Pubs and Pub Grub – Page 6

Sunday Stuffs: Ajisen Ramen Coming to San Diego, Bitter Brothers Brewing Company, and Revisiting Poseidon Project

April 24, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Japanese Restaurants, Pubs and Pub Grub

Ajisen Ramen Opening in San Diego:

In case you missed the post in Eater. I noticed that the former Coco's on the corner of Clairemont Mesa and Ruffner was being built out, so I walked on over. There's no mistaking the logo…plus the "626" area code.

Not the biggest fan of Ajisen's ramen, so we'll see. Here's a little fact, I've never eaten at a Coco's or Carrow's, unless you count this one, which a landmark in Honolulu for many years.

7398 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Trying out Bitter Brothers:

My good buddy Candice expressed disappointment that I hadn't tried out Bitter Brothers since it was basically in my 'hood. So I made some time to visit recently. I like the set-up, typical industrial-hipster, but in a good way. Wide open, nice breezes blowing through. The beer server was fairly all business at the beginning, spending most of his times with his "bro's", but warmed up after I had got past the tasters phase.

I got tasters of the Little Brother Citra Session IPA and the Prickly Pear version of the Family Tart Berliner Weisse.

That Session was very nice and drinkable, that tart Berlinerweisse was really good, not too dry, but definitely a Berlinerweisse, just sweet-sour enough. I've got to bring the Missus here for this one.

I finished up with a nice Dunkelweiss, great not too overpowering chocolate tones.

Nice place, drinkable beers….nothing over 6 ABV if I recall, great for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Bitter Brothers Brewing
4170 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Back to the Poseidon Project:

The reason I hadn't been to Bitter Brothers was that I've been enjoying the Poseidon Project since they've opened. The vibe and very friendly folks keep me coming back. I'll bring in some take-out and have a nice meal when the Missus is working.

On this fine Thursday I didn't have to worry about that since two of my favorite neighborhood places joined forces.

Yep, that's my go-to neighborhood Sandwich Emporium, having a Grilled Cheese night at Poseidon.

I'm hoping they increase the number of pulls, which now numbers 8.

But don't discount the bottles….I was quite surprised to find the bottle prices in line with most retail locations. And once in a while they have some nice surprises.

Love the way they've embraced the neighborhood….the place is crazy dog friendly and food friendly. I think someone was having a birthday the other night and brought in like three boxes of pizzas……no problem.

I'm wondering what'll happen when my friends and I bring in a bushel of oysters???? For some reason, I think they'll be just fine with that.

Poseidon Project
4126 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110

Here are a couple of "bonus bottles". Interesting stuff from the Bruery.

This one I first had at Poseidon. It's a nice dessert type of brew.

For some reason; and I'm not big fan of regular Horchata, but The Bruery's Or Xata really hit a home with me. Great, balanced, not too sweet tones. Great mouthfeel. To me, the base flavor seems closer to coconut than cinnamon though……

The 2015 Terreux Rueuze was a winner for me too.

Think citrus with some hops.

This one however, really

Brussels: Les Brassins and Revisiting Moeder Lambic (St Gilles Location)

March 17, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Belgian Cuisine and Restaurants, Belgium, Brussels, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel

It was really hard leaving Cantillon, there was something really cool about the place…..you just wanted to hang around.

Alas, our time in Brussels was coming to an end. I had a place in mind for lunch, but first the Missus wanted to revisit a couple of places we'd gone to on our first day in the city. It would have been but a short ride on the metro, but of course, this is the Missus we're talking about so we walked.

Back to see the "Little Squirt", who was getting a lot of attention as always.

And since we were there, a visit to Grand Place was in order as well. For some reason, the Missus really never took to Grand Place….not sure why.

From here, we headed south, skirting the hills and then back up to the very popular shopping district of Ixelles.

Full of big time chains, boutiques, trendy shops….big city life. But, just head up one of the side streets and you'll find quaint little shops, apartments, and on this street a ton of construction. I was looking for a brasserie I'd read about, in several food blogs and even the New York Times, Les Brassins. The word "traditional" was sprinkled about in most of what I read, so I thought this would be a nice farewell restaurant meal in Brussels.

We'd arrived early and the place was empty except for one table….it was packed when we left. I found the place very comfortable.

Our server was very nice, relaxed, but very efficient. This is of course, Belgium, so we'd get some liquid refreshment with lunch. Nothing too heavy for the Missus; a Silly (how appropriate) Blonde (well, maybe not so much). I had a Caulier Blonde.

The Missus wanted to get Her last fix of Sausage and Stoemp. This was a nice version of the dish. The stoemp was full of greens and was delicious. The sausage well.

The "bacon" was probably the weak link, but the sauce was very nice….a good last version for the Missus.

I had intended to get the Carbonnade Flamande, the classic beef and beer stew that I enjoyed everywhere in Belgium. But all those posts and the New York Time recommended the Rabbit Leg in Cherry Kriek. So I went with the Lapin a la Kriek.

First off, I gotta say, that sauce was just plain delici-yoso! The kriek added a nice sweetness, but wasn't too cloying, that cut the richness. Also, the frites here might be the best I had in Belgium, crisp exterior, fluffy interior. The rabbit, if you've never had rabbit…..when done well, it's fairly mild in flavor, as this was. It was a bit too tough and dry for my taste though. Still, that sauce….

While I think my favorite meals in Brussels were at Viva M'Boma or perhaps Le Fin de Siècle, I don't think you can go wrong at Les Brassins.

Les Brassins
36 Rue Keyenveld
Brussels, Belgium

We walked back to our apartment in Saint Gilles. It was a beautiful day for a stroll. We had our customary nap, then made dinner with stuff we'd bought at the Marche du Parvis.

So this was it huh? Last night in Brussels. The Missus and I looked at each other and instantly knew, this was not the way to end our trip to Brussels. We got dressed and headed out….and back to Moeder Lambic.

It was a bit busier than on our last visit. However, most everyone had taken a table outside. I told the Missus to shoot for the moon and I got a Hop-Ruiter, which I loved so much on my previous visit. So She did…..

I then tried a Vicaris Tripel, which was fairly creamy, though bit too sweet for my taste.

I then helped the Missus finish Her Gueuze. I couldn't help but think that this was why we work so hard. To be able to have a bottle of Cantillon at Moeder Lambic in Brussels. Life doesn't get better. Of course, eventually the glass was empty.

But "my glass" was more than full!

Moeder Lambic
Rue de Savoie 68
Brussels, Belgium

Thanks for reading!

Revisits – Pho Cali and Coastal Crave

March 14, 2016 mmm-yoso Burgers, Gastropub, Pho, Pubs and Pub Grub, Vietnamese Restaurants

I know, rather strange bedfellows, but here goes.

**** Both this location of Pho Cali and Coastal Crave have closed

Pho Cali:

A recent weekend morning found me in Mission Valley. It's kind of interesting, when we first moved to San Diego, our condo was in MV, but these days, other than the Missus enjoying a shopping day, we almost try to avoid Mission Valley!

The last time I'd been to Pho Cali was back in March of 2006. They've survived the test of time, though their shop in Kearny Mesa didn't last, eventually becoming Pho Nhu Y. Still, 10 am on a Saturday morning……. I thought it would be interesting to drop by Pho Cali.

Funny thing, the service is totally like any pho shop on University….as in, "what you want"……..

Haven't not been here in 10 years, I took the #49, regular, which was $7.69. Basically the proteins minus the rare steak, which I didn't think was going to be too good. What was really interesting was the plate of herbs and sprouts, which has got to be, the most stingy plate I've seen to date.

It was so amazingly stingy….I enjoy bean sprouts in my pho and have requested more on occasion, but this seemed a bit absurd. So, while waiting, I decided to count the bean sprouts…..which barely filled the palm of my hand. There were exactly 27 bean sprouts on that plate. Perhaps I could have requested more…..but really, should I have to beg for my sprouts?

So, lets get to the pho. The broth had nice hints of anise, but was lacking in richness and had way too much msg, the tendon and all the other proteins, including a decent amount of tripe was good. The noodles were a bit over cooked and mushy, but overall, it was hard to over come the amount of msg.

The service is typically perfunctory…..

Such is the state of pho in Mission Valley.

Pho Cali
1400 Camino De La Reina
San Diego, CA 92108

Coastal Crave:

So, I did Mike's BBQ, where I mentioned the beer offerings were much better than Coastal Crave's, which meant I had to return. I try to do a bit of due diligence when possible. This time, I avoided any of the dishes I had before and went with a simple burger.

But first, I can still say; there's not much craft beer here….they count Shock Top as a craft beer….

The Coastal Crave Burger?

Well, this was interesting. The burger was made to a nice medium, but the exterior was almost burnt and quite tough. Really sad, because this could have been a decent burger. Instead, it came across as being a bit bitter. The brioche style bun was good, the fried onion rings ditto….so close.

The young lady working on this evening was a joy; I believe her name is Kristin, or something like that. So maybe, maybe, since it's up the street……though they've got to step up their beers….

Coastal Crave
3065 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

It’s back to the routine; Yakitori Taisho and Tiger! Tiger!

March 4, 2016 mmm-yoso Gastropub, Japanese Restaurants, Pubs and Pub Grub

We're sort of creatures of habit….the Missus has Her favorites and it's pretty much up to me to do the exploring and find new places these days.

Not sure why; but here are two places on our rotation that we hadn't visited this year. I think we've been busy and having two international trips fairly close together kind of messed up our schedules a bit. But anyway, we're finally getting back to some normalcy around here, which means revisiting our favorites. We've posted on these places a ton of times; so I guess this is a "most photo Friday?"

Yakitori Taisho:

A favorite of ours since they first opened, I think the Missus had Her fill of Yakitori on our last trip to Japan and needed a break. Then of course, right when She was starting to crave it again we headed off to Spain. As it stands, we returned on a Monday night and I was back at work at 6am the next morning so it took a while for me to get back in the groove.

But, if the crowd right after they opened on a Tuesday evening is any indication, they are doing just fine.

If you want some additional info, you can read any number, of posts I've done on Taisho; even a comparison of Taisho versus Yakyudori. The thing is; as Yakyudori descends, Taisho seems to have gotten even better…except on Thursdays, when Taka-san is off.

Yakitori Taisho
5185 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

Tiger! Tiger!:

**** Tiger! Tiger! has closed

Another one of those places that I've posted on a number of times. The truth of the matter is; we were going once a week and the Missus finally got burnt out. we were still hitting up Toronado, but the Missus needed to give TT a rest. And we're glad we did….a fresh seasonal menu and fresh beer options….and instead of a large order of pate, they now offer a nice charcuterie plate. This is the half portion. That house made pancetta was really good.

Wood fired potatoes……

One great thing is that when you order the sausage sandwich without the roll, is that they'll automatically make it into a salad for you! This is the linguica.

A big plus is the beer server here; I believe her name is Dez; who is always so awesome to us!

Tiger! Tiger!
3025 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104

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

February 28, 2016 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Gastropub, Pubs and Pub Grub

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…….

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.

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

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.

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

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".

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.

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.

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.

Yes, 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.

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

Brussels: Marche du Parvis, Brasserie Egalite, Friterie de la Barriere, and Moeder Lambic (Saint Gilles)

February 25, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Belgian Cuisine and Restaurants, Belgium, Brussels, Markets & Grocers, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel

On our return trip to Brussels I booked an apartment in the Saint-Gilles neighborhood. Part artsy, part somewhat run down, quite diverse, urban, we really enjoyed staying in this part of town….it seemed quite "real".

Our flat was quite large as well.

Since we had arrived too early for check-in, we dropped our stuff off and headed out….not quite sure what to do. I had a farmer's market, Marché du Parvis (Parvis Market) de Saint Gilles, marked on my map so we headed off in that direction.

Where there was indeed a farmer's market.

We decided to take advantage of the huge kitchen in the apartment and self cater. Picking up some eggs; charcuterie, vegetables…..and a nice amount of cheese from the fromage-mobile.

Marché du Parvis de Saint Gilles
Sint-Gillisvoorplein
Hours:
Tues – Wed 730am – 1pm
Thurs 12pm – 10pm
Fri 730am – 1pm
Sat – Sun 730am – 2pm

We took a look around for something to eat, but decided to duck into this "brasserie"

I liked the looks of the place……

There was a huge cold case with beer that you could just select yourself and a rather large listing…..

Wanting to just have fun, we selected two beers we'd never heard of before. The Missus a blonde ale; "Den Tseut" from Huisbrouwerij Den Tseut, which was pretty disappointing; very light and "Pilsner" like. I decided to "go big" and went with a Goliath (Gouyasse) Tripel from Brasserie Des Légendes, a nice straight up tripel; very yeasty-bready, slight hops, only 6% ABV, so it really wasn't Goliath like in my book.

I'm not sure the place even serves food….but there was none on this morning. The woman working here was a hoot; she spoke not a word of English.

We opened up the cheese and charcuterie and made eating motions and she nodded in agreement. We then asked for a knife making a sawing motion….in a moment she figured out what we needed and replied to our pantomime with the knife across the throat gesture with sound effects! It was hilarious; and yes, we got our knife. You gotta love it!

Brasserie Egalite
Parvis de Saint-Gilles 47
Brussels, Belgium

Instead of heading back to the apartment which I don't think was ready yet, we strolled around and actually found a friterie that I had on my list; Friterie de la Barriere, which is a little frietkot on Avenue du Parc.

It was just past 11am and there was a line. So I took a peek and one of the guys in front of me who was chatting with his friends in Flemish, turned to me and said, "no worries. this place makes the best frites in the area….." Say no more……

So I got the frites, with aioli. I thought these were pretty good, not greasy, crisp exterior, fluffy exterior, but nothing special overall. After having several versions of frites in Belgium; the Missus claimed to not get what the love of frites was all about….and then she'd proceed to attack it…….

Friterie de la Barriere
5 Avenue du Parc
Brussels, Belgium

By now it was time to check-in and a nap……

We awoke made a simple dinner with what we had……

And headed out to the one destination that I had planned out for the day. We had enjoyed our visit to the Fontainas location of the legendary beer bar Moeder Lambic, but I had wanted to visit the original location, which was one of the two reasons I choose to stay in Saint-Gilles. And we weren't disappointed. Things in Brussels always seems relaxed and chill to us, but it was even more laid back here.

Of course the Missus had something from Cantillon, Cuvee Saintt Gilloise, which She loved. The sour-tart tones were balanced out with what I can only describe as an earthy flavor. Very nice and refreshing.

I tend to enjoy tripels, so I went with the Val-Dieu tripel. I really enjoyed this; there seemed to have an apple-honey background, while not being too "bready" or boozy. Man, his was a nice beer. I need to find a bottle of this here in San Diego….though I've found that versions of the Belgian's I've had here don't taste quite the same.

And while I really enjoyed that Val-Dieu, it was the next beer I had that really made my day. I decided to try something named "Hop-Ruiter". Man, this was really good….just enough hops for me; that would be south of an IPA; yet quite floral to the nose. The flavor doesn't quite go into dubbel-tripel territory, yet the honey flavors and some citrus tones are there. We'd return to Moeder Lambic the next night so I could have this again. I did find bottles of this here in San Diego, but the overall aroma and flavor was totally different.

The Missus tried the Caulier 28.

We really enjoyed Moeder Lambic; the folks here were very nice and it seemed less touristy than the Fontainas location.

Moeder Lambic
Rue de Savoie 68
Brussels, Belgium

While the Saint-Gilles area seemed a bit more "gritty" than Central Brussels or St Catherine, it seemed to have much more of the local color which we enjoyed.

We got to sleep early, tomorrow was going to be a full day…..

Thanks for reading!

Midweek Meanderings: Christy’s Bakery Closes, a Revisit to Poseidon Project with the Haad Sai Thai Food Truck, and Some “Beery” odds and ends

February 23, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Filipino Restaurants, Food Trucks, Pubs and Pub Grub, Thai Restaurants

Christy's Bakery Closes:

Last month, before our trip, on the day of my bad haircut, I noticed that Christy's Bakery had closed. I'd visited a looong time ago, before the food blog days and don't even remember the food. Here's CAB's post from 2009. They'd been around forever it seems…..though if a place like Conching's can close….

9178 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, California 92126

Back to the Poseidon Project and the Haad Sai Thai Food Truck:

The Missus ended up working on a recent Friday evening at the last minute, which left me alone at 630 pm on a Friday. So I headed out looking for a place to eat…..as I figured everyplace was packed. I even tried Pacific Time, but there was no parking. As I rolled up Morena, I noticed a Food Truck in front of The Poseidon Project, I thought "why not"?

Turns out it was a Thai truck called Haad Sai Thai.

The guy running the truck was really friendly and several folks in Poseidon were eating noodles; a couple of folks even doing take-out from the truck, so I ordered some drunken noodles with chicken, bought a bottle of one of my recent favorites….I was surprised at the price, cheaper than what I recently paid for a bottle at Keg and Barrel at $9.53 with tax, and had a seat.

The drunken noodles were nothing to write home about, though it was decently spicy at a heat level 7 and at least the noodles weren't mushy.

The chicken was dry, not enough "wok hay", other than the heat level, missing the sweet and salty of drunken noodles, and a bit over-priced at $9, but the savings on my bottle balanced things out for me. The portion size was quite large though and I got to watch a beer nerd ("bro") get a bottle of Delirium and match it with a California Burrito from Santana's across the street….a first for me.

Plus, the folks working here are great. I'm really warming to the place. Even though they only currently have 8 pulls, the bottles seems nicely priced.

Poseidon Project
4126 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110

Plus I just can't help but keep humming this song.

Yes, I'm old enough to remember the movie.

Some other "Beery" stuffs:

My favorite of this batch is Elysian Brewing Company's Bifrost Winter Ale….I just love the aroma, though the taste is a bit of a letdown, though they do a nice job balancing the hops.

Hope you're having a great week!

The Poseidon Project

February 2, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Pubs and Pub Grub

The Poseidon Project, a beer bar and bottleshop opened quietly in my neck of the woods a couple of weeks back. I recall Candice asking me if I'd been there. At that time, busy with work, I hadn't had time to check them out. But that was soon rectified and I've managed to visit the place three times in recent weeks.

The place is somewhat easy to miss; next to Bay Park Coffee and the place we call the Hydroponic Shop. Parking is at a premium. It's an interesting choice for a locale, since there's a huge, diverse gap in the demographics of Bay Park, but I'm happy to have them in my neighborhood.

On our first visit we found that the place has 8 pulls, but a nice variety of bottles at a decent price. The set-up has that wide open theme that we like. I had the Father Ted from Half Door Brewing. I had enjoyed the beer from Half Door when I visited their tasting room a few months back.

This was a surprisingly light, somewhat apple-pear flavored brew. more of a Saison than a Belgian Pale Ale, but very drinkable. One thing that is quite apparent is the lack of food; this isn't a gastropub….it's only beer. Which tends to attract an interesting crowd.

There are the neigh-"bro"-hood folks, with their girlfriends, excited to try new things; there are the folks on laptops…the pseudo coffee shop gang, and what would be described as hipsters….but he most interesting folks are the beer snobs. I like sitting in front of the cold case and watch these folks hold court…..describing the attributes of each beer loudly…holding the bottle up to the light….grabbing a bottle, then putting it back and picking up a different bottle…..makes a cynical statement about temperature, color……just have a beer already! The staff here is very nice and tolerant…and quite friendly.

I find it quite entertaining from behind my glass of Cuvee de Tomme by Lost Abbey.

Since there isn't any food served at Poseidon, I've seen burritos from Santana's across the street and folks armed with bags of peanuts….I think an In N Out burger someone brought in. On this day there was a Food Truck present and some folks were enjoying Mariscos.

I've kind of taken to the place…….it has a certain personality that hasn't been present in Bay Park before….

While having a Painted Lady from the Good Beer Company I asked about turnover…it seemed that even though there were only 8 pulls, the selection was different on every visit. The really friendly guy behind the bar named Juan told me they are able to get Quarter Barrels which really enhances the turnover. He also pointed to the area to the right and said at least eight more pulls will go in easily.

They've also got an interesting "list" of bottles bought from collectors that you can ask for……..

It's all those little inside things about beer culture; the bottle trading and such…they've kind of got it covered. I like the folks that work here….very mellow, super chill…perhaps they'll go with a cheese plate and some charcuterie here some day; nothing that needs a full kitchen and keep the food trucks and the bring your own grinds concept. I hope they do well…..

Poseidon Project
4126 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110

The High Dive Revisited

December 22, 2015 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Gastropub, Pubs and Pub Grub

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).

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?

Light 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.

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.

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.

So 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

Saying Goodbye to Albie’s

December 18, 2015 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Pubs and Pub Grub

**** Sadly Albie's has never returned

I was among the many who were quite shocked at the announcement that Albie's was closing on December 23rd. Though I had my first visit to Albie's a scant three years ago, the unique atmosphere really made an impression on me. While not on my rotation; I managed to revisit about 8-9 times.

I had wanted to visit one last time and when Candice mentioned meeting up for a drink, I was in……

The place was packed….I'd never seen it this full. Word must have gotten around. Lots of love for this place. I heard the word "a San Diego institution" thrown around. We chatted with a couple. The gentleman's wife had been coming here for over 30 years……funny, she never told her husband about Albie's until about a decade ago! They'd moved out of San Diego, but drove down for one last visit.

Over the last couple of visits, I'd found my drink of choice here…..an Old Fashioned.

The piano man was in fine form. Folks were chatting and enjoying the place.

All the semi-nude maidens adorning the walls still looked down upon everyone, a snapshot in time…..kind of what Albie's is. We've all gotten older, but Albie's was Albie's.

So here's to you Albie's. I'm hoping you find a new home.

You can still drop by as Albie's will be open until December 23rd.

Albie’s Beef Inn
1201 Hotel Cir S
San Diego, CA 92108

You can read about my memorable first visit here.

You can also read Soo's post here.