Coming soon...Ranch 99 in Chula Vista

As seen back in November 2016...

(former Vons on Telegraph Canyon Road near the 805)

This used to Vons, then it folded and became Haggens and we all know what a disaster Haggens was...

A first look at the new Aldi in Chula Vista (formerly the old Target)

A fews days ago, I got this coupon in the mail...

The back side indicates $10 off a purchase of $40 (really only 25% but still!)...

And since I was in the area...

decided to stop by for their "preview"/tour day....

Snacks from Harvest International Market

Yesterday I thought I would get some Christmas shopping done at an ethnic grocery store I hadn't yet been...Harvest International Market in Clairemont.


This used to be North Park Produce...

North Park Produce, Normal Heights

Before heading home after our craptastic coffee from Mission Hills Coffee Company...

we took the long way home and stopped by the NPP in Normal Heights (well south of it), which is on the corner of Wilson and El Cajon Blvd.

The return of random pix from October to December of LAST YEAR

Talk about cleaning out the memory card...

These photos date back from the last few months...of LAST YEAR!

D'oh!!!

Indian Food Crawl - Surati Farsan Mart, Akshar Cash & Carry, Bawarchi Dosa, Miramar Cash & Carry + even more flavors @ Kwality Ice Cream

It's been awhile since we tried Indian food...

This time TC and I were joined by a friend, his wife and daughter along with two other friends (a couple) for their first Indian food crawl...

Donuts 'n Coffee @ Nomad & Calabria + the Fresh & Easy in North Park

One of the last few days of Spring Break, Bert and I had a free morning...

while TC was a track practice...

Morning dates this past year have been pretty fun and since I saw on Instagram that Nomad was now offering vegan donuts, I was curious...

Dessert at 85C, shenanigans @ Zion + more pastries at Paris Baguette with Astroboi

I know you've seen trays like this umpteen times in my previous posts on 85C...

This was Astroboi's inaugural visit. He wanted to see what the hype was about...

Frost Me & free eggs from Bristol Farms

After our delicious lunch at Draft Republic, Kirbie and I ventured across the street over to the UTC mall...

I hadn't been here in awhile and I was curious to try a cupcake place she recommended...

Snacks from Santos Market

I'm kinda jumpin' around with posts again...after our interesting foray to the world of hipster coffee, TC and I headed back to our car...

but before doing so, made a quick stop at this little market...

Big Ben Specialty Market

This afternoon TC and I cruised on over to National City on a tip from reader Marla that Coffee Crisp candies were to be found here...

Hmmm...that and the news that Big Ben Market (which burned down last summer) has been rebuilt at the tune of nearly a million dollars and reborn as Big Ben Specialty Market...

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....

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...

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...

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...

Neighbors Supermarket

Before we left this stripmall, I felt compelled to check out this local market...

I'd never heard of Neighbors before and wanted to give it a quick looksee before heading home with our drinks and tostilocos snack...

Wholesome Choice

After our breakfast bites at Bon Epi, I thought we could check out a nearby donut place located in this stripmall on Culver Drive...

In retrospect, I didn't even notice that it had "Wholesome Choice" an international grocery store I'd been meaning to check out....

We actually had to go to Rite Aid first for some dramamine so that TC wouldn't get car sick...

Paris Baguette, Boba Bar & Cocohodo Walnut Pastry Cafe

If you couldn't tell by the title of the post, or by looking at the produce below,

we were in Zion Market, where napacabbage and giant white radishes are DIRT CHEAP! This is definitely not Ralph's or Albertson's yo!

TC, Bert and I had a fun time showing my sis around Zion; I quite liked seeing her fill up her basket with assorted goodies (she's a good cook)...

Happy Day of the Dead - Sugar skulls from Vallarta

Today was actually a pretty beautiful day...

It was quite fitting for my Ninang's sendoff as well as for the Day of the Dead (a Mexican tradition celebrated on October 31, November 1 and 2)...

The view from La Vista Cemetery atop the hill overlooking Plaza Bonita. As for the cross in the previous photo, you can see it from the 805 freeway.

After my Ninang's burial, my sister, TC and I headed out to look for sugar skulls while Bert went back to pick up food for the reception...