American/New American Restaurants – Page 2

Road Trip – Revisits to Industrial Eats (Buellton) and Alchemist Garden (Paso Robles), and Lunch at Jeju Kitchen (Carmel)

October 18, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Cocktails, Dog Friendly, Korean Restaurants, Monterey/Carmel/Santa Cruz - Monterey Bay/Peninsula, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, Taco Shops

Back in April/May, we took a two week Road Trip with JJ. He’d already proven himself during our road trips to June Lake, Morro Bay/Cambria and to Scottsdale/Winslow/Lake Havasu among others. We were basically doing a road trip every month and this “two-weeker” would cover two months!

This one was more “my thing” as I’m more of a city/coast kinda guy. Our northern destination was Mendocino.

Our “first leg” was going to be to a place now familiar to us Paso Robles. We decided to go up via the 101 and stop for lunch at another place I’ve posted on twice already; Industrial Eats in Buellton.

We had the same two dishes as on our last visit; the Smoked Duck Salad and Miso Cod. Both were just as delicious as what we’d had last time.

We’re still not quite sure what that avocado is for; but the cod is so buttery and the mushrooms add a wonderful earthiness.

From Buellton, it was an easy hour-and-a-half to Paso Robles. Since we started doing so many road trips during Covid; Paso Robles has become a favorite stop for us.

This time, with JJ in tow, we decided to stay at the Paso Robles Inn, which is right across the street from the Downtown City Park.

It was fairly pricey; but the location was great, as were the grounds….JJ was fascinated by the Koi Pond.

Our room wasn’t that great, the noise from upstairs and the rooms next door were fairly loud. So, while we loved the location; we’d try and find a different place to stay at the next time…..

Paso Robles Inn
1103 Spring St.
Paso Robles, CA 93446

Of course, once we settled in we headed out.

We enjoy stopping in at the Paso Robles General Store…….which is dog friendly.

And they stock Paso Almonds which are a must buy for snacks and gifts when we get back home.

General Store Paso Robles
841 12th St.
Paso Robles, CA 93446

As for dinner….well, our favorite restaurant in Paso; Les Petites Canailles is not dog friendly; so we thought we’d just grab some eats at what is possibly my favorite Cocktail Bar in California; Alchemist Garden; which I’ve already posted on three times! Though this would be the first time we’d actually be having a full meal there. We got a table on the patio so JJ could hang out with us.

Of course the cocktails were awesome!

We were pleasantly surprised at the food as well. The Bone Marrow was very buttery and though we had doubts about the Cherry Onion Jam; the sheet-acidity really paired well with the marrow.

It was also “Taco Tuesday”….so we ordered one each of the Shrimp, Duck, Chicken, and Skirt Steak Taco. Our expectations were very low….but man; the corn tortillas were decent and held up well. And the meats; especially the skirt steak and the shrimp, with a perfectly crunchy-crisp batter and tender shrimp were very good!

The skirt steak was topped with harissa; which had an almost kimchi like sour-spiciness….surprisingly good. We could even deal with the sour cream on the tacos as well!

Such a nice surprise and meal!

The Alchemists’ Garden
1144 Pine St.
Paso Robles, CA 93446

The following morning we headed out to our next stop Carmel By the Sea. But first we decided to make a stop at Fiscalini Ranch. We had really enjoyed the easy trails and the views before, so we thought JJ might have fun. This time we did the Marine Terrace and Bluff Loop Trail.

Which JJ enjoyed!

And the views on the bluff trail are lovely.

And the wildflowers were beautiful.

And of course, there are the benches……

It was a fun time!

From here it was a two hour drive to Carmel. We’d be in early, so we decided to get some lunch. There is a Korean Restaurant in Carmel Plaza with outdoor seating…Carmel is known to be very dog friendly; we found street parking and headed on into the mall and Jeju Kitchen.

It was past noon, but it was pretty quiet. We easily found a table near the fire pit.

Serers were very friendly; even bringing JJ a bowl of water. Though the prices gave me pause.

The Missus got the Dolsot Bi Bim Bap. Which was $26 but had no meat!

The egg was fine; though we prefer crisp edges. Still the yolk was fairly soft and runny. The dolsot wasn’t hot enough, so no rice “crust” developed. The kimchi didn’t have a deep fermented flavor and was just salty and sour. And within the confines of the dolsot made this dish pretty bland.

Like I mentioned above; the panchan was pretty bland.

I ordered the Korean Fried Chicken – would you believe this cost $28?

The Mu Kimchi was overly sweet. The batter was too thick and initially crunchy, but got mushy pretty quickly. It was also pretty bland….something I’ll almost never say about “KFC”. I appreciate a bit of “lightness” in my KFC; but this was definitely not that. This one went in the “soy-garlic” direction. Though it was more drizzled sugar-soy. Overly sweet for our taste. Not enough sauce, lacking in depth of flavor….

The meat was chewy, but fine.

In the end, a shadow of Korean cuisine. I should have known better when I saw Miso Cacio de Pepe, Smashburgers, and Coconut Prawns on the menu. Lesson learned.

Jeju Kitchen (In Carmel Plaza)
106 Mission St.
Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93923

We took a stroll around the plaza….I think we prefer the shops in the Downtown Village/Ocean Avenue area.

We did manage to kill time before heading to our accommodations. We were staying at the Green Lantern Inn once again. Though this time for two nights, so we could spend a bit more time exploring!

Thanks for stopping by – hope you have an awesome weekend!

Road Trip – Tiger Bar & Cafe (June Lake) and it’s back to Erick Schat’s Bakkerÿ (Bishop) and Alabama Hills Cafe & Bakery (Lone Pine)

July 26, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Pubs and Pub Grub, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Sierra Nevada, California, Travel

I thought I'd best finish up this series on our stay in June Lake so here goes…..

After the Missus did Her morning paddleboarding while I got breakfast at Silver Lake Resort Cafe and then hiking the Reversed Peak Loop Trail, we headed back to June Lake to freshen up. We waned to grab a quick lunch and just relax. Right across the street from our accommodations is the Tiger Bar & Cafe, one of the few places opened daily from nine to nine.

The place serves everything from breakfasts, to "Mexican" dishes, to burgers, to salads……you get the picture. We decided to just get a simple sandwich and you know the Missus….She loves Her bacon; so we got a BLT on sourdough, with chips as our side to go and walked on down to Gull Lake, returning to pick up our lunch.

Once we picked up our order; we simply strolled across the street, to our accommodations, and split our sandwich in the comfort of our room.

This was pretty much a by-the-book BLT. The chips were a bit thicker than we prefer.

The bread was a bit under-toasted, but the bacon was nice and crisped, the tomatoes decently ripe.

Would I go out of my way for this sandwich…..well, no. But since it was right across the street…..

On my way out, I noticed the "specials" menu.

I noticed a couple of items that we interesting. Plus, the Missus and I just wanted to relax before leaving the next morning. So, after our afternoon nap, we decided to head on over for an early dinner.

It was 4pm and there were a few customers already in the place….most of them having a "happy hour" it seems.

The Missus had a glass of wine, I had a light and refreshing Mammoth Brewing Pilsner.

And we ordered from the specials grease board menu, all items were priced at $9.95. Our Server was very nice and friendly.

First to arrive were the pork rib tips.

This was actually pretty good. Not a huge fan of the overly sweet, mass-produced BBQ sauce; but the rib tips were fairly tender, with nice cartiledgeous chewiness. A decent amount of smokiness with a mild rub. It was better than we had expected.

Next to arrive were the fried pickles. Man, the portion size was pretty large.

Crisp outside, with a sour-tangy-saltiness, this was a nice version.

The Fried Brussel Sprouts on the other hand was our least favorite.

The batter didn't hold up well and was quite salty. The actual brussel sprouts were mushy and had a weird texture.

Still, two out of three ain't bad. Again, I wouldn't go out of my way for this, but being across the street…..

Tiger Bar & Cafe
2620 CA-158
June Lake, CA 93529

Of course, after all of that fried food, we needed to take a walk and headed back down to Gull Lake to watch the day turn into night.

The next morning we headed out early and made a stop in Bishop at Erick Schat's.

This time we got the Sheepherder Bread and of course more cookies for the Missus.

That bread is great…..this will be a regular stop for us from now on.

Erick Schat's Bakkerÿ
763 N Main St.
Bishop, CA 93514

About an hour south of Bishop is Lone Pine and it seemed like a good idea to make a brunch stop before the five hour plus drive home. We decided on revisiting Alabama Hills Cafe. We stopped an easily found parking and unlike our previous visit, things were rather mellow in the restaurant.

The Missus got the bacon and egg breakfast, which came with a rather dense biscuit, and breakfast potatoes….and of course bacon.

While the potatoes had a generous amount of bell peppers and onions, it was bit on the greasy side. No complaints about the bacon as She also ended up poaching some of mine.

Having thought that the BLT I had for lunch here was decent; I got the Breakfast BLT.

Other than the bread being a bit under toasted….and the interesting portion of grapes….I guess they wanted to make sure I had some fruit with breakfast; I enjoyed this sandwich. Even though the eggs could have been a bit more runny; there were no off flavors, the nice smoky saltiness of the bacon (before the Missus stole it), acidity of the tomato, this was a decent sandwich. I'd have it again.

Typical diner-ish fare; pretty much what we expected.

Alabama Hills Cafe & Bakery
111 West Post St.
Lone Pine, CA 93545

And then we were headed home……intent on getting some Asian food for the Missus!

Thanks for stopping by!

Home Sweet Home (Escondido) (again)

July 24, 2025 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Once again, Cathy is writing about what she eats. Kirk is busy with research so he can write interesting things about his food adventures.

The Mister and I have enjoyed many meals at Home Sweet Home Cafe with my most recent posting in 2022. Recently, my brother and I visited for breakfast.

This nondescript diner in the midst of an industrial park took over from another diner in 2010. The simple breakfast-lunch menu is served all open hours and you are always made to feel like home when you are here. So friendly. Just watch where you park on weekdays; the other open businesses are strict.

There is something to see wherever you look; on the walls, tabletops, windows.

My brother asks to go out to 'local' places, defining such as 'having mismatched coffee cups'. I need to photograph those next time.

Biscuits and gravy (half order) with one large sausage, two eggs and home fries ($13). The potatoes are nicely crisped with onion and bell pepper. The breakfast sausage is an excellent quality and pieces mixed in with the peppery white gravy poured over the fresh made, crisp crusted fluffy biscuit just make it a perfect dish. Of course the orange yolked poached eggs are quite nice.

Hot Cake Special (two) with one large sausage link and two (scrambled eggs) ($13.50) is pretty much what my brother always wants for breakfast.

A side of deep-fried bacon ($7). He asked for 'very crisp' bacon and our delightful waitress suggested deep fried. Of Course! This was really good.

Consistency, quality. A great place. Home.

Home Sweet Home Cafe website 662 Enterprise Street, Escondido 92029 (760) 743-2233 Open Mon-Fri 5 AM-2 PM, Sat 5AM-1 PM Sun 7AM-1 PM

Original Pancake House (again)

July 21, 2025 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy while Kirk is having a lovely time with His Missus and JJ during a quick getaway.

My first post about The Original Pancake House was in 2009, then in 2013, again in 2015 and most recently in 2021. It was time for another breakfast report from this consistently wonderful breakfast place. This time I was with my brother.

The menu choices are about the same, with increased prices, of course.

The half and half pitcher for the pure 36% whipping cream (not half and half) has been a mainstay in every location of OPH we had ever been. (Coffee is now $4.65, kept constantly refilled) (it tastes so good with whipping cream).

My brother wanted pecan pancakes. This is a half order ($10.45). The pancake batter here is unique to the franchise; consistency is important. Slightly sweet batter cooked until the cake is lightly crisp on the exterior, filled with pecans and then topped with plenty of toasted pecans and powdered sugar

He really likes bacon and recalled the thick cut bacon here was particularly good. A side order ($7.95) was worth it. Bacon and pancakes, why not? He really liked his meal.

On the other hand, I wanted savory this morning and the Chicken Crepe ($16.70) was my order. Diced chicken breast simmered with green bell peppers, pimentos and olives added to a mushroom sherry sauce and rolled in a flavorful (slightly sweet if you taste it alone), delicate crepe, topped with crispy sliced almonds. This was served with three crisp, light potato pancakes.

Our total condiments included (real) maple syrup, butter, sour cream and applesauce.

Quite a perfect meal.

Original Pancake House website 3906 Convoy Street San Diego 92111 (858) 565-1740 Open daily 7 a.m. Closes at 1 p.m. weekdays, 2 p.m. on weekends.

Anyway, we were reminiscing about going to this fancy breakfast place when we were younger. It turns out OPH started in our hometown of Detroit…and then moved to San Diego. Everything we took for granted did happen in the best possible way; we just followed it.

Gillespie Field Cafe (El Cajon) (again)

July 18, 2025 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! thanks you for stopping by. Kirk and His Missus are busy with JJ and another vacation which will be an interesting read. Cathy is writing today.

I wrote about a visit to Gillespie Field Cafe in 2011 and a lot has happened since then (new owners, Covid and just the passage of time).

The restaurant is next to the Control Tower.

It essentially looks the same, with outdoor

as well as indoor seating, both with views of the airfield.

The menu is simpler and the adult beverage choices are listed next to the counter.

My brother was going to be driving home (to Las Vegas) and we stopped here for a quick breakfast.

Without divulging any details, I ordered the 1/2 Biscuits and Gravy from the "Senior Aviator's Menu" ($11.95), which included one egg (poached perfectly) and country potatoes. The buttermilk biscuit crust had a crumbly/flaky texture, the flavorful (there's black pepper and something else) diced sausage filled gravy (house made) was absorbed by the soft chewy interior. The crisped potato cubes with bell pepper and onion and were really good.

My brother chose the Golden French Toast Breakfast ($15.75) with two eggs (scrambled), hash browns and two strips of bacon. He said the French toast was really good; fluffy inside, slightly crisp exterior and the bacon was a good thickness and nicely crisp. The eggs were a smooth soft scramble and the hash browns were a nice crisp quality.

Good coffee here!

Gillespie Field Cafe 2015 North Marshall Avenue El Cajon, CA 92020 Open daily 7 a.m.-2 p.m. (Early Bird specials weekdays 7-9) Website

Road Trip – Hellman-Ehrman Mansion, Sugar Pine Point State Park, and a Return to the Dog & Bear Tavern (Tahoma)

July 5, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Gastropub, Lake Tahoe, Road Trip, Sierra Nevada, California, Travel

**** Not much food in this one, so perhaps you'd like to return tomorrow!

I had decided to create a category for our Sierra Nevada road trips, when I suddenly realized that I never finished my posts on our stay in Tahoma. So, I decided to do something rather quick. Here goes.

We had strolled down to Sugar Pine Point State Park the previous afternoon and Lake Tahoe looked so beautiful and calm. So this is where the Missus decided to do Her paddleboarding the next morning. We drove over early; the place was so serene; paid our $10 entrance fee and parked in a space that was strategically placed with shore access. While the Missus did Her paddling; I decided to take a stroll around and just enjoy the serene beauty of the park.

Lovely trails/paths and views.

I walked past the pier with a boat house in the distance.

There was a cabin alongside the boathouse. I came to find out that this was the cabin of William "General" Phipps, who was the first non-native settler on the west shore of Lake Tahoe.

Who settled here in 1860. His original cabin burned down, but this one was built in its place.

I walked to the area where General Creek empties into the lake.

And then decided to turn around. On the way back, I ran into this.

An honest to goodness Ice House!

So, this really got my attention. You see, right up from the pier is this mansion.

The is the Pine Lodge, better known as the Hellman – Ehrman Mansion. Designed by Walter Danfroth Bliss, completed in 1903, financed by San Francisco banker Isaias W. Hellman, who made it his summer home. It is said that the area reminded I.W. Hellman of his homeland Bavaria ,so he started buying up property. So, what about the Ehrman part? Well, upon his death in 1920, Hellman's daughter, Florence, who managed the property for her father, inherited it. She was married to Sidney Ehrman and thus added her married name to the estate.

The view from the porch of the property is quite lovely.

And there were quite a few structures on the estate.

At this point I was quite interested in taking the 330 tour of the mansion. So, I decided to head on over to where I would meet the Missus and see if She was interested.

As I waited near the parking lot area, one of those amazing little incidents happened. A woman walked by with a sweet Rottweiler who I just needed to pet. After a short chat, she asked me if I'm from Hawaii!! I guess I still have that accent! Well, wouldn't you know, this woman and her late husband used to own a small cattle ranch in Waimea on the Big Island! Of course we both called it Kamuela! I mentioned that Kamuela is one of my favorite places! I had a blast talking story! I'm not going to mention her name since Tahoma has a population of just over 1,000 and I'd like to respect her privacy! She walks her pooch to the park daily during the warm months. During the winter you'd need skis or snowshoes! She also introduced me to one of the Park Rangers…..she knows them all by name!

I met the Missus and we stowed Her paddleboard. I then mentioned the possibility of doing the 330 tour of the Pine Lodge and She was all for it! So, while the Missus showered and stuff, I walked over to the Nature Center/Gift Shop….which I think used to be a water tower to purchase tickets for the tour. Which were $15 a piece.

There were some signs with interesting tidbits of history along the way.

We met our guide, Lindsay on the porch. The place was quite a "summer home".

Loved the wood siding and the spiral staircase.

Check out the wood paneling in the dining room!

The second floor features 8 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms! I found the circular bedrooms on each side of the lodge to be the most interesting.

Another thing that caught my attention was the elevator. I asked Lindsay about this and she told me it was installed in 1958 as Florence Hellman Ehrman was 76 years old and starting to have a hard time climbing all those stairs.

Of course I was interested in the kitchen. Lindsay told us that until 1945 they still used an "icebox" (aka cold closet) and the stoves were wood burning. A "state of the art" kitchen was installed in 1945.

During the summer season there were 27 staff on hand and 2 full time chefs! The butler and the maids actually have their own cabins on the estate.

We had a fun time on this tour.

Hellman-Ehrman Mansion (Sugar Pine State Park)
Tahoma, CA 96142

When dinner time came along, we decided to just walk on over to The Dog and Bear Tavern again. This time we just sat at the bar and who would we just happen to sit next to? Well, it was the woman we met earlier. She was wonderful; in fact, since she's a regular here, she ordered for us!

Never would have thought of having Hamachi Crudo in Tahoe, but heck she lived on the Big Island for decades so we trusted her. And yes, the two fish dishes were quite good!

I made sure to order her a drink to show our appreciation.

The Dog and Bear
7000 West Lake Blvd.
Tahoma, CA 96142

And as we were leaving she asked us if we'd like to see where she lived! After her husband passed away, after moving a few times, she found Tahoma and bought a condo on the water's edge.

I got to play fetch with her lovely pooch!

We had such a lovely time in beautiful Tahoma!

Buckboard’s BBQ & Brew (El Cajon)

June 30, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, BBQ

Recently, the Missus was invited to a Birthday/Happy Hour with coworkers. Since we've had JJ for 8 months now and he's getting a bit older, we thought we could leave him for a couple of hours so the Missus could attend. Since I'd be just dropping the Missus off then killing time; I thought I'd take JJ with me; but since it was in El Cajon, it just seemed a bit too hot for the little guy. Plus, I had a place in mind that wasn't dog friendly. So, I dropped the Missus off and then headed to get dinner at the restaurant on my "list"; to find the place (Brothers Turkish) was closed, even though their website, Google, and the four lettered site said they were open! Sigh…… So, I needed to find a plan B….which ended up being Buckboard's BBQ & Brew.

Buckboards 01

Which is located in a mixed residential – business area on Greenfield Drive. The place was fairly busy, the folks quite friendly.

Buckboards 02

And quite kitschy as well……

Buckboards 03

The folks working were quite friendly. This is one of those order at the counter, pay, and they'll bring the food out to you. I initially wanted the sausage plate, but they were out of sausages, also out of beef ribs, it must have been a pretty busy day…..I understand that they do Santa Maria style BBQ, so tri-tip seemed like the better "consolation choice".

I got an order of Tri-Tip ($23), some street corn ($6), and sweet potato fries ($6). I took a seat in the bar area and my order arrived in like 15 minutes.

Buckboards 04

This was interesting as the signage said the tri-tip was served medium, which this was not. I read that the tri-tip is dry brined for five days. The beef was quite juicy and tender, though it lacked a mild smokiness that I enjoy. It could have used more seasoning and lacked a smoke ring. It's pretty good, though not nearly as good as what we get at Firestone Grill or even what I make at home. The horseradish sauce was nice and creamy, though on the milder side. I do like my horseradish sauces to have some nice sinus clearing pungency. The butter toast could have been toasted a bit more as it was quite soft. Still, the portion size was quite large, I could only finish half. Though I saw the woman several seats down from me polish off her entire meal, including her sides!

Speaking of sides.

Buckboards 05

The Sweet Potato Fries, were thin slices, slightly crisp, but got soggy quite quickly.

Buckboards 07

The starchy-sweet flavor did come thru nicely though.

As for the "Street Corn". Well, much like the version at Shalhoob's Funk Zone Patio, there was way too much aioli.

Buckboards 06

Though the portion size was quite generous.

In the end; Buckboard's seems like a fun stop, nice employees, with generous portions. Glad I had a chance to visit, though I still want to try Brothers Turkish!

Funny thing, when I did that Google thingy, I noticed that both Mary and Soo have posted on Buckboard's, so please check out their posts as well!

Buckboards 08

Buckboard's BBQ & Brew
975 Greenfield Dr.
El Cajon, CA 92021
Current Hours:
Thurs – Sun 11am – 8pm
Closed Mon – Wed

Mary-Etta’s (El Cajon) (again)

June 16, 2025 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Burgers

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy while Kirk and His Missus are vacationing.

I haven't posted about Mary Etta's since 2016, when The Mister and I enjoyed a breakfast at the counter.

Recently, I took my brother here before his drive home because he said he wanted 'something like lunch', while I was wanting breakfast.

This long time (since 1935) cafe, mostly patronized by locals (it's on Olde Highway 80, parallel to and South of the 8, in the Flinn Springs area-close to Lakeside) is known for making their own breakfast sausage. They serve both sides of the menu all day.

Lately, I've been craving pancakes, and it's always been too busy to make them at home. The two egg, bacon and pancake plate ($12.75) was my order. The perfectly prepared over-easy eggs were runny and dip-able with pancake pieces. The flapjacks were lightly crisp on the exterior and wonderfully fluffy and had just the right amount of sweetness to satisfy me. The bacon was not too thick nor thin; it did have flavor. So many times I have been disappointed with bacon to the point that it is rarely ordered.

My brother decided on a sausage burger ($13.50); it's the breakfast sausage with cheese (add $1) (he chose pepperjack) and got the breakfast country fries on the side-the thinly sliced, fried crisp potatoes are also pretty unique here. The breakfast sausage patty was hefty, coarse ground and filled with fresh herbs and spices. It was served on a toasted sesame seeded bun, which was very nice. Lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions were on the side. My brother approved.

Fresh coffee, refilled in mismatched cups, friendly service and great food.

Mary Etta's Cafe 14809 Olde Highway 80 El Cajon, CA 92021 Open Daily 7:00-1:30

Brunch with JJ – Luce Bar & Kitchen

June 13, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Dog Friendly

I keep telling myself that I need to try to enjoy our neighborhood a bit more. But, to be perfectly honest, choices are limited, and what is on the menu is not food I crave or am really interested in. I do wish that Bay Park was a bit more "walkable". That's the attraction of places like North Park, Kensington, and Little Italy to me. And now with JJ, it's even more attractive to have places that are pooch friendly as well. Luce is one of those places that I see and pass on pretty much a daily basis. And while the meals we've had there have been ok, we've never really been motivated to return. As matter of fact, the last time I've been there was to do Covid takeout in May of 2020! Whoa, it's been five years already!

Luce with JJ 01

And since that time; Luce has created a covered outdoor bar space. And now they are in the process of taking over what used to be the dance studio next door as well. While taking JJ on a post morning coffee stroll from Bay Park Coffee, I noticed something on the weekend "brunch" menu that caught my attention.

Luce with JJ 02b

So, on a recent Sunday morning, JJ and I dropped by Luce right when they opened at ten. Crazy, but there were several folks already in line waiting. All of them were waiting be seated either at the bar (those old timers started hitting the drinks pretty early) or in the dining room, so JJ and I initially had the back bar area all to ourselves.

Do you see what caught my attention on the menu?

Luce with JJ 03

Yep, it's the Kimchi Fried Rice ($18). Don't ask my why this caught my attention….or why I decided to order it. Call me a glutton for punishment if you will.

Luce with JJ 04 Luce with JJ 05 This came with two poached eggs….I would have preferred sunny side up with nice crisp edges; but the eggs were fine, with the yolks still runny.

My least favorite item were the doughy "corn fritters". Not enough corn as well, which made it lacking in flavor.

The rest of the dish was not bad. Perhaps in need of more kimchi fermented-spiciness, but not bad at all. The rice was perfectly cooked, the hoisin based pork belly had that mildly salty SPAM® affect, and wasn't overly sweet like I expected. The carrots were shredded and bit too thickly and were a bit unwieldy as well.

Luce with JJ 06

The service was nice and friendly….like it's always been at Luce. And JJ was such a "good boi" and waited patiently for daddy to finish his food. I made sure to take some of this home for the Missus to try and though she thought it was not worth eighteen bucks, She declared it not bad. Perhaps not "real" kimchi fried rice good, but better than overly "gringo-fied" stuff.

Luce is quite popular and the place was filling up by the time JJ and I left. There were three other well behaved pooches in the bar area as well.

Luce with JJ 07

Now if I can find a couple more dishes to interest me at Luce.

Luce with JJ 08

Luce Bar & Kitchen
1959 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours
Mon – Thurs 11am – 9pm
Friday 11am – 930pm
Sat 10am – 930pm
Sun 10am – 9pm

Road Trip – Shugrue’s Restaurant & Bar (Lake Havasu City)

May 24, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Dog Friendly, Flagstaff/ Sedona/Winslow/Northern AZ, Road Trip, Travel

We needed a place to stop for an evening on the way back from Winslow. Heading back to the Phoenix area or even heading back to Flagstaff or even Sedona might have worked. But having JJ along made a 7+ hour drive seem a bit too long. We had never been to Lake Havasu City and there was one thing I did want to see after watching a BBC documentary a few years back.

So, we made the drive to Lake Havasu City. We were staying on an area called "the Island" and since we'd be only spending the evening thought it would be nice to have a view of what I had wanted to see here; the London Bridge. So, I booked a dog friendly room at the Heat Hotel, which had a patio and a view of the Bridge.

And yes, this is really the "London Bridge". It was built in the 1830's and had become unable to handle the traffic in the city by the early 1960's. Robert McCulloch, the founder of Lake Havasu City (which was founded in 1964). I enjoyed this historic documentary on it.

And having recently been to London made it even more significant to us.

We got to the hotel a bit early and our room wasn't ready; so we took JJ for a short walk along the London Bridge Beach area.

It was a bit warm, but JJ did fine.

I hadn't done much research on Lake Havasu City; so it was interesting to see all the "snowbirds"….like I felt like a really young!

We checked into our room and then decided to find a place to get some dinner. As I mentioned earlier; unlike what I'd usually do, I hadn't done much research on Lake Havasu City…….we were just going to chill and not worry about things.

When it came for dinner; I looked for a pooch friendly place and we decided not to stray too far. We basically went across the street.

It seems that all the restaurants are owned by the same company. But here we were…and I (at least) was tired, so I walked into Shugrue's and the very nice young lady greeted me. I asked if we could have the outdoor table, which was right at the entrance of the restaurant. The folks here were quite welcoming and they did love JJ. And the view from our table was not bad at all!

We started with some nice brews…..

And, as we will often do these days, we just went with appetizers.

For some reason, I just decided to order the Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts ($16), which had a "sweet maple glaze". It just didn't seem like something we'd like, but this was our favorite dish of the night.

I'm usually not a fan of sweet stuffs as a main or appetizer; but we enjoyed the smoky-sweet-nutty flavors along with the salty-crunchiness, with the pineapple which actually did a nice job as a palate "cleanser".

I don't know why, but I enjoy fried pickles. But this version ($12) was not a favorite of ours.

There's a ratio of breading to pickle that I think is optimal, which balances out the sour to texture. This was just huge spears which were not evenly breaded.

The Flatbread ($15) was also not a favorite.

A bit too soggy-doughy and too sweet for our taste. We could have used more Portobello Mushroom and less Balsamic Glaze.

Still, the folks Serving were so nice….especially to JJ.

Shugrue's Restaurant & Bar
1425 N McCulloch Blvd.
Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403

And after dinner we took a walk across the bridge.

Where we got a nice view of our hotel.

Our walk on the other side of the bridge was interesting as it seemed to be party central……well, over 60 party central……think Gaslamp for seniors….

After getting back to our room and settling in….well, it was time for JJ's nightly "walk".

And there just happened to be an outdoor bar along the way! How convenient! I got a gin and tonic nightcap overlooking the bridge….

And had a chance to chat with the bartender. I really hadn't done a whole lot of research before choosing Lake Havasu City. I found out it's a haven for snowbirds and seniors and then party central for college students during weekends and spring break which was coming up. I guess we lucked out visiting during the middle of the week in March before Spring Break.

Lake Havasu City was a interesting stop on the way back home. Not sure we'll return; but we got to see the London Bridge!