mmm-yoso – Page 15

Wildflour

October 6, 2025 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Dog Friendly, Sandwiches

Wildflour, another one of Phillip Esteban’s projects opened in Liberty Station opened at the end of February. I’ll head down to Liberty Station if I’m not hitting up Secret Sister for sourdough and I noticed that the place didn’t look too busy.

JJ enjoys walks along the Esplanade and I thought if I got here early enough, I could grab some breakfast with J and then take him for a stroll along the park. So, we headed on over. The hosts stand is on the patio which makes things really great. I often feel bad taking JJ into a restaurant when it’s just the two of us.

There’s an small indoor section with a bakery/deli area for takeout and some seating.

Though the patio is nice and stretches along Decatur Road.

We checked in and choose a table along the end of the patio. We do this to be mindful of folks who don’t like being in the company of pooches.

There was small and pretty limited menu for breakfast.

The two folks waiting on us were wonderful! They treated JJ so nice….like he was a VIP (Very Important Pooch)!

I thought my Americano was pretty good; fairly strong, but smooth.

Of course seeing Beef Tartare on the menu….well, I just had to try the Ribeye Tartare ($15).

The bread, a Country Levain was excellent…wonderful, more airy than I’m used to with Levain, but really good. A mild sourdough like flavor, it was quite satisfying.

The Beef Tartare was quite over-the-top; the Chemoula Aioli; basically a herb mayo, was fine, but there was just too much of it. The rib eye was nicely chopped, but too chewy for my taste.

The Bearnaise sauce was much too thick and gloppy, thicker than the aioli! It was also too sour for my taste. And like the aioli, there was just too much of it. This was like a mayo on mayo open face sandwich. Quite over-the-top!

Still, the service was so nice, that I decided to bring JJ over for an early lunch; arriving just at 11am.

And we sat on the patio; basically in the same location. The young lady working was quite nice, though not as friendly with JJ as on the previous visit. Still, he had no complaints, having a nice area to settle in the shade.

Having already had my caffeine fix for the day; I just settled on Half a Sandwich and some chips.

I really enjoyed the chips…though at $4 a small bag!!!!

Loved the texture and wonderful salty-sour flavor. I think I’ve seen this at Target, so…..

I had heard some nice things about the Mortadella Sandwich (Half – $10) so I ordered that. I cracked up when it arrived. Man, was it a carb load!

Again, the bread, a nice toasty focaccia was my favorite part of the dish, though there was just too much of it. I had really developed a taste for Mortadella while visiting Emilia-Romagna, gaining a fondness for the oinkiness of the salumi. The entire bread to filling ratio was skewed and the mild Stracciatella, of which there was a small amount really didn’t contribute to the sandwich.

I do think that Mortadella already is fairly mild in flavor and given the amount of carbs…well, it was nullified. I vote for “More – Mortadella” please!

I liked the relaxed and friendly service as did JJ, but having a meal where a bag of chips was highlight…… Though if you do need a “carb load”….

Wildflour
2690 Historic Decatur Suite 103
San Diego, CA 92106
Current Hours:
Wed – Fri 8am – 2pm
Sat – Sun 8am – 4pm
Closed Mon – Tues

At least J got to cruise around Liberty Station…..

Taking the Eurostar from Paris to London and Some Exploring

October 5, 2025 mmm-yoso Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, London, Paris, France, Travel

**** Not much food in this one, but if you enjoy trains as much as I do……

You know me and trains, right? Even though I was a bit sad at leaving Paris, I was quite excited to finally be able to take the Eurostar high speed train from Paris to London. Many years ago, I watched a documentary on building the Channel Tunnel and I’ve been waiting for a chance to finally take the Eurostar…and the time had finally arrived!

One of the reasons we stay in the 2nd and near Les Halles is easy access to the RER. In this case we caught the RER D and one stop later we were at Gare du Nord. Where we followed the signs to “Hall 2”. It was interesting as we had to check our ticket, then do both a EU and UK passport checks before getting to the departure hall….we were riding in Eurostar Plus, but not Premier, so we didn’t have lounge access and simply waited in the departure hall.

Though there we separate lines for boarding.

Plus has the same large seats as first class and because of when I purchased my tickets were only 10€ more than “standard class” and was cheaper than standard when I checked a month before our trip!

Quite roomy, USB ports, and a small meal is served.

And the Missus enjoyed the complimentary white wine.

In fact, the really nice attendant noticed how much the Missus enjoyed the wine, that she brought her another bottle. Which we saved for London. Our train departed at around 115pm GMT+1; arriving at London St. Pancras at 230pm GMT. The 2 hour 15 minute ride just flew by!

St. Pancras Station is huge. I believe when it was built, the station was declared to be the largest indoor space in the world!

We saw this charming sculpture named the Wild Table of Love on the way to the tube.

Once we found the metro station; it was a quick ten minute ride on the tube to Paddington Station. We were staying in a different area from when we initially arrived. I planned our stay close to Paddington Station, which gave us easy access to the Heathrow Express and was in a part of London we hadn’t explored yet.

Our room at the Mercure London Hyde Park Hotel was ready when we arrived. We dropped off our bags and decided to head out to explore a bit.

About 20 minutes later, we found ourselves on Oxford Street and this department store.

Named Selfridges, which apparently opened in 1909. The Missus had really enjoyed Fortnum and Mason, so I thought She’d enjoy shopping as well.

Selfridges was really a lot of fun…it’s a very playful upscale department store.

And seems to have “stuffs” for ahem, all ages and “stages of life”……

It was a fun stop!

Selfridges
400 Oxford St.
London, United Kingdom

We headed down Duke Street and came across this lovely church.

And we decided to take a look inside.

Looking at the signs we found out that this is the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral! And of course, after returning I started noticing this Cathedral in the background of various news stories regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

We explored Duke Street a bit more, before heading back to our hotel.

It was time for a short break before heading out to dinner!

Thanks for stopping by!

Paris – L’Escargot Montorgueil Revisited, CIAL Restaurant Coréen (since closed), and a place I’ve posted on a zillion times

October 4, 2025 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Cocktails, France, French Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

**** I’m not going into too much detail since there’s a revisit and CIAL has already closed.

I guess we’ve been to Paris so many times that it feels like my second home….at least the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Arrondissements do. And since our stay was basically a four nights to link the Cinque Terre/Milan to London, we really didn’t make too many plans as we figured we’d be returning soon. This was, of course before we got the “little squirt”, so perhaps we should have done a bit more….but still, this was like our 9th time in Paris.

Staying at the Citadines, near Les Halles is quite convenient. The studios have a full kitchen and we really enjoyed the view of square below.

As you can see, it had been raining the night before. And being the creatures of habit that we are, headed off to our usual stop for morning coffee and people watching on Rue Montorgueil; Café du Centre. As always, some cafe allonge and “une carafe d’eau”.

And watch the “theatre of life” pass before us.

After which we headed on out to wander aimlessly. You’ll always see something interesting in Paris. On this day, there was a huge line in front of this shop.

Looking in the window…well, I cracked up as it looked like stuff based on Manga characters. Looking up the place, I found out it’s a yearly pop-up for Maison Ghibli! A store featuring “stuffs” based on Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli! In Paris! My goodness! Paris is always full of surprises!

And of course, we love the names of businesses here!

The clocks seems to move so quickly here! Before we knew it; it was time for lunch. I’d usually plan for our meals….but since we just wanted to relax and enjoy ourselves we hadn’t made any plans. The Missus di want some Asian food. One of the great things about Paris is having access to a decent variety of cuisines. I mean, we have our favorite “neighborhood” Sichuan and several Ramen shops that we frequent. Heck, we’ve even had decent hot pot….though we’re still searching for some good jiaozi.

During our walks, I’d noticed a Korean restaurant, on one of the side street of Rue Rambuteau. Named CIAL Restaurant Coréen.

It was a bit chilly, so I thought the Missus would enjoy a Dolsot BiBimBap and perhaps I could get some Tofu Jigae.

It seems the place was quite popular with the French folks for KBBQ. It was quite interesting as I was greeted with “Annyeonghaseyo”! All the staff on this day were Korean and they thought I was as well!

Anyway, from what I understand this place has closed since our visit, so I won’t go into too much detail. The baechu kimchi was pretty good, fermented tones.

The Missus’s Dolsot BiBimBap was ok. The dolsot wasn’t hot enough and the rice never developed a ncie crust.

I decided on some Doenjang Jigae; the fermented soybean based stew. It was fairly weak in flavor, but really did warm me up.

Basically mediocre Korean. Still, it’s interesting to see the variety of cuisines available in Paris!

CIAL Restaurant Coreen (Since closed)
16 Rue Mondétour
75001 Paris, France

We did a typical after lunch walk and took in the sights….

Before heading back to the Les Halles area.

And indulging in another typical travel habit….the afternoon nap!

Upon waking, we relaxed, had some tea, before deciding to head out for dinner. And of course, there was something happening close by….on the stage right outside Les Halles shopping mall.

For some reason, I felt like the “musicians” were having just as much fun as the folks listening!

While in Milan, the Missus really became attached to Aperotivo time and of course, She wanted to experience the same here! So we headed back up to Rue Montorgueil and Café du Centre.

Though we’ve had drinks here before; we’d never had little bites with our wine and Kir Royale before!

This was quite nice!

Café du Centre
57 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France

As for dinner? Well, I hadn’t made any reservations for our last evening in Paris. My initial thoughts was to hit up a Boullion, perhaps Bouillon République again? But the Missus really wanted to have the Escargot at L’Escargot Montorgueil once again! I guess She wanted to make up for the dozens of times we walked past the place thinking it was tourist hell…..and then finding out that it was quite good. We entered doing our best “marcher avec grâce” (walking with grace)….well, at least the best that a Sansei from Hawaii with two left could do…..

Our Server was again Olivier, whom we thought was a caricature of the stereotypical French waiter. But much like what we thought about L’Escargot Montorgueil we were wrong.

Olivier had a great sense of humor….drier than a French Sauvignon Blanc, delivered with a totally straight face! When we asked him how long he’d been working at L’Escargot Montorgueil, he told us “many, many, years…..longer than the furniture here has been in existence, older than Monsieur Escargot on the sign!”

Of course we ordered the Escargot and the Foie Gras, both of which were as good as what we had on our previous visit.

And of course because I’m so predictable these days….in the comments of my previous post “FOY” Kenneth asked how the Chanterelles were….because he knew we must have ordered them the next night, right?

Oh man, the boiled egg with a sinfully oozing yolk, the sauce so rich, a light acidic sweetness to go along with the earthy, yet lightly sweet-savory tones of the chanterelles.

There was not enough baguette to sop up all the drippings. We went thru three baskets of them!

The Missus really enjoyed the wine picked out for us. In spite of what we were eating, She wanted a white, so Olivier chose this.

The Missus also enjoyed the Creme Brulee for dessert.

While I had a lovely Vermouth.

This was a lovely last meal in Paris. And, I’ve learned my lesson to not disregard places just because of their location.

L’Escargot Montorgueil
38 rue Montorgueil
75001 Paris, France

After dinner we took a nice stroll up Rue Montorgueil….just enjoying the vibe.

Before heading back to the hotel. We’d be getting a nice night of sleep before heading back to London. Instead of flying, we’d be getting there a way I’d been wanting to travel since I first read about it many years ago. Boy, was I excited!

Thanks for stopping by!

Diamond Palace Revisited

October 2, 2025 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum

Recently, the Missus was craving some chicken feet. So after going thru some of the options for dim sum…..San Diego just doesn’t seem to cut with regards to dim sum….at least to the Missus and I. In the end, because we thought the shrimp based items were decent we decided to return to Diamond Palace.

We arrived at around 1030 and found the place empty.

Which might be great for other restaurants….but since DP still utilizes carts….well, it could mean many items aren’t available or you’d have to wait until they are.

Luckily, there was only one item we wanted that we had to wait for. And the Missus got Her Chicken Feet.

Which She said was better than what we had here before. Much more savory-soy sauce flavor. She enjoyed gnawing on these.

We saw an item not featured on the regular menu, the Shrimp-Fish Ball with Dried Scallop Sauce.

I’m usually not a fan of fishballs, but the addition of tender-sweet-succulent shrimp, along with the intense sweet-oceany and rich dried scallop potage, this was delici-yoso! The sort of sui mai-ish wrapper was fine and didn’t interfere with the dish. This was our favorite item of the meal.

Speaking of Siu Mai. We got the shrimp version. As with many DS places these days, all the items tend to be on the large side.

Like before; tender, sweet, and savory shrimp. Quite good.

I still think the wrappers on the Shrimp Har Gow are a bit too thick.

The filling was a bit too rubbery and on the dry side; though the “shrimpy” flavors came thru nicely.

The one item we were interested in trying was the Pan Fried Shrimp and Chive Cake. This one we had to order off the menu. These were quite large as well.

The wrapper was a bit too chewy for us. But I really enjoyed the full on “chivey – shrimpness” of the filling. If you like the grassy-pungency of chives along with plump, sweet-savory shrimp, this one is for you.

Overall, an enjoyable dim sum meal. Like I mentioned earlier; we stick with the shrimp based items at Diamond Palace. Though if you find other items we should try; please let me know.

As for the prices……well, even after having the “Har Gow price shock” at China Max, I was still a bit taken aback at current dim sum prices here.

Diamond Palace
3993 54th St.
San Diego, CA 92105
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 10am – 9pm
Sat – Sun 930am – 9pm

Super Dumpling (Carmel Valley)

September 29, 2025 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Xiao Long Bao

A few months back, I heard about a new XLB/Jiaozi restaurant opening in Carmel Valley named Super Dumpling. After doing a bit of research; I found that these were the folks who owned Sunny Noodle on Clairemont Mesa, which has since been replaced by Spicy Noodle. This kinda dampened the excitement a bit since I wasn’t overly impressed with my meal there. Though the jiaozi was ok, it was definitely not in the same league as Ju Feng Yuan or Lucious Dumpling (both of which I need to return to) in my opinion. Still, a couple of weeks passed and curiosity got the better of me (doesn’t it always?) and I had some time….even with the “crazy boy” at home to head on over to check the place out.

It was an interesting drive as I really don’t get to this area off the 56 very often. It was actually a pretty quick drive. The restaurant itself is located in a large mall with a good amount of parking available.

It was just past opening time as I entered and the simple, but spacious dining room was empty.

The two folks working were really friendly and I was led to a table. There’s also the very typical dumpling making area near the counter as well.

Of course I ordered the Pork and Cabbage Jiaozi ($12.95) and was wondering about the Popcorn Chicken ($10.95) as well since I find it hard to get a good version of that here in San Diego.

The dumplings arrived in a few minutes. This was actually better than what I’d had at Sunny Noodle; though the wrappers were on the thick and brittle side thus tearing easily.

The filling was on the dry – chewy side of the scale, fairly porky, with hints of sesame oil.

Overall, not bad; though I still prefer what Ju Feng Yuan and Lucious Dumpling serves. It does seem like jiaozi is stepping up here in San Diego. My good friend “YZ” had warned me that when she visited, you could tell the jiaozi were frozen. I’m thinking that the filling might indicate that.

As for the Popcorn Chicken. Well, it was quite a large portion.

More like chicken strips than “popcorn chicken”, the batter was mealy – crunchy and somewhat hard, on the salty side with a strong pepperiness.

Though the meat had nice soy sauce – seasoning tones; the chicken itself was really tough.

Still looking for some good Popcorn Chicken here in SD.

Really nice service and the prices were not bad; so I decided to return.

This time I got the Garlic Fried Chicken Wings (6pc – $12.95). They should have called with “Sodium Bomb” chicken wings….good lord and if the chicken wasn’t salty enough, the wings were topped with even more salt! There was a chili based powder provided as well.

The batter was fairly crunchy and fell apart easily. The flesh was moist, but had so much blackish meat. It was hard getting past how salty this was.

Every so often, I get distracted by those “shiny things”…..I had meant to try the Xiao Long Bao here. And I did get XLBs…but while I should have acted rationally; like I did trying the basic jiaozi, I ended up ordering the “Signature” Xiao Long Bao ($19.95). I haven’t had much luck with these “variety” XLBs; if it be locally at Facing East or even in Taipei at Dian Shui Lou. But still, here I went and ordered it.

Yes, quite colorful. And I took some comfort knowing that all the coloring was “natural”, even the blue on the Chicken and Corn XLB, is supposedly made by red cabbage…..why it’s blue…well, you got me?

And which was the best? Well, obviously what I should have gotten in the first place; the Pork XLB.

It didn’t have a whole lot of soup and the wrappers were on the firm and brittle side; like the jiaozi…I prefer my XLB to have a more “pillowy” wrapper. But the filling was quite porky, with hints of what seemed like ginger.

The Chicken and Corn XLB was also not bad – even though that neon-ish color seemed a bit disturbing.

My least favorite were the Korean BBQ Beef XLB which had no soup and was really tough and the Black Truffle; I really couldn’t make out truffle flavor.

The two crab versions were not bad; but nothing to write home about.

I’m glad I got to check out Super Dumpling. Though now I really need to head back to Ju Feng Yuan and Lucious Dumplings.

Speaking of Ju Feng Yuan; I’m wondering if my two “FOYs” who recommended JFY; SD Julie and RD have checked this place out; and if so, what are your thoughts?

And for another view on Super Dumpling, you can check out Soo’s post as well.

Super Dumpling
3870 Valley Centre Drive #301
San Diego, CA 92130
Current Hours:
Mon – Thurs 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 830pm
Fri – Sun 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm

Sushi Yorimichi 2 Opens (Linda Vista)

September 28, 2025 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

Just getting back from our most recent road trip (yes….I know, waaaay behind on travel posts) and running all those errands it looked like Sushi Yorimichi 2, whose signage I noticed a couple of months back , replacing White Rice Morena, which didn’t last very long, had opened. A quick check and it looked like they opened on the 17th.

Checking out the hours…..even though this location has much more parking than the original on the corner of Ulric and Linda Vista Road, with all of the businesses in this strip mall, parking can be a premium. I noticed that they opened for lunch at 11am….so of course I decided to head on over.

I arrived just as the open sign was turned on and walked on in. The nice woman offered me a table….I told her I would be ok with the bar; but she said “it’s ok, it’s early and I think a table would be more comfortable”. Very nice.

They’ve done some work on the interior…at least in comparison to White Rice as it’s now full of booths and dark wood. There’s also a large table with ten seats in the back of the place in addition to a small sushi bar area.

I was handed the menu which looked exactly the same as the other location’s as well as a “monthly specials” edition.

There was one item that interested me. Along with that item; I ordered a favorite dish from my previous visits and one that I had enjoyed, but seemed hit-and-miss. Of course, based on my visits to the original location, I preferred the Izakaya type dishes to the sushi, ramen, etc…..

First up was that month special; the Spicy Jellyfish ($6) aka “Chuka Kurage”.

This was quite good; a generous amount of sesame oil, good savory flavors; though not a crunchy as the version at Izakaya Masa, it was quite refreshing and satisfying. I’d gladly get this again.

Over time, my favorite item at Yorimichi has been the Kawa-su ($6.25); the chicken skin.

Love the toothsome texture and the nice savory tones of this dish. A light bit of spice, good savory soy sauce, sourness from the ponzu. A good balance of flavors. I did find the fact that the skin was stuck together in large chunks kinda strange though.

Still, it was bit spicier than what I’d had here before and for some reason I do enjoy the texture of the chicken skin.

My final dish was the Tuna Tataki, which I think is a bargain these days at $12. I’ve had this a couple of times at the OG location and it has wavered from good to mediocre. What I received was decent, though I think it was seared a bit too long as the “cooked” area was a bit too deep in the flesh for me.

Still, no off flavors, the centers had a wonderful texture. I did find the supposedl “black garlic” ponzu to be a bit weak for my taste, but the Server had kindly brought me wasabi.

Which, when mixed well with some shoyu and drizzled over the tataki, combined with the drenched onions below and the crisp onions above made the dish quite enjoyable. I also really enjoyed a slice of the tataki wrapped in the shiso leaf. I may try to get an order of that the next time I get this dish….

Yes, you read that right….I’ll be coming back. As much as I’m not fond of the mega-rolls and sushi hear; or the ramen and stuff; it’s the more Izakaya like dishes I enjoy. I know that “FOY” Junichi really used to enjoy the Tamagoyaki at Yorimichi; though I recall him commenting that it was much too salty on his last couple of visits.

The prices are quite affordable for these times….I’m sure the USD and local resident population will keep rolling with the rolls-ramen-bowls. I’m just glad that they have dishes like the Chuka Kurage and Kawa-su.

It’s a nice neighborhood Japanese Diner/Izakaya…one I wish we had here in Bay Park.

Sushi Yorimichi
5299 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Fri – Wed 11am – 230pm, 430pm-930pm
Thursday 11am – 930pm

**** Quick note – so this is my first “real” post using WordPress. As long time readers know…I like to keep things simple. But I do want to know what you all think? Thanks for stopping by and keeping me posting!

Welcome and Pardon the dust!

September 16, 2025 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Hi folks; thanks for dropping by!

Yes, this is the new mmm-yoso!

It’s a whole new world and learning curve for me,……with posts still uploading along with images.

I’m hoping to be able to start doing new posts by September 26th!

I need to thank Jean-Yves of https://savemyblog.com/ who has really worked long and hard on getting my 5,600 posts and over 110,000 images uploaded to the correct format from Typepad. It’s a long story and perhaps I’ll go over it in a future post.

But for now, let me thank you for dropping by!

I’m working with various plug-ins and widgets to give me the format I want….you know me, nothing fancy, just straight forward and simple….but it seems simple might be rather complicated here!

So please, let me know what you think and if you encounter any issues with various posts.

And most of all, thanks for all the comments, emails, recommendations over the years that have kept me inspired to keep our little blog going!

See you soon! Cheers!

Cochito Tatemado Tacos from El Pariente

August 25, 2025 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

Recently, I had to make a drive down to Chula Vista. I don't get down there often these days, so I thought I'd grab a bite on the way home. Of course, my usual favorite stop, De Cabeza came to mind, but the weather just seemed too hot. I had thoughts of trying out the new and super hyped location of Tacos el Franc that has opened in Plaza Bonita, but I really didn't want to deal with lines and crowds…I'll wait a bit until things settle down a bit.

Instead, I made a detour to Imperial Avenue….man, I hadn't been around here in a while. There was a taco shop that I'd heard about who served a specialty from Mazatlan in Sinaloa, that's not seafood, rather it's Cochito (piglet) Tatemado (roasted), named El Pariente that opened back in May.

El Pariente 01

The place resides next to the newish location of Antojitos Colombianos. The parking lot is tiny, so I had an interesting time finding parking. I finally found a spot on L Street. I walked the couple of blocks over; it was a Sunday, just a few ticks past 830. Other than a young man, who smiled and greeted me as I entered who was waiting for a takeout order, I was the only customer.

El Pariente 04

I walked to the counter and placed my order with the very sweet woman working.

El Pariente 02

El Pariente 03

There's a nice range of breakfast items and asada, cochito, and adobada tacos. I got two Tacos de Cochito ($3.99 each) and mentioned I'd be dining in.

I took a seat at one of the tables and soon the woman arrived with some crunchy, glistening tortilla chips….they were still rather warm and the three salsas and lime. She told me that this would be a "nice way of tasting our salsas for your tacos!"

El Pariente 05

I really liked the Salsa Serrano (middle) and the Salsa Roja which had some nice smoky heat.

So, when my tacos arrived, the scent of porky goodness wafting up to my snout, I was ready to go!

El Pariente 06 El Pariente 07 These were lovely specimens indeed. The tortillas had been nicely heated on the comal and were glistening with…well, something mighty tasty.

There was shredded/chopped cabbage and chicharrons for textural contrast…and those chicharrons…well, one cannot get enough pork, right?

El Pariente 09

The pork was so moist and tender, not overly seasoned, but quite swiney! Very porky! And quite rich and filling. In fact, that lime was a required item.

As for the salsas; the roja seemed spicier and smokier; while the salsa serrano had a nice acidity. They both had their place!And totally worth the $3.99 each to me! I'll be back once my arteries recover!

El Pariente
2150 Imperial Ave.
San Diego, CA 92102
Current Hours:
Daily 8am – 7pm

Postscript: In case you're wondering, I took more photos than these. However, as I was working on this post on Saturday, the capability to upload photos in Typepad suddenly failed. And as of 430pm today it will be 48 hours without a solution. So, I thought I'd just get this post done and hopefully; once the insert images is fixed, I'll go ahead and upload those. Until then….well, hopefully this won't be the last post for a while!

Paris – Les Enfants Rouge Revisited and L’Escargot Montorgueil

August 23, 2025 mmm-yoso Fine Dining, France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

After our wonderful walking tour of the Marais we headed off to lunch. After "striking out" on our previous two meals in the city….something that had never happened to us before, I didn't want to take any chances. So, knowing that one of our favorites, is usually not very crowded on a weekday for lunch we headed on over to…..

Les Enfants Rouge:

A Le Efants Rouge 01

And yes, I was correct as the place was quite mellow during the lunch hour.

The restaurant, helmed by a Japanese Chef, who does a comingling of French dishes with Japanese touches, has become a favorite of ours. We think there's more of a Japanese influence to the menu items. As with both of our previous visits, I was actually greeted first in Japanese…then in English by the Hostess!

For lunch, a 50 Euro three course tasting menu is presented and we were glad that some of our favorite dishes were on the menu!

Because I've already done two previous posts on Les Enfants Rouge; I'm just going to mostly do photos.

We love the Lamb Terrine; it's mildly gamey-winey, quite tender.

It goes so well with the bread. And yes, that is Kyuri Asazuke that is on the plate.

Of course we had to get our favorite dish at Les Enfants Rouge; the White Fish Tempura, served with a super umami nori "dashi".

The maigre (croaker) was so moist and tender, the tempura batter light and crisp.

As you can see that dish above really skews to the Japanese side in terms of preparation. While the Blanquette de veau – veal stewed in a white sauce takes it toward the French side of the scale.

Though the Eryngii Mushrooms were sauteed with a bit of soy and perhaps mirin.

The Missus went with the restaurant's version of a Paris-Brest which has to be ordered at the beginning of the meal.

While I, the one who really doesn't have a sweet tooth was happy to have the Cheese Plate…..which the Missus enjoyed as well.

You can see why we enjoy Les Enfants Rouge, right? I wish we had something like this in San Diego….it would be a regular stop for us!

Previous posts on Les Enfants Rouge here and here.

Les Enfants Rouges
9 Rue de Beauce
75003 Paris, France

After which we headed back to the hotel and relaxed. We'd put in a good amount of mileage!

It had drizzled while we were napping and upon awakening we were blessed with a rainbow….something that I miss about living in Hawaii. And of course, rainbows always makes us remember Frankie!

We had done quite a bit already on this day, so we basically just hung around the 2nd.

IMG_3514a

Then the question arose….."what's for dinner?" I hadn't made any plans for this stay in Paris. The Missus really wanted some escargot; She was so disappointed at what we'd had for lunch at Aux Crus de Bourgogne. Then it came to me……on Rue Montorgueil, before you cross Rue Étienne Marcel was a place we passed perhaps 40 times during our stays in Paris.

It was named L'Escargot. But, much like Aux Crus de Bourgogne, we've always thought of the place as being a "tourist" restaurant. Though the sign says that it was established in 1832, when Louis Philippe I ruled France!

Well, looking online, it seems that perhaps I might have been mistaken, as the reviews were pretty good. So, we decided to head on in.

The dark, ornate interior, screamed stereotypical neo-classic/second empire decor.

Our Server was a very serious, "humphing", almost a caricature of a French waiter; Olivier. We would later find out that he was a long time Server at L'Escargot and actually has a sense of humor.

The menu itself seemed like a cliche of what one would think at stereotypical French gastronomy would be.

And of course I ordered a Kir Royale, which got a nod of approval from Olivier. And upon m first sip, my opinion of L'Escargot started changing; the ice thawing as it was perfect.

Perfectly bubbly, with balanced tart and sweet tones!

Of course we had to have the Escargot. Of which we found that there were several preparations. Versions with Black Truffle or Foie Gras!

Of course we had to get the traditional preparation. We got a dozen; which the Missus absolutely loved.

So meaty, the snails had the perfect slightly toothsome, yet tender texture. The menu says the snails are precooked in a court boullion with herbs…it is indeed delicious! Nice herbacious-savory tones; so delici-yoso with the provided baguette!

And of course I had to get the Pan Seared Foie Gras. So this was 24 € but there were two pieces of perfectly cooked, "firmly-creamy" foie gras.

The sauce added a perfect touch of fruity sweetness and the brioche even held up. Which went well with the rich-slightly offally, savory Foie Gras. Be still my heart…literally.

The only clunker of the evening were the Frog Legs.

These bow-legged stanced hind legs of said amphibian were dry and on the chewy side. The herbal topping was fine; but we just didn't care for the heading toward sourness of the flesh.

Still, the escargot and foie gras more than made up for the frog legs.

We enjoyed this meal so much that we'd return the following night for more!

Sheesh…..hidden from us in plain sight all these years!

L'Escargot Montorgueil
38 rue Montorgueil
75001 Paris, France

We headed back to our room taking a roundabout route…a nice after dinner walk…"la balade".

After having two not so good meals the previous day, the two wonderful meals on this day was a perfect correction. And for at least this evening; all seemed right in the world.

Paris – Jeffrey Cagnes (again) and the Earful Tower Walking Tour of the Marais

August 22, 2025 mmm-yoso Bakery, Caffeine Fix, Croissants, France, Paris, France, Travel

**** Not much food in this one, just a morning croissant

Ah yes, so another day in Paris! Which of course we started with our morning Cafe Allonge from our favorite viewing spot on Rue Montorgueil.

Café du Centre
57 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France

We just love sitting here.

To people watch (“observer les passants”)…..

Or sometimes “puppy-watch”……

After a good hour, I decided I needed a croissant. Since the Missus had enjoyed the pistachio – orange tarte from Jeffrey Cagnes the previous day, we took the short stroll up the street to get me a croissant aux buerre.

This was an ok version.

Decently “laminated” with the ridges not falling off; crisp and fairly flaky. The interior light and with a nice “moisture” balance, and decently honeycombed. Where this failed the test was in the flavor; not enough butter, thus throwing off the flavor.

Jeffrey Cagnes
73 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France

After which we headed off….you see we had scheduled a private tour to start at 10am. Strangely, it would be our first ever tour in Paris!

I’ve been an avid listener to the Earful Tower Podcast since I first heard about it in 2017. It’s a great mix of sights, personalities, history, activities, you name it hosted by Australian expat Oliver Gee, a former journalist stationed in Paris who decided that career wasn’t for him and started the podcast. It delves beyond the usual and obvious, which makes it quite entertaining for me. A few years back, the “Gee kingdom” started offering walking tours. And after all these years and 8 visits to Paris, I just thought it would be great to see a bit more. And so, I booked a private tour with “the man” himself, of our favorite neighborhood, the Marais. And we met Oliver at Peloton Cafe.

I don’t want to give away too much, and there was so much, that I’ll just scratch the surface. The tour is quite customizable and when Oliver had found that we’d already visited somewhere, we’d find another place! I’ve mentioned being called a “cesspool of useless information” several times in the past so I was in heaven. It’s definitely a tour more suited for folks who have been to Paris a couple of times and who enjoy exploring more than just the 7th Arrondissment.

That’s the one and only Maison Faust, which dates back to 15th Century.

It’s a half timbered structure that was restored in 1967.

For something a bit grander, how about Hôtel de Beauvais, which is now the court of appeals. We’d always passed the huge wooden doors; but Olive just walked over and opened them to reveal the courtyard.

We’d head on down a passage to a red door…..

And suddenly, we’d be in a church.

Walking out the main entrance we cracked up. This was the Église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, which we’ve walked past many times.

And that’s how it went……charming courtyards.

A stop at the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris (Historical Library of the City of Paris).

Another place that we’ve walked past many times. This time we entered…..

And Oliver picked out a book….a really old book and showed us a map of Paris and went over places where remnants of those places could still be seen.

And speaking of remnants; having listened to the Earful Tower for so long, I knew that Oliver had an obsession with the the Philippe Auguste Wall, so of course that was a part of our tour as well.

Do you see the remnants of the wall in the photo below?

He’s even been able to get into the tower that we had passed the previous day.

Even those places we were familiar with, like Place Vosges were seen in a new light.

As we were taken into a “hidden” courtyard……it was a private residence, so I did not take photos.

And this is how things went; we walked into an auction, did several churches, talked about life in Paris. It was a great time!

We highly recommend this tour for folks who have been to Paris a couple of times or those really interested in the Marais. I’m thinking we’ll do Oliver’s Montmatre tour next time!