Category: Blog

 I know I was the bearer of bad news last week, so I thought I'd even things out this week. Starting with:

Thai Papaya Pok Pok:

Which is what the old Original Sab e Lee location will become.

2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

Kula Revolving Sushi Bar:

I thought I'd do this since Cathy gave us a preview based on her visit to the Rancho Cucamonga location of this Kaiten-zushi chain.

4609 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Mike's BBQ replacing LW's:

I posted on the vacated LW's BBQ spot back in November. It looks like Mike's BBQ, with a location in Escondido will be setting down here.

3057 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

And in the same strip mall…..

Owner of now defunct Skybox Sportsbar opening Coastal Crave:

Man, this location has been vacant for years. For a while it was World Sushi…then something else that came and went before I had a chance to check them out.

From what I hear, this isn't going to be a sportsbar concept, but more craft cocktails and according to Clairemont Community News a menu featuring "interesting" items like alligator and wild boar.

3065 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Café Hielo:

This one in the same strip mall as Pho Fusion, Qi Wei Kitchen, et al.

The sign says "Korean Dessert Café"….

8072 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

A quick post for a nice Saturday.

I saw this sign in the former Voltero's location.

Have to check with some of my sources and will update.

4344 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

According to Eater San Diego, the Sab E Lee move is complete.

I'll check it out sometime this week.

6925 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

I keep forgetting to mention. The 29th of every month is "meat day" at Nijiya. It's 20% off all meat. We've been taking advantage when the 29th falls during Thursday thru Sunday.

It's a good deal. I usually end up making something simple like this.

3860 Convoy St Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

So some quick items for a nice Wednesday.

85°C Bakery Cafe opening this Friday:

At least that's what I, ahem, conveniently overheard twice when I went to the ATM this past week.

If this is true, it's going to be a zoo. Funny thing, we've been to 85C cafe's in Suzhou and Xi'an and both were pretty good! Back here in the states, we've been to the Irvine and Rowland Heights locations….and I dunno, it's not quite the same. I'll leave it up to you folks to decide.

85°C Bakery Cafe
5575 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

(Another) Rita's opening in Bay Park:

I noticed this a couple of days back. This used to be the Same Old Grind….which I guess folks got tired of?

Lovely, more corporate shops…. I say another, because I noticed that Kirbie just posted on Rita's opening in Mira Mesa. Not sure how they'll do here…..

3077 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

What's up with LW’s SD BBQ:

I noticed that lights had been out for almost a week. So I walked on over.

When I walked up to the door I noticed the sign…..

Uh-oh, the infamous closed for repairs sign with no activity going on in the place….all too often this is the kiss of death. I hope it's not. I'm not the biggest fan of the BBQ here; but it's a bit better than typical BBQ in San Diego and I'm all for family owned businesses.

LW’s SD BBQ
3057 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Yes indeed. We're waiting for typhoon Vongfong to pass, so I thought it might be time for another one of these. The city we're in has a amazing history. It mixes the dramatic history of being an ancient capital….

With that of being a busy, modern metropolis.

It is a city of shrines and temples and of wonderful restored neighborhoods.

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Recently, when driving on Friar's Road I noticed a taco truck in the parking lot of Del Mesa Liquor Store.

The name sounded really familiar. I'm thinking this was the truck that used to be on Texas Street? Anyway, it was close enough to lunch…..like 10am…let's call it brunch.

The woman working…well everything it seems, she took my order, prepped the food, was the cashier was very nice. I know…fish tacos, right? Well, no…for me it was a Taco Gobernador and a Taco de Marlyn.

These aren't cheap tacos….four bucks each, but man, they were pretty hefty. No consomme offered….not sure what would happen if I asked.

The Marlyn…smoked fish was ok, the amount of fish was generous.

Things tasted on the fishy end of the scale and I would have enjoyed more smoke flavor and salt. I always think of the fish hitting an almost bacon flavor. No complaints about portion size, though I didn't enjoy the tortillas which fell to pieces.

The Gobernador (the "Governor") was a bit better.

Here there were just the little things I missed; the cheese melted on the tortilla to shield it from the juices, helping to keep it intact. I appreciate a little tomato for acid, or some red bell pepper for sweetness. The onions and bell pepper could have been stir fried a bit more; it was bit on the raw side. Can't complain about the shrimp; though not deveined, were moist and plump. Again, the portion size was generous.

Here things get….well kind of humorous. While I was waiting for my salsas to be prepared…this is what you get when you're early; a very proper Vietnamese Couple got out of an SUV. The gentleman, suit and tie, walked on over to the ATM…..the woman came on over and…how do I put it, checked out my Gobernador. Apparently she approved, she then walked over to the window and tried to order a "chicken burrito with french fries….." Well, maybe not. I could understand her, but the woman in the truck could not…she would ask her to explain and the customer did not understand what she was saying…… Which left me to translate….very strange. I mean really, the guy from Hawaii, if you read the blog long enough…with the really bad writing…..I kinda write the way I talk…..

So anyway, it becomes this strange conversation of, "pollo" to the taco truck lady….. "no pollo"…."No Chicken"….."papas fritas"….."no, no papas fritas…..", "no french fry here….." She wanted a shrimp taco……"taco de camaron…." and what I had, "taco de gobernador…." Funny thing was; we were all speaking English! Well, sometimes I think I barely speak English……. But I guess I speak Taco Truck???

Anyway, from what I had, it's a case of decent quality, with good quantity, and that might just do it for you. Heck, we used to live a couple of blocks away….there were times I would have loved to grab a couple of tacos to go with my cervezas…..

Kiko’s Place
Corner of Friar's Road and Vis Las Cumbres

A few quick items for a beautiful Sunday in San Diego.

The sign for Hinotez Curry Rice has come down:

I'm not quite sure if this is good news; as in they've got their ABC permit, or if they've simply given up and are moving on. I visited a couple of times, but after a while, the same 'ol single type of curry got a bit repetitive. Don't get me wrong; I'm all for those places that do one thing well…….I just didn't think it was good enough to be sustainable.

Anyway, I'm hoping for the best.

5185 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

Yamadaya sure is taking it's sweet old time:

Well it was all the way back in April of last year when I first read about Yamadaya opening downtown. Well, let's see it's June of 2014 and the place still doesn't look to be near completion. I took this photo on Friday when I headed downtown to meet some good friends.

On the bright side, at least the sign is up….that only took about a year…..

950 6th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101

I need to pay more attention when companies ask to use my photos:

I'm not sure if it was because I was quite busy or what. A publication asked to use one of my photos, which I usually do so long Creative Commons stanards are followed….so I didn't pay much attention. Anyway the result of this one is kind of funny…..since this is the photo being used.

Man, this one is too juicy(no pun intended), there's literally a goldmine of tasteless puns and jokes here. The long and short of it (again no pun intended) is that my photo of beef penis can be seen all over Texes. And what? I thought everything was bigger in Texes? Couldn't they find their own pizzle? What a d![k…literally.

How to eat soba for Faye:

Lovely Faye surprised me with a question on my Kokoro post. "How do you eat the soba". Whoa……I never thought about needing to know how to eat soba…..I guess since I've been eating it all my life. Anyway, here's a funny, cheesy, video you might like Faye!

Enjoy!

Our next stop is a place the Missus has been wanting to visit for several years. It is probably one of the most visited cities in Europe over the last couple of years.

And rightfully so. There's so much here. The city is bustling and vibrant, but at the time of our visit not frightfully so. The city seems to have everything…..

A castle upon a hill.

A river spanned by beautiful bridges.

A beautful, bustling town square.

With an Astronomical Clock that dates back to the 15th century.

All of this is wonderful, but it's the stunning architecture that does it for me.

Each building is like a snowflake, unique and different.

Our sights seem to be focused upwards all the time.

One of the reasons the architecture has remained intact is that this city has never been leveled in any of the wars that ravaged Europe over the last century.

That is not to say that this country did not see it's own dark period, which is noted in many monuments and memorials around the city.

The fare here is hearty; and starch heavy…..

Well, the traditional fare is…….

The Missus wants us to focus more on hearty food this trip and it looks like we're doing a pretty good job. Of course there's all that beer as well.

We've fallen in love with this city. Yes, there's a certain edginess to it, but it seems just enough for us. Yes, there are crowds, but it's not crazy like Rome. As with everywhere, there's a certain jaded attitude in the heavily touristed areas, but just a few feet away, the folks are warm and the beer flows…..and so is our trip it seems.

Thank for reading!

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Both the Missus and I had to work this year, so not much going on. For some reason, we seem to end up in Vegas close to the Lunar New Year……this is the third time. Anyway, the Bellagio always does a nice Chinese New Year set-up in the atrium. This is a from our visit a couple of weeks ago. As you can see, it's the year of the snake.

And…..because this is a food blog, we do need some some food photos, right? MrS treated us to a nice meal at Spicy House. It was great seeing "YY", MrQ, MrS, and especially Akira, whom I haven't seen in a while.

Spicy House
3860 Convoy Street #105
San Diego, CA 92111

Anyway, whether you say it xin nian kuai le (新年快樂), chúc mừng năm mới, or some other way, we just want to send you our best wishes for a great year!

To you and yours from the gang here at mmm-yoso!

Best wishes for a delici-yoso and safe holiday!

Hope you all get some delicious fresh turkey…….

What's up with Chef Chin?:

Is the question that fellow food blogger Dennis asked me. In case you're wondering, there's new signage up over Chin's Convoy.

I heard through the grapevine that an "Investor from Shanghai" decided to buy the place. So different ownership; different name. I've also heard that the food has severely downhill….I'll have to go check it out one of these days.

Chef Chin
4433 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111 

H Mart is coming to San Diego:

*** H Mart has opened

I mentioned that possibility in an earlier post about the Zion Market move. I received an interesting email telling me that what I had heard was a bunch…..well the word rhymes with slap. Apparently, what I heard was true. On Monday, my coworker EK told me that H Mart was opening in the place formerly occupied by Ralph's on Mira Mesa Boulevard.

Here's the sign…….

Like the space to be occupied by Zion Market, this is going to be a huge store….the sign also says "food court". Looks like we'll soon have two Korean "super-stores" in San Diego. I wonder how that'll work-out.

9440 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126