Roberto’s Taco Shop is one of the classic San Diego taco-shop-style Mexican fast-food spots -- the kind of place associated with big burritos, rolled tacos, carne asada fries and open late-night/24-hours. There are multiple Roberto’s locations, and menus/prices vary somewhat by location.

The California burrito is one of the foods that really captures the overlap between San Diego’s Mexican-American taco-shop culture and California’s fast-food culture: carne asada, a flour tortilla and Mexican flavors combined with something decidedly American—French fries.

At Roberto’s, the basic version is simple: Carne asada + French fries + cheese + flour tortilla. The combination of salty, savory, charred beef with a soft/starchy fry is made even better with melted cheese - all wrapped in a giant flour tortilla. Dipping it in a salsa adds a punch of flavor. I wouldn't mind some more inside.

Grade: B

There are so many incredible restaurants in San Diego and so little time. So, I got this one delivered to me at the hotel.

Meet Dumpling is a tiny, family-run Northern Chinese dumpling shop in Point Loma, at 2907 Shelter Island Drive. It opened in 2023 and was specifically highlighted by Eater San Diego for its handmade dumplings, which the owner's mother-in-law makes.

The menu is focused on boiled Northern Chinese dumpling, and I went with the "Green Chive w. Shrimp & Pork Dumplings."

That filling is savory pork, sweet/briny shrimp, and the fresh, slightly garlicky chive flavor. And the noodle is so silky and delicate. It's exactly why pasta is one of my favorite foods.

Grade: A

Here's my latest column:

Autumn olive is easier to dislike in theory than it is on the tongue.

Autumn olive, or Elaeagnus umbellata, is a big, bushy shrub that has spreading, thorny branches covered with oval green leaves that have silvery, speckled undersides — much like an olive tree.

In the spring, the bush has small, fragrant pale-yellow flowers, but by its fall fruiting season, it is full of small red berries covered in tiny silver dots.

Autumn olive is found all over Appalachia — especially along roadsides, old fields, forest edges and former mining areas.

But it wasn’t always that way.

It is native to China, Japan and Korea and was introduced to the U.S. around the 1830s in an effort to help the environment through a few different ways:

Erosion control: Autumn olive’s extensive roots helped stabilize disturbed soil, especially on strip-mined land, roadsides and slopes.

Reclaiming poor land: Autumn olive can thrive in poor soil because it fixes nitrogen, essentially improving soil fertility.

Wildlife habitat and food: Its abundant berries were promoted as food for birds and other wildlife, while its dense growth provided cover.

Fast revegetation: In Appalachia, where mining and other activities left large areas of stripped ground, a fast-growing, tough shrub seemed like an ideal way to make barren land green again.

Those same characteristics that made autumn olive valuable … now make it an invasive species.

The shrub produces enormous quantities of red berries. Birds eat them and disperse the seeds, allowing autumn olive to take over roadsides, fields, stream corridors and forest edges.

It can form dense thickets that crowd out native shrubs and alter the soil chemistry through nitrogen fixation.

What was once considered a useful conservation plant by government agencies and programs is now classified as a noxious weed.

But birds aren’t the only ones who developed a taste for those red berries. Appalachians have made do with what is available to them for ages — even if what’s available is an invasive shrub.

Autumn olive berries are usually tart, slightly sweet and a little astringent. The flavor is a mix of cranberry, sour cherry and tomato. The texture can become a bit mealy due to the tiny seeds. And, they are unusually high in lycopene, the antioxidant associated with tomatoes.

That makes these berries perfect for primarily jams and jellies, but also pies, cobblers, sauces, fruit leather, juice and syrups.

Autumn olive jam works anywhere you might use cranberry sauce, sour-cherry preserves or another fruit spread. Spread it on toast, biscuits, English muffins or cornbread, or use it as the fruity layer in a grilled cheese sandwich.

It’s particularly good with cheese; try it alongside a sharp cheddar, goat cheese, brie or a crumbly blue cheese on a cheeseboard. For breakfast, spoon it over pancakes, waffles, oatmeal or yogurt, or swirl it into a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

It can also become a glaze for roasted pork, chicken or duck, or be stirred into a vinaigrette for a salad with bitter greens, nuts and cheese.

Autumn olive was introduced to Appalachia to heal damaged landscapes — only to be a little too good for its own good.

Fortunately, Appalachians are good at making do, finding the good in what’s at hand and turning those tart little berries into something good — like a jar of jam.

The 47th Annual Mound Arts & Crafts Festival was held this weekend, with dozens of vendors. Food trucks included Gettin Piggy With It 304, Wheelhouse - Dippin' Dots, Southridge Pacesetters Lions Club, Just Drinks, MAD Concessions and Simpson Memorial United Methodist Church. In addition to the food trucks, there were arts & crafts vendors, music and a petting zoo. A number of vendors around the Mound offered food items: Boy Scouts, Vanik's Coffee, Willie's Candy, Jen's Candy & Crafts, Howe Sweet It Is, DARN Good Candy. There were a few that were new to me. Dirty Pop is from the same folks at Cerealsly. I ordered the Frosted Blue, which is cream, blue raspberry and Sprite. YUM. Farmhouse Dips & Mixes has dozens of delicious dips that they encourage you to try. My favorites included any with garlic. Faith and Flour bakery was also new to me. I enjoyed these impossibly perfect little caramel delights. At the Mountain Charm booth, I purchased Sweet Amanda's Kettle Corn - Snickerdoodle. I also picked up Chubby Joe's Pork Rinds. And Lincoln County Coffee & Spice Co., which produces small-batch specialty coffees. They had New Orleans Roast, Jacked-O'Lantern, Arise, Dark Cherry, Mystic Blueberry and Salted Caramel coffees.

The second annual Picklepalooza took place Saturday at Slack Plaza. Presented by Arts Amplified at City Center at Slack Plaza, the free family-friendly celebration was packed with pickles, music, games, activities and more. There were free pickle samples from 7 vendors, plus art, food & jewelry for sale. Other vendors include The Pickle Guy, Elk City Popcorn, Ellen’s Ice Cream & Charleston Taco. Ursus Brew Works - Old Bay Pickle Mea Cuppa Coffee - Red Hot Pickles (tangy, garlicky, spicy) with Hungarian Red, Red Jalapeno and Red Moruga Scorpion Fife Street Brewing - Habanero Pickle & pickle lemomade Gritt's Farm - Classic Pickle & Pickle Donut Bullock Distillery - Savory Dill Pickle 1010 Bridge - Pickled Quail Egg Fazio's - Wise-Guy Pickles with cucumber pickles, garlic brine, cherry pepper, red peppers, dill and calabrian chili