1640 Camino Del Rio N
San Diego, CA 92108
(619) 295-9774
o-nami.com
My good friend Peter N. and I stumbled into this restaurant while listlessly wandering around the mall one day. Fatigued and slightly starving, we spotted an oasis up ahead -- Onami's sushi buffet! We scurried to the front door to take a glimpse at the prices. YIKES! $25 for dinner? A big no-no for our college-student wallets. We vowed to come back to try at lunch, which we did within two weeks on a Friday ($14.95).
We thought we were so clever. "Har-har," we cackled to each other. "We're eating the same buffet for so much cheaper! He he he!" Clasping our hands and laughing maniacally, we began our eating adventure with grabbing a plate.
There's many a sushi selection to choose from. Crunchy roll, tempura roll, California roll, spicy tuna roll, something called the "burrito roll" (interesting), unagi, and some special rolls which the chefs probably made up. There was even sashimi! Additional food available were beef teriyaki, chicken teriyaki, udon, bulgogi, egg rolls...etc etc. All were so-so, except for the udon, which was fairly decent. There was also quite a few desserts to choose from -- cheesecake, fruits dipped in chocolate, green tea cake, sponge cake, cookies-- but my favorite was the green tea ice cream. Fruits and salads as well.
BUT -- where's the seafood??
Turns out that the lunch buffet is $10 cheaper for a reason. There was no seafood, except for baked mussels (which frankly, were sub par). No crab legs, no lobster, no oysters...sigh.
So for $15 + tax + tip, you're not getting much for your money. The sushi is decent, but perhaps better spent at an actual sushi restaurant. The hot food is certainly not something to rave about. The desserts were decent; the cheesecake and white chocolate dipped apple were pretty good.
If you are torn between whether or not to try Onami's, I would not suggest it unless you have money to blow and just want to stuff yourself silly. In that case, I recommend my favorite item in the whole buffet -- the green tea ice cream.
P.S. I have to hand it to the customer service, though, our empty plates were always immediately collected and our servers were extremely pleasant.
Showing posts with label San Diego. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Diego. Show all posts
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Burgers Galore: Hodad's (San Diego, CA)
5010 Newport Avenue
Ocean Beach, CA 92107
(619) 224-4623
hodadies.com
After a failed attempt to another restaurant, my boyfriend and I were debating where to bring our respective group of friends who were visiting for the weekend. We wanted to bring them to a place in SD where they could tell their friends upon returning back, "We went to ___ and it was great!"
We had never gone but had heard of Hodad's. We decided to try it, and we were not unhappy. The restaurant is decorated with a plethora of license plates (have fun playing the license plate punching game!) and decorations everywhere. It was pretty crowded when we went, but they were able to find us a long table for our group of 12 to sit at. The waitress was friendly and service was prompt. We ordered our meals (hamburgers, cheeseburgers, bacon-cheeseburger, etc, ranging from $5-$10, and fries, onion rings, or FRINGS) relatively quickly. The Frings arrived pretty quickly -- a delicious blend of fries (more like seasoned potato wedges..AHH soo goodd) and crispy onion rings! I like, I like. I also took a sip of my friend's chocolate milkshake--definitely worth getting.
However, the food took a while to arrive--probably because we were a large group and they wanted to have all our orders out at the same time. The most impressive part of our visit was the waiter stacking 12 burgers in his arms and carrying them over to our table! What a sight; we even took a picture. The burgers were HUGE and there was a moment of silence while everybody inhaled their food.
Hodad's is definitely a place worth visiting again! Service is friendly, the restaurant is fun, and what is better than good food in good company.
Ocean Beach, CA 92107
(619) 224-4623
hodadies.com
After a failed attempt to another restaurant, my boyfriend and I were debating where to bring our respective group of friends who were visiting for the weekend. We wanted to bring them to a place in SD where they could tell their friends upon returning back, "We went to ___ and it was great!"
We had never gone but had heard of Hodad's. We decided to try it, and we were not unhappy. The restaurant is decorated with a plethora of license plates (have fun playing the license plate punching game!) and decorations everywhere. It was pretty crowded when we went, but they were able to find us a long table for our group of 12 to sit at. The waitress was friendly and service was prompt. We ordered our meals (hamburgers, cheeseburgers, bacon-cheeseburger, etc, ranging from $5-$10, and fries, onion rings, or FRINGS) relatively quickly. The Frings arrived pretty quickly -- a delicious blend of fries (more like seasoned potato wedges..AHH soo goodd) and crispy onion rings! I like, I like. I also took a sip of my friend's chocolate milkshake--definitely worth getting.
However, the food took a while to arrive--probably because we were a large group and they wanted to have all our orders out at the same time. The most impressive part of our visit was the waiter stacking 12 burgers in his arms and carrying them over to our table! What a sight; we even took a picture. The burgers were HUGE and there was a moment of silence while everybody inhaled their food.
Hodad's is definitely a place worth visiting again! Service is friendly, the restaurant is fun, and what is better than good food in good company.
C-Level Gets An A: C-Level (San Diego, CA)
880 Harbor Island Dr
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 298-6802
islandprime.com
I had initially wanted to take my boyfriend elsewhere for a fancy dinner, but something came up and we were unable to make it -- and I'm very glad, as otherwise we would have not stumbled upon C-Level!
After days of meticulous thought and research, I thumbed through pages and pages of reviews from different websites for a good place to eat in San Diego. C-Level was one of them, and I utilized it as a backup plan in case the other restaurant did not pan out. I read bits from various reviews, even one raving a San Diego visit is wasted if C-Level is not included.
We arrive at the restaurant and were immediately greeted by two hostesses. After a brief 15 minute wait, we were led to a booth inside.
"The outside looks so nice!" I gasped, and we requested to be moved outside. The VERY friendly manager (reminded me of Ken from Toy Story 3--he had a smile on his face which matched his persona. You know these people are good if they look like they want nothing more than to make your dining experience nothing short of excellent.) said it would be no problem; within several minutes, we had a table. Sitting down, I spied another table near the window/edge of the water.
"Can we sit THERE instead?" I pointed. The hostess smiled and said she would see if we could. She returned later with "it's not a problem!".
I have to say, this is the only way to dine--by the San Diego Bay waterfront. The view was breath-taking and I snapped dozens of pictures, much like a tourist.
Everything on the menu also looked delicious! After much deliberating we ordered--
1. Some appetizer with clams and mussels. SO GOOD. They certainly did not skimp out on the quantity. They were also soaked in a broth which we soaked our bread in. After we were done with the seafood, our waitress brought out more bread...YUM.
2. Herb-something onion rings. These were not too great, I actually regret ordering them.
3. Lobster BLT w/ Lobster Bisque. I very much enjoyed my sandwich--a very interesting combination as I've never had lobster in a sandwich before. Certainly were generous with the lobster! The bisque was very good, extremely creamy. Unfortunately, it was too overwhelming for my taste buds after the first few spoonfuls.
4. The bf got the filet mignon, which was accompanied by mashed potatoes w/ goat cheese, and string onions. Filet mignon was a little smaller than the size of my fist, and while the meat was extremely tender, I felt the sauce was too salty. The string potatoes were very good! I'm not a big fan of cheese so the goat cheese was extremely cheesy for me.
5. A glass of champagne.
Service was VERY good! They never let our water cups went empty and Ken (I shall dub him this name, for I do not know his actual one) came out to ask how our meal was going. Our waitress was super nice and attentive.
My next visit shall be during their happy hour, which ends at 5:30. They have appetizers for $5!
I am taking off one star because while the food was delicious and the service more than I could ask for, it's on the pricier side for a college student such as myself. The bill came out to be approximately $77 dollars for everything we ordered. However, I do say it was worth it for the view + quality of the food.
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 298-6802
islandprime.com
I had initially wanted to take my boyfriend elsewhere for a fancy dinner, but something came up and we were unable to make it -- and I'm very glad, as otherwise we would have not stumbled upon C-Level!
After days of meticulous thought and research, I thumbed through pages and pages of reviews from different websites for a good place to eat in San Diego. C-Level was one of them, and I utilized it as a backup plan in case the other restaurant did not pan out. I read bits from various reviews, even one raving a San Diego visit is wasted if C-Level is not included.
We arrive at the restaurant and were immediately greeted by two hostesses. After a brief 15 minute wait, we were led to a booth inside.
"The outside looks so nice!" I gasped, and we requested to be moved outside. The VERY friendly manager (reminded me of Ken from Toy Story 3--he had a smile on his face which matched his persona. You know these people are good if they look like they want nothing more than to make your dining experience nothing short of excellent.) said it would be no problem; within several minutes, we had a table. Sitting down, I spied another table near the window/edge of the water.
"Can we sit THERE instead?" I pointed. The hostess smiled and said she would see if we could. She returned later with "it's not a problem!".
I have to say, this is the only way to dine--by the San Diego Bay waterfront. The view was breath-taking and I snapped dozens of pictures, much like a tourist.
Everything on the menu also looked delicious! After much deliberating we ordered--
1. Some appetizer with clams and mussels. SO GOOD. They certainly did not skimp out on the quantity. They were also soaked in a broth which we soaked our bread in. After we were done with the seafood, our waitress brought out more bread...YUM.
2. Herb-something onion rings. These were not too great, I actually regret ordering them.
3. Lobster BLT w/ Lobster Bisque. I very much enjoyed my sandwich--a very interesting combination as I've never had lobster in a sandwich before. Certainly were generous with the lobster! The bisque was very good, extremely creamy. Unfortunately, it was too overwhelming for my taste buds after the first few spoonfuls.
4. The bf got the filet mignon, which was accompanied by mashed potatoes w/ goat cheese, and string onions. Filet mignon was a little smaller than the size of my fist, and while the meat was extremely tender, I felt the sauce was too salty. The string potatoes were very good! I'm not a big fan of cheese so the goat cheese was extremely cheesy for me.
5. A glass of champagne.
Service was VERY good! They never let our water cups went empty and Ken (I shall dub him this name, for I do not know his actual one) came out to ask how our meal was going. Our waitress was super nice and attentive.
My next visit shall be during their happy hour, which ends at 5:30. They have appetizers for $5!
I am taking off one star because while the food was delicious and the service more than I could ask for, it's on the pricier side for a college student such as myself. The bill came out to be approximately $77 dollars for everything we ordered. However, I do say it was worth it for the view + quality of the food.
Put A Little SOUL In It: Bonnie Jean's Soul Food Cafe (San Diego)
1964 54th St
San Diego, CA 92105
Neighborhoods: Rolando, Oak Park
(619) 262-8854
bonniejeanssoulfood.com
I looooovelovelovelove soul food. And after a friend recommended this place after seeing its ratings on Yelp, we all decided to trek all the way there to enjoy some good food with good company.
Upon setting food inside the restaurant, I notice that it is very homey. Nothing like what you would expect a restaurant to look like. in the front, there is a shop with cards and other miscellaneous merchandise, and random tables scattered here and there. They sat us down and handed us all menus; the servers were all pleasant and friendly.
We ordered our respective meals, and our server tells us there would be a 20 minute wait for them to cook the chicken. This is understandable, since we did have a big group, the majority of which who ordered chicken.
I am the type of person who gets rather unpleasant on an empty stomach. I have three phases: 1) the beginning pangs of hunger, where I whine about how empty my stomach is starting to feel, 2) apathy, where I can no longer summon the energy to maintain a conversation, and 3) anger. Anger is where I snap at every mistake the waiter makes, and complain loudly where my food is -- well, let's just say it's not a pretty sight and I am not proud of it.
The clock slowly ticked 20 minutes, 30 minutes, then eventually 40 minutes. I was on the verge of Apathy and Anger. Anger almost busted out, but fortunately, they brought out our food and Anger buried itself back inside.
I ordered the Chicken with Waffle, smothered. Note to any other yelpers: I had assumed smothered meant gravy on top of fried chicken, but nope, it is just chicken covered with gravy. The waffle was light, fluffy, and crispy on the outside -- very delightful! The chicken itself was succulent and extremely tasty. I also got to try my companion's foods: the deep fried pickles were REALLY good, and while I am averse to Mac-and-Cheese (yes, I know, I know, appalling), the deep fried Mac-and-Cheese were something to swoon about. The mashed potatoes were among the best I have tasted, as was the coleslaw. I also tried the fried chicken, and have to agree it far surpasses my smothered chicken. Reminder to self: if I should ever return, I will get the FRIED chicken.
Overall, not a bad experience.
San Diego, CA 92105
Neighborhoods: Rolando, Oak Park
(619) 262-8854
bonniejeanssoulfood.com
I looooovelovelovelove soul food. And after a friend recommended this place after seeing its ratings on Yelp, we all decided to trek all the way there to enjoy some good food with good company.
Upon setting food inside the restaurant, I notice that it is very homey. Nothing like what you would expect a restaurant to look like. in the front, there is a shop with cards and other miscellaneous merchandise, and random tables scattered here and there. They sat us down and handed us all menus; the servers were all pleasant and friendly.
We ordered our respective meals, and our server tells us there would be a 20 minute wait for them to cook the chicken. This is understandable, since we did have a big group, the majority of which who ordered chicken.
I am the type of person who gets rather unpleasant on an empty stomach. I have three phases: 1) the beginning pangs of hunger, where I whine about how empty my stomach is starting to feel, 2) apathy, where I can no longer summon the energy to maintain a conversation, and 3) anger. Anger is where I snap at every mistake the waiter makes, and complain loudly where my food is -- well, let's just say it's not a pretty sight and I am not proud of it.
The clock slowly ticked 20 minutes, 30 minutes, then eventually 40 minutes. I was on the verge of Apathy and Anger. Anger almost busted out, but fortunately, they brought out our food and Anger buried itself back inside.
I ordered the Chicken with Waffle, smothered. Note to any other yelpers: I had assumed smothered meant gravy on top of fried chicken, but nope, it is just chicken covered with gravy. The waffle was light, fluffy, and crispy on the outside -- very delightful! The chicken itself was succulent and extremely tasty. I also got to try my companion's foods: the deep fried pickles were REALLY good, and while I am averse to Mac-and-Cheese (yes, I know, I know, appalling), the deep fried Mac-and-Cheese were something to swoon about. The mashed potatoes were among the best I have tasted, as was the coleslaw. I also tried the fried chicken, and have to agree it far surpasses my smothered chicken. Reminder to self: if I should ever return, I will get the FRIED chicken.
Overall, not a bad experience.
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