May 2018 – Page 2

Ikea (again)

May 19, 2018 Cathy Cafeteria style, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is taking a break after quite a few long days (and weeks) of work. Cathy has a short Saturday post.

Again, I'm writing about restaurants inside of stores, a fascinating phenomenon. I have written about Ikea only three other times and find it a convenient place to stop for a quick bite as well as to meet up (everyone knows where the IKEA store is; there are just too many Starbucks locations to find a mutually agreed location).
The traditional 8 meatball plate ($4.99) comes with lingonberry sauce, vegetable of the day and a starch (in this case, macaroni and cheese- a good version, although the mashed potatoes are also quite good). There is coffee, lingonberry juice and a dessert on this tray. Priorities.
Usually, I grab the gravad lox (salmon cured with sugar, salt and dill) plate ($5.99) from the chilled area- it comes with a dill mustard sauce and some lettuce-enough for use on the salad, although the condiment area has ranch dressing available.

The dessert, a Princess cake ($1.50)-a soft cookie/solid cake piece on the bottom, topped with raspberry sauce, a solid whipped cream (still partly frozen so a sort of ice cream) wrapped in chocolate topped marzipan is just enough for a meal.

IKEA Restaurant; there's one in every store. website

Osteria dei Sani – Sasso Marconi (Emilia-Romagna)

May 17, 2018 mmm-yoso Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Travel

Though we had enjoyed our time in Florence, I was really looking forward to spending the rest of the trip in Emilia-Romagna.

But first we had to get there. We'd be spending the next three nights in an Agritourismo outside Parma. So I rented a car. Somehow, we found our way onto Autostrada A1 in the direction of Bologna. Driving in Italy was interesting, in a good way, I loved that slow traffic went to the right, the middle lane was for most folks, and the left lane was for passing or driving like a bat out of hell. I gotta say, there's nothing like going 160 km/hr (99.5 mph) and seeing some properly dressed "Nonna" driving a Maserati pass you like you're standing still!

I knew we'd have to stop for lunch on the way to Parma, so I did some research on restaurants between Florence and Bologna and one place kept popping up; Osteria dei Sani. So that's where we headed. We got to sleepy little Sasso Marconi (population approx 15,000), found parking next to the park at the edge of town (like three blocks from the center) and easily found the restaurant.

The folks here are super friendly and warm. Something we'd find throughout Emilia-Romagna. I'm sure they found us to be a bit "different" from their regular clientele.

There was just one other table of customers when we arrived.

But the place filled up fast and it seemed that all the customers knew each other…….

This being Emilia-Romagna, I just couldn't wait to dig into some salumi, so I ordered the Sfiziosita de Salumi a combination of salumi, which was only 8 Euros!

That mortadella was delicious as was the salami; but the pancetta canusina, pork belly was so mild and almost silken. And my favorite by far, the culatello, which was firm at first, but then gave way while chewing. The flavor was amazing, slightly sweet, a bit funky, with a finish like cheese. It was love at first bite. I'd end up ordering culatello everywhere the Missus would let me. And each was different……

One of the classic dishes of the region; the Tortellini in brodo (10€). It seems that every area has it's own stuffed pasta that would end up in broth. While this dish seems so simple, it was often times the most expensive primi on the menu. It's because these tiny stuffed pasta is hand made and also so tasty.

The texture is tender, pillowy, yet with a slight pull. Simply stuffed with cheese and a tiny piece of salumi….well, that's all you need. The chicken broth had just enough fat and though we'd have much better brodo later on during our time in the area, I instantly knew I'd love the food here.

The Missus got the Tagliolini con Tartufo (10€). Yes, the Missus was still in "truffle mode".

The fragrance was amazing, but the flavor rather mild. Let on during the trip, the Missus would start switching up to porcini. The pasta was a tad over-cooked for our taste, but this was still very good.

The Missus wanted to try he Scallopina all Aceto Balsamico (10€).

The balsamic vinegar based sauce was quite tangy and sour….it was actually quite good with the bread….at least I thought so. The veal was a bit too lean and tough for us.

Overall, a very nice meal and a great start to our time in Emilia-Romagna.

The Gentleman who seemed to be the owner was very friendly and came by to greet us and shake our hands. Service was warm and friendly. The Missus enjoyed Her glass of wine and the price was very reasonable.

Osteria dei Sani
Via Porrettana 324
Sasso Marconi, Italy

If every place in Emilia-Romagna was going to be like Osteria dei Sani, we were going to have a great time!

PB Pho and Grill

May 16, 2018 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

A few days after my post on Island Style Hawaii BBQ & Local Food, I was contacted by "Lurker Larry"…really, that's what he wants to be called, who lives in PB and wanted my opinion on his favorite Vietnamese spot, PB Pho and Grill. I did let him know that if I dropped by, I'd be perfectly honest in my opinion and I didn't want to hurt his feelings….or lose a reader, lurker or not. I was assured that he just wanted to know what I thought….well, I was somewhat flattered. I asked him to tell me what his favorite dishes were and after receiving that email dropped by the following weekend.

Located near the corner of Cass and Garnet, I'd really not have noticed the place if I drove by. Strangely, I found easy parking nearby…..on all my visits….even on weekends. I'm guessing that folks are still sleeping in at 11am on weekends during the off-peak season?

The interior is large, colorful, in the typical kind of hipster, modern pho shop way. The menu has a decent selection of the usual suspects…everything from Banh Xeo to Bo Luc Lac, and of course pho.

Armed with a list of Larry's favorites, I went first with his number one fave….Bun Thit Nuong ($8.49). Man, this bowl looked huge.

There's no faulting the portion size; though the amount of pork, is somewhat deceptive. Still, it is decently flavored, with fish sauce, not too salty nor sweet. The cha gio, the egg roll, was somewhat burnt, really hard, and the filling was dry. The nuoc mam cham was watered down and much too sweet for my taste.

The bun was nicely done, good al dente pull to it….and believe me there was a of bun in this dish. The only thing that was more of was the iceberg lettuce and bean sprouts

You really couldn't fault the portion size. Though the nuoc mam cham was so watered down that I asked for….and was given, very nicely mind you, a second little ramekin of it….with no extra charge.

So, I guess if you thought of this as a salad…..well, maybe not.

Mission not over; I returned the following weekend. And still had an easy time finding parking.

This time, a different twosome working, service was kind of odd…the young man wasn't very pleasant, he just seemed to want to get back to texting on his phone, yet the young woman was so nice….sort of a strange "good cop, bad cop" kind of service?

I went with the other two items "LL" told me about. The first….and the reason he found our little blog in the first place, was because of chicken wings. He often orders the chicken wings here…….and so did I ($9.99). Funny, the menu says 10 wings….but I took a quick census.

Anyway, these are basically "naked wings" with sweet chili sauce. The skin is rubbery, not fried well enough….and it's a version of sweet chili sauce. Lots of black spots on the bones….somewhat dry…….

Per my direction, I ordered the Pho Dac Biet ($8.99)….."LL" does rare and well done steak. I just wanted to get the range of proteins.

This is what I call a classic example of "Ameri-pho". It's not bad….in fact to show how far "pho has fallen" in Kearny Mesa, this place is better than Pho T Cali. But that is setting the bar very, very, low. So…..the rare steak was pretty much well done by the time the bowl hit the table. It was dry, the other proteins weren't too bad….the well done steak and flank had a decent flavor. The broth was cloudy and highly defatted….as is typical for San Diego pho, it was on the sweeter side, but actually not overly sweet. No anise tones, but a light beefiness.

Looking at the photo to the right…….as is the norm in "Ameri-pho" fairly skimpy on the basil and sprouts.

There were two little "whisps" of tripe, no complaints about texture; though the tendon was MIA. It was the typical clump of noodles in the bottom of the bowl; but it was very hot, but not over-cooked.

Well, what can I say, while his wasn't the pho of my dreams, it was actually better than the last bowl of pho I had in PB.

And so that's the way it goes, right? Well, not so fast Kemosabe……. Just for the heck of it, I decided to return for an encore. So, I returned….this time the service was so nice and friendly…..because I had seen Banh Mi Bo Kho ($8.99) on the menu. So why not?

I didn't expect; say Pho Lucky and to be perfectly honest, I didn't even expect Bo Kho on the level of Pho Saigon Bliss.

What I will say is; this was one huuuuge bowl of beef stew flavored soup. To say this is a stew is really pushing some definitions. Also, there was a layer of fat at least a third of an inch thick on top of the broth. The flavor had a strange greasy-sweet-pho-saltiness that lacked the tangy-black pepper-anise tones I enjoy. And that layer of greasiness did no favors to the broth. This was obviously pho broth with a beef stew base added to it.

On the bright side, there was a ton of beef; fairly tender, squared off pieces.

I could have used with more cilantro and onions to cut through the pure greasiness…..but perhaps nothing would have helped. The carrots were not cooked all he way thru, but the banh mi was crusty, yeasty, and nicely toasted.

Not the best….but in all honesty, I've had worse. Sorry "LL" if I've disappointed you. My wish for you is for you to take some time and visit other areas of San Diego for Pho and Vietnamese cuisine. There's much to like about PB, but as of now, Vietnamese food in not in that category.

PB Pho & Grill
1007 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

Though I did learn where I can find parking, at least for now, in this part of PB!

Thanks for reading and giving me an opportunity to try somewhere new LL!

Village North Revisited

May 15, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Village North has closed

I had these photos sitting around for a while. In my Shan Xi Magic Kitchen post, "FOY" Derek asked if I'd been to Village North recently.

Well, yes……many times. You see, since we've been making our own Suan Cai over the last three years, the Missus has me get the Suan Cai with Pork take-out and will eta that mixed with our funky, fermented suan cai over the course of three or four meals. So there hasn't been much to write about since I haven't been eating it.

A couple of weeks ago, we decided to head on over and actually have a sit down dinner at Village North.

And of course the Missus got the stir fried Suan Cai with Pork.

This is the Missus's favorite dish here by far. The sour-mild anise-slightly salty flavor goes a long way. It's even better now than when they first opened. They sure know how to make this dish. The Missus would only allow me one serving of this…..She needed to have left-overs to take home.

One of the dishes we really enjoyed in the past here was the Pork Intestines in Dry Pot.

This wasn't as good as what we had in the past. There wasn't much intestine; which was really tough and chewy. Though this was decently spicy, the seasoning was off and it was too salty, and a bit on the greasy side.

The Black Pepper Flank Steak was another favorite here in the past.

The portion size of this dish has definitely gotten smaller and they used much more green bell peppers this time around. This was much more spicy than on previous visits. The beef was toothsome; though the velveting technique was not quite as good as on previous visits and this lacked that smoothness. Not bad, though not as good as on previous visits.

We found our meal to be decent. I've got to come by more often and try other dishes rather than just doing take-out for the Missus. The nice woman who works here knows me already and is always very friendly. Once she saw me waiting in the parking lot; the Missus wanted Her suan cai and it was a few minutes before opening time. She smiled and waved me into the place; unlocking the door for me. So I'll obviously be coming back.

Village North
4428 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Florence – Santa Maria Novella Church, Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, and Dinner at Il Tartufo and Il Lampredotto (In Mercato Centrale)

May 14, 2018 mmm-yoso Florence and Tuscany, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Sandwiches, Travel

After recovering from a busy morning, we decided to head on out to do some exploring and last minute shopping.

First stop, Santa Maria Novella Church.

This church stands just a short walk away from the busiest parts of the city; but it seemed quite relaxed, except for all the hawkers. Construction of the began in 1279 and was completed around 1357. The upper part of the façade was completed around 1470 by Alberti. We were actually going to another destination (more on that later), but decided to stop in here. After all, it was covered by the Firenze Card.

The interior, much like Basilica de Santa Croce is large and open. The Cruxifix here is by Giotto and dates back to the 13th Century.

Another rather famous work in the church is the Holy Trinity by Masaccio whose work was lauded, but died at the young age of 26. (Some say he was poisoned by a jealous rival)

During the 16th century, under orders from Cosimo de' Medici, Vasari painted over the frescoes in the church while creating his own work.

Brunelleschi, who designed the dome of the Duomo is also mentioned as designing the layout of the church as well as creating this wooden crucifix in the Gondi Chapel.

We also went to check out the Cloisters.

And then the Spanish Chapel, which had wonderful frescoes by Andrea di Bonaiuto depicting the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ.

After leaving the church, we went around the corner and down the street to a shop that was once run by the Domincan Monks of Santa Maria Novella, the Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy (Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella). It is one of the oldest pharmacies in the world having been established sometime in the 13th century.

It doesn't look like much from the outside, but is quite huge….and busy. The Missus, who loves shopping was overwhelmed with what to get from the huge lists of products.

Walking around I noticed what looked like to be the old entrance from the Cloisters.

As much as the Missus likes to shop, She is easily overwhelmed. Indeed, when in places like cosmetic shops in Japan, the Missus will often send me photos of the make-up items She needs and I'll go find them by matching the photos and designs on the boxes and containers. After about twenty minutes in here, the Missus was fried.

I had noticed a little Tea Room off to the side of all the crowds.

I suggested getting a nice cup of tea before heading off. Which sounded like a good idea to the Missus.

I had a nice cup of Earl Grey. The Missus, fascinated by the offerings ordered a medicinal liquor, whoa, really sweet…..yikes!

But it was a nice break in the action.

Walking back through the store, I found something that I thought the Missus should purchase. "Acqua di Santa Maria Novella" is said to be the remedy for hysteria and the accompanying indigestion. The Missus wasn't amused.

There was one more place I wanted to visit in Florence. So we decided to head off before dinner, to find a pig. A pig? I always have some oddball items I want to see when travelling and Atlas Obscura has only fed into that desire. Earlier in the day I got to check out Galileo's middle finger, now I was after a bronze pig named Il Porcellino. It took some effort to find Mr Piggy since it's in the area of a large outdoor market. Some nice folks in a nearby restaurant helped us out when I pointed to their little brass pig in the window and asked directions.

So, the drill goes that you place a coin in the mouth of the boar and let it drop. Should it go to though the grates you are destined to have good luck. You then rub the snout, which has been polished smooth from all the folks rubbing it. This ensures you'll return to Florence someday. The coin thing is not as easy as you think. The poor Japanese fellow in front of me tried three times and it never went in. I got it on the first try!

Take that, Mr Piggy!

We decided to do something fun for dinner on this evening and headed off in the direction of Basilica de San Lorenzo.

These duo, playing in front of Monumento a Giovanni delle Bande Nere were really good so we stopped and listened to a couple of songs.

I'd read that the second floor of the Mercato Centrale housed a food court food stands that were pretty good an a lot of fun. It was fairly busy when we arrived, but I had a plan in mind.

The first stand we headed to was……

In case you don't know; tartufo means "truffle".

We ordered the Tagliolino al Tartufo Nero. I was told that these Tartufo Nero were the last of the season (it was the end of March)……it sounded like fun, so why not.

So while the Missus waited for our pasta, I went to the wine shop in the corner of the food stands. Man, the folks here were so nice….I believe the name of the shop is Enoteca Chianti Classico and it was the best glass we had in Florence, the temp was perfect, nice acid….unfortunately it was from Alsace!

Man, that was a pile of truffle on the pasta. The fragrance of the truffle was amazing, though the flavor was quite mild. There was a bit too much sauce for our taste, but the pasta was cooked perfectly. Not bad for 20 Euros. Yes, fresh pasta with truffle in a food court from a food stand.

While we were eating, we saw this huge young man….swear to god he looked like a sumo wrestler. Turns out he was Korean. He cracked us up when he looked at what folks were eating a loudly exclaimed "Paaaa-AAAstaaAAA"! He said this with such sincere joy that you couldn't help but laugh. Oh, and he did get his two plates of pasta!

Next up? After returning our wine glasses we headed to this stand near the other end of the collection of food stands.

Where I saw this sign…….

Really. Florence's ultimate street food made from the abomasum, the "fourth stomach" of the cow with truffle?

Don't mind if I do.

The fragrance of the truffle cut through some of the funky smell of the lampredotto, but didn't interfere with the gamy-offal flavor. I thought the bread was pretty good; light and yeasty. The guy also put some of the mildly spicy salsa verde on this was well. The texture was a bit tougher than versions I had in other dishes during our visit, but this wasn't bad.

The Missus also wanted the Trippa alla Fiorentina as well.

Which arrived just as the Missus got back with our next glass of wine. A nice, light Chianti. She told me the guy working the wine counter was so nice as She asked about the various wine. When She picked one out he told Her, "good, very good, you on vacation, there's no time for bad wine!" You gotta love it.

This tripe was a bit tougher than other versions, but had no off flavors, and was quite tasty overall and for 5 Euros…..

While the Missus went for dessert, I dropped off our wine glass, something I guess others don't do? I got a very nice smile and a thank you from all three folks behind the counter of the wine bar.

I then headed straight for the central bar and got the Missus an espresso and me……well, I thought a Negroni would be a nice way to end the evening.

By now, the place was getting quite busy.

So it was time to stop taking up seats and head on back to the apartment. We really had a fun time at Mercato Centrale.

Mercato Centrale Firenze
Piazza del Mercato Centrale 4
Florence, Italy
Upstairs Hours Vary from 10am – Midnight

We got back to the apartment, had the last glass of wine and went off into dreamland.

Our wonderful host, Matteo was nice enough to arrange for a taxi to the rental car stand for us. He told us, it was the best way to get there. We had gotten up fairly early and packed, our cab wasn't due until 955. Since the Baptistrey opened at 830 and was essentially right down the street we decided to head on over.

Plus, the Missus wanted to see what was behind those bronze doors.

The most striking site was the mosaic on the ceiling.

Which of the Last Judgement.

As we waited for our taxi, we watched daily life in Florence go by……

Lots of tourists yes; but daily life goes on for all the residents.

You know, we ran out of time and didn't even make it into the Duomo. So maybe Il Porcellini is right. I'm going to have to return.

Well, we were off to get our rental car…..

Next up. It's off to Parma. But first, a stop for lunch!

Thanks for stopping by!

Shan Xi Magic Kitchen Revisited (Convoy)

May 13, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

I had been craving Yang Rou Pao Mo for a couple of weeks. I really loved that muttony – thick soup with leaven bread during our visit to Xi'an. Over time, I've accepted the fact that while versions might come close, it seems we just can't get the bread part right. During the recent cooler weather, I finally had a real lunch hour. I wrangled Calvin, who has, over time really developed a taste for the yang rou pao mo. I decided to revisit Shan Xi Magic Kitchen, which I thought was pretty good during my initial visits. Though I believed the place had slipped a bit during the last time I'd had a meal there….but that had been nearly two years ago.

So we arrived at around 1145 and place was almost half full. We got to the door….and were totally ignored, until I got the attention of the young lady working.

The service was quite perfunctory……just like I went back in time and landed in the SGV when we lived there in the late 90's.

I ordered three dishes….pretty much the items I'd enjoyed on my previous visits.

Starting with the Yang Rou Pao Mo.

Good lord this was so bad. The broth was very thin and had too much white pepper in it. There was almost no mutton-ny flavor. Two small slices of lamb, hardly any "bread", which, even though it can't touch the stuff in Xi'an is an integral part of this dish. A few strings of bean thread. Well, at least it was hot…..dishwater.

I also asked for the typical pickled garlic-chili paste and the young man looked at me like I had grown a second head. After a rather uncomfortable pause he told me; "we don't have that here." So much for that. One thing about having had a food blog for a bajillion years….I can always go back and find a photo of the dish I had during a previous visit. Here's that from back in 2016.

I saw the Pidan (century egg) and Tofu back no the menu so I ordered it. I didn't know it was tofu mush….. It looked so sloppy.

So this is what happens when you just carelessly stir tofu up……it's all broken up. I think they did this to hide how little pidan (maybe less than half an egg minced up?) was actually in the dish. Also, too much sesame oil….too little chili-peppercorn oil.

This is what I was expecting.

On my previous visits, I'd thought the Garlic Eggplant here, while on the oily side was quite tasty. And Calvin always needs a vegetable dish…..

This was the best dish of the day; though it didn't have enough garlic flavor and some pieces of eggplant weren't cooked fully through. It needed to be cooked a bit better.

And guess what? It was indeed much more gooey in our previous visits.

Like I said; the service was quite perfunctory. They just wanted us the heck out of there as soon as possible. I had thought this place displayed promise when they first opened; I'm not sure what happened here. Also, I noticed a few more Sichuan type dishes on the menu. I'm wondering if kitchen staff has changed? Whatever the reason……this was a disappointing meal. It also has me wondering how the 99 Ranch Market location on Convoy is doing? I guess I need to check them out.

Shan Xi Magic Kitchen
4344 Convoy St,
San Diego, CA 92111

Florence – Climbing Campanile (Giotto’s Tower), the Duomo Museum, Dante “Stuff”, Galileo Gives Me the “Finger”, and Paninis From SandwiChic

May 12, 2018 mmm-yoso Florence and Tuscany, Italy, Italy, Sandwiches, Travel

Oh boy….another morning in Florence and just like the previous morning the Missus was ready to go. Since tickets for climbing to the Dome of the Duomo were sold out, the Missus decided we should do the Bell Tower of the Duomo; the Campanile. We got there right when they opened at 830am.

I'd read that this climb was easier than climbing to the Dome, by something like 49 steps…..so I was relieved a bit. Until I actually had to do it. The Missus told me it was going to be a "piece of cake"….only 414 steps!

Boy am I getting old….. up the winding steps…..you arrive at a platform thinking, "this isn't too bad". Until you find out there are even more steps to the next platform. Rinse….repeat…..

There are actually three platforms….I hadn't read about that, so everytime we stopped, I thought we'd made it.

If I was going up to the thirty-first floor….I'd take the elevator. But not here…..

Though I have to say, the views were amazing.

Having the dome in view makes for a more dramatic shot in my opinion.

I even pointed out the street we were staying on, Via Dei Servi, to the Missus.

Of course….we now had to go back down. Getting there early was actually a good move. The higher you go; the more cramped the stairwell is.

I felt great as we exited Giotto's Tower….it was great to be alive. I did want to take a short break though.

The Missus loved the doors of the Baptistery that faced the Duomo, called the "Gates of Paradise". That door of the Baptistry was the work of Lorenzo Ghiberti, who initially won a contest, defeating Brunelleschi (more on him later), for the right to build first the North Door, then the East Door. In all, Ghiberti spent 48 years of his life on those two doors. The original panels are on display in the Duomo Museum, which is why the Missus wanted to visit.

In fact, most of the original sculptures from the Duomo, Baptistery, and Bell Tower are on display in this museum.

One of the more enjoyable areas in the museum is the Gallery of Brunelleschi's Dome. Remember him? In the end, he got a pretty good gig himself…..designing and building the Dome of the Duomo. We really enjoyed the short video presentation, it was so informative.

Other interesting sculptures. Mary Magdalene by Donatello.

This haunting and realistic work was completed by Donatello when he was over sixty years old.

This version of Pieta by Michelangelo, also known as "The Deposition".

It is said that Michelangelo, now in his seventies, originally created this work for his own tomb. There are many different theories about why Michelangelo tried to destroy this work. Much of it was later repaired, but notice that Jesus is still missing a leg.

Once done we headed down toward Piazza della Signoria. We were doing a bit of shopping for gifts. On one of the side streets we came across a small church.

On one of the walls we noticed a painting of Dante Alighieri. This is Santa Margherita de' Cerchi also known as the Church of Dante and Beatrice. The church dates back to 1032. Supposedly, it is in this church where Dante first saw and fell in love with Beatrice who would become his muse. They were both nine at the time. This church is also said to have been the location of Dante's marriage (nope not to Beatrice) to Gemma Donati. Beatrice would marry a banker named Simone di Bardi and die in 1290 at the age of 24.

Literally steps away is Casa di Dante (the Dante House Museum). Since we had the Firenze Card we thought we'd just go ahead and visit.

It was not Dante's "home" per se; as many of the buildings of this time have been torn down. If you're a Dante fan, you'll love this tiny three floor museum of all things Dante.

Florence is full of places to see; large and small. We literally walked a few steps from Casa di Dante and saw folks going in and out of this doorway. We walked in a saw a little chapel with some very nice frescoes. This is the home of the Congregation of the Buonomini di San Martino, formed in 1441 to help those who have fallen into hard times.

How could I not give a couple of Euros?

There seem to be fascinating places like this around every corner……

Down every street……..

A story to be told…..

We finally got to Piazza della Signoria.

Where the Missus spent some time trying things on at the location of Ireri Boutique on Via de Gondi. By now, I had decided on one last stop before lunch.

The Galileo Science Museum (Museo Galileo – Institute and Museum of the History of Science). Not for all the amazing collection of telescopes, scientific instruments…..history….

I wanted to see Galileo's middle finger.

Galileo and the church often clashed, on April 12th, 1633 he was convicted of heresy and was placed on house arrest until his death in 1642. Finally, in 1992, Pope John Paul II declared that Galileo was right. In some odd way, I find the placement of Galileo's middle finger somewhat…..ironic?

Or perhaps it was just because I was getting hungry?

The Missus had been wanting to try a panini in Florence and I had a place in mind. We walked back to where our apartment was and headed four blocks to Sandwichic. The place was packed, though things moved fast. I ordered our paninis on the classic Tuscan schiacciata. We headed back to the apartment and enjoyed ourselves.

The Missus got prosciutto with pecrino, porcini, and truffle cream.

I got the prosciutto cotto, a really nice ham, with pecorino and crema de peperoni (no, not pepperoni), a red pepper sauce.

The sauce was a bit too sweet, but the Missus loved the prosciutto cotto.

The schiacciata was wonderful, fairly light, yeasty, great texture, nicely toasted around the edges, but still soft inside. With a couple of glasses of wine….it was quite nice.

SandwiChic
Via San Gallo 3/r
Florence, Italy

And then it was nap time!

Montreal – Patati Patata

May 11, 2018 mmm-yoso Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Canada, Canada Food and Restaurants, Montreal, Travel

It was our last morning in Montreal, our flight was at 3pm, though we had to check-out at 11am. We did need something to hold us over….so why not poutine? There were a few stops to make in the morning and Patati Patata Friterie de Lux….well, with a name like that and being a few blocks from where we were staying, it just made sense.

This tiny corner shop was quite charming as it really looked like an old school diner.

The Missus enjoyed the fresh squeezed orange juice and we both enjoyed our coffee.

We also ordered the Poutine Avec des Ouefs…..which seemed like something right down our alley, with easy over eggs (sorry to FOY Jessica).

So, the frites were crisp, but on the dry side, the cheese curds too mushy, the gravy quite salty….the eggs wonderful. This reminded us of the poutine we had in Vancouver. Not a bad thing, just not to our taste.

The service was great, we loved the vibe, but not the poutine. glad we got to try it though.

Patati Patata Friterie de Luxe
4177 St Laurent
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

We had use of one of the Sky Team lounges at Trudeau International Airport which was pretty quiet.

The food choices were fine for a snack to hold us over.

And we had bought some "goodies" to have at home…..

Though it was nothing like having it there….in Montreal.

I guess we'll just have to return.

Paris – Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Sadaharu Aoki, and Dinner at Café Constant

May 9, 2018 mmm-yoso Chocolate, Desserts, France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

We awoke on our first full day back in Paris ready to go. We had the remnants of our previous evening's shopping and then headed off. The Missus wanted to visit Pere Lachaise Cemetery, mainly because She had read about it in various guidebooks. I knew of the cemetery because of one specific gravesite. I thought this would be kind of neat, so I was all for it. We caught the metro and got off at the Pere Lachaise stop.

Walking the winding paths, we were taken in and overwhelmed. It was at the same time haunting and yet beautiful. Each grave and tomb told a different story.

And while I had a mental list of all the famous laid to rest here; Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, Edith Piaf, we were so taken in by "la cite des morts" (the city of the dead), that in the end, I really only tried to find the final resting place of one American.

I sent a text to one of the folks whom I knew would understand, CC.

And still there were a few interesting resting….and perhaps "non-resting" (for now) that caught our attention.

I noticed this grave had metro tickets lying on it.

So I felt compelled to add mine to the pile.

The Missus looked at me and said; "why are you doing this, you have no idea who this person is." To which I replied "this is Gilbert Morard former head of SNCF, the official train company of France!". Google to the rescue again!

We found this tomb to be kind of freaky.

A camera stares back at you…….. When we got back to the states I found that the person this is meant for, André Chabot is still alive. This space is reserved for André Chabot a photographer who specializes in "funeral art". Go figure….

That's not to say there aren't any tombs that aren't plain creepy and scary.

In the end, while we really enjoyed Pere Lachaise, I don't think we saw everything we wanted to. We'll definitely be back to this fascinating "la cite des morts" again.

We decided to walk back to the 7th (of course), taking the long way.

We soon passed the flagship store of Galeries Lafayette and the Missus was totally entranced by the Christmas displays. From the huge Christmas Tree several stories high, with balloons slowly rising up and down as the tree slowly spins. We linked to several videos we took in our Christmas post.

If that doesn't stir the inner child in you; the window displays along Boulevard Haussman will.

It's mesmerizing and so wonderful. And less you think there's no rhyme or reason to it….well, every year, the display tells a story. On this Christmas season, it was a love story, of a pigeon named Pierre and a dove named Coco. They run into each other in Fairground and the window displays tell that story…..

Who doesn't love a Christmas romance? We ended up stopping by Galeries Lafayette several times. And without fail, the Missus just had to go in and view the trees and spend about 20-30 minutes staring at the window scenes.

As we got close to our apartment, we stopped at the Rue Saint-Dominique location of Sadaharu Aoki.

Sadaharu Aoki is well known for blending Japanese flavors into traditional French desserts.

So, of the Missus had to add to Her growing dessert collection. She bought a dozen bonbons and really enjoyed them.

Sadaharu Aoki
103 Rue Saint-Dominique
75007 Paris, France

**** Cafe Constant has closed

We wanted a place that was casual and low stress for dinner. The Missus had enjoyed our dinner at Christian Constant's Les Cocottes on our previous visit to Paris. So why not complete the set and visit his no reservation, open all day, Café Constant.

Man, this place was packed…….a combination of Parisians and tourists.

The service was quite genial and while it didn't look like there was room for us….they made some….under the stairwell. Which we got a kick out of…..

To tell you how laid back this place is….well, the couple next to us had their Lab under their table. He'd poke his head out once in a while hoping for a hand-out!

We decided to just go for the 36 Euro 3 course meal….something easy, not much thinking involved.

The Missus started with the Tartare de saumon, huîtres et bar au gingembre – Tartare of oysters, seabass and salmon seasoned with ginger and lemon, which was surprisingly good and refreshing.

Not too heavy handed on the ginger; very tender salmon and seabass, this was much better than I expected.

I had really enjoyed the rustic Country-style Pate at Les Cocottes and they had the same one here on the menu.

Nice earthy flavors, not overly rich, just as I remembered.

As Her main the Missus had the Parmentier de cuisse de canard croisé au vin rouge, pommes gaufrettes - Potato Parmentier with duck in red wine sauce and potato gaufrettes.

Again, done by the book and done well. Nice potatoes; the sauce wasn't overly salty or winey, the duck toothsome, but not tough, with a nice earthy-gamy flavor.

I had the Stewed Beef Cheeks – Joues de boeuf.

The beef cheeks were very beefy, tender, and the potatoes and carrots were nicely stewed; not mushy, not hard. The stew itself needed a bit of help with some salt and pepper though. The texture of the stew was good as it nicely coated one's tongue.

The Missus got Her first Rum Baba, which She immediately took to.

Too sweet for me….but She loved it.

I had a forgettable cheese plate……

In the end, the service was good, the food, while not amazing was comforting, the price not bad….for Paris. Like Les Cocottes…no muss, no fuss, no complaints.

Sometimes you want a by-the-book dependable meal and this did the trick……

Café Constant
139 rue Saint-Dominique
75007 Paris, France

It was time to get some rest……tomorrow was going to be a shopping day for the Missus!

Nordstrom-Lunch in the Department Store (again)

May 8, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Desserts, Pizza, Salads, What Cathy Eats!

Thank you for reading mmm-yoso!!!, this food blog with almost daily postings. Kirk is a bit busy with work this week and Cathy finally has some free time, so she will be posting.

Eating at restaurants located within other businesses has been a longtime way to keep people from leaving a store and possibly not returning to complete a shopping trip. I've written only two other posts about Nordstrom, but have frequented it many times. I do love their coffee and sometimes stop in just to be able to sit down and enjoy a cup.

You can walk up and grab a menu to decide what you'd like to order and your first stop will be some friendly servers who can take your order, or maybe just hand you a cup or bowl of fresh soup. Trays are next to this station. You can walk to the register and pay…perusing other offerings along the way…perhaps your order will change, or have additions.
As in one of the previous posts, the chicken, apple and Goat Cheese salad ($14.25) is a regular choice. Tender, white meat chicken is mixed with baby greens, fresh Granny Smith apple slices, dried apple chips, spiced candied almond slices and onion, all topped with a champagne vinaigrette. This is a satisfying meal.
Next to a display of the soups available was a display plate of this rustic Cheddar chive biscuit ($2.25). I thought this would go with the salad. I was correct. Light, flaky/crumbly (like a savory scone) this biscuit has wonderful, fresh flavors.
A pepperoni and mushroom pizza($13.25) was also an order, since there were three of us this day.
The very thin, fresh crust was still chewy as well as crispy (but not cracker crisp). The fresh, juicy shiitake mushroom slices and thin pepperoni, as well as basil and oregano toppings on the Mozzarella and aged Provolone cheese was so perfect- each item had a unique flavor, even the slightly sweet tomato sauce. This was a great pizza.
Of course a 'meal' of pizza and salad was just so perfect; balanced and with such a variety of complimentary flavors.
You seat yourself here, but have your receipt and there is a waiter who will assist you with beverages as well as other needs (water, silverware, boxing up leftovers). We had ordered the Creme Brûlée dessert ($6.50) and our waiter said he would bring it out, freshly Brûléed, when it was time.
Wow. The fresh vanilla custard (heavy cream, egg yolks, vanilla bean; you can see 'specks' of vanilla throughout) topped with a thin layer of fine sugar crystals which are either heated with a torch, or melted in an oven until a thin, delicate crisp top forms was just so simply delightful. Always a special treat here at the Cafe.