Restaurant review: Bully's East, San Diego

In addition to excellent comic book conventions, San Diego is also home to many amazing and delicious restaurants. I've had some excellent food here: I had some wonderful Chinese the other night, and some of the city's best Mexican restaurants are found in the historic Gaslamp District and Old Town...mmmm...more sopapillas, please!

But for my last meal in San Diego I asked John to drive me to the famous restaurant with the great name: Bully's East, "A San Diego Tradition Since 1967." Wow! That's a long time! I was hoping they did not have food that old in the kitchen.



My trusty and well-thumbed copy of Access Guide to San Diego warned that as popular as Bully's is, there's sometimes a wait to get in, but we arrived in the doldrums of the mid-afternoon smack-dab between lunch and dinner. It was the perfect time for linner then, as we were seated quickly in a plush cushy booth in the dark cozy dining room. There were many amazing things to choose from to eat as the menu was almost as big as a book:



Everything sounded so good that I couldn't choose, so I let John pick what we were going to eat. First up: delicious, delicious calamari. These came fast and were hot and savory, not too much breading but just enough crunch to add to the tender squiddy goodness. It surprised me that instead of the usual tentacled rings you get when you order calamari, Bully's serves 'em up in big generous chunks of octopus-meat: no skimping on the seafoody delight here!



Next up: a hot piping bowl of my favorite soup, French Onion. Ooh la la! I know some people think that French onion soup is simply gilding the lily, but to the taste buds of this little stuffed bull, there's not anything that can't be improved by melting cheese over it! And hey, look, Texas Toast! My second kind of favorite toast after French. I'm getting full already and the main course hasn't even arrived!



Whoo hoo! When we ordered the Prime Rib Sandwich, I thought it would be carved slices in a roll: I didn't expect it would be a massive full piece of delicious, juicy prime rib laid out on a bed of toasted bread! Bully's certainly gives good value for money, especially with their famous and delicious prime rib:



Huh? What? Why are you all looking at me like that? What's the matter?

Ohhhhhh. No, don't worry, Bully fans. I simply had some of the delicious creamy garlic mashed potatoes. I did not sit and eat prime rib! And even if I did, it wasn't anyone I knew! Besides, who even knows what kind of animal a prime rib comes from? Probably some sort of amazing and yummy beast called the Prime Riblet. John would not tell me where a prime rib comes from, but he seemed to enjoy it very much. Me? I'm stinkin' of garlic and lovin' it!

So, in conclusion: when you're in San Diego, dine at the fabulous Bully's East, and tell 'em I sent you. You'll come for the name, stay for the surprisingly large portions, friendly service, and all the free paper napkins you can use!