Category: Sushi and Sashimi

Midweek Meanderings – Signs are up for Sugarfish by Sushi Nozawa and Handel’s in Little Italy. And HNL is Losing Two More Favorites as Tamashiro Market and Fort Ruger Market are Closing

Honolulu, Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt, Japanese Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Oahu, Poke, Sushi and Sashimi

I know….this post might be shorter than the title! But just a couple of quick things.

During my walk to where I park after my usual visit to the Little Italy Mercato, I noticed that the signs for Sugarfish by Sushi Nozawa and Handel’s Ice Cream are up.

I know…yet more chains! I’m sure fellow blogger Soo is going to be quite happy since he enjoys Handel’s.

And even though the original Sushi Nozawa closed up in 2012, namesake Kazunori Nozawa has created quite the empire with 18 locations currently spread around Los Angeles and New York. This will be the first location in San Diego.

Both businesses will be located at:

2100 Kettner Blvd.
San Diego, California 92101

Tamashiro Market Closing on 04/30 and Fort Ruger Market Closes:

Sad to read that one of my long time favorites; Tamashiro Market in Kalihi is closing. It’s been all over the news. After 80 years, the second generation owners, the Tamashiro Brothers are closing up shop. Both brothers; aged 72 and 69 are retiring. I hope that they enjoy their retirement after giving us so much ono seafood and poke over the years.

That photo is from my visit back in 2010! In fact, Tamashiro was in my first post on Honolulu after not visiting in like a decade. Sad to think that two of the three places in that post have closed……Char Hung Sut closed in 2020.

This one caught me by surprise. I saw this on Instagram and was shocked to find out that Fort Ruger Market is closing! So, I went to double check and came across this on Facebook. What a bumma!

I think they’ve changed ownership since my last visit?

While maybe this one is deserved based on what is posted in Facebook and Reddit, it’s still sad to know that the place where I first rememba’ getting poke is going to gone.

According to the Instagram reel and “FOY” Mar’s sharp ears; this is going to be something called “CU” store?

Just kind makes me stop and wonder……..like I’ve been doing this for so long now……

Ju-ichi is now serving lunch again

Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

After having some fairly mediocre experiences with chirashi at the newish…..kinda “westernized” Kiiro and Oishi, being the old fuddy-duddy that I am, I decided to head on over to one of my old favorites. After doing a bit of shopping at Zion and Tokyo Central, I headed down Engineer Road and a sign caught my eye.

It seems that Ju-ichi was doing lunch again! Back when they first opened, Ju-ichi did lunch service. In fact, one of fellow blogger and “FOY” Denver’s first posts was on lunches at Ju-ichi! Unfortunately, by the time I had decided to visit, they had stopped serving lunch.

The sign really did seem like a “sign”, so I decided to detour here. The parking lot was mostly empty, which is a rarity in the evenings, and I parked and walked in.

Walking into the place nostalgia overcame me. I was last in here when this was Sushi Yaro, which I had been a regular customer of. In fact, the very first time I dined out after Covid closures was at Sushi Yaro! I was greeted and seated and handed two menus; a regular menu and a lunch specials version.

I did want my (these days) lunch time usual…the “regular” Bara Chirashi was like $50….a bit too much to spend for a regular lunch in my opinion. The lunch menu had a mini Bara Chirashi for $18 and figuring it would be a rather “petite” bowl, I also got…yes, I’m a creature of habit…some karaage ($13).

Soon enough my order arrived.

After my last two terrible experiences with karaage; I was happy to see a more traditional version…yes, using dark meat chicken and the batter seemed to use katakuriko (potato starch) and had a decent, light crispness.

The meat was moist; light in the flavor department, it could have used more savory-soy flavor, along with some pungency (i.e. a hint of ginger). The (not) spicy aioli added additional richness and the nori in the mayo was a good savory addition. I need to be doing my “karaage rounds” again.

As for the bara chirashi, yes, this was indeed a “mini bowl”.

Being bara chirashi, I did expect the smaller cuts of fish. What I really enjoyed in this bowl was the ikura, it was savory and briney, but not overly salty. It had been preserved nicely and not over salted, which is also an indication of lower quality ikura. Nice burst of oceany-umami that went well with the tangy sumeshi. The rice was warm and soft; it had obviously just been cooked and prepped.

The salmon, hamachi, and shiromi were decent, with the meaty and tender maguro being my favorite.

Loved that there wasn’t any chewy connective tissue in the maguro, it was quite good.

And while I do miss Sushi Yaro, this was a nice lunch and I’ll probably return for some sushi and sashimi in the future as the fish seems to be of decent quality. And Denver; looks like you can get your lunches at Ju-ichi again! Hope to see a new post from you one of these days!

Ju-ichi
7905 Engineer Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon, Tues, Thurs 1130am – 2pm, 430pm – 9pm
Friday 1130am – 2pm, 430pm – 10pm
Saturday 430pm – 10pm
Sunday 430pm – 9pm
Closed on Wednesday

Oishi Sushi on Blvd – Lunches with JJ

Dog Friendly, Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

I’m still looking for those perfect Asian dining spots to have meals with JJ. In terms of Japanese cuisine; well there’s Tanuki, where JJ does like the service and we thought some of the dishes were enjoyable; but it’s more of an early dinner spot for us as the lunch menu is quite limited. I had read about Oishi Sushi on Blvd and thought that perhaps JJ and I should give it a shot for an early lunch. So we headed on over.

Remember when this tiny shop that faces ECB was Medina Moroccan-Baja Kitchen?

Anyway, we arrived and took a quick peak around the tiny dining area and front porch before the nice Server sat us.

We didn’t have a chance to see the sushi bar area, but I can imagine how packed things can get here.

I was handed a menu, of which one whole side is “specialty” sushi rolls; like 41 in all with “14 basic rolls” on the other side of the menu. Yes, I did count them. The other side has more of what I’m looking for as I’m not a “sushi roll” kinda guy. Everything from ramen to yakisoba to nigiri to pulled pork sandwiches? Hmmm….. I guess they’re trying to please everyone here.

You know my strategy when wanting to see the quality of the usual “sakana”. I got the Chirashi ($28).

My goodness, the amount of rice was crazy? Did I look like I was a sumotori in training? I was able to finish less than half of the rice and took the rest of it home! Which was of decent quality; the shari was quite vinegar forward.

While the fish was routine; in my opinion, it was of much better quality than Kiiro, and the cuts much thicker.

My least favorite was the overly chewy and slightly metallic tasting Akami Marugo, much too lean. The Salmon was cut quite thickly and was fine.

The Hamachi was pretty tender, though on the drier side. As was the hirame.

The “Spicy Tuna” was made with scrape (nakaochi) which actually had a nice texture.

I thought the tamago was on the sweeter side and my favorite item in the chirashi was actually the hotate; scallop which, even though was a half slice was very tender and sweet.

Like I mentioned earlier, while the fish was fairly routine, it seemed to have been handled with some care; the quality, portion size, and execution much better than Kiiro in my mind.

I would also say that Oishi is more “Dogs Allowed” than dog friendly, though JJ didn’t mind.

A few weeks later I decided to revisit with JJ. It was basically at the same time as my previous visit and the place was quiet and relaxed. It was also the same woman as before.

This time I decided on some Chicken Karaage ($13) and not really wanting any otsumami or sunomono….I had thought the scallop was good on the Chirashi so went with a Scallop Handroll($7.50).

The portion size of the Karaage was quite large, but you see the immediate problem I had with this, right?

Yes, the chicken had been sliced…probably to check doneness? Real amateur hour here as this results in drier chewier pieces.

This also seems to be white meat; sigh…what’s up with places serving that as karaage these days? Perhaps it’s to control inventory, since they already make katsu and teriyaki chicken, so they only want breasts? Which are too dry and bland for karaage.

The batter got fairly soft rather quickly, but the seasoning had good soy-savory, slightly sweet tones. Still, the cutting before serving and the use of white meat is a deal breaker for me.

The hand roll was also quite large.

The hotate coated with salty-briney-crunchy tobiko. Like before, the scallops were nice and sweet and the amount of hotate was quite generous as it ranged all the way to the end of this rather large temaki.

The rice was a bit drier this time around; but that shari was just as strong. No complaints and I’d say that this was well worth the $7.50.

Overall, I’d say Oishi is pretty much in the same vein as Kiiro. Kind of a Westernized fusion (and portion sizes) of Japanese food serving everything. I enjoyed it more than Kiiro and it was nice having JJ along for lunch. Both lunches were on weekends at 11am and we were the only customers dining in until just before I finished my meal. I think it’s time for me to return to those more traditional favorites of mine…..

Oishi Sushi on Blvd
2850 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92104
Current Hours:
Sun – Wed 11am – 10pm
Thurs – Sat 11am – 11pm

Kiiro Sushi Izakaya

Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

I’d heard about Kiiro Sushi opening back in February of last year. So back in the beginning of March I decided to check the place out.

Kiiro is located next to the L&L BBQ on Sports Arena Boulevard….which I actually posted on back in…yikes 2005! I went for lunch right at 11 and the place was empty. The tables and chairs make the place seem almost cafeteria like to me?

I was greeted and seated by the nice young woman. Both she and Itamae were Hispanic which is kinda the norm these days at many places.

Looking at the menu; I noticed a lunch time bargain…the Chirashi was $21!

I thought it would be an interesting way to see how the fish was here. I also went with some Chicken Karaage….that when it arrived wasn’t just “some”; it was quite a lot.

It arrived with “spicy mayo” and I quickly noticed something about the chicken….it was white meat (i.e. chicken breast), which is not my favorite cut for karaage and it would prove to be true as the flesh was hard and dry; not especially flavorful.

The batter was lacking in crispness and fell off the pieces as I tried to eat them. The flavor wasn’t too bad, pretty straight forward soy sauce; hint of garlic….. Still, not a fan of the textures.

As for my Chirashi, well, I quickly noticed something.

It’s not only that the slices of fish were really thin; at this price point I expected that. But, it had that fish that’s banned in Japan since 1977 and also in Italy, escolar (aka white tuna) which can cause keriorrhea (aka the, ahem “orange oily leakage”)….I’ll just leave it at that. The rice was really hard, but also steaming hot, and lacking in seasoning.

You could tell this was really thin cut “saku” fish. The slices of salmon were especially thin, the maguro somewhat on the tougher side.

I didn’t expect much; but this was even less than expectations.

And of course, the Missus wouldn’t touch the leftover karaage, even after “helping it along” a bit and an air fryer session. So, I was just going to call it a day at this point. But Soo, did a nice post on the place and seemed to enjoy the kalbi? Apparently, the owners are of Korean heritage, so I thought I’d return. Though I waited several months before doing so.

I decided to try the Bulbogi and still wanting something more; went with the Tako Wasa as well.

Check out how the Tako Wasabi was served…pretty cool eh? The texture was fine, good toothsome chew. It was lacking in the pungent, sinus clearing attributes of wasabi though.

And I suddenly understood why this was served with wasabi and gari. This would be the first time I’ve ever had to add wasabi to Tako Wasabi!

As for the Bulgogi…..

Huge portion of bulgogi, huh? The rice was much better this time around.

As for the bulgogi…sigh; it had been chopped finely, was strangely mealy in texture, and over marinated and super salty.

This came with tempura, which was fine; though the batter was a bit soggy, lacking in the light and crisp texture I enjoy.

The shrimp was of decent quality, though the kabocha was undercooked and really hard.

Overall, I think I’m done with Kiiro…in spite of what’s written here. I prefer to spend a bit more for better executed food; though I’m glad I tried the place.

“Drink, Eat, Love”……..

Please let me know if stuff other than the huge list of rolls is worth trying here!

Kiiro Sushi Izakaya
3145 Sports Arena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 1030pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 1130pm

Momo Sando & Omakase

Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

Momo Sando & Omakase just opened in the spot that was occupied by Kumo Japanese Sando in the Plaza Sorrento Food Court. I heard that there was a “soft opening” period before the announced Grand Opening date of January 5th. Being curious about this “grab and go” sandos and sushi, by a former Executive Chef at two Nobu locations…and also, what made this concept different from say….Nijiya and Mitsuwa, I decided to drop by. Thinking that there might be some crowds based on the hype, I had a Plan B of Sue’s Korean Kitchen, which is located next door.

I arrived at a quarter to 11 and there was a short line waiting. So, I got into the queue.

The line grew exponentially as the minutes passed, so if I had arrived even a minute or two later, I’d have gone to Sue’s. Soon enough the door opened and we entered the small shop, with display cases of prepacked sushi and sandos. The woman working the register was like a Carnival Barker yelling out what each customer was purchasing! The line moves pretty quickly.

There are some special, limited offerings. On this morning, there was some uni available, but it was gone after the third customer!

As for me, I used the chance to peruse what was available and in the end; unlike the $90 purchases being made by the two customers in front of me….I just wanted to test the waters….

And simply got a Tonkatsu Sando ($15).

Check out the line as I walked to my car!

As for the Sando.

The shokupan, the bread, was on the drier side, lacking the mild, buttery-sweetness that I enjoy in that type of bread. On an interesting note, some of the crust was sliced off, and some left on?

The Tonkatsu, was pleasantly toothsome, the panko crust still had a good amount of crunch. I enjoyed the crisp-crunchy cabbage and the by-the-book katsu sauce. The bread was starting to get soggy by the time I got to the last slice seen above.

The sando was not bad, better than many of the other versions in San Diego. So, I decided to return the next day to try out the fish. I had the same strategy, which worked out about the same.

There’s quite a selection of fairly standard sushi/sashimi options and stuff that is on the “fusion-y” side…of course, dealing with a former chef of Nobu’s that’s to be expected. To be perfectly honest, we’ve been to Matsuhisa when we lived in LA back in the 90’s, and it was fine; we’ve been to several locations of Nobu and have always been a bit disappointed.

Instead of going with a standard futomaki, nigiri, or chirashi offering, I decided to getting something a bit different. There’s an option with black truffle on toro, but this one caught my attention.

As you can see….this ain’t no Nijiya sashimi set, being priced at $35! Yikes! Miso soup and the shoyu-wasabi-ginger are included.

This is what it looked like unpacked.

The miso soup was decent, not watered down.

Real fresh wasabi is provided, though as you can see, it’s starting to oxidize and brown.

The fish was of good quality; though I wasn’t a fan of the nakaochi – the tuna scrape which was really mushy and had a metallic finish to it.

The akami (maguro) was decent sushi-bar quality, nice texture, but in my opinion didn’t need the chili crunch.

Strangely the rice was hard and chewy……not a great standard to set.

The shari…sushi rice seasoning seemed quite aggressively seasoned, very vinegar forward which wasn’t too bad.

As for the toro….as you can see; much like the wasabi, the fish was starting to brown.

Still, it was very fatty and tender; quite good with the wasabi and shoyu.

It was quite interesting. It seemed like most of the customers were late generation Millennials or GenZers. I felt like jichan again. The quality of the product seems pretty good….though it’s very “concept heavy” to me. That “grab and go” toro was more expensive than the last 4 chirashi I had in actual restaurants. But perhaps it’s the perfect place for the tech crowd and that population who can afford $30+ for lunch. As for me; I need to wait and recover a while before visiting.

Momo Sando & Omakase
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 4pm

Road Trip – Morimoto Napa and The Fink

Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Cocktails, Dog Friendly, Japanese Restaurants, Marin, Napa, and Sonoma Counties, Road Trip, Sushi and Sashimi, Travel

There was a restaurant I wanted to check out just a half block from where we were staying in Napa. Several decades back, I recall the Missus and I being glued to our television watching the original Iron Chef. And when I was in Philly for a conference, I remember being so excited having the chance to check out Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s restaurant there. Sadly, it was quite disappointing. But now, over two decades later, a few steps away from us was the Napa location of Morimoto. I thought it would be interesting to check out all these years after having dinner at the Philadelphia location.

And they had a patio! So I made reservations.

Upon walking over, we were greeted and seated on the patio. The service here was super friendly, the staff so warm and sweet. Folks came out just to meet and greet JJ! He was brought water….totally the definition of dog friendly. In fact, the next day while I was walking JJ, some of the folks working saw him and called out “hi JJ, hi JJ, how are you???”

The place wasn’t overly busy. Looking at the menu…well, it was obviously not going to be cheap!

I saw Sawara (Mantis Shrimp) on the menu; one of my favorite things, but they were out! Bummer….

Anyway, we placed our order and soon enough our food started to arrive.

First, the Toro Tartare ($32). This was kind of weird as it was so finely minced that it was more like Nakaochi (Tuna Scrape) making it really mushy.

The ponzu sauce was overkill; since it came with wasabi, nori paste, and other seasonings on the side along with sturgeon caviar. The sauce just basically nullified everything but the wasabi.

We got some Sushi….here they charge you by the piece.

Man, the quality of the seafood was top notch, though I would have preferred not having my o-toro ($16/ea) slightly torched, but it was still quite buttery, and don’t get me started on Hokkaido Uni ($20/ea) ok? Good lord, so melt-in-your mouth, buttery, and sweet-oceany tones…it took me back to Otaru! The Aji ($8) was a bit on the overly chewy-slightly metallic side and the Madai ($8) had too much wasabi. Still, this would have been really great, but the rice was hard and under-cooked and the sushi meshi was too strong. Sorry, but if I’m paying $88 for six pieces of nigiri…..

We ordered the Braised Black Cod ($43).

This was a non-starter as it was overcooked; even the sauce, which was overly salty could not save it. Such a waste of a nice piece of fish.

The actual “best” dish of the night was the Duck Confit Fried Rice ($20)

The Jasmine Rice was a bit on the dry side; the rice itself decently coated with a soy sauce – basil type sauce. You could make out the flavor of the duck in the rice; I’m thinking they use the confit duck fat for this as well. Loved that perfectly cooked egg, with the crisp edges and gooey yolk.

Overall, we loved the folks working here, but the food just fell short. The products seemed top notch, but the execution did not do it justice. And at this price point, well…. It’s kinda like what my experience was at Morimoto in Philadelphia.

Morimoto Napa
610 Main St.
Napa, CA 94559

We took a short stroll after our meal. Right around the corner from Morimoto Napa is a location of Morimoto Asia. I know they have one in Waikiki as well. I took a looks at the menu; with stuff like XLB, Peking Duck, Sisig (!?!?), Pad Thai (double !?!?), Tonkotsu Ramen, etc, etc….

And then the faux Terracotta Statues…can you say PF Chang’s, in the image of Masaharu Morimoto???

What the heck???? Yikes!!!

Anyway, we walked along the walkway and promenade, enjoying the artwork.

We returned to our room….JJ was pooped, so I decided to walk a couple of doors over and check out the Cocktail Bar named The Fink.

I liked the somewhat nautical theme of the place. It was really quiet on this evening. I found it interesting to note that all the other folks at the bar were regulars.

The bartender was really friendly as was the gentleman talking to everyone. He introduced himself and I came to find out that he’s the owner of the place; Judd Finkelstein! Really friendly guy! I got to meet the “Fink” himself.

I got a favorite of mine; a Penicillin, which was nice and stiff!

Chatting with the bartender; I mentioned JJ and she asked me why didn’t I bring him in! So nice!

So guess who was coming with me to The Fink the next evening!

The Fink
530 Main St.
Napa, CA 94559

Ken Sushi Workshop

Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

I’m not suite sure who recommended Ken Sushi Workshop to me. And to be perfectly honest, I really wasn’t too thrilled about eating a “workshop”, which makes it seem quite fabricated and industrial to me? And after some really mediocre stuff at Moment Sushi, these interesting sushi locations give me pause. And yet I was curious. So I decided to drop by for an early lunch. The restaurant is located in the Carmel Valley/Torrey Hills area not exactly the hotbed for sushi/sashimi in San Diego…..

I found the restaurant in a business park-ish mall. The place definitely has an interesting looking exterior.

The reason for the golf cart soon became clear and the exterior had several plastic domes arranged….I guess for al fresco dining? For some reason, my mind immediately went back to the days of Covid.

Upon entering, the reason for the cart became clear.

The place was golf themed….I guess “Ken” is a major golfer? The woman managing the front of house was very professional and efficient. I was seated at the sushi bar, which is like those modern places that doesn’t have a glass case on the sushi bar where you can check out the fish.

I have a typical MO these days when checking out a sushi place for lunch. I am always interested in the quality of a variety of offerings and will go with the Chirashi ($24). I also saw Ankimo on the menu…man, it’s been a while since I’ve had decent Ankimo, so I ordered that as well ($18).

Soon enough some Miso Soup was provided.

Fairly rich, good miso-umami tones, pretty good!

And a few minutes later my Chirashi arrived.

Typical sashimi, though it was a step above Moment Sushi. The tako had a wonderful texture as did the almost creamy Hamachi.

The shiromi was fine and the two pieces of maguro were thickly cut, meaty, with no off flavors. The slice of salmon was quite elongated and along with the ebi, quite typical and nothing special. The Unagi was quite tender and moist.. Thankfully the unagi tare wasn’t overly sweet.

The actual highlight of the meal was the Ankimo.

Which was creamy, with briny-oceany-buttery and light offal tones. Very smooth and savory. The ponzu added a nice citrusy acidity to help cut the richness. Possibly the best ankimo I’ve had in a while!

While a pretty good meal, at over $50 with tip, this was by no means a inexpensive lunch. I was going to do a post; but I really wanted to do another visit before publishing. And I wanted that Ankimo again. So I waited…and waited……time just kind of flew by. Until a couple of weeks ago, when I just wanted my ankimo fix.

Again seated at the sushi bar.

I did notice a couple of things had changed. Like everywhere else, prices had gone up and the Ankimo was now $20. I also noticed that the miso soup was thinner with no green onions anymore.

The Ankimo arrived with one less piece.

It was still as good as before; though 11% more expensive and 33% smaller.

I had decided to go all out and ordered the Omakase Sashimi, which was, wait for it……$56!

Loved the huge slices of otoro, so rich, fatty, vitually melting in my mouth.

The hamachi was just as good as before, the hotate tender and sweet. The maguro was even better this time around. The shiromi and salmon was pretty much status quo.

Not a cheap meal at all, prices just seem so crazy….but I guess someone needs to pay for Ken’s Golf Cart.

And his Green Fees, right?

At this price point, I’m not sure when I’ll return, but the sashimi is of good quality and I saw a pooch in one of those plastic domes having lunch….so maybe if JJ hits the lottery?

Ken Sushi Workshop
11375 El Camino Real #120
San Diego, CA 92130
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 1130am – 2pm, 530pm – 10pm
Saturday 530pm – 10pm
Closed on Sunday

It’s San Wo, not Sam Woo, Tasty House Replacing Tealightful Cafe, Itacho Sushi Replacing Mikami, and other “stuffs”…..

Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, yoso-silly

Just a couple of things for this Monday.

Itacho Sushi Replacing Mikami:

I saw a sign up on the former location of Mikami Sushi, so I drove on in to take a look.

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Looks like another AYCE sushi place is taking the spot.

7319 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Tasty House Replacing Tealightful Cafe:

On the same drive I saw another new sign while driving West on Clairemont Mesa. This one in the former location of Tealightful Cafe….I didn't even know they closed. Seems like the owner has been having health issues….

IMG_7339

The sign had me wondering if this place would have anything to do with Tasty Noodle House (more on that below), which folks told me had closed. But the Missus and "FOY" Xiāngjiāo both said that based on the Chinese name it's unlikely.

4726 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

And what about Tasty Noodle House?:

I had heard and been asked if Tasty Noodle House has closed. Even though I https://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/had a very mediocre visit back in February, the place was doing some good takeout-delivery business when I visited.

On my next foray to Convoy, I dropped by and noticed the doors to the restaurant were open.

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But the hand written sign on the door said "Sorry! We Closed".

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I then noticed, at the top left of the window, out of direct line of sight, this sign…..

IMG_7342a

Yikes!!!!!

Tasty Noodle House
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

And Finally, It's San Wo, not Sam Woo:

I recently went to the Clairemont Mesa location of 99 Ranch Market….this was actually on the same drive where I noticed Tasty House and the Itacho signs. Since the location on Balboa opened, which is closer to home, I seldom visit the legacy location any more. I quickly noticed a couple of changes….one of which will be in a future post. For some reason, I looked up and I noticed that the sign for Sam Woo BBQ had been "modified".

IMG_7332

And now said "San Wo BBQ". What they heck? I had last visited in September of last year and I believe the sign still said "Sam Woo". What the heck is going on? I know that Sam Woo's are kind of a loose conglomeration of places based on a single family. I also know that the owner of the LA location was sentenced to prison for tax evasion, but this was news to me! Again our good friend Xiāngjiāo did tell me it's the same ownership….so I dunno. The Missus said the name in Chinese is the same, they took off the last character, but it's still the same.

Sam Woo San Wo BBQ Restaurant
7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Man, so much going on in Kearny-Clairemont Mesa!

Saturday Stuffs – Mikami Sushi and Take the Bait Seafood Bar Closes and Mission Valley Farmers Market at Civita Park

Exploring San Diego, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Seafood, Sushi and Sashimi

Just a couple of quick things for a relaxing pre Super Bowl Saturday

Mikami Sushi and Take the Bait Seafood Bar Closes:

During my takeout visit from Curry Club I had to park a bit further down the parking lot than I usually do. Glancing over at Mikami Sushi, I noticed the brown paper taped to the windows and doors, so I decided to walk on over to take a look.

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And yes, Mikami, which Cathy posted on twice and the attached Take the Bait Seafood Bar has closed.

IMG_5317

IMG_5318

Strange, I didn't even hear a peep about the place closing.

7319 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Mission Valley Farmers Market at Civita Park:

We finished up our Saturday Little Italy shopping and other errands quite early this morning and wanted to take JJ somewhere, but we really couldn't decide on where. Then I thought it might be fun taking JJ to Civita Park which I had done a brief walk thru during my visit to La Clochette Cafe & Bakery. We'd go ahead and get some breakfast croissants and then take JJ to the park to explore. Sadly, La Clochette doesn't have any pastries in stock until after 9am; so we just got some coffee and relaxed. Driving into the development, we had noticed signs for a Saturday Farmers Market. The clock was just striking 9am when we finished our coffees so we decided to take a quick look.

Civita FM 01

Civita FM 02

It was quite mellow on this day. Not sure if it was because the Farmers Market had just opened, or perhaps the season, but the busiest businesses were all the food stands at the east end.

Civita FM 03

We enjoyed the laid back atmosphere and all the vendors were very friendly.

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The Missus loved the stuff She bought from the Aglo Oils booth. The woman manning the booth, whom I believe is the business owner was so helpful.

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There are only 2-3 produce stands and 4 bread and pastry ones.

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Not sure if it was because we had just come from the bustling Little Italy Mercato, but this just seemed so relaxed.

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I should have taken more photos, but JJ was having a blast exploring the paved trails, sniffing all the plants, and he especially enjoyed going up and down the stairs???? Go figure. I'm sure we'll return so I'll get more photos then.

We did mange to get a couple of photos of the little monster though!

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He loved all the attention he got from folks as well……

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Ah yes, a puppy's life…..

Mission Valley Farmers Market at Civita Park
7960 Civita Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92108
Current Hours:
Saturdays 9am – 1pm

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Sashimi Lunch at Kokoro

Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

So more than a few months back, there I was having a nice brewski at the usual place, when "that pair" of folks, you know, they thought Moment Sushi was soooo good (it wasn't), even though they had never heard of Tadokoro, Soichi, Kaito, etc walked in. They didn't remember me; which was actually a good thing. And of course, being the nosy old man that I am, I started listening in when they started talking about….well, sushi again. If anything, just for laughs. Well, the Instagrammable young lady said she had just had the "best sushi meal of her life at a place called Kokomo". Kokomo?? Wasn't that a song by the Beach Boys from the movie Cocktail? 

And then it dawned on me; she must mean Kokoro! Well now, when did I last dine in at one of the old favorites of the late Ed from Yuma (hope you are eating well where you are Ed!)? Checking things when I got home; I did takeout during Covid 3 1/2 years ago, and the last time I dined in was in spring of 2019! 

I had always enjoyed the lunches at Kokoro, so of course it was finally time for a revisit.

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I arrived right at the 1130 opening time. The nice older woman, who is the wife of the Itamae and co-owner greeted and seated me at the bar. I quickly noticed that the Itamae for this day wasn't the owner.

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I did know he was present; because even though this was right in front of me, I'm sure it wasn't my obanzai…..

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Seriously, the owner peeked out of the kitchen doorway and saw that he had "forgotten" something on the counter and swooped in to remove it!

I ordered the Sashimi Lunch ($27.50). And my scaldingly hot miso soup soon arrived.

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I had always enjoyed the miso soup here; this was a bit thinner than what I'd dined on here before and the miso flavor was much fainter. It was still not bad though.

And then of course my Sashimi lunch arrived.

Kokoro Lunch 06 Kokoro Lunch 09  First off, let me say that the rice was perfect, just what I'd expect from a good sushi bar. The wasabi bright, fresh, sinus clearing.

As for the seafood; the highlights for me was the tako, tender-yet-toothsome, with a mild sweet-brininess. And the hamachi, nicely sliced, fairly buttery in texture, went really well with a touch of soy and the wasabi.

The Maguro was disappointing; sliced super thin, on the chewy side, with a slight metallic tinge to it.

Kokoro Lunch 08 Kokoro Lunch 10  The Ika and Salmon were decent; the salmon was decently fatty and the texture of the ika was quite good, not overly chewy.

This was pretty good overall; I'll definitely return and get my usual chirashi for lunch next time.

There was one additional problem though. During my entire time at Kokoro, that darn song was playing in my head, damn earworm!! Now it's going again while I'm doing this post! Yikes!

Well, in order to exorcise it, I need to do this so please forgive my "Weird Al" (or perhaps "Kimyona Kirk") moment……words to the tune of…well Kokoro Kokomo:

"Hamachi, Maguro,
Time to "holoholo"

Tako and Hirame
kinda yummy, yummy

Off of Sandrock Road
There's a place called Kokoro

That's where I wen' go
Lunch at Kokoro….."

Sorry, needed to get that out of my system!

What do you mean "no fishing"!!!!

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Kokoro
3298 Greyling Dr.
San Diego, CA 92123
Current Hours:
Wed – Sat 1130am – 130pm, 530pm – 10pm
Sunday 1130am – 130pm, 530pm – 9pm
Closed Mon – Tues

Thanks for indulging me, hope you have a great week!

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