Vietnamese Restaurants – Page 39

Roadtrip: Touching bases with Beach – Pho 86 and Kang Lac Bakery – Westminster (Orange County)

April 3, 2012 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Orange County, Vietnamese Restaurants

Man, it had been quite a while since I had a chance to visit my good FOY (Friend of Yoso) "Beach". It had been over three years since I last saw the man who introduced me to the joys of Binh Dan. We'd tried meeting up a couple of times before but something always seemed to come up. Last week, I had a day off and I wanted to make sure to drop by and see him, just to touch bases since it had been so long. As usual, Beach was ready with a handful of places…..but I really just wanted to see what was up, so we ended up hitting two of his recent favorites. Places he'd drop by for breakfast…….

Pho 86:

This location of Pho 86 is squeezed in next to Pagolac, another place Beach took me to several years back…..never posted because my photos didn't come out. I'd really never noticed the place even though I've driven past it quite a few times.

The tiny restaurant was fairly busy when we arrived, so we ended up sitting at one of the larger, almost communal tables that you'd end up sharing with other customers as they straggled in. Beach has a good understanding of my tastes and preferences, so of course he ordered…the guy taking his order knew him pretty well….he told me he stops by two or three times a week.

As to be expected in the highly competitive world of Pho in Little Saigon, things had to be pretty good. The sparkling herbs, bean sprouts, peppers and lime were a testament to that.

And the Pho was also lovely……

The "Tai", rare steak was especially impressive since I'm used to the thin, dry, and cardboard-like stuff that is the norm here in San Diego. The broth is clear, very balanced and mellow, with decent fat, mild anise, and not overly salty.

Of course, I was soon distracted. I was looking at the guy behind the window to the kitchen area lifting out two delicious looking leg bones and putting them in a bowl. Beach turned, took a glance, and told me, "don't worry, that's for us….." And indeed it was.

I wish I took a photo of the bones lengthwise so you'd get a better look, but I just wanted at the tendon and all the beefy goodness. Man, this was like a tendon lover's dream. You just keep cutting pieces of tendon with meat off the bone and keep eating. It was, without a doubt, delici-yoso…… I only wish I knew how to order it since it's not on the menu. I'm sure Beach will let me know.

Nothing like hole in the wall Pho with Beach….

Pho 86 Restaurant
14576 Brookhurst St
Westminster, CA 92683

Our next stop was a little further down…..all that tendon just kinda sits and I just can't eat like I used too. I needed to make one short stop (a later post) and Beach had just the place for a small "snack" right next door.

Kang Lac Bakery:

I do have a special place in my heart for those "old school" places that may have a large menu, but do certain things well. According to Beach, Kang Lac makes a good Bot Chien, which I'd never had before.

The dish is basically cakes made of rice flour that are pan fried till crisp, then eggs and scallions are added, much like the Chiu Chow Turnip Cakes with scrambled eggs. The bot chien had attained that wonderful crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside texture and the eggs added a richness, the scallions a mild pungency.

Beach proceeded to pour some fish sauce into a small dish and added some Sriracha and told me to dip the bot chien into that. I loved the fish sauce, which added a nice salty-savory component to the dish. I think I'll pass on the hot sauce next time…no need for that. Actually, this dish is right up the Missus' alley, She loves stuff like this. I'll make sure to bring Her here next time.

Kang Lac Bakery
9301 Bolsa Avenue
Westminster, CA 92683

I had to be back in San Diego for an appointment, so I had to leave sooner than I wanted. Still, the morning was full of lively conversation. I noticed something as we were chatting….it used to be so much about food….now that we're getting a bit older it was about other things, travel, how well Beach's children are doing in their career and school, life in general….yes, we still talked about food, but there was so much else. As always, I had a great time. I've got to make sure that it's not another three years before meeting up again.

Thanks for another great day Beach!

Pho-raging around Escondido: Pho Saigon Express and Lena Pho and Grill

April 1, 2012 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Looking back, I guess I do about one of these a year. In 2009 it was Pho around Rancho Bernardo in 2010 it was Oceanside. 2011 just came and went so quickly, so to get back on track, I decided to drive up to Escondido to try a couple of places a few folks, like my buddy JohnL and occasional commenter DavidD mentioned.

Pho Saigon Express:

This is probably the one I hear about most often. I'd actually been here before, but my photos didn't turn out. So it was time to head back here again.

Having been here before, I knew that the "Tai", rare steak was pretty much the standard for the San Diego area….tough and dry. So I went with the Flank, Brisket, Tendon, Tripe. A small bowl here runs $5.99.

I was a bit surprised when my herbs and bean sprouts arrived…actually, it was more like herbs and bean sprout. Who hit the tightwad button? I asked for more sprouts and never got them. Sigh….also whats's with the lemon instead of lime? It's kind of sad thinking that I got more basil and sprouts in Madison than here.

The Pho itself is not bad.

The noodles were quite mushy, but other than that, this was a decent bowl. The broth was light and could have used a bit more beef flavor, but it wasn't too salty. The various cuts were the highlight, well flavored and tender. Against stereotype, there was also a good amount of tripe in this as well.

Overall decent Pho, lousy service…….

Pho Saigon Express
605 N Broadway
Escondido, CA 92025

Pho Lena & Grill Vietnamese Restaurant:

****Pho Lena has closed

A bit further East on East Valley Parkway is Pho Lena and Grill Vietnamese Restaurant….man, that's a mouthful. The restaurant looks quite new and compared to Pho Saigon, the place was empty when I arrived. Looking at the menu, I noticed something strange……the exact item I ordered at Pho Saigon had exactly the same number (P4) and price ($5.99) here……

The plate of herbs and sprouts was much more than Pho Saigon and there was even a sprig of Ngo Gai, albiet a pretty old looking leaf…..

The broth here was much darker here, though still on the light side with regards to oil. The portion size was quite large for a small bowl.

The broth was pretty salty, good thing they actually have lime here. I got a strong onion flavor along with a sort of burnt flavor from the broth. The rather large portion of noodles was prepared well. The meat wasn't quite up to what I had at Pho Saigon in flavor a texture, though as you can tell by the amount of tripe, there was a decent amount of it. The one item that was better here was the beef tendon, which was sufficiently tender.

Overall, I tihnk it's a bit of a wash between the two places in terms of broth. Meat goes to Saigon, portion size to Lena. Service was much nicer at Lena.

Pho Lena & Grill Vietnamese Restaurant
1535 E Valley Pkwy
Escondido, CA 92027

So there you go, two more down…… so where to next? Vista? I know there's Pho San Marcos? You tell me……

Sunday Stuffs: Sakura opening another restaurant and revisits to Pho Lucky and Pizzeria Bruno

March 25, 2012 mmm-yoso Italian Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Pizza, Vietnamese Restaurants

Well, it was pretty nice there for a couple of days. Anyway, here's something short for a wet Sunday in San Diego.

Owners of Izakaya Sakura opening a new restaurant:

I was quite surprised when I heard this. But according to my sources, the owners of Sakura are taking over the Chilies Thai location for a new restaurant.

Folks might be wondering what gives since it's in the same strip mall as Izakaya Sakura. Well this place is going to be Italian-Japanese. Probably something similar to Spoon House and Akane Chaya in the Gardena area. Not my favorite style and i'm wondering if there's a market for it here, heck even Curry house couldn't cut it. When I asked Dennis for his opinion, he had his doubts too. Time will tell. One more thing I heard is that Kazu will cut down his sushi bar time to oversee this new place…….don't think that's a great idea either.

3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Banh Mi Bo Kho at Pho Lucky:

After a terrible version of Vietnamese style Beef Stew at Pho Mignon, the sudden change in weather, and feeling a bit under the weather I decided to grab some Banh Mi Bo Kho from Pho Lucky. Funny thing is, Cathy mentioned that I've only done one post on the place. I swear I've done more than that. I did find a couple of posts including one on the Banh Mi Bo Kho. I think my Google search is doing weird things…..

The flavor was spot on as is the norm, but the stew was on the thin and soupy side. Lot's of nice tendon hiding on the bottom, though. What's up with the thin stews I've been getting recently? At least this one tasted good.

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Pizzeria Bruno Napoletano:

*** Pizzeria Bruno has closed

Man, it was almost like spring for a couple of days there, wasn't it? And the weather put the Missus in the mood for sitting outside and having a pizza from Bruno. Over time, the Missus has settles on the Marinera ($9) being Her favorite:

She usually orders it with extra olive oil…….

I got my favorite, the Diavolo ($15), with soppressata replacing the pepperoni.

The goat peppers add some nice spice and mild sweetness to balance out the salt from the salami-ish soppressata. Great char on the crust and I've gotten used to eating this with a knife and fork…..

Can't wait until we get more consistent warm weather, we'll be enjoying this more often.

Pizzeria Bruno
4207 Park Blvd
San Diego, CA 92103

My previous post on Bruno can be found here.

Mignon Pho + Grill Revisted

March 11, 2012 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I recently had a very friendly, but lively debate with a cousin of John and Peter. The subject was our choices for favorite Pho in San Diego. I was quite shocked when he told me it was Mignon Pho! I'd visited when they first opened, then followed up with a couple more visits, but was never impressed with the Pho. Loved the choices of local craft brews, the high ceilings, nice friendly service……but the food, well…no. Now, I realize that some folks believe I'm inordinately picky. I also realize the difference between what we consider our favorites versus the best. So feeling my way through this conversation, I went with, "oh, ok, Mignon is your favorite pho restaurant, who do you think is makes the best?" Looking at me like I had bolts on the side of my neck, the young man said, "Mignon, of course…..best broth, best noodles, best meat, just the best…." So much for the soft, diplomatic approach. Ok, fair enough, FOYs Howie and Jenne had also mentioned that Mignon Pho had improved a bit, so I figured it was time I returned.

Located in the same strip mall as Nijiya Market, Koon Thai, and Okan, I like the look of the restaurant.

The tables are nice and clean, the place looks neat and uncluttered, and there's not someone practically mugging you to order as soon as you've sat down. I do say that the place can get pretty loud fairly quickly, but I don't think that's a much of a hindrance.

The young man who took my order was very friendly and mellow and I simply went with the Regular Size Filte Mignon Pho with the meat on the side. At $7.50 for the whole shebang, I was surprised. My last visit was an $7.95 bowl of Pho with an additional charge of $1.75 for meat on the side. Nice change in this day and age.

The garnishes arrived, perhaps not a sparkling fresh as on previous visits, but looked perfectly fine.

And a minute or two later, my bowl of pho arrived.

The broth looked on the dark side and was sending plumes of steam in the air. Taking a whiff, I was disappointed, no beefiness, no anise, maybe some onion, but very weak in the fragrance department. Taking a taste would yield the same result, weak……though I got this taste, I'm thinking they may now use msg or something similar in the broth? The lack of richness didn't help matters either.

As I made my way through just about everything and anything on the plate of herbs and bean sprouts, I noticed the lack of Ngo Gai (culantro) this time around. But in it's place was a sprig of Ngo Om, the Rice Paddy Herb. I've had this many times, though never with pho. It has a citrusy taste with an earthy almost cumin like background flavor that tastes kinda odd in pho.

The meat was nice, though a bit too frozen as it took a while for it get to the lightly pink color I enjoy.

The portion size for the noodles was on the small side, though they were nicely done, slightly firm with a mild stretch to them.

But man, that broth was weak. I couldn't bring myself to finish a third of it.

For the first time I was sorely tempted to grab for one of the bottles on the table.

Now I know why each table has a large bottle of each on them.

And yet, I thought, man the service was nice and the pace very relaxed. There's got to be something on the menu I like. Then I recalled seeing this on the menu:

Man, Banh Mi Bo Kho, one of my favorite things!

So I returned for the Beef Stew…….well not quite a stew as I soon found out.

Man this was thin and insipid, truly lacking in flavor and the most watery beef "stew" I've ever had. It's almost like the pho base with some tomato and a very light touch of seasoning was added. This was really bad. It's almost like they don't know the difference between soup and stew.

I felt bad for the folks who made this…..

The bread was nice and warm and perfectly fine.

The meat on the other hand was not that great. The tendon provided was very tough and the other cuts had some flavor but were pretty dry.

What a bummer. But I did try to hedge my bets a little by choosing something a bit different, a bit fusiony, from the appetizers.

Yes, you can sigh….I actually ordered french fries. Lemongrass Garlic Fries ($4) to be exact. And they arrvied nice and hot, though I can't quite make the connection with fresh, since these were obviously mass produced frozen spuds, it's not like they cut them fresh inhouse.

Well the menu actually had the crispy on the outside and soft on the inside part right. These were also nicely seasoned with salt and what I'm thinking is granulated garlic. The lemongrass flavor was quite faint.

Well, I went to a Pho restaurant and enjoyed the fries, I think that says much more than another four or five paragraphs would. I do enjoy the service, cleanliness, and atmosphere at Mignon Pho. The craft beer, though not particularly focused seems like a nice addition. But the bottom line is, I'm here to eat………

Mignon Pho + Grill
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Postscript: The interesting thing was someone else recommended the wings here, so I actually went back again for those and even tried the pho again. The pho was just as bad….as for the wings, you'll have to stay tuned.

Stuff for a slow Saturday: Recently Made at Home, Revisits to Tan Ky Mi Gia and Los Pueblos

March 10, 2012 mmm-yoso Cooking, Mexican Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

It usually happens around this time of the year. I kinda hit a "slump" of sorts……we've been eating more at home recently. While the Missus can eat the same thing for several days (even weeks) in a row, roasted vegetables or lentil soup (she;s loving our new Dutch Oven), I need a bit of variety. So here are the two items I managed to take photos of this past week.

I decided to drop by Seisel's tp pick up some calf's liver as a treat for Da' Boyz. Not quite sure what to make, I bought a half pound of ground chuck. Funny thing is, my ground beef cost two bucks, while the liver cost seven. I always tell the Missus that our household is going to the dogs. This is just further evidence of that.

I still didn't have any idea of what to make when I got home. Opening the cabinet, the bag of cumin fell out on the counter……..it must have been a hint from somewhere. Using my Cumin and Sichuan Peppercorn Skirt Steak recipe as a base. I minced onions and mixed that along with ground cumin, dark and light soy sauce, sambal olek, with the ground beef. While that sat, I toasted cumin and Sichuan peppercorns, which I then ground. I made patties then seasoned the surface of the ground beef with salt, cumin and Sichuan peppercorns. I didn't incorporate thatinto the meat because cumin tends to keep form and stay hard when mixed into ground beef. The cumin powder took care of that. Cooked in my cast iron pan and topped with Sriracha, it came out better than I thought.

I just might do this again.

A couple of nights later, I dropped by Seisel's again, this time, I thought I'd use up some blue cheese and left over tapenade that we had in the fridge and stuff a chicken breast. Unfortunately, they were out of chicken breast. I decided to try to do the same thing with chicken thighs. I usually have a couple of dried items in my pantry, so I made a mixture of sundried tomatoes, morel mushrooms, tapenade, and blue cheese. I pounded out the chicken thights, then, feeling too lazy to skewer the thighs, I simply rolled them, seasoned the chicken with sea salt and fresh ground pepper and cooked them off in the frying pan. There was some loss, but not too much.

This came out pretty good, it smelled heavenly, and I managed not to overcook the chicken. I prefer dark meat to white meat anyway, but just never thought of stuffing thighs.

I'll definitely do this again.

Other than that, here are some short revisits.

Tan Ky Mi Gia:

**** Tan Ky Mi Gia has closed

My sinuses have been taking a beating this year. I really wanted something with a alot of flavor, so we decided to head up to Mira Mesa. I really wanted the Beef Sate Egg Noodle "dry" from Tan Ky Mi Gia.

I'm not sure if it was because I just wanted it so much or what. But this was better than I ever recalled having here. The meat was tender, there was a good amount of heat and spices, which cleared up my sinuses. The accompanying soup was a bit too salty, but that's just what I needed. Sometimes it's all about timing. Strangely, our favorite "server" wasn't working this evening……

Tan Ky Mi Gia
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd #A
San Diego, CA 92126

Los Pueblos:

**** Los Pueblos has closed

Yep, again. The Missus enjoys the Mole Poblano and also the tortilla soup here. Here's the Mole Poblano with Huarache Chips (sorry, forgot the soup photo):

This time I went with the carne asada smothered in Mole Poblano.

If you're used to $2 steak carne asada, you might find this an improvement. They used skirt steak, which I may just have without the mole next time. Combined with black beans, guacamole, tortillas, and arroz verde (green rice) this was a nap inducing meal. I guess Los Pueblos has established a place on our rotation.

Check out Cathy's post here.

Los Pueblos Regional Cuisines of Mexico
7081 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

I hope everyone is having a great "spring forward" weekend. I hope losing that hour of sleep doesn't affect you too much!

Lucky Seafood- a meal and a take home snack

March 2, 2012 Cathy Markets & Grocers, Seafood, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of the blog you are reading. A few friends write about food they eat, take photos and share meals with you. Kirk is too busy to write today and so is ed(from Yuma. That leaves Cathy, who is sharing a meal and a snack.

Hi. This is a short post. Kirk has written only one post devoted to Lucky Pho, yet Lucky is mentioned in about 24 of our mmm-yoso posts. The restaurant adjoining the grocery store is a favorite/regular spot for The Mister and I of all the pho places around this large county. This the place I recommend to anyone who asks me "where do you like to eat?"

On this cloudy, chilly morning, both of us wanted soup and we disagreed about the basic broth. So instead of messing up the kitchen, we each chose our own preference at Lucky.

The Mister chose Pho Tai ($6.50)…

and I chose the shrimp and krab ($6.50). It's made with different noodles and a very rich fish broth, which was what I was wanting. You'll notice there is mint on the plate of add ins- that's for the seafood soup, otherwise all the usual add ins of sprouts, jalapeno, basil and lime.

Of course we always get the Spring rolls here ($5.50). These are more meat than vegetable filled and always perfectly fried. Another great meal.

Since we were at a market, I started to think about the weekly shopping. There were too many people inside to take photos of the produce section, but the prices here are good and the vegetables and fruit are always fresh.

I headed over to the seafood area where most items are in open display.

Fish heads (great for soup making) are still only $1.99/lb.

The pretty parrot fish caught my eye. I've never had one and wondered how it would taste.

Then I saw the overhead sign…

I waited in line and handed the nice young man my chosen fish, which was weighed and priced and in a few minutes, my number was called.

Then I went to checkout and paid for all of my purchases…

This is my lovely fried parrot fish. It is very meaty was good while hot, but also turned out to taste very good when cold.

No photo of the resulting carcass; you've seen enough this week. I hope all of you have a good weekend! Stay warm and dry!

Lucky Seafood and Pho 9326 Mira Mesa Blvd San Diego Ca 92126

Recently Consumed…….

February 22, 2012 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Japanese Restaurants, Turkish Food, Vietnamese Restaurants

After a long day, it's always nice to enjoy a good meal….here are some photos of items recently consumed…..

Though not all of it was great…..

I never left hungry.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Breakfasts of Champions: San Diego Edition – Hinotez, 777 Noodle House, Island Style Cafe, and Zarlitos

February 13, 2012 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Filipino Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

Whew, I'm pretty beat today, so I thought I'd just go with some recent breakfasts in photos. These were basically the photos I sent along with text messages to my FOYs that led to JohnL telling me to put them into a post. I'm pretty sure you'll recognize the places/dishes:

I still haven't gotten round to doing a proper post on this place. Still waiting to check out the yakitori I guess. I mentioned the special place in my heart this type of dish holds. I still prefer whole raw eggs, but "hot spring eggs" (onsen tamago) will do, even if these were a bit more runny than other versions I've had. For $6, I consider this a real nice breakfast.

Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

I've stopped by 777 Noodle House a couple of times while doing my weekend morning grocery shopping. The Hu Tieu Nam Vang Kho – Phnom Penh Noodles (Dry) is what I'll usually order. The price for this has gone up, but is still just $5.77.

I always look forward to the broth on the side, mainly because I really enjoy the sight of the pork leg bone in the broth. No offal in this version, but it is quite filling. One morning, as I sat and ate my breakfast, I noticed that all the tables were speaking different languages…one table Vietnamese, another Spanish, the one to my left Cantonese, right in front of me was a family that I think was Somali, the one in the corner Lao….the room was full of beautiful noises.

777 Noodle House
4686 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105

This next one needs no introduction…….

My quarterly loco moco………..well, actually a Kaloko Moco ($8.95).

Island Style Cafe
5950 Santo Road
San Diego, CA 92124

And it just wouldn't be right for me to do a breakfast post without a "silog" meal, in this case a Longsilog ($5.75) from Zarlitos.

The longanisa didn't look too good, but was nicely charred on the exterior. I can tell you that cooking longanisa can make a mess of your frying pan. This was a decent meal for the price. I enjoyed it more than the Spamsilog I had a couple of months back.

Zarlitos Family Restaurant
505 East 8th St.
National City, CA 91950

So there you go, a quartet of breakfasts…….have anything good for breakfast recently?

Chinese Kitchen (Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang) – Bun Mang Vit again……

February 9, 2012 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang has closed

This little restaurant makes my favorite Bun Mang Vit in San Diego. I've written about the place before. Under the guise of a Chinese fast-food joint, there's some good Bun Mang Vit going on.

When I first started going here in 2006, the place looked haphazardly thrown together and you actually did order from a hole-in-the-wall at this hole-in-the wall. A couple of years later, some fast-foodish furnishings were added, new signs and the place looked spiffed up a bit. On my last visit, things were starting to settled in that worn in look again. I'm thinking the place need to look that way…..you know, that favorite jacket with the worn elbows, the favorite jeans that fit so well…..

Plus, I'm not here to admire the decor, rather, after a long and tiring week, this is a treat for me.

To get the most out of this restaurant, you need to peel your eyes away from the huge plastic menu on the wall that faces the street. Look to your left and you'll see the heart and soul of the menu. While I've had other dishes here, it's the Bun Mang Vit that keep me coming back. There have been times when I've had to stand on the bench and point to the third line down on the menu to make sure I'd get my order right. The prices aren't bad either…..

This is basically a clear, I'm thinking chicken based broth, very light in color and texture. Dried bamboo shoots are added…..I like to let it rest for a while so the earthy flavor of the bamboo shoots adds flavor to the broth. The noodles are the "bun", vermicelli. You always get a little bowl of a fairly sweet Nuoc Mam Cham full of minced ginger and garlic and on this day a small styrofoam cup of plain, undiluted fish sauce.

I use this to dip my duck and my veggies, which I soften a bit with a quick dunk in the broth. I've actually caught glimpses of the women prepping duck in the back.

I have noticed that they've cut down on the amount of banana blossom and rau ram in the herb-vegetable mixture over the years, but it hasn't really bothered me.

I can still come here to get my fix when I just want to relax and watch the paint slowly turn color on the walls…..

I often kid my good buddy "JohnL" about some of the really bad recommendations he's given me over the years, but this one makes up for all of those. Though I do know the truth John…..it was actually your Mom's recommendation. But that's ok, I'll give you credit for it!

Chinese Kitchen (Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang)
6160 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92115

Midweek Meanderings: Hinotez (finally) starting Yakitori, Viet Bakery and Pho and Moby Dick Fish Market (I kid you not) coming soon

February 8, 2012 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Vietnamese Restaurants

Hinotez finally starting yakitori:

Dennis has already mentioned this, but since I had started on a draft of this post I thought I'd follow-thru:

I've been to Hinotez several times, but mostly for breakfast. I'd been waiting for them to get their menu finalized and that looks like it'll take place soon. So they're starting up yakitori in spite of not having their beer and wine license yet.

One other thing that Dennis mentioned was that they're now doing bentos:

Which are prices right and looked pretty good. The young lady who always seems to be working when I have breakfast there told me that the Tonkatsu Sandwich is very popular.

Looking over the bentos, I had a nice laugh when I notcied that the "healthy" bento had potato salad in it…… I guess the term healthy is relative, right?

Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Coming soon to the Convoy area:

On the way out of the parking lot after having lunch at Swab Shabu World with Mr Z, I noticed this signage had just gone up.

Viet Bakery and Pho? Banh Mi and Pho? Not quite sure and my usual sources haven't been able to get me anything yet. This is in the space that Imperial Mandarin gave up when they cut their restaurant size in half. So for sure more Pho, not quite sure if it's more Banh Mi……

3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Right up the street is another change. There's a fish market called, I kid you not….Moby Dick Fish Market…..ahoy!!!

For some reason this scene came to mind, not sure why……

I did ask around a bit and found out that this is the same guy who used to own Convoy Sushi and Fish Market and North Park Sushi and Fish Market. Does he have a short attention span or what? I'll give him this much, he keeps on trying….. Dennis did send me a text noting the irony of the name. The place used to be a "Gentleman's Club"…….

4805 Convoy St.

I hope everyone is having a great week!