Poke – Page 2 – mmm-yoso

It’s Raw Poke Shop (Ocean Beach) Revisited

July 29, 2024 mmm-yoso Poke

Way back in February, "FOY" Jack in my post on 8th and B Poke, mentioned wanting to return to It's Raw in OB. Well, it had been a good 4 1/2 years since I had checked out It's Raw. And with the recent hot weather and the fact that I hadn't been to OB since that visit, I thought it was time to head on back. I probably should check out the area more often, but traffic and parking had always hindered my visits. And on this drive….well, I was headed down Saratoga when a dude on his bike jetted out from between two large parked vehicles blindly zooming across the street. I immediately hit the brakes, but the dude stopped and gave me the bad "half of the peace sign", spat on my car, and yelled at me. I rolled down the window to apologize, but he instantly told me to "get the f@(k" out of "his" neighborhood. He then pulled a can from his pocket and aimed it at me….I'm thinking it was mace or bear spray or ???? In the end he just as blindly zoomed off. I did see him again on Santa Monica Avenue yelling at another car. Sigh…..welcome to OB?

On the good side of things; I easily found parking on Santa Monica, something that can be difficult during the warmer months. I walked over to It's Raw, but it was early, so I took a short stroll.

Its Raw Rev 01

I must have gotten distracted…there are so many new places on Newport, that when I got back to It's Raw the shop had been open for a few minutes. And there was already a short line.

Its Raw Rev 02

The line does move quickly and it was nice to know that the Poke Plate here is $17, it was $15 back in 2019, so the increase in price isn't too bad. Heck, the equivalent at HFS is over $20 already.

If you're not familiar with It's Raw, the place is basically a take-out only shop with a cold case and and small counter.

Its Raw Rev 03

I ended up getting the Shoyu and the Wasabi Poke, also went with one scoop rice and the "macaroni" salad option.

Its Raw Rev 04 Its Raw Rev 05 This is what I unpacked at home. There was also two small containers, one with extra "shoyu", with very little shoyu flavor for that version of poke, I ended up not using it as it would have watered down the flavor even more. And the second, when I first looked at it, I asked myself "what the heck is Mul Kimchi doing here? This ain't a KFC place". Then I opened it and the fragrance hit me. I cracked up; it was haupia! A nice little touch.

The rice was nicely cooked.

I thought the Shoyu Poke was the better of the two I selected.

Its Raw Rev 06 Its Raw Rev 07 The fish was decently, not overly coated, the quality, while not as good as HFS was fine. Not too salty, a decent version of Shoyu Poke.

You did notice that I put "macaroni salad" in quotes above, right? Well, if you haven't read my earlier post or haven't been to It's Raw, you might be surprised to see that it's actually a "spaghetti salad". Nicely chilled, perfectly seasoned, not over-dressed, very plain, but in a good way.

As for the "Wasabi Poke".

Its Raw Rev 08

I found the fish to have quite a bit more "sugi" (our term for connective tissue) than the Shoyu Poke. It was also a bit too "sweet" for my taste and somewhat lacking in wasabi pungency.

Overall, I found the shoyu poke here to be good; I'll need to try something other than the wasabi poke the next time.

I'd say that It's Raw is my second favorite poke shop in San Diego, next to HFS. If it was in our 'hood, I'd visit quite regularly. As it is, even though It's Raw is just a bit over 5 miles from our house, it usually takes over 20 minutes to get there and then I have to find parking. Perhaps just going early in the week would be a solution? Not on Monday though, they are closed.

And to my "FOY" Jack. I'm wondering if you actually made it to It's Raw and if you did, what did you think?

It's Raw Poke Shop
4991 Newport Ave. (the storefront is actually on Bacon St.)
San Diego, CA 92107
Current Hours:
Tues – Sat 11am – 5pm
Sunday 11am – 4pm
Closed on Monday

Its Raw Rev 10

Revisits – HFS at Centerpark Labs, Sue’s Korean Kitchen, Ngon Ngon to Go, and Tenkatori

So, I've noticed something about many of the places I head to during lunch. I get into the office rather early and start getting hungry at 10am or so. I also don't care much for crowds. Thus, I've developed a habit of heading to places that open a bit earlier than the usual 11am start time. Also, for these takeout visits, I usually don't stray too far afield.

Having done multiple posts on all of these places, I thought I'd just do a "COMC" (Clearing Out the Memory Card) post.

HFS at Centerpark Labs:

A regular stop on the rotation since my first visit back in August of 2020, HFS has since moved their retail location. It's still a stop when I want decent poke here in San Diego. And they've become quite popular. Heck, there were folks waiting at ten minutes before the opening time on this day.

HFS TO 01

HFS TO 02

For lunch I'll usually get the medium poke bowl with brown rice ($19) and can usually get out quite quickly. I stay with the ahi choices here. Not a fan of the salmon and stuff.

HFS TO 03

On this day it was the "Pearl Harbor", which had some good spice and the Shoyu Ahi which had a better quality of fish; quite tender and creamy.

It's still my first choice for poke in San Diego.

HFS at Centerpark Labs
6835 Flanders Dr.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Thurs – Tues 10am – 8pm
Wednesday 10am – 6pm

Sue's Korean Kitchen:

I've done a number of posts on Sue's since I first visited back in 2021. I like that they open at 10am and basically stick with one item on the menu, the Kimchi Fried Rice ($12.99). Though I've encountered "shrunken portions" at times, on my last two visits, things seem back to normal.

Sues TO 01

Sues TO 02

And though I've encountered "mushy rice syndrome" on a couple of visits, that was not the case this time around.

Sues TO 03_a

Sues TO 04

A nice Spam-i-fied, mildly spicy, fermented, carb load. The woman here cracks me up as she seems to remember me and what I order!

Sue’s Korean Kitchen
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd. Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 10am – 9pm

Ngon Ngon Food to Go:

Ngon Ngon might be as far as I would usually wander for lunch. They open at 9am, though are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays……need to remember that. I've kinda stuck to one item since my first set of visits when they opened a year ago, the Bo Luc Lac.

They've kinda rearranged things in the small space within Vinh Hung Market.

NgNg 01

I'll call in my order for #27, the "Cubed Beef Filet Mignon with Steamed Rice" ($16). Now while the though of comparing this to gourmet filet mignon might be a stretch, the beef is not bad. Slightly toothsome, edging on a bit too salty, with a touch of savory-sweetness.

NgNg 02

I'm not the biggest fan of the salad as at times the greens have been starting to brown, but this time it wasn't bad.

NgNg 03

NgNg 04 (2)

NgNg 04

Ngon Ngon To Go
10550 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Wed – Sun 9am – 8pm
Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays

Tenkatori:

And finally, Tenkatori. Another regular stop since I first visited two years ago. The place opens at 1030 on weekdays, which is great since I hate that parking lot. There is one key thing when I do take out. I always call in my order when they open at 1030. The online ordering ordering, even though it says no service fee adds on $2-$3. For instance, I ordered the Mega Karaage Don on this day. I called in my order which was $17.30, using Uber Eats for Pick-up it's $22.80! Ordering Door Dash pick-up it's $22.50. For pick-up!

Tenkatori TO 01

Actually, I'm not sure why I ordered the Mega Don as it was way to much food….but what the heck; the chicken heats well in the air fryer.

Tenkatori TO 02

Tenkatori Miramar
6780 Miramar Rd Suite 104
San Diego, CA 92121
Phone – (858) 200-2016
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 1030am – 2pm, 4pm – 8pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 230pm, 4pm – 8pm

So there you go…my recent early takeout lunch habits. I'm going to do turo turo in a separate post.

In your opinion, am I missing out on anything? And what have you been getting for lunch recently?

8th and B Poke (National City)

February 12, 2024 mmm-yoso Hawaiian Food, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Poke, Seafood

At the end of May last year, I heard about a poke shop opening in National City, but we were between trips and I never made it until September. 8th and B Poke is located; well, off of 8th Street and B Avenue in one of the new residential buildings.

8th and B 01

I had heard that the shop will sometimes sell out of poke, so I made sure to go before they opened. As a whole parking can be a bit "interesting" in this area as well.

The shop is small, with a small counter and a listing of the poke available posted on the "board". What can be confusing is that different sizes of poke "bowls/plates" are listed, but it doesn't tell you how much poke is involved with each.

8th and B 02

On the counter is a list of what kind of tako poke and salmon is available that day.

8th and B 02a

I figured, correctly that a Medium Plate would have two different poke and since it's really hard to find decent tako poke here in San Diego, I got the kimchi tako along with the ahi limu.

8th and B 03 8th and B 05 The texture of the ahi was good. Not too much connective tissue. The fish was highly sauced, and the sauce was on the sweet side. There wasn't a huge amount of limu and the sweetness of the sauce pretty much overshadowed any of the briny-oceany flavor provided by the seaweed, though the textural crunch provided much needed contrast. The fish was of decent quality and nicely prepped.

The rice had some shoyu based sauce and furikake on it and was decently cooked on all my visits.

There was surimi and seaweed salad; routine stuff. But for some reason what they called "fish mash", tuna scrape looked really familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it at the time.

8th and B 04

The tako was just prepped octopus with sauce squirted on it, not marinated at all, thus without much flavor. It was also overly chewy.

8th and B 06

The ahi was not bad at all, better than most other places in San Diego. I downloaded my photos and made a note to return. I must be getting old, because we went on a couple of trips after this visit, and I totally forgot about the place. And then on my last post on Poke Etc, "FOY" Jack mentioned 8th and B! Yikes, I had forgotten about the place. I was off on that Thursday and headed right on down to National City.

8th and B 07

Same gameplan; I arrived right before opening and ordered a Medium Plate. I got asked if I'd like to add some Shrimp Tempura ($3) and I acquiesced.

8th and B 08

I probably should have passed on the shrimp as I saw it pulled from an air fryer.

This time I got the Spicy Garlic Ahi and the Shoyu Ahi.

8th and B 09 8th and B 10 As I walked back to the car, I realized I forgot to ask the folks the burning question about the place I had in mi cabeza. Sigh! Anyway, on this visit, the Spicy Garlic Ahi, wasn't particularly spicy, nor was it garlicky, at least to me. The fish was on the chewy side but decent. As with my previous visit the Ahi was swimming in sauce.

The shoyu Ahi was quite good, not overly sauced, nor excessively sweet, good texture, nice soy overtones, not too salty. Looks like I found a winnah!

8th and B 11

As for the shrimp, well, it hadn't held up well on the drive home. The shrimp was fairly small, though who would complain about $3 these days? It was soggy and really lacked seasoning.

8th and B 12

And so, I was ready for a post….until "FOY" Mar commented on Friday, just a day after my visit telling me that 8th and B had LauLau on Sundays! Ok…… Of course, I miss having good LauLau, so I waited and visited on a Sunday. And yes, there's a LauLau plate ($19), which comes with one scoop of poke.

8th and B 02b

I must say that I understand folks' confusion here, there's no indication of how much poke comes with each plate, nor does it say that the LauLau plate comes with poke…..I did ask and was told I had one choice. So far, my favorite had been the Shoyu Ahi so I went with that.

It was interesting to see a line forming, which stretched out the door when I exited. I guess weekends must be pretty busy here!

8th and B 14 8th and B 15 This time, I didn't forget that question, you see, that "fish mash" brought me back to a place that won the I love poke festival in OC in 2015. Yes, for a time we thought that Zarlitos had some of the best poke in San Diego. Sadly, they stopped serving poke around late 2018 or so.

I asked and was told that this was indeed the same folks. Ohh-kay! That fish mash; think of how the old school places used to take bone scraping and make spicy tuna; it's actually quite tender, not fishy, at least what this place makes….in fact, I asked not to have seaweed salad and they gave me an extra scoop of the fish mash.

The fish in the shoyu poke was quite tender on this visit, but was much more "sauced" and sweeter than before.

8th and B 16

As for the Lau Lau, as you can see, the Luau leaf was undercooked and fibrous. The meat was….well, as expected lacking the salted fish and pork fat.

8th and B 17

It was so lean, dry, and tasteless. I'll pass on this from now on.

But, that poke is pretty good; it's miles ahead of what I'd recently had at Poke Etc. So, if you enjoyed the poke that Zarlito's used to served, here's the remedy. Of course for me, HFS at Centerpark is still my go-to. But I'll definitely drop by 8th and B again if I'm in the area, if only to see what's going on.

8th and B 18

And for even more opinions….because I guess great minds think alike; please check out Denver's and Joy's posts on 8th and B!

And thanks to Jack and Mar for the reminders about 8th & B!

What would I do without our "FOYs"!

8th and B 19

8th & B Poke
806 B Ave.
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Wed – Mon 11am – 7pm
Closed on Tuesdays

The Takeout Rotation – HFS at Centerpark Labs, Sue’s Korean Kitchen, and Tenkatori

February 2, 2024 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Poke

Just clearing out the memory card here with some takeout revisits. Looking at my takeout "rotation" I quickly noticed a couple of consistencies in my choices. The places all open before 11. I get to work quite early in the morning and am not a big fan of crowds. So, if I can grab my lunch by 1030 or so, I'm happy. It seems like these places actually opened during the pandemic. And of course, it's not a far drive to any of these places for me.

So, here goes.

HFS at Centerpark Labs:

It's been a while since I'd done a post on HFS and I'd just got done making a final visit to Poke 8th and B recently (post upcoming). We had nice, almost late spring weather before the storm set in today; so it seemed like the perfect time to grab some poke from HFS.

HFS Again 01

I arrived five minutes before opening and got in and out in minutes.

HFS Again 02

Got the shoyu and the "Kilauea" which had some pretty good spice. This did hit the spot. Good quality fish, nutty brown rice……

HFS at Centerpark Labs
6835 Flanders Dr.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Daily 10am – 8pm

Sue's Korean Kitchen:

Sue's has been a regular Kimchi Fried Rice spot for me since my first visit in spring of 2021. I was a bit surprised at how much the serving size seemed to have shrunk on my last visit, so I needed to return to check things out.

Sues Again 01

They always seem so happy to see me here and are so nice. Which is one of the reasons I keep returning.

Sues Again 02

So, how was it? Well, it seems that my previous visit was just an off-day as the portion size returned to what I had on previous visits.

Sues Again 03

Rice was a bit mushier than normal; but I enjoyed the spam, the fermented spiciness of the dish.

Sue’s Korean Kitchen
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd. Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 10am – 9pm

Tenkatori:

And last, but not least, yes yet another visit to Tenkatori. I've been a regular here since my first visits in spring of 2022. I always go at the 1030 opening time. That parking lot can be a horror show. I also will usually order when I arrive or call it in, ever since I noticed a $3 upcharge for online orders.

Tenka Again 01

Tenka Again 02

I had recently read Kat's post about getting tori nanban and was craving that. So, that's what I got.

Tenka Again 03

Whoa, the tartar sauce here is a bit too rich for my taste. I felt like I needed a shower after eating this!

Tenka Again 04

Yes, just like when I tried it before, there wasn't enough vinegar tones in this to cut all the richness. I gotta get back to Okan and see if I still enjoy their tori nanban.

On my next visit a couple of days later it was back to the same 'ol, same 'ol.

Tenka Again 05

Yes, I'll often go twice in a week!

Tenkatori Miramar
6780 Miramar Rd. Suite 104
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 1030am – 2pm, 4pm – 8pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 230pm, 4pm – 8pm

Hope everyone keeps dry and warm on this rather wet weekend! Take care!

Honolulu – Fort Ruger Market a Quarter Century Later

January 4, 2024 mmm-yoso Honolulu, Markets & Grocers, Oahu, Poke, Seafood, Travel

The Missus and I were looking at some of my old photo albums and flipped the page to my third grade class photo. I started cracking up and the Missus gave me a quizzical look. I then pointed something out to Her. All the boys were wearing long pants (no shorts were allowed in those days), Aloha Shirts (after all, it as class photo day), the girls Mumu's, but…….most of us were barefoot! I explained to the Missus that until the fifth grade, many of us actually did walk to school barefoot (though not uphill both ways). I mean this was the late 60's, early 70's, and things were different then. Plus, as I mentioned in my post on my "old neighborhood", Ali'iolani Elementary was just a block away from where we lived.

And this kinda brings me forward to this post. On our last trip back "home", the Missus asked me when I first remember having poke. We had just finished doing some stuffs at Ala Moana and I decided to show Her. Way back, when I was in the 5th or 6th grade, my Mom had an appointment in the Fort Ruger area. I was raised by a single parent and my Mom never ever drove, so we had to catch the Ruger bus and I waited while my Mom did her thing. After the appointment, we walked over to Ruger Market, and that's where I first remember having poke I really liked, over 50 years ago! I'd probably had it before; of course during the holidays there was sashimi and stuff, but I remembered the poke from Ruger Market clearly. Later, when I was older, my friends and I would drive on over after going to Cromwell's (I can't believe the cove is still around, though maybe not for long) and grab some poke, then go for a drive around Diamond Head Road and eat at the lookout or hele on over to Kapiolani Park or Paki Park and grind there.

So, we drove on over….and heck, I hadn't been to Ruger Market since before I left the islands; which would be over 25 years, but the place looks pretty much the same.

IMG_5734b

Though it's more of a seafood- Filipino/Hawaiian restaurant these days. When I was growing up, this was the neighborhood grocery for the area.

Different grades of Ahi is available, you can get poke made with pre-frozen Ahi (nah) or with fresh Ahi, what is called "Auction Fresh Ahi" on the sign.

You know what we got, right?

We'd already had some small stuffs to eat at Foodland Farms and this was a kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, so we didn't go too crazy. We got one poke bowl, with brown rice, the chicharrons looked really good, so we got that, and also some boiled peanuts.

And then we headed off…..just like those hanabuddah days, I drove around Diamond Head Road to the lookout.

You can find the Amelia Earhart Plaque here as well.

As well as the "best seat in the house"….at least on this day.

And the local "security detail".

We headed on down and found parking and a table at Kapiolani Park and proceeded to dig in.

I was surprised to find that the kimchi was decent; not overly fermented, but still quite refreshing. The brown rice added a nice nuttiness to the bowl. The quality of the fish was good; tender and buttery in texture without connective tissue. We preferred the restrained, classic, soy-saltiness, with a hint of oceany sweetness of the Local Style Ahi. The Spicy Shoyu wasn't very spicy and was a bit on the salty side. Still, the quality and prep was way above anything here in San Diego.

The Chicharron was as good as it looked.

Crisp, with a slight crunch; porky and savory, which just enough salt. Talk about a guilty pleasure.

As for the boiled peanuts, well, the Missus was saving them for later. Though this little fella tried to make a move on the legume.

The Missus loves Her boiled peanuts, so he didn't stand a chance!

It was good to know that Ruger Market still makes decent poke.

The older I get, the more I treasure and appreciate those times and the chances I get to reflect on them. And it was wonderful to share a bowl of memories with the Missus.

Fort Ruger Market
3585 Alohea Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816

And I also want to thank you for sharing in those memories with me! Thanks for stopping by!

Big Island – Tex Drive In (Honokaa), a Revisit to Suisan (Hilo), and Liliʻuokalani Gardens

December 15, 2023 mmm-yoso Desserts, Hawai'i - The Big Island, Poke, Travel

After enjoying our visit to the Waimea Town Market, we packed up, checked out, and headed back to Hilo. We could take our time since our flight wasn't until 230pm and decided to stop at Tex Drive In in Honokaa. It had been a bajillion years since we'd been here and decided it was time to try out the malasadas one more time.

We were surprised that it wasn't very busy as this was a Saturday.

We just ordered one plain malasada.

It was as we remembered; a bit too dense and bready for our taste. But it was fun just to be here again after all these years.

Tex Drive-In
5-690 Pakalana St.
Honokaa, HI 96727

From here it was a clear shot down the Belt Road. We had been in these parts many times so we really didn't bother to stop until our "lunch" destination. You know what the Missus wanted, right? Yep, it was Suisan one more time! In other words "hana hou"!

This time we got a plate; with the Ahi Shoyu and the Ahi Mango Habanero, a half pound of the Ahi Limu, and a Half pound of the Spicy Ahi.

The quality of the fish in the Shoyu Ahi was much better this time; but still not the best. The ahi habanero was quite buttery and there was some decent spice and salt. I never knew that the Missus had never had Ling Hing Mango before! She just loved the stuff! The rice was a bit on the dry side but passable.

There was much more limu in the ahi limu this time around and the fish was nicely salted and tender. This was quite "old school" delicious.

The spicy ahi was good as well. Mild spice, the fish tender.

Suisan Company Limited
93 Lihiwai St
Hilo, HI 96720

We were lucky and scored the bench right in back of Suisan.

We still had a bit of time on our hands after lunch, so we decided to cross the street and check out Liliʻuokalani Gardens. Man, we hadn't been here in years!

The original 5 acres was dedicated by Queen Liliʻuokalani to be a public park in 1907. The park was increased in size to 17 acres in 1917.

The park was then dedicated to the first Japanese immigrants to the island and has claimed to be the largest Edo-style garden outside of Japan.

There are lovely arching bridges over fish ponds, pagodas, torii, stone lanterns, and a wonderful view of Hilo Bay…..

Funny thing, even though I've been here several times, I never knew the history of the park until after my return from this trip.

You can find even more info here.

Soon enough, it was time to fill up the rental car, and head to the airport.

I'm hoping we won't have to wait another decade before returning!

Poke Etc. Revisited

December 11, 2023 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Poke

Recently, the Missus sent me to National City an urgent mission to get an ahem, "essential item". So off I went. I really don't get to the area as much as I used to….you know, when we used to complain about gas being $3.50 a gallon? Since my destination didn't open until 11, I decided to pick up lunch….but the question was where? It was a rather warm day for November and I decided that a revisit to Poke Etc. would be in order. I knew I hadn't been there in a while; but man, it had been over 7 years since my last visit! Time sure has flown by, hasn't it?

Poke Etc Rev 01

I was surprised to see the parking lot only half full….on a weekend! It looks like they've refreshed the sign since I last visited and now even call themselves a "Hawaiian Restaurant". Hmmm…..

Poke Etc Rev 02

Well, at least from what I remember, they aren't one of those "Chi-poke" places…you know 2 ounces of poke and all kinds of other "stuffs" for twenty bucks….

I just went with the "create your own bowl" priced at $14.95. I'm glad the guy working asked me how many scoops of rice. I only wanted/needed one scoop. I got my plate and headed on home.

Poke Etc Rev 03 Poke Etc Rev 05 I saved the seaweed salad for the Missus, not a fan of the stuff. The rice was moist and cooked decently.

I had checked out the poke and ordered the Spicy Garlic Ahi and Ahi Limu.

The ahi in the spicy garlic was really chewy and tough, not great quality fish. It was however, decently spicy, so much so that I really couldn't make out any garlic.

The quality of the fish in the ahi limu was better, though not great. But at least it didn't have too much "sugi" (connective tissue). I love the crunch and the oceany with a slight touch of salty-iodine flavor of good ogo. I do wish there was more of it. The seasoning wasn't overly salty; I could taste a bit of sesame oil and of course shoyu. Overall this was not bad. I'll put the place in the "etc" category.

Poke Etc Rev 04

My curiosity abated; it's back to HFS at Centerpark Labs for me.

Poke Etc
916 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 10am – 730pm
Sunday 10am – 7pm

The Market at HFS has Moved and is Now Hawaiian Fresh Seafood (HFS) At Centerpark Labs

August 24, 2023 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Markets & Grocers, Poke, Seafood

A couple of weeks back, I decided to head on to the Market at HFS. For some reason I went to their website and noticed the name of the place had changed to HFS at Centerpark Labs? I took a look and noticed that the address had changed as well! Strange because I had been to the Weathers Place location just a couple of weeks before! Anyway, I headed on over to make the 10am opening time. The "new" location was one traffic light further east on Mira Mesa Boulevard at Flanders Drive. Driving in, I found the new location with minimal problems because they were setting up as I drove into the parking lot.

HFS Centerpark 01

I parked and walked on over. There a large outdoor eating area at this location.

HFS Centerpark 02

And I saw a familiar face setting things up. It was Hope the manager who is from Aiea.
HFS Centerpark 02

After setting up, it was still before opening time and Hope saw me, waved and came on over to chat! It was great seeing her. Hope told me they had just completely moved things over a couple of weeks before and things were now busier than ever with an expanded menu and hours. The Weathers Place shop still did wholesale and Hope was in charge of both places! Yikes! She was working long hours, but was trying to find some manager candidates.

HFS Centerpark 04

Meanwhile there was line forming, but I didn't care since I was enjoying my chat with Hope. She even guided me into the shop and had the young lady running the register hand me a menu. Hope told me that they had really expanded the menu with cooked items, I'd already tried the fried ahi belly, but she recommended the Ahi Kama, the collar, which I'll make sure to try on one of my future visits.

Meanwhile, I gave "JeffP" my copy of the menu since he's a fan of HFS and didn't know they had moved, so here's a copy from their site.

HFS Centerpark Menu

These days, you can gaze at the seafood offerings like before…..

HFS Centerpark 05

But you order at the register, where they also have the available poke as well.

HFS Centerpark 05b

On my two visits, I just went with my typical poke bowl, I always get the rice separate from the fish and I usually avoid the salmon items.

HFS Centerpark 06

And the portions seem a bit bigger, but the poke is as good as always.

HFS Centerpark 07

And it makes me miss "home".

If you have trouble finding the shop, look for the big "6835" on top of the building, or the outdoor eating set-up, and there are signs strategically placed.

HFS Centerpark 10

And yes, you can get poke for dinner since they're open until 8pm these days. Though I'm not sure what the selection will be like then.

Maybe "FOY" Jason who mentioned stopping by this location as well might know?

HFS at Centerpark Labs
6835 Flanders Dr.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Daily 10am – 8pm

HFS Centerpark 08

Rebuilding the Rotation – The Market at HFS, Sue’s Korean Kitchen, Bay Park Coffee, and Zgara Greek Grill

July 6, 2023 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Greek Food, Korean Restaurants, Poke

I'm not sure you've noticed, but we've gone on quite few trips since December, one of which was a month long! I know, we here all about "revenge travel" these days. Well, I'm not sure that's what it is for us. We're all getting older and for…at least me, I'm thinking better revenge travel now than to have wait longer and let it become "Depends" travel if you know what I mean. With all of those trips; it's been pretty difficult getting "back in the rhythm" of things like developing that rotation.

But it looks like things are straightening out and I'm ever slowly falling back into a routine. So here are a couple of places, most should be quite familiar to regular readers, I'll just leave it as a C(learing) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard) post with a minimum of verbiage.

The Market at HFS:

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

It seems that the warmer the weather gets, the more I visit.

There had been a gap of over five months since I've restarted my visits and I no longer know the folks working here. The selection is smaller these days; at least on my two recent visits, though those didn't take place during what I recall were the peak days.

I basically stick with the ahi poke here and it still hits the spot. As things heat up and the Missus starts wanting poke, I'm sure I'll be visiting even more often.

Sue's Korean Kitchen:

The folks in the office really like Sue's, so it's been a fairly regular stop for me. Plus, they open at 10am which helps me to beat lunch time crowds.

It's the Kimchi Fried Rice that has us coming back.

Sue’s Korean Kitchen
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92121

In my neck of the woods; well, there's not much. But here're two places that I hit up regularly.

Bay Park Coffee:

I usually meet our good friend "Alle" who was Frankie's favorite Auntie for coffee and to catch up on things once a week or so.

BPC COMC 01

And though they've had some staffing turnover over the last year or so, the folks working are quite nice. We usually catch up on things over a cold brew and veggie bagels.

BPC COMC 02

Bay Park Coffee
4130 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110

Zgara Greek Grill:

After my last revisit to GyroGrill, I headed straight back to Zgara. I hadn't been in a while and business there seems to have really picked up.

Zgara R 01

And take a look at the photos from my last visit to GyroGrill and compare the gyro there to this version.

Zgara R 03

So, of course I'm now back in the habit of visiting as often as I can and it's still the pork gyros here for me. It's always great to chat with Eric, who remembers me from the days when Zgara was in PB.

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

So, hopefully I'm back in the rhythm now and will be adding places back to the rotation. As always, I'm so thankful for your visits and comments!

What's been on your rotation recently?

Hawaiian Fresh Seafood Liberty Station

June 6, 2023 mmm-yoso Poke

On a recent drive to Con Pane to get some sourdough for the Missus, I decided to drop by HFS's shop in Liberty Station. Strangely, I've been to the Market at HFS numerous times. Heck it's even on HFS Liberty Station 01 my warm weather rotation. But strangely, I'd never been to the shop they opened in Liberty Station that opened during the fall of 2021. It's not quite "poke weather" for me. But, after our recent trip "back home" I was kinda missing some decent poke so I decided to drop by.

This location is located off Womble Road (now that's a name) and Historic Decatur Road, in the back of Trader Joe's. It was just past the 11 opening time and I was shocked to find the place empty!

HFS Liberty Station 03

I figured that they wouldn't have a huge selection here and was correct. Only 6 different poke and three were salmon, which, sorry, I'm not going to get.

HFS Liberty Station 02

The young lady working was very nice. I got a Medium Bowl with Brown Rice ($18). And as is the usual when doing takeout, had the rice separated from the fish.

HFS Liberty Station 04

Got the shoyu ahi and the kimchi ahi. While there was some "sugi" (connective tissue) in the shoyu ahi, the quality of the fish was good overall. That kimchi ahi had a nice "kick" to it. The shoyu ahi was well coated and nicely flavored, not overly salty. The ahi pieces without the sugi was nice and buttery. A good portion size overall.

HFS Liberty Station 05 HFS Liberty Station 06 And this was just what I needed at this moment. Don't get me wrong, this would be just decent poke back home; but it sure beats all those "chi-poke" places out there. And it made for a nice lunch.

Hawaiian Fresh Seafood Liberty Station
2400 Historic Decatur Rd. Suite 107
San Diego, CA 92106
Current Hours:
Daily 11am – 6pm

HFS Liberty Station 07