Category: San Diego County

San Diego County, Mira Mesa, Mary, Multiple Locations

the kebab shop / san diego, ca

It’s been awhile since I’ve been to the Kebab Shop. But I was recently invited to come in and try the menu again and I happily accepted.

I revisited the one in Mira Mesa and was happy to see they have expanded to include two new locations in Encinitas, CA and Little Italy. The Kebab Shop serves up the kind of food you’re used to seeing at Greek places, but slightly different. Their main item are their Doner Kebabs (sort of like a gyro, but wrapped in flatbread instead of pita bread), Shawarma (think sandwiches) and Shish Kebab. They also offer a variety of salads and plates of meats to round out their menu. I got a bunch of stuff to-go and take home for sharing.

[Cucumber Dill Salad, Greek Salad and Hummus]

The Cucumber Dill Salad was one of my favorite salad items here. I’m often afraid that the dill will be overpowering, but on this it had just the right amount – enough to taste the dill without the overkill. The cucumbers are completely peeled and have a nice crunch to them.

The Hummus (which came with pita bread, not shown) was a nice creamy and smooth consistently with a good bit of flavor. Salad is pretty much salad, but it was fresh and crisp and came with a tasty dill dressing (again, not overpowering, woo).

[Falafel]

I also got an order of freshly made Falafel – I’m not the biggest fan of falafel to begin with so I wasn’t totally digging on this one. They seemed to be a bit overcooked and dry. Or maybe I just don’t like falafel.

[Lamb Rotisserie Plate with Greek Salad and Saffron Rice]

This probably looks familiar! They have lamb on a spit that they shave off and serve as a plate with two sides. You get a yogurt based sauce with this (not quite like tzatziki sauce but similar – no cucumber detected in their sauce) and your choice of two sides. I added Greek salad and saffron rice to this.

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Cheap Eats, San Diego County, Mary, Rolando

carnitas las michoacanas / rolando – san diego, ca

One day I was hungry.

For carnitas.

I was at Jake’s and started looking on Yelp and found this one place called Carnitas Las Michoacanas. Carnitas was right in the name! It had like three reviews, all good. The place was also very, very close to Jake’s house. We had unknowingly passed it so many times without ever noticing it.

No more!

On our first visit, Jake, T and I sort of stood awkwardly outside the shop, watching people go up and get carnitas. There was this nice gentleman outside, rapidly chopping meat like nobody’s business.

[the carnitas man]

Everyone was speaking super fast Spanish and I just looked at Jake and said, “Uhhh, what do we do?”

He shrugged at me. He was being so helpful.

I tried to get him to go up there but he shook his head and refused. My usually talkative boyfriend suddenly clammed up on me when facing native Spanish speakers.

Damn him.

I walked up and asked what was up. We found out you can buy carnitas by the pound, with all of the fixings. Then they gave us samples.

[three sample carnitas – just plain meat and fresh tortilla]

Well, one sample was all we needed to be convinced. We got a pound to go that first visit. We’ve visited since – they moved a few blocks down the road closer to La Mesa, pretty close to the Kroc Center.

We were again greeted with free sample tacos! Man, I love this place.

[their full menu with a bunch of other stuff I’ve never tried]

The carnitas are still sold the same way at $10.99lb. They had just run out when we stopped by so we had to wait for a bit. You can ask for a “mixture” of carnitas or get only belly meat. Your choice.

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San Diego County, Mira Mesa, Mary, Multiple Locations

new shrimp items at daphne’s california greek

Daphne’s has undergone a transformation, becoming Daphne’s California Greek last year and offering more and diverse items on their menu. One of their newest additions are their new shrimp items.

[Crispy Shrimp Pita Sandwich with two sides]

The crispy shrimp has been on the menu before, but never before in a pita sandwich. I got the Shrimp Gyro meal with two sides – greek salad and rice pilaf.

The shrimp itself was nicely done – crisp with a bit of herbs that are in the batter. It’s kind of unwieldily to eat a shrimp pita though, since the shrimp like to keep jumping ship and falling right out of the sandwich. While it was good, I’d still prefer to get the shrimp “on the side” and not eat it in a pita.

[Mango Shrimp Salad]

One of their other new items is the Mango Shrimp Salad. I went with the grilled shrimp this time and am happy to report that the grilled shrimp is quite tasty. They’re fairly good sized shrimp and the grilling gives the shrimp a nice, distinct flavor. I took them off the skewer to eat with my mango salad. The salad itself has hand-made mango salsa with a hint of smoky chipotle flavor, mixed greens and feta cheese with a balsamic hummus dressing.

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San Diego County, Mary, Little Italy, Downtown

dinner and a show at anthology / little italy – san diego, ca

I was recently invited to Anthology to try out their newest menu items by Chef Todd Allison. I’d always been interested in going to see a show at Anthology. This proved to be a stellar way to try out some new eats and to catch a show all in one.

Anthology is set up with three different levels – the main floor near the stage, a second level with just a few booths, and a top level. There’s also an upper level GA admission area with no view of the stage and monitors instead.

Laura and I arrived well in advance of the crowd and snagged some nice seats up front on the floor, near the stage. Getting there early was nice since we were able to chat and eat most of our food before the show began. The waiters are pretty good about letting you have your space when the show begins and only come by to check on you when necessary.

I had picked a date arbitrarily and we ended up seeing a band called the Robert Glasper Experiment – a mixture of jazz, soul and a little hip hop all thrown into the mix. I can honestly say it was like nothing else I had heard before with the mixtures of genres all rolled into one. It didn’t quite make me a new convert, but I enjoyed seeing them and experiencing something new. I’ll leave the music reviews to others.

[Sake Steamed Black Mussels – Ginger, Mint, Basil, Hearts of Palm]

We started off with these steamed black mussels, which our waiter told us were locally grown from Carlsbad. I had never had mussels before, but I was feeling adventurous – and I’m glad I was because I ended really liking these! The flavors of the ginger, mint and basil all showed through giving them a really deep and wonderful flavor. The mussels reminded me of oversized clams – similar texture with a nice, sweet flavor.

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San Diego County, Mary, Kearny Mesa

cafe hue / kearny mesa – san diego, ca

First things first. If you visit the blog on a regular basis, you’ll see a couple of minor tweaks. I’ve been wanting to redo the blog and rename it for awhile but didn’t really feel like actually having to hassle with it and move it, so I just did a few minor tweaks – oh, and gee, changed the name of the blog. No biggie. You like?

Onto the food!

Last week Jake and I were going to go Downtown to check out a new stand-up comic, but I ended up not being in the mood to traverse Downtown. Instead, we went to get dessert. Dessert makes me happy. Trying to park Downtown does not. Dessert wins!

Cafe Hue is a little cafe over on Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa. They have a few different offerings, including waffles, crepes, gelatos and coffees.

Jake, T and I sampled a the lot of them. We tried the taro, honeydew, nutella, green tea, and even the black sesame gelato. I didn’t like the green tea at all – I just don’t dig that flavor. The sesame was really surprising – it tasted exactly like roasted sesame seeds, but creamy. It kind of freaked me out a little.

Also, trying honeydew RIGHT AFTER sesame is a bad idea. Ugh.

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Banker's Hill, San Diego County, Mary

bankers hill restaurant / banker’s hill – san diego, ca

Bankers Hill Restaurant has been on my “to-visit” list for quite some time. Ever since I took a pie making class last fall with Rachel Cayhill, the pastry chef there, I’ve been wanting to indulge in her desserts again. I was finally able to come in for a visit with a few friends (Laura and Heather) in tow to check out Bankers Hill for happy hour!

I totally drove right by the first time. It sort of looked like any old building as I was driving by, but that’s not really the case. There are multiple crazy doors you can open in the front and the whole restaurant has a bit of an industrial feel to it. I dug it.

I came in early and snagged this table in the back, near the bar and this fun table with this awesome wine glass chandelier thing. The decor was very simply stated and I really enjoyed it.

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Mary, Downtown, San Diego County

roy’s restaurant / downtown – san diego, ca

I sometimes wonder how I get invited to certain things.

I was recently invited to come to Roy’s Restaurant for a media event with wedding professionals. I don’t do wedding stuff (anymore, I used to write for San Diego Wedding Insider) and I’m not a planner or anything. But, I’m not one to turn out the prospect of trying new things. I dragged Jake with me and warned him beforehand about it, but there was no worrying needed. There was a nice bit of food laid out, a dessert table, and hot appetizers were floated around the room. They also had some pretty tables set up with potential wedding decor as a sample of what they could do. And I have to say that hosting a wedding or reception here would be great just for the view alone. Check it out below!

This was the first thing I saw. A table filled with CHEESE.

I smiled gleefully at Jake. I’m pretty sure he rolled his eyes at me. I’m such a sucker for cheese.

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San Diego County, Mary, Downtown

monkey paw pub & brewery / downtown – san diego, ca

I’d driven by and seen the Monkey Paw a few times when Jake and I have headed Downtown for something. It’s right on the corner when you get off the freeway from the 94. It used to be a sketchy looking dive bar but it’s been cleaned up a bit and been given a way cooler sounding now. The Monkey Paw just sounds like a place I’d like to visit.

[Peek of the interior]

Pretty simple setup. Menus are available tableside and the bar is up in the front for drink ordering. Jake and I visited about noon on a Saturday and no one else was in the place, so the bartender gave us tableside service and let us know where we could order food for munching on (a little window in the back of the bar was where you ordered).

There’s another handy wall menu near the back in case you forget your order. Not quite the full menu, but close!

[Beer Candy Naked Wings – 1lb. – $9]

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