“Never Disappoints”: Where Roger Kept Going Back, 2012–2014

A single photo can be a lucky night. The more useful signal in an archive is repetition — the places that show up again months later, or that get a caption like never disappoints, always a must or still hits the spot. Reading Roger’s Flickr posts from spring 2012 to mid-2014 with that lens turns up a clear short list of regulars.

Underbelly in Little Italy leads it. The first bowls — the house Underbelly Ramen and Belly of the Beast — were posted in May 2012, and another followed eleven days later. Roger posted late-night bowls there in February 2013 and again in April 2013, the second one after a guys’ night out at Noble Experiment downtown. In March 2014 he was back for the vegetarian ramen, and the caption says it all: so damn good and still hits the spot.

Roger’s next post that same March 2014 day is from Caffè Italia: crème brûlée, tiramisu and a pistachio cannoli. The caption calls it always a must after dinner in Little Italy — the language of a ritual, not a first visit.

Ramen kept pulling him back in other neighborhoods too. Izakaya Masa in Mission Hills appears in February 2013 with a shio ramen and again in June 2014 for late night eats. Ramen Yamadaya shows up in April 2013 with ramen, curry and a Sapporo, and again in May 2013 for a catch-up with friends over bowls.

Some returns were faster. Hodad’s gets a double cheeseburger and Neapolitan shake in December 2012 and a burger with an IPA for lunch in May 2013. Karl Strauss’s Tower 10 IPA is on the table in December 2012 and again with buffalo wings on a Monday afternoon in April 2013. Societe Brewing appears twice in the same December, three weeks apart.

Spring 2013 added a new set of regulars. Little Sheep’s split hotpot shows up four times between March and June, once with the note that it hits the spot even though it was hot as hell. Rei do Gado’s Brazilian barbecue was posted twice in six weeks, food coma both times. Tea Station came up twice in a week, the second time as the third stop of a night out. Loving Hut was the vegan lunch in March and again in June, and Thorn Street Brewery the beer stop in February and June. Phil’s BBQ and Heavenly Cupcake each came back within a year of their first post, and Tofu House three months later. And one dish kept returning: hủ tiếu Mỹ Tho in East San Diego, posted in June 2012, November 2012 and June 2013, twice tagged Pho King.

Then there are the places that got a verdict instead of a second post. D Bar’s dessert platter in May 2013 comes with never disappoints. Punjabi Tandoor, the same weekend, is definitely one of the better Indian joints in town. And Native Foods Café in June 2014 gets I think I found my new vegan spot.

None of this is a claim about 2026. Menus change, chefs move on and some of these businesses may look very different today. What the pattern shows is what kept Roger coming back: bold bowls of noodles, a dependable local pint, dessert as a night out and places that were as good the second time as the first.