Greek Food – Page 2

A GyroGrill Price Check

April 11, 2022 mmm-yoso Greek Food

**** GryoGrill has closed

Since “FOY” ST asked about this visit in the comments of my previous post; I thought I’d just go ahead and do this.

I’m sure that everyone who reading this blog in the US have noticed the rise in prices over the last two years…..it’s hard not to notice. My dollar and I’m sure your dollar does not go as far these days as it used to, though in some cases (definitely not gas prices) the change might seem more subtle. Though in other cases it’s quite obvious and perhaps a bit disturbing as well. As I mentioned in my previous post on GyroGrill, I was a bit shocked at how prices had risen since they opened back in October of 2020.

Now, I’m not doing this post as a condemnation, nor am I in anyway angry at GG. I believe that they are trying, as many other businesses are to survive. But, for some reason the prices at GG just seem to be an indicator of rising prices for me. I’m sure we all have that “internal price gauge” for certain thigs.

So, just last week I headed over to see how things were at GyroGrill and to see if the sign for Tenkatori, which is opening in the same strip mall had gone up (it hasn’t). I walked into GyroGrill to place my usual order for the Gyro Combo – this is the current price.

Whoa, it’s now $14! To think that when GG opened in October of 2020, a mere nineteen months ago, the combo was a mere $7.99 To be perfectly honest, perhaps it was under priced. In August of 2021 it was $8.99, still a bargain in my mind. It October of 2021, a year after they opened, it was $10.99, a 27% increase in a year. When I visited in January of this year, it was $12.99 a 15% increase in three months. And now, less than three months later it’s $14…….

The food; well it’s pretty much the same.

A bit less potatoes and I noticed no tzatziki included anymore; though that might have just been overlooked. The gyros were even drier, gummy, and lacking in seasoning than I recalled on my last visit. It was also barely warmed through…..as it had been pre-sliced and set out in a hotel pan. At least the potatoes were still crisp and crunchy and the pita was quite full of pork; albeit dry and kinda tough pork.

Now, if the gyros here were as good as Zgara (I think their lunch Gyro special still hovers around ten bucks – but you gotta figure how location affects prices) I might be ok with that. But in my opinion it’s not.

Like I said in the beginning, this is not a condemnation of GG; they are doing what they need to do to survive. It is, at least to me, an illustration of inflation and the economy. The Consumer Price Index for February rose by 7.9% over the last 12 months, the largest increase since January of 1982. I’m hoping the effects of all the disruptions and inflation start tailing down soon.

And then it’ll be interesting to see if places start actually lowering their prices.

Gyrogrill
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121

Tell me, has the increase in prices affected your eating/grocery shopping habits yet? And what is your “internal price gauge” item?

Zgara Greek Grill Revisited

March 7, 2022 mmm-yoso Greek Food

I was so thrilled when Zgara Grill Grill reopened and in my neighborhood too! It quickly became part of our takeout rotation. And then I returned to the office and those weekly visits to Zgara stopped. Recently, I had a WFH day and decided to grab lunch from Zgara.

The Owner, Eric was so happy to see me and I was glad to see a smile on his face. He told me business has been good, even better now that they have their beer and wine license.

They've also spiffed things up a bit.

The one thing that hasn't changed is the pork gyros, it's as good as ever, nice crisp edges to the meat, great savory-light citrus tones, lovely porkiness. Enrobed in a warm pita, the light pungecy of the onions, the creamy-lemony tzatziki…….well, you get the idea, right?

Of all the terrible things that have and are happening in the world……at least there are a few bright spots and I think Zgara reopening is one of them. And with the way things are….I'll take what I can get…..

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

So, tell me, what places have you found during the pandemic that you've added to your rotation?

And have a great week!

Revisits – Chicago Fire Grill and Gyrogrill

January 20, 2022 mmm-yoso Greek Food, Hot Dogs

A couple of quick revisits…..

Chicago Fire Grill:

It had been a while since I last visited Chicago Fire Grill and I was wondering how the owner, George was doing. So, I decided to head on over.

Things weren’t quite ready for “prime time” when I arrived and George was by himself.

I’m guessing those pandemic staffing issues have hit home here as well. On this day, I had time to wait……..George had to get everything started; but eventually I got my order….George wanted to give it to me…but heck no…….the Chicago Dog is a bargain these days at 8 bucks. Plus, I want to make sure he stays in business.

Things weren’t much different from my previous visits. Except that the fries were nice and crisp, which I really enjoyed.

While the price for this has gone up $2 over the last year….in terms of these days….well, what can you still get for $8 nowadays? I hope George hangs in there.

Chicago Fire Grill
8935 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 9pm
Sat – Sun 12pm – 9pm

GyroGrill:

**** GryoGrill has closed

I had meetings scheduled thru the normal lunch hour; I was hungry and decided to head on over to GyroGrill which opens at 10am.

When I arrived a quick glance at the sign gave me pause:

The Gyro meal is now $12.99; back when they opened in October of 2020, it was $7.99, which honestly was a bargain. On my last visit, in October of 2021, it was $10.99, which I thought was reasonable. But now, three months later it was $12.99….wow, guess it’s just a sign of the times.

I had though about heading back to the car and going somewhere else….but I needed to get back to the office, so I stuck it out. The fellow working was….and has always been very nice.

If anything, like I’ve mentioned before, I do like the hand cut potatoes which are fried to order and are so crisp and crunchy.

As for the pork gyros….while I don’t expect this to be on the level of Zgara, on this morning it was very disappointing. Even after being heated on the flat top, it was barely lukewarm, lacking moisture, bland, gummy in texture. I seemed to have been sitting in the hotel pan too long….but the place had just opened a few minutes before I arrived.

I do love those potatoes; so perhaps I need to change things up a bit here….though I’m not sure what prices will be like when I return.

Gyrogrill
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 10am – 630pm
Sat 10am – 530pm
Closed Sunday

Zizikis Street Food (Sky Deck, Del Mar Highlands)

December 3, 2021 Cathy Greek Food, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is happy to have you visit and read another post. Cathy is writing while Kirk and His Missus are taking a vacation from both blogging and California.

At the Southern end of the parking lot of Del Mar Highlands Town Center, which is at the South East corner of El Camino Real and Del Mar Heights Road, I saw the Sky Deck being built earlier this year and wrote it on a piece of paper. so I could remember to check it out once it opened.

Just found the piece of paper.

Decorated for the holidays, it's easy to spot. The upper deck is a 'restaurant collective', with nine curated culinary destinations, each with its own exclusive dining area and a cocktail bar in the center. It's not a 'Food Court", even though there are no walls. The glass ceiling above the second floor is why it's called the 'Sky Deck'. Beautiful light in daytime. The 'Brewers Deck' currently houses three of San Diego's top craft beer and kombucha brands. There's a nautical theme in decor.
When we arrived around noon during Thanksgiving week, only three restaurants were open. We checked out menus and decided on Zizikis Street Food. This third generation, family owned and run, Greek (not Middle Eastern; there's no falafel on the menu) take on the "modern-classic" recipes and "fine-casual" dining has a focused menu of Shareables, Salads, Sandwiches and Sides (as well as an extensive choice of adult beverages). The same chef-owner (and shared kitchen) is the restaurant "J", next door. Ordered items are walked over.

Zizikis cheese bread ($7) was one of our choices. Fresh, fluffy, warm pita topped with a mix of cheese and Greek spices (oregano, parsley, basil and dill..?) with a side of the house tzatziki sauce. (Flavorful and the reason for the name 'Zazikis').
We also decided on the Hummus Pita ($8). More fresh, toasty pita along with a wonderful artichoke based hummus.
The salad we immediately agreed we both wanted to try was lamb ($15). Grass fed lamb, grilled perfectly (still moist and tender) topping mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, onion and Feta had wonderful flavors. Tzaziki is the salad dressing here and it really is a great sauce that goes with everything.

We will be trying more of the menu. Soo was here in April, when Sky Deck first opened.

Not noticing there was a small, two item dessert menu, the central restaurant, Le Parfait Paris, was where we ordered a Nutella crepe ($8) for a nice end to our meal.

Zizikis 12841 El Camino Real, Ste 206 San Diego 92130 (858) 925-7595 Open Sun-Th 11:30-9, Fri-Sat 11:30-10 Website

Lemon Grove Cafe

October 16, 2021 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Greek Food, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog with random posts, is where you have landed. Kirk is vacationing with His Missus and Cathy is writing today.

An early morning wake up with differing cravings had The Mister and myself looking for breakfast away from home. We started driving South, took the Lemon Grove Avenue exit and saw the pretty painted building with an almost full parking lot and decided to stop. This has been Lemon Grove Cafe since 2012 and was a location of Antique Row Cafe prior to that. The writing on the wall says it all.
There is also and outdoor covered area as well as the comfortable indoor seating. The breakfast menu is pretty extensive.
Señor Uno ($11.95) was The Mister's choice. A three egg omelette with sausage and cheese, the side of country fries were chosen (over hash browns) and were crisp with onion and bell peppers. The tasty breakfast sausages filled the large omelette, topped with plenty of cheese.
This came with a choice of toast, English muffin, biscuit or pancakes, and pancakes were what was craved. The cakes were quite thick/large and had a nicely crisp crust.
Once I saw the choice of chicken souvlaki with eggs it had to be ordered. Greek style breakfast-the savory craving would be satisfied. The over easy eggs were properly cooked. The grilled skewer/souvlaki style chicken had large pieces of flavorful dark meat. The tomatoes and Feta combined with the warm pita bread and tzatziki sauce helped make each bite memorable.

We will be returning for more meals at this family owned cafe.

Lemon Grove Cafe 3521 Lemon Grove Avenue Lemon Grove, CA 91945 (619) 644-1031 open Mon-Sat 7 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Website

The Rule of Three – Revisits to GyroGrill, LouZiana Food, and Smack’N Guamanian Grill

August 4, 2021 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, Greek Food, Guamanian/Chamorro, Sandwiches

So, I recently started returning to places fairly close to the office and when setting up this post I noticed something about three of these places. The number three comes into play. All three places are on Miramar Road. This is my third post on these places since the pandemic started…..yes, it’s been that long. And all three are, well….take out visits. The one big difference is in my ordering mechanism.

So here goes.

GyroGrill:

**** GryoGrill has closed

Gyrogrill actually opened during the pandemic and my first post was back in October of last year.

Since service and turnaround is fairly quick at GG….a big plus is that they open at 9am so I can get our lunches at around 10 and the place is empty and the parking lot isn’t crazy. I actually order at the restaurant.

As I mentioned in my follow-up post, I….and my coworkers basically get one thing here. The pork gyros combo with handcut potatoes.

So even though the pork gyros here isn’t in the same league as Zgara, it’s sometimes a bit on the dry side and could be more aggressively seasoned, it’s way better than the ubiquitous Kronos stuff you get almost everywhere else. Decent pork flavor and everyone enjoys the crispy hand cut potatoes. And I’ve kinda gotten used to the really thick Tzatziki.

Gyrogrill
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 9am – 7pm
Sat 9am – 6pm
Closed Sunday

LouZiana Food:

**** LouZiana Food has closed

I think I’m pretty good at taking direction and on my last post on LouZiana Grill back in January of this year, “FOY” Dereck wrote this in the comments:

“Kirk, I don’t know how you can get out of there without a roast beef po boy. It isn’t like the debris sandwiches from NOLA, but it sure as hell does taste good when I want a fix!”

So, ok I decided to try the roast beef po’ boy. My mechanism for ordering here (there’s no online ordering) is to call in. LZ can get a bit busy at times and I still am a bit put off by crowds. The folks working are always friendly and my order is always waiting when I arrive.

I mentioned in my previous post during the pandemic, that I’m not a big fan of the bread here. But in this framework it does real well. Because sheesh…..

Oh geez, look at all that remoulade sauce! But that bread holds up real well and is almost tailormade for all that mayo goodness. In fact, when I bit into one end of the sandwich…it basically “sharted” remoulade out the other end. Luckily, I ate over the wrappers! The sauce was fairly balanced; not too much sour-pickle juice tones, though I like my remoulade to be more garlicky and spicy this was not bad. Standard issue shredded iceberg and tomatoes. The one thing about not having and overly strong sauce is that I could actually taste the roast beef.

A messy, but pretty good sandwich. Thanks for the recommendation Dereck!

LouZiana Food
7128 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Daily 11am – 8pm

Smack’N Guamanian Grill:

**** Smack’N Guamanian Grill has closed

Much like GyroGrill, I pretty much get the same thing from Smack’N Guamanian Grill during my pandemic takeout visits. The Chebot Plate, the combo of BBQ Chicken and Kelaguen (I sub out an extra scoop of Kelaguen for the cabbage slaw), with Red Rice. Smack’N has online ordering which I use.

And even though on my previous two pandemic visits the chicken was “masked” (i.e covered with foil)….I guess with new CDC guidelines, masking is now optional!

Smack’N has been pretty consistent over the last couple of visits and I know what to expect. The Kelaguen is very moist, though lacking in coconut tones and spice. It’s not overly salty, has mild citrus tones, and is quite easy to take. The finedene is also fairly mild as well. I actually take the Kelaguen home and use my homemade finedene…..because, as you can tell, this a generous amount of food.

The BBQ Chicken is nicely grilled, fairly tender, and has really good salt-soy balance. It’s much better than what you get from many of those “Hawaiian BBQ” places.

The Red Rice does a fine job of soaking up the chicken drippings and is quite moist.

Smack’N Guamanian Grill
9506 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 11am – 7pm
Closed on Sundays

You know, it’s hard to believe that I’ve now done three posts on these places during the pandemic……it just seems to go on and on. My hope is that the next time I do a post on one of these places; I’ll be eating in and the worse will be but a tiny speck in our “rearview mirror”.

Take care everyone!

Our Pandemic Takeout Rotation

March 11, 2021 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Chinese Restaurants, Greek Food, Japanese Restaurants, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Poke, Sushi and Sashimi

I was recently pondering what our Pandemic Takeout Rotation is….that is, the places we've done a bunch of takeout from over the last year……I'm guessing that this post is somewhat timely since (not a great thing) the WHO declared Covid-19 to be a pandemic on this day a year ago.

What I did notice is that things like weather, work, cravings, or indecision kind of drove the decision process. So I've categorized places by that process

So here goes…..

For cold weather – Menya Ultra and Woomiok:

Like I mentioned before, I'm not if it's because we're spending more time at home; but this fall and winter seems to be much colder then I recall.

So, of course Menya Ultra's Stay at Home Kit…….so well and thoughtfully put together; love the fresh noodles (i.e. fresh made and uncooked) is our rotation.

It's basically at least two meals……there often is too much noodle; so I'll often use it for another dish.

Menya Ultra Ramen
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
858-571-2010

When the Missus or I feel somewhat tired……we enjoy the Emporer's Soup along with an extra side of bone broth from Woomiok.

We enjoy the restorative effects of the bone broth….even if it might be "all in our heads".

This was especially nice after the Missus or I felt some of the side effects from our vaccines.

Woomiok
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 737-4599

And then when we're experiences unseasonal warm weather – it's the Market at HFS:

That's an easy one, right? It's also a handy fix when I'm missing "home".

Of course, you know the Missus right? Eating poke just ain't the straightforward for Her……there's a bit of prep involved. Can you imagine when I actually deliver this for Her lunch at work?

And I blew this one because one thing was missing….shiso leaves…sigh….

Hawaiian Fresh Seafood Fish Market
6491 Weathers Place
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 282-0591

For that "special" takeout dinner – it's Tadokoro:

I guess this one should be pretty obvious based on some of my previous posts.

Sushi Tadokoro
2244 San Diego Ave
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 297-0298

And when we can't make our mind up? Well, it's probably Noble Chef or Sizzling Pot King:

For those times when we don't really know what to get.

The Noble Chef
6159 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111

Though I think we've been getting Sizzling Pot King weekly now.

**** Sizzling Pot King is now Zhang Liang Malatang

It's usually two meals for us…..and heck, if you're wondering what I do with those leftover noodles form Menya Ultra…..

I save all the drippings from the dry pot and use it as a sauce for the noodles….I know, kinda weird, but I like this strange version of Liang Mian…..

Sizzling Pot King
8058 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 279-0088

The Missus's weekend coffee fix from Birdrock:

I'll usually drop off pour over from Birdrock on Morena.

She loves the fruity acidity of African beans and of course when there's Geisha (caution – over $12 a cup for pour over)…..

The folks there already know me by name and make an awesome pour over……even though their spelling can be a bit iffy……

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters
1270 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110

And then, there's my weekly reward for working from home – Zgara Greek Grill:

Another pretty obvious pick. I'm not the biggest fan of all this WFH stuff; but Frankie needs and deserves the attention and care. So, once a week I'll reward myself.

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

You know looking at this list makes me wonder why other places from my usual rotation like Mien Trung aren't here…..there are some obvious reasons for others; like Yakitori, Yakiniku, Korean BBQ, and some of my regular Japanese restaurants….well, I just think takeout wouldn't do justice to the food…..though maybe EE Nami might make this list soon.

Anyway; here's looking to brighter days….I'm hoping the light at the end of the tunnel is coming into view.

And of course, I want to know, what has your takeout rotation been?

Takeout Revisit – GyroGrill

February 18, 2021 mmm-yoso Greek Food

**** GryoGrill has closed

Back in October I did a post on GyroGrill. A few weeks later, I went ahead and got lunch for the skeleton crew at work and they really took to the place. It has become a regular stop for them. They basically order one item; the Pork Gyro Meal. Even though the price has gone up a dollar; I still think it’s a good deal for $8.99. Another change is that GyroGrill now closes on Sunday. Also, see below for changes in the hours of operation.

And while the pork still has the same shortcomings as before; sometimes a bit chewy, slightly dry, and a bit light in the seasoning department, it still has a decent pork flavor. It’s not bad and way better than the mystery meat “Kronos” gyros you see everywhere. I also enjoy the hand cut potatoes, which is the one thing here that I prefer to Zgara. That thick Tzatziki….with a cream cheese texture has grown on me….

On my previous post on GyroGrill, I mentioned that I would try other items on the menu. So, on one of my visits; I went ahead and ordered the Beef Souvlaki Combo.

And ordered the rice pilaf and garbanzo beans as my sides. The garbanzos were much more tender this time around and still had that nice and tangy tomato flavor. The texture of the rice was quite good; but it was bland. The garbanzos were the best thing about this plate.

As you can see that beef was really dry and bland. You can’t complain about the portion; but man, it really entered “two dollar steak” territory. This was way too much food so I shared it with a coworker…..who is a fan of that Pork Gyro meal and he didn’t care for it either.

So, I guess I’ll stick with this.

The folks from my team in the office on my Birthday, all two of them, wanted to buy me lunch…..so guess what we had?

It was a very nice gesture! And made my day……things like that just seem that much more special during these times.

Gyrogrill
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 586-7700
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 9am – 7pm
Sat 830am – 6pm
Closed Sun day

GyroGrill – More Greek Style Gyros, This Time on Miramar

October 8, 2020 mmm-yoso Greek Food

**** GryoGrill has closed

Well, maybe Morton Salt was right when they wrote, “when it rains, it pours.” Back at the beginning of September, I wasn’t sure what to grab for lunch at the office; finally, I just jumped in the car and drove to the strip mall that houses TJ Dumplings. While driving into the parking lot, I noticed that the little Lebanese Shop; Edesia Grill was gone and now replaced by “GyroGrill”.

The sign outside the front door said “Try a Real Gyro”…..hmmmm……I guess I now had the answer to the “what’s for lunch” question.

I walked in and was pleasantly surprised to see that “GG” offered two types of Gyros; pork or chicken! Could it be? After all; I was just celebrating the reopening of Zgara Greek Grill and now there’s this place? And the really friendly guy behind the counter told me that the gyro meat is made inhouse, marinated for 24 hours. The prices seemed really reasonable; $5.99 for a Gyro, $7.99 for a combo, which came with a side and a drink.

Well, it was obvious what I was going to get, right? I also really enjoyed the choice of sides; you could get fries, sautéed veggies, baked garbanzos, rice pilaf, stewed greens. I asked if the stewed greens were “horta”, which we came to really enjoy during our visit to Crete. The gentleman seemed a bit shocked that I knew what it was…….and was told that folks really weren’t ordering it, so they didn’t have any on this day.

Which was ok. I got a Pork Gyro Meal, with Baked Garbanzos as a side ($7.99). It also came with a drink. My package had a bit of heft to it and I was a bit shocked at the amount of food when I opened things up at my desk.

Man, this was quite a bit of food! I tried the garbanzos; which had a really thick, reduced tomato sauce, lovely tangy-acidic flavors, with a touch of spices like almost lemony oregano and onion. The garbanzos were a bit “harder” than I prefer, but this wasn’t a bad side dish at all.

As for the gyros. Well, these were really thick cut; which made it a bit chewier and drier than hat I enjoy at Zgara. The marinade was also a bit on the lighter side and this was much milder in flavor, though it was decently seasoned. You could make out a light porkiness.

The pita was standard issue, but nicely heated on the griddle. The Tzatziki was a bit different; very thick, with a texture close to cream cheese. It was decently refreshing….all that meat after all, though it didn’t have as much of the nice, mild acidity, though the dill comes thru nicely.

While not quite Zgara Greek Grill, it was still pretty good, and as far as I’m concerned a bargain. I also found out that the place opens at 8am each day. Even better for me since I get into the office a bit after 5am and usually start getting hungry for lunch around 10. Also, that parking lot is less of a horror show and there are fewer people around at that time.

I was curious about the Chicken Gyros; so I got that when I revisited a few weeks later (a meal $7.99).

This time I got it with the Hand Cut Fries; which were more like chips. These were really good, nicely seasoned, you can forget about the packages of ketchup with this. Varying pleasant textures, some crunchy, some more potato. This definitely beats out the fries at Zgara.

The chicken wasn’t bad….on this visit I paid more attention to how things were assembled and noticed that both the pork and chicken are precut from verticle spit and held in hotel pans. I think this contributes to the relative dryness of the product.

I did enjoy the crispy bits and the seasoning came through a bit better with this; but it’ll still be the pork for me.

It’s great to have another option for breakfast/lunch in the area. There’s quite a bit on the menu, including breakfast items, mezes, specials like Giouvetsi, and even a burger.

I really enjoy talking to the owner; he’s a great guy and loves chatting about food.

I’ve gone back a couple of times since this visit and the folks have always been really nice and the folks in the office love the portions and prices. I’ll start exploring other items on the menu in future visits. And you really can’t complain about the prices for those fairly hefty (non-mystery meat) Gyros.

Gyrogrill
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 586-7700
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 8am – 8pm
Sat 8am – 6pm
Sun 8am – 3pm

I guess I should be glad; that even during these challenging times, we have places like these opening.

New to the Rotation (You can probably guess) – The Market At HFS and Zgara Grill

September 10, 2020 mmm-yoso Greek Food, Markets & Grocers, Poke, Seafood

Yes, you can probably guess which places are now on our "rotation". And, I'm pretty sure after this pandemic is over these two places will still be frequently visited by us that I didn't even write "Pandemic Rotation" in the title.

I'm sure you already read my initial posts on HFS and Zgara as those two posts probably had the most comments I've seen in a while.

Anyway, here goes:

Hawaiian Fresh Seafood Fish Market:

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

Geeez, the Missus has me going at least twice a week, sometimes three times, you can tell She's been missing "home". Here are a couple of things I've noticed.

1 – There's more variety on the weekends.

On Saturday, they have two lines for poke. And, there's often something different on offer; like on this particular weekend.

Yes, it's the "Pretty Much Just Ahi"…….just seasoned with salt, sesame seeds, green onions. The quality of this fish was quite good.

The Missus added a bit of shoyu and wasabi to Hers……I didn't need anything.

On one weekend there was bluefin shoyu poke…..that was ono!

The item I've seen every weekend was the Hawaiian Ahi. It has a bit of limu in it, not much, but enough for you to get a taste.

2 – Of course weekends are also kinda busy.

I usually get to HFS right before they open and have noticed over the last couple of weekends, there's a line to get in before they open. It's getting longer every week.

I guess word is getting out.

3 – Don't forget to get Da' Card.

HFS has a card that will earn you a stamp for every $10 purchase.

After 10 stamps; you get a free medium poke bowl.

Sad thing is; that you gotta be ova' the increment of $10…….if you spend $29.99, you only get two stamps. Oh well.

Still, that's my third full card ready to go.

4 – Speaking of Medium Poke Bowls…..

If you're not going to eat the bowl right away – get them to split it for you. They'll separate the rice from the fish.

There's no way I can finish all that rice. In fact, the Missus and I will split the rice, so this works out perfect……only thing is, She is making me order brown rice now!

Also, this is a nice way to try smaller portions of other "stuffs" like the tako or albacore….the sesame albacore isn't bad and once they had kimchi tako that was pretty good as well.

So there you go…..I know I missed something, but heck, that just means I can do another post, right?

Hawaiian Fresh Seafood Fish Market
6491 Weathers Place
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 282-0591
Covid-19 Hours:
Daily 10am – 4pm

Zgara Greek Grill:

Right now, since they've reopened on Morena, Zgara has been a twice weekly stop for me. I know I'll eventually try some of the other stuffs on the menu….but the pork gyros was already my favorite from their days in PB. And upon walking into the shop, I'm fixated on that beautiful rotating pile of pork.

So, I'm sticking with that for now…..

I'll let you folks tell me what else is good on the menu…..

Not much else to say. And while I've heard that "ChrisW" said I had a moment of "uncontrollable incontinence" (my translation) when confronted with my pork gyro; to be perfectly clear, I didn't. Though it did get mighty close there. I'm not quite that old yet.

Still, his might be well worth peeing in my pants for…..

I spoke to the owner on my last visit since I've seen him there every day. He told me that finding someone who can make his food the "right way" is difficult to find; so he's working everyday for now. A definite win for us, but I hope he doesn't burn out.

I had a "FOY" who asks to remain anonymous send me this screen shot a few weeks back (thanks!) – from back in 2015! I had forgotten all about it. It still holds true today:

Hmmmm…….I think I know what's for dinner.

Zgara Greek Grill
1229 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 9pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 10pm

So, there you go….I think you'll be free of more posts from HFS and Zgara for a while……I've just kinda stopped taking photos since I've been going to both places so often.

Hope everyone is keeping safe and in good health!