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Talitha Coffee Roasters (Bay Ho) and TP Tea (Clairemont)

Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix

Just a quick post for today…..

Talitha Coffee Roasters (Bay Ho):

While driving on Morena, I noticed that Talitha Coffee Roasters had replaced WestBean Coffee Roasters. I made a note to drop by….of course it did take me a while….

I did finally make it, parking on Morena I walked on over. The place was not very busy at just past 8 on this Sunday morning.

The menu is broken up into three parts. Classic (latte/espresso), Trendy (with names like “Oh Snap!” and “Fallin’ For You”), and Breakfast items.

Never thought of myself as being “trendy” per se; but I did order a Nitro Cold Brew ($6) and a Spicy Avo Toast ($12).

My cold brew was ready in the blink of an eye.

And I decided to take a seat on the patio while my Avocado Toast was being prepared.

The Nitro Cold Brew was nicely chilled, fairly smooth, and had a very creamy tongue feel. It did have a decent “kick” to it.

I’d gladly have it again.

As for the “Spicy” Avocado Toast.

Well, this for twelve bucks, huh? The sourdough was barely toasted and got soggy fairly quickly. The eggs were over boiled. The “spicy” was just a drizzling of Chili Crisp. Worse of all was the avocado, can you see why?

Yep, the mashed avocado was starting to oxidize. There were a couple of bites that had hints of bitterness. The mild earth-sweetness of avocado was missing. A definite lack of “QC” here.

So, while I’ll probably return for a caffeine fix; I’ll probably stay away from the food here.

Talitha Coffee Roasters
4140 Morena Blvd Suite A
San Diego, CA 92117
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 7am – 2pm
Sat – Sun 8am – 2pm

TP Tea:

The Missus was excited to try TP Tea which recently opened in Clairemont Town Square. I think the full name “Taiwan Professional Tea” which brought back memories of all Her Tea Adventures in Taiwan. I did warn Her that I think this is mostly a Boba Shop….but then again, She had really enjoyed that in places like Chiayi and Taichung as well.

So, between our recent rain storms we headed on over.

The Missus was quite impressed with the prices. Very reasonable for San Diego. Since this place is named “Taiwan Professional Tea”, the Missus wanted to see just how good that tea was and ordered the Signature Black Tea ($4.95).

Man was this weak.

It really lacked the natural sweet-floral flavor we like with Taiwanese Black Tea. This tasted really watered down and weak.

I asked the Missus if She wanted to try something else, but She told me “look, the place has Professional Tea in the name. If it can’t even make black tea properly….”

So, I guess this is a one and done.

TP Tea
4711 Clairemont Dr.
San Diego, CA 92117
Current Hours:
Daily 1130 am – 930pm

Road Trip – Breakfast at MacCallum House, the Mendocino Bluff Trail, Mendocino Market

Breakfast/Brunch, Dog Friendly, Mendocino, CA, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Travel

The Missus woke on our first full day in Mendocino ready to go. Breakfast was included in our stay at MacCallum House which was nice.

The Missus had a nicely made latte; I had an Americano.

The Missus chose some poached eggs and bacon.

While I got the standard two eggs breakfast – easy over with bacon, which was a $20 value.

Meanwhile, JJ got a nice stick to chew on…..

After a short break we decided to do the entire Mendocino Headlands Trail, which we had done a part of the previous day.

We headed back down Church Street and headed off until the trail ended with a view of Big River Beach.

We then walked along the bluffs; where the scenery was quite beautiful.

We then took the trail into Headlands State Park.

Even more lovely views….the coastline here is beautiful.

And as I mentioned before, it’s hard to believe the town is but a few steps away.

JJ was enjoying the scenery as well.

As you head toward the rocky end of the bluffs, things get a bit more dramatic.

It’s an easy 5 mile walk.

Did you know that Miasa (Omachi) in Nagano is Mendocino’s Sister City?

After our morning walk, the Missus wanted to drive up to Fort Bragg, which we did. Though once we got there; the Missus didn’t feel like stopping anywhere, though I think the next time up there we’ll take JJ on the Skunk Train. Anyway, I turned and headed back to Mendocino.

Once back, the Missus wanted to do some shopping, so we headed on out. We came across this honor system farm stand.

Pretty cool, huh?

We zig zagged our way around, in and out of shops. This was the Missus’s favorite.

Where She actually did “Spend-o-cino” if you know what I mean.

Even though they must have to deal with many tourists; folks here were very laid back, relaxed, and friendly.

Circling around Ukiah Street we came across and honor system pottery shop.

The town was giving off major quaint small town vibes!

We decided to grab a sandwich from Mendocino Market, a small shop that sells sandwiches, deli items, snacks, and even wine.

It’s one of those places where you check off your order on one of the handy-dandy forms, pay, then pick up your order at the counter.

After our breakfast we just wanted something light; so I got the Hummus Avocado ($9) on Sourdough.

I’ve come to enjoy pesto on my avocado toast, but never thought of having hummus with it! The nutty-earthy – slightly tangy hummus actually went quite well with the creamy-rich avocado.

The lovely alfalfa sprouts and tomatoes made the sandwich complete. Not haute cuisine, but just a nice, light sandwich for lunch.

Mendocino Market
45051 Ukiah St.
Mendocino, CA 95460

After which it was time for…..you know what, right?

Thanks for stopping by!

Chodang Tofu & BBQ (In the HMart Food Court – Balboa)

Korean Restaurants

In my last post on Woomiok, “FOY” Mar mentioned checking out the recently opened Chodang Tofu & BBQ in the Hmart Food Court. Now, what little I do know is that Chodang is an area of Gangneung that is famous for….well, their soondubu, At the time of the posting and comment, the weather was a bit too warm for that dish. But turn the page and a few weeks later, with the rain…well, things have become rather chilly…at least by San Diego terms. So, the Missus and I thought we’d go and check out Chodang.

Chodang opens at 1030 and the always busy food court in HMart was pretty mellow at a few minutes after 11.

We walked on over and took a look at the menu….and whoa; I think the prices at Chodang is the highest of any of the stands in the food court!

The prices look pretty much in line with places like Woomiok, Yuk Dae Jang, and Prime Grill….like $32 for bulgogi!

I got the Soondubu with Beef Short Rib ($21.99), the Missus was craving some Samgyetang, the Chicken Ginseng Soup ($23.99). I placed our order then we grabbed a seat. The eating area filled up pretty quickly.

After a short wait, the buzzer thingy went off and we went to get our trays.

The Samgyetang was a whole small chicken. The panchan was not good; the baechu kimchi was more pickled than fermented, the cucumber kimchi was definitely of the quick-pickle variety and was on the sweet side. There was a generous portion of rice, which was on the mushy side. The best item was the little portion of pajun…the fried pancake.

As for the Samgyetang…..well, I warned the Missus that I don’t think this would be close to what we had in Seoul….but to be honest; this was not even in the same ballpark. First off, the chicken was super tough and chewy, totally lacking in flavor.

The broth was very thin and bland, lacking in the savory-herbal-chicken flavor. This really needed the salt and pepper that was provided….but it still wasn’t enough. Where was the earthy-herbaceous-bitterness of ginseng?

The best thing about the dish was the glutinous rice that was stuffed in the chicken.

It seemed to have leeched at the poultry flavor from the dish.

As for my Soondubu….well…pretty much the same result.

That fried fish was gummy, it needed some crispness.

Two nice beef ribs; which seemed to have had all the beefiness sucked out of it, so bland! On the chewy side as well. The tofu was very soft and “buttery”, but lacking in the nice “beaniness” we enjoy in dubu.

The soup….I dare not call this thin – watery broth a “stew”, was truly lacking in rich-savory tones. I got it spicy; but that was on the mild side as well.

The egg was a travesty…..boiled to death and seemed like it had been “smushed”.

I’ll quit there…… for fifty bucks without tip…this was very disappointing.

Chodang was founded in the US (in Cerritos – though I recall seeing one of the stands in Irvine), and is rapidly expanding across the US, so it must be pretty popular, but this was not a meal the Missus and I enjoyed. Needless to say; I don’t see us returning.

Chodang Tofu & BBQ (in the Hmart Food Court)
7725 Balboa Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 1030am – 8pm

Recently Consumed

Blog, Cooking, yoso-silly

I haven’t done one of these in a while….so, here we go….just a couple of “stuffs” we’ve been eating.

There’s a thing we used to do when I worked in a restaurant like over 4 decades ago. We used to boil potatoes, smash them, then fry. The exterior would be crisp; the interior creamy…so ono! So, what I’ve been doing the last couple of years is to get those baby potatoes from the market. I then score and put into the microwave. Once soft, I smash and brush with olive oil, smoked salt, fresh ground pepper, and granulated garlic, then put into the air fryer.

I did manage to take a photo of when I did this recently, using mini baby potatoes. The Missus loves them with eggs.

Roasted broccolini and roasted honeynut squash made for a nice lunch.

It’s getting to be Pozole time in our household. I should post my recipe one of these days….

With prices being so crazy, I’ve started making ramen at home these days. We like the Sun Noodle brand. I also liven it up with some truffle soy sauce and even add in some shiitake mushrooms. And….I always make sure my tamago is at least warm!

And on warmer days….I venture into “neba-neba” land.

Love that combo of tororo and natto…..

I really don’t take much photos of the food I make these days….but for some reason here’s some beans-collards-pancetta.

Which tasted really good on toast with microplaned Parmesan Reggiano.

And lastly….some lamb chops, with beans and Cous Cous…..

So, what have you all been making lately?

Thanks for indulging me!

Fish With You Weather?

Chinese Restaurants

I know, I just did a post on Fish With You like three months ago! But the recent rainy and cooler weather had the Missus craving the Signature Suan Cai. The Missus simply told me She wanted “The Fish”. Which caught me off guard. You see, whenever the phrase “The Fish” was uttered by Her it meant HFS at Centerpark. So, I said “it’s kinda cold and wet….you want poke?” She looked at me in disbelief and said, “no, that’s DA FISH….I want THE FISH!” Sigh…..

So, we headed on over to “The Fish” and ordered our usual, the Signature Suancai & Fish. Which at $26.95. rice is still free; kind of a rarity these days. A good amount of numbing peppercorn this time around. Nice ma-la. The fish was tender with no off flavors.

There’s that that suan-tian-ku-la-xian thing going on.

And of course, there’s leftovers. Now, in previous posts I noted to take out all the chilies before packing for takeout. Unless you wanted it really spicy. The longer the formerly dried chilies sit, the more impact it will have. On our recent visits, there’s another change. We’ve noticed that the snakehead changes texture when eaten later on….so now, just to add another layer…..we consume all the snakehead.

And add soft tofu to the leftovers….

Which turns out to be a good way to eat the leftovers.

With prices these days; getting the most for your money is quite important to us, but we still want to enjoy those meals as well. And at $26.95 for two meals (with the addition of the tofu)…well, that almost seems like a bargain these days, right?

Fish With You
3904 Convoy St. #101
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 1130am – 10pm

What have you been eating with the recent influx of rain and cooler weather?

Road Trip – MacCallum House Inn and Exploring Mendocino

American Restaurants, Dog Friendly, Mendocino, CA, Road Trip, Travel

After lunch we set about walking around Mendocino. From what I was told; the history of the area starts with the Pomo People, who lived here for over a millennium. The redwoods brought the lumber industry in the 1850’s and Mendocino Village was established in 1852. Many of the workers were from New England, which explains the Victorian stylings and Saltbox Cottages we saw. The town itself is quite charming, though folks I know warned me of how expensive they though things were…..they called the place “Spendocino”…..to us, it wasn’t as pricy as the Bay area.

Right off Main Street in Mendocino are two really easy trails. While waiting for our room, we strolled along the Mendocino Headlands Trail. The views were lovely.

Quite peaceful and relaxing, not another soul in sight.

Hard to believe that right across the road is Main Street!

We walked to the area overlooking Big River Beach.

And then up to Church Street where there’s well, a church of course.

That’s the historic Mendocino Presbyterian Church, which was build between 1867 and 1868.

And made our way back to our accommodations in a roundabout way. When visiting this charming village one quickly notices how many water towers there are.

In fact, our accommodations even had a Water Tower Suite….good ol’ number 13. According to this post, the water table is the area is close to the surface, thus the area was lacking with regards to in ground water storage. Most of the water towers were built at the end of the 19th century. That water tower above also has a history, which you can read about here.

Walking on Albion Street we noticed this Chinese Temple.

This is the Temple of Kwan Tai a Taoist temple dedicated to Kwan Tai (Guan Yu).

The Missus and I were immediately interested in how this got to be built in Mendocino. Apparently, the Chinese came to the area in the 1850’s to work in logging camps. It is said the the temple either dates back to1854 or 1867, depending on the source. Interesting, huh?

A block down Albion was our accommodation; the MacCallum House Inn which dates back to 1882.

This lovely inn features a variety of accommodations. We stayed in one of the suites in the “North Barn” building.

Which was lovely and had a private patio and even a hot tub, which was nice, even though we never used it.

The main building features a rather popular restaurant with patio seating, which was perfect for JJ. This was where we had breakfast, which was included with our stay. We decided to have an early dinner on this evening. The friendly Server told us that most of the ingredients were locally sourced.

Things started out with some really delicious bread.

The butter was decently whipped and light.

The Missus had Her sights on getting Her veggie fixes, so that was the focus of the meal; starting with the Field Lettuces.

Nice variety of greens, great crisp texture, loved the beets. The avocado was under ripe, hard, and lacking in flavor. The vinaigrette was quite simple, like something I’d make at home. That avocado and sourdough was a $7 upcharge.

The Grilled Asparagus and Proscuitto was fine; though the asparagus was overcooked and mushy, not quite how the Missus enjoys it.

The proscuitto was super fatty, almost like lardo. The egg was perfectly cooked and the cheese was nice and sharp in flavor.

The Olive Oil Roasted Cauliflower was simple, which was actually a good thing. Though the price for this dish was $32!

The Missus loves Her cauliflower and this was lightly sweet – earth – nutty, She loved it. The Kale might have been better served in smaller pieces. The quinoa was fine. That sauce had an interesting sweetness to it. I later found out it was pea “jus”.

I did see something on the “side dishes” menu that interested me. The Collard Greens, Ham Hocks, and Black Eyed Peas.

While the ham hocks were on the crisp side like lardons; we both loved the flavors – so savory and smoky, the beans were cooked perfectly, slightly firm and tender. This was very good.

Overall, a nice meal, the service was very friendly and we appreciated that most of the produce was sourced locally. Not a cheap meal coming in at over $120 not including tip….but heck, we were in “Spendo-cino” right?

MacCallum House
45020 Albion St.
Mendocino, CA 95460

We took a nice stroll after dinner. There’s a Health Food Store; with the interesting name of Corners of the Mouth Health Food Store right next to the back entrance of MacCallum House. Looks like it could have possibly been a church in a previous life?

We got some snacks and I got a couple of beers for the next two nights.

Corners of the Mouth, Health Food Store
45015 Ukiah St.
Mendocino, CA 95460

It was obvious that we wouldn’t be starving in Mendocino…….

Road Trip – Peaked Hill (Sonoma), Point Arena – Stornetta, and Frankie’s (Mendocino)

Marin, Napa, and Sonoma Counties, Mediterranean Restaurants, Mendocino, CA, Road Trip, Travel

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.

You can find some photos of the interior here.

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.

Before heading back down the road and parking at the beginning of the Point Arena – Stornetta Trail.

It’s a lovely coastal trail.

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.

And while there wasn’t a “rainbow from Frankie” signifying his approval (we miss you F), this was a decent lunch.

Frankie’s
44951 Ukiah St.
Mendocino, CA 95460

Glad the lunch wasn’t too much food as it was now time to explore a bit before checking in.

Thanks for stopping by!

Common Table (North Park)

Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Taco Shops

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 had here, 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

Circling Back to Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori

Chicken Wings, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

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!

Tribute Pizza Revisited

Dog Friendly, Italian Restaurants

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