Closed – Page 56

The Corner of First and Main Part 2: Cafe Secret

April 2, 2013 mmm-yoso Peruvian Restaurants

**** Cafe Secret has closed

Lately I've been noticing that "firsts/appetizers" on menus are often times more interesting than main courses. Like the Blind Burro, I found that to be true at Cafe Secret as well. Cafe Secret is named quite well, though located on Camino del Mar, it's really easy to miss, especially at night.

I hadn't seen my good friends Howie and Jenne in a while and Candice suggested we get together. I believe it was Jenne who picked Cafe Secret. I hadn't had good Peruvian Food in a while, so this was a good choice.

The tiny dining area could be described as either cozy or cramped depending on the foot traffic on the sidewalk that the dining area straddles and the customers.

The staff here was nice enough, though there were forgotten place settings, glasses, and an appetizer that arrived after all the entrees had almost been finished. Still, one can't complain when a dish of canchita (roasted corn kernels), something that I really enjoy.

The night started with drinks; I got a Cristal, and the girls Pisco Sours. Which took me back to the musty bar of a hotel in Lima Centro. It was a nice way to start a meal.

I decided on ordering three appetizers, while the rest of the group went with a cebiche and mains. It would turn out to be a good amount of food for us all.

The first item to appear was the Cebiche Mixto ($17). I believe this was the best dish of the night.

I really enjoyed the balance of the leche de tigre, the "marinade" or sauce if you will that is used to flavor the dish. It had a nice balance of sour and briney goodness. It's been a while since I've had cebiche this good. I only wish there was more of it, along with some spoons for scooping up the leche de tigre and canchitas. The lenguado, white fish, was marinated perfectly, too long and it get mushy, too short and it's tough. The calamari also was very tender. I'd gladly have this again.

The Tiradito ($15) was a different story.

There's always a sense of adventure in ordering tiradito, a dish often credited to the Nikkei Perujin, the Japanese who had immigrated or were born in Peru. Every version I've had was different; from the fantastic, full flavored, and wonderful Tiradito en Crema de Rocoto I had at El Fayke Piurano in Central Lima, to the garlic and lemon tones of the Tiradito Alfresco at Alfresco in Miraflores, it can be an interesting ride. This fish in this version was cut thick, almost like a tweener, the thickness of hirazukuri, but at an angle like usuzukuri. I've found that my favorite versions of tiradito are when fish is cut in thin strips, or thin like carpaccio. This was a bit too thick for me. The sauce was almost a weird tropical-asian incarnation, mildly fruity, but with ginger-sesame tones. This isn't my favorite preparation of tiradito, as the flavor just didn't keep me interested.

I also ordered the Shrimp Causa, which seemed a bit over-priced at $15 for what is basically mashed potato.

I will say that I liked the presentation, the shrimp was cooked to perfection, and this was nicely flavored. Rich, but not over-the-top, with a little kick. This was good.

Candice ordered the Chupe; basically a seafood based chowder. Think of it as being a richer version of Mexican Caldo de Mares, but with less of a acidic-oregano kick. The broth had a nice ocean flavor, tough I would have appreciated a bit more acid and salt. I'm not sure about the rest, but Candice seemed to enjoy it.

Howie ordered the classic Peruvian dish Lomo Saltado ($18).

Made with tenderloin, this was very tender. It just seemed to fall short in flavor. There seemed to be components missing with regards to flavor. It was missing salt, an herbaceous tone, huacatay is often used in Peru, and perhaps some alcohol or vinegar for zing. Overall, very flat in flavor.

Jenne ordered the very unmacho, Macho ($22), basically Pescado a lo Macho.

What I tasted of this dish was pretty bland.

The entrees were almost done and I wondered what happened to the Papas and Yucuitas a la Huacaina($10), so I asked. Without blinking an eye, they told me it was being prepped. Now, this is an appetizer, basically fried potatos and yuca with a cheese sauce…….they could have told me they forgot, but what the heck.

I've had versions of this that were made with a ton of parmesan…making it super salty. This was all the way on the other end of the spectrum, being quite bland. The sauce was a bit too thick and seemed to be getting thicker by the moment. Of course I love yuca in all forms, so I wasn't complaining.

We ended our meal sharing a very well made alfajores ($3):

It was great hanging out, we actually hadn't had a meal together in over a year! There was a ton of catching up to do and I don't think that was fully accomplished, so I think we'll have to di this again soon!

As for Cafe Secret, next time it'll be cebiche, cebiche, cebiche……that's probably worth a revisit on its own.

Cafe Secret
1140 Camino Del Mar
Del Mar, CA 92014

Falafel Friday: Oasis Restaurant and Lounge – Bay Ho

March 29, 2013 mmm-yoso Mediterranean Restaurants

** Oasis is now Spice & Soul

I mentioned this place opening, along with Dan Diego back in November of last year. A couple of weeks later I went to check them out.

The interior was clean, bright, and spacious and looked nothing like the taco shop that was formerly at this location. The menu was a bit odd; Med/Middle Eastern on one side, Burritos on the other. There were several beers on tap, most of them standard local brews. I found the combination of all three kind of confusing….was this a bar serving Mediterranean food, or a Med-Mex restaurant featuring beer and wine. Throw in the hookah room in the back, add ESPN running on all the television sets and you got a Med-Mex-hookah-sports bar. The folks running the place are friendly enough. I was told they own the liquor store across the parking lot, so maybe that explains the beer and wine.

Most of the plates, salads, and stuff ran north of $7.95, but under ten bucks, which didn't seem bad. I decided on something called the "Crazy Kofta" ($9.95):

Basically mass produced pita, with some mildly seasoned kofta meat, a bit on the dry side. Iceberg lettuce, tomato (which was actually pretty good), red onion, and sumac. Throw in some rather limp fries and a mild yogurt sauce. Nothing really special. It was nice to have this option in the neighborhood, but this didn't seem like a good value.

Still, the folks running the place were really friendly, so I returned with some friend for drinks one evening. We basically had a couple of beers, Ange a glass of wine, and we decided to get the Falafel Plate.

The falafel were really hard, gritty, and dry,tasting of too much parsley, with a bit of bitterness thrown in. The hummus was too thick and tasted like the store-bought stuff. This also seemed a bit over-priced at $7.95.

For some reason, it just seemed like Bay Park just couldn't pull off some really good grub…..Oasis just seemed like a bar that served Mediterranean Pub Grub. But maybe that's what they were shooting for. I really like the folks here, but I'd pretty much marked this down as a place to get a beer or two and not much more.

A couple of weeks ago, I happened to be in the area during lunch and decided to stop by again. I was surprised to find a "Lunch Specials" menu, with everything at five bucks. So I decided on the Falafel Pita. I was surprised when my plate arrived….there was no mention of fries on the menu, but there it was.

Sure, it was the same mass produced supermarket pita…iceberg lettuce, sumac, et al. But there were four falafel in the sandwich, which were much better, more moist, and the parsley taste had been toned down so I could make out some mild spice.

The fries were done to a decent SYSCO-liciousness. Perhaps the kitchen was still feeling its way during my first two visits. I thought this was priced right at $5, or even six.

Oasis is a nice addition to the neighborhood, though not a place to go out of your way for.

Oasis Restaurant & Lounge
4033 Avati Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Is this the new king of salt and pepper chicken wings? Liu’s Chinese Restaurant

March 25, 2013 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants

**** Liu's Chinese Restaurant has closed

Funny thing, I've been in a bit of a Salt and Pepper Chicken Wing slump. Royal Mandarin has been kind of going downhill and the last two orders from Mandarin Canton have been less than stellar. For almost the last year, I've heard folks mentioning a place called Liu's on Coronado Avenue in Nestor. One even dubbed them the "King of Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings". So finally, FOY (friend of yoso) "RightCowLeftCoast" mentioned the place….this provided the impetus for driving down the I-5 toward IB and stopping in a strip mall to find Liu's. Which is located near a Rite Aid and a Barber Shop.

This place looks like something from a different age….man, those 70's were something, right? I loved the A-B-C-D on the window. I always call these types of restaurants ABCDE – abceedee – American Born Chinese Dining Establishments.

Man, the interior of this place is kinda beat.

Though I did kind of love the little figures lined up on the old fashioned diner sill.

And no, the peeling wallpaper, yellow and running signs, the torn seats, nor the rather sticky floor that could use a steam clean, or perhaps a hand grenade didn't bother me at all. I've had no less than three people tell me that this place made really good chicken wings. Places like this don't stay in business by poisoning their clientele.

The menu actually gives you reverse sticker shock…..Shrimp Fried Rice $5.85? I love that all the dishes also had Spanish translations. Still, I was here with one thing in mind, the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings ($7.50), which happens to be one of the most expensive items on the menu.

If it's all about the batter, you'll like these, not as salty as other versions, but still with a touch of sneaky heat. The batter is lacquer like; which puts it into the class of Mandarin and Mandarin Canton…there's lots of crunch going on here.

My big complaint is the very low quality of the wings. Do you see the wings with the "black" in them. The bones in these wings had broken and the fluid and the marrow from the bones had seeped out, changing the flavor of the meat. I know you probably don't eat wings for the meat, but still…… That one drum on the bottom tasted freezer burnt. Nine wings at $7.50, that means 80 plus cents a wing….in spite of the prices of other items on the menu, that's not a good value based on the lack of quality control. One of these days I gotta learn about how wings are graded and sold…..I'll put that on my bucket list.

The wings here are not bad….in fact, if you run into a batch that isn't freezer burnt, or suffering from marrow ooze, you'll probably like it a lot.

The King of Salt and Pepper Wings…..don't start the coronation yet.

Liu's Chinese Restaurant
1850 Coronado Ave
San Diego, CA 92154

Is that Don or Dan…Diego that is: First up let’s try Don Diego

March 18, 2013 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

*** Don Diego's is no more

A strange thing occurred round these parts over the last couple of months. Two restaurants with similar names opened up, Don Diego and Dan Diego. At first I thought they were possibly related, but they couldn't be more different….one is a "Taco Bar" and the other is a "Euro Cafe and Pub". Both of them have one thing in common…..a huge selection of beer. I believe each has over a hundred different bottled and a good amount on draft.

Actually, I really wasn't too motivated to try the place out. But the Missus was working one evening and gave me a list of stuff She needed me to pick up. The last stop was from Sprouts (formerly Henry's) on Genesee. It was kind of late and I was both tired and hungry, so I thought why not check out this place.

The place looks more like a sports bar than a taco shop. They've really brightened up the place. You might remember it as being Trattoria Firenze.

There were ten beers on tap and at least a hundred bottled, with a good selection of local beers. I decided to try the various proteins in mini taco form, each ran about $1.85… and got a Yellowtail.

They quickly ran me out a basket of chips, which were thin and crumbly, not really that great, but hey, it's gratis, right?

The salsas are pretty straight-forward. I also noticed that the folks who seem to be running this "Taco Bar" didn't seem to be Hispanic. Which factored a bit into my ordering.

I've developed a bit of a habit when it comes to tacos….I always taste the protein on it's own first, just to see how it tastes. And the Adobada wasn't a good start as the meat was mushy and the marinade very bland.

The carnitas followed the same bland profile.

The carne asada took things one step further and was not only very bland, but also tough as heck.

I think the folks running the place are Middle Eastern, though the guy manning the grill is Hispanic. With this in mind, I ordered the birria just out of curiosity since it was listed as lamb on the menu. This was more like an asado of mutton as it was pretty tough. It did have a surprisingly decent gamey flavor to it.

One out of three ain't a bad batting average for bland meats in store bought tortillas with what seemed like store bought chips. The guys working here were very nice however, they even offered me more chips (I passed). So I thought it only fair to visit one more time.

While the place was pretty busy on my previous visit, things were pretty quiet on this day. Same nice group of guys working though.

I did notice something curious about the salsa bar on this trip…notice the olives and sliced pepperoncini.

I decided just to go off the deep end and try a gyro taco (gasp!), along with the birria this time out.

It was some very dry gyro meat on cold tortillas, topped with a tasteless under ripe tomato slice, topped with a sorta-tzaziki sauce that was too thick. Man, this was just plain bad.

The birria tasted just like what I had before.

I also tried one of the TJ style bacon wrapped hot dogs….ketchup and all.

So let us take this apart, shall we? A mushy hot dog, wrapped with burnt bacon, looking like a certain charred body part in a dry, cold, hot dog bun. I'll go out on a limb here and say the ketchup and mustard were the best part of this…..

No mas……

I will again say how nice the guys here are and I was told that they were going to soon have 32 beers on tap. As for what I ate……well, you can figure that out, right?

Don Diego's Taco Bar
4421 Genesee Ave
San Diego, CA 92117
Hours:
Daily 10am – 10pm

Falafel Friday: Mister Falafel

March 8, 2013 mmm-yoso Lebanese Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants

**** Mister Falafel has closed

"Way on the other side of the Hudson
Deep in the bosom of suburbia……"
What that Dean Friedman song has to do with this post, I dunno……but for some corny reason I love the song.

There's something bright and sunny about it…..

Sort of like the bright and sunny interior of this little shop in the strip mall on the corner of Genesee and Clairemont Mesa, hidden behind the gas station and Panda Country.

I recall this being a Mexican Bakery…..how long ago Mister Falafel took residence here I've no clue. This seems to be a family operation, an older couple and a younger gentleman run the shop….always gracious, always letting me know "it will be just a while for your food, we make it to order."

Since this place is called Mister Falafel, I just had to try the namesake of the shop, right? The menu is compact with salads, "sandwiches" (pita based of course), salads, plates, sidea, and smaller portions called "munchies". I ordered a Falafel Munchie ($3.50)

This was nice, I enjoyed it as a good change of pace from the usual gritty falafel. This version is smooth with a less pronounced parsley flavor. I was told that they use favas as well as garbanzo beans for their falafel. The tahini is more like mayo and doesn't have a real strong flavor.

You can have one side with your order andI chose the Hummus, which was fairly garlicky.

It came with seasoned fried pita chips which went nicely with the dish.

I had ordered the Beef Schwarma Sandwich, which turned out to be pretty large. I thought it was nicely priced at $6.50. As much as I enjoyed the sides, I really didn't care much for this. The meat was very tough, there was too much pita and tahini, you really couldn't taste much. It was pretty hefty though.

Two out of three ain't bad, so I returned a couple of days later. This time I ordered a falafel sandwich and some fries. I saw garlic paste, one of my favorite things on the menu….this leads me to believe the folks who own this little shop are Lebanese.

This was nice and full of garlic flavor, perhaps not as smooth and balanced (I know that sounds wrong when referring to garlic paste) as Alforon's, but much better than what Mama's makes.

Soon enough the sandwich and fried arrived. The fries were typical.

Perhaps I should have learned from my schwarma sandwich. This was just too much stuff and you really couldn't enjoy the rather mild flavored falafel. It was quite filling….you could say I was "fala-full" after eating this.

I think I'll stick with the "munchies" and a couple of sides the next time I visit.

And there will be a next time. The folks running this place couldn't be nicer and the prices are quite reasonable. That's enough to get me to come back.

Mister Falafel
4461 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117
Hours:
Tuesday – Sunday 1100am – 800pm

B.H. Chung

March 4, 2013 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants

*** Update: BH Chung has closed and is now a location of Yu's Garden

I usually get into work at around 6 in the morning…..this means that I'm actually able to spend more time with the Missus and Da Boyz during the evenings and I get a ton of work done before other folks get into work. One drawback of going to work so early is that I can get pretty hungry by the time 1030 rolls around. So I'm always looking for places that open by 1030 or 11. A couple of years back, Cathy posted on BH Chung, I also know of a few people who enjoy the Katsu Curry here as well. An added bonus is that even though BH Chung is housed in the Convoy strip mall with the parking lot from hell, they, along with Tofu House open pretty early.

Frankly, I'm not a big fan of most of those Korean-Japanese "Hwe" type places, though it's really hard to screw up katsu too badly.

The older Korean woman who works here is very nice; always offering me seconds of panchan. The service is very mom-and-pop, though I've only eaten here before 11am.

On my first visit I ordered the Chicken Katsu Curry….not cheap at $9.99. Though you do get some standard panchan with your meal. And as I mentioned before, the nice woman working here has always asked me if I wanted more.

The curry itself was not exactly photogenic, brown gloppiness poured over some form of fried protein.

The chicken itself was on the dry side, though I noticed that the cooking and prep was done correctly since the breading wasn't peeling off the chicken. I prefer my katsu on the crisp and lighter side, this one was very hard and in my opinion a bit over-fried. The curry wasn't anything to write home about, though I've had worse….it was kind of lumpy though.

Still it was quite a bit of food. I later mentioned this meal to an acquaintance…who told me to try the Tonkatsu Curry instead. So a couple of weeks later….famished at 10am, I marched on over to BH Chung and had the pork version.

You gotta hand it to these folks, they seem to be pretty consistent. This was pretty much a replay of my previous meal, except the curry was a little bit less gloppy and had a more pronounced flavor.

With a sprig of parsley and slice of orange as garnish, there's something unabashedly "diner-like" in the presentation. So I thought, "well that's that….." and moved on. But a couple of days later, I had gone into work at around 530, by 1000 I was starving. I jumped in the car and headed to Convoy. I intended on grabbing a bite from Tofu House, but for some reason, I just ended up walking into BH Chung. On my previous visit, I noticed a young lady having the Dolsot Bi Bim Bap. It looked decent, so I decided to get that….. I guess you get five panchan with the Bi Bim Bap.

It looked pretty good overall, but after further investigation, this really didn't pass muster. Bi Bim Bap is a humble dish, so I don't expect a huge amount of meat, though the amount here was good. It was however, very bland bulgogi. So I quickly banished any thought of having that. For some reason, no matter how long I waited, the rice in this stone bowl just never really crusted up. The cho-gochujang tasted kind of weak and watered down as well. This just didn't do it for me.

Well, after three meals here, I think I'll give the place a rest. I'll resist temptation and just head over to Tofu House like I intended. Unless someone has a great recommendation????

BH Chung
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Sunday Sandwiches: Porchetta times two – Ariccia Market and Roseville Cozinha

February 24, 2013 mmm-yoso Italian Restaurants, Sandwiches

*** Update: Sadly, both of these places have closed.

A couple of porky sandwiches for a Sunday. I tried to make this a trio, but could never get to Bencotto on a day when they had the layered and rolled swine. I'm hoping to try it in the near future. Still, I did have two nice sandwiches recently.

Ariccia Market:

Well, being named Ariccia, the "home" of porchetta gives it away….you pretty much better have said rolled swine. There's actually a Porchetta festival in the town of about 20,000 every year in September. I had visited the market a couple of times before trying out the porchetta, I like the brand of French Harissa they sell.

Finally, a couple of months back, I had a chance to try the Porchetta Sandwich ($9):

I really enjoyed the balance of the sandwich, the moist pork worked well with the sweetness of the caramelized onions and the acid of the balsamic based sauce. The peppery-bitterness of the arugula really cleared out the richness and the lightly yeasty, almost rustically crackly bread made this a joy to eat. Nothing fancy here, just a combination of ingredients prepared properly, used in perfect context and proportion. Very nice. Consumed at 9 in the morning, it's a heck of a way to start your Sunday, I'll say that much.

Ariccia Italian Market
7441 A Girard Ave
La Jolla, CA 92037

There's one other tidbit about Ariccia you might not know. Ariccia has the distinction of being one of the places whose mention is banned by Chowhound. From what I recalled, this very sandwich was mentioned in a Chowhound post and the owner posted to thank them…and boom, any mention of the the place is removed by the moderators. I know, it's hard to believe….though CH does have a policy – noted here. I think the one thing that bothered me about the whole deal is that there's another restaurant owner, who has replied to posts on Chowhound, using his own name, defending policies, etc….. So he goes totally free while other one gets life in solitary. If you're going to have such severe policies, at least be consistent with them. 'Nuff said. CH has a way of being quite vengeful and condescending….it once called Ed from Yuma "one of those idiots and miscreants" when he questioned why a post was deleted. So I'm wondering what'll happen to me the next time I try to post on CH?

Roseville Cozinha:

About a week after the porchetta from Ariccia, we dropped by Roseville so the Missus could get Her cioppino fix. I hadn't realized that they had a version of porchetta on their menu as well. So of course I had to order it ($10):

In terms of heft and price, this was a nice deal. Even though the classic porchetta sandwich is a panini, I love the way Roseville simply salts, brushes with olive oil, then grills the wonderful breads from Con Pane. This ciabatta is no exception. The addition of fries made this a bit more than I could eat.

I can't say that the sandwich had the same harmonic balance as what Ariccia serves, but it sure did satisfy me.

Sadly, this was off the menu during our last visit….but hopefully they'll have it back on the menu periodically.

Roseville Cozinha
2750 Dewey Rd Suite 104 (Liberty Station)
San Diego, CA 92106

So there you go! Do let me know if you see more porchetta popping up elsewhere….so I can get my weekly dose of swine!

North Park Produce (finally) opens in Clairemont

February 21, 2013 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

Like I earlier, it's almost like we've been stalking the place. But honestly, it seems like forever since I first noticed the coming soon sign back in September. So this afternoon, on my way home from work….I took my usual "stalker's glance" and saw folks walking into North Park Produce with shopping carts!

So the Missus and I stopped by on our way to dinner. I found out that they opened today, though their official "Grand Opening" is a couple of days away.

The shelves were full, but some of the produce bins are still empty and there's a section with a brick oven and kitchen area that's not ready yet. I'm thinking fresh baked breads and hopefully prepared food are soon to come.

Like every other location of NPP, this one seems to have it's own focus. I'll take a couple more visits to confirm. So here's the rest in photos.

And as usual….there's always something interesting that I had never noticed before.

They were quite busy, so I didn't have a chance to get their hours….I'll do that next time.

North Park Produce
4220 Balboa Ave.
San Diego, CA 92117

Revisits to Da Nang Food to Go and Pho Viet Cali almost seven years later….

February 18, 2013 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

It's quite easy to fall into a routine, going back to those places that have proven to be "tried and true" or convenient. This year, I'm trying to make it a point to revisit some of those places that had kind of slipped from my mind for one reason or another. Here are two places that I last visited in….are you ready? 2006……man, I've put a whole lot of miles on the odometer since then. What were you doing in 2006?

Da Nang Food to Go:

**** Da Nang Food to Go has closed

It's easy for this place to just kind of slip your mind. Located in a teeny spot next to a 7-11 and a jewelry store on El Cajon Boulevard, it's one of those blink and you'll be past it kind of places. Add to that the fact that there now only seem to be five parking stalls(down from 7) now available…….

The place looks just about the same as our visit back in 2006. Same wood siding, same tables, same chairs…..

Menu prices seem to have gone up about a buck….not bad really.

The food is based on Central Vietnamese specialities; Bun Bo Hue, Banh Beo, Banh Bot Loc, that kind of thing. Feeling kind of hungry I started with some Banh Bot Loc ($4); which I thought were pretty good all those years ago.

These were huge by Banh Bot Loc standards and the tapioca flour based wrappers were way too gummy for my taste. There was a nice piece of shrimp inside, but these dumplings were just too much wrapper.

Of course I had to try the Bun Bo Hue ($5.95), which arrived appropriately steaming hot.

Strange, but I noticed that the usual pork hock was MIA in this bowl. The noodles were pleasantly slippery and firm, and the herbs, sprouts, and vegetables were fresh, though it was mostly bean sprouts, lettuce, and cabbage.

The soup seemed a bit odd to me; it was very sweet and lacking in spice. The thick cut meats were in attendance, but there was nary a piece of tendon to be found…… I wonder if they "gringo-ized" this? I still enjoyed the Gio Lua here, the nice peppery flavor and meatyness makes it one of my favorite versions.

I do want to try other items on the menu, if I can remember to return. Funny thing, I mentioned this place to MrQ…..even though he grew up near by, he hadn't a clue this place existed. Da Nang Food to Go is funny in that way I guess.

Da Nang Food to Go (aka Quan an Da Nang)
4745 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Pho Viet Cali:

*** Pho Viet Cali has closed

Here's another place that I visited back in 2006. I really didn't care for the Pho, but I was on the West side of Mira Mesa Boulevard, so I thought why not?

Like Quan an Da Nang, this place looks just like it did in March of 2006.

Pho Viet Cali has remained in my memory because it was the first place where I saw Pho for over six bucks….a threshold that's long been passed by most places. So now a $6.95 bowl of pho doesn't faze me.

I got the #4 – Well Done Steak, Flank, Brisket, Tendon, and Tripe.

Man, other than the noodles….and the soup being hot, this was pretty bad. The soup was on the unpleasant side, bitter, and quickly gave me the MS heebie-geebies…..I've got a decent tolerance of the stuff, but this was too much. I recall the bowls having a good amount of meat, but things have apparently changed.

I guess the tripe and tendon were out sick on this day and the flank had that stale "ice-box" flavor that made it inedible.

Instead of going through this in excruciating detail….I think I'll stop here. I'm sure you get the picture, right?

Pho Viet Cali
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd. #113
San Diego, CA 92121

I'm hoping for better luck next time……

San Diego’s Ramen Renaissance Part 2: Tecchan Yakitori and Izakaya

February 13, 2013 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

*** Tecchan has closed

Here's one that slipped under my radar…..if it looks familiar, this is the former location of Yakyudori in Hillcrest. Man, yet another shop serving ramen……that's so surprising…..

It's a bit strange for me; I'm not sure if it's really Tec-chan, or is it Tecchan like the sign….well, whatever, I go with what the sign says. I hadn't been here since it was Yakyudori, though I passed by the place when it became Raku, but had never really been motivated.

So what brings me here now? Well my good FOY (Friend of Yoso), "YY" told me that they really enjoy the spicy miso ramen here. Personally, I've never really found a version that I've enjoyed, but if it's good enough for YY, it's well worth a try for me. But I just couldn't find the time to visit. Until Super Bowl Sunday….you see I really wasn't interested in halftime (which seems to get longer every year) and the Ravens seemed to be blowing out the 49ers. So I just jumped in the car to see what was up with this place….they say they open at 6, but were open a bit earlier on this day.

And I did get the Spicy Miso Ramen as instructed, with "thin noodles", which turned out to be your standard issue Hakata style noodles. The price wasn't bad at just over 8 bucks.

First the good; the noodles were done to the al dente, almost crunchy texture I enjoy and the egg was nicely cooked. The chashu pork was mild in flavor, but they had hit a nice balance in texture, not too firm and not falling to pieces….too bad it was ice cold, something that seems to be happening much too often nowadays.

And while this broth was indeed fairly spicy and not as salty as other versions….it really tasted like Japanese Kimchi base. You know, the stuff to make short cut kimchi? It wasn't really my cup of tea……

On the other hand….due to the immensely long halftime and the infamous "lights out", I actually made it back home in time to watch the last half of the 3rd quarter!

After thinking over things….yes, though I may not sprout the "Tao of ramen", or contemplate the meanings of the Hexagrams in I Ching, nor has anyone mistaken me for the "gangster of love" or ever called me "Maurice" (age check here!), I actually do think about what I eat….. I decided to just return and try the straight up tonkotsu ramen.

This time I went with the "flat noodles", which were just your standard issue ramen noodles, but were done up nicely.

The broth seemed a bit light to me. I prefer my tonkotsu a bit more rich. Also, there was a flavor that reminded me of burnt onions that I really didn't enjoy.

It wasn't terrible……but not something I'd go out of my way for.

The service was friendly, though one of the servers here has the kind of voice that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. But that's my problem, not hers. I also tried some of the other menu items……but that's for another day.

Tecchan Yakitori and Izakaya
3739 6th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103