March 2016 – Page 2

What’s the Missus Craving? Thai Papaya by Sab e Lee

March 21, 2016 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

**** Thai Papaya has closed

Last week, the sun shone brightly and weather got a bit warmer, you could tell, in spite of the calendar that spring had sprung. So it made sense when the Missus told me She wanted to grab a bite at Thai Papaya. Strange thing, in spite of the chilies and spiciness, we tend to think of Thai and Lao food as something to have during spring-summer-early fall.

It had been a while since we'd been to Thai Papaya and we were pleased to see that menu was now quite large.

Still, the Missus had to have the Som Tom Khai Kem; the papaya salad with Salted Egg, heat level 5….we have to build our tolerance back up every year these days.

The nice salty-savory flavor off the salted egg plays well off of the acid and the flavor of dried shrimp. The papaya and tomato was decently pounded; the papaya still crunchy. I've had the papaya be a little mushy on occasion, but not on this day. The peanuts just seem to finish the dish for us. The Missus does love Her eggs.

Speaking of eggs…….how could we not order the Spicy Thousand Year Old Eggs. At first we thought they forgot the pidan when the dish arrived.

But a quick peek under that curtain of ground pork and veggies revealed the preserved egg. While it won't make us forget Yai Cuisine, this was a very nice dish, the "gravy" not too thin and full of Thai Basil flavor. This was just spicy enough for us at this point in the year. The one item that really added to the dish for us were the bamboo shoots which added a nice earthy-woodsy flavor. The Missus told me after two bites, "now this reminds me of Thailand….."

We also ordered the Issan Sausage; usually a favorite of mine. This time it seemed a bit dried out.

And while I wasn't expecting anything like the sausage at Supanee, but this wasn't quite as good as what I usually get here. It wasn't bad, just not at the level of what I expect. Too dry and strangely lacking flavor.

Still, this was an enjoyable meal and I'm sure we'll be back to try other items on the menu as the weather warms up.

Thai Papaya by Sab E Lee
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

Sunday Sandwiches: Ike’s Place

March 20, 2016 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

Memory is a funny thing, I can never remember where I park my car, but food? Well sometimes it can be a bit strange. When I read about the NoCal based chain Ike's Place opening in San Diego, the first thing I though was, "didn't Kirbie do a post on this place?" And she had. BTW, Happy 7th Blogaversary Kirbie! And a Happy 10th (sheesh has it been that long?) to "CC".

Anyway, I'd been going back and forth between my office and Hillcrest quite a bit lately, so at the end of February, I decided to check out the brand new Ike's Place.

If memory serves me; wasn't this a location of La Salsa?

It was before 11, an over a week before their grand opening but they were doing some good business. The sandwiches here start at about 8 bucks, but most are $9.99, with a few breaking the $11 barrier; and that's without "add-ons", like avocado; stretching all the way to beer batter zucchini and onion rings. The folks working here are very friendly and helpful since there are so many options on the posted (and some unposted) menu.

I needed to get back to the office so I ordered the "Matt Cain" ($9.99). A version of this sandwich with onion rings on it won ESPN's Fanwich Competition for the Best Sports Sandwich. I'd heard quite a bit about Dutch Crunch Bread, San Francisco's version of Dutch Tiger Bread, named because of the mottling on the exterior of it from a paste based on rice flour.

Getting back to the office I opened up my sandwich, Good lord, it was quite a mess.

The bread had not stood up well during the 15 minute trip back to the office, it had become soggy. Also, I expected the outer crust to be a bit more crisp, but it was kind of soft. Based on the color, perhaps it had not been baked properly? Also, there was just too much "Godfather Sauce", which had too much mayo in ratio to the horseradish and Dijon mustard. This was just a bit too much for me.

I did decide to revisit Ike's Place; to see if eating in and asking that they go easy on the sauce would make for a more enjoyable sandwich.

I wasn't in such a rush this time around and noticed the interesting lay-out. The outside dining area is bright and spacious. The inside dining area looks kind of odd, almost like it was part of the kitchen area once. The path to the kitchen area is simply blocked by a low-boy sandwich refrigerator prep unit.

I will say that this time around, the sandwich I ordered named the Robin Williams ($9.99) was excellent.

The bread was crisp on the exterior, nice and fluffy interior. I was worried about the amount of Dirty Sauce on the sandwich, but it was perfect. Loved the combination of melted pepperjack cheese and mushrooms.

The chicken in the sandwich is chopped which just made the texture perfect. Nice chicken flavor as well. Along with the nice crunch the lettuce brought, I thought this was perfect in terms of proportion and texture, making this a lovely sandwich.

There was one other sandwich (well of possible dozen) that caught my attention on my visit to Ike's Place; the Anchor Man ($9.99), I mean doesn't a fried chicken sandwich sound great? Well, I think based on a couple factors, this was less than great.

First off, I made a mistake by forgetting to tell them to go easy on the sauce and like my first sandwich, all that Dirty Sauce (a garlic aioli) just overwhelmed everything else in the sandwich.

Second, I took a bite and only got veggies. I took another bite and only got veggies. Not a problem per se; if this was a "veggie" sandwich. So I took a look at the other half of my sandwich.

Notice something about the fried chicken? I opened up the half I was eating and saw that the fried chicken took up about two thirds of the width of the bread. Man, look at that mess….

I tried just the chicken alone and was far from impressed as it didn't seemed "fried" in the conventional manner. It seemed more baked.

The answer was in the "Beer Battered Onion Rings" I ordered.

See how dry it looks? Also notice the burnt spots? The batter was gummy and these were dry….so I took a look up front and didn't notice a fryer. The only "cooking" was done with conveyor type pizza ovens. So instead of frying, it seems that these onion rings were cooked via electric/gas/infrared depending on the brand of pizza oven. You might be ok with this but it isn't my cup of tea with regards to onion rings.

So, will I return to Ike's Place? Yes, I might, though I'd be more inclined to visit BFD. In concept, the sandwiches are somewhat interesting, albeit a bit over-hyped; in case you'd like to see summary of 50 of the best sandwiches on the menu you can click here. I'll be a bit more careful with what I order and have to remember to tell them to go easy on the sauce….too much of a good thing and all that. Service was friendly, though my sandwiches did take a while on my visits; you might chalk that up to being new and all that.

Ike’s Place
1010 University Ave, Suite 101
San Diego, CA 92103

Recently Consumed: Smoked Duck Breast Lettuce Cups and other “stuffs”

March 19, 2016 mmm-yoso Cooking, Seafood

Just some stuff made over the last couple of weeks.

Most meals happen pretty quickly, so Unless I really plan to take photos….well, it just doesn't happen. Strangely, most of the weekend meals we've had have been Chinese influenced.

A lot of recipes I've already posted like Cumin Lamb – Zi Ran Yang Rou.

You know….rather simple stuff…..

The problem being….having the Missus tell me what She wants in the morning, then going out and shopping and the prep. Not bad if you're making one dish; but what about three? In less than 40 minutes with prep…..

Remember that Harissa – Cumin – Black Vinegar – Sichuan Peppercorn oil? Well, I recently found another use for it. Seared off some lamb chops seasoned with Sichuan Peppercorns, Cumin, Salt, Pepper, Harissa, granulated garlic, and 5 Spice.

Added the sauce with some minced cilantro before service. The Missus said these were the best lamb chops I've ever made….

Served with some stir fried broccolini with an oyster sauce glaze.

Every week, I buy one of these.

Twice during the week, I mince, along with minced water chestnut, scallions, five spice, and some cilantro and the Missus has a nice salad topping; or something for lettuce cups.

The last two weeks have been interesting; the Missus started by asking for some simple stir fried tofu and veggies with black bean.

Which culminated in Her wanting my version of fish with black bean sauce……it's basically oil velveting, though without the egg whites in this case. The Missus really loves the seared tomatoes and sliced jalapenos.

I ended up making this three days in a row. I went and bought a pound and a half of fish from Catalina Offshore thinking I'd make this once, then we'd have two other meals….it didn't quite work out that way.

When I visited, Tommy told me to try a make something with a Box Crab. It was quite lively when I arrived home. I decided to just put it in the freezer for 20 minutes, then simply boil.

The Missus basically destroyed this in 10 minutes….though She did share the brains with Sammy….lucky dog! She did say that the flavor is really good, but you have to be prepared for the especially hard and thick shells.

Catalina Offshore Products
5202 Lovelock St.
San Diego, CA 92110

So there you go…..

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Granada: The Alhambra and Cafe Opera 5

March 18, 2016 mmm-yoso Granada, Sandwiches, Spain, Spanish Restaurants and Cuisine, Travel

The main reason for visiting Granada was The Alhambra of course. This grand Moorish Palace resides on top of a hill overlooking Granada. I had bought tickets well in advance and printed them out in the bookstore the night before. This enabled us to take the "short cut", up Cuesta de Gomerez, which was basically right outside our apartment door.

Right up the street was Puerta de las Granadas and it was a nice short walk to the "Justice Gate", the original entrance to the Alhambra. Because we'd printed out our tickets beforehand, we could use this gate to access the palace. Our designated time for Palacios Nazares was 9am, so we had some time to check out the Alcazaba, a large looming fortress and tower, the oldest part of the Alhambra.

In Arabic, Qa'lat al-Hamra' ("Alhambra") means "red castle" and in the morning light, this structure, which dates back to the 13th century did indeed look like a "red castle". If you wind your way though the passages and walkways, then climb up to the tower, you'll be rewarded with a stunning view, which also highlights the strategic location of the Alcazaba. The view is wonderful and is well worth the climb up the tower……..hopefully, it will be a rather clear day and the view will be like this.

You need to get in line for the Palacios Nazaries, the Moorish Royal Palace complex. There are so many features of the palace; like the Courtyard of the Myrtles; basically the central courtyard.

The Mocárabe (Stalactite Work) is amazing as is the symmetry. This is the ceiling of the Grand Hall of the Ambassadors, the wooden ceiling is made up of 8,017 wood inlays and is room itself is a perfect cube.

You could spend hours here just admiring the tile work and visiting places like the Courtyard of the Lions.

And while a sort of fatigue set in; I started looking for random and whimsical features to balance out the perfection of the place, I never got tired of the view. Near the middle top of the photo is the Church of San Nicolás, at the bottom is the Paseo de los Tristes (Walk of the Dead Ones), once the funeral procession route in the city.

We exited the palace and passed through some quaint gardens and then a series of towers. This is the "Torre de los Picos" (Tower of the Points).

Ending up at Generalife Gardens.

The Court of la Acequia is especially pretty.

As is the view of Palacios Nazaries.

After exiting, we headed down Bib Ramblas and ended up where we started.

We then headed to Mercado Agustin, but other than buying some really olive oil were quite underwhelmed….I mean, the jamon here was cut by machine! By this time, we needed a bit of a break. Down the small street next to the market we found this place.

We had intended on just getting some espresso here, but were feeling a bit puckish as well. So the Missus decided we should go ahead and have a Bocadillo as well, which sounded just fine to me. So She had me order a jamon and an anchovy (!) bocadillo. One of the things we really enjoyed about this little shop were the bottles of roasted garlic infused olive oil…..which folks just poured like crazy on their bread.

That Jamon Bocadillo must have been pretty good….because I never even had a shot at it!

The Anchovy version was too fishy-oily-salty for the Missus, but I kinda liked it with the garlic olive oil.

It was nice and briny, man that infused olive oil was good. We quickly learned that it was okay to pour like a gallon of that stuff on your bread. There were some interesting photos in this shop; when I exited the restroom, the older woman sitting at one of the tables pointed to the photo of what looked like the Emperor of Japan on the wall and said something to me in Spanish. Sorry to say I didn't understand.

We really enjoyed this little shop and would return on our way to the train station as we left Granada. Folks here seemed more friendly (and folks in Spain were pretty friendly as a whole) than anywhere else in Spain.

Cafe Opera 5
Ivaro de Bazán 12
Granada, Spain

Brussels: Les Brassins and Revisiting Moeder Lambic (St Gilles Location)

March 17, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Belgian Cuisine and Restaurants, Belgium, Brussels, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel

It was really hard leaving Cantillon, there was something really cool about the place…..you just wanted to hang around.

Alas, our time in Brussels was coming to an end. I had a place in mind for lunch, but first the Missus wanted to revisit a couple of places we'd gone to on our first day in the city. It would have been but a short ride on the metro, but of course, this is the Missus we're talking about so we walked.

Back to see the "Little Squirt", who was getting a lot of attention as always.

And since we were there, a visit to Grand Place was in order as well. For some reason, the Missus really never took to Grand Place….not sure why.

From here, we headed south, skirting the hills and then back up to the very popular shopping district of Ixelles.

Full of big time chains, boutiques, trendy shops….big city life. But, just head up one of the side streets and you'll find quaint little shops, apartments, and on this street a ton of construction. I was looking for a brasserie I'd read about, in several food blogs and even the New York Times, Les Brassins. The word "traditional" was sprinkled about in most of what I read, so I thought this would be a nice farewell restaurant meal in Brussels.

We'd arrived early and the place was empty except for one table….it was packed when we left. I found the place very comfortable.

Our server was very nice, relaxed, but very efficient. This is of course, Belgium, so we'd get some liquid refreshment with lunch. Nothing too heavy for the Missus; a Silly (how appropriate) Blonde (well, maybe not so much). I had a Caulier Blonde.

The Missus wanted to get Her last fix of Sausage and Stoemp. This was a nice version of the dish. The stoemp was full of greens and was delicious. The sausage well.

The "bacon" was probably the weak link, but the sauce was very nice….a good last version for the Missus.

I had intended to get the Carbonnade Flamande, the classic beef and beer stew that I enjoyed everywhere in Belgium. But all those posts and the New York Time recommended the Rabbit Leg in Cherry Kriek. So I went with the Lapin a la Kriek.

First off, I gotta say, that sauce was just plain delici-yoso! The kriek added a nice sweetness, but wasn't too cloying, that cut the richness. Also, the frites here might be the best I had in Belgium, crisp exterior, fluffy interior. The rabbit, if you've never had rabbit…..when done well, it's fairly mild in flavor, as this was. It was a bit too tough and dry for my taste though. Still, that sauce….

While I think my favorite meals in Brussels were at Viva M'Boma or perhaps Le Fin de Siècle, I don't think you can go wrong at Les Brassins.

Les Brassins
36 Rue Keyenveld
Brussels, Belgium

We walked back to our apartment in Saint Gilles. It was a beautiful day for a stroll. We had our customary nap, then made dinner with stuff we'd bought at the Marche du Parvis.

So this was it huh? Last night in Brussels. The Missus and I looked at each other and instantly knew, this was not the way to end our trip to Brussels. We got dressed and headed out….and back to Moeder Lambic.

It was a bit busier than on our last visit. However, most everyone had taken a table outside. I told the Missus to shoot for the moon and I got a Hop-Ruiter, which I loved so much on my previous visit. So She did…..

I then tried a Vicaris Tripel, which was fairly creamy, though bit too sweet for my taste.

I then helped the Missus finish Her Gueuze. I couldn't help but think that this was why we work so hard. To be able to have a bottle of Cantillon at Moeder Lambic in Brussels. Life doesn't get better. Of course, eventually the glass was empty.

But "my glass" was more than full!

Moeder Lambic
Rue de Savoie 68
Brussels, Belgium

Thanks for reading!

Village Kitchen Revisited – Picks, Pans, and Reruns

March 16, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

After visiting Village Kitchen a few times and trying a good number of dishes, I did get the Missus to visit and also revisited with coworkers Calvin and John.

What resulted from the Missus's visit was that we did take-out a couple of times and found that they pack the dishes quite well in decent take out containers! Yay, no Styrofoam!

Not everything at VK has been to my liking, but some of the dishes we had were especially good. So, I thought I'd go with picks, pans, and reruns.

Picks:

On one evening I ordered the Salted Long Bean and Smoked Pork, but when I came home I realized I had something else.

Turns out this is the Sour and Spicy Chicken Gizzards, something that I'd usually not order. Not that I don't care for gizzards, I love them. But there was just something about "sour" and "chicken gizzards" that didn't sound appetizing to me. I was however, wrong, as this has become one of our favorite dishes. The gizzards are sliced thin, with a mild chew, think thinly sliced beef heart. I do love the pickled chilies in this, while not "Hunan spicy" in my book, the pickled peppers give the dish a nice zip. Very nicely flavored.

A wonderful mistake!

Another dish that has become a favorite of our; minus the not so good steamed buns is the Homestyle Baby Radish Leaves. Love the mild chilies and the bitter stir fried radish leaves. The flavors really work well here; bitter-mildly spicy-a touch of sour and just salty enough for our tastes.

The Boiled Green Pork Intestine was nice; the intestine really clean, and the slightly bitter greens added a nice flavor counter-point.

I think this did need a bit more flavor and as nicely as the intestines were prepped, the funky mild-offal flavor was too mild.

Pans:

When I visited with John and Calvin, I ordered the first dish on the menu; Pickled Chili Chicken.

First off, the cutting job on the chicken wasn't that great. It's okay to have bones with the chicken pieces, but make sure that most of them aren't sharp. There was a bit too much bones for my liking. This was also a bit spicy, but otherwise somewhat bland, and needed a bit more soy sauce and something else to make it less one dimensional.

I've figured out that VK doesn't do pork the way I like it. At least based on previous visits and on these two dishes……

The pork belly with preserved vegetable ("Chef's Braised Pork") was not that great, even disregarding the steamed buns we don't care for. The pork was too lean and on the chewy side and the flavoring just wasn't there.

One evening we tried Grandma's Braised Pork. The flavoring was quite good, great soy sauce flavors, the chilies added a nice "green" flavor to the dish. The pork however, was really tough. like it hadn't been braised long enough. These two dishes, along with the other pork dishes we've tried, have made us a bit gun-shy about ordering swine here.

Reruns:

There are of course those dishes we enjoyed from my previous post.

That Eggplant and Century Egg dish is by far our favorite.

VK has become one of the "I'm really too tired to cook tonight so let's do take-out" options for us.

Village Kitchen
4720 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Seoul: Gwangjang Market and Brother’s Raw Beef

March 15, 2016 mmm-yoso Korea, Korean Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Seoul, Travel

It had started raining fairly hard as left Myeongdong. But we really weren't through eating. We went back to the apartment, had some tea, showered, and headed back out. This time the target was Gwangjang Market; established in 1905, I read that there were over 5000 shops in the market.

It is indeed quite a beast as we entered and immediately got lost….surrounded by textile shops.

After wandering around for quite a while….almost in a dazed state we found the area that sold food products and some of the "alleys".

Of course there are a ton of food stands…..

Serving every part of the animal.

And then there are the congregations of shops that specialize in specific dishes that have their own "food alleys"; gimbap alley and jeon (pancake alley), where you can watch mung beans being ground to make Bindaetteok (mung bean pancakes).

There was one alley I really wanted to visit. I love yukhoe, the Korean version of beef tartare, so I really wanted to try it during my visit to Seoul. We'd had Yukhoe Bibimbap at Gogung, but I really wanted to try it straight up. So we hunted down Yukhoe Alley, a small collection of shops specializing in the raw beef dish, and chose one that I had read about named "Brother's Raw Beef". The only way I found it was by the cow logo as all the signs were in Hangul.

No English spoken, but the gentleman running the place as well as the woman who served us were very friendly.

And really, all you need to do is put up one finger and say "Cass" and then raise that index finger again and say "yukhoe"……

And in case you wondered about how fresh the meat was; there were three women in the back of the restaurant prepping the beef.

The Missus recalls the beef-daikon soup that came with the raw beef was really tasty…..

But all I remember was how very good the Yukhoe was. Just enough Asian Pear to add crunch and some sweetness, some pine nuts adding another dimension of flavor, the egg yolk lending a richness to the whole dish.

A touch of sesame oil….that's all I really needed.

The beef, while lean was surprisingly tender. This was my favorite dish from our time Seoul.

Brother's Raw Beef (형제육회) – In Gwangjang Market
160-8 Jongno 4-ga (near exit 10 of the market)
Seoul, South Korea

It was still raining when we left the market and headed back in the direction of our apartment. We took a short look around Tapgol Park.

As we were leaving, the Missus decided we needed to head back to Myeongdong………

Revisits – Pho Cali and Coastal Crave

March 14, 2016 mmm-yoso Burgers, Gastropub, Pho, Pubs and Pub Grub, Vietnamese Restaurants

I know, rather strange bedfellows, but here goes.

**** Both this location of Pho Cali and Coastal Crave have closed

Pho Cali:

A recent weekend morning found me in Mission Valley. It's kind of interesting, when we first moved to San Diego, our condo was in MV, but these days, other than the Missus enjoying a shopping day, we almost try to avoid Mission Valley!

The last time I'd been to Pho Cali was back in March of 2006. They've survived the test of time, though their shop in Kearny Mesa didn't last, eventually becoming Pho Nhu Y. Still, 10 am on a Saturday morning……. I thought it would be interesting to drop by Pho Cali.

Funny thing, the service is totally like any pho shop on University….as in, "what you want"……..

Haven't not been here in 10 years, I took the #49, regular, which was $7.69. Basically the proteins minus the rare steak, which I didn't think was going to be too good. What was really interesting was the plate of herbs and sprouts, which has got to be, the most stingy plate I've seen to date.

It was so amazingly stingy….I enjoy bean sprouts in my pho and have requested more on occasion, but this seemed a bit absurd. So, while waiting, I decided to count the bean sprouts…..which barely filled the palm of my hand. There were exactly 27 bean sprouts on that plate. Perhaps I could have requested more…..but really, should I have to beg for my sprouts?

So, lets get to the pho. The broth had nice hints of anise, but was lacking in richness and had way too much msg, the tendon and all the other proteins, including a decent amount of tripe was good. The noodles were a bit over cooked and mushy, but overall, it was hard to over come the amount of msg.

The service is typically perfunctory…..

Such is the state of pho in Mission Valley.

Pho Cali
1400 Camino De La Reina
San Diego, CA 92108

Coastal Crave:

So, I did Mike's BBQ, where I mentioned the beer offerings were much better than Coastal Crave's, which meant I had to return. I try to do a bit of due diligence when possible. This time, I avoided any of the dishes I had before and went with a simple burger.

But first, I can still say; there's not much craft beer here….they count Shock Top as a craft beer….

The Coastal Crave Burger?

Well, this was interesting. The burger was made to a nice medium, but the exterior was almost burnt and quite tough. Really sad, because this could have been a decent burger. Instead, it came across as being a bit bitter. The brioche style bun was good, the fried onion rings ditto….so close.

The young lady working on this evening was a joy; I believe her name is Kristin, or something like that. So maybe, maybe, since it's up the street……though they've got to step up their beers….

Coastal Crave
3065 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Island Spice, now in Rolando

March 13, 2016 mmm-yoso Jamaican Restaurants

I tracked down my barber, he's now working in the Rolando area. The really bad haircut I had was really starting to grow out…..

In some ways, I'm kinda glad he's moved back over to Rolando. I rarely get out here and really should check out the area more often. Anyway, I had a couple of places on "my list", but both were strangely closed. Thinking I'd struck out, I was headed back home, when I noticed this place near the corner of University and College.

Wow, it's been a good 7-8 years since I'd been to Island Spice and even longer since I've a post on the place. I guess they decided to move from their Market Street location?

I decided to stop by and get some take-out for the Missus and I.

Even though it was just past 11, the place was almost full; it's a pretty small space overall, but there's lots of room for expansion on the patio.

I ordered a small oxtail and a small curry goat, $11 a piece. The portion sizes turned out to be quite generous; especially for the curry goat.

The "stew/gravy" was very tasty, beefy, hints of thyme, not too salty, full of flavor. The oxtail were a bit too chewy for our tastes, but the Missus said that perhaps it was too early in the day, and a couple more hours of sitting would have made them perfect.

The butter beans were really good and we wished there was more of it. In the past we would forgo the rice and beans and just get the steamed veg as we found the rice to be very bland. Well, this time around, the rice had some nice flavor, made even better with a dose of hot sauce. The plantains were fine…….I think they needed to be fried a bit longer. Like I said, you can't complain about the portion size…..

Especially when you see the Curry Goat plate.

Like the oxtail, I think the goat could be a bit more tender, but no complaints about the nice, mild, curry flavor and the goat was nice and gamey.

In terms of flavor, I prefer the oxtails at Caribbean Taste, though the rice and steamed vegetables were much better at Island Spice. The Curry Goat was pretty much a toss-up. There are a couple of other Jamaican places I have on my list, perhaps it's time I get around to visiting them.

Island Spice
6109 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92115

Brussels: Cantillon Brewery

March 12, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Belgium, Brussels

For me; there was simply one big reason to visit Belgium; beer of course! And we'd had our share, from great beer bars like Moeder Lambic and Dulle Griet, to a full on adventure (for me) of sorts; having a Westvleteren 12, which many claim to be the best, most coveted, and obviously the most sought after beer in the world, at In de Vedre, the cafe run by the Trappist Monks of Saint Sixtus who brew Westvleteren.

There was one last place for us to visit; the Holy Grail of Sours, Cantillon Brewery. And so we headed off from our apartment in Saint-Gilles. The Brewery is just a stop or two from Saint Gilles, close to the Gare du Midi Train Station. We however, (remember it's the Missus) walked.

Brasserie Cantillon is located in a somewhat gritty, industrial neighborhood, with a mix of various shops for different ethnicities. There's a huge empty lot across from Brasserie Cantillon, which seems quite low keyed.

There was no beer being made on the day we visited for our little self guided tour, but inhale and you'd get all the fragrances; yeasty-bready-sour-earthy…….

We went ahead and paid the 6 euros for the self guided tour; we'd been the first to arrive on this day, so Julie, whom I believe is the daughter of the Owner, was able to spend a good 15 minutes chatting about the building, the gueuze, and even the neighborhood. She explained that Cantillon still uses wild yeast and spontaneous fermentation, thus every year season's product is unique and different. The flavor she explained, "is in the building", we use no unnatural chemicals, our friends are the spiders who control the pests." The flavor is in the building. This isn't some shiny, bright and sterile, warehouse like structure in the middle of an industrial park…..the flavor is in the wood of the building, the breeze that comes in through the shutters. "Terroir" is a much used term these days……I had never really understood the concept as it applied to beer, until this day.

The tour itself was like travelling back in time, barrels of product…..aging for three years stacked along the walls and hallways.

Machinery, some going back to the 1930's are still in use……

For some reason, I found the walls of bottles mesmerizing….

I took way too many photos of bottles of beer stacked on one another.

At the end of the tour, you get a free drink. We decided to get whatever they had available for the day and a Gueuze Sausage, since it was still rather early in the morning and we needed some kind of sustenance.

Man, that unblended Lambic was super dry….so tart…..the finish was amazing.

The "Iris" had that nice "Cantillon sharp sour" tempered with a bit of hops and lemon-honey tones.

The gueuze sausage was better than expected; the texture of salumi, with sour tones like a good fermented sausage. Needless to say, it went well with the beer!

To me, Cantillon is a must visit when in Brussels, you are transported into the past, to how these types of beers used to be made. You walk freely along the hallways and equipment….there are no "keep off the grass" signs….they know you are here because you have an affinity for beer, they respect you, you respect them. And "le temps ne respecte pas ce qui se fait sans lui" – time does not respect what is done without him.

In our day and age of instant gratification, it's nice to know, some folks still understand that good things often take time.

Brasserie Cantillon
Rue Gheude 56
Anderlecht, Brussels, Belgium