheese, salumi……

Man, I was stuffed!

Locanda Tortuga
Via di Ravecca 13r
Genova, Italy

At this point, the folks on the cruise had to head back, and we bade them farewell.

There was just one more stop. Down a quiet alleyway was this chocolate shop.

Which has been around since 1866!

We went to the gelato portion. Then over at the chocolate shop, the Missus stocked up a bit.

Cioccolateria Romeo Viganotti
Vico dei Castagna 14R
Genova, Italy

From here, we strolled back to the Porta Soprana, one of the two surviving ancient gates of the Walls of Genoa.

Where Marina bade us farewell and gave us instructions on how to get back to Porto Antico….which was straight down the street!

Overall, we enjoyed this tour, it was fun tasting and getting a better understanding of Genovese Cuisine.

But now it was time for a nap!

A5 Wagyu Beef Rice from Sizzling House & Noodle

March 13, 2025 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Japanese Restaurants, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants

**** Sizzling House has closed

**** I did a revisit, you can read that post here.

One of the other victims of the China Max fire in 2020 was the Convoy location of Tasty Pot. The place was repaired with the same owners in place; but I’m guessing with all the hot pot restaurants dotting the area the proprietors decided to go in a different direction, deciding on a sizzling plate/pepper lunch concept named Sizzling House which opened in December.

I’d been trying to talk the Missus into visiting, but She didn’t seem to enthusiastic about “feeding another fad”, but She finally encouraged me to check the place out on my own.

Sizzling House 01

So, I decided to head on over; arriving right after 11 on a weekday. The spacious restaurant had but one table occupied when I arrived and just two when I left.

Sizzling House 02

As is the trend with many restaurants these days; ordering is done via QR code. Though I found the folks working to be quite attentive, which is probably pretty easy with just two tables occupied.

Sizzling House 03

Funny thing; as I was looking thru the menu; the Missus sent me a text encouraging me to order the Japanese A5 Wagyu. When I said I thought it was waaaay too expensive, She kept insisting! Perhaps She was just feigning Her distinerest?

I finally relented and ordered the Japanese A5 Wagyu rice, meat medium rare, with an egg (of course) which had a $1.99 upcharge. This wasn’t cheap by any means.

Sizzling House 04

Though you did get a free green tea, with or without hot or cold, with or without sugar.

Sizzling House 05

My plate came out, with a cardboard “crown” to protect the innocent fairly quickly. It was sizzling quite nicely.

Sizzling House 06 Sizzling House 07 The portion of rice was quite large there was corn and edamame scattered about the hot plate. The beef, supposedly four ounces was topped with a small scoop of butter, which I thought wasn’t necessary.

The pepper sauce came in a small gravy boat. I tasted the sauce; which was interesting as it was much spicier than the usual Taiwanese Black Pepper sauce. The sauce was rather rich in texture with some decent tangy tones, a mild sweetness, and a savory component. I think this kind of overpowered the black pepper component. For some reason, I thought it would go great with shrimp?

The beef was a rather thinly sliced and I got to moving it quickly so it wouldn’t overcook.

Sizzling House 08

With the beef sidelined to prevent overcooking; I worked on mixing the rice, other stuffs, and sauce to get things nicely coated. In some ways, I almost wished this was in a dolsot as some caramelization and crispy bits would add to texture and flavor.

As a whole, the sauce overpowered the beef which I’m glad I moved to the side and ate without contact with the sauce. You could cut it with the fork, but I don’t think I’d get this again. As much as I thought that there was a good amount of sauce, I think I could have used even more! Though the rice did taste pretty good; and the corn added some sweetness and in combination with the edamame more textural contrast.

Sizzling House 09

Then again, I’m not going to spent forty bucks for a “funky fried rice”; though, like I mentioned above, I do think I’ll return to try with the chicken or perhaps have another sauce, mushroom and Japanese curry are offered.

Sizzling House 00

The Missus didn’t care for the leftovers as it was too “rich” for Her. Though I’m glad I tried Sizzling House out; as I thought it was better than expected. Service was very nice as well.

Sizzling House & Noodle
4698 Convoy St. Suite 107
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon – Thurs 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 930pm
Friday 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm
Saturday 11am – 10pm
Sunday 11am – 930pm

Offshore Tavern & Grill Revisited (Bay Park)

March 12, 2025 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Loco Mocos, Pubs and Pub Grub

So, I needed to find JJ a groomer. The folks that used to do Sammy and Frankie had a shop in Point Loma, but moved to a home in Lemon Grove which is just a tad far for me to take him for grooming. So, we decided to try one of the groomers in the neighborhood and it's been working out super. What I usually will do is to try and make JJ's appointment for around lunch time; we'll walk down to the Morena area and I'll drop him off. While waiting, I decided to grab something from Superbloom, but the place was, well "super busy". So I walked on back to Morena and went over my options.

In the end, I decided on revisiting a place I hadn't been to in 17 years (!) Offshore Tavern & Grill. I really wasn't too impressed with the chain/corporate style of the place when I visited. But somewhere around 2012-2013 the place went under new, more local ownership, though I just wasn't motivated to revisit.

Well, I guess it was time to rectify that situation.

Offshore Rev 01

I walked in and there were already several groups of older gents at the bar having beers. Looking at the hours, this being a Friday, the restaurant opens at 11, but the kitchen hours don't start until 1130. Well, lucky me as it was just past 1130. It was a seat yourself situation and I walked on over to the covered patio.

Offshore Rev 02b

A nice gentleman came by and dropped of a menu. So, now there's everything from Poke (of course) to Hummus to Burgers and Tri-Tip Sandwiches….to stuff that's so 90's like Seared Tuna. A Chicago Dog here will run you $14. But, there was something that really caught my eye.

Offshore Rev 03

Hmmm….. "Hawaiian" plate lunch? I guess they need to make sure folks know….because is there such a thing as a "UnHawaiian" plate lunch? I wanted to know so I Googled "plate lunch" and this is what Wikipedia came up with. Anyway, this did catch my attention….though I wouldn't call "pulled pork & cabbage" typical plate lunch material….though they are obviously faking Kalua Pork and Cabbage. At least they aren't calling it that, right?

I decided to just trying the Chicken Katsu ($16).

Offshore Rev 04 Offshore Rev 05 This was interesting. The katsu had been sliced lengthwise and were as long as my fork. Rather unwieldy to eat.

The rice was cooked decently.

The chicken had been over fried; the breading on the hard side instead of crisp. The seasoning was fine; but the chicken was super tough and on the drier side.

Offshore Rev 06 Offshore Rev 07 The katsu sauce was very "local", being ketchup based, tangy and perhaps on the sweeter side of the scale. The mac salad was quite "local" tasting as well, having a touch of vinegar and some shredded carrots. The macaroni was nicely cooked, but unevenly coated. This was probably my favorite item on the plate.

Offshore Rev 08

This was ok, not terrible, not anything to go out of the way for. Service was very nice. And of course I managed to kill time while JJ was getting groomed, right?

And there was one other item I noticed when I flipped over the menu that caught my attention.

Offshore Rev 09b

And no, it's not the Poke Bowl or Grilled Mahi Plate…….. You can figure it out, right?

Offshore Rev 10

There's this strange phenomenon going on in Bay Park; the locals are making loco moco!?!? I mean Fast Times has a version, as does the High Dive. Heck, I've even heard that The Pub is making a version? Must be the loco's version of biscuits and gravy? To be honest, it's probably convenient to make rice, hamburger patty, gravy, and eggs, right? But to make it well….that's another story. But, during JJ's next appointment, I couldn't resist.

Offshore Rev 11 Offshore Rev 12 One big minus was no mac salad, which I kinda liked on my previous visit. One big plus; they have Tabasco! Tabasco sauce has been the condiment I've used for loco mocos since small kid time!

Well, even though this isn't a plate lunch place, I thought I'd go ahead and use the Modified Rubio Scale just for the heck of it. In case you haven't read any of my Loco Moco posts (can you believe I've done 61 of them???), here's a summary.

"The original Rubio Scale measured each item on the Loco, I decided to take the "base" items, the Burger, Gravy, Egg, and Rice. To this I added "Stuffs", that include macaroni salad, Spam, or any other item that comes with the Loco. All items are graded on a scale between 1 through 5, with 2.5 being average."

Oh-kay, here goes:

BURGER: Good sized, lean, but not overly tough. Good beefy flavor. 3.0

Offshore Rev 15

EGGS: Decently runny yolks, would have enjoyed some crisp edges, there was a mild fishy aftertaste. 2.0

Offshore Rev 13

RICE: Was not good. Undercooked with some hard grains. 1.0

Offshore Rev 14

GRAVY: Good consistency, decent beefiness, a by-the-book gravy. 3.0

STUFF: Gotta give points for the Tabasco. Bummah no mac salad. 2.5

Well, 11.5 a tad under average….which kinda describes this. It ain't terrible, but I'm not ordering it again.

In fact, I'm going to hit a different place during JJ's next appointment. Enjoyed the service; looks like lots of older local guys hang out at the bar.

Offshore Rev 16

I actually should visit places in my neighborhood more often than once every 17 years, right? I actually saw two folks I know eating here! I'll try to do a better job of that in the future.

Offshore Rev 00

Hope your having a great week!

Offshore Tavern & Grill
2253 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

Ramen by Request – The Vegan Soy Ramen from Nishiki (Mira Mesa) and the “Crazy Garlic” Ramen from Buta Ramen (Linda Vista)

March 10, 2025 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants

One of the reasons that I've kept on blogging all these years are the great "FOYs" and the wonderful comments, emails, questions, and recommendations I receive. There's just no way this blog would have existed for nearly 20 years without all of you. Yes, it's a large part a "food/travel diary", but the interactions are what keep me motivated to continue. And in spite of sometimes taking a while; I do try to check out places that are mentioned in your comments. I try not to forget these. And here are two visits that would never have happened without those comments.

The "Crazy Garlic" Ramen from Buta Ramen:

In my last post on Santouka and HiroNori, FOYs ST and Franklin mentioned the "Crazy Garlic" ramen from Buta Ramen. After my visits; I've considered Buta to be a "second tier" shop. They have catchy names for the fusiony ramen; like "Soul You" for shoyu or "Tahini Old School" for tonkotsu. I'm probably not the target audience for their ramen. But what the heck; it had been over 5 years since my initial visits; so I guess I needed to see if this "crazy old school" would feel like a Buta?

Buta Garlic 01

I as happy to find parking on this day. This parking lot on Linda Vista Road as almost attained the same notoriety as those along Convoy and some of those along University in City Heights.

Buta Garlic 01c

The nice gentleman working pointed me to a table and handed me a menu. I took note of this on the menu.

Buta Garlic 02

And I went ahead and ordered the Crazy Garlic Ramen. Which arrived in just a few minutes!

Buta Garlic 04 Buta Garlic 05 First thing I noticed was how foamy the broth was, like it was kept at a rolling boil instead of a simmer. It was also on the thin side and seemed more like a thickened, slightly bitter, shoyu based broth. Like the tonkotsu I had here before, it also had a slight "metallic" tinge to it.

As for the garlic "chips"? Well, I expected something crisp, not bitter, hard, and plastic like, which this was. It was not fun eating those!

Buta Garlic 06a Buta Garlic 07 The chashu was a bit on the chewy side and lightly flavored, but not bad. The noodles were actually cooked decently and had a nice "springy pull" to them.

As a whole not my favorite bowl of ramen, but I'm glad I tried it.

Buta Garlic 08

I'm probably just not into these hipster type of ramen?

So, ST and Franklin, I know you mentioned that it was your coworkers who loved this. It's been a couple of months since you both commented and I'm wondering if you've managed to try this and if so, what did you think?

Buta Japanese Ramen
5201 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92110

The Vegan Soy Ramen from Nishiki (Mira Mesa):

Way back in November of 2023, in the comments of the post on the Veggie King Ramen at Nagi, FOY DavidG commented:

"As for the veggie ramen, this is the 2nd best I have had in SD. the Nishiki veggie ramen is so good, I don't understand how the broth is vegetarian. better than anywhere else i have ever tried. i'm curious what a meat eater like yourself would think of Nishiki's veggie ramen?"

Yes, I know it took long enough, but I finally decided to try the veggie ramen at Nishiki out. It's a good thing that I checked the menus online as I was headed to the Kearny Mesa location, which does not serve the "Vegan Delight"! I immediately changed plans and headed on over to the Mira Mesa location, which I hadn't been to before.

Nishiki Vegan 01

Wow, I remember when this was Spicy Hut!

I was greeted as I entered and said I was fine with a counter seat.

Nishiki Vegan 03

The nice young lady handed me a menu, but I told her I already knew what I wanted and ordered the "Vegan Soy Karaage Delight"

Nishiki Vegan 02

I rather enjoyed sitting at the counter as I could watch the kitchen in action. Those folks were working hard.

Nishiki Vegan 04

My ramen took a while; but I enjoyed watching the action.

Nishiki Vegan 05 Nishiki Vegan 06 The pseudo tonkotsu bowl arrived seaming hot. There were some…well, interesting things about this bowl. My least favorite was the "impossible chicken karaage". It seemed to be sort of soybean based; but the texture was not to my liking; it was spongy and super chewy…think thick nylon sponge and had no flavor.

The eggless noodles were perfectly cooked, I really didn't miss the eggs….probably the best prepared I've had at Nishiki, so no qualms with that.

Nishiki Vegan 07 Nishiki Vegan 08 Not quite sure what to do with the slice of tomato? How much acidity, sweetness, will one slice of tomato provide for a bowl of ramen? The cabbage added a slight sweet-bitterness and was blanched. The corn also added some nice textural contrast and sweetness to the bowl.

As for the broth, it was mildly savory tones, and decent saltiness; not bad at all. I did miss the umami forward tones and while there were many "dots of oil", you can see it was on the thin side. I missed the tongue coating richness of a decent tonkotsu broth.

Nishiki Vegan 09

In the end, I think I prefer the Veggie King Ramen from Nagi. Though this wasn't bad at all and the staff here were really nice. In fact, to be perfectly honest, I preferred this to the Garlic Ramen at Buga, which I think says a lot.

Nishiki Vegan 10

Nishiki Ramen (Mira Mesa)
9460 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Thanks for the recommendation DavidG!

Sunday Stuffs – Renaming Grim Avenue to “Lucky Lane”, Wagyu Street opens in Ajisen Ramen, and Midnight Skewer coming to Convoy

March 9, 2025 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, yoso-silly

So, fellow longtime blogger and our good friend "CC" was good enough to share this Instagram Post by Matt, the owner of Tribute Pizza.

Screenshot 2025-03-09 195016

It's about a petition to honor the one and only Lucky and change the name of this portion of Grim Avenue to Lucky Lane! You can sign the petition on a link at Tribute's website. I know the passing of Lucky really touched many of us. He was one of a kind and I for one did sign the petition. I usually don't get involved with these sorts of things; but Lucky was special. He touched many, was a fixture, and really, to me at least, was the "heart and soul" of the neighborhood.

Anyway, I'll keep it at that. Thanks for letting me know CC! And we'll be heading to Tribute soon….it's been a while. It's the least we can do as Tribute really lived up to it's name with this beautiful tribute.

Wagyu Street opens in Ajisen Ramen:

I saw this while waiting at the traffic light on the corner of Ruffner and Clairemont Mesa.

Looks like Wagyu street, which has a location in; if I recall, Long Beach, is sharing the space with Ajisen; featuring bentos, bowls, salads and such.

Not a fan of Ajisen….and I'm not sure Wagyu Street is enough to draw me back. But, in case you're interested.

7398 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Midnight Skewer coming to Convoy:

I saw this when I dropped by China Max. It's on the second floor above China Max in Plaza del Sol.

I quizzed the Missus on the name in Chinese and She said it refers to street food stands. Looks like another after hours Chinese drinking and street food place. Wasn't this some kind of dental office before?

4698 Convoy Street #203
San Diego, CA 92111

Hope everyone has a great week!

Genoa – Vegia Zena

March 8, 2025 mmm-yoso Cinque Terre/Genoa, Liguria - Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Seafood, Travel

We enjoyed the nice walk along Porto Antico as we strolled back to our hotel.

Yes, it was somewhat touristy….check out all the cruise ships.

But, things were still pretty relaxed and mellow. And the ship were already leaving port as we passed.

IMG_3082a

We checked into our hotel and tried to figure out where to get dinner; I wasn't able to get reservations at my first two choices, so I did the obvious. I strolled down to the front desk and asked the really friendly gentleman working for a recommendation of a place that made good local style cuisine. He told me that when he has friends and family staying nearby, he recommends Vegia Zena. He told me look at what the other tables of locals were getting and not pay attention too much to the English menu. The place was a short two streets away, tucked down one of the atmospheric "caruggi"; the alleyways that weave thru the city.

We found the restaurant and entered. It was very brightly lit in comparison to the caruggi. The place was half full; we were quickly seated.

And two menus; basically placemats were placed on the table; one with the Italian menu; the other with an "English" menu. As you can see; the Italian menu had many more items.

Some bread and foccacia were quickly provided.

The foccacia was quite good; crisp, then soft, light saltiness……I got a hint of why folks had mentioned focaccia Genovese to me!

We placed our orders….this being Genova; home to the world pesto championships, of course I had to get the Trofie al Pesto.

While being perhaps a bit over-sauced; the pesto tasted so fresh; peppery-garlic tones-I could really taste the pine nuts in this! Oh the peppery-anise flavors as well. The pasta was perfectly cooked; the slight "twists" holding the sauce well. This was our fourth Trofie al Pesto in Liguria….I could tell the Missus was getting tired of it; though I could have kept on having it!

One thing the Missus wasn't tired of was the seafood; especially the Mussels.

This was a huge portion. Sweet, plump, wonderful brininess….no grit to be found!

For our final item; I had noticed a dish that looked quite good on another table; so I discreetly pointed it out to our Server and ordered it.

Not quite sure what the name of the dish was…I'm thinking it's the Misto Mare Vegia Zena? Man, more wonderful mussles; that langostino! The highlight was the stack of pesto enriched seafood in the middle of the plate. It was so delici-yoso!!!!

And the Missus enjoyed Her dessert.

The meal was a pleasant surprise and the nice fellow at the hotel desk earned himself a good tip as well!

Service was a bit on the serious side; except for the woman working who was quite nice. Overall, a very nice meal!

Vegia Zena
Vico del Serriglio 15R
Genova, Italy

After dinner we took a stroll away from the port and down the alleyways into the city.

Getting a first glance at some of the more ornate buildings heading to the historical center of the city.

Until we got to the Basilica of the Santissima Annunziata del Vastato.

From here we decided to head on back to the hotel. I'd become quite interested in the cuisine of Liguria; so much like we did in Emilia-Romana, we'd be doing a small group food and history tour the following day.

So it was time to head back to our room and get some rest!

Thanks for stopping by!

Takeout Revisits – Sizzling Pot King and Yiko Yiko

March 6, 2025 mmm-yoso Bakery, Chinese Restaurants, Desserts

**** Sizzling Pot King is now Zhang Liang Malatang

So, after a recent road trip, I really didn't feel like making dinner….I mean, an almost 6 hour drive back? Well, I must say, JJ was in much better shape than I was. So, we ended up doing something we hadn't done since the trips we made at the end of the pandemic; we decided to do takeout from Sizzling Pot King, which had been a regular stop for take out when we were too tired to go out; until prices got too high and portions smaller and they removed items from the menu. It had been two-and-a-half years since our last visit.

I drove over and was surprised to find that even more items were off the menu; no more tripe, no more tendon…so I went with our usual pork intestine with lamb and of course some frozen tofu. All said this came out to $45….which I gotta say does not seem so bad for these days.

Sizzling pot king to 01

While waiting, I decided to get the Missus a treat from Yiko Yiko…which even though we thought was seriously over priced, the Missus had enjoyed.

So, while walking over, the young lady from Sizzling Pot King actually chased me down. I stopped wondering what was going on. And she said "sorry, you ordered frozen tofu….most of our Korean customers order fried tofu…I want to make sure!" Lol! I had to crack up…..and also, I appreciated the effort. Though I did tell her that I'm Japanese not Korean, which kind of embarrassed her….but also mentioned that my wife is Chinese and She is the one who instructs me to order. I also told her that I really appreciated the effort she made to get the order right!

Yiko Yiko Rev 01

As before there was major sticker shock when looking at the offerings at Yiko Yiko. And after perusing what was in the case, I decided on the Durian Basque Cheesecake. In spite of the price – $14.35 a slice. Ouch!

Yiko Yiko Rev 02

The Missus did actually enjoy this. The young lady took the slice back and had it "torched"; though it was so lightly done that didn't really create a great crisp – burnt top like a typical Basque Cheesecake.

Yiko Yiko Rev 03

Still, the Missus said it was creamy, light, and there was a faint flavor of durian. Though once I told Her the price I was instructed not to get this again!

Yiko Yiko
8008 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

I walked back to Sizzling Pot King and my order was ready. Like I said earlier, $45 these days doesn't seem so expensive and the portion size was much larger than on our last visit or two.

Sizzling pot king to 02

Decent ma-la; there's a lot less veggies; especially broccoli than there used to be. The intestine was nice and "bungy" though the Missus didn't think it paired well with the lamb. There was quite a bit of sliced lamb….way more than the veggies. Which got me to wonder if we're living in a time when vegetables are now more expensive than meat???

This was fine for two meals for us…which now makes the $45 price seem more reasonable.

Sizzling Pot King
8058 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

This got me wondering…..for all you "FOYs" out there; what your experiences with places on your takeout rotation have been like recently?