July 2017 – Page 2

Breakfast Revisits – Zarlitos Family Restaurant, Elijah’s Restaurant & Delicatessen, and Poke Etc

July 19, 2017 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Filipino Restaurants, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Poke, Sisig

A couple of breakfast revisits.

Zarlitos Family Restaurant:

It's already been established that Zarlitos is the Missus's favorite breakfast stop. Basically, it's poke for breakfast. And the Missus can sometimes put away a pound of this stuff.

I however, had to still work and find the perfect breakfast counter-point. It became a real "Goldilocks" type of moment. No, not that Goldilocks; this Goldilocks!

The first time…well, I just had to try the sisig. But man, this was way to sour for breakfast.

As a whole not too bad in terms of sisig; but I wanted a bit more spice. The pork was crisp and not overly chewy, but it was just missing something….and perhaps was not the best choice for breakfast.

On another note; a friend sent me a bunch of postings last month….apparently Anthony Bourdain anointed Sisig as the next big thing. I dunno, I think my first post on sisig was way back in April, 2006. Hey, even an old fuddy-duddy unhip food blogger enjoys a moment where one of his favorites dishes; one with its own category list hits the spotlight. As for the next big thing? Hmm…….

Next visit; I went the ex-pat local boy route…..the Spamsilog.

Man, talk about too much of a good thing……I expected like maybe two slices, max. But this was three fairly substantial slices. Way too much saltiness. Even though the Spam looked undercooked; it was strangely crisp. I think it was dumped in the fryer. In spite of this not working out, I did find part of the equation. First off, I'm not a big fan of the standard garlic rice here…and they do give a lot of rice. I got steamed rice and found that the Missus sharing a good amount of it….and one of my eggs to boot.

So we were at two out of three here…….almost there.

And then I ordered the Chicksilog; the fried chicken quarter, rice, and eggs.

The chicken is simply fried; but the fat has been rendered out from under that crisp skin. It's obviously been double-fried. That skin was nice, light and crisp, with a enjoyable level of greasiness that just goes well with some vinegar…..yes, vinegar is a must as it really cuts the fattiness.

That's two easy-over eggs hiding below the fried chicken. I share one egg and about a third of the rice with the Missus, along with a bit of the chicken….of course She loves that skin dipped in vinegar. I place the egg on top of the rice; break the yolk, and add shoyu.

As Goldilocks said; "this one is just right"…….

Zarlitos Family Restaurant
505 East 8th St.
National City, CA 91950

Elijah’s Restaurant & Delicatessen:

I'd managed to bring back a pound of Schwartz's smoked meat from Montreal and the Missus wanted me to track down some Rye Bread. For some reason; I recalled that Elijah's sold their own rye bread. "AlanH" had also recommended the goulash soup, which was a Wednesday special at Elijah's, so I got there right before 11am on a Wednesday to check it out.

This being a breakfast posts; you can kinda figure out how I fared. The really nice gentleman informed me that they weren't serving the goulash soup at this time.

So I took a look at the menu.

Breakfast I believe is served all day….for some reason the Reuben Omelette ($10.95) jumped out at me. So I ordered it. Man, talk about a load of food.

And to be perfectly honest; I kinda enjoyed it…….slight sour and crunch from the sauerkraut; sliced corned beef added meatiness and saltiness, the Swiss cheese a blanket of milky comfort, and for some reason Russian Dressing…..now, when I used to work in a restaurant during my younger days; we added a dollop of mayonnaise to our scrambled eggs for extra richness…here it's the ketchup in the dressing, along with the mild acidity from the cheese that really helped things along.

The potatoes were nicely fried and seasoned….the Missus really likes the potatoes here, so I saved most of it for Her. Along with half the omelette which I had later on for dinner.

So I struck out on the goulash soup, but didn't do badly at all.

Elijah’s Restaurant & Delicatessen
7061 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Poke Etc:

I know poke at Zarlitos and Longanisa at Poke Etc? What can I say? I'd actually been wanting to try the Ilocano Longanisa, something that I haven't had since my days "back home". Like I mentioned in my Poke Etc post last year. My Filipino friends back home were Ilocano and that was the type of longanisa I was used to. Man, when I had my first Longsilog here on the mainland!

Anyway; the Ilocano Longanisa here comes with eggs and rice, with an amazing price of $4.95! So finally, a year later, I made my way back and ordered it.

For some reason I expected easy over eggs; but man, that's a lot of eggs and longanisa for five bucks. The eggs weren't seasoned and were on the gummy side. The rice was better than on my previous visits. Maybe because it was 10 in the morning. Something was not right with the longanisa; I'm used to garlic hints with a sour, vinegar bite….but these tasted, well, almost rancid, bitterness. It also smelled kind of strange…..sort of cheesy…which I love in cheese….but not quite here. I'd actually taken this home before eating or I'd ask the really nice woman about it. So basically decided to cut my losses.

I'll probably go back to the poke here during future visits.

Poke Etc
916 E 8th St
National City, CA 91950

First and Last Meals in Portland – the Mekong Bistro; Dar Salam

July 18, 2017 ed fromyuma Cambodian Restaurants and Cuisine, Iraqi Food and Restaurants, Portland, Oregon, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Kirk and Cathy get a day off today as Ed wants to talk about his and Tina’s first and last meals in Portland.

On our trip, we flew into Portland and out of Portland, but the lion’s share of our visit was spent on the road going to Central Oregon, Southern Oregon, and the Oregon coast. After we flew in and before we flew out, we had the same problem, we wanted to eat somewhere close to our motel and to PDX.

Mekong Bistro:

The area along 82^nd Ave. in East Portland is a treasure trove of small restaurants of various ethnicities. Intrigued by the thought of Cambodian food, we found the Mekong just off 82^nd:

The restaurant was a large space with an inviting bar, though not very busy on this Monday night:

The menu was huge, a whole page of happy hour specials, and several pages of Cambodian, Lao, Thai, and Vietnamese choices. Of course, we wanted to focus on the Cambodian, but first, to take the edge off our appetites, we ordered chicken wings off the happy hour specials:

A real winner. Fresh from the fryer, crust perfectly crunchy, meat tender, moist, and flavorful. Though almost too hot to handle, we couldn’t stop ourselves from munching away. The dipping sauce was meh, mostly sweet, but nothing could detract from the wings themselves.

Our first bowl of Cambodian soup was sour pork and watercress:

Okay, that’s a pretty lousy picture; this’ll give you a better idea of what was in the soup:

The rich broth had a complex sour profile and the pork and watercress were well cooked, but not overcooked.

The sweet and sour fish soup had different flavors:

This photo shows many of the ingredients:

Bean sprouts, greens, squash, pineapple, and perfectly cooked excellent quality fish. The fish had no off or muddy flavors, tasted very fresh, and had been lightly grilled or fried so that the pieces of the filet stayed together. Really excellent.

The soups had come with a small bowl of ordinary rice, and the bill – gotta love no sales tax in Oregon – was quite reasonable:

Our friendly waitress, who was Lao, explained that the bistro is owned by a Cambodian/Lao couple, which helps explain the wide range of menu items. I would happily go back and wish I had an opportunity to work through more of the menu.

Mekong Bistro, 8200 NE Siskiyou, Portland, OR 97220; (503) 265-8972.

Dar Salam

Looking for our last Portland meal, Tina found Dar Salam, pointed out it had good ratings and that we hadn’t had Middle Eastern food anywhere on the trip. Sounded good to me and the restaurant looked inviting that morning in a modest neighborhood on NE Alberta:

We were early, no doubt the first customers of the day, and were both impressed by the pictures and memorabilia of Iraq that covered two walls of the restaurant:

Looking at the photos closest to us, you can see a wide range of vistas and individuals in Iraq. So many of the images seem to have a personal meaning and there was a poignancy just looking at the decor. It reminded me that exile from one’s friends, family, and native land is often very sad. Americans picture Iraq the way we see it on TV, full of violence, dust, rubble, and chaos. It wasn’t always like that:

Tina and I each ordered a soup. Her chickpea and onion soup (leblebi) was wonderful and healthy, flavors brightened by lemon juice:

I had the adis, an extremely smooth soup based on red lentils spiced with garlic and zatar:

Both soups were outstanding.

A large warm pita bread arrived next:

The joys of fresh Middle Eastern flatbreads. I pity those poor people (like us in Yuma) buying their pita bread in Kroger’s or Albertson’s. The bread came with a small bowl of all of olive oil and zatar:

Truth be told, neither Tina nor I used much of the flavored oil because the mezza plate showed up:

We loved it. The tzatziki was fresh and tangy. The hummus smooth and perfectly flavored. The baba ghanouj was perfect, extremely smoky and extremely flavorful. Good enough for a close-up:

The falafel was crunchy, rustic, and flavorful:

Overall the meal was as good as I could imagine. A perfect expression of Iraqi cuisine. Everything is prepared from scratch by the owner and his mother, truly prepared with love. I wish I could return and explore the whole menu.

And the bill was downright cheap:

Dar Salam, 2921 NE Alberta St., Portland, OR 97211, (503) 206 – 6148.

The Fancy Fish (Mira Mesa)

July 17, 2017 Cathy Seafood, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog with postings about places in San Diego and beyond, focused on food. Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy usually write here. Today, Cathy is at the helm.

It was late March, or maybe April and I was on Mira Mesa Boulevard at the corner with HMart, Daiso, In-n-Out, The Kebab Shop, Go Go Sushi and Ramen and many other places and noticed new signage. Finally, The Mister and I had a chance to stop here; glad we did. Walk in, order, pay. Find a seat and your food will be delivered. Platters, salads, bao and tapas. Everything customizable and made to order. Could be plain, could be fancy.

Customizable: 1. Choose the VIP (very important protein): tilapia, white fish, tofu, swordfish, shrimp, jumbo shrimp, salmon, mani mani, chicken, catfish, albacore or ahi., pick the preparation, pick a sauceWe have tried a variety of offerings already.

2. Choose a style of preparation:Fried, pan cooked, grilled or steamed.

3. Choose a sauce: Cajun dry rub, honey dijon, cilantro lime, lemongrass satay, curry, creamy sriracha, teriyaki, sweet and sour, garlic butter, toasted sesame, hoisin. Each of these sauces are made in house and each that we've tried has been delicious.

4. 5. 6. Choose a salad mix, salad dressings and sides.

Really, many decisions to be made…this is why it's a long post. We needed to figure out what we liked and wanted more of for future visits. We have tried all the preparation styles, which is the focus of this post.
There are a variety of seating areas, some with a great view of the open kitchen. Let's start with fried. The first time here, trying the whitefish platter ($9)with a salad and slaw as the sides- a large piece of fish, perfectly fried. Salad dressing made here, a good ranch. Here's a closeup of the lemongrass satay sauce. There's a touch of heat in it, and it is good. The Seafood Sampler ($9) is interesting in that each seafood is prepared with a different batter for frying. Calamari , Shrimp (wrapped in rice paper), fish bites, shrimp chips and fries. I do so appreciate a good fry. The Bao; "Asian tacos' on the menu. This one is soft shell crab ($6) (it is $4 on Tuesdays). Cute how the Fancy Fish branding is on each fresh made, steamy bun. Shrimp (crispy or grilled ($5.50, $3 on Tuesday) great, large, different than the shrimp on the Sampler. Grilled chicken and grilled fish (an a 'light meal' visit ($5/$5.50). Again, really nice and a different preparation. The bao are filling!

The seared ahi tuna salad ($12) with cilantro lime dressing. Wonderful, fresh, good ratio of tuna to salad. Will order again.
Grilled tilapia ($10) this was meaty steak and really good. Shrimp chips and salad as sides made this a 'healthier' choice.

That first photo of this trio is of the steamer. The whitefish steamed with lemongrass satay was recommended by the owner…we had to. We did ask for the sauce on the side, but usually the fish is steamed with the sauce. Choosing the grilled zucchini and cole slaw made this another nice meal. Both of us really liked this preparation of the fish.

All in all, a great way to get exactly what you want. Great service, nice people and great food.

The Fancy Fish 9430 Mira Mesa Blvd #5B San Diego 92126 (858) 586-6228 Website Open Sun-Thurs 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Sunday Sandwiches – Carve Modern Deli & Beer

July 16, 2017 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

**** Carve has closed

A few month back, I recall hearing about a place named "Carve". When I asked the person where this was, he said, "Aero Drive". Aero Drive? My old office used to be fairly close by and I don't remember anything named Carve; Aero Deli, yes…. B&B Catering….yes….

A few days later, I had a meeting at that old location, and lo' and behold….Carve.

The shop is located in the new, rather Mission Valley looking Corsair Apartment complex on Aero Drive. Man, the place just seemed to have popped up overnight. And while there doesn't seem to be much parking….there's a ton of retail spaces in the garage as well.

The shop is wide open; high ceilings, the de rigueur wooden paneling. The menu features, seven burgers/sandwiches, four salads, three "make-a-plate" items, "shared plates" (think appetizers), and craft beer. If you think hipster….well, you might be close. The cheapest sandwich on the menu is $10.95, which easily puts it in the same category as BFD, Ike' Place, and SuperNatural Sandwiches.

In terms of sandwiches; if you're not looking for a burger; it's two pastrami, three turkey, and one "catch of the day".

So, I went with Carve 'Strami ($11.95), you get either chips for free, or you can sub out slaw (+$1) or fries (+$2). I just went with the chips.

I really liked the home made chips; just enough salt, crisp, with good potato flavor. As for the sandwich, the bun was nice; perhaps a bit too "buttery" for me, but very soft. There was a good amount of tender smoked brisket pastrami; very smokey, a bit too salty, and too lean. Perhaps ordering this was pretty bad timing because I'd just got back from Montreal and had the smoked meat at Schwartz's….you know; this one.

The bacon was too hard; but fine. I'd have preferred more Dijon Mustard and pickles to cut the richness and do without the Mornay sauce which brought nothing to this sandwich.

Still, not bad, so I went back a few days later. This time I ordered the Turkey Jam ($10.95) with Fries ($2).

I really liked the flavor of the fries, which we nicely seasoned, but they didn't even hold up for the 10 minute drive back to the office.

As for the sandwich? The ciabatta was decently toasted and wasn't too chewy or hard as this type of roll tends to be in San Diego. The turkey was on the dry side and pretty bland; which would usually open the door for the fig jam. which was really mild and needed more "umph". The brie was also quite mild, but did add a small amount of acidity. I thought that there's wasn't enough greens on this sandwich and wish the horseradish sauce was more pungent.

The folks I ate with all said that they thought the sandwiches were on the skimpy side; but I thought these were more than enough for me. They also thought the prices were on the high side, which, based on places I put into the same sandwich category (see the beginning) I sort of agree with. Still, it's nice to see places like this popping up and I'm sure the folks who live around here must enjoy having places like this in their 'hood.

I did try the salads; but that's another post, stay tuned for that.

Also, "greens and plates" are only served from 11am – 3pm; shared plates from 3pm – 7pm, and sandwiches from 11am to 7pm, there are breakfast options from 8am – 11am. Whew.

Carve Modern Deli & Beer (In the Broadstone Corsair)
8583 Aero Dr
San Diego, CA 92123
Hours:
Mon – Fri 8am – 7pm
Sat 11am – 3pm
Closed Sunday

Montreal – Mamie Clafoutis and VIA Rail to QC

July 15, 2017 mmm-yoso Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Bakery, Caffeine Fix, Canada, Montreal, Travel

While we had really enjoyed Montreal, the Missus was ready for our next stop; Quebec City. We'd be going by rail, which I really enjoy.

Since our train wouldn't be leaving until 1245 and we were literally 3 blocks from Gare Centrale, we decided to take a morning walk and grab some breakfast. The Missus decided on a place up Rue Saint Denis.

Of course we passed several churches on the way and really enjoyed walking up Saint Denis as it was full of semi-hipster, trendy, and plain funky businesses.

Hmmm….maybe Elvis does live?

Mamie Clafoutis is a bit of a walk up Saint Denis, which I read the street goes all the way to the North side of the island.

While the namesake of he place is the Clafouti; the Missus had read that the Pistachio Croissant here was very good. I saw a sign for a special Ficelle celebrating Montreal's 375 Anniversary (May 17, 2017) and while it was already the end of May, it was still being made and sold. So, I decided on that.

We both got some espresso for our caffeine fix. When our tray was ready, we headed upstairs to the comfortable lounge area.

The ficelle was ice cold, really chewy….I expected a bit more "crunch", but it was more hard. We really enjoyed the combination of flavors from the cornichons, mustard, and for the Missus, especially the smoked meat. This really set the stage for our return trip, where I'd been looking forward to getting some smoked meat.

The croissant was a bit drier than we prefer and lacked that touch of salt that would balance out the very sweet pistachio paste which was too sweet for me. Of course, I'm not much of a dessert person, but there didn't seem to be much pistachio flavor.

Still, the espresso was good and we enjoyed the vibe of the place. We'd notice that folks in this area seemed to speak much more French than on the west side.

Mamie Clafoutis
3660 Rue Saint-Denis
Montreal, Canada

We headed back to the hotel, going down Saint Laurent, then over to Rue Jeanne-Mance. It had started to drizzle. Even though we had umbrellas, it was also getting a bit windy. Luckily, just as it was getting particularly blustery, we reached the Complexe Desjardins. In Montreal, there's a 32 kilometer network of tunnels, passageways, shopping centers, and buildings called RESO, but it's most commonly known as the Underground City. The name evokes a bit of mystery……but for us; it looked basically like a bunch of malls which were, thankfully, interconnected.

I can imagine being able to move along downtown Montreal without being exposed to the elements must be a godsend during the dead of winter. For us wimpy San Diegans…well, we enjoyed being able to cross the street.

We got back to the hotel, freshened up, and checked out of the Courtyard. We headed over a couple of blocks to where I thought Gare Centrale was….because of all the construction, we had a difficult time finding the entrances, but finally made it.

Since we had business class tickets, we were able to use the VIA lounge in the train station. Nothing fancy, but comfortable enough….drinks and coffee provided.

Having easy access to the restrooms, a nice place to sit, and some coffee was worth paying a few bucks more. I got our fares during some kind of "special" where I paid like only $40 more for round trip tickets in business.

And while our train was not nearly as comfortable as riding the Shinkansen, it was fine.

One thing I did enjoy was the service, which was very friendly, and at times oddly funny. They also really pushed the booze! By the time the lunch cart got to us, they'd run out of everything but the vegetarian dish….shells stuffed with portabello mushroom. Which turned out to be perfectly fine.

Notice the white wine? So, I wasn't going to have any wine or drinks with lunch…but the really funny woman; with that wonderful French-Canadian accent told me, "you must…you must have some. It's from Wayne Gretzky Estates!" How could I turn that down? Wayne Gretzky Estates…… Yep this is Canada….and you don't mess with Wayne Gretzky……

Thanks for reading!

Thai Burger Company (Clairmont)

July 13, 2017 Cathy Burgers, Food Trucks, Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog, written by three friends, interchangeably. Kirk has been working a lot of extra hours this week while Ed(from Yuma) is relaxing after his interesting vacation. Cathy is writing a short post.

The Mister and I shop at Carnival Supermarket about once a month. Back in February, I recalled seeing this storefront and signage and made a mental note to stop in…but things got busy. The few times since then, we had just had lunch and I kept that mental note tucked away somewhere…Finally, curiosity got the best of me…a pig as signage, the name of 'Thai Burger Company-Home of the Original Rice Burgers'. We had to stop. Walk in and there's the counter in front of you. You order from the limited menu (five appetizers, four burgers and a few interesting beverage choices), pay and find a seat at one of the three tables out front. It turns out that Thai Burger Company started as a Food Truck, originally near the Navy Exchange at the 32nd Street base. It still is a food truck, at various farmers markets around town.
This was our shared meal; we had just purchased beverages at Starbucks before deciding to stop here. The chicken pot stickers ($3.50) were wonderful, the filling of chicken and still crispy fresh cabbage was plentiful, fresh and very nice. The skewer of calamari balls($3.50) was quite large; if we had an order of three skewers ($10), I think that would be too much food. The balls were nice, I suppose a bit standard, and two were enough for me, especially with all the other food. (Other skewered choices are shrimp and imitation crab).
The classic BBQ pork rice burger ($7) was a great choice. The 'bun' of sticky rice was not too thick. The meat was marinated with the just the right amount of flavors and that charred grill flavor was the perfect touch. If this had been served on a plate, the amount of rice to meat was a perfect ratio. Eating this like a burger wasn't too messy; the rice held up and there was actually more meat than 'bun'.

Now I'm curious about the other 'burgers' available- chicken satay, curry pork and fried tofu. Also the beverages do look interesting. We'll be back.

Thai Burger Company 3520 Ashford Street (at Beagle) San Diego 92111 Open Mon-Fri 11-3 and 5-9 Sat/Sun 11-9

Guahan Grill (Midway)

July 11, 2017 mmm-yoso Guamanian/Chamorro

**** This location of Guahan Grill has closed.

Way back when, the Missus used to make me drive up to Oceanside for Kelaguen from Guahan Grill. That went on for a couple of weeks; until we had two pretty bad meals….which had me making my "Kind of Kelaguen and Fast Finadene" from that point on.

Back in January, Guahan opened a location in the Midway area and I put it on "my list" for a visit. For some reason, it took me like 6 months to finally drop by.

Sorry about the photo of the sign. There was a giant semi parked in front of the place during my entire visit.

I like the set-up here. Bright and wide open, almost looking like a "gastropub" of sorts.

I basically went with the exact thing I ordered during my first visit to Guahan…way back when. The combination Pork Ribs with Kelaguen (of course)….called "Guahan Special", this came with a salad and empanada.

Of course I had to taste the Finadine, which was pretty good. Much better than what we had during our last two visits to the Oceanside location, which was almost all soy sauce, barely a hint of sour. I do like my finadene a bit more sour and spicy. So I asked for some boonie peppers, but they were out. Bummer. There was of course red rice, nice textures, mild in flavor, livened up with finadene. The empanada was not as good as I recalled; crisp, but with hardly any filling, which was very bland. The kelaguen was also pretty bland; I taste ginger in this, no coconut, no spice, kind of dry…..it really needs the finadene. The pork ribs were as I remembered, perhaps even better, as the meat came off the bone cleanly. These were far from bland, edging on salty….but I was pleased with them.

My Server, a very friendly and pleasant young lady, Brazilian I believe, was a joy.

So yes, I'll be back. I need to try some of the items on the menu. Especially since I don't have to drive up to Oceanside any longer. I'll have to see if I can talk the Missus into coming. With the state of kelaguen in our household, that's going to be a challenge.

Speaking of a challenge….this shop is hidden behind from Rosecrans in the same building as Native Foods and Pick-up Stix, next to Yummy Buffett. Man, talk about setting the bar low in this strip mall….though I know folks who like the Gourmet Bagger.

Guahan Grill
3373 Rosecrans St
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Tues – Sun 11am – 9pm

Burgundy – Driving the Vineyard Route, Meursault to Saint Romain, and Lunch at Aupres du Clocher (Pommard)

July 10, 2017 mmm-yoso Bakery, Burgundy, Croissants, Fine Dining, France, French Restaurants, Travel

I awoke as the sun rose on our first full day in Beaune. The previous day had been pretty busy, arriving in Beaune, getting settled and making reservations and finding a place for dinner. But this, well this was going to be a full day, we had a car and the Missus was rarin' to go.

But first, I headed out……

Down the quiet streets of early morning Beaune.

I recalled passing a Boulangerie the previous day as we were walking in from the train station. And it was one of the few places open this early in the morning.

Very friendly woman working. All I needed was on croissant to share with our morning coffee.

Boulangerie Pâtisserie Lapalus
1 place du docteur jorrot
Beaune, France

A decent, but not great croissant. I'd grab a baguette there before we left Beaune that was quite good though.

And then we headed out; around the ring road, finding the sign to Autun.

It was, without a doubt, beautiful.

As we kept stopping to take photos.

Imagine waking one morning, getting into your car and driving into a "postcard".

The road slowly crept upward.

Until we came upon the town of Meursault, with it's distinctive Town Hall.

It was a Friday, which turns out to be Market Day (Friday). We enjoyed walking around. Not only were food items on sale…..

But all manner of furniture and household goods as well.

From kitchenware to baskets to beds!

We took a short walk……this town is so charming.

We decided to take another break and hit up the Boulangerie.

For another croissant and espresso.

Le 7éme Péché
11 Place de L Hôtel de ville
Meursault, France

We then headed off down to Puligny-Montrachet.

Where according to many, the best white wine in the world is produced.

Because I drove, I could not partake. The Missus was free to sample whatever She wanted.

We came around the loop and took time to admire the Château de la Rochepot.

Which dates back to the 12th Century.

From here it was another climb uphill.

There was one more stop the Missus just had to make. On this trip, the Missus had grown fond of wine from the appellation of Saint Romain. And so, we just had to head downhill and stop in that town.

And stalk Her favorite producer…..

Yikes!

Luckily, there were no embarrassing moments as no one was around.

We then headed back toward Beaune. We'd made a complete loop and got back no the main road. The Missus had read about a restaurant in the town of Pommard. So decided to stop and see if they would be able to accommodate us.

Luckily, we'd arrived early and we got a table without reservations.

We were actually given a pretty nice table, with a street view. The lunch menu was basically a choice of two tasting menus. We took the more expensive option which was still a very reasonable 50 Euros…remember, we had become used to Paris prices.

The bread was interesting; it featured something the Missus would love later on; gougere….

Things started off with a nice and somewhat refreshing soup.

The thing I recalled the most was how the acidity of the cream really set off the flavors.

Of course we basically shared everything, passing dishes back and forth between us.

When the Missus's Escargot arrived, I knew that the chef was aiming for a more modern take on French cuisine, as per the "foam". There were some fairly tender grains under the delicious crème d'ail, a very smooth garlic crème. I asked what these were and was told "d'epeautre", basically spelt. It was nutty and slightly sweet. I recall on the menu that these were "escargot Bourgogne sauvage". Which I take to mean wild local snails. I thought all the ingredients were the stars rather than the escargot.

I had the Tartare de Dorade; which I believe is a type of sea bream.

This turned out to be basically a salad and I enjoyed the vinaigrette. I thought the squid was a bit tough.

Check out the Missus's main.

Yes, that is foie gras crowning a nice piece of tuna. I was kinda hesitant about the missus ordering this; but of course it had foie gras, which was decently prepared if a bit over-cooked. The tuna was actually perfectly cooked; quite rare and not dry.

To be perfectly honest, the Missus enjoyed the fennel, lima beans, and the wonderfully earthy mushrooms the best. I gotta say; the portion size on this was quite generous.

As was the portion size of the Entrecot of Veal.

Again, quite a large cut of veal, cooked perfectly for my tastes, decently tender. The mushrooms were again our favorite item on the plate.

The Mousse tiede d'epoisse was our least favorite dish. This was served separately and the flavors were so strong it as hard to enjoy.

Man, that cheese was so salty and the croutons on the bottom of the mousse; which tasted like gingerbread just added more strong flavors.

As for the rest of the desserts, well, the Missus enjoyed them.

Overall, we thought the meal was quite worth the price. The service was a bit spotty but quite pleasant and we were pleasantly surprised with our meal.

Aupres du Clocher
1 rue de Nackenheim
Pommard, France

Man, after that meal I needed to rest up. Plus we still had dinner reservations.

Circling Back to Sultan Baklava

July 9, 2017 mmm-yoso Turkish Food

Last week I performed my civic obligation; yes it was time for jury duty yet again. And while there are a few places on my list to try downtown. I decided to revisit an old favorite, Sultan Baklava. It was indeed a sad day when Sultan decided to go back to just baklava in 2013. Though we were happy to see them reopen in the Gaslamp, it's not really an area I get to very often, thus it had been over two years since I last visited.

One good thing about jury duty….you often get two hour breaks for lunch. Which meant I could take my time getting to Sultan and take a look at Horton Plaza Park, which hadn't opened yet the last time I was on jury duty.

And some other stuffs…..

As you can tell; it was a beautiful day. This was before the recent hot spell….though it was definitely warm and sunny out.

It was pretty quiet at Sultan when I arrived; just one party outside and one in.

I was seated and ordered some Turkish Tea and water…..

That's when the owner saw me and came over to shake my hand and have a nice little chat. amazing….he still remembers me and made sure to ask about the Missus.

Since I had to go back to the Hall of Justice and was using public transportation, I decided to stick with just two items.

The Antipezme (acili ezme), and old favorite of mine; served with lavas.

I'm used to a slightly pungent-spicy-tangy -mildly sweet acili ezme and this was really mild. Nice and refreshing, but not quite the version we enjoyed so much years ago at Sultan. It was not bad; but the flavors just seemed muted.

Of course I had to get the lahmacun, which was every bit as good as before.

In fact, this might be even better than before. There's more meat, nice seasoning, the lavas nice, thin, and crisp. It was quite good. It came with a simple salad; a nice dusting of sumac on it.

This ended up being more food than I thought it would be….though the really nice Server told me the record for a single individual eating lahmacun was six! Yikes!

It was nice to see that Sultan was still in business and the place was filling up as I left. After all; it was Sultan that inspired us to visit Turkey (twice). I need to get back here more often.

Sultan Baklava Mediterranean Cuisine
770 4th Ave
San Diego, CA

Returning to Tiger! Tiger!

July 8, 2017 mmm-yoso Gastropub, yoso-silly

**** Tiger! Tiger! has closed

I sure felt the heat the last couple of days. Must be getting wimpy in my old age.

Just a short post for today…..the humidity almost makes me want to head back to the office…..almost.

A few days back we just decided to get the heck out of the house and head to Tiger! Tiger!. We hadn't been back since January.

As usual the Charcuterie Plate was just what we wanted.

Though the cucumber – avocado salad was less than stellar. The cucumbers were old and the skin tough….perhaps they should have been peeled. The avocado was brown; too bad, because that dill based dressing was nice.

Still, it was a nice break.

And yes, I still haven't really ordered anything off the regular menu.

Tiger! Tiger!
3025 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104

It's been tough heading back to Tiger! Tiger! You see the last time we were there at the end of January, was the night we lost Sammy.

It was really strange; the Missus had a rare night off; She's been working like crazy like I have this year. Sammy, who had done deaf two years ago and usually wouldn't hear us when we got home anymore, met us as we returned at the door. I'd recently gotten him some steps so he could hang out on his favorite place on the sofa and we got a kick watching him use it. But you could tell; he was getting up there. He still ate well and his enthusiasm for life was unabated.

The Missus's co-worker knitted this silly looking cap for Sammy and this is our last photo of him on that day….I guess he wasn't amused.

He seemed extra energetic when we got home, running around, bugging me to play with him and his favorite toy of the hour. He just kept going and going….we just cracked up.

I went into the room we use as an office and Sammy took his usual position right behind my chair. I heard a sighing sound, Sammy looked at me, gasped, and he was gone. We grabbed him, ran out of the house and over to the Pet Hospital, but it was for naught.

In way, I think Sammy planned it out…..his Mommy was home, he'd had a great and fun evening, enjoyed his dinner, and got to say goodbye.

Typical Sammy.

Until we meet again.

SammyK

July 5, 2002 – January 25, 2017

Strange, our visit to Tiger Tiger was on the 5th……I didn't even realize it until the Missus mentioned it later that evening…..Sammy would have been 15. Maybe???

Rest well my friend.