Kusina

Back in February of this year I noticed that Boss Bird Kitchen had completed moving from Miramar to La Mesa and there was a new sign up at that location. Whew, if you're keeping score that would make business number four in that location since 2018. And two of those defunct businesses were Filipino in concept, Sarap and Gaya Gaya. So now, I guess we were back to square one?

I waited a couple of months before visiting, until April, when Calvin was in the office and I had him come along to try out Kusina.

Man, the place looked pretty empty, which was great for Calvin and I, who both tested negative before meeting up, but perhaps not for Kusina.

The menu was full of the "usual suspects", though they were out of several items on this day.

We placed our order and in a few minutes our food started arriving.

Of course no meal in this genre is complete without rice and we went with the Garlic Rice.

Which was decently done; if a bit on the mild side in regards to garlic/pungent flavors. 

I believe I've mentioned that Calvin can't pass up trying Pancit Palabok whenever it's on the menu. His Missus doesn't eat (a lot of things) palabok so he takes this opportunity to treat himself....as he should.

This isn't my favorite version of the dish; the pancit malabon was way overcooked and mushy; there wasn't enough of the deep, savory "seafoody" deliciousness of a good palabok. The breadcrumbs added a textural contrast, but really was not much of a help overall.

Of course we got the Sisig. Which looked quite nice, arriving in a sizzling plate with that lovely egg.....

This dish looked much better than it was....much of the pork was on the burnt and tough side; the sauce lacked spice, the dish was super salty. 

The best item was the Bicol Express.

While I could have used a bit more bagoong and the pork was perhaps a bit on the "waxy" side; at least this had some zip to it, which made it go well with rice.

Overall, I wasn't too impressed with this meal.

Kusina calls itself "A Taste of the Pacific" and has some non-Filipino dishes on the menu. A week after my first visit, I decided to do some takeout and placed an online order....for....well... a Loco Moco. Which was ready for pick-up at the assigned time. It was a short, about 10 minute drive back to the office where I unpacked things.

   This was interesting; the gravy was mushroom based and not terrible. The egg was over-cooked; I don't think the short drive back to the office was an issue though.

The rice was perfect.

The burger was a bit chewy and mealy, but was nice and beefy in flavor; perhaps it was just too lean for my taste.

Not terrible, but definitely not a loco moco I'd be craving.

And so the photos just kinda sat. I did want to do one more visit before posting. During that period, Soo did a post on Kusina which you can read here.

Finally, after two months, Calvin was coming into the office and wanted to meet for lunch. I called Kusina to make sure they had Crispy Pata, they did, which set us off for another visit.

There were more tables set on this visit, though only one other fellow came in to eat during our meal....and he was from our office!

On each of my visits the folks working the front of house were different and this visit was no exception.

We placed our order and like on our initial visit, the first dish out was the rice....this time Bagoong Rice.

This was unevenly stir fried and there were clumps of uncoated/unseasoned rice. The dish definitely needed more bagoong....at least for me.

Of course we got the Crispy Pata.

 The skin wasn't too bad, a bit beyond the crispness I enjoy, but not bad. The flesh was really tough and chewy....I'm thinking that this was made way ahead of time and then dumped into the deep fryer. It was also pretty darn salty so the sawsawan wasn't needed.

Last up was the Kare Kare. Look at how large everything is....what's up with not cutting ingredients these days? Talk about unwieldy and messy.....

We didn't care for the greasy mouthfeel and in spite of being really salty, that's all there was in terms of flavor. The Oxtail was cooked perfectly though and was delish.

Sadly, this place seemed like a step down from Sarap and Gaya Gaya. Though the fellow from the office told Calvin and myswelf that he comes here every week for the Adobo, so maybe???? 

Perhaps Kusina will have the staying power the last 4 tenants didn't have?

We'll see.

Kusina
7580 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours
Tues - Sun 11am - 3pm, 5pm - 8pm
Closed on Mondays

Comments

[Denver]

I really think that location is cursed :D

[Caninecologne]

Looks like a massive fail to me. Yes I said it.

[kat]

bummer

[Soo]

Doh! Bummer it's not looking great for this place. They do have good business Sunday at lunch when I visited.

[Junichi]

No bueno. Hopefully there are some other dishes there that fare better.

[Kirk]

It does seem that way Denver!

Unfortunately, I think your right CC!

Total bummer Kat!

I hope they improve and do well Soo!

I'll probably wait a few months then try out the adobo which I was told is good Junichi.

[Sandy]

I drove by this past weekend, but wasn't motivated to stop. After reading this, I'm still not motivated. I think Denver is right that the location is cursed!

[Kirk]

It does seem like this location is cursed Sandy......