Gordon Birsch, Mission Valley, San Diego, CA

I am always looking for someplace to take my parents to eat when they come down to San Diego.  The only problem is that while somewhat adventuresome they are somewhat hesitant to go to the many hole in the wall locations I prefer to visit.  It is a bad habit they picked up from going to so many chain restaurants.  While there are a few expensive locals I like to hit every once in a while I wanted something that looked nice but wouldn't break the bank, and most importantly had good food, but wasn't part of some gigantic chain.  After consulting with my wife, a native of San Diego, she finally mentioned a placed that I'd been thinking about going, and then she sealed the deal by saying, "... and they have great garlic fries."

Gordon Biersch is a great big brewery/restaurant located in Mission Valley.  While it is a chain, it is not a big chain with only five in California so far and a few scattered throughout a couple of other states, and the menu looked pretty good.  Upon walking up to it I was a bit worried I was walking into a TGIF, but once you enter the double doors at the front you get more of a low key sports bar feel to it.  No obvious flare on the walls, and the front of house is friendly and respectful.  After we had been led to our seat I took a look at the menu, and was unsurprised to see a fair amount of bar fare.  There were the obligatory sliders, egg roles, and wings you'll find at any restaurant, and further down a variety of burgers, tacos, pizza... actually you name it they probably had it, and of course beer.  My usual feeling when seeing so many different things on a menu is that when a restaurant has a lot of different items on it they don't have the time or expertise to do any one of them well.  Still I have been proved wrong in the past, and as I said there was beer.

After perusing the menu my wife surprised me by not ordering a burger, instead she got the California Cobb Flatbread, and I ordered a New York Steak Sandwich with garlic fries.  Then I did something else totally out of character for me.  I ordered a beer.  This is not to say I don't like beer.  After being in San Diego for so long it is hard not to have formed an appreciation for the cold sudsy drink produced in large quantities in this area.  It was just not something I did very often.  The reason being that I am, as my wife puts it, a light weight when it comes to alcohol.  Still there are certain occasions when the taste of a nice cold beer is not just wanted but needed, and as this was a brewery I thought I would give it a try.  My wife and I each ordered a Hefenweizen, which was delivered shortly to us from the bar.

Now unlike food, which I tend to, and will below, examine in detail due to having tasted and examined a wide range of flavors and styles, beer is probably one of the things I know little to nothing about, but I know what I like, and I really liked this beer.  For those of you that know even less about beer than me, a Hefenweizen tends to be one of the slightly lighter fruitier beers, or as the menu states it had, "...subtle notes of banana and clove."  All I know is that it is the type of beer I prefer, and in this instance it was delicious.  Now, if this was due to the workout I'd just finished, or the warmness of the day I can't say.  All I know is I liked it a lot, enough to go back and have another, but on to the food.

After I'd drunk enough to become slightly inebriated, about fifteen minutes or so, the food came out, and on first seeing it there was certainly a great deal there.  I'm used to getting maybe half of a steak when I order a steak sandwich but this time they sent out what looked like an entire steak.  With relish I took my first bite and was surprised to taste they had not seasoned the steak, not even a little.  On occasion I will come across a steak that doesn't need any seasoning, a good rib-eye perhaps, but this was not one of them.  I won't say the steak was bad.  It came out medium-rare, cooked pretty much exactly how I like it, but out side of a hint of salt and pepper it tasted like a big piece of meat.  The fried onion string, garlic aioli (of which I barely tasted), and spinach (which I now love on a my burger/sandwiches) helped, but just enough to make it taste good, not amazing.  The dish though was saved by the garlic fries, which by some miracle had, just the right amount of garlic on them.  When I say just the right amount I mean a little more than a normal person would enjoy, as I really really like garlic.

Looking over to my wife's flatbread I saw that the grilled chicken, bacon, avocado, tomatoes, cheddar, blue cheese, and baby green looked a little lacking.  Still after point behind her and saying "Hey is that your cousin?", I stole a piece of piece of it for testing purposes.  After a deft smile of contrition I had a bite, and tasted something leaning towards healthy.  It wasn't a bad flatbread, and here I am doing my best not to add the word pizza as it does not apply in the least to this dish, but it was hard to find a bite that had all the ingredients in enough abundance to really add flavor to the bread.  Oh, the bread was pretty good, but it looked like the chef did not bother to throw on enough to really make it great.  Still I finished off the piece and then proceeded to drink more amazing beer, which in the end made the meal pretty good, especially as I had a gigantic piece of steak to get though.

Okay, maybe not the best meal in the world, but I will say that the service was phenomenal, and again the beer was amazing.  For the beer alone I'll go back there to try something different, hoping that the unseasoned steak was just a mistake done during a slow lunch, and at the very least I now have another place I can take my parents.  Gordon Biersch is just entertaining different enough to fall outside the trappings of a chained restaurant, and just clean and well lit enough to be suitable for the less adventurous of my family.  Until then, cheers, and I'll have another beer.

Gordon Biersch
5010 Mission Center Rd.
San Diego, CA 92108
(619) 688-1120
http://www.gordonbiersch.com/locations/san-diego-ca

Crazee Burger, North Park, San Diego, CA

So it's the 4th of July, and neither my wife nor I really feel like cooking lunch.  After some discussion we find ourselves on the road with one though in our mind, we need a burger, a really good burger.  This isn't my first time trying to hunt down a good burger, but it is the first time I've tried to do it on a holiday.  My usually go to places are closed but I take a chance and head over to the North Park, and then I see an open sign in the doorway.  Parking the car we get out and walk into Crazee Burger, where half the fun is deciding just what you want in the bun.

Okay I made that last part up, but it sounded good in my head, and it is true.  Crazee burger is known for its wide variety of burgers.  You can get anything from Angus beef, to ostrich, to my personal favorite, wild boar.  The line is predictably long but not too long that day.  Being open on the 4th is not only good business but a godsend for people who just don't feel like barbecuing.  My wife and I get to the back of the line and take a look at the menu, and then I remember the bad side of having so many choices... that there are so many choices.

For the adventurous eater there is a wide array of tasty burgers, and that's not even considering the type of meat you want.  For instance, outside of wild boar I also enjoy the taste of gator, kind of like chewy chicken, you can add great flavor to it.  A quick glance at the menu and I know this will take forever so I do something uncharictaristic and decide I'm just going to have a regular meat type burger, nothing exotic.  Okay that cuts down my options from 54 to 18.  Still not an easy choice, and I just cut out my favorite Santorini Burger as it is half lamb.  Okay, I guess if I am going to do beef, and it is the 4th of July I'll try something in theme with the day so I get the Texas Burger, as it is one of the few burgers with BBQ sauce.  My wife goes with her usual Dansk Burger, as she has series weakness for Blue Cheese.

We get an order of fries and two drinks and look for a seat.  We find a table with dishes but the staff, which as far as I can tell is just two guys working the front, despite being busy get it cleaned off for us in less than a minute.  Then we sit down to enjoy the madness.  The place is packed but the kitchen is still cranking out burgers at a regular speed, and when we finally get our, about 10 minutes later, it is well worth the wait.  My Texas burger is cooked perfectly, and topped with bacon and Hickory smoked BBQ sauce, with and my first bite is filled with flavor.  The burger is good, but its really the sauce that does it for me.  The sauce is faintly sweet, and combined with the bacon comes together as one of the better burgers I've had in San Diego.  I glance over at my wife's burger, with a fair amount of Blue Cheese on it and remember my wife also got avocado on it. It's hard to miss as you can see in the pictures there is pretty much half an avocado sitting on top of it.  Which is perfect for my wife.  I hazard a taste and the avocado is amazing, but I find blue cheese a bit too dry for my palate.  A minute later we remember the fries and after apologizing the server brings that out.  As much as I admire the creativity of the salt and Parmesan cheese blend I'm not a big fan of it.  Next time I think I'll just go with the onion rings.

So overall a nice little meal at a nice little place.  The man at the front says goodbye but I barely hear him.  I'm already thinking about the next time and what kind of strange and exotic meat I'll get, probably the gator.

Crazee Burger
4201 30th Street
San Diego, CA 92104
(619) 282-6044
http://crazeeburger.com/

D.Z. Akin's, College East, San Diego, CA

It's Friday night and neither my wife nor I particularly feel like cooking.  A smile crosses my face as I think of a place we haven't been to in a while, one I know she will like.  After a quick back and forth on who will drive, we head out to the area around San Diego State University for a little piece of home cooking, assuming your home was a Jewish deli.  I smiled as we entered, it had been too long since I've been back to D.Z. Akin's.

Again I offer no prior or interpretive knowledge of Jewish cuisine.  Perhaps the food is better over in New York, or Miami, where I am to understand there are large Jewish communities.  Having no point of reference on Jewish cuisine does not matter though, as I have a very good, in my opinion, reference on what is great tasting food, and that can most definitely be found at D.Z. Akin's.

D.Z. Akin's can be found a little less than a mile away from San Diego State, yet every time I go I am surprised there are not more college students inside.  Maybe they are trying to save money, but as far as prices go D.Z. Akin's is around the norm for restaurant food, and that doesn't include sheer size of the meals.  Sandwiches stacked high with meat, salad's that looked as if they've used an entire head of lettuce, and dinners I've glimpsed on other tables, so vast I know that not even I would be able to finish them, but I digress.

When my wife and I showed up and there was a bit of a line so we wandered around the gift shop, a nice little set up for the tourists with San Diego nicknacks offset by gimmicky Jewish merchandise, in other words a gift shop.  This, of course, was so I wouldn't head over to the bakery/deli section.  I don't know what it is about the place but it is hard not to order a pastry on the way out.  Mounds of cookies, cakes, and other deserts luring people out of spare change and diet plans.  Then there is the deli, a particularly dangerous spot with my wife's love of cured meats.  After a few minute or so drooling our name was called and I half dragged my wife to our table.

Our waitress got our drinks out in no time at all, and I didn't need to look at the menu at all to know what I wanted.  I ordered the Pastrami Dip, which is the same as a Roast Beef Dip, on an over-sized plate filled to the brim with french fries, and glancing at the soup board above I decided to try the New England Clam Chowder, just a cup as I wasn't feeling my usual overpowering need for food.  My wife ordered the soup and salad, which is the usual mixed green salad, with a side of blue cheese dressing, and the Kreplach soup (basically chicken soup but with large dumplings filled with ground meat).

My soup came out first and as usual it was bigger than I had expected.  I asked for a cup, but they gave me what would be considered a bowl at most other places.  It was delicious, and I am very picky about my New England Clam Chowder.  I could tell right off that it was home made, just by the taste of the broth.  It was definitely clam broth, but there was a hint of something else that I still can't place, maybe oregano, or perhaps chilli.  Whatever it was it added a zing to the whole dish that I had to stop myself from shoveling it down as quickly as possible.  The clams were just the right size, not giant pieces that some restaurants try to pass off as hearty, but a few sizes smaller, and they were in every bite.  I ended up stealing some of my wife's french bread so I could wipe up the left over broth from the bottom of the bowl.

Then our main meals came out.  The Pastrami Dip was as good, if not better, as the first time I'd ordered it.  The dip, a small bowl of onion soup, was also made fresh in the restaurant and was delicious.   I gorged myself on that and steak fries, my favorite variety of french fry.  My wife on the other hand was not overly impressed with her salad.  She absolutely loves the blue cheese dressing, again made fresh at D.Z. Akin's but the salad was nothing to write home about.  The Kreplach soup on the other had was in her words "yummy."  I stole a bite of that and will probably order it next time I go.

Feeling full and happy we both made our way out the front door, but not before ogling the bakery one last time.  I managed to not buy something this time, but that was only because I was stuffed.  My wife took one sad look at it before heading out the door.  So that brings our average to 1 for 3, and I'm not including the other five times we have been there as that was when the bakery had closed before we left.  If you do find yourself still hungering dessert after finishing off your meal I highly recommend every cookie they have and everything with chocolate.  Just not all at once.

D.Z. Akin's
6930 Alvarado Rd.
San Diego, CA 92120
619-265-0218
http://dzakins.com/

Johnny Rebs' Orange, Orange County, CA

I must be on some type of barbeque kick as this is the second place I've hit with it this month. So it's midday and I'm not looking forward to the long drive back home to San Diego, but I've got my, now, wife by my side and a hankering for some good ol' grub to fill me up before I head home. It's then that I remember a little barbeque place over in Orange where I had my first smoked omelet. At the time those around me did not quite take to the taste of smoked eggs, but I thought it was one of the best things on the menu.

We got there a little before noon, and the place was pretty much like I remembered it. The outside done up in country-hick chic, like it had been before chic was added to it, but the inside was pleasantly clean and cool. We were sat down immediately, and seeing the subsequent guest to the restaurant seated in a similar fashion, I quickly came to the conclusion that Johnny Rebs' took the term "Southern Hospitality" to heart. Everyone there was kind and gracious. The man covering the front door that might or might not have been the manager had no trouble coming over to the our table to take our order when our sever was busy grabbing food in the kitchen.

After perusing the menu for much too long my wife ordered the Lonestar Burger with a side of mac and cheese and I ordered the Cajun Sausage Sandwich with a side of mashed potatoes and seasonal fresh veggies.  Then we spent the 15 or so minutes waiting for the food talking about Disneyland and watching a little girl who had just turned four jump up and down  on peanuts.  Apparently it is a thing they do there for people's birthdays, and I endeavor to go back and see if adults were also allowed to do the "Peanut Dance" as I have dubbed it.

Finally our food came out, and just like the Johnny Rebs' itself it didn't look like much on the outside but in the first bite was a fair amount of flavor and good old southern cooking.  My first bite was of the seasonal veggies.  Years of dining at other restaurants had prepared me for a collection of slightly hard carrots, broccoli, peas, and a few pieces of  squash and zucchini for color.  As you can see I got the zucchini, and corn, and...  Well I guess that served me right for ordering vegetables at a BBQ restaurant.  Still they weren't half bad.  Then I had a bite of the mashed potatoes, and a dreamy smile came over my face.  The potatoes were smooth as silk and the gravy was definitely up there with the best I've ever had.  I even made the mistake of sharing some with my wife, after which I continually had to ward off her attempts to scoop the remainder onto her plate.  I don't remember that in the wedding vows.  Finally I took a big bite of the my sandwich.  It was the perfect blend of meat onions and green peppers, and the sauce... It had a nice tang to it, a sweetness that I find myself leaning towards the more I partake of good barbeque sauces.

Leaning over I snagged a bite of my wife's mac and cheese, and was met by the only let down of the meal.  The elbow macaroni was cooked perfectly but the cheese sauce left much to be desired.  Then I pointed to something behind her and snuck a bite of her hamburger.  It was the precedent burger.  It wasn't seasoned all that much, which might have been a let down for some, but it has been a long time since I've tasted what a good piece of ground beef taste like without add anything to it.  That along with the sauce, onion ring, and a bit of avocado for good measure, made it a pleasure to eat.  Before my wife snatched it back out of my hands.

Overall I am happy I stopped back here, and there are quite a few items I want to go back and try (I'm looking at you Chicken Fried Chicken). Feeling satiated and happy I exited Johnny Rebs' and stumbled home. A warm smile on my face, a few memories for the road, and a slice of key-lime pie.

Johnny Rebs'
http://johnnyrebs.com/
2940 E. Chapman
Orange, CA 92689
orange@johnnyrebs.com
714-633-3369

Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que Tustin, Orange County, CA

I will start off with stating that I usually avoid chain restaurants. I have nothing against them, except for the fact that by the time they get big the cookie cutter economics and business style that comes with big chains will usually lower the quality of the food. Thankfully there are exceptions to this rule, and I'm happy to say the Lucille's is one of them.

So it was sunny Sunday around noon. I was visiting my folks up in the OC and trying to think of something that we all could eat. My parents have gotten more adventuresome as they've aged but getting them to go somewhere new can still be a bit of a hassle. For example, you will never find my mother in a little taqueria down in Santa Ana, no matter how great the food might be, a restaurant has to be clean looking both inside and out for her to approach it. My father on the other hand loves meat, so that takes out a lot of the places where meat is not the centerpiece of the meal, and don't you dare try to feed him tofu. My sister is still nursing a sensitive stomach so anything with too much heat is out, but she is flexible and not shy about asking the chef to change a dish to suit her tastes. So with this group I had to be sly and smart and practical. I finally settled on something very all American, simple, and tasty, Bar-B-Que.

Any way you spell it barbeque is the cornerstone of American eating. Good barbeque takes time and passion to create. Finding barbeque is easy, everybody has their little hole in the wall, or style they like, but finding something everyone can agree on is hard at the best of times. Thankfully a good friend of mine introduced me to Lucille's at one, or two or three of his birthday parties. I was instantly intrigued by the premise, and the giant smoker kept onside, inside the main eating hall, but I digress.

We made our way to the Lucille's in Tustin. The place had the feel of a slightly upscale TGIF, but underneath that there was something more. I didn't notice it until we sat down but the people were happy. After taking our drink orders our server said, "If you need anything just stop somebody we all share the (workload or tips)". I've heard of the idea before, even been to a restaurant that did it in theory, but I saw here that they really meant it, and that smile. It wasn't the regular, "Hey I got to work here, I'll do my best, what can I get you?" It was more, I am surprised by the fact I enjoy working here. The food is pretty good and I really do hope you enjoy yourself smile. Then came the biscuits.

Big, really big, buttermilk biscuits with a side of maple butter. It took all my willpower to only wolf down one biscuit. Everyone else had at least two. My fiance who loves biscuits, gets them every time we go anywhere that offers them, said they are the best she has ever had, and that wasn't even an appetizer. That is just what they offer when you first sit down. We did wind up getting three appetizers, a half order of Onion Straws. These are basically incredibly thin strips of onion deep fried in buttermilk. Perfect if you don't really like onions, because they are 90% batter anyway, so of course they were delicious. We also ordered some Fried Green Tomatoes because, well you have to order that in a southern restaurant. They were thick, breaded slabs of tomato battered in corn meal and deep fried, atop a slightly spicy red pepper cream sauce. Not hot but with just a hint of kick and a lot of flavor (sorry about the picture, everyone grabbed some before I could get a good picture of it, which just goes to show how tasty they are). Finally my sister and fiance split a plate of Flame Roasted Artichoke. Not my favorite dish, but I managed to snag a piece of artichoke heart and dip it in the very garlicky dip, which turned out to be pretty tasty. The piece of artichoke heart, I should add, was all that was left when they were done.

Trying not to gorge myself on the Onion Straws I waited and watched as the rest of my family ordered a second round of biscuits. You see I'd been to Lucille's before so I knew just how much food we were going to be getting. A short time later the food arrived. Giant slabs of food brought out by three people and gingerly placed before us. I had ordered the Beef Ribs, seven gigantic meat covered pieces of bone and some of the best Beef Ribs I've ever had short of Phil's, but believe me it is close. Of course that came with two sides so I got a little thing of Mac and Cheese and after a few moments of hesitation decided on the Fresh Vegetables. The vegetables were you basic fair (carrots, squash, a corn or two, and bits of red pepper) sounds healthy, but then slather it in oil, butter, and pepper and it is slightly less so, but still delicious. The Mac and Cheese were gooey concoctions of cheese and macaroni heaped into a bowl. Steering away from creamy this Mac and cheese is a bit on the heavy side, and just a bit chewy but only with the cheese, not the mac. The macaroni was cooked perfectly. Definitely one of the better bowls of Mac and Cheese I've ever gotten.

My dad surprised me by ordering the Jambalaya. I thought for sure he would order a rack of something. Still I understand as the Jambalaya has a nice little kick to it, and he does love a bit of spice in his food. I stole a bit and remembered just how much I liked the Jambalaya when I'd gotten it. It is definitely my go to if I don't feel up to having mounds of meat at Lucille's. The rice was cooked just right though I've had better "dirty" rice before, the chicken, hot links, and shrimp were also good, and I think Lucille's does a pretty good job with the piquante tomato sauce they pour over everything. Could do without the garnish though, looked a bit like a toupee made of grass to me.




My mom got a lunch special, the Ribs and Tri-Tip, she also got a side of roasted Vegetables. She settled on the pork ribs, which while I do enjoy them I prefer Phil's. As for the Tri-Tip it they are one of my mom's favorites. I've had them before and while I will always prefer ribs those of you who like slow cooked meat that comes as soft and flavorful then you will not be disappointed.

My sister, the one with the somewhat sensitive stomach, also got a lunch special, the BBQ Chicken Sandwich, hold the BBQ, which blew my mind a bit. I took a small bite, and while I think the Chicken could have been more flavorful, even without the BBQ sauce it was still moist. It also didn't hurt that it was covered in melted cheddar and stacked high with onion straws.



My fiance, and soon to be wife, also got a sandwich. Being a lover of tri-tip she ordered the BBQ Tri-Tip Sandwich with a side of cheese grits. She really loved the sandwich, enough so that I didn't even get to steal a bite, but the cheese grits were a bit below what she was expecting. I managed to sneak a taste and while good they weren't as smooth as the ones her family makes, though they certainly were cheesy.

After a 20-30 minutes of contented eating we were all stuffed. I, having exercised a good two hours before coming so I could eat my fill, managed to make my way to the smoker, where the chef working it was nice enough to let me have a peak inside. Yes, there is an entire smoker inside of the restaurant.















We left, after grabbing a lollipop or two from the Flying Pig Lounge, and stumbled out to our car to go home and do what all great families do after eating tons of BBQ, take a nap. As for Lucille's the place feels comforting, the people are happy, and the food is plentiful. I would go back there any time.

Lucille's (Multiple Locations)
The District at Tustin
2550 Park Ave
Tustin, CA 92782
(714) 259-1227
http://www.lucillesbbq.com/

Maye's Bistro, Bonita, San Diego, CA

So it's a sunny Sunday afternoon, my fiance and I are headed over to her parent's house to help clean up a few things for our reception a few weeks from now. Still a bit tired from my morning run I race down the highway to Bonita, wondering what I can possibly stuff in my face without going through a drive-thru, but that won't take forever to prepare. That's when I remember a little empanada place a friend happened to mention the day before. Sure, I think, it's not like you can really screw up empanadas. Little flaky, pieces of dough stuffed with anything you can imagine, and that is where Maye's Bistro (pronounced Mai yeh according to the friend who recommended it)shines.

You'll have to look hard for it. Maye's is located in a little strip mall off Bonita Rd. While the outside may be nothing to talk about the inside is somewhat quaint. There are only two tables inside, as most people prefer to grab their empanads to go, but the tables are clean and come with a few condiments, hot sauce (first time I'd seen Tapatio in a packet), and BBQ sauce to name a few. A flat screen TV sits above the front counter, and on the wall as you enter are a few pictures of the owner, and a plaque from the city business commission. Behind the counter is a a little oven used to heat the empanadas if you feel like eating them there. Besides that the room is dominated by two refrigeration units with clear glass allowing you to look in at the flavors of empanada that are there that day.

My fiance and I took a seat by the window perused the menu as we waited for the lady in front of us to finish ordering. It was there that we amazed by the sheer number of empanadas available. I was expecting things like the Pollo con Papas and Carnitas, but there was also Hawaiian Rib, Meatball, Scampi and Linguine, even Lobster (if in season). Not what I was expecting at all. When our turn came we decided on a few different empanadas to split between us. We got the Pollo Chile Verde, Carne Con Chile, Shepard's Pie, and the monthly special Corned Beef and Cabbage. For desert we got a Mango Pineapple and the Blueberry with Blackberry. Then we sat down and waited for them to warm.

As we sat a wide variety of people came in and I was impressed with the the customer service. Polite and hard working there was only one woman working the front and another woman, who I believe was Maye herself coming out if things got too busy. Explanations on how to warm up the empanadas at home, and recommendations on what was good, or at least the staff's favorite. Simple things that some of the larger eateries forget are important.
Finally our food came out, and I both took a bite. So the play by play is like this: the Shepard's Pie was good but had a bit too much potato in it for me. The Carne Con Chile was great, just stuffed full of meat, but became perfect with a dash of hot sauce. The Corned Beef and Cabbage was surprisingly good, and I was amazed on how they were able to capture the that taste of the dish in such a little package. Finally Pollo Chile Verde was my favorite. The chicken was perfectly cooked, and the Chile Verde was not too spicy. I even enjoyed the taste of the black olives, and I usually am not a big fan. As for the desert empanadas my fiance's was good. There mango and pineapple were definitely fresh and tasty, but they tasted a bit heavy and lacking in complexity. My Blueberry with Blackberry had just the right amount of tart to it, with the cream cheese smoothing out the flavors to create an ideal dessert.

Satisfied we got up ready to tackle our afternoon of heavy lifting. I will definitely be heading back to Maye's, I have my heart set on trying some of the more unusual empanadas (Captain Kids with chicken mac and cheese or the Nacho Bites with ground beef, seasoning, cheese, and jalapeno), and definitely the Mole. Mmmmmm, mole...

P.S.: Make sure to get there early as they only make so many empanadas per day.

Maye's Bistro
4240-A Bonita Rd.
Bonita, CA 91902
(619) 479-0251
Mon.-Fri.: 6:30 AM to 8:00 PM
Sat.: 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Sun.: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
http://www.mayescabistro.com/