So what do you do on a hot and sticky day? Well, get a $10 cup of coffee, have some pho (at Pho Lucky), and end your night at Izakaya Sakura of course!

The Missus has a style all Her own. She keeps me on my toes; I never know what Her latest obsession will be. Recently, She's become a bit of a coffee nerd, pour over coffee to be precise. One morning She sent me a text telling me She's ordered V60 "stuff".....my response was "what do you need a missile launcher for?". I came to find out that She wasn't planning on taking out any tanks, but rather, was ordering the gear she needed to make pour over coffee at home. Of course, what's coffee without beans, right? Which is how we started visiting places like Dark Horse and Portola, with me having stuff like Kyoto Drip Coffee. Anyway, Her favorite current source of beans and a nice cup of coffee is Bird Rock and on this morning She was thrilled.....they had something called Panama Geisha, supposedly the best Panama has to offer. It was ten bucks for V50 pour-over, yikes! Still, I believe it was important for Her to try it....once....since She's really enjoying Her coffee. The guy working here was really nice and told the Missus, "it's perfect......I want to make sure you enjoy every last drop!" Which She did....It's really smooth and fruity....a bit too smooth for me...it is quite lovely, but I like a bit of acid and bite in coffee. I am glad She got a chance to try it. She also bought some Kenyan to grind (by hand) at home....She's started to keep the labels of the various beans She buys to remember what She enjoys. My goodness, I'm married to a coffee nerd in training.

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters
5627 La Jolla Blvd
San Diego, CA 92037

Then it's off to Pho Lucky:

So it's like in the 80's at 8 in the morning. What does the Missus want to have? Well, pho of course.... wha???

We actually ordered the same items as on this visit. Today the broth wasn't too salty and loaded with MSG, there was a nice clove-5 spice backbone to the broth. Lot's of tendon which the Missus gave to me.....along with all those perfectly cooked noodles....She stayed with the broth and meat. I'm still not a fan of the Missus dumping all those jalapenos into Her broth, but hey, it's Her soup, right?

I ordered the combination broken rice; most of which (except for the Bi, which the Missus inhaled) came home for a light lunch. I was too full after eating all those noodles.

Things were divided up as follows, pork chop and rice for me, shrimp stuffs for Her. She also had the "cha" which seemed like it had been sitting around for a while, it was too dry for my tastes, but the Missus enjoyed it. Such is how couples who have been together forever eat I guess.....

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Gyokai Natto Don from Izakaya Sakura:

I was on my own for dinner. All this hot and sticky weather has me craving certain "comfort" food.....specifically natto. I hadn't been here in a while, and not for dinner in ages.

In fact, I hadn't been here since they cleaned up their menu....it's much more easy to read now...it made it so easy to find the Nankotsu Karaage - fried chicken cartilage. I love the crunch of well prepared chicken cartilage and this was fried perfectly.

The coating was nice, light, and crisp, though I think I'll need some togarashi next time as it needed a bit of umph.....

The combination of raw fish and ika (squid) combined with the sticky stringy natto was just what the doctor ordered. Soy sauce and wasabi just brought everything together for me. The agedashi tofu that comes with this wasn't cooked properly, the coating was gummy and didn't hold up.... otherwise, this was the perfect meal for today.

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

So. You see what we've been eating during this hot and sticky weather....what have you been eating?

Comments

[Michael]

Now I want to go get a #14 at Lucky. It's my favorite bowl.

Have you ever encountered epazote in the herb mix there? They snuck some in last time I went, and I thought someone had spilled cleaning fluid in the broth or something. Not for me!

[kat]

gyoza & beer :) great round-up...expensive coffee but I'm sure it was oishii!

[Kirk]

Wow, epazote! I'm guessing they were trying to use that in place of Ngo Gai....that smell, which reminds me a bit of gasoline would be really harsh. Haven't run across that yet Michael...and frankly, I hopw I never do.

Now that's something I can go for right now Kat!

[Cathy]

I like pour over coffee (can even ask for it in any bean at Starbucks); it just tastes fresher; (make at home in a Chemex...because that still hasn't fallen to the floor like all the French Presses we've had)(the Yama is far more 'chemistry class' in appearance). The Mister wanted Karrage for dinner yesterday too; no pho cravings though. Nasty weather during the day, but nice from about 6 pm-7 am.

[LL]

Lucky is usually a winner whether it's muggy weather or not. Great choices!

Have you noticed the rice used for the rice dishes at Lucky is usually a higher grade Jasmine rice compared to the typical low restaurant grade rice used at other places? The difference in texture makes the meal just a little more enjoyable.

[Ed (from Yuma)]

Nice post. Weird weather here, but I was just reading about Phoenix - some areas there got 3-5" rain in a few hours this morning.

I like Bird Rock coffees also, but they are often not like traditional tasting coffee at all. Like you sometimes I like a little bitter better.

[Kirk]

Hi Cathy - Yeah, it was pretty miserable down here..... For some reason karaage tastes especially good when it's warm out!

Funny thing LL, I was just commenting that Lucky's rice wasn't quite as fragrant as I recalled...it's still better than most places though!

Hi Ed - I saw video of a dust storm in PHX yesterday...yikes! I've found that many South American beans have a bit more of an acid bite...dunno if that's just me though.

[Dennis]

Hi Kirk, the coffee sounds great! I haven't had anything caffeinated in months but honestly really do miss the ritual if anything. Need to get me some pho soon, but gotta say a plate of com tam is hard to resist too.

[Kirk]

Hi Dennis - I gotta say, all those noodles got to me since I really don't eat as much carbs nowadays.

[Lynn @ Oh-So Yummy]

hey kirk,

i looked for 7 course beef all over your site but found nada. i was hoping someone here knew of a place in SD? i only hear about the restaurants in O.C (we just posted about a popular one). anyway, seems like phuong trang offers it. you up for trying it out with us?

[Kirk]

Hi Lynn - No Phuong Trang's version is terrible. I'd give Pagolac a shot, I thought they were pretty good. We've lived in San Diego for 14 years and before that LA, I've only had the blog since 2005, so there's a lot I've tried....if it was bad, I really would not be motivated to try it again.

[Lynn @ Oh-So Yummy]

that's too bad about PT. someone asked me about where to go in SD and i had no idea since people only talk about the ones in O.C. i'll let them know about your suggestion though.

[Kirk]

Hi Lynn - It's sad, I know, but there are just dishes like Banh Cuon, Bun Cha Hanoi, Banh Tom, and Bun Gia Cay I would never think of recommending or getting in San Diego. For stuff like those, you really need to go to the OC. I've got some real good sources who keep me informed.