November 2016 – Page 2

2017 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road testing and breakfasts: Chuck Wagon (Corona); Rod’s Grill (Arcadia); Silver Dollar Pancake House (Corona)(revisit)

November 20, 2016 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Ontario/Riverside/San Bernadino, CA, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Kirk is not writing today, neither is Ed(from Yuma). This is just another Cathy posting.

Chuck Wagon has closed. In February 2023, Rod's Grill closed but will open under new management. Both are sadly missed.

This year has been different. In addition to having a tremendous amount of friends and neighbors die (I stopped counting in mid February, after there had been 23), I tried to keep things more or less normal, writing a post about the first Float Road Test for the 2017 Rose Parade. The Mister and I drove to subsequent monthly road tests (and afterwards, breakfast) and took photos. This post is a summary of what we ate and some of what you will see on television on January 2, 2017 (there's never a parade on Sunday).

Trader Joe's will have another three part float in the 2017 parade, (parade theme is Echoes of Success), titled 'All Aboard! 50 Years of Serving the Best'. The American Armenian Rose Float Association road test in August showcased a magnificent looking float. The road test two months later showed the color outlined (coloring outlines are there to help decorators as well as help if there are any problems with decorations during the actual parade: you'll still see color) fully expanded float, titled "Field of Dreams", depicting the 'Echoes of Success' of the American Armenian diaspora success story.

I'll take some breaks from floats and road tests, interspersing breakfasts enjoyed driving home.

Because we got stuck in traffic (again), we stopped at a place we have been passing for several years. The old fashioned sign (which must look very cool at night) is a friendly welcome to the naugahyde, paneled, not recently updated interior; half of the building is a 'bar' area, open in morning hours. The breakfast menu is served all day. Let me preface this by saying that we took home a lot of leftovers. The 'Chuck Wagon Country Breakfast' ($11.95) was absolutely wonderful in quality and flavors! Three eggs (poached, of course), two (large, flavorful) link sausages, two thick pieces of smoked meaty bacon and a slice of country style ham with a side of thinly sliced, crispy home fries topped with green pepper and onions. There was also a choice of toast or pancakes with this plate. Ever since the summer road trip and meals across the USA with either my brother or nephew, pancakes have become a slight obsession. The ones at Chuck Wagon are notably good; from scratch flavors, slightly sweet, fluffy with a delicate crust .
The perfectly prepared, real cube steak chicken fried steak was lightly breaded and fried perfectly ($11.50). The flavors were fresh, the country gravy (again, from scratch: there were flour lumps) and even the crispy hash browns were wonderful. The fresh made from scratch biscuit-flaky layers with the golden, crispy crust- was great.

Another really great Corona restaurant.

Chuck Wagon Cafe 1070 6th Street Corona, CA 92879 (951)737-7162 open daily 6:30a.m.-10 p.m.

Returning to some float road tests… Rotary International's float, 'Doing Good in the World' is just so cute even without the coloring outlines added! Shriners Hospitals for children, 'Anything is Possible', is adorable! From the artist rendition(see end of post for a link), it looks like the mascot, Fezzy Bear, will be riding on the float in January. Union Bank has again teamed up with the American Heart Association for the float 'Keep the Beat Alive'. Last month, we didn't even bother going on the freeway to get home, took side roads parallel to the 210 and noticed Rod's, a corner coffee shop that's been in Arcadia since 1957. Taking seats at the counter, because all the aqua naugahyde booths were full, we took note of some posted daily specials (even on weekends!)

The 'pork sausage w/ fresh apples- cheese omelet' ($9.95) was most unexpected (and in keeping with my penchant for fresh apples). Yes, breakfast sausages and sautéed fresh apples filled this large eggy-cheesy breakfast omelet! There were some great home fries and toast which accompanied this surprising menu special. These banana walnut crepes which came with two eggs and sausage ($8.95) were filled with a fluffy cream cheese-cottage cheese mix and topped with toasted nuts and nicely ripe banana slices; not crazy sweet at all. These are not delicate flat crepes, but also not thick pancakes…more of a Swedish pancake.

So glad we stopped here! Rod's Grill 41 W Huntington Drive Arcadia, CA 91007 (626) 447-7515 open 6 am-9 pm daily

United Sikh Mission USA has another beautiful float, 'Together We Rise', which I think will be a prize winner not only for its beauty, but also for the message. Western Asset (an investment group) is sponsoring this float, 'Prosperity in the Wild' which won't have any riders, but instead much animation. This rather simple looking float from Farmers Insurance has a 'reflection' of the parade route in the front 'window' (including the rose colored line that is in the center of Colorado Boulevard, a guide for float drivers, who drive 'blind' while speaking to the 'spotter' who each has a small window in front to observe the activities in front of the float). The title of 'We Came, We Saw, We Covered' is a slight clue as to the 'surprise' you will see on January 2. (see the bottom of this post)

One last breakfast, a repeat visit.

If we find ourselves in Corona and notice there is no line waiting for seating, we stop at Silver Dollar. This day, it was convenient to sit at the counter instead of waiting for a table to be available.
This is the two egg, two pancake deal (the second egg was brought over later)($5.49, additional .69 to substitute sausage patty for links-worth it!) was particularly good. The 2 bacon, 2 egg (and biscuits with gravy instead of toast) ($8.59) was enjoyed by The Mister. The country gravy and fresh flaky not too large biscuits were just right with the perfect over easy eggs and bacon.

Silver Dollar Pancake House 710 East Sixth Corona, CA 92879 (951) 737-5977 Open Mon-Sat 5 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun 6 a.m.-4 p.m.

Rose Parade preparations. Diners for breakfast. America.

See artist renditions of some 2017 floats here.

What's going on under that Farmers Insurance float? Here's a sneak peek:

COMC – Village Kitchen, Sizzling Pot King, and Thai Papaya

November 17, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

So what have we been eating since we've return from vacation? A whole lot of take out. So let's C(lear) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard).

Village Kitchen:

As I mentioned in my post from earlier this year; VK has been a favorite for take-out for us. Though I think they took the sour and spicy chicken gizzards off the menu.

There's still the Eggplant and Century Egg.

The Pork Intestines with Bamboo Flavor is pretty good as well.

Village Kitchen
4720 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Sizzling Pot King:

**** Sizzling Pot King is now Zhang Liang Malatang

Nice take out spot for us. It's usually enough for 2-3 meals. The tendon has been kind of lousy the last two times; so it's been replaced by the pork intestine…..we still like the tripe here.

Sizzling Pot King
8058 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Thai Papaya:

**** Thai Papaya has closed

Can you tell we missed Asian food? Of course we got the Som Tom Khai Kem; but the Missus dug into that before I had chance to take a photo.

And of course the Spicy Thousand Year Old Eggs.

And got some Duck Larb to boot.

Every once in a while the Missus craves this stuff.

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

I've also been craving noodles; but I'll save those for another day.

What have you been craving?

Midweek Meanderings – Menya Ultra Ramen Replacing Do Re Mi House, Dumpling Hut Changes Course, and Great Wow Coming to Hillcrest?

November 16, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

I'm finally catching up on things. A few recent observations.

More Ramen Coming to Kearny Mesa ?:

At least if the ABC notice is correct. Something named Menya Ultra. Some quick slapping on my keyboard yielded a clue…. and a bit more. I'm pretty sure that the folks at Nishiki Ramen can't be happy at the company name. But another Hokkaido ramen chain in San Diego? Well, I think there's room for that.

In the old Do Re Mi House location.

8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd Ste M
San Diego, CA 92111

Looks like Dumpling Hut has changed course:

At least if you read the Chinese sign…..both the Missus and Xiāngjiāo said it says "Clay Pot". I see no change of ownership notification, so a wondering if it's the same owners.

Dumpling Hut
8046 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Is it (un) Great Wow…..sort of ?:

I was in Hillcrest for meetings a couple of days this week. so I managed to grab some lunch. I walked pass the "old" supposedly "closed" Trinitea location and saw a sign that got my attention.

Notice what's after the "Trinitea &"…..

Could it be? It does look like the "Wow" in Great Wow, right? I guess time will tell…..

3865 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Well, there you go.

Hope you're having a great week!

Paris – Les Cocottes and of course…….

November 15, 2016 mmm-yoso France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

Paris had been "on the list" for quite a while. The Missus had been wanting to see Paris and one of Her bucket list items was seeing the Eiffel Tower at night. I'd been kind of putting things off. You see, during my younger days, I knew folks who visited Paris and had a terrible time…..somewhat clichéd, but the stories were similar. This dampened my motivation to visit Paris and kind of stuck with me. However, in recent years, folks whom I knew enjoyed their visits….I think things have changed. Plus, this just seemed like a bucket list year for the Missus….perhaps She's thinking I'll be "kicking it" soon?

We flew from Seattle, with a mere one hour layover at Keflavik Airport. It turned out to be more than enough time to exit our plane (in the freezing rain on the tarmac), get through immigration (Iceland is part of the Schengen Area) amazingly efficient and quick, and then to our gate (sort of a cattle call type situation) in less than 30 minutes. Our flight from Keflavik was to Orly Airport, not Charles de Gaulle. We exited our plane and found the Le Bus Direct stop; paid our Euros and headed off. We were to exit at Rue Jean Rey, near the Tour Eiffel…the Missus was thrilled. When got off the bus at the stop and it looked like an ordinary city stop. The Missus was a bit disappointed, "there's really nothing here…." Until we turned the corner and there it was……

I gotta say; I was ready to be disappointed, but even on an overcast day; the Eiffel Tower is pretty darn impressive.

Having just smaller carry-on, Tom Bihn bags, made the walk to our hotel; the Hotel la Bourdonnais a snap. Located near the Ecole Militaire, this turned out to be a great location for the Missus, who just wanted to stare at that tower.

Our room was small; but comfortable, we could enjoy the street scene below and at night you could even see the Eiffel Tower peeking through the trees. We rested a bit…..took a short nap which we badly needed, then walked around. I, scoping out potential stops like Fromager Marie-Anne Cantin (amazing cheese) and Les Gourmandises d'Eiffel (baguettes). Unfortunately, we had an amazing time and sadly never partook of their products. Next time…..

After spending so much time in airports and on planes we really weren't in the mood for anything heavy, so with my trusty list and my Google Map (God bless pocket wifi…or weefee as they say here) we ended up on charming Rue Saint Dominique. The Missus loved all the little shops in this area. Near Le Fountaine de Mars……

**** Christian Constant, the original owner for Les Cocottes has retired. You can find an updated post on Les Cocottes here.

Is Les Cocottes de Christian Constant. I'd read about the place taking no reservations and photos of the dishes looked like just what we'd want after a long flight. The place was quite empty when we arrived.

It was just before 6pm……the sun had already set; but the place was devoid of customers. I asked the nice young man who seated us if we were eating early by French standards. He smiled and said, in what we'd find is a typical French understated manner, "oh, just a bit". The young woman who waited upon us was a total joy….cheerful, ever so pleasant…….English so perfect it made us nervous that we were in the wrong place. She had a great sense of humor and I even tried out my very, very poor French. Though even I knew when to stop; unlike the Korean family who came in a few minutes later. The middle aged gentleman insisted on trying to speak French, even though no one could ever understand him. I gotta give him credit though….

We started with the very rustic and very delicious Country Style Pate.

We both loved this; a nice balance of earthy flavors with nice texture…..there's quite a bit of filler, but it's not wasted. I love dishes like this; it shows that one could really make an great version of a humble pate, one that doesn't use expensive ingredients, but rather sticks to its peasant roots.

The Missus enjoyed the Foie Gras.

After the pate; this was rather nondescript….something like I've had many times. Weird, I know, but it really didn't stand out. Still, it is foie gras, but it really didn't have enough of that earthy, slightly offal flavor that I enjoy. Strange because I'm not a big fan of liver; but I do like a touch of it, minus the metallic flavors in my foie gras. The Missus enjoyed this.

A cocotte is a traditional small cast iron pot. And our favorite item of the night, while nothing braised or stewed came in one. We really enjoyed the Poached Egg with Bacon and Rocket Salad.

There was of course, the very nice poached egg, of which the Missus approved. We also really loved the lardons; the bacon had a slight crunch then a nice silky finish, it was coated in a sweet and slightly salted dressing. The crisp, crunchy, peppery arugula was perfect with the runny egg and bacon. We both loved that the salad was simply dressed, letting the flavors of all the parts speak for themselves.

We also quickly noticed that nothing was particularly salty and the flavors were nicely balanced, something we'd find at almost all the places we ate at.

Of course we had to order the Potatoes Stuffed with Pig's Feet.

Strangely, we thought this dish was all about the potatoes, which was nicely caramelized and had also absorbed the better part of the pork flavor. Actually, we both didn't enjoy the texture of the pork too much; finding it mushy with a greasy feel. And yes; these are basically fancy potato skins, right? As with the other dishes; we loved the greens.

So here's where it gets kind of odd….we noticed that about 80 percent of the customers in the place were Korean. So I basically asked our Server, "why all the Korean customers?" She just cracked up and in a slight whisper told me; "it's the next wave……three years ago; it was so many Japanese….now…it's the Koreans!" I figured the place must be on some Korean food show or something. So while doing my search; I came to find out that Anthony Bourdain ate here on one of his shows….now how the heck did I miss that?

Regardless; we loved the service, the food was just what we needed after a long trip over, and the prices were not too bad. I know, not the traditional bistro meal….we'd kind of avoid that in Paris and save it for Burgundy. Not haute cuisine, but just what we wanted.

Les Cocottes de Christian Constant
135 rue Saint-Dominique
Paris, 75007

After dinner we strolled around Rue Cler, then Champ de Mars…..the Missus was soaking it all in; we were indeed in Paris.

That's the Monument des Droits de l'Homme, a human rights monument finished in 1989, but it looks much older. It is said to have been designed to resemble an Egyptian Temple, but with many Masonic features.

And then of course; there was this, which needs no introduction.

Cross another one off the Missus's bucket list…….

Which quickly answered the question with a question of why we came here……"Why not Paris?"

There was a small grocery right next to our hotel. While walking through the place, I noticed a rather odd looking beer and decided to buy a can.

Man, this was pretty bad….."Rum Flavoured Beer", what was I thinking? Man, this was really sweet and artificial tasting! Luckily, this was probably the one bad move I made during our time in Paris.

We both crashed early. Tomorrow was going to be a shopping day for the Missus and I needed to rest up my credit card for the beating it would take!

Thanks for reading!

Cafe Royale

November 14, 2016 mmm-yoso African Cuisine/Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants, Somali Restaurants

**** Cafe Royale has closed

So, my haircut guy has been on the move again; I’ve detailed some of his moves over the years at the end of this post. So, last March he moved over to Rolando, then back to Mission Valley….then in September, back to Rolando. Well, on the bright side, I tracked him down and having to get my haircut allows me to spend a bit of time exploring a neighborhood I might not usually check out.

Fairly close to the barber (he’s actually on ECB) is a place someone mentioned to me in passing (along with Bourre, which is in the same strip mall) is Café Royale….the name which actually reminds me of a cognac-coffee drink I’ve had. But this place is supposedly Somali – Mediterranean.

The place looks rather fast-casual; where you order at the counter. The menu kind of threw me off; I’m used to seeing pasta in East African Restaurants; it’s the Italian influence. But this place had everything from the expected goat and suqaar, to the unexpected Philly Cheesesteaks (?!?), jalapeno poppers, quesadillas, burritos, and tiramisu. Though the meat is Zabihah Halal. Usually, I’d avoid a place like this; but for some reason there was an odd attraction. Plus, I was told there was a second Café Royale in, of all places, Minneapolis, go figure.

The guy working the counter was quite nice….perhaps it was my fresh clean-cut look…probably not. I wanted the lamb shanks, but was told it wasn’t ready yet; so I decided on the “Goat Feast Royale”. Man, this was a load of food for $10.99…..

I love how places like this and say, Safari Grill make their rice. It’s so fluffy and full of flavor. And that green hot sauce doesn’t mess around either. I found the goat to be on the tough side, though the flavor; coriander came through, along with the sprinkle of sumac made sure this wasn’t bland. A bit too much gnawing on tough bits though.

Still the price was very good and I wanted to try that lamb shank. So after my next haircut I dropped by and ordered the Lamb Shanks Royale ($14.99). I got it to go and noticed how heavy the plastic sack was. Something else I didn’t notice….the menu said “shanks” not shank. Good lord, look how much food this is.

I can’t imagine any one person finishing all of this. The Missus was in shock over the portion size. It was just too much food….almost three meals total. The Missus, like I enjoys the rice; nice and fluffy with good flavor…She also enjoys that green hot sauce a lot as well.

The lamb shanks were pretty meaty and cooked pretty well; not falling apart, but nice and fork tender. Decent salt, but fairly mild in that gamey lamb flavor we enjoy. Again, look at the size of this plate.

So, you obviously won’t go hungry here and the portions reminded me of going to a friend’s house where “Mom” wanted to make sure you left with a full belly. It was nice trying something a bit different. The guys working here are fairly polite and friendly, though I’m not sure what I’ll order if I return.

Cafe Royale
6511 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92115

A Revisit to La Miche Kabobgee

November 13, 2016 mmm-yoso Lebanese Restaurants

**** Sadly, La Miche has closed

Good lord; with temps hitting the mid-90's last week, it was hard believing it's actually November! It was in the high-30's when we left Iceland….we even felt that the temps in the mid-50's in Seattle was quite warm. So when we got back home and this heatwave hit….sheesh.

Hot weather like this kind of kills our appetite. We wanted something with a lot of flavor, but not too heavy, and La Miche came to mind. Hard to believe that it has almost been two years since we last visited, but the owner Nabih still remembered us.

Like before, we tend to stick with the mezze here.

We started with the Baba Gannoush.

The version here is a bit too sour for our taste, which really dampens the usual smoky flavor of eggplant.

The Muhamarah, though, is still a winna!

This red pepper and walnut spread; thickened with bread has such a nice texture and wonderfully complex sweet-nutty-garlic-sour flavors. It is heaven on a warm pita.

The slightly ripe and funky-cheesy-salty Shaankleesh was also perfect….a wonderful mash-up of flavors based on nice and ripe Shanklish is also wonderful on bread.

The Missus also enjoys the chewy, spicy, and salty Soujouk. The acid from the tomato sauce helps cut the salt.

There's quite a combination of spices going on here. By this time we were quite full so we took most of this home. The next day, the Missus made the leftovers with egg, which is a classic combination to this dry and spicy sausage.

I'm not sure what took us so long to return to La Miche. Perhaps it's location; kind of hidden from view. We really enjoyed our meal on a day where we hit record high temps. We won't take so long to return in the future.

La Miche Kabobgee
9350 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123

Seattle – Walks, breakfast, some familiar places, and Icelandair

November 12, 2016 mmm-yoso Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Breakfast/Brunch, Markets & Grocers, Seattle, Washington, Travel

So you might be wondering; what's up with Seattle again? I mean the last over night visit was an involuntary overnight stay.

Well, here's the abridged version. One of my projects….a really huge project, was delayed. All trips had been put on hold. As soon as I got official word of the dates being pushed back, I pinged the Missus and went to work, first requesting time off, then doing the logistics. It came together in an instant. You see, a few months earlier, one of the folks I occasionally work with mentioned the Icelandair free stopover program. Basically, you fly out of one of the airlines hub and you get up to a 7 night stopover in Iceland at no extra charge (there's even a "Stopover Buddy" program that's offered on occasion). I started quickly checking prices and found that Business Class from SEA to ORY was really affordable and we could easily fit in a 3 night stopover on the way back.

Sold!

This meant we'd have 1 night in Seattle on our way to and from Paris.

We've been here so many times, way back to pre-blogging days, and I used to visit regularly while living in HNL….in fact, before I met the Missus, I was considering a move here.

But that's ancient history now and here we were….staring at this!

I had just been mentioning what a clear night it was when we came upon Fernando Botero's "Adam". (Click the link – It's a great article). So perhaps the night was a bit too clear for us?

We had a perfect night of rest and since breakfast was included in our room rate, we ended up having a satisfying breakfast at the Renaissance.

Pretty standard stuff. What made this for us was the awesome service. Friendly, efficient, just really perfect. Before we left one of the Servers brought us more coffee….in take out cups….a "little something for the morning". The Missus whispered to me, "increase your tip". Now that's a new one! I know it doesn't cost the Servers anything to do these little things, but they make all the difference to us; the customers.

So while we hadn't stayed at the Renaissance in ages, I think this is where we'll be when we return.

Renaissance Seattle Hotel
515 Madison St
Seattle, WA 98104

Plus, check out time isn't until noon, so we took another nice little walk.

It had drizzled in the morning, but things had cleared up……but not everyone was enjoying their walk…..

Though by the time we headed down the Waterfront Steps, things were under control.

We headed up Post Alley to another "landmark", the Seattle Gum Wall, which is kinda neat or pretty gross, depending on your point of view.

Regardless, it seems to be here to stay. You can watch video of a ton of gum being washed off the wall in 2015….and a year later…well…IT'S baaaack!

I've done posts on Pike Place Market a couple of times over the years and honestly, I still love the place. There's always something new….like what part of Rachel, the Pike Place Pig are these kids checking out?

Much of it is so familiar….which is part of the charm.

The Missus loves watching the tanks at Beecher's……

Stopped and had some refreshment at Pear Delicatessen.

Pear Delicatessen & Shoppe
1926 Pike Pl
Seattle, WA 98101

And were shocked at the line at Piroshky Piroshky

Which was once a favorite of ours, but during our last visit things seemed to have gone downhill a bit. Still, it seems more popular than ever.

Still, there's always something interesting to see or experience at Pike Place.

Our flight wasn't until almost 5 pm; as I mentioned earlier check-out time at the Renaissance is at noon, I'm sure I could have requested a late check-out, but we decided to just catch the Link out to Sea-Tac. Icelandair flies out of the 'S' terminal at Sea-Tac, which is our least favorite, but since we were flying Business we got to use the "Club at SEA"…….even though there wasn't anything special in terms of food or drink, the comfort and low stress vibe is a welcome change from the usual cattle call.

Flying Business Class on Icelandair was a mixed bag. The seating is like domestic first, which means nothing lies flat….the movie selection is dated…..however, the service is fantastic, and in all honesty, the food was not bad.

All of which made our flight that much easier….

Thanks for reading!

Seattle – Terra Plata

November 11, 2016 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Seattle, Washington, Travel

During our most recent stay in Seattle; having dinner at Sitka & Spruce would seem to be the obvious choice. But after our last meal there, we decided that maybe a change was in order. We'd arrived for an overnight stay on our way to our final destination.

On our previous visit, we passed what seemed to be a very popular place named Terra Plata; literally "Land to Plate". Reading a bit more, it seems that the focus was on local growers and artisans, which seemed like the perfect meal for us.

We arrived at the Renaissance without incident. I used to stay here all the time, but for some reason hadn't during our last few visits. They seemed to have done some nice upgrading of the rooms and the corner room we had was very comfortable.

It was a pleasant walk to the restaurant, heck, it's basically next to S&S, and we've been to Seattle so many times. The dining room is nice and warm, though seating is pretty cramped; fitting as many bodies in as little space seems the trend these days. The place was half full when we arrived at 6pm and quickly filled up. The menu, as is also the norm these days was a simple single sheet, fairly vegetable heavy and meant for sharing which suits our preferences,

We started with a couple of cocktails; the Missus a "Seattle Raindrop" ($12) and I a "Will I Tell" ($13)….both were a bit too sweets for our tastes.

After looking over the menu; we decided to forgo the meat options. We've been finding that vegetable and starters are more interesting items these days. It seems that in the case of mains; the kitchen has to keep it kind of close to the vest while the other courses seem more fascinating.

We did need a bit of "protein" so we started with the Charcuterie Plate ($20) which was on the pricy side, but we loved the presentation.

The real winner on this plate was the chicken liver terrine, which had the perfect amount of liver flavor combined with a pleasant texture, and just a hint of winey-sweetness. The pate champagne was also quite good; not too salty, great texture. The Missus loved the mustards and pickles; especially the pickled capers and cornichons. The lomo iberico was too salty, cut too thick, making it hard, and the Duck Rillette was really bland and hardly had any of the nice assertive flavor we enjoy.

I should have skipped on the Risotto ($20). I've mentioned the issues I have with typical restaurant par cooked prep for risotto. This just didn't do it, the core of the risotto was hard and crunchy. This version also had too much marscapone for my taste and not enough salty components.

Loved the chanterelles, so earthy, and the addition of brown butter was nice, though it clashed with the marscapone in my mind.

The Missus, who loves lentils and broccoli, really enjoyed the having both of them in the Broccoli with Moroccan Spiced Lentils ($14).

This basically looked like a stir fry; the flavor was nice and savory, though I think it could have used a bit more balsamic. I think they are also using Worcestershire or something similar to give this a flavor close to soy sauce. A nice dish.

We both really enjoyed the Beets with Walnut Romesco and Feta ($14).

The various greens added a nice combination of bitter-herbaceous flavor to the "just crisp enough" and sweet beets. The Romesco Sauce had the perfect amount of garlic and slightly smoky-sweet flavors which went nicely with the milky-salty feta. This was just a wonderful dish.

So nice, that I decided to finish things off with an Old Fashioned ($11).

The service was friendly and warm, the room got really loud, and like I mentioned before; the tables are really close together….the server kept bumping into me and the person seated in back of me when passing. The price; well, the Missus actually was kind of shocked….over $100 for mostly vegetables…but of course we had the three cocktails and such.

So, Sitka & Spruce or Terra Plata……I think the Missus enjoyed the execution at Terra Plata more….perhaps the next time we're in Seattle we'll do one after the other. Or who knows, maybe there will be another great option?

Terra Plata
1501 Melrose Ave
Seattle, WA 98122

Seattle – Sitka & Spruce

November 9, 2016 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Fine Dining, Seattle, Washington

**** Sitka & Spruce has closed

I thought I'd do this post a little out of the usual chronological order and you'll see why in a future post. I mentioned getting stranded in Seattle on the way back from Vancouver due to the Great Delta Debacle of 2016 in an earlier post. Anyway, being stuck in Seattle isn't that bad for us….of course I lost extra vacation time. But I quickly got us a hotel and reservations at a place we really enjoyed during our last "visit" Sitka & Spruce.

While we did enjoy our meal we really weren't quite as impressed this time around and perhaps the best part of the meal was my cocktail, called "The Garden".

Loved the addition of the celery bitters and oregano, which gave this white grape juice and ancho reyes cocktail a wonderful complex array of flavors. Not too boozy and quite refreshing. The sweetness of honey and citrus really balanced things out.

We started with some Shigoku Oysters ($3/each), which is basically a new variation of Kusshi Oysters a strain of Pacific Oyster.

These were very mild in flavor and perhaps a bit too firm for my taste. Also, one of the oysters tasted a bit off; but I suffered no ill effects.

We also ordered the combination of pickled and fermented vegetables with pickled egg ($11).

This was a lot of pickles….a lot, enough for 4-5 people, except for the egg of course, which was very good. The Shishito Peppers had a very nice texture and the beets were delicious. Probably too much of a good thing though.

Next up; the Heirloom Tomatoes and Halloumi ($18).

The tomatoes were good…a bit too mild in flavor and acid. This dish had way too much basil on it. The big surprise was the seared Halloumi, which had a fairly crisp exterior and a creamy interior. It added a bit of saltiness to the dish which was welcomed as was the presence of Shiro Plums which added a pleasant sweetness.

The Crispy Yukon Golds with Tuna and Egg Yolk ($14) was quite good.

That egg yolk added rich creaminess and the tonnato (a tuna-mayo based sauce) added a nice creamy-savory flavor as well. The olive oil was lovely and the potatoes delicious. The tuna confit really had no flavor and brought nothing to the dish in our opinion.

The Broccoli with Charred Eggplant ($13) was quite good in spite of the rather greyish hue of the dish.

Think broccolini with baba gannoush. The restrained amount of Aleppo Pepper added some zip to the smoky eggplant puree. The anchovies were a bit too salty for this in my opinion.

The seemingly odd combination of Nectarines, Lardo, Seared Shishito Peppers, and Chickpea Puree ($14) sounds a bit disjointed, but it worked quite well.

An interesting combination of textures and flavors; sweet, that chlorophyll-sweet-mild spice of the peppers, the texture of the lardo, and topped off with a nutty hummus like puree, this worked nicely for us.

As with our previous meal; we were intrigued with the combination of textures and flavors, some of which worked better than others. Though during our previous visit, we had that one dish which we thought was just amazing, which we didn't find on this visit. Still, while you might think $120+ for mostly vegetables (and cocktails) is mighty steep, the meal was a fun little ride.

Sitka & Spruce
1531 Melrose Ave
Seattle, WA 98101

Red Card Cafe

November 8, 2016 mmm-yoso Gastropub, Salads, Sandwiches

** Red Card Café has closed

A few months back; Red Card Café replaced Kitchen 4140. I was intrigued at the concept, a Gastropub featuring various street food dishes.

I really like the space; casual, yet very nice…though I haven't set foot in the dining room, preferring the bar area or the outdoor seating.

The theme of the menu is….yep, global dishes from soccer countries. It's kind of out there, all over the place with everything from Cubanos, poutine….aracini to pierogies!

Over the last few months, I managed to visit four times. I like to check out a place a couple of times before doing a post whenever possible and the location of Red Card, in my 'hood made it easy to do multiple visits.

The owner; Caroline is a joy to chat with, and the folks here are pretty friendly.

The tap selection is small but decent, and they feature stuff from Bitter Brothers (right down the street) among others. So I started with a Golden Child.

One of the things I really developed a taste for during our trip to Tunisia was a nicely spiced merguez. Caroline hails from France and the chef is formerly from Sausage and Meat. So what more natural way to start things off than with a sausage, right? I did find out that the merguez was not made inhouse; bummer. I ordered it anyway. At $14, I thought a single sausage and some rather ordinary fries was not going to be a great value….unless that sausage delivered. The flavor of the merguez was a bit on the mild side; quite tame….based on the owner's background, I was expecting the thinner, rather snappy, slightly spicy, very flavorful meguez. I did like the house ketchup.

A few days later, the Missus joined me on a nice sunny evening.

Having just returned from Vancouver, where the Missus discovered an affection for Poutine and combined with Duck Confit, it just sounded like something we should try.

The Duck Poutine ($16) just had too much going on; too sweet, too heavy, you really couldn't taste the duck and the dish came across as being on the greasy side.

We also ordered the Cuban ($12) with Yam Chips ($3 when included with a sandwich).

The Yam Chips looked very dark and seemed a bit greasy, but was really crisp and had a nice salty-sweet potato flavor. The Missus really enjoyed this sorta-Cubano. The bread was nicely toasted; the mustard and pickles really lifted the flavor of the slightly citrusy and decently moist pork, and the slighty nutty-milky flavor went well with the sandwich.

This turned out to be a decent meal.

So I returned a few weeks later. This time I went with the Hot Dog which seemed a bit crazily priced at $12. It was however, quite good.

The hot dog tasted quite "porky", a bit different, loved the nice bacon bits, the wonderful house made mustard, and the sweetness of the caramelized onion. The potato bun went really well with all of this. And instead of being over-wrought and busy; I enjoyed this.

To balance things out; I went with the Kale Caesar ($7).

I enjoyed the fried kale which, along with the croutons added dimensions of crunch to the already crisp and fresh kale. The salad wasn't over-dressed and was very nice overall.

A few weeks later I returned; not being overly hungry, I went with the now rather ubiquitous Char Siu Steamed Buns ($14).

This was pretty mediocre, from the buns which seemed like something that was previously frozen, lacking the light fluffiness of fresh steamed buns. The meat was more like pulled pork than actual char siu. The sauce was a hoisin based glaze that was closer to a pseudo BBQ sauce than something truly Asian. It was also too sweet for my taste.

I finished the meal with a bottle of Three Philosophers for dessert.

Man, it had been a while since I'd had one of these.

In the end, I'm glad that we have Red Card in the neighborhood, heck, like I mentioned in Lynn's post of Red Card, this might be the best place on Morena now. And while I'm not the type to "just be happy to have it" and Red Card's menu, which is kind of all over the place seems to have its pitfalls, I'm glad to have another choice on the Boulevard.

Red Card Café
4140 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117