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Yuk Dae Jang Revisited

Korean Restaurants

Ok, looks like I’ve recovered from our last road trip….man, was I tired. So, I can get back to posting right? With the recent hot weather; the Missus was craving something from Yuk Dae Jang. And “FOY” Mar had gone ahead and visited YDJ, posted a nice looking meal in IG…….

After our last dining fiasco here, I made the Missus promise to just stick our favorite items. Which can be found on the bottom of the menu…..

We arrived for an early dinner, so the restaurant was really quiet.

We went ahead and placed our order. Which led to the panchan arriving soon after.

Man, the baechu kimchi was maybe the best I’ve had here. Nice sour-fermented tones.

We got heukmi bap – purple rice to accompany our meal.

A bit on the chewy side; which is the tendency for purple rice, but not bad. We could taste a mild nuttiness this time around as well.

Way back when we first visit YDJ, we had the Kimchi and Pork Mandu. We thought it was not bad, so we decided to try it again ($12.99). This time around the wrappers were much better. It had a mild fluffy “pull” to them.

There was a generous amount of filling….of which the sour-mildly tones and light crunch of the kimchi stood out.

And then of course; we got the Premium Bossam in House Special Sauce, not cheap at $39.99, but still our favorite item here.

Funny thing, it comes with the traditional sides, like fermented baby shrimp and fermented bean paste. But we just like the bossam in the Janggajji like sauce, with the sliced garlic and jalapenos.

And while the nicely flavored pork is supposed to be the star of the dish….for some reason, the Missus really enjoys the onions in this dish….it’s quite mild, lightly sweet, and goes well with the savory-slightly sweet-mildly sour sauce.

And of course we had leftovers. The Missus had finished all the onions and chives during our meal at the restaurant….but wanted more! So, I did something I hadn’t done since I worked in a restaurant a zillion years ago. I sliced onions and soaked them in ice water for about a half hour before draining well. This reduced the pungent-sulphuric bite and enhances the savory-sweetness. So, this is what YDJ leftovers look like. I wish we had some watercress; which I think would work well with this.

We added in some okra from the yard, cucumbers, tomatoes for sweet-acidity, some chilies I’ve been growing. Funny thing….the Missus actually seemed to enjoy this even more!

Thanks for the YDJ reminder Mar!

Yuk Dae Jang
7307 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Wed – Mon 11am – 9pm
Closed on Tuesday

Where in the altitude were we????

Road Trip, Sierra Nevada, California, Travel

How’s that for a bit of a change from my typical “where on the road” posts? Because yes….we were on yet another road trip; though this time we had a cabin without cell or wifi for four nights. At an altitude of 9,400 feet! It was a new experience for me to be sure! I was a bit out of sorts…but both JJ and the Missus loved it.

At least the cabin had a full kitchen.

Though the lodge and nearby resort had small shops and places that served breakfast and lunch our meals basically looked liked this…..

Yes, we packed stuff from Carnival Market, etc…..to get us by, so not sure how many posts I’d get out of this road trip.

Each day would start with a hike….usually at a trailhead with an elevation of 10,300 feet! Oh, and I wasn’t prepared for the morning temps!

I packed one long sleeve pull over and had a windbreaker….so the first part of our hikes was…well, freezing….but things would warm up and the views were; well, outstanding.

Even JJ thought so!

All these morning hikes would be 4 1/2 to 6 miles long and have elevation gains of 800 – 950 feet. So yes, I was huffing along.

There were also so many beautiful lakes……

Which JJ also loved.

Each afternoon we’d hike along the nearby creek, where JJ would just avail himself of sticks and the clean water. And then……

It was an interesting experience. I did several posts ahead of time. And also we did two quick afternoon trips to places where there was cell service so I could check comments and such……

I especially loved the oncoming fall colors….I’m guessing it occurs much earlier at this altitude?

Anyway, even though we got back over 48 hours ago, I’m still recovering from the 8 hour drive.

So, thanks for dropping by and please enjoy the view……

While I catch up on some rest and get my act together!

Thanks for stopping by!

Circling Back to Tsuruhashi

Japanese Restaurants

Recently while heading to Nijiya with the Missus, She mentioned Tsuruhashi. Which had me wondering when was the last time we visited. Getting back home I took a look and oh my gosh! It’s been over ten years! Kind of crazy since there was a time when the place was on our “rotation”. I’m not sure what happened here….prices had gone up….then Covid….then it kind of slipped our mind? Anyway, since JJ is good at home for a couple hours by himself these days, we decided to head on over for dinner.

We arrived and were seated quickly. Of course things have changed over the last decade…you now order on the iPad…..another change…remember when I was complaining about dinner costing us fifty bucks? We now it’s……

And while we really don’t go too crazy over the meats…we ordered what we remember enjoying over the years.

For some reason, the beeru seems a bit smaller now?

The premium beef tongue still comes with that all important cube of beef fat to get the grill nice and “lathered”.

We’ve always enjoyed the mushrooms here……

The key is to put them on the griddle once things are cooking. We put them at the bottom where all the drippings flow……to get them nice and fatty-moist.

The Kobe Outside Skirt is a must as it is so beefy, while a bit toothsome, the wonderful flavor is so worth it.

These days, it’s not drenched in sauce which suits us just fine as we’re after the beefiness in texture and flavor. Of course you must have this medium rare at the most.

We needed some rice and the Missus wanted to try the Bi Bim Bap….which was interesting.

This was interesting as while the items were typical, the veggies skewed toward ohitashi and Japanese pickled items….I guess as it should. The Missus enjoyed the egg and rice was nicely cooked. The Missus ate most of this.

And then there was the dish I was most looking forward to….the yukke, raw beef.

While being a bit more chewy than I recalled; this was still very refreshing; clean tasting, the quail egg yolk adding richness.

This was an enjoyable meal….I’m not sure why we hadn’t returned sooner! I kind of laugh when thinking about grumbling at the fifty dollar price tag back then! Now it’s double that! How times have changed. And then there was a really special moment. As I was walking to the restroom I ran into two of my favorite people…..”XJ” and her hubby. I was so honored to have officiated their wedding what seems a lifetime ago! It felt so special….and the hubby’s parents still call me “Uncle Kirk”! Life just hands you these magical moments at times……

I’m sure we’ll won’t wait ten years to return!

Tsuruhashi Japanese BBQ
3904 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Sunday 4pm – 10pm
Mon – Thurs 5pm – 10pm
Friday 5pm – 1030pm
Saturday 4pm – 1030pm

Bacari Revisited

Mediterranean Restaurants, Middle Eastern Restaurants/Cuisine

The Missus had enjoyed our meal at Bacari so much, that when the heat wave hit recently, guess where She wanted to go? Yep, back for an early dinner at Bacari. Though this time, it was just to hot to have JJ along……

We again had 430pm reservations, so the patio was nice and chill…though once 5pm came along, the place filled fast.

We got our two favorites from our previous visits, along with trying something new from the massive menu. The Oyster Mushroom Shish Kabob ($16). The Missus loved the salty-tangy-savory-earthy flavor of the rather crisp oyster mushroom prep. The pita for this dish was also on the more firm and crisp side.

Loved the rather refreshing sauce and the veggies. Our only complaint was how small the portion of oyster mushrooms were….it kind of got lost in this dish.

Of course we got the Salatim! That hazelnut beet muhamarra is probably my favorite item here.

It has some nice earthy spice, with a light sweetness. Goes so well with the pillowy pita.

On a really nice note….the manager working the front of house noticed how much I enjoyed it….and when we got our leftovers to go he gave us a little container of muhamarra since I had finished all of it! Such a nice touch!

We got the Lamb Pistachio Kebab again. Though this time we ordered it on pita ($3 upcharge) and this is totally the way to go.

Mainly because that sauce, that can be somewhat overwhelming is placed in a container on the side. You can choose which sauce you prefer and control the amount as well.

We enjoyed this meal and can’t wait to return again. It was even better than our first visit with really wonderful service.

Bacari
3823 30th St.
San Diego, CA 92104
Current Hours:
Mon – Wed 430pm – 1030pm
Thursday 430pm – 1230am
Friday 430pm – 1am
Saturday 1030am – 230pm, 4pm – 1am
Sunday 1030am – 230pm, 4pm – 1030pm

If you’ve recently visited Bacari, what dishes did you enjoy?

Nankotsu from Tenkatori – The Power of Suggestion

Japanese Restaurants

You know….I’m so easily swayed by the wonderful folks who comment on our blog. Back in August, “FOY” Junichi mentioned getting Tenkatori….which is always a good choice for me. But, he also mentioned that they still didn’t have nankotsu, chicken cartiladge, something that I really enjoy. I know “FOY” ChrisR has always been mentioning that to me in emails over the years.

So, I decided to take a chance and headed by last week for lunch. And regardless if they had nankotsu or not….I was craving some tori nanban anyway.

Well, I did order my Tori Nanban Bento which is now $14.30 and asked if they had Nankotsu….and was surprised when the nice young lady said “yes”! So guess what….I placed an order for a small portion ($8.30). There was one caveat though….I was told that it was chicken knee cartilage – Hiza Nankotsu, not the typical Yagen Nankotsu, the stuff that I’m used to. Still, I was kind of excited about trying it.

I’m not sure if it’s just my imagination, but the portion size seems to have increased since my last visit?

And way more tartar sauce too! I did kind of the enjoy the sauce, which had a nice sour-tanginess and wasn’t overly mayonnaise heavy…at least to me. Huge pieces of chicken…perhaps a bit too large as it cut down on the batter to chicken ratio; but it was nicely seasoned, the flesh moist.

The large portion of rice was decently cooked and the potato salad was nice and creamy as always.

As for the Nankotsu……well, this was a bit different from what I’m used to as it was more meaty. I did enjoy the crunchy batter and the use of togarashi which gave it a bit of spice.

While I still prefer the larger crunch of Yagen Nankotsu, I still enjoyed this….especially the seasoning and when you did get a nice crunch!

So, Junichi….I’m not sure if you have a preference with regards to your chicken cartilage…..but it seems that they have it back in stock…sort of!

And yes, the inspiration and power of suggestion that exudes from all your comments comes thru so strongely!

Tenkatori Miramar
6780 Miramar Rd Suite 104
San Diego, CA 92121

Sydney – Dinner at Midden by Mark Olive

Australia, Australian/New Zealand Cuisine, Memorable Meals, Sydney, Travel

We had one evening in Sydney before heading off on our way to our next destination. We’d be spending three night in Sydney on our way back, but I still wanted a memorable meal for this evening. I had come across this article in Atlas Obscura, one of their Gastro Oscura posts on a restaurant named Midden by Mark Olive. The restaurant is know for serving dishes made with Indigenous Australian ingredients. The head chef, Mark Olive is of the Bundjalung people one of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. And is a well known celebrity chef in Australia. As a plus, the restaurant is located at the iconic Sydney Opera House. So, I made reservations……

We headed out to dinner early, taking our time, the long route, and really enjoying the view.

Passing places we’d seen earlier during our tour of the area.

Just taking it all in…..

Before arriving at the Opera House…..

The Opera Bar was doing some great business already as we passed.

We arrived and requested a table outside….of course!

I started with a cold one….

While we looked over the menus………

I knew one of the dishes we needed to get; the Indigenous Australian Grazing Plate, which has selection of Australian proteins and various items with Australian based dishes. We also got the Smoked Kangaroo Salad and I really wanted to try some Barramundi, which is not found “back home” in Hawaii, which I’ve seen on menus as Asian Sea Bass. So, I ordered the Smoked Blue Gum Barramundi.

As anticipated, the Indigenous Australian Grazing Plate was a mixed bag. The lemon tandoori crocodile had that “old reptile” sourness that I don’t care for. The Smoked Kangaroo was very lean and chewy, but had a nice smokiness and I enjoyed the gameyness. The Emu had an almost metallic tinge to it.

Could not really tell the difference between the Wild Thyme Hummus and the basic stuff. I enjoyed the finish of the Tasmanian mountain pepper leaf flatbread, but it was a little too hard for our tastes.

The cheeses were fine, but nothing outstanding.

It was an interesting introduction to the amazing variety of plants and meats in Australia.

The Smoked Kangaroo salad was fine, though nothing out of the ordinary.

The one dish that we had which changed how we ate for the rest of the trip was the Smoked Blue Gum Barramundi. Though it wasn’t because of the use of Blue Gum…which is a type of Eucalyptus….I’ve always thought that the leaves and such are poisonous, but I came to learn that the wood of blue gum really imparts a wonderful flavor when used for smoking.

Beyond the mash and the somewhat acidic broth which had a touch of spice….it was the fish that caught our attention. Wonderfully crisp skin, a moist-tender, mild- buttery sweetness to the flesh. Man, this was so good. We’d end up ordering Barramundi where ever we saw it on the menu.

It was a fun meal…with a nice variety…..the restaurant had a steady stream of customers…..

I’m glad we ate here as it gave us a fun base for our future meals.

Midden by Mark Olive
Western Broadwalk Sydney Opera House
Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

And as we headed back to our hotel, we totally enjoyed the view.

And there was one last…special stop I had in mind before calling it a night!

Thanks for stopping by!

Turo Turo Tuesday – Lumpia House (Poway)

Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

Recently, I was wanting some Sisig….so I naturally thought of one of my favorites when it came to that dish. Which I hadn’t been to in a while. But then….I thought I should try someplace I hadn’t been to before and Lumpia House came to mind. I’m trying to remember who mentioned the place to me. I think it was Calvin, but am not sure. II also wasn’t too sure about the drive….which looked to take over 30 minutes…..on a Saturday. Still, the place opens at 10, so I decided to make the drive up. The shop is in a very low keyed strip mall off of Poway Road right next to a location of Su Pan….the parking lot is pretty small, but heck, this was 10 on a Saturday so there were no parking issues.

Walking in and taking a look around made me smile. This really looked like a typical, humble turo-turo shop….

Snacks stacked about, trays of food coming out of the back kitchen…..

Their “signature” lumpia under the heat lamps…..

Nothing hipster about this place….that’s for sure!

I got a two item combo ($16.99)…of course with Sisig….but they also had a version of Tokwat Lechon – basically lechon with stir fried tofu that I don’t see around much; so I got that as well. And because this place is named Lumpia House – I got 6 meat lumpia ($1.15/each).

Man, this was a lot of food! Enough for two meals….one of which was for both the Missus and I!

So, how was it? Well, let’s start with the not so good….the rice was terrible, some parts hard, other parts super mushy…photos don’t lie; check this out. It was almost like porridge!

As for the Sisig? Well, it was a bit different as it had a good amount of red and green bell peppers, which I kind of enjoyed in terms of texture and a hint of vegetal and sweetness.

I enjoyed the texture of the lechon; some nice crisp pieces, good porkiness……enjoyed the pugent-sweetness of the onions. It had adequate sweetness, but was really lacking in terms of spiciness. In fact, when heating up, which it did adequately I added in a couple of chili de arbol from our garden which really enhanced things. Still, this was pretty good for turo-turo sisig.

As for the dish that was like Tokwat Lechon….well the tofu had kept shape nicely throughout the cooking process. The pork skin was quite crunchy and I used the air fryer to heat which restored the texture.

The weak point was the flavor…which was bland overall and the sauce was really watery and thin. I had expected good soy sauce, perhaps a hint of sweetness, savory tones….but this was watered down soy sauce.

And then there was the lumpia. I guess lumpia is going for a buck or more a piece these days?

I liked the very savory filling, but the wrapper seemed over-friend and was on the chewy side. Though, when heating the leftovers, I put it in the air fryer which helped things. And the Missus ended up enjoying the leftover lumpia.

If nicely fried the lumpia here would be really good.

The woman working was very nice and friendly. The portion sizes are very generous….and that sisig was pretty good. If they were in my ‘hood, I’d visit every so often. It’s a nice, unpretentious neighborhood Filipino restaurant….which was just what I wanted on this day. Also of note; there’s an 3.85% charge for credit cards, so cash is king here.

Lumpia House
13160 Poway Rd.
Poway, CA 92064
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 10am – 6pm
Sunday 11am – 6pm

K Bakery Opens

Bakery, Desserts

I guess K Bakery did open on August 10th as their sign said. That weekend, the Missus and I had finished shopping at Nijiya and walked by. We saw the “Open” sign and the door was open so we decided to check the place out.

A full array of cakes….

Though the pastry side seemed a bit empty.

That’s when a gentleman, who I believe is the baker/owner walked out and said they weren’t open yet! I mentioned the seeing the Open sign and he told us “no, you have to see the other open sign….that’s when we open.” Huh? And then he told us that they open at 10am. Ohhh-kay…..

Anyway, about a week later, after having lunch, the Missus and I headed over to see if they were open. And then it became clearer….the “other sign” is the LED Open sign. So note to self’ even though the cardboard sign say “Open….dey no stay open, okay?”

We took note that most of the whole cake are priced at $30 and up…..

Some of the prices gave me pause…..

A tiny “boule” for like seven bucks……

And then I took a closer look and found that prices for many items weren’t that bad. Though six bucks for some manju seemed a bit high….

I really prefer more savory pastries and didn’t see anything that fit my tastes….so I asked the really nice woman working. She told me that the only thing they had other than croquettes was the spinach pastry, so I bought one of those ($3.50). The Missus chose the Manju ($6) and the Castella Cake ($3).

The Missus thought the Castella Cake was fine…not overly sweet, slightly buttery, but one the dry side. She did not care for the manju as the exterior was hard and chewy and the filling too hard and sweet. Even for Korean style manju.

The Spinach Pastry wasn’t too bad, perhaps a bit more doughy than I prefer, but it had some light butteriness to it.

After this visit….I went to check prices at Tours de Jours and Paris Baguette….both chains originating in South Korea. It seems that comparable items at K were about 40 – 75 cents cheaper. Though the chains tend to have more crisp and lighter pastries.

After getting lunch at Spicy House, I decided to head on over for one more visit to K Bakery. I sent the Missus a text asking Her if She wanted anything…….I guess She’s not into K and told me “nope”. So, I went in looking for something savory.

I saw that they had Sausage Pastry ($3.50)…more like sausage rolls.

And then, on the rack I saw another Sausage Pastry….the woman working laughed as I asked her if it was “Soseji-Ppang”…she asked me if I was Korean….in Korean, which of course I could not answer. I did get one of those sausage bread ($3.50), which turned out to be the best item I’ve tried at K.

The sausage was adequately salty-savory…..I would have enjoyed the cheese more spread out over the bread and I missed pungent-vegetal components. The bread was again on the dough side, I prefer a more fluffy bread. The ketchup was applied with more of a heavy hand than I prefer as well.

The Sausage Bread was a non-started for me.

Being too sweet. The dough was a bit wet and didn’t break up the way I prefer.

Anyway, I think I’m done with K Bakery for now. I appreciate the fact that it is a locally owned mom-and-pop business and really want to support them. So, perhaps I’ll return in the future. The prices for many items are lower than the chains; though I find the stuff at the chains to be lighter and more to my taste.

K Bakery
3860 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 10am – 8pm

Revisits to Banh Mi Express and Paris Sandwiches (Mira Mesa location)

Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

I guess once the weather starts getting balmy….I start wanting some banh mi? Ok, enough with the dad jokes…for now. And to be honest, it’s been much more than balmy ’round these parts. So, I decided to revisit a couple of my favorite banh mi shops. And kind of rank the three….so here goes.

Banh Mi Express:

I’ve been wanting to return to Banh Mi Express ever since “FOY” Sage mentioned that they were closed for a whole month! And even thought Sage mentioned that the banh mi was the same….well, I just had to get my “fix”.

The banh mi here are basically all over nine fifty these days…..

The Pate -Cha Lua, aka Pate Cold Cuts is now $9.49 a buck more than it was in November.

The young man working the front of house was very nice and I placed my order. I find it interesting that they don’t list the Vietnamese names of the banh mi.

The bread size here is a “tweener”…between the usual small banh mi and the long bread that some places feature. So crisp and lightly crusty….good yeastiness.

This might be my favorite banh mi right now. I enjoy the amount of cilantro…with some, but not too many stems, the thick slices of jalapeno. Nice slice of cucumber, crisp pickled veggies.

Good amount of well placed. cha lua, mild and savory…the earthiness of the pate comes thru nicely….there might be almost too much pate, but I enjoy it.

I agree with Sage who said that the ban mi here are as good as they ever were.

Banh Mi Express
9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92123
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 7am – 4pm
Saturday 8am – 3pm
Closed on Sundays

Thanks for letting me know what was happening with Banh Mi Express Sage!

Paris Sandwiches (Mira Mesa location):

I hadn’t realized that it had been over a year since I last visited the Mira Mesa location of Paris Sandwiches. I did check out the new Midway location when they first opened back in March, but since I was fairly close by, I decided to get another balmy day, banh mi fix at the MM locale.

Like the Midway location, most of the banh mi here are priced at $7.45. Though there’s an extra 25 cent addition for using charge cards for purchases under ten bucks.

Wanting to keep things consistent; I went with the “Pork Roll” (cha lua – $7.45). And unlike what happened at the Midway location; where I ordered a Cha Lua and got Nem Nuong….I’m thinking it was grand opening jitters…I did get what I ordered here. It came off the assembly line fairly quickly.

Fairly long and thin in length, the bread was nice and “crackly” as I remembered; though it did seem a bit more chewy.

Nice stack of cha lua, the flavor of the pate seemed a bit muted….in fact, it looked like it had more mayo than pate?

No cucumber and I could have used a bit more cilantro and that jalapeno had barely any spice.

Still, a good amount of cha lua and for being under eight bucks these days…..I’ll take it.

Paris Sandwiches
10606 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 730am – 630pm
Saturday 730am – 6pm
Closed on Sunday

So, there you go….my first two “balmy – banh mi” visits. I actually have two more to post….can you guess where I went after these two places?

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Road Trip – The House Brasserie, Quartz Ridge Trail, and Papago Park Butte Loop (Scottsdale)

American/New American Restaurants, Fine Dining, French Restaurants, Phoenix/Scottsdale/Chandler/Central AZ, Road Trip, Travel

The Missus wanted a hike during our full day in Scottsdale, so I chose the Quartz Ridge Trail in the Phoenix Mountains Reserve. Being that JJ doesn’t like heat or very much direct sunlight we got an early start. 3 1/2/ miles, 600 foot elevation gain, not too bad.

And of course you get a feel of the Southwest.

Some nice views…..

And JJ did well.

We headed back to our hotel and just laid low during the hottest part of the day. Then headed back out during the late afternoon, walking to Old Town Scottsdale.

Kind of corny in some ways….but also somewhat charming and fun…..

The Missus found a tea shop She liked…..

And did a lot of window shopping……

We’d be having dinner just a block down from the Hotel Valley Ho at a place I noticed during our last stay in Scottsdale, named The House Brasserie. They had outdoor seating and folks told me it was more of a fine dining destination, though I’m not quite sure of that. Based on the name of the place, I was expecting a full on French restaurant, but as you’ll soon see, the menu was quite diverse and our favorite dish was quite unexpected.

Of course, I started with a Kir Royale. I loved the service, my glass of Champagne was brought to the table and the Sommelier brought over the Creme de Cassis and told me let him know when the “color was right” for my Kir! Something that I hadn’t experienced before. This was an awesome start to the meal!

And then the Amuse was brought out…..some pretty decent Gougeres.

Of course we started with some Foie Gras ($26).

We found the popcorn topping to be quite amusing. The Balsamic based sauce wasn’t too sweet and the bread was fine….though perhaps this a bit much. Though I’d probably try this again.

The Escargot ($24) was interesting as instead of the basic garlic-parsley-herb butter, bone marrow “butter” was used instead.

It was just overkill and this was waaaay too rich and oily for our taste.

Then the dishes started deviating from the expected norm. Next up were the Tempura Oyster Mushrooms ($22).

And while the batter wasn’t as light as typical tempura, it was nice and crisp. This came with smoked cauliflower which was awesome.

And yet, our favorite dish of the evening was one I just ordered because it stood out on the menu. The Crab Fried Rice ($26) with house made XO Sauce! My goodness; this was so good!

The rice was a little moist, but that egg was cooked perfectly….soft yolk, crisp edges. The crab was tender and sweet. And the house made XO sauce? It was an umami bomb! Savory, rich, perfectly salty, not very spicy…oh man, this was so good….better than many Chinese restaurant we know of!

Who’s have thought…we’d go to a Brasserie and get some really good XO Sauce Fried Rice? Service was excellent and professional. We really enjoyed this meal and can’t wait to return.

The House Brasserie
6936 E Main St.
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

The next morning, we were headed out to Sedona. But first we decided to check out the Papago Park Butte Loop, which turned out to be a nice 2 mile loop trail.

A very easy walk, well maintained.

Loved the red sandstone buttes along the way.

There’s even an stone amphitheater.

Which was built by the historic stone amphitheater built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Great Depression.

This was a fun walk and we left before things got too hot at 9am.

Next stop….Sedona!