mmm-yoso!!!

From Winter to Summer in a Week! Revisits to Menya Ultra and The Market At HFS

Well, so far the first couple of weeks of the New Year has been quite hectic....not only work, but sadly, Frankie had a seizure on New Year's Day. He's doing fine now, eating, drinking, pooping....going on walks. He's been blind for a while and has dementia, but hanging in there. We've set-up sort of a "senior living" area for him, with an indoor/outdoor rug, several beds, indoor dog gates, and one of those indoor wifi cams with pet motioned detector, and such. He's doing as well as possible considering the circumstances.

And like I said, we take a couple of walks during each day and I'm surprised that there are places within two blocks of home that I had never discovered before.

And then of course; there's been the weather! From the mid-40's around New Year to record breaking highs in the 80's this past week.

Our eating definitely reflects that.

We started with our usual takeout from Menya, during the first week of January with temps dipping into the high 40's and low 50's; adding in a "ahem" snack for me, some Negipon; which the Missus also enjoyed.

I've gone thru "my drill" with the stay at home kit before; so I won't beat that dead horse. I will say that I used the leftover noodles to make a nice Japanese curry noodles for one of my lunches.

Menya Ultra Ramen
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
858-571-2010
Current Hours:
Mon - Thurs 1030am - 2pm, 4pm - 8pm
Fri - Sun   1030am - 8pm

And then this past week happened....man, I don't recall having the mercury hit the mid-80's where we live in January. So the Missus was wanted Her "fix" from HFS.

I had to work a couple of hours during the weekend anyway and then headed off at around 935, getting to HFS right before 10.....and there were already 3 parties ahead of me in line!

Regardless, things went quite quickly. I hadn't been here since winter hit.....now HFS has two registers and things go a bit faster.

The Missus got Her fix....though one of these days I'll go through "the drill"....as the Missus has Her poke "done" a certain way.

In my opinion, still the closest I can get to "home". Though "FOY" ChrisR, who is from Hilo told me things can be slim pickins' around closing time at HFS......which makes sense; we wouldn't go to our poke places near closing as all you going get is da leftova's….

Anyway, we're hoping you're hanging in there. My true hope is that we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

The Market At HFS
6491 Weathers Place
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 282-0591
Current Hours:
Daily 10am - 4pm

Take care and be safe!

Our Last Meal of 2020 - Sushi Tadokoro

It's an understatement to say that 2020 has been a difficult year; a year like none I've experienced in my lifetime and hope no one ever has to experience again. And yes, this year has been different; though I always try to be optimistic as we turn the page on each year....this one though, I can't wait to flip over.

Still, even though things are different, the Missus and I decided that we needed to at least celebrate the fact that we made it through.....so far...there's still a couple of hours left.

And so, we ordered our NYE takeout from Tadokoro a few days ahead, which turned out to be a good move since when I arrived to pick our food up; folks ordering takeout were out of luck.

Things were buzzing; but there were no shortcuts to be found on what we had for dinner.

It was a delicious meal, one which I hope is repeated many times in the future. Heck....maybe even next week? After all, we need to start 2021 on the right foot, correct?

Sushi Tadokoro
2244 San Diego Ave
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 297-0298

Anyway, thank you all so much for taking time out to read our humble little blog during these tough times. We wish everyone a safe, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

Take Care!

 

Kanazawa Curry Rice and Nagoya Teba To Go From Yakyudori

Over the last couple of months I've found that depending on the context and situation, certain words will bring on a sort of nostalgia....taking me back to certain places and times. I had been wanting to get dinner from Hinotez while it was open for takeout. But after outdoor dining shut down, Hinotez went into hibernation. One evening, when the Missus was working; doing a night shift to help out in the South Bay, I just went over to Yakyudori's website and found that they were doing takeout. And then I saw it...….Kanazawa, a city we enjoyed visiting, and of course Nagoya.....bringing back memories of having yakitori at the original Yakyudori and also Hinotez 2 there.

Well, I just had to place an order.

I placed an order for the "Kanazawa" Curry Rice and recalling how much I enjoyed the karaage curry version at Hinotez, got it that way. And also an order of Nagoya Teba as well. Things were ready when I arrived....I had been kinda leery of Yakyudori when they put the "tent" up for outside dining as it was closed on three sides, which for me is bad for ventilation. Now with outdoor dining shut down it was totally removed.

I unpacked upon reaching home and set about to devour dinner immediately.

This was quite promising as the curry was still hot and the karaage….well, I just had to try one, was crisp with decent savory tones....well marinated. It perfectly mirrored what I had when I did my Yakuyudori versus Taisho posts years ago.

I eagerly poured the very thick curry over the karaage and rice.

The curry was thick and beefy (a hallmark of Kanazawa style curry from what I understand), like a good ragu of sorts. While it could do with having a bit more spice for my taste, it was just like a wonderful hearty, beefy, curry gravy for the crunchy, salty-savory karaage. Every bit as good as what I had enjoyed at Hinotez in the past...perhaps even better; darker, richer....nearly teetering on "too much of a good thing" but I enjoyed it, especially after what I recently got from Zen Curry.

Sadly, the Nagoya Teba did not meet expectations. Even though it had held up pretty well on he drive home.

It was more crunchy than crisp; but was missing the distinct taste of black pepper, not enough sesame seeds, way too sweet; even with regards to Nagoya Teba.

But I really didn't mind, the curry was a winnah! And while we didn't have curry when we visited Kanazawa, we will be sure to try some when we get back there. And while those wings didn't deliver; heck, I was happy just to remember our trips to Nagoya and Kanazawa and all the great memories. And perhaps, for a moment, when dreaming of being able to travel again....there was a slight glimmer of light at the end of the pandemic tunnel.....one that I hope will be shining brightly soon.

Yakyudori
4898 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 268-2888
Current Hours:
Daily 1130am - 2pm, 430pm - 8pm

Shoyu Ramen To Go from HiroNori Craft Ramen

I usually really enjoy this time of the year......it's chilly (by San Diego standards) and I love my noodle soups. This year of course.....well, sucks. An acquaintance of mine has a relative who is an Optometrist, who told him this was "going to be his year".....after all, it was going to be 20-20, right? Well that one went down in flames I'll bet? Anyway, back to planet Earth here. I had to drop something off at work for the Missus and was wondering how things were going at HiroNori Craft Ramen. I'd really enjoyed my visits and checked their website to find that online ordering was supported. So, I went ahead and ordered the Shoyu Ramen.

After doing my duty, I headed over to Hillcrest.....I hadn't been in this area since last year! I found parking a couple of blocks away from the restaurant down Sixth Avenue and walked on over to HiroNori.

My order wasn't quite ready, so I waited outside. This was a week before the latest lockdown, so folks were eating at the outdoor tables and such.

For some reason, all the folks walking up and down the street and people eating and such made me kind of uncomfortable. I found a quiet area with good spacing from other humans.

A few minutes later; the really nice young lady walked my order to me and I was off. I had a rather uncomfortable moment......I'm not sure why folks don't social distance at traffic lights. They just all crowded around me....I ended moving to the point that I was halfway back to HiroNori. Needless to say; I couldn't get the heck out of Dodge fast enough.

I got home, cleaned up, and set about unpacking my ramen.

Unlike Menya Ultra, the noodle and toppings are combined together and was rather hard to separate. So I could pour boiling water over it to unclump. I just went ahead and got things into a bowl and then set the broth to a nice simmer.

I then poured the broth around the edges of the bowl and slowly worked to unclump the noodles. This worked fine. Also because it took a couple of minutes, it also warmed up the ajitama, which was nice.

The egg was excellent, cooked perfectly. The charred chashu was wonderfully flavored and tender. The menma added a wonderful crunch and the mild bitterness of the spinach gave the whole bowl a bit more complexity.

The shoyu broth had the same slightly velvety tongue feel that I enjoy; but it was much more salty than I recalled, which basically cancelled out any other flavors.

Those noodles had held up very well and had that wonderful, pleasant toothsomeness that I had enjoyed on previous visits.

Overall a very nice bowl; perhaps a bit on the salty side, but I did enjoy it overall. I really enjoyed the noodles as well. Still my second favorite ramen in San Diego.

HiroNori Craft Ramen
3803 5th Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 241-2856
Current Hours:
Open Daily 1130am - 8pm

Have a great and safe week everyone!

Takeout from EE Nami (again)

I can 't believe that I posted on EE Nami back in May and even did a revisit post. It just seems like so long ago.

I was craving  decent tonkatsu after the rather unsatisfactory version from Zen Curry. I hadn't revisited EE Nami since the end of May. I know they had opened the outdoor dining area; JeffP told me that he had enjoyed the Izakaya menu. Me, well.....call me gun shy; I'm still not ready for that. So, I decided to just order from the abbreviated takeout menu on my way home to check on Frankie. After all, it was Tonkatsu that I was after, right?

As before the whole process was painless; my food as waiting hen I arrived, less than five minutes later I was in my car headed home.

On my previous visits; I had enjoyed the Pork Loin Katsu more than the Filet, so I stuck with that. I added rice and miso soup to make it a "set".

The portion of rice and shredded cabbage seemed a bit more than on previous takeout visits. The miso soup was even weaker than before though. The pickles did a nice job of cutting of accenting the meal; making sure that the fried loveliness of the tonkatsu wasn't "too much of a good thing".

Of course, this was all about the katsu.....

And while it might have seemed like the pork had been fried a bit too much at first glance this was quite good. The breading wasn't separating from the moist, pleasantly toothsome, porky, loin. It was crisp, the panko fairly light, not greasy in the least bit. I've become used to the slightly sweeter katsu sauce over time...I guess it has grown on me.

It really did "scratch that itch"...….

Like I mentioned before; once we get pass all of this; I'm looking forward to trying all of their other dishes.

EE Nami
4706 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117
858-246-6903

Monday Meanderings - Sushi Hachi by Kimura Opening Dec 6th, Harland Brewing Coming to Morena, and Stehly Farms Morena is Closed

Funny, when it rains it pours; over the last week here are "stuffs" I saw while running errands and such.

Sushi Hachi by Kimura Opening Dec 6th:

While checking out Izakaya Sakura on Black Friday (they were closed), I noticed that Swab, ummmm Shabu World was being replaced by something called Sushi Hachi by Kimura.

I stopped and walked over. The sign said "Opening Soon" and taking a look at the menu gave me the impression that this is kind of fusiony sushi; with everything from Aburi Sushi, to various rolls, to nigiri....stuff like yuzu ceviche, truffle salmon carpaccio, tuna guacamole rolls, crispy rice......kinda interesting in a way.

And so, like I always say; "Google is my friend". I went ahead and did a quick Google search yesterday and found that Sushi Hachi is opening on December 6th. There's also a bio on Shuji Kimura, who owned and operated the SushiStop chain in LA. I'm guessing he probably sold the chain....you should look at SushiStop's menu....it looks reaaally familiar. Anyway, it seems that this is a family project that he's opening with his wife and three children.

3904 Convoy St #117
San Diego, CA 92111

Harland Brewing Coming to Morena:

I was actually told this by some friends and so I stopped by to take a look.

And yes, that's what the ABC notice says. This is in the fairly large spot that Benchmark Brewing was in for a hot second.

4112 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110

Stehly Farms Morena is Closed:

On a recent visit to Zgara Greek Grill, I peered over and saw the "Available for Leas" sign in the window of the space Stehly Farms Market used to occupy.

Bummer....I wasn't a regular, but I'd drop by every now and then when I wanted or needed some good quality produce. Sad to see them go.

1231 Morena Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92110

I'm hoping everyone is safe. Things are getting a bit hairy out there, please take care, be considerate, it's times like these where our caring, compassion, and humanity should come thru. I pretty much keep the Missus and my work and non-trip/food related items separate from this blog. And I'm thinking you might wonder why I try to "gently" remind folks to be safe and take reasonable care.

Well, to not give away too much; both the Missus and I have skin in the game. I've been in healthcare since 1984 and the Missus is on the frontlines of this. I keep that photo of the Missus on my phone, as one of my Zoom backgrounds, as a screen saver, it is never far from my mind and my heart.

The last thing I would want is for this insidious virus to harm her or you.

So please, stay safe!

Takeout from Zen Curry

Even though I was born and raised in Honolulu, I really do enjoy cooler weather....of course this is SoCal, so take that "cooler" weather comment with a grain of salt. I enjoy the hearty soups and dishes that come with this season; though this year, with the fear that Covid-19 outbreaks will worsen (the current data since we got back from our road trip agrees with this theory), has really dampened my enthusiasm.

Still, I had been craving some Japanese Curry for lunch. Since Hinotez is only doing dinner these days and Coco Ichibanya's opening delayed until next year according to Eater and "FOY" Elle. I decided to check on Zen Curry, since it had had been a while since my last visit.

There was an item on the online menu that caught my eye; the "Ono Combo" ($15.50) which included a fried egg and the item I thought Zen did best; the Spam® Katsu. I ordered online and picked up my order; which was on a table inside the restaurant when I arrived....no human contact at all. 

Things came packed quite neatly.

I also ordered a side of Rakkyo (50 cents), since I thought correctly, that it would help to cut the spice and richness.

It took me less than 15 minutes to get home; everything was still hot; but I decided to heat up the curry a bit more, before combining things.

Things were pretty much the same in terms of flavors and how the items were prepped and served. The texture of the curry on the pasty side; what I now called "roux-inned"....pun intended. I got it at heat level five and it delivered. The curry was ever so lightly beefy. If not for the texture; this would be a decent curry.

The egg was sadly overcooked.

As with my previous experience with the tonkatsu; it was tasteless and tough. The Spam Katsu seemed a bit over fried, the breading a bit too hard, edging on bitter. Still, it was the best thing on the plate.

It's too bad....I had thought that perhaps Zen was still going thru their soft/grand opening period when I visited; but it looks like what I'd had before is the status quo.

Kind of a bummer, because I really want to support these small businesses. I'm sure I'll return some time in the future....just not for a while.

Zen Curry
7309 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Sun - Wed   11am - 8pm
Thurs - Sat 11am - 9pm

Negi Pon from Menya Ultra

In the comments of my most recent post on Karami Ramen, superstar "FOY" (friend of yoso) Junichi mentioned the Negi Pon form Menya Ultra. And while Junichi said it wasn't quite as good as Tori Nanban, I was intrigued. The Missus recently requested the Ramen Kit from Menya Ultra; so I thought I'd give it a try. I had always thought the marinade for the Karaage at Menya was pretty good; though in terms of texture it often wasn't crisp enough and was sometimes a bit on the tough side. Still, scallions, ponzu oil, and mayo? Since we'd be having the ramen for dinner; I thought what the heck and ordered the five piece Negi Pon ($6.95) to have for lunch.

I wasn't sure how it would hold up on the drive home; but it did quite well.

I didn't expect it to be particularly crisp; but it was not bad; the savory-saltiness of the marinade used for the karaage was nicely balanced out by the acidity and mild pungency of the scallion. The mayo added a rich-creaminess which might be a bit much for folks. The chunks of chicken were fairly generous and after a while all that mayo might have been a bit too much of a good thing for me.

It did help that I ate it with some kyuri and takana (mustard greens - which always remind me of my grandmother and mom who used to make the stuff); which really helped to balance the richness of the dish out.

While I still probably enjoy the Tori Nanban from Okan more; there's no way I'd do takeout with that. I'm not opposed to having this again; it's not bad at all.

Thanks for the recommendation Junichi!

Menya Ultra Ramen
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
858-571-2010
Hours:
Daily 11am - 2pm, 5pm - 8pm

Have a safe week everyone!

COMC - Visits "BC" (Before Covid) Cueva Bar, Ma's House, Hachi Ramen, and Submarine Crab

Well, welcome to March 225th. Who'd have thought 2020 would be like this? For my posts; I usually do multiple visits to a place....after all, everyone can have an off day.....even though it goes against my "fool me once shame on you....fool me twice shame on me" rule, I'm willing to take full responsibility for my poor judgement....though there are many paces where; perhaps we've had absolutely terrible food/service; or the food has been lackluster and the prices quite high....or something in between that'll be just a "one and done". It's pretty obvious in many cases just by the absence of a post on those places.

To be perfectly fair; after a certain period of time; like 6-9 months or so, I'd just as soon start things up all over again. And Covid-19 has just changed things. So here are a bunch of places that I fully intend on visiting again once we're past all this craziness....and I'll just "start the meter" from the beginning with a clean slate, hours, staff, menus, could all have changed, right? But, I thought you'd like to see the photos anyway.

Cueva Bar:

The Missus and I visited Cueva Bar last year and fully intended of returning in a couple of months, before the pandemic struck. We weren't particularly struck by the food; we enjoyed the Choripapas the most. The flatbread would have been pretty good, but there just wasn't enough Chorizo on the "Norteno" to really make an impact on our palate. I gotta say; really pretty presentations though.

I still need to try the Empanadas.

Cueva Bar Café
2123 Adams Ave.
San Diego, CA 92116
Current Hours
Thur - Sat 4pm - 9pm

Ma's House:

Ma's created a bit of buzz when they opened last fall. I went with Calvin back in November. Even though I know folks who were really excited about Ma's opening.....we'd been to Ma's Islamic in Anaheim and were really not impressed. Perhaps having all those meals at the now defunct Tung Lai Shun (in the SGV) and other places in China has set the bar too high.

Both Calvin and I were underwhelmed.

The cumin lamb was terrible and the deep fried crispy duck was super hard and bland.

The one item that was quite good was the sesame bread. In fact, we brought the leftover bread back to the office (remember those days? When folks worked in an office?) and gave it to "YZ" who loved it.

So, while that gave me a reason to return; I just feel I need to eat in the restaurant and I'm just not ready to do that here. The Missus who tasted the leftovers will probably not be my eating companion here as well, so....I need to wait I guess.

Ma's House
5537 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

Hachi Ramen:

So....the curse of Hachi Ramen. I had visited a few times when the place was Artisan Bento. I actually used to have quite a few meetings up in the Hillcrest area. So in 2017 the place changed concepts and became Hachi Ramen. Like I mentioned in my Ramen Ryoma post, I'd had two aborted posts on Hachi (also mentioned in Waters Fine Foods post) , just because my visits were spaced a year apart.

So, in February, I decided to start over.....get things going.

And while the noodles were standard issue and the broth a bit on the overly salty side; this was not bad.

Then of course, we hit mid-March. And Hachi has been closed ever since.  Though I understand you can order some of the menu items from Azuki Sushi.

So, there are questions; will Hachi ever reopen....AND will the "fourth time be a charm"?

Hachi Ramen
2505 5th Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
Currently Closed Due to Covid-19

Submarine Crab:

So, this is an interesting one. Back at the end of February, I made multiple visits to Lotus Garden in City Heights. The young man working there; I believe his name is "Tu" is from Little Saigon and we had a couple of nice chats about Vietnamese food in San Diego. Surprisingly, he told me that he and his girlfriend will often visit Submarine Crab for the Banh Canh.

So, at the beginning of March, I grabbed Calvin and we drove over to Submarine Crab.

After looking over the menu a few times; I figured out that the Banh Canh was called "Udon" on the menu.

It was quite a thick/gooey as I like; but this was not bad at all.

The Beef Stew - bo kho, as a bit on the thin side, but not bad either.

We also had the chicken wings.

I understand that the "Seafood Udon" is currently on the takeout menu; but the Beef Stew is only available eat in.

I definitely need to return; but will wait for a bit, and will start things fresh.

Submarine Crab
4647 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 987-0333
Current (Covid-19) Hours:
Mon - Thurs 330pm - 9pm
Fri - Sun   12pm - 930pm

And lastly......I'm just adding these photos. We won't be returning here.

Hope everyone is safe and in good health! Have a great week!

Rei-men to go from Karami Ramen

Man.....this says it all for the past Sunday.

In Bay Park no less.....a 114 in El Cajon? What is going on? And with the Valley Fire raging away....all the evacuations and during the midst of a pandemic.....can we just turn the calendar over to 2021 now?

I needed to head out to Nijiya to do some grocery shopping, I decided to go ahead and continue trying take-out from all of the places in the strip mall. Next up....

Before you think I'd gone off the deep-end.....it was a 102 degrees on Convoy; Karami was doing their Reimen. Which I've had before. And though I left thinking it was quite mediocre, it seemed like a decent remedy for the heat on this day.

I placed my order, went shopping at Nijiya, and returned to find my stuff bagged and ready for pick-up.

Just for the heck of it; I ordered the karaage as well; which I though was fairly decent on a previous visit, In terms of packaging; well, the cheapo two part cardboard container had leaked so I lost some of the broth in the package.

At least things were nicely separated. First thing I did after getting the containers our of the saturated packaging was to put my thick ceramic ramen bowl in the freezer to help keep things chilled.

I had a taste of the karaage; which wasn't bad at all. I didn't expect it to be super crisp; and it wasn't. But it had a very nice savory-salty-mildly sweet flavor that I enjoyed. I really didn't need the sriracha mayo thing at all. I'm looking forward to having this again....when I'm ready to eat in.

As for the ramen...….

Not having to worry about a cold ajitama in the reimen works to Karami's benefit here. The egg was nicely marinated; if anything, the ajitama from Menya can be too salty at times. Loved the curly and nicely prepped noodles; which still had that nice chewy-crunch to it. For some reason, I really enjoy corn in my reimen (do you remember what one of the Gaijin customers at Ichiro's called it? I still have to stifle a laugh when I order this). But, much like the previous time I had this; the broth was super salty and had a weird tininess...….that; while I don't want to insult the place; tastes like mass-produced stuff. Bummer, because I'd enjoyed this much more than the last time I had it. But I just couldn't finish that broth.

Oh well.....at least I can look forward to having the karaage again when things get back to normal.

Karami Ramen
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
(858)430-6300
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri 1130am-3pm, 430pm - 9pm
Sat - Sun 1130am - 9pm

Speaking of things getting back to normal....so we now have the Valley Fire; which as of the last time I checked the news had burned over 17,000 acres and was under 5% contained. I took this photo of the sun from my driveway. Though it's not as bright red as what I took in 2007 during the Witch Fire; it still looks other-worldly.

To all our "FOYs" out there, we hope you are safe, in good health, and managed to keep cool during the record heat of this Labor Day weekend.

postscript:

With all the craziness that's going on these days; I thought I'd end with a Frankie pic. I was changing our beddings this weekend. As usual, I remove the sheets and such a pretty much leave them on the floor while I put on the new set. When I turned to grab the beddings for the washer; I noticed someone had made himself at home...…..

I don't recall F doing this before. It really cracked me up.

Have a safe and productive week!