{"id":254089,"date":"2019-01-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/old-town-welcomes-oculto-477-pho-royal-closes-in-north-park\/"},"modified":"2019-01-11T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-01-11T08:00:00","slug":"old-town-welcomes-oculto-477-pho-royal-closes-in-north-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/old-town-welcomes-oculto-477-pho-royal-closes-in-north-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Old Town welcomes Oculto 477, Pho Royal closes in North Park"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Por Frank Sabatini Jr.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pho Royal <\/strong>in North Park has permanently closed. The address went dark right after it was tented for termites in December 2018.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>A family member from the ownership indicated it wasn\u2019t financially feasible to continue running it, but added that Pho Royal\u2019s second location in Lemon Grove <em>(6937 Federal Blvd<\/em>.<em>) <\/em>will remain in operation. A different lease-holder will move into the space in January with a Cajun-style seafood eatery called <strong>Shrimp Heads<\/strong>. <em>2832 El Cajon Blvd<\/em>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Old Town\u2019s new mezcal-centric <strong>Bar Tahona<\/strong> will encroach on an existing storage space behind the bar to create a candle-filled speakeasy named <strong>oculto 477<\/strong>. Co-owner Steven Sadri said it will open in late February or early March, and that design details are still in the works. He added that a door for customers to enter into the intimate confines has yet to be created. <em>2414 Avenida San Diego, 619-255-2090<\/em>, <a href=\"http:\/\/tahonabar.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>tahonabar.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Hillcrest recently became home to a second location of <strong>Natural Style Chicken<\/strong>, which opened its primary restaurant at <em>3944 W. Point Loma Blvd<\/em>. in 1979. Famous for its rotisserie birds, which are sold in whole, half or quarter portions, the new branch took over the former <strong>Tokyo Ramen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_36534\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36534\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-36534 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Natural-Style-Chicken-Hillcrest-interior.jpg\" alt=\"Old Town welcomes Oculto 477, Pho Royal closes in North Park\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 600\/400;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-36534\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Natural Style Chicken has come to the heart of Hillcrest. <em>(Alternative Strategies)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The menu also features ribs, chicken egg rolls and house-made sides such as potato salad, onion rings and refried beans. In addition, turkey and duck can be pre-ordered for parties or dinners to go. <em>501 University Ave., 619-542-9844<\/em>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Restaurateur Chris McAfee explained to us that he recently closed his <strong>Smok\u2019d Hog<\/strong> barbecue eatery in Hillcrest for a move to <strong>Vail Headquarters<\/strong> in Temecula, where he will share a 6,000-square-foot commercial space with three other food venues. He will also gain a full liquor license.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_36535\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36535\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-36535 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Smokd-Hog-bacon.jpg\" alt=\"Old Town welcomes Oculto 477, Pho Royal closes in North Park\" width=\"600\" height=\"609\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 600\/609;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-36535\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This house-cured bacon will land in breakfast sandwiches when The Smok\u2019d Hog moves to Temecula. <em>(Photo by Chris McAfee)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt was an opportunity I had to jump at,\u201d said McAfee, who started the business as <strong>The Whole Hog<\/strong> four years ago at the triangular intersection of Park Boulevard and Robinson and Indiana streets.<\/p>\n<p>He plans on reopening at the new location by late February. He said a larger kitchen will allow him to introduce breakfast sandwiches and sell more smoked meats by the pound. <em>32127 Temecula Parkway<\/em>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/thesmokdhog.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>thesmokdhog.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Chicken wings and tenders rule the day at <strong>The Blazzin Buffalo<\/strong>, a fast-casual eatery that recently opened across the street from <strong>Bronx Pizza<\/strong> en Hillcrest.<\/p>\n<p>Owner Fahad Ibadi brings to the operation many years of experience making wings. He was longtime co-owner of <strong>Legends Wings<\/strong> in National City and worked in eateries that served wings before that.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_36536\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36536\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-36536 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-Blazzin-Buffalo-chicken-wings.jpg\" alt=\"Old Town welcomes Oculto 477, Pho Royal closes in North Park\" width=\"600\" height=\"389\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 600\/389;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-36536\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A new place for chicken wings has flapped into Hillcrest. <em>(Courtesy of The Blazzin Buffalo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>His menu offers 14 different sauce options, plus grilled chicken and shrimp that lands in salads, sandwiches and wraps. There\u2019s also french fries topped with Buffalo-style chicken or pulled pork, which is slow-roasted onsite for five hours. By later this month, he plans on introducing several vegan options, such as mock chicken wings and breaded cauliflower in Buffalo sauce. <em>120 Washington St., 619-542-9848<\/em>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blazzinbuffalo.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>blazzinbuffalo.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>San Diego will likely become home to an establishment boasting the largest commercial whiskey collection in the world when reps from Guinness World Records conduct an inventory count at <strong>The Whiskey House<\/strong>, located just outside the Gaslamp Quarter.<\/p>\n<p>Exceeding the collection of whiskeys at the <strong>aeroclub<\/strong> in Middletown, which offers several hundred labels, The Whiskey House greets customers with 2,800 choices from all over the globe. The tally by Guinness is scheduled to conclude Jan. 15.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_36533\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36533\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-36533 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-Whiskey-House-interior2-from-Alt-Strategies-1.jpg\" alt=\"Old Town welcomes Oculto 477, Pho Royal closes in North Park\" width=\"600\" height=\"401\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 600\/401;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-36533\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A world record may be set for a San Diego whiskey bar.<em> (Alternative Strategies)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Co-owner Alex Minaev and business partner, Ryan King, started out with a mere 200 bottles when they opened the bar\/restaurant four years ago. Minaev attributes the growing trend in whiskey drinking to the massive collection, which includes Scotch whiskeys that are more than 40 years old.<\/p>\n<p>Potential contenders for the world record are Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Washington, D.C., and a hotel in Sweden. But unless they quickly beef up their commercial inventories and register them with the organization, The Whiskey House takes the title. <em>420 Third Ave., 619-546-6289<\/em>,<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/thewhiskeyhousesd.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>thewhiskeyhousesd.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014Frank Sabatini Jr. puede ser contactado en <a href=\"mailto:fsabatini@san.rr.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fsabatini@san.rr.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By\u00a0Frank Sabatini Jr. Pho Royal in North Park has permanently closed. The address went dark right after it was tented for termites in December 2018.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":254090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Old Town welcomes Oculto 477, Pho Royal closes in North Park","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-254089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}