Clearing Out the Memory Card: China Max, Iron Pig Alehouse, and Tan Ky Mi Gia (ECB)

It's almost spring, so time to start clearing out that memory card. Here's threesome from several months back. As with these posts, it mostly photos.

China Max:

For some reason the Missus actually wanted to go on my typical Saturday "rounds" on this morning….I think it was because She was hungry. We had eaten at Zen Peninsula the week before and I guess She was wondering how a place like China Max would line up.

Short answer? It doesn't…….

China Max Rev 01

Chicken feet looked good, very tender, but lacking in flavor.

The sauce/soup for the tripe was good, but it hadn't imparted flavor to the tripe.

China Max Rev 03

The wrappers for the shrimp and spinach dumplings were too thick and this really lacked flavor.

China Max Rev 04

Even my old standby here, the pan fried shrimp and chive dumplings weren't spared. Greasy and portions of the wrappers were splitting and burnt, making this bitter.

China Max Rev 02

We've always thought that the gailan at China Max was done pretty well….this time it was over cooked.

China Max Rev 05

I admit that it's pretty slim pickins' with regards to Dim Sum in SD……

Man, worse than back in 2012 when I thought things were going a bit downhill.

China Max
4698 Convoy Street #C101
San Diego, CA 92111

Iron Pig Alehouse:

**** Iron Pig has closed

We visited the week we left for Spain. And I think this place is getting better on every visit.

Iron Pig serves one of my favorite salads; the "Man Salad".

Iron Pig COMC 01

The Smoked Wings is one of the two items the Missus comes for; they can sometimes be too salty, or not fried right, but on this visit, things were right.

Iron Pig COMC 02

For some reason the Missus likes the Rib Tips here……I'm not a fan of the sauces at Iron Pig, so we get them without sauce. Now a good rib tip…crunchy cartilage, fatty tissue, man, it can be a thing of beauty. This was very close; it had been smoked perfectly, was moist and tender. The only (big) minus? It needed a more aggressive rub. This was nicely porky, but lacked seasoning.

Iron Pig COMC 03

Nice smoke ring though…….

Iron Pig Alehouse
1520 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

Tan Ky Mi Gia (El Cajon Blvd):

**** Tan Ky Mi Gia has closed

Yes, TKMG in Mira Mesa has closed, but the ECB location, formerly known as Hing Ky Mi Gia back in 2007 is still around.

TKMG COMC 01  TKMG COMC  03Yes, time hasn't been very kind to the place; the lamination on the menus are peeling off and the tables have attained a robust amount of stickiness, but I still drop by every so often, mainly for breakfast, to see what's going on. A simple bowl of Wonton and Dumpling Egg Noodle soup for me on this day. It's gone up 50 cents since my visit last year.

TKMG COMC  02

For some reason the charsiu really struck me as not being as good as in the past…..not sure why that's what stuck in my head…….

Tan Ky Mi Gia
5237 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

The High Dive Revisited

While having our drinks at Albie's, it became quite clear that there was no way we'd be getting a table. But we did need to get something to eat. I recalled that the High Dive, always a favorite for beer, never for food, had a new chef, and had elevated their menu a bit. I say a bit because this is my 'hood, be it ever so humble, Bay Park, and tastes around here run rather pedestrian. Still, why not give the High Dive another try?

The menu did indeed have some different things and Candice and I tried a few. Starting with the Chicken Chiccharon ($7).

High-Dive-Rev-01

This was crisp and light, though some pieces were over-seasoned and salty, overall a nice starter.

The item I enjoyed the most were the Chorizo Croquettes; called "Chorizo Potato Ballz" on the menu ($8) – I wonder why they just don't call them croquettes? Are they afraid folks won't know what they are?

High Dive Rev 02

High Dive Rev 03 - 02Light and crisp breading, creamy and light filling, this was pretty good. The chorizo had a nice smokiness and almost came across with a nice almost beefy flavor. It wasn't too rich, nor was it over-seasoned. Now, if only they'd "86" the runny ranch dressing and replace it with maybe a garlic aioli?

The Naked Spicy Garlic Wings ($10) looked the part, but didn't deliver.

High Dive Rev 04-02

Other than the flavor of bitter garlic; this was very, very bland….as in we had to ask for a bottle of hot sauce to actually eat these. Also, the skin was slightly more gummy than I'd like and it didn't have any spice at all. 

The Smoked Pork Tacos ($9) also fell short.

High Dive Rev 05-02

The tortillas, while generic were prepped well, the toppings, the pickled onions, cilantro, cotija cheese were spot on. The pork however, was too dry and had a texture of cardboard, to the point that I really couldn't tell the difference in texture between the pork and tortilla. It was also a bit low in the flavor department; much too mild (I even tasted just the meat), overshadowed by all the other flavors.

High Dive 06So it was pretty much a 50-50 thing. And yet, I felt quite happy with what I had. The High Dive seems to be making strides and with some additional menu upgrades I heard about, may one day really be a place for more than just having a beer and hitting the road for us.

And heck, deciding that I needed to do something different as well, I asked the bartender, who happened to be Mixologist Ryan Andrews to make me a cocktail. He brought me something called the "Mariner's Revenge"…..man, it was great! Great guy….great drink!

Hope springs eternal…..

High Dive Bar and Grill
1801 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

Sunday Sandwiches: Baguette Bros

**** Baguette Bros has closed

Baguette Bros soft opened to a bit of hype a couple of weeks ago. Since it was fairly close to work, I managed to visit a couple of times.

Baguette Bros 01

Baguette Bros 04Located in the same strip mall as China Max, Xi'an Kitchen, et al, the menu features twists on Banh Mi, chickens wings, versions VN coffee and drinks, and some Craft Beer (too IPA heavy – not my favorite match for Banh Mi). For some reason this seems to be a Food Truck menu in a brick and mortar shop……after all the NRA (no, not that NRA – the National Restaurant Association) says that the latest trend is from Food Truck to Brick and Mortar.

I like the nice, wide open set-up, very much the norm in places that want to attract the demographic that would want "Fusion Vietnamese Sandwiches"

Baguette Bros 02

Baguette Bros 03

I decided to go straight for the coronary artery and went with the Belly Flop ($8). The sandwich took a while, which didn't bother me. First this is the soft opening period and systems are still being put in place. Second, it means that my sandwich is being prepped fresh.

Baguette Bros 05

Baguette Bros 06As the name indicates, this is a pork belly based Banh Mi. First off, the bread is standard issue. Probably from Le Chef. Because of how "stuffed" the sandwich is, it didn't hold up too on the short 10 minute trip back to the office, the bread had gotten gummy and for some reason, even though it was toasted, wasn't crusty enough.

Baguette Bros 07

Baguette Bros 08The amount of pork belly was quite generous and along with the "sweet chili sauce", which seemed like a hoisin based sauce seemed the biggest deviation on what you'd consider something other than a super-stuffed banh mi. The classic cucumber, pickled veggies, and cilantro were nicely done. I loved the jalapenos which helped to cut the sweetness of the sauce.

One complaint would be the belly skin, which, if not fried properly is like eating plastic…..a rather unpleasant surprise.

Baguette Bros 09

Things come bundled with Shrimp Chips.

I thought my sandwich was pretty good so a couple of days later I returned with Calvin. I just can't put away food like I used to so having Calvin along would mean we could try a variety of items. Plus, MrC, who is originally from the SGV, his wife from Little Saigon, has had his share of Banh Mi.

Baguette Bros 10

Baguette Bros 11My favorite sandwich of the three I had was the "Broguette" ($6). Loved the pate in this, wish they had put jalapenos on it and gone a bit easier on the Maggi, or whatever sauce they used as it was on the salty side. The head cheese was really mild but added texture, as did the Cha Lua, and the bread did well minus the travel time to my desk. As a whole, this was pretty much all about the pate.

Baguette Bros 12

We also ordered the "Grasshogger" ($6) – basically a Lemongrass Pork Banh Mi.

Baguette Bros 13

Baguette Bros 14Calvin and I had the same reaction upon taking a bite of this; "whoa….too much salt…too much lemongrass". It needed something to balance out the flavors. The pork was actually fairly moist.

There was one other item I wanted to try. The Fish Sauce Chicken Wings.

Baguette Bros 15

Calvin liked the rather large sized wings, whereas I'm more about skin to meat ratio. We both agreed that the wings were fried perfectly, but that there was too much fish sauce in this…again, making it a bit too salty. The garlic was good, not too bitter, but this had me missing Que Huong.

Baguette Bros 16I was rather pleased with what BB offered (i.e. the menu), though the execution and flavors were not quite there. I am looking forward to visiting again after the Grand Opening period. Nice folks, service a bit slow, but that's to be expected as they get their systems down.

So perhaps it's worth a visit from you…..though I think they'll be pretty busy now that Eater has declared them one of the 5 new restaurants to visit.

Baguette Bros
4698 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Please check out Kirbie's post as well!

Lunch Revisits: Pho Paradise and Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori

After having the hottest October on record, we've kind of settled into milder weather. Which means pho and ramen can be shoe horned back into lunch.

Pho Paradise:

** Note: Pho Paradise has closed

When Pho Paradise first opened, I thought it had some potential, even thinking that we'd finally get some decent Pho on Convoy. Even though my follow-up visit wasn't quite as good, I still believed they might have been the best pho in the area. So now, over six months later, I was wondering how things would be.

I started with the chicken wings, which looked very pale.

Pho P Rev 01

This wasn't too bad, the wings were fairly light and crisp, though sogginess set in rather quickly. A bit too much MSG for my taste, with that strange very salty edging on sweet taste and tongue sensation.

The pho was a disappointing.

Pho P Rev 02

Pho P Rev 03This reminded me of the stuff Pho T Cali puts out. Barely any flavors other than being very salty with a very mild hint in the background. It was much too low in fat, the noodles, of which there was a healthy amount of, were over cooked, the proteins had no flavor and the tendon was too hard.

Well, at least the basil and bean sprouts were fresh, right?

In case you have doubts. Here's a bowl from Pho Paradise back in February.

Pho Paradise 03

Sad, huh?

Pho Paradise
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori:

I needed a break from the office one Friday and ran over to Yakyudori for an early lunch before the place got too crowded and the Servers too surly. It had been a while since I'd had lunch here and I went with the Friday combo. Chashu Gohan with a Shoyu Ramen.

Yakyudori Lunch Rev01

Yakyudori Lunch Rev02The pork and rice came in a medium sized miso soup bowl….lots of rice in this though the chashu was good in comparison to what I'd had recently at Okan during lunch. It was tender, had some flavor, and was lukewarm rather than cold. The corn and bean sprouts added texture….but this was mostly a whole lot of rice.

I hadn't had lunch here in a while so I was surprised at the size of the "mini-ramen"….it was more mini that I recalled.

Yakyudori Lunch Rev03

Not that I needed more carbs, but there were maybe three bites of noodles and I really wanted more soup. Overall, this was a decent bowl, just edging on too salty, but quite satisfying and the noodles were prepped well. I should have just gotten the ramen instead of the lunch special.

Since I did it with Pho Paradise, it's only right I do this here too. Here's what the mini ramen used to look like.

09152011 007

No wonder they give you so much rice now. They need to fill you up somehow.

At least they were a bit nicer here than on my previous visits.

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori
4898 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111 
 

QT (Quality Taste) Pot

**** QT Pot has closed

The funniest little discussion I had about this place was with a Midwesterner, who thought Quality Taste Pot, was well, something totally different. No, not quite, though good hot pot can be addictive.

It took a while for me to talk the Missus into coming here. She’s been down on the Chinese food in San Diego for a while. Plus, the weather has to cooperate. We’re not “hot pot is a way of life” kinda folks and have to be in the mood for it.

But since the place has the blessing of both Kirbie who has made multiple visits and Faye we had to get here eventually, right?

Quality Taste 01

Quality Taste 02This shop was home to several iterations of China Chef, which, in spite of having a menu that was all over the place did have some decent dishes. I guess Hot Pot is the way to go these days.

The interior has been redone; understated, clean, and bright. I recognized the woman here as a former long time employee at Little Sheep. She was one of the really nice women who worked there.

Of course we came for the hot pot……but Kirbie raved about the Salt and Pepper Chickens Wings. And you know me and chicken wings, so……

Quality Taste 04

The texture of these were outstanding, light, crisp, and very moist. A little short in the flavor the two times I had these, but quite good. One key point; eat them right away, don’t get them to go. These get soggy and take on a greasy texture fairly quickly. Very nice.

DO NOT get the Yang Rou Chuan. In fact, I’m not sure why I ordered it.

Quality Taste 05

Tough, dry, and short on flavor. ‘Nuff said. We were really here for the hot pot, right?

We got the Special Tasty Pot – $14.95 for dinner. The Missus got into “Chinese” mode and quickly complained about the portion size….which ended up being enough for the two of us with the Chicken Wings.

Quality Taste 03

Quality Taste 03aI quickly mentioned that one of biggest complaints about the state of Chinese food in San Diego is the emphasis of huge quantities over quality, so we needed to give this place a chance. As you can see, this is not yuan yang guo, but a straightforward broth; decently flavored, quite low on scum. The proteins were passable, though only three slices of pretty good intestine and three slices of beef which for some reason dries out quite quickly. The dipping sauces were also passable, but not outstanding, the sa cha sauce was my favorite. The Missus hates fishballs, which were fishballs. She quickly got the half boiled egg, which She said was Her favorite. Too much udon noodle overall.

Overall not bad. The broth was probably the best thing about the hot pot.

So, I decided to return with YZ and Lily for lunch where the hot pot is $4 cheaper. YZ just loved the chicken wings and we thought the Special Tasty Pot was….well, they had the same opinion as I did.

We also tried the Lamb with Pickled Vegetable.

Quality Taste 06

This was quite good; except for the shellfish which were past their prime. The lamb was nice and gamey, which I love. The suan cai was kind of weak, though perhaps I’m kind of picky since we make this at home; about 7 batches a year. This suan cai didn’t quite have the nice, deep fermented flavor of good suan cai. Still, this was decent, and we’d probably return when the weather gets a bit chilly….though I do prefer mala yang yuan guo.

Service was decent, not overly friendly, not terrible. Perhaps worth a try…..

QT (Quality Taste) Pot
9225 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Coastal Crave

**** Coastal Crave has closed

Back in March I noted the impending arrival of Coastal Crave. I was pretty happy, this space had been empty for years. The business was going to run by the owner of the now defunct Skybox Sportsbar, which I'd been to a few times after moving to the area.

Coastal Crave 01

Then other news came trickling in….the kitchen was going to be run by the original chef of Common Theory. 'Nuff said. So I held off on coming for a bit, but finally decided to give it a go a couple of weeks back.

Coastal Crave 02

It was a Sunday and the bar was full and the really nice patio area was half full….and there was one poor guy running the bar and the dining area, a really nice guy named Danny…..I felt for him.

Coastal Crave 03

Coastal Crave 04The beer selection was a bit limited, but had 2-3 items I was ok with. I went with a Port Brewing Shark Attack Red Ale, then turned it down when my food arrived.  

The menu seemed a bit pricey, but it's hard to make that determination when you haven't tried anything, so I went full steam ahead. And of course, being from Hawaii, I love my poke, so I thought it would be a good place to start ($9.50). I think for most, this would be ok. Me, well, I'm not a big fan of saku fish….that boned, skinned, pre-cut, vacuum packed, and frozen stuff has a texture I don't enjoy.

Coastal Crave 05

I would have appreciated a bit more shoyu and less sesame oil. And I thought the "wasabi pesto" needed more wasabi.

I went with the Garlic Parmesan Wings, which was basically simply fried wings with a dollop of a garlic-cheese paste on them.

Coastal Crave 06

The wings were a bit greasy and the flesh dry. There were six wings total….guess how much this was?  $11.50……are we soon going to have $2 wings? I rue the day I actually complained about the price of wings at Kyochon!

Coastal Crave 12Man, that was a not so great first visit. Still, I decided to visit again. This time I saw the sign for $1 off draft beer during "Happy Hour" – 4-6pm. It's nothing like, say, Iron Pig's half price happy hour. It was also kind of a bummer when I was told that Sculpin and the Shark Attack Red were excluded from happy hour pricing…..it's only a dollar, but really……

This time around I asked for a recommendation with regards to one of my dishes. Queried about my tolerance for "heat", the Habanero Calamari ($8.50) was recommended.

Coastal Crave 07

And this was probably the best item I had at Coastal Crave; tender, nice spice, cooled by a decent aioli. It was on the greasy side….but this is pub grub, right?

I also decided to try the Bone Marrow ($15).

Coastal Crave 08

Coastal Crave 09This seemed a bit over-priced and the marrow looked really black. It wasn't too bad, but in spite of the color, there were quite a bit of red, under done parts. This actually made the Wagyu Bone Marrow at Copper Onion seem amazing.

Pretty uneven, almost like the place is over-reaching a bit. I'm glad that it seems the neighborhood folks are coming out and supporting the place, but I wish the food was a bit better and the beer selection more interesting….though I saw most people drinking Bud Light, Corona, and Shock Top……

As you can tell. I was ready to call it quits….but for some reason, I decided on one more try. I saw a nice looking sandwich go out on my previous visit, so I thought I'd order it; the Duck Melt ($13).

Coastal Crave 11

Coastal Crave 10I really enjoyed the melted Havarti cheese, slightly milky, creamy, it really added to the sandwich. I thought the duck confit needed a bit more flavor, and the whole thing was super rich. I wish the pickles were a bit more assertive; it would have been just enough acid to cut the richness. The habanero aioli actually detracted from the overall flavor and seemed out of place. Also, the bread had been griddled a bit too long and some of the areas were bitter. The fries were nice and for some reason….maybe the acid component, the ketchup tasted really good.

IMG_7045The folks here seem very nice, though the service can be a bit slow.

I'm glad that places like this are opening in the neighborhood. Like I said about Luce's, I'm not the kind of guy who is just "happy to have xxxx in the neighborhood". And while the menu seems "interesting" (extra " " on this) with stuff like "Gator Cakes" on it. I'm just going to have a burger next time. I'll probably be better off. I hope…..

Coastal Crave
3065 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

 

Another Revisit: Que Huong Nearly a Decade Later

Que Huong rev 01**** Que Huong has closed

I'm enjoying getting back up to City Heights again, so here's another revisit post.

Can you imagine that it's been nearly 10 years since I first walked through the door of Que Huong. Little did I know that "Jay" and his sister had just taken over the spot. I've revisited quite a few times over the years, though strangely, the visits always seem to be spread apart. I will say that the place sure looks a lot different these days.

There sure aren't specials written on the mirror anymore!

Que Huong rev 02

If you're going to have one item here, it should be the fish sauce wings. Since I first tried them in 2008, it's been a beloved item. In my article in the Reader, I noted how Jay told me he was going through as much as a thousand pounds of wings in a month.

Que Huong rev 03

It's still a wonderful, sweet, salty, and sticky…….

The Jackfruit Salad is another standby.

Que Huong rev 04

Que Huong rev 05Over the years, I've noticed that they've somewhat refined their dishes a bit. In this salad, I noticed that the whole, hard peppercorns were gone and on this visit the nuoc mam cham was more savory, heavier on the fish sauce than sweet and watered done, which was a welcomed change. Nice amount of veggies, the somewhat citrusy-pungent-cilantro tones of rau ram, shrimp, and pork.

This made for a very satisfying meal. 

It's good to know that the food here was just as good when Jay wasn't on the premises. It's also good to see Que Huong last when so many haven't.

Que Huong Restaurant
4134 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
 

Revisits: Pho Ban Mai and New Mandarin Canton

Here's a couple of places I haven't been to in a while.

Pho Ban Mai:

A couple of weeks ago, when it was super hot, Lily and "YZ" wanted to grab some lunch. Everything just seemed a bit "too much" for the heat and this being a Monday, places like Sab E Lee were closed. We ended up going to Pho Ban Mai, which I seem to visit about once a year. I ended up doing the ordering and we started with the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings:

Ban Mai Again 01

While the seasoning wasn't bad; I thought these were greasy, the bones in several were broken and the meat tasted a bit off like it had been thawed and then refrozen. Not good eats.

I also went with what I call the "Brodard South" dishes; the Nem Nuong Cuon and the Chao Tom Cuon. Like I mentioned before, these were right out of the Brodard playbook.

Ban Mai Again 02

Ban Mai Again 03

As before the Nem Nuong, the pork "sausage", was much better, more flavor, nicely grilled, and the addition of a touch of herbs along with the scallion complements the flavor of the meat. The Chao Tom, is a bit too rubbery and "squeaky" for me and is quite bland….which comes to the sauce….I keep on meaning to just get nuoc mam cham, the sauce here is not very good, very bland, lacking in flavor.

I've always enjoyed the banh xeo here; I think it is crisp and light, and I appreciate the ratio of fillings to the crisp "crepe". It's all about proportion to me when it comes to banh xeo.

Ban Mai Again 04

Lily and "YZ" had never had banh xeo before, so I thought this would be a nice introduction. Man, Lily went after this like there was no tomorrow…..apparently, she loves bean sprouts, and the combination of the light crunch of the crepe with the crisp lettuce and herbs, dipped into nuoc mam cham was just what the doctor ordered for a hot day. This was a nice specimen, perhaps as good as what I had here in 2011.

Overall a decent meal; though there's one area that seemed lacking. When Pho Ban Mai first opened, the folks seemed friendly and attentive, during my last visit, the guys seemed more interested in socializing. This time around, they seem to want nothing to do with customers. In other words, it's getting almost borderline rude here. Not a good trend. I hope the next time I get my banh xeo fix, the pattern will be reversed.

Pho Ban Mai
8991 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

New Mandarin Canton:

Speaking of salt and Pepper Chickens Wings….we've been eating pretty good for a while and just needed to get our ABCDE (American Born Chinese Dining Establishment – "ab-cee-dee) fried food fix. It had been a while since we indulged in one of our guilty pleasures.

Mandarin Canton Again 01

I'd always thought the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings here were pretty good and was disappointed that they weere closed during our Salt and Pepper Wing Challenge. Though we were even more disturbed that the owner had been stabbed and beaten to death.

As far the wings go, they've never been quite the same, but were still good, and usually held up well. The Missus had always enjoyed the salt and pepper shrimp without shell here as well. Which is what I ordered.

Mandarin Canton Again 02

Man, what is going on here? The chicken, while crisp, had basically no flavor…..I had to roll it in the garlic-scallion mixture to get any flavor at all.

Mandarin Canton Again 03

It had also been fried to death……dry as a mouthful of sand. Kind of sad. Looks like I'll have to start making the rounds searching for some good S&P wings.

To make things worse, the shrimp were even more pathetic.

Mandarin Canton Again 04

Very bland, under fried and gummy batter….this was pretty bad.

It's quite sad when an "old standby" doesn't deliver….

New Mandarin Canton Chinese Restaurant
543 Telegraph Canyon Road
Chula Vista, CA 91910

Revisits: Pizzeria Bruno and Pho King

Hmmmm Bruno and Pho King, there's surely a joke in there somewhere. Can't think of one right now, so onward with the post.

Pizzeria Bruno:

*** Pizzeria Bruno has closed

It had been almost a year since I'd been here and I was really wanting a pizza….the Missus is still not doing the bread thing, so I was on my own. I held out for a couple of weeks before giving in.

Bruno again 01

Bruno again 03They must be doing well, as there were at least 5 people working on a Sunday, at 4pm.

My memory must be going as I don't recall seeing Belgians on the drink list before. I was quite happy to order a La Chouffe, mild spice, yeasty, just boozy and sweet enough for me. My server was a very chipper young lady…quite enthusiastic and all…..

Being a creature of habit, I ordered the Diavolo, subbing soppressata for pepperoni. It arrived in all it's yeasty charred glory soon after.

I must really be getting old because this just seemed larger than I remembered…ah, this cursed old age thing.

Bruno again 02

Man, loved the smoky charred crust, the slightly spicy and vinegary goat peppers….I did notice that the soppressata tasted a bit different, not as rich and full of lovely oiliness as before….but it could be that old age thing, right?

Bruno again 04I could only finish half the pie and took the rest home. The Missus got home from work and said "that smells so good…." Knowing that She doesn't do the bread thing I told Her, "help yourself….he-he-he…."

I got out of the shower and She had a smug smile on Her face….so I headed straight to the pizza box and opened it….yikes!!! She had cockroached all the toppings! Teach me to tempt Her, right?

Pizzeria Bruno
4207 Park Blvd
San Diego, CA 92103  

Aaah, I know why I put these two together mentally. While at Bruno, these two huge Italian guys walked in, pinky rings and all. Man, they had it down, talking to each other in Italian….until I was walking out and they were having a little "PDA"…..

So maybe they should have gotten a room or at least gone to….

Pho King:

Yeah, yeah….ok, enough with the jokes. I don't think I've posted on the place in over a year, so I'm due right? Man, they were pretty busy…..

I decided to order my usual and get some wings as well……

Pho King Wing 01

In retrospect, not the best move….these tasted of rancid oil, were fried "naked", but were on the mushy side, and really lacked flavor. Very large, meaty, and moist though. Ah yes…Pho King Wings….

My usual Hu Tieu Mi Kho did much better.

Pho King Noodle 01

Pho King Noodle 02I love the sweet-porky soy and the combination of noodles on this. Which I've done posts on several times.

And on the good side, no one asked me for money. Like I noted in my Tu Thanh post, on my last visit in August, some dude asked me for money twice, once when entering and once when leaving the place…then I saw him looking into my car windows…sheeesh. Happy not have to deal with that, which kind of kept me away from the place. Guess I'll head back again soon.

Pho King Restaurant
4658 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115