mmm-yoso – Page 60 – 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.

Midweek Meanderings – Mama Lin’s Replacing Saigon 5, it’s now Ujin Ramen instead of Hanyuzu Ramen, Honeyjam Chicken Looks ready to open? And the new sign for Golden City

March 20, 2024 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

So, here's some "stuffs" I found while driving around. Actually, this is just a couple of places, there's much more, but the title of the post was getting too long!

Mama Lin's Replacing Saigon 5:

So, on a previous visit to 99 Ranch Market on Balboa, I noticed that Sip n' Cluck was replacing Krispy Krunchy Chicken. Imagine my surprise on my last trip to 99 Ranch when I went to the restroom and saw that a stand named Mama Lin's was replacing Saigon 5!

Mamam Lin

Makes me wonder if business in this food court is not particularly busy. The place never seems busy…..

5950 Balboa Ave (Inside 99 Ranch Market)
San Diego, CA 92111

It's now Ujin Ramen instead of Hanyuzu Ramen:

**** You can find my post on Ujin here.

So, I've been avoiding Renaissance Towne Center because of all the crazy road work. Heck, I have to deal with the ever changing traffic patterns on Clairemont Drive; why would I want to expose myself to more of the same? Still, after 7 months or so of avoiding the area, I decided to to head on over to Chicago Fire Grill to see what's going on. In the end, I ended up trying a new place that opened up there (post upcoming) and got to see what was going on.

Ujin 01 Ujin 02 Since I arrived before 11, I took a stroll around the strip mall. It was quite interesting. Back in August of 2022 it seemed like a shop named Ramen Hanyuzu was coming to this mall. In June of 2023, ditto. But now, in March of 2024, it looks like Ujin Ramen is coming to this spot?

My goodness……

8935 Towne Centre Drive #113
San Diego, CA 92122

And what about Honeyjam Chicken?:

Good question. I mean way back in 2021, this spot was going to be JJ Chicken. Then, in October of 2022, "FOY" Patty and Rena alerted me to changes. Apparently, the place was now going to Honeyjam Chicken. Of course, it's now March of 2024.

Honeyjam opening 01

Well, there seems to be some work going on here. Still, not sure if or when they will open. It must be so frustrating for folks in the area who are looking forward to these businesses open. But can you imagine; that we're hiring sign has been up since I first saw the place in October of 2022. I mean, really, you want staff…….do they think folks will wait a year-and-a-half for work? It's quite sad….

8895 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122

The new sign for Golden City:

This is an interesting one. I saw a change of signs occurring for Golden City earlier in the week. Then "FOY" Derric sent me a message asking what was going on.

GC New Sign

When I first saw the sign, I drove into the parking lot and peeked into the restaurant…..the guy working and the decor looked the same. My one source said it was still the same with a change in the Chinese name of the place. The Missus said that in Chinese the name is now something along the lines of "Prosperity Palace". So we'll see…..

5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

And there's more; but I'll save that for a future post. Hope you're having a wonderful week!

Spicy Noodle (Kearny Mesa)

March 19, 2024 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Niu Rou Mian

I really wasn't too interested in checking out Spicy Noodle when I first noticed the place back in September. The restaurant had been Sunny Noodle for what seemed to be a blink of an eye. I had thoughts that perhaps the place had just changed names and redirected the "ship" to another destination of sorts. But, while looking at some info on the place a few months back, I noticed that the place opened at 1030 am, which for me, not being too interested in crowds, seemed like a good time of the day. So, I decided to head on over to Mercury Village Shopping Center to check the place out.

Spicy Noodle 01

It was a rainy day here in San Diego, so I thought it would be a perfect time to get some Niu Rou Mian.

Spicy Noodle 02

The interior looks basically the same as when the shop was Sunny Noodle, except for the pictures of various dishes and the menu and ordering process is still QR code based. The woman working is quite friendly, at least to me.

I ordered my Beef Noodle Soup ($15). Soon enough it was delivered to my table.

Spicy Noodle 03 Spicy Noodle 04 This was a fairly straight-forward bowl. The broth had a decent beefiness, hints of five spice, and was not as spicy as it looked. The broth was not very rich either.

There were five "chunks" of beef in the bowl, the beef was mildly flavored, though it was more tender than it looked. It could have used more flavoring and been simmered longer.

The big difference between what I'd had at Sunny Noodle and Spicy Noodle was…well, the noodles. These were thicker, with a decent "spring" and pull to them if a bit on the doughy side. Much better than what I'd had at "Sunny".

Spicy Noodle 05

This was fine, if not outstanding. Of course I needed to return, but wasn't quite sure what I would order. Then the Missus and I drove past and I pointed to the shop. The Missus told me the name in Chinese is "Chongqing Spicy Noodle", so perhaps I needed to try that on my next visit. Of course, the Missus wasn't going to join me for that visit!

Spicy Noodle 06

The woman remembered me from my previous visit and seemed happy to see me. I decided to try an appetizer as well as the Chongqing Xiao Mian. I was tempted to order the cucumber or kou shui ji, but those are more like "summertime" dishes for me. I decided to try the Spicy Crispy Pork ($9).

Spicy Noodle 07 Spicy Noodle 08 Man, this as a mistake. The pork, which seemed like strips of super lean, pounded pork chop were really tough, almost hard and dry. The batter was on the chewy side as well. The strips were lightly seasoned and not particularly spicy. I ended up using the dried chilies and a big splash of chili oil to help me consume this. I had a ton of it left over.

I also got the Chongqing Spicy Noodle ($12) and added an egg ($2).

Spicy Noodle 09 Spicy Noodle 10 In retrospect, the egg was also a mistake, it was ice cold, the yolk severely overcooked and dry.

On the interesting end of things; I'm thinking that the pork sent some kind of telepathic message to this bowl of noodles as it was serious spicy! Not much in the "ma" (numbing) end of things, but definitely "la" (hot and spicy). Being that Chongqing Xiao Mian differs form the usual dan dan mian in having a broth, this got me sweating in no time. The woman working saw this and cracked up, bringing me an entire pitcher of H2O.

Not a fan of the ground pork mixture as it was mealy and kind of bland….in total contrast to the broth!

Spicy Noodle 11

The noodles were the same as on the previous visit and did a great job of picking up the broth; to the detriment of my sweat glands!

Well, at this point I thought having two visits meant I'd get a post done. However, I noticed a dish ordered on the only other table occupied during my visit. It seemed like something I'd enjoy. So, a couple of weeks later I returned.

The Server, remembering my previous perspiration filled visit smiled and instantly brought me an entire pitcher of water! I guess I must now have a reputation, eh? I had actually brought a handkerchief this time and showed it to her which cracked her up.

Spicy Noodle 12

On the previous visit, the bowl I had seen is called the Fat Intestine Noodle ($15), which is what I ordered.

Spicy Noodle 13 Spicy Noodle 14 I don't know if they went easy on me, but this wasn't particularly spicy…I mean, it did have some heat, I actually enjoyed the funk induced broth, which was lightly permeated with the flavor of the "fat intestine". The broth edged on the salty side but was by far my favorite of the three visits. I enjoyed the offal-ly, funky, earthy pork bung. Yes, it was a bit chewy, but in a pleasant way.

The noodles seemed a bit different on this visit.

Spicy Noodle 15

Thinner a straighter, lacking in the nice broth lifting springiness that I enjoyed. It was cooked adequately, but I would prefer something with a bit more pull and heft. I'm hoping if I order this again, I'll have the other noodles.

Yes, I said order this again. I'll probably return when the weather turns warmer to get some of the liang cai and perhaps a bowl of bung noodles…… I think Spicy Noodle is a definite improvement over Sunny Noodle.

Spicy Noodle 00

Spicy Noodle
8046 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 1030am – 230pm, 5pm – 9pm

Sovereign Thai Cuisine Revisited

March 18, 2024 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

I guess the weather's warming up a bit since the Missus said She was craving Sovereign. It had been a while since my last post and though the Missus refused to catch the trolley there, we thought we'd check to see if we could find some decent parking. Which, for the Missus meant north of K Street and West of 15th Street. I will say that it looks like things have been cleaned up a bit in the area since my last visit and after finding parking on Island, between 13th and 14th we weren't accosted by folks like on my previous visits to the area.

We arrived at Sovereign and the place was doing some decent business at 330pm on a Sunday. We were given a nice table and looked over the menu. Our old favorites were there as well as a couple of items that caught our attention. Two of the items we'd had on previous takeout visits; which I hadn't posted on; the grilled chicken tail and the sour Lao sausage, both of which we enjoy weren't available.

We started things off with the Crispy Pork Belly ($14). We had enjoyed the spicy pork belly on our previous visit, though the rest of the dish wasn't to out liking. We thought just having that pork belly might work out well.

Sovereign Rev 01

And man, were we right! It doesn't look like much, but the thick slices of pork belly was wonderful. The skin crisp and crunchy, the fat melted away to a wonderful, rich velvetiness on your tongue. The sauce, which wasn't overly sweet or spicy helped to cut all the swine-a-licious goodness adding some balance to each bite. Though I don't think it would reduce your Cardiologists bill. Talk about a guilty pleasure.

The other new dish didn't fare as well, the Crispy Chive Cake ($14). I really didn't know what to expect.

Sovereign Rev 03

The coating was more hard than crisp. The filling was what seemed like a combination of overly gummy-glutinous, sticky rice and chives, of which more was needed for flavor. This was really bland, even with the sweet-savory sauce provided. Man was it chewy…..this reminded me of pan fried mochi. It really needed a savory boost in flavor.

From here it was our usual go-to dishes.

The Hat Yai Fried Chicken ($24).

Sovereign Rev 02

Crisp skin, tender flesh, the shallots add a nice pungent-sweet-crunchy layer to the dish. Nice mildly sweet-savory flavors from soy sauce-fish sauce-sugar. Always a favorite.

The Missus's favorite vegetable dish is the Stir Fried Eggplant with Basil ($14).

Sovereign Rev 04

Tender eggplant, I think more Thai Basil was needed this time around; but the dish has always been a favorite of the Missus.

And of course, the Thai Sausage ($13).

Sovereign Rev 05

Still our favorite in San Diego, crisp casing, tender pork filling, studded with herbs, with a slight spicy "kick" to things.

As you can tell, we enjoyed this meal. And while Sovereign doesn't provide that spicy "Issan" or Lao heat we enjoy, we have dishes here that are favorites of ours. And while there's still some environmental grittiness to the area around the restaurant, it seems like things might be changing for the better in the area.

And we found a new "favorite" dish to add to our typical order at Sovereign as well.

Sovereign Rev 06

Sovereign Thai Cuisine
1460 J Street
San Diego, CA 92101

Witch Creek Winery, Sleeping Tiger Coffees, and Carlsbad (Danish) Bakery (Carlsbad)

March 17, 2024 mmm-yoso Bakery, Caffeine Fix, Staycation, Wine Bars/Wineries

We enjoyed strolling back to our hotel after dinner at Jeune et Jolie. We had gotten some coffee at the shop on the corner of Carlsbad Boulevard and Grand Avenue on our last staycation in the area. I had forgotten to take photos during that visit. The coffee stand was actually in Witch Creek Winery. We decided to pop in and take a look. There were folks enjoying themselves, though the place wasn’t overly crowded.

The musician was plating Guantanamera which was a favorite of my late mom. We decided to finish off the evening with a nice glass of wine.

We got a glass of the Chardonnay and a glass of the White Blend.

The Missus really enjoyed the White Blend. We finished things off by sharing a glass of the Sparkling Wine, which I enjoyed. Fairly light, fruity, but not overly sweet.

We took the 3 block walk back to the hotel. It was a brisk, but pleasant night. We slept well. The next morning we woke and relaxed a bit. I went to get some coffee provided in the hotel’s recreation room and we sat on our porch and enjoyed ourselves.

We then took a nice stroll along the Carlsbad State Beach walkway.

After our morning walk, we decided to check out. The nice gentleman manning the front desk told us it would perfectly fine to leave our car in the lot until one or so. So we loaded up the car, then headed on out. The Missus wanted to check out some of the shop in the area, most of which didn’t open until 10. So we ambled up State Street and then Roosevelt.

I was getting a bit hungry and recalled seeing a fairly popular bakery during our last stay in the area. So we headed on over.

The name of the place is simply Carlsbad Bakery. It used to be named Carlsbad Danish Bakery.

The very nice woman working seemed to have a Danish accent, which made me smile as I hadn’t heard that in quite a while. I had thoughts about just getting a croissant, but decided on the Brie-Mushroom-Spinach pastry. The Missus got some flourless chocolate cake that She saved for later and enjoyed.

Pastry in hand we started walking back to the hotel.

As we walked past Witch Creek Winery, we decided to grab some coffee. And headed on in.

We’d been here on our last visit, so we knew what we wanted. The Missus got the Tanzania pour-over and I got a cold brew. We placed our orders and took a stroll around the shop.

The place was empty so it was nice to wander around.

There’s quite a bit of “stuffs” for sale in the shop and on the patio. Some of it was quite cute and charming.

Once our coffees were ready we took a seat outside and enjoyed watching the parade of pooches up and down the street. The Missus enjoyed Her pour over and the cold brew was great fuel for the drive ahead.

There’s a Starbucks next door which does some major business; but Sleeping Tiger was fairly quiet. I dunno, we much rather support a local business.

I had my pastry, which was much larger than it looked on the counter.

This was not bad; enjoyed the creamy brie which also had some nice earthiness, which the mushrooms further enhanced. The croissant dough was lightly buttery; though it lacked the flakiness that I enjoy; this was not bad. I guess I’ll need to try the croissants next time.

You can read about Soo’s visit to Carlsbad Bakery here.

I’m guessing we’ll be returning to these two stops when visiting Carlsbad.

Carlsbad (Danish) Bakery
2805 Roosevelt St.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Tues – Sat 7am – 3pm
Sunday 7am – 1pm
Closed on Monday

Witch Creek Winery
2906 Carlsbad Blvd.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs Noon – 7pm
Friday Noon – 8pm
Saturday Noon – 9pm

**** Sleeping Tiger Coffee is no longer

Sleeping Tiger Coffees (In Witch Creek Winery)
2906 Carlsbad Blvd.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Current Hours:
Thurs – Mon 7am – 5pm
Tues – Wed 7am – 3pm

We had enjoyed Carlsbad; but now it was time to head on over to our next stop…..

Le Menu du Bar at Jeune et Jolie (Carlsbad)

March 14, 2024 mmm-yoso French Restaurants, Memorable Meals, Road Trip, Staycation

Like I mentioned in my previous post, the Missus requested a Road Trip to a specific location. This also gave us an opportunity to revisit Jeune et Jolie and spend a night in Carlsbad before heading off. After our last meal at JeJ my friends "B&G" had seen my photos and taken it upon themselves to head on over and have dinner. Though they didn't make reservations. Instead, they dined at the bar, which has its own menu and doesn't take reservations. They had no problem getting seats at the bar arriving right before 5pm on a Friday. The bar menu had several items that looked enticing, so we thought we'd try our luck on a Friday no less!

This time around we stayed at the Tamarack Resort, which we enjoyed. The location was right across from Carlsbad State Beach and had ample underground parking; at least when we arrived.

We checked in and relaxed until it was time to head out to try our luck.

We enjoyed the short stroll over to the restaurant and arrived 5 before 5. There were several parties ahead of us; but most had reservations for dining in. We easily got a place at the bar; which filled up quickly and was totally full in minutes!

Service was friendly and relaxed, yet still quite efficient. The Missus started with a Chardonnay and I had the House Old Fashioned which was no joke!

We placed our orders, we had eaten a fairly big lunch before heading out, so the smaller bites on the menu suited us perfectly. There are offerings of oysters, prawns, a plat du fruits du mer, but we had other things in mind.

"B" had stated that the Croque Monsieur ($44) was his favorite item of his meal, so we started with that. We didn't know what to expect and this is what arrived.

If there was ever a dish to be named "death by truffle" this might be a contender. So the earthy-sweet truffle and brioche really dominated these bites. We really couldn't make out the jamon iberico. Don't get me wrong; you know how much we love truffle, but this was just a bit too sweet and out of balance for me.

Seeing one of my favorites from the tasting menu available, I made sure to order the Veal Tartare ($23).

This was every bit as good as what I'd had before. Tender veal, chopped to my preferred size, nice touch of pungency, the flavor of white soy added a nice savory-saltiness, the crunchy-peppery radish was a nice foil, and the nori powder added another nice layer of flavor.

One item that I really enjoy when in France are Gourgeres, though it's getting a bit more difficult to find light puffs of savory pastry and cheese these days. Even in Paris, where it used to be sold be weight. So, when I saw Gourgere ($16) on the menu I had to get it. Even though it was filled with mornay.

My goodness, we loved these! The crisp and light choux was filled with a savory-pleasantly cheesy Mornay, which even had a nice touch of garlic. That wonderful nutty-earthy-savory-mushroomy flavor of the black truffle came thru clearly as well. We could taste all the components which made this dish delici-yoso! In fact, we had a second order of these!

You know, we enjoy Carlsbad in spite of the lack of Asian food offerings in the area. I hate to think how much damage to my wallet we'd do if we lived in walking distance of Jeune et Jolie!

Jeune Et Jolie – Le Menu du Bar only served at the bar and small "lounge" area. No reservations, first come first served.
2659 State St.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Current Hours:
Wed – Sun 5pm – 10pm

After dinner we took a nice stroll.

Where we passed several venues with folks having a great time!

Very relaxed, laid-back……fun!

On the way back to the hotel, the Missus and I decided to get a glass of wine at a place we'd had coffee at on our previous visit.

Where on the road were we?

March 13, 2024 mmm-yoso Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Travel, yoso-silly

Well, in case you didn't notice; things were a bit quiet here over the last couple of days. Cathy has been super busy and as for us; well, we had us a little road trip. Where you might inquire? I'm glad you asked.

We started fairly locally and did almost a repeat staycation from last month.

And enjoyed another meal at what is now a favorite of the Missus.

We enjoy the vibe here…..

Our next stop was for dinner at a new Chinese restaurant that I understand spent 3 million dollars on renovations before recently opening.

Well, to say the decor was impressive is an understatement.

Our next stop was a city in Northern LA County. A charming and friendly city, with a lovely "main street".

The Missus wanted to go hiking in the area to see if the poppies were in bloom. Which was just starting up, so we didn't see much.

Regardless, we really enjoyed the nice 5 1/2 mile hike, which was quite easy. It was so peaceful, we just loved the sounds of the birds chirping and singing…..

The city itself is famous for Aerospace development.

And there's some pretty over-the-top street art as well.

We had two dinners in town.

Perhaps a bit more "fried centric" than we are for these days. But I got to get my fried cheese curd fix in.

Along with some nice brews.

On the return trip we had lunch at an old favorite, which really delivered.

And then dinner at an Omakase only place we'd been wanting to try for a while.

We just returned and am getting things in order.

Thanks for dropping by and my apologies while I try to climb back to reality!

Road Trip – The Winsor Trail and Dinner at The Shed (Santa Fe, NM)

March 10, 2024 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, New Mexico, Road Trip, Santa Fe/Taos, New Mexico, Travel

On our one full day in Santa Fe, the Missus wanted to get some hiking in. So we got up early and had breakfast provided by our accommodation, the Inn of the Governors at the attached restaurant El Charro. As before, the breakfast was decent, unlike before the staff was very friendly and accommodating.

And just like we'd done on that previous visit we headed off to do some hiking. This time we did the Winsor Trail to Jawbone Trail which was about 15 minutes out of Santa Fe.

Not much elevation, but we had to watch for all the mountain bikers who were hauling down the trail on the way back.

Though we caught up with most of them because it seems the river crossings had been washed out, so you had to be a bit creative when crossing the river.

After our hike we headed back to the hotel and relaxed. Our breakfast held us up until dinner. Knowing this would be the case, I had made early reservations. Like dinner the night before our destination was just a short walk away. We headed out a few minutes early so we could wander and window shop along the way.

It's fun to wander about and check out the little shops.

I really wanted to try New Mexican cuisine and had been lobbying the Missus to finally have some. You see, the Missus is not the biggest fan of Tex-Mex and good lord after having so many wonderful meals in Mexico it had become more difficult then ever to convince Her. What I did manage to communicate was that She should perhaps consider New Mexican cuisine to be "regional", where the current cuisine shows influences of the local product and those who lived here.

The Shed had been recommended to me by several people, a couple of which had either lived or have relatives who live in Santa Fe. It had been described as "classic", "quintessential", an "institution" and other adjectives to me. I was told that "yes tourists go here….but so do we when we visit relatives." The place has even garnered a James Beard Foundation Award as "an American Classic of timeless appeal" in 2003. The Shed opened in 1953 and has been going strong ever since.

We arrived right at the opening time at 5pm, there was already a line outside. Luckily we had reservations as the restaurant filled up quickly. We were seated in the patio area.

Where we heard the line that became the "shot across the bow" for our meal. A gentleman, American mind you, looked up from the menu and asked the super patient Server, "ummmm, what's an enchilada?" Whoa….. I really felt for the Servers here, each one seemed to patient, even though the placed was totally packed! Our Server was amazing!

The Missus wanted some Guacamole and Chips to start.

The guacamole was fine, we prefer our guacamole a bit more coarse, with more heat, and this really in need of salt and more lime. It was almost like this was made in a food processor.

The chips were warm, with a perfect thickness, and crisp.

When the Missus saw Pozole on the menu She had to try it. I was a bit hesitant, because, well, I make pozole from scratch (yes, I know I need to get that post done).

My goodness, this was terrible. The hominy was obviously canned, over cooked and mushy. The menu said that lean pork was used; no kidding! The broth had no taste…..I don't use pig head for my version but do use pig feet…this had no flavor. To us it was pozole in name only.

The Missus got the Tamale appetizer smothered in cheese and green chile.

The Missus didn't care much for this either; saying that the sauce was very bland and the tamale lacked a good corn flavor.

I got the Enchilada Plate, which came with a side of "Pozole", the hominy was again mushy and bland, and beans, which had a decent texture, but lacked flavor as well.

I got this "Christmas style", that is with both red and green chile. The corn tortillas were quite good, nice flavor, the green sauce did seem a bit bland, the red had a mild smokiness and I enjoyed it more. Both sauces weren't spicy at all.

Service was wonderful, but this was not a great introduction to New Mexican cuisine for us. In spite of all the recommendations, based on the location, perhaps this is mainly a tourist restaurant that makes "food not to offend"?

The Shed Restaurant
113 1/2 E Palace Ave.
Santa Fe, NM 87501

Oh well, you can't win 'em all!

We took our usual stroll after dinner. We really enjoy wandering around Santa Fe.

This is a statue of Pedro de Peralta who is credited with formally establishing Santa Fe.

Check out this cool swing.

There's so much public art to see.

We always enjoy Santa Fe!

Thanks for stopping by!

Zion Market Now Moving in 2024?

March 9, 2024 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

*** 01/25/2025 – The new location of Zion Market has finally opened, if you'd like to see my post on the new location you can find it here.

I was doing some quick shopping at Zion Market….I try to get in and out of the chaotic place as quickly as possible. I took a detour to the restroom and walked thru the food court.

Zion FC

For some reason, I hadn't noticed that Monnani Kkwabaegi had closed!

Monnani Closed

In fact, three of the seven food court stands are now closed. I wondered if Zion's (supposedly) impending move had something to do with this?

Back in August of 2022 I noticed the Zion Market Coming in 2023 sign on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, which caught me by surprise. Of course, 2023 in now in the books! Last month Eater had an update on Zion's relocation. Which had me wondering how the construction was coming along. I hadn't been east of Mercury Street and Clairemont Mesa in a while, so I took a quick drive after shopping and swung into the parking lot at 8330 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard to take a look.

And check out the construction across the street!

Zion 2024 00

Looking at the construction of Zion Market, it seems that things are moving along.

Zion 2024 01

The Eater post claimed that Zion will relocate and open in the Summer of 2024. Hmm…… Like "FOY" Kenneth said in the comments of my previous post:

"Just take the developer's projected time frame and triple it and that's about when they'll complete the job…..."

Lol!

And guess what? The "Coming Soon 2023" sign is still up!

Zion 2024 02

So perhaps it's been decided not to make any more ambitious projections?

8330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Road Trip – Sazon (Santa Fe, NM)

March 7, 2024 mmm-yoso Fine Dining, Latin American Cuisine, Memorable Meals, Mexican Restaurants, New Mexico, Road Trip, Santa Fe/Taos, New Mexico, Travel

One of the main reasons we headed back to Santa Fe for another road trip was to dine at Sazon. We had really wanted to have dinner at Sazon during our last stay (Sept 2022), but the Chef, Fernando Olea who hails from CDMX had recently won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest and reservations were impossible to come by. So, instead we ended having a nice meal at Geronimo. This time, I managed to get reservations for an early dinner. The restaurant located in one of those classic Santa Fe Adobes one block from our hotel.

The place was already buzzing when we were seated. The dining area is divided in different rooms, each adorned with colorful artwork.

The service was professional, but warm and not stuffy. There is a tasting menu available during two specific seatings, but we just wanted to try items we saw on the regular menu.

IMG_8464_01

The Missus started with some Champagne, I was looking forward to our upcoming (at that time) trip to Tequila in the upcoming month and had a Tres Generaciones Anejo. We were also provided with a Mole sampler, some of which was too sweet for the Missus, so we were glad to have just gone with ordering off the menu. You'll also soon see why…..

As things started with the Tuetano – Bone Marrow. You know how much I like bone marrow, right?

The salsa rojo on the bone marrow had a nice kick and really blended well with the buttery richness of the marrow. It went so well with the maizey tortillas. This was a nice start.

Next up; the Higado de Ganzo – Foie Gras with a raspberry-coconut sauce on crostini.

The sweetness of the sauces and the resiny flavor of the pine nuts overwhelmed the small slices of foie gras in this dish. It was just a bit too much stuff, which made it a "foie faux" to us.

Next up were these.

The Xochimilco – Huitlacoche, with queso fresco was so delici-yoso.

Oh my, the earthy-mushroomy-sweet huitlacoche paired so well with the slightly milky queso fresco, which added a melty-buttery texture. The corn tortillas added heft and the salsa a bit of heat, with a mild sweetness.

We also enjoyed the Oaxaquenos – Chapulines, which was served over mashed avocado.

Just by themselves, the light and crunchy grasshoppers had a really nice savory-grassy-mild spice that was so nice. Our Server told us that it had been infused with garlic and olive oil and chili de arbol. The corn tortilla was a perfect match as was the avocado.

There was one last dish I really wanted to try; the Cholula, which is the Chef's take on the Chile en Nogada. this was served in a tower format, rather than the usual stuffed chile poblano.

Well, this had a lot going on; the meat here was a combination of ground lamb, pork, and beef; which was seriously overshadowed by a very tasty, not overly sweet and creamy-rich walnut sauce. The balsamic vinegar sauce added another level of sweet-acidity, with a touch of heat from jalapenos. We'd have enjoyed more of the bitter-sweetness provided by the pomegranate seeds. The poblanos added a nice mild green bell pepper flavor to things. That walnut sauce is what made the dish in our opinion.

Overall, this was a memorable meal, the service was excellent, the dishes interesting with such a range of flavors! I'm glad we were able to finally have dinner here!

Sazón
221 Shelby St.
Santa Fe, NM 87501

After dinner, we took a nice stroll. This is the Bell Tower Bar, where we had drinks earlier in the day.

We passed those places we visited on our last trip here.

The Loretto Chapel.

The San Miguel Chapel.

Santa Fe Plaza.

And all the enjoyable public art.

It made for a very relaxing time!

Thanks for stopping by!

Bann at Gourmet Artisan

March 6, 2024 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants, Online Food Suppliers

**** Gourmet Artisan has closed

Back in January I noted that Bann, located in the HMart Food Court had closed. I used to visit them once in a while when they were located on Miramar Road. Less so when they pulled up roots and moved to H Mart. Still, I was sad to see them close as I had enjoyed their kimchi fried rice.

Well, I’m not quite sure if you know this, but I do have an Instagram Account. I’m not tied to it much as I much prefer long form posts. I usually put up odds and ends, photos after I actually do a post and such. Anyway, I basically set-up my Instagram account so I could keep in touch with folks like Dennis of a Radiused Corner, or “CC”. But, once in a while I will learn something from Instagram; not necessarily from a post. For example, I know folks who are great “FOYs” who also do posts on that platform. One of them is Derric, who was nice enough to send me a screen shot of a text he recently got.

Bann at GA 1

Hmmmm, Bann at Gourmet Artisan? A place that I’ve posted on many times before? Hmmm……..

So, this past week, I wanted to see what was up with SuperNatural Sandwiches, I dropped by in January and the place was closed with a sign saying reopening mid-January, but it was already late January and…..well, more on that in a future post.

I decided to go ahead and see what was up with the Gourmet Artisan. Now, GA is one of the few places that I don’t mind doing online ordering from since there doesn’t seem to be an upcharge for that (so long it’s done from the website). So, I went to the web page and then to the “Order Pickup” and quickly noticed this:

Bann at GA 02 (2)

So, I scrolled down and found the “Pick-up Meal Deals”. You order these ahead for one of the designated pick-up times. Of course, I was disappointed to see that kimchi fried rice wasn’t available. But, the Bulgogi Bowl was $9.99! Man, in this day and age, that’s a reasonable price.

Bann at Gourmet Artisan

I placed my order and just like when ordering a sandwich from GA, was informed when my food was being worked on. I’m close enough to the shop to get there in ten minutes.

Bann at GA 02

And my order was being placed on the counter when I arrived. There were four other takeout orders on the counter as well.

Bann at GA 03

I guess Bann has some kind of pseudo “ghost kitchen” thing going at GA?

Anyway, I was interested in trying the bulgogi, since Bann always called their version of the dish “marinated beef”, not bulgogi.

Bann at GA 04

Well, the beef looked as I remembered it. Though this “bowl” had much less vegetable filler than what the former version of Bann sold. The veggies are really undercooked.

The portion size was quite good; the rice moist. But like the “old Bann” the marinade was really weak, you can tell by the color. It was in need of more…of well, everything, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic. On the good side; the beef was much more tender than I recalled. I’d say for $9.99 this might be worth the price.

Bann at GA 05

Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I’m glad to have tried this and will keep an eye out to see if anything else, that doesn’t have bulgogi (or salmon) in it will be offered. Or heck, I’ll get a sandwich from there on my “next round”.

The ghost kitchen stuff is getting interesting……

Bann at Gourmet Artisan – Bann items currently only available for online ordering and pick-up
7094 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121

Thanks for thinking of us Derric, I really appreciate it!