mmm-yoso!!!

Nishiki Ramen Revisited

I do try to revisit places as much as I can....so long the food or the service wasn't terrible. And my initial visit to Nishiki Ramen during their soft opening was neither of those....though the hype machine was in full swing....shades of RakiRaki! So I waited things out and after returning from our recent trip managed to visit twice.

I will say, post grand opening hype, that things were pretty calm, even slow during my visits....though I do try to get in as early as possible. Also, the service here was really nice; the two young ladies working were very efficient and quite friendly on both visits.

So, it off to the ramen, right?

I decided to start with Nishiki's "signature" tonkotsu style ramen ($9.95), which looked sort of like what I had in my soft-opening visit. Having had a mild, poultry forward broth previously, I was kind of stunned at how salty this was. Also, the broth wasn't as hot as I'd have preferred. In spite of looks, this wasn't quite as rich, nor did it have much in terms of personality with regards to flavor....perhaps it was just too much salt? The chashu was cold, a pet peeve; though the egg was quite nice......perhaps almost perfect.

The noodles had a great texture, nice pull, though the flavor of them seemed different from what I recalled....strange, I know, but something seemed to have changed.

The Chicken Karaage was better than on my previous visit. The flavor was excellent; I'm pretty sure they use shio koji to add that extra complex depth of flavor.

When it arrived it was nice and crisp, but it quickly became soggy........not quite worth the $6.95 I paid for it.

In order to perform my "due diligence" I returned the following week. I saw something called "Nishiki Black" on the menu...there are places that use black garlic oil in their ramen and places that use a black sesame infused oil. So why not, right? Also, I ordered this with the "thicker noodle" which in my mind would prove to be a nice vehicle to move a thicker broth.

So here's the thing about the broth......the flavors are pretty mild here overall and there was a ton of that black garlic sauce/oil in this, way too much as the flavor of the garlic, which really didn't have the nice sweetness of black garlic, overwhelmed the whole bowl. In addition, the temp of the broth wasn't hot enough for my taste as this just projected itself as greasy. The chashu wasn't cold and tasted nice, the egg was again excellent, in terms of being cooked and flavor....away from that broth.

I had ordered the thicker noodle, which, while not what you'd expect for a tsukemen, I preferred to the thinner noodle, I did expect something along the lines of what is served at, say Nagi Ramen. Overall, this was a bit too over the top for me....this coming from a guy who had pork backfat ramen in Narita! And at $10.95, I think it's a bit over-priced.

So, I enjoyed the service, the noodles.....it seemed that the "bloom is off the rose" here as the place was pretty much empty......so we'll see. I'll try to drop by again in a couple of months.

Nishiki Ramen
8055 Armour St
San Diego, CA 92111

Clearing Out the Memory Card: China Max, Iron Pig Alehouse, and Tan Ky Mi Gia (ECB)

It's almost spring, so time to start clearing out that memory card. Here's threesome from several months back. As with these posts, it mostly photos.

China Max:

For some reason the Missus actually wanted to go on my typical Saturday "rounds" on this morning....I think it was because She was hungry. We had eaten at Zen Peninsula the week before and I guess She was wondering how a place like China Max would line up.

Short answer? It doesn't.......

Chicken feet looked good, very tender, but lacking in flavor.

The sauce/soup for the tripe was good, but it hadn't imparted flavor to the tripe.

The wrappers for the shrimp and spinach dumplings were too thick and this really lacked flavor.

Even my old standby here, the pan fried shrimp and chive dumplings weren't spared. Greasy and portions of the wrappers were splitting and burnt, making this bitter.

We've always thought that the gailan at China Max was done pretty well....this time it was over cooked.

I admit that it's pretty slim pickins' with regards to Dim Sum in SD......

Man, worse than back in 2012 when I thought things were going a bit downhill.

China Max
4698 Convoy Street #C101
San Diego, CA 92111

Iron Pig Alehouse:

**** Iron Pig has closed

We visited the week we left for Spain. And I think this place is getting better on every visit.

Iron Pig serves one of my favorite salads; the "Man Salad".

The Smoked Wings is one of the two items the Missus comes for; they can sometimes be too salty, or not fried right, but on this visit, things were right.

For some reason the Missus likes the Rib Tips here......I'm not a fan of the sauces at Iron Pig, so we get them without sauce. Now a good rib tip...crunchy cartilage, fatty tissue, man, it can be a thing of beauty. This was very close; it had been smoked perfectly, was moist and tender. The only (big) minus? It needed a more aggressive rub. This was nicely porky, but lacked seasoning.

Nice smoke ring though.......

Iron Pig Alehouse
1520 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

Tan Ky Mi Gia (El Cajon Blvd):

**** Tan Ky Mi Gia has closed

Yes, TKMG in Mira Mesa has closed, but the ECB location, formerly known as Hing Ky Mi Gia back in 2007 is still around.

  Yes, time hasn't been very kind to the place; the lamination on the menus are peeling off and the tables have attained a robust amount of stickiness, but I still drop by every so often, mainly for breakfast, to see what's going on. A simple bowl of Wonton and Dumpling Egg Noodle soup for me on this day. It's gone up 50 cents since my visit last year.

For some reason the charsiu really struck me as not being as good as in the past.....not sure why that's what stuck in my head.......

Tan Ky Mi Gia
5237 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Seoul: Our Arrival, Imun Seolleongtang, and Kimchi Jigae for Breakfast

Ah yes, Seoul, I need to get around to my posts before all the memories fade. Why Seoul, I'm not quite sure.....it had something to do with those K-Dramas the Missus was watching. I told my coworker "SJ" about this and she laughed......"it's really nothing like those soap operas....." but she was excited about my travelling to Seoul where much of her family still lives. I mentioned wanting to really try the "standards", "Seoul Food" if you will, and she came up with a huge spreadsheet of choices, recommendations from friends, family, and her.....we managed to visit a couple of these places as well as a few I did some research on. Yet, the Missus had Her heart set on eating at Pojangmachas....which SJ found to be quite amusing.

I was dark and rainy when we arrived from Narita, something we got used to since we had only one really clear night during our trip. It would have been quite difficult finding our way to our AirBnB amongst the highrises around Jongak Station. But our host left us amazing instructions....with photos and landmarks! The apartment was comfortable, cozy, and had all the amenities one could wish for. And the location couldn't be beat. It's probably one of the best and well set-up AirBnB units we've stayed in. They even had pocket wifi to use during your stay. Thanks Mark!

So we headed out into the night and straight for the Pojangmacha near Supyo-ro....and reality hit the Missus, the food looked like it had been sitting all day, rain was dripping on it...and while it would probably hit the spot after a hard night of drinking...we weren't that drunk yet. So, I went to my list and thought some Seolleongtang would just be perfect. And we set out to find Imun Seolleongtang, one of the oldest, if not the oldest restaurant in Seoul. According to Seoulistic the place was established in 1902. How we found the restaurant, in the darkness and drizzle, I'll never know. But tucked away from one of the main streets, we found the place......a gentleman was walking in and we asked him "Imun Seolleongtang?" He smiled and nodded and waved us in...turns out he was one of the owners/managers of the place as he stationed himself behind the cash register.

Most of the customers looked like older folk, a good sign in my book. We were seated and took a second too long to order so the older woman, totally a "Ajumma" just ordered for us.....hilarious. We wanted Seolleongtang anyway.

A couple of notes; we found that the baechu kimchi in Seoul was delicious and not as "pickled" and salty as what we have at most places here in the states.

It wasn't always to my liking, but it was a nice change for me.

Meanwhile; I found the kkakdugi to be really great just about everywhere; so crisp, refreshing, not too salty.......

And boy they love their scallions here.....

Baskets or huge bowls are passed around when you order Seolleongtang or Gomtang. I found that I really enjoyed adding a pile of this to my soup as it added crunch and a nice pungency and flavor to the broth...along with the sea salt and crushed red pepper (gochugaru).

So now is when I mention my SD card failure once again. Unfortunately, my SD card malfunction ate my Seolleongtang  photos...so you'll have to bear with my description. The broth was milky white, highly defatted, but still having that collagenic tongue coating feel to it. The flavor was beefy and not much else; it was up to you to add what you needed. The slices of wha loked like brisket had that nice texture of not too tough and not falling apart.

A perfect tummy coating soup for a rainy and rather chilly Seoul evening......

Imun Seolleontang
30-22 Ujeongguk-ro
Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Arriving at night in a city or country you've never been in before can be a bit disorienting; but we're kind of used to it now, so we just took things in stride and had a good night of sleep.

The next morning we awoke hungry and decided to head on out........but first we needed some sustenance. Where....well, I wasn't sure. I recall seeing a couple of places neat the pojangmacha the night before so I suggested we walk on over to Supyo-ro. Looking over places, we decided on this one.

Sorry, neither the Missus nor I read Hangul. But the smells coming from the place was inviting....there was a group of "guys" finishing up their meal as we entered.....they were still drunk and were trying to sober up.

The panchan was decent, but nothing special....though I will say again, it wasn't as salty as what is standard here at many Korean restaurants.

I got the Doenjang Jigae - the soybean paste stew. It was decent, nice flavor, hearty, the tofu was especially good. The Missus enjoyed this more than I did.

Meanwhile, I really enjoyed the Kimchi Jigae....it had the nice fermented flavors of kimchi, wasn't too salty, was nice, thick, and plain delicious.....though the pork was really tough, which was to be expected based on the price.

And while we had a version later on that was plain delici-yoso....this hit the spot.

And yes, the price.....well 6500 won, about $5.20...not bad for breakfast, eh?

Seoul was an interesting city for us. A mix of the old and new, folks pushing carts around while using smartphones, the" juxtaposition of the old and new" is a phrase I used a couple of times while describing the city.

It was our intention to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace on this morning, at least that's what the Missus decided the night before....that's how She rolls. Most of the time She'll decide what She wants to do the night before. It's sometimes a bit of a scramble, especially when She gets hungry. I have to prepare and have options for everywhere, which can be a bit of a challenge at times.

The palace was literally a few blocks (albeit long blocks) away from where we were staying, but we were early. So we decided to have a cup of coffee.....man, the prices of coffee in Seoul was pretty expensive. Like $4+ a cup! After checking out a couple of places, we found a schoolhouse themed coffee shop called Coffee TeaCher; complete with schoolhouse desks, seats, and even lockers!

We both started noticing things right away. There was a group of office workers sitting when we arrived having drinks. When we left 30 minutes later they were still there taking a "coffee break"! We started keeping track when having a cup of coffee and noticed the same thing.....folks take some pretty long coffee breaks here. And then there are the "smoking blocks" outside office buildings......

We headed to Gyeongbokgung Palace a bit after 9am, but quickly noticed something.....

The doors looked closed.......

The time/day differences and jet lag had gotten to us. It was Tuesday and the palace was closed. Which didn't bother us too much since we were literally a quarter mile from the place.

So we walked on over to Bukchon Hanok Village which was just a few kilometers away. This is an area, between Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace  where traditional Korean homes "Hanoks" are located in a community that was once set aside for high ranking officials and the nobility.

It was quite beautiful. The only thing being the groups of loud tourists...some of whom would climb up walls...my goodness, folks are still living here.....

The Missus and I decided to return early on another morning and headed to "plan C", which turned out to be the best decision we made during our trip.

Stay tuned and thanks for reading!

Brussels: Marche du Parvis, Brasserie Egalite, Friterie de la Barriere, and Moeder Lambic (Saint Gilles)

On our return trip to Brussels I booked an apartment in the Saint-Gilles neighborhood. Part artsy, part somewhat run down, quite diverse, urban, we really enjoyed staying in this part of town....it seemed quite "real".

Our flat was quite large as well.

Since we had arrived too early for check-in, we dropped our stuff off and headed out....not quite sure what to do. I had a farmer's market, Marché du Parvis (Parvis Market) de Saint Gilles, marked on my map so we headed off in that direction.

Where there was indeed a farmer's market.

We decided to take advantage of the huge kitchen in the apartment and self cater. Picking up some eggs; charcuterie, vegetables.....and a nice amount of cheese from the fromage-mobile.

Marché du Parvis de Saint Gilles
Sint-Gillisvoorplein
Hours:
Tues - Wed 730am - 1pm
Thurs 12pm - 10pm
Fri 730am - 1pm
Sat - Sun 730am - 2pm

We took a look around for something to eat, but decided to duck into this "brasserie"

I liked the looks of the place......

There was a huge cold case with beer that you could just select yourself and a rather large listing.....

  Wanting to just have fun, we selected two beers we'd never heard of before. The Missus a blonde ale; "Den Tseut" from Huisbrouwerij Den Tseut, which was pretty disappointing; very light and "Pilsner" like. I decided to "go big" and went with a Goliath (Gouyasse) Tripel from Brasserie Des Légendes, a nice straight up tripel; very yeasty-bready, slight hops, only 6% ABV, so it really wasn't Goliath like in my book.

I'm not sure the place even serves food....but there was none on this morning. The woman working here was a hoot; she spoke not a word of English.

We opened up the cheese and charcuterie and made eating motions and she nodded in agreement. We then asked for a knife making a sawing motion....in a moment she figured out what we needed and replied to our pantomime with the knife across the throat gesture with sound effects! It was hilarious; and yes, we got our knife. You gotta love it!

Brasserie Egalite
Parvis de Saint-Gilles 47
Brussels, Belgium

Instead of heading back to the apartment which I don't think was ready yet, we strolled around and actually found a friterie that I had on my list; Friterie de la Barriere, which is a little frietkot on Avenue du Parc.

It was just past 11am and there was a line. So I took a peek and one of the guys in front of me who was chatting with his friends in Flemish, turned to me and said, "no worries. this place makes the best frites in the area....." Say no more......

So I got the frites, with aioli. I thought these were pretty good, not greasy, crisp exterior, fluffy exterior, but nothing special overall. After having several versions of frites in Belgium; the Missus claimed to not get what the love of frites was all about....and then she'd proceed to attack it.......

Friterie de la Barriere
5 Avenue du Parc
Brussels, Belgium

By now it was time to check-in and a nap......

We awoke made a simple dinner with what we had......

And headed out to the one destination that I had planned out for the day. We had enjoyed our visit to the Fontainas location of the legendary beer bar Moeder Lambic, but I had wanted to visit the original location, which was one of the two reasons I choose to stay in Saint-Gilles. And we weren't disappointed. Things in Brussels always seems relaxed and chill to us, but it was even more laid back here.

Of course the Missus had something from Cantillon, Cuvee Saintt Gilloise, which She loved. The sour-tart tones were balanced out with what I can only describe as an earthy flavor. Very nice and refreshing.

I tend to enjoy tripels, so I went with the Val-Dieu tripel. I really enjoyed this; there seemed to have an apple-honey background, while not being too "bready" or boozy. Man, his was a nice beer. I need to find a bottle of this here in San Diego....though I've found that versions of the Belgian's I've had here don't taste quite the same.

And while I really enjoyed that Val-Dieu, it was the next beer I had that really made my day. I decided to try something named "Hop-Ruiter". Man, this was really good....just enough hops for me; that would be south of an IPA; yet quite floral to the nose. The flavor doesn't quite go into dubbel-tripel territory, yet the honey flavors and some citrus tones are there. We'd return to Moeder Lambic the next night so I could have this again. I did find bottles of this here in San Diego, but the overall aroma and flavor was totally different.

The Missus tried the Caulier 28.

We really enjoyed Moeder Lambic; the folks here were very nice and it seemed less touristy than the Fontainas location.

Moeder Lambic
Rue de Savoie 68
Brussels, Belgium

While the Saint-Gilles area seemed a bit more "gritty" than Central Brussels or St Catherine, it seemed to have much more of the local color which we enjoyed.

We got to sleep early, tomorrow was going to be a full day.....

Thanks for reading!

Crouse’s Flat Top Grill in Yuma

Kirk and Cathy are busy doing important things today. So Ed (from Yuma) is filling in with a post about a new place in Yuma. 

Longtime Yumans still identify the space at 2855 S 4^th Ave as the location of Hensley's Steakhouse (a.k.a. Hensley's Beef, Beans and Beer). They assure me that the Hensley family owned and operated that successful restaurant for 20 years.

But for the entire time that I have lived in Yuma, this spot's been cursed. It has hosted Mi Playita, TJ’s Marisquero, Viejo Loco, Small Fries, Rusty Spoon, Spanky's Chophouse, The Farmhouse, and probably some others I can't remember. Now it has been reborn as Crouse’s Flat Top Grill:

Inside, the decor is clean and minimalist. There are tables of various sizes and not a lot of decoration on the walls:

There is also a small bar area:

The minimalist ambience with hard flat surfaces means that it gets loud when the tables are full. And because of the food, these days it has been getting loud alot.

For example, just look at this pulled pork dinner:

The bread grilled up crunchy, the beans decent, the battered fries nicely crisp, and the pile of pulled pork magnificent:

The meat tasted every bit as good as it looks in that picture– charred, smoky, rich, with a nice meaty chew.

In fact, it was a pulled pork sandwich on my first visit to Flat Top Grill that convinced me that the kitchen could put out stuff that was seriously wow:

There's a whole lot of good on that plate. The pulled pork, of course, was amazing. The tangy sweet barbecue sauce staying in the background where it belonged. The fresh coleslaw added crunch. The whole thing was so big, that I turned it into two open faced sandwiches just to get it into my mouth, and I still ended up taking leftovers home (our dog was delighted).

Even the mac salad – the sandwiches come with your choice of side – was outstanding. Abundant diced sweet/sour pickles, shredded cabbage, and small cubes of cheese gave the salad a complexity of textures and tastes. Very enjoyable.

Speaking of sides, for two dollars extra you can get maybe the best onion rings in town:

These homemade rings are the standard by which all other onion rings should be judged. The breading was outstanding – the exterior had a crispness that gave way to a firm chew. Inside, the onion slices themselves were sweet and flavorful. The only shortcoming, a lack of equally incredible dipping sauce.

The cheeseburger with extra crispy fries was another tasty lunch:

This day, the battered french fries had an nicely seasoned crackly crisp exterior wrapped around a pillow soft interior. The half pound burger was obviously hand formed and coarsely ground on the premises – great texture. The pickles were sweet/sour, slightly spicy, and nicely crunchy. A good burger that would have been great if it had not been slightly overcooked, so there was no moist pink center to the patty.

The chicken Club was another good sandwich:

The chicken was nicely grilled and seasoned, the bacon chewy and flavorful. If only the avocado slices had been riper and creamier the sandwich would have approached perfection.

Speaking of perfection, it's hard to imagine a better red chile cheeseburger than this open faced example:

The picture does not do justice. In my years, I have eaten dozens of versions of this truck stop/diner standard. Back in the day, my parents’ eatery served a good version, topped with my dad’s recipe chili. The Crouse’s is in a different league entirely. Even with beans, the red chile is deeply flavored and rich. Everything oh my god good.

One more example of the really tasty food at Flat Top Grill, the tri-tip sandwich:

The potato salad is fine if not spectacular and the split ciabatta roll was pretty ordinary. On the other hand, the tri-tip, grilled over oak, Santa Maria style, was rich, tender, and smoky. And look at all that meat. Three slices were plenty for the sandwich, so I took two of them home (happy dog again). Also notice that there is no mayo, mustard, ketchup, cheese, or sauce on the bread. The tri-tip is rich and fatty enough that the sandwich – just roll, lettuce leaf, and meat – needed nothing else. Wow again! – or as the dog would say, Bow Wow!

With the opening of Flat Top Grill, I think the Crouse family has finally killed the curse.

Midweek Meanderings: Christy's Bakery Closes, a Revisit to Poseidon Project with the Haad Sai Thai Food Truck, and Some "Beery" odds and ends

Christy's Bakery Closes:

Last month, before our trip, on the day of my bad haircut, I noticed that Christy's Bakery had closed. I'd visited a looong time ago, before the food blog days and don't even remember the food. Here's CAB's post from 2009. They'd been around forever it seems.....though if a place like Conching's can close....

9178 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, California 92126

Back to the Poseidon Project and the Haad Sai Thai Food Truck:

The Missus ended up working on a recent Friday evening at the last minute, which left me alone at 630 pm on a Friday. So I headed out looking for a place to eat.....as I figured everyplace was packed. I even tried Pacific Time, but there was no parking. As I rolled up Morena, I noticed a Food Truck in front of The Poseidon Project, I thought "why not"?

Turns out it was a Thai truck called Haad Sai Thai.

The guy running the truck was really friendly and several folks in Poseidon were eating noodles; a couple of folks even doing take-out from the truck, so I ordered some drunken noodles with chicken, bought a bottle of one of my recent favorites....I was surprised at the price, cheaper than what I recently paid for a bottle at Keg and Barrel at $9.53 with tax, and had a seat.

The drunken noodles were nothing to write home about, though it was decently spicy at a heat level 7 and at least the noodles weren't mushy.

The chicken was dry, not enough "wok hay", other than the heat level, missing the sweet and salty of drunken noodles, and a bit over-priced at $9, but the savings on my bottle balanced things out for me. The portion size was quite large though and I got to watch a beer nerd ("bro") get a bottle of Delirium and match it with a California Burrito from Santana's across the street....a first for me.

Plus, the folks working here are great. I'm really warming to the place. Even though they only currently have 8 pulls, the bottles seems nicely priced.

Poseidon Project
4126 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110

Plus I just can't help but keep humming this song.

Yes, I'm old enough to remember the movie.

Some other "Beery" stuffs:

My favorite of this batch is Elysian Brewing Company's Bifrost Winter Ale....I just love the aroma, though the taste is a bit of a letdown, though they do a nice job balancing the hops.

Hope you're having a great week!

Circling Back to...Pho Van and Pho Ca Dao (El Cajon Blvd)

Here are a couple of places I haven't been to in ages.....

Pho Van:

Man, would you believe the last time I was here was back in "the 'aughts"! 2006 to be exact......talk about a loooong time.

I ran around doing a ton of shopping during my first weekend back from our trip. I thought I should go ahead and visit this place since I pass it all the time and say to myself "I need to do a revisit".

So I parked in back of the place, walked in, had a seat, and ordered #4.........I saw the "Tai" (rare steak) on the way in and decided to pass.

The veggies and herbs were pretty fresh, even the two small leaves of Ngo Gai. The broth was actually better than I had here on previous visits.....no good mind you, but better. It wasn't too salty, but had a slight bitterness to it, had to temper with all the basil, which helped a bit. There was a very slight flavor of beef, but not much else. The noodles were decent, in the clump at the bottom of the bowl, edging on starting to get mushy, but not cold. The proteins were a mixed bag, the brisket tasted off, the flank very tough, but tripe was nicely prepped. Not much tendon.

Typical old school pho shop service, perfunctory, quick, and to the point. Not quite sure when or if I'll return......but hey, if they're still around in another 5-10 years, who know?

Pho Van Restaurant
4233 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92105

Pho Ca Dao (El Cajon Blvd):

While never a big favorite, I always enjoyed the tendon here, while the Missus used to enjoy the Bun Bo Hue here. I knew I hadn't been here in a while, but looking back at my old posts, I believe it's been almost 6 years! How quickly time flies!

The interior look pretty much the same as is the service, which wasn't bad....typical pho shop, but perhaps a bit nicer. The young man who seated me was pretty friendly.

Let's get straight to the pho....#4 here as well.

Man, I still love the tendon here; it's just the right texture for me, slight chew while still being very tender. In fact, all the proteins were good, in terms of flavor the flank, while stringy and falling to pieces had a nice beefy flavor. The broth on the other hand was quite bad....as in "where's the beef".....flavor. It's like they don't even use beef bones to make pho here anymore. Along with being too defatted it was also MSG heavy.....such is the state of pho in San Diego.

Sad because the pho banh was prepped well with a nice pull. Sad that the broth just didn't do it for me.......in spite of the tendon, it's the broth that's most important part of my bowl of pho.

Pho Ca Dao
5223 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Sunday Sandwiches: Revisits to SuperNatural Sandwiches, Zgara Grill, Best Donuts, Havana Grill, and Cali Baguette Express

Here's a round-up of sandwiches I had in the weeks leading up tour trip. I just realized I really circled the globe on this one.

SuperNatural Sandwiches:

**** SuperNatural Sandwiches has closed

It had been a couple of months so I thought I'd drop by after a meeting close by. I had the Siren of course.

These guys sure have the consistency down; the buttery brioche roll, nice plump shrimp, creamy aioli, a little kick of heat. My colleague from the Midwest still mentions the sandwiches during our conversations. Must have made an impression.

SuperNatural Sandwiches
7094 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92121

Zgara Grill:

**** Update Zgara Greek Grill has reopened on Morena Boulevard

Another favorite that I hadn't been to in a while. They've now got a lunch special, a sandwich with fries and a drink.....don't quite remember the price as I was enjoying talking to the owner.

Crisp pork gyro.....just like Greece! Well seasoned, crisp, enrobed in a nice warm pita. The owner also gave me a little cup of a nice sauce which went well with the fries. I need to come here more often....it's cheaper than a flight to Athens.

Zgara Greek Grill
1730 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

Best Donuts Bakery & Deli:

**** Best Donuts is now Barrio Donas

Heading to work early (530 am) with no time for lunch on my schedule. The solution? A stop at Best Donuts for the A la Mexicana.

Warm and fluffy bolillo, eggs, a smear of beans, gooey melted cheese, salsa, jalapenos (to wake me up), and tomato. What's not to like? I'm sure there are little shops like this everywhere....it's just a matter of finding them.

Best Donuts Bakery & Deli
4714 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Havana Grill:

The nice folks here have put up their "Grand Opening" sign so I thought I'd drop by. There seems to have been a few changes to the menu from my previous visits, but the place looks like it's doing well. Nice change of pace for the area and heck, Faye seems to like the place. Not having much time, I took my El Cubano to go.

The sandwich seems to have a bit less meat than before, but in terms of proportion things went well together. The pork still has flavor and isn't "the other white meat", the Swiss cheese adds a nice milky flavor......and those pickles, well they add the acid and tartness to the sandwich. I do enjoy the plantain chips, which are sliced very thin, thus making it crisp. I need to head back to Embargo Grill for the Medianoche and compare.

Havana Grill
5450 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Cali Baguette Express - Convoy:

**** This location of Cali Baguette Express is now Cali Banh Mi

Banh Mi Trung is probably one of my favorite breakfast items....though perhaps I'd take a good noodle soup or natto gohan with egg ahead of it. Cali Express is an easy choice, they bake their own bread (though I think Paris makes a better baguette) and who can deny the wonderfulness of a fried egg sandwich with Maggi on it?

And don't forget about the sneaky jalapeno....now that'll wake you up, right? Again, it's about ratios and proportion to me......the pickled veggies, the fried egg, the light and airy bread, cilantro....you get the point, right?

Cali Baguette Express
4425 Convoy Street
San Diego, CA 92111

Granada: A walk around town and Saint Germain

After a much needed nap, we decided to take a walk around Granada before heading to our dinner location. We took off in a random direction to the end of Calle Animas finding that it was a shortcut to Calle Cuchilleros and Catolicos.

And ended up in this pretty little square; named Plaza del Padre Suarez.

Lovely colors.....

Right across the street from the square is the Casa de los Tiros, which is now a museum. I loved the coat of arms above the door. A sword stands poised over a heart with the inscription "El corazón manda" (the heart is in command).

There's a restaurant at the end of the plaza, we impulsively made reservations for dinner the next night.....I thought we might want something other than tapas by then.

The Missus saw some stairs leading in the direction of the Alhambra....of course we had to head up those stairs.

We loved the arteries that lead down along the way and the views of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the background.

I thought we had seen enough, but the Missus was determined to make it to the top.

At the end of the trail was what looked like a fortress....this is the Hotel Alhambra.

Heading back down we meandered through the streets of the Realejo neighborhood, taking time to stop and admire the Iglesia de Santo Domingo.

We ended up on Carrera de la Virgen and really enjoyed walking around. At the end of the street is Plaza de Humilladera and nice green space. For some reason, I really love this photo.

And the Fuente de las Granadas.

Notice the pomegranates? You'll see them everywhere in Granada, as it is the official symbol of the city. In fact, the pomegranate is called "granada" is Spanish....makes sense, huh?

There seems to be so many fountains in Granada. This one, on Plaza del Campilo is named Fuente de las Batallas - the Fountain of the Battles.

According to this post, this is where folks in Granada celebrate their soccer victories.

There was a reason why we were down in this area and killing time. We had reservations for dinner at a shop named La Oliva. The owner holds special dinners a few times a week. Multi-course dinners that feature the local olive oil and wine, with typical local dishes. I'd made arrangements a few months ahead of time for one of these dinners. Unfortunately the owner had taken ill so dinner was cancelled.

So it was time for plan B. We took our time making our way back up Calle Catolicos, a major shopping street....then cutting through Bib Rambla and the back of the Cathedral, then back up Gran Via until we turned down a side street to a wine bar named Saint Germain.

The place had a rather extensive listing of over 30 wines by the glass.....all from Spain in addition to Cava and beer.

We loved the atmosphere....we both ended up with our favorite wine...

The Missus ended up enjoying the house Blanco Seco, while I really liked the Encaste, a nice red, I believe a Cabernet from Ronda.

And of course, there was a free tapa with every glass. We really enjoyed what this place put out. First off, a wonderful olive oil-cheese-onion tostada, with nice oregano flavor, the bread so crisp.

Then a remarkable arroz-verde, rice with cheese and mushroom that was a pure joy to eat. Everything in balance, savory-salty-earthy, the rice cooked perfectly. This was perhaps the Missus's favorite single dish in Granada.

By this time, the Missus had discovered the joy of wondering what tapa would come out with Her next glass of wine. We were disappointed when it was a rather simple salad.

And rather surprised when something that looked just like a Mexican Flauta arrived. This was delicious by the way; the creamy, savory cheese-béchamel filling was very good.

I loved the fried fava beans too. I asked and was told this is a "canelone", a Spanish version of cannelloni and a specialty of Catalan, which was thought to be brought to Spain in the 19th century. You learn something new everyday.

By this time the place was filling up.

We had intended on ordering some food, but ended up stuffed on tapas. Our bill? 20 euros....which put us at less than forty bucks for lunch and dinner, crazy. By this time the place was full....on this evening full of locals and college students. We'd end up coming here on every evening while in town.....there would be a combination of locals and folks from the hotel up the street. We never had the same tapa twice......it became sort of a game for the Missus.....the let's see what we get kind of thing. I can't say I didn't enjoy playing along.

Saint Germain
Calle Postigo Velutti 4
Granada, Spain

Granada: Bodegas Casteneda

Our train was scheduled to leave Atocha Station at 0745......we're not quite used to things being pitch black dark at 7am in the morning so that was somewhat disorienting to us. And yet, it was neat watching the sun rise over the horizon on the train...at 0845 no less....

We were of course, well prepared for any pangs of hunger. Armed with the Jamon Bellota from Ferpal. Part of the "fun" when travelling are the interesting characters you see. In this case, the middle aged, somewhat eccentric Japanese gentleman who brought a huge suitcase with him, in addition he wore two watches to go with the two cameras around his neck. He stuffed the suitcase on the seat next to him....only to find out that someone had that seat reserved. He quickly moved the gigantic suitcase to the storage area......then, in a strange twist of fate, the guy who sat next to him suddenly realized he was on the wrong car! Bummer...... And yet, not all was lost as he bought a bocadillo and assumed what I consider to be the classic "bocadillo pose".

After his sandwich; I watched him bring out a huge folder with tabs and review notes....about what, I'm not sure. Then I saw him bring out a smartphone....which led me to wonder why he needed two watches?

Since the tracks to Granada are being repaired we had to change from the train to a bus at Antequera-Santa Ana Station. Our good man ended up sitting right across from another eccentric looking middle aged Japanese gentleman who had a huge file folder of notes carrying a huge camera tri-pod. Aaaah, when soulmates meet! They had such an animated conversation during the bus ride to Granada Train Station which was going thru some major road work.

We were told to catch the bus on "LAC" - Avenida de la Constitucion, then transfer to the bus on Gran Via....of course we decided to walk.

The location of the AirBnB apartment was great, right off Plaza Nueva on Calle Animas...though we did find that so much was tourist based here. Finding a simple market or decent bakery was a bit difficult. Yet, it was so close to the Judicial Gate of the Alhambra (right up the street) and many of the popular places it was a great location.

A big plus was the location of the Alhambra Bookstore where we could print our prepaid tickets for our visit, thus being able to take the nearby Judicial Gate the next day.

Granada takes pride in still offering what we were told is "traditional tapas"......free tapas with every drink. Two of the most highly recommended places were within a short walk of our apartment; Los Diamantes and Bodegas Casteneda. Los Diamantes seemed very touristy, right on the main drag....though we did see the original location a bit later on which seemed less so. Bodegas Casteneda an alleyway off the main drag seemed to have a more local clientele.......based on the older local folks who seemed to be making the rounds after (before?) church on this Sunday.

A lot of older couples would just drop by; have a drink, then move on......perhaps to the next place.

Our free tapa...with the glass of tinto for the Missus and my beer was a rather generous portion of bacalao (preserved cod) with a very nice tomato sauce.

It was a bit early for more drinks for us so I ordered "tapa" size portions of Fabes con Jamon (fava beans with jamon) which the Missus absolutely loves and berenjenas relleno (stuffed eggplant) which was very cold in terms of temperature and in spite of looks was on the greasy side and lacked flavor.

Not quite the most auspicious first meal in Granada....yet quite worth the 12 Euro price in our mind. So while we'd probably not return it was quite reasonable for us.

It's quite amazing that the servers are able to keep track of things, but they do. Bodegas Casteneda also has a full service restaurant next door; don't confuse this place with Antigua Bodega Casteneda right around the corner....there's some familiar connection, but to my understanding, has no true link to this location.

Bodegas Castañeda
Calle de Almireceros 1-3
Granada, Spain