mmm-yoso!!!

San Francisco - China Live Revisited and the Chinese New Year Flower Market Fair

The Missus and I decided to take a short trip during the long weekend. The Missus had really enjoyed our last trip to San Francisco; so we decided to head back for two nights.

Our flight over was quite pleasant; except for the arrogant and condescending young man who marched back and forth at the TSA security check-point telling people, "you can get it right...any idiot can do it.....it's not hard!" I understand that perhaps working for the TSA is not a pleasant job; but there's no need to be insulting....it's always the one that brings down the other ninety-nine. As my experience with the TSA has been that folks are at least somewhat professional. Or perhaps by "any idiot can do it" he meant himself? I heard the guy behind me mumble to his companion, "he's definitely a candidate for a colonoscopy without anesthesia".

We arrived fairly early; our room at the Marriott wasn't ready yet which wasn't a problem. We needed a place for a rather "early-ish" lunch....the Missus had really enjoyed the duck from China Live....yes, it was pricey, but we were on vacation, right?

Since Chinatown was basically right up the street, and China Live opens at 1030 we headed up Stockton. We quickly found that there were booths lining the usually busy sidewalks making things even more crowded with folks shopping and browsing.

We eventually got up to Broadway and China Live had just opened.

And in spite of the crowds and lines outside (the line at Good Mongkok went down and around the block!!!!), the place was empty.

We were tempted, and should have just had tea and the duck and called it a nice snack and head off....but we felt kinda guilty for just ordering the duck (albiet it being $27 - it had gone up a buck since September). We also didn't really enjoy anything else on our last visit. We just went ahead and ordered the Suckling Pig.

The Suckling Pig looked pretty nice.....

And it was decent; not the best I've had, but the meat was moist, the skin was a bit too thick and hard instead of crisp. It also lacked a good porkiness. So, not too bad, until you factor in the price....$34! That's over four bucks a wafer thin slice! I wouldn't complain if this was excellent; but it was not.

We did enjoy the duck ($27)

Which, like the last time didn't look particularly inspiring, but had a nice, thin, crisp skin....the subcutaneous fat perfectly rendered. Nice mild gaminess...moist meat. Like the last time; the "sesame buns" were dry and were just used for scallion-cucumber-hoisin sandwiches for us.

Looking at dishes on other tables....well, the rice and noodle dishes looked pretty mediocre. The total damage with tea was over seventy bucks......as we left the Missus told me, "I think we're done here...." I concurred....we'll try to find the best roast duck next time and just eat it in Portsmouth Square or something.

China Live
644 Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94133

We headed down Broadway and took a turn at Grant and oh my......the horde....the mass....the huge crowd.

But the Missus, who is usually not fond of crowds (neither am I), just smiled and headed off.

Grant was closed off....there were booths lining the street. I came to find out this was the Chinese New Year Flower Market Fair, which happens on the weekend before the Lunar New Year and everyone and their brother seemed to be checking it out.

To be perfectly honest; even I enjoyed myself.

The Missus found herself checking out many of the booths. "You know there's a problem with this, right?" She said. Not quite following Her logic I asked "Why?" She cracked up and said "No samples!"

Regardless, the Missus really had a fun time, She told me a few times, "this really reminds me of growing up in China!"

People watching was fun....checking out the folks in costume. I sent the photo to the right to my coworker "YZ" who is from Shanghai and she quickly pointed out to me that the fella' wasn't totally in character; "if he was really dedicated....he wouldn't be wearing Nike's!" You gotta love it!

Did I mention the crowds?

It was fun watching the kids having a good time with all the various characters. Call me out of touch but I wonder what the character "Fragrance" represents? And fragrance of what? Remember, this is Chinatown! The fragrance of roast duck...pork....fish, herbs, steamed buns, and other more "earthy" smells permeate the air. And that character looks like an egg?

I'd go crazy facing crowds like this everyday. But for one fine sunny morning in San Francisco, it was just perfect!

Happy Lunar New Year!

Clearing Out the Memory Card - Kangxi is Coming and Noble Chef

A couple of revisits to places I've posted on several times already.....

Kangxi is Coming:

It had been a while and the Missus was craving the Suan Cai dish.....mostly for the leftovers to reheat with our fairly potent homemade Suan Cai; so I went ahead and grabbed lunch. The same really friendly woman was working and she knew exactly what I was going to order "for your wife".

Not as much "gravy" as before and not stir fried as much. Still, fairly sour.....this is one of those dishes that tastes better the next day, after it had time for the flavors to meld a bit further. It could be that we added our own suan cai as well.

I needed a vegetable dish so I got the Cauliflower Dry Pot; which was pretty darn spicy.

Though you didn't get the nice buzz of Sichuan Peppercorns.

The woman recommended the Crispy Pork; which was indeed crispy and the temperature was molten hot.

It was also super sweet, it was doused in a super thick, super sweet syrup, which seized up with a texture like toffee as it cooeld down. The thin strings of ginger helped cut the sweetness a bit; but it just wasn't enough. Great texture though.

Kangxi Is Coming
4428 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Noble Chef:

The Missus wanted dinner from Noble Chef for our first meal after returning from our trip. It was the usual.....

And She was quite satisfied.....

The Noble Chef
6159 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111

Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year!

Golden City (yes, more visits)

mmm-yoso!!! is still blogging about food.  Today, Cathy is back at Golden City, a favorite (and underrated) Chinese restaurant located at the SouthEast Corner of the 163 and Clairmont Mesa Boulevard.  Kirk is adjusting to the time zone.

Kirk's latest post about this wonderful restaurant was in January, where he linked back to his first post in 2005.  My latest post was in May of 2018, so it's about time for an update.  Here are two lunch visits. {The Lunch menu is available from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and again after 9 p.m.} {The Late Night menu does not include soup or rice with the meal; rice is $1 per bowl at that time}  

Same location, some of the interior has been updated since 2005. Consistency. Always fresh tablecloths. Always friendly service. 
Seafood Noodle Soup ($9.50)
 Filled with shrimp, squid and fish as well as bok choy, carrots and plenty of eggy noodles, this chicken-broth-based soup is satisfying on many levels.  Of course the flavors as well as textures and freshness make this a very satisfying meal on its own.  
 Fish Filet with Black Bean Sauce ($9.95).  Plenty of fish, fresh and moist.  Large pieces of sweet onion and a variety of bell peppers along with the saltiness of black bean sauce make this one of my cravings. The lunch meals (not the soup bowls) include egg rolls and a choice of egg drop or hot and sour soup as well as those magical 'crunchies' and plum sauce.  Rice is included and hot tea is still free here; I like that it is made with loose tea leaves. 
The egg rolls are cooked fresh and vegetable filled.
 Fish with Lemongrass ($9.95) Breaded and properly fried, this is an indulgence.  The lemony sauce, mixed with basil and spicy peppers make a great flavor combination. 
 Kung Pao Three ingredients ($10.95) is not too spicy.  There are chilis and onion stir fried with the beef, chicken and shrimp. The peanuts mixed in help 'neutralize' any real spiciness you might encounter.  Again, a mix of flavors (you can taste each ingredient) and textures and just a satisfying meal. 

Golden City Chinese Cuisine 5375 Kearny Villa Road San Diego, CA 92123 (858) 565-6682 open Mon-Th 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Fri-Sat-Sun 11 a.m.-midnight
 

Hong Kong BBQ Kitchen (inside Vinh Hung Supermarket) (Mira Mesa)(again)

This is a food blog named mmm-yoso!!! Kirk usually writes about meals and various food he enjoys from nearby and afar.  Cathy is writing a short post about a nearby place while Kirk is 'on vacation'.

A central location to meet clients, colleagues and friends is at the former movie theater converted to grocery store and restaurant (as well as a few other businesses in the former hallways).  Kirk posted about a dinner here in April.  I last wrote a post (with links to prior posts of both mine and Kirk) back in 2017.

Hong Kong BBQ and Dim-sum, near the front of the store, at the former concession stand and stairway to the (former) upper level seating was quiet enough to carry on conversations. 
 Fish XO sauce ($9.95) is always a favorite order here.  The salty, dry scallop and dry ham base, which is cooked with chilis, onion and garlic is always mouth watering. Onions and bell peppers as well as some black beans round out the lightly battered and expertly fried fish in this dish.  Always good.
 Beef string bean ($9.95), stir fried simply with onion and garlic is also a good choice.  The meat is thin and tender and flavorful.  The green beans are fresh and flavorful.  Dessert! Never a fortune cookie...steamed rice cake!

Hong Kong BBQ and Dim Sum 10550 Camino Ruiz  San Diego 92126 (858) 408-4888 Open Sun-Thurs 9-9, Fri-Sat 9-9:30 Website

 

Hong Kong BBQ and Dim Sum 10550 Camino Ruiz  San Diego 92126 (858) 408-4888 Open Sun-Thurs 9-9, Fri-Sat 9-9:30 Website

Sichuan City (Mira Mesa)

mmm-yoso!!! welcomes you back after the long Thanksgiving weekend.  Kirk and His Missus are still enjoying their country hopping vacation and Cathy is holding down the fort here in San Diego.

In the first San Diego H-Mart location, the north end of the parking lot has been home to three restaurants; one has changed names a few times recently.  It had been Golden State Seafood (where Faye used to go with family) for more than 20 years and then in early 2018 the owners sold and it changed to Spicy Hut, which abruptly changed the name in May of 2018 to Sichuan City (it's the same owner).
 

 As with all Szechuan restaurants, there's an area of Cold Dishes to choose from, located in the dining area.  A plate is $7 with up to three choices.   
On this visit, we chose only two- the smoked chicken and smacked cucumbers. We munched on the flavorful smoked chicken and tried a few cucumbers while waiting for our order.  The garlic-y crisp cucumbers were saved to accompany the meal.  
 On another visit, we shared an onion pancake ($3.99) with our meal.  Wonderfully layered and light crispiness complimented that meal and the onion flavor was not overpowering.   Juicy Dumplings ($8.99) were fresh made and did have a thin skin, with only one losing it's soup filling when I accidentally tore it when lifting from the papered steam basket.  The soup filling itself was flavorful and the pork filling was meaty; a good sized bite.   The single cooked noodle soup (rice noodle) ($7.99) was a good choice one chilly day.  Ground pork, pickled vegetables, fresh cilantro and green onion along with a rich flavorful broth rounded out the bowl, complimented by the round and thick chewy noodles.  
 The fish filet in garlic brown sauce ($12.99) included tofu and mushrooms as well as carrot and onion.  A filling plate of garlic goodness.  We did order a side of rice ($1.50) to go with this (well, to go with the sauce) and the plate was a meal in itself.
 Shredded pork with pickled vegetable ($10.99) was not quite what we expected, but it was good. (I had expected pickled vegetables like those on top of the noodle soup, above). The pork, by itself...I could taste the flavors, including ginger, and it was a good stir fry of pork. Those fresh chilis...good (and sweet/spicy) on their own, but when combined with a bite of pork, overwhelmed all other flavors.  Not really a complaint (the menu did show two chilis indicating heat) but the fresh chilis were a surprise.  We did take home leftovers and separated the chilis from the pork and the heat level was just right for a second meal.

We will be back to try more of the menu Faye's post includes photos of the whole menu, linked here

Sichuan City 9460 E8 Mira Mesa Blvd San Diego 92126 (in the HMart parking lot). (858) 578-8818 Mon-Fri 11-3, 5-9:30 Sat-Sun 11-9:30

Paris - Le Pont de Sichuan times two

In my previous post, I mentioned the reservations I have and the realities of doing a post when just doing a single visit to a restaurant. But, when travelling, the reality is, you may only have one meal at a place......often a meal you were looking forward to, had planned on having, and when, like that visit to Le Comptoir de la Gastronomie does not work out, well things are magnified. And then there are times when you have a second opportunity to revisit a place. Le Pont de Sichuan was such a place.

My apologies about doing this a bit out of order.

It was Thanksgiving of 2018 and we were staying in the 2nd Arrondissment, as I mentioned in my previous post. We had visited Versailles (coming up in a future post) during the morning and now wanted some "comfort food" (it's all relative, no?) for dinner.

Right up the street was a place I had on my "list"; Le Pont de Sichuan. I had read some positive things about the place....taking note of the ahem, "authentic Sichuan" tag thrown about. Even though I'm not one to use "authentic" in my descriptions; because cuisine is not like a signed Picasso; it is not a static picture, it changes, is dynamic....ok, enough of that.

We decided to check out Le Pont de Sichuan as our Thanksgiving meal.

We were the first customers in the place. The service was also quite nice in terms of Chinese restaurants; it definitely had a French touch to it. I'd done a bit of research and had pretty much decided on two of the dishes beforehand.

One of them was the Crispy Lamb with Cumin.

The lamb had obviously been braised first, then deep fried making the exterior parts quite crisp. Nice and gamey and tempered with soy sauce and cumin. Not overly salty, crisp and then tender....while, in my opinion it could have used more cumin, this was a very nice dish.

We needed a vegetable, so we got the dry cooked green beans which were ok.

A bit too greasy and salty and lacking in savory tones.

The other dish I'd been wanting to try was the Marmite de Champignons; basically sautéed mushrooms....but not quite what your mind pictures as sautéed mushrooms.

We loved the earthy, toothsome variety of mushrooms, all the different subtle flavors, different textures. A slight spice, the pleasant savory-saltiness of soy sauce, a slight bit of sour-acidity, some mild heat....and most of all....a good dose of Sichuan peppercorns. The slices of pork was well seasoned and tender. This was so good.

We really enjoyed our meal here.

And so, during our last visit to Paris, at the end of our 2019 Budapest - Vienna - Salzburg - Munich - Stuttgart trip, we were excited to be back in the Missus's favorite city and wanted to have another nice dinner at Le Pont de Sichuan. I even made reservations.

This time, we thought we'd try some more traditional Sichuan dishes along with that amazing Mushroom dish we'd had on the previous visit.

We started with one of my favorites; the Ko Shui Ji (Mouthwatering Chicken).

First off, his was served warm. Second, the chicken was really dry. Third, other than being drenched in chili oil, it really had no other flavors going for it.

The next dish we ordered is another Sichuan favorite of ours, Shui Zhu Niu Rou (water boiled beef).

Think of this as being really dry, hot pot style top round dumped into a one-dimensional chili-oil based sauce....it lacked the complexity of a good Doubian Jian, though at least in this case, there was a sprinkling of ground Sichuan Peppercorn. No garlic tones; no mild hint of sweet, no complex spicy-savory flavors.

It's ok we thought. If that mushroom dish was a good as on our previous visit it would really balance things out. After all, it was the dish we really came for. Alas, it was not.

As you can tell, the color is a lot lighter, some of the mushrooms were really crisp and over-cooked, some were really tough and under-cooked. The Sichuan Peppercorn flavor was MIA....maybe they forgot? The pork was dry and tough. Uneven stir fry technique. Even though the chilies were present, this wasn't particularly spicy.

Overall, it was quite a disappointing meal, which I'm sure was amplified by the fact that we were really looking forward to eating here.

Sad.....I'm not sure what the norm here is? Was it the 'B' team, or was our first visit just a lightning strike?

There are other places we've revisited in Paris over the years that have been quite consistent. This was not one of them. And while I'm tempted to try them again, our time in Paris is always limited, it's costly, we're on holiday, and want to enjoy our meals. I don't think the Missus would want to roll the dice and take a chance that it's "visit B". Life is too short.

Le Pont de Sichuan
86 rue de Richelieu
75002 Paris, France

Taste of Hunan Revisited

A few weeks back, even with all the new Chinese restaurants that have opened in San Diego recently, Calvin and I headed off to revisit Taste of Hunan. One of the main reasons is that Calvin's Missus just doesn't eat offal or lamb.....nor anything with Sichuan Peppercorns. So, Calvin wanted his "pig fix" in a way. And so, we pulled "all the hogs" out.....

First thing I noticed was that the place isn't quite as busy as it was on my previous visits to the restaurant.

We placed our orders and items started coming out rather quickly.

First, the Sauteed Pig Stomach, for those who have seen pig maw on Chinese menus and wasn't sure what it was....no it's not a mother pig, but the wall of a pig's stomach.

It was as expected quite chewy, with no off flavors. Very straight-forward soy-sauce saltiness and kind of greasy.

The texture of the Crispy Intestine was excellent. Crisp, light exterior, creamy interior.

Slight, pleasant offal flavor, but the addition of salt and pepper would have made this dish even better. As it is; just straight-forward hoisin or chili oil just added one simple layer of flavor...in other words; pun intended, it was just "lipstick on a pig".

Easily the best dish of the day was a favorite during my previous visit, the Smoked Pork and Preserved Green Beans Fried Rice.

Though there was less preserved green beans and La Rou this time around. Still, almost every grain was coated; the smokiness and mild sour flavors came through nicely. Though easily the best item of the day; it was not nearly as good as on previous visits

Another favorite from previous visits; the Wild Mushroom with Pork, was a far cry from what I'd had before.

It was more spicy this time around, much more salty, with a very faint mushroom flavor, and the pork was tough. Bummer, as this was a really nice dish vefore.

So, what's happening with Taste of Hunan? Can't say I haven't seen this pattern before; the honeymoon's over and things settle into a pattern of cost cutting, lowering of standards, and malaise. I'm hoping this is not true...so we'll see.

Taste of Hunan
9880 Hibert St. Suite E2
San Diego, CA 92131

A Walk Around Vienna and Lunch at Tofu and Chili

We awoke after a good night of sleep in our apartment right outside the Ringstrasse nice and refreshed. We had a pretty jam-packed day planned out. It was windy with scattered drizzles....you know, the one's that are just bad enough to be irritating. Though it was the wind that bothered the Missus the most. Everyone we asked around the city told us it's "always windy in Wien"! Though no one could tell us why.

We crossed the street and walked through the Stadtpark, then along Kärntner Ring, until we came upon the first place we wanted to see; the Opera House.

Many people consider Vienna to be the "capital of classical music" and the Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper) is the royal palace. Since its completion in 1869 a who's who of classical music and opera have performed here. Just looking at the names on the "stars" lining the walkways gives you pause.....

One block away you'll notice a very impressive wall and statue. This is the Albertina, that impressive wall was once part of the ramparts of the city. It later became the home of Empress Mary Theresa's daughter Maria Christina the Duchess of Teschen and her husband Prince Albert of Saxony.

We headed up the stairway to the large porch/balcony where we could watch the horse drawn carriages trot on by.

In spite of the drizzle and wind, it made for a very nice view.

The buildings in the area really do catch your attention.

We'd end up visiting the Albertina; which is now a museum the following day.

While taking in the view, we noticed the striking Monument Against War and Fascism (Mahnmal gegen Krieg und Faschismus) right across the street.

Rick Steves goes into great detail about this monument in his post. Built in 1988, each of the four structures details a different aspect and story of the consequences of fascism. It is a grim and haunting memorial.

That large split white statue is called the "Gates of Violence", the carvings are grave and striking. The bases of the statues were quarried at Mauthausen Concentration Camp.

The statue that really gripped me is this one.

It is a statue of a Jew forced to scrub anti-Nazi graffiti off the streets. After the Annexation of Austria to the Germans in 1938 (the Anschluss), in an act meant to humiliate and degrade them, Jews were forced to clean the streets of Pro-Austrian and Anti-Nazi slogan and graffiti. This, of course was the tip of the iceberg as it is estimated that over 65,000 Jewish citizens of Vienna were sent to concentration camps of which 2000 survived. 

It started drizzling a bit harder as we took in the memorial.

We headed off in the direction of Saint Stephen's Cathedral, which we had briefly visited the night before.

The Missus wanted to explore the Cathedral in daylight and it would give us a respite from the drizzle.

Most consider this impressive Gothic church to be the heart of Vienna.

And we took a brief break here to first explore the interior a bit, then head back out to get a look at the amazing stone and art work on the exterior of the church

From the Cathedral we headed down the pedestrian street known as Graben. Back when the city was a Roman city known as Vindobona, a wall extended the length of the street. A trench was dug outside the wall, a graben. Which is how the street got its name.

There are several fountains on this street. That's Leopoldsbrunnen (Leopold's Fountain), above.

But what I really came to see was just a few steps away; the Plague Column. Like various Astronomical Clocks, Plague Columns have an odd attraction to me.

In 1679, Vienna was hit by the plague epidemic. It is said that one-third of Vienna's population succumbed to the disease. Emperor Leopold I was forced to flee the city. A wooden column of mercy was erected, later to be replaced by this Pestsäule.

There's a lot going on this plague column.

You see "Faith" with the help of a pretty vicious looking Cherub tossing an decrepit old woman (the plague) into the abyss.

You see Leopold himself, sporting quite an underbite which is caused by inbreeding and has been called "Habsburg Jaw".

Right across the way is the Peterskirche ("St. Peter's Church").

Taking a left on Kohlmarkt, you hit the ultra high rent district, with the Michaelerplatz and Hofburg Palace in view.

We walked into Demel; thinking of getting a snack and some coffee at this famous pastry and chocolate shop. But could not find a table to save our soul.

So we just ogled the pastries and headed on back out.

We thought about checking out Hofburg Palace.....

But we were getting a bit hungry and wanted something warm in our bellies. We'd had our share of hearty meals in Budapest and I had reservations for another the night before we left Vienna. So, I thought perhaps some Chinese food might do the trick.

We headed on down to the Naschmarkt, Vienna's food and produce market.

And a place that I'd read about. Named Tofu and Chili.

There are two menus at this shop; the one with Panda Express looking food and one that has Shanxi and Pseudo Sichuan type dishes. I think the Missus was happy to get some Asian food because She quickly ordered.....

Pidan (Century Egg) with Tofu.

Which actually wasn't too bad; a bit of spice from the chili oil, decent tofu, good saltiness from the soy sauce...it's hard to mess up this dish.

And a very awful Suan Cai dish.....which was pickled mustard greens with bean thread drenched in vinegar.....good lord, this was terrible!

I had done a bit of research and ordered the Beef Noodle Soup with Hand Pulled Noodles.

The beef, while being fairly lean had good flavor. The broth was super hot; perfect for a day like this one and not overly salty. And while not being particularly rich, had a decent beefiness and a decent dose of white pepper.

But the best thing about the dish were the hand pulled noodles; which had a decent chew, stretch, and doughy-heft.

It was just what we needed on a windy and damp day in Vienna.

Tofu & Chili
Linke Wienzeile 18
Vienna 1060, Austria

We were careful not too eat too much. Even though we'd seen quite a bit, the day was only half over.

We needed to get to our final destination.

But first, the Missus wanted to visit a classic Viennese Café .

Thanks for stopping by!

Revisits - Shann Xi Magic Kitchen and Da Kine's

Just a couple of revisits for tonight.

Shann Xi Magic Kitchen:

I was shopping around lunch time at 99 Ranch Market....business at the Balboa location seems to be picking up. Since the weather's cooling off a bit, I thought I'd give Shann Xi Magic Kitchen another try. My last visit left something to be desired.

In what I thought was kind of an interesting move; it seems that Shann Xi MK gives you a discount when you pay in cash. Not a big deal, but I got a seventy-six cent discount, which brought my bowl of Yang Rou Pao Mo to ten bucks exactly.

The Yang Rou Pao Mo was even worse this time around. The broth, while scalding hot, was really thin, super salty, with too much white pepper and lacked any other redeeming qualities.

There was a scant three slices of lamb in the soup; which was actually nice and "muttony". Like I've said before, the "pao mo" that I've had in the states leaves much to be desired as it's really just gummy dough.

The amount of paomo has been reduced as well.

Boy do I miss this.....

Which was so amazing.....from Tong Sheng Xiang in Xi'an.

You can tell the difference, right? I wonder why restaurants in San Diego can't even get it close......

Shann Xi Magic Kitchen
5950 Balboa Ave (In the 99 Ranch Market Food Court)
San Diego, CA 92111

Da Kine's:

Yes, I know I did a post on Da Kine's reopening just last month. But week or so ago, I was chatting with another Ex-pat Kama'aina at my favorite watering hole about Da' Kine's. He told me that the Teri Chicken had really improved. I told him that the teri chicken at Da' Kine's had never been a favorite of mine, but was told to try it and see.

Well, this was just ok. I don't think they marinate the chicken at Da' Kine's. I wouldn't be surprised if they just dunked it in some kind of sauce and put it on the grill. It was fairly bland. While on the dry side, it wasn't as dry as what I'd had before. The rice was too mushy this time around, though the mac salad was chilled and nicely seasoned, just like what I'd had the previous month.

I mentioned this when I saw the guy the next time. His response, "it's better than L&L...." Man, talk about setting the bar really low...though when was the last time I had chicken from L&L...hmm.....do I really want to punish myself like that???

Da Kine's Plate Lunches
5401 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92110

Clearing Out the Memory Card - Revisits to Bistro Na's (Temple City), Tribute Pizza, and is La Catrina Closed for Good?

Wow, several of my favorite food groups in one post....after all the really wordy posts recently, I thought I'd give you all a break.

Bistro Na's (Temple City):

Yes, again....the Missus was wondering how getting a Michelin Star would affect Bistro Na's. Well, as far as our lunch was concerned; the crowds are larger now, but the service was still top notch.

And our favorites are still our favorites.

I enjoyed the Zui Ji (Drunken Chicken), which was on the mild side in terms of flavor but super tender and moist.

The Missus enjoyed the stir fried cauliflower.

But we'll pass on the Chili Beef with Tofu in the future.

Decent numbingness, but not much else; strangely not spicy and rather plain and bland in spite of looks.

As you can tell that we've done multiple visits over the last couple of months, this place is a favorite of the Missus.

Bistro Na's
9055 Las Tunas Drive
Temple City, CA 91780

Tribute Pizza:

It's been a while since we last visited and our planned dinner destination was closed (see below). So we walked over. It was still Happy Hour so we got two pizzas.....seven bucks each during HH!

This was more food than we needed and had leftovers. The pizzas were better than we remembered; simple but perfectly prepared. The Missus also enjoyed a sangria..... We gotta drop by more often.

Tribute Pizza
3077 N Park Way
San Diego, CA 92104
Happy Hour:
Tues - Fri 4pm - 6pm

Is La Catrina Closed?:

The reason we went to Tribute was because our intended destination; La Catrina was closed; with this sign posted on the door.

Strange, because we'd just gone the previous week and everything was just fine. And the Missus loved the Tacos De Flor De Jamaica; jicama, mushroom, and eggplant tacos.

The Carnitas and Octopus Cazuela was a good as always.

I did express concern about this place in my previous post and it doesn't look good.

I hope I'm wrong.....

La Catrina Tapas & Cantina
3139 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104