What we ate during the hottest 2 weeks of the year: Revisits to Izakaya Sakura, The Original Sab E Lee, Grandma Tofu and BBQ, Manila Fast Food and Desserts, and Champions Mariscos Truck

Man, the last two weeks have been brutal....call me a soft San Diegan, but I've been feeling the heat and humidity. I told Cathy that I wish it would just storm like crazy so this weather would break. No such luck so far!

Well, regardless of the weather, you've got to eat, right? So here's some of what we had during the last two weeks.

Izakaya Sakura:

It had been a while and I was craving some Ebi Kakiage cold noodles, so Izakaya Sakura it was.

This time it was the cold udon version, which hit the spot.

 This really hit the spot!

Though I could have done without having to listen to Wilson Phillips Greatest Hits throughout my meal....

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111

The Original Sab E Lee:

Spicy Thai food is a natural for us during hot muggy weather.....not sure why.

The usual suspects at the Linda Vista location.

Man, that Grilled Duck Larb just hit the spot...right between the eyes.

I swear, I recall TOSEL having A/C? Well, not on this day. The result of spicy food with no A/C had me wondering if it was the Salted Fish Fried Rice....or was it me?

The Original Sab E Lee
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

 Grandma Tofu and BBQ:

I wanted some Bibim Naengmyun, but Buga was closed for renovation (they've since reopened). So I ended up going to Halmouny...Grandma Tofu and BBQ.

Love the flavors....bracing and refreshing. The noodles however, seemed were really rubbery, like rubberbands, I mean, naengmyun is always rather elastic, but these just would not give way!

Grandma's Tofu & BBQ
4425 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Manila Fast Food and Desserts:

I was up in the area and decided to grab lunch. I hadn't been back in here in almost 9 months or so.

A quick look at the steam table made selecting what I wanted easy.

The Beef Mechado was much more tender than the last time I had it. The flavor was also better, much more tangy flavor and decent salt. It was on the greasy side though.

The sisig was not bad; nice pungent, sour, spice, salt..... would have been nice to have a bit of crispness in it since it was typical "SD Sisig", left-over lechon kawale. But overall; no complaints, better than I've had recently.

Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Champions Mariscos Truck:

So, just as in the previous four weeks, I broke out the smoker during Labor Day weekend. I needed something fairly close by before I started the ribs, so I headed over to Champions Mariscos Truck in the parking lot of Toys R' Us on Morena.

Consomme might seem to be a bit much on a scortching day, but I can never turn it down. This was a bit too water for my taste, with a bit too much celery flavor. Not as good as my previous visits.

I went with the Arrachera y Camaron...the surf and turf taco. Not enough caramelization on the beef, but it was decently tender. The shrimp were moist and flavorful.

I decided to go with the Taco de Marlyn again.

Man, they really loaded this thing! Unlike my previous visit, it didn't seem to have too much queso...perhaps due to the amount of filling! All this "stuff" seemed to water down the flavor of the smoked fish though....but this wasn't too bad.

Champions Mariscos Truck - In the parking lot of Toys 'R Us on Morena Boulevard

So there you go....we may be overheatin', but we're still eatin'. Hope everyone is staying and keeping cool!

Comments

[Jinxi]

Mmm cold udon sounds reallllly good to me these days! Never tried that Sakura, will get that next time! I don't remember there being AC at Sab-e-lee but it might be because we went during an evening that wasn't tooooo hot. Or maybe because I overdid it on the spicy levels. Still need to go back with S to have him try the duck larb and Issan sausage!

[Kirk]

Hi Jinxi - It's one of my go-to hot weather dishes at Sakura. You can it with either soba or udon...you need to tell them you want it "cold" though, otherwise it'll be hot soup.

[nhbilly]

Hottest days? You make sound so bad and you're eating spicy food. LOL That's how I roll!

[janfrederick]

Now you have me thinking of those Mountain Dew drinkers in Harold and Kumar...and you have that song stuck in my head. Thanks...

[Kirk]

Hi Billy - I like spicy stuff when it's hot...so long it's not soup, or....ahem hot pot! ;o)

LOL Jan! Have a great day..... ;o)

[SK]

I had the mulnaengmyun at Grandma Tofu for dinner this evening. Nice and refreshing. I liked how they made an ice slush out of the broth-- other places I've had this dish served it with plain ice in the soup which dilutes as it melts.

[DT]

Hi Kirk,

How does Grandma's moolnaengmyun compare to Convoy Tofu House? We went to the latter over the weekend and are still looking for better moolnaengmyun in SD.

[Kirk]

Hi DT - I don't think it's as good.