mmm-yoso!!!

Zgara Greek Grill - Under New Ownership!

For some strange reason, my most recent post on Mama's moving (I actually went on Sunday for lunch - that post is coming up) had me wondering how Zgara Greek Grill was doing. Because of all our travel and stuffs, I hadn't been back since probably around March or so and hadn't done a post on the place since December of last year. So, I decided to drop by this past Saturday.

All the spaces in front of Zgara were available; probably because I arrived just after 11am.

Walking in I noticed that Eric wasn't working on this day.

I walked up to the counter and ordered my usual, the Gyro....the default meat here is pork. I noticed that if you're only used to the typical "mystery meat" Gyros or such that unless you read the description you might not know it's actually pork; which is pretty traditional. At least that's what we had in Rhodes where Eric is from. Speaking of Eric, I casually asked how Eric is doing...thinking he was on vacation or something. The gentleman told me he wasn't sure since they sold him the restaurant back in July of this year! Whoa.....didn't know about that! I didn't want to pry so I told him "congratulations" and he introduced himself as "Tom". Well, this was quite a surprise!

So, I headed home with my Gyro ($10.86) interested to see if I could detect any changes.

 It's still quite hefty, though wrapped a bit tighter. There seems to be a bit less Tzatziki, but the pita is still nice and pillowy.

The meat seems to have been cooked a bit more as it had more chewy-crunchy bits, a bit drier in texture, though perhaps it was just my mind playing games. Though if you do look at the gyro on my previous visit you'll see that the meat is much lighter in color. The seasoning is still as good; nice spices and herbs; I make out a touch of cumin, a faint citrusyness.

Once unbound, it basically exploded in meaty goodness....

Still quite enjoyable.

I hope Eric is doing well. I'd been a fairly regular customer of his since the days when he opened Zgara in Pacific Beach and was quite sad when it closed. I was overjoyed when he reopened in Bay Park right in the middle of the pandemic. 

I wish the new owner well and will probably drop by again soon.

Zgara Greek Grill
1229 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Mon - Sat 11am - 8pm
Closed on Sundays

COMC, the Takeout Edition - De Cabeza/El Único, Zgara, Sue's Korean Kitchen, and One More....

So, here's a collection of takeout revisits on places I've posted on a bajillion times. 

De Cabeza/El Único:

I was off on a Wednesday and wanted something rich, beefy, and hefty for lunch, so De Cabeza was a natural pick. We hadn't been in a while and Cabeza en su Jugo is so nice during colder weather.

I forgot that Wednesday is Jesus's day off. He really knows how to put things together the way we like. 

Still, this was quite savory, warming, and rich.....beefy goodness, with a good amount of spice as well.

Even though we get two orders; we usually have leftovers.....

I need to remember to ask them to put the onions and cilantro on the side......

De Cabeza/El Único
1043 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Zgara Greek Grill:

I think it's rather surprising that I don't get stuff from Zgara every week, since it's not too far from home. Still, I do visit quite often and always get the same thing, the pork gyro.

The place seems to be doing some great business. Good for Eric and his Family! He opened during the middle of all the Covid restrictions and has done well! 

Seasoned porky goodness, with nice crisp bits, pungent onions, refreshing milky goodness of the tzadziki........enrobed in a pillowy pita.

Zgara Greek Grill
1229 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110

Sue's Korean Kitchen:

Speaking of businesses that opened during the times of Covid. Think we were still in "red-tier" when Sue's opened in April of 2021.

The main dish I get here is the Kimchi Fried Rice with Spam (of course). It's still makes my preferred "under $14 for lunch" mark priced at $11.99. Though back in March it was $10.99.

Still, Sue's opens early at 10am, so I can get there before any lunch rush. For some reason, the woman there always remembers me?

I will say, that on my last visit, the portion size seemed to have shrunk a bit.

Still, this is enough food for me...... I like the fermented spice of the house made kimchi and of course the Spam. You know, the salty-savory-fermented kinda thing.

Sue’s Korean Kitchen
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92121

Speaking of fermenting....here's a photo of a take out meal that has been relegated to one of my folders for so long that it would be the photo equivalent of Suan Cai. So, while I'll delete all the detail photos, here's one of the entire meal. Can you figure out where it's from?

And on that note, I'd like to know, what's in your current "rotation"?

Rebuilding the Rotation - The Market at HFS, Sue's Korean Kitchen, Bay Park Coffee, and Zgara Greek Grill

I'm not sure you've noticed, but we've gone on quite few trips since December, one of which was a month long! I know, we here all about "revenge travel" these days. Well, I'm not sure that's what it is for us. We're all getting older and for...at least me, I'm thinking better revenge travel now than to have wait longer and let it become "Depends" travel if you know what I mean.  With all of those trips; it's been pretty difficult getting "back in the rhythm" of things like developing that rotation.

But it looks like things are straightening out and I'm ever slowly falling back into a routine. So here are a couple of places, most should be quite familiar to regular readers, I'll just leave it as a C(learing) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard) post with a minimum of verbiage.

The Market at HFS:

It seems that the warmer the weather gets, the more I visit.

There had been a gap of over five months since I've restarted my visits and I no longer know the folks working here. The selection is smaller these days; at least on my two recent visits, though those didn't take place during what I recall were the peak days.

I basically stick with the ahi poke here and it still hits the spot. As things heat up and the Missus starts wanting poke, I'm sure I'll be visiting even more often.

Sue's Korean Kitchen:

The folks in the office really like Sue's, so it's been a fairly regular stop for me. Plus, they open at 10am which helps me to beat lunch time crowds.

It's the Kimchi Fried Rice that has us coming back.

Sue’s Korean Kitchen
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Suite 109
San Diego, CA 92121

In my neck of the woods; well, there's not much. But here're two places that I hit up regularly.

Bay Park Coffee:

I usually meet our good friend "Alle" who was Frankie's favorite Auntie for coffee and to catch up on things once a week or so.

And though they've had some staffing turnover over the last year or so, the folks working are quite nice. We usually catch up on things over a cold brew and veggie bagels.

Bay Park Coffee
4130 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110

Zgara Greek Grill:

After my last revisit to GyroGrill, I headed straight back to Zgara. I hadn't been in a while and business there seems to have really picked up.

And take a look at the photos from my last visit to GyroGrill and compare the gyro there to this version. 

So, of course I'm now back in the habit of visiting as often as I can and it's still the pork gyros here for me. It's always great to chat with Eric, who remembers me from the days when Zgara was in PB.

Zgara Greek Grill
1229 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110

So, hopefully I'm back in the rhythm now and will be adding places back to the rotation. As always, I'm so thankful for your visits and comments!

What's been on your rotation recently?

GyroGrill Revisited

I was recently told that GyroGrill had won some kind of "Best Greek Food in San Diego" award. Whoa, that was a bit of a shock. It had been a while since I last visited, so I decided to head on over for lunch.

The good thing about GyroGrill is that they open at 10am as I'm not a fan of the "squishy" parking situation in the lot here. When that lot gets full, it's a pretty tight squeeze.

 And to be perfectly honest, I was interested to see what the price of the Gyro Combo was these days. And the sign said the combo was now $15. In case you're keeping score, in October 2020 it was $7.99 by January of 2022 it was $12.99. During my last visit, in April of 2022 it was $14. Well, now a year later it's $15. I guess I should be happy that it's "only" gone up a buck since last year, right?

And both the A-frame chalk sign and a page posted near the counter said something like "Awarded San Diego's Best Greek Food 2022".

By something called "the San Diego Award Program"? Well, talk about a generic sounding name. But seeing that GG is on the ballot again this year, I followed the link from the business website and it leads to this page on a UT website.. I quickly noticed an omission, can you figure it out?

Anyway, I ordered my usual, the Pork Gyro Combo. The really nice guy  from my previous visits was working and I took my order back to the office.

 Upon opening up the Gyro, I quickly noticed that things had changed. This was no longer marinated pork cut from a spit into thin slices. This was more like chunks of marinated grilled pork shoulder. Along with being chunks of pork, the meat was a lot darker in color than what I'd had previously. It was also tough and dry. In terms of flavor, this was on the salty side.

Lest you think I'm having a "senior moment", this is what it looked like on my previous visit.

I actually have enjoyed the cross-cut, chip like, fries even more than the Gyros at GG, crisp outside, creamy inside. These had changed  as well.

These were cut lengthwise and much thinner. They didn't stay crisp as long and were on the drier end of things.

Man, I miss the way those potatoes used to be......here's a photo.

Bummer.

Now, I know that there's more to Greek Food than Gyros, after all, we've had some nice meals in Greece. But still.......

GyroGrill
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121

Petrino's Greek Restaurant (La Mesa)

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog.  Cathy is writing while Kirk is vacationing.

The Mister and I were sort of craving some Russian/Ukranian/Polish food (soup and beets, really) and headed back to the closest place we knew, which is now closed and is the current home of Petrino's Greek Restaurant, which had been located around the corner (next to the Liquor Store, same parking lot) since 2013, but moved here, next to the 7-11, in about February of 2022.  It is another family owned restaurant which survived Covid-19. Greek sounded good for lunch, too.
There's a menu above the cash register and on the wall to the right. Order and pay and your food is brought out in disposable/"To Go" containers.
 The walls from the former restaurant are still here; the furniture is new.
 Lentil soup with pita ($4.50) was an excellent Mediterranean version.  Cumin and turmeric flavors were primary and the broth not too thick with lentils or potato or carrot as other versions, but very deep with flavor.  I did not taste onion and salt/pepper were not needed. 
  A side of four pieces of falafel ($2.50) was a good choice.  The thin, crisp edges were perfect, leaving the inside fluffy.  The side of tzatziki sauce was refreshing with its yogurt and garlic base.
  Greek Mix Plate ($14.99).  1/2 chicken shawarma, 1/2 lamb gyro on top of yellow rice and pita along with a good sized side salad (served with a herb-infused vinegar dressing) was quite a lot of food to share.  The shawarma was not shaved, but instead chopped and grilled.   It had great flavor.  Indeed, it was lamb gyro and shaved, leaving each piece with a crisp side.  The rice, pita and salad made this a good size meal, enough to share. 
 Lemon and mint lemonade ($2.99) was excellent- fresh lemon juice, not too much sugar and dried mint gave this beverage two 'thumbs up' from us.  We'll be back to try more of the menu.

Petrino's Greek Restaurant 8302 Parkway Drive La Mesa 91942 (619) 741-7721 website Open Mon-Sat 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Closed Sunday

 The stamped floor with animal footprints remains.

Grecian Cafe (again)

mmm-yoso!!! continues to be written by Cathy while Kirk and His Missus continue to enjoy their well earned vacation.

I wrote about Grecian Cafe in January 2019, without mentioning the reason we first stopped here was because of our regular bread run just down the street at Frank's Bakery.  The update to that post is the the corner anchor restaurant here is no longer Pizza Hut Round Table Pizza, but is Pho and Grill International. The other update is that this family owned and run restaurant has been here for more than 30 years.
 Walk in, order and pay.  There is a menu board above the ordering space in the wall.  Your food is brought out by one of the family members.  

 As always, we order onion rings ($4.49).  Thick slices of sweet onions, sweet batter, properly crisp fried and not greasy.  This is served with ranch dressing.
   A small Greek chicken salad ($9.49) holds a lot of tasty, moist roasted chicken and comes with pita bread and tzatziki.  The salad part is the same size as the side salad which comes with the meal below and includes cucumber, tomato and onion and a red wine vinegar based dressing.
   The Moussaka and Gyros combination plate ($15.99) was ordered on this day...because we wanted leftovers.  Plenty of fluffy rice with some peas and carrots topped with slices of gyros and, of course, the Moussaka- the bottom layer is baked potato, then a nice layer of eggplant, the sweet (cinnamon and oregano) spiced ground meat filling topped with a layer of thick béchamel and covered in a subtle seasoned (garlic, thyme, parsley, basil) tomato sauce. 

Another long time family owned, quality restaurant which survived Covid-19. 

Grecian Cafe 9676 Campo Road Spring Valley 91977 (619) 464-0385 Open Mon-Sat 11-8, Sun 1-7 

 You can see the Santa Sophia Roman Catholic Church tower just East out the side window of the restaurant.  The Greek title, "Santa Sophia" (Holy Wisdom) is popular in Greek Orthodox churches and is rare for Catholic churches.

Eating to Beat the Heat - The Market at HFS, Zgara Greek Grill, and an Odd Craving

Man, was it hot this weekend or what? And even worse was the humidity!

It actually hit 96 in Bay Park! Crazy.....

So, I've been mainly surviving on cold tofu and salads! But of course this weather was perfect for some Poke. So, after hitting up the Little Italy Mercado, then Nijiya, I drove up to the Market at HFS to pick up some poke. I got there 15 minutes before opening and was the sixth person in line! I'm thinking that a lot of folks had the same idea.

I got the Shoyu Ahi and the Kimchi Ahi, also a Medium Bowl with brown rice, fish in a separate container. I'd be packing the Missus Her lunch and dropping it off at work for Her......and She has some specific requirements for the bowl.

All the Ahi products are now $25.99 a pound.

Anyway, here's what I got.

    The quality of the ahi wasn't quite as good as what I'd had on previous visits; with more "sugi" (connective tissue) than usual.

For some reason, I enjoyed the kimchi ahi...perhaps it was the spice and savory components, which was pretty good. It was quite refreshing served ice cold.

The Missus enjoyed Her "yoso-Eats" lunch delivery.

I'm guessing we'll be hitting up HFS a lot more during this heatwave.

The Market at HFS
6491 Weathers Place
San Diego, CA 92121

I'm so happy that Zgara Greek Grill reopened just over 2 years ago (as did the Market at HFS). It's fairly close by and a convenient stop. Eric looked happy and said business was good. 

  And I was happy, because my Pork Gyro was as good as ever.

It really hit the spot. Love the crisp edges on the hand made pork gyros.

Zgara Greek Grill
1229 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110

While I was waiting for my pork gyro I got the weirdest craving....so I walked over to Andres Latin Market......

And bought me an Inca Cola.......I mean really, I don't drink soda these days, and I'll have Inca Cola when we're in Peru. Not sure why I "just needed it" on this day!

But along with the pork gyro; that "bubble-gummy" sweetness really hit the spot.

Can you say "aaaahhhhhh"?

Andrés Latin Market
1249 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110

I hope everyone manages to keep cool and comfortable during this heatwave!

Elsa's Kitchen (again)(Greek and burgers)(SDSU area)

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy while Kirk and His Missus are catching up on missed vacationing. 

Yes, I wrote about Elsa's Kitchen in 2007 and again in 2011, The Mister and I have been there many times since and here's another post.  Elsa's survived Covid-19.  Located in a nondescript strip mall with a nice sized parking lot at the NorthEast corner of El Cajon and 73rd, next to the gas station,
 Elsa's Kitchen has been here since at least 2009.

You order and pay at the hole in the wall and soon your order will be ready.  

 The pastrami burger ($6.99)is hand shaped and char-broiled.  I *love* the char broiled flavor.  It's topped with a quality pastrami (not the pepper coated one; a regular smoked corned beef; the Liquor Store next door sells Boars Head deli meats and I think they get the pastrami there) and the usual toppings.  Hefty and very, very good.
 The bun is toasted, both on the top and inside, making for a non-soggy sandwich.
 The large greek salad ($10.99) is a great meal.  Plenty of gyros and very fresh  traditional Greek salad- romaine, tomato, onion, cucumber and Feta, served with a really nice dressing and tzatziki. 
 As always, a large order of onion rings ($3.99) was ordered.  I have mentioned before that all Greek restaurants make wonderful, from scratch, thick cut rings from sweet onions.  No exception here. 

Elsa's Kitchen Greek and American Food 7022 El Cajon Blvd (619) 464-6711 Mon-Sat 9-9, Sun 9-8. (on our last visit, there was a window sign that it would be closed on Saturday and Sunday, so maybe call to check)

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

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

Here's what I saw.

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

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

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

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

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

7951 Othello Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

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

8001 Othello Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

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

Palomino's #3 "Under New Management":

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

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

3860 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

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

Matador Mexican Grill Reopening:

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

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

5201 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92110

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

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

Good for them!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

A GyroGrill Price Check

Since "FOY" ST asked about this visit in the comments of my previous post; I thought I'd just go ahead and do this.

I'm sure that everyone who reading this blog in the US have noticed the rise in prices over the last two years.....it's hard not to notice. My dollar and I'm sure your dollar does not go as far these days as it used to, though in some cases (definitely not gas prices) the change might seem more subtle. Though in other cases it's quite obvious and perhaps a bit disturbing as well. As I mentioned in my previous post on GyroGrill, I was a bit shocked at how prices had risen since they opened back in October of 2020. 

Now, I'm not doing this post as a condemnation, nor am I in anyway angry at GG. I believe that they are trying, as many other businesses are to survive. But, for some reason the prices at GG just seem to be an indicator of rising prices for me. I'm sure we all have that "internal price gauge" for certain thigs.

So, just last week I headed over to see how things were at GyroGrill and to see if the sign for Tenkatori, which is opening in the same strip mall had gone up (it hasn't). I walked into GyroGrill to place my usual order for the Gyro Combo - this is the current price.

Whoa, it's now $14! To think that when GG opened in October of 2020, a mere nineteen months ago, the combo was a mere $7.99 To be perfectly honest, perhaps it was under priced. In August of 2021 it was $8.99, still a bargain in my mind. It October of 2021, a year after they opened, it was $10.99, a 27% increase in a year. When I visited in January of this year, it was $12.99 a 15% increase in three months. And now, less than three months later it's $14.......

The food; well it's pretty much the same.

   A bit less potatoes and I noticed no tzatziki included anymore; though that might have just been overlooked. The gyros were even drier, gummy, and lacking in seasoning than I recalled on my last visit. It was also barely warmed through.....as it had been pre-sliced and set out in a hotel pan. At least the potatoes were still crisp and crunchy and the pita was quite full of pork; albeit dry and kinda tough pork.

 Now, if the gyros here were as good as Zgara (I think their lunch Gyro special still hovers around ten bucks - but you gotta figure how location affects prices) I might be ok with that. But in my opinion it's not.

Like I said in the beginning, this is not a condemnation of GG; they are doing what they need to do to survive. It is, at least to me, an illustration of inflation and the economy. The Consumer Price Index for February rose by 7.9% over the last 12 months, the largest increase since January of 1982. I'm hoping the effects of all the disruptions and inflation start tailing down soon. 

And then it'll be interesting to see if places start actually lowering their prices.

Gyrogrill
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121

Tell me, has the increase in prices affected your eating/grocery shopping habits yet? And what is your "internal price gauge" item?