Wrench and Rodent Seabasstropub

Tina After Dark

There’s a growing list of amazing spots in Oceanside. Despite its North County location, people from all over San Diego travel to visit Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub. Why? Oceanside evolved into one of the most exciting food hubs in San Diego, but Chef Davin Waite’s progressive sushi is also just that good. Like the restaurant’s name, the ambience is funky and eclectic.

I’ve been wanting to try this restaurant, and finally found an opportunity to go to Oceanside to meet with my daughter Tyra to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Located along Oceanside’s South Coast Highway, Wrench & Rodent is a charming establishment with a cozy interior. If you’re looking for a stereotypical sushi restaurant, this is probably not your thing. “Gritty” was the word that came to my mind to describe the place, it’s stylish but unpretentious and intimate. We were wanting something with character and food to match the night, and this place delivered.

Wrench & Rodent has unique, delicious and creative sushi combinations and entrees. You can tell the chef is super passionate about what he does. Fresh fish arrives daily and produce is sourced from the nearby Cyclops Farms or is plucked from a small garden behind the eatery.

The menu is a bit offbeat (in a good way) and our server was great. We started with the grilled shishito peppers, and hamachi Kama. Both were full of flavor and the yellowtail cheek was so fresh. We decided to go with house rolls, Hedgehog, Green Lantern, Dragonfly to share. The winner was definitely the Hedgehog (shrimp tempura and krab, topped with seared yellowtail, roasted garlic and truffle oil). The yellowtail was so tender, and the garlic/truffle oil worked so well. The flavors are layered and complex but still fresh. Nothing is too saucy or greasy, yet it was so full of flavor. The Hedgehog roll was my absolute favorite, with the Dragonfly coming in at a close second. All of the fish tasted so fresh and the sushi rolls have amazing flavor combinations. What we also liked was that everything didn’t come out at once. Dishes appeared as they were ready so we didn’t have a table full of plates and nowhere to put them all.

I’ll definitely be back soon to try Chef Waite’s 5 course Omakase menu which I’ve heard so much about. They also offer some vegetarian dishes for those in the crowd who are inclined. Dishes like teriyaki tofu nigiri, avocado rolls and the vegan almond Bundt cake for dessert.

Fun fact about the name: the establishment’s unique name was because in the UK, where the owner’s are from, it is customary for bars/pubs to have strange and unusual names, and wanting to capture a bit of the old country magic, the owner went with a name that really stood out and I can say it worked! And it’s definitely one of those you kind of need to know where it’s located types of places as it’s easy to miss. So don’t rely on your GPS but rather check out Google street view so you don’t pass it by like I did several times that night.

This week the median list price for San Diego, CA 92127 - Rancho Bernardo is $2,589,500 with the market action index hovering around 41. This is less than last month's market action index of 43. Inventory has increased to 38.

This answers “How’s the Market?” by comparing rate of sales versus inventory.

Market conditions have been consistently cooling in the past several weeks.

Because we’re still in the Seller’s zone, prices have not yet begun to drop. It may take a few more weeks of slack demand for prices to reflect and begin to fall. Expect prices to fall if the index persistently falls to the Buyer’s zone.

Welcome back my travel friends, if you can guess where I just was I’ll do 20 push ups. Drum roll please…

Morocco! I’ll do 20 just in case. And my gosh was it simply fantastic. Filled with rich culture, delicious food and endless activities from hiking the Atlas Mountains where Tom Cruise filmed a mission impossible movie to walking around the most impressive night market I have ever been to, there was something for everyone.

Morocco and more specifically Marrakesh has been at the top of my list for a very long time and I had the opportunity to go and couldn’t pass it up. If you’re not familiar, Marrakech is located in the northwest corner of Africa and is bordered by the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Get this, the country of Morocco is about the size of California meaning there is much more than just the famous city of Marrakech, there’s the famous Sahara Desert, Moroccan Wild Beaches & Azure Coast, and even ski resorts! Kinda sounds like California in terms of the diverse landscape.

Getting there was a breeze as I flew non stop from London which was only $200 round trip on British Airways and three and half hours long. Weather was nice and brisk at night and warmed up in the day making it perfect for walking around. Keep in mind the peak season is March and April but I usually prefer off seasons as there are less crowds. Depends on the experience you’re going for.

One of my favorite things about Marrakech was going to the city center known as the Medina. Keep in mind there is a high chance of getting lost and I mean truly lost. With narrow halls and covered ceilings you will not have a sense of where exactly you are but I found it quite exciting and refreshing as I am an Apple Maps addict.

Marrakech is also known as a city of luxury, from its 5 star resorts or some called riads (traditional houses) and over the top restaurants that will make you think you’re some type of royalty.

Speaking of 5 star resorts, I was lucky enough to stay at Amanjena under the world famous and my personal favorite chain, Aman. I can’t even put into words how magical my stay was and probably need another few pages to go into detail. Let’s just say it was a true oasis with exceptional amenities and service.

If I wasn’t enjoying the peaceful atmosphere at Amanjena, then I was out exploring. Our first day included visiting Medina where I got some beautiful handcrafted bags while witnessing all the hustle and bustle of the city. The next day included a camel ride in the Agafay Desert and a breathtaking hike in the Atlas Mountains. Finally, I couldn’t leave without ATVing through the desert.

Let’s just say everything about Marrakech surpassed my expectations and couldn’t recommend it more.

Happy traveling!

BY BART MENDOZA