Tsuruhashi Japanese BBQ

Neighborhood:  Kearney Mesa, San Diego

Price: $$-$

Vibe: Small, casual and lively – make reservations. Japanese room dividers separate most of the tables for a little privacy. Can accommodate larger parties of 8-10 with beer towers to boot!

If you’ve read anything else in this blog, you’ll know that I’m kind of obsessed with Asian food.  There is so much to explore in this cuisine!  I promise I won’t stop until I’ve tried it all….at least that’s the goal.  Which brings me to my discovery of Japanese BBQ.  I’m sure that you’ve tried or at least heard of Korean BBQ. Where you are seated at a table with a mini grill in the middle where you cook and flip the meat yourself. A lot of Korean BBQ joints offer an “all-you-can-eat” menu, and while this is delicious, it can sometimes feel like quantity over quality. Japanese BBQ is not the all-you-can-eat type of fare.  You still order meats and cook it yourself, but as you can imagine when it comes to anything with Japanese, it’s meticulous.  The cuts of meat are perfect morsels - probably cut and defined for both the perfect cook and the perfect bite.  It’s an experience.  One that you must try at least once.

Tsuruhashi is in a little strip mall off Convoy Street in Kearney Mesa – where most of the authentic hole-in-the-wall gems are found in San Diego.  You’ll immediately be greeted by the warm buzzing atmosphere of the BBQs sizzling and the diners happily engrossed in conversation as you walk in the door.  The tables are all separated by large booths and wall-hangings, so you are able to stuff your face in privacy. 

The food options are many and there is really nothing that isn’t good – some of the more ethnic options (tongue, intestine, heart) are not for me, so this won’t be a review of those menu items. But we did try a lot of food and had a lot of fun cooking and eating it.

Our order:

Assorted Kimchi

Assorted Seasoned Vegetable

Waygu shortrib

Waygu sirloin

Prime Cap Rib Eye

Onion Prime Rib

Garlic in butter

Stone Pot Bibimbap

Assorted Kimchi and Assorted Vegetables

To start, I suggest getting the assorted seasoned vegetable and the assorted kimchi (if you like kimchi).  These are great appetizers – the assorted vegetable is unique and fun to try, featuring a small sampling of bean sprouts (LOVE), Royal Fern and spinach.  Try this.  The kimchi sampler is the same with 4 different types of kimchi made with different types of cabbage.  These are also great to eat with your meats as you BBQ!

Another side dish that is fabulous and goes well with the meats is the Stone Pot Bibimbap.  All vegetarian, this comes out in a sizzling stone pot.  I recommend letting the server stir and serve it up for you.  Lots of unique flavors and spice in this yummy side.

For BBQ, they were having a special on the Waygu – so we simply could not pass that up!  We don’t always go so bougie…well, that’s kind of a lie, we love to splurge at Food Club!

Waygu Short Rib

Onion Prime Rib

There really are no rules when it comes to how and when you want to BBQ.  What we like to do is cook each cut of meat at the same time.  The grill is not that big, so it’s not meant to smother with loads of meat. Take your time with Japanese BBQ and savor each bite, the meat deserves it.  Because the pieces are small, they do tend to cook fast, so keep an eye on your gill!  A couple of minutes on each side is all you need, typically.  I like to alternate between the dipping sauces as I enjoy what we pull off the grill.  All of the meats are fabulous and if you don’t feel like splurging on the Waygu (which is absolutely divine by the way), I highly recommend the Prime Rib!

BBQ, drink, and eat to your heart’s content!  And repeat.

Do you have a favorite order at Japanese BBQ? Share it with us!

Tsuruhashi

3904 Convoy St, San Diego, CA 92111

Kingfisher, you complete me

The restaurant is centered around a lovely island-themed bar, giving off a lively and tropical vibe.

Neighborhood: Golden Hill – one of San Diego’s most historic and architecturally eclectic zones.

Price: $$$

Vibe:  Tropical chic upscale, but with the comfort of your favorite neighborhood joint

I’ve been plotting my return to this restaurant since my visit about a week ago.  That’s how unbelievably amazing it was.  I went with the “Food Club” gang to check out this oft-talked-about modern Vietnamese, French restaurant located in the Golden Hill neighborhood of San Diego.  From the moment we walked in, we immediately melded with the tropical chic vibe of the restaurant.  With a beautiful brassy island bar perched right in the middle, the elegant atmosphere of Kingfisher was buzzing in that upscale, but laid back, San Diego kind of way.  We were dazzled and excited for this eating adventure we had heard so much about.

Upon sitting we had to order something from the cocktail menu, the vibe just called for it and the options looked too good not to try out.  We tried the mango margarita (with tequila, Mezcal was an option too) and the Singapore Sling – wow, were they fresh, spicy and delicious.  The perfect start to our meal.

Mango Margarita and Singapore Sling

The staff at Kingfisher were just wonderful!  They are kind of staff that anticipate your needs before even you do.  Our server was warm, funny, and when we mentioned that we had “heard about the duck and is it still available?” he literally took off in a dead sprint to the kitchen to reserve one for us (which was WORTH the hustle, more to come on that).  The Half Smoked Dry Aged Duck sells out every night (because it was a Saturday and we had a 7:00 reservation, it was nothing short of miraculous that we still got one.)  The service makes you feel like royalty and then the food absolutely blows your mind away, and you know you’ll never be the same again.

We explored some fabulous dishes.  I want to thank our server for suggesting we try things that we otherwise wouldn’t, that ended up being some of our favorite food of the night.

Beef Tartar

Beef Tartar bite with all the fixens

We started with the beef tartar – which had all kinds of tasty, crunchy and pickle-y things in it. I forgot I was eating beef, or raw beef at that.  The flavors just popped.  It reminded me a lot of my favorite Thai dish, Larb, which has a lot of the same spicy flavors, fresh herbs and lime.  We could not get enough of this dish!  It was served with lettuce, fresh mint and basil and crunchy sesame rice crackers.  It felt like every bit of that plate was meant to be eaten together.  This one I will order again and again.

Wild Mushroom Congee

Our modo was “get something you can’t get anywhere else,” which was how we landed on the Wild Mushroom Congee and the Vietnamese Curry.  The Congee completely intrigued us. It ate like a porridge with fresh morel mushrooms, fried garlic and fresh herbs.  It was comforting like a risotto but lighter in the consistency with a wild flavor profile.  I admittedly would not let the server take the bowl, which had about 1/3 teaspoon of congee left, but it was mine, damnit!  The Vietnamese Curry, a vegetarian dish was a pure delight, and included some of my favorite vegetables like morning glory and cauliflower.  Served with a baguette of French bread which was perfect to soak up the delicious curry sauce.

Vietnamese Curry

Our next dish was the Snake River Farms Waygu Skirt Steak.  Served on a bed of fresh corn, tomatoes and watercress, the steak came perfectly sliced and spiced with a Thai chili chimichurri.  I loved scooping it up with a bite of the corn and tomato succotash, the cool vegetables allowed you to beat the heat of the Thai chilis – which were fantastic.  Get it.

Waygu Skirt Steak

For the finale of this amazing dining experience – the Smoked Dry Age Duck.  It came out on a lovely platter with the perfectly smoked and sliced duck and all the fixings to make your own duck spring rolls: lettuce, rice noodles, cilantro, mint, basil.  The duck is cooked to perfection and is so beautiful when eaten with the bright, fresh ingredients of the spring roll.  What a beautiful dish.  Now I understand the hustle to reserve this masterpiece before it sells out!

Smoked Dry Age Duck

Because we were prompted by friends to order dessert, we decided on the Vanilla Flan with a salt miso cream and coffee syrup.  I wouldn’t say I was particularly hungry at this point. Let’s be real, I just ate the crap out of those dishes and hoarded the last of the Congee.  I was ready for bed.  But when the flan came out, coffee sauce pooling over the top, I found my overstuffed self eating again, with enthusiasm.  The flan was light and enchanting.  There was something about how that sour miso and coffee just perfectly offset the bright, sweet vanilla of the flan.  The two flavors bitter/sweet just keep tossing over in your mouth. 

Vanilla Flan with salt miso cream and coffee syrup

So, my friends, you must make it to Kingfisher if you haven’t already. And even after you’ve eaten all that you think you can, please follow the guide of our friend and order at least one of the desserts, maybe both. You won’t be sorry.

Kingfisher

2469 Broadway | San Diego, California 92102

Yakyudori for delicious ramen, gyoza and wings?

Nagoya ramen - spicy bamboo shoots, chives, stir fried minced pork

Neighborhood: Convoy Street, Kearney Mesa, San Diego

Price: $

Vibe: Intimate and smokey, there are a few small tables and seats at the bar/BBQ where you can chat up the chefs cooking up yakitori

I often talk about Convoy Street in this blog. For those not familiar, Convoy Street is bustling little Asia-town, situated in the heart of Kearny Mesa in San Diego. This area is teeming with delicious delights of all ethnicities and varieties. One goal for this blog and our “food club” is to explore this area more. There are many Convoy restaurants that I know and love. But for each that I know, there are a dozen others that have not yet been explored. There’s a lot of eating to do and I’m working on it.

Until I get around to exploring some new Convoy restaurants, let me share with you one that I’ve frequented for at least the last decade, probably longer. Yakyudori is a small and unassuming Japanese BBQ restaurant tucked away off-Convoy next to Starbucks. I realize that typically one goes to a yakitori restaurant to get, well, yakitori.  Yakitori is a Japanese BBQ style of cooking that involves skewering the meat or vegetable with “kushi”, a type of skewer made of bamboo or steel and cooked over a charcoal fire.  This usually makes for a smoky atmosphere in the restaurant, and it may overwhelm at times, but it’s a good smoky.  Yakitori is delicious, don’t get me wrong, but when I crave my favorite bowl of ramen, with the spicy broth that makes my nose run, with ground pork (instead of chatsu) and bamboo shoots – my favorite is Yakyudori.  This amazing little BBQ joint is a lot more than just yakitori and I’m here to share with some of my favorite, non-yakitori items.

ipad to order your meal

The appetizers are wonderful. The gyozas are always a good option, you can order them steamed or fried, and the chicken wings are just delicious! Very crunchy and great seasoning.

Gyozas

Salt and pepper chicken wings. Try them!

Let’s get down to the real reason I keep coming back, my favorite bowl of steaming spicy broth – the Nagoya ramen.  People looking for some spice in their ramen are probably going to get swayed into ordering the “spicy miso” or “spicy tonkotsu” broth, but don’t let the simple name fool you. Nagoya is spicy!  The kind of spice that makes you watch yourself as you inhale before a good bite or wow, it’ll get ya! This simple ramen dish is minced pork (my fave), spicy bamboo shoots, and minced chives. Feel free to make your add-ons, but I like this one as it is.

Have you been to Yakyudori? What dishes do you love? Share in the comments below!

Nagoya ramen

Yakyudori

4898 Convoy Street #101,

San Diego, CA 92111