Boll Weevil

Last weekend before going to Oasis, we had lunch at Boll Weevil located in the strip mall right off the 5 and Palm freeway exit. This strip mall is called Southland Plaza and there used to be a Mervyn's (now gone), Clothestime (OMFG - so 80's! That too was gone a looong time ago; now it's a military recruiting station), Miller's Outpost (also defunct as well), and Wherehouse Records (my sis used to work there; our friends would also give us "free" rentals or save the good movies for us). There is a Vons and CVS, as well as a Carrow's and on the other side, a big Home Depot. One weekend, you can see a lot of day laborers. Pho Anh is also here (blogged about back in February last year and again later that month) and the Mexican place next to it, Las Playitas, is now a Cotija's taco shop (.99 potato tacos baby!).

Back in the late 70's, this whole area was a farm. I remember going here with my mom and siblings and we would pick tomatoes. There was a set fee and you could pick as much tomatoes as you could carry. Southland Plaza was built in the early 80's and I remember going school clothes shopping at Mervyn's in junior high with my mom. For us, this place was closer than going all the way to Plaza Bonita.

Now I don't know about you guys, but I have NEVER eaten at Boll Weevils (same with Del Taco, and Arby's). Since I had a coupon, we figured we'd use it before it expired. Hmmm, Broaster Chicken?

We got to seat ourselves...it wasn't crowded just yet.

Menu:

It was pretty large in here. This is just one side of the restaurant. There's a also a section that had two pool tables. We sat in a booth near a window and also to make sure no one was going to steal our car. Just kidding, this place isn't that ghetto.

Mmmm.onion rings! And ooh, "Frings" - French Fries and Onion Rings combined in a big, shiny, happy, fried lovefest...

The coupon was "buy one lunch entree and get one free". So for our first item, Bert and I planned to share the Mushroom cheesburger (1/3 lb)....Check out the "I.B. on Fire Cheeseburger" - it has jalapenos and habanero peppers with pepper jack cheese! Oooh.....that'll do some internal damage!

and this, the Buffalo Chicken Salad (description below). And since we "saved" moolah on one entree, we got a side order of onion rings (we'll try the Frings next time) and got TC something from the kids' menu.

Every table has a tray chock full of condiments and sides (pickled peppers, sliced red onion rings, pickles, ketchup, some sort of mayo-spread thing, and mustard):

If we didn't get the salad (ordered so we could have something "green"), I could have eaten one of these one my own. Check out the mushrooms and melted swiss cheese on this!  Also, our waitress was really cool and made sure our burgers were already cut in half for us...

That patty was one of the best I've had in awhile...nice and juicy (they were done about medium).  This burger was so good and I was kind of regretting getting the salad now because eating only one half was like a tease.

Here was the Buffalo chicken salad with the ranch dressing and (gross) blue cheese on the side. TC also enjoyed the salad, but not the chicken pieces because she thought they were too spicy. Well for me and Bert, they weren't and like the rest of the food, was gone by the end of lunch.

The salad also came with a side of garlic bread - My only gripe was that the "garlic" was a layer of garlic powder with melted cheese and broiled on top of the bread (looked like an egg based bread). The topping peeled off nicely like a crusty scab, but of course it tasted much much better (not  that I've ever tried eating a scab okay?).  I ended up eating the scabrous topping and the crusty edges.

Here's TC mini cheeseburger with fries...it wasn't miniscule like the version she had at Burger Lounge earlier this year (cough*overhyped*cough). It wasn't as huge as an adult version either. According to her, it was just right.

And our onion rings....while these were all right, I would have preferred that the batter not be as "smooth". I like onion rings with the bread crumb type crust instead, like the kind at Burger King or that frozen shit you buy at the grocery store.

TC made ketchup eyes on her onion ring and insisted that I take a picture of her creation...

So, that was our first visit to Boll Weevil and hopefully we'll have other opportunities to come by and try their other burgers like the Avocado burger and the Three Cheese burger (not sure about the I.B. on Fire one though!)...

Victoria's Taco Shop

Today we ate at Victoria's, on the corner of Coronado Ave and Saturn Blvd. It's right across the street from the strip mall that has Oasis Ice Cream Parlor. We pass this every week and I love the sign on the corner. In a previous post, I noted their "Pototoes and Eggs" Breakfast burrito. I didn't try that today, but I'm thinking about it...

As you turn the corner...you go up a really steep driveway. Hopefully no one is coming in from the other way. There's only room for one car lane!

Bert had his eye on the window special while I admired the fonts...

The sign outside...

I placed our orders while TC grabbed a table. It's not that big in here - seats maybe 20 - 25 people...but it's low key and casual.

More specials:

Their menu:

and here's the other side:

I got the #3 combo for TC - 2 Cheese Enchiladas with rice and beans ($6.50)...with the ulterior motive of "helping" her finish since we knew she couldn't eat all that. I'm not too big on enchiladas, but she seemed to like it a lot.

I also ordered a small jamaica (hibiscus flower) drink. You can also see my small plate of sliced radishes with one lime...

Bert got the Barbacoa tacos special ($5.35).He was expecting the meat to be spicy, like the kind we had at El Ranchero last week. These were kind of mild but man, the chunks of meat were really nice and buttery soft!

Here it is with sauce...

Since I knew I was going to be having some of TC's beans and rice, I just had two Potato tacos ($1.85 each). There are mashed potatoes that are deep fried in a corn tortilla shells and filled with cheese, thinly sliced lettuce and topped with more cheese. Now, I've had the potato tacos at Cotija's (.99) as well as the ones at Los Alazanes (when they were $1.50 but they've raised it to $2.50, WTFF!!!!!), and these were about as good as Cotijas. The ones from Alazanes were really bland and at $2.50 each now, waay overpriced. These 2 potato tacos alone were pretty filling too.

Next time, I want to try that barbacoa!

Canada Day 5 - Canadian Breakfast

[Marathon post alert - Please scroll down for the latest 4 posts...thank you]

Before going out all over the island today, C made breakfast for everyone...This was Canadian bacon, not that pink ham shit, but real bacon with nice fatty edges. The maple syrup in the container is homemade from C's sugar maple trees. It takes a lonnnnnnngass time to make your own maple syrup - imagine boiling down 50 parts of syrup to make 1 part.

Nice and hot pancakes...just waiting to be bathed in syrup...

I think E and TCS helped out C by slicing the cheese and tomatoes. C also made eggs...

Here's another look at that bacon...

Thank you Wilbur and Babe! You tasted great!

Off we go!

G.& S. Sullivan's "Iolanthe" at the Burns Wharf Theatre in Manitowaning

Hey, hey, hey! (say that like Dwane from "What's Happening")

The Canadian posts are back (temporarility). So where did we leave off?  Oh yes, we just arrived on the island and had dinner at C's place. The meat for the burgers came from their cattle farm. It was a bit of a whirlwind because once we arrived, we barely had time to settle down. That was fine with me because I got to meet C's friends: her university friend S (of the blog Your Shenanigans Will Not Be Tolerated), his lovely and expectant wife E, as well as a college student (whom hereafter will be known as TCS, "the college student") who was staying there for the summer. I also got to meet C's parents who live just down the road, next to the Garden's Gate Restaurant. Tonight was also a performance night for C; she'd been practicing like mad along with the other island folk for this play:

The photo of the playbill was actually taken at the ferry visitor's center in Tobermory. Bert saw it and said, "Isn't this the play we're going to see?" and yes it was. I don't know too much about musicals since I'm not really into them, but here's a little info about Iolanthe by Gilbert and Sullivan.

(excerpted from wikipedia's entry on "Iolanthe"):
"Iolanthe, or The Peer and the Peri, is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert...


The story concerns a band of immortal fairies who find themselves at odds with the House of Peers. The opera satirises many aspects of British government and law."

That's it in a very small nutshell. It's too damn long to explain. But basically these Iolanthe, a fairy falls in love with a mortal. The fairy queen isn't too happy and forces her to leave her mortal husband instead of being put to death. It is illegal for fairies to "consort" with humans. Twenty five years later, the fairy queen lifts her punishment on Iolanthe. You find out that Iolanthe has a son who is half-fairy and half-human. I guess those fairies slutted around eh. Fast forward to the end, and you find out that she herself gets a human boyfriend while the other fairies pair up with humans too. There's more stuff related to British government and some sly sexual innuendos here and there. Trust me, it was quite funny!

Sorry for the terrible description C but I tried to make it as succint as possible.

And because almost everything in the world can be related to a Simpsons episode, in the now classic "Cape Feare" episode where Sideshow Bob (brilliantly voiced by Kelsey Grammer) goes rogue and captures and nearly kills Bart, there is a Gilbert and Sullivan reference. Before he is about to kill Bart, he asks if there are any last requests. Bart wants him to sing the entire score to Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore" to kill time".

Sideshow Bob to Bart: "I shall take you to heaven...before I bring you to HELL!"

It's hilarious! On another note, Bert and I enjoyed watching the "Cape Feare" episode in French while on our honeymoon in Tahiti. The episode, by then was nearly 2 years old (original air date was October7, 1993).  Inexplicably though, French Polynesian TV had reruns of the gawdawful show "Small Wonder" (the show about the girl who was alien or robot and she lived with a regular human family - she wore ponytails and a red dress and spoke in a monotone)! WTF!!!

The play was in the small town of Manitowaning at the Burnside Wharf Theatre.

We rode in C's parents' minivan...the building in which the play was to be performed was once a mill.

It's right next to the S.S. Norisle.

(from wikipedia's entry on "SS Norisle"):

"The SS Norisle was a Canadian steam-powered automobile ferry that sailed the route between Tobermory and South-Baymouth Manitoulin Island alongside her sister ships, the MS Norgoma and the MS Normac, owned by the Owen Sound Transportation Company Limited.


The name "Norisle" is derived from "Nor", a contraction of the Northern Region of Lake Huron, and "Isle", referring to Manitoulin Island.

The Norisle is now permanently berthed at the Assiginack Museum Complex on Manitoulin Island as a museum ship for tourists to explore. For the last few years it has also served as a training ground for Canadian Naval Cadets.


In recent years, the Norisle has fallen into a state of disrepair. The ship was slowly sinking due to rainwater entering through her engine room vents and the main smokestack. This has since been stopped by placing tarps over them. City leaders planned on having it towed to deep water and sunk as a dive site, however these plans have been halted because a support group for the Norisle has been recently formed..."

The ship was built in 1946 and retired in 1974.

This ship and neighboring buildings are part of the Manitowaning Cultural Complex. Manitowaning is part of the township of Assiginack (2006 population 914).

(from wikipedia's entry on "Manitowaning, Ontario"):


"Manitowaning... was founded in 1836 as a centre of the island's Aboriginal education.

Manitowaning Bay is an excellent natural harbour, the community has a marina with good docking facilities. From its early history, Manitowaning was a regular port of call for schooners and steamboats from many points on the Great Lakes. Manitowaning was the first and last scheduled stop on Manitoulin Island, for the ships of the Owen Sound Transportation Company Limited. The old steamboat wharf is now part of the community's Museum Heritage Complex, home of the SS Norisle."

I didn't take any photos during the play since that would have been kind of rude and distracting. I thought C did a great job! She sang and danced along with the other fairies. The play was also quite funny; even TC understood the humor. The only other "Asian" people there besides us, C's parents (her dad is Chinese from Trinidad/Tobago, her mom is Filipina) was a little girl who played a fairy in the play. She was adopted from China and was really cute as she introduced each act.

C had a lot of plans for us the next day. Everyone mentioned earlier (except her parents, of course) was staying at C's house! And guess what, there was only one bathroom! My greatest fear come to life. I was afraid that I would mess up her toilet! Seriously...hey, I'm just sayin'!

Los Primos & Melt

I've been trying to get these posts out before Bert leaves on his trip. He's taking the laptop with him and I hate using the upstairs computer. I may end up going cold turkey for five days! I really can't check my blogs (or others) at work!!! Ha ha...

This past summer we went out to eat quite a bit. Some of the places involved the use of a coupon, such as this place, Los Primos in Eastlake Village Walk. Although I've been to Los Primos several times, I think I only blogged it once, behold, the original post from August 2009 here! The coupon was buy one combo and get one free. Sounds good...This was the rolled taco and taco combo with beans and rice....


TC had a chicken taco with a beef enchilada combo...We knew she wouldn't be able to finish this on her own, so we helped her. The combos ranged in price from $7 - $9. I think this one was $7. So we saved a bit. Divided by 3 people, this was a pretty filling (and cheap) meal!

Outside, there are  a few ponds filled with turtles...

Arent' they cute?


as well as koi...so many different colors too!



After our Mexican food jaunt, we headed over to the Otay Ranch Town Center to get gelato at Melt. After having been there recently with TORC, I wanted to go again. Also, I wanted to say hello to the nice guy who was working there. This was TC's strawberry sorbet...

He remembered me and said he was glad I came back. He gave my daughter a tiny bit more for her sorbet! Bert and I shared the Chocolate Hazelnut gelato.

You can never have enough gelato!

Chula Vista Nature Center

After Zorba's, we headed over to the Chula Vista Nature Center. I'd heard rumors that they were going to close, budget cuts, crappy economy, etc...Turns out they are still open. But at a price. As mentioned previously, they raised their admissions prices big time. It's still a nice place to visit and bring your kid(s). And even if you don't have a kid, but you like nature and shit, this is a cool place to go...

Leopard shark:

Some sort of shrimp - There's Bert looking at it wishing he could throw that thing on the barbie! Mmm, meaty!

Sea slug:

Some sort of snake (forgot what kind). If I spoke Parselmouth like Harry Potter, I'd release this snake and make him go after my enemies. But I don't have any enemies. At least that I know of...heh heh.

Big old hairy tarantula

I thought these were pretty cacti:

Ooh, here's a closeup of the flowers:

Sting rays (with stingers removed; the inhumanity!):

One of the workers feeding the sharks and fish. He later went to the stingray pool and fed those too. Feeding time is 3 pm.

He had quite the audience - enthralled little kids and their parents watching as he threw chunks of fish into the tank...

Here's something you don't see everyday. These were previously frozen dead rats (or large mice?); they are used to feed the birds of prey, which is a separate exhibit.

Awww, look at their little tails! Look at the blood seeping out of its nose. We were lucky enough to watch this "feeding".

Here's a bald eagle ripping one of those mice apart. It tore off the skin neatly and started crunching the bones. Niiiice!

A long time ago before we got married, Bert worked for a company where one of the perks was a behind the scenes VIP tour of the San Diego Zoo. We got to see the zookeepers feed the animals and we learned that the mice were frozen and thawed out before feeding them to the vultures or whatever else eats mice. We saw the freezers filled with zip lock bags stuffed with frozen mice. I was the only one taking photos of that.  People were looking at me disapprovingly as if it was sacrilegious to be taking photos of dead animals. I didn't care - fk those tightasses!  As you can see, my habit's haven't changed!