mmm-yoso!!!

Mazesoba from Hinotez

I was checking out the to go menu from Hinotez after they had reopened following the last Covid shutdown. Of course, I didn't expect to see the wonderful breakfast that always takes me back to my youth; after all, they were only doing dinner takeout. I did notice something I hadn't recalled seeing in San Diego, Mazesoba, basically a soupless noodle dish. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to try Taiwan Mazesoba when we visited Nagoya where the dish is said to have originated. I filed it away, meaning to order some on an evening when the Missus was working. And then...promptly forgot about it....until Kat mentioned it in a post (please check out her blog if you haven't already - it's been a favorite of mine for nearly 15 years!). Well, that must be a sign, right?

So, I placed an order online and headed on over to pick up my Wasabi Shio Mazesoba ($11).

My package was waiting when I arrived......I was a bit worried since this is a noodle dish and there was but one container in the bag....but, since this is basically a "soupless" dish; perhaps things would be fine. Plus, the folks who started Hinotez and Yakyudori are form Nagoya; so they should really know how to pack this stuff to go, right?

 I managed to wrestle things in a fairly neat manner into a bowl; which I had poured boiling water into, then emptied for some carry over heat. I basically really enjoyed the flavoring, not overly salty, a pleasant hint of wasabi, the katsubushi added a nice oceany-savory component. The chashu was really good and possibly my favorite item in the dish. The egg was kind of a mess with everything stuck to it. The bean sprouts were blanched for too long and mushy.

The one item I didn't care for was a big one....the noodles. I usually enjoy thick-toothsome noodles with a nice...this however was severely overcooked, mushy, and falling to pieces as well. It was terrible. I guess there should be some "soup" at the bottom with regards to Mazesoba.....there was nothing here; I guess it all got sucked up.

   Well, lesson learned on this one. I wish Hinotez would have come up with better packaging for this. I guess that having a well packaged takeout from Yakyudori didn't translate here.

I will definitely have this again; but I'll be "dining in".

Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 565-4244

Sunday Sandwiches - Sandwich Emporium (Bay Park) Revisited

A  few weeks back, on one of the days I was working from home I was wondering how Sandwich Emporium was doing. I had visited during the early days of the pandemic, but not since then. So, I went ahead and placed a phone order for my usual, the Spicy Julio. A few minutes later I drove on over. Well, I guess I shouldn't be worried how business is for SE these days, huh?

I'm glad I called in my order as I just walked on up to the counter and picked up my order. It was that easy.

As for the sandwich; well, as always it did just fine. Yeasty bread, creamy avocado, the roast beef this time around seemed better than usual, not over done and moist.......a bit of spice....which we all need in our life.

Seeing that Sandwich Emporium was one of the first posts I did back in May of 2005; it's good to know they are doing well....especially during these times. I credit SE with fueling my love of these little community sandwich shops that fuel us.

I actually should visit more often.

Sandwich Emporium
3054 1/2 Clairemont Drive
San Diego,CA
619-275-1351

Roadtrip (During Covid-19) - Pavel's Backerei, The Bookworks, and a Walk to Monterey on Ocean View Boulevard

**** Just a quick post without much food for today!

I woke fairly early on our first morning in Pacific Grove, did some email checks, then while the Missus was waking up, I decided to head out to get something for us to munch on later and headed right up the street to Pavel's Backerei which was a block away right across the street from the Grove Market. Of course I went to check out the "Art Store Cats" along the way. Looks like they were just getting up as well.

There was already a line outside of the Bakery ay 715 in the morning when I arrived.

The line moved very quickly and soon enough I was in the bakery....man, these pastries were huge......

I got a cinnamon roll for the Missus and the Farmer's Breakfast Brochen for me.

This would end up being way more than enough to hold us until dinner.

Pavel's Backerei
219 Forest Ave.
Pacific Grove, CA 93950

By the time I got back to our room; the Missus was ready to go. So, we headed out. My plan was to take a walk along Ocean View Boulevard, starting from the Kissing Rock and then walk on over to Cannery Row in Monterey. It would be a nice walk. As we were passing thru Jewell Park.....

The Missus decided that She needed to get Her caffeine fix for the day, so we headed back to Lighthouse Avenue. Passing more wonderful looking houses along the way.

So we back tracked a bit and headed to the Bookworks.

And both had Americanos before our walk.

   For some reason, I love this photo with the reflection of the street sign in it.

The Bookworks
667 Lighthouse Ave.
Pacific Grove, CA 93950

Bolstered by our coffee, we headed back out and walked on down the 17 Mile Drive. then down Esplanade Street to Ocean View Boulevard, where we found the Kissing Rock.

The Kissing Rock is a spot where two granite rocks meet to create an arch........and the stones "kiss". It was a fun place to start our walk down Ocean Boulevard toward Monterey.

The walk down Ocean View Boulevard is well worth the time.

From the sea breeze, to the homes, the the view.....

And all of the Memorial Benches along the way.

It was at one of these benches where the Missus and I sat, with the stunning view of the Pacific, where we hoped the souls whose names and quotes were inscribed, would be ok with us having a beautiful view, appreciating Pacific Grove.

Finishing thing up; we were soon at Lovers Point Park......it was starting to get a bit more crowded.......and where we saw this sculpture.

And a poem by Lorrane M. Duncan was inscribed below it:

"Innocent once you and I
Scaled huge sea rocks climbing high
To point and dream starry eyed
As sailboats skimmed by

Then our sea turned dark with war
and touched each one with sorrow
Child-like faith beamed out fresh hope
For a safe tomorrow

Stand with me, look out to sea
memories, yesterdays scenes,
Come alive, we'll dare new dreams
Look with a childs eye."

Soon enough we were in Monterey; Cannery Row.....in the time of Covid it was  quite eery.... 

With nary a soul to be found; in this, the land of Steinbeck, one wonders what he would have made of the "Cannery Row" on this day.

There were very few people to be found...the occasional person walking down the street, the Meter Maid still hard at work.

An almost apocalyptic scene being played out in front of us. 

In a place where the Monterey Aquarium draw thousands......

The price of the pandemic truly struck at my soul on this day.....

And yet I was glad that people were not gathering in hordes, spreading Covid-19. And had hope that we would manage to get beyond this..... 

We headed up Prescott and made our way back to Pacific Grove.......it was a nice walk.

And of course, we checked out what was going on with the "Art Store Cats" on the way back.

It looked like they'd had a tough day.....it was time for a nap........

Thanks for stopping by!

Roadtrip (During Covid-19) - Peidras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, Pacific Grove, and Dinner at Passionfish

We had really enjoyed our time in Cambria; from dinner at Madeline's to walking the wonderful trails at Fiscalini Ranch. But it was time to head to our next destination. I walked into Cambria and back to Cambria Coffee Roasting Company for our caffeine fix, we packed, then headed on out. Our next two evenings would be spent in Pacific Grove. The Missus had been to Monterey several times; I've always thought it too touristy for me and decided that perhaps we should stay just a short stroll away. Plus, there was a restaurant I'd always wanted to try out.

We stopped several times along the way, first at William Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach.

And took a walk along the wooden pier. 

On this day, it was a peaceful and scenic spot.......the breeze from the Pacific lightly caressing your face.....a lovely November (2020) day.

Just a few miles up the road was our next stop; the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery.

There was a lot of parking and a nice boardwalk where you can view the Elephant Seals. This was November, when according to this website, the large male Elephant Seals will start arriving.

No huge males on this day....just a bunch of adorable Elephant Seals relaxing and sun bathing.

And the occasional seal taking a dip to cool off.

We both found this stop relaxing and entertaining.

Maybe next time; once it's back open, we'll check out the lighthouse further on up the road. 

We drove up Highway one thru Big Sur (this was before the portion of Highway 1 collapsed). Only stopping once near Big Sur Station.

We made good time to Pacific Grove and arrived before check-in. Which, in the time of Covid was done touch free......everything was done by key code; we never saw a single employee during our stay. I called the provided number and was told we could check in an hour earlier than scheduled. Still, there was a bit of time to kill. So, we found parking on the street near where we were staying and decided to do some exploring.

Pacific Grove is known as "Butterfly Town USA", so we decided to walk on over to the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary down Lighthouse Avenue. 

First thing I noticed were how charming many of the homes were.

In fact, this would lead us to a fun little walk later on during our stay.

Loved this sculpture at the Post Office on Lighthouse Avenue; it's called "Butterfly Kids".

It was a nice walk to the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary.

Monarch Butterfly's usually start appearing in October to stay over the winter.

And yet we saw none as we walked the trails.....

And so we decided to sit on one of the benches for a while. After a few minutes we saw two Monarch Butterflies....unfortunately, those would be the only two we would see. 

And while we were a bit disappointed to only see two; it has now turned to sadness upon reading this. 

 Our accommodations were at the historic Pacific Grove Inn, a Queen Anne style mansion built between 1904 and 1908.

The Missus was a bit leery about staying in an old house like this, creaky floors and all; but I got us a huge room on the top floor, which was way more room than we needed. I mean, how often are you able to stay in such an historical house....with no one to bother you?

I'm sure that in times not driven by the pandemic there might be some great amenities; but I truly liked being left alone to my own devices.

Dinner was a place I'd been wanting to check out for years; a favorite of the late Ed from Yuma, Passionfish. In fact, Ed did a three part post on the place. Of course, with Covid-19 I wasn't sure what was in store. It was all outdoor dining in the area at this time and the restaurant had done a wonderful job setting up on the patio upstairs in front of what looked like a nail salon.

Service was very efficient and professional, the restaurant had even created a satellite drink/wine station upstairs so customers could get served quickly. Ed had mentioned the amazing pricing of wine at Passionfish; bottles are sold at retail prices. Of course, we really weren't going to do entire bottles, so the Missus got Hers by the glass and thoroughly enjoyed things.

We started things off with some Buttermilk Biscuits.

My goodness; these were some of the best I've ever had; perfect, moist, wonderful flavor, a great balance in texture......man this was good!

The Spicy Fish Stew was a bit of a disappointment. It was quite bland; really tasting like a watered down mariscos consomme that one could get from a Taco truck.

Dungeness Crab Salad was excellent.

The sweet-savory crab meat, along with the almost buttery avocado was a nice one-two punch. The vinaigrette added a perfect touch of aciditiy.

Sea Scallop was perfectly seared; still rare in the middle. We both loved  the caper-walnut topping.

Though we found the artichoke risotto cake to be a bit too mild in terms of flavor.

Smoked Trout Ceviche Tostadas were a bit overwhlemed by the spicy salsa and the mild tones of the smoked trout were lost.

Passionfish was a pioneer with regards to serving sustainable seafood and we were excited to try at least one fish dish. So we ordered the Rockfish, with a Jicama-Mint Salad, Rice Crisps, and Cashews. The fish was cooked perfectly; tender and moist. The spicy nuoc mam sauce might have been a bit too much for such a delicately flavored fish, but you couldn't complain about how well the fish had been prepped. Not a big fan of the grapefruit, but the Missus liked it. Loved the greens, a nice combination of bitter-savory-sweet and the cashews added another layer of savory-nutty tones.

 All in all a very nice meal; a couple of dishes that missed the mark a bit; but wonderful service and the Missus and I talked about Ed....how he'd be viewing the pandemic, etc.

Passionfish
701 Lighthouse Ave.
Pacific Grove, CA 93950

On the way back we noticed something in the window of this art store.

It was a cat!

We loved it! From this point onward, we'd always stop and check out the "art store cats" to see what was up! They kept us entertained on our walks back to our accommodations.

We were really enjoying Pacific Grove!

Thanks for stopping by!

Midweek Meanderings - Where in the world was the Missus? Cuscatlan Salvadoran Coming to Mesa College, Donburi Kitchen Closes, and Other "Stuffs"

Where in the world was the Missus?

Last week was pretty quiet around the mmm-yoso household. The Missus went on a major hiking trip with three other co-workers....all middle aged Asian gals. She sent back some photos to make me envious.

Before the pandemic started; back in the last decade(2019)....yes, it seems that long ago; the Missus was taken by the Grand Canyon. When we returned; the foursome started planning for a rim to rim hike and a stay at the Phantom Ranch, the only lodging below the rim of the Grand Canyon. You get rooms by lottery; so we all went for it.....three of us won and dates were picked; unfortunately Covid came along and the first two were cancelled as the placed closed down. Luckily, they were able to keep the last reservation taken. And so, the four of them headed out to Sedona - Grand Canyon - Sedona. With some wonderful photos along the way.

It even snowed on the day they did the hike down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

They had a wonderful adventure!

Spending the rest of their time hiking in Sedona.

While the Missus said the food was not quite "up to par" with Her usual expectations; I managed to find one place for the group that still had open reservations, which turned out to be Her favorite meal.

They are now planning for their next adventure! Good for them!

Cuscatlan Salvadoran Coming to Mesa College:

This one is courtesy of "FOY" MikeW who sent me an email asking if I knew about a Salvadoran place opening on Mesa College Drive next to Homestyle Hawaiian. Say what? I'd just driven past there two weeks ago and didn't notice. I must be slipping in my old age. Anyway, I took a drive over and saw the coming soon sign for Cuscatlan Salvadoran. I believe this is a second restaurant for the Cuscatlan in Escondido?

It'll be nice to have even more variety in the area!

Thanks for the heads-up MikeW!

7516 Mesa College Drive
San Diego, CA 92111

Donburi Kitchen Closes:

So, the first thing the Missus wanted when She got back from Her trip was takeout from Sizzling Pot King; go figure? Anyway; I went and did a takeout order around 1pm and was told that instead of the usual 15-20 minutes wait; this time it was going to take 30 minutes. So, I decided to take a quick drive to see what was happening in the old location of Island Style Cafe. When I arrived at the strip mall; I quickly noticed that Donburi Kitchen had closed.

 Sure, I wasn't a big fan, still, it's sad to see another closure probably due to the pandemic.....though maybe they have the same landlord issues that ISC had.

It looks like it'll be some kind of chocolate shop?

6030 Santo Rd
San Diego, CA 92124

And finally......sometimes there are gestures that make my day. Like this one.

Ok DTF, I'll be back one of these days! Thanks for the thoughtfulness......

Take care everyone and have a safe week!

Takeout From Chef Jun

I first noticed that Chef Jun was opening back in November of 2019, the place finally opened a few weeks later.

While "Kappo" style originally means simply "cut and cook", these days we tend to associate it with high level seasonal cuisine, or like "FOY" Junichi puts it:

"Kappo usually means higher end small plates and multi-course meals in Japan"

"FOY" Derek was also quite interested in Chef Jun; so a couple weeks back, on a day I was especially hungry, I decided to place a takeout order from Chef Jun. Because I would rather have nigiri sitting at the bar, I decided to not get that nor the ramen.....also, it seems that Chef Jun does oshizushi....though none of it based on traditional battera, kaku, or the like. And it also seems that they do aburi (torched sushi); but I'll hold off on that.......it would be interesting to see how it measures up against places like Miku. 

Instead, I took a look at the non-nigi, and none of the 23 rolls presented on the menu. I decided to veer away from the stuffed jalapeno, garlic edamame, and ramen. Instead, I went with a standard, karaage ($6.50), Tuna Tataki ($12), and an interesting fusiony, item; the Yellowtail Crudo ($13.50). Yes, I was pretty hungry on this day. Everything went smoothly from the order, to the pick-up, and the presentation of the dishes was also quite nice.

The Chicken Karaage was a bit of a disappointment. 

It was neither crisp nor crunchy....I think it really should have held up during a less than ten minute drive home. It also wasn't decently marinated or seasoned. It was quite bland.

I like the presentation of the Tuna Tataki; but it was on the chewy side and the fish had a metallic finish.

It was also dry and the "garlic sauce" was quite bland. Just look at the color of the maguro.....

The best item was the Yellowtail Crudo.

It was perhaps sliced much thinner than I prefer; but the fish was of decent quality. Loved the presentation; though I really didn't taste much truffle from the supposed "truffle oil" and there could have been more "kale salt". Loved the pickled cucumbers and this as a pretty good dish overall.

So, on that note I decided to return in mid-March. I just went with the Chirashi-zushi ($25), simply because I'd had the Chirashi-zushi from Kokoro the week before (BTW, Kokoro also claims Kappo cuisine). Again, ordering and pick-u was a breeze.

 This was decent, though the shiromi was super dry, the ebi mushy, and the avocado starting to brown. I enjoyed the maguro-zuke, the fish was much better quality than earlier. The salmon and hamachi were decently fatty; though the amount of rice seemed on the small side; like the amount for an onigiri. Also, just having had the Chirashi from Kokoro ($3 cheaper and better quality/execution) probably had an effect a well. Still, this was not bad.

I the end; I'll probably wait to "eat in" at Chef Jun and try the nigiri/oshizushi/etc......

After all, the place has potential, so I'd like to see them at their best.

Thanks for inspiring my visit Derek. I wonder if you've had the chance to check them out yet?

Chef Jun
4033 Avati Drive
San Diego, CA 92117
(858) 886-7331
Hours:
Tues - Fri 1130am - 9pm
Sat - Sun 4pm - 9pm
Closed Mondays

Sunday Sandwiches - The Tri-Tiperia Revisited

For a couple of months there was so much road work happening on Mount Acadia Boulevard. On many days it was single lane traffic. I knew of many folks, including us, who were avoiding the area during the workday; it was just not worth the weight. One day, while working form home, I wondered how the the place was doing. I also knew that there was less work being done in the area so my chances of getting caught in single lane traffic was minimal.

   So I decided to take a chance and head on over. I lucked out; there was still some single lane traffic on the road; but it was further up the street. 

It had been a while since I last visited.....man, Covid has been going on so long now it seems! I was glad to see that they were open.

I waltzed up to the window and placed my order.......for the "usual"; the "O.G.". Was told it would be a ten minute wait; I walked to the side and kept tabs on work emails and such. Soon enough, there were  a couple of other folks who dropped by to place or pick-up orders.....which made me quite happy.

And of course this O(ld) G(uy), got his "O.G."

It looked exactly the same as before; packed with a cookie.

I always think the ciabatta could use a bit more toasting; but this was fine.

The tri-tip was more tender than I recalled; though I think it could still use a bit more smokiness. Nicely seasoned and a decent portion. I bit too much lemon-roasted garlic mayo this time around; though I like the way the acidity of the lemon in the mayo and the roma tomatoes puts "all the pieces together". The roasted garlic in the mayo comes thru nicely as well. The Gouda adds a nice mild milky-smoked layer to things as well.

I'm glad that even though we've gone thru 13 months in the pandemic they are still making a go of it. And the sandwich was quite a nice lunch for me.

The Tri Tiperia
3574 Mount Acadia Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mon - Fri 1130am - 6pm
Saturday 1130am - 2pm

Sue’s Korean Kitchen

It was Good Friday and I decided to run out between meetings and grab some lunch. I thought I'd give Nanay's another shot. Unfortunately, Nanay's was closed for Good Friday. So, taking a quick look around I noticed Sue's Korean Kitchen....hmmm.....don't remember seeing this place before. So I thought why not?

   It was around 1030 or so; there was just one very kind middle aged Korean woman working. The menu consists of Korean standards; though there was one item that looked interesting. More on that later. There are lunch specials and also a basic menu.

In addition, the coolers are full of various panchan.....the woman told me it's all made inhouse. In fact, while waiting for my order, two older Korean women came by and just bought Kimchi.

There was something about this place that just reminded me of those places "back home" like Gina's BBQ. 

And what did I order? Well, the Kimchi Fried Rice ($9.99) with Spam (of course) sounded like just what I needed on this day.

 I really enjoyed this. There was a nice fermented tone to the dish.....I think the baechu kimchi might be worth trying. Not overly sour or salty; it had a decent spicy kick and tons of savory goodness. A generous amount of Spam and pork as well. Chunks of kimchi.

This hands down was the best dish I've over the course of my visits. Quite rustic and enjoyable.....like your Halmeoni (grandma) would make.

I returned the very next week to try something else from the menu. I was greeted by the really nice woman who took my order the last time. This time she was working in the back and another really nice woman was working the front counter.

This time around I ordered the Cup Bap (i.e. BiBimBap) Lunch Special with Bulgogi ($9.99).

The portion size was quite generous. I do prefer my bulgogi to be marinated a bit more as this was quite mild in flavor. At this price point, I didn't expect the beef to be of the highest grade and it was indeed a bit on the dry and tough side.

I did enjoy most everything else provided. The rice was perfectly cooked, loved the eggs....I need more veggies in my life so the salad was perfectly fine. The kongnamul (marinated bean sprouts) and sigeumchi namul (marinated spinach) took me down a nostalgic road.

   This totally reminded me of the little mon-and-pop Korean takeout places of my youth. The one's where you'd pick a protein and three side dishes (panchan); what I call Hawaii's version of the "meat and three".

That following Friday, I decided to try "that item" I had seen on the menu. It was the jokbal, pig's feet cooked in shoyu and other ingredients. I was quite curious about how a little shop would handle this. I fully intended to put out out the jokbal ($30) and a couple of other dishes in the walkway and share it with folks who could grab a plate and head back to their office. On the funny side; there were only three people in the office on this day! Still, it was full speed ahead. I hedged my bets and got kimchi fried rice and kimchi pajeon (kimchi pancake - $7) to hedge my bets. The same woman was working; alone again, she told me that the other folks start coming in around 1030 or so. She was quite surprised that I ordered the jokbal and very happy as well. She also gave me a container of Kkakdugi (radish kimchi), which I forgot to take a photos of. It was quite good; with some mild fermented tones. The Missus enjoyed it as truly fermented kimchi is hard to come by.

Anyway; the jokbal is premade and kept in the fridge. I brought it back to the office, opened it, and cracked up!

Jesus......this was enough for a large family! It came with some kimchi and the saeujeot (salted fermented shrimp) was pretty good.

And of course the other "stuffs".

  And of course the kimchi fried rice and pajeon. I was shocked at the portion size of the fried rice....maybe it's because I ordered it with the jokbal?

The fried rice was again quite good; a bit spicier than on my previous visit with huge chunks of kimchi.

The pajeon was ok; I enjoy mine a bit more crisp than this....but it could have been the 15 minute travel time. 

As for the star of the show.....

No complaints from me. While the flavor wasn't quite up there with our favorite version in San Diego; it was far from bland. Nice swiney goodness. Love the contrast in textures. The saeujeot really cut through any collagen stickiness. There was also the actual pig foot; or what remained after all the meat was sliced.....just in case someone wanted to do some gnawing. There was quite a bit leftover; so I split the rest with JeffP....hope they enjoyed it. JeffP told me that he was going to bust out the beers at home with this.

I think I might order this again........the leftovers did quite well in noodle soup.

And I'm for sure going to get my Kimchi Fried Rice fix here again....and perhaps try out some other items on the menu. I have a special places for these little mom-and-pop shops and hope they do well. The folks that work here are so kind and warm...they make you feel welcome. No tables in the shop; but lot's of outdoor seating in the Plaza Sorrento Food Court area.

I'm glad that Nanay's was closed on Good Friday, because I found Sue's! Sometimes things just seem to happen for a reason, huh?

Sue’s Korean Kitchen
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 352-6511
Current Hours:
Mon - Sat 10am - 9pm