Pozole & mushroom onion turnovers, and a pre-New Year's breakfast with friends

New Year's eve is upon us. I  wanted to do something different for a breakfast I hosted earlier this morning.

Yesterday I went to Mexican supermarket, El Super to get some meat...

"Get used to disappointment"

I saw an older twitpic from Jinxi that 'lette's was "Coming Soon". Hmmm....very exciting!

Then a few days, on Bert's FB, I saw that Ms. Lollypop had posted that 'lette's was open...

Well now...

Big Joy's remodel and finally...a cronut from Paris Baguette

We didn't want to drive too far for dessert, so Big Joy it was...

I haven't been here since Bert's birthday and I always like looking at their cakes...

Raki Squared 3x

Earlier today I had the pleasure of having lunch with CAB...

We met up at the Zion parking lot where everyone and their mother were shopping frantically for their New Year's Eve/Day groceries.

Then we went to the parking lot from hell...

Around North Park - another Bunny Kitty mural, Fatboy Corner Store Deli, that random store and more

The day after Christmas was pretty quiet over in this neighborhood...

Fresh from our breakfast at lil b's (our 2nd choice after Lucky's was closed for the holidays), we wandered around on University Ave and its' side streets...

Stuff from Zion & our dessert from PB

No matter where I go with Astroboi, we always have fun...

It didn't matter if we were at a mall, a park, a museum exhibit, a party, or whatever. We can always make each other laugh with our silliness. Of course, ethnic markets are just rife with opportunities for amusement....

Day after Xmas breakfast- Not Lucky's but lil b's...

After having read about this place from Kirk, Mary, and Dennis...

I totally wanted us to go here the day after Christmas...you know to just chill out and not be at the malls fighting hordes  of bargain hunters...

Star Bakery

Before leaving, TC and I noticed this bakery sign with the eight-rayed Philippine Sun on it...

I'd never heard of this bakery before, but apparently, they've been here for awhile (after having asked my parents later that day).  Again, curiosity brought us in...

Foodland, Chula Vista

Across the ways from Fred's is Foodland, which used to be this...the old Seafood City:

(photo taken on Super Bowl Sunday, 2011 from my Seafood City on Orange and Melrose now open!" post)

I haven't been in this building since Seafood City switched to it's new digs on Orange and Melrose.

I wanted to go inside for old time's sake and also out of curiosity...food nerd that I am. Markets in general, especially ethnic grocery stores fascinate me.

Noodle J-1 with Astroboi

Earlier this week, I met up with one of my favorite people, my childhood friend, Astroboi...

at the scene of our last outing, Zion Market. We thought we'd grab something at the food court then go food/snack shopping later on...

NEX - 32nd Street

The day after Christmas most folks head over to the shopping mall to get stock up on half price stuff like wrapping paper, Christmas candy, clothes, or whatever. Earlier this morning, Bert, TC and myself stayed clear out of the mall's way and hung out for breakfast and snacks in North Park (post will be forthcoming...eventually)...

That afternoon, my dad offered to take me and my SIL to the 32nd Navy Exchange (NEX)...

which I hadn't been in more than a decade.  My ID card expired ages ago when I was in college. My dad took me here before we bought our house so I could look at some furniture (which I didn't get).

As a family, going to the NEX on weekends was a ritual...

Fred's

[Update - Closed as of Summer 2015]

On the northeast corner of Palomar and Third is this old fashioned looking burger joint...

We see it all the time whenever we're at Gunco Ramen across the street and have always wondered about it...

Happy Xmas

I can't believe time has flown so quickly! Pretty soon it will be 2014, but first of all...

(as seen on the window of Peking Cafe Chop Suey restaurant in North Park, circa January 2013)

 "Merry Christmas" to all of you out there...

IB Sunset...

We wanted to do something different tonight...

and see a sunset for Christmas Eve...

in good ole IB which was only 20 minutes away...

Valerio's Tropical Bakeshop

This post is a combo of three separate visits over the past week and a half at the Seafood City in Chula Vista...

which houses a variety of other Filipino eateries and bakeries in their food court. Although Valerio's City Bakery in Otay Mesa is now gone, another Valerio's exists  at this Filipino food mecca...

The wall that never gets graffitied and the religious house

Remember my previous post on Our Lady of Guadalupe?

I mentioned a house in Otay Mesa whose wall never got graffitied? It was time for a visit for photographic proof...

La Bodega, San Ysidro

Before heading down to the San Ysidro Outlet, I took a detour on a street that ran parallel to the I-5...

I guess I never noticed the store before but something caught my eye as I sped past, then I recognized the name of the place...

Soup Three Ways

Bert has been sick for one week. He has a cough that just won't go away. To help combat his cold, we went out for some soup at Pho Convoy in Chula Vista...

This week we had soup at a couple of places plus some homemade Filipino comfort food...

The other Julian Pie Company, Santa Ysabel plus return to Don's Market

As we headed over to Santa Ysabel, we passed by several "apple themed" businesses like this inn...

along with apple stands and roadside markets. The orchards, unfortunately were already closed for the winter. We'll have to try our hand at apple picking next Fall.

We had one more stop before heading back home...

Trader Joe's Kouign Amann

Several weeks ago I got a text from Cathy from Mmm-Yoso that told me to get my @$$ over to Trader Joe's....like NOW! (Okay, she didn't write @$$ but the message was urgent)...that I had to get these...

which, as you can see, I did. Thrice...

I'd only heard about this pastry from several other food bloggers (posts linked at the end) and thought I'd give Trader Joe's version a try...

More Kinder Sorpresas at Neighbors

A few days ago, I was back in the old 'hood doing some errands after an appointment. This is the east end of Del Sol which is around the around the corner from Dennery Road (home of the Otay Mesa Walmart and AMC)...

See the bridge? That's the 805. The road never used to go beyond that. That's where my good ole' dad taught me how to drive eons ago. Until they built the Walmart in the area that we used to call "The Pits" (where BMX'ers and ATV'ers would go offroading), the road was a dead end. They had to extend the road so it could connect to the new shopping area and also to new housing that was built in the Pits.

Anyhew, I took the scenic route to get to San Ysidro because I wanted to see if I would get lucky again...

Tacos & Tarros

Mr. TJ, La Ley and myself recently had lunch at a relatively new (it's been there for about a year) tacos eater/sports bar located at the Otay Ranch Town Center (which is the mall)...

It's in the stand alone building which also houses Jersey Mike's Subsand Panda Express.There used to be a Starbucks and Cold Stone on the premises...La Ley had been here before but we, the non Latinos, had not. It was time to step in...

Return to Mattawa (another drive by)

Ya down with OPP?

"Yeah, you know me!"  - In this case, the OPP stands for the Ontario Provincial Police!

C and I had a larf whenever we passed by those yellow signs...

Canadian Tire

We were glad that the good Samaritan dude from Tim Hortons stopped us as we were backing out. He noticed the brakelight wasn't working and of course, that was quite worrisome for FarmerJohn.

He learned from the same man that there was a Canadian Tire store just down the highway. C was telling us, this is totally Canadian and that we had to go there!

Wynola Pizza Express

We didn't want to get stuck in Julian for lunch with the hordes of tourists, so we went to nearby Wynola (where other hordes of tourists were)...

to check out this supposed gourmet pizza place...

Seafood City, Manila Seafood Market, Mercado International and Moreliana

You know it's Christmas season at Seafood City when you see these:

Queso de bola (ball of cheese), or as my dad calls it, "bola bola"!

This is the cheapest I've seen it so far...Christmas is right around the corner and I'm sure my parents will be buying one for the family lunch. This wasn't all the cheese though...

A compilation of various photos (some Christmas related) and recipes...

Have any of you heard about this?

The Sriracha shortage? Better start buying them up...

We're good with our one bottle since Bert is the only one who really uses it...

December is more than halfway done and I'd been meaning to put up these pics earlier but now here they are, a hodge podge of stuff to unload...

The road back to Manitoulin - Tim Hortons at Deep River

With our breakfast of Montreal style bagels from Kettleman's fortifying us, we set off on the long road back to the Island.  We headed out of Ottawa in C and FJ's trusty minivan and headed west to Ontario...

where we passed miles and miles of farm land, forests, and...

bales of rolled up hay. For us SoCal's, it was quite the contrast from the sandy beaches, palm trees and the Pacific Ocean...

The trip back was quite lengthy but of course we had to make a pit stop...

Macs at Tap Tap

[Tap Tap now called VaniTea Cafe, as of late 2015]

TC recently had a piano recital and afterwards we had a little snack as a reward for her job well done...

I had a coupon I wanted to use as well (20% off your entire purchase, minimum $15 total)

I liked that many of the stores had their Christmas decorations out...TC and I like the happy boba mascot too. Yes, cute overload! This was also Bert's second visit here and he was curious to try their snacks...

Eastlake Tavern + Bowl

The same weekend as the Parol Festival was also an impromptu mini high school reunion at what the locals call "The Tavern"...

One of my childhood friends remarked during our 25 year reunion last year at the now defunct Eastlake Brewhouse that Class of '87 should meet up more often. Well, his idea was taken up by another buddy who organized this little meetup...

Parol Festival 2013

Once again, we attended the PASACAT Parol Festival held last Saturday, December the 7th at the Jacobs Center at Market Street Plaza.

I really like this venue. It's so beautiful, spacious and the folks working here are so very nice.

The Jacobs center's full name is the Joe & Vi Jacobs Center (they are seen in the photo montage in the background)  which serves this needy community and provides support for the arts and serves as a meeting place for cultural and community organizations.

This weekend happened to be a very rainy one but despite the rain throughout the day, people came and filled up the hall, which was very nice to see...

Tamales and champurrado

Kirk's recent post on a "hidden" birria place made me curious. We pass by this place every weekend. In fact, the building that houses Fernandez Restaurant and Catering is justbeyond this gas station on the corner of Hollister and Coronado Ave (near the I-5 ramp)...

It's that brown building but located at the far right corner. I couldn't get a decent shot since the car was moving (I was the PASSENGER in case you're wondering)...but we did see a long-ASS line of people!!!

So that birria tasting will have to wait til another time since their business days and hours are limited...recently after church, we've been seeing signs like this:

which made us kind of hungry...

Jersey Mike's Subs, Otay Ranch Town Center

With a coupon in my pocket and a long ass list of things to do, I thought I'd use it up since I was "in the area". Near the Otay Ranch mall there looks to be another development taking place near Birch Road and Eastlake Parkway. Another business center or mall? I'm not sure...

This last stop would be our dinner...

La Nueva Bakery

Aaaah, the corner of 47th and Market St...

where a new building has been constructed on the southwest corner...

across the street from Asia Cafe and Muang Lao Market...but also diagonal from another strip mall with a variety of businesses...

Charley's Famous Burgers

Now this was a place I've been wanted to go to forever. It was a beautiful and sunny not like the day before which was Black Friday. What a nice change up this was.

Before heading home from our errands that took us out to the La Mesa area (I had to stock up on my puff pastry squares from Vine Ripe), we made the trip out to Lemon Grove...

since it was on our way down...Bert's interest was piqued when I mentioned Charley's Famous Burgers. TC, of course, is always interested in burgers, except for the gourmet kind. No, these were nothing of the sort....

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Today is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (Virgen de Guadalupe), which venerates Mary, the mother of the big JC.

(image from wikipedia's entry on Our Lady of Guadalupe)

As a Filipino Catholic, I didn't really grow up knowing about this holy day. Our parents didn't really have any statues or images in our home growing up. However, I have many Mexican friends and the Virgin of Guadalupe (VOG) is very important to them. My good friend La Ley collects her images and even I have a small necklace with a tin frame of the VOG. In many Catholic churches (at least in the ones down here in Chula Vista), there is a separate wing with either a painting or a statue of the VOG.
I thought it would be cool to compile a post of all of the images of the Virgin I've taken over the past few years....

Donut Factory, the parklet at Caffe Calabria, another Bunny Kitty mural, and Yog-Art

We drove a few blocks north on 30th and reparked across from Sicilian Thing...

Across the ways are the La Boheme condos. The small white building is Santos Market, a tiny ethnic market in the heart of North Park. In this business corner is Donut Factory.

In 'n Out, Charley's & Fuddruckers

Health food this ain't!!!

A burger that Bert and I shared a few weeks ago...

Return to 30th Street Cafe

While shoppers were busy mercilessly mowing down competitors for $100 TV's or the latest Xboxes, we pondered our lunch choices...

Our tree was now festooned with a motley mix of Star Wars ornaments, Philippine capiz shell baubles, and TC's handmade ornaments from early grade school...

Up to North Park we went where we noticed the garland of Christmas lights already strung up on the University Ave. overpass. I was delighted because that stretch of the 805 would now be lit up bridge by bridge (it was also on the El Cajon and Adams Ave bridges)...

Bert was craving sandwiches so sandwiches it was!

European Cake Gallery

So with my barely working Garmin (the batteries were weak but barely working), we were able to find this place, the European Cake Gallery...

on Voltaire Street in Point Loma. I hadn't been here in years. In fact, the last time I was here was back in 1994 when Bert and I were still engaged and trying out different wedding cake vendors! A few of our friends had utilized European Cake Gallery for their wedding cakes.

For the record, we ended up choosing a different vendor for our cake which was made by a sweet little old lady who lived in the College Area. Back in the early to mid 90's, it was popular to have white chocolate shavings on your cakes. This place was a purveyor of that style of cake at the time. It looked pretty but I suppose it's kind of dated now.

Anyhow..let's go in shall we?