Also met Gustavo Arellano! I used to read his column in OC Weekly, “This Hole In The Wall Life” and “Ask A Mexican.” His wife runs Alta Baja.
Uchepo’s at Las Brisas De Apatzingan. (Gustavo approved!). A small restaurant specializing in Guerrero and Michoacán. The pozole is a must
Alta Baja Market, Downtown Santa Ana. Vegan green pozole. Just a tad more salt would have been perfect. Really cool spot.
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Mario’s Butcher Shop. Great spicy Italian sub. Well composed and properly proportioned. Delicious. Nice toasty crunchy bread. Some of the best fries around. Crispy creamy on the outside nice big salt flakes.
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Not just Michoacán, specifically Apatzingan in Michoacán. I’ve had that at Birrieria Apatzingan in the San Fernando Valley. Much like cities/areas within Chinese provinces having their own dishes, Apatzingan is a sub-group/municipal style. Some really interesting, distinctive items, like the uchepos. Also, the deconstructed enchiladas. I recall Gustavo reporting on this place some time ago, glad you made it 
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If you’ve been there that often, I assume you really like the food? What do you like there?
Did you see that they opened up some card/game-playing space across the street (2nd floor of the Olympic Collection)???
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Lol I’m 1st edition AD&D only! 
haven’t played in 30 years
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Gary Gygax personally signed my OG DM screen. #AgingMyself
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Damn, Now that is a Flex 
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I like the flavors of Doña Inez generally and their fresh masa dishes. The things I order most often are the (fresh masa) quesadillas, the green enchiladas with queso fresco, the chilaquiles, the grilled chicken huarache, and anything with chicken tinga. I really like their green sauce and their beans and rice. I’ve never had anything bad there.
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I fell asleep sometime around the16th. What a game. Tomorrow has Shohei on the mound
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I stayed up so tired, I was gonna be super annoyed if they lost lol
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Wally’s (Santa Monica)
Wanted something nice w/o having to go to a lot of trouble for it. Hillstone’s was PACKED (and exceedingly noisy), so we walked a few doors down (or is it right next door?) and were seated immediately.
Nothing revolutionary here, but all dishes were very tasty. Partner liked both pastas (mushroom; lobster) very much. I liked the lobster but liked the mushroom one much more. We enjoyed the Prosecco so much we bought a bottle. Didn’t take a pic, but bill said it was a “23 Bisol Crede Prosecco.”
Speaking of bill:
You know it’s a classy joint when the pen color matches the bill holder….
Tran Coffee (Santa Monica):
The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Bread was warmed, and there’s more veg. The grilled pork seemed like the type one would use in a chile verde, but pulled a bit apart. I didn’t detect any grilling. Weird mouthfeel. Partner didn’t think his veg banh mi tasted any diff from his other trips, but I didn’t enjoy my sandwich much (and it took quite a long time to come out). He prefers Refresh.
Passionfruit iced tea very tasty, though (partner thought it was overly sweet):
Gelson’s (Century City)
I hadn’t been here in probably over a yr (avoiding it since some of the people working there can be rather grouchy, and the wait at the deli counter can be [understandably] VERY, VERY long on a weekday). So glad to be able to get a healthy-ish lunch for $11.50. Rather sad that $11.50 is cheap.
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I fell asleep 5 minutes before this happened.
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Recent trip to San Diego, with some delicious bites:
The ciccio from Truly Pizza in Dana Point, 
, the circle and square pies were aite…
Adobada and asada from Tacos El Franc, both delicious 
Adobada from Tacos El Gordo, always fantastic 
Tomahawk ribeye from Woo Hyang Woo, classic.
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Quick homage to a Chinese restaurant in Westminster, Peking Restaurant. Hope you’ll allow for a little sentimentality!
My mom landed in Oceanside when she left China (via Santiago, Chile) and moved up to Huntington Beach after I was born. She started work as a paralegal to start her legal career, a dream of hers since she landed in the states. Her boss at the time brought her to Peking Restaurant in 1992, and my family has been patronizing the establishment since then.
Last week, she learned that the restaurant was closing after 40 years in operation. Lily, the manager, hostess, and lead server, informed her that they’d actually been in escrow since August, and started telling longtime customers that their last day was on 8/31. The process dragged on, and business predictably sank. Mom called the fam in for a last meal last night before their last day this Friday.
Lily and the team have been providing American-Chinese classics alongside more regional favorites such as niu rou jian bing (Chinese beef rolls). My other favorites include gan bian si ji dou (dry-fried green beans with ground pork and minced zha cai), their house-made stir-fried wide noodle, and, when I was a child, salt & pepper pork chop (which Lily recommended to the two other parties that came in after us). Love the wood-paneled walls, the Tsingtao lanterns, the worn tables and chairs, the tired orange lights. They’ve always been like that and always glow warmly in my memory.
Lily saved us the last batch of house-made noodles, as well as the last two frozen portions of hong shao rou for us to take home.
Another family sat in the back corner and we overheard them learning about the restaurant’s closing. A group of three friends, Japanese, sat on the long wall near the pass. Then, a solo diner came in from the bar next door, who, upon learning that they were closing, ordered four dishes on his own. For us it was a nice last meal at Peking Restaurant, and hope Lily and her family enjoy retirement! Its home Westland Plaza is now mostly Vietnamese restaurants, and according to Lily, the space will become one too.
(They sold out of Tsingtao, so I popped to the Stater Bro.’s for the Sapporo.)
(scallion pancake beef rolls; niu rou jian bing)
(Singapore noodle)
(Eggplant! Very good)
(Kuo tieh, open-ended potstickers)
(dry-fried green bean; gan bian si ji dou)
(hong shao rou; red-braised pork)
(house-made stir fried noodle)
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Such a wonderful story. Glad you were able to have a last epic dinner there!
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Thanks for the write up. We have been there a few times long time ago. The Plaza was quite busy due to the dim sum place next door. The food was pretty good at the time.
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Thanks for reading! Still never been to the Seafood Cave (Cove?) across the street.
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Thanks for reading!
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Places and stories like these make the dining scene so interesting. Thanks for sharing. Wishing the team the best in their retirement.
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