mmm-yoso!!!

COMC, The B(ack) I(n) T(he) O(ffice) Edition - The Market at HFS, TJ Dumplings, and Sue's Korean Kitchen

Here's a round-up of places I've been catching up on since I've been "BITO" (back in the office). I hope you don't mind a few "reruns".....

Another interesting observation is that all of these places opened just before or during the pandemic. Kudos to them for being agile enough to survive for over a year-and-a-half.

The Market at HFS:

A favorite from the first time I walked thru those doors. Real poke, not some concept "Chi-poke" kinda place.

I have noticed that prices have gone up a bit on my last couple of visits....for fish by the pound. The poke bowls are priced the same.

These days I get my poke bowls with half the rice....they tend to give a ton of rice and I can never finish. In fact, when I order for the Missus and I; I just get one medium poke bowl and two half pound containers....of course the Missus needs all the other "stuffs" for Hers.

The Market at HFS
6491 Weathers Place
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 282-0591
Covid-19 Hours:
Daily 10am - 4pm

TJ Dumplings:

I just wanted something small for lunch; so I decided to head on back to TJ Dumplings.

 Of course I got the Baozi. Opening the box back at the office I noticed two things. First, unlike my last visit, there was no leakage. Second, there's now only six baozi instead of eight. The filling was more moist and tender than what I'd had on my previous visit and the baozi was lighter and more fluffy. It's not going to make me forget my favorite; but these are ok.

TJ Dumplings
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours:
Tues - Sun 11am - 830pm
Closed on Mondays

Sue’s Korean Kitchen:

Like the Market at HFS, I like the fact that Sue's opens at 10am as I often have meetings that stretch thru lunch.

It's funny, the woman working here....I think it might be "Sue" remembers me. She told me; "it's nice to see you, it has been a long time"......I guess a bit over three months can seem like quite a while.

 Of course I got the Kimchi Fried Rice with Spam ($9.99). Rustic, hearty, lots of Spam. I like the kimchi they use; there's some nice fermented tones. This is always more than I can finish, so I'll take the rest home and have it for breakfast during the weekends with a couple of eggs.

Good prices, portion size, and the woman who works here is so nice.

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

So there you go......it's nice getting back into sort of a routine.

Hope everyone is having a safe and productive week!

Main Chick Hot Chicken (Clairemont)

Main Chick, a chain from LA opened two locations in San Diego during the winter of 2020, yet another entry feeding the Nashville Chicken fad. I thought of doing takeout, but hesitated thinking that the chicken sandwich might not hold up well, even with the short 12 minute drive home from Clairemont Town Square. But, after I had the Chicken Sandwich from Bay Hill Tavern (all the way back in April of this year), which held up pretty well as takeout, on one of the days I was working from home, I decided to do takeout.

 I arrived just as the place was opening at 11am. The young lady manning the counter was quite friendly and I placed an order for Combo #1 ($14), which consisted of 1 chicken sandwich, which I decided to get naked as a first try, thinking that sauce would probably contribute negatively to the integrity of whatever bread product was used, 1 chicken tender, fries, pickles, and MC sauce.......ahem...yet another "secret sauce-ish" concoction.

The wait was fairly short and I got my order and headed home.

Here's what things looked like when I opened the combo box.

To get a better look at things I placed everything on a plate.

Man, look at all those fries! I liked the "dust" used for seasoning, but the fries were quite dry, though the MS sauce helped things out a bit.

As for how the chicken sandwich handled the short trip home, well.....

I think you can see that it really didn't do well. The bottom bun was mush - can you imagine if I had gotten sauce, the batter for the chicken was no longer crisp, and this being breast meat, it was dry. I also thought the seasoning was way too mild.

And I quickly noticed something about the chicken tender.

What the heck are all those black spots? They had just opened.....did they need to reheat this on the flat top? Was this leftover from the previous day? Of course those black bits were quite bitter and the chicken super dry.

This was quite terrible overall. I made up my mind to just call it quits and forget about Main Chick.....so since only one visit; there'd be no post.

Then back in July I did a post on Boss Bird, which was 17 months in the making. FOY "ChrisR" was quick to send me an email telling me:

"(Boss Bird) has been a huge to medium disappointment in the three times I went.
Main Chick in Clairemont Mesa has a Nashville dark meat chicken sandwich that has been really good to great on four different visits."

I quickly sent Chris an email with photos......still thinking that I was done with Main Chick.......but then; thinking about a dark meat version. Well, I decided to give Main Chick a couple more tries (this was before the last crazy Covid-19 surge). So three days after Chris sent me that email, working from home, I got to Main Chick just as they opened and ordered a Dark Meat Chicken Sandwich $6)....and in a moment of insanity ordered it "Supreme". A quick gander at the menu reveals five flaming chickens next to "supreme".

 And while I don't think this was as all around spicy as the XHot from Prince's Hot Chicken Shack in Nashville, it was pretty darn hot. My tolerance for spiciness has gone down as I get older; so this got a nice amount of sweat going. This was much better than what I'd had previously; it had a decent crunch, was more moist, though all that spice pretty much blocked out any other flavors, even with the Thousand Island Dressing...ummm MC Sauce - "Because, you know, You can't touch this....." This was fine, albeit somewhat one-dimensional in terms of flavor, which I can easily say was my fault for ordering "five flaming chicken" hotness.

And so, since I was scheduled to work from home the very next day.....guess where I ended up. This time; I just went with the Dark Meat Chicken Sandwich - Medium.

 Before I go on, a quick note....notice the size of the sandwich alongside my ancient iPhone 7....I just wanted to put that into perspective so you know. In this day, while I ate my sandwich, the guy right after me ordered a 3 chicken tender combo...which comes with that huge order of fries along with 2  chicken sandwiches...which I assumed he was taking out. But I was wrong, he sat a few tables down and proceeded to attack everything. Now, according to my calculations; this is like $27 of food for lunch!

I do say that this was nice and moist; though whatever rub they use sure seemed pretty weak as this was really "one note cayenne" being played over and over.

I will say that Chris does have one thing right; the dark meat is the way to go here in terms of some flavor and moisture. Thanks for the recommendation Chris!

It seems that having had Hot Chicken in Nashville and "down South", even all those years ago has left me somewhat jaded. Perhaps my memories are playing tricks on my palate and mind?

After having had three versions of Hot Chicken here in San Diego.......I've been less than impressed. I guess I'll need to try Dave's; though I think I'll wait until they open in Mira Mesa.

Main Chick Hot Chicken (In Clairemont Town Square)
4705 Clairemont Dr.
San Diego, CA 92117
Hours:
Sun - Thurs 11am - 9pm
Fri - Sat 11am - 10pm

Check out Soo's post on Main Chick here.

Sunday "Stuffs" - Lalo's Closes, JJ Chicken Coming to Towne Center, Taco Stand on Convoy, Nijiya's Hokkaido Festival, and Other "Stuffs"

Here's some odds and ends for a nice Sunday.

Lalo's Tacos Al Pastor Closes:

 I noticed that Lalo's had closed when I recently had to drop by Penzy's. I have to say I was a bit surprised since they've been in this spot since we moved to San Diego over 20 years ago. I was never a big fan; but folks I worked with when my office was in Hillcrest enjoyed Lalo's.

I guess maybe the pandemic did them in.

1266 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

JJ Chicken Coming to To Renaissance Towne Centre:

Well, at least that's what the sign says.

 Since I'm back in the office I dropped by one of my usual stops in this strip mall to see how they were doing (they were quite busy). And noticed the sign in the photo to the right in the window of what I think used to be Edo Sushi?

Doing some quick searches, I wasn't able to find much. Perhaps the next time I stop by they'll be more info.....

8895 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122

Work on the Taco Stand on Convoy:

Driving down Convoy, headed to Nijiya this past morning, I noticed work on the Taco Stand was going on (read more about it on Eater). So, I took a quick drive into the parking lot from hell....which thankfully was quite empty at 850 on a Saturday morning.

According to the post on Eater, they were "Slated to open in early 2021"........but of course with the pandemic, difficulty in finding staff, etc, etc, etc....

4646 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

The Hokkaido Fair at Nijiya - Until 09/22:

I dropped by Nijiya last Friday on my way home from work and was amazed at how busy they were! I waited over 20 minutes in line to get to the cashier, who happened to be a young lady that also works at Bay Park Coffee. I mentioned how busy they were and she told me it was because of the Hokkaido Fair......Hokkaido Fair? How the heck did I miss that memo?

Anyway, I went home and mentioned this to the Missus and guess what? Well, we headed back down to Nijiya later that evening. Luckily; even though the parking lot was packed, Nijiya wasn't overly busy. Even though there seemed to be less items then I recalled from previous "fairs" we had a blast. And things were selling fast! 

I think that perhaps folks are missing the travel, the variety, the fun and comfort these days. I know I felt a wonderful nostalgia seeing labels and items I recalled from our trip to Hokkaido. And the Missus just enjoyed Her puddings and cheesecake....oh, and those chocolate covered strawberries so much; guess who had to head back the next morning? Which I how I noticed the construction on the Taco Stand.

Anyway, here's some of what we got.

For some strange reason; I have an affinity to Hokkaido cheese.....

Anyway, things seem to be selling fast, so head on down if anything pictured above interests you.

3860 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

And speaking of cheese - well, since I won't be riding the metro in Paris anytime soon:

Talking about the feeling of happiness and nostalgia. I had a surge of joy when I saw this at Bristol Farms.

At that point, the Missus and I decided to do charcuterie and cheese for dinner. 

And since, due to the pandemic, I don't think we'll be travelling to France this year, where Epoisses is supposedly banned on public transport, this would have to do. We're really missing international travel and I guess anytime we're able to travel with our tastebuds....well, for now that will have to do. 

Take care everyone; be safe, have compassion and empathy during these times!

More Than Sandwiches - Exploring Other Options at SuperNatural Sandwiches

 Man, it seems we're in this never ending cycle of Covid during the pandemic....time just kind of slides by. I thought I had "just" posted on SuperNatural Sandwiches, but that post was back in May of last year!

At that time the ordering and pick-up was still being done at the outside counter. But, just as I'm transitioning back to the office, SuperNatural has also been transitioning and now has the old counter work in effect, with indoor dining and such. While I'm not quite ready for this with the latest variant; I'm still doing online takeout orders which work with the same efficiency as before.

And while it's quite easy to order the same 'ol, same 'ol......."FOYs" like Loren and Junichi have really given some nice recommendations to add some variety into my fairly boring life. Loren had both recommended the fries and the salad variation, which has been added to my ordering routine.

The recent super hot weather has gotten me to order the Salad version of the Kirin a couple of times.

   Which has kinda been in the rotation recently. The Kirin - with plump shrimp and Chinese sausage just does so well in a salad. And the portion size is quite generous. I don't need to order any fries with this as I'm stuffed......the dressing also does quite nicely as well.

After having this salad, I wondered how the two other preparations would do. Junichi mentioned having the fried rice option (+ $1), so on my next visit I decided to order the Kirin as fried rice....and of course I added a Fried Egg (+ $2).

 Well, this was a bit puzzling for me as I wasn't a great fan of the lettuce in my fried rice. While the rice was nicely coated in a soy sauce mixture, it was on the dry and hard side.

I addition, that egg was overcooked as well.

There also didn't seem to be as much Chinese sausage as I had in the salad on my previous visit. 

Overall, it seemed a bit odd and one-dimensional. If I have the fried rice option again; it might be with some other sandwich "option". Maybe Junichi can reveal what his "go-to" for the fried rice might be.

Finally, I decided to get the Kirin as Garlic Noodles (+$4). To be perfectly honest, I didn't quite know what to expect.

   And while the container didn't seem particularly large, it was quite heavy. And upon opening the cover....whew...this was garlic noodles alright. Good thing the office was basically empty and after eating lunch all the meetings were via Zoom. I also had to discard the mask I wore on this day.

The standard issue noodles were nicely coated with a soy based sauce, the noodles were nicely prepared and still al dente. I did finish all of the shrimp and sausage and had a ton of noodles left, which I had with dinner. Talk about a major carb bomb, but this wasn't bad at all. The sauce for the shrimp went well with things and I didn't mind having cucumber with my noodles. 

The one thing I would really like next time is to have the scallions on top of things. The noodles were obviously just dumped into the container, the green onions in a clump at the bottom. The only way I found it was after eating all the shrimp and the sausage; I gave things a good mix, which, based on how stuffed the whole container was, would not have worked out well with a full container. Still, I'd have this again......when I need to carb load....

You know, these times have me grasping for that which is familiar and comforting. I've been a customer of SuperNatural since they were at the San Diego Public Market and was quite happy when they finally opened a brick and mortar shop (where Gourmet Artisan is now located), before settling into their current location (of course they are still open in Little Italy).

The folks working have always been friendly and my online order is always ready at the designated time. Which keeps me coming back......

SuperNatural Sandwiches
7094 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon - Thurs 11am - 3pm
Fri - Sat 11am - 4pm
Closed on Sundays

Takeout From Bay Hill Tavern

During my time working from home, I had my regular stops, Zgara, Bay Park Coffee, Clairemont Coffee, Sandwich Emporium, and so forth..... Still I needed some variety for lunch when I wasn't in the mood for making lunch or eating leftovers. During the beginning of the pandemic I had bought some beer from Bay Hill Tavern. And during the months after they reopened I went and did some takeout from BHT. The online ordering was a snap; the place is so close to the house, and my orders were always ready on time.

The place can get pretty busy; especially starting in the late afternoon. I made it a point to avoid all of that....parking is limited and such, and always placed an order right after they opened at 11am.

The one item that had been recommended to me since BHT opened was the Fried Chicken Sandwich ($13). Even though BHT was fairly close by I had my doubts that the sandwich would hold up well as takeout; but it did.

The fries however did not as it as soggy and under seasoned.

   Now to be perfectly honest, the chicken breast had been fried nicely, and was good n' crunchy, but was on the dry side and really could have used a more aggressive seasoning. It was actually, the herb mayo, napa cabbage slaw, and the "zippy" Fresno chilies, along with the mild sweetness of the brioche bun that made this sandwich. It's almost as if the chicken was just there for texture.

The Reuben Sandwich ($14) was another "almost there" dish. This time I tried the truffle fries (+ $1.50).

 Which, if it was possible, was even more soggy and limp then the regular fries I'd had before. The fries could have used more truffle oil and I'm not sure what to make of the partially melted shavings of cheese on the fries. Perhaps it was meant to be fully melted and nice and gooey/stringy? I dunno.

The sandwich though, was almost there...the rye bread nicely toasted, the Swiss cheese melted, the pastrami thinly sliced and warm, the "secret sauce" you know, a modified Thousand Island had some zip to it. I could have used more sauerkraut which might have resolved my biggest issue with this sandwich.....it was so darn salty.

On my last visit I went with the special, called the "Cali Cheesesteak" and this time ordered it with the Curly Fries.

As you can see, in terms of fries, the third time's a charm.....I guess this is the way to go with regards to takeout spuds. The fries were crisp and nicely seasoned.

As for the sandwich, well, the roll was nicely toasted. There were three different cheeses used for this a beer cheese, mozzarella, and provolone which provided alot of gooeyness but not a lot of flavor to add to the beef which while more tender than it looked needed a more aggressive seasoning.

I really think that the sandwich could have used more onions and bell peppers for texture. The avocado just made everything more mushy.

 I will say that I enjoyed the somewhat elevated pub grub from BHT more than other options nearby. BHT is owned by the same group that runs Working Class in North Park. The folks are professional and quite nice. My orders have always been ready for pick-up at the designated time. And the items I tried were quite close to being good. Like I mentioned earlier, BHT can get pretty darn crowded, so I plan my pick up times carefully.

So, even though I'm no longer working from home much, perhaps in the future, when we're thru the pandemic and I'll go ahead and have a cold one or a cocktail at BHT and a bite to eat as well. 

Bay Hill Tavern
3010 Clairemont Drive
San Diego, CA 92117
Hours:
Mon - Thurs 11am - 9pm
Friday 11am - 10pm
Saturday 9am - 10pm
Sunday 9am - 9pm

COMC, the "SSS" Edition - Takeout From Soi 30th, Supannee, and Sovereign

Hope everyone is having a safe and relaxing Labor Day. Here's a quick "C(learing) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard)" post for all of you. I think you can gather from posts in the month of July that one of the Missus's latest obsession is Thai food. I guess it's my fault as I convinced Her to try Sovereign Thai, which She enjoyed so much that we followed things up with Soi 30th, and then Supannee. And She's been on a roll ever since. Funny thing, I noticed that all three of these places start with "S"......go figure.

So, I thought perhaps a quick follow-up post might be appropriate.

Soi 30th:

Well......here it's all about the pork belly.

Clockwise from the top, the Pork Belly with Gai Lan, The Pork Belly Larb (my favorite), and the Pork Belly with Morning Glory (Ong Choi). They still don't have the Thai sausage back on the menu and it's been a bit too hot to think about soup....so we've been sticking with these three. My post from July here.

A good option for online ordering. My order has always been ready when I arrive.

Soi 30th
3442 30th St.
San Diego, CA 92104
Hours:
Mon - Fri 11am - 3pm, 430pm - 9pm
Sat - Sun 12pm - 9pm

Supannee House of Thai:

Another good option for online ordering. 

And even the Missus enjoys the Nam Tok!

 As a bonus, on my last two pick-up visits (yes, we've been going to these places THAT much), they've had the house made Thai Sausage back on the menu.

Before I had the version from Sovereign, this was my favorite in San Diego. It's changed a bit. The sausage used to be put together in smaller oblong "orbs" and seemed to be deep dried. This seemed to be grilled, nice texture, good moisture, after having the version at Sovereign, I think it needs a bit more of a "kick" and more herbs. Still, this is still quite good. And we loved the ginger, chilies, and peanuts provided.

And of course the Nam Khao Tod.

   The version we had on this day was the best of the three times we've ordered it from Supannee. It was all of the nice crisp bits that made it better than what I'd had earlier.

In need of an additional dish for the Missus; on an earlier visit, I decided to get the "Eggplant Delight" with duck. It was a hit with the Missus as She enjoyed the way the eggplant was prepared.

I think it's ok, but the Missus enjoys the dish.....so it's on the list for now.

Supannee House of Thai
2907 Shelter Island Drive
San Diego, CA 92106
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri 1130am - 3pm, 430pm - 830pm
Sat - Sun 1130am - 830pm

Sovereign Thai Cuisine:

Yes, the place that got the Missus craving Thai Food. I do wish they did online ordering and that it was easier to find parking and such.......but to me; the food is worth it.

I just call in and wait things out at Fault Line Park.

Or, I take a short walk in the area. There are always interesting things to see; like this house on the corner of 13th and Island. Built in 1886, the Sheldon House is a wonderful representative of the Queen Anne style......wow, I actually did remember a couple of thing from our walk in Pacific Grove.

As noted in my previous post, the Missus really enjoys the Hat Yai Fried Chicken.

 And of course, we always do two orders of the Thai Sausage. It's that good.

During one of my takeout visits, I was lamenting the loss of the nam tok, which was no longer on the menu, and the "Thai Peppercorns Chicken Noodle" was recommended. I wasn't so sure bout ordering it....but heck, I 've known these folks form the Thai Papaya days; they know our tastes, so I went and ordered it.

Man, this totally reminded us of Thailand! From the pungent green peppercorns, to the wonderful balance of soy sauce - palm sugar, nice savory tones, the noodles perfectly coated.

And the Missus (of course), likes the Stir Fried Eggplant with Basil.

I really love these folks!

Sovereign Thai Cuisine
1460 J Street
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 310-5837
Current Hours:
Tuesday 4pm - 9pm
Wed - Thurs 12pm - 230pm, 4pm - 9pm
Fri - Sun 12pm - 9pm
Closed on Mondays

It is funny that the names of the Missus's current favorite Thai restaurants start with "S".......but they also have another thing in common. The folks that work at all three restaurants are so friendly, kind, and welcoming. I'm able to feel that even when doing take-out. 

You know with the latest surge in Covid, the Missus and I have pulled back the reigns on dining in; we're going to pick our spots carefully. Even though the Missus has never eaten in any of these three places, She can't wait until we're pass this....and we will get past this.

Roadtrip (During Covid-19) - The Raven Tavern and the Abandoned Casa Sirena Seaside Resort (Oxnard)

After a wonderful lunch at Yai Restaurant we made it into Oxnard in pretty good time. Our room was actually ready when we arrived and we got a short break before heading off to dinner. I really didn't want to travel too far from where we were staying and after reading through a bunch of reviews and such, thought that the Raven Tavern would make for a nice, low stress dinner. The place was quite busy when we arrived, but we had reservations and were quickly seated outside right along the harbor.

The Servers and such were very nice; but they were obviously a bit overwhelmed.......I believe it's Covid staffing, so I won't hold it against them.

I started with the "Joe's Old Fashioned" ($15).

Too much bitters and not enough Bourbon for my taste.

The Missus looked at what other tables were having and really didn't seem too inspired. She wasn't overly hungry and went with the Veggie Hand Pie ($5).

The crust on this one was better than mine; but that sauce had a weird, almost sour tinge to it and the filling just wasn't very good.

The Missus figured that a hand pie would be enough for Her since I ordered the Steak and Mushroom Dinner Pie ($16) with Garlic Mashed Potatoes ($3).

   The crust of the pie was on the gummy-mushy side and the filling was barely lukewarm. The gravy had a strange bitterness to it and wasn't hot. There wasn't very much "steak" in this pie either. The best thing were the mashed potatoes which were nicely seasoned.....the only thing the Missus enjoyed.

The food seemed very corporate and "chain-like"....

Too bad. You can't win 'em all, right?

The Raven Tavern
1651 S Victoria Ave.
Oxnard, CA 93035

We took the short drive back to the hotel and decided to take a stroll. We were staying right on Channel Islands Harbor, just north of Port Hueneme at the Hampton Inn. The harbor is quite lovely, very relaxing, and laid back.

There are many residences along Peninsula Road along with folks living on the various yachts and right next to the hotel was a quaint little park. We had a blast watching all the pooches having their evening social hour.

Right next to the park was an interesting site. We first walked along the dock and along this area there were no boats moored and this was where the sea lions hung out.

You see, right along the harbor is the abandoned Casa Sirena Seaside Resort, which closed down in 2009. I was fascinated in checking it out after reading this in Atlas Obscura. It's both eerie and depressing....the abandoned buildings looking run down and worn.

It was starting to get dark and we saw guys on bikes and other folk hanging around in the walkways and they seemed to be....well....you can figure that one out, right?

Very sad indeed. This must be prime property, so I'm wondering what the back story might be. Going down this rabbit hole a bit, I found this on the Channel Islands Harbor website, so perhaps in the near future a new hotel will stand in it's place. The Hampton Inn we stayed at actually used to be the "annex" of the resort.

Here's a photo of Casa Sirena taken the following morning.

As we sailed off to Anacapa Island......

Stay tuned for that post!

Daddy's Hot Dogs Revisited

I needed to drop by Penzy's on a recent weekend and wanted something quick and simple for lunch. Of course, all I needed to do was look across the street to a familiar sight. 

 I hadn't realized that it has been nearly two years since I last visited.....well, that kinda makes sense since I haven't been in this area much since the pandemic started.

The two tables were bring rolled out as I headed across the street.

A quick glance at the menu surprised me. Unlike almost everywhere else during these times it seems that prices have not gone up.

I had thought about just getting a Chicago Dog; but I had really enjoyed the "O" on my previous visit, that I just decided to order that.

 And I enjoyed it. While I really couldn't make out the bacon much, the acidity of the tomatoes, along with just the right amount of Russian dressing, and a bit of spice from the jalapeno relish really delivered.

And, I'm not sure if it was my imagination; but that hot dog seemed so tender.....almost delicate, enrobed in a warm and soft bun.

 Perhaps the atmosphere elevated the meal.......I ate standing at one of the two outdoor tables, no one around me, elbows on the table, sun shining brightly down on me......there wasn't much traffic on University on this day. It all seemed so normal, something which hasn't been "the norm" since March of last year. And for a moment, all seemed right in the world.

Daddy's Hot Dogs
1281 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
Hours:
Tuesdays 11am - 230pm, 330pm - 7pm
Wed - Sat 11am - 10pm
Closed on Sunday and Monday