Midweek Meanderings - Sunmerry, The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, and Kitakata Ramen Coming to Kearny Mesa, Palomino's #3 and Matador Mexican Grill "Under New Management"

It's amazing what you can find during one short drive. Here's what I noticed when I went to get some groceries and lunch from Nijiya. I took the "long way"; which meant starting on Clairemont Mesa, then down Convoy, then all the way down Linda Vista to Morena.

Here's what I saw.

Sunmerry, The Great Greek, and Kitakata Ramen Coming to Kearny Mesa:

Even though I haven't done a post on Sunmerry; a bakery chain from Taiwan, it's a must stop on our road trips North and during visits to Bistro Na's. We'll also stop in at the Rowland Heights location as well. For some reason, this past week, I mentioned that Sunmerry was opening somewhere near Convoy to the Missus, so She'd be able to get Her Pineapple Cake fix locally. I was thus instructed to find out the location. Finding the location was simple using our friend......Google. 

In the same strip mall as Costco Business and Target I saw three structures and this sign:

So, I got three for the price of one here.

The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, a small chain out of Nevada and Sunmerry will occupy one building.

7951 Othello Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

And Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai which according to Eater, originated in Fukushima in another.

8001 Othello Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

Looks like I got a "three for one" here.....

Palomino's #3 "Under New Management":

I go to Nijiya so frequently that I usually just head on in and then back to my car without a glance; but today I noticed that the Taco Shop in the strip mall had a "Under New Management" sign. Which I believe means new ownership.

Cathy has done several posts on Palomino's #2, but not on this location. I last visited in the days BB ("before blogging").

3860 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

So maybe.....and no, I haven't tried Two Hands Corn Dog yet either.....

Matador Mexican Grill Reopening:

On my way back, heading down Linda Vista, I took a look at the spot that used to house Matador Mexican Grill which closed several months back and noticed they were reopening. Of course; it's under the ubiquitous "under new management".

I'd never been; though an ex-coworker of mine used to like the place.

5201 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92110

And under the you never know what you'll see label......

I noticed a bit of a crowd on the Convoy side of Jasmine as I stopped at the light. There were news teams and bit of a hubbub. While sitting at the light, I noticed someone holding a freeway sign. And then it became clear. I know that there was an effort to raise money for six "Convoy Asian Cultural District" signs and it looks like they've raised the money and the signs are done.

Good for them!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Comments

[Sandy]

Either I missed it or forgot about Sunmerry. The last time I was in the Costco Business/Target area, construction was just beginning on those buildings. I look forward to those eateries! The Sunmerry in Mira Mesa hasn't opened yet, and I'd say it's closer to Reagan Road than to Camino Ruiz. Also, Golden Chopsticks across the street doesn't show any signs of opening soon, although there is permanent signage now.

[RedDevil]

Couldn’t tell from your post if you’ve been to Kitakata in the OC. If not, it got a lot of good reports (2016) for the shoyu and shio ramen and the chashu. The noodles and egg varied from bad to good. As they expanded to other locations the quality dropped off some. I haven’t actually been so who knows, just passing on what I read. Thanks for the intel.

[Kirk]

I passed by Golden Chopsticks a couple of days ago Sandy. And it looked like the dining room was all set up. So they'll hopefully be open soon.

Thanks for the info RD! Haven't been to any of the locations, so it'll be interesting.

[Junichi]

I've been to the OC location of BanNai once. People in Kitakata eat ramen for breakfast so the soup is lighter. Perfect for hangovers. There's usually a line at the OC location. Hope they succeed in SD. Can't hurt to have more ramen options.

[Kirk]

Thanks for the info Junichi! I'm looking forward to trying them out when they open.

[Denver]

I think that Palomino’s has had new management for a few months. I’ve been going to that location for years, back since about 2003-ish when there was previously a Thai place. I loved the food especially the chili verde pork and flautas. I would see the owner there once in a while. Friendly guy. Sometimes work the front and sometimes even cooking.

Then a few months ago, I start noticing a different guy. Ok no problem. I order burritos. They’re fine, can’t screw up California burritos much. Then I decided to order the chili verde pork. I’m waiting for my order, then I notice the the cook walk out to the front and talking to the cashier. I didn’t hear the conversation and it was probably in Spanish. They were both looking at the menu board, almost confused. I should’ve realized, Danger, Will Robinson. It gave me the impression like they were going “oh, that’s on the menu? How do we make it?” When I got it, it was nowhere near what I had before. It was almost like the cook just thrown something together in a panic with pre-process green salsa. It was horrible.

So the next time, I order flautas. This was during the tail end of the. Pandemic (although not that it’s over). The guy who was manning the register was also cooking (I’ve seen that happen at a lot of restaurants). What I got were not flautas. It was a cigar-like chimichanga wrapped in 12 layers deep. Usually you get two, and they are like targe rolled tacos. These were the size of a mini burrito.

After that, I stopped going. Now that it’s confirmed they have new owners, probably not going back

[Kirk]

That's terrible Denver and good reason not to return.