Sumo Roll, One and Done

Nothing lasts forever, especially when it comes to food. Nori Sushi Bar & Grill, located in eastern San Diego County, demonstrated that in the recent months.

This restaurant is a considerable trek off the beaten path. You'll find it in the city of Alpine, some 40 miles east of San Diego proper, in a large shopping center across the way from Viejas Casino.

The item of interest (for me, at least) at Nori Sushi was the barely advertised Sumo Roll. There's no mention of it on the menu. It's not referenced anywhere inside the restaurant. If you happened to stumble upon their website you might have noticed it, advertised as the "Sumo Roll Challenge." 

You get 45 minutes to consume a nearly 5 pound deep-fried monster sushi roll. Succeed, and it's free with a t-shirt. Fail to conquer the beast and you'll pay $36 plus tax. 

Since there was little information about this challenge, I decided to inquire about it with the sushi chef on hand that evening in June 2010. Apparently the owner of the restaurant came up with the idea for the challenge. That was simple enough. 4 people had attempted it before me, and they all failed by a wide margin.

Because the Sumo Roll was still unbeaten, I was given the option of ordered it deep-fried or normal style. I went with the normal roll just because I don't particularly enjoy deep-fried anything. Besides, this way it would weigh a bit less and pack fewer calories. Why not make things a bit easier?

It took awhile to prepare the roll, but once it was brought out I proceeded to throttle the entire platter in 22 minutes. The sushi chef refused to believe I had actually eaten it (come on, I wasn't even that fast), insisting instead that I must have fiddled with the timer or hidden some of the product. Restaurant patrons who were watching me came to my defense. My success was recorded at 25 minutes.

They were amazed that someone finally finished their challenge roll. I was told that I could come back and attempt the deep-fried version on another visit. However, future challengers would no longer be allowed to order the standard roll.

How the times change... as of March 2011, I discovered through a friend interested in tackling the Sumo Roll that the restaurant had canceled the challenge. Dreams of a future deep-fried challenge went up in smoke.

Maybe they'll bring it back. And, hopefully, they'll advertise it more aggressively next time around.

High Desert Home Town

Hometown Buffet in Victorville serves all-you-can-eat weekday lunch for $5.29. That's a steal.

They serve sliders on Tuesdays up here.

And tacos.

Shrimp carbonara. 

 And real ice cream, in addition to the usual soft serve.

A few things I've never seen at Hometown Buffet before... they've still got their charm. It may be an omen of things to come.

New China Buffet

This is unofficially my 100th post, but that includes a few edits. It's the 90th. Either way I decided to put up a post with lots of photos and less writing.

Last October I stopped by New China Buffet, another inexpensive all-you-can-eat establishment in San Bernardino. Lunch runs for $6.99 including soft drinks, tea, and coffee.

The wasabi was creamier than usual. I wouldn't go here for the sushi in any case.

At this point the wait staff became irritated with me and stopped collecting my empty plates. 

Some may debate the quality, but the quantity's certainly abundant.

Hawkins' House of Burgers

Once again I'm putting aside more important endeavors to write about an old restaurant experience.

Meet the Hawkin's Special, from Hawkins' House of Burgers in Watts. All kidding aside, this had to be one of the roughest neighborhoods I've ever visited. The staff was incredibly friendly, but the restaurant's outdoor dining area was covered with bars. Needless to say I bought my food and trekked home.


The restaurant doesn't offer a formal challenge, but this is one serious burger. 27 oz of pre-cooked beef, pastrami (instead of bacon), American cheese, chili, tomato, onions, and lettuce. It's packed like a smaller burger inside of a larger burger.

It comes in a combo with fries and two cans of soda. The fries were still in the bag. If you like playing "Where's Waldo," you get bonus points if you can spot the second can of soda in the photo.

I don't remember the exact cost, but it was around $10. My kitchen scale indicated that the massive burger stack weighed around 2.5 lbs. It was as delicious as it was monstrous. Messy too.

My last visit was October 2009. I think a second sampling is long overdue.

Stuffy's

Up in Longview, WA you'll find a cozy little diner named Stuffy's. I visited their second location - aptly named Stuffy's II - but the waitress assured me that they were just as good as the original.

My visit was back in the summer of 2009. I knew about this place because they have a few challenge meals, including a 12-egg omelet and a 5-lb burger, but I decided upon food a little more ordinary.


Hamburger patty, hash browns, toast, and gravy. This was probably one of the most wholesome meals I'd ever eaten while traveling. I appreciated all the roadside memorabilia that adorned the walls. And a whole bunch of pictures of famous people too. Wish I got a pic or two of all that.

The friendliness of the people of southern Washington state is what I remember best. It was certainly refreshing.

True to form, I couldn't resist getting their 4 lb cinnamon roll to go. Went for $6 at the time. I didn't eat any 'til I got home. The truly adventurous will eat it in the restaurant and get a t-shirt.

There's a goal for next time.