The Missus was having Her hair done in North Park and I was passing time with JJ. We were walking on 30th Street when I noticed the host stand outside what used to be Urban Solace which was a favorite of the Missus.
I recalled hearing of a restaurant with several locations in LA taking over that spot a while back…it just kinda seemed like a hipster-chain so I really didn’t pay much attention. But while waiting for the Missus, I took a look at Bacari North Park on my phone and it was both dog friendly and the patio was covered. They also open at 430 for dinner service….so I figured why not? I made reservations for patio seating and once the Missus was done we walked over for an early dinner.
The patio is nicely covered and JJ was quite comfortable.
It was quite relaxed and empty when we arrived, but the place filled up quickly after 5pm.
The service was quite friendly and the gentleman, who I believe is the manager was super nice and even brought J some water.
We were brought menus, which are just a single sheet, but it’s just crammed with dishes.
All the dishes are designed for sharing and we were told that 2-3 dishes per person is the norm….so we went ahead and placed our orders and the Missus got a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
The first item to arrive was the Salatim ($16.50), a term I actually remembered from when we visited Israel as meaning something along the lines of salad and similar items. This was an interesting array of vegetarian style “dips” which mimic items like pate and muhamarra. The pitas were almost fluffy, seemed so fresh, arriving hot, and were quite good.
My favorite item hands down was the Hazelnut Beet Muhamarra. I really do enjoy traditional Muhamara, the roasted red bell pepper – pomegranite dip…but man, this was so good…it was slightly spicy, tangy, somewhat earthy, with savory tones, and seemed to have a slight butteriness to it. The Tahini Hummus seemed almost ordinary in comparison, but was still good, very rich, not super acidic. The cashew pate was vegan, but still quite savory and nutty. But that Muhamarra was so delici-yoso!
Next up was the Lamb Hummus ($16) which featured ground lamb in what was called a Lebanese Stew placed in some of that nice Hummus.
It came with large crudites….which were kind of unwieldy, the carrots being somewhat past their prime. The lamb stew was quite gamey, nice savoriness, not as spiced as I expected.
The one dish that we really didn’t care for was the Flat Iron Steak ($18), which, while done to a nice medium rare was really tough, lacked seasoning.
Look at the size of those zucchini slices! The bearnaise sauce was creamy, but really lacked that “rich zip” and herbaciousness that I like.
The Missus really enjoyed the Lamb Pistachio Kebab ($17), though I thought the three sauces (kale, tumeric, and beet tahini) were a bit of an overkill.
The texture of the kebab was really good, so tender, while still being slightly gamey. The pistachio added a nice textural contrast and an almost sweet nuttiness to things. Like I said, the Missus really enjoyed this.
We did order a bit too much food for us and had leftovers. Though the lamb kebab in the sauce didn’t heat up well.
We both enjoyed this meal and the Missus wants to return soon. We’ll probably do an early dinner again as the place was getting quite busy and loud as we left. A lot of folks were headed upstairs to the bar. Great service and some delicious dishes. We’ll be back.
Bacari
3823 30th St.
San Diego, CA 92104
Current Hours:
Mon – Wed 430pm – 1030pm
Thursday 430pm – 1230am
Friday 430pm – 1am
Saturday 1030am – 230pm, 4pm – 1am
Sunday 1030am – 230pm, 4pm – 1030pm
The bread was again nicely toasted, the cucumbers again refreshing, I wish it had more tomatoes and I appreciated the mint. There was a generous of labneh slathered on the toast, but it was just too puckery and sour for me to enjoy, the sour Zaatar just piled on, I'd have appreciated perhaps touch of sweetness and savory to balance things out a bit? As a whole, much too sour for me. My salivary glands are puckering up just looking at the photo!
We started at the top right corner of this map (Green Line), changed to the Orange Line and after getting downtown, changed again to the Blue Line going North, ending up at the top left of this map. (Going home, we changed from the Blue to the Green Line)
It was sunny leaving Santee.
Then it got a bit cloudy when we hit downtown.
Many people left the Trolley at this stop, since it was closest to the Ballpark and the Padres had a playoff game.
By the time we were headed on the 'new' line, alongside Interstate 5, there was full fog.
We stayed on until the last stop, followed signage (and the other people who exited) to the Mall (through the parking lot) and eventually got to the Food Court, which overlooks the Ice Rink.
After checking all of the Food Court offerings, we decide on a meal and went off to order. The Mister stopped here, at Craft Pizza.
He ordered a Calzone with ham, sausage and mushrooms; an item going back to our dating days. This was excellent.
I went over to Kebab Grill and ordered a 'Lunch Special' advertised behind the cash register to the left in this photo.
Salad and
Lentil soup. Each was really good and made for a filling and complete meal. Then we started walking around the mall. 
The Mall has remained about the same, with new stores taking the place of old ones. There were some interesting vending machines.
Then we saw this. Had to stop.
A great selection of cookies, cupcakes, pastries and ice cream as well as hot and cold beverages. 
We shared a cup of coffee and a 
It was still overcast changing from the Blue Line to Green Line in Old Town.
Passing the new Snapdragon Stadium and back to sunshine by the time we got home.
The name of the market has changed slightly, the interior is still kept organized and clean. 
As you walk in, the first kitchen/menu board/ refrigerated grab and go to your right has a 
The Taqueria/Mexican menu board and cash register is a few feet more into the store, next to the seating area. We usually purchase an aqua fresca here.
On this visit, we chose a package of hummus ($4.99). Fresh made that morning, great flavors, plenty left over to take home.
We ordered two beef kababs ($2 each) and I watched as the ground beef, mixed with spices, was placed on long, flat kabab skewers and began cooking on the grill. Made to order. The meat was served with a roasted tomato half and a mix of chopped onion and parsley. 
Here is the loaf of hot tannour bread ($2.25) which was placed in a paper bag after being removed straight from the side of the clay oven. Crisp, flavorful browned bubbles with soft, easy to tear middles. Great flavor. It went well with both the hummus and the kabab meat. 
We'd gladly eat here again. While sitting and watching the "regulars" get their orders we noticed that the house made sourdough bread and lamb kafta were popular and looked quite good.
