The Mission, San Diego

I love discovering neighborhood cafes and restaurants, especially if the ambiance is charming and the food is good.

CK and I wanted a quick lunch where we didn't have to travel far, so we ventured around the corner to The Mission in Mission Beach for lunch. Although The Mission is better known for it's all day breakfast menu, we both decided to try something from their lunch menu. We weren't sure what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised.

If you're into eclectic, healthy, fresh ingredients, with an international flare, then this place is for you. Besides the vegetarian thing, the food here reminded me a lot of my meal at Naam in Vancouver.

I've been very curious about tamales lately. I've never tried one before, but the word just screams 'FUN' to me. I've also been stumbling upon tamales in blogs, and TV shows I've read and seen recently. On top of that, my friend J holds an annual tamale making party that he raves about.

A Mexican tamale is typically steam-cooked corn dough wrapped in a corn husk. You do not eat the corn husk, it is strictly used for steaming or cooking. Tamales can be plain or stuffed with meats and cheeses.

My lunch was the vegetarian tamale with roasted salsa verde. Salsa verde is a tangy salsa made up of tomatillos, jalapeños, and white onions. The tamales were served with black beans, rice, and salad on the side.

Although the tamales were not stuffed with anything, they were packed with a lot of flavor. The corn dough produced a wonderful sweet taste.

I also had a mocha with my meal.

CK ordered the Indo Chine Double Happiness Bowl. This was a DELICIOUS dish that was full of flavor. The presentation was also colorful and fun. I definitely had food envy, and ate a good amount of CK's food. The Happiness Bowl is grilled brown rice with zucchini squash, sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, topped with a choice of two meats, and lightly drizzled with a peanut sauce. CK chose beef and shrimp for his meats.

The Mission
3795 Mission Boulevard
San Diego, California, USA
Telephone: 858-488-9060

Menu