mmm-yoso!!!

Golden Bay Asian Food (La Mesa)

 Thank you for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food.  Cathy is writing for a few days while Kirk and His Missus are vacationing.

The mall at the corner of Avocado Boulevard at the 125 is anchored by a Smart and Final market and fronted by a McDonalds and Starbucks along with about 40 other businesses surrounding a very large parking lot.  Last February, Golden Bay opened, replacing another Chinese restaurant.

 A lot of the business is take out, but we managed to grab a seat at one of the five tables inside.

 There is a menu on the front window and we were handed menus when we sat down.  There are lunch specials! The Mister ordered a lunch special, which came with a chicken based, thick egg drop soup.  Complimentary 'crunchies' were brought out with the silverware.

 Soon, our orders were brought out. Egg Foo Young (because it was our first visit and I always order EFY on my first visit to any Chinese restaurant-everyone makes EFY uniquely).  Lunch Special #23- Salt and Pepper Fish.
 The Lunch Specials are $11.95.  The Special comes with steamed jasmine rice or fried rice and a vegetable egg roll in addition to the soup (choice of egg drop or hot and sour).  You can substitute steamed vegetables and chop suey for additional fees.  The batter and fry of the fish was excellent- not greasy, light and crisp.  The fish was light and flaky.  This was tasty and a good portion.
 Mixed Vegetable Egg Foo Young ($14.95)-what a delightful version!  Three large patties, filled with bean sprouts, broccoli, peas and carrots and so eggy, fried nicely with a light and crisp crust and topped with a proper (not thick, not salty) brown gravy.  One waitress brought us more gravy halfway through- which was just enough to take home with the leftovers.

Very fresh, flavorful and with fair prices.  Nice people working here.  We will stop by to try more of the menu.

Golden Bay Asian Food 3641 Avocado Boulevard La Mesa, CA 91941 (619) 660-7777 Open Wed-Mon 10:30 a.m.- 9 p.m. Closed Tuesday 

Sangucheria PSF (Peruvian Street Food)(Tierrasanta)

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog, is being written by Cathy while Kirk and His Missus are out and about. 

The "Gateway to Tierrasanta" mall at the exit of Santo Road at the 52 has about 20 storefronts which are constantly changing, along with a Veterinary office, Post Office and fuel station. The southernmost  'anchor' building used to be a small grocer which had a small restaurant connected.  Now, the grocery building is another location of Keg 'n Barrel, a beer and liquor store.  The restaurant is walled off and a separate business,  Sangucheria PSF (Peruvian Street Food), which opened in January 2022.  Kirk posted about it in 2022 and again in 2023.  It is family owned.
 The small shop has seating for about 35 and is walk up, order and pay.  Your food is brought out to the table.
 The simple menu has a good variety of choices.
  We decided to share.  First, a cheese empanada ($6).  Thin, flaky crust filled with a hefty amount of warm, firm (not gooey) Oaxaca cheese.  This was very satisfying.
 The Choripan sandwich ($10) was served with two house made chile based sauces (that one on the left is catsup; the green one had a pleasant heat and that yellow one was spicy, probably habanero or a cousin).
Served on a thin/ crisp crusted, warm bread which was light and airy (and crushed down easily), this weighty sandwich was enough to share.
 Two split then grilled chorizo links topped with a house made chimichurri sauce (with distinct parsley, garlic and oregano flavors).  You know I am picky about chorizo (see the end of this post) and the quality of this chorizo is outstanding; it is more of a medium texture dry aged (Spanish style) chorizo, mild in flavor and blending well with some of the spicy sauce at the last few (non-chimichurri) bites.

 That catsup was for the sweet potato fries ($4.50) we ordered.  We also shared an Inka Kola ($2.50); the familiar vanilla soda flavor brought back good memories.

We will be returning to try more of the menu...and desserts...and coffee!

Sangucheria PSF 5950 Santo Road, Suite K San Diego 92124 (858) 836-1112 Open Mon-Sat 11-7 closed Sunday website

Kotobuki

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog, is being written by Cathy for the next few days; Kirk (and His Missus) are out and about, elsewhere.

Kirk visited Kotobuki in 2019, before Covid-19.  It's in the same parking lot where La Miche Kabobgee had been and where Kahn's Cave Grill and Tavern still exists.  This particular storefront had also been a Japanese restaurant, Wa Sushi.

 There's plenty of parking on this end of the parking lot; the former Boll Weevil is closed. 

 The interior is spacious; there is only one waitress, so I think that is why they have limited seating.
 Of course, we ordered hot tea ($2 each) and it was an excellent matcha, strong with a slight bitterness along with a slight sweetness.  
 We decided to try the mixed tempura appetizer ($11).  Properly fried, light, crisp and not oily at all.  Potato slices, broccoli florets and carrot slices along with three large shrimp.  This was a sizable appetizer portion we shared, using the house made, not salty tentsuyu dipping sauce.  
 The Mister ordered the teriyaki chicken combo ($14) which came with miso soup.  A better version-not watered down and containing thicker seaweed slices along with tofu cubes.  Flavorful in a not-salty way.
 The chicken itself was breast meat, so a tiny bit dry.  The teriyaki sauce was house made and not sticky sweet; pleasant.  The carrots and broccoli (same as from the tempura) were a nice side along with the rice.
 I ordered the sashimi salad ($20) which had very fresh and fatty salmon, soft yellowtail and excellent tuna on top of greens (which included the thick seaweed that was in the soup) and a pleasant (again, house made) ginger-sesame dressing.  An excellent lunch salad.

A great Japanese restaurant with only one waitress and two working in the kitchen along with a steady amount of to-go orders, so be patient; it's worth it.

Kotobuki 9340 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92123 Website  (858) 737-4267 Open Tues-Sat 11:30-2, 5-8 Closed Sunday and Monday

Lidos Italian Foods (Lemon Grove) (again)

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy for the next few days, while Kirk and His Missus enjoy some well deserved time off. 

Apparently, I write a post about Lido's once a year, so it's time for this third chapter (which look like my previous posts, other than the prices).

 Since 1955, Lido's has been a mainstay on Broadway in Lemon Grove.  This family run restaurant has been a gathering place for families, co-workers and various school sports teams as well as other community events.  The take out business has been doing well, especially during Covid-19.
 The antipasto salad for two ($11.95) is easily shared.  Greens, crisp pickled vegetables (carrots, celery and cauliflower), olives, fresh tomatoes and wedges of stacked salami, mortadella and mozzarella, all topped with a house made Italian dressing make this shared salad a wonderful accompaniment to any meal.

 The minestrone soup bowl ($5.25) is my usual order; the daily made rich, herby stock with chunky, slightly crisp celery and carrots along with onions, tomatoes, chickpeas and pasta is consistently flavored and traditional.

 Of course we ordered a large sausage and mushroom pizza ($21.95).  It's a throwback to our first date.  Fresh, thinly sliced mushrooms, chunks of a mild and wonderful Italian sausage; all on a thin crust with a mild sauce.

We will return, and probably order the same things.

Lido's Italian Foods 7252 Broadway Lemon Grove 91945 Website Open daily 11-8:30  (619) 469-9901

 Every large pizza includes  'Hors d' Oeuvres', or you can.purchase one (or additional plates) for $3.95.

 

 

 

The Croissant Files - Desserts by Clement

Desserts by Clement was recommended by two "FOYs" (John Dowd and Stephanie) in the comments on my post on Patisserie Melanie. Seeing that the Missus has been wanting all these newfangled croissants since we visited Le Deli Robuchon in London trying the Instagram "superstar" cube croissant, which btw was a disappointment. Still, the Missus has been wanting to try these new spiral croissants. So, I decided to head into PB early on a Sunday morning, the patisserie opens at 8 and I figured I could then hit up TJ's on the way back home.

Being a Sunday; it seems that PB wakes up a bit later on that day of the week, plus the rain we had earlier in the morning, the streets were empty. Check out what Garnet looked like!

I parked on Garnet and walked on over to Desserts by Clement. The nice young lady had just unlocked the door.

The shop was clean and bright; the two young ladies were super friendly as well.

I got one croissant and asked the young ladies for something not overly sweet; they recommended the Pistachio Rolled Croissants and also said the Swiss (Pain Suisse) was very popular.

So, I got all three....man, three pastries, over $21....who'd have thought?

I got home and the Missus was anxiously waiting and immediately went for the Spiral Croissant, which looked quite Instagram ready.

   The Missus loved this! And made me have a taste. While more bready than the flakey-crisp of a regular croissant; the exterior was nicely lacquered with a bit of a crunch, the inner layers not overly doughy. The pistachio filling was on the lighter side; with a mild nuttiness and not overly sweet. This was pretty good!

The Swiss was a bit too sweet for the Missus, so I passed.

As for the Croissant?

 Well, this was pretty good. I prefer my croissant aux buerre a bit more crisp, but this was not bad. It was light , fairly fluffy, and not overly doughy with a nice, balanced butteriness, and a mild hint of salt. While not in the same league as our favorite in Paris, La Maison d’Isabelle, this was easily the equal of Ernest & Valentin.

I was happy with my croissant as was the Missus. Man, I need to head on back to Wayfarer and can't wait until Izola opens at their new location.

You can read about Soo's visit here.

Desserts by Clement
1380 Garnet Ave.
San Diego, CA 92109
Current Hours:
Tues - Sun 8am - 6pm
Closed on Monday

Thanks again for the recommendation John and Stephanie!

Turo Turo Tuesday - Kujo Eats (National City)

One of the benefits to putting together the "Big List" is that I needed to go over my former posts, which was a great reminder of places I hadn't been to in years. I went about checking on Erlinda's Filipino Cuisine, which had replaced a favorite sisig (along with fried chicken skin) spot of mine Conching and found that it was replaced by something called "Kujo Eats"? Now granted, these days I can't put it away like I used to and have really cut down on the amount of rice I consume. And though I've been trying to change things up a bit, with gas and food prices soaring, well, I've cut down on heading to places I once used to check out every 2 weeks or so to see what was happening. What really surprised me is that my post on Erlinda's is from 2014! Sheesh. As for Kujo Eats? Well, I went to the website which mentioned that the owner was born in Hawaii and raised in San Diego! Plus they open at 8am in the morning? So, I could drive on down and (hopefully) avoid crowds.

Exiting the 805 on Plaza and driving east felt so strange. When was the last time I was in this area? I mean, the last time I actually visited Tita's was in 2013. I headed off to where Plaza turns into Paradise Valley and into the parking lot of Kujo's which looks basically the same as when it was Conching.

And other than the new signage, the two level interior looks the same as well.

The women working are super friendly and of course there were some items that immediately caught my attention.

I didn't come across anything that seemed to have touches of Hawaii until I got to the cashier. They had Spam Musubi for sale!

I got a two item combo with "fried rice" which was $13.79, a bargain these days, especially if your lunch (+ tomorrow's lunch) looks like this.

My goodness, the portion size.

I instantly dug into the sisig, which was just passable with hard and chewy or waxy chopped lechon. The skin had not held up well, even though it was a shade after 10 in the morning.

I can't fault the amount of pork in this; though I do enjoy a good amount of onions as well. This was just slightly sour, while I enjoy a bit more of a bracing flavor. It also lacked spice, one of my favorite things about sisig.

The best item in the plate was the "fried rice"; which was a pseudo garlic rice.

The rice had a nice texture, a good amount of garlic, and more soy than other versions. It was quite satisfying.

The Tortang Talong looked wonderful.

It was nicely coated with egg, though I thought it needed more seasoning, not enough salt and pepper for me. The eggplant was nice and creamy, with a hint of that "aubergine-y" smokiness. I usually like a hint of garlic in my Tortang Talong which I couldn't detect here.

So, this ended up being two meals and change (I still had rice leftover for another meal). 

I was going to do a post right then, but decided that I should go back for another visit. I did wait a couple of weeks though.

This time I got the Lechon Kawale and Kaldereta. Again the portion size was more than generous; especially the rice!

Most of the time, folks working at these turo turo places see that I'm obviously not Filipino and they won't give me the free sinigang that often comes with meals. It's not a big deal as the amount of food provided is more than enough.

But on this visit, the nice woman included the soup.

I enjoyed this; it was bracingly sour, had just enough salt too.

The Lechon Kawale looked quite good. 

The chunks of lechon were quite large; the skin crunchy, though I thought it needed more salt. The meat was on the drier side of the scale and very mild in flavor. It looked better than it actually was.

While not as garlicky as on my previous visit; the fried rice was still good.

I thought the Beef Kaldereta, while on the greasy side was good.

  The beef, in this case short ribs was tender, which was a good thing as the bones made things rather unwieldy. I really liked the tart-tomatoey flavors that permeated the beef as well. This went quite well with the mild pungency of the rice.

I'm glad I checked out Kujo's, though my arteries are probably not as happy. I need to get down here more often and really need to revisit Tita's after all these years.

Kujo Eats
3400 E 8th St. Suite 115
National City, CA 91950
Current Hours:
Mon - Sat 8am - 7pm
Sunday     8am - 6pm

Taste of Hunan Revisited

Recently, the Missus wanted some Hunan style food. We'd had our fill of Cantonese offerings here. So, naturally She wanted Village Kitchen, which is perfectly fine. I on the other hand had been wanting to revisit Taste of Hunan. It had been ages since I had eaten there and though we did takeout during Covid, it was not quite the same. Plus, we could hit up Trader Joe's after our meal. The Missus complied and we headed on over.

We went for an early dinner on a weekend and the place was pretty chill.

The menu had changed a bit, but most of the "usual suspects" were there. The Missus was missing those dishes with preserved and pickled vegetables, so it was easy ordering for us.

First to arrive was the Minced Pork with Preserved Green Beans ($17.99).

This was a bit short in terms of minced pork, but there was an abundance of crunchy, briny, green beans, which is what the Missus enjoys in this dish. A bit of spice, a lot of sour tones, the Missus enjoyed this.

One dish that we had enjoyed on previous visits was the Stir Fried Chicken Gizzards with Pickled Long Beans ($18.99). This time though, it was a bit different.

Previously, the gizzards were cut thin, almost shaved, which added a nice, almost crisp-crunchy texture to the nicely sour-salty pickled long beans. On this visit, the gizzards were chopped thick, hard, and the offal-ish-livery flavor permeated the dish. This was our least favorite dish if the evening.

The Missus enjoys La Rou and Celtuce, so the Smoked Pork with Chinese Lettuce Stem ($21.99) was a must order.

While the pork was on the rubbery fatty side; it was nice and smoky. The cucumber-nutty-chlorophyllic flavor of the celtuce, along with the crunchiness made up for that. A simply seasoned dish that highlited the ingredients.

Last to arrive was the Beef with Chives and Tofu Skin ($18.99).

This was interesting as the "beef" was like brisket cut for pho, a bit on the chewy side. It was lightly seasoned with cumin, which lifted the dish. The tofu skin was on thicker side, but added a crunchy texture to the dish. The chives were quite mild. We enjoyed the leftovers of this as a liang cai "cold dish", which was quite good.

I had always preferred what Taste of Hunan served versus Village Kitchen and I think that the Missus now agrees with me.

Taste of Hunan
9880 Hibert St.
San Diego, CA 92131
Current Hours:
Mon - Tues, Thurs  1130am - 230pm, 5pm - 9pm
Friday                        1130am - 230pm, 5pm - 930pm
Sat - Sun                   11am - 930pm
Closed on Wednesday

You are what you eat? Chapulines......

Our good friend "Alle" just got back from Mexico and had some great omiyagi for us. Among the goodies was some Chapulines. She told me they were from Mercado de San Juan and were among the best she's ever had. We had come to really enjoy chapulines  during our time visiting Oaxaca and nothing here we've gotten here in the states compares.

In case you don't know what chapulines is, here's the Wikipedia page. It's basically roasted grasshopper and has a smoky, almost shrimpy flavor, with a crunchy texture.

Man, these were so good!

The Missus was really enjoying this with Her avocado toast or on eggs or with some Mezcal, but She wanted to have these for brunch.

So, we headed on over to Carnival Market and got some of the house made chicharron.

So, with the chopped chicharron and the chapulines....

With some of the house made tortilla chips, grape tomatoes, perfectly ripe avocado, salsa verde, salsa habanero, white onion, micro cilantro....you get the picture......some hipster chilaquiles.

But let's not forget what chapulines brings to this....

Thanks again Alle!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Roadtrip - Brodard (Fountain Valley), Wing Hop Fung, and Mandarin Noodle House (Monterey Park)

A few months back, what is now several road trips ago, we decided to head on back to one of our favorite lunch restaurants in Santa Barbara County. Instead of making it a single over night stay, we decided to stretch things out into three nights. We'd be doing a bunch of shopping along the way and be able to take our time. We'd spend the first night at the huge Courtyard by Marriott again, then head off the next morning.

We started off early, with thoughts of hitting up Canton Restaurant - Cháo Cá Chợ Cũ again. But we had gotten an early start and the Missus changed Her mind and suddenly requested a visit to Brodard. Brodard! I told Her that Brodard had moved since we last visited over a decade ago(!). Cathy has visited the "new" (it's all relative) location a couple of times. 

We arrived a shade past 9am.

The place was almost empty, with one two top occupied.

The restaurant is quite large, with a dedicated takeout area. The space is modern and clean.

I could never have imagined Brodard being this quiet.

Service was quite pleasant and relaxed.

Of course we had to order the Nem Nuong Cuon. These days you can order just two rolls if you want for $2.50 each!

   These seem a little smaller than I recall, but the sausage was nicely grilled and the proportion of ingredients seemed right, so one could enjoy the salty-sweet-savory flavors of the "bouncy" nem nuong and the crunch of the crisp egg roll wrapper. The wrapping was done perfectly, neither too loose nor too tight which would make the rolls tougher, creating what I'd call "bad botox spring rolls". The sauce was as before slightly sweet-sour, with garlic and umami tones. I does seem a bit more watered down than I recalled.

We also got the Banh Khot ($14.95).

   I did notice that one of the shrimp was "MIA". Still, the Missus enjoys the crisp rice flour cup/shell, which has a hint of coconut. The shrimp were plump and tender, nicely cooked. These are quite a treat with the mung beans, pickled veggies, the anise-citrusy tiet to (perilla), and the slightly sweet-chili-fish sauce concoction.

We're glad we stopped by and will make sure to visit more often.

Brodard Restaurant
16105 Brookhurst St.
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Hours:
Daily 8am - 9pm

We then headed off to the SGV. We did some shopping at the TS Emporium off Rosemead (I'll do a bunch of shopping/misc posts later) and some other stops before heading to the Courtyard. We were lucky enough to be able to check in early and spent the rest of the afternoon napping.

We hadn't made any plans for dinner. We were just going to play it by ear. It was a Wednesday, so we didn't expect things to be too crowded. The Missus wanted to walk to our dinner destination, so we headed down Atlantic, pausing at Daikokuya, then crossing over and taking look at a couple of places. We crossed back over Garvey and noticed Wing Hop Fung in the strip mall that housed 99 Ranch Market.

We had passed by many times over the years, thinking this was something along the lines of TS Emporium. But once entering....whoa....

The Missus made a beeline for the teas.

And really took Her time checking out the Pu-Erh. Well, this was no cheapo shop.

It seemed like some good quality products here.

And in case you have $1800 lying around.

And the wine/liquor section was no less intense.

They also carry a good selection of Kavalan, one of our favorite brands. My favorite over time has been the Amontillado Sherry Single Cask Malt Whiskey. Our visit to the Kavalan Distillery affirmed that it is still my favorite. You can get that here. It's ahem, "only" $549 a bottle. I'll just admire it from afar for now....

We enjoyed our time in Wing Hop Fung, it looks like the herbs/tea are high quality and the selection is vast. I understand that for many years Wing Hop Fung had a very popular store in LA's Chinatown. Though I really don't recall that.

Wing Hop Fung
725 W Garvey Ave.
Monterey Park, CA 91754

We walked out of the store suffering from a bit of sticker shock. We decided to get something comforting and simple for dinner. We had passed a Taiwanese place right around the corner named Mandarin Noodle House many times over the years . It had been around back in the days when we lived in the SGV! I was really missing the pork chops I'd enjoyed in Taiwan, so I thought it would a great time to finally stop by. We turned the corner and there it was.

The restaurant is simply adorned, a typical mom-and-pop type establishment that immediately made us comfortable. The prices seemed so reasonable.

The gentleman working was nice and efficient. Ordering was a breeze as we immediately set our sights on two dishes.

Of course I wanted the Pork Chops. At $14.95, this seemed a bargain for these times.

The rice was decently cooked, the pickled greens were fine. The soy sauce egg had been cooked to death, the yolk dry. I enjoyed the Taiwanese spinach. The pork chops had a good amount of pepper, but not enough five spice flavor, was on the salty side, and really tough and chewy. Sadly, it did not remind me of Taiwan.

The Missus got the Pig's Feet ($14.95).

Which came with the same cooked to death soy sauce eggs. But after that, things got so much better. The wonderful porky-sweet-savory-soy based sauce had been poured over the rice. Oh man, talk about comforting! The pigs feet had been cooked perfectly; still intact, but the skin was so tender, the flavor of the cooking liquid had permeated every nook and cranny of the trotters. Once the skin was off, the meat fell of the bones, porky deliciousness. We got a winnah here!

By this time, folks had started coming into the restaurant. Different nationalities, all classes, from guys in workwear and boots speaking Spanish, to three guys in suit and ties, an older couple who knew the guy working. All converging on this little business, it was great to see. Looks like Mandarin Noodle House might be what I call a "thread in the fabric" of this neighborhood! 

Mandarin Noodle House
701 W Garvey Ave.
Monterey Park, CA 91754
Hours:
Daily 1030am - 9pm

Duff's Doggz (Poway) and Queen Califia's Magical Circle (Escondido)

It seems that I'm finally getting back into my car and driving around a bit. Something that I used to do quite often before Covid, inflation, and crazy gas prices. In those days it wouldn't be unusual for me to get into the vehicle, then head on off without a destination in mind. Ah, those were the days. But now, finally, it seems that I'm sort of getting back into the groove. Though these days it seems like I do have an objective. Having a Tuesday off, I got into the car and went for a cold brew. After getting my coffee, bolstered by a few sips, I suddenly had a plan for the morning!

There are things that stick in my mind over the years; like this, which we saw outside the Guggenheim in Bilbao way back in 2015.

This work is called The Three Graces, aka "Dancing Nanas" by French Artist Niki de Saint Phalle. It brought a smile to my face. 

Over the years, we'd come across her work in places like the Stravinsky Fountain in Paris. Located at Place Stravinsky, next to the Centre Pompidou.

Which we've walked pass innumerable during our visits to the city. Though I can only recall only posting a photo once.

One of the interesting things I noted way back in my post on Bilbao was that Niki de Saint Phalle was a resident of La Jolla from 1994 until her death in 2002. In fact, many of her works can be found around San Diego. In fact, several decades back, I recalled seeing one of her works on the Campus of UCSD. It's called Sun God and was the first work added to the collection. I gotta get back there one of these days. 

Back in the summer of last year, I came across this article on the KPBS site, which mentioned the artist's final work, completed posthumously, is located in Escondido; Queen Califia's Magical Circle. This large work tells the story of the namesake of California, Calafia, Queen of the "Island of California". The sculpture garden is only open on Tuesdays and Thursday from 9 to noon and one two Saturdays a month. I didn't want to deal with any crowds so I decided to head on over to Kit Carson Park. I easily found parking near the Escondido Sports Center and walked to the entrance "gate".

Right where Eagle Scout Lake is.

I must say, the squirrels here are fearless. They'll saunter right on over to you!

From here you just follow the signs....

And you'll come to the sculpture garden; which was fenced off due to incidents of vandalism and damage over the years. The limited hours are partially due to having the place staffed by volunteer docents.

It's something to see.

All the mirrors, totems, and symbols inspired by Native American and Pre-Colombian art. Instead of droning on, I'll just post some photos.

All under the watchful "eyes" of Queen Califia.

I had a wonderful chat with the Docent. And for more info on Queen Califia's Magical Circle, you can read the Wikipedia page or this post in Hidden San Diego.

Queen Califia's Magical Circle
Located in the Iris Sankey Arboretum
Kit Carson Park
3333 Bear Valley Parkway
Escondido, CA 92025

After visiting, I took the loop back to the easy walking trail and made my way back to the car.

There's a large picnic area and even an area where folks were playing frisbee golf!

It was a fun time, but now I was getting hungry. It was only 945 and I didn't want a whole lot to eat before heading home. And then it came to me; back in January 2022, in the comments of my Chicago Fire Grill post, "FOY" DavidG recommended his favorite hot dog spot, Duff's Doggz. So, I brought up my Google Maps app, plugged in the name and off I went. Down the I-15 exited on Camino Norte, ending up in the parking lot of Home Depot? Hmmm...... I then spotted the little shack on the East side of the parking lot.

For some reason this little stand brought back memories of Woodies/Waldo's. There were two guty in front of me in line already. The young Asian kid ordered three hot dogs (which he devoured!) and the other guy got a Lobster Roll, which whew...was like $25.

When it was my turn in line.

I simply went with a Chicago Dog ($8.95).

Soon my dog was ready. There was only one young lady working and she did a great job!

 The poppy seed bun was adequately fluffy, the sport peppers spicy, of course there was the radioactive green relish. The dog had a nice snap, I'd expect no less from a Vienna Beef wiener, though for some reason it seemed a bit thinner than what I'm used too? Everything else was in line; pickle wedge, check, tomato slices, check. A bit too heavy handed with the celery salt, but this was a decent Chicago Dog. 

Duff's Doggz
12047 Carmel Mountain Rd.
San Diego, CA 92128
Current Hours:
Mon, Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun 10am - 6pm
Wed, Fri                                   10am - 630pm

I know, it may seem a bit odd, a fantastic wonderous sculpture garden, followed by a Chicago Dog? But, for some reason, on this beautiful, sunny spring day, it just seemed right!

Thanks for the recommendation DavidG!