mmm-yoso – Page 80

Sovereign Modern Thai Cuisine Revisited

July 10, 2023 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

The recent warm weather has the Missus craving Thai food again. It seems that our options with regards to Thai Restaurants, whether to change in ownership or a not so great recent visit has been whittled down a bit. After a bit of probing, I found that what the Missus has really been missing is the food from Sovereign Thai, which presents its own set of issues. First off, the location is "interesting" and also presents issues with parking and also trying to get there before Padres games on off days. Over the last 3-4 months, the Missus and I have been using the trolley more; to get to places in Old Town and Little Italy for our date nights. So why not stretch it a bit and take the Blue Line to Park and Market, then walk the two blocks or so to Sovereign, right?

As we were walking to the restaurant, after having to resist a couple of "folks with issues", we walked into Sovereign which was empty.

Sovereign Rev 01

I also realized that the Missus had never dined in at Sovereign! I wanted to say "hi" to Jumi, whom I've known since the days of Thai Papaya but she wasn't in.

We placed our order, three of our "standards" and one new dish to try.

The first item out was the Spicy Stir Fried Pork Belly ($19) an item from the "Specials" list.

Sovereign Rev 02

The skin of the pork belly was still crisp when this was served; the flesh buttery and tender. Not very spicy though and really salty, the Thai Basil was incinerated and had lost a lot of the anise flavor.

Rice ($5) was then provided.

Sovereign Rev 04

The rice was not fragrant and hard, like it had been sitting for a while.

The Missus and I looked at each other and wondered if coming here was a mistake.

But things were soon back on track with one the Missus's favorites, the Eggplant with Basil ($13).

Sovereign Rev 03

While this was also slightly high on the sodium scale for us, ginger helped to cut things back. The eggplant had been cooked perfectly, first at first touch, then uber-creamy! The cilantro and Thai basil add a nice, one-two punch of sweet anise and citrusy-peppery-pungent tones to the dish.

Of course I had to get the Northern Thai Spicy Sausage ($12) which is made inhouse.

Sovereign Rev 05

With the wonderful herbaceous tones, the "snap" of the sausage, the light filling with sneaky spice, this is my favorite version of Issan Sausage.

The Missus's favorite dish from Sovereign is the Hat Yai Fried Chicken ($23).

Sovereign Rev 06

While it holds up quite well doing takeout and is even pretty good the next day; having it fresh to the table really highlites the wonderful moistness of the meat and the crispness of the exterior of the bird. As always, we love the fried shallots, the hint of sweetness with wonderful savory tones.

Overall, this was a nice meal. Strangely, we were the only customers in the place during our whole meal.

As for using the trolley to return….well, I think going past America Plaza might be an issue for the Missus.

I guess I'll have to drive down for takeout again in the future. Too bad, because this is by far our favorite Thai restaurant in San Diego.

Sovereign Modern Thai Cuisine
1460 J Street
San Diego, CA 92101
Current Hours:
Mon – Tues 5pm – 9pm
Wed – Thurs 12pm – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm
Fri – Sat 12pm – 930pm
Sunday 12pm – 9pm

Taichung – Yizhong Night Market, Revisiting Miyahara (Twice), and Doing Some Shopping

July 7, 2023 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Taiwan, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants, Travel, Xiao Long Bao

This is a pretty long post, so I'm going to try to keep the verbiage to a minimum.

After our late lunch at Taichung Rou Yuan we took the short walk back to our hotel and took a break. For dinner, we decided to visit another night market. We didn't feel like getting a cab to Fengxia Night Market, which is said to be the largest in Taiwan. Instead, we decided to take the 20-30 minute walk to the Yizhong Street Night Market instead.

Along the way we strolled thru Taichung Park, which has a large man-made lake.

Folks in Taiwan really know how to relax and seem to be very social.

As we crossed Jingwu Road onto Yizhong Street, things didn't look too busy.

But one block further down….well, man it was super packed.

It was just overwhelming to say the least.

Some of the lines were crazy. We walked from one end of the road to the other end. Not only were the stands busy, but the shops that line the street with everything from food, to cosmetics, gifts, clothes, and knickknacks were as well. As we hit the far end of the street, things calmed down a bit, the crowd seemed a bit older and there was even some seating…..

From here we took a quick loop around the stands again and found our places.

This booth made Rou Jia Mo, which looked good. It wasn't the typical Shaanxi style rou jia mo like we had in Xi'an, but featured and light and almost flaky bread, not like the typical "baijimo" (flatbread). This was very tasty.

This booth was selling XLB like dumplings.

Which were being made on the spot.

You placed your order, was given a number. When your order was ready it was called out.

These were pretty darn good…so porky!

Because we'd had a huge breakfast and a late lunch; this was enough for us. Plus, even though this was a bit of fun; the crowds were getting to us.

We took a quieter, roundabout way back to where our hotel was located.

On the way back, we decided to drop by Miyahara again.

As I mentioned in that earlier post; Miyahara is owned by Dawncake whose main store we visited earlier. This place has all kinds of "stuffs" that you never knew you needed.

While this fanciful, "Harry Potterish" shop used to be an ophthalmology clinic, it's now known for all their stuffs and the ice cream served here is super popular. We loved this "punny" sign.

After all the walking we'd done, we slept quite soundly.

The next morning we woke refreshed.

And availed ourselves of the nice and huge buffet breakfast.

The variety was impressive.

Our train to Chiayi was not leaving until 120pm, so we packed and stored our luggage at the front desk and headed out to do some additional Pineapple Cake shopping for my MIL. On Ziyou Road we found several shops selling pineapple cake, after having tastes, two of them past muster and we bought some.

I thought that the Pineapple Cake from this shop was the best I tasted during our entire trip.

Of course, I don't have much of a sweet tooth, and I've had my fill of Pineapple Cake so don't even ask me to taste any……

We saw a location of Ten Ren Tea and having visited the SF location many times were curious. We walked in and were greeted by the sweetest woman.

The Missus loved one of the Oolong Tea's and was told it's a limited crop and is only sold in this area and is not exported so the Missus got it.

While chatting with the woman, the Missus was constantly cracking up. Later She told me that the woman was dissing other tea producers, but doing it in the most "sweetest" way that She couldn't help but crack up!

We did a bit more exploring.

And took our required tea break.

And even headed back to Miyahara…..

Before heading back to the hotel, picking up our bags and making the short Taichung Station. We weren't catching the HSR, so we could leave from the station in the city.

The original Taichung Station has become a historical park and the structure along with the very modern station next to it makes quite the juxtaposition of buildings.

The old rails have been converted to sitting and dining areas….

And of course, there was yet another craft market going on!

Of course we had a train to catch and did not have much time to dally, so my wallet was left unscathed!

And soon enough we were off to our next stop! Chiayi!

Thanks for stopping by!

Rebuilding the Rotation – The Market at HFS, Sue’s Korean Kitchen, Bay Park Coffee, and Zgara Greek Grill

July 6, 2023 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Greek Food, Korean Restaurants, Poke

I'm not sure you've noticed, but we've gone on quite few trips since December, one of which was a month long! I know, we here all about "revenge travel" these days. Well, I'm not sure that's what it is for us. We're all getting older and for…at least me, I'm thinking better revenge travel now than to have wait longer and let it become "Depends" travel if you know what I mean. With all of those trips; it's been pretty difficult getting "back in the rhythm" of things like developing that rotation.

But it looks like things are straightening out and I'm ever slowly falling back into a routine. So here are a couple of places, most should be quite familiar to regular readers, I'll just leave it as a C(learing) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard) post with a minimum of verbiage.

The Market at HFS:

**** HFS has moved their retail location and is now HFS at Centerpark Labs

It seems that the warmer the weather gets, the more I visit.

There had been a gap of over five months since I've restarted my visits and I no longer know the folks working here. The selection is smaller these days; at least on my two recent visits, though those didn't take place during what I recall were the peak days.

I basically stick with the ahi poke here and it still hits the spot. As things heat up and the Missus starts wanting poke, I'm sure I'll be visiting even more often.

Sue's Korean Kitchen:

The folks in the office really like Sue's, so it's been a fairly regular stop for me. Plus, they open at 10am which helps me to beat lunch time crowds.

It's the Kimchi Fried Rice that has us coming back.

Sue’s Korean Kitchen
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92121

In my neck of the woods; well, there's not much. But here're two places that I hit up regularly.

Bay Park Coffee:

I usually meet our good friend "Alle" who was Frankie's favorite Auntie for coffee and to catch up on things once a week or so.

BPC COMC 01

And though they've had some staffing turnover over the last year or so, the folks working are quite nice. We usually catch up on things over a cold brew and veggie bagels.

BPC COMC 02

Bay Park Coffee
4130 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110

Zgara Greek Grill:

After my last revisit to GyroGrill, I headed straight back to Zgara. I hadn't been in a while and business there seems to have really picked up.

Zgara R 01

And take a look at the photos from my last visit to GyroGrill and compare the gyro there to this version.

Zgara R 03

So, of course I'm now back in the habit of visiting as often as I can and it's still the pork gyros here for me. It's always great to chat with Eric, who remembers me from the days when Zgara was in PB.

Zgara Greek Grill
1229 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110

So, hopefully I'm back in the rhythm now and will be adding places back to the rotation. As always, I'm so thankful for your visits and comments!

What's been on your rotation recently?

Bunny Chow

July 5, 2023 mmm-yoso African Cuisine/Restaurants, Burgers, Chicken Wings

**** Cape Fire Grill/Bunny Chow has closed

Back in August of last year, LouiZiana Food closed and was replaced by Bunny Chow. "FOY" Sandy was quick to let me know when the place opened that it was serving South African food, something that's a bit of a rarity in San Diego. In fact, I only recall being to the stand in the Hillcrest Farmer's Market, Sabor Piri Piri in recent years.

Over the course of the last 9 months, between trips, I managed to visit Bunny Chow a couple of times.

Bunny Chow 01

The folks working on all my visits have been friendly and welcoming. The menu is huge and there are "photos" of the various dishes taped to the front table.

Bunny Chow 10

The bright yellow color of LouZiana Food has been kept and the tables now have covers with designs on them

Bunny Chow 03

All my visits were for lunch and on my maiden voyage into B. Chow land, I went with something that I am somewhat familiar with. I got the Chicken Thighs with Peri Peri ($14.95). I also got a side of Chakalaka ($3) as well. When I unpacked my lunch I was a bit taken aback by the appearance of the chicken.

Bunny Chow 04

Bunny Chow 05 Bunny Chow 07 It looked like it needed to be airlifted to a burn center; it was so black. A quick taste confirmed things. The chicken skin was incinerated and bitter. The flesh very dry. The peri peri was quite sour and very mild in terms of spice.

Bunny Chow 06

I did enjoy the yellow rice, which was moist, tender, not overly sweet, and mildly buttery-peppery. I understand that "Geelrys", the yellow rice, has its origins in Cape Malay Cuisine, firmly rooted in the food brought by slaves brought to South Africa; Indonesians and Malaysians were among those brought by the Dutch.

Bunny Chow 09

I also enjoyed the Chakalaka which had nice sour-earthy tones. I was told that this had some spice, but I thought it more tangy-sour than anything else.

Bunny Chow 08

It was also much more tender than I expected. One of the guys in the office sniffed the air and asked me what it was? I told him "chakalaka". He said, "what?" I then went off and said, "you know, like Boomshakalaka, Boomshakalaka, Boomshakalaka, Boom!" I got a blank stare, so I added:

"Why'd the chicken cross the road?
To get from the left to the right
He stepped out of rank, got hit by a tank
He ain't no chicken no more"

Of course, I totally forgot, this was before his time. And if this seems strange, you might enjoy this clip for some "clarification"? 'Nuff said.

After this visit, well, I was a bit conflicted with regards to the food. That chicken was terrible, but I enjoyed the sides. I decided to return.

Bunny Chow 02

I really wasn't sure what to order and finally decided to go for it and got the Bunny Chow Sampler Platter ($19.95) with an upcharge for Lamb Curry ($2) and a side of Peri Peri – spicy ($1.50). It was $23.45 without tax and tip! It seemed to weigh a ton as I carried the containers back to the office.

Bunny Chow 12 Bunny Chow 13 There were two containers involved here. The smaller one consisted of 4 rubbery and overcooked wings, the spicier peri peri helped things a bit, but it still didn't seem very spicy to me. The peri peri was on the sour side and not even close to the version I enjoyed in Lisbon. Again, I enjoyed the rice.

The Bobotie, which came across as a type of casserole, was high on the acidic side of things.

Bunny Chow 16 Bunny Chow 18 And the peri peri came in handy here again….though it seemed to heighten a tanginess of the dish a bit too much. I thought the brioche roll, which looked quite dry, added a bit of buttery sweetness and really helped things out here.

The Durban Curry seemed more like a tomato based sauce/stew was also quite tangy and the lamb flavor, which I enjoy was muted. It was mildy spicy, but I still wanted a bit more heat.

Bunny Chow 14

So, of course….

Bunny Chow 17

In the end, I miss LouZiana Food. The folks here are nice though prices trend on the high side of things. Perhaps I'll return in the future to get more chakalaka, but for now I'll give it a rest. Let me know if you've enjoyed the food here and what dishes you enjoyed!

You can read Soo's post on Bunny Chow here.

Bunny Chow
7128 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Thurs 11am – 8pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 9pm
Sunday 11am – 7pm

Sunday Stuffs – White Rice Replacing Fusion Eats, Zen Curry Temporarily Closed? And Aldi Coming to Clairemont

July 2, 2023 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Filipino Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Markets & Grocers

Just a couple of items for a leisurely Sunday.

White Rice Replacing Fusion Eats:

A couple of weeks back, I noticed that Fusion Eats appeared closed, so I drove on in.

The note on the door said "we are closed
but to check for updates. Which almost hints that this might be a temporary closure?

But things became clearer when I read this post on Eater San Diego. Apparently, this space will be a future site of a location of White Rice. They'll probably do well here. And I'm hoping that it might be better than what I had at the Normal Heights location.

5299 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92110

Is Zen Curry Temporarily Closed?:

Speaking of temporarily closed, I recently revisited PT Eatery. After finishing my meal, I took a walk to check out the location of YukDaeJung which is now open.

What caught my attention was that Zen Curry appeared closed.

And here again was the note posted on the door stating "we are closed". I checked Google which indicated that the place is "Temporarily Closed" as well as that "four-lettered" site which also noted that the place is scheduled to reopen on September 1st. I also did a check on the Zen Curry website, which said the reopening date is TBD.

Zen Curry Closed 00

Interesting times……

7309 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Aldi Coming to Clairemont:

I had to go to the bank and was heading back home, taking the left onto Balboa west when I noticed that the former location of Rite Aid on the corner of Balboa and Genesee which closed during Covid and never reopened had a sign posted. So after making my left turn onto Balboa I headed into the parking lot.

Looks like there'll be a location of Aldi here?

This is going to be an interesting addition. I've been to the Mira Mesa location 2-3 times and thought the prices were good, with a small, tight selection, and super rude employees. So, we'll see…..

5270 Balboa Ave.
San Diego, CA 92117

Hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July!

Crudo Cevicheria & Oyster Bar Revisited

June 29, 2023 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Seafood

Yes, it's more mariscos. Even though we just got back from Mexico, the Missus was craving….well, Mariscos. We thought we'd just do the trolley thing and get in a nice walk. Of course El Cata would be pretty easy; but we both thought we needed to give the place some time to straighten out the grand opening kinks. The newly opened Fisher's came to mind, but in the end, the Missus was craving aguachile and I thought the version I'd had at Crudo last year was quite good. Plus, it was a lovely day, so we headed over to Little Italy on the trolley for an early dinner.

I was surprised at how busy Crudo was at 345 in the afternoon. What was quite amusing was that we were seated at the same table as on all my previous visits. It was nice to do people (and pooch) watching…..

Crudo Rev 01 Crudo Rev 02 The Missus ordered a Savignon Blanc which She enjoyed and I got a Michelada, a nice taste of sunshine on a lovely day. Speaking of sunshine, we were really savoring it. Before we had left for our trip, the the U-T stated that San Diego hadn't had a completely sunny day since February 15th! So much for all the folks who call our city "Sun Diego"!

But on this day, it was indeed nice and sunny. I also noticed that while some of the prices had indeed gone up; it was basically a dollar in most cases.

We placed our order, then sat back and relaxed.

Crudo Rev 02b

First up, the Ceviche Pescado ($17), which had gone up a dollar since September of last year. In these days of rapidly increasing prices (like GyroGrill), this didn't seem to bad at all.

Crudo Rev 03

This wasn't quite as good as I recalled. It was on the dry side, the fish was tough and rubbery, and this was very salty. Not a great start to our meal.

I hoped that one of my favorite dishes from my previous visits, the Aguachile Verde (still $19) would right the ship. Which it did.

Crudo Rev 04

While spicier than I recalled, the good dose of acidity in the dish as refreshing and woke me right up. It also worked well on the very tender shrimp, which the Missus said was "perfect". Creamy avocado, mildly sweet onions, and refreshing cucumbers completed things.

The Missus's favorite dish of the meal was the Aguachile Negro ($19). While milder in terms of spice and acidity, the sweetness of the shrimp came thru nicely.

Crudo Rev 05

Nice savory, mildly garlicky-smoky tones highlighted the dish. This was very nice and the Missus mentioned that we'll be returning for this again soon.

Like I mentioned earlier, the place was quite busy and our wonderful Server did a good job of holding down the fort.

Crudo Cevicheria & Oyster Bar
1608 India St.
San Diego, CA 92101
Current Hours:
Sundays 11am – 10pm
Mon -Thurs 1130am – 10pm
Fri – Sat 11am – Midnight

After our meal we took a nice stroll thru Little Italy. While I'm in the area just about every week when we're home, most of the businesses are closed when I visit. The Missus hasn't been in the area in ages. I took Her along Fir Street to the little shops along the area and we did some shopping for upcoming birthdays and such. And I also got my "steps" in as well since we caught the trolley and had to do some walking. It felt like a nice "staycation" evening!

Mariscos El Cata (Old Town)

June 27, 2023 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Seafood

**** Mariscos el Cata is now Cocinas del Monte.

Back in February, I noticed that Mariscos El Cata was opening on Congress Street in Old Town. Then, at the end of May, while driving thru Old Town after a visit to Old Town Tequila, we noticed that El Cata seemed to be open. Since the parking lot at the corner of Twiggs and Congress was empty, we parked and walked on over. And yes, El Cata was open. At that time we were told that they were open from 11am until 7pm daily. So, we decided to head on over a few days later.

El Cata 01

The place was empty except for two folks dining in the vast patio area.

El Cata 02

We didn't quite know what the drill was and I walked in and flagged down the very friendly gentleman working. We got a nice table overlooking Congress Street and were handed menus which were quite vast in the offerings. Also of note was that there were two prices indicated, for cash versus credit card.

El Cata Menu

We placed our order and some nice chips, with a tangy salsa verde were provided.

El Cata 03

We were also asked if we'd be needed "salsas" and for the heat level….of course the Missus said picante. And a couple of bottles of El Cata branded hot sauce were provided.

El Cata 04

I really liked the heat of the Chiltepin Rojo.

We placed our order and after a short wait, our dishes started to arrive.

El Cata 05

First up was the taco de pescado. Sadly, as you can tell, the fish had been over-fried and was almost black in color. It was also quite dry, probably from being overcooked.

Next up, the Taco de Camaron. In this case the shrimp was perfectly cooked, plump, mildly sweet, and well seasoned.

El Cata 06

The sauce wasn't too rich and had a hint of sweetness to it. The tortillas, which were really mild in maize tones, wasn't up to the task here and fell to pieces quite quickly.

We also ordered the Ceviche de Camaron.

El Cata 07 El Cata 08 I swear I tasted some soy sauce in this ceviche negro; but I must be imagining things. I liked this refreshing dish. The shrimp had been chopped and for me, it made a nice bite when including the onions, cucumber on a tostada. The Missus thought the dish was short on shrimp and had too much "other stuff" for Her taste.

Right when this dish arrived, the nice gentleman came over and apologized….they had forgotten the other two tacos we ordered. This was soon rectified.

Next to arrive was the Gobernador.

El Cata 09

This was pretty mild in flavor overall and it really lacked the layer of flavors that bell peppers add which add crunch with a nice chlorophyllic touch and onions which add a nice sweet pungency provide. Again, the tortillas just gave in and didn't make thru two bites. We also thought this was a bit over-sauced.

Finally, the Taco de Marlyn arrived.

El Cata 10

The marlin was much milder than we're used to and this was also over sauced for our taste. Still it wasn't bad, but again, those tortillas didn't make it thru the first bite.

The place seemed to be going thru some opening issues, which is to be expected, though I would think having two other restaurants in Tijuana, the formula for the dishes would be the least of the place's problems. The guy serving us was nice and "El Cata" himself was on hand and came by to say hello.

And so, we were going to give the place a short pause before returning. But then, I saw this episode of Crossing South and we thought, well, why not give them another shot before leaving for our trip to Mexico.

The place was again quite empty, obviously still in soft opening mode. This time a very friendly and cheerful young lady waited on us. We placed our order and soon enough 2 Tacos de Pescado arrived.

El Cata 11

The strange thing being, after our previous experience with the fish tacos here, we didn't order any tacos de pescado! We were the only customers in the place, so I don't think this was anyone else's order. In the end, instead of making a big deal out of it, we just had the tacos. Two key points regarding this was that this time the fish wasn't over fried and was moist, if a bit on the fishy side in flavor and El Cata was now using double tortillas which ensured that our tacos wouldn't be falling apart. the batter was also crisp and light. That's a step in the right direction for us.

In terms of our order; it seems that these two tacos replaced the Camaron a la Diabla and the Pulpo a la Diabla we ordered. On the positive side of things; we were only charged for tacos de pescado, not the more expensive tacos we ordered.

We did get the Taco de Todos Los Mariscos, the most expensive taco at $6.50 (cash price).

El Cata 13

Again, double tortillas were used. The shrimp were plump and perfectly cooked and the pulpo was so tender. Loved the addition of red and green bell peppers and onions. Oh man, did I wish we had our pulpo taco! The avocado added a nice slightly sweet creaminess to the taco as well.

The Missus wanted to try the Aguachile. So, I ordered the Aguachile de Camaron with Salsa Verde.

El Cata 14 El Cata 15 This was a nice portion of plump shrimp. Though that salsa verde was very mild and really lacked acidity. And because of that; the shrimp never "cooked/cured" in the sauce. It was basically raw shrimp the whole way thru. The tostadas provided were tasty and up to the task, but that sauce was really weak.

We did enjoy the friendly folks working here. I like the quality of the shrimp and the pulpo in the taco was delish, so hopefully the next time I'll actually get pulpo when I order it. It'll be nice to return in a few months to see how things are progressing.

Mariscos El Cata
2543 Congress St.
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 7pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 8pm

Where in the World Were We?

June 26, 2023 mmm-yoso Guadalajara/Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Mexico City, Travel

Yes, we were on yet another trip. This time for nine days. I realize that I'm waaaay behind on my travel posts, like 5 trips behind! Heck, I haven't even started posting on our last road trip yet. I also realize that I'm kinda mixing and matching travel posts and have gotten two emails from folks saying how confusing it is for them. For this, I apologize. I am trying not to mix trips on consecutive days, so hopefully that helps!

As for this last trip, well, we started in a familiar locale, one of our favorite cities. And wanting to start things off on the "right foot", went to an old standby of ours.

We did stay at different accommodations this time. We loved our "suite", though it was quite hot, and the place had no A/C.

The staff was wonderful, and there was even an official snorer "greeter" on site at all times!

We did two amazing tours here. One was a private historical tour combined with eats. We have been to the historical center of the city several times; but we did learn a lot and visited some places we would never had found on our own.

We also had our favorite tacos of the trip on this tour.

The second was a small group (4 people) tour of the largest market in the city. Our guide was a former chef/caterer who was simply amazing! And we got to try some interesting eats as well!

Our next stop was the city with the third largest metropolitan area in the country. It's also home to some iconic dishes, which of course, we got to try.

We also did a private food tour one day and a fantastic walking tour of the city the next.

We also had our two favorite dinners of the trip here as well.

Our next stop is famous for its namesake agave spirit.

Snapseed

We loved the friendly, laid-back vibe here. Folks were warm and kind….and yes, it was indeed warm with temps in the triple digits when we visited. It was nice to be ensconced in a wonderful five-star hotel in the town.

We did two distillery tours, the first took us to a demonstration garden so we could watch the Jimador in action.

We had booked a VIP tour, so the second half consisted of a wonderful private tasting, followed by a nice three course meal.

The second distillery tour was one with a familiar brand name.

This tour exceeded my expectations and really helped to "fill in the blanks". We also did a private combined distilled beverage and chocolate tasting.

This was such a beautiful and charming town.

We really took to this "Pueblo Magico". I even found my favorite "breakfast" spot in the "Callejon del Taco".

And the Missus could polish off a liter of Crema de Coco or Coconut water from this cart in a minute.

Yes, we loved our time in this state. The sights, the sounds, the food, the agave spirits! But it was the warm and friendly people that really made an impression on us!

They work so hard, but always seemed to have time for a smile!

We can't wait to return!

Thanks for stopping by, I'll have something for San Diego tomorrow!

Barrio Donas Opens in Old Town and Phuong Nga Restarts Dining In

June 20, 2023 mmm-yoso Bakery, Desserts, Exploring San Diego, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Barrio Donas has closed their Old Town location

I recently saw the banner up for Barrio Donas in Old Town when dining at El Cata (post coming up). I had been waiting for the shop to finally open in the Old Town Urban Market. I decided to check the place out the following weekend. Of course I went early, this location of Barrio Donas opens at 9, so I could find some parking.

The shop is in a nice bright stall in the market.

Still, the young lady was still putting things out and told me if could wait another 10-15 minutes. So, I decided to take a nice stroll in Old Town. Which I think is a pretty nice when it isn’t over run with crowds.

As I walked past the Church of the Immaculate Conception, I realized that I had never taken a look in the church. It was before the daily mass times, so I took a quick peek in.

I think I’ll drop by for a longer visit one of these days.

Looking across the street, I noticed that the long standing O’Hungry’s/Hungry’s had closed!

Man, I think the place had been around for almost 50 years? Quite sad…..

When I returned to Barrio Donas, half of the stock was up.

By the size of the shop, I knew that I wouldn’t be getting tortas like A la Mexicana which I enjoy so much. So, I picked out something on lower end of the sweet scale; the Horchata Donut.

Now, I could have had a seat in the peaceful patio area, which would have been great. But, since things were so quiet on this morning, I decided to head on over to one of my favorite places in the area; Heritage Park.

I’m not sure if it’s generally known.

But if you head to the right of Christian House, you’ll find a short trail.

It’s not difficult; heck I did it with a coffee and donut in hand. Just don’t fall on any of the cactus……that might not be very enjoyable.

Soon enough you’ll see a bench. There’s even a trash can there.

It was so serene on this overcast morning.

And was a nice place to have a pastry or breakfast of your choice. In this case the Horchata Donut.

And enjoy the “best seat in the house”.

Barrio Donas – Old Town
2548 Congress St.
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Tues – Sun 9am – 5pm
Mon 10am – 5pm

Bun Rieu from Phuong Nga has been a takeout staple for us the last couple of years. And on last Sunday, the Missus requested Her Bun Rieu fix so I drove on over.

Since the start of the pandemic, Phuong Nga has only been doing takeout. And in the last six month or so, the days that Bun Rieu was available had shrunk. At last check it was only available on Friday, Saturday, and Sundays.

And I’ve visited on a couple of weekends when they just didn’t have any Bun Rieu. On this day I walked on in and the young lady, the owner’s daughter I presume, smiled at me and said, “we have Bun Rieu every day now!”

And then she pointed over to the former dining area which was covered with supplies. There were now four tables clear.

She told me “we now have enough staff and can open dining in and make bun rieu everyday”. Good for them!

I did still get my bun rieu to go though. When my order was ready, “Mom” brought it out to me. She then shook my hand and told me something in Vietnamese. Her daughter translated, “she said thank you very much for helping us stay in business.” Whoa, I never thought she even knew who I was. Somehow I was deeply touched by this. It made my weekend.

Phuong Nga
4016 54th St
San Diego, CA 92105

It’s those little moments that can always make my day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Circling Back to Talavera Azul

June 13, 2023 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Mexican Restaurants

After a tumultuous couple of eating years; it seems that the Missus and I are slowly, carefully, treading back to dining out. And one recent evening, the Missus requested a revisit to Talavera Azul. She was craving the menudo rojo there. It's seems that Talavera Azul was a breakfast favorite for us for a blink of an eye. It's hard to believe that our last visit there was over four-and-a-half years ago! I guess all those trips to Mexico and the pandemic put a damper on things.

So, to right our course, we decided to head on down to Talavera Azul on a recent Sunday morning. We arrived 10 minutes before the 8am opening.

T Azul Rev 01

We went and stood at the door. At about 5 till, what seemed like a mob of people got out of their cars and former a line behind us. I guess this is SOP here….at five to the line forms? A minute later one of the women came out and guided us in party by party. We took a window table.

T Azul Rev 02

We were going to order our old favorites here; the Missus got the Menudo Rojo ($14) which is still only served on weekends and I tried to order the Machaca Sonora, but was told they were out of it. So, I went with the Machaca Ranchera ($12.50 + $4 for two eggs) and of course some Cafe de Olla.

T Azul Rev 03

I like the version here; not overly sweet, with just enough cinnamon.

Soon enough things started arriving at our table.

T Azul Rev 04

The Missus just loves fragrant Mexican oregano. And we both enjoyed the smoky heat of the chipotle salsa.

T Azul Rev 05

Our food arrived in tandem, along with some corn tortillas.

T Azul Rev 06 T Azul Rev 07 The eggs were nice and runny, though it needed salt. The country style potatoes were on the dry side, though I did like the beans. The shredded beef which in this case was stir fried with red and green peppers, onions, and a scant bit of tomato were fine; though I prefer the more salty, beefy, toothsome, and intense flavor of the Machaca Sonora.

T Azul Rev 08

The Missus's Menudo was a mixed bag.

T Azul Rev 09

It lacked the richness and spice of what we'd had here before. It also needed a good bit of salt. And of course, the Missus laid it on with the oregano and lime. What was really good was the tripe, which had been cooked to an almost buttery texture.

Service was nice as always; though things were perhaps not as good as what we recalled in the days "BC" (before Covid). Though I'm sure that if Talavera Azul was in our neighborhood we'd visit every so often. These days, a 20 mile drive seems a bit long for us.

Talavera Azul
365 3rd Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91910
Current Hours:
Daily 8am – 2pm