mmm-yoso – Page 44

Zhengxin Chicken Steak (Convoy), a Quick Look

July 10, 2024 mmm-yoso Chains, Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants

This was just a spur of the moment stop, but I thought I'd share it with you all…….

We were driving down Convoy, when I noticed that Zhengxin Chicken Steak, which I had just noticed last month had opened! I'd neither heard nor read anything about that. I pointed the place out to the Missus who knew it was a major chain from China and since that crazy parking lot (actually, most of the parking lots on Convoy fit that category these days as the bike lanes have diminished street parking) was barely half full. It wasn't meal time, but the Missus wanted to have a look.

Zhengxin 01

As we entered, I pointed out the menu behind the counter, with all the fried goodies, but the Missus was focused on something else.

Zhengxin 02

All the skewers…. The young man working was so very nice and explained that the skewers were fried up and the special "seasoning powder" was used on them.

We decided to order a couple as a "snack". I was told about a 6-7 wait, so I had a seat, only one table was occupied at this off hour, while the Missus went to check out Iceskimo next door.

Zhengxin 03

When my order was ready, the young man actually walked out and handed it to me! Such a nice guy. He also asked if we wanted "extra powder". I told him that we'd try things out as ordered and if we liked it we'd be back. He laughed and said "I hope you enjoy it!"

And so, arriving home for our afternoon snack. We had ordered Chicken Skin (of course), Gizzards, Lamb, all priced at $1.99 and a Chicken Wing, which I thought was strangely priced at $5.99, but was huge.

Zhengxin 04

The scent of cumin was clearly present.

I had thought that the Chicken Skin wouldn't hold out on the drive home, but it was still pleasantly textured, the powder has a bit of smoky-mild spice, and we really enjoyed it. It just carried the flavor of the spices well.

Zhengxin 05

The lamb was gamey, cuminy, and fairly tender, quite good. The spices really came thru well on the crunchy-poultry-fried gizzards. While the Missus enjoyed the huge wing, I thought it a bit on the tough side and somewhat bland. Though it could be that I had the lamb right before trying the wing. At $5.99, I'll probably pass on that in the future.

Zhengxin 06

And I agree with the young man; some extra seasoning powder would be nice; especially since none of this was especially salty.

This was a nice, pleasant surprise. We really didn't expect much from yet "another chain", but we like the flavoring and the service was wonderful. I'll return to try the "chicken steak" soon; though I don't think the Missus will want to deviate from the skewers.

Zhengxin 07

I know, I usually do multiple visits before doing a post, but this was a pleasant surprise so I thought I'd share it with you. So, hopefully you don't mind a post on Zhengxin Chicken "stick".

And, if you do drop by Zhengxin Chicken Steak, let me know what you think!

Zhengxin Chicken Steak
4609 Convoy St. #C
San Diego, CA 92111

Zhengxin 08

Thanks for stopping by!

Prime Grill Revisited

July 9, 2024 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

The recent hot weather had me craving some Bi Bim Naengmyun, so I started thinking of some options. I'd last had a metal bowl of it at Yuk Dae Jang, but I wasn't very impressed. Thinking back, I had enjoyed the BBN from Prime Grill, though on our last visit there back in March of 2022, the panchan was terrible and the service even worse. Would things be different over 2 years later? Well, we decided to roll the dice and find out.

We arrived for an early dinner and the place was still fairly busy. This time around, the woman who waited on us was quite warm and friendly.

The Missus had always enjoyed the Dak Bulgogi here and ordered the combo ($24.99) and I (of course) got the Bi Bim Naegnmyun ($16.99). The panchan was much better than what we'd had on our previous visit.

Prime 01

The Baechu kimchi was nice and fermented, with a slight funkiness we enjoy, the kkakdugi (radish kimchi) was spicy, sour, yet refreshing, the Missus enjoyed the namul and I the oi (cucumber) kimchi!

The Missus's combo soon arrived.

Prime 02 Prime 03 And when the gyeran jjim (steamed egg) hit the table, I thought that this would be the interesting test of the service. You see, the Missus enjoys some sesame oil on Her steamed egg. I think it's kind of a Northern Chinese thing. On our last visit, Her request for some was met with some testy derision. This time, the nice woman came over with a squirt bottle and told the Missus, "tell me when…."

Also of note, the woman had told the Missus that there was an option for "sausage tofu stew", basically Budae-jjigae with the combo. And surprisingly, the Missus went for it.

Apparently the Missus enjoyed the gyeran jjim as it was gone in an instant.

Prime 04

The version of budae-jjigae was fairly mild in terms of spice and on the salty side. It was not bad on rice. And the weather was so hot that I just really had a taste and left the rest to the Missus.

Who really enjoyed the salty-sweet-soy flavors of the dak bulgogi, which was also decently griddled with spots of caramelization without charring.

Prime 05

I had a bite and thought it was not bad; dark meat chicken, nicely balanced flavors, not overly tough.

As for me, well, soon enough my metal bowl of spicy-vinegary-sweet elastic noodles arrived at my table.

Prime 06

I made sure to accept the shears that were proffered as I'd had enough experience trying to slurp in what seemed like an endless stream of highly elastic naengmyun. These days I go for a "four-cut". I enjoyed these as the noodles weren't too elastic, but still held on to it's pleasurable, springy-stretchy resiliently bouncy texture. The sauce had a nice spice to it, I added a bit more vinegar to balance things out. If the heat rose to bit too high, I simply took a sip of the icy sour and sweet broth to recover.

Prime 07

The slices of Asian pear helps "Sweeten the pot" and there's a single slice of very dry meat and the boiled egg was overcooked, you could tell that by the evil "gray ring" around the yolk. But heck, I didn't order this to help fulfill my protein requirement for the day.

Prime 07

I wanted something with loads of flavor to help cool me off. And this did the job in spades.

The Missus also enjoyed Her meal with the panchan and service back on track, so I'm thinking Prime Grill is back in our good graces after a two year wait. Just in time for the summer heat.

Prime Grill
4620 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 11am – 10pm

Monday Meanderings – Juewei Coming to Convoy, SotBBQ Replacing Olleh Sushi, and Recently Consumed

July 8, 2024 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Cooking, Korean Restaurants, yoso-silly

We're recently back from yet another Road Trip and I needed to do my rounds this past weekend. Driving around Kearny Mesa I noticed a few new places.

Juewei Coming to Convoy:

I actually drove into Plaza del Sol on Convoy to see what was going on with China Max and noticed a new sign. Right next to Bonchon was this signage.

Whoa, could it actually be? We had been to Jue Wei Kitchen in San Gabriel for the duck neck, pig's feet, etc…….

So, just before typing this up I dropped by Eater San Diego and according to their post, it is true. Get ready for some spicy duck neck, pig ears, tripe, and all kinds of braised goodies!

4690 Convoy St #103
San Diego, CA 92111

SotBBQ Replacing Olleh Sushi:

While driving East on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, I noticed another new sign. This one for something called SotBBQ? This is in the plaza where the original location of Menya Ultra is located.

Less than two years ago Olleh Sushi replaced Old House Hot Pot, and before that it was Uniboil, which replaced Beauty Hunan, which replaced Szechuan Taste! Man, is this location cursed or what?

Well, we'll see how this works out.

8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

And finally…….

Man, this past weekend was a hot one, huh?

I really didn't want to work too hard at cooking and with the post 4th of July folks still crowding things….man, was the Little Italy Mercato packed. I couldn't find any parking at my usual spots and had to actually get metered parking!

Anyway, just to get a bit silly here, we had stuff from the farmers market; great tomatoes from Andrew at Indian Summer Farms, Fuerte Avocados from another stand. We had gotten a nice sourdough loaf from Erick Schat's Bakery in Bishop, perfect for sandwiches, and so forth…..

For a light lunch I made an Avocado – Tomato Toast, with lardons of bacon and feta…..

And for lunch yesterday, it was a Watermelon-Bacon-Feta Salad with tomato, basil, cilantro micro greens, and butter lettuce.

Nice and refreshing.

What have you been eating to "beat the heat"?

Hope everyone has a great week!

Mexico City – Exploring Centro Historico, Xaachila Comida Oaxaquena, Taquería El Torito (Calle de Mesones 48 location), and Quesadillas Bolivar

July 6, 2024 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Mexico City, Taco Shops, Travel

**** So, this one is kinda long. I've condensed things a bit to make it more readable. Please let me know if you have any questions!

We had two full days in CDMX before heading to Jalisco. Even though we'd been to CDMX four times previously, we knew there was so much we hadn't seen yet. And yes, we'd been to Centro Historico several times (remember the colors of Frida?), but there just seemed to be so much. I thought we'd enjoy a private tour of Centro Historico. We had enjoyed our private tour of Museo Nacional de Antropologia on a previous trip, so I contacted Mexico a Pie tours, inquiring about downtown tour options. Ana quickly returned my email and after mentioning we enjoyed the cuisine as well, she proposed the private Tortilla and History tour.

Which is how we ended up "Ubering" to the Zocalo to meet up with our guide, the wonderful and enthusiastic Daniela.

After introductions, we swung on over to Templo Mayor, where we were treated to the history of Tenochtitlan, thought to be founded in the 14th century, home of the Mexica people, and the center of the Aztec Empire. Tenochtitlan was built on the shores of Lake Texcoco, which was eventually mostly drained. It is in this basin that Mexico City now exists.

This temple was dedicated to Huītzilōpōchtli (God of the sun) and Tlaloc which Andres had gone over with us during our tour of the Museo Nacional de Antropologia. Daniela seemed quite pleased that knew a bit about Tlaloc….she got a kick when we remembered the identifying features of Tlaloc; the round eyes and fangs.

We noticed many serpents and was told that these are symbols of fertility and rebirth.

One of the most famous items excavated here is the Coyolxauhqui Stone.

The next stop was just around the corner.

This is the Colegio de San Ildefonso, formerly a college established by the Jesuits, it is now a museum and performance venue.

Though it has some impressive murals and such, we found the elegant little touches to be impressive.

We were taken to the former Colegio de San Gregorio, now known as Universidad Obrera “Vicente Lombardo Toledano” – the "Worker's University", which bears the name of one of the most famous labor leaders in Mexico.

It was here when we discovered how flexible Daniela was. We noticed this dome from the courtyard of the University.

Daniela smiled and said, "let's go". And we were guided to and entered Nuestra Señora de Loreto Church – Church of Our Lady of Loreto.

The interior is quite stunning, though it does look a bit worn.

We notice all the bracing in the interior and was told because of the different types of stone used in the construction, the entire church is starting to tilt to one side.

And then it was time for our first "food stop". At a shop named Xaachila Comida Oaxaquena.

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Having been to Oaxaca the year before, the Missus was interested in trying a tamal.

The Missus was interested in trying the Tamal Chepil.

Which She enjoyed with a nice refreshing cup of Horchata! Good smoky flavors, nice maize tones. Would it make us forget Oaxaca? Heck no, but this was a nice little brunchy start to things.

And the Missus chugged that Horchata like there was no tomorrow!

Xaachila Comida Oaxaquena
De La Santísima 17-22
Cuauhtémoc, 06060 Ciudad de México, Mexico

We then headed back to the Cathedral. But because of services going on, Daniela would not be able to guide us thru the cathedral. She did provide us with some interesting things to see though.

We were told to look for the arm of what was supposed to be the wax figure of Saint Felicitas. Yes, there are human bones there!

Which had become quite a story.

The next stop was a place we didn't know about, the Gran Hotel Ciudad de México.

According to what I've read, this structure dates back to 1526!!!! It then became a shopping center in 1895 and then an hotel.

The Tiffany glass ceiling dates back to 1899.

Personally, I loved the elevator.

The grandness of the hotel looks like it came out of a book from another time.

Our next stop was a favorite of mine.

This interesting, well adorned building is the site of one of the oldest pharmacies in the Americas.

Originally a Augustine Monastery, in 1944 this became Farmacias Paris.

And it is still an operating pharmacy, with different areas to this day.

We were told that the most popular area deals with Homeopathy.

And it's still very busy……

This was quite interesting.

We were then told that it was "taco time" and led to this unassuming shop around the corner on Calle de Mesones.

IMG_9322_01

We had told Daniela that we "eat everything" and she took us here. I was told that there are three "El Toritos" on the street, apparently there's an interesting story about a family taqueria and a falling out between them.

I will say, these were our favorite tacos of the trip. We started with the Suadero, a mix of cuts and the Tripa.

My goodness, the crisp intestine was amazing! We got a second Tacos de Tripa!

It's hard to explain; there's some nice deep, offaly goodness, with a wonderful crispness. I'll just leave it at that.

Taquería El Torito
Calle de Mesones 48
Cuauhtémoc, 06080 Centro, Mexico

From here, we made a couple of more stops like the Biblioteca Miguel Lerdo de Tejada, which had some interesting murals.

We were then headed down Republica de el Salvador.

And then to 16 de Septiembre for our last food stop. This place had me fooled as the sign looked like it was some kind of cell phone shop. But the customers were all having eats and drinks.

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In spite of the sign, this is Quesadillas Bolivar.

We enjoyed the Quesadillas de Nopales and Flor de Calabazas.

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The blue corn tortillas was so full of maize goodness.

Quesadillas Bolivar
16 de Septiembre,
Pasaje Savoy 6-Local #3
Cuauhtémoc, 06000 Centro, Mexico

As we walked to our final destination, the Palacio Postal, the Central Post Office, we asked Daniela how she finds all these places to eat. She told us that she's out trying places every week, to see if it is worth taking folks on the tour to and which customers would fit with what place.

We ended at the beautiful "Postal Palace", the Central Post Office, which was built in 1907.

We had visited before, but it's no less amazing…….

And as we ended our day, Daniela took us to the best spot for an Uber pick-up.

It was indeed another fun, educational, and delicious day in CDMX.

And of course we had Romeo (kinda) greet us when we returned to the Red Tree House.

Mexico City – Staying at the Red Tree House and Revisiting Pasillo de Humo (yet again)

July 5, 2024 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Mexico City, Travel

Yes, I'm way behind on my travel posts and need to catch up. We visited both CDMX and Jalisco last summer.

As for CDMX, well, this was our fifth visit to this lovely destination. We have fallen into a routine of sorts, we stay in La Condesa, our first meal is usually at Pasillo de Humo, we enjoy grabbing a coffee at Cafe Toscano, and the Missus shops for chocolate at Tout Chocolat.

Tout Chocolat
Amsterdam 154
6100 Cuauhtémoc, CDMX, Mexico

The one big change for us this time around was that I was able to get us a suite at the Red Tree House. I'd heard and read about the rooms and service, but was never able to get us a room, until this visit. We loved our beautiful suite. And we especially loved the official "greeter", named Romeo.

Of course, we never saw him actually moving around, he was always napping it seems. Though we knew he was ambulatory since he would be in a different locale everytime.

We had the Jacaranda Suite on the first level.

Which had a colorful sitting area.

Which came in handy since there was breakfast served every morning and a "Happy Hour" with free wine during the early evening.

The one big issue being that there is no A/C and it was unusually hot in CDMX during our visit. And while on our previous visits there would be a downpour in the evening which bring some cooler temps, it was strangely absent during our stay. In fact, the folks at RTH mentioned how different the weather was during the current year.

70848250755__B6A3CF47-2EF1-4AAC-9D12-04E62F4E248E It was a wonderful stay, if a bit on the "atsui" side of things.

The Red Tree House
Culiacan 6
06100 Cuauhtémoc, CDMX, Mexico

For dinner, we headed to the familiar confines of a place we'd been to several times over our visits to CDMX; Pasillo de Humo. Over the years, we've determined that, at least for us, ordering small dishes (and some good Mezcal) was the way to go here.

This was an interesting visit. Because of all the detailed posts I've done, over the years, I'm not going into great detail, except to say we ordered our favorite dishes.

What I will say is that other than tripas tacos, things just didn't seem the same. Prices have gone up, but the herbs and veggies were on the "brown" side of things, the memelitas were dry, as was the pork. The hoya santa was turning brown and lacked flavor…….it was just not a good meal. Quite sad as this was place we'd been to so many times.

And the place was completely empty during our entire meal. I don't know what's going on here.

Not sure we'll be back during our future trips to CDMX.

Pasillo de Humo
Av Nuevo León 107
06100 Cuauhtémoc, CDMX, Mexico

Tori Nanban from Okan

July 3, 2024 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

For some reason, the recent warm weather had me craving Tori Nanban off all things. Not sure why? So, on one of the days when I needed to go to Nijiya later than usual, I decided to stop in at Okan for lunch. Man, it had been over 4-1/2 years since I had dined in at Okan! I did do a bunch of takeout over the couple of years, but the Tori Nanban, basically chicken karaage with a pseudo tartar-ish sauce, would not, in my mind, hold up to-go, especially since the karaage didn't do well as takeout. So, I decided the time was right to grab lunch at Okan.

It was interesting, the place was empty when I arrived at 11am, though it did start to fill up as I left.

Okan Rev 01

I did know what I wanted, so it was quite easy ordering.

Okan Rev 02

While the Tori Nanban lunch special had gone up $3 since the last time I'd had it, for some reason $14 seemed fairly reasonable to me.

I was quite interested too see what the Chicken Nanban version 2024 was going to be like, at one time it was my favorite version in San Diego. Soon enough it arrived.

Okan Rev 03 Okan Rev 04 First thing I hit was the miso soup. I was happy to note that it was flavorful and not watered down.

What was "watered down" were the side dishes. I thought that Okan, which was once known for their wonderful Kozara Ryori and sides really jumped the shark when they started giving out seaweed salad with their lunches. And on this day; it was like a teaspoon of it. Like why bother?

Okan Rev 05 Okan Rev 06 But that was the only downside to this lunch as the very generous portion of rice was hot and fluffy.

And the karaage was crisp, slightly lacquered, moist, and decently seasoned. The tartar sauce, which at times had been too mayo heavy, was nicely balanced, just enough sour tones, creamy, not overly rich, and, I know this might sound strange, somewhat refreshing.

Okan Rev 07

What was refreshing was how much I enjoyed this meal. I really need to start "doing the rounds again". I need to revisit places like Izakaya Masa and Yorimichi!

I also need to thank "FOY" KerriK who send me an email a while back documenting her hunt for some good Izakaya grinds. This got me thinking about all those places I missed. Thanks for inspiring me Kerri!

Wa Dining Okan
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Lunch Served between 11am – 2pm Daily

And we'd like to wish everyone a fun and safe 4th of July! Keep cool during this heatwave!

Kiko’s Place – the Seafood King Mariscos Truck now on Morena

June 27, 2024 mmm-yoso Food Trucks, Mexican Restaurants, Seafood

For the last couple of months I had noticed that a Mariscos Truck had been parked off of West Morena, in the parking lot of Coles Fine Flooring. Taking a closer look, I noticed that it was one of the Kiko's Place trucks, I believe there are several trucks, plus one brick and mortar restaurant in San Diego.

Man, to think, there was a time when I wouldn't blink an eye at taking a drive down to Chula Vista to have some tacos eaten on the hood of my car, but that was over 6 years ago now. Of course time and inflation have changed things. Heck, the last time I'd visited a Mariscos Truck was when the Pacific Seafood Truck was in the outlet of V-Outlet, (which has been replaced by the La Chorreada Truck) over 4 years ago!

Over the last couple of months I'd keep passing that truck on Morena, making a mental note to drop by one of these days, and the recent heat wave seemed the perfect time. The truck seems to open for business around 9am, which is when I dropped by on this day.

Kikos Place Mor 01

The guy working was quite friendly. I also liked the fact that there were tables set-up on parking lot sidewalk of Cole's with everything from napkins to hot sauce, with trash cans readily available.

Kikos Place Mor 02

The very chatty gentleman asked me if I'd been here before and I told him that I had visited the Kiko's Truck that used to be on the corner of Friar's Road and Vias Las Cumbres, in the parking lot of the liquor store. He laughed and said "that's us!" We had a nice chat, I wondering why they had moved, after all, that truck seemed quite popular. He told me that they had so many regular customers and they loved the spot, but the owner of the liquor store wanted to start charging them $6000 a month to park there! Whoa….. So, they had to find another place, which is how they ended up at this location. He said he felt bad that many of his regulars now have to drive to see him, but really appreciated how many of them still do drop by.

After our chat, I walked on up to the window to order. And whoa….

Kikos Place Mor 03

Well, the last time I had a Gobernador or Tacos de Marlyn it was $4, which I thought was expensive then….now it's $8! The "OG" Fish Taco is now $3.50. The last time I had one from a Mariscos Truck it was $1.95. Well, it's indeed a sign of the times.

I decided to get a Taco de Marlyn; funny thing, I guess due to the "customer base" his taco is on the menu as Smoked Fish. I also got one of the OG Fish Tacos as well.

I was given a cup of absolutely scalding consomme. It was so hot that I wasn't able to finish this until after my tacos!

Kikos Place Mor 04

Not bad, a bit on the "thinner" side, strong celery tones, not overly salty, pretty good "seafoody" flavors.

Soon enough, my tacos were ready and I slid over to the "salsa bar", which is nicely protected from the elements by glass doors.

Kikos Place Mor 05

I basically just needed some lime and some salsa roja for the Marlyn.

Kikos Place Mor 06

The Tacos de Marlyn was definitely the better of the two.

Kikos Place Mor 08 Kikos Place Mor 07 The generous portion fish has a mild smokiness, wasn't too salty, and wasn't fishy in the least. Think of it as "bacon of the sea". Not a big fan of the queso on the fish, but I really enjoyed and appreciated the layer of melted cheese on tortilla which ensured that things wouldn't fall apart. I do enjoy the onions and peppers and the tortilla was pliable did the job.

As for the Taco de Pescado. Well, this is what $3.50 buys these days. At least it wasn't as bad as what I'd last had at El Zarape.

Kikos Place Mor 09 Kikos Place Mor 10 The fish was fried nicely, crisp, the flesh moist, no off flavors. The issue would be how skinny it was. There was so much cabbage and crema that it kind of overwhelmed the poor guppy….. Well, at least the tortilla held up, but I probably won't be getting this again.

Overall, I enjoyed that Taco de Marlyn. I recall not enjoying the Gobernador from this truck while it was on Friar's Road, but heck, that was about a decade ago! Though the thought of paying $16 for two tacos….well, I need to think about that! I wonder what prices would have been like if they had stayed at the old location and pay $6000 a month for a parking spot?

Kikos Place Mor 11

Kiko's Place-The Seafood King Mariscos Truck
1170 West Morena Blvd. (In the parking lot of Coles Fine Flooring)
San Diego, CA 92110

What’s in a name? Cakey Bakey and Cluck n Sip

June 26, 2024 mmm-yoso Bakery, Chicken Wings, Desserts

Recently, I had to get my iPhone battery changed. Our business of choice for this is iTech which is in the same strip mall as Balboa Market. Funny thing, there's a dessert shop here, the sign says "Balboa Bakery".

Cakey 01

But, the actual name of the place is…..Cakey Bakey!

Cakey 02

What a name!

We actually came here a couple of months back….you know me, I don't really have a sweet tooth. But on the first visit, the Missus tried a couple of items….there's a great variety of traditional Persian confections for sale, but the Missus was more interested in the "other stuffs".

Cakey 03

Over time She's had most everything the place had to offer and has settled on one item She enjoys; the "Napolian" a mille-feuille type pastry.

Cakey 04

She likes that it's not too sweet and the crisp textures.

Cakey 05

I dunno since I've never tried it, but I'm not complaining as in these days of $10 and up pastries; well this is five bucks. So, I make sure to get one when I'm in the area.

Yes, Cakey Bakey……

Cakey Bakey
5921 Balboa Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

Cluck n Sip:

Well, on that same visit I needed to head on over to 99 Ranch Market. I went to use the restroom, it was 1030 and as I made my way past the food court, the place that I knew as Krispy Krunchy Chicken that had changed to Cluck n Sip was just putting out the first batch of chicken.

Cluck 01

I noticed it was the same really nice folks working from the KKC days so I walked on over. I was told that the basic fried chicken recipe was the same as before. It was just a name change and there's some different sauces and such. Interesting.

I went and ordered six wings and some potato wedges. Of course, everything had just come out of the kitchen so it was all fresh.

Cluck 02 Cluck 03 So yes, this was scalding hot. Did I notice a difference? Well, 6 wings were now $9.99 and it seemed to have much more black pepper and was even saltier than I recalled. Also, the coating got soggy quite quickly. Not sure if it was just my imagination, but it seemed that way. The wings were of decent quality, it was moist, but again really high on the sodium scale for me.

As for the Potato Wedges ($3.99), man this was a large portion for a "small size".

Cluck 04

Like the chicken, it was like a sodium bomb. It was fairly crisp initially, but got really hard and chewy as it cooled.

Regardless of what I was told, I seem to detect some changes since the KKC days. Not sure I'll be back. Though I need to try the original location in Hillcrest one of these days…..

Cluck n Sip
5950 Balboa Ave (In the 99 Ranch Market Food Court)
San Diego, CA 92111

Slurp (Liberty Station)

June 24, 2024 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chinese Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

Recently, I was in the Liberty Station area, where in all honesty I don't spend much time these days since the Missus prefers the sourdough at Secret Sister to Con Pane. But here I was close to lunch time and I decided to get some lunch on this day. Initially my thoughts were on hitting up Latin Chef again or even the location of Chris' Island Grinds at this location, but really, I'd been there and done that.

Instead I had heard about a fast-foodish stand in the Public Market called Slurp and the Duck Noodle Soup. So, I went and located the stand.

SLURP 01

Which was quite interesting as there was another stand named Slurp Taiyaki and Ramen in the food court, but it was the "true" Slurp that I actually wanted.

You see, I had an acquaintance mention one item on the menu they enjoyed, the "Roast Duck Slurp", basically duck noodle soup. There's a bunch of Chinese-Thai dishes on the menu, but that was what was recommended and that's what I ordered.

Which after ordering ($16) soon arrived in a nice tight package. This being a rather quiet day, I took it outside and proceeded to see what it was about.

SLURP 02 SLURP 03 I appreciated the way things were packed though I told the woman I'd be eating this close by. There were containers of spicy vinegar and a decent chili oil (which I used) included in my package.

I found a nice al fresco space to have my meal.

And unpacked things. First impressions….well, that broth was scalding hot, the portion size was quite generous as it was more than would fill the bowl of ingredients.

SLURP 04

The broth was decent, nice very mild flavor of duck, five spice, white pepper, not overly salty. Nothing amazing mind you, but better than I expected.

Poured into the container with the duck, veggies….well, veggies was broccoli, and noodles left almost one fourth of the broth leftover.

SLURP 04b SLURP 04c Which led to an interesting concoction. The duck was breast, quite lean, a bit more chewy then I enjoy, with a touch of five spice seasoning, not bad at all. The fried shallots added a nice savory and crunchy texture. The broccoli really gave off "Panda Express" vibes but at least I got some veggies.

Sadly, the egg noodles were overcooked and mushy.

SLURP 05

This was an interesting visit. Is this the future of food court cuisine here, which ain't terrible? But yet, it isn't great…..well, perhaps that's the definition of what they want the food here to be.

Slurp
2820 Historic Decatur Rd.
San Diego, CA 92106
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 8pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 830pm

SLURP 06

Sunday Sandwiches – Bay Hill Tavern and Sandwich Emporium

June 23, 2024 mmm-yoso Cheesesteaks, Pubs and Pub Grub, Sandwiches

Man, was it warm enough for you today? I was going to do another noodle soup post, but decided to spare you the torture. So, I'll just do one of these sandwiches posts, of places close to home…consider it a H(anging) i(n) t(he) 'H(ood) version if you will.

Bay Hill Tavern:

In my last post on BHT, I mentioned how friendly the bar staff is, and how gladly they'll share their favorite versions of items on the menu. Recently, BHT put a version of a Philly Cheesesteak, called the BHT Philly on the menu.

Now granted, I have a whole category for cheesesteaks, and as expected this really isn't what I would describe as one.

BHT Sandwich 01

The roll is too bready, but I do enjoy the caramelized onions, mushrooms, and peppers. The beef, which they told me is shaved rib eye is a bit on the chewy side, but nice and beefy. For me, this sandwich was much too dry, and the provolone-mozzarella mix lacked a nice cheesy punch and there was not enough of it. It's a bit on the bland side overall.

BHT Sandwich 02

Now, the folks that I know at BHT like that I'm honest about the food when I try it. So, when I was asked about this, I told them what I wrote above.

Cue in Janeli, who bartends and also manages the place on occasion. She told me to try the cheesesteak with a side of the beer cheese, which is what they put on the Dirty Fries. I was a bit skeptical, but I guess I take direction well. On my next visit, I got the Philly, no fries (the sandwich is enough for me, plus not a fan of the quick to be soggy fries, or paying an upcharge for garlic fries. Guess I only like the dirty fries?), with a side of Beer Cheese.

BHT Sandwich 03 BHT Sandwich 04 Knowing what kind of mess I'd be making, they kindly provided a knife to slice the sandwich and a ton of napkins. I truly had my doubts, thinking the flavor of the fonduey cheese mixed with beer and other seasonings might interfere with the sandwich. But, it actually made it better, adding more savory tones, and a pleasant creaminess to things.

No, it's not what I call a proper cheesesteak, but pretty good overall. Thanks to the folks like Adam and Janeli at BHT!

Bay Hill Tavern
3010 Clairemont Drive
San Diego, CA 92117

Sandwich Emporium:

I took my car to Victor's for a good car wash. When I do this, I'd usually head on across the street and get a haircut, but on this day, since it was later in the morning and I was feeling a bit peckish, I decided to get a sandwich at Sandwich Emporium. I didn't realize that it had been a year and a half since my last visit!

I walked on in; the owners, the twins weren't in on this day….in fact, I haven't seen them in a couple of years.

SE Rev 01

I ordered my usual, the Spicy Julio. I took a seat outside and when my sandwich was ready, just ate it on the spot.

SE Rev 02

This sandwich has changed over the last two times I've had it. It much more mayo heavy, there less roast beef in it….food costs I guess, the avocado is a really mashed, and the sandwich is a bit of a mess. It's also not as spicy as before.

SE Rev 03

I really enjoyed it as used to be. Kind of sad actually.

SE Rev 04

Perhaps I need to change my habits and try something else next time.

Sandwich Emporium
3054 1/2 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117