As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.
My recent visit to Barrio Donas had me a bit shell shocked when it came to prices and had me wondering how much a Huevo a la Mexicana Bolillo was at San Diego Bakery. Surprisingly, it had been over a year since I last visited and over a year-and-a-half since I last posted on the place. So, last Sunday, I decided to head on over to see…..
Just as I drove into the parking lot, another car left, so I managed to get a parking space. The shop was doing steady business when I walked in; like Lucy’s Bakery, all those hard working guys needed breakfast, right?
Looking up at the menu; which, since my last visit has transitioned from the chalkboard to a video display, I saw that the A la Mexicana was now $7.50 (I believe it’s just $6.50 at Lucy’s). It was $6.50 on my last visit here a bit over a year ago and $4.99 back in December of 2023.
Still, it’s less than Barrio Donas which is now $10.50 and with prices these days, this seems almost like a bargain!
The sandwich itself was a bit of a mess; though toasted, crisp, light, and yeasty, the bread was crumbling apart as I opened it.
This was oozy, eggy, cheesy messiness. And those serranos had a “bite” of their own too.
This was actually quite filling for breakfast….at least for me. I do wish there was more beans as there barely seemed to be any. And perhaps less chilies; though it did shake me awake!
With prices these days, it’s good to know you can get a breakfast bollilo or preparados for less than $8. I mean, how much is a banh mi these days?
San Diego Bakery & Café 6959 Linda Vista Rd. San Diego, CA 92111
Here’s some stuffs I noticed in the Clairemont Mesa/Kearny Mesa area recently.
Sizzling House Has Closed:
Noticed this during our most recent visit to Eastern Dynasty.
Whoa, Sizzling House didn’t even last a year. So, much for the sizzling plate/pepper lunch fad, huh? Looks like this is going to be an outlet of Las Vegas based Urban Matcha…so one feeds another?
4698 Convoy St. Suite 107 San Diego, CA 92111
Juewei Becoming L.A. Hot Duck:
Also during that visit we noticed a new banner covering the Juewei sign.
Funny thing, I just mentioned how dissatisfied we’d been with our most recent visits to Juewei in my post on Spicy Duck Wang La Ya. Juewei seemed to be constantly changing concepts, last I saw they were trying to do Hot Pot, before that they had initiated doing skewers. They had an inconsistent inventory of items we enjoyed and we just decided to stop and not waste our time there.
So, I’m not sure if it’s still the same owners with a new concept….I do know there’s a LA Hot Duck in Rowland Heights. What’s up with all these places from the SGV opening here? They do not appear to be open yet; so we’ll see!
4690 Convoy St. #103 San Diego, CA 92111
And finally….
Isaki Japanese Restaurant and Nothing Bundt Cakes Taking the Former 85°C Spot:
I noticed some signage on the doors of what used to be 85°C off Balboa so I walked on over. Looks like they’ve split the spot into two businesses.
One of the signs said Isaki Japanese Restaurant.
And the other looks to be another franchise of Nothing Bundt Cakes.
My recent trip to Imperial and Antojitos Colombianos had me looking at my “list” to see what other places I’ve got listed and have yet to check out. And one quickly popped up…..Lucy’s Bakery & Donuts on 31st. I’m not sure who recommended the place to me…but recently, I decided to head on over.
Lucy’s Bakery & Donuts:
I actually headed over on a Saturday morning after making my usual Farmers Market run. I found parking in the lot next to the shop. I gotta say; it doesn’t seem to be the most inviting neighborhood.
The place was fairly busy when I arrived. Lot’s of working folk….
Most of which were getting coffee or juice and pastries.
I on the other hand was in the mood for a torta……
Being in a “porky” kinda mood; I went with the Pierna…which for some reason didn’t seem cheap at $9.35.
This was a good sized sandwich; though I thought the bollilo was a bit over-baked; the crust crumbly. But the bread was nice and yeasty, held up well, and the shredded pork was pretty good.
It had a decent smokey-savory-earthy flavor, with a hint of acidity. It was fairly tender and the portion was pretty good.
I do wish that it had more avocado and jalapeno….or at least had it evenly spread thru the sandwich.
As it was, the rather sparse avocado was smeared to one side of the torta and the jalapenos stacked on one another. I fixed the jalapeno issue.
Still, a generous amount of pork. If the bolillo was in better shape this would have been a good torta. As it stood; it was decent. I might return someday if I’m in the area. Would you believe this place is open from 5am to 9pm daily!!!
Lucy’s Bakery & Donuts 31 31st St. San Diego, CA 92102 Current Hours: Daily 5am – 9pm
This torta had me wondering how the version at Barrio Donas was doing….and even more so; how much the Torta de Pierna was there now in comparison. It had been almost exactly two years since my last visit and even longer since I’d had the Pierna there, so I decided to head on over.
Barrio Donas Revisited:
I paid my visit the following Saturday. Barrio Donas is quite popular, but wasn’t too busy on this day.
The Torta de Pierna here is now $12.75! The A la Mexicana $10.50 Yikes….
It’s always interesting to visit the place since they always seem to be trying out new items. I guess now they have a Matcha Bar?
Here’s the Torta Pierna.
I’m still not the biggest fan of the Bolillo here as the crust lacks crispness and the bread is on the denser side. Still, it’s always nice and yeasty, with a mild, almost sourdough flavor to it.
The amount of filling is adequate; though after having the version at Lucy’s, I would’ve enjoyed some creamy avocado and some jalapeno for spice to cut the richness.
The pork was a bit more chewy than I remember; but there’s still a nice spicy-smokiness.
Barrio Donas 4714 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. San Diego, CA 92117 Current Hours Mon – Sat 6am – 4pm Sunday 7am – 4pm
It was interesting to see how prices for tortas…well, everything for that matter has gone up. I’m now curious to try more tortas from other places. Any recommendations?
When I heard that Sourdough & Moore was opening up a brick and mortar shop I put it on my list to try. I’d seen their stand at the Mission Valley Farmers Market at Civita Park and was interested in trying their sourdough….according to what I’d read, the starter is over a century old.
It took me a bit, but I finally made it down to Newport in OB and Sourdough & Moore.
I’m guessing that 8am on Sundays are pretty quiet right now in OB? Cause I easily found parking and strolled on over.
There’s nothing like the smell of a bakery in the morning, right?
The young lady working was so cheerful and helpful. I asked if they sliced their boule and she led me to the shelves with presliced loaves. There’s a variety of flavors like kalamata olive, rosemary….but I just wanted to try the sourdough straight up. There weren’t any small loaves of plain sourdough available, so I just went with a regular sized loaf. And since I was here; you know there was something else I needed to try, right?
Yep, there’s the croissant aux buerre ($6). I also got the Missus a nice dessert as well!
It’s a Meyer Lemon Cheesecake Croissant ($12).
Which looked so pretty…the light lemon meringue like filling was very nice, not overly sweet, creamy. But the pastry was very doughy and chewy.
As for the sourdough…..
I prefer a bit of a crustier loaf, as the crust was on the chewier side. The sourdough flavor is quite light….so if you’re into not overly tangy-earth sourdough, this might do it for you.
Th bread itself is quite light and fluffy, very soft……not good if you’re into eating toasted sourdough or avocado toast, but it compliments a sandwich nicely.
Personally, we still prefer a assertive tasting sourdough like what Secret Sister makes.
As for the croissant….well, it is really long…..
The laminate looked really baked, but it was on the chewy side, lacking in flakiness.
The interior was decently honeycombed, but also a bit too “wet” for my taste.
It also needed more butter. A telling moment was when I tried to give JJ some and he turned it down! The croissant king?!? What the heck? So, I’m still looking at Relic and Wayfarer being my top 2 here in SD. I need to do a side by side comparison one of these days…..
Anyway, if you like a milder flavored sourdough, ahem, “S&M” might (not literally) be your thing.
Sourdough & Moore 4853 Newport Ave. San Diego, CA 92107 Current Hours: Wed – Fri 7am – 3pm Sat – Sun 8am – 3pm Closed on Monday & Tuesday
I first heard about Relic Bageri back in early 2024 at their weekends only location in a commercial kitchen on Commerce Avenue. They started doing preorders, but that just wasn’t my thing. I did try to visit, but the lines were crazy. Now you just know that a place so successful was going to grow, right? And finally, in October of last year they opened a brick and mortar shop in East Village.
With all our road trips, I waited a bit to finally visit the shop in East Village. The area seems a bit sketchy, but heck, SDPD HQ is there and there always seems to be parking available.
It’s a nice looking shop, in a sort of transitional area.
Anyway, it wasn’t overly busy on this day and I strolled on in.
Lots of pastries to tempt you…and the price point is lower than Izola!
The same really nice young lady was working on each of my visits.
There’s both indoor and outdoor dining available, a coffee stand, and breakfast and lunch is served. But you know I was really only interested in one thing at the moment, right?
So, I got myself a Butter Croissant, which was $5. And a couple other savory stuffs.
As for the croissant aux buerre……I like the lamination, nice and flakey, good, light, fluffy and airy interior.
In terms of flavor; it’s got a lighter butteriness than I prefer, and perhaps a bit too much salt for our tastes. Still, not overly sweet, nice texture, not over baked as many versions.
As for the rest; well I just had to get this beast.
This is the Chinese Five Spice Sausage Croissant. Well, let me tell you, this is pretty huge.
Nice porky flavor, good, not overpowering anise tones. There’s a bit of herbaceousness and the size and texture reminds me of Lao/Thai sausages. And with a croissant wrapper around it?
Still, I really enjoyed the Jalapeno, Speck, and Cheese Croissant the most.
Love the tangy-sour spice of the pickled jalapenos, with the mildly smoky-savory speck, and the light milkiness of the cheese. If anything, I think a stronger cheese might be even better. Along with the crispness of the croissant, slight buttery-sweetness. There’s something about this combo I enjoyed.
The Missus tried all three and them asked me why I didn’t get anything for “Her”. So of course that issue had to be rectified.
I got the Double Pain au Chocolate which the Missus absolutely loved. And she enjoyed the texture of the Bear Claw, but it was too sweet for Her.
As for me…well, it was another Croissant aux Buerre. Now this one had a bit more butteriness and was still wonderfully light and fluffy. Except that it seemed to have been over baked and was too flakey…as in croissant laminate shrapnel everywhere.
Still, this might be my current favorite croissant aux buerre in San Diego. And of course, there’s a certain someone who was volunteering to “clean up” the fragments.
The Missus enjoyed the pain du chocolate so much that She sent me back on a Saturday to get more. This time, I decided to forgo the regular croissant…..
There was a line on this day and the dining area was almost full.
Still, the folks working have always been so pleasant.
So, this time around in addition to the Jalapeno, Speck, and Cheese Croissant – which I still really like and the Double Pain du Chocolate; I got a couple of others to try.
The Missus absolutely loves the “Mocha Bomb”.
I didn’t care for the Lamb Rillette Croissant.
The pastry itself had a really great texture, flakey and crisp, but the rillette was really chewy and it didn’t feature the typical aromatic-rich-gaminess that I associate with lamb rillette.
Still, we’ve enjoyed exploring various items from Relic. I have gone back 3 more times since this last visit. And the croissant aux buerre has been my favorite in SD so far…. It’s not perfectly to my taste….I’m thinknig a bit more butter but I’m not expecting say…what we get at La Maison d’Isabelle, our favorite boulangerie in Paris, which I’ve posted on like four times. But it has still been enjoyable. I need to revisit Wayfarer….or maybe do both in a side by side comparison, right? Meanwhile; the Missus has been craving that Mocha Bomb! And we need to check out the various kitchen offerings as well.
Relic Bakery & Kitchen 845 15th St. San Diego, CA 92101 Current Hours: Wed – Sun 8am – 2pm Closed Monday – Tuesday
After a nice morning hike and a pork filled lunch we had ourselves a nice nap. Upon rising, we decided to head back to downtown Sant Cruz, where the Missus could get more shopping in. And then we’d find a place to have an early dinner.
Because the Missus didn’t feel comfortable among all the homeless in San Lorenzo Park, we walked over to the Soquel Avenue Bridge and crossed the river there.
Check out this truck and trailer crossing the bridge!
Right as we got to Pacific Avenue, one of the main streets in Downtown; the Missus saw this shop.
What else could I say other than “Ommmm on in”?
It was quite a “groovy” experience.
We wandered thru the side streets and alleyways. Check out the tea master at this Tea House.
We headed north to where Pacific Avenue meets Front Street and came to the Town Clock.
Which I later learned had quite an interesting story behind it. You can read about it here.
We then headed down Front Street.
Lined with shops, coffee places, and restaurants…..
And came across these Rockin’ Nana’s….man, they were really good! And much cooler than me!
Meanwhile, a street art thing was happening on the corner.
While walking thru one of the passageways, we came across this “groovy” tea shop/cafe. Named Roxa (and no my fellow Kama’aina’s it ain’t RockZa ok!) Hammock Cafe.
It sold tea and other herbal drinks and had actual hammocks spanning two floors! No, I didn’t feel comfortable taking photos since there were folks just having their teas and lounging on the hammocks. The Missus actually got some tea from here.
We decided to get an early dinner. Of course the question was, where? I had heard about a nice Gastropub named Lupulo, that served up some decent brews and some “Latin” style dishes so we decided to walk on over and give it a try.
There was outdoor seating, which worked fine for JJ. I went in and ordered. The gentleman working was quite friendly.
The place was pretty busy as well…..
The menu was indeed Mexican/Latin based, I placed my order and had a nice Pliny while we waited for our order.
I loved the glasses here!
And we also enjoyed watching the customers……
As for food. Well, you know how the Missus loves Her meatballs, so I ordered the Albondigas.
The bread was meh……but those beef and pork meatballs were quite good. A bit dense, but you could tell there was pork there! The tomato “sofrito” was tangy, with nice garlic tones. This was fairly good.
I also ordered the Cochinita Pibil tacos….which was made from chicken rather than pork.
This was actually not bad at all. Nice tangy acidity, a bit on the chewier side, which is fine for tacos. Decent savory tones, really enjoyed the pickled onions. The tortillas were quite basic and routine, but not terrible. This was actually not bad and made for a pleasant meal.
Lupulo Craft Beer House 233 Cathcart St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060
It had been an enjoyable day for us!
As for the next morning….well….you know we’d be back at the Buttery. And by this time…..well, JJ was now into full “croissant mode”!
And it was just as good as the day before if not better!
The Buttery 702 Soquel Ave. Santa Cruz, CA 95062
We really enjoyed Santa Cruz and can’t wait to return….with JJ of course!
Upon waking on our full day in Santa Cruz, we decided to head up Soquel Avenue to a bakery I’d heard about. It was a short 10 minute walk from our hotel. Right past the Shopper’s Corner Market, was the Buttery.
The low key location had a nice outdoor area.
And the Missus watched JJ, while I went inside to get us some croissants and coffee.
There was no one in the queue when I entered and I was pleasantly surprised at the price of the plain croissants – $2.95.
So, I was ready to be underwhelmed at this croissant, but it was surprisingly good!
The exterior looked a bit overbaked, but the laminate was crisp, but not flaking to pieces. The ridges didn’t fall off either.
The interior was nicely honeycombed and fluffy. But most importantly, there was a decent amount of butteriness to this! Not bad at all! Better than what we’d had at Bouchon Bakery a few days previous!
I even gave JJ a taste and he went bonkers! Oh man, did I open up a can of worms here!
The Buttery 702 Soquel Ave. Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Of course we’d return the following morning….
And of course the Missus needed me to “burn off” those croissant calories, so we headed back to the hotel, then set out to Henry Crowell Redwoods State Park. Marissa, the lovely young lady at BPC had recommended the Pipeline Road Trail, though she told me that it was kind of long – 6 miles or so. The big plus being that it starts at the Park Office and that it is well paved and maintained. It is the only dog friendly trail in the park as well.
There a 900 foot elevation gain, but we really didn’t feel it.
There were some nice views.
And of course those lovely Redwoods……
And JJ handled it like a champ. Actually, you can tell by his expression that I’m the “weak link” here…..
It was on the “easy side” for the Missus and JJ, who did really well.
After heading back and freshening up, it was time for lunch. Well, since we had enjoyed our dinner the previous evening at Special Noodle and the Missus was still missing Chinese food we walked on back to the restaurant.
The gentleman from the previous evening remembered us and we were seated in the same area. He even made sure got chopsticks without asking this time!
We decided on some different dishes this time around; starting with the La Rou with Smoked Bamboo.
This usual Hunan style dish was a bit short on chilies and spiciness, but the bamboo was nice and crisp; though the pork was definitely like the stuff I can get at 99 Ranch Market. It was far from bland though with a good amount of soy and smokey tones.
The rice had obviously just been finished as it was steaming hot; but also a bit on the mushy side.
We also got the Braised Pork Belly – Hong Shao Rou, which turned out to be quite good!
Just tender enough, without being mushy, the porkiness came through nicely. Ginger – Soy tones came thru nicely, and more importantly for the Missus, this was much more savory than sweet.
After finishing this; we really needed a nap!
Special Noodle 415 Ocean St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060
I guess this will be a regular stop when we’re in Santa Cruz!
We had a great night of sleep at the Napa River Inn…and no, we didn’t have any “spooky” visitors as I had heard about earlier in the evening at The Fink. Before we left for our next destination, I decided to grab a quick Breakfast Sandwich from Sweetie Pies Bakery which is right next door to the hotel.
This place has quite a selection of treats for your sweet tooth. We had gotten a sample delivered to our room for breakfast the previous morning.
I ordered a Fried Egg Sandwich to take back to our room.
A basic toasted Ciabatta, with creamy avocado, and pesto.
The bacon was basically a single slice lining the middle of the sandwich, on the burnt side, and a single fried egg. Again only enough to cover two-thirds of the sandwich.
My guess is that “Sweetie” is mostly about the pies as the name indicates?
Sweetie Pies 520 Main St. Napa, CA 94559
After devouring the sandwich, we checked out and headed to our next destination; Santa Cruz. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to arrive at our accommodation, the Hotel Paradox. We were early for check-in so the hotel let us park and we went to explore Santa Cruz for a bit. The hotel was on the other side of the San Lorenzo River from downtown Santa Cruz and we were next to San Lorenzo Park. On the map, it looked like a nice “green space”. Unfortunately, it was taken over by the homeless population while we were in town. So, instead of having a nice green space for JJ to explore, well…..
We did think the Dragon Archway, which faces the last Chinatown in Santa Cruz across the river. And you can see the two folks hanging out under the archway as well. This made the Missus somewhat uncomfortable crossing the bridge at night. We ended up using the busier Laurel Street Bridge when it was dark.
Regardless, the Missus and I really enjoyed downtown Santa Cruz. It had a kind of Hipster-Artsy-Hippy-Surfer vibe to us. Very mellow and laid back; at least when we were there.
We dropped by Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting for our caffeine fix. It was recommended by one of JJ’s Bay Park Coffee “Aunties”, Marissa who used to work there and went to UCSC.
Cold Brew and Latte fortified we headed on to do some shopping.
Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting 1330 Pacific Ave. Santa Cruz, CA 95060
The Missus loved wandering thru the “eclectic” shops.
And bought quite a few items during our stay.
It seems that tarot card reading, and various psychic readings are big business here.
My goodness, check out the name of this shop! I wonder….
Yes, it was quite entertaining here!
We decided to grab an early dinner….by this time, the Missus was sorely missing Asian food…well, Chinese to be specific. I did some research before the trip and found a place that was dog friendly and basically two blocks from where we were staying. Now, I did have my doubts because the place served everything from Orange Chicken to XLB to Chow Fun to Sichuan/Hunan and has multiple locations, named Special Noodle. But I thought we’d give it a shot. Now if I had my doubts…imagine the Missus!
We arrived and I expected us to be seated on the patio; but the very nice gentleman escorted us to one of the back dining rooms!
He also spoke Mandarin….which eased some of the doubts the Missus had. The menu was huge….talk about “Vietnamese Menu overload” times 2!
Yep, this place tries to cover all bases.
It was a huge portion of rice for a single order.
We decided on some typical Hunan style dishes. Starting with the Pickled Beans with Minced Pork.
While kind of mild in the spiciness department, this was a pretty legit dish. Nice soy flavor, the long beans had a nice crunch adding that mild salty-sourness to the dish. The pork wasn’t overly chewy. Nice savory dish!
And of course I had to try the Intestines with Chilies.
Made with a combination of sliced jalapenos and dried chilies, this had a nice smoky kick. Nicely seasoned with soy sauce-garlic-white pepper and a touch of numbing Sichuan Peppercorns. The pork intestine was fairly tender, with a pleasant initial toothsomeness. Nice funky tones and a really good dish.
And of course……
What we did notice as the place filled up was that the Chinese customers were seated in the same area as us. While the “other” customers were seated in the front dining area, which we named “Eggroll Land” ! Kind of funny….
The Missus was pleasantly surprised at the food and even though She got Her “fix”, we’d end up returning the next day for lunch!
Special Noodle 415 Ocean St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060
We were enjoying Santa Cruz. In addition to the “vibe” we had gotten decent Chinese dishes as well!
**** Just a croissant in this one, in case you just want to come back tomorrow!
Our next destination after leaving Mendocino was the actual city of Napa. But first, I wanted to stop at a bakery that folks I know have been raving about in Yountville. Back in 2003, the one and only Thomas Keller opened Bouchon Bakery in Yountville, to reside along his restaurant Bouchon…all of which has become part of the kingdom that includes among others, the French Laundry, which I’ve had the pleasure of dining at a bajillion years ago and Per Se.
So, after a three hour drive, we made a stop in Yountville, which is quite a lovely and artsy town.
We found some parking up the street from the bakery and had a lovely little stroll down Washington Street. Van De Leur Park is a small, but quaint park…..and the flowers were in bloom, which JJ enjoyed.
We arrived at Bouchon Bakery and the Missus and JJ had a seat at the bench outside; while I went in.
Yes, of course I got the butter croissant, which looked fairly good.
Not overly laminated and while the ridges didn’t fall off, it lacked a nice crispness. The interior was on the doughy side and definitely needed more butter for my taste.
Overall….meh. And the funny thing is; we’d actually get a better croissant aux buerre later on this road trip, in Santa Cruz of all places!
Bouchon Bakery 6528 Washington St. Yountville, CA 94599
We took a short walk after having the croissant.
Yountville seems nice to visit; though all the folks we saw seemed like tourists. I’m fairly certain it’s pretty expensive to live here as well.
From Yountville, it was about a twenty-five minute drive into the city of Napa and our accommodation, the Napa River Inn. Located in the Hatt Building, once the location of the Napa Mill, the hotel is located right on the riverfront.
It’s a historic property…..just look at the lobby.
The rooms are spread thru three different buildings on the property. The entrance to where our room was on Fifth Street.
And it actually had a view of the riverwalk from the patio, though it was discreetly bordered by plants for privacy. But, one of the main reasons we stayed here was how dog friendly the place is.
Look at how JJ was greeted!
I guess there were three pups staying here on this day!
And they had the room nicely set-up for him as well.
There’s a bakery; with free pastries delivered to your room each morning; 2 restaurants, a cocktail bar, and a sweet shop located on the property.
And lots of artwork everywhere.
Napa River Inn 500 Main St. Napa, CA 94559
After settling in, we headed on out to explore a bit. We crossed the Napa River on the Third Street Bridge.
And went to explore the Oxbow Public Market.
There wasn’t anything at the market or along the walk that caught the Missus’s attention. So we headed back to the room.
It was kind of strange as this would basically be the main theme of our stay for the Missus as She seemed kinda bored with Napa…..
Just a couple of things I’ve come across recently.
Nutmeg Bakery & Cafe Coming to Bay Park:
While having my coffee with JJ at Bay Park Coffee this morning, I noticed a new sign on what used to be the weed growers Hydroponic Shop next to Poseidon Project.
Whoa, now this was quite a surprise as I hadn’t read or heard anything about this. Could it be? Well, at least the sign says Nutmeg Cafe & Bakery is coming soon! The place has locations in Poway and Scripps Ranch, which Cathy has posted on twice.
This is exciting news….though I’m kinda worried that the place is going to take away business from Bay Park Coffee….and the parking in the area, with the new yoga studio is kind of at a premium, so we’ll see! I know there have been plans for up to 14,000 new housing in the area, near the trolley, so they might be putting down roots? It’s going to be an interesting couple of years.
Yep, they closing on 12/19. There was something that did stir that sarcastic humor of mine. Notice the sign on the left says “Time to Party”? And right next to it is the “We Are Closing” sign?
Anyway, 85C was a most welcome addition to the area when they opened back in 2014. I was told that the cause was the rapidly increasing rent.
Though since Covid, the place always seemed short staffed and opening hours changed quite frequently.
85°C Bakery Cafe 5575 Balboa Ave. 330 San Diego, CA 92111
Hillcrest Sandwich Co. Has Closed:
I made an exploratory drive up to Hillcrest, aka the “new ramen central” to see if I could find a parking spot and get my fix. I was amazed to find decent parking on Fifth Avenue. While walking down Fifth, I looked over and noticed that the Hillcrest Sandwich Co. looked closed.
Checking online, it looked like they closed in February! Oh my….they’ve been around forever. I used to get sandwiches there when I did consulting here in SD back in the late 90’s! And when my office was in the area we used to order from them every so often….though I hadn’t actually been in the shop since my pre-blogging days! Looks like more development in the area is driving a lot of change.
So, I noticed that Nijiya had Lily Bulb in stock today. And while taking a look, a young lady saw the name and asked the mom if it’s really what she thought it was…..
Like I noted on my Instagram post…..you know what she thought this was, right?
