Izakaya Sakura



Salmon nigiri.



Agedashi mochi -- so delicious!!!

Chicken karaage, with many dipping options.

Omlet & rice, or "Omrice."

Yakisoba is a bit greasy.

FIRST VISIT

Rating: Two thumbs up! 
Date: 7/3/11

Time in: 7:09 PM

Time out: 8:30 PM

Servers' recommendations: Omlet & rice [sic], spicy fish salad
What we ordered: Omlet & rice, chicken karaage, agedashi mochi, salmon nigiri, yakisoba 

Number in our party: 2 
Final check amount: $37.18
Price per person: $18.59Notes: 

• This restaurant doesn't have a sign.  Not even in Japanese.  That is totally badass.
• The agedashi mochi is SO delicious.  We could eat this every day and dream about it in between.  In fact, this makes Sakura a kind of one-dish wonder.  We like their other food too, but the agedashi mochi is what makes it a gold star and keeps us coming back.
• The salmon sushi is adequate.  After Sushi Dokoro Shirahama, we are ruined.
• The Omrice is good for someone who grew up eating it and needed comfort food, but for everyone else, it might just be weird.  The miso soup that came with it was yummy though -- good tofu with perfectly seasoned broth.
• The chicken karaage is awesome.  It's crispy but not too greasy.
• The yakisoba is too oily, and Jenne wants more cabbage in it.
• The service is slow, so don't come here when you're not a tight schedule.

SECOND VISIT

Rating: Two thumbs up!
Date: 7/3/11

Time in: 7:06 PM

Time out: 8:45 PM

What we ordered: Uni pasta, agedashi mochi, salmon onigiri, chicken karaage, albacore tataki, nikomi hamburg, tebashio, black sesame ice cream, green tea

Number in our party: 5
Final check amount: $71.28
Price per person: $14.26

Notes: 

• Our official Convoy Conquest visit (above) was probably the worst meal Jenne and I have ever had at Sakura.  We felt we should do an official revisit so readers might know why we like this place.  For photos, please see our Convoy Day post.

RESTAURANT INFORMATION

Address: 3904 Convoy St, Ste 121
Phone number: 858.569.6151
Website: http://izakayasakura.menutoeat.com/
Accepts credit cards? Yes
Parking: Private plaza with plenty of parking
Ideal group size: 2-8
Available vegetarian options: Plum onigiri, edamame, baked mushroom? eggplant gratin?

Noise level: 2
Who not to bring: Vegetarians (almost everything is cooked with bonito broth)

Phuong Trang

They call it lemonade, but it's really limeade.  AND IT'S DELIGHTFUL.

Egg rolls!  We love them. 
Howie says this kind of wrapper is better, but I just think it's different.

This is the giant pile of greenery that came with my rice wrap.
There is even pineapple!  (In a good way.)

Pork for inside the rice wrap. 
Grilled with some kind of sweet sauce that gets all caramelized.  Yes please.

Nick got the beef cube steak and fried rice. 
It was crazy delicious, but Nick is fired from taking pictures.

Sarah got the bun with shrimp.  Sarah can take pictures any time.

Miko got the salmon with lemongrass.  ALSO DELIGHTFUL.

This is better at Convoy Noodle House, we think.

Rating: Two thumbs up!

Date: 6/11/11

Time In: 7:53 PM
Time out: 9:28 PM
Server's recommendations: Beef cube steak with fried rice, salmon with lemongrass and hot pepper, any of the rice paper wraps, oven-roasted catfish, egg rolls

What we ordered: Egg rolls, beef cube steak with fried rice, salmon with lemongrass and hot pepper, rice wraps with pork skewers, vermicelli shrimp bowl (bun), lemonade, fresh-squeezed orange juice, soda, dessert

Number in our party: 4
Final check amount: $61.99
Notes:

• Everything was fantastic. The salmon, steak, and pork were especially good. 
• The servers were friendly and enthusiastic in their recommendations.

RESTAURANT INFORMATION
Address: 4170 Convoy Street
Phone number: 858.565.6750
Website: http://www.phuongtrangrestaurant.com/
Accepts credit cards? Yes
Parking: Private lot shared with a plaza
Ideal group size: 2-8
Available vegetarian options: Whole page of vegetarian options
Who not to bring: People who hate delicious food, or people who only eat Nilla wafers and chicken fingers
Noise level: 3.5

Sushi Dokoro Shirahama

Don't be scared, it's nice inside.

NO CALIFORNIA ROLL.

This is everything we ordered.

 

Rating: Two thumbs up

Date: 6/11/11 

Time In: 7:00 PM 

Time out: 7:45 PM 

Server's recommendations: Shimaaji

What we ordered: Shimaaji, hamachi, sake (salmon), tamago, pickle roll 

Number in our party: 2 

Final check amount: $29.36 

Notes:

• They have a small menu -- all they do is sushi.  And they do it WELL.
• They do not have any kind of fancy gaijin rolls like the "sexy roll" or "dragon roll" or whatever.  This is OG sushi.  They don't have California rolls.
• The salmon nigiri was the best we've had in San Diego.  
• The recommended shimaaji was also delicious.
• The atmosphere is a bit intimidating.  We felt like we should be on our best Japanese behavior, lest we offend anyone.  For example: we whispered. I (Miko) felt like I shouldn't write anything in my Convoy Conquest binder once we ordered.  And we knew it would be tacky to ask to split the check, since it would cause the restaurant extra hassle.

RESTAURANT INFORMATION
Address: 4212 Convoy St 
Phone number: 858.560.0080
Website: http://www.sushidokoro-shirahama.com/index.html 
Accepts credit cards? Yes 
Parking: Private lot shared with a plaza 
Ideal group size: 1-3 
Available vegetarian options: Cucumber roll, pickle roll

Noise level: 2 (because of awesome Enka music--no one was talking loudly)

Who not to bring: Small children, people who don't have a decent understanding of Japanese rules of politeness

Big Joy Family Bakery



Carefully wrapped and organized.

Macaroons.

The kabocha cheese tart that we really wanted.

Castella.

Sample: banana pound cake.

BLAT sandwich.

Turkey avocado sandwich.

They give you sugar syrup for your iced coffee. 
So thoughtful!

The pumpkin soup needed salt and
could do without the dried parsley.

Sea salt caramel macaroon.

Almond meringue.

Rating: Two thumbs up! 

Date: 6/10/11

Servers' recommendations: Sandwiches 

What we ordered: Turkey avocado and BLAT sandwiches (come with tea/coffee and chips for $4.99 each(!)), pumpkin soup, castella, sea salt caramel macaroon, almond meringue. Number in our party: 2 

Final check amount: $19.30 

Notes:

• It's kind of like heaven.  Peaceful, calming, and neat, where it feels like you're being carefully taken care of.  But not in an overbearing way.  And it smells like delicious baking.
• A lady came in, stopped, breathed in deeply, and said, "Oh, that's not right."
• It took about 20 minutes to get our food, so don't come here when you're in a hurry.
• I love the almond meringue.  It's crunchy, buttery, and light.  Yum.  (Miko)
• Everyone is wearing cute aprons.  The cashier's said "I Bake with Love."
• The sandwiches aren't particularly outstanding, but the experience is calming and reassuring.  If you're stressed, bring a book and come hang out here.
• They are usually playing lovely classical music. 
• Their cafe au lait is outstanding.

RESTAURANT INFORMATION

Address: 4176 Convoy St, Ste A & B

Phone number: 858.627.0888

Website: http://bigjoyfamily.com/
Accepts credit cards? Yes, but there's a $0.50 fee.
Parking: Private plaza with plenty of parking
Ideal group size: 1-4
Available vegetarian options: Baked goods, veggie sandwich

Noise level: 1.5

Who not to bring: Loud children, people talking on cell phones

Tasty Bakery

Here's what they got.

Fruity Swan! If I ever have a boat I'm going to name it that.

These...weren't very tasty.

Rating: Two thumbs down

Date: 6/3/11
Number in our party: 2
Notes:

• The bakery has a friendly vibe, which makes us feel slightly guilty about giving them a thumbs-down.
• The mung bean pastry is okay, but it isn't amazing.
• The macaroon-like coconut cookies are intensely sweet and too burnt.  We had to force ourselves to finish ours.
• There are just too many good bakeries on this street to want to go again.
• I picked the heart-shaped thing because it gave me this crazy deja vu for some reason.  Sadly, it was dry and too sweet, and it had pineapple in it, but not in a good way. (Jenne)

RESTAURANT INFORMATION
Address: 4344 Convoy St

Phone number: 858.278.2866
Website: http://www.yelp.com/biz/tasty-bakery-san-diego
Parking: Private lot shared with a plaza 

Ideal group size: N/A
Available vegetarian options: Many

Noise level: 2

Quoc Te II International Seafood Restaurant - CLOSED

A few pages of the giant menu.

We didn't know what any of this was, but it was delicious.

Bun!  With interesting egg rolls.

Aw.

Rating: One thumb up (Jenne), one sideways thumb (Miko)

Date: 6/3/11

What we ordered: Combination steam rice noodle rolls (small portion), vermicelli with char-broiled pork and spring rolls.

Number in our party: 2

Final check amount: $13.70

Notes:

• Spring rolls had an interesting yeasty flavor -- they were different from other egg rolls we've tried.
• We couldn't figure out what anything was on the plate of rice noodle rolls, but it was all tasty!  Even the small portion is more than enough.
• The food is good, but I'm giving it a sideways thumb because I'd rather go to other Vietnamese restaurants on Convoy.  (Miko)
• I give it a thumbs up because it's interesting and tasty, and I haven't come across food quite like theirs at other places.  (Jenne)

RESTAURANT INFORMATION
Address: 4344 Convoy St
Phone number: 858.278.8680
Website: http://www.yelp.com/biz/international-seafood-restaurant-san-diego
Accepts credit cards? Yes
Parking: Private lot shared with a plaza
Ideal group size: 2-6
Available vegetarian options: Shakes, drinks, desserts, and they also have a vegetable section with tender greens, mixed vegetables, and bean curd.
Noise level: 1 (I think we were the only people there.)

Café International - CLOSED

From a safe distance.

Okay, so this is another one that Miko keeps saying I should write something about, but like Manna Bakery I wasn't quite sure what to say.

We were excited to try Cafe International, thinking perhaps there would be delicious pastries from many lands!  However, as we walked up we passed the large open windows and patio seating, which was full of what looked like Bond Villain Henchmen hanging out off-duty, smoking heavily and playing cards.  I'm sure they are lovely people but we felt like we really shouldn't go in there without an invitation and/or possibly being armed.  We also decided that probably food was not their main focus, so we weren't required to within the rules.

If anyone has more knowledge of Cafe International, please advise.

Manna BBQ

 

Panchan, including AMAZING potato salad!

Salad and Miko's favorite steamed egg come with!

Good rice.

Rating: Two sideways thumbs

Date: 5/15/11

What we ordered: A1 Premium All-You-Can-Eat for each of us

Number in our party: 3

Final check amount: $74.85 + tax

Notes:

• We actually came here on 5/6, but there was such a long wait that we skipped ahead to Ichiro.
• The meat was flavorful and very good.
• The side dishes were also delicious, particularly the potato salad and the steamed egg.
• The sideways thumbs were given because we enjoyed the experience of Jeong Won better, and we would rather go there.  The meat might be better at Manna, but (1) we prefer the buffet set-up at Jeong Won; (2) there are no vegetables to grill; and (3) there are no desserts.  It was delicious, but we weren't fully satisfied at the end.  If you're a total carnivore, you would love it.

RESTAURANT INFORMATION
Address: 4428 Convoy St
Phone number: 858.278.3300
Website: http://www.yelp.com/biz/manna-korean-bbq-san-diego
Accepts credit cards? Yes
Parking: You can park in the plaza just south of the restaurant.
Ideal group size: 3-4
Available vegetarian options: Side dishes?
Noise level: 3
Who not to bring: Vegetarians 

Ichiro Happy Japanese Restaurant



Ginger eggplant appetizer



Seafood dumplings

Free salad

Combination #1

Nabeyaki udon

Rating: One thumb up (Miko), one sideways thumb (Jenne)

Date: 5/6/11

Time In: 7:45 PM

Time out: 8:59 PM

Server's recommendations: Combination #1 (tempura, California roll, and salmon yakizakana), teriyaki steak, nabeyaki udon, champon

What we ordered: Ginger eggplant appetizer, seafood dumplings, Combination #1 (Jenne), nabeyaki udon (Miko)

Number in our party: 2

Final check amount: $40.73

Notes:

• The server was adorable -- she actually clasped her hands with joy when we ordered her recommendations.  Very enthusiastic in her recommendations.
• The nabeyaki was delicious; it was probably the best udon I'd had in San Diego. The broth tasted like my mother's.  Great comfort food!  The only criticism I had was that the egg should be on top, not the bottom.  (Miko--thumbs up)
• The rice was dry and a little hard.
• The salmon was overcooked.  (Jenne--sideways thumb)

RESTAURANT INFORMATION
Address: 4344 Convoy St, Ste Q
Phone number: 858.565.8603
Website: http://www.yelp.com/biz/ichiro-japanese-restaurant-san-diego-3
Accepts credit cards? Yes
Parking: Private lot shared with a plaza 
Ideal group size: 2-8
Available vegetarian options: Veggie sushi options. With everything else, you never know if something might have bonito in it...

Noise level: 4, but only because of a rowdy party that sounded like a whole lot of fun on the other side of the restaurant.

Chopsticks: Come with the meal