As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.
Our next stop after Bodega Bay was the town of Mendocino. I’d heard some really nice things about the town and was excited to visit. The actual drive was set to be less than 3 hours, so I had some detours in mind.
Our first stop was right before the Russian River. I took a turn off Highway 1 onto Goat Rock Road making several stops at places like Blind Beach.
A then drove south finding some parking to the trail to the summit of Peaked Hill. Needless to say, the views were beautiful.
Loved the views of the shoreline.
I like to mix in interesting places when we travel and there happened to be a place I read about in Sea Ranch. Right off Highway 1 is a sign directing one to the Sea Ranch Chapel.
A non-denominational chapel dedicated to the memory of local artist Kirk Ditzler, it is designed to be a “serene refuge” for meditation and prayer. There were several people inside the building, so I didn’t want to bother them.
We made a short fuel stop in Gualala and then the Missus went to check out this lovely little book store.
Right at the Rollerville Junction, we once again did a detour off the Shoreline Highway. This time up Lighthouse Road. We took a quick look at the Point Arena Lighthouse.
We only went until we could view the shore and rocks before heading on our way.
JJ did have time to stop and smell the flowers though.
From there it was just an hour to the town of Mendocino. We were instantly charmed by the village.
The Victorian style houses instantly took us to the East Coast.
In need of lunch, we stopped by a little shop steps away from where we were staying. You know why we “had” to stop here, right?
Yep, that’s right, it’s Frankie’s! Frankie’s is mainly a pizza and ice cream shop; but they also have salads and falafel…and even piadina.
There’s some patio seating, which was great on a nice sunny day.
The Missus and I really weren’t feeling like pizza, so we got Frankie’s Falafel and the Mediterranean Piadina.
The portion size for the Falafel Salad was quite generous.
This dish is actually Vegan. The exterior of the falafel wasn’t crisp enough, nor was the interior nice and creamy. We did both love the Tahini Dressing though. Nice and earthy, with a good acidic kick. The hummus was passable.
Both the Missus and I enjoyed the Piadina, which, while not being close to what we’d had in Malta, was quite refreshing.
The pita was crisp; the Tahini, like the salad was very refreshing; the Parmesan Cheese adding that salty-milky component. Crisp spinach, with olives and sun dried tomatoes as “hidden” surprises.
**** Common Table has moved to Coin-Op and is now known as 86’d
I had to head to North Park to do some shopping and found parking on Illinois Street and was walking west on University when I noticed some new signage on what was Rising Sun Collective. Looks like the place is named Common Table.
Well, looks like Rising Sun didn’t last for even a year? Look, I’m not going to belabor the point….but being from Hawai’i, I do believe in “Bachi“. And I can’t help but think that having a place named Rising Sun and determining that your Grand Opening is on December 7th….well, you get it, yeah?
Anyway, I decided to have a look and quickly noticed this sign out front.
Hmmm….Katsu Sando, huh? The place looked like it was open so I took a step inside. And the place pretty much looks the same. Well, I decided to give that Katsu Sando a try. The place is one of those order at one of the kiosks, get a number, grab your utensils, and have a seat. The menu, which is very Asian-“Fusiony”, think Adobo Tacos, Bossam Spring Rolls, Longanisa Burger, is quite limited right now and they were out of several items as well.
There a list of beers on tap; but heck, this was lunch, you know?
Soon enough, the very friendly young man brough my Katsu Sando ($16) over. He introduced himself as Nate and was super nice. As for the sandwich.
This was an interesting; “two fisted” sandwich. The chicken was super moist and the crunchy-crispness held up thru the entire meal. The seasoning was good, not overly salty, and in fact would have just been great without that “Nanban” Ketchup, which was gloppy and overly sweet. Nate later told me that it is based on what he had with tori nanban in Osaka. Of course, to me, it wasn’t even close to being the tartar sauce like versions I’ve hadhere, in Japan, and other places around the globe.
There was just too much sauce and the light, brioche like roll, which goes well with this type of sandwich, didn’t stand a chance. I did enjoy the pickled cucumbers, thinly sliced, it had a nice vinegar flavor, with a hint of sweetness, sort of like Asazuke. The cabbage was great, but again way over-dressed for my taste.
This ended up being a hot mess.
I will say that I’d gladly have this again; but would probably want the place to go easy on that overly sweet nanban ketchup. I need to figure out how to do that from the order kiosk.
That sandwich wasn’t bad, so I decided to head on back. Again, I arrived right after opening time. They were still out of several items, but I decided to try a couple of things.
No Adobo Tacos, so I went with a Chashu Taco ($5).
I needed something else to go with this, so I noticed they has Shishitos on the menu….I did crack up when I saw how they spelled “shishitos”.
Nate saw me and remembered me, thanking me for returning. Like I said, such a nice guy. We had a short chat and he told me he used to work at Koubou and Animae.
There was one other young lady sitting at the counter; busy taking photos with her phone in various angles and poses. Could it be that I’ve just seen an “influencer in the wild”!
First up was the Chashu Taco. Now this was made with beef, not pork. It was fairly mild in flavor and I really would have wanted more of the meat to really make a statement.
I really like pickled onions, but here it made too large of a “statement” as it over-powered the beef. I do think that pork would be better in this. The Queso Oaxaca was nicely melted, protecting the tortilla, mild in flavor, but great texture. I couldn’t make out the wasabi crema. The tortilla was nicely griddled and was almost crisp.
I do want to try the Adobo version of this.
As for the Shishitous Shishitos.
I like my Shishitos to be a bit more charred; but the peppers were very tender. And as bonus; I got to play “shishito roulette” as every once in a while I’d get a spicy one. The fried shallots were a nice touch, crisp and almost sweet. I really like the sour and acidic sauce, which had a touch of spice. Nate told me it was Calamansi Ponzu. Now this is some “fusion” I can get behind.
As I always say; coming from the home of Pacific Rim cuisine; there’s a fine line between “fusion” and “con-fusion”. For now, it seems that Common Table is trying to honestly meld the culinary styles, products, and flavors. So, hopefully they’ll have more of a complete menu when I return. Nate did ask me if I had anything I wished for and I said……”sisig tacos”!
What do you think?
Common Table 3914 30th St. San Diego, CA 92104 Current Hours: Tues – Sat 12pm – 8pm Sunday 12pm – 6pm Closed on Monday
Well, we finally got some rain around these parts! And thankfully, even though the “atmospheric river” that hit San Diego did have a bit of flooding it didn’t seem as bad as predicted. Still, while finishing up some rather late shopping for Saturday I was wanting some ramen. It had been a while since I last visited Yakyudori….like almost 5 years! And it was for takeout during Covid. And even longer since I had the ramen there. So, despite the feeling that I wouldn’t be able to find parking I headed on over.
And to my surprise, at 1115 on a Saturday, there was a lot of parking available. I’m wondering if having the Starbucks closed down and the construction of the apartments next door have something to do with things?
And even more strange was how empty the place was.
I remember when they moved to this location back in 2010 the place was super busy even during lunch hours. These days they are only open for lunch on weekends. Also these days, all ordering is done on a mobile device.
And while I was temped to have that Kanazawa Curry again; it was ramen that I was after. So, I got the Shio Ramen ($13.80) and for some reason he thought of having some Nagoya Teba ($9) triggered a nostalgic reaction, so I had to order that as well. The woman working the front of house was quite serious, but not as surly as folks I’ve dealt with here before.
My Shio Ramen was first to arrive.
While the corn really gave this bowl that “Hokkaido Shio” look; the clear broth wasn’t as strongly “umami” as other versions I’ve had. It did have a nice almost porky-poultry savory component and wasn’t overly salty.
Decent richness; especially for a shio ramen as well.
The Tamago was nicely cooked, yolk shiny and golden, decently marinated…but of course…my pet peeve? Yes, it was ice cold! Bummah, this could have been so good.
The noodles were al dente, with a good springy-slipperiness and did a good job of “picking up” the soup to coat.
This was better than I recalled. And while not in my top three for ramen in San Diego, I’d gladly return for this again.
As for the Nagoya Teba; well that was a non-starter.
I find this to be way too sweet even for Nagoya style teba and also lacking in the black pepper department. The coating; which points more toward the crunchy than crisp also gets mushy very quickly. I will say that the flat and wing tip was nice and moist. But for some reason, only one of those are provided. Perhaps they save them for the Yakitori.
The drumettes were tough and chewy.
I don’t think I’ll order these again.
Still, it was nice to get back to Yakyudori. And just eating here brought back some nice memories of going to the original Yakyudori and Hinotez 2 in Nagoya! Such great memories!
Yakyudori 4898 Convoy St San Diego, CA 92111
Hope everyone survived the rain unscathed. And with the next system coming in, hope you stay warm and dry!
After really enjoying the Oxtail Meatballs at Romanella, the Missus was wondering how they would compare to Her previous favorite at Tribute. It had been a while since we’d visited, though we had even tried at the 4pm opening times, there always seemed to be a line. The place has a dog friendly patio, so we thought we’d just roll the dice and arrived at 420 on a Sunday. And guess what, we got a small table on the patio!
So JJ had a place to hang while we ate.
We were really here so the Missus could have those meatballs and our lunch had been pretty substantial, so we went with a lighter meal.
Starting with the House Pickles ($9).
We really enjoyed the varied texture and each tasted different. The cauliflower pickled with beet juice was the Missus’s favorite as it also had a hint of sweetness to go with the acidic-sour. I liked the little mushrooms….there were only two tiny ones, but there’s a savory-earthiness and a wonderful meaty texture to go with the sourness.
Of course we had to get the Focaccia ($8) with ‘Nduja ($5).
Loved the texture of the bread, the mild yeastiness, the crisp crust. The ‘Nduja seems to have changed over the years. It’s less red these days, much denser and less spreadable. Lacking in the salumi like savory tones, though much more spicy. I think we’ll just go with the Foccacia the next time as it’s just fine with the butter and the olive oil-balsamic. The leftovers toasted up quite nicely as well.
And then of course, the Meatballs (3-$21). Yes, we’re in time where 3 meatballs go for over twenty bucks!
This came with more of the wonderful focaccia. The Missus thought the meatballs were ok; not as beefy or tender as the version at Romanella! Whoa…. We also preferred the days when there were actual pieces of roasted peppers and onions in the sauce. The root vegetable marinara also lacked the acidity that it used to have.
Service was fine and our food didn’t take very long, especially for how busy the place was. Of course we didn’t order any pizza though. The outdoor area is small, so things are kind of cramped. I think we’ll just go with some Focaccia and a pizza the next time we return.
Tribute Pizza 3077 North Park Way San Diego, CA 92104
We were having a fun morning exploring Quito and our next stop would be quite entertaining. Of course one keeps hearing about the “Center of the World” here. And after all, the name of the country is Ecuador, which in Spanish literally means “equator”. And this is where Charles Marie de La Condamine part of the French Geodesic Mission to the Equator from whom he split after disagreements and differing beliefs and methodologies, tested out the hypothesis of Isaac Newton and his work in Principia, that the Earth is not a perfect sphere. And that place where Charles Marie de La Condamine determined was the equator is where Ciudad Mitad del Mundo is located. Where the monument to the Equator is located.
Cool, right? But like a rather famous actor said “Hang on there, pilgrim”. His measurement was off. The “actual” location is about 250 yards away, which is where the Intiñan Equator Museum is located.
It’s a kind of kitschy , fun place….
The fella’s above’s name is…well Inti of course.
We did enjoy the exhibits of the Native Tribes and former residents of the area. One even had Cuy running around! Dinner bells must be ringing somewhere!
And yes, that’s a real shrunken head on the right in that glass case.
And there’s a pole to mark Latitude 0. Of course, I’ve read that this location is also a bit off; but not by that much.
Not that this sweet little one cares about it. He just wanted to be pet…..
There are some interesting activities as well. There’s a movable sink which shows how water drains from one side of the equator to the other.
And then there’s balancing an egg on top of a nail. It is said that it is easy at the equator which I’ve read is a myth. But of course, the Missus had to try, right?
Well, so much for that one…..
Regardless of if this is really the center of the world; we enjoyed this stop!
Intiñan Equator Museum Manuel Cordova Galarza Quito, Ecuador
We then headed back to the Old Town, stopping on top of a hill was this huge, imposing Gothic Cathedral. This is the Basílica del Voto Nacional.
You can actually pay to climb to the top of the towers for an extra fee.
And of course the Missus just had to do it. I think I’ve mentioned before….I’m not a fan of heights. Not that it really mattered to the Missus.
The views from the towers were wonderful.
I later mentioned that the Basilica reminded me of Notre Dame and was told it was modeled after it.
Of course, what goes up must come down….which was more scary for me…..
Yikes….
Look at the lovely stained glass window!
After our visit to the Basilica, we headed into the Old Town.
This lovely building was the home of our destination for lunch. We were told that it used to be the Archbishop’s Palace, but now houses shops and restaurants.
La Vid Restaurant is located on the second floor.
A lovely and classy dining room with a view of Plaza Grande.
The menu had a combination of various Ecuadorian dishes which I was really looking forward to, along with western dishes like Carpaccio, Beefs dishes, and pastas. Of course we stayed with the Ecuadorian dishes.
I’d been wanting to try Ceviche Ecuatoriano – Ecuadorian Ceviche ($11.95) – I think I’ve forgotten to mention; Ecuador uses the American Dollar for currency. We cracked up when the “side dishes” for the ceviche arrived……popcorn anyone?
We were told that Ceviche in Ecuador is commonly served with “Canguil”…..basically popcorn, unsalted to provide textural contrast.
We chose to go with ceviche pescado; in this case sea bass for our ceviche. This was almost like a soup. The fish very plump and instead of being “cooked” by citrus, it seemed to have been precooked? The liquid seemed to be big on “shrimpiness”, though lacking in acidity and spice.
We also got the Bandera Ecuatoriana ($8.95), a platter of two types of Ecuadorian Empanadas.
The Empanadas de Verde; green plantain empanadas were a surprise as it was not sweet as expected; but the cheese made it rich and savory….it also really stuck to the roof of your mouth! It was enjoyable. The Beef version made with white corn was crisp, with a wonderful texture if a bit on the salty side.
I was interested in trying the Seco de Chivo La Vid ($17.95); the Goat Stew.
Which came with plantains, super delicious avocado, tasteless steamed potatoes, and yellow rice. I liked the rice; but the Missus isn’t a fan of tumeric, which is one of the ingredients in the rice. Loved the gameyness of the goat, which a bit on the chewier side. Kind of strong in terms of clove tones; with a hint of cumin. Fairly rich and pretty good.
This was an interesting and enjoyable meal, which gave us a look at what Ecuadorian cuisine was like.
La Vid Restaurante Venezuela Oe4-56 Quito, Ecuador
Where our final destination of the day is located. As you know from previous posts; the Missus loves Her chocolate. And across the street from the Basilica resides Yumbos Chocolate.
Which is an artesenal chocolate maker. We were given a short tour, then directed to a table.
Where we were given a tasting. We were the only customers in the place, so it really felt like a private tasting.
Man, that 90% Cacao was potent, a bit too intense and bitter for my taste. The Missus preferred the 60% which had a nice balance of rich and sweet, with a hint of bitterness. I guess we’re kinda wussy when it comes to chocolate?
We did manage to get a few gifts even though we’d be lugging it around for the rest of the trip.
And we’d be having an even more interesting chocolate “meal” later on during our stay.
Yumbos Chocolate Sebastián de Benalcázar Quito, Ecuador
From here we headed back to our hotel. It had been quite a day! And since we weren’t very hungry and had access to the Club Lounge at the JW Marriott, we just had a light dinner there.
We had another private tour coming up the following day, plus reservations for a more “fancy” dinner. So, I thought we’d rest up.
Last year, before JJ came into our lives we took several trips. One of them was to a place we’d had on our “bucket list” for a while. The Galapagos. Being born and raised on an island, places like Easter Island have always fascinated me. So, of course we had to do the Galapagos. There were basically two ways to get there, it was either Guayaquil or Quito. After doing some research, I thought Quito would be a good starting point.
Well, getting there from San Diego was going to be interesting. We’d be flying Delta with Hartsfield as our transfer point. Man, Hartsfield….during the 90’s, I did consulting work in ATL, and Hartsfield was the airport….it’s always been crazy busy!
Well, at least we’d be flying domestic first, then international business, which means things were a bit elevated.
The actual lounge was a bit less crowded than I recalled.
With a decent selection of food.
So that made the three hour layover a bit easier to handle.
The flight from ATL to Quito was 5 1/2 hours and seemed to go by quickly.
I arranged for a private transfer from the airport to where we were staying the JW Marriott in Quito. I was using accumulated points for this and we had access to the Club Lounge which made things really easy.
It made arriving at 9pm at night and the check in a breeze.
Along with the lounge there was a rather popular restaurant in the hotel, though we never had to visit. The property was huge….like it’s own little city.
My guess is that it is set-up so folks wouldn’t have to leave the property.
The Executive Lounge was quite large and it was never full during our stay.
It had a nice view….
And made having a nice, light breakfast so convenient.
Since we had limited time in Quito; I arranged for a private tour….actually three private tours for our days in Ecuador. This would end up being such fun! I organized the tours based on what we’d be doing…in other words, first I’d want us to just get acquainted….then to expand our horizons so to say. On our first day, I booked us a Private City Tour of Quito, Teleferico, and the Middle of the World. We were asked about our interests and mentioned that we enjoy learning about food and cuisine. So, our first stop was the large Mercado Santa Clara.
Where we were able to taste some of the local products….
The most interesting was the Tamarillo aka “Tree Tomato”, a member of the nightshade family. It was quite puckery and acidic; the skin pretty thick.
Also quite interesting was what they called the “Taxo”, also know as the Banana Passion Fruit.
Slightly sweet, acidic, and mildly fruity.
This was a fun way to start our tour of Quito.
Mercado Santa Clara RG22+473 Antonio de Ulloa Quito, Ecuador
In any city, there are things that are every day occurrences and Quito is no different. While driving up one of the streets our guide pointed something out to us saying; “I don’t think you see this in San Diego, huh?”
Can you imagine someone walking goats here? Well, maybe in North Park??? jjk….
Next stop was on the western side of the city. Along the eastern side of Pichincha Volcano, would you believe that the western side…Wawa Pichincha is still active, is the TeleferiQo, a cable car.
Here the 20 minute or so ride brings you up to over 12,950 feet. Making it one of the highest in the world. Quito itself is at around 9,250 feet.
Needless to say, the views, even on a slightly cloudy day are outstanding.
And, it’s even dog friendly…..
There a famous six mile trail that goes to the top of Pichincha ending at 15,400 feet….I’m glad we didn’t have time to do this one! Whew…..
Once back at 9,000 feet elevation we headed off. We stopped near the north side of the city at this little shop; Panificadora Quito.
Where the Missus got a Helados break!
Panificadora Quito Av. Manuel Córdova Galarza Quito, Ecuador
After which it was time to head to…..”the Center of the World!”
The place is starting to look a bit dated and the tables looked kinda dusty….good thing I was just getting a banh mi to go. The young lady working seemed a bit distracted by something, though I was the only customer.
I decided on getting the “Special”….which would probably be called the Dac Biet at traditional banh mi shops since they don’t have Banh Mi Pate Cha on their menu. Yes, I’ve always considered Hoi An to be a more “westernized” Vietnamese shop.
The dac biet Hoi An Special is now priced at $8.95, which is pretty much in line with places like Avian. Like I mentioned, I was the only person in the place, but it took over 30 minutes for my Banh Mi?
I would say that places like Avian, Banh Mi Express, and Saigon Sandwiches are a step above Hoi An. I’m sure location and demographics have something to do with things.
As for the sandwich, the bread was crusty, but strangely chewy. The proteins were sliced quite thin and the “pate”…well, there wasn’t much of it and the sandwich had too much mayo.
The pickled daikon and carrots were on the sweeter side and pretty much nullified the proteins; though I did appreciate the decent amount of cilantro and slices of Jalapenos.
Overall, a Banh Mi not to offend…kind of westernized, I felt that proportions of ingredients were off. ‘Nuff said.
As I noted in my previous post all those years ago: “The banh mi here isn’t bad. It just isn’t worth going out of your way for.” Well, at least in my opinion, they are consistent……
Banh Mi Hoi An 3145 Rosecrans St San Diego, CA 92110
After our caffeine fix at Roadhouse Coffee we headed off down Shoreline Highway a bit. The Missus wanted to do a bit of walking this morning, so I headed to Doran Regional Park. We got to the parking lot at the end of the road and had fun walking along the North Jetty and Doran Campground area.
We took the Doran Beach Trail, where JJ could find all sorts of “stuffs” to entertain himself.
After strolling along the beach area, we headed up the road a bit and found some parking on Doran Beach Road and did the Cheney Creek Trail and Bird Walk which was a lovely loop trail.
Walking the loop along the salt water marsh was beautiful and peaceful.
I’m sure my good friend “CC” would have really enjoyed the bird watching.
We actually did the loop counter clockwise from the south. Didn’t run into anyone until we got near to Highway 1.
Saw this interesting rock….but can’t really find anything about it online.
It was a nice way to start the day.
It was already getting pretty late for lunch so, we ended up stopping at Lucas Wharf at the Fishetarian Fish Market.
I wanted to give the Dungeness Crab Sandwich another try. Even though the Missus wasn’t really feeling it, She relented. The shop is a rather charming restaurant/fish market.
Where you order at the counter.
There’s ample outdoor seating….well, at least on this day there was. So, JJ could hang out while we ate.
To make the Missus happy, I got a side of Kale Slaw to go with the sandwich and sweet potato fries..
The sweet potato fries were tasty, but on the dry – soggy side. We enjoyed the crab filling more here, but it still had too much mayo for the Missus.
That ciabatta roll didn’t hold out for the entire meal.
At least you could make out the oceany-sweetness of the dungeness crab here. And it seemed like the amount of crab was generous. I requested the sandwich with no cheese which I believe helped things.
I did get a small side of the kale slaw which seemed to have an Asian touch as we tasted sesame oil?
All in all, a fine, somewhat touristy meal. But JJ enjoyed himself.
Fishetarian Fish Market 599 Highway 1 Bodega Bay, CA 94923
After this, we did a couple of stops along the way, and then headed back to our accommodations for some R&R. After our nap, since Bodega Bay really isn’t great for walking, we just decided to get take out again at Terrapin Creek Cafe. While the Missus hung out in the Bodega Bay Inn “wine shack” to finish the wine we’d bought there the night before; I walked over to get our takeout.
We got the Charred Octopus and Cauliflower Salad again which was better this time around.
You can’t really see it here; but much more octopus which was fairly tender.
The Roasted Asparagus and Maitake Salad didn’t have a whole lot of maitake….but a load of grated Manchego.
This was fine for a salad, the Missus enjoyed the chopped boiled eggs.
I also got the Pan Roasted Hokkaido Scallops….three scallops for $23.
Pan seared….not sure about “roasted”. Did not enjoy the overwhelming flavor of fennel, but the scallops were fine.
Overall, this was fine. I’m sure eating in the restaurant would have been better; though we enjoyed having the “wine shack” all to ourselves.
Terrapin Creek Cafe 1580 Eastshore Rd. Bodega Bay, CA 94923
We had enjoyed our visit to Bodega Bay; though I’m not sure we’d return as we prefer towns where we can walk and explore.
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
Recently, I had to head on over to Fashion Valley….which I usually try to avoid. But since I going there, I was wondering if I should take JJ along and looked to see if there were any dog friendly places to eat. And there were quite a few. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Silverlake Ramen allowed dogs. It had been on the cooler side…..which I kind of look forward to since I can get all my noodle soup fixes in. So, we headed on over.
I’d actually been to the UTC location of Silverlake, but since it was a lunch with a group of people, I didn’t take any photos. And to be perfectly honest, I really wasn’t impressed with the ramen. So, this was going to be interesting……
Silverlake’s location at Fashion Valley is located right along the south side parking lots and driveway, so it’s pretty discreet. The young man working was super friendly and even though I was seated outside was on top of things. He even got JJ a bowl of water!
Which JJ appreciated…..
During my previous visit to the UTC location of Silverlake….which BTW was founded in the Silver Lake (duh) neighborhood in LA back in 2012. Anyway, I probably erred and ordered the Garlic Truffle Ramen, which was way too sweet….and the noodles were overcooked.
I was kinda hungry from having to keep up with the squirt, so I got the Combo ($20.50). Since I’d be having karaage for dinner; I went with the Pork Bun as my appetizer to go with the Classic Tonkotsu. The efficient young man brought out the pork bun soon after I placed my order.
The pickled onions were indispensable as this was really sweet and over-sauced for my taste. There was just too much of the sesame aioli. All of which combined to nullify any porkiness. That bun and the pork were on the chewy side as well.
Hmmm…..now this made me somewhat concerned about my ramen.
Which wasn’t bad. Not a fan of the overly sweet black garlic oil and I think the broth, which was on the thinner side in terms of tonkotsu has quite a bit of msg in it as I soon got the “ms-heebee-gee-bees” and actually gulped down two cups of water during my meal…..thank goodness for the great Server and another bottle in the car!
The tamago had a decently tender yolk…but sigh…..you know my pet peeve right? It was ice cold. Bummer!
The noodles were decently cooked. Nice and slippery, with a good “Q-Q” springiness them.
The pork was milder in terms of the marinade, but quite tender and you could actually make out some rich savoriness. I do enjoy some of that sweet-savory-soy sauce flavor that a good marinade provides for my chashu.
All in all, more of a “B” level ramen to me. This was definitely better than what I’d had at the UTC location and that young man provided very good service. Though I’m not in a rush to return as I’m going to have to revisit those ramen shops I consider San Diego “A” level…..hope the cool weather holds steady.
Silverlake Ramen (In Fashion Valley Mall) 7007 Friars Rd. Suite 357B San Diego, CA 92108 Current Hours: Mon – Sat 11am – 9pm Sunday 11am – 8pm
