Back in June of last year; I noticed that the Korean Hot Dog place in the strip mall where Dumpling Inn ummm, Shanghai Saloon is located was gone and was being replaced with what looked like a Mariscos place named El Viejon. I was quite interested after reading the Eater post. Though it did take me a while to actually visit. After finally deciding to check the place out in February, I was happy to see that they did online orders. I'm not really fond of that parking lot, especially now, with all the spaces seemingly reserved for specific shops and the other stalls, behind Jasmine now being paid parking – on one of my visits I actually saw a car being towed! And the lot was empty except for that one vehicle!
Pick up was a breeze and the folks here are quite friendly.
I had ordered two of my "go-to" items with regards to Mariscos Tacos; a Smoked Fish (Tacos de Marlyn – $7) and a Gobernador ($7). The tacos were pretty hefty.
The smoked fish taco was pretty good….I had read in the Eater post that items had a "Asian" touch….I figure in the case of these tacos, it was the sesame seeds? Anyway, the fish was nice and moist, smoky, good savory hints, no off flavors, and the tortillas held up well. The cabbage added textural contrast and a touch of sweetness.
The Gobernador on the other hand was not a favorite of mine. In fact, it was mostly fried onions….
What shrimp there was in the taco were really tough. This really needed some help, but unfortunately, perhaps it was my fault, there was no salsa in my take-out order. Maybe I should have asked?
Still, that smoked fish was quite good and while El Viejon was a Mariscos place, I had noticed something that I thought was decently priced on the menu.
The 2 Birria Tacos with Broth was $10. So, a couple of weeks later I placed another online order. Which was again ready for pick-up when I arrived. The young lady working was very nice and her little daughter was adorable.
This was actually pretty good; I mean it ain't Fernandez, but what is? The beef was much more tender than it looked, good savory beefiness, touch of tangy-sour. The tortillas held up well, this was actually better then other versions I've had recently.
The consommé was a surprise as it had a basic mirepoix in it. It was really quite substantial, beefy, mildly spicy, it made for a nice "soup" on its own with a squeeze or two of lime to cut the mild greasiness of it.
I was quite surprised and pleased.
Funny thing was, the young lady had packed salsas in my bag….even though this time it really wasn't needed!
After this visit, I had meant to do a post, but for some reason I didn't. Then February turned into March, which turned into April. During a warm spell the Missus thought it might be a good idea to get some ceviche, so I suggested a visit to El Viejon.
We decided to go at an off hour; so parking wouldn't be a hassle and there wouldn't be many customers and we hit the jackpot, we were the only ones in the place and took that table waaaay in the back by the mural.
After a look at the menu, the Missus decided on what to order; I had thought that for sure She'd want the smoked fish taco, but She decided on a surprise item.
We started off with the Shrimp Ceviche ($15).
There was a generous amount of shrimp in this; but we both thought this was a bit lacking in overall flavor and was really too salty. The texture of the shrimp was fine.
The next item up was the "surprise". The Missus seemed to be in the mood for something "fried", so we ordered the "Las Fries" ($18). Man, the portion size was huge. And for some reason, we really enjoyed this.
The fries were crisp, full of potato-ey goodness. On this palette the mildly spicy Mariscos Thousand Islandy type sauce did quite good as did the crisp fried onions, which combined with the variety of seafood in the bowl. Our favorite items were the smoked fish (of course), which was so very good with the fries and fried onions and the shrimp which were plump and perfectly cooked. The pulpo was fine and the dusting of cheese added a pleasant dimension of milky saltiness to things. Of course we couldn't finish this and the Missus had to hose me down when we got home, but the leftovers did well in a pseudo frittata the next day.
We loved the presentation of the Aguachile (half order – $15) which was served in a Molcajete whose edges were dusted with Tajin.
We got this with the "verde", the green sauce which was tangy and tart, a perfect foil for the spice. Loved the avocado which helped to quell whatever heat evolved from the dish, the cucumbers added a nice, crisp and "chlorophyllic" touch to the dish. The shrimp had spent the perfect amount of time in the sauce, being just toothsome enough. We'd have this again!
This meal was a pleasant surprise for the Missus. In fact, She started calling Les Fries, "stoner fries"….and we've actually ordered it for takeout once. We ate it in our backyard and really enjoyed it. I don't think we can have it very often…..but every once in a while it'll be a nice guilty pleasure. And they open early and straight thru so we can get in during off hours if we want to dine in.
El Viejon Seafood
4619 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mondays 9am – 3pm
Tues – Sun 9am – 9pm
And then went and sat at a table. I took a look around the room and quickly noticed at the pile of children's toys stacked up on a freezer. I guess Covid has meant that there had to be options in place if childcare and school is not available?
My noodle soup and duck arrived. Over time, I'd resigned myself to the fact that 
As for how I eat this; well that's been that's 
And that couple was the folks from that new yellow Corvette. We were just going to take a stroll on the Devil's Bridge and maybe do a selfie. But the really nice guy told me; "I'm going to rest here a while, so why don't you walk on over and I'll take a picture of you!" And he didn't take just one photo, but an entire set! You know, people like him really do make travels just so much better!
It is a nice hike and I loved the rock formations. Now this is what I envision when I think of Sedona!
The 2022 San Diego County Fair Officially opened yesterday. It's been a long time since I wrote the 
The planned Theme was "Heroes Unite"; that Fair never happened.
This year, the Theme is "Heroes Reunite".
The Midway was still being set up earlier this week. (You can see the Ferris Wheel way down there at the West end).
There are quite a few areas around exhibits where you can take photos with Superheroes.
Some things have changed. At the far West end of the Vendors Halls (next to Bing Crosby Hall), the new location of the Adult as well as Youth crafting, cooking and hobby exhibits has a new name- Home Made.
Of course, Preserved Foods
as well as Baked Foods
and Decorated Foods had to be judged. 
There are some amazing collections.
The Quilt display is original.
There were so many needle art items entered this year- Sewing, spinning and weaving, knitting, crochet and more. The displays are great. 
An "Express Line" if you are purchasing a turkey leg only!
The slices of 'Ten Pound Buns' are very large-the amount of avocado on that piece of toast…
Lemon mini donuts- we will definitely try those!
A 'themed' sandwich choice!
Looks however, were deceiving as the ground beef was really hard and chewy, this was quite bland, it really needed more fish sauce-oyster sauce-anything salty and savory. The rice was a bit too wet and mushy. The egg was a wonderful sunny side up; but had that "fishy" finish we don't enjoy. This was probably our least favorite dish of the meal.
First off, that quarter chicken was huge! It was nicely fried if on the bland side; but due to the size the meat was really dry and tough. This really needed more flavor. The rice, like on the basil beef was on the mushy side. The curry was too sweet and thin for our taste. I did enjoy the roti; while a tad on the greasy side did fine dipped into the curry.
Even though the egg wasn't sunny side up this time; the edges were crisp and it had no off flavors. The rice was perfect on this visit as well, fluffy and fragrant. The crisp pork belly was nicely crisp on the exterior; but perhaps a bit too hard and chewy It was also a bit on the mild side in terms of flavor. The gailan was chopped in somewhat ponderous chunks some of which hadn't been blanched enough and was super hard. It was nice and spicy, but lacked anything much of anything else in terms of flavor and definitely needed a salty-savory boost in my opinion. I prefer the 
