mmm-yoso – Page 223 – 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.

Beaune – Bistrot du Coin and Restaurant le Conty

June 16, 2017 mmm-yoso Burgundy, France, French Restaurants, Travel

We did learn something our first night in Beaune. We needed reservations at all the places I had on my "list". At most places (not all) it seemed that you could make reservations the day before or even during lunch service, but it seems that walk-ins were really hard. So we decided to get our reservations for the following two nights taken care of.

On the bright side….well, it was a beautiful night to be walking around the town.

Beaune was totally different at night; quiet, even more relaxed. After finding two places that would take reservations for the upcoming two nights, we decided to chill and decided where to grab dinner.

One block from our apartment was this little wine bar named Bistrot du Coin.

It looked like just the place for us.

They were doing some pretty good business and the bartender was very efficient, friendly, and charming, in spite of the packed bar area.

After having that amazing white at David Toutain, the Missus as obsessed with wine from Saint-Roman and ordered a glass of it from the board.

Service was totally by the book…..

And they have quite a bottle list as well.

The lower level looks like it's set-up for groups and tastings….or perhaps if you bought one of those 100 Euro bottles, you could enjoy it here.

Nice place to grab a glass and relax.

Le Bistrot du Coin
2 Place Ziem
Beaune, France

After finishing up our wine, we decided to just walk around and see what was open….this place was close by.

We headed down the stairs.

The place looked charming….set in this little cellar and they had a couple of tables open.

The folks were very friendly and guided us to a table. We weren't too hungry, after having quite a bit to eat earlier in the day, so I thought two appetizers, and a nice bottle of wine would suit us just fine.

Of course the Missus found something from Saint-Romain, which She enjoyed.

Since the Missus had discovered that She actually loves Escagot, I ordered that and the Lentil Terrine with Duck Breast and Foie Gras (of course).

The Terrine (19€) arrived first and looked quite pretty, though the presentation seemed a bit dated.

We loved the salad; fresh, crisp, refreshing. The terrine was way too cold and very salty, which reduced how much we enjoyed it. Sad, duck breast and foie gras, two of my favorite things….but this just didn't do it for me.

The snails (16€) were next.

These were the least favorite version we had on this trip…..lacking enough garlic, not enough richness, and too much salt.

Nice service though. Good wine. Fairly pricy.

Restaurant Le Conty
5 rue Ziem
Beaune, France

I was hoping our upcoming dinners would be better.

2017 San Diego County Fair “Where the West is Fun” Part Two: it’s open!

June 15, 2017 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Usually, we (Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and Cathy) write about the event surrounding the consumption of the food food…Cathy has a big event and quite a bit of food for today's post.

Link to Part One

I wrote about the 2017 San Diego County Fair before it opened. The Mister and I have been here two times already and are slowly eating our way through the unusual as well as more common Fair foods, all while enjoying the thousands of other activities, displays of judged entries, contests and shows.There was an enormous sand castle being built during the first week of the Fair.
It's just to the left of the entrance, at the front of the Paul Ecke Garden Show area, which has displays in the theme of the Fair.
There are also several areas in this shaded outdoor area of the Fair, serving some 'fancier' food choices along with adult beverages.
The Theme Exhibit (to the right of the entrance) has live entertainment, facades for photo opportunities and tons of information about the expansion of our United States West of the Mississippi (including this nice display about the Pony Express-reminding me of a stop on our summer road trip last year (bottom photos of this post). The Family Funville area (at the center of the racetrack) has the Fiesta Village as well as
child size rides and food booths which offer some kid friendly food choices. There are so many more things going on in this area, including the Creative Youth exhibit as well as the Farm area. The Farm is growing rapidly with additional seedlings brought by elementary school children visiting the Fairgrounds as an end of year school trip; quite an education about the how and where food originates, as well as other farming knowledge about our pollinators (bees and butterflies) and hydroponics in this area.

Back in the Midway area are the Home and Hobby

With displays of crafts, collections, preserved foods and baking winners as well as being able to watch some crafts being created. The Home and Hobby area is where One Day Contests are held. You get into the Fair for free if you enter!

The Mister and I will be back at least two more times this year. Some things have been disappointing. It was promoted at the Pre-opening that the Bacon A-Fair would be selling bacon wrapped cactus, but they don't have it on the menu.We walked over to Chicken Charlie's, to order the

pineapple malasadas, but were told they were not being made.

We went to find what we knew:

The 17 Hands, just to the East of Plaza de Mexico (across from Woodworking and Gemstones) is still serving a simple menu, in a covered, cool room with plenty of seating.

Then we walked over to the Chuckwagon, checking out the menu first.
I tend to read from the bottom of a menu. The bottom right item caught my eye ( mentioned in my 2016 County Fair postscript post); I really like apples. Another 'Fair time' snack is the fresh corn. This year, I decided to be different, went to the Kids Zone infield and ordered a cup instead of an ear of corn at the Fiesta Village. Topped with butter and Cotija cheese, I also added lime; this was a very large portion; more than an ear's worth of corn.
The Mister had noticed the "Fish Fry Medley" as a new menu item at the Reno's Fish and Chips stand on the Midway and ordered it. Each item is fried separately and has a unique breading. Cod (a large, tender piece), octopus (one piece, barely worth mentioning; I hope the 'octopus on a stick' is a larger portion), clams (teensy, tiny and either were fried in bad oil or had freezer burn; an off flavor), shrimp (very small but flavorful) and squid rings over a massive amount of fried potatoes. That was it for my fried food for the week!

Back to Roxy's, a local favorite for a falafel burger (with added avocado). It comes with a large salad and just tastes good. Always a choice (last year we tried the eggplant parmesan sandwich and it was great, as is the artichoke sandwich).
A visit to the San Diego County Fair is not complete until we have a fresh made cream puff with a cup of coffee (with real half and half).

Who else has been to the Fair this year? Soo! Maggie! cc/Pink Candles Part One- the sights! cc-Part Two-the food!

2017 San Diego County Fair Website Open until July 4. Closed Mondays except July 3 and first three Tuesdays

In addition to the thumbnails of menus above, I am attaching these thumbnails to show some planned places and foods we will try during the rest of the Fair.

Mr. Spicy (Grantville)(lunch revisit)

June 13, 2017 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is ta food blog and three of us share in the writing of posts. Right now, both Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are unavailable to write anything. Since Cathy is available, she is writing today.

It has been about a year and a half since I first wrote about Mr. Spicy. Just 'down the hill' from home (a route both The Mister and I drive to avoid the freeways), it's easy to drop in and pick up something 'to go'. On the rare occasions when both of us are home on the same day, we choose to stop here for lunch.
There is a lunch menu under the glass top of each table. The prices vary dependent on the primary ingredients. As you will soon see, the photographs of the plates are accurate.
Still no charge for hot tea here; I like that. Soup comes with every meal.

An egg roll (vegetable) will set you back 50¢. It's nice. The eggplant with brown sauce (I had ordered with Szechuan sauce, but there was a communication problem)($5.99) was a very good plate of food; it was just fresh and good and hearty. It didn't even need the spicy 'kick' that I thought I wanted. The fish with Szechuan sauce ($7.99) was delightful; a thin breading gave each piece of fish a nice light 'crunch' and the vegetables (onion, carrot and green pepper) were just right, as was the sauce. Very fresh tastes with this dish.
The Mister orders orange chicken ($6.99) every time. He stares at the menu, pretends to be considering something else, but when it comes time to order…he is predictable. It's a good size serving of lightly crunchy large pieces of tender chicken in a very nice spicy sauce.

We really like the dry pot and twice cooked fish from the dinner menu and one of those always shows up when we eat here or order to take home later in the day. This family owned and run restaurant is good.

Mr. Spicy 6618 Mission Gorge Road (at Zion) San Diego 92120 (619) 546-6686 Mon-Sat 10:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m. (Closed Sunday)

La Vecindad Neighborhood Tacos

June 12, 2017 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

I know a couple who can't stop raving about La Vecindad. So, when I had some meetings in the area recently, I decided to drop by.

Located in the old Guild Theatre; this location really hasn't done well as businesses sure don't seem to last long here.

I gotta say, this place really went for it with regards to bright colors, making the place look quite festive.

The drill here is you go to the counter and order…..the young lady working was an absolute joy; so friendly! I looked over the menu and not really sure what to order, just winged it ordering three tacos. Not cheap at $3.75 a piece, but heck, in this age of hipster tacos, I've kinda gotten used to higher taco prices for a better quality (and tasting) product.

Though I thought the salsas here were really mild. And on this day, I had to ask for some limes….though that really friendly young lady was more than happy to get me some.

I ended up ordering an Al Pastor, El Perron, and a Taco de Papas (potato).

I quickly noticed how hefty these tacos were.

Of the three, I enjoyed the Al Pastor the best.

First thing I noticed that the rather succulent and tender pork, was not the usual thin cut pork and didn't have the bright red color I'm used to with the usual Al Pastor I consume. The flavor, was on the mild side and lacking in the sweet-fruity tones I get from versions I enjoy. The flavor of the white corn tortilla was quite mild and I prefer a more assertive corn flavor. As whole, very mild taste wise, but not bad.

Funny, I was rather happy to see a Tacos El Perron on the menu; it made me think of what I had at the "counterfeit" Tacos Yaqui in San Ysidro that was only open for a short time. This was definitely not that.

When I think of Tacos Perron, the meat is grilled flank steak, mild, but with a nice beefy flavor. This was the usual thin slice beef, you know, the stuff used on your run-of-the-mill carne asada. It was the tough side and lacked flavor. Also, this version used the corn tortilla, which, as you can see in the photo to the right was not up to the task, versus the flour tortilla with a nice layer of cheese melted on the bottom to help preserve it. No beans on this one. It had some nicely seasoned nopales, which, while on the salty side really brought that green bean like flavor along with a pleasant sliminess and griddled onions which were also quite good.

The Potato Taco was nice in terms of texture as the potatoes weren't mushy and dry.

But this just seemed quite bland. The really mild salsas really didn't help much either.

Overall, not bad….nothing outstanding per se, but decent. I did have a nice short chat with the young lady working here. She told me to come back for "Taco Tuesday" when the tacos were two for six bucks and try the two top sellers; the Campechano and the Costa Azul. So I did just that….returning on a Tuesday a few weeks later.

I had to crack up when I got to the salsa bar; notice the Salsa Roja is labeled Salsa Verde and so forth.

Following orders I got the two tacos…..

The Campechano had all the ingredients; thin sliced, though under flavored and rather unwieldy and chewy beef and longaniza; which was on the milder side with regards to flavor, but decent.

Along with the nopales and onions like the El Perron and griddled potatoes which were nicely seasoned. This had a certain greasiness to it and again the tortilla was not up so the task. It was one hefty taco though; that is easily worth the three bucks on taco Tuesday.

The Costa Azul was much better.

On my first bite I was greeted with a nice bacon wrapped shrimp. The bacon was so crisp that it was like having a bacon flavored batter. The creaminess of the avocado and the slightly milky cheese worked together nicely. And the absence of grease or liquid, the tortilla held up, though it's still not my favorite tortilla.

The verdict? I really like the folks who work here. They are really friendly.

Definitely mixed results with the tacos I sampled and was not fond of how they prep and cook their beef. I don't think this would be counted as a "destination" taco stop for me, but I'd stop by if I'm in the neighborhood and hungry again. After all, they call themselves La Vencidad "Neighborhood Tacos".

La Vecindad Neighborhood Tacos
3827 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 11am – 10pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 11pm
Sun 10am – 9pm

Revisits – Island Style Cafe and Katsu Cafe

June 11, 2017 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

A revisit double dose of places with "Café" in their name.

Island Style Café:

It had been over a year since my last visit and I wanted some time away from the office for lunch. So I decided to head over to Island Style Café. Looking at my earlier posts, it's hard to believe this place has been here for nine years already! Time sure does fly.

The place was almost full when I arrived. Seems like business is doing quite well.

Of course I got the Kaloko Moco…..I'm still fascinated with the sweet-savory interplay of flavors with that crepe.

This time around the hamburger patty was nice and moist, the gravy not too salty, though the eggs, like a couple times before were over-well instead of over easy like I requested. The fried rice was nice and moist.

Man, nine years….though the food here has been fairly consistent over those years; my appetite has not and I was only able to finish half of this…..

Island Style Cafe
5950 Santo Road
San Diego, CA 92124
Hours:
Tues – Fri 9am – 2pm, 430pm – 8pm
Sat 7am – 8pm
Sun 7am – 3pm

Katsu Café:

Wanted to stay close to the office for lunch, so I decided to head back to Katsu Café. I wanted to check out how the Chicken Katsu was doing here….well, at least now it's actually called Chicken Katsu. For a long time it was "Chicken Cutlet" on the menu; though the name of the place was Katsu Café. The place filled up very quickly; the young lady manning the register was kind of surly, but the two Server were really nice.

If I had to note one thing that improved since Teri Café became Katsu Café, it would be the miso soup. Which, while still not great is decent and has enough miso in it.

Man, the portion sizes here seem to be getting larger.

But, just as on my previous visit the panko coating on the katsu just crumbled right off and the chicken was dry. I'm thinking either these guys overcook this stuff, the chicken is way too cold when they bread it, or the oil temp is off. The rice was also subpar; dry, with hard bits. The best items were the standard issue green salad and the potato-mac salad, which was nicely seasoned, cold, and pretty darn good.

It's still more about quantity….or even more quantity, than quality. I finished the two salads and left most of the katsu and just about all the rice.

Katsu Cafe
7305B Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Vancouver/Richmond – The Alibi Room and the Richmond Night Market

June 10, 2017 mmm-yoso Beer, Canada, Chicken Wings, Desserts, Festivals & Events, Pubs and Pub Grub, Vancouver, Canada

After a nice afternoon nap, we headed off to the Gastown area.

It was a nice day to be out and about, if a bit on the warm side.

The Missus enjoyed window shopping and we stopped at a few places; like at Kit and Ace near the Steam Clock. Where this guy was hanging out.

It was indeed rather warm, so we headed down the street to a place named the Alibi Room. The place was pretty much full. But the nice Server told us that if we weren't eating anything and didn't mind not having table service, we could head on downstairs.

Which turned out to be a comfortable place to grab a few beers. There are over 50 pulls in this place. And they do half pours as well; which we appreciated.

What we had is lost to posterity, but I recall really enjoying the vibe.

A nice stop; we'll be back the next time we're in town.

Alibi Room
157 Alexander Street
Vancouver, BC V6A 1B8
Canada

We needed to first catch the bus; then the SkyTrain to get to our next stop. We had day metro passes and I had the bus stop indicated on my phone. We found our stop and a guy who looked homeless came up to us. I immediately thought he'd be asking for some cash….but instead he told me, "sir, this bus stop has been temporarily moved to the street above." Thanksful, I offered him some money, but he refused, saying "this one is on me." Only in Canada!

We got off at the Bridgeport SkyTrain Station and followed the well marked signs.

So, we followed this group of people who were having a great old time and got to what looked like ticket booths and a gate. A really nice young man came up to us and asked us if we were customers of 'xxx' and had our customer number. We explained that we are from out of town and have obviously found the wrong entrance. The young man pointed across the way to a line of what looked like 200-300 people. He told us "that's the general admission line; this line is for 'xxx' customers, 'xxx' is sponsoring tonight's night market and if you have either a zoom pass or are one of their customers you can come in this way." Now, if I recall a the passes were like $25 a book, good for so many entrances, so that would be a waste. So we thanked him and were headed to the line when he asked us where we were from. We told him San Diego. In a hushed, conspiratory tone he told us to "wait here". A minute later he returned with two tickets. You are now officially customers of 'xxx', if anyone asks you if you are customers of 'xxx', make sure to tell them yes. What a nice gesture….you gotta love Canada.

The Richmond Night Market claims to be the largest Night Market in North America and I don't doubt this claim as the choices, and crowds are staggering.

Now, if you read the blog quite often, you know I'm way behind on some of my travel posts and our visit was during early August of 2016. The Missus had seen a bunch of stuff posting to Instagram……about a dessert…..She just had to have it.

The dessert "du jour" of that period of time was the Raindrop Cake (you can see Kirbie's recipe here). It's based on Japanese Mizu Shingen Mochi. And kind of looks like a breast implant if you ask me.

The Missus got Her confection and we took a seat.

And soon folks started coming around asking what this stuff was….we actually offered them a taste if they wanted one….but most of them just looked kind of, well, puzzled. Anyway, this was "meh", sugar water and agar…..I prefer just straight up Warabimochi coating in kinako to this.

Our table was next to the Prehistoric Park area and while taking a look at the photo of the T-Rex below, it wasn't the replica of the dinosaur that caught my attention; but the sign to right that said, "FanTuan Delivery, Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere"…..I don't think San Diego is included in the "Anywhere" though.

While the Missus went for the sweets; I had one place in mind.

Little Phnom Penh is famous for their Chicken Wings with Lemon and Pepper sauce. So I placed my order and watched them make my wings.

Notice that container with the spoon; the wings are fried, then mixed in a wok with garlic, scallions, and a spoon full of that mysterious white substance….which I'm fairly certain isn't only salt.

The wings are light, though not as crisp as I prefer, the garlic could be cooked a bit more; it's still on the bitter side. The wings are tender and moist, but I'm not a big fan of the lemon sauce; which tastes like bottled lemon juice with black pepper. Still, this was good overall.

There sure was a huge variety of "stuffs" available…….some quite interesting.

This seemed more "County Fair – Carnival" than Night Market and the place was starting to get packed.

As we wove our way around people; we heard this guy……..voice like an old fashioned Carnival Barker, with a Chinese accent of course.

As we walked up; the smell of cumin danced in the air……we both love yang rou chuan and this guy cracked us up.

We got lamb and lamb kidney and while not great, this was pretty tender, though it could have used more cumin.

This "Chef James" had me wondering who he was. If you'd like to find out his story you can read it here.

Overall a fun time for us.

Richmond Night Market
May – October
8351 River Rd
Richmond, BC V6X 1Y4
Canada
Fri-Sat 7pm – MN
Sun 7pm – 11pm

By the time we got back to the apartment, the sun had set. It was a beautiful clear night. We finished the rest of the Roast Duck and Rice and I cracked open a brew…..

And sat in the Solarium of the apartment watching the weekend action on the Street below.

Life was good…..

Clearing Out the Memory Card – Toronado, Hess Brewing, And Tribute Pizza

June 9, 2017 mmm-yoso Beer, Pizza, Pubs and Pub Grub

The Missus's hairdresser now works in North Park. During the last two months, the Missus has asked me to drop Her off….lucky me! There's no shortage of places where I can, ahem, "pass the time" while waiting for the Missus. Like……

Toronado:

**** Toronado has closed

It's been a while.

Had a nice New Belgium Le Terrior. Perfect temperature…..

Toronado
4026 30th St
San Diego, CA 92104

The most recent time, it was…..

Hess Brewing:

It had been a couple of years since I'd been here as well.

A nice 8 West on a rather warm day.

Hess Brewing Company North Park
3812 Grim Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

And in case the Missus is hungry after getting Her hair done. Well there are a lot of options here as well. Like a recent favorite of Hers….

Tribute Pizza:

On this day, the pizzas were much better than on previous visits……

Tribute Pizza
3077 N Park Way
San Diego, CA 92104

I think I'm going to make sure the Missus goes in for a trim on a regular basis!

Vancouver/Richmond – Kirin Seafood Restaurant (City Square), Parker Place Meat & BBQ, and HK BBQ Master

June 8, 2017 mmm-yoso Canada, Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Travel, Vancouver, Canada

The Missus and I really wanted to try out some Dim Sum while in Vancouver. We'd heard so much about the quality of Dim Sum in Richmond/Vancouver. The one little thing; we weren't quite sure when we'd return from visiting the Capilano Suspension Bridge, so I didn't want to make reservations. Instead, after checking out the fun at Anime Revolution, we got on the SkyTrain and got off at the Broadway-City Hall stop and walked over to City Square Mall. We'd take our chances at Kirin Seafood Restaurant.

Of course, when we arrived, the first thing they asked us was if we had reservations. Though we had no problem getting a table as the place wasn't totally full.

We weren't super hungry and we had plans after lunch, so we ordered five items from the menu.

Starting with the tendon and tripe.

This was a nice and hearty dish, though pretty mild in flavor. The tendon had a slight chew to it; the tripe slightly crunchy with no off flavors. The Missus actually enjoyed the daikon more than anything else in this dish.

The Scallop Dumplings were a disappointment as the scallops were tough and overcooked.

The wrappers were very sticky and tore quite easily.

Our favorite dish of the meal was the rustic looking stuffed wintermelon.

The wintermelon still had a nice texture; providing just enough resistance. It had also absorbed the flavors of the pork and the broth nicely. The enoki mushrooms provided a nice, earthy taste and the pork was tender and just about perfect.

The Deep Fried Shrimp Dumpling with Consomme was interesting.

The fried dumplings were excellent; the wrappers light, yet crunchy, the shrimp filling tender and flavorful. We both felt the consommé was rather bland and flat…….it was like watered down chicken broth in flavor and brought nothing to the dish.

After that rather bland consommé; we were a bit concerned about the Scallop and Bamboo Pith Fungus Dumpling in Supreme Soup, but this ended up being quite good.

Great flavors all around and the soup; while rather light had a nice balance in terms of seasoning to flavor.

Overall, while pretty good, based on all the great things we heard about the Dim Sum in Vancouver, we both thought Sea Harbour in the SGV was every bit as good if not better. I'll make sure to make reservations at Chef Tony or another place for Dim Sum the next time we're in Vancouver.

Kirin Seafood Restaurant
555 W 12th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5Z 3X7
Canada

After lunch we got back on the SkyTrain and headed on over to Richmond, getting off at the Aberdeen stop, and walking on over to Parker Place Mall and Parker Place Meat & BBQ. Yes, this place is located in a shopping mall.

The line here grows rapidly and moves quickly….it's to your benefit to have your act together and know what you want……when its your turn you need to be quick about it.

The Missus was really looking forward to some Roast Duck….so I got the Roast Duck on rice to go.

Parker Place Meat & B.B.Q (In Parker Place Mall)
4380 No 3 Rd
Richmond, BC V6X 4E8
Canada

Having gotten out unscathed; we headed to our next stop. If you thought Chinese BBQ in a shopping mall was interesting….try going to a parking garage.

For some Chinese BBQ……

This is where HK BBQ Master is located; just down the street from Parker Place BBQ. Again, a fast moving line for take-out….here there are a couple of tables as well. Some deal; roast duck on rice.

HK BBQ Master (In the parking garage of Real Canadian Superstore)
4651 No 3 Road
Richmond, BC V6X 2C4
Canada

Since we had restrained ourselves somewhat during lunch; we'd have this for an early dinner at the apartment.

Walking down No 3 Road reminded me of the SGV………without the crazy traffic…..

Choices abound…..

And guess who we ran into on the SkyTrain back to the apartment?

Yep….good 'ol DV himself.

This woman couldn't stop giggling and taking photos of DV.

Being the ever so friendly Canadian version of DV; he waved the woman over and they proceeded to take a bunch of selfies! You gotta love it.

As for the duck? Well, in spite of saying we'd be having it for dinner, we did have a couple of pieces while it was still warm…..just for comparative purposes of course!

Here's Parker Place.

Here's HK BBQ Master.

While HK BBQ Master's duck looks a lot darker; Parker Place's duck won hands down; being more moist, with a nice amount of anise-beany-duckiness. The skin HK BBQ Master's version was rubbery, the meat dry, and while it had a decent duck taste, it wasn't balanced out with anything else. Of course, both of these are vastly superior to any roast duck in San Diego. I was told that HK BBQ Master makes great roast pork, but the Missus was after duck.

It was time for a nap…..then we'd be off to our next stop(s)!

Midweek Meanderings – What’s the “Story” with Your Story, Taisho Going on Vacation, and Other “Stuffs”

June 7, 2017 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Haven't done one of these in a while…….

What's up with Your Story:

I was doing some errands this past Sunday when I noticed Your Story looked closed.

Didn't this place just open to a bit of buzz less than three months ago? You can check out Kirbie's post here.

So, what's the story with Your Story? Well, my sources tell me that they are closed permanently and that a KFC is opening in this spot….no, not "that" KFC, but a K(orean) F(ried) C(hicken) spot. I'm fairly certain that Eater will give us the scoop when it's ready to serve.

4403 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Taisho taking a vacation:

At least that's what the sign and Taka-san told me. Closed June 14th – 19th. Reopening on June 20th.

Nazca Grill closes:

I saw this a couple of weeks ago.

Sad, but on my last visit a couple of months back, the lomo saltado was terrible and the place just seemed tired and worn.

4310 Genesee Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

As did this Jack-In-the-Box:

On the corner of Balboa and Convoy:

Here's hoping something good takes its place.

Here's what Soo had to say about the place a couple of months back.

7786 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Lastly….have you ever seen a more bored looking dog?

He's not impressed with what Whole Foods had to offer at all…..

Hope you're having a great week!

Pacific Poke Co.

June 6, 2017 mmm-yoso Poke, Seafood

I first noticed this place during one of my visits to Mama Cinia. It hadn't opened yet and I had to sigh at what looked like yet another "Chi-Poke" place. A few months later, I intended on getting some pho at Cow Cali, but there was actually a bunch of people waiting in line.

PPC was right next door and had just turned on the "open" sign. So, I thought why not check them out.

And yes, this was indeed one of those pick some seafood; pick some toppings, make a bowl kind of place. They also had Spam Musubi, miso soup, and a couple of other items on the menu.

I ended up ordering a Large Bowl ($12.50); four scoops of protein, I did like that they had a marinaded version, almost like real poke (not), because the fish looked a bit dried out. So I got that, with the sweet and spicy sauce. Nice that they didn't charge extra for avocado like a lot of places do; white onions, cucumbers, and green onion. Simple is best.

This was actually not bad; the fish was relatively tender, not much connective tissue, no off flavors, the marinade and the "sauce" worked rather well. The avocado was starting to brown, but was fine. There was one sneaky little move….I don't remember requesting any wasabi, but I put this little lump of what looked like smashed avocado in my mouth….ho-ly smokes….try eating an entire spoonful of wasabi!

While not really "Poke" to me, I thought this was pretty good; perhaps on par with Tokyo Deli and much better than other versions I've had.

And yet, I just kinda let it go at that for a few months. Then a few weeks after reading Kirbie's post, I decided to head back. In search of a light lunch, I went with the Large – Salad option. And I did appreciate the availability of Hamachi, since many places don't serve it based on food cost. 2 scoops Ahi, two Hamachi, marinated (of course). I was a bit surprised at the rather small size (even for me a rather light eater) of the salad. Back "home" we call this "manini".

Man, this was on the small side….but all would be well if the fish was good. Which it wasn't. The Hamachi tasted a bit off; on the fishy end of the scale, I pushed that off to the side…my salad got even smaller. The Ahi this time had too much connective tissue and was too chewy. Well, the masago and the rest of the ingredients were decent.

In the end; I'm not quite sure which bowl is the norm here. All I've got to say is YMMV. And I really don't feel like a tie-breaker visit right now. Maybe one of these days.

Pacific Poke Co
9168 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 8pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 830pm