mmm-yoso – Page 152

Sunday Sandwiches – The Gourmet Bagger

September 23, 2018 mmm-yoso Cheesesteaks, Sandwiches

It's funny how things seem to come full circle. More than a few years ago; I attended a lunch meeting, lunch was provided. Sandwiches. Which were not bad. They were from a place called the Gourmet Bagger. As you know; I have a soft spot for all those little, mom and pop sandwich shops, many of which are hidden away sometimes in industrial parks or business buildings, some of which are pretty darn popular. I was told that the Gourmet Bagger was a shop on Miramar Road. So after we moved offices; I went looking for it….it's now LouZiana Food (which is in my backlog of posts). Forward the calendar a few months and after my last Cheesesteak Post (yes, I know I need to check out Calozzi's), I received an email telling me a shop in the Midway area made a decent cheesesteak. The name? The Gourmet Bagger.

I'm not sure why I never noticed the place. It's in the same parking lot as the new 85C, Guahan Grill, and basically across the street from Pho Point Loma.

The place was fairly empty when I visited; but it sure got packed fast. The folks running the front seem to be on the younger side and the older folks work the back of house.

The menu is quite varied, with at least 25 different "gourmet type" sandwiches along with the regular deli sandwiches, salads, and similar stuffs.

Because "ST" mentioned the cheesesteak here; I ordered the Bagger Cheesesteak ($7.49).

A standard issue, fairly yeast French Roll is used for this; which really wasn't up to the task. The rib eye steak was a bit more chewy than I prefer, and the jury is out on whether I like pickles or tomatoes on a cheesesteak. The cheese; white American cheese did fine. Though this isn't something I'd order again.

A few weeks later; I was in the area after doing some grocery shopping at TJ's. It was 1030 on a Saturday and I recalled the Gourmet Bagger opens at around 1030 on that day. So, I stopped by. This was when the temps were really high so nothing hot for me. I was pretty hungry so I ordered the "Killer Klub" ($7.99) with Swiss cheese (70-cent upcharge).

This is my favorite of the three sandwiches I had at the Gourmet Bagger. I have mentioned before; that I have a special place in my heart for Club Sandwiches….or as my late Mom (and most of my relatives); a "Clubhouse". The bacon was really nice and crisp, there wasn't too much mayo, which was evenly spread, the tomatoes were nice and sweet-tart, the turkey and ham were fine. I'm glad I got Swiss Cheese as it added a nice milky component and that whole grain bread was nicely toasted, rustic, and almost nutty. For me; a very nice example of a "Clubhouse"…..

A few weeks ago, I found myself on the way back from shopping and decided to stop by for a sandwich. This time, I got the Gourmet Grinder ($7.49); basically your typical Italian style sandwich.

It didn't look like much, but when split in half; you can see the decent proportion of ingredients. I liked the fact that it wasn't over-dressed; though having pickles, Italian Dressing and "sweet" peppers made this tend toward the sour end of the flavor spectrum. I enjoyed the salt that the capacolla and salami brought to the sandwich.

I like the folks working here. They are very pleasant, though you may have to wait a while for your sandwiches. I forgot to mention one last touch…..they always include a cookie and a piece of hard candy with your order.

So, I'll probably be back again. It's a nice, well priced, unpretentious sandwich spot.

The Gourmet Bagger
3357 Rosecrans St
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 1030am – 530pm
Fri – Sat 1030am – 4pm
Sunday 11am – 3pm

San Francisco – Lotta’s Fountain, the Ferry Building, a Walk Along the Bay, and the Fort Mason Center Farmer’s Market

September 22, 2018 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Markets & Grocers, San Francisco and Silicon Valley, Travel

We must have both been exhausted. After a very nice dinner at Mourad, the Missus and I basically slept ten hours! We got up and with no real plans in mind, decided to take a stroll. Since it had been over a decade and a half since we'd been in the city, we thought a walk along San Francisco Bay might be fun; starting at the Ferry Building, ending near Fort Mason.

So, we headed down Market Street. We passed Lotta's Fountain.

This brass fountain was a gift to the city of San Francisco from Lotta Crabtree, a well known Entertainer, you can read more about her here. According to Atlas Obscura, Lotta loved San Francisco and donated this fountain to the city in 1875. And that would be just a "nice story" if not for the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. The earthquake damage and fires left the city in ruins. Lotta's Fountain though, was still standing and became an important landmark and meeting place for survivors of that disaster. Even though the last known survivor of the earthquake died in 2016, a quake remembrance and ceremony is held at this spot at 512am on April 18 of every year. The exact time the quake struck San Francisco.

This one is the Mechanics Monument,

The five figures in the monument are working a metal punching machine.

And then there's the Vaillancourt Fountain.

A fountain build of concrete squares that folks love to hate. One of the searches that comes up when typing in "Vaillancourt Fountain" is this:

We crossed the street to the Ferry Building, which we had visited before.

And picked up Cold Brew from Blue Bottle Coffee.

It had wonderful fruity tones and was just the pick-me-up we needed.

Blue Bottle Coffee
Ferry Building, One San Francisco Bay Trail
San Francisco, CA 94111

And caffeine in hand we were on our way.

It was a slightly hazy day, but the sun was out, and the temperature was fifteen degrees cooler than San Diego.

We wandered out to Pier 7, and enjoyed the view of the Transamerica Building.

We enjoyed a rather brisk walk up the Embarcadero……..eventually getting to all the tourists at Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf.

The haze had started to clear out and I finally got a decent shot of Alcatraz Island.

We meandered past all the tourist traps and got to Ghirardelli Square. Man, I don't recall it being so packed in like this when we last visited all those years ago.

As we neared Laguna Street, we noticed folks carrying bags filled with produce, so we followed the trail and ended up at Fort Mason Center where it was Market Day.

We spent a good forty-five minutes checking out the various stands and sampling the fruit….man, that yellow watermelon was so good.

It was a nice break….a little slice of life. If we lived in the area, this would truly be a weekly stop for us.

Fort Mason Center Farmers' Market
Marina Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94109
Sunday 930am – 130pm

From here; the plan was to grab an early lunch from one of the places on Chestnut Street, so we headed off in that direction.

But after sampling the produce at the Farmers Market and checking out the eating establishments on Chestnut Street, The Missus remained uninspired. So She told me; "let's head back to Chinatown". By heading back, She meant "walk". And then added; let's do it via Lombard Street. Yikes……

So I huffed and puffed my way up Lombard.

Instead of walking down that crooked one block part of Lombard Street we headed a few blocks over and walked down Filbert.

Eventually we made it too Columbus Street, then Jackson. Now the question was, where to eat?

Stay tuned!

Clearing Out the Memory Card: Breakfasts and Brunches – Urban Solace, Tiger! Tiger!, and Talavera Azul

September 21, 2018 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, Gastropub, Mexican Restaurants

It's sure been a beautiful day. I'm hoping you have more important things than to just sit around and read blog posts…..but if not; here are some quick, mostly photo revisits. Brunch and Breakfast issue.

Urban Solace:

*** Urban Solace has closed

For the Sunday Jazz Brunch.

Sadly, they're not doing the "Secret Menu" torchon de foie gras anymore. Bummer. Portion sizes were generous; but I really didn't like the gravy they put on the biscuits; it really killed the rather delicate cheese flavor. The slab bacon might have been our favorite; though the Kennebec potatoes were not bad.

Actually, my favorite thing was the Picante Bloody Mary, with bacon. Man, that was really good.

Urban Solace Restaurant
3823 30th Street
San Diego, CA 92104

Tiger! Tiger!:

**** Tiger! Tiger! has closed

We were bummed when they removed the Wood Fired Potatoes from the brunch menu and stopped dropping by on Sundays. We revisited last weekend and were happy to find "crispy potatoes" on the menu. We enjoyed it with a half charcuterie board.

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

Talavera Azul:

It's been too hot for the Missus to order the Menudo; so of course She ordered my favorite, the Sonoran Machaca.

Trying to figure what to order; I went with the Chicharron in Salsa Verde.

Gooey pork skin in an almost too tart and sour salsa verde. But combined in a tortilla with the beefy and crunchy machaca; it worked out fine.

Talavera Azul
365 3rd Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91910

So there you go….maybe some ideas for brunch this weekend!

Thanks for dropping by!

Strasbourg – Experiencing the Christmas Market and Dinner at Chez Yvonne

September 20, 2018 mmm-yoso Alsace, Festivals & Events, France, French Restaurants, Travel

It was a rather quick hour and forty-five minute train ride from Gare l'Est to Strasbourg Station. From there we walked to the apartment we were staying at which was right across the river on the Grande Île, the "island" which is the center of the city which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We were a bit shocked to find bag checks and road blocks manned by soldiers for folks crossing over to the Grande Île. I didn't know it at the time; but Strasbourg, along with being famous for having one of the best Christmas Markets in Europe is also the home of the European Parliament, the European Court of Human Rights, and the Eurocorps.

We settled into our apartment; which was huge……three bedrooms….crazy. And we loved the views across the river from the front door and the unit.

Here you can see the bridge we crossed and the security detail in place.

Like I mentioned above; the apartment we stayed in was large and so comfortable. And the details were kind of…well, interesting.

We took a nice short nap and awoke refreshed. We decided to head out and explore before finding the restaurant where we had dinner reservations.

During the Christmas Season (from November 24th this year, 2018) Strasbourg has an amazing Christmas Market.

Actually the term "Christmas Market" is incorrect, as there are if I recall correctly, 11 different markets (called "Christkindelsmärik") that occupy different areas of the island. The Grande Île is quite walkable, so we just started at the one closest to us at Place Broglie, which is also the oldest Christmas Market in the city, having been established in 1570!

Once the sun sets and the lights are turned on the city is transformed.

It's really hard to not get into the spirit of things with all of this joy, bright lights, the atmosphere is quite magical. Yes, I'm sure at its core there are commercial concerns, but man, you'd have to be a major scrooge to not get into the spirit of things.

The basic center of things is the giant Christmas Tree in Place Kléber. The market surrounding the tree is called the "Village of Sharing" and we were told that the stalls here sell their goods and food for charity.

Strasbourg is called the Capitale de Noël (the Capital of Christmas) and it's easy to see why.

Don't forget to look up…..there's something to see on almost every building.

Strasbourg Cathedral is quite grand as it rises above the city. The spire rises to 466 feet. The Cathedral, built in the Gothic style was, for over 200 years (227 to be exact) the tallest building in the world! Because of surrounding buildings and the size of the square, it's actually somewhat of a challenge getting the whole structure into a single frame. We'd spend some time visiting the Cathedral (for one main reason) the next day.

After wandering the stalls around the square we had to head off to find our destination for dinner.

I had wanted to try the traditional food of Alsace so I made dinner reservations at a Winstub. Strasbourg and Alsace as a whole sits on the Eastern border of France. In fact, the eastern border of Strasbourg sits on the Rhine. Across the river is Germany and the city of Kehl.

Over the last 350 years of so, control of Strasbourg has gone back and forth between France and Germany, so you can imagine the influences of the cuisine of the area.

We found our destination Chez Yvonne under another wonderfully decorated window, down a side street, close to the Cathedral.

A restaurant has stood in this location since 1870; and Chez Yvonne dates back to the 1950's.

We were seated upstairs. We enjoyed the Service which was friendly and the Missus enjoys Alsatian wines.

We started with the Goose Liver Foie Gras.

The was wonderfully creamy, though a bit too cold in terms of temperature. The flavor was on the milder side for Foie Gras….and that sea salt perfectly enhanced the flavor.

The Missus got the Veal Tongue which was super tender and quite mild in flavor.

As you can tell, this is hearty, meat and potatoes fare. Still, very nicely prepared, straight forward food. There was a mild vinaigrette dressing the tongue.

If you've read this blog long enough, you know the Missus loves fermented and pickled items. Thus I ordered the Choucroute Garnie….yes choucroute is what we know here in the states as Sauerkraut….and I'm truly aware that "Garnie" means "throw every kind of protein you can on the plate".

The Missus loved the cabbage; it was much more tender than what passes as sauerkraut here. I enjoyed the knack (the long snappy sausage) and the rinderwurst (the smoked sausage) the most. The pork and the liver dumplings were on the bland side. From this point on; the Missus and I decided to just hit all the sausage and choucroute stands.

All in all, this was a fun meal. The service was very nice and we got a taste of the rather heavy traditional cuisine of Alsace. Luckily, the only thing we'd had the whole day were croissants, so we were able to put away all this meat with no problem.

Chez Yvonne
10 Rue du Sanglier
67000 Strasbourg, France

Nice and warm, with full bellies we decided to take the long way back to the apartment.

The lights, the lively hustle and bustle, it just put us in the right frame of mind.

Yes, it's wonderful Strasbourg……

Capitale de Noël indeed!

Thanks for stopping by!

Banh Mi Hoi An

September 18, 2018 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

If you're headed down Rosecrans to Liberty Station, you can't miss the sign.

In fact, I first saw the "Grand Opening" sign on one of our trips to El Jardin, which I need to post on one of these days.

On one Saturday, I decided to drop by. I parked in the back and not paying attention almost walked into this guy……

Whom I also saw on my other visit as well. Very sad…..

On both visits; Hoi An was fairly empty. The guy at the counter was quite friendly, the menu had the usual suspects, Banh Mi (priced from around $4.50 – $5.50), Bun, Com (rice plates), Spring Rolls….you get the idea.

I decided to get the Hoi An Special….basically the Dac Biet ($5.50).

Now, I've heard some grumblings about folks complaining the banh mi here was on the small side……I beg to differ. I mean really, this decently sized.

The proteins in the sandwich were on the dry side; though the pickled veggies were decent; sour-sweet enough. Those huge slices of cucumber ruined the ratio of vegetables-pickles-meat-bread. I tasted the meat separately and they just about status quo. Now I know this is pretty much a "Westernized" banh mi shop; but I sure would have enjoyed a bit more pate. The bread was dry and on the stale crumbly side. I actually thought they didn't put any jalapenos in my sandwich; but I found some……for some strange reason they weren't spicy at all.

Just a so-so banh mi.

I returned a few weeks later……and really wasn't sure what to order….so I had a brain fart and ordered the "braised pork", which turned out to be barbecue pork (char siu), duh!

The bread was better this time around, though standard issue, it had been toasted well and was nice and crusty/flakey. The first thing I looked for were….the jalapenos; which again were really mild. Not sure what's going on with that.

I enjoyed the amount of cilantro in the sandwich and the pork was so dry and bland, I could actually taste the pate.

The pickled radish and carrots were crisp, with a nice balance of sour-sweet. Remember those huge slices of cucumber in the previous sandwich? Well, this time there barely a sliver. Go figure.

The banh mi here isn't bad. It just isn't worth going out of your way for.

To me; the perfect banh mi is a symphony of crusty/flakey bread that isn't too chewy; cilantro without too many stems, nice thin slices of peppers for that "jalapeno roulette". The proteins; there needn't be a huge portion, it's all about proportion, should be moist and have flavor, the pate should be somewhat rich with that touch of earth-funkiness. It's something I keep searching for.

This guy working was again quite friendly and asked me to drop by for Happy Hour….hmmm…..chicken wings……..hmmm….

We'll see.

Banh Mi Hoi An
3145 Rosecrans St
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Mon – Sat 1030am – 9pm
Closed Sundays

Tokyo – Kizo Ramen

September 17, 2018 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Tokyo, Kamakura, and the Kantō Region, Travel

It seems that during the course of our visits to Tokyo that we've developed some "traditions" of sorts. Dinner at Suzunari is one of them. And as we had breakfast, we decided to keep anther going.

The breakfast, we were given vouchers from the hotel, was basic and fine. We decided to head on down to Tokyo Station a few hours early; stash our bags in the always convenient lockers, and spend some time shopping, eating, and just enjoy our last few hours in Tokyo. We did manage to do some shopping; buying some gifts for folks back in San Diego.

When it came time to eat, well, that was easy. It was Ramen Street for us……a little habit that I think will become a tradition. On our first visit, it was the ultra-hyper Rokurinsha, on our last visit Oreshiki Jun. What was it be this time around?

Hmmmm…..we picked two and decided to check them out. After peeking into the two places; Kizo won out.

Mainly because the clientele, at least on this day all seemed Japanese; while the places (i.e. Rokurinsha with the huge line) had so many tourists. A big plus was that the specialty at Kizo is Sendai Gyutan Negishio Ramen…….beef tongue – scallion – shio ramen.

And as is the drill; we ordered a couple of other items on the menu and basically shared the ramen….like the gyoza.

Not the best "skins" which were brittle and plastic-ky. The filling was much too salty and a bit on the dry side.

Not the most auspicious start to a meal.

We also ordered the Beef Tongue Crouquette.

Man, the panko breading on this was fantastic; light and so crisp. This was the only light thing about the croquette as the filling was so rich; great beefiness, but perhaps too much of a good thing. A bit over-the-top for us. Wonderful textures though.

Which had us wondering how the ramen was going to be. We shouldn't have worried…..

As you can tell; we ordered extra ajitama, which was serviceable, the yolk decent and definitely not over-cooked. And those slices of beef tongue were heavenly….so tender, so beefy……as only beef tongue can be. The broth was good; not overly salty, it had almost a light garlic-beef-pork flavor to it. The tongue feel was really good, much thicker than it looked as it coated the nice, springy-chewy noodles well. The negi added a bit of pungency and crunch to things, but really wasn't needed in my mind.

And while we didn't have a whole lot of ramen on this trip, this was easily our favorite.

Kizo (Tokyo Station – Ramen Street)
1-9-1 Marunouchi Chiyoda Tokyo

As we left Tokyo Station I thought "well, it's three down; five to go….I wonder what we'll do when we reach eight?" Hmmmm…..let's not dwell on that.

Let's just enjoy the "interesting" and somewhat humorous signs that are posted…..

As with all of our trips to Japan; this one was chock full of memories….and Sakura!

Thanks for stopping by!

Circling Back to Leilani’s Cafe

September 16, 2018 mmm-yoso Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

During my lunch at Homestyle Hawaiian; I started pondering my little blogging history with plate lunches and loco mocos in particular. When we first moved to San Diego; there were a lot less places for plate lunches. The first couple of places that I recalled having plate lunches were at Da' Kines and Kealani's, both places are now gone; I think they both now do catering. Among the next places I tried was Leilani's Café and then Da' Kitchen, which became Mo's Island Grinds, which in turn became what is now the little empire called Homestyle Hawaiian. So you could say; other than those ubiquitous L&L's and similar knock-offs, Leilani''s might be the only one of those "originals" still in place.

Which had me wondering how things were at Leilani's. So, the following morning, thank goodness Leilani's opens early, 7am, so I could beat the traffic in PB, I headed on down to see what was going on with Leilani's.

It was interesting to see that the outdoor area was pretty busy; at a few minutes past 7 on a Sunday morning. It looked like folks were having French toast and omelets. I had other things in mind. Since it had been nearly 9 months since my last Loco Moco, I decided on the Hilo Loco ($11), which is what I had on my last visit over three years ago.

Since my musings seem to take me back to the last decade; I though I'd bust out the "Modified Rubio scale", first developed in September of 2005, a while 13 years ago, a version of "loco scoring", first done by James Rubio in his now dormant food blog; Big Island Grinds.

For those playing at home – "The original Rubio Scale measured each item on the Loco, I decided to take the "base" items, the Burger, Gravy, Egg, and Rice. To this I added "Stuffs", that include macaroni salad, Spam, or any other item that comes with the Loco. All items are graded on a scale between 1 through 5, with 2.5 being average."

So, let's have at it shall we?

BURGER: Obviously hand formed with little filler; making it a bit on the tough and dry side. It was quite thick, with a decent beefiness, but could have used more seasoning. Adding a nice char would have brought up the score – 3.0

EGGS: Nice and runny, with crisp and crunchy edges. Winnah! 4.5

GRAVY: Nice and dark, fairly mild in flavor, a bit too "gloppy". And minus for not having Tabasco….only Sriracha. 3.0

RICE: Fairly moist, though many unbroken "lumps" more on the the other "stuffs" next. 3.0

STUFFS: Lots of Portuguese Sausage in the rice, good flavor, though there were lumps of rice not coated with shoyu/sauce and bit more spicy than I remembered. I do think the fried rice at Island Style Café is better. 3.5

Total score – 17, not bad. Considering that the last time I used the Modified Rubio Scale, that L&L only scored a 10.

Service was very friendly. Leilani's is a wonderful neighborhood joint, one that is nicely imbedded, since all the customers looked like folks from the area. I hope they keep going strong!

Leilani’s Cafe
5109 Cass St
San Diego, CA 92109
Hours:
Daily 7am – 3pm

I'd like to dedicate this post to DerekR who often comments. And in this case had coincidentally asked about Leilani's in the comments of my latest HH post. How funny!

Tokyo – Sansei Yotsuya

September 15, 2018 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Tokyo, Kamakura, and the Kantō Region

As with most things in Japan; we got back to our hotel efficiently. We were a bit tired from the days activities and after a short nap; we decided to stay in the neighborhood for dinner. The Missus was still in "Yakiniku mode" and we had asked Chef Murata (or at least Reiko had) for a nearby recommendation.

He recommended a place named Sansei…….which caught me by surprise, since I'm a Sansei.

The restaurant is located right on the main street; in the lower level of one of the business buildings lining Shinjuku-dori.

The restaurant it self is fairly small, but comfortable. We were seated at the bar and given menus, which the Missus was able to start translating. When the young lady heard us talking we were given English menus, but by that time we were ready to order.

But first, a nama biiru (draft beer), which was nice and refreshing. The Missus ordered some kind of ginseng beer, maekju, which arrived on ice.

A brazier was delivered to the bar; with lit charcoal in it. We were wondering if we'd end up smelling like grilled meat; but a panel was opened up on the bar which did a great job sucking out the charcoal smoke.

We weren't super hungry, so here's what we ended up ordering.

Mushrooms, which came drizzled with gochujang.

I enjoyed the gyutan, the best. It came sliced a bit thicker than usual, but with the wonderful marbling it grilled up nicely. Crisp edges, toothsome centers, and really absorbed the smokiness of the charcoal real well.

The Missus had fallen in love with horumon during a previous visit to Tokyo, so of course we just had to order the offal combination.

The horumon arrived with a typical slightly sweet-salty marinade of sorts. It was bit on the tough side; even for intestines. The Missus enjoyed the liver, never a favorite of mine.

Overall, we enjoyed the yakiniku we had earlier in the trip at Horumon Dedesuke mmore. But this wasn't bad. Plus, it was rather close to our hotel.

Sansei Yotsuyahonten
3-3, Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo, 160-0004

I ended the evening like I often do when on vacation; with a couple of "cold ones".

The Suiyoubi No Neko; literally "Wednesday Cat" was a fairly enjoyable Belgian White, very "wheaty", with hints of orange and clove.

This time around; the Missus joined me, having some Sparkling Sake and I finished off with a Hitachino.

And some yuba snacks we got in Nikko….which we actually enjoyed much more than the actual yuba we ate for lunch!

We just relaxed and enjoyed our last evening in Japan.

It had gone by so fast……

Nikko – Toshogu Shrine, Lunch at Yasai Cafe Meguri, and the “Venus of Gyoza” at Utsunomiya Station

September 14, 2018 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Tokyo, Kamakura, and the Kantō Region, Travel

We had made the walk up from the train station and into Nikko National Park. We walked up the stone stairs past the walls gilded with moss. It was a lot to take in. On a misty day like this was; walking past moss covered stone lanterns, there is a feeling you get, mystery….wonder….like you've wandered onto a set of some movie…..

We were only spending the day in Nikko, so other than the Shinkyo Bridge, our main focus was on visiting Toshogu Shrine where Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shogun and founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate which ruled Japan for over 250 years, is supposed to be buried.

There is quite a bit to see here. Among my favorites were the Sanjinku, the Three Sacred Storehouses. Which were lined with gold leaf……hard to believe these were storehouses.

My favorite feature were the carvings of elephants that adorn the Kamijinko (Upper Sacred Storehouse), which look like they came out of some Sci-fi comic.

These are called the Sozonozo Elephants (“imagined elephants”), as the artist who carved these, Kano Tanyu had never seen an elephant. Working from descriptions of the beasts he created this interpretation of what he "imagined" elephants looked like.

Right across from these structures is the Shinkyusha (the "Sacred Stable").

Notice all the folks taking photos here. It's because of the eight panels of monkeys lining the structure. The monkeys are depicting the lives of humans.

Especially popular is the Sanzaru ("Three Wise Monkeys").

You know the saying, right? "Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil." Which I've been told are also three of the principles of Tendai Buddhism.

And then it was past the gate and up the stairs to the Yomeimon Gate.

Man, there was a lot to see here…..

From here 200 stone steps leads you up to Ieyasu Tokugawa's Tomb.

Man, that mist sure added to the atmosphere……

After this we headed back down past all the other visitors; even some four legged ones.

Half the fun was people watching…….I guess the hill was kind of steep for some as they seemed to need a little boost.

We walked down the path to Futarasan Shrine…where the fog was really thick. Along with being the oldest shrine in Nikko, the area around the shrine is known for something else.

There is a tree near the gate of the shrine where a cedar and oak have joined together. This has come to be known as the matchmaking tree; you leave an offering for good luck in your relationship.

At this point, the Missus and I determined that it was a good time to head on back down the street and grab some lunch. Our philosophy when we travel is always to see the one or two things that are important to us; the rest is gravy. We always treat a destination as if we'll be returning someday.

We headed back down the street in the direction of the train station. Along the way; we saw this building.

Which definitely was not a "art and curios" shop as folks were eating inside. A quick search on Google Maps determined that this was Yasai Café Meguri, a vegan/organic restaurant. I looked at some of the photos and saw that the place served yuba bean curd; which I really enjoy. Plus, yuba is a specialty of Nikko.

So we decided to eat here. We entered, were warmly greeted, and led to our seats……which made the Missus crack up. It was my kryptonite……..floor seating….

I've mentioned having to sit using tatami style seating before, my fear of having my legs fall asleep then trying to stand and destroying half a restaurant. Oh, the lovely noise of my joints snapping and popping as I sat on the floor.

Anyway, both the Missus and I got the Yuba Bean Curd Special.

We really didn't find this particularly to our taste. Everything was cold; including the rice under the yuba. The food was rather bland; the bean curd skin crunchy, but somewhat water-logged.

The thing we enjoyed the most about the dish was the green salad; the fresh, crisp bitter greens.

Probably just not our kind of thing.

Yasai Cafe Meguri
909-1 Nakahatsuishimachi
Nikko 321-140, Tochigi Prefecture

We made our way back to the JR Station. Got on our train and headed back to Tokyo. We did have an hour layover in Utsunomiya where I decided to search for a statue I'd read about; the Venus of Gyoza.

Walking just outside the station we found her, in all her beauty ummm creepieness uniqueness, a woman creature emerging out of a gyoza. The "Venus of Gyoza". After all, Utsonomiya is considered the "capital of gyoza" in Japan. You can read about it in this article. Over the years; I've started to include one odd interesting place during our travels. And after all; this is still a food blog….and this has something to do with food, right?

The Missus was kind enough to humor me. Then we went back into the station and did some shopping (looking for local snacks) before our train arrived. On time as usual; after all, this was Japan!

Thanks for reading!

Revisits – Luong Hai Ky and Homestyle Hawaiian (Tierrasanta)

September 13, 2018 mmm-yoso Plate Lunch, Vietnamese Restaurants

I should actually call this "weekend procrastination lunches"……two revisits where I took the "long way" to work.

Luong Hai Ky:

On the Sunday that I took the "really long way" to work; I decided to drop by Luong Hai Ky since it had been over three years since my last visit. Let me just say things haven't changed much….the service was perfunctory at best; and that Beef Sate Noodle; well, with all that iceberg lettuce and all that basil….check out all the stems they included; would you like to eat that or perhaps reach into your bowl with your hands and remove them? Sheesh, it's pretty much an egg noodle salad these days.

And that broth that tastes like msg water.

This was basically fifty percent iceberg lettuce which made the dish get cold quickly, the egg noodles were over-cooked. Too little sate was used on the beef. Too bad, because the beef was rather tender.

I think it's back to Tim Ky for me.

This is quite sad because once upon a time before the original owner passed away, the location on Convoy did a pretty good job. But that was over a decade ago…..

Luong Hai Ky Restaurant
10606 Camino Ruiz #2
San Diego, CA 92126

Homestyle Hawaiian (Tierrasanta):

HH has spread out quite a bit since Homestyle Hawaiian opened up near Mesa College nine years ago. With 6 locations; though they disavow the Point Loma location, it's now a nice little kingdom. On a recent weekend; I decided to sleep in and drop by the office in the afternoon. It was nearly 1130 and I was starved, so I decided to take a detour, and wouldn't you know it…somehow, I'm not sure how….I ended up here.

I'd only been to this location once; but it was close to the 52……

The young lady who waited on me was a joy; she humored me when I asked that my combination plate be served in a take-out container. I knew there was no way I'd be able to finish it. I ordered the chicken katsu; Korean chicken combo. An old favorite of mine from back when I could put away a whole lot more…..

The katsu was nicey fried this time around. It was crisp, moist, the breading wasn't peeling off, and of course I do enjoy the "local-kine" katsu sauce…..I grew up eating chicken katsu with a ketchup based sauce. The Korean chicken seems to have changed over time; the sweet-salty flavors, now tend toward the sweeter side. The batter was more hard than crisp this time around and the chicken, while moist, was on the chewy side.

Like, I've mentioned before, never been a big fan of HH's mac salad, but this wasn't bad, nicely chilled, it seems to have gotten better over the years.

Of course I managed to eat less than half of this. I took the rest to work and wouldn't you know, there was someone else who decided to come in on this day…..he was rewarded with a rather hefty container of food.

Homestyle Hawaiian Pub & Eatery
10601 Tierrasanta Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92124