mmm-yoso!!!

Taiwan - Taroko Gorge Part 2, Buluowan Suspension Bridge, Swallow Grotto, Eternal Spring Shrine, and the TR Bento

After our lunch and briefly walking along the Buluowan Upper Terrace we were guided to the Liwu River. There stood a impressive suspension bridge crossing over the gorge.

This is the Buluowan Suspension Bridge. A suspension bridge was first built on this site in 1914 during the Truku War. This is the fourth iteration of the bridge which was originally named the Shanyue Suspension Bridge and was opened to the public in August of 2020. It had a stunning view of the gorge and river below.

At the end of the bridge is a short trail to a wonderful viewing spot named Brawan Lookout. You really get a wonderful perspective of the bridge from here.

From here we headed back to the Upper Terrace and the car, taking time to stop at the Visitors Center and check out the Atayal Cultural Center displays.

And then we hit the road again, making a couple of stops along the way.

Until we came to a toll booth. Our driver pulled to the side and instructed the Missus to walk the trail overlooking the gorge and he would meet us at the end. This was the Yanzikou Trail overlooking the Swallow Grotto.

We ambled along thru tunnels cut out of rock with a view of the gorge and river below from ledges. We read that this was how the road used to be like for the entire gorge!

There were many places where you could look out over the river and marvel at the geological beauty.

The formations, river, and plant life made for an interesting walk.

And there was indeed some entertaining formations along the way. Can you make this one out?

While actually named the "Elder Stone" (太魯閣族長老石- 長老側臉) - this is what the sign said:

Our driver met us at the end of the short half kilometer trail and then we headed on back. There was one more stop on the way and it might be the most picturesque of them all. Stopping in the parking lot and walking to the lookout point, your eyes are immediately drawn to this.

This is Eternal Spring Shrine (Changchun Shrine).

The shrine was built in 1958 to commemorate those who died during the construction of the Central Cross-Island Highway. The shrine is built above a spring which empties into the Liwu River below.

There's a short trail to the temple which we decided to take.

As you make your way up the stairs you'll encounter a cave with statues of Guanyin, the Goddess of Compassion, Mercy, and Kindness.

It was great to stop here, because boy do we need more compassion, mercy, and kindness these days!

I think the water rushing out from under the shrine really adds photogenic drama to things.

We were then driven back to our hotel. Our driver was outstanding and so very pleasant, something we'd find is the norm in Taiwan.

The Missus made sure to hit up the hotels afternoon snack buffet.

We then took a short nap, before heading downstairs for a nice evening walk.

And then, yep the evening "snack" (aka dinner at the huge buffet).

Before hitting the hay.....

The next morning, our train back to Taipei was scheduled for 1253 and was right on time. We'd had a great time visiting the Taroko Gorge and highly recommend it. 

We were taking the TR Taroko Express back to Taipei. We had stored our bags at the Sky 19 Hotel in Taipei so didn't have much to lug around.

I had noticed that on some routes/times folks are able to order a Train Bento for on board consumption. And on this route it was available. So, like the Missus said, on this trip ""you didn't meet a pork chop you didn't like." Well, guess what?

Of course I ordered some! And the prices were the same as if I'd bought them at a cart at the station; just about $2.50. Delivered to our seats.

The pork chop had hints of five spice, soy, garlic, ginger.....and was surprisingly, decently tenderized. I'm convinced that most pork outside the US tastes better! There's pickled veggies, and nicely flavored soy sauce eggs, great five spice tones, with a hint of sweetness....a Spam like mystery meat that increased my sodium level ten fold....this was just a fun meal.

Was it haute cuisine? For $2.50???? C'mon, this is food for every man/woman.....pork chop lover. For some history, here's a great post.

I love Taiwan!

Thanks for stopping by!

Taiwan - Taroko Gorge Part 1, Qingshui Cliff, Shakadang Trail, and Lunch at Taroko Village Hotel

We had a nice night of sleep after settling in at the Kindness Hotel. I had gone ahead and hired a driver to take us to and around Taroko National Park. But first came breakfast. And as I mentioned in my previous post on Hualien our hotel provided a breakfast buffet, which was quite varied and good.

Our driver arrived right on time. Though he didn't speak any English, the Missus enjoyed conversing with him in Mandarin. He was very friendly and, as we'd find out later quite thoughtful. The Taroko Gorge area is vast and we were only doing a day trip, just seeing the main sights and taking a couple of walks, so being English speaking wasn't necessary.

Hualien seemed quite spread out; based on where we were staying, which was in the area close to Hualien Station. The city is close to the ocean and we stopped for some photos (our driver really liked taking photos of us!) at Qixingtan Beach which was right past the airport.

There was no one in sight, so perhaps that's why the beach seemed vast and expansive?

I'm thinking that this was a Friday right after a major holiday week Qingming Jie (清明节 - "Tomb Sweeping Day"), so maybe that's why the place was deserted?

From here it was back onto the highway and eventually the the terrain changed dramatically. Rising up the side of mountains, it reminded me of the portion Kalanianaʻole Highway near Makapu'u back home. We made a first stop at a lookout. Man, was the view quite dramatic. This is the Qingshui Cliff area.

Beautiful rugged coast views on one side; imposing mountainside on the other.

From here we drove further up the coastline, the passing thru a tunnel, before parking at the Huide Rest Stop. From here, there an easy walk to the lookout. I actually saw the train tunnels below us as well took our walk.

We then headed off and into Taroko National Park proper. After driving thru a tunnel we arrived at a parking lot and a bridge. After a short conversation with our driver, the Missus told me this is the Shakadang Bridge and we headed down some stairs to the Shakadang Trail (also known as the Mysterious Valley Trail). It's more of a nice nature walk.

Once on the trail you get a nice view of the bridge.

The trail was nicely maintained and not very crowded when we visited. The Shakadang River is known for the crystal clear, emerald water that flows thru it.

I loved the jewel like marble boulders strewn along the riverside. The Missus took Her shoes off, sat, and soaked Her feet in the cool comforting water in front of this striking boulder.

About 1.5 kilometers down the trail there an actual snack shack-coffee stand! Yes indeed, this is Taiwan. It was interesting to see actual motorbikes and other vehicles using the trail!

After the snack stand we decided to head on back. When we got back to the car, we noticed our driver busy on his cell phone. We thought it was some kind of personal call, but would find out shortly what it was about. Our driver chatted with the Missus as we weaved our way to a large flat area with buildings and a hotel. This was Buluowan, the former sight of a village of the Truku people, the Indigenous inhabitants of the area. We found out that the reason our driver was on the phone was that in chatting with the Missus, he discovered we enjoyed food. So, he called the restaurant in the Taroko Village Hotel to make sure and reserve two of the lunches which featured a couple of traditional Truku dishes for us! Did I mention how much we loved Taiwan.

We led us to a table in the restaurant, so I did get many photos, but this is what lunch looked like.

 Of course we loved the tender, grassy-mild sweetness of the fern shoot.

The cuts of boar and boar sausage provided interesting contrasts in flavors; porky-mild sweetness, familiar flavors.

But, I really enjoyed the sticky rice cooked in bamboo. The rice attained an almost creamy texture, the slightly floral flavor heightened with a pleasant mild sweetness!

This was a fun meal. And we made sure to have our driver join us and pay for his lunch as well!

Taroko Village Hotel
972, Taiwan, Hualien County, Xiulin Township, 231-1號

After lunch we walked around the grounds of the Buluowan Upper Terrace.

Before being walked over to the next site on our agenda!

Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by!

From Israel to Jordan (Before Covid) - Masada, the Dead Sea, and the InterContinental Aqaba

**** Not much food in this one as I try to get our pre-Covid trip posts done.

We decided to use guides during our trip to Israel-Palestine-Jordan because things were a bit spread out and transportation a bit more complicated than we wanted to deal with. We also wanted to learn about the sites we visited and also just enjoy the ride. We contracted the company, Desert Eco Tours to help with coordinating our tours thru Israel and Jordan. They were wonderful to deal with and we got a private tour of Masada and the Dead Sea and some really fun group tours to Petra and Wadi Rum.

On this day, our guide, David was perfectly on time and we headed off. First visiting areas near Ein Gedi so we could get a bit more familiar with the area.

From our viewpoint we had wonderful views and could see folks headed toward the oasis and waterfall.

From here it was off to Masada, a place I was a bit fascinated in since I had to read a book for a book report waaaay back in Intermediate School (that would be "Middle School" for most folks). There are three different "paths" you can use to walk/hike up to the fortress, but we took the Cable Car to the Visitors Center and then out into the plateau and amazing views of the ruins.

There was one very interesting thing about David......he does his tours barefoot! He told us that it "keeps him in touch with the earth and history"....

Also, when we arrived he broke out a conch shell and just like Hawaii, proceeded to blow into it!

I came to learn that the "Conch Shell Trumpet" played a large part in many cultures!

And I was captivated by the crows who seemed to "guard" the area.....which belonged to them.

A lot of what is known about Masada was written and compiled by Josephus Flavius, who wrote that the first fortification of Masada began in the 1st century BC; though that has never been confirmed. Between 37BC and 31BC Herod the Great built two palaces. It provided a protected and fortified winter haven, which included cisterns, storerooms, and a casemate wall. If you're like me; the first time you really read about Masada was about the siege where a group of Jews, less than a thousand who then held off the Romans for 2 years before the walls were breached. According to the story, upon having the fortress breached, the Jews dispatched each other rather than surrender to the Romans.

You can still see the remains of the Roman base camps from the mountain.

We wandered the ruins from the Columbarium Tower Ruins.

To the Western Palace, to the Hanging Palace which had three terraces.

You could actually see folks hiking up the mountain. I'm quite glad that we chose the cable car!

The terraces were my favorite part of the ruins.

This complex, called the "Hanging Palace" was Herod's private residence. The views were quite dramatic.....

At least that's what this little fella' kept telling me.....

It was quite an amazing place to visit.

We had a quick bite to eat in the restaurant before heading to our next stop.

Where I got to swim....well, actually float in the Dead Sea. Because of the high salt concentration; over 30%, the water feels very "thick" and floating is easy....I did a back float and because of the density of the water, I had to work to stand back up. An interesting experience.

From here David drove us to the Eilat Border Crossing; where we crossed on over to Jordan.

A representative from the tour company greeted us as we crossed the border and then got us a taxi to our accommodations for the evening; the Intercontinental Hotel Aqaba.

A beachside resort.....the rooms were quite comfortable.

Dinner was a pretty standard buffet.

And we took a nice walk around the pool area after dinner.

We slept well and had a light breakfast.

Before checking out and meeting our driver. Next stop?

Petra!

Thanks for stopping by!

Onami (all you can eat Japanese)- lunches in Mission Valley

mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog, is where you have found yourself.  Kirk is still vacationing (literally at the top of the globe), Ed (from Yuma) is just East of us, enjoying his retirement and mini vacations in places other than California and Cathy is writing this post.

My job is odd, I can meet with clients at their home, office or in a public place.  The 'ambiance' of an all you can eat buffet is such that there is less pressure to turn over a table quickly (unless there is a line out the door waiting to get in, which usually isn't the case during the week). One client in particular enjoyed (very much) the now closed chain of Hometown Buffet restaurants in the county, and I would meet him there primarily to eat all the fried chicken with the unique side dish 'Spinach Marie' that I could.

There are still 'all you can eat' places around, mostly Chinese buffets and San Diego based Souplantation.   

    My client discovered Onami, the all you can eat Japanese sushi/seafood buffet at the Westfield Mission Valley Mall.     While waiting to be seated, you can see a 'Ramen and Udon Bar' just to the left.  You can have a bowl prepared and a choice of five (do it yourself) toppings are available.   Right around the corner is a cold noodle area, which offers the only toppings needed: green onion and shredded radish.
 Seating areas are varied and interspersed next to the variety of hot and cold food areas. 
   Near the back of the restaurant are the hot foods, with many seafood choices.


 There is an area where you can choose various vegetables, fish pieces and shrimp to be freshly battered and fried.
   There is a cold area with a selection of twelve prepared salads.  Along the other side is the sushi area, with item choices being prepared and refilled constantly.    Then there was the dessert area, with a tremendous, portion controlled selection available.  

Everything was fresh and tasty and quite nice.  The space is quiet enough in some areas for conversation.  The cost for weekday lunch was less than $15 each, which I though was good for the quality and variety. 

Enjoy your weekend!

Onami 1640 Camino Del Rio N Ste 206 San Diego, CA 92108 Phone number (619) 295-9774  Hours: Mon-Thurs 11:30 am-2:30 pm, 5:30 pm-9 pm  Fri 11:30 am-2:30 pm, 5 pm-9pm  Sat 11:30-9:30  Sun 11:30-9

 

Sapporo: Dosan-Shokusai HUG Mart, Le Petite Boule Chocolatier, and Breakfast at the Hotel Monterey Sapporo

After having our hybrid late lunch - early dinner at Ramen Zero, we decided to check out the Tanukikoji Shopping Arcade which is almost a kilometer long. Along the way we passed by this interesting looking market.

This shop had two parts; one side a small collection of eating establishments called "HUG Eat" and the other half a market selling Hokkaido produce, dairy, and other Hokkaido food products.

Yes, I said dairy. Hokkaido has a sizeable dairy industry and you might be surprised to find items like Hokkaido milk, yogurt, and yes, cheese are quite popular.

Some of the produce had photos of folks I'm assuming are the farmers who grew the product. It was kind of charming, even though some of the photos looked like mugshots.

I really enjoyed this shop and will definitely drop by if I'm ever back in Sapporo.

Dosan-shokusai HUG
Tanukikoji 5-chome
Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Japan

We made our way to the other end of the shopping arcade, then decided to head back to the hotel.....

Of course we got joyfully lost along the way. Finally ending up at this chocolate shop.

Where the Missus bought a couple of treats for Her mom and a few for Herself.

Le Petit Boule Chocolatier
8-2-7 Kita 1-jo Nishi
Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Japan

In spite of not having a sweet tooth; I really enjoyed the snacks in Hokkaido. New Chitose Airport was "sample heaven" and I loved this particular melon flavored corn and chocolate snack that I normally wouldn't have given a second glance to.

Darkness had fallen quickly, and even though we got turned around a couple of times, we ended up at the Daimaru located next to Sapporo Station.

Which was close to our hotel.

We finished up the evening with some snacks and another thing we picked up in Hokkaido; really flavorful black bean tea!

One of the reasons Akiko had recommended staying at the Hotel Monterey was for the buffet breakfast, which the Missus loved.

I'm usually not a big buffet fan, but this was a bird of another feather. There was a section with typical Western style breakfast items; then some typical Japanese items like chicken karaage and such. Of course there was Hokkaido dairy products and I had a chance to sample the milk and yogurt. It was the selection of more traditional items that we really took to. The Missus discovered that She loved mentaiko, shiokara, and other items She deemed "too fishy" here in the states. As an egg lover, She blissfully consumed the onsen tamago. I loved seeing the Missus enjoy eating this way.

I'd never had black bean natto before and we both found it delicious. I felt totally at home having these items for breakfast. I did notice that most of the younger folks; all Japanese went for the Western pastries and such and the older folks (I guess I'm an old fart) took to the more traditional items.

Good call Akiko! We loved the breakfast buffet!

And we needed a healthy start to the day. There were small snow flurries the night before, but it had all melted in the morning sun. Still, the temps were in the mid-30's.

And we were headed to the city where the lowest recorded temperature (think of where Celsius and Fahrenheit meet) in the history of Japan was recorded.

See you there!

Midweek Meanderings: Gourmet City opens and Tajima Ramen Bar coming to Hillcrest

Gourmet City:

Funny, the other afternoon I was driving back from Zion Market with the Missus and I noticed that the old....and really bad VIP Oriental Buffet was gone and something called Gourmet City has taken its place.

Funny, I pass this area almost daily; sometimes 4-5 times in a day, and I never even noticed this place. The Missus said that it looks like an all you can eat hot pot/buffet place. If I recall the space is huge. "All you cannot eat" just isn't my style....so I'll wait and see what other folks think.

Gourmet City
5541 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

They even have a website

Tajima Ramen Bar coming to Hillcrest:

As mentioned in Eater San Diego; Tajima has picked up the lease. I was in the area and took a look.

And sure enough, there it was on the ABC application - "Tajima Ramen Bar". I'm sure our good FOY, "PedMa" will have something to say about this one.

So how many different businesses in the last couple of years....Yakyudori - Raku - Tecchan, and now Tajima. I hope they stick around for a while.

3739 6th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Have a great week everyone!

25 Forty Bistro and Bakehouse (Old Town)-revisit for lunch

25Forty has closed.  It will be missed

Well, you've found mmm-yoso!!! and we'd like to welcome you to our blog about food. Kirk usually blogs here and sometimes so does ed(from Yuma). Cathy usually chimes in about meals she has enjoyed when the guys are busy. Today, it's Cathy.

Hello again. I posted about a few lunches at 25Forty Bistro last year. 25Forty has changed since then; it's still open for Brunch and dinner on weekends, closed on Mondays and now is open for lunch on Thursday and Friday only. As part of that lunch offering, one of the menu choices is an all you can eat buffet at an affordable price of $8.

A few weeks ago, The Mister and I had some time and drove to Old Town for lunch here. The seating outside is the same, as are most of the tables inside, but along the back wall is a small buffet area.

We started lunch with iced tea and water. The water, as always, is brought out in glasses and with a large chilled bottle for refills at will. The iced tea is a good, strong brew.

The Mister ordered the All You can Eat buffet. As it was crowded, I did not want to get up to take a photo of the buffet area, but it is not large and on the tables looking like a nice buffet you'd have at a friend's home over the Holidays. This is a bit of everything available: cheeses, olives, pasta salad, salad with chicken, sliced ham, plain salad ) I do like the dressing here), rigatoni with meat sauce (very nice), roast pork (excellent) and mashed potatoes (perfect). The plate is very large and The Mister's second trip to the buffet area only brought back a bit more cheese and walnuts, which he said was his dessert...

I chose the $10 lunch combination, which includes a beverage, a baked dessert and either a salad or sandwich. As in my other post, I chose the steak salad, which I crave. The meat is so tender and perfectly seasoned and placed on top of balsamic dressed mixed greens. The heirloom tomato had wonderful flavor.

The selection of desserts was slightly overwhelming. I walked over to the counter and saw a selection of cupcakes as well as pastries. I noticed that people can order a coffee beverage to go (there were 'to go' cups stacked next to the espresso machine) as well as pastries and apparently lots of people do so. After a bit of time, I chose this Nutella® filled pastry.

As you can see, the pastry was fresh and flaky and filled with the chocolate-hazelnut spread. We shared this. It was a delightful end to this pleasant lunch. We walked around Old Town and "played tourist" before returning to the car. San Diego is a very nice place where we are fortunate to live.

25Forty Bistro and Bakery 2540 Congress Street San Diego 92110 (619)294-2540 Closed Monday. Website

Pacific Beach Bar and Grill- Brunch

Today Cathy is "blogging" on mmm-yoso!!! Kirk is "working".  ed(From Yuma) is "recovering".

Hi.  I've posted on Pacific Beach Bar and Grill a few times. They have really good food, lots of beers on tap, televisions everywhere...
 
and technically, the front area is an outdoor patio, covered with a sturdy tarp.

It's been a while since we had Brunch here. It's a buffet.  $7.95 on Saturday from 9 until noon and a bit more on Sunday, but then there are more items to choose from. Coffee is $1.95 and a very good French Roast.  I don't take photos of people and today it was kind of busy, so only have photos of our plates.
From 12:00: Eggs Benedict, thick cut maple bacon, skin-on breakfast sausage (just the right amount of spice; really good), biscuit with gravy (the gravy needed pepper added), a potato cake (not greasy), a banana nut muffin (still warm and with vanilla in the batter), a 'spicy' burrito (it was chorizo and egg filled and very good).
The Mister had a cheese/tomato/spinach/mushroom omelet made to order and also picked up a still warm, buttery, crispy chocolate chip cookie.
(Counterclockwise from 9:00) I picked up some " scrambled eggs Florentine" which had bacon, onions and spinach in it, some "home fries" made with onion and lots of cheese and a  "Jose Benedict"-slice of avocado, Hollandaise sauce, good, runny poached egg and carne asada on a biscuit.
See? Poached egg and carne asada. I could eat three of these as my breakfast. Easily. 
Later (we were watching a *very long* football game), I went back and got some of the omelet add- ins and made myself a salad of spinach, tomatoes, chopped bacon and mushrooms.  I also got more of the eggs Florentine and a good selection of tasty fresh fruit.  
The Mister ordered a Bloody Mary ($3.50).  I could taste every flavor in this- the tomato juice, the vodka, the black pepper, the Tabasco...and the olives were marinated in something. Like vodka.  It was good, but very strong.  I only had a few sips.
Then The Mister went back and had a waffle made to order.  That strawberry topping is the frozen, sugared, memory triggering childhood strawberries-in-Winter stuff I grew up with.  At least He took some pieces of  fresh watermelon...

Pacific Beach Bar and Grill  860 Garnet Avenue San Diego 92109 Website (warning: LOUD! website)

Red Rock Station Feast Buffet (or, what we did on the day after Thanksgiving)

mmm-yoso!!! is just a blog about food.  You get to experience our meals by reading about them. Today, Cathy returns with a real post about a silly day.

Hi.  So it was the day after Thanksgiving and we woke up and knew we should be driving.  Usually we are leaving from Detroit, and stopping at Crazy Jim's Blimpy Burger in Ann Arbor but this year we were in San Diego.  Because of the weather back East.

So, we got in the car and headed north.   

Seriously.

We did.

About 5 hours later, after a stop at Starbucks, we were in Las Vegas. 

We intended to go to the Wynn, where I had eaten about two years ago (The Mister had never been there).  But the line had more than 100 people waiting, and the menu was special and $40.  For lunch.  This horrible economy.    

So, we drove across town, to the newer Red Rock, for lunch at $10 each.

 First, I went to the salad bar area and got my appetizers: Antipasto, sliced cheese, chilled ham, rare roast beef and turkey slices (all very tasty and not lunch meat-ish), marinated mushrooms, beet salad (made with a touch of orange)(really good) and fresh roll and butter.

Then the 'why play games?' plate-5 spice pork rib (juicy and not overpowering with sauce),an upside down teriyaki chicken though,  egg roll, end cut of roast beef (always good, large and with spices on the crust), fried okra and collard greens...I could have done without the egg roll.

 

 

Then the schizophrenic, try a bit of everything plate: fried catfish and a hush puppy and some tartar sauce(surprisingly nice), pasta with Alfredo sauce (very nice), a piece of spicy tuna sushi (meh), stir fried noodles (I did not finish) and my favorite-olives!.

 

A little more schizophrenia  via The Mister's plate- more fried catfish, a pepperoni Stromboli (which was excellent),  slice of cheese pizza (cheese and sauce was excellent, dough could have been baked longer), antipasto with meat,  marinated artichokes, creamed corn, baked fish (very nice), black eyed peas, another roll and mac and cheese.

 

Then it was about time for dessert, and The Mister got this plate.

All for himself.

I did try that spumoni gelato at the top left there and it was the best I have ever had in my life.  Pistachio and cherry and even the chocolate were *so* good.

The carrot cake was excellent.

 

My "dessert" plate.

Mashed potatoes and gravy (oh *so* good), stuffing with gravy, cranberry sauce, a blondie (unchocolate brownie), pot sticker (excellent filling and dough fried just right) and a piece of teriyaki chicken.

I did not care for the blondie.

and so we had to drive home.

 

We stopped at the Mad Greek  in Baker, for a fresh strawberry shake. 

The small is $4.45 now.  Worth it.

We got home 12 hours after we left.  A bit less than two full tanks of fuel and an exciting day.

We didn't eat at all on Saturday...

Red Rock Casino website 11011 West Charleston Blvd 89135

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Mad Greek  72112 Baker Boulevard Baker, CA 92309 

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Pacific Beach Bar and Grill. Weekend/College Football Saturday foods.

mmm-yoso is a blog about food.  Cathy is blogging today, instead of cleaning up after the fires.  There will be more ash out there tomorrow anyhow.

Hi.  Here is pretty much what The Mister and I do on Saturday mornings or afternoons, while looking at a bunch of television sets in Pacific Beach.  For those of you who don't know, "Football Saturday" is a tradition followed by students and Alumni of most of the colleges here in the States.   When you are a student, you usually attend the games (or sell the tickets to get some quick cash, since current students have a priority to buy tickets) and after you graduate, move far away, you try to get together with other Alums to sort of re-live that excitement and have some diversion, all without having to go to the Library to study once the game ends.

The Pacific Beach Bar and Grill has been around ..well...forever it seems. The restaurant has daily specials, outlined on their website, however, since The Mister and I have been married, for like, forever, we aren't much into the weeknight bar scene, although I would like to try the food and probably will eventually. For now, here is a typical Saturday with food we eat, while watching the University of Michigan play their games.  You can see the area we sit is is merely a covered patio.

If a game is starting at 9 a.m. (noon back East), the bar is open and there is an all you can eat brunch for only $6.95. (This is on Saturday- brunch costs more on Sunday). Coffee is $1.50 and there is a monthly beer for $2.50 (Sam Adams Oktoberfest right now) and all other pints on tap are $3. Yes, beer at 9 a.m. College Life all over again.

The brunch area was full so I did not take photos of the individual hot trays, but here are photos of a sampling of what we selected.  

There are three different sausages, bacon, at least two different scrambled egg combinations, home fries and hash browns, crepes (this particular weekend had chicken and avocado crepes, but there are beef and sometimes crab crepes in the steam trays), fresh fruit and cookies and muffins, all  made from scratch and quite delicious.

Then there is a separate cooking station, where you can have an omelet, crepes, waffles, pancakes or a quesadilla made for you.

I chose to have an omelet made with cheese, spinach, mushrooms and red peppers. The veggies were sauteed in butter first then the egg added and just before being put onto the serving plate, the shredded cheese was added and the egg and contents folded over it, causing the cheese to melt. I topped it with some slices of avocado from the area where you choose the fillings.

The Mister got a strawberry waffle made for himself. With whipped cream.  There were fresh strawberries on top,, and the waffle is made fresh and hot with a nice batter that cooked up to a nice crispy shell.

If a football game starts at noon here (3 p.m. East Coast time) then there are some lunch specials- $3 off of appetizers with a coupon from the Reader, a free magazine out here and, of course the beer specials. If we are coming for a noon game and hungry, we try to get to the Grill early and get a couple of brunch plates and quesadillas made for us.

On this visit, though, we opted for the Brie appetizer ($8.50 ). (OK, every time it is an afternoon game out here, I want the Brie appetizer...)

A toasted and sweetened hazelnut crusted wedge of a warmed, good quality Brie cheese served on top of a peach chutney (red pepper spicy) with chunks of mango and served with some olive oil toasted baguette pieces... it is soooo good-creamy, warm, salty, spicy and sweet ..

We tried the Ichiban Kabobs ($ 8.95  ), served with "firecracker rice", which was too spicy hot/filled with chili flakes to be appreciated as rice.  The ahi was marinated in a ginger soy sauce, yet overcooked, so kind of dry and not as good as I would have liked it to be.  It was served with some pickled ginger and ancho chili sauce, which just overwhelmed the flavors.

Of course, our beverages of choice are as diverse as The Mister and I are...

The Guinness on draft is mine and the Pear Cider is his...

If there is an evening football game, starting at 4 or 5 p.m., well you don't need a coupon and actually seven days a week, all appetizers are $3 off from 4-8 p.m...so, last weekend, when U of M was playing the Fighting Illini at 7 p.m. (their time, in Illinois), we went crazy for food.

The Seafood Martini ($9.95) is a large martini shaped glass, filled with lobster, shrimp, real crab, cucumber, celery and a spicy cocktail sauce with a little Absolut Peppar (vodka) added.  It was quite filling and very fresh. 

The Mediterranean hummus ($7.25) is made fresh, with garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice and garlic and served with that ramekin of feta, hot pita wedges and a mixed green salad topped with a raspberry vinaigrette. Excellent. Fresh. All of it. 

This past Saturday, it was another game that started about 12:30 San Diego time, so no discounts, except for beer and if you remembered to find the coupon...so we just got the

Hot Crab Dip ($8.95)- fresh blue crab, cream cheese, bell peppers and some spices, topped with green onion and served with warm, thin tortilla chips.  This was excellent, also, with lots of crab.  More than I expected. 

We also got a basket of onion rings ($3.95).  Made with whole onions and fried in a cornmeal based batter, giving the rings a good crunch.  I did ask the nice bartender (we ended up sitting at the bar since it was so crowded) for some Chulula sauce to dip the rings in after a while, since the basket was quite large and ketchup, salt and pepper wasn't doing it for me...

The Pacific Beach Bar and Grill has generously donated a portion of all the income received from the University of Michigan Alumni during these Saturday games to the San Diego Scholarship fund all the years we have been meeting here, and this year we have already raised over $10,000 dollars.  It is nice for a local merchant to be so generous to our little group.

Pacific Beach Bar and Grill 860 Garnet Avenue San Diego 92109 phone: (858)2PB.Grill