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If it's Encinitas, This Musubi Love
Home kitchen wins a following with Hawaiian Spam and seaweed wraps
A vegan musubi from home kitchen enterprise This Musubi Love, featuring a plant-based Spam substitute.
It's less like visiting a restaurant, and more like going on a foodie scavenger hunt: drive on Vulcan Avenue toward Leucadia until you reach the Beacons Townhomes. Take the alley to the left of the complex, then proceed to the fourth garage door. Call, don't text, and your order will appear. Sure enough, when I reach the fourth garage, a small sign taped to the door tells me I'm in the right place to pick up my order from This Musubi Love.
Next thing I know, I'm talking to Roger Post, the one-man band behind the delightfully punny takeout operation. Post had already lived at the Beacons Townhomes for a couple of years when he launched This Musubi Love a few weeks back. He explains it's Encinitas' first licensed Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation (MEHKO). Allowed in California since 2019, MEHKOs are a step up from the so-called "cottage" food licenses that have allowed entrepreneurs to sell homemade foods such as breads, cookies, and jams since 2013.
Four variations of musubi, including Tropical Heat with jalapeños and pineapple
With this permit in hand, Post can market somewhat more perishable foods. And in this case, he's got a chance to outearn his journalism degree by assembling a variety of musubi rolls. Inspired by nigiri sushi, basic musubi features a slice of Spam, served on a puck of rice, and wrapped in a strip of nori seaweed. Post says his work coming up with variations on musubi started out as a fun food hobby; now, This Musubi Love counts itself Leucadia's #1 Musubi Speakeasy. He's even a little surprised by how well it's been received, telling me, "I had no idea this many people in Encinitas liked Spam!"
Video:
Musubi!
I would point out that, if you're going to eat that ham in a can called Spam, musubi is the best way to do it. And part of the appeal here certainly has to do with price. Thanks in part to the operation's low overhead, the price for a single order of two musubi, bolstered with light teriyaki and furikake seasoning, starts at just $6.50. That gives you roughly the heft of a ham sandwich for about the price of a specialty latte purchased along this pricey stretch of coastline.
And technically, you don't even need to eat Spam to enjoy This Musubi Love. You'd probably never guess that the photo at the top of this story represents the $7 vegan musubi, which features a plant-based Spam substitute. Surprisingly, this wasn't my first faux musubi—not even my first in Encinitas, as I first tried phony Spam at the weekly Vagan market in town. I find it a particularly worthwhile alternative meat, because the few ways in which it doesn't taste like Spam might be considered a perk.
Katsui Music, featuring panko-breaded and fried Spam slices
I also tried the $8.50 Bachan's Chicken, which is a musubi roll made with fried chicken strips, flavored with Japanese BBQ sauce and spicy (or Kewpie) mayo. Other options include the $8.50 Spam N' Cheese (American, Swiss, or cheddar), the $9.75 Dawn Patrol (Spam with eggs, cheese, and bacon), and $8 Katsu Spam, another Japanese-inspired twist featuring panko-fried Spam.
Four orders turned out to be way more than I could eat, though I did my best attempt at gluttony while enjoying my time overlooking nearby Grandview Beach. My favorite turned out to be the $8 Tropical Heat, which build on Post's Spam, teriyaki, and furikake base with a combination of sliced pineapple and jalapeños. The sweet plus heat plus salty spam proves you can elevate just about any snack, even one predicated on processed meat.
Here's something you might be interested in.
If it's Encinitas, This Musubi Love
Home kitchen wins a following with Hawaiian Spam and seaweed wraps
If it's Encinitas, This Musubi Love
Home kitchen wins a following with Hawaiian Spam and seaweed wraps
A vegan musubi from home kitchen enterprise This Musubi Love, featuring a plant-based Spam substitute.
It's less like visiting a restaurant, and more like going on a foodie scavenger hunt: drive on Vulcan Avenue toward Leucadia until you reach the Beacons Townhomes. Take the alley to the left of the complex, then proceed to the fourth garage door. Call, don't text, and your order will appear. Sure enough, when I reach the fourth garage, a small sign taped to the door tells me I'm in the right place to pick up my order from This Musubi Love.
Next thing I know, I'm talking to Roger Post, the one-man band behind the delightfully punny takeout operation. Post had already lived at the Beacons Townhomes for a couple of years when he launched This Musubi Love a few weeks back. He explains it's Encinitas' first licensed Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation (MEHKO). Allowed in California since 2019, MEHKOs are a step up from the so-called "cottage" food licenses that have allowed entrepreneurs to sell homemade foods such as breads, cookies, and jams since 2013.
Four variations of musubi, including Tropical Heat with jalapeños and pineapple
With this permit in hand, Post can market somewhat more perishable foods. And in this case, he's got a chance to outearn his journalism degree by assembling a variety of musubi rolls. Inspired by nigiri sushi, basic musubi features a slice of Spam, served on a puck of rice, and wrapped in a strip of nori seaweed. Post says his work coming up with variations on musubi started out as a fun food hobby; now, This Musubi Love counts itself Leucadia's #1 Musubi Speakeasy. He's even a little surprised by how well it's been received, telling me, "I had no idea this many people in Encinitas liked Spam!"
Video:
Musubi!
I would point out that, if you're going to eat that ham in a can called Spam, musubi is the best way to do it. And part of the appeal here certainly has to do with price. Thanks in part to the operation's low overhead, the price for a single order of two musubi, bolstered with light teriyaki and furikake seasoning, starts at just $6.50. That gives you roughly the heft of a ham sandwich for about the price of a specialty latte purchased along this pricey stretch of coastline.
And technically, you don't even need to eat Spam to enjoy This Musubi Love. You'd probably never guess that the photo at the top of this story represents the $7 vegan musubi, which features a plant-based Spam substitute. Surprisingly, this wasn't my first faux musubi—not even my first in Encinitas, as I first tried phony Spam at the weekly Vagan market in town. I find it a particularly worthwhile alternative meat, because the few ways in which it doesn't taste like Spam might be considered a perk.
Katsui Music, featuring panko-breaded and fried Spam slices
I also tried the $8.50 Bachan's Chicken, which is a musubi roll made with fried chicken strips, flavored with Japanese BBQ sauce and spicy (or Kewpie) mayo. Other options include the $8.50 Spam N' Cheese (American, Swiss, or cheddar), the $9.75 Dawn Patrol (Spam with eggs, cheese, and bacon), and $8 Katsu Spam, another Japanese-inspired twist featuring panko-fried Spam.
Four orders turned out to be way more than I could eat, though I did my best attempt at gluttony while enjoying my time overlooking nearby Grandview Beach. My favorite turned out to be the $8 Tropical Heat, which build on Post's Spam, teriyaki, and furikake base with a combination of sliced pineapple and jalapeños. The sweet plus heat plus salty spam proves you can elevate just about any snack, even one predicated on processed meat.