La Miche Kabobgee -lunch indoors

Welcome (back) to mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Kirk is enjoying time alone with His Missus while Cathy is writing  about meals.

Realizing that Kirk posted about La Miche last month, I was hesitating to post about our recent visit.  It was the first time in a long while The Mister and I had an unhurried meal and it was kind of perfect.

111ECF53-61CF-49B0-ACD6-96FBED6E6AAB
111ECF53-61CF-49B0-ACD6-96FBED6E6AAB The tables are 'socially distanced' and business inside as well as 'to go' seemed steady.

C33A6BD1-5ECB-458E-BE09-21947AAA1DCEC33A6BD1-5ECB-458E-BE09-21947AAA1DCE Menus are under glass on the table top, making it a bit easier to keep sanitized (as well as unnecessary for a QR code). Prices seem odd, because when tax is added, the final number is round.
111ECF53-61CF-49B0-ACD6-96FBED6E6AAB After ordering, a dish of fresh hummus and three hot pita breads are brought out.
111ECF53-61CF-49B0-ACD6-96FBED6E6AAB The Mister chose the Combo Pita plate ($12.50).  Beef and chicken shawarma and falafel in fresh pita breads, each with its own toppings (Beef shawarma with a (really good) pickled cucumber, hummus, tomatoes and tahini sauce. Grilled, moist chicken with garlic sauce, pickled cucumber and tomatoes.  Lebanese falafel (garbanzo beans and seasoning, made in house from scratch) with tahini sauce,  tomatoes, pickled turnips and pickled cucumber).
111ECF53-61CF-49B0-ACD6-96FBED6E6AAB The Fish Kabobgee ($14).  White fish sautéed in olive oil, butter, garlic and lemon juice.  It is so much more difficult to have things plain and simple yet is achieved in the kitchen here.  All flavors are bright and fresh and distinct yet blended perfectly.  

La Miche Kabobgee 9350 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. San Diego 92123 (858) 565-1165
Current Hours: Mon – Thurs 11am – 3pm Fri 11am – 730pm Sat 4pm – 730pm Closed on Sunday Website

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Charlie’s Best Breads (again)

mmm-yoso!!! a blog about food. Kirk and His Missus are enjoying some well deserved time off and Cathy is writing today.

There has been a another post about this Charlie's location, and The Mister and I were customers long before there was any walk-in/sit down area (Charlie's has been here since 1988).  We enjoy a good bakery, and the organic products used here are a plus.  Pre- and post-COVID-19, Charlie's has prevailed. A84B939C-3138-4FF9-8F1E-ADA75D437D19 There are currently a few spaced indoor tables and a nice outdoor area. 3DE427AA-516B-4D4D-9CF1-B6D4C6539430
A84B939C-3138-4FF9-8F1E-ADA75D437D19
A84B939C-3138-4FF9-8F1E-ADA75D437D19
A84B939C-3138-4FF9-8F1E-ADA75D437D19 Since working from home, we have tried to make 'fancier' meals. To us, this means fresh/hot bread for sandwiches or as a side.  1EC08131-46E9-43FD-8E3F-61FCF4F8E034 We've noticed a few places selling par-baked breads, but the rolls at Charlie's are our favorite. We pick up a bag at every visit ($4/dozen).  The Italian bread loaf (medium, $1.80) is topped with sesame seeds and satisfies cravings for a 'nice slice of bread with butter' at breakfast. 9D1F6AAF-A64D-43E5-B0E0-E7A923E6C291 2185ED84-332A-4A53-9470-6FC80D1E17F0 On top of the counter at the cash register, the smaller version of the Italian bread (a frenchette), simply filled with ham and Swiss ($1.99) is available as a 'grab and go' sandwich.  To me, it's perfect in size and flavors.
A84B939C-3138-4FF9-8F1E-ADA75D437D19 The prosciutto with fig jam,  Manchego cheese and arugula on a sourdough seeded ficelle loaf  ($6.98) is easily shared and is a nice way to start the day.F752E1BC-892E-4C4F-B284-FEB6EC3E97F4 There are 'Toasts' on the menu and the Smoked Salmon ($9.98) on a slice of ciabatta (delicate crust; not chewy) with a Brie spread, onions, capers and a chipotle sauce (unnecessary) is also a good choice to share. C27430F0-3370-4683-8C17-C3C3A7B3138F Also on the top of the counter when paying is a gluten-free seasonal choice- right now, it's an almond tart, which is sort of delicate, almost like whipped marzipan along with slivers of almonds.  (I don't know and don't care about the price; it is  great).

Always a nice stop with quality products. 

Charlie's Best Bread  1808 Garnet Avenue San Diego, CA 92109 Open daily 7-7 Website

 

Rooster Rice & Noodles

**** Rooster Rice & Noodles is now Ju Feng Yuan

Back in the middle of April I heard about a new "Thai" place that had opened in a strip mall off Scripps Poway Parkway on the "coconut wireless". At first I thought it was Takhrai Thai, which I had been warned off of; but no, it was a place named Rooster Rice and they supposedly made Khao Man Gai. So, on a day when I had to return home from the office at around 11, I checked and found the website for Rooster Rice & Noodles, with online ordering……well, it seemed that almost all the items were using English names and there wasn't Khao Man Gai on the menu. Until I found what I'm guessing is one of their signature dishes; something called "Rooster Rice" that came with either steamed or crispy chicken with soup on the side. This seemed like the item, so I ordered it and drove up to find the shop.

Rooster Rice 01

Looking for the address and suite number led me to the signage for Wong's Wok; where I found the banner for Rooster Rice.

Rooster Rice 01b

I believe that the previous place must have been a Chinese fast food joint based on the "decor".

Rooster Rice 02

There was a short wait for my food. I was handed a package and headed home.

I was quite interested to see what the Khao Man Gai was going to be like and I opened up the standard issue styrofoam container and…….what the heck????

Rooster Rice 03

Sheesh…well, looks like they made a mistake here. I even gave them my name and everything! Grand opening mistake I guess. So, I had the egg noodles with BBQ Pork – Ba Mee Moo Dang. The BBQ Pork was decent, perhaps a bit tough but not bad. The egg noodles were under flavored, though cooked nicely. Standard issue fast food steamed bok choy had no taste. Needless to say, I was disappointed……as I was expecting to get what I ordered. I thought about calling, but the place is nearly 20 miles from home. I decided to just forget about it. This would be a one-and-done and there would be no post.

Until……..a couple of weeks later, "FOY" RedDevil sent me an email asking me if I'd heard of a "New Hainanese chicken place" named Red Rooster……. I replied saying that I'd visited and ordered the Khao Man Gai but got something else by mistake.

Thinking things over; I decided to give the place one more try. I had an actual fairly normal lunch  break at the office so I tried again. And again there was a short wait for my online order. This time, I took a peek at my plate and verified that there was actually chicken in it.

Rooster Rice 04 Rooster Rice 05  This was quite interesting in a couple of ways. A huge container of scalding hot chicken broth was provided, decent chicken tones, seemed to have a lot of white pepper, in need of some salt, and perhaps a bit more richness.

Secondly, the two pieces of chicken, a whole chicken quarter and drumstick was still on the bone in them, not chopped or boneless; something I'm not used to with this dish. The meat was dry, with very little flavor…..like it had just been put into a pot of water and simmered. This seemed like a mere shadow of the dish.

Rooster Rice 07

The sauce provided was a bit different as well…..almost no ginger….seemed more like a a peanut sauce.

I will say that the rice was not bad; a bit on the mushy side perhaps, but at least there was some ginger tones along with the "flavor of fowl".

Rooster Rice 06

I don't think I'd order this again.

However, when placing the order for the Khao Man Gai, I saw a couple of dishes that I decided to try. Yes, call me a glutton for punishment.

"JeffP" happened to be in the office, so I thought it would make for a decent lunch to share. I had seen Nem Khao Tod on the menu (for once not just in English –
Nam Khaow Salad $10), one of my favorite things when done well, so I ordered that and the Crispy Pork Belly Rice Bowl ($12).

On this visit; a Rooster Rice & Noodles banner had replaced the Wong's Wok sign.

Rooster Rice 08

And this time my food was just getting to the counter as I arrived and the nice young lady repeated my order to me….she seemed surprised I was ordering the Nem Khao.  

So, how was the food this time around?

Rooster Rice 09

Well, there was a good amount of sour sausage and a few strands of pork skin. In terms of flavor; it was pretty straight-forward, no hints of kaffir lime leaf/lemograss/shallot/mint/peanut/etc…… The worse thing was that the rice was mushy without that wonderful contrast of crunchy-chewy textures.

The Crispy Pork Belly Rice Bowl had potential.

Rooster Rice 11 Rooster Rice 12  It came with standard issue steamed and blanched veggies and the rice was really mushy; though it had been drizzled with a sauce.

The Moo Krob was almost there in texture as it had some crispness but was a bit too soft for my taste. It was fairly bland however, it could have used more salt and seemed to be lacking in the swiney goodness I enjoy. I asked JeffP what he thought and he said about the same thing….close but no cigar. Still, this has some potential. And the portion size was quite generous for the price.

Rooster Rice 13 Rooster Rice 14  The pork would have been even better had the Nam Jim (dipping sauce) been a bite more assertive in heat and savory-sweet tones. It seemed a bit watered down.

Rooster Rice & Noodles seems to fill a niche for the area and the prices are quite good. The food seems a bit "fusiony" with quite a few accommodations made. Perhaps I'll return for that pork belly one day…..but I'm going to wait for a while. 

Rooster Rice & Noodles
12265 Scripps Poway Parkway
Poway, CA 92064
(858) 397-2308
Current Hours:
Tues – Sun 1100 am – 3pm and 4pm – 9pm
Closed on Mondays

Rooster Rice 15

Fusion Eats

**** Fusion Eats is now White Rice Morena

Back in July of last year I noticed a shop called Fusion Eats had opened off Linda Vista…..I believe it was a Vegan Vietnamese place previously. FOY "Som Tommy" mentioned in the comments of one of his posts that a couple of folks who lived in the area liked the place; especially the banh mi and wings; though I wasn't really keen on the name. 

The menu had everything from "Banh Mi" to wings, to poke bowls, to "burritos", to curries, beef and broccoli, kung pao/orange chicken and fried rice……..you name it…..

Still, the place had online ordering; though the prices seemed on the high side, and it gave me a break from stewing in my home office for the entire day. So I placed an order and headed off to the strip mall on Linda Vista that houses Ballast Point, Buta Ramen, and formerly International Deli and Cafe and Da Kine's.

Fusion Eats 01  Fusion Eats 02 During my first visit, there was an outdoor dining area set-up. My bag was on the counter next to the register for pick up when I arrived. The young lady working was quite cheerful.

I ordered the Angus Beef Bulgogi "Banh Mi" ($9.95) and the Garlicky Wings ($8.95).

The banh mi looked standard issue.

Fusion Eats 03

And came with a side of what was described as won ton chips; but seemed more like pseudo plantain chips to me. Actually, that was my favorite thing about the dish.

Fusion Eats 04 Fusion Eats 05b  In terms of a standard banh mi set-up this wasn't bad. The bread was decent standard issue, with nice yeastiness and crackly. The pickled veggies were abundant, not overly sour. Boy did this place like their cilantro, though I wasn't a fan off all the hard stems in the sandwich.

Where this didn't fare well was the "Angus Beef"; which was under marinated, and a bit too chewy for my taste.

Fusion Eats 05

The beef was just on the tough and bland side.

When I opened my wings, I quickly noticed globs of what appeared to be boogers fat on the greasy looking wings.

Fusion Eats 06  Fusion Eats 06b Which apparently were globs of butter? The wings were slippery and greasy. The batter was hard instead of crunchy-crispy….maybe it needed to be that way to stand up to all that garlic-butter? The flavor was kind of off as well; way too much butter, giving it kind of a rancid taste to me. The wings were decently fried and moist, but it was hard for me to get past the greasy texture and I wasn't fond of the taste.

In fact, I almost never went back…..which meant that I'd never do a post. Finally, a couple of months later, after taking into consideration how smoothly the online ordering went and how nice the young lady working was, I decided to give Fusion Eats another try.

Fusion Eats 06c

Same drill as the last time; ordering was a breeze, my order was ready within a few minutes of arriving, and the young man working was very nice. By this time, things were open for  50% indoor dining and the outdoor area had been cleared.

Fusion Eats 06d

This time around, I ordered the Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi (sorry, just couldn't order the Orange Chicken/Won Ton Soup….and of course not the poke bowl) and something that "ST" mentioned to me called Crispy Avocado Rolls.

The Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi ($8.95) wasn't quite as good as the Bulgogi Banh Mi.

Fusion Eats 07  Fusion Eats 08 The bread was starting to go stale. Good amount of pickled veggies and cilantro as before. The lemongrass chicken had been stir-fried and while being a bit chewy was nice and moist, but quite bland. Also, there were almost inedible pieces of lemongrass mixed in with the chicken that made the whole process of eating somewhat ponderous.

Again, my favorite item were the won ton chips.

Fusion Eats 09

The Crispy Avocado Rolls ($8.95) were basically Avocado Lumpia

Fusion Eats 12 Fusion Eats 14  I'm not quite sure what to think of these. Perhaps these need to be consumed right away as the oil was starting to seep through the wrappers after my less than 15 minute drive home. There was a kind of greasy mushiness to the fried avocado….I've had fried and tempura avocado before….but perhaps because it was coated in panko/batter before frying….I had enjoyed it. Here it just seemed bland and greasy. Not enough corn/black beans/cilantro to actually make a difference in flavor. Imagine an eggroll/lumpia wrapper folded over a glob of fat……then biting into it. The garlic sauce could have used more garlic as well.

Fusion Eats 13  Fusion Eats 15 The menu just seems a bit all over the place; more "con-fusion" than fusion in my opinion. Perhaps it's more suited to the palates of USD students? Or maybe I've just tried the wrong things….I did try most of the items based on recommendations. Like always, I'll depend on all of you to lead me to the best items on the menu….though don't count on me going for the Orange Chicken. While the prices seem to be on the high side; I do want to like this place as the staff is so nice and the online ordering – pick-up process has been seamless.

So, any recommendations on what to try?

Fusion Eats
5299 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92110
(858) 633-2974
Current Hours:
Tues – Thurs 1130am – 8pm
Friday 1130am – 830pm
Sat – Sun Noon – 8pm

Mister Falafel Revisited

**** Mister Falafel has closed

The Missus has been craving falafel like we had in Israel back at the end of 2019. I told Her that I haven't come across anything that is even remotely close….but; perhaps She should try the falafel from Mister Falafel. I thought the Falafel was decent when they had first opened; but seemed to not quite as good on subsequent visits. Still, I really like the older couple that run the place and really wanted to give them some business. So, a few weeks back I went to get some falafel for the Missus on the way home from the office.

Mister Falafel 01

I was happy to see that they were still open and from the packages on the table for pick-up; doing decent business.

Instead of going full bore with a falafel sandwich; I decided to get the "munchie"; basically an appetizer size falafel snack. I also got the babaganoush because I'd always thought they did a decetn version of that. Both were priced right at $5.99 and $6.99 respectively….and heck, since I was there, why not get a small garlic paste (99 cents).

Mister Falafel 02

Well, as expected, the falafel didn't go over too well with the Missus. It was quite dry and too gritty……to me the perfect falafel has a crisp and mildly gritty experior, that gives way to a creamy interior. This just wasn't up to the task. The Missus did like the tahini though.

It definitely didn't make the Missus forget this…..

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Oh man…..these were wonderful; from a little stand a block away from our hotel called Falafel Razon…..no wonder they've been in business since 1963!

The Missus did enjoy the Babaganoush.

Mister Falafel 03 Mister Falafel 04 She loved the smokiness and told me the texture was exactly how She likes it. She enjoyed the fact that it didn't have not too much tahini or lemon juice, but had a nice earthiness to it.

I of course, always enjoy the garlic paste from Mister Falafel.

And in what has become a classic "two-fer" for us….I'll often stop for the babaganoush (and garlic paste) when I'm on the way home from La Miche.

Mister Falafel 05

I'm happy that we've found items we like at Mister Falafel; the folks here are so very nice. 

Mister Falafel
4461 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117
(858) 490-0170
Current Hours:
Tuesday – Sunday Noon – 7pm

New to the Rotation Part 2 – La Miche Kabobgee

**** Sadly, La Miche has closed

With the weather getting a bit warmer, the Missus has been craving takeout from La Miche. There are items we want that are only served during dinner service and with the limited hours the place is only open for dinner service on Fridays and Saturdays. So, I've been dropping by on just about every Friday or Saturday for the last month or so.

La Miche Rota 01 La Miche Rota 02 The owner, Nabih and his wife are the nicest folks and we really want them to do well. It's quite depressing to stop by and see the place totally empty….though during my last two visits there was at least one table (since we reached Red Tier) occupied.

We pretty much get the same thing on my visits. But, much like Jesus from De Cabeza, Nabih understands our tastes. He knows the Missus likes spicy, so he recently recommended spicing up the hummus the Missus enjoys. Also, he is not able to get Soujouk at this time, so he asked if we would like to try the Kafta with the spicy tomato sauce he would use with the Soujouk (kasha kish)…he told me he'd make us a half order. So of course I said yes.

La Miche Rota 03 La Miche Rota 04 Which I got with the always delicious sweet-nutty-sweet-mildy spicy Muhamarah and the savory and mildly funky (in the best way possible) Shaankleesh, made from a wonderfully ripe and complex cheese.

The Spicy Hummus featured fire-roasted peppers which added an additional smoky layer, along with spice and acidity which really went well with the hummus.

La Miche Rota 05

The Kafta, meatiness went quite well with the bright-spicy-acidic tomato sauce….this was pretty hefty stuff and was quite filling. It was quite good……..in fact we got a full order the next time around.

La Miche Rota 06

In many ways La Miche really embodies what makes being a regular customer at a great mom-and-pop restaurant. They recognize their regulars, are so warm and friendly, know their tastes and make spot on recommendations based on that. You are welcomed….with a gentle smile, a wave, and a very mellow and sincere "we're so happy to see you". And I'm always happy to see the folks here. I've noted that Nabih has had some serious health issue in the past and I'm glad he seems to be navigating these crazy times fairly well.

And….yes, I'll probably be back on Friday or Saturday for "our usual".

I'm so ever thankful for places like this; it's part of the reason I started the blog almost 16 years ago.

Take care and be safe everyone; things are progressing, but we're not over this yet!

La Miche Kabobgee
9350 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-1165
Current Hours:
Mon – Thurs 11am – 3pm
Friday 11am – 730pm
Saturday 4pm – 730pm
Closed on Sunday

An Update on Sam and Sushi Yaro…….and I Dine In For the First Time in Nearly 400 Days

**** Sushi Yaro has closed

If you follow our little blog; you'll know that back in January, Sam, owner and Itamae of Sushi Yaro suffered a stroke. Of course my good friends kept me appraised of how Sam was doing, when he was discharged, when the restaurant was reopening, and such. I tried not to bother Sam much since he obviously had a lot going on….though the Medical Professional in the family always had a battery of questions for Sam. Once Sushi Yaro was reopened, I still waited……mainly because I wasn't ready to dine outdoors yet…..though finally, two months after I'd received my second shot, I decided I needed to see how Sam was doing and show some support. The Missus was working a night shift, so I decided to head on over to Engineer Road, and dine al fresco at the outdoor dining area I'd seen set-up in the parking lot. Except when I arrived, shortly before opening time……I really didn't want to be around too many people, this is what I saw.

Yaro 01 Yaro 02_b The outdoor dining area for Sushi Yaro was gone! And the reason for that soon became clear. So, now there was a decision to make….yes, we're in the "Red Tier" which means indoor dining can operate at 25% capacity, yes I've had both vaccines, yes the restaurant was just opening so there were no other customers in the place, and yes, Sam called out my name when he saw me and waved me over to the sushi bar. And so it came to pass, 380 days since I last dined indoors I decided to have dinner at Sushi Yaro. After all, I really wanted to support Sam and see how he was doing.

The reason that the outdoor area is gone, besides San Diego being in the Red Tier is that Sam is running a one man show. And with all residual effects of the stroke, well, he just isn't able to handle too many customers. In fact, he told me about 8 people max.

As for what I ordered….well, Sam knows me, and after a short wait….he's moving pretty well considering, but there's obviously some motor deficits and such…..he had my dinner for me.

Yaro 03 Yaro 04_b I'm not really going to go into the food this time around, I'll do that in a future post….except to say, it did hit the spot. Especially the sashimi which was perfect on a day when temps were hitting the low 80's….so much for spring, eh?

We spent most of the time talking about how things are going for Sam…residual effects and accommodations he's had to make after the stroke, his family and such. After all, I've known Sam for 20 years.

Soon enough, a couple of other couples arrived, when Sam hits his max, he'll ask folks if they want to do takeout and return a bit later. It's probably a good idea to make reservations if you plan on arriving after 530. There are also times when Sam's therapy and such runs late, or if he's really tired that he'll close early, so definitely, call. Yaro 04_c

Honestly, it was kind of tough seeing Sam run back and forth to the kitchen……to deep fry rolls for folks, to get ingredients, to get customers their drinks (I decided to forgo my usual Sapporo on this visit). But Sam seems to be handling it fairly well….he's a bit slower than before, but seems to be making progress, and I'm happy for that.

Yaro 05

Soon enough there were eight folks in the restaurant; it was making me a bit uncomfortable….oh my how Covid has changed us. It was time for me to leave. I was glad to see Sam and said I'll be back soon.

As I left I told him, "take care of yourself; I'll like to be seeing you still in good health 20 years from now."

Sushi Yaro
7905 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 560-1782

A Takeout Revisit to Greenhaus Vegetarian Eatery

**** Greenhaus has closed

Ever since I had the Missus have a taste of the chickpea and garbanzo “Happy Belly Plate” from Greenhaus, She’s been hooked. Greenhaus Rev 00 We get takeout every couple of weeks for the Missus to either have for lunch (when I’m too tired to make lunch for Her) or to eat at home when I’m not around to cook.

The Missus claims the chickpeas from Greenhaus is way better than what I make from home and I’m willing to agree; if it means I can retire from cooking and prepping garbanzos at home.

The Happy Belly Plate is basically a “protein” (the Spiced Chickpeas in this case), a “sauce” (the Lentils), and two sides….we get Basmati Rice and Naan. All for $12.

Greenhaus Rev 01 Greenhaus Rev 02 It is quite a bit of food as you can see. I’ll sometimes supplement the order with a side of the Masala ($4) which I’ll have with the naan.

This would be basically two meals for the Missus…or if I’m having the naan with the Masala sauce and perhaps something else like roasted cauliflower/potatoes it will feed the both of us, with enough for another meal for the Missus.

She enjoys the creamy chickpeas, the tender lentils, and it’s just salty enough for Her to enjoy.

Greenhaus Rev 03

I’ve tried other items here as you can read from my previous post as well as the Naan Wrap with Spicy Tofu and Masala Sauce ($9.75).

Greenhaus 11 Greenhaus 12 In this case, I wasn’t a big fan of mushy tofu and the naan was a bit too hard and crisp for a wrap in my opinion. A bit too much bread and veg to protein for me as well.

So, we’ll just stick to what the Missus enjoys.

The owner is a really nice guy, ordering online from the Greenhaus website is easy, and there are no extra charges. So, I’m more than happy to support another locally owned business and it keeps the Missus happy. Which is very, very, important!

Greenhaus 13

Things sure are changing in the Morena corridor. With the trolley coming in and new development….I understand that the car dealerships have lost their lease and will be slowly moving out…..it’ll be interesting to see what happens to the area over the next 4-5 years.

Greenhaus Vegetarian Eatery
1118 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 446-6510
Current Hours
Mon – Sat 11am – 9pm
Closed Sundays

Donkatsu from Gala Chicken (Brown Donkatsu)

Gala Donkatsu 01**** Zion Market has moved and Gala did not make the move with the market

I had to run an errand for the Missus recently….She requested something from the Korean Market, so I headed off to H Mart, which didn't have what She wanted. So, as much as I didn't want to; I then went to Zion Market. Where, as my luck would have it, had the product on sale. After an "interesting" incident at the check-out stand (more on that at the end of the post); I decided to treat myself and grab some chicken wings for lunch. I hadn't been to Gala Chicken in a while so I decided to head on over.

I had my sights set on an order of wings; but unfortunately, the really nice guy working….he was very nice, told me that they were out of wings and weren't sure they'd be getting more. My first thought was to just cut my losses and leave; but the gentleman was really nice and I noticed a sign above the counter that I hadn't seen before; "Brown Donkatsu". Hmmmm……when did Gala start making d(t)onkatsu? Brown is a fairly well known brand in Korea. So, I decided to try the regular pork cutlet ($11.95). After about 15 minutes, my order was ready and I headed home.

Gala Donkatsu 02 Gala Donkatsu 03The portion size of the cutlet looked quite generous.

The mac salad had been replaced by one made with penne pasta…or maybe they had just run out of macaroni? Regardless, it wasn't quite as sour as before and was seasoned well, nicely chilled, the pasta firm, though was a bit overdressed with mayo.

I think the version of donkatsu here has sealed it for me. I'm not a big fan of the watery, not overly savory typical sauce served with this version of tonkatsu. There's something weird in the texture like they put cream or milk in it? I opened up my bottle of Bulldog Tonkatsu Sauce.

Gala Donkatsu 04 Gala Donkatsu 05The rice was really mushy as well.

As for the pork…well, this was pounded really thin, so the panko to meat ratio was quite high. However, the breading was uneven, though in terms of temperature control, things must have set-up well since the breading was not separating from the meat. The pork was quite bland and very dry.

I'll pass on this next time……"give me wings or give me nothing at all…."

Gala Donkatsu 06

Gala Chicken
7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. (In the Zion Market Food Court)
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 279-7959
Current Hours:
Wed – Mon 11am – 8pm
Closed on Tuesdays

As for what the Missus needed….well, ahem, I think many husbands will relate to this; She needed "fem hygiene" stuff. Anyway, I hit the jackpot, or something like that at Zion; it was on sale. And me not wanting to repeat this again for a while went and bought six boxes! So, I'm waiting in line with my basket of "stuff", maybe I should have bought other things to help camouflage those boxes, but I didn't. There were two customers in line in front of me; both older Korean women. The one in front of me looks at my basket and says:

"Why you buy so much of that; what you going to do with it?"

I could feel that bead of sweat rolling down the middle of my back as the woman in front of her peers over at what I have in my basket….

My response:

"It's for my wife. And you are really embarrassing me right now!"

The woman in the front starts laughing……

The woman's response?

"Humph…..you don't need to buy so many"

I almost say something like "well, you wouldn't know because you don't have to worry about using this at your age", but I bite my tongue and respond with:

"Well, it's so that I don't have to come back and buy more and have people in line question why I'm buying this….."

Ah yes, just another day standing in line at Zion….where the sign in the produce section says:

Zion throw vegetables

I have another similar story; but one much nicer about Paris….hopefully I'll remember to add that to a future post.

What’s Going on with Da Kine’s

**** The La Mesa location has closed and Nelson is currently only doing catering

**** Da Kine's has reopened in La Mesa. You can find a post here.

I've always made mention of the "coconut wireless"….you know, the way we get info word of mouth…..at times it's better than social media. Though in these times with social distancing it's a bit harder; though I still get a lot of info from my circle of "FOYs" and various places in the 'hood and beyond where folks know me. Take for instance, last week, when working form home, I took the quick five minute drive down to Bay Park Coffee for my caffeine fix and Bruddah Noel was working. After the usual greeting and antics, he asked me if I knew that Da Kine's had closed! What!

So a couple of days later I drove on over to see for myself.

IMG_2402 IMG_2404Well, the light were on and I went and found parking. The doors however, were locked. Then I saw the sign posted. It looks like they are in the process of moving.

There was a sense of relief. While Da Kine's is not on my permanent rotation, my (and from previous comments a lot of San Diegans) history with DK's goes back a while. Which I detailed in my post when they reopened in Linda Vista.

Ok so, I mentioned this to my "FOY" RonR, who lives on Maui part of the year and resides in Linda Vista. Like a good mole, ummm spy, scout he walked on over and found someone leaving the premises. According to that person, who claims to work at DK's, Nelson has found a spot to relocate to fairly close by, but doesn't want to jinx the deal…..ha, he no like make "bachi" (bad karma)….you just can't take the local out of you…..

Anyway, I'll keep you posted on what I see/hear/read. I'm glad that Da Kine's is not closing permanently. And thanks to Noel and Ron for keeping my apprised of things. Like I say, this blog would not exist if not for all of you.

Da Kine's Plate Lunches
Used to be at:
5401 Linda Vista Rd. #402
San Diego, CA 92110
Soon to be at:
???????

Have a great weekend!