mmm-yoso – Page 171 – 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.

City Bistro (American and Mediterranean) (El Cajon)

May 23, 2019 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for coming back to read mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. Kirk and His Missus are at their second spring vacation destination and Cathy is still blogging.

I couldn't figure it out. Three clients called to make appointments and none of them would be available on a Monday morning, but all of them would be available on any other morning. I later found out that they knew each other and met for breakfast every Monday, at this location (which had been Country Waffles for about 15 years) which was remodeled and turned into City Bistro in 2016. Across the street from Valley Foods Mediterranean Market and about 1/2 mile from El Cajon Bistro, this location on East Main Street is another nice, neighborhood restaurant.
There's a bar seating area along with plenty of tables. A television is visible from every seat, each set to a different channel (and all on closed captioning). There is a white board with a daily special at the front door.
We ordered from the regular menu- the "Crepe Plate" ($11.99) (choice of fruit flavors; you can see this is strawberry) served with two eggs and either two bacon, two sausage or one of each. Each item was quite good, tasty, fresh. Quality.
I ordered the "Pan Handle Scramble" ($10.99) with country potatoes. The potatoes were nicely fried, randomly chopped and quite tasty. The scramble-I asked for the meat to be a sausage patty (they make the sausage patties here). It wasn't served on the side.
On the bottom of the panhandle serving plate was a large, fresh made biscuit, topped with the large Housemade sausage patty, topped with country gravy, topped with a scramble of eggs mixed with red and green bell peppers, onions and cheese and also topped with cheese. Wow! This was great, tasty and filling.
We returned for a lunch and tried the gyros plate ($11.99) (with a double order of salad instead of rice). The house made tzatziki was really great as was the house made salad dressing. The side of pita helped -there was a lot of gyros meat and I made a few little sandwiches in addition to making a gyros salad.
The Monte Cristo sandwich ($10.99) was a good choice. Cheese on both slices of the French bread, plenty of turkey for the sandwich, all cooked in an egg batter: French Toast style. The choice of sides (fries, fruit or onion rings) was easy. Th rings were whole onions in a thin beer batter. Crunchy, light and flavorful.

A lot of good, fresh, 'from scratch' items here, friendly people working and regular, neighborhood clientele. There are plenty of Mediterranean items on the menu, including basturma at breakfast; we will be trying more in the future.

City Bistro 1248 East Main Street El Cajon, CA 92019 (619)442-4444 Open daily 7 a.m.-2 p.m.

Dunkin (donuts and sandwiches)

May 22, 2019 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Chains, What Cathy Eats!

Here we are, reading mmm-yoso!!! on this rainy, chilly morning. Cathy is trying to keep this food blog interesting, while Kirk and His Missus are vacationing.

There have been situations when I want to re-gift some gift cards received. The thought that one of my friends or clients has gone to the trouble of purchasing a 'little something extra' stops me. One client in particular, gave me a Dunkin' Donuts Gift card which I used in 2017, at both the Ramona And National City locations. I had thanked him profusely and so, this year…another gift card.
Now, there is a location closer to home in East County. So, The Mister and I have had a few breakfasts.
Of course there are donuts, but there is much more offered (note that the name is merely "Dunkin" on the exterior of this new building.)
Breakfast sandwiches are available all day. The egg, cheese, bacon (or sausage) on a croissant ($4.39) is substantial and tasty. Black forest ham with egg and cheese on a toasted English muffin ($4.39) is also a good choice (less calories). Also on the menu is a bagel with the same fillings; but I haven't ordered it.
There are two "bowls" available, one with egg whites/spinach/roasted potatoes, cheddar and carmelized onions or this one, a 'sausage scramble' ($5.49)- eggs, sausage, Cheddar-Jack cheese, pepper and onions. This was interesting once we figured out the difference between this and other 'scramble' (no potatoes). It is quite good. You could order a side of 'toasted hash browns'($1.09) and add those in if you really want some carbs. It's nice to know there is this menu item available. There is also a 'Wake Up Wrap' (egg and cheese only is $1.29, with meat (bacon, sausage, ham, turkey sausage) is $1.79). Essentially the carbohydrate is a small flour tortilla. There is a half egg, one slice of cheese and one slice of Black Forest ham and makes for a warm, tasty light meal.

Now, a word about the donuts and coffee.
First, the dark roast coffee is the only one I like here. Hot or iced, it does not matter. The other flavors are just not satisfying. Second, the cake donuts (and cake donut holes) taste good; the 'fried' items don't. They just don't. I've read that the donuts are delivered to the store frozen. If true, it makes sense regarding the flavors.

Not terrible if you know what to order. Helpful, friendly workers, amazingly fast service (they keep the drive thru moving!).

Dunkin' (over 8,500 locations in 41 states and 3,200 international restaurants in 36 countries) Website In San Diego, there are seven locations on military bases and five locations in other areas of the county. All of the franchises are owned by local military veterans.

R&B Filipino Cuisine (Mira Mesa)

May 20, 2019 Cathy Filipino Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thank you for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!! It's a food blog. Kirk has arrived at the first stop of a well deserved vacation (with His Missus) and all is well. Cathy is taking over blogging duty for the next few weeks.

I found myself at the same mini mall as T.P. Banh Bao 3, a Mediterranean grocer with an eat in food area, a Taco Shop, a pizza place and R&B Filipino Cuisine; plenty of choices for a quick meal. I followed a tried and true method, first mentioned to me in a comment from Trent on my 15th post on this blog (Crispy Fried Chicken; it's still in business)- "just look for the parked mail trucks!" . I walked in, saw the Mailman eating lunch and checked out the choices.

A pretty standard "Turo-Turo"-(Point-Point-Joint) restaurant located in the middle of a nice neighborhood. I quickly ate my lunch (without taking photos) and then went back and ordered a two item plate to take home to The Mister.
Two item combo (pancit and lechon kawali (fried pork belly)) $8.49, custom item (soup) $1. This was wonderful. The pancit was filled with a variety of vegetables and rice noodles as well as some pork bits. The fried pork was plump/juicy with a great fry of the skin. The soup was Tinola- chicken based, ginger infused with some papaya and spinach added.

We returned together the other day.

Another two item combo($8.49) (which includes rice) and this photo shows a favorite- Pinakbet (vegetables steamed in a shrimp sauce). You can see some squash and green beans, but there was also plenty of okra in this serving. A great version.
The second item was a barbecued pork skewer/kebab. The sauce is a sweet, sticky, salty, garlic delight. The meat was tender and charred and the flavor combination is great.
We also asked for an order of lumpia (three to an order; $1.25) and enjoyed these meat filled fried 'spring rolls' wrapped in a paper thin, perfectly fried crunchy shell. A perfect snack/appetizer to a nice meal.

There are some dessert type products from local Filipino bakeries being sold near the cash register, as well as a refrigerator of beverages to choose from.

As always, the Mailman knows.

R&B Filipino Cuisine 11257 Camino Ruiz San Diego, CA 92126 (858)695-8455 Open Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat 8 aa.m.-6 p.m., Sun 8 a.m.-5 p.m. No website. Cash only.

Bear Buns Bakery and Cafe (Serra Mesa)

May 19, 2019 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! has another post for you to peruse this day. This one is written by Cathy, since Kirk is enjoying some time off.

Back in 2015, I noticed this humble building when leaving Kokoro after lunch. Family owned, operated and supported since 2012, Bear Buns Bakery features home-baked goods (nothing fried), organic coffees, espressos, frappes, teas, a few other beverages (including housemade lemonade), all-day breakfast sandwiches and paninis (after 11). Quiche and stratas are available on weekends.

Walk up, order, pay and your food and drinks will be brought to your table inside or outside.

This day, The Mister and I decided to share a Ham and Swiss panini (45). It comes with pickles and dijon mustard. The focaccia (baked here) looks chewy and heavy in this photo. In reality, it is quite light and crispy. The ham, cheese pickles and mustard make each bite quite perfect. A great sandwich.
The all-day breakfast menu is to the right of the cash register. You can get your sandwich on a focaccia (or bagel or croissant (for an extra fee)), we go with the Housemade roll.
This is the "Bella" ($5)- looks small; is very tall and actually a shareable sandwich.
Pesto, bacon, Provolone…
spinach, egg and sun-dried tomatoes. Again, this bread is light, soft, fresh. A great sandwich.
Of course, we had to end the meal with something sweet. The cinnamon roll (with icing, $5.25) was the choice this day.
A soft dough, cream cheese based icing, a better quality cinnamon. Not too sweet. Wonderful.

A great, local business. Other bloggers have been here, too: cc was here back in 2016 not long after Mary had visited.

Bear Buns Bakery and Cafe 3251 Greyling Drive San Diego 92123 (858)573-2327 Open Mon-Fri 6 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat-Sun 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Website

The Fancy Fish (Mira Mesa)(again)

May 18, 2019 Cathy Salads, Seafood, What Cathy Eats!

Sadly, The fancy Fish has closed. It will truly be missed, as it was a regular stop during the pandemic.

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is taking some time off and Cathy is filling in with posts about meals she has enjoyed.

First things first. I wrote a post about The Fancy Fish in July, 2017. The menu prices are the same. The only difference noted is there is an $8 Fish and Chips special (along with a few other items) now offered daily, instead of only on Friday (and on Friday, the Fish and Chips is $7.50).The (currently only, but soon to be referred to as 'the first' San Diego HMart is just to the right in the above photo).

Walk in, order, pay and your food is brought to your table. You'll be checked on by one of the owners during your meal.
The glassed in open kitchen can be fun to watch. In front of it, you can get your own beverage (from a Stubborn Soda machine), utensils, condiments and, if needed, to-go boxes.
We decided to try the daily $8 Fish and Chip special (there are other specials, too).
Two large pieces of white fish, lightly breaded and perfectly fried, served with a good portion of thin cut (also perfectly fried; non-greasy) potatoes and an excellent slaw. This by itself could be a light meal for two. But, we were hungry.
Seared albacore tuna salad ($12.50) was the order.
The salad is served in a very large bowl (almost three inches tall) with a choice of house made dressings (Ranch, Thousand Island, Cilantro Lime, Toasted Sesame, Honey Dijon, Berry Vinaigrette and Cusabi (cucumber wasabi; a pleasant, lighter version of straight wasabi).

Fancy Fish is an underrated, gem of a restaurant.

The Fancy Fish 9430 Mira Mesa Blvd (at Westview Parkway) San Diego 92126 (858)586-6228 Website Open Sun-Thurs 11a.m.-9 p.m. Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Lenten Specialties for 2018- fish sandwiches, seafood specials and tuna pie(!)

May 16, 2019 Cathy Chains, Sandwiches, Seafood, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Kirk has written the majority of posts this year and needs a break. Cathy finally has the time and energy to write about various foods she has enjoyed; the blogging will continue, uninterrupted.

You probably notice each January that fast food places make an effort to showcase some sort of 'new'/limited time seafood based item. This is perhaps in conjunction with consumers' 'New Year Resolution' to eat less meat and/or the beginning of the 40 day religious season of Lent, which begins on the day after "Fat Tuesday" and ends on Easter, during which some Christians only eat pescatarian meals. In any case, most of the items shown here still seem to be available. For example, there is the McDonald's Filet o' Fish, which is available at a discounted price (around $2) on Fridays all year. The squared, solid, breaded and fried fish chunk is topped with a 2/3 slice of cheese and tartar sauce and served on a steamed, soft white bread bun. Of course, in March, having a Filet o' Fish along with a minty Shamrock Shake is a short-lived flavor combination. For quite a few years now, Wendy's has offered a North Pacific Cod sandwich (~$4), which is unique and excellent. The cod is flaky, the fry is crisp and not greasy, the toppings of lettuce, tartar sauce and pickles are just right. This year, a few locations of Chick-Fil-A offered a fish sandwich and fish strips on Fridays during Lent. It did not taste like chicken, the sandwich had the 'traditional' CFA topping of two pickles and was certainly different for the chicken-centric chain.
Popeye's offered a $5 " Shrimp Tackle Box" for a limited time. There were a dozen spicy battered, plump shrimp, along with seasoned fries and a biscuit in this filling meal. My friend, and fellow blogger, cc, sent me this photo of the Fish and Chips she and Bert had at Fuddruckers. $10 for three fish pieces and fries.
cc and Bert also managed to try the (real!) crab sandwich offered at Boudin. The limited offering will be back next year and I'm looking forward to trying it. Then there was the day I was in National City. There was a sign in the window and I had to stop. Yep. Tuna pie- $2.49. It's been on the menu since last summer, but I never was in the neighborhood…
It's, you know, like an old fashioned Mcdonalds apple pie- fried. Filled with a warm, creamy tuna (no noodle) casserole, this was a great snack.
Yes, I ate in my car. It had been a long day and there was going to be traffic on the way home.
I also bought a taro boba drink. It was great. Did you know Jollibee is the flagship of Jollibee Foods Corporation, the largest and fastest growing Asian Restaurant Company in the world?

Thanks for reading!

Gaya Gaya – A First Look(s)

May 15, 2019 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Filipino Restaurants, Poke

***** Gaya Gaya has closed

About a week-and-a-half ago, one of the folks in the office told me that Sarap had changed owners.

A day later, I read in the Eater that DJ Tangalin had taken over the spot and renamed it Gaya Gaya.

While I thought my meals at Bivouc Ciderworks were a bit of a mixed bag, I was interested in checking the place out. As were a couple of other folks so we headed on over.

The interior looks a bit more spacious; the rather huge benches and tables had been removed and things spaced out a bit better. Other than that things looked pretty much the same. The "Sarap" signage is still up, but one look at the menu and you know it ain't the same place. The names of the dishes are familiar, but reading the descriptions, well, it was now a different world. There seemed to be fusion touches to many of the dishes.

Of course; there were those that were excepted.

It had been ages since I've had decent Balut….but man five bucks! Whatever, I decided to try it. No one else around the table wanted to join me though.

In most cases; I've had it overcooked, which really didn't help texturally. Also, the nice "fowl-ly" flavors are lost. This was nice, soft, juicy, savory, with a light mustiness. I have a couple of stories about the first couple of times I had balut back home in Hawaii; but I'll save that for another day. I really enjoyed this version as it wasn't over-cooked.

The Bicol Express ($15) here is served with mussels.

While I missed the spice (thus not really Bicolano in my mind) and the usual good dose of bagoong; the mussels were tender and those twice cooked potatoes did well in the dish. This dish seemed more Thai than Filipino to me. Still, not bad.

The Bagoong Fried Rice ($6) on the other hand was terrible.

The rice wasn't coated well; there were many clumps and some really hard pieces of rice. Not enough bagoong for our tastes. All of us had eaten the bagoong fried rice at Sarap, which was much better than this.

Calvin just had to order the "Award Winning" Tuna Poke ($13).

Maybe it's because I just got back from visiting "home"; but man, this was bland. It seemed so good while reading it through on the menu; but the fish wasn't coated well enough, not enough white shoyu. The fish itself was fine, moist, tender, but was just so bland.

Next up; the Crispy Pata ($19).

This was interesting; the pata seemed brushed with a slightly sweet glaze. It was served with a pseudo atsara which had masago in it. The soy concoction was interesting as it had a good balance of salty and sour. Sadly, the skin of the pata was really hard….not crunchy or crisp, hard. The flesh was also quite dry…not sure why the mint-dill garnish was necessary. It was disappointing.

So, a bit disappointing, but I wanted to do a revisit a few days later….sadly, I had no takers so I headed over by myself.

I decided to go with the Adobo Rice Bowl ($12). This was quite good.

The pork belly was cooked just the way I like; not falling to pieces, but super tender and moist. The sauce was a perfect balance of salty to mildly sour, with just a hint of sweet. The porkiness of the pork belly came through nicely as well. The rice was decently cooked, perhaps a bit on the dry side. The pickled cucumbers helped to cut the richness of the dish. No, it's not your typical "gut-busting" portion; but more quality than quantity.

I also decided to the order the Pinakbet ($9).

This was decent; the eggplant soft and buttery; the pumpkin was slightly firm and not mushy, with a touch of sweetness. Loved the bagoong in this….it added a wonderfully pleasing savoriness and saltiness to the dish. I did sorely miss ampalaya (bittermelon); which I think adds tannic-bitterness to pinakbet.

Overall, a decent visit. Which had me wondering; was the first visit just a fluke? So, I decided to drop by one more time. Not being particularly hungry; I just went with the Chicken Tocino Rice Bowl ($11).

Not quite sure about this….the chicken thighs didn't seem to have been marinated enough. It had a decent amount of saltiness; but really needed that fruity sweetness (usually from pineapple if I recall), and some tanginess. The color was really light and the chicken was on the dry side. The egg was overcooked for my taste; I'd have preferred easy over. The rice was moist and fragrant.

Well, not sure what to make of my visits. The Servers working, a different one on each of my visits are very friendly; but man, the space is so large, so I'm hoping they'll staff a bit better. I feel the prices would be fine for elevated Filipino food; but I'm not sure if that's what is happening here. Still, things are still on soft-opening mode. The chef was either meeting with folks or doing paperwork in the dining area on each of my visits.

I'm going to revisit in a couple of months; hopefully things will just keep on improving.

Gaya Gaya
7580 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Daily 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm

Pho Fusion and Pho Hoa Huong Revisited

May 13, 2019 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Since it's still fairly cool out; here are a couple of places I haven't been to in a while.

Pho Fusion:

Man, has it been three years since I last visited? I'd actually kinda forgotten about this place. I noticed that they were tearing up the parking lot and saw Pho Fusion open. I had thought the pho wasn't too bad; at least for "pho not to offend" on my last visit, so I decided to drop by and have a bowl.

The place was empty during my visit; probably the combination of all the construction and the time of day of my visit. Late afternoon on a weekend.

I started with the Popcorn Chicken which I thought wasn't too bad on my last visit.

And it still wasn't bad at all. Crunchy, well seasoned dark meat chicken. I believe the popcorn chicken here is better than, well the now closed Popcorn Chicken down the street.

As for the pho; well, I got #14; brisket, flank, marbled flank, tendon, and tripe. I was provided with one sprig of basil and a ration of bean sprouts. In all honesty, I didn't expect much more. At least it was fresh. The clump of noodles were decent, not over-cooked. The broth on this visit was way too salty, and sigh; like much of the pho in San Diego these days on the sweet side. Not a hint of beefiness nor anise. The proteins were fine, the tiny sprig of tripe had a soapiness to it; the brisket was tender but flavorless, the tendon was decent, not overly chewy, but not soft and buttery either.

Like I said; "pho not to offend". Still, I'd take this over what I last had at a couple of other places in Kearny Mesa.

Pho Fusion
8038 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Hoa Huong:

So, the next morning I went on some errands and passed by Pho Hoa Huong at around 730am and the open sign was lit. My understanding is that they open at 8….but no, the place was open. So, since I hadn't been here in a while and, it had been even longer since I'd had pho here, I thought "why not"?

Strange, PHH used to be known as one of those "old school", perfunctory, menu slapped on the table, guy hovering over you for your order kinda place (remember – the "Fastest Pho in the West"?)….in fact the woman working was very nice told me to sit wherever I wanted and brought over a men and laid it on the table. On my last visit, I noticed what I thought was a "a softer, kinder Pho Hoa".

The place still looks quite "old school". I went with good ol' #4, which now cost $8.10 for a regular sized bowl.

Damn, when was the last time I actually had such a generous plate of basil, sprouts, and ngo gai? Well, at the other "old school" pho shop; Pho Hoa.

I'm not sure if I'm turning soft in my old age; but this was a decent bowl. The broth looked much too light, but it wasn't too salty, nor too sweet, had a mild beefiness, anise tones, and a mild hint of onion.

The noodles were prepped well, not too chewy, not mushy.

I wasn't a big fan of the flank which was too hard, but the tendon was decently tender and the tripe was nice and crunchy without any off flavors.

The woman who was my Server was very nice and smiled; the Gentleman manning the register asked me how I enjoyed my meal. Man, this sure ain't the Pho Hoa Huong I remembered. If this is the way things are now; well…all hail the old school pho shop!

And, I still got out in less than thirty minutes!

Pho Hoa-Huong Restaurant
6921 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

Road Trip – Sea Harbour (Rosemead) Revisited

May 12, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

We had a nice night of sleep after dinner at Bistro Na's. Frankie was staying with one of his favorites Aunties, so I used some points and booked an overnight stay. And though we had enjoyed trying some new places on this visit; when it came to dim sum, the Missus wanted Sea Harbour, especially since it had been about three years since our last visit. Of course we got there a few minutes before opening; the lines don't seem quite as long these days. And were promptly seated when they opened….where we got a close-up view of the spot prawns.

The Missus was specifically interested in trying something She saw in various Instagram posts (and no; I don't do "Insta")

Yep, basically squid ink colored – gold leaf topped har gow. shades of gold leaf topped sashimi (in Kanazawa)! So, this was nearly ten bucks….. But, it was well put together. Sea Harbour really knows how to make their shrimp; these were plump, tender, and full of flavor. The mushroom in the dumplings had an earthy sweetness to them.

Next up was the mushroom tart.

These looked better than they actually were. The mushroom filling was really mild and didn't stand up to the pastry. Meanwhile, the pastry started to break down rather quickly and got quite gummy.

I was really happy to see that the Fish Roe and Scallop Dumpling was back on the menu.

It had been taken off the menu on our last visit a few years back. Perfectly textured wrappers; sweet-oceany scallops, balanced out with the crunchy masago.

Of course the Missus had to get Her Chicken Feet. A favorite of Hers.

And I had to get a favorite of mine, the Shrimp, Dried Scallops, and Chinese Celery Dumplings .

And these did not disappoint, wonderful combination of savory (dried scallops) – oceany and sweet (shrimp), all balanced out with the palate cleansing and textural contrast of the Chinese celery. The wrappers were faultless.

On one of our previous visits we tried the Black Fungus and Celery Dumpling and didn't think it was very good. So, we decided to try them out again.

This time around, it was much better. Great texture, the flavor of the celery coming through. Still a bit on the mild side in terms of flavor, but again the wrappers were perfect.

I was really disappointed in the Soy Sauce Noodles this time around.

Overcooked (even the bean sprouts!) and bland. Where the heck were the scallions?

Things finished off with another favorite of the Missus; the Radish Cake with XO Sauce.

While I don't think the searing of the radish cake was done quite as well; it lacked the light coat of crispness, this literally melted in our mouths. The XO Sauce adds another dimension in terms of flavor. It's still quite delicious.

Overall a nice meal. A big plus was that SH opens at 10am on weekends, so we were able to get back on the road before 11am, and head home.

We need to head up to the SGV more often.

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
3939 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

Anchorage – The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, Orso, and Darwin’s Theory

May 10, 2019 mmm-yoso Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Alaska, American/New American Restaurants, Gastropub, Travel

After having our lunch at IHOH we strolled the short two blocks or so to the coast. Past the house of Oscar Anderson who claimed to be the 18th citizen of Anchorage. The house is now a museum.

Anderson lived in this house until his death in 1974 and he sure had a heck of a view.

Right past the house is the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail; named after the 7th Governor of Alaska, Tony Knowles, this nicely paved trail runs for eleven miles (!) all the way past the airport to Kincaid Park.

And no; we didn't do eleven miles. But we did enjoy strolling along the coast.

Not too many people on the trail; but lots of birds!

We stopped on the shores of Westchester Lagoon; where there were quite a few folks; of the two and four-legged kind enjoying the day.

From here we decided to head back to our hotel.

It was a pretty long walk; past some interesting and colorful homes.

Through Delaney Park.

Before getting back to downtown and doing a bit more shopping.

It was still fairly early' like 430, but we were hungry. I had read that the place right next to Glacier Brewhouse, named Orso had a pretty nice Happy Hour until 6pm. So we headed on over.

We sat in the bar area and ordered a couple of items and had a few drinks. The staff was very friendly.

We started with the Roasted Beets and Fresh Mozzarella ($5.95).

The beets were really hard; the pesto like sauce quite salty which really just over-powered the mozzarella and everything else in the dish.

The Flash Seared Crab Cakes (Happy Hour – $10.95); were mediocre as well.

Not "flash fried" enough; somewhat mushy, and frankly, bland.

The Crispy Cauliflower (Happy Hour – $2.95) was a bargain during HH. However; the "tomato-red pepper sauce" was too salty. And not sure about the temp of the oil used for frying as this was on the greasy side.

I think the final nail in the coffin for the Missus was the Polenta Ragu another Happy Hour bargain at $3.95.

The polenta was on the dry side, there was a bit too much cheese for our taste, and not enough "ragu". What sealed the deal was the bread crumbed crusted poached egg; a bit too much fried stuff going on at Orso. And then when we tasted the egg; there was definite fishiness to it. I've noticed that more and more; we're coming across eggs in the States that have a fishiness to them. Not sure what they're feeding the hens, but we're not fans of it.

We decided to pay and head next door where the Missus wanted to do another flight of Bourbon.

Orso
737 W 5th Ave.
Anchorage, AK 99501

And so; the Missus got Her Bourbon Flight…..

And I got an Old Fashioned…..

But the place was slammed, so after this we decided to head back to our room……

Except that we passed this bar on the way….one that I'd seen earlier and was curious about.

Named Darwin's Theory…… I talked the Missus into checking the place out. It was the most wonderful dive bar! The service was straightforward and for some reason, folks in the place started talking to us. Seemed like there were a good amount of locals in the place. Folks seemed to know each other…….just like back home in Hawaii.

So we sat and had a Bourbon…..

The young man who sat next to me was very friendly and we started up a conversation…..he is born and raised in Alaska. We did learn a bit about living in this state of hardy, self-reliant people….but one of the first things we were told was not to "ring the bell" in the place. If you ring the bell; it means you buy the everyone a round! Often times, folks flush with money off of the king crab harvest or something similar will come into the place and ring that bell…..and buy everyone in the house a drink. Heck, if I win the lottery and am visiting Anchorage…. We started chatting about his life and he told me he was a refrigeration mechanic for the last 6 years. But before that he did seasonal work on the king crab and other boats for three years…and even earlier seasonally. He looked really young; I asked him his age….26! Yikes!

Anyway, this was totally my kind of place. If I ever find myself back in Anchorage, I'm headed here…….

Darwin’s Theory
426 G St
Anchorage, AK 99501
Hours:
Sun – Thurs 10am – 230am
Fri – Sat 10am – 3am

We headed back to our room and slept well….there was no one coming back at 4am…..nor were there any ghosts waking us. Still, daylight at 430 am kinda threw me off…..

Yes, I got up real early due to the daylight. Our flight was scheduled to leave Anchorage at 930, but man, it was so bright at 5 am!