**** Mariscos el Cata is now Cocinas del Monte.
Back in February, I noticed that Mariscos El Cata was opening on Congress Street in Old Town. Then, at the end of May, while driving thru Old Town after a visit to Old Town Tequila, we noticed that El Cata seemed to be open. Since the parking lot at the corner of Twiggs and Congress was empty, we parked and walked on over. And yes, El Cata was open. At that time we were told that they were open from 11am until 7pm daily. So, we decided to head on over a few days later.
The place was empty except for two folks dining in the vast patio area.
We didn't quite know what the drill was and I walked in and flagged down the very friendly gentleman working. We got a nice table overlooking Congress Street and were handed menus which were quite vast in the offerings. Also of note was that there were two prices indicated, for cash versus credit card.
We placed our order and some nice chips, with a tangy salsa verde were provided.
We were also asked if we'd be needed "salsas" and for the heat level….of course the Missus said picante. And a couple of bottles of El Cata branded hot sauce were provided.
I really liked the heat of the Chiltepin Rojo.
We placed our order and after a short wait, our dishes started to arrive.
First up was the taco de pescado. Sadly, as you can tell, the fish had been over-fried and was almost black in color. It was also quite dry, probably from being overcooked.
Next up, the Taco de Camaron. In this case the shrimp was perfectly cooked, plump, mildly sweet, and well seasoned.
The sauce wasn't too rich and had a hint of sweetness to it. The tortillas, which were really mild in maize tones, wasn't up to the task here and fell to pieces quite quickly.
We also ordered the Ceviche de Camaron.
I swear I tasted some soy sauce in this ceviche negro; but I must be imagining things. I liked this refreshing dish. The shrimp had been chopped and for me, it made a nice bite when including the onions, cucumber on a tostada. The Missus thought the dish was short on shrimp and had too much "other stuff" for Her taste.
Right when this dish arrived, the nice gentleman came over and apologized….they had forgotten the other two tacos we ordered. This was soon rectified.
Next to arrive was the Gobernador.
This was pretty mild in flavor overall and it really lacked the layer of flavors that bell peppers add which add crunch with a nice chlorophyllic touch and onions which add a nice sweet pungency provide. Again, the tortillas just gave in and didn't make thru two bites. We also thought this was a bit over-sauced.
Finally, the Taco de Marlyn arrived.
The marlin was much milder than we're used to and this was also over sauced for our taste. Still it wasn't bad, but again, those tortillas didn't make it thru the first bite.
The place seemed to be going thru some opening issues, which is to be expected, though I would think having two other restaurants in Tijuana, the formula for the dishes would be the least of the place's problems. The guy serving us was nice and "El Cata" himself was on hand and came by to say hello.
And so, we were going to give the place a short pause before returning. But then, I saw this episode of Crossing South and we thought, well, why not give them another shot before leaving for our trip to Mexico.
The place was again quite empty, obviously still in soft opening mode. This time a very friendly and cheerful young lady waited on us. We placed our order and soon enough 2 Tacos de Pescado arrived.
The strange thing being, after our previous experience with the fish tacos here, we didn't order any tacos de pescado! We were the only customers in the place, so I don't think this was anyone else's order. In the end, instead of making a big deal out of it, we just had the tacos. Two key points regarding this was that this time the fish wasn't over fried and was moist, if a bit on the fishy side in flavor and El Cata was now using double tortillas which ensured that our tacos wouldn't be falling apart. the batter was also crisp and light. That's a step in the right direction for us.
In terms of our order; it seems that these two tacos replaced the Camaron a la Diabla and the Pulpo a la Diabla we ordered. On the positive side of things; we were only charged for tacos de pescado, not the more expensive tacos we ordered.
We did get the Taco de Todos Los Mariscos, the most expensive taco at $6.50 (cash price).
Again, double tortillas were used. The shrimp were plump and perfectly cooked and the pulpo was so tender. Loved the addition of red and green bell peppers and onions. Oh man, did I wish we had our pulpo taco! The avocado added a nice slightly sweet creaminess to the taco as well.
The Missus wanted to try the Aguachile. So, I ordered the Aguachile de Camaron with Salsa Verde.
This was a nice portion of plump shrimp. Though that salsa verde was very mild and really lacked acidity. And because of that; the shrimp never "cooked/cured" in the sauce. It was basically raw shrimp the whole way thru. The tostadas provided were tasty and up to the task, but that sauce was really weak.
We did enjoy the friendly folks working here. I like the quality of the shrimp and the pulpo in the taco was delish, so hopefully the next time I'll actually get pulpo when I order it. It'll be nice to return in a few months to see how things are progressing.
Mariscos El Cata
2543 Congress St.
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 7pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 8pm
The Logo, Theme (Celebrating A World of Music, The Universal Language) and President (
The artist rendition of Lions Clubs International entry, "Changing The World Through Music" has 'come to life'.
It's looking very much like the rendition and will have to be tested again, with 'weight' (people) on board. Then it will be ready for decorating, since it is colored in. Colors help the volunteer decorators and also help if there might be rain and some of the natural items used to cover (all visible portions of) the float succumb to the elements.
The 2024 Rotary International entry, "Clean Water-The Music of Life" is still in its basic rebar and wire structure. I can see umbrellas and the cuteness of this float, with the design supporting one the many areas of focus that Rotary serves internationally. 
The Petal Pushers and Lutheran Hour Ministries will have its 73rd entry in the Rose Parade in 2024, "Make A Joyful Noise Unto The Lord". It is the only Christian Themed float in the Parade.
Oddfellows and Rebekahs will be entering this cute, unicorn design, "All We Need Is Love". Did you know that each float plays music along the route? Well, we know the song that will be played on this float!
Kiwanis International is entering "Serving in Harmony", an old fashioned look some long past symbols of music and harmony (Nipper! His Master's Voice! and a Player Piano with a metronomic roll).
The Elks Clubs have another patriotic entry this year. I can see a Fife and Drum Corps and the back of the float looks like fireworks. 
The City of Alhambra is entering this dragon-esque float. 
Here is the base for what will most likely be another magnificent float, entered by Trader Joe's. 
It looks like a super version of Tokyo Central that we have in the 
It was before 9 a.m.-breakfast time. 
We had to. 
We made our selections, purchased a few other items, paid and found a seat at the front of the store. 
There is a water fountain available, but we had purchased this 2 liter bottle of Jasmine tea (on sale)
Our selections from the Hot Buffet serving trays: Vegetable Croquette, Cheese Tonkatsu, four Fried shrimp, two pieces of Teriyaki Chicken and one 'umami pork rib'. (Total bill for hot food was $14.58)
We purchased a loaf of Walnut Raisin bread, and new items- an iced ube matcha tea drink and carrot cake slice. Quite excellent new items.
The small signage with an interesting font was intriguing. Tappi's opened in October 2022. 
The menu, more intriguing. There were South of the Border and Mediterranean categories and some items with Japanese names, along with a good breakfast menu, (which has Japanese souffle pancakes as well as German and Ube pancakes available). Fusion? Con-fusion? Simply good food? 
We asked what the 'Soup of the Day' was. The answer was both tomato and broccoli cheese. Yes! One of each, please.
We decided to try the Khachapuri with kielbasa ($12). Plenty of cheese. filling fresh made crusty chewy bread, thin slices of a garlic-y kielbasa. A sizable meal (we took two slices home). 
I had seen Kunafa (crunchy, sweet, cheesy, creamy) at the bottom of the menu and knew I was going to order it. Our nice waitress said they were 'trying something new' and offering the kunafa as a sandwich for $11 (the large piece of kunafa by itself is $10).
Yes. The 'bread' is a sweetbread- an eggy, cardamom flavored, sesame seed topped delight. Separately or together, each bite was wonderful. We did take half of this home, too, to have with coffee.
Located the the mall on the South East corner of Third Avenue at Oxford in the Castle Park area, The Empanada Spot opened in April 2021. 
Step inside, order and pay and your empanada(s) will be cooked fresh to order. 
cc and I chose four savory flavors (there are dessert/sweet flavors available, but neither of us wanted any; we had plans). The price is $4 each.
Soon, a tray with freshly fried, piping hot empanadas and accompanying salsas were brought out to us.
Top left, The OG (a sort of fancy 'picadillo'-(finely chopped marinated steak, tomato sauce, potato) filling with or without olives). Bottom left, Rajas (poblano peppers with corn, onion and cheese). Top right, Chicharron (pork rinds in a red sauce and refried beans). Bottom right, Shrimp and Cheese (shrimp, mozzarella, onion and bell pepper).
We recently were back in the area and stopped in. 
I did not get a photo of the menu, but 
Of course we had to try a combo: Two chicken tenders, waffle, fries and a drink ($13.99).
I was curious about the falafel slider ($4.99)
A fresh made falafel patty with tahini, lettuce, tomato and a pickle on a toasted eggy bun. I really liked this. 
We also ordered a House Salad ($6.99). Mixed greens, cheese, onion, grape tomatoes and cucumbers. We asked for ranch dressing, which was standard and good.
Can't get much more generic than seeing something like this. 
Sure, you could walk up and grab a menu…but walking up and reading the walls can be more fun. 
Walk to the corner, order and pay. Have a seat.
Condiments are brought out and you can hear the sounds of chopping and stir fry happening in the kitchen.
Soon, a large bowl of Wor Won Ton Soup ($11.99) was brought out. Chicken, shrimp and pork filled won tons (dumpling sized) along with a plethora of fresh vegetables made this a great meal in itself.
Every vegetable was fresh and crisp. The shrimp were plump, chicken pieces were moist and quite large and the dumplings/won ton were flavor filled. 
Since this was a first visit, I had to order the Egg Foo Young ($12.99). The chef here had yet another unique way of preparation. 
The patties were batter dipped and fried to a crisp brown color, not filled with bean sprouts but instead, cabbage. Topped with the chicken (you could also order pork or shrimp EFY), ubiquitous peas and carrots and a good (not too salty) gravy, all flavors and textures remained bright throughout the meal.
Lately, The Mister and I are making an effort to stop and enjoy some sort of 'treat' after lunch and the Matcha Cafe Maiko has been on our radar. The flavor of matcha-the finely ground powder of specially processed green tea leaves ("Specially processed" means shade grown for about three weeks before harvest) is unique/ has a strong tannin note and the tea powder has more caffeine than sun-grown leaves. The powder is consumed as a suspension in water or milk, not steeped as a tea leaf is consumed. 
Walk up, order and pay (no cash; cards only) and your order is prepared and your number called out.
The menu boards are straightforward. There are pastries also available to purchase as well as a few items made in the kitchen (bubble waffles, Basque burnt cheesecakes). We are here for the matcha.
A Matcha Frappe (premium matcha blended with ice) and topped with whipped cream ($8) is filled with matcha flavors- a sweet nuttiness, along with a grassy note as well as some slight tannin bitterness..a flavor explosion which is satisfying.
A matcha affogato ($8.90)- an excellent coffee blended with premium matcha and topped with a soft serve swirl of matcha and yuzu ice creams (there are four soft serve ice cream flavors offered daily). We added a waffle cone ($1.50) just because. Multiple flavors and textures. An excellent bit of dessert.
The location in Mission Valley, across the parking lot from the Trader Joe's (at the Northwest corner of Interstate 8 and Mission Center Road), inside the former Fuddruckers, is closest to home, so we stopped here for lunch. 
Clean and organized, with indoor and outdoor seating, it is spacious. 
I decided to try a cup of the Green Lentil Soup ($3.99)-wow! Made with organic lentils, tomato, garlic, carrot, onion, parsley, mint and a vegetable broth, this was a *wonderful* version! All flavors can be tasted, even the mint. I definitely will get this again.
I chose the Falafel Appetizer plate ($9.99) as my main dish. Again-wow! The falafel are made with fresh ground garbanzo beans and various herbs, lightly fried so there is a crisp crust and flavorful fluffy interior. It's served with hummus (also fresh made with garlic and lemon juice) and tzatziki (made with yogurt, cucumber, dill, parsley, mint and garlic) and grilled pieces of pita. So fresh and filled with flavors, plenty for a meal or to share. 
The Chicken Brie Panini comes with a choice of standard salads or soup for $13.99, but you can choose the strawberry date salad for an additional $1.99…and The Mister did just that. 
The sandwich is on grilled artisan bread, made with chicken tenders, tomato, basil and Brie. It is a large, tasty sandwich.
The strawberry date salad is so very flavorful! Mixed greens and strawberries are tossed with candied walnuts, chopped medjool dates and Gorgonzola. This 'side' portion was more than enough for us to share and experience the flavors and freshness.