mmm-yoso!!!

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!

Revisits - Chung Hing, Chicago Fire Grill, and Tenkatori

So, what would you consider a decent price for lunch close to work that's not a sandwich these days? Maybe under $14? Yeeesh, I never thought I'd ever be typing that. So, since we've gotten back from our trip, I thought about a couple of places......GyroGrill came to mind, but then I recalled that the "Gyro Combo" was $15 bucks when I last visited back in May.

After thinking over things a bit I came up with three places last week and I tried them all in a row. So here goes.

Chung Hing:

I'm not sure why Chung Hing came to mind. I'm not a fan of Chinese fast food, but I drive past the place quite often. Last time I visited; a whole 16 years ago a plate at Chung Hing was barely over five bucks! I was wondering how things were now, so what the heck.....

Chung Hing opens at 1030 and I got there at around 1045. Walking up to the shop, I noticed that "combination plates" are now $10.75, which in terms of the area is dirt cheap.

The woman working was all business. The only item I've found being close to edible here is the char siu; which is kinda their ahem, "claim to fame". So, I got the Chicken Wing - Char Siu plate with Fried Rice. They chopped the char siu fresh for me; I paid and was on my way.

    Yes, that's what the plate looked like. Man, those...in very loose quotes "won ton" were like a cardboard gau gee, time didn't do the wrapper any favors as it was quite chewy.

The fried rice was on the mushy side, but decent coated and on the salty side.

    The chicken wings were still a crisp-crunchy when I got back to the office, but had way too much MSG and had me gulping down water in no time at all.

The char siu is still the best item here, though I think it has slipped a bit over the years. It's now a bit leaner with many pieces on the chewier side. The pieces that aren't incinerated and bitter have a decent savory-sweet porkiness.

Well, at $10.75 these days I guess I got what I paid for? I have eaten at Panda Express in nearly two decades, how much do they charge now? And in that vein, we may have to wait another 16 years before I eat here again.

You can read about Soo's visit here and Mary's visit here.

Chung Hing
7160 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92121

Chicago Fire Grill:

Man, had it been a year-and-a-half since I last visited? I think part of the problem is all the crazy road construction in the area with ever changing traffic patterns. Still, it had been a while since I'd seen George, so I decided to return to Chicago Fire.

The Chicago Dog, which comes with fries is now $9, up a buck since my last visit; but still under ten bucks. The young lady working the register was quite nice and George was busy working the back. 

    It seems that I had a "shift" in the tomatoes on the drive back to the office. I was just happy to have tomatoes on my dog which were MIA on my last visit. The fries, which were crisp on my last two visits, were soggy and dry this time around; though I kinda liked the pieces that had celery salt on them.

Other than the roll being on the soggy side, it was pretty much status quo, snappy dog, sport peppers, neon green relish, and all......

Still, under ten bucks......

Chicago Fire Grill
8935 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122

Tenkatori:

Well, Tenkatori is an interesting one. I will usually order the Mix Bento Box. But never online. Just for kicks I went and checked how much it was online....$16.30! I will usually call, but this time I drove down and got there right at 1030.

So, would Tenkatori's Mix Bento make the $14 cut-off? 

Well, look at the price on the menu; $12.50. Can you believe a $3.80 upcharge just for ordering online, not even delivery? Sheesh.....

    All the chicken, both the karaage and the wings were nice and crisp and very moist; nicely seasoned, a hint of soy, but not overly salty. The best I've had from Tenkatori thus far.

The mashed potato was consistent with other visits; though a bit too cold for my taste.

The one item not good on this day was the rice. Holy cow, it was so mushy and sticky, like it hadn't finished steaming. Look at how it stuck to the piece of karaage in the photo above. Maybe I should have been like FOYs Derric and Junichi, just ordering a bunch of chicken and just forgo the starches.

Perhaps next time! I will say that Tenkatori seems to have really "hit their stride" at least with regards to the chicken.

Tenkatori Miramar
6780 Miramar Rd Suite 104
San Diego, CA 92121

When it comes right down to it. For a $1.75 more, I'll take Tenkatori over Chung Hing any day of the week......

The "O" from Daddy's Hot Dogs

I recently had an appointment in the Hillcrest area; a place that I haven't been to very often since "BC". I actually had thoughts about revisiting HiroNori as I'd last had takeout from the place at the end of 2020! Man, time is flying by! However, my appointment finished quite early and HiroNori doesn't open until 1130. I still needed to get some stuffs form Penzy's, so I headed on over. I spent a good amount of time there, but still finished up at 1030 I was kinda done and not super hungry. To I strolled around a bit and just headed across the street to Daddy's Hot Dogs. I thought I'd just bask in the nice winter sun, grab a dog and head home. I also noticed that the place was already open at 1045!

 I ended up ordering The "O", like I did on my previous visit. It's now $7, a buck more than on my last visit, which ain't too bad considering I've seen banh mi approaching nine bucks these days.

Soon enough, my dog was ready.

I moved over to one of the two portable tables, laid my elbows down, and set off to have the "O". And O-boy....this might have been the best dog I've had here.

This time the smoky salty bacon came thru quite well.

   The acidity of the tomato and the mild spice from the jalapeno, along with the creamy Russian Dressing supported the wonderful "meat in tubular form" that had been seared nicely. The bun was nice and fluffy.

And like I said on my previous post on Daddy's:

"I ate standing at one of the two outdoor tables, no one around me, elbows on the table, sun shining brightly down on me."

And yes, it might "just be a hot dog", but on this day:

"And for a moment, all seemed right in the world."

Daddy's Hot Dogs
1281 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103

Circling Back to Chicago Fire Grill

As I start circling back to all those "usual" places close to office before our last trip; I decided to start with Chicago Fire Grill. It had been a few months, so I decided to drop by.

Unfortunately, George wasn't there on this morning, so no pearls of wisdom on this day.

The Chicago Dog is priced at $8.......which these days is a bargain here in San Diego.

The portion of fries is about two-thirds the amount of before; but these days it's fried to a decent crispness.

The dog; is well, a Chicago Dog, a Vienna Beef dog with a decent "snap", there were three Sport Peppers this time....two were sneakily hidden, and of course the necessary fluorescent green relish....the slices of tomato, pickle wedge.....well, it had been appropriately "dragged thru the garden".

And these days I'm happy with that. Though I did miss George....so maybe next time.

Chicago Fire Grill
8935 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122

Revisits - Chicago Fire Grill and Gyrogrill

A couple of quick revisits.....

Chicago Fire Grill:

It had been a while since I last visited Chicago Fire Grill and I was wondering how the owner, George was doing. So, I decided to head on over.

Things weren't quite ready for "prime time" when I arrived and George was by himself.

I'm guessing those pandemic staffing issues have hit home here as well. On this day, I had time to wait........George had to get everything  started; but eventually I got my order....George wanted to give it to me...but heck no.......the Chicago Dog is a bargain these days at 8 bucks. Plus, I want to make sure he stays in business.

 Things weren't much different from my previous visits. Except that the fries were nice and crisp, which I really enjoyed.

While the price for this has gone up $2 over the last year....in terms of these days....well, what can you still get for $8 nowadays? I hope George hangs in there.

Chicago Fire Grill
8935 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri 11am - 9pm
Sat - Sun 12pm - 9pm

GyroGrill:

I had meetings scheduled thru the normal lunch hour; I was hungry and decided to head on over to GyroGrill which opens at 10am.

When I arrived a quick glance at the sign gave me pause:

The Gyro meal is now $12.99; back when they opened in October of 2020, it was $7.99, which honestly was a bargain. On my last visit, in October of 2021, it was $10.99, which I thought was reasonable. But now, three months later it was $12.99....wow, guess it's just a sign of the times.

I had though about heading back to the car and going somewhere else....but I needed to get back to the office, so I stuck it out. The fellow working was....and has always been very nice.

 If anything, like I've mentioned before, I do like the hand cut potatoes which are fried to order and are so crisp and crunchy.

As for the pork gyros....while I don't expect this to be on the level of Zgara, on this morning it was very disappointing. Even after being heated on the flat top, it was barely lukewarm, lacking moisture, bland, gummy in texture. I seemed to have been sitting in the hotel pan too long....but the place had just opened a few minutes before I arrived.

I do love those potatoes; so perhaps I need to change things up a bit here....though I'm not sure what prices will be like when I return.

Gyrogrill
6780 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri 10am - 630pm
Sat 10am - 530pm
Closed Sunday

Daddy's Hot Dogs Revisited

I needed to drop by Penzy's on a recent weekend and wanted something quick and simple for lunch. Of course, all I needed to do was look across the street to a familiar sight. 

 I hadn't realized that it has been nearly two years since I last visited.....well, that kinda makes sense since I haven't been in this area much since the pandemic started.

The two tables were bring rolled out as I headed across the street.

A quick glance at the menu surprised me. Unlike almost everywhere else during these times it seems that prices have not gone up.

I had thought about just getting a Chicago Dog; but I had really enjoyed the "O" on my previous visit, that I just decided to order that.

 And I enjoyed it. While I really couldn't make out the bacon much, the acidity of the tomatoes, along with just the right amount of Russian dressing, and a bit of spice from the jalapeno relish really delivered.

And, I'm not sure if it was my imagination; but that hot dog seemed so tender.....almost delicate, enrobed in a warm and soft bun.

 Perhaps the atmosphere elevated the meal.......I ate standing at one of the two outdoor tables, no one around me, elbows on the table, sun shining brightly down on me......there wasn't much traffic on University on this day. It all seemed so normal, something which hasn't been "the norm" since March of last year. And for a moment, all seemed right in the world.

Daddy's Hot Dogs
1281 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
Hours:
Tuesdays 11am - 230pm, 330pm - 7pm
Wed - Sat 11am - 10pm
Closed on Sunday and Monday

Saturday Stuffs - BBQ Chicken Returning to San Diego, Dogs & Aguas Coming to Linda Vista, and Other "Stuffs"

Just a couple of things for another warm Saturday.

BBQ Chicken Returning to San Diego - In the Former Ichiro Spot:

**** You can find a post on BB.Q Chicken here.

I saw a sign over the former location of Ichiro's which closed at the end of January after over 35 years. I drove on in and was somewhat surprised.......

Looks like BBQ Chicken is returning to San Diego. I'm sure some folks will be happy.....I hope they've improved the recipe a bit as I was not a big fan of the chicken; at least when they were open in San Diego.

4344 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Dogs & Aguas Coming to Linda Vista:

I saw this sign as I was driving past Linda Liquor the other day.

 Looks like something called "Dogs & Aguas" is coming soon. I'm assuming in the Linda Liquor shop?

I know our "FOY" Junichi lives in the area.....so perhaps he might know more?

6950 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111

And to my surprise:

Early in the week I made one of my regular visits to Nijiya. Walking toward the market, I stopped dead in my tracks. You see; this is what the storefront looked like.

Anything look out of place to you? I'm not sure why; but not having the "line-up" area, the distancing spots, the attendant, and all the other "Covid set-up" kind of threw me for a loop. Shows how much I'd gotten used to all the precautions. It felt kind of surreal in a way as I'd gotten used to that set-up....was this actually happening, or was it perhaps a mistake???

This is how it was.......

I will say, that most folks are still wearing masks when shopping and there still social distancing when going to the cashiers.

Nijiya Market
3860 Convoy St Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

It's been pretty warm out there and frankly, I'm kinda tired of cooking, so we've been keeping things pretty simple around here......

We hope everyone is doing well and having a wonderful weekend!

Takeout Revisit to Chicago Fire Grill

I can tell that the pandemic is raging on, just by the fact that I've already done Covid-19 takeout posts on Chicago Fire Grill and SuperNatural Sandwiches......and now I'm circling back! Anyway, here goes.

Chicago Fire Grill:

I had ben wondering how George was doing; so I decided to get some takeout from Chicago Fire Grill. I tried calling in my order, but no one picked up. After trying a few times, I naturally thought the worst, so I headed on over.

Well, I shouldn't have worried.....the place was busier than before the pandemic. The two tables outside were full, there were three people waiting for takeout....and to tell you the truth; I'm really not used seeing this many people in one place these days and felt kind of weird. Everyone was well spaced and those not eating were wearing masks.

As for George, he was obviously too busy for any words of wisdom on this day. So, I just got my Chicago Dog and headed out. I think this is kind of bargain at 6 bucks.

Over the last couple of visits, I was glad that they were back using poppy seed rolls....a good Chicago Dog should always be enrobed in one. Didn't care for the unwieldy wedge of tomato; it should have been thinner sliced and longer to cover more of the dog. No other complaints about the dog, which had a decent snap, the radioactive green relish, a good amount of onions. Though when it comes to it; I could have used more celery salt this time around.

A pretty good deal for six bucks these days....I mean, you can barely get an order of siu mai for that price nowadays, right?

Chicago Fire Grill
8935 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122
Phone number
(858) 622-0224
Open Daily 11am - 9pm

Eating (and drinking) in the Time of Covid-19 - Chicago Fire Grill, Bay Park Fish, and Beer From Harland

How is everyone doing? Here are a couple of stuff-to-go and a couple of cold ones. I'm not going to go into the food much here....it's just not the time for that.

Chicago Fire Grill:

I went to grab a quick lunch for the few souls who are still in the office....plus I wanted to see what "words of wisdom", George, the owner had. Anyway, upon getting there, I ordered from the doorway....George asked me if I could hear him......I told him, "I could hear you from Orange County....."

We all had a zillion calls during the day and with all the self-quarantine, it actually felt good to get out for 20 minutes to grab lunch and scurry back to the office and yet another call.

George says that he'll hang in there; though he wasn't totally sure about the hours....he's trying to keep it going at least for lunch.

Chicago Fire Grill
8935 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122

Bay Park Fish Company:

During my short shopping stop at Seisel's, I saw this sign in front of Bay Park Fish.

And while BPF has kinda fallen from favor for us over the years; it along with Siesel's were the subject of one of my first posts back in 2005. So I went in and placed an order before I went to Siesel's. When I got out of Siesel's and walked over, my food was ready...….I decided not to take the 30% off and also tip a bit...….it's almost like my responsibility.

Got the shrimp torta and smoked fish stack.

Currently open from noon to 5pm for take-out.

Bay Park Fish Co.
4121 Ashton St.
San Diego, CA 92110

We've been trading food with Frankie's favorite auntie "Alle", who lives close by. One day, she had gone on a "beer run" to Harland and graciously gave some brews.

Here's the Harland Japanese Lager.

And something really special; the Harland MoMo Mochi IPA.

Nice, slightly fruity, mildly sweet, in the session IPA hoppiness scale....very nice Hazy IPA made with...well "Momo" (peaches) of course.

Thanks Alle!

Be safe everyone!

Revisits - (No sandwiches at) SuperNatural Sandwiches and Daddy's Hot Dogs

I guess this one might be a R(ecommendations) & R(equests) & R(evisits) post. Here are two recommendations that were made quite recently on various posts.

(No sandwiches at) SuperNatural Sandwiches:

In the comments section of my last post on SuperNatural Sandwiches, Loren mentioned the following:

"The Kirin is my go to Salad as well, honestly I love how those flavors are great for anyone doing the keto thing."
"Oh and if you haven't had their plain fries (not the triton or whatever) they may be the best in SD."

Which kind of got my attention, so when I had a chance I headed back to the Miramar location of Supernatural. And got the Kirin as a salad; which ended up being pretty huge.....

And pretty good to boot! I enjoyed this dressing more than the aioli that is used to top the sandwiches. It was a lot of greens; but mixed with the pickled veggies and cucumber and with bites of tender shrimp and sweet lup cheong in between, this was very good.

And yes Loren, those fries are really good. The potatoes have been lightly dusted, giving it a bit more of a crunch and the interior is nice and fluffy. The seasoning has enough salt and spice to keep things interesting......I only ate a few and spread the rest around the office and folks really enjoyed it.

So thanks Loren for giving me a few more options for lunchtime!

SuperNatural Sandwiches
7094 Miramar Rd. #122
San Diego, CA 92121

Daddy's Hot Dogs:

Meanwhile, in the comments section of my last post on Chicago Fire Grill; DerekR mentioned liking the Chicago Dogs at Daddy's Hot Dogs in Hillcrest. Which got me checking on when I did my post on Daddy's Hot Dogs....geeez, man it was 2011!

Would you believe it's been nearly eight years since that post! Eight years! Where has all that time gone?

After a recent meeting; I made it a point to find some parking and return to Daddy's. He was just rolling out the two "tables" and such when I arrived and chatted me up, just like I'd been there yesterday.

The menu has changed over time, there are still a few interesting options. I ordered two dogs to go and watched "daddy" make them in his very methodical manner; nothing is rushed and things take a bit of time here.

Which all comes out when you take a look at those hot dogs.

So, what did I think? Well, Daddy splits the dogs before griddling; though they still retain a good "snap". The buns are heated, but not steamed.....

The "Chicago Dog" is sorta, kinda, but not really a Chicago Dog; the pickled jalapenos are way hotter and less sweet than sport peppers. though it's a visual thing, I like the look of the fluorescent-radioactive green relish. The tomatoes were decently ripe which added to the pleasure; though the flavor of the dog is definitely different than the typical Vienna Beef dog that's used for a Chicago Dog. I appreciated the nice sprinkling of celery salt.

I also ordered the "O" and really enjoyed it. Russian dressing sounds a bit odd; but it went well with the diced tomatoes and slice of bacon......the flavor of the hot dog really complemented the rich mayo based dressing quite well and the griddled onions added some sweetness and depth of flavor to things.

I actually enjoyed this more than the Chicago Dog.....the folks in the office kept asking each other; "hey....what's that really good smell...."

Well, it was some pretty good hot dogs from Daddy's. I gotta get back more often,

Thanks for the recommendation DerekR!

Daddy's Hot Dogs
1281 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103